The Crossroads of Fate
Chapter 31: Preparation and Reflection
Little by little, more and more people trickled to the Portkey center. Albus went over immediately, just to see if anyone he knew was leaving. No one did though. Not even Neil who too was standing there. Melvin was staring longingly though, and looking over at his brother, looking so torn between two choices… it seemed there was yet one person who was not happy with the choice he made. Albus knew this war meant giving up his Hogwarts education and likely his life but the opportunity was too immediate. Scorpius had actually set a portrait up and rushed to his Manor, presumably to hug his sister. His mother was staying behind, watching Libra, and Scorpius was going to give her a Portkey just in case she needed a quick escape. They would hide in the Room of Requirement.
Hugo and Fora were tightly embracing each other, muttering something and Alice was looking at them rather sadly. In case they had all died. Whether the Hogwarts Guard showed up to the center and fled remained to be seen but Albus was there. Scorpius seemed tense too. The attack was imminent and they knew it was coming. The fear vibrating through the village was unmistakable, almost maddening. Maria secluded herself completely, Seth went silent and almost anticipated the future, and to make things worse, the kidnapped child was found dead at the back of the village.
Albus saw the DA camped out in the grounds, some were even digging for some reason. Someone was always keeping watch, even at night, shifts rotating. As the hours went by, as the night finally faded into the day, more and more people started arriving. The entire Weasley clan had shown up, even members of Dumbledore's original Order of the Phoenix. Some were giving directions to see the village fortified. Aries was using her wand and raising the earth to act as an earthy fortress to hold fighters. Simon was trying to have more trenches dug and others were digging underground with Fora's help, who had elected to turn into a badger and do so. As morning came, the Hogwarts Guard had finally come to the Portkey center. Their arrival marked the Arsenal of Education led by Incommodo. They did not walk into the village but it was only a matter of time. When the Reservation attacked, they would. Now the war had come, he seemed cool and composed but he knew the madness behind the calm composure. Something was deeply unsettling about this.
Nonetheless, Hogsmeade had not seen the ship in weeks and nothing suggested it was on its way other than the rumbling the night before and the note to all residents stopping them all from sleeping. Albus had to admit he was very worried now. Harry was with the Reservation with his Aunt and Uncle while Ginny was at the Potter house. Albus was defending Hogsmeade and Hogwarts Castle. If this failed, the Reservation would go for the Malfoy Manor next, perhaps the Potter house. Albus did not know how, but they had finally found the DA's headquarters it seemed. It was only a matter of time, he knew. Having known where the Potter house was to begin with, and knowing from Rojer what role the Malfoy Manor played, it could not be too difficult to get from one home to another, especially with the passage portraits. If the network was discovered, their whole effort would crumble. It was for sure then. Dubium had to be stopped then and there. And so did Incommodo. This was it. The end of the war.
Everyone seemed to be taking the stress differently. Scorpius was snogging Lucy like there was no tomorrow. And there might not have been. Simon was whispering something to a shaky, tearful Proxima, stroking her hair and Alpha was talking to a shaking Lily about something. She seemed to regard him with a look of pure pity. She just pat his shoulder, considered him, and then gave him a small hug before walking away, sitting in a corner with Hugo and Alpha returned to the bungalow to hide himself, giving the village a last look of torn feelings. Hugo was holding her tightly, both probably scared out of their wits. Hugo had almost lost Lily three times before. This could well be the fourth and very last time. Albus sighed and turned to Scorpius but he was still hugging Lucy tightly like his life depended on it.
Slowly, more members of the DA trickled into the village, some arriving by front door of the bungalow as easily as walking with the keys. Some just appeared there as volunteers from the main populace. They all had them. Children and adults. All of them, even those Albus wished were not there. Young and old, the youngest of them being eleven years old and the oldest of them seventeen, eighteen if they aged in the middle of the year, had arrived. As the Guard arrived, plans were being drawn and they were being drawn with all Heirs present, it was like sitting in a war chamber meeting and this time, all the Relics were shown in the open. It must've been the first time the entire Guard saw them as they sat in the Three Broomsticks for the final time. Now Albus thought about it, the inn would likely be destroyed.
Most of them were assembled there. They were all kids but the way they sat, stood or leaned, they might have been adults. Seth was leaning against the door, Simon and Sophie were sitting on the floor beside Proxima. Lysander was at the very back by the windows, Morpheus was beside Maria, and Sierra and even Neil Nott was sitting with his legs crossed, as quiet as the grave. In fact, even Laura Creevey stared out the window beside Lorcan, very silently. The only absences seemed to be Alpha, Melvin and Morpheus who hid in the Greengrass house or the Room of Requirement with Astoria.
"I guess this is it," Laura muttered. "Colin always wanted me to wise up, and I'm actually doing it."
