Fic: More Than Our Abilities (Part 2)
Title: More Than Our Abilities (Part Two)
Author: Bird G
Characters: Scorpius Malfoy, Rose Weasley, Al Potter and a few others.
Rating: PG for some language.
Word Count:
Author's Notes: Thanks to my betas libbi and shiiki for all their help! Concrit is always welcome and appreciated. And, of course, the characters and world belong to JKR. I am merely borrowing them.
( Part One.)
“Malfoy, Scorpius!”
This was it. A deep breath and he climbed the stairs. Rose's words from earlier, “This house business is all just a jumped-up school rivalry. It doesn't mean anything,” echoed in his mind as he made his way to the stool. It hadn't been directed at him but, at the time, he had agreed. However, now, as he sat on the stool and faced a sea of unfriendly faces, he had his doubts.
Deputy Headmaster Longbottom, the kind-looking man that Al had identified as his godfather, placed the hat on Scorpius' head.
“What do we have here? Hmmm. A Greengrass and a Malfoy. Yet, very different from the Malfoys that came before.”
Different. Different could be good. That's what his family wanted, wasn't it? Grandfather said Scorpius would do well in Ravenclaw and was hoping for that. Dad wanted him in Slytherin, though. Mum and Grandmother didn't care either way.
“Smart, yes, but also very bold and rather brave too. You could do well in Gryffindor.”
His face went pink at the words. Brave was the last thing he felt at the moment. Still, Gryffindor was: the favored house, home to all the heroes in the war including Harry Potter. Wasn't that what he wanted, to be like his idol? To take one look at his room, it would seem obvious: the Chocolate Frog cards, the action figures, the books! The children's biography on Harry Potter had been one of his favorite books for as long as he could remember; he had read it cover-to-cover hundreds of times. Despite knowing it by heart and having long since outgrown the childish writing, when it had gone missing, all he could think about was getting another copy. Eventually, Mum had found the burnt remains in the fireplace a few weeks later, and had insisted that Dad buy Scorpius a new copy for his tenth birthday. (Which he had, though Scorpius never learned how the original wound up in the fireplace.)
He should want this. He had wanted this before. Not that he had really ever decided on what house he wanted to be in, but he had thought about it before.
Yet, faced with this unexpected possibility, he felt a pull towards Slytherin. Maybe he was just as contrary as Grandfather had always said. Maybe it was because he had spent the train ride listening to Rose and Al talk about it, and had even joined in to try to reassure Al. He only knew six people at Hogwarts; three who weren't in Slytherin, one who was most assuredly going into Slytherin, one who might go into Slytherin, and another who said they would try for Slytherin to keep the second company. It would make the most sense to ask for that house, wouldn't it? Or maybe it was the challenge; only three kids had been sorted into Slytherin so far, the least of any of the houses. Everyone else was asking for another house, afraid after all the rumors; even the so-called brave Gryffindors. Maybe --
“Ah, but you have a lot you want to prove. Interesting, interesting.”
Maybe there was a house for the terminally indecisive. Or was that Hufflepuff? Neither his Dad nor his grandparents had spoken highly of that house. They seemed nice enough but --
“Well, then, it has to be...”
He gripped the stool tightly, waiting for this to be done and decided.
“SLYTHERIN!”
It was on shaky legs that he walked towards the bustling Slytherin table. Slumping next to another first year, a black girl frowning at the goblet in front of her, Scorpius sighed. Judging from her odd choice in clothing, he guessed she was a Muggle-born.
When he reached for his own goblet, the girl spoke, “It tastes kind of weird. The juice.”
“Do you know what it is?” He hadn't a clue.
“I heard some of the other kids saying it was pumpkin juice but,” she scrunched up her face, “who ever heard of making a juice out of pumpkins? I mean, my mum drinks tomato juice sometimes, but most juice is made out of normal stuff like oranges or grapes or other fruits.”
If it weren't wasn’t for the fact that he had never heard of pumpkin juice before this, he might have been tempted to argue that it was normal. As it was, he simply shrugged and took a drink.
It was... different. Heavy and spicy and a bit much, frankly.
“See, I told you!”
“Maybe we can ask the house-elves for something else after the Sorting.”
The girl's eyes went wide with disbelief. “There are elves?”
“They do the cooking and cleaning," Scorpius said with a nod of his head. Then, to satisfy his curiosity, “You're a Muggle-born aren't you?”
“I think so.” She shrugged. “That's what the girl I met on the train said. My parents don't have any magical powers; they thought someone was having a go when they received the letters. Dad refused to believe any of it until Professor Longbottom came to visit and demonstrated some of his powers. Oh, my name is Regina, by the way. Regina Fitzroy.”
He held out his hand. “Scorpius Malfoy.”
She gave his hand a strange look and he wondered if Muggles didn't shake hands. After a moment, Regina took his hand and gave it a firm shake. “I've never met anyone named Scorpius before. Is that a popular name for wizards? The girl I met on the train was named Xara and I've never heard anyone named that either.”
“I don't think so," he admitted slowly. "I've been to loads of places and never met anyone with the same name. My dad grew up here so it might be a more common name for English wizards.”
Regina nodded at all this and opened her mouth to say something more. What she said, however, he didn't hear because another name was called.
“Potter, Albus!”
“That's my friend!" he whispered to Regina.
At least Scorpius thought he was but if Al went into another house, who knew? The only reason they'd been in the same compartment on the train was because there hadn’t been any empty ones left. Maybe they had only been nice to him because he had been sitting by himself. Al hadn't looked too happy when Scorpius had asked about his father; maybe he thought Scorpius a nuisance and wouldn't want to be in the same house.
Suddenly, Scorpius wished he could go back and ask to go in Gryffindor. Of course, Al was going to go there - he was the son of Harry “I saved the world before my 18th birthday” Potter. His mother had been in Gryffindor. All his uncles, grandparents, and his older brother too. It was in his blood. If he didn't, there was still no reason to think Al would go into Slytherin when he had cousins that were in Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. No one in his family had been in Slytherin, why would that change--
”SLYTHERIN!”
There was scattered applause from the tables, with Slytherin being the loudest. Scorpius noted that some of the teachers looked rather surprised by this, including the Deputy Headmaster.
With an apologetic glance towards the Gryffindor table and James in particular, Al made his way over to the Slytherin table and took a seat next to Scorpius.
“Well. That's over,” Al said in a shaky voice, one wobbly hand grabbing for a goblet of pumpkin juice. When he finally came up for air, Scorpius introduced him to Regina, and in time, the boys wound up trying to describe house-elves and other magical creatures.
Sorting continued with Harry Oakby going to Hufflepuff, Opal Strout to Ravenclaw, Honour Thicknesse to Gryffindor, and Una Urquhart to Slytherin. Then it was Rose's turn and both boys turned to watch her stride towards the stool. Calm and confident, she flipped her wild red hair over her shoulder before the hat was placed on her head. Al, not quite as calm and confident as his cousin, was strangling a napkin. Over at the Gryffindor table, both James and the dark-haired boy next to him looked to be on the edge of their seats.
During the train ride, Rose had promised Al that if he got into Slytherin, she'd ask to be put there as well so he wouldn't be alone. “Whatever happens, I'll be with you.”
Scorpius wasn't entirely thrilled with the possibility of being in the same house as her. (She kept giving him odd looks all during the train ride, like he was a puzzle she wanted to solve.) But it would make Al feel better so he crossed his fingers and hoped for the best. Despite being ready for it, he was still surprised when the hat shouted “SLYTHERIN!” Rose smirked triumphantly while Al jumped to his feet and cheered.
