Like Fools: Chapter Eleven
Title: Like Fools
Author: Kimberry531/Clandestinelle (same person)
Rating: R
Pairing: Al/Scorpius
Word Count: 52,207 total; ~5k this chapter.
Summary: In the middle of his quest to find and master the Elder Wand which his father didn’t want, Al finds his family in the midst of a second Wizarding war. While in hiding, Al finds himself struggling to fight against feelings for one of the other refugees - blonde, sweet, innocent Scorpius Malfoy. However, when the war takes a turn for the worse, Al finds that he suddenly has bigger problems than his heart, and the two must embark on a frightening adventure fit only for Gryffindor idiots.
Notes: This fic is COMPLETE and will be updated every Monday and every Friday.
Dedication: Rosa, Slashfiend337, for getting me out of my two-month pit of despair of the last chapter and setting it straight within thirty minutes. Owe her my soul. And this fic.
“On me dit que le destin se moque bien de nous
Qu'il ne nous donne rien et qu'il nous promet tout
Parais qu'le bonheur est à portée de main,
Alors on tend la main et on se retrouve fou
I’m told that fate makes fun of us,
That it gives us nothing and promises everything,
When happiness seems to be within our grasp,
We reach out and find ourselves like fools”
- Carla Bruni
As soon as the owl from the jeweler arrived, Al sprang to action. He grabbed the bag Rosie had given him.
“Here,” she’d said, holding out a small, beaded pouch. “It was my mum’s. It’s charmed to hold loads of stuff.”
Now, as Al hurried towards the Floo, the bag held two or three types of pain potion, a nutrient potion since Scorpius probably hadn’t been fed, enough food to feed them both for a while, and Scorpius’s angel statue, which Al had added on a whim, swaddling it in extra robes for the two of them.
“Good luck, Al,” Rose said, eyes wide. “I know you’ll be okay.”
“When Order members show up -” Al started.
“I know,” Rose said. “Don’t let them leave again. We’ll gather everyone and be ready. Don’t worry. Now go.”
Al Flooed directly into the jeweler’s shop. “The necklace,” he said, startling the man. “Give me the necklace.”
As soon as it was around his neck, Al closed his eyes and thought, ‘Sempre con ti.’
The jeweler watched as Al Potter disappeared from right in front of him. And then he owled the press.
*****
Wordlessly, Al sank to the floor, pulling Scorpius up so he lay draped across Al’s lap. He held him, hard.
‘I’m so sorry,’ he thought. ‘I’m so sorry. Please forgive me. Please.’
Scorpius rolled a little and looked up at him. ‘Am I hallucinating because of the Cruitacius?’ he asked.
‘No,’ Al thought. ‘No, I’m really here. I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.’
Scorpius burst into fresh tears as Al hugged him close, mentally recalling the conversation he’d had with Rose to make Scorpius understand why he hadn’t answered. When they’d both stopped crying, he searched through his bag and pulled out the vials of potion.
“Take these,” he whispered. “For the pain. And one is nutrient… I figured he wouldn’t feed you dinner.”
“Rude of him, isn’t it?” Scorpius joked weakly, downing the potions.
He laid his head back on Al’s lap, and Al began stroking his hair, rhythmically.
“We’re gonna be fine now,” he promised. “It’s all gonna be fine, Bunny-face.”
Scorpius giggled. Heartened, Al continued. “Remember pretending you’d had a one-off with Rose? That was so funny, Hunny-Pie. Those were good times. We’re gonna have that again, soon.”
Al kept this up until Scorpius was nearly asleep.
“Why’d you come back for me?” he murmured sleepily.
Al kept his hand moving on Scorpius’s hair. ‘Because,’ he thought seriously. ‘I love you. Scorpius, I love you. I love you. I couldn’t bear to lose you.’
Scorpius reached his arms around Al and hugged him tight, and they fell asleep together that way, Al’s hand still in Scorpius’s hair.
*****
Al woke early in the morning and separated himself from Scorpius, pulling the invisibility cloak on. It wasn’t long before Rhinehart’s men were pulling open the cell, picking up Scorpius roughly by his arm, and hauling him off to Rinehart’s office where he’d been interrogated the previous night. Al followed as quietly as he could, silently reassuring Scorpius as he went.
“Come in, Malfoy,” Rhinehart said amiably.
Once in the office, Al settled in one corner, wand drawn and eyes darting around for danger, Rhinehart’s man settled in another, wand drawn on Scorpius, Scorpius nervously shifted his weight from foot to foot, and Rhinehart in his chair behind the desk.
“Little Scorpius Malfoy,” Rhinehart said, smiling and looking Scorpius up and down as if he hadn’t seen him in many years and remembered him fondly, as if he hadn’t tortured and interrogated him the night before. “My, but you look like your father. I’ve heard that you’re a very skilled wizard.”
“I am, sir,” Scorpius said. Clearly, this was a game, one he needed to win.
“What are your strengths, Scorpius?”
Scorpius faltered.
‘First and foremost a skilled dueler,’ Al supplied. ‘Clever, clear-headed. Exceptional at following orders and using your head in sticky situations. You’re at least decent, if not good, at a strong variety of things, like potions and charms and defenses.’
“Well, sir,” Scorpius said, a smile playing at his lips, “I’m a skilled dueler - my father made sure my upbringing was… satisfactory. I know a great deal of dark skills, and I’m not squeamish about using them. I’m smart, sir, and I’ve got a good head on my shoulders. I can handle myself, and others, in any situation. I’m very diverse in my abilities, so anywhere you put me I can do the job well. I’ve also learned some Healing.” He paused, licking his lips. “You see, sir, you might have several soldiers who do a decent job no matter what you ask them to do. That’s how I am, sir, except instead of decent, I’ll do an impeccable job. I’ll be an asset to your team for certain.”
