A/N: And another one-shot :) Hopefully you'll enjoy it, and if you feel like it, please leave a review when you're done :)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you may recognise.

Scorpius Malfoy was an outcast. Not only at Hogwarts, but in his family as well. He'd been Sorted into Hufflepuff a few years prior, and his father hadn't taken it well; had started seeing Scorpius as a disappointment. As an eleven-year-old, Scorpius hadn't properly understood why his father acted this way; he was still Scorpius, wasn't he? The boy he'd always been? His paternal grandparents, while not saying anything about the Sorting to Scorpius' face, had slowly started distancing themselves from him. His mother, having been a Ravenclaw in a family full of Slytherins, had been more understanding, as was her side of the family.

At Hogwarts, his House-mates mostly avoided him and ignored him, much like the rest of the school. A lot of students didn't trust him because of the family he came from, and the rest of them – mostly Slytherins – saw him as a disgrace. Well – their parents did, and their children had just been instructed not to come anywhere near Scorpius.

Today, it was the first of September, and Scorpius would be going back to Hogwarts for another year spent without friends. He'd just managed to gather all his school supplies when his aunt Daphne entered his room.

Nowadays, Scorpius wasn't 'just' an outcast anymore. He was also an orphan. Well – officially speaking, he was half an orphan. He considered himself lucky that Aunt Daphne had been willing to take him in – mere days after the death of her own sister – seeing as his father 'couldn't deal with him' while he mourned his wife's passing. So, with his mum gone and his dad ignoring him, Scorpius felt more alone than ever before.

"Are you almost ready to go?" his aunt asked him, and he nodded.

"I think I've finished packing. It just won't close."

With a swish of her wand, his aunt easily locked his trunk, and Scorpius followed her downstairs, where his cousin Marcus was already waiting. The two weren't particularly close, considering the fact that Marcus was twelve and Scorpius was fifteen, and Marcus had stayed with his father for most of the time Scorpius had been here. Still, Marcus was the only person who ever acknowledged Scorpius in the school hallways.

"Can we go now?" he asked his mother impatiently.

Scorpius followed them into the living room, from where they'd be Flooing to the platform.

"Scorpius, why don't you go first?" his aunt asked, and Scorpius nodded briefly. She probably wanted a minute alone with her son, who would, most likely, run off as soon as they arrived at the platform.

"Thanks for letting me stay here, Aunt Daphne," he said. "See you at school, Marc." As he Flooed away, he almost missed the frown on his aunt's face. Figuring that it was probably nothing important, he took off towards the train.

Luckily, it was still relatively early, and there were quite a few empty compartments to choose from. Just as Scorpius had managed to put his trunk away, someone was tapping the window.

Hastily opening it, Scorpius exclaimed, "Aunt Daphne! What – "

She rolled her eyes. "Did you really think I would let you leave just like that, Scorp? Come on, get back out here."

Scorpius closed the window again and dashed back out in the hallway and out of the train. Before he could say something, his aunt engulfed him in a hug. "Promise you'll write?" she asked, before letting go of him. "I know you – I know you used to write Astoria, so… unless it doesn't feel right, write me, okay? Maybe it'll be good for you, too."

At the mention of his mum, Scorpius nodded tersely. "I will, Aunt Daphne."

She hugged him again, though he wasn't sure if that was for his comfort or for her own. "It'll all be fine," she whispered in his hair – for now, she was still taller than him, but his growth spurt, Scorpius was aware, was slowly kicking in. "Everything will work out. It will be alright, before you know it. Your dad, he'll – he'll come back around."

"I hope so," Scorpius muttered back. Swallowing, he broke the embrace and smiled weakly. "I really hope so."

His aunt nodded. "I'm sure it will. Now, get back on the train, or your compartment will get taken over by other students."

With one final hug – his dad had never hugged him, no matter the circumstances – Scorpius disappeared back on the train. He waved at his aunt as soon as he got back in his compartment – still void of any other students, thankfully – before she walked off, presumably in search of Marcus.

The train ride went by without a hitch. Before they left King's Cross, a couple of people walked into Scorpius' compartment, but as soon as they saw who was in it, they left again. After a while, he was simply left alone with only his thoughts and memories, as always.

o-o-o-o-o

Two weeks after the start of the year, Scorpius was still being ignored. The first week, a lot of people had sent him pitying and calculating looks when they thought he couldn't see them, but now, they'd stopped doing that. Scorpius was glad they had; these people didn't even like him, so why would he need their pity?

Currently, Scorpius found himself staring at the notice board in the Hufflepuff common room, standing stock-still, with a quill in his hand.

Was he really going to do this?

The murmur in the common room seemed to have faded, and all Scorpius could think of was the notice in front of him – the sign-up sheet.

Yes. He was really going to do this.

He quickly jotted down his name before he could regret it. Glancing at the date at the top, he willed himself to remember it.

It looked like Scorpius Malfoy was going to try out for the Hufflepuff Quidditch team next Saturday.

Moving away from the board, Scorpius breathed in and out slowly. This was really going to happen.

