Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to the prompt or the book.

Stop Right There

Chapter Two

Scorpius

I woke up the first Saturday after arriving back home from Hogwarts to find my parents gone. There was someone in the house, however. My grandfather, Lucius Malfoy, was sitting at the large dining room table in the seat that had always been my father's. He was holding a letter that had no doubt been delivered this morning after my parents had left.

When he noticed me, standing shocked in the doorway, he looked me up and down sternly. "Scorpius." He said, curtly.

"Where are my parents?" I asked without bothering to greet him. My father's father had never seemed to like me much – he didn't seem to like anything much except money – and I, in turn had no affection towards him.

He ignored my question, instead choosing to lecture me on the "proper pureblood way" of greeting an elder. When I had properly greeted him, he regarded me with a disappointed gaze.

"Befriending blood-traitors, Scorpius?" he asked, holding up the letter. "Don't you have any pureblood Slytherin friends? If you insist on being friends with half bloods at least have the decency to choose ones of good family. Not those horrible muggle-loving Weasleys."

I glared at him, realizing whom the letter must be from. "Can I have my letter?" I asked, knowing that after what he had just said, he probably would not give it back.

Sneering at me, he began reading my letter in a high mocking voice.

"Dear Scorpius, how's your summer been so far? Anything exciting happen? We went to visit Mum's parents, they're muggle dentists…" He stopped there, shaking his head in disgust.

"Give me my letter." I repeated in vain. My grandfather looked up at me, smirked, and put the letter into his pocket.

"You should be very careful who your friends are."

One Month Later

"Hey, Malfoy!" It was Calvin Bole, hollering at me to come over to were he, Herman Goyle, and Alexander Zabini were all lounging in the grass. I was at his birthday party not by my own choosing, however, but because his parents had invited all the children of wealthy Slytherin families.

I sighed and started toward him, knowing that I would probably be the center of one of their horrible jokes.

"Yes, Bole?" I answered, copying his use of last names. The two boys beside him tried to hide their grins, as I approached- now I knew for sure that there would be something highly unpleasant in store for me.

"So, Malfoy," Zabini started, "You and that Weasley girl, you're together then?"

That was the last thing I had ever expected one of them to say. I'm sure my mouth was hanging open because Goyle and Bole started laughing like idiots. "What?" I managed to say.

Zabini smirked. "You and that Weasley girl." He repeated, "I mean, why else would you hang around with scum like her?"

"Malfoy and Weasley! Malfoy and Weasley!" coursed the other two in loud, boisterous voices that I was sure carried to the adults who were enjoying tea on the other side of the lawn.

I glared at them, all my anger at my grandfather's bigotry and their teasing and strangely…at Rose for causing all of it came flooding out, "Why would I like her? Her whole family is full of blood traitors and her mother's a mudblood! She's just a stupid Gryffindor."

Present

When I entered the Great Hall for breakfast on the first day of term, Rose Weasley was standing, arms crossed, between the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables. "Scorpius, you are not going to ignore me again!" she hissed as she followed me toward the Slytherin table. I ignored her.

She grabbed my arm and I ripped it out of her grasp. Stupid Gryffindor. Stupid Gryffindor. I kept repeating in my mind.

Behind me, I heard her stumble and I knew my action must have surprised her. I had never lashed out at Rose before. She recovered quickly, however, and I stopped suddenly when she blocked my path. We were in front of my table at that moment and people were starting to stare.

"Get out of my way." I said softly as she glared at me.

"No." She replied, "Not until you tell me what the hell is going on. You didn't return any of the owls Al and I sent you and now you just expect me to not talk to you? I thought we were friends, but you've got a pretty weird way of showing it."

"We're not friends." I coldly responded. I had had enough of her and everyone else, "I could never be friends with a Gryffindor, much less a Weasley. Your whole family is just obsessed with muggles aren't they? I mean, you even go to visit them over summer- those muggle dentists or whatever they're called."

Rose looked surprised and angry, but I kept talking, "I'm not your friend. I never really was to tell you the truth. Come on, I was just a stupid first year who didn't really know anyone. Did you honestly believe that a pureblood Slytherin like me could ever go down and be friends with you? I don't know who you're kidding- smartest witch in our year. You don't even know which people aren't your friends."

With that, I walked to my table and sat beside Timothy Nott.