Fandom: Harry Potter

Pairing: Albus Potter/Scorpius Malfoy

Summary: Everyone was amazed when Albus Potter was sorted into Slytherin House, but no less amazing was the effect on Hogwarts and the House itself. No longer reviled, and now popular, times had certainly changed for Slytherin House. But not for Scorpius Malfoy...

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter world is not mine, but it's sure fun playing in it.

Warnings: NC17 rated so graphic descriptions of m/m sex. Bullying. Mild violence.

Author's Note: I've never written one of these angst-filled, Cinderella, hurt/comfort type of things so I thought I'd see if I could. This is the result. It's also the first story that I've written for a long time that has dual pov, but it seemed appropriate.


Albus Potter and the Slytherin Fairy Princess - Chapter 11


Scorpius woke early on Christmas Eve morning, blinked into the dim light, and sighed with frustration.

He rolled over in the comfortable bed and winced as one of the bruises on his back twinged. It was taking him longer to heal this time even though he'd thought the injuries hadn't been much worse than the last time. He wondered how much worse it could have been if Creevey hadn't been hampered by lack of time.

After Creevey's second attack, and Simon's surprising behaviour, Scorpius had almost felt frozen. He'd gone through the final week at Hogwarts in a state of numb indecision – he knew he couldn't ignore what had happened the way he had before, but he couldn't make up his mind what to do.

He knew that he needed help, someone who would believe him and help him find a way to prove what was happening, and stop it happening again, because it was fairly obvious that Creevey wasn't just going to go away. And with a Gryffindor prefect's tacit approval he'd probably get worse.

So, Scorpius had spent a lot of time thinking about what to do and who to talk to. He could go to the Head of Slytherin house, Professor Snorpatch, or to Headmistress Sprout, but something inside him shied away from the idea of going to them alone. It was after all, his word against Creevey's… and Simon's. And he'd had no doubts that Simon would support Creevey's denial that he was responsible for the attack.

He'd thought of talking to Teddy or Ginny, he'd even thought of talking to James Potter, and once he'd even come close to telling Fabian Smith.

But somehow the only person he could imagine telling was Albus. He hoped that it wasn't just his own feelings for Albus prompting his decision and he'd tried to ignore his growing desire to have Albus hold him and tell him that everything was going to be all right. In the end, he'd comforted himself with the knowledge that his decision was only appropriate; Albus was, after all, a Slytherin prefect. It was part of his duties to help another Slytherin student.

So, he'd decided on Albus but nerves had gotten the better of him a few times until finally the holidays had started. He'd thought that it would be easier at Lilydale cottage, but now nerves weren't so much the problem as finding a private moment to talk to Albus. At first they'd kept getting interrupted, which was annoying enough, but now Scorpius was beginning to think that Albus was actually avoiding him. He could only blame his own increasing frustration for that bit of paranoia.

But he was running out of time. The next two days would be busy and on the day after Boxing Day, Simon would arrive. And that was another problem, for Scorpius had still not decided whether to tell Albus about Simon's involvement. On the one hand he felt as if Albus had a right to know about it, but on the other hand he didn't want to seem as if he was trying to cause trouble between them, and underneath all of that was the fear that he couldn't completely suppress. The fear that Albus wouldn't believe him.

He sighed again, and gave up on going back to sleep. He slipped out of bed and went into the bathroom, took off his pyjama top and stared into the mirror. He hadn't been able to protect his chest as well as he had last time, probably because he'd been in such shock about Simon, and so his torso had a few bruises as well as his back. One of them was definitely the shape of a boot heel, and he traced it with his finger, letting the anger he still felt flow over him for a moment.

Eventually he got into the shower, thankful for the soothing warm water.


When Scorpius got down to the kitchen, a large evergreen tree dominated one end of it. His family had always had a tradition of decorating the tree on Christmas Eve and it seemed the Weasley's, and therefore the Potter's had the same tradition.

Harry Potter and Ron Weasley were standing by the tree and they turned and smiled as Scorpius moved nearer.

"You're up early," said Harry, and Scorpius nodded, gazing up at the tree.

"Great one, isn't it?" said Ron Weasley. "Let's hope my Mum doesn't set fire to it this year."

Scorpius gaped at him and Ron laughed.

"She always insists on doing the Candles charm," he said. "And last year she'd had a bit too much of Ginny's plum brandy. She conjured up a candle that was bigger than the tree. I say candle, but it was more of a raging bonfire really."

