Interlude Number 5 [Vin]

[Scorpius Malfoy]

Scorpius had just come from visiting his mother at the apothecary. Even though she was hardly away from home for days at a time, he did find himself missing her when she had to work for long stretches. That wasn't usually the case but since it was getting closer to the new year more students had been coming by for Potions supplies, and according to his mother, some parents' interests seemed fueled by the starting of the school year as well.

As always he had left the shop with more potions ingredients than he would need over the summer, but also a small bag of candy as well. There were a lot of parents that discouraged eating sweets before dinner but Shalie had never been one of them. In fact, Scorpius had the sneaking suspicion that she consumed more chocolate than anyone else in the family combined.

He headed over to the Three Broomsticks before going home like he had promised. He was not a trouble maker, but not all rules had to be followed strictly. Besides, at his age, wasn't that the anticipated behavior anyway? He found a quiet area and sifted through his potions ingredients. Since they were bottled rather well he didn't have to worry about offending other people with the smell. Not that he cared, really. Science as well as magic was dirty work. He was looking forward to the new year in Potions class. Because of his parents having that as a mutual interest he had never had to worry about that subject, even as others protested to the difficulty...

He looked around to see that there were a few students his own age. None that he knew very well, though. So he ordered himself a drink and popped a mini chocolate bar into his mouth while he continued his investigation.

[shava]

Vincent wasn't a person who got embarrassed by parents much, actually, though his mother embarrassed everyone else in his opinion watching faces as they made their way through Honeydukes. Until she started talking about his body, a sensitive subject for any teenager of course. Still, he enjoyed the shocked looks she provoked from people in the shop as she filled bags for purchase, stashing it away at home while the kids were out he was sure. Having already made a simple purchase of his chocoballs as he wanted some strawberry flavors at the moment, he had loitered around the front watching and laughing. When they finally left, she wanted to head into the bookstore and they separated as he wanted to get a butterbeer.

While he liked books plenty enough, going into a bookstore with a famously well-known author was never a short trip nor one he enjoyed. Besides, he'd hear about her hexing her way out at some point and she knew where he would be. So enjoying the freedom she allowed him, he sauntered up the street dressed in brown leather pants and matching bike jacket, his goggles around his neck. He was dressed for the trip she had promised him after Hogsmeade, a drive down the road on his new bike an adventure he was very much looking forward to.

Stepping into the place he looked around and saw at least one familiar face from school, Malfoy. With his stuff laid out on the table in front of him, Vincent noted he wasn't expecting company, but still had left enough room for what Vin needed; a spot to rest his beer. Walking over he said "Hey Scorp, how's the summer going? Mind if I take up a small corner of the table here for a butterbeer? I won't mess with your stuff, promise."

Clearly the boy was checking to make sure he had everything on his list. Vin had no issues with that, not being one of the nastier Snakes in the school to begin with. Besides, because of his mother most people probably thought his dad had been saddled with an insane family so he didn't much care about other's opinions. He knew where he was headed and why, that was all that counted in his book. "Mom wanted to go into the bookstore and that leaves me free to bend an elbow for a few. What's up with you?"

[Scorpius Malfoy]

Scorpius barely restrained a groan when he heard footsteps coming toward him after he had been sitting for a few minutes. He didn't want to think who it might be. He hated dealing with people that he hardly knew. Many of them that he ran into over the summer couldn't quite place his name, and it was even worse when they could. Mostly because it meant that they wanted something from him. Whether it was homework or the slight boost in reputation (despite everything that had happened, Draco Malfoy had somehow maintained some of that) it was never something that Scorpius felt was worth a boring conversation.

However, from the nickname on, he was pretty sure that he was dealing with someone that he knew. Most people didn't dare call him anything less than his full first name, and when they did, it was usually giggling girls referring to him as 'Scorpi', or close family friends. Unless he had acquired a fan of the same sex who had great restraint, it was probably the latter.

He moved his bags aside and gave Vincent a small smile. It was more due to relief than because he felt like being friendly, though right now having company wasn't such a bad thing. Since there were big parties of pure-blood families and those who had gone beyond the pure bloodlines (which people were often quick to remind Scorpius his family had oh-so-shamefully done), Scorpius knew just about everyone that came from an important family. Vincent fit the bill in more than one area.

