A/N: The last update is fairly recent, so I won't bother with a refresher. Just a quick thank you for all the great reviews, they're such an encouragement and I love seeing all your different responses to certain characters and elements of the story!
Disclaimer: Copyright J.K. Rowling
Chapter 20: Trouble in Paradise
Tony Mason, at the age of seventeen, was captain and Keeper of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, and reasonably popular. Though he could not be called handsome, exactly, his looks possessed a certain boyish appeal that made him a favourite with many of the girls in sixth year. When animated, his brown eyes had a liveliness to them which never failed to charm, and his broad, honest face made him appear what he was: a steady, good-natured fellow who was seldom on bad terms with anyone in his acquaintance.
These facts make it all the more surprising that when a bedraggled Tony returned to the empty changing rooms at the end of his team's match with Gryffindor, someone was waiting for him there. A petite girl with a blonde bob and a heart-shaped face, whose eyes gleamed with malice.
He did not recognise her and could not at that moment work out what sort of quarrel she must have with him. It was clear that he had done something to offend her, however unwittingly, otherwise she would not look at him in such a way. He was on the point of opening his mouth to set matters to rights when she raised her wand.
Her hand shook for a fraction of a second, then was steady, and she said, calmly, "Crucio."
Hearing that word spoken struck raw fear into Tony even before the curse hit, and the Quaffle, which he had been holding, slipped from his gloved fingers, hitting the ground with a thud. He soon followed it, knocked to the ground by the force of the spell, and then he was writhing, his mouth stretched open in agony as the witch standing over him jerked her wand, again and again. The sound of his screams echoed in the deserted changing rooms, but no one was there to hear him.
She left him after what seemed like hours, the sound of her retreating footsteps such a relief to his ears that it was almost unbearable. Tony Mason rolled over on the muddy floor so that he was facing upwards, and spat out blood. He had bitten his own tongue more than a dozen times during the past ten minutes, and now dizzy spots were dancing across his vision. His last sensible thought, before he slipped into unconsciousness, was that his offence to the witch must have been great indeed, to warrant such an attack.
Approximately nine hours earlier, James Potter and Summer Birchgrove were having a heated argument over breakfast, making their neighbours at the Gryffindor table exceedingly uncomfortable.
"Finch Ogden is the best Chaser on the team," Summer insisted, "And I'm just showing my support for him."
"There's showing support," her boyfriend said slowly, "And then there's emblazoning someone's name across your forehead. That's taking it a step further."
"Well, I couldn't very well get your name on my forehead, James," Summer said exasperatedly, "You know I couldn't. Not when my House is playing against yours."
"Here's an idea. How about not getting any name on your forehead?"
Summer looked aghast. "But all the girls have them. Diana got Tony Mason's name, and Lisa wanted Ed Abercrombie's name but she couldn't manage to get all the letters to fit - "
"Why can't you just wear scarves like normal people?"
"Lazy people, you mean." (Across the table from James and Summer, Rose glanced down at her own Gryffindor scarf and felt mildly ashamed.) "I can charm the letters to show up in different colours and everything. Do you see anyone else making such an effort? Look!" Summer flicked her wand and the writing on her forehead that read Finch Ogden changed from yellow to black lettering.
"Clever," James said sarcastically, and Summer flushed.
"I think you're just jealous," she said loftily, after a moment's awkward silence had passed, during which Rose became very absorbed in spreading raspberry jam on her toast, Albus, pale with anger, glared through his glasses at his brother, and Cassie, seated on James's other side, allowed herself a little smirk at Summer's expense.
"Jealous?" James repeated. "Of a mediocre Chaser who took all his best moves from Quidditch Through the Ages?"
"Finch Ogden is not mediocre," his girlfriend said hotly. "You don't know what you're talking about."
James snorted, and Cassie's smirk grew wider. "I don't know what I'm talking about? Summer, dear, consider the implications of that statement for a moment…"
"I don't have to put up with this," Summer snapped. "I came over here to wish you luck, but now I don't care. I hope you lose, James Potter."
Her angry words hung on the air after she had departed from the table with a toss of her head. James shook his head and smiled, but there was something in the action that was not quite right.
"That was cruel," Albus said quietly, with barely restrained hostility, and both Rose and Cassie turned their heads to stare at him. Even Penny, who was looking paler than usual and had not been paying much attention to the exchange, seemed surprised that he had spoken up.
"Oh, she didn't mean it." James pushed back his chair, leaving his plate of bacon and eggs untouched, and strode out of the hall without another word. His brother shook his head in disbelief before resuming his own breakfast.
"Why were you smiling earlier?" Rose inquired as she caught up with Cassie in the entrance hall after breakfast. The other witch looked at her blankly, in the middle of wrapping her scarf around her neck.
"Er - when?"
"When James was making fun of Summer."
"He was just having a laugh, Rose," Cassie said, a tad too complacently, as a flood of eager first-years passed them out on their way to the pitch. "She did say some pretty stupid things."
"You think she's stupid?"
"I didn't say that." Cassie raised her eyebrows, turning to face Rose fully as she pulled on her wool gloves. "Anyway, I don't remember you ever being Summer Birchgrove's biggest fan."
"I'm not, but I still think James was a bit hard on her. Talking to her like that, with all of us there watching…"
"He was just being James. He's like that with everyone."
"No," Rose said thoughtfully. "He's not normally cruel."
"I still think 'cruel' is overstating it a little. But if he was a little testy, well, that's understandable; he's nervous about the match today."
"That's no excuse."
"Rose," Cassie began, with an irritatingly knowing smile that made her friend want to shake her, "No offence, but you've never played Quidditch. You have no idea what pre-match nerves can be like."
"I imagine they're pretty similar to pre-exam nerves," Rose said coolly.
"Yeah, and in my experience, you're not the most pleasant person to be around before an exam," Cassie said, still smiling.
"I'd never be cruel." Rose looked her friend in the eye. "That's the difference."
Cassie looked at her for a moment more, then shrugged. "I should get to the match," she said offhandedly. "Don't want to miss the start."
"I care about James, but I don't let that stop me from recognising when he does something wrong," Rose pointed out as her friend began to walk away from her. "You shouldn't, either."
"Don't go yet," Carlos said beseechingly, catching Lily's hand in his as she began to rise from the Slytherin table. "You've eaten barely anything."
