ROSE WEASLEY AND THE MEMORY THIEF
Disclaimer: HP, the Wizarding World, and all those lovely canon names and characters are property of JKR, and we are just lucky enough to get to play in her sandbox. Everything you find here is a work of fiction, similarities to real life are totally unintentional. Additionally any fanart or extras you might find here belong to their creators, and will be credited accordingly.

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Welcome to our fic, belatedly being posted (and completed) by me (Tegz) and Ern (Cassirin). This story was first begun back in November 2011 as our joint effort at nanowrimo, which we won, so that gives you an idea of how much reading you have in store for you, over 100,000 words (mind you that's pre-editing). We're exclusively posting this here on SS for right now, so if you see it elsewhere... it shouldn't be. We are hoping to make our fic interactive so once we get things rolling keep an eye out for polls and opportunities to contribute. If you DO want to make any graphics or fan art, we would LOVE to have it. Anyone who does will be linked in this first post, either to individual works, or to shop posts or albums etc. Yeah we're probably too ambitious for our own good! Anyway, hope you guys enjoy! - Tegz

Chapter Guide
PART ONE
Chapter 1 - The Hogwarts Express
1.1 On The Platform (Scorpius)
1.2 Leaving the Station (Rose)
1.3 The Slytherin Carriage (Scorpius)
1.4 The Prefect Compartment (Rose)

Chapter 2 - Back at Hogwarts
2.1 The Welcoming Feast (Scorpius)
2.2 After the Feast (Rose)
2.3 Viridis (Scorpius)

Chapter 3 - Classes and Quidditch
3.1 Potions Class (Rose)
3.2 Everybody Crushes on a Weasley Girl at Least Once (Scorpius)
3.3 There Is Squishing (Rose)
3.4 Slytherin Tryouts (Scorpius)

Chapter 4 - The Hidden Journal
4.1 In The Slytherin Common Room (Scorpius)
4.2 Gryffindors in the Library (Rose)
4.3 Scorpius Discovers the Journal (Scorpius)
4.4 The Hidden Journal (Scorpius/Journal)

PART TWO

Chapter 5 - Hogsmeade and Halloween
5.1 Overthinking Everything. Like Usual. (Rose)
5.2 Hogsmeade Meet-ups (Rose)
5.3 Have Something Orange (Scorpius)

Chapter 6 - Games and Politics
6.1 Easier to Find if You're a Little Lost (Scorpius/Journal)
6.2 Hatstall (Scorpius)
6.3 When Lily Happens (Rose)
6.4 Old and New Rounds (Rose)

Chapter 7 - Christmas
7.1 Jayne Gets a Date (Rose)
7.2 A Date and a Favour (Scorpius)
7.3 I'll See You in Three Weeks (Scorpius/Journal)
7.4 Christmas at the Burrow (Rose)

Chapter 8 - New Years and Nuances
8.1 Hogmanay (Rose)
8.2 The Past is History (Scorpius)
8.3 The Study of Ancient Runes (Rose)
8.4 Like a Fungus (Scorpius)
8.5 Personal History (Rose)

Extras Guide
Book Cover (Tegz)
Nera Zabini (Tegz)
Jayne Wood (Tegz)
Apollo Burke (Tegz)
Rose and Scorpius (Stefan)
Book Cover 2 (Tegz)

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1.1 On The Platform

Oblivious to the usual hustle and bustle of Platform 9 3/4, Scorpius Malfoy abandoned his trunk to the porter who would stack it with the others piled at the end of the platform where the luggage car would soon appear. This year was the first time that Scorpius had seen himself off at Kings Cross. Partly fueled by the fact that his mother's usual goodbye kisses always made him blush and more often than not served as a source of embarrassment in front of his friends, it had seemed like a good idea when he'd thought of it during the summer. He was sixteen, he didn't need his parents to hold his hand and bring him to the station. He could get there on his own, meet up with his friends, and board the express without any unnecessary fuss. It had taken some arguing on his part and his mum had been pretty put out by it but eventually he'd managed to convince his parents to let him go on his own. The trouble was that he'd had to take the floo since he wasn't yet old enough to apparate, and it was a bit of a walk to the station through Muggle London. Really it had become more of a mission than he'd considered when he had first made the argument to be allowed to go alone. Come to think of it that was probably why his father had allowed it. A lesson in there somewhere. Draco Malfoy was big on lessons.

Scorpius didn't have any problem with Muggles, it was just that there were so many of them, and they were always in such a hurry. Even though he'd left early enough that he'd arrive well before the Hogwarts Express pulled into the station, Scorpius had still needed to fight the urge to hurry himself. It was as if the sense of urgency from the Muggles had infected him. It was hard to imagine that anyone could be so desperate to get somewhere that they would rush and barely say a word to apologize when they knocked into him, but all any of them did was pepper him with dull-eyed, preoccupied glances before looking away as if it had broken some sort of rule to never make eye contact with a stranger. Maybe wizards only apologized to people they barged into to avoid a hexing but Scorpius still found himself coming to the conclusion that, as a whole, Muggles were a bit rude.

"Malfoy!"

Almost as soon as he had deposited his trunk with the porter he was greeted by one of his dorm mates, a tall and lanky boy with teeth that Scorpius privately considered unfortunate. But, being as Vincent Nott was something resembling a friend, he chose not to comment on the other boy's large bucked teeth. This didn't of course stop others from doing so or stop Scorpius from secretly finding it funny when they did, unless it was a Gryffindor, in which case he was almost obliged to be bothered on Nott's behalf. Scorpius sauntered over casually and clapped Nott on the shoulder.

"Alright, Nott?"

