Reminder that chapters with the "⚠️" contain sensitive and possibly triggering content. Stay safe
—
It was two days later when the beginning of the end started. Scorpius could feel it coming. He was getting these looks from Daniel. It was in Defense Against the Dark Arts when Daniel finally spoke to him. Scorpius was opening his book up, watching Albus fish for a pencil in his bag. Rather amused by the cute scrunched nose and furrowed eyebrows as he grew more and more frustrated trying to find something to write with. The Malfoy pulled a ballpoint out of his pocket finally, and set it over beside Albus. Green eyes looked at the pen and then at his boyfriend, those lines across his face disappearing. "Thanks."

"It's nothing." Scorpius brushes it off, looking to the front of the room for instruction. Daniel comes over then, blocking his view. "What?" The spite was strong in his voice, and he looked up to his brother's cold gaze.

"We're leaving at the end of the week." Daniel tells him. We. Dead or Alive. Scorpius had that spark of defiance tingle his veins, strong enough where a soft pressure started to build up. But he handled it before it could get out of hand, and kept his voice easy and steady.

"I won't be going with you. Tell Selwyn to kiss my ass." He gave a plastic smile, feeling Albus's gaze on the two of them. Calculating if he'd jump into whatever fight was about to start. But Daniel just matches his expression with his own.

"You'll be going, whether you comply or not."

"Come on brother, since when have you known me to comply?" Scorpius didn't waver from his glare, not until Daniel had left the room- seemingly not interested in staying for class. When he's gone Albus gently grabs his arm.

"Is it a good idea to taunt him like that?"

"The only element I haven't practiced with Aries is Earth, Al. If he comes at me, he'll have to go through a hurricane and fire. I'd like to see how that plays out. Don't you?" Scorpius shrugs, but panic was still fringing on his mind. That dark, suffocating abyss that plagued his dreams was a lot more fearful than he'd ever let on. And something told him that when Aries said he could summon darkness- even as an example- there was some truth to that. How was Scorpius meant to do magic in nothingness?

"You aren't who I'm worried about, Scorpius." Albus softly shakes his head.

"I know. I know. There's you and there's Raven, and even Aries he could hurt to get to me. But how am I meant to protect you all when you're in separate places all the time?" Scorpius takes his hand in his own. "Try not to worry."

"What about Christine and-"

"Christine is important. So is Ashton. But they are not my priority. Do you understand?" He wished he could tell him though his head- like Aries could do. To explain exactly what he means. I'd let them die if it meant saving you. Albus may have gotten the message anyways, because he pulled his hands out of Scorpius's grasp.

"Yeah." Albus was cold. "I didn't realize you and Aries had gotten so close."

"She's my best friend, Al." Scorpius answers, not realizing it was going to feel like a slap in the face to the other boy. And he could see the shift in those green eyes. From warmth and concern to disregard and turmoil. Even if Albus could hold it together physically- soft changes in his expression told Scorpius that he had said the wrong thing. "So are you. But you're my boyfriend too." He grasps to remedy himself. The damage was done.

"Don't worry. I get it. Christine is my best friend outside of you." Albus replies, putting his book away and sliding the pen back over to the blonde. "I'll see you later."

"Wait- you're ditching class?"

"I'm going to find it difficult to concentrate considering I'm now processing the fact you're ranking Aries Carrow as one of your top priorities. So yes, I'm leaving." His tone was cruel.

"Albus you know we're good friends. You've known that for awhile." Scorpius felt his heart start to break a little. Please don't make me choose. "Please don't make a big deal." He pleads softly, watching as the boy gets out of his seat and slides in the chair. Please don't leave.

"She's corrupt, Scorpius. I've told you that from the beginning. And I've tolerated it all this time. She's dangerous. I know you guys are close and have some connection I can't understand. But it's not going to end well." Albus says. "We'll talk later, okay?" He added a little more softly, pressing a light kiss to Scorpius's forehead before leaving the classroom. And as soon as he was gone it was like the room begun to close in. It was going to collapse.

