Chapter Thirteen: The Firebolt V
Besides Scorpius's visit to his dying mother, his Christmas was absolutely excellent.
Scorpius and his father had arrived to the Burrow from St. Mungo's at about eleven o'clock Christmas morning. By then, all of the presents had been opened except for two stacks of gifts on the humongous dinner table. The father and son were welcomed with pitying, open arms; all of the Weasleys had made Scorpius and Draco their favorite breakfasts in an attempt to cheer up the Malfoys. Scorpius thought that this was very nice. After his incredible breakfast, the Weasleys invited the two Malfoys to open their presents.
Draco looked doubtfully at his pile, which was a bit smaller than Scorpius's. "Presents?" he asked doubtfully, glancing around the room full of pale red-headed relatives. "These... presents... are for me? You got me presents?" Scorpius agreed with his father's surprised tone; he had never expected the Weasleys to get him presents. Scorpius had bought some presents for the Weasleys while he was in London with Draco, but Scorpius himself had never thought he would receive any Christmas gifts.
"Of course, Draco," Grandmother Weasley said warmly. "We didn't forget about you!"
"N-no, I just didn't expect this," murmured Draco, humbled. He began to unwrap a present on the top of his pile; Scorpius was itching to unwrap the large broomstick-shaped-item on the table (his Firebolt IV had been completely splintered in his crash, so Scorpius guessed that someone replaced it for him), but instinct told him to save that one for last.
Scorpius started by unwrapping a large, square-shaped present on the side of his pile. Scorpius's heart began to race when he saw the familiar black-and-yellow horizontal stripes on the large book that he had just unwrapped; this was the book he had been dying to get for months, Wanderings With the Wimbourne Wasps!The book had been released in October and included facts and in-depth information on Scorpius's favorite Quidditch team, the Wimbourne Wasps.
The small note attached read: "I lost all of my pride buying you this book (you know I'm a die-hard Appleby Arrows fan!). Hope your favorite team does awful this season! From, Albus" Scorpius looked up from his present and grinned at his friend, who was looking cheerful from across the room. Scorpius realized that this was the first time he had smiled all day. "Thanks, Albus!" Scorpius said gratefully. Albus nodded and gave Scorpius a thumbs-up.
"Huh," Draco said from beside Scorpius. Glancing over at his father, Scorpius saw that Draco was holding up a hunter green knit sweater from Grandmother Weasley. Scorpius personally liked it a lot; it looked very comfortable and warm. Scorpius was surprised that his father, who was used to wearing solely designer wizarding apparel, was looking very happy with his new sweater.
"Everyone in the family gets one," explained Grandmother Weasley happily. "I thought the hunter-green would bring out your eyes." As Scorpius looked around the Weasleys watching him, he noticed that they were all wearing their knit sweaters. The colors were different for each Weasley; Scorpius was curious as to what color he'd get.
"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley," said Draco, slipping his sweater on top of his fancy robes.
The next present Scorpius opened was a mirror from Rose. It had a very fancy handle, but Scorpius didn't really understand the point of it. He shot a questioning glance at his friend, who explained.
"It's an enchanted mirror," she explained. Her sweater was a light lilac color; it clashed horribly with her red hair, but Scorpius liked the color even though it was very girly. "It lets you change an aspect of your appearance for a certain amount of time, but no longer than a week. You can only change one aspect, though: you can't change your entire appearance. For example, if I wanted to change the color of my eyes to green for the day - " Rose stared hard at the mirror; she looked like she was concentrating deeply. And then, suddenly, Rose's eyes changed from a light blue to a pretty green. "I just need to tell it in my head, and it'll change."
"Cool!" Scorpius exclaimed, trying out the mirror for himself. Sure, it was a little girly, but if he needed to look good for someone in the future this mirror would definitely come in handy. Scorpius stared hard at the mirror and thought: Make me tan for a minute! Immediately, Scorpius's skin changed from a light pale to an olive shade. All of the Weasleys applauded and roared with laughter.
