Hogwarts Anew: First Year

What an uninspired title. I'm not entirely sure where this is going. I started it on an impulse, so it may go kind of far, not very far, or super far. I know myself well enough by now not to make any promises whatsoever, so if you're not willing to get into a story that may never be finished, you should probably be on your way.

NOTE: I have never read any of the Harry Potter books. I've seen all the movies though. So if you find inconsistencies or something that strikes you as just plain impossible, that is probably the reason. Most of my information comes from rabid, crazed, book-reading friends and--though it shames me to admit this--Wikipedia. Also, OBVIOUS DEATHLY HALLOWS SPOILERS. OBVIOUSLY.

Disclaimer: All I own is the writing, the plot, and about 30 of the overall appearing characters.

"Stop slouching, Scorpius."

Eleven-year-old Scorpius Malfoy quickly arched his shoulders back, trying to regain the stately posture he was ordered to be practicing as he stepped closer to his father. Once he was sure the elder was looking away, he relaxed his pose almost immediately, looking around the platform in wonder. All in all, he was bored. Granted, no child awaiting a journey to a whole school year at the most magical place there was should be bored, but Scorpius had never witnessed this place before and was in any case a rather skeptical child to begin with. He slowly lifted up the edge of the cloth that covered a cage resting on his suitcase, peering in at the cream and tawny barn owl that perched nestled within. It ruffled the feathers around its neck and hooted quietly at him, and he dropped the cloth with a sigh.

"Stand up straight, Scorpius." His father scolded again.

Scorpius made his back stiff and slowly looked up at his father's face with large silver-blue eyes. "I don't want to go, Dad." He admitted obstinately.

Draco Malfoy's stare slowly made it down to his son, his hands still tucked into his long black coat and his cool expression unwavering. "Well you'll just have to get over that, won't you?"

Scorpius pouted slightly, unwilling to accept this. "But I don't even know any other kids. I'm not going to have any friends at all."

"Nonsense. You'll have Twistfoot with you." Draco dismissed. The owl cooed at the mention of its name and the whooshing of feathers could be heard inside of the covered cage.

"I mean real friends, Dad." Scorpius insisted. "And I'll look stupid if I carry an owl around everywhere I go."

"Nonsense!" chirped his mother, echoing his father's sentiment far more cheerily. The blonde woman bent down and fussed with her son's hair meticulously before deciding to undo all her work and ruffling it up altogether. "I don't see what's wrong with talking to an owl."

Scorpius frowned. "It can't talk back. And it's not like it can play Quidditch with me or take notes with me in class."

His mother held a finger to her chin and made a 'tut' in thought. "Well I suppose that's true. An owl definitely can't play Quidditch."

"See? I'm going to be alone."

"You won't be alone." She countered assuredly. "But if you ever find that you are alone, you must always remember to never ever be alone in the bathroom—otherwise you might get attacked by the Wipplesnippers."

"What's that?" Scorpius asked hesitantly.

"Oh, they're harmless really. Unless you're alone, of course. They're especially cowardly things, but one person all by themselves isn't all that scary. They usually travel in groups of three, so if you see one, you'd best watch out for the others because they're surely right around the corner. If you're not careful, they'll sneak right in and eat all of your toilet paper up before you've got a chance to use any."

"Mom," Scorpius moaned irritably.

"The only way to avoid them is to sing at the top of your lungs whenever you enter the bathroom—that way with all the noise they just might think that there's more than one of you."

"Stop filling his head with that." Draco ordered crassly. "Hasn't he had enough of your Nargles and Wrackspurts and man-eating Crumply Horn Knickknacks?"

His wife stood, arms at her hips. "First of all, it's the Crumple-Horned Snorkack, and it is a very gentle creature that would never eat anyone. Second of all, our son has a right to know about these things." She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, tickling his nose with a finger. "And third of all, you'd do well with some care when it comes to magical creatures yourself, my little husband."

Draco offered a helpless expression, eyebrows crooked. "Luna, come on then."

