Warning Mature content: swear words and some violence

3. Cry for Love

The lunch table was, as usual, an abundant English buffet. The students devoured roast, mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables, loaded their plates with sausages and concluded their meal with a large portion of pudding. As an athlete Scorpius could eat his share, however, he never tended to join the recurring eating races. The feeling of a stuffed stomach weighing him down was not something he enjoyed. Therefore, he only watched his friends with amusement as they stuffed their mouths with sausages and potatoes, while Aaron Marling, their team captain, posed as the referee. Earl beat Albus which wasn't surprising. Earl was of a broad built and very tall, while Albus was muscular but smaller and slimmer. His warm smile and trust inducing eyes were the building blocks of his charm.

Scorpius glanced at his watch and then to the Gryffindor table. Weasley was still sat among her clan. She didn't seem to be in a talkative mood, and he was expecting very uncomfortable hours with her. To make it to the room before her, he nodded at his friends and left the table. Leisurely he made his way up the stairs - with Weasley being downstairs still there was no need to strain his filled stomach. In an empty corridor on the second floor, just as he was debating how to welcome her today, he heard his name being called and turned around. Fred Weasley stood there, his hands in his pockets. He acted casual, but his jaw was tight and his chin was arrogantly pointing upward.

"What's up, Weasley?" Scorpius asked. They didn't normally seek out each others company without Albus' doing.

A few others of the Weasley family started gathering around Fred. They must have followed him up from the Great Hall. The Blondie, Fred's sister, pretty face Louis and even the goody two shoes Molly "Mollster" Weasley were there. Lorcan was loitering around in the background, seemingly unsure whether or not he wanted to be a part of this, but still wanting to support his bestie. When Amy Longbottom joined them, it began dawning on Scorpius what this might be about.

"You got a problem, Weasles?" he asked again, this time more aggressive. It had always been clear that Fred couldn't stand Scorpius, and now it seemed like he had just been waiting for a reason to repay the Slytherin for the fire cracker.

"You really are an idiot, aren't you? Is that why you're able to live with yourself?" Fred clenched his jaw.

"Swallow shit, Weasley." Provocatively he took a step closer. He did not take kindly to being insulted. "I no doubt have more brain than you critters all together."

"Hate is your attitude, blood always boiling, it's impossible to have a rational conversation with you," Fred analysed cooly. Slowly but surely Scorpius was growing tired of the game.

"Rational? You're not here to have a rational conversation, or why else did you bring a whole army along? Scared?"

"Look at you, jumping to conclusions. I'd be here on my own, if you hadn't severely pissed off each and every single one of us." Fred gestured between them. "We're not here to fight you, why do you always jump to such violent conclusions?"

Yeah right, he was trying to act so bloody suave, but if this wasn't an ambush then the word for it hadn't been invented yet. Scorpius gritted his teeth. "Say what you want then, Weasley!"

At this Fred could only laugh. "I gotta explain everything to you, Malfoy, because you really know nothing. I gotta say, I'm surprised you're still here. I heard your coward of a father always split whenever things got a little dicey."

Furious Scorpius charged forward and released a curse, but Fred evaded it, clearly having been prepared. He now also drew his wand, however, followed by all the others. Scorpius realised that technically he had started it, but he didn't care.

"Another word about my father, you ugly screwt!" He wanted to curse the bastard, just then Lysander and Earl jogged in their direction. Without a word and without the demand for an explanation they flanked him, wands pointing at their opponents.

"A word like neglect?" Fred chirped unimpressed by the newcomers or Scorpius' threat.

Scorpius eyes narrowed. By now he didn't know what game they were playing anymore. He had thought he knew what this was about, but the conversation was taking a very different direction. Fred seemed to be aware of his thought process.

"Don't worry, Malfoy. I'll explain it to you in every detail, so you will definitely understand: you're a bully because you're just silently crying for love, for a little affection."

"Are you a fag or something?" Earl hissed, maybe hoping to hit Louis with his words who had long been targeted for his delicate looks.

"It's called homosexual or gay," Fred corrected sharply, then he turned back to Scorpius. "I've been around you enough Malfoy. The truth is, your parents never had time for you, did they? No matter what you do you're just smudging that perfect image, aren't you? They don't know what to do with you, do they? Because you are no better than us. You know it and they know it, too."

