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Okay, he lost his mind. His brain was fried in the winter sun, or he drank too much butterbeer. There was no other explanation. Otherwise, Scorpius should have admitted that - being at his full, common sense - he agreed to that completely crazy idea. For the rotten Merlin's beard! What had he done?! It was utter madness, and he agreed on that willingly.

The whole next day, Scorpius tried to figure out how to come out from that mess with a face. He couldn't simply retreat - he would never admit his fear in front of Gryffindors. He didn't want to admit it to himself, even though the idea of spending almost all week at Potter's home gave him a constant chill. Scorpius wanted to keep a good front, but he was truly scared, and when he understood that the next day he would leave Hogwarts, he began to doubt his courage.

The night before leaving was restless for him. Scorpius tossed and turned in his bed, and in the end, he concluded that maybe cowardly retreat wasn't the worst thing. His pride had to stand it. It was better to be a chicken for a few minutes than a masochist for a week.

The next morning, Scorpius walked to the Great Hall, determined to undo that sick situation. However, when he walked in and looked at Gryffindor's table, he lost his confidence. Albus sat there with his siblings and Rose. They talked about something with agitation, smiling and full of themselves. At that moment, Scorpius truly felt like the last coward, but he couldn't come closer to them. It was as if the glass wall between them grew thicker than ever. They lived in a world where he couldn't come… Couldn't? Was that the truth? Didn't they invite him to the other side? Would he lose that chance because of… fear?

From the day Scorpius had come to Hogwarts, everyone treated him like the worst human being. Everyone except Potter who wanted to give Scorpius a chance to prove them wrong. The same as McGonagall. Her hand Scorpius didn't reject, so maybe with Albus, he should do as well.

Finally, Scorpius walked to Slytherin's table, quickly ate breakfast, and then ran to the owlery. He wrote a short letter to his mother, where he explained his absence on holiday because he was invited by one of his colleagues. In any case, he didn't specify which colleague it was. He could only hope that his parents wouldn't get it wrong.

Then he came back to the Dormitory, picked up a few things, and left before Karl and Zack returned from breakfast. Scorpius didn't want to talk to them. He was far too honest lately, so he didn't want to risk telling them too much. He had enough rumours about him already.

Scorpius saw his roommates when he got up into the carriage. Fortunately, he took a place next to Esther and two older Slytherins, so he didn't have to explain anything.

"Why are you so nervous?" Esther asked when they were in the middle of the way between Hogwarts and Hogsmeade.

"I'm not nervous, only tired. I didn't sleep well," Scorpius murmured, not looking at her.

The girl shrugged.

"Usually, you didn't avoid your roommates because of that."

Sometimes, Scorpius hated Esther's perspicacity. She didn't speak much but saw far more than others.

"I have my reasons."

"I think so. When we get on the train, lay down and pretend you are asleep. They should leave you alone."

Scorpius looked at her. Oddly enough, it seemed she wasn't going to ask about the causes of his distress. Scorpius hadn't noticed that before, but it wasn't the first time Esther tried to help him, even though they weren't close, and he never asked about it.

"Why do you help me? Do you have any purpose?"

"Everybody has some reasons," she replied enigmatically, then she pulled out the book from her bag (Essays under the Whipping Willow - Hogwarts Founding Mythology). It was an unmistakable sign that Esther didn't want to continue that discussion.

Scorpius watched her closely for a long while, but in the end, he turned his eyes away. The roofs of the Hogsmeade houses were already visible on the horizon.

Scorpius listened to Esther's advice and lay down in one of the compartments on the train. Karl and Zack found him quickly, but seeing him asleep, they sat on opposite seats and began to talk about the coming holidays and what they planned to do in those days.

Meanwhile, Scorpius felt growing anxiety with each passing minute. Something painfully curled his stomach when he thought about what would happen. He knew how little time he had to calm down and get hold of these mixed emotions. The clock was ticking without mercy.

Suddenly, the sound of a sharp knock on the door glass got the attention of their three. Scorpius opened his eyes and almost choked. James Potter stood in the corridor. With the move of his head, he gave Scorpius a sign to step outside.

