A.N. This is my first Scorpius-centred story. I'm not sure why, as I've always had a fondness for him and who his particular character might grow up to be. There's quite a sad back story to this, which I shant bore you with. But basically, the plot is that Scorpius wanders off into the Forbidden Forest, and finds something which has been lost for years, maybe rightfully so. It leads him to learning a little about his family, and the past that's been kept secret from him. Please read & review!

I hate her.

Scorpius Malfoy skulked past the Black Lake, pulling his cloak tightly around himself, and then kicked a rock that looked remarkably like her head. Of course, being the size of someone's head, it didn't move an inch, just caused excruciating pain to radiate through his foot and past his ankle, almost to his kneecaps.

"THAT BLASTED GIRL!" he shouted, needing to yell out but hoping no one had heard.

Rose Weasley would be the death of him. They had begun dating in 4th year, and were now coming to the end of their 7th. He loved her with every fibre of his being and when apart, counted the days until they could be together again. His every morning was bleak until he saw her, when a tropical sunrise burst through his heart. She had now seen fit to end their relationship.

Why? Because she wants to concentrate on "other things". She means she wants to get around!

As he looked up, Scorpius realised he was in the Forbidden Forest. Deep in the forest. He had been walking for some time, and barely noticed. He was so distracted; he didn't see the branch lying on the floor, resolutely tripped and flew, landing face down in the mud and leaves.

Urgghh! This is disgusting!

Just as he was about to push himself up from the ground, Scorpius felt something cold and sharp brush against his fingers. Growing up in the magical world, in the aftermath of a deadly war, he had been taught to be wary of almost everything. He lay still, in the mud, waiting for what he thought was an insect to move. It did not. He felt around and picked up the object.

Huh. Funny-looking stone.

He turned it over and over in his palm, inspecting it, when he saw a glitter out of the corner of his eye. Jumping up immediately, he was faced with a figure he did not recognise.

"Who are you?"

The girl smiled. Scorpius liked her smile, it eased him. She looked a little like him. Her hair was the trademark Malfoy platinum blonde, but it was so bushy! How horrendous. Just like Rose. She had a slim, pretty face and pale complexion. Her teeth were ever-so-slightly overgrown. But her eyes… now they were definitely Rose's eyes. A rich honey brown. They seemed so kind, if slightly demanding.

"What's your name?" Scorpius asked, more calmly this time.

"Marley. But you can call me M, I guess. That's what they called me." She shrugged her shoulders and began kicking at leaves, missing completely.

"Well, hi… M. I don't mean to sound rude, but are you a ghost?" M laughed loudly, holding her sides.

"It's not rude, Scorpius. But no, i'm not. I'm a shadow."

"A shadow of what? There's no one here!"

"Oh Scorpius," M sighed, dejectedly, "For an eighteen year old sometimes you can be very naïve."

Scorpius became very angry at this point. Who the hell was this girl? "Listen, M. I don't know who you are. So how do you know my name, age, or exactly how naïve I am? I'm becoming quite offended."

M let out a little chuckle, and ran her fingers through her hair. How does she cope with that hair? It must be a menace…

"You see, Scorpius, I've been watching over you for some time. And… your father. A very long time, actually. I guess that yes, you could say I am a ghost. But really, I'm just a spirit. I've moved on from this world, I have no unfinished business, but I still watch over you always."

"Oh, you look a little like me."

"I should do. Look Scorpius, firstly, I don't want you to blame Rose for recent events. She has just found some things out and is hurt, that it's been kept from her so long. She also felt it wouldn't be right to continue being with you knowing what she did. Knowing who it hurt."

"Have you been speaking to her?"

"No, I've been watching over her, too. And Hugo. And their mother."

"Why?"

"I was never born, Scorpius. I died before birth. Some say, those who are pure and too good for this world, never make it here. Not that I'm trying to be big-headed, or anything."

Scorpius nodded, he understood. That didn't make this any easier.

"But that doesn't explain why you are watching over me and the Weasley's."

"They are my family, Scorpius. You are my family."

