"Trip me again and I'll hex you, Weasley!", Scorpius Malfoy sneered at Rose.
As per her usual response, she only sniggered and walked off with her Gryffindor friend, Andy Kirke. Scorpius felt a pang of jealousy, which he attributed to the fact that the only person in his house that he had to be friends with was Albus.
Scorpius had expected the other Slytherins to dislike him when he got to school. His father had prepared him for this ahead of time. Back when the Second Wizarding War was taking place, his grandparents had given over their mansion to Voldemort and his cause. By the end of it, however, they had wanted nothing more to do with it and had fled with his father from the scene and had, in the eyes of the other Slytherins, whose fathers had stuck around for a while longer, turned to traitor to Lord Voldemort before his downfall. As hard as it was for him to deal with the other students in his house, it was harder still for Albus. Apparently no one had ever told Albus who his father was or what he had done. How he had never heard anything about it, Scorpius had no idea, but he hadn't had the heart to tell him. It wasn't his place to tell that story; he'd have to be told by his family. But he didn't know how much longer he could keep his mouth shut...Albus believed the other boys hated him because his parents had been Gryffindors. Scorpius felt very sorry for him, but was conflicted on what to do about it.
Sighing loudly, Scorpius made his way out of the Transfiguration Courtyard and began to walk aimlessly through the corridors. Lately, all Albus had been wanting to do was go to the library and learn about astronomy. Scorpius was very happy for him since he'd found a hobby, but he'd been seeing much less of his best friend lately and the idea of sitting in that gloomy library, memorizing star charts didn't appeal to him in the slightest. Since then, he'd been searching the castle for an empty room where he could go to be alone. The last time he'd been in the library with Al, he'd checked out Quidditch Through The Ages, and was looking forward to reading it. Scorpius couldn't wait until next year when he could try out for the team. Ever since he was a child, his father had been training him. He'd never tell Al, but his father had let it slip a couple of times that he was training him so that someday, he could beat Harry Potter's son at it at school.
Good jod, Dad, he thought to himself with a smirk. Bet you never thought his son would end up in Slytherin too...
As he'd been thinking this, he'd been coming around a corner and, not paying attention to his feet, had trodden on several Jack-O-Lanterns that had been placed on the floor. Several of the other students passing by pointed and laughed and Scorpius heard Peeves cackle before zooming off to torment some other poor soul.
Angrily, Scorpius started dragging his feet across the floor, trying to disperse the pumpkin muck that was covering his shoes. How could he keep forgetting it was Halloween? The feast was all anyone could talk about. And with Peeves, of course, it was always going to be a trick and never a treat.
"Sorry about that" came a girl's voice, "I was about to magic that away when you stepped in it. I wish they could do something about that damned Poltergeist."
Scorpius turned and looked at the speaker and saw what he could only describe as a goth couple sitting at a table with a game of wizard chess between them. They were both several years older than him and had black hair and had somehow managed to dress darkly, even in their uniforms. Maybe they were dressed up for Halloween?
"Oh uh...it's okay." he said, "I don't really care. My day's been so boring that that was almost a blessing."
"Are you a first year?", the boy asked and Scorpius nodded, "And you've gotten used to Peeves already? Took me years. The name's Joey by the way and this is my girlfriend Sadie. We're sixth years. You play wizard chess?"
"Uh...no, not really. Never had anyone to teach me the rules. I've always wanted to try it though."
"Well come on over and sit down then." Joey grinned and pulled a chair out of thin air with his wand, "What's your name by the way?"
"Scorpius." he replied, slightly in awe, "Scorpius Mal-"
He stopped himself and they both looked at him quizzically.
"Uh...just Scorpius."
"Cool." Sadie smiled at him, then they proceeded to finish their game.
As the two began to teach him the rules, Scorpius snuck glimpses at them every once in a while. What were sixth years doing talking to him? What's more, he had looked at the ties they wore and seen that Joey was a Slytherin and Sadie was a Ravenclaw. And yet they were dating. What were a Slytherin and a Ravenclaw doing together? Scorpius thought that they were both very cool and didn't want them to get tired of him, but he didn't really know what to say. He also hadn't wanted to tel them he was a Malfoy for fear that they'd hate him like the rest of his house.
