Playlist Ch. 17: 'Walk On Water Or Drown' by Mayday Parade

Chapter Seventeen: Feathers, Letters, and Fists

Whoosh.

Whoosh.

Flexing its wingspan, the eagle owl stretched out its feathered wings, riding one breezing current to the next as it came closer and closer to the massive stone structure standing out against the horizon. Sweeping around the castle’s turrets and towers, the bird sank in the drifting air currents, the open windows of the building’s largest hall beckoning it inside.

Closing its limbs about itself, the owl sailed through the nearest window and let out a hailing hoot as it soared above the heads of hundreds of students all chattering loudly around four long tables. Not seeing the blond head it sought out, the owl soared past another window’s frame and out into the grounds, the sun suspended high above in the noonday sky before spotting its target, blond hair rustling in the faint breeze, the long scarlet tresses of the girl in front of him whipping back into his face every few seconds.

Scorpius spat out another mouthful of his girlfriend’s hair, scowling down at her as she dissolved into giggling peals of laughter.

She tried to compose herself but failed, unable to keep the smile from forming on her lips. “Did you honestly just spit out my hair?” she exclaimed.

Scorpius raised a brow towards her, waving another whipping strand out of his eyes when it sailed past her sparkling green eyes, still dancing in amusement. When he pushed her hair back once more, it was her turn to scowl.

“Aren’t you supposed to be writing lovesick poems about my flailing scarlet locks, or should I dismiss all those romance books my roommates have as less than reliable sources?” she teased.

As another breeze sent her scarlet locks straight into his face, Scorpius seized the long tresses in his hand, lazily winding his fingers around the bundle until he was gently cupping the base of her skull, leaning her head back so that she was looking up at him, her slender neck arched.

“I’d write you a bleeding novel all about your fiery briar-patch of hair,” he smirked. “There’ll be chapters and chapters dedicated to the odd taste of your shampoo and the way it caught in my teeth like twine and floss.”

Lily wrinkled her nose up at him. “That’s disgusting!”

“I know,” Scorpius replied back sagely, nodding his head with a martyred expression, only the amusement in his grey eyes giving him away. Without preamble, Scorpius pulled her head further back, leaning forward to press a kiss to the curve of her neck.

Lily groaned pleasurably but before Scorpius could even congratulate himself on his success, he felt her fingers reaching upwards to grip his much shorter blond hair, tearing his face down further to hers.

“Ow! Damnit, Lily!” he cursed.

She giggled throatily at her boyfriend and released his hair once he let go of her own, the scarlet strands flying back into his face once more with an audible thwack.

Scorpius rolled his eyes while Lily continued to chuckle to herself.

Shaking his head and leaning lazily back against the outer steps of the school, Scorpius breathed a deep sigh, squinting slightly when he saw what looked like one of his father’s business owls soaring above them, having just left the open windows of the Great Hall.

Lily’s voice pulled him out of his trance, her fingers reaching back to lightly trace the wrinkles furrowed between his brows. “Scorpius, what’s wrong?”

Scorpius blinked, looking confusedly down at Lily and then back up at the owl slowly circling overhead, moving steadily downward.

“Scorpius?” Lily repeated, following his line of sight towards the owl, her own eyebrows knitting together.

“I think that’s my father’s,” Scorpius muttered, pushing himself to his feet as the owl swooped down towards them.

“Your father?” Lily asked, watching as the large eagle owl landed on Scorpius’ outstretched arm.

Swallowing and casting a wary glance back at Lily, Scorpius untied the thin scroll from the owl’s leg. The instant he had the parchment scroll in his hands, the owl took off despite Scorpius’ protests.

“Wait, you stupid bird! What if I need to send a reply?” he muttered irritably.

“Maybe the note doesn’t need one,” Lily suggested, biting down on her lower lip.

Scorpius quieted at that, glancing back at Lily once more where she still sat on the outside steps. Looking back down at the thin scroll in his hand, Scorpius tapped the seal once with his wand, the parchment unfurling itself into a small scrap, torn haphazardly from one of his father’s office stationeries. What caught him off guard though was the cursive yet messy penmanship, certainly not his father’s and if he wasn’t mistaken…

Yes, when he scanned the note, he could see Amber’s name scrawled across the bottom, the words ‘I’m so sorry,’ preceding her signature.

Without understanding why, Scorpius felt his fingers tighten over the piece of parchment, almost tearing it, his grip was so taut.

