*I don't own anything.

"Suddenly there he was, silvery black and white
The bluest magical eyes staring right into mine
Never ever had I seen in a wolf, such a beautiful beast" –King Diamond, House of God

(-)Chapter One: Preface

Scorpius Malfoy had caused his parents grief for as long as he could remember, and tonight would be no different. As the blade made an indentation in his skin, Scorpius wished he could slow down, and be a little less crazy. He closed his eyes tightly and tried to forget about the pain.
Throughout his life, he had been to quite a few psychiatrists, and he came to realize that they knew nothing. They had blindly thrown a diagnosis at him, and explained to his parents that the endorphins resulting from the cutting was what kept him going. Endorphins meant little to Scorpius; he hated the pain more than anything, and got no relief from it. Still though, no psychiatrist could explain it, no healer or drug could make it go away.

Deep down, Scopius knew why he made the cuts. It wasn't a cry for attention, and the pain didn't give him any relief. In fact, Scorpius hated cutting. It was always the scars he was after, because without scars, he didn't feel like himself.
He had tried to explain this to his parents, but they seemed much more satisfied with what the doctors and healers had decided. To them, their son had an addiction to endorphins, and needed to be medicated. Scorpius took his medications diligently, and tried to hide the scars as best he could.
His mother, Virginie, had cried when she first found out, and this hurt Scorpius most of all. Only ten years old, and already exhibiting symptoms of depression. He wasn't depressed, and he didn't understand why his parents couldn't see that. He was rarely upset, and he got along well with most children his age.
His father was also quite upset and worried with the news, which was generally uncharacteristic of his father. Draco was not very talkative, nor did he usually show much emotion. If anything, taking Scorpius to therapy was one of the first times he became aware of his father's love for him. Scorpius didn't benefit from seeing the weakness in his father, the once strong roll model reduced to nothing because of him.

Scorpius heard the bathroom door creep open, and tried to hide the blade and the bleeding gash on his shoulder.
"Oh, I didn't think anyone was in here," said his mother in her slight French accent apologetically. She smiled good-naturedly, and then froze upon seeing his shoulder. "No," she said, "please, don't tell me you've started again. Scorpius…"
Scorpius' stomach was in knots, and he felt his face heat up, "It's not what it looks like, mom, I… I fell."
His mother looked him in the eyes, and he saw the anger and pain in them. She ignored what he had said, and immediately started yelling for his father.
Scorpius looked down in shame, "mom… don't call dad," he said softly.
His father's footsteps were coming up the stairs, and this made his heart beat faster. His mother had closed her eyes, and it looked like she was holding back tears.
Panic was flowing through Scorpius, and the days spent with therapists came back to him in a flash. His world was moving both too quickly and too slowly all at once. "Please," he whispered, "please don't tell dad."

(-)

Dinner was eaten in silence. Scorpius held his head down in shame, Virginie held back tears, but Draco appeared to be relatively undisturbed. "Your letter for Hogwarts came today," he said nonchalantly.
Scorpius continued to move his food around on his plate until the words clicked. For the first time since he had been caught, he looked his father in the eyes.
Draco continued to eat his dinner, oblivious to his son's gaze. His mother broke the silence, "You're not suggesting sending him there, are you?"

