Soldiers and Serpents //Scorbus

60 Pity

Scorpius woke up in a cold sweat, looking around the dark room with panic gripping his heart. His heart points in his ears, the only noise he could hear. Had Daniel found him? He blinked rapidly, eyes adjusting to the darkness of the room. And he saw faint silhouettes of the dresser and desk. The stack of book and files. The box with Cypress and Draco's letters beside the stack. He got up slowly, grabbing his wand. "Lumos." The light glowed at the end of it, and he felt his heart begin to slow.

His phone read it was four am. Scorpius grabbed some clothes, and headed out of the room to the restroom to shower, dress, and get ready for the day. When he was done, he combed his hair through, and tried to ignore the nightmares that touched the edges of his mind. The boy walked through the silent home, on the balls of his feet to prevent any creaking under his feet.

It was just showing the first rays of sunlight through the windows.

He went to the first floor, and down the hall to the drawing room, poking his head inside. To his surprise, not only was his feline Missy curled on the couch, but beside her was Orion Black. Orion looked up as Scorpius looked in, the motion catching his eye. The curtains to the windows were open, the lightening sky shining through. "You're up early." Scorpius crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the doorframe. Orion turns off the phone in his hands. And Scorpius sees that it wasn't his. "Who's is that?"

"It was my mothers." He answers, voice soft in the quiet morning. Scorpius walked over and sat on the couch opposite him, the coolness of the house sinking into his skin as the warming affects of the shower wore off. He'd just changed into sweats and a tee shirt. He probably should've went for a long sleeve. Orion looked to have been awake for awhile. His hair was done, he was dressed in a purple sweatshirt and black jeans.

Scorpius noticed he liked wearing that dark purple. Perhaps it was his favorite color. It was weird to think that Orion had a favorite color. But of course he did? He's like everyone else. "Harry Potter gave it to you?" The blonde wonders, goosebumps crawling along his skin.

"No. I took it... off her body." Orion didn't look at Scorpius. "She keeps all her photos on here." Orion shook his head. "Kept." He corrected. "It's the only place there's photos of me growing up. Photos of just the two of us, without Gregory. Before him. Before my adopted sisters."

"There's none up in the house?" Scorpius wonders, recalling the photos of him and Raven hung in the stairwell at the Manor.

"There is, but it's the whole family. Not just the two of us." He explains. "It's Gregory's house." Orion refers to his step-father by his first name rather than dad. Scorpius wondered if he ever noticed that before. Maybe Orion usually just says step-father.

"Do you miss them?" Scorpius asks softly.

"I only miss her." He breathes out a sigh. There's silence for a moment, as Scorpius tries to read him. How Orion was slumped on the couch, looking tired. He wasn't sleeping much either since the Manor, then. But it was from grief, mourning his mother's death. And Orion didn't have anyone else. Scorpius tried not to feel empathy for him. But it was difficult not to.

Orion didn't even have a sibling to lean on, like Scorpius did with Raven after Astoria died. His step-sisters would be sad, but they wouldn't feel it like he did. Even if he was at home instead of here. "Does it get easier?"

Scorpius didn't grasp what he was talking about right away. Then he realized. "No." He answers. "People say that time helps. But it just makes it easier to forget the details. Nothing fills that gap in your life where that person was." Scorpius shakes his head. "It's not even worth trying, take it from me."

"The details?" Orion echoes.

"My mother died at the Manor. I know it was in a guest room that she moved into when she started to get too sick. I don't know which guest room." Scorpius explains. "I can't remember what our last conversation was before the blood curse started to turn her mind to rot." He holds his head up on his hand, propping his elbow up. "I can't remember her voice. Sometimes I don't even recognize her face in photos." Scorpius ached at the realization that after three years, she was slipping away.