If you guys were wondering why I haven't updated recently, it's in the Author's Note down below. And yes. I do have a legitimate reason this time.
But I am sorry for my absence. School's being a little bit of a bitch at the moment.
Disclaimer: You know it, I don't own it.
(By the way, this chapter is dedicated to bestgryl for guessing the right reference I was making in my story Tired. Bet you thought I forgot, eh ;)
One of the men smirked as he watched Albus struggling against the man twice his size. Anger rolled off Scorpius in waves as he saw the men laughing as they watched Albus thrash about, trying to be released from the hold. His insides constricted even more as they carefully ladled a spoonful of the potion into Albus's mouth. Albus tried moving away as well as spitting it out.
But just like the Auror before him, Albus died instantly.
"Albus!" Scorpius exclaimed quietly. His gray eyes were wide as he watched his best friend slump over. All he saw was red, red, red. He felt anger at the men who killed him. He felt frustrated for not being able to stop Albus. Not for the life of him could Scorpius believe his best friend was dead.
Next to him, Rose was not in much better shape. She was crying silently, hoping the thugs would not find her and Scorpius at the ledge at the top of the room. Her breathing was heavy and her eyes were puffy and red.
However, they could not just sit here and watch. If they did, they would surely be killed. Rose swallowed thickly and turned to Scorpius.
"Scorpius, we have to move," she whispered. "We need to get out of here." He turned on her instantly.
"Excuse me?" he practically snarled. "Don't know if you noticed, but we just saw my best friend, your cousin, murdered. And you want us to move?"
Rose's blue eyes narrowed as she replied. "Yes, I do want us to move. Yes, I did just see my best friend murdered, too. But we can't stay here, or we'll be killed as well. We have to get out of here, Scorpius! We're involved in something that's way too deep for us to uncover!"
Scorpius sighed quickly and assessed the situation. On hand, Rose was right. They needed to get out of the warehouse before they were caught. But on the other hand, he wanted to avenge Albus.
He had to avenge Albus.
Maybe he could corporate the two together?
"Alright," Scorpius said. "We have to get out of here." Rose looked immensely relieved and began to speak when Scorpius interrupted her. "But we're taking Albus's body with us."
Much to his surprise, Rose nodded her agreement.
"We need a plan, Scorpius," she mentioned. "We can't just swoop in there and get the body!"
"Oh yes, that's true, isn't it?" a heavily accented voice said behind them. Rose and Scorpius's eyes widened as they turned to stare at the voice. Rose gulped silently as she took in his stocky build. He was clearly there for heavy lifting, and as a bodyguard. Add a wand into the equation and the situation just got even worse.
"Who are you, and who do you work for?" he said menacingly.
"Like that's any of your business," Rose replied scathingly.
"Rose," Scorpius whispered cautiously before speaking up. "Aurors of the Ministry of Magic. Malfoy and Weasley. I think the question is who are you and what the fuck is going on?"
"Aurors, eh?" the man smirked. "I'm guessing your friend was, too? No matter. All of you are easily disposable. Hard to fight when you don't have wands."
Their hands instantly went to their sides. To their astonishment, their wands were missing. The man smiled and waved them tantalizingly in the air. He examined them each before breaking them in half, right in front of them. They winced at each crack.
Slowly, leisurely, he took out his own wand. Thick and long, just like he was. Scorpius grasped Rose's hand tightly and tried to run.
The man spoke two words.
"Avada Kedavra."
Scorpius woke with a gasp and he sat up. He looked around wildly at his surroundings and was instantly confused.
He had died.
Why was he breathing?
He was lying down on a stone table, Rose and Albus next to him, both very much alive. Harry Potter was standing in front of the aligned tables, staring at the three of them somberly.
"Welcome back," he stated simply.
"'Welcome back!" Albus yelled. "What the fuck just happened!?"
"Calm down, Albus, and try to remember," his father said patiently.
"Remember what?" Rose said, eyes squinted in concentration.
Harry turned to Scorpius, who hadn't said anything up to this point.
"We…we just underwent a simulation, didn't we?" he said slowly. Albus and Rose stared at him. "It was to test our abilities in the field."
"Correct," Harry said with an approving nod. "However, what you didn't know was that this was a plan set to fail. No matter what happened, the end would always be the same. A failure. The Ministry set up this test to examine the Aurors and their abilities to adapt in a situation where their fellow team members had died, or if their mission had failed.
"The situation would always get worse, and those in the simulation were expected to adapt to said situation. This was to help you in real life, when you three do go out in the field, and how you would react to a team member's death," Harry explained. Rose looked horrified.
