The Inquisitor's Son
Part Thirteen: The Lake Side
Here was the breakdown of the Weasleys' grandchildren, for anyone not paying attention like Scorpius: Dominique Weasley was a sixth year prefect; Molly Weasley was a fifth year prefect; James Potter, Louis Weasley, and Lucy Weasley were fifth years; Albus Potter, Fred Weasley and Rose Weasley were third years; Lily Potter, Hugo Weasley, and Roxanne Weasley were first years. They were all in Gryffindor.
Lily for the most part enjoyed having so many cousins around. Sure, James and Fred unrelentingly teased her about her lack of height, and Rose was bossy from time to time, but Lily couldn't imagine going through school any other way. However, sometimes, Lily grew tired of being around so many people all of the time. As much as she loved her family, Lily wanted some space from them.
On a weekend, when her older brothers and cousins went off to Hogsmeade, Lily left Hugo and Roxy while they played wizards' chess to be by herself for a while. Lily, like her mother, liked to play Quidditch. The rules about broomsticks and first years were relaxed a bit over the last twenty years. She went off to go outside with her broomstick when she first heard the music.
Someone was listening to music. It was beautiful. Lily followed the sound of notes outside of the lake. She was awestruck when she saw that it was Scorpius Malfoy and his violin. He played with his eyes closed and without music sheets.
Scorpius stopped playing when he heard a noise. He turned and saw Lily. She had dropped her broomstick. She looked more surprised than he did and she was the one who sneaking up on him. She hastily picked up her broomstick. "Nice broomstick," he said.
"It was James'," said Lily nervously.
Scorpius lowered his bow and violin. This was awkward. He had very little interaction with other students outside of class. He didn't want to be rude. He could almost hear his mother's voice telling the word, "Manners."
Lily filled the overly long silence, "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. I just heard the music. It was amazing. I didn't know anyone who can play." This was the first time she had ever seen him up close.
Obviously, she already knew that he was taller than her. His hair was blond with some honeyed highlights in it. His eyes were gray like the sky during a storm. He was left handed. All of these details, Lily was committing to memory.
"Thanks," he said. His voice was soft and baritone. From time to time, his voice still cracked, but that was going away.
"Who taught you how to play?"
"My mum," he replied. Scorpius stooped down and placed the violin into the case with care.
Lily was taken back. She didn't mean to bring up his parents. Instead Scorpius said, "I suppose we're just practicing the things that our mothers are known for." He gave her the smallest hint of a smile. It made Lily feel warm. "I was finishing up anyway. I've got detention with Longbottom. See you around, Potter." He picked up his violin case and straightened up.
"Yeah, see you around," said Lily as she watched him go up to the castle.
She didn't breathe easier until he had disappeared from her sight. She proceeded to the field to practice her flying. She could still hear the music.
***
The weather chilled and the air became crispy. Scorpius' mood became more and more morose as the month of December drew closer. He was having a hard time concentrating in class and was even more short tempered with his housemates than usual. He would ordinarily ignore whatever they had to say about things, but he was so easily irritated.
During dinner, Rodney Perkins, Timothy Nott, and Camilla Flint were in deep discussion about some of the other students. The most vocal of them was Timothy Nott. He loudly complained, "Damn Mudbloods ruin everything. Did you hear that McGonagall's thinking of starting a Muggle Relations class?"
"Yeah, I bet some Mudblood came up with that ruddy idea," agreed Perkins.
"Muggle Relations?" Flint balked at the idea. "What on Earth does that mean?"
Nott raised an eyebrow. "Well, I've seen some Muggles I wouldn't mind having some 'relations' with."
"You're disgusting!" exclaimed Flint. "No way I'd let one near me! There's billions of them. They breed like rats."
"Did it ever occur to anyone that the reason why there's so few of us is because not only did we lie about the Muggles in our families, but that there's too much inbreeding going on?" suggested Scorpius.
The three fifth years glared at him. "Well, well, well. The freak speaks," remarked Nott.
Scorpius drawled, "Clever, did you come up with that one all by yourself?"
"You are an embarrassment to purebloods everywhere, but what could I expect from a Malfoy?" snarled Nott.
"If being a pureblood means being like you lot, then I'd rather take my chances with the Muggles. They're more hospitable than you lot."
"You are a freak and a blood traitor!" declared Flint so loudly that people who weren't paying attention to their discussion before were now paying attention. "How low can you go?! First you keep getting yourself in detention and you take Muggle Studies. Now you're insulting your own kind."
"HA!" laughed Scorpius. "I'll take that as a compliment any day."
Nott had had enough and drew his wand. Scorpius shrank back a bit, but he knew that Nott would be a fool to attempt anything in front of witnesses. Scorpius knew he had a problem on his hands and he probably should have shut up earlier. The other problem that he had was that he was getting stares from the other students.
