Chapter 1: A New Year
I walk through the halls of Hogwarts as a shadow. I am unseen and unheard by almost everyone. My invisibility is who I am, and I try hard to keep my personality intact. Most of the time I spend in this castle is pointless. I have no one in this castle that cares about me at all. I have no friends or family here at Hogwarts, and my quiet demeanor and facile intelligence lead the professors to believe that I am arrogant.
There is not, and nor has there ever been, a need for me to pay attention in class. I have read through my textbooks twice and memorized every word they contain before I even step foot onto the train. I stay silent in class, and I only speak or perform spells when called on by my professors. I have gone through the past 6 years at Hogwarts in this manner. This year, my last year, will be no different than the past years. I plan on continuing to walk the halls unnoticed, just like I always have.
At the moment, I am sitting on the train that will take me to Hogwarts. I am staring out the window in my compartment and watching the scenery pass by. The compartment is silent, exactly the way I like it. I pretty much sit by myself because I never bothered to make friends with my peers in past years, and I rather like being by myself. I do not mind being alone because solitude suits me just fine. I prop my feet up on the seat, lean against the wall, and close my eyes so that I can sleep for the rest of the train ride.
I am not surprised in the slightest when about 10 minutes after I close my eyes, the door to my compartment opens abruptly and then slams shut. The person who has just entered my compartment sits down very loudly on the seat on the other side of my compartment. I slowly open my eyes and see a familiar pair of bright blue eyes staring back at me. I smirk at the girl with bushy brown hair who is currently seated in my compartment.
"Is Albus being insufferable, Rose?" I ask with a knowing smirk on my face. She tucks a lock of her wild hair behind her ear while shaking her head and grinning.
"What do you think, Scorpius?" I smile at her comment. "You know he secretly acts the way he does just to annoy me." I silently shake my head.
"Well, go ahead and sit down. Just make sure that-"
"I don't say a word. I got it Scorpius. I've been sitting with you for six years, I know the rules." She tells me seriously. She then puts her feet up on the seat and sits in the same position I was sitting in earlier. She props a book up on her knees and begins to read her book. I lean back against the seat and close my eyes once again.
Rose Weasley has been sitting in a compartment with me since first year. She is the only peron I have allowed to sit with me on the train because she values silence just as much as I do. I am only in her company, voluntarily, twice a year. We have some classes together, but we're not exactly best friends. I can remember the first day she came running into my compartment, looking for a safe haven to hide from her cousins, as if it were yesterday.
Exactly 6 years beforeā¦
I found a compartment on the train that was completely empty. I sat down on the seat and let out a content sigh. I had peace and quiet at last. My father had been lecturing me about random, unnecessary things all day. My mum and I just exchanged silent, humorous glances at my father's few hours of insanity. He was telling me all of this stuff about Hogwarts, and I really did not care about it one bit. I just tuned him out for the whole day.
I pulled out a book to read and settled into a more comfortable position on my seat. I did not even realize that I had fallen asleep until I was suddenly awakened by someone yelling.
"Albus Severus Potter! If you ever do anything like that ever again, you better be scared because I know where you sleep!" My door slammed shut and I heard someone mumbling under their breath. I opened my eyes and saw a girl with busy brown hair who looked about my age. She was sitting on the seat opposite me with her eyes closed.
Her hair was sticking up in every possible direction, and she looked as if she had been through some kind of small explosion. I had to stifle my laughter because she looked very comical. I then cleared my throat, trying to break her out of her trance. Her eyes shot open and her blue eyes showed her complete shock and embarrassment.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to impose on your space. My cousins are just being bloody infuriating at the moment, and I would like to be as far away from them as possible. This is one of those times when I really hate big families and the stupid annoying boys that-"I decided to be nice to someone, just this once.
"You're welcome to stay as long as you just don't talk or make any noise. I would like some peace and quiet. I have a feeling you like your sanity, and that would most likely stay unharmed if you're away from your cousins." I told her relaxing back against the wall. She gave me a bright smile and nodded.
"Thanks a lot! They're just so annoying! I get enough of them at home, and I really don't want to deal with-" I glared at her and she stopped talking immediately. "Not a sound, right, I got it." She sat down on the seat and closed her eyes. She did as I asked her, and she didn't say anything during the whole ride to school. When we were close to the castle, I left to go and change into my robes. She didn't have to change because she was already wearing her robes. I came back to the compartment and she was still in her same spot. When we reached the station, we both began to gather our things.
"Hey, I just realized that I don't know your name." she pointed out.
"I'm Scorpius Malfoy." I told her. Her blue eyes grew wide with surprise, but she gave me a small smile.
"I'm Rose Weasley. It was nice to meet you. I'll see you around Scorpius." She left the compartment to go and join the other first years outside. I left soon after to go and join my fellow first years as well.
