Soldiers and Serpents //Scorbus

14 Just Words

In the next couple weeks the castle saw the change of weather and the change of scenery. Outside, students would be advised to not draw attention to themselves. Dementors guarded the castle from possible evil, but they weren't there to harm the staff or children. Scorpius wondered on more than one occasion if they'd go after him- if they would be able to sense darkness in him. But after a few visits to the outside stoner slope, his worries started to ebb away. They were creepy, with their black ripped cloaks and chilling screams.

While it was turning into winter anyways, the snow on the ground seemed to be extra cold when the creatures were around. Headmistress McGonagall explained that they were only here to protect them, announcing that Daniel had been kidnapped from here. That the man who kidnapped him- Argulus Selwyn- had used polyjuice potion to call him out from Hogwarts posing as his muggle foster parent. This was all that the students were talking about. The upcoming winter formal and final exams were just around the corner. Christmas break was not far away, and many students were already boasting about where they and their families were going.

The twins weren't looking forward to it. For them, Christmas break meant a couple weeks of solitude. Loneliness in the big mansion that's their home; while Draco worked. From what Rose said, Draco was still allowed to go home and work; but he was still under investigation by the Ministry. Nothing had come of it, so they were mostly focusing their efforts on Argulus Selwyn and his motive for kidnapping Daniel. As far as everyone is concerned, Daniel was an ordinary foster kid. He had some issues but that was all. Nothing that indicated his real bloodline. There wasn't any record of his parentage.

Thanksgiving was a day off for the students as well. Many of them went home, but there were some who stayed to study for exams. Including Scorpius and Albus. "Knight to G5." Scorpius announces, a smug expression on his face. As the chess piece moves across the spaces to the square, the marble piece comes alive. A small figure with knight armor crashes its sword into the Black Queen, shattering the piece. Albus gapes across from him.

"What?!" He exclaimed. "I hate this game."

"That's because you suck at it." Scorpius laughs. The Great Hall was mostly empty, the four house tables had few students. Some reading to study. Some playing games like this. "Didn't your dad ever teach you wizard's chess?"

"No. My brother did." Albus replies. "But I think James wasn't actually teaching me to be good at it. In hindsight, he was probably giving me all the worst tips." He shakes his head, despite the goofy grin on his face. "I shouldn't be surprised. I thought I was good. I beat Rose more times than I can count."

"Rose is good at Quidditch, clearly not chess if you could beat her." Scorpius retorted, dramatically emphasizing how terrible Albus was at this. He watched Albus react, but the other boy was looking at the chessboard, pondering his next move. Then his face lights up suddenly. "What?" Scorpius looked back at the board, trying to figure out why he was suddenly giddy.

"Pawn to E5." Albus makes the move, and Scorpius's throat falls into his stomach as he realizes. "Check." The brunette boy says with a smile. His bishop was in line to take Scorpius's white King. Scorpius crosses his arms over his chest, looking at the board for a moment.

"Don't celebrate yet, Potter. You haven't won."

"I will." Albus says with confidence. Scorpius scratches his chin, studying the board.

"Queen to G4." Scorpius finally decides, watching as Albus's smile starts to disappear. "Checkmate." Scorpius tells him, and the boy lets out a saddened groan. "Hey, at least you can beat Rose, right?" Scorpius adds as a joke.

"Why couldn't you just let me win?" Albus pouts, drinking his green tea from the mug.

"It's not in my nature." Scorpius takes a sip of his coffee. Thanksgiving morning was going great so far. After breakfast, many students who had stayed behind left to Hogsmeade. Some were organizing a party later that evening. Scorpius didn't care much about thanksgiving. It was an American tradition. Students only used it as an excuse to get Thursday and Friday off so that they could visit home or get drunk. He had to listen to his father Draco lecture him about how Hogwarts was dumb for allowing Thanksgiving to be celebrated in England anyways. Since that lecture a couple years ago, Scorpius didn't think his opinion changed on the matter.