AN: Whoa! It's just been over a week! New record! Nothing much to report in the world of me, so enjoy the chapter. It's a bit longer than usual, but oh well. I like it. I'll be working on fleshing out Scorpius' emergence as a Malfoy for the next few chapters. Bear with me. Right now I have it ending at chapter 29 and epilogue at 30 so...we shall see.

"Time!" Albus shouted from his perch on his broomstick. He waved his arms over his head until the rest of the team finally caught on. The Chaser captain waited until his team circled around, quickly doling out his criticisms and setting the practice time for the following evening before dismissing the squad. Scorpius flew side by side with Albus until they touched down by the sideline of the pitch, brooms in hand.

"Today's practice was good." Scorpius said as he untied his arm braces. Albus snorted and yanked on the laces of his own forearm coverings with anger.

"Today's practice was pure rubbish. I swear. How am I supposed to take this team to the final in just six months when the only good flyers I have are you, me, and a couple of Third Years?" Albus grumbled under his breath and shook his head. "Pure shit. Pure, absolute shit I tell you. We'll be lucky to make it past Hufflepuff at this rate!"

"You're too hard on yourself." Scorpius said, swinging his broom up onto his shoulder and squinting off into the distance. Two figures were standing on the top of the hill leading back to the castle. He recognized the long thick braid of Roshni, confirmed when she waved eagerly at Albus. Suddenly the boy perked up, grinning from ear to ear as he caught sight of his girlfriend. "By Merlin you two are disgusting."

"Oh, just because you're stubbornly asexual." Albus teased. Scorpius rolled his eyes and gave his friend a shove, making Albus laugh out loud. "Seriously though. What's the deal?"

"What?"

"You know…" Albus' eyes shifted from side to side quickly as he and Scorpius entered the Slytherin locker room. "Girls?"

"What?"

"Do you like girls, you ponce?" Albus asked, exasperated. Scorpius made an affronted noise and thrust his braces into the top shelf of his locker.

"I like them fine, thanks." Scorpius bent and started on the laces on the backs of his legs, tossing his shin guards into the locker quickly. Albus followed suit with his own gear and locker, draping his flying cape over the nearby bench.

"You know, if it's…I wouldn't judge you, you know, if-"

"By Morgana's left tit, Albus!" Scorpius stood up straight immediately, scowling. "I'm not gay!"

"Well, you know, there's never been any solid proof and I swear we'd still be best mates even if you were, so there's no reason to-"

"Albus, this is ridiculous." Scorpius huffed, yanking his jersey over his head and throwing it at Albus. "I know you want me to be gay, just so you can have me all to yourself you bleeding nutter, but I hate to disappoint you. I like girls." Scorpius caught his jersey when Albus tossed it back to him. "I'm just…not as into it right now as you and Noah, apparently."

"But…if you were to find the right one…"

"Then yeah." Scorpius toed off his boots, flicking them into the locker and muttering a cleaning spell after them. He sat on the bench and started to peel off his socks. Albus straddled the bench and pulled off his own jersey, balling the fabric up in both hands.

"Do you…" Albus swore under his breath and punched one fist into the wrung up jersey. "Do you fancy Lily?"

"What?" Scorpius whipped his head around so quickly his neck popped it protest. He lifted a hand to rub at the tendon on the left side of his neck, wincing. "Merlin Al, have you turned into a fucking girl? What's with the interest in my love life all the sudden?"

"It was a honest question!" Albus said, holding his hands up in defense. "You know, what with the comments on the train earlier in the year and all."

"I mean I don't think she's bad looking, but…we grew up together and I think it'd be too much like trying to get it on with my sister." Scorpius shrugged and stood up, untying the knot on the top of his flying trousers to let them pool at his ankles. Albus was already pulling on a pair of dark blue sweatpants, the ones he had worn en route to practice. "So what idea has Roshni planted in your head about the girl I should take out next?"

"Well…" Albus looked down at the bench, an embarrassed flush growing on his cheeks. Scorpius watched, amused. "She did suggest that I not be quite so protective of Lily. Said you're a nice enough bloke, couldn't be too bad for her."

"Al, she's a nice girl." Scorpius clapped a hand on Albus' shoulder and shook his head. "But I don't want to date her."

"Good." Albus let out a breath of relief, visibly relaxing, and pulled on a Slytherin hooded sweatshirt. "Good. Thank Salazar."

Scorpius laughed to himself as he redressed, shoving a pair of grey sweatpants onto his legs and forcing his arms into a long sleeved Falmouth Falcons shirt. The boys made a bit more small talk as they tied on their trainers, both leaving the locker room at the same time in conjoined laughter.

