Disclaimer - I do not own Harry Potter.
Note - Well here's the chapter you have been waiting for. Warning, cliffhanger at the end. Sorry for any mistakes I didn't catch. But read, enjoy, and let me know what you think.
Rebel Malfoy
Chapter Ten: Finding The Elusive Potter Princess
A bad taste set in Scorpius's mouth, and a bad feeling placed itself in his gut. It wasn't just guilt, but shame. He was ashamed of himself. He had thought long and hard about what his father had said that night. How did he show his pride? And he'd come to a horrible realization.
He didn't.
Scorpius had done nothing to show his pride in his family. He'd practically abandoned it. He'd even thrown away the looks of his family. Sure, his had originally dyed his hair to irritate Lucius, but then he had abused it. He had used his new hair to be treated like a normal kid to others. To not be treated like a Malfoy. To be something other than a Malfoy for a short time. He had acted . . . almost as if he had no pride in his family. He was utterly ashamed of himself. And the feelings of guilt and shamed stayed with him for all of break. It was obvious, but he refused to talk about it. But he was sure his father had an idea of what was wrong.
"I need to you dye my hair back," Scorpius stated to Lana. It was the first thing he said upon entering their compartment on the train back to school.
Lana looked at him with a raised brow, but didn't question it. "Ok. If you want."
"So what happened over break?" Mitch asked. "You were weird at that dinner, and you refused to hang out every day."
"I didn't want to go to Diagon Alley. Not until my hair was back to normal," Scorpius mumbled as he sat down. He ran his hand through his hair, and resisted the urge to pull at it. "Not until I look like I should."
"He won't tell us what went down over break," Lars told Mitch. "Not even me and Lana."
"I don't even recognize myself," Scorpius muttered. "I'm completely different."
"Well isn't that the point of growing up?" Mitch countered with a serious tone. "What, did you expect to stay the same forever?"
"I expected to still know who I was," Scorpius hissed, angrier at himself than Mitch. "I didn't expect to throw away everything my family stood for!"
"What does your family stand for that you've thrown away?" Lana demanded firmly.
"I was proud of my family a year ago!" Scorpius exclaimed as he stood up and kicked his seat.
"You're still proud of them!" Lars argued. "You can't hate yourself for wanting to not be mocked for your name!"
"Where is the pride in that?" Scorpius demanded. "Where is the pride in hiding who I am? In walking away and avoiding it?"
Mitch rolled his eyes. "Are you done feeling sorry for yourself?"
It wasn't just Scorpius, but the twins as well that looked at Mitch in surprise. Not just at his words, but at his irritated and mildly angry tone of voice. "What?" Scorpius replied, still angry at himself.
"Are you through feeling sorry for yourself?" Mitch repeated, now standing up, an inch away from Scorpius. "Are you done being a coward?"
Scorpius glared at his best friend. "I am no coward!"
"You're acting like one!" Mitch yelled. "Coming in here and whining about how you have no pride, and how you've changed! Quit being a child! We've all changed! You're not the only one! You're just the only one being a baby about it!"
"I'm being a baby? Coming from the one that always complains about how his siblings are spoiled? You think you're so much better just because you can pretend like you don't care about them! You're a complete fake!" Scorpius screamed.
The two friends were inches away from each other now, their breaths coming out in angry pants, and their eyes glaring furiously into the others. Their bodies were tense. Their jaws tight and their hands in fists.
"At least I never acted like I was too good to fight for what was right! I was no coward!" Mitch said through gritted teeth.
"I was at least proud. I didn't go around trying to play like I was different. I didn't force my changes on others!" Scorpius said lowly.
"Coward!"
"Fake!"
The friends tackled each other the same time, slamming into each other, and grabbing at the other. Scorpius wrapped his arms around Mitch's neck, but Mitch wrapped his own arms around Scorpius's middle, and rammed him into the compartment door. Scorpius pulled his head back, choking Mitch, making him cough. The door suddenly opened, and the two of them fell to the floor of the train hall.
"Woah! Damn!" someone exclaimed in shock.
"Hey, Malfoy and Avery are fighting!" someone yelled, bringing others to the scene.
But Scorpius and Mitch had ignored them, and continued to pound and beat away at each other. Mitch slammed the heel of his hand into Scorpius's nose, and Scorpius had grabbed his hand and twisted it harshly. With every hit one gave, the other gave one back. Mitch slammed his own forehead into Scorpius's, and Scorpius sent a knee into Mitch's stomach with all his might.
"Stop it you two!"
Hands grabbed Scorpius around the middle, and pulled him away. He struggled the entire time, still glaring at Mitch, who was being held back by Raven, and also looked to be struggling against him. Aaron came to stand in-between them. He was glaring at both of them.
