Seth

Author note: 'ello! I've had this idea for a while now, and I finally got the motivation to start. The basic idea is that I will be writing one-shots from various POVs of events that occurred in the OQaS-verse (so no asking me to write from Harry's POV from the time he received his Hogwarts letter). I will be using a random generator to pick who/what scene I'll write about from the review section (in other words, you can post your requests – say character name + scene + chapter if applicable – and I'll randomly select one). This first one is a gift for Unpretentious for being my 200th reviewer for OCaT! :D Thank you all! C:

Seth POV – Chapter 28 of OQaS

"Oi! Seth."

I paused mid-motion, my shirt wrapped around my shoulders uncomfortably as I began to pull it on.

"What?" I asked.

Scorpius leaned against his bedpost, contemplatively turning a small object – an inkwell – over in his hands.

"Do you-do you know how to avoid getting brutally murdered by angry fathers?" he asked finally, still looking away determinedly.

I smoothly scooped up my discarded shirt (which had been lying on the ground – I was never one for orderliness) and lobbed it at Scorpius's head. He flinched, scowling at me in annoyance.

"Oi!" he protested. I shrugged. "I know we're Slytherins, mate, but honestly – you're acting like a right coward," I said pointedly. "I mean, people have been wanting to kill you your whole life. Why are you suddenly worrying about it now?"

His pale cheeks reddened, and a wicked smile spread across my face. Aha. So this was about a certain redheaded Weasley.

"This is about Rose, isn't it? And the fact that her father, one of the most prominent Aurors, is going to murder you when he finds out you've been slobbering over his precious, only daughter," I continued.

His scowl deepened, and to my surprise Scorpius looked genuinely angry. "I should have known you wouldn't take this seriously," he muttered before leaping to his feet and moving to the door leading out of our dorms.

I blinked, still a bit at a loss at what had just happened. I was too proud to apologise for something I didn't understand, though, so I merely asked, "Where are you going?"

He paused, his hand resting on the doorknob. "To your sister's Duel club," he answered finally, not bothering to turn around. Then he left, slamming the door shut behind him.

I sat back on my bed, staring at the closed door for another moment before shaking my head. His words didn't hurt, I told myself firmly. He didn't mean it. I stared down at my hands, frowning slightly as I mulled over his words. I was known as the stupid twin – the one who was more likeable, sure (though that wasn't too hard of a reputation to obtain when your sister was a hermit), but everyone tacitly agreed that I was the foolish boy who couldn't take things seriously. And why would they think otherwise when Adela was a bloody genius?

I pushed down a flicker of unease, determinedly fixing a bright smile on my face (then I dimmed it down a bit; I couldn't go around looking like freaking Santa Claus, for Merlin's sake) and wrenching myself from my bed (it was quite cozy, and I normally would be fast asleep…Adela should thank her lucky stars that she has such a loving and thoughtful brother).

I had a duel club to attend.

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The huge horde of chattering students led me to Duel Club; all I had to do was follow the trail of students playfully slashing at the air with their wands in some odd mockery of a duel. I wasn't the best dueler (though I would only admit that under extreme duress), but even I knew that if you didn't take it seriously, your chances of surviving were extremely slim (as in, smaller than the chances of seeing Adela don a frilly dress and willingly attend one of Mother's luncheons).

I spotted a flash of white-blond hair and automatically began to make my way over but stopped when I saw that Rose was with him. I hesitated before smoothly switching directions, acting as if I had meant to head towards the giggling group of Hufflepuffs in the first place (dear Merlin. Out of all the directions I could have picked). Before I could change directions again, however, my darling sister shrieked "Oi" at a pitch that could have shattered even the thickest of glasses.

Everyone winced, cringing downwards and clutching at their ears. Master of charisma, my sister was not. Unfortunately, this action led one of the Hufflepuffs to spot me, and I realised with horror that she was the girl I'd accidentally dumped into a pile of hippogriff dung (it was a long story involving a dare and several stitches) back in third year. She narrowed her eyes, jabbing her elbow at her friends until they all spotted me, their arms moving in synchronization to go to their hips.

Fantastic. Just bloody fantastic. Making a mental note to embarrass Adela at the nearest opportunity for revenge, I carefully inched my way away. My sister and Al – when had they started tolerating each other's presence? – were still speaking, but I was a bit preoccupied with the murderous Hufflepuffs to pay close attention to them.

Maybe this was like escaping from a bear. You just had to keep quiet and make no sudden movements. A sudden image of a bear dressed in the lurid Hufflepuff yellow flashed in my mind, and I couldn't help but smirk a bit – which, of course, made the Hufflepuffs even angrier.

Then there was silence, and the girl looked back up towards the stage, her eyes widening a bit. Her entourage followed suit, and several began whispering feverishly behind cupped hands as they stared at the stage. Great. Adela had probably gone and turned herself pink again (okay, to be fair, I'd been the one to plant the potion in her bacon that time…but how was I supposed to know she'd go and eat the whole platter).

Mentally steeling myself for whatever horrific sight I was going to see, I turned slowly, raising my head to look at the stage.

…

What?

Al – no, the treacherous Potter demon child who was going to be hexed soon if I did not receive an explanation soon – was wrapping his lecherous arm around my baby sister. I scowled, my hand reaching towards my wand, before stopping myself abruptly. Wait. I wasn't some Gryffindor. I wasn't about to charge right in bellowing loudly and firing hexes every which way. Al was probably just trying to restrain her from accidentally hexing herself. Besides, hexing him when he was defenseless – and without hundreds of witnesses – would be more effective.

So I forced myself to calm down, removing my hand from my wand, and watched the stage with narrowed eyes. Adela had pushed away from Al at this point, and her cheeks were doing that annoying thing and turning bright red (stupid genetics; my cheeks did the same thing).

Adela was clearly flustered, and she'd started bellowing about shield charms. I folded my arms over my chest and glared at Al silently. My peers were starting to chatter excitedly and group in partners around me, pushing past me and glaring when I didn't move from my central position.

Yes, I decided. Al was going to have to be interrogated. I brightened a bit at the thought – hey! Maybe I'd finally be able to try out that new sweet I'd picked up at Hogsmeade that turned people red.

Feeling considerably more cheerful, I whistled to myself contentedly and walked over to one of the Gryffindor chasers (I hated them all) and pulling him over to one of the dueling platforms.

I bowed, adjusting my grip on my wand. Then-

"BATTLE CRY!"

AN: As always, thanks so much for reading! :) Remember – if you'd like to see a particular scene/character POV, just ask! It's a bit odd to be writing from a different character's POV, but it's nice practice. These one-shots will be of varying length but will on average be shorter than the OCaT chapters.