In Cauda Venenum

Impossible. Scorpius was an incorrigible, stubborn little brat and Nik would make sure his boyfriend was well aware of the fact, once he was back to being himself and able to chastise him in a more loving way. Or maybe the hard way would be better, because this stupid, adorable blond was putting his arse on the line, oblivious to the finer points of it. Somehow Nikolai hadn’t made the right impression on him, or rather he had but it had been the wrong thing to do in moments like this one.

“Leave the door open,” he commanded harshly. Give the kid a fast way out, because the older one was grasping at straws as far as his self-control was concerned. He’d try, truthfully, not to be hurtful in his words or touches but nothing around him, not the moon he could feel pulling at him even as he was below ground, not the cold stone floor or the very air he breathed; nothing matched his confidence to keep himself in check. He would snap, inevitably, and he’d berate and hate himself for it later on. No matter how, he didn’t want to hurt Scorpius, and that should have been enough, a noble intention, to keep his boyfriend at bay but, woe was he, much too kind and naive for his own good.

Stalking forward like he held all the rage of the world in his legs, the gentleness with which he wrapped an arm around the younger snake, pulling him to the side, was directly proportional to the force with which he near-unhinged the door in an effort to open it. That was how it’d be, then: spare Scorpius, get rough with the furniture. One of those could be replaced, at least, and you’d never find Nikolai Vasile mourning material things. There was very little he got attached to, and school property wasn’t part of it – at least not on those nights. Already he was struggling to stay tame, the wolf bemoaning the lack of ferocious brutality in his every move. Why wasn’t he preparing his body like usual? Why couldn’t the human part of him let the rift between both natures grow, so the animal could feel the breeze and cold welcome of the world he’d soon join again? That wasn’t how things went between them, it wasn’t the pact, the word, the contract– what was wrong?

“Nothing’s wrong,” he made the mistake of whispering. “That’s–” Sigh. How could he make Scorpius understand without scaring him away for good? Because indeed there was that, too. For the first time he found himself timid, almost, and he skirted the issue of his short-tempered days just like he had avoided asking the kid out for weeks, put back flat out confirming his status, too. It was alarming the rate at which he could feel himself grow fonder of the Malfoy heir, and this confusion turned into anxious curiosity on the wolf’s part. Not the kind of meeting he was willing to arrange, by any means. “Thank you. For bringing things. I nearly bit someone’s hand off. She woke me up. I– maybe trying to sleep, yes. Yes.” Dislodging the blankets (warm, he could tell that much just by brushing them with his fingertips; and soft, too, like all things the little scorpion brought in his life), all carried precariously on the one free arm he had as the other was still vine-like around his other half, he rounded out on him, noses but a millimetre away from each other. “You can stay for a little while. A little. And you must promise to hex me if I make a jump for you, alright? Full body-bind, smash me up to the roof, blow one of my limbs to piece if you have to, okay? This isn’t a game. You have to promise.”

Well, that was certainly a tone he’d never heard in Nikolai’s voice. They’d gotten in small spats before but nothing of extreme consequence. Nothing that elicited an intonation like that. Scorpius just didn’t understand what the big deal was. It wasn’t as if tonight was the night of the full moon. For someone who other students were truthfully terrified of, Scorpius didn’t seem to grasp it. He knew Nikolai exaggerated his werewolf qualities whenever he needed to intimidate. Really, trying to intimidate him right now was just preposterous. Why did he mind being taken care of so much?

The dramatics were apparently needed. “You should be laying down. I can open the door…” He flinched the slightest bit in Nikolai’s arms and fought the instinct that was telling him to take a step back and away. Curling closer, he ran a hand down his boyfriend’s chest in a movement to pacify. Well, it was lucky the door was still on in it’s frame. With wide eyes, Scorpius searched Nikolai’s face for anger or even disappointment. This behavior was just bizarre and didn’t line up with the picture he had created in his head. He’d expected his boyfriend lying prone in bed, needing care and attention. Not someone who could rival the Quidditch players for pent up energy.

“Cake,” she replied, sounding out of breath and flustered. She had icing on her face and flour in her hair, but Dominique was so determined to create the delicacy that she didn’t even realise. “What about you? You’re here late too remember.” Dominique smiled, wiping her forehead with her arm and smudging the icing more. There was nothing worse than being dirty, in Dominique’s opinion, so someone seeing her so stressed and messy was a rarity. But as long as it wasn’t one of her cousins, who’d probably make fun of her, she wasn’t too interested in how she looked - she needed to finish the darn cake.