"Drag them in the compartment. Everyone else scatter and get the hell away!" Aaron yelled at the crowd.
Scorpius let himself be dragged toward the compartment, but then pulled away and glared at who had been holding him. It was Adrian. He continued inside and sat down, glaring at his lap, and ignoring the blood he could feel running down his chin and neck. But as Kim Avery appeared in front of him and began to hold a tissue to his nose, he held it for her. He felt his body begin to relax, and his muscles loosened. He blinked, noticing the pain in his right eye as he did.
He looked at Mitch, who looked as bad as Scorpius felt. Stacy West was dabbing at his lip with a tissue too. He could see red finger prints on Mitch's neck, a bruised brow, eye, and cheek. Raven and Adrian stood to the side, but still ready in case the two were to jump at each other again. Eventually Aaron came in glared at the two of them, slamming the compartment door shut.
"What the hell is wrong with you? You're so crazy that you attack your best friend on a crowded train?" Aaron yelled at them. "What is your problem?"
Mitch looked at Scorpius, and the two of them locked eyes. Then Mitch shrugged. "Nothing. I don't have a problem."
Scorpius nodded, still holding the tissue to his nose. "I don't either," Scorpius agreed. In fact, oddly enough, he felt much better. Reassured and less tense. Maybe this was what Lars meant when he said that he always felt better after a fight with Aaron. He probably hadn't meant to this degree of a fight, but Scorpius still felt better.
"Then why the hell did you two attack each other?" Stacy demanded. "Are you insane?"
"I feel much better," Mitch said simply.
Kim rolled her eyes. "Oh, not this dumb boys fighting crap again," she muttered with a shake of her head.
Aaron eyed them critically. "So you two got it all out?"
Scorpius nodded. "Yeah. I feel good."
Aaron crossed his arms. "Fine. But I'm not letting Kim and Stacy heal the bruises or cuts. You can live with them then."
"I'm good with that," Mitch said.
"Good. Because after learning the reasoning behind this, I'm not healing you," Kim stated. "Besides, Scorpius's nose isn't broken anyways, so he'll be fine. And you look decent enough."
"Why thank you, big sis," Mitch muttered with a roll of his eyes.
The two of them stayed silent as the older kids filed out of the room, the girls still shaking their heads and rolling their eyes. Once the door had shut behind them, Scorpius looked at Mitch. "My bad," he said.
Mitch shook his head. "Nah, it's not just your fault. Neither of us can apparently handle the pressure without an outlet of some kind."
"I get the feeling the others will be pissed though, if we make fighting each other our outlets," Scorpius said with a small chuckle, ignoring how he could taste blood now.
"Well, then we'll just have to beat the crap out of more Gryffindors," Mitch said, laughing as well. He then spit into the tissue, showing blood. Then he grinned. "Hey, let's go show Lana and Miley this!"
Scorpius laughed at his friend's antics. But then he held out his hand. "So, mutual understanding that it was all the pressure?"
Mitch nodded and took his hand. "Agreed. Now, let's go scare the hell out of the girls."
"Hey, Malfoy, Baby Avery, we heard about your fight," Potter called from behind them.
Scorpius and the other stopped in the Entrance Hall, and turned to see Potter and his normal group of friends, along with his little brother and his friends. Still bruised up, a bit of dried blood, Scorpius and Mitch looked like they'd had a fight, and the word had spread fast through the train.
"Well can you blame them? After all, we can't stand them either, so it's no surprise they hate each other too," Matlock joked lamely, but they all still laughed.
Scorpius smirked. "Hey, Potter, how's that baby sister of yours? Still ugly? Still a disgrace to witches?"
Potter's face quickly became one of anger. "I swear, Malfoy, I will-,"
"Like we're afraid of you, Potter!" Mitch laughed immediately. "Just because your mum cried at the sight of your ugly mug, doesn't mean we're going to run in fear."
"Like you're one to talk!" Albus Potter spoke up quickly.
"Anyone hear that?" Scorpius asked innocently. "I think . . . I think I just heard the sound of a kitten meowing somewhere."
"Maybe it should be put out of its misery," Lars threatened, his eyes on little Potter.
The tension between the groups was thick, and it was obvious to all of them that if one spell was thrown, then it would be an all-out war between them, right in the middle of the hall.
"Just you wait, Malfoy," James Potter muttered, fury still in his eyes. "When my sister comes to Hogwarts, she will be your worst nightmare. I promise you."
"I'm not scared of any of you Potters," Scorpius retorted.