"What does he want?" Zachary asked angrily.

That was the end of the conspiracy. Scorpius moaned and stood up heavily.

"I will take care of this," he murmured, and before someone could stop him, he opened the door and entered the corridor.

He gave Potter a rather nasty look. There was only one reason why Gryffindor could come here - he probably wanted to persuade Scorpius to cancel everything. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea at all.

James stood with his arms crossed and sharp, alert eyes.

"What do you want?" Scorpius asked, breaking the ongoing silence.

"I should ask that question."

It was probably the first time when James Potter said something to him almost casually. In the past, he was always angry and full of hate for Slytherin, but currently, he has stayed unexpectedly calm.

"I didn't ask for that. If it bothers you…

"It doesn't bother me. I'm just worried." Potter's eyes hardened visibly. "Albus is my younger brother, and I'm responsible for him. He trusts you, even though there is not much common sense in it, but I learned to believe in his intuition. I don't know what good he saw in you. Nonetheless, I hope there is enough of these in you - enough for us both not to regret this."

Scorpius smiled wryly.

"I'm the snake which comes to the lions' den, so it's me who should be worried - not you. I know my word means nothing to you, but I don't have any evil schema in my pocket, and I don't want to harm your precious Albus. In fact, I don't want to harm any of you. There is nothing good in it for me. You can hate me and think whatever you want about me, but you aren't my enemy, at least for now".

Potter still tried to pierce him with his eyes.

"I assume your enemies end in the Hospital Wing."

Scorpius sighed heavily.

"We both know that it was an accident."

James was quiet for a while, but when he spoke, his voice lost its previous sharpness.

"Let's say I believe you. I just hope there won't be more accidents. Otherwise, it will be my responsibility."

"Yours?"

There was a shadow of a sad smile on Potter's face.

"Of course, in the end, I agreed on that integrative experiment."

Saying that, Potter nodded slightly and went away. Scorpius looked after him for a while, wondering if maybe he judged James wrongly. The oldest Potter was almost an adult, and it seemed he felt a strong responsibility for his siblings. It was the next advantage they had over him. Scorpius was always alone.

The train stopped at King's Cross with a loud noise. Everyone began to come out, so there was quite a mess on the platform. Scorpius didn't feel the need to hurry, but in the end, he also took his bag and left the train. Because of the crowd, he had a problem with orientation, so he halted and looked around. He wanted to find familiar silhouettes of Gryffindors, but there were too many people around him.

Suddenly, he felt someone grab his hand. Surprised, he saw Lily Potter next to him. The girl watched him curiously.

"You don't try to run, right?" she asked through the noise.

"Never crossed my mind," Scorpius replied with a slight smile.

Lily smiled back, so it seemed she didn't hold a grudge against him for the event at the library. Instead, she pulled him with her to the centre of the crowd.

"My mom should wait for us at the parking lot," she added.

After a while, when the crowd thinned, Scorpius spotted a group of Gryffindors standing at the end of the platform. Instinctively, he took his hand from Lily's grip; even without it, he felt uncomfortable enough. Potter stood there in the company of James, Rose Weasley, and some short boy - probably her brother since there was a family resemblance.

Scorpius took a deep breath and came closer, even though his legs were a little wobbly. If he were someone else, from another House, or with a different name, everything would look completely different, but currently, Scorpius had a feeling he made a grievous mistake. It was hard to imagine a more absurd situation and someone more out of place. However… he gave them his word. Maybe if he tried to hold his tongue, he saved his face and Slytherin's pride.

"Look who I found!" Lily said when they came closer.

Scorpius wanted to add something, but in the end, he only nodded.

"About time. Since we are all, let's get out of here," James ordered, and the whole group walked towards the muggle's part of the station.

Scorpius was a little behind them, but still, Lily accompanied him with a bright smile on her face. It was very suspicious.

"What is so funny?" Scorpius asked, looking at the girl.

Lily wasn't tall - she reached barely to his arm; she had ferociously red hair, combed in a ponytail, and a few freckles decorated her still very childish face.

