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Hello again everyone! I'm sorry I'm a couple hours late - we're having a few storms right now in the U.K. and a thunderclap shook my house and the wifi died. I wish I were joking. But alas as I am not, that's why I'm a bit late posting this week. Sorry!

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Chapter 2: The Ball, Reborn

The Prefects were always the last people to arrive at the feast. Covered in a spattering of mud from the soggy earth around the lake, Scorpius traipsed in with Sophia Davis and scanned the Slytherin table for his friends. Alfie raised a hand and waved, beckoning Scorpius over. Delightfully, he realised he was facing Rose as he slid onto the bench next to Albus, even if she was sitting two tables over. That seemed to be about as close as she ever got. Their gazes briefly met over the hall and his stomach dropped a mile, but she broke off eye contact almost immediately. He watched her for a moment as she talked to Samuel Millar next to her and they shared a joke. She really was beautiful when she smiled. Headmaster McGonagall stood and held up a hand that immediately silenced the entire hall in one moment, startling Scorpius out of his daze, and the whole room fell still.

"Good evening. Welcome back to Hogwarts for the start of another year. I have a few announcements to make, but they are reserved for later." The doors of the Great Hall burst open and Professor Henrich, the deputy headmaster and utter twat of the century, led a procession of first years with the sorting hat and a tiny wooden stool in his hands. "I now welcome the First Years. May the sorting ceremony begin."

She sat down, adjusting the jaunty tartan hat atop her head as the first years came to a halt before the Teacher's table. Placing the old hat down on the stool, Professor Henrich pulled out a scroll of parchment from his pocket. Straight-backed, relatively young and stern, he was the Transfiguration Professor, and Merlin was he brutal. He'd dock you twenty points if he thought you couldn't get the spell because you were 'messing around'. Joshua had been an absolute menace to the Slytherin point score because of this.

The sorting hat, once comfortably nestled on its wooden stool, opened at the broad, mouth-like rip and began to sing. Scorpius was sure he heard a first-year squeak at the shock. Scorpius had sort of learnt the knack for zoning out during these songs over the years, resting his head in his hand. They weren't good songs, anyway - it just told you about the houses and their founders. You would've thought that it'd come up with something unique or innovative if it'd been sitting in McGonagall's desk for a year with nothing else to do.

He wondered what his father was doing now. Hopefully, he was cooking himself food, or reading the paper with his feet up before the fire. He thought back to when he was younger, when his mother would spend the days occupying him and teaching him everything Joshua said they taught you at muggle school, and then he'd play with his father in the evening. It was a quiet house, much too big for the three of them, but it had been home.

He exhaled a long sigh through his nose. There was Rose, sitting with rapt attention, as always. Her hair was curling down her back in beautiful ringlets, moving with every breath she took. She twitched her small nose with an itch, and licked her lips - pink, pretty, and delicate. She always had more freckles than usual when they went back to school, which faded from across her nose over winter then came back with the sun when late spring arrived. She was blinking slowly; full, long eyelashes making her eyes look so dark and beautiful and sincere, even from almost across the hall. She was raising her hands together now; which always looked better with a wand in them, although…

"Scor!" Albus nudged him, and the applause in the hall rang loudly in his ears very suddenly. "She's my cousin. Get a room or leave off!"

"Sorry, sorry." He mumbled, moving stiffly and joining in with the dying applause. Alfie was looking at him with a knowing but still somehow smug grin, and Max and Joshua were laughing. "Oh shut it. You just wait, and I'll get you back."

"Right."

"Whatever you say, Scor," Joshua replied, cooly. He had a point - both Max and Joshua were never short of a date when needed, being generally attractive but smooth and suave enough to ask out whoever they wanted. That was Slytherin ambition for you.

Silence fell again as Professor Henrich picked up the hat, and read the first name from his scroll.

"Andrews, Elenor"

The girl looked like little more than a speck from where they were sitting.

"Are they always this short?"

