Disclaimer - I do not own Harry Potter.
Note - Things are changing with our young Scorpius, and we'll see more of it in this chapter. I hope you guys like it. I tried to catch any mistakes, but I've been a little sick lately, so I might have missed some. Anyways, read, enjoy, and let me know what you think.
Rebel Malfoy
Chapter Five: The New Version of Slytherins
Scorpius skimmed the pages over a book his father had gotten him while they'd gone shopping for a new broom. It was a book about potions. He had only just mentioned his enjoyment of Potions class in passing, but his father had picked out this book and suggested he read it. It was interesting to say the least.
"Mitch, would you mind if I messed with your hair when we got to the castle?" Lana requested as she looked over all her new muggle products. The four of them had indeed gone shopping, and it had been a strange experience. They'd never had to exchange for muggle money before, and they'd never gone shopping in muggle London. He was sure his parents would be shocked and upset if they knew. Only because they would have found it dangerous to do so alone, that is.
Mitch looked at Lana. She was sitting on the floor of their compartment, allowing her to pull all of her products out her luggage, and look them over. "Uh, sure, I don't care," he agreed.
"What is all that stuff?" Rex asked curiously. He picked up a bottle and his face scrunched in confusion as he read it. "Charles Worthington? Who the heck is that?"
Lana shrugged. "I don't know. Some muggle. Scorpius bought that one for me. I thought it seemed like a lot of money."
"Which I have to spare," Scorpius retorted simply as he closed his book.
Justin picked one up too. It wasn't a bottle, but more like a small and circular container. "They are interesting. What do you do with them?"
"They make hair styling easy without magic," Lana commented.
"I didn't think you were into that," Rex remarked.
She shrugged again. "It's fun is all. Plus, I kept having to do the boys' hair over break, so this will make it easier whenever I have to do it again."
Scorpius looked at her. "Would you be up to doing it again?"
Lana raised a brow. "You mean right now?"
Scorpius nodded. "Yeah. I mean, since I have to wear the uniform, I can at least show my new attitude through how my hair looks."
Lana smiled and nodded. "Sure. Come sit, and I'll do my best," she promised.
So Scorpius moved to the floor, and let Lana do her work. It felt weird and different, having her put things in his hair in order to make it look a certain way. Whatever she used, it was kind of thick, like a cream of some kind. But he didn't comment as she worked. He knew Lana was a bit nervous about doing these things, since she never really had before.
Their compartment door opened, and two girls from their year walked in. Miley Flint and Nikki Montana. "What are you doing?" Miley questioned with confusion.
"She's making his hair look awesome," Mitch replied simply. "You can join us if you want, and take their seats."
Closing the door, the girls took his offer. Miley came to sit beside him in Scorpius's pervious spot, while Nikki moved to where Lana had been sitting before. "What is all this stuff?" Nikki questioned with her usual curiosity.
"Muggle things they use in hair," Lars answered. "We bought some for Lana to work with."
"Why not use magic?" Nikki asked.
"Do you know any magic that would do what these things do?" Lana quipped.
"But there are witch products that do," Miley pointed out.
"But we have to do it the muggle way," Mitch replied. "It's to show that we don't mind muggles."
"And you're trying to prove a point to the Potters and their friends?" Miley guessed.
"Mainly his grandfather, actually, but that's not a bad thought," Mitch mumbled as he began to think.
"How do you do that?" Nikki questioned as she watched Lana spike up Scorpius's hair into the style she'd made the night of the Christmas dinner, although it looked much nicer.
"I just put some of it on my hands and some in his hair, and then work with it," Lana mentioned as she continued to focus. She was messing with Scorpius's bangs, making a few of them fall to his brow, instead of spiking up.
"What else can you do?" Rex wondered.
Lana shrugged. "Nothing really. I'm kind of learning as I go along with it."
"Can you use this stuff to color hair?" Rex asked as he picked up another bottle, one that was bright red.
Lana shook her head. "No, I don't think so."
"That's perfect!" Mitch suddenly exclaimed, making the others jump, while Scorpius, Lana, and Lars were used to his sometimes random bursts of loud excitement.
"What are you talking about, Mitch?" Miley questioned.