"Alright." It was as if the boy's teeth were talking. Scorpius averted his eyes, glancing around for any of the others. Nott began talking about his summer, and what he'd been doing since he'd last seen Scorpius a few weeks earlier. Scorpius was only half-listening while he kept an eye out for his best friends, Apollo Burke and Takeshi Haneda. Takeshi would be exactly on time and no earlier, but Apollo was likely here somewhere already.

It was almost as if just by thinking about the tall Greek boy he had summoned him. Apollo appeared at his shoulder in that silent way he had, not bothering to say hello, and Nott continued to chatter on oblivious to the fact that he only had a fraction of Scorpius and Apollo's interest. Scorpius relaxed a little now that Apollo was there and continued to distractedly scan the growing crowd. The two boys stood head and shoulders above most of the children milling about, taller again than Nott by a head and a half. Still and watchful, they had none of the nerves exhibited by the overexcited first years about to take their first journey to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, they could afford to feel as if they were above it all. The badges which Scorpius and Apollo wore pinned to their chests further separated them from the masses and picked them out as students who were known by everyone, though perhaps not universally admired. Even the greenest first years would soon know their names. It could be a heady feeling at times. Apollo, Scorpius knew, relished in it. For Scorpius himself there was another level to the strange instant recognition of him in his position as Slytherin's Quidditch Captain, because he carried with him a particularly recognizable family name. Malfoy. It was one which caused whispers even still, even now, a generation on from the Battle of Hogwarts.

It was strange, he reflected, to attend school with the children of the people who had been on the other side of the war from your own family. Even if things were different now, there were some things that couldn't be overcome so easily. Some resentments and old prejudices remained. By this time Liam Pucey and Curtis Flint had joined them too and the boys stood around with their hands thrust in pockets, joking around while Scorpius remained silent and introspective, looking out over the throng and losing himself in his own thoughts.

"You're quiet." Apollo observed near his ear, and Scorpius shot him a small smile and a shrug.

"Everyone else is making plenty of noise."

"They usually do." Apollo agreed, "A quarter of a population of Gryffindors is a quarter of a population too many."

Nott chimed in with a comment about bloody Weasleys being everywhere and Scorp looked back at him, following the other boy's gaze to where a gaggle of them were milling about, laughing with one another and saying their goodbyes. It never failed to amaze Scorpius how many of them there were or how many of them seemed to turn out every year. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen a Weasley on its own. Nott made a derisive comment about rabbits and laughed at his own joke, but Scorpius found himself watching them thoughtfully. He almost wished his own mother was there after all to give him hugs and embarrassing kisses goodbye.

He was acutely aware that standing on the platform without his own parents or grandparents seeing him off made him look... well... lonely and unloved, he supposed, which matched up fairly well to what many thought about his family, but they didn't know. His family were close and he didn't much care for the looks he was currently getting, Nott's laughter having caught the attention of a few of the Weasley brood and their various hangers on. James Potter was looking smug and whispering loudly in Fred Weasley's ear. Fred's was nodding and chortling, his freckle dusted grin suggesting that he'd never heard a single thing funnier than whatever James had just said. Both boys stared directly at Scorpius, making it clear enough that he was the topic of conversation. Nott made a few more rude comments, seemingly unaware that he didn't have anyone's full attention, the antipathy of the rabbit-toothed sixth year towards the predominately Gryffindor family was blindingly obvious and entirely expected. Really it'd be stranger to begin the school term without it.

The train arrived and resulted in two things; a cheer going up from those gathered on the platform and a staring match of some intensity between the two groups of boys. Scorpius kept his expression stony, but he was seething quietly. While Fred and James weren't making any secret of their opinions, admittedly Scorp was reading into it a little more than necessary, his imagination filling in the blanks and deciding that the seventh year Gryffindors were obviously whispering horrible things about him and even worse, about his family. Someone pushed past Fred and James. Having said his goodbyes, Albus Potter was making to board the train. The other end of the carriage was closer to his family, and Scorpius focused on Albus in puzzlement, wondering why the younger Potter boy was coming the way that required him to push past himself, Apollo and Nott, when it would be easier to go the other way, towards where the porter was beginning to load the student trunks into the luggage car.

"What does he want, I wonder?" Apollo murmured. Scorpius had no idea.

"Alright, Malfoy?" Albus greeted him loudly and then, without waiting for a response, added, "Good luck with Quidditch this year, we've got a few tricks up our sleeves, you won't win the cup this time!"

It was clear to Scorpius that the other boy had said this intentionally to be heard by his brother and cousin, and Scorp was quietly startled when Albus winked at him. The mention of Quidditch though, that pulled Malfoy out of his little funk and he smirked at the elder Potter. The previous term Slytherin had won the Quidditch Cup led by Scorpius as captain, while James Potter, captain for Gryffindor, had to swallow defeat with Gryffindor in last place. The elder Potter's expression grew sulky and one of his younger girl cousins nudged him teasingly but Scorpius didn't see which one it was, only seeing a flash of red hair behind Potter's shoulder. Could have been almost any of them. He made to respond to Albus but the other boy had already boarded the train, apparently not intending to wait around for conversation. Apollo watched this exchange with a heavy-lidded gaze, like a lizard baking in the sun and eyeing up potential prey that was interesting enough to keep an eye on but too far away to expend any effort in catching.

"Made a new friend over the summer?" He asked in a low voice which brimmed over with the barest hint of curiosity.

"Hardly." Scorpius responded, and was about to say more when they were interrupted by the presence of Nera Zabini at his shoulder wanting his attention. Scorpius turned around only to be swamped by a hug.

