Once the delirium that the blood loss had cause Albus began wearing off, his cheeks quickly felt flushed with embarrassment, he handed Madame pomperfy back the glass which shed poured a vile of blood replacement potion into, he rested his head in his hands. Ginny Potter put her arm around her son and advised him to lay down and get some rest, which Madame Pomperfy scolded about immediately insisting that Al was concussed, it took him the bearings of 12 minutes to convince his parents to go on and get some tea and see Lily and James before they came down to join him, he wished to be alone. Scorpius's grey eyes were piercing through his soul.
"I am not entirely sure if you heard me giving what was going on, but I have kicked Longbottom off the team, and rightly so," Scorpius said coolly is voice like a breeze to Al's ear, apart of Al wanted to repeat the fact that he wanted to be left alone, the hot humiliation caused by having to be carted off the Quidditch pitch had not left him.
"Nope I didn't catch that, although I think I may of heard something about you wanting to take you clothes off for me," Al said before he could help himself, Scorpius chuckled lightly.
"Yeah I don't think our headmistress was too pleased to hear that," he pushed his blonde hair out of his face, making Al's heart jolt, Scorpius was truly beyond handsome and Al's statement did not seem to cause him the slightest embarrassment, Al could no longer control his thoughts which began racing, why did he stop being his friend all those years ago they were so close sure they had become reunited but something was still missing it wasn't the same and could it ever be? For Merlin's sakes why did Scorpius choose Lysander Longbottom of all people to be his new companion on the train ride at the beginning of fourth year with not so much as uttering two words to Al who had been his dearest friend almost brother in the previous three years.
"Why?" Al uttered Scorpius looked bewildered.
"Why did I offer to preform a strip tease?" Scorpius asked casually causing Albus to groan loudly.
"No you git, why did you start pretending I didn't exist after being my best friend? Like did I do something wrong? I even saved you from another boring Christmas at Malfoy manor you were always banging on about!" Al's voice was raised thankfully the two boys were alone.
"Oh saved me did you? So I guess listening to abuse from your drunken uncle Ronald is so much more divine than listening to it from a member of my own family?" Scorpius threw back at him; he was now standing on his feet.
"Seriously Scorpius that one was incident and incase you have forgotten my Aunt Hermione gave off to him for that, and when we were on the knightbus back to school after spending 3 weeks at my gran and granddads you said it was the best time of your life never mind Christmas, I mean even you and James were becoming civil!" Al's anger was building up he felt as though at any moment he would explode leaving tiny shreds of Al all around the room.
"Well if king James started to approve why couldn't I see I had it all? Silly me," Scorpius turned to walk out that door.
"Don't you dare do that, Don't you fucking leave me," Al's eyes burned with tears, "I just want to know why, then ill forget about it ok?".
Scorpius stopped at the door, his back still facing Al. He could hear the sniffs of Al behind him and this caused him a great pain in his chest and he closed his eyes, sighing to himself. Scorpius could see the images in his head his grandfather lifting his cane and cracking it down on to his back as he lay on the floor in a small pool of his own blood, crying softly to himself. Scorpius turned on the spot not moving one-step closer to Al.
"No you won't, you won't forget about it because that's not like you. You like to understand why things are happening. You are always on a need to know basis for everything!" Scorpius voice began to rise and break, causing his words to come out almost venomous. The look on Al's face told Scorpius that his words had stung.
"If you don't want to talk about it, it doesn't matter" Al answered back, his voice, lower than before "I mean, if you just didn't want to be friends that's fine. I just wanted to know what I done?" Al Questioned looking away from the grey eyes that stared at him with intense discomfort.
"You didn't do anything, you were great. Your family, for the most part, was great. Everything was going fine and everyone was getting along and do you know what?" Scorpius growled as he walked towards Al, whose face looked full of shock "THAT WAS THE FUCKING PROBLEM" He shouted finally as he stood bend over and inches from Al's face "My family didn't like it" he said slowly, lifting his Quidditch jump and revealing a nasty looking purple scar on his abdomen. Al grasped, his eyes going wide.
"What? What happened?" he stuttered as he reach a finger out to touch the scar, pulling it back quickly when seeing the look of discomfort on Scorpius face. Scorpius's grey eye's saddened and he looked down, putting his jump back to normal. He sighed to himself as Al waited for an answer, his face still full of shock and now it seemed fear. Fear for what? Himself? Scorpius?, Scorpius wasn't sure but sat on the chair beside the bed readying himself to begin the tale of the end of their friendship, recalling the entire scene as if it had only happened to him days before.
"MOM! DAD!" a 14 year-old Scorpius shouted as he jumped of the Hogwarts express, waving to his smaller friend with the messy black hair.
