The photographs in his hand had become crumpled and creased at the edges from how often he looked at them. The smiling faces in them brought him comfort when he needed it most; on days like today where change was all around him and he had to remain composed. Composure, particularly in public, was always difficult for the boy. His father often found it peculiar, as having a mask in the public eye had been instilled on him, and all those in his line before him, from the cradle. It had not worked with Scorpius, however. His grandmother said he had his mum to thank for that.

Her face was looking up at him from one of the photographs. It was his parents' wedding day, and he was in her arms, wriggling about. He'd been one and a half exactly on that day, and he wished he'd been able to recall the memories themselves instead of having to look at a picture. She'd always been his mum, whether she had given birth to him or not. He had never had the chance to know any different.

"Scorp!"

The boy looked up from the pictures to see his best friend running headlong towards him, his overcoat flapping in the breeze behind him. His dark hair was in complete disarray, and his cheeks were pink from the exertion. Scorpius thought he must've been running down the platform searching for him for quite some time. As the other boy neared closer, Scorpius tucked the pictures back in his pocket and readied himself for the impending hug from Albus.

"Hi Al!" Scorpius said excitedly, embracing his friend in the tightest hug he could muster. They had not seen one another in a fortnight; the Potters had gone on holiday to Romania to visit with their cousins, and all of their Uncle Charlie's fabulous dragons. Albus and Scorpius had begged the latter's parents to permit him to attend with the Potters, but their pleas had been rejected due to the need for Scorpius to spend time with his own family before leaving for Hogwarts for the first time. At the time, Scorpius had been frustrated he couldn't be with his friend. But now that they were standing on Platform 9 ¾ and their departure was imminent, he was grateful for the time he'd spent with his parents and two sisters.

"I can't wait to tell you all about Romania on the train," Albus grinned, letting go of the blond boy. Albus was a touch taller than Scorpius, and he had to look up to meet his friend's eye.

"I can't wait to hear all about it. Did you see any new sorts of dragons?" The boys had a bit of an obsession with the creatures. They'd spent most of their summer studying up on the various types of dragons, their habitats, and their behaviours in preparation for Al's trip. Scorpius burned with envy over the past two weeks each time he thought of Albus being up close and personal with their favourite beasts. The Granger-Malfoy family had spent the last 14 days at Malfoy Manor, his grandmother's home, with his Greengrass-Nott cousins. They were his birth mother's family, and his father had always taken great care to be sure that Scorpius knew and loved them. There were two boys who were three and four years his junior, named Malachi and Edmund, respectively. He quite enjoyed their company, even though they were closer in age to his sister Aurora than they were to him. There were no cousins on his mum or dad's sides, so he had to make do with what family he had.

"I saw five new ones; Uncle Charlie said that they were specially bred for long haul flights. I took some pictures-"

"Albus!"

The two boys were interrupted by a young girl's booming voice across the platform. Scorpius looked up as Albus turned around towards the direction of the voice. It was a girl their age, walking towards them with purpose. She had bright red hair that fell nearly to her backside, and it was neatly held back with a crimson ribbon. She looked unhappy; Scorpius could sense disdain in her blue eyes even without knowing her. Albus seemed to, though. His best friend met the girl half way and wrapped her up in a hug, all while the girl glared daggers at him. Scorpius couldn't recall a time that he'd been more confused.

"Rosie, this is my friend Scorpius," Albus said, gesturing over to him. The girl had not taken her angry eyes off of him in several minutes. An introduction seemed unnecessary; she clearly had an opinion on him already.

Scorpius waved awkwardly, unsure of whether or not he should approach. The decision was made for him as soon as the girl opened her mouth.

"I know who he is. My dad hates his mum and dad, so I hate him, too."

Albus smacked the girl ungracefully on the shoulder, and Scorpius backed off even further, his head quickly turning back and forth looking for his parents. Last he'd seen them they'd been talking with his grandmother near the entrance to the platform. Narcissa had come to see him off. She'd never taken to the name "Grandma", or "Grandmother", even; Scorpius and his sisters called her Cissy instead. The white blond heads of his father and grandmother were nowhere to be found, nor were the extremely curly brunette ones of his mum and sisters. He couldn't hear them nearby, either. Cassie and Aurora were quite noisy, and he'd certainly notice their boisterous voices amongst the crowd. He vaguely registered the sound of Albus calling to him from far away, but Scorpius made the choice in that moment to run and find somewhere to be alone. His father had warned him that some people may not take to him at first because the elder Malfoy had made some bad decisions in his youth, but never had he heard of anyone disliking his mum. She was an angel in his eyes, and those of most of the wizarding world. "I hate you" was not something he had been ready to hear at 10 in the morning on his first day of school.

