Heart of a Lion, Head of a Serpent | Teen Ink

Heart of a Lion, Head of a Serpent

July 28, 2010
By squidzinkpen SILVER, Buffalo, New York
squidzinkpen SILVER, Buffalo, New York
9 articles 0 photos 193 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The Irish gave the Scots the bagpipes as a joke, but the Scots haven't seen the joke yet"- Irish Proverb


The golden, orange, and red leaves on the lonely high limbs of the great oak trees had the appearance of fire, swaying softly with the crisp summer breeze. An icy film of frost topped the fallen browning dead leaves that covered the forest floor. The grounds were quiet, empty as if the world itself had stopped spinning.
As she walked the winding, narrow path back to the massive and almost ominous looking castle on the top of the hill looming over the great Black Lake, Rose Weasley appeared calm and serene, but trouble brewed beneath the surface. With only the sound of the few chirping birds that remained in the trees and the crunch of the gravel beneath her feet to serenade her while she pondered, she pictured the face of her mother when she came home for the Christmas holiday and told her that horrid secret she had pushed to the very back of her mind where she hardly dared to go.

Before she knew it, she was at the castle gates. Hogwarts castle. This is where it all began. This ancient, historic castle that is the setting for almost every tale she was told as a child. The stories of armor that moved, a poltergeist that terrorized first years, the professors for which her cousins were named, the library where her mother studied for hours on end and was petrified in by the basilisk that her uncle had slain and rescued her aunt from, where her parents fell in love. If not for Hogwarts, she would not exist, she would not, and neither would her problem.
She should go inside, she knew she should, it was lunch time, almost time for her next class. They’d be looking for her, she knew they would. If they did not find her in lunch, they would track her down and corner her in the common room. At fifteen, Rose thought she could decide who her friends should be and what she did was her own business, but apparently not. They would find him.

Well so what? There’s nothing to tell. They’ll look like right proper gits they will.

Rose decided that her appetite had dwindled into nothing with just the thought of him, that stupid boy.

“Git,” she muttered, kicking the pebbles by her toes.

“Who’s a git?” someone whispered in her ear.

She whipped around, her heart leaping into her throat and her long red hair swiping whoever was behind her in the face. She turned and stared directly into the very eyes of her quandary. They were a stormy gray-blue, not a cold and hard blue like the ones of the others in their family. There was a smile upon his pointed and pale face. Not a big one, but a small, playful, mischievous one. That smile made her angry. She wanted nothing more to whip out her wand and bat bogey hex him so hard that she’d never have to see that stupid smirk again.


“You, Scorpius,” she growled. “Get away from me before I jinx you!” She shoved him back, but it had no effect.

He had a strong, muscular build. The best Gryffindor beater Hogwarts had seen since Rose’s twin uncles Fred, whom she had never met, and George, who must have had two ears back then. He was clever and bright, if he was not a Malfoy, her mother, Hermione, would have liked him. He was also uncommonly kind; she had never seen him hurt anyone, not if he could help it. Trouble seemed to find him, he could never roam about the castle alone, too many children of his father’s old friends, growing more and more powerful every year.

“Rose, please, don’t,” he pleaded. “Please, just tell me what I’ve done.”

“You won’t leave me alone!” she cried.

Scorpius looked at her with sad, desolate eyes.

“We were so close last year Rose,” he said, softly. “What happened? Please, tell me.”

“It’s nothing you can fix,” she murmured.

“Please Rose, let me try. I deserve a chance, please,” be begged.

He was desperate. He needed a friend. Sure, the other Gryffindors had given him a chance, but if they knew what he wanted, if they knew what was between him and one of their own, they would surely turn on him, so would the his Ravenclaw friends because of Rose’s brother, Hugo. The Slytherins loathed him, as they should, them being Slytherins and him being a Gryffindor, and from a Slytherin family at that! When the now almost ancient Professor McGonogall had called his name to be sorted, he heard whispers buzzing about like demented bees, mocking him and his family. The Great Hall was dead silent with shock while he wore the Sorting Hat, it telling him that he was so different from his family. How it thought he would undoubtedly be a Slytherin, and now it must decide between Ravenclaw, and Slytherin’s arch rival house, Gryffindor. His parents had disowned him after they had seen his Gryffindor robes that summer holiday, sent him away to live in the house of his deceased grandparents, Narcissa and Lucius. Not that it had mattered much, they invested little time in him before and was raised more by the house elves than by his proud parents.
There was little company there in that old place, only the elderly housekeeper, Millicent-a bitter old woman- sent to take care of him. He was miserable, alone, and without affection until he had received his first letter the summer after his second year at Hogwarts. It was an old owl who had delivered it. Pig, was its name, perhaps? There was a letter from Hugo and Rose Weasley, and even James Potter, who had become his friend on the Quidditch team. His friends were from families that his despised. Civil on Platform 9 ¾, but forever loathed one another. The Potters and Weasleys accepted Scorpius after his parents had rejected him. They kept an eye on him the first time he visited (it had been that same summer), but they learned to trust him, that he was different. He had grown closer to Rose toward the end of their Christmas holiday last year their fourth year at school, and now he had lost her and he had to know why!

