Chapter 66: Break
Rosewood Hall, near Cleeves Hill, Cotswolds, Gloucestershire, England
May 30, 1991
Scorpius Lestrange carefully checked the animal carrier one more time to make sure that the cage had been properly closed. He smiled slightly as Sadie, his crup, stared at him with mournful eyes. A soft whine escaped her throat and he had to fight against the urge to open the door and let her out of the carrier. It was for her own good to remain inside it though. Floo travel could be a nasty shock for animals. It was best that he left Sadie in the carrier until they reached Blackmoor.
"Scorpius," the voice of his cousin, Pansy Parkinson said softly from a few feet from him.
They were second cousins, he and Pansy. His grandmother, Amaryllis Lestrange nee Parkinson, was Pansy's Great-Aunt, the sibling of Pansy's grandfather Florent Parkinson. It had been his Grandmother's idea for him to spend time with his Parkinson relatives. She resented the influence that House Black had been having on him, well really it was the influence of his Aunt Narcissa and his cousin Sirius. The other adults of House Black spent very little time with him. His other aunt, Andromeda Tonks nee Black, had only just reached a point where she could handle spending any time with him. He tried not to resent her for it. Andromeda had old emotional wounds caused directly and indirectly by Scorpius's mother. They had nothing to do with him, but, as aunt Narcissa said he was a living embodiment of his mother in the eyes of aunt Andromeda. Until she could just see Scorpius and not Bellatrix, it was best they spend little time together. Scorpius was fine with that. He didn't want to hurt anyone directly or indirectly.
Besides, Narcissa and Sirius were more than enough adult supervision to please him. Sirius was like an indulgent uncle who would turn stern if you did something that worried him. Aunt Narcissa was more of a mother to him than any he had ever known. With Sirius came his wife, Alicia. She was very kind to him and treated him as though he were just another one of Sirius's sons being raised by other relatives. He lived at Malfoy Manor with aunt Narcissa, and with her came Lucius Malfoy, Abraxas Malfoy, Selene Lovegood, and Severus Prince. This was of course only mentioning the adults in his life who gave him their time and their care. Sirius His Grandmother had never given him such love and affection as these adults had done.
Perhaps it was because Amaryllis could still remember that he had murdered her husband? In self-defense or no, it was still murder, still, a life taken. Amaryllis often waxed and waned between being grateful that Theodoric Lestrange was dead and mournful and angry that he was gone. It was toxic to be around his Grandma Amaryllis for long and Sirius and Narcissa did not like to let him visit her often. Perhaps the kindest thing that Amaryllis had done for him was to beseech Sirius Black to protect him. Perhaps she knew that she was not mentally well and loved him enough to wish him protected, even from her. Scorpius liked to think that his grandmother had loved him that much.
Scorpius had given into his grandmother's request to spend a week with her because he had not visited her in months. He was in his fifth day of visiting Amaryllis when the news came that Lord Black, Lady Black, Pollux Black, Cassiopeia Black, and Lord Malfoy were dead, murdered at Estelle's. All Scorpius had wanted at that moment was to grab Sadie and a handful of floo powder and race to either Sirius or Narcissa, but Sirius had ordered him to stay put and he had charged Lord Parkinson with protecting Scorpius in the meantime.
He had spent much of his last two days with Pansy. He had not been fit company, but his cousin had stuck to his side and tried to offer him comfort. He appreciated her efforts, but he just wanted to see Draco, Blaise, Theo, and Dane. He wanted to see Leonis too and tell him that he was sorry that he was now Lord Black. Scorpius knew what it was like to become a Lord of House far too young. He was Lord Lestrange after all.
"Pansy," he said turning to look at his pretty cousin. She wasn't a classic beauty, but she was cute, and he could tell that she'd grow more beautiful as she aged. Blonde hair that curled slightly fell down her shoulders, held back from her face by pretty hairclips that he knew was bought for her as a birthday present from her betrothed, she had raved about it a few days ago. Pretty violet eyes stared at him and her button nose, that he knew she hated, scrunched up adorably as she attempted not to cry upon their parting.
"Thank you for trying to keep me centered the last few days," Scorpius told her.