"We change Scorpius's hair color!" Mitch enthused. "That's the perfect way to show that he's not some generic Malfoy, but his own person!"
Lana looked at him with surprise. "I just said that I don't know how to do that, magically or the muggle way."
"You can learn," Mitch assured. "The library has a ton of books on muggles for the Muggle Studies class. You and I can flip through them and figure something out. And if anything, I'm sure there's a spell or potion you could learn."
But Lana still looked hesitant. "I don't know. Maybe."
Mitch grinned. "Oh, we're definitely looking into it."
Scorpius got a lot of looks as he walked through the castle to dinner after they arrived. Many people looked and whispered, although Scorpius could tell this time that they were more confused and curious about his hair.
"This is perfect!" Mitch exclaimed quietly by his side. "Absolutely perfect."
"But it just got worse," Lars mumbled.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Malfoy looking even more ridiculous than normal. I didn't think that was possible," James Potter mocked as he and his usual little group of friends walked their way.
Scorpius glared at him. "Yet I look more normal than you ever do. A shame," he muttered angrily.
Potter still looked too arrogant. "What is it with snakes, Freddy? Either they have stupid hair like Malfoy, or they use it to hide their ugly face like baby Avery."
Mitch glared even more now. "Tell me, what's it with Potters being idiots? Anyone else remember Potter fumbling the Quaffle around during the last match?"
Potter's smug face fell into one of embarrassed fury. "At least my team had the talent to win," he hissed. "Or do you not remember that we beat you disgusting snakes?"
"Only because you caught the Snitch. We had you in points," Lars argued. That was true. Slytherin had been beating Gryffindor in points during the match. But then Tyson Derrick had screwed up and missed his chance to catch the Snitch. According to Aaron, Trevor had yelled at him for almost twenty minutes about that.
"How about a bet then?" Potter's Weasley cousin dared with a challenge in his eyes. "In the next two matches, whichever team, Gryffindor or Slytherin, makes more points in their game wins."
While Scorpius's pride said to take it, he hesitated. "What are the conditions?"
Potter and his friends looked at them critically. Then he grinned. "If we win, then baby Avery here has to cut his hair as short as the dumpy Goyle boy here."
Lars moved to step forward, but Scorpius stopped him. He looked at Mitch, who answered before he could question if he was ok with that. "Ok. What if we win?"
Now Scorpius had that answer. "You can never bully or harass another Slytherin ever again," he stated firmly. "I don't care for what reason. You leave our House alone for the rest of your time at school."
Potter crossed his arms, looking like he was thinking. But finally he scoffed. "Ok, fine. You little snakes have got a deal."
Word about the bet got around Slytherin and Gryffindor first, and then spread to the other two Houses. Many of the Slytherins gave Scorpius and Mitch words of encouragement. Telling them that they did awesome, and that their team would for sure get more points. But then others from the other Houses often mocked them, mainly Mitch and how he was "about to lose his hair." That was what scared Scorpius. He didn't want for Mitch to have gotten involved . . . but the chance for Potter to leave Slytherins alone was too rare and too needed to let go by.
The next match was Slytherin and Ravenclaw, but wasn't until February, giving Scorpius plenty of time to mentally worry. He spent most of his time with Lars, since Mitch usually dragged Lana off to figure out a way to change hair color.
"Hey, I just thought of something," Lars commented as he and Scorpius sat around their dorm room after dinner.
Scorpius looked at him curiously from where he sat on the floor, his back leaning against his bed. "What?"
"Well, the next Quidditch match is on the seventeenth of February. That's your birthday as well," Lars mentioned. "What do you want to do for your birthday?"
Scorpius felt a bit of surprise at that news. With all the talk and worry about the recent bet, he hadn't even realized that his birthday was close, let alone the same day as the game. Normally, before he was at school, his family gave him multiple gifts, while throwing him a small "party" of their friends and their kids, each with gifts as well. But now . . .
"I don't think I really want to do anything," Scorpius retorted. "It would seem like a useless distraction."
"But maybe we need one," Lars pointed out. "You should think about it."
Scorpius smirked. "There's not much we can do anyways. I'd really rather just treat it like any other day. Watching the game will be my birthday treat."