"I'm simply happy. In the end, it was my idea, right?"

"Yeah… but you are the only one glad about that."

Lily shook her head.

"It's not true. Albus is happy, too."

"He doesn't count." Saying that, Scorpius smiled mischievously. "Hanging with me, he proved he has bats in the belfry."

Lily covered her lips to hide a chuckle.

"I begin to understand why he likes you. You are funny."

Scorpius had heard many different adjectives describing him, but he didn't remember if someone ever called him funny. He wasn't sure if he should be pleased or maybe offended.

"It's only one of my flaws."

"What are others?"

"I am mean, spiteful, vicious, and I like to eat a well-done, young Gryffindor's girl for breakfast."

Lily didn't look offended or scared. The sincere smile was still visible on her face.

"I always thought that every Slytherin is mean and vicious."

Scorpius shrugged slightly.

"The same as every Gryffindor is brave and honest."

The girl considered his words for a while, then she said with confidence.

"Albus isn't especially brave, and for sure Hugo isn't honest. In fact, he is an awful liar."

Scorpius looked at the youngest boy, who walked next to his sister. He seemed to be a quiet and rather withdrawn person.

"So, you have an answer."

Lily looked like she wanted to say something more, but at that moment, they walked outside, where Ginevra Potter waited for them.

"Mom!" Lily called and ran towards the woman. The girl embraced her mother with loud enthusiasm.

Scorpius caught by the corner of his eye as James shook his head, but in truth, he also smiled. After a moment, James and Albus joined their sister. The woman embraced all three and then came closer to Rose and Hugo.

"Hello, Auntie!" Rose said.

"Oh my, you grew up so much, especially you, Hugo."

"I tried very hard to catch up with Lily," the boy replied, shrugging.

"Your parents are in our place already so that we can eat dinner together."

"Mom is there?! She wrote she would come back tomorrow morning," Rose added with much more emphasis.

Mrs Potter smiled even wider and nodded.

"It's true, but she managed to come earlier."

Rose's face lit up visibly.

"Great! I have so much to tell her!"

Scorpius watched that scene, standing a few steps away. It was so different from what it looked like in his home. At the same time, his stomach was curled into one hard stone, and he felt something big and hard to swallow in his throat. Hundreds of times, he asked himself what exactly he was doing there.

Potter's mom spoke with Rose for a while, and then her eyes came to the last member of the group. She couldn't fully hide her surprise - visibly painted on her pretty face - then she suddenly got serious.

Scorpius cursed in his mind the fact that he was so similar to his father. Ginevra Potter - and if he remembered correctly from the Weasley family - fought with the Dark Lord twenty years ago. She had to know Draco and be aware of who he was and what he did. Besides, the Potter's home would be full of people who knew these facts.

Scorpius didn't dare to think how they would take the fact he looked so much like Draco. For the rotten troll's guts, with the face of the ex-Death Eater, he was like a walking reminder of the dark past - bloody brilliant!

"Albus wrote that he would take his friend with him," the woman said. "But I don't expect that. Are you relative to Draco Malfoy?"

At that moment, the only thing Scorpius wanted was to deny it - or at least say that they were related by great grandmother sister - anything, but not say that it was true. However, he didn't have time to find any believable lie, and moreover, lying didn't make much sense at all.

One more time, he tried to swallow the hard rock in his throat, then he took a deep breath and came closer to the woman.

"Yes, indeed, I'm his son, Scorpius Malfoy; it's nice to meet you," he said so casually that he was almost surprised. He even managed to smile politely and stretch his hand towards the woman.

She raised her eyebrows, visibly surprised by that gesture, but she quickly composed and took his hand. Her handshake was strong, almost manly - of course, six brothers - for sure, she wasn't a person you wanted to mess with.

However, it seemed she wasn't sure what to say.

"From what Albus had written, you had to stay in Hogwarts for holidays. I hope you will have a good time at our home," she said finally, and on her face came back at least a shadow of a previous smile.

