To Amber and Zinkie, the best writers I have ever had the chance to have met.

Chapter 1: The Dawn

Scorpius Malfoy

"Get in the car or we'll be late!" Draco Malfoy snapped.

Scorpius staggered out the front door, pulling behind him a cage where his silver tawny owl hooted.

"The boot is full, you'll have to put Prometheus in the back next to you." his mother said softly, rubbing his back. Scorpius nodded and did as he was told.

Once the family was driving, Scorpius started hopping up and down on his seat in excitement. Finally, finally, finally Hogwarts! Seven years of being able to use magic! To learn! To take loads of subjects, make new friends, play Quidditch and, most importantly, to be away from his over-protecting mother.

He stared out the window for the rest of the journey, listening to the music being played on the ray-dee-oh. "And the sun will set for you, the sun will set for you, and the shadow of the day, will embrace the world in grey. And the sun will set for you…"

He was so lost in his own that he didn't realise he was moving until he saw platform 9 ¾, complete with laughing families, hooting and owls and, of course, the scarlet Hogwarts Express. He looked behind him and saw his parents, both beaming with smiles on their faces. He smiled back at them. No words needed to be exchanged.

The moment was interrupted when a boisterous laugh was heard on their left. Draco looked at its origin and crouched down to his son. "See the girl there?" he asked, pointing to a red-headed girl in school robes. That's Rose Weasley. Try to beat her in as many subjects as you can. Good Lord! You'll have a hard time if she inherited her mother's brains… or her father's temper." he straightened and nodded curtly towards the family of the Weasley girl. Scorpius stared. The girl turned and caught his eye. Scorpius looked away, a blush creeping on his cheeks.

Before anyone could notice, he bid his parents farewell, loaded his trunk and cage on the train and hopped off the platform. That was when he proceeded to find a compartment.

He quickly came upon one that, and although it wasn't completely empty, it was clean and quiet. Inside sat a small girl, no older than Scorpius, with long golden blond hair that fell to her waist in waves. As he sat down, he heard a tap on the window and looked up. His mother and father were waving at him across the glass. He waved back slightly, embarrassed and worried at the girl's reaction. She didn't even look up.

Suddenly, the train heaved forward with a steady chugging sound, which drew him away from his smiling parents, before picking up speed, and soon they were sprinting in the Muggle London subway. The girl was still staring out her window.

A grey cat, previously unnoticed by the blond boy, jumped from the girl's lap and started intertwining itself between Scorpius' legs. He tried to pry it away, but the damned thing wouldn't move. "Clingy cat." he muttered to the girl.

She turned to him. "Clingy parents." she sneered.

Scorpius frowned. "Who are you to judge my parents?" he demanded.

She quirked an eyebrow and a corner of her mouth lifted. "Who are you to judge my cat?"

He tried to look away but found himself glued to her eyes. They were unique, green with brown in the middle, and they glinted with a silvery shade. He cleared his throat. "Sneaky. You'd do well in Slytherin." he commented.

"Thank you. You too." she said, before holding out her hand. He grasped it. "I'm Cathy Mills. And this is my twin brother Alex."

Scorpius looked around. "Where-" he started, but was interrupted as a boy barged in the compartment.

"Cathy!" the boy yelled. He too had honey blond hair, although it fell in his eyes just slightly and it was perfectly straight. They had the same eyes.

"Alex," she sighed. "I'd like you to meet-" she cut off, looking pointedly at Scorpius.

"Oh!" he exclaimed. "I'm sorry, we haven't been properly introduced. My name is Scorpius Malfoy." he said, holding out his hand.

The boy shook it, a huge smile on his face. "I'm Alex. Nice to meet you Scorpius. Damn, can I call you Scorp? It would be much easier for me…"

Scorpius smiled. Alex was so easily befriended, it was almost funny. "Sure!" he said gleefully. "Now, what were you saying before our introduction threw you off course?"

"Oh yeah!" Alex exclaimed, as if he had just remembered a long-forgotten story. He turned to his sister. "Hey Cathy! Guess who I met down the hallway!" She sighed. "The One-And-Only Albus Potter! I asked him if he wanted to come to our compartment, and he said yes! He's coming over with his cousin, Rose!" Scorpius' head perked up. Rose Weasley? Alex hadn't noticed his sudden change of behaviour as he plopped down next to his sister. "They should be here any minute now."

