Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Harry Potter.

'If I have to stand one more hour of polite chit-chat, I am going to strangle myself with a mistletoe' Albus thought to himself.

It was Christmas eve at the burrow and the house was filled with Weasley relatives and family friends.

Albus was trapped on the livingroom sofa between his honorary brother Teddy and his uncle Percy, better known as the most boring wizard on earth. And since Teddy was practically dry humping his girlfriend Victoire next to him and just looking at them made Albus want to throw up, he was forced to listen to uncle Percy's uneventful office stories, while his grandmother dropped by every few minutes to stuff him with more food.

He could hear his brother and his uncle Ron argue loudly about Quidditch, while his niece Rose was showing off her newly mastered patronus charm in front of her mother's colleagues. Just as his uncle was explaining the different filing systems at the ministry of magic, his cousin Fred managed to get everyone's attention by blowing up the Christmas tree. Albus took advantage of the distraction and made a run for it.

For Albus, holidays were always like this: the house chockfull of people he barely knew and never spoke to, while he tried to hide from the chaos.

It were times like these that he missed Hogwarts the most. He loved his family, he really did. But he was never as comfortable in large crowds as he was on his own and he always felt the need to escape these big family gatherings.

He seemed to be the only one in his family with this problem though. His older brother James reveled in attention, not only at home but also at school. And although he was a bully and an arrogant prick, his charm and his outgoing nature made him quite popular among the students at Hogwarts.

His little sister Lily, while less conceited than James, was also a social butterfly. With her short, fiery red hair and her sassy personality she was a true Weasley and she was never short of admirers.

Albus was the only one who did not live up to the hype of being the child of 'the Chosen One'. He wasn't as outgoing as his siblings and he certainly did not like attention that came with being a Potter.

He almost felt guilty for feeling like a stranger among his own family. His father always said that family is one of the most valuable things in life.

xx

It was one of those situations in which the silence was so uncomfortable, that every cough and sight drew the attention of all the people present. Scorpius felt anxious, he desperately wanted to break the tension but he didn't know how. The conversation at dinner had dried up earlier, after a short talk about Scorpius' grades and Quidditch matches.

Besides the usual chit-chat there simply wasn't anything to talk about. Or actually, there was a lot to talk about, such as the money problems his father tried to hide and the amount of liquor his mother consumed a day. But the strict Malfoy-etiquette forbade talking about these sensitive subjects.

So for Scorpius Christmas was an evening of pretending, pretending that he did not see the bags under his father's eyes or couldn't smell the liquor on his mother's breath. But he was used to that, it was part of the Malfoy customs and traditions he was raised with.

'Lucius, could you pass me the wine, please?'

If possible, the tension grew even higher. Scorpius glanced at his parents, they both stopped eating. He then looked up at his grandmother who was seated next to him. She stared back at Scorpius with an inquiring look. He put his fork down and gently took hold of her hand.

'Narcissa, I am Scorpius, your grandson. Lucius is not with us anymore.'

For a moment his grandmother seemed confused, but she quickly regained her composure.

'I know that, forgive me sweetheart, you resemble him so much.'

Scorpius smiled and squeezed her hand reassuringly. It wasn't the first this had happened. Still he had no trouble pretending like his grandmother's forgetfulness wasn't a big deal. After all, pretending was something he had a lot of practice with.

xx

Scorpius felt tears prickling in his eyes, they blurred his vision as he stared at the unpaid bills in his hands. 'Malfoy's don't cry' He heard his grandfather's portrait say. Scorpius seated himself in his father's armchair and took a deep breath. He glanced at the family portraits on the wall, what would his ancestors say if they knew that the Malfoy's were about to lose the house their family had lived in for centuries?

He hadn't realized it was this bad. His father never really talked about money, he never really talked about anything. Scorpius knew his family didn't have a lot of money, there were always owls flying around the house carrying letters about debts that had to be paid. But these bills, carefully tucked away in the bottom drawer of his father's desk, were new to him.

Scorpius clenched his fists, the thought that his father tried to hide this from him made him angry. He was sixteen, almost an adult now and he had the right to know.

He felt the weight of responsibility on his shoulders. Who else but him was going to solve this? Father was always gone and when he was at home it still felt like he was miles away. Mother was too fragile to handle any more problems. She usually locked herself up in her room and during the infrequent moments that she did leave her room, it was obvious she had been drinking.

It wasn't always this bad, he used to have his grandmother to guide him. She practically raised him and he loved her like a mother. But she was getting old and he did not want to burden her with these problems. It would disappoint her, because it was his duty to restore the family name and he could not disappoint her.

The young Malfoy straightened his back and looked around his father's well decorated office. He knew what he had to do, but his father would not appreciate it.

xx

The next day Albus saw a chance to escape the family turmoil. It was cold outside and already getting darker but Albus still enjoyed these rare moments of peace en quiet. Albus wrapped his Gryffindor scarf more tightly around his neck. He figured he would just walk around diagon alley for a bit. Even though the streets were empty and the stores were closed Albus liked to stroll around and look at the window displays.

After a few minutes of wandering he saw another person walking through the vacant streets. He looked a bit more closely and recognized the person as Scorpius Malfoy.

This made Albus curious. Why would someone walk through these streets alone, at this hour? Unless they were trying to avoid family of course.

Maybe it was because of boredom or maybe because of unhealthy curiosity but Albus decided to follow him. He made sure he stayed in the shadows so Malfoy wouldn't notice he was being followed.

Soon Albus discovered that Malfoy was heading towards Knockturn Alley.

The longer he followed, the more the surroundings began to change. The buildings were darker, the streets were poorly lit and what really scared him was that he saw the dark mark painted on a wall.