It was amazing; even though she was full of doubts, Ginevra Potter didn't allow her prejudices to blind her. Very uncommon for the old Gryffindor. Scorpius began to understand from whom Albus got his character.

"Thank you," he replied.

Mrs Potter watched him for a while, but then she looked at her watch and winced.

"Gosh, quickly! We need to hurry. Otherwise, I will pay for leaving my car for too long," she said and led them fast to her car.

It was a blue Ford Focus with no place for seven people. Fortunately, it was magically extended, so there was far more space inside. They left their luggage, sat on the three spacious couches and rode to the exit of the parking lot.

The journey wasn't longer than thirty minutes, even though London traffic was as awful as always. Scorpius didn't say much during the trip; he mainly looked at the view outside or listened to the very excited words of Rose or Lily. Mrs Potter asked them about school details, and both girls answered with growing enthusiasm. It looked a little like his last visit to Manor, but without lies, quarrels and total disaster at the end. What Lily and Rose said was honest and full of passion. Listening to it, Scorpius understood that there was another difference between them - Gryffindors loved Hogwarts, this generation the same as the war-time generation, who had died in the name of protecting the school. For them, Hogwarts truly was a second home, a place where they came back with pleasure and from where they brought the best memories. Scorpius would never say it aloud, but he envied it a little.

During the whole trip, nobody said a word to Scorpius except Albus, who gave him a chocolate frog. But Scorpius didn't mind it; on the contrary, he didn't feel a need to talk, especially answering difficult questions. The only thing that caught his attention was the fact that Mrs Potter looked at him a few times through the rearview mirror. Should he feel hurt by her suspicion? No, probably in her place, he would behave the same.

They stopped on one of the many similar streets that covered London suburbia. Surrounded by many of the same houses, the silence around was disturbed only by the bird's singing or the distant sound of a lawnmower. The weather was truly spring, nearly summer, and the surrounding trees thrived.

Scorpius was a little dumbfounded by that common view. In the end, here lived the greatest war hero who defeated the Dark Lord. Scorpius didn't know what he expected, but for sure, he didn't think that someone that important would live in suburbia, between muggles like any other common family.

Everyone began to get out of the car and picked up their belongings. At the same moment, the door of the house swung open, and the three most famous wizards in Britain stepped out. Every child born into a magical family knew these three. Their faces were often on the front pages of various magazines, and the chapters in history books were about them. They made that history or even created it as they wanted.

Gryffindors came closer to them and began to greet their parents, laughing and smiling, but Scorpius still stood near the car, not knowing what he was supposed to do at that moment. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and spotted Mrs Potter.

"Come, meet the others," she spoke unexpectedly gently.

"I know them," Scorpius replied and even managed to smile a little. "Every wizard in this country knows them."

The woman smiled back and corrected herself.

"You have a point. In that case, come and introduce yourself."

Scorpius nodded, feeling that he couldn't retreat anyway. The faster it would be over, the better. What exactly could happen? They wouldn't invite him inside? In that case, they wouldn't be better than Scorpius' father.

Encouraged by that thought, he came closer to the house.

"Malfoy?" Suddenly, Scorpius heard his last name. The voice belonged to Ronald Weasley. "You must be kidding?!"

"Calm down, Ron," the woman next to him said, who had to be Hermione Granger-Weasley.

However, Scorpius didn't look at her; his eyes were glued to the red-haired man, who had an angry grimace on his face. He also watched Scorpius, with growing furious in his eyes.

"What are you looking for here?!" the man asked angrily. "You aren't welcome here! People like you and your father…"

"He doesn't know I'm here," Scorpius interrupted, walking towards the man. "He would kill me if he found out."

Scorpius put so much effort that his voice didn't show the anger he felt at that moment. It has always been Draco - all his life, Scorpius heard about his cursed father. They judged him even before he could do anything. It was so frustrating that Scorpius wanted to scream. If they would like to hate him, it should be because of his own actions.

However, Scorpius knew that it wasn't a good moment to release his vicious tongue, so he took a quick breath and calmed down a little; only his fingers - strongly curled on his backpack - showed his nervousness.

