War was a terrible thing in a million different ways. It was a pestilence, a bringer of death and misery. It was a canon ball, destroying all in its path. It was a nightmare, turning people against each other in fear and hatred. But what's more was that is was a wound, one that scarred and never truly disappeared. People often jokingly said that there was a thin line between hatred and love and in a sick, twisted way, war could easily be compared to the aftermath of a love affair. It was an act after which no matter how well the two parties reconciled and forgave, the trust between them could never be whole again.

That one, nagging memory of betrayal would always be there.

The war against Voldemort had been over for seventeen years already and yet it could still not be made History. History was when facts were being studied but any claims to objectivity were lost only two decades after the horror. The wizarding world was not ready for closure yet; its children could not be spared of their parents' conflict yet.

It was almost funny how so many tried to show their loyalty to the 'light side' when so little had stood up against the dark during the war. Perhaps the former was a direct consequence of the latter. Perhaps people were so terrified of being associated to a mass murderer and ancient prejudice when they hadn't actively fought them that they felt the need to prove themselves by violently rejecting anything remotely dark.

They had to be white. Everything had to be white or be painted black and ejected from society.

The world had lost its colours.

"Blue would suit you."

Scorpius raised an eyebrow at his friend's words. They had been seating in a comfortable compartment of the Hogwarts Express for a good forty minutes and neither had spoken a word yet. Only the deaf vibration of the train running along its tracks filled the silence. Scorpius had been too busy looking out the window, taking in the blur of the landscape with wonder while Ethan had never been one to talk much. The latter was, however, intensely staring at his friend, as if trying to picture him as a vegetable or something.

"Is that what you're betting on?" Scorpius asked, removing his elbow from the windowsill and turning to face Ethan directly. Ethan was quite the unnerving boy when one met his eyes. He was a bit tan with hedgehog black hair and a small build but his eyes, narrow and black like the bottom of Voldemort's soul had been, pierced their target like curses in a duel. That was if one didn't know Ethan of course. Scorpius was more than accustomed of being at the end of his friend's analysing glare.

He knew the boy wouldn't hurt him. Not that he was incapable of doing so, or that his heart was too soft for that; Scorpius simply knew it was too much effort for him.

"Who says I'm betting on anything?" Ethan replied, tilting his head innocently.

"You're always betting on something, Rosier." Scorpius reminded him with a knowing smirk, "Your gambling habit will be the ruin of you, you just can knut see it."

Ethan raised his hands in surrender, "Alright, I am betting on you, oh great Seer." He admitted with no large amount of guilt, "But not on Racenclaw. That's Coodles. I was thinking Gryffindor. Your grandmother put money on Hufflepuff. Also that was a terrible pun, even by your standards, go sit in a corner."

"Huh." Scorpius said, surprised, "With how much I look like father, I would have thought at least one of you would have betted on Slytherin."

And look like his father he did. Save for smoother features, brighter eyes and messier hair, Scorpius Malfoy was a tiny clone of Draco Malfoy. He could even get full grown wizards to cower away or glare at him by just being there, courtesy of his father's reputation. Scorpius sometimes even doubted his mother contributed to his creation but that led to a train of thought the boy would rather not think about so he usually left that question there.

But that was all on a physical viewpoint. Morally, Scorpius was much more flighty, much harder to pin down. He was overall very balanced when it came to curiosity, cunning, courage or camaraderie.

"I'm sure your father or your grandfather might have," Ethan shrugged indifferently, "But we didn't exactly bring them in on the bet."

"Good call." Scorpius snorted.

"Speaking of which, what are you going to do about them?"

Scorpius hesitated before answering, "Grandmother thought it would be best to lie to grandfather if I were to end up anywhere other than Slytherin. We don't know if he would actually do anything but you know, playing it safe is probably best. That being said, I'll need to borrow one of your ties or something during break to plant evidence."

Ethan winced, "That bad?"

"I wouldn't put it past him to sniff around." Scorpius grimaced, "He's been getting worst and while I know he loves us to bites - get it? Bites? Sniff? ("I will skin you Malfoy.") Right. While I know he loves us to bits, I can't deny that he's…" the blond boy trailed off.

"A bit paranoid?" Ethan suggested.

"I was going more for a complete nutcase but sure, paranoid."

"What about Mr. Malfoy?"

"I don't think there's any reason to hide anything from him." Scorpius frowned, "He doesn't seem like the type to fixate on the whole loyalty to Slytherin thing." He paused, "Not that I would know."

"Yeah," Ethan agreed, "It is quite hard to tell with your father."