Not everyone was quite as happy.
“Oh, come on!”
Scorpius looked over to the Gryffindor table to see that James had jumped out of his chair as well, as had the dark-haired boy next to him, who exclaimed, “What is this rubbish?”
Professor Longbottom frowned and in a firm voice warned the two, “Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, mind yourselves or I will take house points.”
Al looked back at his brother and, Scorpius assumed, his cousin with a guilty frown.
“Don't worry about them,” Rose answered breezily, taking a seat across from Al. “Freddy and James will get over it. And if they don't, you can always tell them it was their fault for putting the idea of Slytherin in your head in the first place.”
This sounded entirely reasonable to Scorpius. Al, however, didn't look quite as convinced. Luckily for them, Regina piped in with more questions, this time about the House system itself, and Rose was only too happy to answer, repeating her earlier thoughts on sorting. It wasn't long before two more students joined their table - Mei Zabini and Bo Zhou. Later he would find out that, with ten new students, they were the largest Slytherin class in twenty years.
Sorting finished, Headmistress Sprout gave an introduction speech that was dull but mercifully short. Scorpius was starving. It seemed like days ago that he'd been on the train, stuffing his face with cauldron cakes and chocolate frogs.
“Do you think your dad will be mad?” Al asked his cousin in a quiet voice.
Rose laughed. “Of course not. It'll be a shock at first but he'll get over it.”
From the way they were talking, Scorpius took it that Rose hadn't been joking about this school rivalry. Hogwarts: A History had mentioned it but hadn't gone into detail, instead talking about the founders and Quidditch rivalries. The book hadn't mentioned the war, having been written prior to it, but Scorpius suspected the war had only made the tensions between the houses worse.
After a few moments silence as they ate, Rose then added in a thoughtful tone, “But for everyone's sake, I do hope Hugo gets into Gryffindor. Dad'll go spare if he doesn't.”
***
After the feast and after still more announcements, the Slytherin first-years followed their prefects down to the dungeons. With each flight of stairs they descended, the air grew colder and the castle grew darker. By the time they reached the bottom, Scorpius understood why his dad had made him practice Lumos repeatedly and why his grandmother had bought him several new jumpers.
Ella Quigley, the fifth-year prefect, stopped in front of a plain stone wall. Arms folded, she turned to the group with a serious look. "Every year we have a few firsties who get lost and it's always because they didn't pay attention to this part."
Beside him, Al and Rose straightened and Scorpius felt a small measure of satisfaction at already knowing what Quigley was going to say. Dad, along with the rest of his family, had told him quite a bit about Hogwarts and its secrets. Each took a certain delight in revealing that the Slytherin common rooms were the most difficult to find. Given Salazar Slytherin's character, Scorpius couldn't say he was surprised by this little detail.
"Any questions?" Quigley waited a beat before saying, "Good," and turning towards the wall. "The password is Nehustan."
As she said that, a door appeared where there had only been stone before, and Quigley pushed that open, revealing the common room.
It looked exactly as it did in Hogwarts: A History, with high-backed leather chairs, green lamps, ornate rugs, and large fireplace featuring a marble mantle. None of that, however, was why it looked so familiar to him. Standing there, Scorpius found he was strongly reminded of Grandfather's study at the manor.
"Girls, follow me to our dorm. Boys, Rackharrows will lead the way."
Rackharrows did just as he was told, beckoning the first-year boys to follow him. Scorpius had just stepped over the threshold when he heard someone call out, "Oi! Potter! Weasley! Over here, I need a chat with you both."
The three turned and Scorpius saw and older, dark-haired girl beckoning to the other two with an impatient wave. Maybe it was the scowl on her face but he was vaguely reminded of a troll.
"Isn't that Flint, the Quidditch captain?" Rose whispered to Al. "Molly pointed her out to us at the Ravenclaw-Slytherin final last year."
Feet still rooted to the ground, Al merely shrugged in response. Judging from the pained expression on his face, Scorpius gathered that this new bit of information was not welcomed.
"Let's go find out what she wants!" Rose said, pulling Al forward with a fierce tug of his arm.
Scorpius watched them walk off and was struck by the realization that they hadn't been apart since they'd met on the train. Alone now, he was tempted to run after them.
"Malfoy!" Rackharrows called. "Are you joining us or what?"
With a final look to Al and Rose, he hurried to catch up with the other boys. Following Rackharrows, Scorpius walked down the corridor to the room that would be their home for the next several years. From everything he had read, he knew each house had fourteen dormitories in all, seven for the boys and seven for the girls. If necessary, each dormitory could be magically expanded to accommodate more students, but Slytherin wouldn't have to worry about that any time soon. Rackharrows hadn't been joking when he said that this was the largest Slytherin class in decades. Of the seven rooms available on the boy's side, none seemed to be full or even half-full and Scorpius doubted the girl's side was much different.
"The bed you choose will be yours for the rest of the year," explained Rackharrows, standing in the doorway that separated the two rooms.
"Word to the wise, don’t even try to open the windows." The older boy pointed to the port windows at the exact moment a curious Grindylow stopped to stare inside, obviously transfixed by the light coming from the room. Scorpius suddenly knew how fish in an aquarium felt. "They can't be opened. Not by force nor magic. They can't be broken from the outside either so don't come crying to me about the giant squid tapping on the window."
Rackharrows continued, only imparting information that Scorpius already knew. His attention strayed and he wondered what was taking Al so long. Surely they couldn't have run into trouble with Flint so soon? It wasn't like Flint was a prefect and could get them into trouble. Unless she was giving them a hard time about being in Slytherin or...
He had just made up his mind to go see what was taking so long when Al entered the room, brow furrowed and shoulders slumped.
"What's wrong?" Scorpius whispered as his friend leaned against the bed post, seemingly deep in thought. "What did Flint say?"
"Nothing important," Al said with a shrug of his shoulders. Then, as if divulging a horrible secret he added, "They're having Quidditch tryouts next month and she wanted to know if we'd be going."
Scorpius stared, this new information creating more questions than answers. "Is that a problem?"
"She just asked me to join 'cause of my parents," he mumbled, sulking a bit more as he flopped onto his bed.
Fixing Al with a glare, Scorpius felt a sudden burst of annoyance he couldn't explain. "So?"
"So? So, everyone expects me to be like them," Al exclaimed, growing more agitated with each syllable. "My mum, ‘the famous Harpies' Chaser’ and my dad, 'the best Quidditch Seeker Hogwarts has ever had'. And I'm not like them. I can barely fly and I've never even played Quidditch before! But everyone thinks I'm going to be this great Quidditch player just because my parents were!"
Scowling, Scorpius listened to this little tirade. It wasn't fair. Maybe he didn't have famous parents but he had spent the past two summers at Viktor Krum's Quidditch Camp. He'd been one of the best Seekers they'd had (as everyone had said), he now had one of the best brooms in the world, and both his parents and his grandfather had played on the Slytherin team. Why wasn't he being asked to join as well?
Opening his mouth, he had every intention of letting Al know that there were worse things than everyone expecting you to be great at Quidditch like your parents but was cut off by Rackharrows' announcement.
"Listen up! In an hour, I'll take you all to see where the Owlery is. If any of you are planning on writing Mummy and Daddy tonight, I'd start your letters. First-years aren't allowed out of their houses after ten and believe me, you do not want Filch to catch you wandering the halls." Rackharrows rattled off some more rules and warnings before finally leaving them to their own devices.