The tightly packed platform was difficult to navigate unnoticed for the young Malfoy. His hair stuck out horribly, and he was very visibly distressed. He could feel the tears stinging his cheeks as he attempted to flee, but it wasn't long before he was stopped by one of the people he'd been desperate to find. His mum grabbed him around the shoulders from behind, stopping him in his tracks. He didn't even think to be worried as he was jerked backwards, he knew the feel of her embrace well.

"Where are you headed, love?" she asked, drawing him even closer to her. His head reached her shoulder, and he rested the back of it against her neck, feeling himself start to relax. Ugly, hot tears were still falling down his face, and he was grateful it had been her to find him and not his father. Emotions were much easier understood by the Granger-Malfoy matriarch.

"Away," he sighed, twisting around to better hug his mum. She hugged him tighter and rested her chin on his head.

"Why ever would you need to go away?"

Scorpius didn't dare answer. He knew his mum would be a good sport about being disliked by whoever that girl's father was, but she'd not be so great a sport about the girl saying she hated her son for no other reason than familial ties. He'd seen many others on the receiving end of Hermione's motherly rage in his lifetime. He didn't want to make things worse with whoever that girl was, particularly if she was a friend of Albus'. Albus and his Greengrass-Nott cousins were the only friends he had outside of his own home. He didn't want to ruin his chances at gaining more at Hogwarts before they were even on the train.

"Darling, if you don't want to share, I understand. I just hope you know you're very loved and I am here if you decide you'd like to talk, alright?"

Scorpius nodded at his mother's words, her stray hairs tickling his nose as he hugged her tighter. He wasn't quite ready to leave her until Christmas.

It wasn't long before they were joined in their hug by two small children, clinging to Hermione's skirt and Scorpius' overcoat. Aurora was older, and taller, and found herself smushed against her mother's stomach, while little Cassie barely hit her knee. Scorpius chuckled softly as he let his mother go in favour of hugging his two sisters properly. He scooped Cassie up easily, and gathered Aurora against his side.

"I'll miss you both," he told the girls, squeezing them close. Cassie kissed his cheek and Aurora squeezed him back.

"Do you think you'll meet more girls to be your friends, or will it always be just us, Scorp?" Aurora asked, a hint of sadness in her voice. Scorpius shrugged.

"I've just met a girl and she seemed quite unfriendly so I think you two and mum are the only girls I'll be spending time with for quite a long time," he said. Aurora seemed to appreciate his answer and hugged him tighter again in response. Aurie still had three years before she'd join him at school, and he'd never get the chance to be at Hogwarts with Cassie as she was eight years younger than he. He hoped silently that by the time Aurora made her way to Hogwarts that no one would approach her with hatred for her parentage. He'd have to make sure of that.

"It's about time to board the train, son." Draco Malfoy's deep voice reached Scorpius' ears before he felt his father's hand on his shoulder. Cissy was behind Draco, her hands poised at the top of her rather regal looking cane. Scorpius was thankful that tears had long since stopped slipping from his eyes, though he was sure they must still be a bit red looking from the concern he saw flash briefly across his father's face as he turned to look at him. Scorpius kissed Cassie on the cheek before setting her down and doing the same for Aurora. He then turned to hug his father, who he felt slip a small box into the pocket of his coat. He had no clue what it could be.

His grandmother was next in line for a hug, and it was quite brief. The Malfoy matriarch was not one for public displays of affection. He had saved his mother for last. She was smiling at him when he wrapped his arms around her middle, burying his face in the crook of her neck. She smelled of spearmint and lemon and fresh dirt, a product of all of her time spent in their gardens. She smelled like home. She kissed both of his cheeks and shoved an envelope into his hands as they parted.

"We'll be waiting for your owl, love," Hermione said, squeezing his shoulder. His father had come to stand beside his wife, offering her his arm. She took it, and held onto Cassie with her free hand. Aurora moved to cling to their grandmother's robes. They all looked happy for him, but also a bit forlorn. It was a perfect mirror of how he felt inside as he walked away from them towards the thundering Hogwarts express.

He made his way to where he'd left his trunk, and the two large cages atop of it with his owl and cat inside. The owl, Morticia, was hulking and a beautiful onyx black colour. She was asleep, her face tucked gracefully into one of her massive wings. Below her, his cat, Felix, paced back and forth in his carrier. Felix was also quite large, for a cat. He was a white maine coon and kneazle mix with black spots dotting his fur. He was about as heavy as a small dog, and he clearly didn't take well to being left behind by Scorpius for such a long time. As Scorpius approached the carrier, the creature shrieked at him in anger. He was used to the dramatics; it was the same way Felix behaved when Scorpius left him in his room to explore other parts of the house. He expected nothing less from the cat.