Lily didn’t move from where she sat, watching him apprehensively as his eyes narrowed and his breathing stilled.

“Scorpius?” she asked quietly.

He didn’t answer for a moment and when he finally raised his eyes to hers, Lily sucked in a breath at how dark and shadowed his face had suddenly become. She immediately pushed herself to her feet and moved towards him but he flinched away when she reached out to touch his shoulder.

“Scorpius, what is it?” she asked.

“I-I…” His voice shook and he wet his lips, seemingly at a loss for words.

Cautiously, Lily reached for the parchment, her fingers gently closing around it, as though silently asking permission to see it. Scorpius’ expression hardened, unsure if he ought to let her but she finally managed to gently pry it away from his fingers, turning it towards her so that she could read the scrawled and hastily written script.

He was watching her with hooded eyes, his silver irises sharp as iron, shaken and even a bit desperate. Desperate to tear the parchment from her fingers or to hit something, he wasn’t sure.

“Scorpius,” she read, quietly and slowly though her curiosity was already gnawing at her insides, demanding to read it faster, to know what was troubling him when he’d been calm and relaxed only moment’s before. Lily softly cleared her throat, her voice translating the scrawled patterns into actual words with meanings as she continued.

“I am so sorry for having to send this, as I’m not even certain if what I saw is real, but I had to tell you or our friendship and House ties never meant a thing.” Lily glanced up at her boyfriend with eyebrows knit together. “I thought this was from your dad…” she trailed off.

Scorpius only shook his head, “No, Amber, she, she’s a secretary in his office. Must have used one of their post owls.” He paused, averting his gaze for a moment. “She graduated only last spring from here. We always promised to be honest with each other, especially if there was bad news of any kind.”

“Bad news?” Lily repeated, feeling a knot forming in her stomach.

“Just keep reading.”

Lily glanced back down at the parchment, feeling the weight of Scorpius’ stare boring into her. She wet her lips and continued. “Our office only opened an hour ago and already your father had a visitor, unannounced and… warmly welcomed. They disappeared into his office and Scorpius, she wasn’t your mum. I don’t know if there’s something going on with your dad and this woman or not but I figured you may know better than I. I didn’t catch her name, she was in tears when she got here and I couldn’t make it out, but she had unmistakable red hair and if I’m right, I think it's Mrs. Potter. I’ve seen her in the society pages with her husband and… well, he wasn’t with her when she came only a few minutes ago. I checked and rechecked your dad’s business appointments but he didn’t have any company related business with this woman or anyone else today. Scorpius, I, I think… that there’s a bad reason for them closing the door behind them. I’m so sorry to end like this, with only suspicions and… I’m so sorry— Amber.”

Lily sucked in a breath, blinking rapidly as her eyes rescanned the parchment, her heart pounding in her chest.

“No, no, she… she wouldn’t really leave my d-dad would she?” she asked chokingly, her fingers balling the scrap of paper in her fist. Lily shook her head back and forth, wanting the messy script burned against her eyelids to go away, wishing she’d never read the letter. She took a step back, nearly stumbling on the stairs, finally prompting Scorpius to action as he shot out a hand to grip her arm and pull her back against his chest, preventing her from falling though it nearly toppled them both.

Swallowing thickly and with his breathing uneven, Scorpius looked down at the girl in his arms, both their faces registering the shock that had yet to fully sink in, Lily’s face even paler than his, each freckle standing out against her skin.

“Lils, I…”

“You don’t, you don’t really think…?” Lily broke off, blinking back the tears building in her eyes, her face crumpling. “What the hell is going on?” she whimpered brokenly, hardly able to breathe.

Scorpius wrapped his arms around her small frame, pulling her back against his chest as he burrowed his face against the slope of her shoulder. “I don’t know, I don’t know, Lily.”

She let out a miserable cry, the sound muffled against his robes and Scorpius squeezed his eyes tightly shut, feeling his jaw clench and wanting to destroy something. All he could picture was his mother’s face, crumpling in tears as Lily was now shaking with, the force of them racking her much smaller body with violent trembling.

Her fingers fisted themselves in the fabric of his robes as she began crying in earnest and Scorpius held tightly to her, his anger boiling just beneath the surface of his veins. As his arms clenched around her, however, Lily felt herself tense up, suddenly pressing her palms against his chest and pushing back from him, still struggling to breathe.

