Chapter 33
Miles, Landry, and Genevieve found Albus in the Room of Requirement, sobbing into a pillow. All three of them ran to his side, sitting down on the beanbag chairs beside him.
"Albus? Are you okay?" Miles asked.
"Not really," Albus said with a sob. "I just broke up with my boyfriend."
"Albus, you know Scorpius hasn't told his dad about you yet, or even about his sexuality. He wasn't trying to hurt you, he was just trying-badly-to pretend that you and him were just friends, for his dad's benefit," Landry explained.
"Don't you think I know that? That's why I'm upset!" Albus snapped. "I told my dad without a problem. I told everyone! I didn't care at all what anyone thought! All I cared about was being with Scorpius. But I guess that he doesn't feel the same."
"I'm not going to promise anything, but I am almost completely certain that that isn't the case. I would bet my wand on it!" Genevieve comforted.
"How do you know that that's true?" asked Albus.
"I don't. And neither do you. But I know how you can find out," she replied.
Albus looked at her questioningly.
"You can ask him, silly!" said Genevieve.
"No! I can't!" Albus cried.
"Why not?" queried Landry. Albus had no reply.
"Exactly. Now, let's go find Scorpius," Miles said.
"I'm in love with him," revealed Albus. "I was going to tell him, but I never got the chance to."
Genevieve put a hand on his shoulder. "Well, here's your chance. I recommend you take it."
—
Draco Malfoy found his son, crying, in an empty alcove. He quietly stepped up, hoping to avoid startling his son. It broke his heart to see Scorpius like this, and to feel that he was responsible. Draco couldn't believe that he had misled his son so badly that he thought that he would not accept him for something so wonderful as loving someone. He knocked softly on the wall next to the alcove. Scorpius's head shot up, but collapsed back into his hands as he saw that it was his father, and not Albus, that had come to him. "Go away," Scorpius said.
"If you really want me to, I will. But I think maybe we should talk. I think-I hope-that it might help," said Draco.
Scorpius reluctantly scooted over on the bench he was sitting on to make room for his father. Draco sat, putting an arm tentatively around his son. "I want to tell you something," he said.
"What? That you hate me?" Scorpius mumbled.
"No, not at all. I love you, Scorpius. What I wanted to tell you is that I'm bisexual," said Draco.
Scorpius's head shot up. "What?" was all he could say.
"It's true. I had the most terrible crush on this boy all through my time at Hogwarts. In fact, I didn't think I had the potential to like girls at all until I met your mother," Draco revealed.
Scorpius couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had been worried for nothing. Not only was his dad not homophobic, but he was bi himself!
"Oh. In that case, I want to tell you something, too," Scorpius said.
"What is it?" Draco asked.
"I'm in love with Albus Potter," said Scorpius.
"I see. Well, I'm really not sure what you're doing sitting here with me, then. Go find him!" Draco encouraged.
"I don't think he wants to see me ever again. What I did out of nervousness to tell you about our relationship was really awful. I've probably…lost him forever," Scorpius said, breaking down in tears once again.
"I highly doubt that," said Draco.
"How would you know?" Scorpius asked.
"I don't. And neither do you. But I know how you can find out," Draco replied.
"How?" wondered Scorpius.
"By asking him," said Draco, simply.
"No! I can't!" cried Scorpius.
"Why not?" Draco asked. Scorpius had no reply.
"That's what I thought. Now, go find Albus!"
As soon as the pair stood up, they were immediately knocked back down by a sudden large quake of the castle. Scorpius ran to the nearest window. The force field was broken, and Death Eaters were spilling into the grounds. The battle had begun.
—
As Landry, Miles, Genevieve, and Albus were on their way to find Scorpius, the castle gave a sudden and enormous lurch. The four teenagers were knocked off their feet, and showered in small crumbles of the stone that the castle was made of. Landry was suddenly overwhelmed with fear, but there was no time to be afraid, for at that moment, two Death Eaters came flying through a nearby window, breaking the glass as though it was paper. They raised their wands at the teenagers, beginning to cast spells, but luckily, Genevieve acted even faster. "Stupefy!" she cried. The Death Eaters fell to the ground, unconscious. Their wands clattered across the cold, stone floor. Landry picked them up.
"They can't do much without these, now can they?" Landry said, sticking the wands into Hermione's bag.
"Oh, Merlin, where's Scorpius?" Albus yelled, in a voice that was equally terrified as it was frustrated. "I swear, if he's got a single scratch on him, I'll kill him!"
"Wouldn't that be completely hypocritical of you?" asked Miles. If you're concerned about him being injured, killing him is probably not the best…" Miles trailed off, realizing that this was not the time to correct Albus's obviously sarcastic logic.