He pushed the tower of his belongings towards the gamekeeper who was helping to load the luggage onto the train. Hagrid was his name; he was a dear friend of his mum's, and Scorpius had made his acquaintance on many occasions.

"Mister Granger-Malfoy, long time no see," Hagrid said, a smile stretching across his face.

"Hello, Hagrid," the boy responded, lifting his animals' crates off of his trunk. Hagrid held out his hand for Morticia once the trunk was loaded, and Scorpius hesitated to pass her off.

"She'll be happier with the other owls," the half giant said reassuringly, gesturing his other hand to the compartment to their right filled with other owls, most of whom were also sound asleep. "They all know they're about ter go on a long journey, it's best ta let them get their rest."

Scorpius nodded and held out the handle of his owl's cage, watching her be gingerly set in the owl compartment. How all of those cages would stay put was beyond him; but then again, they were in the wizarding world, magic was used for anything and everything.

"Best get on the train, boy. I saw Albus just a mo' before ya, he's toward the back of the express, I figure."

"Thank you, Hagrid." With a wave, Scorpius left the kind gamekeeper behind. He was unsure of whether he wanted to find Albus or not. If that girl was still in his company, he thought he'd rather spend the ride to Hogwarts alone.

His feet carried him down the walkway of the train, past many compartments filled with older looking students, laughing and catching up after a summer apart. He had only seen one familiar face so far; his second cousin, Teddy Lupin. He was in a compartment with several redheaded and blonde witches and wizards, all wearing Gryffindor robes, one witch in particular was cozied up to him on the same side of the compartment. He shrugged it off, continuing to walk. He had since decided that he did want to see Albus, whether that girl was around or not. He'd simply ask Al to leave to speak to him in private for a moment if she was in his compartment; that much he was sure he could muster.

Hagrid had been right about him being at the back of the train. Scorpius breathed a sigh of relief when he caught sight of him in a compartment that was otherwise empty. He didn't even bother knocking on the glass before he opened the door, and Albus' head shot straight up. Remorse was all over his face, even though he'd done nothing wrong.

"I'm so sorry mate,-"

Scorpius waved the apology away with his hand, sitting across from his friend. Felix yowled loudly as Scorpius set his carrier down on the seat, clearly wanting his freedom. Scorpius let the cat out as his friend scrubbed his hands over his face in frustration.

"No, Scorp, she was way out of line and I should've warned you about her before." Scorpius' paper white brows knitted together in confusion. Albus looked furious; steam was practically pouring out of his ears.

"Does your friend make a habit of verbally harassing strangers?"

"She's my cousin, and I wish I could say no, but she's pretty cutting, usually."

Cousin. Scorpius wracked his brain for any family ties that would not be a fan of his parents, and before long, a very vague memory swam to the front of his brain.

The Weasleys. Of course.

"Oh, I had completely forgotten-"

"My uncle Ron is just kind of…bitter, I suppose, towards your mum. They used to date, I guess."

The image of his mum spending time with another man grossed him out, but he could remember, now, his mum being upset about a falling out she'd had with one of her best friends when she'd begun to spend time with his father. Well, he couldn't remember it happening, but he did remember his mum getting mournful around that friend's birthday every year for quite awhile. Ron Weasley. It all made sense. That vile girl must be his.

"That's not a reason to hate me, though." Scorpius continued to ponder the depths of this bitterness that Mr. Weasley holds, deep enough to make his daughter despise the son of his ex-girlfriend. He shuddered to think of the toxicity in a home like that. He never heard his parents speak ill of anyone except for the Death Eaters as a whole; a group that his father and grandfather used to be a part of. He knew it was still a source of great shame and pain for his family. And yet, they never allowed that to carry over into cruelty towards those who still carried those evil ideals. His mum and dad always encouraged them to show kindness to people who were cruel, because they needed it most. He might just need to employ that advice with this situation with the Weasley girl.

"She's just very impressionable and loyal. At least that's what my mum says," Albus groaned. "I try to just stay out of her way when she's on a tear, but it'll be harder to do that now that we're in school."

"Maybe she just needs someone to change her mind," Scorpius offered, scooping Felix up into his arms. The giant cat began purring as his master pet him, but the sounds of his purrs didn't drown out the loud scoff that escaped Albus' mouth at Scorpius' suggestion.

