Possession
"No, no! I truly adore wearing robes that are two inches too short!" Astoria snapped sarcastically, scowling at the poor shop assistant.
Scorpius rolled his grey eyes, fidgeting briefly with the ends of his sleeves before slipping past his mother and the women she was bullying and heading out onto the street of Diagon Alley.
The seven year old wandered aimlessly through the busy street, expensive shoes scuffing on the cobble stoned pavement, eyes travelling over the numerous shops selling books and clothing and potion ingredients.
Pretending not to notice the weary and often loathing looks he was receiving he made his way towards the famous Weasley joke shop. He had never been allowed in the brightly coloured shop, his father was sure he wouldn't be welcome and his mother found pranks to be overly cheerful.
"Who're you?" It was a young girl, leaning against a wall of the shop. She appeared to be around the same age as Scorpius, her brown doe eyes watching him with confusion as he stood gazing at the shop.
"Scorpius." He told her; not bothering to mention his last name assuming his white blonde hair would be enough to tell her.
"I'm Rose." She informed him, fiddling with a clip that held back red locks as she wandered towards him. "Are you going in?"
"No." Scorpius replied in a bored tone. "You're annoying me, you know?"
She looked darkly at him for a moment before dismissing his comment. "Why not?"
"Why aren't you?" He countered.
"I've already been in." She confessed. "Mum sent me out. James is meant to be watching me. But he went off somewhere with Fred."
Scorpius looked at her with disinterest and didn't bother to press for more details.
"It was because I kept telling Hugo to go away." She told him anyway. "It's not my fault he's so annoying."
Scorpius nodded absently.
"Do you have any siblings?" Rose wondered.
"No."
"Lucky." She breathed, her hand coming down from her hair to pick at her untidy fingernails.
"Lonely." Scorpius argued.
She looked at him with interest for a moment before letting her eyes travel down the road. "Want to go to the bookstore?"
"Wont your mother come looking for you?" He asked sceptically.
"Yes." She said nodding. "That'll be the first place she looks."
Scorpius shrugged and followed her as she lead him through the bustling crowd.
He watched with mild intrigue as the girl beamed at the sight of the impossibly tall book shelves, breathing in the smell of parchment and ink deeply, running her pale fingers over the leather bound spines.
"Do you like to read?" She asked him, as she began to flick through a book with runes detailing the cover.
"I do." He said, scowling as a women pulled her young son away when she saw him.
"What's that about?" Rose asked, looking over her shoulder at where his glare was directed.
"You don't know?" He replied, looking surprised. No wonder she had decided to talk to him.
"Don't know what?" She said, brown eyes sweeping over his face in confusion.
"I'm one of the Malfoy's." He told her, an arrogant stance and humourless smirk changing his whole person.
"Right." She said nodding, before declaring. "I'm one of the Weasleys."
"Our fathers hate each other." He commented.
"Mum says the war was meant to end hate." Rose quoted.
"I thought it was meant to kill the Dark Lord." Scorpius said.
"That too." She quipped, making him smile lightly.
"Rose!"
"Over here mum." Rose called over her shoulder, rolling her eyes at Scorpius.
An aggravated Hermione Weasley stalked towards them, a little red-headed boy clinging to her hand.
"I told you to wait outside!" Hermione snapped, looking thoroughly put out. "Where did James go?"
Rose didn't appear to be fazed by her mother's tone of voice. "With Fred somewhere." She told the older women.
Hermione rolled her eyes exasperatedly. "Of course he did." She muttered, making a mental note to have a discussion with Ginny later. "You, are in deep trouble."
Rose nodded solemnly, before turning towards Scorpius and saying, "Mum? This is Scorpius."
Hermione looked surprised for a moment as she took in the slight blonde boy before smiling kindly and saying, "Draco's son?"
"Right." Scorpius nodded.
"Do you think I could see Scorpius again mum?" Rose inquired, surprising the bored looking Scorpius into awareness.
Hermione looked apprehensive for a moment before mumbling, "Well I'm not sure Ron would like it…"
"I'm asking you, mum." Rose reminded her.
Hermione sighed, looking down at her daughter. "Well I suppose, if it would be alright with your mother Scorpius?"
Scorpius merely shrugged and nodded, Astoria would not particularly care if he said he was going out to meet a friend. In fact she'd most likely be rather thrilled, as he never had done so before.
