A/N: "More than Friends" by Hannah Mustang was recently taken off , and because I knew a lot of readers would miss it just as much as me, I decided that I wanted to repost the chapters that were already out and continue the story in Hannah's stead. The first eleven chapters are all her work, but from chapter twelve and on, it will all be written by me. I've consulted with Hannah to get both her permission and her notes on the story, so it will be as close to her writing as possible, but she'll have no further involvement in the writing process.
I want to emphasize that I have the express permission of the author, with whom I talked frequently. For further details, see my profile.
Disclaimer: Characters and things you recognize belong to J.K. Rowling. The story and such are property of Hannah Mustang.
Chapter 1
"Mum, Mum, Mum!" I yelled. "Someone's moving in next door! Can I go meet them, Mum? Can I? Can I? Can I!"
"Now Scorpius, haven't I raised you better than that?" I hated it when she said that. She was always asking me questions where she knew the answer and I knew the answer, but she still wanted me to say it anyway. "It would be rude to go now when they're so busy, don't you think? Why not wait until tomorrow, when they've settled in?"
"Yes Mum…" I sighed. She had a point, and no matter how much I wanted to argue, I knew it was pointless now. I wasn't going to get over there until tomorrow--well, with her knowing, at least. 'Maybe I can get the house elves to distract her while I run over,' I thought. "So tomorrow then." I tried to say it like an adult, like it wasn't a question, but a fact. I think she saw my act, though.
"Maybe," she said, laughing. She'd sen through my act and thought it was funny, but she'd always liked it when I try to act like an adult. "But you've got to ask your father first, remember?"
"Yes Mum, I remember," I say quietly, remembering why. Last time I went out to someone's house without telling him, Dad got angry. He said he didn't know where I was or what I was doing; he said it wasn't safe. I'd tried to convince him that I was a big kid; I was seven after all, I could look after myself. But he didn't think so, so I always had to ask him before I go over to visit a friend. "But I'll ask him tonight, and I'll make him say yes!" I finished with renewed excitement.
"Yes, yes, dear, but finish your lunch before you get too excited." She watched me as I sat down at the table and finished my lunch, a toasted ham and cheese sandwich, my favourite Muggle treat. Once she was happy that I wasn't going to starve or harass the new neighbours, she went back to reading her book. I'd asked her what it was about the other day, but she'd said it was about grown-up things. She said that a lot, and I didn't like it, it was like she couldn't understand that seven-year-olds are grown-ups!
The moment I finished my sandwich, the plate disappeared, and I wandered back up to my room. I looked around it for a bit and decided that it needed some more decorating. I walked up to the linen cupboard, and the Quidditch players on my walls grinned at me. They loved it when I made a big tent in my room; they thought it was entertaining. Reaching up, I grabbed the bright green and silver sheets and dragged them across my room to put them up. After a few sides were up, I had to ask the house elves to help, because it was too hard for me to do all on my own.
"Awesome…" I said as I looked at the tent. Today's had turned out even better than last week's--I might have kept this one up for a few days! "Mum, Mum, Mum! Come have a look at what I made!" I called down the stairs. She was always so impressed when I made a tent, but I never told her about the house elves helping me.
"Wow, Scorpius, that's quite a nice tent!" she said, smiling. "But how did you get that bit at the middle up there?"
'Uh oh,' I thought, 'she's figured it out!'
"Scorpius," she said, not smiling now, "did the house elves help you?"
"Maybe..." I said, hoping she didn't mind.
"Scorpius. Did they help you?" Mum sounded angry now.
"Yes, I got them to help with that bit." I shrank in on myself, hoping she wouldn't get too angry with me.
"You should have asked me!" She was laughing at me now, so I guessed she wasn't angry, but I wasn't expecting that.
"Yes Mum, next time I'll ask you, okay?" She nodded and walked back downstairs, probably back to her book.
I returned to my tent, smiling at it and going off to find my Quidditch trading cards. The guys on the cards liked the tents I made too.
