It hurt, oh sweet lord did it hurt. Scorpius took another gingerly spaced step and hissed. Sobs racked his chest and tears burned his eyes. He tried one more time to walk but was met with his legs giving out from under him and landing quite awkwardly on his backside. This caused him to sob louder; he would never make it back to the dormitory. He would be found by one of the malicious beasts that inhabited this god forsaken forest and eaten alive.

But would that really be a bad thing? No one would ever have to know what happened tonight if it did. If a monster leapt out of the darkness and bit off his head, ripped the skin from his bones, then he would never have to face what had happened in the Forbidden Forest, would never have to see people's pity, their disgust-

His thoughts were cut short by another stream of blood running down his thighs. Slowly, making its way free from the molten center of his anguish and chilling on the back of his knees in the cool night air.

Oh god, oh god this couldn't be happening, could not have happened. But it did, and no matter how much Scorpius protested against it nothing would change the fact that he had been chased. Had been held down, had been beaten, had been ra-

He stumbled over the word in his mind, a small part of him that thought that if he did not acknowledge what had happened it would go away. However, the ever increasing amount of blood on his thighs and the sickening heat he could feel inside his body drowned out that part.

He had been raped. H-he had been raped. Somebody had held him down in the mud and dirt and tore him apart. Somebody had wanted to hurt him so badly that they left him a wreck, violated him while laughing and insulting him all the way through it.

Scorpius knew he was hyperventilating and he could see the black spots dancing in front of his eyes. From blood loss or lack of oxygen he did not know. He was about to have the mother of all panic attacks and although it was expected it was grievously unwelcome. In the back of his mind he could hear his mother's instruction

"Deep breathing Scorpius, that's the key. In through your nose and out through your mouth. When you feel an attack coming on try and find a safe space, close your eyes and breath."

He was choking too hard to try deep breathing, he felt like he would vomit up his lungs any second, this was most certainly not a secure place and he did not want to close his eyes.

His chest got tighter, his entire body suddenly felt too small and his mind too big. Everything was too slow but he was going too fast. Oh lord he was alone. He didn't want to be alone, he needed to be alone.

Why was it so quiet? What was that noise?

His finger nails, mangled, bloody mess that they were, scratched deeply into his arms. He needed to move, he needed to feel his body doing something but his organs were stone. They were hard and heavy concrete and cement bonding him to the ground. Slowly melting to sludge and oozing away from him, the deeper he scratched the lighter he would be.

Hot acid, bile, and a substance he did not care to think of rushed up his throat and out his mouth, stinging the cuts and scrapes on his chest. The burn on his chest was good, clear and slicing through the fog. The burn in his throat was bad, strangling him, suffocating him. He couldn't breathe, why couldn't he-
He vomited again more violently, this time nothing but acid escaping.
He could hear a voice; loud, booming and secure bellowing through the blackness like a hundred brass trumpets ushering forth to gather everyone where it was safe.

"Scorpius, where are ye', I found yer bag hanging on a limb. Ya left yer' lantern behind ya silly-"

The voice, Hagrid, stopped. Scorpius opened his eyes, when had he closed his eyes? He didn't want to close his eyes!

"Scorpius, what in the hell happened to ya?"

Scorpius saw a large shadow kneel down beside him. Safe Hagrid, grand Hagrid. In the beloved professor's hand was Scorpius' school bag and lantern, both dwarfed by the gentle giant's large hands.

The bag, he needed the bag!

"M-my bag, please." The words fell out of his burning mouth.

The edge of the lanterns light caught Hagrid's face, terror and confusion were plain as day.

"What are ya talkin' about? Scorpius we need to get ya to the infirmary, someone or something attacked you-"

"My bag, please Hagrid my bag!" Fresh tears fell from Scorpius's eyes.

