Seventh-Year: The Next Generation

Author's Note:

Sorry it took so long to write this. I have no legit excuse. Basically I became sick of this story and no longer wanted to write it. But finally I gritted my teeth and got around to just doing it. I know the fight scene that covers the first half of the chapter or so is very confusing and muddled, but I really have no stamina to go through and clear it all up, so I hope you forgive me. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the last installment. =] It's been a good run.

Chapter 25: The End

The window shattered inward, as two streaks of green, and one of red came hurtling through. One of the flash of green crashed into Driscoll, cutting of his spell and taking them both flying across the room.

The other flash of green, and the one of red, hit the ground and rolled to their feet.

A huge grin spread across Hugo Weasley's face. His hair stuck out in all directions, making it truly look like a fire burned on the top of his head.

"Sorry I'm late," he said.

Chaos broke forth in the room.

Lestraud was suddenly dueling Draco, they danced back and forth, each fighting for the upper hand.

Zabini Jr. and Aubrielle were taking on Baddock and Lily, the later two fighting side by side, their similar fiery hair twirling about them as they spun and pivoted.

Babcock Sr. made a move toward the second green streak that turned out to be Lasair, but his son threw himself into his father sending him stumbling back. "No, dad!" yelled Babcock Jr..

Lasair and Hugo were now fighting side by side as Zabini Sr., and Driscoll Jr. came at them fiercely sending curses spitting at them in rapid fashion.

Albus still struggled against his invisible bonds, but to no use. Scorpius was trying to get to his feet, but his limbs had become almost completely numb, and were practically uncontrollably by him.

Meallan--indeed the one who was the first green streak that had crashed into Driscoll Sr--was blasted back and off of his opponent. He scrambled back onto his feet as Driscoll did the same.

Driscoll sent curse after curse at him, and Meallan responded by shooting spears of lightning from the tips of his fingers. Driscoll swore colorfully as he dodged these deadly bits of magic. "What are you?" he spat.

Meallan laughed as he pressed forward, shooting more bits of lightning. "You could never comprehend."

"Take this!" yelled Aubrielle, sending a spell shooting at Lily so fast that she had no chance to dodge. Lily sank like a rock to the floor.

Aubrielle wasted no time. She rushed toward Hugo and Lasair, firing off a variety of hexes.

Lasair saw her coming, and spun on his feet, sending showers of small pellets of fire at his opponent. The fire devoured the hexes as the excess went at Aubrielle. Aubrielle dived to the side, sliding away from harm.

Driscoll Jr. saw the opening and sent a curse firing at Lasair's unguarded side. Hugo saw this and stepped in the way, using a simple protego to block it.

However, Hugo didn't factor Zabini Sr. in. The dark men sent another killing curse firing at the redhead.

"No!" roared Lasair. The tall man--or whatever he was--only had time to knock Hugo to the side, taking the killing curse in his chest. Lasair dropped on the instant.

"Lasair," screamed Hugo in horror.

Babcock Jr., having now managed to convince his father that they were on the Aurors' side, immediately released Albus.

Albus fell to his feet, and immediately charged to protect Hugo.

"Here," called Babcock, throwing Albus's wand to him, which he had acquired at the time of the dark-haired boy's capture.

Both Babcock and Albus leapt into the fight to protect Hugo. Babcock's dad, on the other hand, went to help out Draco, who was being worked into a corner by Lestraud.

Driscoll Jr. blasted Babcock out of the way and into one of the bookshelves. "Traitor, we'll deal with you later," he snarled. Driscoll ran over to where Rose had been standing this whole time, frozen and not doing anything. Unwilling to turn on Driscoll's companions, but equally horrified at the idea of fighting her old friends and relatives. "Time to go, honey," said Driscoll, grabbing Rose by the arm and dragging her from the room.

However, their departure did not go unnoticed. Finally having managed to get to his feet, Scorpius rushed after them. He wasn't as fast as he usually would have been, but still, he was managing to move.

