Scorpius stared out the window at the rain tearing down in sheets. He drew his comforter around him even more tightly, flinching as a raven came to the window and cawed loudly to be let in. Scorpius stared dully back at the bird. The mansion was too empty at this time of night. Usually it didn't bother him, but tonight it felt oppressive and cold beyond bearing. Scorpius glanced at the crow again; it cawed loudly one last time before lifting its wings and gliding away.
Yes. Scorpius stood up as though some invisible signal had been observed. There was no way he was staying in the house overnight with only his father in the entire ninety-room castle. He would go to the river. It'd probably be swollen near to bursting, but that was okay. The danger would be a welcome diversion from the tense silences that had filled the Malfoy Manor recently.
"Muffilato," he whispered, pointing his wand toward his bedroom door.
Pausing, he listened for sounds of his father before tapping the window and sliding onto the roof. The downpour soaked through his clothes almost instantly, and he hastily closed his window so his bed didn't get wet. He gritted his teeth in the intensity of the storm. It swept him up in its wet embrace, and he had never been so close to letting go of the mask that he wore every day.
Who was there to see him? He reached a hand to the angry sky, studying his fingers, streaks of white against the steel sky as lightning flashed. He let his arm fall and slipped down to the ground, nervously looking back to his father's window to make sure he wasn't aware of Scorpius' absence. Nothing moved.
Scorpius' feet tapped against the slippery grass and splashed loudly through muddy puddles as he flew toward the river. On the way there, he felt an inexplicable rage rising up in him. Obscuring his vision, it thundered in the beat of his heart and roared in his ears. By the time he reached the river, panting, he was distraught.
Life. Anger. To be needed, that's all Scorpius wanted. He wanted his life to mean something. Anger rose in him at the injustice. He hurled a stone into the roiling waves. His father may try; it just wasn't enough. The single stone became a barrage of rocks whose splashes meant little in the rushing force of water. Meaningless. Throwing back his head, Scorpius let hot, salty tears stream down his narrow face. They were quickly wiped away by the falling rain.
Everything was so fleeting. Even emotions. Spent, Scorpius heaved himself upon a rock as if he were an old man. His hands trembled with the effort it took him to stay in control. Control. All was lost to the rush of emotions if he failed to control himself. Scorpius stared at the raging river, his mind as twisted as the swirling white foam forming from the force of the current.
He wondered what it would be like. Wondered how it would feel to slowly sink below the waves. How it would feel to not make a sound. His life to mean little more than a quickly silenced splash. Would anybody notice? Scorpius thought they might not. Yet something held him back from leaping, unrestrained, into the commanding strength of the river. Something kept him from surrendering his life. He couldn't have explained it.
Wrestling with himself, Scorpius didn't see the tall, haggard figure rise from the shadows of the trees only a few yards away until it was standing next to him. Scorpius started badly as a hand touched his shoulder. The leaf he had been twisting in his hands fell away as he jumped to his feet, pulling out his wand. Lightning flashed then, and he recognized the other person.
"Teddy?" he asked incredulously. He cleared his voice and, stronger now, said, "what are you doing here?"
Teddy, looking older than his twenty-three years, stared at the river, not answering. Finally, he sighed and spoke.
"It's funny how it ages us," he said.
Scorpius looked at him in some confusion, not sure if he understood what Teddy was saying.
"I was your age when I discovered the temptation of the knowledge that this place offers," Teddy said, sounding tired.
At that second, Scorpius saw Teddy as a fifteen year old, lost and mourning his long-dead parents. How selfish Scorpius had been. Scorpius started to apologize, hardly knowing what he was sorry for, but Teddy held up a hand abruptly. For the first time, Teddy looked into Scorpius' eyes, and Scorpius involuntarily shied away from the fury burning there.
"Don't forget who you are, Scorpius," Teddy spat. "The river offers lies. It's life, not death, that matters. The temptation is one knowledge that is a lie."
Scorpius stuttered. "How-?" he got out, his shyness around Teddy crippling his expression.
Teddy returned his attention to the waterlogged bank. He shrugged, his thin shoulders moving stiffly. Scorpius looked across the expanse of raging water.
"You just had that look," Teddy said in a distant voice. "I know it like my reflection."
Scorpius shot him a look, but said nothing, chosing his words carefully.
"You came here?" he finally asked, his voice husky.
"I was angry," Teddy said simply. "Why was it my parents? Who makes all the decisions?"
Scorpius chewed his lip and looked at his feet. He hardly knew what to say. Anything he could ever say would be wrong. He had learned that, at least.
"Don't let the darkness win," Teddy said quietly, moving closer to Scorpius and pulling his head onto his shoulder.
Scorpius smelled the freedom in Teddy's cloak and something broke inside of him. No shame. Tears streamed down Scorpius' face. The impact of what he had been going to do sank in. He gulped.
"I'm sorry," he gasped, not knowing who he was apologizing to. His father? The river? Life? Teddy?
"The funny thing is," Teddy said, holding Scorpius' shoulders and giving them a little shake so Scorpius looked at him, "...is that life goes on."
Scorpius nodded, the pain already loosening its hold on his lonely heart. Teddy's warmth was comforting. Like the brother Scorpius had never had.
"No matter what happens," Teddy continued, "life continues to move forward in an unending stream."
Scorpius shook his head. "Life ends," he whispered, afraid to break the enchantment that had suddenly descended upon the scene.
"No," Teddy said, giving Scorpius another shake. "Life is always moving. It's a circle and never can stop. Death is what will end."
Scorpius tried to smile. "The last enemy that shall be defeated is death," he quoted weakly.
Teddy smiled, one healed heart reaching out to another wounded one. "Yes," he said simply.
Scorpius found himself walking alongside Teddy on the riverbank. With Teddy there, the river hardly seemed as all-consuming. They walked as if brothers, side by side. Comfortable silence.
Only just before, the world had been ending. Now it bloomed open and full of compassion. It had always been there, Scorpius thought. He just hadn't been able to perceive it through how lost he had been. He looked at Teddy, thinking. Sensing Scorpius' gaze, Teddy turned toward him, smiling slightly.
"Would you teach me?" Scorpius asked. There was little need to add anything else, but he did. "How to tune into life?"
Teddy nodded and smiled, his eyes faraway. "It's neverending. A passively strong, cleansing force. Nothing can stay the same for long," he said thoughtfully. "It's like a river."
With that, Scorpius and Teddy shared the knowing smile of those that have shared just a bit of their souls with each other and walked on through the storm.