Chapter 11 : The Visitor
There was no answer. Albus exhaled deeply. His father's speech had shaken him; for some reason, he was now nervous at spending the remainder of the week with one of his best friends. His father waited a few more seconds before knocking once more. This time however, they heard noise coming from behind the door.
"Mum get the damn door!" someone shouted.
"You watch your mouth!" someone snapped back, before they heard the locks being removed. The door swung open.
Albus' first thought when the woman came to the door was that she one of the most beautiful people that he had ever seen. Her hair was a very dark brown, and it fell in delicate curls around her shoulders. Her chocolate brown eyes were narrowed when she first came to the door, but upon seeing her guests they reverted to an almost almond-like shape. Mrs. Malfoy looked nothing like her husband or son.
"Hello!" she said cheerily, though she was panting heavily. Her voice now sounded welcoming. "You must be Albus!" she beamed at him before looking up. "And you're...and you're his father" she added. "Come in, come in!"
Albus traded the tiniest of looks with his father before they both walked into the Manor. However handsome it looked on the outside, it was nothing, nothing, compared to the interior. The hardwood floors were highly polished, and the gigantic oak doors in front of them looked as though they had been built with nothing but the highest of quality craftsmanship.
Mrs. Malfoy led them to these doors, and upon opening them Albus saw that they were in a magnificent drawing room, complete with a large table that looked as though it was held for meetings. Strangely however, there were very few chairs there to match it.
"Scorpius, your friend is here!" she shouted.
The doors on the opposite side of the door opened at once, and a beaming Scorpius Malfoy entered. He looked as though he had just woken up, his blonde hair disheveled and his narrow eyes watery, but he looked happy all the same.
His mother clapped her hands together and looked at Albus once more. Albus once again had the strange suspicion that they rarely received company. "May I offer you anything to drink?" she asked politely, looking between him and his father.
Albus had just opened his mouth to answer before his father began speaking.
"I'm afraid not, I'm on my way to work right now, I just wanted to go over a few things real quick" he said with a smile. "Albus has his things in his bag, I just wanted to make sure I didn't need to bring over a sleeping bag or something...not sure where he'll be staying."
"Oh don't worry, we have an extra bed, Scorpius has a large room" she smiled at him.
"Erm...right. And you'll be taking him to King's Cross when the break is over?"
She nodded. Albus watched as his father glanced around the room a few more times before shrugging. "Well... my job here is done" he said, clapping Albus on his shoulder. "Take care yourself Al, have fun, and just remember what I said, okay?"
Albus nodded before waving good-bye to his father, who grinned and turned on his heel, then left.
"Scorpius, why don't you go and get Albus' room ready for him" Mrs. Malfoy said as Albus removed his backpack.
"No, really it's fine-" he began, but Scorpius had already started carrying it out of the room.
Mrs. Malfoy smiled at him before saying "I'm going to go tidy up upstairs. Feel free to make yourself at home. That room over there,"she indicated the door that Scorpius had come in through, "is our dining room. It's a big place to get used to, but that would be a good room to start with."
Albus was half a second away from saying that he didn't mind big homes, that the Potter Mansion was bigger, but felt that it would be too rude. Instead, he merely smiled back at her as she left the room.
Only when the door had slammed shut did he realize that he was officially trapped. If something went wrong, he would have to deal with it on his own. He quickly went through the same door that Scorpius had departed to, desperate to catch up with him and feel some sort of comfort, but when he entered the dining room he noticed that someone else was in there. There were several more doors in this room, one of which Scorpius had obviously went through, and right in the middle, at a table smaller than the one in the room before, sat a very old looking man.
He was reading the newspaper, his narrow gray eyes a blur as he scanned it. His hair was a ghastly white, with streaks of blonde all throughout. He gave off the appearance of an old man desperately trying to retain the looks of his youth. He did not seem to have noticed Albus enter the room.
Albus quietly crept past the table, and had just reached the door that was ajar when he heard a drawling voice that sounded uncannily like that of his best friend.
"So you're Potter?"
Albus spun around to face Scorpius' grandfather. His eyes had not left the paper.
