Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
A/N: This made me sad to write :( Other than that, not much to say.
(And technically there's still 6 minutes until Saturday where I live. SCORE 1 FOR KAT! And score 14 to 31 with her football team losing tonight XD)
So, enjoy!
Teddy could see Scorpius craning his neck to see out the window as his selections of fresh Potions ingredients were being rung up at the register. Ted smiled. Now that James brought it to his attention, it was quite easy to see just how lost the Malfoy looked without Al by his side.
The older man followed Scorpius's eyes across the street and into the Quidditch shop. After a moment, his brow furrowed, and he then realized a deeper meaning to why Scorpius seemed so antsy.
James and Al weren't in the shop, as far as they could see.
Teddy felt a jolt of worry, but soon calmed himself. Maybe they were just behind a shelf or something…
"Thank you," Scorpius mumbled to the cashier, taking his bag.
Teddy caught his eye. There was an instant understanding between the two that, due to the worry in both of them, they were going straight to Quality Quidditch Supplies.
Scorpius seemed more openly anxious than Teddy, nearly running across the street. Ted, however, kept a cool head and leisurely walked. He knew that if James knew what was running through his mind, the younger man would bark a laugh and accuse him once again of being paranoid.
The assurance he feigned was becoming increasingly strained as each aisle he searched held no sign of the Potter brothers.
His heart was beginning to race even as it was slowly sinking through the ground.
"Teddy," Scorpius's voice said from a few aisles away. The defeated, shaky tone in it made Teddy feel as if he was getting kicked in the stomach.
Genuinely afraid of what Scorpius could have possibly found, Teddy hastily moved to the shelf the other boy stood near.
Rounding the corner, confusion hit him before panic did.
Scorpius stood, rigid, fists clenched, over top of two abandoned wands and two shopping bags not-coincidentally containing everything Al bought earlier that day.
"Al wouldn't leave his stuff here even if he was leaving." Scorpius said, hair shielding his dark eyes that were trained on the floor.
"James wouldn't leave his wand. Neither would Al," Teddy's voice sounded incredibly hollow and foreign to himself. He bent to pick up the wand he recognized as James's with a shaky hand.
The younger man breathed in a deep, rattling gasp of air.
Even over the explosion of alarm within himself, Teddy stowed both of the wands in his waistband and walked to the register with knees that felt like they were going to give out any second.
"How may I help you, son?" The elderly, mustached clerk asked.
"Hello," Teddy began. He cleared his throat, his voice sounding croaky. "Did you happen to see two young men in here today? One tall with reddish-brown hair, the other rather short with black hair?"
The man thought for a moment (an agonizingly long moment), and then snapped his fingers. "As a matter of fact, I did."
The turquoise-haired man nodded, voice not rising into his throat.
"Did you see them leave?" The Malfoy pressed.
"Yeah, those two and a couple of older blokes went… that way, I think." The mustached man pointed to the right of the entrance.
Teddy was now trembling uncontrollably. James and Al left with two other men, without wands, abandoning their things.
"Thank you," Scorpius said in a surprisingly solid voice. He immediately walked out and followed the clerk's loose directions.
The older man followed at a slower pace, the dread creeping through his bones causing his senses to be keener than ever.
There was still no sign of either Potter on the street.
Teddy almost passed the dark passageway until a suspicion and a prickly feeling on the back of his neck caused his knees to buckle backward with the abrupt halt.
"Scorpius," He called.
The younger man looked back. The hope coloring his face faded quickly as he saw where Teddy was standing.
Knockturn Alley.
Bravely, Teddy began to walk into the street.
Scorpius caught a hold of his wrist quickly, his eyes wide.
"What?" Teddy asked, wanting to find his friends as quickly as possible with no distractions.
"I've been through here before. Unless you want to get Cursed from behind, you should change your appearance a bit." He said warningly, eyes dark.
Teddy nodded, understanding when he remembered his rather ostentatious exterior. Hurriedly, he turned his hair black, his eyes dark brown, his skin sallow, complete with purple circles in the hollows of his eyes. He Charmed his light blue shirt black, and left his already black jeans alone. He looked sinister and unwelcoming, and like a stereotypical Dark wizard.
"What about you?" He asked Scorpius.
The boy snorted grimly. "I'm a Malfoy; I look just like my father. They'll wait on me hand and foot if I tell them to." He set off into the dark area, head held conceitedly high, eyes sharp.
Teddy would have felt out of place in the Alley that just screamed Dark Magic, the few people shopping around the dank little shops looking very sketchy and constantly on edge, had he not been so focused on finding the Potters.