"I had a whole plate of French toast," Lily pointed out, freeing her hand from his grip gently but firmly. "But you're very sweet to worry."
"I do worry, petal. You need to have your strength for the match, after all." Carlos leaned into her from where he was seated, slipping his arm around her waist. "It's early yet, anyway. Stay for a little longer. Have some of these." He seized a plate of sausages, putting some onto her plate.
"I don't have time to eat anything else, Carlos," Lily protested, laughing. "I need to get down to the pitch early so I can help James get ready."
"Nah, you don't." Carlos gave her hand a tug. "Your brother can take care of things himself. Come on, sit down, relax for a few more minutes."
Lily was blushing crimson now, aware that she was being watched by half of the Slytherin table. "I really should get going…" she said again, more feebly, but allowed Carlos to pull her back into her seat.
"I know you're going to be great today," he said warmly, as he continued to pile her plate with strips of bacon and bits of cold scrambled egg. "Don't even worry about it, Lily. The Hufflepuff Seeker may have a couple of years on you, but you've got… well, you've got determination, petal."
Lily now looked positively green as she stared down at her plate of food. "Thank you," she said, in a very small voice that had just the slightest edge to it.
"It's true." Carlos smiled encouragingly. "Go on, now, eat up!"
"She'll be sick if she eats anything else," Nina Meyer said in an undertone, from a few seats down the table.
"I think that's the plan," Scorpius replied. He had been listening to Santini's conversation with the Potter girl, much against his own inclination, since they had arrived at the table, and couldn't help feeling that this was low, even for Santini. It wasn't as if he cared; Lily Potter's (rather unfair) triumph over him in the last match still rankled, which was partly the reason why he had no desire to attend this one, but - she was Rose's cousin. And how could he forget Rose's face when he had told her about the bet…
"Oi, Lily!" One of the Gryffindor players, McCubbin, was passing the Slytherin table on his way out of the hall. "Want us to wait for you?"
"No, I'll be along in a minute," Lily Potter called back, flushing red again as she spoke through a mouthful of scrambled egg. Swallowing, she turned to Santini. "I really have to go now."
"But you haven't finished eating!" he griped. "Just stay for another - "
"Carlos." It was Torrance who had spoken, his quiet voice cutting across the other wizard's. Though he had been watching the exchange avidly from his own seat at the table, he no longer looked amused. His dark eyes locked on his friend's, as if to say that's enough. Without further protest, Santini fell silent, releasing Lily's hand.
But Lily Potter did not move from the table. She had not missed Torrance's interference, and her eyes were darting between the two wizards now, fearful and suspicious all at once.
"What was that about, Carlos?" she demanded. "Have you and your friend been trying to delay me so I won't make it to the match? Is that it?"
None of the Slytherins found that they could meet her gaze now, uneasy at the possibility of confrontation. Only Carlos said, haltingly, "Of – of course not, petal, of course not…"
"You don't want me to do well in the match today," Lily accused, trying to look fierce even as her lower lip trembled. "You don't want Gryffindor to win. Is that it?"
"No, petal, it isn't - "
"Don't call me that." Tears were beginning to form in Lily Potter's eyes now – Scorpius saw this and hastily glanced down at his plate again, feeling unreasonably guilty. She stood from the table, gave Carlos Santini one last betrayed look, and then hurried away.
"What the hell, Torrance?" Santini spluttered as soon as the Potter girl was out of earshot.
"You took it too far," Torrance said, with a shrug. "She was bound to guess something was up."
"She only got suspicious when you stuck your oar in!" Santini shook his head, running a hand through his dark hair. "Don't pretend you were thinking of anything other than your ten Galleons."
"Well, speaking of…" Torrance Bole raised his eyebrows. "Do you want to pay by cash, or - "
"This isn't over," Santini said firmly, shaking his head. "I'll get her back. You'll see."
A light rain was beginning to fall when Rose and Albus joined Cassie in the stands, with the other Gryffindors. It misted over the pitch, making it difficult to see the players gathering there. Madam Hooch was easy to make out in the centre, in her brightly-coloured robes, and Rose discerned the two captains approaching each other beside her.
"Where's Lily?" Cassie suddenly gasped. She was peering through her binoculars, counting all of the Gryffindor players. "The captains are about to shake hands; she should be here…"
"There she is." Nina Meyer had appeared beside them. Rose took the binoculars from Cassie and swung them around in the direction that Nina had indicated. She was just in time to see her cousin rushing into position beside the rest of the team, red hair flying loose from her sloppy ponytail.
"Why is she so late? That's not like Lily at all."
"It was Santini," Nina said grimly, at the same time that Madam Hooch blew her whistle and the players lifted off into the air.
"What?" Rose exclaimed, but then Cassie was hushing them impatiently as Tracy Towers' voice came on the megaphone.
"Finch Ogden takes possession of the Quaffle for Hufflepuff – he goes for the goal – will he make it?" A groan of disappointment came from the Hufflepuff stands. "No, Gryffindor Keeper Spinnet has pulled off a lucky save, and now Finnigan has the Quaffle – hard luck, Ogden…"
"What did Santini do?" Rose said in a low voice to Nina as Tracy Towers babbled on.
"I think he was trying to sabotage her performance for the match," Nina replied just as quietly, her eyes still fixed on the players. "But she wised up to it fairly quickly. I'd be surprised if she stayed with him after the way he acted this morning."
Rose heaved a sigh of relief. "That's good to hear. I was hoping I wouldn't have to tell her about the bet."
"You know about that?" Nina turned to her.
"Scorpius told me. Why didn't you?" Rose raised her eyebrows at Nina as a loud cheer went up all around them, Albus and Cassie punching the air in delight.
"Same reason you didn't want to tell Lily, I'm guessing. Because I knew it would hurt you."
"That's… almost sweet. But you should have said something."
"All right. Next time I won't try to spare your feelings."
"Please don't." Rose shouldered Nina in her seat, who shouldered her back, and then a disgruntled Cassie hushed them again.
Scorpius returned to the Slytherin common room to find it empty, all of its usual occupants being at the match. That suited his needs perfectly. He crumpled the note that he had received at breakfast in his pocket, and seated himself before the fireplace, glancing at his watch, then at the glowing embers. One minute – two –
In a burst of green flames, Draco Malfoy's face appeared in the fireplace. He looked even worse than when Scorpius had seen him at Christmas. His eyes were ringed with purple shadows, and darted back and forth around the common room, though there was no one else there.