Panic stiffened Scorpius's muscles. Relax. He tried deep breaths. He's not leaving leaving. Just for now. An hour. It'll pass like the blink of an eye. Scorpius felt the pressure building up, and let it in. Embraced it softly, ignoring the crawl up his spine and his now-clammy hands. It was a panic attack. He was going to freak out- right here in class. His stomach turned over, nausea rising in his throat. Control. Channel. White fingers gripped the edge of the desk.

Control. Channel.

He was struggling to sooth his heart rate, to stop the overthinking. Just because Albus needs time to himself doesn't mean he was gone for good. He just needs time. Everyone needs alone time once in awhile. Should he be guilty? That he was good friends with Aries- despite whatever? She had given him no indication that she was evil. The poor girl had issues- like everyone else. And she was coerced into making an unbreakable vow. That doesn't make her bad. Albus was overreacting.

Scorpius pinched the bridge of his nose, rubbing his face for touch, for grounding him. It wasn't working. His arms were trembling, he realized. They itched. Like something was crawling under his skin. He needed to leave. He was going to get nuclear, according to the fury in his veins. Scorpius grabbed his bag and left the room as fast as possible. The hallways were empty, other than late students quickly shuffling towards class. He sauntered towards the empty girl's bathroom, and set his book down to splash water on his face from the sink.

The cool liquid seemed to help a little. His stomach clenched, tight from the nausea. Scorpius's hands shook as he pulled out a cigarette, channeling that fire in his veins to light it with ease. He inhaled the smoke, leaning on the edge of the sink. His thoughts raced. What triggered this? Albus wasn't leaving, he knew that. He wouldn't do that. So then why, why was he freaking out? Was it Daniel? No. Scorpius expected some sort of confrontation from Daniel for awhile.

Maybe it was the reminder that Daniel could easily hurt people to get to him. Daniel had no one- no connections. Scorpius had too many.

Love makes you weak.

Aries words rang through his head. Maybe she knew Daniel would try to use someone to get to Scorpius. But how? Aries could defend herself; she wasn't at risk of being used by Daniel. And Scorpius knew Albus would put up too much of a fight for it to be worth it. So when he really thought hard about it, narrowing it down, it was Raven who was a concern. She wasn't terrible at magic, she really wasn't. But Daniel was probably better. Or at least willing to play dirty. So she was the one who needed a warning, a heads up to stay on her toes.

"Scorpius Malfoy." The long drawn out high pitched voice touched his ears. He turned, watching as the ghost floated out of a bathroom stall. Moaning Myrtle. Her hair in pigtails, glasses perched on her nose.

"Myrtle." Scorpius acknowledges, pulling the cigarette from his lips to speak. "Haven't seen you in awhile. You've been snooping, have you?" He wonders, lowering his tone for a more smooth and soft delivery of his words. His hands were slowly not shaking anymore, though his skin crawled and stomach felt sick. Scorpius kept telling himself it was fine. Everything was going to work out. His pessimism said he was wrong, when has things worked out for you?

"Perhaps. Your name is on the tongue of many passing students." She replies.

"What students?" He asked, more to distract himself rather then because he actually wanted to know. Honestly he didn't care less about what students had to say about him.

"I don't know their names." Moaning Myrtle let's out a heavy sigh, like death was depressing. She cast her eyes towards the ground as she floats over towards him, her figure translucent. "Is it true you are dating Harry Potter's son?"

Scorpius nodded in response, lifting his cigarette to his lips. Somewhat expecting the girl to sneer about him being queer. But she didn't, she didn't even flinch, or show a glimmer of surprise.

"He and I were good friends, you know."

"You and Harry Potter? I never heard about that." Scorpius narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the ghost. She hummed in response, and it turned into a longing moan. He waited for her to elaborate and when she didn't, he pressed on. "How were you two friends?"

"He avenged my death of course." Moaning Myrtle says. Scorpius thought about it a moment. He was fuzzy on the details of her death so he had to think. Then it came to him. Yes, his father mentioned it to him before.

"The Basilisk, that lived in the castle. In the Chamber of Secrets. That's what you're talking about?" Scorpius clarifies. She gave a long moan in response. He wondered if she had been so vocal when she was alive too, if that Moaning was because of her death or because she was just annoying. He ran his fingers through his platinum hair that felt rather feathery under his touch. "Do you remember why he killed the Basilisk?"

"He saved Ginny Weasley." Myrtle reminds him. He nods, signaling he'd heard her.

