Gray: Scorpius Malfoy and the Scepter of Night

by Fiery Gray

UNDER EDITING! (IV): Scorpius is back for his Fourth Year and finds himself along with his friends fighting on different fronts with the Ministry's new approach, the resurgence of werewolf prejudice and even estrangement from his family. All the while still fighting to stop the Shadow Master from gathering the pieces of the Scepter, before it's too late. COMPLETE

6. Chapter 6: Snowfall

Parts (31-37)

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IV

Chapter 6

Snowfall

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Part 1: Comfort

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Roman immediately found there was one spot in Quidditch that he fit into easily. Being a Keeper scared him, having to put yourself in the path of people through balls - or Quaffles - at him. Being a Chaser also scared him, it required too much contact and interaction with teammates in passing and the opposing team for getting the ball - or Quaffles - and tackling scared him. Being a Beater also scared him, Bludgers were frightful enough without having to deliberately search for them and besides, Roman could only hit the bat with the strength of a flower stem. Physical strength was not his strong point, he had a small wiry frame and unless growing into adulthood blessed him with a more solid form, it remained not his strong point. But then there were Seekers and Roman could excel, not only that but he enjoyed the feeling of rushing through the air at a high speed to catch it. It started to be that the second he arrived at the Burrow, he'd go straight for the brooms to practice and lose himself in the air.

Naturally his summer was doomed to not be entirely pleasant, he did still have to deal with the Weasleys and he also had to deal with another wedding. A family friend of the Weasleys had announced their surprise engagement in July with the wedding set for August, they hadn't been together that long apparently. In fact it was joked that they were only getting married because Neville had 'knocked her up' and when Roman eventually would know that this meant, the timeline of their eldest daughter's birth left no doubt. They were still forced to attend though. Percy was going, which meant his wife was going, which meant his wife's brother was going. It was born better and worse than Audrey's wedding, better that he didn't have to watch his sister walk down the aisle but worse because it was strange.

The wedding was taking place in an admittedly beautiful garden area but it was somewhere Roman had never been before, that scared him and all the people scared him too. At least he could cling to Audrey now she wasn't required for the wedding, when she didn't complain about his nails stabbing her and throw her off. The mass of strange people - many different to last time - terrified him, his poor heart didn't stop pounding painfully and he couldn't eat for fear of vomiting at the reception because his stomach was tied so tightly in knots because of his nerves. Luna wasn't there either, she couldn't make it. Roman didn't see why he had to be there, he didn't know Neville Longbottom or Hannah Abbott and nor did Audrey even.

Roman was more than glad when it was over, his chest could recover from his heart's beating and his stomach's knots could smooth out. How he missed not feeling consciously anxious. The other unexpected thing about August was his own thirteenth birthday, he despised the day since his parents funeral and only got minimal gifts from Audrey, he was happy with that. But that year was different, Audrey marrying Percy got him mixed up with the Weasleys and he had gifts from every branch of the Weasley tree. These gifts included sweets, books, joke products, his very own - and very decent - broomstick and best of all was Audrey let him keep the family photo since he always went for it. The gifts didn't bother him so much as the attention though, he didn't want his birthday to be celebrated with his parents' death staining it and he absolutely hated being the center of attention with everyone watching him opening them. It scared him so much that his heart was going haywire. Not only that but there was a big Weasley family dinner with a three-tier birthday cake - that would've been terrible for his teeth and health - for him, they all sang him 'Happy Birthday'. It was too much, it was hard enough being around large groups of people without being the focus. He had a panic attack and passed out.

Audrey was furious, said they were trying to be nice to him and he was being ungrateful by ruining it. Roman thought they'd probably done it on purpose because they wanted to upset him, how was terrifying him in any way nice? They never tried to make him feel welcome because they didn't want him around, they didn't want him intruding on their family. But that wasn't the point, it bothered him even more that Audrey had called him ungrateful thus heavily implying he'd panicked on purpose. Did she really think he enjoyed feeling like that? Did she really think it was fun for him to be so anxious and scared? Did she think it was nice feeling unable to breathe? Did she think it was pleasurable to have his heart hurt from beating so forcefully? Did she think it was amusing to pass out? Did she really think he didn't feel completely humiliated and ashamed? She didn't even care, his sister was gone. He hated how he was and he hated who he was, the bullies were right in all the nasty things they said. It became yet another birthday that ended with him crying himself to sleep.

The rest of the summer wasn't so bad, the Weasleys were at least not evil enough to mention him freaking out although they did cut up his cake and he got a slice. He practiced on his broom every chance he got and - not that he'd admit it - read the Quidditch books he'd gotten extensively, even more so than the other ones. Percy also took him and Audrey to see Ginny's match, Roman didn't realize until seeing an actual Quidditch match how the rules really related. Specifically, how the Seeker ended the game in victory, the Seeker was the winner. Roman wanted that. He wanted to be a winner, a victor, to make a difference not to be a worthless loser kicked repeatedly the ground. He decided he'd try out for the Quidditch team in Hogwarts, maybe people would stop being so cruel to him and he could make some friends. Audrey and Percy brought him to the station again, only this time, Percy hugged him goodbye. Were there really no depths that Percy wouldn't sink to in his quest to trick everyone into thinking he wasn't evil? Percy had killed Enas.

He hurried onto the train before Audrey could get the same idea for another long journey with Smokey, talking to dissipate the silence and wishing Smokey could talk back. Third Year started his electives, he loved Study of Ancient Runes but Care of Magical Creatures depended on the creature. He enjoyed taking care of them and like with Smokey he could talk to them like he couldn't with people but then they could be dangerous, sometimes it absolutely terrified him. Best of all though was his success in the tryouts, he beat the other Seekers by miles to secure the spot on the team. The rest of the team didn't like him - Roman didn't like them either - but they were at least civil to him during training, he was both dreading and looking forward his first match.

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"Cool, I can't wait to see my Dad," Nick told him excitedly as they headed down, Michael was still thinking about Bob's death as it started to sink in. He really didn't know how to feel and how had Bob died anyway? "And remember to tell him to give you my broom. Are you even listening to me?"

"Yeah, I was just thinking about Bob," Michael pointed out.

"Good riddance to a horrible bastard," Nick shrugged it off.

"But how did he die? I know he's older than Crystal and Jack, older than Annie even but he still wasn't that old and he didn't seem ill."

"Why does it matter?"

"I don't know, it's just weird," Michael protested and slowly brought his hand up, uncurling his fist to look at the strange stone, "Think I should try talking to him?"

"I've been bugging you to see who else you can summon for weeks and now you want to summon the guy who used to hit you?" Nick wondered incredulously.

"Yes, I just... I need to know," Michael said and started turning the stone before he lost his nerve, thinking of Bob but nothing happened. Nick remained standing there ogling him as if he'd gone mad but there was no Bob, "It didn't work."

"Maybe you need to vanish me first?" Nick guessed.

Michael nodded and let go of the stone, Nick vanished in an instant and remained gone when Michael snatched it back up before it could touch the ground. He tried turning it over again, thinking of Bob again but still nothing. It tried it a few more times and still got the same result. What did that mean? Was it something that he was doing wrong or something that was wrong with Bob? Was he unable to summon muggles? Or was Bob just not dead? Or because he and Bob didn't like each other? Or worse, could Bob have lost his soul along with his life? Or was it just the stone not liking him to summon more than one person? He turned the stone over again, this time thinking of Nick once more and his friend returned.

"Didn't work," Michael told him, becoming very aware and started continuing on Longbottom's office.

"Can't I say it bothers me that it didn't," Nick shrugged, "Although I do hope it only doesn't work for him."

"I guess," Michael muttered as they reached the office, the door was already open and the conversation loud enough to be heard as it was happening in the doorway.

"August, within these walls I am your professor not your father," Longbottom barked unusually coldly, he practically pushed little August out the door, "If you come to see me then it should be for a school-related purpose and not for something as silly as just to spend time together. If you want to speak to a parent, write home to your mother. If that's all then I'll see you for the next class on Monday, have a pleasant weekend."

"Yes, Professor," August muttered as he turned away, fighting back tears as he hung his head and headed off past them.

"Hey Aug, don't listen to him. He doesn't mean it, he's just in an upset and jerkish mood apparently," Nick offered consolingly to his younger brother, reaching out his hand to touch him. His hand went right through and August walked on oblivious that any such event had occurred, Nick's face fell slowly. Longbottom looked stoic but his eyes were sad.

"Ah, Michael, you're here," Longbottom said as he noticed him for the first time, "Come in."

Michael followed the professor into the office with Nick, it was decent sized with a magnificent sword that was just dumped in the corner. There were a lot of plant pots around, a planter lined the window, several on the desk and others dotted around but every single one had no plant. They were either empty completely or only filled with soil, it was possible that whatever they were hadn't sprouted yet but Michael thought it was more that Longbottom just couldn't be bothered to take care of office plants, he'd lost his enthusiasm for Herbology in class. There were family pictures on the desk, featuring all of the Longbottom children and their mother. Longbottom sat in his chair and picked up a particular one, one of Nick and glanced at it miserably before replacing as Michael sat down opposite. Longbottom took a deep a breath.

"Don't be sad, Dad," Nick sighed sadly, "I don't want you to be sad."

"So, I think you know why I wanted to speak to you," Longbottom began while Nick began wandering round his father's office unnoticed.

"Yes," Michael nodded and Nick stopped, "Something about my grades."

"Tell him," Nick pleaded but Michael hesitated, knowing he'd look completely mad and seem rude, "Tell him that I don't want him to be sad."

"Yes. You're working well below the level you were at for the end of last year," Longbottom continued solemnly, "You put little effort into lessons and rarely hand in work, the only exception is Defense Against the Dark Arts and even then, you don't try with the Patronus lessons anymore. I understand that it can be hard for you with reading and writing, also that you miss out with the full moon now but it's more than that. You always tried before, even when it was illegible and you're by no means stupid. You should be doing better than this, I get the impression that you've just given up trying."

"Michael, tell him," Nick begged desperately, "Tell him that I don't want him to be sad, please!"

"Nick doesn't want you to be sad," Michael blurted out and Longbottom's eyes widened so fast that they looked about to pop out of his skull, "I mean... He wouldn't, he wouldn't want you to be sad. That's what he'd say if he was here right now."

"That's really none of your business," Longbottom said curtly when he'd recovered.

"I don't blame you," Nick prompted, "For my death, I don't blame you."

"Nick doesn't blame you for his death," Michael reiterated and the professor was again taken aback.

"And I don't want you to be so sad and hung up on it."

"And he wouldn't want you to be so sad and hung up on it."

"I love you and I hate seeing you like this," Nick continued and gestured to the room, looking visible upset, "Your beloved plants are all gone, the sword you were so proud of is discarded like it was nothing and snapping at August like that? That's not you. I want you to be happy."

"He'd hate seeing you like this with your plants gone and sword on the ground, snapping at your son... That's not you, Nick would want you to be yourself again. He loves you, he wants you to be happy."

"I-I-Wh-No," Longbottom stammered out, not seeming to have a clue what to say or how to react to Michael's sudden conversation change. Michael didn't blame him, if he stopped to think how he looked right now instead of focusing on feeling obligated to pass on Nick's words, he'd be pretty awkward too. The professor was looking somewhere between confused and upset.

"I know these things, we were friends, we were close before he..." Michael half-lied to explain his knowledge and give it some credibility, he wanted Longbottom to have some closure and be happier again too. He couldn't finish the sentence though, it wasn't true anymore, Nick was alive with the stone, "I know he would feel this way."

"I was so awful to him," Longbottom whispered as he closed his eyes.

"And I wasn't?" Nick scoffed, "I was pretty awful too, it's a two way street. I think we both did and said things that we regret."

"Nick was just as bad with you," Michael offered and the professor opening his now-watery eyes, "He thought that you both did things that you regret."

"I'm sorry I didn't try to make it up with you, sometimes I wonder if I had then if you would've been able to realize that I was under the effects of that spell."

"He's sorry that he didn't try to make up with you, he sometimes wonders if he had then it might've made a difference."

"But I was too stubborn. I regret it. It seems so stupid now compared to everything else. I forgive you."

"He regrets it, he feels like he was being stubborn. He thinks it seems stupid compared to everything else now. You're forgiven."

"I-I tried to tell you that," Nick admitted hesitantly, "When... When I was bleeding out but I couldn't... I couldn't speak."

"He tried to tell you that when he was... dying but he couldn't speak," Michael recounted without thinking but it was too much for the professor.

"Michael, stop, please stop. It's... It's hard for me..." Longbottom admitted as he hung his head, his shoulder starting to shake from silent sobs, "I-I failed him..."

"No, Dad, you didn't," Nick protested, desperation and frustration playing on his face at struggling to get his words across.

An idea occurred to Michael at that point, he reached out to the professor's hands resting on the desk between them. His heart started beating faster as he hoped it would work, considering his previous failure especially but success was worth the risks of failure. He took the professor's hands gently and strategically placed the stone so both had contact with it, he turned it over a few times and hoped. Longbottom looked up, his face now streaked with streams of tears.

"You didn't fail Nick," Michael told him firmly.

"If anything I felt comforted in the end, y'know?" Nick continued quietly, his own eyes watering, "If anything, I felt comforted. It reminded me of back in First Year when I was scared how you'd react to me being in Slytherin, same place outside the Great Hall too. I started crying but you just hugged me, set me straight. I felt comforted then and comforted when I died, it was... it was nice to have something good to cling to through the pain."

"You made him feel comforted in the end," Michael recounted, not sure whether Longbottom could see or hear Nick or not, "It reminded him of the time in First Year, he was scared of how you'd react to him being in Slytherin. Outside the Great Hall too, he started crying but you hugged him and set him straight. It comforted him, it's nice to have something good to cling to through the pain."

"I tried to hold on, I really did but... but I couldn't," Nick admitted, choking on the words, "I just couldn't. I'm sorry."

"He tried to hold on but he couldn't, he's sorry."

"But you need to stop blaming yourself, blame Florian because it's his fault. It's all his fault. I don't blame you and I don't want you to blame yourself either, you still have a life. I want you to be happy."

"You need to stop blaming yourself, Nick wouldn't blame you and he wouldn't want you to blame yourself either. Blame Florian, it's his fault. It's all his fault. You still have a life though, Nick would want you to be happy."

"I love you, Dad."

"He-"

"I love you too, Nick," Longbottom breathed.

"And give Michael my broom, it matters to me," Nick commented and Michael jerked his hands - thus also removing the stone - from Longbottom in surprise, he immediately buried his face in his hands while Michael glanced at Nick, "What? It does matter to me and you're hardly going to say it. Think my Dad could do with a less heavy change of subject. Do you think he'll have some closure when he calms down now? I want him to have some closure.

"I should go," Michael muttered as he stood, realizing that the professor probably did need to be alone. Longbottom didn't object, it was only as he opened the door that the professor spoke again.

"Th-Thank you," Longbottom croaked and Michael glanced back to see the professor raise his head slightly, "How did you do that?"

"Do what?" Michael whispered, afraid if he elaborated on the stone then he'd lose it and Nick would be dead.

Longbottom said nothing else and Michael left, closing the door behind him to give the professor some privacy. He breathed a heavy sigh of relief that it was over and hoped Nick's words would give Longbottom some closure, he glanced at Nick who was looking very introspective.

"You okay?" Michael asked of him.

"Yeah," Nick nodded as he was jolted from his thoughts, a familiar ghost of a smirk appeared on his face, "I was just thinking though, you are really good at distracting people from mentioning your decline in schoolwork."

"I think you're having a bad influence on me!" Michael laughed as he started walking with Nick who also laughed, even though he had actually completely forgotten about the reason that Longbottom had wanted to speak to him until Nick mentioned it.

"I just want to be alone for a bit though, if that's okay?" Nick said after the laughter faded.

Michael deposited the stone in his pocket immediately, Nick vanished and he was left standing alone in the corridor. He picked up the stone again to hold but didn't turn it to summon Nick, he sighed heavily as he started walking again. He felt very alone these days, even when he wasn't. He was tempted to go find Mirra, she always helped take his mind off things but recalled that Scorpius was telling the other things. He started off towards the Room That Doesn't Exist, Scorpius had probably taken them there after all. That was why he had to try in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Maurice was right and the dog tags around his neck were appropriate. He was a soldier, he'd have to fight the Soul Eaters again whether he wanted to or not. It was only a matter of time, it'd kill him one day but until then it was his responsibility to fight.

But at the moment, figuring out about what was happening with poor Ashain was higher priority. He couldn't believe Scorpius hadn't told him sooner, he could've told him about seeing Ashain on the map and they could've gone to confront it together instead of Scorpius only going alone on nights of the full moon. He supposed Scorpius had either been too embarrassed or simply didn't find him trustworthy anymore, Michael didn't blame him either way. He reached the Room That Doesn't Exist, circled a few times and thought of them meeting. The door appeared obediently and he went inside, to find himself in a much grander space then he was used to, he wondered why Scorpius had chosen such a thing. Scorpius was addressing Abby, Albus, Maurice, Orous and Vern but stopped mid-sentence when he got there.

"How'd it go?" Scorpius asked with concern.

"Didn't get in trouble because Hogwarts is not prejudiced against werewolves apparently," Michael explained, "What'd I miss?"

"Pretty much done," Scorpius admitted and scratched his head uncomfortably, "So um... that's it. Any thoughts?"

"I have a thought," Albus spoke up eagerly as if bursting to add something, "I was just thinking, you said that the Scepter used to be a Horcrux of that Herpo guy?"

"Yeah but Pancratius and Ashylos beat him."

"Or did they?" Albus wondered mysteriously before elaborating, "In my Mum's First Year of Hogwarts was the whole Basilisk thing that I told you about but what I didn't say is that the Diary that was controlling her, that was a Horcrux. Voldemort split his soul up into the different Horcruxes, one of them was the Diary that possessed Mum to make her do things for him. What if this possession has nothing to do with the Specters and is Ashain being controlled by Herpo's Horcrux? Either those two guys screwed or he had another piece of his soul in the Scepter or something. It's plausible, right?"

"It would explain why he casually slips Ancient Greece into conversations," Maurice agreed thoughtfully, "And why he's only possessing Ashain at night, if not to draw suspicion to himself then it could be because he simply isn't strong enough to take over his waking mind. Horcruxes are parasitic, to reform they need the life of another and they can gradually sap that life force away but it takes time, months. Hanging around the entrance could have less to do with trying to steal it and more to do with just trying to be as close to Horcrux item as possible to regain strength faster."

"How do you know so much about Horcruxes?" Orous asked with a look of concern for his brother.

"We're taught about them in my first school, I have a book on them even."

"Why does that not surprise me?" Albus muttered, looking very disturbed that Maurice decided to ignore.

"Which is why I also think that it's probably not a Horcrux, Horcruxes require some connection to the victim. For example Albus' mother stupidly confiding in the diary or wearing one as a necklace constantly, interacting with it. As far as we know, Ashain's had contact with it maybe twice so it's unusual that Herpo's soul could've latched onto him already. What I find most confusing however is why they just stand outside the Chamber, even if there are other enchantments. Going inside would better investigate how to get past them if not to simply get past them, it's more productive than standing outside like an idiot."

"Maybe they can't get inside," Vern offered.

"But they should be. The Shadow Master either is or has someone on their side who's a Parselmouth and Herpo the Foul is noted for being one of the earliest known Parselmouths, meaning either option can access the Chamber anytime. What's the hold up? Personally I think it's neither, just a powerful and talented Legillimens - probably Greek or studied Ancient Greek deeply - who is after the Scepter for their own reasons with nothing to do with the Shadows or the past."

"Here's a crazy thought," Abby spoke up, "But has anyone thought of, I don't know, telling an adult? They could help us and Ashain, the guy's life could be in danger."