Scorpius looked at him warily, remembering his mother's words with a little shudder. There is a chance that they may conscript you. The Truthseekers. And your father may let them.
Was that what this was about? He opened his mouth to speak, but his father got there before him.
"I'm sorry I haven't been in touch," he said briefly. "Things are busy in Gringotts. The goblins - "
"Dad," Scorpius cut across him, swallowing hard. "I know."
"You know? You know what?"
"All of it." It was harder to get the next few words out. "That you robbed Gringotts to get Mum out of prison – that you're working with the Truthseekers, with her, that Carlotta woman - "
His father's hand became visible in the flame, gripping his wand, and Scorpius's voice was suddenly cut off. He clutched at his throat, then stared accusingly at his father, whose face was now pale with rage.
"Do you realise anyone could be listening to us, Scorpius?" Draco Malfoy hissed. "The Floo Network is constantly being monitored by the Ministry."
And you're being your usual paranoid self, Scorpius mouthed bitterly, but his father ignored him, continuing in a frustratingly calm tone. "Now, I don't know where you're getting your information from, but it's false, Scorpius. What's more, it's dangerous to say such things – it could land us all in a lot of trouble."
"We're already in trouble!" Scorpius burst out as his father finally released him from the Silencing Charm. "Mum's on the run, and you're – you're - " He stopped, though he wanted to go on; his father would only Silence him again if he renewed the accusation.
"Anything you've heard about me is a lie, Scorpius," his father said firmly. "I thought you knew by now not to listen to gossip about our family."
"It's not gossip!" Scorpius stared disbelievingly at his father. "It's the truth! I wish it weren't, but it is!"
Draco Malfoy watched his son for a moment, then said quietly, "So you don't trust my word?"
Scorpius swallowed again, watching a stray ember spit itself out onto the hearth before his father's face. "You're not yourself lately, Dad."
"You don't believe," his father continued, in the same low tone, "that everything I have done since you were born has been for your good, Scorpius? To ensure that you have a better life than I had?"
Scorpius stared at the swirling pattern in the carpet of the common room and said nothing. His father sighed, and shook his head.
"I didn't know that you had so little faith in me, son. Everything I have done - "
"Oh, don't start with that again," Scorpius snapped, surging to his feet and keeping his eyes fixed on his father's. "Mum told me. All right? She told me what you did. She knows, and she told me." The blood drained from Draco Malfoy's face, but his son thundered on, regardless. "And you know what? She's not much better than you are. She lied to me, too. You both lied to me so many times. Was that for my own good, too?"
"You're not making sense, Scorpius," his father said after a pause.
"You're in debt," Scorpius spat, swinging away from the fireplace because the sight of his father's lying eyes was making him slightly sick. "And you didn't see fit to tell me. How long have you known? When did you and Mum decide that I had to kept in the dark?"
"We were going to tell you, Scorpius – eventually, when it became more of a problem - "
Scorpius snorted in derision. "It was enough of a problem that Mum had to go to Teddy Lupin's wedding to try to to get Bill Weasley to give you a promotion."
"How do you know that? Scorpius, look at me." Reluctantly, his son obeyed, and Draco looked at him closely. "It wasn't just your mother who told you all of this, was it? Someone else has been talking to you about this. About us. Scorpius, who else knows about our debt?"
"Rose Weasley told me," Scorpius said defiantly, drawing himself up as his father's eyes narrowed.
"The one who had your mother arrested."
"That was a mistake, and she's sorry for it." Coolly, he continued, savouring the expression of shock on his father's face, "She's been more honest with me than you have, Dad."
"Are you really defending a Weasley?" His father's brow furrowed. "And you say I'm not acting like myself."
Scorpius blinked. Then, he couldn't help smiling a little.
"You're right, Dad," he said at last. "I'm not myself these days, either. For instance, did you know I've joined Charms club?"
"What I wouldn't give for a nice foul," Rose said drearily.
The mist had thickened around the stands, and the heat provided by her wand could not dispel the miserable damp settling over herself and her neighbours. Even Tracy Towers' voice had diminished to a monotonous drone, informing the bored spectators at intervals (rather unnecessarily) that visibility was growing poorer by the minute, preventing the Seekers from being able to locate the Snitch, that Hufflepuff had been the last team to score – a full hour ago – and overall, that nothing very exciting was happening.
Cassie cast Rose a disbelieving glance before returning to her binoculars; Albus, on his cousin's other side, smiled wryly, and Nina shrugged her shoulders beside him.
"Hufflepuffs are cleaner players than Slytherins. That's just the way it is."
"You can't expect every match to be as dramatic as our one against Slytherin was," Albus agreed.
"I don't know how they do it." Rose shook her head, squinting at the few players she could see, who were flying in seemingly endless circles around the pitch. "Soaking wet and bored out of their minds, just waiting for someone to score or get the Snitch…"
"It's called Quidditch," Cassie said acidly, without looking away from her binoculars.
Rose rolled her eyes. "I don't know why you're bothering with those. It's impossible to see anything in this weather."
"Not true. I can see Lily from here. She's hovering high above everyone else - looking pretty bored – oh, it's no use." Cassie lowered her binoculars and sighed. "They're not going to find the Snitch until that mist clears. And that could be another hour… maybe two."
"You're not serious," Rose groaned, at the same moment that a couple of Gryffindors – Jackie Saunders and Mark McLaggen – squeezed past them with murmured apologies, having vacated their seats. Her eyes followed the pair. "I think they've got the right idea."
"I'm staying here until it's over," Cassie said staunchly.
"How about you lot? Feel like heading back to the castle?" Rose turned to her other companions, and frowned. "Albus, are you OK?"
Her cousin did not appear to have heard her. "What's she doing here?" he said in an undertone.
"Who?" She peered in the direction that Albus had indicated (Cassie swung her binoculars around to see for herself) and beheld the top of Orchid Ottelby's head, a few levels down from them in the stands, beside Penny Alderton's.
"Is Ottelby giving her a hard time, I wonder?" Albus said worriedly.
"I dunno," Cassie said in a sing-song voice, more to herself than to the others, who nevertheless heard, "Looks to me like Penny's getting up to some mischief."