"Mother said you were coming on your own and that Aunt Astoria was upset that you didn't want her to see you off." Nera reported, linking her arm with his and giving him a nudge. She fixed him with a look, made more intense by the glasses she wore. Nera's voice encouraging an explanation. Scorpius simply shrugged and resolutely turned away from the Weasleys to focus more completely on Nera.

"I felt like it." He said, trying for nonchalance, wondering if he'd set a precedence for himself and would have to come on his own next year too.

Nott and the other boys seemed impressed but Nera looked skeptical. She wasn't one inclined toward unnecessary adventures, a behaviour which she categorised as 'too Gryffindor', but she miraculously refrained from any sort of accusation of that variety.

"Well you better get on the Express before my mother comes over to give you a proper send off."

Scorpius looked around, a bit worried at that. It was a very real threat since Daphne Zabini, his mother's older sister, did tend to be quite affectionate and would probably embarrass him on purpose just to spite him so she could laugh about it later. His Aunt was nearby talking with her eldest daughter, this year's head girl Acantha Zabini, who was playing up the affectionate farewell to the best of her abilities and drawing quite a bit of attention for her efforts. Scorpius would say hello to his older cousin once they were all safely on the train. He nodded at Nera. She was right.

"We should claim our seats." She suggested and dragged Scorpius along, the other boys following behind like a small procession.

1.3 The Slytherin Carriage
Once they had boarded the train Nera went on ahead, leading the boys to the middle cars. They'd given up snagging a private car back in third year, generally preferring to take over one of the larger shared spaces. At first it had just been Scorpius, Nera, Apollo and Takeshi Haneda, but soon enough the majority of their Slytherin year mates, and a few others in the years directly above and below, had migrated to the centre of the train too. It was a definite snakes nest now; it didn't take long for younger students from other houses to get uncomfortable and move up the train to look for somewhere a little bit less intimidating. There were definitely more than a few brutish types currently residing in Slytherin after all and besides which, it did get rowdy so anyone looking for a quiet moment before arriving at Hogwarts was entirely out of luck. Scorpius preferred the social side of it all, especially after a summer spent with just his family. It was Nera's job to flush people out of their chosen seats and as usual she managed it with a few words and an acidic flick of her fingers. Nera wasn't intimidating to look at, she appeared to be the bookish type. Liam Pucey had once referred to her as the 'sexy librarian snake' and gotten himself thoroughly hexed for his troubles. Nera did not exude anything resembling a threat unless she spoke and even then only when she wanted to. While she wasn't particularly physical, she was no slouch with a wand, partly because she had no compunctions about being ruthless, and had her own agenda and set of ethics to go along with that. Underestimating her was most unwise but someone inevitably did and the results always amused Scorpius to no end.

Scorpius took his usual seat right in the middle of the long compartment, his back against the window and his legs across a seat wide enough to comfortably seat two. From there he could see the entire car and nobody could sneak up on him. The back of his seat and the one in front of him served as armrests and he relaxed by slow degrees, enjoying the sense of familiarity that came with going back to Hogwarts coupled with a sense of pride over his achievements the previous year. He could bask in the glory of having led the Slytherin team to an admittedly spectacular Quidditch victory in his first year as captain. Even now, just thinking about it made Scorpius smile. It wasn't the stereotypical smug smile of a victorious snake, rather it was the genuine smile of a boy recalling how proud his father had been of him. His grandfather had been proud too, though Lucius Malfoy had been much less vocal about it, and had simply made a deposit in Scorp's account at Gringotts. His mother had fussed of course but she did that no matter what. Astoria Malfoy was very loving and always proud of him, so it was nice to have actually done something that gave her reason to be proud instead of just that whole motherly thing of loving your children just for existing.

To get his father to be proud enough to brag about him and arrange a special father-son celebration was something out of the ordinary, and Scorp suspected it might even be Patronus worthy since the passing thought alone made him warm and happy. They'd gone to see the Quidditch World Cup final in Japan during the summer and Scorpius had been lucky enough to see the English victory over the Peruvian team, a glorious repeat of the clash during the 2002 World Cup, which his father had reminisced over with boyish enthusiasm. To Scorp it seemed like all the adult witches and wizards knew where they were and what they had been doing during the 2002 victory. It had been the first World Cup since the Second Wizarding War, and England had throttled the Peruvian host team. It had been a narrower victory over Peru this year, but Scorpius had found it all the more exciting because of it and he and his father had both gone half mad with the excitement of it. Joyous Malfoys weren't a common sight, but Scorpius was pretty sure he'd even seen his father hug a Muggleborn in the heat of the moment. That's how amazing it was to have been there.

Nera was carrying on a conversation with Nott, and Scorpius looked up at the arrival of Takeshi. He'd seen last seen the Japanese boy at the World Cup, since the Hanedas had gone along too and shared a box with the Malfoys. After Japan had been knocked out of the competition by Peru, Takeshi had been cheering for England just as loudly as Scorpius and Draco. More reserved by nature than Scorpius, as Slytherin's Keeper Takeshi clearly held the same pride in the Slytherin cup win as Scorp did, and the English victory in the World Cup was just icing on the cauldron cake. By contrast, Apollo thought Quidditch was a waste of time except as a tool for controlling the masses, something for which he'd gravely thanked Scorpius's 'contribution to the cause'. He'd come along and watch, just to support those of his friends that did play, but Apollo Burke had never shown any interest in playing for himself. He could barely fly a broom but maintained that was because he didn't want to rather than because he wasn't capable.

"Greetings, Malfoy." Takeshi sat down in the seat across from Scorp, and Apollo, who returned at that moment after taking a detour to the food trolley to get some snacks, clambered over Takeshi to claim the window seat. Scorpius tried not to laugh at the uncharacteristic scowl Takeshi directed at the prefect..