"Here," Hermione said, dropping her son's hand and digging through her bag for a quill and a piece of parchment. "write down your address and Rose will owl you once she has spent a sufficient time being punished for her thoughtless actions." This last part was directed with a glare at her daughter who wore an appropriately ashamed expression.
Scorpius scribbled down Malfoy Manor, watching as Hermione's eyes darkened slightly at the title of his home.
"Right then," Hermione said, offering him a small smile and taking her sons hand again. "We best be off home now. Your Grandmother will hear about your wandering today Rose."
Rose cringed dramatically, before trailing after her mother and relaxing her face into a smile as she said, "See you then."
"Bye." Scorpius replied, watching the three leave the book store.
Scorpius briefly pondered over what had occurred in his brief meeting with Rose as he headed back to the robe store. He had not met many girls, but he was fairly sure Rose wasn't quite like any of the others. Her nails had been disgusting, her hair a pile of curly red frizz drifting down her back and her robes plain earthy colours.
He had not interacted with many other children, his mother often talked about how children bothered her and dramatically described pregnancy as the "worst time in her life, even with that tedious war included" and his father's associates were all much too refined to bring their precious seed into the home of a Malfoy.
Scorpius had often wondered if his life would have perhaps been better with more siblings, perhaps the dark and dreary halls of the Manor would have been filled with light and laughter, perhaps his father would have been more interested in his family, rather than his family's name, if there were more members for him to interact with, perhaps his mother would have worn an expression of pleasure rather than just an indulging look while watching her children interact.
He wondered if it was possibly his fault that his parents had decided not to have more children. Was he such a horror of a child they had refused to try again?
But, he supposed Rose seemed rather bothered with just having one brother, and his own mother had hardly mentioned her sister, who she believed to be rather humiliating to her family as she still had not wed.
Scorpius had always been rather solitary and that was fine by him, he decided, as he made his way into the shop, just as his mother began to look around in confusion for her missing son, though, perhaps he could fit Rose into his rather lonely world.
Scorpius,
Mum says I'm allowed to see people again. I was grounded for three weeks after our trip to Flourish and Blots and I had to sit through Gran's yelling for about ten minutes, though I did get to watch Aunt Ginny going off at James which was quite funny.
Anyway, mum says She'll take us to the playground in the muggle part of our village, if you'd like?
Kind Regards,
Rose Weasley
Her script was quite neat, Scorpius supposed, as he handed the letter to his mother who let her pale blue eyes drag over the words, her brown hair pulled back elegantly showing her swan-like neck.
"Do you want to go?" She asked, looking at Scorpius in the reflection of her vanity mirror.
"Yes." Scorpius replied.
"Very well." She said folding the letter up. "Tiffy will take you."
He glanced towards the House Elf that was helping his mother clasp a necklace as it nodded its large head respectfully, ears flapping on the sides of its face.
Scorpius nodded at his mother's reflection, taking this as a dismissal.
He drifted through his home, avoiding the eyes of his ancestor's portraits and made his way in the drawing room.
As he was composing his note of agreement, his Father swept into the room.
"Ah, Scorpius." The tall man greeted, not meeting his sons eyes.
"Father." Scorpius replied absently.
"Are you well?" Draco asked, looking mildly curious as he watched his son write his letter.
"Very." Scorpius drawled, his voice a soprano version of the older Malfoy's, making Draco cringe. "Are you?"
"Yes, thank you. I've stopped by to take your mother out to lunch." He told Scorpius, his face lightening as he mentioned his wife.
"I hope you have a good time." Scorpius commented.
"We always do." Draco said. "Tiffy will be here with you."
Scorpius nodded vaguely, not bothering to look up from his letter, which he was re-reading once more, as his mother came into the room to greet Draco.
His parents were surprisingly loving towards each other, a fact which most people who had met them, or heard of the Malfoy's never believed. Draco absolutely doted on Astoria, and Astoria loved to be loved, though the only person she seemed to love in return was Scorpius' Father.
He said a customary farewell to his parents before walking into the gardens and attaching his letter to the family owl.
"Do not go out of the playground." Hermione warned her daughter sternly. "Or there will be serious consequences."
"Yes, mum." Rose agreed, looking excitedly around at the brightly coloured slide and tire swings.
