Twenty

I sat in the common room with the plates whirring behind me, a butterbeer in hand. Avery had gone to dinner with Dev. I explained to them that I wasn't going to be able to eat anything with that kind of headache.

I stared at the clock on the wall and the hands stopped in their place. I smirked.

The door burst open with Melaina Achilles, her wand out and pointed at me.

"YOU BROKE IN?" She yelled, walking towards me, pointing her wand at my throat. "I TOLD YOU NOT TO, AND YOU BROKE IN?"

"You never told me not to, you just said that they thought I would!" I defended myself. She gritted her teeth and lowered her wand, and then took a moment to look at the spinning plates. She looked back at me. "How did you know?"

"I was sent an owl ten minutes ago asking me if there was a new Secret Keeper." One of the plates crashed to the ground as I started to lose my concentration on them.

"What did you say?"

"Of course not! Tell me how you navigated at once!" My mind went into a whirlwind of memories but I focused on putting the plates back first. I stood up and grabbed the broom from its place next to the bookshelf, sweeping up all the glass into one pile. I then looked back at Achilles.

"Nike and Avery helped map it out, but we weren't expecting that many hallways and doors. It took us an hour to get through."

"An hour?" She shouted angrily. "It would have taken the average wizard four hours!"

"You pretty much told me the other day that I wasn't average, remember?" I asked, summoning the broken glass intro the trash can. She said nothing for a moment, just watching me. She was as angry as I had ever seen and I wasn't sure why. She was the one who had told me about the chambers, about the titan and god nonsense.

"You figured out all of the puzzles on your own?"

"No, Devereaux Parkinson is a mastermind. He's also my best friend."

"How did you manage to get past the mirrors in the first hallway?"

"We were disguised; didn't know there was any kind of security there."

"Who were you disguised as?"

"You, Harry Potter, and some John Doe character." I looked at her; she was clenching her jaw.

"You will NEVER put my name in jeopardy again, Scorpius. How dare you think it was alright to portray a teacher, nonetheless Harry Potter."

"Unless he's another secret keeper."

"He's not. What did you use, a Polyjuice potion?"

"No, I'm afraid we can't exploit what we used. It's far too dangerous to be talked about." I said, feeling the stone still heavy in my pocket.

"Don't be surprised if your name is on the front page of all the newspapers tomorrow. You're in trouble, Scorpius. I told you to keep quiet, but now the goddamn cat is out of the bag."

"Good lord, calm down! It's not like we stole anything!" She muttered something under her breath and went for the door. "Oh and by the way, I was kind enough to put a constellation of you in the stars." She faltered for a moment and then kept going.

Melaina Achilles was right. My name and picture had been present on most of the wizarding newspapers along with Avery's as well as Dev's. Rita Skeeter found the opportunity to exploit Dev and Dacia's home life as well as Pansy's unfortunate series of men. Dev was crushed, embarrassed by it.

"Dark Lord Prime Suspect in Ministry Break In." Avery read aloud in the common room the next morning. Dev stood before the fireplace, looking down into the flames. Dacia was sitting in one of the living chairs, reading one of the articles. Nike sat next to Avery on the couch and Al sat on her other side. Meredith and Helena had somehow managed to share the other living chair comfortably. Caine was standing near the fireplace also looking in and Francis was looking at the bookshelf as if he were in his own world. I was making myself some tea, a new method of getting rid of my headaches.

"They tarnished my reputation." Dev said quietly.

"They didn't, Dev." Avery said. "Forget about it. When this whole thing gets sorted out it'll be obvious that the Prophet was lying about you."

"WHEN THIS WHOLE THING IS OVER?" Dev yelled, turning around. I turned around as well and watched as he yelled at the group. "We don't know when or how this whole thing will end! I helped you and my reputation is a piece of shit now! I was the best, the hardest working student out of all of you and you have ruined me!"

For the first time I realized that I had asked too much of Dev over the years. He was right about it. There was no truth to when it would all be over, to how I would perform when the day of reckoning came. He really was the only person who had to work for what he wanted, for he was not naturally talented in any area, but had so much passion in him that prompted him to get better, to reach for the top. No one could say anything to him to help him feel better about what he had just lost.

