Chapter 16 – The letter

Albus checked the letter he wanted to send to Delphi again. He had finally gathered the courage the answer her. Her last letter had made him feel so guilty for ignoring her. He knew Scorpius was against the idea of writing back, they had discussed it more than once, but he was sure his friend was only jealous he had a girl while Rose ignored him. He felt good finally having someone like her. She trusted him, believed in him and he was sure she would understand it wasn't his fault.

Within his family, he was an outsider. His mom loved him, he was sure, but she wasn't someone he talked to a lot. His father was a hero everyone looked up to, but was to caught up in the past to understand him. All the old man ever talked about was himself. James and Lily were close and since joining Hogwarts, it looked like they had forgotten about their third sibling.

He had only one friend, and his father hated Scorpius, always telling him to search for new friends, so they could never spend any time with together outside of school, and now it looked like even Scorpius was against him.

When he woke up, Scorpius was gone and hadn't even left a note behind. Asking his two other roommates they had sneered at him and told him to mind his own business. They never cared to much for sharing a room with him and Scorp. Sometimes he wondered how it would feel to be a real Slytherin. All the other Slytherins banded together so tight they were like a family. If someone of another house, like his brother and friends, played a prank on them they repayed it fully. Be it a small first year or the Quidditch Captain didn't matter, no one was allowed to harm a fellow Slytherin.

That was beside him or Scorp. Rumoured to be the spawn of ultimate devil, Scorpius was hated even more in his own house than Albus, the changeling of the Gryffindor hero. Both of them learned early on how to stay out of everyone's way.

To have Delphi by his side made everything endurable. He told her he couldn't meet her at the moment because he had some problems at school, but told her not to worry. He would contact her as soon as it was possible. He knew better than to write anything of importance into his letter. Now he only had to go to the Owlery before breakfast and send it and he knew he would feel better. The guilt he had felt over ignoring her would finally be gone and until they meet again, he would certainly find a way to explain everything.

XxX

Watching the boy hurrying towards the Owlery, Crow followed him in the air. Once he had made sure the letter was addressed to Delphi, his job here was done. He hadn't thought it would be this easy, but all the better.

There were to many people gathered at this school for his liking. He liked his solitude and the silence that came with it. While he didn't care if he stayed in his human or his animagus form, he liked to eat his food cooked. To many times rats and bugs had been all he ever got to eat while he was a child.

Watching from a safe distance, Crow saw the boy giving the letter to a school owl, not his own, and telling it to fly towards Delphi. Satisfied, he followed the owl towards the only house and person he had ever called a home.

XxX

Scorpius left Hermione's rooms shortly before the lessons started. They had eaten a small breakfast together and talked a bit.

He had been polite, acted like an adult, but had never taken her up on her offer to call her by her first name.

She hadn't found out much about his life here, as he had evaded most of her questions and tried to get her to talk about herself more. She hadn't known what he had been up to until he had passed on his father's invitation. If one wanted to call in an invitation and not a summon.

He had asked her to send an owl with a date she would be able to meet his father to him so he could refer it.

It was just like Draco. Never asking himself, but getting others to do his bidding, even his own son. Like that he never had to deal with rejection, because his messenger made sure he got what he wanted.

She had noticed more than once that Scorpius had wanted to ask a question but thought better of it. Trying to pry it from him hadn't worked at all and she hated to see the sad smile he send her every time she had tried. He should be happy in this world. Even if he didn't know her and would never see her as a motherly figure, she still wanted the best for him.

As for meeting Draco it was a welcomed opportunity. Knowing she would be able to see him again was something she hadn't hoped for the last four years. Not after Severus had told her of Lucius' actions.

When she first heard that Bellatrix was dead she had been relieved beyond measure, just to find out that the second figure of her nightmares was still very much alive and roamed the world freely. Reading about him in the Daily Prophet had given her the chill, but she was determined to stay far away from him. As far as she was concerned they would never need to meet again, because she didn't know what she would do if he said or did the wrong thing in her presence.

Instead of writing to Scorpius for Draco she sat down to answer Ginny's newest letter. Before she did anything else, she wanted to meet her old friend. Setting up a date in Diagon Alley, she hoped it would help her to sort her thoughts.

It's sunday, and just like I announced we moved the update date permanently. Now I have two more days to overthing my own stuff and poor Eva spends her weekend making it readable :D