Parts (9-14)

I

Chapter 3

Settling Into School

Part 1: People and Potions

Scorpius sat on the bed for a long time in the darkness, trying not to think about it but he couldn't get it off his mind. A part of him wanted to cry but tears refused to come, he hadn't cried since Marvin died. He didn't even try getting back to sleep, he didn't want to have another nightmare. Assuming he could even force his eyes to close. He hated remembering.

Subconsciously, his hand went to his stinging scarred wrist. Despite the fact it was bandaged he rubbed it gently. He wished he was home then, at least the familiarity of his room brought some comfort. Although he rescinded that thought, filled with dread as he wondered what they'd think of his Gryffindor placement. He wouldn't blame them if they disowned him, he wanted to disown himself at that point.

He was still awake when the sun rose and started streaming through the drapes he kept closed, though he didn't get up. He was still awake when the others started getting up and he heard their voices around him, he still didn't get up. He wasn't really paying attention to what they were saying until he heard his name, it snapped him from his melancholy.

"Should we wake Scorpius up?" Michael asked, sounding concerned.

"Let the spoiled, lazy git sleep," one of the others who shared the room – Angelo Jordan – said in reply, "Snob's probably not used to getting up before the afternoon."

"No need to be rude like that, he's probably just tired from nearly drowning and all."

"Oh, I'm sure he deserved it and there's plenty of reason," the other First Year – Reuben Tear – commented darkly, "He's a Malfoy."

"So?"

"So, you have a lot about the wizarding world," Angel said, "The Malfoys are bad people, he shouldn't even be in our house."

"Well he is in our house and the headmaster said our houses are like are family, you look out for your family."

"He's not my family."

At this Scorpius heard the sound of footsteps, retreating from him and seeming to clamber down the stairs where they faded from hearing entirely. He heard someone – presumably Michael – sigh.

"So… What about you, Albus?"

"Wake him, don't wake him. If he's late, he's late. It's not my problem and it's not yours either," Albus' voice answered indifferently, "I'd stay away from him if I was you, Michael, his family isn't keen on muggle-borns like you. Just forget him. Come on, let's go get some breakfast."

"Okay, in a minute."

Scorpius heard footsteps leaving again, followed by another sigh. He waited and expected for Michael to leave, he heard footsteps that seemed to be pacing before finally the other boy called out.

"Hey Scorpius, wakey wakey!"

"I'm awake."

At his words, the drapes were pulled back and he saw Michael scowling at him. He was now dressed in the Gryffindor colors; they looked incredibly neat in contrast to Michael's tangled mess of oddly light auburn hair, flecked with blonde, red and brown.

"You heard all that, huh?"

"Yep."

"I'm sure they didn't mean it," Michael offered with a smile that Scorpius was sure was just to try comfort him.

"I'm sure they did."

Michael didn't seem to know what to say to this. Instead he moved away but a moment later returned, now holding a pile of neatly folded Gryffindor clothes that he dumped unceremoniously on Scorpius' lap. Scorpius almost wrinkled his nose, he had been putting off having to wear them.

"Well you might wanna get dressed, wouldn't want to miss your first day of magic school."

"Yes, Mother," Scorpius commented half-heartedly before sighing, "You really don't need to keep looking out for me, you know?"

"I know. But it's really not in my nature," Michael said with a shrug before his grin returned, "So get dressed already, I'll see you downstairs."

Scorpius sighed as the other First Year left. He reluctantly dragged himself out of bed and got dressed into the Gryffindor clothes, usually he avoided mirrors but he deliberately went to look at himself when he was done. He looked stupid, he didn't belong in that house or those clothes. The Hat had made a terrible mistake, anyone could see it was wrong. He sighed again.

He went over to his nameless owl, it squawked in greeting and he almost mustered a smile. He fed the bird another treat and caressed its beautiful feathers for a moment, putting off having to go and face the world for another minute. The owl was so lucky, he didn't have to worry about any of this like Scorpius did. He was free from all that… He was Free.

"Do you like that, Free?" Scorpius commented, testing the name to which the owl gave an approved-sounding squawk, "Free it is then. Take care until I get back, try stay out of trouble. It's harder than you'd think."

Free squawked once more, Scorpius gave him one more treat before tearing himself away and heading down the stairs. He tried to psych himself up, he should be excited for his first day of Hogwarts but it was hard to feel so. The only thing that raised his spirits slightly was the hope he might have Defense Against the Dark Arts and get to see Professor Ashain again. He would also head back to the Hospital Wing the first chance he got to check on Calderon.

As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he did feel slightly better for having goals. However, it all flew from his mind in an instant as he tripped. He yelped in surprise as his body jerked forward and he tumbled painfully to the ground, voices howled with laughter. Scowling, Scorpius got to his feet and turned around to see a few older boys were laughing at him.

"Are you alright?!" Michael asked worriedly, racing over to him and Scorpius nodded but kept watching the boys, "What is wrong with you people? You shouldn't be laughing! He could've been hurt."

"That was the idea," the tallest sneered.

"Wait, did you trip him?!"

"No, I tripped him," one of the others said proudly still smirking, he reminded Scorpius oddly of Albus due to the messy black hair, "It was just a bit of fun."

"It's not fun to trip people up!"

"Michael, just leave it," Scorpius said pleadingly, he didn't want to make a fuss.

"You could've broken your neck! I will not leave it and neither should you!"

"What are you going to do?" the tall boy asked with a glare, "You're First Years, you don't know nothing. And are you really gonna snitch out your own house mates?"

"Well… no, I guess not," Michael muttered, looking down to Scorpius' relief. He didn't want anything to make things worse.

"I thought so."

"But I can do this!"

At this Michael snatched a book off the end table beside him and chucked it at the boys, they all ducked easily and instead it slammed against one of the shelf brackets. The boys howled with laughter, not realizing this.

"That all you got?!" the tall one roared, almost as he'd spoken the shelf gave way and the books it held rained down upon the boys.

"That's all for now!" Michael called triumphantly, the boys however looked angry and started to draw their wands, "Run!"

He allowed himself to be dragged away by Michael, they bolted out of the Common Room and ran. He didn't dare look back but he heard the boys chasing after them, he heard one of them yell 'get them!'

They raced down the Grand Staircase faster than Scorpius had thought himself capable of running but he had a feeling the boys were only getting closer, longer legs tended to mean faster running. They needed a new plan. The staircase they were on started to move, Michael started to slow but Scorpius grabbed him and continued on to get a running start.

He jumped and roughly pulled Michael with him, he heard Michael yelp in surprise before they crashed onto the platform. Scorpius scrambled to look back at the staircase, it was too far out for the boys to jump the gap like they had. They were safe, for now anyway.

"That was freakin' awesome!" Michael burst out, laughing in between breaths, "Way to go!"

"No," Scorpius told him firmly, "That was not awesome."

"No, it was mental," Rose commented and Scorpius glanced around to see her and a handful of other First Years on the platform.

"Why are you running away from my brother and his friends anyway?" Albus added disapprovingly, that would explain why one of them reminded him of Albus.

"Your brother tripped Scorpius down the stairs! And then they were trying to get us!"

"Making a shelf fall on them, might have provoked them slightly," Scorpius pointed out as they got to their feet.

"You have to stand up to bullies."

"My brother isn't a bully!"

"Well he sure was acting like one."

"He was chasing them," the other first year - Abby Longbottom - pointed out and Albus shot her a dark look, "But I can see how having a shelf fall on you would get that reaction. Mostly I think we should keep going towards the Great Hall before we have to miss breakfast because you all were arguing."

They unanimously and silently seemed to agree with this and the five of them started walking, Scorpius trailed along behind and glanced back briefly to make sure they had indeed lost the boys. As they walked, it dawned on Scorpius that he was walking with the very same people he'd been avoided against: a Potter; a Weasley; a Longbottom and a mudblood. He almost laughed.

It was going to be harder to avoid them considering they were in the same house, Scorpius realized. But as no one seemed to be particularly fond of him he didn't think it would be too much of a problem. Except for Michael, Scorpius wasn't quite sure what he should do about him but he might leave Scorpius alone once he made some friends.

"I can't wait for our first lesson," Abby said, seeming to be trying to make conversation between them as they walked, "What do you guys want it to be?"

"Charms," Rose answered immediately, "I hear those lessons are quite practical and I can't wait to try out some spells."

"That does sound fun," Albus agreed, "But it would have to come second to Flying, I really want to fly."

"We get Flying lessons?!" Michael exclaimed looking psyched as he beamed, "Put me down for that! What about you, Scorpius?"

"Defense Against the Dark Arts," Scorpius said cautiously and the others – except Michael -looked slightly startled, had they forgotten he was there? "It's an interesting subject and Professor Ashain is really great."

"Yeah, we could use some kickass defense spells."

Scorpius wasn't sure what he'd been expecting but he was relieved that no one said anything bad about his suggestion as they reached the Great Hall. According to the timetable, the first lesson was actually Potions and none of them were particularly enthusiastic about that. With the exception of Michael, who seemed enthusiastic about pretty much about every subject.

As they sat down for breakfast, Scorpius noticed the bullies from earlier arriving at the Great Hall. He met their eyes and they glared at him, however they didn't say or do anything and he went back to his plate. His plate that Michael had already buried in food, he rolled his eyes and reluctantly started picking at the food. He was nearly done when something tapped him on the shoulder, he scowled and tensed as someone had already given out their schedules not long ago. Until he heard them speak.

"Heard you were looking for me, Scor?"

"Calderon!" Scorpius burst out, jumping up and turning around to look at the assistant. He was still dressed in muggle clothes and had walking with a stick, his injured wrist was in a sling but otherwise he seemed alright, "You're okay!"

"Of course I'm okay, didn't I tell you that I would be?" Calderon replied with a smile that Scorpius returned, genuinely delighted by his recovery. Scorpius could almost have hugged him.

"Yes you did," Scorpius nodded and bit his tongue before asking, "Do they know anything else about what happened?"

"Not really, the Driver died so that's kinda jumped priority."

"He died?" Scorpius wondered in shock but tried to keep his voice down.

"They say he killed himself. Tragic," Calderon commented distantly, "There was no sign of a struggle, his note said he couldn't live with the guilt that something had happened to the train on his watch. Did he seem depressed or guilt-ridden to you?"

"Not really but I guess he could be good at hiding it... Wait. You don't think he killed himself, do you?"

"What does my opinion matter?" Calderon said with a shrug and smirked again, seeming to want to change the subject, "I see you got Gryffindor?"