"I dunno." Max shrugged. "I can't imagine Alfie was ever that short." He nodded to their tall friend, his head markedly above Max'.

Elenor Andrews went to Ravenclaw with restrained, adequate, snobbish applause which looked all the more stupid for 'Avery, Charlie' going to the Gryffindor table with thunderous clamour. The sorting ceremony never seemed to get shorter, and the five were restless by the time they were finished. Scorpius only really picked up on a few people; a Slytherin girl, Katie Elliott, who nervously sat at the very edge of the table, shyly smiling at her new housemates. And then there was Lacey Wood, who he guessed was also a daughter of Oliver Wood. He was the famous England Quidditch coach, and she had to be his daughter, considering how much she looked like her fifth-year brother, Daniel, who she joined at the Hufflepuff table.

"That's our future chances against Hufflepuff screwed," Albus mumbled.

Max shrugged. "We'll be gone by the time she's on the team. Leave it for the midgets to sort out."

Albus was interrupted in a scathing reply by McGonagall.

"Now that we have all our first years sorted, let us settle in. I am glad to see so many faces that are happy to be back and ready for the year to begin. I hope you have all had excellent summers," even as McGonagall said the words, he found it hard to believe she meant them. He'd heard she could be a kind lady when she wanted - but he wasn't Gryffindor enough for that. "But I won't delay what we all really want. Let the feast begin."

With a wave of her hands, finally, thankfully, the food appeared before their desperately hungry eyes.

"Thank fuck!" Albus sighed, which caught a sharp look from the nearby Poppy Creevey. Scorpius had never quite got why she was going out with James, but he guessed she must be amazing in bed. Or something. He again realised that he just didn't care halfway through the steak and kidney pie in front of him. James had been out with loads of girls but he never seemed to care about any of them - so why should he?

"We've got to go and thank Winky and the others." Alfie declared, sighing around a mouth half-full of mashed potatoes.

Scorpius nodded his head enthusiastically in response. He and Albus had ended up in the kitchens once, following the weird map he'd knicked from his dad's desk one summer, where Winky had made quite the scene. Apparently, she was confused over how her old friend Dobby's master could be here when he was so much older now. And, one explanation of his family later, Winky had sworn herself indebted to Albus and his good friend Scorpius too, since her best friend had been so fond of his father and she'd worked with Kreacher, too. So it'd become quite easy for them to get food, and when, in their fifth year, they started being invited to the common room parties and joined the Quidditch team, they could populate the room with food so deftly they were matched in skill only by Fred Weasley.

The main course slipped down happily, and dessert followed soon after - treacle tart, chocolate fondue, Albus' favourite cheesecake and the butterscotch tart that made Scorpius salivate whenever he thought about it.

"Oh. My. Merlin." Scorpius sighed, looking at it happily on his plate.

Max rolled his eyes. "Get a room, Scor."

"Oh, I think I will." He took a small bite, and closed his eyes, happily. He moaned with delight.

Albus inched away. "I do not need to see this."

"I don't care, I'd abandon you all for this." He continued to eat it, savouring every bite.

"Oh really? Even Rose?" Joshua mumbled with a self-satisfied grin on his face.

Scorpius deadpanned. "I don't even know what she tastes like, and I'd abandon this for her."

He grinned at Albus' scrunched up, slightly revolted face. "Oh, come on! She. Is. My cousin!"

Scorpius shrugged. "Better than your sister."

"Oh, seriously!" Albus' face contorted grossly, looking utterly revolted.

"To be fair, someone thinks of your sister like that." Max intoned helpfully.

"And I hear she's quite popular too." Scorpius couldn't help himself, the look on Albus' face was just too funny.

Albus took the last slice of butterscotch tart off Scorpius' plate and ate it with a smug grin.

Scorpius was about to retaliate with the fork in his hand when Headmaster McGonagall stood again, and the hall fell to a grudging silence, plates cleared and conversations came to a screeching to a halt.

