SCORPIUS

The first raids were a surprise. Scorpius could not even determine if Potter and his lot were behind the attacks. Everyone was well warned to keep vigilant so there were no significant casualties but the backlash was still severe. They had no choice but to crack down on the uprisings. In the confusion of the days following Shacklebolt's death and power switching hands something had begun to shift and happen, something that Scorpius could not quite keep a grasp on. He felt jumpy and paranoid. Tony was the only one who seemed to be properly keeping it together.

"We knew that this might happen," he told them all calmly. "I would have rather the Weasleys had accepted this defeat, but of course they will not. They will attempt to block us at every turn. But we knew that this might happen so pull it together, you lot, and let's get back to work."

But the country was splitting in half. Riots and looters were springing up anywhere where the atmosphere was especially unstable. The propaganda was wild and Scorpius knew they were losing control of the situation.

Among all of this, he had no time for anything but the work, so when Lysander showed up at the Manor, setting off the high-sensitivity alarms, Scorpius felt annoyed. The annoyance turned to worry when he saw the bruises on Lysander's face but he still couldn't shake the feeling that he would rather Ly be anywhere but there at the moment.

"What happened?" Scorpius asked, applying healing salve onto Lysander's broken lip.

"I had a fight with Lorcan, a really bad one. Over…over the fact that I said that this shift in power was for the better. That you would be able to make things right, because no one else was. It used to be all empty words. Lorcan said you were just a power-hungry…well, he said a lot of bad things. And we fought."

Scorpius winced. "What did he hit you with?" He tried to think of what spells caused these injuries.

"…his fist."

"…He muggle-fought you?" Lysander nodded and Scorpius smirked contemptuously. "He defends his love of base muggle ways with their base means of combat. I hope you got him good."

Lysander shook his head slowly. "Not really. I didn't want to fight. I don't like fighting and I'm no good at it. Remember?"

Scorpius had to refrain from wincing. He remembered alright. He didn't actually want to do this, he didn't need to take care of Ly on top of everything, but he felt responsible for the younger boy. He didn't want Ly to get beat up by his brother or by some Weasley because he believed in magic. It wasn't right. "If you want, you can stay here for some time. Lie low. Until everything dies down."

"Could I? You mean it?"

"Yes, of course." On instinct, Scorpius reached out and touched Lysander's cheek, right under one of the bruises. "Until it's safe for you to go back."'

Lysander smiled and Scorpius forced himself to look away.

"You shouldn't be here," Scorpius told Albus before his lover even had time to cast a cleaning spell after coming through the floo.

"I know, but we need to talk. Are we observed?"

Scorpius frowned, noticing that Albus looked rather haggard. He wore his hair very differently from his father, but in its current state it carried an uncanny resemblance. "No. My father is out of the country on business and my mother is visiting her distant cousins in France." Astoria had left the day the first curses were cast. Draco encouraged it, in fact. Scorpius did not blame her; after all, his parents were probably sick of war.

"Lysander disappeared."

"What do you mean disappeared?" Scorpius paced to the window in order to better feign both disinterest and ignorance.

"He hasn't come home or had contact with anyone for the past week. Not his parents, nor Lorcan, not even Louis."

"What about Lily? They always seemed close."

"No. Or if he has, she isn't telling." The note of bitterness in Albus' voice made Scorpius turn around.

"Al, why do you think I would know anything about this? If you think we caught him and are doing some crazy Death Eater torture routine on him, you're wrong. Even if we did such things – which we don't – he's completely useless to us. The Scamanders don't have anything to offer us that we can't take for ourselves."

Albus seemed to think this over, but his expression remained shuttered and distant. "How do I know he's not in the dungeons under us right now and you're not lying your head off?"

Scorpius sneered at the implication. As if he would ever hurt Lysander. Ly's idiot brother was far more of a menace. "You can go check if you like," he said coldly.

Albus deflated. "I'm sorry. I just…everyone's worried. I thought he might have come to you if there was something wrong."

"Why would he do that?" The accuracy of that assumption was distressing.

Albus shrugged. "You two are friends. He lo—He likes you a lot. And you, Scorpius, have a way of luring people. Lately, all Lysander can talk about is all this "free magic" bullshit that the leftist part of your coalition spits out all the time."

"Ly's an artist. The Statutes inhibit him. I have nothing to do with that."

Albus crossed the room in three half-lunges and grabbed Scorpius' hands. "Don't do this. Can't you see that it will only set us back many-many years? People aren't even fighting over politics anymore, just old likes and dislikes. No one's over that yet, can't you see?"

"Do you suggest I stand by and allow your father and his friends to demolish everything I love because it's too soon to care?"

"My father loves magic!"

"Your father loves always being right about everything." Scorpius pulled away and took a step back. "You should go, Albus."

"Please."

Scorpius shook his head. "Not now, Al. I can't deal with this now. I'll owl you when I get the chance." He turned away and waited until he heard the swoosh of Albus being swept away by the floo, then paced to the couch and flopped down on his back to lie there for the next half hour and contemplate if it was safe to carry on with Albus as they had been. He didn't want to lose his lover, but he could lose a lot more if Albus decided to betray him.

Lily looked uncomfortable on Scorpius' sofa. He couldn't blame her but he wanted to do this here, without Amiri, without anyone. He had an easier time getting readings off people when they were on his turf rather than their own, and Scorpius wanted a reading off of Lily. "Thanks for coming. How is little Elliot?"

"He's well." Lily fidgeted. "What did you want to talk about, Scorpius?"

"Lysander," Scorpius said bluntly. "Are you worried about him?"

Lily stopped her fidgeting and looked Scorpius in the face. "He's my friend, of course I am. Albus came to me a few days ago asking if I knew where he is. What is this really about? How do you even know about Ly?"

Scorpius smirked. "Al came to me too."

Lily looked away. "Do you know where he is? Lysander, I mean…"

"Yes,"

Lily's head jerked up and she half-stood before promptly sitting down again. "You're not going to tell me though, are you? You don't trust me."

"He's safe. No he's not being held prisoner, he came for help to lie low for a while."

"He's…hiding? From who?"

Scorpius shook his head. "It's not important. Lily…you must understand that I cannot tell you more because of your…sensitive situation. But I did want to let you know that your friend is safe."

"Sensitive situation? You mean because of my family?"

"Your maiden family, yes." He watched her face as she processed the term. Scorpius was certain that she had never thought to make a distinction between her parents' family and her new one.

"I understand." He could see that she didn't.

"You could leave the country with your son for the duration of this whole mess."

Lily snorted and got up defiantly. "Mr. Malfoy, while I understand your…disinclination to trust me, I will not leave my husband. Or the rest of my family."

Scorpius stood as well and offered her his hand. "Of course, Mrs. Rosier. I would not dare presume." He saw Lily out, observing the tense line of her mouth and the stubborn set of her shoulders. Once she'd left, Scorpius went to his study and wrote his report to Intelligence.

He watched the owl go and thought, I'm sorry, Amiri. I know you thought that she could be one of us, but she can't. She'll never be. They had even more to fear from Lily than from Albus and Scorpius would not stand by and watch them and everything they had worked for destroyed from the inside.

They weren't going to win without sacrifices and if that meant tearing apart the tentative peace that had hung in the balance since the last war, Scorpius was not afraid to do it.

After all, they had all sworn. On their honor. As Purebloods.