After a long day's work teaching potions, Scorpius Malfoy found himself on the top of the Astronomy Tower, watching the sun set while trying desperately hard not to think.

Scorpius had a secret, one that he had never shared with another soul, dead or alive. He had taken the precautions necessary for the truth to stay hidden.

While he was a student at Hogwarts, he had been a pain to say the least. Arrogant, stubborn as all hell and easily angered, he had turned many Slytherins against him over the years. Needless to say that he had no friends, or at least none that he had properly taken the time to get to know and care about. Like his father before him, he had his two Goyle-born bodyguards with whom he would make mischief and annoy the Weasleys and Potters that attended school with him. Those where years that he was not particularly proud of, making other people miserable just for the sake of it.

Which he was still doing, Scorpius mused. He was tormenting students to no end about how dismal their potions were and how stupid the brats were. Many a time he has heard comparisons made between him and the late Severus Snape as to his methods of teaching. Not that he thought he was doing anything wrong in teaching the children how to be afraid: it was something that they would never deal with in their perfect life. He envied them of that.

He has always had an underlying motive for acting this way: to forget.

The energy that he would put in harassing people kept his thoughts at bay, using up all of his energy. So he had gone out of his way to make sure that he would have no time to reflect, meaning that he had never let up on the bullying. He was willing to admit what he was. A bully. And yet he was more than that, He was his father. Not by choice, but because it was the only way that Scorpius knew how to act. He was never taught any other way to channel his guilt and rage.

His guilt. It was all his fault.

Noticing that being up in the fresh air was doing nothing to help him forget the past, he turned around and proceeded to leave the Astronomy Tower as quickly as possible, leaving all unwanted thoughts behind. At least he was, until a certain ghost stopped him in his tracks. He would not have noticed that she was behind him had she not have whispered his name in a way that made every memory of her surface in his mind.

"Scorpius" whispered Cassiopeia Malfoy.

…..

Six-year-old Scorpius was playing in the gardens of Malfoy Manor. He had recently developed a love of picking flowers off plants and then proceeding to bunch them together and make chains. His previous works were proudly hanging around his neck. So engrossed was he in creating his fourth chain, this time to become a crown like the one he had seen his ancestor wearing in one of the family portraits, that he did not notice that his sister was coming towards him.

Cassiopeia Malfoy was at the age where she was able to crawl, an ability that delighted her to no end as she would never stay still, wanting to take in her surrounding and touch anything in reach. Often she would hear the phrase 'Terrible Twos' spoken between her mother and father, who were not nearly as happy towards her ability to escape from their gaze as she was. Often they would realise that she was missing, and would finally find her in the hallways, touching and often breaking anything in reach. Both Draco and Astoria Malfoy were grateful to have magic at their disposal, giving them the ability to find their daughter and fix whatever had broken in a quicker fashion.

Cassiopeia had indeed managed to crawl away from her parents while they were busy discussing what give her grandfather for his birthday, "No, I will not give Lucius a pen. Imagine what damage he could do to our children? What about..." After having crawled for a good minute Cassiopeia had managed to find the front door. To her delight the door was open, her brother having forgotten to close it when he had gone out, and she proceeded to crawl into the gardens full of wonderful things to touch and break! As she went along she saw her brother making chains of flowers and immediately crawled towards him, wanting to join in the fun.

"Play." Cassiopeia said, not quite old enough to talk properly but old enough to tell her family what she wanted. "Scor. Play."

Having realised that his sister had managed to find him, Scorpius was annoyed that she was here. Not that he did not like his sister, but he found her constant presence irritating, especially as he did not want to play with her today. He would much rather play with his daisy chains. So he turned away from her and said, "no." Then he proceeded to continue threading flowers together.

Upset that her brother was refusing to play with her, Cassiopeia began to cry in earnest. Louder and louder she became as she continued, her face becoming red.

Not wanting to get caught by his parents (as he was not actually not meant to be outside either) he told her to stop crying, saying he would play with her.

Scorpius Malfoy was very different from what he was expected to be. He never hurt anyone if it was uncalled for, and was kind to the house elves that served him. He did not believe in discrimination of Muggles, as he thought that everyone was the same and should therefore be treated equally, no matter how hard his parents tried to tell him otherwise. And yet he was cunning, knowing how to deceive and trick people into giving him what he wants, such as an extra cookie for desert. He was ambitious, wanting to make something of his life and wanting to prove to the wizarding world that he was not just Lucius Malfoy's grandson, but also a talent in his own right. A pure Slytherin, but not a cruel one.

His lack of cruelty was also a factor as to why he began to play with his younger sister. Because he genuinely loved her and wanted her to be happy rather than sad.

