I hope you like this one! More is coming. Sorry about the wait! Let me know what you think...

Scorpius stayed friends with Michael and guided him through his first few months in an attempt to alleviate the feeling of isolation spurred by leaving his family. In a way, it made him feel a little better about himself—he could see he was making a difference in another's life. Michael in turn was very happy to have Scorpius around, because he felt safe and like he had someone around to steer him to the right castle wing, to pick him up when he was sad, to sit at meals with. He even met Kie a few times. She was always very kind to him, as she was with everyone, but she could understand more personal things occurring in the boy's life, thanks to her motherly instinct and the fact that she was a year younger than Scorpius.

Whenever Kie saw Chrysanthemum Creevey snogging her new boyfriend passionately and publicly for the sole purpose of letting everyone know how intimate they were, she grabbed Scorpius's hand tighter, placed a delicate kiss to his cheek, and began communicating with him in sign language—because only they were able to understand what they were saying back in forth. It doubled as a way of talking as well as a non-disgusting display of intimacy. As far as schoolwork and friends went, Scorpius was really enjoying his seventh year at Hogwarts. Rose was ahead of him in only two classes (although he planned for that to change). Albus was Quidditch Team Captain, so he always had a humorous reenactment of a practice play or the sort to make light of any situation.

But home wasn't going so easy for Scorpius. At least not starting that October….

Albus Potter was sitting in his dorm, composing a little note he was going to slip inside his girlfriend's Quidditch locker, when suddenly his owl fluttered against the window, banging its wings and beak urgently at the glass. Albus hastily allowed it entrance to the Gryffindor boys' dormitory. The moment his owl was inside, it hurriedly shoved its foot out so its master could take the letter off. Albus tossed it some treats as he unfolded the parchment. The letter was from the Head Auror Office at the Ministry of Magic. The letter was from his father. Albus's eyes scanned the paper, widening as they read.

…did everything we could…

…and was pronounced dead at the scene, but we had them brought to St. Mungo's anyway just in case.

If you take it upon yourself to tell him…

...or that, considering there was nothing anybody could.

He's going to be devastated, and I don't know what that'll do for his current condition.

…do, but just love and support him. Show him so much love, Albus…

Even after rereading it, Albus couldn't believe what he was seeing. How could this happen? How did it happen? Oh, god…what would Scorpius do? Without even thinking, Albus darted out of his bed, his dormitory, his commonroom. He tore down the staircases and towards the library, where he knew Kaya Lin would probably be in deep study as she usually was on Thursday evenings. The moment he found her sitting all by herself at a table, he threw his arms around her (which was quite strange, considering he didn't talk to her as much as he had to Chrissy). He didn't know he was even crying. She gasped but instantly pulled him into a hug reflexively, asking him quietly what was wrong—if Scorpius was alright. Albus hastily explained the predicament and his role in it, and Kie sadly agreed to take part in this heartbreaking exposure to her boyfriend. "I-I'm…I'm scared!" Albus sobbed onto her shoulder. "I'm so scared f-for him! Why do things like this happen to such a good person?! It isn't fair! He's gonna…he's gonna…oh god, he's gonna hurt himself! He's going to give up everything he's worked so hard to create! We're…we're gonna lose him…." He broke down, not caring who was watching or what he was even saying—he had never been this scared for Scorpius in his life. The boy was in such delicate form even with the counseling and help he was receiving; such tragedy could set him back. But would it? Or had Scorpius become stronger?

Kie hugged Albus for a long time, concern setting into her bones as well. She tried to be positive. "How about you go get cleaned up, and then we'll meet after dinner to give him the news. The owl from the Ministry that's probably on its way is more than likely going to go to the Headmistress's office. She's the one that tells kids when…"

"Yeah, s-she does. But as soon as they call him to her office he's just going to know something happened and he'll—"

"But Albus, his other family members might be there to tell him. It doesn't mean he'll hear it from her directly; she may even have them tell him when she's not in the room. Wasn't his grandfather waiting there after the heart attack?"

"Lucius was there to bring Scorpius home…"

"So maybe…maybe others will be there to love him—he deserves to find out in a place where there's comfort accessible."

"I don't think we should say anything to him, though."

"You don't?"

"No. If he doesn't hear all the details, which we have very little of, he'll panic even more. I think we should wait for the family to tell him because they'll have been informed about everything."

"But what if he doesn't trust us after—"

"He's not going to trust anyone after this."

It took a while for Kie to accept the fact that she couldn't say anything to her boyfriend about the tragedy—mainly because she was finding it hard to put on a happy face for him when she knew his heart was about to be shattered in a few hours. Albus nodded. He headed back towards the Gryffindor washroom to take a shower and get himself looking normal so there wouldn't be any raised suspicions. Meanwhile, Kie bit her lip and paced on the castle bridge until it was time to just go back inside and put on a brave face.

Albus gasped when he saw Scorpius wrapping a towel around his tiny waist, having just stepped out of the shower. He should've known! Scorpius always went to the washroom when nobody was around—he was extremely self-conscious about his skinny form. He turned around. "Oh, hey Albus." he said, not a care in the world. "I didn't think you came down to shower this early,"

"Er…I-I just thought….er…maybe I should before dinner." Albus fumbled.

