Chapter Eleven: Target Acquired
At breakfast one morning the next week in the Great Hall, Scorpius Malfoy came over to the Gryffindor Table clutching the Daily Prophet in his hand, seemingly terrified out of his wits. "Have you guys seen this?" he asked, visibly shaking as he threw the morning's paper down on the table.
"I told you that we hadn't heard the last of these guys." James said as he unfolded the Prophet and read the headline.
"The last of who?" asked Rose disinterestedly, her nose still buried in her Potions Book.
Jeremey and Albus, who were sitting on either side of him, both peered over his shoulders and groaned. "Not these guys again." Jeremey moaned, slamming his head down on the table in frustration.
"What does it say?" asked Andrew, who was sitting across from them.
"Yea, read it!" said Fred, who was straining to see what was printed on the paper over Albus' head, ignoring the glares he was getting from the younger Potter boy.
Magical History Movement Declares Slytherin's Last Heir Still Among us!
Last year the Magical History Movement made headlines across the Wizarding World as their quest to discredit Harry Potter became public, along with their search for the Resurrection Stone, which they incorrectly believed would enable them to revive the Dark Lord.
Now, the Magical History Movement, believed by many to have disbanded after their defeat last May, has resurfaced with a radical new claim. Almost more difficult to believe than their claim that The Boy Who Lived is actually a traitor to Wizard Kind, the MHM…as pundits are now calling the organization…is now claiming that Slytherin's Bloodline in fact did not dry up with the Death of He Who Must Not be Named, and that there is in fact one surviving Heir to the Slytherin Line!
According to the Magical History Movement, Slytherin's heir is in fact enrolled in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry at this very moment. If it is true, then an unsuspecting Hogwarts student is probably going to find himself wrapped up in something far bigger than himself should the aims of the vile organization be realized.
The Magical History Movement has said that the last Heir of Slytherin will be joining their cause, and that he will take his rightful place as the leader of their movement once they are able to contact him away from the meddling influence of those who blindly believe the lies of Harry Potter.
If we are to take the MHM at their word, then we can infer that the so-called 'Heir' does not know who he or she is, and as a result it has attracted the interest of many who would like to think themselves important enough to be the Heir of Slytherin. While the Magical History Movement has made it clear that the Heir does not know of their identity, many people have come forward falsely claiming to be that individual in an effort to attract attention to themselves: something that the Ministry of Magic is frowning greatly upon.
However, though this may seem like a revelation of mammoth proportions, one has learned to take things that the Magical History Movement has said with a grain of salt at the absolute least. They have been known to believe some, shall we say questionable things, over the years.
James folded the Prophet back over and tossed it onto the table saying "Why are you so freaked Scorp? I mean, is this really that big of a deal?"
Scorpius stared at James like he had just grown a second head, something that James resented. After all, it had been a perfectly valid question. He didn't see anyone else quaking in their boots in terror.
"Isn't it obvious," Scorpius snapped, and James shook his head, amused by how the Slytherin Boy was taking this whole thing. You'd have thought that someone had threatened to kill his mother or something.
Sitting down between Albus and Fred, much to the distaste of the red-haired boy, Scorpius buried his head in his palm and said "It's me, I know it is! My entire family has been in Slytherin for centuries!"
The boy looked up, but refused to make eye-contact with any of them as he lamented "My grandparents were Death Eaters, even my father worked for the Dark Lord! My whole bloody family's a bunch of Dark Wizards who'd love to kill Muggle Borns! It has to be me!"
James' grin slipped from his face like sheets of water down windowpane. He had to admit that Scorpius had a point, and if he was the Heir of Slytherin then that would have to be a terrible thing to live with.
Then again, James had a hard time believing that it was possible. Hadn't his father suspected Scorpius' father of something similar during his second year? No, Scorpius couldn't be the Heir of Slytherin.
Albus seemed to agree, "No, it can't be you." He said to Scorpius, "My father spent his entire Second Year suspecting your father of that very same thing, and if he wasn't then you can't very well be can you?"
Scorpius, however, remained unconvinced, "I don't know, I've just got this feeling. And I'm scared guys, I mean I'm really really scared! What if I am the one they're talking about?"
"Nah, you're too soft to be Slytherin's Heir," Jeremey said helpfully, "if anyone, I'd put my money on Parker!" he spat, glaring at the older Slytherin boy, who also seemed to be talking about the article with his friends, though much more humorously than they were.
"Aw thanks, I feel loads better now." Scorpius snapped sarcastically, clearly not liking the idea of being 'soft' any more than the possibility of his being the Heir of Slytherin.
