SCHREEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!

The long, earslipping drone of the Hogwarts Express whistle tore though of ears of Scorpius Malfoy as he ducked out of view of the windows that revealed the quickly blurring Platform 9 and 3/4, stumbling forward as the departing train gained speed.

As he righted himself, the echo of his father's parting words lingered in his mind as he shuffled towards any vacant cabin that he could find where he could clear his head. Stay with our kind, and with them only. I don't want any Potters or Weasleys thinking that they can befriend a loyal pureblood - and Merlin forbid I even mention it, but if I even hear of you talking with one of them... It would be disgraceful, and I won't stand for it. The eleven year old boy had just simply nodded as Draco blundered on about how perfect, regal, and downright nasty his little Scorpius had to be.

Reeling back into the present, the blond gently rubbed his ears, trotting quietly down the corridor of the lengthy corridors of the express, his head down submissively. The pureblood's huge, curious gray eyes were searching for somewhere peaceful to sit down and relax, but though his tried, one couldn't stay focused on such a little task with where he was. There were so many new things to see!

Enraptured with his surrounds, the little first year didn't realize that he was wandering right into a group of people until he ran head on into one of the bigger boys. Letting out a muffled squeak, Scorpius panicked as he recognized the one he had blundered into as no one other than James Potter, eldest of Harry and Ginny's children.

Remembering his father's warning, he muttered a rushed, high pitched, "Sorry, sir!" and quickly threw himself into the nearest, vacant cabin, slamming the door shut behind him and collapsing on the nearest seat. Walking into an older student was a silly thing to get wound up over and it could happen to anyone, but it still put a damper on the boy's soaring spirits. The eleven year old had only wanted to please his parents, and in order to to that he would need to be more careful.

Scorpius let out a shaky sight and slumped down on the padded bench, miserably staring at his newly polished shoes. It seemed like with everything he did he somehow managed to mess up.

Absentmindedly nudging off the satchel filled with his homemade lunch [courtesy of Willy, one of the Malfoy's house elfs], pleasure-reading books, and some of his safe keeping money strung over his shoulder, the young pureblood leaned back up against the backrest and crossed his arms across his chest, shifting his wandering gaze to the ceiling of the cabin.

What would father say if he could see me now? The disappointment son, the son who would rather curl up with a book rather that socialize with the other high class, pureblooded wizards. The son who had dropped and shattered a glass filled to the brim with red wine all of over the Lestrange's white carpets.

The son who wasn't even trying to talk to people, but avoiding them.

"C'mon, Rose, there's no other open cabins and he's alone."

Scorpius woke with a start. He hadn't even realized he had drifted off until the faint swoosh of the opening sliding door and the shuffle of feet roused him. Jerking upright, he unceremoniously slammed his head against the window sill with a soft grunt and keeled over. Where am I?

"Are you alright there?"

As the blonde rubbed the side of his cranium, one of the new children that had entered his compartment crouched down so that he was eye level with Scorpius, his dull green orbs flickering with curiosity.

Ah, the young Malfoy thought to himself, deaf to the other boy completely, the Hogwarts Express. I wasn't out of it for that long, then.

Realizing that the student in front of him was still waiting for an answer, Scorpius flushed light pink and withdrew his hand from his head, instead resting it in his lap and focusing his eyes on a small hole in his trousers. "Y-Yes, I'm fine."

Daring to glance up, he offered a tiny smile and shyly inquired, "How do you do?"

Unable to hold in a chuckle, the new boy returned a grin and hoisted himself up onto the bench opposite of Scorpius. "The only person I've heard say that was my mother's friend, Luna." He leaned forward slowly as to not spook the blonde and put a hand to one side of his mouth. "Between you and me, I think she was dropped as a baby," he whispered softly, his eyes twinkling.

This was proven too much for Scorpius - he was only just able to cover his mouth before he started to giggle uncontrollably. His shoulders shaking in mirth, he leaned over again and tried to get a hold of himself before laughing even harder as the brown haired boy winked at him.

"Ahem."

The eleven year old abruptly stopped short as a third voice rang throughout the cabin. Turning his head slightly to the right, he nearly jumped as he caught sight of another person who had apparently been there the whole time - and a girl.

Shrinking back as like a guilty dog, his stared at her through great, big, worried eyes. Scorpius was about to ask her some pointless question, but, before he could do so, the unknown boy crossed his arms, leaned back up against the window, and grumbled. "Oi, bugger off, Rose. Go chat with Victoria and leave me with... giggles over here to talk about real things."

Cocking an eyebrow, he motioned towards the door. "Go on. We can finish our conversation later."

Narrowing her eyes, the one called Rose whipped around and strode right out of the small room with a shake of her head and a, "boys."

As soon as she was gone, the brown haired boy's shoulders sagged and he let out a sigh. "She isn't all bad, just very demanding and pushy. Likes attention, that one." He shook his head and in a matter of seconds instantly brightened as though a brilliant idea came to him.

"So, what's your name? I'm Albus, Albus Potter." Albus held out his hand to the blonde, a grin plastered on his face.

Scorpius instantly blushed when he heard the other boy's last name. A Potter! Oh well, he thought, I guess father just won't here about this... I mean, what's so bad about them? It might just be his dad that was the nasty one, not his son.

The first year determinedly smiled back and shook the other's hand. "I'm Scorpius Malfoy. It's a pleasure to meet you, Albus."