STOCKHOLM SYNDROME
A/N: Written for the Reviews Lounge 'Magic of Birthdays' Challenge.
Chapter 1: An Empty Heart Plagued With Paranoia
It was nine o'clock when the first bell of the day rang to announce the commencement of the first classes of the day, the students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry were all seated in the classrooms, their stomachs full from breakfast and their minds ready to tackle their studies. The Entrance Hall was empty and quiet with the exception of the clinking of gemstones in the large hourglasses as teachers began giving out house points to exceptional students or otherwise deducting them in the case of those not-so-exceptional ones. The soft sound of pitter-patter broke the silence; it came from the staircase leading down to the Dungeons and Slytherin common room. The noise grew in intensity until a teenage boy emerged from the archway, his blond hair dishevelled and his uniform in need of a good ironing, almost as if he had slept in them. He nearly drops his books as he skid on the grey flagstone floor whilst attempting to turn a quick left. He ran up the marble stone steps leading to the first floor. He turned into a corridor and ran as fast as he could to the end of it where the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom was. He stopped at the door, adjusting his robes and book bag which were practically falling off his shoulders. After slicking his hair back, he knocked and opened the door. The entire classroom turned to him, including the Grindylow swimming in the aquarium on the teacher's desk.
"How nice of you to join us Mister Malfoy… May I ask where you've been?"
Scorpius held the strap of his book bag tightly in anxiety; he opened his mouth but closed it when he found himself without any excuses. So he merely mumbled an almost incoherent "Sorry, professor."
"Hmm, very well, twenty points from Slytherin for being late and another five for disturbing my class. I would have expected more from you, Mister Malfoy. Sit down." The teacher continued talking about the Grindylow as Scorpius made his way to his desk; his fellow Slytherins shot him looks of disgust for causing them precious house points. Scorpius sat down and took out his textbook but chose to stare out the window instead of listen. He had always hated this time of year. Not because of the cold weather or the fact that he was back at school after the Christmas holidays, but simply because it was his birthday.
Ancient Runes went by in a blur. As it wasn't a class that required any wands, just quills, Scorpius didn't pay much attention and ended up doodling a birthday cake on the corner of his piece of parchment, only to scribble it out later on. The bell, which signalled the end of class, barely shook Scorpius from his daze. He was walking down the corridor when he felt a violent tug at his schoolbag, causing it to fall and flying several feet away from him, its contents scattered on the stone floor.
He turned around to find Marcus O'Malley and his gang of brutes laughing. As they vacated the hallway, disappearing into the flurry of students heading to the Great Hall for lunch, Scorpius slowly walked over to his books, his fists were clenched and his jaw held tight. He knelt down, some students tried to avoid him, others didn't care as much. One stepped on his Potions book. "Watch it!" Scorpius snapped, his head turning around to see to whom the shoes belonged.
"Some people can be so rude…"
Scorpius turned to find Rose Weasley smiling at him, knelt down on the floor, her kind brown eyes shining from the sunlight pouring through the windows and her curly red hair as bushy as ever. "Excuse me?" Scorpius said; his eyes fixated on her, like a deer that had just run in front of a speeding car, its headlights glaring. Another person stepped on another of his books, this time the shoe was larger.
Rose grabbed the book quickly and after clearing her throat she said, "Well yeah, I was standing just over there," she pointed to the wall, "and saw the whole thing…" She gathered some of the stray pieces of parchment into her hands, "I really didn't think that Marcus was capable of doing something like that, he never did seem the type."
Scorpius stood up and Rose followed, "Yeah well, I guess we belong to different circles." He couldn't help but roll his eyes.
Rose smiled and handed him his books, "Yeah…" A slightly awkward silence followed as Scorpius put the last remaining books in his bag and Rose tugged at the straps of hers. "So I'm heading over to the Hall for lunch; and I was thinking if you'd could to walk me there?"
"I'm actually not going there for lunch…"
"Really? You're not going to eat?"
"Erm, well… I usually go down to the kitchens and pick up something there. I much prefer eating in the courtyard by myself than eat in there and be scrutinized for actually wanting to eat by myself," Scorpius said turning, deciding to leave the conversation at that as Rose was one of those who sat with those considered to be at the top of the social hierarchy in their year.
