Chapter 17. Flying December
"December! December! December!" Scorpius said in the library, getting history homework help from Jazz. "So many things are happening this month. We finally play Gryffindor in a week after endless delays and rescheduled games – with of course, us being the obvious winners. Slytherin plays Hufflepuff this weekend – Hufflepuff being the obvious winners. Then there's the Christmas Chess Wizarding tournament in two and a half weeks right before the Christmas year end party – held illegally of course. Then the end of school. And home!"
Home to his gruff father and lively mother, his grumpy fat cat Doris and his Father's dog Kaigani, his mysterious grandmother and too-honest grandfather, and his exotic relatives that were batshit crazy. Home to the world's weirdest peacocks and the most savage wild chickens. And to no homework! And much less drama!
But sadly, less Quidditch as well.
"It's going to fly by, that's for sure," Jazz said. "Stop daydreaming. You need a generous few more inches on the importance of magiqued armour in the 18th century goblin wars." She pushed a heavy textbook towards him. "Start reading here."
Scorpius sighed and looked at the textbook. It looked like jiggles all over the page. "What are you doing for Christmas?"
Jazz's grey eyes lit up. "Well, going home to northern Scotland. I've got three sisters, two moms, and six cats that are brimming with stories to tell me. Going to ride my horse lots, explore, and catch up with all my muggle friends out there. Drink litres and litres of hot cocoa, build some snowmen, and read some of my new books."
"Are the new books history texts?"
Jazz turned a delicate shade of pink and pulled her long ponytail to the front to play with ends. "They're different accounts of the Treaty of Ragnoon – it would be interesting to hear the merpeoples side in the treaty, they usually aren't one for the written language as we know it. It's a special edition. If my dad wasn't a book nerd and owned a book shop I would not have been able to get a copy."
"They do say that children inherit the parents' traits. Nerd."
"Whatever. Oh look, here comes the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, of course."
They were setting up the front tables for the homework help they gave to students. He'd heard it was helpful, but he'd never in a million billion years ever go himself. He had his own teammates who helped with homework.
Scorpius made a face. "Ew. Sarrasin and Earwig. Such a great combo."
"Yolanda and Trent, Scorpius. It's true though, they are a great combo. They are the best Beaters in the school for a reason."
"Don't remind me," Scorpius said. "Why do you always correct me when I use last names? You don't do that for anyone else and people do that all the time?"
Jazz hummed under her breath for a moment. "You sometimes call people by their last names kind of as a sign of disrespect. Only for certain people, mind you. Sometimes it's as if saying their first name would be surrendering a win or giving acknowledgement that they're an equal."
Oh gross. He gave a weird smile. "Agree to disagree. Last names are easier, they flow more naturally!"
"Oh shush. You're being a distraction and not doing any work. Here," Jazz pulled out a sheet of paper from her pocket and pushed it to him. There were four different books listed. "Go stretch your legs and find me these books. Only come back when you're ready to work – like head down to the table work. You're almost done. Umm … the top two books are probably near the west exit in the back. The bottom two are near the back corner that's always super dusty and dark."
"These do not look child friendly."
"They're not. They'll probably all by on the highest shelves in the dark corners. You'll see." She gave an innocent smile. "History is seldom light and only told by the victors. Sometimes you need alternate sources."
"You're only making me do this because they're all on the top shelves."
"Oh, I would never use your height to make my own life easier," she said airily, fluttering her fingers in his direction.
He gave her a deadpanned look to which she grinned. Scorpius looked at the paper again. "'Unnameable curses Captain Jims Hermes cast on muggle pirates in the Mediterranean,' … 'Curses, jinxes, and Captain Jims contributions towards the muggle legislation in the 14th century to burn witches.' Yes, you are going to have a super fun Christmas break."
"It's going to be so good, you don't even know. Now shoo, go find them please."
Scorpius went stalking off into the depths of the library, avoiding going around the front to see the few players from the Hufflepuff Quidditch team tutoring a plethora of students. He wanted them to be enemies, not sympathetic and nice people. He was sure it was an image boost for them; that was all.