"Just be yourself," Lorcan told her calmly.
"Not possible," she sighed. "Only me and my mother are left of my family. And my younger sister. Colin was right. If I have any duty, it's to make sure children like her have a world to live in."
She jumped as Mark put a hand on her shoulder suddenly. "Can't promise it'll be ok, but- it'll be fine. Al and I have a little brother on the way so we definitely know what you're going through."
Aries looked briefly at Mark and Laura, and then blew out a sigh and shook her head beside Mark, who was staring at his own stump mournfully. "I'm never getting a break, am I?" she asked.
"Probably not," Mark mumbled.
"First Garth, now this," Aries sighed.
"Who's Garth?" Lancet asked.
"Some sexist Dark Witch who tried massacring a bunch of innocent young Wizards in Salem," Aries said lowly. For some reason, she didn't seem willing to go into the story. "So, once this war is over, please give me a break. It's about time I have a rest."
"If things go a certain way, you'll be resting permanently," Lucy said darkly. "So, I'd say you had a poor choice of words just now. Be grateful for what you have. You never know when it disappears."
Aries looked at Lucy curiously for a time, as if not deciding whether she liked her or not. Then, from beside Mark, Maria said, "I hope this is all worth it. I really don't plan on dying."
"Well, you can always flee, nobody's stopping you," Aries told her. "You're young anyway."
"I'm twelve years old," Maria said. "That's practically an adult in some cultures."
"And yet in ours… death," Roxanne sighed. "So, try not to die. In fact, fire at them from the widows if you must just don't run into the thick of it."
"Well, that's the general strategy in my opinion," Aries said. "The younger ones, regardless of power fire from the windows. Whoever is incapable of fighting," she moved her eyes to Neil Nott. "Just stay put. Look after the civilians and women and children or something. The babies probably need caregivers anyways. Maria, show us the Orb."
Maria lifted the cloth carefully, her own eyes beginning to widen in both interest and longing. The Orb was colorless now, apparently, nothing was in it. It had changed since the last time Albus saw it. "It was dark last time, what"- he stared at Seth and Maria who gave the Orb a knowing look. No. They didn't. The child, the Orb… they couldn't have. Surely, Seth wouldn't stoop that low…
Maria might have been on their side but Albus had the impression she was after something more than just victory. Yes. Apollo said she wanted immortality and to be honest, the Orb presented her with that. She licked her lips and exhaled a sigh of wonder. Fauna actually looked at her suspiciously and Mark was on the point of covering it up again when Maria looked away. She shook her head as if getting something out of it that did not belong and sighed in relief, "Well, that's our Relic. Thank Morgan for that."
"Ok, let's regale," Alexis said rationally. "Refresh ourselves on everything and our plans. What do we know about it?"
Everyone was silent as Maria regarded the Orb thoughtfully. She seemed to be trying to recall something. In the meantime, Mark covered it back up, "Dark Magic, I'm not using it."
"You don't have to, it's already done," Seth said impassively, confirming what Albus suspected. "The Reservation should be easier to take down."
"The Orb being neutral now means that it is no longer tied to Dubium," Maria said pointedly.
"So, destroying the ship won't mean anything anymore. It's all our own merits now."
"And… I have a plan in mind," Maria said honestly. The Guard looked at her curiously except Mark who seemed a little knowing. He at least seemed to understand where she was coming from. "I give this neutral Orb to Incommodo. He will put his Voldemort part in the Orb, and make him mortal and fully Herpo. That should give us the capability to defeat him."
"Wait a second," Simon said slowly, staring at the Orb. "Seth… how did you change this? It was dark before. What did you do?"
Seth and Simon locked eyes and stared, both determinedly before Seth said, "You're happy not knowing."
"What did you do?" Simon demanded.
Seth turned to Simon and folded his arms, "I turned it. I took a pure soul and turned it, trumped every last tainted soul in there and took down the Reservation's most powerful shields and made Dubium mortal and the Necram useless. Giving this to Incommodo will make him able to be killed, even if he is ageless."
More than just Simon seemed horrified and sickened by Seth's actions. Albus stared at him disappointedly but they didn't meet eyes. Kabe just folded his arms, "You"-
"What would you rather?" Seth challenged the Guard. "If we went by what we had before, we'd be massacred in an hour. At least now we have a chance."
"There're better ways"- Hugo tried suggesting.
"Name one!"
"YOU JUST DIDN'T THINK OF ONE!" Simon yelled angrily, horrified at what Seth admitted to doing.
"Don't put it on me to think up your plans," Seth told him quietly and calmly to his yelling. "I had a plan, you turned it down. I had another plan, it didn't work. It's on you to think up another one or live with the consequences of the plan I pull off myself. I'm not watching them win over us just because you're too naïve and uncertain to take the initiative yourself. I did what had to be done."