"You should be." Then, despite the anger in his eyes, James Potter began to grin. "Because, if you think I'm bad, then you haven't seen anything yet."
"I'm shaking," Scorpius said dully.
"You know, despite how . . . boring this is, I'm hungry. So, you kittens have fun," Lana mocked before turning and heading for the Great Hall, and the boys followed after her.
"What do you think he meant about that?" Lars wondered quietly. "About his sister being worse?"
Scorpius shrugged. "Who knows. It's Potter, he never makes sense."
"Now, who can tell me what wand movement is required for the spell?" Professor Flitwick asked.
The second year Slytherins were in Charms . . . with the Gryffindors. The class was always quiet, expect for the occasional mocking whisper.
Professor Flitwick looked around the room, trying to decide who to call on, despite the fact that Rose Weasley already had her hand up. "Hmm. Dominique? How about you? I know your sister was good at Charms."
Dominique Weasley . . . well she was a weird one. She was always angry, and never seemed to smile. Plus, Scorpius hardly ever saw her around her family or even Gryffindors in general. She was always with girls from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff.
And now, she was glaring at Professor Flitwick. "Oh, so because I'm a Weasely, I must know all about Charms? Just because of my sister?"
Professor Flitwick looked shocked and uncertain. "Well, no . . ."
"Because I'm a Weasley, my whole life is decided. What I'm good at and what I like? You know, I just love how people have already decided on how my life will turn out!" And with that, she grabbed her things and began walking out of the room. "I'd rather a detention than to have to sit through another minute of this crap!"
The whole class watched in complete surprise as Dominique Weasley stormed out of the room. Then they looked around at each other. Professor Flitwick was spluttering, trying to move back to the subject. Rose Weasley had buried her face in her hands, and Albus Potter just looked down at his desk.
Mitch nudged Scorpius and leaned close to whisper. "Dude, she is probably the coolest, yet bitchiest, girl I've ever seen!" Then he laughed quietly.
"She's bitchy because she's a Weasley," Lars chuckled.
"Apparently," Scorpius mumbled with his own smirk.
It was two weeks before Lana and Scorpius both had a spare moment for her to dye his hair back. They sat in the boys' dorm's bathroom, as Lana worked over his hair.
"You know, now I think it's going to be weird seeing you blonde. I've gotten used to these dark locks," Lana teased lightly.
Scorpius smirked. "Yeah, I have too. I just hardly recognize that it's me I see in the mirror."
"Well, black or blonde, you look the same to me," Lana joked.
"Oh, how sweet of you to say," Scorpius laughed. His bruises from the fight with Mitch had already started to fade, so it would be nice to look in the mirror and at least see a little bit of his old self in the reflection.
"I might dye mine back as well," Lana mentioned. "I think I like how my hair looks brown anyways."
"And if you mum sees my hair back to normal, she'll demand you fix yours," Scorpius pointed out with another laugh.
"Exactly, so I'll fix Lars's too," Lana said with a smile. "After all, it took almost a whole day to convince our mother not to try and fix it in our sleep once we'd dyed it."
"I was surprised at how accepting my parents were of it," Scorpius commented. "They were surprised, but they didn't really argue."
Suddenly they could hear the sound of notes from a guitar playing behind the door. "Mitch must be practicing," Lana mentioned.
"He does that a lot. He's been taking his lessons really seriously, and he and Bret are together playing whenever they both have a free moment," Scorpius told her.
"That's good. After all, next year Bret will be pretty occupied with N.E.W.T.s, so he might not have as much time," Lana said. "But at least Mitch is finding a passion for something."
"Yeah, he's really into it. But he won't let us sit and actually hear him try to play something. The only time I've ever seen a shy or modest Mitch," he joked.
Suddenly a harsh cord was hit, and they could hear Mitch cursing. "Sounds like he broke a string."
"That will be the third one this week. He's running out of extras," Scorpius laughed.
As days moved forward in the second half of their second year, things began to take to routine again, but also bring about a normalcy for them. Scorpius was again blonde, and Lana and Lars had taken back to their brown hair. And funny enough, Kim had forced Mitch to get rid of the silver in his hair, calling it distracting and not cute.
The four of them had taken to making time to spend together, just the four of them. Most of the time they would take a walk together around the castle, sometimes causing a bit of trouble, mostly for Gryffindors. But they enjoyed it. For them, it was proof that not everything had changed in their lives. Something was still the same, and that included their friendship.
Their match against Ravenclaw was a much calmer match than the one against Gryffindor. They had won, but no thanks to Tyson, again. He'd missed the Snitch, but Slytherin had been lucky enough to win with points thanks to their heavy lead. Scorpius had fewer injuries this time around, only taking a hit from a Bludger twice, both times hit by the shorter Scamander twin, who was now a Beater with his twin.
