SLITHER IN! → S. MALFOY

ACT III, SCENE IV: SAVE ME

C H A P T E R  T W E N T Y - F O U R

           A FLASH OF BLACK, of blue, of green, of silver scales on the tail of a creature Rose seemed to be hallucinating, and a harsh grip on her wrist. No, not a flash. The stroke of a paintbrush on a ruined canvas. The Selkie's rotting teeth.. Rose didn't want to open her eyes anymore. Where was her wand?...

Her pocket. Her robe. She was drowning.

       She couldn't be drowning. She couldn't breathe.

Her wand...

       Rose was being pulled deeper and deeper into the waters of the lake, through the seaweeds wrapping around her legs, sloppily, angrily, pushing her away and at the same time sucking her in, deeper, like the arms of a giant squid. She looked up and saw the moon wink at her from the surface of the water.

The surface. She needed up.

     She Selkie pulled her deeper. Rose's vision began to darken.

They stopped.

    A flash of emerald. Malfoy..? No. A tie. A silver-and-green tie around the neck of a floating corpse.

       Rose stared into the unmoving eyes of the corpse of Seth Reznor.

The Selkie let out continuous bubbles of laughter.

     Up. She needed up..

Snow.

     The moon winked at her from the surface.

An eclipse? No, a head. An angel. She read it in a muggle books.

     Rose opened her mouth to speak, and choked up water, which, looking for a way up, found it's way to the snow she was laying on by rolling in rivulets down Rose's chin, down her cheeks, into her ears, struggling not to end up in her knotted wet hair.

     She was turned over to her side. More water choked up. Why did she taste Seth's decaying body on her tongue?..

Rose almost vomited.

     Finally, she took a breath, a cold, piercing breath, and looked up at Scorpius Malfoy, who stood over her, impassive. There was a dark figure marring the perfect picture of the snow behind him. Rose didn't want to think about it.

    "Malfoy," Rose gasped, and she must have injected too much plea into her voice, too much feeling, for Scorpius recoiled from her as if she was the corpse, she was the Selkie, she was..

      She attempted to prop herself up, but her elbows were too shaky, and she was too cold. The snow was too cold.

"My wand," Rose tried again, still in shock. "It was- I'm going to puke," she muttered.

A pause.

      "Scorpius, you saved me."

      Malfoy wasn't looking at her. It was as if he was intentionally avoiding eye contact with the witch.