"What?" Rose twisted around to look at her friend, who hastily lowered her binoculars, looking sheepish.
"It was a joke," she said, rather feebly.
"Cass, do you…" Rose chewed on her lip, still staring at her friend. "Do you – know something?"
"Know what?" Albus demanded. "What are you two going on about?"
Rose and Cassie exchanged an uncertain glance, but before they had to say anything, they were rescued by Nina.
"Orchid's just up to her usual tricks," the Slytherin girl said dismissively. "Probably gave Alderton an earful. Look – there she goes."
"Good riddance," Albus muttered, watching as a smirking Orchid Ottelby weaved her way around the crowded seats and out of the Gryffindor stands again. "Poor Penny. I should go see if she's OK." No sooner had he spoken, however, than Penny herself stood up from her seat and hurried out of the stands, with rather less grace than Ottelby had done.
"I'm sure she's fine," Nina said, rather unsympathetically. "Now, who wants to get out of here?"
Rose made a noise of assent and gathered up her things. She followed Nina across the row of seats while Albus remained, his face still troubled.
"This is disgraceful," James Potter stormed as his teammates landed their brooms beside him at time-out. "We've faced worse conditions than these before. Far worse. They are crushing us."
"They've only scored twice," Sam Spinnet, the Keeper, pointed out, then shrunk back as the Quidditch captain's full wrath was unleashed upon him.
"Twice? Yeah? And how many times have we scored, Spinnet? That's right, zero." James swung around to face Lily, who was attempting to dry her hair with her wand. "And as for you…"
"Don't start, James," she muttered, avoiding the gazes of her other teammates.
"Why were you late?" James crossed his arms, raising his eyebrows at his sister.
"She was with her boyfriend," Steven McCubbin said, rather slyly, and Lily shot him a glare.
"I should've known he'd have something to do with this," James seethed.
"He has nothing to do with it," Lily snapped. "It was my own fault that I was late."
"And what about the Snitch? You haven't even come close to sighting it."
"Neither has the Hufflepuff Seeker."
"You're miles better than Abercrombie," James said sharply, "And you know it, Lily."
She shrugged. "He's got more experience."
"And how many times have I told you that experience counts for nothing if you don't have the talent to begin with?" James shook his head. "Look, it doesn't matter. What matters is that we go back up there and we play like our lives depend on it. I know it's miserable weather, but the sooner we win, the sooner we get out of here. We want that Cup at the end of the year, don't we? Don't we?"
"We do," his team chorused.
"This is my last year at school," James said fiercely. "My last year as captain. And I want it to count for something. So are we ready?"
"Yes," his team chorused, and the Gryffindor captain nodded to himself, mounting his broom. Across the pitch, he could see the Hufflepuff players doing the same, and, unbidden, Summer Birchgrove's spiteful words came back to him. I hope you lose, James Potter.
James was hardly the superstitious type, but even he could not help but feel the weight of what she had said, as though it were a curse. A curse that he had undoubtedly earned, ridiculing her like that in front of everyone. He tried to forget it as he lifted off into the air, but the sense lingered in the back of his mind for the remainder of the game.
Lily tramped through the mud, chilled to the bone and utterly miserable. The knot of Hufflepuffs leading the way back to the castle ahead of her were carrying various team members on their shoulders – all except for the captain, oddly, who was nowhere in sight - and participating in some kind of victory chant. Because of her, Lily thought bitterly. She'd let them win.
Much to the relief of the spectators, who had been huddled in the damp for more than five hours at this point, the match had not lasted much longer after time-out. Abercrombie had spotted the Snitch by the Gryffindor hoops a fraction of a second before Lily had, and he had managed to reach it just on time.
James hadn't even been able to look at her when they landed, amid the cheers of the Hufflepuff supporters. He had strode off the pitch, still in his filthy Quidditch gear, and no one had been foolish enough to go after him. They had left Lily alone, too.
Now, she was replaying the pivotal moment of the match in her head, over and over, trying to figure out what she could have done better. If she had been nearer the hoops – if she hadn't been so upset by the upbraiding James had given her at time-out – if what Carlos had said about Abercrombie having more experience hadn't stuck with her…
Then there was Carlos Santini himself, stepping out in front of her so that she was forced to stop.
"Petal…" he began, but she shoved past him, glaring straight ahead.
"I told you not to call me that," she growled.
"Lily." He followed after her, his long strides matching hers easily. "That was hard luck. You flew very well..."
"Carlos, don't."
"I wanted to say I'm sorry," he persisted. "Look at me, Lily." And, indeed, he did look sorry. His dark eyes were filled with regret, and his handsome face set in a pained expression. But Lily found that she didn't care. Stopping suddenly, she turned to face Carlos.
"You did this. You wanted me to lose."
Carlos looked hurt by the accusation. "I didn't, Lily. How could you even think that?"
"Because it's true," she snapped. "You hate the Gryffindor team, and you can't get past that, not even for my sake. You're jealous of my brother, too, aren't you? You're not the only one, and you know, I'm sick of it."
"I am not jealous of James Potter," Carlos said hotly, then a moment later, he seemed to check himself. "I mean, petal – Lily – that's not true."
"This is over." Lily waved her hand wildly as though to indicate the space between them. "I don't want to see you ever again." She turned on her heel and flounced off, splattering droplets of mud into the air as she went. One landed on Carlos's cheek, and he wiped it off.
"Lily!" But she did not turn, only sped up her pace. Carlos Santini stared after her for a moment, then kicked a nearby stone in his frustration. It went skidding through the air and into the cold, grey waters of the lake, and he watched as the Giant Squid stirred beneath the surface.
"I will get her back," he told it, but the certainty had gone out of his voice – as though he knew, already, that he had lost.
"You know, the Gryffindor common room is much toastier than here," Nina remarked.
"Your point?" Scorpius, who was lying stretched out on the hearth to get the most warmth from the fire, hands behind his head, did not look around. The Slytherin common room was packed with chattering students who had returned from the match, but their collective body heat did not do much to dispel the chill from the lake beyond the windows.
"Well, you know they're still having a victory party. Despite the fact that they lost." She lowered herself onto the hearth, into a sitting position beside him. "It'd be a shame to waste all that food when they've already ordered it, I suppose."
