A/N: Just a quick AN to say that, of course, I solemnly swear I am not JK Rowling and that I do not own the following characters: Scorpius Malfoy, Rose Weasley, Albus Potter, Draco Malfoy, Astoria Greengrass/Malfoy, Minerva McGonagll, Rubeus Hagrid, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley (and a few others too.) I hope you enjoy this one shot. I'd love to know what you think, so leave a review if you've got time!
Term dates were always the same at Hogwarts. The year always began on the 1st of September. That year was no different, regardless of how much Scorpius Malfoy wished it was.
Despite the fact that his father and grandparents had switched allegiances at the end of the Second Wizarding War, people always looked down upon the Malfoy name. He was terrified of what people would say when he turned up at Kings Cross Station and boarded the Hogwart's Express. Where would he sit? Who would want to be friends with him? No-one would want to be friends with him. Even if he wasn't the son of a famed ex-Death Eater, everyone in his year would probably pick Albus Severus Potter or Rose Weasley over him.
Of course, despite his fears of what could happen, Scorpius was looking forward to escaping the family house. Because of the family reputation, his father didn't work. Pretentious as he was, Draco Malfoy would never have stooped so low as to work anywhere but in the Ministry of Magic. But, of course, Death Eaters weren't employed by the Ministry. But being stuck inside the house with his parents, day in, day out, had become very tiresome. It was even worse when his grandparents visited.
So on the 1st of September, he masked his reluctance with a wavering grin and left the house with the trunk his mother had prepared for him. His parents drove him to the station and walked with him all the way onto the platform. Every time they looked round at him, he made sure to brighten his smile, but they weren't fooled. They just assumed he was nervous, however.
In the cover of the smoke from the waiting train, Scorpius began to relax.
However, as was the way of nature, the smoke moved and lifted, showing two families not too far away. They saw Scorpius and his parents, and Draco gave a curt nod to them. Scorpius could tell from their appearances that they matched his father's descriptions of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.
Scorpius knew of the intense rivalry that existed between the Malfoys and the Potters and Weasleys. He could even feel the eyes of Albus and Rose on him. He didn't want any trouble from them or anyone. In fact, if he could, he would turn himself invisible so that he wouldn't have to experience all the harsh stares he usually got. Looking just like his father, everyone knew who he was.
He'd been a little surprised to be honest to have received a letter informing him he had a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He'd half expected the school to turn him down because of who he was. Going to Durmstrang Institute however, wouldn't help change the reputation he already had. If he wanted people to think he was a good person, he would have to be nice to everyone. Not that he wasn't nice, of course. Scorpius Malfoy was polite and quiet. He didn't even have the same opinions as his parents. He didn't believe in blood status and he wasn't a dark wizard. He couldn't even do any magic yet.
Saying goodbye to his parents, Scorpius hesitantly boarded the train and began searching for somewhere to sit. By a stroke of luck, he found an empty carriage and sat down. For a few minutes there was silence and then he heard voices, loud voices.
"James better have been lying about the thestrals," one of them said.
"You know he was. You're Dad told you. Who are you going to trust, your brother or your dad?"
"You're right, Dad's definitely right."
They slid open the compartment door and looked taken aback to find Scorpius sitting there.
"Sorry, do you mind if we sit in here. Everywhere else is full…" Rose Weasley said.
"Forget it, Rose," Albus told her. "We'll just squeeze in with James and his friends."
"You know there's no room," Rose replied.
"I don't mind," Scorpius offered quietly.
Rose and Albus awkwardly shuffled into the compartment with their trunks and shut the door. Albus struggled to get his trunk into the overhead rail, standing on the seat and trying to heft it up by himself.
"Rose, give us a hand, would you?"
Rose smiled and took the other end, but the trunk was still too heavy.
Unasked, Scorpius got to his feet and slid his hands under the bottom of the trunk, pushing upwards from the middle. Together the three of them got it onto the rail and moved onto Rose's trunk.
As Scorpius bent to help, Al muttered, "I think we can manage."
Nodding Scorpius sat down and watched the pair struggle. Once they were done, they sat down opposite Scorpius and looked down at their feet.
The three of them were silent until the trolley lady arrived when they all leapt up and bought sweets.
Not wanting to flash money around, Scorpius simply bought a liquorice wand, a box of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans and two Chocolate Frogs. Albus, on the other hand, dug a hand into his pocket and pulled out a fistful of coins, including a few galleons. Between he and Rose they almost bought all of the Trolley Lady's stock.
Filed with sugar and energy, Albus and Rose began animatedly, leaving Scorpius to stare out the window, wishing that he could have been born someone else. Feeling lonelier than ever before, he sighed and opened one of his Chocolate Frogs, hoping some chocolate might make him feel better. Before it could escape, he grabbed the enchanted chocolate frog in one hand and looked at the card. It was one he already had, but he read the back of the Amadeus card once more.
"Whoa! You've got Amadeus! He's the rarest card ever!" Albus exclaimed in an awed voice, completely forgetting that he had been trying to ignore the pale, blond-haired boy sat opposite him.
"Really?" Scorpius asked. "This is the second one I've had. I was hoping for the new Kingsley Shacklebolt card.
