NOTE: Co written with Astro (Yep, it actually is just astro)
NOTE: This story is not for sales purposes, any production will cause problems, as we don't own the most of the characters. They belong to JK Rowling.
Chapter 1 By Train, by Foot and by BoatThe boy's pale blond hair flicked in front of his face for what felt like the billionth time, he brushed it away. His clothes were simple; black jeans, a black jacket and a white t-shirt. He was muscled well, in a lean kind of way so he was not overly bulky, and his skin was pale; yet not the sickly sort, rather the pale anyone who spends a lot of time in Northern England inevitably acquires. He was only eleven, but looked older; and his eyes seemed to sparkle with joy in a childlike manner at the sight he stood before.
His name was Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, the son of Draco and Astoria and the grandson of the feared and infamous Lucius Malfoy. He had an air of command, even the way he assessed a person showed he wasn't someone to be trifled with, but the sight in front of him almost made him cry with joy. It was the legendary platform 9 and ¾. Almost every wizard worth his Bertie Beans had been here, from Voldemort, to Dumbledore to Harry Potter, each great wizard, evil though Voldemort had been, had stood on this platform and each had accomplished greatness.
Scorpius turned to his father, Draco Malfoy. A man he knew had once been in league with the Dark Wizard Voldemort, but had seen the light and joined the forces of good. Draco was now in charge of a task force dedicated to rooting out corruption, as well as hunting down particularly dangerous dark wizards and witches that would normally outmatch a normal Auror. He also worked at St. Mungo's every so often as a healer, as often only he could recognise symptoms of dark curses.
He turned to his father and got his attention by tapping him on the side, "Dad, I've been meaning to ask you, what if I'm not in Slytherin, say I get put in Hufflepuff? What will happen then?" Scorpius asked. He couldn't get over the fear of not being in the house of his family, for twelve generations every male Malfoy had been in Slytherin with the odd member who attended Durmstrang, the school that was his mother's original choice.
"You won't be son, you may not be in Slytherin; but you are sure as hell not a Hufflepuff. And even if you aren't a Slytherin I will not mind, you are smart even for the Ravens and Brave enough for the Lions," replied his father serenely, before giving Scorpius a small smile.
"Draco, the train is coming soon, we better get the luggage on," came his mothers voice.
"Uh, I need to go to the toilet, be back in a bit," called Scorpius to his parents.
"All right, give us a hug," said Astoria, "Then we'll put your bags on, you can go to the toilet and then get right on the train." She gave him a hug, a single tear rolling down her face.
"I'm so proud of you, you know that right?" she said so only Scorpius could hear.
"I know mother."
They broke apart and Scorpius gave his father a hug. "Son, remember that whatever you do, we will still be here. Stay safe, and try not to get in too many fights," said Draco quietly. "Remember the amulet, if you ever get in real trouble or just want to come home for awhile twist the dial to my name."
"As if I'm going to need it dad, there are plenty of people who could benefit more than I could from having one," replied Scorpius.
The amulet in question looked like a pocket watch, yet on close inspection it was rather different. It only had one hand, and instead of numbers it had names. They were very rare due to the complexity of a special enchantment making it unbreakable, undetectable and unaffected by most anti apparition wards. Yet it wasn't the amulet that was important, it was what the amulet called upon. By turning the dial an owner could call upon some of the most powerful aurors in the world. On the side it had an urgency level, which could be mistaken as the way to edit the placement of the hands. By turning the dials to Draco Primus, Scorpius could easily tell his father he was in life threatening danger. The amulet would then allow Draco to apparate anywhere within a few metres of the amulet, ignoring any anti-apparition spells and wards, or anything else that would normally apply to stop a rescue mission.
The amulet was effectively a cunningly devised, and a finely crafted, summoner. Normally for use by aurors in areas or on assignments where some sort of ambush would be likely, Scorpius thought him having one was a waste of a very rare item. Draco had decided otherwise, and when Scorpius had tried to leave it behind it had appeared in his pocket.
"You are my son, and I would prefer not to take chances," said Draco with finality.
"Yeah, because everyone in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is actually a super nasty, dark wizard who wants to use me as some sort of blackmail device. Not to mention how am I even supposed to get out the castle. You've told me a thousand time that it is next to impossible to get in or out without being a teacher. You wont ever tell me why though."
"Some things are better left unsaid Scorpius, see you in the holidays," Draco said seriously, before ruffling Scorpius' hair. "Toilet, we'll handle the bags. Just go, and then get on, there won't be time.
"Bye dad, bye mum. See you on the holidays," said Scorpius before smiling and then walking off towards the toilets.
On his way back Scorpius heard an odd whistling sound, and saw parents rushing off with other children. Merlin's pants he thought, the train was about to leave, and took off at a run. He dashed passed groups of people, some he even recognized, there was Mr Campion waving his two daughters goodbye, one of them was his old friend Azalea. Yet he had no time to say hello and kept running, rising to a sprint when he slammed hard into another boy, almost falling over. He was going to say: Move it you little git. Instead it came out as,
"I'll tell my grandfather about this."
Scorpius half expected the boy to burst into laughter, but instead he mumbled something about being sorry. Crap, he thought. "Hey, don't sweat it. What's your name?
The boy replied quickly with his own, "Albus, though my friends call me Al. What's yours?"
Scorpius smiled and replied, "The name's Scorpius, and Al, we should get on the train, it's about to leave."
Albus nodded and the two boys boarded the train, each happy to have someone to talk to on the train.
* * *
The train was not like Scorpius had envisaged, instead it was much like the inside of a typical long distance muggle train, something that Scorpius had quite a large amount of experience with owing to the fact that when his parents went to France for the summer holiday, they always went by train to their eventual destination.