"Before I let you all go off to bed, I have a few words to say. As with every year, I must start with some notices. Firstly, that students must obey Mr Filch's orders: stay away from the Forbidden Forest, and the majority of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes' products are banned. Please consult the board outside Mr Flich's office on the ground floor of the east wing for the full list."

Scorpius noticed a grin pass between Joshua and Max. They'd been involved in an incident in their first year with Mrs Norris, a ghost, and a puking pastel. The story had been quickly woven into Hogwarts legend. Mostly because anyone who saw it couldn't quite get the image of a ghost being sprayed with cat sick out of their minds.

"Anyone who wishes to apply to their House's Quidditch team may give their name to their head of House, although only Gryffindor and Ravenclaw have vacancies this year. The Quidditch Cup will be running as usual this year and, as with each time we hold the Tournament, all the teachers give our best luck to each house."

Professor Heinrich's raised left eyebrow said otherwise.

"Furthermore, House points will be awarded and taken away all year long - and the winner of the most points at the end of the year will win the House Cup. A reminder that the cup is currently in Ravenclaw's hands."

She fell silent, which meant that they were about to be released back to their dormitories. Scorpius was about to tell Albus something that he'd forgotten until now what with the food and Rose - that his father had actually asked for letters this year — but McGonagall carried on talking.

"For many of us, there is a memory instilled in our minds of a time of complete house-unity. A day when one's House, school, and country didn't matter. House stripped away, new friendships were forged, and the world at Hogwarts briefly became a different place. " The Headmaster fell silent, surveying the grand hall with pursed lips. Ever since their third year, McGonagall had been banging on about house unity without an end. He got the point - he really did - but Scorpius thought they'd all got the message by now. Besides, it's the year 2020 already. You've got to be a pretty massive dick to bully someone based on their house and house alone. That being said, he did know several fairly massive dicks. "On that note, I have some news regarding a new event." Scorpius furrowed his brow and shared a quick look with Albus, who usually knew everything that happened at Hogwarts - through Hagrid, who told his dad, who told his mum, who Lily overheard, who told him and James. But Albus looked just as clueless as him. "Twenty-eight years ago, we held the Triwizard Tournament at this school." A general murmur of interest fluttered through the crowd. "Whilst we are not at all going to be re-commencing the games, there was one aspect of the tournament that still resonates very dearly in all our hearts here at the staff end of Hogwarts.

"The Yule Ball." There was a slight sigh of disappointment from the boys around Scorpius, but he listened with baited breath. He always had been a romantic at heart - and everyone around him knew it. "It was a night of happiness before a storm of sorrow. A chance for us all to forget about Houses, class rankings, tests and any other pressures. And so we have decided to host a similar event this year; the Phoenix Ball."

There was a smattering of applause as Headmaster McGonagall broke from her usually austere expression into a smile, as she looked back along the applauding staff table. Well, at least if the students would rather die than be there, the staff would have fun. "The ball will be held on the last weekend of the winter term, and we will pass out more details through your prefects soon. Now, off to bed with you all."

She nodded her head and sat back down, and with a wave of her hand, everyone in the hall was up amidst a storm of chatter and benches screeching across the floor. Rounding up the first years, the seventh year prefects took them on the fancier, more elaborate route to the dungeons that showed off more of Hogwarts to the wide-eyed muggle-borns amongst them. They didn't have that many muggle-borns in Slytherin, even now, but the number was going up. Hufflepuff still had the most Muggle-borns of any of the houses, however, and Ravenclaw always seemed to have the most half-bloods. Joshua would know; he'd snogged half of both houses.

They collapsed in their usual corner of the common room that they'd adopted last year - two sofas, roughly perpendicular to each other, both emerald green and extremely squishy. A low coffee table sat between them, the black surface polished so thoroughly that the nearby fireplace's flames reflected in the table's surface. Most students, especially the younger ones, had immediately gone to the dormitories; through the corridors on the left-hand arches of the common room, and up the branching stairs. There were seven levels of dormitories, each higher than the next, and every year they were at Hogwarts their dormitory rose to a higher and higher level. The perk being, that when you reached seventh year, you'd get a beautiful view over the top of the lake and no longer have to deal with seaweed and limpets sticking to your windows.

