Hiya guys! Sorry it took me so long to update, I had an exam and family stuff on, so I've been really busy. But it doesn't matter, because chapter 27 is here! Enjoy- I hope!
*Yes, I have already posted this, but I realised afterwards that there were a few grammar errors, so I've tried to correct them and tweaked a few sentences in the process. If I've missed any mistakes then PLEASE tell me!*

As Scorpius realised what he had just done, he decided not to give Rose time to react; he turned and fled. He was absorbed instantaneously by the crowds but before he could get very far he heard a squawk of an owl, and then a thunk that sounded extremely painful. He whirled around to see Rose on the floor, the side of her face clearly having hit the concrete and a scratch down the other cheek. She was unconscious, but didn't appear to have done much worse than that; she hadn't cracked her head open or anything drastic, for instance.

No one else seemed to have noticed, by some miracle. Scorpius took his chance. He knew he should be helping Rose but was helping himself instead. He pulled out a quill and a scrap of parchment and hurriedly scrawled a note to her:

Rosie Rose,

I'm sorry about the kiss. It was only a friendly gesture, but I understand you may not have appreciated it.
I'm writing this at the station- what happened? Please send me an owl to let me know you're ok.

Yours, Scorpius.

The crossing out was obvious, and she would probably guess what was underneath it, but Scorpius didn't have time to re-write it. Instead he folded the note up quickly; prised open her palm and placed it there, wrapping her fingers around it again. Now he could help her. He stayed holding her hand as he checked her pulse (which was fine) and shouted for help. Whilst he'd been writing the note, some people had noticed Rose, but as Scorpius had clearly seen her, and was paying so little attention to her well-being, the majority had just stood and looked concerned, or even walked off, because they assumed Scorpius was with her and had the situation under control. But now, with Scorpius calling for help, the population of the station leapt into action. Before he could move away from Rose, a tall, lanky ginger-haired man rushed over. His hair was more carroty than Rose's dark orange locks, but they shared the same angry glint in their eyes. He was followed by a woman with dark curly hair and slim stature, who looked extremely concerned for the well-being of Rose. Behind the couple was a boy in Muggle clothing, with messy auburn hair falling into his eyes. He was a similar age to Scorpius, but had a far younger face despite the stare of hatred he was shooting the Slytherin.

Scorpius immediately indentified the three as Rose's family. Her father, Ron, he knew from Chocolate Frog Cards, despite setting fire to any with the name 'Weasley' or 'Potter' on as soon as he found them. (This was rather annoying, as it meant he would never have the full collection, but it was expected amongst his father's friends' and their children.) Her mother he knew from the cards, again, but also as she was his Headteacher. And finally, Hugo: her brother. Scorpius knew him from around school. From calling him names in the corridor. From hexing him and his cousins. From bullying him. From mocking his family. Now he really wished he hadn't.

Ron looked at the Slytherin with a mixture of surprise, anger and disgust. "What have you done to my daughter, Malfoy?" He snarled immediately, whilst Professor Weasley rushed over to Rose and began to mutter spells under her breath. Hugo stood behind his father, looking almost triumphant for all the times Scorpius had put him in the sort of situations the blonde-haired boy was in now.

Scorpius was about to retaliate, when he took a deep breath. It's best to stay calm, he told himself. "Nothing, honestly. I had just said goodbye to her, when I heard a noise. I looked back and Rose was like this, but I have no idea what happened." Ron looked at the boy disbelievingly. He didn't buy the story.

"Sounds likely." His voice was dripping with sarcasm. "Why would you have been 'saying goodbye' to my daughter? I don't need to remind you of the mutual loathing between our families."

You could tell him, Scorpius- it would be one less thing for Rose to do. But then again, he might take it better from her. And what would you gain from it? Would it help you? "Actually, Sir, I don't dislike Rose as much as you seem to think. I blame my father for this ridiculous notion that I hate your family. I have no objection to them!"

"Pah!" Hugo spat, pushing past his father before he could even think about responding. Ron was too taken aback by the 'Sir' that had been delivered with politeness and courtesy. Not a hint of sarcasm. "Don't lie, Malfoy! 'Course you hate us! Why else have you been mocking us since the day you arrived at Hogwarts? Why else have you been discriminating against us because of our bloodline? You hate us, Malfoy, plain and simple. And we hate you. So when I find you near the unconscious body of my sister I'm struggling to believe that you had nothing to do with it."