Only once in a while did he ever venture to the back to look for books. It was very … niche. Topic and subject specific, not what you'd normally need for classes. More side-project stuff. And there were some darker books there. Books that younger students weren't meant to find and use. When Scorpius was in first-year he had ventured to the back, browsing. When he was caught red-handed looking through a potions book that had some questionable potions in it (along with some perfectly normal ones) he was called a Death Eater. He was too scared to go back until his fourth-year. Sometimes eyes were on him all the time. Watching. Waiting.
The first two books were easy to find, exactly where she said – near the west exit. There were oodles of empty desks. Lots covered in dust. But the lighting was also very bad as well, so he could understand why nobody ever worked back here. And it was chilly. It was surprising that there was no source of heating for students this far back.
FER 3443.3, FER 3755, FER 5001. Where the heck are the 4000's?
He stared, puzzled at the empty space on the shelves. Well, next book. He went further back and then followed a bright light (the only light) to a small desk in the middle of the shelves.
"Weasley!" he said surprised. "What the hell are you doing back here?"
She jumped about a foot in the air and knocked her ink bottle and candle over, black liquid spilling everywhere and the candle flames catching a bottom corner of her paper and lighting it on fire.
"Bloody hell," she swore, using her robes to smother the flames and plunging them into darkness.
"Uh. Oops. Lumos," Scorpius lit his wand so they could see what they were doing. It smelled like burnt hair – not a pleasant smell. Rose eventually looked up at him after inspecting the scorch marks on her robes from her frantic smothering of the parchment. Scorpius flinched, or almost flinched. She looked … haggard and had a weird scrape on her cheek. Had bags under her bloodshot eyes and ashy skin. "Are you okay?" he asked instinctively. Though he wasn't sure if he was asking that about her looks today, or the last time he saw her and she was being antagonised by Rennings. Both were extremes, in a sense. She seemed physically off today, the other day she was off emotionally.
There was no way he could ask if she indeed tried to cast a memory charm on Rennings, causing brain damage. There was no way it could be true, right?
Why was that a thought that had to come up right now anyway? It was hearsay, could be totally false for all he knew and Rennings was trying to cause friction between the team. Yet …
"Yes. Fine." She didn't look like she wanted to talk. She set her candle back up, scrapping off the spilled wax around the burned corner of her parchment and wiped up the ink with a rag she pulled from her bag. When she lit the candle again, Scorpius extinguished his wand light.
"Aren't you cold back here?" She sort of looked like a scholar, robes pushed up to her elbows and deep in study with the books around her. Her hair was crimpy-straight and hung there. Almost like it was fried.
"No."
"Uh. Jazz and I are studying out front … if you want to join us?" He didn't know why he asked that, but it seemed lonely here. Nobody ever worked in the back. Got books once in a while, yes. But never worked.
"No thanks."
"Are you sure?"
She looked at him like he was crazy and he felt crazy. "Yes." Now she sounded annoyed.
"But it's so dark and cold."
"I like it like this."
"Eeeuuuuuu …" Not much he could say to that. He didn't feel compelled to leave yet though. "What are you reading?"
"Some books Jazz recommended for a History essay."
Scorpius tilted the books towards him and read the covers. One of them was the pirate book Jazz wanted.
"We're supposed to be writing on goblin armour, no?"
"This is … extra."
"Extra credit?" That was unbelievable. So she doesn't show up to half the classes but did extra credit assignments? She didn't really acknowledge his comment though, just shrugged and moved her paper so it lined up straighter. "I'm only back here because Jazz asked me to pick her up some books and apparently you have one of them."
She shrugged and pulled the open book back towards herself, dipped her quill in her ink bottle and then stopped.
"Right … no more ink." Could she put more of an accusatory tone in her voice? She didn't look like she really meant it, it was moreso a comment because he didn't get a glare along with her phrase.
"I can give you mine? It's in my bag at the front." At least he didn't burn her whole paper. It looked like she had written a substantial bit with the amount that was rolled up at the top.
