Aurora POV

"LOU! You're here!" I shot as my beautiful blond appeared in the gardens of my estate. As my best friend materialized by magic, so too did a gorgeous … Albus? "What on earth is that?" I asked, leaping up from the deck to race over to Al. He was wearing an emerald Yukata made entirely out of jeweled beetles wings.

"Hello Rori"

"In a minute you" I shot, ignoring Louis. "Who made this? Chiso? Erizen? Inari? I must know! Its ridiculously beautiful. You look so amazing in it!"

"Jeez Rori… thanks for the hello. No hug, no kiss, no playful whack to the head? You look nice too by the way."

I continued to ignore Louis as I examined the resplendent piece of clothing. It was spectacular. "So who crafted this work of art?"

"Louis made this for me actually."

"What?" I asked dumbfounded. I felt like that comment had broken my brain.

"I gave him some money from my potions investments to buy material for clothes. It's a hobby of his." Al explained, still red from my attention.

We settled in and began to chatter, enjoying the sound of cicadas and the sight of butterflies. My house elf Spider brought us iced matcha tea and summer cake biscuits. It was peaceful and I could tell how much Al needed the break. I almost felt guilty about our plan to get the boys back on speaking terms together. They'd been fighting long enough and they most likely be seeing each other again in Paris at the Valois carnival. It was far passed the time for a rapprochement.

"Oi. Baka! Creepy spider girl! Did you take my new tea set? I'm missing half of my house. You keep taking everything that's over here. Oi! Where are you?"

APOV

I froze as I heard the voice coming from around the bend in the gardens. The hairs on my arms and neck bristled in the wind as my heart sank into my chest.

Aurora POV

"Why must you always take my things? I swear, sometimes woman you are too much. My swords are gone and so is my MacBook Pro. That was a brand new computer… my first one actually. I know you took them because of these little sticky notes with gaudy little faces on them."

"Did I really?"

"Sore wa iyami desu ka?" (Is that sarcasm?)

"Sou da ne…" (It is isn't it/ it might be)

Scorpius began a stream of insults in both japanese and french until the moment he rounded the corner and saw Al sitting comfortably next to Louis and I. The pureblood was so visibly flustered by the sight of Al in his yukata that his mouth fell open momentarily.

"Wow" The blond shot, blushing. "Al… you look… beautiful"

I had never seen Scorpius blush before. I'd never heard him complement anyone either.

Albus had been sitting peacefully with his arms splayed behind him for support. He had looked so carefree, so beautiful, so at peace with himself, his loved ones, the very nature of the world around him. That was until he had heard his best friends voice and watched him appear amidst the manicured shrubbery.

"I'm sorry. Who is this person who speaks to me as though we were friends?" Al offered, getting up gracefully.

Everyone stared at him even as Scorpius moved closer.

"Al please, just let me apologize. I was wrong—"

"—No enough! Rori did you plan this? Did you steal his things knowing that he would come looking for them? Did you invite Louis today because you knew I would join him?" Al was looking back and forth between Louis and I as though we had betrayed him to the wolves. As though we were evil.

Louis's eyes gave us away. He looked sad and guilty. Leave it to a Gryffindor not to be able to keep up a deception.

"Fuck you both."

"No Al… if you won't let me apologize, then I'll go. I want you to enjoy it here. We always used to talk about coming to Japan together… you should at least stay and—"

"—No-thank-you" He offered, turning to leave in a huff. "Lou… I'll be back in a few hours for you to take me home" Al walked away along the garden paths, his robe shimmering in the light. He disappeared around the bend of water hyacinths and hydrangeas, forcing our attention to Scor. Scor who merely stood there motionless like a moron.

"Well? Go after him you idiot" I snapped.

"He clearly doesn't want to see me."

"Obviously he does. He wants you to apologize. Fight him to apologize if you must, but you need to go after him and make him listen. Beg if you must."

"Beg?! You want me to beg? But he's being so obstinate—"

"—Now!" I yelled as Scorpius rolled his eyes at me. I threw him my wand in case Albus proved uncooperative, watching him catch it with a single graceful movement. At that he ran past us along the stone pathway in pursuit, his limbs a panoply in the study of elegance in motion.

APOV

I was so furious with those imbeciles for their ruse. How could they do that to me? My heart was racing out of control.

I cursed under my breath when I heard footsteps behind me.

"Lou… I don't want to talk about it ok?" I offered annoyed. "I'm so pissed at the two of you for orchestrating this. I don't want to see Malfoy ok!"

I could feel a hand on my shoulder forcing me to turn around and I realized then who had really come to assail me.

