Her magic had scalded him. Literally. Right where her hand had connected with his forearm as she stormed off of the quidditch pitch, there was a raised magical burn that looked to Scorpius like a small spider, or a fading firework display. Every time he touched it, he felt an uncomfortable sting race up the whole of his arm and a somersault in his stomach like he might be sick. She'd wanted to hurt him, subconsciously, at least, and her magic had done as she wished. He couldn't understand it. He'd saved her from Godric knows what sort of fate, and she still found it within herself to be angry. He frowned at the mark on his forearm and tugged his robes over it, trying to focus back in on his housemates' dinner conversations.

"We'll be seeing Scorp's parents for a night off the grounds; I can hardly wait!" He heard Albus brag to their housemates. The other male first years had slowly migrated to sit near the pair of them the last couple of days. After Scorpius' "harrowing" (his peers' words, not his) rescue of Albus' cousin, the boys seemed to look to them as leaders of sorts in their house. Scorpius had come to enjoy their company at meal times, and in the common room in the evenings.

"It must be wonderful to have a professor for a parent; they can just whisk you off whenever they please,"Keaton Daily sighed, poking at his dinner with his fork. "I miss home terribly." Albus was beaming with pride at his fortunate circumstances, while Scorpius gave Keaton a sympathetic nod.

"I miss mine, too," Scorpius sighed, thinking of the sprawling grounds that the Granger-Malfoy home sat on. His mum had 3 acres of gardens; floral, vegetable, fruit, and magical plants. They occupied the perimeter of the property. Scorpius' parents always told their children not to wander beyond the lemon trees. Beyond their back patio, there was a large pond that was full of fish, and made for a fun swimming hole. The interior of the home was beautiful, too. It was colourful and warm, with magical and muggle photos lining nearly every wall. Plants were in abundance indoors, as well, and they never looked even slightly dead at any point. His mum and dad's decor style melded in a unique and startling way throughout the home. People always remarked that they could tell a Slytherin and a Gryffindor lived there, and now that he'd been to Hogwarts he understood those comments in a new light. While he wished he could go home entirely, he was grateful to be able to see his parents for a short time. They said they had news for Al and him, and he hoped it was the good kind.

Out of habit, Scorpius allowed his eyes to wander around the Great Hall while his mates continued chatting around him. He felt the uncomfortable tug in the pit of his stomach that alerted him to anxiety that he'd been ignoring, or trying to at least. He was without his trusty photographs, so he focused on taking calming deep breaths like his parents had taught him, thinking about the fact that he'd get to sleep in the same room as them that evening, and eat plenty of sweets and get plenty of hugs. He felt the anxiety subside ever so slightly at those thoughts, and continued his observation of his fellow students. He caught many a girl's eye as he glanced about; girls had also been trying (very awkwardly) to come and talk to him after he saved Rose. He was none too interested in their attention, especially when it usually resulted in him being the butt of many jokes from his elder housemates. Rose seemed like the only first year girl who wasn't fawning over him, and he had come to her rescue for Godric's sake. It seemed only fair that she at least call a truce on their ridiculous rivalry (which Scorpius still refused to believe himself a true participant in), or look him in the eye, perhaps. The only attention he had from her was the ever present ache from where her magic collided with his skin.

Dinner couldn't have gone by slower. After the meal was over, Scorpius and Albus raced to the Gryffindor common room to gather overnight bags before heading to the Potions dungeon, where Scorpius' father had instructed the boys to meet him when they spoke earlier that morning. Scorpius hoped to pick his father's brain on their potions assignment for the weekend-the "Notice Me Not" elixir. It was a relatively new brew that carried similar properties to a cloak of invisibility, allowing the user to go about unnoticed for a short period of time. It more-so diverted other people's attention rather than made the user physically invisible, but Scorpius had yet to grasp how that was possible (and that concept was the whole point of their essay this week).

"Do you think your mum and dad have any presents for us?"

Scorpius shrugged as the boys hurried through the castle. If he knew his mum, there was definitely going to be candy involved, but gifts didn't cross his mind.

"When my dad visited James his first year he brought him the cloak and a bunch of other cool stuff he said that he and your mum and my uncle Ron mucked around with in their first year here," Albus said wistfully. "I'm still jealous that my brother gets the cloak and I don't even get to borrow it."

Scorpius chuckled, imagining all the chaos that Albus would cause with the Potters' cloak of invisibility. James had mostly used it to sneak off and nick snacks from the kitchens from what Scorpius had heard. He preferred to cause his trouble in broad daylight where he could take credit for it. Albus, however, would likely be far more conniving.

"My mum didn't really keep anything from her Hogwarts days but books and clothes, and a few pictures; what did your dad give James besides the cloak?"

"He gave him a wizarding chess board that had massive burn marks all over it from playing with my uncle Ron, and some flute type thing that James said is used to make magical beasts fall asleep."

