Chapter 24. The eighth task
"How are the tasks Rose assigned coming along?" Nadir asked pleasantly in the hallway between classes, veering across to the opposite side when he spotted Scorpius.
"As lovely as you can expect for the most random assortment of things I've been doing," Scorpius said back equally as pleasant.
Nadir reached up and ruffled his hair (though it was only a minor reach up considering Nadir was only about an inch shorter than him). "Good boy. You're doing me proud."
"What choice do I have, you threatened to kick me off the Quidditch team?" he said back, maybe a tad snarkily.
"Don't be petty. What choice did I have? Tell me young Scorpius, what would you have done if you were Captain and one of your returning players outright insulted and disrespected a new player on the team?"
His mouth opened and closed. He had him there. Nadir had a clipboard in his other hand and Scorpius redirected the question. "What's that for?"
"Just checking up on all my players and making sure nobody is too stressed out through managing school and practices. Now, what would you have done?"
Weasley and Rennings past by him, Rennings waving her fingers at him with some fancy bracelets clanging on her wrist that she was waving around vigorously; Weasley walked past blankly, carrying all the schoolbooks. He stared at her back. Shit. What would he do? Obviously he was in the wrong … It would be terrible for the team to start off with two players on bad terms.
It was hard to separate Weasley from the scenario. There were too many weird emotions around her. Too much history, not enough history.
"Probably … probably would have gotten the person who insulted to apologise. Aaaaand maybe made them be partners for everything for a few months. I don't know … handcuff them together for 24 hours? No! Wait. Don't you dare do that, it's actually a terrible idea. Invasion of privacy and loss of personal rights." Man he had to backtrack there. Nadir had a cheeky grin and then Scorpius groaned. "Okay. Fine, you were correct. That was probably the best thing to do, I'll stop complaining. Besides, we only have two tasks left. I've done seven of them so far."
"Good to hear they're coming along. I will confess, I didn't think they would be spaced out this much. I was thinking they'd all happen last semester."
True, it had been almost six months since starting. And he knew her better in a few ways, but he still felt he had barely scratched the surface.
Nadir continued slowly, "I will confess as well I was hoping you two would be fast friends by now. Both of you could benefit from each other's friendship."
Scorpius almost laughed out loud. Wouldn't that be something? She would need to have emotions to have friends. He kept his mouth shut though – if there was one thing he learned – for the thing was she did have emotions, and he was becoming very familiar with them now. She seemed like she wanted to be friends with him … sometimes. Something was holding her back, or he was very much misreading the signs. Which was plausible, since he didn't really know her at all. Friendships weren't like business transactions. There needed to be trust, fun, loyalty, communication, and patience. None of those words could be used in relation to the enigma of Rose.
Yet – she found him in the library again the next day and sat down at his table. Inside he felt really happy, but he barely made a motion on the outside. He didn't want to scare her away or have her think that they were friends or close to it. It was becoming common – this friends but not friends but maybe friends dynamic that he didn't understand. He wanted to say something but felt frozen. He was scared of her response. Scared that she'd get up and leave. That she wouldn't come join him randomly in the library anymore, wouldn't run a few laps next to him at practice, wouldn't do her half grin, not grin when he said something stupid, wouldn't make bets with Westlock and Nott anymore.
He didn't want to ask, but at the same time was dying to ask.
He was too scared.
It was sudden. There was a hand on his shoulder late one night and next thing he knew he was shoved behind a tapestry into the secret passage on the sixth floor. "It's me," she whispered in his ear. Weasley. He let her push him into the passageway a little deeper – though really she was freaky strong so it would have presented a strong fight if he did try to resist.
Her hand was off his mouth then and her dim wand light came between them.
"So," she started, whispering so quietly under her breath that Scorpius struggled to hear. "I think I have the eighth task figured out. I don't know if you'll like it so it's entirely optional."
"How is it optional?" He was basically forced into this passage by her, didn't seem like he had had a choice.
"It's … illegal."
His eyebrows raised. Just what the heck did Weasley want to do?
Her voice raised a smidgen. "Not a bad illegal – it's less morally reprehensible than other things for sure. But it would be highly frowned upon in this setting with us."