"How about you?" Scorpius returned, "Is your family scared you might be a Hufflepuff deep down?"

"If anyone out-Slytherins me in our year, I will join the choir." Ethan deadpanned, "Mother has already given me six pairs of green and silver socks."

"Yeah I'd be pretty surprised too if you didn't get in Slytherin." Scorpius smiled, "Try not to swindle your housemates too much."

"No promises."

"Can't say I didn't try."

"Already playing the hero, Malfoy?" Ethan smirked, "For the sake of my wallet, you'd better make it into Griffin-"

"Did you hear that?" Scorpius suddenly asked, standing up abruptly.

"Hear what?" Ethan asked but no sooner did the question leave his throat, a small explosion was heard from somewhere on the train.

"That."

"Probably just idiots playing a game of exploding snap with a twist." Ethan shrugged, taking a book from his bag and plopping it on his knees. Scorpius deflated and moved to sit again. However, noticing Ethan was looking at him weirdly, he stopped in his tracks.

"What?"

"What are you doing?" Ethan asked him.

"Not staring at my friend like he has grown an extra head in the last five minutes, that's for sure." Scorpius replied, "I was going to resume my looking out the window routine."

"Shouldn't you be checking on that explosion?"

"You just said it was probably nothing."

"That's not very proactive of you." Ethan remarked, "If you want to make it to Gryffindor you might want to start acting like one."

"I don't particularly care about being in Gryffindor." Scorpius deadpanned.

"No, but I do." Ethan told him sternly, "And I'm your only friend. So go be stupidly reckless."

"I'm pretty sure 'stupidly reckless' is not how-"

"Go."

And so Scorpius went, braving the corridors of the Hogwarts Express alone. He hadn't expected anything more from Ethan though, the boy had always been a lazy git with great distaste for drama and people in general. Still, it wouldn't have hurt to have company other than the mistrusting glares of other students.

Well, it did give him time to think.

He wasn't too worried about the whole House system at Hogwarts. In fact, if he had, he would have been a lot more pissed off at the whole 'let's push Malfoy into Gryffindor for kicks' thing Ethan had going on. The nerve of that boy! A stupid bet wasn't exactly the best way to decide on something that was going to define Scorpius's next seven years, even if Ethan probably knew him best. But Scorpius wasn't pissed at all. He knew Ethan and he knew himself - their friendship had always been pretty whimsical. To be honest, he was more worried about that fact that Ethan was a Slytherin through and through and that he most certainly was not.

It wasn't easy for a Malfoy to make friends these days.

Scorpius had spent a lot of his time in the Manor alone. He knew he didn't need friends to function but he didn't want to have to look over his shoulder for seven years either. Scorpius was a boy who needed a calm environment and peaceful surroundings and it didn't take a genius to know there were going to be people out for his blood at Hogwarts. The Malfoys had been targeted in the past, after all.

"Oof!"

Scorpius fell back on the floor as someone bumped into him. It was a small, chubby boy with dark skin and a cloud of black hair on his head. He wore big circular glasses that tilted on top of his button nose and his clothes were far too big for him. The boy corrected his glasses, only for them to tilt again. If anyone looked clumsy and lost, it was him.

But a spark of recognition ran through his eyes as he saw Scorpius.

"Robin?" Scorpius grinned as he stood up again, remembering the boy he had met on his way to Diagon Alley a few weeks before. Him and his muggle mother had had no idea how to get there, having been unaware of anything magically related before Robin had received his Hogwarts letter.

Scorpius and Ethan had accompanied them through the list of school supplies, getting their own at the same time. They had hit it off pretty well, even if they hadn't spoken since.

Robin's mother, Sasha Thompson, had been an especially interesting woman. She was a librarian and had been simply appalled upon learning Scorpius had never read any muggle literature. The young Malfoy could still remember her shoving a book from her purse to his arms like it was a matter of life and death. She was a sunny person and there was really no other way to put it.

Sunny people were rare in the world of purebloods and old traditions. It was a welcome addition.

"Scorp - er -" The boy stammered, clearly seeing the hand Scorpius was offering to help him stand. Scorpius frowned, Robin hadn't forgotten his name - he was just hesitant about saying it. True to his deduction, Robin pretended not to notice his hand and stood up on his own.

"Are you alright?" Scorpius asked, before the answer hit him. Robin wasn't alright. He was scared. Of him. He could see it in the way the boy wouldn't meet his eyes and how he flinched when Scorpius stepped closer.