“Modest, isn’t he?” Rhinehart’s man in the corner chuckled.
“I knew you would be an asset, Malfoy,” Rhinehart said, leveling Scorpius with an even gaze.
“Your father informed me that you didn’t want to get involved.”
Scorpius didn’t answer for a moment. He’d said under interrogation the previous night that he hadn’t wanted to fight. Rhinehart surely remembered this. For him to ask meant he was giving Scorpius the chance to pretend he’d come on his own, to give him the chance to be a willing soldier. Which meant, in short, they’d keep him alive.
“My father,” Scorpius sneered, “only wishes to keep his beloved family together. He sent my mother and I away to hide. They kept a close eye on me. I was only now able to escape. I came willingly, did your men not tell you? I wanted to be found, I want to help.”
“And why is that, Scorpius?” Rhinehart asked, smiling slightly. Scorpius got the eerie feeling that this was a game often played, and not many people played as well as Scorpius.
“I’ll be honest,” Scorpius lied, thinking fast, “my primary motives are perhaps not what you want them to be. I wish, above all, to bring the proper honor back to the family name. The Malfoys were once held in great esteem, and then they turned traitor in the last war. For what? Family. It’s foolish, and I’d like to prove that despite my grandparents’ and my father’s lack of backbone, the Malfoys are still a force to be reckoned with. My second goal, of course, is to help your cause as best I can. I have faith that you’ll be the one to make our world right - with muggles and mudbloods and blood-traitors as our inferiors.”
Rhinehart was silent for a long time. “I like you,” he said finally, leaning forward. “I think you and I understand each other. If you make these words true, you could be one of my best soldiers. I take care of my own, Malfoy.”
Scorpius kept his face impassive. Rhinehart sat back up. “Dahl,” he said, and the man in the corner started. “Take Mister Malfoy to the third camp. I’ll be in touch.”
Dahl strode forward, took Scorpius’s arm and Disapparated.
‘I’ll be there soon,’ Al thought, and kept his eyes on Rhinehart, who was heading to the fireplace to Floo with someone.
‘Sempre con ti,’ thought Albus, and he found himself standing in a clearing filled with massive grey tents and campfires.
Scorpius was standing, his eyes on the ground, Dahl’s hand still firmly around his upper arm. “There’s an empty cot in the second tent,” Dahl said. “You can set up there.”
Scorpius entered the second tent. It was like a barrack - just beds, grey blankets, all in a perfect row on each side. He walked along until he found the empty one, which didn’t look slept in or have shoes beside it or a book next to the pillow.
“Here,” Al whispered, and Scorpius jumped a mile, throwing a hand over his mouth to stifle the shriek he’d let out.
“You can’t sneak up on me like that!” he scolded, as a bundle appeared out of nowhere. He opened it to find his angel. He set her beside his bed and put the spare robes at the foot of it. He stuck his wand in his back pocket and headed out to the campfire, where the other soldiers had been eating lunch.
He sat on a log surrounding the nearest campfire and scuffed his toes in the dirt.
“And who’re you?” a young woman, sitting across from him, asked.
He met her eyes boldly. “Scorpius Malfoy.”
A murmur went up around the campfire.
“So he got you, eh?” the witch asked, smirking.
“I came on my own,” Scorpius frowned, and then turned away from her.
‘Al?’
‘I’m here,’ Al answered.
‘How do we get the Order here? What do we do?’
‘I don’t know yet,’ Al admitted. ‘We need to talk to them first, prepare them to attack for good. While they’re attacking the camp, you and I can get Rhinehart. I just gotta figure out how to communicate with them… how to get them here… there’s so much planning to do. I wish I could get back and forth.’
‘So for now we wait?’
‘Until they can help us… yeah. The important thing for now is for you to keep your head down. I’m here to help you, we just gotta keep it together until we’ve got back-up.’
Scorpius sighed loudly, feeling a knot of anxiety settle in his stomach.
*****
‘Alohamora,’ Scorpius whispered, and the latch on the window slid open. Scorpius waved his wand and the window opened. Dahl and one other soldier, a devoted witch named Pritchard, climbed through before him. Scorpius followed.
‘Now,’ he thought, and moments later felt the whoosh of air as Al appeared in the house behind him.
They appeared to be standing in a muggle kitchen. Scorpius recognized some of the appliances from Muggle Studies. From down the dark hallway, there came the unmistakable sound of a dog’s nails hitting the hardwood floor as it ran to see who was in its home. Dhal flicked his wand, and the dog slumped silently to the floor. Scorpius felt his stomach lurch.
Dahl went down the hallway, wand lit. After exploring around the floor, he nodded silently towards the carpeted staircase. Scorpius and Pritchard followed. The first door up the stairs was a small office, with bookshelves and a fireplace. The next was a linen closet. The next was a loo.
The next room held two small beds. One of the occupants rolled over in his sleep, revealing his still face to the glow of Dahl’s wand. Scorpius felt his heart tighten. The boy was a Gryffindor, Scorpius remembered him from the halls.
Two flashes of green later, Dahl and Pritchard were turning and heading out the door to the next room, and Al was nudging Scorpius out of his horrified stupor.
“Alright, Malfoy?” Dahl asked in a whisper. “You look a little green.”
‘Fake it,’ Al hissed silently.
Scorpius forced a smirk. “It must be the reflection from the curses.”
The master bedroom held a single bed, where husband and wife lay sleeping. Pritchard shot a killing curse at the wife, who exhaled one final time. Scorpius willed himself to pretend she was still sleeping, that she had just begun to breathe more quietly. Dahl waved his wand and the man was lifted from his bed by his ankle. He came awake with a wild shout, which startled Scorpius in the macabre silence of the house. Pritchard smiled at him.
