Seventh-Year: The Next Generation

Author's Note:

The next chapter!! Thankfully, it wasn't that hard to slip back into this story and characters. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 21: Passing the Time

"Well. This sucks," said Scorpius with finality.

"Look on the bright side. They didn't take our wands away," said Lily cheerily.

"Oh yeah, that makes me feel sooo much better," said Scorpius sarcastically. "You do realize that if they let us keep our wands, all that means is that they're useless to us?"

"Maybe not," said Lily optimistically. "There must be a week point somewhere in this room." She was moving from window to window, checking to see if any of them would open.

"Ugh. Whoever built this place has a dreadful fashion sense. Look at those covers. They're magenta. Gah. Terrible." Scorpius was taking the opportunity to survey the room. An expensive looking Persian rug covered the floor. A King-sized fourposter with magenta bedclothes was the only furniture. Two windows adorned one wall on either side of the bed. "Rather sparse this room is. What an insulting way to house someone."

"Drat. Magically sealed," said Lily in annoyance, after trying both windows. "Well, Scorpius, I don't think your personal comfort is high up on their list of to-do's."

"But magenta?" complained the blonde boy. "That's just too much."

Lily heaved a sigh of annoyance. "What's wrong with magenta?" she demanded.

"It's a horrible color, just horrible," said Scorpius, shaking his head as if this much was obvious just by looking at the bed.

Lily glared at him in annoyance from where she stood on the other side of the fourposter, in front of the window. "Stop complaining, will you?" She turned to look thoughtfully at the window.

Scorpius slipped across the room, coming up silently behind Lily. He gazed with just as much rapture at the back of her head and slender neck as she did at the window.

Realizing he was staring, and that his mind was wandering in a rather unseemly direction. Scorpius shook his head violently. Inwardly he cursed redheads. It's the hair, it's all the hair, I know it. Dratted color. It's completely irresistible.

Scorpius was rudely woken from his thoughts as Lily-- still not realizing he was behind her-- shot a spell at the window. The jet of light struck the glass only to rebound right back at her. With surprisingly quick reflexes Lily ducked. Scorpius only just managed to shift out of the way as the spell shot by him.

"What are you trying to do, kill me?" barked a disgruntled Scorpius at Lily.

"Sorry, I didn't realize you were there," said Lily in equal annoyance. "Watch out!" she yelled out in surprise.

Not even bothering to turn around, Scorpius simply looped one of his arms around Lily's slim waist, and dived to the side and onto the bed.

Struggling to a kneeling position on the now-rumpled covers, Scorpius just caught sight of the jet of light striking the window once more, and reflecting off in his direction. "Protego!" he bellowed just in time to dissipate the jinx.

Scorpius glared down at Lily, who hadn't bothered to move from where Scorpius had tossed her on the bed. "Next time you try to kill us both, please warn me."

Now Lily was the one struggling to a more dignified position. "I was only trying to find a way out of here," she said angrily.

"I told you there's going to be no way out," snapped Scorpius.

"Yeah, and I should listen to you because you're always right?"

"Exactly," said Scorpius with smug confidence and sincerity.

Lily made a noise some where between a cry and a choke, and threw her hands up in the air. "You're impossible!"

"Thank you. Though I think you've said that before," pointed out Scorpius helpfully.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She looked around, and finding absolutely nothing else to bother trying to do, or anywhere else to find a seat, she stayed where she was. "So, what do we do now? We need something to pass the time. Who knows when someone will come to get us."

"Well," said Scorpius, a gleam in his eye and a wicked grin on his face, "here we have two members of the opposite gender, a bed, and a locked door-- what else could you possibly want to do?"

Lily stared at him in a moment of complete surprise, then grabbed one of the large pillows and clouted Scorpius over the head-- knocking him from the bed to the floor. " You're disgusting and repulsive!" she yelled at him.

Scorpius was ruefully rubbing his rear end. "Well, fine, if you're going to take it that way...I was only joking."

"Hmph. Yeah right," said Lily chucking the pillow at Scorpius head, and crossing her arms in indignation.

"Well, then what do you suggest?" asked Scorpius, getting off the floor and depositing himself on the end of bed, as far from Lily as he could get.

"I don't know...Oh, how could I forget!" she exclaimed.

"Because you're a Potter?" muttered Scorpius to himself.

Lily fished around in the pockets of her robe, and grabbed out a small book. She brandished it in triumph. "We'll read!" she declared.

"Read what?" demanded Scorpius. "What is that thing?"

"Twelfth Night, of course."

"Surely you jest," said Scorpius, gaping in open mouthed surprise at the redhead.

"Why would I?" Lily said in affronted annoyance.

"Why do you even still have that junk?"

"I've been reading it. I find it quite captivating really," confessed Lily.

Scorpius stared at her as if she had just fallen from Mars. "I couldn't respect you less if you said you liked Hannah Montana."

"Wha--" began Lily in outrage.

"Hold that," said Scorpius, looking thoughtful. "No, that was definitely a gross overstatement. Shakespeare should never be put in the category of Hannah Montana, that's just not right. But still, you get the idea."