"I - I just -" The boy stuttered, "I t-told some third years that we met a-and they said that - there - er - There was a war?"

Scorpius's heart sank. The war. Of course. It was always the bloody war. Robin looked up hesitantly, worry clearly clouding his eyes. Scorpius could tell he wanted him to deny it.

"They said that your dad did - things. To - To people like me."

Scorpius knew exactly what kind of things those third years were alluding to. Kidnapping, killing, torturing - like a cat who wasn't even hungry with a baby bird who couldn't even fly. Even if he hadn't known that, Robin looking positively sick was enough to venture an accurate guess. It was no wonder Robin had been so opened to them in Diagon Alley. He hadn't known back then. He knew now.

"Is it true?"

Three words. Three small words spoken without a stutter.

For once Scorpius had been able to make a friend who wasn't just another bored kid at fancy dinner parties. Of course the friendship was bound to be short lived. He was a Malfoy - he wasn't allowed to be happy and surrounded by people who didn't want to murder him. It was a golden law in this new post-war world.

But the truth was, his father had committed all those crimes, by proxy if not personally. The Malfoys had been on the wrong side of the war. They had made mistakes upon mistakes under an illusion cast on them from their birth on. It was all true and denying it was like denying the repercussions of their past actions. Crimes were punished and the Malfoys' punishment was that of a name dragged through the dirt and into the sewers.

Scorpius met his amber eyes.

He sighed. "Yes."

Any colour that was left on Robin's face drained immediately and Scorpius suddenly felt old and tired, even if he was only an eleven year old boy about to start Hogwarts. It was unfair.

The dark skinned boy shuffled awkwardly on his feet before bolting away. Scorpius didn't even try to go after him. What could he say? Sorry that my family made muggleborn hunting a sport? Sorry about the small genocide we may have encouraged? I swear I won't lock you up and carve insults into your skin?

Scorpius shook his head, glad that all the students were in their own compartment or too far up or down the train to have witnessed the scene.

Only he was wrong. He wasn't alone. Scorpius startled when he raised his eyes to see emerald green ones staring at him. There was another boy in the corridor, a short, thin, first year looking at him with emotions Scorpius couldn't read. He had messy black hair and thick eyebrows, contrasting greatly with his clear, elegant gaze. When had he gotten there?

Scorpius wasn't kidding when he thought the boy's eyes were emerald green. It was almost unnatural how crystalline they shone. There were hundreds of things Scorpius could compare them to; but none them seemed to fit exactly. Luminescent water was too fluid, hard candy not magical enough, soft drinks too crude, jewellery not poetic enough…

The young Malfoy caught himself staring. Of course Scorpius knew who the boy was; it was hard not to recognise Albus Potter in the same way it was hard not to recognise Scorpius Malfoy. He was only eleven and already his face had been captured in gossip magazines and amplified biographies of his father.

He would have thought the young Potter would have held more hatred in his eyes, or pity. But there was none of that. Even after having witnessed the short encounter between Robin and Scorpius, Albus Potter seemed to be concerned about something else entirely, something that was hidden deep in Scorpius's soul, judging by the way his eyes were boring into his.

Scorpius saw Albus Potter's eyes widen as the boy realised Scorpius had seen him stare but like the latter, Albus didn't tear his gaze away. There was a question in the air, one Scorpius couldn't quite understand. The blond couldn't help but think the boy in front of him looked somewhat desperate. He wanted to answer him, to satisfy his curiosity, only he didn't know how.

An explosion broke of their improvised staring contest, both of their necks snapping towards the source of the noise.

Considering the blue smoke coming from one of the compartments, said source wasn't very far.

With a last glance at each other and not even a slight nod, the two boys rushed to the crime scene.

The blue smoke was spreading strangely from the open door of the compartment. Instead of rising like most vapours, it lingered close to the ground ominously like melting ice.

"POTTER!" A shrill voice from inside the compartment shrieked.

Instinctively, Scorpius turned to look at Albus who had finally caught up with him and stopped right in front of where the blue smoke reached. The boy looked genuinely confused and frankly a bit afraid. Couldn't blame him.

A girl Scorpius recognised to be Patricia Selwyn stormed out of the compartment, sliding its door close with a huge slam behind her. She had long, straight light brown hair that matched her skin and dark mocha eyes that looked ready to pop from their sockets and strangle someone themselves. She wasn't wearing her Hogwarts robes yet - no one was - but her expensive wizard robes looked similar.

"Potter." She growled, eyes landing on Albus who squeaked. "You."

