Disclaimer #1: This story is based on characters and situations created by Joanne Kathleen Rowling. Harry Potter and other trademarks are owned by Joanne Kathleen Rowling and by various publishers including but not limited to Carlsen Verlag GmbH, Bloomsbury Books, and Warner Bros. Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
EvilSatsuma beta read the fic for me. :) Thank you, ES!
Scorpius Malfoy explains his given name to his new roommates at Hogwarts. Enjoy!
Written in the Stars
Scorpius Malfoy.
Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, to be exact.
Why did his parents have to saddle him with such a name?
Because having constellation or star names was a family tradition.
His father had told him so, and Scorpius had protested that this couldn't be true. It was neither true for Narcissa and Lucius, nor for Camilla and Walter. His father had insisted that it was indeed a family tradition – a Black family tradition – and Scorpius had learned about great-grandfather Cygnus Black, great-great-grandfather Pollux, and several other, even more far-back ancestors like Alchiba or Antares.
He'd decided that he would have liked it if his parents had chosen Antares. Antares, at least, had the feel of a name. But his parents had settled for Scorpius, and that was that.
The Sorting and the start-of-term feast were over, and he sat with his four new roommates in a little circle on the plush, green carpet of their dormitory. He wasn't sure which one of them had suggested they should explain their given names, but it was what they were doing at the moment.
Bartolomus, a trim boy sitting to his left, was named after a medieval healer. He said he'd appreciate if they called him Bart. The next was Maximilian, who straight away started to reel off a list of famous wizards that had borne this first name in times past.
Scorpius let his thoughts wander back to the quiet afternoons when he had sneaked into his grandfather's library, a large room full of sinister-looking, leather-bound tomes. A considerably number of them was chained to the walls, and two or three especially dangerous ones were actually kept in cages. They had rustled their pages menacingly when he slipped in without permission. The Astronomy books had sat peacefully on their shelf, though. The largest one had sighed with gratitude as he took it down.
Meanwhile, Maximilian was done elaborating about long-dead wizards, and it was agreed that they should shorten his name to Max for convenience's sake henceforth.
Rufus was named after one of his grandfathers, the one who had died in the war, and Jason didn't have a clue as to the origin, meaning, or intention of his name.
With that, it was Scorpius's turn. He felt four pairs of expectant eyes on him.
"Did you know that, about five thousands years ago, wizards and witches used to ride tamed dragons?" he asked. Upon seeing the others shake their heads, he continued, "Well, they did. They went as far away as Africa or the Bahamas. There was a problem though – they had to keep their bearings, but there are no landmarks when you're high above a huge ocean. So, they came up with the idea of using the stars. Out of the many ones that litter the night sky they picked those that were suited best to show them the way. The Muggles, of course, got it all wrong and invented stupid tales about Greek goddesses and their dogs or carriages to explain the constellations. That's just crap, plainly spoken. In truth, the constellations describe important coastlines. Bootes, for instance, describes Britain and the Northern Crown Ireland. And the whole European west coast from Brest in the north of France all the way south to Spain and Portugal – and even a bit further to northern Africa – is described by Scorpius."
Here, he paused for effect.
All four of his roommates looked a bit uncertain, and Max finally asked, "So you're named for a coastline?"
"Oh, the coast of Portugal is really great – cliffs and beaches and fashionable resorts. We go to San Martinho do Porto for our summer holidays every year," Scorpius said. "The point is, however, that my parents spent their honeymoon there. You know, the time around nine months before I was born."
Rufus let out a sound that was a blend between a snigger and a cough. Jason only gaped whereas Bart and Max grinned rather knowingly. Scorpius allowed himself a smirk, too. He liked the way this conversation was going.
"Relax," Bart said to Jason, who looked bewildered and even a bit put out because of not getting the joke everybody else seemed to share, "There's nothing you need to worry about. Just think of San Martinho as a really cool and high-class holiday resort. Okay?"
Jason nodded, somewhat relieved, and Bart turned to Scorpius," So would you mind if we called you Martin?"
-End-
Disclaimer #2: German scientist Kai-Helge Wirth developed the fascinating theory that the ancient constellations (essentially, the ones described by Ptolomeus) represent a map of the northern hemisphere, covering the area from the east coast of America to the Black Sea in eastern Europe. According to his theory, seafaring tribes of the Stone Age used those constellations for navigation purposes.
However, Mr Wirth has never mentioned any involvement of wizards, witches, or dragons.