Chapter Eight
Returning to Hogwarts
12th of September 2031
Undisclosed Safe House
Bristol, England
The smell of the burning flesh was still fresh, the screams of the dying being burned alive still ringing in his ears. All Ted Lupin wanted to do was go back to the safe house with his wife and drink himself into oblivion. Dean, Seamus, Dennis, and countless others who had been vital in this ongoing battle, all gone in one decisive move by the Black Empress. He needed a brief respite from all the death that surrounded him.
However, before he could do that, there was one more stop that Ted had to make.
Stepping up to the safe house, he looked around at the deserted street, pleased that he was utterly alone. The waning crescent moon provided the only light, but it was more than enough for Ted to find the familiar safe house that he knew one member of the New Order frequented probably more often than was wise.
Even if only he and the current occupant were aware of the location.
Tapping his wand against the rusted knob, the door swung inward, creaking as it went, granting Ted entry. The familiar dust lingered in the air, shifting only to allow Ted passage, though not sticking to his clothes, only clouding his vision.
"Perhaps mixing Mediterranean white with the Peruvian black…" The murmurings of a mad man had Ted quicken his steps, though when an explosion rattled the house he broke out into a run.
Nearly swimming his way through the debris that now floated in the air around him, as if suspended by time and space, Ted burst through the doorway into the kitchen that now doubled as a makeshift laboratory. A new red dust was heaviest in this room, making the visibility nearly zero as Ted waved his arms about trying to clear the air so he could find the man he was looking for.
"Perhaps a different…where did it…" Theo was looking wildly around, as if trying to make sense of what he was looking at.
"Theo, what are you doing!?" Ted asked, attempting to stop the other wizard from doing something that might put them both at risk again.
"Ah! The Colombian might stabilise, although, perhaps if I used a North and South, that might just…"
"Theo!" Ted shouted, but he was too late to stop the man. Another explosion sent him flying across the room, though the movement was in slow motion. While his mind was able to process everything, Ted's feet had hardly left the ground.
"Biscuits," Theo cursed, waving his wand, releasing the hold the sand had on Ted, causing him to abruptly hit a wall. "Yes, the North and South idea has merit."
"Theo, what in the hell are you doing?" Ted exclaimed, though Theo still didn't seem to hear him.
"Canada, though, maybe sand from Alaska…"
"THEO!" Ted shouted, diving towards his friend while throwing up a shield charm as flames and glass shards burst out from the timeglass that Theo had been mixing in.
"Maybe the Americas aren't stable enough…" Theo mused, the look in his eyes far off, not a glimmer of recognition.
"Fuck, have you been using?" Ted's heart began to race, but at his question Theo turned his full attention to the leader of the New Order, his face going hard and a scowl on his face.
"Of course I'm not using," Theo snapped, shoving Ted off him and onto the floor. "Don't you have other more pressing things to attend to than what I'm doing? I'm certain there is, especially after yesterday."
Theo stood up, the dust from the sand clinging to his clothes while still just handing in the air around Ted. Whatever magic Theo was performing was beyond anything Ted could ever attempt to comprehend, the brilliant mind in front of him something of a wonder. A wonder that the New Order desperately needed.
"I really need you to help with planning and setting up our defences. After what happened in Edinburgh…well, we need whatever you can come up with to help protect another city from an attack of that calibre."
"Can't, busy," Theo answered, already hunched over a new cauldron mixing together who knows what.
"What the bloody hell do you mean you can't!?" Ted exclaimed, his jaw going slack at how dismissive Theo was. "You don't understand–"
"No, you don't understand!" Theo shouted, snatching a lantern from the table next to him and throwing into the low burning fireplace, causing the flames to lick up the old bricks. "If I don't do this, if I don't focus on this, then I'm going to start using again. If I start using again, then if they–" Theo slammed his hand onto the map that Ted hadn't even noticed before Theo's outburst. Two sets of footprints could be seen with a VMN and a SMN under them, obviously indicating where the twins currently were– "need me, I won't be able to save them! I've already failed, Ted. I can't fail again, and if I'm successful here…then maybe I can fix everything. And Edinburgh will never have happened."