"Yeah," Scorpius said monotonously and glanced down disapprovingly at his uniform again.

"You don't seem pleased."

"The Hat made a mistake. I don't belong here, Calderon. Can I switch houses?"

"Switch houses?" Calderon repeated before laughing his shrill laugh, "No, Scor. If everyone could switch houses if they don't like the one they're in then it would defeat the object of being Sorted, would it not?"

"I suppose. I just wish it'd been any other house, I'm not a Gryffindor."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well I'm not an arrogant jerk who bullies people and breaks the rules for one."

"Every house has people like that, trust me."

"Well I'm not brave."

"Scor, I've known you less than twenty-four hours and you've shown me more courage than most Gryffindors I've known for seven years," Calderon told him gently, "Outnumbered and out-experienced, you still stood up for a complete stranger. Even after they offered you a truce! When you heard the train was going to crash, you ran to help not to run away. You jumped out of a freakin' train in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of night to look for me… That was also breaking the rules I might add. And after all that - by all accounts - you still had the courage to walk through those doors and stand up to Pippy."

"I guess… but I was just doing the right thing and I was still scared when I did those things."

"But you still did them, you overcame your fear to do what you thought was right. Any idiot can do something they're not afraid of, true bravery is not letting your fear stop you from doing something you are afraid of. You are brave. You may not consider it your best or most defining trait but the Hat clearly did."

"You said I'd make a good Hufflepuff."

"And so you would have, do you really think people only have the traits of the house they're placed in? No! Your house really isn't as important as people make it out to be, it doesn't give you an advantage or disadvantage or change who you are. Just try your best, it's all we can do at the end of the day... Do you feel any better?"

"A bit."

"Well, you really have to get class now but if you want to talk some more about this or anything then my door is always open, okay?" Calderon offered with a slightly smile that Scorpius reluctantly returned.

"Thanks. And you know for saving our lives and everything."

"Don't mention it. Now go to Potions."

"How do you know I've got Potions?"

"Because I'm the one who has to work out all those stupid schedules."

"Can you take us to Potions?" Scorpius asked, partially because he didn't know where he was going, partially because he liked the assistant and partially because he was still very aware of the boys who'd tripped him.

"Can I take..." Calderon started to repeat and sighed, "Alright but be quick, Pippy wants me to do stuff."

"Don't you get a day off after yesterday?"

"A day off?" Calderon repeated and laughed his shrill laugh once more, "Pfft! Too much to do, what would these people do without me? I could have lost my arm and leg and Pippy would still be expecting me to work. Alright! Any First Years who want to know the way to Potions, follow me now!"

Calderon yelled the last sentence louder and threw his injured arm into the air, magic shot up into the air like a firework that settled into a bubbling cauldron shape. Calderon still winced as he brought his arm back down, putting it back into the sling and - with a dramatic twirl - started walking . He had a noticeable limp that he hadn't had before though. Scorpius hurried after him, as did plenty of other first years.

"Shouldn't you take it easy while you're recovering?" Scorpius questioned worriedly but Calderon only laughed again and almost defiantly flicked his wrist, lights started dancing around the students following. Scorpius gave up.

He just followed Calderon who was peaking to the crowd, giving them tips on remembering the castle's layout and not getting lost. He also talked about the castle itself, the architecture, the history and even the founders of Hogwarts. Everything he said seemed backed up by the dancing lights that formed into random illustrations and reconstructions of what he was talking about, Scorpius saw every single face alert and interested in what Calderon was saying. It was actually a pleasant walk to the Dungeons, Scorpius was disappointed when they reached their Potions classroom.

"And here we are!" Calderon announced as they arrived, turning to face the class with a smile, "Enjoy your first day, best of luck to you all! Take care, Scor."

"Bye," Scorpius offered as Calderon stalked off and everyone else excitedly bundled into the classroom.

He found it cold in the dungeon but Professor Slughorn was amicable enough. Scorpius listened attentively to everything he said while Michael - seated beside him - scribbled almost every word, as if afraid of missing something. Professor Slughorn gave them an introduction to Potions before they moved onto practical work as he had them make a potion that turned the drinkers' hair blue temporarily.

Scorpius didn't think it was too difficult, it was basically following instructions, just making sure you were focused enough to get it right. He let his thoughts wander a bit, thinking about what Calderon had said about the Driver killing himself. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed odd. Peter had been quite vocal about not wanting to die and wishing Professor Ashain would hurry up. Had he really gone from wanting to live to being consumed by guilt so fast? Scorpius didn't know much about suicidal people but it seemed unlikely to him, not unless something else had happened. But then if Peter hadn't killed himself then who had? And why?

He was dragged from his thoughts by Michael needing help, the mudblood seemed to be struggling. He was fairly clueless on what the required ingredients actually were and kept getting them mixed up or getting the amount wrong, Scorpius and Rose - who sat on Michael's other side - constantly were stopping to help him. It was tedious but it seemed wrong to just let him fail.

By the end of the lesson, the potions were complete and Professor Slughorn insisted they all drink their potions to see if they had worked. He added comfortingly that if their hair hadn't returned to normal by the next lesson, they would make an anti-dote. They all downed their potions and the professor went around checking all of them, apparently the shade of blue was indicative of how correct the potion was.

Scorpius saw that there were actually several different shades of blue around, varying from an incredibly pale pastel blue to an almost navy. Abby Longbottom had managed to make her hair purple and a First Year from Slytherin now had bright orange hair, it had been jet-black at the start of the lesson. Scorpius' own hair was now a sky-blue color, a color shared only by Rose and Kyle's brother.

"Now Miss Weasley, Mr Malfoy and Mr Nott," Professor Slughorn said beaming, "I would like to congratulate the three of you, for you three alone have managed the perfect shade and for each of you I grant five points to your houses. For the rest of you, an impressive effort and you did all succeed to a certain extent so very good. Except for you, my boy, I don't actually know how you managed to get orange but that is all for today."

Part 2: Talent

Potions had been a double-lesson, meaning they now had a lunch break. Scorpius opted to deny this and slipped away from the other students before any of them noticed, it was for the best to, he decided. He'd seen the way Rose and Kyle's brother - Mr Nott - had looked at him, he had no desire for a run in with either. He figured it'd be best to arrive early for his next lesson and just wait there, he did get a bit lost at one point but the portraits were kind enough to steer him in the right direction.

He arrived at the Transfiguration classroom triumphantly and stood idly by the door. It hadn't been five minutes before a woman carrying a pile of books rounded the corner, she headed towards him. Scorpius recognized her from the feast, she'd been the one talking with Professors Hagrid and Ashain.

"You realize this is a time for lunch, Mr Malfoy?" she pointed out, peering at him over her spectacles.

"I realize I'm not hungry," Scorpius said carefully as he noticed her struggling with the books, "Would you like some help with those books, Professor?"

"Hmm? Oh yes, that's kind of you to offer."

On that note, she handed him half of the books she was carrying. He managed not to wince at how the weight aggravated his wrist and followed her into the classroom. The professor walked over to her desk and placed the books on it, Scorpius followed suite then stood there unsurely.

"Thank you and you may as well take a seat now, no point standing in uncomfortable silence for the entire break."

"Thank you, Professor."

Scorpius took a seat at the front of the class and laid out his Transfiguration books neatly on the desk, the professor on the other hand took out her wand. For a brief moment of panic, Scorpius thought she intended to hex him for some reason but she didn't. She waved it at the books on her desk, they starting moving into empty spaces on the shelves by the wall.

"I see you were quite successful in brewing your first potion," the professor commented, pausing on the last book to nod at his hair.

"I did okay," Scorpius shrugged uncomfortably, he didn't want to make a big deal out of it.

"Good to see your eventful arrival hasn't impeded your ability to learn."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Interesting house placement, how are you liking being a Gryffindor?"

"Why is that relevant?"

"I am the Head of Gryffindor House," the professor pointed out.

Scorpius blinked in slight surprise, she was Professor McGonagall. He did know of her, she'd taught his parents as well as Professor Ashain. She had also been the former Headmistress, the one Calderon had mentioned as hiring him. He didn't know why it surprised him that she would be his Transfiguration teacher, or rather the way she didn't look down on him as he'd expected.

"You're not much of a talker, are you? Marius did mention that."

"Marius?" Scorpius repeated and vaguely recalled Calderon introducing it as his first name, "Calderon mentioned me? What else did he say?"

"Nothing bad, I assure you," the professor pointed out folding her arms, "No need to look so horrified. He spoke highly of you, mentioned you had talent and were one to watch."

"He was exaggerating."

"So you didn't defeat an elder student in a duel using non-verbal magic?"

"Well… I did but… I didn't… he helped me," Scorpius answered lamely.

"Non-verbal magic is not easy to do, we do not teach it here until Sixth Year. It is difficult, it requires intense concentration and mental discipline. And regardless of what Marius said to you, it was still you who performed the magic. Although I must point out, Hogwarts does not condone fighting."

"I don't want to make a fuss about it, it really wasn't that big of a deal. I did the same thing in the lake to chase off those things attacking me, I've gotten good at moving things with my mind anyway. Even before I had a wand, watch."

Scorpius swallowed slightly nervously, it had been three months since he'd done it after all. Then again, he had opened Free's cage. He focused on the final book on the desk, willing it to move. To his relief, it obediently obeyed and rose into the air.

He stared unblinkingly at the floating book, concentrating as it started to hover over to the bookshelf. He focused more, causing it to turn and slot itself perfectly into place. He allowed himself to blink and looked back to Professor McGonagall, she was watching him carefully. He started to wonder whether he'd done something wrong before she spoke.

"Most children do not have such a degree of control over their magic at your age, it is an unusual talent. It will be interesting to see how you do in today's lesson."

After that, the conversation lapsed then drifted back onto the subject of their lesson. The professor pointed out while he was there, he could help her prepare for it. Professor McGonagall gave him some matchsticks to hand out, placing one on each desk so every student would have one while she wrote some things on the board about Transfiguration. He sat back down at his desk while the professor took an apple and sandwich from her desk, clearly intending to take lunch there. He flicked through some of the books, it was something to do and the book was actually fairly interesting.

"So, Mr Malfoy, you never answered by question about Gryffindor," Professor McGonagall commented after a while and he thought of the most polite thing to say in reply.

"It's alright," he answered carefully since he didn't want to offend her.

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

"Then why is it you'd rather spend lunch going hungry in a classroom with me, rather than eating with your fellow students?"