Scorpius frowned at the thought of why that would ever be needed by kids his age, but shrugged once again, knowing that his parents had a very different experience at Hogwarts than he was having. It was a lot safer there now than it was back then.

Albus beat Scorpius into the potions dungeon, but skidded to a stop just past the door, making Scorpius bump into him from behind.

"Mate, move-"

"Hello, boys," Scorpius' mum said, her voice sounding a touch too high, like it usually did when she was unhappy with him or one of his sisters and trying to act like she wasn't because they had company. Scorpius' eyebrows shot up into his hairline when he caught sight of the reason for her discomfort. Rose Weasley, and her dad, were standing in the room glaring daggers at him. He would certainly be rowing with his mum and dad for this ambush when they had a moment alone.

"Uncle Ron?" Albus said awkwardly, unsure of whether or not he should approach the wizard or not. The man's face was about as red as his hair; Scorpius wouldn't want to hug him, either. Albus seemed to decide against it for certain, but was left standing in between his family and Scorpius'. Angry as he was, Scorpius still moved to stand by his parents, and his father clapped a hand on his shoulder and held on tight. He was mad, too. This must have been his mum's doing, then.

"Thank you all for coming to talk," his mum said, gesturing to the tables behind the Weasleys that the three students had all sat in at some point earlier that day. "I think it would be best if we all sat and hashed this situation out respectfully-"

"Respect would've been your step-son keeping his hands off of my daughter," Rose's dad said icily, his stormy blue eyes still fixed on Scorpius'. His dad had always told him to hold eye contact when someone was trying to intimidate you, so Scorpius kept his grey eyes trained on Mr. Weasley. His father's hand tightened even further on his shoulder, a silent encouragement to hold it together. His mum cleared her throat, and moved to sit down at the seats she'd gestured towards, always the one to try and be a good example.

"It is my understanding that if our son had not helped your daughter off of her broom that she may not be sitting here today, Ronald." Her sickly sweet tone of voice she'd greeted he and Albus with was gone, completely iced over just like Mr. Weasley's.

"It wasn't his choice to make; he could've killed her!" At that comment, Scorpius rolled his eyes, and moved to look over at Albus, who was still standing in the middle of the room, slack jawed. Scorpius and his dad had followed his mum over to the tables to sit, but Mr. Weasley and Rose had not moved.

"Did he kill her though, Weasley?" his dad finally spat out. "She looks safe and unharmed, and the same could not be said for our son."

Mr. Weasley let go of Rose's arm and approached their table, standing over the Granger-Malfoys like an enraged troll. Scorpius' father rose from his seat, adjusting his tie and remaining physically composed in the face of the other wizard's anger.

"What's wrong, ferret? Did your kit break a nail?"

Scorpius stole a glance at Rose, who he found to no longer be glaring at him. Now that her father had left her alone, she was staring at her feet and looked like she might cry, or be sick, or perhaps both.

"Scorpius?" Draco's voice pulled his attention back to the situation at hand. He silently prayed to whatever gods were out there that his voice wouldn't shake when he spoke. "Yes, father?"

"Your arm, son." It was an order, which was a rare thing to come from the man. His eyes silently encouraged Scorpius once more; be brave, you can do this. Scorpius stood and rolled his robes up to expose the spider-like scar he'd shown his father that morning. Mr. Weasley barely glanced at it before scoffing.

"What's that supposed to be? A fairy bite?" Scorpius heard his mum clear her throat again, but she made no move to stand. He reminded her so much of his Gran in that moment; he knew if Narcissa were here she'd be proud of them all for staying composed.

"It is a magical signature, Ronald. Rose has, albeit unintentionally, branded my son, and rather painfully, I may add."

"Stop calling me Ronald, Granger, we're not friends," Mr. Weasley snapped. "And I don't believe a word of that. I should've known not to come; Rose, we're leaving!" He spun on his heel, grabbing Rose by her upper arm, and at that point Hermione rose to her feet.

"Mr. Weasley, your daughter is the only one who can remove this burn from my child; if you don't believe that she caused it, let her try to reverse it and see for yourself."

Scorpius and Albus caught each other's eyes, and Albus mouthed "OH MY GOD", to which Scorpius nodded discreetly, trying to stifle the laughter that always seemed to rise in his throat in situations it really was not called for. Ron and Rose Weasley briefly stopped, and Ron turned them around. Rose winced at her father's grip on her, and Scorpius felt his heart skip a beat. The girl was scared of her father. Scorpius couldn't imagine that kind of life. He knew it was one his dad had lived when his grandfather, Lucius, had been alive, but Scorpius had never feared any adult in his family.