A new school only really had one draw to Sylvia: a new library, with new books. To engage in this pleasure, she would have to find the library first. She knew who to ask for directions. Knowledge like this was in short supply for her these days. She had spent most of her first days at Hogwarts seeking out professor’s offices, classrooms, and quidditch captains, let alone the time she spent finding out whom to inquire about timeturners and extracurricular.

Knowing someone usually wasn’t a great achievement for Sylvia. She found the prestigious, the overachievers and the like-minded with fair ease, atl east prior to her transfer to Hogwarts. Generally she put little weight on acquaintances past what benefits they provided. This acquaintance was a little bit different.

They had known each other for a few years. It’s not as if they were childhood companions, but they did offer each other a safe haven when when the circumstances were right. A little distraction at a party went a long way in bonding. And they both so loved books.

This is how she found herself poised and waiting in the Slytherin Common Room to catch an unsuspecting Scorpius Malfoy.

A break in between classes was a rarity for Scorpius. Though it was always something guaranteed to life his spirits. He had filled his schedule to the brim this year in an attempt to prepare for the coming year of N.E.W.T.s. It was nice, feeling productive, though the need for a breath of fresh air every now and then was somewhat overwhelming.

With Potions canceled that day, and he really wasn’t going to look too into it, he had a great plan and that involved his bed and silence. His bed had been sorely missing him since he had unofficially taken residence in one of the seventh year’s room. Although there was nothing that could beat falling asleep next to someone else, there was something nice about not fighting for the covers and being able to sprawl out.

Well, at least the blond didn’t seem miffed about the touching fiasco anymore, which was all Flenn would dare to ask for. Mistakes due to cultural differences were sometimes hard to explain, especially if you weren’t offered a chance to. “Prefects first, gotcha. I’ll only trust the responsible peeps out there. Are prefects automatically in the upper years? Sixth years, and then Head boy and girl seventh? Or did I get that wrong?” Not that he’d ever want to try out for the position the following year, or however it was that this thing happened. It might just be useful to know whether he should overlook younger students completely next time he got lost.

The chuckle soothed Flenn’s nerves further than the expert advice: he hadn’t vexed Scorpius Pristine Prince Malfoy enough that the guy would throw him off the tower, unless acting nice was all part of his plan. But he had heard only nice things about him, and it was safe to say the school authorities wouldn’t make a guy prefect if he had violent tendencies. “Silence makes everything weird, I dunno how to explain,” he said as he tried all the same. “Like you’re doing your homework, and suddenly: nothing. It’s like maybe everyone’s dead or staring at you for having said something wrong out loud without noticing, and you can hear yourself think, you know? And that’s a pretty dangerous thing, for me at least.” It might be a more widely spread Gryffindor thing, too: it seemed most of them were extroverts, and a little background noise was always welcome – even if it sounded more like a riot than a murmur to the outsider.

Following Scorpius without missing a beat, the fifth year listened intently while still looking around like a paranoid rodent, taking in his surroundings. If the portraits didn’t switch and walk around so damn much all the time, they’d make it much easier not to get turned around. “You must be a very patient guy, then. Especially with first years, this castle is all sorts of spooky.” Ah yes, the staircases too. “Hell, yeah dude it’s like, the first time it happened I cussed all I knew, what’s up with that? It makes no bloody sense, you’d think maybe a button would be nice, so if someone on another level needs the stairs they can call for it, yeah, like an elevator? But nooo, mind you, you gotta get thrown here and there by the bloody fucking stairs! I’m sure they’re laughing inside. Laughing their evil staircase laugh.”

“Fifth year and up, actually.” Though Scorpius wouldn’t say they were all responsible. A majority of the prefects didn’t seem to care and he could see why. The wear of the school year was being to effect him as well and the original drive and prestige of the prefect position was growing old quickly. “The Head Boy and Girl are picked from seventh years. You got that much right. The younger students tend to be less…” Scorpius struggled to find a word that encompassed their spirit. “Involved with school life? About half of them are still getting used to magic in the first place. The others are quidditch fanatics.”

“Really?” A little bit of background noise never hurt anyone but when the Gryffindors were in the library it was practically impossible to concentrate. Scorpius wasn’t one for stereotyping but the shoe was very snug in this case. “I usually find it beneficial to hear myself think. I tend to get a bit lost in my work. Noise can pull me out of it.” He slowed to a stroll once they had ascended to a lower floor. Scorpius wouldn’t allow his own familiarity of the castle to leave Flan behind. It was Flan, wasn’t it?

dominique-weasley-x:

Dominique & Scorpius.