She smiled a little at that. "Someone had to watch out for you," she said with the friendly, bantering ease that he had grown accustomed to expecting from her. She then took his hand and gave it a squeeze. "Please give my condolences to Draco, Dane, Blaise, and Theo. Lord Malfoy," she trailed off and didn't say any more.
He nodded and squeezed her hand back. "Of course," he said. "Sorry that you'll have to put up with Grandmother again," he said.
She scowled at that. He had learned enough of Pansy to know that she wasn't very fond of her Great-Aunt Amaryllis. If Pansy had her way, then his Grandmother would be living in the Janus Thickey Ward and she'd only visit the woman once a year if that. Scorpius thought it was probably for the best that the decision for Amaryllis's care belonged in the capable hands of Lord Parkinson instead.
"Take care of yourself, Scorp," Pansy said and then she released his hands. "Better get going, before Aunt Amaryllis wakes and raises a fit," she added.
He winced at that. They had quarreled yesterday about the fact that he would be going to Blackmoor this morning. His Grandmother had insisted that he stay away from the Black family. That if people were trying to kill them then Scorpius had no right going back to them. Scorpius had no intention of listening to her. The first people to make him feel like he truly had a family was Sirius and Narcissa. He was returning to them. There was never any doubt of that.
"Right," he agreed. "Come on Glyth," he said then, speaking to his House Elf. Scorpius carefully picked up Sadie's carrier while Glyth followed him to the floo with his shrunken luggage.
He took up the floo powder and then whispered the password that would allow him into Blackmoor. "Break," and then he was traveling through the floo network to Blackmoor.
Scorpius stumbled slightly when he came through the fireplace in Blackmoor's reception room, the weight of Sadie fidgeting in the carrier throwing him off balance. "You'll be alright," Scorpius tried to soothe his faithful pet. "Everything's alright," he promised as he moved to a bench off to the side of the room and set the carrier on it. He swiftly opened the door and then had his arms full of whimpering, shivering crup. He smiled as he held Sadie close to him and offered his pet comfort. "I know, I know it was scary huh? I know you hate traveling that way, I'm sorry Sadie."
"Well you are a Malfoy if ever I saw one," a feminine voice said from the doorway.
Scorpius whipped his head in the direction of that voice and found himself staring at an older woman who looked to be in her forties, which he knew couldn't be trusted since Wizards and Witches aged gracefully and those of the ancient houses often aged more gracefully than most. The woman could be in her seventies for all he could guess. She was a very pretty woman with black hair that was pulled back into a stylishly messy bun. She had a flawless pale complexion with slight laughter lines around her gray eyes. It was the eyes that helped him know for sure that he was dealing with a Black descendant. Her lips were painted a soft mauve. A simple antique gold locket hung from the elegant column of her throat. She wore a green blouse with golden embroidery at the cuffs and the collar and a matching pair of green slacks with black ankle boots. Though Scorpius swiftly wracked his brain, he could not remember having ever been introduced to this woman before.
"And you are a Black," he said confidently as his own gray eyes met her own.
Her eyes widened a moment and then she smiled at him. "It seems you might be as well," she said curiously as she looked him over. "I thought all of Narcissa's children were here?"
He slowly released Sadie to Glyth's care, a funny sight when you considered that the crup was bigger than the Elf was. Still, Glyth had always shown a fondness for Sadie and a complete lack of fear of her. He arose then and after a moment swept into a bow. "Scorpius, Lord Lestrange at your service Ma'am."
The woman surprised him when she curtseyed to him. "Well met, Lord Lestrange," she said in greeting. "I am Cedrella, Lady Weasley."
Scorpius smiled as she approached him. "Well met, Lady Weasley," he said. "It is my honor to meet you at last," he said. "I have heard many nice things about you from my Aunt Narcissa."
Cedrella Weasley stopped before him and she slowly raised her hand to comb through his blond curls. She was more encouraged when he seemed to lean into the touch. He couldn't help it, he had always liked it when people played with his hair. "I am very fond of Narcissa," she said easily. "She was Cassiopeia's pride and joy," she said wistfully, the reminder of her late cousin caused her gray eyes to cloud slightly.
"Cassiopeia Black was a marvelous woman," Scorpius said because he had been genuinely fond of his Aunt's mentor. Cassiopeia had been a great many things to a great many people, but to the children of House Black she had been a fierce protector and guardian. Their guide in how to navigate a cruel world.
