Disclaimer: I own nothing. JKR is the master mind behind the Potter series; I could only be so lucky to have a tenth of her talent.
I felt that all too familiar hand gently squeeze my shoulder. He always did that in public; something about upholding the family name. I think he does it out of the fear instilled upon him after the war. His family name, the one given to me, is tainted. It's been four years since I first stood on this platform, staring across its threshold and taking in the gleaming, scarlet train. The crowd, families saying goodbye, friends greeting each other after summer holiday; I'm only waiting for one person.
"Scorpius?"
"Yes father?"
"Don't forget to write, you know how your mother frets over you."
I gave a stiff nod as I felt eyes on us; it was only he and I this year. My thoughts drifting once again; four years I've dealt with what it mean to uphold the family name. I hold my head high though, not out of fear for what would happen should I ever dip my head, but out of pride. I am Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, pureblooded son of Draco and Astoria Malfoy and I am about to enter my fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; another year alone. He removes his hand as he gives me a curt nod before apparating with a small pop.
I glance at the clock, two minutes to eleven. I gather my wits and head towards an entrance. I feel the eyes on me; I stand out—more than those Potter and Weasley children. I also stand out for the same reason they do—our names. In my year and house, there's Albus Severus Potter; named after the only man my father and grandfather deemed worthy to trust and one of the vilest men to ever live. Which is which, I'm not sure. Then there's little Rose Weasley, the living brain of Hogwarts. She has a younger brother in Gryffindor. Potter's got a few siblings here as well. How a boy like him made it into Slytherin has boggled my mind for the past five years.
Father tells me it's because that Mr. Potter was almost sorted; I've read that fact was due to him having that connection to Lord Voldemort. I finally find an empty compartment and gather myself before sitting down for the long train ride to school. I caught the small smile that made its way towards me; it was directed at me because it's a smile that is only ever given to me—or in my direction. Young Lily Luna, she is the only person in the entirety of Hogwarts to befriend me. Her brothers, cousins, what-have-you, they tear her to bits for it too. I get the actual punches and kicks. My thoughts are harshly interrupted with the sliding of the compartment door. The occupants in its entry way are the last people I would ever want to share a compartment with.
"Malfoy."
I raise an eyebrow, I'm not going to speak to them, I have no desire to do such a thing. Then I hear it, her voice.
"Scorp! All the others a full, can they sit here?"
She plants her belongings on the racks and places herself next to me, grinning at me, awaiting my response. I only nod once, quick, and curt. I hear the shuffling of the others placing their belongings on the racks before they sit.
"How was summer?"
I glanced around at the others quickly before responding. I'm not even sure they knew she and I were friends; gathering from the looks on their faces, I was right.
"Lily why are you acting like you're best friends with Malfoy?"
Lily's eyes narrowed at her eldest brother, then quickly adding Albus into her cold glare.
"Yeah, dad and Uncle Ron would sco—"
"I'll have you know big brothers, that daddy finds it exceptional that I'm friends with Scorpius. Excuse me, Hugo, Rose; Uncle Ron can shove each of your broomsticks up his arse. Scorpius is an extremely amazing person, if you took the time and got past his bloody name, just as everyone has done for us, you'll learn that he's not his father."
My cheeks flushed—embarrassment—as the compartment filled with tension and awkwardness. I've asked father countless times to transfer me to Durmstrang, I'd gladly start over if it mean I'd make friends. Don't get me wrong, Lily is a great friend, she's just a girl and younger than I am. I fill a void her elder brothers fail to do. She went through her school-girl-crush on me her first year, but she's all I've got. I lie to my mother, for her own sake rather than my own.
She thinks I'm a crowd pleaser, much how father was during his school days; well at least within his own house. My thoughts once again caused me to lose place in the conversation that had started. I realized, as all eyes were on me, they must've asked me a question.
"Sorry, I was lost in my thoughts."
Albus raised an eyebrow as James snickered. Rose cleared her throat and repeated her question.
"Why do you stay to yourself? Don't you have any friends other than Lily?"
Now I realized why their gazes were so intense; they wanted a heavy response to a deep question. I merely shook my head twice.
"What about Zabini's daughter? Aren't you and she always sitting together in the common room?"
Hugo smirked at his friend and returned his gaze to me, awaiting my reply.
"If you ever stuck around your own housemates, you'd realize she only speaks to me because her father is an old friend of my father's. She despises me, loathes the fact she has to pretend to care about my well-being. I'm alone because everyone else chooses that for me. You're adored because your parents were heroes; I'm loathed because my father and grandfather made mistakes. And her boyfriend is sitting across from me; any more pathetic questions that will get you no further than on my list of contempt?"
Their silence was taken as a no, even if it was the opposite. Lily squeezed my knee and gently broke the tension by asking Rose about Professor Longbottom's family. I pulled my book, Hogwarts, A History, from my bag and resumed from where I last left off. I felt eyes on me, off and on, the remainder of the train ride. I dared not glance up once to find out who was doing so; I knew it wasn't Lily.