Disclaimer: I don't own HP. I own my OCs and this idea, tho :)
"I just have a bad feeling." Nash spat, bitterly. Ted looked entertained for a second, but still kept himself busy making birds appear all over the office.
"Don't be so negative, Matty. Besides, you're the unlucky one, but I'm bound to bring enough luck for both of us." Teddy said with a smile. The canaries were circling over their heads, with Nash looking at them with distaste. "Don't look at the poor birds that way, Matt."
"Last time you decided it would be fun to fill a place with birds, we had to clean bird droppings for about an hour." Matt reminisced, making the turquoise haired man chuckle. "Yeah, it's funny now, isn't it? Professor McGonagall didn't find it so funny."
"It was her fault for locking us in her office, wasn't it? Besides, that was over five years ago! Will you get over it?" Ted interjected, waving his wand, making all birds disappear at once. They stayed in silence for a second, hearing the usual busy atmosphere of the Auror department unravel. "I miss school."
"Do you really?"
"Yeah. I miss the simplicity, don't you? Just getting up, having a laugh, studying… I miss Quidditch."
"Quidditch is something worth missing." Nash said with a smile. "And we didn't have to deal with certain assholes." He said, looking over his shoulder towards the wall that divided their cubicle from the next one over. Ted chuckled again.
"That's a good plus." He said, his hair turning the exact same color and style as Conway's, his usually green eyes imitating the pale blue. "I am in charge here, Nash." He stated, making his taller friend laugh.
Their laughter died in the middle of a loud noise that started all of the sudden, filling their cubicle. Ted whipped his hair fast, making it short and turquoise again, his eyes back to its usual shade and alertness. Nash had jumped to his feet, wand on hand, muttering an incantation. The chatter around them had died away as well, Aurors all over the place moving, tracing the source of the sensor that had been activated. Not two seconds had elapsed and at least half a dozen Aurors were peeking into the friends' small office space.
From the tip of Nash's wand, the shadow of an impressive house appeared, its tall windows obscured by the ghostly aspect the spell gave it.
"Nash, where was it?" A newcomer asked, moving people aside to get to the front, his unruly black hair making him impossible not to recognize.
"An ex-Death Eater's place." He announced, the shadow his wand had projected dissolving into the air. Conway had appeared right behind Harry, with O'Halloran by his side. The rest of the place was silent, waiting for Harry's instructions.
"Okay, everybody, I'll go with team Conway to the place. We'll call if we need backups!" he commanded over the silence. There was a murmur of agreement. "Have you identified the exact place, Nash?"
"I think so, sir." He grabbed the first object he found on his cluttered desk and tapped it with his wand, making it glow blue.
"Let's go." Harry said, placing his hand on the rolled up piece of blank parchment. The rest of the team held onto it as well, and they disappeared in a blur.
They landed in the countryside, just a few meters away from the road. Harry looked around before turning to the group.
"I don't know what we'll find exactly, but I must insist you're careful. Let's go." He started walking down the road, being followed by the four young Aurors. Conway had his mouth shut, but he looked in Harry's direction with skepticism in his pale blue eyes. O'Halloran had her hands deep in the pockets of her Muggle jacket, obviously holding her wand. Ted's hair had switched to black and untidy, just like his godfather's, and walked by Nash with an unreadable facial expression.
They walked in silence. It was 2 o'clock in the afternoon and the road was oddly deserted. Only one car drove by them, and it paid no attention to the wizards: they just seemed like a random group of Muggles on their way to the village.
A few cottages were scattered as they came closer to the village. Harry stopped and gestured them to do so as well.
"What is that feeling…?" Ted asked, looking around. No one answered, but they had all felt it: powerful magic seemed to be floating around the place. Harry looked around in search of Muggles, and as he saw no one, he drew his wand. Ted was already clutching his, scanning the area.
"It's coming from over there." Nash announced, pointing towards one of the houses. Harry nodded and approached the place cautiously. As they neared the door, the feeling of magic intensified. "Who lives here, Mr. Potter?"