"Taking gold from a niffler would be easier than changing Rose's mind, Scorp. Best to just leave well enough alone."

The boys sat in silence for a few minutes before Scorpius had another thought he wanted to clarify with Albus.

"Why is your uncle so bitter against my mum if he has a daughter our age? That would mean that they had to have been apart for a long while; I didn't even meet my mum until I was nearly a year old."

Albus shrugged. "I heard somewhere that Rose was a bit of an accident; he and my aunt Ruby got married right before Rose was born."

"It still doesn't make any sense," Scorpius sighed, leaning back against the headrest of his seat. Felix had fallen asleep in his lap, and it had begun to rain outside. They still had several hours of travel, and Scorpius was already feeling the weight of exhaustion on his eyelids. Being an emotional person had its downsides; altercations like he'd had this morning took it out of him. Before he knew it, the silence in their compartment gave way to sleep, and it was sorely needed by both boys. They still had a long night ahead.

—-

The friendly gamekeeper of Hogwarts was waving to Scorpius, and Albus, as they stepped off the train in their school robes. The first years were beckoned over by him, and the lot of them were abuzz with excitement. Scorpius felt more anxiety than excitement in his stomach as he took in the sight of the black lake before them. His parents had prepared him that it was tradition for the first years to cross the lake in boats to get to the castle, but that did not mean that he was looking forward to it. Large bodies of water always bothered him; he felt much calmer up in the clouds on a broom, much like his father. His mum was the opposite. She loved her boat ride across the black lake as a child, and she was always wrangling up he and his siblings for beach days whenever possible in the warmer months. He reached into his pocket while he waited for further instructions from Hagrid to be able to see his family again. This time, he focused on a picture of the whole bunch at his eleventh birthday, the most recent of the photographs. He'd gotten his Hogwarts letter that morning, and they were all grinning with delight.

"Don't be nervous, mate," Albus whispered so only Scorpius could hear, patting him on the back. "Be brave like your mum; my dad said she always kept him calm for stuff like this their first year. And every year, really."

Scorpius nodded, tucking the photograph back into his robes. Sometimes he felt sadness at the fact that he'd never known his birth mum, but he really couldn't have gotten a better mum than the one he had now, he reckoned.

"Alright, first years!" Hagrid's voice boomed over the crowd. Their animated chatter quieted down a touch as they all waited for what he had to say. "I need three of ya per boat, don' be shy, now, make some friends!"

Scorpius instinctively huddled closer to Albus, his brother for all intents and purposes. There was no question that they'd go together. He just hoped their third would be kind and welcoming.

The two boys walked over to the water's edge and climbed into the least decrepit looking boat they could find. It had a bit of water in the base of it, and the wood of the seats were splintered, but it was still the best as far as their eyes could see. There was a chill in the air that often came with the evening hours, but magnified from being at the waterfront. Scorpius pulled his robes tighter around him as he and Albus waited to see who would make the journey across the lake with them. The two chatted idly about quidditch, what could be for dinner, and about Romania a bit more. It was not long before anxiety returned to Scorpius' stomach upon seeing their final passenger.

Rose Weasley. Of course. He had horrid luck, really.

The girl had been marched over by Hagrid, her arms folded across her chest and an angry look on her face. She clearly hadn't wanted to join the boys, but Hagrid seemed to think nothing of it.

"Now I don' know what's already between you three, but your parents were great friends at your age and I reckon if you try hard enough, you all can be too, understand?" He clapped one of his enormous hands on Rose's shoulder, and the girl flinched in discomfort. The first new facial expression Scorpius had seen her make all day.

"Not all of our parents were friends," she grumbled, trying unsuccessfully to wriggle out of Hagrid's firm grasp.

"Be a good girl, Rosie, and get on in the boat. I'll see you three next Saturday for tea; you can tell me then how the ride was."

Oh, joy. More plans made against his will that involved this unkind creature. Scorpius shifted uncomfortably in his seat, trying to avoid the concerned looks from his best friend, and the cutting ones from Rose Weasley. A few moments of silence passed between the three first years after Hagrid had left, and Rose had evidently decided that she had no other choice but to get in the boat. Her entrance to the vessel caused it to rock unsteadily, making her fall to the base of the boat ungracefully. Albus snickered at his cousin, and Scorpius echoed his laughter internally; he didn't dare let any actual noise escape his mouth. Rose muttered some rather unladylike obscenities as she righted herself on the remaining seat of the row boat. Scorpius was still avoiding eye contact like it was his full time job.