Not that Scorpius had a problem with this, it meant that Scorpius and his newfound friend could get to know each other without overly large amounts of pressure from all the other members of the school listening in.
'Hey Al, I reckon we ought to find a compartment, we'll have to share if we don't get dibs on one quick,' Scorpius said his voice showing a slight amount of urgency.
'You go in here I have to tell my family I'm on the train, I'll be back as soon as possible," Albus replied, and though Scorpius was disappointed that his only companion was leaving for a while, but he hoped that he would return.
Scorpius did so and Albus vanished down the hall. Scorpius sat and thought, drawing his wand from his pocket as he did so. He had been so happy when at the age of five his father had consented to getting him a wand. Some children did not get theirs until much later, but Scorpius had a knack for getting his way. So his father had taken him to see the very, very old Mr Ollivander in search of a wand.
Scorpius was a horribly difficult customer to decide on and even Ollivander was loosing hope they would ever find a suitable wand. However just as Draco was getting up to leave as the seventeenth wand blasted apart the counter, Ollivander suggested that he might have one last wand. So Ollivander walked down to a small portrait at the far end of the store, he picked it up and behind it was a small, hidden cupboard. He opened it up and picked up the wand that was lying there, it was a beautiful thing, 12 inches long, and made of yew. Ollivander explained that's its core was basilisk heartstring, the rarest core there was and that it was the first wand Ollivander had made, and he would only part with it for a very good reason, and price. He then proceeded to walk back up the aisle and hand the wand to young Scorpius. The wand showed its acceptance by fixing everything in the store, glowing profusely, and placing two small words of Scorpius' wrist. Expecto Patronum. Ollivander had been delighted of course, and when Draco had paid the fifty galleons Ollivander wished for, Scorpius was the owner of a totally magnificent wand.
This wand was now in Scorpius' right hand, the words still clear on his skin. Draco had honoured the wand by teaching Scorpius some fairly complex magic, the spell on his wrist now created a fully corporeal tiger, and he could duel with a wand at a far higher rate than was expected by most fourth years, and he had more than enough simple household charms to get him through the year. The one thing he had never really got the hang of was transfiguring things. Every time he tried to turn his spinach into a bar of chocolate it had never worked.
Albus returned, and with him he bought a few boxes of Bertie Botts, chocolate frogs and a packet of liquorice allsorts.
Scorpius and Albus talked for what felt like hours about almost everything they could think of, neither afraid to say what they really meant. They discussed Quidditch, books, teachers they had heard about and everything under the sun except for family. When Albus had brought it up Scorpius changed subject and Albus quickly learned that Scorpius didn't like discussing his parentage. They also ate their way through all of Albus' snacks, and got some more when the train came pass.
Sometime during the trip they had gotten changed into their robes and they had just begun to talk about what houses they each wanted to be in.
"Hey Al, what house do you want to be in when we get there? It's something that's been troubling me since I got my letter," Scorpius stated truthfully. Not a day had gone by when he had not fretted about getting in a bad house. What if he was somehow placed in Gryffindor and they all hated him because of who he was, or who his family were? "I suppose I'll end up in Hufflepuff knowing my luck," he smirked at this. The only house for the left overs, those who aren't smart, brave nor cunning go there and Scorpius hoped he was at least smart.
"I'll probably go to Gryffindor like my dad," he put his hand over his heart and said, "Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart," they then both began to laugh at Albus' terrible impression of nobility.
"I don't mind as long as it's not Hufflepuff. Though knowing my family history, I'll be in Slytherin. Anyway, what have you heard about Professor Argentum?"
"Who's he?" asked Albus intrigued.
"Did you do any background reading before you came here?" Scorpius asked with a laugh.
Albus realised he hadn't, other than a couple books and his dad's copy of Hogwarts, a History. "Not really no, just tell me already."
"Professor Argentum is the 75th Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he took over from Minerva McGonagall, who stepped down to return to her post of Transfiguration teacher as she wasn't really cut out for it, and she's getting old," said Scorpius as if it was obvious to everyone alive before continuing on in a more serious manner. "When he was only 15 Argentum finished his NEWTS with perfect scores which only one person other than him has done to date, and that was Albus Dumbledore, though Dumbledore was almost sixteen where Argentum had just turned 15 when he passed the test."
"Wow," marvelled Albus.
"Yeah and that's not all, you know how staffs are more powerful than wands, yet require more skill to use? Argentum uses a staff capped with a dragon crystal."
"What's a dragon crystal?" asked Albus, confused and thinking of a crystal the same size as the Hungarian Horntail he had seen on one of his holidays.
"A dragon crystal is sometimes known as a heartstone, and they are incredibly rare. Heartstones are the jewel of any collection, and more than one war has been fought over their control and ownership. The reason the are so rare and valuable is that only one species of dragon ever had them, they were known as the Egyptian Shining Drakes and unfortunately they went extinct over five thousand years ago," explained Scorpius.
"So how does Argentum have one?"
"Easy, he was a magico archaeologist who was working in Egypt," said Scorpius with a smile.
"Yeah, but…" Al tried to say something but hesitated, looking for the right words. "I've been to Egypt, there's nothing there but tombs and sand. And all the tombs were looted hundreds if not thousands of years ago."
Scorpius smiled, "Argentum found the some looters who fell on hard times and never escaped the desert, in amongst the diggings he discovered that a great sandstorm had killed the group of looters and left them, and their incredibly valuable jewels in the middle of a desert for a very long time. That is till Argentums excavations. You see Argentum was trying to find the source of strange energy readings, which he thought might be a solution to a sustainable and safe energy source for the muggles to use. Instead he dug up a Dragon Crystal."