Since he did not believe that Cassiopeia would enjoy making daisy chains as much as he did, he tried to come up with another game that both of them would enjoy. It was then that he had spotted his father wand in the grass.

How the wand had gotten there in the first place is still a mystery. The most likely scenario was that Draco had been walking through the gardens the day before when he dropped it out of pure shock of seeing his son covered in blood due to having accidentally fallen into a rose bush, before ordering his to come inside that instant and not step out into the garden for the next week (thus why Scorpius was not allowed in the garden the next day). The fact that the man had not noticed that he did not have his wand could either have been due to the fact that he cared for his son too much to notice or that he was too busy with his own father's birthday. Whatever the case the wand had been left in the garden for the young Scorpius to find.

The spell that Scorpius fired is also a mystery, for there was no record of any having been used on the wand when it was checked days later. Many had speculated that it had originated from a suggestion that the portraits had given the boy when he talked to them, or that Scorpius had found it in one of the many bias children's books that he had been reading as a child.

When Scorpius had found the wand in the grass he gave no thought towards the danger of the object that he was holding, too young to know. All he had wanted to do was pretend to be an Auror, using a spell to catch a Death-Eater, like the stories that he had been told by his father about the Wizarding Wars. Muttering the first spell that came into his head, Scorpius pointed the wand at Cassiopeia.

The effects were instantaneous and deadly.

She began to bleed profusely. Supremely concerned about what was happening, he yelled for his parents in the loudest voice that he could. He then proceeded to hug his sister and murmur to her that she was alright, that she would be fine, because mother and father were coming. And as she died in his arms Scorpius never stopped consoling her, comforting her and much as he was comforting himself that everything was going to be okay.

He believed that up until she took in her final breath. Not knowing that she had passed, Scorpius continued, watching his parents come forward.

At first Draco and Astoria were mad at their two children, planning punishments in their heads. However, as soon as they saw the blood all thoughts left their mind as they raced over as fast as they could, hoping that they were not too late. Taking Cassiopeia into his arms, Draco checked for a pulse. When there was none, he reached for his wand before realising that he did not have it on him, that it was lying next to his son.

Futile attempts at reviving their little girl all failed, a whole hour passing before they realised that there was no more hope. As his parents sobbed while holding his dead sister in their arms, not caring a whim for the blood that she was covered in, Scorpius could only stare in shame as the implications of what he had done hitting him full force. The last thing that he remembered before he blacked out was his father's eyes, the blame that they held as he locked eyes with his son.

…

Noone else in the wizarding world knew about the incident that occurred so many years ago. Anyone that had been in contact with little Cassiopeia Malfoy had had their memories of her erased. She was cleaned off all records. Indeed, it was as if she had never existed.

The only three people who knew what Scorpius had done was Draco, Astoria and Scorpius himself.

His parents had forgiven him quickly, knowing that it was not his fault: he was too small to understand the danger of the game he had played. In fact, they blamed themselves for not teaching Scorpius properly and for letting Cassiopeia out of their sight that afternoon.

But twenty-six-year-old Scorpius knew that it was all his fault.

As if knowing what he was thinking, the ghost of Cassiopeia Malfoy told her brother, "It was not your fault. You didn't know." She always knew that her brother would need her, choosing to become a ghost to save him from himself. She had watched over him as he went to school, as he bullied those who did not deserve it so as not to remember her. She knew him too well to have ever thought otherwise.

For the first time in twenty years, after hearing his sister's voice, Scorpius wept bitter tears. He held nothing back. "I was the one who grabbed the wand. I was the one who killed you. I have treated myself terribly after that, not allowing myself to get close to anyone, pushing our parents away. I don't deserve happiness."

What Cassiopeia said in response shocked her brother so much that he stopped with the self-pitying and, for the first time, listened to another person's opinion. "Bull shit. You deserve all the happiness in the world, Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, and don't let anyone else tell you otherwise. I have come across many ghosts in my time, I know what horrible things others have done. I know what guilt can do to someone if you let it control you. I have forgiven you, I forgave you a long time ago. The only person stopping you from being happy is you."

Having said her piece, Cassiopeia turned towards the sky, the day having become night already. "I have never liked the stars, even if I am named after one. They are beautiful, but cold and distant. Like something that you want to reach for, but know that you will never succeed."

Mind reeling as he attempted to make sense of what his sister has told him, Scorpius, to distract himself, asked her, "Why are you telling me this?"

"You are reaching for the stars, Scor. More than anything else you want me back, you want to fix what you have done. But that is impossible. No, the only way for you to forgive yourself is to give someone else a chance at life." Cassiopeia told her brother.

