Rated: K+
Genre: Family
Summary: Scorpius wanted to properly thank the woman who helped him when he ran away. He knew that his grandmother Narcissa could help him with the task.
Scorpius helped Dizzy the house elf finish packing his school trunk for the return to Hogwarts. He was grateful for the extended winter break granted by Headmistress McGonagall to mourn and stabilize himself after his mother's death over Christmas, but he knew he had to return at some point. He was starting to miss his friends, and remaining in the Manor with his family felt like it was starting to do more harm than good to Scorpius. Aunt Daphne was the one who arranged all of it with the Headmistress—his extended stay home and his return to school. Sometimes it felt like she was the only one who really cared about him lately.
His father kept himself preoccupied with work while Lucius oversaw him; something about the Malfoy Estates that Scorpius didn't care to pay attention to when he asked. Daphne's bereavement and holiday leave ended so she had to return back at St. Mungo's. It seemed like they both forgot that he was going back to school on the first Hogsmeade trip of the year, so all three were unavailable to take him back. Scorpius didn't mind too much, however, because his grandmother offered to come with him. Not like he would mind being escorted by Dizzy—he loved the elf to pieces—but he rarely got to spend quality time with his grandmother.
"Is yous ready, Young Master Scorpius?" Dizzy asked, looking over the contents of his trunk a final time.
"Not really," he said, "but I can't hide forever."
Dizzy gave his arm a gentle pat. "I's understands."
The elf swallowed back her sympathies and turned back to the trunk. With a snap of her fingers, it closed and clasped shut. Another snap had it vanish off his bed.
"Mistress Narcissa waits for yous in the foyer," Dizzy continued. "Woulds you like me to take yous?"
"In a moment. I want to say goodbye to mother first. Please, Dizzy?"
"Yes, of course."
Dizzy grabbed his hand and teleported him to the family crypt where Scorpius took his time. She then took him to the ground floor where Narcissa waited. The elf gave a bow before quietly excusing herself after an exchanged wave with Scorpius before he gave his attention to his grandmother.
"Good morning, Grandmother," he said, giving her a quick hug. "Sorry for taking so long, I was—"
"I know." Narcissa kissed the top of his head. "And good morning to you. Are you ready to go?"
"As ready as I can be," Scorpius said, grabbing his trunk from where Dizzy had sent it.
She nodded and they both entered the drawing room.
"I arranged for us to travel by Floo to Hogsmeade rather than directly to the headmistress' office," she said, grabbing the ornate Floo powder container off the mantle.
Scorpius grabbed a pinch of it when it was offered and stepped into the fireplace. "Why?"
"I thought we could have breakfast before I saw you off. We are connected to The Three Broomsticks," Narcissa informed, grabbing a pinch of the powder and joining him. He gripped his trunk hard before they both threw down the powder; having his grandmother declare the destination. She held his hand as the flames devoured them.
The pub was quiet given the early hour, but Scorpius knew the village would soon be bustling with students in no time. It seemed like the barmaid was preparing for the influx of customers based on the extra kegs of butterbeer on tap that were ready and waiting on the counter behind her.
"Good morning! Mind the soot, please. I just swept," she stated before disappearing into the kitchens.
Narcissa refrained from rolling her eyes as she elegantly cleaned their feet before stepping out of the fireplace. "Would you like a seat by the window?"
"Yes, please."
Scorpius stowed his trunk behind the booth near the exit to keep it out of the way while Narcissa ordered their breakfast at the counter. He stared out at the wintery scene outside where snowflakes started to lazily fall into the white fluff yet to be touched by foot traffic that morning.
His grandmother returned to the table holding two pints of butterbeer, placing one in front of him as she took a seat. Scorpius raised a curious brow at her, he was never allowed such a beverage before lunch, and he never saw her indulge in such a drink in his lifetime, either.
"Little treat for you before we part ways," she said with a secretive wink.
It was things like this that reminded him he had one of the best grandmothers ever.
They ate and talked about school and summer plans. The butterbeer tasted extra good because it was special, and Scorpius made sure to finish it all. Being able to have breakfast and bond with Narcissa put him in a thoughtful mindset as they discussed the future. It had him reflect back on the last few weeks and winter break. Running away to Muggle London on Boxing Day was one of the more fuzzier days to recall; being blinded by sorrow and anger in the wake of his mother's burial tended to warp one's mindset like that.
But now he had a moment of clarity on that day and what he did on the days that followed.
The pair soon headed for the castle to meet with the headmistress, being the first two people to tarnish the spotless snow-fallen landscape. His grandmother was nice enough to shrink his trunk and placed a feather-light charm on it so he could tuck it in a pocket of his robes and not drag it through the snow.
"Grandmother? Do you…" Scorpius swallowed, unsure if he should tell her.
"What is it, sweetheart?" Narcissa asked.
"May I tell you something that happened when I—I ran away from the Manor?" he started to fidget with the hem of his robes sleeve.
Narcissa slowed her pace and gave him her undivided attention. "Of course. What is it?"
"I don't want to upset you," Scorpius stammered out.
"I promise I won't be," she assured, smiling softly.
"When I was lost in Muggle London I met someone," he started to say, trailing off at the end.
"A stranger?" Narcissa prompted.
"Yes. But she was a witch," Scorpius clarified. "She looked so familiar to me, though. My magic responded to hers like it does with my family."
He looked up to see that his grandmother had put on a stoic face now, but he continued on anyway. "She comforted me while we sat on a bench looking out at the river and this large moving circle with boxes attached to it. It was like she knew exactly how I felt but still knew what to say that would help me…"
Scorpius took a deep breath of the cool air, allowing it to settle his nerves. He reached for Narcissa's hand who accepted it and gave it a comforting squeeze. She remained quiet, but listened intently.
"She spoke to me like we knew each other, which would've been weird, but it didn't feel weird. Anyway, she took me back to The Leaky Cauldron and said to call her Dia. She disappeared shortly after we got back to the pub so I never got to thank her."
Scorpius prepared to drop the big revelation now, and it seemed like Narcissa was preparing for it, too.
"It was your sister—my great Aunt?—Andromeda," he said confidently.
Narcissa loosened her grip slightly on his hand, stopping to turn to him. "You're certain?"
"You can check my memory if you want, Grandmother," Scorpius offered, pulling it to the front of his mind. "I went through the Black records. You can burn a name from the tapestry, but you cannot modify the family history. I saw the only picture that was bound to them—the one from her graduation."
He wasn't sure why he got defensive, it took a lot of digging to find Andromeda's name with a face to match. It was something he had to solve—a stranger who spoke to him like they knew each other all along and the way his magic responded to her was not a mere coincidence. One thing he knew was that her information was buried with the intention to not be found.
"I want to properly thank her for helping me," Scorpius continued, looking at Narcissa straight in the eye. "Could you help me do that?"
"This…is certainly unexpected and unplanned," Narcissa said slowly.
"Life is too unpredictable to plan," Scorpius said, "Aunt Daphne told me that. Planning everything makes life boring, and it never plans for you anyway, so why should we?"
"I suppose so, but sometimes it is good to be prepared. I don't see why you can't owl her. I'm sure your Potter friend knows the address."
"No, I want to do it in person."
They made it to the doors of the castle before they stopped once more. Narcissa smiled nervously at him while he waited. "Alright. I'll see about arranging something for you. Perhaps a Hogsmeade trip?"
Scorpius nodded. "I'd like you to come, too."