Pricked Thorns

That night, while everyone ate dinner downstairs, Scorpius walked along the corridors of the castle. He needed to be away from everyone and be allowed to be alone save for his thoughts. At the age of seventeen, though his hair was still a light shade of blond, it was darker than his father's platinum hair. Scorpius was grateful for that small differentiation.

It wasn't that he hated his father. Rather, he loved his father highly. He recalled fond memories of his father with him at the age of four as Draco had attempted to teach Scorpius how to fly on a broomstick. That day was one of the best days of Scorpius' life.

But these memories were hard to face when almost everyone in the wizard world thought differently about his father. Yes, they all agreed that Draco Malfoy was a changed man. But the fact remained of who Draco Malfoy had been in his youth and what he and his family had represented. And that was what Scorpius wanted to escape. The darkness.

He had been so lost in his own thoughts that he hadn't heard someone come up behind him until his new companion cleared their throat. He turned around quickly, ready to tell the person off but he stopped short when he saw it was Albus Potter, his best mate.

Before he could say anything, the Malfoy boy watched as Albus reached into his pocket and produced a napkin that was filled with food.

"I've been looking for you everywhere, mate," Albus said as he handed over the food. "McGonagall knows you weren't at dinner and she's not happy."

"Yeah, well, I just needed to be alone for a bit," Scorpius admitted. He took the napkin filled with food and looked at what Albus had grabbed for him; a roast beef sandwich, some little fruitcakes and Scorpius' favourite dessert, a Chocolate Frog. He smiled gratefully up at his friend. "Did your cousin tell you how she interrogated me this morning?"

Albus smirked, his green eyes lighting with a mischievous twinkle. "Maybe."

Scorpius gestured for his friend to walk with him. "She's something, your cousin. Always getting her nose into my business."

"Well, I'm sure Rose would deny this but maybe part of her cares about your well-being. You do live with her after all. If you're dismal, you make her dismal by extension." After he spoke, Albus shook his head slightly so that his black hair was out of his eyes.

"Weasley doesn't care about me. She's hated me the whole time we've been at this school," Scorpius protested before he took a bite out of the roast beef sandwich. "Or have you forgotten how we always compete for everything? She tries to undermine me," he added after he swallowed his bite.

"Rosie's always been competitive though, it's not just with you," Albus replied. "She can't help it, it's her nature. Think about it. When Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione went here, Aunt Hermione was the smartest person in this school. And Uncle Ron was fantastic as a Keeper on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. That's a lot to live up to."

"It's a lot better than what I have to live up to," Scorpius said, his tone a little dark as he finished off his sandwich.

"Would it be mean of me as your best mate to tell you to get over it?" Albus asked, tentative. "You know your dad's different now, you should try to live up to his new expectations of you. To be a good person."

"You can't be a good person and be in Slytherin," Scorpius interjected as he forgot for a brief moment the house into which Albus had been placed. For that, he got a light shove to his right arm from the other male.

"Gee thanks, you git!" Albus replied. By the tone of his voice, Scorpius could tell he was trying to hold back a laugh.

"Except for you. I don't even know how you got put into this house."

"Have you ever thought you can be a good person in Slytherin but you're Sorted there because you have scheming or conniving tendencies? Cleverness? You'll do anything to meet your ends? That's why I chose it when I got Sorted. I wanted to be able to fully express myself and hatching plans and pranks is what I do best. Therefore, Slytherin is the best fit."

Scorpius thought about what his best mate said. "I never knew you chose your house."

"Yeah, I did," Albus said as he patted Scorpius on the back. "And you're just like me. You're not a bad guy, you just like being able to be a prat sometimes and get away with it."

Scorpius rolled the fruitcakes up in the napkin and stuffed it into his pocket before he turned his attention to opening the Chocolate Frog box.

"But what if that's only a gateway to worse things? My father started out the same, only wanting to cause some trouble. Back in his first year – "

The male was cut off when more footsteps echoed through the corridor before a familiar head of read hair turned around the corner. Rose Weasley looked furious.

"Where the bloody hell have you been, Malfoy? We have Heads duty!" she yelled as she stormed towards them. "It's one thing to skip dinner, it's another to skip our –"

Scorpius gave an overdramatic eye roll. "Ginger, do you ever stop talking?" he asked with a sigh.

Rose scowled. "That depends. Will you ever do something right so I don't need to lecture you?"

"Look, if you wanted to be my mother, you're doing a good impression. I was just walking when Al met up with me and gave me food, that's all. We were having a chat."

He watched as Weasley's gaze turned to her cousin. "What were you talking about?" she demanded as she glared up at the both of them. Both males towered over Rose, as they were both six inches taller than she.

"Sorry, Rosie, best mates don't tell secrets. I'll see you later, Scorpius," Albus said as he began to back up down the corridor to take his leave. "Oh but if the Chocolate Frog card is Gwenog Jones, can I have it? It's the only one I need to complete my set of the old Holyhead Harpies team."

"Sure," Scorpius promised with a small smile. "Thanks for talking with me, by the way."

"Anytime," Albus replied before he jogged down the corridor and turned the corner, out of sight. Scorpius turned back to Rose to see that she angrily tapped her foot, annoyed that she was being overlooked.

"Right. Shall we?" he said as he walked past her. They could start their Heads patrol here and do the whole tour of the castle. As it was, they were near the Transfiguration classrooms and thankfully, there weren't many broom cupboards that they would have to check along the walk.