Not one to break the rules, Dominique panicked as she noticed the time getting very close to curfew. She’d decided to bake a cake for her and Victoire, to have during their sisterly get-together the next day. Only she was running behind schedule and the kitchen elves were getting restless. She looked up, hearing the door and sighed. “It’s only you,” she said with relief, realising Scorpius was not a teacher.

@scorphype

“Unfortunately. Were you expecting someone else?” He had popped into the kitchen in the hopes of getting a snack before rounds. Scorpius’s fear of the Great Hall had become real after the Peeves fiasco at the beginning of the year. He no longer felt safe putting anything in his mouth he didn’t see the elves make in front of him. “What are you doing here so late?”

jamesypott:

“Oh goodness, no, I will pass. Seriously.” James chuckled and shook his head at the very thought. Having to keep his cool around a fifth year on a power trip did not sound like a good idea for anyone involved. Any student on a power trip just sounded exhausting, at least then, after the long day he had. He was more than grateful Scorpius is the one he would be dealing with and not some random brat who wanted to make a name for themselves by punishing a Potter. Especially when it was just as easy for him to go beg for a note from someone to excuse his out of character, late night excursion.

“Huh, I thought he told you everything.” That just kind of came out without him thinking about it, hopefully it didn’t cause any rifts. Really, he just assumed that when it came to things that happened between him and Albus, or family issues, Scorpius just already knew. Not because Al was a blabber mouth, but just like James told Freddie just about everything, he assumed Al did the same.

“Well, Nicaisse Bellamy and I were dating this summer and then we weren’t and I didn’t really talk about it much but Albus is good enough at figuring things out and yeah, I went through a rough patch.” James half-assed his explanation. It was awkward and he really didn’t know how he was supposed to explain it, even now having ample time to reflect. “Then Al attacked Nica for my honour, or something and then Al and I got into a fight and now Nica and I are back together and everything is all bloody twisted.” He paused to shake his head and give his companion an apologetic look. “Sorry. You probably don’t want to hear about all of this crap. I’m supposed to have it all together and look out for everyone, right?” He laughed. “Guess I’m not doing so well on that front right now.”

A small grin flickered across his face though he was careful to school his look back to one of neutrality. Scorpius was very pleased that James prefered his company to that of a random student. Even if it was most likely due to the possibility of detention. “It’s not too late for my power trip. I haven’t had one yet this year.”

Choosing that moment to find the stone floor very interesting, Scorpius hesitated to answer. It really wasn’t any of James’s business about his currently strained friendship. He had an inkling that Albus wouldn’t be too happy if he shared all the new details of their relationship and the complications that came with it with his brother. James did know a lot more about relationships than he did. Obviously. “He does. Usually. The summer was quite a spectacle. He might have just forgotten or been distracted by everything we were seeing.” Scorpius knew he certainly had been.

“You did what?” He had chalked the moody boy he’d been sharing a room with, admittedly the brief moments when he left his boyfriend’s to grab some clothes, to their slightly battered friendship. His treatment of Albus as of late had been on the cooler side. It wasn’t nice feeling like you were being replaced slowly but surely by a posh stupid prat. Though the coolness of their bond didn’t give anyone, even his own brother, the excuse to hurt Albus. “It does sound like he acted out but with you in mind. What made you think fighting would solve anything?” Why were the Potter boys always resorting to using their fists? Merlin, a conversation wasn’t the hardest thing in the world. In fact, it usually helped. “You don’t have to apologize for talking to me about this. You’re not supposed to keep everything bottled up. You have to take care of yourself as well.”

Apparently, the answer was yes. Feeling his heart deflate in his chest, Albus crouched down, trying to spot his friend from under the bed. The smile that stretched his lips wasn’t anything to write home about, but it would solidify the warmer the blond got. “It’s okay, I get it. You must have been awfully busy, what with Peeves and all, being a prefect..” He sighed, sitting down to relieve his neck from the strain. His hands were suddenly very interesting to look at. “I’m sorry I haven’t been here for you like I should have. I should have paid more attention to you, this year’s going to be tough with all your responsibilities.”

Eyes following the school items as they flew back into Scorpius’ bag, Al noticed his best friend’s gesture from the corner of his eye, holding out his hand and grabbing the parcel without thought. It was heavier than regular letters, even for Lucius Malfoy, but it was definitely not a book. What could he possibly be pestering his grandson about this time? It couldn’t only be the usual defending the family name and upholding their reputation, unless the old man had decided to write poetry and fables about those. Maybe he was starting his memoirs and wanted an attentive pair of eyes to proofread? The idea had Albus giggling, a reaction he smothered with a hand slapped over his mouth.

