Hey, peoples! I finally went to see the new Spiderman movie. It was pretty good. Anyways, here's chapter 21.
"Hello, Scorpius," said Albus, sliding awkwardly into about the only space left at the Slytherin breakfast table. Tho blond boy looked at him.
"Since when are we on first name terms?" he said snidely. Albus shrugged.
"Since I decided that these pancakes need more syrup," he said, eying his food critically and adding an overly generous amount of the syrup in question. Scorpius looked faintly nauseated. "Want some?" Albus asked. Scorpius shook his head.
"What does syrup have to do with my first name?" he said.
"Anything I want it to," said Albus cheerfully. Scorpius looked confused. "The syrup is just a tool," Albus explained. "You asked a question, so I used whatever I had to give you an answer. The syrup doesn't really mean anything. I just incorporated it into my answer. Are you sure you don't want some?"
"Yes," said Scorpius. "Syrup's disgusting."
"Do you think so?" Scorpius nodded. "Then we'll get along just fine. There's nothing quite as interesting as a friend who disagrees with you."
"Since when have I been your friend?"
"Since I decided that hating you took too much energy," said Albus. "Also, I thought that I should have at least one friend in my House, and with you we've already broken the ice."
"Yeah, with mutual hatred."
"Hate is a strong word," said Albus. "And, besides, that's just something we have in common!" Scorpius almost laughed. Almost.
"My father says that we should just keep our heads down. I think being your friend wouldn't be doing that."
"And why should that matter?" Albus said, his mouth full of pancake.
"Its sort of... well...," Scorpius muttered, before finally saying, "I'm a Malfoy."
"So what?" Scorpius stared at Albus, confused.
"What were you, born in a cave? My family's a disgrace!"
"Your family, maybe, but you don't seem too bad," Albus said, licking the excess syrup from his fingers.
"I come from a legacy of Death Eaters."
"Doesn't mean a thing."
"I might as well be destined to go bad."
"If you consider it bad, then why go to it?" Albus asked. Scorpius had no answer to that. "Anyways," Albus said, "do you want to come study with me in the library after classes are done?"
"It's the first day of term!" Scorpius cried out in dismay. Albus grinned.
"I say studying in the loosest sense of the term. Mostly me and Frank just hang out." Suddenly Albus stopped grinning. "We actually have something serious to talk about this time."
"What is it?" asked Scorpius curiously. Albus hesitated.
"It... would be better if both Frank and I explained," he said.
"Come on, at least give me a hint," Scorpius whined. Albus took a deep breath, steadying himself. You shouldn't trust him. Tom said. Albus was annoyed; he know that already, but he also knew that he didn't want everyone to be caught off-guard be the new Dark Lord. He'd let this be his gamble, to see if there was anyone willing to listen.
"Its about the escaped Death Eaters, and the new Dark Lord who's probably breaking them out," said Albus. Scorpius stiffened.
"I'll be there," he said, then quickly stood up and ran away.
"Who'd you invite?" Frank muttered to Albus, clearly still nervous about the idea despite the fact the he had first proposed it.
"Scorpius Malfoy," said Albus. Frank's mouth fell open.
"Malfoy! You think he's the Dark Lord, why would you-"
"Hey, keep your friends close and your enemies closer, right? Besides, didn't you and Tom blow a million holes in that theory?"
True. Frank was still seething, but he didn't protest anymore, on account of the fact that Scorpius had just entered the library. Spotting Frank and Albus, he waved and ran toward them.
"Hey, guys. Did I miss anything?" he said, sitting down.
"No," said Frank coolly. Albus glared at his friend. This wasn't going to work if they couldn't get along.
"Albus, you said that this was about the new Dark Lord and the escaped Death Eaters?" Scorpius said, obviously curious.
"So you believe in this new Dark Lord?" said Frank, skeptical of Scorpius's apparent conviction.
"Of course I do! My father's Dark Mark has been getting clearer for years, and at the beginning of the school year it burned. Voldemort has returned."
"He's not who we're talking about. There's a new Lord in town," Albus said, annoyed and frightened by the turn the conversation had suddenly taken.
"No, its Voldemort, I'm certain, and so is my father. That's why we started-" Scorpius stopped; he had obviously said too much.
