Soldiers and Serpents //Scorbus

25 Desperation ⚠️

"And now?"

"Now he's a completely different person. It's like Selwyn somehow stripped away the goofy, dumb part. It left a mature, secure, confident person behind." Scorpius explains.

"Selwyn has enough connections to form some following. Especially since he was released from Azkaban in good faith with the Ministry. And if Amycus has really bought into this delusion, he'd even bring more supporters. If they were together on this, planning something, they're taking their time. The Dark Lord didn't succeed, but he might've. If Harry Potter was dead, and had no chance to destroy the horcruxes." Draco scratched his chin.

"Are you saying they might come after him?" Scorpius asked, slightly concerned.

"Not yet. They are trying to get you. Selwyn won't settle for just Daniel, he will try and get you too. Your bloodline is supposed to be full of untapped power. In fact, since Cypress is with him, if we are to believe Aries Carrow, he's attempting to gather everyone from the Slytherin bloodline that's still alive." Draco lets out a long breath.

"How do you know all this?" Scorpius frowns.

"It's how I would do it." Draco explains. "And then I'd try to turn someone from the ministry. In fact, they may had already done that considering how easily Daniel's bullshit story was accepted as truth. As someone who wants to protect you, I'd want you to stay as far away from Daniel and Aries as possible."

"But?"

"If something really is going on, Scorpius, there's no one who has a chance of knowing about it if not you." Draco looked concerned. "You might be the only one able to stop this. To stop him."

"Him?" Scorpius was growing increasingly wary.

"Daniel." Draco clarifies. It was a rather cruel awakening. To hear and understand that Scorpius may have to step out of his comfort zone and reach into the darkness. Why? What did he owe the world? Scorpius's bloodline was pure, from what he understood. Why should he care about those who weren't?

Not only that, but couldn't Harry Potter and the ministry step in before he'd have too? Harry Potter defeated good-ol-Voldy at age seventeen. Why couldn't he defeat Daniel if it came to that? Scorpius didn't ask any of these though. Clearly Draco knew something he wasn't saying. Maybe he was accounting for Harry Potter's death. Or something else disastrous. Scorpius sat there for awhile in silence, just trying to process everything.

—-
"So they know everything?" Albus concludes when he comes over later that day after classes. Scorpius nods, laying beside him on the bed. They stared at the ceiling. "Guess that's good. If the Malfoy's are behind you, it makes you more of a threat."

"I'm not amassing an army. I'm just... reconnecting with my family. Death does that, apparently." Scorpius sounded deflated, emotionally drained from everything that he'd been through in the last week. Albus even sounded tired. For different reasons, definitely.

"My family is furthest from reconnecting as it's ever been." He sounded emotional. "My dad told me and James over the phone that 'if being with Hermione and being happy means losing us, then he wouldn't bother calling again.'" Tears rolled down the sides of his cheeks. "James is acting like he doesn't care. But I know he does. I don't know what to do." Albus's voice cracked. Scorpius turned to him, readjusting to lay on his side. Potter turned his head to look at him. "I'm sorry."

"For what? For crying? Don't be ridiculous." Scorpius responded, gesturing for him to come closer. Albus rubbed his eyes and then moves over. The blonde reaches forward and pulls their bodies against one another in a hug. "You're my best friend. You don't have to ever be sorry." Scorpius reassures him, feeling the other boy's warm breath against his collar bone.