"Well I doubt he'd be dis…"
Suddenly a tall, black haired boy in Slytherin colours stepped into the compartment. 'Hey there Scorp, surprised you haven't already come looking for me yet," Scorpius only knew one person who would be arrogant enough to say that.
'Sod off Septimus," replied Scorpius straight away.
'Hey, you better learn some respect you little piece of…" however Septimus suddenly realised Al was in the compartment as well.
'Well look the cowards' child has a new friend. Who are you, you look a tiny bit like Piss Potter," Septimus jeered obviously confused.
This was obviously a poor choice of words on the part of Septimus, and before anything could be done about it, he had been hit simultaneously by a jinx from Scorpius and someone looking much like an older version of Albus. Unfortunately for Septimus the sheer force of both spells threw him hard into the window, which promptly broke and he was lost to sight.
'Uh, James,' stuttered Albus, 'this is Scorpius, the friend I told you about. By the way who was that guy?'
'Septimus Lestrange,' both immediately replied. James continued on, 'He is in my year, Slytherin house. Basically he's a total dick to anyone who isn't a total puritan, you know, he hates muggle borns, but what he really hates more than anything what he considers as blood traitors. That's why he picked little Scorpius Malfoy here, got more than he bargained for though didn't he? Where are those two fat lumps he normally has for cronies anyway?"
"Reckon he didn't expect me to be here, though he got a right little shock when you jinxed him though,' James smiled a welcoming smile, Scorpius felt he had performed exceedingly well in a sort of test James was judging, but the glare Albus began to give him said it was not a unanimous vote.
"Hey James, what do we do about this window?" asked Scorpius, afraid he was going to get in trouble.
"Oh don't worry about that, it'll fix itself in a few seconds, look," said James motioning towards the gap where the window was virtually growing back, the shards of broken glass reassembling themselves.
'Well I'd best be off, the entire train needs to know that Septimus just went overboard,' James laughed and winked a pair of topaz eye and was off down the corridor.
Albus was glaring at Scorpius; the hate in his eyes was almost tangible. "You're a Malfoy!?" he said the surprise obvious.
'Al, it seems some apologies on my half are necessary, and can I point out that while I am a Malfoy and our dads were mega rivals in school, I am completely happy to still be your friend,' he held out his hand to shake Albus'.
'No, I don't keep company with the likes of you and your stupid parents, Death Eaters the lot of you. I don't care if your dad is acting like he's a changed man, he isn't and I bet that at the first opportunity he would murder every muggle, and every wizard of non-wizarding heritage. So just fuck off Malfoy, you are not my friend and you damn well won't ever be," replied Albus with enough loathing to make anyone understand his point.
"YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ME OR MY FAMILY YOU STUPID PIECE OF SHIT, GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME,' Scorpius roared at the top of his lungs, his wand already pointing between Albus' eyes. How dare he? How dare Albus Potter say something like that about his family? The only reason Scorpius hadn't hexed Albus already was because he was too angry to think of anything but Wingardium Leviosa.
Albus looked as though he would continue the argument, but instead he paled, and bolted for the door of the compartment.
Scorpius followed him feeling bad for his actions as his rage was fast evaporating, out where Albus rounded on him immediately, wand out and furious. Looking past him Scorpius saw that their argument had drawn a fair portion of students out of their compartment, all of them eager to see a fight.
"Albus listen to me…" Scorpius tried to speak, but Albus shouted him down.
"JUST FUCK OFF OKAY?" Albus screeched.
Dismayed, Scorpius looked into the crowd and met eye contact with an attractive red haired girl. She gave him a small smile and he smiled back automatically, though he was hardly aware he was doing it. He returned to his compartment and the crowds shuffled away.
"Oh dad, why oh why did you ever do that?" Scorpius said to himself and he slumped against the seat, alone with nobody to talk to, today was turning out to be a rather bad day.
She couldn't believe the day was finally here! Rose Weasley had been waiting all year for this, her first day at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. Rose had received her letter on her eleventh birthday, as per usual for magical children. Nevertheless, she was ecstatic.
Her father hugged her tightly as they stood on platform 9 3/4. She buried her face into his shoulder; she would miss him and his wild stories of his school days. He told her all about his adventures with her mother and uncle Harry. 'Make me proud.' he whispered in her ear.
'I will daddy, don't worry'. She flashed a magnificent grin at him.
'That's my girl.' he replied and returned her grin, ruffling her bushy, flaming red hair.
Rose turned to her mother; she would miss the afternoons they spent in the sanctuary reading together. The sanctuary is by far Rose' favourite place. It is a delightful room in her house that has been transformed into a quiet retreat. There are twenty-eight bookshelves; Rose had taken the liberty of counting them, and all overflowing with books. Fact or fiction, there was more than enough to keep any book lover entertained. In addition to the bookshelves, there are also several of her mother's board games; mostly from her childhood, photo albums; both the magical and muggle types, and a desk complete with art supplies; Hugo her brother was a very talented artist. Yet another desk with paper, manuscripts, drafts and published copies of her mothers' books and finally a grand mantelpiece with a blazing fire underneath and some sofas to cuddle up on during the colder months.
Rose hugged her mother around the waist. 'You'll love the library Rose, its still my favourite place in the world.' her mother gently told her as she rubbed her hands over Rose' back.
'What about the sanctuary?' Rose murmured.
'The sanctuary is like a small piece of the Hogwarts library, that's why your father created it, it was his way of bringing a slice of my paradise into our home.'
'In that case, it must be amazing.' Rose looked up at her mother and smiled.
'It is, you'll see.' her mother leaned down and kissed Rose on the forehead. 'Write as much as possible, now go have fun.' she let go of Rose and gently nudged her in the direction of the train.
