Trust

Once they were all back at the Burrow, Rose went up to sleep, with Hermione next to her. Hermione hadn't let go of her daughter ever since they had first embraced, but Rose didn't mind. She could hardly believe this was real either.

The others sat up late discussing what Scorpius had said.

"He did seem to be very specific about the time," Harry said. "But can we trust him?"

"Well, if he was lying, the worst thing that would happen is that you are manning that boundary with an unnecessary number of guards tomorrow," Ginny said.

"Ginny is right," Ron said. "With this plan, there is very little chance of back-stabbing."

"Unless we enter the manor and walk into a trap. What if the barrier is closed again behind us? It would be a major victory for them," Harry pointed out.

"With enough people, you would outnumber them two to one. Besides, it is Albus who will open the barrier, not Scorpius," Ginny retorted.

"If the number Scorpius gave were accurate."

"How many have you projected being in there? Surely you must have tried to figure out their numbers yourself?"

"Yes. We have confirmed at least 20. Scorpius says 30, plus servants. It is hard to distinguish some of them when they wear their masks. And some of the newer members may not be trusted for guard duty yet."

"So, he actually gave you a higher number than you had. Why would he lie and say there were more than you thought?" Ginny asked.

"He can't know how many people we think it is. For all we know, there could be 200," Harry answered.

"Unlikely. We got a good estimate of their numbers at the graveyard. Everyone might not have been there, but I doubt they left over 100 people behind." Ginny objected.

"Do you have 60 fight-ready people?" Ron asked.

"If we use people from the Order and the DA, plus the Aurors? Maybe. A lot of Aurors were injured in the rescue last week. It is a huge risk," Harry replied.

"You will have to take it. It's the best chance we'll have for a long time to get this over with," Ginny said.

"I suppose you're right. Once again, we must trust a Malfoy," Harry sighed.

"A Malfoy who now claims to be married to my daughter," Ron said angrily.

"But surely that can't have been a binding marriage?" Ginny asks in surprise "It was completed under threats of torture! And Rose said they only went along with it to get away from the manor. They didn't mean it."

"That is not the point right now," Harry said. "The problem is that they are bound by an Unbreakable Vow. We need to find out exactly what that says, before we do anything against Scorpius."

"Can an Unbreakable Vow be removed?" Ginny asked.

"Yes. Possibly. If we can find the Bonder. Hopefully, that was Albus," Harry answered.

"And if it wasn't?" Ron asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

"If not, then the Bonder might be dead by tomorrow. Then we need another Bonder to undo the Vow with another Vow. And that is a lot more painful," Harry said sadly.

***

When Rose woke up the next day, she enjoyed the feeling of safety. Of not having to sleep on her side because there was a chain on her back. Being able to take deep breaths. Not having to fear being tortured or killed. Yet, automatically, she reached out on her bed to touch Scorpius next to her, but of course he wasn't there. That woke her up fully as she remembered last night's events. How Scorpius had confessed his love to her, but not returned with her. And she remembered Albus and the plan. She got up.

She remembered Scorpius' cryptic words to her. "Find me where I first disappointed you." What did that mean? She had so much she needed to say to him. At the very least, she needed to say what she had been too overwhelmed to say the night before. But she had to find him first.

She went down to the kitchen, where she was delighted to find her grandmother making breakfast. Harry was at the table, but no one else was around.

"Rose! You are awake. I am so glad to see you again, honey. I feared the worst." Molly embraced Rose in a big hug.

"Grandma! It is so good to see you too. I was afraid I was going to die at times, but I was more worried for Mother. Oh, I hope she can forgive me. I broke so easily. How is she?" She barely held back tears as she buried herself in her grandmother's arms.

"She's fine. She's back at work actually, even though she should be resting still. She finally got a good night's sleep, the first she's had since you were taken. She is out leading the manhunt for Scorpius Malfoy," Molly answered.

"Leading what?" Rose jumped at the words used, moving out of Molly's embrace.

"He is currently the only Death Eater we can't account for," Harry said from the table.

"He is not a Death Eater. No more than Albus is," Rose retorted.

