Since it was the first lesson on Monday the day after Draco’s visit, Neville watched closely as the Gryffindors came into Greenhouse Number Two. Harry Baird and Margaret Quince arrived first into his class. After Vestara Vesper and her group of twittering Slytherin girls came in, Rose, Kaitlin, Jimber and Albus walked in. Just a few moments before the bell sounded, Mars Pyter and Geoffrey Grindus ambled into the Greenhouse. Scorpius Malfoy arrived last, all by himself.

Neville sized up the boy. Scorpius’ normally perfect hair was askew and the always-tucked-in shirt was half in and half out of his trousers. Neville immediately moved his gaze from the boy. He would have to take him aside for a little chat later.

Neville, holding his earmuffs in his right hand, smiled at the class. As he took in their response to his usual Monday greeting, he saw Rose directing concerned glances toward Scorpius, who was not at the table by her side as usual, but was standing alone by a table in the corner.

“I hope you remembered to study for the test that I promised you,� Neville said. The moans from everyone except Rose told him they had forgotten. “Our test will finish our study of Mandrakes. Will each of you take a copy of the test and one of the Mandrakes pots? Please follow the instructions and label the parts of the plants, and answer all of the questions listed. You’ll have thirty minutes to finish the test.�

Rose, pulling Kaitlin along, was the first to the test and to the potted plants. Scorpius slowly took the paper and then wandered toward the door, past the last remaining mandrake plant, and picked up one of the pots by the entrance. Before he got back to his solitary table, Neville was waiting with the correct pot.

“Sorry, Scorpius, that pot is one of my Alice’s Truehearts not your assignment.�

Malfoy looked down and he seemed to be surprised at his error. “Sorry, Professor Longbottom, I-“. The boy seemed to freeze again.

Neville lowered his head to look the boy in the eyes. He saw the boy jump and blink in surprise. The shock seemed have awakened him enough to start the task. Neville made a mental note to either ignore or weight this test results for his grades. Scorpius was one of the best students in the school at Herbology. Neville was hoping he would eventually go for a N.E.W.T. in the subject.

Fifteen minutes later, Rose was finished with the exam and also finished with her review of her answers. Now she sat next to Albus - the chair reserved for Scorpius on the other side was still empty- and stared across the room at Scorpius. Scorpius was frozen in place and paying no attention to his plant. A look of hurt filled her eyes.

Had the two of them had a fight? Neville doubted that. Some slight had occurred, probably Rose trying to be helpful and Scorpius rejecting her. He was so glad that he wasn’t twelve years old anymore.

As the students handed in their tests, Neville asked Scorpius to stay after the class. The boy responded with a shrug and a half nod of acceptance.

Neville decided that with all of the up-coming Quidditch practices, dormitory gossip and games, which would be a constant reminder of what Scorpius was missing out on, Malfoy needed something of his to keep him busy. He needed friends who would not tread on egg shells around him. Neville knew what Malfoy needed was some hard work.

Half an hour before the scheduled opening time of the shop, Draco nervously stared into the Alley. He and Astoria had stayed up all night and they had decided to take a stand. He peered into the shadows and the spaces between the buildings. No one was lurking. Fifteen minutes before the opening time, a knock sounded from the front door. Draco looked through the glass front door to see a young brown-skinned man with braided hair that was wrapped like a turban atop his head. He had his wand out and was pointing it through the glass at Draco.

Draco unlocked the door and stepped back. The man stepped through the door and at a flick of his wand the windows were covered. “I’m here to pick up the order for our friend.�

Draco heard a somewhat familiar accent: was the man originally from the Island? “I’ve got the Veritaserum and the Draught of Living Dead behind the counter. I am still brewing the Polyjuice and I will let you know when it’s done. However, I’ll be damned if I’ll supply Goyle, or anyone else, with poison. And if you’re afraid to tell him, send him here and I’ll tell him face to face.�

“Not smart, Malfoy,� warned the delivery man. “You don’t know what you’re risking by doing this.�

The other man must have been caught off guard, or the warning had increase Draco’s reaction speed, for Draco was looking into the fear filled eyes his wand up against the other’s Adams Apple. “It’s you who doesn’t know who he’s dealing with. And if anything happens to my family because of what I just did, you will be the first to feel my wrath.�

Draco pushed the man until his back was flush against the counter which hid the parts of the order that were ready.