Once Rose was on board of the Hogwarts express, she started walking down the corridor, looking for a place to sit. While she was walking through the carriages she came across another girl who looked to be the same age as her, scanning the corridors for a place to sit.
'Hey there, I'm Eleinor, but you can call me Ellie, What's your name?' Eleinor smiled sweetly.
'M-m-m-me? Uhh... I-I'm Rose Weasley.' she stuttered. Why must I be so shy?! Rose mentally chastised herself.
'Nice to meet you Rose, what year are you?' she questioned.
'F-first year.' Rose mumbled shyly.
'Really? Me too!' she flashed an encouraging smile at Rose. 'Looks like everywhere is full, want to join me in this one? There's only a couple of people here.'
'Uhh, yeah... I mean sure!' Rose stumbled.
'Hey, it's okay. I'll look after you, don't sweat it.' Eleinor smiled again and Rose returned the gesture.
'Thanks, I'm just a little shy, that's all.'
'I noticed it's fine though. Come on, let's go!' And with that, Eleinor slid open the door of the compartment and the two girls entered.
'Hey. Do you guys reckon we could sit in here with you? Everywhere else is all full up.' Eleinor asked politely.
'Course you can!' one boy replied and grinned.
'Thanks.' Eleinor replied and smiled back. Eleinor gently grabbed Rose' arm and led her to the seats opposite the identical boys.
'I'm Lysander, this is my brother Lorcan. Lorcan is third year, I'm fourth.' Lysander explained and Lorcan grinned and winked.
'I'm Eleinor and this is Rose.' Eleinor gestured to Rose and she tentatively smiled.
'First years huh?' Lorcan queried. Or was that Lysander? Gosh, why could she never remember names?
'Yes...' Eleinor looked at Rose 'how did you know?' Both Rose and Eleinor looked puzzled.
'You Have a certain look about you...' Lorcan informed them with a grin.
'Oh... Okay then.' Eleinor replied.
'Hey, do you want a copy of the quibbler? Our mother's the editor.' Lysander questioned.
'Um, sure, my mum showed me that one! It's pretty interesting.' Eleinor said, obviously confused and wondering whether to try again for free compartments.
Lorcan handed a copy over to Eleinor and then offered one to Rose. She tentatively took it and ran her hands over the glossy cover. She looked at the colours swirling and popping out at her, that's when she noticed the name printed on the front. 'Luna Lovegood.' she murmured.
'That's our mum.' Lysander told her.
'My friend is named after her... Lily potter. Her middle name is Luna. Uncle Harry told me about your mum.' she gave a tiny smile.
'Oh yeah, we might have met her; Harry comes over to visit sometimes. He's a pretty awesome guy, really knows his stuff,' Lorcan replied.
They continued to talk and Rose was glad that she had at least made a few friends, even if Lorcan and Lysander were really rather weird.
After talking for a few hours and munching on sweets from the trolley, the group suddenly heard some shouting from out in the corridor. Lorcan poked his head out of the compartment and looked around. 'I can't see anything from here, come on. Let's go see what's going on.' he gestured for the others to follow.
They filed out of the compartment, one after another until they came across two boys, they were yelling and waving their arms around.
'That's Al!' Rose squealed with concern. She didn't know who the other boy was but he sure was attractive. He had platinum blonde hair and striking features, she couldn't take her eyes off him.
'He's a Malfoy, I saw him with his pathetic excuse for a father. They're pure-blooded toad scum, the lot of them.' Lysander made a noise of disgust.
'He might be different, you never know. A name doesn't determine who you are, look at his father now.' Eleinor said wistfully.
'I agree with Ellie. Just because he's a Malfoy, doesn't mean he'll turn out like the rest of them. He could be really nice.' Rose agreed. Lorcan was about to say something when he was interrupted by Albus shrieking 'JUST F*** OFF OKAY?!' the Malfoy boy turned and met Rose' gaze, she smiled at him unwittingly. He gave her a small smile and walked back into his compartment. Lorcan, Lysander, Eleinor and Rose all exchanged furtive glances.
'I wonder what they were fighting about.' Lorcan wondered aloud.
'Seemed a little harsh, don't you think?' Eleinor replied.
"Probably well deserved," scowled Lorcan, "the Malfoys are nothing but problems.
Once everyone was sitting back in the compartment, the door slid open and Albus quietly entered and sat down a distance away from everyone inside. He looked absolutely furious. Lorcan, Lysander and Eleinor all exchanged looks while Rose kept her gaze fixated on Albus in concern.
Lysander cleared his throat loudly and said, 'We're gonna go change into our robes. We'll be back in a while.' They stood up and left, robes in hand, fairly obviously intending to give Rose and Albus some space.
'You guys go on, I'll change later on.' Rose said in return. The rest of the group nodded and silently left the compartment.
'I saw what happened before, when you were fighting with that Malfoy boy... Are you okay?' she asked.
'No. He's a git.' he mumbled.
'Why? What happened?' she asked.
After explaining the exchange between himself and Scorpius Malfoy he went silent, expecting Rose's judgement, Rose was quiet for a short while, pondering.
'Don't you think you were a little harsh?' she asked tentatively, in case he snapped at her again. 'I mean, he didn't really do a great deal wrong... anything actually. Not to mention you two were becoming friends. For all you know he is nothing like his father was during school, and look what Draco is now, he is one of your dad's greatest supporters, I'm actually surprised you've never met Scorpius. Maybe you should apologise for what you said.'
Albus was silent for a while, he seemed to be going over the idea in his mind, it was something Rose had come to expect from him. He would respond in his own time, and so he did. 'I suppose so... We were getting along pretty well until I snapped, But it just seems wrong to do it. Our fathers hated his during school Rose, maybe they had a good reason.' he stopped and scratched his neck nervously. 'He does seem like an alright guy though...' he reasoned.