"Wait!" Rose skipped a few steps so that she was walking next to him, "Do you mind if I join you?"
Scorpius walked faster, "Don't you have friends to hang out with?"
She was slightly taken aback by his response to her question but continued to pursue nonetheless, "I don't want to hang out with them today."
Rolling his eyes once more, Scorpius said, "And why not? The whole lot of them practically idolize you because you're dating that loser O'Malley!"
Rose stopped walking, staring at Scorpius' back in disbelief. She watched as he reached the end of the corridor and took a left down to the entrance hall. She took one deep breath and ran after him, keeping an eye on his blond bobbing head, watching it disappear behind the Entrance Hall stairs and down the stairs leading to the Hufflepuff common room. She cocked an eyebrow, wondering just exactly what he was doing. She quickened her pace and ran down the steps, following the corridor that she was met with down there. She rounded a corner and saw Scorpius remove his hand from a painting, it swung open and he walked in. The sound of laughter echoed through the empty hallway. She tried to get there before it closed but she was too late, she was met with an assortment of fruits painted with such bright colours that it hurt her eyes in the dimly lit underground corridor.
She stopped and paced in a circle, figuring out what the password could be. She reached up and touched the painting, remembering Scorpius' movements. Her fingers were passing over the rough green of the pear when she remembered something her father had said a few years ago.
"That mother of yours, Rose! She just loves to cause scenes at every restaurant we eat in! Although she has worked well and hard for house-elf rights, she couldn't possibly think that it would all just end!"
"Stop it, dad… I completely agree with her, it is so cruel the way those restaurant-owners treat them."
"Oh, Rose… I'm sorry for acting this way, it is your birthday after all. You know, I remember the first time your mother had started really talking about their rights. Yes, I was sitting in the common room when she throws this whole box full of hand-made spew badges in front of me –"
"It's S.P.E.W., dad, Society for the Promotion of –"
"Elfish Welfare… You think I didn't already know that, Rosie? So she hands us these badges and insists that we pay two sickles to join. I was outraged! I tried to argue my way out of it but she wouldn't have it… She even ended up dragging Harry and I to the kitchens…"
"The kitchens? In Hogwarts? I thought you weren't allowed in there."
"Yeah well, you won't get caught. Those elves rush at the chance to give you something to eat. All you have to do is tickle the pear…"
"Elves?"
She extended her forefinger and stroke the oil painting and was taken aback when the pear began to squirm in the painting, a chuckling sound followed and the painting swung open. Rose couldn't believe what she saw: A large room, very similar to that of the Great Hall, was bustling with activity. Towers of dishes rose up high towards the ceiling like skyscrapers, some shrinking and others growing. The dirty ones slowly shrunk in size while clean ones rose up like a tree that had been made to grow extremely fast. Some were even moving from one end of the room to another, being delivered to a cooking station, Rose got a glimpse of a small house-elf underneath one of them, carrying it.
The intense gush of smells hit Rose's face, almost making her sick from the sheer volume. She opened her eyes to find a large pair of blue ones staring directly at her. "Visitor!" it shouted. The roaring of the fire burning on the stove and the clanging and crashing of dishes and various pots, pans or metallic utensils silenced into an almost deafening silence. Scorpius Malfoy turned around, a female house-elf at his feet, handing him a meaty sandwich. "Weasley?"
The cooks returned to their chopping and frying and the ones at the sinks continued scrubbing the dishes. The blue-eyed elf that was looking at Rose approached her, "Would you like anything, miss?"
"Excuse me?"
"Would you like something to eat? Something to drink?"
"Oh no thank you… I'm fine," Rose smiled down at her. The small house-elf shrugged her shoulders and continued her way. Scorpius walked towards her, taking a bite out of his sandwich.
"What are you doing here, Weasley?"
"I'd prefer if you'd just call me Rose, I find it extremely rude that you would call me by last name, especially since I've never done anything to upset you."
Scorpius looked around, avoiding Rose's fiery gaze. After a few moments, his grey eyes met hers, "Would you like something to eat?"
"What?"
"Food. Ever heard of it? They'll make you anything down here. All you have to do is ask."