"Oh come off it Jer," Andrew said, "I mean Remington's a prat and all that, but Slytherin's Heir?" He shook his head in disbelief, "I may not like the guy, but still…"
"Easier him than Scorpy over here." said Fred with a wicked grin that James recognized immediately. Scorpius was going to be hearing that one for a while.
"Hey watch it!" Scorpius interjected violently, causing James to grin to himself. Those two were going to be fun to watch.
"Alright guys, can we just drop it!" Zach said, cutting off James, who had been on the verge of asking why 'widdle baby Scorpy-pooh' was acting all upset.
As the eyes of everyone in attendance shifted to him, Zach muttered defiantly "Enough of all this crap, alright! They're just making this up! Slytherin's Heir? Yea right!"
But something in his voice told James that he wasn't convinced…
Despite Zach's constant objections that they were being stupid, the boys spoke of little else for that entire week besides the Prophet article, and who in their school could possibly be Slytherin's Heir. However, in all of their speculation and discussion, which included the inside knowledge of three Slytherins (Leon, Scorpius, and Ace), they could not think of a more likely candidate than Remington Parker.
After all, Remington was an elitist, Pure Blood, hated everything that didn't have to do with Slytherin, and above all was a total jerk! What more did you need from Slytherin's Heir? Of course, Scorpius remained convinced that he was the real Heir, and warned the other not to get too close to him in case he ever became violent or dangerous.
Just as they could not think of a likelier candidate than Remington, nor could they seem to convince Scorpius that he was not the Heir of Slytherin. Even when Albus had written home asking his parents if they thought that Scorpius Malfoy could perhaps be the Heir of Slytherin Scorpius had not been convinced.
Even after reading how his parents berated him for jumping to conclusions, and told him that they knew for a fact that the Malfoys were not Slytherin's descendants, Scorpius did not cheer up. Of course, that may have been in part because he believed that James had actually written the 'reply letter' to cheer him up.
Personally, James felt that anyone who believed that he would do anything to cheer up Scorpius Malfoy was off their rocker. But given what had happened lately, it would probably be best not to mention that.
As one could infer from their parents' reply, James and Albus had still not told their parents about their friendship with Scorpius Malfoy, nor for that matter had Scorpius told his father. It was still a prospect that all three of them were dreading, James especially. After everything bad he had said about Slytherin House, now he was close friends with one? It was almost shameful!
At James' request, none of his Dorm Mates had mentioned Scorpius in any of their letters home to their parents, and Albus' Dorm Mates did the same. It was still a rather delicate subject, and one that they did not want to broach until the time was right.
But when would the time be right? Probably somewhere around the time that James turned forty perhaps? Yea, that sounded about right.
Sadly that was not an option, and they were going to have to get around to it sooner or later. James was thinking maybe telling his parents over Christmas, but then that was probably way too soon.
Come to think of it, any time before he turned Seventeen was probably way too soon. If previous experience was anything to go by, James was going to need to defend himself.
OK, so maybe that was a total lie.
Though James was fully expecting for the teachers to come racing into the Great Hall one day to apprehend Slytherin's Heir, whoever he might have been, it never occurred. In fact, very few people actually paid the article very much mind. Most people were of the opinion that the Magical History Movement was shooting air out of their butts in an effort to win back some of the popularity and respect that they had commanded amongst the Wizarding Underworld before their blunder the previous May.
As a result of this commonly held belief, the story did not hold nearly as much attention amongst students and staff as it had when the Magical History Movement had been announcing their intentions the year before. Rather than the fear and terror that they had felt last year, most students found it funny: as though the whole thing were comical.
James understood why, it looked to most like the last desperate cry for attention of a dying fad that had no life left any more. However, several of the teachers at least, still understood the severity of what was happening. James heard Professor Wilkins discussing the article in hushed tones with Professor McGonagall, and was sure that he heard Hagrid mentioning it to Professor Ambrose, though the latter did not seem convinced.
And through it all, despite their numerous attempts to cheer him up, Scorpius remained as melancholy and depressed as ever. Even when James was forced…erm, I mean offered…to let Scorpius try out his state-of-the-art Nimbus 3,000 broomstick, the Slytherin boy refused and continued to mope about in sorrow.
Nothing that they did was having any positive effect on the boy, and Ace said that Scorpius was definitely upset about something else in addition to the whole 'Heir' thing, because he had stopped talking about it a long time ago, but kept alluding to something else that was bothering him. Something that, no matter how often he asked, Ace could never get him to explain.
