—CHAPTER FOUR—
September arrived, but there were no train or carriages for students to catch or stories of summer holidays to share.
The Great Hall had two long tables, Hogwarts students and Hogsmeade residents lined up on either side. Neville spoke to the small crowd but it didn't feel like a welcome speech. There were no new first years to stumble in and anxiously be sorted, no house tables to sort to.
Following dinner, Rose and Scorpius received a note from a fourth year boy. Rose snatched it out of his hand and told him to shoo. They peered in to read it. And they new exactly why they had received it without needing to share a word.
Could I please see you both in my office after dinner? The password is my most prized possession. Professor Longbottom.
They arrived punctually, which was not a habit of Rose's but this occasion called for it. She didn't explain this to Scorpius, but being given the role of Head Girl felt like being crowned at a coronation; she had been raised with the expectation, groomed for the role. There was no excitement, just a quiet sense of duty.
"The password is Mimbulus mimbletonia," Scorpius said quietly to the stone gargoyle guarding the staircase. It stood to one side and let them pass.
"Did you ever expect to be standing here beside me?" Scorpius asked as the staircase began to move.
Rose studied him. She remembered acutely the dread that sat like lead in her stomach when he had entered the train carriage for their first prefect meeting. She had always pictured she and Albus becoming Head Girl and Boy. But somehow, that had changed. Her vision of leadership was linked inseparably with Scorpius.
"No," she said, turning away from him. "But I suppose that's what keeps life interesting."
Professor Longbottom was sitting behind his desk. It had been a while since either of the students had visited his office. It had several new plants lining the windowsill, none that Rose recognised. Professor Drummond's portrait slept quietly on the wall, his bald head bowed. Something inside of her stiffened.
"I think perhaps you should both have a seat."
Scorpius hesitated. The only tell on his face was a slight furrow of his brow. He did not sit so neither did Rose. Her attention returned from the portraits back to their current living and breathing headmaster—far younger than the witches and wizards preserved in pigment. By the tired expression on his face, something was wrong.
"So this isn't about Head Boy and Head Girl?" Scorpius probed.
"No, it is."
"Then…then why are you so morose?"
Rose glanced between them once more. It was like they had some sort of secret understanding. Slowly, she sunk into her seat. Scorpius remained standing.
"Look," Neville said, clasping his hands together. "You are both the clear pick for the role. Strong leadership as prefects, excellent marks, plenty of extracurricular. All in all, you've been quite impressive."
"Not to mention we've saved Hogwarts a bunch of times," Rose butted in hotly.
"Yes, well that's the problem, isn't it? Neither of you are particularly good at following the school rules."
Scorpius opened his mouth to protest, then shut it just as quickly.
This couldn't possibly be happening. Rose could feel the blood draining from her face.
"What we fear is that if it came down to it," Neville said cautiously, "you two would have a great deal of sway over the current students—more so than the teachers or even the Order, perhaps. That you may lead some sort of…"
"Revolt?" Scorpius said, raising his eyebrows.
Surely, this couldn't be happening. Rose was convinced this was some sort of elaborate prank.
"I have a soft spot for you both, as you very well know. Which is why I decided to be so frank. While it's all very good to have you working with the Order, we can't have you going above their heads again."
"We're not Head Boy and Head Girl?" Rose demanded, her face very hot.
"No. We decided to give that role to Mary Boot and Caleb Macmillan."
"What?"
"I believe they will lead the students well in matters related to the school's order, and nothing beyond that."
"So you're frightened that we have more influence than the Order?"
"I am frightened that you think you are above the work of the Order. That just won't do. I'm very sorry, but under these circumstances, we can't give either of you that much power over the students. I hope you can gain enough perspective to recognise that."
It was about a quarter to eleven when Rose met Scorpius by the boys' lavatories. He had changed into his tracksuit pants and a pale blue t-shirt, an appearance that always made him look softer and younger. It made him look his age. He slapped the little black book against his hand and nodded towards the bathroom door.
Rose was still gutted by the news she had received earlier that night. It felt incredibly unjust to have the Head Girl badge dangled in front of her then snatched away. While he was hiding it much better, Scorpius must have felt similarly. His jaw was working a little more aggressively than usual.
They had to meet in secret first, so their dormitories and the common room were off limits. It would be safest to descend into Scorpius' most secret hiding place—no matter how painful Rose found it to return there. She examined the back of Scorpius' jaw as he unlocked it, letting out an inhuman hiss. Stone slid aside. She wondered what he was thinking beyond the mask of his face. Perhaps he blamed her wild antics for losing them the position.
They lit their wands, meeting at the bottom like creatures that had fallen down a well. Rose conjured a little ball of blue fire and Scorpius conjured a jar and she carefully lowered the light into the glass. The blue hues were ghostly, casting long shadows down each of the tunnels that led off from the chamber.
"Are you ready?" he asked.
"The suspense is killing me," she replied, without humour. Carefully, Scorpius pulled away the chord binding the book and opened the black cover.
He thumbed through it. It was blank, except for the first few pages.
"That's odd," he frowned. Rose tucked her way in beside him, staring down intently at the first page of the book, embossed in an old script:
For The Serpent Bearers
The Heirs of Slytherin in Blood and Spirit
The Protectors of Tradition
The Providers of Governance
"You don't think it's true," Rose said, her voice struggling to remain steady. "All the rubbish about Salazar Slytherin writing this himself?"
"I don't know—but the Rules are on the next page."
LAWS.
The Serpent Bearers are the heads of their House. The Seniors are their responsibility. The underlings are the responsibility of the Seniors. It is the Seniors duty to impart the values of Salazar Slytherin to the generations that follow them — Ambition, Cunning, Resourcefulness, Fortitude, Fraternity and Preservation.
There shall be two Serpent Bearers, one of either sex, selected by the previous Seniors holding the title. They must be outstanding examples of Slytherin's values and principles.
It is their duty to sophronise the underlings in their charge, to uphold order and honour for the sake of their own integrity.
If an underling does not discipline himself, his superiors must discipline him.
All matters of discipline should be handled by the Serpent Bearers and should not be raised to the attention of the other Houses and their faculties.
