"I wrote my grandfather and explained to him about your dad. He's helped me for years with stuff like this."
"How did you know about my dad anyway?" Simon wondered. "And the Morgans? How did you know about all that?"
Scorpius shrugged. "I saw it. I saw your memories."
Simon looked mortified. "All of them?"
"Only the ones that matter," Scorpius answered seriously.
"So… So you saw what the M-Morgans did then?" Simon faltered. His lips quivered.
Scorpius's eyes fell down to the book in front of him. "I seen enough to know that you're not going back there. Ever. I don't care what I must do to make it happen."
"You're just a kid, Scorpius," Simon said after several moments of an uncomfortable silence. "You can't stop things from happening."
"The amulet is going to help me, and it's going to help you."
Even though Simon had been told of all the things the amulet had done, he was still in doubt that he could be saved.
"I sure hope you're right," he said quietly, wishing it were true.
"That's a start, Simon," Scorpius told him, setting a hand on his shoulder. "Hope; together, you, the amulet and I are going to get you all the help you need."
Because if it didn't, who knew what would happen to Simon after the year was up, and Scorpius was not going to let him go back there. No matter what. Even if he had to hide Simon away for two months during the summer.
*/*
"Flying lessons are today," Simon announced a few days later.
"I know," Scorpius acknowledged simply.
"You've missed two lessons of it so far," Dallas noted as the group of friends settled in their seats for their Defense Against the Dark Arts class.
"Yeah," Warren chimed in, taking out his book. "You're missing out on all the fun, Scorpius! Flying is great!"
"I'm beginning to think you're afraid of doing it," Dallas whispered so the other students outside their group wouldn't hear.
"Scared?" Warren gasped in disbelief. His jaw dropped. "Are you really? I thought you only had an upset stomach?"
They watched Scorpius square off his shoulders and stare ahead of the class where Professor Bulstrode was writing on the blackboard. They had been learning about vampires recently, and today there was going to be an exam on them.
"My stomach was ill," Scorpius confirmed. He just didn't explain that it was ill with fear.
He didn't have to either.
"You can't just not go, Scorpius," Edgar insisted. Since he had known Scorpius for all his life, he was well aware of Scorpius's fear of flying. "Hooch is going to figure it out eventually."
"And so are the other first years!" Warren added, quickly looking around the room. "Just imagine what they'll think when they find out— it'll be all over the school! Scorpius the Ninny!"
Scorpius didn't care what the other students thought of him, it wasn't like he was the only one with fears. There was a rumour floating around that a girl in Ravenclaw was scared of a sock!
"What are you scared of anyway?" Simon asked. "Falling? Heights?"
"I just don't like it. Now please, the lesson is about to start, and we need to pay attention to the professor."
Edgar scoffed. "It isn't going to be about anything you don't already know— besides, she's giving us an exam today, so they'll be no actual lesson!"
"Good afternoon, students," Professor Bulstrode stood in front of her large desk, stopping Dallas from adding to Edgar's statement. "You will not need your books today. Just your pots of ink and quills.
A pile of papers rose up from the desk behind her and began dividing itself into several smaller piles. Each one was delicately placed in front of a student.
"I trust you have spent the last couple days refreshening your knowledge on vampires. To ensure that you have, you will complete the exam in front of you. Each one is a little different, so cheating will be more harder to do, but I will dock five points for every whisper that I hear and any peeking I see— Questions?"
Sally Farley, who had been sorted into the same house as Scorpius, raised her hand. "If we fail, may we retake the test at a later time?"
"The test is simple enough, but should you indeed fail, contact one of your prefects; they will suggest a tutor if they can not help you themselves. There are also a few of your fellow first years who could help you too, but you already know this.
"This will not exactly count toward your actual grade," Professor Bulstrode continued, "but your scores will alert me on which of you may need additional help. If you find you are struggling with grasping anything that I teach, you are welcome to ask me for help."
"Thank you, Professor." Sally relaxed a little, happy with the answer. She tucked her golden brown hair behind her ears and closed her eyes in preparation for the test.
Warren rolled his eyes, making Edgar hold back a laugh. Sally always had to ask a question, and some of the others thought she did it for strict attention. Scorpius didn't think anything was wrong with double checking what the professors expected though.
"Don't tease her like that," he whispered.
"Mr. Granger-Malfoy, did you forget what I just said already?" Professor Bulstrode demanded. Her thick unibrow crinkled in disapproval. "You just lost your house five points!"