"Y- yeah" he said. He was not scared, though he had to admit that the man's calm demeanor somewhat disturbed him.
Lucius Malfoy continuing to stare at his paper, then without looking up, spoke once more. "Small world" he said lazily before turning the page.
Albus continued staring for another moment before he realized that their conversation had come to an end. He proceeded to walk through the door and found himself in a hallway with a staircase. To his immense relief, Scorpius was descending down it. They grinned at each other.
"Nice place right?" Scorpius asked him.
"Seems cheery enough" Albus responded, tone heavy with sarcasm.
"Don't worry, you'll fit right in" Scorpius responded, clapping him on the back.
Albus quickly learned that living with the Malfoys wasn't nearly as different from living at his own home than he thought it would be. True, there were certainly less people popping in and out of the house, and the noise level recieved a large decrease, but for the most part, Albus only really noticed a change in scenery. He shared a bedroom with Scorpius in the basement. It was sizable enough to hold both beds, and, despite an unnatural chill, was reasonably comfortable.
"Ya' know, this place used to be a dungeon" Scorpius told him him as he made his bed during Albus' first night at the Manor.
"Really?" Albus asked. "It seemed kind of gloomy at first. No one was ever like...held here though right?"
Scorpius scoffed at him. "Of course not you idiot! Who would be kept in here? Seriously, you act like my family are all tyrants..."
And if there was one other thing that Albus had learned, it was that his father had been worried for nothing. He rarely saw Scorpius' grandparents, let alone talked to them. His grandfather seemed to prefer the upstairs, only coming down in the morning, and he had only seen his grandmother once. Both of them seemed like they had no idea Albus was even there.
The same could not be said, however, for Scorpius' parents. Mrs. Malfoy was absolutely in love with him after only three days of being there. The dinner conversations that they had generally involved her laughing until she nearly choked on her food; she loved hearing about things like his brother's various pranks and Neville's disastrous lessons, and would constantly offer him seconds and thirds in an attempt to keep him at the table. Mr. Malfoy seemed generally entertained as well, though he also seemed to try very hard to avoid showing it.
Albus thoroughly enjoyed the time spent with Scorpius and Mr. Malfoy in the grassy field behind the Manor. They were both avid Quidditch fans, and Albus thought that he had spent at least half of his time flying with them and discussing Quidditch.
"You know, I was Slytherin's Seeker too, back when I was your age" Mr. Malfoy told him as they took a break from flying out on the field; they had been racing around it all day.
"Scorpius told me" Albus admitted. "What did you fly?"
"A Nimbus 2001"
Albus burst out laughing. "They let you on the team with a Nimbus? Are you serious? You might as well have flown a Beater's bat!"
Scorpius laughed as Mr. Malfoy gave him a steely glance. "I'll have you know that back then, a Nimbus was a big deal, no matter what model. And back when I was playing, your broom didn't matter. It was all about skill. I would have rather died then have won cheap by flying a broom that gave me an unfair advantage, like say, a Firebolt."
Albus narrowed his eyes and looked at his own fantastic broom. "It's not cheating if you have a good broom" he said.
"Keep telling yourself that" Mr. Malfoy said with a smirk.
Though pleasant, Albus had the strange feeling that Scorpius hadn't exaggerated one single bit when saying that his father didn't laugh much. It seemed that that the only private joke he knew was the one he shared with his son-the one that involving sending him to his room and receiving a swift kick in the groin for it.
"I'm kind of surprised" Scorpius said as he shouldered his broom and walked back to the Manor with Albus minutes later.
"Why?" Albus asked, glancing back over his shoulder and watching Mr. Malfoy clean grass stains off of his robes with his wand.
"He never talks this much" Scorpius answered with a grin.
As the days passed by and Albus got more and more used to the Manor, he felt as though he wouldn't have minded a single bit if his vacation extended at least another week. He was having a fantastic time trading stories and flying, getting quality nap time in (it was hard to sleep well into the afternoon with his brother and sister always waking him up) and most importantly, spending time with at least one of his best friends. Scorpius had received a single note from Morrison over their break, and he'd seemed as though he wasn't having nearly as much fun.