"So, now that we've told you all the rules, what move would you make next, Scorp?" Joey grinned, motioning at the board.
Scorpius saw the opening that Joey was referring to and slid the black bishop across the board to take the white queen and the two of the gave a round of applause. It had been a simple, obvious move, but they had set it up just for him.
"Good job, Scorpius! You catch on fast!" Sadie smiled at him.
"Oh, it was nothing really." Scorpius began, but Joey shooed his comments away.
"Sure it was. Most people can't learn the rules that fast. You caught on quick. Say...Sadie here is the captain of the Wizard Chess club here at Hogwarts, you know? Maybe you'd like to join?"
Scorpius was speechless.
"Yeah!" Sadie exclaimed enthusiastically, "Maybe you'd like to give us a trial run! We play chess and it's a good place to make friends. And Joey here is almost always there, as long as it doesn't interfere with Quidditch. We could teach you to play like a champ."
"Quidditch?" Scorpius perked up, "You play Quidditch, Joey? For Slytherin?"
"Oh uh...a bit." Joey smiled, "I'm not the best or anything, I just love to play it."
"Oh hush!" Sadie cried, "Scorpius, he's just being modest. He's the captain for a reason!"
Joey shooed this fact away and pointed at the book Scorpius had been carrying, "Great book. I take it you're into Quidditch too?"
When Scorpius nodded in awe he patted him on the back and continued.
"Hey, next year, you should try out. Slytherin could always use good players. I'd say..." he scrutinized him for a second, then "Seeker?"
Scorpius nodded again enthusiastically.
"Our current Seeker is a seventh year, so be sure to try out next year. I can help you learn some techniques beforehand if you want."
"Sure!" Scorpius was practically speechless, "Thanks!"
"Okay! Now, enough about quidditch for now. What do you say about joining chess club this year?"
"Sure." Scorpius smiled and nodded at them both, "It sounds like fun to me."
"Yes!" Sadie cried and some passing students scoffed at her, but she didn't seem to care, "We meet here in this room over here at 7:30 on Fridays! Welcome to the club!"
"Thanks! I'll certainly be there!"
Joey looked at his watch and observed the moons and stars moving about there, "Alas, my friend, it's time for the start of the feast. Want to come down to the Great Hall with us or are you catching up with friends?"
"No! I'll come." Scorpius grinned.
The couple magicked the chess board away and the three of them made their way down to the Great Hall, remarking at the mouthwatering smells that were coming from it. Joey said goodbye to Sadie at the Ravenclaw table and, to Scorpius's surprise, ushered him over to sit next to him. Albus followed with a confused look and sat down on the other side of Scorpius.
"Hey guys!" Joey motioned to several students sitting by them, "This is my friend, Scorpius. He wants to try out for the team next year and I was thinking we could take him to the field one practice and see what he's got."
"Sure thing!" a couple of them smiled at him.
"Oh, uh..." Scorpius tapped Joey on the shoulder and pointed at Al, "This is my best friend, Albus. Al, this is Joey. He's captain of the team and his girlfriend is head of the chess club. I met them both earlier when you were in the library."
The older boy reached around Scorpius and patted Albus on the back, grinning as Albus meekly waved. The tables before them filled suddenly with food, groaning under the weight and as they ate and discussed quidditch, Scorpius noticed Al staring out the window every once in a while, past the giant Jack-O-Lanterns and live bats, at the sky. Scorpius laughed and began to ask him how his day had been, trying to make him feel included in the conversation like Joey had been doing for him. As they talked, out of the corner of his eye, Scorpius noticed the other boys in his year gawking at them from a few seats down. Joey turned around and waved slightly obnoxiously at them and then stuck up a conversation with them both again.
As he was sitting there with his new friends, feeling at home for the first time since he'd arrived there at Hogwarts, he couldn't help but think that things were finally looking up for him and Albus, there, under the stars that his friend loved so much.
Hey, thanks guys for reading! I know I'm not the most consistent of writers on here, and for that I apologize. Please leave a review telling me what you thought and any suggestions on where to take the story! Thanks :)