(A/N: I made a minor change to chapter 71. Instead of the students leaving Hogwarts on the day before Christmas Eve, I made it to where they are supposed to leave on Christmas Eve. This change was necessary for the plotting of the next few chapters. Sorry if there's any confusion. Enjoy!)
"Where do you think they ran off to, Albus?" Holly asked worriedly, as she and Albus made their way into the Great Hall for some hot chocolate, after they'd just played outside in the snow for an hour. It was only after the couple had torn their gazes away from each other long enough to realize that Scorpius and Rose were missing.
"Who knows where they are right now," Albus muttered. "I wouldn't be surprised if they snuck off to go snog in a broom cupboard."
At least that's what he hoped they'd been doing...
"Still, it's been an hour," Holly said, playing with the sleeve of her jacket nervously. "I hope they're alright."
Albus couldn't help but be a bit concerned also. The tightly-knit group of four have been inseparable for the past few weeks. Scorpius and Rose's absence felt unsettling. Albus didn't know why, but he could almost sense that something was wrong.
Then an idea hit him. "Holly, If you're really that concerned, how about we check the Marauder's Map and see where they are?"
Holly's face lit up. "Albus, that's brilliant! You still have it locked in your school trunk, right?"
Albus nodded, then grabbed Holly's hand and led her out of the Great Hall straight to the Gryffindor common room. They weaved through the crowd of students bustling in the corridors, each buzzing with excitement that they'd be departing from Hogwarts this evening for the holidays. Albus couldn't shake the twinge of envy in him for everyone around him; he really wished he were leaving too.
Pushing the thought aside, he kept pulling Holly with him until they reached Gryffindor Tower, muttering the password, "Caramel truffles," to the Fat Lady before charging through the portrait hole.
The two scampered up the stairs to Albus's room, where he threw open his door and ran straight to his school trunk, lifting it open and digging through its contents. Holly had to dodge many books that he threw behind his shoulder.
"Aha!" Albus said, lifting the crumpled-up Marauder's Map out of the trunk. He was never a neat person.
Holly took the map from him and smoothed it out, furiously scanning the parchment. Her eyebrows then wrinkled in puzzlement. "I don't see them anywhere."
"What?" Albus searched the map himself, but didn't see any sign of his friends' footsteps anywhere on Hogwarts campus. "You don't think they snuck off to Hogsmeade together or something, do you?"
"They wouldn't do such a thing," Holly told him, shaking her head. Then her eyes lit up with realization. "I know where they are!"
She grabbed Albus's hand and led him out of his room, his face contorting with confusion as he trailed behind her. "Am I missing something here? Where are they?"
"The Room of Requirement, silly!" Holly exclaimed, still pulling him along. "It doesn't show up on the Marauder's Map, remember?"
Of course. How could he forget? Albus really wanted to smack himself right now.
When they reached the main moving stairway system, the sound of shouts made Albus and Holly stop in their tracks. Students were running all over the place like they'd seen before, but their attitudes had changed completely. Everyone was wide-eyed with panic.
Albus spotted Dennis Finnigan and Max Thomas running up the stairs towards them, and pulled them aside. "Dennis, Max, what's going on?"
The two boys started talking at once, attempting to talk over each other. Albus only caught pieces of their explanations.
"Me, Max, and some other Gryffindors were walking along the edge of Hogwarts campus..."
"Then Creevey bumped into some kind of invisible barrier..."
"And he flew backwards!"
"Wait," Albus interrupted. "Max, did you say invisible barrier?"
"Yeah, mate!" Max replied. "We all tried breaking it, but it's bloody impenetrable!"
"McGonagall and Flitwick are down there right now trying to break it, but they can't do it either!" Dennis added.
"So an impenetrable barrier is surrounding Hogwarts?" Holly asked, her voice shaky. Then she turned to Albus. "That means no one can leave."
Albus felt a lump rising in his throat.
"Aye," Dennis agreed dourly.
A loud crash coming from the first floor, followed by the terrified screams of students, made Albus jump. Holly gripped his arm, her blue eyes wide with fear. What the bloody heck was going on?
"DEATH EATERS!" a voice shrieked. "DEATH EATERS IN THE CASTLE!"
Albus suddenly couldn't breathe. No, this couldn't possibly be happening. People were running in a frenzy all around him, but he couldn't move from where he was standing. He was absolutely petrified.
"It's here," Holly said, her voice barely above whisper.
And Albus knew exactly what it she was referring to.
"Everyone to the common room!" Max shouted to a group of young Gryffindors running up the stairs. Albus's heart sank at the sight of the utter fear in the children's eyes.
"Find all the Gryffindors you can and tell them to go to the common room," Holly commanded Dennis and Max. The boys saluted to her and nodded, running off hand in hand. Watching the boys made Albus grab Holly's hand tightly.
"We have to get to the Room of Requirement," he told her. "Now."
* * *
"SCORPIUS!" Scorpius heard Rose scream. "RUN!"
He snapped out of his trance just in time to see the basilisk lunging at him, which he luckily jumped out of the way to dodge. The serpent rammed its head into a nearby stack of clutter, knocking it down and narrowly missing Rose. She yelped as an object clipped her shoulder. Out of instinct, Scorpius sprinted as fast as he could to Rose's side, sensing the basilisk right on his heels. He ran in a zig-zag motion, hoping to lessen his chances of the creature thrusting its massive body at him.
Shoving aside debris, Scorpius found Rose hiding behind a wall of clutter, her eyes squeezed shut to avoid the basilisk's deathly gaze.
"Scorpius?" she whispered shakily. "Is that you?"
"Yes, it's me," Scorpius whispered back, joining her in her hiding place. He could sense the basilisk slithering nearby, straining its senses to locate its prey. He noticed Rose's shoulder was bleeding through her shirt. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Rose replied, daring the open one eye. "I'm more concerned about you. How the bloody hell did you look straight into the basilisk's eyes without dying?"
