Chapter Seven
Scorpius's POV
As soon as I heard the screams, I knew something couldn't be right.
Shaking Albus awake, we hurried down the staircase and followed the noise. It seemed it came from the girls' dormitories. Momentarily forgetting the protective curses, we rushed up the stairs. Or, tried to. As soon as we hit the first step, it was like an invisible wall hit us and we flew backwards, hitting the back of a couch.
"Well, that worked." Albus said sorely, rubbing the back of his head.
Walking up to the stairs, I pulled out my wand.
"Alohomora!" Tossing my shoe at the stair, it rebounded and hit me in the stomach. Albus snickered behind me, watching me doubling over.
Muttering incoherent spells under my breath, I cast every type of curse-breaking spell I knew and failed each time. Cursing, I turned to Albus.
"Well, it looks like McGonagall strengthened it so that it can only be broken by complex spells that you learn later on in your life."
Albus nodded. "So, are we going to just sit here and listen?"
I shrugged. "I guess." I was glad that they didn't put a Silencing Charm on the staircase along with the other charms and curses.
"Wait! Do you hear that? Hand me an Extendable Ear!" Albus ran to the staircase and got as close to the first stair as he could.
I got up and pulled two Extendable Ears out of my pocket. Al grinned. Putting them in our ears, we threw them as far up the stairs as possible. It was totally unfair for inanimate objects to be able to get up the stairs and not males. Listening hard, this is what we heard:
"Well, well, well. If it isn't the object of our search." It was a gruff and unfamiliar voice.
"Back off, bastard." That was Thalia's voice, shaky and uneven.
The man laughed a cold, dry chuckle. "You are definitely not like your father's family; you are brave and not cowardly."
I could practically hear Thalia's jaw drop to the floor.
"Leave Hogwarts now, scum. Voldemort's dead." That was Rose. Al and I looked at each other. Our two other friends were in a room with an intruder.
I could practically hear the man's sneer in his voice. "I'm not after Hogwarts. We aren't. We're after you, Weasley. The Weasleys and Potters are not safe anymore." It sounded like he was moving and picked up something. There was a soft squeal, and I realized that that something was a person. I gaped at Al. "I'd love to stay, but I'd rather take them one by one." The man continued.
"Stupefy!"
"Crucio!"
"Protego!"
"Stupefy!"
There were bangs of spells that missed and more yelling of incantations. All of a sudden, Rose yelled: "Relashio!"
There was a sound of breaking metal and something heavy fell from the ceiling, probably a lamp or chandelier. "Expelliarmus!" Rose yelled, accompanying something crashing out the window.
Pulling back our Extendable Ears, we sat in a stunned silence. Then, Albus ran at the invisible wall and attempted to get through it, but to no avail.
"Hey! What's going on there? Thalia! Rose!" We both yelled, desperate to get up the girls' dorms' staircase.
We could hear other girls from different dorms get up and follow the source of the struggle, throwing us questioning glances. They all crowded outside a room, apparently where the duel had been, murmuring. A small girl, probably in her Second Year, ran to get Professor Longbottom, the head of Gryffindor and Headmistress McGonagall. Meanwhile, some of the boys from our dorm found us sitting at the bottom of the girls' dorms' staircase. We quickly explained what we had heard, and pretty soon, some of them were idiotically trying to get through the invisible wall. It was quite entertaining to watch the effects when it wasn`t happening to you.
Minutes later, McGonagall and Professor Longbottom came rushing into the Common Room, after muttering "Amortentia".
"What earth is going on here?" She questioned, eyeing the bunch of boys in the Common Room, some running into the wall, attempting to get in and not noticing Longbottom or McGonagall. "Longbottom, question the boys. I'll go see what happened upstairs." With that, she strode up the stairs purposefully, leaving the Herbology teacher with the boys of Gryffindor.
"Do any of you know what happened upstairs? Did you hear anything?"
Al and I stepped forward. "We do, Professor."
He nodded. "Go on."
"Well, what woke us up was a scream, coming from the girls' dorms. We tried to get upstairs, but to no avail," Some of the boys smirked. I ignored them and continued. "So, we, erm, listened from there and heard Rose Weasley and Thalia Wilcox talking with this gruff-voiced man, in which he said he was after the Potter and Weasleys." Longbottom turned pale. "Then, they started duelling and Rose detached the chandelier from the ceiling as a distraction, and she Disarmed him, sending him flying out the window. And," I concluded, "That's it. They might have a more detailed description, though."