"Almost burnt the house down actually," Harry added, as Scorpius wondered if they were pulling his leg, but then Harry pointed upwards and Scorpius saw the scorch marks on the ceiling.

"I tell Molly that I leave it there to remind my children of the evils of drinking too much, but actually I just enjoy the fact that it embarrasses her."

"Does she still drink plum brandy?" Scorpius asked faintly, not sure if he was more nervous or more excited about seeing the chaos that Molly Weasley might create.

"She won't this year," Harry said, and then he added with a grin, "Ginny made cherry brandy for this year."

"Oh," said Scorpius, and then they all turned as the door flew open and James, Lily, Rose and Albus tumbled into the room. The noise level grew quickly as Ginny and Hugo followed them and then suddenly there was a flash of green from the fireplace and Arthur Weasley steeped into the room soon followed by his wife, and Hermione Weasley.

Scorpius blinked as everyone seemed to start talking at once, and he blinked again when Molly Weasley appeared in front of him.

"Oh, it's the dear, sweet boy," she said, and then she planted a smacking kiss on Scorpius' forehead. "How are you?"

"F… fine," Scorpius stuttered, trying not to look horrified as everyone around him laughed, including Molly Weasley.

Then the door flew open and Teddy Lupin walked into the room, still wearing a pair of green and white striped pyjamas.

"Do you lot have to make so much noise?" he said, glaring around the room. "Some of us are trying to catch up on some sleep."

"Here, Teddy," said Rose, handing him a mug of coffee. "If you hadn't spent so much time snogging Victoire after dinner last night you wouldn't be so tired."

There was an outburst of loud laughter at this, and Scorpius buried his nose in his own coffee.


The tree was safely decorated and Scorpius lay on the floor in front of the fire with Rose, and a very full stomach, and gazed into the flames. Nearby, Albus and James were sitting on the floor playing a game of Wizard Chess and it was the first peaceful moment that there had been during a rather tiring, and slightly riotous day.

"So," Rose said quietly, nudging against Scorpius' shoulder. "What was Christmas at Malfoy Manor like? You must be thinking about it."

"Um," Scorpius said, because he had been thinking about it but he wasn't sure he wanted to talk about it.

"You don't have to tell me," Rose said. "I just thought you might like to."

Out of the corner of his eye Scorpius saw Albus and James lift their heads and gaze in their direction. He took a deep breath.

All day he'd felt as if the ghosts of his memories were around him and maybe it would be a good idea to talk about it.

"Well," he began, in a soft voice. "Christmas Eve my mother always used to have a party. It was sort of a tradition her family had. When I was younger, my aunt - mother's sister - was there and she'd always sneak me down for a while, and give me some of the food. I always thought my parents didn't know, but the first Christmas after my aunt died - when I was about six - my mother snuck me down instead. It was sort of funny, because it was her party, but she was sneaking around with me, and stealing food for me."

Rose laughed softly, and Scorpius did too through the tight heaviness in his throat.

"Later on, I was allowed to go," he said. "But I have to admit, it never seemed quite so much fun. It was my mother's friends and a lot of people that my father knew through business, and there weren't a lot of other children my age. Still, there was something beautiful about it, the Manor seemed to almost glow with candlelight and decorations and everyone glittered. My mother used to put some sort of charm into the wards, you see. A similar one to the one I used at Halloween."

"I want you to teach me that one," Rose said, with a smile.

"What about Christmas day?" James asked suddenly, and Scorpius almost jumped for he'd been so caught up in the memories that he'd forgotten that James and Albus were listening as well.

"That was always just for family," Scorpius said, and he paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. "Of course, lately, that just meant Mum, and Dad, and me. But it was wonderful. We'd open presents and eat a lot, just like everyone else does. Dad and I would go skating, usually," he paused as he saw James wink at Albus.

"Yes, there is an ice-rink at the Manor," he continued with a wistful smile.

"Have you been back to the Manor, Scorp?" Rose asked.

Scorpius shook his head. "Not since the funeral," he said. "I'm just not ready to go back there yet, I suppose."

Rose hummed thoughtfully and then leaned against him, linking their hands. After a while, James and Albus went back to their game and Scorpius sighed as he stared into the fire. A part of him couldn't help wishing that it was Albus' who was lying next to him, holding his hand, but he forced the thought away quickly.

