Disclaimers: I do NOT own Harry Potter. JK Rowling does.

Year seven:

Great Hall:

Everyone was waiting for the Goblet of Fire to say the last name. It would be a Hogwarts' student and everyone was quite sure it would be Albus. The Goblet would chose him, he was a Potter after all. All the houses were sitting amongst each other although most of the Slytherins were sitting together. Only Albus, Bella and Scorpius were sitting next to a few Ravenclawers and Gryffindors.

"Is that a first year?" Rose whispered as she leaned closer to Scorpius. They were Headgirl and Headboy and had been sharing a common room for the past couple of weeks. Although they still fought sometimes and almost hexed each other they were the best of friends. At one point Albus got a punch from Scorpius after he was teasing Rose and eventually Scorpius got a punch from Rose for punching Al.

"I remember him," Scorpius answered. "He's a Slytherin. And clearly a little brat."

"He's trying to sneak away," Rose said as she got up but Scorpius pulled her down again.

"Let him be. Wait until Al gets that paper with his name on. Then we will go and punish him if you so desperately want to scare the little boy."

"Be quiet," Bella said while she was holding Al's hand. "It's coming."

Professor Longbottom stood next to the Goblet and everyone gasped once the last paper came out and fell into his hands. He looked at the piece of paper strangely but raised his head and looked in Al's direction.

"Scorpius Malfoy," he said.

Head's common room:

"Stay," Rose ordered as she put her finger against Scorpius his chest and pushed him back onto the couch. "Sleep. I know it's hard for you. I really don't know why professor Longbottom let you stay a Headboy now that you're chosen. Not to mention you still have to study for your N.E.W.T.'s."

"I won't let you do your rounds alone," he said as he got up from the couch and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He had been studying all day since he also had to do rounds and prepare himself to whatever was coming.

"I'll hex you," Rose threatened once he stood in front of her.

"I'll hex you first and I'll make sure you won't be able to say a word anymore. You're quite loud when you're not getting what you want." He took his cloak and grabbed the couch with his other hand. He was feeling rather dizzy.

"Alright, I've had it with you!" Rose said as she pointed her wand at him and muttered a spell.

Right before Scorpius hit the ground he saw her lifting him with her wand. Just a second later he fell asleep.

"I'll be back soon," she whispered as she took a blanket and tucked him in with it. She turned and went to do her rounds. Not knowing it would be a long time before she could see her friend again.

The next day in professor Longbottom's classroom:

"Tell me where he is, now!" Rose shouted at the professor. No one had ever seen her this angry and some of them were starting to get a little scared of her. They were just a class of first years after all. "Tell me!" she shouted again. "Where did you take him? What did you do to him? How do you expect me to do everything on my own. The school needs a Headboy!"

Neville took a step forward and laid his hands on her shoulders to calm her down. She shrugged them off immediately.

"Rose," he began. "It's all because of the tournament. If you'd like I can appoint someone else to help you out until the first task has been completed. I –"

"I don't care!" she screamed. "The other schools were informed that their champion would have to leave. Were we informed? Was I informed? No! He was under a sleeping spell, a sleeping spell! What if they threw him into the ocean? He could be dead by now! And another Headboy? I am not going to share my Common Room with someone else than the original Headboy. If you weren't a professor, I would've hexed you by now, Neville."

Some of the students gasped when they heard their professor's first name and saw that Rose's face was as red as her hair. She clearly had gotten the temper of her father alright. They could all hear the venom in her voice the professor seemed too surprised to notice.

"And now you will have to excuse me because I have to go to class," she spat as she turned around and left the room. She was very angry knowing that Scorpius had practically been kidnapped. She was the Headgirl, she was his friend. She was the one who should've known about things like these.

A few weeks later in the Head's common room:

Rose looked at the fireplace and watched the flames. She wasn't interested in her book or in her studies. All she could think about was Scorpius. No one had told them what exactly the first task was or when it was and she had missed his company for a few weeks now. She hated the silence. Her mother had owled her about the fact that she had been screaming at Neville. She wasn't very pleased but she understood that she was scared about the safety of her friend. That's why her mother suggested to do a lot of research to where he could've gone to and if anyone had seen him but she had found nothing. Only that a few aurors had come to the school and taken the three champions with them. They all apparated once they left the Hogwarts grounds.