"I see. Going out with that girl again tonight?"

"N-No…not tonight…."

"Oh, I just figured that since she told you she liked your scent you might be showering to go out with her. You ok? Your eyes are red."

"I-I'm fine….Actually, I've…never been better."

"Well, then you must be going out with that girl then. Either that or you're taking two girls on a date at once!" Scorpius winked, repeating an inside joke they brought up in relation to Albus's previous courting of two girls he couldn't decide upon. Albus tried to laugh.

"I-I think I'm going to hop in the shower now. Have to stop smelling like a Q-Quidditch field if I want to keep the girls coming to me…."

Scorpius nodded, giving a slight chuckle. He turned around and gently toweled his thin blonde strands. Just as Albus passed him slowly to get into the shower and start undressing, he glanced back; Scorpius just looked so cheerful….If only he knew what was ahead of him….Albus stopped. He turned around and wrapped his arms tenderly around his little friend's damp body, just holding him close. It took a few seconds for Scorpius to question anything. "Albus?" he whispered into the boy's shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"I just want you to know that I love you."

"I know that you do. And I love you too. You're like a brother."

"You're so strong. I just want you to be happy."

"…Er…Albus? I-I'm in a towel….maybe I should dress a little…?"

Albus let go, trying to hide the tears in his eyes. "Er, yeah…" he muttered, turning to head back to the showers. "Sorry for the awkward…" Scorpius smiled sadly. "Don't be sorry. I appreciate it, I really do. It's just…the state I'm in…you know…" he said, referring to his minimally-clothed body. Albus swallowed a lump. "Yeah…the state you're in…" he murmured, immediately hurrying to privacy so that he could just cry and picture Scorpius's smile and feel the guilt in not telling his friend the truth right away…

During dinner, it only got worse. Scorpius was sitting with Rose and Albus as usual, little Michael glued to his side. Halfway through, as he was doing so good with eating a whole chicken wing, McGonagal had him pulled from the table and sent to her office. She followed the confused boy with a grave expression. Kie watched worriedly as he walked away, glancing at Albus. He waited until his friend was far gone. Then, he motioned for Kie to follow him out of the Great Hall. They flew through the corridors in near silence towards the big Gargoyles. Albus knew the password—he'd overheard Slughorn roaring a little too loudly with laughter when he read what the code to get into McGonagal's office. "Candied pickles," he whispered. They parted, revealing the huge doors.

Albus and Kie crouched beside the wood, pressing their ears against it to hear what was going on. For the most part it was just McGonagal talking, then it turned to inaudible whispering. Then a gasp. Then crying. Kie's eyes watered at the heartbreaking sound of her boyfriend's tearful questions, which were more often than not just a simple "Why?" But suddenly the doors swung open and both kids accidentally tumbled inside. McGonagal discovered them. Astoria, Draco, Lucius, Narcissa, Mr. and Mrs. Greengrass, Bazel, and Constantine were all seated around Scorpius, holding him, stroking his hair, crying right along with him. McGonagal looked shocked. "Oh…" she murmured in surprise. "I didn't realize we had others wanting to share the grief…." Scorpius turned to look at his friends; he was too tearful for words. Standing up (and helping Kie in the process), Albus felt his own tears come when he looked at his best friend. "I'm so sorry that this happened to them…." he whispered. Scorpius's eyes were red with anger and sheer despair. He looked up at the Potter boy with a shifting expression—one that quickly evaporated into a hard stare.

"You knew,"

Albus felt his breath hitch. Yes, he knew. He knew and he didn't tell Scorpius. Because he thought he was protecting him—he thought it was better if he could hold onto that happiness for just a bit longer… "I-I'm sorry…" he whispered. But Scorpius sobbed. "You knew and you didn't tell me!"

"I just wanted you to be happy—"

"Am I happy?! Am I happy now?! I know you couldn't control what happened to them, but you at least could've let me know so that it all didn't happen at once!"

"…I know! I'm sorry!"

"I get pulled away from the friends I love to hear that my aunt and uncle died, and my cousin is now an orphan!"

Kie had her hands over her mouth silent tears slipping down her cheeks. Astoria looked frailer than ever. Draco was pale and drawn. Bazel held Constantine on his lap somberly. "It was an accident…" Narcissa whispered. "It was a simple mistake. They're being persecuted now….they didn't know. He just looked so much like his father—"

"But they had to know! They had to know Uncle Theo wasn't Nott—the Death Eater that's in Azkaban!" Scorpius shouted.

"It was a mistake….those people are in big trouble now. They're facing a life sentence."

Kie rushed to Scorpius and took his hand. Albus just didn't want to upset his friend any further—he stayed where he was. It was a long time before anyone spoke again. Mrs. Greengrass leaned over to her surviving daughter to hiss into her ear. "And to think she died mad at you…." Astoria's body trembled, Lucius put a strong arm around her protectively. Scorpius held on to his family, his girlfriend, anyone that would offer him some kind of comfort. The loss of his Aunt Daphne and Uncle Theo, and the thought of Constantine growing up without parents completely devastated him….