Shivering at the chilling air, a minuscule girl named Emma wrapped her blue jumper tighter around her. Her father Thomas Aspen smiled encouragingly at his only child. "Ready to go?" Emma didn't nod enthusiastically at the question like her dad did many years ago when he was only a child. Hogwarts wasn't something to be excited about. You never came out the same.
Instead, she shrugged and grabbed the handles of her trolley. Her father and mother Monica following suit, they all charged at the wall between platforms 9 and 10.
Though she flinched, they easily passed through the wall, and Emma opened her eyes after a moment, being greeted with the scarlet engine of the Hogwarts express. It glimmered brightly in the light of the station, betraying no ill-intentions of the destination. The resting frown didn't move at the sight though. This was her prison bus.
Her dad clapped a hand on her shoulder. "Quite the sight isn't it? I remember seeing this for the first time." He laughed trying to cheer her up, but she didn't look any cheerier.
Many figures in black cloaks moved about. It was the standard style to wear such, but some glided with a greater purpose. Their noses were upturned, they glared at any child they didn't like the look of, the left sleeve of their cloaks was always cut, leaving their forearms exposed. However, the open sleeve was not a chilling inconvenience. A distinctive black mark covered their arm where cloth might normally. True Death Eaters would not come for such minor tasks as patrolling the Hogwarts Express, but the Dark Lord had employed a lower class for his followers(Their dark marks had differences that told what position they held). Still, that would not stop a stab of fear from striking Emma.
One of these figures sent a suspicious glance to Emma. A weak smile immediately appeared. "It's great Dad." Mr. Aspen nodded in approval.
Mrs. Aspen sighed and dabbed her eyes. One look at her daughter, and she burst into tears. She knelt down and looked at her daughter. "You're going to do great Sweetie okay?"
Emma bobbed her head up and down.
Mrs. Aspen laughed a bit. "And we know what how you're going to ask the hat for right?"
'Ravenclaw' Emma mouthed with a nervous giggle. The Dark Lord had eliminated houses in the beginning of his reign, but found the idea useful after some thought. It was an easy way to weed out his best and worst. Slytherins, cream of the crop; Hufflepuffs, moldable minds if he could gain their trust; Ravenclaw, researchers and workers behind the scenes; and Gryffindor… no one wanted to be a Gryffindor.
Her mother grasped her hands and giggled along quietly. She softly kissed her child on her forehead. "Be safe."
"Okay," Emma whispered back, her eyes closed as she longingly savored the last kiss she'd receive from her mother for a long time. Mrs. Aspen stood up and held her daughter's right hand. Mr. Aspen took hold of the left. They awkwardly drove the trolley to the train, never relinquishing their grips. Mr. Aspen loaded Emma's trunk onto the train. He reached under his glasses quickly and rubbed his eyes.
He picked up his little wisp of a girl and hugged her. Oh gosh, how could he even stand to let go knowing what was in store? "Love you."
"Love you too Daddy."
Her dad kept holding her and placed her in the train's doorway.
Emma waved goodbye. The train whistled with a piercing sound signaling it's departure. She stepped deeper inside the car, waving until her parents were out of her sight. A hollow feeling was left inside her when they disappeared. Her father and mother couldn't protect her anymore. She was alone.
With a heavy sigh, Emma picked up her equally heavy trunk and pulled it behind her, searching for a good compartment to sit in. Surprisingly, the first few ones were quite empty, but the reason became apparent soon. A sign in the corner of these first few windows read purebloods only. What constituted a pureblood had been blurred as the Dark Lord needed more and more followers, but it was apparent when you weren't considered one. Emma continued down the line without a second though.
She passed every compartment to make sure she was not missing a good one and it did not disappoint. The compartments abruptly ended, and Emma was met to find a compartment with only one other kid in it. A boy with a pointed face and blonde hair. His robes were luxury along with everything item beside him, yet he didn't seem extremely arrogant. His head was tilted downwards. Emma timidly stepped inside the compartment.
"May I sit here?"