“Who are you?” the man yelled. “What are you doing in my house?”
“Shut up,” Dahl said, giving the man a little wiggle.
“Penny!” the man yelled. “Penny, wake up and run!”
“She won’t hear you,” Pritchard said, poking the dead wife with her wand. “She’ll never hear anything again.”
The man went very still and silent and Dahl let him drop. He hit the ground and didn’t move, but for the sobs shaking his body.
“My wife… my darling…” he cried.
“Get up,” Dahl said with disgust, prodding the man with the toe of his boot.
The man stood, shakily. “My kids,” he begged, tears streaming down his face. “Tell me you left my children alone… they never did anything wrong… please, spare my children...”
“Malfoy,” Dhal said, turning to Scorpius. “I want you to look this man in the eyes and tell him about his children.”
The man actually looked at Scorpius with hope, and that made it so much worse. “We’ve killed your children,” he said evenly. “They’re dead.”
The man let out a thin wail and his knees seemed to sag.
“Now kill him,” Dahl said. With a lump in his throat and horror flashing behind his eyes, Scorpius attempted to raise his shaking wand.
“I c-c-can’t,” he managed, and Dahl let out a rough noise of irritation and pushed him aside.
*****
Scorpius lay on his back in his cot, taking short, shallow breaths, not allowing himself to think, not allowing himself to feel. His eyes were open but it was so dark in the barracks that he couldn’t make out a single shape anywhere. Not that he could see anything but the face of the man he had almost killed.
The bed dipped beside him, and Al’s arms were around him, and suddenly he was burying his face in Al’s chest and sobbing like he never had before.
‘Don’t let it hurt you,’ Al thought. ‘You were so brave, Scorpius. A right Gryffindor, you hear me? It’s all going to be fine. We’re saving lives - don’t forget that. You were so, so brave.’
Scorpius just clung to Al like he was drowning and let himself be lied to. It was the only way.
‘We’ve got to do this soon,’ Scorpius thought. ‘We’ve got to get the Order here.’
*****
Prepare for the final battle. We have Rhinehart’s camp. Gather together and be ready to fight. Prepare all provisions and weapons. As soon as you are ready, owl me. Once I receive the owl, I will automatically transport you here - don’t worry about how. Just be ready to take Rhinehart’s army down.
- Al
*****
Al -
We’re ready.
Scorpius went to his tent, his heart racing madly. The battle was about the begin, and its fate was in his hands - literally. He cradled his Angel statue and took a deep breath.
“I wish the entire Order of the Pheonix was here, right now,” he said, and there was a small rumble from outside as they all landed.
“Come on,” Al cried from under his Invisibility Cloak, “we’ve got to get to Rhinehart.”
“Do you have the Elder Wand?” Scorpius asked as they ran for Rhinehart’s tent. Several of Rhinehart’s men were coming out of it frantically - there were shouts and the bangs of spells being shot off from behind them, but Al and Scorpius focused only on their task. Their ducked into the tent and found Rhinehart’s office wide open.
“He’s leaving!” Scorpius yelled, and threw himself to Rhinehart’s side, managing to grab his elbow just as the man Apparated away.
“Shit,” Al swore, as a scream came from the battle behind him. ‘Sempre con ti.’
He landed in what looked like a castle dungeon. The walls were brown stone, the room dimly lit by flickering torches on the walls. Before him, Rhinehart slashed his wand down on Scorpius, who yelped and fell to the ground cradling his arm, which began to drip blood.
‘Accio wand,’ Rhinehart bellowed, and Al felt his own wand tug out of his hand. Rhinehart watched in astonishment as not one, but two wands landed in his hand.
“Who else is here?” he demanded. “Who else is here? Where are you hiding?”
Panicked, he turned and bolted down a nearby corridor.
‘Come on,’ Al thought quickly, ‘we’ve got to follow him.’
Wincing, Scorpius got to his feet and hurried him. They chased him through a maze of dark, damp passageways.
“Where are you?” Scorpius yelled at one point when they reached an intersection of passageways. There was a crash to the right and they took off again, following the noise.
When they skidded the corner, Rhinehart was facing them with his wand up, panting heavily. Behind him was a solid wall - he’d run into a dead end.
“I shouldn’t have trusted you,” he wheezed.
“No,” Scorpius said, chin high. “You shouldn’t have.”
With a wave of his wand, Rhinehart hurled Scorpius into the wall behind him, where he crumpled into a ball on the floor.
Rhinehart smiled at him.
“Poor little Malfoy,” he taunted. “Have I hurt you? You’re bleeding. Here, I’ll put my wand down, and then you won’t have to worry about me hurting you anymore.”
Suspicious, Al watched carefully as Rhinehart placed the wand on the floor before him. He didn’t miss the quick surge of magic as the wand touched the ground and knew that Rhinehart had not forgotten someone else was there - the wand was a trick, an alarm to warn him if anyone made a move near him - a way to protect his back as he tortured Scorpius.
‘Stay conscious,’ Al thought suddenly, struck with an idea. ‘I’m going to steal the wand. That will leave him defenseless and disarmed, and then I’ll be the Master.’
‘I’ll do my best,’ Scorpius thought back.
Using all of his mental strength, Al focused on the wand on the ground. ‘Accio wand,’ he thought, and Scorpius felt Al’s magic rush through him. The wand lifted from the floor and landed in Al’s hand.
‘Got it,’ he thought breathlessly.
‘How do we know if it worked?’ Scorpius thought, struggling to sit up.
Rhinehart was speaking and pacing, going on and on about loyalty and traitors and muggle-lovers, unaware that his audience was engaged in another conversation.