Unsure of what to do, Hagrid lowered the bag next to the brutalized boy. Scorpius was on it like a maniac, well as like a maniac as his battered body allowed. He quickly found whatever he was looking for. In the fading light of the lantern Hagrid saw it was a little clear orange bottle with a white lid. He had seen that bottle in Scorpius' hand many times. Usually when he thought no one was watching.
Scorpius twisted the lid off with practiced ease and upturned the bottle. Five little pink pills tumbled out into his palm and were shoved into his mouth. A few seconds later Scorpius' shaking hand dropped the bottle and his head fell back, unconsciousness finally taking him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

So far life at Hogwarts wasn't going as he has hoped. Well, that's not fair; he wasn't expecting much of anything when he had come to Hogwarts. Sure, he had been excited about starting a new school and finally learning about the magical side of his family. Learning spells, getting a wand, flying on a broom, it all sounded so exciting. But, he had heard his grandparents talking about all that stuff for forever so it wasn't really that new. Leaving his friends and being away from his family though was a downside. Moving to some undisclosed part of another country was another. It would be safe to say that Scorpius' feeling on the subject where decidedly mixed.

Going with his parents to Fish Belly Blvd., the best place for magical supplies in Northern Ireland and located in their home city of Belfast was fun. It was rare that his parents went there and they never took the children with them. Dragging eight kids through a crowded shopping center full of magical, exploding objects only led to headaches. However, that day Mum and Da' dropped the little children off at Grandma and Grandpa's and took him out to get school supplies.

It was incredible! He had never seen so many amazing things, there was a man turning chicken feathers into some kind of fairy floss confection and a woman extracting snake venom and… turning it into a type of lotion? He wasn't that sure but it was neat to watch. Anyway, his mother took him to get a cat, a lovely, little kitten; all gray but with a white face and feet. She had neat mismatched gold and blue eyes. His mum absolutely swooned over it; he had named her Lady Jane. His father, likewise, had taken him to Fergus McManus' Quality Wands, to get his wand. It took a bit of browsing but eventually he found a wand that he felt was literally calling to him. 12" inches, Cypress, flexible and with a Manticore tooth core. Mr. McManus had whistled and nodded approvingly when he brought it to the register, saying that this type of wand was usually very disagreeable and hard to match up with someone. His father had just teased and ruffled his hair, saying he had picked a wand to match his monstrous attitude. Afterword's they did all the boring stuff, like getting school robes, a new experience, and text books. The text books looked really interesting and he was sure he would devour them before classes even started. At the end of the day his parents took him to a restaurant where the food you wanted appeared on the plate in front of you and your glass automatically refilled. It was so cool! Though if he was honest, was less flavorful than the food at normal restaurants or his Mum's cooking for that matter.
Then they all made the trip to London, all the children included because, well it was a special occasion. They spent the few days before the train was to come enjoying the city. All the children had a wonderful time. London was a whole lot different than Arles, a city in the south of France where their Grandmother and Grandfather lived, and it was even bigger than Belfast. He loved the Eye of London and Natural History Museum, and all of them had a good time touring Buckingham Palace. The only time he was nervous was when they had arrived Kings Cross, platform 9 ¾. Seeing all those other kids his age he had never met, and was it his imagination or where a lot of people staring at them?

Scorpius wasn't stupid, his parents had told them about his father's….. Checkered past, but he had never really given it much thought until then.
His sibling where all whining or hanging off of him to hug him goodbye and it seemed like his mother was trying to wipe off her lipstick on his cheeks.

"-and promise to write every week and call every night if your phone gets a signal. We'll keep you updated on everything going on in the family, I'll write when Alycone gets her braces taken off and when Rigel crawls. Oh, and be sure to-"

"Please Astoria; your grip is probably giving the boy bruises." His father said, trying to be stern but unable to hide his amusement.
It was comical watching his normally composed wife fall apart like all the other mothers sending their children off to school.

Astoria glared at Draco but let go of Scorpius anyway. Still feeling a bit clingy she reached down and took baby Rigel out of his pram and cradled him to her chest.

"Oh Draco, don't you feel anything about our first little baby going off to school for nine months?" Astoria's eyes started to water as she stroked Rigel's bald little head and shushed his fussing. The baby was obviously a bit miffed at being woken up from his nap.
Scorpius' mum may be a "Professional, Working Woman" and have a PhD, but sometimes she could be as weepy as a regular girl.

