SPOV

"Looking good Scor." Lily remarked as she and Markus wandered into the mirrored dance studio where Izanami Muramasa and I were practicing the steps and lyrics to Ashera's Aria. Al's sister had a suspicious bundle of newspapers rolled up ominously beneath her arm.

"When did you have time to get so fit mate?" Markus asked, noting the abs that were visible on me without my shirt.

"I've had a grueling summer." Was my only answer.

"So you heard about the shake up tonight?" I asked as the sweat of countless practice sessions rolled from off the skin on my forehead.

"Yeah. We heard about the shake up from Al. Should be spicy. You two have essentially taken over the whole of the carnival. Duel, Hunt, Song. Basically the entire magical world is gossiping about you." She added, withdrawing the stack from under her arm.

"HARRY POTTER'S SON, NAMED PRINCE OF THE SEVENTH FONT!" Lily began, tossing paper after paper at me as she read the headlines out loud to the room.

"Fancy french families crown Albus Potter prince of Love at society gathering. Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy down world record Tork in traditional royal hunt. Worlds magical elite make shocking discovery about Potter's blood purity! Potters are Pureblood, sacred twenty-eight now sacred twenty nine! Guests at exclusive noble soirée describe shocking warlock caliber duel between Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy over opening night."

She read each title with dramatic emphasis, flinging the newspapers into the room one by one as she did. "There's even talk that the dance tonight might be televised."

"Grrreeaaat, even more to deal with. I hope Arcanis is happy with his meddl—" I stopped myself realizing we had yet to Induct Izanami into the Jade Rabbits. I had mentioned to her that she was to meet us with the others tonight but she was still uninformed as to the purpose of the gathering. Lily and the remaining rabbits should have brought it up to Rose and Max and the others already while Al and I were rehearsing.

"Sorry you two. We don't have time for distractions. He has to be ready for this role tonight. There is quite a bit of choreography he needs to refine." The Japanese royal interjected. 'I guess my break has gone on long enough' i thought wiping the moisture from my brow with a towel.

"Give me a minute Ami, i've been at this for hours already ok?"

She put her hands up in resignation before instructing the musicians to take a break. Even they looked grateful for the respite.

Lily merely walked over to a table to grab a bottle of water that she tossed to me. I caught the object and chugged desperately, the cool liquid trickling mercifully into my body and down my mouth.

"You spoke to Al already though right? How's he doing with Agi?" I asked of the pair. They looked at each other and laughed.

"I'd like to know too. The celebrants won't have a chance to practice with each other before the ceremony. Every minute of practice needs to be spent with people who already know the steps to the performance."

"Oh lets just say your brother is having a splendid time with my sister." Lily teased. Al was Lily's sister for as long as he was in a female body.

"At least… he would be having a splendid time if half the boys in the castle had not snuck into the gallery of the theater to watch them practice. I caught Markus here drooling and gossiping with Max and Lorcan."

"Its not our fault Al looks like a hotter version of Anna Christine Speckhart" Markus rebutted. I didn't recognize the muggle name but I pulled up my phone and looked the model up as I continued to down the bottle of water. I nearly spit the liquid out as I scrolled through pictures of the radiant woman.

"You've got to be kidding me?" I sputtered.

Lily came over to look at the pictures and nodded to herself. "Wow that's about right."

"Of course he gets even prettier." I grumbled under my breath. Lily turned to me and smirked.

"Even prettier?" She quipped annoyingly, just as softly. I rolled my eyes and she leaned in to kiss my cheek playfully, wrapping me in her arms. "Oh Scor I'm only teasing!" She laughed warmly.


Hours of intense practice elapsed and I had to practically beg to be allowed a brief rest. Izanami would have practiced me into exhaustion and I needed a chance to decompress before i'd have to get dressed for the performance.

