A/N: I'm going to be out of service in the backcountry for a large chunk of August, so there will be no updates for a few weeks. I'm hoping to post up to Chapter 26 before I leave, but still have to do some final edits on chapters on very limited time so not sure they will all get there. I'm hopeful though! I'll do my best to upload quickly when I'm back :p.
Chapter 22. Pixie roundup
The start of February was promising a coldness like January: bone chilling, windy, and relentless. The Gryffindor vs Slytherin game got pushed back a weekend because of the extreme cold risks to the athletes.
The Ravenclaw Quidditch team still held practices mostly inside, with the occasional half an hour jaunt to the pitch for some flying in the freezing cold weather. As much as Scorpius wanted to fly, it was almost not really worth it to go outside and feel like his fingers were going to fall off. It was one thing to play with only seven fingers, it would be much harder with none.
Nadir told them all that the Captains had met together and were petitioning the Headmaster to let them practice in the Great Hall while the weather stayed miserable. But no luck– something about the dynamic equilibrium of the room shifting out of balance with the magic of the brooms. It was a bit of a disappointment.
To top it off, the newspaper had been utterly boring the past few days. Seemed like the whole wizarding world was frozen. Everyone was indoors and keeping warm. Even his parents were saying they were going to head south for a brief spell to escape some of the cold so he should expect less letters.
Potter made a surprise visit in Potions class on a cold Tuesday. "Making some headway. Have some people to interview. Can I schedule you in for later tonight?"
"You're interviewing people for this? Who's on the list? Every single Hufflepuff?"
"It's more comprehensive than that. I'm thinking of all possible motives right now. Hufflepuff stands were full of students of all Houses. Not many people noticed the alleged 'interference' if you will. But I've gathered lists of all external attendees at the pitch."
"I know what I saw."
"I know. Rose says the same. And yet, there's no evidence. Trying to find more witnesses." Emmanuelle got back from the storage cupboard and that essentially put an end to the conversation. The rest of Potions was boring, as usual. And he, as usual, felt restricted by the class and his partner.
They had the textbook, but there were so many different variations to potions beyond what was written. Most potions didn't have a one answer concoction. He really disliked having a partner that never deviated from the recipe. She was excellent at potions because she could follow directions, but didn't truly know the ingredients and their properties and how that influenced the potion.
He kept his head down and worked. He did annotate a few ideas in the columns of his text. Maybe adding some licorice root would change the properties of the sleep potion to a milder colour – and maybe a nicer scent. Or adding dandelion petals mixed with wormwood powder during the warming stage could be used for those people with allergies to venomous tentacula residue?
He sighed. This was so basic. And probably known already throughout the wizarding world. Why did he even try?
He left after Potions to do some Transfiguration reading in the library (ignoring Earwig and Riley tutoring at the front), finding a spot next to a window where he could look out at the winter wonderland outside and also watch some Care of Magical Creature students head into the Forbidden Forest. He got about five minutes into his work and had to stop. He didn't like working alone. He couldn't focus – he needed at least a little distraction to be effective.
"Have you looked at the Defence assignment yet?" Weasley's voice emerged from over his shoulder and Scorpius jumped in his seat, all the hair on the back of his neck standing of straight.
"Merlin girl! Give some warning."
She plonked down in front of him with two large books. "You're unobservant. Anything I would have done or said would have scared you. Lose-lose situation."
The light from the window cut across her face, illuminating her freckles. She was rather pretty, he had to admit. In an annoying-elusive-confusing way. Her straight chin length hair was the most unnatural thing about her. Only because it was too helmet-like. He wondered if she'd ever had it longer or keep it wavy.
"Is your hair naturally curly?" he asked.
"Why are you asking?"
"Well. Hugo has the curliest hair I've ever seen. Yet yours is straight. Any time we practice in the rain you have little pieces that go haywire and form ringlets."
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Yes it's naturally curly. I've gotten enough insults from it over the years that it'll never be curly again." And she said that as a matter of fact end of conversation. She opened up a book and started writing.
Scorpius managed to get some work done then. Polished off his Transfiguration research question essay before they started casually talking about the upcoming assignment, which was about casting the Patronus spell. It was really interesting theory and he was excited to try out the spell. But he had no idea what happy memory to use and how easy it would be. They finished their six inches of theory on the parchment, individually brainstormed about happy memories (since that was much too personal) and then they broke off for lunch.
