Hey everyone! Thanks for the reviews and sorry for nor updating. I'll try to keep a schedule from now on, maybe once a week or so. Hope you like this chapter!
Scorpius landed in a room that he recognized, only it was darker and more empty. It was his room! So he was at home. But where was everyone?
"Hello?" Scorpius yelled, before remembering that he was in a memory. No one could hear him.
Scorpius watched as a young boy of around 8 years old entered the room. The boy looked very familiar to Scorpius, and with a start, he realised that it must be his dad. He had platinum blond hair, identical to Scorpius's, with a pointed nose and pale skin. Grey eyes, unnaturally cold for a child so young, looked around the room.
The child was shaking and looked terrified, but he stood up straight, his back stiff.
Scorpius stared in shock at the small, trembling figure. Was that really his dad? It looked like him, but it was definitely not how Scorpius thought Draco would act as a child. The coldness in his eyes unnerved Scorpius. What was he so afraid of?
Scorpius got his answer when another person, an adult, walked in. Long blond hair, silky black robes, with a snake fang cane clutched in his hand, Lucius Malfoy walked into the room. His cold gray eyes, filled with an icy fury, landed on his shivering son.
Scorpius had met his grandfather only once, and it had not been an experience he wanted to repeat. Lucius had yelled at Draco about how he raised Scorpius, but Draco had done nothing to stop Lucius from berating him. Although Scorpius had heard the story of how his dad defied Lucius to marry his mom, he couldn't believe it at that moment, watching his dad's grey eyes look everywhere but at his father. Draco had looked weary and worn out, taking the abuse with nothing but a pained expression. Scorpius had been intimidated by Lucius' cold eyes, which only ever looked at him with disgust, like it was his fault he was raised the way he was.
Scorpius drew his attention back to the scene in front of him.
"Draco," Lucius sneered, slowly closing the door behind him. He stepped toward the child, who stepped back as well, hitting the wall. His breathing became faster, and he stared up with wide eyes at his father. Scorpius couldn't think of this boy as his dad. Scorpius had never seen his dad look afraid before, except for the time he had come to Godric's Hollow, looking for Albus and Scorpius with Harry Potter and the others. Scorpius would never forget the fear in his dad's eyes as he looked around for his son, and the overwhelming relief that took over when they saw each other.
Draco's whole body began shaking in fear when Lucius advanced. He seemed too afraid to even meet his father's eyes. Scorpius instantly disliked the man towering over his son. How could he scare his son so much that Draco was too scared to look at his father's face? Scorpius didn't understand what was happening, but he had a feeling that it was not going to be good. He didn't get why Draco looked so afraid. Scorpius knew his grandfather was cruel, by everything he had read in history books. But he had been told by his dad that his grandfather loved him, even though he was not good at showing it.
Scorpius's mother had never said anything when it came to her father in law, but she never hid her displeasure at having to deal with Lucius's sneers and insults every time he and Narcissa visited. Scorpius had always suspected that the only reason she put up with his grandparents was for his dad, who obviously loved them, despite the insults that Lucius hurled at all of them.
"So, Draco," Lucius drawled, watching his son shiver in fear. "Would you care to explain to me why I saw you playing with the filthy house elf?" Draco cringed.
"I-I was bored, Father," he said in a shaky voice. He looked devastated at the obvious disappointment in Lucius's expression.
Lucius sighed. "You were bored," he repeated flatly. Draco nodded once, lowering his head, seemingly too afraid to even speak. Scorpius felt a burst of anger toward his grandfather. Couldn't he see that his son was afraid?
Suddenly, the snake head cane was whipped out and under Draco's chin, making him gasp, forcing him to look up. Scorpius's eyes widened in horror. He had always wondered why his grandfather had that cane, when he could walk perfectly fine, and now he had an idea. An idea that he hoped wasn't right. "Look. Up. At me," Lucius snarled.
Draco stood frozen in fear, his back pushed against the wall as if he just wanted to go through it.
"Sorry, Father," he said in the same shaky voice as before, looking up with frightened, wide eyes at his father. Lucius pulled the cane out from under his son's chin, making him stumble.