It was odd for someone like Scorpius to hang around in these kinds of neighborhoods. Because even though the Malfoy name was still associated with bad things, Scorpius did not contribute to that stigma. They weren't friends or anything, but Albus knew Scorpius was a good student and despite of his moody behavior people seemed to like him. Except James of course, he hated Scorpius for no reason.

But Albus didn't hate Scorpius, which did not mean he liked him though. Albus thought Scorpius Malfoy was kind of a prat and a bit stuck-up.

Soon, Malfoy arrived at an old and sinister looking store. He stood still to check his surroundings, but he didn't see Albus who was hiding in a shaded alley. When Scorpius entered the building, Albus stepped out of the shades and saw that the store Malfoy had entered was Borgin and Burkes.

Sounds of footsteps came from the alley behind him, but Albus was too absorbed in thought to notice them. There was a flash of light, a force that struck him down and a shooting pain in his head. It was only when he was lying face down on the pavement that he realized he had been attacked with a Flipendo spell. And even though he was pretty good at dueling, the attack came as such a surprise that he just didn't have the time to defend himself.

He tilted his head to look at his attacker. He saw a stranger with greasy dark brown hair and grubby clothes pointing a wand at him.

'Well, aren't I a lucky one, It's not every day that I'm in the presence of such a celebrity' The man sneered with a malicious grin that revealed his crooked teeth.

Still on the ground, Albus searched for his wand, which he had dropped it in his fall. However, it was just out of reach. He tried to stand up but was hit with another spell and unable to move. His attacker chuckled uncontrollably and Albus closed his eyes silently praying for help.

'Stupefy!'

Albus opened his eyes and saw his attacker get hit with a jet of red light. Completely paralyzed the man collapsed on the ground. Albus looked up at the person who saved him, Scorpius Malfoy. Albus stood up with some difficulty while Scorpius picked something of the ground. He walked towards Albus and silently handed him his wand.

'Err… thanks'

Scorpius didn't respond and started walking, not paying any attention to the paralyzed body on the street. Albus tried to catch up.

'I mean it, thank you! I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't been there but-'

'Are you mental?' Scorpius asked so seriously that Albus didn't know what to answer.

'Have you lost your mind? Why would you wander around in a neighborhood like this, on your own, at this hour? '

Albus forgot his gratitude and felt a burst of annoyance. 'What about you?! You're the one who's mysteriously sneaking around shops of known ex-deatheaters!'

Scorpius stiffened and his silver eyes stared fiercely at Albus. 'Were you following me?'

Again Albus was in a loss for words. He ran his fingers through his hair while thinking of something to say, but then he felt something wet drip along his temple. He looked at his hand and saw it was blood.

Malfoy attitude softened for a moment.

'You're hurt'

'It's probably nothing' Albus answered carelessly while touching his head wound.

Scorpius rolled his eyes and roughly grabbed Albus wrist. 'Come' he snarled and he dragged Albus to a ragged bench on the side of the road.

'What are you doing?' Albus asked nervously while he sat down on the bench and watched Scorpius take out his wand.

'Don't worry I'm good at this'

But Albus was still worried. One of his uncle's most frequent unsolicited advices was: 'Never trust a Malfoy', so he figured the same went for a Malfoy who was pointing his wand at your head.

Albus shivered when he felt Scorpius smooth fingers push away the hair that was covering his temple. He heard Scorpius mumble a spell and immediately felt the pain lessen. A minute later when Scorpius was done, he touched his head and noticed the wound was gone.

'Err.. Thank you'

A small nod was Scorpius' reply.

Albus didn't know what else to say and felt slightly uncomfortable. Scorpius on the other hand didn't seem to be bothered. He visibly relaxed himself and sat down more comfortably on the bench while staring vacantly in front of him.

'What were you actually doing at Borgin and Burkes?' Albus asked carefully. He didn't want to make Scorpius angry but at the same time he was too curious to refrain from asking.

Scorpius did not get angry. He let out a sight and replied: 'Wasting my time'.

Albus studied him thoroughly and for the first time this evening he noticed how exhausted Malfoy looked. Dark rings framed his silver eyes and his skin looked paler than usual. He knew Scorpius Malfoy as a reserved person, as someone who is always collected and so unaffected by others that you would think he did not have any feelings at all. But he did not recognise that indifference in the boy seated next to him. The Scorpius Malfoy that was gazing at the sky, absorbed in thought, looked defeated and lost.

'Are you okay?'

The question appeared to interrupt Scorpius' thoughts. He turned his head towards Albus and watched him with a mix of confusion and astonishment. He then averted his eyes without answering the question and carried on staring into the distance. Albus opened his mouth to say something but closed it when he saw how Scorpius' eyes were filling with tears. In an impulse Albus laid his hand on Scorpius back in an attempt to comfort him while the Malfoy was quietly sobbing. A few minutes they sat like this, Scorpius crying for unknown reasons and Albus rubbing soothing circles on his back. It wasn't until Scorpius started to wipe away his tears that Albus realized the absurdity of the situation. Slightly embarrassed he removed his hand. Scorpius had stopped crying but his eyes were still red.

'I'm sorry' Scorpius said with a soft voice, still broken from the crying.

He got up and grabbed a broom out of his bag, which was evidently expanded with an undetectable extension charm.

'Could you… maybe… keep this to yourself when we're back at Hogwarts?'

Albus nodded understandingly 'Of course, you have my word. Besides, you saved my life so it's the least I can do.'

'Try to stay out of trouble' was Scorpius' stern reply. He got on his broom and flew away.

Albus let out a sight as he watched Scorpius disappear into the hazy sky.

Hello everyone! This is the first story I have ever written, I feel really self-conscious about it and English is not my first language. So I would really appreciate it if you would share any constructive comments, or advices you have. I'm a bit worried about my grammar and the flow of the story, so if anything seems a bit off, please let me know!