Title: Rock Bottom
Rating: T
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Scorpius/Lily Luna
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em - not making any money off 'em. Dern it.
Word Count: 1,145
Summary: Scorpius hits rock bottom.
Notes:

The Great 2016 Cotillion Challenge

Year Long Scavenger Hunt: D38. Write about a teenager being orphaned

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry: Magical and Mundane Literature – Task 2 – Write about someone who refuses to assist those in need, and the consequences of those actions. Prompts -(Pairing) Lily Luna/Scorpius / (Action) Asking for help

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry: Advent Calendar – For Lexi

Fourteen-year-old Alexia Zabini went to Scorpius after her first heartbreak. "It hurts," she whispered.

Scorpius simply stared at his best friend. "What do you want me to do about it?"

Alexia shook her head, unable to comprehend Scorpius's aloofness. "How about try being my friend? He broke my heart. You must know what that feels like."

Scorpius shrugged. "I never had my heart broken, so I don't think I'm the right person to help you. Sorry."

He didn't sound very sorry, though, and a distraught Alexia watched Scorpius walk away from her, even as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Mr. Malfoy, could you possibly help your classmate, Ashter, with the next Herbology assignment?"

Scorpius turned his attention away from Professor Longbottom to stare at Ashter. The other boy was absolutely hopeless in the subject, and Scorpius doubted he would be able to do much to get him up to speed.

He told his professor that.

"You can at least try," Professor Longbottom sternly admonished.

"Do I have to?"

"Yes," Professor Longbottom answered assertively.

Scorpius sighed. The next day, he met up with Ashter, but he didn't do much to help. He told Ashter to read the chapter in the textbook and then worked on his own homework.

He ignored all of Ashter's questions until the Hufflepuff finally got it and left him alone.

He didn't care if he got reproached by Professor Longbottom. If Scorpius though Ashter had any talent in Herbology whatsoever, he might have helped. There was no point when Scorpius knew Ashter wouldn't get any better, though.

Why help a lost cause?

Other incidents happened. Scorpius was asked to help and he made excuses about why he couldn't.

He didn't mean to be rude or mean in his refusal, but most of the time, he just couldn't be bothered to be a Good Samaritan.

Eventually, when they realized he wouldn't do stuff for his friends, even when they did stuff for him, he began losing them.

And the only one he could blame was himself.

Still, he didn't realize how utterly alone he was until something happened—one of the worse experiences in his whole life actually.

"I need help," Scorpius whimpered, staring beseechingly at his once best friend, Alexia.

Alexia, now sixteen, raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "Why should I help you?"

"Because we're best friends?"

Alexia scoffed, "Best friends? Please. When was the last time you did anything worthy of the title of best friend?"

Scorpius shook his head. "My mother died two years ago. And now my father is dead. How can you be so cold-hearted?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Me? Cold-hearted? That's rich coming from you. Where were you when my brother was in the hospital a year ago? You couldn't be bothered, remember? And yet, you expect me to drop everything for you? You're a selfish bastard, Scorpius Malfoy, and frankly, I think you deserve everything you get."

Scorpius watched her walk away, and for the first time in his life, he realized his actions or inactions, as the case might be, had consequences.

And he had never felt more alone.

For the next week, Scorpius stayed in his home. It was the home he lived his whole life. His parents were dead. He couldn't remember the last time he saw his grandparents, as they never approved of the way he had been raised.

He was an orphan.

He didn't even have any friends. He hadn't been a true friend to them and now they wanted nothing to do with him.

He had a lot of time to think since the confrontation with Alexia, and it made him realize she was right. He was a selfish bastard, and he deserved this. If anyone deserved to be alone, it was Scorpius.

The funeral happened ten days after the confrontation between him and Alexia. Scorpius put on his most formal black robes.

He didn't expect anyone to be there as the Malfoys were still not a popular family, even though it was years since the war.

He was surprised when he saw another family there—the Potters. He walked up to them. "Mr. Potter, I have to admit, I didn't expect your presence today."

Harry Potter smiled sadly. "Although Draco and I were never friends, I do believe he changed for the better, and I know he loved you more than he loved anyone else in the world."

Scorpius looked down. "My father did everything for me," he quietly agreed.

"When are your friends expected to arrive?"

"Dad," Lily hissed.

Scorpius looked at her, and he just knew that she was aware of the state of his friendships. "It's okay," he murmured to her. He then looked at Mr. Potter. "Due to the fact that I'm a lousy friend, it seems that I'm without friends, and I don't believe any of them are planning to come today."

"What about your grandparents?"

"I haven't seen them in years. I did send them a letter about my father's passing, but he had a bad falling out with my grandfather about how he was raising me; my grandfather didn't approve of his parenting methods. So, I'm not sure if he'll come. Thank you for joining me today, though."

Scorpius turned around and walked to the front. He was surprised to feel a soft hand slip into his.

Lily stared at him, her pretty emerald eyes sparkling with sadness. "Listen, you made mistakes. And you're being punished for it by not having that much support, but I believe you're a good person that just lost his way. My dad and mum taught me that everyone deserves a chance to right their wrongs once they come to terms with the fact they were wrong. My dad gave your dad a chance to prove he can learn from his mistakes, and your dad did prove it by becoming a respectable member of society. Well, I'm going to give you a chance to prove you can be a good friend who believes friendship isn't a one way street."

Scorpius blinked after she finished the long speech. All he could think about was saying, "Thank you."

Neither of them expected that chance to blossom into more, but two years ago, when Scorpius was eighteen, and Lily was seventeen, not only did Scorpius have a new best friend in Albus, but he had a girlfriend in Lily.

And she had been right.

He did learn what it meant to be a friend, and he made sure if Albus every asked for help, he did everything he could to provide it.

And Lily supported him along the way, teaching him the right way to behave when he faltered.

He wasn't sure what he would have done without Lily and her family. In fact, he was pretty sure the Potters saved him from a lifetime of loneliness and misery.