He didn't even like Quidditch all that much, from what he'd seen. Maybe, though, it would be different if he was playing the game, instead of merely watching it.

And even though the Hufflepuff Quidditch team might not be the best in the school, Scorpius did hope that him being on the team – if he made it – and playing Quidditch would bring him and his father a little closer together. Flying, after all, was something his father had always seemed to enjoy doing with him when Scorpius was younger.

Scorpius had already lost his mother, and he wasn't going to let go of his only remaining parent without a fight.

o-o-o-o-o

The next morning – Sunday – Scorpius snuck out of his dorm as quietly as possible, clutching his broom tightly in his hand. He'd asked the head of his House if any team had booked the Quidditch pitch that morning, and as it turned out, it should be free.

However, Scorpius didn't doubt that he wouldn't be the only person practising there. After all, Hufflepuff wasn't the only House that had to hold try-outs for the team.

When Scorpius arrived at the pitch, nobody else was there yet. Good; the more alone time he had, the better.

He climbed on his broom – a Firebolt 360, an older model. After all, it had been given to him by his parents for his eleventh birthday, even though he couldn't actually play Quidditch at Hogwarts until his second year. By then, he'd already become such an outcast that he hadn't bothered showing up at the try-outs. If possible, that had made his father even more disappointed in him than he'd been before.

Until now, the broom had just been lying at the bottom of his trunk. Scorpius hoped it would still work. As he kicked off, he realised that it did. Sometimes, it jerked too far to the left or the right, but Scorpius knew that, if he kept flying for the next few hours, it would soon work like before.

About half an hour later, a new figure came walking towards the pitch. Scorpius couldn't see who it was from where he was, but it didn't really matter. He'd ignore them if they ignored him.

Only, the person on the ground didn't seem to agree with Scorpius.

"Hey!" Scorpius suddenly heard. Glad that he wasn't hoping to become a Beater and had released smaller balls to practise with, Scorpius looked down. "Malfoy? Is that you?"

Bracing himself for the worst, Scorpius slowly flew down until he touched the ground again. Here we go, he thought. Now would be the moment when someone – whoever – came up to him to tell him he shouldn't try out. Why would they want him on the team anyway?

"Malfoy," he heard again. "Are you trying out for the Quidditch team?"

To his surprise, Scorpius didn't hear any disgust or apprehension in the other person's tone, merely confusion and slight disbelief.

"Yes, I am," he replied, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Unless you're here to tell me that I can't, because everyone hates me anyway."

"No," the other boy responded, stopping a few feet away from him. "No, I'm not. I was just surprised to see your name on the list. I take it you want to be a Chaser, then?"

Scorpius nodded, slightly suspicious now. He knew he'd seen this boy around before, and he knew he was on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, but apart from the Hufflepuffs in his year, Scorpius didn't know a lot of names.

"Great!" the boy exclaimed. "At least you can fly. Some of the people who come to try-outs have literally never flown before, except for that one flying lesson in first year."

Scorpius shrugged. "Well, it's been a few years. I'm still a little rusty."

"Well, you've still got a week," the boy said. "Oh – do you even know who I am? Sorry. My grandparents always tell me to introduce myself to people. Louis Weasley."

Oh, right, of course. "You're the Weasley the Sorting Hat placed in Hufflepuff," Scorpius said. He hadn't actually seen it happen, since Louis was a year older than him, but he'd heard about it, mostly from his father and grandfather. Apparently, the Weasleys had taken Louis' Sorting a lot better than the Malfoys had Scorpius'.

"That's me," Louis confirmed. "Now, you're a fifth year, right? Why are you only interested in joining now?"

"That's really none of your business," Scorpius muttered. He didn't want to be rude; it just happened. Louis didn't seem angry, though.

"You're right, it's not," he agreed. "When was your last time on a broom before today? Or is that classified information as well?"

"Before my first year," Scorpius replied, thinking back to the time when his mother was still alive, his father was still proud of him, and they were still a family. He averted his eyes quickly, just in case some tears escaped.

"Want me to help you out?" Louis asked. Scorpius didn't know if he was really oblivious or only pretending to be; either way, he was thankful that the other boy hadn't tried to talk to him about his mother.

"Why would you do that?" he asked. "Are you even allowed to do that? Besides, everyone hates me. Why would they want me on the team?"

Louis shrugged. "As I just said, you're probably going to be one of the best players who show up for try-outs. You're right, you're a little rusty, but I'm sure you can get past that. Also, not everyone hates you. They're just apprehensive, they don't know what to do with you. A Malfoy in Hufflepuff; that's not something that happens often." After a brief pause, he added, "As for whether or not I'm allowed to do this… I'm not the captain, so I don't have much of a say in who joins anyway. Besides… I came here to practise myself. I just happened to see you here, and you helped me practise. That's allowed, I'd think."

Scorpius weighed his options. If he accepted the help, he had a better shot at making the team. If he made the team, maybe his father would want him again. He loved Aunt Daphne, but it wasn't the same; she wasn't actually a parent to him. On the other hand… Malfoys and Weasleys didn't really go together very well. Could he ever trust this guy?

