The Old Photograph

The next morning Scorpious sat at the breakfast table, trying to think of something, anything, to say to break the awkward silence. But he could think of nothing. Astoria sat rigidly in her chair, hardly touching her plate of waffles, glaring at anyone who dared make even the slightest noise. Draco gazed uncomfortably out the window, absentmindedly pushing his food around on his plate with his fork, clearly wishing he was anywhere but here. Scorpious finished his food as quickly as he could, and excused himself from the table. He spent the rest of the day walking around the grounds of the manor, avoiding his parents at all costs.

As the arguments got worse, so did Scorp's summer. He spent every day either in his room or outside, so he only had to face his parents at meal times. Mostly he just walked around the grounds, exploring, climbing trees, sometimes just sitting in the sun, lost in thought. Sometimes he even managed to convince the cook to pack him a picnic lunch so he could stay out all day.

As he walked, he wondered how he had managed to wreck his summer so quickly. The news that he had a crush on Rose Weasly shouldn't have had that much effect or caused arguments of this magnitude. There was definitely something else going on here, and Scorp was going to find out what it was.

The next day, he took his picnic lunch, and set off out the door as though going for a walk as usual, but as soon as he was out of sight of the house, he ducked through the perfectly manicured garden to the big tree outside the living room window. The living room was on the second storey of the mansion, so Scorpious climbed up and made himself comfortable in a position where he could see but not be seen.

Nothing happened for a long time. The room remained empty, and Scorpious was thinking of giving up. His legs were cramped and he was getting bored. But no, he had to find out what was going on. Suddenly his patience was rewarded. The door opened and his father walked slowly into the room. As though he were dreaming, he moved across the room and picked up a framed photo that was sitting on the mantelpiece. Running his finger over a face in the photo, Draco slid down the wall until he was sitting hugging his knees to his chest, staring at the picture with watery eyes.

Scorpious looked away, unsure what to do. He had never seen his father so vulnerable before, and it kind of scared him. He had always regarded Draco as a strong man, incapable of failure, incapable of weakness. Everyone knew him and respected him. He could make almost anyone do almost anything. He could get whatever he wanted. So why was he crying over an old photograph?

The tears were really falling now, and Scorpious wished he could see who was in the photograph, but Draco was holding it at an angle that made it impossible. Suddenly there was the distant sound of Astoria's high-pitched voice yelling for Draco to come downstairs. Draco started as though waking from a dream, placed the photo back on the mantel piece and hurried from the room.

Scorpious waited for a few moments to be sure his father had gone, then climbed to the edge of the branch and swung nimbly through the window. Rose had done a good job of teaching him how to climb trees. It was one of their favourite pass-times, when they weren't studying together or taking long walks around the lake. She was his best friend, but he would never admit that to anyone besides himself and her of course. There was too much at stake.

There were many photos on the mantelpiece, but Scorp could guess which one his father had been looking at. One of the photos wasn't as perfectly placed as the others. It stood crookedly, facing a different way. Scorpious peered at the photo of eight or so Hogwarts students smiling up out of the frame at him. With a start, he realised that one of them was his father. He appeared to be in about third or fourth year, and looked a lot like Scorp himself. A few of the other students looked vaguely familiar too – a mixture of Slytherins and Griffindors. But why did this photo make Draco sad? Was he longing to be back at Hogwarts? Was there someone he was missing?

Scorpious heard footsteps in the hall outside, so he ran to the window, jumped to catch hold of the nearest branch, and climbed down the tree at lightning speed. As soon as he hit the ground he fled, keeping close to the side of the house so he wouldn't be seen. He didn't want to get caught spying.

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-Badger Xx