He looked up slowly. "I guess." Emma tried to heave her trunk and cat inside quickly to not cause any trouble, but failed miserably with the heavy luggage. She heard a little noise a bit like a cough behind her as she worked to lift the luggage onto her seat and turned around to see the boy trying not to smile.
"Were you laughing at me?" Emma inquired.
The boy was still fighting his battle and settled for a nod.
She didn't know how to respond. The desire or ability for snide remarks were not something that came naturally as she had never been faced with the opportunity. "Oh." Awkwardly, Emma went back to lifting her trunk unsuccessfully. It was an effort not to appear like she was slowly withering inside as the boy watched. Of course, Emma was most likely not triumphing in that effort either.
"Would you like some help?" the boy asked after a while.
Emma paused, debating. "Yes." The boy stood up and grabbed one corner on the trunk.
"On three. One, two, three." They both lifted and the trunk was seated nicely. Emma leaned down to pick up her cat's cage and let him out, a calico cat named Patches.
"Allergic?" She asked as Patches settled in Emma's lap. The boy shook his head.
Emma stroked the cat's tail as he purred. "Thanks for helping me."
"Your welcome," he smiled out of politeness.
"I'm Emma," She ventured. He seemed nice enough even if he hadn't said much. For a boy with so much money, it was strange for him to not say anything rude and help her as well. How could he have so much money anyway? He wasn't sitting with the purebloods.
The boy stared at her for a bit, debating whether to answer. "I'm Scorpius."
A strange name. "That's a nice name."
The smirk returned. "No it's not. You can just say so if you want."
Emma shook her head and looked away from him. "That would be rude."
She could feel him staring. "I can take a joke you know. Not like I'm going to run and tell for someone thinking my name's a bit odd."
That's the first time I've ever heard that, Emma thought sharply in her head. "I'll keep that in mind."
Scorpius waited for her to say something else, but he finally accepted her silence with an annoyed grunt, muttering a couple things under his breath. One sounded distinctly like halfbloods and Emma shifted nervously in her seat.
Later on, an older student ducked in wearing his robes and a shiny green prefect badge. "Get dressed. We're arriving soon," he said roughly. Emma quickly dug into her bag for her robes to change into at once, but Scorpius didn't seem to move much. His eyes stayed glued outside the window.
"Didn't you hear me? You need to get dressed," He spoke with exasperation as if he was too good to be ordering around some stupid first years. Scorpius nodded slowly, but the prefect didn't move. "Hey wait…" The blond boy winced.
He stepped into the compartment. "What are you doing outside of the pureblood section Malfoy? And associating with a halfblood no less." Emma's blood ran cold. She had been talking to a Malfoy. The Malfoy's were a family apart of the inner ring of Death Eaters. And Emma had spoken to him like a normal person.
"I didn't want to sit with anyone else. She just happened to sit as well," Scorpius spoke to her as if she were lower than him, which she was. Why was he even polite in the first place?
"Then you could have made her leave. Are you forgetting who you are?" The prefect demanded.
Scorpius shook his head. "No."
"Well then kick her out."
He looked at her and spoke without emotion. "Leave." Emma quickly packed her things and heaved her trunk back off the seat. Patches padded around her feet as the two walked out together and the purebloods stayed. Just her luck to have something like that happen before her first day at Hogwarts!
Emma found the bathroom and changed in a stall. She was about to leave when she realized that her compartment wasn't available to her anymore. Patches purred and kept weaving between Emma's legs as she stared at her things. They would stay safe if she camped out in the loo right? They would have to. Emma went back inside.
She camped out on a seat in one of the stalls. Patches leaped onto Emma's lap, still purring and rubbing around for petting. Emma mindlessly obliged and did only this, not wanting to dwell on earlier event. They sat there until the train's whistle blew and came to a halt.
A/N:
Thank you for reading the first chapter! I hope you enjoyed it and continue reading.
Having reached the end, you will need to have some information. I started this story before the book came out and before I knew any specific details of the plot. Despite this, I am confident I can feasibly have this "What If" story within the new canon presented. Sorry if this is vague, but I want to avoid spoilers for those who have not read Cursed Child.
If you have read the Cursed Child and need some explanation as to how I fit my story along with new canon, I will be glad to give it in a private message.