Disclaimer: I do not own any of this Harry Potter stuff. I am simply a hardcore fan who wants to be a nerd and write a fanfic. everything belongs to J. K. Rowling (except my OCs)

For my lovely sister, Henry, who sat beside me when I was little, pencil and paper in hand, for hours upon hours, helping me with my alphabet. (Though I'm positive I would have learned it anyhow, and I'm sure Mom or Dad helped/taught me as well, I like to think of you as the person who handed me my future: 26 letters, and the ability to string them into words.)

I personally love this quote by Mark Twain, so I was excited when it fit the chapter. The song Stand or Fall is by Janick Thibault. find him on facebook or Youtube.

-hope you guys like this, and that it lives up to your expectations. sorry about the lack of plot so far - though it is only the 2nd chapter - I promise the next one will have more meat to it. I just needed some more exposition, you know, to let you get to know Scorpius a little better (hopefully your opinion of him will not change negatively).

"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."

-Mark Twain

Stand or Fall

Scorpius winced as another spell struck his chest. He didn't exactly know what spell it was, but it exploded from Yaxley's wand in a shower of red sparks and left his entire torso stinging. Probably a stunning spell of some kind. It also propelled his back through the compartment door - which Flint and Rowle had conveniently opened.

He hit the opposite compartment door, narrowly managing not to fall right through the glass, and crumpled to the ground, gasping and clutching his chest. Rowle let out a chuckle from his position by the door, and Axiom giggled delightedly from her seat.

Scorpius felt the anger rising in him again, but it wasn't until he saw Yaxley's sallow, pointed face rising into a grin that he really got enraged. It was this grin that propelled him back onto his feet and made him yank his wand from his pocket.

"Rictusempra!" he yelled, his wand pointed at Yaxley's chest. The spell sent Yaxley flying back into his group of lackeys. The boy lay, sprawled across the seat, stunned for a moment, until he was able to shake it off. "You'll pay for that one, Malfoy!" he spat, rubbing his shoulder and standing.

Scorpius smiled. "Really? Cuz here I was thinking: Stupefy!"

Yaxley staggered, but somehow managed to block the spell and keep his footing. He glared at Scorpius with livid brown eyes. He raised his wand but then winced, clutching his shoulder. Scorpius hoped it was dislocated. "Get him!" he yelled.

For a moment Scorpius didn't understand, and he glanced around the room, confused. Two pairs of hands seized him; grabbing his arms and yanking his wand from his hand. "Hey!" he exclaimed, trying to twist free. He glanced from Flint's face, to Rowle's, then to his wand which was now in Axiom's possession. "What the-"

Scorpius gasped as Yaxley's fist collided with his nose. Light shot across his vision, and he felt his nose break. "Merlin's beard!" he gasped. He could feel blood flowing down his face, again. "Give a guy a-" Yaxley grinned, driving his fist into Scorpius' ribs. A lightning bolt of pain spasmed through his torso - which was already sore from Yaxley's spells - and he doubled over, held up only by Minion 1 and Minion 2. "-chance!" he finished.

Yaxley stood back, laughing, and cracked his knuckles. "Alright, let him go." Flint and Rowle released him, shoving him back into the compartment.

Scorpius leaned against the door, clutching his chest which throbbed. Blood dripped into his mouth and he spat it onto the floor, glaring around the room. "You know," he said, wiping at his nose. "there's only one thing I hate more than wimps who can't fight their own battles." He shot a look at Yaxley who was still laughing. "And that's a bunch of spineless toadstools like you guys who blindly follow on asshole like him." Scorpius felt every eye focused on him as he straightened up and pointed a finger at Yaxley.

Axiom's grin had faded and she was glaring at him like he was an insect she wanted to squish. Two fourth years were watching Yaxley's face worriedly - which was turning an angry purple color - and Flint was scratching his head confusedly, probably wondering what a toadstool was. The Zabini twins had long since abandoned their chess game, and Calyx was watching Scorpius with a thoughtful expression.

"Face it, Yaxley," Scorpius continued. "You're just as pathetical as those muggles." Every head in the room snapped to attention at the word, and every eye slowly turned to Yaxley. Yaxley looked murderous. Scorpius smiled. "What? Did I hurt your feelings?" he taunted, watching Yaxley step closer to him, his wand clutched in his hand. "I thought that since you call other people muggle you wouldn't mind being called it yourself."

"You're walking a thin line here, Malfoy," Yaxley spat, creeping closer. "You better watch your step."