"I tried and your father didn't believe me," Scorpius insisted as he crossed his arms, "He'd never believe me again without proof and we have none, besides no one's trustworthy here. Except Professor Ashain but we can't tell him in case the possessor is listening and can hurt him or something, or Calderon and he's not here right now."

"My father is trustworthy, Hagrid is."

"Your father didn't believe me already and Hagrid wouldn't be any help, he might not even know about the Scepter. Even if he does know, his area of expertise is magical creatures not possession."

"Fair enough," Orous admitted, "It's lunch time now though, try ask Latimer for anything he found out about possession and we'll wrack our own brains in the meantime."

"Good plan, saving the universe has me starved!" Albus announced happily, practically bouncing up and down in excitement.

"Saving the universe is a bit of an exaggeration," Abby pointed out as the others started to leave, Michael hanging back with Scorpius.

"C'mon, let me have it. I feel good for once, my Dad would be proud for the first time ever," Albus was saying as he left, "Maybe he'll even pay more attention to me when we save the world and he finds out finally."

"Good luck with that," Michael muttered hopelessly as he folded his arms, Jack had never written back to him after his first message and Bob was now dead. Fathers were awful, "So what did you tell them in the end?"

"About the map, everything about Ashain and the Scepter except I didn't elaborate how I contacted Varanian," Scorpius explained after everyone else was gone, "I talked about the things in the first three years too but not in as much detail."

"Where's Rose, Corin, Molly and Latimer?"

"Rose and Corin didn't want to know, Molly and Latimer were unavailable. I'll tell Latimer when he tells me about anything he found on possession, I want to give Molly more detail so I'd do that separately too."

"Okay," Michael nodded and started to leave with Scorpius.

"You alright?" Scorpius asked worriedly, "You look thoughtful. You really didn't get in trouble?"

"I really didn't, Elwood wouldn't punish me because I'm a werewolf," Michael shrugged it off and decided to open up a little, "Bob's dead."

"Good," Scorpius said immediately and Michael blinked in surprise.

"Good?"

"He was evil and he hurt you, he deserved to die. Aren't you pleased?"

"No. I just was think th-"

"Well don't think," Scorpius interrupted firmly, "He's dead and gone, that bastard is finally out of your life forever. Be relieved. Don't give that monster the time of day, he doesn't deserve it."

Michael merely nodded unhappily and continued on with Scorpius, he just thought it was weird that was all. He supposed he couldn't elaborate why without mentioning the stone, Scorpius had better things to do then think on the stone. They didn't come up with anything else on the stone, or think of anything to do except research until Ashain started going to the bathroom again. He didn't that night.

Michael had a thought though, as he was lying in bed later that night and failing to summon Bob after more attempts to find out what happened. It occurred to him that the stone could be of use, maybe he could summon Herpo the Foul and simply ask him if he was trying to live again using Ashain. He turned it over in his hand three times, thinking of the Ancient and dead Herpo the Foul but nothing happened. He supposed splitting your soul may affect summoning what was essentially your soul, instead he tried thinking of Pancratius who had killed Herpo originally. Again he got nothing, Scorpius had said something about Pancratius' soul being destroyed killing Herpo so maybe that was why again. So he tried thinking of Ashylos, the Avisora who'd killed the Basilisk and Horcrux but still got nothing. Michael sighed and shoved the stone under his pillow, maybe it was just for people he'd known after all. Then why couldn't he summon Bob?

---

Part 2: Snowmen

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Scorpius actually felt relieved to have told his friends and it did help boom the ideas front, Rose seemed sulky with them for the next few days while Corin seemed indifferent and still upset about Abby breaking up with him. He felt closer to his friends as well now that he wasn't keeping such major information from them, maybe it was just him but being united in that knowledge made him feel that they were closer somehow. And Albus was much happier. The new counselling session times were also up and miraculously, Professor Longbottom had finally stopped giving them book work. It still wasn't quite the same as before but the professor was trying, he hadn't realized how much he missed a good Herbology lesson. He got to talk to Latimer that weekend.

"There's not a lot on possession to be honest," Latimer said, "There's nothing on Specter possession but obviously that's a thing. The main way is using Legilimancy to control the victim but that doesn't tend to be long term, the host is naturally going to fight because it hurts them even if they're asleep. Keeping control requires a lot of practice and skill, as well as being constantly vigilant. The Imperius Curse is actually a much milder form of possession and easier to do, it requires less constant watching the victim too. It also mentioned something to do with a 'Horcrux' and possession but anything other than vague mentions is gone, someone must have removed books on it from the Library at some point so it's probably some pretty dark magic."

"And that's it?" Scorpius wondered, somehow surprised that there weren't more magical ways to possess people.

"Pretty much. There are some mentions of objects rumored to possess people but it doesn't elaborate except sometimes to say something about Horcrux objects. So why did you want to know this stuff anyway?" Latimer wondered with a raised eyebrow, Scorpius took him to the Room That Doesn't Exist - much to Latimer's amazement - and told him everything that he'd told the others. Unlike them however, Latimer looked confused, "Are you sure about Ashain?"

"Of course," Scorpius protested and Latimer scratched his chin.

"It's just that pretty much everything mentions a strain of the victim's health if they're being possessed, except for the Imperius Curse but it can't be that because it would've been the first thing checked for if they thought there was anything with Ashain. They have a spell now to recognize the Curse if the person is currently under the influence of it. But my point is that Ashain doesn't seem unhealthy, not weak or pale or tired or stressed or anything."

That was something that Maurice had also mentioned, Professor Ashain showed no sign of being under any kind of physical strain. He seemed perfectly healthy, he was energetic and still had incredibly good reflexes and agility. He looked refreshed not tired every day and wasn't pale, if anything he looked like he was starting to get a tan despite the cold weather and the first snowfall arriving with the second week of November even. He was in such good health that he actually looked younger, he was in his mid-forties but could easily pass for someone in their early thirties or late twenties. Scorpius supposed they should take it as a good sign that Professor Ashain was hanging in there, his possessor was still being cautious and not going to the Chamber entrance despite Michael, Scorpius and Albus taking it in turns keeping an eye out.

That second week of November, he also penned the letter to Varanian to inform him about Professor Ashain's possession and interest in the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. He used the spell to scramble the message again, then he just needed Cassia. Michael checked with the map - it was very useful for finding people - and found when she was alone outside, quite near the forest actually. They headed out and saw she was making a snowman, Scorpius felt his heart twist as he recalled doing that in the past. Such an innocent and childish thing to do. She was just finishing up when they got there, it was quite good actually for a six-year-old. She'd done it with three balls for height - barely managing to reach to get the head up - with shoes at its feet, sticks for its arms, stones for its facial features.

"Awesome snowman. You should use a carrot for the nose," Scorpius offered, "It'd stand out more."

"A carrot doesn't look as real," Cassia complained as she stepped back to admire her snowman.

"Snowmen don't need to look realistic."

"Mine does."

"Well it's very nice," Michael complimented as the girl smiled, walking further back from the snowman and they followed.

"I need your help again to deliver a message with a non-owl bird," Scorpius decided to just cut to the chase, "Please, I'd be very thankful if you could."

"Okay, just a minute," Cassia agreed before she made a bird call sound with her mouth and immediately there was a flapping of wings as birds flocked from the forest, she cawed again and again, each time louder to gain more birds that swarmed around them.

"What are you doing?" Michael wondered worriedly, Cassia smiled again.

"You'll see, step back now. Behind me."

Scorpius exchanged a confused look with Michael before obeying. Cassia threw her arms up into the air and screeched like a bird before throwing her right arm outwards to point at the snowman, immediately the birds shot towards it. Cawing as they fiercely attacked the snowman, tearing the stone eyes from its face, snapping at its stick-arms until they broke apart. They jabbed and stabbed their knifelike beaks at the poor lump of snow, others went after the feet and others pecked at the join between the head and torso snow balls until the head fell off. Cassia called again, throwing up her arms and the swarm of birds abandoned the snowman. Or what had once been a snowman, it was now an unrecognizable wedge of snow all misshapen and buried in holes.

"Erm... What... What did the snowman do on you?" Michael asked, looking even more worried while Cassia looked very proud of herself.

"Doing what Maurice said and practicinger my gift to get better so I can fighter the bad guys acause I is a soldier like my Daddy," Cassia explained as if it were obvious, she was smiling though as she cawed again and threw up her arms. The flock of birds soared back into the forest, she made another bird-like squeak and one lone raven flew to land on her shoulder while the others dispersed until the forest was silent again, "Pretty neat, huh?"

"Err... Sure," Scorpius agreed although felt somewhat saddened, Cassia was six. She really shouldn't be thinking, focusing or worrying about the war.

"So where's the letter?" Cassia asked cheerfully and Scorpius held it up, Cassia cawed again and the bird snatched it from Scorpius' hand.

"Do you remember the address?"

"Yes. I is not stupid," Cassia insisted as she stroked the bird, twittering again like a bird and the raven took off, "All done. See, I can be userful. I is messanging Varanian."

"How- What makes you think it's Varanian?" Scorpius asked in surprise, Cassia gave him a very sly smile.

"I told you I is not stupid, I've seen the photos of him and the birds tolded me that he looks just like that. Daddy thinks he is innocent though and I trusted you so I is help," Cassia explained simply before starting to walk back to the castle, offering a hand in a wave, "See you, I is going inside now acuse I is cold."

"Bye," Scorpius and Michael muttered in unison as they held up their hands too. Scorpius watched the little girl go, all bundled up in a thick pink muggle coat with white flowers, red knitted gloves with ladybugs on and a purple bobble hat. Not who you'd think would command a flock of birds to viciously attack a snowman for a training exercise, Scorpius sighed.

"Is it just me or are kids growing up fast these days?"

Scorpius also got the chance to talk to Molly that week, amidst the rigorous training schedule because of the match that weekend, Freddie had been more paranoid than usual too over his girlfriend's health in the bad weather. He always hung back to spend time with her as they packed up the Quidditch things, in fact he usually went slowly so they'd have more time to talk except an annoying day when Molly had had to go to her next counselling session since the next times and dates were now up, Scorpius was still the final week of that rotation although not on the last day at least. He was actually starting to feel guilty for not spending time with Molly with everything.

"I wanted to talk to you about something," Scorpius began but was cut off.

"I'm sorry I haven't been spending much time with you," Molly apologized looking guilty as he was about to vocalize essentially the same thing, "It's just the awkward way these NEWTs work, you have less classes a day and free spaces but classes also carry on longer into the day. The times I do have free that you also have free, is usually the only time for a Quidditch practice session."

"It's okay, I understand," Scorpius told her before something occurred to him as she finished putting the equipment back away, "Why does Mirra have so much free time? She's with Michael a lot."

"I'm taking almost double the subjects she is so naturally she has more time. Even Latimer, he takes six but Astronomy's only at night so he does have more free time in the day," Molly explained and rubbed her beautiful sky blue eyes, shadowed with tiredness, "Want my advice? Don't take lots of NEWTs, be a prefect and have Captainship of Quidditch if you can help it."

"I'll do my best to be an underachiever," Scorpius joked and Molly laughed as he intertwined her fingers in his as they started heading back to the castle.

"We could try arranging something at the weekends to spend more time together, depending on the study workload and when I can't book the pitch. Ravenclaw's really hitting the pitch the hard and it's not even their match for a fortnight after ours."

"It doesn't need to be not studying as well, I have friends the year below and we can still hang out while we work on different subjects in the Library. That way we'd know when we're both done and could go hang out a lone. Or meals, you could just sit with us."

"I usually sit with Latimer though, if I didn't then he'd just be stuck alone. He stuck by me when I had no one, I can't just ditch him."

"Latimer could sit with us," Scorpius pointed out and Molly's expression wavered, "What?"

"It's just... Well... You usually sit with your friends which includes Rose."

"You don't like Rose?"

"I don't have a problem sitting with Rose, its Latimer. She's always so mean to him, it's not nice," Molly explained and Scorpius felt an odd twang of annoyance at Rose for costing him time with his girlfriend over something as trivial as Latimer's appearance. He did see Molly's point, he didn't like when Rose insulted Latimer or Michael either, "Not that he'd admit anything like that bothers him, he just makes an excuse to go off alone to his dormitory."

"What about if I talked to Rose?" Scorpius offered and Molly chuckled slightly.

"Have you met Rose? You'd have more luck convincing that odd-looking lump of snow."

"Ah, that odd-looking lump of snow would be the remains of Cassia's snowman. She used it as target practice for her attacking birds."

"I miss that," Molly sighed before blushing, "Y'know, the snowman-making part not the attack parts. That's just... She's an unusual child."

"Why don't you make one then?"

"I'm too old to be making snowmen."

"Nonsense!" Scorpius protested and stopped, "C'mon, let's make a snowman. If I can do it then you can."

Molly laughed, apparently not thinking he was serious but he was. If his girlfriend wanted to make a snowman, his girlfriend was going to make a snowman. He started rolling up the snow and she started helping him then, it was fun actually. The nostalgia of non-painful childhood memories with the present enjoyment of building it with his girlfriend, it was relaxing actually. Swapping stories of past snowmen, winters and Christmases while laughing that their own snowman didn't look much better than ones they'd made as children. They finished it though, Scorpius even searched for the most carrot-shaped stick he could find to use for its nose. It had started snowing again by the time they were finished, they stepped back to admire the somewhat lopsided snowman.

"See? Not too old," Scorpius grinned, liking seeing Molly smile.

"Maybe."

"Anything else you haven't done in a while or do you want to go inside now?"

"Well... Been awhile since I had a good snowball fight..."

"Now that we are too old for," Scorpius pointed out, not sure if it was really proper to throw lumps of snow at your girlfriend. He started to head back, only to feel something cold and wet collide against him. He turned back in surprise to see Molly laughing at having thrown the snowball.

"You can't say one then not the other!"

"Is that so?" Scorpius wondered as he scooped up a handful of snow, balling it up and throwing it at her. Deciding it must be okay if she had done it, it struck her in the chest and it must have caught her off balance because she fell onto her bum. No longer laughing, he crossed the distance between them in panic, "I'm so sorry, are you okay? I'm really sorry."

"Yeah, I'm just..." Molly stopped mid-sentence as a snowball struck him in the face, Molly laughed again, "Gee, Scor, you suck at this!"

Scorpius laughed, relaxing that it was okay and tried to grab another snowball but Molly hit him with another before he was done that caught him off balance and knocked him down. Now more even, he started hurling snowballs at her and she jumped up to run. He ran after her and it descended into a chase around the snowman with snowballs, he'd chase her until he ran out and then she'd get some and chase him. He was laughing so hard that he could barely see, especially through the falling snow and he knew Molly was the same. After a few minutes he paused, breathless from the exertion especially after the Quidditch practice, a well-placed snowball knocked him to the ground but he pulled Molly down with him.

It wasn't so much a snowball fight then but a snow fight, throwing random handfuls of snow and batting at it each other like it was water they were splashing. She was breathless too and their strength was sapping as they calmed, instead he pulled her too him and pressed his lips against hers. He didn't realize how cold he was until he did that, her lips were the only thing warm touching his snow-dampened body like a ray of sunlight. He caressed one of her cheeks without breaking the kiss, feeling her skin was also chilled to the touch from the weather. She encircled her arms against him and pushed her lips harder against his with more passion, the unintended side effect was that he lost his balance and fell to his back.

Somehow they didn't break the kiss though, he wrapped his arms around her to pull her body closer as their lips remained locked as if they were born to perfectly fit together. They only broke apart to breathe, he looked up at her and noticed the snowflakes standing out against her fiery curly hair. He brushed the hair from her face and leaned up to kiss her again as she leaned down, she must have been at an awkward angle before she fell off him and pulled him with her. They tumbled down the slope that Scorpius hadn't realized they'd been on, this time landing on top of her. They started to laugh until he realized they were right by the lake... He practically leaped to his feet in one fluid motion in panic before helping a slightly bemused Molly to her feet.

"You're really that scared of water?" Molly wondered and Scorpius realized he was eying the water darkly.

"Not scared," Scorpius insisted, "I just... don't like it."

"Right. Want to go inside now then?"

"Okay," Scorpius nodded and his found hers as they headed back to the castle, happy memories now dogging his thoughts. Maybe he didn't spend as much time with her as Michael did with Mirra and they hadn't snogged but that didn't mean he was doing anything wrong... Right? They'd had a fun afternoon, they were still good... Weren't they? "So if I talk to Rose then will you get Latimer to sit with us and you at meals?"

"Alright," Molly sighed, "We can give it a shot."

"Good," Scorpius smiled with relief.

"Was that what you wanted to me about?"

"No," Scorpius admitted and realized it had completely slipped his mind, bringing them to a stop. On one hand he was glad he could take his mind of his worries sometimes but on another, he cursed his stupidity, "I wanted to tell you that I decided about your request, when you asked if I could fill you in on everything. I thought about it... And I will tell you."

"Okay," Molly nodded with a more serious expression than she'd had since before practice ended, "How about tomorrow after practice? I kind of just want to get out of these wet clothes and curl up in front of the fire right now."

"I'll join you," Scorpius said, also feeling relieved that he wouldn't have to taint his good day with all the dark stuff he'd be telling her. Would she even want to date him after he told her everything? She squeezed his hand and smiled again as they continued on.

"What happened to you too?" Latimer wondered curiously as they passed him, looking like he was going to the Owlrey as he held a letter addressed to Austin in his hand.

"Playing in the snow."

"Might as well enjoy it because that snow is going to be hell to play in on Saturday," Latimer offered playfully.

"Thanks for that," Molly chided him.

"You're welcome," Latimer smirked as he left.

It was still a good day though, after changing they returned to the Common Room and cuddled up on the couch in front of the fire. They just talked comfortably together and lamenting the homework they were neglecting. Latimer did have a point about the weather though, the snow blanketed the grounds all over again and if it kept up, it would be bad for the match. Scorpius wished he'd be out there in it instead of just everyone else. He took Molly to the Room That Doesn't Exist after and told her - like he had with Michael two years before - everything, talking about his involvement with the Shadows, his alliance Varanian and even about his abduction and killing Marvin as well as everything new with Professor Ashain's possession. Molly listened patiently, quietly and neutrally.

"Well?" Scorpius wondered nervously, Molly just looked at him for a minute before hugging him tightly, "Erm... You okay?"

"After everything you've been through, I thought you could do with a hug," Molly pointed out and he relaxed immediately, holding onto her for a minute in silent comfort before they pulled apart, "And I really have nothing about Ashain, I have no idea. But I could try asking my Dad for information about possession, even the Horcrux kind. He's eats knowledge for breakfast."

"Really think he'd tell you about this super dark, bad magic?"

"He likes telling things he knows and besides, if I phrase it like it's anything to do with my grades then he'd tell me anything," Molly smiled at him through her tiredness, "Thanks for trusting me."

"Thanks for standing by me," Scorpius admitted and kissed her gently. Despite everything, he was do glad that he had her.

It was Friday by that point. The next day marked Saturday, the very first Gryffindor versus Slytherin match of his Hogwarts time that Scorpius wouldn't be a part of. Molly had told him she forgave him for getting in trouble and banned from the first match already but he was still bothered to be missing the match.

"What do you mean be nice to him? How am I not nice to that ugly freak?" Rose demanded when Scorpius mentioned being nice to Latimer at breakfast on Saturday before the match, his nerves about opening up to Molly had made it slip his mind until he'd recalled that Molly had agreed to sit with the that day.

"Well unless we've slipped into an alternate dimension," Albus commented, "Ugly freak is still not nice."

"But he is, he's hideous. I don't know how Molly can stand to be friends with him, or you for that matter. He's so ugly. It's not mean, he has to have realized that he's ugly by now or he's stupid too. Boy's bathrooms have mirrors too, right?"