As the end of their second year began to approach, and exams started, they spent a lot of their time studying for them, and also trying to decide what electives to take.
"I still don't know what I want to do," Lars complained. "I mean, I'm totally up for Care of Magical Creatures, but I don't know about Muggle Studies. I just get the feeling that the class might kick the crap out of me."
"I'm taking it," Mitch stated.
"Me too," Scorpius agreed. "Care of Magical Creatures and Muggle Studies."
"Well, I like breaking out of stereotypes as much as you guys do, but I get the feeling Muggle Studies wouldn't be my thing. I'm going with Arthimacy and Ancient Ruins," Lana told them.
"Boring!" Mitch mocked with a grin.
"Hey, look who it is," Lars mentioned, pointing ahead. There was Albus Potter, standing by the wall, and scowling with intense concentration as he looked at a piece of paper he had lying on the books he had in his arms.
Scorpius smirked, and as they came closer, and smacked the books down to the floor, effectively shocking Potter, and making him drop them all over the floor. "You look constipated, Potter. You might want to get that checked!"
They all began to laugh as they continued to walk, ignoring whatever Albus Potter could have to say in response.
"Man, what are we going to do when we have three of those kids to deal with?" Mitch said, still laughing, and not looking at all worried.
"Lana here can take care of her," Scorpius said, giving her a pat on the shoulder.
"None of us girls are afraid of a Potter Princess," Lana said with a chuckle. "And the last thing I'm going to let happen is for some bratty eleven-year-old get in my face."
"Sounds like a plan," Mitch said as he stretched his arms above his head. "I've got to admit, Potter's made such a big deal about her that I'm curious. I can't wait to see how this girl turns out."
"You know what I just remembered," Lana commented as they all sat on the Hogwarts Express, on their way home after the end of their second year of school. "Next year, Xavier will be coming to school too."
Mitch nodded at the mention of the oldest of his younger brothers. "Yeah. He's been pretty excited about it, although much more relaxed than we'd expected."
"Excited to finally be the older sibling at school, instead of the youngest?" Scorpius asked, already knowing the answer.
"Absolutely. Now my parents have someone else to fuss over, as does Kim," Mitch replied.
"We have a lot of kids from old families coming in next year," Justin mentioned. "Amanda's little brother, Xavier, Ginger Pritchard's little sister, Dante's sister, and Adrian's sister."
"Good. We'll need more people on our side if we're going to be contending with three Potters," Rex pointed out.
"But we don't know for sure that all of them will be Slytherin," Lana pointed out.
"Xavier definitely is," Mitch said with a chuckle. "I'm pretty confident that all of my brothers are Slytherin material."
"Well that I can agree with," Lana said with a grin.
"I hope they're all in Slytherin. Sounds like an interesting group," Rex laughed.
"Well this summer, Aaron's promised to help me improve my skills as a Beater. Then maybe we can beat Gryffindor, and win the Quidditch Cup next year," Lars stated. Slytherin had come in third, Hufflepuff just barely beating them for second. And of course, Gryffindor had won the cup. Neither Potter had shut up about it.
"I'm expecting a very boring summer," Scorpius muttered. "We're going to Spain this year, so it's bound to be dull."
"Spain is dull?" Justin laughed.
"Going to Spain without a friend is dull," Scorpius retorted. "Both of my parents work while I'm stuck finding ways to occupy myself."
"When are you guys leaving?" Mitch asked.
"In two days," Scorpius sighed.
"Oh, I'd forgotten how beautiful this summer home is!" Astoria said with a content sigh as they walked into the house.
Scorpius was most thankful to be out of the hot and stick air outside. He wiped the light sweat from his forehead as his parents and grandparents continued to talk about the house, and the plans for the day. But Scorpius knew that his only plans were to occupy himself.
"I'm going to swim," Scorpius said as he made his way up the stairs to go through his bags, which the house elves had already had brought.
Unlike the house in Ireland, this one didn't wasn't by the beach. So Scorpius was always forced to walk fifteen minutes to the beach. It was always packed with muggles during this time of year, but that had never really bothered Scorpius. He had always been distracted by learning how to swim, and getting further into the water. But now, he found himself examining the muggles he passed, looking at the gadgets and things they had brought with them and left on their towels.
"Have you heard her new song? I've got it on my phone!" one teenage girl squealed to another girl.
"Dude, my I-Pod is still screwing up," one boy complained.
Scorpius scowled, trying to get quick looks at the things these muggle kids were talking about. They were strange things that not even Mitch had talked about. He wondered if he'd learn about them when he started Muggle Studies next year.