"It doesn't matter. I won't sit at the same table with the son of that bastard!"

Weasley looked like he wanted to come closer and run out the intruder by himself. Scorpius wanted to reply somehow, but suddenly, James walked between them.

"We invited him, uncle," he said with confidence. "He is our guest, the same as you. You should respect that."

The older wizard looked at James with wide-opened eyes. Scorpius wasn't less surprised. He never imagined that the older Potter would vouch for him. However, when Scorpius looked at Albus - concerned, almost terrified - everything became clear. James didn't do it because of his sympathy for Scorpius but rather because of his overprotectiveness toward Albus. He simply wanted to save his brother from trouble.

"Do you agree to that, Harry?!" Wesley asked with a hint of desperation in his voice.

"Leave it, Ron," Mr Potter replied, sighing deeply.

"I don't believe that," the red-head wizard barked. He turned around and came into the house quickly.

"Dad!" Rose yelled and ran after him.

"Don't worry, I will handle it," Mrs Granger added and also walked after her husband.

When they disappeared into the house, outside stretched unpleasant silence. Scorpius wanted to say something like: "I have told you", but he stopped himself - it wouldn't fix anything. However, he knew he was right; from the beginning, he expected that kind of situation. Even for a moment, he didn't allow himself to think that he would be welcome with open hands. He was Slytherin and Death Eater's son; he represented everything these people hated, so it was only a matter of time before someone said it aloud.

He was perfectly aware of that, but it hurt nonetheless. To be honest, it hurt like hell, even though Scorpius didn't want to admit it. Whatever painful it was, he didn't allow the mask of indifference to fall even for a second.

"I'm sorry for him," suddenly, Mr Potter said to him and came closer. "He's a bit quick-tempered and speaks faster than he thinks. He shouldn't behave like that to you."

Scorpius shrugged.

"He is not the first one."

A sad smile was painted on the man's face. It seemed he understood what was covered under Scorpius' words. After a moment, he stretched his hand towards the boy.

"Harry Potter."

As if someone from here to Hogwarts didn't know that. But Scorpius didn't say it aloud and shook the man's hand.

"Scorpius."

"It's very like a Malfoy type of name."

Scorpius smiled a little mischievous.

"The second one is even worse."

That time, the man laughed openly, which cleared the atmosphere a little. However, he got serious one more time after a while.

"You shouldn't lie to your parents. They will be worried if they find out that you aren't in Hogwarts."

"I didn't lie to them, only skipped unimportant details."

Suddenly, Harry Potter put his hand on Scorpius' shoulder and guided him towards the entrance.

"I understand that. I often skipped such details in the past. Come, dinner is ready."

Right after them walked the rest of the Potter family. At that moment, Scorpius had to correct one of his assumptions - for sure, Albus didn't gain his character only from his mother.

When they came inside, Scorpius met more of the Weasley family: Potter's grandparents, Molly and Arthur and their uncle - Charlie. Fortunately, they were much more friendly, or at least neutrally polite, for Scorpius.

The last person in the spacious living room was a boy in his twenties with strange dark hair that had a purple shadow. He sat in the corner in a large chair and came to Scorpius when everyone calmed down.

"We don't know each other yet," he said with a surprisingly friendly voice, stretching out his hand towards Scorpius. "I'm Ted Lupin."

Scorpius looked at him with wary eyes, definitely not used to such openness. However, the head taller boy didn't look confused by the long-lasting silence. Finally, Scorpius decided not to keep him in suspense and shook his hand.

"Judging by your face, you probably don't know it…" Ted added. "But we are close cousins."

These words caught the attention of the people in the room. Suddenly, the strange silence lasted, and Scorpius felt Potter's siblings' eyes on his back. However, didn't take his eyes off the boy standing in front of him. Scorpius didn't have any idea what he talked about. His family was quite big in the past, but most of its members were killed during the war or died in Azkaban. Because Ted didn't look like Daphne Greengrass' bastard, there weren't many other options left.

Suddenly, something in Scorpius' mind switched, and he remembered the one forgotten branch of his family.