"Try being human for once," Maurice pointed out and Rose threw him a murderous look that he failed to react to with his neutral expression, which only made her look angrier.

"I am human! I'm a nice person! I just don't get why I should have to be near someone so ugly who I hate."

"There's no reason to keep pointing it out," Michael insisted with a frustrated look her way, for once he hadn't vomited before the match although he hadn't eaten still, "There's more to people than looks anyway, geez."

"What am I supposed to say to him if I can't mention how looking at him makes me want to vomit?" Rose asked acidly, clearly annoyed at them for bringing it up, "Since you people all decided to gang up on me."

"You could try 'hi, Latimer'," Scorpius prompted as he noticed the two approach, "Or just say nothing to him."

"Hi, Latimer," Rose said with exaggeration and false cheerfulness before looking at him Scorpius as if demanding whether that was good enough, Latimer looked at her as if expecting more before sitting when she didn't exaggerate. Scorpius felt like slapping his hand to his face.

"Good luck with the game today," Abby offered to the both of them as they started to eat, "You'll need it with this weather."

"Freddie, please. It's my final year, I want to do this," Caitlin was saying to Freddie anxiously as the couple approached Molly, Freddie looked determined though.

"Molly, you can't let her play," Freddie demanded - not for the first time - and Molly rolled her eyes, also not for the first time, "Nott can be vicious and it's a real match, Beaters are going to be at it much harder than in practice and it's snowing horrendously out there, its fucking freezing. It's no condition for Caitlin."

"Do you want to fly, Caitlin?" Molly asked of the girl after swallowing the mouthful of bacon that she'd tried to start on when she sat.

"Yes," Caitlin insisted firmly, "I assure you, I'm perfectly fine to play and I can do it well."

"Sorry, Freddie, she's in."

"I'm your cousin-"

"I'm not banning a good player for no reason," Molly interrupted her cousin with a look of exasperation, "How many times do I have to tell you?"

"Fine," Freddie said through gritted teeth, standing unmoving for a moment with a stoic expression before speaking again, "Come with me then and I'll give you the bloody reason."

"Freddie, please!" Caitlin exclaimed looking afraid.

"I'm trying to eat," Molly sighed, "I'm kinda hungr-"

"Molly, this is important," Freddie interjected, sounding infinitely more serious than Scorpius had ever heard him before. Molly looked unhappy as she stood to go with them.

"Don't let Al eat my bacon."

"Okay," Scorpius agreed as Molly left with the couple, Caitlin still trying to plead with Freddie.

"What's all that about?" Rose wondered nosily.

"I have my suspicions," Latimer commented disinterestedly as he nibbled at his food. Rose looked at him for a minute, the rest of them falling silent to wait for him to elaborate but he didn't.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Aren't you going to tell us?"

"Tell you what?"

"You suspicions!"

"My suspicions about what?"

"Latimer!" Rose shrieked in frustration and Latimer chuckled.

"No, I'm not," Latimer told her when she opened her mouth again, "It's none of my business and its none of yours. If I'm right, you'll find out soon enough anyway. In the meantime, it's their business alone.

"You just don't know," Rose complained as she folded her arms crossly, Latimer shrugged uncaring of her opinion on the matter.

"Dad," Abby said in surprise and they turned to see Professor Longbottom was just at them.

"Professor Longbottom in Hogwarts," Professor Longbottom grumbled under his breath but his eyes drifted to Michael, he spoke up louder, "Can I speak to you for a minute, Michael?"

"Erm... Okay," Michael agreed somewhat nervously and left with the professor.

"What's all that about?" Rose asked about the new mystery while Abby looked disheartened with her father's reaction, looking at Latimer as if expecting an answer but he appeared as clueless as the rest of them, "Latimer?"

"What? I don't know what Longbottom wants with him," Latimer pointed out with a scowl, "Why would I know that? I hope he's not banning Michael from the match though, if he gets banned and Freddie gets his way about Caitlin then I'll be the only non-Weasley on the team. Unless you count Lily but she's related to you through her Mum."

"Yep. I wish I was on the team. I'd give anything," Albus admitted wistfully and Latimer looked at him oddly for a minute before scowling, Albus' hand strayed to Molly's bacon and Scorpius slapped his hand away. Albus frowned.

"You really want to be on the team that badly?"

"Yes."

"Then you need to make some changes, want some advice?"

"Yes," Albus agreed desperately.

"You need to practice. Practice, practice, practice like you were before the tryouts and you mentioned doing over the summer. So what if the tryouts aren't for another year? You need to practice if you want to get good enough to replace me, if you can't out-fly a one-footed freak then you'll never make it," Latimer told him seriously as he sat back, Albus was hanging off every word, "You let Michael use your broom but you need to use it yourself, every chance you get, every day ideally even through the bad weather - especially through the bad weather. You were focusing on the wrong thing before, your Chaser skills are pretty good but you're not a natural flier and that's what lets you down. Get back to basics, practice that because that's more important, if you can't get the basics then it doesn't matter about your passing or scoring or anything. Suck in that gut, chin up, stop whining and start flying."

"Louis," Molly's voice said loudly and Scorpius looked back up while Albus started prodding his podgy stomach, seeing his girlfriend had returned and was tapping her other cousin on the shoulder, "Get ready, you're in the match today. Hop to it, there's no time."

"Bu-I-Wh-" Louis babbled barely audibly, Molly's expression dispelled the possibility of it being a joke and he scrambled up, practically running out of the hall to get his Quidditch gear. Molly sighed and finished coming over to them, she sat back down.

"Where's Michael?"

"Longbottom took him away," Latimer pointed out with a vague gesture to the door, "So Caitlin can't play?"

"No," Molly confirmed with a look somewhere between annoyed and concerned, "I can't do it in good conscience, Caitlin understands. Thanks for saving my bacon."

"Hey," Michael greeted them as he returned, holding a decent looking and very sleek black broom.

"What's that?" Scorpius wondered curiously.

"A broom," Latimer quipped.

"It's Nick's broom," Abby pointed out, looking even more upset.

"Professor Longbottom gave it to me. Said... Said it was what Nick wants-would've wanted. We'll never get to play together but... he would... he would want me to fly for the both of us now," Michael explained awkwardly and glanced to his right oddly as if listening to someone else speaking before looking back to them, "Crush Kyle Nott for not letting him play last year."

"That sounds like my brother," Abby admitted, seeming unsure whether to smile.

"We should probably be getting to the pitch though."

"Yeah we should, gotta prep Louis," Molly agreed as she stood, Scorpius noticed Mirra approaching.

"Good luck, sweetie," Mirra offered to Michael with a smile before kissing him, a long lingering kiss that made Rose's face redden with rage as she turned her head away angrily before the couple pulled apart.

Scorpius almost stood too before recalling he wasn't allowed to play. It was weird. He sighed, he really wished he was playing.

---

Part 3: Quidditch Returns

---

Roman's first match was against Gryffindor and all of his confidence poured away as he stepped out into that pitch to a hail of booing, he'd never bothered to attend Hogwarts Quidditch matches before and had not expected the turnout. Pretty much the entire school was there, staff and all. Due to being related to Ginny, Percy had gotten them a special private box when he watched the Holyhead Harpies match before so he hadn't really realized the numbers. He wanted to turn and run but the fierce, muscled Beaters were right behind him and Roman feared they'd use their bats to beat him if he tried. His heart was doing a good enough job of beating him without them, he'd also started shaking and felt like vomiting. He was an idiot.

He flew into the air fearfully, noting the Gryffindor Seeker was older than him and probably more experienced and... Roman couldn't do it, he was going to lose. Why had he thought that he could ever be anything other than a loser? The match started and Roman rose into the air nervously, the sooner it was over the better and he could be done with it. His eyes started darting around for the Snitch, hoping it'd be seen soon. Roman was so focused on the task at hand that he completely forgot about the crowd, they were just a faceless mass partially obscured by the fog. And then he saw it, a reflection from a gleam of gold from above. The Snitch was above them, hovering in the center far above the usual match like some kind of prize. It was some kind of prize, it'd win the game.

Roman shot towards it like his life depended on it, the commentary being drowned out by the surge of the wind as he flew and snatched it from the air. He felt a flood of triumph sweeping through him as he gripped the small golden ball as a smile played on his lips, he'd done it. He'd caught the Snitch. He was a winner, he was a hero, he was a success. He wasn't a complete loser, he wasn't utterly worthless, it didn't matter that he got anxious and terrified, he had won. He clutched the Snitch to his chest as a blanket of rain fell down on them but he didn't care, the match was over. It had almost seemed too easy even, Roman learned later that the reason it had been was because the commentator had mocked that Roman was flying away in fear and everyone - including the Gryffindor Seeker - had thought it true. He hadn't seen the Snitch through the semi-foggy conditions. Roman couldn't care less, he just cared he'd won.

It reignited the dying embers of his confidence and Roman had something solid to look forward to in the next match after Christmas, naturally he would be staying in Hogwarts. He was so happy about winning that he almost decided to write back to Audrey to tell her, he penned the letter and everything. Until he got to writing her name on the envelope, realizing it would be Audrey Weasley not Audrey Rivers now and her betrayal returned like a knife to his heart, he threw the letter into the fire. She wouldn't care anyway, she didn't like Quidditch. He spent Christmas out practicing in the freezing weather, wanting to do well for his next match and really he preferred outside, the Blood Baron terrified him. It was in February against Ravenclaw, another grueling day but his practice had paid off because he was much more used to the cold. Despite this, Ravenclaw definitely knew not to underestimate him like Gryffindor had.

When he spotted the Snitch, he hurtled through the rain drops for it but the Ravenclaw Seeker was after it too. He sped towards it, faster and faster until he could reach out his arm and grab it. The sleek metal was slippery in the rain and then - WHAM! Roman felt something collide against his skull with enough force to fling him off his broom, he thought he heard a crack but he'd already lost consciousness. When he came too, he was in the Hospital Wing with his head in agony. He felt as if a Mountain Troll had broken his brain in half and was beating each side with a different club, he groaned in pain.

"Roman? You're awake," Audrey's voice said with relief, Roman glanced to his right - wishing he hadn't because the explosion of agony wasn't worth it - and saw her there with Percy. Both looked concerned and he realized she was holding his hand, she reached out her other one to caress his head gently which made Roman become aware of the bandage wrapped around it.

"What... What happened?" Roman managed to get out weakly.

"You took a Bludger to the head, you've been out for a few days," Percy explained and fragments of the Quidditch match returned to mind.

"You're going to be okay," Audrey assured him but oddly, Roman felt something superseded his health.

"Did... Did I win?" Roman asked and his sister looking confused, "The match. Did I win?"

"Roman, you were hurt, you could've died," Audrey told him seriously and looked slightly angry, "You shouldn't be worry about a frickin' broomstick game."

"But... Did I win?"

"Roman!"

"Yes," Percy confirmed and Roman smiled as he relaxed, "You'd grabbed it first.

"It hardly matters though. And you are never playing that broomstick game again! Did that Bludger scramble your brains?! Did you not hear the part about being injured and that you could've died?!"

"But I won," Roman sighed happily as he closed his eyes, feeling tired, "And I'm going to play again, you'll have to take me out of Hogwarts to stop me."

---

It was exceedingly strange to head out onto the field with his friends to watch a Gryffindor match that he wasn't part of, to watch the people he'd practiced with every day that week out on the field without him. He should be there with them. Scorpius sighed wistfully as he watched Molly shake hands with Kyle Nott, the Slytherin Captain who he'd protected her from when they first met. They didn't like each other and he thought Molly would be glad that it was the last time she'd ever have to shake his hand for a match, it was also the first match with Krum as referee. He tossed up the Quaffle and the match began.

It was a freezing day, the snow was billowing around them and many of the spectators were probably already frozen but the action on the pitch was intense. Michael was on fire, he was a blur as he zigzagged the pitch and pelted goal after goal through the flimsy defense. It reminded him of a muggle Ping-Pong game, the Quaffle yo-yoing between Michael and Latimer rapidly and precisely before Michael would hurl it through a hoop. Freddie and Roxy were also pulling their weight, batting the Bludgers in perfect sync and co-ordination with a near-perfect Bludger-to-target ratio. Molly wasn't doing much but the Slytherin Chasers were so terrible that they didn't often get the Quaffle and even when they did, Molly stopped it without much effort or Louis got it back off them.

In fact that was what Louis tended to do, get the Quaffle back from Slytherin to toss it to Latimer or Michael to begin their approach of the goalposts. Gryffindor was wiping the floor with Slytherin. At half an hour in, Gryffindor was already winning 220 to nothing. Gryffindor - and those supporting Gryffindor - were warm from constantly cheering and clapping at their house's continued success. Kyle had seen the Snitch once but had been stopped by the Weasley Beaters, Lily had seen the Snitch once but had been stopped by the Slytherin Beaters with a ruthless shot to her shoulder. It was admittedly much harder to see in the snowfall so Scorpius wasn't too surprised at the lack of Seeker activity. The obliteration of Slytherin continued, people apparently forgetting or no longer caring about Michael's werewolf status as Gryffindor cheered his name.

Kyle finally ended his annihilation by catching the Snitch, sweeping it from little Lily's grasp with his longer arms and a better angle to give him the advantage. Not that it actually mattered - although he thought it probably mattered to Lily, judging from the devastated look on her face - because Gryffindor still won 370 to 150, before the hour was even up. Two had been scored by Louis - one impressively when he ducked two Slytherin Chasers after the Quaffle, they crashed into each other and let him try to score unaided since no one else was near but the Keeper and the other less impressively when he tried to pass to Latimer but missed- and fourteen by Latimer, leaving a whopping twenty-one to be scored by Michael. Scorpius was glad actually, the house chanting 'Sanford' in joy was much better than hatred for his werewolf condition. For the first time since Scorpius had been there, Freddie didn't throw a celebration party.

"I'm getting older, I need to more responsible too," Freddie had insisted when it was asked of him back in the Common Room, looking at his girlfriend as he did so to which she smiled slightly and he returned it.

"You can be responsible all you want, dear cousin, but I was actually in a match that we won so I say we party!" Louis said instead, shouting the last and punching the air to the cheer of the Common Room.

Scorpius tended to retreat to his dormitory and hang out with Michael while the others partied but Michael was staying down. The crowded Common Room in the midst of a party with loud music and people wasn't his ideal place to have fun, most of the house was there after all. He could barely hear himself think. Freddie slipped away with Caitlin after it started. Louis seemed to be enjoying it, Scorpius spotted him dancing and later sitting on one of couches with a girl either side as he bragged of his achievements in the match. Albus was consoling a disheartened Lily on how she'd done while James sat oddly alone on the steps, looking loathingly at the scene and - even weirder - seemed to glare quite a lot at Carver, who was dancing with his girlfriend. Also at Michael, undoubtedly not happy that the victory was down to people he hated.

Despite being a Hufflepuff, Mirra had mingled in with the Gryffindor crowd and if she and Michael weren't dancing then they were snogging. Roxy had taken one look at them and left up to her dormitory. Latimer and Abby weren't there and Molly had headed up to her dormitory before Scorpius could speak to her. Corin had also gone back to his dormitory while Maurice was casually reading in a corner like there was no crowd or blaring noise, a possible advantage of being deaf. Rose was flirting with a boy who looked to be from Molly and Latimer's year, all the while glancing at Michael as if to check if he was watching but he wasn't. Scorpius was just headed up to his dormitory to be alone, feeling very out of place in the festivities. He was just about to go into the Second Year's dormitory when someone came up after him, almost bumping into him on their way to their own year's dormitory.

"Latimer? Where were you?" Scorpius questioned curiously and the elder boy spun unhappily.

"Counselling session," Latimer muttered and Scorpius noticed his eyes were red as if he'd crying.

"You okay?" Scorpius asked but Latimer had already reached his own dormitory and slipped inside, he was realy glad he had Leebin and not Latimer's woman.

---

Roman was right about Audrey, she didn't pull him out of school and she couldn't stop him from playing Quidditch. She now frequently added facts about Quidditch in her letters, always things to do with stats on injuries or even deaths from centuries ago as if to try scare him off. Despite normally being terrified of things, Roman thought it was worth the risk. He was still bullied, he still despised the school and Quidditch was the one thing he could look forward to, to have fun at, to be good at. He was looking forward to the final and spent the Easter break in the castle practicing, his freezing body now adapting back to flying in warmer weather although it was still breezy sometimes.

Audrey insisted the Bludger had 'scrambled his brains' in her letters, Roman was starting to think she was right although not about Quidditch. He often found himself wondering what it would be like to kiss Luna. He'd save himself for marriage of course because that was the proper way to do things, even in his fantasies. His imagination came back to use as he often fantasized about doing something cool to impress her, ranging from winning the Quidditch Cup to something impossibly epic and heroic like from the past stories he loved. He'd acquire a special ring with significant historical value and propose, she'd say yes because she loved him and they'd fly off on one of the creatures she always wrote to him about.

Their wedding wouldn't be terrifying, Luna's father would be there and maybe Ginny to be her maid of honor plus the guy marrying them of course, Smokey would be Roman's best man and Audrey wouldn't be invited. In that nice, safe, small ceremony in the countryside - that looked suspiciously like his childhood home - they would be married. Then they'd be married happily, they'd ride off on a unicorn - that looked suspiciously like a real Enas - into the sunset where he could finally kiss her for the first time. They'd settle down in a nice cottage in the countryside, all peaceful and neat and Luna could raise whatever weird creatures she liked in the space as long as they didn't eat Smokey. They'd be happy.

The final match against Hufflepuff came and Roman forced down his nervousness, determined to prove himself. It was a difficult match, the Beaters watched him like statues because Roman thought statues always looked like they were watching you creepily. However in a soaring evasive move that surprised even himself, Roman swerved by his two guards the next time he saw the Snitch which made them smash Bludgers towards him. He shot back towards them, both too surprised to react as they moved aside and were rewarded by being struck by the two Bludgers they'd hit towards him. Roman rocketed towards the Snitch and snatched it away from the Hufflepuff's outstretched hand, winning the match. It would also be enough to win them the Quidditch Cup since Gryffindor and Ravenclaw wouldn't get enough points in their match but Roman didn't worry about that in the moment, he just felt happy and proud of himself for once. He even allowed a girl to take a picture of him, trying and failing not to smile. He kept the picture with the one of his parents as a reminder that he wasn't a complete loser, that he could work up the courage to something worthwhile, that he could get through this.

He got fairly decent grades again but it didn't compare to his Quidditch victory, Audrey was incredibly annoyed with him for still doing such a dangerous sport while Percy congratulated him when the couple picked him up from the station. He spent his summer practicing too, when he wasn't stuck in Weasley gatherings. He would be forced to return again for another Weasley wedding, this time for George and his fiancée Angelina, Roman truly hoped Luna would be there. Fleur was pregnant again too, the baby was due for September so he wouldn't see it - if the new baby drooled half as much as baby Victoire then he certainly wouldn't miss it - which made them joke about Audrey and Percy having a baby soon. Oddly, Audrey never laughed at those jokes, she just went stoically silent. Roman got lots of presents again for his fourteenth birthday from the Weasleys although they didn't scare him into having a panic attack this time, he was glad.

The new term started, again with Percy giving him a hug - this time Audrey did to, against Roman's will - on the platform. He shrugged them both of angrily, Percy was evil and had killed Enas while Audrey had completely turned against them. He threw them glares as he strode over to the train with Smokey, leaving Audrey looking upset. Slytherins seemed oddly less hostile to him and the Slytherin girl - Becky - who'd taken his picture kept sitting with him sometimes, her sudden interest terrified him. Roman kept his hostile attitude up with Slytherins though, they were still evil and just trying to lull him into a false sense of security to kill him or just hurt him really bad. He'd rather be alone then evil. Roman hadn't gone on any of the Hogsmeade trips the previous year, people scared him and strange places scared him so the village seemed a bit of a nightmare. He was horrified when the annoying, scary, stalker girl Becky brought it up.