Scorpius laid out a towel, and began to slip off his shoes and socks. After he'd pulled his shirt off, Scorpius instantly went for the water. He loved swimming. It was relaxing to just float on the water, or do a few laps around.
Now he floated on his back, letting his mind wander. This short vacation away from everything would give him some time to be away from things. Now that his hair was blonde, people would go back to glaring at him on the streets of Diagon Alley. But this vacation was also forcing him to be in a smaller space with Lucius Malfoy. That wasn't on his list of fun anymore.
Dinner tonight would be hell. On the first night of these vacations, they all ate dinner together. It was really a demand, but more like a small tradition with them. Because after tonight, the business of the trip would take his father away for big portions of the day, and sometimes keep him from dinner with the family. There were times that inspiration would take his mother to a new level, and she would have dinner in whatever room she was working in as she continued to work. But Scorpius was always left with his grandparents, which was something he wanted to avoid now, at least Lucius.
"So, Scorpius, did you enjoy your afternoon at the beach?" Narcissa asked at dinner that night.
Scorpius nodded. "Yes, Grandmother. It was beautiful out today."
"Yes, it is rather nice out. I hope it stays that way when I go out tomorrow," Draco said idly.
"Oh, I'm sure it will. It is summer, after all," Astoria said with a smile.
Scorpius scowled at the conversation. His mother and father were smiling at each other, despite the dull conversation topic. But this was how it always was at these dinners with the Malfoy family. Dull. And sometimes quiet when conversation died. It was so different from, say, Mitch's house, where it was never quiet at the dinner table, and there were sometimes five different conversations going on at one time. Even dinner at the Goyles' home was livelier. And it always made him think . . .
"Mother, Father, why did you only have one child?" Scorpius asked suddenly. He'd always had the question come to his mind on occasion, but he'd never actually asked. He was always a bit afraid that it could be a touchy subject, but at this point, his curiosity was too great.
Draco and Astoria looked at each other with a bit of surprise, and then Draco was the one who spoke. "Why do you ask, son?"
Now Scorpius scowled. His father was trying to avoid the question. "Just curious. So?" He diverted it right back to his question, not wanting to let them escape from it.
Astoria put down her fork. "Well, it's a bit complicated."
Scorpius rested his chin on his fist. Complicated? He'd had the whole "talk" with his father long ago, and he knew that it wasn't normally "complicated." So . . . "Complicated how? Did something go wrong when you had me?"
"Nothing like that, son," Draco assured.
"And take your elbow off the table, Scorpius," Narcissa chastised lightly. Scorpius did as she said, but still looked to his parents.
Astoria sighed. "It's just that . . . I'm not exactly . . . built, for childbearing, you could say."
Scorpius leaned forward on his folded arms on the table, forgetting the rule of putting his elbows on the table. "What does that mean?"
"Basically, it means that it was difficult for you mother to give birth to you, son," Draco explained. "And it would have been very difficult for her to do it again. Enough to be . . . serious, or even fatal. So, we knew that our son was the only child we would risk having."
Scorpius still scowled, but it was more with thought now. He looked at his mother. "But, did you want more children?"
Astoria shrugged her smile light. "Maybe one more, but you keep me on my toes enough by yourself," she said softly.
"Would you have wanted another boy, or a girl? If you could choose," Scorpius asked, now very curious.
"I would have wanted a girl," Astoria said easily. "What do you think, Draco?"
Draco took time to chew his food and swallow. "Well . . . I guess a daughter would have been fine. A definite handful, but fine nonetheless."
Astoria rolled her eyes. "You're just afraid you couldn't handle one," she teased.
Scorpius let himself be lost to his thoughts as his parents, mostly his mother, teased each other. His parents . . . they were practically robbed of their chance to even know if they desired another child. His mother was robbed of her chance to have a daughter. He would never have a chance to have a sibling, or to be a big brother. His family was forced by fate into being small.
"I'm going to have a big family, when I grow up," Scorpius stated, bringing all attention to him again.
Draco looked amused now. "Why is that?"
"Because . . . I think it's boring, being an only child. So, I wouldn't want to do that to any child I had," Scorpius said, now moving the food on his plate around with his fork. "I think it'd be fun to have a livelier home."
"Well if that's what you want, then I'm sure that's what you'll have. You're a smart boy," Astoria said with a proud smile.
"Just don't let it run your thoughts. After all, you've got years ahead of you, son," Draco said with a chuckle. "For now, have fun and focus on being thirteen."