Still upset about the injustice of it all, Scorpius grabbed his trunk and opened it with enough force to bang the top off the bed frame. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Al startle at the noise and he found he wasn't sorry about that at all. The one thing he'd been looking forward to about Hogwarts was Quidditch and now it looked to be invitation only for those whose parents had saved the world.
He rifled through the trunk, not caring that he was making a mess, until he found the stationery set Mum had given him and the two ink and quill sets he had received before leaving for school. The one from Grandfather contained a quill made from a pristine white peacock feather and two bottles of ink in his favorite colors, deep blue and dark green. He didn't think Hogwarts allowed colored ink for school assignments and the quill was too nice for everyday use. The other set, the one his Grandpapa had given him when they visited him and Grandmère in Valais, contained a brown and gold falcon feather and two bottles of black ink. Deciding that set should be used for school work, he went with his grandfather's set and began writing.
Dear Mum and Dad,
Hogwarts is okay. I made
Scorpius paused, wondering if he should include Rose or even Regina and Bo in this next statement. The more he thought about it, the more he wondered if he could even count Al in this sentence. Maybe they weren't really friends, maybe Al was mad at him for not agreeing that being asked to join the Quidditch team was a horrible imposition. His earlier annoyance melted into worry and as Scorpius stared down at the parchment, he wondered if he should say something.
Instead it was Al who spoke. "Er, you're not... angry with me, are you?"
"No." A pause, then, "Are you angry at me?"
"No," Al moped, turning back to the piece of parchment in front of him.
a few new friends and we're all in the same house!
I was sorted into Slytherin, just like you said I would be, Dad. Our Head of House seems nice but she didn't talk much. I haven't
"I don't know if I want to join the Quidditch team," Al admitted, frowning at Scorpius. Before he could point out the obvious, Al continued, "And I have to try out for the team because my parents are always saying that 'It's not succeeding but trying that's important'. And if I don't, James will... never shut up about it."
Somehow, Scorpius thought it was the last thing that was bothering him more than anything else. "Maybe you'll be good at it right away - like your dad was!"
From the look on the other boy's face, he had a feeling Al had heard that one before. In a disbelieving tone, he said, "Yeah. Maybe."
"Well," Scorpius began, wracking his brain for something that would make Al feel better, "it's not for weeks. So there's no use worrying about it now."
That seemed to work. Somewhat. Another sigh and Al looked down at his letter. "I guess."
seen the Bloody Baron yet. If I do, I know not to bother him.
I found out that Quidditch tryouts are in a few weeks. They have a few positions open but I don't know which ones. Either way, I'm going.
Invited or not.
Sorry this is so short but it's nearly curfew and I wanted to get this letter out tonight. I promise I'll write again soon.
Love,
Scorpius
P.S. Don't forget to feed Scout!
Folding the paper, he slipped it into the envelope and set it on the bed. Taking the sealing wax and melting spoon from the stationery box, he dropped three beads into the spoon and then tapped the spoon with his wand, muttering the incantation his Mum had taught him. Wax melted, he carefully poured it onto the envelope so that it made a near-perfect green circle. He sealed it by pressing down with his signet ring, imprinting the wax with two entwined snakes that together created the letter "M". With another tap of his wand, the wax hardened and he flipped the envelope over to address the letter to his parents.
A pleased smile tugged at his mouth and he felt a rush of excitement; he couldn't wait for tomorrow.
Across from him, Al voiced a similar, if less enthusiastic, sentiment. Viciously stuffing his letter into an envelope, he sighed, "I can't wait for this day to be over."
***
On the way to breakfast the next morning, both Bo and Regina tried to explain something called "the Intranet" to him. If it weren't wasn’t for the fact that they both seemed completely serious, he'd think they were having him on. It all sounded terribly complicated with networks and cables all over the world that led back to television-like things called "compuders". Scorpius imagined an entire block of Muggle houses connected by cables, like some grand spider's web. Bo had now embarked on a complicated analogy involving tubes and jellybeans.
"My mum works with computers," he explained, pushing a lock of black hair out of his eyes only to have it fall back a minute later. "She knows all about them and that's how she explained it to me."
"But what do they do?"
Before he could find out what a bunch of wires had to do with words and images instantly appearing in compuders all over the world, Mei Zabini called to him.
"Scorpius! Over here," she said loudly, waving her hand as she did. Dressed neatly in her school robe, her curly dark hair was pulled back in a green and silver ribbon that looked to be the same material as her tie. Behind her stood several of their housemates, all first-years, all whispering to each other. Aside from Mei, there was one other girl, tall with light brown hair and a sour look on her face, and three boys. Two were of roughly the same height and both had dark hair. He was sure one was Iago Savage and the other was Baxter Peakes. He just wasn't sure which was which. The third boy, the one with curly blond hair, Scorpius recognized as Lawrence Higgs. Scorpius remembered Higgs because he'd nearly pushed Bo off the boat as they crossed the lake to Hogwarts.
Feeling a bit apprehensive, he gave Bo and Regina a shrug before walking over to Mei's group. "Hullo, Mei."
"Scorpius," she said brightly, and the group behind her fell quiet. "Thank you for the Pygmy Puff. It was so sweet of you and she's really nice. I named her Amata. Daddy says I'll probably be able to sneak her into school after Christmas hols."
Nodding along to this, he patiently waited for her to pause for breath so he could ask her what she wanted. Before he could, however, the tall girl behind her spoke. "Mei says you're friends with Potter and Weasley, is that true?"
"Er, yeah," he said slowly, feeling knocked off-center. "Rose and Al, right? Yeah. I met them--"
"Have you met their parents?" asked one dark-haired boy as the other asked, "What's Harry Potter like?"
Higgs pushed the tall girl aside with a "Move it, Urquhart," and stopped just in front of Scorpius. "My dad says he knew your dad in school."
"Oh?"
"Says your dad wasn't a half-bad Seeker; not as good as he was but then my dad didn't have to compete against Harry Potter in games."
"Right." Obvious as it was, he had never thought about it like that before. He knew his dad and Harry Potter had been in different houses and both had been Seekers but he'd never really thought about what it might mean. Maybe that was why his dad had made such a face when Scorpius had asked if he had been friends with Harry Potter.
"You're heading to breakfast?"
Wasn't everyone? "Yeah."
"You should come sit with us," Higgs said, inclining his head ever-so-slightly to indicate the small group behind him. "And bring Potter and Weasley too."
Scorpius didn't understand the point of all this; they sat at the same table anyway, it just meant sitting a few chairs down. "I don't know... We were going to sit with Bo and Regina."
Later he'd wondered if he actually believed mentioning those two would make a difference or if he just wanted it to so that he'd have a reason to turn them down.
Before Higgs could respond, the tall girl he now knew to be Una Urquhart spoke. "Oh God, not her. She kept going on and on about the poor house-elves!" Everyone, except for Scorpius, sniggered at this. Urquhart continued, "I told her if she liked them so much, she should run off and live with them, and she said, 'Maybe I will!'"
Much to his dismay, the laughing only grew stronger and Scorpius silently wondered how he managed to bugger up his explanation of house-elves. "She's new, she doesn't know any better! She just doesn't know enough about house-elves to understand how it works here. You--"
A familiar voice interrupted him. "Yes, she does."
It was Rose with Al beside her, nervously looking between his cousin and the small gathering behind Scorpius.