"Come again?" Not understanding what she was saying at all, Scorpius was wondering where his sister was going with this. What on earth could help him to right his wrongs?

"Adopt. Become a father to someone who has never known happiness. Make them feel loved. Give them a reason for living." Cassiopeia got straight to the point, knowing it was easier for her brother to understand her if she got straight to the point.

Satisfied that she has made her point, Cassiopeia Malfoy began to leave, dragging her twenty-two-year-old body away from the Astronomy Tower (as she had chosen to become a ghost at the mere age of two, she had been allowed to grow into a woman before living forever). She knew that her brother would do the right thing. All he needed was a little persuasion.

Not even noticing that his sister's ghost had left him alone, Scorpius pondered her words. Adoption? Who on earth would want to be adopted by him? To appease her he began to ponder the children he knew were pure-blood, listing them in his head while picking the ones he thought were best.

He was so wrapped in thought that he had not seen the girl until it was too late and she had bashed into him.

"Yelp" was all that Scorpius could muster while falling, catching himself with his right hand. After having gotten over the shock, he scanned the area for his attacker, seeing her immediately.

Holly Minuet. First year Huffelpuff.

Her story was well known. Her muggle mother had died while giving birth to her. Her muggle father had abused her until he had figured out that she was a witch, where he proceeded to drop her off at an orphanage without a backwards glance. She had grown up in a horrible environment surrounded by the worst type of people. And Hogwarts was no better for her. In his potion classes he had never seen Holly with any type of friend. In fact, she was often bullied by her peers who were constantly teasing her about her last name and the fact that she was named after a plant. He also realised that he had never done anything to help her, yelling at her when her potions failed. Scorpius grew ashamed of how he had treated the girl who was on the floor in front of him. So much so that he helped her up, giving her his hand, which she gladly accepted.

At least, she accepted until she saw who she had bumped into. Fear came into her eyes as she stammered apologies. "I'm s…s…sorry prof…ff..essor. I didn….n't see yo…..u there." She began to cry in earnest, frightened of what the mean professor was going to do. "Plea….se do….n't yell at m…m…e."

Scorpius was indeed about to yell at her about watching out where she was going when he stopped. And began to wonder.

This gave Holly enough time to see that his eyes were puffy and that he had been crying. Now doubly anxious, she had no idea how mad her potions professor was at her especially as she had found him a vulnerable state, she began to leave.

Not wanting to lose his company so soon Scorpius reflexively asked her to wait.

Confused and scared, Holly turned around and waited for Scorpius to begin yelling.

Confused just as much as she was regarding his actions, Scorpius tried to distract her by asking, "Why are you here, Miss Minuet?" The fact that he asked his question in a soft tone of voice did nothing to comfort either of them.

After a minute of two of contemplating if she should really tell him, she eventually gave in. She never got to share her problems with anyone: no one would listen. "Dorothy was bullying me, telling me how shrub-like I was that I needed a wash to cl…ean myself." She began to sob. "She then…sniff….threw me…sniff…into the bathtub….sniff….with my clothes on…and tried to…sniff…drown me. I….sniff….managed to….sniff…get away." Large tears fell out of her brown eyes as she cried.

Scorpius was beyond rage. He was furious. He knew Dorothy well, she was often ruining Holly's potions, but she had no right to do that to her.

Scared of her professor and the way he was shaking she cowered into a ball. And then Scorpius once again shocked them both completely. By hugging her.

She reminded Scorpius of his sister. Smart yet vulnerable. As he thought of all the times that he had seen Holly bullied he vowed never to let the girl out of his sight. She was going to become his daughter whether she liked it or not. He would protect her in the way that he had always wanted to protect his sister. And he would love her with all his heart.

He finally understood what his sister had told him. And he wasn't letting this opportunity to save this defenceless girl slip away as another regret.

Letting go of her, he looked her straight in the eye and told her, "You will never have to deal with Dorothy or anyone else again. I will protect you. As your teacher. As your guardian. As your father."

Still slightly cautious, she asked Scorpius if he meant it. To which he replied, "I have never meant anything more." And they hugged again, where he passed on all his love he felt for the girl. Feeling it, Holly cried for joy, knowing that she would be alright. Her father loved her.

As the two left the Astronomy tower with grins on their faces and tears in their eyes, Scorpius finally let go of the guilt that had been plaguing him for so long, leaving it for the stars to claim.

And then the tower was empty, and the only sounds that could be heard were the joyous yelps of ghost of Cassiopeia Malfoy and the cries of the rooster that signalled that a new day was dawning over Hogwarts. And it was already turning out to be better than the last.