Should there be need of witnesses, call on the Slytherin prefects or in the most extreme of circumstances, every member of the House.
The Serpent Bearers are solemnly sworn to secrecy.
TRIALS.
Seniors may wish to conduct trials as a means of imparting the values of Slytherin House to their underlings. These trials should be regulated.
Clause One: The female students are the dominion of the female Serpent Bearer, the same true in reverse for the males. There are no exceptions.
Clause Two: Trials must instruct the values of the House to the students and cannot be for sport.
Clause Three: Challenges may not interfere, intercede or involve housemates of the opposite sex or any challenge they must carry out, but must be independently overseen by their respective Serpent Bearer.
Clause Four: The boys cannot enter the girls' dormitories without the permission of the girls within. This is to be strictly enforced.
Clause Five: Trials must uphold the integrity of the House. Therefore, debauchery, licentiousness, drunkenness or torture is forbidden. Any behaviour deemed to be degenerate or dangerous is forbidden.
ENFORCEMENT.
If an underling contravenes the Seniors' rules, the underling may be subject to punishment.
If the Senior breaches the rules, the Serpent Bearers must punish them before witnesses.
If the Serpent Bearers fail to enforce the rules, their integrity and life will be the recompense.
The Serpent Bearers must make an Unbreakable Vow to uphold the rules to the best of their capabilities.
The Serpent Bearers must sign their names below.
Rose swallowed hard, leaning away from the sixth page. She could feel her heart pulsing in her neck. It felt as if there were two fingers inside her throat, jabbing the skin in a frenetic rhythm.
A horrible recollection of all the awful things older students had ever done to her swarmed through her mind. She could tell by the thin line between Scorpius' eyebrows that he was lost in the same thoughts.
"So when they put pansy seeds on my bed…what value was that to impart?" Scorpius muttered. "To have me practice Self-Preservation?"
"Or when they made me eat food off the floor in first year after sitting with my cousins at the Gryffindor table; was that supposed to be a lesson in Fraternity?"
"They could justify almost anything," Scorpius said, his lip curling with disgust. Rose was surprised by his vehemence. He gripped the book hard in his thin fingers, the bones white at the joints. "There's nothing in here that says behave like thugs, but that's all they did. That's all I've ever known them to do."
And the entire thing seemed ludicrous, all the stupid rules listed in this pompous little book. Dramatic and childish, the work of children puffed with aplomb. Seventeen year olds taking themselves far too seriously.
And then there were those final lines, the part that neither of them wanted to acknowledge out loud. That made Rose's stomach turn.
It explained why Norton was so willing to submit to punishment back in Rose's fifth year. Why the boys had been so cowed when confronted by the girls. For the fag-masters to violate the rules and not accept punishment would directly contravene that final promise. It would mean death.
"I really don't know how I feel about this."
"I wouldn't want anyone else getting their hands on this book, though," Scorpius frowned. "And I know that we won't abuse our power."
"I suppose not," Rose said slowly.
"We should go to meet with the others. To make it official, I suppose. It's almost midnight."
It would be their first midnight raid, as the raiders. Waking up their roommates and taking them to the common room. Explaining to them this little book, what it meant, the structure behind the tyranny of their House. They would be the witnesses to their Unbreakable Vow. Rose felt the sweat spring up on her palms. The pounding in her neck had spread to her temple. Why hadn't she been sorted into Ravenclaw or Gryffindor or even Hufflepuff?
But she dismissed the thought a moment later. She knew that if she were in any of those Houses, their world wouldn't make sense to her. As awful as this book was, what it had sanctioned throughout the centuries, she knew that it made perfect sense. And she knew she would sign her name to it.
"This is bollocks," Zabini scowled. He crossed his arms and leaning back in his chair, bare-chested and chin turned up.
They had forfeited the usual dramatic—instead, Scorpius and Rose had collected the remaining roommates in their dorms and led them to the common room, where they were seated around one of the large mahogany study tables. It felt inappropriate to undertake the usual tactics of their seniors past—masks, wands lit in the dark, mysterious conversations—but now Rose was regretting it. As stupid as it would have been, maybe it would have given them a bit more authority.
"So they were grooming you two all along," Alice said, her mouth puckering to the side.
There was a lot of scepticism. Rose was quietly thankful that the other girls in their dormitory had never returned to Hogwarts. Estelle and Sonia would have fought them the whole way.
"Can you read the rules again?" Toby Fleischer asked.
"We've already read them twice through," Scorpius said coldly. "It's simple. We all agree to do this now or we have to go to a vote."
"But who says you two are the best for the job?" Zabini snapped. "It won't be as tough for them as we had it."
"Bloody hell, Zabini! Anyone with a brain can tell they're the best for the job," Alice said, rolling her eyes. Quite resentful about it too.
"I don't think you want to do an Unbreakable Vow, Zabini," Isabella said, very quietly. "I don't think you'd be able to keep it."
The group fell silent for a little while longer, staring at the little black book between them.
"Fine," Zabini relinquished.
The others nodded. Scorpius looked pointedly at Isabella. "We need to do the Vow then."
Maybe wearing a silly mask and lighting the room with candles would have made Rose feel better. Or maybe not. Isabella extracted her wand. Her eyes darted between them.
Scorpius stood and Rose joined him, her hands sweaty again. They both kneeled before the great big windows where the Black Lake quietly sloshed against the glass. His face was intense but very still, only hinting at what must have been happening underneath. She wondered what her own face looked like.
They clasped right hands. Isabella hovered over them, her wand slowly lowering over their fingers and staying there.
"You start," Rose said, her throat dry.
"Okay," Scorpius said slowly, not taking his eyes off hers. He held her there. "Will you uphold the rules to the best of your capabilities as a Slytherin Serpent Bearer?"
"I will," Rose said, swallowing hard. "Will you uphold the rules to the best of their capabilities as a Slytherin Serpent Bearer?"
"I will," Scorpius replied, steady. From where the wand touched their hands, warmth raced its way up her arms to stop at her heart. It thudded a little harder, and then seemed to pace itself.
Scorpius stood first, without letting go of her hand, then pulled her up.
