Chapter One: Aurora Zabini

Life's too short to even care at all. I'm losing my mind, losing my mind, losing control. These fishes in the sea they're staring at me..

Hush.

A wide-eyed hush falls over the room as he walks in, causing him to falter a little. He's never seen the place this quiet, never had so many eyes upon him at once – nor has he ever had the desire for this sort of attention. He blinks, finding little solace in the eyes of his peers who glare at him critically from their seats.

Not all of them bear this harsh glare. Some wear pitiful expressions, almost offering condolences with their sad, strained smiles. Disgust pools in his stomach, his Malfoy traits finally finding themselves, and he holds his head higher. He doesn't need their pity and sympathy; he'd rather they were disgusted by him.

At least he could find an unfounded reasoning in that.

Making his way to his table, whispers travel with him, getting louder with each heavy step. He spots his brunette comrade rather easily from there, sliding in next to her with a shrug of his shoulders. Aurora laughs at him, the sound warm and welcoming. She playfully flicks a stray piece of scrambled egg at him, and the Great Hall erupts into its usual chaotic noise.

This time, however, that chaotic noise is all about him.

"Did you hear? He asked Professor Longbottom for advice!"

"I heard him say that he fancied the pants of his best friend, Albus Potter,"

"Most of Slytherin has sworn they won't interact with him anymore – something to do with lesser humans. Isn't that just awful?"

Scorpius closes his eyes momentarily, trying with all his might to block out the tirade of comments around him. Aurora grasps his hand tightly, smiling wryly at him, "Sorry Scor, but you asked for this,"

He can't say he's alone in his ventures. By his side, Scorpius is blessed with the brilliant Rose Weasley. They've been friends since the first day at Hogwarts – they hit it off on the train there. From there, Lorcan Scamander and Albus Potter joined the ranks. Aurora Zabini had been the last friend that entered their little group, but she was definitely welcomed. He scans the room for their aforementioned friends, but comes up dry.

He turns back to Aurora, who is now broodily sipping soup, "Where's the others?"

For the first time since the incident, she appears a little perturbed, "I don't know. I haven't seen them yesterday… You know, you could have told them beforehand. Given them some warning."

"They did know." He replies promptly, directing his eyes to his plate, which has been half-heartedly filled. She bends her head low to meet his eyes, appearing understanding as she silently laments with him.

Sighing, Aurora throws her long hair over her shoulder, "We just need to focus on other things. Like, maybe, how hot Zane Wood is looking today. Oh my god, we can discuss these things together now, can't we?" Her face lights up, and excitement sparks within her at the prospect.

Scorpius immediately rolls his eyes, "I'm not going to be your 'gay best friend', Rory."

"But… I hate to break it to you bud, but technically…"

He laughs, thankful for her presence at a time like this. Scorpius supposes Aurora is the best one to make first contact with – she'd never make a fuss, and it's a rare time anything is awkward with her. He's beginning to finally relax in the Great Hall, the whispers fading into white noise around him, when he sees Aurora begin to frown.

Dread pools in his stomach at the prospect of what that is, turning him off his breakfast instantly. He pushes the plate away slightly, setting his knife and fork together like he has been told to do so many times by his parents. He hasn't seen the Daily Prophet yet, but he can't imagine they're unaware of this shocking news still. The Malfoy family is one of the "next generation" families that the news follows like celebrities, alongside names like Potter, Weasley, Scamander and Longbottom. Malfoy receives a slightly different treatment to the others though, seeing as his stories are usually twisted to malicious context no matter the content.

A light breeze alerts him to someone walking past, and on instinct, Scorpius turns and sees the source of Aurora's discomfort. Upon this, his heart gives out one last heave of hurt, his chest constricts ever so slightly and he has the strongest urge to cry. He doesn't do that though. Malfoy's don't cry in public. That's ridiculous.

"Ignore him," Aurora says, noticing his plummet into the depths of heartache, "He just needs time."