“I don't mind,” he said simply at first. Then he set the bag of candy on the table and nodded to Vin. “Want some? My mother gave me that...Do you still shop with yours, by the way?” He wasn't the sort of person to make fun of another for being close with their parents, so when he said it, it was with just a slight quirk of the mouth and no real meanness. He shopped with his parents once in a while, but Scorpius had always been a surprisingly responsible boy. And maybe he had it on his side that his grandmother was more the doting, overprotective type. He couldn't imagine how it must have been for his father growing up...

He stared at Vin for a second when he said that his mother went to the bookstore. It took him a few minutes, but eventually he shrugged it off. “Do you think that it's more exciting here than it is in the bookstore? I don't think so, but... it's probably that you wanted to get away from your mother more than the books, right? Your mother seems like she would be fun to shop with.” Though probably more so if she weren't the mother.

[shava]

He liked getting to sit down not that he expected Scorp to refuse him. He didn't need any space really, just the corner of the table for his drink. And he had barely sat down when the waitress came right over and he ordered a butterbeer, going ahead and handing her the money. he shrugged as she left. "No thanks, I'm good. I just need a break when she goes in there."

He hesitated, not sure his yearmate would quite understand. "Not normally, actually, but she made me a promise she would let me drive my bike when we leave so it's worth it." He touched his goggles as if that explained it, but he figured no one would really understand his hobby. His butterbeer arrived and he took a healthy swig, looking over everything spread out on the table. Clearly someone had been busy getting potion stuff.

His eyes met Malfoy's and the smile in them was solid enough."My mom is amazing, but taking her into a bookstore where people recognize her is ridiculous. There's always someone who wants a signed copy and after a bunch descend on her she starts throwing hexes to get out. It's kinda routine after the first couple dozen times. I come here to avoid the excitement actually. You do all your own shopping I assume?"

Actually, Vincent had never bothered to go without her. Hell, she was the one making sure it got sent back so he didn't have to carry much. That was always the advantage. Another sip of butterbeer as he looked around the room, glad he wasn't running into a large number of people. "So all you came for was Potion stuff?"

[Scorpius Malfoy]

Scorpius shrugged when Vin rejected the offer of candy and decided to have another one himself. He turned to watch the waitress go, in a way that could almost be taken as a shameless gawking if one didn't know him, but instead he was making sure that she was gone before speaking. He didn't need to be saying something secretive to want privacy; that was the way that he had always been. Well, that and it gave him the chance to chew the candy before speaking. There was little he hated more than someone without manners.

He stopped and looked at Vin when he said something about a bike. He swallowed the remains of the candy bar while trying to fight away a silly smile. “Your mother bribes you with a bike so that you will shop with her? What sort of son are you, Vincent, that you wouldn't do that on your own?” He had an expression of mock-disapproval as he sipped a bit of his butterbeer. He had never liked the stuff with the passion that most of his classmates did, but he liked it when it had been a while. He was a bit more fond of hot chocolate than anything else. It would be hoping for way too much to expect any pub in Hogsmeade to have that. After he had considered it for a moment he couldn't resist asking. “What's it like, driving a bike?”

He made a little face at Vin's description of the bookstore shopping. “...Alright, I can see why you wouldn't want to be there. Don't you think that it's a little extreme to throw hexes, though? I'm surprised that she's still allowed in there. No, actually, I'm not... People will give celebrities a lot of slack. Considering everything that Harry Potter did when he was in school and he's still an honored person there...” He was probably not the best example. Potter had done a lot for the wizarding world as a whole, so he deserved the recognition. But it didn't stop with genuine heroes.

He looked at the Potions supplies and shrugged. “Well, mum works at an apothecary, so I just got some while I was there. And sometimes I like to make potions over the summer...” This conversation seemed to revolve an awful lot around mothers, which had Scorpius just a little worried.

[shava]

Vin chuckled out loud at the remark, admitting to himself to outsiders it might seem that way. "Nah, you think I'm a fool? I live on an island, no roads. I can't appirate yet and to drive on muggle roads I have to have a muggle license. I can't get one of those yet so mom has to ride along to stop me getting stopped or roadblocked. It's the muggles that stick me in this situation." He took a sip and smiled at the memory of the last time they had gotten stopped and she'd been fixing memories. After all, he had a trace and couldn't do it himself yet.

"She's cool about it and she also transports it here for me so we can drive back. Takes several hours so it's cool." His classmates next question had Vincent smiling end to end. Merlin, he loved riding bikes! And really, there was no comparison to brooms, not at all except that they both took you places, A bike was just doing it in a far cooler and more impressive way. So what if it took longer? As the tagline of the old joke said "You can tell a happy biker by the bugs in their teeth."