Rose had taken to looking off in the distance, and he felt safe to observe her now that she seemed to be done harassing him from afar. Now that Scorpius knew she was related to Albus, he could see the family resemblance. She looked a great deal like Albus' mum; they had the same soft features and youthful roundness to their faces. Her eyes were bright blue, though, and Albus' mum had brown eyes, as had many of the other Weasleys that Scorpius had met over the years. He never did come into contact with Ron, and after meeting his daughter, he was grateful for that lack of connection. The girl had clearly hoped she'd be sorted into Gryffindor. Not only did she have a crimson ribbon in her long hair, but she also had on little golden hoop earrings, and a gold ring with a small ruby in its setting on her left hand. She was twisting the ring about, now. A sure sign of nervousness if Scorpius ever saw one. He thought then of his crumpled photographs he had worn down in his moments of anxiety over the last few years.

The boats began to move of their own accord, and Scorpius forced himself to take a deep breath. Albus was seated in front of him, and he seemed as stoic as a statue. Albus wasn't afraid of much, other than being sorted into Slytherin, that is.

Scorpius didn't really give much thought to the sorting. He assumed he'd be Slytherin, like his dad. All the Malfoy men had been. His mum said she thought he could be any of the houses, as he was kind, loyal, wise, and cunning. He just hoped that wherever he was placed, Albus would be there, too. Gryffindor seemed most unlikely to him, as he was afraid of nearly everything. Albus would make a good one, and this Weasley girl may, too, but certainly not him.

The castle began to come into full view, and all of the first years were oo-ing and aah-ing over its appearance. It was well lit with many candles floating in the windows, and each of the main floor windows also had a large, welcoming wreath on the outsides of them. The staticky, sticky feeling in the air that Scorpius had come to associate with heavy amounts of magic overwhelmed his senses as they inched closer and closer to the shore. He was grateful to soon be on land, and further away from Rose Weasley.

As soon as the boats docked themselves at the land's edge, Hagrid's loud voice commanded the crowd's attention. The first years were to exit the boats and make their way into the Great Hall behind Hagrid. Since Scorpius was at the front of the boat, he was the first out. He dutifully made his way to line up behind Hagrid with Albus trailing behind him. He thought his friend was once again feeling apprehensive about his sorting; Albus' eyes were trained on the ground and his hands were in the pockets of his robes. Scorpius knew he'd ask for a chat if he needed it, so he kept his focus on taking in the sights before him while they waited in the long line of students. Rose Weasley had become lost in the crowd, bringing a sense of peace to his mind. However, in her absence, he found himself thinking about her quite a lot.

Scorpius was brought out of his thoughts by the line beginning to move forward into the atrium of the castle. Professor Longbottom, or Neville, as his parents called him, was standing inside to take over shepherding them into the Great Hall. Once they were all crammed into the atrium like sardines, Hagrid disappeared outside again, likely to see to the transportation of their luggage to their rooms. His dad had told him it would all be sent up by magic and be waiting for him at his bed after the Welcome Feast. Even though he'd grown up with magic all around him, things like that were still impressive to his young mind.

"Welcome, first years!" Professor Longbottom said excitedly, ushering them all closer together with inviting waves of his hands. "My name is Professor Longbottom, and I am head of Gryffindor House, as well as the teacher for Herbology. I will be escorting you all inside tonight; if you have any questions for me, feel free to ask them at any time!"

Murmurs echoed throughout the group as they all recalled what they knew of Professor Longbottom. Scorpius knew he'd been a great hero in the Second Wizarding War, but he had been a bit….uncool in his early years at Hogwarts. The man who stood before them now seemed confident, collected, and extremely friendly. Cool wasn't a word he'd use to describe the scruffy looking wizard, but he was definitely someone Scorpius found easy to respect.

Once again, the herd of first years began to move, and Scorpius soon found hundreds of pairs of eyes trained on him and his schoolmates. All of the older students watched their entry with a mix of amusement, and boredom, on their faces. Scorpius didn't see anyone he recognized as he swivelled his head about, but he felt Albus raise a hand to wave in someone's direction behind him; likely his brother, James. James was in Gryffindor, and was a third year.

The group came to a sudden halt as Neville reached the stool with the sorting hat sitting atop of it at the front of the hall. He nodded to Headmistress McGonagall at the centre of the room, who quickly cast a sonorus, and began to address the school.

"Welcome back to Hogwarts, returning students! Please give a warm welcome to the incoming class of 2017." She began to clap heartily, and the staff and students who were already seated followed suit. Scorpius did another glance about the room, but didn't see anyone standing out in the crowd. He really only knew Teddy and James, as far as the older students were concerned. He'd been introduced to a few older Weasley cousins over the years, but he couldn't remember their names or faces well enough to pick them out of a line up. McGonagall cleared her throat after a few minutes of applause to continue her opening speech.