"Got any plans for Hogsmeade?" she asked him in Potions about a week before the first trip.

"None of your business," Roman growled at her, afraid she was trying to get his location to plan the attack. The girl started twirling her brown hair nervously.

"Well, I was thinking that... that maybe we could go together?"

"Why in the world would I want to do that?" Roman demanded, he hated the thought of Hogsmeade and he hated the girl.

"You know like a date. With me."

"No!"

Roman was disgusted at the thought of 'dating' the way the Hogwarts children did it and disgusted at the thought of courting anyone but Luna. Becky suddenly left to go to the bathroom and never bothered him again, Roman was thankful. He won the first match against Gryffindor too, spotting the Snitch early and catching it before any goals had been scored, that was with a black eye a Gryffindor bully had given him. Quidditch was a golden light amongst the darkness of his life. The rest of his term was uneventful and he found himself back on the train soon enough for the wedding.

---

Scorpius found his mood improved the next two weeks now that his banned Quidditch match was over, even as he weather grew increasingly colder. Professor Ashain's possessor was still doing nothing, he was spending more time with Molly and was almost starting to relax with his friends. Rose had a new boyfriend too, Michael seemed indifferent. Scorpius also found a note on the counselling session times informing them that due to a family emergency, Leebin would be unavailable for a week so students could either be reassigned or wait. Naturally, Scorpius chose to wait and he actually found himself feeling concern for his counsellor's family. The amount of people wanting werewolf bracelets boomed as well, support was stronger than ever.

"Look! Look!" a vaguely familiar voice said excitedly at breakfast one of the days that week, they looked up to see it was Lorcan Scamander with more of a smile than Scorpius had seen on him - although he still had his wand curled up in his free hand - while he threw down a magazine. It was called the 'Quibbler' with a main article 'Werewolf Bands Banding Us Together' mentioned on the front page, "It's my Mum's magazine that she took over from my grandfather when he died in the summer, I told her about these bracelets that we're wearing to object to the ill-treatment of werewolves by the same corrupt Ministry that still hunts an innocent man and she thought it was wonderful. She wrote an article about it, the main article to gain awareness and so people can contact her to get one. A friend in the Ministry is giving her as many as she needs when she needs them, it's already getting popular in Hogsmeade too."

"That's great," Scorpius admitted with a smile that was mirrored on his friends' faces, he was honestly surprised that it was catching on outside of Hogwarts though, "Does the magazine get a lot of readers?"

"Mum said it got much more popular after the war, it's something."

"Well done, Lorcan," Maurice offered and Lorcan's smile widened, making him look almost identical to his identical twin again. Except his eyes were still ringed with tiredness and the ghost of strain on his face still visible behind his smile, Scorpius also thought he was slightly thinner than Lysander as his hands and face seemed more bony. Lorcan returned to the Slytherin table seemingly in higher spirits.

"Does he still have those freak out moments with magic?" Scorpius wondered curiously of Maurice who nodded.

"Yeah, he's very high strung. It's less often though and it's not a bad sign, having power is good and he just needs to learn to control it."

"Like how you have Cassia learning to control her ability with birds by having the attack snowmen?" Michael asked with a nod to the six-year-old.

"Yes. It'll pay off when her life is in danger and no one is around to protect her," Maurice insisted, "And for the record, I didn't tell her to do that. I just told her the best parts of the body to have the birds go for and explained why, then Ashain noticed I was talking to her instead of working and had me stop. I didn't know if she'd act on it or even if she'd taken it all in, I'm actually proud of her. Younger kids are much better like that, they don't obsess over terrible things like dating and listen when you tell them to do something. The First Years that I take Flying with are all paying extra attention in Defense Against the Dark Arts thanks to me, the look up to me. We're all soldiers."

"Yeah right," Rose scoffed to which Maurice shrugged uncaring at her disbelief.

It was only the day before the Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw match that there was something that put a dampen on Scorpius' spirits, he split up with his friends for a detour to the bathroom on the way to dinner and was on his way to the Great Hall when he was done. Until he heard a boy crying, the sound of a spell striking stone and James' laughter. Along with his assortment of cronies. He vaguely recognized the boy's voice as Byron Knight when he spoke, the same boy that Michael had stopped James attacking earlier in the year.

"Pl-Please lea-leave me alone, wh-what did I ev-ever do t-to you?" Byron cried.

"You're a Slytherin, you're all cowardly scum and you deserve what you get," James spat and Scorpius started to draw his wand to intervene, "My Dad puts people like you away on a daily basis, you're the garbage of the Wizarding world. You're garbage, you Slytherin piece of-"

"Hey!" an even younger voice interjected while Scorpius froze in surprise at hearing Antonius, he reached the connecting corridor and got a look at the scene for the first time. Byron was lying on his front, his hands blistery as if suffering minor burns. Antonius had placed himself in between Byron and the bullies, his arms out wide either side and his dog by his side. Scorpius had never seen him look - or sound - so determined, despite facing five teenagers unarmed to defend a random stranger, "Leave him alone. It doesn't matter what house someone is, it's wrong to pick on people."

"Not difficult to figure out what house you're going to be in considering your scumbag family are Shadows," one of James' cronies pointed out and the group laughed, Antonius remained in place.

"Idiotic coward," James sneered at the eight year old, Scorpius wasn't quite sure how Antonius was a coward for defending someone but then he didn't understand James' logic, "You think you stand a chance against actual wizards? You're practically a baby. Move aside or we'll have to make you."

"You know my Dad's a professor, right?" Antonius pointed out and James scratched his chin before aiming his wand directly at the boy.

"And you know my Dad's the greatest hero of all time, right?" James offered before darkening his tone threateningly, "And I'm not afraid of your Dad and I'm certainly not afraid of you. Move aside."

"What does your Dad think of you picking on people? I met him before and I don't think he likes it," Antonius said and James looked taken aback for a moment, he lowered his wand but his brown eyes burned angrily.

"You know what? I heard my Dad talking to your Dad about you once in the Hospital Wing, you know what they said?" James wondered with a cruel twist to his words, Antonius' expression wavered to betray his concern, "They said you're not right in the head, you're just not right. Fucked up. Slytherins are bad but you just have something wrong with you, completely wrong. I'm not scared of your Dad because I know he doesn't give a damn about such a worthless son. Your Mummy knew it and she left because she could see it and she's like a muggle or something, your Daddy's gonna leave too because he doesn't love you. No one wants a freak like you."

"That's right," Scorpius jumped in before he could stop himself, aiming his wand at James as the focus shifted to him, "I bet your Dad doesn't want you, you psychotic freak."

"Shut your face, Malfoy, or I'll shut it for you," James spat as he raised his wand but Scorpius was faster.

"Expelliarmus!" Scorpius cried, blasting an unprepared James back several feet while his wand spiraled to reach Scorpius' hand perfectly as he approached, practically quaking with rage while James' friends scattered to check on him, "And honestly, an eight year old?! What is actually wrong with you?! You're nearly twice his age!"

"He got in the way, psycho," one of James' friends insisted.

"Oh, yeah? Why don't you beat it before I show you how psycho I can be?" Scorpius said in a more threatening tone than he thought he was capable of doing, rushing to James had left them severely vulnerable since they no longer had their wands out and facing him. The scrambled away and Scorpius turned to Antonius who was now fighting off tears, he lowered himself to the boy's level and put his hand on his shoulders gently, "No."

"No, what?" Antonius mumbled miserably.

"Don't you think on it, don't you dare. James was just saying those things to hurt you for intervening, none of its true."

"But-"

"No," Scorpius interrupted, meeting the boy's tear-filled eyes and wiping the water away before it could fall, "Your Dad loves you and whatever reasons your Mum had, it wasn't your fault. You're a good person and you're braver than all of James and his cronies put together, do you hear me? Don't you think on it for one second, what he said. Don't you dare. Do you understand me?"

"Yes," Antonius whimpered but he nodded.

"Look out!" Byron called, just slightly too late as Scorpius turned into James' punch. It collided painfully with his jaw and knocked him to the ground.

"Don't call me a coward! And don't take my wand!" James yelled angrily as he snatched up his wand while Scorpius scrambled for his feet, "You sc-"

James didn't finish his sentence as Scorpius had pulled back his fist and lashed out with all the strength he could muster, he'd never punched anyone before then. He'd rarely been so angry before either, he was furious with James and the three - and a bit - years of dislike and hatred came out through his punch. Two things surprised him: one was that James fell back with his nose streaming blood and two was that punching someone hurt, he had to shake his hand at the ache from colliding with a physical being. It distracted him though from James rising to throw another, looking as angry as Scorpius felt. The other side of his jaw now throbbed but it wasn't with enough force to floor him this time.

He staggered back but James was already pulling back his fist for another punch, Scorpius jumped aside just in time and tried to throw one back that missed James' jaw as the older - probably more experienced - boy moved. In response, James simply jumped at him and Scorpius fell back painfully onto the stone with James on top of him, pinning him to the ground as he laid down blow after blow. Something inside Scorpius snapped, he never wanted another man on top of him. He jerked his knee and James howled in pain as it caught him perfectly where no guy wanted to be kneed, the distraction was enough for Scorpius to lash out with a punch forceful enough to knock James off him.

Scorpius jumped on him, already slamming his fist down to made the force increase with the momentum and smash James' head against the stone painfully. He hit him again and again, wildly punching in a primal rage that was no longer completely against the older boy before James jerked his own head to hit Scorpius'. Feeling slightly dazed pushed Scorpius back, giving James a chance to sit up and grab a fistful of his hair. His arm was already moving to crash Scorpius' head against the ground so Scorpius bit down into James' arm as hard as he could, James yelped in pain and let go to tear away that arm that was now bleeding from the bite. Scorpius swung his fist into James' face, knocking the boy back but James was already readying another blow and Scorpius cocked his fist back as well.

"ENOUGH!" a familiar voice shouted and Scorpius suddenly found himself frozen mid-punch, as was James in a glow of yellow light. Calderon was back.

Scorpius was glad Calderon was back, although he did still get in trouble for getting into it with James. He had fewer detentions - due to James also having bullied the others - than James though - thankfully not together for any of them - but he supposed that at least he wasn't banned from the next Quidditch match after Christmas. Or even from getting to watch Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw as it featured two of his friends the following day.

It was an interesting match, Ravenclaw had a better team overall but Hufflepuff had good defenses with Vern and the Beaters being excellent but their Chasers were just awful. Ravenclaw had good defenses too, so much so that the Chasers couldn't touch it. Ravenclaw only managed to score some tactful outmaneuvering of Vern, using the number of hoops and Chasers versus one person to make it impossible for him to get to another in time. However, Vern still held his own on a lot of occasions and no goal was easy for Ravenclaw. Hufflepuff won in the end though, Orous blended in with the snow to hunt for the Snitch and was all but forgotten until he swept down like a bird on its pray, swiping the Snitch before Pentakel - Scorpius thought his injuries had him off his game - could near it. Suddenly, Scorpius was less enthusiastic about not missing the next Quidditch match as it occurred to him that he'd be directly against his friend.

---

Part 4: Unconventional Magic

---

Roman found the wedding was taking place at the Burrow again - pretty unoriginal - for George and Angelina, he'd had a growth spurt since the summer and needed new dress robes for the wedding. He cursed his increasingly lanky limbs every time Madam Malkin 'accidentally' jabbed him with a pin as she fitted his robes, Roman was sure she was doing it on purpose, the evil old crone. There were more people there than had been at Percy and Audrey's or Neville and Hannah's. Roman was terrified but felt too old to be clinging onto Audrey so instead he just took his seat and gripped the edges, counting methodically to try keep himself calm. He pretty much missed the whole ceremony from doing this, focusing on the numbers until he was tapped on the shoulder to tell him they were going for the reception now.

His knuckles were white and his hands numb from clutching the seat so much, he was shaking and his heart aching from pounding as he went to sit to eat. Roman was somewhat disturbed to find he'd been put at the kid's table, his companions included three of Angelina's cousins who were all under ten, toddlers Teddy Lupin and Victoire Weasley - baby Dominique was with her mother - and Fleur's sister Gabrielle. Gabrielle was a year older than him but she spoke in the same impossible to understand accent as her sister, she went quiet when Roman pointed this out. It was tedious keeping the little ones in check, the kids seemed incapable of going five minutes without arguing while Teddy just kept changing his appearance to make little Victoire laugh. Roman decided he was never having kids, he wasn't cut out for their messiness and general lack of adherence to proper protocol for manners.

Luna wasn't there either, there was a rare ritual these rare creatures were doing and she couldn't miss the chance to study it. Roman supposed he didn't mind, at least her letters were long and he liked how her excitement shone through the page. Still, it would've been nice to see her and maybe he could even have danced with her. Roman actually got to go home sooner than the others, Audrey and Percy deciding to head back while most people were still there - only Bill and Fleur that he knew due to wanting to put the girls to bed - so he was glad. He got his reply to Luna finished - he could write to her when not in Hogwarts easily because he could use the house owl - and got an early night, or tried to. It was short-lived as he was woken by arguing. Roman pricked up his ears and tiptoed to his door to eavesdrop, was Audrey not as much a lost cause as he'd thought?

"What's wrong with not wanting to have children?!" Audrey was yelling, sounding upset.

"You didn't mind before!" Percy shot back, "And I didn't say it was wrong, I asked why! I just want to know why, is that so bad?!"

"Yes," Audrey spat irritably.

"Just talk to me, Aud," Percy asked in a gentler tone that made his sister sigh in defeat, "Please."

"Because I can't be a good mother," Audrey admitted finally, dropping her tone to a barely audible whisper and sounding almost on the verge of tears.

"What? Of course you-"

"No, I can't. Merlin's sake, look at how terrible I am with Roman. He hates me, he ignores all my letters, and he's joined that suicidal broomstick club and has those freak outs. If I can't even take care of my brother, how am I supposed to take care of a child?"

"Roman's a teenagers, its fairly common behavior," Percy offered consolingly, "Except the freak outs but he's a weird kid anyway. Our child wouldn't be like that, our little one would be all innocent and smart with her mother's brains and looks."

"Or a son."

"Yes, or a little girl."

"Or a son."

"Yeah, or a daughter."

"Or a son," Audrey insisted for the third time, apparently favoring the male gender, "You really think Roman's behavior is normal for a teenager? Aub and I were never like that. Sometimes I think there's something wrong with him."

"I'm sure," Percy assured her, "Most of it is just puberty and the rest is from being so isolated that he's not used to people, our children wouldn't have that problem, well not until puberty anyway. We don't have to have a child right now or ever if you really are against it but, please don't do it because you doubt yourself. You'll be a great mother and Roman will get out of this phase, I promise."

Roman heard the sound of their lips touching and stalked back to his bed in angry disgust, not sure what bothered him more. That Percy put everything about him down to a meaningless teenage phase or that his sister worried there was something wrong with him, Roman felt tears well in his eyes and squeezed them shut to try block them. Both sets of insults pained him and he cried his eyes to sleep.

---

Jack was now free from the incessant, agonizing hunger but it had reinvigorated One as much as it had himself. He no longer had complete control over his body, One could take over whenever he wanted and if they both tried to do things then they just wound up frozen until one of them caved. One seemed to be enjoying himself much more and wanted to try random things that he hadn't been able to do as a Specter, including tasting different things - licking random objects that weren't edible too - or touching random things to feel the texture - not always just his hands, One wanted to run barefooted through grass to see what it was like - or randomly standing in the rain, playing in the snow or simply moving his hands and watching it. He also wanted to do things like see what it was like to run or jump or clap or dance or writing or even to dip his fingers into jelly, whatever random thing he focused on in that moment. One also had a strange fascination with colors, especially bright ones - the tinge of shadow in his vision made them stand out more - or shiny objects.

One also had different tastes to Jack, finding different foods or drinks better or worse and other aesthetic things like clothing - One preferred old-fashioned styles closer to wizarding things - or hairstyle as One thought it should be longer. One had also developed a different way of speaking to Jack, after experimenting with 'making shapes with his mouth', One had settled on a high-class British accent. This made conversations especially awkward, One would ask a random stranger what their favorite color was and what was the most painful moment of their life then Jack would try to apologize awkwardly. People thought it was nuts, assuming they didn't already think he was mad for arguing with himself in two different tones of voice or introducing himself with two names. There was also the darker side to One, Jack would allow him to feed off minor pain - such as passing someone crying, the person was oblivious as it didn't hurt them and the effects weren't visible to muggles - but actively had to step in when One wanted to hurt or kill someone.

Jack very deliberately tried not to go out unless he really couldn't help it, he never knew when One would become active. He craved sleep because it meant not having to deal with it all, even when he was in control it wasn't perfect. Even without the constant threat of One taking over, One pestered him to destroy more souls. The hunger was no longer painful but Jack knew it was still there, Jack had gotten better at distinguishing it from his physical hunger but it was still there. Faint but growing in strength, the minor pain that they fed off of helped keep it at bay but it wouldn't last forever and Jack dreaded the day he'd cave. He wasn't feeling so good about his deal now. Jack was too afraid to visit Crystal - she was still in the hospital, she'd caught pneumonia and was far too ill to have the operation - with One, he was too afraid to even try to write back to Michael out of fear of them finding out. He knew that couldn't last forever though, not with Annie's release imminent.

"Look, One, I need to talk to you," Jack said a few days before, One had been admiring his wall of collected colors. Jack felt his arms fold without his control and his lips curl into a smirk.

"Finally decided we need another soul?" One guessed incorrectly, speak through Jack's lips, "I'm proud of you. Who would you like to kill now? I suggest someone magical, then we'll have some magical powers to play with. We can take as much power as we want, we're stronger than mere mortals."

"My answer's still no to that!"

"Ah, a shame."

"I want to talk about my sister, she's getting out of jail and coming to live with me," Jack explained, unfolding his arms and gesturing as he spoke even though it was unnecessary, he just liked having control although One raised their eyebrows in curiosity, "You may be new to being a human but you must've realized that our current behavior isn't normal, quite frankly we look like a crazy person. I can't have Annie thinking that, I don't want my family to know I merged with you or to wind up in jail for killing Bob. And I don't think you want that either so... just leave me control while we're in her prescence."

"I don't want that either?" One repeated and Jack nodded, suddenly finding images of a magnificent castle flooding his vision, "Would you do me a favor? Will us to transport there, I want to show you something and I think you'd like to see Hogwarts."

Jack wasn't sure where One was going with his line of thought but Jack's curiosity over seeing Hogwarts got the better of him, he willed himself to the wooded area with a view of the castle that One was giving him. He felt the same odd sensation of being immersed in a cold current that made him feel tingly, when he opened his eyes, he was there. Standing in that wooded area with a view of the wondrous castle that Michael resided in, Jack smiled and started walking towards it.

"Three... Two... One, and..."

Abruptly, Jack found he'd run into some kind of shield. The air flashed on contact with some invisible, magical barrier and Jack was launched violently backwards. He slammed into a tree and crashed to the ground, scowling at the air while One laughed with their mouth.

"That wasn't funny," Jack growled while One calmed, getting to their feet jointly.

"It was to me. That's the Blood Runes at work, they keep out Shadows, those with black souls, genuine evil creatures so long as one of the two who used their blood to activate the Obelisk is within the bounds. You will be unable to enter now because of merging with me but since you can only see the castle because I... magickified-"

"Magickified isn't a word!"

"Magickified you so it's only fair. It's a word now, you have the ability to see things that are usually made magically invisible to muggles because of me. Of course you can't actually use wizard magic until we take the magic from someone's soul but that's not my point right now, it is a decent point though."

"What is your point then?" Jack complained as he crossed his arms.