"Even though I don't particularly like him, we have a startling amount in common, now that I think about it." Scorpius says aloud. Both he and Harry were tied to Tom Riddle- and neither of them wanted it. They were subjected to watch people they loved die from an early age. They were willing to do anything to protect those who meant the most to them. Despite all that, why were they so determined to not get along? From the very moment Harry had picked him out in class, they'd clashed. Was it because in some weird way, they could sense they were kindred spirits?

Scorpius tried not to believe that, it seemed too strange. But in his life strange was starting to be normal. He didn't like Harry because everything Scorpius had heard about him growing up made him seem like a self-righteous prick. And now Draco and Harry were friends- in the most casual sense of the word. And he was dating Harry's son.

Scorpius looked back where Myrtle was, but the ghost had once again disappeared.

—-

After classes a day later, Scorpius walked into the Slytherin common rooms. And his eyes gravitated towards where Daniel sat at a table. His head propped up on his fist. He looked bored. And their eyes met as Scorpius went towards the dorms, not breaking that gaze until he left the room completely. Once in the boys dorms he dialed his father's number, holding the phone up to his ear.

He balanced it between his shoulder and ear, freeing up his hands to shove some clothes into a bag. Just in case. It was Thursday. And the end of the week could mean tomorrow or Saturday. Scorpius wasn't going to wait around like a sitting duck. If he had to leave in a moment's notice, he'd be prepared.

"Hello?" Draco picked up after several rings.

"It's me." Scorpius unplugged his phone charger. "Daniel plans on bringing me to Selwyn by the end of the week." His voice tremors slightly. "I told him yesterday in class that I wouldn't be going. But based on the glares he's giving me, I assume he's planning on dragging me there. And may already have worked out how."

"I can take you out of school."

"No." Scorpius shook his head. "I'm not going to run away from him. He's leaving Hogwarts. It'll be safe when he's gone. I just wanted to tell you. And maybe you'd have some ideas as to how he could catch me off guard." His voice quiets a little. "You know Selwyn. How would he do it?"

"Poison. Or a curse. That would be my first thought." Draco sounded like he was walking through a crowded place with many people- probably at the Ministry of Magic, then.

"I've been using the Revealing charm on everything I've eaten since yesterday. No poison. And curses?"

"Anything can be cursed, so be careful about what you touch. Stay close to Raven. I have to go. I'll call you tonight." Draco quickly says. Scorpius hung up without a goodbye, and zips his bag. Albus came into the dorms a few minutes later, glancing over to Scorpius's movements. They hadn't talked much since the other day, just briefly at breakfast and lunch.

"Thought you'd be hanging out with Aries." Albus says by way of greeting. Scorpius looked over at him, but didn't detect any sense of resentment in his voice.

"I'm going to." Scorpius had already prepared what he was going to do today when it came to Aries. He had to get into her head. He knew there was something she wasn't telling him and he probably would need to know by the end of the week. What if it was important? Maybe she couldn't tell him because the unbreakable bond forbade it. She had celebrated every time he successfully used his instinctual magic, and it was getting easier by the day. He hoped it would help with Legilimency.

"You packed a bag." Albus notes.

"I don't know what's going to happen in the next couple days. I'm just covering my bases." Scorpius explains softly. The brunette pulled his jumper off over his head, fixing his hair where the fabric pushed it out of shape. Then walked over to the blonde.

"You shouldn't worry. You're not leaving Hogwarts."

"Not right now. But every instinct in my body is telling me that this is a fight I shouldn't take my chances with. I know I can't leave. I won't leave you and Raven." Scorpius pulls him into a hug. Albus raises his arms over Scorpius's shoulders, hugging tight. "Like I said. Covering my bases."

"Where would you go?"

"I'm not thinking that far ahead. I don't need to." Scorpius pulls away and turns his gaze back to his bag. "Reducio." He didn't need to grab his wand for the simple shrinking charm. The bag immediately shrank, probably smaller than a paper in height and length. He looked over to where Daniel's bed was, seeing how none of his stuff was scattered around like it use to be for so many years. It was neater, and most of it was out of sight. Assumably in his trunk and ready to go.

"Wandless magic?" Albus sounded impressed.