"Do you not have a meeting to get to?" Takeshi addressed Apollo in a tone that would have been acidic coming from any other Slytherin, but from Takeshi was excruciatingly and measuredly polite.

Someone tossed a chocolate frog which arced over Scorp's head. Peripherally he saw Nera catch it and wave it at whoever had thrown it but he was more interested in Takeshi and Apollo's antics.

"I don't have to go yet. A minute more. Nera will probably want to go soon though." Apollo answered, and bit into a cauldron cake. That hadn't been Takeshi's point and Apollo knew it. He grinned at the other boy. "You could of course choose to stand up when I decide its time to leave."

"You mean when I decide." Nera corrected, leaning over Vincent and discarding the chocolate frog wrapper in his lap. "We'll move when the train does." She extracted the chocolate frog, eyed the famous witch and wizard card in distaste and then frisbeed it over at Takeshi. Scorp knew it was probably meant to be a consolation, since the Japanese boy collected them religiously, but to a casual observer it would appear almost violent. Takeshi caught it neatly and turned it over to take a look.

"Ron Weasley."

In a move that appeared practiced, Apollo obligingly stretched up to open the window even as Takeshi stood up and spun the card neatly through the gap. Both boys and several other Slytherins on that side of the train laughed when the five pointed card hit a younger student in the eye and Scorpius, who had leaned forward enough that he could just glimpse what had happened exchanged a smile with Nera, who rolled her eyes and bit the head off her chocolate frog.

"You know," Apollo observed as they sat down again, "I think that kid's name is actually Patch, and now he's gonna need one." Poor kid. Scorpius watched out the window from across the aisle as one of the Hufflepuff prefects rushed to the boy's aid.

"Hey Scorpius." A dulcet voice came from the seat behind him and the blond turned his head warily, Patch forgotten.

"Hi, Madeleine." He addressed the fifth year and took immediate note of the shiny new prefect badge she sported on her uniform. He also took note that she'd grown her hair longer and styled it in attractive waves, a style that was remarkably similar to that which this year's head girl wore as a trademark though Madeleine's hair was the same yellow as straw and not the dark glossy looks which Acantha sported. Still Scorpius took note that Madeleine had gotten a bit pretty over the summer. She was currently smiling at him with a noticeable sort of intensity, a smile which widened when he'd answered.

"How was your summer?" Madeleine asked. She leaned against the back of his seat, her arms folded and very carefully just touching Scorp's own arm. She was doing rather well at pretending like she hadn't noticed, he reflected.

"Great, went to the World Cup got to see the final." Scorpius answered, and at that, Takeshi leaned across the aisle for a high five, which Scorpius obligingly returned before lounging back against the window again.

"Oh I didn't go. I only follow Quidditch when you are playing, Scorpius." She said, all fluttering eyelashes and heaving breath. She pressed her arm against his with more insistance, being sure that the prefect badge on her chest was still visible. His friends were sniggering. Scorp didn't need to turn his head to know that one snort had come from Nott or that Apollo was probably doing a simpering physical reinactment of the dialogue Scorp and Madeleine were exchanging right about now.

"Well I'll be playing this year so I expect you to keep track of my stats." He was kidding but he said it with complete sincerity of both expression and voice. He certainly wasn't prepared for the response.

"Oh I do. You scored fourteen times with six assists last year, and in each game you scored within sixty seconds of gaining possession of the quaffle. Its so impressive Scorpius, especially that time when the bludger hit you and you scored anyway." Madeleine was all avid eyes and gushing speech and while she was pretty, Scorpius decided he liked her better when she wasn't talking. "I always cheer for you." She added. He was more worried about the fact that someone who didn't play could sum him up so easily. If she had made the observation that he was quick to score, chances were that someone else had too.

"For the Slytherin team you mean." Scorpius eased his arm off the back of the seat, reclaiming it for himself and tried to look nonchalant but he was distinctly aware of the gagging noises coming from Nera and the mockery his friends were exhibiting in general. It was always funnier, he reflected, when it was someone else. He disliked having an audience.

"Oh yes. For them too." Madeleine shot a dismissive look at the nearest Quidditch players and returned her focus to Scorpius.

"So. Prefect." He tried to change the subject, aware that she clearly wanted him to notice the prefect badge anyway and the sooner he did so, the sooner the conversation would be done. "Congratulations."

"Oh I know right? Its so fantastic. I'm so pleased." And now the girl was gushing over herself. Nera's gagging grew more pointed and finally Madeleine deigned to take notice, doing so with a glare that actually went further in her obvious quest to impress Scorpius than all the flirting had. It took a lot of guts to face down a Zabini, he knew. Probably that was part of why she actually did get prefect this year. Who was her co-prefect? He wondered this idly but had no interest in voicing the inquiry. He'd find out at some point.

The train lurched and began to move.

Takeshi eyed Apollo and stood up, gesturing imperiously for the prefect to get a move on. Apparently he didn't much like being climbed all over. Who knew? Nera managed to control herself and stood up too.

"See you later Scorpius." She smiled at him and ignored Madeleine. The sixth year turned on her heel and marched towards the prefect compartment. Apollo wasn't far behind, still eating his cauldron cake. Montague and Urquhart followed too. Ah. Scorp nodded to himself. Urquhart. There you go. The other new prefect, obviously.

"You better go." He told Madeleine, giving her an encouraging smile. He could flirt a little too, it wouldn't hurt anyone. She did stand up and made quite the show of it before giving him an entirely unnecessary wave goodbye.