"You can all go back to bed now," he said, his voice very low. He didn't look up at them. His eyes were still staring at their clasped hands. His grip was so tight.
The others left, too unsettled to protest. Zabini was the last to walk out, traipsing down the steps with heavy feet. In their absence, the sound of the fire and the lake were amplified from either side. Scorpius stepped forward to close the space between them and kissed her very gently. One of his hands moved to her face, his fingers curling around the back of her neck. When they broke away, Rose again felt oddly as if they had reached the end of a wedding ceremony.
"We have to sign," she said, gesturing to the book.
"Mm. Right."
He moved away from her now, taking a stray quill and inkpot off the table and sliding it over to the book. Rose hovered behind him, watching. In his neat cursive, he signed his name. She took the quill and did the same, the letters round and blocky.
They watched as the ink slowly sunk into the parchment, then disappeared. They both raised their eyebrows. Of course, it made sense in a way, she supposed. So many Slytherins would have signed their names in this book, it would never store them all otherwise.
But to their surprise, new words seem to now fade back into the page.
(Prick your finger and press the blood into the parchment.)
They were both silent. The words did not fade. They had certainly not been there to begin with.
Rose knew that her whole family would kill her for being intrigued, but she was. It was one of their number one rules to never trust a sentient object if you couldn't tell where it's brain was. If Ginny and Harry knew, they would have a field day.
The rest of the book was blank. Surely this was the key to unlock it.
"I don't like this," Scorpius said softly, showing his first signs of trepidation. "What's it going to ask us to do next?"
"I suppose there's only one way to find out," Rose said, and she took her wand and lightly flicked it over her finger tip, opening the skin in a tight sliver. A paper cut. She let the drop of blood pool around the cut, then firmly pressed her finger into the page. It left a half formed scarlet red fingerprint that sunk slowly into the parchment.
The words didn't disappear. Scorpius sighed heavily and imitated his partner, pressing his own drop of blood against the page, like a single tear. Then, both the ink and the blood faded away.
Nothing happened.
Reuben Reid was cremated, which had been his request. When Hermione arrived, his body had already been turned to ash. The thick, grainy ashes had been scattered down by the lake, near where the corpse of the Ukrainian Ironbelly remained. It would be taken apart by the handlers, its teeth and scales sold to apothecaries to keep the Sanctuary's revenue up. What was left would be cremated, too.
Hermione took the news that the dragon had died a little harder than the news that Reid had died. Charlie felt the same.
Death was hanging around the Sanctuary—it was swollen with it like riverbanks about to burst after rain. The dragon, Reid, the news of Arthur Weasley. It was almost like a physical presence, unwanted, standing in the corners of the room with his scythe and silky robes.
And while they were grieving, this did not spare Victoire and Teddy a grim meeting in Charlie's cabin.
"I'm surprised you came. I was expecting Harry."
"There's no way Harry would ask this of you," Hermione said. She looked like she was about to do something very unpleasant—the way the handlers did when they had to kill the goats for afternoon feeds.
"So, it's the same request you sent Reuben here for. To guilt trip me. It didn't work," Teddy replied, his voice cold. His eyes flashed at Victoire, then stayed firm on his aunt. "Sorry, but my answer won't change."
"What's this about?"
"You didn't tell Victoire?"
"Of course I didn't. This was my decision. I'm not letting you lot talk me into it."
"We wouldn't ask unless—"
"Unless you were desperate. Reid told me it was Harry who wanted me down there, but that was a lie, wasn't it?" Charlie and Hermione said nothing. Teddy went on, bitterly reading their expressions like the instructions on a bottle of poison. "That's what forced you to come here. Harry would never ask me this. Harry knew I would say no."
"Say no to what?"
"They want me going under cover into the gangs at Hogsmeade to gather information on Romnuk the Rough. And I'm no going to do it. Not just because I'll wind up poisoned, but because I refuse to use my magic to play espionage anymore. I don't see how any good will come of this."
Victoire was silent. He could tell she was working her jaw, keeping back careful words. He could tell she was somewhere between concern and indignation. Hermione seemed the same way.
"It's a lot to ask of Teddy," Victoire finally said, the words minced behind her teeth. Her husband was surprised that she defended him.
"There's another request. One that's coming from Bill and Fleur, actually."
Teddy shook his head. Don't do that, he wanted to say to Charlie. Don't try to use her parents against me. He was so tired of the politics, right down to his family. But Charlie plunged on anyway.
"We're going into Gringotts soon. We just need a Gringotts Goblin willing to break into the vaults. And even the goblins on the Order refuse to do that."
"You're our key," Hermione implored him. "You won't need to fight. We just need you to get in."
Teddy leaned back in his chair, teetering on the back legs, as if he could physically get away from the suggestion. Victoire leaned in.
"Has a date been set?"
"Not exactly."
"But we'll both be heading back after we get your answer."
"Both?"
Charlie licked his lips. "There are dragons in the vaults of the Ministry. And they aren't all too friendly."
"Then you'll need me, too."
"Vic," Teddy muttered.
"If they need Charlie then they'll need me too. You'll need extra hands. Extra soldiers. And I am particularly good with dragons."
Teddy inhaled deeply. This would be how they would get him. Once Victoire left, he couldn't stay behind. They both knew it, and maybe she did too. Her stubbornness irked him. But maybe he couldn't hide from the fight forever.
"Mate, let's leave the ladies for a minute to have a word," Charlie said, motioning for him to join him in the living room. Teddy scraped back the chair, legs squealing.
He was preparing for some great, big speech convincing him that it was the true time to rebel, to join a revolution. That this would right all his past wrongs, his misplaced trust. But Charlie only dug around in his pocket to extract something that glinted gold.
"Hold out your hand."
He dropped two rings into Teddy's palm. They were carved with fine Latin words.
Legum servi sumus, the first ring said.
Ut liberi esse possimus, the second completed.
"We are slaves of the law so that we may be free," Teddy translated out loud.
"Reid asked me to give these to you once he had died. An odd gesture, but I don't think he had anyone to bequeath belongings to in a will."