He was actually excited for Defence that afternoon, though they were all in for a big surprise when the Professor walked in, eyes alight in happiness, hair a floofy mess.
"Class I've got the most wonderful surprise for you all!" She walked briskly to the front of the class and wrote 'Cornish Pixie' largely on the chalkboard. The class was silent, rather confused, but a few people looked intrigued. "We are going to put a pause on the Patronus lesson – remarkably we have a practical assignment right now regarding some escaped pixies on the seventh-floor. Now can everyone – no need to raise their hand – tell me what they know about Cornish Pixies from their time so far at Hogwarts? Just shout it out. We need to be quick."
"They're blue," shouted Westlock.
Students started talking left and right.
"Devilish creatures – mischievous and playful."
"Easiest to stun them I think?"
"No freeze them!"
"Originate from Nigeria."
"No – they're a tropical species. From Indonesia?"
"They fly!"
"Okay, okay everyone." Professor Lavallee raised her hands and everyone fell silent. She had been writing a few things on the board from when everyone was shouting out. "That was a bit more of a gongshow than I thought it would be. So there's about three hundred pixies we've confined to the seventh floor. We'll all go up there together as a class and catch as many as possible. The best way to catch them is a freezing charm, and sometimes if they're close together you may freeze more than one." She wrote the charm on the board and turned back around. "You all learned it this in first-year, it's very basic. No time to practice! Everyone be cautious of the pixies and do not underestimate them. If you are not constantly aware, they could sneak up behind you, grab you, and fly you to the ceiling. It's a bit uncomfortable and slightly dangerous." She turned back around and wrote another charm on the board. "This is the cushioning charm, as you all well know. If a fellow classmate gets caught, cushion the fall and freeze the pixie. Simple."
"How'd they get there?" Nott asked. The whole class was becoming more intrigued. People sitting up in chairs, looking around, some talking.
"Well, I suppose it's not top secret. Hagrid was tipped off about a pixie smuggling ring at Hogsmeade Village and intercepted the shipment. These pixies were illegally caught in the wild and brought here. We're sending them back to Ireland for rerelease. However, there was a little mishap on the seventh floor twenty minutes ago and they are all loose – scattered throughout the rooms and corridors. I thought it was some good practical experience for you. Up, up!"
It took a moment for everyone to realise she meant them and that was their cue to get going. Scorpius got butterflies in his stomach for some reason. This was exciting. It ended up being super chaotic for her to herd the whole class out the door in a timely manner and get up the moving staircase to the seventh floor. But arrive they did and Hagrid stood at the top of the stairs waiting for them.
Hagrid was by far one of Scorpius's favourite teachers. He always had a grin, always had some interesting creatures about, and knew everything there was to know about magical creatures.
He gave a wave to the students and greeted them cheerily. "None have left yet," he said. "They're yers for the catchin'. Be careful. These ones're tricky!" He had a large cage to the left of him and numerous smaller cages surrounding it. "Pair up amongst yerselves. Every two people with a cage. Once you put the pixie in they will be transported back ter this large one when ye close the door. We want them ter be in here before they start wakin' up. Be sure someone catches the pixie as it falls."
"Quite right Hagrid. Thanks for the rundown," the Professor chimed in. She clapped her hands. "Okay. Make pairs everyone."
Westlock and Nott looked at one another and bumped fists.
"Why are we a trio?" Scorpius said annoyed. "And why am I always last to making pairs and left on my own."
"Please, your partner is Quidditch," said Nott with a shrug. That surprisingly hurt more than he thought. "And you did ditch me last class when we actually were partners."
Scorpius crossed his arms and fumed as everyone paired up with friends. Not surprisingly, he was the last one left with Weasley. Of course.
"See – you and Quidditch. What a sweet marriage."
"Asshat."
Weasley went for the cage since he was still fuming at his friends.
She came back slowly with the cage. She stood next to Scorpius, not really saying anything – and he hoped he was projecting that he did not want to talk at all. He could not be more obvious, he thought. Yet, she seemed a bit fidgety and not like her usual clone self.
"So, bet we'll catch more than you," Weasley suddenly said to Nott and Westlock with a nod of her head. Nott seemed surprised she said anything to him and opened and closed his mouth like a fat fish. Westlock grinned and turned to her, sussing her up.