Scorpius then moved on to opening a joint present that was given to him from James, Fred and Louis. "To our fellow Rapier," it read, "we hope you'll be able to put some of these products to use soon! We have some excellent pranks planned. Enjoy! From, Fred, James and Louis." Scorpius opened it and found that it contained boxes of unreleased Weasley's Wheezes merchandise. Scorpius grinned in delight and gave the Rapiers a thumbs-up. They smiled back, pleased with themselves.
Scorpius received a box of Honeydukes candy from all of the Weasley and Potter parents. Scorpius had to practice all of the self-restraint he contained so that he wouldn't dig into the candy right away: even though he had just eaten a huge breakfast, the candy looked excellent. Scorpius distracted himself by opening his second-to-last present, a scarlet knit sweater from the Weasley grandparents. There were gold rugby stripes running horizontally across the sweater.
"For Gryffindor!" cheered Grandmother Weasley, smiling.
"I love it!" grinned Scorpius, immediately throwing it over himself and smiling delightedly at his presents. "Wow, thank you all for the presents! This has been one of the best Christmases - " Right before he finished his sentence, Scorpius remembered his mother. He broke off, feeling confused and guilty. This couldn't be one of his favorite Christmases when his mother wasn't here to celebrate it with him.
James didn't miss a beat. He knew why Scorpius hadn't finished his sentence, and James was clever: he said the perfect thing to get Scorpius's mind off of his mother. "You still have another present!" the eldest Potter boy exclaimed, pointing at the huge broomstick on the table. "Go on, open it!"
Scorpius leaned towards the messily-wrapped broomstick-shaped-package and glanced at the tag. It read: 'Material items should never make up for what I've done to you, but I hope that you'll forgive me... It's just you and I, now. Love, Dad.' Scorpius glanced up at his father and grinned, trying to show that he forgave his father. His father smiled back and motioned for him to open the present.
Slowly, Scorpius began to unwrap the broomstick. Scorpius had never seen it before, but it was the most beautiful broomstick he had ever seen. It had a beautiful ebony handle and hazel twigs. It looked sleeker and quicker than his Firebolt IV; but what broom could possibly be better than the Firebolt IV? The Firebolt IV was the best broom in the market when Scorpius had bought it. Unless...
"The Firebolt V!" gasped Teddy Lupin, jumping forward to examine the broom. He was clad in his rusty-orange sweater emblazoned with a white "T". His hair was dirty blonde today, and his eyes were a light blue. "This wasn't even announced yet! It's only supposed to be a rumor..." Teddy looked up at a smug-looking Draco Malfoy. "How did you ever manage to get this?"
Draco shrugged. "I told the Firebolt manufacturer what had happened with Scorpius's Firebolt IV. He panicked and thought I was going to sue him, so he gave me this Firebolt in return that I wouldn't press charges for his faulty broom. The Firebolts are supposed to have an unbreakable Braking Charm, after all."
"Incredible!" James breathed, his eyes tracing the golden, cursive script reading 'Firebolt V' that was emblazoned on the handle. "No one even knew these were in production! This broom must be incredible, Scorpius, how about you go try it out? I wanna see how it flies!"
"Yeah!" All of the Weasleys echoed James; they looked expectantly at Scorpius. Scorpius reached out his hand and touched the Firebolt V's handle; a surge of warmth coursed through his veins, and Scorpius immediately felt a connection with his broomstick that he had never felt with the Firebolt IV.
"Designed to act like wands," explained Draco, reading his son's expression. "That's what makes the Firebolt V so revolutionary. It combines wand technology with broomstick engineering and creates an experience that literally bonds the rider with the broomstick. Also, if someone else rides your Firebolt V, it'll still be incredible but they won't share the same connection that you do with the broomstick. That's what the Firebolt creator told me, anyway."
"Amazing!" breathed Albus.
"Wow," Roxanne said dreamily.
"Dad, can I get one of those?" Victoire murmured, looking slightly dejected. Scorpius knew that Mr. Bill Weasley's family still rode on Cleansweeps.
Scorpius decided to break the awkward moment by tearing out of the house with his new broomstick, the entire Weasley family chasing after him. Scorpius jumped in the air and threw his Firebolt V under him. Immediately, the Firebolt V mounted and smoothly whizzed around the air. There were claps and cheers as Scorpius zoomed around the Burrow, his new broomstick was going eight times as fast as his old Firebolt IV.