The Headmistress had watched the exchange and Scorpius could swear she had the slightest hint of a smirk on her face. He decided not to leave the Great Hall. He wasn't about to be accused of being a coward who ran away from a possible fight. The three fifth years saw that everyone was looking at them and Nott mouthed to Scorpius, "I'll get you later. You're dead."
The furthest away table from Slytherin was the Gryffindors'. They only heard the tail end of the discussion where Flint declared Scoprius a blood traitor and his retort to her. Lily saw the start of the conversation. She always sat on the opposite side of her brother, James. She sneaked discreet glances at Scorpius throughout most of the meals they took. She could see Scoprius from her seat. He always sat at the end of the Slytherin table, closest to the exit, and away from the others.
She saw how he normally would just read a book or write something down rather than interact with his housemates. Scorpius, who was used to people watching his every move at this point, ignored everyone. Lily thought it was sad that he was always alone and didn't have any friends. He didn't seem at all bothered by it. To Lily, that was the saddest thing of all. It was as if Scorpius had resigned himself to be alone.
At the end of dinner, Scoprius decided that he would go to the owlery rather than return straight to the dorms as he usually did. He had to write a letter to his grandmother and reassure her that he was fine. When he got to the owlery, Artemis immediately recognized his whistle to her and she swooped down landing on his shoulder.
"Let's go to the window," he told her as she hooted.
Scorpius wrote the letter with Artemis watching him. She seemed to be prodding him to write a longer letter. He smiled a bit and gave her an owl treat for her encouragement. When he finished the letter, Artemis obligingly stuck out her left leg and Scorpius attached the letter to her. "Go to my grandmother," he ordered her. She gave him one last hoot and took off.
He started the long trek down from the owlery to the Slytherin dorms in the dungeons. He was in such a hurry to get away that he ran into someone. Startled he pulled back and realized who he had collided into. "Excuse me," he said.
Lily Luna Potter looked at him. She was a good head shorter than him, which he hadn't really paid attention to before. Her red hair was pulled into a ponytail and her cheeks were red like her hair. She stood there speechlessly gaping at him for longer than necessary. "Watch where you're going Potter, you could hurt yourself," warned Scorpius, but his tone was surprisingly soft. He swallowed and sidestepped her. She wordlessly turned and watched as him as he walked away.
Lily had gone up to the owlery to send a letter to her parents. It was mere coincidence that she had run into Scorpius. She felt like she had been stupefied. She just stood there like a mute idiot. She was incapable of human speech whenever he was around. The only time she was able to really talk to him was by the lake and even then she sounded like a blubbering moron. Why was she so stupid around him?
***
Scorpius certainly expected something as he made his way back to the dorms. He had his wand in his hand this time around in his pocket, knowing better than to just walk in blind. Sure enough, Nott proved to be predictable because just as Scorpius entered the dorms, he was slammed against the wall.
"You think you're so high and might, Malfoy!" spat Nott angrily.
The rest of the Slytherins gathered around. Obviously, Scorpius had taken his sweet time a trifle bit too long because they had a plan of what they were going to. Scorpius adjusted to the pain very quickly because this was nothing compared to the number of times that Professor Longbottom had knocked him to the floor the last couple of weeks. Nott had Scorpius by the collar. "I'm not the one who thinks that. It's you, Nott," retorted Scorpius. "Now get your bloody hands off me." He said it in a deliberately calm voice.
"What are you going to do? Run to your mummy and your daddy?" taunted Nott. Scorpius' mouth twisted into a scowl at that rib. Nott laughed, "That's right. You can't. Your parents are dead. And if you don't shut the Hell up, you'll join them."
Scorpius slowly let go of his wand. He did something unexpected, especially in a house known for purebloods. He forcefully pushed Nott's hands off his collar and kneed him in the stomach. Nott crumpled to the floor like a rag doll. At this all Hell broke loose as his housemates quite suddenly drew the wands at him.
"Come on, who wants to hit the poor orphan first!" goaded Scorpius in roar. "What are you waiting for?!" He didn't even reach for his wand.
Perkins threw the first hex and that started a barge of hexes and curses. The ensuing melee that followed was intense, shaking the very foundation of the school. It was so bad that the new head of house, Andalucía Borgins, along with the other heads of house and the Headmistress came down to see the ruckus.
What they found was destruction. Almost everyone ended up cover in warts, bruises, welts, boils and other unidentified spores of some sort. Some were knocked out cold. The common room was a wreck with the tapestries on the floor, the carpet burnt, and feathers from the chairs were everywhere. One of the tables was reduced to ashes and another one was split into two. The only one who was left standing amidst all of it was Scorpius Malfoy. He looked shaken as he stared at the heads of house and the headmistress wide eyed.
"Mr. Malfoy, what is the meaning of this?" asked the Headmistress in a stern voice.
Scorpius swallowed as he answered, "I was at the owlery. It was like this when I got here."
The Headmistress gave him a long, hard stare. He willed himself to not wither under her gaze. "Your wand," she ordered.
