Obsidian (Harry Potter Fan Fiction, Sequel to the Lazuli Trilogy)

Thirteen - Scorpius

Beneath the soles of my sturdy leather boots, the ground underfoot crunched as I trudged up the icy path to the backdoor of my childhood home. The first snow of the year had fallen overnight - a light dusting compared to the inevitable drenching that would follow in the colder months - and so the grounds of Lazuli House glistened in the morning sun.

For a brief moment, I stopped to survey the white gardens of my youth, and reflected on the many memories that had been made there. Once, this expanse of land at the edge of the Forbidden Forest and the gargantuan house which sat among it had been my entire world, but with age and experience, the family home had gradually shrunk in my mind, insignificant in comparison to the abundance of adventures which waited for me beyond the crumbling garden walls.

I rested my broom against the wall of the stable, pausing to stroke my father's magnificent stallion, Arion, who proudly sniffed at me and bowed his great head to allow me to stroke him. "Good boy," I whispered, pulling a sugar cube from my coat pocket and holding it out in my hand. Arion didn't hesitate to gobble it up, and neighed in thanks as he turned to retreat further into his stall, away from the cold November air.

I had always enjoyed riding as a boy; it was one of the few muggle traditions which my father's parents approved of. I had spent many hours in my childhood with horses, learning both how to ride and care for them under the meticulous tutorage of my Grandmother Narcissa. In some ways, I preferred riding a horse to a broom; the euphoria that came from the wind blowing against your cheeks and the knowledge that there was a living, breathing creature enjoying it with you was second to none.

I hesitated for a moment long in the comfortable warmth of the stables; Mum had called us all here for breakfast in an attempt to get Dad and Toby on speaking terms again. Mum despised arguments between any of us, and more than that, she detested silence; the suffocating, wordless hell of her own teenage years had left her with a steely resolution that no problem was too big that words couldn't fix it.

I stopped until I could wait no longer, and then left the stables with a sigh and trudged back up to the backdoor of our grand house. I had a full day of work ahead of me waiting up at the castle, and a blazing row between Dad and Toby would not be the ideal way to start it.

The back door opened into the cellar, through which I passed to enter the cavernous kitchen. Lazuli House had once been home to a magical family who also happened to be members of the muggle aristocracy, and so it was little surprise that the scale of rooms in our home was beyond that of a normal house. The kitchen was empty apart from two house elves, who were quietly preparing breakfast, and looked up to me upon hearing the back door slam.

In recent years, the legislation regarding the enslavement of house elves had changed, thanks to the efforts largely of my Aunt Hermione. House elves were no longer enslaved to their families, and whilst they could still choose to work in servitude, it became the law that they had to be paid a fair wage for their work, given regular holidays and clothing to dress themselves in, and anybody who was found guilty of physically punishing a house elf could face up to 15 years in Azkaban. At first, many of the elves had been resistant to their newfound better treatment, it hadn't taken long for thousands of years of enslavement and brutality to be forgotten when they experienced what it was like to be treated fairly for the first time.

Mum had still be resistant to the idea of employing house elves, but her lack of magic made many everyday chores incredibly difficult, and so Dad had ultimately persuaded her to take a couple on. It was Ferdy, the oldest and longest serving of our elves, who's face lit up as I entered the kitchen.

"Master Scorpius, a pleasure to see you back home!" the elf exclaimed, straightening the little bow tie around his thin neck and standing up straight. I smiled as I held out my hand for the elf to shake, which he did so vigorously. "It's good to see you too, Ferdy."