Professor Longbottom nodded, deep in thought with worry etched on his face. "As soon as Headmistress McGonagall comes down with Miss Weasley and Miss Wilcox, the two of you," Motioning to me and Albus, "Will also come with us to the Headmistress's Office for a full account."
As if on cue, McGonagall come down the steps with Thalia and Rose in tow. They were both pale, and Rose was clutching something like a letter in her hand. She caught my eye and mouthed, we're fine. I relaxed a tiny bit. From what I had heard from downstairs, I hoped they were.
Longbottom whispered something to the Headmistress, and she motioned for Al and me to follow, after telling Michael Finnigan to take Lily Potter to the Hospital Wing. I wondered who the intruder was, and why he was there. There hadn't been intruders at Hogwarts before, at least as far as I know, what with my dad not really talking about his school days a lot.
We came to a stop at two gargoyles and Headmistress McGonagall said, "Bertie Blott's Beans." The two statues stepped aside, revealing a long, winding staircase. The six of us climbed in tense silence, all having silent worries of our own. Rose came in pace with me and squeezed my hand, probably for reassurance. I smiled. She always came to me for reassurance, while she always asked the other two for advice and cheering up. I sort of felt special in that way, as she once said that I was the only one who could really understand her heart. I always held those words to my own beating heart, which was right now in worry about the current situation.
We came to a large wooden door, which McGonagall opened and led us into a large room, with a wooden desk at the back, cupboards and silver instruments, all surrounded by walls of portraits of Headmasters and Headmistresses past. Behind the chair where McGonagall sat, (Al and I had been lectured a few times when we were caught in being involved with James Potter and Fred Weasley's pranks) there was the largest portrait; in where a doleful Albus Dumbledore, with a silvery beard and blue robes, and piercing blue eyes, watched us with a friendly smile behind half-moon spectacles. Beside him, was Severus Snape, with shoulder-length black hair and dark eyes, wearing a curious expression on his thin face, observing probably the strangest thing: a Weasley, Potter and a Malfoy being in the same room without throwing dirty looks or snide remarks at each other. My father had told me Professor Snape had been his late godfather, and had saved him when Voldemort had given him a task to kill Dumbledore, instead Snape had done the dirty deed to save the Malfoys from failing. Albus nodded at both of them, since Mr. Potter had named him after the two ex-Headmasters.
McGonagall sat down, and looked at the four of us, signalling Professor Longbottom to leave. She conjured up four wooden chairs in front of her. "Sit," she commanded, and we obeyed. When we'd gotten comfortable, she turned her stern gaze on Rose and Thalia. "Now, Miss Weasley, Miss Wilcox, may you give us the pleasure to enlighten us in what had happened? I believe Mister Malfoy and Mister Potter haven't been given the chance to listen in on everything." Her blue eyes held an amused twinkle in it as she watched the two girls turn on us, making Al and I blush with embarrassment.
"Well, Professor McGonagall," Thalia began, shooting Al a final glare, "We heard Lily screaming two doors down from us. So, we followed the noise and we found this man holding her by the collar of the shirt."
"Can you please describe the intruder?" McGonagall inquired, peering over her spectacles.
"Hmmm," Thalia said, "He was wearing black, sweeping robes and a silvery mask. He was really tall and his voice sounded gruff." McGonagall paled visibly, muttering, "Death Eater." My skin crawled.
"Miss Weasley, can you tell us the rest of the story?"
"Well, he said that he was after the Weasleys and Potters, wanting revenge. Then when he was going to escape out the window with Lily, Thalia shot a Stunning Spell at him, starting a full blown duel. After a while, I used Relashio to break off the chandelier and while he was distracted, I Disarmed him, sending him out the window. Apparently he had an accomplice, and they escaped. Then this," She pushed the letter forward to the Headmistress. After reading it, she turned even paler.
"Is that all, Miss Weasley?"
Rose nodded. McGonagall got up from her desk and said, "Thank you. I have to alert the Ministry at once. You may now go back to your dorms."