Molly started serving breakfast. She gave Rose an extra helping of eggs.

"Rose, I need to know. Exactly what was it he made you swear yesterday? What does the Unbreakable Vow entail?" Harry asked as Rose started eating.

"He swore to keep me safe. And to never turn his back on me," Rose answered between mouthfuls.

"And he hasn't done that by leaving you?" Molly interjected whilst giving Rose more eggs.

"No, he doesn't seem to think so. And he was right, seeing as I am not dead. This is the best way of keeping me safe. And he Disapparated while still looking at me."

"Clever. But what did he make you promise?" Harry asked again.

"That I would not try to escape from him. That is why he came to meet you himself. And that I would not hurt him, or his master. But he didn't specify who his master was."

"So, nothing about defending him? Or preventing him from being harmed?" Harry wanted to know.

"No, nothing like that? Why?"

"We need to be careful not to do something that will break the Vow until we can remove it. Who was the Bonder?" Harry asked.

"Albus," Rose replied. "What do you mean, remove it? I thought it could not be broken on count of death? Isn't that sort of the point?"

"Remove it, not break it. With the Bonder, that is possible. But we need to find him first. Do you have any idea where he would have gone?"

"No," Rose said, trying to not sound too hostile. "Home maybe? To his father?"

"No. We checked. We even searched Draco's entire house. He is not there,"

Rose didn't reply to that. She didn't want to tell Uncle Harry about Scorpius' little hint. Not now, when she heard that even he did not believe that Scorpius was innocent. She tried to hide her evasive answer by helping herself to more pancakes.

"What is it you're not telling me?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"Nothing. I don't know where he is, I swear." Rose said.

Just then, Ginny walked into the kitchen, preventing Harry from pressing the matter. "Well, I have managed to contact everyone. Most of them are willing and ready. Some are even bringing their spouses. Altogether there will be at least 40 people."

"And I have found about ten members from the Order. We will also join you," Molly added.

"We?" Harry asked. "You are coming too?"

"Yes. I can't just stay behind here. Arthur and I will join you in this. We can't let the Dark magic win. Besides," Molly hesitated. "Most of my children will be there. I can't stay behind."

"But someone has to stay. This will be a retreat spot if anyone is wounded. Most of the protections around this house will be weakened if no one is here," Harry protested.

"I'll be here," Rose added.

"I don't want to leave you here alone. You have been through so much…" Ginny said.

"I'll be fine. Really," Rose replied.

"I'll stay here with her," James said from the door.

They all looked up at him. Rose ran over to give him a hug too. "I'm so glad to see that you're okay James. I was so worried about you."

"I was worried about you too, Rose," James replied while embracing Rose. "We were both lucky to escape from there alive. Though not unhurt, not for me. Not yet at the least."

"Yes, lucky, thanks to Albus and Scorpius."

"Yes. I don't remember all the details, but I remember Albus coming to get me out, and Scorpius being there at one point? Never mind that now, it is not important." James looked up at his parents again, still holding on to Rose. "I don't have a burning need to go storm a house filled with Death Eaters. I didn't do so well the last time I tried to fight them. And I don't want to go and confront those black parts of my brain again. I can stay here with Rose. Don't worry. We will be fine," he said.

"Very well then. It's time to go. Now, you two stay here. Do not leave until I return unless the house is on fire. That is a Binding order. Do you understand?" Harry said sternly, looking at both of them.

"Yes," Rose replied, looking down on the floor again. Could Uncle Harry sense that she was going to try to figure out where Scorpius was? She needed to warn him.

"Yes. Don't worry about us. It is you who will be running all the risk here," James replied.

"Don't die, please?" Rose said, looking up at all of them. "You must come back safely, all of you. I can't bear the thought of anyone dying."

"Don't worry about us," Harry said as Ginny gave her a farewell hug. "Oh, one more thing. Here." He took out a wand and handed it to Rose. "Your wand. We recovered it from the graveyard."

The graveyard. That sparked a memory with Rose. "The place where I first disappointed you." Of course!

"Thank you. It's nice to have that back again. Good luck, all of you."