Snowflakes in a Storm - [Scorose]

Chapter 13: Unspeakable

After a few days, the teachers had fixed the clock tower to almost immaculate condition; if you didn't know there had been an attack, you definitely wouldn't have been able to guess that something had happened. Everyone and everything then seemed to go back to normal so easily, I didn't understand how they'd all done it. Of course, there had been talk about what could have happened and why, in the common room from the younger students and away from the constant-listening ears of the teachers, but at dinner during the rest of the holidays, with the professors and Headmistress McGonagall watching over us, no one said a word about it. No questions were asked; no theories put forward, nothing. Whether it was because no one wanted whatever their suspicions were confirmed or because the professors had instructed us to not speak of or think about the event again, I wasn't sure but the eerie silence did not remove my suspicions of another war on the horizon.

Soon enough, the snow stopped, the holidays ended and the returning students were back and we were all going to class and studying for our exams. My thoughts about the attack and what was actually happening in the magical community lingered. I needed to know the reason for it all. Why did my mother have to die the way she did? Why had the school been attacked anyway? What was going to happen next? Rose, of course, would try to reassure me that it wouldn't happen again and all these worrying thoughts I was having were getting in the way of my education; even though in most of my subjects I was still getting O's. I think she was trying to focus my attention on something that wasn't war or attacks and I appreciated the thought behind it but it never worked. Plus, I think she was just as preoccupied by everything that happened as I was.

After just a couple more days of lounging around in the common room and studying with Rose in the Great Hall, trying hard not to talk about everything (even though it was eating away at me), the hustle and bustle of life at Hogwarts began once more. There was a huge feast on the first night that everyone returned with Headmistress McGonagall greeting everyone and wishing good luck with exams that were looming. The NEWT exams were first, then OWL exams proceeded, so us sixth and seventh years wouldn't have all that much to do soon – well, I say "soon", we still had a few months before our actual exams began.

I sat with Albus at the Slytherin table beside Violet Parkinson, another friend of mine and Al's. She was a real bitch and she used to be my companion when it came to torturing the younger students – the problem was that she still did it, I didn't. As Albus piled food onto his plate, from mashed potatoes to chicken wings and coleslaw with a bowl of jelly, ice-cream, custard and rice pudding to the side, I listened as the two of them discussed their holidays. "Did you hear about all the attacks lately?" Violet started as Albus piled in mouthful of his food concoction; no wonder he was good at Potions.

"Can we not talk about that?" I asked, spinning the noodles that lay on my plate around onto my fork and eating them.

"I would have thought that this would be your type of thing, Scorp'." She stated and Albus nodded with his mouth full. "You've always been interested in this type of thing. Attacks and wars and mystery." She stated. To be fair, it was true. Ever since I was younger I'd always found situations like that intriguing. I'd constantly ask my parents and my grandparents about the last wars and while my mother wouldn't really have much to say on the subject, my grandfather and my father would tell me loads about it. My grandfather would explain that he was fighting for the good of the magical world and for a "better tomorrow" and that Lord Voldemort had plans beyond the ministries wildest imaginations but my father would tell me that Lord Voldemort was an awful man. Not even a man but a creature with a desire for immortality and my father was foolish enough to follow in the footsteps of the rest of the Malfoys and join him. He'd explained his part of the war, how he was ashamed of the part he played but young Scorpius was clueless as to who to believe. Old Scorpius... me... I was not clueless.