Sending us off, my anger started to boil over and many thoughts came rushing into my head. Death Eaters? At Hogwarts? That cannot be good. My grandfather and even my father (against his will) had once been Death Eaters. I knew that my father had changed, but my grandfather? No, he'd never change. After he found out that I'd been Sorted into Gryffindor, he didn't talk to me for months, not even at Christmas, when we were at Malfoy Manor. He'd even suggested enrolling me into Durmstrang, where they tolerated the Dark Arts, but my father refused, earning another few months of the cold shoulder. And when he'd found out that I had befriended a Potter, Weasley and a 'child of a Squib', he'd flown into such a rage that my father didn't owl back after grandfather had sent him letters full of rants. And don't get me even started on the time when my friends were over for a portion of the Christmas holidays, and my grandfather had flooed in, ranting the second his feet touched solid ground. When he saw me with Thalia, Albus, and Rose, he flew into such a temper that my mum had to Stun him and send him back to Malfoy manor. After that, I was sure to invite them over only when my grandfather was busy and not liable to burst into our house at any second.
Anyway, I'm pretty sure he hadn't been humbled by Azkaban.
Well, I knew that for some time, but would he go so low as to join his Death Eater companions once again?
The question bubbled in my head all the way back to the Gryffindor Common Room. I finally gathered my wits and turned to my friends of 5 years.
"Do you think Grandfather would join them again?"
Rose, Albus, and Thalia looked at me sympathetically. They knew this question always troubled me. Albus patted my shoulder and said, "Look, mate, I know that he may not be the nicest bloke in the world, but there still might be a reason for him not to go back to his former ties." I smiled at him, appreciating the effort to cheer me up.
"Like what?"
Al frowned. "Stop making it harder for me to cheer you up! Geez, Scorp!" Rose and Thalia laughed.
"Hey, Rose? What did that letter say?" I asked.
Her expression turned uneasy. "Well, it said: 'you were warned. Now we want revenge.' And it was signed with the Dark Mark at the bottom." She shivered, probably remembering it.
"Well, let's not let those Death Eaters ruin our Quidditch next this week!" Thalia said enthusiastically. I chuckled. She was like the cheerleader out of the four of us. 'Course, if I told her that, she'd beat me up.
Albus nodded, instantly cheered up. Either it was her charm at work, or maybe it was because my best mate fancied my other best friend. Rose gave me a knowing smile and I returned it, making it more of a smirk than a smile.
"Alright, guys. Let's go to bed now and hope no more Death Eaters jump out at us tonight." Rose joked.
After we bid each other a good night, the question kept bugging me. Even though he'd been confined to Azkaban for seven years, by the time I fell asleep I was sure that he had no reason he wouldn't join them again.
. . .
Yawning, I got up and stretched. The events of last night were flooding back to me, and the doubt in my stomach was starting to bug me again.
Washing my face, I sighed, trying to shake the feeling of uneasiness. I decided to write my father a letter after lunch; before classes started again. I needed some reassurance, and I usually came to my parents when I thought my worries were too personal. After the war, he had definitely changed. He was still a little hostile sometimes, but he was supportive, kind (at least to me and mum), and maybe even a little fun to be around. When I was younger, I would come to him if something was wrong and we would sit down under a tree in our backyard and he'd suggest ways to fix it. I really miss those days.
When Al and I headed down to the Great Hall, everyone was buzzing about the events from last night. A group of people (mostly her cousins) were crowding around Lily; she was still pale, but at least she didn't look like she had almost been kidnapped. We sat down across from Rose and Thalia, who were sitting as far away from the giant group as possible.
"Did you see this?" Thalia questioned, pushing the Daily Prophet toward Albus and I. I started reading it aloud.
"Death Eaters are Active
"Last night, there was apparently an attack at Hogwarts and Lily Potter, fourteen, daughter of Ginny and Harry Potter, was almost kidnapped. Sources say that they are after the Weasley/Potter family, the reason? We think it is for revenge on the Golden Trio and their family for defeating the Dark Lord. It is also rumoured that they are going to 'pick up from where He left off'; which we may fear is killing Muggle-borns and taking over the wizarding world. But, why now, and not when we were still picking up the pieces? Why now, when we are a strong and confident nation? Some think it is because the Death Eaters were also still patching up from the war. Others think it's because of a clever tactic they're working on. And the rest think it's because they're waiting for the right moment when we least expect the blow.
"'We will stand strong, for our nation and for our children and future generations. We withstood Dark forces once, we will do it again.' Kingsley Shacklebolt, Minister of Magic stated confidently when the news from Minerva Mcgonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts, reached the Ministry.