"No. It's fine. I'll write again later tonight. What book does Jazz want? You can take it, I'm done with it." And leave. Was the implied message. She picked up her opened book, flipped the page, and started reading as she leaned back into her chair. What terrible lighting. He wasn't sure how she was able to read. Probably faking it. Scorpius grabbed the book he needed and then backed away, not really sure if he should even say goodbye. She was very disinterested in his presence. He found Jazz's last book on the top shelf further away from Rose and then dropped the books back at his table in the warm, normal sections of the library with quiet whispers of students all around. He immediately started digging through his bag.
"What are you doing?" asked Jazz.
"Found Rose hidden at the back and scared her. Her ink spilled everywhere so I'm replacing it."
"She's here? Invite her to come sit with us."
"I did. She declined."
"What did you do to her? Were you rude?"
Scorpius gaped at her. "Excuse me! Don't assume it was me. She wanted to work by herself."
"Scorpius! Make sure you apologise for what you did!"
"Jaaazzzz," he whined, affronted. She always assumed the worst in him. "It wasn't me! She wants to be alone right now. Anyway I'll be back in a second."
Weasley hadn't moved from her spot. Maybe only flipped a page or two. "It's me," he called. "Don't want to scare you again, but here's some ink." He left it on the table in front of her. "Sorry to disturb you, I'm leaving again." Why was he even apologising? It was crazy. Her eyes peeked out at him from behind her book and she watched him walk away. He didn't understand why he was being nice. And he didn't know why he was caring, or trying to care, or bringing her a bottle of ink. Ink! He was losing his mind. But was it really a surprise at this point?
She set the book down before he got too far away. "Thanks … Scorpius."
He nodded and then somehow managed to finish his goblin and merpeople essay without annoying Jazz much more.
Hufflepuff and Slytherin played a match that weekend on a sunny and clear winter day. Hufflepuff had all received new jerseys from their sponsor, Whizzpop Candy Co. The jerseys looked impressive and professional next to the older jerseys of Slytherin. It was interesting how it made a different in perception. Based on looks alone, he was sure Hufflepuff would win. They looked professional and well put together.
Cass came out with him and snuggled up close in the stands as they watched Hufflepuff completely dominate once again. Scorpius thought he was a terrible person to snuggle up to because his arms were flailing constantly in anger and excitement, he stood up a lot (mostly in annoyance), and he yelled when the refs didn't catch an illegal play. She didn't complain and seemed to find amusement in his reactions.
The whole Ravenclaw team was sitting in their usual spot at the top of the stands with only a few other students scattered around. Why would a regular Ravenclaw come out to a Hufflepuff and Slytherin game? They barely came out when their own house was playing.
Scorpius was positive the whole Gryffindor team was watching as well, analysing, analysing, and analysing.
Was Hufflepuff actually that good, or was it mostly mental? It was true, there were mostly older players compared to all the other House teams, but they weren't that much physically stronger. Shufen, the Seeker, was one of the smallest players at Hogwarts.
In essence, they played smart. Though they did muscle their way through a lot sometimes and were able to get away with it. They had a legacy behind them, and knowledge that they were undefeated for nine years. As much as Scorpius hated Brawns, Brawns was a very intelligent player – until he got angry. That was when he started making mistakes and letting in goals. Same with Sarrasin, same with Shufen. All of them started making mistakes when they got angry and lost their cohesiveness. Some games they would bicker amongst themselves for a large portion of the game. Yet nobody had managed to make that work in their favour yet.
Nine years undefeated.
Higgs with her vibrant hair knew this and it seemed to be a key tactic of the game. Her, Forest, and Picasso (the Chaser trio) were all working on Brawns. Forest flew into Brawns twice now; it looked like Picasso tried untying a shoelace of his; Higgs 'accidentally' threw the Quaffle at his face; and they kept needling him. He started yelling at his teammates in frustration when they scored three goals in a row and Scorpius was rather impressed. Getting him to that point was the result of a momentous effort. Since Brawns was yelling at everyone, it caused Sarrasin to start yelling at him, and then Shufen needed to get involved to add her two cents. This was the key moment when Hufflepuff starting losing their cohesiveness and Slytherin slowly crept up in points as Hufflepuff started bickering more and more.