"Well...You like flying and it gets you somewhere fast and you feel free when doing it, right? A motorcycle is like...." Trying to put it in words was actually rather difficult to do; motorcycles were simply awesome. "Riding with power. The sound, so much more wind, the feeling of speed is a lot more then on a broom and you get to take curves which feel like slingshots making you go even faster. Plus which, no one can look as cool on a broom as they do on a motorcycle."

He shrugged; he didn't really expect anyone else to understand it really, but he had ridden and they hadn't and it really was that simple. First ride on any motorcycle was eye-opening. "I don't drive a normal muggle bike though. Dad got it for me last year. They make bikes which look like old tech stuff and they have these....well, personalities which just jump out at you compared to the others. I'm studying up on how they work so I can build my own with a bunch of magic workings in it."

He snorted at Scorpio's comment about Lindsey Moon. There was no way to explain his mother to sane people, not that he considered her truly dangerous to the family or anything. "I live with her, you don't. Trust me when I say, she does a lot of stuff people don't cross her on including me. Which is why you see me here right now." As to potions, that was simply one thing he didn't think of during the summer. Not his best subject, but then again he did well in what he wanted to.

"Well you can make all the potions you want to. Me, I have my own research to do. But that's cool, everyone has their favorites. You're lucky you have an inside track on the components." He tilted his head and looked at him for a moment, wondering if he should extend an invite. "You ought to come visit sometime with your broom. It's amazing how much you can get away with on an island when it comes to speed."

[Scorpius Malfoy]

Scorpius listened to him for a moment, frowning slightly. He didn't like to be called a fool, even in jest, though he tried to ignore it so that he could listen to the rest of what Vincent was saying. He had heard about licenses when it came to cars from his mother. That was the main source he had when it came to muggles. She was a good one, but certain subjects she either didn't know about or she wouldn't talk about. Knowing the same woman all his life, he thought it more likely that it was the latter. He hated to push subjects that she didn't want to talk about, though, because an odd sadness would set over her.

“Your mother rides one of those too, then? Or does she just sit on yours?” he asked with genuine curiosity. He couldn't imagine Vin's mother on a motorcycle, but he also couldn't imagine her sitting on the back. He had heard that the term for that was... Well, something that would probably get him hit if he brought up. Lindsey wasn't around at the moment but Scorpius had always imagined that she had the power to pop up out of nowhere if she hears anything that might be taken as an insult. He then realized that maybe he meant driving. Since he knew a little about cars, that would make sense... But still, it was strange.

He looked at Vincent like he was stupid when he said that riding a motorcycle was better than flying a broom. “You are joking, right? A broom is smaller than a motorcycle, so it feels more like you're flying free. Maybe if you like the motorcycle so much better you would like a car more than that. It's bigger, it's noisier, and it's even more muggle.” He didn't see why a person would look cooler on a motorcycle. They were more dangerous, weren't they? He was interested, but not enough to think that it was better than a broom.

“What does it matter if they look older? It doesn't make them actually so. Would you buy something that looked like an antique if you knew that it wasn't?” While it would seem like he was speaking through jealousy, Scorpius was really trying to understand what the appeal was. People regularly clamored for the things that were new, that they had never seen before. Buying something because it looked old just seemed like a good way to fool others into thinking you had something impressive. Vin wasn't even using it for that purpose, apparently... Because he just went out and told him.

Scorpius shrugged a little bit. “I don't care if I live with her or not. I just think that the same rules should be applied to everyone,” he said, completely unaware that his opinion on things would have been opposite of his father in some respects. He didn't care that much, really, since he wasn't one of the people that had been hexed. Most celebrities didn't seem that interesting to him. He supposed it was because of the general interest aroused in other people. He had never liked things just because others did, and was actually turned off by them. Probably because people would try to engage in conversation with him.

Scorpius thought about what Vincent said for a moment. “I don't think that I would have been as interested in Potions if both my parents weren't,” he said more to himself. It wasn't really lucky that he had a mother working in an apothecary. It was more that he was lucky he decided to like Potions in the first place. He thought about Vincent's invite. “Would you ride too? Or do you not like brooms now that you've been on a motorcycle?”

[shava]

Vin looked around as he spoke with Scorp, seeing few faces he knew and wondered where everyone was. Did they all just have the timing to be elsewhere on the same days? "Nah, she rides on the back so I can drive. She has no interest in them except the speed and the rush you get from riding one." The disbelief in Scorpio's eyes as he talked about brooms versus motorcycles made Vincent laugh softly, not at his companion, but at the situation. This was not the first time a wizard had found it hard to believe.