1st of September 2013
Kings Cross Station, Platform 9 ¾
London, England
The cart filled with her belongings rattled in front of her as Viola pushed it through the crowded station. She could have bloody apparated to the Hog's Head and been done with this whole charade and skipping this pointless train ride and everything that went into it, however, Viola had been outvoted by those pulling the strings. Always someone else in control of her life.
Narcissa was walking with Scorpius, who kept trying to discreetly jinx unsuspecting muggles. Behind Viola was Hermione and Draco pushing a wheelchair bound Theo. At the thought of her Papa's younger self, Viola quickened her steps, wanting to put as much distance between herself and him as she could.
"This was always my favourite part," she could hear Hermione whisper to Draco as they stepped up to the brick wall between platforms 9 and 10. The loud chattering of the crowd nearly drowned out her words, but Viola had heard them before by the same woman in another lifetime.
"It used to be mine too," Vi muttered, pushing her cart forwards and rushing towards the wall that she knew would give way. Not even caring to wait for the party that would be joining her, Viola took off away from the group and towards the train. If nothing else, she could at least attempt to disappear with the rest of the students.
The excited energy was zipping through the air, but all Vi could focus on was the shadows that were cast at the edges. Thoughts of the last time she'd seen this place, with the same group currently accompanying her, before everything went to hell…
But this time there was no Uncle Blaise and Aunts Ginny and Luna, James wouldn't even start Hogwarts until next year. She'd never been at Hogwarts without any of the Zabinis. Her heart clenched with loneliness as she thought of Pandora. Viola had never been on the Hogwarts Express without her.
"What do you think the chances are that they have the manticore living in the forest yet?" Scorpius asked, coming up beside Vi as she levitated her trunk in front of her.
"None, there was never a manticore living in the forest. They aren't native to Scotland, first of all. Second, you were stung and having an allergic reaction next to the forest the same night you swore you spoke to one. Therefore, it's more logical to believe that you dreamt the entire interaction." Vi stated, stepping up onto the train and moving towards the compartment that they'd always sat in.
"That's a bit harsh," Scorpius complained, his shoulders hunched as he tried to avoid getting hit in the head by flying wads of paper and whatever else the other students were throwing around. "I like to think that my connection with magical creatures is part of the reason why it felt comfortable exposing itself to me."
"Keep telling yourself that," Vi said, stepping into the compartment and instantly groaning when she saw there were already two occupants.
The first was a woman who seemed to be rather tall from the looks of her long legs crossed at the ankles. She was slender, with long white blonde hair that brushed the bench she was seated on. The all black ensemble that the girl wore nearly made Vi chuckle. She screamed rebel. Had Scorpius gotten a look, Viola knew that he would be intrigued to the point that the witch would surely hex his bollocks off and he'd thank her for the pleasure.
The other was a large man, with bulging muscles stretching the plain heather grey shirt he wore. His golden blonde hair was long and pulled back into a long braid down his back, showing off a single dragon tooth earring. Unlike the witch, whose skin was so pale she was nearly translucent, the wizard was tanned to the point his complexion nearly matched Vi's. A Norse looking tattoo was peeking out the bottom of his sleeve, but Vi didn't care enough to truly study his arms.
Vi didn't give them a second glance, given that with one look she'd already memorised everything about them. The wizard, she recognised from the future, the witch she did not. Levitating her trunk up into a compartment above her, Vi turned to speak to her brother, but instead of finding the thorn that was constantly in her side, all she found was his trunk.
"Bloody wanker," Vi murmured, waving her wand and levitating it up and securing it next to her own. Looking out the window, Vi's lips pursed into a thin straight line as she saw where the wizard in question had gone off to.
He stood there, with Grandmere, Draco, Hermione, and Theo, all five of them having a good laugh and exchanging pleasantries and farewells. Vi's chest began to tighten as she watched Scorpius lean down and give Theo a kiss on his cheek, whispering something into his ear that made the sick man nearly fall to the ground with laughter.
