Seventh-Year: The Next Generation

Author's Note:

For all of those who do not know what Nephilim are, they are mentioned in the Bible like twice, and they are the descendants of humans and angels.

Thanks to lasalliann and TreyFury97 for leaving reviews, as always, they are appreciated. @Treyfury97: I know that from what people know so far of the story and of Albus's personality, it may seem ridiculous that Albus could have done something so terrible as to be blackmailed this badly, but keep in mind, you don't know everything yet. ;) I think you may understand better once more is revealed. As for not feeling like you know Albus that well, I'm sorry about that, and I hope that you feel as time goes on you get a better grip on who he is.

Chapter 9: The Dragon Breath

"Ennervate."

Albus's eyes fluttered open.

A face hovered a few inches above Albus's. It was so coated in mud that Albus couldn't make out any of its features, not even the color of its hair. The only bit of actual person that he could see, were two bright, cobalt blue orbs.

"Come on, Albus, this is no time to be laying on the ground," drawled a familiar voice that emerged from beneath the mud-covered features.

Albus could just make out a pale face capped by red hair over Scorpius's shoulder.

"You idiot, why did you hit me?" said Albus angrily, scrambling to his feet.

The mud-covered figure that was Scorpius merely shrugged. "I thought you were a mugger, you shouldn't sneak up on people like that."

"I didn't sneak up on you. You were lying with your face in a pile of filth."

Albus looked around. The alley was mostly sheltered from the rain by the buildings on either side, but that didn't stop the water from running off the main street and turning all the alley-dirt into mud.

"And besides, muggers hang out in cities, not little villages in the country."

"You never know," said Scorpius, shrugging once more.

"What were you doing, anyways?" asked Hugo curiously.

Scorpius sighed dramatically, as he was opt to do. "I drank an obscene amount of liquor in the Dragon Breath, and then made rather unchivalrous advances on one of the waitresses. The bartender didn't really like that, so he told me to sober up before I came back, and tossed me out here."

"You tried to seduce the waitress?" asked Hugo, gaping at Scorpius.

"No," said Scorpius irritably. "If I had tried to seduce one of the waitresses, I would have succeeded, but I merely made unchivalrous advances. There is quite a difference, Hugo."

"How is there a difference?" demanded Hugo.

"Hugo, really, I thought someone with as much experience as you in this area would know these things. The difference is-"

"And how did you come to be laying face-down in the mud?" interrupted Albus.

Scorpius looked at him in surprise, as if he thought this was obvious. "Well, that's where the bartender tossed me."

"Yes, I figured that, but why did you just lay there?" Albus asked impatiently.

"I just lost the love of my life, and I felt like wallowing in self-pity and I figured that this was as good a place as any," said Scorpius in annoyance, brushing his hand through his mucky hair. "And besides, it was comfortable."

Albus shivered against the cold. Not only was he soaking wet still, but now he was half-covered in mud because of Scorpius, and his head was also throbbing slightly.

"Can we go somewhere to get warm?" he asked.

"We can return to The Dragon Breath," said Scorpius.

"I thought you said the bartender-" began Hugo.

"He said that I could return once I sobered up some, and I have, so he'll let me back in," said Scorpius confidently.

"Will they let someone my age in?" asked Hugo dubiously.

"Yeah, sure they will, Finnigan doesn't really care about age, as long as you aren't ten or something."

Scorpius pulled his wand from within his robes. He tapped a few of the bricks in the alley wall, and suddenly a door appeared. Across the front of it a neon sign flashed the words The Dragon Breath.

Scorpius put a hand on the door handle, and flashed a grin over his shoulder at the two other boys. "Shall we, gentlemen?"

Albus hesitated, unsure. He could hardly refrain from noticing that Scorpius's eyes were too bright, and that he was unsteady on his feet; he was still drunk. But Hugo cried out cheerily, "Let's do it!"

Scorpius swung the door wide, and ducked inside. He was followed quickly by Hugo. And Albus, after looking over his shoulder nervously, as if embarrassed that someone might see him entering a pub, went after them.

