Soldiers and Serpents //Scorbus

64 Hunter ⚠️

Therefore... Daniel.

Selwyn gave a laugh at their expressions. Scorpius had to shake himself from his frozen reaction, and looked towards the dementors. Raven raised her wand beside him, and they spoke together. "Expecto Patronum!" Scorpius felt his mind strain under the instinctual magic as well as focus on the Patronus. It felt suffocating. Focus. Bright protective light spilled from their wands, the magic warding the dark beings away from them.

"I got it." Raven told her brother, not moving her eyes from the creatures. Scorpius could see the concentration in her eyes, so he broke his to deal with Selwyn.

"Stay with her." He didn't specify if he was talking to Michael or Orion, and looked back to where Selwyn was about to join Abraxas in battling Narcissa. Scorpius left the others to deal with the dementors, hoping for all their sakes that it wasn't the wrong choice.

"Crucio!" Scorpius's intention was to slow Selwyn down, but it backfired because the torturing curse reflected back onto him. Pain struck him and he felt the scream from his mouth before he could hear it.

"Foolish boy." Selwyn walked over to him, and it seemed like the curse strengthened as he neared. Scorpius wondered if his kneecaps shattered as they hit the cement. Pain so sharp was cutting open his insides. It seemed like every time he forgot about the kind of pain this curse inflicted until he was hit with it again. Selwyn looked over at someone else, and Scorpius realized that Michael was in a similar state that he was. On the ground, curled inwards. "A soul bond." Selwyn breathes, fascinated.

"Y-you," Scorpius could hardly form words. Selwyn looked down at him with cold, unsympathetic eyes. "will n-never win."

"Don't you see? I already have." The man tells him. "Abraxas. Bring me the boy. Leave Narcissa." He gives the order. Scorpius could hardly bring himself to focus on anything other than the crippling pain. Selwyn crouched down to him. Scorpius tried to see where Abraxas was going, but he couldn't, because another awful wave of pain crashed over his body. He was soaked through with rain, and the cruciatus curse seemed to make that rain a conduit for magic. Like electricity.

"Next time you so arrogantly think about putting your nose where it doesn't belong, remember I have the other piece of your soul." The man sneered at Scorpius. He was taking Michael. Scorpius swiveled on his side, trying to find his cousin through the rain. But all he saw was Raven and Orion, warding off the dementors- and struggling. He was already gone. Selwyn lifted the curse, and Scorpius sucked in air, trying to recover and grasp reality outside of pain. "You'll get him back when you decide to join me." The man stood back up, and disapparated.

Scorpius didn't move from where he was on the ground until Narcissa walked over to him, and kneeled over. "I'm okay." He lied, feeling like his mind was starting to cave. It was too much magic, and too much pain. Wizards can go mad from undergoing the Cruciatus curse. Maybe that's what's happened to him. They were all soaked through with rain, but it had stopped. The storm clouds were cleared, and the dementors retreated.

"Scorpius!" Raven's panic was evident as she saw him laying there. Pull it together. Scorpius sat up slowly, shaking terribly. "I thought you-" She pulls him into a hug on the street.

"I told you I'm not going anywhere." He tells her. "He took Michael." Scorpius struggled to his feet. He was thankful his sister helped. "He doesn't know that we know where they'll be."

"You don't think Aries told him-"

"No. He came here for grandmother." Scorpius looked at Narcissa then. "But when he realized he could use Michael as leverage, it was too sweet of an opportunity to pass up." He felt guilty. Like somehow he should've acted differently and prevented Michael from being snatched so easily. How did this go wrong? They were so unprepared. Even after everything, Selwyn had the upper hand, again.