Scorpius didn't want to brag and make the other Weasley cousins too jealous of his new broomstick, so he circled around the Burrow one more time and landed cleanly next to Albus and Rose. The former was eyeing the broom in amazement, his green eyes stretched wide."You're so lucky," he murmured. "The things I would do for a Firebolt V..."
Scorpius shrugged. "Maybe I'm lucky..." he murmured, his thoughts immediately wandering to his mother. "I would trade this broomstick for my mother any day."
Albus looked at Scorpius guiltily. "Come on," he said, grabbing both Rose and Scorpius, "Let's go upstairs."
That day, Scorpius had confided everything that had happened with Lucius to Rose and Albus. They were all huddled around the fluffy carpet next to Scorpius's bed (which he had now let his father, Draco, sleep in now that Scorpius wasn't injured). Rose's eyes were wide, while Albus looked disgusted and upset.
"He tortured you," Albus confirmed, his voice slightly shaking. "Five... times...?"
"Yeah," Scorpius muttered. Pins and needles still exploded around his body whenever he thought of the Cruciatus Curse; Scorpius figured that he would never really heal from the torture he had gone through that night. Sometimes, he still felt stabs of white-hot pain from where the knives had stabbed him.
"Wow," Albus breathed, his eyes huge. "Scorp - I-I'm so sorry... I never knew - "
" - that my grandfather was a wizard turned pyscho?" Scorpius asked dryly. "Yeah, I didn't know either."
The room was silent for a moment. Scorpius was tired of the silence; he needed a distraction. "I think I'm going to take a walk or something," he muttered, standing up and grabbing his Firebolt V. "I'm sorry... I just need some time to think about everything that's happened today with my mom."
"If you ever need someone to talk to, we're here," Rose spoke for the first time.
"Thanks," Scorpius said, smiling gratefully as he exited the room. He descended the long, winding stairs quietly; most of the Weasley cousins were in the living room, celebrating Christmas, so if Scorpius could just sneak past them in the kitchen and run outside, he would finally have some time alone...
He reached the bottom of the stairs and sprinted across the kitchen towards the front door. Scorpius heard George Weasley telling a crowd of Weasley children and adults a funny story. Everyone listening roared with laughter; this gave Scorpius the time he needed to swing open the door and step outside.
Immediately, Scorpius mounted his broom and took off. The whipping, cold winter air slashed his face as he sped around the forests and the fields on his broomstick, but Scorpius ignored this. The pain felt good; it distracted him from everything that was happening in his life. His mother's eminent death, his father's reluctance to tell him anything, the fact that his grandfather had tortured him almost into insanity two nights ago... it was too much for an eleven-year-old to handle.
He rode on his broomstick for what felt like days; in reality, he had only been flying for a few hours. The sun was starting to set when Scorpius began to descend from the clouds; his father was right, this broomstick was incredibly comfortable and connected to Scorpius just as well as his wand did. Scorpius had never loved an object more than he loved his broomstick; as he was landing, he made an internal vow to never crash it again.
The young Malfoy closed his eyes in content when he touched down to the brittle, dead grass. As he began to trudge inside, he heard someone calling his name. Scorpius turned to see a tall, tan-skinned girl waving at him. Her wavy dark hair and bright blue eyes made her instantly recognizable: Roxanne Weasley.
"Hey, Scorpius!" Roxanne called, holding her broomstick over her head. "Want to practice?" She waved the broomstick, and Scorpius knew that the Weasley cousin was talking about Quidditch. Scorpius was in the mood for Quidditch, so he nodded and ran through the garden to meet Roxanne at the edge of the makeshift Quidditch field. A few gnomes bit and tugged at his feet, but Scorpius kicked them away. Finally, he reached the field where Roxanne was waiting with a Quaffle tucked under one arm and her hand gripped around her Nimbus 8000 in the other. Everyone knew the Nimbuses were second only to the Firebolts; Roxanne's family was very wealthy so Scorpius wasn't surprised that she had such an expensive broom.