"And take care of Hugo!" Hermione called after her, as Rose took Scorpius by the hand and dragged him to the swings, before settling down on the bench with her book.
Rose rolled her eyes at this last instruction, before sitting herself on the swing inelegantly. Scorpius joined her on the swing beside it, looking at the park in confusion. He hardly ever travelled to muggle areas, his mother had never taken any particular interest in muggle life and his father's face always took on an ugly look if muggles were mentioned before he seemed to remember himself and switched it to a more neutral one.
"Are you going to swing?" Rose asked, laughing delightedly as she kicked her feet in to the dirt and sent herself into the air.
Scorpius felt a flush colouring his pale cheeks as he watched her, before lifting his hands from his lap and curling his fingers around the chains.
"What do I do?" He asked, feeling horribly embarrassed.
Rose slowed her swinging and looked at him incredulously, before asking, "You've never been on a swing?"
"No." He said gruffly.
"Oh." She said, before smiling at him and jumping off her slowly moving swing, landing lightly on her feet. "I'll teach you."
"Teach me?" He echoed, looking over his shoulder at her as she took stance behind him.
"Right." She nodded, grasping the chains of the swing slightly above his own hands and pushing the swing forward.
The was a terrifying swooping sensation in his stomach that made him gasp briefly.
"Swing your legs in and out." Rose told him, still pushing the chains from behind him.
"What?" He asked stupidly.
"Just do it." She said bossily.
Feeling incredibly ridiculous he began to swing his legs, imitating the way he had seen when Rose had been on her swing.
He slowly found a rhythm in it, feeling himself moving the swing through the air with the push of his legs.
"You're doing it!" Rose told him delightedly, letting go of the chains and moving back towards her own swing to watch him.
He smiled in reply, enjoying the rush as the wind swept through his hair.
Scorpius swung for a little while longer, Rose watching him rather proudly, until he saw Rose's brother beginning to approach them from his mother's side and was hit by a sudden realisation.
"How do I stop?" He asked, mildly panicked.
"Just stop swinging your legs and slow yourself down by dragging your feet." Rose said, a scowl appearing on her face as she watched Hugo walk towards them.
Scorpius did as she said, finding it almost instinctive, like the swinging itself, managing to completely stop moving by the time Hugo had made it over.
"What do you want Hugo?" Rose asked, rather tiredly.
"To play with you and your friend." Hugo said.
"Can't you play by yourself?" Rose whined.
"But mum said you had to play with me." Hugo argued.
Rose groaned. "Cant anyone in this family have anything to themselves?"
"Rose!" Hugo moaned.
"Shut up, Hugo." She snapped.
"You aren't allowed to say that!" Hugo said triumphantly.
"Dad says it all the time." Rose defended.
"Yeah, and mum slaps him" Hugo commented.
"You're such a baby Hugo." Rose complained.
"Fine!" Hugo huffed, looking at his sister angrily and storming away to the climbing bars.
"Why don't you want to play with him?" Scorpius wondered, watching the boy stomp away.
Rose looked at him oddly for a moment, before saying, as though it were obvious, "Because I only want to play with you."
Scorpius continued to meet with Rose regularly throughout the years, Tiffy taking him to an arranged meeting place (causing Hermione to look distressed every time she greeted the Elf) after his mother had offered her agreement.
He was unsure if Rose's father knew that Rose spent time with him, and he was unsure if Astoria had ever mentioned it to Draco.
He supposed it wasn't important either way, since nothing had ever stopped him seeing Rose.
At age seven, Scorpius had been confused and intrigued by Rose, with her dirty nails and wild hair, but as he had grown into the age of eleven, Rose had become his closest and only friend and her bright smiles, fiery nature, adventurous spirit and blunt comments were his comforts. Rose was escaping and freedom and triumph.
They spent their days in golden sunshine, using tree branches for wands and becoming the most brilliant Witch and Wizard known to the world. They were warriors fighting off the worst evils imaginable to them, explorers discovering new worlds, unseen and unheard of and royalty ruling all they had invented. It wasn't called magic by most people, but Scorpius was certain the time they spent together was just that; magical.
By the time Rose's cousin James had gone to Hogwarts, the school had become an obsession for them. Rose told him all the stories she had heard from her cousins and her parents while Scorpius listened in wonder.