"Yes, she was," Cedrella said as she continued to card her hands through his curls. "Your hair curls like Bella's," she said softly. "Percy's hair does the same. Though his curls are red like my Septimus's," she added with a small happy smile. "I think you both got it from Phineus Nigellus," she said easily. "He used potions to keep his hair straight because he hated his curls."
Scorpius smiled at that. "I didn't know that," he admitted. "I have been told that my hair curls like my mother's," he admitted. "Aunt Narcissa told me so. Cousin Sirius's hair curls this way too."
Cedrella chuckled, amusement dancing in her eyes. "So, it does," she said easily. "Now, indulge an old woman," she proclaimed. "Tell me where you have been?"
"I don't see any old women," Scorpius said easily causing Cedrella to laugh.
"Oh, I see that Sirius and his suave tongue have been an influence on you, young man," she said with a laugh.
He smiled at that, happy to be compared to Sirius instead of being compared to his parents. He didn't like comparisons to his ruthless parents. "He might have had a mild influence upon my education, Lady Weasley," he said easily.
"Yes, only mildly, I can see that now," she said with great humor.
"I was a guest of my kinsman, Lord Parkinson, when the news reached us of the deaths of Lord Black and Lord Malfoy," Scorpius began to explain with some solemnity in his voice. "Lord Parkinson thought it best to keep us safe and enacted the high-security wards. Regent Black wasn't on the list of people that could connect to the floo during such an activation, so it took some time before Sirius was able to speak with Lord Parkinson and explain what he knew of the situation. Lord Parkinson was reluctant to let me leave at that time and cousin Sirius came to agree with him and charged him with my safety," he explained to Cedrella.
"I see," she said thoughtfully. "I cannot say that I disapprove. It was very good of Caius to be so cautious when he has not only his own Heir to consider but the Lord of another House as well," she said with clear approval in her voice. "Furthermore, House Parkinson is known to be close to House Malfoy. They are distant relatives, but Caius is also a friend to the new Lord Malfoy."
"I didn't realize that they were so friendly," Scorpius revealed. "But then, I know little about cousin Caius's associations," he admitted easily enough.
Cedrella hummed at that and then began to lead him from the room. "Come along, I am sure that Narcissa will rest a little bit easier seeing you are safe," she said.
Scorpius nodded at that and then briefly looked back to Glyth. "I'd better take Sadie," he said more to Cedrella than to the Elf. "She doesn't handle travel by Floo very well," he said as he picked up his crup, who promptly put her cold nose to his neck. She was still shaking, though not as bad as before. "She's really a very great companion other than this," he assured Cedrella.
"Think nothing of it," she assured him. "My Septimus owns two crups," she revealed. "Neither of them handles travel by Floo well. I think it is the magic involved," she revealed.
"Well it isn't pleasant for us, why would we expect it to be pleasant for an animal?" Scorpius questioned as he followed Cedrella out of the reception room and down the hall to the largest of the lounges on the main floor.
"Narcissa," Cedrella called as they entered the lounge. "I found one of your wayward children."
Scorpius smiled in greeting as his Aunt Narcissa looked up from the book she had been writing in. He felt something ease inside him when she smiled her bright and happy smile at him. It was the smile that she reserved for her boys, her children and Scorpius knew that she had long ago taken him into her heart the same way she had taken in her godson Blaise, and Lucius's godson Theodore, and her husband's nephew Dane. She loved them as much as she loved her own child, Draco. She loved them, so they were hers. It was just that simple.
"Aunt 'Cissa," he came to stand before her. "I'm sorry if I made you worry about me," he apologized.
She sighed then as she leaned forward and kissed his brow, even as she ran one hand over his curls and another comforting hand over Sadie. "Oh Scorpius," she said with a sigh. "I didn't like that Sirius let Lord Parkinson keep you, but I do understand it."
He gently put Sadie down on the floor beside him and then he hugged Narcissa. He sighed happily when she hugged him tight against her. Scorpius rested his head on her shoulder and let himself take in the scent of her perfume. "I wanted to come to Blackmoor immediately once we learned what happened, but Lord Parkinson said no. Then when he spoke to Sirius, I wanted to come, but he and Sirius agreed that I should stay a little longer with the Parkinson's."
