Written for the Endless Opportunities Challenge
Disclaimer: This story won't give me any financial gain. These characters do not belong to me.
Prism
"Just let her go, just let her go."
"Whenever you're in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can make the difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it. That factor is attitude." William James
He should have listened to his father.
Scorpius Malfoy knew he should just make up an excuse and get away from them as quickly as possible, but he found himself not wanting to.
He didn't want to be alone anymore.
And, really, what was more different from being alone than the compartment he was in, which seemed to be overflowing with people. Not just people, though. Potters and Weasleys.
Oh Merlin, what would his father say if he found Scorpius in that place?
Bad blood between the families, that was what Draco Malfoy had told his son back on the plataform. It had been all too easy to find the families of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger through the crowd. (Red hair and all, you know?) The man had asked his son to keep a low profile, do his best but to do not feel pressured by what others might say about their family.
And to stay away from the Potters and Weasleys.
It had been a bit unconfortable, since Draco never talked about their family's past. What Scorpius knew about the war, he'd learnt from his mother or Grandmother Malfoy. Not that he had many other sources, of course. Grandfather usually kept his mouth shut around him and Scorpius only knew his mother's parents from sight.
"Just found Zabini on the corridor. Bloody git." A boy who seemed to be on his third year arrived in the compartment, squeezing himself between two redheaded girls. His skin was darker than the rest of them and his hair was more burgundy than it was ginger. "Rose, move over a bit, will you? Roxy said she will be here in a minute."
The girl by his side groaned lightly, though there was a smile on her face.
"Fred, there are too many people here already. Can't she stay with her friends during the trip?"
Even though the age difference was quite obvious, the girl's tone made it pretty clear she wanted to be abided. It didn't seem to stop her cousin because the boy just grinned at her as one of the Potters appeared behind him.
"No can do, kiddo. This is ritual. You and Albus are the newbies here. Moreover, Albus brought a friend. Be mad with my dear brother, not with Roxy." Said James Potter, as he dropped himself on top of the second redheaded girl, who squeaked of surprise and tried to push him off.
"James, you're crushing me!" She yelled, glaring at him with beautiful blue eyes. Another girl, this time a blonde, put down her notebook and turned to them.
"Dom, don't be so loud. I'm trying to write a letter. Why can't you guys be like Al and the little blonde and just play some chess or some other game instead of spreading havoc wherever you go?" When the only response she got was a few scoffs from her sister and the two boys, her tone grew louder and more irritated. "James, Fred, please, go find Roxy and Louis and leave us be!"
The fury in her eyes seemed to be enough because the two of them shared a look and, mumbling their goodbyes, disappeared into the corridor. At this sight, both Rose and Scorpius let out a laugh while Albus rolled his eyes.
"Your family is so crazy."
The comment had been a slip of his tongue but, for some reason, the remaining cousins seemed to find it funny.
"Well, it seems like we have a smart mouthed one here." The girl seemed some years older than him and she was sitting on the floor, a book resting on her lap. "I'm Lucy and I don't think I have seen you before."
The bluntness of her sentence made a light blush appear in his face but Scorpius continued to hold his head up high. He had been taught not to show any sign of weakness when between people he didn't trust.
"This is Scorpius Malfoy. He didn't have anywhere else to sit and, when he came over, it was just Al and I." Rose Weasley explained, a smile tugging on the corner of her lips. Scorpius found her expression strangely captivating. "Then, when the rest of the herd appeared, cousin dearest fooled him into staying with us."
For a second, the boy felt a bit offended by how naive she'd made him sound, but then Albus had made his move and he had to turn his attention back to what he'd been doing in the game.
"Malfoy?" Lucy frowned a bit, eyeing the boy in an analytical way. "Are you sure that's wise? We all know how the Malfoys were involved in the war our parents fought in."
Before Rose ― or Scorpius ― could respond to that, Albus had turned in his sit to look down at his cousin. She shifted slightly under his gaze and the power the Potter boy seemed to withhold in his family both surprised and impressed the blonde.
