Soldiers and Serpents //Scorbus

8 Secrets

Scorpius walked up to the Place, the street was dark around him. A muggle hurried home in the cold night air, but otherwise it was vacant. The townhouse emerged from the other surrounding homes. Expanding before Scorpius, no longer hiding behind the Fidelius Charm. He walked up to the door, the wot iron gate creaking eerily as it closed behind him. He held the broomstick in his hand, and touched the handle of the front door. It magically unlocked under his touch. This place was filled with magic. He assumed it unlocked because he was pure-blood. Either that, or because he was descended from the Black family.

As he entered the house, and the door shut behind him, there was a long and concerning groan that filled the long hallway he was met with. Scorpius waited for a moment, looking around in the darkness. He didn't get a chance to light his way, though. As soon as he grabbed his wand an invisible force threw him into the air and backwards into the door. He landed crumpled on the floor. A gnarled, frightening voice split the air. "Who would trespass into the Noble House of Black?" Scorpius gasped for air, blinking rapidly to try and adjust to the darkness. He stood up, extending his wand out.

"Lumos." At the spell, his wand burst into light, illuminating the hallway. Scorpius's eyes fixated on a haunched over figure. He thought it was an animal at first, but then saw the clothing and the ears. The house elf immediately lowered his eyes as he recognizes Scorpius. Which was weird considering the fact Scorpius had never met him before.

"Kreacher apologizes for the outburst against Walburga's grandson." He rasps. Scorpius's eyebrows furrowed together. Grandson?

"She's my great aunt, what do you mean grandson?" Scorpius Malfoy demands, looking down at Kreacher. The house elf bends his neck down a bit, clearly seeming to fear what Scorpius would do. The boy didn't want to hurt anything, even a House Elf. His mother, Astoria, was rather a softer maternal figure than past Malfoy's. Scorpius may have a bad temper and a heavy punch, but torturing something innocent wasn't engraved into his blood.

"Kreacher has been expecting the sons of Cypress Riddle to come. It was foretold by the father." The house elf rambles. Scorpius's eyebrows furrow together. Cypress Riddle? The image of the engraved 'R' on the two matching rings sprang up in his head. He was about to question for details, but the elf turns away, stumbling down the hallway. Scorpius grabbed his bag and broomstick, still using his wand to light the way, and follows the elf.

"Why aren't you freed, Kreacher? Isn't Harry Potter some moralistic wizard who's against house elves?" Scorpius inquired. The elf sounded angry when he replies.

"Kreacher doesn't answer to Mr. Harry Potter. Not as long as House of Black lives." He says. Scorpius tried not to roll his eyes. He was told a different story, but what was the point of arguing with a house elf?

"Why do you call him Cypress Riddle?" Scorpius paused, climbing the stairs behind the elf. Kreacher snaps his thumb and forefinger together, and lights along the wall flicker to life. The Malfoy boy puts his wand away, being able to see clearly now.

"Cypress is the bastard offspring of Walburga Black after her late husband Orion Black died. His father, Tom Riddle abandoned him when he lost his body the night he killed the Potters." Kreacher explains. Scorpius stayed silent, trying to weigh his words, if they were true or not. He'd like to believe it was a load of crap; but Scorpius didn't think Kreacher had anything to gain from making this up. "Cypress strives to take the last name of his paternal grandmother, Gaunt. To continue Salazar Slytherin's legacy. It was Sirius Black who cast the Black name upon him, and Cypress was manipulated into becoming a Mudblood sympathizer-"

"Your monotoned voice is hard enough to listen to, drop the pure bloods-are-superior act." Scorpius snaps, the house elf whimpers softly. The dyed platinum boy reached the second story of the townhouse, and looked around. Surprisingly, it didn't look as dirty as he was expecting considering it's been abandoned for ten years- according to Albus. In fact, Scorpius started to not believe that it was vacant. He kept his eyes open for someone to come out of a room. "Cypress is dead, according to the Ministry and everyone else."