***

The interior had a fairly simple layout. A bar ran alongside the far side of the room, and a stage was set against one of the walls that was perpendicular to it. Tables were strewn here and there throughout the rest of the room. A mirror that hung on the wall behind the bar reflected the weird lighting of the multiple lava lamps, and the cloud of hazy smoke that had accumulated due to having no where to escape to and the low ceiling. Large posters of Irish Quidditch teams and cloverleafs adorned every empty bit of space.

Surprisingly, the pub was almost completely full, and it was quite loud. Hugo didn't see anybody else that looked quite as young as him or his friends; most of the people looked like they were in their thirties, but there were a couple who looked like they were in their twenties, but that was about it.

Two very tall, old men with white beards and who were dressed in Irish-green suits and matching bowler hats filled the stage. They were playing an up-beat Irish jig on fiddles, wringing the bows back and forth across their instruments to the beat of the clapping audience.

"Why is it so crowded?" asked Hugo, having to yell to be heard. "I mean, this is Hogsmeade, a small village, and plus it's pretty late."

"The Dragon Breath is one of the most popular pubs in all of Wizarding England, Hugo, people come from all over the country to enjoy a pint here," said Scorpius with a wink.

"Then how come I've never heard about it?" he demanded.

"Because, it's one of the most popular pubs in all of England among certain crowds, and those crowds aren't generally held high up in reasonable society," said Scorpius with a grin. "Anyways, I'm going to the loo to wash off this mud." Scorpius pressed his way through the room to a door near the stage, and disappeared inside.

Albus crossed the room and grabbed a seat at the bar, beckoning for Hugo to follow, and so he did.

Hugo pulled himself onto his stool, and then swiveled so that he was watching the two old men playing the fiddles.

Both of them had expressions of pure rapture on their faces as they played. It was as if they lived to make music. One of them had a wide smile on his face, and his blue eyes sparkled like crystals. The other had his eyes closed, and his face pressed gently against his instrument, as if it was the most precious thing in the world.

The music was moving and carefree, it made one want to leap to his feet and start dancing (which was what several of the spectators were doing). To Hugo it sounded like all the promises of life bundled into one. It was like hearing the birds singing in the trees, and the seeing the sun rise on a glorious morning. He was held in the spell of the music, and he saw in his mind's eye a world full of nothing but happiness and peace. It was a world that sorrow and death had not touched, a world were everyone did nothing but love each other, care for each other.

And then the music stopped, and Hugo was jerked out of his reverie and back to earth. There was deafening applause and much cheering from the crowd.

"Thank you, thank you!" cried one of the musicians. "Now we will take a five minute break, and will commence directly thereafter, with more!" This was greeted by more cheers from the crowd.

Hugo slipped quickly off of his seat, and ran over to the stage where the two men were laying down their violins carefully, and stretching.

"That was amazing!" he said. Now that he was close to them, Hugo could see that they must be twins, for he could not tell one from the other.

One of them turned warm eyes and an even warmer smile on him. "Why thank you, kind sir," he said in a soft voice that was musical in itself.

"How did you get so good?" asked Hugo.

The man laughed- it was a deep, hearty laugh. "Through much, much practice, and a little bit of talent that God was good enough to grace us with. For music is the language of angels, the dialogue of heaven, and if I can grace this planet with a little taste of the spiritual realm, then I will consider my life fulfilled. That is why I make music."

"You mean, you're a Christian?" asked Hugo in surprise.

"That is not what I would call myself, but you may call me what you will," said the man, a twinkle in his eye.

Hugo's brow furrowed in confusion. "Well, then what would you call yourself?"

"Ah, but that I cannot say," said the man, smiling as if at an inside joke.

Hugo was about to ask him what he meant by that, when the man's companion (or twin) called him back to play more music.

***

Albus tapped his fingers on the surface of the bar, going along with the music. When it stopped, and Hugo left his seat, Albus looked up in surprise, but didn't object.

Seamus Finnigan, owner of the Dragon Breath, strode by, his head bouncing up and down and left and right in time to the music- as if he hadn't noticed that it had ceased a moment ago.