“They can’t have… I can’t… Time to think…” she spluttered, shaking her head back and forth and stumbling away from him, bringing a trembling hand up to her face, tears falling fast down her cheeks. Scorpius darted after her, seizing her shoulder as he spun her back around to face him but Lily pushed him away, something inside of her snapping so that she was suddenly near hysterics.

“Don’t touch me, Scorpius!”

“Lily, calm down!”

“Calm down?” she cried, “Calm down? Scorpius, I… I…” she broke off with a frustrated cry, tearing back from him once more and stumbling into the castle, sucking in a sharp breath as she reached out towards the wall for support, feeling faint.

Strong arms grasped her from behind, spinning her back so that Scorpius was tightly gripping her shoulders, his angry face only inches from hers. “You don’t get to be the hysterical one, Lils!” he spat. “It was your mother at my dad’s office! Not the other way around!”

“Are you saying this is my fault?” she cried, shoving him back as though to get away but he recovered easily, his hands now grasping her elbows, ripping her closer to himself as he growled at her, their faces inches apart.

“I’m saying this would have never happened if your mother hadn’t gone looking for him!” he roared, his shout echoing throughout the crowded Entrance Hall around them. Students were openly staring but it meant nothing to either of them, caught up only in their heated row, their chests heaving in anger and shallow breaths. “Everything,” Scorpius spat, “every last bloody thing that’s happened is all your mum’s fault!”

Lily burst into tears, screaming past them at the furious boy holding her.

“You think I don’t know that?” she cried, “You think I don’t know that it’s because of her? That it’s all because of her? The fight yesterday, Rose, everything!” she sobbed, her tiny fists flailing against his chest.

Scorpius blanched at the cries tearing themselves from her, his grip immediately loosening as she continued to rail against him. He pulled her against his chest, his arms winding so tightly around her that it was a wonder she could breathe, still fighting him though her movements soon became limp, her hands falling to her sides and her body sinking against him, sobbing into his chest.

Quietly trying and failing to soothe her, Scorpius glanced around himself, realizing all too late that another Gryffindor had seen their heated exchange, the furious green eyes of Albus Potter flashing as he lunged forward.

“You bloody bastard!” he roared, throwing himself forward in his sister’s defense.

Seizing Scorpius by the cuff of his robes, Albus tore him away from his younger sister, throwing the Slytherin boy unceremoniously to the floor, his hands bracing himself just in time to break his fall.

“Albus!” Lily shrieked. She raced forward but her brother shoved her back, heedless to her sharp cry.

Infuriated, Scorpius shoved himself up from the ground, wheeling about to face Potter, both fists raised. Without any warning, Albus’ fist shot forward, his knuckles ramming hard into Scorpius’ cheek, the force nearly shattering the teeth inside his skull, blood spewing from his split lip.

Scorpius slowly reached up almost as if in a trance as he felt blood soaking his fingertips. Relishing the chance to hurt something, anything, Scorpius wiped the back of his hand over his profusely bleeding lip, turning to face Albus once more. He caught sight of Lily’s frightened eyes and heard her cry for him to stop but it was too late.

He launched himself at her brother, the weight of their sudden crash knocking both seventeen-year-old boys to the stone floor, the entire Entrance Hall full of students exploding in a cacophony of noise.

Scorpius heard Lily screaming for them to stop. He could hear the tears ripping at her vocal chords, see the flash of her red hair as she rushed forward to stop them, suddenly torn back by her other cousin Hugo, the short yet stocky fifth year holding her back, screaming for Albus to pound Scorpius senseless.

The boys fell into a fierce and furious rhythm of sharp punches and flailing fists, each out for nothing more than the other’s blood splattering their robes.

“Don’t you ever touch my sister again!” Albus screamed, slamming Scorpius’ head back to the ground.

Scorpius gasped in sudden pain as the world around him inverted itself, a searing pain shooting through the base of his skull and dizzying his every sense. He choked for a moment, dully wondering if the extended Weasley family was made of something he couldn’t fight back against, remembering again how easily the fifth-year-boy had beaten him the day before. With the dull roar of students’ screams echoing around them, Scorpius began to force himself up despite his throbbing skull, screaming in fury as he threw his entire weight against Albus, shoving him to the ground with a satisfying slap of a body hitting the stone floor.

Sounds around them exploded with screams and Scorpius staggered on his feet, Albus righting himself as they prepared to throw themselves back into the Muggle duel once more.