But it didn't feel like a treat at all. As the days got closer to his birthday, people in Slytherin kept talking about it, and asking if he wanted a present. Scorpius had to keep telling them no, that he didn't want to make a spectacle of his birthday, and to just focus on the game. Thankfully, that was what Trevor had planned . . . if only things went as well as planned.
Slytherin lost the match, again due to Tyson Derrick's lack of drive to catch the Snitch at critical moments. To Scorpius, it has seemed like Tyson was too worried about getting his uniform dirty, stopping him from going into the grass to catch the Snitch. But thanks to the others on the team, Slytherin had gotten three hundred and ten points. It wouldn't be easy to catch up with them, especially if Potter wasn't focused on the game, and just on the bet. All of Slytherin hoped that he choked again and would drop the Quaffle.
"I am getting sick and tired of Tyson not following orders!" Trevor seethed. He, Scorpius, and Raven Bole were jogging around the pitch on a Sunday afternoon, getting in a bit of exercise. Scorpius had taken to incorporating Trevor's morning and night exercise routines, and felt himself feeling better and getting better each day.
"Throw him off the team!" Raven exclaimed, also very tired of Tyson's actions. "He's not a team player, and he keeps losing the games for us!"
"I can't just throw him off the team. We'd be without a Seeker," Trevor seethed as he continued to jog, slowing his pace for the other two.
"Maybe we should dirty him up. Get him used to it," Raven muttered.
"How good is Gryffindor's Seeker?" Scorpius questioned.
"Katie Egan? Eh . . . she's decent," Trevor mentioned.
"What about against Hufflepuff's Seeker?" Scorpius asked.
"Well Hufflepuff's Seeker is Jacob Nemeth . . . and she's beaten him before, but it's usually pretty close between them," Raven answered. "They're usually evenly matched."
"Worried about that bet?" Trevor guessed.
Scorpius nodded, trying to control his breathing. "A little. I worry about Mitch."
"He wouldn't have made the bet if it was something he didn't want to do," Raven assured. "He knew what he was doing. Besides, if you win, Slytherin wins. It was a great bet to take."
"But Mitch doesn't want to change how he looks because of someone else," Scorpius panted.
"He made the choice himself. I think he knows that," Trevor told him. The three of them stopped jogging, each taking the moment to catch their breaths.
"You worry too much, Scorpius," Raven stated as breathing got easier for him. "There's still a lot of time before the match even happens. And Hufflepuff has a good captain this year, and that's always important. Egan doesn't know how to control a team. So just relax."
"He's right. Instead, focus on training, and taking mine, or Harvey's place on the team next year when we're gone," Trevor urged him.
Scorpius looked at him in surprise. "What?"
Trevor nodded. "Yeah. You've got the heart, kid. The focus, the determination, and you go with your gut. Also, I think with a few years training and working with the team, you could eventually be the captain. Both of you."
Scorpius looked at his shoes. They were an old pair of Trevor's shoes, which they'd shrunk down to his size. They were old and a bit worn out, but they were much better for running. They were muggle shoes . . . and Trevor's parents were muggles. He wasn't a pureblood . . . but those words still meant enough that Scorpius felt humbled by it.
"Thanks," Raven said boldly. "That's my goal. I want to be a leader."
Trevor grinned. "Well you've got the drive and talent. Just hone those abilities." He looked down to Scorpius, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You too. Years from now, I want to hear news on how the Scorpius Malfoy is captain of my old Quidditch team."
Still humbled, Scorpius could only shrug. "Yeah. Maybe."
He didn't show up at the beginning of the game. Scorpius couldn't do it. March had come, and so had Gryffindor's match against Hufflepuff. And with all his worry still tumbling in his gut, Scorpius felt almost too sick to show up at the match. At this point, it was honestly more guilt than worry. He should have offered to cut his own hair. Potter would have probably leapt at that, and taken it, thus saving any chance of Mitch having to change his hair.
Lana had stayed with Scorpius in the boys' dorm. The other four had gone to the match. Again, Scorpius had felt guilty watching Mitch leave, and not being brave enough to go with him.