Out on the fields not far from Charlie's cabin, there was a dragon that had once escaped from Gringotts. A forlorn carcass picked by vultures. It wasn't even a few days old before they started swooping.
There were so few students remaining at Hogwarts that the sixth and seventh years had a combined inter-house class. Those in the years below had a combined intermediate class. Even when joined, the numbers were still smaller than usual. It was easy to spot when two students were late.
"You two look like you need coffee. Or a Stunning Spell," Albus frowned, assessing his two best friends as they entered the Advanced Defence Against the Dark Arts class.
"Give us a break. We were up all ni-ni-night," Rose yawned.
"Gross. I don't need to know the details."
Scorpius rubbed sleep from his eyes. "Then don't pry into our nocturnal habits."
And maybe it wasn't bravado, because Scorpius had his hand wrapped around Rose's shoulders—and he didn't move it.
Harry entered the classroom and all conversation of nocturnal habits ceased. All the desks were against the walls, as they had been in his lessons at the end of last term. Yet, Harry said something that seemed sacrilegious in his lessons. "Wands away."
Everyone blanched. Zabini didn't put his wand away, as if he was expecting the request to turn into a joke.
Harry drew to the other side of the room, to where an umbrella stand had gone unnoticed. It was filled with two dozen wooden staffs. Harry pulled one of them out and tossed it from hand to hand.
"This Defence Against the Dark Arts class will be a little different," Harry said, his mouth settling into a grim smile. A bit too caustic to be a grimace. "Defence, yes. Dark Arts, not so much."
The door opened again and everyone's heads swivelled. A short, slightly ageing goblin entered. His dark glittering eyes scampered over the surprised faces, then turned stoically to Harry. Rose felt herself tense. No matter how often she had been told to trust Orlick, she simply couldn't. She saw Orlick and felt a desire to hurl every curse she knew. She felt both Albus and Scorpius make the same adjustments—readying their stances, hands tucking into pockets so they could discretely find their wands again. Maybe it was reflexive, maybe it was intentional. It didn't matter.
"This is Orlick. He has kindly volunteered to share some of his knowledge today."
He attempted a smile, his puckered lips twitching, then brushed his spindly fingers through his parted wavy hair. Orlick's nerves were betraying him.
"It is important that you know how to fight, not just with wands, but with weapons. Wands are still unfamiliar tools to Goblins," Harry said. He spoke with clarity and authority, as if his tone could blanket the unease of the students. "They will always default to a sword if they can. You should all be prepared."
Orlick took one of the staffs distastefully, but didn't utter a word of protest. Harry waved his wand, sending out the remaining staffs to the students. They whirled through the air like batons, stoping before each person. Rose clasped hers tightly.
Orlick turned to address the classroom. "Copy my stance, like so. Dominant foot forward. Grip your weapon like so. Mr Potter, would you please demonstrate with me? Yes, just like that. Do not hesitate. Read your opponent and strike."
"Pair off," Harry said, gesturing to the rest of the class. "One on offence, one on defence."
Mary Boot shuffled towards Rose, twirling her staff nervously. "Do you want to pair up?"
Rose glanced at the boys, who were already facing one another. She nodded and moved towards Mary.
"A fight to the death will only last minutes. You are not trying to hit your opponent's sword—you are trying to hit your opponent. This is the most common mistakes wand-bearer's make."
Rose couldn't help but feel irked when she knew firsthand that goblins had no idea how to properly use wands. She clutched her wooden staff tightly in her hands, glaring at the instructor, not her opponent.
"How useful is this going to be useful?" Zabini demanded, turning his back on Naomi Bones. "We don't even own swords."
"You never know when you may need to fight without a wand," Orlick replied, cold and crisp. "The reality is, none of you are prepared to fight a goblin. That is your most imminent threat, so it is time to prepare."
Rose was lying on the seventh years' sofa, her feet in Scorpius' lap. He was reading, totally immersed. She was flipping her thumb through the little black book, tucked inside a larger textbook to hide its presence. The common room was quiet. A third and fourth year were playing chess by the window. Alice was sketching Isabella the way professionals did, raising the pencil to measure her face, closing one eye, then returning to the parchment. A fifth year was reading a book about Goblin Knights, perhaps extended reading from Defence.
Again, she thrummed her thumb over the pages, like she was strumming a harp. So many were blank. It didn't really make sense.
She reached over and scavenged for a quill and inkpot from her bag, precariously setting them up on the floor. She reached over to filled her ink, kicking Scorpius in the stomach by accident, then settling back into her comfortable position. Perched before the first blank page.
Goblin Riots she wrote, underlying the words as a title, then preparing to write down the tactics they would be using to train their students. At least she could use it as a good reference.
But words appeared beneath, without her putting quill to paper.
What do you need to know about them?
Rose blanched. She had watched ink dissolve into the page since first signing her name but she hadn't expected words to reappear. Was this some sort of Encyclopaedia? She stared at the words until they slowly faded again. She scrawled a new line.
We're having goblin riots presently. And then, to really test the sentience of the thing, she added, How did this all start?
The book didn't respond right away. She paused, on edge, and felt her heart squeeze when the words slowly appeared.
The Goblin rebellions can all be traced back to a single root cause—the Sword of Gryffindor. When Ragnuk the First created the sword, he coveted it so much he wished to steal it back from Gryffindor.
She knew this, she wanted to say. This was just a history lesson. But before she decided to close the book, she noticed the handwriting change. Suddenly, it was long and swooping, almost like calligraphy.
Gryffindor defended himself from the assailants and vowed that he would unsheathe the sword against them all if they every attacked him again. This vow is imbued in the very nature of the weapon.
New words appeared in Old English. Rose could hardly understand them. Baffled, she started in surprise as they began to unravel, letters shifting and moving, offering her a translation.
It caused great enmity. The other Founders were not impressed with Godric for commissioning the Goblins. Salazar especially defied Godric's decision. It was arrogance to want a sword so powerful when one could simply wield a wand against a Muggle.
Whatever this little black book was, it could really think for itself. Then, to her absolute shock, her own handwriting appeared (her exact messy scrawl, even the idiosyncratic way she wrote her w's) without her having ever written the words.
You know all this already. It said.