During that school year, we did not speak to each other once. We would pass one another in the hallway, but we never acknowledged each other. This never bothered me because, like I said earlier, I like being by myself. We never talked during school, not even a "Hey," as we passed each other in the hallways. Even though we did not talk during school, there was not one year that Rose and I did not sit together on the train.
Back to the presentā¦
I open my eyes and look around the compartment. Rose is fast asleep and her book is resting on her stomach. I laugh loudly because her mouth is hanging open and she is snoring softly. She jerks awake and falls off of the seat. I laugh even harder and she gives me a fake glare. When she sees I noticed that she was faking, she begins to laugh as well.
"You did that on purpose because of what happened in third year! You are an evil little boy Scorpius Malfoy!" she says, her voice shaking with laughter.
"Guilty." I say simply with a smirk on my face. Rose glances down at her watch.
"Bloody Hell! I'm going to be late for the prefect meeting! You are too, come on!" She tells me flinging the door open wide.
"I'm not going." I say plainly.
"Why not?"
"You'll find out." I tell her. She casts me one last confused glance, shrugs, and walks down the hallway towards the prefect's compartment.
As soon as she leaves, I put my hand into my pocket and pull out my badge. It is not my prefect badge; it's my shiny new Head Boy badge.
I received the badge at the beginning of the summer. I really did not want the position, so I decided that I was going to turn it down. My parents were disappointed when I told them what I wanted to do, especially my father, but they said that I should do whatever makes me happy. What makes me happy is having my peace and quiet, and thus having my sanity.
I know that I can handle the responsibility that comes with being Head Boy, but I just don't want it. With responsibility and power comes recognition and popularity; two things that would make my invisibility disappear. I like my privacy, and I just want to continue to be a prefect with minimal power and responsibility. I currently don't even do much work because the girl Slytherin prefect, Ophelia Pierce, is a complete control freak who does all of the work.
I know Rose is going to return soon, and I put the badge back in my pocket. I cannot forget to go and speak to McGonagall before the feast begins so that she can announce the correct Head Boy, who is not me. The door opens again as Rose enters the compartment. She looks absolutely livid.
"You git! You got Head Boy and you didn't even tell me? Why did you skip the meeting? I had to run the whole bloody meeting by myself!" she yells shoving her Head Girl badge in my face.
"I'm declining the position. I'm going to give the badge back to McGonagall as soon as we get back to school." I tell her.
"Why?" she asks. She has this look on her face and it is no secret that she thinks I am crazy.
"It's not who I am. I'm not going to change myself for a shiny badge and the power to boss people around and take house points. I just want a quiet, peaceful, and stress-free last year at Hogwarts. There is just one more year and then I will finally be done with school." I tell her still looking out the window.
"Think about it Scorpius! You get your own dorm, a later curfew, and I promise I will deal with all of the whiny students and professors! Please don't quit. We both know that conceited, pretty-boy Boot from Ravenclaw is next in line, and I can't stand him! He's been chasing after me since fist year! Do it for me, please?" Her blue eyes are silently begging me to say yes.
"Why do you think that I'll be any more tolerable then Boot? You have not said one word to me, nor have you ever spent any time with me outside of this train. It's not like we're friends or anything." I remind her. Her gaze falls to her feet, and I can tell that my comment has made her feel bad.
"I know we haven't exactly been friends, and I'm sorry that I pretty much have denied the fact that you exist at school. It's just that now we have a chance to make up for lost time! Come on Scorpius, I promise you that this year will be an awesome last year if you say yes!" she looks very hopeful. I let out an exasperated sigh, take the Head Boy badge out of my pocket, and pin it on my robes. Her eyes light up and she gives me a huge smile.
"Thank you so much! You have no idea how much I appreciate this, and I know you will thank me in time for making you take this position. You know that you'll never be rid of my now, right?" she says with a grin on her face. "I'm going to be stuck to you with a permanent sticking charm for the rest of the year! Remember, we're making up for six years of lost time!"
"Don't you have other friends?" She shrugs.
"I can visit them in the common room and stuff. Most of them won't be in classes with me anyway. They're mostly just the guys on the Quidditch team, and they're pretty thick-headed. I love 'em, but they won't really care. My best friend is two years younger than me, and I see her at meals and stuff. I think you two will get along, so I'm not really worried about her. I don't hang out with the girls in my dorm anyway; they annoy me, a lot." She tells me. I shake my head.
"So, it'll just be you and me?" I ask.
"Yup." She tells me with a smile on her face.
"I just hope I don't regret it later." I mumble. She laughs and leans back in her seat.
"Trust me, you won't." She assures me with a sly smile on her face and a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. I can already tell that this is going to be a long year.
A/N: Thanks for taking the time to read! Reviews are appreciated :]
This is my first Next-Gen story, and I hope you liked it. I hate to say that updates won't be super regular because I'm busy with school, but I will update as much as I can!