"You are a grandchild of Andromeda Black," Scorpius stated more than asked.

Ted nodded.

"It's true, but Granny doesn't use her family name anymore. She prefers the one she got after her husband - Tonks."

"Indeed," Artur Weasley said, "I completely forgot that Andromeda is the sister of Narcissa Malfoy, your grandmother."

It was truly unexpected. Scorpius looked at Lupin for a while, trying to find some resemblance between them. Ted was tall with dark hair. Meanwhile, Scorpius was much smaller, and his hair was almost white. Both were slim, but nothing more suggested that they were connected by blood.

After a while, something else caught Scorpius' attention.

"In that case, what are you doing here?"

Ted smiled even wider.

"You can say that I'm a friend of the family. Uncle Harry is my godfather. My granny doesn't like crowds; she is rather asocial, but she sent me so I won't sit alone on Holiday."

In his words, the mentality of the Potters was clearly visible; after all, Lily also invited Scorpius when she found out that he would stay alone at Hogwarts.

"Please, sit," Ginevra Potter asked. "Everything is cold already, but you are still standing."

The woman guided them to the spacious dining room. In the middle stood a long table for fourteen people, fully covered with various dishes. Scorpius sat between Albus and Ted, who, it seemed, wanted to know each other better. Scorpius had nothing against it; however, knowing what relation his father had with that part of Black's family, Scorpius doubted he would meet Ted more in the future. He wasn't going to think about it at the moment, especially when the atmosphere there was far better than he expected.

Even Ronald Weasley's coming back didn't lower the mood. Apparently, he had been calmed by his daughter and wife, and he sat quietly at the far end of the table and looked only at the dish before him.

During dinner, the dining room was filled with talks about Hogwarts. The main speaker was Rose, who spoke about her fights with Numerology and the Ancient Runes. Sometimes, James and Albus were asked about their exams and notes, but they weren't so eager to tell everything.

Scorpius felt a chill on his back when Albus told his parents that he had finished his work in the greenhouse. At that moment, Scorpius noticed that James watched him intensely and shook his head slightly. Scorpius quickly understood the message - everything that happened in The South Tower should stay between them. It seemed Potter's brothers didn't want to tell their parents too many details. Scorpius understood it completely, so he also nodded slightly.

"Transfiguration is so hard," Rose said with desperation.

"There are things that never change," Mrs Potter agreed. "In our times, when still McGonagall taught us, Transfiguration was the hardest lesson. She was one of the most strict teachers, the same as Professor Snape."

"Yeah, Potions with him was a nightmare," Mr Potter added. "What about your current Potions teacher?"

"Professor Smilthon," James began with sarcasm in his voice. "He isn't the best teacher. I can't make half of my potions in his lesson, mainly because he often mismatches ingredients."

"McGonagall claimed that Snape is turning in his grave," Scorpius added before he thought that it would be better for him to stay quiet. Of course, his statement took everyone's attention, so he didn't have a choice and had to continue.

"One time, we discussed how bad the idea was that the Head of Slytherin House was someone from Hufflepuff, and the Headmaster wasn't very flattering about Smilthon. She believes he didn't have enough competency, but there are no other candidates for that position," Scorpius explained, shrugging. He didn't have to mention that it was the Head of Slytherin position rather than the Potions teacher that deterred all candidates.

"I don't want to offend anyone, but it's rather strange that Professor McGonagall spoke about something like that with her student," Charlie Weasley interjected. He said it so politely that Scorpius didn't feel offended, actually. However, he knew what was covered under that sentence - why did the Headmaster speak with the Slytherin student in the first place?

"I have an additional lesson with her three times a week. Sometimes conversation turns to strange topics." Scorpius knew that with each word, he went more and more into a ground he never wanted to be.

"It seems that not only Albus tends to make trouble," Harry Potter said lightly. "Did you also blow up a classroom?"

Scorpius felt the heat coming on his face. That cursed South Tower would haunt him forever. Seeing James and Albus' faces, he knew that he shouldn't mention it at all.

In the end, he cooled his nerves, smiled mischievously, and shook his head.

