There was only one thing that intimidated Scorpius more than being sorted. And that was the train ride. He hadn't met anyone yet, expect for Rose, and according to his mother, she had many cousins and relatives that attended Hogwarts. Scorpius didn't expect her to sit with him. And why should she? She didn't even know him.
Scorpius knew that when his parents were younger, they didn't need to worry about the train rides. They had been best friends since they were young. They always rode the train together. His father told him that he had met his friend Goyle on that train ride in their first year, and that they had become fast friends. Scorpius's mother told him that because the students at Hogwarts lived together, they tended to make friends fast, because they didn't want to be left out. She told Scorpius not to worry, just to be kind, and that he would make friends as easily as Draco had.
On September 1st, Draco, Celia, and Scorpius arrived at Kings Cross Station at precisely 10:45 am. Scorpius pushed the cart that contained all his new trunks, filled with his school supplies. His father carried the birdcage that contained Scorpius's owl, Diao.
"There it is," his mother said, shunting aside a muggle. The muggle glared, but Celia didn't notice. She pointed towards a barrier in the middle of platforms nine and ten. As they watched, a boy ran through, followed by his brother and his mother. Scorpius nervously patted his pocket, where he could feel his train ticket.
"Go on, Scorpius," his father boomed. He patted his son's arm. "Run at it. It won't hurt."
"Come on, sweetheart." His mother held out a hand to Scorpius's father. "We'll be right behind you."
Scorpius looked back at the barrier. It was made of brick, and looked very solid. He slowly pushed his cart forward, through the rapidly moving groups of muggles, and then began to move a little faster. The barrier loomed closer, more imposing than before. Scorpius could see the bricks, how they were crumbling a bit at the edges, and the dirty grout…he closed his eyes, and then…there was no collision. Scorpius opened his eyes. He had run right through the wall. He smiled triumphantly, and turned around to look back at the barrier. His mother and father had, indeed, come out right behind him. They were still holding hands.
To Scorpius's right was the train. It was beautiful. It was red and black and polished and shiny. There was steam oozing out from the tracks, and Scorpius could hear the engine humming lightly. He pushed his cart towards the train.
There were students everywhere. They were holding cats, owls, and toads. Some were playing with gobstones. Some were anxiously stuffing their pockets with money or dungbombs. Scorpius spotted a girl with short black hair and an upturned nose, whose mother looked just like her. When her mother saw Scorpius's parents, she quickly looked away, as if she was frightened. Scorpius pushed his cart by them, and then stopped at the next compartment when his mother grabbed his shoulder.
Scorpius's mother leaned down so she could look her son in the eye.
"You have some galleons?" Celia asked. She reached out and smoothed back a hair that had fallen onto his forehead. Scorpius gently pushed her hand away and smoothed down his own hair. He liked his hair slicked back in a certain way, just like his father's. Celia smiled slightly.
"Yes."
"Don't buy too many cauldron cakes." Celia bit her lip, and Scorpius could see tears in her startlingly clear blue eyes. "Write me when you get to school. Actually, write me after your first day. I want to hear about your classes."
"Yeah," Draco agreed, bending down as well. "Tell me how the Herbology Professor teaches you. I swear, if Longbottom-"
"Draco." Celia glared disapprovingly at her husband, who raised his hands in surrender, but smiled and winked at his son when she looked away for a moment.
"Be nice," Celia told Scorpius. "Make friends."
"No, mum," Scorpius said, rolling his eyes. "I'll bully them all."
"Just the Weasleys and Potters," Draco muttered under his breath. Celia punched him on the arm, and Draco looked reasonably abashed. "Ignore what I said."
"Wait, why?" Scorpius asked rather loudly. "Who are they?"
Instead, Celia planted a large kiss on her son's forehead. Draco embraced his son as the conductor let out a loud, piercing whistle.
"Better get on," Scorpius told his parents, glancing at the open train doors. Kids were already climbing on board. His mother let out a small sob, and Scorpius felt his stomach tighten. Draco grabbed his trunks and handed them to Scorpius, who tightened his fingers around the cool metal handles. Celia curled her hand around her husband's arm. Scorpius waved, and then hopped on the train. The door shut behind him with a large slam. Scorpius gulped, looked around at all the chatting students, and then began to make his way down the hall. A magical firework hurtled at him, and Scorpius ducked to avoid it. In the process, he accidentally fell against one of the compartment doors.
