The first thing his father had told him, just after receiving the Hogwarts admission letter, was: "stay away from the Potters". He'd been telling him this more or less every time he'd been back to school for the past four years, it had become a real mantra: "watch out for stairs, don't sneak into hidden rooms, don't use magic outside of class, play fair Quidditch matches and stay away from the Potter's". Not that Scorpius had to "be careful" to stay away from the Potters, since the vast majority of students were competing not to sit next to him, but nothing, as far as he could answer "I have nothing to do with them!", his father kept repeating it. The young Malfoy had understood that it was useless to try to explain himself, so every time he would nod sadly and say "yes, dad". At that point Draco smiled at him, patted him on the head and let him get on the Hogwarts Express. Scorpius was fixing some things he had brought from home after the Christmas holidays and mulling over his father's speech. Why be so careful not to have anything to do with the Potters? He couldn't explain it. There were few Slytherins left at school for the Christmas holidays, and luckily those who did did not share a room with him; he took the opportunity to reflect in absolute solitude. He sat down on the bed and pursed his lips thoughtfully.
The Potter-Weasleys could have been compared to 50% of the students in the school. They were loud and boisterous, always the center of attention and, although they ended up in detention a couple of times a week, they didn't look like bad people... in fact, they seemed to be having a lot of fun! They had the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes games on hand before they hit the market, they laughed, they teased each other and it always seemed like they were at one of those family celebrations he had never attended. Most of them had ended up in Gryffindor, a predictable move from the Sorting Hat, while two of the Hero's sons had ended up in Slytherin. He, as he had promised his father, hadn't had much to do with them: from time to time he had exchanged some notes with Albus about the Potions lessons and only once they had gossiped in the Common Room about the Howler that a girl from the first year of Hufflepuff. With Lily, however, he had never had the opportunity to confront with. He had done as his father had advised him: he stayed away from the Potters.
Still, he was sure he had seen the Auror Harry Potter at his mother's funeral last summer. Mr. Potter had walked over to his father, put a hand on his shoulder, and left white flowers beside the Astoria Greengrass' headstone. Was he the only one who had to stay away from the Potters? What did they have not to be able to approach them? Lily seemed a very nice girl, Albus was one of the most talented students of his year and James... Scorpius sighed and lay on his stomach. James was the coolest in school. He was handsome, smart, funny, resourceful… sure, he had a rebellious temper that got him in trouble at least once a day, but he was really beautiful. Every morning he saw him enter the Great Hall for breakfast and his friends and relatives welcomed him with kisses and hugs. He really wanted to get close to him, introduce himself, chat with some excuse and get noticed. He blushed at the thought and imagined scenes in which James greeted him, asked him to train in Quidditch, helped him ride the broom hugging him by the shoulders... a look, their faces getting closer and...
The only time he ever had anything to do with James Sirius Potter was in his third year of school. Some students, peers and not, had targeted him and he had become the victim of some jokes. Sometimes, especially in the first year, he even hid in the bathroom crying over the stupid nickname they had given him: Sgorbius. Whenever some Troll's head called him that he would run to the bathroom and repeat himself to ignore them. It had worked; from the first to the third year the number of students who enjoyed making fun of him had decreased. However, a couple of Gryffindors kept teasing him. The worst was definitely McLaggen, the Quidditch goalkeeper. The latter, in addition to calling him Sgorbius, often threw curses at him or scared him with Dungbombs while he studied in the Great Hall.
Draco had warned him that the surname "Malfoy" would not be well received but Scorpius didn't think he would go that far.
By the third year, McLaggen had really exaggerated. Malfoy had greeted Albus after his Charms class and, while Potter had remained in the hall chatting with his cousin Rose, he had made his way up the stairs with the intention of reaching the basement. However, before he could only say "Hippogriff", he found himself in his breeches in the middle of the corridor; very embarrassed, he tried to pull them on him but they must have been enchanted because he couldn't do it. He heard McLaggen chuckle and laugh at him along with his worthy buddies as he called him Sgorbius, even alluding to the tiny size of the penis that was hidden between his underpants. Scorpius wished to disappear, he was so ashamed that crying in front of them instead of hiding in the bathroom didn't seem to make a difference.
