~*Chapter 19*~

Unforgivable

With the poor light and the boys' backs turned to them, Al wasn't positive which one was Dumford. He pointed his spell at the larger of the two and whispered, "Petrificus Totalus!"

Unfortunately, Lily must have assumed his target was Richmond. Her spell shot out at him a moment after Al's, and Dumford gave such a jolt he almost danced on his toes before collapsing with a strangled cry.

Richmond yelled in surprise, but his small companion's reaction time was horribly quick. Their wand was out and jabbing blindly in Al's general direction in an instant. Not expecting such a quick rebuttal, Al had no time to even think of a second spell.

"Expelliarmus!"

Al felt his wand jerk out of his grip, and couldn't quite muffle a cry of distress.

"The spies from before," the one with the wand hissed. "They must be-"

Scorpius, however, had gotten over his initial shock quickly, and lurched through the water, throwing himself in a full body tackle at the small robed figure.

They fell, splashing and yelling in the shallows. No spells went flying, so Al had a moment to hope the student had been disarmed. He had dropped to his hands and knees, yanking Lily down with him. In part he wanted to search the ground in the dark by touch, frantically searching for his wand. He was also keen to avoid the wildly fired spells Richmond was sending in all directions.

"Here, here," Lily squeaked, shoving something into his hands. "Lumos!" Al gripped the slender wand reflexively. The disarming spell had only hit him. Relieved, he waved his sister's unfamiliar wand back and forth, searching desperately. His wand couldn't have gone far, he reasoned. It should have hit the cloak and fallen to the ground near his feet. Had he kicked it? What if he crawled over it and broke it?

Lily shrieked as one of Richmond's spells cracked into the ground a few inches away, sending clods of sand and dirt flying.

Al twisted on his knees and pointed the wand at him. "Flipendo!"

He could almost feel his sister's wand resisting him, weakening the spell. Richmond stumbled back, but managed to keep his balance. Now he turned towards Al's voice, teeth bared in a triumphant grimace. Too late Al realized he'd thrust nearly his entire arm out from under the cloak, there for the world to see. "There you are. Little sneak! Crucio!"

The spell struck Al like a bludger to the head. An instant later the rest of his body erupted in pain. He was dimly aware that he'd collapsed and that he was screaming in a way that made his throat raw. He'd never in his life felt such a pain, as if his whole body was on fire or being cut up by knives.

A very small part of him was aware of Lily wrestling her wand out of his clawed hand, and he heard her shout something, her voice cracking with fear and fury. There was a sound like a muffled explosion.

The pain cut off as suddenly as it had started, leaving him curled up in the fetal position, shaking terribly and laboring for breath in the aftermath. He lifted his head painfully, and saw a very still shape lying in the grass. Richmond.

"Al!" Lily's voice was a strained whisper, and her hands were shaking as she pulled at him, trying to roll him over. "Al, are you all right?"

"I'm fine," he forced himself to say. As he sat up, his thumb bumped something in the grass, and he wrapped his hands around the familiar shape with a feeling of relief. "I found my wand. What did you do to him?"

"I blew up the ground at his feet. I think. Maybe he got hit with the um the um the debris... I think he's knocked out..."

"Lumos." Al lifted his wand, taking in his sister's pale, petrified face. The shock of seeing him put under an Unforgivable Curse combined with the unexpected strength of her counterspell had clearly frightened her badly. "Get back to the Quidditch field," he said firmly. "Find a Professor. Scorpius and I can handle this."

"But-"

"Go." He didn't say what he was thinking. If the third student also knew the Cruciatus curse, he couldn't bear the thought of it being used on her. "We'll be fine. I promise. There's only one of them left."

"Not anymore."

They both jumped in alarm, but it was only Scorpius.

He'd staggered out of the water and was peering in their general direction, panting and soaked, clutching his wand. "She got away. She did some spell that made the water wrap around her and take her further out into the lake." He glanced towards Dumford and Richmond. "And they're not getting up any time soon."

"She?" Al rose to his feet, pulling away the cloak.

"I couldn't see her very well, but her voice definitely sounded like a girl's, especially with that last spell." He looked out towards the lake. "She's powerful, whoever she was." He turned back to them again abruptly, eyes darting towards Lily as she stepped out of the cloak as well. "Was that... I thought I heard Richmond..."