The girl pulled out her wand faster than you could say 'snitch' and pointed it threateningly at his throat. Albus stepped back until his back hit the window of the train.

"You."

"… Me?" Albus asked timidly, his eyes looking straight at Patricia's, much to Scorpius's surprise. The younger boy wasn't scared of her, he realised, but of their conflict.

"Undo it."

Scorpius frowned. He knew Patricia Selwyn from one of the many events high class members of the pureblood community liked to organise to 'keep up tradition' (code work for networking and gloating). These gatherings were looked down upon by the general population and often put under heavy surveillance but it remained that old families were part of the British wizarding culture and the Ministry respected that.

The etiquette during these events was much more formal than the Hogwarts Express of course, but Scorpius couldn't help but think that Patricia Selwyn had not shown such a fiery temper. In fact, her parents had been proud to say that their daughter was a perfect angel and Scorpius remembered Patricia had lived up to those words when she had offered to help an old wizard who had spilled his wheetwine.

Even the chauvinistic comments of some hadn't tickled her temper.

"Undo what?"

"Do not play coy with me, Potter," she snarled, "You know very well what you did."

"I didn't do anything!" Albus frantically denied. "I swear!"

Patricia recoiled, confusion suddenly marring her features, "Wha…?" She took a few steps back, reassessing the boy in front of her as the latter sagged in relief.

"Who -?"

"Torturing first years now, Pat?"

Albus, Patricia and Scorpius turned to see two heads popping out from a neighbouring compartment, mischievous smiles covering a third of each. The tallest one was a slim ginger with a dark complexion. His eyes were warm and brown but not as welcoming as they could be. His friend, slightly smaller than him, radiated cockiness. He had Albus Potter's looks with lighter hair, darker eyes and sharper features. Kind of like an elf or a pixie, Scorpius thought to himself.

"Potter." Patricia grimaced, forgetting Albus completely and confirming Scorpius's suspicions. "Weasley."

"Hello Patty." The red head smiled, swinging out of the compartment like a drunk giraffe, "How was your break?"

"Undo the spell." Patricia ordered, her eye twitching at the pet names the two boys were using.

"I don't know…" James Potter hesitated, tapping his finger on his chin, "You were being awfully mean to my brother and all…"

"And you didn't say please." The Weasley boy added.

"Please?!" Patricia fumed, her face going red, "You want me to say PLEASE? HOW ABOUT I SHOW YOU A NICE CURSE AND SEE HOW YOU LIKE THAT INSTEAD?"

"Merlin! So violent!" the Weasley boy despaired, shaking his head ruefully.

"Girls these days." James Potter sighed dramatically, "No elegance whatsoever."

Patricia didn't even deign comment on their words. She started walking towards them with all the confidence of her blood status as well as a pretty heavy killing intent. Scorpius could practically see a cloud of frustration and rage hovering around her. He had no doubt that if she was coming straight for him, Scorpius would be running the other way. He almost pitied the two boys. Almost. From what he was seeing, he didn't like them much.

Albus looked unsure what to do. He wasn't moving to stop Patricia like Scorpius would have thought, but he still looked positively worried about his brother and cousin. There was conflict in his whole demeanour.

James Potter and the Weasley boy were much more sure of themselves. They had taken a few steps back only to crouch in defensive position. James was twirling his wand in his hand mockingly, as if to show he wasn't taking her seriously. The glint his eyes spoke otherwise however; his chin was lowered and his mind focused on Patricia's next move.

Scorpius was starting to understand why Ethan avoided drama. There was no way this was ending well. Whatever relation existed between the three second years, it wasn't pygmy-puff friendship.

"Stupefy!" Patricia cried as she flicked her wrist expertly. A shot of red light erupted from her wand, heading straight for James Potter who ducked to the side.

"Petrificus Totalus!" The Weasley boy returned.

"Protego!"

Scorpius watched the duel - triel? tri-duel? - the fight with amazement. The spells casted were not particularly rare - all educated wizards knew them - but that was exactly it. Educated wizards knew them. As far as the young Malfoy knew, Patricia Selwyn and James Potter were only in second year and the shield charm wasn't supposed to be taught until fourth year. Plus, their reflexes and the precision of their spells were remarkable.

"Impedimenta!"

"Baubillious! Stupefy!"

Patricia was much more aggressive in her duelling style than the two boys. She cast spells in quick succession and never missed a beat. James and the Weasley boy on the other hand, were more on the defensive. They favoured dodging to shields and unpredictability to try and throw her off but from the looks of it, she was capable of taking on both of them. All three were getting more and more creative with time.