The final day before they would be going back to Hogwarts was a Sunday, and Mrs. Malfoy had created a magnificent dinner for their last day there. They all took their seats at the large dining table, and to Albus' very great surprise, saw that Scorpius' grandparents were sitting there, something that they hadn't done once since Albus had came to the Manor.
Mrs. Malfoy set plates and utensils up, and the second she went to get napkins, Albus felt as though he could have cut the tension in the room with something as dull as a balloon. He was sitting next to Scorpius and across from his father. The grandparents were sitting on either side of the big table, staring blankly and not talking, eyes occasionally flickering in his direction.
GrandmotherMalfoy was very similar looking to her husband, with wispy hair that was white and flecked with blonde, as well as the sneer to match. She did not, however, have the calm demeanor that he did-she looked ready to snap at any moment.
"Dinner is served" Mrs. Malfoy said triumphantly, returning with a pile of napkins and a platter with a gigantic turkey on it.
Albus watched Scorpius lick his lips and he readied his fork. Mr. Malfoy began spooning out mashed potatoes onto their plates. "So Albus, when's your next Quidditch game?" he asked.
"Huh? Oh right" he said quickly; he had been distracted by the grandmother, who had been staring at him intently. "Just a few weeks after we get back. I start practicing again this Wednesday."
"Well I certainly hope it's worth it" Mr. Malfoy said. "Slytherin hasn't won the Quidditch cup for a few years now."
"We'll get it this year dad" Scorpius assured. "You've seen Al fly, and we've got some awesome Beaters too. The only problem is that two of our Chasers couldn't score if the hoops were planet sized."
"Well I suppose you could change that, if you got on the team" Mr. Malfoy said icily, giving a glance in a random direction.
Albus saw Scorpius blush. "Why didn't you try out?" he asked him. "You're pretty good..." which was completely true,; from what Albus had seen in the past week, Scorpius was quite adept at flying.
"Because he needs to keep up with his studies" Mrs. Malfoy said, leaving the table to refill the drinks. "And we've talked about that before, Draco" she added.
Albus watched as they eyed each other. He was forcefully reminded of the nonverbal battles he had seen his Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione have.
"How's the turkey, Lucius?" Mrs. Malfoy asked him when she sat down again.
"Dry" he replied in a tone that matched his answer. It was the first time he had spoken the entire night. Mrs. Malfoy seemed ready for this answer.
"Would you like some gravy?" she asked politely.
"Is it dry?" he responded.
"No, it's gravy" she shot out. Albus could tell that she was trying to desperately keep her calm in front of company. Albus looked over at Scorpius and saw him eating as though nothing was going on; he was used to this.
"No thank you" Lucius said icily.
She poured gravy over his turkey anyway. Then turned to Albus. "Does your mother cook often, Al?" she asked politely, in an attempt to steer the conversation away.
"Not often, but when she does, she makes it great" he said. "But this is wonderful!" he added, feeling that his answer had somehow been rude. It was quite true though, the turkey was excellent.
"Does she get you and your siblings to help with the cooking? It's a great skill for when you're grown up, my mother taught me when I was younger."
"Erm...no, not really" he answered her truthfully. "Our house elf helps sometimes though."
"We used to have a house elf" came a sudden, sharp voice from the corner. Grandmom Malfoy was speaking for the first time since he had entered the Manor. "Until my sister killed it. Chucked a knife right at him."
Albus choked on his drink from laughing. He had not expected her to say anything at all, let alone a joke as ridiculous as that one. When he looked around to see if everyone else was laughing however, he felt oddly alone. They had all began looking in different directions, avoiding commenting on it.
A few moments went by while Albus stared from person to person. Finally, Mr. Malfoy struck up a conversation again.
"So Al, first in your family to be in Slytherin, huh?"
Albus nodded, relieved that the conversation was continuing. "Yup. As far as I know, everyone in my family's been in Gryffindor."
"They weren't disappointed were they?" he asked.
Albus gave a half shrug. "Not much they can do it about now is there?"
Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy laughed. "Were they that surprised? Normally you can tell where someone is going" Mr. Malfoy continued.
"Surprised yeah, and maybe disappointed too, a bit. But no one was angry. Well, except maybe my cousin Rose. She didn't like it at all."
"Rose... Rose... she's in your year, right?" Mr. Malfoy asked.
"Yeah" he answered. "How did you know?"
"I've just heard of her once or twice, that's all" he replied calmly.
"Anyway" Scorpius cut in, ending that conversation. He had an unusual expression on his face, and his cheeks were red. "Hear about those Wimbourne Wasps? They dropped Tyler Konry and picked up a reserve player..."
The rest of their dinner went by quickly and quietly, Albus and Scorpius being the first to finish their plates and be excused. Joining Scorpius in their bedroom to resume packing their things, Albus started up a hasty conversation with his friend.
"Does that happen all the time?" he asked.
"Nah" Scorpius replied, folding up his socks and tossing them into his trunk. "She only put so much effort in because you were here. Normally we just have something easy like spaghetti."
"No...I mean them arguing" Albus replied nonchalantly.
Scorpius stopped sorting his textbooks and picked his head up from his trunk. "What arguing?"
Albus frowned. "Never mind" he said, randomly tossing clothes into his bag. They would be meeting his parents at King's Cross tomorrow, where he would also get his trunk.
After Scorpius finished packing they entered the living room to sit by the fire and play chess-Scorpius had yet to beat him since his arrival and was keen on winning at least once before they returned to Hogwarts.
They had just set up the board to have their match when there was a loud, sudden knock on the door. Scorpius sat upright and stared at it blankly. It was almost midnight, and as far as Albus knew, Scorpius' parents had already went to bed.
"Were you expecting someone?" Albus asked him.
Scorpius merely shook his head, not taking his eyes off of the door. There was another equally loud knock. Scorpius rose from his feet and went to answer it. He pulled it open, and Albus stifled his gasp.
It was Rookwood, the man who's conversation with Ares Albus had been eavesdropping on months ago. He stepped forward, one foot through the door, looking very much as he did the last time Albus had seen him-oily, pockmarked, and suspicious.
"Good evening" Rookwood said, smiling slightly.
"Erm...hi" Scorpius responded.
"I'm so sorry to drop in unexpectedly"- he tried opening the door further, but Scorpius stopped him-"but I had urgent business to attend to here. Is your grandfather still awake, by any chance?" he inquired.
Scorpius have a half nod, half shrug. He glanced back at Albus, who said nothing.
"Let him in" came a calm voice.
Albus spun around and saw that Lucius Malfoy had just entered the room. "You'll have to be quiet, most of us are already sleeping" he said. He turned to Scorpius and added "What are you still doing up anyway?"
Before Scorpius could stammer out an answer, the man gave a strong push and entered the room. Scorpius was moved back, but not knocked off of his feet. He retreated to the fire with Albus.
"I was hoping that we could speak somewhere privately-" Rookwood began
"The dining room" Lucius responded, and they immediately walked through the door.
"That's him!" Albus exclaimed the second the door had been closed. "That's the guy who was talking to Ares, that's the guy whose wand I've got!"
"Will you keep it down!" Scorpius shot out. "I know who he is, he's been here before."
"Is he bad news?"
"Well- my dad doesn't really like him."
Albus turned to the door and pondered. "They're talking about whatever's going on in the Forbidden Forest, I know it!"
"Well whatever it is, it isn't really our business, is it?" Scorpius answered.
Albus' mouth fell open. "You mean you don't want to know what Ares is up to?"
Scorpius smacked his hand against his face. "We've. Been. Over. This!" he said quietly. "Ares isn't a murderer, and he's not planning on murdering anybody. Whatever was taken from that guy was pawned, whether it be a wand or a watch, and Ares is just...I don't know playing poker with his buddies or something."
Albus stared blankly. "Well I'm not that gullible."
He stood up and made his way over to the door. Using one of his most effective tactics in spying yet, he carefully placed his head against the door, expecting to hear secrets spill at any moment-
"Why can't I hear anything?"
