Soldiers and Serpents //Scorbus

26 Casual Deatheater

It was early morning when Scorpius and Raven arrived home. The time was somewhere around four am, the sun barely coming up. Oliver's mother died only a couple hours earlier, and the twins had stayed to comfort and say their goodbyes. Oliver spent most of that time crying, and Scorpius spent most of it hugging him. Now the twins walked up to the manor and went inside, both of them weary and tired. Raven gave Scorpius a soft hug before they trudged to their separate rooms. As Scorpius entered he was surprised to see Albus there. Albus was sitting up on the bed, laptop open in front of him. Scorpius's eyes widened. "What- you were here all night?" He sees that the boy had borrowed some more of his clothes. Albus climbed off the bed and went up to him.

"You're not mad are you? I stayed because I was worried. And my dad said it was okay." He frowned. "I also borrowed some clothes... I hope-"

"It's fine. It's all fine." Scorpius nodded, too tired to really care at all. "I'm going to shower. I'm all... hospital smelly." He explains. Albus didn't know very much about Hospitals or their smells so he just nodded, watching as Scorpius grabbed a tee shirt, boxers, and sweats to change into afterwards. It was maybe twenty minutes later when Scorpius returned from the bathroom, smelling fresh and feeling better now that all the tears and sadness was washed off. Not that the sadness wasn't still there, but physically he felt renewed. His hair was towel-dried but still very damp. Scorpius slipped into the sheets next to Albus. "Did you sleep?"

"Yes, a little. I showered too last night. Your dad didn't care that I was here. He even warmed up dinner for me." Albus told him, looking down at the boy who was cuddling his pillow already. "Did you sleep?"

"Not enough. I could probably sleep my entire Saturday away." Scorpius mumbled. Albus closed the laptop and set it on the Nightstand, waving his hand and magically turning off the bedroom light from where he was. The boy pulled the blankets back to get into as well, laying down beside his bestfriend.

"We'll sleep it away together." He offered, moving a little closer. "Are you okay?" He whispered.

"I will be." Scorpius readjusts so that the boys were sharing the same air. He was a little cold in his tee shirt, and he started to regret not grabbing a pullover. "We can cuddle if it's not weird for you." He offers softly.

"It's not weird at all." Albus agrees instantly, rearranging. Scorpius ends up half on, half off of Potter's chest. Their legs somewhat entwined and sprawled across one another. Scorpius using Albus's shoulder as a pillow, his arm curled around the boy's torso. Albus ran his fingers through Scorpius's damp hair, muttering a charm under his breath to prevent any of his limbs from falling asleep and tingling like he being attacked with ants.

Scorpius falls asleep first like that, breath fanning onto Albus's neck. Potter took a little longer to actually doze off, enchanted with admiring the blonde in his arms. His eyelashes, creaseless face. Calm expression. His face shape and jawline. Albus was pining after this boy. Merlin's beard. "I'm obsessed with you." Albus murmurs softly, and Scorpius didn't even stir in his sleep.

The manor was dark, no lights were on and no candles were lit. It looked very gloomy compared to how Scorpius remembered it. Now, walking though, was foreboding instead of homely. There's the sound of movement within the walls, like something was inside them. Fear pricked along his spine. Scorpius knew he was dreaming, it was a lucid dream state where he was somewhat aware, but couldn't control what was happening. He walked forwards towards the dining hall where the long table sat. The room wasn't lit up brightly like it usually is.

Now, only a few candles were situated around. The shadows in the corners were stretched and flickered. All chairs at the table were filled with people who looked rough. Scorpius tried to place some of them, but he couldn't. Then he saw Cypress Black, and a few seats away his own father Draco Malfoy. Lucius sat beside him and so did Narcissa. Scorpius stepped forward, and no one seemed to notice him in the room. A woman floated above the table, clearly having been tortured considering the state of her agonized face. The hair at the nape of Scorpius's neck stood on end. This felt like more than a dream. Like he was walking into another life.