"Can you imagine the commute we've got now we're sixth years?" Max asked, half to the air, half to the four boys around him.

Joshua made a face. "Ugh. Six flights of stairs."

Max and Alfie groaned in unison, and even Scorpius couldn't resist a sigh. Quidditch did wonders for the physique, true, but six flights was a hell of a lot of stairs. Especially on a full stomach. Especially when Joshua was inevitably late to his first class.

Albus sniggered. "Oh well. At least the view of the lake will be less creepy than first year." The boys laughed.

"That's true. The depths of the lake are pretty bloody terrifying, what with all the gryndilows and creepy monsters floating by." Joshua shivered. There was a reason why he wasn't in Gryffindor.

"Remember that one night when you screamed so loud that you woke us all up?"

"I seem to remember it was seaweed in the end, too."

Joshua rolled his eyes. "Why don't they put the stupid Gryffindors in here? At least they're brave."

Scorpius shrugged. "At least our common room isn't going to get attacked by a dragon."

"That happened?"

"That happened. 1994, Triwizard Tournament."

Albus snorted. No doubt he'd heard the story.

The other four Slytherin boys in their year passed by soon after they got there. Mo, Ethan, Aneil and Patrick. Scorpius didn't know any of their surnames - but he didn't know any of them well at all. Max and Joshua had been better friends with them until fourth year. They didn't stop to talk, and none of them begrudged them for it.

The five of them sat in silence for a while, mostly zoning out, as Scorpius schemed to himself.

"Scorpius?"

"Yes?"

Joshua pushed himself upright, a renewed sense of panic lighting up his eyes. "They had to bring a date to the Yule Ball, didn't they?"

"You bet."

He launched himself back into the cushions. "Bollocks." Groaning, he clamped his hands over his face and dragged them down, slowly.

"It's not our fault you snogged and dumped your way through most of the nice girls." Max jibed.

"Oh shut it, arsehole." Joshua kicked Max just below the kneecap from across the sofa. "You've done it too."

Alfie laughed at the pair. "Well, at least the three of us should have a wider selection than you two."

Albus snorted. "'Should' is the key word there. Now in reality…" Albus glanced between Alfie and Scorpius. They all knew that of all the boys in their dorm, they had the least luck with the ladies. Scorpius had never had a girlfriend because, well, he was occupied with Rose. Albus was too unpopular and had only been snogged once, by a very drunk Mia Clarke at last year's end of year Slytherin party. Alfie had only ever been out with Sabrina Gregg, and he'd kept surprisingly mum about the entire thing. Suspiciously so, in fact.

"Oh, you know who I'm asking already." Scorpius shrugged, pushing himself up from the couch.

"Seriously? You know it's just going to be embarrassing." Joshua looked at him sceptically.

"Ah, you are wrong there my friend. It's only going to be embarrassing at first, and then eventually rewarding. Just you watch." He smirked, vaulting over the sofa and walking towards the dormitories.

"Cunning and ambition is man's greatest addition." Max snorted, torn between laughing and rolling his eyes.

Scorpius just turned his back on them, walking towards the dormitories and sticking two fingers up at them on each hand. They'd see. He was sure. He had a… plan.

Scorpius yawned as he entered their dorm room. It was dark, with the eerie greenish glow of the lake giving the room an ominous look. He made a beeline for his bed, stripped out of his robes and into his pyjamas, and sat down on the comfortable mattress. It made a crunching sound. Confused, he reached behind himself and felt a letter brush against his fingertips, the paper smooth and cold against the soft, warm bedsheets. He frowned. Lighting his wand, he held his it up and let a dim glow spread over the envelope.

Scorpius.

Only his name appeared on the starched paper. The writing was short, curt, and written in the heavy black lacquer his father usually reserved for his official documents. He did always know how to add that personal touch.