"What did you start?" Frank asked.
"Nothing," mumbled Scorpius.
"You are such a terrible lier," Frank said acidly. Scorpius blushed and looked down at the floor. Frank let out a sharp bark of laughter.
Albus thought this had gone on long enough. "Frank, stop it, we won't get him to trust us by being like that," Albus snapped, then he turned to Scorpius, his voice gentler now. "We know that its not Voldemort, Scorpius."
"How can you be so sure when everything says that he's back?"
"Because I'm Voldemort," Albus said. The blood drained from Scorpius's face, his eyes were wide with horror and fear.
"Y- you," he whispered, pressing himself into the chair as if he wished to fall strait through it. Albus rolled his eyes.
"Yes, me," he said, "but I'm not the Dark Lord anymore. Someone else is, and that someone else is probably stealing the thestrals and using them to break the former Death Eaters out of Azkaban."
"But... Voldemort died... this is impossible," said Scorpius.
"Oh, shut up," said Frank. "You were prepared to believe that he was alive because of your dad's Dark Mark, is it so much of a stretch to believe he's Albus?"
"It should be impossible," Scorpius muttered.
Hey Scorpy, what's up? said Tom casually.
"HOLY IMPS!" Scorpius screamed, making both Albus and Frank giggle.
Um, I'm not an imp. I could pretend to be one, though. Be the imp... be the imp...
"That's just Tom," said Albus. "He's a voice in my head. He's kind of crazy."
"He's not the only one," Scorpius grumbled.
Hey, Alby, you forgot to tell Scorpy that I'm also your memories, a Dumbledore hater, and Death incarnate.
"Seriously?" said Scorpius, thrown by the "Death incarnate" bit.
Well, no, but the first two are true.
"Don't even get him started on Dumbledore," Frank advised. "It will save you a lot of pain and suffering."
But getting me started on him will save you the pain and suffering of actually meeting him...
"Guys, this discussion is getting really off topic," said Albus.
"Yeah, but you can't deny that its funny," Scorpius said. "What were we talking about again?"
"How I'm Voldemort and what you and your father started," said Albus.
"What did you and your dad start?" Frank asked. Scorpius hesitated.
"I could get in a lot of trouble, and my father could go to Azkaban," he said.
We all could. You'll have to risk it, just like we are. Just come right out and say it.
"You can't argue with that," Albus agreed.
"I should keep silent," Scorpius muttered, "but I can't. This secret is eating me alive."
"You can trust us, Scorpius," said Albus encouragingly. Frank gave a curt nod. Scorpius hesitated again, but then he took a deep breath.
"My father an I've been the ones breaking out the Death Eaters." Frank swore violently, but Albus just nodded.
"Explain," he said tersely.
"Well, at first it was a lark, to break out Grandfather and Grandmother. That old witch Alecto just tagged along. But then my father's Dark Mark burned. He knew Voldemort, well, you now, Albus, was back, and he wouldn't be happy with what my father had been doing since the second war. So we've been breaking out old Death Eaters ever since, so that we can either fight or gain favor. But now that I know you're Voldemort I suppose that all our efforts were rather backwards." But Albus shook his head, the seed of an idea beginning to take root in his mind.
"Scorpius," Albus said, "do you think that the rouge Death Eaters will still be loyal to me, when they learn who I am, I mean?"
"I don't know," Scorpius said. "I suppose they might be." Albus smiled devilishly.
"Good," he said. "We'll be needing some allies." Frank's mouth dropped open.
"Albus, are you crazy?" he yelled.
"We'll need allies," Albus repeated. "The new Dark Lord may have had years to raise an army."
"But they're evil!"
Don't throw the E-word around here, Frankie, it's insensitive.
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" said Albus.
"That you're a Slytherin dumbass," sniffed a voice behind him.
"Rose," Albus groaned, recognising his cousin's voice, "what are you doing here?"
"Research for potions," said Rose haughtily, "Which you should be doing, Potter, instead of giggling with your little pureblood friends."
"Rose, that paper's not due for a week," Albus said, secretly pretending that everything was normal between him and Rose. Unfortunately, Rose promptly shattered that illusion.