"I'll see you later, Scorpius." Her words echoed Nera's but her tone was loaded with innuendo. He absently noted Madeleine's very short skirt as she left the carriage and wondered idly how long it would be until their head of house, Professor Atra, would call her up on it. With the train moving and half their group gone, Scorpius took out a book and began to read, losing himself in the pages and ignoring the general hubbub in the carriage. As long as he was pointedly reading, nobody would disturb him for the duration of the journey.

2.1 The Welcoming Feast

Acantha Zabini was livid. Scorpius had only needed the slightest glance at his cousin to figure that out. As the sorting continued and some of his house mates placed their bets on which scared little first years would end up where, Scorpius kept one ear out but there were no explosions; Acantha just sat there and simmered quietly. Perhaps she didn't want to scare any of the newly sorted Slytherin first years?

There were no hatstalls this term either, Scorp noted. Sorting time still gave him a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach and he was happy when all the new students were safely ensconced at their new tables and the feast itself began. Apollo and Nera were carrying on a discussion in low voices, Scorp couldn't make out what they were saying but then he was busy with his own thoughts.

A Quidditch discussion broke out nearby and he heard his name and excited discussion from some of the younger students. Who would make the team this year? Slytherin would win again, right? And just when were try-outs going to be anyway? Scorpius sighed to himself and buttered a roll. Really? He'd been here all of an hour and people wanted a schedule? He looked up, his grey eyes meeting the bright blue of Eurydice Hightower. The fourth year had been the youngest that made the team the previous year and she was a very talented chaser. He had no doubts that she'd make the team again if she decided to try out. She had a mocking smile on her face, clearly reacting to the excited Quidditch discussion loud enough to carry from half way down the table. Leaning over the table pointedly, she spoke loud enough to be heard by most everyone, actually asking Scorp rather than just speculating on it.

"So when's try-outs then?" She eyed him expectantly. She'd just been another skinny little girl the previous school year, but summer had been quite good to her. He hadn't noticed until now; it was sometimes easier to notice the girls that weren't in his own year or house, since he wasn't confronted with them nearly as often and any changes tended to be more remarkable by default. The beginning of the school year would soon have Scorpius and his dormmates assessing everyone anew, and the opening feast was the perfect time to look around in preparation for comparing notes with the other boys later, at least once he was done eating.

"Next week." He answered in a drawl. Obviously that was the usual time for try-outs to open. "I'm not sure which day yet, that depends on the other teams." Scorpius preferred to watch the other try-outs. The previous year, James Potter had tried to make the Gryffindor try-outs closed just to spite him but Madame Hooch hadn't stood for it and had allowed anyone to attend as long as they would stay quiet and behave in the stands. Of course he had behaved; he was there to scope out the competition, not to interfere with the try-outs themselves. Scorp shot a cursory glance down the table where most of the younger students were congregated. "I'll put a notice up tomorrow." He said with a note of finality, returning his attention to the food.

"We need at least four new players, don't we? Assuming everyone who played last year gets a spot." Eurydice wasn't done talking apparently and Scorpius bit into his buttered roll rather than answer. He was hungry.

Takeshi, who was sitting next to him, saved Scorpius from needing to respond. "Five, counting reserves. Flint is not allowed to play this year. His father has forbidden it until he betters his grades." The Japanese boy was loading up his plate as he spoke. He was always one to have a prodigious appetite and yet always ate with the most precise and impressive of table manners. Scorpius had never seen his dormmate with even a speck of food on his robes. He played Quidditch with the same precision. A good thing too since a keeper could not afford to be sloppy. As for Flint, he had played chaser the previous term, and played well. It would be a shame not to have him. Scorpius made a mental note as the chatter continued around him to see if Liam Pucey would try out for the position. Pucey had been a reserve the previous year, only playing in one game as a substitute, but he'd been a good fit on the field with himself and Hightower and they had all practiced together enough that it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to put Pucey in to start. He chewed on his roll and poured himself a pumpkin juice. Quidditch was like a giant Wizard's chessboard to him and he was picturing the playing pieces and how they moved together to form a strong and united front. You couldn't play chess without a few pawns in the right place. He finished his mouthful and considered the shiniest chess piece of them all.

"We need a new seeker." That started an explosive reaction of whispers. Seeker was the position that everyone seemed to think of as the star of the show. Scorpius knew better. Ravenclaw would need a new seeker too, Scorp kept track of the other teams like it was his religion. It kind of was. When he thought about it, Hightower wouldn't be half bad in as seeker. Takeshi, who subbed in as seeker when necessary could obviously play the position too, but he was more valuable as a keeper.

"You could do it." Eurydice suggested, eyeing him over the top of her goblet as she sipped her own pumpkin juice.

He probably could, Scorpius reflected, answering only with a casually dismissive shrug, but it wasn't like it was a particular talent of his and he wouldn't put himself in as seeker in an attempt to get all the glory or something of that nature. He didn't have a trumped up idea of his abilities, unlike some people he could name. His eyes trailed over the Gryffindor table. Weasley. Weasley. Weasley. Potter. Yeah, James Potter was, in Scorp's eyes, a perfect example of that.

"I can keep a closer eye on you lot as a chaser." Scorpius said, rather than badmouthing the seventh year Quidditch captain. He didn't need to say anything about Potter out loud, his antipathy was no secret. "Besides," He added, a half-way grin curving his lips, "I'm a crack shot."

Alright, so a little bit of glory didn't hurt.

"Prove it." Apollo leaned over with a grin, his expression daring. He reached out across Nera and indicated Scorp's half-eaten buttered roll.

