The new term had barely begun when the young wizards were immediately immersed in their studies. It seemed as if all the professors had conspired together to delay the boys' journey into the past. It's already been a week since the young men returned to Hogwarts, so they simply couldn't delay any longer. It was time to act.

Albus had been trying to talk to his brother alone for several days now, but unfortunately, he was always surrounded by people. Finally, luck was on Albus's side, and he found James sitting in the library alone, leafing through a book.

"James!" Albus shouted and immediately caught Madam Pince's stern gaze. "Sorry." Albus winced and moved closer to his brother. He said more quietly, "Finally got you alone."

James Sirius looked at his brother with a huge grin. "What kind of secret business do you want to discuss that you needed to catch me alone?"

Albus sat down next to his brother and whispered, "I need to borrow the Cloak of Invisibility for a bit. I'll give it back to you when I'm done," Albus assured his brother.

James looked at his brother with surprise, his grin becoming even bigger. "Are you planning to sneak around somewhere? Finally! I was waiting for your mischievous side to finally reveal itself." James laughed, but noticing his brother's serious look, he sobered up. "Look, Al, don't even worry about it. Let me just quickly pop into my bedroom and grab it. Use it as long as you need." James smiled at his younger brother. "If you need anything, let me know. You can always count on me." The older wizard squeezed his brother's shoulder and stood up.

Albus was grateful for James's support. When they were younger, the brothers didn't really get along very well, but as the boys grew older, they finally started getting closer.

"Thank you," said Albus, smiling warmly. "That means a lot."

The winter break did not decapitate the rumours, and no matter how hard Albus and Scorpius tried to distract themselves with their time travel planning, the nasty rumours and whispers behind their backs still followed the young boys.

On the day at lunchtime, Albus took a seat at the Slytherin table next to his friend and whispered, "I have it. James said that we can use it for as long as we need."

"That's awesome! Now we can finally get started!" Scorpius smiled widely. This was great news. They were finally one step closer to his father's happiness.

However, their good mood quickly evaporated. From the table next to them, the boys heard someone say, "I just don't get it. How could the professors allow Voldemort's son to go to Hogwarts? I think they should've kicked him out a long time ago. I, personally, don't feel safe being in the same building as the son of a monster."

That was the last straw. Scorpius jumped up and, drawing all attention to himself, said loudly, "My father's name is Draco Lucius Malfoy. He is a kind and honest person, and I am proud to be his son. He made many mistakes in his time, and I'm not excusing that. But who among you can say that you haven't made any mistakes at all, huh? Give me at least one name! Well? You can't, can you?

"That's the thing. You are all so brave when you whisper behind my back and think that you are allowed to do anything you want. Well, you are not! I will not let any of you spread vile gossip about me! I want to tell you all that I am proud of my father! I want you all to shut your mouths once and for all. Don't you dare say anything about my father. I will not stand for it. Do you all hear me? For those who didn't, I will repeat it: I AM DRACO MALFOY'S SON, AND I AM PROUD OF IT!" Scorpius's shout rang around the deathly quiet Great Hall.

Scorpius took a breath and continued, "I hope you will get it now. I am just so sick of listening to your vile gossip and stupid assumptions."

Scorpius looked down at Albus's shocked face, then lifted his head again. "Yeah, and one more thing. I hope that you all are smart enough to finally stop comparing my friend Albus to his father. Yes, his dad is Harry Potter, but it doesn't mean that they're the same person. Everybody's different. There is no need to force a person to be someone they're not. Each of us is unique in our own way, so you should stop comparing people!"

Scorpius looked at his friend again and smiled. "I want you all to know what kind of person Albus Severus Potter is. He is honest, sincere, kind and brave. He is a great friend who will always help, listen and support those who need it the most. And I can proudly say that I am glad that I had the chance to meet him! Him, not his father. All of you who are spreading these vile rumours and whispering behind our backs should think about why you are doing it. Sort yourselves out first. What is wrong with your lives that you are so interested in spreading rumours about someone else's, huh? What is it that you're missing? Maybe you have problems with your parents and try to shift the attention to us? Sort out your families' issues and don't you say anything about ours. Does anyone have anything else to say? No?! Perfect!"

Scorpius fell silent and sat back down at the table. The boy looked at Albus, who smiled widely and hugged him tight. Scorpius then looked around the Great Hall, which was still deathly silent. The young wizard closed his eyes, mentally preparing himself for detention or something worse. Whatever happened, he didn't regret anything. Maybe now the rumours would finally stop.

Then the silence was broken by claps starting around the Great Hall. Scorpius' eyes widened when he saw children from all four of the Hogwarts houses starting to applaud. The wizard looked up at Professor McGonagall who nodded at him with a small approving smile on her face.

From that day forward, not a single Hogwarts student said a bad word to the boys. On the contrary, after Scorpius's famous speech, children began to come up to him and Albus just to say "hello", pat them on the shoulder, or just smile at them. No one ever called Scorpius Voldemort's son again, and Albus was never again compared to his famous father. They were just Scorpius Malfoy and Albus Potter, the boys who were brave enough to stand up for themselves.