But Slytherin still lost.
"Why do you think Hufflepuff is so strong?" he asked Cass. "Coming from a regular-less-Quidditch-crazy student than me and my teammates."
She grinned at him, her red hair peeking out from her toque in a way that made him want to tug it like he did during their Hogsmeade date in November so she would giggle in her cute way and hold his hand tighter. "'Regular student' ha. I don't know though. They are confident in their moves. They make passes knowing their team will be there to catch it? I really don't know, I haven't watched that many games to be honest."
Scorpius nodded. It was true, they knew the game. They knew the plays and communicated well. "Hey what are you doing in two weeks?"
"Umm, the weekend after your game?"
"Yeah."
"Not sure. Packing I guess. We head home like two days later or something."
"Weasley and I are doing the Christmas wizarding chess tournament. Want to join?"
"What. Really?" He couldn't read what was in her eyes. She seemed both curious and confused.
"Yeah."
"Well, I don't actually play chess. But maybe I'll watch?" They paused in their talking as they walked up the huge hill to the castle, passing a few students who were out of breath and resting. "I didn't realise you guys were that close … she seems to always be off somewhere, or is with Dakota. And I know you really dislike Dakota."
"Mhmm. We're teammates now."
She nodded. Scorpius held the Entrance Hall door open for her. Cass didn't look at him. "She scares me."
Scorpius almost laughed, but held it in because she actually seemed serious. "What do you mean? How?"
"I don't know. She's always skipping class … Is barely in our dorm room. Doesn't talk to me or Julie. Always has the curtains on her bed shut. And … I guess she never seems to care about school or people or anything. And I mean, her friends all only care about themselves. There have been bottles of booze on her nightstand … sometimes other things. And I'm pretty sure she does a lot of illegal things. So the fact that she doesn't seem to care about anything scares me. You have to care about something, you know?"
Merlin, everyone had their stories about her. "Yes … agreed. I don't know much about her, but she's … okay, so far. Not as bad as I additionally thought. I just don't understand her."
"I've shared her dorm for six years now and don't understand her. At all. She used to be so nice though. Back in first-year and second. Maybe third? I don't even remember. Then she ... changed. She became very private. Didn't talk anymore and stopped showing up to classes. Got too good for everyone or something and started ignoring us all. Well, except Dakota. They got much closer then and had this super exclusive friendship … but she's very secretive and not a nice person, really. None of them are, and I mean Emmanuelle and Melody as well."
Well, he could definitely agree with her about that with Emmanuelle. But Melody seemed … too eccentric and off in her own world. She seemed to mostly care about animals.
And he didn't know if he could say that about Weasley anymore, though he didn't know why. He'd seen her 'angry' side, and actual real emotion from her, but it wasn't malicious or without reason.
They spent the rest of the day together. And then it was the week of preparation for their last game before Christmas. They ate together every morning as a team, met every evening to have a practice or talk game strategy. They were playing Gryffindor and it would be a very challenging game. There was so much at stake. They had one win, one loss so far. Same with Gryffindor. This game would determine who took the second spot in the standings. Hufflepuff was (of course) first and Slytherin was last.
"We don't want to be third," Nadir said in the locker room before the game. "The better our standings are the more likely we'll get to play Hufflepuff in the final, instead of the semi-finals. We want to maintain a good spot for the start of the games after Christmas. But let's get out there and play and enjoy it. This is our game. We know what to do on the pitch. Its clear skies with a bit of a chilly wind. Keep warm. I'll call a time out if anyone is cold and we can come in to warm up and talk. Let's do this team! You're amazing players."
They all stood in a group huddle one last time before grabbing their brooms. Jazz tightened Gebhart's scarf, pulled the gloves over Bitz's coat to keep the wind out, and clapped Nadir on the shoulders. Nadir turned around and lead the way, the first out into the pitch.
Both Bitz and Junior clapped Scorpius on the shoulder before jumping out of the opening into the mayhem behind Nadir.
"It's do or die Scorpius," said Gebhart seriously. She pulled her goggles on over her eyes and followed suite. She had her red-tipped hair sticking out in weird directions under her helmet.