"Sorry, ma'am." Scorpius said, looking down at his papers, thumbing the corner of the top sheet. Behind him, Sally huffed out, irritated that he had lost their house points. She took the house points much too seriously.
"You have twenty minutes, class. Begin now."
Scorpius hurried through the test, knowing the answers without even having to pause to think on them. He finished before everyone else and took his work to the professor.
"Um, Professor Bulstrode…" He fiddled nervously with his tiny bunch of papers, having not yet set it on the desk.
"Yes?"
"I think I need to see Madam Abbot; my stomach is sick."
The Professor's eyes rose up from where she had been writing, giving Scorpius a look over. "You seem fine to me, Mr. Granger-Malfoy," she said, scribbling something down on the parchment.
"I feel like I'm going to hurl my lunch…" he explained, rubbing his gurgling belly. "I don't think it's agreeing with the dressing I had on my salad."
Professor Bulstrode sat back in her chair, pursing her lips. She drew out a drawer to her desk and took out a card, signing her name on it. "Your pass, Mr. Granger-Malfoy." She held it out for him to take, but when Scorpius went to grab it, she didn't release her grip on it. "This is the last one I'm writing you, young man. Make sure Madam Abbott cures you of your illness."
Scorpius gave her a weak smile, embarrassed that she seemed to know that he didn't just have a sick stomach. "Yes, Professor," he acknowledged.
"This is the third time you've been here over the same issue!" Madam Abbot waved a wand over him worried. "You haven't caught anything." She then set her hands on her hips, giving him a look with narrowed eyes. "You're not eating enough though!"
"I haven't been all too hungry," Scorpius informed her, scratching at an itch on his thigh.
"Mmhm." She went over to a shelf and delicately removed two potions. Scorpius knew what they were. He took them from her when she offered them.
"Take one sip of the green one right before every meal, and that will take care of your lack for hunger."
"Thank you, Madam," he said, pocketing it into his robes.
"The other one will help your stomach ache, you may take that now."
Scorpius downed the potion quickly, knowing it had a horrid flavour. When he was finished, he handled her the empty vial so it could be washed and reused. The potion was already making his stomach feel better.
"Thanks. It's okay now."
He was released then, but Scorpius knew by the time he got down to where the Flying lesson was being held, it would be over and done with (which was partially why he made it known that he was having stomach aches. It was a valid excuse to avoid from having to get on a broom).
Scorpius went to the Charms classroom instead and waited outside the door for the current class to end. It would be his next class.
*/*
"Why do you dress like that?!" Talli demanded, glaring at a woman who had on green face makeup, an ugly, fake nose, and several warts across her face. She got the attire right, Talli gave her that; a set of robes that went from head to toe. "Witches don't look like that, and they certainly don't cackle!"
"Talli, sweetie, it's only done for fun," Hermione explained.
"Muggles don't know how we really are," Draco whispered into the girl's ear.
"Well, it's insulting! And look at those ghosts!" She pointed at a group of adults who were dressed in sheets and dramatically moaning out. "Ghosts don't moan like that!"
"You haven't met Moaning Myrtle," Draco muttered, earning an elbow in the gut from his wife.
The Muggle who was mocking what witches looked like sighed. "Little girl, please just keep going and try to enjoy the amusement." she pleaded.
"Come on!" a boy around Talli's age snarled behind them. "You're holding up the line! Ya big sissy!"
"I'm no sissy!" Talli called back, folding her arms across her chest and walking further into the haunted house.
"I didn't think she'd like this," Hermione said to Draco. He jumped as an axe dropped right in front of his face and landed at his feet.
He clenched his chest with a hand. "Merlin! This place is as bad as Aunt Bellatrix's torture dream house!" His face paled when he heard a child scream out for help.
Hermione laughed, pulling him forward by the hand. "It's just pretend. If you remember that, you'll do just fine."
A werewolf came up growling behind them. Draco closed his eyes, and with a shaky voice, he repeated under his breath, "It's just pretend, it's just pretend!"
The sound of a chainsaw started revving up, and Draco gulped, remembering the Muggle film about a man who murdered people and sawed their limbs off.
"Talli!" he shouted frantically, "Tallistar!" He couldn't see anything now. The lights went out, adding to the effect of the entertainment.
"I'm lost!" she answered back, a bored tone present in her voice. They could only faintly hear her over all the noise happening around them.
A group of teenagers bellowed out in fear, and somewhere up ahead there were footsteps of them running away.