She nodded and ran her hand down his back. "I know," she whispered. "By that point, too much time had passed, and Sirius feared harm would come to you if you were moved from Lord Parkinson's care," she admitted. "We didn't know then who had targeted our family and we didn't know if they would try to attack the children of Black and Malfoy blood."
Scorpius nodded his head and then reluctantly lifted it from her shoulder. "Is this to mean that you now know who did it?"
She pursed her lips at that, but she nodded. "Yes, Lord Lestrange," she assured her nephew.
"Who?" he asked eagerly. "Who did this?"
His aunt opened her mouth to reply but the voice of Petunia Black swiftly spoke up. "Oh, Narcissa really? You cannot possibly tell him about this. He's only a child."
Scorpius frowned at that. He was eleven, hardly a little kid anymore. Furthermore, he was the Lord of House Lestrange. He supposed that due to his age he could understand them wanting to shield him, but there really was no shielding any of them from this. Some horrible people had chosen to harm their family. They needed to know who, and they needed to know why. They being all of them from the oldest to the youngest of them.
"I don't like it any more than you do," Narcissa informed Petunia. "However, I agree with Regent Black that it is more dangerous for the children to remain uninformed."
Scorpius watched curiously as Petunia seemed to mull that over. The woman sighed then and looked away. "You are right," she said after a moment. "I do apologize, it's just.." she trailed off.
Scorpius smiled kindly at the mother of his cousin Antares Dudley Black and the aunt and caretaker of his other cousin Harry James Potter. "I understand," he said before his aunt could formulate her response. "You just want to protect us. Shield us if you can," he said. "Because you love us."
Petunia's eyes looked wet with tears when she looked at him. She gave him a small nod but didn't say any more.
He turned the whole of his attention back to his aunt. "Aunt 'Cissa, who did this to our family?"
"It started with a former Auror named John Dawlish," she informed him. There was venom in her voice when she spoke the name.
He frowned then. He knew that name from somewhere. "Who is John Dawlish?"
"A vile wretch of a man who likes to hurt children from what he considers Dark families," his aunt Andromeda muttered darkly as she came into the room. She came to stand beside him and he turned to her for her inspection.
"Aunt Andromeda, well met," he whispered and then sighed as she ran a hand through his curls. Both of his aunts seemed to adore his curls.
"Are we sure he is Bella's?" Andromeda teased then, amusement flickering in her eyes. "Perhaps Bella somehow stole from you, 'Cissa?"
"If that is so then she deserves where she is," Narcissa rejoined with a wicked smile curving her lips.
Andromeda merely hummed in agreement and then she extricated her hand from his curls. "John Dawlish is in custody," she announced to the room at large. "Sirius and father were just informed by Auror Shacklebolt and they are going to the Ministry now."
"Good, then we'll hopefully know more about his motivations soon," Callidora said.
"Dawlish was not working alone," Cedrella said. "Let's hope that the madman is willing to name his accomplices."
"Let's hope he cannot be counted as truly mad," Petunia said. "If he is won't they put him in Saint Mungo's instead of Azkaban?" After a few nods, she continued. "Well, I for one want him to rot in Azkaban. He murdered my brother-in-law and my sister-in-law as well as Lord and Lady Black and Lord Malfoy. He deserves no quarter."
Scorpius smiled at that. He had not spent much time with Petunia Black, but he was finding that he quite liked her. He certainly liked how bloodthirsty she was being about the death of their loved ones.
Then it struck him where he knew the name of John Dawlish. "He was the Auror that hurt Draco!" he exclaimed.
Narcissa nodded. "Yes darling, he was," she said.
"Madame Bones issued an apology to House Malfoy for his actions and released him from service as an Auror. He was barred for life from having a job in Magical Law Enforcement of any sort. He cannot be a Hit Wizard, cannot be an Auror, and he cannot be a Guard or any other sort of enforcer whether it be for the government or private employment." Andromeda explained.
Scorpius frowned. "Do you think his target was Lord Malfoy because he wanted revenge? In his mind, it must have looked like House Malfoy ruined his career, especially if he felt himself right in his actions."
"I think so," Narcissa agreed. "It's certainly a line of questioning that the Auror's shall be pursuing."
"I hope they are able to find out why he did this," he said softly. "Have you heard from uncle Lucius?"