"I told her all about them," Rose continued, taking on that bossy, know-it-all tone she seemed to favor. "About how it's wrong that they're forced to work without pay and how my Mum and Mr. Scamander are going to undo the magic that keeps them bound to wizards and free them."
Scorpius vaguely recalled his father mentioning Mrs. Weasley's "fondness for house-elves" but he had done so with the same smirk on his face that usually meant he was taking the mickey. Or perhaps he had simply chosen to believe that because he could not understand why someone would seriously want to free house-elves. It was like someone suggesting that Crups should be freed from their masters because, as far as Scorpius could tell, house-elves were pretty much Crups that could talk.
Urquhart was apparently having a similar internal struggle because she blinked at Rose as if she'd suddenly sprouted three heads before finally laughing, "Your mum is as barmy as everyone says!"
Rose moved forward, blue eyes blazing behind her glasses, her face and ears turning a bright shade of pink. "Don't you say that! You don't know anything!"
"It's true," Higgs piped up, "it's in the papers!"
"That doesn't--"
"Oi! What are yeh kids doin' over here?" He looked up to see Hagrid, the half-breed he'd first seen on the boat ride to Hogwarts, striding towards them. Scorpius marveled that he hadn't heard him approach before now. "Yer gonna miss breakfast!"
No one said anything. Glancing around, Scorpius noted that Rose still looked furious with her wand in one of her clenched fists, Al was worriedly watching her, and Mei's group had fallen into an awkward silence.
It was Una Urquhart who finally broke the silence, announcing in a frosty tone, "Nothing. We were going to breakfast."
Muttering "C'mon" to Mei, she turned on her heel and left, the others trailing behind her. Only Al, Rose, and Scorpius stayed behind with Hagrid.
With a keen look to Rose and Al, Hagrid asked, "Not aimin' for yer firs' detention already, are yeh?"
"No," Al answered quickly, giving the brooding Rose a wary look. "We were just... talking."
Scorpius got the impression that Hagrid wasn't buying a word of this but he just nodded, his expression softening as he looked at Rose. "Don' pay no mind ter what other kids say. Yer mum is one of the smartes' and braves' witches I've ever met."
Arms still folded across her chest, Rose looked up at him with a small smile. "Thanks, Hagrid."
"It's the truth. No matter what no-good rags like the Daily Prophet print," Hagrid said with a dismissive wave. Then, seeming almost shy for a moment, he added, "I don' know if yer parents told yeh, but when they was at Hogwarts, they used ter come around me place fer tea on Fridays. If yeh and Al want..."
"We'll be there," Rose promised, looking up at him with a smile.
"Good, good." Looking relieved, Hagrid grinned at the two of them. "I'll be sure ter make some of me treacle fudge. Yer parents used to love it, made it all the time fer 'em."
"Can I bring a friend?" Al asked just before Hagrid turned to go to the staff table.
"Yeah, o' course! More the merrier!"
"Do you want to come to tea on Friday?" Al asked Scorpius. Out of the corner of his eye, Scorpius could see Rose frown at the invitation.
He accepted and watched with a shake of his head as Rose flounced ahead of them, making her way to the Slytherin table.
"She's not in a good mood," Al whispered and Scorpius wondered when he had become such a master of understatement. "We were late because we ran into our cousin Freddy, and my brother James kept going on about us being in 'stinkin' Slytherin' with a bunch of 'baby Death Eaters'. Said that Rose's dad will have kittens when he finds out and maybe even pull her out of school."
Hoping that Al didn't mean the kittens part literally, Scorpius was about to ask what that odd turn of phrase did mean but Al continued, "I don't think he will. All of our family is in Hogwarts; it's home."
Scorpius thought about this, then finally said the thing that had been on his mind since his second trip to Diagon Alley, "Your brother's kind of an arse, isn't he?"
Al let out a small whoop of laughter. "Yeah. I mean, he's okay sometimes but he's been a real prat ever since he started school. And now he's obsessed with getting the Map back, it's all he talked about over the summer."
"What map?"
"It's the greatest thing ever," Al began, before launching into a thorough - if disjointed - explanation of the Marauders' Map. "Then just before Easter Break, Filch caught them with it and took it away. James was so angry, he kept asking Mum and Dad to talk to Sprout and get it back. He even asked them if they could have Filch fired. They didn't like that much."
Scorpius could hardly believe something that incredible could exist or that someone could be so careless as to get it taken away. Maybe he could ask his parents to have one made for him; it certainly couldn't be that hard to make if a bunch of kids had made the first one.
"I wanted to help them get it back," Al said, taking a seat next to Scorpius at the table. "I had this great plan and everything--"
"You were spying on them and told them you'd snitch on them if they didn't let you help," Rose interjected, viciously stabbing a piece of sausage with her fork.
"Because they were ignoring me!"
"Because you spent all summer spying on them and trying to horn your way into their plans!"
Al sulked. "James still didn't need to get so mad and chase me around. I wouldn't have really told.”
Scorpius wondered if the cousins were talking about that day in Diagon Alley.
"Yeah, well, you should have left him alone. And you should have stuck up for me with Una," she hissed angrily.
"I didn't know what to say!"
"Right." Rose looked unconvinced by this, still scowling as she chewed on her toast. Noticing that Scorpius was looking at her just then, she directed her anger at him. "Nice friends you have there."
"They're not my friends."
"That's not what Mei said."
Before he could tell her just how annoying she was, they were distracted by the fluttering of wings as the owls flew in overhead. His owl, Antares, swooped in from outside, her white feathers making her stand out from the other owls. Trailing behind her, almost flying in tandem, was Al's large brown owl, Athena, and Rose's short gray owl, Jasper. Antares swooped down, dropping the envelope just in front of his plate before flying away. Grabbing the envelope, Scorpius ripped it open, pulling out the letter inside.
Dear Scorpius,
Congratulations! I know your mother and I said we'd be happy with whatever house you were sorted into, but I must admit, I was pleased that it was Slytherin. You're fulfilling a long tradition - you make it thirteen generations of Malfoys that have been in Slytherin. Since 1666, beginning with Medraut Malfoy, everyone born into our family has gone into Slytherin.
(There were Malfoys in Slytherin before that, of course, but we went through a long and rather unfortunate period of being sorted into other houses.)
Reading this, Scorpius knew he should have been relieved. No matter what he said to the contrary, it was evident that his dad had wanted him to go into Slytherin. Rather than being grateful because of this or proud that he was continuing the Malfoy legacy, Scorpius felt disappointed. For one rebellious moment, he wished he had gone into Gryffindor just to break that chain.
Grandfather was right about him.
Brushing those thoughts aside, he refocused on the letter.
Remind me later to tell you some of the secrets to getting around the dungeons and the like.
Your mother wants to know if you still remember how to do warming charms. (I assured her you did but she wants to hear it from you.) Also, she wants to remind you to wear your jumpers down in the dungeons.
We wrote to your grandparents and told them all about your Sorting. However, when you get a chance, I would advise writing them yourself. I know they want to hear from you. Your grandmother told me she sent a package your way, please do not forget to thank her.
Remember to mind your professors and Head of House. Don't forget to write. I am anxious to hear more about these new friends of yours.
Love,
Dad & Mum
Scorpius wondered about the package his grandmother was sending as he folded his letter. He certainly hoped it wasn't more jumpers.
Al and Rose each ripped their letters open, eagerly unfolding the parchment inside. He couldn't help but feel a small sense of relief as he watched one, then the other, relax and smile. Things were beginning to look up, and Scorpius started to think that maybe being in Slytherin wouldn't be so bad after all.