"Asshole!" Scorpius roared. Weasley had done enough insulting his family. When Scorpius released another curse, seven were returned in response, and curses began shooting back and forth between the two parties. The corridor lit up in twitching colours. Moans of pain rang through the floor. Scorpius felt the heat of their spells in addition to his boiling anger.

Only when Albus and Lindsey hurried towards them, the fire ceased. Dominique and Louis had kept back. The former because she wasn't a dueller, the latter because they didn't let him duel. Everyone else was now sporting scabs and traces of blood. Clothing was ripped in multiple spots and Fred especially was covered in burn marks which were going to turn into nasty blisters. Scorpius looked disheveled, he had been primarily hit in the face, but he had been careful to remain behind Lysander's protecting charm.

Worriedly Lindsey placed a hand on his shoulder which he irately shook off. The perplexed Albus stood midway between the parties, not knowing what to do.

"Why are you scared of touching?" Fred pressed through clenched teeth and wiped blood off his face with his sleeve. "What's the fuss all about? Are you afraid of a little affection?"

The Weasley didn't seem to want to leave it at the one fight. Hate emanated from him almost visibly.

"Fred, let's all calm down a little, yeah?" Albus tried to appease his cousin, who ignored him.

"You play the bad boy Malfoy, but do you secretly dream of romance? Someone who would love you despite who you are?"

"Hey, man!" Albus now said more trenchantly. "That's enough."

"No, it isn't," snapped Fred. "For a start put your spitfires on a leash, so they don't take their frustration out on others! I'm fed up with your power play," he continued, facing Scorpius again. "You're practically begging for attention, and the only way you get it is by being a massive asshole."

"What's your problem?" Scorpius raged.

"You're my problem! Because you have problems no one cares about. Because you're scared of some loving you're a fascist like your father! You have an issue with everyone who's different. Everyone who isn't perfect like you fucking paranoid uber wizards. No impure blood and all that dragon shit! You don't have to project your self loathing onto others, so no one knows what a docile guy you really are."

No one had ever seen Fred in rage like this. Seven years of accumulated dislike and anger he had suppressed out of love to Albus now broke to the surface. A family feud which had dragged on for centuries and had seemed forgotten was anything but resolved.

"Do you realize how pathetic all of this is?" Scorpius hissed.

Amy stepped forwards. "It's by far less pathetic than humiliating an absolutely pure and good person for his intelligence. I'll tell you what's pathetic: to make others suffer to cure your boredom. To try and compensate for your emotional deficiency by bullying others. Fred is absolutely right when it comes to you. You're the one who has problems. I have no idea what the hell they were thinking making a bully head boy. Don't let it give you the wrong idea. You're an absolute ass."

With that she fired a curse right in his face. The girls screamed when Scorpius collapsed and his friends dove to his side. Amy turned around without saying another word the rest of her clique left the Slytherins behind. Albus stood there as if rooted to the spot, torn between two obligations.

"Scorp," he muttered, once his friend had regained consciousness. The blonde boy felt hot blood on his face. It stung like hell, and Albus words reached his ears as if they were under water. "The guys here will take care of you, but I've got to calm down the others. I don't know what's going to happen with this otherwise, if it just stays unresolved."

Scorpius nodded groggily. Albus' foot steps were distancing themselves, Scorpius heard Lysander mumble an incantation and the stinging lessened a bit. Head boy… that's right, he was late for his meeting with Weasley. He really didn't need another one of them bashing his head in. Although that was probably what she had in store for him.

"Seriously, fuck it!" Earl raged. "Did you somehow miss what just went down here? Doesn't she get it? You just got beat up, my man."

"She's on the other side," Scorpius mumbled. Warily he sat up. Lysander's incantation was quickly numbing the pain and he felt strong enough, to stand up again. At least he wanted to be strong enough and not sit on the floor like a piker.

"I'm head student, and if I let that slide… Then she's right, Longbottom I mean. I gotta.. I just gotta go. Thanks, guys. We'll talk later." He left his stunned friends behind with a limp. Later he could still waste thoughts on what had happened. Right now he had to do his duties and maybe, just maybe, they could distract him.

In their office, he found Weasley bent over the desk at work. When he entered the room her head shot up with furrowed brows and her lips in a thin line. Scorpius who wasn't in for a rant raised his hands. As soon as she saw his face her angry expression wavered. The Slytherin thought to see shock or maybe even sympathy in it now. He made to say something, but then didn't know what. His face seemed to look worse than it was.

"You should go to the hospital wing," she said quietly but he shook his head.