‘Piss him off,’ Al suggested.
Scorpius sat up and squared his shoulders. “I’m sorry,” he said, “but I really don’t care.”
Rhinehart froze midstep and midsentence. “Impudent child!” he spat. “I’ll teach you to respect your superiors!” He pulled out one of their wands and pointed it at Scorpius.
“Stop!” Al yelled, pulling off the cloak, and Rhinehart spun to face him.
“Potter,” he spat. “I should have known it would be you.”
Al pointed the Elder Wand at him. Rhinehart flicked his wrist and a spell shot at Al, but the wand in his hand tugged and deflected it without Al’s consent.
“You won’t beat me,” Al said strongly. Sneering Rhinehart turned back to scorpius, arm already in motion. Without thinking, Al tossed Scorpius the Elder Wand to Scorpius, who leapt to his feet with it, shooting a spell at Rhinehart that stopped the curse in its tracks.
“Did you do that?” Al asked, eyes wide.
“No,” Scorpius said, and flicked his wrist again, pinning Rhinehart to the wall.
Al walked over to him and they looked at their foe, who seethed from where he was trapped.
“The wand just did that by itself?” Al asked.
“Yep,” Scorpius nodded.
“So…” Al said, “since stealing the wand and disarming him was done through both of our minds simultaneously… we’re both Masters? Is that even possible?”
“Clearly,” Scorpius said, watching Rhinehart struggle against his invisible bonds on the wall.
“Okay,” Al said carefully. “Rose taught me this curse…” He mentally recalled the conversation he’d had with Rose about the curse which made a muggle from a wizard, and Scorpius’s face paled.
“Can we really do that to him?” he asked.
Al looked him in the eyes. “Can we really kill him?”
Scorpius swallowed hard. “Okay. Let’s do it.”
“Remember,” Al said. “The movement is a figure eight.”
They each placed a hand onto the Elder Wand, and together they said, “Aufero veneficus.”
Rhinehart began screaming almost immediately as a blue light shot into his heart.
“What have you done?” he screamed, “What have you done?”
After a long moment, he fell to the ground, the bonds releasing him even though Scorpius had not ended the spell. He scrambled for one of the wands, pointed it at the boys, and screamed, “Avada Kedavra!”
Nothing happened. The wand didn’t even spark. For him, now and forever, it would be nothing but a piece of wood.
“Come on,” Al said to Scorpius, taking Rhinehart roughly by the arm. “Let’s take this muggle back to the Order.”
*****
“And for their numerous acts of courage and selflessness, an Order of Merlin to both Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy,” Kingsley boomed from behind the podium, and the crowd curst into cheers and applause.
Smiling shyly, Scorpius received his, and Al followed. He saw his father beaming in the crowd.
As they re-entered the crowd and Kinglsey began announcing the next awards, Harry pulled Al into a hug.
“I’m proud of you, son,” he said seriously.
That night as the Order, Malfoys included, lounged around a private party at Grimmauld, James entered the room and tossed a newspaper onto Al’s lap. “Thought you might want to see this.”
The picture was of Al and Scorpius on the stage earlier that day, both blushing slightly as Kingsley handed them each their medal. The headline above is blazed, “Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy: Lovers and Fighters!”
“Bloody hell,” Al muttered, and felt his face flame.
‘How did they find out?’ Scorpius asked silently from across the room, where he was standing with Gemma.
‘That jeweler,’ Al responded as he scanned the article. ‘He must have figured it out when I went raging in there to try to save you.’
“Is this true?” Harry asked, glancing at the page.
Al looked from Scorpius to his father again, somewhat pained.
“Albus,” Harry said soothingly, “it’s okay. We just want you to be happy.”
Albus sighed in relief, and Ginny came over and put a hand on his shoulder, the other on Harry’s.
“My boys,” she said happily. “My boys are all okay.”
“And what am I then?” James demanded from across the room. “Chopped liver?”
Draco closed his eyes. “Are you sure, Scorpius?”
Scorpius licked his lips. “Father, I -.”
“I mean,” Draco continued, “are you sure you must have a Potter? Out of every witch or wizard in the world, a Potter?”
Scorpius smiled. “Yeah, I’m sure,” he said quietly. Gemma clapped her hands.
“Our little Cory,” she said with a laugh. Draco and Al grimaced simultaneously, and then gave one another a small look of approval.
“What I don’t understand,” Ginny said thoughtfully, “is how you two pulled all of this off.”
Al looked sheepishly at Scorpius. “Well Dad’s going to freak…” he said, and Harry narrowed his eyes. “Well,” Al continued, “in the beginning of the year, something happened… and Scorpius and I started hearing each other’s thoughts.”
“Bloody hell!” James exploded from the other couch, where he’d been resting. “That’s what went wrong?”
Everyone in the room turned to look at him in bemusement, and he flushed. “I tried to cast a spell on Al to read his mind, back when Dad wanted to know what he was up to. I guess it backfired onto Malfoy. I completely forgot about it, when the war started. I can end the spell if you want me to.”
Al winked at Scorpius. In his mind, he imagined them running up the stairs to their old room for some good, long-overdue snogging. Scorpius flushed and shifted uneasily. Al grinned. “Maybe tomorrow,” he said.
*****
“Okay, ready?” Al asked.
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Scorpius said, and they joined hands over Dumbledore’s grave, muttering the enchantment which would seal the grave for good, making it never again possible for anyone to open it and access the wand.
Once it was done, they turned and smiled.
“Ready for potions?” Scorpius asked.
“Let’s go,” Al said, and slipped his hand into Scorpius’s as they crossed the grounds towards the castle, not caring who saw, or what it meant - just that the hand belonged to Scorpius and Scorpius belonged to him.