( Part Three.)
Author: Bird G
Characters: Scorpius Malfoy, Rose Weasley, Al Potter and a few others.
Rating: PG for some language.
Word Count:
Author's Notes: Thanks to my betas libbi and shiiki for all their help! Concrit is always welcome and appreciated. And, of course, the characters and world belong to JKR. I am merely borrowing them.
( Part One.)
“Malfoy, Scorpius!”
This was it. A deep breath and he climbed the stairs. Rose's words from earlier, “This house business is all just a jumped-up school rivalry. It doesn't mean anything,” echoed in his mind as he made his way to the stool. It hadn't been directed at him but, at the time, he had agreed. However, now, as he sat on the stool and faced a sea of unfriendly faces, he had his doubts.
Deputy Headmaster Longbottom, the kind-looking man that Al had identified as his godfather, placed the hat on Scorpius' head.
“What do we have here? Hmmm. A Greengrass and a Malfoy. Yet, very different from the Malfoys that came before.”
Different. Different could be good. That's what his family wanted, wasn't it? Grandfather said Scorpius would do well in Ravenclaw and was hoping for that. Dad wanted him in Slytherin, though. Mum and Grandmother didn't care either way.
“Smart, yes, but also very bold and rather brave too. You could do well in Gryffindor.”
His face went pink at the words. Brave was the last thing he felt at the moment. Still, Gryffindor was: the favored house, home to all the heroes in the war including Harry Potter. Wasn't that what he wanted, to be like his idol? To take one look at his room, it would seem obvious: the Chocolate Frog cards, the action figures, the books! The children's biography on Harry Potter had been one of his favorite books for as long as he could remember; he had read it cover-to-cover hundreds of times. Despite knowing it by heart and having long since outgrown the childish writing, when it had gone missing, all he could think about was getting another copy. Eventually, Mum had found the burnt remains in the fireplace a few weeks later, and had insisted that Dad buy Scorpius a new copy for his tenth birthday. (Which he had, though Scorpius never learned how the original wound up in the fireplace.)
He should want this. He had wanted this before. Not that he had really ever decided on what house he wanted to be in, but he had thought about it before.
Yet, faced with this unexpected possibility, he felt a pull towards Slytherin. Maybe he was just as contrary as Grandfather had always said. Maybe it was because he had spent the train ride listening to Rose and Al talk about it, and had even joined in to try to reassure Al. He only knew six people at Hogwarts; three who weren't in Slytherin, one who was most assuredly going into Slytherin, one who might go into Slytherin, and another who said they would try for Slytherin to keep the second company. It would make the most sense to ask for that house, wouldn't it? Or maybe it was the challenge; only three kids had been sorted into Slytherin so far, the least of any of the houses. Everyone else was asking for another house, afraid after all the rumors; even the so-called brave Gryffindors. Maybe --
“Ah, but you have a lot you want to prove. Interesting, interesting.”
Maybe there was a house for the terminally indecisive. Or was that Hufflepuff? Neither his Dad nor his grandparents had spoken highly of that house. They seemed nice enough but --
“Well, then, it has to be...”
He gripped the stool tightly, waiting for this to be done and decided.
“SLYTHERIN!”
It was on shaky legs that he walked towards the bustling Slytherin table. Slumping next to another first year, a black girl frowning at the goblet in front of her, Scorpius sighed. Judging from her odd choice in clothing, he guessed she was a Muggle-born.
When he reached for his own goblet, the girl spoke, “It tastes kind of weird. The juice.”
“Do you know what it is?” He hadn't a clue.
“I heard some of the other kids saying it was pumpkin juice but,” she scrunched up her face, “who ever heard of making a juice out of pumpkins? I mean, my mum drinks tomato juice sometimes, but most juice is made out of normal stuff like oranges or grapes or other fruits.”
If it weren't wasn’t for the fact that he had never heard of pumpkin juice before this, he might have been tempted to argue that it was normal. As it was, he simply shrugged and took a drink.
It was... different. Heavy and spicy and a bit much, frankly.
“See, I told you!”
“Maybe we can ask the house-elves for something else after the Sorting.”
The girl's eyes went wide with disbelief. “There are elves?”
“They do the cooking and cleaning," Scorpius said with a nod of his head. Then, to satisfy his curiosity, “You're a Muggle-born aren't you?”
“I think so.” She shrugged. “That's what the girl I met on the train said. My parents don't have any magical powers; they thought someone was having a go when they received the letters. Dad refused to believe any of it until Professor Longbottom came to visit and demonstrated some of his powers. Oh, my name is Regina, by the way. Regina Fitzroy.”
He held out his hand. “Scorpius Malfoy.”
She gave his hand a strange look and he wondered if Muggles didn't shake hands. After a moment, Regina took his hand and gave it a firm shake. “I've never met anyone named Scorpius before. Is that a popular name for wizards? The girl I met on the train was named Xara and I've never heard anyone named that either.”
“I don't think so," he admitted slowly. "I've been to loads of places and never met anyone with the same name. My dad grew up here so it might be a more common name for English wizards.”
Regina nodded at all this and opened her mouth to say something more. What she said, however, he didn't hear because another name was called.
“Potter, Albus!”
“That's my friend!" he whispered to Regina.
At least Scorpius thought he was but if Al went into another house, who knew? The only reason they'd been in the same compartment on the train was because there hadn’t been any empty ones left. Maybe they had only been nice to him because he had been sitting by himself. Al hadn't looked too happy when Scorpius had asked about his father; maybe he thought Scorpius a nuisance and wouldn't want to be in the same house.
Suddenly, Scorpius wished he could go back and ask to go in Gryffindor. Of course, Al was going to go there - he was the son of Harry “I saved the world before my 18th birthday” Potter. His mother had been in Gryffindor. All his uncles, grandparents, and his older brother too. It was in his blood. If he didn't, there was still no reason to think Al would go into Slytherin when he had cousins that were in Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. No one in his family had been in Slytherin, why would that change--
”SLYTHERIN!”
There was scattered applause from the tables, with Slytherin being the loudest. Scorpius noted that some of the teachers looked rather surprised by this, including the Deputy Headmaster.
With an apologetic glance towards the Gryffindor table and James in particular, Al made his way over to the Slytherin table and took a seat next to Scorpius.
“Well. That's over,” Al said in a shaky voice, one wobbly hand grabbing for a goblet of pumpkin juice. When he finally came up for air, Scorpius introduced him to Regina, and in time, the boys wound up trying to describe house-elves and other magical creatures.
Sorting continued with Harry Oakby going to Hufflepuff, Opal Strout to Ravenclaw, Honour Thicknesse to Gryffindor, and Una Urquhart to Slytherin. Then it was Rose's turn and both boys turned to watch her stride towards the stool. Calm and confident, she flipped her wild red hair over her shoulder before the hat was placed on her head. Al, not quite as calm and confident as his cousin, was strangling a napkin. Over at the Gryffindor table, both James and the dark-haired boy next to him looked to be on the edge of their seats.
During the train ride, Rose had promised Al that if he got into Slytherin, she'd ask to be put there as well so he wouldn't be alone. “Whatever happens, I'll be with you.”
Scorpius wasn't entirely thrilled with the possibility of being in the same house as her. (She kept giving him odd looks all during the train ride, like he was a puzzle she wanted to solve.) But it would make Al feel better so he crossed his fingers and hoped for the best. Despite being ready for it, he was still surprised when the hat shouted “SLYTHERIN!” Rose smirked triumphantly while Al jumped to his feet and cheered.