"Why should we be wise, Lucy? We're only eleven. And we've just met Scorpius. I don't particularly care what the Malfoys did, as long as this one wasn't involved in it."
His words weren't terribly intelligent nor harsh, but Scorpius still felt as if he'd just witnessed some sort of turning point. And, in a certain way, it was, because Albus Potter had just showed that he wouldn't let his relatives' prejudice get in the way of their possible friendship.
Lucy Weasley blinked a few times, a deep blush taking over her complexion.
"Yes, of course, I hadn't meant... You know I would never..." She stuttered, her eyes switching from one place to another behind her glasses, never focusing. Than, the girl stopped, sighing. "I'm sorry."
Scorpius nodded awkwardly in recognition of her apology before finally moving his bishop and watching as it annihilated Albus' rook.
For a moment there was silence and they could almost hear Victoire's content as she finished her letter.
"Oh, that and mother told me to be nice."
Rose Weasley smiled kindly at everyone, as if she hadn't said anything, taking an old battered copy of Hogwarts, a History from her backpack and skimming through it.
Victoire let out a giggle and got up, kissing the top of her cousin's head. Dominique locked her arm with her sister's and blew a kiss to everyone as the two of them left the compartment. Lucy shook her head at them, murmuring something about how the two siblings just wanted to show off to older boys.
Scorpius frowned, setting his icy eyes on the girl across from him.
"You're being polite to me because your mother told you to?"
He finally asked, not bothering to conceal the hurt in his tone. Nor its harshness. By his side, Albus groaned as he watched Rose look up from her book, a gaze of both indifference and spite. The boy knew from that look that he had said the wrong thing.
She seemed to take a deep breath before answering.
"If there's one thing you should know about me is that I won't do things just because someone told me to. I'm capable of thinking for myself, thank you very much. Do not, though, act as if you should be offended if I had been acting on her orders for my mother is the most intelligent person I've ever met and to follow her advice is always the best choice."
He snickered in a disbelieving manner. Scorpius had never met Hermione Granger but, even in his eleven years old, he knew that no one was always right. It had been a lesson both his parents had been sure to teach him. People made mistakes. The complete faith the girl seemed to have in her mother was either terribly cute or incredibly annoying.
"How foolish of you to say that."
Again, his reaction to her words was the wrong one, for Albus brought his hand to his face, as if he didn't want to see what would happen next.
Rose Weasley had gotten up and was helding a finger to his face in a threatening way.
"Did you just snigger at me?" Her voice was strong and incredulous and Scorpius felt the need to shake his head, but didn't. "You hear me, Malfoy. I'm not my cousin. I don't believe everyone is good until proven otherwise. I don't accept apologies easily. I don't accept people easily." She poked him in the chest. "And I am not foolish!"
She then proceeded to shove him, take her things and exit the compartment.
Scorpius blinked once, unsure of what he'd done wrong.
"What was that?" He exclaimed, turning to Albus with a confused expression. Lucy rolled her eyes while getting up.
"That was just Rose. She idealizes her parents and your complete disregard for her mother was, actually, quite offending. Specially because Aunt Hermione is usually right about everything." The older girl explained, putting her red hair up in a ponytail.
"Should I go after her, then? I hadn't meant to insult her. I just don't think people should believe in others with such unwavering trust." The boy shifted his eyes to the compartment door, suddenly feeling a bit guilty.
Albus sighed, before moving one of his chess pieces.
"Just let her go, just let her go." He answered tiredly. "Rosie will be too mad to listen to anything you've got to say. Just like her dad in that aspect, too." The Potter looked down at his clock. "We should get changed, we must be almost there."
Nodding, Scorpius couldn't help but to think this was a very good and a very bad way to start the school year.
A/N: Okay, I hope everyone enjoyed this. I'm accepting betas if anyone is interested.