"There is nothing wrong with Twelfth Night!" cried Lily.

"Certainly not, did I ever say there was anything wrong with Hannah Montana?" asked Scorpius innocently.

"What?" asked Lily, looking confused now. "But you said-- oh, never mind. Would you like me to read or not?"

"Certainly," said Scorpius placidly.

"Alright then. Here we go."

***

Albus sulked into the Great Hall. He was not in the greatest mood. The strain and worry for Scorpius and Lily was wearing on him. It didn't help that it was his fault that either of them had even been at Azkaban in the first place.

Keeping the fact that Scorpius was gone, a secret, was not as hard as Albus had at first thought it would be. Nobody, as far as he could tell, had yet realized that he was in fact missing. Scorpius ditched classes all the time, so no one really noticed his absence from there. And the only other place his disappearance would really be noticeable would be at night. Even there though, Albus's roommates were not yet suspicious. Albus figured that it must come from the fact that it wasn't that rare for Scorpius to sneak out during the wee hours to go to pubs and the like.

Albus moodily started to spear the food on his plate. It was lunch time on Monday, so it had been less than a day since they had returned-- still, it was almost too much to bear already.

A flash of familiar red-gold hair made Albus groan in apprehension.

"So," said Babcock, "where is he?"

Albus gazed back at her across the table. "Where is he?" Albus echoed innocently.

"You know perfectly well what I mean." Surprisingly, Babcock's doe eyes were serious and solemn.

"If you mean your pet toad Roger, I wouldn't have a clue," said Albus dryly.

"This isn't a laughing matter," snapped Babcock, leaning across the table and slamming a paper down in front of Albus's face.

"What's this?" demanded Albus, glaring at Babcock.

"Read," she ordered.

Albus looked down--and swallowed. The article title read: "Mass Breakout of Azkaban, Many Prisoners Die in Attempt to Escape."

"What of it?" asked Albus, looking up at Babcock once more.

"Don't be coy with me," snapped the Ravenclaw. "I know that you and Malfoy were not at the school almost all of yesterday. And what, there just happens to be a large breakout? Let's not forget that, lo and behold, Malfoy is not here today either."

"Maybe he snuck out to a bar or something," Albus said.

Babcock snorted. "I'm not stupid, Potter. I am in Ravenclaw after all. Come to think of it, I don't recall seeing your sister either today or yesterday as well."

Albus blinked in surprise. He never would have supposed that Babcock even took notice of his sister at all.

"What do you want, Babcock?"

"I want," said Babcock stiffly, gazing at him with almost pleading eyes, "to know where my boyfriend is, and that he's okay."

Albus was shook for a second. It had never occurred to him for a even a moment that Babcock might actually care about the well being of Scorpius.

"I can't answer either of those questions," said Albus, refraining from making eye contact with Babcock. "But we're working on it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked the girl quietly.

"There are big things afoot. Aurors are involved."

"If something happens--if you find out anything, anything at all--will you tell me? Please?" begged Babcock, her eyes wide and vulnerable.

Albus nodded slowly. "As soon as I learn anything, I'll let you know."

"Thank you," she whispered, rising to her feet and striding away in a swirl of robes. Albus watched her go in a mixture of surprise and--was it?--- relief.

***

"Ugh, I hate this," said Hugo. He stood on the far shore of the lake, as far from the castle as was possible. Lasair and Meallan flanked him on either side.

"What?" asked Lasair in concern.

"This not knowing of how to control my powers. What good do they do me if they only act up randomly?"

"Patience, young friend. Knowledge of your abilities will grow in time."

"Time is what we don't have," said Hugo in frustration. "Every minute that goes by could bring both Scorpius and Lily closer to death." He plucked a stone from beneath the snow, and, without hesitation, sent it skipping across the calm surface of the water. For some reason the lake hadn't frozen over, even though snow covered the entirety of the grounds.

Meallan and Lasair exchanged a look. "When your powers are needed, they will act up," said Meallan.

"Gah," said Hugo with feeling, giving the snow a good kick. "My powers are needed now."

***

"My stars shine darkly over me: the malignancy of my fate might perhaps distemper yours; therefore I shall crave of you your leave that I may bear my evils alone: it were a bad recompense for your love, to lay any of them on you."

"That's my favorite line of the whole play," said Scorpius, lying on the bed and gazing up at the ceiling.

Lily lowered the book slightly. "Oh? Why's that?"

Scorpius shrugged, still not looking at her. "I think it applies to my life more than any of the rest."

Lily stared at him. "What do you mean by that?"

"I think it would be rather obvious," said Scorpius, rolling onto his side and looking at her. "I think that I would mean that it applies to my life more than any of the rest."

Lily made a strangled noise. "Yes, but why does it apply more?"

His brilliant blue eyes were a piercing contrast to the paleness of his skin as he answered her. "I think it works out perfectly with how I feel about making Albus bear my darkness, after all he's done for me."

"What are you talking about? Your darkness?" snapped Lily. "Don't be ridiculous."

"Oh, I'm not being ridiculous at all," said Scorpius softly.

