Summary: Scorpius Malfoy has always been a bit of a prick. Elizabeth Stockhold was always at odds with the charming young King of Hogwarts. Could a new student open her eyes to the real reason behind ways?

Rating: T

Chapter 1: A New Term

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My mum stood next to my trolley, double and triple checking to make sure I had remembered everything that I needed. She was so paranoid whenever I went back off to Hogwarts, but I guess that is something to be expected from a muggle mother such as herself. It was no secret to me and my wizard father that she had a great fear of magic. It had been an especially rough time for my family once he told her that he was a wizard. First, it was the believability factor. She thought he was crazy for sure, but, well, he still won't tell me what he did to make her believe him. After that, it was reliving the horrors of the war that he faced, which gave him his scars. When he told her about fighting Death Eaters and being there when Harry Potter had killed Voldemort at Hogwarts, she initially refused to allow me to go to the school. It took quite some amount of convincing before she would let me. Even now there was a hint of fear in her voice when she would say goodbye.

"Mum, will you be coming onto the platform this time?" I asked, already aware of her answer.

She bit her lip and glanced at my father, who was smiling reassuringly at her. But she shook her head and said, "Elizabeth, I just don't think I can...not this year."

I forced a smile. After all it wasn't her fault she was scared. Magic is a scary thing. I only wished that she would come just once, so she could see what it was like on the other side.

My father and I leaned up against the brick wall casually. He tipped his hat to a muggle couple that passes by and then, just like that, he's gone. I only staid to watch the astonished look on their faces before I too, passed through the brick wall. On the other side, he's grinning from ear to ear.

"I don't think your boss would very much like what we just did," I said smiling nervously.

"Well, Mr. Potter is up for a nice joke I think anyway. Besides, it was only the trick of an eye. Such a simple magicians illusions!" He laughed as he wheeled my trolley around for me. We headed down the platform to the center of the train where I normally met Al. He was up ahead waiting eagerly so we could snatch a compartment far from the prefects. Before I went after him I stopped and turned to my father, giving him a tight hug.

"Now Elizabeth, I want you to write me at least once a week. And you tell me if that boy keeps on bothering you and Al, okay? I'm sure Mr. Potter will want to know about it too."

And just like that, there he was. Harry Potter was standing just next to my dad, smiling at me. "Good morning Elizabeth."

"Morning Mr. Potter," I replied cheerfully. I still haven't gotten used to the gawking of the first years and their parents at the sight of him. It never ended.

"You have a good time now, Elizabeth, you hear? I'll be seeing you for Christmas," my father said. "And hopefully I'll get your mum to come along to get you this time."

I sighed. "Don't force her, dad. She can't help that she's scared."

He smiled and bent down to kiss my forehead. "I know sweetie, but she needs to be brave for you. Now run along before the train leaves without you."

I waved goodbye to my dad and Mr. Potter as I jogged over to Al. The train whistled loudly, signaling for everyone to get aboard. Al helped me lift my trunk onto the train and into a compartment. Fred, Roxanne, Rose and James were already here. I put my tabby cat, Odie, down on Rose's lap and she immediately started to stroke him behind the all sat in silence for a moment before bursting into pointless laughter.

"I've missed you all," I sighed as I wiped away tears from the corners of my eyes.

Roxanne hugged me tightly. "We missed you too Elizabeth!"

"Oi, I reckon it'd be no fun without you here, bookworm," James said as he ruffled my hair jokingly.

"And poor Al would have to start talking to us," Fred gasped as he clutched dramatically at his chest and laid his head on Al's shoulder. "Oh woe is me! I have no friends! I have to actually talk to my family!"

Al shoved him a little but he was smiling just as happily as ever. We all share another laugh. I missed my friends so much.

The Potter's and the Weasley's had been my family basically since my second year at Hogwarts. My first year I had mostly spent my time in solitude, not talking to anyone or doing anything worth mentioning. It wasn't until Albus Potter had accidentally turned my brown hair blue in my second year that anything exciting had happened to me. It was all over after that. I was sucked right in to the vortex of the family. Soon my family was spending Christmas with their family, my face was in the "Where Are They Now - Famous Witches and Wizards" section of the Daily Prophet along side of the Potter family, and I was receiving discounts at George's shop. Perhaps the most significant change of all, was my new school record, showing all the detentions I had received after going along with James' and Fred's plans. They had broken through my wall...no...completely destroyed it! And now there was no turning back. I was a Potter now.

"Excuse me?"

We were laughing too hard to notice the girl who had opened our compartment door. I recognized her; she was in Ravenclaw as well. Her name was Lisbet.

"Hey Lisbet," I said with a smile. "What is it that you need?"

She tugged at her shirt and rocked back and forth. "Well, I can't find anywhere to sit and it looks like this compartment is full too..."