Eagerly, he slid his fingers under the envelope lip and pulled out the slip of parchment inside.

Scorpius,

I know that life at Hogwarts was very hard for you, and I know I cannot express how much that hurt me to see. But I want you to enjoy the life that is slowly getting better for you. You still have time Scorpius, so use that Slytherin ambition for good and chase after whatever will make you happy.

Please, don't worry about me. Life has been hard since your mother— the word was obscured here — but I'm doing fine. You'd hear about it if I didn't go to work, and there are people who check that I'm taking care of myself. Your mother was a marvellous woman, Scorpius, but we need to learn how to live without her. You've been doing great until now, and I'll be playing catch up to you until you come home for Christmas. I'll even try to sort out the paintwork.

Remember to live as you want to, Scorpius, because you won't get this time again.

Take care of yourself.

Your father.

It sounded practised and slightly stiff, but Scorpius had spent years learning and trying to read between the lines of his father's words. He think he got it, now. That his father loved him really - probably as much as Scorpius loved his father - and that he was trying. He hated it, that they couldn't just go back to the normal days even for a moment, but he couldn't ask for any more than the effort his father was so clearly putting in.

"Alright there, lover-boy?"

Scorpius looked up from the letter quickly. "Huh?"

"Oh my, Scorpius Malfoy not folding up his clothes-?" Joshua pointed to the pile of haphazardly strewn clothes on his bed and gasped exaggeratedly, "are we in a new reality?"

He forced a grin. "Yeah. One where we're all actually cool."

Joshua snorted as Scorpius shoved the letter under his pillow. "Speak for yourself."

"Don't rub it in," Scorpius said through a yawn, stretching and getting up to fold up his clothes. It was true, though. Joshua and Max were considered, by most, to be cool. If not cool, then acceptable. It almost went without saying that they were far more popular than Scorpius and Albus - although that wasn't hard. They'd been the last two to join Scorpius, Albus, and by then Alfie as friends. Before their fourth year, only Alfie ever really hung out in the dormitory, and that was just because he could talk to anyone if he wanted to. Things had been icy, but at least after fourth year, Scorpius had a place in Hogwarts he felt safe in.

"I swear you were born into the wrong body. Shoulda been a house elf."

Scorpius let out a short laugh. He couldn't help himself. It would've been nice to know what it might be like to not feel the compulsion to tidy up everywhere all the time - simply for the reason that no one else would. He'd effectively been an orphan for almost a year, and he sometimes wished he'd never felt all that weight on his shoulders. What life might have been like, had his mother not had that blood curse.

He'd probably have turned out more like Albus.

"Letter from your dad?" Scorpius looked up at Joshua, who was hovering in the half-light of Scorpius' lumos spell. The bright light made his eyes glow eerily green, and his brown hair looked almost blonde. He gave Scorpius an uneasy smile and clapped him on the shoulder. "I get it."

Scorpius nodded thankfully. Joshua's mum had left not long after he was born - Merlin knew why, Joshua never talked about it - so he and his younger half-sister had been raised by his muggle dad, alone. He was touchy about it. When he'd turned his sister's hair orange by accident when he was nine, he said he'd thought he'd gone crazy, and instead of the joy that often came with children expressing magical powers for the first time, he'd been terrified. Even though he was a half-blood, he may as well have been a Muggle-born. He'd heard more than his fair share of jokes at his expense, and it'd taken until fourth year for him to properly blow up at someone over it. "Families, huh?" Scorpius slid the letter back into the envelope.

Joshua grinned. "Yours is the most fucked up I know of."

"Cheers, it's the biggest compliment I could've dreamed of."

He chuckled, moved across the room to his bed. "But we're all friends, Scor. You know what friends do."

Scorpius didn't have to say anything out loud. With a smile to his friend and pulling the drapes around his bed down, he knew. Even though they may seem to bicker all the time on the outside, each one of them would probably go to the ends of the earth for the rest.

Even if they only went to the other side of the Forbidden Forest, it was enough for Scorpius.

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