"I'm just not hungry. I had breakfast and a big dinner last night, lunch isn't that important. And what's wrong with spending time with teachers?"

"No one is giving you trouble, are they?"

"No," Scorpius lied but he got the impression that she didn't believe him.

"Well if anyone - of any house - does give you trouble, then tell me. As your Head of House, your wellbeing is my responsibility."

"I will, Professor," Scorpius lied again but this time she seemed not to notice and was content with his answer.

It wasn't too long before the other students started arriving, the more studious ones first out of fear of being late. No one sat near him, he wasn't sure how he felt about that but he was glad Mr Nott was nowhere near him. Michael didn't hesitate to come over and sit beside Scorpius when he arrived, however. He even commented how relieved he was that Scorpius was alright and chastised him for missing lunch. Rose, Abby and Albus were much more hesitant but the four were slightly late - Michael said they'd gotten lost - and there wasn't many seats left, Rose shot him a glare before taking a seat beside her cousin. After a few more stragglers arrived, the lesson began.

The structure was virtually the same as Potions; Professor McGonagall spoke an introduction to the subject, Michael took note on everything again beside him and then they moved onto the practical. Learning a spell to turn a matchstick into a needle. Scorpius found himself having little success. He looked around and saw no one was having much luck with it, he saw only matchsticks and students furiously trying to turn them. Michael seemed to think saying the spell louder may make it work somehow. It didn't.

"Michael, saying the spell louder isn't working," Scorpius decided to point out, as politely as he could before he went deaf.

"The tip will go silver and pointed but it doesn't like staying that way," Michael said defensively, "I'd like to see you try it."

Michael's eyes turned expectantly to him, just as Professor McGonagall took that moment to walk in front of them. Scorpius became very aware as she stopped to watch his attempt, he took a deep breath and looked at the matchstick. There had to be more to it then waving your wand in the correct way and saying a few words, if not everyone would have succeeded already. Focus, he told himself as something clicked in his mind. He raised his wand but instead of trying again, he concentrated the way he had before. Only instead of willing it to move, he willed it to change as he said the spell.

It worked. Before his eyes he saw the matchstick thinning and turning silver, the point becoming as sharp as a blade. He heard Michael gasp in amazement while the professor congratulated him, he heard a strangled cry of frustration. He looked over to see it had come from Rose, she was looking angrier than ever at him for reasons that were lost on him. By the end of the lesson, no one else had managed it. Or if they had, it was fleeting and turned back by the time the caster had finished speaking.

"Ow!" Michael complained as he pricked himself on Scorpius' needle, he raised an eyebrow at the mudblood, "Testing it. You know to make sure it's really a needle and damn, that thing is sharp!"

Scorpius just shook his head as they headed for their next lesson, History of Magic. Some students - especially Michael - were amazed the class was being taught by a ghost, the amazement soon died when they realized how boring Professor Binns actually was. Except for Michael.

By the end of the lesson, Scorpius saw some of them were actually asleep and Michael alone was still smiling. He was eagerly writing down everything again, the mudblood had to be the only person in the history of Hogwarts who could have found the droning speech interesting. Scorpius didn't mind it as much as some, it wasn't interesting but there were worse ways to spend an hour. It helped knowing afterwards was the final lesson of the day and the one he was looking forward to most: Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"I've heard people say History of Magic is boring but they were under-exaggerating!" Albus exclaimed to Michael as they headed out of the class.

"How would you know it was boring? You were asleep!" Michael pointed out before grinning, "I, for one, found it fascinating."

"You find everything fascinating, you thought owls delivering the mail at breakfast fascinating!"

"No, I thought that was cool. There's a difference and how can you guys not find that class fascinating? We were being taught by a freakin' ghost!"

"Let's just get to the next class, okay?" Rose said in an irritated tone before her cousin could reply, "Michael, the novelty will wear off when you get used to everything. Albus, just because the class is boring, it doesn't mean you should sleep through it unless you want to fail. Do you want to fail? Failure isn't fun!"

This seemed to silence the other two boys and Scorpius just tried to drift away from the group a bit, he didn't want to be talking to any of those people. He blamed Michael. Why the mudblood insisted on sitting with him and walking with him, he had no idea. He was pleased when they made it to Defense Against the Dark Arts and Professor Ashain ushered them inside.

"How's your first day going?" Scorpius asked of the professor, giving him a smile as he paused by the doorway to talk to him.

"Not too bad. How's it going for you?" the professor answered, returning his smile.

"It's alright."

"Alright?" Michael commented at his shoulder, "He's the only one who turned a matchstick into a needle! And he won five points for getting the blue-hair potion perfect."

"Wow five points plus the... however many Calderon gave you. Not doing too badly, are you Scorpius?" Professor Ashain said as his smile widened, Scorpius shrugged nervously, "Very good. Now go take a seat you both, let's see how you do now."

Scorpius nodded obediently and went into the class, seeing the only seats left were near the front. This would have been good since he wanted to be close to Professor Ashain, if not for the fact they were beside Albus and in front of Mr Nott. Reluctantly he and Michael took their seats and Professor Ashain moved to the front of the class, introducing himself and his subject the way all teachers had so far.

He moved onto the practical faster than the other lessons though, telling them they'd be learning the spell to light their wands. Scorpius sat up straight. Even before the professor demonstrated it, he recognized it as the spell he'd used the previous night. A potion to change your hair color blue and a spell to turn matches to needles were one thing, learning something that was of actual use seemed more interesting by far.

"I guarantee you that by the end of the lesson every last person in this room will be able to do this spell," Professor Ashain continued brightly as he magically closed the windows with a flick of his wand, "Every one of you has the power to and it's a simple enough spell that all of you can master it."

"What's a stupid light got to do with Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Nott asked rudely and disinterestedly.

"Firstly, if you have a question then put your hand up," the professor answered with a disapproving scowl, "And to answer it, it is a useful spell. It can be used to repel malevolent spirits and gytrashes, for one. And for another, it is much easier to fight something if you can see it. Now everyone have a go."

Scorpius looked around and saw people did seem to be finding it easier than Transfiguration, although no one had done it first try. There were plenty of bursts of light at attempts though, and Rose had made hers but as a vibrant scarlet light. Scorpius gave it a go, focusing much the same way he had in Transfiguration and said the incantation. In response, he got a burst of bright light that remained on. He heard Rose give another frustrated grunt, glare at him and tried again with the same result as him this time.

"What is her problem?" Scorpius wondered aloud and to his surprise, Albus answered.

"Her dad told her to beat you at everything, its driving her nuts that she hasn't beaten you at anything."

"We both did equally well on the potion."

"My cousin is a perfectionist. And equal isn't beating you."

Despite himself, Scorpius felt kind of bad. It wasn't like he was trying to beat her, if it was really that important to her than he didn't mind. Even if she was a Weasley, she was still a person and if it meant so much to her then so be it. He said the spell again, this time deliberately not trying so hard and the light at the end of his wand died in an instant.

"Guess I didn't get it after all. Oh no, this is really hard," Scorpius said as loudly as he dared but enough so that Rose heard, Albus and Michael gave him an odd look.

He didn't try again for a while. He didn't have to wait too long though, a few minutes later he heard Rose delightedly exclaiming that she'd done it. He glanced back at the beaming girl with the bright light around her, she shot him an immensely smug look and he went back to his own desk.

"Lumos," Scorpius spoke the spell and his wand lit up again, unwavering, undying light. Just like before.

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Michael asked in a whisper, "You did the spell first time and you pretended to fail on purpose."

"No, I didn't," Scorpius lied but neither boy seemed to believe him.

"Yes, you did. Why would you do that for my cousin? Just because you're in Gryffindor, it doesn't mean we're friends. It doesn't change who are parents are."

"I'm not stupid, Albus. I know that I don't belong in Gryffindor just as much as everyone else does. I know none of us will be friends, nor do I want us to be."

"Then why do it?!"

"Because if you can do something nice for someone without cost to yourself then you should," Scorpius answered awkwardly with a shrug, "And you know, why not? I don't want to make someone miserable just because I can do something, it's not right."

"A possibly decent Malfoy, well that's new," Albus muttered, going back to his casting without another word. Michael just looked between them in confusion.

As the lesson continued, more and more people had successfully done the spell. Scorpius was starting to think Professor Ashain's claim - that everyone would have done it by the end of the lesson - might actually hold true. A few students in the back were helped by the professor, everyone else seemed to have done it. Except for Michael beside him.

"Do you have any magical talent at all?" a voice sneered from behind them and Scorpius groaned inwardly as Nott leaned forward, "Are you a squib?"

"What's a squib?" Michael wondered.

"You don't even know what a squib is?" Nott questioned as his nearby friends howled with laughter, "Guess you're a muggle then, just accidentally tripped and fell into Hogwarts. Is that it?"

"No! I am a wizard, Calderon told me so."

"Calderon's a lunatic, he made a mistake letting you in."

"Hey!" Scorpius snapped defensively turning round to face him as anger flooded through him, "Don't you dare insult Calderon! Don't you dare!"

"I wasn't talking to you right now, water boy."

"Why? Too afraid to when we're on solid ground?"

"No," Nott scoffed but his eyes darted around nervously, "I'm not my brother, I'm not afraid of you or that madman."

"Isn't that exactly what your brother said before I flung him into the middle of next week?" Scorpius retorted, lowering his tone threateningly and pointing his wand at the Slytherin. Nott's eyes bulged, "I don't care that we're in class, insult Calderon one more time and I swear on my soul that you'll regret it."

Nott didn't say anything, he swallowed ever so slowly and leaned back in his seat. His friends both looked at him with puzzled expressions, much the same way Albus and Michael looked. Clearly the incident on the train was not something Kyle bragged about, Scorpius had no intention of doing so either. He felt his anger slipping, like water through his fingers.

"Thought so," Scorpius muttered turning back to his desk.

"I get the feeling I'm missing something," Michael commented slowly.

"Get back to your spell."

Professor Ashain came over a few minutes after that and helped Michael with the spell, Scorpius noticed plenty of people rolling their eyes at having to wait for just one more person. He seemed to notice this and instead left Michael to go to the front of the class, he announced they were going to go on a scavenger hunt in the room. They were only allowed to use the light of their wands to see the list of items as well as when searching for the items, the first person to get all things won a chocolate frog and five points for the house. The class cheered right up at this, the professor handed out the lists and told them to go as he turned out the lamps.