"As you all are aware, our Welcome Feast traditionally begins with the sorting of our first year students. Before I give way to Professor Longbottom for that ceremony, I would like to make some announcements!" She went on to introduce Professor Longbottom as the new head of Gryffindor house, and a Professor Wildemorne as the new Divination professor. She also announced that the Dark Forest was off limits to all students when unaccompanied by a staff member due to the presence of an invasive, dangerous species in the woods. The line of first years was getting more and more antsy with each passing moment. After a few more inconsequential tidbits of information, Professor McGonagall allowed Professor Longbottom to take centre stage.

He began to call off names of each first year, and one by one they were sorted into their houses in the order they stood. Scorpius and Albus were near the middle of the line, and while he hadn't been nervous before, he could now feel his heart in his throat as he waited for his turn to be sorted. The thought that he'd be separated from Albus, who was busy taking forcefully deep breaths behind him, was now roaring loudly in his mind. What if he'd be in Slytherin, and Albus in Gryffindor, with his cousin who had a large distaste for Scorpius? What if the girl convinced Albus to ditch him as his best friend, and find someone more "suitable" in her eyes?

The list of names prattled on, and soon, Scorpius was next in line. The girl ahead of him, Emmaline Branch, was sorted into Hufflepuff, a look of relief washing over her face as she approached her house table.

"Scorpius Granger-Malfoy," Professor Longbottom called, giving the boy a small smile as he approached the old stool. Scorpius was glad to hear his full adopted name called; there had been a moment of worry in his mind a few weeks prior that the school would just call him Malfoy by mistake. Scorpius sat gently onto the stool and tried not to let his nerves show on his face. His father had tried to help him to that effect for many years, but he always came up short when the time for emotional concealment arose. Neville placed the hat on its head, and the ancient thing began to speak.

"Well, well, you're a confusing child," the hat hissed. Scorpius huffed indignantly. This was the third time he'd been insulted that day, and he was growing rather bored of it.

"Your parents were Slytherin, but your mind is rather Gryffindor."

"My mum was a Gryffindor," he corrected, sitting up a bit straighter. He didn't know how he could possibly be viewed as having a Gryffindor's mind when he was sure there were about a million fears in his brain from this day alone.

"Yes, Miss Granger…she raised you, I take it?"

"Yes, she has since I was a year old," he said proudly.

"Well, I would dare say her influence has outweighed that of many old family traditions that came before her." The hat fidgeted on his head, and began to make many noises of contemplation. He felt rather on display now, noting that his time on the stool was dragging on longer than that of most of his peers. He didn't dare look beyond the hat's floppy brim to the sea of students before him, preferring to wait in silence and watch his feet move back and forth below. After what felt like an eternity and a half, the hat spoke again, this time to the whole school.

"GRYFFINDOR!" it yelled. There was a delay in the applause that usually followed a sorting, but Scorpius saw James Potter rise at his new house table and begin to clap, and the rest of his housemates followed suit. Scorpius sighed, grateful for a welcome of some kind, and took a seat that had been cleared for him beside the eldest Potter.

James clapped him on the back, and a handful of others gave him words of congratulations. He knew his mum and dad would be proud of him regardless, but he had to admit that he was a bit concerned about being the first Malfoy sorted outside Slytherin in their family history. He directed his attention back to the stool, where Albus was moving to take his turn with the hat now.

Albus muttered to the hat back and forth just like Scorpius had, but he had a feeling that Albus' conversation was focused more on bargaining than Scorpius' had been. After a beat of silence on Albus' part, the hat pronounced him a Gryffindor, too, and Scorpius erupted into cheers for his friend alongside the rest of the table. He wouldn't be alone after all.

James stood to hug his brother, and Scorpius did the same, as Albus joined them at the table.

"I knew we'd be Gryffindors together," Albus grinned as he embraced his best friend. Scorpius knew his best friend had not been so confident about that, but he allowed him his moment of boasting nonetheless.

"Thank Merlin for that," he replied as they sat down to watch the rest be sorted. There were an overwhelming amount of Hufflepuffs in their class, and their table had to be magically extended by the headmistress twice. James began to groan about being famished, and Teddy Lupin knocked him upside the head. Teddy was Head Boy, he learned, and was very interested in keeping his godbrothers in line. Scorpius hadn't seen much of him around the Potters' home in Godric's Hollow this summer; he'd evidently been off staying with his grandmother Andromeda for several weeks at her request. Scorpius often forgot the many connections between the Potter/Weasley and Granger/Malfoy families, thinking mostly of Teddy as James and Albus' older brother than of him as his third cousin.