"I need to train for the Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw match," explained Roxanne as she mounted her broom and hovered a few inches off of the ground. "If Ravenclaw wins, then we're automatically in the championship. If Gryffindor beats Slytherin in February, then we'll play each other," Roxanne grinned. "I won't go easy if that happens, though. Ravenclaw's winning the Cup three years in a row while I'm captain!"
"How long have you been captain for?" Scorpius asked, mounting his broom and flying a few feet off the earth.
"This is my second year," Roxanne said. Her and Scorpius began to pass the Quaffle to each other as they were talking. "Last year I was the youngest Ravenclaw Captain in three centuries. We would've won the Cup last year but the Hufflepuff Beater - not Victoire - knocked our Seeker off of his broom and he broke his arm. The Hufflepuff Seeker was easily able to catch the Snitch after that, even though purposefully trying to break a Seeker's arm is a foul - " She angrily chucked the ball at Scorpius, who almost fell backwards off of his Firebolt V from the force of it. "How're you so good at Quidditch, being a first-year?" Roxanne asked interestedly.
"My father has been teaching me how to play since I could walk," Scorpius elaborated. "He brought over the British National Team's coach, Janice Aerpuff and she basically taught me everything I know. I've been playing on the British Youth All-Stars since I was eight, so Quidditch has pretty much been my whole childhood," He shrugged, tossing the ball to Roxanne. "It's nice to see that my hard work has paid off; I definitely expected to make the team my second year but not my first."
Roxanne laughed. "Yeah, well Gryffindor needs a Quidditch star like you after their embarrassing past decade. But honestly, you have a pretty strong team. It's just your Seeker that's bringing you down." She did an elaborate dodge around Scorpius and popped the Quaffle up. Scorpius flipped on his broom and caught it with one hand. He tried the dodge Roxanne had just demonstrated, but failed tremendously and fumbled the Quaffle. He recovered it and passed it to Roxanne, who caught it cleanly.
"Spence?" asked Scorpius, watching the fifth-year as she demonstrated the correct way to do the dodge. Roxanne bobbed with the Quaffle and then did a fancy barrel-roll. The barrel-roll baited Scorpius to take the Quaffle, but before he was able to she flipped up and zoomed away from him. Scorpius was very impressed; he was positive that Roxanne would be picked up by a Quidditch Club the moment she left Hogwarts.
"Yeah," Roxanne said, watching as Scorpius attempted the move. The first time, Scorpius forgot to bob and completely messed up the move. But by the third time, Scorpius was able to demonstrate the dodge slowly but effectively. He grinned and his gray eyes lit up once he had completed the move. "He's an absolute idiot; everyone at Ravenclaw is convinced he's half-blind. Everyone knows he's only on the team because of Oaks."
"That's what James and Fred say," said Scorpius as he tried the dodge on Roxanne. Even though she already knew what was coming, she played along and Scorpius was able to dodge her. He pumped his fist and the air and spun the Quaffle on his finger, grinning at Roxanne. "Speaking of James and Fred, I'm supposed to meet them in a few about some important prank they're planning with Louis..."
Roxanne raised her eyebrows. "Oh, you're in their little clique, are you?" she asked, swiping the Quaffle from Scorpius and doing some dribbles with her feet. To Scorpius's amazement, she was still able to remain on the broomstick while performing the elaborate football-like-dribbles (Scorpius was a secret fan of the strange Muggle sport; he supported Man City). "What to they call themselves again? Fred told me once... ahh, the Rippers?"
"Rapiers," grinned Scorpius, swooping in and nabbing the bouncing Quaffle. He bounced it on his head a few times and threw it up in the air; as it was spinning, he positioned his broom to hit it once it came into range. It began to fall, and Scorpius twisted his broom so that the back of it smacked the Quaffle, launching it some feet away. Roxanne was able to dive for it and return to Scorpius in under ten seconds; Scorpius was very impressed with her skill. "We're an exclusive pranks club," Scorpius said, showing Roxanne his silver ring with the ruby on it; Fred, James and Louis had only recently remembered to present it to him.
"Oh yes, I know all about the Rapiers," Roxanne smiled. She started to descend to the ground, and Scorpius followed her. The sun was really sinking now; the sky was streaked with faint strokes of pink and orange and the clouds were wispy and gray. "They invited me, but I declined. I have a lot more important things to be doing than hanging out with thirteen and fourteen-year-old boys. And eleven-year-olds," She added with a wink at Scorpius.
