Scorpius was unsure about how to behave around Aurore. Her brisk walk was difficult to keep up with and he had a funny feeling that she seemed to have more than just being his acquaintance or friend on her mind. Or maybe he was just overreacting? Don't flatter yourself Scorpius, he chided himself. What would Rose call girls like Aurore? That's right now he remembered, "Stuck up snobs who tried to use physical attractiveness to get their way." Trying to bear his girlfriend's words in mind, he followed after this other girl blindly, not sure if she was really taking him where he had to go. Much to his relief, he finally saw the corridor end and the doors opened to reveal a wide field just in front of them, the same field he had seen from the window. The grass was short and trimmed neatly, giving one the impression that the grounds were well taken care of. Aurore did not slow down for him so he continued to keep up his brisk pace. He glanced around from side to side as they stepped out of the building. Looking up at the building again, he saw it was grey and read, "Team Headquarters" with the team logo proudly displayed on the front and their motto: "Let us win, but if we cannot win, let us break a few heads"

Scorpius smiled a little at the logo. He had seen it many times before, on posters, in the Daily Prophet. Rose said it was mildly sadistic but he thought it fitted very well with the whole Slytherin image. In fact he had wondered on more than one occasion why Oliver Wood of all people had decided to coach such a violent and Slytherin like team. But he was jerked out of his thoughts by a voice behind him.

"Coming Scorpius?" Aurore chirped.

Her voice after awhile was beginning to seem a little too perfect to Scorpius.

He nodded hastily, almost like a kid caught with candy from the candy jar and he turned around to face the stadium once more. His bat and broom were beginning to slow him down and his arms were aching. He swung his head from side to side. The field they were passing through was adorned with sprinklers and he hoped with all his heart that they would not turn on. There were several people standing around, casually chatting with one another. Some of their faces looked familiar to Scorpius but he didn't dare make eye contact. He was in the presence of Quidditch gods. They were all wearing the Falcon uniform and Scorpius felt a little out of place in his trousers. He tried to push the feelings of insecurity to the side.

The stadium loomed in front of him. A powerful structure of steel and concrete. He had to pause for a moment to take it all in. Yes this was really happening, he told himself. He walked through the gates of the stadium, the gates he had passed several times as a youth, coming to watch games with his friends. With Rose. There was more of a spring in his step as he breathed it all in. Literally, his breath was getting deeper. As his foot touched the pitch, a sense of personal pride overwhelmed him. Finally Aurore stopped and turned around. She kindly gave him a moment and then cleared her throat. Scorpius who was still staring, glassy eyed at the rows of seats in the stadium, the colossal bright lights and the three hoops on either side of the pitch, turned around to face her again. Hogwarts Quidditch was peanuts compared to this!

"Mr Wood's over there." she pointed him towards a tall, well built man standing in the middle of the pitch inspecting the ground.

Scorpius nodded.

"Thanks again."

"My pleasure. Sorry if I walked a bit fast. It's a habit of mine."

"Oh don't worry about it." he assured her.

Immediately he rushed over to the man in question. Oliver Wood. He might as well faint. But Scorpius willed himself not to. He would not make a fool of himself. He reached Oliver Wood, panting slightly, Quidditch Pitches were large after all but still full of enthusiasm.

"Hello Sir!" he called.

Oliver Wood looked up. For a moment he seemed unsure of who Scorpius was but then a look of recognition crossed his face and he smiled, getting up.

"Scorpius!" he smiled and dusted his hands before taking Scorpius' to shake it, "Good to see you made it here on time."

"Yea thanks to Aurore" Scorpius added thankfully.

Oliver laughed.

"She's a gem isn't she? One of the assistants here at the stadium. Terribly helpful."

"Couldn't agree more." Scorpius nodded.

Despite her advances towards him, Aurore had been a lifesaver.

"I was just checking the grass, seeing if it needs a trim." Oliver continued. "Here we pride ourselves in being meticulous."

"I can tell." Scorpius replied remembering the neatly pruned field.

"Right, so I see you've brought your gear?" he asked.

Scorpius nodded.

"Yup my bat and broom."

"Good. I like that you came prepared but actually you may not be doing much playing today..." Oliver commented.

"Why not?" Scorpius asked.

Oliver shrugged.

"This session's really for you to get a feel of how the team works and plays together."

Scorpius nodded in understanding.

"We won't start for another 5 minutes or so, so why don't you tell me a bit about yourself? Slytherin weren't you? Back in Hogwarts that is?"

Scorpius laughed. "Yup."

"Make sense then, for you to join this team." Oliver nodded.

"Why'd you join then? Not to be rude but you were a Griffindor player."

Oliver shrugged, "I get that a lot but really I wanted to play with people who have that competitive edge."

"Oh ok. Yea I played since second year. Been a beater all the way."

"You can tell. The way you handle the bat. You're so comfortable with it." Oliver nodded. "Who was your partner then?"

"Rose Weasley" Scorpius smiled.

"Do I detect a smile there? You guys close buddies or..."

Scorpius rubbed his neck a little embarrassed.

"You could say we're close. She's with the Chudley Cannons now."

"Good team." Oliver conceded. "Much better than they used to be anyway. Why didn't she tryout here?"

"Sake of principle. We didn't want a situation where one got in and the other didn't."

"Oh I see. Well It'll be interesting to play against her then for a change?"

Scorpius ears pricked at this. He hadn't really thought about that. What would it be like to play against Rose. They both knew each other's moves at the back of their hand. Would they have to use that knowledge against each other now?

"Yea I guess." he replied, trying to sound calm.