Scorpius reluctantly headed about the task with less enthusiasm than everyone else, not paying much attention. He felt bad for Michael as he remained seated while Professor Ashain helped him get the spell, guiding his arm movement gently. He did succeed, about five minutes before someone announced they'd done it. It was actually the Slytherin who'd turned his hair orange - who Scorpius didn't know the name of - who won, after that it was class dismissed. Everyone else filtered out and Scorpius didn't fail to notice how Nott glared at him as he left, Scorpius began to wonder if he'd overreacted slightly but he dismissed the thought. He'd done the right thing.

Part 3: Investigation

As everyone else left the classroom, Scorpius hung back. He wanted to talk to Professor Ashain and it was better than the alternative of going with the others back to the common room. At least that's where he assumed they'd go anyway since dinner wasn't until later on, at the very least they'd probably want to drop off their books before doing something. He wanted to put off going there, afraid of running into those bullies again. What were you supposed to do when your own house was against you? Scorpius went over and offered to help the professor clean up the classroom, the professor seemed grateful as they gathered up the scavenged items and lists.

"There we go," Professor Ashain said brightly when they were done, practically collapsing into his chair as he let out a relieved breath, "First day done."

"One day down, seven years to go," Scorpius pointed out with a heavy sigh.

"Ah, don't be so glum. It's not really that bad here, is it?"

"I suppose…" Scorpius answered and decided to change the subject, "Do you remember how I fell into the lake?"

"Yes, I remember it like it was yesterday. Because it was."

"When I was on the shore I found Dumbledore's tomb and there was this weird thing I saw, I wondered if you'd ever seen or heard of anything like it."

"You're going to have to be more specific than 'a weird thing', I'm afraid," Professor Ashain pointed out and Scorpius shifted nervously, almost regretting his decision to bring it up.

"It was… like a shadow but not like normal shadows, it was like a figure of shadow and it had eyes, pitch black eyes and-"

"Hey Ticcy," Calderon's voice interrupted and Scorpius nearly jumped as the assistant strode into the room, an unusually grim look on his face, "And Scor, I was about to go looking for you too. You're both needed."

"Why?"

"Aurors from the Ministry are investigating what happened with the train. They think some seriously dark magic was involved and they need to talk to us."

"But I don't know anything. I didn't do anything," Scorpius pointed out as a feeling of terror gripped him.

"You were there though, you saw what happened," Professor Ashain said as he stood and walked over to Calderon, Scorpius forced his legs to follow, "You're not in trouble so relax. They're just trying to figure out what happened and who caused it, to make sure it doesn't happen again."

"What he said," Calderon nodded and started leading the way, "It'll be fine so come on everybody."

Scorpius couldn't stop himself feeling afraid. He hung his head and walked mutely along, worries bouncing around inside his brain. What if the Aurors blamed him for what happened on the train because his father and grandfather had been Death Eaters? Harry Potter was the Head Auror, what if he held a grudge? Or worse, what if they knew what had happened to Marvin? What if they dragged him to Azkaban and locked him up forever? He didn't think he could survive that, he didn't want to be a prisoner again. Never again.

"Can you two at least try to look like you're not heading to your execution?" Professor Ashain asked abruptly, jolting Scorpius from his misery, "Aurors are on our side. I used to be an Auror, they're good people."

"I know," Scorpius pointed out.

"Yeah, obviously," Calderon added while the professor looked between them both with a bemused expression.

"Then why do you both look so concerned?"

"I don't wanna go to Azkaban," Calderon answered instantly and Scorpius joined the professor in blinking in surprise.

"Why on Earth would they send you to Azkaban?! You saved everyone! Are you sure they healed your head?"

"I don't know, my parents used to threaten to have me locked up there a lot when I couldn't control my magic so good."

"Calderon, people don't get sent to Azkaban for that."

"Really?"

"Yes, really!"

"Are you sure?" Scorpius asked worriedly and the professor looked exasperated as he glanced between them.

"Of course I'm sure! If they put away everyone who couldn't control their magic as a child then there'd be no witches or wizards left!"

"What about if you're related to someone who was a Death Eater? Do they put you in Azkaban for that?"

"That's a good question," Calderon said in agreement but the professor rolled his eyes.

"No! Of course they don't, if they did that then I would be in Azkaban!"

"Maybe it's a new policy they intend to start now?"

"Calderon!"

"What if someone made you commit a crime?" Scorpius questioned.

"Merlin's ashes, no! No! No! And no! They don't put people in Azkaban for accidentally losing control of your magic. They don't put people in Azkaban for being related to Death Eaters, or any other dark wizards for that matter. They don't put people in Azkaban who are forced to do crimes against their will. They don't put people in Azkaban for any reason other than the person very knowingly and very willingly commits an actual crime themselves," Professor Ashain explained sounding extremely frustrated but Scorpius relaxed a bit and noticed Calderon seemed to feel the same, "Is that all on ridiculous insane reasons for being sent to Azkaban that you two are paranoid about?! Scorpius I can understand but how old are you, Calderon, seriously?"

"No, that's sort of it."

"Yeah, I'm good. That's all, Professor."

"Good!"

"Wait," Scorpius added, wondering whether he was overstepping his bounds a bit, "Who are you related to that was a Death Eater?"

"My elder brother," Professor Ashain answered and his frustration was replaced by sadness in an instant, "He's dead now."

"Oh… I'm sorry," Scorpius said awkwardly, not quite sure what to say to that but the professor seemed to want to change the subject as fast as possible.

"And in answer to your earlier query, no. I do not know of any shadow beings."

"Shadow beings?" Calderon repeated, followed by his shrill maniacal laughter before he sang, "Anyone want to dance with the shadows? Anyone dare to take on the night? Can you stay sane as you stare down their gaze? Do you still want to do what is right? You'll lose your soul if you let them take hold, Never again shall you walk in the light!"

"I wouldn't quit your day job and are you sure that they fixed your head injury?" Professor Ashain wondered with a scowl, "I would work on a less demented laugh though and what were you singing?"

"Just a children's rhyme about shadows."

"It's a creepy rhyme."

Calderon shrugged at this and they carried on in silence, Scorpius put the shadow out of his mind. He had just been seeing things in the dark. Calderon led them to a room he hadn't been to before, he thought it was near the Great Hall but Scorpius wasn't nearly confident enough about the layout to be sure.

He couldn't help but tense as he followed the two adults inside, there were already four men there. He recognized Varanian immediately, although now the headmaster had almost shoulder length black hair. The other three were strangers, he guessed they were the Aurors.

From the shock of red hair on one, he assumed it was Rose's dad. Or some other Weasley but he was fairly sure her dad was the Auror, the one who wanted his daughter to beat him at everything. Another had untidy black hair and even though he wore glasses, Scorpius saw the emerald eyes beneath. He noticed the signature lightning bolt scar on the man's forehead, he was in the presence of the famous Harry Potter. The third was younger with sandy hair and good looks, Scorpius had no idea who he was.

"So how do you want to this, Mr Potter?" Varanian asked immediately, confirming Scorpius' suspicions, "Each of you takes one of them for questioning? It would be faster."

"In a rush are we, Headmaster?" the sandy-haired man answered with an eyebrow raised.

"Marius has things to do. As I'm sure Ashain and Malfoy do, I'd rather not take up too much of their time. But if it really is important all three of you are there to interview each separately than I ask you do Marius first. He's wasted enough time being injured over this already."

"We can hear you, y'know?"

"Silence, Marius. So what would you like to do, Mr Potter?"

"It's alright, Headmaster. We can each question one of them at the same time," Harry Potter said and Scorpius managed not to flinch as the Head Auror's eyes rested on him, "Mr Malfoy, would you like to come with me?"

No, Scorpius thought but his head nodded politely and he followed the man into a side room. It was only a small room, he saw a desk with two chairs and an odd assortment of things scattered around. Harry Potter took a seat at the desk and motioned for Scorpius to sit in the chair, reluctantly he did so and dropped his gaze to the floor. He didn't think it was a good sign that the man had specifically wanted to speak to him. As Head Auror, it seemed more logical for him to want to speak to one of the adults.

"So, you got put in Gryffindor?" Mr Potter began and Scorpius looked up in confusion, not understanding how it was relevant. The man was watching him with an odd expression, "Same house as my sons."

"Yes, sir."

"What happened to your wrist?"

"Nothing," Scorpius answered quickly and snatched his injured wrist to him, his minute of panic faded as he realized Mr Potter was probably referring to the bandage. Still, he didn't like people picking up on it, "It's nothing to do with what happened on the train. Aren't you supposed to be asking questions about that?"

"I was trying to build rapport first, you seemed nervous and it is not my intention to make you uncomfortable," Mr Potter explained with a brief smile, "Okay then, tell me what happened."

Scorpius gave his account of what happened, occasionally being stopped when Mr Potter wanted more detail about something. When he was done, Mr Potter asked him to wait there for a moment and left. Scorpius didn't like waiting. A clock in the room had an incredibly loud ticking noise, it just reminded him of how slowly time was going by.

Finally Scorpius decided he'd had enough, he would go and see what was taking Mr Potter so long. He got up and headed for the door, he'd opened it just a crack before he heard voices and froze. He hadn't expected that. He knew he should go back inside the room, he knew it. But curiosity got the better of him.

"With all due respect, that doesn't answer my question, Mr Potter," Varanian was saying, "I want to know whether there's a viable threat to the security of this school"

"As I've said, we can't be sure of anything yet," Mr Potter replied, "But the damage to the tracks -or at least the destruction of the viaduct - was caused by fiendfyre. It's dangerous Dark Magic-"

"I know perfectly well what it is! Some Dark Wizard very deliberately targeted the train, its tracks and its students. I need the culprit caught, preferably before they make an attack on the school. Arrest Draco Malfoy."

"Why do you think Malfoy is behind it?"

"Isn't it obvious? 'Beware the coming of the son'. Clearly he was referring to his son, Scorpius, or is it really just a coincidence that he was caught up in the events?"

"So Draco Malfoy warned us to beware his son, after putting him on a train that he tried to derail?"

"Maybe he did that to throw suspicion off himself? And had a plan to save Scorpius the whole time?"

"Interesting theory, Varanian."

"At least I have one," Varanian snapped, sounding angry, "I don't like the safety of my students threatened and I would have thought you wouldn't take too kindly to your sons lives being threatened either. I know I wouldn't."

"I don't. I want to find out who did this just as much as you do but random, unfounded accusations do nothing."

"Take Scorpius with you, use the truth serum on him or just lock him up until Draco confesses."