It was exactly 6:01 when I heard the floo wards go off, which meant Dad was home. Rushing up, I almost dropped my trading cards--almost. I had more poise than that. I put them down on my bed and raced off to go see Dad.
"I told them that not searching for all of them would be dangerous, I told them. They should listen when I tell them things; it saves headaches later on for everyone. But I can't believe a group this large has gone unnoticed for so long," Dad said to Mum. He was talking about work, so I stood there until he noticed me. "Oh, Scorpius!" he said, seeing me and ruffling my hair. I hated it when he did that. It was like he thought I was five or something.
"Hello, Dad," I said, trying to stop myself shouting out my want to go next door tomorrow. He wouldn't think well of that. "How was your day?" I asked him, sounding as adult-like as I could. I always asked how his day was. He worked at the Ministry in some job with a long name that I could never remember, and I never understood what he was talking about when he answered, but I knew he liked me asking, so I always did.
"It wasn't too bad, just some stupid people not listening to what I told them again," he said, and I could see that he was smiling, but it wasn't reaching his eyes like he was happy; it looked false. 'I'm not going to ask him anything more now, though,' I decided. 'It's probably more of that 'I'll tell you when you're a grown-up' stuff anyway.'
It was well into dinner before he asked me what I did, but I knew he was just waiting to make sure I got some food in me before I forgot about dinner because of talking.
"So, Scorpius, what did you get up to today?" he asked, smiling.
"I woke up, had pancakes for breakfast, played outside on my broom, drew five pictures, read a book, had a toasted ham and cheese sandwich for lunch, looked at the people moving in next door, built a tent in my room, and played with my Quidditch trading cards!" I finished in a puff, taking deep breaths after my long story. 'I didn't pause in my story, so it came out a little rushed. I wonder if Dad understood it all,' I wondered.
"Do you know who's moving in?" he asked me, waiting until I could breath again. Well, he must have understood me, then.
"Nope. There's a baby girl, a boy who looks about my age, and a boy who looks a bit older. Oh, and the mum and dad, I guess." I looked at Dad, hoping my knowledge was good enough. He nodded, and I relaxed. I'd done well, then. He turned to Mum and asked her.
"You have any clue who they are?"
"No idea. They'd have to have money to move in around here, but it doesn't take someone with brains to figure that out," Mum said, a smile playing at her lips. "My guess is someone who works at the Ministry, but I didn't get a good look at their faces so I can't be sure. The man has black hair, and the wife has red, that's all I could see." She frowned a bit at the colour of their hair, like it brings back bad memories.
"So Dad! Can I go over tomorrow and find out who they are? Can I? Can I? Can I? Please!" I said, bouncing in my seat.
"Yes, yes, all right, you can go over and see who it is. But behave." He was laughing; maybe I was a bit too excited then.
"Yes! Thanks, Dad!" I stopped bouncing as cake appeared where my roast had been seconds ago. I glanced up at Dad; he was still smiling, so I dug in, not wanting to waste an opportunity like this one. Chocolate cake wasn't an everyday dessert around there.
As I dug into the cake, Mum and Dad started talking in softer voices, and all I caught was "Undiscovered band of them, don't know how they could miss that one," before the cake took all of my attention. 'But,' I reassured myself, 'if it was important, they'd have told me.'
Once the cake was all gone, Mum sent me up to have a bath and get ready for bed, saying 'Little boys with big days ahead of them need to be clean and well-rested.' I didn't know who she was calling a little boy, but I did need to be clean!
Hopping into bed after my bath, I felt nice, sleepy, and warm. Mum kissed me good night, and I complained, "I'm too old for that now." She just laughed her way out the door. I knew she'd do it again tomorrow night, no matter what I told her.
'I hope that boy will be friends with me,' I thought as I drifted off to sleep, in my room under the tent.