"I can trade you, if you like," Albus offered.
Scorpius shrugged and handed across his card, grateful to finally be included in some form of conversation.
"I'll give you Kingsley, Agrippa and a couple of acid pops," Albus told him, standing on the seat and delving into his trunk on the overhead rail to find his cards. "Help yourself."
Scorpius tentatively picked up a sweet, sure that it would be a ruse or trick of the Potter boy. But neither Albus nor Rose moved to stop him and Scorpius popped the violently neon-green coloured sweet into his mouth.
"Thanks," he mumbled, speaking around the fizzing boiled sweet.
"Not a problem," Albus grunted, standing on his tiptoes and still searching around for the two cards he had promised Scorpius. "Call me Al, by the way."
"Anything but Malfoy's fine," Scorpius replied. "What about you, Rose, what shall I call you?"
"Rose," she suggested.
"Got them!" Albus exclaimed, finally seating himself with a massive wodge of cards in his hand. He sifted through them, looking for Kingsley and Agrippa, handing them across to Scorpius and then sliding the pack into his pocket.
"How much longer do you reckon it's going to be?" Scorpius asked, looking out the window at the setting sun.
"Another hour or two?" Rose said. "Maybe you two should change…"
Albus rolled his eyes at Scorpius but stood up all the same and got back onto the seat, ready to find his robes. Scorpius did the same and pulled out his immaculately folded, plain black robes.
It didn't take Albus and Scorpius long to change and it was only another hour and forty minutes before they arrived at Hogsmeade Station. Though, of course, it seemed longer when their conversations were short-lived and succeeded by pregnant pauses.
At the station Hagrid met them, as he did every year, calling out "Firs' Years this way!"
Scorpius trailed after Rose and Albus, the three of them arriving at the back of the group, having been seated at the back of the train. When everyone else had piled into boats, Hagrid taking up one whole one by himself, Scorpius was left to ride with Rose and Albus, the two cousins not looking particularly pleased about the matter.
Continuing his duties, Hagrid led them up to the Entrance Hall and as they waited for something or someone, he appeared to be scrutinising Scorpius. His beetle, black eyes were continuously roving over Scorpius face, as he tried to determine whether he would be as much trouble as his father had been. Apparently satisfied that Scorpius was simply a young, nervous and frightening; but polite all the same, boy, he looked away.
Scorpius breathed a sigh of relief and slouched somewhat, grateful to have escaped the glare. He had been right to think, he thought, that the teachers would even be distrustful of him. It was obvious that Professor Hagrid disliked him. And if the other teachers were the same, it wouldn't surprise Scorpius if he was sent home and expelled in the first month of term.
Finally, Hagrid started moving and threw open the double doors of the Great Hall, leading the way down the aisle between the four house tables.
The older students turned and stared. Already Scorpius could hear the beginnings of whispers.
"Isn't that the Malfoy boy?" one murmured.
"I'm sure it is! I was in Madam Malkin's at the same time as him," another hissed back.
Squaring his shoulders and biting his lip, Scorpius carried on walking and resisted the temptation to turn and look at the gossiping students. He continued to look forwards as the Sorting began. It was only when his name was called that he gulped and took a small step forwards through the crowd of First Year students who all instantly moved away from him as though he had leprosy or dragon pox.
"Scorpius Malfoy!" someone whispered loudly.
"Get out of here, scum bag!" someone else said, having the audacity to shout it.
Scorpius swallowed and continued moving. His breath came in great shuddering gasps, seeming louder than usual. His heart boomed like a bass drum and his mouth dried out, feeling completely parched. The Sorting was perhaps what worried him most of all. What would everyone say if he was placed in Slytherin like the rest of his family? Or what if the house refused to sort him as soon as it was placed on his head and learned his identity?
His knees shook as he perched on the very edge of the old, three-legged stool, preparing to run away. The hat was lowered onto his head, sinking over his eyes easily.
And that was when the voice began talking to him.
Malfoy, eh?
Scorpius didn't say anything. Malfoy was his surname, certainly, but he was desperate to be anything but a Malfoy.
I suppose it'd better be Slytherin then.
"No!" Scorpius thought vehemently. His father and grandfather were expecting him to be housed in Slytherin; they weren't even preparing to celebrate it because it seemed such a sure thing. Scorpius didn't know what they'd do if he wasn't, but he was willing to suffer it just to feel accepted for once.
No, well there's certainly determination there. Perhaps Gryffindor.
Scorpius didn't know what to think. The Gryffindors were brave and bold, loyal and true. But was he? He didn't think so. He'd never been more afraid in his life.
Or Ravenclaw, perhaps. There's definitely a wealth of intelligence in here. It's all in your head. What to do? The hat continued deliberating. Scorpius felt like he'd been under the hat for hours.
I know, it said.
Scorpius' heart sank. The stupid hat was going to put him in Slytherin. He knew it.
Ravenclaw! It shouted to the entire hall.
But unlike the hat's previous decisions that had been met with raucous applause, nobody clapped Scorpius' placement. Shock permeated the hall, just as it filled Scorpius. Elated, and oblivious to the hostility of the rest of the students, he sprang down from the stool and almost threw the hat back to Professor Longbottom and hurried to sit at the Ravenclaw table, squeezing in next to a fellow Ravenclaw when nobody made space for him.