"And how would she do that, exactly? You said it yourself that it was an accident, so-"

"Weasley, as my wife and I are a potioneer and healer respectively, I would hope that you'd trust our magical maladie knowledge over that of your own," his father said lazily, taunting Rose's dad. He'd not ever seen this side of him, and he found it to be quite entertaining.

"Oh come off of it, prat. Just tell me what she'd have to do and we'll be on our way as soon as you realise that this wasn't her doing at all." Rose's face was still contorted into an expression of discomfort, staring intently at her shiny Mary Jane shoes. Her normally pin straight and perfectly placed hair was dishevelled, and her white ribbon was falling down the back of her head. Her robes looked wrinkled, too. Scorpius tried to will her to look at him, so she might see that he cared not a single bit about this nonsensical fight their parents were in, and that he wasn't mad at her for hurting him. She didn't mean to, after all, even though it was rather painful and annoying.

"She'd have to touch the signature and cast the reversal spellwork, which would take about five minutes," Hermione offered, wordlessly calling the necessary text to land in front of Mr. Weasley with the reversal information on it. He didn't even glance at it.

"Absolutely not, she is not touching your slimy son, and she never will again," he spat, looking back over at Scorpius now with a renewed fire in his eyes. "You stay away from my daughter, you vile little toad or I will-"

"Enough!" Draco yelled, casting a protego charm between Scorpius and the Weasleys. Scorpius could feel the ire from the Weasley patriarch through the shield. "You are finished speaking to my wife and our son like this. You are embarrassing yourself, and your child. Go home, Weasley."

Ron scoffed, turning on his heel once more and dragging Rose out of the dungeons. Draco moved to stand in the doorway, watching them leave. Albus immediately crossed the room to hug his best friend, and Hermione rubbed the boys' backs as Draco stood watch.

"I am so sorry, Scorp, my uncle is completely disgusting," Albus sighed, squeezing his friend as tight as he could. Scorpius finally let out the laugh that had been waiting for release throughout the entirety of their disastrous meeting.

"When he started to call me a slimy toad I almost lost it, did you see how greasy his hair was?" Scorpius' comment made Albus laugh, and his mother snickered, but chided him for speaking ill of someone's appearance shortly after. The laughter briefly made him forget that he was mad at his mum for springing this on him, but he was reminded of it when he saw his father's face as he turned back towards the three of them.

"Boys, there's a floo in my office next door, take it to our house and wait for us there," he said calmly. He and his mum were definitely about to row. At the mention of home, Scorpius' spirits rose considerably and he and Albus grabbed their bags and dashed out of the dungeon.

"I thought we were just staying in Hog's Head for a night; your house is way better!" Albus whispered excitedly as they made their way into Draco's office. The fireplace was alive behind Draco's desk, which was littered with parchments he was busy grading, and had a few framed photographs of their family laughing and smiling. Scorpius' heart started to race as he thought of sleeping in his own bed, seeing his sisters, and maybe even his Gran. The boys each yelled "Clary Hill Cottage" into the fireplace, tossing the floo powder down and letting the green flames take them home.

—-

When the boys were spit out into the Granger-Malfoy living room, they were greeted by Mr. and Mrs. Potter, Lily, Scorpius' sisters and Narcissa. Albus shouted for joy and ran to hug his parents, while Scorpius was ambushed by all three of the little girls.

"Scorp!" they yelled, hanging onto his legs and tugging at his hands. He chucked his bag on the floor and sank to the ground to hug each of them fully.

"Mummy says we're having a sleepover!" Lily Potter squealed. She loved racing around in the paddock on their brooms, and tried to weasel her way into slumber parties at the Granger-Malfoy home whenever Albus would let her tag along. Aurora and Cassie were always happy to have a "big girl" over to play, so it usually worked out quite well when it did happen.

"That's so exciting, Lil!" he said, ruffling her short red hair. "It's great to see you!" When she and his sisters finally let him go, he walked over to his Gran and hugged her for quite a long time while Albus chatted with the little girls and his parents.

"I hear you've had quite the week, my boy," Narcissa said, holding onto Scorpius by the shoulders and stepping back from him a bit to study him. "Was the Weasley girl successful in fixing her mistake?"

Scorpius shook his head, rolling up his sleeve to show his Gran the mark Rose had left on him. A "magical signature", apparently. What an ugly signing; but infinitely better than having her name on him forever or whatever else could've been the alternative.

She tutted at the burn, refraining from touching it. "I expect this won't be the only mark this girl leaves on your life," she said, staring at his arm intently. He wrinkled his nose at the thought, hoping Rose didn't continue accidentally branding him for the next seven years. He'd just have to make sure he wasn't close enough for her to touch.

