I know I should be working on all my stupid crappy schoolwork, but I just got random inspiration for this fic. It's just a short, slightly sappy one-shot dedicated to anybody who is a real friend.
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns the Harry Potter and its characters. I'm only borrowing them for my own use.
Scorpius Malfoy hated going home for Christmas. The only reason he didn't stay at Hogwarts over the holidays was that this was his only chance all year to see his parents. Scorpius loved his parents, loved the way his mother smiled and patted his hair in that careful way as to not muss it up, loved the way his father squeezed his shoulder in greeting and then ruffled his hair, ruining his mother's fastidious efforts.
What he really hated was that the place he lived always seemed like such an empty lifeless place. So precisely organized and extremely sterile, so that one wondered how someone could actually survive in such a place. The Christmas tree was tall, magnificent, elegant and impeccably decorated. It looked like it should be adorning the front of a Christmas card rather than be sitting in his house. But he would much rather the silly little tree with lopsided, handmade decorations with its Tower of Pisa impersonation that he had seen at his friend Al's place.
Then, there were the things he didn't like about his parents. Those times when they did something that irritated the hell out of him. The way his father would ask how his 'Gryffindor' friends were, in that voice that suggested he was trying very hard not to sneer. Never mind that Scorpius himself had ended up in Gryffindor, and every time the fact came up his father tried to dismiss it and acted as if it was somehow a fault of Scorpius'. Or how they told him he needed to put more effort into his studies because 'that Weasley girl' had beat him again, even though it had been Rose who had tutored him through his Potions work during fifth year and helped him pass his OWL in that subject. They told him to be less impulsive, more conscientious, that he should find friends that better suited him.
He loved his parents, he really did. But they just didn't understand. They thought they knew everything because they were older, wiser and more experienced. They thought he knew nothing, that because he was only 16 he was too young to know anything about how the world worked, that he had no common sense.
He couldn't wait to get back to Hogwarts. That was the place he really felt was home. Where everything was familiar and warm and welcoming. He knew his friends were there, waiting for him to get back. Their own parents had gone on an 'adults only' cruise, leaving their children to do what they liked at Hogwarts.
Scorpius adored his friends. They were always happy to see him, and always sad to see him go, even if it was only for a few hours. Something would be unnaturally wrong if Albus ever stopped wearing those ridiculously oversized jerseys and talking passionately about Quidditch. If Lily ever actually stopped calling him 'Scorp', even though he repeatedly asked her to call him Scorpius, he would be heart-broken. He was extremely fond of the way Rose always bothered them all about homework and exams, even if it irritated him sometimes. Liked the way James cuffed him affectionately on the shoulder as they passed in the halls.
He knew they cared about him, and believed in him, no matter what. Even after every time he and Albus managed to wind up in detention or left their work to the last minute, Rose was always there for them. Everybody put up with his moody temper and sarcasm when he was in a bad mood and never held it against him. They knew he didn't mean it. If he was sick or had a fever and he was foolishly attempting to go to class anyway, they told him to stop being an idiot and go back to bed, that they would help him catch up later. If he was ever upset, they could always tell and asked him what was wrong in a way that told him that his well-being really did matter to them. They listened to him rant about things that made him angry and hugged him quietly if he didn't want to talk about it. He could hardly wait to get back.
When the holidays were over, his parents saw him off at the station. His mother kissed his forehead and his father patted him on the back, wishing him well. He found an empty compartment and read a book to pass the time, smiling as he realized that it actually belonged to Al: Quidditch Through the Ages Revised. Time seemed to stand still, unmoving as he waited to be reunited with his friends.
Finally, the train ride was over, and there were the familiar black carriages, pulled by thestrals, if Lily was to be believed. The gates of Hogwarts came into view, and he passed through them with a relieved sigh. He was home. The walk up to Gryffindor took ages, and the Fat Lady swung open to admit him.
There they all were, Al wearing a baggy Holyhead Harpies jersey and losing badly to his older brother James at a game of Wizard's Chess, Rose rereading 'Hogwarts, a History' for about the 50th time, Lily talking to nobody and everybody at once about the latest boy who'd caught her eye. They all turned as one when the door opened, and smiled when they saw who it was. Even James grinned, who often referred to him as a 'ferrety git' in playful tones.
They all got to their feet and enveloped him in a sort of train of friendly embraces, although Lily nearly strangled him with hers. Her enthusiasm was refreshing when compared to his parent's poise and grace.
"So, how was your holiday, Scorp?" she asked, still using that endearingly frustrating nickname.
"Scorpius," he corrected absently, without much conviction behind it. "I guess it was okay, my parents were on my case again. Saying things like 'You shouldn't be this' and 'you need to do that'. It's getting annoying really."
He knew he was scowling, and he knew they'd understand.
"Oh, dear, Scorpius," Rose laughed as she gently released him from her own hug, and Al threw an arm over his shoulder in an amiable way. "Please, never change. We love you just the way you are."
Scorpius smiled in return, "Only if you promise to do the same."
He knew that she was speaking the truth, and wondered if anyone else had realized that the words 'true love' didn't necessarily have to be meant romantically. He knew then that every time they had ever smiled at him, stood by him, understood him, they were saying over and over without words something he wondered if anyone had ever told his parents.
Never change. We love you just the way you are.
I hope everyone who read this understands what I'm talking about, and that you also have a true friend that makes you feel loved like that. I know I do, and I wrote this with them in mind.