Scorpius sighed, unruffled. "I've already said it, but I'll say it again. I didn't do this. I don't know who did. It was probably an accident, because I don't know of anyone who would want to harm Rose." Sophie Bennet came to mind, but he pushed the image away.

"She's alright!" Hermione called over, interrupting the argument, relief evident in her voice. Rose was still unconscious, her hand clasped tightly around the scrap of paper in her palm, but some colour had returned to her face. An invisible weight was lifted from Scorpius which he hadn't known he was carrying. "Scorpius?" Hermione asked with a neutral tone.

He was surprised at being addressed by the Headmistress, whom he's rarely spoken to, but had heard about from his father. Draco clearly admired the woman, once you got past the issues of her being a Muggleborn, he considered her a very capable and intelligent witch. He would never admit this of course, but Scorpius could see it, as could Astoria. "Yes?" He replied, careful to keep his tone level.

"I don't suppose you saw what happened? Rose will tell us when she wakes up; I'd just like to know."

Scorpius had expected similar treatment to that which he received from Rose's father, but he was pleasantly surprised. He shook his head regretfully. "I'm sorry, no. I had just said goodbye to Rose, and was walking away, when I heard a noise and span round to see Rose like this. I didn't know what to do, so I just called for help."

Hermione nodded, understandingly. "It's ok. Thank you for staying with her. You could have just ignored the situation as everyone else seemed to, but I'm grateful that you didn't." Scorpius could feel the frustrated stares Ron was giving both him and Hermione.

"Erm... You're welcome?" Scorpius hadn't seen it as a choice. How could he not stay with Rose when she was in this situation? Wasn't it just human decency? Common sense? Apparently not.

"Well, now that we're sorted, how about we get out of here and away from some, let's say unsavoury characters." Ron suggested with a pointed look at Scorpius. The boy hated to admit it, but his words hurt.

"Ron!" Hermione cried, embarrassed and ruffled for a second, before regaining her composure. "Don't be so rude. Scorpius, where are your parents? The least we can do is escort you back to them just to make sure you're safe like you did for Rose."

Scorpius was about to tell her not to worry, that they'd be around somewhere and he'd go and find them, but he didn't have chance because suddenly he sensed rather than heard someone's approach. He turned to see his mother and father walking towards him; Astoria's arm linked through Draco's, smiling at her son; his father was grimacing and the scene he was arriving to.

"Scorpius," He said in way of greeting, "What are you doing here?" His voice was ice, matching his eyes, which refused to look away from his son. He completely ignored the Weasley's.

"Don't be so rude, Draco!" Astoria exclaimed, running over to Scorpius and hugging him. "It's nice to see you, son." He squirmed under her grip until she let go, at which point she turned to Hermione. "Mrs Weasley, it's lovely to see you." Astoria and Hermione had barely met before, but they both put on the pretence of being delighted at each other's company. "May I ask what's wrong with your daughter?"

Hermione was still sat on the grubby floor of Platform 9 ¾ holding Rose. "We're not sure. Scorpius will probably inform you of all he knows, which isn't a lot either. She should be ok, though- I performed some spells which indicate that the damage isn't serious."

"And if you don't mind us being rude, we really have to go. Then we'll know what's wrong with our daughter. Scorpius already has an excellent idea, but refuses to share these pearls of wisdom with us."

"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed again, at the same time Astoria cried: "Scorpius!"

"I am so sorry," Hermione began, "Scorpius was in no way responsible for this!"

"As far as you know." Ron interrupted.

"Ron!" She yelled again. "Right, carry Rose." She practically threw their daughter at him as she stood up. "I really can't apologise enough, but we have to go. It's been lovely seeing you! Goodbye!" She grabbed Hugo's wrist and dragged him with them, ignoring his squirming and moaning that she was embarrassing him, leaving the Malfoys alone.

"Come on, Scorpius. You can explain at home" Astoria said as they headed back through the wall.

"Honestly, Mum, I didn't do anything. He just dislikes me."