Not everyone was quite as happy.
“Oh, come on!”
Scorpius looked over to the Gryffindor table to see that James had jumped out of his chair as well, as had the dark-haired boy next to him, who exclaimed, “What is this rubbish?”
Professor Longbottom frowned and in a firm voice warned the two, “Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, mind yourselves or I will take house points.”
Al looked back at his brother and, Scorpius assumed, his cousin with a guilty frown.
“Don't worry about them,” Rose answered breezily, taking a seat across from Al. “Freddy and James will get over it. And if they don't, you can always tell them it was their fault for putting the idea of Slytherin in your head in the first place.”
This sounded entirely reasonable to Scorpius. Al, however, didn't look quite as convinced. Luckily for them, Regina piped in with more questions, this time about the House system itself, and Rose was only too happy to answer, repeating her earlier thoughts on sorting. It wasn't long before two more students joined their table - Mei Zabini and Bo Zhou. Later he would find out that, with ten new students, they were the largest Slytherin class in twenty years.
Sorting finished, Headmistress Sprout gave an introduction speech that was dull but mercifully short. Scorpius was starving. It seemed like days ago that he'd been on the train, stuffing his face with cauldron cakes and chocolate frogs.
“Do you think your dad will be mad?” Al asked his cousin in a quiet voice.
Rose laughed. “Of course not. It'll be a shock at first but he'll get over it.”
From the way they were talking, Scorpius took it that Rose hadn't been joking about this school rivalry. Hogwarts: A History had mentioned it but hadn't gone into detail, instead talking about the founders and Quidditch rivalries. The book hadn't mentioned the war, having been written prior to it, but Scorpius suspected the war had only made the tensions between the houses worse.
After a few moments silence as they ate, Rose then added in a thoughtful tone, “But for everyone's sake, I do hope Hugo gets into Gryffindor. Dad'll go spare if he doesn't.”
***
After the feast and after still more announcements, the Slytherin first-years followed their prefects down to the dungeons. With each flight of stairs they descended, the air grew colder and the castle grew darker. By the time they reached the bottom, Scorpius understood why his dad had made him practice Lumos repeatedly and why his grandmother had bought him several new jumpers.
Ella Quigley, the fifth-year prefect, stopped in front of a plain stone wall. Arms folded, she turned to the group with a serious look. "Every year we have a few firsties who get lost and it's always because they didn't pay attention to this part."
Beside him, Al and Rose straightened and Scorpius felt a small measure of satisfaction at already knowing what Quigley was going to say. Dad, along with the rest of his family, had told him quite a bit about Hogwarts and its secrets. Each took a certain delight in revealing that the Slytherin common rooms were the most difficult to find. Given Salazar Slytherin's character, Scorpius couldn't say he was surprised by this little detail.
"Any questions?" Quigley waited a beat before saying, "Good," and turning towards the wall. "The password is Nehustan."
As she said that, a door appeared where there had only been stone before, and Quigley pushed that open, revealing the common room.
It looked exactly as it did in Hogwarts: A History, with high-backed leather chairs, green lamps, ornate rugs, and large fireplace featuring a marble mantle. None of that, however, was why it looked so familiar to him. Standing there, Scorpius found he was strongly reminded of Grandfather's study at the manor.
"Girls, follow me to our dorm. Boys, Rackharrows will lead the way."
Rackharrows did just as he was told, beckoning the first-year boys to follow him. Scorpius had just stepped over the threshold when he heard someone call out, "Oi! Potter! Weasley! Over here, I need a chat with you both."
The three turned and Scorpius saw and older, dark-haired girl beckoning to the other two with an impatient wave. Maybe it was the scowl on her face but he was vaguely reminded of a troll.
"Isn't that Flint, the Quidditch captain?" Rose whispered to Al. "Molly pointed her out to us at the Ravenclaw-Slytherin final last year."
Feet still rooted to the ground, Al merely shrugged in response. Judging from the pained expression on his face, Scorpius gathered that this new bit of information was not welcomed.
"Let's go find out what she wants!" Rose said, pulling Al forward with a fierce tug of his arm.
Scorpius watched them walk off and was struck by the realization that they hadn't been apart since they'd met on the train. Alone now, he was tempted to run after them.
"Malfoy!" Rackharrows called. "Are you joining us or what?"
With a final look to Al and Rose, he hurried to catch up with the other boys. Following Rackharrows, Scorpius walked down the corridor to the room that would be their home for the next several years. From everything he had read, he knew each house had fourteen dormitories in all, seven for the boys and seven for the girls. If necessary, each dormitory could be magically expanded to accommodate more students, but Slytherin wouldn't have to worry about that any time soon. Rackharrows hadn't been joking when he said that this was the largest Slytherin class in decades. Of the seven rooms available on the boy's side, none seemed to be full or even half-full and Scorpius doubted the girl's side was much different.
"The bed you choose will be yours for the rest of the year," explained Rackharrows, standing in the doorway that separated the two rooms.
"Word to the wise, don’t even try to open the windows." The older boy pointed to the port windows at the exact moment a curious Grindylow stopped to stare inside, obviously transfixed by the light coming from the room. Scorpius suddenly knew how fish in an aquarium felt. "They can't be opened. Not by force nor magic. They can't be broken from the outside either so don't come crying to me about the giant squid tapping on the window."
Rackharrows continued, only imparting information that Scorpius already knew. His attention strayed and he wondered what was taking Al so long. Surely they couldn't have run into trouble with Flint so soon? It wasn't like Flint was a prefect and could get them into trouble. Unless she was giving them a hard time about being in Slytherin or...
He had just made up his mind to go see what was taking so long when Al entered the room, brow furrowed and shoulders slumped.
"What's wrong?" Scorpius whispered as his friend leaned against the bed post, seemingly deep in thought. "What did Flint say?"
"Nothing important," Al said with a shrug of his shoulders. Then, as if divulging a horrible secret he added, "They're having Quidditch tryouts next month and she wanted to know if we'd be going."
Scorpius stared, this new information creating more questions than answers. "Is that a problem?"
"She just asked me to join 'cause of my parents," he mumbled, sulking a bit more as he flopped onto his bed.
Fixing Al with a glare, Scorpius felt a sudden burst of annoyance he couldn't explain. "So?"
"So? So, everyone expects me to be like them," Al exclaimed, growing more agitated with each syllable. "My mum, ‘the famous Harpies' Chaser’ and my dad, 'the best Quidditch Seeker Hogwarts has ever had'. And I'm not like them. I can barely fly and I've never even played Quidditch before! But everyone thinks I'm going to be this great Quidditch player just because my parents were!"
Scowling, Scorpius listened to this little tirade. It wasn't fair. Maybe he didn't have famous parents but he had spent the past two summers at Viktor Krum's Quidditch Camp. He'd been one of the best Seekers they'd had (as everyone had said), he now had one of the best brooms in the world, and both his parents and his grandfather had played on the Slytherin team. Why wasn't he being asked to join as well?
Opening his mouth, he had every intention of letting Al know that there were worse things than everyone expecting you to be great at Quidditch like your parents but was cut off by Rackharrows' announcement.
"Listen up! In an hour, I'll take you all to see where the Owlery is. If any of you are planning on writing Mummy and Daddy tonight, I'd start your letters. First-years aren't allowed out of their houses after ten and believe me, you do not want Filch to catch you wandering the halls." Rackharrows rattled off some more rules and warnings before finally leaving them to their own devices.
