My Scorpius,
I have been doing brilliantly these past few days. I have maintained the manor well, despite your father's absence and the constant presence of the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters. These days had been difficult for the both of us, but worry not, my love, for I am happy and safe.
It has been a great honour to serve the Dark Lord and let him reside in our home. He had been nothing but a wonderful guest and of course, you know that your mother is ever the gracious host. The Dark Lord believes so.
You must not worry about me and focus on your studies and task. The Dark Lord constantly asks me about your wellbeing, and I always told him I am utterly proud of your achievements and progress. You must remember that the Dark Lord is a very impatient man, however, and I beseech you to hasten the reparation of the Vanishing Cabinet.
I miss you every day, Scorpius. Never forget that you are always in my heart.
Love,
Mother
Scorpius scowled, crumpling the sickening letter and pocketing it inside his school robes.
He knew his Nana meant well, but he hoped she did not sugarcoat her words. He knew from Snape, who never truly watered down anything, that Voldemort was terrorising his grandmother and their home. It was only because of Snape's constant warding that Narcissa wasn't hurt.
Scorpius had raised this issue with Dumbledore once, reasoning out that despite not being his mother and not really knowing a lot about his Nana, she was family. Scorpius still worried a lot about her and wanted to keep her safe and away from Voldemort.
But Dumbledore said it would arouse any suspicions if Narcissa was suddenly brought under the care of an Order member. He had thoroughly assured him that Snape was capable enough to take care of Narcissa. Besides, Voldemort wouldn't dare touch her until Scorpius was able to successfully fix the Vanishing Cabinet.
"You are his only chance of accessing Hogwarts," Dumbledore said. "Severus might be the most skilful of you two, and would undoubtedly finish this task within a few weeks, but Voldemort fears he is too close with me. He did not want to risk Snape and chose you instead."
With these thoughts in mind, Scorpius eased himself out of the black couch he was lounging on and shouldered his bag.
"Going somewhere, Scorpy-pie?" Pansy asked with a frown on her face.
"Library," he said. "Professor Snape asked me to research more about... you know."
Pansy's eyes widened in understanding. "I can help you!" she suggested, already standing up from her seat.
"No!" he cried. The Slytherin girl looked wounded, and Scorpius hastily came up with an excuse. "It's... confidential and dangerous. I wouldn't want you to get involved in this, Pansy."
Her eyes lit up, delighted. "Oh, Scorpy-pie, you are sweet," she cooed, standing on her tiptoes to give him a peck on his cheek. Horrified, Scorpius backpedalled and Pansy almost toppled towards the floor.
"Right, okay, I must go," he said, already scampering away before she could latch on with her talons and refuse to let go. It was a pity, really. She was damn beautiful but so annoying. He wondered what he could do to stop her from deluding herself that they were the perfect match.
All thoughts of Pansy were forgotten once he strode inside the library. Madame Pince lifted an eyebrow at his arrival, but the Malfoy heir merely gave her a smirk. He then proceeded to saunter towards the Restricted Section and grabbed as many books with promising titles as possible.
His arms were already protesting by the eighth book, and Scorpius decided these books were enough for the day. His legs automatically brought him to the table he usually frequented – Granger's table – and unceremoniously dumped the thick tomes on the table. It was only when he relieved his aching arms when he noticed that it was currently occupied by the bushy-haired Gryffindor herself.
"You're on my table," she pointed out with a frown.
Scorpius shrugged and sat down on the chair opposite her, uninvited. "I like this table, too," he reasoned out. "It's secluded and quiet."
"Which was why I specifically requested for this table," she grounded out. "It's mine."
"Learn to share, Granger dear," he drawled with a smirk. "I'm not going anywhere."
Hermione bristled with his term of endearment but had thankfully clamped her mouth shut and went back to her essay. Scorpius peered at the parchment she was writing and snorted. "That isn't due until two weeks from now," he pointed.
"And?"
