Disclaimer - I do not own Harry Potter.
Note - Sorry for the wait. I've had this done for a few days, but never had time to fix it up and update it. But I hope you enjoy it. We'll soon be into the second year, and then onto the third where Lily will show up. So, read, enjoy, and let me know what you think.
Rebel Malfoy
Chapter Six: The Children of Death Eaters
Scorpius had never thought that exams could be so stressful. Before the exams came, piles of homework were thrown at the first years, all in preparation for the tests. And when they came, Scorpius found himself tired and just wanting them to be over.
"It could be worse," Lana mentioned. "We could be taking O.W.L.s or N.E.W.T.s."
That was what Trevor was doing, which meant that only Scorpius and Raven were taking morning runs. Trevor was busy doing last minute studying during his testing days.
"I really hope Aaron becomes captain next year," Raven commented as he and Scorpius ran one morning. "I mean, he's the best choice. But . . . I'm going to miss Trevor. He's an amazing captain."
Scorpius gave a nod, not wanting to really talk about it. Trevor leaving this year, it was sad. Scorpius felt like he was losing a mentor. A hero. A friend.
"Are you going to try out next year, Scor?" Raven asked curiously.
"Yeah. I am," Scorpius told him.
"What position? The Beater and Chaser positions will be open next year, assuming that Aaron doesn't make everyone retry for their positions," Raven replied.
"I don't know," Scorpius said honestly. "But, my dad offered to practice with me this summer, and maybe find what I like best."
"Well that's good that you'll be practicing over the summer," Raven said with a grin. "You should try for Seeker. Take Tyson's spot."
"So, I'm starting to be a little afraid of what my mum will say about my hair," Lars admitted as he and Scorpius walked around the castle. Now that exams were done, some kids found it time to relax, while fifth and seventh years were still tied up in their own exams.
"Well your dad didn't mind," Scorpius pointed out.
"Yeah, because Lana made up an excuse that confused him," Lars scoffed. "My mum isn't so easily confused. What if she makes us get rid of it?"
"Then you'll get rid of it," Scorpius said with a shrug. "You didn't have to do it at all, remember?"
"What brother would I be if I didn't support you," Lars retorted easily.
"I don't see why she doesn't just cut it all off! It's not like she could look any uglier!" The boys stopped at the shrill round of laughter that they heard in the distance. It was muffled, probably a few halls away.
"What was that?" Lars muttered confused.
Scorpius scowled. "I don't know, but I don't think it's good." The two boys quickened their pace through the halls, listening as the voices got louder.
"It's not like she'd look any more like a girl if she did grow it out," another girl laughed. "She's as ugly as her dim-witted brothers. Must be a family trait."
"She's probably as stupid as her dad!" Another round of laughter.
The boys turned a corner just to stop upon the scene they'd been listening to. And it stunned them. Three girls, third or fourth years, made a half-circle around Lana, who stood there, not talking or moving. She just stared at them.
Lars started running. "Leave my sister alone!" he yelled.
Scorpius ran with him, and then past him. He came to stand in front of Lana, to protect her. He pulled his wand out and pointed it at the girls. "Leave, now!"
One girl laughed. "Oh, please! What are you going to do to us?"
"You should ask Precious Potter!" Scorpius hissed.
The girls stopped laughing. Word had gone around about Scorpius casting a spell on Potter, embarrassing him. And while Potter had come back to relentlessly attack him for it, some kids actually left Scorpius alone, or hesitated around him. More rumors had floated around about him taking after his "death eater father."
"Don't bother," Lana suddenly spoke. She turned around and began to not only walk away from the girls, but from her brothers as well. "I couldn't care less what they have to say about me."
"We're just trying to help, Lana!" Lars insisted.
"I don't need it!" Lana snapped back, still walking away.
"Just what you'd expect from a death eater's daughter," one girl whispered conspiratorially.