"If she's anything like Fred and George Weasley were like in school, she'll be a strong contender." Oliver laughed, recollecting memories.

"One of the best there is." Scorpius replied genuinely. It was the honest truth. Rose was a fantastic beater.

"Well then," Oliver said as they noticed the other players beginning to walk into the stadium, "I guess you better start teaching the rest of the lads how to beat her when the time comes eh?"

Scorpius couldn't say anything. He forced himself to nod. Right now he couldn't really picture himself teaching people how to beat Rose. Like he'd said, they had always been on the same team. But he pushed the thoughts from his mind and hurried after his coach. The team was congregating in the centre of the field and Scorpius rushed to join them. They were chatting amiably, some smiled at him. He nodded politely. Oliver Wood raised his hand and there was silence.

"Everyone!" he called, "Welcome back and I'd like to say that this year I have high hopes for our team, I expect everyone to be in top form yes?"

"Yes sir!" came the reply.

"Good." Oliver nodded proudly. "And to add to the team this year, I am proud to introduce our latest addition, our beater, Scorpius Malfoy."

Oliver moved aside so everyone could get a good view of their latest teammate.

Scorpius tried not to flinch from all the stares. They weren't unfriendly but he hated being scrutinised

"Hi." he called.

"Hello."

Scorpius' heart stopped beating for a moment as he realised who had greeted him. It was Adrianna Green. Adrianna Green! He worshipped her! The way she flew past the keeper and threw the quaffle into the hoops every single time. Such a skilled chaser! And now, his teammate. He felt lightheaded. Adrianna Green. He knew people like Leo would kill to be in his shoes right now. Or maybe even Albus. He remembered that he'd seen a poster of Adrianna in his friend's bedroom.

"Good to meet you." she stepped forward to shake his hand.

Scorpius was on autopilot now, no longer functioning.

"I expect that we're gonna be working hard together?" Adrianna asked, helping him along.

"Definitely." he nodded hopefully.

The others seemed to take Adrianna's cue and one by one, they began to step forward to introduce themselves. Not that they had to. He knew all their names. But still he relished each moment as they came, smiled and shook his hand, some of the guys clapping his back. It was like they were including him into their family. For someone who had grown up without a large family, it was wonderful. It reminded him of the Weasley Clan. Colin Mcclagen, Kristine Dewsprout, William Horton, Casey Broadmoor, all of them speaking to him now, were pure legends. Some of them, their families had been playing for the team for generations! And now that he was here, Scorpius wanted more than anything to leave the Malfoy mark on the Falcons.

"Oliver says you're really good?" Colin asked.

Scorpius smiled nervously.

"I hope so."

"We're all here to learn from each other, not to worry!" Adrianna smiled.

"I just hope you're here to stay." William mumbled.

Colin shot William a look.

"Will..." he sighed as if they were bringing up a worn out topic.

Scorpius had heard a lot about William Horton. From many people. Good and bad things. First things first, everyone agreed that he was a very young but talented beater only 22 and so naturally he was going to be Scorpius' new partner but it was also common knowledge that he had a bit of a temper and often got into squabbles on the pitch. Still not many people minded, the spectators that is. They found it good entertainment.

"What do you mean?" Scorpius asked a little naively.

William shrugged.

"No ill to you man but the last beater we had was really good too and you see what happened to him?"

Scorpius knew who William was talking about. Everyone did.

"Andrew Keitch" he murmured.

William nodded.

The rest of the team stayed suspiciously silent as he began his rant. Even Oliver Wood.

"Yup you guessed it mate. When he showed up everyone cheered, said he was one of the hottest new talents. Plus his family's played for the Falcons for ages too. We expected some strong allegiance. But what after two years? He leaves for Chudley Cannons of all places! Said they were going places, that the Falcons wasn't for him..." he scoffed.

Scorpius knew the story well. It had been in the Prophet and on the wireless last year. A Keitch transferring from the Falcons was something unheard of. The Keitch's had been instrumental in the team's founding, literally Randolph Keitch had been one of the forefather team players and had co invented the braking charm. For one of their own to leave was something of a small disgrace. Small, judging from the team's response, was an understatement. Considering that William was such a strong defended of his team Scorpius could understand why he was so upset though maybe if he had been in William's position, he wouldn't have reacted quite the same way. Looking round at the team as they discussed the matter now, he could tell they had all been a little disappointed in Andrew, though they didn't show it as much as William did. Oliver had pointedly remained silent throughout, they were waiting for Scorpius' response, for him to give a stand.

"Well..." Scorpius began, thinking things over, "I'm here to stay. I know it."

At that point the team swarmed around him once more but this time more willingly, people were cheering and hugging him. They were cheers of acceptance. Oliver was smiling in the background. Scorpius had a funny feeling that what had just happened had been some form of a test, an allegiance test maybe? It seemed silly but that was maybe how these teams functioned. Teammates had to be like family in a way. You had to trust family.

"I'm looking forward to our partnership man." William clapped him on the back again.

"Me too!" Scorpius smiled and he really was

For a moment he forgot he was associating with some of the biggest names in Quidditch. Right now they just seemed like one big happy family. A family he felt, he would be proud to be a part of. Great things were ahead of him, he could feel it. Just then Oliver Wood whipped out a brand new Falmouth Falcons Jersey out of nowhere and the next thing Scorpius knew, it was over his head and on top of his shirt. Now it really looked like he belonged here. A true player in his own right. He forgot about Hogwarts, about his parents, about Rose for a moment as he took it all in, this new sense of allegiance consuming him with the flurry of voices constantly around him, laughing and cheering as they called out,

"Welcome to the team!"