She nodded. "I spent last night with him," she revealed. "He is in deep mourning, but the family magics have settled. He is Lord Malfoy in magic as well as in name now," she said.
"And Draco is now Heir Malfoy," he whispered.
Narcissa nodded at that. "It settled on him last night, the family magic that made him not just an heir of the House of Malfoy but the Heir, the next Lord to be. I had thought it wouldn't happen until I took Draco home to Malfoy Manor, but it settled on him here at Blackmoor."
"I asked mother about that," Callidora said. "She said that it is rare for that to happen away from the seat of family power but when it does you know that you have a very strong future Lord of House."
"The magic fell upon me as soon as Grandfather breathed his last," Scorpius revealed. "I think it was weeks before it truly settled." He wondered what that meant for him. Was he a weak Lord?
"That is quite common when family is pitted against family as you were with the late Lord Lestrange," Cedrella said with a soft smile of encouragement. "It is not a gauge of whether you will be a weak or a strong Lord magically speaking.
"Oh, you are strong," Andromeda said with some mirth. "There is no question of that."
The clock on the mantle struck ten o'clock.
Cedrella Weasley slowly closed her book and arose from the sofa she had been sharing with her sister. "I must go and fetch Ginevra. It is time for her lessons in etiquette," she revealed.
"I had wondered why you had Percy and Ginevra with you when you arrived a few days ago," Andromeda said.
"Percy is now permanently in the care of Lord Weasley and me," Cedrella revealed.
"Why?" Scorpius asked curiously. She had said that he and Percy had the same hair though different shades. He was now curious about Percy Weasley. Could they have other things in common?
Cedrella seemed amused by his question. Perhaps she could tell that he was curious to know more about her grandson. "Well, a few years ago he started his attendance at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He fainted during the sorting. It turned out that he was a Magical Sensitive and his parents had never noticed the signs," she said.
"Oh dear," Narcissa said then. "That must have been painful for Percy to grow up without training," she said. "Aunt Cassiopeia was very strict about Leonis's upbringing because he is sensitive."
Cedrella nodded. "It seems that the twins, who he often tended to for Molly, were actually a buffer for him, so he didn't suffer as much as he could have as a child. Still, Septimus was furious, and he invoked his right as Head of House Weasley to remove Percy from Arthur's care."
"That doesn't explain why Percy is not in school right now," Andromeda persisted.
"I did wonder about that myself," Petunia said. "Shouldn't the children remain at Hogwarts another few weeks?"
Cedrella nodded. "Yes," she said to Petunia. "There was an incident in April. A horrid boy by the name of Marcus Flint has been rather awful to poor Percy. He has bullied Percy since Percy was a first year. Percy has never felt terribly confident on a broom. His friend, Oliver Wood, is very proficient at flying and he has been teaching Percy on weekends with permission from Madame Hooch. Well, this Marcus Flint decided it would be a great idea to mount his own broom and harass Percy during his flying lesson with young Mr. Wood. He had a scuffle with Wood about it and they were too close to Percy."
"Oh dear!" Petunia said in horror. "He fell didn't he?"
"Yes," she said with a sad sigh. "It was awful seeing him so pale in the hospital bed. Madame Pomfrey insisted, against the Headmaster's wishes, that Percy be sent to Saint Mungo's for care because he was a sensitive and Hogwart's doesn't have the special wards to handle the care of sensitive children."
"Was Percy terribly hurt?" Scorpius asked her. He felt awful for his distant cousin. Poor Percy! Scorpius liked to fly. He couldn't imagine fearing it, but his poor cousin did and now he wondered if Percy would fear it even more than he had before.
"He had a broken arm, but he was otherwise well. It could have been a lot worse," Cedrella informed him. "Marcus Flint wrote to Septimus. He offered to pay for Percy's hospital expenses. We refused the boy, of course. Septimus doesn't want the boy to think he can buy his way out of trouble later in his life, you see."
Scorpius nodded at that. "Do you think that maybe this Flint boy was genuinely sorry for what happened to Percy?"
She frowned. "Perhaps," she confessed. "I suppose only time can tell. I have kept Percy with me for the rest of the year, but he wishes to return next year. Though Hogwart's can at times be trying for him, he insists it is good for him to grow used to being surrounded by all of that magic. He's become stronger over his years of attendance there so Septimus sees no reason to refuse him. Also, he misses Oliver dreadfully," she admitted the last with a slight smirk.
