Chapter 2- An Unexpected Letter

Scorpius awoke to the screeching of an owl. He got out of bed, put on his slippers, and went over to the window just fast enough to see a barn owl swoop inside from the downstairs window, a letter tied to its foot.

I wonder what that's about, he thought to himself.

Scorpius suddenly realized that today he was going to Hogwarts. He checked his watch; it was eight ten, and the Hogwarts Express left at eleven o' clock sharp.

Scorpius heard screeching again. He looked at his window once more and saw the barn owl sitting outside it. He opened the window and the owl held out its leg, which had a letter tied to it. Scorpius untied the letter, tipped the owl three sickles, then closed the window. He took out his pocket knife, cut the parchment open, and began to read.

Dear Scorpius,

It has come to my understanding that you are about to start your first year at Hogwarts. We have never met, but I cannot believe that you are growing up so fast!
I know you must've heard terrible tales about me, but I can assure you, I am not a bad person. Sure, I might have made some mistakes in my life, but everyone makes mistakes. I was just going through a tough time in my life, and my mind wasn't thinking right at that moment. I am writing to ask for forgiveness and for you to at least give me a chance

I am in town for a little bit, and I will be going to King's Cross Station to see you off. Of course, your father and grandmother won't be happy about it, so if you wish to meet me, I will be behind a brick wall to the left of platform 9 ¾ .

I really hope to see you later today and to see who you grew up to be. Please put at least some thought into meeting me.

Sincerely,

Lucius Malfoy

It took Scorpius a while to process the contents of the letter. He read it over and over again until he had practically memorized it. His mind raced with questions. Why would my grandfather want to meet me? Should I go and meet him? Should I show this letter to my parents and Grandma Cissy? If I do meet him, what do I say?

At last, Scorpius decided to get dressed to take his mind off of it. He pulled on his leggings, buttoned up his shirt, and pulled over his robes.

He noticed his wand sitting on his shelf and grabbed it. Maybe I could try a few spells?

Scorpius opened his trunk, turned to a random page of The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1, where he saw the words Occulus Reparo: repairing and fixing charm written at the top.

Seems pretty easy, Scorpius thought as he grabbed his desk lamp and threw it to the floor, smashing it into pieces, electric sparks flying everywhere as he did so.

"Obculus Reparo!" Scorpius hollered, pointing his wand at the broken lamp, but nothing happened.

Maybe I'm saying it wrong? Scorpius read the incantation again to make sure he hadn't said it wrong, and indeed, he had.

"Occulus Reparo!" he yelled, but the lamp still stayed in pieces.

Scorpius took a seat and started reading the paragraph. He read it over and over, learning that you have to speak clearly, and that there are certain ways you have to move your hand to get the spell to work. After about twenty minutes, Scorpius believed he was ready to try again.

"Occulus Reparo!"

Nothing Happened.

"Occulus Reparo!"
Still nothing.

"OCCULUS REPARO!"

Two pieces made their way to each other and repaired themselves, but the rest of them stayed scattered across the floor.

Why is this spell so hard!

After an hour's practice, Scorpius gave in. He shut his book, stuffed his book away in his trunk, and neatly placed his wand in his robes. He checked his watch again; it was now nine thirty. He hadn't realized how long he had been practicing the Reparo Charm.

At last, Scorpius decided to go downstairs to eat breakfast and spend some time with his Grandma Cissy. He grabbed his trunk with one hand, (grabbing Nessie with the other) and headed downstairs

"Morning!" Narcissa exclaimed as Scorpius reached the bottom of the staircase. "Sleep well?"

"Uh huh," Scorpius nodded, setting his things by the door and taking a seat at the table.

"I made you pancakes," Draco smiled. "Chocolate chip with strawberries and whipped cream, your favorite!" Draco slided a plate over to Scorpius (after drizzling a little maple syrup), and Scorpius gladly started digging it.

"Thanks dad," Scorpius thanked, affection in his smile. The pancakes were indeed one of the best things he had tasted in a while; buttery and creamy with ripeness from the strawberries and rich flavoring from the maple syrup, along with the sweet taste of chocolate and whipped cream. After about only four minutes, Scorpius had already polished off his plate. He walked over to the sink and started cleaning off his dish.

"You didn't have to do that," Astoria said, smiling, as she walked into the room.

"How are you feeling, mum?" asked Scorpius, worrying.

"Alright, thanks for asking," she replied, kissing Scorpius on the head.

"You should probably get some rest," Scorpius suggested. "I'll make you a cup of tea."