Author: Kimberry531/Clandestinelle (same person)
Rating: R
Pairing: Al/Scorpius
Word Count: 52,207 total; ~5k this chapter.
Summary: In the middle of his quest to find and master the Elder Wand which his father didn’t want, Al finds his family in the midst of a second Wizarding war. While in hiding, Al finds himself struggling to fight against feelings for one of the other refugees - blonde, sweet, innocent Scorpius Malfoy. However, when the war takes a turn for the worse, Al finds that he suddenly has bigger problems than his heart, and the two must embark on a frightening adventure fit only for Gryffindor idiots.
Notes: This fic is COMPLETE and will be updated every Monday and every Friday.
Dedication: Rosa, Slashfiend337, for getting me out of my two-month pit of despair of the last chapter and setting it straight within thirty minutes. Owe her my soul. And this fic.
“On me dit que le destin se moque bien de nous
Qu'il ne nous donne rien et qu'il nous promet tout
Parais qu'le bonheur est à portée de main,
Alors on tend la main et on se retrouve fou
I’m told that fate makes fun of us,
That it gives us nothing and promises everything,
When happiness seems to be within our grasp,
We reach out and find ourselves like fools”
- Carla Bruni
As soon as the owl from the jeweler arrived, Al sprang to action. He grabbed the bag Rosie had given him.
“Here,” she’d said, holding out a small, beaded pouch. “It was my mum’s. It’s charmed to hold loads of stuff.”
Now, as Al hurried towards the Floo, the bag held two or three types of pain potion, a nutrient potion since Scorpius probably hadn’t been fed, enough food to feed them both for a while, and Scorpius’s angel statue, which Al had added on a whim, swaddling it in extra robes for the two of them.
“Good luck, Al,” Rose said, eyes wide. “I know you’ll be okay.”
“When Order members show up -” Al started.
“I know,” Rose said. “Don’t let them leave again. We’ll gather everyone and be ready. Don’t worry. Now go.”
Al Flooed directly into the jeweler’s shop. “The necklace,” he said, startling the man. “Give me the necklace.”
As soon as it was around his neck, Al closed his eyes and thought, ‘Sempre con ti.’
The jeweler watched as Al Potter disappeared from right in front of him. And then he owled the press.
*****
Wordlessly, Al sank to the floor, pulling Scorpius up so he lay draped across Al’s lap. He held him, hard.
‘I’m so sorry,’ he thought. ‘I’m so sorry. Please forgive me. Please.’
Scorpius rolled a little and looked up at him. ‘Am I hallucinating because of the Cruitacius?’ he asked.
‘No,’ Al thought. ‘No, I’m really here. I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.’
Scorpius burst into fresh tears as Al hugged him close, mentally recalling the conversation he’d had with Rose to make Scorpius understand why he hadn’t answered. When they’d both stopped crying, he searched through his bag and pulled out the vials of potion.
“Take these,” he whispered. “For the pain. And one is nutrient… I figured he wouldn’t feed you dinner.”
“Rude of him, isn’t it?” Scorpius joked weakly, downing the potions.
He laid his head back on Al’s lap, and Al began stroking his hair, rhythmically.
“We’re gonna be fine now,” he promised. “It’s all gonna be fine, Bunny-face.”
Scorpius giggled. Heartened, Al continued. “Remember pretending you’d had a one-off with Rose? That was so funny, Hunny-Pie. Those were good times. We’re gonna have that again, soon.”
Al kept this up until Scorpius was nearly asleep.
“Why’d you come back for me?” he murmured sleepily.
Al kept his hand moving on Scorpius’s hair. ‘Because,’ he thought seriously. ‘I love you. Scorpius, I love you. I love you. I couldn’t bear to lose you.’
Scorpius reached his arms around Al and hugged him tight, and they fell asleep together that way, Al’s hand still in Scorpius’s hair.
*****
Al woke early in the morning and separated himself from Scorpius, pulling the invisibility cloak on. It wasn’t long before Rhinehart’s men were pulling open the cell, picking up Scorpius roughly by his arm, and hauling him off to Rinehart’s office where he’d been interrogated the previous night. Al followed as quietly as he could, silently reassuring Scorpius as he went.
“Come in, Malfoy,” Rhinehart said amiably.
Once in the office, Al settled in one corner, wand drawn and eyes darting around for danger, Rhinehart’s man settled in another, wand drawn on Scorpius, Scorpius nervously shifted his weight from foot to foot, and Rhinehart in his chair behind the desk.
“Little Scorpius Malfoy,” Rhinehart said, smiling and looking Scorpius up and down as if he hadn’t seen him in many years and remembered him fondly, as if he hadn’t tortured and interrogated him the night before. “My, but you look like your father. I’ve heard that you’re a very skilled wizard.”
“I am, sir,” Scorpius said. Clearly, this was a game, one he needed to win.
“What are your strengths, Scorpius?”
Scorpius faltered.
‘First and foremost a skilled dueler,’ Al supplied. ‘Clever, clear-headed. Exceptional at following orders and using your head in sticky situations. You’re at least decent, if not good, at a strong variety of things, like potions and charms and defenses.’
“Well, sir,” Scorpius said, a smile playing at his lips, “I’m a skilled dueler - my father made sure my upbringing was… satisfactory. I know a great deal of dark skills, and I’m not squeamish about using them. I’m smart, sir, and I’ve got a good head on my shoulders. I can handle myself, and others, in any situation. I’m very diverse in my abilities, so anywhere you put me I can do the job well. I’ve also learned some Healing.” He paused, licking his lips. “You see, sir, you might have several soldiers who do a decent job no matter what you ask them to do. That’s how I am, sir, except instead of decent, I’ll do an impeccable job. I’ll be an asset to your team for certain.”