"Eww…" Hermione cringed a moment later. "Don't touch the—"
"Ugh!" Before Hermione could finish her sentence, Draco had made to use the wall on his right side to guide him through the next section of the house. It was sticky, gooey and greasy. "What the—"
"Petroleum jelly," Hermione supplied. "They put it on the walls, knowing we would use them to feel our way around."
"Revolting!" Draco shuddered, thankful it was just that.
The lights flickered back on as they stepped onto a short, rickety, makeshift bridge. It shook roughly, making them grasp onto the railing of it to keep from losing their balance. Draco was happy when they got off that thing.
"Look what I found!" Talli made both her parents jump from not expecting her to be so close by. She held up a tiny and long black snake. "Can I keep it?"
Hermione grew stiff. She wasn't a fan of snakes, and Talli knew it.
"It's not poisonous, Mum," she assured her mother, holding it up closer to Hermione's face. "Isn't it cute?"
"It probably belongs to someone who works here," Draco stated.
Hermione agreed enthusiastically. "Please put it back where you found it, dear."
"Aww, shucks!" They followed Talli into a room where there were a bunch of snakes like the one she had crawling around.
Draco was relieved when they made it out of the house. His head pounded with pain, not used to such high pitched noises, but between the snakes, spiders and assorted insects, his nerves were on the fritz, and he had the shakes.
"Well, that was better than I thought it would be," Talli announced. "Still wished I could have kept that snake though. He had a cute tongue!" She giggled and grabbed each of Draco and Hermione's hands, walking between them. "I'm hungry, may we get some dinner? Being fake scared can sure build up an appetite!"
The two parents shared a smile, happy that their little girl was enjoying herself for the moment.
*/*
Scorpius wasn't able to get out of the next Flying lesson, Professor Bulstrode and Madam Abbot planned ahead and made sure he had a stomach settling potion beforehand. It worked for his stomach, but his nerves were still going crazy.
"You can do this, mate," Edgar said as Scorpius recited everything he had heard, everything he had seen other kids do throughout his years, and everything he had read.
But books, advice, and observation were only going to help him so much. Especially with the cheesy brooms he would have to work with. He faintly remember his father stating how awful they had been when he was in school.
Words couldn't explain their poor quality enough. The handles were chipped (probably from past crashes, this thought didn't help Scorpius in the slightest), and the bristles were beyond frayed, clogged with dirt and debris.
Since Scorpius came from a wealthy family, he had only been introduced to the best of the best (it was the Malfoy way). He didn't even think Muggles would own such atrocities!
Scorpius made a mental note to ask his parents if they could donate some new brooms to the school. It would surely make him feel better— if just a smidgen.
His friends encouraged him to pick out a broom first, and he shakily did, choosing one at random (they all looked the same to him). He stood by it, not at all willing to start any actual flight.
He took deep breaths, trying to calm his pulse, but every time he opened his eyes, his little heart started racing all over again.
"Nice of you to join us this time, Mr. Granger-Malfoy," Hooch said upon seeing his presence. "I assume your belly aches have finally subsided?"
Scorpius bit his lip, nodded. "I'm fine, thank you, Madam."
"Everyone else is a little ahead of you, but that's okay, you'll easily catch up."
She then instructed them to stand at the left of their broom and call the broom up. Scorpius was the only one who struggled with this. It flipped, it flopped, it shook, but it didn't rise up.
"You cannot show it any fear," Edgar whispered from his place next him.
Scorpius nodded. He knew that, but how could he not when he was scared to death of it?!
"We're waiting on you, Mr. Granger-Malfoy," Hooch announced, making him look up to see that the entire class was indeed watching him.
"Sorry," he mumbled, feeling bad that he was holding them up.
"You can do it, Scorpius!" Eloisa Water from Gryffindor said. Scorpius only knew her by name, but from the little bits that he seen her around, she was friendly enough.
The girl next to her agreed and cheered him on, and one by one, the rest of them started showing their support.
He hadn't expect to get so much from his peers, especially from different house altogether. Kids he didn't even know were rooting him on, and it made him feel a little better.
He also didn't want to let any of them down, so he bravely— suppressing down any sort of fear he had— called up the gangly broom at his feet.
There was a roar of applause as he caught the broom with his hand.
"You did it!" Edgar exclaimed.
Simon gave him a highfive, making Scorpius grin sheepishly.
"Well, done, Mr. Granger-Malfoy— now mount it."