A good thirty minutes later and I found myself in front of the mirror in my bathroom, a towel draped around my still damp waist. A quick spell cleared the steam from the reflective glass above the marbled counter so I could observe myself in its silvery surface. The aging potion I'd consumed earlier had taken full effect by now. The magical substance had pushed me upwards to a healthy height of six feet tall. The angles of my face, i noted, were clearly more defined. My skin however remained so soft and youthful that I still appeared very androgynous. The muscles of my chest and abdomen were stunningly carved but mercifully I didn't look overly built.

The mirror Scorpius turned this way and that, examining itself with a cheeky smile as though supremely confident of its appearance. My hair had grown out a bit as a result of the potion which made me look even prettier in a way. I ran some product through the silvery gold locks before rolling on some of my magical deodorant under my arms. Last but not least I carefully applied a light layer of the face serum Dad always bought for Mom and Aurora. My delicate fingers smoothed the glowing substance into my face in soft circular motions. No sooner had the last of the cream sunk into my skin than the mirror Scorpius winked at me suggestively.

When I was relatively satisfied with my appearance, I let the towel fall to the floor and paced my way back to the enormous bedroom. I fell backwards onto the bed and a ghost reflex had me checking my wrist for the time. I remembered dumbly that my watch, however, had been utterly destroyed during the fight with our tusked assailant. I almost cast a tempus instead when it struck me that I had the exact time etched into my mind. I stared at the numbers 7:02.76 in my brain and realized I now knew the precise time in every corner of the world.

'Was this to do with my Avalon magic?' I wondered sighing, closing my eyes as my head pounded.

A fox whistle roused me not a split second later.

"Erm… You might want to cover up Cousin." Alex's voice shot nervously as his throat cleared. I leapt up in surprise, staring at the chair in the back corner of the room where my older cousin sat discreetly. The elegant boy toyed with a gilded snifter of opaque blue liquid, tilting his glass this way and that so that his indigo Cognac mingled with the ice. The lone frozen sphere clinked with the edges of the crystal, creating a soft resonance with each contact.

I turned so that my back was to him, making my way quickly over to the gilded doors of my closet. There I seamlessly dawned my silk dressing robe, noting to my annoyance how very short it was on me in the frame of this new body.

"You surprised me Raven. Not like you to not knock."

"I did knock but you were in the shower. I let myself in thinking you'd at least be in underwear when you came out."

"Well... since you're the expert on such things. How do I look?" I teased suggestively, tying the sash into a knot to keep my robe shut in front.

"You're my cousin… I couldn't possibly comment."

"As if such a thing would ever stop you from commenting on a boys appearance."

"Well if you insist... 'Hot AF' is I believe how the muggles would put it." My cousin replied, picking up his glass from the counter to stand and walk my way. "You're prettier than I would've guessed. A nice blend of beautiful and handsome." He noted tracing the lines of my jaw.

"That nice am I?" I chuckled to myself, pouring a splash of cognac from the decanter in the room into a matching glass. Seventeen is the legal drinking age in wizarding society, I told myself, making a mental note not to over drink this time. My cousin finally noted the blown up photographs on the ornate writing desk and cocked his head in confusion.

"Did you have the elves print out these pictures of Al? Wait when were these taken?" Raven inquired, making his way over to the bureau where the extra large prints of Anna Christina Speckhart were splayed out.

"That's not Al. It's apparently a muggle fashion model. I've been transfixed by her all evening. I take it you've seen our new princess in person then? If you mistook the muggle for Al."

"Wow, the likeness is uncanny. Yeah I helped him get dressed a while ago. He sent me over to make sure you looked your best for tonight. Everyone's been so enthralled with Al that he was worried nobody from the order would check on you. Aurora and the others were either seeing to the new invitees or helping Al get ready."

"Al sent you to me?"

Raven shook his head in the negative before he set his drink down and went into my closet to review my assortment of dress clothes. His hands moved through hanger after hanger carefully, examining the outfits with a practiced discernment.