Scorpius snorted. "It's a charm my grandad probably put on it. To cancel out sound. Good luck eavesdropping now."
Albus frowned. How was he going to hear what was going on...
"I've got it!" he exclaimed. He ran down to the room that he and Scorpius shared and began rifling through his pants pockets. Arriving back in the room with Scorpius, he pulled out two pairs of long flesh colored string. "Extendable ears! My uncle gave them to me for Christmas, I never took them out of my pocket!"
Scorpius scowled, but held out his hand nonetheless. He heaved a sigh as Albus gave him the string, having put his own in his ear already. "I suppose that there's no point in missing out."
Albus smirked as both strings snaked their way towards the door and, eventually, under it. Suddenly, they heard voices as loudly and as clearly as if they were in the room.
"-an absolute idiot if you're willing to take that risk" Lucius was saying. "Honestly Augustus, after all these years?"
Rookwood made an annoyed noise, as though he were fidgeting around. "There is nothing foolish about what is going on. If anything you are the fool for not joining. Or are you frightened Lucius? Being a grandaddy made you soft? Going to spend your last few years changing diapers?"
"I'd rather spend them with my family than in Azkaban with you" Lucius replied curtly. "That is where you will end up. If this 'war' ever takes off anyway."
"It is not a war that we are seeking" Rookwood replied. "As I have explained numerous times, everything that we do is in the name of the arts that we have proudly supported. They have us running. Hiding. Speaking in whispers. Potter's new Ministry has turned us into rats and snakes."
"We were always rats and snakes" Lucius said stiffly. He sounded as though he were pacing.
"Were we really?" Rookwood said, and he sounded quite angry now. "Feel as though you wasted your life away, do you Lucius?"
There was a moment's silence. Albus could hear heavy breathing.
"I regret nothing" Lucius said after a moment. "But I will not risk everything. Me and my wife and son have avoided Azkaban by technicality only. I will not risk that small protection by joining your...cult"
"It is not a cult!"
"Why, because you have a leader? So you're a gang then? Who's wishes are you following? Your own, or Red Ares'?"
"Ares is an exceptional wizard" Rookwood said through gritted teeth. "And you know as well as I do that he is in a position to strike."
"So that's what these rallies are about then? Gathering in groups to initiate your new leader? Disgusting, you haven't changed a bit. Have you not learned your lesson?"
"But Ares is different than the Dark Lord. He does not command service, and he tolerates mistakes. He is not our leader, he is our stand out. And we follow him because it is his plan, not because we are forced to."
"The same plan that he had when you approached me a year ago? How's that coming along?" Lucius acidly.
"Better than you think. Ares has the Dragonfang Wand."
There was more silence. This time, Albus traded a glance with Scorpius and saw that he was looking very pale. They turned back to the door right as the conversation resumed. Rookwood was still talking.
"Speechless? It isn't much now...not without its full power, but Ares is barely skimming the surface. He will soon begin testing his power. There will be two sides. Those who wish to experience the same greatness, and those who stand in its way. I am doing you a favor. I know where my side lies Lucius. Do you?"
A third silence occurred, only this time, it was Lucius who broke it. "Leave. Leave this Manor and never attempt to contact me again."
Albus heard footsteps and hastily pulled the string back. Scorpius did the same and they hastily began moving random pieces out of turn on the chessboard. The door had opened and both men had emerged, Rookwood looking very defeated indeed.
They went to the door and Lucius opened it. Rookwood stepped outside and turned to face him. "Lucius, I beg you. How long have we been friends?"
"Much too long" he replied grimly, and he gently closed the door in Rookwood's face. He turned and looked at Albus and Scorpius, both who had abandoned their chess charade. "I suggest you two go to bed now, you'll be waking up early tomorrow."
And without so much as bidding them a goodnight, he exited through the same door that he had just entered. They turned to face each other, and Albus knew that both of their minds were racing.
"Well?" Albus asked.
"Well what?"
"What do you think?"
Scorpius hung his head and spoke in to his knees. "I think that someone at the Ministry owes that Mackerblaster bloke an apology."