"You're hanging out with an eleven-year-old right now," pointed out Scorpius slyly.
"You know what I mean," Roxanne responded as they reached the garden. Immediately, the gnomes swarmed around them and Roxanne pulled out her wand. With a flick and a small incantation, the gnomes went flying over the hedge. "I'm not being in a clique with kids two years younger than I am. I'm not saying that I won't help out with a prank or two, I just like having friends my own age, yeah?"
The gnomes, terrified of Roxanne's wand, scuffled about and hid among the bushes. Roxanne ignored them and continued to trudge through the garden. Scorpius followed her, examining the exquisiteness of his broom handle. "Yeah," he responded after awhile. "It must be hard being in a different House than all of your cousins and your family, I guess."
"You would know," Roxanne flashed back lightly as they exited the garden. "I know your family, Scorpius. I've been hearing my father tell stories of how he pranked your dad and his cronies for fifteen years. I tried not to judge you when you first stepped foot in Hogwarts, because I kind of understood you. I knew that you had to be somewhat different than your Slytherin family if you were Sorted into another House; especially if you were placed in the oh-so-noble Gryffindor. It was hard for my family to adjust to me being a Ravenclaw at first, but I really like being the only one. I like being different, and I think that's why the Sorting Hat put me in Ravenclaw."
Scorpius opened the front door of the Burrow and allowed Roxanne to step inside the house in front of him. When they entered, no one was in the kitchen or the living room. Scorpius thought this was a little strange, but Roxanne explained. "They're probably out front getting ready for dinner," she said. "Anyway, I'll see you, Scorpius. Louis, James and Fred are probably waiting in the basement for you; that's where they always hang out."
"See you later, Roxanne," Scorpius said as the pretty fifth-year ascended the stairs towards the girls' room. Scorpius rested his Firebolt V against the coat hanger and walked towards a door to the immediate right of the stairs; this door led to the basement. Scorpius had never been in the Burrow's basement, but he figured that Roxanne wasn't trying to pull his leg by sending him down there. He opened the door and began to descend down the dark, creaky stairs.
"Hello?" Scorpius called nervously as the darkness began to surround him. He had left his wand in the boys' room, so he had no source of light. Scorpius wasn't sure that the Rapiers were down here; if there was no light, where could they be? Was Roxanne pulling some sort of prank on him? "Uh, guys? It's me, Scorpius, from the Rapiers - "
"Scorp!" A familiar, confident tone yelled happily from further down the stairs: James. "Ah, I thought you were my mother telling us it was time for dinner at first..." A light above Scorpius flickered on, giving him a clear path down to the basement. "Well, come on in, Scorpius! We were just discussing our prank!"
Scorpius was now able to easily run down the stairs. The stairs ended and a large, carpeted room greeted Scorpius. It was a partially-finished basement; some of the walls weren't completely covered and the ceiling looked like it was about to fall apart, but it was the perfect makeshift clubhouse in Scorpius's opinion. There were large, comfortable looking couches in the center of the room, and in the middle was a large, flat table. Scorpius waved to Fred, Louis and James as he sat down on the couch opposite of the three Rapiers. "What's the plan?" he asked eagerly, leaning in towards the table.
"Oh, you're going to love this one," Louis said. The harsh yellow light above the Weasley boy reflected strangely off of his light-blonde hair, causing it to look almost orange. "It's about the Quidditch team. Being a commentator, I get to see every aspect of the field. And what Gryffindor's really struggling with is the - "
" - Seeker," Scorpius interrupted, already knowing the answer. "Yeah, Roxanne and I were already talking about that." At the Rapiers' questioning looks, Scorpius explained. "She and I were practicing Quidditch together only a few minutes ago and she was saying how our Seeker position was struggling."
"I wish she would join the Rapiers!" James said angrily. "I like having only four members, but Roxanne's got the brains. I expect she'll be getting at least ten O.W.L.'s this year, what do you think, mate?" He directed his latter question at Fred, Roxanne's brother. They shared the same blue eyes, the same olive-colored skin and the same dark-brown wavy hair. If they weren't two years apart, Scorpius would've thought they were twins.