Trying to regain control, the messenger said, “He’s not going to like this. In fact, I’d hate to be you when he finds out about this. You might want to reconsider which side of all of this you’re on.�

“Whatever he does to me or mine, I will deal double to his agents. Pass that along to your friends. And my father will avenge me to any of you that I can’t find.�

Draco saw that the other man’s pupils were wide. He could smell the fear. Had the other man wet himself? He hoped so. He knew Lucius would be screaming about this, but to hell with him. It was his life and family that was on the line.

When Scorpius arrived at the greenhouse, he found a checklist of tasks to be done for this morning. So he started the first task by planting four new trays of Merlin Grass and sitting them on their own table next to the other tables full of the same plant. After the planting was done, he watered the remaining trays of Merlin Grass. The magical tips of the grass in the middle trays looked off-colour to him; they were not their normal gold, but a pale yellow.

As he was putting the watering can under the worktable, he saw, through the glass wall, an older girl, he didn’t know. She turned to the right and walked through the door into the greenhouse.

She paused and looked at him from head to toe. She turned her to the right to see the items on the checklist, sighed, and said, “Hi, I’m Crystaline Dragonherd. Everybody calls me Crystal though, I’m not sure why. The Professor said that I’d be getting some help in the greenhouses.� The thin, fourth-year, Ravenclaw was a good half a head taller than Scorpius. After her greeting, she walked to the wall and replaced her cloak with a groundskeeper outfit to match the one he wore.

“I’m Scorpius Malfoy,� he replied after the girl had returned. “I just planted some more Merlin Grass and watered the rest. I think the middle table might need a bit of dragon dung worked into soil.�

Crystal raised one eyebrow, walked over to the trays mentioned and stuck her pinky finger into the soil. After about a half a minute she pulled it out, smelled the finger and finally tasted it. With her little finger still in her mouth, she rocked her head from side to side making a lip smacking sound. “You’re right about the dung, but it could also use a tad of...� She stopped while contemplating the taste of her pinky. “Potassium, just a little bit mixed in with the dung. “

Scorpius started to laugh at the strange girl who was still sucking her finger, lost in thought.

She ignored the laugh and removed the pinky from her mouth. “Good catch about the dung. What are you? A third-year?�

“No, second.�

She seemed even more impressed with her helper. “Listen, Tuesday evenings the Herbology club meets here. Professor Longbottom assigns special projects and we talk about plants. And his wife always sends along the best desserts with him. Her tarts are way better than the school’s are.�

Scorpius considered. Tuesday was scheduled to be one of the weekly Quidditch practices and he couldn’t sit alone in the tower, listening to the excited talk after the practice and catching the sad looks from Jimber and especially Rose. “Are the tarts really that good?�

Crystal nodded. “Especially the treacle ones!�

Dragonherd showed him around Greenhouse number three, a place that he had never been to. He recognized the Dittany and Alihotsy; they had grown them in the Manor’s Greenhouses for use in his mother’s potions. He also knew of Gurdyroot, which was used to induce vomiting in poisoning cases. However, he had never seen a real Venomous Tentacula. She explained about the watering and feeding of the plant, and warned him about never ever putting one of the leaves into his mouth. Unless you didn’t have a need for a tongue. If you didn’t, then you could suck on the leaves.

After the tour, Scorpius felt good for the first time since Sunday night. He thanked Crystaline and the two returned to their original greenhouse, where they mixed the dung and potassium mixture and applied it to the Merlin Grass trays.