Rose crossed her arms and shook her head, her gaze dropped to her shoes, "I don't believe in the exploitation of other magical creatures."
Scorpius couldn't help but smile at this; he took a few steps towards her, "Well good luck with that, considering how everything we do - from eating to having clean bedrooms or bathrooms - here is courtesy of this fine service." He stepped around her and continued out into the corridor.
"Aargh!" Rose grabbed a muffin from the cooking station next to her. "Do you mind if I have this?"
The house-elf at that station glanced over his shoulder and shook his head, "Help yourself, miss."
"Thank you!" Rose called as she ran out of the portrait hole. "Malfoy!" Rose shouted.
Scorpius, who was already at the foot of the staircase, turned around, "Back to last-name terms now, are we?"
"Can you stop doing that?"
"What?"
"Speaking like that, speaking in those awful short sentences and in that cynical and sardonic tone. It's so cold. I actually helped you pick up your books back there and thinking that I'd actually make a friend today," Rose paused for both a breath and for a response from Scorpius.
After a few moments, he spoke, "Do you mind if we could go upstairs? It really is very dark down here." He disappeared behind the corner of the wall. Rose ran after him, curly hair swaying, her book bag bumping against her side, muffin in hand. She followed him up the stairs and into the entrance hall, climbing up the entrance hall stairs and turning into the corridor. His blond head turned yet again into another corridor and another until it disappeared behind an archway leading to a courtyard. He sat on one of the stone benches and took another bite out of his sandwich. Rose sat next to him as he pulled a flask out of his bag and took a gulp from it. He offered some of it to Rose but she declined the offer.
They sat there in silence for a few minutes, Scorpius wolfing down his sandwich and Rose picking at her blueberry muffin. Scorpius looked over, and noticed her lack of appetite, "What's wrong? Still sticking up for that House-Elf rights thing?"
"No," Rose said slowly, she sighed, "I just didn't realize that it was blueberry. I've never really cared much for blueberries."
"Oh. Well, you can have my chocolate-chip cookie if you want…"
Rose smiled, "Mine looks horrible. I've been nibbling and picking at it for the past ten minutes! No, I can wait until dinner."
Scorpius took another gulp from the flask, "Well, class doesn't start for another twenty minutes. If you want, I can take you there so you can get something to eat."
"Oh, I don't know…"
"Well, you're probably going to meet your friends over there anyway, right? I might as well walk you."
Rose's smile grew broader, "Yeah, okay, thanks."
Scorpius stood up, his hand extended, offering to help her up. She took it and they both headed over to the Great Hall, talking about the classes they were taking and what they were planning to do after they graduated. Rose grabbed a pie and a glass of water and brought it over to the Gryffindor table, which was her house, and sat across from Scorpius who was glancing around somewhat nervously, "What's wrong, Scorpius? You look agitated," Rose laughed. Scorpius gave her an awkward smile and continued to glance around. Rose furrowed her eyebrows, took a spoonful of the pie and popped it into her mouth. "Mmm…"
Scorpius raised an eyebrow at the bushy-haired girl sitting across from him, "I thought you were against the cruelty of house-elves."
Rose cleared her throat, "Well, my mum got me into it. She was a devoted fighter for their rights; she believed that they had to be treated like every other capable magical being."
"Hermione Granger?"
Rose was slightly taken aback by this, "Yes, how did you know?"
"Spew. I always found it a strange name for such an organization. Was it intended? Naming it something that sounds a lot like the word that means –"
Rose sighed, "Yes. I know. Thank you Scorpius, really, for allowing me a bit of insight into your wonderful thoughts."
Rose polished off the rest of her pie and suggested walking to their next class together. Scorpius nodded and the two made their way down to the greenhouses for Herbology. They were walking down the stone steps when Scorpius turned to Rose and said, "This is the best birthday I've ever had."
"What? Your birthday? I didn't know."
