The awkward moment when I realize I written 30 pages (google docs) about one day :) A HUGE thank you to all who reviewed/followed/favorited, as always I don't own HP and without further ado...CHAPTER 8 (Sorry for the wait) Also Basil is pronounced Bah-Seel (short A long E)

Scorpius woke early the next morning. Though he could tell it was past dawn, he kept his eyes firmly shut. It was a dream he told himself wearily, I dreamed I was friends with a boy called Albus and a girl named Rose and we were all sorted into Gryffindor, and when I open my eyes I'll be in my bed at the manor. There was a loud rustling noise, there's Winky come to wake me up. Scorpius sighed, not wanting to open his eyes, it had been such a nice dream.

There was more rustling.

"All right, keep your hair on I'm getting up."

He sat up, Hagrids molkskin overcoat sliding onto the red dressing of the fourposter.

"You'd better be if you want any breakfast," Al was standing to his left unsuccessfully attempting to flatten his hair, his new Gryffindor badge already pinned to his robes.

Scorpius grinned, and then he started to laugh. Al peered over at him warily.

"What are you on about?" Scorpius smiled rather sheepishly, and then mumbled, more to his knees than anything else,

"Thought it was a dream," He glanced up, Al was nodding, obviously trying to keep a straight face. Scorpius slapped him with his pillow. Al's eyes narrowed.

"Getting cocky Malfoy?" And with that he hit Scorpius over the head.

The pillow fight ended when Adrian woke up and asked them loudly what they were on about. Scorpius dressed quickly pinning his Gryffindor badge haphazardly to his chest before Al dragged him down the tower steps, and out of the portrait hall.

"Did you see his face?"

"Just like his dad,"

"Gryffindor through and through,"

"Where?"

"Next to the blonde."

"Say is that a Malfoy?"

"Can't be."

"It is!"

"Filthy death eaters, shouldn't be allowed to breed."

Whispers followed Al and Scorpius the moment they left the dormitory. People would cram next to staircases, wait outside classes, and even by the door of the first year dormitory, peering on tip-toe to get a better look at them. They would double back in the corridors just to walk by them again.

"Honestly!" Rose whispered when a small first year with red plaits squealed and pointed at the sight of them, "Don't they have something better to do?" Al snorted by Scorpius gave a nod. He wished people wouldn't stare, if they looked at him long enough they were bound to figure out who he was. For every smile Al got, Scorpius was awarded a glare. It made it very hard to concentrate on finding his classes.

According to Rose there were a hundred and forty two staircases at Hogwarts, wide sweeping ones, skinny spiralled ones, narrow rickety ones, and some with vanishing steps a quarter of the way down that you had to remember to jump. The probably was, none of them ever really seemed to stay in the same place. Then there were the doors. Some wouldn't open unless you asked nicely, or knocked just the right way, some you had to tickle, and some weren't even doors at all, just solid walls pretending. The people in the portraits were no help at all, mostly because they never seemed to agree on anything, and they couldn't be used as landmarks as they moved around more than the staircases, Al swore the suits of armor could move.

Then came the ghosts, which were very little help at all, as they argued more than the portraits. They got on the wrong side of nearly headless Nick very quickly when Al very bluntly asked how he could be nearly headless, and wouldn't stop badgering him until Rose and Scorpius dragged him off. But far worse than Nick was Peeves, the poltergeist. Peeves was worth three locked doors and trick staircase if you met him when you were late. He would drop wastebaskets on your head and blow very large raspberries, and rush up to you invisible, grab your nose very tightly, and yell "GOT YOUR CONK!" Something Al thought very funny. Peeves could only be stopped by the Bloody Baron, a large silent ghost glistening with silvery blood, somehow, Scorpius didn't much want to talk to him.

If anyone was worse than Peeves it was the caretaker Filch. They manage to bother him as well, on their very first day. They were rushing to the greenhouses (their first class was Herbology with the Hufflepuffs) which unfortunately didn't seem to be anywhere at all, when

Scorpius got the idea they might be in the odd clump of trees in the distance, which turned out the be the forbidden forest. Scorpius, who'd been cursing himself for being so bloody stupid had not seen filch creeping up from the castle until he'd felt his sour breath on the back of his neck. The old caretaker had not been inclined to believe they were lost, and the trio had only been saved by the appearance of a very scruffy looking cat who Filch had chased into the castle yelling "PEEVES!".

Once they managed to find them there were the classes themselves. There was a lot more to magic than waving a wand about and muttering a few funny words, Scorpius quickly discovered. They had to study the stars by night through telescopes every wednesday evening, where they studied the stars and constellations in the night sky. Three times a week they had to make their way out to the greenhouses to study strange plants and fungi with the cheery professor Longbottom.

Easily the most exciting class was defense against the dark arts with professor Yaxley. Strict and Mysterious she told them to toss down there textbooks the moment they entered class.

"All your lessons in this room will be practical. Your textbooks are merely for reference when completing your homework."

Rose looked shocked, here was a subject you couldn't learn from a book. Scorpius was grinning widely, but when he turned to Al he was surprised to see him almost as wide eyed as Rose.

"Homework?" He whispered sounding scandalized. "On the very first day?" Scorpius was glad he managed to turn his laughter into an odd fit of coughing because professor Yaxley was eyeing them.

Transfiguration was yet again different. It was taught by beady-eyed Professor Basil, who seemed to take a disliking to Scorpius the moment he walked into class.

"Ah, the Gryffindor Malfoy, our new...Celebrity. Think it's alright to be late because of your father boy?" Scorpius winced at the reference to Draco..

"No" he mumbled quietly.

"Speak up!" The professor barked in the ear of a passing Hufflepuff.

