Soldiers and Serpents //Scorbus

39 The Flood

A couple days later in the library is when Scorpius finally brought up Aries's suggestion to Albus. They sat across from one another, working on different parts of the same textbook to copy notes at the end instead of having to do the entire chapter. "Have you heard of instinctual magic?" Scorpius casually asks the boy. Albus nods, finishing writing something down before looking over at him. His brunette hair had highlights of red under the lighting in here, catching Scorpius's attention for a few seconds.

"Yes. It's the same magic that protected my dad as a baby. You know, when he got his scar." He explains. Scorpius wracked his brain for that information; recalling people saying that Lily's love protected Harry. Perhaps since love is an emotion it was instinctual. He was only a little surprised that Albus had already known about it, especially since Scorpius hadn't read about it anywhere. Then again, why would he have reason to? "Most people have some degree of it, but it's rare someone can actually use theirs. Why do you ask?"

"Well..." He thinks of how to approach the subject. "Do you remember when we were in the forest that night?"

"Which time?" Albus met his gaze. So he lowered his voice.

"When I kissed you for the first time." He clarifies, having made the connection between the storm and instinctual magic just that morning. The brunette smiles, like he was recalling it, and nods. "Do you remember the thunderstorm that randomly came on?"

"You think it was instinctual magic?" The boy finished the thought and contemplated it. He shrugs. "Could be. People usually have a block in their mind preventing stuff like that from happening though, so it's probably just coincidence."

"Well it's more like a gate, instead of a block. At least that's how Aries describes it." He leans back in the wooden chair, straightening out his white collared shirt under the sweater he wore. He was going to be glad not to have to wear a school uniform after Hogwarts. After five years it gets a little agitating. Tying a tie every single morning? Ridiculous. One of the reasons why he usually didn't bother with his tie to begin with.

The amount of first years who struggle tying their ties too- it was appalling. They should just do away with them. Albus always wore his, even now. Poking through the top of the sweater was his green and silver striped tie. Maybe he had other reasons of wearing it though too. And perhaps he'd tie up Scorpius with it- especially considering the scowl that had crossed his face at the mention of Aries.

"And what is Aries trying to do with instinctual magic?" He demanded.

"Nothing. She offered to open the gate in my head." Scorpius explains slowly, like talking to a stray cat.

"Oh. Well, if you caused the storm then it's not a good idea to open the gate. If you're asking for my opinion." Albus closed his textbook, too distracted in the conversation to continue reading. His eyes were narrowed in a suspicious way; as though already making his mind up on the situation.

"I didn't but I'm open to hearing you out anyways. Why isn't it a good idea?" He invites the boy to continue, knowing he had more to say. He always did when it came to Aries.

"If you managed a full storm with a gate in your head, then opening it would unleash that full power. Because if you can create weather like that with the gate, how bad could it be without the gate controlling it?" Albus shook his head.

"So you don't think I could control it?" Scorpius challenged, and the brunette cleared his throat before answering immediately. Calculating his response.

"Maybe you could. But because there's a chance you can't, is it worth the risk?"

"Without it Daniel may kill me. That's his task. To bring me- either dead or alive- back to Selwyn by high Spring. Personally I don't want to gamble with my life on the line." Scorpius elaborates, seeing the inner workings of the other boy's brain turning. He could feel it actually, feel the thoughts. He couldn't read them or access them without Albus feeling it- but the Legillimency wasn't just reading a mind. It was feeling it. Feeling the emotions and confusion, contemplation. He tried to stay out of Albus's head- but that deep thought reeled him in.