Whilst all the other First Years were included in conversation with other people in their houses, everybody, including his eleven year old peers, ignored Scorpius throughout the feast.
When the prefects began chaperoning the First Years out of the hall and on tours of the castle, Scorpius was too glum and miserable to even notice. He was quite surprised to suddenly find Professor McGonagall in his field of vision, sitting across the table from him.
Wincing, he prepared to receive a torrent of admonishments. He'd heard many times from various people that Professor McGonagall was strict and took no nonsense from anybody.
He was stunned when she said gently, "Mr Malfoy is there perhaps something I can help you with?"
He shook his head, the movement causing him to realise that they were the only two people left in the hall. Even the staff had left. Gaping, he stammered, "No, Professor."
"Perhaps I should show you to your Common Room then?"
Scorpius nodded, grateful that he wouldn't have to embarrass himself by getting lost. He clambered over the bench at the Ravenclaw table and got to his feet. Professor McGonagall stood too and led the way down the hall, pausing to wait for him to catch up at the doors.
"It'll get better you know," she commented as they began climbing the stairs.
"Really?" Scorpius asked, still in disbelief that Professor McGonagall was being nice to him. He'd been sure that all the teachers, most of all Professor McGonagall, would be antagonistic towards him.
"You'll find students here are quite fickle. Whilst some will continue to hold a grudge, others won't. The Sorting Hat put you in Ravenclaw for a reason, Mr Malfoy, don't forget that. Despite what the other students may think, you aren't evil. Neither was your father for that matter. Draco had plenty of opportunities to be good; he just ignored that side of himself. Once he found himself with He Who Must Not Be Named and his followers too, for that matter, he wasn't happy with his lot or his choices."
"People still believe he and my grandparents are evil though. The definition extends to include me, clearly."
"Then you've got to show them you aren't. There will always be a place for you in Hogwarts. The Founders wanted to educate all magic folk, and that includes you, Mr Malfoy. Regardless of what the students may say, the teachers will always be willing to teach you," Professor McGonagall told him decisively, allaying his fears that the teachers would be vindictive towards him.
Reassured, Scorpius gave his Headmistress a small smile.
When they arrived at Ravenclaw Tower, Professor McGonagall left Scorpius to answer the riddle-like question the door-knocker asked.
When the door swung open he was met with a chorus of shouts.
"There you are, Scorpius!"
Even Dylan, one of the Fifth Year Prefects looked relieved to see him, offering him a smile.
"Okay, that's enough. To bed with you all," Dylan said, pointing the group of First Years to the dormitory stairs.
Scorpius followed the others, who already knew their way around Ravenclaw Tower, and then sat down on his bed.
"Where were you, Scorpius?" a red-haired boy called Timothy asked excitably.
"With Professor McGonagall," Scorpius answered honestly and simply.
The four boys stared at him with wide eyes.
"You're not in trouble are you?" Jason asked.
Scorpius shook his head and kicked at his trunk to open it. His mother appeared to have thought ahead and had packed his pyjamas near the top. He changed into them and sat back down on his bed. As soon as he was done, the other boys who had already changed before they'd realised he was missing, were back to questioning him. Although it was slightly annoying, Scorpius realised it was better than being ignored and would help him make friends.
Finally, after a long day, the First Year boys retired to bed and went to sleep.
The next morning was the first true day at Hogwarts. Scorpius woke up and dressed with the rest of the boys. As they sat in the Great Hall again, the First Years all talked to him. He seemed to get on quite well with a girl called Laura Fellows. And when Professor Corner handed out their timetables, he found that his first lesson was Transfiguration with Professor Irons, a joint class with the Gryffindors. He judged that Albus and Rose had just found out they would be sharing their lesson with him too, as they both turned and seemed to groan.
Scorpius left with Timothy and Laura, only to queue outside the Transfiguration classroom for ten minutes. When Professor Irons admitted them, he asked two Ravenclaw students to sit with two Gryffindor students at a table of four. Laura and Scorpius sat together at a table and waited for two Gryffindor's to come and sit with them. In the scuffle that followed, Rose and Albus found all the tables but one full and were forced to sit with Scorpius and Laura, not that they had a problem with her.
"Who can tell me the laws of Transfiguration?" Professor Irons asked, introducing the subject.
Instantly Scorpius and Rose's hands shot into the air.
"Yes, Scorpius?"
"Transfiguration spells can alter one object into another, however, as stated by Gamp in his Laws of Elemental Transfiguration that you can't conjure things out of nothing," Scorpius answered, trumping Rose who had been jumping up and down in her seat and saying the answer under her breath.
"Well done, Mr Malfoy," commended Professor Irons. "Take five house points for Ravenclaw."
Rose shot him a dark look for stealing her answer.
Scorpius gave her an apologetic look in return, which she appeared to ignore. It seemed that he had made his first enemy. But hey, you can't get on with everybody, Scorpius thought. And he had other friends instead.
A/N: So what did you think? REVIEW!