"I was already planning to check on you when she sent me." He noted absently, not looking up from his task as he retrieved my most expensive smoking jacket. "There's a charms tailor outside. She'll need to expand this if it's going to fit you tonight. Or else you'll probably need to borrow something of your dads."

"Who are you wearing by the way? You look amazing too." I commented without thinking. I rarely complimented anyone. What had come over me?

My handsome cousin blushed uncharacteristically before he turned to the three way folding mirror to examine himself.

"Thanks Scor. I was hoping to make an impression tonight. I'm actually wearing Armani."

"For Louis?" I asked unabashedly, grabbing and slipping on a pair of underwear while Alex was distracted. I shed my robe and spelled it back onto its hanger with a wordless motion of my finger.

Al would have blushed and nodded shyly at my comment. Alex merely turned to me and smirked.

All of a sudden my brain tried to imagine what Al's female face would look like blushing.

When Alex noted I had my underwear on he waltzed straight to the door to let in the french tailor we'd kept waiting. To my surprise it was Anette de Beaufoy, Augustins clothier, who entered my large closet. She had with her a small bag and a stepping box, as well as a pin cushion affixed to her wrist. Alex leaned himself cooly against the entrance of the closet as he observed the woman remove a tape measure and begin to record my proportions.

"Is Albus ready for tonight?" I asked absently, changing the subject.

"She's perfect. Her last five practice runs were like watching art in motion. Better question is, are you ready?"

I turned to stare at him over my shoulder. "Who do you think we're talking about here. I know exactly what I'm about-"

"-Ne bougez pas excellence!" the woman scolded as she maneuvered around me. (Don't move your excellency)

Alex and I burst out laughing at the reprimand.

"Pantalon, chemise et veste s'il vous plaît maitre Alexandre." Anette added. Alex handed her the clothing set as requested and no sooner had she a hold of the items than she waved her wand over the fabric. "Essayez-les s'il vous plaît."

"The rest of the arrangements for tonight are in order?" I inquired as I donned the pants and shirt.

"Yes your grace. All invitees on the list have agreed to meet with us after the conclusion of the festivities." Alex replied, detaching himself from the doorway to move in front of me.

As madame de Beaufoy adjusted the legs of the pants, Alex attentively did up the buttons on my white dress shirt. It was a sweet gesture I noted absently as he smoothed out the fabric and adjusted the tuck to control how it bunched at the waist.

'Family…' I thought to myself, wondering if Ella were here whether she would attend me thusly.

"You don't have to call me that. You're my cousin Alex." the words had come out in almost a hushed whisper, which surprised even Raven.

"You and Al are the heads of the order. When it comes to business regarding the Rabbits its only correct to address you properly."

"Et vous madame de Beaufoy? Vous aimez le lapin?" I asked teasing. (And you Mrs. de Beaufoy? Do you like rabbit?)

"Comment ça?" (Pardon?) she asked confused. Alex laughed again and I could tell the woman was not amused.

"Mais... ne bougez pas tellement Excellence! Oh la la. Quel genre d'enfants sauvages." She scolded as she erased and redrew a mark on my pants leg. Her reply only elicited more laughter from us. (But… come on, stop moving so much your grace! Tsk, what manner of savages you children are.)

"Its nice to talk to you like this Scor." The black haired boy noted to himself.

We hadn't really hung out since my mom had left the Malfoy estate. His father was my uncle but he scarcely invited me over after mum moved back into the Greengrass family home.

"Yeah it is."

The tailor slipped my jacket on next and artfully began the process of altering it.

"Can I ask you something Raven?"

"Raven for this one huh? I'm dreading the question already."

"You're sort of taken with Louis at the moment right. Did you... that is... are you over Al? Or... I mean. What exactly was going on there anyway?" I paused hesitantly, looking at myself in the mirror as I thought about my phrasing. "Like, when you came to me panicking that Al had been taken by a dragon. I had no idea you two were even friendly over the summer. Then suddenly you were hanging out with him in Romania and rushing off to save him from dragons..."