He didn't understand why they were so angry with him, what had he done?
Suddenly, a few moments later, the bully's laughter died away.
A cloak was thrown at Scorpius, and moments later he even managed to compose himself.
"McLaggen, are you done with the show?"
"Oh come on, Potter, I thought you could have fun..."
"I don't need to embarrass others to have fun... I have enough ego to get noticed without bullying another wizard, even younger than me."
Albus approached Malfoy and asked him if everything was ok; Scorpius nodded even though he would have much preferred to bury himself under the Whomping Willow.
"How many stories for an innocent joke," McLaggen snorted. He took a few steps towards his victim and reached out to him, "Sgorbius and I are friends, we were just kidding!"
James didn't seem convinced by this and raised an eyebrow. Scorpius, trembling, had immediately detached himself from his grip as McLaggen's friends laughed under their mustaches.
"Is that true, Malfoy?"
Scorpius looked up at Potter and struggled even to swallow. It wasn't true but he knew that if he told the truth McLaggen would be in detention and he would have to continue to be bullied for at least another year. "The..."
"That's not true, Jamie. Ernest is his pain in the ass since Scorpius' first day in Hogwarts. If it weren't for the fact that I saw him kissing Penny I would think he had a big crush on Malfoy!"
At Albus's assertion, James had taken on a classic slap face and gave to McLaggen a look while Scorpius had gone redder than a demon. "I'm going to take away 20 points from Gryffindor! And if you don't want me to take away another 50, you'd better apologize to him. None of us would react well knowing we slipped after Hufflepuff in the House Cup."
Ernest wanted to punch both the Potters and Malfoy but, aware that James's threat would put him in trouble, he mumbled "I'm sorry" through his teeth. James seemed to be satisfied enough but he hadn't spared Scorpius from a look full of disappointment; Malfoy had proved to be a real coward and maybe that look of his wanted to remind him to keep his head up or, more simply, that he had been a coward and that a fearless Gryffindor like him could not tolerate such behavior. Scorpius had looked down and watched the Gryffindor crest glisten on the cloak that had been thrown at him. James had girded Ernest's shoulders to keep him and the gang away from the two Slytherins.
"You better not go shit some other magician's dick, or I'll have to break your ass. And you know, you're not really my type."
As he remembered what had happened, which he had never told his father, Scorpius smiled wistfully. 2019 had been a difficult year for him; his mother was fighting hard against a Blood Curse and his family had made headlines, especially after her passing away. He had seen his father withdraw even more in himself, he had had to hold the gaze of the professors who, pitying, had not had the heart to reproach him for the tasks not completed, and the act of not being able to add "kiss mom" the bottom of the letters he wrote to Draco didn't help. It had also been the year in which Scorpius had had to face the great monster of loss and all the consequences that such an event could entail; the fact that he no longer had to worry about that asshole McLaggen, however, had been helpful and it had been possible thanks to James.
- Is anybody there? Help! -
Malfoy, shaken by that voice, returned to reality. He got to his feet and walked into the common room.
- Is there anyone? I'm sick, please, - somebody whimpered. It was a girl's voice and she sounded really bad.
- 'coming, - replied the boy. He was very surprised to realize that the person he faced was Lily Luna Potter. The girl had tears in her eyes and was literally doubled over. Although she had to stay away from the Potters she couldn't leave her there to die of pain. He approached her puzzled, placed a hand gently on her shoulder and bent her knees slightly.
- What do you have? -
- My stomach hurts, - replied the girl. Lily had red cheeks and eyes swollen with tears. She looked really bad.
- Come on, I'll take you to the infirmary! Madam Abbot will surely know how to help you, - the boy replied in an affable tone. Lily nodded and when she tried to get up she felt a sharp pain in her legs that forced her to sit down again.
- I'll help you, if you can't get up, - the boy proposed trying to show himself as gallant as possible. He disliked those situations and had no intention of becoming a Healer, but he couldn't leave a sorceress in those conditions. His father would scold him to death, even if the sorceress was a Potter. The girl nodded slowly and stood up; Scorpius helped her by taking on half of her slender body weight. Lily was much shorter than him but she had the same unruly hair as her brothers, especially James' as it was the same color. She smiled affably at her, and together they started walking slowly towards the dormitory exit.