"And, why are you doing it today?" he pressed on. "It's a bright and sunny afternoon, Granger. I think the Hogwarts grounds already miss its resident swotty know-it-all."
She mindlessly gestured on another parchment on the table. Scorpius glanced at it and couldn't help but smile in amusement. "I have it scheduled for the day," she explained. "And if you don't stop talking to me, I'll be late for my next task."
"Which is?"
"The Potions essay."
"Which is also not due until two weeks from now," Scorpius pointed out. "Merlin, Granger, live a little." It was amusing to see the future Minister of Magic like this. Although just as swotty, Rose at least knew how to have fun through Quidditch and generally insulting the hell out of him.
Hermione sighed and didn't bother replying to his statement. Amused that he was now dismissed, Scorpius shrugged his shoulders and started to browse through the first book.
It was a book about the darkest artefacts invented for the past century. Seeing that the Vanishing Cabinet was not exactly a dark artefact, – in fact, it was used by civilians before to hide from Death Eaters during the First Wizarding War – there was nothing about Vanishing Cabinets at all. The second book was just about dark, Wizarding nursery rhymes ('Merlin, why did I even get this.').
The third book proved to be a bit insightful. There was a single page about Vanishing Cabinets, its properties, benefits and disadvantages, but much to his frustration, there was nothing about repairing it.
Frustrated, Scorpius chucked the third book away and grabbed the fourth one from his pile.
"Those are particularly dark books."
Scorpius looked up from the book he was reading and frowned. "Yes, congratulations for noticing," he distractedly said, skimming the index to see if there was anything about the Vanishing Cabinets.
"What are you researching about that needs dark books?" she asked, slightly suspicious. "I thought you were working on the different types of Wizarding transportation."
"That's part of my research, ye – aha!" Scorpius immediately flipped the book to the page where Vanishing Cabinets were mentioned. His eyes darted through the words, the introduction mostly speaking about what he read in the previous book. When he reached the last paragraph, it spoke about the possibility that a connection may be built using a spell. That was it; there was no mention of the spell itself, and Scorpius was bloody disappointed.
He chucked it away from the pile he labelled as 'Disappointments' and angrily grabbed onto the next book.
"What is this extra-curricular you are working on?" Hermione questioned, perhaps for the nth time. Scorpius wasn't really keeping tabs.
"And I told you, Granger, we're not that—"
"—close yet, I know." She surreptitiously looked around to see if there were eavesdroppers nearby, before leaning closer and whispering, "Is this for Voldemort?"
"Shh," he hissed, paling at the mention of the Dark Lord.
A smug smile appeared on her face despite his death glare. "It is," she triumphantly stated. "Does Dumbledore know about this?"
Scorpius scowled. "Of course, he does," he snapped. "He's the first person to know about what I'm... I'm doing."
"Which is?"
"Tough luck, Granger."
"Come on. You told Dumbledore!"
"Which is the right choice, because I trust him," he drawled back, lips twitching when she frowned in concurrence. "Seriously, Granger, you should do something about that curiosity of yours. You might discover things you wish you didn't know at all."
Hermione crossed her arms across her chest. "Sometimes it is necessary to know so that we can properly plan for the inevitable," she reasoned out.
"And sometimes it isn't necessary to know everything because it's not your bloody business."
The Gryffindor witch scowled in frustration, and Scorpius couldn't help but flash a smirk at her antics. "Why do you need to know what I do?" he asked.
"Because there's something seriously different. About you. Your..." – she gestured wildly to pertain to his Dark Mark – "and your attitude. Your change of allegiances and your sudden vast knowledge about You-Know-Who's weakness when even Dumbledore didn't know he had seven of those horrible things he created. I mean, Dumbledore knows everything!"
Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Dumbledore doesn't know everything," he corrected.
"Yes, I know, because apparently, you know more about things in this war than he ever did," she said. "There's something about you for these past few days. My brain gets... gets so itchy trying to figure you out, but I can never make any connection. It doesn't make any sense." Her eyes narrowed accusingly. "You don't make any sense, to be honest."