"I really hope that's true, Scorpius." Astoria said, looking straight ahead. Draco remained silent. "Arm." His mother commanded. Scorpius laid his palm on her forearm and Astoria Disapparated to appear just in front of the main entrance to Malfoy Manor.

Still in a deathly silence, Draco opened the front door, holding it open for his wife and son in a forced manner, and went inside. Scorpius dragged his trunk in and went to go upstairs to his room in order to think up ways to pass these two promisingly torturous weeks, but his father stopped him.

"Not so fast, son."

Scorpius sighed silently, took a deep breath and turned back around to face his father. "What is it, Dad?"

"I think it's time the three of us had a talk. Come into the dining room."

Astoria looked confused too. But not as much as Scorpius. Draco had never showed any interest in his son or talking to him, so no matter how unnatural his words sounded, Scorpius was curious, if not a little scared.

Awkwardly, he followed his father and mother into the dining room, and sat down with them around the overly large table. "What is it?" He repeated.

"I've been wondering about what sort of influence That School is having on you. I enjoyed my first years there, admittedly, but as I grew older, around your age, I began to question some of the things I'd been taught by my family. And I fear that I would have strayed completely from the path my father had planned for me if he hadn't forced me back onto it." He saw Scorpius' confused expression and gave a humourless laugh. "I know you think I'm talking in riddles, but I'm just trying to protect you. And us. My point is this: I know that you're at that age where you might doubt some of the things I've told you, so I'm trying to do what my father did for me, and steer you back to the right way of thinking."

"I... I don't understand."

Draco sighed. "Do I have to spell it out?"

"It might be useful."

"Less of that cheek, please." The older man snapped angrily. "Well it's like this: If you still believed what I've told you about being our family superior to the likes of the Weasley's, then you've got a funny way of showing it. Unless Weasley was right and you did knock out his daughter Muggle-style."

Scorpius had felt his anger rising at the word 'superior' and by the time his father spat the word 'Muggle' as though it was contaminated, he was fuming. He struggled to maintain his composure, because he knew that staying calm was the only way to win against his father. "Dad. Firstly, no, I don't believe all that any more. I'm sorry if that disappoints you, but why would I want to be racist? Anyway, the Weasley's are the reason the Wizarding world still exists. If it was down to our family then we'd all the praising some bald, power-hungry old ba-"

Draco pulled out his wand, pointed it at his son and pushed him into the wall with a mere flick of his hand. And invisible force left Scorpius squirming against the wall, a few inches off the ground. Astoria gasped in shock. "Don't you ever" Scorpius was pushed back into the wall again "talk about the Dark Lord as though he wasn't" another push "terrifying; as though he wasn't" shove "powerful; as though he wasn't anything to fear. You have no idea of what he put the Malfoy's through, and why we are now associated with dark magic. So don't ever" Again, Draco pushed his son into the wall until Scorpius felt as though he might merge with it soon. "speak of him as though it was no big deal. Because you don't know what you're talking about. You don't know what it was like." Draco broke the spell and Scorpius fell the few inches to the ground. He wasn't hurt, just out of breath and shocked. Draco flopped into a chair and put his head in his hands, his face hidden and therefore unreadable.

Astoria ran over and checked he was ok, and hugged him tightly, then threw a death stare at Draco. "How could you?" She spat. "We'll talk about this later." She turned to her son, holding his shoulders and looking him in the eyes like he was a little boy who had been knocked over whilst playing and she was trying to stop him crying. He was half a head taller than Astoria. "Was it true? About the Weasley girl? Did you hurt her?"

Scorpius wasn't sure whether to be relieved or hurt that his mother thought him capable of this, so he pushed emotions aside and just shook his head. "No." He said firmly. "I couldn't do that. I wouldn't do that."

Astoria smiled slightly. "Good." She hugged him tightly.

The hug turned awkward after a few seconds, so Scorpius stepped away. "Is it ok if I take my stuff to my room now?"

She nodded. "Sure, go on up."

So Scorpius dragged his trunk slowly towards the stairs, making sure to take as long as possible and savouring each squeak, knowing it would irritate his father. Draco, however, said nothing, but the tension could have been cut with a knife.

Thanks for reading! Stick around for the next chapter- hopefully the gap won't be as long this time!
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Thanks again,
Lucy x