"The stone! Let's call him," cried Landry, quickly pulling out her glass stone. She tapped the stone four times and thought of Scorpius. To the relief of everyone there, especially Albus, Scorpius's face soon appeared in the stone.
"Landry!" Scorpius exclaimed. "Where's Albus? Are you with him?"
"Yeah, he's right here," Landry replied.
"Thank Merlin. Where are you? I need to talk to him right away!" explained Scorpius.
"We're on the sixth floor near the Ancient Runes classroom," answered Landry.
"Don't move, we're on our way," Scorpius said. The stone went clear.
"I just realized, shouldn't someone find out what Dumbledore is doing?" Miles suggested.
"Yes, absolutely," agreed Landry.
"I'll do it. You stay here with Albus," Genevieve said.
"Okay. Be careful, Gen," Landry called after her friend as her curls bounced out of sight.
"Hey, Landry?" Miles asked, after a few minutes of listening quietly to the shouts, crashes, and screams echoing through the halls.
"Yes?" she questioned.
"I love you. I always will. Just thought I should tell you that in case things go badly," Miles said.
"I love you, too, Miles," Landry replied, squeezing her boyfriend's hand.
Albus sighed, wishing that he could say those same words to Scorpius. As the minutes ticked by, he was growing more and more concerned. Scorpius should certainly have been there by now.
—
Voldemort looked down upon the Hogwarts castle from the sky, where he was levitating himself in midair. A wicked grin spread across his face as he watched the force field crumble. He would not be losing again. Not to Dumbledore, Grindelwald, or Harry Potter, and certainly not to a scrawny teenage girl and her friends. "Still," he thought to himself, "The girl did manage to free all of my special guests, even if she had Grindelwald's help. Luckily, this is an easy fix. I'll just make sure she's occupied."
"Delphi!" Voldemort shouted, calling for his daughter. The girl quickly flew up to meet him.
"Yes, my Lord?" she asked, eager to please her father.
"Shall we test your new gift?" Voldemort asked. Delphi quickly pulled up her sleeve to reveal a tattoo on her forearm, a skull with a menacing snake slithering out from its mouth. Voldemort put his wand to it, and suddenly the already black ink seemed to grow even darker. Delphi's face scrunched up in pain.
Down inside the castle, a pale blond man had a similar pain on his own arm. "Dad? What's wrong?" Scorpius asked his father, seeing him wince in pain.
"Just ghosts from my past back to haunt me," Draco explained, rubbing his arm gingerly.
"Is it…" Scorpius trailed off, not knowing whether or not to finish his sentence, as his father normally hated nothing more than to talk about anything related to his time as a Death Eater.
"Yes," Draco said simply. As his dark mark burned once more, he rolled up his sleeve. His eyes grew wide. The tattoo, which had, in the past, only turned a darker shade of black, was now glowing bright red. Draco had never seen this happen before, but he did not think that there was any way that it could be good. Draco turned to his son, with fear in his eyes. "Scorpius, run. Find Albus. I'll be okay, but you need to get as far away from me as possible. Do you understand?"
But it was too late before Scorpius could even begin to answer. A mass of black smoke came crashing through a nearby window. As the smoke began to clear, two figures emerged from within it. "Hello, Draco," Voldemort said, calmly. "Well, now, it seems that we both have someone to introduce now, doesn't it? This is Delphini, my servant and spawn. And this must be your child, yes?"
Scorpius stepped bravely in front of his father, his wand pointed towards Voldemort, held in a sweaty, shaking hand. "I'm Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, son of Draco, and you won't get away with this! Our good triumphed over your evil before, and it can do it again!" he cried.
"Stand down, Scorpius," Draco warned.
"Don't worry, Draco, your child is perfectly safe with me. I did not track you down just for the fun of it," Voldemort said, chuckling eerily.
"Track me?" Draco questioned.
"Indeed," Voldemort replied. "Just a dash of rememberall smoke in your tattoo ink allows me to locate any Death Eater."
"I am not a Death Eater," Draco spat.
Voldemort laughed. "That mark on your arm says otherwise. No matter, you may go, I have no use for you. But I will be needing the boy."
"Over my dead body," Draco snarled.
"That can be arranged," said Voldemort.
"No!" shrieked Scorpius. "I'll go with you! Just don't hurt my dad, please!"
"Very well," Voldemort agreed, stowing his wand. He grabbed Scorpius by the wrist, and before Draco could say another word, Voldemort and Delphi had become puffs of black smoke once more, engulfing his son in it with them, and dragging him out through the window.