Step by step, looking at her sideways so as not to make her feel uncomfortable, he was accompanying her to the infirmary; the short skirt her sorceress wore didn't leave much room for her imagination and Malfoy noticed that he was dripping blood onto her thighs.
- Bloody Hell, - he cursed and blushed. - You're losing blood! -
- Yes, - replied Lily and began to cry again. She was blushing, she was almost ashamed of the situation. - It happened this morning on the train. I thought it stopped but now I have all these pains and it started again! -
- We have to hurry up and go to the infirmary! Are you able to walk faster? -
- I can do it, I think ... - answered the girl. Doubtful about the girl's true abilities, he decided to keep her still embraced along the way. They went up the stairs in silence and, although the school was not full, there were some girls ready to giggle about Lily.
Scorpius had limited himself to glaring at them and holding the little Potter closer. They arrived at the infirmary after two flights of stairs, and when Madam Abbot opened the door, Lily passed out in Malfoy's arms.
- Potter! - called the frightened boy.
- For Merlin's beard, what happened ?! -
- I don't know, Madame Abbot, she was in the dormitory and she was terribly ill... -
- Come on, help me put her on the bed. -
The boy gave the nurse a hand to the extent of her ability. - She said she had a stomach ache and her legs hurt, - Malfoy said. The nurse nodded and covered the student's body with a sheet; the girl had made the first encounter with the menstrual cycle and was obviously unprepared. Nothing serious and nothing a potion couldn't heal. - Will she recover? -
- Of course. You can go, I'll tell her brothers about Lily. -
Malfoy nodded softly; he wanted to get away from the Potters but he didn't feel like leaving the girl alone. So when Madam Abbott left to write to Lily's brothers, he took a seat next to her bed. His father would not have agreed but he was not even required to know exactly what was happening. The plan was simple: he would wait for the Potters to arrive and he would leave with the certainty that the girl would not be alone.
Scorpius hated hospitals or whatever reminded him of them. The previous year he had spent two months at St Mungo's so as not to leave his mother alone, not to miss a minute of her smiles or even one of her kisses. His father was crying in despair. He had never seen Draco shed so many tears before that day and he wished he would never have to see such a scene again. Luckily, Lily's situation was nothing too bad. According to Madame Abbott she was simply "female nature". She was probably referring to the period.
Half an hour later, the Infirmary door swung open. The sound of quick footsteps echoed through an otherwise quiet room.
- Potter, take it easy! There are wizards who suffer here, - Hannah scolded them.
- Excuse us Madame Abbott, - Albus whispered and nudged his older brother who just threw a dirty look at him. The two reached their sister's bed and assumed a surprised expression to see that Malfoy was there.
- Is there anything I need to know? - James asked.
- No! - Scorpius replied, blushing. Prefect Gryffindor had not yet put on the uniform; perhaps he hadn't had time to get dressed and, having been advised by the nurse about his sister's condition, he had run as he was. And it was beautiful.
- And ... what are you doing here? -
- I accompanied Lily. I was in the dormitory, I heard her arrive in the common room while she was asking for help. -
James listened skeptically as he turned nervously to his brother. - And where the hell were you?! -
- I... hey, mind your business, I was... busy! -
The Gryffindor narrowed his eyes with the intention of being threatening, then shrugged. - Thanks for taking her here, Malfoy. -
- Not a problem, - Scorpius replied, still red in the face.
- What does she have? - Albus asked.
- I think it was the first time she had her period, - said the nurse who had overheard their question and answer.
- Does it hurt so much?! -
- It can hurt even more, especially the first few times. I gave her a potion, in an hour at the most she will already be perky as before! -
The three drew a sigh of relief; Scorpius scrambled to his feet and adjusted his pants.
- Then I'll, uh, go. -
- Okay, thanks again. -
Scorpius just smiled at the two and, before leaving the infirmary, he noticed that James had sat in the chair previously occupied by him.
Why was his heart beating fast?