Scorpius whirled around to glare at the girls. "Petrificus Totalus!" One girl dropped to the floor, frozen. As the other two girls began to panic and lean over their friend, both pulling out their wands to undo the spell, Scorpius turned around to look at Lars. "Let's let her be alone for a while. She might just need some time."
The two boys began to walk back the way their sister had run off, ignoring the taunts and cries of the girls behind them. "Think she's ok? I mean, I know Lana's not one to cry, but . . . she seemed so touchy when all we were trying to do was help."
"It was her first time being cornered alone. Last time she was taunted, Miley and Tamara were with her," Scorpius commented. "It's not easy when it's just you on your own. At least not the first time. I'm sure she'll be fine. Either way, we'll have one of the girls check on her after she has some time to think it out."
The two of them went right back to the common room, and were relieved to see Nikki and Layla Reeser sitting at a table.
"Hey, Nikki, Layla, did you see Lana come through here?" Lars questioned as he quickly approached the table.
"Yeah, not too long ago," Nikki said with a simple nod. "She didn't look happy."
"Did something happen?" Layla guessed.
"Three older girls," Scorpius said vaguely, although answering all their questions.
Layla sighed as she and Nikki got up from their seats. "We'll go check on her. Stay here."
Lars and Scorpius sat down as the girls went up the stairs. Lars ran a hand over his black hair. "What was Lana even doing walking around alone? That's like asking for a fight," he wondered.
"I don't know. Exams are over, so it couldn't be that she was studying. Extra studying isn't like her," Scorpius mumbled.
"No, that's prissy Rose Weasley's job," Lars said with a laugh, making Scorpius laugh too.
"Exactly. Lana's not like that. What was she doing?" Now Scorpius was curious too.
"Hey, guys, guess what!" Mitch ran toward their table with his normal excitement as of late. His incredibly short hair, well for him, was still black with silver streaks, was a bit messy, like he'd just woken up. This was because he never combed it once he got up from bed.
Lars looked at Scorpius, obviously wondering if they should mention Lana, but Scorpius just gave his best friend a small smirk. "What's up?"
Mitch came to sit with them. "You know Bret Reeser, the fourth year?"
Scorpius nodded. "Yeah."
"Well he can play guitar. He was playing it down here earlier, and when I talked to him, he offered to teach me! How awesome is that?" Mitch said with excitement.
"That's cool," Lars said with a small sigh, obviously still thinking of his sister.
Mitch was still smiling. "I know!" Then he stopped and looked between the two of them. "Where's Lana at? I thought she'd be with you?"
Lars looked down at the table, so Scorpius looked at Mitch. "She got cornered by three girls today."
Mitch's eyes widened. "Is she ok? Did they hit her?"
Scorpius shook his head. "No, it was all verbal. But as you know, that can hurt more. Nikki and Layla just went up to check on her. She practically ran off from us when we tried to help."
"Those girls had to have said something," Lars stated. "I mean, we were trying to help and she freaked out on us for it."
"She was a bit touchy," Scorpius agreed with a sigh.
Mitch scowled. Now that his hair was short, his anger was easy for everyone to see. "Gryffindor?"
Scorpius shrugged. "I didn't notice what House they were from. But they were a bit older than us."
Mitch groaned. "Man, I'm really starting to hate girls! They always go for the verbal attack! They are some of the cruelest!"
"Girls will forever be a mystery," Lars muttered in agreement.
"I don't see how Brandon stands to be around them all the time," Mitch grumbled. "I'm never getting married. I'm not even going to have a girlfriend! They are too confusing and cruel to even seem cute!"
Scorpius opened his mouth to speak, but stopped when he saw Layla coming back down the stairs. "Would she talk to you?" Scorpius asked as Layla came to the table.
Layla sighed as she sat down too. "Yeah. And she seemed fine. Calm . . . oddly so."
"But she's ok?" Lars insisted.
Layla shrugged. "I don't know. I mean . . . she's acting like she's ok, but . . ."