"Is this jealousy? From you?" Alex fired back after a few moments of empty silence.

"Jealous over what? I'm just worried about you and possibly my best friend. You're our tactician aren't you? How did you and Al reconnect even?"

"So many implications in your questions cousin."

A sigh escaped my cousin as he looked deeply into the blue liquid of his drink. He took a small sip before placing the it down on a shelf.

"Levez les bras comme ça." (raise your arms like this.) The french woman instructed as she worked. "Oui parfait."

"Well... The ministry never took my memories of our childhood like you, lily, and Al. I've had a childhood crush on Al from the beginning. When I ran into him, he intuitively sensed a connection and dragged the memories out of me. We got caught in the rain and ended up back at my place that day behind the Shadow Court."

I lowered my arms and interrupted. "rappelez-vous que je dois être capable de danser dans cette tenue ce soir." (Please remember I have to be able to dance in this getup later tonight...")

The woman looked up at me and raised an eyebrow disdainfully.

"Sorry. So you got caught in the rain and went back to your place..."

"We got to chatting and he was so unbelievably kind. He told me a bit about you and his time at school but mostly we chatted about the young memories we shared that had been stolen. In the end I couldn't help myself. I kissed him, a bunch. He... told me he didn't like me like that but that we should stay friends if I didn't mind. Of course you know me. I didn't mind and was scheming to work on him slowly over the summer."

I rolled my eyes at that, knowing full well Alex wasn't exaggerating.

"Some of this you told me already after you brought back Al from Romania."

He nodded.

"Well. I guess I wanted to know if you were over him? And... What did you feel for him anyway? Do you feel?"

My cousin examined me for a long while before replying.

"I was genuinely in love with him. I still sort of am. Getting to know him at this age made my feelings all the stronger. How can you not know what its like to love him? That you'd ask me this of all questions?"

"I don't..."

"Then you're not familiar with the concept clearly. Because you do love him. Its obvious to everyone that you do."

"He's like my little brother. I'm just asking you to describe what you feel."

"Well... I look at him and a physical reaction actually occurs in me. I look at him and see a leader, a shining light. My heart literally pounds when his eyes meet my own. The few times he let me kiss him... it was like magic. The feel of his perfect lips on mine. I could spend all day lost in them. Then there's his smile, his concern for me, his enormous heart that has room for absolutely everyone in it. Those things all drive me crazy. You saw him at eighteen too right? He's as beautiful as you are now. You can't deny it. So basically i'd say it was a lot of things. Physical, mental, emotional. He captivates me. That's what I feel" Alex finished seriously.

I was quiet for a while as I contemplated his words.

"Well he does kiss unbelievably well. I'll give you that." I noted absently, not realizing what I was saying. My cousins eyes went wide and he smiled as though i'd just fed him the best gossip of the year.

"COME AGAIN?" He barked, causing the aged woman to jolt slightly.

"Finis Excellence." Anette remarked with a nod, satisfied with her work. My cousin tipped her in gold galleons without so much as a glance before waving her off, more interested in my revelation than in her or her work. I stepped down from the stool which she grabbed impatiently as she exited. I caught myself in the mirror and beamed at the fit of the raiment.

"I SAID COME AGAIN?"

"Physical contact seemed to help abate our bluescale. Kissing sped up the process of purging the disease from us entirely. I just was agreeing with you about the feel of his lips is all."

"How many times? How long? Like chaste kisses or full on snogging? Details man come on."

"Its not that exciting surely? Last night we snogged in the shower for almost half an hour. I was washing the blood and gore from his wounds when I spied the last of his bluescale marring his arm. The kissing removed the last of it just as I suspected. Then i guess earlier yesterday when he jumped in front of a killing curse for me in Merlin's tomb... i mean it wasn't that eventful... just kind of hazy. The kissing i mean. The jumping in front of a killing curse i'll remember for the rest of my life."