Meallan had manged to work Driscoll Sr. up against the fireplace, and now the man had no where to run. Still, the only expression on the man's face was one of snarling anger.

Meallan raised his hand, ready to send the last get of lightning that would finish his opponent. That's when Bulstrode Jr., who up until this point had been struggling with emotions in the middle of the room on the floor, unnoticed by all, leapt in front of Driscoll, screaming, "I'm going to kill you for what you did to my dad!"

Meallan hesitated, his target now being blocked. Driscoll grinned madly, and gave his wand a wide sweep. Bulstrode was blasted back into Meallan, and both went crashing over backward and landed in a heap.

Driscoll turned and ran for the door, planning to leave everyone else to their fate.

Seeing the Driscolls starting to run for it, and that the Babcocks had betrayed them, Aubrielle started to despair. Ducking under a stunning spell sent by Albus, she sprinted for the door. However, Albus wasn't going to let her get away that easily.

Aubrielle was now out in the hall, tearing off down it. Albus was hard on her heels, firing salvos of spells after her. Aubrielle nimbly dodged left and right, ducking her and spinning there, leaving all of Albus's attacks flying off harmlessly.

"Face me," roared Albus after the fleeing Aubrielle. "Fight me."

Aubrielle's taunting laugh that he abhorred came floating back over her shoulder at him. "Keep dreaming, little Potter."

Albus attempted to put more speed into his legs, but no matter how fast he attempted to run, Aubrielle always seemed to be those few steps ahead of him. Despite the situation, he marveled at her speed.

Lucky for Albus, Aubrielle seemed to be almost as clueless about the geography of the castle as he was. Whipping around a corner, she dashed through a door only to find herself on a balcony, extended far above the trees below.

Aubrielle spun around ready to defend herself.

"Expelliarmus!" yelled Albus shooting out onto the balcony after her and firing off his spell before she had even managed to turn and face him fully.

Aubrielle's wand arced up into the air and over the railing, falling to the trees below.

Even though he was now outside, the sounds of battle were starting to grow faint. It seemed that the fight had almost been decided, for better or for worst.

Aubrielle backed up until her back was pressed against the railing, her arms hung limply beside her side.

Albus extended his wand forward, pointing it directly at Aubrielle's chest.

"Come now, Albus," said Aubrielle in a voice as sweet as liquid sugar, "we both know you're not a killer."

"You know what, I think you're right," said Albus.

Surprised flashed across Aubrielle's face, briefly.

"I couldn't kill you. I doubt I could really kill anyone. And in the end it doesn't matter, you tried your best, and you failed. Scorpius and his dad will get past this, they'll move on and perhaps have an even stronger friendship than before. And anyway, even if I could kill you, I don't think I'd do it. There is something to be said for justice, but more for mercy. You deserve my pity, not my hatred. You've got a screwed up life and a screwed up mom. You need help, that's what you need."

Livid fury flashed across Aubrielle's face. "How dare you say that about me or my mom. How dare you say I deserve your pity, that I need help. I need help from no one, and no one's pity either. I spit on your mercy. You'll pay for speaking to me like that, you little filth."

Aubrielle lunged forward at Albus, but he had a wand, and she stood no chance.

"Stupefy," was all it took on Albus's part. There was a flash of red light, and then Aubrielle was sprawled motionless on the floor.

Albus sighed down at her. "Oh well, what more can I do? I'll send an Auror for you." With that, Albus turned and hurried back inside.

. . . . . .

Scorpius shuffled as fast as he could into the room that he had seen Driscoll Jr. and Rose disappear into. It appeared to be a large ballroom, with shiny wood floors and floor to ceiling mirrors that formed almost the entirety of all the walls. There was a sliding glass door onto a balcony at the far side of the room. Three brooms stood side by side leaning against the railing of the balcony.

Driscoll Jr. stood with one hand on Rose's wrist, the other on the handle to the balcony door.

"Stop right there," said Scorpius in a low voice, nevertheless it carried across the room easily.

To his immense surprise, Driscoll did stop. His hand slowly fell from the handle on the door.

