A/N- I finally had time to edit this chapter... school has been kicking my ass.

There's a lot of teenage angst and drunk teenagers in this chapter. You have been warned.

Chapter Nine

Placing the papers he'd been working on all day on his desk, Draco Malfoy stood from his chair and crossed the dimly-lit room. He drew a book from one of the floor-to-ceiling book shelves without reading the cover. He opened it, flipping through the pages. Sighing Draco put it back. Anxiety clouded his mind, though he wasn't sure why. He paced in front of the plush armchairs situated near the roaring fireplace, the building tension in his chest growing with each step.

A loud voice came from the fire, startling Draco.

"Malfoy? You in here?"

Approaching the fire, Draco reeled back upon realizing that it was Ron Weasley, floo-calling him, "Er, yes Weasley, right here. What… what do you need? Has Scorpius done something?"

Confusion flashed across Weasley's face, "I don't know. Harry has called us all into the office and told me to get you immediately. I don't know anything else."

The blonde quirked an eyebrow upwards, "And why exactly does this little family gathering have to do with me?"

Ron sighed and his head dipped out of the flames for a moment before reappearing, "Well, it involves some distant cousins of mine that came to Hogwarts in Sixth year called Elizabeth, Victor and Benito Weasley. Apparently. I don't remember them, but Harry does, so…"

Elizabeth, Victor and Benito…

A moment of realization caused Draco to immediately turned to call over his shoulder to his wife in the room over, "Astoria! Get your coat!"

Moving back to the fireplace, Draco told Weasley, "We'll be there in a minute. If this is as serious as I think it is, then we're all in for an unpleasant evening."

"This party is insane!" Al shouted over the cheers. Taking a deep drink from his cup, which smelled suspiciously of alcohol to Scorpius, Al let out a loud laugh. "This is awesome!" He added, taking another sip.

Scorpius merely nodded in response, looking away. He wasn't focused on Al, who was thoroughly inebriated. (Which wasn't like Al per se, but it was entirely possible that someone had spiked the punch and the state Scorpius' best friend had found himself in was accidental…) Scorpius knew his attention was elsewhere; he was looking for Rose. He hadn't meant to kiss her mum (It sounds so wrong when I think of it like that! thought Scorpius for perhaps the millionth time that day) but it was Quidditch and Harry had just barely caught the snitch and oh sweet Merlin it was all giving him one massive headache.

"Right," The (former) blonde responded to his best friend, who was looking at him as though Scorpius had sprouted wings, "This party is good I guess."

"Good?" Al repeated incredulously, "this party is the SHIT yo'!"

Several fourth years who were returning from the library shot Al weird looks as they passed. Not noticing them, Al continued, unintentionally slurring his words somewhat, "I mean, the last party I wen' to like this was in… 2000 and… wha' year was it again…?"

Glancing around, Scorpius made sure no one was listening to their conversation before dragging Al further away from the mass of Gryffindor students. After reaching a secluded corner of the room, Scorpius turned and hissed, "What are you doing? Mumbling about the future? Do you want to—give me that!" Scorpius demanded, reaching for the cup Al was drinking from. When he didn't relinquish the offending object, Scorpius slapped it out of his hand. Al watched the alcohol splash across the dark carpet with a mournful expression.

"Why would you do that." Al whispered, "Ruining a perfectly good alcohol… ehehehe 'alcohol'…"

"Alright, obviously you're not going to listen to me, so I'm leaving." Scorpius said, irritated with his best friend. If Al wanted to be stupid and drink and spill their secrets, it wasn't Scorpius' fault. Plus, he had to find Rose, and she obviously wasn't in the common room.

"Wait." Grabbing Scorpius' sleeve, Al stopped him from leaving. Then, he said remorsefully, "I'm sorry. I'll be more careful. It's just so much easier to forget for a while."

Scorpius gulped. He had done a few things that he wanted to forget. Had they really only been in the 1990's for one day?

"Yeah, agreed mate." Scorpius said, slinging an arm across Al's shoulders casually.

Then, in a lower tone than before, Al threatened, "Oh and if you ever kiss my aunt again I will hunt you down and slit your wrists."

Scorpius gulped at the intense glare he was receiving from Al, "Er, right. Sorry bout' that."

"Don't apologize to me," Stated Al, "Apologize to Rose. She was pretty torn up about it, you know. Between you and me… I think she likes you."

Thinking of the garden kiss they'd shared, Scorpius flushed. Hoping Al wouldn't be able to see in the darkness of the small alcove they were sitting in, Scorpius turned away.

"Hm." Was all he could reply. Al shrugged Scorpius' arm off his shoulders, which had gone somewhat limp in the quiet minutes that passed between them.