"I think the shoulders need to be fixed," Madam Malkin commented as she looked over Scorpius. Scorpius was on a stool, his arms out as she and his mother examined the school robe he wore.
"I think you're right. His shoulders have gotten a bit broader, I think that's why the sleeves seem so short," Astoria agreed.
"And he's getting taller, so we'll have to bring the hems down. And we'll have to widen it around his chest I think," Madam Malkin began to mutter as she started to work on tailoring a robe on him. The day to return to Hogwarts was just around the corner for Scorpius and the others, and he'd gotten his letter from the school, letting him know of his needed supplies. Madam Malkin's was the first place his mother had taken him so far. Madam Malkin was the only one who would tailor his robes for him, as all her assistants seemed almost terrified of him and his mother.
"After this, we'll go and pick up any potion supplies you need," Astoria mentioned to Scorpius as she let Madam Malkin work. "And if you want, we can go and pick up some Quidditch supplies for you as well."
Scorpius smiled. "Sure. Thanks, Mum. Can we get the books last? They'll be heavy."
"That's fine. We'll meet your father at Gringotts once we're done here," Astoria told him.
Once Scorpius's robes had been refitted and re-tailored to better fit him, he and his mother left for Gringotts, where they ran into Draco, who was just leaving. "Ah, you have your robes. So where to next?"
"Quality Quidditch Supplies," Astoria told him. "I thought we'd let Scorpius pick up a few new things."
So the three of them walked to the shop, ignoring any looks they got. Well, Scorpius found them hard to ignore, but he paid no attention to them at least. Once they were in the shop, Scorpius immediately looked toward getting another pair of dragon hide gloves, as the ones he currently had were a bit weather damaged.
"But, Dad, I could really use a new broom!"
Scorpius froze at the sound of that voice. James Potter! Scorpius immediately turned around, and saw him disappear behind a shelf. But he got full sight of Harry Potter, and his youngest son, before they followed after James Potter.
Scorpius grabbed the gloves and quickly made his way toward his parents. "Here, this is all I need," he said, trying to seem casual, while wanting to get out of the shop as quick as possible.
"Are you sure? How is your broom? And your cleaning kit?" Draco asked as he looked up at what, to most, was an expensive new broom.
"It's doing ok," Scorpius said, feeling impatient.
"Ah, Draco, what a surprise."
Scorpius tried to keep from flinching at the sound of the Chosen One's voice. But he turned around to see the great hero standing there, with both of his sons. Scorpius's own enemies. But the hero didn't seem at all angry or hostile. A little uncomfortable maybe, but he had a bit of a smile on his face.
Draco gave a nod, looking a bit tense as well, but polite. "Hello, Potter. What brings you here?"
"Just letting the boys here get their hopes up as we wait for their sister and mother to come back from Ollivander's," Harry Potter said simply, although still uncomfortable.
Scorpius perked up at that. His daughter was nearby? He looked at James Potter, who was looking at him with a furious glare. Had he'd assumed what Scorpius was thinking now? Was he afraid that Scorpius would go and look for her? Well, it was tempting now, but Scorpius knew he wouldn't do anything, not in front of his mother and father.
"Ah, you have another going to Hogwarts then?" Astoria said, much more politely and relaxed than the rest of them.
"Yes, the last one at home," Harry Potter mentioned.
"Dad, can we look at brooms now?" Albus Potter asked, almost impatient and whiney.
Harry Potter gave a nod, before giving a polite smile to Draco. "Well, goodbye, Malfoy. Enjoy your day."
"Same to you, Potter," Draco replied with an equally polite tone.
But Scorpius had locked glaring eyes with James Potter, and it wasn't until Harry Potter had placed a hand on his eldest son's shoulder that they broke away from each other, both just as angry as the other now. Going out in search the Potter princess had become more tempting with just the thought of firing up James Potter.
"Let's get your gloves, son. And if you're sure your broom is ok?" Draco said suddenly.
Scorpius tried to relax as he nodded. "Yeah, it's fine," he assured. So they bought the gloves, and Scorpius was glad to be out of the shop, and away from Potter.
"You should have gone to get a look at her. Potter might have blown up," Mitch joked. Both boys sat in the room Mitch shared with Xavier. Mitch sat on the floor next to his bed, strumming a few chords on his guitar, while Scorpius sat next to him looking through one of Mitch's magazines, which was full of musicians and artists.
"I was with my parents. It's not like I could have done anything to begin with," Scorpius replied as he flipped the page.
"It's weird how elusive this girl is," Mitch mentioned, a curious look on his face. "I mean, a lot of us tried to get a glimpse of her at the station at Christmas, and when we came back for summer break. But none of us Slytherins have been able to get a look at her. It seems strange."