"Look, Rosie is up next," a very elegant looking blonde girl beside Teddy said. He recognized her as the one who'd been rather close to Teddy on the train earlier, and upon closer inspection, she was certainly another Weasley. Her nose and ears gave it away, no matter how many other French looking features she had.

"Do you think she'll join us?" Teddy asked the girl. James and Albus snickered in response.

"Fat chance," James whispered, earning him another swat, this time from Teddy and the blonde Weasley girl.

Scorpius hoped James was right, though he knew that Rose herself certainly hoped otherwise.

Rose was on the stool just as long as Scorpius had been, if not longer. Scorpius again observed her comfortably, knowing she could not see his gaze trained on her. This time he took notice of how neatly pressed all of her clothing was, in comparison to that of most of her cousins, who looked rather comfortably rumpled. She looked clean and calculated in general; even her skin looked well maintained, which he knew took a great effort from his own attempts to rid himself of the acne that had accompanied his transition into pre-teenhood. She seemed to be in a heated debate with the hat, eye rolls and dramatic sighs included. He could feel what he judged to be an ever-present impatience rolling off of her from where he sat a good 3 yards away, along with the uncomfortable sting of impending accidental magic. Sure enough, not even a minute later, a few of the floating candles above Rose crashed to the floor, extinguished by her frustration. Her cousins cringed in response.

"Good Godric, Rose," another blonde Weasley girl sighed, scrubbing her delicate hands over her face. "This is so embarrassing."

"Hush, Dom," the older blonde girl reprimanded. "Send her kind thoughts, like maman would tell us to."

"I'm not all that surprised," Albus whispered to Scorpius, his amusement evident in his voice. "My money is on-"

"SLYTHERIN!" the hat yelled. More candles crashed from the ceiling, this time clattering atop the Slytherin table where Rose stormed off to with clenched fists. There was an instant murmuring amongst the Gryffindor table at this revelation. James discreetly handed Albus three galleons as their housemates discussed the upsets in the ceremony. A Malfoy in Gryffindor and a Weasley in Slytherin? Remarkably unheard of.

Scorpius searched the table for the girl, where she wasn't very difficult to find. She sat alone at the far end of the table, refusing to socialise with her peers, who didn't seem all too pleased to make her acquaintance, either. He could see her turning her ring over and over on her finger, looking very out of place in her crimson and gold. He felt a pang of sadness for her, knowing how uncomfortable it must be feeling to break tradition. He felt a bit of that discomfort himself, but he at least had the pleasure of knowing it would not cause distress in his home. He thought it would most likely tickle his parents, in truth.

"She looks rather put out," Albus said in between bites of shepherd's pie. Scorpius took another look in her direction and nodded in agreement. She was pushing food around her plate, still not engaging with her classmates. Though, to be fair, most of the Slytherin table was quiet, only talking in pairs or small groups. It was a large contrast from the obnoxiously loud Gryffindor table, which seemed to be engaged in one house-wide conversation with many people talking over each other.

"I don't blame her," Scorpius found himself admitting. Though she'd hurt him twice now in the last twelve hours alone, he couldn't turn off the empathetic part of his heart that felt for her in her sadness. His mum always said that those who lashed out had a lot more going on underneath that could not be seen. He wondered what Rose Weasley's wounds were, but he didn't have much time to focus on that thought before he was pulled into conversation. It was just as well, because she'd caught him staring, and sent a halfhearted glare his way from across the hall. He didn't know what this year would hold for him, but he assumed it wouldn't be dull with these new housemates and an apparent enemy in his path.

—-

"I could fall asleep right here," Albus groaned contentedly, sinking into a rather gaudy looking chintz armchair in their house's common room. They'd just finished their tour of the castle, led by Teddy and the older blonde Weasley girl, who he'd learned was Head Girl, and named Victoire. Albus said that she was his Uncle Bill's daughter, and so was Dominique, the girl who'd called Rose embarrassing at the feast. Dominique also had a twin brother, Louis, in Ravenclaw. The pair of them were second years. There was another pair of Weasley twins in Gryffindor who were fourth years, called Roxanne and Fred, who belonged to Albus' Uncle George and Aunt Angelina. They were much easier to distinguish from the Weasley clan due to their coffee coloured skin and dark hair. He thought he may need to begin to chart all the family members of Albus soon if he were to remember all of their names.