"You're sick," Mark told him.
"Tell me that when we win the war," Seth waved off. "You're the one who keeps saying we should be willing to do what needs to be done."
"You were the one who told me to let the hostages die last year," Aries pointed out to Mark.
"You're taking his side?"
"No, but I see his point, you're just not the best one to call him out," Aries told him with a fake smile.
Maria cleared her throat, "Now the Orb can take sides again. Life or death. And thanks to me and Seth. I tried saving him but it- it didn't work. At least we're in better shape."
"Life? What sort of powers would that bring?"
"Nothing but healing and foresight," she said. "And it can always store souls. The Orb acts as a transition point for someone's soul so it remains there but always connected to its original host in case of emergency. We could use it on Aries but I imagine she wouldn't want to. Plus, we need to give it to Incommodo to have him get rid of his pesky second soul. If Ackerly can write with her Quill and make sure I live, that'll be great."
"Immortality," Proxima said with wonder.
"And some people may want immortality," Maria argued frankly, many went silent. Immortality and without using a Horcrux. Friends they might have been, many would surely argue for a chance to live forever. But it could only turn to one person. Worst case scenario, they all turned on each other.
"In the meantime, what we need is a plan of attack," Alexis suggested, having been quiet through the conversation. "The Relics and what they can do. What we can do with them. See, we've managed to use some already, I'm pretty sure we can handle them all."
"Well, my staff has already proven to be effective enough," Seth said frankly. "The only problem was the shields and they're a moot point now. I can get through the shields. If we're inside the ship, we could probably break them completely."
"I have an idea about that," Alex suggested. "If I may share my two sickles."
"Alex with an idea, the world is ending," Scorpius muttered to Lucy's nudge.
"Shut it, Squirrel," Alex sniped with a smirk. "If you can get inside somehow, use a shield breaker and they should be down long enough for Fauna to strike her sword through it. It absorbed Fiendfyre so it should be destructive enough."
"How? No shield breaker can take that whole thing down from the outside…"
"I know," Kabe said suddenly, staring out the window beside Fora. "It'll be risky but worth it. Worth the effort. If Fora turns into a badger and digs under the ship, wraps herself and Aries with the Earthen cloak, it should give them the properties of the natural object they're mimicking. The shield doesn't affect them. You should be able to get through. Aries gets inside and with her Amulet, she could probably break all the shields."
"This is very defensive magic," Seth said factually. "The shields could only go down temporarily which is more difficult now it's happened before. Dubium is keeping what shields he has left up. They won't go down permanently unless he dies.
"So… it's a vicious, unwanted circle we can't break out of," Aries said. "Fine. We have no choice. We'll have to face him ourselves, at his full power."
"Aries is best-placed because she's strong but… it's still risky."
"Once they're down," Alexis offered. "Seth's snakes fly Fauna up and she stabs her sword through the hull. The combined efforts should destroy the ship. Whenever the shields go down, do it. Then, we take care of Dubium at his weakest."
"And if that doesn't work?" Mark challenged. "We die? You need a Plan B. And a Plan C for that matter. And a Plan D if they actually expect us here."
"Let's assume Incommodo takes advantage of the Orb," Alex suggested.
Lysander brightened up with an idea and said, "Wait here." He left the room and left upstairs. The Guard was left in silence, wondering what he had in mind for about five minutes when finally, Lysander arrived. In his hand was a silvery looking instrument. It looked like a sphere on a handle and on top of the sphere was something that looked like an upside down brain, with the stem serving as an opening for something that looked like smoke to come out. He set it down in the middle, everyone staring dubiously. Lysander also set down five small silvery rods that looked like they could be stuck into the ground. Lysander sighed, "This is what I had to save from Incommodo earlier in the year when I kept him from the office. He doesn't know its real power or he probably would've tried a lot harder. But… it'll tell us what we need to know."
"What do you mean?" Aries snapped.
"I mean it'll tell us what he's doing right now," Lysander said. "I experimented with it all year and"-
"And you're telling us now," Aries demanded.
"Can we see what the hell he has to say?" Lorcan asked her, getting irritated.
Lysander tapped his wand, muttering the name of Herpo the Foul. Smoke rose out of it, but started morphing into different shapes. Albus, who was closer to the center, widened his eyes in interest. He didn't know what it all meant at first until the pictures started forming. The smoke took the form of a giant snake mating with a smaller snake, both curling around what looked like a staff. Slowly, the smaller snake uncurled itself and slithered away. Lysander just stared with glassy eyes, not totally with it. Albus wondered if he was even paying attention. Then, Lorcan said slowly, "So…"
"So, what? I was hoping you'd tell," Lysander shrugged. "The smoke confuses me."