"Last time we checked, this was the residence of Gregory Goyle and his family." Harry stated, his heartbeat still regular but slowly becoming faster. "Let's go inside."
He was the first to enter. The sitting room was small, with a couch and a couple mismatched chairs. All the curtains were drawn shut, making the place seem dark.
"This seems darker than usual dark." O'Halloran muttered, her wand's tip igniting.
"Homenum Revelio." Harry whispered, and nothing happened. Nash looked back towards the door.
"Lupin, O'Halloran, check the perimeter. We can't let the perpetrator escape again." Conway said in a low voice. The two young Aurors looked over at Harry, who nodded his approval.
Harry peered into the empty kitchen, and then glanced up the stairs.
"The source seems to be coming from upstairs." He muttered, making his way up, followed closely by Nash and Conway.
The second floor was strangely spacious, considering the size of the cottage. It seemed evident that it had been enlarged using magic. It had three doors that went off it, only one of them open, revealing what seemed to be an empty bedroom with Slytherin hangings on the walls. Harry looked around, his hair standing on end, finally deciding on one of the closed doors. He opened it.
"Damn." He muttered, walking into the room. Conway followed, looking straight into the wide open eyes of the dead man on the floor, his body covered in blood, long, deep cuts all over his chest, his shirt ripped, the words 'PUREBLOOD' burnt into his chest by magical means. Harry kneeled by the body to check for a pulse, just to follow the official procedure, knowing beforehand that Gregory Goyle was already dead. He felt almost some kind of electricity issuing, the skin still strangely warm, although he had obviously passed away. Conway circled the body, facing the door, looking straight at Nash, whose eyes were fixed on the dead man's blank expression. Behind him, either Ted or Heidi was making their way upstairs.
Except that it was a cloaked figure, pointing his wand at the back of the unsuspecting Matt Nash.
"FUCK, Nash, get out of the way!" Conway yelled, flicking his wand furiously, making the taller Auror fall to his side, narrowly avoiding the green jet of light. Nash scrambled to his feet, pointing his wand at the cloaked stranger, who laughed maniacally.
"Expelliarmus!" Harry yelled, but the stranger was faster, keeping himself from being disarmed. "Show yourself! You're surrounded!"
"Harry Potter… I honestly didn't expect to see you here." The cloaked one laughed again, his face hidden in unusually dense shadows. "What is this? Are you a protector of this pureblood scum?"
Nash and Conway stood still, their wands pointing at the stranger.
"Who are you?" Harry demanded, his wand firm and steady in his sweaty hand.
"I am one of the new Order." He explained with an unnervingly calm voice, making his way towards one of the closed windows. "I would love to stay here to chat, but of course, this won't be possible."
"Stay where you are! There's more of us downstairs!" Nash said threateningly, his heart threatening to escape from his chest: Had he seriously been about to get killed?
"Matthew Archibald Nash, pureblood… do you honestly believe I would've been able to make it back inside and up here without killing those two half-bloods you set on me outside?" he mocked. All color drained from Harry's face. "Just wanted to deliver a message…" he flicked his wand to deflect a spell from Conway. "Conway, you should be one of us, you know? I know you hate purebloods just as much as we do."
"What are you talking about?" Harry demanded, hurting to see if Teddy was alright… if he was dead, it'd be his fault… Was he going to be responsible of the dead of another part of his family? It had been over 20 years since it had happed, but the pain was just as fresh as it was when it first happened, when he was just 15 years old.
"Harry Potter. We are the End of the Beginning… we'll bring a fresh start to the Wizarding World, and free it from the pureblooded scum that for so long has been in charge. You're safe, but I must ask you to stay away, because nothing will get in our way. We all owe you a lot for your own work against pureblood supremacy, but if you stand in our way, you and your family will have to be wiped for the greater good."
Harry felt his body freeze in the spot, the strange magic within the place invading him. Nash let out a strangled cry, and the stranger laughed once again, and Disapparated on the spot.