Luckily, most of their spells only had effects on people which left the train with little damage other than puddles and tiny scorch marks. It was a wonder though, how they managed such a spectacular duel in such a narrow corridor. It sure made it hard for Scorpius and Albus to really see everything that was going on, with Patricia's back blocking their view.

"Confundo! Aguamenti!"

"Lumos maxima!"

Upon hearing the spell, Scorpius knew immediately what James Potter was plotting but found little time to do anything about it. A blinding light engulfed the corridor, tearing a scream from Patricia as her eyes were suddenly saturated with light. Albus and Scorpius were protected from the spell by the shadow of the older girl but the latter had taken the full brunt of it.

She staggered back slightly, furiously rubbing her eyes brimmed with tears.

"You son of a-"

Scorpius noticed the two boys sharing a conspiratorial smirk and the ginger raised his wand once more, ready to jinx Patricia while she was temporarily out of commission.

Well, two against one wasn't exactly fair. Plus, James Potter and Weasley boy 1 were definitely arses.

Scorpius reached within him, feeling that pool of magic that was inside every wizard and witch and focused it in his wand. He didn't really know any spells yet - like every other first year, he knew some of their names, some of their incantations but the underage restriction meant that he had never cast any of them. But from what he had seen, spells like the ones they used most dissolved when they hit a surface that wasn't human. Obviously, clothes weren't enough but there was no way a wand pumped with magic wouldn't do.

He didn't leave things to chance.

As the Weasley boy formed the words of the jelly-leg jinx, Scorpius pushed Patricia aside gently and pointed his wand towards the Weasly boy 1 just in time for the spell to hit it like lightening striking a metal rod.

The two second years' eyes went wide as the spell stuck to the end of Scorpius's wand for a split second and then shot back towards them, hitting James square in the shoulder.

That wasn't supposed to happen.

"Merlin!" James gasped in pain, the former jelly-leg jinxed having obviously been upgraded on the lethal scale. A tiny column of smoke was rising where the spell had hit and Scorpius could see charred skin through the fingers that were clutching at the wound.

That definitely wasn't supposed to happen.

"James!" Albus cried as he ran past them, pushing them aside on his way. Along with his cousin, Albus knelt next to James who was clutching his teeth, trying hard not to scream.

"What did you do?" Patricia asked, still blinking the light out of her eyes, "What happened?"

"What did you do to James?" Weasley boy 1 echoed, his face contorting in anger, "What did you do to him?"

"I didn't even cast a spell!" Scorpius defended himself, raising his hands in surrender. "I just - I just tried blocking the jinx with my wand. I didn't know it would do that! It was an accident!"

"As if!" James Potter growled, standing up shakily, "Don't think I don't know who you are, Malfoy."

The way James said his name struck a cord. He didn't just pour his anger in it, he practically spat it out like an inedible piece of food. Now Scorpius wasn't one to have too much pride in his name, not with the crimes that came with it, but he had not once been ashamed of carrying it. The panic that had crept on Scorpius melted away slowly for the benefit of indignity. Sure, he felt bad about the whole 'I accidentally burnt your shoulder' thing but he knew there was nothing urgent about it.

The wound was literally cauterised on the spot and it was tiny. There was no risk of infection or bleeding out. No bone had been broken. All there was was pain and from the dangerously feral glare James Potter was sending him, the pain was obviously numbed by his rage.

"And what, pray tell, do you know about me?" Scorpius challenged, his fist balling at his side. He noticed Albus Potter suddenly turning towards to him like a deer hearing a hunter's step. The black haired boy's eyes seemed oddly hopeful despite the situation. Not, it wasn't entirely hope, it was also curiosity.

There it was again. That same question whose words he couldn't even make out.

It was endlessly frustrating. He wanted to shout out something, tell him the truth, just tell him - but what was it that he was supposed to say? What was it that Albus wanted, needed to hear?

"You're an arrogant sod who believes he's better than everyone else because of his blood." James replied bitterly, "I know what you people did to muggleborns."

"Everyone knows what the Malfoys did during the war." Scorpius replied, looking cooly at the older boy. He was about the same height as him but James Potter had a stronger build and a vaster repertoire of spells. Nevertheless, Scorpius didn't back away. He may not have had James experience, but the young Malfoy was not above simply ducking a spell and kicking his opponent where it truly hurt. "Everyone here also knows that you were trying to jinx Patricia when she was already unable to continue fighting."

"Trying to be a hero then?" Weasley Boy 1 taunted, "Already protecting your future Slytherin minions?"