"No," He said a bit more loudly.

"No," he yelled over the shuffling of the class. The professor sneered at him.

"No Sir" he drawled. Scorpius who was gripping the edge of his desk so tightly now his knuckles were turning white wanted very much to retort but a quick kick from Rose stopped him.

"Let it go, " she muttered so only Scorpius could hear. "I've heard Basil can turn very nasty." Scorpius glared silently at his desk, but he kept his mouth shut. When he looked up Basil had turned back to the class.

"Transfiguration is among the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts, there will be no foolish wand waving in this class. I can teach the subtle art of movement, and the delicacy of the smallest change, the beauty of the potent wand and the organized mind, that is, if you aren't as idiotic as the dunderheads I usually have to teach.

Rose was eagerly jotting down every word, the entire class was silent, even Al was staring with rapt attention at the burly professor. Scorpius was still fuming, he didn't need to be singled out, or ridiculed, he already had been because of his father, suddenly his thoughts were interrupted by a gruff voice.

"MALFOY! YOU THINK YOU'RE TOO GOOD TO TAKE NOTES IN MY CLASS!"

"No," Scorpius said his cheeks rapidly reddening.

"Tell me Malfoy what is an animagus?" Scorpius' mind was racing, he'd heard that word before, or maybe read it in one of his textbooks. He glanced sideways at Rose who was waving an excited hand. Professor Basil glanced at her and smirked, turning back to Scorpius.

"I don't know," he said feeling a bit stupid."

"I don't know sir," said Basil with a snarl. This time the opportunity was too good to pass up.

"There's no need to call me sir, Professor," he said innocently. Professor Basil squinted as he p

rocessed Scorpius' words, and then his face turned a very satisfying shade of Maroon.

"GET OUT OF MY CLASS MALFOY! AND TEN POINTS FROM GRYFFINDOR FOR YOUR CHEEK!" Scorpius climbed slowly out of his seat, gathered his books into his bag and walked out the large double doors and into the great hall.

Why did Basil hate him so much? Was it because of his father like all the others? But he didn't remember the name Basil on any of the war ledgers, or anywhere at all come to think of it. It wasn't a pureblood line. So was Basil a muggleborn who'd been tortured under Voldemort's reign? Yes that made sense, but still there was something off about that man...

Just then a familiar voice interrupted his thoughts.

"THAT WAS BLOODY BRILLIANT!" Al was grinning widely and running towards him, a haphazard stack of books swaying dangerously in his arms. Rose followed him looking stern, but obviously suppressing a smile.

"You really shouldn't have done it though, now you'll be behind." Rose sounded anxious but Al rolled his eyes.

"It was just notes Rosie. But mate, why do you reckon he hates you so much?" He said all this with a concerned smile plastered across his face." Scorpius started to laugh, suddenly feeling much better, but Rose scowled and slapped him around the head.

"Al," She said in a I-don't-think-you're-being-very-sensitive voice. "Scorpius is probably confused that a professor would treat him that way, angry because he's been insulted, nervous for the next encounter and a bit depressed because he's been compared to his father, for gods sake have some tact." She glanced at Scorpius with a soppy look. Al however looked dumbstruck.

"That's impossible. No one feel that much at the same time!" Rose turned back to him scowling.

"Just because you have the emotional range of a teaspoon-" But she was interrupted by the surge of students filling into the great hall for lunch.

Thursday was a big day for the trio, they finally managed to find the great hall without getting lost once. However as they glanced at their schedules Scorpius' heart sank; charms would be there first class with the Slytherins.

Charms was taught by a very old wizard with a squeaky voice called Professor Flitwick who nearly fell off his desk at Al's name.

"Well if it isn't Mr. Potter! I had the pleasure of teaching your father, brilliant student very brilliant." Flitwicks eyes went a bit glassy. Al blushed deeply and the Slytherins snickered. This seemed to bring professor Flitwick back to the present.

"Yes well," he said contentedly, and then launched into a lecture about the importance of pronunciation in charms.

Zambini, who was sitting directly behind him was still snickering.

"Did you see his face? Old coot practically worships scarhead." There was a guffaw from a large boy seated next to him who Scorpius vaguely recognized as Malcolm Mustow. Zambini pushed out his lip and said in a high pitched imitation of the professor.

"Oh Potty please let me like your boots! Oh could I have your autograph Potty? Sign my arse Potty please oh please!" He felt his face go red with anger. He glanced over at Al who's clenched fist's were shaking.

The Slytherin's were all chuckling now.

"Ignore them," Rose muttered out of the corner of her mouth still jotting down notes. "Don't let them get a rise out of you Al it's what Zambini wants." But Al didn't seem to have heard.

"Oh and now Pottys gone and made friends with the little Gryffindor Malfoy, bet he's just aching to report back to his deatheater daddy." Now Scorpius was shaking too. His vision had gone red.

Zambini leaned in to Al's ear. "Face it Potty you're nothing but a pampered brat with a famous daddy."

"That's it," Al muttered under his breath and he lept from his chair and lunged back at a startled Zambini. Scorpius lept up to join him but Rose grabbed his wrist.

"NO! You'll both get detentions! Come on help me get him off!"

"What is it Malfoy" Zambini spat, "A little competition sent you running for mummy? Don't think you're brave enough to be a Gryffindor."

Scorpius felt his fist make contact with skin, and suddenly he was punching every inch of Zambini that was within reach. He was vaguely aware of Al next to him.

"NO!" Rose yelled, attempting to pull Al off Malcolm.

"Potter Malfoy Zambini Mustow!" Flitwick screeched helplessly. Scorpius heard a someone cry out, he turned round to look and suddenly he felt something hard against his head, and then everything went black.