'Go apologise then, I'm sure he will forgive you, and if not, you'll still have me, and Hugo I expect.' she gave him a smile and patted him on the shoulder.
'Thanks Rose, what would I do without you?' he smirked. 'Here goes nothing,' and with that he jumped up, slid the compartment door open and walked back to the other side of the train, now with a noticeable spring in his step. Rose couldn't help but feel a little proud of herself, after all it wasn't everyday she helped her cousins out when they actually needed her help.
Scorpius sat in his compartment, only a few seconds had passed since Albus had left him, but it felt like a year. Scorpius knew his father had been a complete ass to Albus' father, and a whole heap of other people too, but what had Scorpius done? Was it just a school tradition to hate the children of his house? But what had his father really done for Scorpius to deserve an instant hatred from Albus Potter?
It wasn't as if his father was still an obsessive "only pureblood's allowed" kind of person, in fact Scorpius' dad had spent years fighting for the Equalists, a group devoted to allowing anybody to have the same rights as anyone else. His father was now head of a task force handpicked to fight dark wizards wherever they showed themselves. Even the Golden Trio listened to his advice, and they were the world's most accomplished aurors.
Yet Albus had hated him as soon as he learnt who he was, it made absolutely no sense. Their fathers were friends for Merlin's sake, his father had saved Potter's life countless times, and Potter had done the same countless more. Yeah Scorpius could admit Ron Weasley had never really gotten over the animosity developed during their school years, but even Hermione had forgiven Draco for his stupidity.
He had sat down to think for a few minutes, going over the laughs he had had with Albus, looking on the ground Scorpius could see Albus had left one of the new Infamous Witches and Wizards cards on the ground. Below he could see the snakelike face of Tom Riddle, aka, Voldemort. What had his father gotten up to while in service of that man?
But the sound of the compartment door sliding open gave away the presence of a small, raven haired girl dressed in fairly ill-fitting Hogwarts robes. She was smiling, but her grey eyes showed her irritation at something. The person in the doorway was Azalea Campion, and she was wondering why her best friend had left her to wander the compartments alone for the last few hours searching for him.
Scorpius couldn't help feeling a little guilty, he had seen her on the platform but at the time he had other things on his mind. And all the fun he had had with Albus made him forget about her. She was his oldest friend, basically his sister actually. His mother and Mrs. Campion had been friends during their childhood and when his mother had moved to England to marry Draco Mrs. Campion had been right behind her, although then she had been Ms. Chavelle. But he was deviating…
"Hey, Azalea, How's your trip been?" he smiled guiltily.
"Absolutely dismal, I walked in on two seventh years having sex, it was so awkward. The only good news I've had in the last few hours is that Septimus went overboard, apparently due to Potter's child, the one who's obsessed with my prat of a sister. She even looks like a gold fish."
"That's a bit harsh isn't it? And I stunned Septimus, James just threw him out the window," he smiled at the memory.
"Typical Potters, always acting as if they did everything without help. Remember when your dad went to Bulgaria to take down that cannibal cult, Potter turned up at the end and took all the credit, you dad did all the hard yards but oh no, Saint Potter gets the glory," she scowled as if Harry stood in front of her.
"True, but if you don't remember dad was at the time disguised as one of the members of a local gang," Scorpius reasoned, and then continued, "it would be a bit of a giveaway if his face turned up all over the papers as a the one who took down the cult. Come and sit down, you look exhausted," Scorpius had had this argument before and he hoped that by placating Azalea it would stop.
"Thank god, have you ever had nothing to do but walk around a train, hoping that when you open the next compartment the people inside won't stun you, body bind you or what not. The people who go to this school are complete assholes."
"No," he said plainly, he didn't want another argument, "You can sleep here if you want."
"Yeah all right then," she said quietly and leant against Scorpius intent on sleeping for the rest of the train ride.
Merely a few minutes passed when the compartment door slid open yet again to reveal Albus, standing alone. Scorpius beckoned him in quietly as to not wake Azalea but as soon as Albus put a foot through the opening Azalea was wide awake, her grey eyes burning into Albus, searching him, criticizing him, and it felt to Albus if he was a piece of meat, and it was her job to evaluate him.
"Umm Scorpius look, I was a total arse earlier and um, my cousin Rose she, umm told me about your dad and um yeah, I'm sorry and I'd like to umm…" Albus mumbled, but Scorpius had understood.
"Albus," Scorpius said irritatedly, "just sit down already."
"Thanks," replied Albus as he sat down, "if you don't mind me asking, who they are?" queried Albus.
"Albus this is Azalea, Azalea this is Albus."
Azalea smiled, the kind of smile a serial killer uses when they are about to stab someone, "Potter, Albus Severus Potter. Oh yes I know exactly who you are. Your cousin, probably Rose Weasley, who convinced you to come back, is already beginning to annoy me. Your brother James and his friend Decius have been irritating my sister Jessica since third year, so could you kindly ask them to stop. Your sister Lily is coming here next year, and your cousin Hugo is a complete prat in that he's stupid enough to start a fight with a third year with only two cronies, he lost by the way. Though the third years nose was turned to mush, and one of his back ups got a black eye. But you are the worst of them all, you come in here, wake me up, offer the worst excuse for an apology I've ever seen and then expect both of us to not just like but trust you," she said slowly and with enough venom that she could make a zoo full of poisonous reptiles go to shame.
"Nice to meet you too," Albus feigned a small smile. He was already beginning to dislike Azalea but he had enough restraint not show it openly.
"Azalea, be nice to Albus he's my friend," Scorpius chided and then continued, "But she is right, you'll have to prove yourself somehow before she really trusts you, I on the other hand already trust you somewhat."