Still upset about the injustice of it all, Scorpius grabbed his trunk and opened it with enough force to bang the top off the bed frame. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Al startle at the noise and he found he wasn't sorry about that at all. The one thing he'd been looking forward to about Hogwarts was Quidditch and now it looked to be invitation only for those whose parents had saved the world.
He rifled through the trunk, not caring that he was making a mess, until he found the stationery set Mum had given him and the two ink and quill sets he had received before leaving for school. The one from Grandfather contained a quill made from a pristine white peacock feather and two bottles of ink in his favorite colors, deep blue and dark green. He didn't think Hogwarts allowed colored ink for school assignments and the quill was too nice for everyday use. The other set, the one his Grandpapa had given him when they visited him and Grandmère in Valais, contained a brown and gold falcon feather and two bottles of black ink. Deciding that set should be used for school work, he went with his grandfather's set and began writing.
Dear Mum and Dad,
Hogwarts is okay. I made
Scorpius paused, wondering if he should include Rose or even Regina and Bo in this next statement. The more he thought about it, the more he wondered if he could even count Al in this sentence. Maybe they weren't really friends, maybe Al was mad at him for not agreeing that being asked to join the Quidditch team was a horrible imposition. His earlier annoyance melted into worry and as Scorpius stared down at the parchment, he wondered if he should say something.
Instead it was Al who spoke. "Er, you're not... angry with me, are you?"
"No." A pause, then, "Are you angry at me?"
"No," Al moped, turning back to the piece of parchment in front of him.
a few new friends and we're all in the same house!
I was sorted into Slytherin, just like you said I would be, Dad. Our Head of House seems nice but she didn't talk much. I haven't
"I don't know if I want to join the Quidditch team," Al admitted, frowning at Scorpius. Before he could point out the obvious, Al continued, "And I have to try out for the team because my parents are always saying that 'It's not succeeding but trying that's important'. And if I don't, James will... never shut up about it."
Somehow, Scorpius thought it was the last thing that was bothering him more than anything else. "Maybe you'll be good at it right away - like your dad was!"
From the look on the other boy's face, he had a feeling Al had heard that one before. In a disbelieving tone, he said, "Yeah. Maybe."
"Well," Scorpius began, wracking his brain for something that would make Al feel better, "it's not for weeks. So there's no use worrying about it now."
That seemed to work. Somewhat. Another sigh and Al looked down at his letter. "I guess."
seen the Bloody Baron yet. If I do, I know not to bother him.
I found out that Quidditch tryouts are in a few weeks. They have a few positions open but I don't know which ones. Either way, I'm going.
Invited or not.
Sorry this is so short but it's nearly curfew and I wanted to get this letter out tonight. I promise I'll write again soon.
Love,
Scorpius
P.S. Don't forget to feed Scout!
Folding the paper, he slipped it into the envelope and set it on the bed. Taking the sealing wax and melting spoon from the stationery box, he dropped three beads into the spoon and then tapped the spoon with his wand, muttering the incantation his Mum had taught him. Wax melted, he carefully poured it onto the envelope so that it made a near-perfect green circle. He sealed it by pressing down with his signet ring, imprinting the wax with two entwined snakes that together created the letter "M". With another tap of his wand, the wax hardened and he flipped the envelope over to address the letter to his parents.
A pleased smile tugged at his mouth and he felt a rush of excitement; he couldn't wait for tomorrow.
Across from him, Al voiced a similar, if less enthusiastic, sentiment. Viciously stuffing his letter into an envelope, he sighed, "I can't wait for this day to be over."
***
On the way to breakfast the next morning, both Bo and Regina tried to explain something called "the Intranet" to him. If it weren't wasn’t for the fact that they both seemed completely serious, he'd think they were having him on. It all sounded terribly complicated with networks and cables all over the world that led back to television-like things called "compuders". Scorpius imagined an entire block of Muggle houses connected by cables, like some grand spider's web. Bo had now embarked on a complicated analogy involving tubes and jellybeans.
"My mum works with computers," he explained, pushing a lock of black hair out of his eyes only to have it fall back a minute later. "She knows all about them and that's how she explained it to me."
"But what do they do?"
Before he could find out what a bunch of wires had to do with words and images instantly appearing in compuders all over the world, Mei Zabini called to him.
"Scorpius! Over here," she said loudly, waving her hand as she did. Dressed neatly in her school robe, her curly dark hair was pulled back in a green and silver ribbon that looked to be the same material as her tie. Behind her stood several of their housemates, all first-years, all whispering to each other. Aside from Mei, there was one other girl, tall with light brown hair and a sour look on her face, and three boys. Two were of roughly the same height and both had dark hair. He was sure one was Iago Savage and the other was Baxter Peakes. He just wasn't sure which was which. The third boy, the one with curly blond hair, Scorpius recognized as Lawrence Higgs. Scorpius remembered Higgs because he'd nearly pushed Bo off the boat as they crossed the lake to Hogwarts.
Feeling a bit apprehensive, he gave Bo and Regina a shrug before walking over to Mei's group. "Hullo, Mei."
"Scorpius," she said brightly, and the group behind her fell quiet. "Thank you for the Pygmy Puff. It was so sweet of you and she's really nice. I named her Amata. Daddy says I'll probably be able to sneak her into school after Christmas hols."
Nodding along to this, he patiently waited for her to pause for breath so he could ask her what she wanted. Before he could, however, the tall girl behind her spoke. "Mei says you're friends with Potter and Weasley, is that true?"
"Er, yeah," he said slowly, feeling knocked off-center. "Rose and Al, right? Yeah. I met them--"
"Have you met their parents?" asked one dark-haired boy as the other asked, "What's Harry Potter like?"
Higgs pushed the tall girl aside with a "Move it, Urquhart," and stopped just in front of Scorpius. "My dad says he knew your dad in school."
"Oh?"
"Says your dad wasn't a half-bad Seeker; not as good as he was but then my dad didn't have to compete against Harry Potter in games."
"Right." Obvious as it was, he had never thought about it like that before. He knew his dad and Harry Potter had been in different houses and both had been Seekers but he'd never really thought about what it might mean. Maybe that was why his dad had made such a face when Scorpius had asked if he had been friends with Harry Potter.
"You're heading to breakfast?"
Wasn't everyone? "Yeah."
"You should come sit with us," Higgs said, inclining his head ever-so-slightly to indicate the small group behind him. "And bring Potter and Weasley too."
Scorpius didn't understand the point of all this; they sat at the same table anyway, it just meant sitting a few chairs down. "I don't know... We were going to sit with Bo and Regina."
Later he'd wondered if he actually believed mentioning those two would make a difference or if he just wanted it to so that he'd have a reason to turn them down.
Before Higgs could respond, the tall girl he now knew to be Una Urquhart spoke. "Oh God, not her. She kept going on and on about the poor house-elves!" Everyone, except for Scorpius, sniggered at this. Urquhart continued, "I told her if she liked them so much, she should run off and live with them, and she said, 'Maybe I will!'"
Much to his dismay, the laughing only grew stronger and Scorpius silently wondered how he managed to bugger up his explanation of house-elves. "She's new, she doesn't know any better! She just doesn't know enough about house-elves to understand how it works here. You--"
A familiar voice interrupted him. "Yes, she does."
It was Rose with Al beside her, nervously looking between his cousin and the small gathering behind Scorpius.
"I told her all about them," Rose continued, taking on that bossy, know-it-all tone she seemed to favor. "About how it's wrong that they're forced to work without pay and how my Mum and Mr. Scamander are going to undo the magic that keeps them bound to wizards and free them."