'Us' could mean many things. Scorpius's mind jumped to his legacy. She knew she bloody knew that he sincerely avoided all things Dark because he was worried about being curious or wanting to know more or being called a Death Eater. She couldn't seriously have been suggesting –
It was as if she read his mind. "By 'us' I mean sixteen year olds in Hogwarts. That's it. I should say it's approved by one Professor, but it's all under supreme secrecy. I can't say anything else at this moment. But if the opportunity comes to join me, would you be interested?"
Scorpius felt his heart beat pick up slightly. He had so many questions. So so many questions. "What do you mean if the opportunity comes up?"
"I'll be told last minute if it's a go or no go. Also I think it's slightly unfair asking you and I don't want you to agree out of the pressure of the challenges you have to complete. So if you say no, I'll think of something much tamer. But I need to know if you're interested?"
"Interested." It came out of his mouth without violation really. He trusted her. Merlin flipping dammit he trusted her. He was a bloody fool. "Can I ask some questions though?"
Weasley nodded.
"What attire should I wear?"
"Dark, comfortable, quiet clothes."
Quiet. Interesting. "Should I prep or bring anything?"
She shook her head. "I'll have everything we need."
"Will we be out late?"
"Most likely. I'll send you a letter tomorrow night by owl around 9:30 if it's going forwards."
His heartbeat was racing. "Well. I'll be ready I guess. In the common room?"
"Try to be somewhere less conspicuous so if we head out, nobody will notice you leaving or you don't need to make up an excuse."
"Do you do this often?" he said curiously.
"No more questions! Talk to you tomorrow." The light blinked out between them and then she left down the passageway.
He was ready to go the next night an hour earlier than requested by her. He knew that she would send a note his way. He destroyed Westlock in a wizarding chess match in the common room and then said he was off to find Cap to talk about Quidditch matters which was not at all unusual for an evening. Since Nadir was usually off in the library that meant that there were many floors between his friends and his supposed destination – so they wouldn't check up on him or anything. They looked a little annoyed but didn't say anything to stop him.
Instead he went to the ground floor and sat in one of the alcoves near a window reading a book on tropical plants. Perfect location for a quick exit or a message by owl.
Instead of an owl, Rose materialized to him. "Well, since you're super early and sitting in my path, I might as well bring you along," she said.
His breath caught in his throat at her sudden appearance. Thankfully he didn't jump out of his skin like normal. "How did you know I was here?"
"I just did. Come." She was dressed in some old faded black trousers that had seen better days judging by the holes in the knees. Her hair was tied back in small braids – a look she never sported before in her life that Scorpius had seen, and she had on a dark jumper. She eyed him critically. "You're so … bright."
"Not even. I'm wearing all black."
"Your hair is like a beacon."
"It's not my fault I have luminescent hair."
Weasley rolled her eyes. "Can you wear a dark hat?"
"I don't own one."
"We'll get you something along the way then … or rub dirt all over your head."
"Leeeeeeet's not. I'll stay covered up as much as possible."
She nodded and they took off. Their destination was behind the school and straight into a shrub. It was the tiniest thing yet Weasley told him to follow into a little opening after she lifted up a branch. He had to crouch almost in half, and then there was a tunnel. This was a very interesting shrub: magicked for sure. This shrub looked small and innocuous from the outside.
It was a long walk, his back getting sore the further they went into the unknown. He missed the "Branch!" call from Weasley and got smacked across the face with one wayward stick. They kept walking; it was rather flat, maybe slightly sloped downwards but it was hard to tell.
They entered a small clearing with a bit more clearance so Scorpius didn't feel his back was about to break in two. She pushed some dirt to the side to reveal a trapdoor. She lifted in and ducked her head in.
"She's not here yet." Rose's voice echoed in the chamber or tunnel below.
"Who exactly are we waiting for?"
"Our middleman. Melody."
"What!"
"She's passionate about animal welfare and has some obscure and weirdinside connections at Hogsmeade … anyway. Those pixies we had to capture? She apparently received information about it and passed it along to Hagrid. Tonight is also a result of her work. I know. Big surprise. To me as well."
"Are you joking?"