"She's hiding how upset she is," Scorpius guessed with a sigh of his own. "That can't be good."
Lars scowled. "You think she's beating herself up over something?"
Layla nodded. "Yeah, I think so. But," she said this firmly, "don't bug her about it. On a personal level, I know how much the verbal attacks from other girls can hurt. The best thing to do is to give her a little time, and to not fuss over her. Especially Lana. She hates being pitied."
The guys took Layla's words to heart, and were careful of how they were around Lana after that. And it was obvious to them that something was brewing inside of her. That she was hiding her real feelings. Scorpius knew that feeling, and it sucked. But Lana was pretending well enough. She acted like she usually did, only snapping the two times Lars slipped up and asked about the incident.
But the day for the seventh years' last day came, and Scorpius found himself having a normal morning, running alongside Trevor and Raven. But it was later in the afternoon when Trevor had asked him to come to the pitch with him for an extra bit of exercising.
"What's this for?" Scorpius asked as he watched Trevor pull a box of Quidditch supplies out of the locker room.
Trevor grinned as he opened the box. It rattled a little as the Bludgers ached to be released, but he only took out the Quaffle. He grinned at Scorpius. "Catch."
The throw was sudden and harsh, and while Scorpius caught it, and made him stumble back a step and a half. He looked down at the Quaffle, and then back at Trevor, who had this hands open, ready to catch it. "Was it needed to throw it that hard?" Scorpius asked as he tossed it back.
Trevor chuckled as he easily caught it. "Yeah. That's the force you've got to be ready for in a Quidditch match. You'll need to be used to it if you end up a Chaser. And you need to be ready to throw with better force than that weak toss," he teased "Again, catch."
Scorpius had his feet planted this time, so he was a bit more stable when he caught it. But it still stung his hands. "Does it always hurt when you catch it?"
"I'd suggest buying some strong gloves over the summer," Trevor told him. "Otherwise, yes, it will hurt."
Scorpius tossed it back, trying to put more force into it. "What if I end up trying for a Beater?"
"You still need to have the ability to play multiple positions on the field as a captain," Trevor replied. "Personally, I don't think you can be a true captain unless you know what the rest of your team goes through in a game."
Scorpius sighed and winced as he caught the Quaffle again. "You really think I'd be captain one day?"
"You've got the potential," Trevor insisted. "And I don't want that potential to go to waste. So I've been trying to do all I can to show you that you've got it. I hope you believe it one day." He caught Scorpius's next toss with one hand.
Scorpius tried to push the thoughts of his grandfather's thoughts on his potential. But it wasn't easy. "What if I end up failing?"
Trevor shrugged. "I've failed before. I still made it. And even so, as long as you try, then no one can complain. It's when you don't try that you've really failed." He looked at the Quaffle. "Let's try some movement drills. See how well you catch and throw on the move. Later, we'll work on some bat swings."
"One year gone, six to go," Mitch commented as he stood by their compartment's window on the Hogwarts Express. Scenery passed by as they made their way back to King's Cross. Their first year at Hogwarts had ended, and they had survived. They had changed, survived, made enemies, friends, and for Scorpius, a hero and idol in Trevor.
"I can't imagine what tortures next year will bring," Lars muttered.
"Well I know what I'm doing next year," Scorpius said firmly. "I'm starting the fight next year. I won't be the victim, especially not Potter's victim."
"I'm with ya," Mitch said in agreement. "And I think that little Potter should be our first victim."
"And we need to make sure that our first years next year don't get bullied like we did," Rex said. "We've got to be there for them, and make sure little first year kittens know not to mess with us or any Slytherin."
"I think they need a real reason to fear my last name," Scorpius said with a sarcastic smirk.
Lana laughed a little from where she sat. She had propped a mirror against the armrest of the far seat, and was messing with her hair, almost surveying it. "Death eaters will be the last thing they'll have to worry about. Their kids are on the loose now."