Albus smiled, "I can live without her trust for the time being, if I redeem myself for her perceived slight, which I assure you was definitely non-intentional, then that's great. If not, I'm not altogether bothered."
"Oh you will be Potter," Azalea snarled, "You will be."
"Zay, stop it. Albus is going to be around for a fair while, you may as well be nice to him, oh and Albus, you really will be, Zay can make you life hell."
"Ah well, the station is right there by the way," said Albus nodding at Hogsmeade station. "We better get our stuffed packed away. Scorpius, which of the cards do you want, I want the Grindelwald one, he's one of the three I don't have."
"I'll take Voldemort, and the rest we can just divide up."
"We can do it later, just throw them in here", said Albus drawing a tiny money pounch from his pocket, "Undetectable extension charm, my aunt loves the things. My pockets are twice the size they normally would be, my luggage is all in a back pack, except my owl Carrius, of course."
Scorpius sniggered at the pun. "Really? Carry Us? Oh god that's low."
Albus smiled, "My Uncle Bill's idea of a joke. Good owl though."
The two agreed to put their stuff in Al's money pouch and soon they were in the corridor waiting for the train to stop, a few people were already out there. Albus spotted his brother and his best friend Decius down the hall. "Al, get back in the compartments, you get off to Hogwarts not Hogsmeade."
It was true, the train ride was in fact not over. The town of Hogsmeade had come into view and since the Battle for Hogwarts, all students except first years got off in the town and were escorted into the school by teachers using the passageway under Honeydukes.
The three decided to wait by the door for their stop and there they discussed teachers they wanted, and ones they had heard were awful. Albus told them about Umbridge and even Azalea had to agree she sounded awful.
A few minutes later the three of them are disembarked onto Hogwarts station, the train has gone on, and they had begun to look around for where to go. "Albus are you sure this is Hogwarts station, my dad said the people at Hogwarts are always on time," came the ringing of Scorpius' voice from over by the Information board. It is freezing on the platform and none of the first years are dressed for the weather.
"Of course this is Hogwarts Station, the sign in front of your face says so on it. Though I'll admit, my dad too told me of how everything at Hogwarts is always on time. But he told me something your dad obviously either never figured out, or didn't tell you." Albus was silent for a moment, before he continued, "When Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is behind schedule, or even McGonagall for that matter, something has gone very wrong. Oh well, it seems we must escort our selves to the boats," said Albus quietly. The he yelled, "All right fellow first years, I know where to go so follow me."
"Why should we follow you?" came a voice from the crowd.
Albus smiled evilly, "Well you can follow me down to the boats, where we will be out of the wind and closer to inside. Or you can stay here and freeze, it's your choice." Albus then began to walk off down a nearby path, followed closely by Scorpius and Azalea. Eventually every first year followed him down the path.
The path was a small one, yet one that was obviously well travelled as it was even and showed few signs of artificial interference. It went through a small wood, which while dark still seemed friendly enough. Every so often the path would fork out, and Albus walked comfortably and assuredly always choosing the left most fork in a set of three and the right most fork in a set of two.
"Albus, how do you know where to go?" Scorpius eventually asked as his curiosity got the better of him.
"When I was little my family used to visit Hogwarts a lot, eventually my dad taught me the way through this labyrinth," replied Albus, who then slowed so Scorpius could walk next to him.
"Labyrinth? We're in a bloody labyrinth? I thought this was just a small track?" came Azalea's fearful voice from somewhere behind them.
"My Aunt designed it to look like one. This entire wood looks about fifty metres from one side to the other, until you are in it in which then its closer to a few thousand. Normally a teacher would guide you through here, but seeing as one isn't available I'm doing it."
"What happens if you go the wrong way?" Scorpius inquired, his voice trembling but whether it was from the cold or from fear Albus couldn't tell.
"Depends how lucky you are really. Most just send you back to either the station or Hogsmeade, yet others lead to far more dangerous places like the center of the Forbidden Forest where dwells whatever created the Forest, another could lead to place where the Centaurs live but then the same path could also dump you where we are trying to go."
"Is there another way to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, like not through the forest?" asked Scorpius a while later.
"Yes, three actually. The first is the main entrance, which is what the rest of the school is using, the visitors entrance, but you need to be able to apparate to the right spot, or with someone who can. Then there is the other entrance, which is far more dangerous."
"So how do you know where to go, what if we are going to the center of the Forbidden Forest?" came Hugo's voice from behind.
"Because cousin, I know how the spell works. It is in fact purely the choice of the Twilight Wood whether we get through. There is no clever rhyme, which lets you always take the correct path, much like life in fact. To tell the truth the only reason I have a pattern is because it's an easier way to walk without fretting, yet I know I will reach the boats because I believe I will, the more fearful your leader is of the wood the more likely you are to get lost. Which is why so many rumours are spread about it. The path has identified me as the leader owing to the fact I am at the front, and that it recognises me," replied Albus calmly and then he continued. "Hugo, meet Scorpius Malfoy, Scorpius this is my cousin Hugo Weasley. Oh and that's Azalea Campion," Albus waved a hand in her general direction before continuing.
"Don't expect me to be impressed cousin, you're just the fool I always knew you were! Why are you standing there smiling at him when you should be challenging to a duel?" came the angry voice of Hugo in reply. Next to him stood a tall Asian boy with a very pale complexion and dark hair, as well as a short mousy girl with a lot of freckles.
"You got a problem with me Weasley?!" replied Scorpius, more irritated than angry.
By now they had come to a complete stop, the faceoff in front of the line indicated to the first years behind them it was a rest break.
"Yeah I do in fact. Albus you're either with me or against me. I'll only ask once."