"I guess she's good at hiding," Scorpius said with a shrug.
"How hard could it be to find a little girl with black hair among a bunch of Weasleys?" Mitch pointed out.
Scorpius thought about that. It did seem odd, but . . . "Maybe she has red hair like the rest of them. After all, her mum's a Weasley."
Mitch stopped playing for a brief moment. "Yeah, I guess that's true. But we've still never seen her, and that's weird."
"Won't be long until she's forced to come out of hiding," Scorpius assured. "She can't hide during the Sorting, even if we can't find her on the train."
"Oh, you know where she'll be at on the train. With Potter," Mitch laughed. "After all the guff we've given him, I'd bet he keeps her close by during the train ride."
"If so, then he's just asking for us to come and see him," Scorpius said with a smirk. "And I'd hate to disappoint him."
"Hey, Scor!" Xavier greeted with a smile as he walked into the bedroom. "How have you been?" Xavier was one of the brothers that looked a lot like Mitch. He too had sharp features in his face, despite the baby fat. He had dark black hair, which he kept at a nice length, which now looked the same as Mitch's, making them look much more alike.
"Good. How about you? Excited for Hogwarts? Less than a week away now," Scorpius replied.
Xavier kept smiling as he sat on his bed, looking at the two of them. "Yeah. I think it'll be a lot of fun."
Scorpius looked at Mitch, who only looked at his guitar as he played. Had Mitch warned Xavier about being jumped for being a Slytherin? About how hard it could be? Or . . . had he opted out like his own siblings had with him? Was he too afraid to scare his little brother? "Really? You seem very positive."
"Well no matter how bad Mitch makes it sound, I have faith it'll still be the best years of my life," Xavier said, still smiling.
"So he told you about how things are at school?" Scorpius asked.
Xavier nodded. "Yeah, no matter how much Kim told him not too. And I appreciate it, but I'm still not going to be afraid or negative about going. I won't let others take my excitement away from me."
Scorpius smirked. "Well good for you, kid. I'm sure you'll do fine there. After all, we'll be there with you."
"Of course," Mitch finally spoke. "We're Slytherins. We stick together. We're the House where true friends are made, after all."
"Ah, third year! Hogsmeade visits, Quidditch games, and still no big exams! This will be the year," Lars said happily as he put his things in the overhead compartment.
"Not to mention the addition of two more classes, and two more exams at the end of the year," Lana retorted with a grin at her brother.
Lars ignored her. "I will not be discouraged."
"So, when are we going to go find Potter?" Rex asked eagerly as he sat down.
"We're waiting awhile," Mitch told him as he sat down and began to pull his guitar out from its bag. "Scor's idea."
"No need to seem like we're in a rush," Scorpius explained as he too sat down. "Besides, let them get comfortable first. Then we'll strike."
"That's good," Rex said with a grin. "Let the kittens become content, then BAM!" He stomped his foot. "Catch them off guard. I like it."
"You are too excited about this," Justin said with a chuckle.
"Of course I am!" Rex insisted. "Potter and Gryffindors have been mocking me and picking on me, claiming it was because of my brother. Now, I may not get along with him either, but that's no reason to attack the little sibling. And if they're going to do it to me, then I'll do it right back to them!"
"And who better than their precious Potter princess?" Lana said in agreement.
So they did wait, although Rex was obviously impatient. But Scorpius didn't tease him like the others, because he too was a bit impatient. He wanted to finally see this girl. He wanted to see Potter's face when they arrived into their compartment.
"Can we go now? We're probably almost there!" Rex burst. The trolley had already come by, and it was late afternoon. He could be right.
"Yeah, let's do it now," Mitch agreed as he stood up. So the six of them left their compartment and began to make their way down the train, looking for a Potter or a Weasley. They found what they were looking for when Lana caught a glimpse of a compartment window ahead of them.
"There. I can see both Potter boys, and their cousin, Fred or whatever," she told them. So Scorpius took the lead and walked quicker toward their goal. Without hesitation, Scorpius threw open their door and stepped inside. But he hid the disappointment he felt when he saw that the only other two were prissy Weasley, and a young boy with curly red hair. No Potter sibling.
"Well damn," Mitch said with a sigh, also looking casual. "Looks like she's not here."
"What the hell are you doing here, Malfoy?" James Potter hissed as he immediately stood up.
"Relax, Potter," Scorpius said easily. "We're just like all the other kids on the train. We want to get a look at the new Potter too."
"You stay away from my sister!" Potter growled.
"Just get out of here, Malfoy," Rose Weasley stated.
"Oh, shut up, priss," Rex snapped. "No one's talking to you."