She took a book and started to read. It were fairytales, the ones that Scorpius had told her one night before she fell asleep. Although she didn't want to admit it, she found herself being very attracted to the blonde boy. But she was sure it would just pass and that eventually she would find herself getting over her little crush. Before she could read the ending of the prince saving the princess she had fallen asleep on the couch.

The next morning she woke up. The book was lying on the table in front of her and she snuggled closer to the blanket that was lying upon her. At least she thought it was a blanket. It took her a few seconds to get all her senses back and when his scent came into her mind her eyes shot open and she looked at the emerald cloak in her hands.

"Scorpius?" she shouted once she got up and ran up the stairs towards his bedroom. He had to be in there. "Scorpius," she stuttered after she had practically stumbled into his room and looked up at him. He was sitting straight in his bed and gave her a sleepy smile. She noticed that he had a cut above his right eye and that his lips were a bit swollen. His hair seemed more like a bird's nest than his usually perfectly tamed blonde manes but he still looked the same. Only more tired than she had left him a few weeks ago.

"You cut your hair," he said as he pointed towards her flame red curls who were now just below her ears. "I like it. You look good."

She was too excited to blush at his comment and just jumped onto his bed to punch him in the chest and hug him at the same time. "Don't you ever worry me again," she said.

The first task:

"Be safe," the red haired young woman said before Scorpius took off and walked towards the portkeys. There were three of them. They would all be led to a different location close to Hogwarts and they would have to find something that would help them for one of their next tasks. Of course they weren't told what it was but the professors said it would become clear once they got there.

Scorpius turned around one more time to look at his friends and got a smile from Rose that gave him strength. He never understood why he was chosen. He certainly wasn't courageous since he wasn't sorted in Gryffindor. Neither was he intelligent enough to make it into Ravenclaw although he was certainly the best working student of whole Slytherin. He was a Slytherin. A Malfoy. Some would say that cowardice was in his veins.

His hand went towards the purple glove and he saw Rose and her smile disappearing. He had told her that he had gone off with the other champions and the aurors to get some extra training. Apparently the Ministry wanted to make sure there wouldn't be any deaths amongst them.

A moment later he found himself in an old house. It was quite dark and everywhere he looked around him he saw dust lying. In the walls were carvings of claws from some kind of beast and he could feel a shiver running down his spine.

"Must be the Shrieking Shack," he muttered to himself. He dusted himself off after landing on the bed and stood up. "Better look if anyone's in here."

He took out his wand and said the spell which told him that there was someone in the room beneath him. Cautiously he walked down the stairs, his wand ready but when he came downstairs he found no one. He saw a rat running towards the kitchen and a few seconds later the sound of heels made him turn around.

In front of him was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. A young woman with long strawberry blond hair and a pale skin smiled at him. She was captivating him. There was nothing in the whole house that shined as brightly as her. As if her beauty came off of her. It was then he noticed she was wearing a silver bracelet and when she caught him looking at it she only smiled harder.

"I know that you've come to look for something," she said as she took a step closer. Scorpius his heartbeat becoming faster by the minute. "And it is in your reach."

She put out her arm and looked at the silver bracelet. Scorpius nodded and wanted to take it but she jerked her hand back.

"I won't give it to you. You are too handsome to let go." She smiled seductively and let her eyes wander over his body. "Clearly some veela blood. The blonde hair, pale skin and beautiful contours of the face tell me you are. Veela blood never goes away, no matter how many generations pass. It's quite dominant you see." She took another step closer and her lips were only inches from his. "Tell me your name," she whispered.

"Scorpius," he muttered too stunned to do anything else.

As soon as her lips touched his he pushed her away. What had he been thinking? He knew nothing about this woman. He was doing something very important. He had to get the bracelet. No matter what.

"I never encountered someone like you before," the veela smiled. "No one ever pushed me away. But don't worry, I like a challenge. Scorp."

Her lips touched his again and this time he pushed her away with a little more force. This woman, as beautiful as she was couldn't enchant him. For he was already enchanted by someone else. By another woman. And hearing his nickname that she sometimes gave him when she was teasing him made him come back to his senses.

