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The Lively Sepulchre
Chapter I
Scorpius's slate gray eyes lifted from where they'd been set, unfocused on the dark-haired boy across from him, as he glanced around the common room and was stricken by its size. It was tiny compared to the Great Hall and even the corridor outside, but the grandeur of those locations had already begun to fade from his mind.
Perhaps it seemed so big because he was only occupying a small corner of it. Even though they were supposed to be safe among the other Gryffindors, the group of freshly-sorted students were hesitant to spread out. They'd been in a large crowd since the train but were slowly split apart at the sorting. Now they'd been left to feel especially vulnerable, sitting in a circle, protecting themselves from the large people in the large room.
"...but anyway, like I said, my cousin's got a talking hat, too, but his only shouts, 'Vitoria para Braga!' and turns pink..."
Scorpius listened as the dark-haired boy's speech finally came to an end. He'd been half-hoping throughout that someone would interrupt him, but nobody seemed willing to. He supposed that since he was hardly willing himself he couldn't hold it against him, but he still wanted someone to blame.
If he had to pick just one person to blame, at least there were a lot to choose from. Besides himself there were three other boys in Gryffindor this year, and two girls. Not a lot of girls, come to think of it, but there weren't a lot of boys in Slytherin this year so he supposed that balanced it out. There weren't a lot of students in general, though, in Scorpius's opinion. The castle gave a feeling of grandeur. It was massive; clearly fit to accommodate thousands more wizards and witches then were there now. It probably wasn't worth worrying over, he figured, because with current population growth levels being what they were-
"Oi! Your name's Malfoy, innit?"
It was odd how the sudden noise was followed by sudden silence. Like those words had pushed all the others away. Scorpius glanced around the circle from face to face again, then looked up to see that it hadn't been any of the other first years who had spoken to him. Across him, several feet above the dark-haired boy, stood a boy with a thin face, auburn hair, and slender silver glasses.
Scorpius nodded in return. He felt the girl sitting to his left tense up beside him.
"Yeah, you look like Draco Malfoy."
"I'm related to him, actually, now that you mention it," Scorpius replied softly.
The boy paused a moment, then decided to ignore the comment and continue on with what he'd planned on getting at before. "Tell me, then, are your lot all blond? I saw your parents at the station, and they were both blond."
"They still are, probably. If you're concerned they're going gray, I can write them and ask?"
Again it was as if he hadn't spoken. "I mean, I hear pureblood families are really close. So, does your mother dye her hair blond, or are you really all inbred?"
Scorpius frowned. "You're slurring your words and picking fights with first years. Frankly, I think it's rather clear to everyone which of us is inbred."
There was another pause, a breath longer this time. Scorpius clinched his jaw tightly, hoping silently that it wouldn't be shattered by the other boy's fist in a second. He knew if it came to a fight the other boy could surely take him, either by fists or magic. He just had to play confident and hope the older boy wouldn't call his bluff before he could think of an exit-plan.
To his surprise, the boy broke into a grin. "I like you, kid. You're alright. Don't get your knickers in a knot, I was just testing." The boy moved forward and in an instant the children sitting in front of him had shifted to provide a clear path. Scorpius's jaw tightened again as the boy stretched out an arm and ruffled his hair. "Welcome to Gryffondor, little Malfoy. 'njoy yer stay."
The boy promptly turned and walked casually off to join the large group of older kids seated by the fire. Not long after he'd gone the circle mended itself, this time a little closer-knit.
"That was scary," whispered the girl to his left. She turned to face him, hazel eyes wide, lips tight. "I thought he was gonna punch you and stuff."
"Sorry," someone mumbled on Scorpius's far right. He leaned across to get a good look at the boy who'd delivered the apology. He had a long face, slender nose, bright green eyes, and unruly black hair. Tiny little freckles were flecked across his nose, Scorpius noticed.
"For what?" asked the dark-haired boy again, seemingly regaining his voice.
The green-eyed boy glanced down. "That was my brother, James. Sorry about him. I—I should've asked him to cut it out, or something, but I just didn't think..."
Scorpius shrugged. He wasn't sure why this boy felt responsible for anything, especially since no real altercation had occurred. "Don't be sorry. You had nothing to do with it, and anyway I'm fine."
The boy with green eyes looked up, as if to verify the statement himself. Scorpius gestured to himself with a smile. "Same as before, see?"
"Bit pale, though," piped up the boy to his right. Scorpius chuckled a little and shrugged at this, which seemed to indicate to the rest of the circle that they were free to chuckle at it as well.
The only one who didn't chuckle, in fact, was the girl to his left. Instead she announced, "I think he's handsome. Just needs a haircut."
This confused Scorpius. His skin had always been a bit pale, but what was wrong with his haircut? It had always been about this way. Long and brushed back—probably a bit messier now because it had been tossled—but still, Scorpius could find no flaw.
"Wha's wrong with my hair?" Scorpius asked, a little hurt. To be honest, he didn't think she should be allowed to talk. Her hair was also blond, but the sort of dirty blond that looks almost gray in some lights. The bangs were ridiculously angular and the rest of it was held up in two choppy pigtails nearly right on top of her head. He noticed a few colorful hairpins, too, and decided she must be the I'm-A-Fashion-Expert-Because-Mummy-Let's-Me-Pick-Out-My-Own-Clothes Type.