And Rose was a comforting presence, soothing away the tension of talking about his family and his memories of them. It had been a hard thing to do, but Scorpius couldn't help feeling glad that he had done it.

Suddenly Rose yawned and when Scorpius immediately did the same they both laughed.

"It's getting late," Molly Weasley said, walking over from the other end of the kitchen. "I think you'd all better get to bed."

There were a few groans but Scorpius didn't really mind the idea for he was feeling rather sleepy.

Before they went to bed they all brought their presents down and placed them under the tree. There was a lot of laughter and teasing going on but Molly Weasley eventually herded them all towards the stairs.

"Honestly," she said. "If you don't go now I'll bury all of those presents in the garden and you can spend all of tomorrow digging them up."

"Just ignore her," James said to Scorpius, placing a quick kiss on top of his grandmother's head. "She makes the same threat every year."

After that, they all traipsed upstairs and went to bed.


"I can't believe that Dad and Uncle George gave you a Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes Christmas Gift Box," Hugo said, gazing at the box sitting next to Scorpius and pouting slightly. "They've never given me one."

"That's because Mum would never trust you with one," said Rose, dropping a bunch of tinsel on his head. "Remember what you did to the garden when you tried to combine a Portable Swamp with some Wildfire Whiz-bangs?"

Hugo scowled. "Well, at least we've never had any garden gnomes since then."

"Hugo," Hermione Weasley said, tapping her son on the nose as she passed by. "We haven't had a garden since then. And that's why you're banned from Wizard Wheezes products."

There was a general round of laughter as Hugo continued to gaze at Scorpius' box with a jealous eye.

"Make sure you bring it back to school with you," James whispered to Scorpius with a wink. "Mum always checks our trunks but she's bound to let yours go."

"Don't count on that, James," Ginny called from the other end of the kitchen and then laughed as she held up an Extendable Ear.

"Bugger," James muttered.

Scorpius laughed and reflected that Christmas morning had actually been easier than he had expected. He'd never opened presents amongst such a large and riotous family (for Bill and Fleur Weasley and their children had now arrived, as well as George Weasley and his family) and the good humour and constant joking was infectious.

He watched out of the corner of his eye as he saw Albus pick up the present that was from Scorpius and begin to open it. Scorpius had to admit that he'd probably taken the most care when choosing it out of any of the presents he had bought and he hoped that Albus would like it as much as Scorpius loved the coat and scarf that Albus had given him.

"Oh Merlin, this is amazing, Scorp, thank you," Albus said, sounding breathless, as he held up the silver pocket watch dangling on it's chain. "I love it."

Scorpius blushed and nodded, very thankful that he'd heard Albus complaining about losing his watch.

"The chain should stop you losing it," he said, and Albus laughed.

"All right, everyone, Christmas lunch is served," Ginny called, and there was immediately a mass migration to the other end of the kitchen.


"I have eaten way too much," said Fred Weasley, patting his stomach. "But Aunt Ginny's food is way too good to leave alone."

"I thank you on behalf of my mother," James said, sprawling on the floor near his cousin. "I wish you were still at Hogwarts. Remember how we used to sneak into the kitchens?"

"Fred left Hogwarts last year," Rose whispered to Scorpius. "He's been working for his Dad and mine at the joke shop but next year he's going to Romania to join Uncle Charlie. He loves dragons."

"Um, I know, Rose," Scorpius said, looking at her incredulously. "I have managed to retain my memories of the last five years at Hogwarts and you really didn't think I'd forget that Fred Weasley had been there, did you? I mean, he didn't go a week without blowing something up or burning something down."

"Oh, sorry," Rose said, blushing. "You know sometimes I forget that you were there because we weren't really friends then." She tucked her hand into his. "I'm so glad we are now."

"I am too," Scorpius said, smiling, but he couldn't help thinking over her words. He'd practically lived another life at Hogwarts back then, mostly alone, and keeping his head down, hoping not to be noticed.

And now, here he was, with a good group of friends, friends that he'd begun to love really, and hanging around with the most popular kids at the school. Not to mention that a few months ago, Albus Potter had not seemed to even know of his existence and now they were actually exchanging Christmas presents.

And all because his parents had died.

"Oh," he gasped, as the thought struck him, and his hand instinctively tightened in Rose's. She looked at him anxiously.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"I… I don't know," he muttered, letting go of her hand and getting to his feet. All he knew was that he had to get out of there and find a quiet place to think.