"A week isn't long enough for you, Slytherin slime," Rose sneered.
"Hey, I'm not a Slytherin," Frank objected.
"You might as well be. A traitor's as bad as a Slytherin in my book." Frank blushed.
"I'm not a traitor," he muttered.
"Oh, of course you're not," said Rose, cuttingly sarcastic. "After all, you're only talking with the enemy."
Yeah, well, so are you, Miss Smarty-Pants.
"You are too," said Albus, thankful for Tom coming up ith the comeback.
You're welcome. Tom said.
"Watch your tongue, Potter," Rose snapped. "Someday you'll find that somebody has finally gotten smart and cleansed the world of your filth. Now, I'll be going to Gobstones Club, hopefully to destroy some scum while I'm at it." On that happy note, Albus's cousin gave them one last glower and stomped off.
"I'll show her," Frank muttered angrily. "Calling me a Slytherin. She won't get away with that."
"Calm down, Frank," Albus said. "She's just upset."
"Is she always that scary?" Scorpius said, looking nervously toward the direction to which Rose had gone.
"Nah, she's okay once you get to know her," said Albus slightly unconvincingly. "She has very anti-Slytherin views, but she'll do the right thing in the end."
"She still scares me," said Scorpius, then he looked at his watch and yelped. "Blimpy, guys, I've got to run!Rose was right, Gobstones Club's in twenty minutes."
It was almost eight by the time Albus got back to the Slytherin common room, so he expected to find Scorpius there, chatting or reading or doing his homework. To he surprise Scorpius wasn't there, but another member of the Gobstones Club, Amos Lee, was, so Albus approached the other boy.
"Hey, Lee, have you seen Scorpius?" he asked. The black boy looked up from his Evening Prophet.
"Malfoy? I haven't seen him since supper," he said. Albus's stomach twisted.
"You mean he didn't go to Gobstones Club?" Albus said.
"Yeah," Lee said, confused by the urgency in the other's voice. "I thought it was a little weird. He usually doesn't miss a meeting."
"Lee, where do you have the club?" Albus said.
"In the old transfiguration classroom. Why?" But Albus had already left, exiting the common room and bolting towards the old transfiguration classroom. He didn't know what he was expecting when he got there, only that he was almost certain that something horrible had happened to his friend. He flung open the door to find... nothing. Frustrated, Albus forced himself to think.
"He never got here!" Albus said out loud, suddenly enlightened. With a new burst of energy, Albus raced down the hall that would eventually lead to the library, throwing doors open indiscriminately, until he reached a broom cupboard that was locked.
"Alahamoria!" he yelled, and the lock clicked, leaving the door able to be opened. Albus tore open the door to find himself face to face with the dead body of Scorpius Malfoy. Albus yelled and reeled backwards in shock and horror. There was his friend, unmarked, yet undeniably dead, eyes blank and empty, mouth gaping open as though surprised.
Albus closed his eyes against the gruesome spectacle, yet that did not stop the bile rising in his throat or the horrible sense of deja vu that grew greater every moment. That face, that dead, unmarked face, it could have belonged to any number of nameless persons. Albus may have killed him, or one of his disciples, following orders. It didn't matter. It was all blook, blood rising, threatening to drown him, because it was his fault, all his fault. You killed us, it hissed. You destroyed us. You changed the course of the world, you demolished our lives.
"No," groaned Albus. "No, it wasn't me! I didn't want this!"
Lier! the blood yelled. Theif of destinies! Killer of the future!
"Please," cried Albus, falling to the ground under the tidal waves of hatred that crashed down on him. "Please! I'm innocent!"
We were innocents, too, but you, you destroyed us! Killer!
"I'm not him anymore!" Albus was curled in a ball now, shivering with pain.
You cannot escape him, you are too far in now! You can never erase us!
"I know," said Albus, tears running down his face. "I'm not Albus anymore. I've killed, so I can kill. There is no line between us anymore, though I refuse to meld. I'll always be guilty."
Yes, yes. Accept the guilt. Our blood is on your hands.
"Yes," Albus whispered as the waves receaded. "Yes it is."
Wow, that got a little random. Talking blood, yay! Review!
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