"Eleven's my guess," grinned Fred. "But James, remember, we recruited Scorpius because he's smart. We couldn't recruit someone like Rose or Molly or Lucy because they'd be too chicken to carry through with the prank and they'd tell on us to Professor Longbottom or something. Scorpius is our guy, alright? Let's just tell him the plan."
"Yeah, alright," James said, leaning in towards the table. "Anyway, Fred and I have already expressed our concerns about our failing Quidditch team. Spence is a joke. We need to get rid of him," He paused, surveying Scorpius. Scorpius personally thought getting rid of Spence was a great idea, but it sounded risky. Did James really mean 'get rid of Spence' as in hurting him or just 'getting rid of him' as in expelling him?
"I'm in," confirmed Scorpius, itching to hear more of the plan. "I'm sick of his arrogant attitude. I've never seen him catch the Snitch, even in practice!"
"Exactly," said Fred. "So that's why we're storming up ideas to get rid of Spence for the time being. The thing is, we can't really hurt Spence because we want him to be able to attend his N.E.W.T. exams in the summer. We just need him out for awhile so that we can hold Seeker tryouts and so that he's out of the way for both the Slytherin game in February and the Ravenclaw championship - if we make it - in the spring."
"We need your brains," Louis continued. "You're clever. You come from Slytherin stock; you must know how to get around the rules a bit. James, Fred and I do, as well, but we need someone who can think of something ingenious but is able to cover up their tracks. Our - " Louis motioned to him, Fred and James, " - problem is that we always get caught. You're sneaky and stealthy."
"What we're asking," James said. "Is do you have any ideas? Can you think of a plan to send Spence away or to the Hospital Wings for a few months?"
All of the Rapiers' eyes were trained on Scorpius. Scorpius was surprised; how was he supposed to think of a plan in thirty seconds? Sighing, he began, "Well, you've hardly given me any time to think... but I don't think you need to send Spence to the Hospital Wing for five months," At the Rapiers' confused expressions, Scorpius elaborated. "See, you just need Spence out of the way for about a month or two. When Oaks realizes that his Seeker isn't going to make the Slytherin game, he'll have to hold tryouts for a replacement, right? And when that Seeker wins us the Slytherin game, then Oaks will have to get rid of Spence. The team's already sick of Spence, so it'll be easy to convince Oaks. But this plan will only work if we can a) find a Seeker and b) make sure that the Seeker catches the Snitch in the Slytherin game."
There was a moment of silence. Scorpius noticed that all of the Rapiers were looking immensely impressed; James's mouth was even open a little bit. "Well," Fred said, glancing to his left and right at Louis and James respectively, "Now you get why we hired him, eh?"
"We've already figured out part A, I think," Louis said with a quick look to James. "The obvious choice for the Seeker is Albus. I'm not sure how Oaks will feel about letting another first-year try out, but if Spence is injured I'm sure he'll be desperate..." He shrugged at Scorpius. "Right?"
"You're right," nodded James. "I don't know if we should let Al in on the plan, though. He hasn't proven himself worthy yet. I don't think he'll react well to this prank. Anyway, convincing Al to tryout will be easy; he's been dying at a chance to prove himself as a better Seeker than my dad for forever. He'll catch the Snitch; the Slytherin Seeker, Caspian Goyle, is a dud," All of the Rapiers glanced at each other, laughing; Scorpius had told them all about his prank to Goyle. They had been even more delighted when the news of Goyle's boggart had leaked out to the entire school.
"So if Al can catch the Snitch, we've got part B worked out, as well," Fred grinned. "But there's one more thing? How do we get rid of Spence for two months?"
"I think I've got that worked out, as well," Scorpius murmured, smiling widely. "Listen closely, guys..."
Long chapter! Hope you enjoy!
Just realized that I accidentally spelled "Louis Weasley" as "Lewis Weasley" throughout the entire book... ahh. I just fixed it all, sorry about that!
Anyway, sort of a recovery chapter for Scorp... hints of the plot are being shown. Please remember to review review REVIEW! x