Al shuddered all over. The pain was gone, but the memory of it was like an ache in and of itself. "Yeah." His throat was still sore from his screams.

Scorpius took a step towards him, then faltered. His face was twisted in an expression Al couldn't quite put a name to. "You got hurt because you were coming here to help me," he said quietly. It didn't sound like a question, and all Al could do was shrug. Scorpius stared at him a long moment. "I'm sorry." His voice was so quiet Al thought he was imagining it at first.

"We have to tell the Headmaster," Lily said, still trembling. "That curse is illegal."

"You're lucky he couldn't see you," Scorpius said. "It would've been worse if he could see his target properly. Or if he'd realized it was you."

Al swallowed hard, almost unable to believe he'd suffered a watered-down version of the curse. He turned to Lily. "Don't tell James. Not yet. Not until the Headmaster's dealt with it. I don't want to think what James and the others might do in retaliation if they find out and get to Richmond first."

Lily nodded slowly, throwing a hate-filled glare towards the tall boy's still form. Following her gaze, Al was amazed to see the ground all around his body was ruptured, almost as if a giant fist had slammed into the ground.

"Reducto," Lily explained when both boys threw her questioning looks. She shrugged uncomfortably. "I've never been able to get it to work before now. It's a little advanced for me, but..."

"High emotions can sometimes give spells strength," Scorpius noted. "They don't always work as intended, but they tend to be flashy. Good thing, in this case." He pointed his wand at Richmond. "Incarcerous." Strong ropes whipped themselves around the unconscious boy, binding him tightly. He turned and did the same to Dumford for good measure.

"Let's get the Headmaster," he said wearily.

"You two should head to the infirmary," Lily insisted. "I can get help."

"I'm fine," Scorpius protested. "Just wet."

Al waved off her concerns. "I'm all right, Lil. Really. There doesn't seem to be any aftereffect." Besides his raw throat, he was relieved to discover this was true. His muscles felt shaky, but the pain itself was gone as if it'd never been.

"This will prove to Zabini that we weren't making any of this up," Lily said hotly as they trudged back up towards the school.

"I almost wish Evaine hadn't been taken home," Al sighed. "If she'd been here, it would've been perfect."

"But what about that third person? That girl Scorpius fought? We won't be able to say who she was."

"No," Scorpius admitted. "But she didn't see either of you, so there's that, at least."

Al felt a shiver of alarm. "You'd better be careful. You said she was strong. And she has no idea if you'll be able to identify her."

"She was wearing a mask again. She was definitely there when the Dementor got loose." Scorpius clenched his jaw grimly. "She'll be careful, I think, not to give herself away. But I'm going to tell my father about all this. He might know more." He faltered, then came to a stop. "Al..."

Al stopped as well, surprised, trying to remember if he'd ever heard Scorpius call him anything but Potter before. Lily hesitated, glancing from one boy to the other, then silently continued on towards the castle alone, tucking the folded-up cloak inside her robes.

The uncomfortable silence stretched on for a full minute. Scorpius was staring at the ground, refusing to look up. Al was just about to turn and follow Lily when Scorpius finally spoke, his voice soft but clipped, as if he was forcing the words out. "You got hurt like that because you were sticking your nose into-" he shook his head angrily, finally lifting his gaze. "Because you tried to help me. I'm... sorry. And... thanks, I guess. I don't know what would have happened if you two hadn't shown up."

Al stared back, a little dumbstruck. "It's Lily you should thank," he finally admitted. "She's the one that saw what was happening and convinced me to come down here."

"Yeah." Scorpius's eyes shied away again. "She's... not so bad, I guess. For a nosey little shrimp." His shoulders heaved slightly as he let out a deep breath. "Still. Thanks. This isn't the first time you've tried to help, whether I wanted you to or not. We were barely even talking in first year and you still tried to protect me from your idiot brother and his stupid Fifth House more than once."

Al stomped on his initial flare of resentment, deciding this was not the time to defend his brother.

"Why do you keep trying so hard to be my friend?"