"Well, no one in the school does. When I was younger, my mother would make such a big deal about it… She would tell me that things would be different once I went to school; she told me that no one would be there to protect me against the wrongs of the world." Rose looked down to her shoes, she was ashamed for ever thinking that he was anything less than an honourable person. "I never thought much about it," he continued, "until I came here and I was bombarded with all these stories about my family." He let out a sharp exhale of breath, "I've hated my birthday ever since, ashamed that I didn't have any friends to share my turning of age, ashamed at the fact that my mother of all people was the only one to ever show me a good time; until now…"
They had just turned the corner of one of the glass houses when one of Rose's friends came pounding towards them, the back of her robes splattered with mud from running in the damp grass, her long black hair swaying. "Rose!" Corinne Jamison exclaimed before reaching her friend.
"Hey, Cory…" Rose said, slightly embarrassed by her friend's concern for her hour's absence from their usual lunches together.
"Where were you? Marcus was so worried, you wouldn't believe it if I told you that he had his friends go looking for you. They looked through every nook and…" Corinne trailed off; she had just noticed Scorpius just standing there, his tongue in his cheek, trying to keep himself from laughing. "…Cranny…" Corinne shot Scorpius a cold smile before saying, "Rose, can I speak to you for a moment?"
"You are speaking to me, Cory…" Rose laughed, with a roll of her eyes.
Corinne smiled that smile of hers once more before saying, "Rose, honey, you know what I mean…"
Rose turned her head, glancing at Scorpius, "Oh… Do you mind if we had a bit of privacy, Scorpius?"
Scorpius blinked a few times before slowly saying, "Sure. I'll just be, um, over there… hanging out with Marcus and his charming friends." He tightened his lips, walking away, giving the boys a 'what's up?' before the load of them burst into laughter and turned their back on him.
Rose lowered her head, why are they so mean to him? she asked herself. "Rose, what did you think you were doing hanging out with Scorpius Malfoy?" Corinne spit out his name as if he was the vilest thing that ever walked the face of the planet. "You know who his father is, don't you?"
"Yes, I do, Corinne," Rose said firmly.
"Then…" Corinne started, "Did you just call me Corinne?" Rose shook her head and walked away from her best friend of three years, walking into the greenhouse with the rest of the students.
Scorpius was scribbling in some notes in his Advanced Potion-Making book before adding in powdered Valerian Root to his Draught of Living Death potion when Rose approached him, carrying a pestle and mortar. "Scorpius," she whispered, "Meet me outside in the corridor after class. We'll make a run for it…" Scorpius turned around to answer her but she was already preparing the Valerian Root with bitter-looking Corinne. He hadn't seen her since Herbology, after which she had been whisked away with Marcus. His Potions partner, Peter Wu, shook him from his thoughts, telling him to stir whilst he went to grab a piece of wormwood from the cupboard.
The bell rang and Scorpius was held back because he had to clean up and grab a sample of his potion to the professor. Rose was standing out in the corridor with her "friends", Marcus' arm slung across her shoulders. Scorpius took a deep breath before approaching the large group, clearing his throat to make himself noticed. Marcus turned around, "Well look who it is. What are you doing here, spawn of Death Eater?" He laughed, followed by his minions.
"Marcus!" Rose exclaimed, appalled at the remark. Was this really what Scorpius had been going through for almost six years?
"Well, O'Malley, I was wondering if I could just borrow your darling Rose for a moment. She's a smart girl and I need to ask her a few questions about Arithmancy, a subject you clearly would not understand," Scorpius' smirk was met with a balling of the fists on Marcus' part.
Rose bit her lip, "Of course, Scorpius." Rose grabbed his arm and readjusted the strap of her book bag, "Excuse us."
Marcus watched the two speak in hushed tones as they walked away; it wasn't until they turned the corner at the end of the corridor when he realized what had just happened. "Aargh," he shouted in frustration, he dropped his book bag and ran down the corridor after them. He pushed his way through the crowd of students - inadvertently pushing a small first-year to the floor - determined to save Rose from the treacherous hands of Scorpius Malfoy and his Death Eater ways, his eyes focused on a bobbing curly mass of red hair just a few meters down the way. He continued running, even after the end-of-week rush of students heading to their dormitories enveloped the red hair.
"Mother of…"
"Mister O'Malley!" Marcus heard a shrill voice cry from behind him. He turned around to find his Transfiguration teacher standing behind him, a crying boy by her side. "I need to have a word with you concerning Head Boy next year…