"The- Sander, you protected this and used it and experimented and- what, you just enjoyed the smell?"
"No, I actually quite liked the pictures," Lysander said with vague interest. "I liked seeing how it describes some people. You'd never guess what they used to describe Al. They had a snake and a child together. I thought Al was a crow."
"Lysander," Mark said slowly. "You're an idiot."
"He's not an idiot," Lily defended.
"Yeah, he just has special needs," Lorcan clarified, staring at his brother. "You brought this down to show us the pretty pictures?"
"No," Lysander scoffed.
"Then what the hell did you bring it for?" Aries asked through gritted teeth.
"To see how they describe Incommodo now he has three souls," Lysander said brightly. "See, two snakes and a staff."
"Scepter."
"Staff"-
"Scepter!" Lorcan said, growing irritated.
"By God, for all intents and purposes, they're exactly the same!" Simon yelled. "Can we get to the images already? What does it mean?"
"Mean? Well, I'd say the smaller snake going away means the Voldemort part of his soul is getting separated," Lysander said casually.
"Or the Herpo part," Lorcan commented.
"Or Ink," Albus suggested.
"No, he'd get rid of Voldemort," Lysander insisted. "Herpo is too basic for him. If we did separate Ink, it'd be great though. He'd be easier to beat."
"I don't suppose any of your little instruments has the power to separate souls, do they?" Frank asked him with bemusement.
"Nope," Lysander said with casual movement, resting his head against his hands. "But some of these things can detect souls and effect certain kinds. Some of th instruments can actually do it."
"Herpo has three though so, not sure how that works," Mark said. "Herpo is dominant, that's why he appears as Herpo. When he was Ink, it was a baby holding a scepter."
"Wait, you've been staring at this before?" Aries said quietly with visible anger. "And you never thought to tell us? This tells us what he's doing. We know we can beat him now! He has access to Herpo only, and Voldemort indirectly through the Orb. That means the Relics can work!"
"It's telling the future guys," Maria sighed. "I'll send it to him after this. But it doesn't matter. Alexis will write that he'd do as I expected him to do, so we're safe."
"But- he never told us."
"He's an idiot," Mark justified.
"He's not an idiot"- Lorcan was interrupted by a host of people talking over each other, arguing, lamenting what was lost if they'd only known before.
"Guys,"-
"He had something to tell us exactly what was happening,"-
"We could've seen Alpha being possessed"-
"You're being so mean"-
"The room would've never"-
"I'm gonna smack you if you call him"-
"Oh, please if you smack me"-
"GUYS!" Aries shrieked, banging her wand and silencing them all. "I can't hear myself think! Do you want to win or not?"
"Yes," Lysander offered.
"You don't count, you're an idiot!"
Lorcan moved the instrument closer to Lysander and he took out the five pieces of small rods from Lysander's pockets and placed them on the floor. Lysander did some sort of spell, making the smoke cover the rods, seep into them, making the rods glow, shudder, and finally fall silent again. Then, Lysander muttered the name of Voldemort. New smoke rose out and morphed into a smaller snake and it stretched out into multiple heads, each one curling itself around the scepter at different points. Lysander looked up, "So, we need to cut the connection and the power to the Scepter will be undone. Then, the Relics can do it."
"Say, Kabe, why were you a badger?" Lysander asked casually.
Kabe froze, loking rather nervous. "Erm… me? What're you spying on me?"
"I liked to see all my friends," Lysander said brightly. "And I saw a badger when I said your name."
"Why're you looking at other people's names and not Dubium?"
"Hmm, good idea, Putus Dubium…" the smoke morphed once again into a giant beast. It did not have any distinct features identifying it with a particular animal, he was just a beast, riding atop a shaky ship and changing from humanoid to animalistic the closer he got to the ground. Lorcan smirked, "So, what we do is we separate the ship from Dubium. I think we should use the Relics for that and leave Incommodo to someone who can handle him.
"Like me," Aries said.
"No, if you're fighting Incommodo, I'm there too," Seth said. "I've brushed enough attempts to get rid of him, he's my fight."
"Once we wreck that soul of his, it shouldn't be a problem," Lysander said happily.
"Sorry, Sander but I really, really can't see you destroying people's souls," Lorcan told him. "I love you, but I have absolutely no faith that you're capable of such a thing. So… no."
"But the instruments"-
"Yeah, no," Lorcan chuckled.
"I'm gonna do it," Lysander said insistently.
"No, you're not, you're not getting yourself killed," Lorcan told him. "We can't wreck his soul. We just have to beat him. The souls are merged as one now, so he should be a tad easier than before."
"It can't be, he has three souls merged into one but he's still more powerful!" Lysander argued.
"Lorcan's right," Albus told Lysander. "We've tried destroying his souls, it's doesn't work and it's dark magic anyhow."