Thirty minutes later, all of the kids were in their pyjamas, and the adults set far too much candy in front of them and turned the telly on before retreating into the solarium. Scorpius could see them out of the corner of his eye as he watched Mary Poppins with his siblings and friends. They seemed to be in heated discussion, and he'd seen Albus' mum groan and stomp about many times. He suspected she was probably frustrated with her brother's attitude he'd given Scorpius and his parents. His mum had been tearful when they returned, and his dad looked strained, as well, but he knew it was all probably Mr. Weasley's doing. His mum always told him and his sisters to never be with a person who made you cry, so it couldn't have been his dad's fault.

"Buddy?" Scorpius looked over to see Cassie tugging his shirtsleeve. "Buddy, I's tired," she yawned. He nodded, scratching the top of her head like his mum always did when they were feeling sleepy.

"Go to sleep, Cass," he whispered, turning his attention back to the movie. Mary Poppins was busy cleaning out the Banks children's rooms, and it was making Albus and Lily stare in awe as a muggle movie showed magic being used.

"She must be a witch," Lily said quietly to her big brother. He nodded, transfixed. Scorpius was used to the storyline, having watched it many times with his sisters. His mum was intent on them being well versed in both muggle and magical culture, and films were Scorpius' personal favourite way to do so.

"Buddy?"

It was Aurora now who was trying to get Scorpius' attention. At some point in Aurora's younger years, Scorpius was too hard for the little girl to say, but buddy was not. Now, it was a regular pet name, and one that his sisters exclusively used.

"What's up?" he asked, pulling Aurora out of the way of the television so Lily and Albus could keep watching.

"I'm too sleepy, can you carry me up?" Scorpius groaned inwardly but nodded, noting that Cassie was out cold in the five minutes that had passed since she'd been the one complaining of her tiredness.

"Al, can you help me?" Scorpius asked, gesturing to his youngest sister asleep on his arm. Albus nodded and pried Cassie off of him while Scorpius scooped Aurora up and made his way upstairs towards the girls' bedroom. They were across from their parents' room in a magically expanded, two-story bedroom complete with a spiral slide that dumped them out into a ball pit that was 95% pygmy puff stuffed animals. Their beds were on the main floor of the bedroom beside one another, with a nightstand in between, making it very easy for the boys to drop the girls in with little to no fuss. Cassie didn't even stir as Scorpius pulled the covers over her after helping Aurora into bed.

"Goodnight buddy," Aurora said as Albus and Scorpius prepared to shut their door behind them.

"Goodnight, Aurie."

Albus shook his head as he and Scorpius left the room. "Their place always weirds me out; it doesn't look any different from the rest of the rooms on the outside!"

"I know, my mum's pretty good with that sort of magic," Scorpius said with pride. "I wish she would've done that to mine."

Albus scoffed. "Yeah, as if Prince Scorpius needs a bigger room."

Scorpius shoved his friend before they descended the stairs, nearly sending him down them head first. When they returned to the sofa, they found Lily asleep, as well. The lights in the solarium were still on, but the adults were no longer visible.

"Al, do you think our parents drank Notice Me Not potion?"

His friend was busy unwrapping his sixth chocolate frog of the night. "What?"

"I don't see them, but I know they must still be in there, the rest of the house is dark."

Al shrugged his shoulders. "They probably just went outside, mate. Let's finish the movie." Scorpius brushed off the random thought, resolving to save his questions for his father in the morning.

An hour later, the film was wrapping up, and Scorpius felt his eyes growing heavy. Albus had sacked out next to him and was drooling onto one of his father's Slytherin green down throw pillows, and his parents still had not emerged from the solarium. He was a bit put out by it, in truth, having had no real time with them outside of the fight in the potions dungeon. Just as he was drifting off, a loud commotion from the direction of the solarium startled him back to full attention. Slowly, a shimmery curtain seemed to dissolve and the room came into view once more. He saw Ginny holding a slumped over figure close to her chest while Harry was casting a patronus, sending a stag galloping through the walls and out of the house. His mum was fussing over whoever Ginny was holding onto, and his father and Gran were talking to one another in the corner. Scorpius stood, his feet carrying him over to the room seemingly of their own accord. He felt fear seize his chest at the unknown, but resolved to enter and make sense of the situation regardless. As he grabbed the door handle and turned it, all of the adult eyes turned to him immediately.

"Draco, the charm expired," his mum said breathlessly, bending over to comfort whatever creature was in Ginny's arms. He saw his dad begin to move towards him, but he didn't stand still and wait for him. He made his way over to Ginny, and he knew. A pain gripped his forearm and he grimaced as he took in the sight before him.

It was his "nemesis" in Mrs. Potter's arms. And she was hurt.

A/N: Sorry to all of you Ron lovers out there; I am usually not one for making him a villain-type character but his negativity and nasty behaviour is important for this story! And a huge apology for being so late on this update. All of the DMs and comments asking me to put out a new chapter have been such an encouragement and help to get back on track. Hoping to be back next week to save you all from the cliffy!

All my love,

B