"Nope, you have to experience it to understand I think. Sure a broom lets you play Quidditch which is awesome and can let you go really anywhere, but there's something special about a motorbike, especially once you learn how to drive one. It's more limited in where it can go, true, but man! The speed and power is way more then a broom, honest." He made a definite face about the idea of a car and muggle life. Shaking his head he took a next to last sip before he spoke again.

"See, I knew you wouldn't understand really. Cars are no where near as fun as bikes, nor as cool. And the idea isn't to become more muggle, but the excitement of the ride. Cars are much more boring." Further confusion on Scorps part about the age thing had him raising an eyebrow as well. It was hard to explain it, though there was easily something to see. Problem was you'd have to see different types together and there was no way to do that here. "It's a style thing. Old style, what they call Steampunk style, if you saw it up against the new stuff you'd pick the older for cool factor every time."

He did give him an odd look when he asked if Vin still flew on a broom. "Uh, seeker here? I do think I mentioned Quidditch was still on the table as one of the main advantages of a broom. Of course I still fly and for traveling between lands it's the best, I'm just saying that there is something about motorcycles which is just addictive. On the island there's only one family of muggles so most of the surrounding water is open and easy to use for high speed with nearly no obstacles. It's a great place for practicing my seeker skills actually."

[Scorpius Malfoy]

Scorpius couldn't hide the smile of amusement that came to his face as he thought again about Lindsey riding on the back of a motorcycle. Or anything, really. She had always seemed to him to be the sort of person that liked to be in control in most situations. Then again, Vin had said it best when he told him that he lived with her and Scorpius didn't. He hid the smile by taking a drink of his butterbeer because he didn't want to give Vincent the false impression that he was laughing at him. That wasn't polite, and it was only acceptable to be impolite when one was boasting honesty.

“I guess that's true. I don't think that my father would really want me to ride a motorcycle, though,” Scorpius said, noting that it probably had something to do with the fact that it was a muggle thing. Despite his aggressive way of defending brooms, he did look a little disappointed. “I know that my mom likes cars, at least the way that they look. But I think even she would object to me ever riding something dangerous like a bike. Maybe when I'm out of school.” He would never be the relentless rebel. If anything, he stuck to the rules better than most people that he knew, and his parents' were more important even than the school's. He still didn't quite understand the picking the older looking model thing, but he decided not to ask again.

Scorpius smirked. Vincent was acting like he was stupid again, or at least that was the way that he took the first thing. Some people still played quidditch more for status than for the fun of the game. “My house is pretty big, but we still have to be careful about muggles. You're lucky.” He laughed a little bit. “Sometimes, I feel like I'm too out of practice for quidditch. Maybe one day we could play a mock game at your house,” he suggested. Vincent had a lot of siblings, and if that wasn't enough people, Scorpius knew that he had a lot of cousins, too. Somewhere along the line, they were probably related... “I don't know what your family would think of that... Or if Cas would be interested... But it would keep us in practice.”

[shava]

He nodded, knowing most parents wouldn't let their kids do stuff. His mother was a very unusual parent and on some level he knew that he was extremely fortunate to have her as his mom. Finishing off his butterbeer he set the bottle down. "Not a problem, man. I know my mom lets me do a lot more stuff then other parents, she's just cool that way." He brought his hands together on the table in front of him not touching any of the potion components carefully, one hand on top of the other, pirate ring standing out.

Vincent liked showing off the stuff his sister got him, but this was a favorite and had been for years.

"Don't get me wrong, she conditioned it by adding a bunch of protective spells and walking me through the entire safety rules she wanted me to follow and shit. And the first few drives were very carefully watched. But she does support me in what I want to do and that is something I know not all parents do." Dangerous? Oh yes, but that was part of what made them so fantastic; you had to master the danger, learn how to operate one in such a way as to wipe out all the danger from your end.

A person could still curse you while you were on a broom and the fall was just as deadly from twenty feet as being in a motorcycle accident and what kid flew only twenty feet off the ground? Yes, they were more unprotected, at least when your mother hadn't covered them will all kind of charms and protective magics, but the only thing that made it dangerous at this point for him was if someone else screwed up big time and he could hardly be blamed for another's stupidity. Vin was not giving up the bikes, no way. "Works for me. We can maybe do some thing one of these breaks, you could make a weekend trip out of it if you wanna."