Driscoll slowly turned to face Scorpius, a small smile forming across his lips. "Well, well, well, if it isn't little Scorpius Malfoy."

"Let her go, Driscoll," said Scorpius, raising his wand.

"What if she doesn't want to go?" asked Driscoll. Although he did slowly take out his own wand.

"She does, I know it," said Scorpius, looking at Rose. However, the girl would not look back, her face was turned toward Driscoll.

"Do her words or her actions dictate that to you, Malfoy? If they do, you're a lot thicker than I ever took you for."

"You're right, her words and actions might not speak that, but my heart still tells me something is wrong, that she's not in complete control."

Driscoll laughed. It was a deep, low chuckle. "You fool. Your heart tells you that because that's what you desire. But it's not true, Malfoy. She simply loves me far more than whatever it was she felt for you."

Scorpius looked away, his eyes smarting slightly, but then he got control over himself quickly, and glared fiercely back over at Driscoll. "That's not true," he said quietly. "She says nothing now, why do you suppose that is? It's because she still does care for me, at least a little bit." Scorpius said it with confidence, but he did not feel so sure.

"Tell him, Rose. Tell him he is delusional," said Driscoll. Rose seemed to be struggling within herself, as if not sure what to do. This caused Driscoll to frown, but it caused Scorpius's hopes to soar.

"Hm, it appears there must be a flaw somewhere. It's not as perfect as I thought," said Driscoll.

"So you did do something to her," cried Scorpius in triumph.

"Yes, I did," said Driscoll. "I suppose it doesn't matter anymore, I've done what I wished. I've caused the pain, and gotten the justice and revenge I desired."

"Wait, what? Justice and revenge?" wondered Scorpius, suddenly things seemed crystal clear to him, as if pieces of a puzzle had just fallen into place.

"Yes, justice and revenge, Malfoy. I did the impossible. I created a curse that makes someone fall in love with me. Finer than the Imperius Curse and more subtle than any love potion. I then used this curse on Rose. I wanted you to feel pain, to know what it is your dad caused me to go through. And through your pain, your father will experience pain as well, it's complete revenge I'd say."

"I see," said Scorpius quietly. "But you didn't factor in one thing, I'd say. You didn't factor in the person's heart with which you were messing. A person's feelings are stronger than any sort of magic, Driscoll. And even though it might have taken a while, Rose's are finally starting to break through your curse."

Driscoll chuckled. "Yes, I admit, I overlooked some things. However, it doesn't matter, the pain is caused, and will never be wiped away."

"Not true," said Scorpius quietly and confidently. "I now know there was no reality in any of it. I know Rose had no choice and did not truly feel anything for you. We can recover from this to go on, I know we can. It's over for you, Driscoll."

"Oh, is that so?" said Driscoll. "I wouldn't say so." He didn't look worried in the slightest. "I figured that the damage I did to you through Rose wouldn't be permanent if I were to let her go, so I came up with a back up plan."

"And what's that?" asked Scorpius.

"Kill her," said Driscoll simply. Scorpius was so stunned by this, that he had no time to react and intervene. The flash of green light was bright and blinding. When it disappeared, Rose, who up until now had been standing silently struggling within herself against Driscoll, lay limply on the floor, her eyes blank and staring.

"No," was all Scorpius screamed, as he sank slowly to the floor, all strength and resolution gone from him.

The pounding of footsteps could be heard resonating down the hall.

"Now I'm going to kill you," said Driscoll, although Scorpius made no move in the slightest to prevent him. "Avada Kedavra!"

"Protego!"

Driscoll looked up in surprise, to see Albus Potter standing framed in the doorway. His black hair was more unruly then ever, and his eyes were alight with adrenaline and determination.

"You are never, ever going to hurt Scorpius in the slightest again," said Albus quietly.

Driscoll raised his eyebrows. "Oh, I think I will. Avada Kedavra!"

This killing curse was aimed at Albus, who dove out of the way, rolling to his feet and firing off a stunning spell.

Driscoll side stepped easily, causing the spell to shatter the glass door onto the balcony.

