Author's Note: Thankyou to my one reviewer. I appreciate it. :D To the rest of you lot - Enjoy chapter two! (Let me know if it's pointless continuing this story ...)
CHAPTER TWO
Scorpius Malfoy had never dreaded the Christmas holidays more than he had now. Last year, he'd returned to Malfoy Manor for the two-week holiday, and it had been fine. Just him and his parents, celebrating quietly in the large old place; his father had told him that his grandparents, Lucius and Narcissa, had moved from the manor before he was born. He never did spend much time with them, but this didn't worry him much. His grandfather was cold and stern, and he never felt at ease in his presence; he felt as though he was always being judged, as though he were being measured up constantly. No matter what he did, his grandfather always seemed to find fault in it, to correct him somehow. His grandmother, however, he loved very much; she had always been affectionate and loving toward him. He supposed it had something to do with his likeness to his father ... perhaps she missed her son. Whatever the reason, he was glad for it. Otherwise, visits with his grandparents would be altogether unpleasant.
Christmas this year was to be held at his grandparents' home in the country, and his father, knowing he didn't enjoy it immensely, had asked if he'd prefer to remain at Hogwarts. Scorpius had readily replied 'yes'. He knew that not many students stayed over the Christmas holidays and he figured he'd enjoy the solitude. An empty castle would allow him more time in the library, without the awkward stares he usually received from older students, and more significantly, without the harassment of Dustin Harper and Laurence Mulciber. His father had warned him about certain people before starting at Hogwarts; he'd told him the truth about his past, about what he'd done ... what Grandfather Lucius had done. He'd wanted him to be prepared for the insults, for the stares, and for the taunting, should it occur.
And it had indeed occurred. Mostly it was older students, who'd learnt from various sources the nature of his family's past, but there were some younger students, even in his own year – who he supposed had been told by siblings, or had simply read about it – that taunted him or gave him disgusted looks. But he didn't retaliate. That was one thing his father had told him – don't rise to the challenge. It wasn't cowardly, it was smart. He knew that the perfect way to rile a bully was to remain ignorant of their taunts, to act as though it didn't bother you, and to keep to your own business. And for the past year and a half, Scorpius had done so, with certain success, he thought.
Initially, Harper and Mulciber had wanted to befriend him, these were two of the people his father had warned him about, so it was with caution that he'd agreed to their company whilst in the Common Room and at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall. After three weeks of such company, however, Scorpius realised that they would only be trouble. One too many times he had heard them speaking the same blood-status rubbish that his mother scolded his grandfather for. His mother had always reminded him that blood had nothing to do with neither the abilities nor the personal character of a wizard.
Taking his mother's advice in his stride, he had shrunk back into the shell he'd initially intended to stay in whilst at Hogwarts and ignored the older Slytherin boys. He went everywhere alone, sat by himself at all meals and in class. He studied alone, and despite sharing a dormitory, he rarely spoke to his dorm-mates. It was then, after he'd starting ignoring them, that they had started taunting him. At least three times a week he'd be harassed by Harper and Mulciber about his family, calling them blood-traitors. Mulciber in particular was rather nasty, often bitterly scorning Scorpius' grandfather because he'd had the wealth to avoid being sent to Azkaban, whilst Mulciber's had not. He'd also beat him up a few times, just for good measure. But Scorpius never told anyone - not even his father - that would mean that Mulciber had won, and he didn't want to give the boy another reason to pick on him. No-one seemed to notice though, no-one except for Marcus Zabini, perhaps. He was the closest Scorpius had to a friend. He only spoke to him occasionally, as they shared a dorm, but they'd never exactly been best friends. Scorpius preferred solitude; it was his escape from reality. That was also his reason for reading and being so immersed in school work, it kept him busy and distracted him from the stares and whispers.
So, Christmas in an empty Hogwarts, he had thought, would be perfect. That was until he'd sat down for breakfast this morning. He'd once again been harassed by Harper and Mulciber, but with the knowledge that they'd be gone for two weeks, he 'd found ignoring them even easier than usual, and this had lifted his spirits ... until Albus Potter had sat down with Robert Nott. He was rather indifferent toward both of them; his father had told him to be careful around Potter and the many Weasleys, as they may taunt him due to an old school rivalry between their parents ... but in the whole time he'd been at Hogwarts, Potter had never spoken a word to him that wasn't civilly school-related. For this, Scorpius was grateful. Potter himself seemed to like solitude as well, and Scorpius couldn't really blame him, as people whispered behind his back more than they ever did about Scorpius – he was Harry Potter's son. He was the son of The Boy Who Lived, the Chosen One ... saviour of the wizarding world and all that jazz. Not only that, he was like a physical replica of his father, much like Scorpius was his, and he imagined that this didn't help the Potter boy avoid stares either. Robert Nott, on the other hand, he'd never paid much mind to. He rarely spoke in class, or in the Common Room for that matter. But, Scorpius did know that he was best friends with Potter, as wherever Potter was, there was sure to be Robert Nott – the golden boy and his own little sidekick.
He'd been sitting near them at breakfast, and couldn't help but overhear their conversation. They were both to remain at Hogwarts for Christmas. The entire Weasley-Potter family was going to be staying. Usually, Scorpius wouldn't have cared – they didn't taunt him, in fact, they left him well alone most of the time ... it was more the fact that they'd all be sitting together at meals, whilst Scorpius was likely to stick out like a sore thumb at the Slytherin table by himself ... something he dreaded immensely. It wasn't that he cared about being alone, he was perfectly fine with it ... it was more being noticed and pitied that worried him ... He hated being pitied. The few people that had tried to befriend him had done so out of pity, and it was for this reason that he'd ignored them, forced them to see he didn't want or need such friendships. They thought it was kind, pitying him, but he didn't ... it made him feel worthless. It made him feel like a lost dog in a crowded street, starving and begging for food. Sure, he may want to be seen as different to his father, as his own individual with his own thoughts, differing from the old ways, but he didn't want to beg for it ... He didn't want people pitying him because of his last name. He was a Malfoy, and he was proud of it.
Yes, he dreaded the Christmas holidays, when he'd no longer be able to hide amongst the crowds. He'd be noticed and he'd be pitied, but he figured that was better than a visit with his grandfather. As he left the Charms classroom, Scorpius resolved to go to all meals early during the holidays and spend as much time in the library as possible. If there was one thing he knew about the Weasleys and Potters, it was that they were never on time for anything and they were practically allergic to the library ... Perhaps if he was lucky they'd not even know he'd stayed for the holidays.