"Al wait… wait… just let me explain—"

"—You! How dare you touch me!" I spewed, swinging my hand angrily against his face. I had meant to slap him, but the minute I made contact, one of his defensive spells activated. I winced as I felt my skin rip and peel, the friction of the blow scraping against the invisible barrier. It felt like I had tried to slap a wall of knives. He grabbed my arm then as I struggled to free myself.

"Let go of me this instant or I…"

I stopped mid sentence the moment I realized what he was doing. For a fraction of a second my heart stopped, skipping a beat as he pulled my injured hand up to his mouth. He kissed the wound so softly that my senses blurred at the sight. It was so tender that for a second I remembered what it was like to have him as a friend. In that moment I forgot what he'd said to me, forgot that we were fighting, forgot how his ring had almost hit me in the eye when he'd thrown it back in my face.

I regained my sanity almost immediately, trying to pull away from him again. Instead all I managed to do was trip and fall backwards, pulling him down on top of me clumsily.

"Get off me! Now Malfoy!" I screamed. I was so horrified by the prospect of him laying on me. He righted himself slowly so that he was now straddling my pinned outline beneath him. He did not however get off of me as I had asked. I felt the hard shells of the beetle's wings pressed against the smooth gravel of the garden's stone path. I felt his weight above me, a kind of blanket of warmth.

"No"

"Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy… get… off…me…" I repeated, looking directly into his eyes. I beat my fists against his chest, trying to get him to move, but he wouldn't. He grabbed my hands and pinned them to the ground next. "Is this how you intend to earn my forgiveness? You plan to hold me captive and force me to listen to you?"

"No, I was thinking a good rictumsempra was in order."

My mouth moved as thought about to respond when I realized what he'd actually said…

"Scor, if you dare try to tickle me right now, I'll kill you" I offered horrified. He stopped at that. He stopped as though he'd been slapped in the face for real, this time no defense to cushion the blow.

"Al… You… called me Scor just then. Like before we fought. Not Malfoy… of Scum or Snake… you called me Scor…"

"What? I… no I didn't."

"Yes you did! I just heard you!"

He was smiling now, which made me want to hit him in the face again. I had taken to calling him Malfoy in my recent anger. Any business calls or interactions of any kind… he was Malfoy… and never more than that … how could I have made that mistake? I was struggling hard against him, but he was holding me so tightly that I couldn't move.

"It was a slip of the tongue, now get off me."

"I don't want to. I want to keep you right here."

What was he even saying? Why wouldn't he leave me alone. I couldn't stomach being near him anymore. It hurt so much…

"Now give me your hand Al."

"NO!"

"Give me your hand!" He barked abrasively. There was such strength in the command that I couldn't help but obey. I rolled my eyes and gave him my injured appendage. Whatever would get the horrible git off of me faster. He looked at it, then took out Rori's wand.

"Are you crazy? You and I are not allowed to use wands outside the country remember, no matter whose they are… you could be arrested for this"

"If it's to make sure I heal you correctly then I think its worth it… Let them arrest me."

I could feel the tendrils of my heart tighten… it was as though there were a thousand razors attempting to cut their way clean from my chest. Why did he have to be like this? He didn't mind being arrested if it was to make sure I was alright… but… he… had been so cruel… and now… he was almost sweet.

In a moment I was healed with a wordless wave. When he seemed satisfied with his work, he pulled my hand up to his mouth to kiss it a second time. I couldn't help but blush as he looked at me. Images flashed of us in a bath followed by the words 'freak'.

My anger raged and boiled as the sound of it echoed in my head.

I got so mad that my pupils elongated into slits. I knew then my eyes had turned red. With that I cast a series of spells one after the other. I could feel the magic altering my body, allowing me to slither out from under him. My form had literally twisted and coiled snake-like in order to escape.

I managed to get several feet away from him by the time he'd stood up. Our eyes were locked in a contest of will. The irony was that I now had a second set of clear eyelids. He would be forced to blink first. Just then he sighed and raised his hand towards the sky. I could feel his magic working as he cast an inaudible spell into the open air.

"I hate those eyes. If it were up to me i'd never let you waken your Slytherin blood. You look a proper snake now"

I merely continued to stare in an attempt to unnerve him. He looked very sad as he observed me.

"It was good to see you Al… If you really want me to go, I'll leave you alone. I just missed you so much…" With that he extended his hand to catch his broom as it appeared. I watched as he merely placed a foot on the left rest and disappeared into the sky.