"The instruments were still worth it though," Lorcan said. "See, he's smart."
"Ok, he's smart but he still should've us," Aries grumbled.
"He has Voldemort's power to channel from so, even if he's mortal, he still has the power of three," Lysander said.
Four, Albus corrected to himself mentally. "True, he'd still be very difficult. The Orb would need to be gotten rid of. Giving it to him gives us a new set of problems."
"Not giving it to him leaves us with worse problems," Maria said. "We'd need a way to get the Orb from him during the battle and turn it again."
"No," Mark said immediately, and he turned to Laura. "And don't you dare think of doing it after what Seth did."
"So, this basically told us his plans," Alex said interestedly. "What if we didn't give him the Orb?"
"He'll be more difficult to kill," Seth guessed. "He needs to be separated. I have an idea, though. If I enchanted this thing, Charmed it to reject a specific soul"-
"Can't," Maria sighed. "It needs to recognize what it's rejecting. We need Voldemort with us in some form to reject him."
"We can still"-
Lorcan interrupted Lysander by sighing, "Look, we don't have the capability of destroying his soul. Even if we did, it's a question of whether we can manage. It can't be done, Sander. Please don't try. Let those who can actually fight, fight."
"So, some of us need to stay out of the fight," Albus said. "The younger ones should definitely fight from here."
"I agree," Proxima nodded. "I'd like to prove my brother wrong and return in one piece anyway."
"I'll fire from here," Kabe agreed. "And maybe we'll manage something."
"That means you, Simon," Seth said as Simon stayed silent.
"You too," Simon scoffed.
"I'm an Heir, I can't afford to stay out," Seth said simply. "You're thirtee"-
"Stop me," Simon challenged. "Once the battle starts, there'll be chaos. You can't stop me then."
"Are you really sure about that?" Alexis asked him dubiously with her quill.
Simon looked unfazed, "You can only control one. Me or Incommodo?"
"You," she said simply. "I'm not letting little kids die on my wa"-
"I'm thirteen!" Simon yelled.
"Don't mind Simon, he's self destructive," Proxima sighed. "But he'll go and stay at the Greengrass home where he planned on dying initially and look after Alpha for me."
"Wha"-
"You claim to love me, right?" Proxima asked with a smirk. "Well, look after my brother then. I'm the one going out to fight. Only I have a bone to pick with my father."
"Then let's do it," Fauna said, her own watery eyes looking sad. "Let's fight them. Let's beat the Reservation and bring peace to our lives."
"Is it that easy though?" Pierre asked miserably. The boy who had lost his brother, his sister, his father and his mother, now standing alone in a warzone. "We can't just bring peace. Even after the war, there'll be trouble."
"It's true," Sierra sighed. "There's always trouble. There always will be and it's our job to deal with it. That's what life is and that's what life brings. The only way out is death and life comes first. It always does. So, what we do is buck up and face it, face whatever comes, however bad, and beat it like we're meat to. So, are we one on the plan? We use the Relics after we disconnect him from the Orb?"
"I wish," Aries sighed. "It'll be ages before this Amulet is back to its former glory again.
It was easier said than done, of course, and everyone knew it. As Albus walked up the stairs for what might have been the final time, very few were with him. The rest walked outside, preferring to spend the last of their few hours outdoors. Albus stopped near his old room. It was empty now save for the bed. He had shared it with Scorpius but Scorpius was hardly there, preferring to spend the last of his free time with Lucy. Albus spied Hugo and Fora still sitting together. He gave a quick word to his best friend and rushed over to embrace Lily, who just came in, tightly. Albus looked across at the room Seth had shared with Simon. Friends. Or who used to be friends. Someone was there, standing alone at the balcony, overlooking the village. Albus walked in, not sure who drew him to talking to the boy but still feeling that there was something unsaid between them.
"It's there," Seth said calmly, pointing his finger towards the small orchard off Hogsmeade as Albus came up behind him. "The ship. It's been there for a while now. They're really waiting it out. Two hours now… and it'll start."
"Guess so," Albus sighed. "All our efforts and it led to this."
"Good to know I wasted my time," Seth said neutrally. "That's my entire life, really. Just a waste of time."
"I wouldn't say so," Albus said, standing next to him. "You had a really good run."
"Our efforts led here," Seth said quietly. "And we have a foothold now. A good one. We're in better shape than we were nearly two years ago when Incommodo took over. And the Reservation will be looking for that Orb. Yeah, pretty soon we'll know whether we did good or not."