"Leave me alone," he said to the woman. "Just give me the bracelet so I can go. I don't need any of this. I don't need you"

The veela got a strange look in her eyes and before he knew it there was a winged creature in front of him. "How dare you insult me," she screamed before her mouth became a beak and she aimed a ball of fire at him.

Meanwhile at Hogwarts:

"I heard the aurors have arranged a magical being for all of them," Albus said as he sat down on the ground and pulled Bella onto his lap. "During their training they looked what their weaknesses would be. Or things they're afraid of."

"Who told you that?" Rose asked as she sat down as well, followed by Lysander, Lorcan and Katie. Only Lily and Hugo stayed on their feet.

"Dad," Al yawned before he let his head rest against Bella's back. "He was one of the aurors that trained Scorpius. But he only told me today so I wouldn't be able to tell Scorpius anything about it. I heard they had a veela, vampire and a dementor waiting."

"A veela?" Hugo asked as he sat down. "How could they possibly hurt someone? They're just wizards, no?"

"When you get a veela angry, she becomes a harpie. Aunt Fleur told us that story once, remember?" Lily asked.

"But who would get a veela that angry? Besides, Scorpius is the only boy of the three champions. I can't imagine him getting a woman except for Rose angry. He'd probably be too stunned to do anything. I bet he's making out with that veela right now!" Albus laughed.

"What do you mean?" Rose asked, her head turning her cousin's way.

"Scorpius doesn't look that bad," Al answered. "I'm sure a veela can see that as well. Aunt Fleur once told me she assumed he had some veela blood. It'll be a while before he comes back with anything."

Rose turned around and laid her head upon her knees. What had she been thinking? Any boy would immediately fall in love with a veela. Almost everyone fell in love with Dominique straight away and she was only partly veela.

They heard a pop and saw a dark haired girl holding a scarf in her hands with a wide smile on her face. She had a few cuts in her face but she seemed to be alright. Unlike the next champion that suddenly reappeared. In his hand he held a silver bracelet and several people gasped when they looked at his right arm. They could see the burnt flesh and all the blood. He could only see the shock on his friend's faces before he fainted.

A few days later at the Hopsital wing:

Scorpius woke up and found Rose sitting next to him for the third day in a row. He had never seen her leave, not even to go to her classes. Always when he woke up she was asleep and sometimes he would see some books scattered around her. She was probably doing her homework while she was watching over him. Not that he woke up often or stayed awake very long. His body was still quite weak after the medical treatment but Pomfrey had assured him there wouldn't be any scares once he was completely healed. Today would be his last day and he got up as quietly as he could to take his clothes to go and change.

Once he got back he took his wand and sent her books off to their common room before he lifted her in his arms. "She's so peaceful when she sleeps," Scorpius muttered. "Sleeping in a chair for three days probably didn't do you any good, little one."

He felt her shift and his right arm still hurt a bit when she clung closer to it but he didn't mind. He could've carried her if his both arms hurt. In his arms she was like a feather. He walked up the stairs and saw no one since it was already past curfew. Sometimes he would hear the prefects doing their rounds but he never encountered any of them.

Once he got into the common room he walked up the stairs to her bedroom and laid her in her bed before lying his quidditch cloak on her to keep her warm. The first time he had done that was just because it was the only thing close to him that he could use. Once he had laid it down upon her she wrinkled her nose and smiled contently. Right now she did the same and he smiled as well.

Library:

"I'm glad I got time to catch up with you," Scorpius yawned. He stretched his body and sighed. He had been studying the whole weekend to make sure he knew everything he had to know for his test the next day.

Al nodded and took his books. "I have to go though. I'm going to take a nap. Tonight it's your night off and I have to do rounds."

"Sorry mate," Scorpius said before the two boys parted and both went to their own common rooms. Once Scorpius entered his he could see Rose standing at the window with a smile on her face.

"Look Scorp, it's snowing!" she shouted as she took his hand and led him towards the window.

They both stood there for a while just looking at the snow, thinking. The blonde boy was the first to end the silence. "Go to the Yule Ball with me," he said.