Scorpius couldn't help his own answering grin. He hefted the roll, stood up and took aim, the bread spun through the air and, in the kind of perfect moment that would set Scorpius to happily reminiscing in future years, beaned James Potter right in the forehead. A cheer went up from the Slytherins and Scorpius essayed a modest bow before sitting down again. It was even worth attracting Professor Atra's attention. The Slytherin Head of House was suddenly right there, and just in time to stop Gryffindor needing to retaliate by providing a punishment before a food fight could ensue.

"Detention, Malfoy." That was all that was said before the man ghosted off again. While he wasn't actually a ghost, he bloody well moved like one and sometimes when Scorpius was younger he had wondered if under his floor length robes the professor sported wheels rather than legs and actually got around by rolling here and there instead of walking like a normal person. While it would have explained the smoothness of gait, this theory did nothing to illuminate why and how Atra seemed able to practically appear out of nowhere, usually at the most inopportune of moments. The students had, collectively, straightened up and gone quiet in an attempt to be respectful and not catch the man's attention. Best not to make eye contact.

Detention wasn't so bad though, really. Apollo maintained that it was necessary for Scorpius to earn a certain number of them a year, both to add to his reputation and to make up for the fact that Apollo and Nera had to, in theory, be on their best behaviour at all times.

"Well at least you didn't get us in negative points." Acantha was still a simmering cauldron of acid and her voice cut through the remaining Slytherin amusement just as effectively as Professor Atra's presence had. But Scorpius didn't miss the expression she directed over at the Gryffindor table herself, more triumphant than smug. Scorp knew he'd probably hear an earful later, but it was still worth it for the point he'd proved, and for murderous looks being sent his way by Gryffindors, none of whom could do anything about it right then.

"If you'd hit Fred Weasley, she'd have congratulated you and probably erected a statue." Nera whispered, careful not to let her voice carry too far.

"If you'd hit Yates Shacklebolt, Rose Weasley would have thrown you a parade." Apollo chimed in, which made Scorpius throw a slightly curious look at the prefects in question. Oh? Was there something going on there? Apollo didn't elaborate but Nera was clearly on the same page, judging by her expression and the sharp nod in punctuation of Apollo's rejoinder. Some prefect thing, Scorpius surmised, dismissing it out of hand.

"I would throw him a parade if he hit Shacklebolt." Takeshi remarked. Probably a lot of people would. They were all watching the Gryffindors now, and wasn't it nice to have these little untouchable moments? Slytherin bonding at its finest.

"I am not following any schedule he plans out." Nera directed this at her sister. Acantha assured Nera that nobody would have to follow Shacklebolt and Scorp went ahead and stopped paying attention. When the conversation focused on Shacklebolt for too long, he tended to get bored of it. That Gryffindor, like many of them in Scorp's experience, was all flash and no substance. He didn't like him and made a mental note that he would throw the next buttered roll at his head. Change things up a bit. For now though, he had a feast to enjoy.

3.2 Everybody Crushes on a Weasley Girl at Least Once
"Do you have a death wish or something, Scorpius?" Ruby Winickus, fellow sixth year Slytherin, spoke in such a pleasant tone that she could have simply been commenting on the weather. Scorpius slowed to a walk.

Slytherin had a scheduled study session every Monday after dinner starting right then, but he had no plans to go. It wasn't compulsory, just encouraged. There'd be too many over-excited youngsters there this early in the term. Scorpius often did go along, he just preferred to go when people actually used the time to study.

"No, no death wish that I can think of."

"Nera said she's not sure that you're up to it." Ruby always did have a habit of hanging on to Nera's every word. Maybe Nera had nudged Ruby to come speak to him.

"Up to what?" Scorpius paused while a group of young Hufflepuff students weaved past them and detoured towards the kitchens.

"Well it is quite the risk." Ruby sounded cautious about it. "I mean, there are so many of them, and James Potter and Fred Weasley aren't exactly card carrying members of the Malfoy fan club."

"Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing." Scorpius said confidently, intending to imply that he did know. He was mostly sure, even if it was a spur of the moment thing, his motivations were purely to irritate exactly the people she had named, with emphasis on James Potter. He believed that Muggles called it 'for the lulls', though he wasn't sure if it would truly cause a lull unless the phrase referred to a lull which laughter would fill quite nicely. He would brandish his patented smirk, the one that Slytherin boys basically had in their arsenal from birth, and hopefully the elder Potter boy would develop a twitch or something.

As they descended the main staircase to the dungeons, Ruby continued as if he hadn't spoken at all.
"I doubt any of the others are either, even if she's come over all fond and wised up to what the rest of us already knew."

"And what might that be?" He prompted.

Ruby rolled her eyes pointedly, clearly not willing to compliment him outright, but Scorpius just grinned at her. They'd dated for a short time back in fourth year. Nothing serious, and it had fizzled out after a few months. They weren't especially close now, she was more Nera's friend than his.

"Well you've delivered your little warning, Rubes. Cheers for that." A third year in front of them spoke the password at the wall and went inside, Scorpius and Ruby followed him into the Common Room, neither turning back to watch the wall close up again behind them. "Don't tell me it’s out of jealousy?" He was teasing.

"Please, Malfoy." She scoffed at him good naturedly. “Been there, done that. I just don't want to see Slytherin's Quidditch Captain in a coma for pushing his luck too far and coming up on the wrong side in a fight. You're too refined for fisticuffs, Scorpius."

He snorted inelegantly but took her point. He'd push his luck as much as he found entertaining, but not to the point of Gryffindoring.

"Noted. Goodnight, Ruby."

"Goodnight, Scorpius."