While everyone else was fearful, Seth just remained careless, almost apathetic towards the entire situation. Like whether he himself lived or died did not matter much to him. His blue eyes were still as empty as ever, rarely showing anything resembling a spark of sorrow or love, anything that might have suggested that somewhere, deep in his very soul, he cared. If he ever did, he did a great job of letting nobody see it except Simon. And where had that gotten him? The one person he did care for, that emotion had driven him to do drastic, almost psychotic things. And he performed these actions so coolly, like it mattered little to him. Albus was not there when he murdered Gordon, Jared, Herald or Gerald, but he could imagine him just as cold as ever. As apathetic as he was when Samantha died, folding his arms and watching, almost enjoying the show.
"You had a good run, Seth," Albus said. "You- you're a good friend. Somewhat."
"I never thought I'd die like this," Seth said solemnly. "Fighting a war I never cared for, for a cause I could honestly ignore or live without, against a creed my bloodline allows me to be a part of."
"How did you think you'd die?" Albus asked lowly.
"Alone," Seth said, still no trace of emotion present. "As an old man, in some faraway place. Maybe Simon would be with me, but otherwise alone, with my own thoughts. I always quite fancied that death."
"You're ready," Albus asked.
"Death is death," Seth said simply. "It's the end. We die and we disappear. It comes sooner or later. For us, it came sooner."
"So, you think it's the end, that you'll disappear," Albus mumbled, remembering what Apollo said. Seth clearly disagreed with the boy. "Never be seen again."
"Why not?" Seth asked. "Maybe I'm wrong. I don't know and it's not our business to know either. We're about to discover, anyway."
"Any plans for if you live?" Albus asked.
He remembered Seth saying how he could see himself working with Albus in the future. That was back when Albus thought he had a chance. They had both been working in the shadows, behind the scenes, they were not in tremendous danger as they were both in right then. That was back when Seth still had a friend, a group who loved him. For all Albus knew, Seth had changed his plans.
"If I live… Sierra and I are leaving the country," Seth said quietly. "You?"
"Well, that's what we need to talk about," Albus said.
"I'm not doing it," Seth said firmly. "Find somebody else."
"Seth, you could do it right now," Albus pleaded, psyching himself up. If he agreed, this was it. "Kill me right now, as we agreed, and Incommodo goes down. You only have one enemy and that enemy is weakened. It'll be over. A bloodless win. Come on."
"No," Seth said carelessly.
"Seth"-
"Have Kimble do it," Seth argued. "Or Wallader. Or kill yourself. Why ask me? You keep whining to me, you and Simon keep whining over how sociopathic I am, the one time I'm ready to back out and not kill someone innocent, you're asking me to do it?"
"It's the best way"-
"Yeah? Look," Seth pointed down. The drop was long and below were trenches. The fall would surely kill him. "You could do it yourself. But you're asking me. You always ask me. And I'm the one doing your dirty work. Well, you want to die so badly, do it yourself or give me an offer. Isn't that how it always works?" he asked, turning and looking at Albus readily. "Haven't we always had a give-and-take relationship? What offer do you have, and how can you possibly make sure I get what's promised once you're dead?"
Albus couldn't answer. He had no answer. He had no offer, let alone a promise he could make and deliver on from beyond the grave. Seth folded his arms, "So, we fight the battle. We beat Incommodo the hard way. Maybe if things get too difficult, I'll look for you. Bur I'm not exposing myself to more crimes than I've already committed, only I have my deal with your dad to think about."
"Yeah, right, cause you had no problem murdering a ten year-old boy," Albus flared up. "No issues there, but the one thing that would save us all and you can't do it. You picked the worse time to start caring, you know that?"
"And…"
"And you promised you'd do it," Albus reminded him. "And didn't you say you never lie? So, do it! I'm asking you to!"
Seth and Albus stared at each other hardly, blue eyes on green, both pairs of hands shaking. Seth's hand twitched for his wand but it didn't move. They kept staring each other down until, finally, Seth sighed and took his wand out, considering it. Then, he looked back at Albus, "I'll think about it. Face it, if you die now, the morale of everyone will go down. And with no Incommodo, there's no one protecting the Orb from the Reservation except a horde of leaderless Arsenal members. Once the Reservation gets the Orb, it's over for us. They'll win and we all die. And honestly, Al, I'd rather the Arsenal win than the Reservation. People- people in your position don't do what you're suggesting. They fight back, on their terms with their own merits. We fight with the Relics, the way it was prophesized. If it doesn't work, then I'll do it. Or better yet, ask Dubium to do it for you. I'm sure he will."
Albus couldn't help but like the argument he was making. He would've agreed a year ago, but it would end things. It would end it, it would make it better, it would kill Incommodo. Hopefully. Unless Alexis was right… maybe it was best they fight. How many people would die though?
Albus looked down at the drop. He seriously considered it, one drop. Seth was right. So, why didn't he? He could pick himself up over the banister and throw himself over and die. Except killing oneself was not an easy task. Truth was, Albus didn't want to die. He just felt he had to. "Do it," Seth said quietly, almost testily. "End it all, right now."
