Chapter 6: Butterfly.

"Fuck, that's a load of bullshit." Albus grunted as they exited Charms.

"I'll say. Four pages in two days? What does Professor Goldstein think we are, machines?" Michael echoed Al's concerns.

"Plus, me and Scorpius have Quidditch trials tonight."

"What position are you trying out for?"

"I'll probably try for Seeker and Chaser. I like both pretty equally and have zero chance of either."

"You have a fair shot." Scorpius clapped him on the back.

"Like hell I do. There's no way I can match you in speed or agility in the air, so you got Seeker locked up. And Dexy, that third year girl, is trying out for Chaser and she's pretty good from what I've heard."

"Maybe I'll try for Beater then." Scorpius joked. "Come on mate, don't be down on yourself. That's my job."

"Easy for you to say, Twisted Sister."

"Ah, I see you noticed the new hairstyle?" Scorpius pretended to fluff his long, hair that looked like had dumped a bucket of hairspray on it.

"Yeah, and you look fucking ridiculous."

"Don't you mean…fabulous?" This time he actually did toss his hair.

"Yeah, and very special."

"Thanks mate…hey, hang on!" Albus started laughing.

"Come on, stop clowning."

"And you stop posing."

"Whatever. We better get to the Quidditch pitch."

Eventually the two made their way down to see the rest of the trialists. Albus made his way over to James, but Scorpius stayed in the crowd.

"Mostly a bunch of no-hopers who've all tried and failed before," James mumbled as he saw Albus coming up to him. "Hey, little bro."

"What're you trying for?"

"Beater, of course. I thought about Chaser, but young Dexy's pretty good so I'm willing to let her have it. And you?"

"Probably both Seeker and Chaser."

"Well Brandi told me that unless she underperforms in the trial she's going to make Dexy Chaser, because she missed out last year by just a little bit and has worked real hard since. But you should have a fair shot at Seeker." James then turned away to scan the crowd before spotting Scorpius.

"Wait a minute. Is that Scumboy?"

"What's your problem, James?"

"Well, if he's anything like his old man, which he is, he's probably shit at Quidditch as well. What position is he trying out for, anyway?"

"He said he wants to be Seeker."

"Well, you can kick his arse any day." James smiled.

"All right, can I have everyone's attention?" Brandi shouted. The group eventually stopped chattering amongst themselves to look at her. She was a tall, attractive sixth year of mixed race with long, bare legs (accentuated by her choice of shorts as training gear) and a curvy figure. Albus couldn't help but feel a little jealous of James before reminding himself that they had only kissed once due to the twin influences of smuggled Firewhiskey and a Quidditch Cup victory.

"Dude. Brandi is hot." Scorpius elbowed Albus in the ribs.

"Yeah. James says she's a total hard-arse though."

"Your attention, please!" The boys immediately stopped sniggering and turned to face their Captain.

"Right, as I was saying, most of you probably know who I am. For those who don't, I'm Brandi Thomas, Gryffindor Quidditch Captain and Keeper. I was appointed to this position just this year, and I would really like to mark my first year as Captain by defending the Cup we won last year.

That is why I have called a full scale trial this evening. I am opening every position, including even my own, up for trial. Why? Because I believe that we need to have the best possible team, plain and simple, and I believe that there are plenty of you who may have just missed out in prior years but who have worked hard and improved to the point where you might yet surpass the old team members – yes, including you, James Potter." All eyes turned to a sniggering James.

"Right, that's enough introductions. Is there anyone else who wants to try out for Keeper?"

James stepped forward.

"Anyone who seriously wants to try out?" No one else volunteered. "Good. And James, if you fuck around much more I'm not going to pick you for anything, full stop. We're on a tight schedule here."

"Yes, Mistress."

"Okay, I'm holding Chaser trials first. How many Chasers do I have?"

About three quarters of the crowd, including James' friend and former Chaser Finnigan and Albus' fifth year cousin Roxanne, who herself had been a Gryffindor Chaser before deciding to take a step back to focus on OWLs, much to the chagrin of her father.

"Hey." Albus smiled noticing her.

"Hi Albus! So you're trying out?"

"Yeah. Don't think I have much chance though."

"Oh, you've got a decent chance. You're almost as good a flier as James is."

"OK, mount your brooms and hover at ring level," Brandi ordered the group to do. Immediately it was obvious that most of the trialists were incapable of this, with only ten actually making it up.

"This makes the job simpler. Each of you get three free shots at me. I will go somewhat easy, but if you can't sink at least one, I'm going to have to cut you." She smiled. "I won't be happy about it though."

With Finnigan and Roxanne making all three of their shots, the pressure mounted on Albus as he lined up his first shot at Brandi. However, it was a disaster – he attempted to fake left and go right, however only ended up losing control and missing the far right hoop by at least three feet.

"That's OK, just nerves. Try again."

Albus' second shot was much better, however Brandi managed to block it. Deciding to go for broke, Al settled on attempting the fake again. This time he was more accurate and it beat Brandi, however, the Quaffle skimmed the hoop ring and missed.
"I'm sorry, Albus. Come back and try again next year." Brandi smiled at him. "Look at it this way, you've got a year to perfect that fake. And I'm certainly keeping an eye on you."

Albus floated to the ground where he was met by James.

"That's OK, little bro. These things happen. And you're a better Seeker anyway." Albus decided not to tell James that Scorpius was a far better Seeker than he was.

After a short flight to test their ball handling skills, the Chasers were named as Finnigan, Roxanne and Dexy who all made the team with ease.

"Okay, it's going to get dark so I'm going to do the Seeker trial now. Who here wants to try out for Seeker?"