Roshni and the mystery person were waiting for the Slytherins outside the entrance. Albus greeted the dark haired girl with a kiss and slung an arm over her shoulders. Clearly she didn't mind the leftover smell of Quidditch sweat, as she wrapped an arm around his back and tugged herself close to his side.

"Scorpius, this is my friend Elisa." Roshni announced, waving a hand at the girl that had been brought along.

Elisa Baasch was no stranger to Scorpius. She was a Ravenclaw Sixth Year and thus was in many of his classes. The name was familiar enough. He had come to associate the name with snickering and teasing from the boys of all houses. From First Year to Fifth Year, Elisa had been the friend often left behind by her friends due to her glasses, slightly pudgy cheeks, and overwhelming intellect. But the girl that stood shoulder height to Scorpius looked nothing like the Elisa he was familiar with.

She still had black hair, but now it was glossy and straight. Her glasses were gone, either contacts or a magical remedy, and for the first time Scorpius realized that her eyes were a shade darker than a summer sky. Her face had lost most of its former pudginess, but it still had a rounded shape that kept an air of girlishness about her.

"Hi." Elisa smiled almost shyly and offered up a tiny wave. Scorpius nodded in return.

"Hey." He looked over at Albus and Roshni, who were both much too occupied with watching the exchange between Scorpius and Elisa. Roshni snapped out of it first, clearing her throat.

"Scorpius, I was wondering if you could help Elisa with some Ancient Runes homework. I'm positively rubbish at it and she's three chapters ahead of me regardless, so I wouldn't be much help either way. You aced our exam last year, didn't you?" Roshni was lying through her teeth and Scorpius knew it. He could sniff out a set up and this reeked of one. Nevertheless, the slightly hopeful gleam in Elisa's eyes tugged at something within Scorpius.

"Yeah, sure, absolutely." He nodded, almost eagerly, and Elisa beamed at him. "Whatever you need."

"How's the studying coming along?" Albus asked nosily one evening in late November as he entered the bedroom. He had just come back from a rendezvous with Roshni, the evidence glaringly obvious in the way his hair was freshly tousled and his mouth seemed a little too red to be normal.

"Fine." Scorpius sighed and blearily blinked his eyes, which had been staring down at his Potions book for the last two hours. "This Potions essay may just kill me, but I've got copies of the last three exams, so I hope-"

"No, not that studying you prick." Albus kicked the back of Scorpius' chair and perched on the edge of Noah's cluttered desk. "You know, with Elisa."

"Well, what do you want to know? We meet three times a week." Scorpius shrugged and leaned back in his chair, lacing his hands behind his head. "She's very smart, hard to believe she needed help in the first place."

"Hmm." Albus tried to feign a look of innocence. Scorpius swept his left leg out from underneath his desk and swung a kick at Albus' foot. "What?"

"What do you know?"

"You can't be that daft." Albus frowned. Scorpius' expression led the dark haired boy to sigh and then expand. "She's not stupid, Scor. She likes you. She's not doing her homework so she can do it with you. If I have to listen to Rosh tell me one more time how much Elisa talks about you, I may just take Polyjuice and kiss the girl so she'll shut up."

"You wouldn't."

"Wouldn't he, though?" Noah added as he walked in. "What're we talking about?"

"Scorpius and his complete ineptitude concerning females."

"Merlin's balls on a stick, really? Still? I thought you were tutoring Baasch!"

"I am!"

"Not well enough, clearly." Noah snorted. Scorpius scowled and crossed his arms over his chest. "When a girl tells you she needs help in a subject and she's a bloody Ravenclaw, she's lying to your fucking face."

"We've taught him nothing, Noah."

"It's killing me, seriously." Noah flopped onto his bed, fixing Scorpius with a serious stare. "If you graduate a virgin, I will consider myself a failure."

"Better go ahead and get in that mindset then." Albus sniggered. Scorpius' scowl deepened. "Oh come on, Scor. We all know it's true."

"Not that it's anything to be ashamed of."

"Oh, don't backtrack now." Scorpius rolled his eyes and leaned back over his Potions essay. "Just because I care more about studies and such than getting my rocks off every day and a half like you two doesn't mean I haven't had my share of fun."

"So we've heard." Noah sat up on his elbows then, grinning like a fool. "And I must say, thanks for whatever you taught Eva, because she was-"

"Really Noah, really?" Scorpius grimaced and shook his head at the other boy, who just shrugged and lay back down.

"You should ask Elisa to Hogsmeade this weekend." Albus said suddenly, his toe tapping Scorpius' shoulder lightly. Scorpius made a noncommittal noise as he scratched a few more words into his essay.