"And you're planning on going?" Scorpius supposed he shouldn't have been surprised. Nina was spending much more time with the Gryffindors lately.
"Well, not alone." Nina shifted uncomfortably on the carpet. "I won't really know most of the people there. And I've already asked Jem to come with me, but he said it wouldn't be his thing."
"So what makes you think it'd be my thing?" Scorpius smiled to himself, his eyes still fixed on the ceiling of the common room.
"Rose is going to be there," Nina said, and if Scorpius were not mistaken, a little slyness had entered her tone.
"That's your main selling point?" Scorpius snorted. "Of course she'll be there. It's her House that's hosting the party. And - she won't want to see me, anyway."
"She will. I know Rose."
"Not very well, apparently." With a sigh, he finally sat up, running a hand through his hair. "Look, we haven't been on great terms lately. I mean, not that we ever really were, but – she blames me for that bet with her cousin and Santini. Even though I wasn't involved, she thinks I…"
"Please." Nina snorted. "If that were true, she wouldn't be speaking to me either. I knew about it, same as you, and I didn't even tell her. Just come to the party, Scorpius, and you can talk to her about it."
"What an attractive prospect," Scorpius said sarcastically.
"Oh, come on, Scorpius. Please?"
It was most unlike Nina to beg. Frowning, he was about to refuse again when Jem joined them, his face pale. He sank into the armchair nearest them, and exhaled heavily.
"What's up?" Scorpius said, alarmed.
"The Hufflepuff captain was attacked in the changing rooms. After the match. I heard some third-years talking about it."
"Attacked – how?" Nina's face had lost colour, too, and Scorpius, knowing that his friends were both reliving their own experiences from that year, was suddenly unsure of what to say. "By one of the Gryffindors?"
"They're saying - " Jem's voice dropped. "They're saying that an Unforgivable was used on Mason."
Nina and Scorpius both had the same reaction to this: pure, plain disbelief. "Can't be," Nina said briskly, shaking her head.
"No Gryffindor would have enough neck to use an Unforgivable," Scorpius supplied.
"It mightn't have been a Gryffindor," Jem pointed out. "We don't know."
"This is mad." Nina bit her lip, then, after a pause, resumed, "I wonder if the Gryffindor party's still going ahead now."
"Nina…"
"What?"
"Nothing." Scorpius shook his head, exchanging a glance with Jem, who was grinning, just a little.
"You're heartless, Meyer."
As it turned out, the Gryffindor party did go ahead, though what with the news about Tony Mason's attack, paired with their crushing defeat by Hufflepuff, there wasn't much to celebrate. Nonetheless, the common room was soon crowded from wall to wall with students from various Houses – yelling, singing, laughing uproariously. A pair of speakers floated a few feet above them, blaring some number that sounded more like distorted shouting than music to Rose.
"I hate seeing James like this," Cassie Miller said sentimentally. She was on her third Firewhiskey, though it was only a half an hour into the party, and was slurring her words very slightly.
Rose glanced over at her cousin, who was counting out loud enthusiastically as his friend, Belby, downed a goblet of Butterbeer. "He looks fine to me."
"That's just a front." Sighing, Cassie put her empty glass down. "Some girlfriend Summer is. Not even coming to see if he's all right. I should talk to him." She made to go over to the drinks table, lurching a little, but Rose grasped her arm.
"No, Cass, wait." As her friend swung back to her, narrowing her eyes warily, she thought fast. "Er -do I look all right?"
Cassie tilted her head to the side, as though the question required careful consideration. Rose, who had put quite a bit of effort into dressing up tonight, could not help but feel a little miffed at this. She had styled her hair (with Jackie's help) so that it flowed over her shoulders in smooth, silken curls, and she wore a black skirt of light, foamy material that gathered just above her knees, paired with a pretty white top. At length, Cassie reached out and tugged down the neckline, so that Rose's chest was much more exposed (rather too exposed for her own liking).
"That's better." With a satisfied smile, Cassie turned, and this time Rose could not stop her wandering over to the drinks table. She only hoped her friend didn't make a fool of herself.
"Rose!"
She turned to see that Nina had climbed inside the portrait hole (a Gryffindor outside having undoubtedly given her the password), and gave a girly squeal that surprised even herself. "I'm so glad to see you!"
"That much is clear," Nina said dryly, allowing Rose to hug her for a moment. "I'm seeing rather more of you than expected." She cast a dubious glance towards Rose's décolletage. Nina herself looked rather nice, though she had not changed since the match; her thick dark hair was gathered into a ponytail at the nape of her neck and plain gold earrings glinted in her ears.
"Oh, Cassie did that. Does it look OK?" Rose looked at Nina anxiously.
Nina rolled her eyes. "It looks fine." She listened for a moment to the song that was now playing, then snorted. "Another Hinkypunks track. What, did Jem devise this playlist?"
"Jem?" Rose was momentarily confused. "Oh, you mean your friend, Jeremy Sharpwood."
"Yeah, he's a Hinkypunks fan."
The only Hinkypunks that Rose knew of were one-legged creatures that lured travellers into bogs, but she nodded as though she understood all about modern wizarding music, her eyes skimming past Nina's shoulder towards the portrait hole.
"He's not coming tonight, unfortunately." Nina was looking at her knowingly. "And neither is Scorpius."
Rose scowled at her. "I wasn't looking for him, for your information." She paused. "But – er – did he say why?"
"Not his cup of tea."
"Ah."
"Did you hear about Tony Mason?" Nina inquired as they started making their way towards the drinks table, weaving around knots of chattering Gryffindors.
"Awful, isn't it?" Rose paused, pursing her lips. "I'd say I can't believe it, only…"
"Only so many unbelievable things have been happening this year that this isn't quite as shocking as it should be," Nina finished. "I know."
"It isn't just that." They reached the table, and Rose poured herself and her friend two Firewhiskeys, saying a few necessary hellos before resuming their conversation in a corner of the common room, beside the window. "I've been… well, I've been trying something recently."
"Trying what?" Nina raised her eyebrows as she sipped her drink.
"To be normal." Rose lifted her shoulders as she saw Nina's expression. "You might laugh, I know, but... all this year, I haven't been myself. All that speculating and investigating and I – haven't had the time to just be me."