"Mr. Finnigan," said Albus hesitantly.

"Yes?" asked the Irish man, turning to face Albus. "Would you like something to drink?"

"Maybe in a moment, but I just wanted to apologize for Scorpius's rude behavior earlier."

Seamus's brow furrowed in confusion. "What did he do? Did he bother one of the other customers?"

It was Albus's turn to be confused. "Well, no, but he said that he, er, made unchivalrous advances on one of the waitresses here, and you told him to sober up and tossed him into the street."

Seamus looked bewildered. "I don't know what you're talking about. The last time I saw Scorpius in here, before you guys entered just now, was over a week ago, and he behaved just fine then."

Albus shook his head, as if trying to clear it. "Okay, then, sorry to have bothered you."

"No trouble," said Seamus cheerily, going about his business.

Hugo returned just then, and clambered back onto his seat- he looked as confused as Albus felt.

"Those are some odd blokes, those musicians are," said Hugo, looking thoughtful.

"Oh?" asked Albus, still trying to work out why Scorpius had lied to him.

"Yeah, the one I was talking to kept muttering about angels and heaven and such."

"Maybe he's a Christian?"

"That's what I thought, but he said that's not what he would call himself."

"Maybe he's an angel himself, come to rape our women and make little baby Nephilim that will grow up to purge our world of sinners." It was Scorpius, his face and hair clean and visible. Blonde wet strands stuck to his head and gave him an overall damp-looking effect.

Scorpius threw himself onto the seat between Albus and Hugo. "Where's our drinks?"

"I was waiting for you, I didn't ask for anything yet," said Albus.

"Very well, what do you each want?"

"A Dragon Breath, of course," said Albus.

"I thought Dragon Breath was the name of the pub," said Hugo.

"It is," said Scorpius impatiently, "but it's also their signature drink. What do you want, Hugo?"

"I guess I'll have a Dragon Breath, too," answered Hugo.

"Alright, three Dragon Breathes it is," said Scorpius with a smirk.

"Are you sure?" asked Albus. "It's pretty strong, Hugo."

Scorpius laughed. "You act all tough, Albus, as if you can down them without wetting your pants."

"I do not wet myself," said Albus indignantly.

"You do too, you just won't admit it," said Scorpius, looking superior.

"Just watch me down them like water," growled Albus.

"I gotta see this," said Scorpius, a glitter in his eye. He signaled a nearby waitress. "Three Dragon Breathes, please," he said, flashing one of his charming smiles.

The waitress grinned back at Scorpius. "Coming right up, anything for you, Scorpius," she said.

"You seem quite known around here, Scorpius," said Hugo.

Scorpius shrugged. "I'm a regular."

Five minutes later, each boy had a pint of dangerous looking black liquid in front of them. Albus looked down at his, watching the steam that curled up from it in apprehension. He swallowed hard.

"Not about to back down, are you?" asked Scorpius. Albus was so absorbed in staring at his drink, that he didn't notice the smug expression on Scorpius's face that seemed to say that Scorpius knew Albus would give in to his taunts.

"Of course not," answered Albus glumly.

A slurping sound sound emanated from Hugo. Albus and Scorpius both looked over to see him setting his pint down on the table, which he followed up with a loud belch.

"No way," said Albus, his jaw dropping in surprise.

"Blimey, Hugo, done already?" asked Scorpius.

Hugo wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. "Boy, that stuff tastes horrid, why does anyone drink it?"

"It's not supposed to taste good, it's for getting drunk with," said Albus still staring in surprise, even Scorpius looked rather impressed.

"You better get started, Albus, or Hugo is going to leave you in the dust," said Scorpius, signaling the waitress for another Dragon Breath.

Albus grabbed his drink, and held it high. "To drowning our sorrows in liquor!" he cried. Giving it one last moody glance, he started to chug.

Albus wasn't sure how many drinks later it was before the whole world started to become tipsy. It was impossible to know how many they had each drunk, for the waitress had cleared each empty glass away as she put forth the new.

