Chapter 2: The Great Hall

Rose was in pain. Albus was so nervous that the grip he had on her hand was causing her to lose feeling in her fingers.

"You'll be fine, Al," she reassured him yet again.

"I know, I know, but I just wish we could get it over with," he whined.

"Charging in head first? You sound like your dad." She giggled.

"Good! Maybe that means I'll make Gryffindor." He calmed down and finally loosened his grip on what remained of Rose's hand. The doors to the Great Hall opened and the first years slowly processed down the main aisle. After the Sorting Hat sang, Professor Longbottom stood next to the hat and began to read from the list of first years.

She didn't pay much attention to the names being called until she heard "Malfoy, Scorpius". The Great Hall fell silent. The students parted to let the small blonde through, avoiding touching him like his social outcast status was contagious. There was still complete silence as he reached the top step and sat on the stool while Neville dropped the hat onto his head.

There was no hesitation. "SLYTHERIN!" the hat declared. Rose noticed that most of the Slytherin table cringed or looked down at their laps in shame. She watched as Scorpius slid off the stool and soundlessly made his way to the Slytherin table. He plopped down into the seat at the end of the table, right where his new housemates had vacated.

When "Potter, Albus" was called, the volume of the room went quiet again, but then quickly erupted with low whispers. Rose realized that for everyone else, including the professors, history was being made. She finally understood why her cousin was so nervous. Relief washed over her after a few heart pounding seconds passed and Albus was sorted into "GRYFFINDOR!" by a satisfied hat.

The same thing happened when she was sorted into the same house, which was slightly disappointing to her. She was thought she would have been sorted into Ravenclaw. Her daydreams were interrupted when she a boy with reddish brown hair brushed past her on his way to the hat. She watched as this boy was sorted into Ravenclaw and envied him a little.

"Who was that?" She asked her cousin who was still beaming.

"Huh? Oh, that's Cole Morgan. I talked to him on the train and he seems nice enough. His family is actually American, but they moved here when he was young so he got on the registry for Hogwarts. Why d'you ask?"

"Jealously. He got into Ravenclaw." Rose grumbled. Albus rolled his eyes and chuckled. They tuned into McGonagall's speech.

"Now I know that there are more notable names joining our ranks this year. I want it to be known that there will be no special treatment given to these individuals. This includes professors as well as students. Let me be perfectly clear. 'Special treatment' covers inside and outside the classroom. It means no relaxing of the rules AND, " she paused "no bullying in any shape or form will be tolerated." There was a surge of murmurs and eye rolls from the students. Rose looked over to the Slytherin table and watched Scorpius shrink in his seat. McGonagall gave the room a final serious glare and started the feast with a clap of her hands. Rose dramatically covered face and hair as her male family members dove into the food, all having inherited the Ron Weasley appetite.

" Would you lot slow down?" she whined. "It's a wonder any of it makes it in your mouths at the rate you're going!"


Scorpius delicately picked at the food on his plate. He didn't want to have a full stomach before he ran to his room after the feast. He knew if he tried to leave now he would be easily followed. Perhaps if he waited until the big crowd of first years left he could blend in a bit and sneak down to his bed. Finally, the Slytherin prefect stood and called for the first years to follow him to the common room. As he stood up and tried to make his way to the line, he was shoved until he tripped. He quickly got up , but not before his hands were trampled on several times. Unsuccessfully blending in, he dejectedly joined the end of the line and avoided eye contact with everyone. The line made its way out of the Great Hall and through the corridors. It seemed like a long walk, and after a few more turns the prefect stopped.

"Sorry folks, I missed it." He said sheepishly. He turned the line around and in the confusion, Scorpius felt a pair of hands on his shoulders dragging him away from the line and into what looked like a girls' bathroom. His heart began to race. This is what he what he had feared the most. He hoped that McGonagall's speech would have put off an encounter for a few days, but from the looks of the small group he now faced, her strong words had only fuelled the fire.

"What're you looking at, Spawn?" the boy who had grabbed him spat. Scorpius quickly looked at his toes. A girl off to his right giggled.

"He looks so pathetic!"

"You should've seen him on the train, holed up in the corner like the vermin he is." He recognized the voice of the Ravenclaw girl from the train.

"Let's get on with it." Said another boy. He drew his wand and hurled a "Stupefy!" at Scorpius. He didn't try to defend himself, and instead let his body take the full effect of the spell. He felt his head slam into the door of a stall.

"Grab his wand." The same boy ordered. The girl skipped over and plucked Scorpius' wand from inside his robes and threw it across the room like it was the most disgusting thing imaginable. She giggled as she dramatically wiped her hands on her robes and stepped out of the way as the rest of the group began firing spell after spell on Scorpius' defenseless body. He felt the skin on his chest tear, and realized that they were avoiding his face so that the marks wouldn't be visible to the professors.

After what seemed like an eternity, the boy quietly said, "Stop." He walked over to Scorpius and examined his wounds. Looking satisfied he knelt down to the injured boy's ear and hissed, "That's what you get for being the scum of the earth." Straightening up, he moved to put his wand away but stopped as Scorpius shifted slightly to try and stop the bleeding from his chest.

"There's one I've always wanted to try." Said the boy. "CRUCIO." He commanded. Scorpius nearly blacked out as the curse pushed pain throughout his body, causing him to writhe and twist as his mouth opened in a silent scream. The boy's mouth curled into an evil grin and his eyes widened with delight, as Scorpius' pain grew deeper and deeper. Several seconds passed until someone from the group coughed uncomfortably, and the boy seemed to snap out of a demented trance, at the same time releasing the Malfoy heir from torture curse.

"Let's go." He barked, leading the group out of the bathroom and leaving the small blonde boy in the big red puddle behind. The door slammed shut.

A/N: btw I'm American, just as a spelling/ vocabulary reference.

Man, these chapters seem so short...