I woke up to a soft morning light, the tent's side protecting me from the sun's mid-morning glare. I sat up and glanced at the clock next to my bed--ten-thirty. I sighed; I'd slept in, though for what I couldn't remember. I got out of my warm bed and made my way to the closet. As I got dressed, I barely paid attention to what I was putting on, too busy thinking of what I'd forgotten. Looking out the window, I remembered why I wanted to get up so early: I wanted to go meet the people next door! I brushed my hair and teeth with an amazing amount of excitement, almost making my gums bleed.
Bouncing downstairs, I heard my mum laugh softly. "Nice clothes, Scorpius," she said, "but if you want to impress them, not scare them, you'd better come over here."
"Coming, Mum." I glanced down, grimacing at my outfit; I really wasn't paying attention to what I put on that morning. I walked over, and she magicked new clothes onto me, a much more stylish outfit than what I was previously wearing. "Thanks, this one looks a bit better."
Once she'd done that, she turned back to the table and bunched some flowers together for me to take over. I snatched them out of her hands and bounced out the door. She called to me as I reached the entrance hall, "You're a Malfoy--behave, be confident, and introduce yourself properly."
"I know, Mum, don't worry, I won't kill them or anything!" I felt Mum watching my back all the way up the drive and down the street to make sure that I was safe. She didn't have to worry, it wasn't like I could get lost walking to the house next door. I was halfway up their drive before I remembered that I had skipped breakfast, but I didn't care.
Walking more calmly towards their house now, I tried to remember my well-practiced lines. 'Hello, nice to meet you. I'm Scorpius Malfoy, your new neighbour. I live next door. Welcome to the neighbourhood.' Dad had trained me on it last night after he finished talking to Mum; he wanted me to make a good impression, he'd said.
Ringing the doorbell and getting my best 'Hello, nice to meet you' face on, I turned to the door.
"Hello," said a female voice. 'Must be the mother,' I decided.
"Hello," I replied, "I'm your new next door neighbour." I nodded in the direction of my house, and she smiled. "Welcome to the neighbourhood. Oh, and I'm Scorpius Malfoy, by the way." 'Not quite according to plan, it wasn't supposed to sound so stunted,' I thought. 'Still, it'll do. She knows what I'm talking about.'
She frowned for a moment, like something has just dawned on her, then resumed her smile. "I'm Ginny Potter. It's nice to meet you, Scorpius. Please come in."
I followed her into the living room, through the grand entrance hall and the formal dining room. The house was warmly decorated, homey with a touch of elegance. Nothing like the pristine, clinically cold house I was brought up in. My room was the only room in my house that felt anything like this house. Children's drawings covered the hallways, the sound of their laughter filtering down through the floorboards. 'I'd like to live here,' I thought, 'it's nice.' I sat down on a comfy-looking chair, and Mrs. Potter did the same opposite me. I tried to look relaxed and comfortable, even if the first wasn't true.
"You have a lovely house, Mrs. Potter. You have done a lot of decorating in the short time you have been here. The pictures are very nice."
"Thank you, Scorpius. My daughter Lily drew them and put them up yesterday evening."
I smiled, and she nodded at me with a proud look in her eyes.
"Anyway, Harry, James, Albus, Lily, we have a visitor!" she called out, smiling slightly at the last part. Not like she was proud, but like she knew something they didn't.
Footsteps behind me alerted me to someone's approach, heavier than a child--the father, Mr. Potter, I presumed.
"Ginny, who is it?" I heard him say. "Do I know them?"
"Not quite, Harry," she said.
'So,' I thought, 'his name is Harry Potter. Now where have I heard that before?'
He sat down across from me, next to his wife, and stared at me. 'Have I done something wrong already?' I thought. 'I don't think I've done anything at all!'
He continued staring for a while, a frown developing on his face. When we heard footsteps coming down the stairs I passed, he glanced away, almost ashamed for staring so long. When he looked back at me, his face was kinder, less hard than it previously was.