Withdrawing her legs off of Scorpius, she crouched on the sofa, book still on her knees.
"What?" Scorpius asked.
She held the book out for him to read, her eyes very wide. He studied it, his eyebrows pinched. She could tell he was running through scenarios, trying to puzzle out the way it worked.
"I didn't write that last line," Rose said quietly. "It just appeared, along with the others. But that's—"
"Your handwriting, yes."
Scorpius picked up a quill and wrote across the page:
What is the best way to defeat a goblin?
The answers appeared, all in different handwriting, squabbling down the page.
It would be wise not to challenge a goblin to begin with.
Would you be using a sword or a wand? To be equipped with both would be best.
During the goblin rebellions of the 1600s, all advanced Defence classes studied non-contact duelling. This would require using the environment against the goblin rather than direct spells.
They were silent a little longer. Scorpius licked his lips. "I would presume this is why we had to add our blood. It needed our essence to sustain the enchantments. It's almost like a hive mind, a collective intelligence issued by every Slytherin who has ever been a Serpent Bearer. Which now includes us."
"You mean…some of these answers may be from Merlin himself?"
"Or Horace Slughorn. Or Stella Bellucci. Or Bellatrix Lestrange. Or…"
"Tom Riddle," Rose said quietly.
Their eyes met again. Being privy to this book felt dirty again. Scorpius snapped it shut and tucked it away, inside the pocket of his robes. He looked furtively around the room to check no one had overheard.
"This isn't like a Horcrux, is it?" Rose whispered, her voice a mixture between panic and excitement.
"No, surely not. We didn't have to murder anyone to sign this book. Although, it does make me wonder whether it inspired Riddle's diary."
Scorpius absently patted the book, where it sat in his breast pocket. Maybe he was uneasy with it sitting so close to his heart.
"The magic on this must be quite Dark though—dangerous," he said. "Similar to that Map Albus owns. Or even like the portraits in Headmaster's office. A shadow of us on parchment. But it is a part of us."
Rose stared in a daze at the two younger students playing chess by the window. The fourth year had just taken the third year's second rook. With a start, Rose remembered her name—Betty Fink.
"We need to work out how we're going to instruct the rest of the House. We have a responsibility to prepare them. To make sure they know how to fight."
"Darling—"
"Don't try that tone. It's bloody patronising."
His voice was harder now. "They're not our army, Rose."
"That goblin was right. None of us are prepared to fight a goblin. And they won't be teaching the fourth and fifth years what they're teaching us."
"Probably for good reason."
"Who are we going to be, Scorpius? Are we going to be cowards like Slughorn? Leaders like Merlin?"
"Tyrants like Tom?" Scorpius countered, dropping his voice further. "You do realise this must have been exactly how the Death Eaters began."
"We're not Death Eaters, Scorpius. You've always said we were the good guys—"
"I never pretended it was that simple, Rose. This isn't good guys battling bad guys. I never agreed with Gladstone and I never liked where the goblin movement was going but I never assumed they were all evil."
"It doesn't matter!" Several people's heads turned in their direction. Rose lowered her voice again, her face flushed. She was willing Scorpius to listen to her with a face trembling full of effort. "They need to be prepared, Scorpius. Don't you understand? Whether they're bad guys or not, this world is full of danger and we need to learn how to defend ourselves."
Scorpius knew exactly where the emotion was surging from. They hadn't been prepared in Hogsmeade and it had cost the life of one of their own. There would be no point arguing with her, not when Meredith could always be used to win the argument. And in any case, her vehemence aside, she was right. They did have a duty to their underlings. They did need to be prepared.
"Alright," Scorpius said, snapping the black book shut. He tucked it into his breast pocket. "I agree with you. We should start training them. You take the girls and I take the boys. We should start with our own peers first then work our way down to the younger ones. We need a system. We need Generals and Lieutenants and structure."
It was set then, whether they were ready for it or not. The time was coming where they would be the midnight raiders.
They were a little bit like celebrities, the way they had been before. When snogging at a Quidditch match was enough to land them in the papers. It was the same, their return to the Leaky Cauldron. Most people had not seen them since the wedding. Victoire and Teddy entered with an air of luminary hush. With Charlie and Hermione by their sides, people stared.
They were wrapped in strange robes with woven prints and tassels. Victoire's hair had turned silver from the days of sun. Teddy's was a thick, plush purple—more serious than his cheerful blue. They didn't smile. They looked around the room with sharp, shrewd eyes. The stripped back bar, all alcohol gone; the barrels of preserved food; the goblins sitting alongside humans, hunched over blueprints and parchment. Not a bar at all really.
"I'd like to see the barricade," Victoire said, taking off her robe and throwing it over an arm. "Would you show us?"
Hermione nodded, leading them through the bar out into the courtyard, tapping the bricks with her wand. People stared after them until they were out of sight.
"No attempts to break down the barrier?" Teddy asked.
"A couple when it first went up, but nothing worked," Hermione replied. "The magic on this wall is pretty air tight."
When they saw it, it was the first time their grim expressions were cracked by surprise. It was an enormous pile of debris, sealed together tight. Doors, armchairs, shelves, beams of wood, bedroom suites, writing desks...one, large teetering wall. At its base, were two people Victoire immediately recognised.
"Dom! Fred!"
They turned, torn from whatever conversation they were in the middle of, their jaws agape. Dominique sprinted towards the pair, throwing her arms around her sister.
Fred stood back, his dark brow furrowed.
"Is he alright?" Teddy murmured.
"He's just very serious about not leaving his post," Dominique said. She held her sister by the shoulders and examined her, as if trying to memorise her face. "Oh Merlin, I've missed you!"
"His post?"
"You do realise this is a proper warzone, Teddy?" Dominique replied, relinquishing her sister.
A proper warzone. His old office had it's doors ripped off their hinges, added to the heap of the wall no doubt. The glass windows with their curling cursive Society of Social Welfare had shattered. Teddy's old apartment was just on the other side of that wall. So was Diagon Alley, where he had slept on Selima's sofa. Teddy approached Fred, clapping him on the back and extracting his own wand, as if to take Dominique's place.
