A/N: This isn't edited because I don't feel like delving back into the mindset I was in when I wrote this. Sorry about that, but I hope someone out there will enjoy it anyway.

This is an AU that diverges from Cursed Child. Delphi exists, but her plan was different. She has Albus under the Imperius Curse and is keeping Scorpius a prisoner.

Warning for torture, controlling and manipulative behavior, holding someone hostage, and generally terrible behavior from Delphi.

Scorpius shivered. Through months of being dragged through the forests of Britain, he'd have thought he'd get used to the cold, but he didn't. He longed for his wand and the ability of cast a warming charm on himself, but prisoners weren't allowed wands. Prisoners had to huddle in front of the fire they'd constructed themselves while their captors talked inside a warm tent about things the prisoner wasn't allowed to know.

Holding his hands out, Scorpius tried to imagine that the fire in front of him was like those in the crates around Hogwarts. He couldn't believe that he'd once thought of the castle as drafty. He'd have taken walks through those drafty corridors any day over the long, miserable journey he'd been forced on in the dead of winter.

Something moved by the tent, and Scorpius' head shot around, but he wasn't able to see anything. He took a deep breath. If they were caught, it would be by people there to rescue him, not harm him, and if it was a dangerous threat, he didn't have his wand anyway. He forced himself not to care, though he couldn't help but glare at the beige canvas of the tent that he so despised. It looked pitiful on the outside, and even though the inside was larger, it didn't look any better. It was as terrible a prison as the Hogwart dungeons would have been.

Everything was worse because he knew what was happening inside. Delphi was going on about her plans for domination, and Albus was listening to every word, entirely enthralled with the idea of Delphi making others succumb to her wishes. The idea of it made Scorpius want to vomit. He picked up a small twig at his feet and threw it into the fire, watching it disintegrate.

He knew that Albus was the only thing keeping him alive, and he knew that this wasn't his Albus' fault. For all of Delphi's insistence that Albus was acting out of his own free will, Scorpius knew the signs of the Imperius Curse well enough to know what was happening. Somewhere inside, Albus was the same as he'd always been, and the person Scorpius had been forced to interact with for months was merely an extension of Delphi. That only made seeing him worse.

The next sound that Scorpius heard aside from the crackling of the fire and the howl of the wind was the sound of the tent flap being opened as someone slipped through. Scorpius stiffened but didn't otherwise react. If it were Delphi behind him, she would have declared her presence, which meant it was Albus approaching to, once again, try to convince Scorpius to come around to their side so that he needn't be a prisoner at all.

Scorpius kept his eyes on the fire as he watched Albus settle on a separate log. The distance between them felt far greater than Scorpius had ever imagined it could be. He fought against the urge to turn away and pretend like Albus wasn't there.

"I can't believe it's already New Year," Albus remarked, voice falsely light. "So much has happened this year."

Scorpius scowled as he looked at the slightly grinning face of his best friend. Or former best friend. Just what he should consider Albus had been one of many mental struggles he'd faced since Delphi had thrown herself into their lives and ruined everything.

"Yeah, I suppose falling in love and murdering a few people would make for a memorable year," Scorpius shot back.

He hated the pleasure that filled him when Albus' smile fell. It allowed him to believe, however far fetched, that even under the Imperius, Albus felt an ounce of regret for the multitude of ways he'd hurt people since falling in 'love' with Delphi. Scorpius wasn't sure he actually did. It was far more likely that he was merely agitated with Scorpius' insistence on characterizing his actions as horrific when he saw them as heroic.

"It's been a lot for both of us," Albus said slowly, scooting to the edge of his log to place himself closer to Scorpius. "We've both changed, but you haven't given Delphi a chance. You don't listen to her whenever she talks about her visions for the future. If you would just give her a chance and stop judging her for who her parents are, you'd see that she's trying to do something important."

Even after months of hearing the same thing, Scorpius couldn't help but gape at Albus.

"You think I'm judging her because of her parents?" he asked. "Have you not noticed how many people she's tortured and killed in front of us? And that's not even counting what she's done when we're not around. She's a monster, Albus, and if you were yourself, you'd recognize that."

The tent flap opened before Albus could respond. What little warmth the fire provided faded as Albus looked over Scorpius' shoulder, his eyes shining in the firelight as his smile returned.

"Don't be too hard on him, Albus," Delphi crooned, coming to stand right behind Scorpius. "It must be hard on him to see us so in love when he's in love with you."

Albus' eyes flickered to Scorpius, smile dimming for a split second before his adoring gaze was back on Delphi. Scorpius stared into the fire, his fists clenched his his lap.

"It's not my vision of the future that matters to you really, is it?" Delphi asked, leaning close enough to Scorpius that he could feel her breath on his ear. It made him twitch uneasily.

He wanted to protest that he had a lot of problems with her, but he knew such a comment would mean torture, and he'd been lucky enough to escape that over the previous week.

Delphi came around to the other side of the fire, staring down at Scorpius as she reached into the pocket of her robes. Scorpius' sucked in a breath as she produced the letter he'd written in a moment of desperation. The seal he'd used to close it was broken as Delphi held it above the fire.

"You thought you could slip a letter to your father past me?" she said with a laugh. "Have you learned nothing? No one alive is as powerful as me. No one except my father has had the drive to bring real change to the wizarding world. One day, no one will remember the name of Merlin because my own greatest will overshadow any of his measly accomplishments. Yet you believed that you could send off a letter without me detecting it? You're far stupider than I had believed you to be, Scorpius.

"I'm afraid a transgression like this deserves consequences. And to think that I'd believed we might be passed the need for discipline."

"Delphi, no," Albus begged, getting down on his knees in front of her. The sight of it left Scorpius feeling sicker than even the prospect of his oncoming torture did. "You promised. You promised me that he wouldn't face the Cruciatus again. Please don't do it. I'll talk to him. I'll make him come around."

Delphi placed a hand to Albus' cheek.

"You've been promising me that for a long time, but it never does us any good. We have to learn as much as Scorpius does. Some people just can't learn without reinforcement. We're doing him good in the long run. Remember when I explained that?"

Albus nodded slowly, and for the first time in a long time, Scorpius wished he could see his face to ascertain just what thoughts were going through his mind. He was still watching Albus when Delphi raised her wand and shouted, "Crucio!"

Scorpius doubled over in pain. After the relentless torture he'd faced, he should have been used to it, but his body never adjusted to the encompassing pain. He was too tired of it to scream as his body went limp, but whimpers came out unbidden as he lost himself in the delirium.

Prompts:

Hogwarts Challenges and Assignments

Seasonal - Colour Prompts: beige

Seasonal - Birthstones: (dialogue) "I can't believe it's already New Year. So much has happened this year."

Seasonal - Days of the Year: Play God Day - Write about someone thinking they are as powerful as Merlin.

Seasonal - Winter Prompts: (object) log fire

HPFC

Favourite Character Boot Camp: Scorpius Malfoy - seal

Word count: 1,339