"I'm going for a walk." Cathy said suddenly, standing up and taking long strides to the door. She wrenched it open, coming face to face with none other than…

"Albus!" Alex cried out gleefully. Cathy froze in place, locking eyes with the black-haired boy. At first, they did just as she and Scorpius had done earlier, staring at each other unmoving, until Cathy stormed out, head down.

Albus stood there like an idiot, until someone behind pushed him inside. That was when Scorpius saw her up close, Rose Weasley. She was mad at her cousin for making her wait behind him while all he did was stare. "Seriously, Al!" she chastised. "At least let me pass!" she turned to the others. "Don't mind my cousin." she said. "He's just nervous."

Alex smiled up at her. "Don't mind my sister. She's just bored."

Scorpius snorted, and everyone looked in his direction. "Bored?" he scoffed. He felt strangely angry, though towards whom, he just couldn't say. "She was bloody mad at you, dude!"

Alex stared. "But I didn't do anything wrong!" he defended himself. "I don't even know why she left!"

To tell the truth, neither did Scorpius. But, for some strange reason, he just felt like he had to leave too. He stood up and strode out of the compartment, following Cathy's footsteps. He heard the other children laughing, playing, hooting… It made the atmosphere oppressive. Scorpius walked to the very end of the train. He wasn't that surprised to find Cathy there, sitting atop a luggage, the window open. She had her eyes closed, a small smile grazed her lips, and her hair was flowing behind her, billowing like a curtain of Chinese silk.

Scorpius was speechless. She was the very epitome of beauty, and suddenly, he forgot about why he was annoyed at first. She opened her eyes and looked at him. "Hey, Scorp." she said quietly, almost whispering.

He stood there like an idiot, his mouth hanging slightly open. He realised that and closed it shut with a slight snap. "Hey." he muttered. "Are you alright?"

She smiled. "Sure! You want to join me?"

"I…err… well…" he stammered, unsure. "Yeah, why not?"

She patted the spot beside her. "Come here, then." she said. He climbed awkwardly until he stumbled next to her, kneeling on the huge trunk. The wind blew in their hair, messing it up so they kept pulling strands out of their eyes. "Close your eyes." she told him softly.

"Wha-" he started arguing, but she cut him off.

"Close your eyes." she repeated, in a soft but firm voice. He did as he was told. At first, he was lost without his eyesight, but then, as he got used to it, he felt pure happiness bubbling up in his chest, and he inhaled deeply. The harsh wind bit around his face and made his hair whip around his features, like dancing threads of velvet. He fought the urge to open his arms and fly away, like an eagle in the high mountains. "Exhilarating, isn't it?" she whispered. He nodded so as not to break this moment. "It's called freedom." she added so softly her voice melted within the air, as if it had been the wind speaking to him.

Suddenly, they both jumped as the door burst open, a boy rushed in and slammed the door again behind him. He turned around and noticed the two other occupants. He was smiling, as if he had just stopped laughing after several minutes, and his hazel eyes were sparkling with malice. His messy jet black hair was windblown, and he was breathing heavily, like one does when he has just stopped running after a very long time. To emphasise this idea, he was clutching his side with both of his hands, bent over, but slightly giggling.

"Hide me." he said throatily between pails of silent laughter. "She can't get me."

Cathy moved quickly, pulling her wand out. Muttering a spell, she quickly levitated some trunks so as to form a wall. As the boy began to move to get behind it, fast footsteps began to be heard outside. Just as the boy disappeared behind the luggage, the door opened, revealing a blond-haired girl, fuming and covered in slime. Cathy quickly stuffed her wand up her sleeve, just as the girl, who had a shiny "HG" badge pinned on her vest, asked: "Did you see anyone come in?"

Cathy shook her head. "Nope sorry." she lied smoothly. "What did that person look like?" she asked innocently.

"About twelve or thirteen, black hair, brown eyes…" the girl described.

"Boy or girl?" Cathy asked. Man, she was good at this! Scorpius thought.