Albus ignored Hugo, who suddenly raised his wand to cast a charm. But Azalea was far faster, she cried out, "Rictusempra."
The spell she cast was a basic duelling spell, but it was definitely an effective one. Hugo was knocked back hard, his body flipping over and over and over until with a thump, he landed headfirst on the ground two dozen meters back down the path. The mousy girl gave a very concerned squeak before running down to try and aid Hugo, who was virtually unconscious. The Asian looked as if he would fight, but obviously was outnumbered so also went to Hugo's aid.
It was at this moment the girl with the long red hair arrived as well as another girl Scorpius didn't recognise turned up. She was obviously not impressed. "ALBUS YOU IDIOT, are you trying to get us killed!" she almost screamed.
"Hey Rose," said Al, "this is Scorpius, and this little one is Azalea, she cast the spell, not me. We're fine though."
"Scorpius this is the Twilight Wood, did your dad ever tell you the other enchantment on the labyrinth? The one his father," she indicated Scorpius, "put on it?"
"Uh, the other enchantment?" came Azalea's voice, it was rank with fear.
"Yes, my mother just wanted to put a simple labyrinthine enchantment on it. But his dad placed another enchantment on it. If you spend too long in the Twilight Wood, or venture too far off the path, you will never be able to leave," she said quietly so only they could hear it. Albus gasped.
Scorpius replied quickly, "How long do we have left?"
"Under an hour, you can only spend two hours in the wood," came Hugo's voice. Hugo hadn't forgotten the argument, but the concussion had made the last few hours blurry. Ron had told Hugo all about the path, as well as guided him through.
Albus smiled, "Have you two been here before?" he asked, his mind already forming a plan.
"Hugo has once, but I've been here three times," replied Rose.
"Ok then, Hugo go to the middle and encourage people. They're scared that a fifty metre wood is this large, it's disconcerting for most people…"
"You can say that again, this place is weird," came Scorpius' voice.
"Rose you take the back, make sure nobody is left behind and that nobody leaves the track for any reason. Understand?"
"What do we do?" came the voice of Rose's friend. "Those of us who know what's going on yet haven't been here before."
"Spread yourself around the group and stop the other first years from going off the track. Now let's get going," replied Rose.
Scorpius was in between Albus and Hugo, next to him walked Azalea and while both of them were cold and tired, they kept walking. Scorpius had no idea how long they had left when suddenly he walked into the person in front of him. Scorpius looked up to see Albus had reached the end of the forest and was standing on the bank of a lake. Scorpius rushed forward, eager to get out of the forest and to see his new school. The first years around him did the same thing, each of them running as fast as their legs would allow.
It was at that exact moment he first saw the school.
Hogwarts castle immediately soared to the top of Scorpius' favourite buildings. The castle was old, that much Scorpius could tell in a glance. The towers immediately stole his attention; they literally towered above the rest of the school, the tallest towers in the middle of the school, and the shorter ones around them. The repairs after the war fit seamlessly with the rest of the school and now Hogwarts castle was almost large enough to hold the population of a fair sized city, as it had been designed to do. Scorpius knew he was not looking at the same sight his father had when Draco was eleven. Draco had seen a small, beautiful castle. Scorpius was looking at a grand, powerful, and yet still beautiful version of Hogwarts.
He continued up until he saw Albus. Both of them stood and stared at the magnificent and yet opulent grandeur of the school. "It's beautiful isn't it," said Scorpius.
"Yeah," replied Albus, "it really is. But how are we supposed to get there. I don't know what to do know."
"Never considered this part eh? Anyway don't sweat it, I have an idea," laughed Scorpius. He then stepped over to the beach and used a green sparks spell his mother had shown him one time when they had gone hiking in the Alps. Anyone within a mile would know someone was there, and hopefully one of the teachers would come and get them and the rest of the first years.
Scorpius was correct for about a minute later there was a startling crack and there stood a very distressed looking old woman. She was tall with grey hair, wore simple green robes, and a witch's hat. Her eyes looked very similar to those of a cats and Scorpius knew that he was looking at his new Headmistress. Professor McGonagall walked directly towards Scorpius.
"Malfoy is it?" she asked nicely.
"Yes miss," replied Scorpius.
"And how is it you came to be standing here, rather than on Hogwarts Station? I thought that only one who knew the secret of how it worked could traverse the Twilight Wood. Surely not you," she said with a non-insulting smile, "Who was your guide?" She asked, confused at how an entire year level had managed to pass through the Twilight Wood without help from a teacher.
Albus chose this moment to intervene. "It was me miss, my father taught me the way through. He sends his best as always," Albus said. "We were freezing on the platform so I led the group here. A couple of us knew what the wood really was, thanks to my cousin Rose we got out in time. I never knew the wood had a time limit for crossing, my father never told me."
"You'll find that a lot with Harry Potter nowadays," she said before drawing her wand and placing it to her throat and calling out in an amplified voice, "Hogwarts first years, welcome to your new school. My name is Professor McGonagall, I teach transfiguration, some of you will have heard of me. The boats are just here. Only three in a boat please, and don't rush there are enough boats for everyone. Oh and just as a reminder, while these boats will steer themselves, you can still manage to capsize them so try and avoid it; the water is freezing." She then turned and cast a spell out over the lake, a small flotilla of simple wooden boats and a pier then appeared on the shore of the lake, she then turned and called. "What are you waiting for?"
Albus broke into a dead run, Scorpius right next to him. The two boys were bored of the freezing cold air and wanted to get into the warmth of the castle. Scorpius was faster, but Albus was not going to be left behind. They ran down to the end of the pier where a single boat was tethered to a small wooden post.
"Ok then, Albus you get in while I'll untie the boat, we'll wait for Azalea and then launch, personally I can't wait to get out of this godforsaken cold," said Scorpius with a grin.