Jazz clapped him on the back. "But don't die dear."
He rolled his eyes and then entered the air, following closely behind Jazz. The stands were only partially filled still. The game didn't start for another ten minutes as they warmed up and flew around a little. Nadir was correct though, it was a cold wind – and it felt like it was biting into his bones. He flew faster and had to tuck his gloves into his sleeve again in a few minutes.
The game started out strong. Bitz and Junior got two strong hits right at the jump ball that broke up the Gryffindor Chaser formations and Ravenclaw had possession. Scorpius scored the first goal of the game amidst cheers from the stands and he knew then that they had this game.
Everything felt just right. He quickly flew back as the Gryffindor Chasers assumed control quickly and were already headed back to the other end. He caught up to Gryffindor Chaser Delta Tyler and tried to knock the ball out of her hand, but she passed it directly below her before he could get a good angle.
Gebhart flew after Hugo, though she was a little slow and couldn't quite keep up. But at least she kept up the pressure, sticking right on his tail. A few more passes went around – Tyler – Hugo – Park – Hugo – and they had trouble intercepting the Quaffle from them. Tyler took a shot at Jazz. She caught it and passed it to Nadir quickly. They were on the offensive again.
What Scorpius was really interested in, but tried not to focus on again was the Seekers who were circling around the pitch. Nanik Azur was rather known to be very quick and had caught Snitches under other Seeker's noses. Rather an advantage.
All the Beaters were working overtime on the pitch, and Scorpius's arm was grazed by a Bludger when he had the Quaffle in possession near half court.
They were up 80-20 in a surprising early lead. The scored two more quick goals after he managed to wrestle the Quaffle away from Park in a turnover.
The game went by quickly. Gryffindor got a few goals in, lessening the distance.
But as it was inevitable, there was an announcement over the loudspeaker by Tiff that the Snitch was spotted. He didn't dare look. He couldn't look. He felt he was in a game of monkey in the middle, desperately chasing after the Quaffle that was tossed between Hugo and Tyler, trying to get control in case it was a false dive of the Seekers.
But it wasn't. Gryffindor caught the Snitch.
It happened. He sunk to the ground slowly. They lost. Gryffindor took second place in the standings and they were third. They were ending the year with only one win. Which was about on par with last year, but it hurt. They had such a strong team this year and they were being denied another win. He wanted to blame Weasley so badly. But they were a team, and all helped each other and the Seeker was never to blame. Just seeing the look on her face was enough; she looked devastated. The whole game didn't rest on their shoulders alone. But dammit. She was the easy target for his anger: she didn't even want to be on the team in the first place.
It only marginally made him feel better to clap hands with all the Gryffindors, and know they worked hard and deserved it and won fair and square. They were an honest bunch and it was a game well played. He felt slightly less terrible after he saw Hugo Weasley give his sister a huge hug. He was a solid Captain. Gryffindor was lucky.
Still though, he crawled into Cass's bed that night because he felt downtrodden and didn't want to be alone.
He had a restless sleep.
It turned out Cass only came for his first game the morning of the wizarding chess tournament. To be fair, if you didn't know the game Scorpius could see how it could boring – watching two people slowly manipulate pieces around a colourful board left a lot to the imagination.
The Great Hall was decorated so festively. There was the huge tree Hagrid brought in that all the Care of Magical Creatures classes helped decorate. Scorpius had placed a large stuffed pig with wings at the very top, which no professor seemed to notice or care about. The Hogwarts choir was holding practice currently and going through an infamous Christmas song about roasting chestnuts on a wizard flame. There were a few people he knew besides Westlock. He could see Sprocket (who waved at him), Sadie-the-Slytherin-who-will-throw-gum-in-your-hair-if-you-even-glance-at-her, and a few Weasley's – the one he made a bet with among them. There were so many Christmas goodies and drinks on the table – the kitchens must have been going full time.