“Modest, isn’t he?” Rhinehart’s man in the corner chuckled.
“I knew you would be an asset, Malfoy,” Rhinehart said, leveling Scorpius with an even gaze.
“Your father informed me that you didn’t want to get involved.”
Scorpius didn’t answer for a moment. He’d said under interrogation the previous night that he hadn’t wanted to fight. Rhinehart surely remembered this. For him to ask meant he was giving Scorpius the chance to pretend he’d come on his own, to give him the chance to be a willing soldier. Which meant, in short, they’d keep him alive.
“My father,” Scorpius sneered, “only wishes to keep his beloved family together. He sent my mother and I away to hide. They kept a close eye on me. I was only now able to escape. I came willingly, did your men not tell you? I wanted to be found, I want to help.”
“And why is that, Scorpius?” Rhinehart asked, smiling slightly. Scorpius got the eerie feeling that this was a game often played, and not many people played as well as Scorpius.
“I’ll be honest,” Scorpius lied, thinking fast, “my primary motives are perhaps not what you want them to be. I wish, above all, to bring the proper honor back to the family name. The Malfoys were once held in great esteem, and then they turned traitor in the last war. For what? Family. It’s foolish, and I’d like to prove that despite my grandparents’ and my father’s lack of backbone, the Malfoys are still a force to be reckoned with. My second goal, of course, is to help your cause as best I can. I have faith that you’ll be the one to make our world right - with muggles and mudbloods and blood-traitors as our inferiors.”
Rhinehart was silent for a long time. “I like you,” he said finally, leaning forward. “I think you and I understand each other. If you make these words true, you could be one of my best soldiers. I take care of my own, Malfoy.”
Scorpius kept his face impassive. Rhinehart sat back up. “Dahl,” he said, and the man in the corner started. “Take Mister Malfoy to the third camp. I’ll be in touch.”
Dahl strode forward, took Scorpius’s arm and Disapparated.
‘I’ll be there soon,’ Al thought, and kept his eyes on Rhinehart, who was heading to the fireplace to Floo with someone.
‘Sempre con ti,’ thought Albus, and he found himself standing in a clearing filled with massive grey tents and campfires.
Scorpius was standing, his eyes on the ground, Dahl’s hand still firmly around his upper arm. “There’s an empty cot in the second tent,” Dahl said. “You can set up there.”
Scorpius entered the second tent. It was like a barrack - just beds, grey blankets, all in a perfect row on each side. He walked along until he found the empty one, which didn’t look slept in or have shoes beside it or a book next to the pillow.
“Here,” Al whispered, and Scorpius jumped a mile, throwing a hand over his mouth to stifle the shriek he’d let out.
“You can’t sneak up on me like that!” he scolded, as a bundle appeared out of nowhere. He opened it to find his angel. He set her beside his bed and put the spare robes at the foot of it. He stuck his wand in his back pocket and headed out to the campfire, where the other soldiers had been eating lunch.
He sat on a log surrounding the nearest campfire and scuffed his toes in the dirt.
“And who’re you?” a young woman, sitting across from him, asked.
He met her eyes boldly. “Scorpius Malfoy.”
A murmur went up around the campfire.
“So he got you, eh?” the witch asked, smirking.
“I came on my own,” Scorpius frowned, and then turned away from her.
‘Al?’
‘I’m here,’ Al answered.
‘How do we get the Order here? What do we do?’
‘I don’t know yet,’ Al admitted. ‘We need to talk to them first, prepare them to attack for good. While they’re attacking the camp, you and I can get Rhinehart. I just gotta figure out how to communicate with them… how to get them here… there’s so much planning to do. I wish I could get back and forth.’
‘So for now we wait?’
‘Until they can help us… yeah. The important thing for now is for you to keep your head down. I’m here to help you, we just gotta keep it together until we’ve got back-up.’
Scorpius sighed loudly, feeling a knot of anxiety settle in his stomach.
*****
‘Alohamora,’ Scorpius whispered, and the latch on the window slid open. Scorpius waved his wand and the window opened. Dahl and one other soldier, a devoted witch named Pritchard, climbed through before him. Scorpius followed.
‘Now,’ he thought, and moments later felt the whoosh of air as Al appeared in the house behind him.
They appeared to be standing in a muggle kitchen. Scorpius recognized some of the appliances from Muggle Studies. From down the dark hallway, there came the unmistakable sound of a dog’s nails hitting the hardwood floor as it ran to see who was in its home. Dhal flicked his wand, and the dog slumped silently to the floor. Scorpius felt his stomach lurch.
Dahl went down the hallway, wand lit. After exploring around the floor, he nodded silently towards the carpeted staircase. Scorpius and Pritchard followed. The first door up the stairs was a small office, with bookshelves and a fireplace. The next was a linen closet. The next was a loo.
The next room held two small beds. One of the occupants rolled over in his sleep, revealing his still face to the glow of Dahl’s wand. Scorpius felt his heart tighten. The boy was a Gryffindor, Scorpius remembered him from the halls.
Two flashes of green later, Dahl and Pritchard were turning and heading out the door to the next room, and Al was nudging Scorpius out of his horrified stupor.
“Alright, Malfoy?” Dahl asked in a whisper. “You look a little green.”
‘Fake it,’ Al hissed silently.
Scorpius forced a smirk. “It must be the reflection from the curses.”
The master bedroom held a single bed, where husband and wife lay sleeping. Pritchard shot a killing curse at the wife, who exhaled one final time. Scorpius willed himself to pretend she was still sleeping, that she had just begun to breathe more quietly. Dahl waved his wand and the man was lifted from his bed by his ankle. He came awake with a wild shout, which startled Scorpius in the macabre silence of the house. Pritchard smiled at him.