"It's a really long way to appirate, trust me. I've got enough cousins we could probably have everyone over for a big sleep over and have two full teams easy." He smiled to himself for a moment and then saw a familiar patch of bright red hair coming across the room, a very self-satisfied look on her face. "Ah, there she comes!" Lindsey came across the room and stopped at the boy's table saying "Scorpius! How's your summer been? Gotten a girlfriend yet?" Vincent stood with a grin, glad he wasn't the focus of the girlfriend question for a moment.

"Mom, leave it. Not everyone is desperate to have kids yet, all right? Did you get everything you wanted?" What he meant was are you ready to go rolling, but she knew that. "Duh! Otherwise I wouldn't be here where you can drag me off to the roadside, doofus-boy. Scorpius, tell your parents I asked about them and I bugged you about who you're doing, right?" She couldn't see Vin roll his eyes, but she elbowed him and he had to throw himself back with a grin to avoid her reaction anyway. "See ya when school starts, Scorp! Thanks for the seat!"

[Scorpius Malfoy]

Scorpius laughed a little bit. It was true that now that he was a teenager his mother wasn't what most of his peers would call 'cool'. She was a bit paranoid despite the fact that the danger of the Death Eaters had passed. He suspected it was because of what happened to his grandfather. But while Scorpius was a child she would have been a cool mother. Bringing cookies and hot chocolate and everything else to visiting children. “Nice ring,” he said, nodding once to Vincent. Scorpius didn't tend to wear a lot of jewelry, but he did have one from his father's side of the family. Probably nothing of significance since his grandparents on that side weren't exactly enthusiastic about their son's choice of family.

“I think that my mother would support me once I'm older, but being only fifteen... I don't know, I guess that it's alright either way. I don't feel as adventurous as you are.” He laughed a little bit. He didn't think that it was a bad thing to like to live dangerously. Some people really liked it, and Scorpius wasn't one of them. And actually he was a little worried that if he tried riding a motorcycle he would like that and become more daring. “I'm glad that your mother made sure that you were safe, though.”

Scorpius was very interested in the idea of having a group of people to play quidditch with. He really wasn't afraid that he was going to fail when it came time to compete, but it was nice to keep in shape anyway. And Cas was more interested in bugs than anything, it seemed. “I will definitely ask my parents about that! I want to get out of the house anyway... Though I'm sure that I'll miss it once I am in school.” He was admitting that he got homesick from time to time, but he didn't care that much about Vincent. This was the kid who let his mom ride on the back of a motorcycle with him, so it really didn't bother Scorpius to admit to caring about his parents.

He looked up when Vincent announced his mother's presence. At first he wasn't sure who he was talking about, but he figured it out soon enough. That hair stood out in a crowd easily. He listened to mother and son for a moment with a little smirk, but he decided to answer Lindsey's question anyway. “My summer has been fine, thank you...A-and... I'm not... You know.” He looked very embarrassed. Who he was doing? He couldn't imagine himself getting into the situation for that. One day he would surely get married and have kids, but he couldn't imagine even going on a date at this point.

He cleared his throat. “I'll let them know that I ran into you two today. Uh, have a good summer, Vincent! Don't get yourself hurt. And good luck with him, Mrs. Silver.” He wasn't really ever sure what to call adults, he hoped that was alright.

[shava]

Scorp further made himself 'all-right' in Vin's world when he mentioned the ring. Char had given it to him awhile back for a birthday mostly because it was a real pirate type of ring.And he had loved it for that, but when she pointed out the 'X' and told him he was the treasure with a hug, well. It had become one of his favorite moments of all time. In fact, even getting with a girl in the broom closet on sixth was beaten out by the ring; Char was like his other half and getting her approval was high and above getting his rocks off.

Not that the girl hadn't been fun too, mind you.

"Thanks! Char gave it to me. It's awesomesauce." To the idea of adventurous or not he made no answer; some people were not cut out for adventure and he realized that. Vin's mother had raised him to be a pirate and know that the non-adventuring ones were the ones to 'loot, pillage, plunder, and maim' and that had always been somewhere in his mind a basic idea still on life. He shrugged as if to say 'that's all right' but he was thinking of other things in his mind about who made themselves victims and who didn't.

People couldn't deal with thoughts like that out loud though. he gave Scorp the big thumbs up when he said he would like that, but then the whirlwind which was his mother swept in and swept him up as well and he ducked her elbow and said goodbye, heading for the exit. It was hard to say whether it was a wrestle walk to the door as she tried to put him in a headlock or not, but people they passed had to turn and watch as the two Moons exited the place, never dull as was the family trait.