Scorpius shook his head and wrinkled his nose, tapping his owl cage absently to make sure his pet hadn't secretly vanished. Even as much as he hated his mother's insane tales, he didn't want to get on the approaching train. He wanted to go home, where he wasn't obligated to make friends or sleep in foreign magical places full of strangers. His eyes searched the platform and the other waiting students, who all seemed rather menacing to him. In the center of the commotion, at least from where he could see, a small mob of red-headed children caught his eye. None of them seemed particularly special to him, but then he was sure he had seen his father nod towards the group of them, and the tall man with dark hair and glasses had nodded back. His eyes fought past a girl with reddish brown hair who was buried in a book to see a little boy that was his age, hair dark and sporting glasses much like a miniature version of the man he was standing next to. The dark haired boy, he noticed, was staring at him unabashedly, a curious expression on his face. Scorpius blinked at him before conjuring up his best imitation of his father's infamous sneer and turning his back abruptly with crossed arms.

The loud whistles and howls of the train screamed from the end of the track, signaling the approaching vessel. The platform erupted in activity, children's voices laughing and crying, mothers scolding and lecturing, owls and cats and other animals making a ruckus as they were moved about. Scorpius frowned again and looked up at his father, who was pushing his suitcase towards him.

"Come along, Scorpius. Don't dawdle. Take your things."

Scorpius looked around one last time before taking it. "If I don't like it, do I have to come back next year?"

"Yes." Draco said sternly. "Until you're eighteen you may as well think of Hogwarts as your second home."

"I only have one home." Scorpius said defiantly. "And that's all I ever needed. You're just making me go because your dad made you go and you want to get back at someone."

Draco and his son shared a short glaring contest before he shook his head. "I don't have time for this, and neither do you. Now you're getting on that train and you're going to school even if you spend the whole year doing nothing but studying and sitting alone in your room feeding your bloody owl."

Scorpius continued to glare, trying to fight back the tears behind his eyes. "I won't forgive you for this, father."

Draco raised a brow challengingly and took his son's shoulder to turn him towards the train. "That'll be the same threat you'll give me when I mean to pick you up. You're a Malfoy, boy, now act with a little pride why don't you?"

"Pride for what?" Scorpius grunted.

Draco, seeming stung, scowled and shoved the caged owl into his son's other hand. Without another word, he pointed to the train and gave Scorpius a good push forward.

"Goodbye, Scorpius. We love you." Luna chimed behind him.

"Bye Mom." He nodded over a shoulder. The train seemingly loomed over him, children practically fighting to get in through the doorway. He was unexcited to work his way in with them, fearing the multitude of scrapes and bruises that were sure to follow. Eventually he realized that he had no choice, and so he timidly began worming his way around them until he could pull himself up on the steps. Once he had, he realized that now his situation was not much better, as there were practically no empty compartments and he much preferred to sit by himself. Slowly he began to trudge down the corridor, holding his owl's cage carefully out in front of him. He felt as though every child stared at him as he went, and in truth many of them were. His family name held no secrets, after all. He pretended not to notice, and at last caught an empty compartment at the end.

An older dark-haired boy suddenly peered out at him, blocking his way and forcing him to momentarily stop. "Hey there." He snapped.

Scorpius recoiled, a suspicious look on his face as he stepped back. He looked into the boy's cart, where several others were giggling and watching them. He mustered up his father's haughty expression and stated primly, "You're in my way."

The boys behind the dark-haired one whispered and cackled at this, but the boy himself just smiled. "You're that Malfoy boy, aren't you?"

"I don't see how it's any business of yours." Scorpius said evasively.

"Well I'm James Potter. Our fathers know one another. But then again everyone knows your father." He leaned further out the door and swayed back and forth, clearly not intending to let the blonde boy pass.

"So what if they do?" Scorpius shot back. "Everyone knows your father too."

"Yeah, only my father's a hero. Yours is a dirty death-eating criminal." James said matter-o-factly.