A proper warzone then. Victoire joined his side. Once he had been here rabble-rousing, before he knew what the real thing meant. Now he was a real rebel, in a real warzone.
"This doesn't feel very ceremonious," Alice frowned. She crossed her arms tightly over her chest, squinting across the common room. Isabella stood near her, her feet tucked into fluffy blue slippers that made her toes seem like Pygmy Puffs. "Is this supposed to be a midnight raid?"
"Not quite yet."
"So we are doing a raid!" Isabella gasped, her hand jumping to her mouth. "Oh, is it wrong that I find that so thrilling?"
"It's not really a raid," Rose sighed, sticking her wand into her bun for safekeeping. "I wanted to chat to you before we wake the fifth and fourth years."
"It's a challenge then?"
"I don't fancy that it's a challenge either," Rose sighed, a little frustrated. "Although that's closer to the mark."
Alice and Isabella faced her, their pyjamas and messy hair certainly not commanding respect. Perhaps some of the flamboyant Slytherin flair would be necessary after all. No one would take them seriously if they were wearing slippers.
"We need to train the students, teach them defence. Good defence. Get them at a point where they can duel."
"Midnight duelling? Sounds exciting."
"But before we begin, we need a game plan. We need to figure out how we teach them."
Both girls seemed prepared, moving to close the space. Alice extracted her wand and used it to push the sofa up against the wall. Rose had never been very good at instructing. She had always lacked the patience for it. She listened as Isabella and Alice chatted, offering their ideas. A suit of armour would be a good dummy if they wanted to get the feel of fighting a goblin. Alice ducked outside to retrieve one from along the dungeon corridor outside.
"So we just wake them up? Assemble them and start prepping."
"I think we should go put some black robes on," Rose said, tweaking her lip.
She flicked her wand at the candles along the mantle and sent them up into the air. They dipped and trembled in their levitated state. Alice returned through the opening passage, a suit of armour clanking along behind her under a clumsy Transfiguration spell.
"Black robes and maybe some masks too. Actually, masks would be a rather good idea I think."
Bill clutched his goblet tightly.
"Are you ready?"
"Don't ask sillee questions," Fleur said haughtily. She gave her potion a sniff. Her husband's drink had turned a pale gold. Hers was a cool brown, the colour and texture of a creamy coffee. At least both potions looked palatable.
"Like on our wedding night, I theenk," Fleur said. They exchanged a cheeky smile. She wove her arm around her husbands and they tipped their heads back to drink, intertwined at the crook of their joints.
The transformation was almost immediate. The painful bubbling, the heat in the flesh, the shortening, the sudden explosion of hair. It didn't take long until an exact replica of Hermione Granger and Harry Potter were facing one another. Bill fiddled around for his glasses.
"We've gone over the plan. Remember to hold back."
"Oh, Bill, zere iz no need to worry. I know it all."
He cupped her face tightly in his hands. "I know you know. But I need you to hold back. Until it's clear. Do not join the battle before we clear the entrance of Gringotts."
"I promeese I will wait," she huffed. "I love you."
Bill smiled a little, looking gruff on Harry's bearded face. His wife blinked back at him from unfamiliar brown eyes.
"What?"
"I was just thinking. The first time I asked you out was in Gringotts, back in the day—back when you were—"
"—Working part-time at Gringotts for my Eenglish. I remember."
"Ah, memories," he replied, grinning once more. "Let's go make a few more."
It was very early in the morning, perhaps between the hours of two and three. Rose promised she would finish at three so that Scorpius could wake the boys and take over. It hadn't been a bad hour of tutoring so far. After the girls had stumbled chaotically from their beds, they fell into the routine very quickly.
The youngest there was Betty Fink, third year, but Rose didn't really know the names of the others. They were just a handful of girls. She realised she had never bothered learning the names of the girls in the years below her. Meredith had been the stubborn exception.
And while Rose would once have not cared very much, it now struck her as rather important.
"We've covered the basics," Rose said, stepping into the centre of the room and adjusting her mask.
Isabella had created them with a very delicate charm, turning several expensive pairs of sunglasses into beautiful Colombina masks. They were a dark green with a design of rippling scales, fitted to the girls' faces. But they were not as intimidating as the full facial coverings their seniors used to wear.
"You know that you should avoid your usual offensive spells—Stunning Spells and other curses won't make a dent in goblin metal. You need to be clever. Try to make your opponent slip up. Use their environment against them. The only time a Stunning Spell will work is if you can hit their flesh."
She took a deep breath and assessed the small group of Slytherin girls. Two fourth years. One fifth year and two sixth years. Only Betty remained from her second year. They were depleted in their numbers. But numbers never guaranteed strength or power.
"Each of you will step forward. You will attack the armour then explain why you chose that method. Then, I want you to introduce yourselves."
She nodded to Alice, who took up her wand at the signal and reanimated the suit of armour. The girls stood in their line, wands held at their sides. Perhaps because she already knew her name, Rose nodded to Betty first.
Betty Fink took a step forward while still trembling with trepidation. Her red hair fell lankly to her shoulders. She looked very much like a thirteen year old, too young to be holding up a wand as if she were about to duel. Alice sent the suit of armour marching toward her and with a loud shout, Betty trapped the suit on the floor with a Stickfast Hex. Everyone gave her a smattering of applause as she blew her hair from her ruddy cheeks.
"I'm Betty," she said, her adenoidal voice taking on an edge. "I chose the Stickfast Hex because I know it would slow down the armour. It would stop it running after me."
A hex that a bully would learn. But Betty wasn't a bully anymore. She shrugged back into the ranks.
Another girl stepped forward, a fourth year with a long crooked nose and eyes that made her look like the author on the back of a Victorian novel. She introduced herself as Iris Crowe and she stopped the suit of armour with a Freezing Charm, causing ice to crack it's way up the metal. The other fourth year, Lydia Burke used "Obscuro," to blind her opponent's visor.
The sole fifth year was named Gloria Fink, so Rose gathered that she was potentially a relative of Betty's. She defeated Alice's Transfigured dummy by levitating it high in the air above her. Less practical, Rose decided, but unconventional.