"No offense to the Ministry," Rose scowled, "but that is completely immoral! How could you set something up as a failure and expect us to be okay with it!"
"I agree that it was unfair and unethical, Rose," Harry admitted hesitantly, "but it is necessary. If one of your teammates got injured in the field, you must be able to work around that and continue with the mission. When I had to do my simulation test, I was angry about it as well. Eventually, I learned that everyone had to understand the pain and anger that came with being an Auror.
"The three of you just went under an extremely emotional simulation compared to others, considering how long you've been friends. Therefore, I am allowing a one week break from work to get yourselves back in shape and ready to work."
Albus, Scorpius, and Rose just stared at the floor, not saying anything. Harry surveyed the three of them quickly before clearing his throat.
"You three are dismissed," he said quietly.
How many drinks had it been?
He had lost count after three.
Scorpius didn't get drunk. He could hold his liquor rather well. However, when he usually drank this much, it was for celebration.
Not for whatever the hell he was feeling now.
Despair. Sadness. Anger. He had lost his best friend and nearly lost the girl he was in love with.
All within a few minutes.
Scorpius shook his head before he pulled his head back for another shot.
No use pining over it now, Scorpius thought bitterly while setting the shot glass down along with the money. He thought about his friends and how they might have been doing.
Albus had gone over to his girlfriend's flat to spend the night.
"I can't very well talk about emotions to you, right?" he had said, trying to joke in the somber situation.
Rose, however, had just left the office as soon as they were dismissed.
Scorpius sighed against the icy wind. He knew Rose would be in some sort of emotional turmoil. He figured now might be a good time as any to find out.
"Rose?" he called out. As he stepped into the apartment while slipping the keys back into his pocket, he observed that he was staring into an empty living room. He lifted an eyebrow and called out again. "Rose?"
He strained his ears for any sound to indicate where she was. The years of training had paid off when he heard a soft sniffle coming from the bathroom.
Scorpius knocked on the door and quietly said her name. Within a few seconds, Rose opened the door. She was wearing one of his blue T-shirts that were too big for her and slipped off her shoulder as well as a pair of gray sweats. Her red hair seemed darker than usual, most likely from the shower she had just taken. Her eyes, however, told him that she had been crying.
"Hey," she croaked, leaning against the bathroom door. She attempted a smile.
"Come here," he whispered, holding his arms out. Rose gratefully wrapped her arms around him and began crying again.
He didn't say anything. He doubted anything he would have said would have any comfort for her. Instead, he just held her and stroked her hair until her tears subsided and she could speak again.
"I got your shirt wet," she mumbled shakily. He chuckled.
"Like I care," he said with an easy smile. Rose's face came out of the crook of his neck and smiled back. He kissed her forehead softly. "It's been a long day. Let's get you into bed."
She nodded, the back of her neck turning slightly red. Scorpius, however, was completely oblivious.
With Rose tucked into the midnight blue comforter, Scorpius bade goodnight before he heard her calling back.
"Scorpius?" her meek voice said. He turned and stared into the sharp blue eyes.
"Yeah, Rosie?"
"Do you think…do you think you could stay with me tonight?" she asked, looking away somewhat abashedly. "I—I don't know. I don't want to be alone."
He smiled softly and nodded. "Yeah, sure."
He grabbed an extra shirt and pants from the drawer specially dedicated to him (an accomplishment Scorpius was always proud of). He lifted the blanket and crawled underneath settling into the bed. He sighed and closed his eyes. He heard Rose scoot over and bury her head into his neck again.
"You smell like alcohol," she deadpanned, staring into his eyes. He grinned at her sleepily.
"Had a few drinks. S'no big deal," he mumbled sleepily. Scorpius could almost hear her roll her eyes.
"You shouldn't drink so much," she said. Scorpius smiled and brushed his lips against her hair.
"Go to sleep, Weasley."
"Pushy, Malfoy," she laughed almost silently. She kissed his cheek. "Night, Scorpius."
He didn't reply. He was just hoping she couldn't see him blush.
"this story is fucking stupid. go die you bitch. like go jump off of a fucking cliff or something so no one has to read your fucking awful writing"
And that's why I haven't been writing for a while.
Dunno how you guys would feel, but that kinda stung.
Anyhow, I won't be here for another while either, because next month is NaNoWriMo :D Last year I wrote about 52,000 words. This year, I hope to do even more :D
Anyways, sorry for the delay again. I'll try to update faster once I finish NaNo.
But what'd you guys think? And please, if you're going to flame, explain why. Appreciated.
See you guys later (:
~Kick
PS Anyone here like FMA? I just finished the first series, and I'm on Brotherhood right now :D ROYAI!