"You should go find her."

Scoffing, Scorpius said, "I was going to, but then you opened your fat mouth."

"Oi!" Al shoved Scorpius' shoulder playfully, "That's just uncalled for."

"Is it Al? Because I think you're pretty—"

"Aw, I'm blushing—"

"Let me finish, you prick! I was going to say, 'I think you're pretty dumb for a Potter.'"

Al laughed, "I think you're mistaking me for my brother."

"Which one?"

"Don't insult my sister!"

"She is pretty boyish, you have to admit." Scorpius said diplomatically.

"You're right, she is." Al agreed, and promptly burst into peals of hysterical laugher. Scorpius, unable to hold back his own amusement, joined in.

The two fell back into silence, but this time it was far more comfortable. The sound of music and students talking surrounded them. Somewhere in the room, there was a shout and the sound of breaking glass. An enthusiastic seventh year giggled as she passed the secluded corner, a boy in tow. Scorpius rolled his eyes.

A few seconds later, his sight was drawn to a very ecstatic Ron Weasley grabbing a giggly blonde and snogging the hell out of her.

"That is just disgusting," Al motioned towards his uncle and the girl he was kissing. Or perhaps they were eating each other's faces. It was difficult to tell.

Scorpius was no longer paying attention to the spectacle. A very concerned Harry Potter had just slipped through the portrait hole, and a deep desire to follow him had erupted inside of Scorpius' chest. He made a pathetic, mumbled excuse to Al and left the common room.

Scorpius shadowed the Boy-Who-Lived as he crept down the corridor before turning into a deserted classroom. Standing outside, Scorpius leaned against the keyhole. He was trying to hear what Harry was doing, and it surprised him when Scorpius heard him talking to someone (or possibly himself).

"Yeah, they're, er, really good…" Harry said awkwardly.

There was a long beat of quiet, and then a girl… who sounded like Hermione… spoke in an unusually high pitch, "Ron seems to be enjoying the celebrations."

"Er… does he?" Harry responded in a wary tone. Scorpius pressed himself closer to the frame so he could listen better.

"Don't pretend you didn't see him," Scorpius was suddenly aware of giggling coming from down the hall. A very distracted Ron Weasley and the bird he had been kissing earlier came into his line of vision.

"You using this room then?" Ron asked before turning to the girl and squeezed her hand.

"Uh…"

"Great!" The girl replied quickly before the couple burst into the classroom.

Scorpius turned and started to walk in the opposite direction; away from the Gryffindor common room and the room that housed a very upset Hermione Granger and her concerned best friend. He was supposed to be tracking down Rose anyway, not listening to people he knew as adults deal with their distinctly teenage problems. Scorpius heard the bang of the door, and a giggle from that stupid bint. Then there was a loud curse of 'Oppugno!' followed by several shouts and then someone threw their body weight at him from behind.

"ACK!" He shrieked as he tumbled to the floor, "Merlin's saggy left—"

"I'm s-sorry," With a dawning horror, Scorpius realized the person sprawled across him was crying, "I-I'm sorry."

Scorpius twisted his head so he could get a look at who had so courteously taken up residency on his back. His nose was instantly buried in a large amount of bushy brown hair. The girl frantically pushed herself up, effectively elbowing him in the back. He let out a small huff of air, but she made no move to leave completely.

"Um, Vi-Victor?"

Scorpius was confused. Why was she calling him Victor…?

Oh. Right.

"Eh? Oh, yeah. Hi Hermione,"

If this gets any more awkward I might have to jump off a cliff. If there are any nearby. I don't think there are, actually. Scratch that, I might have to jump in the lake instead. Yes, that would be a wonderful plan, fifty points to Gryffindor for you Scorpius. Just myself and a giant squid for company… who would probably eat me faster than you can say Avada Kedavra…

"Victor!" Hermione's voice was shrill, and upon realizing that she was no longer lying on him, Scorpius rolled over completely.

"Yes?" He asked the tear-stained, more-than-slightly annoyed witch before him. Her arms were crossed indignantly over her chest.

"I've been calling your name for the past minute!"

Great. He'd been lost in his thoughts again.

"We-ell, you know, I was spacing out, thinking about er… stuff…"

Surprisingly, Hermione laughed weakly, "You must take after your parents, though Elizabeth and Benito aren't nearly as pensive as you are." It was a trivial conversation starter, and both of them knew it, but it was better than discussing why Hermione had been crying. Or what Scorpius had actually been thinking about.