"Hey!" A voice said. The door opened, and Scorpius braced himself. Then, he recognized who was at the door. Rose Weasley, who he had met the other day, was standing in the doorway, already wearing her robes. Everyone in her compartment stared at Scorpius. Rose smiled at him, and Scorpius smiled back. Her smile was contagious. "We met the other day. Want to sit with us?"
Scorpius felt his stomach melt happily, like butter on mashed potatoes. Slowly, he lugged his things inside.
"Sure," he replied, looking around at the other kids in the compartment. There were just two, an older boy with dark hair, and a boy Scorpius's age, with bright green eyes.
"Let me help with your stuff," the older boy said. He grabbed the birdcage and set Diao on one of the racks, next to a cat carrier. Inside was an orange haired cat with a smashed face. The older boy reached for Scorpius's next trunk, and then paused. His eyes raked over the bottom, where Scorpius's initials were imprinted. "S.L.M," he read out loud. The younger boy looked anxiously at Rose, who had primly taken her seat, and then looked at Scorpius. "What's your surname?"
"Malfoy," Scorpius said somewhat proudly. He took the empty seat next to Rose. On her lap was their book of spells for the year. She had already taken notes in it, in compact, neat cursive. "I'm Scorpius Malfoy. Who are you?"
"James Potter," the older boy said. He lugged Scorpius's trunk onto one of the shelves. He dusted off his hands, and then took a seat next to the younger boy. Based on looks, they could've been brothers. "And this is my little brother, Albus."
"It's just Al," Albus muttered. So they were brothers. Scorpius paused, and then stared intently at them. He tried to remember where he had heard their name before.
…just the Weasleys and Potters, his father had said. Scorpius could tell that his father had been kidding, but at the same time, why would he name those two families specifically? And here Scorpius was, sitting in a compartment with both members from both families.
Scorpius had a feeling he knew the Potter name from somewhere else too, but he couldn't place it.
"It's Al's first year too," Rose piped up. She closed her textbook. "James is a second year. He's just sitting with us because his mum told him to."
"Well, I could be sitting with my friends," James pointed out to Rose, in a rather rude tone. Al offered Scorpius a small nod.
"I think it's fine if you go now," Al told James, who sighed with relief. He got up and yanked open the compartment door. Outside, Scorpius could see the English countryside zooming by.
"So," Rose said, once the door closed. "Where do you want to be sorted?"
Scorpius squirmed a bit under her intense, no-nonsense gaze. It was almost intimidating, how serious her eyes were.
"I don't know," he admitted. "Anywhere but Hufflepuff, really. My whole family's been in Slytherin."
"We've all been in Gryffindor," Al told Scorpius, blushing a little. "The rival house." Scorpius grinned at him.
"Well, I do hope we can face off in Quidditch." Suddenly, Scorpius remembered where he had heard the name Potter before. Al looked out the window with those vibrant eyes, and Scorpius remembered how his mother had told him about Harry Potter, the hero who had defeated the most evil wizard of all time. She told him that Harry had been in her year at Hogwarts, and he had the brightest green eyes she had ever seen. Scorpius pushed this to the back of his mind. "How do you know each other?" he asked Rose.
"We're cousins," Rose replied. "My father's sister is Al's mother." She blinked for a moment. "We have lots of relatives at school." Rose reached into her book bag and pulled out a fat book, labeled Wizarding History and Genoleology of the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries. "We have Al, James and me, and then Victoire, Louis, Roxanne, and Fred…"
"Not to mention Lily and Hugo will be going here next year," Al pitched in. "And Ted's basically a family member."
"Oh yes," Rose replied. She opened the book to the index, and then paused as she ran her finger down the lines of names. She paused on the M's. "Well, that's weird."
"What?" Scorpius asked, glancing at the book. Rose tapped her finger against her lips. Scorpius noticed how full they were. They were red, like the center of a peach, the part that surrounded the pit.
"You're a pure-blood, aren't you?" Rose asked him. Without waiting for an answer, she plowed on. "Of course you are, you're a Malfoy. Not to be creepy, but we're distantly related. Your parents are purebloods, like my dad. And so, somehow, we must be related. All pure-blood families are."
Scorpius glanced at Al, who rolled his eyes.
"She does this all the time," Al explained. "She's a genius."
Rose smiled, and then shoved the book back in her bag. "It's just a hobby. And I'm really not a genius."
Yes she is, Al mouthed to Scorpius, who snickered. This time, Rose rolled her eyes. Suddenly, the door opened. Scorpius looked up to see an incredibly stunning girl who must have been around sixteen or seventeen years old. She had pale skin and long hair that had a silver-ish tint to it. It fell to her waist, like a waterfall. His mouth fell open at the sight of her.
