Scorpius Malfoy was an annoying, self-important little specimen, but he played the piano more instinctively than any eight-year-old beginner Aurelia Balogh had taught. She reasoned that several of history's greatest musicians had eccentric and even unpleasant personalities.
"You say you saw people playing the piano in a shop?" She asked him.
"Yes, a big music shop in Paris. I liked staying and listening to them play better than going to Mum's fashion shows, and then I decided I wanted to play, so I asked Father to buy me a piano. He didn't want to, so he got me a big old record player instead…I don't know if you listen to records…I don't think most people do..."
"No, I don't."
He rambled on, "My Mum just listens to the radio. Father likes it quiet, and so do Grandmother and Grandfather, but Mum says the piano might sound nice if I can play it better. I made Father buy me a real piano, like this one, because the record player wasn't fun anymore—"
"A piano like this one? A grand?" Aurelia asked, incredulous.
"Yes, and it says Steinway squiggly Sons on the front like this, except in silver not gold."
Aurelia had saved for years for her piano, and that blonde man had spontaneously bought one for his eight-year-old? She felt horrified and a bit jealous.
"We put it up in one of my rooms on the top floor; Grandfather never comes up there because his knees are getting bad."
"What does your grandfather have against the piano?"
"It's not the piano itself...he just wouldn't like me taking lessons from...um..."
Oh, Aurelia understood. They saw something wrong with her. Was it her Hungarian ancestry? Or being a woman? "Is your grandfather prejudiced against something?" She bluntly asked.
"Yeah...Mum says we just have to humor him. Sometimes we lie to him...I'm not really supposed to talk about it. But he won't know that I'm taking lessons. Anyway, I have to take lessons, because I've tried for weeks and I can't figure out how to play any really great music by myself."
Aurelia started to feel sorry for this boy. At least it sounded like his mother was half decent. His story was so extravagant Aurelia forgot that she ought to interrupt him to make better use of the lesson time. Instead she listened on.
"Father bought me some music written on parchment but I don't know how to read it. He was really annoying about letting me take lessons, I had to get mad a lot, but he gave in." Scorpius smiled as if he was to be congratulated, then put his fingers on the keys again and started plunking notes.
"That's...well, I'm glad you are so interested in playing the piano. Stop playing please. Thank you. It is very enjoyable, but it will take a lot of dedicated practice. Will you practice every day?"
"Yes, I love it!"
"Yes, that's good, but I should warn you that the magic wears off."
Scorpius almost jumped off the seat. His eyes wide, he shouted, "It is magic! I told Father and Mother it had to be magic; there was no way people could remember all those notes and play them so fast...but my piano is new, it won't wear off for a long time, will it?"
Aurelia stared at him. Wasn't eight too old to still believe in magic? Apparently not for weird, obscenely rich children. "No, I don't mean that the piano is really magic. In fact that is the opposite of what I mean. The only way you can learn is by consistent, hard work and it won't always seem exciting and fun. It is fun and it is worth it, but I want you to know that it will take time and a lot of practice. Can you do that?"
Scorpius looked disappointed, but he nodded. "Yeah, I will practice every day."
"Very good. Now let's get out an exercise book and start learning."
After half an hour, Scorpius had some exercises to practice, and his attention span was spent. His father had said that he would pick Scorpius up in an uncertain 'hour or so,' so Aurelia suggested that he sit on a chair and listen to CDs while he waited. She needed to change her laundry.
"Ok!" Said Scorpius as he ran to the shelf of CDs. "I'm thirsty, I'd like a cup of milk now."
"Say please."
With a glare, he said "please," and turned to pick out a CD, but when she returned he had not put one in the player.
"This is so cute! It's like a shiny little record. Where do I put it?"
"Open this lid here. Here is your milk."
"I don't want a red cup, I want a green cup."
"Next time I'll have you get it for yourself. Here it is in a red cup."
"Is this one good? Masterpieces of Antonin Dolohov…no, D-vor-ack?"
"Dvorak, yes, that is one of my favorites. It's not piano music, it's symphonic."
"Oh, which ones are piano music?"
"These, here, Gottschalk is always fun. Now I need to go do laundry."
"Make it play for me, I don't know how."
"Please?"