"Don't talk to her that way!" Fred Weasley retorted quickly.
"Let's get out of here," Lana commented. "The one we're looking for isn't here, and I don't feel like wasting time with a group of useless boys and a priss."
"You're right, dear sister. We've got a precious princess to find," Lars said with a chuckle.
"I'm warning you," Potter hissed lowly as he got in Scorpius's face. "If I hear just the tiniest rumor about you even speaking to my sister, in any way, I promise, I will hurt you. You will regret being born."
Scorpius smirked. "I must admit, I find it amusing how you think I'm afraid of you. Sadly for you, I'm not. In fact, more than ever now I feel like going and finding your sister. And I feel like making sure she knows that kittens tend to be devoured by us snakes," he said in an equally low and threatening tone. He knew he couldn't go and look for her now. The moment had passed, and little priss Weasley would most likely let the prefects know what had gone on. They would be keeping an eye out for him and the others. They would have to wait until they'd reached the castle now. But he was at least going to rile up Potter, instead of leaving empty handed.
Potter grabbed his collar, and Scorpius quickly and tightly grabbed his wrists. "Let him go, Potter," Lana stated calmly, and Scorpius was sure that her wand was out.
"Just let them leave, James!" Rose Weasley exclaimed. "Hugo is still here!"
Scorpius looked at the younger boy with narrowed eyes. His eyes were wide with shock and uncertainty. Was this her little brother? "Yes, no need to frighten the baby kitten, Potter."
With a rough shoved, Potter let him go. But he obviously wasn't done. "This is your last warning, Malfoy. Keep away from my sister, or you will regret it."
"And this is your last reminder. You don't frighten me, Potter," Scorpius retorted as he rolled his shoulders. He looked to his friends. "Let's go. And don't worry, Rex. If anything, we'll get a good look at her during the Sorting."
And Scorpius didn't turn to look back, but he was sure that by the sounds of people jumping to their feet that Potter had attempted to grab at him, but had been restrained. Scorpius just smirked and reveled in his small victory as he left the den of kittens.
"Man, do you think the first years will be coming in soon? I'm starving," Adrian Flint commented with a groan.
"As much as I hate to agree with my brother, I am too," Miley sighed.
"It shouldn't be long," Mitch assured. "Finally, I'll be able to see if Xavier is as relaxed as he pretends to be."
"Here they come," Lana said as the doors opened, and Professor Longbottom led the way for the first years. Scorpius watched them as they all looked around in wonder and awe. And he chuckled with the others when they all jumped once the Sorting Hat begun to sing. But then the time came for them to be Sorted, and the Slytherins watched with interest to see if any kids from non-Slytherin families would be joining their ranks.
"Angel, Clay!" Professor Longbottom called.
A small boy with dark blonde hair came up to the stool, and climbed up. He fidgeted endlessly as the hat was placed on his head.
"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted.
Ignoring how obnoxiously loud the Gryffindors cheered, the Slytherins all clapped politely, and with much less enthusiasm.
"Avery, Xavier!"
Now they all watched with interest as Xavier walked to the stool. Scorpius smirked as he watched his eyes flit around the room, trying to seem relaxed, but failing. His nerves were shown brightly in his eyes. The hat was then on his head, and dropped down past his eyes.
"SLYTHERIN!"
Now they were the ones to cheer loudly, and Scorpius glanced at Mitch, who had a small grin of his own. He was obviously happy that his brother would be in the same House, even if he didn't say it aloud.
"Baddock, Hunter."
Hunter looked a lot like Amanda, with the hair at least, which was all Scorpius could really see at the moment. But Scorpius could tell he was nervous, just by how his face was red, and his eyes were to the floor.
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Surprise, surprise," Scorpius heard Amanda laugh from a little ways down the table.
As more names kept getting called, and more kids were Sorted, Scorpius began to get bored. The only new name to enter Slytherin so far had been a girl named Izzy Bones. Otherwise it was the usual. Adrian and Miley's little sister, and Dante's sister were the only other ones Sorted into Slytherin so far.
"Page, Jon," Professor Longbottom called forward.
"Man, we're not going to get many new people into our House this year," Mitch sighed.
"I guess that's a good thing though, if you look at it a different way," Miley mentioned. "Now they won't be hated for a reason they don't understand. Unlike us from old Slytherin families, who understand way too well why we're hated."
When other students began clapping, Scorpius joined them, not even having paid attention to where the little boy known as Jon Page had been Sorted. But then his attention was completely caught. And not just his, and not just the attentions of Slytherin. But his attention of the entire room, students, staff, and ghosts was brought to a single name.
"Potter, Lily."