After smiling slightly in response he headed to his dorm and pushed open the door to find he hadn't been the only one of his fellows to choose not to attend the study meeting. Takeshi Haneda, Curtis Flint, Vincent Nott and Apollo Burke were all spread out around the room, the other two beds, belonging to Pucey and Goyle, were empty. Scorpius shut the door behind himself and went over to his own bed and began carefully unpacking his book bag. It was a process and he had a particular way of putting everything away just so. His part of the dormitory was the tidiest, which was why he and Takeshi had chosen beds near one another, Takeshi being possibly even more fussy and particular than Scorpius. Apollo was the next closest, but the gap by his bed was already full of all sorts of things- as if he'd spread his belongings out for easy access. He'd claimed the floor in the gap between Takeshi and Scorp's bed, and Scorpius had needed to step over him.

"I bet you've just been waiting for me to ask." Apollo said from the floor. He had watched Scorpius entered the dorm and immediately gone all smirky. "But you know, I've already assured everyone you know what you're doing."

"Besides." Nott chimed in, "She sat next to you."

"But he asked her to sit with him at the Gryffindor tryouts tomorrow." Curtis Flint pointed out.

Ignoring them, Scorpius hung his empty bag up and loosened his tie before laying back on his bed with a notebook and quill, planning to get some notes down in preparation for his own team tryouts later in the week, including what he knew about who would likely be on the team and who tried out last year but didn't make it.

"Look mate, everyone crushes on a Weasley girl at least once." Apollo pointed out in a tone that suggested he was simply commenting on the weather. "Why are you so against it?"

Scorpius made a derisive sound, not quite a snort. He thought it was entirely clear that he did not agree in the slightest. He didn't respond to Apollo's mildly delivered question. The other boy had to know the answer, he was just asking to be infuriating, to get a reaction. It was hard not to give him one considering Scorp DID find the subject irritating and ridiculous all in one go. It wasn't a date or a crush. It definitely hadn't been planned. He was going to ride it out, irritate Potter, and then after that it would be the end of it.

"Statistically it is so." Takeshi agreed, looking up from his book. "Might I enquire which one was your downfall?" The Japanese boy asked conversationally and looked down at Apollo who was stretched out in his preferred spot on the floor. The prefect's legs long enough now that his feet seemed to disappear under Scorpius's bed. Apollo looked around the room, his eyes half closed like he was stuck somewhere between awake and asleep. Often, it caused people to underestimate him, like they thought he wasn't paying attention.

"Victoire." Apollo answered in that reverent sort of tone reserved for someone reflecting on a cherished memory. "Almost made me ask the hat to put me in Gryffindor so that some of that supposed braveness and stupidity would rub off and I'd have enough guts to talk to her." Scorpius hardly believed that claim. Apollo Burke in Gryffindor? There was no chance that Apollo could ever put up with that much concentrated stupidity and hardheadedness without snapping like an owl postal worker, resulting in a murderous rampage, whereby he would either Avada the lot of them or threaten death by owl pecking squad.

"Dominique." Flint took his turn and Scorpius dryly wondered why his dorm mates had collectedly decided to have a bonding session while he, Scorpius Malfoy, was trying to bloody focus. Perhaps they'd been talking about this whole Rose Weasley business before he'd come in? Now he was torn between being mollified that it mattered and irritated by it.

"That doesn't prove anything except that you two aren't immune to Veela blood." Scorp pointed out, trying to be reasonable and lead the conversation to a close without it seeming too forced. It also proved that Curtis Flint liked a bit of crazy harpy in his life. Each to their own.

"Diluted Veela blood." There went Apollo again, looking irritatingly pleased with himself, a smirk tailoring itself to his lips. Adept at leading talk in whichever direction he pleased, Apollo didn't do it all the time or without reason. Scorpius supposed Apollo was about due for a bout of string-pulling and he resigned himself to the fact that whatever the other boy's reasons were, the purpose behind it all would be obscure and Scorp would probably never find out exactly what Apollo was up to. As close as they were, Apollo still proved himself half of a mystery two thirds of the time. For all Scorpius knew, Apollo Burke had a secret crush on bloody Rose Weasley himself or something and was simply testing the waters to see what sort of reaction it might get. Equally likely: Apollo had been talking to Nera and the two of them had decided to violate the ban on experimental breeding, the first step in their unholy quest to create pink haired Malfoys, a concept that both prefects seemed to find highly amusing.

"I was always partial to Molly myself." Nott had always shown a marked preference for intellectual girls though, so even Scorpius wasn't surprised that Vincent Nott had at some point had an eye on the former Head Girl.

"The Ravenclaw ones aren't as bad." Scorpius maintained a disapproving air. He wasn't planning on entertaining any bit of the whole ridiculous notion for himself. Crushes on Weasleys? Please. Scorp wasn't the type to mope over any girl that wouldn't reciprocate interest, and in the going-on-six years he'd been at Hogwarts he'd discovered that Weasleys and Potters were better at showing disdain or outright antipathy in his general direction, like each and every one of them expected him to be the embodiment of those of his family members that probably were the stuff of their collective nightmares and the main feature in the stories told to scare one another as small children. Prejudice and all that. He was privately certain that the other children of former death eater parents didn't get half of the bad rap that he got. With the possible and sometime exception of Albus Potter, who could admittedly be alright, Scorpius had no interest in being on friendly terms with any of that brood, and especially not romantic terms with one of the Weaselettes.

"Alright Snowflake, feel special then, but you're no different." Apollo waved a finger at him in an older-and-wiser sort of gesture. "I'm just saying, you may as well hang for a Dragon as an Egg, right?"

“Thank you for your unsolicited advice, it moves me so.” Scorpius answered dryly, turning to a blank page in his notebook. If he couldn’t explain his reasons to himself, he wasn’t going to try and explain it to anyone else. “It’s just Quidditch.”

That was all it was.