The Slytherin mockingly placed a hand against his heart. "I am delightfully honoured to know that the brightest witch of her age thinks of me as a difficult puzzle to solve," he jibed.
Hermione sighed and a stray curl flew from her forehead.
"Okay, Granger, I'll compromise," he finally relented. Watching Rose's mother losing her cool was absolutely amusing; he somehow felt a little guilty for making her frustrated like that. "We're not friends and that's a fact. I don't trust you yet and you most certainly don't trust me either. What if every time I tell something about myself, something not everybody really knew, you'd tell me something about yourself in return? One day, I might tell you about this... this mission I have for... you know. It's for me to decide whether I trust you enough already."
"How will I know you'll not use my secrets to blackmail me in the future?" she spat, eyes still narrowed.
Scorpius smirked and stretched out his right forearm. "Unbreakable Vow?" he asked.
Hermione's eyes widened. "You're barmy," she exclaimed.
"Yeah, I know it's stupid, but it was worth suggesting," he said while chuckling. Granger glared, but he wasn't unfazed. "The look on your face when I even suggested it, ha! Merlin, Granger, do you honestly think I'm desperate to earn your friendship?"
Al-the-Inner-Voice snorted and unhesitatingly exclaimed, 'Hell yes'! 'Shut up, Al,' Scorpius mentally replied, cheeks colouring a little. The prospect of being the Hermione Granger's friend was too awesome to ignore. Scorpius finally found the perfect opportunity to gain her trust and he just wouldn't let it go.
"I'm not playing your stupid games, Malfoy," she then said in reply.
Scorpius shrugged. "Suit yourself," he said.
Hermione glared at him darkly and started gathering her things.
"Where are you going? You haven't even started with your Potions essay."
"You don't make me think in peace," she honestly confessed, shooting him another accusatory glare. "I'm sure you wouldn't relent if I tell you to leave, so I'll just be the one to do it."
Scorpius watched as she angrily shoved her things inside her bag and stood up.
"Oh, right, by the way," she tersely said. "The DA Core already decided to go to the... err..." She leant a little closer and lowered down her voice. "To the Chamber of Secrets tomorrow night to gather basilisk fangs."
"I'm still invited to this?" he asked as excitement churned in his stomach at the prospect of visiting the infamous Chamber of Secrets.
Granger gave him a pointed look. "You're part of this whether we like it or not, Malfoy," she said. "I think it's just logical to invite you to come with us in everything we do for the mission."
In spite of himself, Scorpius widely grinned. "Good decision, Granger."
"Yes, whatever," she said, now shouldering the strap of her bag. "See you tomorrow, Malfoy."
She swirled around and marched away from the table. Scorpius wore a bemused smile and went back to perusing his book.
"Malfoy."
Surprised, he lifted his head to see that Granger came back to her table. Her cheeks were inflamed and she was trying her best not to meet his gaze. "I... used to be a ballerina," she sputtered out. Scorpius' eyes widened, realising what she was doing. "I stopped when I broke the leg of Martha Jenkins with the use of accidental magic when she told me I wasn't the best girl to play Odette's part for 'Swan Lake'."
Scorpius snorted. "And how old were you during that time?" he asked.
"Five," she tentatively replied, reluctantly meeting his eyes.
"Five?" he exclaimed. "Blimey, Granger, even during your childhood years you were a menace."
This brought out a small smile from her face that made him stare a little too long.
"Okay, my turn," he said after he composed himself. Scorpius thought of a secret that could match Hermione's. "When I was young, my parents thought I'll be a squib." When Hermione's eyes widened in surprise, he continued. "You know, all these interbreeding mumbo jumbo produced a lot of genetic mutations that increased the chances of producing squibs in Pureblood families."
Hermione gaped. "I didn't know that," she said, almost breathlessly.