"We don't usually do that to eleven year old children!" Mr Potter protested sounding horrified, "We don't use truth serum since it can be countered and we certainly don't use children to force people to confess, odds are they'd confess anyway just to protect their child."

"Oh please, Scorpius has a level of control over his magic already that hasn't been seen since Voldemort was his age. If that's not a sign he's evil and destined for dark things, then I don't know what is."

Scorpius backed away from the door in horror, he fled to his seat breathing heavily. He couldn't get Varanian's words out of his head. They replayed over and over, louder and louder until they were screaming. He flinched as the door opened, half expecting to be dragged away but Mr Potter came and sat down perfectly calmly as if nothing had happened.

"Sorry about that," Mr Potter began in an ordinary tone and another short-lived smile. Scorpius didn't return it.

"Can I go now? Please?"

"As soon as you take a look at this, I just wanted to know if this is the symbol in the sky that you saw?"

At this, he offered Scorpius a photograph. It was the symbol the figure had shot into the sky, the skeletal snake with the forked tongue sticking out. Only this time it was on the wall, quite clearly in blood. Scorpius was once again struck by familiarity. He stared at it for a while, desperately trying to place it but he couldn't.

"Is that the symbol?"

"Yes. Can I ask why it is in blood?"

"We've seen it a few times, more recently of late. At scenes of crimes done with Dark Magic, we think it's the symbol for some kind of dark group."

"Well I hope you get them," Scorpius whispered as Mr Potter gently took the photograph from him.

"We will and you can go now. Thank you for your time."

Scorpius nodded politely and hurried from the room, no one said anything to him as he left but Varanian's eyes didn't leave his face. It reminded him of what he'd said and once more the headmaster's words came to his mind, he walked faster as the words got louder. He just wanted it to shut up. He was running by the time he got to the Grand Staircase, barely registering the odd looks he was getting as he ran. He stuttered over the password and stumbled into the common rooms.

"Hey Malfoy," one of the bullies from earlier sneered, "Have a fun day?"

"I'm not in the mood, leave me alone," Scorpius said, not even looking at the speaker as he headed for the steps to his dormitory only for the tallest to step in front of the doorway, "Please move."

"I don't think so."

"I said please! What do you want from me?!"

"How about a dance?" the boy said with a smirk as he drew his wand.

Scorpius backed away nervously and saw the bully's friends were now surrounding him, wands drawn ominously but he didn't draw his. He didn't want to fight. He just wanted to be left alone. Still upset and reeling from the news that Varanian thought he was destined to be the next He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Was it really too much to ask to not-cry in peace for a while?

Potter was the first to do it, he said a spell and aimed his wand at Scorpius' feet. Immediately he jumped as if burned from the intense heat on his feet, the boys laughed and the tall one used the same spell again. Again. And again. And again. Whether he tried to jump to dodge the spell or jumped from the painful heat it created under his feet, it amused them. Before long, more Gryffindors had surrounded them, laughing at the dancing Malfoy. He wasn't sure how long it went on for but his feet were searing with pain before long.

"Hey!" a girls voice called out and they immediately stopped, Scorpius fell to his knees and looked up to see Molly Weasley striding over to them from the entrance, "Give the kid a break, it's his first day and we're in the same house if you hadn't noticed."

"He's a Malfoy."

"Think Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny will care who he is, James, if I owl them to say you're picking on First Years on their first day? Not the best way to start the year."

James Potter did look slightly abashed and ever so reluctantly, he and his friends wandered away. The crowd slowly dispersed, leaving Scorpius alone with Molly. To his surprise, she offered him a hand up. He nervously took it and tried not to wince at how it hurt his feet to stand on them.

"Th-Thanks you," Scorpius told her awkwardly, for some reason his tongue didn't seem to be working but she gave him a soft smile regardless, "G-guess we're even now, huh?"

"I guess we are," Molly said, letting go of his hand, "And... you know I don't think anyone's said it yet but… Welcome to Gryffindor, Scorpius. Take care."

He nervously returned her smile before she walked away, back over to a cluster of girls that he assumed were her friends. Shaking his head, he trudged up the stairs on his battered feet. Briefly, he stroked Free before kicking off his shoes and collapsing onto the bed. He closed the drapes around him but he could still hear the other Gryffindors laughing at him, he could still hear Varanian's words. As he tried to squeeze shut his eyes, he was greeted only by the bloody snake symbol that he knew he'd seen before. He pulled the pillow over his head. He wished he could cry.

Part 4: Can't

Scorpius lay there in misery. He wasn't sure how long but he didn't move, fighting for tears that wouldn't come. He didn't feel like moving. He didn't want to be evil, it wasn't even his fault he'd gotten so good at using his magic. He didn't want to be in Gryffindor, it wasn't even his decision what house to be in. He didn't want to get picked on. You have to be really evil for your own house to hate you like that, his mind told him and he pulled the pillow down harder. He wished his mind would shut up.

"Scorpius!" Michael's voice called, shattering the silence as his footsteps clonked up the stairs and he heard the drapes being pulled back, "Scorpius! Are you okay? I heard about what happened."

"Leave me alone," Scorpius pleaded glumly, not bothering to get his out from under the pillow, "Please, Michael."

"Do you want to come with me and we tell one of the teachers?"

"No."

"Do you want me to tell one of the teachers for you?"

"No."

"You seem to know Professor Ashain, I'm sure he would-"

"No!"

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No!"

"Do you want to do something to take your mind off it?"

"NO!" Scorpius snapped, finally pulling his head to look at the anxious boy, "I just want to be alone right now."

"You know I used to get bullied... a lot," Michael told him hesitantly looking at the ground, "I know what it's like. I'll leave you alone but if you change your mind or you need anything then just ask, okay?"

"Okay, okay. Now go."

Finally, the stupid mudblood left him alone. Scorpius sighed as he heard Michael's footsteps retreating down the stairs, irritably he closed the drapes shut again and flung his head back onto the pillow. At that moment, he would be quite happy if the pillow swallowed him up and he didn't have to deal with everything.

A squawk from Free reminded him of his family, his home. His parents had been reluctant to send him to Hogwarts in the first place. Maybe it was because they did know that something would go wrong on the train? NO, Scorpius told himself firmly, cursing Varanian for putting such sick thoughts in his head.

His father would never do that, Scorpius knew he felt terrible about his actions as a Death Eater. There was no way he was capable of trying to murder hundreds of children, including his own son. He didn't know much but he knew his father hadn't killed Dumbledore like he'd been supposed to, if he wouldn't kill one man then it made sense that he wouldn't kill anyone now. Scorpius thought it did anyway. His dad may not be a saint but he was not a murderer and he was not as bad as everyone made him out to be.

Carefully, Scorpius pulled out his trunk and retrieved the pictures he'd taken from his room. He looked at the pictures of his dad. Him and his dad after he'd been let fly, that was the one he'd packed just yesterday morning. Him and his dad at his first Quidditch match when he'd been but four, they'd been in a skybox. He vaguely recalled he'd kept running to the edge to get a better view and in the picture his dad was pulling him protectively back. There was another of him at age nine at another Quidditch match, this time holding the Golden Snitch from the game. Signed by the England Seeker who'd caught it and won the World Cup, his father stood behind him laughing as Scorpius had declared that one day he would be the England Seeker winning the World Cup.

He shook his head at his younger self, had he really been so naive and stupid just two years ago? He did use to like Quidditch but he couldn't muster the same enthusiasm he'd once had, in fact it was stupid to get so invested in a game. Did it actually matter who won? Life was serious, games were for children. He had another picture of them at a Quidditch game, this time with Yip but he pushed aside the two Quidditch pictures and moved onto the other photographs.

He held the only one that he had of his baby sister, she'd been alive less than a day but still he loved her. She was such a fragile, tiny baby, held protectively in their father's arms. In the photo she opened her eyes slowly and gazed up at her daddy with silvery eyes. In response he smiled weakly back and she gently shut her eyes again, almost as if comforted. Scorpius wasn't quite sure why she'd died, he'd heard the healers saying she was sick a lot but not specifically with what. Then again, they'd also kept insisting it wasn't serious and she'd be okay so what did they know? She'd only gotten worse and by the time the sun had set, little Lyra Lucia Malfoy was gone.

It wasn't fair. She was just a baby, she hadn't deserved to die. It had crushed his parents, of course. His mother had taken to bed for weeks, wracked with guilt and grief. Nothing anyone said seemed to be able to convince her that it wasn't her fault, Scorpius wondered what eventually had. It was also the first time he'd ever seen his dad cry, crying for his little girl. How could Varanian think the same man who was so distraught over his daughter's death was responsible for attempted mass murder, including trying to kill his only remaining child?

"Miss you," Scorpius whispered, kissing the tip of his index finger and pressing it against the image of his sister.

He sighed and moved the picture away. It had also been the reason his parents had sent him away, thinking he should have a break from all that. It was probably the worst mistake they'd ever make but Scorpius didn't blame them, if they had known what was going to happen then they never would have sent him away. He knew that, no one wanted their child to be abducted.

He tried to put it out of his mind as he skimmed through the other photos, a few family portraits, some featuring Yip mostly and some of just his parents. His favorite of them was probably the one of his parents' wedding, they looked so young and happy. They'd all been young and happy once.

"If only we could live in photographs," Scorpius sighed and lay back down amongst the pictures, nostalgia was not a fun feeling but it was all he had. You could only look back when the present was a nightmare and the future seemed devoid of hope.

I could always go home, he thought as he closed his eyes. His parents had been reluctant to let him go, if only he hadn't insisted on it then he wasn't sure he'd even be there. It would be easy to get them to take him home. Any doubts they had or that his grandfather raised would be worth nothing when they heard about the train being sabotaged, let alone about what happened in the lake. They wanted him to be safe. Hogwarts was supposed to be safe.

He didn't want to though, he didn't really want to be in Hogwarts but begging your parents to take you home seemed pathetic. He did have some sense of self pride and besides, if they did take him back then what? He would be right back where he started. It also reminded him of Calderon being forbidden from attending a magic school, if he turned away the chance now then he might never have it again. He still wanted to prove he could do it, that he wasn't weak and pathetic like his family thought.

"Hey, Scorpius," Michael said and Scorpius tried not to roll his eyes as the mudblood pulled back the drapes again, "I know you want to be alone but its dinner time and so everyone's going to dinner."

"I'm not hungry."

"You already skipped lunch."

"I'm still not hungry."

"You can't keep skipping meals just to avoid bullies."