“There’s nothing Scorpius!” she shouted, tears twinkling in her bright green eyes. “Nothing! Just nothing you can do!”

He didn’t move, his face was stony, his eyes sad. She couldn’t bear to look into those eyes, those eyes that gazed at her so lovingly at one time. Such a wonderful time that was. In the Burrow, that had been expanded upon yet again after her brother was born, with her grandparents and the Potters on Christmas Eve. The whole family had been in the orchard that snowy afternoon playing a friendly game of Quidditch. The losing team had to clean up the plates after dinner, to their dismay, without magic. Rose had been on the loosing team, despite being one of the best chasers, not unlike her Aunt Ginny, on the Gryffindor House team.
She was washing dishes when Scorpius joined her. He brought her a mug of butterbeer and had sprinkled just a bit of cinnamon on top because he knew that was her favorite drink. He had asked her to join him by the window in the lounge across from the cackling fire. They were alone and they were having a splendid time. As the night progressed, Rose had rested her head on Scorpius’s shoulder; he had his arm around her waist. Rose remembered never wanting such a happy feeling to end, but, alas, it did. Hugo had walked into the room and loudly cleared his throat. Rose couldn’t help but think her father was standing in front of them, as he and his son shared appearance and that same disapproving stare. It was hard, angry, and spiteful.

That had been the end to their closeness. They had avoided one another for the rest of the break, and never got a chance to see one another between their classes. They spoke only during meals, and that was limited by the amount of people they were dining with.

Rose hung her head in shame, for she understood, or so she thought, more than Scorpius why Hugo had been so angry that night. She knew what she had to do, and, despite that it was a bitter and cold act, she had done it. She would do it forever if it meant pleasing her family, which was all she wanted to do. She felt a horrible churning in her stomach and felt ill. A tear rolled down her cheek and Scorpius wiped it away with his thumb. He tilted her face upward and her heart began to race.

“You can tell me, Rose,” he assured her.

Little did poor Rose know, Scorpius knew what she was going to say. That very night, Christmas Eve, he began to understand that she would never allow herself to be with him if her family disapproved. He knew her though, he knew Rose better than her family. She would decide for herself, she had to. Scorpius had faith, and he would pursue her until she told him herself that she did not want to be with him.

She opened her mouth to speak, almost afraid that she would vomit instead of talk, but nothing came out. He waited patiently for her, his eyes never leaving her face despite that she wanted nothing more than to run away and never see him again. She opened her mouth, but instead of words, she made some sort of gurgling noise. She clamped her jaw shut tight, took a deep breath, looked at Scorpius with an unyielding glare and began to speak, only to be cut off by the sound of her brother and cousins.

“Where could they be?” Hugo demanded, angrily.

“C’mon Hue, what’s the worst that could happen?” said James.

“He’s a Malfoy! A no good, rotten pureblood, and he’s got my little sister! What couldn’t happen?!” Not only did Hugo look like his father, but he also had his temper.

“He’s our friend,” said Albus.

“He’s a Malfoy!”

His words stung Scorpius, but only for a moment. Hugo was his friend, and he understood his family history did not serve his purpose well. He was a Malfoy, he knew what he was, everyone knew what he was, but they did not know what it was like to live in the home of Draco Malfoy and his wife. They could not possibly imagine.
Rose looked at him, terrified, and pulled away from him. “I have to go, they can’t find us! Not like this!” she hissed, and began to turn toward the castle.

“Rose, wait!” Scorpius called after her. She faced him again, more tears in her eyes. “I know my family and yours are enemies, but I haven’t seen my father or mother in over two years. I’m different, I am! You know it! They know it! Please, give me a chance. I deserve a chance, don’t I?” He held out his hand, inviting her to come with him. “Please, Rose, trust me.”

Rose glanced back at the castle, the footsteps of her brother and cousin coming closer and closer, her heart pounding against her chest so hard she thought it would burst out. The words her father had said right before she boarded the Hogwarts Express five years ago ringing in her ears;* “Don’t get too friendly with him, though, Rosie. Granddad Weasley would never forgive you if you married a pureblood.”. Her eyes darted back and forth between the castle and Scorpius’s pleading face. With a final look, she made her decision and took Scorpius’s hand. Together, they ran toward the Black Lake.