"Are you alright?" Harry asked, finally regaining control of his body. Nash was on the floor, shaking, with Conway by his side. "We need help! Expecto Patronum … What happened to him?"
"He's bleeding…" Conway was already ripping his comrade's shirt, revealing a long cut that underlined a bright red burn that spelled out the word 'PUREBLOOD' across his chest. "Go check on Heidi and Lupin, I'll take care of Nash." He was already waving his wand over Nash's cut, making it knit itself carefully, stopping the bleeding.
Harry ran down the stairs, finding the blonde girl sprawled by the foot of the stairs, a bit of blood trailing from her mouth.
"Heidi?" Harry fell by her side, checking for a pulse. He calmed down a bit when he felt it, slow but steady, under his fingers. "Ennervate!"
She opened her eyes slowly, looking weak.
"Ted…" she murmured, closing her eyes again. Harry was outside in no time, looking around for his godson. He found him not too far from the door, lying motionless on the grass.
"Teddy... Teddy, please be alive." Harry pleaded, kneeling by him as a group of five wizards ran down the road towards them, leaded by his pale freckled best friend. "Teddy… Ennervate…"
Ted didn't stir. Harry's fingers were shaking as he tried to find a pulse in his godson's neck, not finding any. Finally, he pressed his ear to the young man's chest, his eyes already full of tears.
Suddenly, there it was. A low, weak sounding beat, but there it was. Ted's heart was still working, albeit slowly and almost giving out.
"He's still alive! His heart is beating really slowly!" Harry said, his voice sounding unusually high. One of the Auror mediwizards pushed Harry aside and pointed his wand towards Ted's heart. "O'Halloran and Nash are also injured; Conway is assisting them inside!"
He stood up, switching back towards his leader self. He dried his eyes hastily, internally relieved that Teddy was alright, and walked towards Ron.
"Harry, what happened?"
"Goyle's dead, and we were ambushed by the killer. He set some kind of spell all over the place that got us to investigate, and then used that power to paralyze us and escape." He explained, looking back towards the cottage. Heidi had been put on a stretcher and was portkeyed away alongside a mediwizard. "Ron, this must definitely be the same person who attacked Draco and his family... or part of the same organization."
"What do you mean by organization?"
"He said something about being the 'End of the Beginning'… we must investigate."
"Sir, Nash and O'Halloran have been taken to St Mungo's." Conway informed, glancing sideways at the two mediwizards working on Ted.
"That bastard distracted us by telling he had killed Ted and Heidi." Harry spat, feeling furious at himself. "We should've been able to stop him!"
"He was highly skilled… and, as you probably noticed, the magic in the air wasn't a trace of a spell… it was actual magic that he then used to protect himself and attack us. He expected to be able to talk to whoever showed up."
"He never expected it to be me, probably." Harry shook his head, watching his godson disappear alongside the two other Aurors.
"He attempted to murder Nash." Conway added, looking at Ron, who looked paler than before. "Used the Killing Curse…"
"If it hadn't been for you, he would've succeeded." Harry declared, his face somber. "I can't believe we were ambushed like this…"
"Harry, it could've happened to anyone…" Ron started, but was rudely interrupted by a low chuckle by the young brown haired Auror. "Anything to say, Conway?"
"Excuse me, Weasley, but stating the obvious isn't going to help. Sir, may I Apparate to St Mungo's and see how my crew's doing?"
"Sure, go." Harry nodded. He was left alone with Ron, who looked angry. "Ron, ignore him, you know he's a troublemaker, but a useful one. If it wasn't for him, we would probably be mourning the dead of one of ours."
"Should we move Goyle back to Headquarters?" Ron asked, having decided to just keep on ignoring the younger Auror. Harry nodded, and they both walked back into the cottage.
He laughed in a low voice, observing the scene from a nearby tree. His black cloak moved in the wind, a few strands of black hair escaping from the shadowy hood that covered his face. He turned swiftly, disappearing into thin air.