"Forget it." He said. He looked at me. "If you need a chat, Scorpius, I'll be here. But I refuse to help you anymore." He walked out and Dacia hurried after him. I bit the inside of my cheek, my throat becoming considerably dry.

"Anyone else think he was overreacting?" Meredith piped up quietly. I glared at her. "I mean we've all been in the Prophet already. Skeeter's written horrible things about all of us, not to mention Nike's mother just died." She reminded me of the locket that Avery had put in her room last night.

"That's not the point he was trying to make." I said. "He wasn't supposed to be involved with his but he went out on a limb for us yesterday. It couldn't have been done without him." I crossed the room into Avery's bedroom and grabbed the locket off of her bureau. I stood in the doorway for a moment. "He wanted to lead a normal life like the rest of us and was well on his way to doing so, unlike the rest of us. But we have gotten in the way of that."

"I don't understand how we got in the way of that if he willingly helped us." Helena said.

"He wanted to work in the Ministry. What makes you think the Ministry is going to hire him now that he's a criminal?"

"Well we all want to work in the Ministry." Caine said.

"I don't." I said turning around, playing with the clasp on the necklace. Nike sat up a little straighter when she realized I had it. "I'd much rather move to some remote island and write books for the rest of my life." I looked at Nike. "Without Dev, I wouldn't have been able to get you this." I went to the back of the couch and put it around Nike's neck, clasping it for her. She gasped, opening the locket, and then began to cry softly.

"Holiday is coming up. I'd rather you all keep to yourselves and not send out any owls because the Ministry can track those. When we come back, I expect things to get worse. I'm not going home, I'm only leaving the school for a day or two. If you decide to come back early or stay here, you know where I'll be."

My parents returned from India over break to visit a small church in Ivybridge, Devon. My mother was starting to show; I could hardly believe that she was having another child. Other than my parents, only the Potter family and Nike attended the ceremony. I had only invited Nike due to the fact that I knew she would go crazy if she had too much alone time. Other than that, no one else knew that Avery and I were actually going through with it.

A chorus of Muggles stood behind the pastor singing a soft song. I stood alone, no best man, no bridesmaids, and the ring in my pocket. Avery, however, walked the aisle with Harry Potter. She had decided to get a more classic dress after she had shown Ginny the shorter one she had got earlier in the year. This one fit her like a glove, hugging her slender curves, billowing out at the knee. It had a deep back, accenting her hair which she had curled for the occasion. My heart raced at the sight of her.

Harry handed her off to me after kissing her forehead.

"You are no longer my dear bird." He whispered to her. She grinned and then turned towards me, taking my hands in hers. She was trembling slightly.

I, Scorpius Malfoy,

Take you, Avery Potter-Romanox,

To be none other than yourself.

I promise to stand by your side;

To encourage you, and be open and honest with you;

To laugh with you, and cry with you;

To always love and honor you;

Both freed and bound by our love,

For as long as we both shall live.

My mind went through the valley of death at that moment, into oblivion, into forever. I felt like I was floating down a river, naked, and the world was just slow, passing me by, and I had not a single care in the world.

I slipped the ring on her finger and it dazzled before me. I knew that she would have to take it off as soon as we went back to the school, put it in her jewelry box for safe keeping, and wait out the storm to bring it back out again, to let the rest of the world that she was mine, that she had been mine for many months.

"You may now kiss your bride." The pastor said to me. I took her soft face in my hands and studied the face I had fallen in love with so quickly, the only face I had ever loved. Her milky skin, the few freckles that crossed over the bridge of her nose, her nose like a button, her pretty set of lips which naturally turned down, her high cheek bones, and then those green eyes of hers. Somehow, the stars had granted me some sort of death wish, but had also generously given me this piece of the heavens, the only pureness I had ever known in my life.

I kissed her gently and felt the same cool sensation that she always gave me. I wondered if I would ever get over the feeling she gave me, if there would be a day when I took that feeling for granted. I decided that I would never get tired of that feeling.

All of us sat in Harry Potter's dining room, their house elf preparing dessert while we ate a dinner consisting of lobster and other rich foods along with a few bottles of wine. Harry had invited his brother and sister-in-law and their kids, along with Teddy and Victoire. Hermione Weasley hadn't said much the whole night, but had eyed me coldly instead.