Scorpius rolled his eyes; he'd heard this threat hundreds of times. "Or you'll do what? Bore me to death?"

Yaxley moved so swiftly that Scorpius barely knew what hit him. In the back of his mind, he knew that the boy would probably curse him, but he hadn't expected him to just attack. Yaxley's fist smacked into his jaw, and Scorpius went reeling backwards; he fell through the open compartment door and straight through the glass of the opposite door.

Scorpius landed on the floor amid a shower of glass and an explosion of screams. He lay, sprawled flat on his stomach with his face buried in the carpet, trying to figure out if anything was broken. Behind him he could hear the laughter of his fellow Slytherins.

Moving slowly, gingerly, Scorpius managed to push himself up onto his knees amid the shards of glass and glance around him. For a moment he thought maybe his eyes were playing tricks on him, and he blinked furiously trying to fix his vision. But no, there they were: six or seven red-haired girls, all staring wide-eyed at him from their seats, looking almost identical to each other in their shock. One girl looked ready to faint from surprise, and another, sitting on Scorpius' right, had drawn her knees to her chest to avoid him as he fell.

Scorpius glanced from red-haired girl, to red-haired girl, sighing and shaking his head. "Figures," he muttered to himself, dusting off his hands. Of all the compartments he could have been pushed through, it had to be full of Gryffindors, and Weasleys at that. His father had told him all about the infamous family: purebloods that married into mudblood families; blood-traitors that had way too many kids to take care of. They were one of the many wizarding families who hated the Malfoys for their role in the Second Wizarding War, and had wanted his grandfather and father sent to Azkaban.

"Are you okay?" one little girl asked, her eyes wide and anxious. She held out a handkerchief to him. "Here, your face is bleeding."

Scorpius glared at the girl; he didn't need some first year's help. "No thanks," he replied curtly. "I'll just use magic, like a normal wizard." The girl's arm dropped back down to her side, and she hung her head looking embarrassed and crest-fallen. A pin-prick of guilt struck Scorpius, but he pushed it aside, momentarily preoccupied with finding his wand. Where had he…? Of course, Axiom had it. He cursed under his breath and stood slowly, brushing slivers of glass from his attire.

"Sorry about the mess," he said sarcastically as he moved to the doorway. His eyes met the little girl's and he smiled. "but I'm sure you can probably sweep it up with that hanky, or something." The girl's face turned beet-red, and Scorpius turned sharply on his heel. He knew his father would be proud, but somehow it felt wrong: tormenting little kids. They weren't, after all, responsible for what their parents had done, just as he was not responsible for what his grandparents had done. Still, it felt good to vent some of his anger, and it was expected of him anyways.

Yaxley and the others were waiting for him when he emerged from the other compartment, and even though there was still anger in Yaxley's eyes, Scorpius thought he detected a slight glimmer of admiration; they had all clearly heard what he'd said to the Weasley girl.

Yaxley gazed at Scorpius, grinning. "So, did I bore you to death enough, or do I need to kick your ass some more?"

Scorpius looked calmly back into Yaxley's eyes. "No. I think we've done enough ass kicking for one today. I'm free tomorrow though." He let a grin spread across his face, delighting in the look of pure hate on Yaxley's face.

"Enough, Scorpius," Cobalt muttered, watching Yaxley's face. "You've made your point."

"Actually," Scorpius retorted, turning to the other boy, "now that you mention it, I don't think I am done. I mean, I still have so many people to insult: your dad, Rowle's dad, Flint's dad…wow, we all seem to have daddy issues, don't we?"

Cobalt's face hardened into a glare and his hands formed fists at his sides. "You don't know anything-" he began.

Calyx put her hand comfortingly on her twin brother's shoulder, cutting him off and silencing him. "Stop it, Scorpius," she said. "It's really not funny anymore."

"It was never funny," snapped a boy in the corner. His dark eyes were fixed on Scorpius, and his mouth had formed a hard line. He looked like a dementor, sitting where he was in the shadow of the window, with the collar of his jacket pulled up to his ears and his black hair hanging around his ears.

"Oh hey!" Scorpius replied, smiling. "I didn't see you there, Davonte. How's it going?"

Davonte Drake had been a central part of the Slytherin's group since they were first years, but the boy was hardly ever near them, so to speak. He was a big, daunting guy who kept to himself and instilled a subconscious fear in everyone he laid eyes on - or anyone that laid eyes on him - just simply by existing.