"Don't think you're getting off so easily, Malfoy," he heard Rose reply as her footsteps followed after him. She joined him at his side. "You can't just keep skipping –"

"Weasley, I've had enough of your lectures," Scorpius snapped which rendered her silent. "I know what I have to do, I wasn't going to skip my patrol tonight."

He watched from the corner of his eye to see that her blue eyes were trained on his. She seemed to be searching his face. But for what? She's gone mental, he thought with a small inward laugh.

"I just thought you might've," she replied, her tone less accusatory. "Since you wouldn't want to patrol with me."

"Now why would I not want to patrol the entire castle with the person who hates me most?" Scorpius questioned sarcastically.

"I don't hate you," Rose amended.

"Well then why do you constantly make my life hell by lecturing me and competing with me in everything that I do?" Scorpius asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"I just think that you're not applying yourself," she answered. That caught Scorpius off guard. He was still getting O levels in all of his classes, who was she to judge?

"Well, it's not up to you to tell me how to live my life, especially if it doesn't correspond with your agenda. It's annoying."

She looked away from him then as they rounded the corner and entered another corridor, her eyes fixed on the paintings that now adorned the castle walls. The silence was awkward. Malfoy cleared his throat.

"About earlier… Albus and I were talking about me being like my dad. He was trying to get me to think that I was just a prat and not actually a bad person."

"Good, maybe you'll listen to him," Rose snapped, her tone icy. Okay, so now she was mad at him. "Because even though that's what I was saying this morning, you've completely disregarded it."

"Maybe that's because when you talk, it sounds like grating nails and when Albus talks, he speaks like a normal person," Scorpius teased with a little smirk.

Rose whirled on him. "Why do you do that?" she demanded, her voice growing loud. "Why do you push me and push me and push me and say such rude things?"

"Like you don't do the exact same thing," Malfoy returned with a sneer. "Or need I remind you?"

"That's different. I say things to get a reaction out of you, to spur you into feeling something."

"Who says I don't have feelings? You don't know me, Weasley and you shouldn't pretend that you do. You and I are strangers who know nothing of each other except grades and how our families are supposed to hate each other. I don't even know your middle name, for Merlin's sake!"

At his words, Scorpius watched as Rose backed down before his eyes.

"It's Jane," Rose replied, her tone soft and meek. "My middle name is Jane."

"Rose Jane Weasley. Yeah, that fits," Scorpius muttered. "Mine's Hyperion."

Rose smirked and held back a snicker. "Are you serious?" she asked.

"Yeah, it was the name of a Greek Titan who controlled sun and light," Scorpius replied, not liking her reaction to his middle name at all. "What's wrong with it?"

"It's just that you don't have much of a sunny personality," Rose said and she gave him a little shrug.

"I do when I'm not around you, Weasley. Now can we keep patrolling please?"

The two continued on down the corridor until they reached the end of all the Transfiguration classrooms and went onto the Grand Staircase to go down to the next floor.

"He said you cared about me and that's why you complain all the time. You know, since you're worried," Scorpius added after a few moments' quiet.

"He? He who?" Rose asked, perplexed.

"Albus, who'd you think? Pay attention, Weasley."

"Well, Al is wrong. I'm not worried about you," Rose said. "I'm worried about myself. If your grades drop, who am I supposed to compete with to be best in the class? I have a reputation and I need to know my competition." She gave him a hint of a smile.

"Maybe you won't need to compete with anyone and just be at the top of the class all by yourself. Not everything is a battle, Weasley."

"Says the person who battles with himself all the time," Rose returned. Scorpius didn't know how to reply to that. She was right.

"You need to stop trying to see the good in me, Weasley. It's not going to change anything."

"Well, I'm not going to stop trying. You're a tosser, a git and a prat but if Albus is friends with you than you must be alright somewhere."

"Or you need to re-evaluate your cousin's mental health," Scorpius joked.

"See? That right there! Yes, it was a joke at Albus' expense but you're able to joke! You're funny!" Rose said, her small smile growing.

Scorpius instantly recomposed himself. "Have you ever heard of being a wolf in sheep's clothing? I can still be a bad person but make jokes. It's not that hard."

Rose stopped him from walking and put her arm out in front of him so that he couldn't pass her on the stairs. "You need to let it go. You're not a bad person, neither is your dad and as for you grandfather, you don't even see him anymore. You literally have nothing but good influences around you, how can you think you're a bad person?"

"Like I told you before, it's in my blood, Weasley. And once again, I don't need to explain myself to you. Let's just get the patrol over with, ok?" He pushed his way through her arm barricade and continued down the steps.

"Do you want to be a bad person?" her quiet voice asked behind him. He turned around.

"No."

"Well, maybe you shouldn't perceive yourself to be one. You know how if you think you'll fail an exam, you'll fail it because you've taught yourself that you will?"

He nodded and waited for her to continue.

"Doesn't that apply here?" Rose added. "You think you're a bad person so you'll become that bad person?"

Scorpius hesitated but ended up saying nothing and went down to the next floor of the castle with Rose following behind. For the rest of the patrol, they didn't talk except when they had to deduct points for students caught in the hallways. When they went the dormitory for the Heads, he went right up to his room without a word to Rose and she was left to go to her own room and think of how she could help him.

Except, she thought as she looked out the window to the starry night outside. How do you help someone who doesn't want to be helped?"