Soldiers and Serpents //Scorbus

13 Surprise

Scorpius yawned, feeling like the day was going by slow. He all but blinked and lunchtime had begun. Raven sat beside him, looking though a couple designs Scorpius had sketched out for tarot cards. "These are amazing." She gushed. "I wish you'd draw more. You're crazy talented."

"It's just a hobby." Scorpius dismisses it. "Plus, this isn't the Renaissance. No one takes art seriously in the twenty first century. Even art that moves cause of magic." Short pause. "Just pick your favorite one for The Hanged Man and The Fool."  He orders, looking at the pencil drawings. He'd been working on the tarot deck for awhile now, and each card took him several hours to paint and finish. To plan for it, he'd start with sketches to get a general idea of the composition and design. In this case, he didn't actually know which idea to go with.

"Well, this sketch looks like Jesus's crucifixion." Raven pointed to one page of the sketchbook. Scorpius smiles a bit.

"That's the point. Get it? The Hanged Man."

"I think Catholics would find that a bit demeaning."

"I think I don't care. I'm not catholic." Scorpius retorts. "Do you like the other better then?"

"Yeah. It's a picture of a lynching but it's really gloomy. You can see the motion cause how the body is swaying. And the tree texture is really good." She praised the other design. "Maybe you should use the Crucifix one for The Fool." Raven's joke had him laughing. "Obviously I'm kidding. Muggles would start a war over something like that."

"What's so funny?" Albus asked, sitting down across from them. Scorpius closed the sketchbook and shook his head, still smiling wide at his sister's crude suggestion.

"Nothing." Scorpius pulled the sketchbook toward him, and Raven giggles a bit. "How did it go with Luke?" He asked, changing the subject. Albus's eyes curiously looked at the book, but he didn't say anything about it. He figured, if Scorpius wanted to show him what was inside then he would. Even though he was immediately burning with curiosity.

"As well as could be expected." Albus answers, looking behind him to where Luke sat with his friends. The boy had his head propped up on his hand, elbow supporting the weight on the table. Beside him his 'besties' were no doubt talking trash and saying stuff like you deserve better than him anyways. "He said- and I quote- 'I thought you were different.'" Albus turns back towards Raven and Scorpius, smiling a bit. "And I told him- 'I am different. That's why I don't want to go to formal with you.'"

"Well shit, you took a page out of my playbook." Raven looked like a proud mother who's son just told the school bully to fuck himself. That's not exactly what happened, obviously, but it's the same expression. Scorpius snorted a bit, glancing across the room again at Luke. This time, their gazes catched. And then it was clear to him that Luke blamed the Malfoy boy for this. "Are you upset about it?" Raven asked Albus, brushing away a lock of hair from her face.

"No." Albus shook his head. "I didn't feel anything for him. Yeah we were somewhat friends, but we don't have much in common." He told her simply, not going into depth like he did in the dorms with Scorpius. After all, Raven would probably not be interested in all that. "And I knew I had to be harsh. He's very pushy and clingy when he's actually interested in someone. He needed to know I was serious."

"You most certainly don't have to justify your actions to us." Scorpius assures him. Raven nods in agreement. Scorpius combs his hair a little with his fingers, not liking how the product felt to the touch, and drinks his tea. After their meals, Rose Weasley approaches the table where they sat, and Raven beams at her to join them. She sits beside Albus, but puts some distance between them.

"Rose! Did you ask Orion to the dance?" Raven asks the moment she sat. Scorpius resisted the urge to grimace. Orion was a player on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He was completely and thoroughly an ass. No other way to put it. And Rose wanted to ask him? He waited for the answer, but Rose didn't even bother replying to that.