She sunk to the ground, bringing her knees to her chest. Scorpius, in a state of shock, mirrored her actions and leant against a tree stump. They were related?

"M… what do you mean, family? How?"

"You know about the Final Battle, right?"

Scorpius knew. Everyone knew. His generation were endlessly told stories about Harry Potter's final defeat of Lord Voldemort, and good vs. evil. They had heard bedtime stories since they were born.

"A matter of months afterwards, my father sat in a dead-end muggle bar, drinking cheap shots and trying to dull his pain. His father had been spared Azkaban, but took his own life later. This man was distraught. His father had been a bully, and a charlatan, but he was still his father. He had always tried desperately to seek his approval. My mother found him there. They had known each other from Hogwarts, but let's just say, it was never easy going between them. Feeling a little sorry for him, she brought him back to her apartment and cleaned him up. She was engaged at the time, and only took him back out of sympathy. She healed the cuts and bruises he had sustained from his drunken stupor, gave him fresh clothes and made up a bed for him, and brewed a hangover potion for him to take the following morning. When she left for work the next day, she thought that would be the end of it, but of course, it wasn't."

Scorpius leaned forward, intrigued by this story and why she was telling it to him. Could she have told him easily who she was? Maybe. But he needed to know the truth.

"The following Saturday, exactly a week later, she found him in the same position, and did the same thing. This became a routine, every Saturday for 3 months, never once prying into his personal life. Eventually, one Saturday, she just walked away. He shouted back at her, asking why she wasn't helping him. She told him she could no longer help him until he began to help himself. She didn't expect him to burst into tears. My father had done some terrible things, but he wasn't a bad man. Everything he did was reluctant. He cried to her all night, begging to get him some help. She took him to counselling sessions, became his friend, and did everything she could to make him a better man. When he was better, she realised how much she had grown to care for him. That was when my mother fell in love with my father."

M smiled sadly at Scorpius. This gave him the feeling this story did not have a happy ending. "Wasn't she already engaged? To someone else?"

"She was. It was purely out of convenience, which my father later came to discover the importance of in order to raise a family. Sometimes things just don't work out, you know? Like you and Rose?"

In that moment, Scorpius wished he could put his arm around M. but she was, in her words, a shadow. She looked like she could really use a hug. She continued with her story.

"They had an affair. A relatively long-lasting one. When they fell pregnant with me, they realised they just couldn't live like that anymore. Starting planning how she would leave her fiancée, and they would begin a life together. But, as you know, I miscarried. The pair of them were distraught. They thought they were prepared for anything, after all they had been through at such a young age, but it was a complete shock. Hermione Weasley, now Granger, couldn't contemplate the fact she had lost a baby, a baby no one was supposed to know about, and hid herself away. In time, my father's shock wore away and he became severely depressed again."

Hermione was M's mother. So, she was Rose's sister. That explained some things, but Scorpius still didn't understand why she was watching over him. Then he took in her features again. She looked more like Rose than he had first thought, but she still looked remarkably like him. She saw him staring and smirked. He would know that smirk anywhere; it was the same one he had owned since birth.

"Yep. I was supposed to be born as Marley Diana Malfoy. Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger, who would have thought it."

Everything became very clear to Scorpius. His father's reluctance for him to date Rose, he had always thought it was down to blood status, no matter how much Draco insisted he did not care about that anymore. Why Mrs Weasley had welcomed him into the family, but always seemed a little sad at his presence. Why Rose had broken up with him, now that she obviously knew the truth.

"You said, my father learned how important convenience was in raising a family. Is that in reference to my mother?"

"I'm sorry to tell you Scorpius, but yes, he never really loved Astoria. She knows, she knows the truth. She also married for convenience, she desperately wanted a child, and she wanted that child to have a loving and caring father which ours is. I don't doubt her parenting skills… in fact, as I've been watching over you I've seen how much she adores you, and I have to say, she is a wonderful person. It's a shame they aren't perfect together, really."

M reached out and held her hand over his. He felt nothing but a cool breeze.