"I'm not," Scorpius lied and hoped Michael didn't hear his stomach objecting to this, "I'm just not hungry."

"But-"

"I said no, okay?!" Scorpius snapped and Michael sighed before stomping away.

It did remind him of the time however, it was getting late and he had homework to do. He reluctantly packed away the pictures, giving them one last longing look before he put them back in his trunk. Instead he got out his homework and began working on that, it was actually a good distraction and he was grateful for it in the end. He was almost done when he heard the others returning, he closed the drapes quickly and went back to the work.

"Hey," Michael greeted him as he pulled back the drapes again to talk to him, Scorpius couldn't help but roll his eyes this time before he noticed the mudblood was holding out food for him. He'd laid a napkin on a book and crammed several different meats, vegetables and chips onto it. There was even a knife and fork wedged against the side, "I know you weren't hungry but I thought you might have changed your mind by the time I got back so... I'm not sure what you like so I tried to make it a balanced meal, as much as I could pocket. May be a tad on the cold side but it's the best I can do."

Scorpius didn't know what to say. He wasn't sure whether to be annoyed by Michael's odd attitude or grateful because he was starving. Stunned, he just took the makeshift plate from the mudblood numbly, he was so hungry. It couldn't have looked more appetizing.

"Just give me the book back when you're done," Michael said, drawing Scorpius' attention back to him as the mudblood started to draw closed the drapes.

He dived into his food even before they were closed, it was delicious despite being only slightly warm. He ate every last bite. When he was finished, he neatly placed the makeshift plate to one side and sighed. He decided he should be grateful to Michael for giving him the food, despite everything. In fact, he wondered if the mudblood could get himself into trouble for taking food from the table like he had.

Scorpius pulled back the drapes, he saw Michael immediately. The mudblood was sitting on his own bed with a look of intense concentration as he practiced the Lumos spell, carefully trying to mimic the arm movement from earlier with limited success by the looks of things. Scorpius went over to him and put the book on the end of the bed, Michael stopped what he was doing but didn't say anything.

"Thank you," Scorpius said before heading back to his own bed and going back to his homework, leaving the drapes open but this time for light. He finished it fairly quickly and put his things away before he had company, except this time it wasn't Michael.

"Hey," Albus greeted him and Scorpius managed not to look surprised.

"Hey," Scorpius replied awkwardly as Albus looked around as if to check to see if anyone was listening before sitting beside him and lowering his voice.

"I know my Dad and Uncle talked to you today, about what happened on the train. They said hi before they left."

"What about it?"

"So... Aurors wouldn't be investigating if it wasn't serious," Albus prompted and seemed to expect Scorpius to say something but he didn't, "So it wasn't technical difficulties and a prankster. Can you just tell me what happened?"

"Weird, your dad asked me exactly the same thing."

"Malfoy!"

"Why didn't you ask him what happened?!" Scorpius demanded, irritated at being asked about it, "I really don't know and he would know more about it than me."

"He... wouldn't tell me, told us that it was nothing to worry about."

"Well there you go."

"Please, Malfoy, I just want to know what happened."

"I don't know what happened."

"Then just tell me what you do know."

"I don't really think I should. The adults will deal with whatever happened and tell us information as appropriate," Scorpius told him but Albus just scowled, "What?"

"Can you honestly look me in the eye and say if our positions were reversed that you would actually be okay with that answer? That you wouldn't want to know what happened?"

"Can you honestly look me in the eye and say if our positions were reversed that you would actually tell me what happened?"

Albus said nothing but sighed heavily and seemed to understand, he rose and went back to his own bed. Scorpius pulled shut the drapes again, hoping he wouldn't be disturbed again for the night. He got ready for bed and climbed into the covers, he also wished the night would be free of dreams. He got his wish.

Part 5: Letters

Scorpius woke up earlier than the others, he decided it was best to get up as quietly as he could to not wake anyone else up. The Common Room was blissfully deserted, no sign of James and his friends. Which Scorpius was very grateful for, his feet were still sore from yesterday. The Common Room wasn't actually that bad when it was empty, even if it was for Gryffindor house. He sat down in one of the chairs, it was actually quite comfortable. Warm. Relaxing. Cozy, even. But it was Gryffindor and he was no Gryffindor. He didn't belong there.

He sighed and stared into the fire, watching the flickering embers. He still didn't know why the Hat had put him in Gryffindor, maybe after a thousand years the thing had finally broken. He didn't want to be in Gryffindor and the Gryffindors didn't want him there either, how could the Hat miss that? Only Molly Weasley had stood up for him and welcomed him into the house, he felt an odd fluttering in his stomach as he thought of her. The gesture had been lost in his misery yesterday but now he thought of it and smiled. Maybe not all Gryffindors were against him, Michael wasn't either but the mudblood wouldn't understand the politics of the wizarding world.

He got up and he would rather not be there when James and his friends woke up. He'd just go to breakfast early and wait for the food, maybe read some more of his Transfiguration book. He retrieved the book and headed off, for the first time he had time to walk slow and pay more attention to his surroundings. He hoped by the end of the first week that he'd have some idea of where everything was, or at least how to get to the essential areas without getting lost. He knew full well how dangerous losing your way could be.

The corridors were deserted for the most part, not many people were up so early or at least not wandering around in the hallways. He did see the occasional person, usually a professor or a prefect but no one sent him back to the dormitory. In fact, none of them spoke to him which he didn't mind. He wasn't far from his destination when he heard voices coming from a corridor to his left, they sounded like they were arguing.

Scorpius didn't want to get involved and wouldn't have given it a second thought, he tried to walk faster to get away from it. His feet came to a chilling halt when he heard one of them strike the other. He couldn't decide whether it sounded more like a vicious slap or a whip but it was loud, unmistakable as something hitting someone else.

"You'll do what I bloody well tell you to do, Marius!" Varanian's voice snapped harshly, "Someone targeted this school! I'm not going to do nothing!"

"I... I get that," Calderon's voice said, somewhat timidly in reply, "But going through all ingoing and outgoing mail from students and staff... that's a gross breech of privacy for everyone."

"If everyone is innocent then they have nothing to hide! And anything dangerous smuggled in or out would come into our possession rather than causing harm."

"You really believe someone here had something to do with what happened? The students are the ones who nearly died and I'd vouch for every member of staff personally."

"The new precautions are going to be put in place, Marius, I'm the Headmaster and it's perfectly within my right to whatever I think is best for the safety of the students! If you won't go through the mail then I'll just hire someone who will, or simply ban unmonitored contact until I feel it's safe to lift the restrictions," Varanian said but seemed to be making an effort to reign in his temper as the anger dimmed, "You go through my mail for me, I'm not asking anything of anyone that I'm not prepared to do myself. Even though the only people who weren't involved with this for sure are you and I."

"With all due respect, I think there's a difference between having someone's permission to do that and doing it behind everyone's back."

"If people knew then they'd find ways around it! Think about it. Also think about this, whoever I hire won't have the same discretion and respect for everyone's privacy the way you would."

"And here I thought it was just so if you got caught, you could claim your lunatic assistant did it behind your back."

"That too. Thank about it, Marius, you have until the end of the day," Varanian said with a note of finality but Calderon spoke again.

"Or I could just tell the Board what you're doing and none of this happens instead."

No sooner had Calderon got the words out of his mouth then Scorpius heard another strike. He flinched. It sounded worse than the first, or maybe it just seemed worse now he knew Calderon was the one being struck. Scorpius felt he should be doing something, he couldn't just stand there and do nothing while someone he cared about was being hurt. He didn't know why Calderon didn't defend himself or fight back but Scorpius would, regardless that the headmaster was older. More skilled. More powerful. And could expel him in an instant. It wasn't right. If Scorpius didn't like Varanian before, he despised him now.

"I don't care that you saved my life, I'll destroy yours if you dare turn on me," Varanian spoke in a lower, threatening tone before his footsteps announced he was moving away.

It took Scorpius a second to realize that the footsteps were coming towards him, panicked he tried to make his feet move but it was too late. Varanian rounded the bend while he was turning, the headmaster grabbed his injured wrist before Scorpius could react. Scorpius forced his face not to show his pain as Varanian's vice grip dug into the unhealed cut. Instead he very deliberately met Varanian's icicle eyes, he saw his own hatred mirrored in them. He refused to blink.

"What are you up to, Mr Malfoy?" Varanian questioned in a tone of forced civility, "Eavesdropping on your elders?"

"No, why? Were you talking to someone?" Scorpius replied and noticed Varanian's eyes glance down the corridor where he'd came from, Scorpius did do for a moment and saw Calderon still standing further down it. Blood was trickling from a deep welt that went from his eye all the way across his cheek, Scorpius' fist clenched in wordless rage.

"No," Varanian lied looking back to him, "What are you doing wandering around? Up to no good like your Death Eater family?"

"I'm not wandering," Scorpius told him, putting all his effort into not exploding with anger but he had a feeling losing his temper and getting expelled was not the best option, "I was on my way to the Great Hall for breakfast."

"Bit early for breakfast."

"That's why I brought a book to read to pass the time," Scorpius answered, holding up the Transfiguration book he held in his free hand. Also noticing in Varanian's free hand, he held his wand. He'd probably used a spell to hurt Calderon, "Unless you have a problem with that, sir?"

"No," Varanian growled but released his wrist, "So you didn't hear anything?"

"No. Honestly, I was just daydreaming," Scorpius said trying to sound casual as he shrugged nonchalantly, "I really should pay more attention to my surroundings, I almost walked into you after all."

"Very well," Varanian said with a disapproving snort that left Scorpius unsure whether he was believed or not, "Happy reading then."

At this the headmaster stalked off the way Scorpius had come, he let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and rubbed his now stinging wrist. Silently cursing Varanian under his breath, he looked to his left once more but Calderon was gone. Scorpius ran down the corridor looking for him, he wanted to make sure the assistant was alright but he couldn't find him.

Scorpius sighed in defeat and miserably continued on his way to the Great Hall, he took a seat at the Gryffindor table and rested his head on his hand comfortably. He tried to read, his eyes skimmed the pages but his mind didn't comprehend the words. This time his anger didn't drain away, it remained surging under his skin and threatened to burst every time he thought of Varanian.

He was in a foul mood when the other students started arriving, they gave him wide berth and he was glad because he would have snapped at them if they hadn't. Breakfast appeared on the table and he mechanically started to eat, his taste buds were not paying the slightest bit of attention to what he was consuming and neither was he. His fellow First Years arrived after a while, Michael sat down beside him and excitedly congratulated him on eating as he dived into the food himself. Scorpius didn't trust himself to speak.