"Lysander already put a healing charm on it."

"Lysander might be a good wizard, but he is no healer!" What did she care?

"If I go to the hospital wing, we're all gonna have a problem. Even your beloved family." He tried to pull himself together, as he hadn't want to continue the fight.

He braced himself for a snide comment, however she pointed at the sofa and ordered:

"Sit."

Surprised he followed.

Malfoy looked horrible. She had known Fred had wanted to settle things, but she had never thought it was going to end like this. Fred had said he would "rough him up a little". Not… not this. She hadn't expected this. The cut that split Malfoy's face looked gruesome. Lysander's charm seemed to have contained the damage and stopped the bleeding. However, it was still open and shimmering. Injuries weren't her strong suit, but she swallowed the unease she was feeling.

With a few quick spells, Rose produced a water filled bowl and a clean cloth. She heated the water a little, and when she raised the damp cloth to Malfoy's temple it was luke warm. Cautiously she started cleaning his face and the wound. The Slytherin said nothing.

She knew what he had done. An hour ago she herself had been incredibly angry at him and his friends. But in this moment she could feel only pity for him. The mixture of feelings was bubbling uneasily in her stomach.

"Fred said he wanted to talk to you," she started. "I know he likes pranks sometimes, but really he is a peaceful... I didn't think he carried so much anger in him."

She didn't mean to sound apologetic, but Fred was one of her dearest relatives, and she felt the urge to defend him. Since Malfoy said nothing she asked:

"Was that him?"

He wanted to smile, instead he pulled a pained face. "Longbottom." he said quietly.

Rose wasn't surprised. She sighed.

"She loves her friends, but nothing is dearer to her than her family," she tried to explain again. "Not with their past."

Once more the past of Scorpius' family and their friends was the cause of other people's sorrow and projected onto him. Earl had started bullying Carl, but Earl wasn't the object of the long fostered hate by the different families.

"Why?" Rose asked, her voice barely more than a whisper.

Her face was close to his though she was concentrating on the cut and didn't look him in the eyes. To his own surprise he didn't feel uncomfortable. After the fight he should be angry at her, shouldn't he? He should despise her. It had been her family who did this to him!

"Why what?" he asked after a while.

"Why did you have to treat him like that? Why do you always have to treat people like that, and why can't you just leave them alone?" Her tone was calm, almost tired, but not reproachful. It was as if she asked from a sincere place of interest, so he thought about his response.

"Carl can be exhausting. No reason to… I mean, I guess, I shouldn't have… When Earl is bored he needs entertainment and Carl basically amplified the joke himself. It was funny... and then you kind of just go with it. When we stopped Carl from leaving it shouldn't have been funny anymore. We do it... Sometimes I think you've already got an image and then you might as well do right by it."

"That's pretty stupid," she muttered.

"Oh, and you're any better than that? You can't stand me because your parents didn't like my father."

Her brows furrowed. As much as he thought to dislike this expression, he was getting used to it. It was one of dismay, puzzlement, pondering, worry. With one movement she could indicate an array of emotions, and it was up to him to guess which it was.

"Uncle Harry forgave him somehow, I believe. My dad, not so much. He holds a grudge, and uncle George lost his twin to Voldemort." She took a deep breath and sighed heavily while rinsing out the cloth. Then she resumed cleaning his cut and face. "Your family fought on the wrong side. My sort of cousin Teddy lost both his parents. They must have been lovely people. All we hear are these stories of them, of these amazing witches and wizards we never got a chance to meet. The grandparents Al would have had, for example. Uncle Bill got that bad werewolf bite. Dumbledore was old, but he must have been an incredible wizard and a good person. Your father was directly involved in his death, Scorpius. Amy's and Carl's grandparents are still lying in St Mungo's. Another pair of wonderful people, and they were pureblood! They were tortured for fun. You have to be aware of these things. They sit deep, you know?"

It almost sounded like an apology. And she had called him by his first name, as if she had known how much more her words would get through to him this way. His mouth was dry.

"But I wasn't the one who did all this."

"No, you didn't," she agreed and avoided his eyes. "But the way you act.. doesn't make me feel confident saying it couldn't have been you who did it."

The laugh he gave was cold. "As if I would ever have had a chance to prove you wrong in the first place."

"Was that ever something you wanted?" She got up and searched in her bag for a small tub.

"Barely. You didn't give off the vibe saying one should try."