Was that his stupid way of apologizing? First he snapped his wand for me and then he…

I kicked a stone angrily, feeling the blood rush to my face as my heart started to beat faster than a hummingbird's wings. I clasped my hands then to my cheeks, feeling the heat in my flesh. My breath came in such ragged heavy waves that I thought I might faint. I could see him leaning down to kiss my injured hand and the thought brought me to my knees. This boy snapped his wand for you. He would die for you. Maybe…. maybe he could love you too…

"What are you doing Albus?" I asked myself stupidly.

"Wake up Boss. We're here."

I woke up in a cold sweat, registering the force of someone's hand shaking my shoulder. My vision blurred into focus as the silver haired boy examined me. Izanagi Muramasa was hunched over me, motioning to the other members of the order as they descended the centipede train at its rear. I was the only one who hadn't moved upon halt of the insect's charge.

I spotted Scor a ways off, watching the scene from a few seats ahead, that beautiful blond head of his tilted quizzically back at me.

"You were dreaming boss" Agi explained, pulling a pack of equipment down from a compartment above his seat. The luggage consisted of black duffle bags with potions and scanning equipment from our mission. Right… our mission to retrieve the tome of fate. It was almost a year since the memory i'd dreamt of.

"I fell asleep" I whispered groggily, kneading my eye with the back of my hand.

"Mhhh. You must have been exhausted from the fight. You and Scorpius really took the lead there."

"I didn't say anything did I?"

"While you dreamt? Not much… You did whisper Scorpius's name a few times… but your sister says that's not out of the ordinary for you."

"Does she now?" I asked annoyed, checking a small mirror at the back of the seat in front of me to make sure I hadn't been drooling. Mercifully I had not. "I was dreaming about Japan actually. The time I went to visit Rori's house.

"My home country? How strange. Though mistress Parkinson's estate is quite lovely. What made you think of that do you wonder? Besides us having just been there I mean."

Scor walked back towards us through the aisle, stopping just behind the Japanese royal.

"Oh nothing, at least I'm not sure…" I lied, scrutinizing my fellow fontling as he observed me in return. I yawned, which put a small smile on the Blond's face. 'He always smiles at you when you yawn or blush or stretch' i thought absently.

"Shall we get going? We still need to sneak back into our dorms. The night is not over yet."

"Yes, merely grabbing the last of the equipment. And rousing our boss here."

With that the silvery haired boy slipped by Scorpius and made his way off the train to join his sister.

Scor grabbed my bag for me, relieving me of the burden as he led us back towards the castle grounds. I watched all the little pairings form as friends within the order found each others favorites for gossip and banter.

"How was your nap?"

"Ha Ha… very funny… I was wiped from the battle… I was only out for a few minutes."

"I wasn't teasing you. I was being genuine."

"I'm not sure. I feel like I slept well, but I also had weird dreams."

"Oh, weirder than usual?"

"Just about that time in Japan when you healed my hand. Last summer before the carnival when I showed up at Rori's in the emerald yukata Louis made for me. We weren't exactly speaking then."

"I remember. You have the softest hands on the planet, i'm glad I was able to heal you."

I remained silent as we walked, eyeing the vivid purple binding of the book in Scorpius's grip. A nervous fear gnawed at the back of my mind like some kind of insect gnashing into plant matter.

"Aren't you curious why the twins would so readily abandon their birthright heirloom to you? You're a long removed cousin of the Muramasa's, don't you find their loyalty odd?"

"I'll tell you about Sakura and her husband sometime. My father was very close with the twin's mother. Our clans have been allies for generations."

I merely hmmed in reply, an absent sort of thing.

"Are you so worried about me reading it?" The idiot asked, stalling us on the outskirts of the forest as our compatriots trailed further and further into the distance ahead. His fingers had gently pressed against my shoulder. I could tell he wanted me to look up at him.

"Yes… i'm terrified actually."

He pulled me down a side path where the foliage became thicker and more imposing, leaving our order to return on their own to the school. We walked in silence for a while, meandering into the tangle of branches and brush. We were truly in the depths of the forest now, lost to its dark interior.

"You know, I'm stronger than you give me credit for Al"

I watched his fingers grip the leather with a fierceness that betrayed the calm composure of his mask. His face was frozen perfection, his posture strong and imposing, and yet, he was angry at me. Angry that I could doubt his ability.

"You're my best friend… should I not worry at all?"

"You should trust my strength by now. You should trust me not to be so foolish that I would risk death for the mere taste of a little extra power. At least if I wasn't absolutely sure I could handle it."

"A little extra power?! You call Font magic a little extra power?"

"Fine… not merely a little… but you know what I meant."