Scorpius and Rose had both won their first games and were sitting with a plate of cookies and eggnog in front of them. There were also a few origami reindeer courtesy of Bitz. He and Junior had been by earlier when Scorpius cajoled them to see the Great Hall's decorations. They didn't stay long. Scorpius wasn't sure who charmed the origami to move, but they were prancing around on the table.
It was a really chill atmosphere and rather fun. But then Cass said she had homework.
"Are you sure?" Rose asked. She picked up a Christmas tree cookie and took a large bite. Her nails were bitten down to the skin. "There's a smaller section of the tournament for beginners that starts at noon … we could teach you quickly."
Cass seemed nervous around Rose. Didn't really speak to her straight on.
"No … I have other priorities today. I don't enjoy being obliterated by younger students at games."
"Oh but that's the Christmas joy!" Scorpius said. "I'm going to be obliterated next game. I see Hugo giving me the stare down. He's pretty good isn't he?"
Rose had a sneaky smile – a slight upturn at the left corner, left eyebrow raised the tiniest amount. "Yes. Quite."
"Cass, are you sure though? Apparently there's going to be some sort of dance practice during lunch. Might be fun to watch."
She smiled and leaned forward to give him a soft kiss, tucking her hair behind her ear to prevent it from falling in his face. "Yes, sorry. I don't want homework for the holidays. I'll be in the library all day. Maybe if I finish early I'll come back to see how you've done. Otherwise I'll see you in the common room."
She waved to them both and then took off.
"You smiled at her."
Rose frowned and then gave a confused laugh, her straight hair swishing around her ears. She was on her third cookie already, he grabbed his fourth. "What are you talking about?"
"Cass was saying she was scared of you, but you were super pleasant to her."
"Ah. Most of the school is scared of me. Not surprising."
"See, you've never been scary to me. Just … aloof. And … well, alone."
She nodded. "Also a true description. But I seem to recall you calling me emotionless – dud of a human and all that."
He narrowed his eyes. She didn't seem angry about any of it. "So that's what the school thinks of you, and how I used to think of you. How would you describe yourself though?"
Fifth cookie. Damn. He would probably regret it soon. The choir started singing a song called 'The trees wake on Christmas Eve.' Rose put her chin in her hands and was looking off at them. She had some relatives amongst the choir, though Scorpius only knew one of them.
"Probably alone," she said quietly. "That's very true. And … and scared. Uncertain. Aloof. Everything you've already said is true." She looked at him, a hard look in her eyes, eyebrows knit together. "I don't have a high opinion of myself. The school can think what it wants." She pushed herself off the table. "Excuse me."
That … was terrible. She left the Great Hall, but then came back in ten minutes later when Scorpius had polished off the plate and was called to his next game with Weasley Jr.
Hugo demolished him – but thankfully they didn't mention Quidditch at all or Ravenclaws recent loss. He was a good sport and it was an enjoyable game.
Scorpius ate about ten more Christmas cookies, drank way too much eggnog, and won his next two games.
Westlock came over and cajoled a promise out of Scorpius to come to their year-end performance in May. Scorpius had never gone before since singing wasn't that interesting for him and he usually had Quidditch practice. Yet somehow he made that promise to West. He had a few months to think of an excuse though. Sprocket also came for a visit when Scorpius was between games and they played a friendly match. Thankfully Sprocket wasn't as good at wizarding chess as he was at Gobstones and Scorpius won.
Rose played her brother and it was a very close match. They kept cajoling each other, knocking out pieces left and right, and then Rose finally won the game to many cheers of all the onlookers. Scorpius was rather sad that he and Nott were on thin ground right now since their last fight. Scorpius had lost to Nott at chess basically every single game that they had played – he felt like the Weasley siblings would give him a run for his money.
But no. He was still mad at him and it was his own loss.
The winner of the tournament ended up being a Fourth year Slytherin girl named Tessa Fraser, beating the Seventh year Gryffindor Chaser Delta Tyler in the final game later that evening. Scorpius was barely hanging in there – he was crashing hard with the huge amount of sugar he had consumed. But damn, what a fun day. It really felt like Christmas.
He was excited to leave in a few days and see his family; his mother's letters the past month had made him anxious and homesick. It was time to go home.