"House elves are filthy servants, Draco," he sneered. "You are acting like a blood traitor for thinking that you are allowed to touch them, let alone play with them," He raised his hand, and Draco flinched.
The resounding smack echoed around the room, and Draco fell onto the floor. Scorpius gasped, his hand reaching up to cover his mouth in his shock. It wasn't a gentle smack, that only stung for a moment and never left a mark, like Scorpius's dad used to do him when he was younger and misbehaved. It was loud, and it resulted in a bright red mark that contrasted to Draco's pale skin. Draco slowly put a hand to his cheek, looking up at his father with wide eyes, his body shaking. He was fighting back tears, which made Scorpius's heart hurt. He didn't look very surprised at the violent blow, which made Scorpius uneasy. Was it possible that this was a common occurrence in his dad's childhood?
Lucius sneered down at his son. "Get up, you pathetic child. Acting like a filthy mudblood." Scorpius couldn't imagine how much that would hurt a child of 8 years old. His own father calling him pathetic. He looked down at Draco, who had a hurt expression on his face.
"I think you need to learn a lesson, don't you, Draco?" Lucius said softly. "Give me your hand."
Draco hesitated for a moment before holding out his left arm. Lucius took it and held it tightly.
"This is only to help you, Draco," he sighed. He lifted his cane and hit in on Draco's hand. Draco and Scorpius both cried out.
"NO!" Scorpius cried. Draco whimpered as Lucius raised the cane again.
"Please, Father!" he sobbed. Scorpius shut his eyes and tried to block out Draco's cries of pain. How could a father be so cruel to his own son? Tears welled up in Scorpius' eyes. His heart clenched at every whimper that Draco let out.
He wanted to do nothing more than to comfort the boy, who was supposed to be his dad. Anger overcame him, anger at the man who would harm a young child. Grandfather or not, this man was evil. Both of Scorpius's parents had taught him that violence is never the answer, that hurting people is never right. But now, Scorpius was seeing that his dad had been subjected to the very violence he had warned Scorpius away from.
Guilt came over Scorpius as he remembered the many times he had upset his dad. How many times? He couldn't even count. Godric's Hollow had only been one of the most recent times he had disappointed his father. But his dad had never hit him. Sure, his dad had yelled at him and lectured him many times. Maybe a gentle smack now or then, but never anything as extreme and painful as what Scorpius's grandfather was doing to his dad in this memory. Scorpius suddenly regretted being curious. He would rather be back home, with his dad.
Draco's hand was bloodied and crooked, obviously broken. He was sobbing openly, tears falling to the ground.
"I'm sorry, please stop," he begged. Scorpius's heart ached. Lucius lowered his cane and took Draco's hand in his, running his fingers gently over the broken fingers. Draco winced and attempted to pull his hand away, but Lucius didn't let go.
"Have you learned your lesson yet?" Lucius asked quietly.
"Yes, Father," Draco whimpered.
"Tell me, Draco. Will you ever disobey me again?" Lucius's voice was soft now. Scorpius frowned at the sudden change in his tone.
Draco sniffled and shook his head. "No, I won't," he said quietly. Lucius pulled out his wand and Draco flinched back. But Lucius only pointed it at Draco's hand and flicked it. Draco let out a yelp as a loud snap filled the room, and Scorpius jumped at the noise. When he looked at Draco's hand, the broken fingers were mended. But the dark bruises were still there, and judging by Draco's pained expression, they still hurt. Lucius took one last look at his son before turning around and leaving the room.
As soon as he had left, Draco collapsed to the floor, cradling his hand to his chest and sobbing.
Scorpius felt tears running down his cheeks, and fell to his knees on the floor. He cried along with the boy on the hard ground. Scorpius had never liked violence, watching it or having it happen to him. Watching it happen to a child was worse, and to a child that was supposed to be his dad by his own father just made it triply worse. He hated his grandfather so much, possibly more than anyone he'd ever hated before.
The scene began to change, and Scorpius found himself in another memory. He hoped it wouldn't be as bad as the first one.