Scorpius' heart started beating quickly again, "but… I want to go!" he blurted out.
Seeming to ignore him, his mom continued, "He can't go in his condition. He hurts himself, doesn't seem to be getting better at all. He needs to stay with us so we can watch over him," his mother watched Draco, expecting an answer, "are you even listening?"
Draco grunted in response, "I don't think we need to worry about that, Ginny. Hogwarts has good nurses and staff, if we told the headmaster of his condition, they'd monitor him. What I'm most concerned about is how the other children would treat him."
Scorpius watched his parents argue, his eyes going back and forth, "what do you mean, dad?" he asked.
Draco raised his eyes from his plate, "our family was a traitor in England. My family specifically, not your mother's. The children will know your last name, and treat you like a traitor."
His mother put a hand on Draco's shoulder, and smiled gently at Scorpius, "you're so much safer in France. You can go to beauxbatons during the day, and come home each night."
Scorpius didn't bother to hide the frown on his face, "I don't like beauxbatons, and I don't like speaking French."
His father returned to eating quietly, and his mom tried to sound hopeful, "you'll find friends that speak English at school. It'll be okay, honey."
"I've always wanted to go to Hogwarts."
"Honey," his mother began, but Draco cut her off.
"You can go then. Just be warned, they don't like Malfoys in England anymore."
Scorpius couldn't hold in his smile, "I really want to, dad. Why don't they like our family though?"
His mother shook her head across the table, but Draco answered anyway, "I told you, we're traitors. Your grandparents tried to help Voldemort's rise to power. You know that's why we're in exile."
"But, grandpa's not in exile. Why are you?" Scorpius asked without thinking.
"That's enough for tonight, Scorpius. Do you want to hear more about Hogwarts?"

(-)

"When Albus was a toddler, he tried to crawl away from the burrow during one of Molly's garden parties. Lucky Teddy caught him before he got too far," said Harry.
His siblings and family members all laughed at the story. Albus could feel himself blushing. His mother, Ginny, walked in the room with his birthday cake. Eleven candles were burning on top, and his family started to sing.
"Make a wish, Albus," said his father gently.
'Don't let me be in Slytherin' he thought to himself as he blew out the candles. Ten of the eleven stopped burning.
"That means Albus has a girlfriend!" exclaimed Lily.
"What's her name?" asked James as he ruffled his brother's hair.
Albus blushed again, and his grandmother fussed with fixing his hair. His mom started cutting the cake, and putting in on the paper plates.
"You get the first piece," she said with a smile, and kissed him on the forehead, "happy birthday, sweetie."
The group finished up the cake and told more embarrassing stories about how Albus would try to run off while he was growing up.
It wasn't much of a joke to him, because frankly it scared him. The detail that Teddy and his parents left out of each story was that he only ever tried to escape during the full moon. Of course, Albus couldn't remember all the times it happened when he was a kid, but he knew that he still felt the need on those special nights. It was easier to forget about it now, but that didn't mean he didn't want to run away to the forest under the full moon.
Maybe he was just weird, but he constantly wondered what he would find if he just gave into the need and ran. Would he become a werewolf? Would he meet someone?
Next came time to open the presents. He got a new broom from his parents, a magic primer from his aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron ("for getting ahead in school"), some jokes and candies from his uncle George, and several other school supplies.
After Albus finished opening his gifts, and had thanked all his relatives, he and his cousins went out to the quidditch pitch to try out his new broom. As usual, Albus, Lily, and Hugo were the chasers, Rose was the keeper, and James was the seeker (because his Aunt Hermione did not allow them to play with bludgers).
Because there weren't enough players, the game deteriorated quite quickly. Hugo and Lily made too many goals on Rose, which upset her, James couldn't find the snitch, and Albus was too busy playing on his new broom. Eventually, Rose, James, and Albus landed on the ground to talk, and Lily and Hugo ran off to play auror and death eater.
"What houses do you think we'll be in, Albus?" asked Rose.
Albus thought for a moment, "you'll definitely be in Ravenclaw, and I'll be in Gryffindor."
Rose smiled, seemingly pleased with his answer, "I hope so."
"Yeah right," said James laughing, "Rosey will be in Hufflepuff, and Severus there will be in Slytherin."
"That's not funny," cried Rose, "I'm smart enough to be in Ravenclaw, and brave enough to be in Gryffindor if I want."
Albus sulked. He wanted to make his dad proud, but he didn't think he was brave enough for Gryffindor or smart enough for Ravenclaw. He didn't think he was ruthless either, so maybe he'd be in Hufflepuff. Maybe his dad wouldn't mind that…

"Earth to Slytherin," said James as he waved his hand in front of Albus, "you know I was kidding, right?"

Albus wasn't so sure.