Weasley leaned back on her heels. "Isn't this what you always dreamed Hogwarts to be about? Magic and mystery and intrigue and secret passageways and illegal escapades?"
You're enough of a mystery for me, he wanted to say. "It's one thing to imagine it and another to live it."
She shrugged. A knocking came from the trapdoor. Rose lifted it and Melody poked her head out, her messy blonde hair was partially covered in dirt. "Top of the evening Scorpius."
"You're not Irish."
"Neither are you."
"What?"
She had already turned to Weasley. "No matter how many times I've taken this tunnel I still hit my head on the roof. Are you ready?"
"As I'll ever be."
Melody grinned. "Peachy. Thanks for your help tonight and for contacting your cousin. Much appreciated. Side note, I think the sleeping potion is wearing off. I hope that doesn't cause any problems."
Weasley nodded. Melody reached back down and pulled out a small crate and handed it up. Weasley gently handled it and set it next to her.
"I wish all your stars align and the tides flow in your favour," she said and ducked back down in the tunnel, gone as quick as she came.
Weasley abruptly closed the trapdoor and leaned back hard, within arm's reach of the crate. She looked at him and he didn't even know what to do. He had too many questions. It was warm. This little shrub hideout was warm. He could also see a few stars through the canopy, so it didn't feel like the end of all things. He had to start with basics and work up.
"Is this a secret fort?"
"I guess."
There were some sounds coming from the crate. Small movements. Scratches. Nails on wood.
"Soooo," Scorpius said as they both stared at it. "Can I ask some questions again?"
"No … But yes, it's a baby dragon."
"What?"
"I mean … Maybe you can ask some questions. No … I should explain more."
His heart was pounding. "Please do."
She sat on the ground, putting her hands together like a prayer under her chin. She looked at the crate, but didn't touch or move it closer. Scorpius had all the bloody time in the world. He could wait. He was apprehensive about the fact that it was a dragon in the crate. Why not flobberworms or something tame? She turned to him, gaze sharp.
"There is a baby Hungarian horntail in that crate. It was intercepted at Hogsmeade by Melody's contacts, of course being illegally trafficked there in the first place. One of my uncles works with dragons and is coming to collect this one and return it to the wild. This … is also all new to me. Melody asked for my help because I have family in the dragon business. I had no bloody idea she did this. Anyway, our task is to sneak this dragon up to the Astronomy Tower and give it to my uncle."
"Why you?"
A huff of annoyance. "I don't know. Melody knows me best out of my whole family? Far worse for an unknown adult to get caught sneaking through Hogwarts when they don't go here than for a student."
"Why me?"
"I don't know. I was told to not come alone ... Late. Dark. Dangerous creature. Stupid reasons like that."
Scorpius raised his eyebrows. "Doesn't seem so stupid to me."
"Well it is. You don't know the full story."
Scorpius shrugged. "You could tell it to me."
She seemed stunned by the thought. Her mouth opened briefly and they stared at each other. Her eyebrows clenched the smallest amount. "No."
Scorpius would have had an aneurism right then and there if she had decided to open up to him. Probably better for their mission that she kept him in the dark. "Right. Okay. Well, what time will your uncle be there?"
"Midnight. Late."
"So we have a few hours to kill. Joy."
"Yes. We have an earlier mission though. It'll keep us busy."
"What is it?"
The crate rattled. "Need to pick up sleeping drugs for this guy before our trip."
"Fair. Do you need me to brew a sleeping potion?"
If anything she seemed to blush a little, her cheeks darkening. "That would be … nice if you could."
He grinned and slapped his knee. She jumped at the sudden sound. "Okay. Brilliant. Potions. Sneaking around. Dragons."
She seemed relieved by that – if only because of the way her eyebrows moved apart almost imperceptibly from the creasing.
Hard to tell.
He went to his knees and crawled over to the crate, peering inside. He could feel Weasley right behind him, breathe gentle on his ear as she also peered over him into the crate.
What a creature. It was so small, almost as if it was newly hatched. It had bright eyes with lids that closed from the bottom up. Dark blue and brown scales that Scorpius knew from his studies would change colour after its tenth year. It was digging at the floor with its front claws and actually making a small hole in the crate.