"What's the wager?" He gave the obligatory head nod back, waiting for her to set the terms.
She shrugged. "A few butterbeers at Hogsmeade this weekend?"
Nott recovered quickly and stuck out his hand. "It's a deal." They both shook her hand. Merlin they were all cringy.
Scorpius raised his hands. "What, you're including me in this? Do I not get a say?" he asked.
"Have you stopped sulking yet? It's too late, should have spoken up before," said Nott. His pulled his shoulder length hair into a bun at the back of his head and pulled out his wand. "Time to round up some pixies."
When given the go, they all headed into the corridor, groups turning left and right into different classrooms. Within a few seconds he heard both screams and laughter. One group that included the Gryffindor Beater Lulu Singh ran out of the room, breathless. "Holy shit. They are fast!" They had one pixie in the cage and Singh shut the door with a snap. The pixie disappeared. She grinned at them. "This is going to be SO fun."
Gryffindors had too much energy sometimes.
But now they had an idea about what kind of afternoon it was going to be: chaotic. There was more screaming and laughing. Students running about all over. Weasley forged ahead, passing most other groups. Scorpius looked back once to see Professor Lavallee and Hagrid standing and grinning at them all. And really, if you could get free labour to sweep up the utter mess pixies could make, why not?
Scorpius ran to catch up to Weasley; she was peering in a few classroom doors and already had four pixies in her hand, coming back to Scorpius to set them in the cage. They turned the next corner to three pixies in the hallway flying near the ceiling basically right above them.
"Scorpius catch!" she called out and Scorpius literally could not think and was not prepared for the pixie catch. Luckily Weasley cast the cushioning charm and caught the pixie herself.
Another pixie swooped down at her from behind her head, reached her hair, and Scorpius finally popped out of his stupor and stunned the pixie that was next to her head. It flipped over her shoulder into her hands.
Her eyes were wide as she turned around with two stunned pixies in her hand. "That's some quick spellcasting." Her arm suddenly whipped out and Scorpius felt the heat of the spell pass his cheek and then there was a stunned pixie resting on his shoulder.
Memory charm.
He felt a little shocked at her quick spellcasting. And then felt terrible that his first thought was that she was going to hit him with a memory charm. Or stun him somehow. She's not a bad person! he said to himself. Get Rennings out of your bloody head. You don't know any secrets, you're not a danger.
"Likewise," he responded. He peeled the pixie off his shoulder. It was super light and the skin felt spongy. It was the first time he'd really seen one up close and it was weird to see such a small succinct creature. Weasley opened the cage again for the recently stunned and they immediately disappeared and were sent to the larger cage.
"This is much more efficient than running back and forth the whole time," said Scorpius.
They heard a small scream and Scorpius peaked his head back down the corridor to see Westlock half raised in the hair by a pixie as Nott was laughing out loud. Scorpius snickered and then followed Weasley as she went deeper into the seventh floor. They captured sixteen more pixies in odd corners and ends.
They veered into a doorway on the right and heard faint flutters in a cupboard. They approached quietly, tiptoeing as if the pixies would attack if they heard them. Weasley opened the cupboards and Scorpius stunned the two pixies. The room was clear after that and they went back to the corridor.
"This is actually rather fun," commented Scorpius. They hadn't seen another student in quite some time and there seemed to be fewer pixies the deeper they went onto the floor. Weasley was low as she crept around the next corner before looking back at him. This was a real smile she had on her face – both sides of her mouth lifting. This was a smile that Scorpius would bet his whole right arm (and that was saying a lot since it was his arm with five fingers attached) that she used at home. Away from Hogwarts.
"Much better than being in a classroom," Weasley agreed. "I'm guessing that whatever happened with Hagrid happened closer to the stairwell judging by how few pixies there are here."
"We're still finding them though."
Weasley nodded. There was a door ajar to the right and she bobbed her head in that direction. Scorpius indicated for her to go first. She slunk forwards and slipped in the slender opening of the door, heading into darkness. Merlin, she had no fear. Seemed there were no windows in the room. Scorpius felt his heart rate pick up slightly as he followed her path, listening closely. Pixies had telltale sounds as they flew around: the slight pattering of their wings.