"Will they spread more evil?" Justin mocked in a low voice.
"Will they follow their parents' footsteps? Like the Malfoy boy?" Rex joked.
"Will he be a fashion designer too?"
They finally all began to laugh hard, and Rex even almost fell from his seat. It was a nice change for them all, to be able to laugh about those kinds or rumors and judgments rather than brood over them. That wasn't to say that they could ignore them completely. After all, it still hurt them internally. But together, it was easier to handle.
The train ride back continued with normal conversations of Quidditch, Hogwarts gossip, plans for the summer, and hopes for the next school year. When they arrived at King's Cross, they were still laughing about a story Rex had told about his older brother, not thinking of anything serious. They all got off the train with their things, and after a few goodbyes, separated to find their families. But it was Scorpius's family who found him.
"Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy! What did you do to your hair?" Lucius Malfoy roared from a small distance.
Scorpius looked at Lana and Lars in surprise, then remembered his hair. He placed a hand on his head. He'd forgotten about his black hair. It was just a part of him now, so he never paid attention to it. Yeah, it still kind of shocked him when he looked at a mirror, but that was rare for him to do.
Lars put a hand on his hair too as he looked at Scorpius. "Good luck, bro. We should probably deal with our own mother."
Scorpius nodded. "Yeah. I'll see you guys later."
"Stay strong," Lana said with a small smile as the twins walked away.
Scorpius gulped as he continued toward his family. His parents and grandmother were staring at him with silent shock, while his grandfather had possibly never looked so angry. "Hello," he greeted weakly.
"Um . . . Scorpius, your hair, it's so . . . different," Astoria murmured, now bringing her own hand up to run it through his raven colored locks.
"Yeah, I thought a change would be nice," Scorpius said simply. "It fits my personality a little better."
"Does it really, son?" Draco wondered, his voice calm, but his face still full of surprise.
Scorpius nodded, only briefly glancing at his grandfather. "Yeah. I mean, I'm finding myself to be . . . different, and this is different."
"Not expected, that's for sure," Astoria sighed. "Well, let's get home. We can . . . talk more about this and your time at school there."
"I don't have to change it, do I?" Scorpius asked worriedly.
Astoria looked at her son again. "Well, no. After all, I did say that you were old enough to make your own decisions on what to do with your hair."
"We'll talk about it at home," Draco said quickly, obviously stopping his father from losing his control in public.
Scorpius had to admit that being back at home that first night had its ups and downs. A good thing was that he was back in his own bed and in his own room. But on the other hand, it was quiet and . . . lonely. He'd never really realized that before.
Scorpius sat up in his bed that night, kind of missing his four roommates from Hogwarts. He kicked off his blankets and got up from bed, deciding that he'd get a midnight snack before trying to fall asleep again. He made his way through the very dim halls of the manor easily. He could see light from the slightly cracked open door of his mother's work studio, and it made him smile as he passed by. Farther down the hall, he could see the same kind of light coming from the slightly ajar door to his father's home office. But the voices from inside was what made him stop walking and smiling.
"You have to do something about that boy!" Lucius demanded. "He's getting out of control!"
"Father, he's growing up. All he did was color his hair. He's a kid. He'll probably change it again before long," Draco said idly, as if he hardly thought anything of it.
"For now! It'll get worse! What's next, being friends with Weasleys?" Lucius roared.
"From what I've gathered, I doubt that'll happen," Draco mumbled.
Scorpius pressed himself against the wall near the slight opening of the door, trying to hear his father's quiet voice better.
"He's acting like some common muggle, dressing like them . . . he's disgracing the Malfoy name!" Lucius yelled.
Draco's voice was still as calm as ever. "Father, I've asked that you don't preach things like that to Scorpius. The last thing he needs is to hold onto old values."
"He's better than that, and I raised you better!" Lucius hissed. "Muggles aren't to be mimicked! They are a disgrace!"
