Soldiers and Serpents //Scorbus

49 Black

"Expelliarmus!" Scorpius disarmed the man in one swift flick of his wand, and the wand disappeared into the hedge behind him. He didn't recognize the man- but it didn't matter. He was working with Selwyn. "Petrificus Totalus!" The spell quickly seized the man, and he fell backwards, immobilized and silent. Scorpius pulls his shoes off, the ones Michael had quickly tugged on. Damp grass instantly soaked into his socks, but his footsteps became silent. His ears were keenly picking up on the words spoken through the hedges. The men trying to locate where his voice was coming from.

Scorpius- still incased in Michael's body- stepped over the man he had just dropped. And balanced on the balls of his feet, leading up to another corner. He let that voice drive him. That silent feeling pulling him towards one side or the other. So far, he hasn't reached any dead ends. It was like the labyrinth was working with him. Like the dark looming hedges on both sides of him were rooting for him. Scorpius knew his goal was to get out of here- to get somewhere safe. But the voices he overhear whisper of destroying the Manor- and there was no way he'd let that happen. This was his home.

The more Scorpius moves through the thick garden hedges, towering higher above him, the more mud and dirt latched onto Michael's clothes. And it did nothing to prevent the chill from the air. His heart was so loud it almost drowned out the sound of the other people in the maze- the ones searching for him. Even if they found him- Scorpius didn't last a chance. Even if Selwyn knew who Michael was- there was no point in keeping him alive.

He had no idea of the link between Scorpius and Michael- or that Scorpius had switched their bodies just to keep him safe. Selwyn's ignorance could get them both dead.

Aries had warned him.

The thought warmed him from the inside, a little hope that maybe- even if she was still a terrible person- that somewhere she did care. Maybe that friendship had meant something to her. He shook his head clear of the thoughts.

Focus.

"He's here!" Scorpius hears a hiss behind him, down the same stretch of maze which he'd left the man's immobilized body. His hand gripped the wand tighter. He'd slipped the phone into his pocket- not needing that distraction. His grey eyes looked up to where the Malfoy Manor's silhouette rose above the hedges behind him. Michael had said a dozen people or so. Then let's start a count.

Scorpius had taken care of one beneath the earth, and immobilized another. That makes ten more- give or take. And spying here- in the labyrinth- it provided the perfect cover and place to lay an ambush. Scorpius found himself grinning with Michael's lips, and knew that he probably looked extra creepy doing it- considering this was Michael. Selwyn had made a big mistake. And Scorpius was going to use that to his advantage.

So instead of running away from someone who rounded the corner, he raised his wand and hissed the spell. "Avifors." The transfiguration turned the man into a bird. A pigeon. A form that he couldn't attack from. The man yelped as he transformed, his wand falling out of his hand, and his body shrinking down. He curled into himself until he was nothing but feathers. Scorpius headed backwards, and rounded a corner. He came to a small clearing with a fountain in the middle, and stayed in the shadows. "Serpensortia Maxima." The conjugation appeared snakes. Three of them.

Scorpius's skin raised with goosebumps at the sight of their slithering bodies under the dim lighting. "Dinner has conjured us." One hissed. Scorpius felt unease, and then he faced them.

"I am the heir to Slytherin and you will obey." He says quietly, how voice naturally slipping into parseltongue. The snakes paused, and raised up slightly as though they were going to strike. And maybe they would've. This is Michael's body- Scorpius hadn't really thought about if that would make a difference. Another one hissed in response.