Yule Ball:

Scorpius had left his common room fifteen minutes ago and was now waiting for Rose. Everyone was waiting for her since the other two champions were ready to go and everyone just wanted the party to begin. Lysander stood next to Scorpius and they both looked at the top of the stairs when they heard people talking.

"I'm not going!" they heard Rose shout. "I look ridiculous. I don't want to go!"

"Oh stop whining!" Lily exclaimed happily. "You look adorable. No, that's the wrong word. You look stunning. Now be a good girl and follow me."

Lily's head popped up around the corner and once she saw Lysander she smiled happily and her emerald green dress flew with her as she jumped into his arms to give him a hug. They still weren't a couple but they were sure getting closer to admitting their feelings to each other. Lorcan gave it a few months, Albus only a few hours.

"Come down this instant young lady!" Lily shouted when she noticed Rose hadn't followed her down the stairs.

"I'll hex you if something goes wrong!" Rose shouted back and she closed her eyes before walking around the corner. She didn't want to see their faces. In her opinion she looked absolutely horrible. Her hair was in a loose French bun and Lily had used a charm to make it longer and straight for the evening. She were a pair of silver earrings that her mother had given her and a long, strapless sapphire dress.

Before Scorpius could say something he got interrupted by professor Tooh who was making sure the champions would be in the correct order before entering the Great Hall.

A few hours later:

"Finally!" Rose shouted when she let herself fall down on the couch in front of the fireplace. "Lysander had the courage to tell Lily he likes her!"

Scorpius nodded, let himself fall down next to her and loosened his tie. "My feet hurt," he whined.

"Mine too," Rose said as she kicked of her shoes and closed her eyes. "But I had fun."

"Mmh," Scorpius sighed when he closed his eyes as well. "Are you still going home to celebrate New Year?"

"No, the family is going to celebrate with James and uncle Charlie so I guess I'll just stay here. Al is going though. But now I'm Headgirl I decided to stay. You never know what might happen with three schools around here."

"I agree," Scorpius yawned. "As a Headboy I'll stay too. Besides I might find out something about my next task."

"And if you do you'll let me help you. I don't want you to disappear again like you did last time."

"Whatever," the blonde boy yawned again and he snuggled himself closer to the couch.

"Scorp, you're not going to sleep here are you?" Rose asked as she saw him drifting off. The only answer she got from him was a snore and she smiled. "Better get you upstairs."

She took out her wand and made sure to carefully lift him towards his own bedroom before tucking him in. He clung closer to his emerald blankets and sighed contently when his head felt the pillow beneath him.

"Goodnight Scorp," she whispered as her hand went through his hairs softly.

"Night Rosie," he murmured while his hand found its way to hers.

Great Hall:

It was the end of the schoolyear. Rose, Al, Katie, Scorpius, Bella, Lorcan and Lysander had all passed their N.E.W.T's and right now they were sitting in the great hall since it was raining outside.

"I can't believe you had to fight a giant!" Al said to Scorpius. "Merlin knows what the last task will be. There's only one week left. Do you realize that? In one week we're done with school and you're probably going to be the new champion!"

"I wouldn't be too sure. The Durmstrang girl seems quite good," the blonde boy answered.

"You wouldn't lose to a girl! You're a Malfoy remember?" Bella laughed.

Before Scorpius could answer he got interrupted by professor Longbottom. "Rose, I want you to come with me. Something went wrong in the library with some first years. The prefects who should've been doing rounds around there didn't do their job and well…"

"I'll go!" Scorpius said. "Maybe I can hex someone. I have to do something since it's my last week."

"No, Rose will be able to handle them," the professor said and soon the two went off towards the library.

Two hours later Scorpius walked into their common room but couldn't find the girl anywhere. He decided to look in her room, the library, the great Hall and even the room of requirement but she was nowhere to be found. He decided to go to bed and wait until he heard her but when it was way past curfew he realized that something was wrong.

"God damn it Rosie, where are you?" he shouted to himself while pulling his hand through his hairs. He would never be able to sleep right now.

He put on his cloak and decided to go outside when suddenly he saw the silver bracelet still lying onto his desk. The third task could be any minute although he thought it would be quite strange if the task started in the middle of the night. As soon as he touched it he found himself outside. The bracelet had transformed into a portkey.