Scorpius's voice was so quiet Al had to strain to hear the question, only to find he had no real answer. He shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable. He felt unexpectedly shy in the face of Scorpius's quiet bewildered gratitude. "I dunno," he mumbled, his own eyes dropping to his feet. "I guess I wanted to prove at first that our parents' stupid grudge didn't have to continue with us. And you can be a pain, but you're not so bad. We see each other often enough, and... it seems easier to be friends than put all that work into being enemies for stupid reasons, doesn't it?" He chanced a quick peek, and saw Scorpius give a weak shrug.

"A Potter and a Malfoy as friends?" Scorpius sounded as if he was trying to make his tone derisive, but it just sounded unsure.

"Why not?" Al attempted a lopsided grin. "Stranger things have happened."

"Like a Potter landing in Slytherin?"

"For example."

Their eyes met, and for a moment they shared a quick smile.

"I still think your brother's a prat."

Al snorted. "So do I, sometimes. You don't have to get along with my whole family for us to be friends, you know. Maybe you should stop seeing me as just another Potter and instead as just some weird kid in Potions class who's trying to be nice to you. When you aren't being a snotty little know-it-all, I mean."

Scorpius rolled his eyes, and the odd tension in the air seemed to ease away. They both turned and headed up the hill towards the castle in comfortable silence.

They didn't even make it all the way back to the Quidditch pitch before they were intercepted by Professor Switch. James had noted his brother's prolonged absence and alerted one of the few teachers not playing referee. She took one look at Scorpius, soaked to the bone, and Al, whose face was still pale from the Cruciatus curse, and hustled them back into the castle, shushing them whenever they tried to speak up.

"Go change into some dry clothes, then straight to my office," she said imperiously, ignoring Scorpius's protests. She seemed more alert than she usually did in class, and ushered the Potter siblings to her office, sitting them down in a pair of comfortable chairs and chunnering under her breath sternly as she prepared hot cocoa for them both. "Fighting, no doubt. Slytherins and Gryffindors at each others' throats day in day out, it's so unseemly. Can't the lot of you grow up? Here." She thrust a mug apiece upon them before Al could get a word in edgewise. Scorpius came in a moment later, his hair fluffed from a towel, wearing clean robes, and she hastily made him a cocoa, too, before plumping him down forcefully in her own chair. She dug around in a cabinet, retrieved a lavender hand-knitted shawl, and tucked it around Scorpius with an almost absent air. "The three of you don't move. The Marathon is almost over, and I'll be bringing the Headmaster straight here." She swept from the room, closing her door with a snap.

"Probably mad she had to miss the flag capture thing," Al muttered into his mug. "I hope Louis did well."

Lily had been glaring at the door, but sagged in her chair with a sigh. "Well, keeps us from having to tell the story twice, I guess." She peeked over at her brother's mug. "You got more marshmallows than me."

Scorpius shrugged off the borrowed shawl and put his mug on the desk, pacing the room. "We don't have time for this," he grumbled. "For all we know that girl could come back and release those two from their bindings. Then we'll have no evidence at all."

Al sipped at his cocoa in silence, but Scorpius's words made his stomach twist with anxiety.

Luckily, they didn't have long to wait. Not even ten minutes later the door opened and Shacklebolt swept into the room, followed closely by Professors Switch and Zabini.

Zabini's eyes darted to each of them, his lip curling in a sneer. "You three again."

"Richmond just used the Cruciatus curse on Albus," Lily blurted before any of the Professors could say another word.

Switch gave a small gasp, clutching at her heart. Zabini's eyes grew wide, then narrowed. Shacklebolt stood very still, staring down at Lily. His gaze flicked to Al.

"He and Dumford are tied up by the lake," Scorpius put in. "There was someone else with them, though, so I don't know if they're still there."

"Blaise," Shacklebolt said immediately. Zabini nodded once and hurried from the room. "Eloise, would you mind if I borrowed your office?"

"Of course, Headmaster," Switch stammered. "Should I fetch Madam Green?"

"Not just yet. It seems Mr. Potter is recovering nicely."

Once the door had shut, Scorpius moved to stand beside Al's chair so that Shacklebolt could sit at Switch's desk. But though the Headmaster went to stand behind the desk, he didn't sit. He placed his big hands on the desk and looked at each of them in turn, his expression grave. When he spoke, his deep voice was very quiet. "Please explain."