Scorpius smiled because it felt like he was back at home with his mother taking care of the plants. He looked at Crystal’s dark brown stained fingers and asked, with mock disgust, “You’re not going to do that thing with you pinky again are you?�

She looked down at her hands and began a large belly laugh that went on for a good minute. The two washed up at the basins as she talked about her family. Her dad was a Muggle Liaison Officer with the Postal Service and her mother had been a Muggle postal worker at a small country post office. It had been love at first sight, she was told, and it was not until their wedding night that he disclosed to her that he was a wizard and his true last name.

Scorpius found the story very odd. Maggie Quince and the Bairds were Muggle born. He had never met somebody from a mixed marriage family before. He had a bunch of questions, but didn’t feel he knew her well enough to ask.

When asked about his family, Scorpius didn’t mention his grandfather’s Death Eater ties. He didn’t want to lose anything else due to his family’s history.

Crystalline looked at the next item on the list. “Best get your earmuffs. Next, we replant Mandrakes.�

On the next Saturday morning, Scorpius was down at the greenhouse at seven-thirty to meet with Professor Longbottom and Crystalline. During the last Tuesday’s Herbology club meeting, Longbottom had hinted he wanted the two of them to work with his further hybridization of his Alice’s Trueheart.

After the meeting, an excited Crystal had let him know that during Longbottom’s last year at Hogwarts, he had not only led a student uprising against the bad guys, but he had also developed a new type of heart shaped flower that was dedicated to his mother. The plant was called Alice’s Trueheart.

She was so excited that her soft speaking talking voice fell to a whisper. Professor Longbottom had N.E.W.T. students he could have chosen to assist him, but he had chosen the two of them for this ‘very personal’ project. So, Scorpius had arrived twenty-five minutes early, carrying a tray with a tall stack of butter and orange marmalade lathered toast and a large glass of milk. He spent the time nibbling on the toast and observing, but not touching, the six potted examples of the Trueheart. He wondered what changes Professor Longbottom wanted with this simple, but beautiful flower.

Through the slightly steamy glass wall of the greenhouse, Scorpius thought he saw the hazy image of Abby Baird walking from the school toward Hagrid’s hut. He was just considering the oddity of that, when Rose also appeared on the school side of the greenhouse and followed Abby. Rose was walking funny. She was normally a strider, confidently walking as fast has her legs would take her. However, she was talking small steps and seemed to be looking around after every other step.

As Rose walked out of sight, he contemplated what he had just seen. Before he could walk across the room to his cloak, Crystal showed up. Scorpius looked at her and said, “When Professor Longbottom gets here, have him head towards Hagrid’s hut. I think Rose Weasley is tailing the intruder.� After he finished, he ran over to his cloak hanging on a hook on the wall and pulled his wand from the pocket and proceeded to follow Rose’s trail. The trail did not lead toward the hut, but into the forest beyond.

Scorpius picked up his pace as he a heard muffled shout and an explosive whooshing sound. As he came around a group of small trees, he entered an area that was full of dense black smoke. He tried call Rose’s name, but his mouth was full of a chalky taste. He had to fight the urge to gag. Drawing as much saliva into his mouth as possible, he was able to call out. “Rose? Rose! It’s Scorpius, where are you?� He took two more steps in the dark until his foot found something in the leaves on the floor of the forest.

Three sets of running footsteps came up behind Scorpius. He felt the strong wind blow on him and the smoke was blown into the woods. Looking down onto the floor of the forest, he saw what his foot had bumped into. Rose lay on her back, and she was unconscious.

Crystal, Hagrid and Professor Longbottom had arrived and cleared the strange smoke. Professor Longbottom attempted to rouse Rose, but she remained unmoving. Crystal pointed to Rose’s right hand and Longbottom pulled from its grasp a golden necklace with the letters DF hanging from the chain.�

Professor Longbottom stood up and shouted “Expecto Patronum!� Three white shapes exploded from his wand. Two headed for the school and the third headed generally south.

Scorpius barely took this in. He had dropped to his knees and took Rose by the hand. “Rose, its Scorpius. Wake up! Please!� And without thinking about witnesses or anything that had happened before he bent over and kissed her forehead.

She did not wake.