"Yeah, a bit. I do get lost in thought, much like my parents," Scorpius replied, sluggishly pulling himself off the floor, "Though my dad is a bit…"

"A bit what?" The brunette prompted. Scorpius shrugged, not sure where he was going with the thought. Spying a wide window ledge just across the hall, Scorpius made his way toward it. He sat propped against the window, leaving plenty of space for Hermione to join him if she wanted to.

"He's a…" Death Eater. Malfoy. Slytherin. Pompous prat. Ferret. Complete and total ass hat, at least in 1996, "Little eccentric."

Hermione sat next to him, her face open and honest. She smiled gently, and said, "Well, my parents are dentists. Whenever I try and talk about it with… well anyone really, they get all confused and ask me if it's a dangerous profession,"

Scorpius laughed, though he himself had no clue what a dentist was.

"Well… is it?"

"No, they just mess with people's teeth," Hermione let out a breezy laugh, as though she was about to burst into tears again, "It's not really that danger-danger-dangerous…"

Scorpius, without hesitation, wrapped a protective arm around his friend's mother and held her close. She, with fresh tears streaming down her face, let him. He patted her shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting gesture.

They sat there for hours, or maybe it was just minutes. Hermione turned to face her newly found friend and said, "I'm sorry for kissing you today. I was excited about the match, even though I usually don't get into it, and, well…"

"Its fine," Scorpius responded curtly, looking straight ahead.

"I don't know why I did it!" Hermione stated, and buried her head in her hands, "It's so unlike me! I just met you, for goodnessakes!"

"It's okay." Said Scorpius honestly. It really was alright. After all, the only Hermione (or rather, Mrs. Weasley) he knew was from the future, and she was as 'straight-and-narrow' as one could be. When he got back to the future, he'd definitely want to talk with her. Most importantly about how she and Mr. Weasley actually got together, because he was kind of an arse today—

The thought suddenly struck Scorpius that he might never be able to see her again in the future. He might never be able to see anyone from his life in the "future"ever again. That struck him. Hard.

Dropping his head into his hands, Scorpius released the tears he'd been holding back since arriving in this 20th-century nightmare.

"Wha… What did I say?" A confused Hermione said as she patted his back awkwardly. Their role had switched so quickly that it left her stunned.

For a moment Scorpius couldn't speak. When he'd regained control of his emotions Scorpius took a deep breath and looked up, "Nothing. It's just… homesickness," After a moment of tense silence, Scorpius added, his voice hoarse, "I'm going back. I need to get my head around all... this." The need to be alone overwhelmed Scorpius, and though he felt guilty about leaving Hermione so suddenly, he knew he had to figure his problems out on his own. "Please don't feel guilty. I know that you didn't mean anything by it… Never mind. I'm babbling. See 'ya around."

Suddenly very tired, Scorpius stood and, without a look back, stalked back to the Gryffindor common room.

After meeting a very misunderstood Draco in the dungeons, Rose had escaped back up to the common room. The party was in full swing, and no one noticed her slip through the crowds and up the staircase. She'd started reading the school textbooks, but was quickly bored with them. She was simply exhausted, emotionally and physically. Rose fell asleep to the muffled conversation and distorted music drifting up the stairs.

Albus, mostly sober, sat alone on a couch in the Gryffindor common room. The party was slowly winding down, though it was by no means over with completely. The Patil twins—seriously, how had Padma even gotten in here, it was an all Gryffindor party—were giggling by the fire. Several people, none of whom Al recognized, were still dancing to the music. There were couples scattered about the room, snogging the life out of one another. But, much like Rose and Scorpius, Al was not in the partying mood any longer.

In fact, Al would be the first to say that he was the only one of their little trio to have their head on straight.

Rose and Scorpius had their own drama going on, but Al knew as soon as he saw his best friend disappear from the common room that there were more pressing matters than whatever saga the two had gotten caught up in. They'd only been there a day, for Merlinssakes. Al had high hopes for his future, after all, and though much of it was indefinite, he was certainly not going to live out the rest of his days stuck here! Al wanted to go back to his time, to see his dad's worry-free smile and get some of his mum's good cooking. He wanted to tease Lily, talk to her about chess or Quidditch. Hell, he even wanted James to pull some ridiculous prank! He just wanted to be at home, with his family (who actually knew who he was and could were their appropriate ages, thankyouverymuch).

Checking his watch, Al was happy to find that it was only eight thirty, therefore the library would be open. He went in the opposite direction that Scorpius had, as he knew several interesting shortcuts that could get him there quickly. Determination surged through his veins as he walked, a spring in his step. Surely the library would house something of use.

Albus Potter was not one to sit around. Oh no, he needed answers.

And he was going to get them.