Scorpius frowned at that, clearly puzzled. "His best friend?" he asked.
She nodded. "They are very great friends," she told him. "But perhaps Percy could tell you all about Oliver Wood. Come with me Scorpius. I'll take you to the other children and then I'll collect Ginevra for her lessons."
Scorpius smiled at that. "Thank you Lady Weasley," he said and then he kissed his Aunt Narcissa on her cheek and then he went to his Aunt Andromeda and he did the same. He was relieved when she happily accepted it. He had only done that twice before and it was always a relief when she didn't react with revulsion when he did it. She was warming to him, he was sure of it now.
"Come on Sadie," he said to his crup who had made herself happy at Narcissa's feet. He watched in amusement as his crup lifted her head briefly and seemed to debate rising before slowly getting up and stretching. She followed after him as he left the room with Lady Weasley.
"We'll find Ginevra with Draco," he said confidently to Lady Weasley.
"Oh?" Cedrella asked curiously.
Scorpius smirked. Clearly, she was unaware of the affection that existed between her granddaughter and his cousin. "Oh yes," he said. "They are fond of each other. Ginevra was kind enough to send him a letter some years ago when Auror Dawlish's actions harmed him. She wished him to get well soon and she sent him a book on dragons for him to read while he was recovering. Draco wrote her back to express his gratitude for her kindness. They have managed to write letters to each other at least once a week ever since then."
Cedrella stared at him for a moment and then laughed in delight. "Well, that clever little minx," she said. "Molly has been trying to figure out who Ginevra's penpal has been for some years now. At first, she thought it was Luna Lovegood, especially after the death of Xenophilius and Luna moved away with her mother to Malfoy Manor."
Scorpius smiled at that. "Are you going to tell Mrs. Weasley?"
"Absolutely not," she assured him. "Ginevra doesn't need her mother's interference in this. It is probably one of the few things that are truly hers, you see."
Scorpius mulled that over as he walked up the grand staircase with Lady Weasley. "Do you ever think that perhaps you should take custody of Ginevra?"
She paused as they reached the top of the stairs and nodded once. "Yes, but it would break Molly's heart if I did it," she revealed. "So, unless I saw evidence that staying with Arthur and Molly was harmful to Ginevra I shall not ask it of my Septimus," she said.
He nodded. "Sorry, I shouldn't have asked you that."
"Nonsense!" she said. "You are a curious boy and you cannot learn and become a wise man if you do not ask questions now while you are young."
He smiled at that and nodded. They walked together to a lounge on the second floor where a great many of his cousins were gathered. He smirked when he saw that he was correct. Ginevra Weasley sat on a window seat beside Draco and they were looking over a book together.
"Scorpius!" Draco greeted having looked up to see him standing in the doorway with Lady Weasley.
Draco gently handed the book to Ginevra who he noted put a ribbon between the pages and closed it and arose from the window seat a moment after Draco stood and began to approach him. When Draco reached him they simply looked each other over for several moments.
Scorpius didn't know if it was he who moved first or Draco. All he knew was that a moment later he and Draco were in a tight embrace. "I'm so sorry, Draco," Scorpius said gently to his cousin, his voice full of sorrow and remorse. "I'm so sorry about your grandfather," he said.
Draco just nodded and rested his head against him. 'Hiding his grief from the others,' Scorpius realized. He held him tighter and rocked him gently, willing to remain there as long as it would take for Draco to regain his composure.
At last Draco moved to leave his embrace. Though the boy's eyes were bright with tears he didn't cry, refusing to let himself shed the tears. "I am glad you are here, Scorpius," he said.
Scorpius nodded. "So am I."
The chapter is titled "Break" for the floo password needed to allow travel to Blackmoor. At the top of the chapter it lists the location that Scorpius was at the start of the chapter. He was at the home of Pansy Parkinson and her family at the start of the chapter but then during it he moved to Blackmoor which is in the county of Essex for those who care to nitpick about this sort of thing. ;) I do hope that you dear readers have enjoyed this chapter. Soon we'll be getting some answers about the deaths of Lord Malfoy, Lord Black, Lady Black, Pollux Black, and Cassiopeia Black. And soon there shall be the funeral rites.