"Happily, I was the only one harmed, but it didn't save me from McGonagall's wrath."

It was a perfectly evasive answer, which told everyone that Scorpius wasn't going to speak about details. Moreover, he didn't want to discuss what he did in his lessons with McGonagall.

"False modesty," Rose spoke up with that so non-Gryffindor attitude - full of irony. "Everyone knows you are her favourite."

Happily, Scorpius didn't drink anything at that moment; otherwise, he would have choked with it.

"What?"

"I saw it myself when you walked with the Headmaster to the Great Hall. It didn't look like she was going to punish you for some prank."

Was it jealousy spoken through the Gryffindor girl? If that was true, she chose the worst moment to show that. However, Scorpius promised to keep his tongue in check, so quarrelling with Rose was a very bad idea.

"I'm not her favourite, only studying additional material with her. If she needed a pupil, she would look outside Slytherin, don't you think?"

A bit of brutal truth calmed Rose down, but it was Scorpius who felt growing anger.

"But if you need the help with Transfiguration, Tuesdays and Thursdays are still available."

The girl frowned; Scorpius hit a sensitive point.

"Thanks, but no thanks," she murmured. "I'm doing great by myself."

Suddenly, the honest laughter of Rose's mother loosened the atmosphere.

"I'm sorry," Mrs Granger said after a while. "Rose, darling, I know how much you are trying to follow my steps, but I ask you not to break Scorpius' nose."

Hearing that, her two friends also burst out laughing.

"I forgot how brutal you can be," Ron said in the end. "I hope Rose won't gain it from you."

"It's too late," James added, also smiling ambiguously. "At home, Rose pretends she is an angel. You should see this harpy at school."

"James! It's not funny!" the girl yelled.

"I want to hear about it more," amused Charlie added. "I already have the madwoman as a sister, but it seems my niece is not better."

"Who do you call the madwoman, you dragon butt?! - Ginevra Potter snorted.

Hearing that all, Rose's face became red as much as her hair. Meanwhile, Scorpius felt a bit better when he wasn't at the centre of attention. However, he was a little curious about when and why Mrs. Granger had broken his father's nose but wasn't curious enough to ask about it directly.

Before Scorpius finished his piece of cake, at the table began a vigorous discussion about the hot-tempered Weasley's women, where the main voices belonged to Mrs. Potter and Lily. The latter was still very young but had the most to tell about the subject.

"Everything okay?" Suddenly, Scorpius heard a quiet question.

He looked at Albus, who sat next to him. During the dinner, the Gryffindor was quiet and a little nervous, which likely was connected with Scorpius' presence. Probably, Potter was afraid that something bad would happen, and guilt fell on him.

"Yeah," Scorpius murmured.

Potter looked as if he wanted to add something, but Scorpius was faster.

"I won't mess up, scout's honour."

"You aren't a scout."

"Slytherin's honour doesn't sound better."

Albus smiled slightly.

"You're right. But jokes aside, if you feel that something is wrong, just tell me."

As always, Potter surprised him. He was more worried about Scorpius' well-being than his own.

"It's all right," Scorpius replied with more confidence, especially when he noticed disbelief on Potter's face. "Really. I thought it would be far worse."

"Did you think you were going to be eaten by lions?"

A smile crossed Albus' face, so he had to know about Scorpius' talk with James on the train.

"Something like that. But the lions turned into humble cubs."

"Be aware, some of these cubs can scratch your eyes out," Potter added, looking directly at Rose.

"I'm not afraid of…"

Scorpius never finished his thought because the ring of the bell took everyone's attention.

"Are we waiting for someone else?" Mrs Potter asked.

Mr Potter shrugged, then stood up and left the dining room. Everyone else waited with curiosity for the newcomer. Everyone except Scorpius, who looked through a window. It was already dark outside, but the street lights brightened the surroundings. Right under one of the lamps stood a familiar car - the black Volvo. At that moment, Scorpius felt growing nausea.

After a while, Mr Potter came back, and when he looked at Scorpius, the Slytherin already knew what he would hear.

"Your father is here."