"You know, Scorpius," Lana spoke from where she lay across Lars's bed, "I understand that you're worried for Mitch . . . but you shouldn't be."
"I shouldn't feel guilty for putting Mitch in this situation?" Scorpius scoffed.
"No, because you didn't. Mitch put himself in the situation, just like he wanted to. Mitch never does something unless he wants to do it. I mean, I love him, but he's kind of selfish like that. If he's not worried, then you shouldn't be. So relax," Lana told him.
Scorpius looked at her. "Do you think I'm a coward for not going to match?"
Lana shook her head. "No, just overly worried. But the game is going on without you there to watch, and the bet will have a result, even if you aren't there to see it."
Scorpius sighed and scowled as he got up from his bed and began to slip on his running shoes. "I should be there for support. For the team and the others. No matter who wins, Slytherins will be affected, so I should be there in support."
Lana sighed as she too got up, looking a little less enthusiastic as before. "How fun. Let's watch Gryffindors play Quidditch," she said with a roll of her eyes. But she went along with him, not complaining again as they headed for the Quidditch Pitch.
The noise was loud, and there were a lot more Slytherins than there probably would have been if the bet hadn't been made. They found Mitch and the guys standing with Aaron and the rest of the Slytherin Quidditch team.
Mitch grinned when Scorpius and Lana came to stand with them. "Hey, guys. Glad you made it."
Scorpius gave his friend a smile. "Have we missed anything?"
"Gryffindors are up by twenty points, and there's been no sighting of the Snitch," Lars answered.
"How many points does Gryffindor have?" Lana questioned.
"Two hundred and ten," Mitch answered easily, not at all looking worried.
"So if Gryffindor catches the Snitch . . ." Lana trailed off, but they all knew what she meant. If Gryffindor caught the Snitch, they wouldn't just win the game, but the bet as well.
Scorpius wondered how Mitch was still looking so confident and uncaring about it. "Worried?" Scorpius asked him curiously. It would be the first time he asked Mitch that.
Mitch shrugged. "Not really. Mainly because if I sit and worry about it then I'd go crazy. If we lose, then we lose. It's out of our hands now."
"We shouldn't have made the bet," Scorpius sighed.
Mitch just grinned at his best friend. "You worry too much, Scor. It'll all be ok."
"Really?" Scorpius replied.
Mitch nodded. "Really. Because all Potter asked was that my hair be cut. It could have been much worse. And while I hate doing things because of others, I'll deal with it."
"The Snitch has been spotted!"
Scorpius felt like puking as he stood next to the chair that Mitch sat in. He felt on display, and guilty for what Mitch was about to do.
"I can't believe Egan caught that Snitch," he heard one of the older Slytherins whisper.
Gryffindor had won the bet. And with the bet being known through the student body, Potter had demanded Mitch's hair be cut in an empty classroom, where not only the whole Gryffindor team could watch it happen, but anyone who wanted to watch could see. Slytherins had shown up in support, and others had come to laugh and get their sick amusement.
"Who's cutting his hair?" someone whispered.
"I heard his sister's going to do it."
Scorpius looked over at Mitch, who just stared blankly in front of him. Kids had filled the room, watching the two Slytherin first years that stood in the middle of the room. The Gryffindor team stood close by, looking way too smug. Scorpius wanted nothing more than to hit Potter at that moment.
Finally the door opened again, and Brandon and Kim Avery walked in. Brandon looked calm as he came to stand by his little brother's other side, while Kim came to stand in front of him. Normally, Kim probably would have been elated to finally cut Mitch's hair. But with it being forced on them by Gryffindors . . . it took any feeling from it, except for anger.
Kim pulled out her wand and sighed. "Ok, how short?"
"We'll let you know when to stop," Potter laughed with that same smug grin.
Kim ignored him as she took a bit of Mitch's hair. She gave him an apologetic look before whispering something. The first cut had been made. As comments were made, and laughter would erupt from some parts of the room, the Slytherins stayed quiet. Kim kept cutting, first cutting his hair so that his eyes finally showed, then shorter so that it just brushed the middle of his forehead. But she put down her wand when Mitch's hair was so short that it just fringed above his forehead.