His ears also weren't paying attention to the words being spoken around him or anything happening around him, he was quite surprised when the family owl dropped a letter on his almost-empty plate. Considering what he'd overheard, it seemed weird they'd have post. He supposed Varanian probably wouldn't do anything, he'd get Calderon or hire someone to do it so in the meantime they got post. He sighed and opened the letter, it was from his parents.

Dear Scorpius,

How are things in Hogwarts? We were quite surprised to not have heard anything from you yet, you may have wanted to wait until you are more settled in but we really want to hear from you. How was the train journey? Did you get any sleep or make any friends on board? We hope you weren't too bored or lonely. Did you enjoy the trip across the late? The castle is quite beautiful at night, it is quite a sight to behold and quite lovely.

We are also anxious to know what House you're in and if the Sorting Ceremony went okay. It can be quite daunting sitting in front of everyone but everyone has to do it, you're not alone and the cheer you get when you get sent to a table makes up for it. I think so anyway. I know your grandfather was very insistent you be in Slytherin but any other house is just as good, we're proud of you no matter what so don't be ashamed to tell us if you got my old house Ravenclaw or even Hufflepuff.

We hope you've made some friends, everyone's in the same boat as you so people are usually quite friendly. I found that anyway, especially in your own house. I know you're a bit shy and find it hard to talk to people but try open up a bit, they would like you if they got to know you. We hope lessons aren't too much of a stress on you, if it's too much then just tell the teachers. They'd be quite understanding of your situation and know you're a bit more delicate than the others, failing that go to the headmaster. Your father sent a letter before you left, explaining things so he should know people need to go easy on you.

We look forward to hearing from you soon but always remember that if it's too much for you then just say the word and you can come straight home. You don't need to push yourself too hard, it's quite alright.

Take care. We love you son,

Mum & Dad

PS: Your grandparents also sent their love and best wishes

Scorpius read the letter then reread it, not sure whether to laugh or scream at the mention of the headmaster. He also was very aware that they mentioned not being ashamed of any house, yet failed to mention Gryffindor. He didn't know whether it was because they would be ashamed when he told them, or because - like him - they hadn't even considered the possibility that he'd be put in Gryffindor. He sighed and folded up the letter, not looking forward to writing his reply.

He couldn't shake his bad mood for the rest of the day though, it was all he could do to stop himself from snapping at anyone who spoke two words to him. Mostly Michael, he was not in the mood for the mudblood's amazement with every ordinary thing and failure at everything. Scorpius was as skilled as Michael was not, although he had a feeling the mudblood would do better if Nott didn't take every opportunity to mock him for his failure. It put Michael off and whatever improvement he'd done would be gone, his concentration lost. It was really getting on Scorpius' last nerve, the both of them were. Then again, every little thing seemed to be trying to set you off when you were angry.

He did try in the lessons though, focusing on them was the closest he got to reprieve from the repressed torrent of fury. After lessons he went with Michael to the library to do their homework, surprisingly the mudblood was better at homework than actual classwork due to his extensive notes. It was just too bad the notes were virtually illegible to anyone but Michael, the mudblood's handwriting was a disaster and his spelling was awful.

"I'm dyslexic," Michael told him, looking ashamed when Scorpius pointed it out. He had absolutely no idea what it meant, he assumed it was some disgusting muggle thing that he didn't want to know about.

Scorpius just nodded as if he understood and went back to his homework. He was quite capable of doing the work without the mudblood's notes anyway, he did pay attention in class. He was glad to be in the Library too, it was a good excuse to shut down Michael's attempts to start a conversation. He finished first as well and doodled pictures of Varanian being shot to amuse himself while he waited for Michael, it was the only thing that cheered him up marginally all day. That and he hadn't run into any bullies thus far. He also made himself write a reply to his parents, deciding to keep out anything that might make them worry for the time being. He was also very loose with the truth.

To Mum and Dad,

The train journey was pretty interesting, I met these awesome guys called Marius and Ticcy so I wasn't lonely or bored. You are right, the castle is absolutely beautiful at night! Lessons aren't too difficult or stressful, I'm actually finding them really fascinating and it is cool using magic. I got sorted into Gryffindor.

Sorry for not writing, I've just been busy and I wasn't sure what to say. I know this is short but I hope its okay.

Lots of love,

Scorpius

PS: Tell my grandparents I send my love too

He knew it was short but he didn't want to say too much of the truth or lie too much so he thought a short reply would be better. He also wasn't going to pour his heart and soul into a letter that someone else would read, Calderon wasn't too bad but Varanian might see it and he wanted nothing to do with the evil man. And the headmaster was evil. And he had the nerve to say I'm evil, after what he did?! Scorpius' mind ranted to him. Every time his anger dulled, he thought of the morning and was once again furious. He hadn't seen Calderon all day, not in classes or outside of classes or in the great hall at meals. He really hoped he was okay.

It was only at dinner that Scorpius finally felt relief, Calderon was actually in the Great Hall. As he got nearer to the teacher's table to take his seat with Michael, he did notice that there didn't seem to be a seat for the assistant. Instead, Calderon stood beside the now raven-haired Varanian, still with a cane and a dour expression on his face. The welt was still livid on his cheek. He also noticed none of the teachers looked happy, usually at least some had a smile on their face but every last one looked somewhere between irritated and angry. Varanian stood and the room fell silent.

"Before we start this lovely meal, I would like to make an announcement," Varanian spoke, his voice carrying farther than it normally should without magical aid, "Witches and wizards have had a long-standing bond with our feathered friends the owls, who leave their natural habitat to be the bearers of our mail. Unfortunately, this can come at great cost to them as they can get lost or even die on these trips, especially on the long journey to and from Hogwarts. It is our responsibility to take care of them so to make things easier and safer for the owls, I am putting in new regulations. As of tomorrow, every owl delivering a message to or from the school will be checked over before they deliver the message. This may result in a slight delay in mail delivery but it seems a small price to pay in the long run.

Furthermore, due to the behavior of students of this school, residents of Hogsmade have made complaints. From now on, anyone wishing to go to Hogsmade needs not only the permission of their parent or guardian but from a teacher as well, to confirm your behavior meets acceptable standards to leave the school. There will also be more strict regulations on what you can bring to Hogwarts from there, as it has been pointed out that too many inappropriate things were confiscated last year. Therefore, anything you buy will be looked over by a teacher to confirm it is appropriate. That is all."

Part 6: Losing It

Looking around, Scorpius saw not many people seemed pleased any this announcement. Or at least the older students weren't, it didn't really affect the ones too young too much. The thing about the owls did bother Scorpius though, it was just a cover so Varanian could spy on them like the evil creep he was. Scorpius watched him eating for a while, most teachers talked to each other while they ate. Varanian didn't. He wondered whether they approved of his new changes, if they didn't then it would explain why they all seemed to share Scorpius' bad mood. Or it could be something else, maybe? Calderon remained standing the whole time, Scorpius tried to catch his eye a few times but had no success.

"You gonna eat something or just glare at the headmaster all day?" Michael asked him after a while. It drew Scorpius back to the table and he started to eat reluctantly.

"I hate him," Scorpius said firmly to no one in particular but the First Years around him looked to him as he spoke.

"Who? Headmaster Varanian?"

"Obviously!"

"I don't really see a problem with the new rules," Albus offered through a mouthful of potatoes with a shrug.

"Well you wouldn't, you don't know anything."

"Is this about what happened on the train?"

"Would you stop obsessing over that?! I'm not telling you what happened, I don't trust you and I don't like you but Varanian is evil," Scorpius spat stabbing into his meat angrily, "That yesterday's news."

"You're evil," Albus commented with a glare that Scorpius quickly returned.

"Well I guess he did try to expel you. And fire Professor Hagrid because Maximus Nott pushed you into a lake," Michael pointed out, "That is pretty harsh."

"Yeah, that was," Albus agreed to Scorpius' surprise, "And he did lie to us about what happened on the train."

"Of course he lied, he lied to you then and he lied to you this evening," Scorpius snapped, "He's a violent, lying, ruthless, coldhearted, backstabbing bastard!"

"You are much more talkative when you're angry, y'know?" Michael offered.

"What did he lie to us about?" Rose questioned and Scorpius realized that she and Abby were also in on their conversation.

"I... can't say," Scorpius said reluctantly, trying not to let his anger control him. He was afraid of getting Calderon in trouble if he said anything, "Let's just talk about something else."

The conversation lapsed into silence for a while, or at least on Scorpius' part. Albus got drawn into a conversation his cousin and Abby were having on the welfare of owls. Scorpius just picked at his food and tried very hard not to glare so much at Varanian but it was hard. Every time he glanced in that direction, he saw the welt on Calderon's face and was reminded of everything. He longed to lash out. The more he tried to ignore his anger, the more it built up inside and threatened to explode.

"Think they'll teach us the food conjuring spell?" Michael wondered after a while, "Making food out of thin air would be really useful at home. Well, when I'm eventually old enough to use it at home anyway."

"They don't conjure it out of thin air," Scorpius told him, trying not to feel fed up with explaining everything magical to the mudblood.

"Then where does it come from?"

"From the kitchens, this stuff is already made by house-elves," Rose answered readily.

"What's a house-elf?"

"Merlin's beard, Michael! Why do they even let mudbloods into magic schools if they don't know anything about anything?! No wonder you suck at everything when you don't know anything, you don't even know what freakin' house-elves are!" Scorpius snapped, a part of him knew he was out of line but he couldn't stop himself, "You'll never understand. You'll never catch up. You'll fail and waste everyone's time teaching you!"

"Don't be such a jerk to the only person who doesn't hate you," Albus pointed out, sounding angry, "It's not like you would know anything about muggle things."

"I know plenty about muggle things!"

"What's a TV then, genius?"

"It stands for television, it's a box with moving pictures on it. But they aren't photographs, they talk and have plots and stories. You can put discs in to this box connected the TV to watch specific things that you like, shows are the short ones and films are the long ones. It's one of many electrical devices muggles use. They love watching it, almost as much as they love tapping away at their computers and fiddling with their phones. Phones are this small devices they use to communicate with other muggles over long distances but they need to charge them by connecting them to walls, the electricity that makes it all go through the wires," Scorpius recounted and saw the other boy's jaw drop, as did Rose's and Abby's, "Oh yes, I know a lot more about muggles then I wish I did so don't assume that I'm your average ignorant pureblood who knows nothing about the non-magic world."

