Scorpius and Albus ran from the house, leaving Bandit crying at the door. They made their way through the wild grasses toward the direction they'd seen the strange light. Ahead of them, they could hear Scorpius' father shouting for someone to stop and the rustling as he and the intruder struggled with the thick grass and the uneven ground. Suddenly, there was a flash of light and a sharp cry of pain.
"Dad!" Scorpius cried, "Where are you?" Another flash of light illuminated the field, this time more to their right, and the boys changed course, barreling through the field toward the sound of the confrontation. They emerged into a clearing just in time to see a third flash burst from Draco's wand and lift the apprehended trespasser into the air suspending him there helplessly.
"I told you two to stay put!" Draco chastised them furiously and Scorpius felt a pang of guilt.
"I'm sorry, sir," explained Albus with plausible remorse, "It was my fault. When my dad tells us to stay back from the danger, I don't think he actually expects it to happen."
"That's a ridiculous excuse," Draco informed him, "Did either of you happen to see where his wand went?" They both shook their heads and began searching for it with a lumos charm. Suddenly, the suspended culprit came to life and began screeching the most offensive litany of profanity and vulgar phrases that any of them had ever heard. Draco shot a silencing hex at him and the offender was reduced to flailing his arms irately.
"Hey, he's just a kid!" Albus cried in surprise.
"What a foul child!" accused Draco and with another flash of light, brought the repulsive object to the ground in an ungraceful heap.
"That's the kid from the park!" Scorpius realized raising his wand menacingly, "He's the one who saw me levitate that girl!"
"I seen you do more than that," the boy snarled, "Much more."
"I bet you did, creeping around the place, spying on us on our own property!" accused Scorpius bitterly. Draco stepped toward the boy hostilely, illuminating his defiant face with his wand. The boy's hair and clothes were filthy, as if he hadn't bathed in weeks. He seemed to be about the same age as Scorpius and Albus.
"Who are you?" Draco demanded. The boy glared at him insolently and said nothing.
"I want your parents' names, boy!" Draco ordered, menacing the boy with his wand. The boy continued to glare contemptuously at the wizard before him, though a waver of fear could be recognized in his eyes.
"Hex him into next week, Dad!" Scorpius encouraged without much empathy for his father's unlucky captive. Draco lifted his wand and the boy's eyes widened in fear. Albus drew his breath in sharply and for a moment he was afraid the stranger was done for. In an instant, the boy shot into the air, seeming to be suspended by his ankles. He began to jerk up and down violently and multiple objects descended from his pockets as he shrieked in rage and fear.
"What is all that stuff?" Scorpius asked, stepping forward to examine the accumulating pile of plastic and wiring.
"It's muggle stuff," Albus answered knowledgably pointing to a handheld video game, "My cousin, Buddy, has one of these games. And those are muggle money and mobile phones and music players."
"What are those things that look like watches?" Scorpius asked.
"I expect they're watches," Albus answered kneeling down to further examine the boy's loot.
"He's a thief whoever he is!" commented Draco disapprovingly.
"Don't you touch my stuff!" the boy shouted, pointing at Albus, "That's mine!"
"I highly doubt that," Draco sniffed. The boy shrieked in rage again and a sudden burst of blue flame, like an electric field shot from him and toward Albus.
"Stand back!" Draco commanded as Albus fell backward in surprise. Scorpius came to his friend's side and helped him to his feet. Draco held the boy in a petrifying hex.
"What do we do now, Dad?" Scorpius asked excitedly.
"You remember when you asked me why we have a dungeon? You're about to find out, my boy."
"What do you mean to do to him?" Albus asked nervously.
"I reckon we ought to call the Aurors. What are they there for if not this sort of situation?" Albus was relieved to hear that the boy's fate didn't include being tortured to death in the Malfoy's cellar.
"You aren't going to teach him a lesson, then?" Scorpius asked disappointedly as they made their way toward the house, the strange boy floating unconsciously before them as they went.
"No. But you, on the other hand, I ought to hex until hell won't have it again!" Draco informed him and Scorpius looked ashamed at having disobeyed his father and endangered himself. "You too," he added, addressing Albus, "That could have been any lunatic out there!"
"Sorry, sir," Albus apologized genuinely and they made their way up the steps and into the veranda, where the strange, floating boy received a comical reaction from Bandit, who alternated between charging the stranger threateningly and fleeing in alarm.