A small but hefty pocket watch fell into Scorpius’s lap and before he could control his emotions, he grinned. Every instinct told him this was probably an item that deserved to go in the secret compartment in the bottom of his trunk. But he tossed the parchment aside in favor of examining the watch. He’d seen his grandfather wear this for years and never dreamed he’d even be able to so much as breathe on it. It was silver and scratch-free, abit chainless. A rather gaudy snake adorned the front. A leather strap instead had to be a rather new addition. Throwing caution to the wind again and not checking for any hexes or curses before following his instincts, Scorpius popped open the front of the case. He was pleasantly surprised to see only a small engravement on the underside and not the telltale pull of something wrong in the pit of his stomach. With a soft chuckle, he held out the watch to Albus so he could read the rather outdated family motto. Sanctimonia Vincet Semper. 

Scorpius’s relationship with his grandfather was not an easy one. He was touched that so near his seventeenth birthday Lucius ventured to give him such a prized possession. He knew the older man loved him, there was no doubting that, but he never approved of the way Scorpius’s parents had brought him up and seemed to think it was his job to change that. At least with his grandmother he never had to doubt that she truly loved him and not the idea of him. “My father should have gotten this watch first.” It was a gift and insult all in one. Clever. Though the shiny surface did bring him some comfort, perhaps because he finally had a physical item of Lucius’s approval that wouldn’t get him kicked out of school. 

Apparently he wasn’t the only one, if the look aimed at him was any indication. He released the one hand he had been keeping prisoner, using his now free one to trace a path up and down Scorpius’ torso, staring right back. He didn’t feel like going back to sleep anymore, curiously. Who would have thought making out with his best friend, after having been deprived of him for weeks that had felt like months, would sound more appreciable than sleep? Surely anyone would be as surprised as this ginger, although no such reaction slowed his response down as he was kissed and kissed back once more.

Had Albus always been stronger than him? Scorpius made no move to escape his husband’s grasp, which admittedly wasn’t that tight. “You’re not as sly as you think. Something, though I can’t put my finger on it, tipped me off.” He smiled before glancing down at Albus’s hands. “Convince me? We have class. I want to but...” Scorpius trailed off. He didn’t miss class even for a cold or some few hours of sleep after spending the night doing work. His education came first, regardless of whatever he’d rather be doing. “It’s Creatures day. I don’t want to disappoint Teddy.” 

“Oh good!” He actually found it was better that Albus knew about the tunnel in the first place, but the satisfied grin he bore quickly melted off into a scowl. “Ew, I don’t want a thousand people coming through this tunnel!” Yes, he was upset about that fact, but he was also not surprised. However, he couldn’t exactly see Lucy or Molly traipsing through the dirty dankness of the tunnel to sneak out. “Tell them they can’t come. Wait, no! Don’t even remind them of it so they won’t be tempted to. You wouldn’t happen to know of a spell to make someone forget something small like that?” He’ll have to ask Damien.

“Even if it’s for just a day?” Jay asked, suddenly really disappointed that Scorpius may not be joining him and Albus in their binge-watching day. He had to remind himself that he hadn’t originally been invited in the first place, but the more the merrier, right? “What show? I have a few picked out, but nothing quite set in stone. Maybe I’ll have him sit through the nonsense that is Adventure Time because it’s amazing. It’ll be made even better if we get your fort-making idea a reality. Alb wouldn’t be able to argue both of us down, so this means you have to come.” Jay felt he was being very clever.

“I wouldn’t wager a thousand people but it would seem silly to imagine in a school of hundreds that only three would know about this tunnel’s existence.” He trailed off, taking in his surroundings once more. The lumos from his wand did little to help him see anything of note. Scorpius could have sworn the walls were closing in but he chalked that up to the ever looming darkness ahead. “I...well, I don’t believe that’s something I’m supposed to answer. Nor does that sound legal.” Was there a part of himself that he didn’t know that just seemed to draw anyone who seemed like the slightest bit of trouble?

“Perhaps if it’s just a day. We might be spending Christmas with my mother’s family and that means a lot of hassle going out of the country.” He hadn’t heard the end of his mother’s complaints about how absent he had been on their family vacation. It wasn’t as if she couldn’t have guessed bringing his best friend would distract him most of the time. “I don’t know that many. I’ve seen a few that Al’s showed me but we don’t have a telly. It is telly right? We don’t have a telly at my house.” Overjoyed with the fact that someone else believed in his fort idea, Scorpius processed the previous bit of Jay’s sentence a bit late. “Adventure time? Is it like what we’re doing now?” He certainly considered their current escapades an adventure.