The two remaining sixth years were familiar to Rose. She knew that one was named Tamsin, but only discovered then that her surname was Munt. She bound the suit of armour in ropes so it collapsed on the floor, its helmet rolling across the room. The final girl, Sarah Khan, got creative by dragging the sofa off the ground and catapulting it onto the suit of armour, effectively crushing it.
By the time they were done, Rose knew them all by name. She knew their strange reasoning and the way they had circumvented their own weaknesses to obtain the final goal. The suit of armour would need some reassembling but at least Rose could now return to bed and sleep easy. The girls were a little more resourceful and prepared than they had been when the sun set that evening. When she was through with them, they would be able to handle anything.
They attacked Gringotts just before daybreak. The wall was an ominous pile of rubble, a dark grey mass in the early shadows. The two regiments were separating. With meticulous wand work, they cast Disillusionment Charms that rendered them almost invisible in the gloom.
The first regiment moved in their positions along the wall, as Bill had instructed them to. They had practiced it the evening before. The second regiment was already scaling the ramshackle buildings along their end of the alley. Victoire's hands were numb with the cold. She pulled herself up onto the eave of a two-story apartment, catching her breath in little puffs of mist that would give her position away if anyone looked closely enough.
From along the wall, the first regiment lit their wands with low beams to indicate their positions. Victoire teed herself up with her counterpart—a man named Danny Lim, she believed, who was third in line—and waited for her mother's signal to cast the Levitation Charm. The pinpoints of light flew into the air alongside their chameleon like casters, levitated by each of the members of second regiment. It was a crafty way to get over the wall without needing to knock it down. Her mother's idea. From the rooftop, they could easily place their partners on the other side of the wall. Their wand beams extinguished. They blended back into the darkness.
From where she leaned against the chimney she could see Gringotts. Just the tip of it, the topsy-turvy marble of the bank. The wall blocked her vision of the steps. They would be advancing. They rope against metal, quiet thuds—the security goblins set up along steps, most likely bound unsuspectingly by a curse—that had been her father's plan at least. Their Disillusionment Charms couldn't last much longer. Once the other goblins realised they were under attack, it would be far too dangerous to fire spells when you couldn't see your own soldiers. They would soon drop the Charms, but as long as they reached the doors first…
"I can't see much from up here," Teddy's voice came, somewhere to her right. She was grateful for the Disillusionment Charm. She found it very strange to look at him as a goblin. "Do you think they've made it to the doors?"
"It's still quiet…so hopefully."
While she couldn't see him, Victoire took sudden comfort from Teddy's presence beside her. He was not a fighter, yet he was here. And while Teddy was repulsed at the idea of killing a goblin, whichever side he stood, she knew that he would step in front of a blade to protect the ones he loved. She wasn't sure if that scared her or not.
"If it comes to it Teddy, you have to fight," she said, keeping her voice low.
"That's not what I'm here to do, Vic."
"You have to fight."
His hand found her shoulder, clammy and unlike his touch. It made her skin crawl. She felt a ring on his thumb.
"I'll do my best to stay alive. You just make sure you do that too, okay?"
She was about to argue with him, to remind him that this wasn't the time for his newly pacifist stance, that sometimes an eye needed to be exchanged for an eye. But there wasn't time for a row. There were bursts of light and sound from down beyond the wall. Colours like flares, fireworks. A clash of metal. Duellers darted across the top steps of the bank. They hadn't made it inside yet—but they were so close.
"Get into position. Get ready," they heard her mother say.
When Victoire turned to take hold of Teddy's unfamiliar hand, he had already gone.
Harry clicked his locket shut and tucked it discretely into his shirt. He took Ginny's shoulder and gently stirred her. She woke with a startled snort and almost fell out of the staff room armchair. Hermione woke Ron, Neville and Hannah, still at the table, heads on their arms.
"The Battle at Gringotts is underway. Just got word from Bill," Harry said.
"It's happening then. I suppose we put our end in-in-in," Ron yawned, wincing his bloodshot eyes, "—in action."
"We will need everyone in their positions," Hermione nodded promptly. "I say at least another thirty minutes. We want the goblins in Hogsmeade to get word back that Harry Potter and Hermione Granger are leading the push into Gringotts."
Neville squeezed Hannah's shoulders and stood. "I'll go and wake the other teachers. Should I bother getting our Hogsmeade reserve in or just keep it to the original Order?"
"Keep it tight for now," Ron decided. "We'll have the others on standby if we need them. Hannah, go find Luna and Rolf. Neville, go wake the teachers. Hermione and I will gather the Order members."
They shuffled off to their various tasks, their lassitude evaporating in the wake of the morning's urgency. When the door shut, it was just the Potters who remained. Ginny crossed her legs and tipped one head to her side.
"It's annoying you, isn't it?"
"Sorry?" Harry replied, raising his eyebrows.
"Bill impersonating you. Having to remain unseen so you don't blow our cover."
"Hermione's not allowed to fight either," Harry replied, a little defensively.
"Yes, but Hermione is a proper nerd. She doesn't care about diving into a battle. You're bothered."
"Ginny," Harry said. He dropped his voice low to garner back a bit of authority. "I'm not bothered."
She threw her hands up and turned away, faking disinterest. "I won't get into an argy-bargy over it, I'm just telling you that I know you're bothered by it."
"It's not like the rest of the Order will be fighting," Harry snapped back, scratching his beard. "They'll just be monitoring."
"Right."
"I mean, if I wanted to, I could do the same under my Invisibility Cloak."
"Except you can't because I hid your Invisibility Cloak."
"What?"
"It's in a very safe, secure place."
Ginny launched out of the armchair, straightening her husband's glasses and patting him twice on the chest. She could feel the Order's locket around his neck.
"This is the part where we wait and see. No fighting necessary from us."
"From us?"
"I'll stay with you."
"You're not bothered by it?"
"Merlin, Harry. I'm a little bit more sophisticated than that."
The adrenalin before a battle makes the young more reckless. After the last big fight Molly had been in, she was hyperaware of her own inexperience and carelessness, the way it lashed out in her limbs, tripping over her tongue in the rush to get out a spell. She was a casualty waiting to happen. She knew because she was fighting beside a man who had replaced his father at her expense.