"Stay here," Draco commanded as he left them on the porch with their hammocks, "and go to sleep." He only got half of his way. The boys did stay on the veranda and lay in their hammocks, but they stayed up most the night, discussing the intruder and hypothesizing about what he may have been up to, prowling around on the Malfoy's land.
The next morning, Draco came wearily into breakfast to find his father and his son engaged in a verbal standoff while Albus watched curiously.
"You'd better not do it again!" Scorpius threatened his grandfather who glared at him lividly.
"Don't tell me how to treat my servants!" he thundered. Scorpius sniffed at him defiantly.
"May I remind you, Grandfather, that Wrinkles is not your elf! He belongs to my mother and to me! Isn't that right, Wrinkles?" Wrinkles bowed meekly, as though he didn't want to be caught up in the argument.
"Of course, Master Scorpius," he moaned.
"And I won't stand to see someone throwing things at him, kicking him, and hitting him with a stick!"
"Do you hear the way your little tyrant talks to his grandfather?" Lucius demanded of his son.
"There's no reason to hurt the elf, Father," Draco told him in an exhausted voice, "He'll do anything in the world you ask him. If you're going to kick something, kick the dog."
"Wrinkles, come here!" Scorpius demanded, ignoring his father's verbal assault on his furry friend. The elf obeyed, looking as though he'd rather be on another planet.
"From now on, any time grandfather is mean to you, I command you to spit in his food!" directed Scorpius. Albus nearly choked on a mouthful of porridge trying to contain his laughter.
"He wouldn't dare!" thundered the senior Malfoy, quite red in the face at his grandson's impertinence. A small smile appeared on the elf's face and he bowed again to Scorpius.
"Certainly, Master Scorpius!" he replied and with a sideways glance at Lucius Malfoy he added in a low whisper, "Wrinkles already does that, sir!" This caused Albus to erupt into a spell of laughter that nearly stopped his breathing.
"Well, that's settled then," Draco determined in a relieved tone, despite the horrified expression on his father's face. He seated himself at the table and Wrinkles poured his coffee.
"What happened to that kid, Dad?" Scorpius asked.
"The aurors are down in the dungeon questioning him right now. He's a stubborn little thing. He won't tell them who he is or where he belongs."
"What are you talking about? What's going on?" Lucius demanded.
"We caught an intruder in the meadow last night!" Scorpius exclaimed as if the entire event was delightful.
"What's this, Draco?"
"It's nothing, Father. Someone's discarded brat was sneaking around the house last night and I called the aurors."
"What brat? What was he doing?"
"Well, judging from the contents of his pockets, I'd say he was trying to figure out a way to rob the place." Lucius snorted at the impertinence of modern youth.
"I hope you gave him a good hexing!" he told his son.
"It's all taken care of, Father," Draco assured him in a tone which suggested he really didn't want to think about it anymore, "The aurors will sort him out." Lucius snorted again indignantly.
"By the way," Draco continued with an edge of sudden urgency, "They're sending a wand recovery team out through the grounds to search for the young man's wand, so if anyone in the family has placed something out there in a surreptitious manner, you might want to excuse yourself and go and…well, you know."
"What's surreptitious?" Albus asked.
"He means, if anyone's hidden something suspicious out there…like an illegal artifact…or a corpse," Scorpius explained matter-of-factly.
"Oh…right," Albus replied, still unsure of the definition of surreptitious.
The wand recovery team turned out to be Albus' father and his unimpressive-looking intern Bruce Bailey. Wrinkles showed them in just as the family and Albus was finishing up their breakfast. The boys greeted Mr. Potter enthusiastically while Scorpius' grandparents looked as though their morning could not have gotten any worse.
"I've come to collect your unwanted guest," Harry explained to Draco.
"Good, take the thief that's down in the dungeons as well," Lucius muttered under his breath. Everyone ignored the comment.
"Did they figure out who he belongs to?" asked Scorpius' mother with more concern than anger.
"Not yet, but we have a hunch. This is our office intern, Bailey," Harry introduced, "He's training to be a magical objects recovery agent, so he's going to be performing the wand recovery on your property today. If we find a wand, we'll know pretty quickly who he is." Bailey glared at the Malfoy's with loathing and anxiety.
