Greetings, Earthlings. This chapter is signficantly better than the last one
and it gets better and better with every chapter, i promise.
cheers to the people who reviewed :)
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May We Look Ever Forward
Part One: Magic is Might
Chapter Two.
Albus always found it fascinating that his father and Scorpius' father had been enemies at school. He remembered his first summer home from Hogwarts, when he had asked his mother if his two best friends that he had written home about over the school year could come and visit. His mother had said delicately in reply, "I think you should ask your father." And sure, his dad had almost instantly said yes, but it had still intrigued him as to how his mother had reacted to it. Slowly the story had unravelled for him. Most of the gory details were left out, of course, but Albus was given the gist of it. It was years later that Scorpius had told him that his father had been a Death Eater and that Harry had saved his life in the Battle of Hogwarts. Scorpius didn't have it easy at home. He was the first Malfoy in 4 generations to not be Sorted into Slytherin. And, not only had he not gone into Slytherin, he'd gone into Gryffindor. Most of the Malfoy relatives had excommunicated him and his parents, but he didn't care. He had told Al and Grace repeatedly that they were his real family, and that he didn't want to be associated with a bunch of 'slimy, no-good ex-Death Eaters anyway'.
No one knew Grace's parents from school, so there weren't any problems between Al's family and hers. Her parents; her father French and her mother Italian, had emigrated from France to England at the end of the Second War. They both worked in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry, and no one was really sure what they did. Al had a sneaking suspicion that Grace knew all about it though. Albus watched her, hunched over the book, a small crease between her eyebrows. She pushed her fringe from her face, let out a small sigh, and turned the page. It was in the middle of their 5th year that Albus had realised that Grace Bellevue wasn't just his friend, but also a girl. And once he realised that, it became almost impossible to forget it. It happened late one night, when they were curled up next to the fire in the common room. Albus had told some joke; he couldn't remember it now, but it had been something crude. And they laughed and laughed at it for so long, and then they just looked at each other, and they didn't have to say anything. The look was enough. He'd regretted not kissing her that night for almost two years. Neither of them had even mentioned that night, or that moment, since. Al didn't know if Grace ever thought about it, but he thought about it all the time. He'd started noticing things about her after that; like how her eyes were that unusual grey colour, the pale colour of her skin, her soft mouth, how dark the loose waves of her hair were, her small nose, the high cheekbones. He liked the way she never gave a damn what people thought of her, and how she would chew the end of her quill through every class. He liked how her fingers were thin and knobbly and long and how her nails (which were always bitten to the quick) were always painted gold or red. He liked how she was constantly reading, but nothing that would ever be of any use in class. He liked that she never had to ask him stupid questions; she just understood. He just liked her. Simply her, because of everything she was. But it didn't matter; she was his friend. Just his friend and that was all. That was all she saw him as.
"Grace, are you reading Wuthering Heights again?" Said Al, clearly amused
"Maybe." She replied
"That has got to be the millionth time."
"You exaggerate," She said slowly, absorbed in the novel, "It's only the 15th, at most."
Al shook his head, "I don't understand what you see in that book anyway. Heathcliff and Cathy are the most awful people; and Edgar and Isabella Linton are no better. Edgar's an idiot, and Isabella is just…well, actually, she's an idiot too. They deserve exactly what they get."
She stared at him, clearly amazed "Albus Potter. Have you read Wuthering Heights?!"
He shrugged, "Aunt Hermione had it on her bookshelf."
Grace continued stared at him, incredulous, "I have been hounding you to read it for like, 4 years! When did this happen!?"
"About a month ago?"
"And why did you not owl me?!" She said, joyfully "This is monumental! You read a romance novel! Albeit, the kind of romance novel that almost makes you want to give up on love, but a romance novel nonetheless! I'm very proud of you!"
Al shoved her lightly, "Oh, shut up!"
She shoved him back, grinning widely "Make me!"
"Shut up, both of you," Said Scorpius mildly, waving his wand and setting up a chessboard, "Someone come and play chess with me. Gracie?"
"I'm reading," Said Grace, her nose buried back into her book
"Al," said Scorp, grinning at him, "Game on, mate."
So, it was Al who had the honour of being beaten by Scorpius, who had taken to Wizard's Chess when he had come to stay at the Potter's one Christmas about 5 years ago. Al's Uncle Ron had been playing with his son Hugo, and Scorp told him that his father had never allowed him to touch their set, as it was a family heirloom. Ron, being appalled at this considerable gap in the boy's magical education (And muttering darkly under his breath about 'that git Malfoy'), took it upon himself to teach him how to play, and he had been an avid player since. Ron and Scorpius made a point of sitting down every Christmas for their annual game. Ron had won every match so far, but Scorpius refused to give up. Though Albus had never told anyone, he had overheard his father and his uncle speaking one night about Scorpius. Ron had turned to Harry and said, "You know what? For a Malfoy, he's an okay bloke."
It was during their third round of chess that Rose and Hugo appeared. Various forms of 'hello's' rang out around the carriage.
"How was the meeting?" Asked Grace
"Alright," She replied, shrugging, "I have to go and patrol the carriage soon."
"Who's Head Boy?"
"Dennis Longbottom,"
Grace clicked her tongue, "Well, I guess he was a shoe-in, seeing as his dad is Head of House and whatnot,"
"Oh, be fair Grace," She said, smiling slightly, "Dennis will make a good Head Boy. He's easy to work with, at the very least"
Grace shrugged, "If you say so, Rosie."
Hugo was watching Al and Scorp's game of chess avidly until Grace called him from it, "How was your summer Hugo?"
He looked up, and shrugged, "The same as usual, I guess. It was weird, not seeing you hanging around at the Potters though,"
She grinned, "Yeah, my parents finally demanded my presence."
Rose was looking out the carriage window. Abruptly, she got to her feet, worry on her face. "Rose, what…" Asked Grace, perplexed
She opened the carriage door and yelled, "Goyle, you get AWAY from Lorcan, do you hear me? I will issue you a detention so fast it will make your head spin!"
He pushed the smaller boy face down to the floor, a foot on his back, his wand aiming at him,
"Oooh, I'm scared," He jeered at her, laughing, "What're you going to do about it?"
"I will report you-"
"Ooooh, harsh!" He cut her off, sarcastic, "I'll be reported! Now I'm really scared,"
Al, Scorpius, Grace and Hugo were all on their feet, backing Rose, gripping their wands angrily
"She'll report you," Said Hugo calmly, "But I will quite happily jinx your face off,"
"It's 5 against 1, Goyle. How do you like those odds?" Said Al quietly, "Because they're looking good to me,"
Rose stepped out of the carriage, her wand drawn now too, "Get away from him," she hissed
Goyle looked at them with hatred, "Fine, you win this time." He pulled Lorcan roughly to his feet and shoved him forward to be caught by Grace, "But you won't always be around to save him,"
"Ah, get bent, loser" Said Grace, waving a hand dismissively at the boy as he walked away, "You okay, kiddo?" She asked Lorcan, straightening him and tucking her wand back in her pocket
"Yes. Thankyou, guys." He whispered, not looking at them, "I'll see you later." He muttered, running off.
"I'm going patrolling," Said Rose grimly, "The Slytherins have been ridiculous lately. Someone should keep them in line."
"Want me to come with?" Offered Grace, "I could get hip to that groove,"
Rose smiled, "Nah, its okay. I'll be fine,"
"You sure Rosie?" Said Scorp, frowning slightly, "We wouldn't want you getting hurt,"
There was a faint blush in her cheeks, "No that's okay Scorpius, I'm fine. Bye guys,"
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end! updates coming soon.