"My point is that there are very few places in the world that I - thus we - can't get to, Hogwarts being protected by the Blood Rune magic is one and the rest are mostly museum type places or where artifacts are studied. A wizard named Ashylos knew about the Shadows of Dementors due to Herpo the Foul and he created magical wards to protect against them, places he set up with the protective wards or places that have inadvertently acquired one or more of these wards are the only other places we can't physically get to. There are a handful of random one-shot magical items that inadvertently shield against us too but that's all. They all have some kind of barrier much like this one that prevents us from crossing."

"I asked for your point, not a bloody history lesson!"

"My point," One continued after rolling their eyes, "Is that those locations are the only places we can't get in or out of and there's only five people aware of this, including you. Meaning, anywhere that we'd be imprisoned for killing Bob is somewhere we could transport ourselves out of since the Ministry don't know of these wards or how to utilize them to trap us. So you're assuming I don't want to be found out and imprisoned is wrong, escape is easy so it's a meaningless threat."

"You couldn't have just said that instead of that long-winded explanation and bringing me here?" Jack grumbled irritably, he'd have to rethink a way to get One's co-operation.

"I could but then you wouldn't have been thrown on your ass. That did amuse me. It's fun when I'm not the one being forced to try to get past it again and again, not allowed to stop no matter how much agony I was in. Want to do it again?"

"You are horrible person."

"What do you really expect from a soul-destroying shadow creature that lives off pain?"

"Let's just go home," Jack sighed unhappily and closed his eyes, focusing back on his apartment. After a minute, One must've done the same because he felt the sensation again and they were back in Oxford.

"Don't be melancholy, Jack, I'd be more than happy to agree to help you keep your secret from your sister," One offered brightly, "In exchange for something I do want, of course."

"Let me guess, another soul-murder?"

"Aw, you knew just what I wanted."

Jack sighed, what choice did he have? He chose Robin as the victim, an ex-boyfriend of Crystal's who had nearly killed her and Michael before, both because he didn't think One knew where Robin was - this proved to be true - meaning it would take longer to track him down to kill him and because Robin was a scumbag who clearly didn't deserve to exist. If Jack had to kill, he might as well kill people who deserved to die, right? He had to make the best of the situation to get used to it, destroying souls would be useful if - or more likely when - Michael was in danger. He had to protect Michael, no matter what.

It was a bitterly cold November, One was much more interested in playing in the snow than disliking the weather however. Jack especially hated it, not only because it wasn't the nicest weather for Annie to experience after her five year incarceration but because it meant he'd have to drive on the icy roads. At least One had promised not to do anything, wanting to observe how to drive rather than trying to take over. Jack cleaned up the apartment nice one final time the night before going to pick Annie up in the car he'd rented for the occasion, Jack hated every second of the drive and kept wishing he wasn't in a car. Jack did not like cars, cars crashed and killed people. However, he thought it was both worth it and not when he saw his sister.

Prison hadn't been good to her apparently, her skin looked unhealthily pale and only emphasized the black circles of tiredness beneath her eyes. Her skin also clung to bones much tighter than the last time he'd seen her, leaving her face looking very gaunt. Her hair was the same reddish brown and tied back into a small ponytail but it looked lackluster and dirty, she was dressed in the same clothes that Jack had last seen her in except they'd faded with time. That wasn't what struck him as odd though. He'd gotten used to seeing the auras around people that showed the color of their soul - which in Annie's case, was gray - but she was different, there as a glow of pure, brilliant white light around where her heart would be. Jack rubbed his eyes and tried blinking but the light remained, even as she walked over to him and he only scowled.

"Nice to see you too," Annie quipped sarcastically and Jack realized she'd mistaken his scowling for not being glad to see her, she couldn't see the light and One was being unusually silent.

"Sorry, I was just... thinking," Jack offered lamely and smiled as he hugged her close, "It's good to see you."

"You didn't have to do this, you know," Annie pointed out as she pulled away, her expression still stoic, "You can just go back to... whatever it is you do with your life, I'll be fine. You're not obligated to do anything."

"Trying to get rid of me?" Jack joked although was secretly annoyed, were people in his life really that surprised when he took an interest in their lives?

Yes, One quipped, speaking into his mind again. Jack scowled again while Annie shrugged and went to open the driver's side door, Jack slapped her hand away immediately.

"Nope, I'm driving."

"But you hate driving, I miss it," Annie complained with a scowl now herself while Jack got in.

"Are you even allowed to drive?" Jack wondered as she got in the passenger side door, not that he had any intention of letting her drive either way. Driving and alcohol had been what gotten her thrown in jail, he was determined she do neither to stay out of prison.

"Yes."

"Well... tough," Jack said as he headed off, Annie groaned in frustration.

"A snail can move faster than you drive, we'll have died of old age before we get there. The car can go faster than twenty, you know?"

"It's icy! You wouldn't even know where we're going."

"The first place that sells alcohol is good enough for me."

"No," Jack stated firmly, "You're not drinking, it's a condition of your parole and you need to not go back to jail. If I can stay sober then you can."

"I haven't had a drink in five years!" Annie complained, the light pulsated and Jack was too focused on that to notice the trash can on the roadside explode.

Interesting

"Then you shouldn't want one now! How... How was prison?" Jack asked to change the subject, his sister threw him an incredulous look.

"It was prison not a summer camp. How do you think it was?"

"Well... Erm, it's not completely bad. Wasn't for me anyway. Did you make any friends?"

"You know I can never get along with women. Spent most of it in isolation anyway, it reminded me of high school," Annie pointed out and rested her head against her arm on the window, "I talked to the guards more, I think they were afraid if I didn't have any social interaction then I'd go insane and kill them all. Prison sucks, it's like high school, you can't sleep, you can't eat but you can feel your sanity slowly start to slip away from you. I need a drink to make it stop so I can be sane again."

"No, Annie!"

We should kill her, you know? One said so suddenly in his mind that Jack almost swerved into a ditch.

"Geez, you said no already. No need to kill us all," Annie protested and sighed, "So how's Michael or are you still being a deadbeat Dad?"

I don't understand your loyalty to your family, it's not like you actively take part or even care about their lives

"I'll tell you about Michael when we get home," Jack told her, trying to calm his now frantically beating heart. He definitely didn't want to explain to his sister the skeptic about magic in a car, she needed to be sitting and he needed to not be driving.

Your sister's a witch

"Why?" Annie asked, her expression immediately afraid as she glanced at him. The light pulsated again and a streetlight shattered as they passed it by, "Is something wrong? Is he okay? Is he in trouble? He is alive right?"

The light you see is her inherent magical power, when it pulses she is using magic

"He's alive but there's a lot to say so just be patient," Jack offered to Annie, trying not to panic as he listened to One's insanity.

Do you have a more plausible reason? Trust me, this is what it's like with all magical people. I don't think she understands it though, it seems accidental and uncontrolled. I'd even go so far to say that she wants a drink so badly in the hopes of repressing her abilities

"Poor boy can't catch a break, runs in the family," Annie muttered sadly before gazing out the window and falling silent.

You want to be a witch, she doesn't. Take her power. We don't have to destroy her soul, we can just take her magic... Well she'd die within half an hour but its less like murder because it's after the fact, she has a lot of mental anguish to feed off of too if you wanted to wait until after. You know you want the magic, much more than you want Annie. Kill her, Jack, kill your sister

"Shut up, One!" Jack snapped in anger and horror at what One was suggesting.

"I wasn't even speaking," Annie pointed out in confusion.

"It's not... It's not you, it's a... anger management technique," Jack lied to cover his outburst while One laughed in amusement, "I learned it at my anger management course, you're supposed to count the number of times you say shut up. That was my first for today so I said 'one' and the less you say the better."

"That doesn't make any sense and is nothing like the anger management courses that I've been on."

"When the fuck did you ever go on an anger management course?" Jack wondered in genuine surprise, he didn't recall her ever doing that but Annie simply shrugged.

"I was a messed up kid, my social worker and foster parents and stuff were always sending me on crap like that to try make me normal."

"You never mentioned that."

"You never asked."

Kill her

Jack had an uncomfortable drive - even more so than the one leaving - with One still pleading for murder and power stealing, although Jack didn't believe Annie had magic or else she'd have gone to Hogwarts. Or at least not be so skeptical. Annie herself fell silent for the journey, lost in her own thoughts. Jack was relieved to get back, he showed Annie around quickly but was really desperate to get to telling her about Michael and magic. Thankfully, her nephew also seemed important to her, even more so than alcohol.

"Yeah, yeah, that's great. So what about Michael? Is he alright? You were going to tell me," Annie insisted and Jack gratefully gestured for her to sit on the couch, Jack started pacing while she did so.

"So... There's no really easy way to say this so... I'm just going to have to come out and say it," Jack told her as he cleared his throat, pausing to face her, "Magic is real and Michael's a wizard."

And so is she

---

"Good morning," a female voice cooed.

Austin Latimer jolted awake in surprise, so much so that he fell off the couch he'd been sleeping on and whacked his head painfully on the small table when he tried to sit up. He groaned as it aggravated his already hung over head, he did sit up more carefully though and was surprised to see a pair of snakeskin high heels. He scowled, if he had gotten laid then he definitely didn't remember it. In fact, he was pretty sure that he hadn't been with a woman last night, he'd been drinking alone in his crummy apartment and he'd just fallen off the couch not the bed. He raised his head and recognized that she was wearing witch's robes, his expression darkened. She definitely had not been there last night, he stayed away from witches since his wife.

"Nice place, you've got here," the witch commented in words dipped with sarcasm.

Austin scrambled to his feet immediately, feeling very underdressed to only be in dirty jeans with no shirt, socks or shoes. The woman was dressed in snakeskin robes, making her look oddly lumpy. She had blonde hair and bright red full lips but a very squashed nose, he'd never seen her before in his life. And didn't want to see her, breaking into someone's apartment was never the sign of a friendly sign.

"What do you want?" Austin demanded, his focus sharpening as he pushed aside his throbbing mind.

"To propose..."

"A deal," a second voice finished her sentence and Austin spun fearfully to see a man standing on his other side. He was dressed in dark gray robes, he had slicked back hair and papery skin. Austin also didn't recognize him, "You can't be so out of the loop that you haven't heard of the Shadow War, right?"

"What about it?" Austin muttered as he shifted uncomfortably, crossing his arms in the hopes of looking less like someone who'd just rolled out of bed. Or rather a couch. He focused on a Levitation Charm, channeling it with practice into his target. His target being a discarded mirror, so he could see the woman behind him as well and keep an eye on both.

"We represent the winning side and it's come to our attention that since your expulsion, you've become pretty capable with wandless magic. So capable in fact, that our organization is willing to overlook your unfortunate blood status, in exchange for your efforts."

"No."

"It's a good deal," the woman continued and Austin turned back to her instead, "You'd be given a wand, trained in the education you missed and have your wandless abilities honed. You and your son would be exempt from any and all future risk in any of our attacks, of course. You could do well."

"No," Austin repeated.

While the offer of a wand was tempting, it was still a no. He had no interest in risking his life in another war. Having to fight for his life and go on the run in the last war due to his blood status was more than enough, he had enough experience and nightmares to last him a lifetime already. He just needed to hold on until Lat came of age so they'd be in the money, then things would be okay. He certainly wasn't going to fight for a side that looked down on him for his blood status anyway, plus they'd put Lat at risk. Well, the boy had been an idiot to get involved instead of fleeing and had technically cut off his own foot but still, he would never have been in that situation if the... Soul Eating Shadows hadn't attacked. Lat was a Gryffindor, those morons always acted without logically thinking through solutions but Austin had been a Ravenclaw so he didn't have that problem. He was smart. He hadn't deserved to be expelled. Fucking McGonagall.

"Not even going to think about it?"

"Nothing to think about."

"Very well," the woman shrugged and smiled, Austin readied himself, "Avada Kedavra."

Austin jumped out of the way and jerked his hand as he did so, the mirror was still bound by his levitating magic and flew into the place he'd been. The curse hit the mirror and bounced back, the woman barely had time to scream before she lost her life to her own spell. Austin didn't bother watch it work and in fact, had already started moving the second the curse rebounding. He gestured and the mirror shot backwards to smash the man in the head, he fell and Austin didn't wait another second. He snatched his discarded shirt from the couch and fled, slamming and locking the door behind him magically as he ran.

Austin bolted down all the flights of stairs, pulling on his shirt even though it nearly made him fall down the several flights of stairs and fishing the car keys from his pocket. He got to his car and drove away as fast as he wanted to risk driving, hung-over and barefooted wasn't the best way to drive. He saw no sign of pursuit as he drove, breaking the speed limit multiple times and using his magic to change traffic lights and wipe speed cameras to stop himself getting into trouble. Not that the muggle world had any effect on him anymore, his magic dealt with them pretty easily and his family had abandoned him long ago. He wasn't going to anything muggle-like now though, he was going to the Ministry to report his attack and demand Auror protection. He might even get a wand out of it as a compromise for them not wasting Aurors to protect him but him needing some way to defend himself from magical attackers.

This proved to be very untrue though. Not only did Aurors doubt your story when you wandered in there barefooted, in dirty clothes and with alcohol - from last night, plus he'd spilled some on his shirt which was why he'd removed it - on your breath but they didn't believe you at all when you finally stopped whining and allowed you to show them your place. The witch and wizard were gone, as was any trace of the mirror. They turned down both his demand for Auror protection and for being allowed a wand, instead having the nerve to fine him for wasting Auror time. The evidence was only gone because it took them so damn long to get there, it was their fault. He was going to get killed because of their incompetence. Where was that useless boy when Austin needed him? Lat had a wand, Lat could defend him. He'd have to get Lat to come home for Christmas, maybe the Malfoy kid too because that was another wand. That sucked. But it was better than being dead. Assuming he wasn't dead before then anyway.

---

Part 5: Missing Out

---

Scorpius found himself in a good mood in the days following Hufflepuff's victory as were his friends, so much so that Corin didn't mind sitting with Abby so much for his friends' sake. Molly had stayed true to what she'd said so she and Latimer both tended to join them at meals and for studying when possible, Molly hadn't been kidding about her schedule as she tended to have breaks when he had classes and classes when they had breaks but he was glad for the time with her anyway. Michael was the only one who tended to not join the due to spending time alone with Mirra to be tutored, or supposedly to be tutored as Michael's increasingly low marks and complete lack of interest in most classes implied she wasn't doing her job. Scorpius was starting to get a bit concerned about Michael's schoolwork, he wasn't sure whether he should try to talk about it or if it was just none of his business.

However, he could keep talking to Michael about Professor Ashain's possessor. Scorpius was actually glad to have told the others, he would never have considered that it wasn't the Shadows behind it before but now he did think the other theories were viable and possibly correct as they made sense. Specifically though, he'd been wanting to ask Calderon about the limitations of Specters now that his cousin had returned and tell him about the professor because he trusted Calderon. He didn't think it wise to bring everyone to talk to Calderon so he'd just fill them in after, however Michael had specifically asked to be with him so Scorpius relented. However, Saturday had been the Quidditch match, Sunday had been mostly him stuck in detention - from his fight with James - writing lines until his hand started to cramp up and then Monday was a long day class-wise so he'd decided to leave it until tomorrow. It really had to be Tuesday because Wednesday was the full moon and Michael was already looking peaky, Scorpius had another detention so he agreed to meet Michael after.

His detentions were with Midas since Calderon apparently was no longer trusted to oversee his own detentions so Elwood gave it to her. He and James sat on opposite sides of the room writing identical lines about not fighting, Scorpius always got to finish earlier due to being in less trouble. However Michael didn't meet him outside the classroom when he was done, Scorpius scowled and checked the map - Michael had given it to him when he started feeling ill for the moon since they still needed to keep an eye on Professor Ashain - and found him alone with Mirra in an abandoned classroom. Rolling his eyes, Scorpius went to retrieve his friend. Knocking didn't occur to him for some reason but it was unnecessary anyway as they weren't kissing or being interrupted kissing as he observed when he barged in. They were sitting on a crudely transfigured couch or rather Mirra was as Michael was lying on it on his back with his head resting on her lap with his eyes closed, she was playing with his hair as they talked about dancing.

"Oh hey Scorpius," Mirra greeted him with a surprised smile when she noticed him while Michael flicked open his eyes to glance at him, Scorpius envied how casually close they could just be, "What's up?"

"Michael was just supposed to meet me to visit Calderon so... I went looking for him when he didn't show up," Scorpius offered as Michael sat up.

"Is your detention over already?" Michael wondered in surprise, "Time flies. Sorry, Mirra, I have to go."

"It's okay, sweetie, you did warn me," Mirra said as Michael stood, "I'll see you later."

"You're a star," Michael smiled at her before leaning down to kiss her, a long lingering kiss in goodbye before he pulled away and offered a wave as he started to walk away. Mirra blew him a kiss as he left the room and the two finally headed off, "Sorry, Scorpius, lost track of time."

"I'm sure you did," Scorpius sighed, "How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"You just make relationships look easy, you seem to know what to do and say and you know how to make out and when to make out and to spend time together and just casually lie on her legs," Scorpius explained frustrated while Michael just looked confused, "I always worry about what I should do or whether I'm doing the right thing or if its normal, we've made out once and I didn't even realize it and... and I don't know. You just... seem to know what to do."

"You must be doing something right if she's still with you, you trusted her with your past and she's still by your side so you can't be doing that badly," Michael offered, still looking bemused as he ran his fingers through his hair, "I haven't been with Mirra as long as you, I don't know what I'm doing either. I just... do what feels natural and try be a good boyfriend, maybe just don't worry so much? And don't compare your relationship to other peoples, everyone is different and there's no normal. Molly would probably say if you were doing something wrong anything."

"It doesn't matter," Scorpius shrugged it off, regretting his rant, "I am happy to be with her, I just worry that I'll do something wrong and lose her sometimes. Because I don't seem to know as much about dating as other people do. Rose and that guy always seem to have their lips glued together whenever I see her with him, mostly I talk to Molly when I see her and we just kiss in greeting or goodbye. On the lips and for a long time but not like that."

"Well talking is good, you're closer to Molly and know her better than Rose does Dirk. You could probably kiss Molly more if you tried," Michael pointed out before running his hand through his hair again and looking nervous, "Do you... Do you ever think that... maybe you hold back a bit because of... you know, your abduction and everything with the muggles?"

"Of course not!" Scorpius snapped fiercely, offended at the thought, "I'm completely over being abducted, and it doesn't affect me in any way anymore. I'm older now, stronger, I'm not a weak pathetic child. I'm fine. Did my parents tell you to say that?"

"Why would your parents tell me to say that? It was just a thought, don't bite my head off."

"I don't accuse you of being effected by Bob beating you."

"It wasn't an accusation! It was just a thought and there's nothing wrong with it, it's not abnormal to be effected by things. My great-grandmother was murdered right in front of me and it haunted me enough to draw pictures of it in class, my teacher thought I was even more of a freak. And... And then I guess I don't trust men as easily as I do women because of everything with Bob, last year I kept worrying about Mr Potter hitting me when I was staying with Albus and Vern. Not because he wasn't nice to me or anything, just because I was used to it," Michael told him awkwardly and nervously, "It's like Leebin says, it's not wrong to feel things. Maybe you should try talking to him about all this stuff when he gets back, he's pretty good. You should give him a chance."

"So I guess you're over Rose then?" Scorpius asked, purely to change the subject and wishing Michael had been in an abandoned classroom closer to Calderon's room to hang out.

"Yeah, I think so. I mean, I was unsure at first about dating her at first but I really like Mirra. She's really nice and kind and caring and supportive, not like Rose at all. She doesn't care about my scars or my eyes or me being a werewolf or anything, it's nice," Michael said, sounding sincere and smiling slightly, "It's nice to be liked for who I am and not feel like there's something wrong with me, it just feels good to be with Mirra. She is really great, you'd like her and trust her if you got to know her."