"Kay then," said Albus, though he was wishing they could just leave Azalea on the dock. He saw her walking up the pier with the majority of the first years, groups peeling away now and then to get in boats. McGonagall got in a boat with Rose and her friend, while Hugo got in another with two other boys neither Albus or Scorpius recognised.
Azalea eventually reached the end of the pier and hopped in the boat with Albus before Scorpius pushed the boat away from the pier. The boat then began to head towards the centre of the lake, followed by almost every other boat. When every person was over water, McGonagall sent the pier back to the bottom of the lake and then the boats sailed towards the shore. They then all began to wait till the entire fleet of small wooden boats, and every first year got to the middle of the lake.
"Guys, check this out," whispered Azalea conspiratorially; she pointed at Hugo's boat. It was sinking. "I couldn't help myself, when I walked past I cast a simple piercing charm on it, the boat will fill with water, unfortunately it's made of wood so can't sink but the three of them are going to get rather wet."
"Nice work, my cousin really deserves a good swim," laughed Albus.
Azalea's smile darkened, "Too bad you couldn't be with him," she said sadly; Albus didn't doubt she was actually saddened by both his lack of freezing swim and that she had to sit with him.
"I could push you in if you'd like," Albus replied simply, although he was actually considering the idea, "Though with your size tossing you would be easier." Both boys had begun to laugh at the idea but Albus stops as soon as he says Azalea's wand pointing at him.
"Try me," Azalea said with an evil smile.
A cry for help from Hugo's boat interrupted them; two of the three were floundering around in the water, barely keeping their heads out of the water. Only the mousy girl seemed able to swim.
Putting his hand in the water Scorpius tested the temperature, McGonagall had not been joking when she said the water was freezing, it was like ice water. The hand Scorpius had put in the water went numb so he withdrew it, he did not, under almost any circumstance, want to swim in this water and said so.
"Ah don't worry Scorp, the idiot deserves it. I don't doubt he'd try to do it to us if he could," reasoned Albus, "Though I hope the idiot doesn't drown, that would be so awkward to explain," Albus laughed but Scorpius can tell he doesn't want his cousin to drown.
"They won't," replied Scorpius before continuing, "McGonagall will get them out. Look here she comes already."
As McGonagall's boat and an empty boat obviously around for that very circumstance, made a beeline for Hugo and his friends. Everybody else's boats started to move again, each making their way to the docks on the other side where they could unload their passengers. Past the docks was another walking track that led to one of the main entrances to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; alternatively there was a fairly large set of steps that led to a courtyard near the entrance to the Great Hall.
Scorpius, Albus and Azalea were one of the first boats to reach the docks and disembark. As they got off the boat left the dock before going down under the water and being lost to sight. This confused Scorpius, "Doesn't wood lose its buoyancy if left under water for an extended amount of time?" he asked confused.
A boy with ratty brown hair and bug-eyed glasses answered him before Albus and Azalea can, "It's an enchantment, the boats should have rotted away years ago and you are correct, shouldn't technically float anymore," said the boy with an 'I know everything' expression.
Scorpius rounded on him angrily, "Did I ask you? No, I didn't, so bugger off," he snapped.
"I was just trying to…"
"I don't care what you were doing!"
"But I was just trying to help you," the boy snapped back obviously annoyed by his treatment.
"I didn't ask you to try to help me did I?"
Albus decided to end the argument, "Scorpius you're tired, and cold, but really mate, he's not worth it. C'mon, let's go, McGonagall is here."
For once Azalea supported Albus, "Scorp, let's just go, Albus is right."
"Really?" asks Albus in surprise? "You agree with me?"
"Shut up Potter, let's go," Azalea said in reply, grabbing Scorpius' arm and half dragging, half encouraging, pulled him away from the boy. She walked him over to where McGonagall is waiting for the students to gather. Albus followed along behind them.
As they were ascending the stairway McGonagall was pointing out various things around the school but most of the first years were too tired to listen. Scorpius went up the stairs next to Azalea; they were behind the red haired girl Rose and her friend. Behind them was Albus and the rest of the first years. Hugo and his two friends are at the back, they are all dry thanks to McGonagall's spells and Hugo is glaring intently at Scorpius. Scorpius believes that Hugo has remembered what happened earlier, or been told by his friends. The two boys with him are tall, with a slight excess of bodyweight, dark blonde hair and expressions that betrayed their stupidity.
Scorpius was confused by how much anger he had felt towards the brown haired boy, it made no real sense to him. Yeah he was cold and tired, but the rage he had felt towards the boy was frankly irrational, and inexcusable. He decided to apologise when he next had a chance.
They reached the top of the stairs to emerge in a medium sized courtyard, the centre of which was a statue of the great Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. The statue showed him standing upright, his wand arm raised as if sending an enchantment into the heavens. At his feet were tiny statues of all the races: house elves, centaurs, wizards, giants, muggles, werewolves, as well as many others. The statue was not, as many had originally thought, something to show wizarding dominance over the other races, but instead to show that the loss of Professor Dumbledore was something that the entire world would miss. It also showed that the greatest of teachers, could teach more than just their own kind.
The rest of the courtyard was by no means bare. Around the perimeter was a simple, yet endearing, covered area with arched supports and carvings of the Battle for Hogwarts, which had destroyed this courtyard before the wizarding population spent millions of galleons to repair the school. The covered area was very literally a border for the courtyard it had three entrances, one from the school, one from the boats, and one from a large bridge that went over towards another part of the school.
"First Year students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, welcome to Hogwarts Castle. I hope you enjoy your stay," said McGonagall before with a great creak the main door began to open. "Would you follow me into the Great Hall."