"You try not to die at that death trap of a school," Theo replied loud enough that Vi could hear him through the cracked window.
The entire compartment began to go dark as Vi's chest felt tighter and the act of breathing became harder. There were spots in her vision, and her head was splitting open, while her limbs felt so heavy that she couldn't stand upright any longer.
Trembling, Vi fell to the ground, not thinking of the small audience watching her in the midst of a panic attack. The small bit of toast that Grandmere had forced down her throat was threatening to come back up, but Vi kept taking small gasping breaths in a feeble attempt to regulate herself.
A cooling charm hit her in the face, shocking Vi enough that she began to blink and look around, but she was still too far gone to tell off the witch sitting in front of her.
"Breath with me, five deep breaths," as she spoke, Vi noticed that the witch's voice was just as beautiful as she was. A slight French accent, though nothing that stood out.
"Come on now, give me those breaths," the witch said, letting out a breath with Vi. "Four things you can feel?"
"The cold floor, a stick caught in my hair," Vi took another deep breath, closing her eyes as she allowed her magic to reach out and feel their surroundings. "The breeze coming in from the window and wild magic?" Vi opened her eyes, looking into the brightest sky blue eyes that flashed golden for a moment before changing back.
The witch tilted her head from side to side. "Three things you can hear, please."
"My brother being an idiot," which was true, as she could now hear Scorpius trying to negotiate why he shouldn't be restricted in his mail orders for everything he deemed necessary for survival. "Children chattering and owls."
"Two things you can smell?"
"Coal and sweets."
"One thing you can taste?"
"My toothpaste," Vi answered, laying her head back against the seat of the bench and closing her eyes once again.
"Five deep breaths," the witch instructed, and Vi followed the instructions. Her limbs felt heavy in the tail end of the panic attack, but it had seemed to pass well enough. Once she was done, Vi opened her eyes and looked around to find the compartment now empty. The mysterious Veela and the man she'd been with, nowhere to be seen.
The train whistle sounded, jerking Vi fully awake and moving to the window to see her entourage standing on the platform still, all four of them waving at her. Vi lifted her hand in a short greeting before seating herself back on the bench and resting her head against the plush backrest.
The sound of the door sliding open didn't cause her any panic as she already knew who was coming to join her.
"You know, I'm the bloody heir to the Malfoy fortune. Yet, they still insist that my access to the vaults is going to be restricted. How am I supposed to have the full school experience if I'm not able to order my own ridiculously ostentatious belongings or go to Hogsmeade to make any purchases that strike my fancy? Absolutely unacceptable, if you ask me. I'm sure Grandmere let Draco buy whatever he wanted."
"Scorpius, the last time you managed to alter the paperwork for unrestricted access to your vault, you purchased a string of islands just to excavate them into what looked like a collection of cocks and bollocks." Vi answered, as she felt her brother lay his head in her lap and begin to play with one of her loose hanging curls.
"Hm, I'd forgotten about that. I never did get to have a grand opening for the massive gay club I was having built there. I wonder how the Semen Isles are doing in this timeline."
"Probably cumming soon."
1st of September 2013
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Scotland
"Gran is really going to make us sit in here?" Scorpius whispered to his sister, who had been acting off since they'd reached Kings Cross, and even more so after he'd joined her in their compartment.
"I'm not sure why that's even a question, since no matter what year it is, Gran would make us sit through this shit regardless. Stop complaining and eat your pudding." Vi snipped, though it was rich hearing her instructing him to eat since the most she'd done was push the food on her plate from one side to the other until the elves cleared it away.
"Yes, but I would have thought we might get special circumstances this time with being transfer students and all. Where are we from again?" He asked, not caring in the slightest who overheard their conversation, just smiling and waving at the pug looking cow that kept glaring in their direction.