Jeremey and Andrew had both long since given up trying to make Scorpius cheer up, they were even less concerned about Scorpius than James, and thought that this was just typical behavior of a Slytherin. Fred and Darren had also been quick to accept this view, as they had always been rather mistrustful of Scorpius from the very first day that they had met him.
However, Rose Zach and Luke all tried their best to help James and Albus work with the two Slytherin boys to make Scorpius cheer up. Well, perhaps Rose's attempts were a bit half-hearted, but she had at least tried.
Like the morning last Saturday, when they had found Scorpius brooding beneath a tree on the grounds. Rose had been adamant that she needed to get back to study, but Albus had talked her into staying.
As they approached Scorpius, James noticed Jeremey and Andrew shaking their heads and walking off
"Oi! Where are you two going?" Luke asked, glancing back at the two boys.
"I'm not helping him!" Jeremey spat back, his ire clearly up. James looked to Andrew for support, but his other friend shook his head and said "We're going to go find Christian and Jason and find something worthwhile to do! Try not to get bit by the snake James." and the two boys left without another word.
It hurt James to hear Jeremey and Andrew casually blow him off every time he tried to get them to help Scorpius out, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Glancing over his shoulder he said "Zach, you'll still help. Right?" But the last of James' Dorm Mates had vanished as well.
Spinning around as though convinced that Zach was still there somewhere, James exclaimed "Where in Merlin's name did he get off to?"
"He skulked off the moment you mentioned trying to talk to Scorpius, let's just go James." Albus said quickly.
James glanced towards the retreating figures of Jeremey and Andrew, who had just met up with a third student who was most probably Zach. Sighing at the sight of his three closest friends going off without him, James muttered sadly "Yea…let's go."
Scorpius had better be pretty damn grateful for this!
It was Rose who had spoken first, though admittedly she had not used the most encouraging words.
"Hey Scorpius." She said, sounding every bit as though she did not want to be there, causing James to scowl in frustration. Couldn't she even pretend that she cared?
The Slytherin boy did not answer, but glanced upwards for a brief moment before gazing away again.
Clearly caught a bit off guard, Rose said "Um…I was going to just go study for our Charms Exam. Do you…want to come study with me?" Sadly even Rose, who James seemed to think viewed studying was the most exciting things in the world, could not make this idea sound like much fun.
Scorpius seemed to agree, as he merely shook his head and walked away.
Of course, their failure to help Scorpius was bothering James, but it hurt him far more to realize that his best friend was now probably spending more time with Andrew's annoying sister Julie than with him. It was a sign of just how much work he and Albus were putting into cheering their Slytherin friend up that Jeremey was now saying that Julie was 'not as annoying as she was in September'.
James even, crazy though it might sound, went to his eldest cousin Victoire for help. Sadly, his Part Veela cousin was not exactly in much of a mood to help him, as became clear almost from the moment that he approached her.
"What makes you think that I would ever want to help an inconsiderate jerk like you James Potter?" Victoire snapped, causing more than a few people in the Common Room to glare at her menacingly, insulting James in the Gryffindor Common Room was something that tended to anger more than a few people.
"What did I even do to offend you?" James asked, honestly confused by his cousin's anger. However, this seemed to be quite the wrong thing to say.
"What did you do? What didn't you do James? Ignoring all of the times that you replaced my makeup with paint, or the times that you changed my hair green or…."
"Hey, I was six years old!" James snapped. "You can't blame me for that, all little kids do accidental magic!"
Victoire rolled her eyes and said "Perhaps, but every time you did someone was getting hurt by it, usually it was Albus, but sometimes it was me too!"
"Alright leave James alone you nutcase!" Jeremey said, walking down from the Dormitories, not even bothering to look up at who he was insulting. If he was, he probably would have held his tongue. Insulting Victoire Weasley was even more dangerous than insulting James Potter: doing so was sure to result in an angry mob of boy's chasing you down.
"Jeez James, why do you even talk to people like this." Jeremey asked, glaring at Victoire, making it clear what he thought of her from the way he said 'people'.
"She's my cousin." James said simply, at which Jeremey immediately slammed his fist into his face.
"God, who in this Castle isn't your cousin?" Jeremey asked, "I can't even back you up in an argument without insulting some member of your family!" he grumbled as he stalked off and threw himself onto a couch in front of the fireplace.
What could James say? He had a point.
Besides, he probably should have been grateful that Jeremey was sticking up for him in the first place after what had happened lately.
Thank you so much to everyone! Don't forget to REVIEW! :)