“Who are you?” the man yelled. “What are you doing in my house?”
“Shut up,” Dahl said, giving the man a little wiggle.
“Penny!” the man yelled. “Penny, wake up and run!”
“She won’t hear you,” Pritchard said, poking the dead wife with her wand. “She’ll never hear anything again.”
The man went very still and silent and Dahl let him drop. He hit the ground and didn’t move, but for the sobs shaking his body.
“My wife… my darling…” he cried.
“Get up,” Dahl said with disgust, prodding the man with the toe of his boot.
The man stood, shakily. “My kids,” he begged, tears streaming down his face. “Tell me you left my children alone… they never did anything wrong… please, spare my children...”
“Malfoy,” Dhal said, turning to Scorpius. “I want you to look this man in the eyes and tell him about his children.”
The man actually looked at Scorpius with hope, and that made it so much worse. “We’ve killed your children,” he said evenly. “They’re dead.”
The man let out a thin wail and his knees seemed to sag.
“Now kill him,” Dahl said. With a lump in his throat and horror flashing behind his eyes, Scorpius attempted to raise his shaking wand.
“I c-c-can’t,” he managed, and Dahl let out a rough noise of irritation and pushed him aside.
*****
Scorpius lay on his back in his cot, taking short, shallow breaths, not allowing himself to think, not allowing himself to feel. His eyes were open but it was so dark in the barracks that he couldn’t make out a single shape anywhere. Not that he could see anything but the face of the man he had almost killed.
The bed dipped beside him, and Al’s arms were around him, and suddenly he was burying his face in Al’s chest and sobbing like he never had before.
‘Don’t let it hurt you,’ Al thought. ‘You were so brave, Scorpius. A right Gryffindor, you hear me? It’s all going to be fine. We’re saving lives - don’t forget that. You were so, so brave.’
Scorpius just clung to Al like he was drowning and let himself be lied to. It was the only way.
‘We’ve got to do this soon,’ Scorpius thought. ‘We’ve got to get the Order here.’
*****
Prepare for the final battle. We have Rhinehart’s camp. Gather together and be ready to fight. Prepare all provisions and weapons. As soon as you are ready, owl me. Once I receive the owl, I will automatically transport you here - don’t worry about how. Just be ready to take Rhinehart’s army down.
- Al
*****
Al -
We’re ready.
Scorpius went to his tent, his heart racing madly. The battle was about the begin, and its fate was in his hands - literally. He cradled his Angel statue and took a deep breath.
“I wish the entire Order of the Pheonix was here, right now,” he said, and there was a small rumble from outside as they all landed.
“Come on,” Al cried from under his Invisibility Cloak, “we’ve got to get to Rhinehart.”
“Do you have the Elder Wand?” Scorpius asked as they ran for Rhinehart’s tent. Several of Rhinehart’s men were coming out of it frantically - there were shouts and the bangs of spells being shot off from behind them, but Al and Scorpius focused only on their task. Their ducked into the tent and found Rhinehart’s office wide open.
“He’s leaving!” Scorpius yelled, and threw himself to Rhinehart’s side, managing to grab his elbow just as the man Apparated away.
“Shit,” Al swore, as a scream came from the battle behind him. ‘Sempre con ti.’
He landed in what looked like a castle dungeon. The walls were brown stone, the room dimly lit by flickering torches on the walls. Before him, Rhinehart slashed his wand down on Scorpius, who yelped and fell to the ground cradling his arm, which began to drip blood.
‘Accio wand,’ Rhinehart bellowed, and Al felt his own wand tug out of his hand. Rhinehart watched in astonishment as not one, but two wands landed in his hand.
“Who else is here?” he demanded. “Who else is here? Where are you hiding?”
Panicked, he turned and bolted down a nearby corridor.
‘Come on,’ Al thought quickly, ‘we’ve got to follow him.’
Wincing, Scorpius got to his feet and hurried him. They chased him through a maze of dark, damp passageways.
“Where are you?” Scorpius yelled at one point when they reached an intersection of passageways. There was a crash to the right and they took off again, following the noise.
When they skidded the corner, Rhinehart was facing them with his wand up, panting heavily. Behind him was a solid wall - he’d run into a dead end.
“I shouldn’t have trusted you,” he wheezed.
“No,” Scorpius said, chin high. “You shouldn’t have.”
With a wave of his wand, Rhinehart hurled Scorpius into the wall behind him, where he crumpled into a ball on the floor.
Rhinehart smiled at him.
“Poor little Malfoy,” he taunted. “Have I hurt you? You’re bleeding. Here, I’ll put my wand down, and then you won’t have to worry about me hurting you anymore.”
Suspicious, Al watched carefully as Rhinehart placed the wand on the floor before him. He didn’t miss the quick surge of magic as the wand touched the ground and knew that Rhinehart had not forgotten someone else was there - the wand was a trick, an alarm to warn him if anyone made a move near him - a way to protect his back as he tortured Scorpius.
‘Stay conscious,’ Al thought suddenly, struck with an idea. ‘I’m going to steal the wand. That will leave him defenseless and disarmed, and then I’ll be the Master.’
‘I’ll do my best,’ Scorpius thought back.
Using all of his mental strength, Al focused on the wand on the ground. ‘Accio wand,’ he thought, and Scorpius felt Al’s magic rush through him. The wand lifted from the floor and landed in Al’s hand.
‘Got it,’ he thought breathlessly.
‘How do we know if it worked?’ Scorpius thought, struggling to sit up.
Rhinehart was speaking and pacing, going on and on about loyalty and traitors and muggle-lovers, unaware that his audience was engaged in another conversation.