Nina choked on her Firewhiskey at this, and it was a few moments before she recovered, with the aid of a hastily cast "Anapneo!" on Rose's part.
"What?" Rose said defensively, once her friend was able to speak again. "What's wrong with that?"
The Slytherin girl shook her head. "Trust you to make Tony Mason getting attacked about you, Rose."
"I – that's not what I'm doing," Rose said, quite offended. She gulped down more of her Firewhiskey than she normally would have at once. "I'm just saying that I've been in a bit of a rut lately, that's all. And I want to get out of it."
"By not talking about Tony Mason getting attacked?" Nina raised her eyebrows.
"Well, that would be a start." Seeing her friend's expression, Rose fidgeted with her neckline uncomfortably. "I just mean – there's no point. I don't have any insight to contribute, most of my theories are normally wrong anyway, and…"
"Weasley," Nina said, cutting across her impatiently. "Believe it or not, I'm fine with not talking about Tony Mason. It's just your reasoning that I can't quite figure."
"I know it doesn't make much sense." Rose drained the last bit of her Firewhiskey, and placed it on the windowsill beside her with a flourish. "But from now on, I fully renounce interfering in any way, shape or form in matters that do not concern – what is Cassie doing?"
Cassie felt pleasantly light and bubbly as she sauntered away from Rose and over to James, who was surrounded by a mixture of his seventh-year friends and members of the Quidditch team. "What's up?" she said brightly as soon as she reached them.
James, however, was too busy roaring in laughter at something Philip Creevey had said to notice her. He was clutching his friend's shoulder, almost doubled over in his mirth, and looked to be a few drinks ahead of everyone else. The first prickle of doubt pierced Cassie even in her light-headed, carefree state, but she pushed it away.
"Creevey was just telling James about some Ravenclaw bird he was with last week," Sam Spinnet told her, with a smile. He was the closest to Cassie.
"She didn't take off her glasses!" James gasped, then doubled over again in a fresh bout of laughter while Philip grinned ruefully beside him. Cassie smiled uncomprehendingly, but none of them were looking at her anyway. Well, none of them except for -
"Can I get you a drink?" It was Sam again. Cassie blinked at him. He was standing rather nearer to her than he had been before. He'd be almost good-looking if not for all those freckles, she found herself briefly reflecting (thankfully, she was not quite drunk enough to say that out loud), before her thoughts returned to James. Why was the boy so confusing? How was it that she could feel like his closest friend one minute – the only one who really understood him – and the next, like a complete stranger? It didn't –
"Cassie?"
She started, and realised that she hadn't answered Sam. "I'd love one," she said, turning her smile on the Gryffindor Keeper. "Thank you."
James and his friends were now singing along enthusiastically to the old Hobgoblins number that had come onto the speakers, with their arms around each other's shoulders. At the chorus, they started dancing – more like leaping up and down on the spot – and Cassie watched, not sure whether she could join in. After all, she knew the song just as well as they did, but their dancing seemed to be more for themselves. When Sam returned, her problems were solved. She grabbed the Firewhiskey from him, downed it, then tossed it aside and threw her arms around his neck, bobbing in time to the music.
"I love this song!" she said loudly, and Sam grinned down at her.
"Yeah, the Weird Sisters are great!" he said enthusiastically, and Cassie was about to correct him, then thought better of it.
When the song was over, Cassie's head was spinning – maybe she had drunk that Firewhiskey just a little too quickly – and she detached her arms from Sam's neck, who looked disappointed. She was about to make her way back across the room to Rose, who was gesturing to her from where she stood with Nina, when a voice slurred in her ear.
"I didn't know you and Spinnet got on so well."
So James had finally deigned to acknowledge her presence. Annoyed, Cassie turned to face him and was briefly thrown off by how close he was to her. "He's a decent bloke," she finally responded with a coolness that she didn't feel. "And a good Keeper."
"Oh, I know!" James grinned lazily. "'S why I hired him. I mean - " He stopped, momentarily floored, then burst out laughing again at his own mistake. "Hired… geddit, Miller? I said hired. 'Magine if I paid everyone on the team!" His laughter faded as abruptly as it had come on, and he said, glumly, "Maybe then they would've played better today and we would've won."
Ordinarily, Cassie would have comforted him, but her head was still spinning and she was still hurt over the way he had ignored her earlier. "Where's Summer?" she asked sweetly.
His expression darkened. "Said she didn't want to see me."
"Trouble in paradise?" Cassie said, and she didn't exactly mean for it to come across as mocking, but it did.
James blinked at her, and looked vaguely injured. "That's n… not nice."
"You're not nice."
He drew himself up. "Hey, I'm just lookin' out for m' cousin's best friend."
It was as though he had poured cold water over her. Cassie's head stopped its spinning, and she suddenly felt quite sober. "That's all I am, is it? Your cousin's best friend?"
James looked as if he did not quite understand. Squinting at her, he began to say something else, but that was all Cassie could bear, and she pushed away from him, through the crowd. But not towards Rose and Nina – towards Sam Spinnet, who was standing alone by the drinks table. He looked surprised as she came to him. That surprise only grew as she seized the front of his robes and pulled his face down to hers.
The kiss was nothing to write home about, as the expression went. Wet, sloppy and slightly off-balance, it wasn't exactly unpleasant, but definitely awkward. Still, Cassie did not pull away, as Sam's arms went around her and the common room around them erupted in a chorus of catcalling and whistling.
How long it went on, Cassie could not quite tell. It must have been for some minutes, as the catcalling gradually died down, the Gryffindor Keeper's hands roaming over her all the while. Eventually, however, she felt someone else's hand on her arm, and a familiar voice beside her.
"Cassie, come on. That's enough."
She broke away from Sam Spinnet to see Rose standing before her. Her face swam in and out of vision, and Cassie frowned, trying to get her into focus. The room around them seemed to have gone very quiet; even the music on the speakers above was between tracks.
"Let's get you upstairs," Rose was saying, and the command in her voice, the way her arm moved around Cassie's shoulders, the way her eyes kept shifting between the crowd and her friend – it made Cassie's blood boil.
She allowed Rose to lead her a few paces away from Sam, but then shrugged her off rather roughly, spinning around to face her.
"Fuck off," she said forcefully. There was a collective ooh from some of their classmates at this, and Cassie threw a confused glance at them before turning back to face Rose. Her friend had turned pink, but moved to hold onto Cassie's arm again.