Draco just rolled his eyes. "Yes Love, I'm sorry to see him go, but we had best get used to it now because next year we'll be sending Asterope, then the year after that Castor and Pollox, and then-"

"Oh Draco, do be quiet, I don't want to think of it."

Scorpius laughed and patted his younger siblings on the head, trying to get them to release him. He loved his siblings, he would have to learn to love them when they were all hanging off him all the time, but people where starting to stare.
The train whistle blew signaling departure, his dad picked up his bags and loaded them into the luggage compartment and his mother gave him another kiss.

He smiled at his mum. "I'll miss you guys, and I'll promise I'll call and write."

His father placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a proud smile. "Just promise to do your best and meet lots of new people."

Scorpius nodded and was a little taken back when his father enveloped him in a hug. He had never doubted that his father loved him, but Draco Malfoy was never one for public shows of affection.

"I will Da', you don't have to worry about me."

Draco let go of his son and smiled at him. "I may not have to worry about you Scorpius, but I'm your father. Parents worry about their child that is our job." He looked up at the clock and noticed that it was time for the train to depart. "You had better get on the train before it leaves without you."
Scorpius nodded and after prying himself loose from his mother and siblings hopped on the train just as it was leaving. He looked out the window and waved to his family until the station disappeared.

XXXXXXXXXXX

He supposed he should have been tipped off about how life at school would go by the train ride. Originally he thought the reason all the compartment doors were locked and all the curtains down was because he had been one of the last ones on the train and there were no more seat left, but he would later learn that he was wrong. It wasn't that bad, eventually he had found an unlocked compartment, there were only three people in it and they didn't look up to greet him, but they didn't object to him sitting across from them.

There was an older boy with shaggy, hair playing some….. Card game with fireworks…. With a dark haired boy that looked around his age and next to them was a girl. Well, a girl to the best of his knowledge, all he could see was a head full of frizzy red hair buried in a book he recognized as one of his textbooks, Magical Drafts and Potions.

Well, his father did tell him to meet new people.

"I've already read that book. It surprised me how so many of the potion ingredients were similar to the ones used in medicine. Me and my Da' even spent an evening going over one of his old medical school textbooks and comparing them. We probably would have spent a good few hours doing that, but my Mum told us to clear the table so she could get dinner prepared."

He didn't know what it was he said but it definitely got him a reaction. The boys looked up from their game of firecracker cards and the girl lowered her book enough so that he could see two crystal blue eyes.

Then they all started talking at the same time.

"What with your accent?"
"What do you mean your dad went to medical school?"
"Your mother set the table? And cooked dinner?"
He was a bit taken back at first, their questions seemed a bit… shocked, but he answered them.

"Well, I'm from Ireland, Belfast to be exact, I live there with my family, my Mum, Da' and six brothers and sisters. My Da' is a doctor he has a PhD in Medicine, and he works at the Royal Victoria Hospital. My Mum also has a PhD, in psychiatry; she works with depressed teenagers and drug addicts. We actually adopted my little brother Rigel three months ago from one of her patients, a teenage girl. My Mum really helped her and when Rigel was born we adopted him. And of course my Mum cooks dinner, although it's Alycone's job to set the table."

That didn't seem too help. The girl even lowered her book onto her lap and cocked her head at him.

"I'm terribly sorry, but aren't you Scorpius Malfoy? Son of Draco Malfoy? As in Malfoy Manor? Wiltshire-"

"Death Eaters." The older boy mumbled.

"Um, well yes I'm Scorpius Malfoy. Son of Draco Malfoy and Astoria Greengrass, elder brother of Asterope Malfoy, Castor Malfoy, Pollox Malfoy, Alycone Malfoy, Celaeno Malfoy and Taygete Malfoy and Rigel Malfoy. Native of Belfast, Ireland of the Gaeltacht Quarter and recent graduate of St. Giles Primary." He said all this in a false bravado that he hoped reminded them of a gallant knight like in one of his books.

