Scorpius Malfoy's eyes were fixated on his clock. His alarm was set to go off any moment now and although he had hardly slept all night he was still waiting for the painful cuckoo of the bird in the clock before he got up. It was 5.58. Two minutes. He closed his eyes for a moment; maybe he could sleep for those two minutes. No such luck. He opened them again. 5.58. Scorpius sighed and rolled over and shoved his head under one of his many pillows. His spread his arms out in frustration and he pushed his palms against the wall. Taking a deep breath Scorpius rolled back over and looked at the clock. 5.59.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Scorpius muttered. He threw his blankets off him and sat up, running a hand through his hair. The tall blonde had been awake until 4am finishing his summer reading. Staying awake until the early hours of the morning wasn't an issue. He'd done it most nights during the summer break. The problem was that today was September 1st and although the train didn't leave the station until 11am he still had to get up and get ready, which for Scorpius Malfoy could be quite a task.

Standing at six foot, Scorpius barely fit in his mirror. He'd have to talk to someone about that. He needed a bigger mirror, maybe floor to ceiling or a full wall mirror. He ran his fingers through his hand again and pulled a face. It was too blonde. He didn't like blonde. His father's hair was blonde and it was almost always slicked back. Scorpius hated that. He hated looking like his father.

Two hours later Scorpius was back in front of the mirror and his hair was no longer blonde. It was more a wispy, silvery white colour. That was how Scorpius liked his hair. It was naturally soft and when it was cut short, like it was now, he felt just that extra bit more confident. Not that Scorpius needed help in the confidence department. But he liked his hair short.

For a guy who woke up hours earlier than he normally would have just to ensure that his hair was the right colour for the first day of school, you might also think that he would have been as organised about the outfit that he wanted to wear that day. Appearance was important to Scorpius. He liked to look a particular way and because of this, before he had gone to bed he had pulled a pair of skinny black jeans and a plain white t-shirt out of his enormous wardrobe ready for when he woke up.

However, when Scorpius looked at the outfit he couldn't be more disappointed. It was too boring. Not enough Pow for the first day of school. He dropped his towel and pulled on a pair of green boxer briefs. He then proceeded to spend the following hour pulling out every piece of clothing he owned and trying various outfits on and off trying to find the right combinations.

His wardrobe consisted of a number of plain t-shirts in a variety of colours, mainly dark blues, greens and reds. A variety of black and blue jeans, all faded to slightly different shades. Nothing in his wardrobe really said Pow, but Scorpius usually made something work. The fifteen year old finally settled on the white t-shirt he had initially chosen and a pair of black skinny jeans that weren't quite as faded as the original ones.

Perfect.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Come in," Scorpius didn't look up. He was now ruffling through his collection of shoes. His door swung open, "Don't suppose you're ready, darling?"

Astoria Greengrass sat in her wheelchair, dressed in draping robes of a silvery colour. Her hair was a rich mahogany brown and had been curled perfectly to frame her face. Her skin was pale, but not quite as pale as her son's, and her body was slim. She rolled herself into her son's room and sighed upon seeing the mess he had created with his clothes, "Scorpy, darling, you've hardly packed." He hated being called Scorpy.

Scorpius waved his hand in an attempt to guide his mother's attention towards his trunk on his desk. "I've packed everything else but how am I supposed to choose just a few these clothes to take. It's not fair that I can't take it all." He'd finally found a chunky pair of black boots with studs on the heel that he was pulling onto his feet. "I mean, can't we just pay Hogwarts some more money for a bit of wardrobe space." It was a joke. Sort of.

"We go through this every year, honey. Here, I'll shrink some of the clothes for you so that you can pack them into your trunk but you'll need to get someone to help you turn them back. And if I get another letter about how you aren't maintaining your living area, I'll come down there myself and I'll bring all of these clothes home and burn them."

That made Scorpius look at her. "You wouldn't!"

Astoria nodded, "I will. Do you know how many times Head Mistress McGonagall contacted us last year? There were so many complaints; Scorpy and I don't want to be setting up a standard for your sister. I've told her she has to limit her clothes; she's got no choice."

"Well aren't I in luck then? McGonagall's not coming back this year," Scorpius grinned.

"Ah, but you could always get stuck with somebody worse," Astoria smiled back. "You've got ten minutes. I want your clothes folded on your bed and you have to be ready. Your Nan will be here soon, she'll be taking you this morning." Astoria wheeled herself back out of the room. "Ten minutes," she called back.

Thirty minutes later Scorpius had finally managed to fold all the clothes he wanted, paired his shoes up and even picked out all the jewellery he needed. That particular day he'd pulled on some gold bangles onto each arm and a thin gold chain around his neck. His mother watched him fuss over the piles of clothing and before he could change his mind again she pointed her wand and muttered a spell under her breath. All of Scorpius' clothes shrunk so small that he could pick them up with two hands. He tucked them into his trunk, shut the lid and locked it.

"All ready and with time to spare," he grinned and pulled the trunk off the desk.

"Not really. Aurelia and Narcissa are down stairs, they've been waiting for twenty minutes."

Scorpius shrugged, "Better late than never."

Narcissa Malfoy, although not tall, had a presence about her that commanded respect and was somewhat intimidating to most. "Straighten up, boy," were the first words out of her mouth when she saw her grandson. He did. It was almost automatic. In fact, on most occasions these were the first words out of her mouth. Usually followed with a smile and a hug. As Scorpius reached his Nan he stretched out his arms but she did not do the same. "Are you really going to be wearing that on your first day?"

Aurelia snickered. Aurelia was Scorpius' younger sister and this was her first year going to Hogwarts. At only eleven she was tall for her age. Her legs stretched out beneath the skirt of her blue dress. Her hair was blonde, matching the shade the Scorpius' natural tone. It came down to the middle of her back and was curled in the same perfect manner as her mother's.

Scorpius scowled, "what's wrong with this outfit?"

"Of course you did," muttered Aurelia.

"Don't mutter, Aurelia," Narcissa said, her voice quiet but her tone firm, "and Scorpius, back in your father's day he used to wear suits on his first day. He commanded respect and attention from his classmates. He was classic."

Scorpius rolled his eyes. He hated being compared to his father. "Well I'm not father, am I?"

"Now, now," Astoria cut in, "I think he looks perfectly fine, Cissy. He might not dress like his father but they're more alike than either of them care to admit."

This made Narcissa smile. "Well, come on then. It's almost ten o'clock and you want to get a good seat on the train don't you?"

The children said farewell to their mother with the promises of letters every week from both of them. There were hugs, there were kisses and then they were off. Each child held their belongings with one hand and held on to their Nan with the other. With a loud crack! they were gone.