Oh my goodness I am sosososososo sorry for the delay! It took me ages to figure out how to write it!

The rest of December followed without incident, the three friends continuing to exchange letters (and gifts, considering it was Albus' Birthday on the 27th), only stopping when Scorpius was forced into a visit to his grandparents' house. It wasn't that he didn't like his grandparents, it was more their opinions that made him uncomfortable. Scorpius' father had warned him not to send letters to his two friends while they were there, as it would be a tad difficult to explain who his friends were to his rather ... 'Old fashioned' grandparents. The events that ensued at the large manor house were not exactly to Scorpius' liking, and he was not looking forward to withholding the information from Rose and Albus, who would already be frustrated with him for not disclosing the date of his birthday.

The 9th of January arrived, and Scorpius finally found himself at ease with himself again. He was going back to Hogwarts, and while it meant the ache of having to avoid his once-beloved cousin, it also meant seeing his two best friends again. With everything packed, he was hardly able to get to sleep, his nervousness and excitement buzzing around him. Then again, he could also say that his parents raised voices from downstairs kept him up as well...

"For the last time, Astoria, I'm telling you, I don't want him seeing Marc that often! I know something's wrong between them!"
"I know, Draco, but he is my nephew! I can't simply stop communicating with my only sister because there's some friction between our sons! You know I can't do that."
A sigh. "I know, I know, but is can't help feeling that the way they were acting around each other looked so... Out of place. The way Marc was looking at Scorpius... It almost reminded me of..."
"Yourself, I know. But we can't know for sure. That's why you asked Neville to look after him, right? To make sure he's out of trouble."
"Yes, but Longbottom can only do so much! What if he overlooks something? Misinterprets something? What if-"
"Draco, please. I know you're worried, but we can't protect Scorpius from everything. You tried to shelter him so much that I'm afraid it's doing more harm than good. You say you don't want him to turn out like you, but what good can come of constantly pulling him back while he's growing up? We need to let him make his own choices. You said it yourself."

"You did the right thing, letting him make friends with who he wanted to. I'm proud."

"Seeing Weasley in the train station... It made me sick. I hate him so much, I can't even stay in the same room as him without thinking about punching him in the face. And to think His daughter..."
"I know you're not fond of the idea, but at least Potter and Weasley's kids are treating Scorpius well. We couldn't have asked for more."
"I know. I know."

Scorpius had stopped listening after that. He couldn't bare thinking about it. He had pushed all the negative thoughts he had in his mind after that argument out of his head the second after they had made their way in. He couldn't afford to keep them.
Now, making his way towards the Hogwarts Express, he understood what they meant. This is what adults did. They grew up. And somehow, he wasn't entirely sure, but he realised this was for the best. His parents still loved each other, and he had them both.

He scanned the crowd, trying to search out a flash of red hair or a wave directed at him, with no avail. Sighing, he hugged and kissed both his parents goodbye, smiling slightly at them, and quickly jumped on the train. He rushed past the carriage which he knew held his cousin, hoping to avoid him, but it seemed luck was not on Scorpius' side.

"Hey! Blood Traitor!" He flinched. Please no... "Oi! Aren't you going to answer me, runt? Turn and face me." Slowly, Scorpius turned to face Marc, his body trembling. Marc snickered. "Scared, are we? Well you should be." The taller boy stepped forward, grabbing Scorpius by the front of his collar.
"You should be bloody terrified you little blood-"
"Hey!"
The two boys look up, Scorpius turning behind him to view his saviour.
She can't have been older than 13, although her height could have fooled Scorpius. Long, shiny dark brown hair fell to her waist, and her sparkling, ice blue eyes (quite appropriately) held no immediate warmth. She was glaring at them both, her rounded pink lips curled in a snarl. When she spoke, Scorpius was surprised to hear a soft French accent lace her voice as turned to Marc.
"Would you mind not using that phrase around me, please? It's disgusting. And also-" she turned to look at Scorpius, "learn to defend yourself. Your inability to throw a punch pisses me off. Now both of you get out of my sight, and grow up."
That's when Scorpius heard the other voice from the compartment.
"Mon dieu, Dominique, stop being so harsh. They're children."
Dominique glared at the source, "Oui, and they're acting like it."
A chuckle. A rustle and a slow tap of footsteps, and the other girl stepped out of the compartment. Scorpius frowned slightly in recognition, but did not address it. Tumbling white-blonde curls pulled behind her head, the same ice-blue eyes, yet there was a somewhat warmer feel to them. She sighed.
"You're both too young to be fighting. And such a cruel phrase to call someone, Oui? Now let go." Marc growled, not liking the patronisation aimed at him, and let go of Scorpius' shirt, allowing him to fall to the ground.
Wincing, Scorpius got back up as he watched Marc stalk away, and turned to the two girls. "Th-th-thank you..." Damn stutter... Making me sound stupid...
Dominique rolled her eyes before making a tsch sound and walking back into the compartment, but the blonde stayed behind. She smiled, chuckling slightly. "I apologise for my sister... She is not exactly the most eloquent of people... And it doesn't help when that awful phrase is used. It's been used against us Weasleys before." Her smile fades slightly as Scorpius frowns slightly, "Weasleys? You're related to Rose and Albus?"
"Ah, you must be their new friend. They were talking about you all Christmas. But yes, I'm Victoire and that was Dominique, as you probably heard. Now, you..."
Scorpius chewed his lip, dreading the next words.
"Aren't you related to Teddy Lupin somehow?"
A lightbulb practically flashed above Scorpius' head as he gasped in realisation. "You're his girlfriend aren't you?! You came with him to Christmas dinner a few years ago!" Hardly anyone knew of his (somewhat) close relation to Teddy Lupin, and it was actually quite nice to meet someone who did. Victoire chuckled at his enthusiasm. "Oui. You are... Cousins, yes?"
"Well... Second cousins, but yeah! He used to come over a lot but he doesn't that much anymore because of work and stuff..."
"Oui, he has been quite busy... Well, it was nice seeing you again. And, if you are still looking for Rose and Albus' compartment, it's on the next carriage."