"Did you think it a good joke to put Harry's position at the Ministry in jeopardy?" She spoke up as I reached for the wine bottle. Everyone went silent and looked at her. Ron even gave her a condescending eye, maybe realizing that this was no time for interrogation. I glanced at Harry whose expression hadn't changed; it was clear he was upset underneath but had been working to avoid confrontation that day.

"That wasn't us, Hermione." Avery said quietly. I felt her hand on my leg.

"Oh it wasn't?" Hermione replied harshly.

"Do you have any proof?" Avery countered. I squeezed her hand, begging her to stop. "No pictures were taken of whoever it was that broke into the Ministry, no confessions have been made. We had been at the school all day." Hermione blinked so fast it was clear how angry she was.

"You think I'm a fool, Avery?" She began. "I was two seconds away from stepping into that fireplace but you and Parkinson pushed ahead of me." I felt my stomach twist. "Not to mention Harry's position, but you impersonated a highly respected professor and an Auror that has been working with Harry for years. Good thing you sealed off that fireplace when you had the chance or else all three of you would have been sent to Azkaban right away. Good thing it was me you cut in front of and not someone who was out to get you."

"Hermione, this isn't necessary." Harry said, looking over his glasses at her.

"Maybe not but do you realize how crucial it could have been to your whole life had they been caught?"

"Mum," Rosie spoke up. Hermione shook her head, grabbed her dish and walked into the kitchen to help with dessert. I sighed under my breath and looked at my father who was disenchanted that it had been Avery, Dev, and I to break into the Ministry.

Dinner dissolved quickly afterwards and everyone went to separate rooms to socialize. Avery had gone to the bathroom with Rosie to have somewhat of a cry. I stood in the study, my mother sitting on the sofa and my father staring at me, his arms crossed over his chest.

"I'm disappointed." Draco said. I put my hands in my pockets, twisting my wedding band around my finger with my thumb. "He's gone a long way, so far out of his way, to protect us. He was the one who suggested we move to India. He was the one who made sure that you were alright, that you had someone to talk to-"

"I understand what he's done for us. I don't take it for granted. But I think he understands more than anyone-"

"The stunts you have to pull," Another voice came from behind. I looked back at Harry Potter who had walked into the room. He shut the door behind him. "In order to succeed in what you're doing. I'm not angry at him, Draco. Or at Avery and Mr. Parkinson. The only reason Hermione is upset is because of the danger the three of you put yourselves in after it was made quite clear that you weren't supposed to go into the chambers. The only thing I want to know is how you managed all the puzzles we put in your path. The maze should have been difficult enough and by the time one reached the room of doors, your mind should have been exhausted."

"Avery navigated, Dev solved the puzzles."

"Even the locks? He solved everything?" Harry asked.

"Well I've never been the type to play Sudoku or anything like that."

"Still, he has an extraordinary mind if he can figure out the locks, not be overwhelmed with the maze, and still have some sense of problem-solving to figure out all of the doors. Nonetheless, I'm not mad. I was more surprised than anything." I looked back at my father who still seemed disappointed.

I put a screen of stars up on the ceiling of Avery's bedroom that night as we laid and laughed about all of the press we had been getting in the past month. Avery sat up and looked down at me, placing her hand on my chest, her ring just as glittery as the stars above us.

"When we get out of Hogwarts, I want to have a real wedding. I want to invite everyone, all of our friends, family, cousins we've never met. I mean, being related to the Weasleys promises at least a hundred 2nd and 3rd cousins." I laughed.

"It won't mean much by then, Ave. Anyway, how could you compare to tonight's dinner?" He smile faded just slightly. She looked down at her ring.

"I didn't even see her."

"If I had gotten in that fireplace with you and Dev everyone would have known."

"Everyone does know," She said, laying back down with my arm in the crook of her neck, my hand wrapped around her shoulder. "As much as we hate Rita Skeeter, there's always some bit of truth in all of her articles." We looked up at the twinkling ceiling.

"I can't believe we're married." I said, ignoring her comment about Rita Skeeter.

"Believe it. You're stuck with me for the rest of your life." I smirked, but the both of us went quiet afterwards. Neither of us was sure how long that really meant.