"Maybe I would. You should invite her to study with us sometime," Scorpius volunteered, both because he did was interested in having more than two word conversations with his best friend's girlfriend and because it might encourage Michael to start doing work again. Michael didn't look convinced though, "She's friends with Molly and Latimer so it's not like Sixth Years can't sit with us."

"Yeah but I'm just kinda afraid that Rose will scare her off. Even when she's trying to be not-mean to Latimer, it comes across as mean and I don't think she likes Mirra very much. Plus Albus used to like her, I don't want to make things awkward."

"Try when Rose isn't there maybe? I'm sure it'd be fine anyway, Mirra doesn't have a load of scars for Rose to be shallow about."

"Scorpius, she called Mirra a dumb, blond, bimbo not two days ago."

"Not to her face..."

"Well then what about Albus?"

"I'm sure he'd be fine with it, he falls 'in love' pretty quickly. He'll probably fall for... I don't know, my grandmother next or something. He's glad you're happy and if it'll make you feel better than just ask him if he's okay with Mirra hanging out with us," Scorpius offered with more confidence, Albus did genuinely seem over Mirra and glad for Michael being happy. In fact, Albus was much more invested in theorizing about the possession and seemed overjoyed at being included now. Michael still didn't look convinced, "How about if you invite Mirra to sit with us then I'll talk to Leebin about something that matters to me like you want? If Rose upsets Mirra and Leebin is useless then we can both never do it again and not mention it but you-we should at least try."

"Alright," Michael agreed hesitantly and came to a stop as they reached Calderon's room, "But only if Albus is okay with it, I don't want to upset him."

"Okay, deal," Scorpius confirmed, "Dragons."

---

Roman was glad to be back in Hogwarts to be away from the traitors and for Quidditch but also hated being back in Hogwarts because of the incessant bullying and mass of people, why did no option in his life ever have a downside? He cheered up somewhat after annihilating Ravenclaw in the next Quidditch match, Quidditch and Luna's letters were the only things he had to look forward to. The rest of the year passed uneventfully, he got decent grades again but despite winning his final game of the year against Hufflepuff, they didn't win the Quidditch Cup. Roman wasn't bothered though, he had won after all which was his job and he couldn't care less about Slytherin's cup. There was news when he returned home, both Angelina and Fleur - again - was pregnant while Harry Potter was engaged to Ginny, although the wedding wasn't for another year.

It was an awkward lonely summer with the Weasleys as Percy seemed determined to hound him with pointless questions about how he was, lecture him on the importance of OWLs and try to take him places. Roman was sure Percy was trying to lure him away to murder him so he refused, for his birthday again he got presents from all the Weasleys with the most noteworthy item being a new broomstick from Ginny and Harry. It was an exclusive broom that wasn't available to the mass public yet, Ginny had gotten a hold of it due to playing for the Holyhead Harpies. Roman couldn't decide whether to be grateful or whether to be afraid they'd jinxed it to kill him, he knew Harry still wanted to kill him at least. It seemed safe enough when he tested it though.

Soon enough, Roman was back on the platform and refusing hugs from Percy and Audrey as he stalked onto the train with his loyal and beloved Smokey. Usually Roman gave little thought to his grades but that year, he did find himself stressed. His siblings had been homeschooled but even they had taken examinations - although at home not Hogwarts - to gain OWLs and NEWTs, since they were recognized qualifications for jobs. He had trouble sleeping and eating, afraid of failing and exhausted himself with study. Tension headaches joined anxious heart pounding as being daily occurrences, Quidditch was the only break he got mentally and everyone else was apparently not stressed enough to stop bullying him. He did win his first match though, he thought it was the first time he'd smiled all year. He looked forward to Luna's letters more than ever, reading them every night in place of a bed time story to help take his mind off his exam anxiety. It was the first year since he'd started playing Quidditch that he spent Christmas break in Hogwarts studying instead of playing Quidditch.

Fifth Year was all about thinking and planning the future, this made Roman both anxious and hopeful. Hopeful because he was generally unhappy with his life and he wanted more but anxious because he was afraid of waking up in another fifteen years still with an unhappy life. However, he would have choices after he turned seventeen with control over his own life to improve it. He couldn't speak for friends but it was his choice to select a career he'd enjoy and of course, a wife to spend the rest of his life with. He'd already chosen both, becoming a professional Seeker was naturally his choice for a career and Luna of course was his choice for a wife. The two went hand in hand, he'd have to travel as a Seeker which tied in with Luna travelling to study creatures and he wouldn't be so anxious with her by his side.

He'd be sixteen the next time he saw her at the wedding - it was near the end of August after his, Ginny's and Percy's August birthdays - while she'd be twenty-two, he didn't think the age gap was too bad. In fact, sixteen was one year of the legal age so he could probably start courting her during his final years of Hogwarts so they'd be ready for marriage when he graduated. They'd already had more interaction than his own parents before marrying but much less than people 'dating' before marriage, he still thought courtship was more proper and noble than the vulgarity of his classmates. Luna wasn't the most conventional person - although it could be argued that dating was the conventional thing now so his way was unconventional - but he thought and hoped that she'd appreciate it, he loved her for who she was and not just because she was breath-takingly beautiful. He'd decided he'd bring it up at the wedding, they'd talk for a bit in person for the first time in ages. Then he'd ask her to dance and impress her with his adherence to proper formal form. While she was still impressed, he'd give her a gift and ask her to agree to courtship with him.

It was for that reason that he ventured to Hogsmeade for the first time, there were too many people and scary looking adults. He had a panic attack but forced himself to not leave - if he couldn't do it for Luna then he didn't deserve her - and try again, he walked around randomly and counted to keep himself calm. With every step that he walked without an attempt on his life, he felt a shred calmer. By the time it was too late that Hogwarts students had to return, Roman was no longer counting although still felt on edge and had his heart beating so hard it hurt but that was normal for public situations unfortunately. He won the next match and stayed again over Easter since he had no obligations to go home for weddings or the like, although he was told that Angelina had given birth to baby Fred - named after her husband's dead twin - in November and Fleur had had baby Louis in January so there was two new Weasleys in the family because obviously there weren't enough Weasleys already.

His next trip to Hogsmeade went better although still terrifying, he did a chance to look around for gifts. He went for jewelry because... well, girls liked jewelry. After some thought, he went with an amber unicorn because traditionally unicorns weren't amber so it seemed the rare kind of mythical creature that Luna would search for. He just hoped she'd like it. The most surprising thing though, was having to sit down for a Career Advice session with his head of house who happened to be Slughorn. It was rather disastrous, Slughorn outright laughed at his career goal. He then preceded to meticulously and sadistically pick apart any of Roman's hopes for being a professional Seeker due to his lack of knowledge or interest in the rest of the game outside his position, Quidditch leagues in general and more advanced strategy or technique, lack of talent compared to professional players or even students Slughorn had taught who'd become professional players, the difficulty in being able to join a team due to high standards and a sheer amount of people trying out as well as Roman's own 'difficulties' - as Slughorn put it - with people.

Slughorn advised he pick a different career as a backup. Roman could only nod, his head had hung lower pretty much with every word as Slughorn tore apart his hopes and dreams. He was so close to crying that he didn't trust himself to speak and the tears had started falling before he'd left the room, he put a Silencing Charm on himself to hide his sobs before he could retreat back to his dormitory to hug Smokey and cry his eyes out. It tore a serious hole in his perfectly planned life with Luna as well as obliterating the confidence he'd accumulated, he couldn't focus on the next match and lost. Slughorn had been right, he was a completely useless Seeker and a pathetic worthless loser who'd never amount to anything or be worthy of Luna's love. Nothing would ever get better, there was no hope. The last few weeks of the year were simply awful, the loss of the match and his dreams had a knock on effect with his stress, Audrey and Percy's letters impressing upon him the importance of OWLs didn't help either. In fact it all had the opposite effect.

---

"Scor!" Calderon greeted him happily and Scorpius smiled as he hugged his cousin as lights exploded around him, Scorpius had missed that, "Been too long. Sorry about having to give you a detention though."

"It's okay," Scorpius offered as they pulled apart, "It's good to see you."

"Oh and hey Michael!"

"Hey Calderon," Michael held up a hand in a gesture of a greeting as he also smiled, "We're not interrupting you, are we?"

"Only from paperwork but I'd take interruption over paperwork any time," Calderon assured them as he led them into his much more sizable quarters, although it still looked quite empty but the stack of paperwork on the desk was new. Calderon turned to them, still smiling as lights danced around him as he clapped his hands together, "Don't usually get visitors, sorry about the mess. Ticcy and Ruby mostly and mostly I go to them because Ruby has his dogs and Ticcy has his kids so it's easier. So what can I do for you?"

"We... We just wanted to talk to you about something important," Scorpius explained and felt suddenly guilty that he was probably about to wreck Calderon's good mood, if he didn't feel pressed for time then he might've tried to talk to him first but it was almost dinner now, "We know about the Scepter being hidden in Hogwarts, in the Chamber of Secrets."

"You are really good at knowing things," Calderon sighed as he sat down on the couch, gesturing for them to sit also which they did and his lights faded, he rubbed his head and Scorpius noticed how tired the assistant looked, "Sorry, still feeling a tad tired when I used magic so basically all the time and headachy. Well I don't know how you found out but I hope you realize that I can't go around telling you things about it, in fact I shouldn't even be telling you this."

"I erm..." Scorpius began but hesitated, he didn't want to stress Calderon out even more if he wasn't feeling a hundred percent, "Do you think you're being poisoned again?"

"No, Merlin, no. I was doing a favor for Harry," Calderon assured him, "I was testing a potion to temporarily block magic, it didn't work but it did make me feel ill and weird. That's where I went, it's still working itself out of my system. Fitz said it took a while for the other test subjects who didn't have broken magic too but it does eventually, he offered I could stay but I wanted to go home. I am feeling a lot better, it'll be fine."

"Okay."

"Was that all?"

"I just... Was worried about the Shadows trying to steal it again," Scorpius pointed out truthfully, "You know a lot about Specters, is there any way that they could possess people without making their eyes glow?"

"Not to my knowledge and I severely doubt it, if it was that easy then they wouldn't have needed to use Pippy's metamorphmagi...ness."

"Okay. Is there any way that they wouldn't be affected by Patronuses?"

"Absolutely none," Calderon said very firmly as he shook his head, "They are the Shadows of one of - if not the - worst, foulest creatures to walk this Earth. There's no way they could resist being hurt, affected or banished by a Patronus, any more than a Dementor or a Lethifold could suddenly become immune. Is this about your thinking Ticcy's possessed?"

"Erm... Maybe."

"I strongly doubt he is but if he is then there's absolutely no way that it could not be done by a Shadow, your accusation was investigated and he was blasted by multiple Patronuses including my own. There's very little chance there was a Shadow inside him, even if there was then it there's zero that it wasn't banished and by some bizarre miracle that we didn't see it then it would certainly not only have been banished, but obliterated. There is no way he's possessed by a Shadow. Absolutely none. At all," Calderon told him, sounding extremely confident and Scorpius watched the shadows dancing in his eyes dark truth-filled eyes, "I promise you that there's no Shadow possessing him, I care about Ticcy too and I guarantee you that it's not a Shadow. I can't speak with absolute certainty because I don't know too much about non-Shadow possession but I can absolutely be certain - I made certain - there's no Shadow."

"Okay," Scorpius nodded, trusting Calderon that it wasn't a Specter. Whatever was possessing Professor Ashain wasn't a Specter and maybe not even the Soul Eaters were behind it.

"Anything else? It's nearly dinner, I don't want you to hungry."

"No, that was it," Scorpius told him and Michael threw him a confused look at his not telling Calderon about how he knew for certain that the professor was possessed, even if it wasn't by Specters, "That's it for now."

"No, it's not," Michael spoke up and Scorpius scowled, he'd hoped that Michael would realize why he wasn't telling Calderon more for the assistant's health, "I asked you before about if a muggle could be magical and not know it, do you remember? The first time I met you."

"Yes, I do," Calderon confirmed with a nod, it was Scorpius' turn to look confused. What did that have to do with anything? "What about it?"

"You said something being born outside the enchantment or being a muggle-born who was supposed to start Hogwarts in 1997. Can you elaborate?"

"There's an enchantment around England that detects all magical births, it records the name of every child born within England - they have these for pretty much every country in their own magic school - which includes any blood status, including muggle-borns. Every child in the record has the right to go to Hogwarts, muggle-borns have someone visit to explain it like I did with you while magical families or at least families who have magical knowledge will just be sent a letter offering them a place, they send back an owl to accept or decline if they want to home-school them or pay to send them to a different school. The enchantment no longer includes Ireland as they have their own magic school but it encompasses all of England and islands surrounding it so unless you're born on a boat or plane or something outside the bounds or on an uninhabited island then it picks you up."

"Okay, what about the other thing?"

"You've heard of the Dark Lord Voldemort, right?" Calderon asked with a strangely sad expression on his face as Michael nodded, it occurred to Scorpius that Calderon had probably been raised to think Voldemort was great, "During the Second Wizarding War, he took control of the Ministry and of Hogwarts in the summer of 1997. In shot he was prejudiced against muggle-borns to the point that he wanted them dead, they'd prosecute muggle-born witches and wizard for supposedly stealing magic from real witches and wizards so they had go on the run because they were hunted down.

"Now, taking over Hogwarts gave him access to the record book which is how they knew the name of every muggle-born and since it records death too, there was also that. They couldn't be bother to waste the manpower to go after muggle-born children not yet learning magic although they were going to go after them eventually, in the meantime though, simply denying them the chance to learn magic was enough. After all, muggle-borns - unless in unusual circumstances where they already know about magic like from being related to a wizard or something - don't know about magic and wouldn't know unless told, or at least not be able to learn it. Like you. So they didn't send people out to give letters to muggle-borns that year.

"Severus Snape was the Headmaster that Lord Voldemort put in charge because he was a Death Eater who had killed the previous Headmaster Dumbledore, he was actually secretly working for the good guys though and had killed Dumbledore on the man's own wishes because he was dying anyway and stuff. After the Death Eaters had more control, they were going to go through with killing the muggle-borns on the list so they tore out the appropriate pages for those who should've been starting that year. Snape tried to protect them by making it seem like an accident that the pages were destroyed, some actually were destroyed, some did fall into the Death Eaters hands and a good number, Snape managed to keep hidden. This wasn't an issue again until everything was alright again and the war was won, Hogwarts was back under good control.

"Hogwarts sent people out to the names on the list that Snape had saved so the muggle-borns could start Hogwarts with the year that should've been below them. However, there are still the pages the Death Eaters had and the pages destroyed. The Death Eaters did kill at least some of the muggle-borns on the their pages, the pages were lost or destroyed at some point though so we can't be sure if all of them died or if there were some on the list they hadn't gotten to yet. Any on the pages the Death Eaters hadn't gotten to yet and those on the destroyed pages didn't get letters or find out they were wizards and witches.

"There are usually about fifty muggle-born students a year, give or take but only twenty-five were on the list that Snape saved. Nine muggle-borns who should've started school that year were confirmed killed by Death Eaters so that's about eighteen unaccounted for. The Ministry tried to track down any muggle-borns but it's not that easy to do, they got three who managed to get a magical education but there's still about thirteen unaccounted for, they stopped trying after a while because it was hard with little success and they had things deemed more important in the wake of the war. The unlucky thirteen, Minerva called the unaccounted. Of course there could be none, it might've been a small year or the Death Eaters might've killed the rest and they just didn't connect it. But it is still likely that there was some muggle-borns born between September 1985 and August 1986 who never found out they were wizards or witches."

"That's kind of sad," Scorpius admitted, "That these people could have the gift magic and don't even know it."

"Oh, they probably know it," Calderon pointed out, "The reason that a majority of magical schools start at eleven is because those younger have less stamina so it's harder for them to learn without tiring, and those older are starting to hit puberty. Lots of changes happen then and with magic too, the shift in hormones and mood swings and everything makes it much easier to tap into magic so they need to learn control it then. Those muggle-borns almost certainly noticed that something was different with them, something was wrong probably, even if they don't understand what it was, they probably thought they were going insane and that there was something badly wrong with them. It wouldn't have been an easy for them, those around them probably deemed them crazy or having psychological issues too."

"That's even worse."

"I think my aunt Annie is a witch," Michael prompted and both Scorpius and Calderon looked at him in surprise, "Don't look at me weirdly, I'm pretty sure it's true. She was born on February twenty-second 1986 so she should've started Hogwarts in 1997 when muggle-borns weren't allowed. When I first asked her if anything weird - magic things - had happened to her like it had me, she admitted it had but told me that it was your mind playing tricks. I've seen her do things too, appliances used to like blow up when she was frustrated and I saw her conjure - unintentionally - an actual knife before. I don't know a lot about her teenage years but her Dad died when she was twelve, she and Jack were separated and put in foster care where she admits her social worker thought she was nuts and had issues. It could've been because of magic."

"Being in foster care would also have made it harder to track down," Calderon added, "When you next see her, you should take her to the Ministry. They can test people for magic and they'll recognize for sure whether she's magical or not, she wouldn't be able to go to Hogwarts but they'd do something to help her with magic. Probably set her on a course for adults or something but it would be better than whatever her current status is. Trust me, it's a horrible experience to cause magical happenings that you can't control. It must be even worse to not understand what's happening to you."

---

Part 6: Anxiety

---

Roman was a wreck. He couldn't focus when trying to study for his OWLs because he'd get so worked up about failing, he was so afraid of failing on them too that he'd burst into tears or have outright panic attacks. The stress headaches were so bad that it felt like it was tearing apart his skull apart, the pain was so bad that he could barely think through it. He couldn't sleep at all, he lay awake at night too tormented to sleep and he faced every day exhausted with stinging eyes. He couldn't eat either, his appetite was gone and his nerves twisted his stomach into nauseous knots, he could barely nibble food without vomiting and inadvertently lost a lot of weight. He couldn't concentrate on written work at all or practical and his wandwork was disastrous, his struggle with focus and stress often going overboard or causing things to explode, he accidentally used magic a lot more than usual. It was so bad that even his teachers noticed - it was hard for them not to considering had meltdowns in class - and had to take him out of class, this made him feel even worse because he was missing valuable work time. His classmates had stopped thinking it was funny.

Hogwarts must have told his sister - Roman still never wrote to her - because the letters stopped being about how important OWLs were and instead on how he should 'get over' being stressed for a while which just made him feel worse. Ultimately changing again to be more about how he just needed to try his best, it was more important to relax and take care of himself. Even those made Roman feel worse, they were just lying to make him feel better. How evil was that?! How were lies supposed to make him feel better?! And his teachers said they same, lies, lies, lies! He wasn't that stupid, they'd stress the importance of OWLs then turn round and tell him to relax?! Were they completely stupid?! He'd scream at them for it, he felt like he was losing his mind and completely out of control, everything spiraling downwards in just a few weeks. He could no longer be a professional Seeker because he was a worthless failure so grades were everything. He was in the Hospital Wing more times, given things to help him sleep, keep his food down, keep him calm or calming draughts stop the pain but he'd always work himself back into a panic as soon as they stopped.

He was permanently on a regime of potions by the time it came to actual exams, he had to take one for nausea before and after every meal, three just before bed every night for sleeping - one to put him to sleep, one to keep him asleep and one to make sure it was a dreamless not nightmarish sleep - and one for anxiety every two hours. Roman had given up any semblance of dignity at this point, it was a good thing because if not he would've had to deal with utter shame at falling apart over something every other student in the history of Hogwarts had coped with fine. The potions did help somewhat, he was finally sleeping better and they stopped him vomiting up his food at least but he still felt ill in between sometimes, he still lacked much of an appetite. He did still feel anxious but not to the same degree, his heart no longer hurt from beating so hard at least but he did still cry sometimes. His magic outbursts had also diminished to the point he was just about able to perform spells again. They upped his anxiety potion to one every other hour during exam weeks. He was definitely glad to have only taken two optional subjects as nine was barely enough to cope with.