Albus, Scorpius and a nervous looking second year girl stepped forward.

"Alright, let's make this quick. I will release two Golden Snitches now. The first two to return them to me will make the second round. Ready?"

All three nodded. "Okay then, I'm releasing the Snitches." Brandi opened the box, and two small Golden Snitches flew out.

"Ready, set, GO!" Once again, Albus and Scorpius took off together, however Albus decided to scan from a lower height while Scorpius decided to climb as high as he could. No sign of the Snitch yet. He noticed below that the girl appeared to be tailing Albus rather than hunting herself, and that drew a smile. One of the first things Scorpius had learned from his Dad about Seeking was to never mark an opposition Seeker and follow their moves but to search for the Snitch on his own. Scorpius could hear cheers from down below – had Al returned a Snitch? Wait, no time for that…he spotted a small speck of gold. Is that…yes, that was the Snitch. Wasting to time, Scorpius shot in the direction of the little golden object. Closer, closer…just a little way to go…yes! Scorpius felt his fingers close upon the Snitch as he circled the pitch and landed.

"You got it?" Brandi asked."

"Yeah. Good."

Within a few minutes, the second Snitch had been caught – in a tight battle, Albus had snatched it away from the girl to make the second round.

"Good job boys. Go sit aside for a while – once we finish the Beater trials I'll call you back."

However, the Beater trials were a formality – James Potter and Grady MacMillan breezed through their competition with ease.

"All right, here's the final part of the Seeker trial. You boys both showed me you can fly, however being the Seeker is more than just flying. Therefore, we're going to play a little scrimmage match. You two will be opposing each other and the team as it stands will be playing. All the balls will be released. The Chasers will be playing their own game, but you each get a Beater. Just to make things more difficult for you, Albus, " she smiled, " I'm giving you Grady. Scorpius, you get James." Scorpius' heart sunk. James was going to do all he could to make this more difficult for him.

"Is everybody ready?"

All seven nodded.

"Good. Releasing the balls…now. Play fair!"

Scorpius took off. Realising James wasn't going to do him any favours, he decided to once again head for higher ground as a Bludger sped past him, shaking his nerves but not endangering his safety.

"Where's that Snitch…where's that Snitch…" Scorpius thought to himself. Suddenly he saw Albus speeding in the opposite direction. While Scorpius was smart enough to know not to tail an opposing Seeker, travelling at the speed Albus was could only mean one thing. Scorpius also took off in the same direction. Drawing closer, he spotted the Snitch just hovering near Finnigan's foot. Taking things up a notch, Scorpius caught up to Albus. The two were neck and neck, however, Scorpius noticed the strain on Al's face. He realised at that moment he was going to win. Summoning all the speed he could, Scorpius pulled away from Albus and grabbed the Snitch.

"YES!" he cried out. It was more a cry of relief than joy. In truth, Scorpius had no great desire to be on the Gryffindor team – he realised that no matter what he did, in James' eyes he would always be Scorpius Malfoy. And nothing would change that. Still, he couldn't help but feel a little proud of himself as he landed on the ground.

"Well done mate." Albus landed next to him. "As soon as I saw you, I knew you had it. I was struggling to keep that pace but you looked like you were cruising."

Scorpius just smiled as Brandi rushed up to him and gave him a hug.

"That was brilliant, kid! Can you do that every game?"

"I think so."

"Well, we'll just have to see, won't we? Ladies and gentlemen, Scorpius Malfoy is Gryffindor's new Seeker!" she shouted as she thrusted his arm into the air like a victorious boxer.

"WHAT?" James shouted as he stumbled forward. "Brandi, come on! You can't be serious!"

"I'm sorry, were we watching different matches? Because the one I saw featured Scorpius here catching the Snitch and winning the trial."

"Yes, but…"

"But what, James? He beat your brother fair and square."

"Fuck Albus! This isn't about him. How could you pick that scum to be on a Gryffindor team?" Scorpius noticed the tone in which James said "Gryffindor". Almost as if the word itself had some kind of grand association. He realised who he had heard using a similar tone – his grandpa. When discussing not only the Malfoys, but Slytherin House. And…pure-bloods. And pure-blood supremacy.

"James, when you're the Captain, you can indulge in whatever petty grudges you want when picking a team. But this is my side and I pick on merit. Scorpius is our Seeker and that's final." She was practically screaming at him. Albus could see why James said she was a total hard-arse.

"Fine, well, you know what? I quit!" James stalked off.

"Well, uh, if James quits, we quit too." McLaggan and Finnegan followed their friend. Brandi, Scorpius and Albus looked shocked.

"Um. Brandi, you know, I'd be happy to let Al be Seeker if it's going to be a problem…"

"Oh no, you're not quitting." Brandi glared at him.

"Sorry."

"It's not your fault. James Potter is a complete prick sometimes – sorry to say that about your brother, Al, but I'm sure you know it – but he'll come around. It's high time he learned that this team doesn't belong to him." And she gathered up her clipboard and broom and departed the pitch.

"Wow. Drama."

"Ah, this is normal with James. He can act a little spoilt at times, but he's a good guy really. He'll come around and accept you soon enough."

But Scorpius wasn't listening. He knew that James would never accept him as anything other than scum, but moreso he was feeling guilty. He had a bad feeling that he had sunk the Gryffindor Quidditch team and was going to be highly unpopular for it. Up to this point he had managed to escape much abuse for his name from anyone other than James, but he feared that this would soon change.

Later that night, as he lay in bed, Scorpius considered his options before he had a brainwave.

"Of course," he said to himself. "I'm going to write to Al's dad."