Albus fired off a salvo of spells, forcing Driscoll to do some quick maneuvering left and right, hissing in anger.

Scorpius still sat on the floor where he had sunk earlier, the look on his face and in his eyes not suggesting that he would be moving anytime soon.

Driscoll fired off a jet of black light that Albus was not quite quick enough to dodge. He went flying back through the air and slammed into floor to ceiling mirror by the door. The sound of shattering glass filled the room as Albus fell to the floor, pieces of the mirror raining down around him.

Driscoll sprinted toward Albus from across the room, firing off more hexes and curses.

Albus threw up some quick shield spells, and then fired a jinx that caught Driscoll in the chest. He was blasted backward and onto his back, sliding on the smooth floor.

Suddenly Driscoll Sr. was in the open doorway that lead into the hall. He spat out some furious curses in a moment, all aimed for Albus.

Albus scrambled to his feet and out of the way, continuing to dodge attacks, he crossed the short distance to where Scorpius sat unmoving in the middle of the floor.

"Scorpius, we need to get out of here, now," bellowed Albus, linking his arms under Scorpius's armpits.

"It's over for the both of you," snarled Driscoll Sr..

"Avada Kedavra!" hissed two voices simultaneously. Two jets of green light flew across the room toward each other, one from Driscoll Sr. in the doorway, one from Driscoll Jr. who was on the floor at the opposite end of the room. Albus and Scorpius were both directly between them, the curses coming straight toward them.

"Move," yelled Albus, pushing off the floor and backward with all of his might. Scorpius's limp body came with the black-haired teenager as he tumbled over backward and out of harms way.

The two jets of green light now passed each other in midair, the father's curse heading for the surprised son, and the son's curse heading for the surprised father.

Driscoll Sr. barely managed to twist out of the way, letting the curse sail harmlessly by, his son was not so lucky. The lifeless body of Driscoll Jr. slumped over and onto itself, the expression of astonishment still written across its now-lifeless features.

The expression written all over Driscoll Sr.'s face was not one of horror or pain, merely one of fury. His eyes practically bulged from their sockets as he stared at Albus in rage. "You--look what you've made me do? I'm going to kill you slowly and painfully for this." He started toward the teenager, his hands outstretched as if to grab him by the neck and strangle him.

Albus slowly lowered Scorpius back to the floor, and snapped his wand up, ready to fight.

Running steps could be heard in a corridor not to far off, and the sound of raised voices calling in worry.

Driscoll halted, listening. As if deciding Albus really wasn't worth the risk, he suddenly rushed across the room, past the dead form of his son, and out onto the balcony. Grabbing a broom, he mounted it quickly. He cast one last glance back at Albus, who had his wand pointed at the man, but nevertheless did not look like he was going to use it. "This isn't over, it's never over," he hissed. With that, he turned and flew off into the sky.

Albus did nothing to try and stop him, but instead put his wand within his robes, and rushed over to his friend. He fell to the ground beside him, unsure of what to do. Up until now fear and adrenaline had kept him going, but now that they were wearing off, his own emotions were starting to crash down over him as he realized that his cousin was really in fact dead. To try and keep himself distracted, he focused on his friend.

"Scorpius, are you...alright?"

"Alright? Alright? No, I'm not alright," said the blonde, his voice quiet and full of despair. "I did nothing. My gut told me something was wrong, but I didn't follow it, I just believed she didn't care about me as much as she always said. As it turned out, I was the one who didn't care enough. It was me who failed her, not the other way around."

"You did everything you could."

"No, no I didn't. I knew she wasn't herself, I knew it, Albus. But still, that wasn't enough to make me truly act, and now she has paid the price, and it was all my fault, all my fault." Tears started to slowly spill down Scorpius's cheeks, though he did not make a sound.

Albus put one hand quietly on his friend's shoulder, and they sat like that, neither saying another word, until the Aurors finally found them.

. . . . . .

Two Weeks Later

"Hey, how are you holding up?" Baddock asked Albus, walking up beside him. They were up on the Astronomy Tower, Albus standing at the parapet, staring off over the shining grounds, the snow brightly reflecting the midday sun.