Charms, Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts all involved a written portion and a practical spell-casting segment, he answered every question and performed every spell asked of him. Whether he'd done everything right or with enough skill, he wasn't sure but if he stopped to think about it then he'd break down. Potions, Herbology, Astronomy and Care of Magical Creatures all consisted of a written exam - a very short one in the case of Care of Magical Creatures - and a practical of some kind that you'd do in that subject. Again, Roman answered every question on the written and did his best to create the potion, care for the plant, name the stars he was seeing and... Well a lot in Care of Magical Creatures. Nothing went wrong but that didn't mean he'd succeed, he thought bad quality success was just as much of a fail as a fail. History of Magic and Study of Ancient Runes were both just written exams where he did manage to answer every question, for better or for worse. It was hard to tell how he'd done, the examiners smiled so maliciously that he doubted well but he'd have to see. Roman couldn't help but be relieved they were over no matter what, he felt so completely drained from the past few weeks of hell that he just wanted to sleep forever.

He was glad when he could board the train with Smokey to go home, he slept almost all the way. He shrugged off Audrey and Percy's questions and went straight to bed when he got in, he spend much of the first part of the summer in bed, he didn't even bother with Quidditch. Not outwardly falling apart but worried about his OWL results anyway, the shame of struggling to cope with the pressure was catching up to him as well and he didn't want to face Audrey or Percy despite attempts to talk to him. His siblings had never hadn't been that anxious, Percy was evil and not even he had. None of the Weasleys had. Roman was just completely worthless, clearly. The results did arrive at breakfast on a scorching day that would've been perfect for Quidditch, although Roman didn't immediately notice when he recognized Aubrey's handwriting on a letter addressed to Audrey.

"Is that from Aubrey?" Roman had asked, she blinked in surprise at him willingly engaging in conversation for once. She nodded, "You write to each other?"

"He writes, it's a recent thing that he started doing. I read them but I don't write back. If he wanted to know how we were doing then he shouldn't have betrayed me and left, he should at least have apologized. I'm not writing back until he does," Audrey explained which Percy's expression seemed to indicate that he didn't agree with while Roman smiled slightly inside, that was pretty much his reasoning with Audrey. He was doing the right thing by ignoring her letters, it was what she did and what he did if Aubrey every thought that he was worth writing to, "Roman, it's your OWL results."

"It is?" Roman wondered as he took the very official letter, the adults' eyes seemed to bore into him and his hands started to shake as his heart thundered. He started to tear open the envelope as careful as physically possible before breaking down in tears, "I c-can't d-do it! I k-know I f-failed everything!"

"Roman-"

Audrey started to speak but Roman was already fleeing to his room, throwing himself onto his bed to cry. Despite Audrey's and Percy's attempts, Roman refused to come out whether to open his results or not until the evening when he finally decided that he had to get it over with it. He was shaking so badly that he was afraid of accidentally tearing up letter, he was taking a long time so Audrey snatched it from him to open instead. Showing him the letter at the same time as she was reading it, Percy nosily peeked too. It wasn't any of his damn business what Roman's OWL results were.

ORDINARY WIZARDING LEVEL RESULTS

Pass Grades

Outstanding (O)

Exceeds Expectations (E)

Acceptable (A)

Fail Grades

Poor (P)

Dreadful (D)

Troll (T)

Roman Magnus Rivers has achieved:

Astronomy: E

Care of Magical Creatures: E

Charms: O

Defense Against the Dark Arts: O

Herbology: A

History of Magic: O

Potions: A

Study of Ancient Runes: O

Transfiguration: O

"That's not so bad," Roman sighed, he'd gotten no fail grades at least and it was better than he'd expected. In fact, he thought he'd done fairly well considering how much of a wreck he'd been. Just when he'd started to relax slightly that it was alright - maybe not as good as if he had coped better but decent enough - when Audrey spoke.

"Could've been better though," Audrey commented and Roman couldn't help but burst into tears while his sister made an exasperated noise while he ran off back to his room to cry, catching Audrey's sigh and words to Percy, "That's why we need to have a son, girls are even more sensitive than that!"

---

"You didn't tell me that about your aunt," Scorpius pointed out to Michael after they'd left Calderon.

"I wanted to talk to Calderon about it first," Michael shrugged it off but seemed to be trying to smile, "Isn't it great? I won't be the only one in my family who's magical, I won't have to stay away from her."

"What? You don't have to stay away from your family?" Scorpius wondered in confusion and Michael lost his smile.

"I'm a werewolf, Scorpius, it's for their own safety that I stay away from them. They can't even defend themselves."

"That's just stupid," Scorpius protested, Michael wasn't dangerous except for one night a month and he took Wolfsbane for that. If anything, he was more likely to be a threat to himself.

"You just don't understand. You're a pureblood and everyone you care about is magical."

"I can still understand, I'm not prejudiced," Scorpius insisted somewhat truthfully, it had been a long time since he'd thought of muggle-borns as mudbloods.

"Well like... Why do you think Ashain's wife was freaked out enough by magic to leave her family? Because she could see it was dangerous and she has no way to defend herself. Why do you think Varanian doesn't want his in-laws to help him more? Because he knows if the Soul Eaters went after them then they'd have no way to defend themselves. Why do you think Molly's squib sister gets sent to a muggle boarding school? Because her Dad wants her out of the way of an attack because he knows that she wouldn't be able to defend herself. What would you do if you were attacked with magic? You'd fight back and probably ring away to Varanian for help. What would a muggle do? Try to run from people who can teleport? Try to hide from people who can use spells to reveal where they'd try to hide? They wouldn't stand a chance. Just look at Vern's parents," Michael explained and his expression became solemn, "Crystal, Jack, my brothers, my sisters... They're better off without me."

"You can't think like that."

"See, you just don't understand."

"I understand! But you still can't think like that. No one's going to go after your family."

"You mean like how Greyback already did?" Michael prompted and Scorpius couldn't think of anything to say to that.

"I still don't think you shouldn't be alienating yourself from your family," Scorpius said instead and Michael scowled at him.

"You're not much better."

"That's completely different."

"Different reasons but you're still apart from your family."

Scorpius didn't know what to say that either. Maybe he wasn't close to his family so much anymore but it wasn't his fault they thought he was a weak, pathetic child and insisted on trying to treat him as such. Or that all they liked talking about was unborn sibling. The little girl who'd join poor Lyra in death soon enough. Why did his parents even want to go through that again? Scorpius didn't want to think about it.

He didn't see much of Michael the following day, it was the last day of November and the full moon. Michael was pretty wiped and bade them farewell after lunch to go to the Hospital Wing already, Scorpius just hoped he wouldn't attack himself again. After lunch it was the Patronus lesson where Scorpius had trouble focusing, it was the last day of November and his baby sister was due to be born in December. It was so close. Earlier if she was born premature. So close to birth. And death.

"You okay, Scor?" Professor Ashain asked him and Scorpius jolted in surprise, not realizing how long he'd been aimlessly staring into space.

"Just thinking, sorry," Scorpius apologized.

He looked at the professor as he spoke. The professor was still looking healthy, fresh faced with no hints of strain or tiredness. The weather was still bitingly cold but Professor Ashain had somehow managed to acquire a tan, a strange tan that gave his skin an olive tinge that was especially noticeable when he was beside his pale skinned children. He really did look young when he was clean-shaven, he was in his forties but could pass... He looked really young. It was no longer a matter of looking good for his age, he physically looked like a man in his twenties and lines that had been on his face were actually gone. Was he getting younger? Was the possession causing it? Why would it cause that? Maybe it was just nothing but it seemed an odd coincidence that the professor was noticably looking different while being possessed, even if not in the expected way.

"Are you sure?" Professor Ashain wondered, frowning at the odd look that Scorpius was giving him.

"Yeah. Are you okay?"

"Yes."

"Good," Scorpius faked a smile before getting back to his work while the professor moved along, "Do you think he's looking younger and tanned?"

"Yes actually," Albus admitted as he studied the professor for moment and scratched his chin, Rose was returning to her seat near them as he did so after going to the bathroom, "I'm guessing you're thinking it's not normal?"

"Of course it's normal!" Rose complained in a hiss, "His wife left him, clearly he's just trying to spice up his appearance to start dating again. They sell skin tanning potion and anti-aging potions at the same shop that I got the hair dye, stop looking for suspicious things everywhere."

Scorpius would've pointed out that he knew this wasn't true - they kept an eye on him with the map, he hadn't left Hogwarts even if he thought for a second that Professor Ashain was the type of man to do as Rose suggested - if it wasn't pointless talking to her because she didn't know about the possession. Calderon ruling out Specter possession basically left the Legilimancy theory or the Horcrux theory, both of which were actually quite difficult. There wasn't any information on Horcruxes in the Hogwarts Library, Scorpius wouldn't even have known that they could possess people if not for Albus. And then Legilimancy, there was stuff on that but it was highly advanced and not taught at Hogwarts. Luckily, Rose was hanging out with her boyfriend and Corin had gone off alone to avoid Abby so they could talk about it in the Library that afternoon. Scorpius, Abby, Albus, Orous, Maurice, Molly and Latimer all wedged in the farthest corner. Vern was late.

"There's a spell for it," Maurice announced and pushed a large ancient book over to Latimer and Molly, "It'll break the hold a Legilimens has."

"It's in Runic," Molly complained with a frown while Latimer scanned it, also scowling.

"Maurice, it says this spell basically works by torturing the person using Legilimens through the mental connection they have on the victim, it forces them to let it go because of the pain and potential to damage or destroy the Legilimens mind," Latimer pointed out while Maurice looked completely unfazed.

"And?" Maurice wondered, "Whoever's possessing Ashain is clearly and would deserve this. It also isn't Legilimancy per se like the other spells that would help here, the ones that you two keep shooting down because Hogwarts stupidly doesn't teach Legilimancy. You should be able to learn it, it's only NEWT level and you're both NEWT level."

"It's Dark Magic!"

"I'm sure it's not, borderline maybe," Abby offed and Latimer rolled his eyes.

"It's in the book's title."

"Oh. Hmm... Maybe I should've taken Ancient Runes."

"What's wrong with using Dark Magic for a good cause?" Maurice protested irritably as he pulled the book back to him, "It'd save Ashain."

"Because some of us still want to have souls," Albus sighed while Vern came over to them, "Try again. Oh Vern, I see you've finally decided to grace us with your presence."

"Err... Yeah," Vern muttered, "Can Olivia sit with us?"

"Who's that?"

"My girlfriend."

"Oh her. She hasn't broken your heart yet?"

"No, she's really great," Vern insisted defensively, "So... Can she?"

"Well we're kind of talking theories here," Scorpius pointed out, "Doesn't she have her own friends that she can sit with?"

"She's scared to sit with them in case James picks on them too and you're doing actual homework anyway," Vern pleaded.

"Molly's writing a letter to her Dad to ask her about positive effects of possession."

"Its fine, we were pretty much done with theories anyway," Maurice agreed with a sigh as he shoved the runic book back into his bag.

"Great, I'll go get her," Vern grinned happily before it wavered worriedly, "And please be nice to her."

"Why would we not be?" Abby offered kindly and Vern headed off.

"Well I hope his girlfriend doesn't mind talking about how Gryffindor wiped the floor with her house and her brother's team," Albus said with a smirk as he stretched before pausing to flex his arm, pointing to it, "And look at that, Lat, been practicing flying every day like you said and check out them muscles."

"You should see my Dad's friend," Orous volunteered and went to elaborate but Maurice interjected.

"Roman doesn't have any friends."

"I meant my Dad not Roman!" Orous clarified with a slight scowl, "But anyway, he's a firefighter too and he has arms like tree trunks and when I was little he used to be able to pick me up with one hand. I remember that."

"Hey guys, this is Olivia," Vern introduced the Slytherin, who Scorpius immediately noticed had a black eye, "Olivia, these are my friends. Orous and Maurice you know, this is Scorpius, Abby, Molly, Latimer and my cousin, Albus."

"Hi," Olivia offered nervously with a wave.

"What happened to your face?" Albus asked immediately as the couple went to sit down, Olivia stiffened but her words came easily.

"Your brother happened."

"James hit you?"

"With a spell. All I did was telling him to leave that poor First Year alone."

"Well your brother is just as bad," Albus shot out defensively while looking slightly disappointed, in James maybe?

"Which one?" Olivia asked conversationally while she and Vern got their books out, "I have three."

"The... one... in my year. He was a jerk in our First Year."

"What has Maxie done lately?" Olivia asked innocently, "Aside from volunteering in St Mungo's to help out the victims of Hogsmeade all summer, of course, and giving his allowance to charity."

"The Quidditch one then," Albus complained, apparently not able to think of anything to counter this as Nott hadn't done anything noteworthy of late except for asking for a werewolf bracelet which was hardly bad. Olivia also had one, which Scorpius noted as she inclined her head.

"I'll give you that but even he doesn't pick on defenseless First Years and those several years younger than him, just call him by his full name - Schuyler - and he'll leave you alone anyway. He hates his name, he will literally go away just to not hear you say it because he thinks it's embarrassing. We do it all the time if he's being a prick at home."

"Schuyler you say?" Molly repeated and Olivia nodded.

"Who's the third brother then?" Latimer asked curiously.

"Aloysius hasn't started Hogwarts yet," Olivia explained, "Not until next year."

"Oh right."

"So what do your parents do, Olivia?" Abby inquired politely.

"My Dad works at the Ministry and my Mum... Well she died," Olivia admitted.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay, I was really young when she died giving birth to Aloysius so I don't really remember her and my Dad's pretty great. Always has time for us."

"How nice," Albus sighed sadly while Scorpius felt his insides go cold.

"Your mother was a witch, wasn't she?" Scorpius asked and Olivia nodded.

"Yep, pureblood. Not that I'm prejudiced," Olivia added quickly and took Vern's hand as she spoke, giving a small grateful smile to her boyfriend as she did so that Vern returned, "My Dad has nothing against muggle-borns either."

Scorpius didn't care about that though. Olivia's mother had died giving birth to her brother. That happened. And happened to magical couples. Pureblooded magical couples, just like his parents. The icy feeling pierced his heart, he wasn't just losing another sister but possibly losing his mother too. And the baby was due in December, the month that began at midnight. He tried not to think about, he really tried but it was hard. He actually thought Olivia was nice enough from talking to her though. Molly also finished the letter to her father to include asking about possession that might make someone look a bit different in a positive way. He was surprised though to see the new times were up on the board in the Common Room as Leebin had finally returned, Scorpius' was actually tomorrow though and not further away like usual. First thing even. His struggle to sleep that night had nothing to do with Leebin though and everything to do with losing his family.

---

Roman's confidence was shot. He hated his OWLs and he hated himself, his birthday gifts featured a lot of books about careers and the future from Audrey and Percy which made him feel even worse. As did Percy's lectures on how just because he wasn't a prefect and hadn't gotten straight Os, it didn't mean that he couldn't do well... Roman was sure it was supposed to sound comforting but he thought that Percy just liked to rub it in that he was a success. The stories he'd loved as a child had been wrong, where the good guys always won and everything was happy. In reality, the bad guys always won, evil prevailed and the world was a terrible, soul-destroying place. He just wanted to curl up in bed forever and forget the world, if only not for the wedding where he had to get new robes again from another growth spurt. He was as tall as Percy now. The wedding was his last chance to make something good come from the disaster of a year with Luna, or she'd reject him because he was pathetically worthless. For that reason, he was both looking forward to seeing her if it went well or dreading it if it went badly. They almost ended up not going to the wedding, Audrey had been complaining about feeling ill all week and was sick most mornings. However they did still go, it was Percy's only sister's wedding. And Harry Potter's wedding. The famous Harry Potter. Who still wanted to murder him.

The wedding was like a nightmare from hell. It was still at the Burrow but the turnout was even greater than George and Percy's weddings combined, there were masses of people and even media coverage with journalists.. Audrey wasn't the only one who felt sick then. It was so massive that Roman thought they should've just rented a Quidditch stadium. Harry didn't have a lot of family, in fact he only had four. A muscled blond cousin - who Roman thought looked terrifying - and his wife - who looked as terrified as Roman - and the cousin's parents, Harry's aunt and uncle who looked as though they'd rather be anywhere but there. In fact, from the snatches of conversation that he heard, they were only there because of the cousin - the only one who seemed to want to be there, although magic things also seemed to make him nervous - and only there for the ceremony. Mr Weasley's excited questioning of them about muggle things might have helped with the muggles' discomfort. Looking at them made Roman nostalgic, Magnus had much preferred muggle clothes and the three piece suits that the men wore were exactly the style Magnus wore as casual daywear. Except with no bowtie and always in black.

Harry's relatives - the Dursleys - sat up front with the Weasleys, Roman - apparently he classed as family - and Harry's metamorphmagi godson Teddy Lupin, plus the grandmother who was raising him to keep the five-year-old in check. Bill and Fleur had their hands full with the toddler girls and baby Louis, at least Louis was sleeping though while baby Freddie kept trying to eat Angelina's necklace. Close friends of Harry and Ginny also were sitting near the front, he couldn't see Luna as she wasn't near enough to be visible through the swarm. Behind them were less close friends and then acquaintances. The entire Holyhead Harpies team was there and Roman thought that Harry must've invited the entire Ministry of Magic, the Minister himself was there. Roman didn't pay much attention to the ceremony, he was too busy trying to count to calm himself and was genuinely starting to worry about his heart beating itself into oblivion from smashing into his ribcage so hard. Audrey also didn't seem to having fun, she conjured a paper bag to throw up in twice but thankfully she never did use it.

After the ceremony it was an exhaustingly long affair and Roman kind of wished that he could've gone home at the same time the Dursleys did, there was a nice aerial display from the Holyhead Harpies to honor Ginny followed by a seemingly never-ending spiel of speeches. Including a speech from Minister Shacklebolt and plenty of other high-ranking Ministry personnel that Percy felt the need to talk about while Roman was trying to listen to the speech, Roman hated weddings so much. The only saving was grace that he'd finally spotted Luna, dressed in a golden dress that glittered in the light. Before he'd thought that she looked like the sun but now it was the star itself, a pure, brilliant star with radishes for earrings. He tried very hard not to stare but she was so beautiful and seeing her gave him strength to follow through with his plan, he really needed something good in his life, someone to make it all bearable. Eventually they got to eat, Roman realizing he was no longer at the child's table which would've cheered him up if not for the pressure of being at the table with the Minister himself. Thankfully, Roman wasn't spoken to much. Not after the Head Auror asked if he'd considered a career as an Auror and Ron had pointed out he fainted at over everything, people laughed like it was a joke anyway. Roman couldn't imagine himself ever fighting evil wizards but it still hurt to be laughed at.

After the meal, it was finally down to the mingling type portion of the evening. Although he had to endure Percy introducing him to seemingly everyone he worked with in the Ministry, Percy was intent on torturing him apparently instead of comforting his sick wife. Audrey had barely even picked at her food. Finally though, Percy either got bored or ran out of people to introduce him to so Roman was free to go and find Luna. He straightened the yellow bowtie he'd insisted on wearing and put his seeking talents to the test, looking for a golden girl instead of a Snitch this time. And there she was, standing at the edge of the dance floor all alone. It was perfect, Roman managed to feel giddy and terrified all at once, he clutched at the gift box containing the golden unicorn in his box nervously and walked to his - hopefully - future wife.

"H-Hey Luna," Roman greeted her with a smile he hoped didn't look as nervous as he felt.