"There you are," she said in a bossy, but kind voice. On her chest was a Prefect's badge. "I reassured your mum that I would look after you, Rose. She's awfully terrifying sometimes. I thought she was going to hex me if I refused." The girl paused, and then looked at Scorpius, noticing him for the first time. "Who're you?"
"Victoire," Rose said slowly. "This is Scorpius. Scorpius Malfoy."
Victoire's eyes widened. Scorpius felt like smirking a bit. He thought it was rather funny how everyone reacted to his name, when they had names that were just as different.
"Malfoy?"
"Malfoy," Scorpius confirmed, glaring a bit. Why was everyone reacting like this? What was connected to his name, to his ancestor's name? Victoire bit her glossy bottom lip, looked from Al to Rose, and then backed out of the compartment.
"Where's James?"
"He left for his own compartment," Al told her. Victoire smiled at Al and Rose, took one last, curious glance at Scorpius and closed the compartment door.
"She didn't seem to like me," Scorpius commented. Al blushed a little and looked away, embarrassed at the plaintive statement. Rose, however, looked Scorpius directly in his eyes.
"It's not you. It's your name. You see, you're a Malfoy."
"So?" Scorpius challenged. "What's wrong with that?" He remembered how his father told him what he might be perceived as. That the other students might think he was a dark wizard, like Draco had once been.
"Technically," Rose began in a frank tone. "Our families don't get along. I think Victoire was just surprised to see you in this compartment, given the History."
Scorpius felt his blood pressure rise, and his neck began to heat up under his starched collar. Stiffly, he reached up onto the luggage rack and pulled down Diao's cage and then his trunk.
"I'll get going," Scorpius said in a horrible, hate-filled tone. He didn't need this, not on his first day. "I won't stick around to surprise anyone else."
Rose blinked rapidly as he pulled open the compartment door.
"That's illogical," she began to say, but Scorpius closed the door loudly behind him, cutting her off. Rose sank back into her seat. Al watched as she suddenly stood and looked out the compartment window, looking to see which way Scorpius went. "It's too bad. I thought it was nice."
Rose took her seat again, and Al noticed that her face was true to her word. She was crestfallen.
When they arrived at Hogwarts, Scorpius put on his robes for the first time. He had found a compartment with a few other kids. They weren't as friendly as Rose and Al, and to be frank, he didn't like them at all. They were a sour bunch, who criticized all the houses. Even Slytherin, though they did say that is where they wished to be sorted. Scorpius pushed his things out of the compartment before they could, and hopped down the train steps.
"Let me get those things for you," a voice said. Scorpius watched as one of the conductors put his luggage on a trolley, along with other student's things.
"Firs' years," another voice called. Scorpius squinted into the night, and then gasped when he saw who was calling out. A man who was easily three times taller than his father was beckoning to the unloading students. He had a wild beard and huge hands. Scorpius guessed this must be Hagrid, the groundskeeper. His father had told him about Hagrid. He had served detention with him once, back when he was a first year. Draco had said this with a sneering tone, but then warned Scorpius not to be rude to Hagrid, just because he had. "Firs' years this way!"
Scorpius fought against the tide of students until he reached Hagrid. "Righ'." Hagrid looked down at the assembling first years. When he caught sight of Scorpius, he frowned slightly. "We'll be takin' the boats across the lake. Tha' way." Hagrid pointed down a small slope, where boats were tethered to the beach. Students began to run for the boats, and Scorpius followed. He could feel his heart race increase. This was it. He was here.
"Wondered where you got off to." A serene voice startled Scorpius as he stood on the shore. Rose had stopped next to him. She looked out over the lake, and in the light of the lanterns, her hair glowed like a dying ember. She turned to smile slightly at Scorpius. "You're really hot headed."
"I-" Scorpius began to protest, but she continued, as if he hadn't spoken.
"It doesn't really matter to me who your parents are or what they've done. Your surname is just that, a name. It was given to you. Whatever's associated with that name, it doesn't mean you brought it around." Rose paused as Hagrid shuffled them forward, towards the next boat. "I really think we should be friends. Al does too, but I don't know where he is at the moment. Otherwise, he would agree."
Scorpius opened and closed his mouth. He felt mortified. How rude, how temperamental he had been.
"Sure," he agreed, and offered Rose a tentative smile. "Even if I'm in Slytherin?"
"No promises," Rose joked. And together, they stepped into the next boat to Hogwarts.
A/N: Review please! I love getting reviews, they really inspire me and encourage me to keep writing.