"I'm sorry, i feel a nose bleed coming on and i'd rather not ruin my attire. You're saying you were naked in the shower with him and you snogged for over half an hour? Also he what for you? I mean doesn't this sound like... i don't know... a relationship..."

"We bathe together sometimes? It was a kid thing. We share the same bed a lot too cousin. It doesn't mean anything untoward occurs. Nor has he ever tried anything like that with me. Like i said we just escaped death together and he was crying and in pain and I knew... it would make him feel better."

He stared at me as though I were insane, confusion written expressively over his face. To my complete surprise Alex leaned in and kissed me then, moving his lips in a seductive half grin as though egging me on. My mouth moved automatically for a few split seconds before I instinctively pushed him away.

"Hmm, I thought maybe you were the one that was shit at kissing?" My cousin remarked, putting his hand to his chin in a thinking pose.

"Are you crazy?"

"You can kiss him and not feel anything? You can kiss him and sleep in his bed and he doesn't try anything with you? I thought maybe you were just crap basically."

"Or maybe cousin, novel thought, we're not GAY." I complained, wiping my mouth. Raven's lips were soft too though... I noted randomly.

"I don't know Scor... I have a pretty good sense about these things. Albus likes guys. That much is obvious to me."

"Don't be absurd. He would've gone for you if that was the case. Who wouldn't. Besides i've seen him drool after girls. I know pretty girls make him nervous. Affect him."

"Hmmm... well... liking girls doesn't preclude liking guys too. He's the prince of the font of Love after all. Anyway I'm still reeling from the image of you two in the shower covered in battle scars embracing each other in heated intimacy."

"Gross. My guess is you read too much smut."

"Erotic fanfiction." Alex corrected, waving his hand dismissively. "And only when my last boyfriend was away for the summer."

"Whatever."

"Thats not the point Scor. Its not normal for mere friends to act that way. Don't you think?"

"But you think kissing your male cousin to test a theory is quote unquote normal?" I shot irritably "And we have a soul bond! How many times must i remind you!"

"You know i'm only trying to get on your nerves to make you reflect on things. I'm not actually trying to annoy you." My cousin clarified as he registered the bite to my replies.

"Fine Alex. Sorry. I just... have had these suspicions on my own and I don't like thinking about them. You're a tactician in training. Do you comprehend how bad it would be if anyone suspected we were in a relationship? If Albus did have feelings for me?"

"That doesn't mean he doesn't. That's just wishful thinking. Pragmatically I need to gauge how you'd actually handle it if he were in love with you?"

"I only wanted to make sure you didn't have a broken heart over our fearless leader. I was concerned for my cousin and the tactical head of our order. I did not plan on having this conversation."

"What conversation is this?" Lily chirped strolling into my closet in a stunning crimson silk dress. There was a black silk wrap with dangling rubies draped around her naked arms and shoulders. "Wow. You two you look hot." She remarked casually.

"How did you get in here without making a sound? You're like a bloody ninja you know that?" Raven replied, fingering the ruby earrings that dangled from Lily's ear. "Talk about hot, young one. I'm gay and still I think you look amazing. and Merlin you got so damn tall."

"A shameless flirt is what you are. Anyway I thought we could head out together Scor. Care to escort me to the ball?"

"I'd be delighted to Lils." I took Al's sister by the arm, grateful to have the distraction from my awkward conversation with Raven.

"So what were we talking about when I arrived?" She repeated mischievously as we walked out the door.


Editors note: Sorry everyone! Months ago the author sent me an edit for an earlier chapter and I updated a completely incorrect chapter there by mistake when making the edit. I only just realized this yesterday. So if you read chapter 79: Blood Pact in the last few months and wondered why on earth it made no sense in the order of the story, that was my fault. I have since put the correct chapter back in its place (with edits) so i urge you all to reread 'Blood Pact' for crucial plot details you may have missed.