"Father!" Draco's control finally snapped, but then calmed again. "Scorpius is his own person. He's growing up, and he needs to be allowed to grow and change. I will not have you trying to contain him to some Malfoy heir. Look what it did to me." The last part was a small mumble, but Scorpius heard it. And he could only wonder what his father meant by that.
"So, have you thought about what position you're going to want to try for next year?" Draco asked his son curiously as they walked out to the manor's backyard.
"Well, Trevor taught me the basics of what it's like playing each position, and I think I like the Chaser position more," Scorpius told him as he held his brand-new broom.
"Ok. So, how about we take to the air, and we try some passing?" Draco offered, holding a broom of his own, a slightly older model.
Scorpius smiled. "Sure!"
"Master Malfoy!" a small house elf came running up to the father and son.
Draco sighed. "What is it, Pitch?"
"Your wife needs you, and she says it's important," Pitch said quickly.
Draco ran a hand over his hair. "Ok, ok." He gave his son an apologetic look. "I'll be right back, son."
Scorpius nodded. "I'll be waiting." Scorpius watched at his father walked off with the house elf, and when they were inside, he sighed. He knew he wasn't the most patient person, and sometimes wished that things like this didn't happen whenever he and his father were spending time alone together.
"Scorpius."
Scorpius froze at the sound of his grandfather's voice. He slowly turned around to see Lucius standing behind him, giving him a very serious look. It surprisingly wasn't a look of anger or disappointment. It was just . . . serious.
Lucius then looked away from him, and further out into the large backyard, which was practically a maze at times. Scorpius hadn't been around the entirety of it. "Come with me, Scorpius. I think you need to be told something." He then moved past Scorpius and began walking toward the vast yard.
Scorpius hesitated, but then set down his broom and followed after him. While hesitant, Scorpius couldn't help but be curious about what his grandfather meant. What did he need to hear? And did his grandfather really want to talk to him? Was . . ., was he not angry anymore? Had his father gotten through to him?
They went further and further into the backyard, and Scorpius was really beginning to wonder how far this backyard went. Was it extended by magic? It had to be. He wasn't recognizing any of his surroundings, but he stopped walking when he saw what were unmistakably headstones.
"Where are we?" he mumbled, looking at his grandfather in confusion.
Lucius came to stop in front of one of the tombstones. "This is the burial site of the Malfoy line. The purity of our blood lies here, and those we have to thank for it. This is where Malfoy's deserved to be buried."
But Scorpius felt a bit queasy at the thought of having played in a backyard where there were dead people buried. "Our family?"
"Noble, honorable, and prideful people. Powerful men, with brilliant minds, and dignity. It's something I carry, your father carries, and you carry it in your blood as well," Lucius stated. He looked down at his grandson. "And the last thing I want is for all of their work and efforts to be wasted and unappreciated. I don't want our name to go down in flames."
Scorpius kept looking around all the headstones. How many were here? How many generations? Then he looked at his grandfather. Were they like him? Pureblood supremacists? Haters of muggles? . . . Those that would support death eaters? Scorpius looked at the ground. Would his grandfather still do that?
"Grandfather," Scorpius addressed quietly. "During the war . . . you were a death eater, like Father. But . . . you changed."
"My wife and son were important to me," Lucius stated. "But our side of the war, it had the right idea when it came to muggles and mudbloods."
Scorpius clenched his jaw and his fists. No. He hadn't changed. Fear. That was what had made him run during the war. In fact, he probably saw their side losing, and didn't want their name associated with it. Anything to make it look better!
"One of my heroes is muggle-born," Scorpius said through gritted teeth.
Lucius looked down on him. "What?"
Scorpius looked at him defiantly. " I said one of my heroes is a muggle-born!" he said firmly. "He taught me how to be a leader! To be fair, to protect my friends and my House! He believes in me, and not because of my name! And he's a better man than you, no matter who his family is!"
