Scorpius sat on the floor of the greenhouse, tears hanging so heavily in his eyes they made his eyes swell and puff red. Neville was pacing the floor, not knowing what to do. Brady had been sent by Scorpius to go get A-Sev's Invisibility Cloak, which he'd taken from his father's closet and brought to school.

"Banished from this world…" Scorpius muttered. "Please be nice to me and say death, or even the Dementor's Kiss," he pleaded. "For a world without Castora is much worse."

"Stop crying, boy!" Neville groaned. "McGonagall has already shown the utmost mercy by waiting to call the Aurors until morning! You are alive, Scorpius. Please be thankful for that at the very least!"

"But I've lost my love and best friend in one day. I've killed her cousin. She has no right to love me anymore," Scorpius said, burying his face in his hands. His body was bandaged and fixed by Neville where James had injured him.

"Scorpius, don't say that so soon—"

"—but even if she did still love me, which I doubt heavily, I could never see her again!" Scorpius muttered. "I….I KILLED."

"And you've told me that you killed about three-hundred times in the past hour," Neville said, pacing even faster.

Brady stumbled into the greenhouse with the Invisibility Cloak hung over his shoulder at the same moment Rose came in, and they met each other in the doorway. Rose took a brief look at Brady, and Brady looked quickly at Rose before they both stumbled in Neville's direction.

"It's chaotic out there, Scorps," Brady warned. "Everyone's on the lookout for you. I could barely get through the waves of students searching for you and panicking that there's a killer on the loose. Everyone's been told to bring you to McGonagall's office as soon as they lay eyes on you—"

"—which is what I should do," Rose said, her voice seemingly more mature in addition to twice as bitter as it was during the wedding several hours ago. Scorpius stood up upon seeing Rose. She took a deep breath.

"What does Castora say? Did she disown me yet?" Scorpius said.

Rose shook her head. "The girl is so taken with crying over James. She almost fell off the clock tower when she heard the news," Rose said. Scorpius bit his lips and felt a fresh wave of tears come to his eyes. "I told her it was you who mercilessly slayed him."

"Did she say anything at all?" Scorpius asked.

Rose shook her head. "She only cries for James. But she gave me this ring to give to you," Rose said, holding out a ring that wasn't unlike the one Scorpius had given Castora. Only the names were reverse in the engraving: Castora & Scorpius: I Love You. Scorpius took the ring in his palm, and it glowed the light lavender shade, same as the Bond that married them earlier.

"All my hope is restored by this," Scorpius muttered, his heart fluttering.

"She's still waiting for you," Rose said. "Girl's a moron, but she insisted that she wait in the clock tower for you."

"I don't deserve her. I brutally did her wrong and she forgives me," Scorpius said, placing the ring on his finger. He could have sworn he felt a tingling sensation as soon as he did.

Scorpius almost cried out this time in happiness. Neville pushed his way past Brady and Rose, took the Invisibility Cloak and handed it to Scorpius.

"You need to leave here as soon as possible," Neville said. "I will owl my Gran's sister. She lives in Ireland, and she'll give you shelter. Now, go to Castora tonight and comfort her. But the Aurors will be here in the morning, so you MUST leave before then, and you'll make your escape to Ireland until I can find a way to bring Castora to you, show your love to the school, beg McGonagall's and Kingsley's pardon, and bring you back with ten times as much happiness as you left in shame and sadness!"

Brady helped Scorpius to his feet. Neville handed him the Invisibility Cloak. "Take extreme care!" Neville warned.

Scorpius nodded and threw the Cloak over himself until only his head was visible. "Thank you for everything, Professor Longbottom," he said. Neville smiled nervously and waved him off. Brady bit his lower lip as Scorpius completely concealed himself and went out the door and back into the castle, leaving Neville, Brady, and Rose standing in Greenhouse #2, in utter shock and fear.