Scorpius wasn't sure whether he was better off just chucking his cauldron away instead of stirring the already murky contents of it. He had obviously skipped a step, and thus his potion was a dreadful mess. Next to him, Rose was trying to control the fire under her own cauldron, while Albus looked smug, his potion the perfect shade described in the book. The rest of the class wasn't doing so well either and Professor Markham seemed to have noticed, for he was sporting a sly smile that he reserved for pleading students only.
His smile faltered for a second as the door to his dungeon opened, and Professor McGonagall walked in, looking around the classroom.
"Excuse the interruption, Professor Markham, but I need to talk to Mr. Goyle."
"Off you go then, Goyle. There's not much you can do about your potion anyway." Professor Markham said as he put a sample of the white solution on the bottom of the boy's cauldron into a vial and cleaned the rest of it, making it vanish. The young Slytherin sighed, and followed Professor McGonagall, wondering why he was being summoned. "Well, class, just 10 minutes left. If you feel it's the best you can do and you can bottle it, please do, and leave on my desk for marking."
Scorpius read the instructions again, finally realizing what he had missed. Of course, adding it now could cause a mess. He pressed his lips together, finally opting to at least try.
The result was immediate: his potion had turned a nice shade of green, very similar to Albus'. He smiled widely, surprised at his own luck. He looked up to see if anyone else had managed to fix their potion, not seeing much success. Just as fast as his potion had turned green, it changed to a darker shade of the color, finally settling back to its previous muddy appearance.
"Time's UP. Bottle up, label and leave on my desk." Scorp grimaced as he filled a vial with the contents of his cauldron and left it next to Al's perfect potion on the professor's desk. "For next week, you'll have to brew one of the four potions we've been working on for the past weeks… of course you're expected to know it by heart, so please study. We don't want any unexpected explosions. See you next week."
"I'm starving." Albus complained with a small smile.
"Stop looking so smug, it's annoying!" Rose snapped, making him laugh.
"Don't be angry that I did better than you for once! It was all effort on my part!"
"That stupid fire was so hard to control, I have no idea what happened." Rose explained, looking bitter. Albus smiled apologetically at his cousin, while Scorpius had to work hard to not laugh.
"Let Al enjoy his one moment of Potions greatness. We know it won't last long." Scorp joked. "You know he always blows things up on Randomized Potion Making day."
"Hey, that only happened once!" Albus defended himself, laughing. They reached the top of the stairs and walked towards the Great Hall.
"It was amusing nonetheless." Rose added, seating across the table from a small girl whose red hair was lazily tied up in a ponytail. "Hi Lily."
"Hello!" the third-year said, smiling a bit. "Hi Al, hello Scorp! Al, have you seen dad yet?"
"No. Why is he here?"
"I don't know, Lys told me he saw him walking with McGonagall and a Slytherin… I wonder if he'll stop by to say hello..."
"Was he with Goyle?" Scorp asked, curious. The small Potter girl shrugged, not sure. "That's strange, why would your dad come to talk to Goyle…?"
"Haven't you heard?" a voice said behind them. They turned around to see a skinny black-haired Slytherin boy from their year, one of the few who didn't mercilessly tease Scorpius, named Ignatius Vaughn. They all shook their heads. "I don't know for sure, but…" he glanced at Scorp for one second. "I heard my dad talking to Professor Longbottom; apparently something happened to Vince's dad. It didn't seem too good, either."
Scorpius felt frozen to his seat. Goyle's dad had been a friend of his Father… what would've possible happened to him?
No… it couldn't be. But… could it?
"Scorp, where are you going?" Albus asked.
"I'll be right back!" He quickly left the Great Hall behind, his feet carrying him up one of the hidden corridors, swiftly approaching the headmistress' office.
He stopped at the sight of his friend's father walking on the opposite direction, Professor McGonagall with him, and not so far behind them, Vince Goyle, looking stunned. Both adults caught sight of the Gryffindor prefect.
"Mr. Potter, I'll take young Mr. Goyle to the infirmary." She offered, smiling sadly at Scorpius. Harry walked towards him.
"Hello, Scorpius."