Scorpius's moment of happiness flunked, and his smile faded at Hooch's instruction.
He still had to fly the ruddy thing.
Scorpius swallowed hard, feeling like he was going to throw up, but he swung a leg over the broom handle just the same, straddling it. The rest of the class followed his suit and gave Hooch their attention as she further walked Scorpius through the procedure.
It was now time to kick off. Scorpius had seen several people in his lifetime do this over and over, but this was his first time ever doing it, and since he was incredibly nervous, he applied way too much pressure, kicking too hard.
He screamed, sounding like a little girl doing it. Laughter erupted beneath him with his childish reaction, but he knew no other way to react when it came to flying.
He was scared to death of it.
Scorpius stopped breathing all together, having no idea how to stop the broom from its rocket-like takeoff. He was flying straight up into the clouds! The voices below him were quickly growing faint.
He woke up later in the infirmary, learning that he had fainted and fallen off the broom. Hooch had caught his fall with a spell before he could actually hit the ground.
"I've seen a few children who have been just as apprehensive to flying as yourself," Hooch said after he had been informed of what happened. "They get over it though."
"You alright?" Simon had a chance to ask after Hooch went off to talk with the mediwitch. The other boys were there too, waiting for Scorpius's response.
"Yes," he answered, sitting up. "I feel a little dizzy, but I'm good besides that."
"Scared us a little," Dallas admitted.
"Yeah, you're only supposed to give the ground a light kick, not a stomp," Warren said seriously.
"You're not trying to scare a cat away, Scorpius," Edgar joked.
Scorpius smiled a little, slightly embarrassed. "I was so nervous!"
"You'll get over it though," Simon told him. "Hooch has seen hundreds of students, and everyone passes the Flying class."
"Maybe I'm an exception."
"You're not," a new voice said. James and Albus had arrived to see him.
"Oi, Scorp," James greeted, plopping down on the bed at Scorpius's feet. "Heard you nearly fell to your death! You alright?"
"I'm fine, thanks."
"Scorpius, I had a kid in my year that was scared of heights too, and she passed, you will too," Albus offered. "Just give it time, you'll adjust."
"I hope so."
He hated the idea of not passing the first year simply because he couldn't fly.
That Saturday night, he asked if he could mirror-talk to his father alone, wanting to know if he could offer any advice on flying.
"I fell off my broom in Flying class," Scorpius started quietly. His father was great at flying and had been persistent on getting Scorpius to fly before having to learn it completely at school, and so now he was feeling a little foolish for brushing his father off when Father was trying to help him. "Hooch caught me before I hit the ground."
Father nodded. "I was expecting something of the sort to happen, but you didn't want to listen to me."
"I should have," he admitted.
"Yes, you should have, but I understand completely where you were coming from; I was scared of flying when I was a small child too."
"You were?!" Scorpius couldn't believe it! He would have never thought so!
Father nodded. "My father forced me to ride almost everyday until I grew out of it. You get used to it."
"I don't think I'll ever like flying. I'm not even sure I can pass!"
"It takes some getting used to, but I have faith in you, son. Your mother passed Flying, and she wasn't so swell at it either, but you'll get the hang of it. You may not become some Quidditch champion, but I'll still be proud of you."
"You mean it? If I don't play Quidditch, you'll be okay with that?" Before Scorpius started school, Father often spoke of Scorpius being the next best Quidditch star of Slytherin. It really set Scorpius's mind at ease to hear his father say that he would be proud of him either way.
"Of course, Chomper, as long as you try your best, that's all that matters to me."
Scorpius smiled, wishing he could hug his father right at that moment. "That makes me feel a lot better."
"I'm sorry if it seemed like I put a lot of pressure on you. That was wrong of me to do, I didn't think much of it until now."
"I don't blame you, Father," Scorpius said gently. "It is a Malfoy tradition to play Quidditch after all."
"I'm good with whatever you're comfortable with. I was forced into doing things I didn't want to when I was young, and I never want you to feel that like that, alright? Don't allow me to pressure you into anything you don't want to do. I don't want to be that kind of father to you."
"Okay, so don't count on me playing Quidditch then."
"I won't."
"Thanks, I appreciate that."
"Everything else alright then?"
"I suppose…" Scorpius then thought about something he wanted to ask his father. "Father, do you think we could make a donation to the school?"
A smirk crawled to Father's lips. "Wouldn't be new brooms, would it?"
"Yes!" Scorpius groaned. "Please? These ones are awful! I could bet that they have been here since Grandfather was a kid!"