"We were raised in the Americas by a distant cousin after our mother gave birth to us during her fifth year. Truthfully, I preferred the idea that we were raised by a pack of wolves or a coven of vampires, but alas. Just a normal, boring childhood, in some remote backwater town." The sigh of relief that left Vi when the final plate disappeared made Scorpius unbearably sad for his sister, but he didn't want to draw attention in that way to her so publicly.
"So, you're American?" The ugly pug interjected, leaning forwards with a smirk that made her look more like a hag than a teenage girl. "It certainly explains why you're both so strange. What wizard would have a neck tattoo? It's so gauche."
Scorpius rolled his eyes at the witch who apparently had been the queen bee of Slytherin until he and Vi had arrived. She'd need to come to terms with the fact that he was a Slytherin Prince from two lineages and she simply couldn't compare.
"Yes, well, from the looks of you, your parents must be too closely related and you are the product of inbreeding. Such a shame your dad couldn't have saved the world some trouble and nutted on your mum's arse instead of in her cunt." Scorpius replied smoothly, taking a sip of pumpkin juice while the girl's jaw dropped open in shock.
"How dare you! I'm the heiress to the Parkinson fortune, you ought to show your betters a little more respect!" The girl hissed, only making Scorpius chuckle into his gobblet.
"And I'm the heir to both the Malfoy and Nott fortunes, either of which alone is beyond your comprehension of wealth, and together, well, you get the idea." Scorpius smirked, lifting his pierced brow and wiggling it in her direction.
"Draco Malfoy does not have any children, so you could not possibly be his heir," the girl seethed, making Scorpius roll his eyes.
"Shows what you know. Don't you have anyone else to bother? I'm sure there are children around here that you could attempt to scare more successfully than me, seeing as at the moment I'm plotting ways to buy out your father's company and then bankrupt it for fun." Scorpius narrowed his eyes at her and wondered if his parents would approve the expenditure.
"You–you couldn't do that! My daddy is one of the most powerful men in all of Wizarding Europe!" The girl sputtered, her mouth hanging open again.
"If you keep opening your mouth like that, I'm going to start thinking you're trying to give me an invitation. Usually, I'm not all that particular where I stick my prick, however, I do need to let you know that you truly aren't my type and that's a feat in itself." Scorpius looked at his sister, who normally was even more ruthless with her insults than he was, but Vi wasn't even remotely engaged in the banter.
"Aethel, what are you doing?" Scorpius's entire body froze as he heard a familiar baritone. There was no bloody way…
Leaning backwards and looking down the rows, Scorpius was stunned to find the sexy doorman from the bar he'd found Theo in was standing with all thick muscles showing even through the hideous robes that Gran still insisted the students wear. Scorpius wet his lips as he watched the giant lift a small girl that looked strikingly like him into his arms so that she was at eye level with the wizard.
Not a Muggle after all, what do you know? This school year was suddenly looking up.
"I don't want to sit with my year, I want to stay with you and Vivi." The little girl's musical voice chimed out and her golden blonde braids swayed as she tilted her head to the side. "The third years are boring, and Wallace Sampson keeps asking me to tell you to let him be a chaser this year."
"Well, you can tell Wallace Sampson that he'll have to try out, just like everyone else," the wizard said, lifting the girl into the air and causing laughter to bubble out of her. "Go back to your friends, I'll see you in the dorms later."
The girl let out a heavy sigh, making a show of her displeasure in the wizard's decision, but she gracefully landed on her feet with a slight bounce. "Fine, bye Ragnar. Love you!" The girl yelled as she ran back towards the younger Slytherin students.
Without hesitation, Scorpius turned to his left to ask Hermes if they'd seen that wizard, only to find a redheaded sour looking boy that slightly resembled his best friend. Scorpius closed his mouth as the wrong redhead looked at him with a raised brow. When Scorpius still said nothing, the other student shrugged a shoulder and turned back to his meal.
Hermes wasn't even born yet…They would be born to the same family as the girl he'd been verbally sparring with, born labelled as a boy, just to wear their father's name like a noose around their neck until their Aunt Pansy rescued them from the hell they would be forced to live in…
Even knowing that was the future that his best mate was coming into, Scorpius found himself helpless to save them.