She glared at Potter. "I'm not cutting it any shorter," she stated.
The dark-skinned Weasley boy laughed. "Good, because we already can see too much of his ugly mug!" the Gryffindors and others roared with laughter.
Raven finally moved to stand near the Gryffindor team, glaring harshly. "Get out," he hissed. "Our end of the deal was held."
Potter just continued to laugh. "He's right guys. If I have to look at baby Avery's face any longer, I might vomit!" he joked.
Slowly, the kids from other Houses trickled out of the room, many still laughing or making jokes. The Slytherins stayed put. Once they were all alone, many looked at Mitch. Mitch still had a blank expression, but Scorpius could see him gulp. Slowly, Mitch brought a hand to his now very short hair.
Lana hesitated as she stepped forward. "Do you want a mirror?" she offered.
But Mitch shook his head. "No, because I might puke if I see how it looks. Give me time to get comfortable."
"You look handsome, little brother," Nate complimented as he came to pat his brother's shoulder. This time there wasn't even tension between the two of them, and Mitch didn't at all seem annoyed by Nate's presence.
Mitch was still touching his hair. "Thanks."
"Yeah, we'd forgotten you had a forehead," Brandon joked comfortingly.
"I say we go back to the common room and celebrate," Trevor offered. "A little party is already planned and set."
Scorpius looked at him with a bit of confusion. "Celebrate what?"
Trevor gave him a friendly smile as he clapped Mitch on the shoulder. "For Mitch's bravery, and for the fact that we got an awesome group of first years this year."
Even though Mitch now got a lot of looks and whispers and jokes thrown at him, he surprisingly kept his cool, and his head high. Scorpius had only seen him snap twice, and he'd only gotten a detention once. Every one of their teachers had commented on Mitch's new hair style, and he'd stayed silent and didn't respond in any way.
Easter Break came to Hogwarts, allowing a few students to go back home for a short time. But like most students, Scorpius didn't bother going back. Instead he and the others stayed back and worked on all the homework their classes had piled on them.
And when the Easter Break had ended, it then became time for teachers to prepare all of their students for their end of the year exams. That meant more homework, essays, and studying. And it was in the middle of studying that Mitch apparently had a breakthrough.
"Guys! We've got it!" Mitch yelled happily as he practically ran into the boys' dorm room. In his excitement he jumped on his bed, a book in his hand. "We found it!"
Lars looked confusedly at Mitch. "What are you talking about?"
"Yeah, bring it down a notch," Justin said with a small laugh.
"About two weeks ago, Lana and I found out about this witch product that changes hair color. And we were finally able to get a hold of a bottle! We can change Scor's hair now!" Mitch cheered.
Scorpius looked at him in surprise and touched his own hair. "Really?"
Mitch stopped his excitement, and now moved off of his bed. "Did you change your mind?"
Scorpius hesitated. His hair? "What . . . what color?"
Mitch shrugged. "Whatever color you want. Kim knows how it works, and how to make it the right color you want."
Rex now looked at Scorpius critically. "Hm. You should do black!"
"That would be a big difference," Justin agreed.
"It's perfect! Black, that would be great!" Mitch agreed eagerly.
Scorpius got up from where he sat on the floor and walked over to the bathroom to look in the mirror. He'd never really looked at his hair before. It was a nice blend on his parents' hair, a pale honey blonde color, and he honestly couldn't even imagine it being black.
"You don't have to do it if you don't want to," Mitch said from the door. "Don't feel pressured, Scor. It's just an option."
Scorpius took in a deep breath as he closed his eyes and thought of everything that had happened this year. He thought about all that his name had brought him. Expectations from some Slytherins, although that had lightened a little. But it had brought him hatred from others, whispers, glares, fear . . . attacks from Potters. It brought the pain of what his grandfather had done to him and felt about him. Expectations . . . that's what it came to. Pressure. Stress. Anger.
Scorpius opened his eyes, his chest tightening a little now as a new and scary thought passed through his mind. But he did his best to hide it as he looked at Mitch. "Let's do it."
"You guys don't have to do this too," Scorpius repeated. The others had all promised to change their hair too, in support. Lana and Lars were going to go black, while Mitch was going to just do streaks of his short hair in another color.