"I can't…"
"Exactly," Seth told him. "You don't want to die, you just feel obliged, and the second you start letting others determine whether yu should live or not is the day your own life becomes meaningless. In fact, I could argue will is everything, and if you're not willing to die, the whole plan might be meaningless. Then what?"
Albus looked at him, "Ok, Seth. Don't. But… just to make this clear, whatever happens, whoever Incommodo ends up killing, it's on you."
"Eh… it's more on you for not wanting to die in the first place," Seth smirked.
Seth nodded quietly and Albus left him there, to his thoughts. Seth was always an enigma to him, his thoughts never clear and his emotions- or lack of- always vague and unclear. Now Albus really thought about it, what was Seth fighting for? Simon? Only Simon? Sierra? Was there anything else? Did something inside him just not much like the world that was being offered by Incommodo or Dubium? Or was his primary motivation his sister and friend? Albus might never know. In fact, he'd die pretty soon not knowing anything.
Albus walked downstairs, watching how it went outside. Fora spent a lot of time with Kabe, digging as a badger. She had trained so hard for this day and tunnels were being dug under the grounds of both Hogsmeade and Hogwarts. She had spent the better part of few months doing so and surprisingly enough, the Arsenal did not stop the entry into the Hogwarts grounds. Incommodo himself was very rarely seen. According to Neil, he had spent most of his time on the Astronomy tower like before. Albus could also see an eagle flying out and around. He could not help but smiling to himself. He loved her. If he could choose any future, it would be a future with her. Only her. And at the bottom, a lion was prowling calmly, doing a round but staying silent. Only Seth stayed human, knowing one transformation could very well result in the deaths of those around him. Albus hoped he knew what he was doing. He was not sure those transformations would be enough this time. Since the battle one year ago in Hogwarts, Seth's Basilisk form was no secret to Dubium.
"The full moon is tonight," Scorpius said casually as they stood at the entrance to the Three Broomsticks. "So… if ever the Reservation would want maximum attack power, this is the night. Werewolves, vampires, their ship, Riley's gone to get the other vampires in the forest. Smaller number than the Reservation's vampires though."
"Where's your sister?" Albus asked.
"Hidden," Scorpius sighed with a melancholy expression. "Libra's hidden and I wrote a note for her in case I die. She's with mum and Melvin in the Room of Requirement. Since he's so big on life and likelier to live than most of us, he'll help to look after her."
Albus nodded shortly, watching the village. Neil Nott was walking around, in random turns, probably eavesdropping as he walked. Some DA members came in from the gates and more and more Arsenal members and even people in plainclothes arrived.
"Do you- do you think I'll die?"
Albus stayed silent. He thought about it carefully before replying, "I'm not sure what to say. This isn't our usual fight. This is like, Hogsmeade times two."
"Times five, more like," Scorpius sighed. "Are you scared?"
Albus sighed. He wished this conversation was not taking place but he could not just walk out. He stayed staring out at the grounds. "Yeah, a little bit."
"Me too," Scorpius muttered. "He has two souls. We can't beat that. We'll die. All of us. You, Lucy, me… I'll die. I'll actually die." Scorpius sat down on the street and stared, shaking and sweating. "Dead. Me, father, what'll my sister think? What'll… how'll she be, the only Malfoy left?"
"How do you kill someone like him?" Albus asked.
"It's… sort of difficult," Scorpius admitted. "Souls have regenerative properties. That's why their essence is immortal. That's why it was hard to kill Incommodo, father gave his life only to bring the real monster out. Truth is, he wouldn't be so scary if Mortimer's power levels were not infused in him. So, with two, when one is expelled, the other keeps it in place and they heal you."
"Yeah, I saw that," Albus mumbled, remembering Incommodo's memory.
"You'd need a fight between souls," Scorpius said. "Which means the mind and soul must merge into one. Any mind-based Charm and Soul-based Curse could do it if they clash. But… that's hard expectations to meet. Al… if I die, look after my sister, ok? I- I mean it. Look after her."
Scorpius looked miserable and scared. Albus knew what he wanted to do, and what he was desperately trying to hold himself back from doing. He felt sorry for him. Before he could say anything, his eyes were caught by Neil.
Neil had come back inside the Three Broomsticks and walked upstairs quietly. Was he scared? Albus did not ask. Albus turned back to Scorpius. Scorpius was frightened, Albus could see it. They'd been best friends since first year, since they were kids. They had a rocky relationship at first. Scorpius had always acted for himself, had a very implicit selfish personality. It was not until Rojer came into the school in fifth year when he had began to find a stake. Rojer had scared Scorpius, the blonde boy just protected himself. It destroyed Alpha's self-esteem and angered Proxima to the point of hatred but still, he stayed away, protected himself. He ran away from battle in second year and he was ignorant to Albus' problems in fourth year. Yet, he had braved the forest in third year, he came through in fifth year and in sixth year he learned his personal stake.