It seemed to work, at least a little bit, on the younger girl and boy. They both smiled at him and the girl even chuckled, but the older boy just crossed his arms and started to glare.

"St. Giles Primary? That sounds like a Muggle school, and The Royal Victoria Hospital sounds like a Muggle hospital. Also, it sounds to me like you're saying your family adopted a Muggle baby from a Muggle teenager."

They were all staring at him, waiting for him to answer.

"Well, St. Giles Primary is a Muggle school, and The Royal Victoria Hospital is a Muggle hospital, and my family did adopt a Muggle baby from a Muggle teenager."
The girl quirked her eyebrow, like she was just told something so ridiculous that it made her reevaluate her world views. The younger boy just looked confused, but the older boy's glare deepened.

"Leave it to a Malfoy to start lying before we even get to school. Albus, Rose, come on, let's leave the future snake alone and go sit with Victoire and Dominique."
Before anyone could say anything, the older boy grabbed the boy, who must have been Albus and dragged him out the door.

Scorpius' mouth hung open as he watched them go, he looked over to the girl, Rose, who looked almost as shocked as him. She looked over at him, and seemed to realize she could catch flies with her mouth and closed it with a snap.

"I- I'm terribly sorry. James isn't usually that- well actually he is, but that's still no excuse! I have half a mind to write his mother, Aunt Ginny would probably send him a howler and embarrass him in front of his friend. Would serve him right, and-"
"Rosalind Adrienne Weasley, come on!" James yelled down the hall.

Rose just sighed and looked Scorpius in the eye. He still hadn't said anything.

"I'm sorry; if I don't go with them it would be just as good as throwing Al into the lion's den."
She gathered up her things and made to go, but paused in the doorway and looked back at him.

"If you want to talk when we get to the castle, find me and we can take a row boat over together. Just look for the girl with frizzy red hair." She gave him a smile before she left, closing the door behind her.

And that is how Scorpius Malfoy spent a long train ride all alone.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Thank god for Rose Weasley. True to her word she took the boat over with him to the castle. She was a really interesting person to talk to. He told her about the chemical similarities between Nyquil and a Sleeping Draught and she told him about her favorite violinists.

Rose, full name Rosalind Adrienne Weasley was awesome! She was funny and clever and knew everything about music and the violin. She had been first chair violinist in the Youth of London's Junior Orchestra, she went to violin practice four days a week and on Fridays she went to rehearsal. She had been playing violin since she was six years old. She also apologized again for her Cousin James' rotten attitude and told him to ignore every word he said. He was so engrossed in conversation with the exuberant red head that he didn't notice the stairs he was receiving from the other students.

They only stopped talking when the sorting ceremony began.

It was a tad odd that their dormitories were a big enough deal to warrant an entire ceremony but it seemed a fun way to introduce yourself. Besides, afterword there would be a big meal and he was starving.

When the talking hat came out and started singing a song, Scorpius reckoned that it might be a bigger deal than he previously thought. Especially when the hat started announcing people's house assignments and the entire hall erupted into cheers.

When the Headmistress, McGonagall was her name, called his name a hush fell over the entire hall. It seemed like they were all waiting for an inoculation to be administered, or for someone to give them all a punch in the face. It was really odd and he was a bit nervous, he couldn't make his legs work, but Rose gave him a smile and a gentle shove on the arm so he made his way up to the hat.
The really old, creepy hat that was staring at him with like he was a piece of meat.
When he sat down on the stool and felt the hat lowered onto his head he gasped. It was like his head had been drilled open and he could feel hundreds of tiny, cold hands rummaging through his brain.

Raised in the Muggle world. My, but that is a surprise.

Scropius felt a chill run down his spine; he had not expected the hat to talk to him in his mind.

"Um, yes. My parents weren't too keen on raising us in the Wizarding world. Me and my sibling were all born and raised in Muggle Ireland."

The word Muggle felt very strange. He was still uncomfortable thinking it.

Yes, the Muggle-Borns often have trouble using the word.