"Wait!" Al called before she left. He stood up and gestured to his own seat. "You can sit with us."

"B...but you were sitting there."

He rubbed the back of his neck and smiled. "Well, I can sit on the floor. It's no big deal, really. To be honest there are normally more of us in here anyways so it's not a problem."

James and Fred eyed each other, making kissing faces behind Al. Rose threw them a disapproving look and shushed them. "Yeah really," she said smiling. "I promise we don't bite!"

Lisbet bit her lip and took Al's seat with a small nod of thanks.

"So, Elizabeth! How was your summer?"

I shrugged. "To be honest it was rather boring. Except for when we went to see that magic circus of course! That was absolutely the highlight of my summer. But other than that I did homework and other unexciting things. At least in magic terms. I did finally get my license to drive cars. I still have my broom which is faster...but I can't ride that around in London."

"Have you brought it with you? You could try out for Quidditch!"

"Ha!" Al laughed. "She's a good flyer but a clumsy Quidditch player."

James sighed. "Well then maybe she ought to start practicing with us then, eh?"

"Why encourage her to play, James? She'd be on a different team," Roxanne said.

"A clumsy Chaser is exactly what he needs to win," I said with a wink in his direction.

He laughed and shook his head. "No of course not. I mean, well, that would be a bonus for me...but Quidditch is fun! You might enjoy it. You love flying don't you? You can make something out of that and Quidditch is one of them!"

"Yes, but I also like my brain," I said crossing my arms. "And as I recall you lost quite a bit of yours last year when you were hit in the head with that beater's stick!"

James rolled his eyes but there was a hint of a smile on his face.

The rest of the train ride was uneventful. Lisbet hardly spoke and when she did she didn't say much. Al and Rose were the only ones trying to talk to her. I didn't find it very useful at any rate, seeing as she didn't particularly like to talk to anyone. Most people thought she was arrogant and I must admit that I had thought so too for a while...but after spending some time in the dorms with her, I realized that it wasn't the case.

We changed into our robes halfway through the train ride. Sometimes it felt weird to be around the Potter's and the Weasley's. They were all so close and all of them were in Gryffindor. Not that it mattered. Ravenclaws had nothing against them, it's only that their Slytherin enemies were quick to become my enemies as well, even though Ravenclaw had no quarrels with them either. The House rivalry hadn't died, it had just tamed. To be honest, most Slytherins were quite civil with the Gryffindors and vice-versa. Even if it was a reluctant civility, it still existed. Only a few families held grudges and it just so happened that the Potter-Weasley family had succeeded in being caught up in most of them. My being the only real "outsider" to join their tight knit group it basically made me one of them as well.

I tucked my tie under my gray house sweater and pulled my black robes over my shoulders. The boys came back in then and returned to their seats. Al switched with James and sat next to Lisbet (who was swinging her feet back and forth and humming softly to herself now) and James sat on the floor. Roxanne and Rose quickly delved into the topic of the boys they fancied and James and Fred chatted about the Quidditch teams they fancied. I was left to stare out the window and watch the trees roll by. It was a rather serene environment and I enjoyed it.

It didn't take much longer for the train to grow dark as the night and for the speed to begin reducing or for the whistle to blow in a single sweet note over the stillness of the air. We were finally at Hogwarts. I sighed a sigh of relief and stood, pulling Odie from Rose's lap and tucking him under my arm. He meowed boredly and wiggled from my arms before taking refuge in the carriage above on top of Al's trunk. "Fine. But don't you go getting lost now, you here?"He meowed once again and I shook my head, following James out into the corridor.

We hurried along and tried to get out as soon as possible. James bounded ahead and snagged a carriage, helping me and Lisbet up into it to ride with him. Al got lost in the crowd so I figured I'd meet up with him as soon as we got to the Great Hall. I could see James staring at the empty space where the Thestrals were supposed to be.

"I almost wish I could see them," he mumbled.

"I'm glad you can't," I said somberly. "You know they aren't so much fun to look at."

He grunted a little and leaned over his knees. James wasn't normally such a depressed looking figure, but it was also a fact that he was eager to live up to his father's name. He sought out adventure just like his father did and was always jumping at the chance to be a hero. Seeing him like this was almost pitiful.

"Where have you seen them?"

I shrugged a little. "My dad drew me a picture once. He can see them now too. He says he's glad he doesn't have to ride in the carriages anymore. They remind him too much of the war."

James frowned and put his arm around my shoulder, pulling me in closer to his side. "My dad hardly tells us war stories," he said rubbing his chin. "But I'm afraid to hear them too. To know what happened to him. Sometimes I forget that we weren't the only ones affected by the war."

He was my brother and I hoped that he never, ever was able to see the Thestrals."I can't even imagine."

He jumped when the carriage started moving.

All the while, Lisbet was still humming.