Scorpius vaguely recalled his father mentioning Mrs. Weasley's "fondness for house-elves" but he had done so with the same smirk on his face that usually meant he was taking the mickey. Or perhaps he had simply chosen to believe that because he could not understand why someone would seriously want to free house-elves. It was like someone suggesting that Crups should be freed from their masters because, as far as Scorpius could tell, house-elves were pretty much Crups that could talk.
Urquhart was apparently having a similar internal struggle because she blinked at Rose as if she'd suddenly sprouted three heads before finally laughing, "Your mum is as barmy as everyone says!"
Rose moved forward, blue eyes blazing behind her glasses, her face and ears turning a bright shade of pink. "Don't you say that! You don't know anything!"
"It's true," Higgs piped up, "it's in the papers!"
"That doesn't--"
"Oi! What are yeh kids doin' over here?" He looked up to see Hagrid, the half-breed he'd first seen on the boat ride to Hogwarts, striding towards them. Scorpius marveled that he hadn't heard him approach before now. "Yer gonna miss breakfast!"
No one said anything. Glancing around, Scorpius noted that Rose still looked furious with her wand in one of her clenched fists, Al was worriedly watching her, and Mei's group had fallen into an awkward silence.
It was Una Urquhart who finally broke the silence, announcing in a frosty tone, "Nothing. We were going to breakfast."
Muttering "C'mon" to Mei, she turned on her heel and left, the others trailing behind her. Only Al, Rose, and Scorpius stayed behind with Hagrid.
With a keen look to Rose and Al, Hagrid asked, "Not aimin' for yer firs' detention already, are yeh?"
"No," Al answered quickly, giving the brooding Rose a wary look. "We were just... talking."
Scorpius got the impression that Hagrid wasn't buying a word of this but he just nodded, his expression softening as he looked at Rose. "Don' pay no mind ter what other kids say. Yer mum is one of the smartes' and braves' witches I've ever met."
Arms still folded across her chest, Rose looked up at him with a small smile. "Thanks, Hagrid."
"It's the truth. No matter what no-good rags like the Daily Prophet print," Hagrid said with a dismissive wave. Then, seeming almost shy for a moment, he added, "I don' know if yer parents told yeh, but when they was at Hogwarts, they used ter come around me place fer tea on Fridays. If yeh and Al want..."
"We'll be there," Rose promised, looking up at him with a smile.
"Good, good." Looking relieved, Hagrid grinned at the two of them. "I'll be sure ter make some of me treacle fudge. Yer parents used to love it, made it all the time fer 'em."
"Can I bring a friend?" Al asked just before Hagrid turned to go to the staff table.
"Yeah, o' course! More the merrier!"
"Do you want to come to tea on Friday?" Al asked Scorpius. Out of the corner of his eye, Scorpius could see Rose frown at the invitation.
He accepted and watched with a shake of his head as Rose flounced ahead of them, making her way to the Slytherin table.
"She's not in a good mood," Al whispered and Scorpius wondered when he had become such a master of understatement. "We were late because we ran into our cousin Freddy, and my brother James kept going on about us being in 'stinkin' Slytherin' with a bunch of 'baby Death Eaters'. Said that Rose's dad will have kittens when he finds out and maybe even pull her out of school."
Hoping that Al didn't mean the kittens part literally, Scorpius was about to ask what that odd turn of phrase did mean but Al continued, "I don't think he will. All of our family is in Hogwarts; it's home."
Scorpius thought about this, then finally said the thing that had been on his mind since his second trip to Diagon Alley, "Your brother's kind of an arse, isn't he?"
Al let out a small whoop of laughter. "Yeah. I mean, he's okay sometimes but he's been a real prat ever since he started school. And now he's obsessed with getting the Map back, it's all he talked about over the summer."
"What map?"
"It's the greatest thing ever," Al began, before launching into a thorough - if disjointed - explanation of the Marauders' Map. "Then just before Easter Break, Filch caught them with it and took it away. James was so angry, he kept asking Mum and Dad to talk to Sprout and get it back. He even asked them if they could have Filch fired. They didn't like that much."
Scorpius could hardly believe something that incredible could exist or that someone could be so careless as to get it taken away. Maybe he could ask his parents to have one made for him; it certainly couldn't be that hard to make if a bunch of kids had made the first one.
"I wanted to help them get it back," Al said, taking a seat next to Scorpius at the table. "I had this great plan and everything--"
"You were spying on them and told them you'd snitch on them if they didn't let you help," Rose interjected, viciously stabbing a piece of sausage with her fork.
"Because they were ignoring me!"
"Because you spent all summer spying on them and trying to horn your way into their plans!"
Al sulked. "James still didn't need to get so mad and chase me around. I wouldn't have really told.”
Scorpius wondered if the cousins were talking about that day in Diagon Alley.
"Yeah, well, you should have left him alone. And you should have stuck up for me with Una," she hissed angrily.
"I didn't know what to say!"
"Right." Rose looked unconvinced by this, still scowling as she chewed on her toast. Noticing that Scorpius was looking at her just then, she directed her anger at him. "Nice friends you have there."
"They're not my friends."
"That's not what Mei said."
Before he could tell her just how annoying she was, they were distracted by the fluttering of wings as the owls flew in overhead. His owl, Antares, swooped in from outside, her white feathers making her stand out from the other owls. Trailing behind her, almost flying in tandem, was Al's large brown owl, Athena, and Rose's short gray owl, Jasper. Antares swooped down, dropping the envelope just in front of his plate before flying away. Grabbing the envelope, Scorpius ripped it open, pulling out the letter inside.
Dear Scorpius,
Congratulations! I know your mother and I said we'd be happy with whatever house you were sorted into, but I must admit, I was pleased that it was Slytherin. You're fulfilling a long tradition - you make it thirteen generations of Malfoys that have been in Slytherin. Since 1666, beginning with Medraut Malfoy, everyone born into our family has gone into Slytherin.
(There were Malfoys in Slytherin before that, of course, but we went through a long and rather unfortunate period of being sorted into other houses.)
Reading this, Scorpius knew he should have been relieved. No matter what he said to the contrary, it was evident that his dad had wanted him to go into Slytherin. Rather than being grateful because of this or proud that he was continuing the Malfoy legacy, Scorpius felt disappointed. For one rebellious moment, he wished he had gone into Gryffindor just to break that chain.
Grandfather was right about him.
Brushing those thoughts aside, he refocused on the letter.
Remind me later to tell you some of the secrets to getting around the dungeons and the like.
Your mother wants to know if you still remember how to do warming charms. (I assured her you did but she wants to hear it from you.) Also, she wants to remind you to wear your jumpers down in the dungeons.
We wrote to your grandparents and told them all about your Sorting. However, when you get a chance, I would advise writing them yourself. I know they want to hear from you. Your grandmother told me she sent a package your way, please do not forget to thank her.
Remember to mind your professors and Head of House. Don't forget to write. I am anxious to hear more about these new friends of yours.
Love,
Dad & Mum
Scorpius wondered about the package his grandmother was sending as he folded his letter. He certainly hoped it wasn't more jumpers.
Al and Rose each ripped their letters open, eagerly unfolding the parchment inside. He couldn't help but feel a small sense of relief as he watched one, then the other, relax and smile. Things were beginning to look up, and Scorpius started to think that maybe being in Slytherin wouldn't be so bad after all.
( Part Three.)