The Absence of Courage
Prologue
He sat in his compartment on the train. He had gotten on early so he could find an empty seat. He tired of the dirty looks and sideways glances that were always shot his family's way in public. His parents had already wished him good bye, good luck, and gave last reminders. The kind of things usually saved for when the train left the station. They had wanted to escape as soon as they could.
His father was a proud man, but even he had a limit to how many glares he could take. He had many regrets from his younger years, and had told his son many stories in hopes that he would not make the same mistakes. But he knew his family had changed even if the image everyone had of them hadn't. It was this thought that plagued the mind of the young Scorpius Malfoy. He wanted to change that.
"There's just no way" he thought "Generations of Malfoys and not one in a house other than Slytherin." Scorpius did not want to be in Slytherin, for how was he suppose to change the way people saw him and his family if everything about him was the same. He had given this a lot of thought, and decided he wanted to be in Ravenclaw. He couldn't be in Gryffindor, while his father was a changed man, he was still a Slytherin. He didn't he have much desire to be in Huffelpuff.
"The problem is I don't get to choose," he sighed "The Sorting Hat does." That was when he heard it.
"Albus Severus" He looked out the window to see a man speaking to a boy about his age. The man, he knew, was the famous Harry Potter. The boy, he assumed, was his son.
"You where named for two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I knew."
"But just say"
"Then Slytherin House will have gained an excellent student, won't it? It doesn't matter to us, Al, but if it matters to you, you'll be able to choose Gryffindor over Slytherin. The Sorting Hat takes your choice into account.
Scorpius was skeptical. "Really?" he whispered in unison with the boy called Albus.
"It did for me." Harry said
Scorpius was amazed. This gave him new hope for what was to come of his school life.