"Dumford and Richmond cornered me in the hall when everyone else was heading to the Marathon," Scorpius said calmly. "They dragged me out to the lake and disarmed me, then kept dunking me in the water. They were sure I had something to do with... the night with the Dementor. They said either I'd been there or I'd let someone in. Then a third person showed up. I'm pretty sure it was a girl, but her face was covered. She... seemed to be in charge."

Shacklebolt gazed at him steadily. "Why would they suspect you?"

Scorpius opened his mouth, then shut it again. He swallowed, then finally said, "There's been some kind of in-fighting with some of the Pureblood families and... others."

"Prior Death Eaters, you mean," Shacklebolt murmured.

Scorpius winced ever so slightly. "I don't know what's been going on, exactly," he admitted. "My father doesn't want me caught up in it, but I know he's been given a hard time by old.. associates. There was some kind of disagreement over the summer. He lost his wand or it got broken... I don't know."

Lily sat up straight and shot her brother a significant look. Al stared back, puzzled, then took in a sharp breath, remembering. "That's why you were all at Ollivander's right before school started," he blurted. "Your father was getting a new wand." The Headmaster threw him a warning look, and Al quieted down hastily.

"Whatever's going on, my father doesn't seem to want anything to do with it." There was a defensive note to Scorpius's tone now. "Some of the others at school have given me a hard time about it. I guess they needed a scapegoat."

Shacklebolt didn't respond right away. He gazed down at his calloused hands for a long moment, digesting this. "Very well. And then?"

"I saw it happen," Lily said timidly. "I... I went and got Al." She and Al took turns explaining the tussle by the lake, once again leaving out any mention of the invisibility cloak. Shacklebolt's face grew graver than ever.

Al was just finishing describing how they had headed back to fetch help when there was a knock on the door.

"Enter," Shacklebolt called.

The door opened and Zabini stuck his head in, his face a thundercloud. "We found them. And this." He held up a knotted wand.

"Mr. Richmond's?"

Zabini nodded and came into the room, handing over the wand.

Shacklebolt placed it on the desk and drew his own wand. He hesitated, as if he were about to ask a question he did not want the answer to. Then he tapped Richmond's wand with his own. "Priori Incantatem."

A faint light spilled from Richmond's wand tip, and a distant echoing hiss seeped out with it: "..Crucio..."

Al shuddered at the sound, his skin crawling with memory of the pain.

Shacklebolt sliced through the light with his wand, and the spell vanished instantly. He and Zabini shared a long, grim look.

"Confine them to the infirmary," Shacklebolt said softly. "Madam Green may keep them bound or sedated as she sees fit. Send an owl to the Ministry. This is in their hands now. And send word to their parents. Harry as well." He paused, looking thoughtfully at Scorpius. "It may not yet be wise for your father to come here, things being as... fractious as they are. I will contact him myself through the floo network and let him make up his own mind. Accompany me to my office please, Mr. Malfoy. He will feel better if he sees you unharmed." He waited for Scorpius's nod, then straightened, tucking Richmond's wand into his robes. "It seems wherever trouble crops up this year, you three are not far behind," he observed a little drolly. "I must once again ask you to keep these matters to yourself and let the adults handle it from here on out. You two, please return to your dormitories. I will send for you if your father asks."

"Who won the Marathon?" Lily asked hesitantly. "Our cousin... Louis, he was on team three..."

Zabini scowled at her, as if offended she should be curious about something so trifling, but a faint smile hovered on Shacklebolt's lips. "The rest of the students are headed inside now. If you hurry, you may ask him yourself."

Lily nodded, avoiding Zabini's eye, and hurried out. Al started to follow, then paused, glancing back towards Scorpius. He'd spent all year worrying about how dangerous Slytherin would be for Lily. Despite the many hints that pointed at in-fighting, it was only now occurring to him that Scorpius might be in even more danger.

Scorpius didn't look at him, but he must have felt Al's gaze. "I'll be fine," he muttered.

Al dithered, feeling he should say something, but Zabini gave him a firm shove, and shut the door in his face.

Notes: Woo lookit that, 2 updates pretty close together for once. Finished this one last week, actually, but wanted to make sure people had a chance to read ch. 18. Also, I have a surprise to add to the end of the last chapter :) There should just be one left, I'm pretty sure.