Lucius's face turned steely. "Do not speak like that to me!"
"I like muggle-borns! I like looking like a muggle! I think they're interesting! I like not only fighting with my wand, but with my hands! I like my half-blood friends! And I can't stand you! Because all you want me to do is drag my father's name and work back through the mud! You want my father's efforts to be wasted! And I hate you for it!" Scorpius screamed.
Scorpius knew that he wasn't supposed to yell like that at his grandfather. He'd been taught all his life to not just respect him, but his elders in general. He was told to respect adults . . . but what if they didn't deserve it? His grandfather was doing nothing to deserve his respect. He was just making him angrier and angrier.
"In fact, if this is what you believe, than I don't want to be part of your family! I don't want to be your grandson!" Scorpius exclaimed before finally turning around and running away. He could only hope he was moving in the right direction toward the house, but even so, he didn't care. He hated Lucius Malfoy! He hated what he stood for! He hated his ideals! He hated him, and he always would!
Scorpius was angrily throwing things into a box when Mitch came into his bedroom. "Woah, what's up?"
Scorpius glared at the book in his hand. It had been a day since he had lost his control around his grandfather. He hadn't said a word about it to his parents, and he didn't care if Lucius did. "I hate Lucius Malfoy!" In his fury, he slammed the book into the box. "And anything that man ever touched, I want out of my room!"
Mitch sat in the desk chair, watching as Scorpius stormed around his room. "Did something happen?"
"I told him the truth!" Scorpius stated firmly, still angry. He next threw an old toy into the box. "That I hate him! That he's terrible! I was honest!"
Mitch clicked his tongue as he scratched his head a little, ruffling his short hair even more. "Hmm. Well, I brought you something. I promised he hasn't touched it," he joked with a grin.
Scorpius stopped storming about, and actually smirked a little. "Ok. What is it?"
It was then that Scorpius finally noticed a backpack hanging from Mitch's shoulder. He watched Mitch dug through it before pulling something out and tossing it to him. "It's a gift from Brandon. He gave me one too."
Scorpius unrolled the green fabric to see a large Slytherin banner. He gave a small laugh. "This is cool."
"Yeah, I convinced him and Kim to go with me to Muggle London, and we picked up a few things," Mitch said happily as he continued to pull things out from his bag. Scorpius looked to see multiple posters, like the ones of Quidditch players he had on his own walls. Only these had different music bands on them, but none that he recognized.
"Who are these guys?" Scorpius asked as he picked one of the pictures up.
"Different muggle bands," Mitch said. "I talked to this cool-looking guy that worked at the store, and asked his opinion on which ones were the best. He showed me these, and suggested I buy something called a . . . a CD? I don't what it was, but I think I might do it." He grinned. "Anyways, I brought these four just for you. I have some more back at home, and I even got a few for Lars and Lana too."
Scorpius smiled at his friend. "Well thanks. This does make a bad few days seem better."
"Well, if you want, you could always stay at my house for a few days," Mitch offered. "I don't think my parents would mind."
"I might do that. I hate this house," Scorpius mumbled as he sat on his bed. "I hate Lucius Malfoy. I can't stand living with him. It makes me sick." Although his anger had lowered, his somber feelings hadn't.
"Then we'll get you out of here for a few days," Mitch promised. "You can hang out in the loud house that is the Avery Home."
Scorpius smiled a little. "That sounds perfect right about now."
"Why did you do it?" Scott Avery, one of the younger brothers, asked for the tenth time.
"Stop asking!" Mitch snapped lightly at his little brother. While Mitch got easily annoyed with his siblings at times, he had a bit of a soft spot for Scott. Probably because of how much Scott seemed to look up to him already.
"But I don't get it. You cut your hair and made part of it silver, and Scor made his black. Why would you do it?" Scott questioned.
"Just for a change," Scorpius said simply as he looked at the chess board in front of him. He and Mitch had been playing when Scotty had come up to begin his normal round of questions.