"Get a few butterbeers in her. Then maybe you can get in her and-"

"Noah!" Scorpius reached for his inkpot and lobbed it at his roommate. Dark blue ink splattered all over Noah and his bedsheets, but he just laughed and tossed the empty container back to Scorpius. "You're horrid."

"And you're a prude."

Scorpius couldn't help it. He couldn't seem to stop himself from sneaking glances at the girl across the table as they worked. She was chewing lightly on the end of her quill, one hand propping up her chin as she reread her equations.

"Is this right?" She slid her parchment over to him suddenly, interrupting his thoughts, and he had to blink a few times to refocus. Elisa bit her bottom lip while she waited for Scorpius to read through her deductions.

"Yeah, actually." He nodded and looked up with a grin. "Brilliant."

"Great!" Elisa took back her parchment and slid it into her bag, preparing to leave. She fiddled with the strap, biting into her lower lip again as she looked at the blond boy. He was watching her, eyes unguarded and wide. He leaned forward without warning, both hands flat on the tabletop.

"You don't really need help with your homework, do you?" Scorpius said quietly. Elisa stopped worrying her lip and let her face fall slack, the strap of her bag sliding from her fingers.

"It was a rather lame approach, wasn't it?" She finally conceded with a tiny smile, shy and wary. Scorpius shrugged, one side of his mouth lifting up in the start of a grin. "How long have you known?"

"Since we started."

"It's been nearly three months!"

"Well." Scorpius looked down at his fingers, drumming them on the table for a moment or two before stopping. "That's about how long it took me to work up the courage to ask you to Hogsmeade."

"Oh." Elisa slouched back in her chair, trying to contain the smile threatening to burst onto her face. "Well. I-"

"If you don't want to then-"

"Of course!" She said quickly, a little too loudly for the library. She blushed and Scorpius had to duck his head to hide his chuckling. "I mean, it would be nice. To go to Hogsmeade. With you, I mean."

"Right." He nodded a few times and then started packing up his bag, standing from his seat. Elisa jumped to her feet as well, shouldering her bag as Scorpius kicked his chair in. "I guess…Um, well, what time should we go?"

"My last lesson ends at three Friday afternoon. Four?"

"Four sounds great." He nodded eagerly and gripped the strap of his bag nervously. Elisa gave an anxious laugh and looked around before stepping a little closer to him. She bounced up on her toes and left a quick peck on his cheek, turning speedily and walking from the library.

The rest of the week came and went without happenstance. Noah was given a detention for falling asleep in Transfiguration, Albus was more concerned with drawing up Quidditch plays than doing his homework, and Scorpius was fighting the urge to spend more time with Elisa than necessary.

"Don't tell me you're actually sweating this date." Noah said as he pulled on his robe. His detention started in half an hour, but he had a long walk up to the trophy room from the dungeon. Scorpius was standing in front of the bathroom door, observing himself in the long mirror.

"I might be." Scorpius admitted, checking his watch for the fifth time in as many minutes. "It's been almost two years since I've gone to Hogsmeade with a girl."

"Good grief man." Noah scoffed and motioned for Scorpius to turn around and face him. "Lose the tie. It's a bit much." Scorpius did as told, throwing the tie onto his desk. "Why'd you comb your hair like that? You look like a stiff."

"What? I thought it looked, I don't know, clean?" Scorpius spun again and looked at the mirror, reaching up to run his fingers along the definitive part in his hair. Noah mumbled something under his breath and stepped to the door, throwing it open and yelling down the hall towards the Common Room. Seconds later footsteps approached and then a female's head poked into the room.

"Tell Scor he looks like a douche with his hair like that. He won't believe me." Noah directed the girl, who Scorpius recognized as a Fourth Year. He scowled while the girl nodded at Noah.

"It's better messy, like it always is." The girl said obediently. Noah thanked her and then quickly shut the door. Scorpius muttered to himself as he went about raking his hands through his hair, easily tousling his blond locks back into their trademark windswept style.

Noah smirked triumphantly and moved to stand behind Scorpius, both of his hands coming down hard on either of Scorpius' shoulders. Scorpius' scowl merely deepened as he looked at the point over his shoulder in his reflection.

"Now, go do us both a favor and bring the tally up to three non-virgins will you?"

"Oh, piss off!"

"So what else do you want to do?"

"Well, I was kind of hoping to stop in Honeyduke's." Elisa smiled wishfully at Scorpius, who just nodded and began walking in the direction of the sweets shop.