"Well, now you know," he said with a grin. "I didn't start showing signs of magic until I was eight," he said. "Almost made my Mum cry with tears of joy. Dad was absolutely relieved he purchased all my favourite ice cream flavours in Florean's, telling me incessantly he was proud to be my father. Mum nagged him 'til his ears bled when I grew sick the following day from all the ice creams I ate."
To his surprise, Hermione made a face. "Lucius Malfoy did that?" she asked. "No offence, but I don't really see him as the type of father who... err... dotes."
Scorpius furrowed his eyebrows and was about to point out that Draco Malfoy was his father, who most definitely dotes, and not Lucius. Thankfully, he remembered his tiny time travelling problem and merely shrugged his shoulders. "He's a man of many mysteries," he elusively stated.
"Like father, like son," she pointed out, prompting him to smile. Hermione sighed and lifted her bag over her shoulders once more. "Anyway, I've got to go," she said. She awkwardly waved her hand goodbye and left, leaving Scorpius staring amusedly at her retreating back.
__________
Scorpius entered the abandoned girls' bathroom on the second floor with wide, excited eyes.
Back in his time, this room had been barred from any wandering students, lest they stumbled upon the Chamber of Secrets. Which, as what Scorpius still firmly believed, was almost entirely impossible because, after The-Boy-Who-Lived, nobody knew how to speak Parseltongue. Scorpius and Albus tried to sneak in before, thinking that since Albus was Harry's son he would have the ability. Alas, the poor sods had merely gotten themselves in detention for breaking school rules.
He was actually quite surprised that this specific bathroom wasn't barred when everybody already knew a basilisk once resided beneath its floors. Scorpius wondered what had caused its sudden closure.
As he looked around, he realised he was the first person to arrive. Granger specifically told him they'd be meeting at seven o'clock, but Scorpius got too excited and stumbled in at six-thirty. Such was his excitement he shovelled down his food with newfound vigour, not minding if he chewed them all properly, and bid a hasty goodbye to his so-called Slytherin friends.
Scorpius tentatively took a few steps around, craning his neck for any suspicious activities. It made him slightly queasy to be roaming around in a girls' bathroom. Granted, it was an abandoned one, but still, it didn't ease his discomfort.
"Oh, hello, I have never seen you before."
He yelped and jumped an inch or two, before turning around to see who had interrupted his solitude. A girl – a Ravenclaw, based on the translucent badge on her school robes – was hovering behind him before gliding around with interest in her eyes.
"Moaning Myrtle," he gasped in recognition. He hadn't really seen her before, seeing she mostly took residence in the abandoned comfort room, but she was quite famous as the first person Tom Riddle Jr. killed. He always wondered what she would look like.
"Oh," she coyly said, shyly tucking a strand behind her ear. "Why do you know my name?"
"Err..." he said, sidestepping away when she came barreling towards him. "I've heard stories about you."
"I hope they're good ones, pretty boy." She giggled and brushed his cheek with her translucent hand. Scorpius' eyes widened and he shivered, the feel of an ice-cold wind biting against his cheek. "The last boy who came in here was Harry Potter. Do you know him? I heard he's quite famous, too."
Scorpius nervously cleared his throat. "Err... yes." He was becoming uncomfortable how her eyes seemed to twinkle with mischief and interest.
"Moaning Myrtle, really, get away."
He didn't bother hiding his relief upon hearing Hermione's voice. Scorpius turned around to look at her gratefully, but the brunette was glaring at the ghost. Beside her was Ginny Weasley, who gave him a bemused glance.
"Ooh, Hermione Granger, here to horde all the good-looking guys for herself," the ghost spat, suddenly turning shrill and murderous. Scorpius stared in shock as Moaning Myrtle glided closer to the brunette, who still stood her ground. "Oh, right, none for Myrtle because she's ugly and skinny and boring and dead!"
Moaning Myrtle burst into loud, shrilly tears, then proceeded to glide away and dive into a toilet. Scorpius grimaced when some toilet water splashed into his expensive trousers.