"Scorp?" His sister pulled his attention back to her, sapphire eyes filled with concern as she looked him over.
"I'm tired, let's see if we can find the dorms on our own," Scorpius said, pushing away from the table and making his way straight to the exit without looking back.
Slytherin Seventh Year Boy's Dorm Rooms, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Scorpius hadn't been in a boy's dorm in ages. He'd been pulled out of Hogwarts as everything started going to shite, which had been smart in retrospect. What had happened to Gran and the other professors later….he didn't like to think about it.
Regardless, it would be an adjustment being in a room with five other blokes.
He cast several extra locking charms and wards on his trunk after he pulled out his makeup kit and put it on his side table. He was glad that he'd left the feast early. He had time to settle in and wander around the space without anyone to judge the chaotic way that he did things.
He hung the atrocious robe that he hated so much in the wardrobe that had been assigned to him, but instead of hanging the other uniform bits up, he just tossed them in the bottom. He knew from the future that if he went and asked the Hogwarts elves nicely they'd give him some extra help with keeping his things tidy. It had been the only thing that had helped save him from a million detentions in the future.
He spun his ring and realised that he was standing in the room staring into space in only his trunks. His new roommates could appear any time.
"For fuck's sake," Scorpius muttered, dropping his trunks as well and pulling on his silk Slytherin pyjama bottoms.
He was just tying off the string when the door opened behind him.
"Well if it isn't my good boy," the deep voice behind him purred. Scorpius spun around as the bouncer from London, Ragnar, closed the door behind him and stepped closer to Scorpius who felt breathless with anticipation.
"Imagine my surprise when you were at the Slytherin table tonight." Ragnar began stepping closer to Scorpius, causing a flush to spread across his cheeks. Lord, what was he doing to him?
"Can't have been more surprised than I was," Scorpius replied, attempting to keep his breathing steady.
Ragnar's eyes traced over all of Scorpius' tattoos. He'd cast a spell that smudged the words and numbers on Aunt Ginny's memorial tattoo, that would cause too many questions, but the others were all unobscured.
His stomach tattoos were fully revealed with the way his silk pants sat low on his hips. The Malfoy and Nott crests were bold in black and grey on his pale skin, his surnames arched over them, Ragnar stared at them, licking his lips.
"So you are Draco Malfoy's son…" Ragnar trailed off.
Scorpius nodded, wondering where this was headed. Ragnar stepped forward, his hand gripping Scorpius' hip.
"How did they manage to keep you a secret?" Ragnar asked his lips just a breath above Scorpius' lips.
"Lots of lies and bribes," Scorpius murmured, his eyes drifting to Ragnar's lips. He didn't want to lie to this wizard who had his blood racing, but he would if he had to. His cock was hard in his silk pyjamas and he knew it didn't leave much to the imagination when Ragnar's gaze drifted south.
"Sounds like your family," Ragnar pulled Scorpius closer.
Scorpius made a non-committal noise in answer, afraid that if he said anything that he would beg desperately. He hadn't shagged since they'd come back in time and his own hand wasn't his preferred company.
Ragnar captured his lips and Scorpius' hand immediately went up into his long hair, pulling the other wizard closer to him. He needed more. Ragnar's large hand stroked up and down Scorpius's tattooed back.
Scorpius grinded his hard cock against Ragnar's well muscled thigh, already so close to cumming.
"Fuck," Ragnar hissed, grabbing one of Scorpius' hands and putting it on his cock, where it was hard beneath his trousers. "Such a good boy, see what you do to me?"
Scorpius moaned, so desperate to do more than what they were, ready to take that cock wherever Ragnar wanted to put it. Scorpius was a switch, but he loved to bottom when he had the option of taking something that felt as big as what he could feel under his hand. And he was so ready.