"We could do that…" Father gave it a thought. "But first, I want to see how your school report looks. If you have an acceptable grade in Flying, I'll immediately have all the school's brooms replaced with up-to-date training ones."
Scorpius had frowned after he heard his father's condition. "And if I can't?"
"You can."
"But what if—"
"I know you well if enough to know that if you really want the school to have new brooms, you'll make sure you score well."
"How high do I need to score?"
"I would find 85 to be acceptable, given how you feel about the entire idea of flying."
Scorpius's hope sank. He didn't think he could get it that high before the holiday started.
"Don't think like that, Chomper. You can do it, son. I know you can. Think of the goal, and that alone."
"I'll try," Scorpius promised, though he still doubted he could do it— he had missed two classes alone, getting 0s on them.
On the day of his next lesson, Scorpius went back up to the infirmary to see if Madam Abbot would give him a specific potion.
"Oh… the Flying class… of course...!" Her eyes spaced out, as if she should have thought of administering the potion he requested sooner. "Why didn't I think of that?" she asked herself, frowning.
A few hours passed, and now that he had a Draught of Peace potion in his possession, Scorpius felt a little more confident with his upcoming class.
And he hadn't even consumed it yet!
He trudged out to the grassy field along with his fellow Slytherins, growing nervous with every step closer. He took the potion after claiming a broom and standing by it. Scorpius instantly felt at ease, and he smiled.
I can do this, he thought in determination.
"Is it helping?" Simon asked, speaking about the potion.
"Yes," Scorpius answered, bouncing on the balls of his feet, eager to get started. "I feel like I can play on a national league!"
"Yeah, better to not get your hopes up for that," Edgar advised him.
"I wouldn't bother playing professional anyway. I'm going to do something much more valuable with my life." Scorpius and Simon shared a knowing look before Madam Hooch called for their attention.
She kept her eye closely on Scorpius after what happened the week before, just in case he fell again.
The broom flew right up into his hand on his first "UP!" His friends quietly congratulated him, and everyone was surprised to see him swing the broom right underneath him to mount it.
Scorpius closely paid attention to everything Hooch was teaching them, and this time, when it came to kicking off, he gently did it as she had stressed (mainly for his benefit), and Scorpius hovered with the rest of the class, four feet above ground.
This isn't so bad, he thought, looking around, smiling.
And Hooch even gave him twenty points for his complete turnaround!
Maybe Father was right. Perhaps his first Flying grade could actually end up being 85. Maybe even higher than that!
AN: So Scorpius is starting to fly now! Good for him!
I made a change in chapter 2: Scorpius and Simon spoke privately in an "unused classroom" instead of a closet. Minor change, I know, but I didn't want someone to think they were crazy if they reread the chapter after the edit.
Review Responses:
ssdawning: Redundant is okay :D One of the things Slytherins value is "fraternity", so I figured I would make Scoprius into a big believer of it (though he believes in helping people out in general), so that is why he was so focused on getting Simon to warm up.
Yeah, but at least we know Talli is going to Hogwarts, so she may have a rough few months, but just remember that in May she gets her letter!
dragonjun: Scorpius is THE main, but Talli will get a good amount in it too.
tmtcltb: I know, right! Poor little girl :(
thatperfectsomeone: More to come. I made a post on my facebook the other day about this story. I believe it's going to have the perfect amount of fluff, angst and drama, heh.
TheCannibalisticKitten: I wanted to keep his house sorting a secret for as long as possible to see if anyone could guess. I don't blame you about the WIP phobia, I know exactly what that's like. I'll try my best to finish the story. There's a lot already planned though, so that helps. Plus, you can always wait a while before coming back to read. Many people do that.
Catherine Teagues: LOL! Gosh, I didn't mean to give the name "Simon" some bad omen, hahah! And good for you, I would have broken his nose too!
papaslittlecj: Thanks! :)
SSheffer: Oh, fish tails, you're right, I didn't even think of that, I guess I should edit LTBNMC and warn people that there's a sequel! Technically, this is a stand-alone though, so no biggy. People COULD read the first without having to read the second :) I am sorry though, hehehe! I really wanted to include Scorpius's entire life in LTBNMC, but it just forked too far away from the Dramione pairing, so a new story is much more fitting.
To the Guest: Thanks! That's my main focus, character interacting and development.
Tessica1: It makes sense, cause Scorpius could have been sorted into any of the houses. ;)