He practically flew across the room and out into the hallway. He paused for a moment, confused as to where to go next, and a hand landed on his shoulder.

"Come with me," Teddy said, and Scorpius followed him through a doorway and into Harry Potter's private study.

Scorpius sank into an armchair and Teddy took a seat opposite him. They sat in silence for a long moment.

"There's no crime in being happy, Scorpius," Teddy finally said. "Your parents would want you to be happy."

"How did you know that's what I was thinking?" Scorpius asked, frowning.

"I recognised the look," Teddy said. "Guilt is a human condition I'm afraid. And it's inevitable when you've lost people that you love - and you realise that life goes on and can be good - that you're going to feel some guilt."

"It's not just that," Scorpius said quietly. "But since they died, my life at Hogwarts is actually better in a lot of ways." Of course, he thought to himself, thinking of Creevey and Simon, in some ways it's also worse.

"I remember a few months after Andromeda died, feeling the same way," said Teddy. "I loved spending time with her, but it was usually just her and me, and sometimes it was boring. I wasn't even old enough to go to Hogwarts yet. And then, after she died, I came and lived here. James was little, Albus was only a baby and Lily wasn't even born yet, but it was so much fun being part of a young family. Then, one morning I woke up and I realised that, as much as I'd loved my grandmother, my life was now so much more interesting in so many ways, and I was happier in a different way."

"And you felt guilty," Scorpius said.

"Of course I did," Teddy replied. "I was in a foul mood all day and finally Harry brought me into this very room and talked to me. He didn't tell me anything particularly amazing. He just said that what I was feeling was natural and that I wasn't the first to feel it and that Andromeda would have understood. It didn't make the guilt go right away, of course, but it was easier knowing that someone else understood what I was feeling. And eventually I did stop feeling guilty about it and just got on with being happy."

Scorpius sighed and nodded. As much as the guilt lingered, he knew that Teddy was right. And it did help, knowing that Teddy understood how he felt.

For a moment he was strongly tempted to tell Teddy about what had happened with Creevey and Simon, for he found Teddy as strong and reassuring a presence as Harry Potter. The words were on the tip of his tongue when there was a knock on the door.

Teddy gave Scorpius an enquiring look, and Scorpius nodded.

"Come in," Teddy called.

The door opened and Albus came in, his eyes immediately meeting Scorpius', full of concern.

"Um, we've all decided to go out to the barn and skate," he said hopefully. "Want to join us?"

Scorpius smiled and his heart flooded with warmth at the pleased look on Albus' face.


"This was your idea, wasn't it?" Scorpius asked, as he skated beside Albus.

"Well, I remembered what you said yesterday," Albus said, and Scorpius thought he looked a little flushed. "And I also thought it would be a good way to work off some of that lunch."

"If one avoids being injured by Hugo, of course," Scorpius said, wryly as Hugo Weasley flew along the ice on his stomach.

"You know I really don't know what's wrong with him," Albus said thoughtfully. "You'd think he'd never skated before but I think Aunt Hermione has been trying to teach him since he was about six. Of course, he's fine on a broom, he'll make a great Chaser for Gryffindor next year, so Uncle Ron's happy."

Scorpius smiled but nervous tension was rising in him as he looked around and saw that no one else was near them. He knew he had to find a way to tell Albus what had happened with Creevey and he had to find it soon, and the opportunities were rare, so he was going to have to take this one.

"Al," he said softly, skating slightly closer to Albus. "Um, there's something I need to talk to you about. Alone."

Albus gave him a startled look and Scorpius frowned. "Is that all right?" he asked.

"What?" Albus said. "Yes, of course. Absolutely no problem. Whenever you'd like."

"Fine," Scorpius said, doubtfully, for Albus' strangely flustered response had only made his own nerves worse. "Could we go to your room for a while?"

Albus nodded. "All right," he said quietly, and Scorpius followed him off the ice.

They untied their skates in silence and then went back to the house.

Once in Albus' bedroom, with the door closed, Scorpius froze. Albus was looking at him expectantly and Scorpius just could not think of the words to explain what had happened.

He opened his mouth and closed it again, and Albus began to look worried.

"Look, Scorp…," Albus started to say, but he stopped when Scorpius held up a hand. He'd made a decision.

"No," Scorpius said. "I think it will be easier if I just show you."

And he pulled off his jumper and started to undo the buttons on his shirt.


there will be more