"So maybe it's a destructive circle," she proposed. She had gone to grab something from her bag and now made to smear a yellow paste on his wound. Skeptical of it, he dodged her hand.

"That something you made?" he asked. She laughed knowing what a nil she was at Herbology.

"Carl made it. He likes to experiment."

Scorpius felt uncomfortable somehow receiving help from his "victim", yet he knew that it must be very effective. While Rose applied the paste, she explained:

"The Longbottoms have this huge garden and their own green house. He and his dad love working with plants, and since Carl is pretty talented with potions as well, they sometimes develop essences which they pass on to St Mungo. Sometimes they're just creations for every day use, though. We have a pretty awesome dish soap now, for example."

Judging by her gentle swipes the cut reached from his temple down to his jaw, and he had been hit underneath the right eye as well. Quietly he thought about what Fred had said and whether it was right. He had been with so many girls and young women and wondered why he had never had a proper girlfriend. Had he really learned not to let anyone get to him?

His father was bitter because of the failures in his past and because of the spite everyone felt towards Scorpius' grandfather. His parents had never had a loving relationship, but sometimes Scorpius could see in his mother's eyes how much she longed for one. Did this scare him? Suddenly he realised that being tended to by Weasley was probably the most intimate touch of his adolescent life. A sincere, caring and gentle touch, and all of a sudden it did make him uncomfortable. He scooted away from her.

"Thanks," he said, and she nodded, now looking awkward as well. The sudden silence weighed heavy and made each second seem to last five. "We still have a meeting to get to," he offered.

"Oh, no, maybe today's not, I mean, we really don't have to," Rose stuttered.

"I think we should," he insisted. "If you're up for it."

They worked through the rest of their tasks for the day swiftly, both aware of the mounts of homework waiting. Still, the atmosphere lightened considerably. Somehow it felt right to be doing these mundane tasks which compiled their head student duties.

"What was it you wanted to complain to me about?" Scorpius asked eventually, when the memory of their meeting on the Quidditch pitch resurfaced.

"About you being an inconsiderate taipan who's an irrepressible pain in my neck of course." A pretty smile accompanied her words. "No, seriously, what do you mean?"

Incredulous, he looked at her. "Do you possibly remember your attack on me yesterday?"

"Oh, that." As so often her brows furrowed, seemingly contemplating whether her concern was still worth the discussion. "Dom had just notified me of Rockwood wreaking havoc on innocent third graders," she explained and raised a hoarse laugh from Scorpius, though it quickly faded into a pained moan. To disperse the worry on her face he shook his head calmingly, but her expression only relaxed once his was free from the pain.

"I had completely forgotten about those cauldrons."

"You mainly forgot to tell me about them," she corrected. "I'm assuming Rockwood got off rather lightly?"

She tried to keep the rising anger out of her voice.

"Of course not!" he disagreed immediately. "I forbade him to copy anyone else's homework. For a whole week."

She ran a frustrated hand through her hair. "That's not really fair."

"Right, because you're definitely going to put your whole family in detention for trying to halve me."

"Then you can stick yourself there, too, for bullying a student in the library," she countered, causing him to raise his hands in defeat.

"C'mon, Weasley. For Earl it's a pretty solid punishment, and it's fostering him at the same time, academically. I'm contributing to his academic education, which, as a spokesperson for the head mistress, should totally be in your interest."

Calculating, her eyes dug into his.

"You would twist it, so I'd have to deal with him anyway, am I right?" An involuntary smirk snuck on his face. It was too easy for her to read him.

"Yes," he answered honestly.

"Fine. Increase his 'punishment' to two weeks. Who knows, maybe he'll get used to it."

For the remainder of the time they spoke about less serious topics. To his surprise, Scorpius liked to listen to her, when she spoke about her huge family and their way of living which was so different from his. It sounded like adventure and solidarity. So unlike the people who he had encountered barely an hour before. When she spoke there was a light in her eyes telling him how happy she was, and how much she valued the everyday things. It was infectious. Even when he told boring stories of his own life, she seemed interested and soaked up the information like a sponge.

Soon he began recalling anecdotes he'd long forgotten. Ones that brought back affectionate moments with his family. One of them was the weekend trip to Paris his father had surprised his mother with. It hadn't been a business trip like usually, but a nice gesture on a regular weekend, and his mother had enjoyed it more than she ever admitted. She had been so happy, and maybe his father had been happy, too, but Scorpius couldn't be sure. He could't picture what it looked like when his father was truly happy.