"Boy." Cathy shook her head. The girl sighed, a piece of slime sliding down her hair to fall on the floor. "Well, if you find him, tell him his cousin Victoire would love to have a chat with him when we get back to school."

"Okay." Cathy said. Victoire nodded and got out, closing the door behind her.

As soon as she had left, Cathy pulled out her wand and levitated the trunks back into their places. The boy was crouching on the floor, no longer panting like madman. When he met Cathy's gaze, he straightened and smiled. "My saviour!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air as if to hug her. He seemed to think better of it though as they quickly fell limply to his sides. He was still grinning as if he had just won the lottery.

Scorpius expected Cathy to throw a fit and yell at him for how irresponsible he had been, but instead, she appraised him and said: "You call that a prank?"

The boy's smile wavered. "If that wasn't, then what is?" he retorted.

The right corner of her mouth lifted. "That's for me to show you the hard way."

He snorted. "Right. I'm James Sirius Potter, named after the two biggest pranksters in the history of Hogwarts, nephew to George and late Fred Weasley, and you're the one telling me what pranks are?"

"Technically, no." she replied, perfectly cool. "I'm telling you what pranks are not. And since we are on a whole-name basis, I'm Catherine Jane Mills."

"You're new, aren't you? First year at Hogwarts?" he asked.

She smiled. "Yep."

He smirked. "Well then I'll have you know that, in this game, in this school, I'm the one who makes up the rules."

She held her chin high, looking at him defiantly although he was a head taller than her. "Well then," she said in a voice that would make Salazar Slytherin's skin crawl. "It's a good thing that in this game, in this school, and anywhere else, I'm the one how cheats." He stared at her as if she had just transformed into a giant squid. "Because, let me tell you something, handsome, if you want to win the game of life, you have to make your own rules, and never get caught. That's how the Earth spins, James."

And with that, she turned and left them both there, dumbstruck and gaping like fishes out of their water. "Well." James said once he recovered. "She's one hell of a girl."

Scorpius nodded. "She'd make a good Slytherin." he added.

James turned to him. "And who are you?" he asked.

"If we are on whole-name basis, I'll be Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy to you." he answered, taking a leaf out of Cathy's book.

James looked at him, as if analysing him through one of these Muggle X-ray machines. "Well, Malfoy, don't tell anyone this, but I think I've finally found someone who's a challenge." He left the room too, leaving Scorpius alone to wonder if tasting freedom would be as good now that he didn't have anyone to share it with.

Later, he walked back to the compartment, where Alex was deeply interested on Rose's lecture on the Lumos charm and Albus and Cathy were discussing the flavours of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, sharing a packet between them. Albus took one and started examining it just as Scorpius plopped down next to him. He put it in his mouth and chewed it twice, before he turned deathly pale and ran out, his hands clutching his lips.

Scorpius and Cathy sat there, watching the door which Albus had just left through, before Cathy broke the silence. "My cat's clingy because I'm all she has left." she whispered.

"My parents are clingy because I'm there only child." Scorpius admitted. He turned to find her gaze wondering over his eyes. Albus rushed back in then.

"Sorry about that…" he muttered. "Must have been a vomit flavoured one…" The others scrunched up their noses in disgust. They sat there together, like bunch of old school friends, until suddenly Alex's eyebrows shot up.

"Look…" he whispered. They didn't need to be asked where. Soon, there were five noses pressed up against the glass, and in the distance, Scorpius could see the outline of a village and, deep in the fog, of the Astronomy Tower of Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

A/N: So, I hope you all liked that and that and you will stay with this story until the end.

Also, I have a habit: I like to dedicate my books and chapters. So, this book (Seven Springs Book 1: The Darkness) is dedicated to Amber and Zinkie, as you saw up there, and I dedicate this chapter to the song "Dawn", by Poets of the Fall.

Oh, and I forgot, like all writers, I love reviews! They make my day! Please review!

Preview of the next chapter: "'Potter, Albus!' His heart skipped a beat. Shaking ever so slightly, he glanced around and saw Cathy and Alex's encouraging smiles from different tables, and he smiled too. That smiled faded though, when he saw James sneering at him from the Gryffindor table, mouthing one word: 'Slytherin!' Albus shuddered, cold sweat forming on his back."