"'We are going to track down every single Death Eater and once and for all destroy the seeds of Lord Voldemort so that our children will not have to experience what we had to. We will not rest until every single follower of the Dark Lord will be put to justice.' Harry Potter, Head of the Auror Department, told the press this morning.
"Will the defences of the wizarding world keep the Death Eaters out this time? Will the new generation be safe from the scars of our past? Will our children be safe from the darkness that haunts us?
"We will find out soon enough."
I looked up from the paper with a shocked expression, meeting my friends' solemn faces.
"Killing Muggle-borns? Taking over the wizarding world?"
Rose nodded. "That's what Voldemort was doing before Uncle Harry defeated him. He was even planning on taking control of Muggles, even. That's what it said in our History of Magic: A Revised Edition." I nodded, remembering the chapter we had read about a long time ago.
"Well, what should we do?" Asked albus.
Rose sighed. "Apparently nothing. Even though we were definite eyewitnesses, they want us to stay out of this. You read what they wrote. They don't want us to experience what they did, so why should they let us take part in this?" She reasoned, her blue eyes disappointed and her auburn-red curls hanging in her face, causing her to brush them away. She looked like she wanted to do something too, but she knew that we couldn't. She looked so cute when she was disappointed.
What? I thought, confused. Okay, Scorp, get a grip. You may fancy her, but she's your best friend. She thinks of you as nothing more than a brother. You need to move on! Oh, great, you're talking to yourself! Rose will surely find that attractive!
Shaking myself, I zoned back in.
"Look, guys, I think we should just take our minds off this. I mean, who would be thinking about fighting Death Eaters when they're 16?" Thalia asked.
Albus and Rose looked at each other sceptically. "Our parents?"
Thalia looked exasperated. "You know what I mean!"
"You know, I think Thalia has a point. Neither of us is the Chosen One, so we should just worry about normal stuff, like the Quidditch match in 6 days. We shouldn't be stressing about things that we can't do. And besides, Hogwarts is completely safe. And I'm sure no one would betray us." I said, remembering my dad letting Death Eaters into the castle when he was the same age as me, and having the task thrust upon him to kill the Headmaster. Yikes, I guess his sweet 16 wasn't so sweet.
Albus snorted. "Says the guy who isn't being hunted after by maniacs!"
"Scorpius is right. We shouldn't be stressing about things that are none of our business." Rose said, smiling at me and making my stomach do back flips. I smiled back. She was on my side – most of the time – and always supported me. She was sort of my lean-on friend, I guess you could say.
Al rolled his eyes, and said, "Whatever. Come on, we have Potions with Hufflepuff now."
Heading to the dungeons, I kept seeing posters reminding us that the Yule Ball was on Friday, December 18th. My heart pounded, telling me that I had to get a date before my first choice was taken, which was Rose. I felt my stomach twist into knots and my throat constrict. I've known her for six years, and she was my best friend. Yes, Albus was my best mate and Thalia was like my sister. But I was worried that if she turned me down, our friendship would never be the same. But if I didn't gather my courage to do it, I would never know if she liked me or not. Yup, I was stuck between a rock and a Weasley here.
"Okay, class, sit down, sit down." Professor Slughorn told us as we shuffled into the classroom and took our seats.
"Today, we are going to brew Draught of the Living Dead. You're going to find the recipe on page 10 of your Advanced Potion Making textbooks. Now, get going!" He said, snapping his fingers and the classroom bustled with students getting out their cauldrons and collecting the ingredients for the potion.
Quickly getting my knife and cutting up a Sophorous bean, I sneaked a look at Rose. Her brow was furrowed in concentration and her ears were red from the strain from trying to cut the bean. I smiled to myself.
"Need some help, Rose?" I asked.
She shook her head, stubbornly saying, "No, no, I'm fine."
I laughed. "Here. You're supposed to hold the blade like this." I put my hand on her wrist and I felt my face burn. Straightening her knife for her, the warmth of her arm was comforting.
She smiled at me, and her face seemed a little pinker than usual. "Thanks, Scorp. I'd probably fail this subject if it weren't for you."
"No problem, Rose. I'm your personal Potions prodigy." I said, silently cursing myself for the alliteration.
She giggled. I smiled, thinking maybe asking her to the Yule Ball won't be the biggest mistake of my life.
A/N:Hey, y'all! This chapter has some Rose/Scorpius fluff in it, for those who have been dying to read some. Next chapter is the first Quidditch match, told from Al's POV! Until next week!