His hand left Ragnar's hair to join his other. He quickly sought out the belt that was hidden beneath the other wizard's robes. The sound of the buckle dropping to the floor seemed to snap them both to awareness of the fact that they were standing in the middle of the dormroom and their roommates could appear at any moment catching them with their hands all over each other.
Ragnar kissed Scorpius one last time, his tongue invading his mouth for just a second.
"Let's put a pin in this, pretty boy," Ragnar nipped Scorpius' lip, drawing another moan. "I want to lick your entire body before I fuck you. We'll have to wait til the others go to bed."
Scorpius kissed Ragnar back, nipping his lower lip in the same way, earning a growl from the larger wizard. "I've waited for almost three months," Scorpius admitted. "I can wait a few more hours."
"That's my good boy," Ragnar smiled, stepping back. "Now go lay in your bed and close the bed curtains before these other tossers get back. They'll put two and two together if you are out here looking like that and it would be…unfortunate."
"Well, this is just fucking creepy." Scorpius commented, looking around at the deserted street that still eerily looked as though it was occupied. The lawns were overgrown, but the vehicles in the drives were in pristine condition. Though the street was also in the middle of nowhere and there were only maybe ten homes in total, in the tiny area, it seemed both a community, but also completely isolated.
The homes were older styles, though looked to have all recently been renovated. The windows were clean, and the curtains hanging were in good shape. A few had bikes sitting in front of them, not even knocked over, but under the covered porches with their kickstands down.
No damage to the properties, not even a broken window.
"Hm," Vi commented, looking over her shoulder as they walked on the street. Beside her, Scorpius had his hands in his pockets as he whistled a tune, not a care in the world. He absentmindedly kicked the pebbles in the street, chattering happily to himself about whatever bloke he was shagging at the moment.
Viola, however, had a sense that she could not shake. The silence around them was too quiet, and each rustling in the grass had her breathing getting heavier. The hairs on her arms were sticking up as a warning for what was to come.
"And then, you should have seen him, he pulled out this whip and–" whatever act her brother was about to explain was cut off as a lone hooded figure materialised before them in the middle of the street.
The figure was much too large to be a woman. Both in height and width, he easily took up as much space as the twins and their Papa combined would have. He towered over Scorpius, who was already tall for his age. This man was at least seven feet or more. Viola could hear the man breathing in their scents as he tipped his head back, his hood falling away to reveal a pitch black mask.
"Death squad," Vi gasp, her feet frozen where they stood as her body began to tremble.
A barking laugh erupted, piercing the silence.
"So," the man laughed, rolling his neck as he looked down at the twins, "you must belong to the New Order then. Ah, yes, I can smell Thoros and Lucius' blood in yeh. So, you're the mutts that my Empress has been looking for."
"Odd choice of words coming from a werewolf," Scorpius spat back, causing Vi to cringe. Of course her brother had no sense of self preservation, some bloody Slytherin he was.
"You might want to watch your mouth, boy!" The man spat, stepping closer towards the twins. As Vi's instincts took over and she went to move away, a circle of Death Squad members revealed themselves, showing that her and Scorpius were very much surrounded and so very much outnumbered
"What are we going to do?" Vi whispered to her brother as the Death Squad slowly inched closer to them.
"Fight?" Scorpius suggested with a shrug, though Vi could tell that he was as terrified as she was.
"I might have another idea, think you can still carry me?" Vi asked, causing the werewolf to burst out laughing.
"Planning to run, little girl?" He shouted, "There's no apparating yourselves out of here. Any portkey you might have is also useless now, make it easier on yourselves and just give up."
"Eh, I saw the way you and Pandora dug into that chocolate cake the other night. Might be a struggle, but I ought to be able to manage," her brother quipped.
"Good enough for me," Vi said, not bothering to keep her voice down anymore. "Sorry gentlemen, but I do believe it's time for our departure."
Viola took in a deep breath, connecting herself with the animal inside and began to shrink, the bag around her neck the only thing staying with her as her clothes became too large and fell away. The screeching of an eagle above her altered her attention as her ear pricked to find where her brother had flown off to.