"Scorpius," Albus said. He took a deep breath, "Look, in second year, I fought the Purifiers and nearly died if you didn't fetch help. The same offer stands as before, ok? Go. I'm serious, I won't think any less of you. You're seventeen years old, like I am but you have a little sister and staying with your mum isn't going to save her."
"Al"-
"Just- let me finish," Albus told him tensely. "In your position, I'd do the exact same thing."
"This is my fight t"-
"And!" Albus argued back. "I was willing to hand Soto the Princess' Amulet, the Marauder's Map, and the damned Prophecy in exchange for my sister. I was willing to give him the key to destroying our own school to save my little sister. How could you stay here and convince yourself she'll be fine in the Room of Requirement? If we lose, Incommodo will find her and it won't be a happy ending. Rojer knows where you all are. He'll come after you. And your sister. Take them and get out, be the big brother you want to be. Live. And don't worry. I mean it, take your sister, your mother and your own livelihood and run. Take a Portkey and get away. And I swear, I won't think any less of you. I'd do the same if my brother was born by now but at least my mum has a way out. Godric's Hollow is not attacked yet."
"You think it's that easy for me?" Scorpius asked. "I'm not the same as I was at eleven or twelve. Uncle Rojer scared me to death when I was five. He still scared me when I was ten. I only worked to defend my family honor when I was eleven. I might've fled from the fight in second year but I still got the teachers for you, and I still braved the forest for you and if I'd known about the threat to your sister, Soto would've never gotten her hands on her, I promise you! You can trust me!" he said almost angrily and his eyes were glistening. "Damn it, you can trust me! We've been friends for years but you kept everything from me when I could've helped!"
"I'm sorry," Albus said abruptly. "Ok, Scorps? I'm sorry, you're right, I should've trusted you, you should've been the first one I told but you weren't. I didn't want to worry you too, for crying out loud you liked being happy. You were dating Laura, Rose, Lucy. Why stop? Just… live."
Scorpius kept looking at Albus uncertainly, unsure of what to do, "I don't know."
"I do trust you," Albus interrupted calmly. "That's why I'm telling you to go. Take care of your family. Even if we beat the Reservation, the world won't be friendly to her. Not with Incommodo and the Arsenal running amok. Your mother is trapped. Both of you need to get out and protect your sister like you know you want to. Who else is left? She has you. You're all she's got after your mother. And trust me, Scorpius, I know. I'm about to have a little brother. If they win this and I survive, I'm running to my house, taking my mother and hiding her too because I'm not losing what's inside her. I'm not. I already lost a brother and I can tell you from experience, it does not feel good. Look, go to the bungalow, get to the Room of Requirement. Wait it out. If they win, get to the bungalow and destroy the portrait. It's vanished so nobody can get in. Not even the Reservation. Get out, flee the country, and live. And you'll both be fine."
The two were walking out now. Scorpius was tearing slightly. He knew Albus was right. There was no way Scorpius could, in good conscience, stay behind and leave his sister alone. "Take the original keys," Albus muttered, handing his keys to Scorpius. "Give me the copy. I'll make sure the keys everyone else has are destroyed right now while you go so if we lose, the Reservation will never get to where you are. Truth is, I reckon regardless of who wins, Incommodo will survive like me and Hogwarts will be scouted for any hiding place. Plan your next move from out of the country."
"Al… if you live," Scorpius started, staying beside the front door. "Come. Ok? We'll get out together, leave the country. We have so many secrets we can spill, the Reservation and the Arsenal won't stand a chance when they widen their campaign."
"That'll depend on Alexis," Albus admitted. "But that's partly why you need to go. If we lose, you're the next hope. So don't die."
Scorpius nodded as he opened the door to the bungalow. "In that case, give a few last words from me. Tell Proxima that she's my cousin and I love her even if she hates me, and Ill join Alpha at her home with my mum and Libra, and tell Lucy I frigging love her. And take care of her. If- if I'm going to flee, I'd like her with me."
"I will, now go."
"Don't think less of me, Al," Scorpius told him bluntly. "I'm only leaving because of my sister. Otherwise, I'd stay."
"I told you to go, why would I think less of you?" Albus said exasperatedly. "Now get the hell out, will you?"
"Fine choice of last words, Al," Scorpius smirked. "You do realize, that whatever happens, we might die."
"Yeah…"
"But if we live…"
"If we live?"
"We're getting drunk at Malfoy Manor," Scorpius smirked.
"Al," Neil's voice said suddenly before Scorpius shut the door. "They're coming."