"Now stop asking," Mitch grumbled as he waited for Scorpius to make his move.
"Do I really see our own rebel Mitchell playing a game as intelligent as chess?" Nate mocked as he entered the room.
"Bite me," Mitch snapped back easily. "I play this with Scor sometimes. And Brandon, who was actually nice enough to teach me, unlike some people."
"Such a temper, little brother. You should calm down more often," Nate said with a sigh. "And move your bishop before Scorpius gets the chance to crush it and ruin your defenses."
Mitch rolled his eyes. "Thanks," he mumbled before making the move.
"Not a problem, little brother," Nate said with a grin as he left the room, although not before ruffling Mitch's hair as he passed by. Scotty got up to follow after him, and they could soon hear him asking questions again.
"He can be annoyingly helpful sometimes," Mitch said with a shake of his head.
Scorpius laughed a little. "You do get easily irritated by him."
"He's such a suck up," Mitch said calmly and as if it was simple. "It's like he thinks he can get anywhere just by acting like some aristocrat. Meanwhile, the rest of us act like ourselves and get by just fine."
Scorpius looked to where Nate had left. "Do you think he gets bothered by Gryffindors? I mean, Brandon and Kim have both mentioned incidents they've had, but Nate's never said anything about them."
"I'd imagine he has," Mitch said. "But Nate's probably better at ignoring them and moving on. I mean, I can't imagine him snapping or lashing out like I do."
"Do you ever feel conflicted?" Scorpius asked, almost a bit suddenly.
Mitch looked at him curiously. "Conflicted about what?"
"About . . . well almost everything we've done this year. I mean, I was always raised to believe that fighting of any kind was wrong. That it did no good. I was told to keep my head high, and ignore the negative things people thought or said. I was always to dress and look proper, to never speak badly about anyone, to never yell at someone like my grandfather . . . but I find myself doing all of those things, constantly. I just . . . sometimes I wonder if I'm wrong in doing so," Scorpius explained.
"Maybe we are wrong," Mitch said in such firm agreement that his answer surprised Scorpius.
"So . . . we are wrong?" Scorpius questioned.
Mitch shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe I shouldn't always defy what people of authority tell me. Maybe we shouldn't dress the way do, or color our hair. Maybe we shouldn't fight, and yell, and argue, and scream."
Scorpius scowled as he thought and took in his words.
"But," Mitch said with a dry and humorless grin, "are we to let other people hurt us? Should we let Potter kick the crap out of us every day? Should we let girls go around and make Lana feel like crap about herself? Should I change myself for others? Should we let others pick on young kids just because they're in Slytherin? Or because of their family's past? Maybe we should. Maybe the good thing and right thing would be to do nothing. But I say, screw that! My heart tells me that I do the right thing every time I stick up for my name, or my friends and siblings. So I don't care what others think about that. And as much as I love them, that includes my parents."
Scorpius looked at the firm and honest look in his best friend's now visible eyes. Then he smiled a little. "You are one brave guy, Mitch. I feel guilty every time I think about what my parents would say on my actions."
"I love my parents," Mitch said. "They teach me what they think is right, and what will keep me safe. But they aren't always right. And neither am I. So I can only do what I feel is right for me. Because Hogwarts . . . it's not safe. For people like us, Slytherins, children of death eaters, it's not safe if we sit and do nothing. We're forced to fight back if we want to make it out with our dignity and sanity. And I intend to make it out."
"I've changed," Scorpius commented, stating his thoughts. "Before, I believed everything Lucius said. I took my father's lesson seriously, and did everything my parents told me to. I was the proper boy my mother raised. But now I fight, scream and yell, and look . . . well like a common muggle, to quote an ignorant man."
"Freeing, isn't it?" Mitch mentioned with an honest grin.
Scorpius couldn't help but smirk. "Yeah, it is."