"We want to," Lars replied. "We're friends, and we don't let you go through things alone."
Lana was standing in front of Scorpius, and drenching his hair with the product carefully, not missing a single strand. Lana had brought a bag of things into the boys' bathroom, and had begun to work. "We all need a change every now and then," she said dismissively.
Mitch had been oddly quiet, but Scorpius just figured he was trying to pick what color he wanted in his hair.
"I can't wait to see people's faces when they get a look at this," Lars said with a bit of his own excitement now.
Lana brought her hands away from Scorpius and began to wash her hands. Scorpius scowled at the feeling of his hair. It was heavy and wet . . . kind of like when she'd used that muggle product. It was thick and . . . almost gooey. "Does it always feel like this?" he asked.
Lana looked at him as she dried her hands on a towel. "No, I have to dry it." She pulled out her wand, and now looked really hesitant. "Ok, now I practiced this with Kim a hundred times, but if it's too hot, tell me right away. We'll have Kim do it if I screw it up."
"That's reassuring," Lars laughed at his sister.
Lana said a spell that Scorpius didn't recognize, but he immediately felt a warm heat hitting his hair. He didn't see why Lana was worried. It seemed to be fine. For a few seconds. "Ow! Ow!" he exclaimed as the heat got scalding.
Lana pulled her wand away quickly. "I'm sorry!" she apologized. She sighed. "I suck at this. Let me get Kim."
"I gotta tell the guys about this," Lars joked as he followed Lana from the room.
As soon as it was just Scorpius and Mitch in the room, Mitch looked at him and finally spoke. "What's up, Scorpius?"
Scorpius looked at him curiously. "What?"
"Before you agreed to do this, you had this slightly scared look on your face. What's wrong?" Mitch demanded.
Scorpius should have known that Mitch would notice. He wasn't good at masking his emotions quickly. But at the same time, he knew he could tell Mitch. "I had . . . a really bad thought."
Mitch was patient. "What was it?"
Scorpius gulped. "I was thinking of all the things that being a Malfoy had got me. Fear, hatred, looks, attacks, and mostly expectations. And for the first time . . . I wished that . . . I wasn't a Malfoy," he whispered. But then he quickly tried to explain himself. "I mean, I'm proud of my family! Just . . . the name itself . . ."
"That's not a bad thing," Mitch replied. "I mean . . . I love being a Slytherin. I love my family, even though they annoy me at times . . . but I still sometimes wish that. That I was in a different House . . . that my last name wasn't associated with death eaters."
"It feels weak," Scorpius mumbled.
"But normal. Everyone wishes that they could change the thing that brings them the most pain," Mitch muttered, equally as somber as Scorpius. "I know how you feel. You don't have to bear the burden alone."
"I'm tired of hurting," Scorpius said. "I'm tired of feeling guilty, of worrying, and for being treated like I am all because of things I can't control. I'm tired of Potter acting like he's Merlin and can do whatever he wants. I'm tired of being painted as some death eater son."
"We all are," Mitch agreed.
But Scorpius could feel something welling up inside. Part of it was anger . . . but he couldn't recognize what the other feeling was. "I'm tired of trying to be the good guy when everyone else sees me as some kind of dark wizard." He took in a deep breath, a scowl on his face. "Well, if they want to see me as a cheater, a violent kid, angry, and someone they should fear . . . then that's what they'll get!"
Mitch grinned. "I like where this is going."
"What's this about Lana burning your scalp?" Kim Avery demanded as she and an embarrassed Lana came into the bathroom, with Lars and the others trailing after them while laughing.
The next morning was another morning that Scorpius found himself staring at himself in the mirror of the bathroom. Black. Raven black. Ebony black. Midnight. His hair was black! And it was . . . weird. It was different.
"It looks so cool," Rex complimented as Scorpius left the bathroom. Scorpius looked over at Lars. His hair, too, was black. Then he looked at Mitch. Mitch had finally decided on silver last night, which stood out tremendously against his natural black hair. They all looked so different.
"You don't even look like yourself," Justin commented. "It's a change, but it's a good look."