Scorpius was tempted to say that he was probably going to end up in Gryffindor like them but he missed his chance when Patricia spoke for him, squinting as she slowly regained her eyesight.

"Good Merlin, Weasley!" Patricia chided, "He's a first year. What is wrong with you? You harass my friends, try to jinx me when my eyes are closed and then accuse a first year who hasn't even learnt his first spell of trying to torture you on purpose? The war is over. Stop living in the past."

"Just a first year? He just burnt my shoulder!" James cried, "He's showing his true colours! And stop twisting everything with your Slytheriness and making it sound like everything is my fault! I cast a harmless jelly-leg jinx. He burnt my shoulder!"

"It was an accident." Scorpius repeated.

"Then apologise!" James growled.

"Don't apologise." Patricia told Scorpius before turning back to her year-mates, "He has nothing to apologise for," she argued defensively, "you're the pighead who forced his hand. And don't think for a second that I have forgotten what you did to Stephanie!"

"That was supposed to be for you!" Weasley boy 1 snipped back.

"Does it matter?" Patricia asked, clearly outraged, "It's cruel either way! What were you thinking?"

"Mrs. Longbottom can always fix it at school." Weasley boy 1 huffed, "Burns? Not so much."

"Permanence isn't the issue here!" She half-yelled, getting frustrated beyond possible, her finger pointed towards them in accusation, "You two keep talking about how horrible Voldemort and his Death Eaters were but in the end, you're just as bad!"

"Say that again." James snapped, going red in the face, "I dare you to say that again!"

"You use your father's reputation as a cover for all your horrible deeds, Potter." Patricia spat, "you're beyond disgusting. You should be in Slytherin by your standards."

"I would never step inside those rotten dungeons." James growled, "I would never be an evil, manipulative, prat like you who denies everything you've done during the war like it is not your problem, who acts like nothing happened, like -"

James Potter continued his rant angrily, listing all the stereotypical 'evil traits' Slytherins were said to share. The boy looked genuinely offended that the pureblood spawns of war criminals were allowed to think they were innocent, allowed to still be arrogant and self-centred. It was bullshit, Scorpius thought. Everyone was entitled to have some self-importance. And to think James Potter believed that they should be ashamed of their parents' actions! Was his head really that empty? Scorpius couldn't tell if he was pissed at the older boy or simply amazed at the wonders of human stupidity.

The young Malfoy looked around to see if anyone else was at least partially tempted to laugh at how ridiculous James Potter was. Patricia was obviously fuming more and more and Scorpius was beginning to fear she would explode with how red her face had gotten. Weasley boy 1 was nodding in agreement to what his friend was saying, like a sheep following his shepherd.

Good lord Merlin. More morons.

Only Albus seemed to have a bit of distance to the fight. His fists were balled, trembling and his teeth were forcefully clenched. Scorpius could tell something within the boy was edging to burst out but he was restraining himself, a lot. He was clearly focused on some kind of inner battle rather than the war between Patricia and James. In fact, he was looking everywhere but at them.

Everywhere unfortunately, included Scorpius. Both boys startled as their eyes met once more.

"What an idiot."

Scorpius was surprised someone had dared voice his thoughts but then he noticed everyone staring at him. Had he said that? Ah well.

"I mean are you really that stupid?" Scorpius continued, turning to James Potter and figuring he might as well, "Is it even possible to have so little grey cells? 'All Slytherins are evil' is something three year olds say and they don't even know what they're talking about. This isn't even just prejudice anymore - it's indoctrination."

"What are you insinuating?" Weasley boy 1 asked, stepping closer to James as if it wasn't already clear enough who's side he was on.

"Oops, sorry." Scorpius apologised monotonously, "Is indoctrination to big of a word for the scary twelve year old?"

Patricia snorted.

"You can't blame them," she sneered, "They speak gorilla, not english."

"You really think you're better than us?" James snarled, gripping his wand tightly. The red skin on his shoulder paled in comparison to his face and for all but the way he refrained from moving his left arm, James looked like he had completely forgotten about his wound. It had never truly been about that accident anyway.

"Perhaps not in absolute value," Scorpius replied fluidly, laying a thick coat of his privileged education, "But we at the least do not recede to unfounded bigotry when a morsel of skepticism bites at our hearts. In fact, I believe the two of you are brilliant examples of hypocrisy and irony at their finest. Only pacifistic giants crying for the unity of the political landscape of our dear government could hope to match you - But I disgress."