Shoving his doubt aside for now, he nodded. "Okay," he said. "I'll help you out."

o-o-o-o-o

The rest of the week, Louis would always find Scorpius after classes for some more practice. While Scorpius swiftly caught up when it came to flying more quickly, he felt like his aim wasn't all that good yet. The few times they'd tried scoring goals, Scorpius had barely gotten a handful in, and there hadn't even been a Keeper, or Beaters and other Chasers who would try to make him lose the Quaffle.

"I feel like I'm going to be sore all over during try-outs," he muttered on Thursday, as he lay down on the ground. He definitely wasn't used to sitting on a broom for hours.

Louis eyed him critically as he sat down next to him. "Well, I suppose. We usually only practise about two or three times a week, maybe more when there's a match coming. So why don't we practise your throwing a little more today, and then you can take tomorrow off."

"Sounds good to me," Scorpius replied, still lying down. After a minute, he tentatively asked, "Was your family really as okay with you being Sorted into Hufflepuff as everyone said they were?"

Thankfully, Louis didn't question him. "I guess they were," he replied. "They… don't particularly care about Houses. Sure, some of my uncles wouldn't have liked it if their kids had become Slytherins, but… my dad's always said that one is Sorted based on their characteristics, you know? You can't change who you are, so it's really no use getting upset over where you've been Sorted. Of course, I suppose that you have some say in where you're Sorted, but all it says about you when you become a Hufflepuff is that you're more loyal than the average person, or feel like loyalty is more important than other things – that you don't mind working hard for what you want to accomplish. Slytherins aren't necessarily evil; they're just more ambitious than most." He shrugged.

If only Scorpius' father could see things that way. "I'm not really ambitious," Scorpius agreed. "I mean – I want to get on the House team now, and I suppose the 'working hard' thing may overlap with being ambitious…" He frowned. "We're all more alike than we think we are, aren't we?"

Louis nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, I think you're right." Then, he stood up again and dusted off his jeans. "Come on, get up. Enough philosophical chattering for today. I'd like to finish up here before it gets dark and it's dinner time."

o-o-o-o-o

That was something else that still surprised Scorpius. Louis had actually sat with him for dinner on Monday, and a couple of his friends had joined them as well. On Tuesday, no one even gave them a weird glance, and on Wednesday, two of Scorpius' own dorm mates had sat with them.

For the first time in more than four years, Scorpius wasn't automatically ignored anymore. He even found himself, dare he think it, having a good time. Only now did he realise he'd been pretty lonely before.

However, that didn't mean that he let himself get accustomed to it just yet. This had been going on for less than a week; they might just lose their interest in him again soon.

Of course, he hoped that they wouldn't; he didn't really want to go back to being ignored, even though he wasn't used to being talked to so much.

"Why are you doing all this?" he asked Louis as they walked towards breakfast on Friday morning.

"What?" Louis looked legitimately confused.

"I… sort of understand that you wanted to help me practise for the try-outs," Scorpius conceded, "even though you could've easily not done that, and just gone on with your life. But why are all these people suddenly talking to me? Where did you get the idea to sit with me for dinner?"

Louis looked baffled now. "That's what friends do, right? And I guess all those people are talking to you now because they realise that you're not evil, and that… I don't know, being around you isn't going to infect them with whatever they think you have. Also, you might've scared them off before. Some of them seem surprised that you are willing to talk to them."

"Oh." Scorpius hadn't even thought about that.

o-o-o-o-o

Dear Aunt Daphne,

I think I've made a friend. After I wrote to you last week, the sign-up sheet for the Quidditch try-outs was put up. While practising, I was approached by Louis Weasley (please don't mention that to dad yet), who offered to help me out. Ever since, people have actually started talking to me.

The try-outs are tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll get the spot.

I haven't seen Marcus around much, but I'm sure that if something was wrong, I'd hear about it anyway.

Love, Scorpius

o-o-o-o-o

Dear mum,

I miss you.

Dad doesn't want me anymore. Aunt Daphne is wonderful, but it's just not the same.

I tried out for the House Quidditch team today, mum. I think it went well, but some of the others were good, too. I really hope I'll make the team, though. Maybe dad will come around if I do.

And I've made some friends, I think. It's kind of nice.

I really miss you.

All the love in the world,

Scorpius

o-o-o-o-o

Dear father,

It may shock you to hear from me, and I hope you're actually reading this letter. I hope you are doing well.

Recently, I tried out for the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, and I got a spot as Chaser. I know you've always wanted me to be a Seeker, like you, but I hope you can be proud of me anyway. I'm also aware that it's the Hufflepuff team, the House you've always openly looked down on. However, it would mean a lot to me if you could make it to our first match of the season. It's only in November, but I know how full your schedule can be. We're up against Ravenclaw, so you wouldn't have to worry about whether to cheer for us or for your own old House.

Regards,

Your son Scorpius