Scorpius was wondering the same thing. "I-I'm not sure. It's like I'm immune to it somehow..."
You fool, the voice, or what Scorpius had come to realize was the basilisk, whispered in his mind. Do you not remember who resides in your head?
Of course. Salazar Slytherin had once controlled a basilisk, so that must be why its deadly gaze didn't affect Scorpius. Then an idea occurred to him: What if he could control a basilisk too?
"I'm going to try something," Scorpius whispered, about to step out from their hiding place, but Rose grabbed his arm.
"Are you mad?" she demanded him, staring at him incredulously. "You'll get yourself killed! Magic doesn't work on it!"
I smell you... the basilisk hissed. You two will most certainly suffice as my first meal!
"It won't kill me," Scorpius assured her, though he wasn't really confident. "Because I'm going to control it."
Rose tried to protest, but Scorpius had already stepped out from behind the wall of clutter, in perfect view of the basilisk. Its yellow eyes met his gray ones, and the creature starting slithering its way towards him. Scorpius tried to suppress how badly he was shaking, which only made it worse. He heard the basilisk laughing in his head.
What's this? it hissed, clearly amused. The reincarnation of Slytherin thinks he has what it takes to defeat me?
Salazar, now would be an excellent time to teach me how to control a bloody basilisk! Scorpius thought desperately.
My, my, what did I miss? Salazar asked, making Scorpius's heart leap with relief.
Well, let's see, A BLOODY BASILISK IS ABOUT TO KILL ME! Scorpius told him. And where the hell have you been?
That, I cannot tell you, Salazar replied. And Scorpius, you already possess the ability to control the basilisk, curtesy of me. Confidence is key to overpowering the beast.
Well, that helps a lot, Scorpius thought sarcastically. Then he had an idea, though he didn't have a clue how he thought of it.
He took a deep breath, stepping closer to the basilisk. Its forked tongue slipped in and out of its mouth hungrily, its eyes gleaming brighter. Scorpius focused his gaze directly at the serpent, using all his willpower to command it. He watched as the basilisk's eyes seemed to glaze over, its body slacking from its attack stance.
"Heel," Scorpius commanded firmly in Parseltongue.
The basilisk cowered and coiled its body, hissing tonelessly, Yes, master.
Scorpius heard Salazar chuckle deeply in his head. Excellent, my boy.
"Scorpius," Rose said softly from behind him. He'd almost forgotten she was there. Controlling the basilisk had cleared his mind of everything happening around him. It felt so exhilarating.
The basilisk hissed as Rose approached cautiously, but Scorpius told it, "Stay."
He noticed the look of astonishment and shock upon Rose's face. Suddenly, she jumped up and wrapped her arms around Scorpius's neck, making his whole body tense up. He couldn't believe she was actually hugging him. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her waist, squeezing tightly and inhaling her sweet scent. Rose's aroma had never changed.
"I don't know how you did that, but it was amazing," she whispered, pulling away and pressing a light kiss to his cheek. Scorpius felt a burning sensation as her lips left his skin. "We would've been done for if it weren't for you."
Scorpius gulped and blushed, noticing that their arms were still wrapped around each other as Rose peered up at him. "I owe it all to Salazar, really."
"I don't care," Rose said, giggling, looking into his eyes. "It was still bloody amazing."
The two got lost in each other's eyes, and Scorpius couldn't stop himself from leaning in. Before their lips got a chance to meet, the doors to the Room of Requirement burst open, making them jump away from each other. Their eyes met Albus and Holly's, whose were wide with panic. Both of them froze when their gazes fell onto the gigantic basilisk laying on the floor.
"Is that the...?" Albus choked out.
"Yes, it is," Scorpius told him. "Don't worry. It won't hurt you as long as I'm here."
Albus and Holly stared at him, obviously confused, but didn't question Scorpius as to how he was able to keep the monster so calm. They carefully walked around the serpent and joined Scorpius and Rose, who were still blushing from almost kissing. If only they weren't interrupted...
"We've got a huge problem," Holly said, both she and Albus pale and out of breath. They looked like they'd just run several laps around the perimeter of the castle.
"Bigger than that?" Rose asked, gesturing towards the basilisk. It hissed at her indignantly.
Albus and Holly exchanged glances before replying simultaneously, "Much bigger."
"What is it?" Scorpius asked them, almost too afraid to ask. What could be worse than a basilisk loose in the school?
"Death Eaters," Albus answered, then gulped and added, "They're in the castle."
"You're correct about that," a low voice said from nearby. Scorpius froze. He'd heard that sneering voice before, and the last time he'd heard it, he had wished that he would never hear it again. Wishing was for suckers.
The four friends brought their gazes to the source of the awfully familiar voice, each of their faces paling greatly with horror. Standing in the doorway of the Room of Requirement was Lucius Malfoy, joined by two fellow Death Eaters. Each of them were grinning wickedly.
~ ~ ~
Oh dear, this is not good...
I feel like I've been saying that phrase a lot after every chapter lately. XD
Okay, I have excellent news. *drum roll....*
THIS STORY HAS HIT 50K READS!!!
I'm not even joking, when I woke up this morning and checked my Wattpad and saw my read count, I literally squealed with joy. All I can say is thank you guys so freaking much. This is a big milestone for this story and never in a million years did I expect it to happen. It makes me so happy seeing all the support this story has received. Just THANK YOU.
My next goal is 100k reads. You think we can do it? :)
By the way, the next chapter will either be uploaded tomorrow or Friday! I love you guys so much! Please vote, leave a comment, and possibly share! Thanks again for everything! *infinite kissy faces*