"So beautiful," he murmured. "Seems like we should sedate it sooner rather than later. I anticipate it taking 45 minutes to brew – animal sedatives are easier than human ones. And it's rather simple ingredients, two of which we can find within a ten minute walk of here. The third I have in my trunk in the dorm along with all the brewing supplies I need."
"I can collect the two ingredients if you want to get everything you need from the castle?"
He nodded assent and they traded information – he told her what to collect and where it was, she told him how to get back in the shrub.
"See you in half an hour," she said and left him alone. He took one more peek at the dragon and then rushed back to the dorm to get everything he needed. Before heading back to the shrub he went to the library to double check the proportions of the potion. He knew, of course, but it was good to double check when his heart couldn't calm down, he was blinking a bit more than normal, and he was tripping over stones in the floor.
Then it hit him.
This was illegal. Was this criminal activity? Could he go to Azkaban? Besmirch his family name even more? He felt all the blood drain from his head and sat abruptly on the ground in the library with a thump.
He took a few deep breaths. Okay. It was okay. This was a dragon being returned to the wild. This was ethically responsible. No funny business. He stayed seated on the ground as he found the sleeping potion instructions. Really he could almost recite this in his sleep – he'd made huge batches of it in third-year for Care of Magical Creatures. The words on the page gave him comfort and he reread it a few times, almost as a mantra. Step by step. He could do it. He reread it again and again and again. It was fine. It was okay.
It hit him again as he was walking through the shrub and he emerged hyperventilating into the little clearing.
"What's wrong?" she said immediately.
He couldn't even talk. He sat down hard again, his breath erratic.
She scooted up to him. "Scorpius, talk to me. What's wrong?"
He shook his head. Words. Words were hard. He tried thinking of the Potions recipe again. He needed to distract himself. Soft hands touched his. If anything that only caused a little more stress, his heartbeat thumping at an elevated beat.
"Look at me. It's us two right here right now. This place is spelled to prevent noise from leaving, to prevent people from peering in. We've taken a step out of reality into this fake pocket. It's just us."
She had bright moody eyes, dark freckles on her nose and cheeks. He started counting freckles, the repetitious action calming him. His eyes traced from her cheeks to her hair, passing a few small scars on her cheeks and forehead, to the few pieces of hair escaped from her braids frizzing upwards. Some small pieces along her forehead, framing her face.
"I like your hair," he blurted out. "It looks nice."
Her nose scrunched and she took her hands off his and sat back down giving space between them. "It's just hair."
"Well, accept the uncharacteristic compliment for once and move on."
She gave a small sigh. "What happened?"
"Oh you know. Minor existential crisis … Like determining how illegal this is? What are the chances of getting caught? Are our positions on the Quidditch team compromised, or will we get expelled from school? I have a lot on my mind right now and trying to figure out the chances of going to Azkaban."
Her eyes were wide. "Scorpius, calm down. Stuff like this isn't how people go to Azkaban."
He held up a hand. "Maybe not if your last name is Weasley."
She gave him a look. "Same with Malfoy. It's not dangerous, the dragon will be asleep, it's … late. The dragon is already safe, we're also doing this at the school and not at Hogsmeade so there's less risk."
"First, it's not the same with my legacy and you know it. My family name is basically evil incarnate."
"It's not! Maybe it used to be years ago, but not anymore. Don't you dare argue with me about this ..." She pointed her finger at his face to make her point and then lowered it. "… If you're really uncomfortable with this, you could help with brewing the potion and I could head up to the tower by myself. I don't want to put you in a situation you don't want to be in. Just know – I do have a few tricks up my sleeve so it's not us against the world."
His head was already shaking. "No. It's okay. I'll help."
The next few hours passed quickly. He brewed the potion and then they gave the baby dragon food and water, lacing the potion within. The dragon tried to bite at Scorpius's hand but he evaded all attempts of finger removal.
The sky closed up above them, stars covered by the clouds moving in.
They had small talk, mostly talking about school and assignments as they laid on their backs and looked at the sky waiting for midnight.