Hermione then sighed and stalked closer to the entrance of the Chamber of Secrets. She muttered darkly under her breath, crossed her arms across her chest, and broodingly glared at the slippery bathroom floor.
"What's gotten into her?" he asked the amused Weasley.
"Ron," she merely said. Scorpius was surprised when the future Mrs. Potter stood beside him and lifted an eyebrow. "You're early today, pretty boy."
He felt his cheeks redden. "Don't call me that," he murmured and frowned. This only made her raise her eyebrow more in surprise.
Neville and Luna finally stumbled in, and after a few minutes, Harry and Ron came. Hermione scowled when the redheaded Weasley came but said Weasley didn't even notice. Scorpius wondered what the great buffoon had done to piss off the Golden Girl once more.
The whole DA Core, plus Scorpius, was finally complete and everybody was now expectantly looking at Harry Potter. The Boy-Who-Lived, on the other hand, was worriedly looking at Ginny.
"Seriously, Harry, I'm fine," she grounded out. But, upon closer inspection, Scorpius noticed how she was actually a little pale, with beads of sweat forming on her forehead. She didn't look fine, and Scorpius remembered that Voldemort's teenage diary soul possessed her back in her first year.
"It's okay not to be fine, Ginny," the bespectacled Gryffindor softly said. "It's... it's also okay not to come with us today."
Which was actually a very bad thing to say because Ginny Weasley's eyes glinted dangerously. Harry's emerald eyes widened and he shrank back in nervousness. Scorpius had to clamp his mouth tightly, afraid that he would suddenly burst into loud, raucous laughter. It was strangely reminiscent of Albus getting told off by his mother and Scorpius found it all amusing.
"Harry," Hermione warningly said, placing a hand on her best friend's arm. "Let's just go."
Harry sighed, shot a petulant and nervous look at the youngest Weasley, before sauntering closer to the faucet with a carved snake. He started hissing and Scorpius watched, wide-eyed, as the sink split open and revealed a dark hole on the ground.
"Blimey," Neville spoke breathlessly, probably speaking for the other people who had never seen the Chamber of Secrets.
"See you on the other side," Harry said. He then jumped in, with Ron following behind him. Ginny, still pale-faced, hesitantly jumped down and disappeared. Soon, it was only him and Hermione left.
He gestured for her to go. "Ladies first," he said with a smirk. Hermione rolled her eyes but relented.
Now that he was alone, Scorpius shot one last weary look around the abandoned girls' bathroom before jumping in. It was quite a bumpy ride, literally, because he could feel rocks and crunching bones under his bottom. The pipes were also damp and smelly, a putrid smell of mould and blood making him slightly nauseous when he finally reached the ground.
"Come on, no time for dawdling," Potter snapped.
Scorpius scowled and immediately scrambled onto his feet, slightly cringing when he heard another breaking of bones. He disgustedly eyed the shed skin of the basilisk and littered rodent bones, then immediately jogged behind the DA Core.
His eyes almost bulged out when Harry led them into the chamber. Scorpius scrunched up his nose in disgust, the smell of rotting flesh greeting the group. He could see that he wasn't the only one bothered by the smell. But then, all of these thoughts left his brain when he beheld the sight of the large statue of Salazar Slytherin glaring down at the puny students.
"Wicked," he breathlessly exclaimed, walking towards the statue of the Founder of their house in a dream-like state. Their History of Magic classes spoke about the Chamber of Secrets; even the edited version of Hogwarts: A History was able to describe it in detail thanks to Harry Potter's contribution. But all of them paled in comparison now that he was actually here.
His heart jumped to his throat in excitement, gawking at the dead, rotting body of the basilisk. It was bloody huge and frightening. Scorpius stared at its eroding yellow eyes, shivering at the sight. If it were alive still, he would surely be dead by now, but strangely, he couldn't look away.