"Where are we going?" He asked quietly, noticing how Scorpius wasn't even looking around, eyes forward as if he didn't know he was attracting stares.
"Borgin and Burkes," Scorpius said lowly, distaste overtaking his expression. "If there's any place kidnappers would meet, it would be there."
Kidnappers.
Ted's heart gave a harsh squeeze. His mind had been dancing around the concept altogether, but the reality of it was undeniable. The world around him started swimming in a great blur of eerie greens and grays for a moment.
The shady shop called Borgin and Burkes was filled with instruments and knick-knacks Teddy had honestly never thought he would ever see other than in the books he studied for Auror training about Dark Magic. He felt a twinge of intense loathing towards no one person in particular, but an entire collective group.
"Young Master Malfoy," A dirty old wizard greeted with a greedy smile from behind the main counter.
"Afternoon, Borgin." Scorpius replied, not bothering to change his scowl.
With that expression, Teddy noted just how much Scorpius resembled his father.
"What might you be looking for today?" The greasy wizard asked.
"Information," Scorpius replied with straightforward malice, leaning against the counter with one elbow.
"Concerning?"
"Al and James Potter,"
The man grinned, revealing many missing teeth.
Teddy saw Scorpius's fists balling up, one on the countertop and the other by his side. The fury in his eyes was startling; Teddy imagined that his eyes looked the same, his own blood feeling quite near boiling.
"Who's this?" The man Borgin asked suddenly, voice oily, eyeing the disguised Teddy.
Ted glared back.
"A friend," Scorpius said dismissively, not even looking in Teddy's direction. "Tell me, did you see them today?" He demanded.
"What makes you ask?"
"I'm reporting a status update to my father." He said so unwaveringly that Teddy began to wonder if he was lying or not.
The other man straightened at the mention of Draco Malfoy. "They walked up to the doorway, but that older one took hold of the short one and they started running." He replied.
Teddy felt his heart lift with hope.
"Got away, did they?" Scorpius asked with anger almost too convincing.
Borgin laughed in a way that sounded very dry, almost gritty. "Not at all, Sir. The two of ours caught up with them 'round Parkinson's new shop."
"And?"
Teddy felt suddenly ready to collapse.
"Apparated from there, according to what I heard."
Scorpius opened his mouth and shut it again. His knuckles were milky white.
"You can report a job well done to your dad, eh?"
"Yes, thank you," Scorpius turned briskly from the counter and back onto the mostly-vacant street.
Teddy felt his temper flaring up. "Why didn't you ask where they went?" He demanded almost inaudibly as they began to walk back towards the light of Diagon Alley.
"I'm supposed to know the whole plan already. If I'd said any more, Borgin would have let my dad know." The younger man said objectively, his eyes now scanning the ground.
Teddy now felt rather dumb not to have realized his motives. It would have been too suspicious for Scorpius to ask… He admired the boy's quick thinking.
Unless it wasn't just caution that kept him from asking… The man found himself wondering who Scorpius was being dishonest toward, him or Borgin…
Scorpius stopped abruptly, staring at the ground with pure horror.
Though still unsure of the boy, Teddy stopped as well, looking down to where Scorpius hadn't moved his gaze.
He felt vomit heave into his throat.
Blood. A rather large puddle with accompanying splatters on the ground just outside a shop called Parkinson's, just where Borgin said the Potters had been caught…
Scorpius, forever composed Scorpius Malfoy, fell to his knees.
"It's not enough to be fatal." Teddy said in an attempt at consolation, even though the edges of his own vision were getting dark and fuzzy.
The fifteen-year-old reached his quivering hand out, picking up something silver Teddy hadn't noticed before.
The older man, before asking what Scorpius found, helped him to his feet. Whatever silver thing he found was held in a dangerously tight fist.
"What is that?" Teddy asked, continuing to walking toward Diagon Alley with every intention of erasing the image of the puddle of blood from his mind forever.
Scorpius opened his fingers, walking in step with Ted.
He held a necklace, ball-chain with a single ordinary dog tag that boasted a Gryffindor lion on one side and the initials SHM on the other.
"He stole this from me when we were in Third Year, and hasn't taken it off since." Scorpius said in a startlingly stressed voice, eyes shining with uncharacteristic tears.
Teddy felt a wave of sympathy for Scorpius over any feelings he had of doubt.
"We need to go tell their parents."
The older man wondered vaguely when the Malfoy had become the one calling the shots… still, he agreed, his reasoning a bit muddled by the feeling of pure shock paralyzing him.
"Can you Apparate?" Scorpius asked in an expressionless voice.