"Ugh. Please!"
Aurelia started the music and left the room.
Twenty minutes later she checked on Scorpius. He was sitting under the piano with his eyes closed, tapping his fingers on his knees in time to the music.
"You like this, hmm?"
"Yes! It sounds like a parade of pegasuses...pegasi...or are they just pegasus?"
"I don't know the plural of pegasus, but the song is called 'Grande Tarantelle'."
"And what was the name of the one before this? I liked that one the best; it sounded like a big lot of dancing house elves."
"House elves? Very imaginative...the song was called 'The Banjo', though I have never heard anything as good as that song played on a real banjo."
"What's a banjo?"
"A string instrument...listen, I am going to water the plants on my back porch, so stay here. Hopefully your father will be here soon."
"May I have this record?"
"Have it? No, sorry, it's mine."
"But I like it. May I borrow it?"
"No, I'm afraid I stopped lending things to students a long time ago, too many things got lost."
Scorpius pouted. "I need to listen to these songs again."
"Well, I'm sure your parents can afford to get you a recording of them. If not, you can look them all up on YouTube anyway these days."
"What is you tube?"
"Goodness! I thought I was old-fashioned! Do you have internet on a computer at home?"
"No..." Scorpius said, frustrated.
Aurelia sighed. "Well, ask your parents to buy you an album of Louis Moreau Gottschalk."
Scorpius screwed up his face and looked ready to cry. "They won't! Father said he won't buy any more music stuff. It's so stupid!"
"Actually that sounds entirely sensible. You will just have to do without it. You can't have everything you want all at once you know."
Scorpius took a deep breath and held it, puffing out his cheeks and turning red.
The power blinked and went out: lights, stereo, and all.
"There. Now may I have the little record?" He demanded, as if the power outage had something to do with it.
"No, and if you are going to keep being upset I will have you wait out on the pavement."
Scorpius strode over to the stereo, and before Aurelia could stop him, took out the CD and snapped it in quarters. He looked up at her defiantly, and she just stared at him. What was the 'calm, in control teacher' supposed to say to that?
"Outside. Go outside. Your father will be here soon."
She watched him pocket the pieces of CD as he walked down the hallway and out the door. He sat down on the doorstep. Aurelia kept an eye on him as she began sweeping the hall. Bouncy strains of 'The Banjo' ran in her head, mocking her frustration.
Then she saw the boy's father walking up toward the house. She took his stack of money and went to have a word with him.
"Mr. Malfoy, is it?"
"Yes it is, Madame. Scorpius, stand up, let's go. We will come back this time next week."
"Actually, Mr. Malfoy, I won't be teaching Scorpius, so here is your money back."
The boy looked aghast.
"Is it not a good time of day?" Mr. Malfoy asked.
"Well, afternoons would be preferable, but the truth is that I require a higher level of self-control and courtesy. Your son broke a CD of mine, on purpose, and I don't like that sort of behavior. It's a shame, since he does seem to have a talent for music, but I would suggest trying again in a year or two."
"He broke something of yours?" Mr. Malfoy frowned at his son, who took the pieces of CD out of his pocket.
"A CD, yes."
"I'm very sorry. We will have it repaired for you, but I hope you will let him—"
Aurelia interrupted him with a humorless laugh. "Who do you know that repairs shattered CDs? Really, I am starting to wonder..."
The man was reaching into a pocket. Aurelia felt suddenly nervous, and took a step back from the door. Then everything went fuzzy. She blinked.
"Sorry, Mr. Malfoy, you said this time next week?"
"Yes, and here is your CD." He handed it back to her. She wondered if there had been a problem with it.
"Thank you."
"And thank you. Come, Scorpius."
"Have a good week! Practice!"
Scorpius smiled back at Aurelia as she watched him walk away—a delightful, normal boy from a delightful, normal family. She looked forward very much to teaching him.
Notes:
That was fun to write! Haha, in terms of my own enjoyment I think it has been my favorite short fic to write so far. Maybe because I listened to a lot of music while writing...
I don't play the piano much myself but I have taught some violin lessons.
Scorpius gets nicer as he gets older, partly from Aurelia's influence. (You can read more about him in the story Malfoys, Weasleys, and Underestimated Magic.)