"Sorry sir, but I'm not a Muggle-born."

Yes, I know. Scorpius Malfoy. First born of Draco Malfoy and Astoria Greengrass.
Though certainly not the last it seems.

"N-no sir, I have seven younger sibling. My little sister will be coming to this school in next year."

Oh? And what will you tell her when she asks what the school is like?

"Well, I haven't been here long enough to really form an opinion."

Indeed, but if you had to tell her now, just on first impressions, what to do when she comes to school what is it that you would advise?

Scorpius had to think on that for a moment. So far, if he was honest, the people seemed rather rude. Everyone stared at him, but no one besides Rose, and James on the train, had bothered to speak to him. They all looked at him like he was a rabid animal getting ready to pounce. So far, he felt very unwelcome.
"I would tell her to be wary, to keep her guard up because the people are hungry lions and this school is a lion's den."

The hat was quiet for a few moments, and he could feel the hundreds of hand fingering through his brain.

Very well then.

"Gryffindor!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Well, he's my older brother. He's only looking out for me." Albus Potter said, er, thought to the hat.

Albus knew that James could be a jerk sometimes; you don't live with a guy your entire life without becoming acquainted with his bad side, but James always looked out for him so he trusted his judgment.
Like on the train with the Malfoy boy! Yes, James had been a little rude but he had made a good point. There was no way, if the stories Dad and Uncle Ron had told him were true, that a Malfoy would live in the Muggle world and go to a Muggle school, and there was no way a Malfoy would adopt a Muggle baby. The boy must have been lying, and the fact that he had been sorted into Gryffindor well, he was probably a better liar than he had thought.

Speaking of liars, I remember James.

Albus jumped, he had nearly forgotten the hat was there.

You're not like him however, not at all.

Well that made him feel great.

You have different potential, different possibilities lay ahead of you. You will only unlock these possibilities in-

"HUFFLEPUFF!"
What?
WHAT?

"No, that can't be right, you must be mista-"

But before Albus could finish that sentence, the Hufflepuff table erupted into cheers and whistles, as if this was the greatest honor that they had ever received. Albus looked around the Great Hall and all the other tables were dead silent, probably as shocked as he was. He, only felt worse when he caught James' eye, he was looking at Albus like he'd grown a second head.

McGonagall called the next name, his signal to take his seat. With a sick feeling in his stomach, Albus rose to his feet and made his way to the- Hufflepuff table.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"And that's why I prefer Kyung Jun-Kim's Paganini Caprice No. 4 to his Bach Sonata No.2. The sound is just-

Yes, very fascinating Miss Weasley, I take it you enjoy the viol-

"I love the violin. It's the most beautiful and powerful instrument in existence. I'm going to play professionally and compose the best concert pieces in the world"

Indeed, I can hear the music in your mind right now. Quite lovely, not even having your mind probed can distract you-

"You can hear it? How does it sound? Do you think my finger work is sloppy?"

I'm afraid I would not know Miss Weasley, I do not have fingers to compare-

"I'm going to start doubling my daily finger exercises. Now tell me, you know my head how did I do yesterday when I practiced Bach's Partita No.3? I think I frazzled on the Bariolage but I haven't had a chance to review the recording yet.

"SLYTHERIN!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

So that's how Rose Weasley, Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy ended up in their houses.
Rose seemed quite nonplussed and even waved to Scorpius from her table. Albus, on the other hand, looked like he had just been told he had a terminal illness. His skin was dead white and his face was frozen in shock.

He must not have gotten into the dormitory he wanted.

Scorpius ignored the rest of the ceremony, too lost in his thoughts to pay attention. What the hat had asked was really weighing on his mind. Now that the idea had been planted in his head, he couldn't help but notice all the people staring at him, and realize how coldly people had been acting towards him. None of the other people at his table would talk to him, he tried to start conversation with a boy next to him but he ignored him, as did the person across from him. It was very disheartening, he was going to make another attempt at talking to the person next to him when the hall fell silent and all attention was turned to the front of the room. Head Mistress McGonagall was preparing to speak.