Thank you so much for following/reviewing! I can't believe people actually bothered to read this haha. I will try to keep updating at least weekly, though school is a little hectic. Btw, i don't own harry potter. Also, I noticed that I use the word 'for' a lot... or is it just me?

Astoria and Scorpius stood in front of the train, a crowd of students and trolleys and crying parents on all sides of them. She reached forward to straighten his black and yellow tie, which had been mussed by his constant tugging on it. Stepping back to admire her work, Astoria smiled. There was something classy about a well done tie, she mused to herself.

"You look great, dear. But are you really sure about that hair?", she asked one last time, lifting a hand to try to clear the hair out of his face. He put up his palm abruptly to prevent her from exposing him to the sea of people.

"Mom, I'm fine", he mumbled, glancing shiftily around the platform. He felt bad for being the way he was— he knew that his mom wished she could hug him and cry loudly and fawn over him like the other mothers on the platform.

"Bye Mum!" "Bloody hell, mate! Its great to see you!" "Bollocks, I forgot my owl!"

There was an awkward yet noisy pause filled by the shouts of all of the European children in the platform. It made Scorpius feel even more alone— being a Malfoy was bad enough, but speaking with a fake british accent whenever he spoke (which was rare) to others was exhausting and strange. It reminded him that he was a foreigner and different in too many ways… but he pushed that aside because his mother was tearing up.

"Oh, Scorp. You look so grown up… And that uniform looks so dashing on you," she whispered as she pulled him in for a hug. She realized that she didn't have to stoop like she had in previous years; he was her height now. They stayed there for a bit too long before she released her hold on him and he turned to board the train.

As the Hogwarts Express pulled out of the station, he stuck his head out of the window of his empty compartment and waved once. His mom waved back excitedly, and he watched her tall figure grow smaller and smaller until there was only countryside. He pushed away a twinge of guilt. He felt bad that the whole parting was hushed and that she hadn't even gotten to see his face one more time.

If he could change one thing, he would make it so that his mom could give him the most extravagant and noisy good bye that she wanted. That she could say bye like a normal mom. But of course, that would never happen. He leaned back onto his seat and sighed.

The train arrived at the station more quickly than Scorpius would have liked. He stood up and dusted off the khakis that went with his uniform, before realizing there was no point in worrying about appearance. The school uniform for WestWing, which looked like any muggle preppy high school uniform, felt different from his old school robes from the past few years. There wasn't the protective, concealing element with these clothes. In addition, they made him look horrible, for the pants were too long and the shirt was just one size too big. Luckily for him, nobody would care. He never even talked to anyone and people were used to his (literally) poor fashion (a/n: get it? haha okay never mind).

He stepped off the platform carefully, since he couldn't see very well due to the curtain in front of his face, and looked around. It was a normal scene, but he still felt so out of place. But then, that was normal as well. He quickly hurried off to the back of the line, discreetly allowing all the other students to cut him so he could take the last carriage. They nearly didn't notice him, for he was just 'that weird recluse Malfoy with the evil parents'— an object of speculation and curiosity, but not something to worry about.

Sure enough, the last carriage was empty. He sat awkwardly for the short duration of the ride. He then hurried into the Great Hall and sat at the far edge of the Hufflepuff table, with a 5 foot radius of empty around him. Scorpius sat through the sorting and the speech, ate a little bit of food without showing his face, and then shuffled along behind his housemates back to the common room. As everybody caught up with each other and laughed and chatted easily, he slunk upstairs to the dorm for 4th year boys and found the bed that had his initials on it. Ironically, it was on the far side of the room, slightly apart from the other boys' beds.

Scorpius laughed humorlessly. The noise echoed eerily throughout the room.

Even the magic that arranged the dorms knew he was an outcast.

Scorpius got up early. He was a horribly late riser and couldn't get enough sleep, but somehow, he found himself functioning at 6:00 a.m. After debating whether he should resume his sleep or not, he crawled out of bed at 6:15, pulled down his pajama pants, pulled up his oversized khakis, quickly held them up with the rope that he had transfigured into a belt, and slipped the still buttoned white button down over his head. He grabbed his ministry-issued wand and wished that he knew a shrinking spell for his clothes. Finally, he tied his hufflepuff tie around his neck loosely... but then remembered his mother and tightened it all the way up.

Only stopping to pick up his messenger bag, which was held together by a few badly done spells he had learned the previous year, he swiftly head out of the dorms and down to the Great Hall. It was 6:30, and nobody was there except for two ravenclaws, who were also fourth years: Dan Danners, a genius overachiever who was ranked first in every class offered to the 4th year class (and currently reading a textbook), and TJ Lee, a bored kid who liked to start (and end) fights. He currently held the school's record for 'most times visited the hospital wing' and didn't get along with anybody. Neither of them even bothered to look in his direction as he quietly made his way to his table in the silent hall.

All of a sudden, somebody else entered the hall. She was wearing blue running shorts and a tank top with "RAVENCLAW QUIDDITCH" emblazoned on it. Her hair was bright red and slightly curly/frizzed, but in an attractive way. She was sweaty and her sneakers were covered in mud, for it had rained the previous night.

Their paths crossed and they both froze awkwardly. Then, he mumbled something from behind his hair.

"Mud."

"Excuse me?!" Rose Weasley glared at him accusingly.

"There is mud on your face, by your nose," he said a tiny bit louder, causing TJ to glance over.

"Oh," Rose looked abashed. He could tell that she thought he had meant to be insulting. After all, he was a Malfoy.

She didn't seem to remember that in this era, it was he who had the dirty blood.

As he walked away to sit down for breakfast, a thought crossed Rose Weasley's mind.

That was the first time she had ever heard the meek, hoarse, and surprisingly nice voice of Scorpius Malfoy.