‘Piss him off,’ Al suggested.
Scorpius sat up and squared his shoulders. “I’m sorry,” he said, “but I really don’t care.”
Rhinehart froze midstep and midsentence. “Impudent child!” he spat. “I’ll teach you to respect your superiors!” He pulled out one of their wands and pointed it at Scorpius.
“Stop!” Al yelled, pulling off the cloak, and Rhinehart spun to face him.
“Potter,” he spat. “I should have known it would be you.”
Al pointed the Elder Wand at him. Rhinehart flicked his wrist and a spell shot at Al, but the wand in his hand tugged and deflected it without Al’s consent.
“You won’t beat me,” Al said strongly. Sneering Rhinehart turned back to scorpius, arm already in motion. Without thinking, Al tossed Scorpius the Elder Wand to Scorpius, who leapt to his feet with it, shooting a spell at Rhinehart that stopped the curse in its tracks.
“Did you do that?” Al asked, eyes wide.
“No,” Scorpius said, and flicked his wrist again, pinning Rhinehart to the wall.
Al walked over to him and they looked at their foe, who seethed from where he was trapped.
“The wand just did that by itself?” Al asked.
“Yep,” Scorpius nodded.
“So…” Al said, “since stealing the wand and disarming him was done through both of our minds simultaneously… we’re both Masters? Is that even possible?”
“Clearly,” Scorpius said, watching Rhinehart struggle against his invisible bonds on the wall.
“Okay,” Al said carefully. “Rose taught me this curse…” He mentally recalled the conversation he’d had with Rose about the curse which made a muggle from a wizard, and Scorpius’s face paled.
“Can we really do that to him?” he asked.
Al looked him in the eyes. “Can we really kill him?”
Scorpius swallowed hard. “Okay. Let’s do it.”
“Remember,” Al said. “The movement is a figure eight.”
They each placed a hand onto the Elder Wand, and together they said, “Aufero veneficus.”
Rhinehart began screaming almost immediately as a blue light shot into his heart.
“What have you done?” he screamed, “What have you done?”
After a long moment, he fell to the ground, the bonds releasing him even though Scorpius had not ended the spell. He scrambled for one of the wands, pointed it at the boys, and screamed, “Avada Kedavra!”
Nothing happened. The wand didn’t even spark. For him, now and forever, it would be nothing but a piece of wood.
“Come on,” Al said to Scorpius, taking Rhinehart roughly by the arm. “Let’s take this muggle back to the Order.”
*****
“And for their numerous acts of courage and selflessness, an Order of Merlin to both Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy,” Kingsley boomed from behind the podium, and the crowd curst into cheers and applause.
Smiling shyly, Scorpius received his, and Al followed. He saw his father beaming in the crowd.
As they re-entered the crowd and Kinglsey began announcing the next awards, Harry pulled Al into a hug.
“I’m proud of you, son,” he said seriously.
That night as the Order, Malfoys included, lounged around a private party at Grimmauld, James entered the room and tossed a newspaper onto Al’s lap. “Thought you might want to see this.”
The picture was of Al and Scorpius on the stage earlier that day, both blushing slightly as Kingsley handed them each their medal. The headline above is blazed, “Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy: Lovers and Fighters!”
“Bloody hell,” Al muttered, and felt his face flame.
‘How did they find out?’ Scorpius asked silently from across the room, where he was standing with Gemma.
‘That jeweler,’ Al responded as he scanned the article. ‘He must have figured it out when I went raging in there to try to save you.’
“Is this true?” Harry asked, glancing at the page.
Al looked from Scorpius to his father again, somewhat pained.
“Albus,” Harry said soothingly, “it’s okay. We just want you to be happy.”
Albus sighed in relief, and Ginny came over and put a hand on his shoulder, the other on Harry’s.
“My boys,” she said happily. “My boys are all okay.”
“And what am I then?” James demanded from across the room. “Chopped liver?”
Draco closed his eyes. “Are you sure, Scorpius?”
Scorpius licked his lips. “Father, I -.”
“I mean,” Draco continued, “are you sure you must have a Potter? Out of every witch or wizard in the world, a Potter?”
Scorpius smiled. “Yeah, I’m sure,” he said quietly. Gemma clapped her hands.
“Our little Cory,” she said with a laugh. Draco and Al grimaced simultaneously, and then gave one another a small look of approval.
“What I don’t understand,” Ginny said thoughtfully, “is how you two pulled all of this off.”
Al looked sheepishly at Scorpius. “Well Dad’s going to freak…” he said, and Harry narrowed his eyes. “Well,” Al continued, “in the beginning of the year, something happened… and Scorpius and I started hearing each other’s thoughts.”
“Bloody hell!” James exploded from the other couch, where he’d been resting. “That’s what went wrong?”
Everyone in the room turned to look at him in bemusement, and he flushed. “I tried to cast a spell on Al to read his mind, back when Dad wanted to know what he was up to. I guess it backfired onto Malfoy. I completely forgot about it, when the war started. I can end the spell if you want me to.”
Al winked at Scorpius. In his mind, he imagined them running up the stairs to their old room for some good, long-overdue snogging. Scorpius flushed and shifted uneasily. Al grinned. “Maybe tomorrow,” he said.
*****
“Okay, ready?” Al asked.
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Scorpius said, and they joined hands over Dumbledore’s grave, muttering the enchantment which would seal the grave for good, making it never again possible for anyone to open it and access the wand.
Once it was done, they turned and smiled.
“Ready for potions?” Scorpius asked.
“Let’s go,” Al said, and slipped his hand into Scorpius’s as they crossed the grounds towards the castle, not caring who saw, or what it meant - just that the hand belonged to Scorpius and Scorpius belonged to him.