"It just—nothing's wrong with it, it's quite pretty, actually, it's just—a bit slimy-looking, is all," she explained, her fingers working aimlessly at her skirt's hem as she spoke.
"Well I think his haircut is handsome!" the boy to his right announced again, suddenly clinging to his arm and making fake dreamy-eyes.
"Oh, shut up, you," she girl huffed, crossing her arms. The boy released his arm and gave Scorpius a good-natured smile, which he easily returned.
"Are you Harry Potter's son?" the dark-haired boy asked the green-eyed boy. Scorpius felt himself relax as the attention was finally directed away from him.
"Oh, er, yeah. Do you know my dad?"
"Are you kidding? Everyone know's your dad, idiot."
"What are you talking about?"
Scorpius and a few of the others exchanged curious glances. The only one who didn't seem intrigued by this development was the girl to his left, who was now fully invested in studying the floor.
After a bit more baffling conversation, it became clear that this boy was unaware of the extent of his father's fame. There was a break in conversation where the others murmured among themselves and the green-eyed boy sat uncomfortably. Scorpius watched him, and was embarrassed when he caught the boy's eye after a few moments. Soon, though, he was saved from explaining himself by the dark haired boy, who'd decided a full re-telling of the Potter tale was in order.
Once the story was finished the conversation turned again to names. The first few people introduced themselves a certain way, and after that things naturally seemed to follow.
"...I'd rather you just called me Albus, though. Or Al, if you want. My cousins call me Al."
"I'm Devak Zabini," the dark-haired boy began.
"Can I call you DZ?" the boy on Scorpius's right interrupted.
"No."
"Dev?"
"Dev's fine," he said with a nod, then continued, "I'm a pureblood, too, actually. But not an evil one. My dad hid during the war, and then when he came back to Britain he married my mum—she wasn't evil, either, she fought for Hogwarts."
Scorpius wondered what someone would say if their parent actually was evil. How would someone even announce that?
"I'm Piper Norton." Scorpius turned to look at girl he hadn't realized was even there—or, rather, he realized she was there, but she hadn't said much, so he hadn't given her any thought yet. She was a small sort of person, with a round face, a round nose, and big, round brown eyes. They weren't probably as big as they seemed, as they were magnified a little by the thick purple glasses she wore. Her skin and hair were quite dark, so the bright-purple contrasted rather brilliantly. Scorpius wondered if she was the sort of person who just wore bright accessories, or filled their wardrobe solely with clothing aimed to induce blindness.
The girl next to her didn't say anything, and Piper looked around before smiling shyly and hastily adding, "Oh, right, I'm half-blood, I think. Both my parents were muggleborn, so I guess it's a bit tricky. I know all about magic, though. My dad's an auror for the Ministry."
"Mine, too," green-eyed Albus muttered from across the circle. His voice seemed to falter half-way through, but Piper offered him a weak smile and he gave one in return.
"I'm Velna Dargums," the hazel-eyed, pig-tailed girl introduced. "I'm muggleborn. Only found out I was a witch in December."
"Isn't Dargums a wizard -name?" Dev piped up. Scorpius wanted to point out that loads of surnamed were shared, and that it was possible she owed her magic to some distant wizarding relation, but decided not to call any more attention to himself for now.
"Oh, is it? I dunno, my parents aren't magical, or anything, and I don't think my brothers are. My dad's just a music teacher, and my mum's a chef."
Scorpius noticed everyone was now looking at him again and struggled to sit up straight. "I'm Scorpius. My dad works for the ministry and my mum writes novels."
"Cool! What's she written?" Dev questioned, looking interested.
Happy to receive a positive reaction and glad he'd mentioned it, though a little guilty for bringing up a career he'd had no part in, Scorpius answered, "The Arthur Tannoy books, and then a few short stories, I think."
"Never heard-" Dev began to reply, but abruptly stopped when he realized he was being spoken over.
"Really? You're kidding! Your mother is Astoria Greengrass?" Piper almost whispered this, but her enthusiasm seemed to give it more volume. "I love her books! They're fantastic!"
Scorpius was beginning to regret mentioning it and tried to think of a way to shift the subject.
"What're they about?" Dev questioned.
Before Scorpius could answer, Piper began to explain. "Oh, it's brilliant, really. It doesn't sound like much—but-anyways-the main character, Arthur, he's a proper Legilimens. But they're rare, aren't they? So no one suspects him of it. He makes his living pretending to be a seer. Before every show he has the audience administer a tiny dose veritaserum, and then a plant asks, and..."
Her voice seemed to diminish until it was inaudible. Glancing around a little sheepishly, the girl offered an apologetic smile, then gestured for the boy to Scorpius's right to introduce himself.
"Right, well. I'm Seo Ruffalo," the boy began.
"Can I call you Ruffalo the Buffalo?" Dev asked with an impressively straight face.
Seo nodded solemnly. "Yes, as long as I can bloody you up each time."
"You've got a deal, Seo!"
"Anyway," he continued, "I'm half blood. Family tree is pretty much a complicated bush at this point."
It was rather lucky that Seo finished his introduction then, because the two much-older students who'd lead them to the common room found their way over shortly after and explained what the curfew was and why exactly everyone should be in bed.
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