"Hello dear" Hi mother smiled her eyes soft and happy to see her son "How was the school" she continued. Her husband, Draco Malfoy, stood tall and muscular beside her, his platinum blonde hair shinning in the sun, just like his son's. Draco's eye's caught that of Harry Potter's. They shared a polite wave before Draco looked down at his son. His eyes as grey as ever, but something was present behind them, what it was, Scorpius was not sure, but at this current point in time he didn't care. Scorpius smiled at his father and hugged him "Oh mom is was amazing! Al made the Quidditch team, I haven't but I'll try again next year' he rambled on about the years antics, between him and Al, as they left the station right up until they arrived at Malfoy Manor, it stood huge and grey, surrounded by tree's and flowers that his mother liked to attend to during the summer. The smell of freshly cut grass entered Scorpius nose as he walked towards his front door, His mother and father closely behind him.
"Scorpius" Draco called, his voice almost had the force the name from his throat "Your grandfather and grandmother are here to visit" His voice was cracking and Scorpius noticed.
"Dad are you ok?" He asked confused as to why his father was upset on such a warm summer's day, the breeze that had been light, seemed to grow colder as Scorpius looked into his fathers eyes.
"Yeah, I'm just telling you drop your things up to your room and then go to the study your grandfather is waiting" His father forced a smile and walked past him and in to the large spacious hallway with it's high celling's and black marble pillars. The walls were covered in portraits of his ancestors. He looked around embracing the smell of the cooking taking place in the kitchen and ran towards the marble staircase and straight up to his room. It had been so long since he had seen his grandparents, normally he would spent Christmas with them, but because he had spent this year Al and his family, he hadn't seen his own.
Scorpius room was covered with Emerald green and Sliver just like in school, his family being a long line of Slytherins, seemed to have adapted the colours into their everyday lives. He threw his suitcase on to the bed and retreated back down stairs and into the study. His grandfather, Lucius Malfoy sat in a black leather chair facing the massive fire place, that even know it was summer still housed a giant green fire.
"Granddad!" Scorpius said excitedly and walked towards him, the chair slowly turned to him, this made Scorpius uncomfortable and he slowed his pace coming to a stop as his grandfather faced him.
"Hello Scorpius, what a lovely surprise to see you here" Lucius answered his grandson with spite in his voice, his face had grown old with age and the years that he had spent in Azkaban after the war, it almost made his scary to look at but when he was angry it definitely made him frightening and right now Lucius was terrifying. "Been busy this year I hear?" he continued lifting his eyebrows questionably. Scorpius swallowed hard and nodded slowly.
"Well it was ok, I guess" he answered, he could tell by the look on his grandfathers face that he was holding back a murderous rage "I mean not must different than last year, we just learned some new spells and stuff" he went on, his hands and legs began to shake. Scorpius's father and mother never really disciplined him with violence, he believed this to be down to how his father was treated as boy, but when it came to his grandfather Scorpius was never sure what could happen. Life had made him bitter and angry towards almost everyone, apart from his grandmother Narcissa who Scorpius believed scared Lucius although his grandfather would never admit it.
"Yes, well me and your grandmother travelled the entire way from the other side of the country on Christmas eve to see you" Lucius paused and stood, walking slowly towards his grandson "Only to discover that you had decided you weren't coming home, where did you spend the holidays if it was not with your family?" He questioned now only steps away from Scorpius.
"A friends house" Scorpius answered his throat dry and making it hard for him to shallow "Just someone from school". Lucius titled his head to the side and for a moment Scorpius believed his saw his grandfather relax and therefore allowed he to do so. He began laughing a little to him and suddenly he felt a forceful whack at his legs, it had happened so fast he was unable to call out in pain or realize what had happened. Scorpius looked up at his grandfather who stood with his cane still in mid air.
"Which friend?" he spat at Scorpius delivering a both to the head from his snake-handled weapon "POTTER?" Lucius shouted, Scorpius cried in pain feeling the blood flowing freely from above his eye and lip. "Don't you know what he did to this family?" He kicked Scorpius so hard it knocked the wind out of him, Scorpius could taste blood in the back of his mouth.
"MUM!" he shouted his voice hoarse and cracking "DAD!" Lucius continued to kick Scorpius in the stomach and chest. Sending pain all through his body, Blood was now everywhere and Scorpius wasn't sure exactly what wounds caused what puddle. Lucius's cane wasn't anymore sympatric to Scorpius as his grandfather's foot was, this only cause his skin to spilt in the abdomen and arms as he continued to be hit.