"Cass, I'm just trying to help…" she said in a low voice, but Cassie slapped her hand away, to the delight of their audience.
"I don't need your fucking help, Rose." She spoke somewhat louder than she had intended, and her voice seemed almost to echo across the common room – still silent. Why was it still silent? Someone must have put the music on pause. Rose flinched, and something inside Cassie baulked at the expression on her friend's face. Still, she heard herself go on. "I don't need your help, and y'know what? You're just as much of a bloody mess as I am, Rose Weasley. So leave me the fuck alone."
"Fine," Rose said, in a more high-pitched voice than she normally used. "Fine." She swung away and out of the common room, and there was a moment's hesitation before the crowd that had been watching broke into laughter. The music started up again, and Cassie took a shaky step backwards. She suddenly felt very unsteady.
"Are you OK?" Sam Spinnet's voice sounded somewhere near her, and she was pretty sure he had repeated the question a few times before someone else answered for her.
"What, are you thick? She's clearly not." Strong arms seized her shoulders, and Cassie let whoever it was steer her away from the crowd, towards the stairs that led to the girls' dormitories. It was someone who smelled vaguely of marbles – Cassie hadn't even known that marbles had a smell before now – and the voice of her saviour became more recognisable when it said, rather harshly, "Get lost, Spinnet."
"Why're you helping me?" Cassie said confusedly as they started up the stairs to the dormitory, moving into blessed quiet. Her head slowed its spinning somewhat.
"Because you're an idiot, Miller," Nina Meyer said frankly. "And you're Rose's friend."
"Not anymore." Cassie didn't know she had stopped until she was pulled along again, none too gently. The door of her dormitory came into view above them. Nina did not contradict her, and it wasn't until then that Cassie realised she had been hoping that she would.
"Yeah, you seem to have made sure of that."
Rose walked fast, her fists clenched at her sides. It was past curfew, but she couldn't have cared less. Let the Aurors or Filch or whoever find her flouting the rules. She couldn't go back there and be laughed at again. Her cheeks were still burning in sore humiliation, and the tears that had prickled her eyelids as she rushed out of the common room now spilled over them.
She had no idea where she was going, but by the time she reached the left corridor and came level with the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, her legs were tired, so she sank down onto the floor, the material of her skirt gathering around her, and leaned her back against the wall. She breathed in and out, sharply, and then her face twisted and she began crying in earnest.
"Rose?"
She had not heard his footsteps, but there was the voice, somewhere above her. No, no, no…
Uncertain, Scorpius came to a halt opposite Rose in the corridor. She looked a complete mess, her disheveled hair making a curtain over her tear-streaked face and her skirt rumpled. "Did… did something happen?"
"No," Rose said, quite shrilly. "I'm fine, really."
"Yeah, I can see that."
"Why do you always have to be so sarcastic?" she demanded, before bursting into a fresh bout of tears.
Quite alarmed now, Scorpius knelt beside Rose as she sobbed. He hesitated, then reached out a hand, lightly touching her shoulder. She did not lift her head. "Look, I'll be serious. OK? Now, what happened?"
There was a pause before Rose answered, her voice muffled behind her hands as her sobs subsided somewhat. "Cassie - told me to fuck off - in front of everyone."
Scorpius opened his mouth, then closed it again. He couldn't help but feel a little relieved that it was nothing worse, but of course it would not do to tell Rose that. Eventually, he said, gently, "That wasn't very nice."
"No, it wasn't." Rose finally lifted her head, and Scorpius dropped his hand from her shoulder a moment later. Her lower lip trembled a little, but her eyes looked angry. "All I did was try to stop her from making a fool of herself. She was kissing this bloke on the Quidditch team, and I knew she'd regret it later, and I was just being a good friend."
"So she was drunk." Scorpius shrugged his shoulders. "Well, people say all kinds of things when they're drunk. She probably didn't mean it."
"People are honest when they're drunk," Rose contradicted, turning to him. Her blue eyes were brimming with tears once more, but she blinked them away angrily. "So that must be the way she really feels about me."
"I don't know if that's true," Scorpius said thoughtfully. "Not in my experience, anyway."
Rose did not appear to be listening now. She gave a loud groan, throwing her head back. "And everyone started laughing at me after Cassie said it… it was so humiliating."
"Since when do you care what everyone thinks? You're Rose Weasley." Scorpius could not help smiling a little. "Besides, your friend's reaction isn't so hard to understand. I mean, if you had been kissing some bloke - " this idea did not appeal to him, for some reason, but he went on," – just having fun, wouldn't you have been annoyed if she had stopped you?"
"Well, yeah," Rose said, with a sullen sniff, "But I wouldn't have shouted at her like that. No matter how drunk I was."
"A testament to your maturity, I'm sure." At her glare, he shrugged again. "What? I wasn't being sarcastic."
"So you expect me to believe that you were actually being nice?" Rose raised her eyebrows, sceptical for a moment, then caught herself. "I mean - "
"Careful, Weasley," Scorpius said dryly. "You might hurt my feelings."
"I wasn't implying that you're never nice…" Rose trailed off awkwardly. Just to have something to do, she drew her wand and produced a tissue out of thin air a moment later. Wiping her eyes, she resumed, "What are you doing here, anyway?"
"I was actually on my way to the party."
"Nina said that kind of thing isn't your cup of tea."
"No, Gryffindor parties generally aren't, but – " Scorpius hesitated, then turned to her. They were sitting so close that his leg brushed hers in the motion. "I wanted to see you."
Rose's eyes widened a fraction as she lowered the tissue. "Oh," was all she could think of to say.
"I wanted to apologise."
She sighed, straightening up. With every minute that passed, she was feeling more like herself again.
"No, Scorpius, you don't need to do that. I know what happened with Lily wasn't your fault – the thing with the bet…"
"Not just that," he said quietly. "When you told me about my family being in debt. It wasn't right to blame you just for being the bearer of bad news."
"I shouldn't have broken it to you in that way," she protested, but he waved a hand.
"That's not why I was angry with you. It was because…" He sighed. "Because I wasn't comfortable with your knowing so much about my family. Knowing more than I did."
"They never told you," she said softly.
"No, they didn't."
"I'm sorry."