“Scorpius, stop it!” Lily screamed, her cry echoing around the crowded hall.

*

Rose’s glass of pumpkin juice fell through her slack hands at the sounds of raised screams coming from outside of the closed double doors of the Great Hall, flinching back in shock. Meeting the eyes of others throughout the Great Hall, Rose hastily pushed herself up from her seat, racing behind the footsteps of others as they headed to the Entrance Hall, the shouts of teachers demanding that they return to their seats.

Rose only quickened her pace, suddenly throwing herself into the growing crowd of students, a sickening and building fear prompting her forward. It was too soon after their fight yesterday. It couldn’t be another student, it couldn’t be a coincidence.

When she heard the screams of students through the doors that others had just forced open, Rose felt her heart leap in her throat, recognizing Hugo’s shouting and Lily’s crying.

Forcing herself past the other gathering students, Rose’s eyes immediately alighted on the struggling forms of the dark-haired Albus and Scorpius’ blond hair stained with blood, the two boys grunting and shouting unintelligibly as they attacked each other. Suddenly there was a sharp crack as Scorpius was thrown back against the stone floor, stunning him for a moment. Rose clamped both hands over her mouth, watching in horror as Albus seemed to advance on the Slytherin boy, cheered on by the encouraging shouts of Hugo and others.

Though she wasn’t sure how she diverted her attention away from Scorpius, Rose forced her eyes upwards, seeking out her brother and seeing a sobbing Lily struggling against him. The younger girl tried ripping her arm back from him, her tear-filled eyes wide with fright every time she was able to see Scorpius, too focused on him to be able to free herself from Hugo. Rose watched with fury building in her chest as her brother seized Lily so tightly he must have been hurting her, actually lifting her feet from the ground by a few inches. She began sobbing hysterically against him and Rose instantly felt herself reaching for her wand; Hugo and Albus had been going on and on about how Scorpius had manhandled her and here her brother was, hurting Lily in the same way.

There was another crash as Scorpius somehow managed to knock Albus to the ground, having righted himself in the time Rose’s attention had been on Lily, the younger girl now screaming for Scorpius to stop fighting, her voice choked with tears.

Utterly furious, Rose whipped out her wand, screaming out a disarming jinx, commandingly. With a sharp crack, the spell exploded outwards from her wand, throwing the two boys to opposite ends of the Entrance Hall. The crowd fell deathly silent, Hugo’s jaw nearly dropping to the floor as he took in his sister’s presence.

“Rose?” he choked.

“Get your hands off of her, now,” Rose snapped, pointing the wand straight at her own brother. He immediately released his cousin and Lily stumbled back from him, casting Rose a grateful look, tears still streaming down her face. Rose nodded sharply and Lily raced forward, not to her brother but to Scorpius’ side, stooping to help tug him to his feet, slinging his arm around herself and helping to shoulder his weight.

The entire crowd of students watched in hushed silence as Rose continued to hold her wand up, waiting until the double doors of the Great Hall were finally thrown open by a pair of furious looking teachers, including Headmistress McGonagall herself.

“WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?” she shrieked, her nostrils flared.

Rose finally lowered her wand, turning to face the Headmistress and taking her attention off of the pair trying to sneak away from the crowd of students, Lily’s redhead bowed beneath Scorpius’ weight, the two slipping off down a side corridor.

“If you’re looking for a culprit, it’s Albus over there,” she answered in clipped tones, pointing off to where Albus was just beginning to push himself up, looking up at her in confusion.

“Rose, what are you…?”

“Silence, Mr. Potter!” McGonagall snapped, turning her attention once more on Rose. “And are you claiming responsibility as the one who ended the fight, Miss Weasley, or are you saying you and your cousin were the ones dueling?”

Rose held the Headmistress’ knowing gaze for a full minute, knowing the older woman had seen her eating at the Ravenclaw table when the fight had first started.

“No, Headmistress,” she answered, “I wasn’t the cousin who was fighting.” She then pointed to her own brother Hugo who still had not gathered up his jaw from where it had fallen to the floor when she’d first cast the disarmament spell, staring at his sister in utter shock.

McGonagall pursed her lips, her nostrils still flared but nodded curtly. “You may go, Miss Weasley.”

Rose strode past the openly gaping crowd of students who all easily parted for her as she made her way down a side corridor, knowing exactly where she was headed.