Lily opened her mouth to reply, but was distracted by the scar on Scorpius's face. "Scorpius, that wound, on your face."

"What about it?" asked Scorpius mildly.

"It almost seems to be pulsating..." said Lily in disbelief. "It's almost an ice-blue color."

"Oh?" asked Scorpius, sounding completely unconcerned.

"It almost looks like--" Lily bent forward, stretching out her hand to touch the scar.

Scorpius spasmed away from her, as if she had burned him-- but she hadn't even touched him.

"Scorpius--" she began in surprise.

"Don't-- touch-- me--" he snarled, smacking her hand away.

"Okay," said Lily in surprise, "but why?"

Scorpius was now in a sitting position, and he turned away from her, letting his legs dangle off the edge of the bed. "Just-- just don't."

Lily couldn't help but stare at his back in bewilderment. "Did you ever see a Mediwizard about that?" she asked.

"Nope," he said hollowly. "Only Babcock."

Lily flinched visibly at the name, but Scorpius didn't notice-- having his back to her and all.

"Are you sure that was a good idea?" she asked.

"Nope," said Scorpius.

"Scorpius--" began Lily in exasperation.

"Is it really pulsating blue?" he interrupted.

"Why-- why yes, I'd say so," said Lily. Even though he was facing away, she could see him nod in response.

"Figures," he muttered.

A moment of silence seemed to stretch out between them. To Lily it seemed almost as if it was visible as a very fine string that could be snapped with the lightest of touches. She opened her mouth to say something, but never got the chance to let it out.

For just then Scorpius let out a yell of pain, and collapsed off the bed and to the floor.

"Scorpius!" cried out Lily in alarm, scrambling across the fourposter.

Scorpius was rolling back and forth on the ground, still yelling in pain.

Lily fell to her knees beside him on the rug. "Scorpius, what's the matter? What's happening?"

"It's cold, cold," screamed the blonde boy.

"What is?" asked Lily desperately. She caught sight of the scar as Scorpius rolled so that he faced her-- it pulsated even more brightly than before, and seemed to have grown in size.

Seizing Scorpius's shoulder with one hand, Lily reached out and touched his cheek where the scar was-- and had to jerk back instantly. Scorpius's skin was so cold that it stung her just to touch it.

"Gggguuurrr," gurgled Scorpius, snapping away from her. "Heat! Heat!" he screamed.

Lily looked around hopelessly for something to help her out. She slapped herself mentally as she realized that she didn't need anything, she was a witch, wasn't she?

"Flamma!" said Lily quickly, pointing her wand just above Scorpius. A small, rotating sphere of fire burst into life.

The flame seemed to help Scorpius. For he slowly stopped rolling back and forth, and the blue tinge of skin lessened somewhat. He stopped yelling out in pain, and instead just lay there silently, his eyes closed in rest.

Lily sat quietly beside Scorpius, not saying anything, just waiting, hoping, and wondering. At last, he slowly pulled his eyes open, and looked at her.

"Hello," he said.

Lily stared at him.

"Hello?" he said again.

"You make me wonder if your dead and then all you can say is 'hello'?" Lily screamed as she grabbed a pillow from the bed and smashed Scorpius over the head with it.

"Will you stop doing that?" Scorpius demanded, as he rolled out from beneath the fire and another blow from Lily at the same time.

"What just happened?" demanded Lily, putting her hands on her hips and glaring at him, the pillow still clutched tightly in her grip.

"You know just about as well as me," snapped Scorpius, getting to his feet and glaring just as fiercely back at the redhead.

"What exactly is up with that scar?" she asked.

"I wish I knew," grumbled Scorpius. "All I know is that my face feels like it's a chunk of ice, and it's slowly spreading down my neck as the time passes."

"What was that fit just there?" asked Lily.

"My face started hurting agonizingly from the cold. Geez, do you have to drag everything out of me?" complained Scorpius.

"And what, it's just better now?"

"It would seem so. It slowly started to fade after you conjured the fire."

"Do you think there was some kind of curse on that knife that Zabini used on you?"

"No way, there couldn't have been," said Scorpius, his voice dripping sarcasm.

Lily chucked the pillow at his head.

Scorpius ducked.

"Will you please stop doing that?" he complained once more.

"You are so irritating," gasped Lily. "All I'm doing is trying to be helpful."

"Well, you aren't. There's nothing that can be done about it right now, so just drop it," said Scorpius angrily.

"Then fine. I'm going to read more Twelfth Night," snapped Lily, clambering back onto the fourposter and setting herself up against one of the remaining pillows.

"You do that," said Scorpius sulkily, sitting on the ground by the fire and folding his arms.

"Hmph," said Lily, shifting through the book until she found the spot they had been at.

Scorpius grumbled something under his breath before falling silent.

Neither said anything for a full ten minutes, and then as if it was the natural thing to do, Lily started to read out loud.

Scorpius didn't object.

Author's Note:

Alright, just so you know, I don't think there is anything wrong with Hannah Montana, for any of her fans that might be reading this. =P Also, the quote is obviously from Twelfth Night, as you probably gathered... Anyways, don't forget to leave a review! More to come within a week's time!