Soldiers and Serpents //Scorbus

72 Mania

Scorpius held Albus tight against him. They said nothing, soaking in the quiet while they could. Scorpius didn't let himself feel the weight of this. The impact of what this was. He had to feel nothing. To do what he was about to do, he had to feel nothing.

He'll let the Aurors do what they can, but he didn't plan on their success any longer. Draco had given him the answer, he was just late to realize it. And for Draco, for everyone else, Scorpius would see it through.

He'll pick up the pieces after.

Albus finally pulls back, turning towards the door. Scorpius kept his arms around him, keeping him close. "My dad's here." Albus recognized the voices down the hall. Scorpius nodded. It was time. "Hey." Albus took his face in his hands. "Look at me."

Scorpius obeyed.

"It's okay if you're scared." Albus told him. Scorpius had already left that emotion behind. He was filled with the same feeling as when he hunted the Zealots in the labyrinth at the Malfoy Manor. He wasn't scared. He was exhilarated. That's the only feeling to carry him through this. So he pushed it to the forefront and left the others to wither and die.

"Nothing will ever change what you mean to me." Scorpius hoped it was enough. Albus smiled at him. "Also, you wear black better than I do." He joked, looking down at Albus's attire. "Do it more often. You're hot."

"It's not really the time." Albus bites his lip, fingers curling on Scorpius's collar.

"I'm not kidding. I'll take you back to bed right now-"

"Scorpius." Albus laughed. Scorpius focused on the sound, committing it to memory. "I'd much rather be in bed right now."

"Shh." Scorpius took his hand and entwined their fingers. "Let's not keep famous Harry Potter waiting."

As the two of them approached the entryway, they could hear the lecture already. "...keep out of it. Not safe for any teenagers to-"

"Oh shut up. You were fighting dragons at our age." Rose Weasley snapped. Scorpius and Albus joined the group. His grey eyes scanned the Aurors. He recognized some of them from the manor. And they looked at him as he approached in wariness. "You either go without us, or we will just follow you."

Harry Potter's eyes rolled upwards at Rose's words. Scorpius's eyes flicked to Hermione, and he pulled Albus behind him slightly. As though he could shield him from the emotional hurt of seeing his father with his aunt. Albus still tensed when he saw her, his hand tightening on Scorpius's.

"Ah, took long enough. Too busy snogging to join us, Malfoy?" James antagonizes. Scorpius flips him off and the gryffindor cackles.

"Fine." Harry shared a look with Hermione. "But you all-" He points to the young group. "You all listen to exactly what we say. We say disapparate, you leave. No arguing."

"Father of the year." James deadpans. Orion snorted.

"You think Selwyn is going to let anyone disapparate?" Scorpius addressed the Chosen One. Harry looked at Scorpius and then flinched, as if it hurt. Scorpius continued like he didn't notice. "He broke the centuries old jinx on the Malfoy manor. He will have surely put something in place so that he will control who arrives and leaves- and when. We may have known about this meeting for a long time, but Selwyn has the upper hand." Scorpius held that emerald gaze. "And if you underestimate him again, more people will die."

Harry had taken a step back from him. Which was strange in itself. He ground his teeth together, and looked away from Scorpius to Albus. "You aren't going." He decided.

"He is going." Scorpius looked at the man. "Unless you'd like to stop him right now." Raven pulled out her wand, and Scorpius noted the rest of his group doing the same. Harry looked between all of them. "Then you go through all of us."