"He is not." Scorpius bit heatedly. He looked over again at the group of random boys who were laughing and staring him down as well.

"Whatcha got in there? A parakeet?" James asked as he thumped the cage before him harshly.

The owl screeched shortly at being so roughly disturbed, and Scorpius pulled the cage away with a growl. "Stop that!"

"Sorry." James laughed. "Did I kill it?"

"No." Scorpius grumbled and managed to loop under his arm, finally getting past him. He did his best to ignore the jeering that went on behind his back. The train suddenly bellowed and the ground beneath his feet shuddered. It was moving. Scorpius struggled to keep his balance while holding his owl cage, tipping back and forth a few times along the way. When at last he made it to the empty compartment, he set the cage down onto the seat, climbing up on it as well to try and see out the window. But the station had already passed. His parents were gone, and he hadn't even gotten to wave goodbye to them. That awful Potter boy had gotten in his way. Flopping down onto the seat, Scorpius crossed his arms and stared at the seat in front of him. He was on his way to somewhere he didn't want to go to meet people he didn't wish to meet and learn things he was sure he didn't need to learn.

This, in his opinion, was awful. Why did he need to learn any magic at all? His father had learned plenty and he hardly ever did anything of a magical nature. And it wasn't as though there remained any dark powers ever since Voldemort was killed all those years ago. He may as well just live the life of a Muggle. A knock on his compartment door brought him out of his bitter thinking and in stepped the same little dark-haired boy with glasses that had been staring at him earlier. In his hand was an owl cage with a blue cloth over it. He blinked a few times at the little blonde boy before speaking.

"Um…hi. My name's Albus. Albus Potter."

"I know." Scorpius said, keeping his arms crossed and his glare cold at the empty seat in front of him. "My father said I shouldn't talk to you."

Albus paused, his wide green eyes twinkling with wonder. "Why did he say that?"

Scorpius shrugged. "I don't know. He says a lot of things."

"Oh. Well, can I sit here? All of the other carts are taken, and I really don't want to sit with my brother." He implored, pushing his glasses up on his face.

Scorpius nervously wriggled in his seat, eyes to the side. "Fine."

Albus happily wandered over and took a seat next to Scorpius, setting his owl cage down and leaning over to try and get a good look at the other boy's. "Is that your owl?"

"Of course it's my owl."

"Can I see it?"

Scorpius stared hesitantly at Albus for a moment before reluctantly agreeing, pulling off the cloth over it and revealing the drowsy barn owl.

"He's pretty." Albus chirped. "What's his name?"

"Twistfoot."

"Twistfoot? Why do you call him that?"

Scorpius squinted into the cage before pointing down at the owl's talon. "See that toe right there? I think it was broken or something, and it didn't grow right. So now it's gone all bent and crooked."

Albus looked down at the foot and nodded in understanding. He then turned and pulled the cloth off of his own cage, revealing a rather pudgy-looking snowy owl on a smooth stick. "This is my owl. His name is Codger, because he's always begging for scraps."

Despite his determination to remain indifferent, he leered over at the bird with interest. "He's sort of fat."

"I know. Mom says I should stop feeding him so much. But I can't help it sometimes." Albus reached his fingers through the bars of the cage and stroked the bird's head affectionately.

Scorpius looked at his own owl, which was perfectly mannered, and pulled the cloth back over him. "My father thought I should have a snake, but I don't know if I could get used to one."

"A snake?" Albus gulped slightly, and some worry seemed to pass over his face. He fell silent for a long while before striking up again. "So what…what house do you think you'll be going into?"

Scorpius considered this for a moment before shrugging heavily. "I don't know. My father would be happy if I got put in Slytherin. But my mother says I seem more like a Ravenclaw—like she was. I don't really care."

Albus seemed intrigued. "You don't even care?"

"Well why should I? It's not like I know anyone here, so I can't be upset if they don't put me in a house with my friends."