"I'm afraid we've met before," explained Draco as he eyed the pimple-covered intern with derision, "Will he be using any spells that might kill everything in the garden, poison the water, or blow up the house?" Harry chuckled and assured Draco that the charms Bailey needed were not likely to cause damage to the Malfoy's property no matter how incompetently they were executed. He then dispatched the fellow off to the garden to get to work.
"Keep an eye on that hack, will you?" Draco muttered to Wrinkles, who bowed and disappeared with a pop.
"Don't worry, Draco. He can't do any harm," Harry assured him again, "Besides, I doubt he'll find any thing out there. From what I'm told, there's every indication that the boy is a muggle."
"That's impossible!" insisted Lucius Malfoy contemptuously, "Only a wizard can get past the concealment charms!"
"I've already thought of that, Mr. Malfoy," Harry assured him with an amazing tone of courtesy, "In fact, I just checked the perimeter myself, just to make certain the spells were working properly. There's little doubt that your young burglar is a wizard. He's already injured one of the aurors that's down there now with quite a powerful wandless spell."
"He's a mudblood, then. No surprise," Lucius Malfoy growled, causing the other Malfoys to flush in embarrassment and Harry to stretch the furthest bounds of his patience and charity.
"Mr. Malfoy," he said sternly, "I don't appreciate your using that filthy, hateful word in front of my son." The old man's expression flared into anger and for a moment, Scorpius dreaded that he would begin shouting all manner of humiliating things at Mr. Potter, but just as suddenly, his demeanor was calmed and he even managed a forced smile.
"I apologize for my language, Mr. Potter," he said stiffly. Harry nodded his acceptance and continued addressing Draco.
"We're going to take him into the Ministry. They'll sort out where he belongs and then decide on what to do with him. If he is a muggle-born wizard, he probably isn't old enough to attend school yet, or else the boys would know him."
"I never saw him before," Scorpius offered.
"Yeah, me neither and I'm pretty sure I'd remember him!" Albus agreed.
"I honestly don't care much who he is," admitted Draco, "As long as I don't find him creeping around my garden again."
"Well, I don't think you'll have that problem again. If you'll show me down, we'll take the little scalawag away right now." Draco Malfoy rose and so did Albus who hurried to give his father a hug.
"Are you enjoying yourself, son?" he asked warmly and Albus nodded eagerly.
"Scorpius' family sure is interesting!"
"I'm glad to hear it. See that you are home by four-thirty tomorrow. Your mother's making dinner for the whole family, you know."
"Can Scorpius come too?" Albus asked brightly and Harry laughed.
"Now why would you want to subject your poor friend to the torture of your brother and all your cousins?" he demanded jokingly. Albus grinned.
"Revenge!" he declared maniacally.
"I want to go!" Scorpius begged his father, "I can handle those Weasleys!"
"Why, in heaven's name?" Draco asked incredulously.
"Oh, stop it, you pest!" Beatrice Malfoy snapped at her husband, "Of course you can go, Scorpius dear, if you're invited." The matter being settled, Harry collected the young stranger from the dungeon, and his intern from the meadow where he had not managed to turn up anything, and departed for the Ministry.
The boys practiced flying and Quidditch moves for the whole day, stopping only for meals. After dinner, Draco joined them and under his cloaking charm, they flew the short distance from the house to the nearby seaside cliffs. It was well after sunset when they finally came in for the evening and though the boys were reluctant to go up to bed, they were exhausted from the busy day and all the excitement of the previous night.
"Al, do you really want me to come to your house?" Scorpius asked him as he settled into the comfortable bed Wrinkles has arranged for him.
"Of course!" Albus insisted, "Don't you want to come?"
"Yeah, but I was wondering if it would…you know… cause a lot of controversy."
"Don't worry about that," Albus reassured, "Besides, by the time we get there tomorrow, my dad should know more about that strange kid. Aren't you curious about who he was?"
"Defiantly," Scorpius agreed.
"And while we're finding out about him, we can find out more about Snape." Scorpius groaned into his pillow.
"I don't think this obsession is very healthy, mate!"
"Oh, pipe down, you!"
"Besides, why ask your dad when you can just ask Snape yourself?"
"You mean ask his portrait? Well, you don't expect if he is a murderer he'd come right out and admit it, do you?" Scorpius shrugged.
"Why not? What are they going to do? Hang his portrait in Azkaban?"
"Some people have this thing called shame," Albus suggested in a sardonic tone.
"Never heard of it," Scorpius responded and they both laughed and said goodnight.