The ones including his friends were his favourite stories, anyway. Just as he wanted to tell about how he and Albus had met, he remembered that he'd promised to be back soon. By now, the others probably thought he had received another beating.

"I'll take care of this stuff tomorrow, I promise," he assured her, but she merely shrugged at this.

"If you don't I'll just send everyone to you, no matter how insignificant their problem." She grinned at him mischievously.

"Alright, we're agreed then. Thanks again, Rose. Really. I can't thank you enough, and I…" I'm sorry, he wanted to say. The words were stuck in his throat. Solemnly he regarded her, until she dismissed him with a nod.

Rose, he had said in a way, that for the first time made her become aware of what her name meant. Thoughtfully and gently as if his mouth was indeed forming a pale red bud, which unfolded into a beautiful blossom once it left his lips. Similar to how something seemed to unfold in Rose, making her feel strangely light and elated all of a sudden. Shaking her head she turned back to her tasks and replaced the thought of Malfoy and roses with the assignment of students to a list of their clubs.

—

Albus was the last one left in the common room. He looked worn out.

"Your face looks better," the Potter noted when he saw Scorpius.

"Yes," was all he replied.

There seemed to be a silent understanding between him and the Weasley that it was better for their new found civility to not become a public matter. It would only feed into the blazing fire of the feud, so he didn't mention her help.

"They've all calmed down," Albus let him know. "They still can't stand you, especially you, but I think they've given their anger room for now. Fred won't hang out with us again all too soon, though."

Scorpius couldn't say he was bothered by this. "So, everything back to normal?"

His friend shrugged. "Guess so. A little bit more hostile, a little bit more out in the open."

That should settle it, yet for some reason Albus' face looked as though someone had died.

"Listen, Al," the older one began. "I'm real sorry. We shouldn't have-"

"It's fine, bro."

"I mean it!"

"I know, me, too." Albus forced a smile.

"Are you okay?" Scorpius worried all the more about his friend.

"Def," he obviously lied. It would be easy to admit he was down because of the fight between friends and family. Albus saying nothing made Scorpius suspicious.

"Just a pretty messed up day, that's all," the boy with the black hair tried to avoid further questions about his wellbeing.

Scorpius acted as if he'd swallowed the excuse. "Yeah, sure." He went towards their dorm.

"Are you alright?" Albus called after him, and Scorpius raised a hand to confirm.

—

The fierce battle had somehow remained hidden from the teachers. Thanks to Rose's ointment Scorpius wound had healed quickly, and to every nosy interrogator he had declared a Bowtruckle had gotten the best of him. Among those involved in the feud there was a noticeable hostility. The Scamander twins barely spoke to one another since Lorcan took sides with his best friend, and Fred rarely met with Albus, as he was staying away from the Slytherins. Even Amy and Dominique were giving Albus the cold shoulder, any sympathy towards his choice of friends having dissipated.

Towards their friends, Rose and Scorpius had to pretend as though they despised their meetings and that the only reason they took so long, was for the lack of cooperation they both showed. It was a wearying procedure to have to complain about one another every time their name arose. Still, it was a blessing that the nearing Quidditch match didn't pit Gryffindor and Slytherin against each other on top of everything. However, Lorcan had set his Ravenclaw team against the snakes.

Vigorously and under surveillance of Fred on the side of the pitch, he marched up and down in front of his team. The other six players were very unhappy with Fred's presence, since he could spy on their strategies, but Scamander dismissed their worries:

"Quiet now, that's of no interest. Fred Weasley -" a dramatic pause, "is a man of honour! He says what he thinks, he strides into battle with his head held high and only armoured with his diligently acquired muscles, with which -"

"Yes, yes, we got it," Mallory Corn interrupted her captain and chucked the quaffle at him.

"Mallory, you're doing push-ups in a moment," Lorcan interjected before continuing: "The Weasleys are our friends, buuuut - Mallory, do push-ups now - buuuut the Slytherins are malicious, back-stabbing, despicable, stinking, accursed, pesky... revolting snakes! They don't hesitate to attack us and drive their venomous fangs into our bones!"

He came to a sudden halt. "And that's precisely why we will DEFEAT them!"

Earning applause from his team he gave a quick bow.

"Now up on your brooms, split into two teams. I don't want to see mercy, this is not a drill."

With this the Ravenclaws climbed into the sky to prove themselves as snake charmers.