The owners of the footsteps arrive--their children. James, Albus, and Lily, I remembered. I shrank a bit in my seat as I felt their stares press down on me. I wasn't used to such intense scrutiny. They walked forward, and I tried to sit up a bit taller, make myself look as impressive as I could. I caught their father staring at me again; this time he had a smile on his face, like he'd noticed my attempt to be impressive and found it funny.
"Hello," one of the boys said, smiling and waving at me. 'It's the older one,' I thought, 'maybe a year or two older than me.'
I nodded and said hello back. It was only polite.
"Everyone, this is our new neighbour," Mrs. Potter said with a big smile on her face. Maybe she found this funny.
At any rate I took my cue to speak, starting slowly, trying to build my confidence as I went. "Hello, I'm Scorpius Malfoy, and I live next door." I nodded my head in their general direction, trying to appear friendly now. "I would like to welcome you to the neighbourhood and invite you to my house this evening for dinner and dessert." I smiled again, not my 'Hello, nice to meet you' smile, but my 'I'm very kind, and you should agree with everything I say' smile.
They looked at each other for a moment, and then the father, Mr. Potter, turned back to me and grinned a wicked grin.
"Of course, Scorpius. When would you like us over tonight?"
"Six o'clock would be good, and dinner would be served at seven." I continued my smile, fixing it in place on my face.
He nodded and turns to his family again.
"That would be lovely," Mrs. Potter said. "it will be nice to meet the new neighbours and get our bearing in the area." She nodded once to herself and mumbled something about how 'it would be nice to see how they turned out.'
Nodding again, she got up and asked me if I would like a drink. I accepted, and she walked off to make it, not using the army of house elves I thought this house would come with. Mr. Potter stared at me for a while again, shaking his head as he followed his wife to the kitchen. Maybe I had done something wrong.
Their son, James, spoke up once the adults were out of earshot. "So, you're Scorpius, right?"
"Yes, that's right," I said, wondering where this would lead.
"That's a funny name."
"Well, I don't think so. James is a funny name too." I smiled my most winning smile, knowing that he wouldn't take offense at this.
"Hey! You're magical too, right?"
I pretended to look offended, and for a moment, he looked like he believed it. "Of course I'm magical. How could I not be? I did find this house, remember?"
Then his brother, Albus, piped up. "Well, maybe a Muggle could find it. The postman finds it all the time."
"No, no way! The postman's magical too! Didn't you see Mum talking to him and telling him just to banish the mail into the house this morning?" James said.
'He sure is confidant of himself,' I thought.
Albus nodded slowly, and then glanced at me, grinning shyly, like he thought I would bite or something.
I turned to him and began my questioning. "You're Albus, right?" I didn't even pause for him to answer. "How old are you? Can you play Quidditch? Do you collect chocolate frog cards? Which Quidditch team do you support? Which house do you want to be in at Hogwarts?" I paused for a moment, and then regained my manners for my last question. "Have you settled in yet?"
He noticed that I'd stopped my tirade of questions and began answering slowly. "Yes, I'm Albus, and I'm seven. Yes, I can play Quidditch, I love being a Seeker, I support the Puddlemere United team. Yes, I collect the cards, but I don't have too many. Oh, and I haven't really settled in yet, it's a bit too early."
"I like you, I want to be your friend." 'Maybe that was a bit too bold,' I thought, 'but he doesn't look too shocked…'
"Yeah, okay, that sounds cool," he responded, making me smile. "Which team do you go for?"
It was five-thirty now. I had left the Potters house five hours ago, thinking it would be impolite to stay so late because I had invited myself over. I couldn't wait for it to be six, though; they should have been arriving right on time, and I couldn't wait. Mum had said that we'd be having roast duck and veggies, not the best thing that I've ever heard of, but it would do. There would be chocolate cake for dessert.
The doorbell rang, and I found my 'Welcome to my home' smile. I had so many smiles I was starting to lose track. Walking to the door, I opened it and smiled.
The Potter family was standing on the doorstep, and I invited them in. "Please, come in," I said. "I'll show you to the living room."
Albus smiled. I thought that I really would be his friend.