"And miss you going off to Hogwarts? No way!" Astoria said stubbornly. "But a cup of tea does sound nice, thank you," she added, smiling from ear to ear.

Scorpius set down his plate and fork (which were now sparkling clean), and started heating the thermos. Meanwhile, he grabbed a mug and placed a chamomile tea bag inside it. After a couple of minutes, Scorpius poured the hot water into the mug and placed it in front of his mother.

"Thanks," Astoria said again.

"Happy to help."
About twenty five minutes had passed (it was now nine fifty-five), and everyone was doing their own thing; Narcissa was reading The Daily Prophet, Draco was putting his shoes on and checking the time every fifteen seconds, Astoria was contently drinking her tea, and Scorpius was feeding Nessie her breakfast. Time had been slipping away so fast, for what felt like two minutes after Scorpius walked downstairs, Draco had said, "Ok, everyone, we should start heading out! We don't want to be late."

Everyone stood up (Astoria setting her mug down), and put on their shoes. Scorpius grabbed Nessie, while Draco took his trunk. Draco put it in the back of the car while Scorpius climbed in the middle row. On the ride, his mind went back to the letter he had received earlier that morning. I shouldn't meet him. I should listen to Grandma Cissy and about how she said he was a bad man, and that I shouldn't want to meet him. Although, I am quite interested about him… I mean how bad could he be? It's not like he would attack me or anything, especially in front of everyone else at the platform…

"Scorpius? Scorpius, can you hear me?" Scorpius snapped back to reality and realized that his father had been talking to him.

"Were you daydreaming?" Narcissa asked, and by her tone Scorpius could tell she was teasing him.

"Erm.. well, yea I think so.." Scorpius stammered.

"Nervous?" she questioned.

"Y-yea, a little, I guess.."

"It's okay to be nervous," Astoria assured him. "Everyone's at least a little nervous before they start their first year."

Scorpius nodded and started staring out the window. The houses were passing by quickly, and they would soon reach King's Cross Station.

Some time passed, and they finally reached their destination. "Here, take this," Draco said, pushing a trolley over to Scorpius, where his trunk and Nessie lay. He grabbed the handles, then Draco led the way to platform 9 ¾.

Kings Cross Station was packed with muggles going about their daily business. Some were yelling, some were trying to figure out their tickets, and some were headed in the same direction as they were. They're probably wizards, too. Scorpius thought, as he noticed some children who were also pushing trolleys headed in the same direction.

Suddenly, a man passed by them, he had dark brown hair that was very untidy, and round, thin glasses perched upon his nose. He walked with a red-headed woman and three children, who were pushing trolleys as well, except for one of them. Harry Potter.

Harry nodded to Draco, who nodded back. Scorpius locked eyes with one of the boys for a second, but then quickly looked away.

"Ah!" exclaimed Draco. "We're here."

Scorpius looked ahead of him, but all he could see were platforms 9 and 10, but nothing in between them except a brick wall. How on earth are we going to get to platform 9 ¾ ….

"Ok, now!" Harry hollered, and one of his kids ran through the wall in between the two platforms. Scorpius blinked many times to make sure he had seen things correctly, and indeed he had. Before a few seconds had passed, the whole Potter family had gone through the wall.

"You ready, Scorpius?" Draco asked, looking down at his son.

"Y-yeah," Scorpius muttered. He still couldn't believe his eyes.

Draco grabbed the side of Scorpius' trolley, and started counting. When he reached three, they ran through the wall. Scorpius half-expected to feel the pain rushing through his body as he hit the wall, but he didn't. He slowly opened his eyes, and saw he was in a totally new environment. Witches and Wizards surrounded him from every direction, the whistle of the Hogwarts Express filled the air and everybody seemed so friendly…

"It's nine forty-five, so you have fifteen minutes before the express leaves." Asotria told Scorpius, then she threw her arms around him. "Promise me you'll write about what's going on at Hogwarts?"

"O' course," replied Scorpius, then turned to Narcissa. "I'll write to you, too, Grandma Cissy."

Tears filled his grandmother's eyes as the two embraced. Finally, Scorpius turned to his father, who was smiling brightly.

"I know you're going to be a great student," he said. "Just don't get yourself into any mischief." Draco winked, then hugged Scorpius very tightly.

"I should probably get going…" Scorpius said, taking his things. "Love you all." They all smiled, then Scorpius started walking towards the express. However, his family was deep in conversation with Harry and his wife, so Scorpius decided to take a little detour…