"Scorpius… this power is dangerous… what its done to me… how it's changed me… I don't want that happening to you. I don't want you poisoned by it… to lose yourself to it"

"That's not for you to decide!"

"I'm not saying it's my decision! I'm just… allowed not to be happy about it aren't I? I'm allowed to ask you to think about it… to reconsider. Aren't I? Even if you're not going to…" I mumbled childishly, my voice a timid complaining thing.

He dropped my duffle bag then so that he could crack opened the tome in his hands. He found my eyes, a fierce glare locked on me like an animal… almost daring me to try and stop him. 'He's misunderstanding me' I thought sadly.

"Don't be a fucking prick Scor…"

"You called me weak before our mission… too weak to match you… you don't consider me your equal… i'm just another piece in your game… is that it?"

"Are you insane! You're EVERYTHING to me, you're the entire reason for the game, how can you not realize that! I'm begging you not to read it. I want you to be safe. Don't risk your health or sanity by trying to digest another of Ashera's tomes!"

I reached out to grab his empty hand, my fingers interlocking with his as they often had as children. The same hands we'd held in our hospital cribs, the same hand we'd held after the fountain bonded us together. The same hand he'd healed in Japan.

Scor tried to pull away from me, his arm jerking repeatedly as if to escape a snare. I reached next for the book, hoping to close its deadly pages before my idiot had a chance to peek. The blond merely yanked it away, trying to keep the volume out of range above his head.

"Leave it Al!"

"You hated that I might be hurting myself for your sake! Now you're seeking to do the same! If you have any respect for me just go read it away from me! That's all i'm asking!"

The struggle escalated into a strange grappling session, which, given our luck, caused the unthinkable to happen. While our limbs were still intertwined, the compendium of fate slipped from his grasp to fall to the ground between us. It wasn't until we both were looking down into its purple glowing text did we realize our mistake…. my mistake.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I SHRIEKED LIKE A BANSHEE as blinding beams of light seared my mind with images not meant for me see. Garbled formulae burned into my eyes with a pain to rival the burning brand of the torture curse.

"ALBUS NO!" He roared, trying to rewind time by using his Avalon spells.

A kind of dance began then in earnest, a repeated pain straining my eyes and mind before blank white nothingness washed over the pain in its place. Over and over did the crash of pain and white nothingness push and pull as he shrieked my name. In that liminal space I spied a little red thread extending from my heart towards the outline of my best friend. Fate's red thread… I tried to grab it, I tried to cast a love spell from my own tome, anything to pull myself out of the blinding void.

"ALBUS SAY SOMETHING! NO! THIS CAN'T BE HIS FATE! I REJECT IT! I'M NOT READY FOR HIS STORY TO END!"

"SCOR IT BURNS!"

"HANG ON AL… JUST LET ME THINK! PLEASE GODDESS!"

"SCOORRRRRRRRRRR ARAAAAAAAAAA"

"FULCRUM APOTHEOSIS!"

At the enunciation of the strange spell, the crimson twine began to wrap itself around my hand, where it connected to Scor's. It formed a kind of twisted seal, knots winding shut round and even inside of us. At that Scor's time magic lapsed and an explosive blast flung us apart.

*CRACK*

Blackness

SPOV

Albus flew into the trunk of an enormous tree, losing consciousness immediately as his head let out a sickly cracking noise. He crumpled over in a listless heap at the base of the pine's gnarled roots like a discarded rag tossed to the floor by a maid.

I, meanwhile, had landed on grass, sliding and flipping several times over the rough stones and broken branches that littered the forest floor. For several yards I twisted and rolled painfully, finally coming to rest on my back beneath the canopy of dark leaves.

I realized even as I lay there staring into the sky that more and more of the tomes perilous spellwork was still flowing into my open eyes. Glowing letters and equations floated in strings of light from off the pages, streaming through the air and directly into my brain. Each sentence brought with it a wave of nausea and pain. I could barely resist, could do nothing to staunch its flow. I closed my eyes but more and more information assaulted my mind through the flesh. Even still I could feel the horrible seal of unbreakable red wire running invisible from my hand to his.

"Al" I croaked, crawling first to shut the tome and then towards his twisted shape.

I tried a spell to heal him, and one to wake him, but neither worked. I tried a spell to signal our friends, one to fire off a simple flare… again neither worked. I tried the simplest spell I could think of… a lumos to illuminate the severity of Al's injuries… yet that too failed. I rolled Al carefully to the side to retrieve our muggle flare gun from inside the duffel bag. It was all I could do to fire it off and wait, praying Al would be ok.

Before our rabbits arrived, I too lost consciousness, joining Al in the gloom of sleep before anyone could even reach us.