Teddy nodded. "Can you?" He was willing to Side-Along Apparate, but it always took much more energy out of him…
"Yes,"
"It's illegal," He pointed out.
"I know."
Teddy nodded again. "To the Potters'." He clarified, turning on the spot and hardly acknowledging the claustrophobic travel through his entirely empty conscious state.
Scorpius arrived half a second after him, still clutching the necklace.
Teddy walked up their steps and knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" Harry's voice asked. Judging by the time, he just arrived back home.
"Teddy and Scorpius," He replied hollowly.
"Where are Al and James?"
Ted's heart dropped.
"That's why we're here," Scorpius answered for him.
The door opened them, revealing a very confused, very worried Harry.
Teddy began to walk forward, but stopped instantly when he saw Harry's hand reach for his back pocket. He held up his hands, feeling victimized. "What's wrong?"
"Who are you?" Harry demanded.
Teddy felt a deep confusion.
"Your disguise," Scorpius reminded him.
Ted had forgotten all about that. On the spot, he changed back to his blue-haired, caramel-eyed, light tan-skinned self.
"Sorry, Teddy," Harry said, moving out of the doorway.
The man could only manage a nod. Reality was only just beginning to set in on him… he felt like every nerve in his body was alive, crushing him with the thought that James really was gone, that he wouldn't be coming back to the flat that night, wasn't going to laugh with him as he prepared dinner, wasn't going to "talk" to that girl he'd met in Diagon Alley…
Scorpius sat carefully on the sofa beside Teddy and across from Harry.
"What happened?" The oldest Auror asked seriously, looking from Teddy's petrified face to Scorpius's terrified one.
Teddy let out a shuddering breath. "Al and James got kidnapped."
Harry's jaw fell open. "What?"
"We split up shopping, and they were stolen from the Quidditch shop and taken to Borgin and Burkes. They—they tried to run, but got caught. And Apparated by two people to… somewhere. We're not sure." Scorpius explained in a shaky, slightly choked tone.
"How do you know all of this?" Harry asked in a voice bordering on accusatory.
"He asked Borgin after we realized they were gone," Ted answered quietly.
"How did you know to go to Borgin and Burkes?"
"It's a Dark Wizard's clubhouse," Scorpius said coldly.
The oldest man's mouth opened and closed a few times, his expression cycling though disbelief, fury, and horror.
Finally, after one of the tensest moments Teddy had ever experienced, the Head Auror stood. "Come to the Ministry with me. Both of you. We have to alert the Office."
Both younger, equally apprehensive and fearful, men obediently stood, walking behind Harry to the fireplace.
Harry went through first, stating "Ministry of Magic," and spinning away.
Scorpius began to step in the flames when Teddy grabbed a hold of his arm.
"Do you know anything about this?" He asked, feeling confrontational. If Scorpius was in on the plan, Teddy didn't want him anywhere near the rescue effort.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean you saved face a bit too well back in Knockturn Alley."
Scorpius blanched. "Do you think I'm part of this?" He asked, face appalled.
Teddy only continued looking straight at the younger man, brow furrowed with purpose to find out the truth.
"Teddy, I would never do anything to put Al or James in danger." Honesty rang in his voice, his gray eyes pleading and blazing all at once.
Looking into those eyes, Teddy's mind drifted back to the conversation he and James had unbelievably just earlier that day.
"He looks at Al like he's the entire universe rolled up into one person."
More simply put, Scorpius loved Al. He'd also often expressed how he considered the rest of the Potters his true family…
Teddy suddenly felt guilty for thinking any differently. His grip slackened on Scorpius's arm, and he nodded.
"Listen, Teddy. I'm not going back to school until this is all resolved. Even if I'm not an Auror, I'm going to work until we find them." Scorpius said with raw determination.
Teddy nodded again, and let go of the younger boy completely.
Scorpius walked into the flames and opened his mouth.
"Scorpius," Teddy said just before he had a chance to state his destination. "We're going to find them."
The younger man nodded and said, "Ministry of Magic,"
After the emerald flames roared to life and Scorpius spun away, Teddy walked to his place in the fire.
As he hesitated for a moment, he mentally repeated his prior sentiment: "We're going to find them."
"Ministry of Magic,"
A/N: So Teddy and Scorpius are both very sad. :( As am I. 'Cause James and Al are gone :( IT ONLY GOES DOWNHILL FROM HERE. XD
And, I've come to a conclusion. I don't like long chapters, because I don't like to edit them. XD Oh well. If a chapter's going to be long, then so be it. It just takes me longer to edit… Especially since I edit it three times before posting. :3
Right, so, I guess that's it for this week.
Review and Story Alert!
KitKat Pyrophobia