"Something is in here," Weasley whispered after Scorpius found her when his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. She pointed to a wardrobe that had two large doors. One of them seemed to be rattling ever so slightly. They scanned the room and it seemed as if nothing else was there. Without really talking, Scorpius lit his wand as she went forwards, opening the door.
He shot a stunning spell immediately. There was two seconds of silence, as Scorpius still struggled to see through the drastic change of light and then a soul-splitting scream and Scorpius dropped his wand and almost fell over. That scream was like a death scream – not one you should hear while searching for pixies. His heart rate instantly picked up and his hands felt sweaty.
"Rose? Rose? Are you okay? What the fuck I can't see shit." He found his wand nearby by his blind touching as he crawled around on the floor and then lit it again. He felt clumsy, as if his wand was going to slip through his shaking fingers. There was nothing. No sound from Rose and bloody hell he was fucking scared what the fuck.
As soon as he could see he dropped his wand again and the light went out. He panicked. "Merlin FUCK. What the hell Rose that's Hugo? Is he dead?" He had seen enough to notice Rose on the ground against the wall, looking on in terror at Hugo's dead body as some creature was above it. "Rose GET OUT, GET OUT." He didn't know what to do. He found his wand again in record time and shot a stunning spell at the dark creature, though it did nothing.
Three quarters of him wanted to get the hell out of the room but that flash of Rose's face had been enough to know he couldn't leave her alone. He lit his wand dimmer this time so he wasn't outright blinded and ran by Hugo's – but no. It wasn't Hugo. Scorpius stopped. It was an older man, with very red hair, white skin, and blood all over his neck and Scorpius was sure he had seen him before – but before he could process, it wasn't a man any more. It was a woman with dark skin and tight curly hair that was matted with blood. And now Scorpius knew – this was her family. And her family was dying before her eyes.
In that instance, he knew it wasn't real and that it was a Boggart.
As if he was prepared for that again.
After his first experience with a Boggart he shoved the fear so deep in his head that it would never surface without reason. He would never have to be reminded of what he had seen and what it represented in his life. And oh – had it ever been close over the years. One essay where it skimmed the surface, taunting him. A few words by strangers. An article in the newspaper. A friend that was much too honest and knew the boundaries he could push. And Scorpius knew he himself pushed those boundaries sometimes. There was always some intrigue and curiosity … there was power in knowledge, and he wanted to know so he could avoid … but what if he couldn't resist?
He didn't want to think about it. Couldn't think about it.
He couldn't even fucking remember the spell.
But he somehow found more courage to approach the large wolf looking creature that had yellow eyes. The wolf barred its sharp teeth as it looked up at him and Scorpius closed his eyes as he saw the characteristic blurriness of the Boggart changing forms. He turned away from it and went to Rose, his back to the creature. He knew what it was going to be. But he didn't want to face it. He put his wand in his pocket and kneeled down in front of her, grabbing both her hands and squeezing tight. Her knees were up to her chin.
Her face was ashy and she seemed to be barely breathing. He didn't say anything. Just held her hands tight.
A little colour eventually came back into her cheeks and her eyes didn't look so vacant. She moved her body a little bit from her rigid position.
"Why is everyone leaving you?" she whispered, her voice a little hoarse, as her eyes wandered over his shoulder. Scorpius felt his body stiffen.
"Do you remember the spell to get rid of that thing?" He had to ask. She skipped the day in fourth-year that they faced the boggart. Of course he didn't think anything of it then –
She nodded.
"Just do it." He didn't want to look. He knew. He would be as paralysed as her when faced with his own fears – same as he had been in third-year when they were learning the spell. It was everything he couldn't stand. His parents, his mentors, his friends, his enemies, and his lovers. Everyone looking at him in disgust and leaving him. Getting away from him because they couldn't stand his presence. Looking at him as if he were a horror upon the Earth and a traitor.
Like his father.
She let go of his hand to get her wand. It was captivating, he was sure.
Him with three silver fingers, as if they had never been blasted away by a Dark object when he was younger. Him with the Death Eater's Dark Mark, a vivid black tattoo against his pale skin. A remnant from his Father. A piece of his history.
Him, whole, as he raises his complete hand with the silver fingers to the sky in triumph, letting the whole world see his tattoo.
Him, alone, as it was always meant to be.