Harry Potter: 19 Years Later

Chapter 68: The Lion Badger Eagle and Snake

"It's a badger," Holly said decidedly, smiling. "Makes sense, I suppose. A badger is Hufflepuff House's mascot."

An idea suddenly popped into Albus's head. He pointed to Rose and Scorpius and told them, "Try and cast your Patronuses again. This time really concentrate on your happy thought and believe in yourself."

Nodding, Rose and Scorpius got in their stances next to Albus, their wands pointed and ready. They each closed their eyes and focused on a single happy thought. Albus smiled as the memory of his and Holly's first kiss filled his mind. He took a deep breath through his nose and exhaled through his mouth, a rush of confidence flooding over him.

"Expecto Patronum!" the three friends shouted in synch, bright white light escaping each of their wands. Albus squinted at the intensity of his Patronus, but as his eyes adjusted, he began to see the form of light taking shape into a large animal. It roared and galloped around the room.

The four friends watched in amazement as their Patronuses joined one another, circling around the group. A very diverse group of animals chased each other, but acted as thought they were the best of friends, even though they were only slivers of white light. It was no coincidence that the group's Patronuses took the forms that they did.

They watched for what seemed like hours as eventually, the lion, badger, eagle, and snake Patronuses faded into the air like wisps of smoke.

* * *

"I hate coming in here," Holly muttered as she and Scorpius stepped into the Chamber of Secrets. Not only did Rose establish that the group had to meet up in the Room of Requirement during their free time for training, but she also suggested that every few days, someone accompanied by Scorpius (since he was the only one of the group who could speak Parseltongue) had to sneak down to the Chamber of Secrets during the night to check on the basilisk egg. So far, every time a pair had gone, they'd reported back no signs of change. It happened to be Holly's turn to go check on the egg with Scorpius.

"Let's just get this over with," Scorpius replied, clearly as agitated with coming down here as Holly was.

"My observation is that you're not as angry by the fact that you had to come down here as much as you're angered that you had to listen to Rose's orders," Holly said, smiling as Scorpius tensed up. She's become quite good at reading him.

"T-that's not true," Scorpius denied, shaking his head. "Holly, I swear you come up with the craziest insinuations."

Holly tilted her head at him, noting his body language. "You scratch your ear when you're lying."

Scorpius stared at her, surprised by her accusation. Then he realized that he was indeed scratching his ear, and threw his hand back down at his side. "I sometimes forget how smart you are."

"I get that a lot." Holly smiled and shrugged. The gloominess of the Chamber of Secrets tended to drain your mood as soon as you stepped inside it, but this didn't affect Holly one bit.

Scorpius sighed as the two of them made their way down the long runway of the chamber, towards the looming statue that held the egg that encompassed one of the most dangerous creatures in the wizarding world. The thought of it hatching soon and devouring everything in its path made Holly's heart sink every time.

The two made it to the statue, nodding to each other as they began climbing it. Holly was never a fan of climbing this statue, since it was always so slippery. She always made herself think she was climbing a tree to sit in to enjoy a peaceful, summer day. It was kind of hard to stay in her imagination over the sounds of her feet slipping and the coldness of the chamber chilling her skin.

Finally, Holly and Scorpius made it to the nose, the safest standing point on the statue. The basilisk egg still laid inside of the stone mouth, no visible changes upon it. Holly sighed, relieved that the egg wasn't close to hatching yet, but also disappointed that they had to come all the way down here again for nothing. She let her body rest against the bridge of the statue's nose, not ready to climb back down yet.

"I can't believe Rose is still making us come down here for nothing," Scorpius grumbled, his eyes fixated on the egg. "If she weren't so bossy and stubborn..."

Holly giggled, making Scorpius's head snap up at her. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, making her laugh more. "What's so funny?" Scorpius demanded.

Shaking her head and smiling, she replied, "You've got it bad for Rose."

Scorpius eyes widened, appalled. Why were boys so adamant on admitting their feelings? Holly wondered. "Oh, no. We are not having this conversation again."

"You're just afraid to admit the truth," Holly told him, noticing how uneasy he looked. "And that's okay. But I'm very observant, Scorpius. I can see that you're still in love with Rose, and I don't think you ever stopped."

Holly let that sink in for him, watching his shoulders relax as he finally realized the truth for himself. She couldn't help but smile.

"We can never be what we used to be," Scorpius said lowly, swallowing hard. Holly swore she saw his gray eyes glisten with tears. Carefully, she set a comforting hand on his shoulder. She hated seeing her good friend in pain.

"You never know unless you try," Holly whispered assuringly, rubbing his shoulder. "You know, today while we were conjuring our Patronuses, I noticed that your snake and a certain eagle had a particular liking to each other. That's no coincidence, you know."

The corners of Scorpius's lips lifted slightly, hope becoming evident in his facade.

Deciding to call it a night, the two friends departed from the somber Chamber of Secrets, unaware that behind them, the deadly fetal creature inside of the egg suddenly jerked, causing the egg to fracture the tiniest bit.

~ ~ ~

Let me just say three things:

1.) Scorpius and Holly are the ultimate brotp.

2.) Holly is a literal ray of sunshine.

And 3.) Holly is the captain of the Scorose ship.

Anyone agree? :)

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I had fun writing it! Remember to vote, comment, and share! Thanks for all the support! Love you guys! *infinite kissy faces*