"I'm doing okay," said Albus, truthfully. It had been a hard couple of weeks, but he was making it through, they all were.

Baddock slowly slid her hand into his, and Albus didn't even start, it seemed so natural.

"They just announced the result of the trial," said Baddock, pulling back a stray lock of her red-gold hair as the light breeze blew it in front of her face.

"And?" asked Albus.

"All the adults have lifetime sentences in Azkaban, except for Babcock's father, who only has six months. All the kids have the six months, except for Babcock, who got off with just two weeks."

"That's good," said Albus, "about Babcock and his father, I mean. Babcock did so much for us, he doesn't deserve Azkaban. It makes me shudder to think about him being in there, even for just two weeks."

"Yeah, but the Ministry has decided," said Baddock.

Albus sighed. "I just hope they find Aubrielle and Driscoll as soon as possible." While Albus had chased down Aubrielle and the Driscolls, the Aurors had found the rest of their friends fighting in the library, their work had been short and cut out for them. Once they had found Albus he had told them where he had left Aubrielle, but they had returned there to find her gone, and nobody had found her since, although they were on the search.

"Hey, look, it's Scorpius," said Baddock, her hand that wasn't holding Albus's going up to point. Sure enough, there he was, down by the lake. Even though it was a decent distance from them, his dark cloak was a stark contrast to the snow, and his blonde hair a contrast with the cloak. He wasn't alone, the splash of red hair walking by him was all to easy to recognize. "It's fortunate that the Aurors found that healing potion for the Culling Blade on Lestraud, or he'd be lost to us."

"It is, and we got it to him just in the nick of time, too," said Albus.

"What's your sister doing with him?"

"Probably talking, they do that a lot these days," said Albus, watching his best friend with a curious expression on his face. "She seems to help him cope with all that has happened in a way I can't."

"Well, you can't always do everything for him, Albus."

"I tell you, no one knows that like I do."

. . . . . .

"You don't think we should tell him?" asked Meallan of his brother who stood next to him.

"No, he no longer needs me," said Lasair, watching the redhead fondly. The two brothers stood side by side right in front of Hugo, but they were invisible to him, and he could not hear them. They were in the entrance hall, the redhead looking out through the open doors and across the snowy expanse.

"It would seem he grew quite fond of you," said Meallan.

"Yes, but it does not matter. We cannot allow for emotions to play in with our duty. Besides, he still has you to look after him."

"And I'll do my very best."

"Hugo!" The redhead and both invisible brothers turned at the voice. Monique waved and came walking over from the Great Hall.

"Hey, Monique," said Hugo.

"It's a beautiful day, isn't it?" asked the silver-haired girl.

"It is, it most definitely is," said Hugo.

"Do you think they'll ever be a--what is it called--couple, again?" asked Meallan.

"I do not know, I do not see the future," said Lasair with a chuckle. "But what's important is that they're closer friends than they ever were before."

"I guess that's true."

"I must be going, my next assignment awaits, but I think I can spare a few more minutes. Would you like to take a flight with me, through the heavens, my brother, before we must be parted?"

"Most gladly, my brother."

The next instant both were completely gone, having left to go who-knows-where, flying through the heavens, as Lasair would say.

Author's Note:

And it's over! I hope you liked the ending. Tell me what you thought about how everything wrapped up in a review. And that reminds me, thanks to all who reviewed! EVERY SINGLE ONE was appreciated and helped a lot. And I'll tell you now, nothing provides stamina to write like knowing there are people out there who like your stuff enough to review. Anyways, I know I kind of left some stuff open and the possibility of a sequel, I'm DEFINITELY not promising anything now, but who knows, maybe one day I will write one. =] At least for now, I'm done with fanfiction. I'm going to start working on an original fantasy novel of my own, that I'll hope to maybe get published. So wish me luck, and look for something by yours truly, Thani Mag, in the future. And always remember, everybody likes tapioca pudding, ;]