"Yeah, me too."
They sat in silence for a few moments, and then Scorpius rose to his feet. "Will I walk you back?"
With one last sniff, Rose joined him, smoothing her skirt as she stood. "OK."
"Hard luck about the match today, by the way."
"You don't need to pretend you're sorry that Gryffindor lost."
"Oh, good. Because I'm really not."
"Stop being such a mother hen, Al," James muttered. "I'm fine."
Albus rolled his eyes, keeping his brother's arm around his shoulders as he moved up the stairs to the seventh-year dormitories. "I don't call throwing up in a corner of the common room and then trying to get into a fight with Sam Spinnet fine."
"Spinnet's a cheeky git."
"Because he kissed Cassie?" Albus said slyly.
"No." James glared at him through narrowed eyes as they reached the door of his dormitory. "Why would that bother me?"
"I dunno," his brother said airily, shoving the door open with his free shoulder. "You tell me."
"I've got a girlfriend, Al. Summer. The fittest - " James almost tripped over the nearest bedstead as he entered the dormitory, and his brother reached out an arm to steady him. He hiccuped, then continued, " – the fittest girl in the year."
"I'm aware," Albus said shortly, feeling that familiar sinking in the pit of his stomach at James's words. He let go of his brother. "I think you can take it from here."
"'Course I can. I'm a grown wizard." James stumbled forward, kicked off his shoes, and flung himself onto a bed (which may or may not have been his own). As he relaxed against the covers, a piece of folded parchment fell out of his pocket and onto the floor of the dormitory. Albus picked it up, recognising it instantly.
"James, you dropped your Map," he said absently, but his brother was already snoring on the bed. Albus gazed at the Marauder's Map for a moment, then, without being quite sure why he did it, raised his wand and tapped the parchment. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
The way an impossibly detailed map of the school materialised on the parchment within seconds of his uttering those words never failed to amaze Albus. Not for the first time, he wished that he'd had the presence of mind to rob the Map from his father's desk drawer before James had. But that had been years ago; there was no use in regretting it now.
His eyes skimmed over the map, and then he saw Penny Alderton's dot making its way up the sixth-floor corridor, and he paused. What was she doing there, at this time of night?
"It's done," Penny said quietly, when she reached the tapestry-covered entrance to a staircase beside a couple of suits of armour, where Orchid and Torrance were waiting in the shadows.
Torrance was the first to speak. "We figured," he said, with a smile. "It's been all over the school. He won't remember it, though. We made sure of that."
"Must say I'm impressed," Orchid said lightly, from beside him. "An Unforgivable, on your first assignment. I wasn't sure you'd go through with it."
"But I knew she would," Torrance reminded his girlfriend, with a squeeze of her arm. "I knew she had it in her."
"Torrance can really read people," Orchid informed Penny, with a smile. "It's one of his many talents."
"Oh, you flatter me." Torrance pressed a hand to his heart.
"So what happens now?" Penny had been uneasy throughout the couple's exchange, shifting from foot to foot, and now she looked at them questioningly. "I've proved myself, haven't I?"
"That you have." Torrance released Orchid, who took a step closer to Penny.
"Yes, your attempt to prove yourself may not have been quite as creative as ours was," she remarked, "But on the other hand, it was successful."
"Why, what did you do?" Penny could not contain her curiosity.
Orchid glanced at her boyfriend. "Should we tell her?"
He shrugged his shoulders. "Why not?"
"You remember the Manticore attack, at the beginning of the year?" Orchid drawled, turning back to Penny. "Poor Summer Birchgrove almost lost an eye."
"It was meant for Rose Weasley," Torrance supplied, "But I suppose you can't have everything."
"That was you?" Penny stared. "But Gregory Goyle was arrested for it! He went to Azkaban!"
"You're really shocked by that?" Orchid raised her eyebrows. "When you just cast the Cruciatus Curse on someone a few hours ago?"
"That's… different."
"No, it's not." Orchid laughed softly, the sound filling the empty corridor around them strangely.
"Your brother covered us," Torrance explained. "He made sure Goyle was questioned, arrested – everything. You see, he had no idea that we were planning on doing it. But afterwards - " he grinned at his girlfriend, who grinned back, " – he knew what we were capable of."
"And now that's going to be your job, Penny," Orchid said, still smiling at the Gryffindor girl. "Looking out for us. Covering for us. Making sure we leave no tracks behind."
"While you do - what?" Penny was really getting sick of the way they were talking in riddles.
"I don't think she needs to know that yet," Orchid said to Torrance, who nodded in agreement. "Right, Penny, it's been a pleasure. We're off."
Before she could say another word, the pair had pushed through the tapestry and out of sight. She heard their faint footfalls on the stairs, then silence.
"It was you?"
Penny twisted, heart thumping, to see that Albus Potter had emerged around the corner of the corridor, eyes wide and disbelieving behind his spectacles.
"I – didn't – how did you - "
"I came to see if you were OK." Albus's face was white. "Did they make you do it, Penny? Did they make you attack Tony Mason?"
Coolly, Penny considered – for just a moment – and then she allowed her face to crumple as she burst into tears. Albus made no move to comfort her.
"Yes," she sobbed. "You don't understand, Albus… they were threatening my brother. They said they were going to hurt him if I didn't do what they told me. Oh please, please don't tell anyone, Albus. If my mum found out, it would kill her."
Albus watched her for a moment, then shook his head. He spoke haltingly, as though he still could not quite register what he had just heard. "Merlin, Penny… there's no going back from an Unforgivable. You'll get life in Azkaban for that."
"I know," she whimpered. She didn't have to fake that – her terror at the idea of consequences. "But they forced me, Albus. I had no choice. Oh, please don't tell anyone. Please – I'm begging you."
After an unbearably long silence, Albus bowed his head. "Fine. I won't say anything – for now. But Penny, you've got to confess. To Hobspawn and the Aurors. You've got to."
"I know," she whispered, as a tear wound its way down her cheek. "I know. But I need to make sure my brother's safe from them, first."
The conflicted sympathy in Albus Potter's bright green eyes as he raised his head to look at her again made Penny feel utterly despicable. "They're dangerous," he said quietly. "Orchid and Torrance. You're not safe from them either, Penny."
"I know," she said again, choking on the two words, unable to help her next thought.
And neither are you.