To say Scorpius wasn't finding immense pleasure in the confused looks of the two Potters and the Weasley would be to lie. He didn't care much for fancy words but he knew how to use them and Scorpius honestly believed in the use of any means to achieve one's goals. Not only that but it was kind of fun to show idiots what they were.

"The point is," he continued with ease, "Your narrow views are outdated and the denial of your implication in the onset of this conflict is tragically plaintive. From a moral standpoint - the one you seem to worship like Merlin's left shoe, might I add - tyrannising fellow children based on a medieval and controversial system that divides people according to which traits are more prominent than others is far more condemnable than accidentally harming an other in hope of defending an outnumbered and wronged friend. You may spout great maxims of justice and righteousness but as they say, barba non facit philosophum. Forgive me - I forget I am speaking to primates."

"You two are idiots." He summarised.

The blank looks he received were golden. Continuously insulting someone was always much more entertaining when the recipient couldn't even tell when he was being stabbed.

"What?" Weasley boy 1 blurted out eloquently.

"I am merely pointing out the obvious, of course." Scorpius shrugged, "Since it seems you need to have it spelled out in bright bold letters on a black background to take note of it and I am only happy to oblige. It is the great men's duty to help their lesser - call it noblesse obligé if you wish."

Weasley boy 1 frowned, clearly debating how offended he was supposed to be.

"So much for not receding to unfounded bigotry." said a new voice, unamused.

Without them noticing, a small crowd had gathered on both sides of the fight. No doubt some of the students were just poor unfortunate souls who just wanted to pass through the corridor but a lot of the spectators were obviously staying for the show.

A small girl had stepped up unnoticed next to Albus sometime during the fight. She had his height but not his waist; the girl was more on the chubby side. She had sky blue eyes and a cloud of ginger hair that framed her head like a helmet made out of cotton candy. But what was most remarkable was her skin.

It was pale - not like Scorpius's who looked like porcelain doll's as Ethan liked to tease but like a thin curtain through which one could almost see everything. The young Malfoy had no doubt the slightest blush, the slightest tan, the slightest bruise would light up like lightening in the night. And yet there was not a blemish on the girl, as if she was protected by an angel. There was something fundamentally wrong about that, Scorpius decided.

He could hear it in her tone, in the way her sharp eyebrows knitted together. The girl was a fighter - the kind that slams her feet on the ground before anyone else can take her breathing space. If anything, he would have thought she was doing the protecting.

She was different from her cousin. Once again, Scorpius was very well aware who he was facing. He couldn't exactly remember her name but at the same time, he knew more than 'she's another Weasley'. The girl in front of him was the daughter of Ronald and Hermione Weasley, co-heroes of the war along Harry Potter. While his father never said a word about Harry Potter, Scorpius remembered him complaining about 'Granger' and 'Weasley' often when they had still been on talking terms. He also distinctively remembered pretending not to notice when a middle aged man pointed at him on the platform.

The Weasley girl was different from her cousin Weasley boy 1 and it wasn't just the absence of freckles. There was something about her -

But she wasn't different enough.

The abrupt thought surprised Scorpius. He didn't know where it had come from.

Perhaps it was in the way Albus seemed to throw her that same question a bit more hesitantly. He didn't do that to his brother, to Patricia or to Weasley boy 1. He had definitely seen something in Scorpius but that same something seemed a bit more reluctant when it came to his cousin.

What was it? What was it that Albus Potter saw?

"Unfounded bigotry would be taking prejudices for laws." Scorpius replied cooly before he the girl could notice he was staring. His eyes met Albus's once more and he was surprised to see amusement in his. Scorpius frowned slightly, wordlessly asking him why. Albus only glanced at Rose in answer, which did little to help Scorpius understand. "I simply stated the fact that your cousins clearly lack a certain… level of cultural education."

"Knowledge and intelligence are not synonym." The girl huffed, "And you can't base a person's worth on either."

Ah, so she was talking about that comment on great men and their lesser.

"I concede that my metaphor was too general." Scorpius allowed diplomatically, "I meant on a rhetorical plane. I do not believe it arrogant to say that I am indeed superior to them both in knowledge and wit when it comes to rhetorics and debates - A fact you can see from their accurate impressions of gaping fish."

"They're not - James!" The girl suddenly gasped, "What happened to your shoulder?"

"My shoulder?" James asked, frowning. Then, remembering his burn, his face fell in a grimace, "Malfoy did that."

"Malfoy did -" The Weasley girl repeated in shock before snapping to Scorpius, "You did that?"

"It was an accident-" Scorpius said again, eyes glancing at Albus who looked like something was about to explode and - was that pity? Why was Albus pitying him?