The boy scrunched his face into a glare; Scorpius, though he had known Davonte for nearly six years, felt himself shrink back a little, feeling intimidated. "Shut up," the boy snapped. It wasn't a warning or a suggestion. It was a command. Without another glance at anyone around him, the boy turned back to the window and acted as if he'd never spoken. That was the thing about Davonte; he could appear out of nowhere and end an argument with one word, then just as easily fade back into the wallpaper.

Scorpius sighed, working his jaw angrily. "You know, somehow, I just don't feel like taking orders today. It just feels like a argument kind of day, you know?" He was babbling, talking to no one in particular. "I just feel like punching someone really hard…"

"I'm really tired of your crap, Malfoy." It was Yaxley again, glaring at him and talking in a reproachful voice. "So either shut up, or I'll blow your head off, okay?"

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "You can't blow my head off."

"Really?" Yaxley raised his eyebrows. "And why is that? Because your daddy would hunt me down and kill me? Because you'll magically get your wand back and curse me yourself?" He chuckled under his breath, shaking his head in disbelief. Scorpius watched him with hate-filled eyes. "Have you forgotten?" the other boy continued. "Your family is no longer at the top. They went against the Dark Lord. You're not the head boy anymore, Malfoy."

Yaxley spoke the word Malfoy like it was the name of a disgusting street rat that he was cursing. Scorpius clenched his fists at his sides, trying to withstand the urge to punch the other boy. His nails dug into the palms of his hands and he took a deep breath.

The other boy's eyes flickered to Scorpius' hands, and he smiled, knowing that he was getting under his skin. "Heck, you're not even second or third in command anymore. You lost your spot when you became blood-traitors. Your family is no better than street trash now. You're no better than muggles."

The anger inside of him had reached such a high degree that it suddenly dissipated and left behind it a strange calm. Scorpius back at the Yaxley for a long moment, letting the anger settle and seethe. Yaxley's eyes were full of self-admiration; he was probably proud of himself for being able to think up those insults. "Touché," he said finally, flashing a fake smile of admiration. It took Yaxley off guard; the other boy had expected him to be livid. Scorpius could see the obvious disappointment in his eyes.

He took a step towards Yaxley, his hand extended. The other boy flinched and moved backwards a step, expecting an attack, but Scorpius ignored it and continued forward until he stood directly in front of Yaxley, with only his hand between them. You could have heard a unicorn hair drop, it was that quiet; everyone had stopped what they were doing to see what would happen next. Slowly, as if expecting a trap, Yaxley took Scorpius' hand and shook it.

"I've got to say, Yaxley, you've gotten awful good at those insults," Scorpius continued, smiling wider. "I mean, that was pretty crafty, how you threw in that muggle comment. I'm not sure if I can up that one."

Yaxley gazed at him, uncertain, then finally smiled back. "Yeah, well, you did pretty well yourself."

Inside, Scorpius laughed. God, how thick was this guy? Outside, he was all business. "Well, what do you say we call it even then? I insulted you, you insulted me. We're all square?"

Yaxley frowned, deliberating, his hand still shaking Scorpius'. "Okay," he answered finally, looking slightly uncertain.

"No hard feelings?"

"No hard feelings."

Scorpius smiled, clasping the other boy's shoulder warmly. "Good, good."

Yaxley nodded, glancing away, ready to turn to reclaim his seat. Scorpius took a sudden, swift step backward and pulled his arm back; snapping it forward and socking Yaxley in the face as hard as he could.

Yaxley fell to the floor, grasping his nose which gushed blood. Axiom screamed in shock.

Scorpius laughed. "How about now?" he asked.

so, how did you like it?

please review. give me some feedback please, please, please. and if you have any fav quotes or songs, go ahead and post that as well, and they might even get a spot at the top of a future chapter (and you'll get a little shout out as well). also, any ideas for plots would be appreciated. I'm not saying it'll be set in stone, but I like fresh ideas to get my creativity going.

Little bit of Trivia: The spell Rictusempra is actually also known as The Tickling Charm. It causes an extreme tickling sensation that makes the person laugh uncontrollably. Possibly the sum of two words; The Latin rictus, meaning "The expanse of an open mouth", and semper, meaning "Always". Rictus is generally used as an expression of terror, however, "always an open mouth" would, in most cases, correspond to the act of laughing uncontrollably. It was used by Harry Potter in the second movie (and maybe book) on Draco Malfoy in the Dueling Club. (i didn't think Draco was laughing)

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