After about five minutes, Madam Pomfrey arrived in the forest. While fully dressed, the old woman’s hair was still pinned and wrapped around little metal rollers. She immediately began to treat Rose. In a couple of minutes more, two blue robed Aurors, Harry Potter, and a distraught looking Ron Weasley arrived at the spot in the forest. Weasley looked over at Scorpius, who was still holding his daughter’s hand and barely audibly calling her name.

Scorpius looked up at Ron Weasley. A rage filled him and in that moment, he understood what his father had said in Flitwick’s office. Scorpius stood up, turned and yelled into the woods. “I know you can hear me! You better surrender to the Aurors, because I won’t be as nice as they will if I find you.� And with that the boy turned back toward Rose and began to softly sob.

Harry looked down at his niece and turned to Ron. He said, “Stay with her. Take her statement when she wakes up. You’d better send a Patronus each to Hermione and the Burrow. We’ll never hear the end of it if you don’t.�

Ron nodded his head. All of the words were recognized, but his brain was like the old Ford Anglia when it was out of gear. As Madam Pomfrey levitated his girl onto a conjured stretcher, Ron looked over to Scorpius and said, “When you’re done with the questioning, please come up and sit with her. I know she’d appreciate it.� And after finishing his little talk with the boy, he followed his oldest child up to the hospital wing.

Harry noticed that Scorpius was bobbing back and forth as he gained control of his feelings. “Tell me everything you saw, no matter how trivial it may seem. Okay?� asked Harry.

Scorpius wiped his eyes while he gathered control. Neville looked at Crystal and said, “Maybe we should start the project next week.� The girl nodded in agreement and they walked away.

By this time, Hagrid had reappeared with Olympe, his slobbering mastiff hound. The dog was sniffing at the ground, but could not find a scent. Sterling, the Auror, answered Hagrid’s yet-to-be-asked question. “The intruder must have used Peruvian Darkness Powder. The chalky smell masks everything.�

Hagrid sighed and took the giant dog back to his hut.

Soon, Scorpius was ready to talk. “I was in Greenhouse Number Two. I was going to meet with Professor Longbottom and Crystal Dragonherd about some special Herbology project. At about a quarter before eight, I noticed Abby Baird walking down from the school toward Hagrid’s hut. I thought that was weird. I mean, as far as I knew, she’s never been to Hagrid’s hut and wouldn’t be going there alone at this time. However, before I could get to my cloak, there was Rose following Abby. Just as I was about to leave the greenhouse, Crystal showed up and I told her to bring Professor Longbottom because I thought Rose had found the intruder. Before I could catch up, they had a fight or something because when I came around the corner, the air was black and that chalky taste was in the air. I almost tripped over her in the dark and Professor Longbottom blew the dark air out of the way. And Crystal noticed Rose was clutching something in her hands: a necklace with the letters DF on it.�

“DF? Where is the necklace? “

“The Professor had it last time I saw it,� the boy replied.

Harry made a mental note about asking Neville about the necklace. He turned his attention back to the boy and offered his clean, white, linen hanky to Scorpius. “Best if you wipe your eyes. You won’t want Rose to see that you were crying.� The boy looked at the cloth and back up to Harry. “Go ahead, I did this for Ron when Hermione was petrified when she was only-“ Harry paused, Rose and Hermione had both been second-years. Harry remembered the banter between Ron and Draco about not having any adventures this year. He hoped this one would be their last one.

Scorpius returned the hanky to Harry. Touches of red still were visible around his eyes, but he would look passable. “Go up to the hospital wing and see Rose. As you enter the main door, push the second large vase on the right. It will open up a secret passage that will lead you straight up to the hospital.�

Scorpius smiled at the older man. He saw that a lot of what he liked about Albus was also in his father. He wondered what he had inherited from his father. Just before he left for the school, he turned to look into the woods. Somewhere, not that far away in there was the villain, the one who was keeping him from playing Quidditch and the one that had hurt Rose. The villain that had to pay for all that she had done.

Scorpius turned his back and mind from getting revenge. He had to be there for Rose.