The date had started off almost awkwardly, with Scorpius showing up three minutes later than they had agreed on because he and Noah had gotten into a small scuffle in their room. The end result was extra mussed up hair and a slightly wrinkled left sleeve, but overall he was presentable. Elisa had admitted that she thought he was standing her up, to which he had promptly apologized no less than seventeen times and assured her another twenty that he had no intention of doing anything like that. The walk to Hogsmeade was nearly uncomfortable, as they couldn't find a topic to settle on for more than a few minutes.

When they reached the Three Broomsticks, however, Elisa had changed the subject to her younger sister and soon the two were in total agreement about the burdens of being an older sibling. Over the course of a shared appetizer and three butterbeers apiece, they fell into an easy pattern of discussion, laughter, and thinly veiled attempts at flirting.

Now they were walking side by side towards Honeyduke's, a handful of shopping bags clutched in Scorpius' right hand. They had journeyed through Dervish and Banges, Spintwitches Quidditch Shop, and Wiseacre's Wizarding store. It appeared their last stop would be Honeyduke's.

"My sister loves the Sugar Quills." Elisa gushed as she stepped under Scorpius' arm and into the store. "I'm more a fan of the Acid Pops."

"Acid Pops?" Scorpius shook his head, laughing. "I like the Toothflossing Stringmints myself."

"Well that explains the teeth then." Elisa smiled at him as she tucked some of her hair behind her ear, browsing through the selection of candies slowly. "We used to wonder how you got them to be so white up in the tower."

"Been discussing me by firelight, have you?" He teased lightly. She laughed, covering her mouth with one hand to keep the volume down.

"While we painted our toenails and had pillow fights, absolutely." Elisa winked for good measure and it was Scorpius' turn to stifle his laughter. "Say, isn't your birthday soon?"

"Yes." He nodded and picked up a pack of Edible Dark Marks, frowning as he studied the candy. "Eleventh of December." He put the box of sweets back on the shelf. Elisa stopped her perusal of the aisle, studying Scorpius for a moment.

"You don't seem all too excited about coming of age. Seventeen is a big year."

"I suppose so." He deliberately kept his eyes trained on their surroundings instead of her, trying to keep his composure. The only people he had really talked to about the new identity he would assume on his birthday were Albus, Noah, and Roshni. Elisa bit her lip, holding onto a bag of Sugar Quills, and stepped up until their arms were brushing. She reached out and grabbed a pack of Toothflossing Stringmints, smiling up at her date.

"We'll consider this an early birthday present then, just to cheer you up a bit." Holding both items in her left hand, she reached down with her right and grabbed Scorpius' hand, squeezing gently. He forced a grin at her and fell in behind her as she walked to the counter to be rung up.

When they left the shop they fell into step together, their pace leisurely and unrushed. Scorpius held out his hand, intent to offer to carry the latest purchases. Elisa beamed at him and fit her hand into his, curling her fingers around his palm and giving their arms a light swing. He looked down at their joined hands and then back up at her face, blinking in shock. She gave his hand a tiny squeeze and suggested another venture into the Three Broomsticks for more drinks. Scorpius just nodded to accept and looked down at their hands again before allowing himself a genuine smile.

"So?"

"What?"

"How'd it go?"

"How'd what go?"

"Don't be obtuse!" A ball of wadded parchment hit Scorpius in the side of the head. Roshni giggled from her perch on the armrest of the couch, Albus' hand resting on her thigh. Noah glared at Scorpius, his right hand balling more parchment in case the blond tried to dodge any more questions.

"Your date, Scor." Roshni prodded gently, covering the back of Albus' hand with her own. Scorpius shrugged but couldn't fight the blush building on his face. Roshni let out an uncharacteristically girly squeal and flapped her hands at him. Albus and Noah shared a confused look.

"What, what's that mean?" Albus finally asked his girlfriend, who clucked her tongue and continued to make doe eyes at Scorpius.

"Did he get laid?"

"No, but she let you kiss her, didn't she?" Roshni squealed again when Scorpius' blush deepened. He sank down lower into his armchair, trying to disappear entirely as Albus and Noah began throwing out what they thought was helpful advice.

"It was more like I let her kiss me, to be completely honest." Scorpius finally conceded. Roshni made a questioning curious sound, her head cocking to one side. Albus groaned, his head falling back onto the cushions as Noah buried his face in his palms. "What?"

"You're so hopeless!" Noah complained, rubbing his face with his fingers. "You don't let her kiss you! She lets you kiss her! Bloody hell, how are we even friends?"

Roshni immediately jumped to Scorpius' defense while Albus shook his head from side to side. Noah looked properly reprimanded as Roshni carried on about his outdated notions regarding dating. No one was none the wiser about the smug smirk crawling onto Scorpius' face as he sat up a little in his chair.

AN: Well, let me know what you think, please! (I think my new favorite character to write in this story is Noah. Dunno why.)