"I'll teach you, you little worm! Playing happy family's with half bloods, mudblood's and traitors!" he gave one final blow to Scorpius's face, he felt his nose cracking under the pressure and cried out. His tears and blood mixed and began running into his mouth as he tried to call out. Scorpius could hear his parents and grandmother running to the study calling out to him, Lucius looked towards the door and down at his grandson as he lay bleeding and cry below him before pulling out his wand "Tainting the good name I have built for this family".
"You done that yourself" Scorpius muttered, but regretted it instantly he wasn't able to stop the words. They flowed as easily and freely as the tears and blood from his body, he could feel the anger raging from his grandfather but refused to look at him. Scorpius heard his father burst through the door followed by his mother and grandmother who let out loud shrieks of shock.
"STOP IT!" he heard his grandmother and father shout, his mother frozen with fear at the scene before her.
"He must be taught a lesson, it never hurt you Draco. It taught you respect" Lucius spat at them "CURICCO" Lucius shouted. The pain that ran through Scorpius body almost lifted him off the floor; he could feel himself confusing but couldn't cry out. His bone's hit of his skin, making it feel as if they were going to rip through his skin, his teeth ground together to try and take the attention off the rest of his body. Scorpius was almost sure he was going to die when suddenly it stopped. Instantly relief past over him as he struggled to lift his head, seeing his grandmother and father holding their wands towards his grandfather. The darkness crept quickly over his eyes and he passed out.
Once Scorpius had finished retelling his tale he looked to Al whose cheeks were wet with tears and his breath sharp from shock. Scorpius stood up, feeling almost naked by telling Al the story but Al grabbed his arm before he could walk away.
"So you see Al it was nothing you did, it was just safer for the both of us" he whispered. Al pulled Scorpius back on to the bed and hugged him tight afraid to let go. Scorpius wept slightly before regaining himself, but he did not move from the arms of his friend. In fact he positioned himself so that the two lay together, staying there for hours, in a comfortable and safe silence.
Albus's dreams were penetrated by the cane of Lucius Malfoy, in the dream he was but fourteen years old again, bound by devils snare he was forced to watch the scene of Scorpius's wicked grandfather crashing his cane all over Scorpius body. Al tried to call out to him but the devils snare found its way inside his mouth tangling around his tongue stopping his speech, Scorpius lay a mangled mess on the floor.
"Al!" the mangled mess called out repeatedly, Albus felt as though the devil snare found its way into his heart choking it, it was the only logical explanation for how it felt.
"Al, wake up, it looks as if your having a fit!" the real life Scorpius said cupping his face, Al's emerald eyes opened slowly the way a rosebud would he was drenched in sweat, his friend standing beside him, his hands gave a cool relief to his burning face. Scorpius looked tense.
"I'm fine, it was just a bad dream, " Albus felt absolutely ridiculous uttering these words to Scorpius.
"Look I've got to go I have some work to do, I was speaking to Madame Pomperfy and she said she is to realize you in a few short hours, so get a rest maybe a potion for a dreamless sleep and meet me tonight beside the lake ok?" Scorpius intertwined his fingers in Al's tangled mess of black hair.
"Yeah ok then," Al croaked, he felt the strangest sensation in his stomach, Scorpius bent down touching his lips to Albus's forehead for a brief moment and without another word the blonde was gone leaving Al discombobulated he was acting so strange Al thought, how hard did he hit his head was this even real? Madame Pomperfy made her presence known with a short cough, Al looked up and accepted the potion for a dreamless sleep from her, and he wouldn't awaken till nightfall and couldn't imagine what the night had in store for him.
Nightfall had come quickly for Scorpius as he sat on his bed doing his Potions homework and groaning, not fully caring about it after the events of today. He looked towards the clock and yawned noticing how late it was getting he jumped into the shower and washing, changing his clothes and heading down to the common room and out the door, his hair still slight wet causing it to hang over his eyes as he walked. He walked up the stairs to the main hall and stretched, his legs had been dead but he hadn't taken any notice because he was rushing to meet Al, he stood for a few seconds and shook his legs bringing the full feeling back into them.
Once outside the doors Scorpius straightened his T-shirt and jeans and walked towards the Lake, Al would be here any moment if Madam Pomperfy hadn't given him a sleep all night potion, just to be sure. Scorpius sat at the lake and pulled at the grass thinking back to the events of today and winching at the fact he told Al, he hadn't told anyone that before, why did he feel so comfortable to tell him? He shook his head and smiled to himself, knowing what was about to happen, today Albus and him had become closer than they ever had before and this made his stomach flutter lightly while think about it. He sighed to himself and lay back on the grass knowing that Al must be on his way, he closed his eyes and breathed lightly, thinking about his messy black hair and Green eyes that Scorpius could get lost in, when he heard someone crossing the grass behind him.