"Ugh, the smell is unbearable," Ron commented. "Can we all just gather as many fangs as we could?"
The others murmured in agreement and pulled out their wands. Murmured severing charms rang in the whole chamber and soon, the basilisk was toothless and the students have a bagful of venom-laden fangs.
They lingered for a bit, trying to explore each nook and cranny of the Chamber of Secrets. Scorpius found himself sauntering closer to Ginny, who looked worse than how she did back in the bathroom.
"All right, Weasley?" he casually called out. He was getting a bit worried, but he knew he shouldn't show it to protect his Scorpion King image.
"What's it to you, Malfoy?" she spat, petulantly glaring at Harry who was also looking worriedly at her.
Scorpius sighed and pocketed his hands. "Why do Gryffindors always make it a point to look brave even though they are obviously feeling anything but," he pointed out, rolling his eyes when Ginny directed her weak glare at him this time. "Honestly, if I were the one possessed by Voldemort's diary-self, I would have shat myself in the pants right there and then."
Despite herself, Ginny snorted. "I wouldn't be surprised if you did," she commented.
He smirked and casually leaned against the pillar behind him. "You shouldn't be ashamed of feeling afraid, you know. Not everyone can face Voldemort and live to tell the tale, Weasley," he said. "You should be proud."
Scorpius then turned away and was unable to see the surprised look that graced Ginny's face.
The DA Core plus Scorpius finally climbed back to the girls' bathroom, ignoring Moaning Myrtles wails for them to leave her alone.
With a few minutes to spare before curfew, they all scampered quickly towards Dumbledore's office.
"Well, I'm quite surprised you all came here," the Headmaster said with a beaming smile. He also seemed pleased that Scorpius was there with the DA Core, his eyes twinkling impossibly and bright.
Dumbledore then removed Ravenclaw's diadem from its box and placed it on his table.
"May I do the honours?" Luna solemnly said, striding forward with a clutched venomous fang around her hand. "I feel like this is something I must do in honour of our beloved founder."
The Headmaster gave her a smile and gestured at the horcrux. "Please, Miss Lovegood," he said.
Scorpius held his breath when Luna quickly plunged the basilisk fang into the diadem. The beautiful sapphire cracked into pieces and he mindlessly thought it was a waste of such valuable treasure.
The whole room was suddenly filled with tortured screaming and Scorpius had to place his hands against his ears to drown out the sound. A huge black cloud escaped, forming the face of Voldemort, before finally dissipating into the air.
As soon as it was gone, Harry hissed in pain and clutched his forehead. At the same time, Scorpius' Dark Mark throbbed and he snarled.
"Are you all right, Harry?" Hermione worriedly asked, scampering closer to her friend.
"Something's wrong with Malfoy, too," Ginny pointed out.
All eyes landed on him and he would have been bothered by their looks if it weren't for the unbearable pain on his left forearm.
"He knows," Harry gasped out. "He knows a horcrux is destroyed and he isn't happy."
"Maybe that's why I'm being summoned," Scorpius said.
He looked at Dumbledore in silent question, and the Headmaster placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "It is wise if you go, Scorpius," he gravely said, worry lines etched on his forehead. "Severus will be there to protect you. If something happens, which I hope isn't true, the professor knows to bring you straight into my office."
Scorpius nervously swallowed a lump in his throat. The last time he was summoned he had been almost tortured to death. If what Potter said was true, Voldemort was in a fit of volatile anger and Scorpius wasn't sure if the Dark Lord would hold back with his cruel, dark spells anymore.
"You need not worry, my dear boy," Dumbledore said, catching onto his tumultuous thoughts.
It was a stupid thing to say, Scorpius thought, but he bit his bottom lip to keep himself from sarcastically replying. Instead, he said, "Well, wish me luck."
Before he dashed out of Dumbledore's office, he was able to survey the faces of the DA Core. Although they weren't exactly friends yet, it brought him great comfort to see that they were at least worried for his welfare, too.