"We have beds for that, you know," Scorpius laughed, sitting down in a similar chair across from his friend. Most of the first years had gone up to their dormitories already, tired from their travels. James had told the two boys to stay up a bit later and play a game of exploding snap with him and some of his friends, to get to know their older housemates. Albus seemed indifferent to the idea, but Scorpius enjoyed the thought of making new friends.

"I just hope James gets his arse downstairs soon, or I'll have to try out some of the new hexes I've learned on him."

"Language, little brother!" James yelled, seeming to appear out of thin air to smack his brother over the head with a pillow. Albus retaliated with his own pillow assault, sending feathers flying out of the old things. James was followed by three other third year boys, called Simon, Rory and Wesley. Simon reminded Scorpius immensely of Neville Longbottom, and Rory and Wesley both looked like they'd come straight out of the Scottish highlands, looking very windswept and strong. James pulled out an exploding snap board from one of the many bookshelves scattered around the common room, and the five of them settled in to play.

Scorpius was absolute pants at this game. He preferred chess, both muggle and wizarding, to this. He played, anyway, enjoying the polite and casual conversation with the older boys. He learned that Simon reminded him of Professor Longbottom because he was his son, something Scorpius felt silly for not knowing beforehand, and Rory and Wesley were indeed Scottish wizards. The pair weren't related, but had grown up in the same wizarding village of Hackworth near Inverness. They were all on the quidditch team with James. Rory and Wesley were both beaters, while Simon was a keeper and James a chaser. They suggested the boys attend tryouts, as they'd recently been opened to first year students.

"Maybe Albus will be a far sight better of a seeker than James tried to be," Simon jeered, making a move on the board that caused one of Scorpius' pieces to explode into a cloud of green smoke in his face. The boys laughed, both at Scorpius' misfortune and at the dig towards James. Albus seemed to take pride in the comment from Simon, regardless of whether or not it was in earnest.

"My mum says James flies like her and I fly like my dad, so I hope I make seeker," he said wistfully. Ginny Potter was not wrong. Albus was a fast and slightly reckless flyer, whereas James was more calculated and graceful, making him a better chaser than any other position on the team. The Potters' cousins Roxanne, Fred, and Dominique were all on the team, as well. Rory joked that it was practically a Weasley-exclusive club at this point.

"Do you fly, Scorp?" Wesley asked in between turns. Scorpius nodded humbly. His father told him he'd make a great chaser if he continued to apply himself.

"I plan to try out as well, and hopefully join James," he said, making his move on the board. It did nothing to help him, or hurt another player. Perfectly neutral.

"You'll do great, man," James smiled.

The boys continued in relaxed conversation until just past midnight, at which point their Head Boy made his way to the common room and implored them to all go to bed for the night.

"How did you even know we were up," James complained as he cleaned up their game. "Don't the heads sleep in separate dormitories?"

"We do, but I told mum and dad I'd keep an eye on you lot," he said, jabbing James in the ribs as the younger boy stood.

"What do we need them for when you're practically our dad anyway," James joked, earning an eye roll from Teddy.

"Bed, now," he said with finality, pointing towards the boys dormitories. Scorpius and Albus obeyed him immediately, while the third year boys stayed a bit longer to take the piss out of the head boy. As they entered the first year's dormitory, they found every single one of their classmates to be sound asleep already. Their beds were right beside one another, much to Scorpius' relief, and they both made quick work of getting dressed and ready for bed in their dorm's bathroom. Scorpius had nearly forgotten the envelope from his mum and box from his dad tucked into his pockets. He deposited them into his trunk along with his prized photos to be dealt with the next day. Felix was waiting patiently for Scorpius atop his covers once he was fully ready for sleep, and the boy pushed the cat out of the way to get into bed himself.

"Do you think classes will be hard tomorrow?" Albus whispered, pulling his covers up closer to his face. Scorpius sighed as Felix readjusted himself near his head.

"I don't know, mate, but we'll handle it together."

"Together," Albus agreed. "Night, Scorp."

"Goodnight, Al."

The boys drifted off to sleep with the sound of their classmate's snores, and Felix's, filling the room. Whatever the days ahead would hold, Scorpius knew that he'd get through them with his best friend at his side.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of The Sun and The Moon! This story is one that I'm very excited about, and I hope you are, too, after getting a feel for it. I'm in grad school at the moment, and working two jobs, so I don't know what an update schedule looks like yet for this piece, but I will aim to publish weekly if there's enough interest. So, let me know if you loved it, and if you have any hopes and dreams for these sweet characters.

My inspiration for the title of this fic comes from the song From Me, The Moon by Lav; I found it on a Dramione spotify playlist and think everyone should give it a listen :)

Happy weekending! May you all receive peace and joy in the days to come.

xx, B