Castora's face never felt heavier. She sat on the platform underneath the 11 in the clock tower that had been rebuilt after Scorpius had made it collapse the first time. The rain poured in sheets as she watched the bright lights from the commotion that was going on in the Slytherin-territory courtyard. Her beloved cousin's body was lying out there, both of them (though one not as beloved as the other). Rose scolded her for asking Scorpius to be brought to her. She was sure Lily wasn't taking this very well either. And could she blame her? All Castora knew now was that any hopes of living together peacefully and happily were pretty much gone unless something could be done quickly.

"Oh, Scorpius, what have you done?" she muttered to herself, her voice weak. Hot tears ran down her cheek as she leaned her forehead against the clock wall. "Did you really mean to kill him? Oh, my darling Scorpius. How can anyone love hearing your name now if I, your wife for less than a day, already disowns it? But why did you have to kill my cousin on our wedding day!" Castora wept into the wall.

She at first didn't hear Scorpius climb (much steadier) up the beams to her on the platform. When his head rose above the platform, the Invisibility Cloak slung over his shoulder, Castora turned to look at her husband. For a full minute, she just stared at him with a blank look. Scorpius bit his lip in anticipation.

But Castora smiled and got up to help him onto the platform. She took him into her arms and softly kissed his forehead. A weight in Scorpius' chest drop.

Once she let go of him, Scorpius hung on to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling himself closer to her.

"I have to leave in the morning, before the Aurors get here," Scorpius said.

"Leave?" Castora asked, a hint of worry in her voice.

Scorpius nodded. "Professor Longbottom's great-aunt is taking me into her cottage in Ireland until we can get this sorted out."

"But how long will that be? I'm coming with you!" Castora insisted.

"No, it's too dangerous. I must go alone. Professor Longbottom will send you to me later on, and we can live in Ireland, free of Gryffindor and Slytherin forever!" Scorpius said.

"Oh, why couldn't we have been Hufflepuffs?" Castora moaned. Scorpius stopped her whine with a gentle kiss to her lips. Castora returned it.

"Shh, Castora…" Scorpius whispered. "Soon there will be no Houses, and no worries," he insisted. Castora felt herself shiver in his arms. The rain that pounded against the clock seemed to beat in time to the rhythm of her heart as Scorpius kissed her more deeply, with more passion. She'd just felt as cold as ice, and now she was warmer than July.

Castora wasn't sure whether hours, days, weeks, or just minutes passed up there in the clock tower. But she wished the morning would never come. As she and Scorpius got more comfortable, he wrapped them both under the Invisibility Cloak. Under there, time seemed to suspend itself even more. Castora felt the warm, steady breath of Scorpius on her bare neck as he slipped his hands underneath the hem of her jumper. She allowed him to take the jumper right off. She then slipped her hands under the collar of his shirt and slowly slipped his shirt off his shoulders, so he sat before her shirtless. Castora smiled. She recalled when she was younger, fawning over all the hot Quidditch Seekers of Europe whose pecs, biceps and deltoid throbbed every which way. Scorpius was nothing like that. He was pretty much flesh and bone with maybe no more than an inch of muscle in between.

"Does your father starve you?" she asked.

Scorpius shook his head. "I'm afraid my body's hereditary."

Castora pinched her waste, which certainly wasn't soft and slim like the witches she saw in the advertisements in the Daily Prophet. She could easily grab an inch of her skin. "So….so is mine."

Scorpius smiled. "What does it matter? That means our children will be just right!"

Castora smiled widely and allowed herself to fall into his arms again. Scorpius drowned her in kisses. He then leaned over and began undoing the belt of her trousers, and Castora could soon feel his hips begin rocking against hers as the night deepened around them. The indescribable feelings her body was beginning to experience took her breath away with every movement Scorpius made. The heat was definitely climbing underneath the Invisibility Cloak as Scorpius and Castora decided to let all the insecurities, woes, and regrets be forgotten until tomorrow morning.