TO BE CONTINUED…



*Direct quote from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows



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This article has 186 comments.


on Aug. 16 2010 at 12:29 am
squidzinkpen SILVER, Buffalo, New York
9 articles 0 photos 193 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The Irish gave the Scots the bagpipes as a joke, but the Scots haven't seen the joke yet"- Irish Proverb

Thank you for your words, really, they're very much appreciated. It doesn't bother me, just speak you mind!

Who's sipbestie?

 


We-R-3 BRONZE said...
on Aug. 16 2010 at 12:22 am
We-R-3 BRONZE, Orlando, Florida
1 article 0 photos 344 comments

Favorite Quote:
A picture is worth a thousand words, however it takes a real artist to turn words into pictures.

Have you heard about the new Lebron Iphone, you have to set it on vibrate because it doesn't have any rings

I'm so sorry to have to post on your thing aghain but this is defending myself not Jason.

 

I read my work all the time most of the time I find errors before other people and I'd really like to ask you sipbestie if you do the same thing. I speak for the whole team now when I say I've read all of there works and I tell you it is amazing. Just like this peice. And what I don't understand is why AJF2 had to choose this story to turn into a chatroom it is an awesome story and really THE AUTHor doesn't deserve this.


We-R-3 BRONZE said...
on Aug. 15 2010 at 11:57 pm
We-R-3 BRONZE, Orlando, Florida
1 article 0 photos 344 comments

Favorite Quote:
A picture is worth a thousand words, however it takes a real artist to turn words into pictures.

Have you heard about the new Lebron Iphone, you have to set it on vibrate because it doesn't have any rings

Cmon, dude most of the REAL life critcs aren't even authors, and if you click on his name you'll see his work which is awesome and honestly it does not take being apart of the J7X team to know that honesty is a good quality with critics.

 

J7X team


on Aug. 15 2010 at 11:20 pm
squidzinkpen SILVER, Buffalo, New York
9 articles 0 photos 193 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The Irish gave the Scots the bagpipes as a joke, but the Scots haven't seen the joke yet"- Irish Proverb

Thank you! If you've got any corrections for it, I'm definitely open to hearing them!

on Aug. 15 2010 at 11:12 pm
bluesky0728 SILVER, Phoenix, Arizona
8 articles 0 photos 107 comments
I loved this!!!! This was so awesome and creative!!! Hurry with the next one!!!!! :)

on Aug. 15 2010 at 10:22 pm
squidzinkpen SILVER, Buffalo, New York
9 articles 0 photos 193 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The Irish gave the Scots the bagpipes as a joke, but the Scots haven't seen the joke yet"- Irish Proverb

Um, I don't suggest any of you look up at the newer comments.....

on Aug. 15 2010 at 10:16 pm
ManBehindTheMask, Buffalo, New York
0 articles 0 photos 3 comments
Sorry about the confusion, I Billy am the ManBehindTheMask.

on Aug. 15 2010 at 10:13 pm
ManBehindTheMask, Buffalo, New York
0 articles 0 photos 3 comments
Well Jason, I attempted to get a  message to you more directly, but alas I am new to this site. With this being said: Jason, you consider you're self a "helpful" critic. Notice the quotes. I'm can see you're a critic, but like most critics, you're only helpful when praising. Your criticism is often crude and very distasteful. I almost wonder if you're an author yourself. Let me take one guess. You're name is taken from a band and to make a good name takes origianity, something you seem to lack. True authors need originality. So this leads me to believe that you however qualified you believe you and your "team" are, have no true understanding of literature

on Aug. 15 2010 at 9:48 pm
To all of the J7X, why do you have to waste your time yelling at someone who's cracking jokes? You're "fighting" an imposter? To what purpose does this serve, especially over the internet. I have to say that this is just mildly depressing that you're waging war against someone you dont know; getting upset by this; starting this fight and furthering this. All of you J7X, why do you stick up for AvengedJasonFold? He's upset by a joker. I have to give you some props AvengedJasonFold (Fake one). This is some of the most hilarious conversations I've seen all day!

