Chapter 34
Draco Malfoy had never realized how slow of a runner he was. Though he was surely running faster than he had ever run before in his life, it still seemed to him that he was running in slow motion. As his heart pounded, all that run through his head was where he needed to go. "Sixth floor, Ancient Runes classroom. Sixth floor, Ancient Runes classroom. Sixth floor, Ancient Runes."
Draco sprinted over rubble, dodged flying spells, and jumped over fallen bodies. There was nothing he could do to help them, but he would have to die himself before he didn't try everything in his power to save his son. His precious Scorpius.
—
Astoria hadn't wanted to call their child Scorpius. She had thought it was too harsh for such a small, pale thing as the baby she held in her arms. But the moment she saw the expression on her husband's face, everything changed. This man, who had been hiding, resigning, and obeying orders his whole life, now bore a look that Astoria had never seen before. Draco looked entirely and completely peaceful as he looked at his newborn son. Astoria could not think of anyone who was more deserving of getting what he wanted. So the baby was called Scorpius Hyperion. Astoria closed her eyes and took a deep, tired breath. She had known going into her pregnancy that it was going to take her life. There was no cure for a blood curse. She was tired, so tired. It wasn't her time to go just yet, but she now knew that when it was, the two loves of her life, her husband and child, would have each other.
—
Tears streamed freely down Draco's face as he recalled his memories of the day Scorpius had been born. It had been the happiest day of his life. Astoria had sacrificed her life for Scorpius, and Draco would do the same in an instant if it was necessary. After what felt like an eternity, Draco finally rounded a corner on the sixth floor and saw his son's friends waiting anxiously at the end of the hall. All of their heads turned to look at him. "Voldemort took him. Voldemort has my Scorpius."
"No!" Albus shrieked.
"Merlin's beard, what do we do?" cried Genevieve.
"Okay, let's try not to panic," Miles said, trying his best to remain calm. "Does anyone have any ideas as to where Voldemort would've taken Scorpius?"
"Let's think…is there anywhere here that would securely hold a prisoner? That nobody else could get to?" Genevieve asked.
"Yes," said Landry, suddenly remembering something. "The Chamber of Secrets. Voldemort is the only one here who can speak parseltongue. It would be the safest place for someone he didn't want found."
"That's brilliant, Love!" said Miles.
"Let's go, now," Albus said, starting off down the hall.
"Wait, Albus! We don't even know where the entrance to the chamber is, and even if we did, we couldn't get into it. None of us speaks Parseltongue," Genevieve reminded him, sadly.
"That's true," said Draco. "But we know someone who can solve both of those problems."
"Who?" Miles asked.
"Harry Potter," Draco answered simply.
"Okay, then. Let's find my dad," Albus said.
"Where do you think he'd be?" Genevieve asked.
"Easy," Draco replied. "Just follow the sound of utter destruction and it'll lead us right to him."
Landry, Miles, Genevieve, Albus, and Draco ran through the castle, occasionally casting spells where it was needed. They were all calling out for Harry, attracting stares from the people around them who could spare a moment to give them. It was Albus who finally spotted his father's messy, black bun through the chaos. "Dad!" he called out. Harry quickly stunned the Death Eater he was dueling, and ran to meet his son.
"Albus! What's wrong?" he asked, seeing his son's distress on his face immediately.
"Voldemort has Scorpius," Landry said.
"That little bitch," said Harry.
"We think we may know where Scorpius is but we need your help," explained Landry.
"Alright. What do you need me to do?" Harry questioned.
"You'd better brush up on your Parseltongue, Potter. We're going to the Chamber of Secrets," explained Draco.
Harry looked at him questioningly. "Hiss, hiss," Draco said.
"Alright, let's go, then," Harry replied.
So they were off again, with Harry leading the way. When he stopped in front of a girls' bathroom, Landry thought for sure that Harry had lost his mind. "Why are we stopping here?" Genevieve asked, confused.
"This is it. The entrance to the Chamber," Harry explained.
"You've got to be kidding me," Draco said.
Suddenly, a squeal came from inside the bathroom. As everyone turned to look, a transparent, ghostly head came peeking out from inside. "He's not," said the ghostly girl.
"Myrtle. It's been a while," said Harry, with mild annoyance in his voice.
"Hello Harry," Myrtle said with a giggle. "Finally come back for me, have you?"
"We're here because we need to get into the Chamber," Harry replied.
"Very well, I'll leave you to your business then," Myrtle said mischievously. "Just remember that, if you die down there, my original offer still stands."
With that, Myrtle squealed and plunged down into her favorite toilet. Harry took a deep breath and walked towards the sink that didn't work, the sink with the snake carved into it. "Stand back," he said.
"You can do it, Dad. For Scorpius," Albus encouraged.
Harry closed his eyes, trying to remember what Parseltongue sounded like, what it felt like in his mouth. He drew in a shaky breath. "Open up," he said. Except it wasn't "Open up," it was some sort of strange hissing sound. The sink with the snake on it began to move, sinking down into the floor. Before anyone could react, Harry suddenly leapt into the large pipe that was now where the sink had been, and disappeared from sight.
Landry gasped. It was decided (against Draco's better judgement) that Harry knew what he was doing, and that they should follow him. "Who goes first?" Miles asked with a gulp.
Albus took a deep breath. "If Scorpius is down there, you'd best bet I'm going down there, too," he said, walking with determination towards the pipe. After stopping briefly on the edge, he gingerly lowered himself into the pipe, then hesitated a moment before letting go of the sides. His shriek grew softer as he slid farther and farther downwards. After Albus, Draco jumped, followed by Genevieve. Miles and Landry looked at each other. Landry really wished that she and Miles could jump together, but the pipe was only big enough for one person at a time.
"I'll go first," Landry offered, reluctantly.
"I'll jump right after you do," Miles reassured her.
Landry walked slowly to the pipe and looked down into it. She could not see the end of the pipe, only a funnel of darkness, which she knew led to danger. But for her best friend, she would gladly face Voldemort, or whatever was down there. Landry sat down on the edge of the pipe, with her legs dangling into it. Then she shut her eyes, and with a sharp inhale, she slid off of the edge and began to fall. She fell for what seemed like forever and no time at all, until she finally felt herself plop down onto something solid. She nervously opened her eyes, and to her relief, she saw Genevieve waiting for her. "Where's Albus?" Landry asked.
"He and Mr. Malfoy ran off to try and find Scorpius and Mr. Potter," she explained.
"Okay, as soon as Miles gets here we'll go after them," Landry replied. At that moment, Miles landed next to them.
"There he is now," Genevieve smirked.
As Miles stood up and brushed himself off, he looked up the pipe wistfully. Suddenly, a look of concern came across his face. "Guys…I just realized…how are we going to get back up there?" he asked.
"We could apparate?" Landry suggested.
"That may work, depending on what…condition…Scorpius is in," Miles said, his face paling.
"No. Don't say that. He's fine," Genevieve said sternly.
"I'm just saying that if he's injured, we probably shouldn't risk further injuring him by apparating," said Miles.
"Let's try not to think about that possibility for now, Love," Landry said, grabbing Miles's hand and squeezing it. "Which way did they go?" she asked Genevieve.
"That way," Genevieve replied, gesturing down a large pipe that led off to the left.
"Let's go, then," said Landry.