Scorpius sighed and produced it from his pocket. Professor McGonagall said, "Priori Incantatem." She looked at Professor Flitwick.
The Charms professor confirmed, "That's the Cheering Charm from class." It was the last class that Scorpius had been in for the day.
The Headmistress nodded and turned her attention to the students. "The lot of you have a lot of questions to answer. This is an utter disgrace. I have never before seen an entire house duel in such a fashion."
"It was Malfoy's fault!" exclaimed Flint as she pointed her finger at him. "He's lying. He was here!"
"As far as I can tell, Mr. Malfoy hasn't cast any spells beyond his last class of the day," said Professor McGonagall. "You are covered in warts, Miss Flint."
"He didn't even use his wand!" explained Flint.
At this point, the Headmistress ordered, "All of you are injured and are able to stand and walk, please proceed to the infirmary and if you can help your fellow housemates. The rest of you prepare for questioning."
Scorpius saw Professor Longbottom. Their eyes met and he knew that his professor knew that he had been lying. The normally jovial professor gave him a harsh look that others didn't see. It took hours for the professors to figure out what exactly happened, but someone had to take the blame for it.
The first years cracked under the pressure and blamed Timothy Nott. Most of the people agreed that he had started it, even though he had never thrown a single curse or hex. He was knocked out during the fight. The story that came out was that Perkins and Nott got into a fight. The accounts were all confusing, but one thing was clear some of them were now afraid of Scorpius. The only person who got the whole story outside of the witnesses and the parties involved with Professor Longbottom.
To say that Professor Longbottom wasn't amused was an understatement. Later that night, he was questioning Scorpius further. They did so in his office.
"Scorpius, what in heaven's name were you doing?" demanded Professor Longbottom angrily. "I know that during dinner you had a talk with Timothy Nott, Rodney Perkins, and Camilla Flint. It got pretty heated. I don't believe in coincidences. You lied right to the headmistress' face."
"They were saying some nasty things about Muggles," said Scorpius. "I was just trying to set the record straight is all."
"Like I said I don't believe in coincidences. You were in the common room. Why are the others afraid of you all of a sudden?"
Scorpius rolled his eyes. He shrugged and came clean. He told the professor the whole story and gave more details about the fight. "I didn't get hurt. The spells sort of just backfired on them."
"I didn't tell you about the protection over you just so you could test it out on your housemates," sighed Professor Longbottom.
"I wasn't testing it," protested Scorpius quietly.
"You did something utterly reckless and stupid. Your father didn't die just so you could play around with it," snapped Professor Longbottom sternly. His voice cut through Scorpius like a dagger. "What am I teaching you defense for if you're not going to use it?"
"I'm sorry," whispered Scorpius. He couldn't stand the disappointment in the professor's voice. He actually did look sorry. "I don't know why I did it."
Professor Longbottom cleared his throat as he softened a bit. "You didn't think you had anyone to back you up. Nor did you want anyone to do it. You must learn that it's not you against the rest of the world, Scorpius. I know that you feel like you're alone."
"It's kind of true."
"It's self isolation. I don't think I've ever seen you with any one outside of class. Perhaps, we should cut back on the sessions so you can get out more and make some friends."
"Please don't do that, sir," pleaded Scorpius. "You're right, but your sessions are the only things I look forward to in this place. I won't do anything else. I promise. Please." He hadn't realized how much the professor's approval mattered to him until that moment.
Professor Longbottom knew more than anyone what it was like to carry the weight of something almost as bad as what happened to Scorpius' parents. Scorpius wasn't like his father. His father used to take the smallest injury and use it to his advantage. Instead, Scorpius kept it all bottled up inside. It was partly the reason why Professor Longbottom cared for him. He didn't need an Unbreakable Vow for that. "We'll keep the sessions as they are, but I expect you to starts socializing."
"Socializing?"
"With other students, not other teachers," clarified Professor Longbottom.
"How am I supposed to do that?"
"Start small. Try to talk to the other students. Join a club."
"This 'talking' thing what are the chances of success?"
Professor Longbottom wanted to smack his forehead at this. The boy didn't think he was better than other people. The professor knew that it had to do with him growing up in an adult only household and probably had very little play with other children. "It's a start. That's all," he said. "Also, there are going to be points taken off Slytherin. Probably a hundred points at least. I hope you are satisfied." Scorpius blinked but said nothing. "You're dismissed. See in class."
"Good night, Professor Longbottom."
Scorpius returned to the dorms. He saw the disarray of the common room and went straight to his room. Most of his roommates were out of the room that night, spending it in the infirmary. Scorpius went to bed. It had been a long night.
Author's Note: Once again, Scorpius slips through another one. He's a slippery one. Some liberties were taken again. Lily is allowed a broomstick even though she is a first year. I decided to allow it for it so that the plot can be moved along. In the next chapter, we'll see if Scorpius comes out of his shell a bit more.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Him and all of the original characters belong to J.K. Rowling. Please use this story with my permission.