"I can only do small stuff. Aries insists that I can do it in case someone disarms me." Scorpius meets his emerald eyes with shiny grey ones.

"I'm sorry I was cruel about Aries yesterday. I know she's done a lot for you, put herself at risk by helping you." Albus looked away as he spoke, like it pained him to apologize. Scorpius caressed his cheek, shaking his head.

"Don't apologize. I told you. I want to know what you're thinking. Always. We may not agree on everything, especially where Aries is concerned. But I trust her." He strains his tone, emphasizing it as the truth. He did trust her, even if she was hiding something. "I know you don't. But at least trust me."

"I do trust you." Albus agrees, leaning up and giving Scorpius a soft kiss. The tingle spreads from his lips to warm his cheeks from the contact. "Now go. I know she's waiting."

And she was.

Scorpius crossed the lawn towards the trees. Wand in his hand and phone in the other. Aries stood at the tree line. It was a cold overcast day. But no snow was on the ground. Flowers were blooming, grass was green and bright underfoot. The girl didn't say anything as they went into the Forbidden forest. But she didn't stop at the clearing. She led them deeper, towards the lake where the Thestrals were. "What are we doing here?" Scorpius asked, eyes scanning the area for the horse-like beasts. They were no where to be found today. Aries walked to the Lakeside, and he joined her.

Her dark eyes didn't once glance at him as she spoke. "I got another letter from Selwyn. I didn't tell you because I thought you'd get upset with me." She smoothed her hands down the front of her black shirt. It was long sleeved, with loose material around her chest and shoulders. Then had laces that hugged the material to her waist. Her pants were black leather, hugging her legs in all the right places, her boots wedged. She wore minimal makeup since Scorpius had created a monsoon, probably concerned she'd return to the castle looking like a raccoon everyday.

Scorpius's attire was dark as well, as though they coordinate their outfits. He wore a black button up, untucked from his dark uniform pants. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. Combat boots nearly identical to her own.

"Okay." Scorpius kept his voice neutral. Maybe he didn't have to get into her head after all, perhaps this is what she was hiding. Why she'd been so on edge and frustrating this week. Other than the celebratory moments after he'd do something good. "Tell me. I won't get upset." Aries gave a nod of appreciation.

"If you don't join Daniel tomorrow, Selwyn is going to kill Cypress Black." She deadpans. And it grew so silent around them in the forest, it was like all the creatures within the trees were holding their breath. Scorpius set his jaw, his teeth clenched together hard. It didn't matter. There was no way that he'd do it, even with Cypress's life at sake. "I understand if you join him. You don't owe me anything. I don't expect you to help me. I dug my own grave when I made that vow." Aries quickly relieved him, obviously some part of her expected this to change his decision.

"Then Cypress dies." Scorpius's tone was hard. Aries's head snaps towards him in shock, her jet black hair moving like a curtain with the movement. "It's not to save you. I'm not condemning myself to be used as a weapon in Selwyn's war. And why should I care about Cypress? He's blood, not family. He choose not to be a part of my life a very long time ago. I'm not about to sell myself out just to save someone who I hardly know." His words were nothing but honest, plain. Perhaps it sounded cruel. But he saw no flicker of judgement in Aries's eyes. And he realized it was because she understood. She'd have made the same choice, had her own father been on the chopping block.

Amycus Carrow was as much a father to her as Cypress had been to Scorpius. Maybe they had more of a connection than Cypress and Scorpius- but it wasn't enough where Aries would sacrifice herself for him. No, she'd only sacrifice herself for one person. And she'd already done that when she saved Delphini. He still remembered the nervousness on her face when they had gone to Diagon Alley. When he'd pointed inside the bookstore through the glass, where the silvery-haired girl was putting books on shelves.

The mixed emotions Aries had on her face. Relief and resentment. Guilt and hope. How Delphi's face lit up as Aries approached her. Scorpius had watched from outside, not wanting to complicate the reunion. Aries had hugged her. It wasn't the playful friendly affection Aries showed- slinging an arm across Scorpius's shoulders, for instance. It was a real hug. Genuine. Full of emotions that couldn't be expressed.

Aries settled a hand on his arm, and Scorpius scanned her face for some kind of sign this girl was the kind of