"Mister Malfoy you are the first to join us," he heard professor Tooh say. "The other champions aren't here which gives you a head start I guess."

"Wait, when did the bracelet change into a portkey?" he asked as he followed the professor across the grounds of Hogwarts.

"Depends," he said. "It only turns into a portkey when the rightful owner of the bracelet is in a very dangerous place. I guess you should hurry. Now that you've triggered the portkey that person will be seen by the dangers that are in the Forbidden Forrest. Off you go."

Before he could ask the professor something else he noticed that he was in the middle of the Forrest instead of the edge. In his left hand he now held a silver tag. It clearly belonged to the bracelet and it was probably the new portkey that the professor had quickly put in his hand.

He turned it over and gasped when he saw what was on the tag. Rose Weasley. Only a second later he heard a scream and he started to run, screaming her name.

"You're too late boy," he heard someone hiss and when he looked to his side he could see a giant Acromantula. "They will start feeding on her soon."

He looked up and saw Rose lying down in a corner. She looked scared to death and clearly didn't have her wand with her.

"Stop!" Scorpius shouted and the spider that was closest to Rose turned around.

"You," he said. "I remember you. You were here in the forest years ago, together with that Potter child. Draco Malfoy. And your mother Narcissa and father Lucius were here too a few years after that. I remember now. You are a death eater. Aren't you? You were the ones that drove us from our home."

"That's not me," the blonde boy said. "Draco is my father."

"That doesn't matter. You are all the same. All you death eaters. So tell me boy, why do you want to save this girl?" His eight eyes looked at the scared girl next to him and he remembered something. "She's a Weasley. I recognize her from her father. She's as scared from us as he was. And she looks like him too. Ron Weasley's daughter. Her blood is not like yours, I can smell it. Tell me why you want to save her."

"It is my task to save her. For the Triwizard championship," Scorpius said as he took a few steps closer towards Rose who didn't dare to say a word.

"I did not ask why you need to save her. I asked why you want to save her," the spider said.

"She's my friend," Scorpius answered.

"Liar!" the spider shouted and suddenly Scorpius was the one surrounded. "Someone like you could not care about someone else. I have seen it in the past. You cannot change. You belong to the same family as your father. You belong to the kind of the Dark Lord. He was the one who made us look like beasts. Because he told everyone that my father was the one who had killed those people instead of his Basilisk. You are a bad person."

"I'm not a bad person!" Scorpius shouted.

"You are!" the spider screamed. "But if you want to do something good in your miserable life than sacrifice yourself. To save the girl. That is your task, isn't it? And if she's your friend you will have no problems giving your life. Will you?"

"Scorpius don't!" Rose suddenly shouted. "Let them kill me and go. You're the one with the wand, not me. Go!" she shouted.

Scorpius looked at her and he could see pain in her eyes. Oh, how much he wanted the pain to go away.

"Just let me say goodbye to her," he whispered.

The spider nodded and all the others went aside so he could walk over to the red haired girl. He crouched down next to her and she took his face in her hands while tears were still streaming down her face.

"I never expected you to be as important to me as Al and Lysander are. And you aren't. Because they're like my brothers. They're different than you are. But that's alright. Because I don't need you to be my brother. I need you to be my friend. And that's all I could've ever asked after all those years," she cried. "I've always known what you are. I have seen through your mask, Scorpius. You are nothing like your father and you never will be. So please, go. Be safe."

The blonde boy pulled her into a hug and he could feel her hands trembling against his chest. "You know I can't do a thing like that, Rosie. I can't let you die. I want you to be safe." He pulled back and he whipped the tears from her cheeks and tried to smile at her. "I don't want you to be my friend anymore," he said. "Because you'll miss me if I am. So just think of me as that bully you hated. Then you won't feel sad when I'm gone."

He got up and turned to the spiders but when Rose grabbed his hand he looked down at her again.

"I will never think of you as a bully," she whispered. "But I won't think of you as a friend either. I will think of you as my hero, as the boy I loved."

Her hand slipped out of his as the spiders took him with them and the last thing he saw was her hand reaching out to him. Tears still streaming down her face.

CLIFFHANGER OF DOOM!

A/N: Still one chapter to go!