"THEY'RE BLOODY ANIMAGI!" One of the Death Squad members shouted as Vi darted towards the overgrown grass, biting the hand of one of the squad that had reached out to try and grab her.
Her sharp teeth pierced the skin, the copper taste of his blood filled her mouth, and he let go with a yelp of pain, allowing for the little fox to sprint into the coverage. Scorpius called out to her again as she darted through the brush, Vi's heart was racing as she watched her brother dodging spell after spell being shot at him in the sky. His own bag hanging around his foot.
"BURN HER OUT OF THERE! THE EMPRESS WANTS THEM ALIVE!" The werewolf, who was clearly the leader of this squad shouted. A wall of fire burst out in front of Vi, forcing her to change direction as she ran to a clearing so that Scorpius would be able to see her.
It was chaos, spells were flying above her as the men attempted to find her location and others tried to shoot her brother from the sky. There was a small clearing where a stump was, taking her from the coverage that had been keeping her safe, but also allowing her brother to spot her.
The wide eight foot wingspan came rocketing down towards her in a dive that had some of the Death Squad scream and hiding for coverage. The sharp talons opened wide, and Viola jumped as high as she could into her brother's grasp.
"SHOOT THEM DOWN! DON'T LET THEM ESCAPE!" The leader was shouting, but Scorpius was just too fast, even with a passenger. Flapping his wings, the twins soared into the air, leaving the danger behind, but at what cost?
Viola sat up in her four poster bed, her chest heaving as she looked around at her drawn hangings.
She was shivering, despite the warmth of the room, sweat beading at her brow. She tried to control her breathing and reminded herself that no one knew that she was an animagus in 2013. She and Scorpius had been careful not to transform where anyone could discover their secret. That escape route hadn't been compromised in the past, but even that didn't calm her.
She slipped from her bed, grabbing her silk robe and sliding her feet into her slippers. Memories made for the worst nightmares and that was a bad one. They'd been so close to dying that day and it had revealed their animagus abilities, which had been a secret that they'd jealously guarded. Viola shuddered again and tried not to feel dirty where the Death Squad killer had put his hands on her. It had been a long time ago.
Already knowing the way, Vi snuck away from the girl's dormitories and into the common room, taking the familiar passage to where the boys were hidden. Though she'd never been in the seventh year boys' dorms, she knew where they'd be located at the far end of the corridor.
Knocking on the door, Viola blinked a few times when she looked up into the face of the same wizard who she'd begun sharing the compartment with on the train.
"What are you doing here?" The long-haired wizard asked, blocking her view into the room, his chest bare allowed her to see exactly what she'd already figured was under the tight shirt she'd seen him wearing on the train: plenty of muscles and unexpectedly tattoos.
Not bothering to give the giant man an answer, Viola pushed her way into the room, easily spotting Scorpius sitting up in his bed, shirtless as well. His face was flushed, making it apparent that he had not been sleeping, but truthfully she couldn't care less.
"I don't even want to know what you were doing, but I'm sleeping here," she announced, not bothering to pause as she walked over to her brother's bed.
"We were just talking, I don't know why you always insist something more has to be happening." Scorpius began, but Viola only rolled her eyes as she threw her night coat over the chair at the desk next to her brother's bed.
The other three beds had their hangings drawn tight, and Vi suspected there were some strong charms used on each to allow the privacy that the two still awake had desired.
"Do you even know his name?" Vi asked softly, sliding into the bed and curling up into her brother's side.
"Ragnar Rowle, fit, isn't he?" Scorpius stated, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer to him, the bed hangings drawing shut around them. She could hear a soft chuckle from the other wizard – Ragnar – though she wasn't in the mood to even attempt to banter with him.
"Shut up and go to sleep," Vi said instead, curling in as close to her brother as she could.
"Whatever you say," Scorpius answered, dimming the lights. Drawing what comfort she could from Scorpius being next to her, Viola's body slowly released the tension that she had gained from the day's upheaval and fell into a deep slumber.