For the author: This is an amazing piece of work, to all those who think it's stealing from another plot and characters, look at what branch of fiction this is. Fan Fiction. Need I remind you that it's to further another story line?
All in all, I loved this story, and hope to see more soon!

on Aug. 15 2010 at 9:39 pm
To all of the J7X, why do you have to waste your time yelling at someone who's cracking jokes? You're "fighting" an imposter? To what purpose does this serve, especially over the internet. I have to say that this is just mildly depressing that you're waging war against someone you dont know; getting upset by this; starting this fight and furthering this. All of you J7X, why do you stick up for AvengedJasonFold? He's upset by a joker. I have to give you some props AvengedJasonFold (Fake one). This is some of the most hilarious conversations I've seen all day!

For the author: This is an amazing piece of work, to all those who think it's stealing from another plot and characters, look at what branch of fiction this is. Fan Fiction. Need I remind you that it's to further another story line?
All in all, I loved this story, and hope to see more soon!

on Aug. 15 2010 at 1:55 pm
SarClark BRONZE, NC, Connecticut
2 articles 0 photos 534 comments
Gosh, I feel like a second grader. Alright, let's just come to terms that this is a brillaintly scripted piece, soon to be the most commented on. So, both Jasons and all of anyone who is not leaving a comment, SHH.

on Aug. 15 2010 at 10:10 am
uhm, i think this whole thing is ridiclulous and some people are really getting immature with it. and as for the J7X team, ive read some of your comments and i think a lot of them are put there to put down. and how do you figure you can give advice? have you critiqued your OWN work? how good of an author do YOU think you are?

on Aug. 15 2010 at 9:44 am
NeverCaredForKool-Aid GOLD, Elkridge, Maryland
13 articles 0 photos 531 comments

Favorite Quote:
I don't believe in hell but I believe in my parent's couch-- Watsky

I thought this story was very good, and I was impressed with your detail, (no- I don't think you had too much) and how accurate your family trees were.  Although you kept the characters and prejudices authentic, your mood and tone were nothing like the acctual books.  I'm rereading the Deathly Hallows right now, and the feel and J.K.'s words and yours couldn't be more different, (although I like them both)

J7X


on Aug. 14 2010 at 10:45 pm
squidzinkpen SILVER, Buffalo, New York
9 articles 0 photos 193 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The Irish gave the Scots the bagpipes as a joke, but the Scots haven't seen the joke yet"- Irish Proverb

*I'd, my bad!

on Aug. 14 2010 at 10:45 pm
squidzinkpen SILVER, Buffalo, New York
9 articles 0 photos 193 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The Irish gave the Scots the bagpipes as a joke, but the Scots haven't seen the joke yet"- Irish Proverb

I mean, I love to help people through your team, but I don't know how some comments are helpful!

on Aug. 14 2010 at 10:38 pm
squidzinkpen SILVER, Buffalo, New York
9 articles 0 photos 193 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The Irish gave the Scots the bagpipes as a joke, but the Scots haven't seen the joke yet"- Irish Proverb

Jason, some of the feedback that I've read by you is quite crude and snide at times. I don't see how that's helpful at all!

on Aug. 14 2010 at 10:18 pm
The J7X team is a group of people who basically just gives advice or honest feedback if they're asked to do so. We have forums that offer advice, feedback, or just a place to post your favorite quotes and jokes just for the sake of making people happy. What we're trying to get away from is feedback that doesn't help people because it just says "omg your work is so good read mine" while having fun and just opening ourselves up to new ideas and stuff--even if the feedback may come back as harsh it's supposed to be funny and helpful. And we're trying to keep arguments respectful, and when somebody starts being disrespectful we want to get them to stop by sticking up for one another. You're more than welcome to join :D

on Aug. 14 2010 at 10:12 pm
squidzinkpen SILVER, Buffalo, New York
9 articles 0 photos 193 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The Irish gave the Scots the bagpipes as a joke, but the Scots haven't seen the joke yet"- Irish Proverb

Out of curiosity, what does your team do? Or was it created for the situation? Either way, I really do get a kick out of this sometimes. I've noticed that it's spread to the forums too. Oh goodness...

on Aug. 14 2010 at 9:14 pm

squid: do you understand that this is getting you popularity and more views because our team is fighting the faker? It's probably in your best interest to add fuel to this fire because many many people are visiting your page to see if the faker thing is true.

avengedFAKERfold: I really don't know what to say to you anymore... my team, bless them all, is saying it for me :)

J7X team: thank you all very much for the support--you have no idea how much i appreciate it. thanks again!!


on Aug. 14 2010 at 7:02 pm
squidzinkpen SILVER, Buffalo, New York
9 articles 0 photos 193 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The Irish gave the Scots the bagpipes as a joke, but the Scots haven't seen the joke yet"- Irish Proverb

Thank you! I'll be submitting another part soon! It uses more magic and it get really intense!