Why was the train starting to shake?

"You attacked James?" The Weasley girl continued, her temper rising way too fast. She wasn't like Patricia had been minutes before; the Slytherin had been wronged and demanding to be righted. No, the Weasley girl was angry like her life depended on it. She wanted blood, not revenge. She wanted to destroy Scorpius before he could hurt anyone else. She had already stepped forward to the point where she was nose to nose with Scorpius and although the latter was towering over her, he certainly didn't feel like the one looking down.

What was very worrisome was also the way the girl's focus was solely on him, not even partially distracted by the fact that the train was shaking like it was cursed. Scorpius knew he wasn't imagining it; worried murmurs had begun spreading through the crowds and students had already ran off, probably to find a teacher or take shelter somewhere. Even James, Albus and the Weasley boy were having a silent a conversation and looking around nervously.

Nervously, but not afraid. Curious.

"He attacked Patricia." Scorpius corrected her, quite unwisely if Albus's cringe was any indication.

"You know," The Weasley girl started calmly, dangerously calmly, "My father told me to watch out for you earlier."

"I saw." Scorpius quipped.

"But I thought I'd give you a chance." The girl continued, ignoring his response, "I thought you didn't deserve to be judged before we'd even talk once." Her icy blue eyes were boring into his in a way that had Scorpius wishing he could just make another stupid pun and break the tension. But he wasn't going to - because he was right, and he knew it. The tremors were escalating but the girl's anger did not quell.

"Obviously I was wrong." The girl growled, "You are a monster. You are just like your father. And in light of that revelation, I will give you a single warning: Stay away from my family."

By then, Scorpius was struggling to keep his footing, as was everyone else. But the Weasley girl couldn't have been more indifferent to fact that something was very wrong with the Hogwarts Express. In fact, Scorpius had half a mind to abandon this pointless argument to find out what was happening and Scorpius never abandoned arguments once he got into them. It was one of the reasons Ethan never hung around Scorpius when other people were there. Too much drama.

"Rose." Albus said, trotting to her side and clasping her shoulder. He looked at her intensely as he tried to get her attention back from Scorpius, "Rose, you're doing it again."

"I'm doing what?" The girl - Rose - snapped, still not looking at her cousin.

"The train." Albus explained, "It's shaking."

That had gotten her attention. Rose blinked a couple of times, looked around her and finally noticed that everyone had long stopped paying attention to their arguments to the benefit of being terrified out of their socks. The blue smoke had long vanished but the lights were blinking, the floor vibrating and the whole train swaying dangerously.

And then it all stopped at once.

"Sorry." Rose apologised sheepishly, "I hadn't realised."

Hadn't realised? Scorpius had to stop his mouth from hanging open. That whole display had been accidental magic? Accidental magic was never that bad - not at eleven years old! Sure there were instances of objects exploding, things catching fire, houses changing colours… But this was the Hogwarts Express. It was shielded by dozens of wards accumulated over the years and it was a whole bloody train.

No wonder something had felt off about the girl. She was a catastrophe waiting to happen.

"I'm a monster?" Scorpius found himself saying in disbelief, "What the hell was that?"

"That was-"

"Would someone be kind enough to explain what is going on here?"

Scorpius looked around to see their audience had dispersed and it took no time at all to figure out why they had absconded so quickly. Standing in the corridor right behind Patricia and Scorpius were two figures. The first, a girl with short blond hair, a slight tan, and a neat 'P' pinned to her chest was keeping herself from rolling her eyes as soon as she spotted James and Patricia. However, it wasn't her that had rudely interrupted Rose as she was about to reply to Scorpius - it had been the second figure, the one she had dragged to the crime scene.

"Helen." Weasley boy 1 greeted with a gulp, "Professor Patil."

Do something stupidly reckless? Check.

"How was your walk?" Ethan asked as Scorpius slid the compartment door open.

"I have detention for the first two weeks of term." Scorpius said irritation dripping off his every word, "Robin is terrified of me - probably of you too. I discovered a new way of repelling certain spells. I am officially an enemy of every Weasley, Potter and ally on campus. Patricia Selwyn said I was going to be a great Slytherin. Her now bald Ravenclaw friend Stephanie adopted me. Rose Weasley nearly crashed the train. The usual. You?"

Ethan raised his head from his book and looked at Scorpius like a near-sighted kid trying to read the whiteboard from the back row.

"I left you unsupervised for thirty minutes."

Scorpius sat down.

"Thirty minutes." Ethan repeated.