Still Waters Run Deep

A Call To The Forest

Eleanor's funeral took place at her hometown's cemetery a few days later. The ceremony was short and simple but touching. It was a Monday morning and the clouds had cleared and the sun was shining brightly. From Hogwarts, only a couple of teachers and the members of the order were there, but Scorpius was surprised to see that almost everyone from her hometown was present. It made him sad that he didn't know almost anything about Eleanor's life outside the school, he didn't know she had touched so many lives. After the ceremony, Scorpius and his friends took a portkey back to Hogwarts.

Caleb was a mess. He wasn't eating or sleeping and moments where he was not crying were rare. McGonagall had excused him from lessons for a couple of days so he could spend time with his aunt, though it didn't help him much. He returned to the castle on a Thursday morning.  

When Caleb walked into the Great Hall for breakfast all heads turned to him, whispers filled the Hall. He was glad when he spotted his group of friends sitting in their usual spot, he walked towards them, avoiding the look of pity on everyone's face as they stared him down. 

Lily stood up to give him a hug which he accepted gladly before sitting down next to her. He noticed that Scorpius wasn't sitting with the group, he wondered where he was. 

"How are you feeling, Caleb?" Aurora asked in a soft tone. The boy shrugged.

"Fine, I guess." They gave him kind smiles and nodded and slowly returned back to their conversations. Caleb looked at all the food around him but didn't have any appetite so he served himself a cup of coffee instead. Lily turned towards him. 

"What do you say about going flying this afternoon?" She said, "I haven't been on a broom since our last game." 

"Sounds good." Caleb nodded and Lily smiled brightly, happy to see her friend trying to go back to normality.

Just then, Scorpius walked through the doors of the Great Hall. He was pale and had heavy dark circles under his eyes, his face also looked skinnier making cheekbones look more defined. Just like Caleb, heads turned towards him as he walked towards his group of friends. When he saw Caleb, his eyes went to the floor. They still hadn't really spoken since it all happened and Scorpius was dreading the conversation that was undoubtedly going to happen. He sat next to his cousin and put an arm around his shoulder.

"How are you doing?" He asked. 

"Better," Caleb mimicked his actions and hugged Scorpius. "Thank you."

Scorpius' friends were all very pleased to see the blond boy finally joining them. Things hadn't been the same lately, being with his friends wasn't the same, even being with Rose felt weird. He still hadn't had a serious conversation about what happened with anyone, his friends had tried to make him talk but he didn't want to yet, so he decided to keep his distance. Scorpius was spending a lot of time alone and although he knew it didn't do him any good, he still couldn't make himself be around his friends. 

Today he had woken up feeling different, he had a restored hope, so he decided, for the first time to join his friends for breakfast. 

"Good morning." Rose greeted him with a warm smile, she was sitting directly in front of him. 

"Morning," Scorpius replied as he took hold of his girlfriend's hand that was resting on top of the table. This was the first time he had shone any affection towards Rose since his cousin's death. Rose's smile grew and it looked like her eyes watered a little, she was happy to finally see her boyfriend be less distant. 

The day went by slowly and when dinner time arrived, Scorpius had a painful migraine and was too exhausted to bare being in the noisy Great Hall. Instead, he made his way down to the kitchens where he could have his meal in peace. He was walking down the stairs that lead to the Hufflepuff common room when he heard his name being called. It was Rose. Scorpius half-smiled.

"Hey," He said simply.

"Hi," Rose replied as they walked hand in hand towards the kitchen. "You're off to have a date with a house elf, I suppose."

Scorpius gasped playfully. "How do you know?" 

"Intuition," Rose said with a cheeky grin. This was Scorpius's usual response to any question, he slightly laughed. 

"Nah, I'm only kidding," Scorpius said as he tickled the pear on the painting of a bowl of fruit. The pear giggled and turn into a large green door handle, revealing the entrance to the Hogwarts kitchens. "I'm having a date with you." He kissed Rose's hand as they both walked through the door. She laughed. They were greeted by the kind house the elves as they made their way to the end of the large wooden table and sat down. Within seconds, plates filled with the most delicious food appeared in front of them. 

They began eating in comfortable silence but after a few minutes, Rose spoke. 

"So..." She began. "Scorp... We still haven't spoken much about, you know... everything that happened." She stared into her boyfriend's eyes. "I know you don't want to have to hear this but you haven't been yourself lately, you are closing yourself in-I hate seeing you like this. Please talk to me, tell me how you feel, maybe I can help."

Scorpius shook his head and looked down at his plate. "I don't think there is anything you can do." He shrugged

"Then just talk to me." Rose grabbed his hand. "Talking helps."

Scorpius took a deep breath. "I just feel like this is all my fault."

"Why?"

"Because I was the one to bring her into all of this. I backed up the plan, it was stupid and irresponsible. She and Caleb should never have joined the Order in the first place, it was too dangerous and I knew it, I should have stopped it whilst I could, but I was too blinded by anger at Lucius to do so... She didn't deserve to die, she was too young." There was a long pause.

"But it's not just Eleanor making you feel all this guilt... it's also your brother isn't it?" Scorpius looked at his girlfriend wide-eyed. Scorpius tried to say something but as he opened his mouth no words came out. 

"I overheard you and Sirius that night," Rose explained. "I went to speak to him... I'm sorry I didn't tell you..." Scorpius wasn't sure of what to say. "You don't need to say anything I just-"

"His name was Leo," Scorpius said in a low tone. "My older brother... He died one week before his first day and two years before I came to Hogwarts." He looked back down at the table.

"We were playing on the side of the road and I walked onto the street, he stopped me and-and got hit by a car." He couldn't stop himself, a silent tear rolled down his cheek. "He fought so hard, but his heart couldn't take it. He died a few hours later... I will never forgive myself for what happened that day." Scorpius let out a sob. Rose immediately stood up and went to sit by her boyfriend, she wrapped her arms around him. Scorpius didn't try to stop it, he let himself cry onto her shoulder. "They are both gone, Rose. They're gone."

**

Screams filled Scorpius's head. He was standing at the door of the Gryffindor common room, the high pitched screams came from inside it.  He walked towards the noise. The portrait opened slowly as he approached it. More screams. His vision blurred. He could only see scattered scenes. He saw blond hair. More screams. The word mudblood written on live flesh, blood dripping onto the floor. Scorpius. He heard his name being called. CRUCIO! He saw Eleanor curled up on the floor of the common room, screaming in pain. An evil laugh echoed inside his head along with more cries of despair. AVADA KEDAVRA! A flash of green light hit Eleanor in the chest. She laid on the floor, her eyes still wide open.

He was now in the middle of the forest. Dark figures ran around him like shadows, too fast for him to recognize them. He felt himself falling backwards and everything went dark. Screams and evil laughter returned not a second later, this time louder and louder. This was hell. A black figure ran towards him at full speed and stopped. Lucius. 

I know you will want to fight, you may even think that to fight is wise. But this is a folly. Come to me. Do this and none of your friends shall be harmed. Come to me, and I shall leave Hogwarts untouched. Come to me. Come to the forest.

Scorpius woke up panting and out of breath, it was like he had emerged from water.  He felt like magnets were pulling him towards the forest. He grabbed his wand and ran.