It didn't surprise her that she and the other young ones were in Fleur's much smaller regiment. It didn't surprise her that they were holding back until the experienced crew had made their path clear. While she would usually have been begrudging, she accepted their role without question this time.
Fleur had them climb from rooftop to rooftop until they were well past the wall. They had a better vantage point of the street below; the fighting has progressed up to the Gringotts. The large doors were blasted off their hinges and gaped open in a wide-mouthed scream. A security troll had collapsed, unconscious. Several goblins littered the street. They could not see any human causalities yet.
"It iz clear," Fleur murmured. It was time to climb down from the safety of their perches. One by one, their shifty chameleon-like disguises warped the air around them as they carefully scaled down an escape ladder on the side of an apartment.
They moved up the street. It was as decrepit and looted as their side was. The white bank glared up ahead, scowling under its marble columns. They could hear the clash of the fight beyond the gaping doors.
"Wait for ze signal."
They waited as Fleur went ahead to scout the entrance of the bank.
"We definitely have the map?" Dominique whispered.
"I have it," Teddy confirmed. "Not that we can read it. Bloody complicated."
They waited another moment in silence, staring at the motionless troll on the top step. A small flair of blue light beamed then disappeared by the door. It was their signal to progress.
The second set of doors had also been blasted aside. The marble hall beyond was in complete disarray. The long counters on the right had been blown to splinters. Further into the hall, Molly could make out several of their own wizards and witches sheltering behind the counter. They looked seriously injured. But her attention was drawn to the rest of their first regiment, led by who seemed to be Harry Potter, was still fighting two dozen sets of goblins.
"Do not dizolve your charms until you are in ze vault," Fleur instructed, tapping herself on the head. She came back into solid appearance, Hermione Granger before them. Bushy haired, bushy browed, dark brown eyes blazing. "Follow Teddy. I will find you later."
"What?" Fred asked, his voice high.
"Stay unseen, do not wait for me."
Fleur sprinted towards the centre of the fight and sent a sudden burst of flame into the centre of the room. The heat singed their skin. Every piece of parchment in the hall simultaneously burst into flames, the smoke twisting upwards against the marble ceiling. The fighters dispersed through the sudden smokescreen.
"That's our cover," Teddy said, his voice ringing with authority. They veered right after him, heading straight for one of the vault entrances behind the blasted counters. Teddy must have run his goblin nails down the surface of the vault because it opened for them. By the time it closed and the smoke was clearing, no one had noticed they had stepped inside.
Victoire's wand light expanded to fill the cavern. Vaults lined it on either side like mailboxes. Several small carts were waiting on the tracks.
"So this was my mum's plan?" Victoire asked, shaking her head. "Why confide in you?"
"She'll catch up with us," Teddy replied stoically. His goblin mask made him less inviting to look at. "She needed them to see her as Hermione. And there's no way we'd get into the vaults if there wasn't a diversion."
"Why not tell us?"
"I'm just following orders," Teddy shrugged. He addressed the group. "Now you need to follow mine. Vic and I will take the first cart. You four need to pair off and take the next two. Make sure no one is following us."
They were taking orders from Teddy now. This changed the dynamic. Teddy was risky. Teddy was reckless. They lacked confidence and experience. But she couldn't be held accountable for another person's death this time. She had to follow her orders. She had to minimise their chance of failing the operation.
The tunnel plunged forward into darkness like a wide gaping maw. The four youngest of their regiment got into the cart and prepared to be swallowed whole.
Ginny had agreed to stay behind, remaining in the staffroom with Hermione and Harry while the stakeout began. It was still early, too early for any of the students to be up. Depending on the events down in Hogsmeade, they may be cancelling classes.
The locket that lay against Ginny's neck turned hot, branding her momentarily with its urgency. She fished it out by its chain then flicked the locket doors open. A small unsmiling photograph of Bill filled the locket portrait and his voice came out from the other blank window.
"They have definitely seen both Harry and Hermione in the battle now. We only have a couple hours of Polyjuice potion left. The second team is on their way to the vaults. We have only four casualties but there have been a lot of injuries. Some might be fatal. Send Hannah over to Diagon Alley for the extraction."
"Got it. I'll check in with our border patrol."
Ginny didn't ask for further details. The locket had already gone cold in her hand. Clearly, that message was all Bill had time for.
Harry had already flipped over his locket, murmuring Neville's name into the portrait frames.
"Funny you should contact me. I was just about to check in," Neville said.
"We just got word from Bill. They've seen both me and Hermione fighting in Gringotts. Have Romnuk's goblins eased off?"
"No. Quite absurdly, the opposite. About fifteen minutes ago, we found out they're digging like maniacs to get back under the school's walls. It's like they're hell-bent on getting in. Before the battle started, there wasn't even any activity."
"Right," Harry said slowly. He clucked his tongue. "Right. Tell Ron to proceed with Plan B then."
"You mean Operation Phoenix Ashes."
"No one agreed to call it that."
"Ron is still calling it that."
"Don't encourage him. Also, send Hannah into Diagon Alley. We have a lot of casualties."
"Ah, that's not good. Thanks Harry. Make sure you and Hermione stay put."
Harry snapped the locket shut and turned to Ginny. She was already perched to move.
"So, what does this mean exactly?"
"It means that Romnuk isn't trying to get in here to kill Hermione and I. He's trying to get into Hogwarts for something else."
"In fact, the moment he thought we had left that's when they started digging," Hermione scowled. "If he's not after us then what is he after?"
"It doesn't matter," Ginny shrugged. "This is the time where we flush them out. By the end of today we won't have to worry about goblins in Hogsmeade or Gringotts."
A/N: I've really been losing steam with writing, so sorry about the delay. Back in the land of Oz, we had our own political drama that took a lot out of me and made me a thousand times more disillusioned in the state of our democracy.
My heart and soul go out to Olivia who edited this chapter and tried to catch my many typos. You can thank her for helping me unravel my woeful plot holes. Am I semi-making things up as I go? Yes.
Thanks again for all your patience. There won't be as much of a wait for this next chapter.
Much love, Vanessa x