Scorpius really couldn't stand to be around anyone anymore and his mouth just seemed stuck on speak, he left without another word. He didn't know if anyone was looking at him but he'd had enough for that day, he was at common rooms before he knew it. He yelled the password to get inside and stormed in furiously. It was empty inside for which, he was glad.

He sat down opposite the flickering fire and tried to reign in his temper. He knew he shouldn't have gone on a rant like that and he certainly shouldn't have spoken to Michael like that. Mudblood or not, he hadn't deserved it. He was just so angry.

Ever since the morning he'd been in a rage, since Varanian. The fire blazed. He shouldn't be so angry. He had to reign it in, anger was supposed to fade but Varanian just... infuriated him so much. He could feel the heat from the fire on his skin. He hated the headmaster so much, everything he'd done just made Scorpius hate him even more. And then he hit Calderon, just to try force him to do what he wanted.

Scorpius blinked. Varanian reminded him of Marvin, Scorpius realized. Marvin never hesitated to strike him when he wouldn't do what he was told, or if he spoke out of turn. It wasn't close to being the same situation - he knew that - but Varanian reminded him of those moments.

His anger flooded away. The fire died. He sat there, empty and cold. He hated emotions. He wrapped his arms around himself protectively, it provided little warmth or comfort but nothing really did. He shivered. He was sure the fire had been blazing earlier. He closed his eyes. He wanted to cry thinking of Marvin, again. But the tears wouldn't come, again. Things would be worse now with the bullies, now that everyone thought he hated muggles and mudbloods like his family. He didn't want to remember.

"I can go higher than you, doggie boy!" Scorpius called out determinedly, trying to swing further than the other two.

"Nu-uh, scorpion boy! I'm totally gonna go higher!" Cameron retorted with a grin as he swung further, it was just them and Cameron's younger sister – Lacey - left as everyone else had gone home.

"Go as high as you want, I'm going to go all the way over the top!" Lacey told them bravely, the two boys howled with laughter.

"That's impossible!" Scorpius pointed out.

"Nu-uh, I knew someone who did it."

"Really? Who?" Cameron demanded of his sister.

"Um... Juno."

"Juno who?"

"Juno I can jump off the swings faster than you!" Lacey called as she jumped off the swings, the boys followed suite.

"You're mad, you know?!" Scorpius told them and she only laughed.

"Only just realized that now, Scorp?" Cameron commented with a grin, "With the last name 'Maddog', what do you expect?"

"C'mon, let's go on the spinner!" Lacey pleaded but their mother called before either could reply.

"Lace! Cam!" she yelled, coming over to them, "It's getting late, we really need to get home."

"Five more minutes!"

"I said you could have five more minutes half an hour ago, everyone's already gone home."

"Scorp hasn't," Cameron pointed out and the mother scowled.

"Where is your brother, Scorp?"

"He's not my brother, his parents are friends of my dad and I'm staying with them for the summer," Scorpius explained, not for the first time, "And I don't know where he is, he says he has better things to do than babysit me so I should make my own way back."

"Do you want me to walk you back to the house?"

Scorpius shook his head vigorously at the offer, she was a muggle and the house he was staying at was not a muggle house. The wizarding neighborhood just happened to be near to a muggle one with a muggle park - he wasn't even sure muggles could see the house - but either way, it risked exposure. Besides, he could make his own way back. He knew the way by heart and he didn't want to go back yet anyway, he was having fun.

"I think I'm going to stay out a bit longer first but thanks for the offer, ma'am."

"Well think about heading back soon, before it gets dark. Okay?"

"I will, I promise."

"Good boy."

Scorpius smiled weakly and watched as his friends left with their mother, waving each other goodbye as they went. He didn't understand why his grandfather hated muggles, all the kids at the park were muggles and they were fun, friendly and fascinating. You didn't have to be magical to have a good time, having imagination and a park helped. Parks had to be the best invention since Quidditch.

He played for a while, pretending he was a Seeker trying to catch the Snitch by going through the various obstacles. He was a bit lonely without his friends but he was having a good time, he couldn't say anything about Quidditch around them anyway. He couldn't say anything about the wizarding world around them. He wondered if you were allowed to tell muggles about wizard things when you were an adult, he hoped so because he knew his friends would think Quidditch was cool. Besides, he was going to be the best Seeker the world had ever seen and it would be kind of nice to have people cheering him on. His friends weren't biased against his family like most of the wizarding world.

He was knocked from his thoughts and the monkey bars when he felt something hit his arm. Shocked, he looked around, thinking someone had thrown something at him. He saw no one, he couldn't see what had hit him either. He checked his arm but there was no mark, it didn't even hurt. He had to have imagined it. Looking around had made him aware that it was now getting dark, the sun was setting and he should be getting back like he'd promised.

Scorpius started to head back but stopped at the end of the road, which was it to get home? He couldn't remember. He scowled and looked in both directions, it wasn't the first time he'd came back by himself since Hal had ditched him to go hang out with friends. He knew the route. He'd memorized it, he hadn't even gotten lost the first time he came back by himself. But he couldn't remember. He couldn't. What was wrong with him?

His feet started walking. He couldn't just stand there, walking would jog his memory or if nowhere was familiar than he'd know he was going the wrong way. He couldn't tell though, every house just looked the same and he had no idea if he'd been that way before or not. His head spun. Why couldn't he remember?! He was just getting more and more lost, he had no idea where he was.

Abruptly he stopped. He wasn't sure why but he did. He was staring at a man planting a single flower in his garden, it had five large pale lemon petals with purple tips. The man looked up from patting the soil around it to glance at him, Scorpius backed away. He wasn't sure why but something in the way the man looked at him disturbed Scorpius. He shivered and turned around, almost walking into another man.

"Are you alright?" the man with emerald eyes asked with a friendly smile, "You're looking a little lost there, boy."

"I... am," Scorpius admitted reluctantly.

"Where are you trying to go, kid? Maybe I can help."

"Um... I forget the name of the place but it's near Grislow street," Scorpius told him, he couldn't give the muggle the real address because he wouldn't know it but you got onto the wizard street from Grislow.

"I know there. Let me walk you, we can go to Grislow and see if we can spot the place from there."

"Um... I don't think so, maybe you can just give me directions?"

"I could," the man said slowly but lost his smile, "But these streets are like mazes, there's a lot to remember and we wouldn't want you to get a lost again. It's not real safe for kids to be out after dark, there are a lot of nasty people out there and I wouldn't want anything to happen to you. It'd be far easier if I just drew you a map or wrote it down for you, how about that?"

"Okay," Scorpius agreed and the man's smile returned. He started to head into the house of the man with the flower before pausing and looking back for him.

"Why don't you come inside for a moment? Better than waiting out here in the cold."

"Um..." Scorpius hesitated slightly, it was a bit chilly and the man with the flower was still watching him creepily. He'd be better off inside for a minute, the man seemed nice enough and he didn't trust the other guy. What was the worst that could happen? He was just a muggle, "Okay."

Scorpius followed the man inside, the gardener's eyes never left him until he was into the hall and out of view. He let out a slightly relieved breath as they continued into the kitchen, it was much warmer inside. It was a large kitchen with a table by the wall, there were four chairs and the man motioned for him to take a seat. He handed him some paper and a strange stick, no ink though. Curiously, he pushed it onto the page and it left a mark. He smiled at it, muggles were definitely interesting.

"Do you want a drink, kid?" the man offered, already grabbing two cans of 'lemonade' from an odd metallic cupboard thing. Scorpius nodded carefully, he didn't want to be rude to the man who was helping him and he was thirsty.

The man started giving him directions while he was still at the counter, Scorpius hastily began writing down what he was saying. The man hadn't been kidding when he said there was a lot to remember, it was quite confusing. Scorpius was shocked that he'd gotten so far off track.

After a minute or so, the man came over and put a glass down beside him with the lemonade. He paused in his account and sat down opposite with his own glass. Scorpius took the opportunity to drink, lemonade had a tangy taste but he found that he quite liked it. Muggles had good taste in drinks, he smiled as he put down the almost empty glass. He'd been thirstier than he'd thought.

"Thank you Mr...?"

"Marvin," the man told him returning the smile, "You can call me, Marvin, kid."

"Thank you, Marvin," Scorpius amended.

The man started giving directions again, this time writing it down himself as he spoke. Scorpius nodded and tried to listen but he didn't feel well all of a sudden, his head felt so heavy. It was hard to focus, it was hard to stay awake. Everything around him was spinning.

Marvin was still talking, Scorpius tried to tell him that he wasn't feeling good but the words didn't seem to reach his ears anymore. He thought he had spoken though because Marvin stopped, the movement off the writing instrument stopped and Marvin just looked at him. Everything started to go dark, he was sure he was going to pass out. He felt a pair of bony hands on his shoulder. The last thing he remembered before he passed out was seeing Marvin smile. His smile was no longer friendly.

"Are you alright?" a voice asked and Scorpius jumped in surprise at Michael's voice, especially after what he'd said earlier.

"I'm fine," Scorpius said more forcefully than he'd intended, the mudblood looked slightly hurt.

"Okay," Michael muttered and headed up to the dormitories.

Scorpius sighed heavily, trying to shake his head of memories. Why am I so stupid? he wondered bitterly as he too climbed the steps to his room, no one else was there besides Michael and himself. The mudblood was just lying on his bed, looking at his wand with a melancholy look. Scorpius swallowed nervously and went over to his trunk, retrieving every last picture featuring Yip before approaching the mudblood.

"Hey," Scorpius greeted him awkwardly.

"Hey."

"I... I um... I owe you an apology," Scorpius offered, almost put off when Albus came into the room but went over to his bed with nothing more than a glare in his direction, "I'm sorry. About earlier."

"It's okay, it's not like you didn't say anything that wasn't true."

"No! I was... just upset with Varanian and I took it out on you, I'm sorry," Scorpius insisted, sitting beside the mudblood. He frowned and sat up beside him as Scorpius handed him the pictures, Michael silently looked through them, "That's what a house-elf is. They kinda work for witches and wizards, do chores and stuff. My family have a few that work for us... that's Yip... he's my friend, he's really great."

"Cool. Thanks. For showing me," Michael said, finally handing the pictures back to him, "You must be close to him. And your family. You look really happy in the pictures."

"I'm sure you have happy pictures of your friends and family too, except yours don't move," Scorpius answered quickly, not wanting to talk about his past much but Michael only laughed bitterly and shook his head.

"I wish. Goodnight, Scorpius."