"Mum and Dad know all the secret passage ways apparently." She said, laying herself down on the grass covered hill, motioning for Scorpius to join her. "Though I think that's more because of Uncle Harry. Do you think we'll find many?"
"Sure." Scorpius said, watching the clouds drifting across the sky. "What house do you think you'll be in?"
She seemed to think on this for a moment, before rolling onto her side and looking at him seriously. "I'm not sure. Where do you think I'll be?"
"Gryffindor." He told her, ignoring her scoff as she rolled onto her back again. "Or Ravenclaw."
"Everyone's in Gryffindor." She sighed. "Where do you want to go?"
"Slytherin." He said easily.
"Why?" She asked.
"What do you mean?"
"You always seem to want to get away from everything Malfoy." She told him.
"No I don't." He argued. "I want to get away from the people who hate Malfoy's."
"So why Slytherin?" She asked again.
"Maybe people will just hate me for being a Slytherin, rather than just hate me for being a Malfoy." He said.
"Maybe they'll just hate you for both." Rose said wisely.
"Would you?" He asked quietly.
"No." She said defiantly, though her voice was just as quiet as his as she took his hand in her own. "I don't think I could ever hate you."
The day Scorpius' letter arrived was an interesting one. His father and mother were delighted, an emotion he rarely saw in them unless they were spending time with each other.
"I'm so proud of you." His father told him. Scorpius thought this was rather odd, why should you be proud of someone for receiving a letter?
"I hope he's in Slytherin." Astoria commented happily, not noticing when Draco's smile suddenly became rather fixed.
"Do you think that's what would be best for him?" Draco asked.
"What do you mean? Of course it is." Astoria said stubbornly, unused to arguments from her husband.
"The Malfoy's need to redeem themselves Astoria." Draco told her.
"And if he's a Slytherin, he'll certainly have the ambition to do so." His wife argued.
Draco looked at her exasperatedly. "No one ever trusts a Slytherin."
"Other Slytherins do." Astoria commented dryly.
"And that's been so useful for us." Draco muttered.
Astoria rolled her eyes. "I don't know why you worry so much Draco. We're rich and we have each other. And darling Scorpius of course."
"I would just prefer not to be spat on every time I stepped outside my own house." Draco said, his hands clenched tightly.
"You worry too much." Astoria said. "Now, we'll have to go to Diagon Alley soon, I would like to see you buy your wand."
Draco seemed distracted by this change in topic and plans were made for a family trip to Diagon Alley.
It was not often Scorpius travelled to shops with both his parents, Draco hated being in public (for fear of "being spat on") and Astoria only took her son out when she had clothes for him to try on.
The trip to Ollivander's was uneventful and Scorpius only felt mild anticipation as he entered the dusty store.
He looked around briefly, taking in the shelves lined with boxes, his father standing stiffly to his side with Astoria's arm tucked into his.
"Ah, Mr Malfoy." Came a vaguely nervous sounding voice as Mr Ollivander appeared, climbing down an impossibly tall ladder.
"Mr Ollivander." Draco greeted.
Ollivander's misty eyes focused on the elder Malfoy for a moment and there was a thick silence as he seemed to think on something. It was abrupt and rather disconcerting when he suddenly turned to Scorpius and said, "You must be looking for a wand."
"Yes." Scorpius agreed, and with that Ollivander was back at his shelves, rummaging through stacks of boxes, offering a few wands for Scorpius to try before declaring them wrong. He seemed to be becoming more anxious to find the right one as more and more time passed, his eyes flickering uncomfortably to Draco's tense face.
"Try this one." Ollivander told him, looking enthusiastic about his latest choice. "Beechwood, 10 and a half inches, but it has a liquid core."
"A liquid core?" Astoria asked as Scorpius accepted the box.
"Boomslang venom." Ollivander told her. "Very rare, of course. I myself hardly ever try to work with liquids as cores. But, I've had this wand in my store for a long, long time... Try it then."
Scorpius took the lid off the box and picked the wand out carefully, his fingers instinctively curling around it, a warm sensation in his hand and the swooping sensation that he always associated with swings making him grin.
Ollivander nodded happily, exchanging the wand for gold and bidding them farewell, though Scorpius noticed the mildly relieved look in the wand makers silvery eyes as his family finally left.