He winces in response, knowing she's being generous with her answer. Scorpius isn't sure if the other teen will ever come around to the idea of him being openly gay… especially given how he found out. Swallowing thickly, Scorpius nods at her. She begins to speak again, rambling about some potions homework assignment that they both had. It makes him feel a lot better to hear her incessant chatter.

There's an uproarious bout of laughter from several seats up. Scoprius doesn't even have to look up to know that it's coming from him – but he does anyway. He's startled to find those green eyes pinned on him, their brooding darkness juxtaposition against his amused expression. He's laughing at him. Laughing as if he's been told the funniest joke in the world.

Maybe he is the funniest joke in the world to Albus.

This wiry, pale and eternally dark boy of average height – who is he?

Scorpius doesn't even notice the boys sitting next to Albus, his eyes only seeing his old friend. He's in such a state of unadulterated shock that he doesn't register himself standing. Slowly, but surely, he backs away from the Ravenclaw table. His heartbeat thuds mercilessly loudly in his ears, making him deaf to all else, and he realises that everyone can see. Albus is still chortling with his quidditch friends, the object of his amusement Scorpius himself. He can't do this anymore.

He turns on his heel and dashes towards the front doors, doing all he can to maintain a stoic composure all the while. He distantly hears Aurora speak harshly to Albus, "I'm so disgusted. You should be ashamed of yourself,"

Scorpius collapses onto the steps outside the Great Hall, covering his face with his hands as the scene replays in his mind. He hasn't been running, but all of a sudden, it's becoming hard to breathe. His chest is constricting again, but this time, it's more difficult to gulp in air. His hands begin to shake, a precursor to his whole body eventually shaking as he struggles to draw in a breath among his mangled mutters to himself to "get it together".

Someone is sitting beside him then, small and dainty, rubbing his back soothingly. Calmly, they tell him to breathe in deeply through his nose, and out slowly through his mouth. Scorpius manages to understand, following their instructions without complaint. It takes him several minutes, but eventually the shaking and difficulty breathing subsides.

He peers up into bright, blue eyes looking at him with concern. A wry smile appears on her face then, "You ok?"

Scorpius manages to nod, "Yeah. Thanks, Rory."

"That's what I'm here for!" She withdraws herself from him then, allowing some space between them as she relaxes over the steps, "He's being an asshole. He'll come crawling back, don't you worry, babe."

He refrains from correcting her. Truth be told, he can't even think about Albus right now – it makes him crazy obviously, turning him into a shaking, unappealing mess. Scorpius can't find it in him to respond to her at all.

She grabs his hands, climbing down to sit in front of him, leaning lightly against his knees, "Don't let the critics get you down. We're in this together – all of us. We wouldn't want you to be anything but yourself… all of this? This is just the time in between. It won't last long. So, can you keep your chin up? People want to see that devastatingly handsome face."

He laughs at her, pushing the brunette away spiritedly, "Thanks. I needed that."

"I know. Now, can we please get to comparing our notes on the lads around here? Don't give me that look! I promise it'll be fun.."

"Get stuffed, Zabini." Scorpius says good-naturedly, letting Aurora help him up. She begins talking again, but none of it is being heard, because the echo of cruel laughter is still ringing in his ears. He isn't sure when he'll forget it.

A/N: Hey, all! Alright, so I really shouldn't be starting this - but once the idea came to me, I could not shake it. Plus, I've no HP WIP going on at the moment. Can't be having that, can we? Anyway, this should be about 5-6 chapters. They will be individual moments with different characters in relation to this news. They'll all be from Scorpius' POV, and not in chronological order - after all, where would the fun in that be?

I know this is a delicate subject to approach, and do it justice with respect, dignity and make it believable - so I am going to try my damnest. If people feel I'm not doing that, I'll rethink the whole story. Also, "announces he was gay" could be taken wrong, but just wait!

Disclaimer: I don't own HP or "Cough Syrup" by Young the Giants.

I'm hoping to update again on Tuesday.

Reviews would really be great, and spur me on to update mucho faster.

Thank you for reading,

CN.