"Hi." His mouth was dry, his chest pounding. What was going on?
"What a coincidence… I take it you've heard what happened?"
"Not really." Scorpius bit his lower lip. Harry sighed.
"I wish we knew what is going on… I really do. I must talk to you about some very serious matter going on right now. Shall we go in here?"
They walked into an empty classroom. Harry motioned Scorpius over to a chair, where the boy sat, wiping his hands on his robes. Harry looked through the window, the light coming from outside making his eyes seem brighter, and his scar more noticeable.
"Scorpius, I didn't want to have this conversation with you yet, but I think it's important to collect as much information as possible."
"I'll do all I can to help." He said, and before being able to stop himself, he added: "Is Uncle Greg dead?"
"Yes… yes he is. His wife isn't though, as she's on a business trip to France at the moment." Harry explained, trying to flatten his hair with one hand. He turned to face Scorpius, his eyes looking sad. "I don't know how much you know about your dad's participation in the Second Wizarding War…"
"I know more than enough." Scorpius grimaced, being constantly reminded of his Father's alleged cowardice by other students.
"I need to know… I mean, if you know. Did your father engage in any kind of discussions, or trades, or business over the summer with anyone…?"
"Well… he didn't go out much, to be honest. He just went to work and then back home." Scorpius explained, feeling that numb pain inside him again. He hated to talk about his parents ever since the Event, but he knew he had to do his best to help. "He didn't receive visits very often, either."
"What about your grandfather?"
"I don't know. My dad and he weren't on speaking terms when… when he passed away last summer." Scorpius heart was suddenly filled with sadness. "He didn't fancy much company, either… I'm sorry if I'm not of much help."
"It's alright; I know you're trying your best."
Scorpius sighed, thinking of his grandfather. He used to visit him and his grandmother a lot when he was younger, but since he had started at Hogwarts, he visited less and less, especially since his Father's relationship with his father had started to grow weak, everything since… since…
"Wait, there was one time they…" Scorpius suddenly recalled. Harry looked up again, interested. "The Christmas vacation before grandfather died… I heard them, Father and grandfather, arguing in the drawing room… I wasn't supposed to listen, but I heard something about You-Know-Who… Dad was blaming grandfather for everything that was happening to us… I don't really know what they were talking about, though."
Harry looked intently into the teenager's eyes, only to find them concentrated upon remembering more.
"Is there anything else you remember?"
"Not really… they stopped speaking after that. Grandmother tried to make them talk, but it was useless. Father told Mother that it was for the best… to cut relationships with those who could bring harm upon us…"
"DAD!" a girl's voice interrupted, and Lily Potter walked into the room, hugging her startled father. Scorpius looked uneasy.
"Hey, princess, how did you find us?" he asked with a smile, looking dearly into his only daughter's blue eyes.
"Marauder's Map." James walked into the room, throwing a dirty look at Scorpius before going in to briefly hug his dad as well. "What brings you here, old man?"
"Oh, just the usual." He answered. "Do you mind if I go downstairs with you? I'm seriously craving some of that amazing Shepherd's Pie…"
"No problem! I'll save you a seat!" Lily said, rushing to get there first. Harry looked over at Scorpius.
"Thanks for your information, Scorpius. I'll let you know if there's anything new."
Scorp nodded, ignoring the look of questioning in James' eyes. He followed them back to the Great Hall, and sat next to Albus again.
"Everything okay, mate?" Albus asked, eating what seemed like a second serving of shepherd's pie. Scorpius nodded, feeling uneasy. Next to him, Mr. Potter was serving himself a plate, but didn't seem concentrated into the task, too deep in his thoughts for anything else around him to matter.
Well. That was it. I'm enjoying writing this a lot, so expect a few more updates in the next two weeks. I'm excited that a lot of people read the last chapter :D I just wish someone had taken the time to review, lol. Just a 'nice one!' or 'this sucks' will do, y'know? I will continue to update anyway, but feedback is always appreciated!
Hope you enjoy this one!
-Phankam