"I still can't do a patronus," Scorpius said. "It's at most, faint white wispies from my wand."
"Same," Rose said. "It wasn't meant to be easy."
"Maybe my patronus is earthworms?"
"Sure. If that'll make you happy. Mine is bacteria ... also a great specimen."
He sighed. "It's sad we don't have a powerful enough happy memory."
"It would probably still be hard even if we had a happy memory."
When it was time they crept across the lawn to the front porch, standing in the shadows of the entrance. Weasley turned her back on him and he could see her with old parchment in her hands. She flipped it back and forth, looking through the writing. He held the dragon crate and waited.
"Okay. I think our best bet is to take a secret passage and bypass the first six floors of the school. Seems like quite a few people are still out for whatever reason."
"How do you figure?"
"Innate knowledge."
"Do you ever answer anything straight?"
"Straight answers are for cubes."
"And what are you? A sphere?"
"Of course not. Is it not obvious that I'm an octahedron? Thought I projected that vibe." There was a slight uptwitch of the lips. She was joking! Lo and behold this was going in the history books.
"I don't even know what that is."
"Exactly."
He could not think of a response beyond a soft snort of laughter. What a weirdo. He followed her to the wall and she started tapping a few bricks right at the entrance.
"There's no passages here … right?"
"There's one. Nobody knows about it and if you tell anyone I will gut you."
Scorpius thought it best to keep silent. She tapped bricks all the way to an alcove and Scorpius was surprised to discover that it was missing a wall. "How'd you open it?"
"You weren't watching? Shame."
"Where does this take us?"
"Hospital Wing." She disappeared into it and Scorpius did as well, plunging into the light blue glowing circular staircase. He swore he only took about five steps upwards and then a door faced him and Weasley was looking at her parchment again.
"We'll hunker down here for twenty two seconds. Then we are clear to the tower – for now." She turned back to him. "Little one still asleep?"
"Like a babe."
The next part of the journey made him appreciate the 'quiet clothes' part of the instructions considering how they were literally sneaking hallway to hallway, suit of armour to the next. He could feel all the eyes of the paintings on the wall watch them sneak by. She constantly checked her map. He switched hands with the dragon – the little fella was getting heavy.
He almost ran into her back at the base of the tower when she abruptly stopped. "Behind there. Hurry!"
Instinctively he listened. She told him to crouch down next to the cage and then threw some sort of blanket over them, crouching on the other side of the cage before the blanket settled. "Professor Lavallee," was her way of explanation.
The blanket on them was soft – but they could see out and he presumed nobody could see them. "Can we be heard?"
She put her fingers to her lips as an answer. Soft footsteps passed by.
Weasley laid the parchment she'd been using on the floor. To Scorpius' wonderment, it showed them on the map, exactly where they were. He spotted the footsteps of Professor Lavallee leaving the area. She opened it a little further and looked around where they were but it was empty of other people. Scorpius looked at the other hallways open and saw student names littered around. Laila Park and Lily Potter in a classroom not too far away; Henderson walking the hallway about to be intercepted by Lavallee; a group of students he didn't know in the corner of a classroom nearby.
"Oh boy, you're making this hard to not ask questions about all this. These are – these are some very magical artifacts you're using here."
She pulled the blanket up and stuffed it into her bag. "I know. We're meeting my uncle in fifteen minutes. We're almost there, let's head up."
Her Uncle Charlie was a very kind and happy going middle-aged man, greeting them with a jubilant smile. "What a wonderful case of déja vu! History has a way of repeating itself. I'm happy to see you both and the wee dragon."
They chatted for as long as Weasley deemed it safe, constantly looking at her map, and then they went back to the Ravenclaw Tower.
"Thanks for tonight," she said before waving goodbye and heading to bed.
Scorpius wondered how she could so easily ignore all the questions that he was sure were bleeding out of him, written all over his skin. Questions after questions after questions after questions.
Who was the liar, who was the player, and who was the victim? And really, where did he stand in it all?
Are you a friend, Rose? he asked her in his head. It scares me that I'm starting to think of you that way and you can't decide if I'm worth it or not. I'm actually really starting to enjoy you as a person and want to spend more time with you. What do you want though?