Scorpius ran a hand through his hair. It felt the same, it just didn't look the same. "Yeah. Not the Malfoy everyone expects you to be," Mitch agreed with a grin.
Scorpius smirked too as he finished getting ready. But unlike when he started Hogwarts, he didn't bother worrying about his collar, he didn't worry about making sure his hair was perfectly flat or combed, and he didn't worry about his tie being just perfect. And actually . . . it was nice. It was nice not having to worry about his appearance so much, and worrying about all the little details. It was kind of . . . well relaxing.
"Let's rock this," Mitch said with excitement as they made their way out of the dorm room. This time they were waiting for Lana, who appeared with Miley and Tamara, who were still talking about her hair.
"I just never thought I'd see you with . . ." Miley trailed off when she caught sight of Scorpius.
"Wow," Tamara mumbled. "You all did it?"
Lars nodded. "Yeah, of course. Just because we're Slytherins doesn't mean we have to be what everyone expects. We can look like what we want to."
"And you know what, if Potter wants to call us violent and something to hate, then that's what he'll get," Scorpius said firmly.
"We aren't messing around anymore," Mitch said with a nod.
Miley came to look closer at Mitch's hair. She started to reach forward, but then stopped. Mitch grinned and leaned his head forward, as if tempting her to touch his hair. She did, mainly focused on the silver streaks. "It's . . . different. In a good way."
"I almost forgot that I'd dyed it, it feels so normal," Lars joked as they started to make their way to the door.
The group of them made their way through the dungeons, and all the way to the Great Hall they gained a few looks, not just from other Houses, but from Slytherins as well. But Trevor waved them over with a smile, offering a few seats next to him and some players from the team.
"Hey, guys," Trevor greeted. He wasn't surprised by the hair, which he'd seen during his, Scorpius, and Raven's morning run earlier.
"What the hell did you two do?" Aaron demanded, finally seeing what his little siblings had done.
"We dyed our hair," Lana said simply, not afraid of her brother.
Aaron just looked at them for a moment. "Well . . . wow."
"Any reason why?" Harvey, one of the Beaters, asked curiously.
Mitch shrugged. "We felt like doing something different."
Breakfast was full of stares and looks, but Scorpius didn't mind. It was for a totally different reason than because he was a Malfoy. It was perfect, what he wanted. And for the first time, he didn't mind at all. It was of course after breakfast and away from the eyes of staff that trouble started.
"You Malfoys are always looking for attention, aren't you?" Scorpius stopped walking when he heard Potter's mocking voice. He turned to look at Potter before looking to the others.
"Go on ahead," Scorpius told them. "I'll be there in a minute."
"Are you crazy?" Tamara demanded quietly.
"Nah, he's got it," Mitch assured. "We'll save you a seat."
Scorpius turned around fully to look at Potter and his "pack of kittens" as Raven called them. Scorpius was becoming used to this group. Potter, his Weasley cousin, Matlock, Kirke, and Fogarty. "You got something to say, Potter?"
"Just that I thought you couldn't get any uglier, but you proved me wrong," Potter mocked, making his friends laugh.
Scorpius kept his cool. "Well it's not hard to prove an idiot wrong," he mocked back.
Potter scoffed. "Is that all you've got?"
Scorpius pulled out his wand. "You wish."
Now they all laughed. "You think you're gunna hex me?" Potter laughed. "What can a first year do? I doubt you could even shoot water at me!"
"Locomotor Mortis!" Scorpius cast. Suddenly Potter's legs slammed together, and he fell to the floor. Everyone stood laughing, and had a moment of stunned shock. So Scorpius took his chance. He quickly ran up, kicked Potter in the chest, before turning around and running off down the hall.
He could hear yells and screams behind him, and soon footsteps. But Scorpius was proud to find that he was faster than them. He quickly hopped onto one of the moving staircases, which moved just seconds after Matlock and Weasley came around the corner after him. Scorpius just smirked and waved at them.
"Later, kittens. We'll have to do it again sometime!" he mocked before laughing and getting off the stairs. Sure, he now had to take the long way to class, but thinking of all of those Gryffindors' faces of anger and shock, Scorpius knew it was worth it.