"Roman?" Luna seemed to guess and he lost his smile as he nodded, afraid she didn't remember him but she smiled, "You got tall. I think a Fazkly must've sprinkled dust in your pumpkin juice."

"Yes, I grew. Taller. And older. I'm not twelve years old anymore," Roman babbled out stupidly and mentally kicked himself for sounding so idiotic, "I'm wearing yellow. Wearing yellow to a wedding is good luck, you... you taught me that."

"Well remembered. How are you doing?"

"Could be bett- I mean good," Roman changed his sentence mid-word as he thought she'd be more impressed if she didn't know he'd been a nervous wreck not too long ago, "Pret-Pretty good. I didn't fail any of my OWLs."

"How wonderful," Luna beamed.

"Yes," Roman nodded and kicked himself again, women didn't like to listen to men talk incessantly. His heart started thundering, he was failing, her smile was hiding her disappointment and lack of interest. He was losing her. He needed to make up for it quick, compliment her, "And erm... you look pretty. Pretty nice. Tonight. Not that I'm sure you don't always not look pretty."

"You're sweet, Roman."

"I-N-You erm..." Roman trailed off nervously blushing as he looked at the ground, this was going terribly wrong. Why couldn't his brain and work in tandem? Awkward silence. He needed to say something, anything, "I erm... the a...Th-The ground looks nice tonight."

Luna laughed musically and Roman almost did physically slap himself as his cheeks burned as if plunged into a blacksmith's fire. The ground looks nice?! What was wrong with him?! He had to physically bite his tongue to stop himself giving a verbal reprimand to himself. It was his last chance at happiness and he really couldn't screw it up with Luna, not now or his life would suck forever.

"I suppose it does," Luna said after a minute, sounding thoughtful and Roman realized she wasn't wearing shoes. Instead she'd slipped them off, revealing dainty feet with every toenail painted a different color, "It feels nice too. They'd want everything to be nice for the wedding."

"Y-Yeah," Roman stuttered out in agreement, his heartbeat softening slightly before a man came over to them with two drinks.

"I got the drinks, Luney," the man offered brightly and handed one to Luna as her head shot back up, she smiled as she took it.

"Thanks," Luna turned back to Roman, "Rolf, Roman. Roman, Rolf."

Roman vaguely recalled hearing about him in her letters, Rolf Scamander, grandson - or something - to the famous Newt Scamander and one of Luna's companions. A mentor type person, he thought. He was much later in his twenties than Luna or maybe in his early thirties, tall, tanned with wild curly hair that was a grubby kind of blondish brown and a beard to match. He had a square, chiseled jaw but rather round ears and possibly muscles beneath the ugly tweed he wore, his nose looked rather crooked though. Roman got a rather... shabby vibe from him, he didn't think Rolf spent a lot of time indoors and the formal wear looked unnatural on him. The only polished thing about him was his eyes, ambers that looked polished to shine.

"Nice to meet you, Roman," Rolf said in a friendly manner and casually but his arm round Luna with a smile while Roman felt his heart slowly slide and drop into to his feet.

"How-How d-do you know e-each oth-other?" Roman stammered out.

"I'm sure I've mentioned him," Luna wondered in a scowl, "We work together."

"When we're not sleeping," Rolf attempted to whisper and Luna batted him with her arm but smiled.

"He's my boyfriend too."

"C-Cool," Roman lied and had no idea how he managed to smile despite feeling like a gaping void was swallowing up his insides, maybe he'd finally snapped, "I've t-to ch-check go my sis-sister, she's n-not feel well."

He didn't wait for a reply and if they said anything than he genuinely didn't hear it, not because of the loud music courtesy of a famous wizard band that Roman naturally knew nothing about. He didn't bother looking for Audrey, he just walked for the exit and out into the night. He needed the fresh air and not for the first time, he started walking away from a Weasley wedding and into the wilderness. Only this time, he had his heart dragging along in the dirt behind him. Somehow it hurt even more than when it was trying to beat itself to death in his chest. Luna already had a boyfriend. He had nothing. Why was he surprised? What Luna ever see in him anyway? There was nothing to see. He had nothing to offer. He was worthless.

"Roman!" Percy's voice barked and he stopped as the Weasley must've raced over to him at an oddly fast speed, grabbing him as if afraid he'd physically run, "You can't run off if you get scared! Don't you remember what happened last time you did that?!"

Roman said nothing, he couldn't bring himself to care enough to even raise his head.

"What is wrong with you?" Percy asked rhetorically, not sounding angry but rather genuinely curious before deciding to let it drop. Vaguely, Roman heard thunderous yet distant applause, "You missed Ron proposing, I guess that means Hermione said yes. Another wedding, isn't that nice?"

"I want to go home," Roman said so quietly that he was half-surprised that Percy heard him.

"Alright."

---

Part 7: Overcoming Anxiety

---

"Well I'd ask how you are but I feel it might be rather a moot point," Leebin said in greeting when Scorpius came in for his session, Scorpius smiled weakly as he sat down.

"I'm fine, you should see the other guy," Scorpius shrugged it off, knowing Leebin was referring to the bruises from his fight with James and not wanting it to seem one-sided as it hadn't been. He wasn't sure if James was worse off, but he certainly was sporting bruises too and a bite, "Is everything okay with your family emergency?"

"Basically yes, thanks for asking," Leebin offered.

"What was wrong?" Scorpius asked curiously, not sure whether he was overstepping his bounds or not but then if Leebin wanted loads of personal information on him then shouldn't he get one question in return? He'd freely mentioned anecdotes about his past before and showed him a picture of his family, Leebin too seemed to consider this for a moment as he paused a moment before replying.

"Just my wife, she's pregnant and there were some complications but she's alright for now."

"Oh, I'm glad she's okay," Scorpius told him truthfully but disinterestedly as he was reminded forcefully of his mother's pregnancy and the concerns weighing on his mind. Bizarre unknown complications had killed Lyra, would the same thing kill this sister? Or other reasons? Or would his mother die? Olivia's mother had died in labor, these things happened.

"Something bothering you?" Leebin asked as he apparently noticed Scorpius' expression.

Scorpius bit his lip, he had told Michael that he would try talk to Leebin about something that was bothering him. Leebin hadn't done anything bad and really Michael was right, he had no way of knowing Leebin's reaction until he actually tried it. Really, what harm could come from Leebin knowing he worried about his family's health? Did not everyone do that? So it wasn't really giving away something.

"I'm worried about my mother dying along with the new baby," Scorpius admitted hesitantly.

"Why are you worried?" Leebin questioned and Scorpius threw him a dark look.

"I just told you!"

"No, no, not what are you worried about. Why are you worrying. Worrying is what we do to distract us from the emotions causing you to worry, it tricks you into feeling like you're doing something productive," Leebin elaborated and Scorpius scowled but continued listening, "There's two kinds of issues to worry about, those that we can solve and those that can't. The first case is things you have control over such as worrying about getting homework done and you can actively do things to solve the issue, yours however is the second kind. The only way to do that is to embrace the emotion causing you to worry so what is that?"

"Isn't it obvious? I don't want my mother to die."

"But what emotion is that?"

"What do you think?"

"I think you should name the emotion for me," Leebin offered unhelpfully and Scorpius' dark look intensified, did he really want Scorpius to spell it out?

"I'm afraid of my mother dying."

"Why?"

"It's always why with you!" Scorpius snapped irritably but Leebin seemed unfazed, in fact he chuckled.

"You should meet my daughter, she's much worse on the why front. It's a good thing to know why though, knowing why helps us understand and understanding helps," Leebin told him, "So why are you afraid for your mother?"

"You know about my sister, right?"

"Right."

"My new sister's going to die too and I just don't want to lose my mother too."

"You assume this new baby's going to die because your sister did?"

"Obviously," Scorpius insisted, starting to doubt Leebin's intelligence at this point.

"Ah, that's the little worry trap of overgeneralizing. Got to be careful of those, irrational distortions can make your worry worse."

"How is it irrational?"

"Well, think about it logically," Leebin pointed out and pushed up his glasses, "You think if your mother has a baby that it too will die just because Lyra did?"

"Yes."

"By that logic, do you think it's likely another pregnant witch would lose the baby too? Like my wife?"

"Yes. It's likely, it happens," Scorpius told him seriously and was too annoyed with Leebin to wonder whether he should really be telling Leebin his baby would probably die.

"What about muggles? They don't even have magic to help them, do you think a pregnant muggle would likely lose the baby?"

"Yes. Probably, there must be even more muggles dying than wizards."

"Okay, so it's more likely that babies will die than live in your opinion?"

"Yes."

"By that logic, shouldn't the human population be dying out if not already extinct right now?" Leebin asked and Scorpius was forced to think this time, "If all babies born died then there'd be no humans left. Infant mortality rates are lower now than previous times in history yet humanity - muggles and wizardkind alike - managed to survive. Yes, sometimes tragic things happen like to your sister but that doesn't mean it's more likely that your new sibling or any newborn will die. Do you see why it's irrational to overgeneralize?"

"Okay, I see it now," Scorpius admitted, "But still, if my sister died then it's more like my new sister will die since they have the same parents and stuff."

"You exist too, you know? Clearly you survived and beat your own logic again. Correct me if I'm wrong, but your mother's pregnancy is progressing perfectly healthily and your mother has no underlying health conditions to tip the scales in the negative favor. At worst, it should be fifty-fifty because out of two children, one survived and one didn't. It's just your fear getting the better of you."

"Lyra still died, they don't know what freak random thing did it," Scorpius protested, wishing he didn't sound as upset as he was, "What's to say the same thing won't happen again to my new sister? Except this time, to take my mother too."

"As my father would say, if it happens more than once then it's a pattern not a coincidence. You really just want to write this baby off as dead, don't you?"

"Well it is... Yes, I guess?"

"Did you ever think maybe it's a coping mechanism? Trying not to get attached so it'll hurt less if you lose her too?" Leebin asked him and Scorpius turned his head away, surprised at how much it struck him. Maybe... Maybe Leebin did have a point.

"What's wrong with that?" Scorpius muttered quietly as he suddenly found the floor very interesting.

"Feelings can't be classed as right or wrong, they're just an integral part of us as humans just like... lungs. Would you say lungs are right or wrong? It just makes no sense to judge it," Leebin explained gently, "its okay for you to feel afraid of losing someone close to you. And it's good you recognize and accept that emotion."

"I don't want to feel afraid."

"Most people don't."

"So how do I stop this?" Scorpius tried to ask but it came across more like a demand than he'd intended as he raised his head, "I don't want to keep worrying or feeling afraid and I don't want to lose my mother."

"I know and we can work on that now, you've got to learn to let go. I want you to lie back down on that couch and close your eyes," Leebin told him and Scorpius hesitated, "Please just trust me, you don't have to if you don't want to but it helps to not be tense from sitting and too focused on the outside world from staring. We can stop at any time you want to."

"Alright," Scorpius sighed and swiveled his position on the couch, resting his head comfortable on the arm rest and stretching out his legs before closing his eyes.

"Okay, now I want you to think of your concerns over your mother's pregnancy but not from your own point of view, you're an outsider observing these feelings. Don't think about them, don't worry about them, don't try to control them, don't try to fight them. Just see the worries, manifesting as some floaty object. A cloud works pretty well. Just observe these cloud worries."

"Okay," Scorpius said and did as instructed, envisioning a dark cloud of concern and shutting off his thoughts attempting to worry.

"Good. They can't touch you, they can't effect you, they're just there but not bothering you if you don't try to engage them and they're getting smaller. They're just floating away, just watch that negative thought cloud, bubble or whatever object it is, drifting away with the wind. Can you nod when you think you've done that?" Leebin told him and Scorpius envisioned the dark cloud flying away, finding oddly that it was clearing his mind and finally nodded, "Excellent, excellent. Now, you're just left in the present where the cloud is gone and there's just a nice sky left."

"Beautiful blue sky," Scorpius agreed, almost smiling as it was the color of Molly's eyes.

"Yes. How do you feel now?"

"Alright."

"Because there are no worries in this present moment, what you're concerned about hasn't happened yet and may never happen. You need to focus on what's happening right now, not what could happen. You can deal with whatever comes as it happens, worries aren't helpful so just watch them fly away. So here's the thing now," Leebin continued, "You're only allowed to worry about this between half five and six in the afternoon, if you think about it at any other point then I want you to put it out of your mind until then. In that time, I want you to try doing this again to expel them from your mind. They have no place clogging your thoughts, do you understand?"

"I think so. Sounds a bit silly though," Scorpius admitted and took this a cue to open his eyes, Leebin didn't complain.

"Really? I thought you'd quite like it, seeing as you like being in control. You have more control over your worries than you give yourself credit for, then all that's left is to face the emotion beneath. Fear. It's much like facing a boggart, you have to see what it is that you're afraid of, confront it and make it into a more positive thing."

"How do I do that?"

"For starters, they haven't died yet so it's another thing not to focus on in the present. People do die and I can't lie and say there's no chance in the world that you'll ever lose someone, life is fleeting and that's what makes it more precious. We have to relish and enjoy the time we have before it's gone," Leebin said and leaned back, "Talking about it helps if you feel up to it."

"O-Okay," Scorpius agreed hesitantly, Leebin gave him a kind smile as he sat up and Scorpius started to open up a little more.

---

Roman spent the next few days in hopeless misery, he wasn't good enough for Quidditch, he'd failed all his OWLs and worst of all was that Luna was with another man. Someone better with people, better with anxiety, better with having things in common with her, better financially since he was not in Hogwarts and had a successful career already, he was probably considered better looking too as Roman was all gangly elbows and knees. Roman couldn't even grow a beard. Didn't Luna know that he loved her? Didn't that matter? Roman thought it should matter. He hated himself, he hated his life and he hated everything in his life. He cried a lot and spent every day in bed, only venturing out of his room for the bathroom and when Audrey harassed him into coming out to eat something. And finally when they dragged him to a rundown cottage in the middle of nowhere, announcing both that they had bought it and were moving there and that the reason for Audrey's sickness was actually morning sickness. Audrey was pregnant with Percy's evil spawn. Roman was going to be an uncle.

And the day after that, it was back to Hogwarts. Roman didn't even wait for Audrey and Percy to try to hug him, in fact he didn't think he said goodbye and just walked onto the train with Smokey. At least he still had Smokey. For his NEWTs, he decided to just carry on studying the subjects he'd gotten Os despite Audrey and Percy both wanting him to take seven. Meaning he only had classes in Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, History of Magic, Study of Ancient Runes and Transfiguration, almost half of his previous subjects and there were also more free periods in between classes for independent study. Roman much preferred this new arrangement, studying alone - unless you counted Smokey, who loved the extra attention - was much easier and he wasn't stressed by crowds like in classes. He was very glad to have dropped Potions too, the Dungeons still scared him despite having to walk through them multiple times a day. Being a Sixth Year also meant he was being bullied less as there was only his own year and the Seventh Years who'd do anything more than childish insults in passing. There was a fair amount of new people on the Quidditch team after the last years leaving so Roman instantly seemed better in comparison to the poorer, younger fliers which gave him some shreds confidence back.

Another change to his routine were the letters, he still got them from both Luna and Audrey but he no longer look forward to Luna's and shoved them into the box after skimming through for any mention of a breakup. There was none. He couldn't read Luna's letters without crying anymore, it hurt too much that she was with someone else. Pregnancy seemed to have made Audrey more talkative, or maybe she could think of something to talk about aside from work. The baby was developing healthily apparently and the morning sickness stopped in November, Audrey had already named her son - she'd decided it was a boy - Magnus after their father and referred to him as such. However, she said that Magnus was getting two middle names, one chosen by Percy and one chosen by Roman. Roman thought it was cruel of her to do this as it made him feel some kind of connection to the child he'd tried to write off as Percy's spawn, giving the boy a middle name made him feel oddly more responsible for him. He scoured over names in the Library, trying to find the perfect name for his little nephew. He ultimately decided on Maurice, he just really liked the way it sounded for some reason. Especially combined with Magnus. He won his first Quidditch match too which also made him feel better at life.

He chose to stay at Christmas again although he had to come back for the Easter holidays, both because of Ron and Hermione's wedding and because that was when the baby was due, Audrey wanted him to be there. One thing Roman became oddly aware of was how lonely he was, Smokey was the only one he had to talk to and with no more Luna, he felt strangely alone. He didn't have any friends, he didn't even have acquaintances and everyone else had long since developed their own clicks and friendship groups. Just because Roman hated large amounts of people, he didn't always enjoy being alone. He rather missed having someone to talk to like his parents, well admittedly Magnus had never been a talker but he'd always listened. Roman craved the feeling of closeness to another non-feline but there was nothing he could do, the other houses still hated Slytherins so there was only evil to befriend even if Roman could speak to strangers without stuttering. Over Christmas, he spent long hours gazing at the picture of his dead family - and they were dead in one way or another - and crying because he missed it so much. He was sixteen, he'd half a life with his parents and half a life without. There was no comparison on which half had been the better life. He was deeply unhappy.

Roman was grateful when the distraction of schoolwork returned and eager to learn Apparition, it was admittedly difficult but Roman was extremely proud to be one of the first to make progress even if his birthday would prevent him taking the test. He won the next Quidditch match too and left Hogwarts in victory for Easter, Percy and a heavily pregnant Audrey - Roman had to do a double take at his ordinarily slim sister being so huge - greeted him off the platform. The cottage had been done up somewhat and Roman had been given the second biggest bedroom after his sister and Percy, the nursery had been all done up in a nice sky blue with cloud theme for baby Magnus because Audrey was concerned he had anger management issues and violent tendencies because he kicked her so much. Percy disagreed but for once, he was outvoted. Clouds were peaceful. However the house wasn't peaceful for long as Audrey went into labor the next day and unlike Fleur a few years ago, wanted a home birth. No one put a Silencing Charm up and he wasn't allowed inside with the Healer, Percy and Audrey although nor was anyone else of Percy's family as per Audrey's wishes. Roman's anxiety was through the roof, it sounded like she was dying and he had no way of knowing if she was or not. He officially decided that he was never having children, unless they were adopted. It lasted forever, over a day in fact and Roman hated Percy more every hour for putting his sister through so much pain.

He was reminded oddly of his parents' torture and death, there'd been screams then too... Thinking of his father made him check the time, it was into the early hours of the morning which meant they'd passed into Magnus' birthday. No sooner had he thought that, then the day become another Rivers' birthday as a baby's cry broke the silence in the rest of the house. Baby Magnus shared the same birthday as his grandfather and namesake. No sooner had he thought that, he was proved wrong again.

"It's a girl!" Percy's delighted voice exclaimed over the crying of the baby, clearly he was sadistically enjoying his wife's pain and whatever was upsetting the baby.

"Are you sure? Can you check again?" Audrey's voice came through uncertainly and Percy's parents' laughter drowned out whatever reply that Percy or the Healer would've said.

And something else snapped back to his mind, the day of his parents' death where Magnus had taken him to that special room where he'd watched the die. Specifically what he'd mentioned about having four grandchildren and the letter being for one of them, the name on the letter had been Molly Mavis Weasley. What were the odds of the baby sharing his gift and being given that name though? Percy had mentioned liking the name Lucy or Leila. There was no way they were going to name it Molly Mavis Weasley anyway. It turned out he was wrong again, Percy wanted to name the baby in honor of his mother who he'd caused enough stress on with his treachery over the years and Mavis to honor Audrey's mother. Roman felt his blood run more than a little colder and it only got worse when he saw his tiny niece, tufts of red hair - she was a Weasley - but Magnus' sky blue eyes looked back up at him. Roman felt a strange attachment to baby Molly because of this, he could stare at her eyes for hours and almost pretend that his father was looking at him. He frequently volunteered to do things with her and help look after her just so he could look at Magnus' eyes. Sometimes when he was alone with her, he would just cuddle her close and silently cry for his dead parents.