Hugo was looking rather green, and was clutching at the counter to prevent himself from falling over backward. Scorpius's eyes were far, far to bright for Albus's liking, and his usually pale cheeks were flushed very red.

"We should probably go," said Albus, feeling like he was about to fall over.

"But I was just getting started," protested Scorpius thickly.

"Scorpius, come on," said Albus, dumping some Galleons on the counter, and rising to his feet. A wave of dizziness overcame him, and he grasped the bar to in order to stay upright.

"Okay, okay..." said Scorpius, standing up as well. "Come on, Hugo," he said, hoisting the other boy to his feet.

As soon as Scorpius released Hugo, the redhead collapsed to the floor.

"Oh, come now, Hugo," said Scorpius, bending over to help him up again. "No, no, don't fall back down again, gravity is a harsh mistress, I know, but we need to learn to live alongside her as best we can. No, see, you stand on your feet, not your face."

Somehow they all managed to get out into the alley, though it was tough work, with all three of them barely managing to keep on their feet.

As soon as they broke out through the door, Hugo grabbed at the wall, and turning away from Albus and Scorpius, puked rather violently.

Scorpius leaned back against the closed door, looking as if he was about to peel over. "Poor Hugo, getting his first taste of liquor, and couldn't quite keep it all down."

Hugo straightened back up, looking slightly less green. He swayed dangerously on his feet, and started to fall forward- and would have pitched forward into his own pile of puke if Albus hadn't grabbed him and pulled him back.

Suddenly, the door to the Dragon Breath opened inward, making Scorpius tumble over backward into a man in a gray coat. "Watch it," said the man harshly, shoving Scorpius off of him and back out into the alley.

The man stomped off while muttering something under his breath about drunk kids.

Scorpius had somehow managed to avoid falling on his face when the man pushed him, and was now leaning against the brick wall.

"Come on, let's go," said Albus, his head felt like it was near exploding. A bit late, he supposed it hadn't been the best idea to go drinking after hitting his head so hard. He started off onto the main street, with Hugo's arm thrown around his shoulders and relying on him for support. Scorpius followed after them shakily.

It had ceased raining, but everything was still wet, and small pools of water were gathered here and there in any dip in the street, or uneven spot of ground. Albus was careful to avoid such areas, so that there was less danger of slipping- which was already quite considerable, seeing as how drunk he was.

The three boys stumbled along, making slow progress. Scorpius had moved to the front of the group, and was plodding along ten feet or so in front of the other two boys. They were halfway or so to the Shrieking shack, when Albus cried out in alarm.

Scorpius spun on his heel, and stared.

Hugo was now lying on the ground, and was having some sort of seizure. His body was going through spasms, snapping back and forth, his hair flying about his head in a frenzied flaming whirlwind.

Albus stumbled back in surprise. "Scorpius, what do we do?" he cried.

Scorpius rushed forward and fell to his knees beside Hugo, moving much to fast and stably for someone who had drunken as much liquor as he supposedly had, but Albus did not have time to think about that now.

With each hand, Scorpius grabbed one of Hugo's thrashing arms, but it was no good. They were merely wrenched off as Hugo's body snapped around.

Scorpius let off a slew of colorful oaths.

Suddenly, Hugo's body soared up into the air, his arms outstretched to either side, his toes pointed downward, his head hanging limply over his shoulders, and his eyes rolled back into his head.

Scorpius scrambled back, and to his feet, eyes widening in surprise.

A dark purple light started to emanate from, and surround Hugo's body. It condensed into a haze, and Hugo was lost to view.

"Scorpius!" yelled Albus. The pain in his head had increased and was becoming unbearable, he fell to his knees.

Scorpius drew his wand, and pointed it up at the center of the smoky purple cloud.

And that's when the pain got the better of Albus, and he lost sight of the world.

Author's Note:

I hope for everyone that the story is keeping up its promise, and that you are continuing to enjoy it. And yes, I do realize that Albus seems to have a knack for "fainting/passing out" right at the end of the chapter. =P