"Is that why they have broken up? I mean, they still live together, but they might as well be on other ends of the world. They think I don't know, but I've seen it. They don't talk, even live in opposite sides of the house. They don't even eat together unless I'm there. I'm not stupid, I know what's going on."

"Yes, they are separating. Looking at getting a divorce. Scorpius, I can't tell you what the future holds. I'm a spirit, not a Seer. What I can say, is if I were alive, I would fight for true love every step of the way. My mother is divorcing Mr Weasley, you know."

"I know. Rose told me. I thought maybe that was part of the reason we broke up. Maybe she was upset."

"She is, but not surprised. When my mother told her, that's when she spilled the beans. I would be 23 now, you know."

"I thought you looked about that. If you died before you were born, why do you look 23?"

M laughed. He really didn't have a filter, did he? She could have sworn he was also a Granger-Malfoy child, if she didn't know any better.

"I'm not entirely sure, brother. I've heard other spirits say, that when you move on from this life into the beyond, you look at your happiest age. It always confused me, as I never knew how I could possibly be happy at 23. I had never been 23! But, now it makes sense. I would be 23 now, and this is the first time I've properly met you. I've tried to get through to you and Rose before, but I guess I only appear when I'm needed the most. Plus, that stone in your hand is how I got here. So don't drop it, or I will disappear."

Scorpius hadn't even realised he was still holding the stone. He looked more carefully at it. It looked just like the Resurrection Stone. But of course, it wasn't. That was a tale from a children's book.

"No one will ever know my mother or father like they know each other. They will always have a part of each other, no matter what happens."

Scorpius had been flooded with romantic love stories as a child. He never believed in it, if he was honest. No soulmates, no 'The One', no codswallop. He had met Rose, and his ideals changed. He experienced falling in love, but thinking clearly, he knew it wasn't true. True love was a constant, no matter how far apart. And he had to admit, at times, he had fallen a little out of love with her. True love always comes back in the end. If Hermione and his father loved each other so much, he had to make them see sense. They were both separated from their partners. He couldn't deny that as great as his mother was, she never made his father exquisitely happy, and he would love to see him feeling that. He had to get them together.

"They won't always live in their regrets, Scorpius. One day, they will know I could not be a part of this world. They will know that if I hadn't moved on, they wouldn't have moved on. Dad wouldn't have you, and my mum wouldn't have Rose or Hugo. And you three are the biggest blessings in their lives. If my death has ensured anything, it is that. I see you are plotting, but you can't force things. However, if your plan works… well done. I want you all to go on and be that family that we should have been."

Scorpius could no longer hold back the tears drenching his face. They would be together, he just knew it.

"I love you, little brother. I shall be watching over you always. You need to drop the stone now. Its time for us to say goodbye."

"But I don't want to!"

They both laughed ferociously. He sounded so child-like. They both cried, him from his story grey eyes and her from her generous honey ones.

"Its time. We shall see each other, someday. Au Revoir, Scorpius."

"Au Revoir, M."

The stone slipped from his fingers and bounced off the muddy ground. Scorpius pushed it deep into the floor, burying it, and covered it with a large rock. The stone has strong powers, he decided, and it should only be found when absolutely necessary. He kicked off from the ground, tugged off his cloak and tucked it over his arm. He ran as fast as his legs could take him until he reached the Gryffindor common room. There, he found Rose surrounded by tissues, she had obviously been crying heavily. She looked up when she heard him enter and stood, immediately in front of him.

"Scorpius, I know your upset, but I had my reasons. I really don't want to fight anymore."

"Sshh, Rosie, I know. I know everything."

"You know? How do you know?" she looked sceptical.

"I just do. Let's say I had a little visit from a friend. Marley wouldn't have wanted us to fight."

Rose gasped. So he did know.

"Now Rosie, just wait until you hear my plan, you are going to love it…"

A.N. okayy! So, thoughts? You know the protocol, be polite and leave a short review. I may or may not write a sequel, depending on my readers' opinions. Please review!