Let me tell you a story. Nymphadora Tonks was the only other child born to the Black Family, other than Draco, but since her mother had married a muggle born, she was ostracised. After her death, however, her son was set to be an excellent asset into the Malfoy household. While Lucius Malfoy refused to acknowledge the boy, Narcissa Malfoy was seen to hold a fondness towards Teddy. While he did not spend all of his time with the Malfoys, it was obvious that a 'pure blood' level connection held strong to the family bonds. His grandmother, Andromeda, cared for him until Harry Potter, the boy's Godfather, could take hold full responsibility for a child.

If you were to look at all of this from Teddy's point of view, it surely would have been very confusing. Especially seeing as he never totally saw Potter as a father, even to this day.
He could even tell you that out of all the people he met as a child, his 'Uncle Draco' was the one he most wanted to be his father. Having hung around on the latter's leg for the first 5 years of his life, this wasn't exactly a mystery. So, after much deliberation, Potter allowed Teddy to stay in contact with the Malfoys. This would continue on for another 7 or so years, until one day, not so long after Teddy turned 13, all communication would stop. There were letters, cards and presents sent to him but, unfortunately, no return.

The Malfoy family would later find out that this sudden silence happened just a few weeks after Potter had told Teddy about the war. The war in which his parents died, in which the Malfoys oh so awfully betrayed them. Teddy had heard one side of the story, and had stopped talking.

It would so happen that Teddy ended up talking to the Malfoys again. It was 3 years later, admittedly, but he returned. He asked of them to explain their side of the war, and that they did.
Once they had finished, he had left without another word, satisfied. Being that he was a 16 year old, they were totally unaware of what to expect of the boy.

He came to Christmas dinner the following December, with his (apparently "secret") girlfriend on his arm. The first thing he had said was her name. Victoire Weasley. She looked terrified, the poor girl, but somewhat surprised when a 9 year old Scorpius happily walked up to her and shook her hand, followed closely by his parents. It was pleasant, refined, all awkwardness of family conflict washed away, probably due to the absence of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy.

Teddy Lupin does not frequently visit the Malfoys, not that he did after that visit, but he kept in contact. He apologises in every letter.

Funny, isn't it, reader? How hearing the other side to a story can change someone?

As Scorpius sat in the compartment, chatting avidly to Rose and Albus, he thought about his cousin, and how quickly he had returned and apologised. Scorpius' father had referred to it as maturing and the small blonde smiled slightly at the thought. Maybe one day Marc would 'mature' as well.

The next morning began the same way as all his other days at Hogwarts did.

Albus nearly crushing him with a stack of books in order to wake him up.
Albus nearly deafening him while telling him how late they were going to be.
Albus nearly giving him a concussion as he tripped him up three times while Scorpius was trying to get dressed.
Albus nearly killing him as he pushed him down the stairs from their dormitory.
Rose then telling Albus off for annoying Scorpius,
And then Rose telling Scorpius off for making them all late.

Just an average day.

Sighing, Scorpius stuffed the remainder of his breakfast into his mouth as they made their way to Charms, stifling his yawns. (Albus glared at Scorpius every time he yawned, saying that he always got too much sleep and he needn't be the one yawning.)

Scorpius never really said anything anymore in Charms, he just did what he was told and hoped for a little recognition. He was trying, however, to get his grades back up to their usual high standard. His talk with Professor Todd had definitely encouraged his sudden enthusiasm, but he couldn't help feeling that with Marc's now near-constant bullying, he still couldn't reach his full standard.

He could tell that his two friends felt bad about it, there was nothing they could do to stop Marc and since they had even lower grades than Scorpius when he was at his lowest.
Fred and James were also trying hard to cheer them up, but they all had to admit the two boys did a good job of it. Random firework displays, sending them small things from Zonko's and even playing the occasional prank on Marc.
The months were going slowly, however. And with Rose's mother already telling them to revise for end of year exams, they were not going to be fun ones.

Then again, it could be said that a certain letter from his mother and father changed the mood slightly, but not necessarily for the better.