"I don't know anyone either, really. Just my brother. Oh, and my cousins. And then I guess there's Teddy." Albus looked up as the candy cart was making its way down the isle. "Do you want some?"

"Um…" Scorpius watched as Albus stood and opened the door, gazing up at the serving woman with messy black locks in his face.

"My!" the old woman said. "You look terribly familiar. What would you children like?"

"Come pick something." Albus beckoned.

Scorpius stood up slowly, examining the array of candy with slight distrust. Albus was grabbing various handfuls of things, and so he joined in, reaching for a sucker. Ablus suddenly took it from him, shaking his head. Scorpius turned with a prepared verbal protest, but was cut off.

"That's an acid pop, you don't want that. Here, take some Liqourice Wands."

"Oh. Okay." Scorpius nodded and took the candy that was shoved at him. Soon Albus had picked what he wanted; a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans and a chocolate frog for later. They both sat back down as the sweets cart passed, sugar now fueling their conversation. "What house do you think they'll put you in?"

Albus pushed a piece of candy into his mouth and sighed. "I don't know. Practically my whole family is in Gryffindor. I'm scared that I won't end up there."

"Why do you think you won't?" Scorpius queried, more at ease.

"It's just…well I don't want to go into Slytherin. My Unlce Ron told me that they're a nasty bunch and all…and I know he'd be sore if I got put in there. Even my dad said that the Sorting Hat couldn't decide whether or not to place him in Gryffindor or Slytherin. He had to choose which one for himself."

"Then what are you worried about?"

"Well what if it doesn't give me a choice?" Albus sank down in his seat. "I'm not like my dad. I mean everyone says I look just like him, but I'm not brave or smart or…anything."

"You don't seem very much like a Slytherin to me." Scorpius said in a strange mixture between an assurance and a derogatory remark.

Albus looked up just as another girl their age was walking in, her long reddish hair tangled and an angry expression on her face.

"What's the matter, Rose?" Albus asked.

The girl blew a chunk of hair away from her face and set to straightening it out with her fingers. "Your git brother, that's what! Him and his stupid friends took my book away!" her eyes drifted over to Scorpius and she seemed to recognize him, looking between he two boys.

"This is my cousin Rose." Albus introduced.

The girl walked over and sat across from them, arms in her lap. "Oh. It's him. The one Dad was talking about."

Scorpius set his jaw and turned his head away, ready to ignore whatever insults were thrown his way.

"We weren't supposed to talk to him." Rose informed.

"Your dad said not to get too close to him, but mine didn't say anything to me." Albus defended, offering her some of his candy.

"Well after what James just did I hope I'm in Slytherin myself!" Rose huffed, clearly assuming that Scorpius would end up the same way. This partially relieved him. "Just so long as I don't have to eat at the same table as him."

"Your Dad'll go bonkers." Albus reminded.

Rose paused for a long moment. "Albus…help me get my book back. I just had three chapters left! I can't lose it now."

"What do you want me to do? You know what he'll do to me if I go out there."

"He's your brother."

"That's not my fault!"

"Oh please Al?" she begged, clasping her hands together.

Albus sighed, giving Scorpius a sidelong glance. "Alright, fine. Come on. I'll go with you." The two children stood up, Albus following his cousin ruefully. He turned before he left and looked back at Scorpius. "I guess I'll be seeing you. Will you watch my owl until I come back for him? If my brother gets a hold of him again…here, you'd better take my candy, too."

Scorpius looked over to the lonely cage and nodded. "Okay." He watched as Albus disappeared and left him once more alone in the compartment. He looked down into the bag of candy that sat in his palm and wondered.

Note: Yes, I took liberty with a few things. For instance, Luna being Draco's wife. Granted, there is no link between them that I'm aware of, but I think it's a funny fit and that Draco could be genuinely happy with someone as happily mad as she. I like to think of him as having gotten at least the kindness of a nice wife. She also contributes some important factors within the character of Scorpius I've also taken liberty of. R & R, if it didn't bore you to tears yet.