3.4 Slytherin Tryouts
Saturday morning and it was time for tryouts set to start at 9am sharp. Scorpius had gotten up early to prepare. It wasn't just about making sure the pitch was ready, it was double checking the equipment and the sign up sheets and taking a moment to himself before all the insanity began. He'd attended the tryouts for all three of the other teams, watched with great interest to see what talent was out there and mentally picked who he would have wanted if it was his team. Of course the Gryffindor tryouts had been a shining example of nepotism. No need to bother trying out unless you were a Weasley or a Potter or good enough friends with those families. The only bit that had made that particular tryout interesting was that he had found himself in attendance with Rose Weasley. Strange but true. The delightful part was how James Potter was clearly so bothered by it and it distracted him from the task at hand. Scorpius did his best to put across body language that would just infuriate the eldest Potter even more, without him actually doing anything of course. Potter could think whatever he wanted and Scorp would, and frequently did, just play innocent. All that was over now and so were the whispers. At least the audible ones.

Prior to try outs, Scorpius had decided to go for a run before he was due to start things, intending to burn off a bit of the excess energy and some of the odd frustrations that had been plaguing him recently. A potions essay had been assigned already and it was due Monday. Scorpius wasn't looking forward to trying to fit that in when his weekend was already full. As for that Weasley business, that seemed to have died down now too, but he was interested to see who might show up to watch the Slytherin trials. He didn't expect Rose to come and reminded himself not to think of her as Rose. Rose Weasley. That was best. Good thing about being the only Malfoy was that nobody ever got mixed up with who they were referring to when they used his last name. They hadn't talked aside from a hello and a goodbye during the Gryffindor tryouts, not really. All acting aside, Scorpius had been mostly engrossed in watching and making a note here and there in the notebook he'd brought along with him. Useful thing that notebook. He used it especially and only for Quidditch and it was small enough to slip into his pocket. He patted said pocket now to reassure himself that it was there.

He was in his Quidditch gear for the tryouts, complete with his shiny captain's badge and a broom he'd received from his father the year before. Second best broom available by popular opinion though Scorp's broom had a few adjustments and customizations to account for his personal playing style that he felt made it the superior choice. He hated to let anyone else touch it, it was his baby. Having just finished the run around the grounds, Scorpius headed toward the pitch with said broom over one shoulder, his opposite hand negligently flicking his wand and levitating a large box of bludgers behind him. There were quaffles and a snitch in there too of course. His grey eyes flickered upward as he noticed someone else already in the air and he lowered the box of bludgers, taking a seat on it near the pitch entrance. He leaned forward and looked up, following the lone flyer with a crtitical eye. Lost in thought and wondering who was up there, Scorpius jumped slightly as the bludgers stirred in the box and began to bang against the inside of the box with enough force that he could feel the vibrations travel in waves up his spine.

Scorpius watched the kid land and dismount. It was a girl. His eyes trailed after her speculatively as she approached and began to walk over. Titch of a thing flew well, he noted as he tucked his hair behind his ears and leaned back with his hands gripping tightly to the box edges as the bludgers beneath got more and more worked up. Making a small noise under his breath, Scorpius stood up and kicked the box in annoyance. It was hard to concentrate with all that vibrating. He glanced up at the flyer, recognizing the young girl as a Slytherin, and familiar features at that.

"I know you. You're Cordelia Shettigar's little sister." Cordelia had been a prefect for Slytherin and the dueling club leader in Scorp's first year.

She nodded shyly.

"Here for tryouts?"

"I didn't put my name down." She said apologetically. "Is that... is it too late?"

Scorpius let out a thoughtful humphing sound and extracted a tiny clipboard from his pocket, which he enlarged and examined, tugging the accompanying quill free with a jerk and then eyeing her over the edge of the clipboard itself.

"I don't actually know your name, apart from the Shettigar part."

"Coraline." She seemed to gain a bit of confidence saying her name out loud and lifted her chin. "Coraline Shettigar, third year."

"Third year? Are you sure? You're a bit weedy." Scorpius was already starting to write her name down though and turned the clipboard around with a flourish. "Looks like you did sign up after all."

"I'm small and quick." She corrected him, flushing slightly though her chin lifted stubbornly.

"What are you trying out for? You flew pretty well just now, from what I saw."

Coraline didn't react to the compliment aside from by straightening up a bit. "Seeker. I heard that you were short one of those."

"Right." Scorpius answered a bit dryly. "Seeker. Pretty important to have at least one floating about." He glanced up, the first of the Slytherins who were trying out were beginning to make their way to the pitch. He liked to hold tryouts early to set an expectation for practices, and it usually meant that the lazier ones wouldn't even bother showing up. That was good news, Slytherin didn't need any lazy players.

"You've got a while before we're due to start." He told her and then glanced at the box of Quidditch balls again as it shuddered. He'd already checked the balls for curses or hexes of any kind, not putting it past Potter to go ahead and do something like that, but they were clean. The Bludgers were just as eager to start the season as the players were, after being locked away in a box since May.

Scorp sat on it again and as more students arrived, he ticked them off on his clipboard. His players from the previous year, Haneda, Hightower, Montague and Goyle arrived together. Eurydice got a few impressed looks from those of her yearmates who were there to try out, not just because she was a good player who was pretty much guaranteed a spot on the team, but because she showed up with what pretty much looked like a bodyguard contingent. Very wrockstar of you, Hightower.

"Five minutes before we begin." Scorp called out, noting the stands were starting to fill up too. Gryffindors? That was new, but expected all things considered. He gave the gaggle that included two Potters, two Weasleys and Shacklebolt an enthusiastic and admittedly taunting wave, playing it up as if he were overjoyed to see them.

"Where's your girlfriend, Malfoy?"

His head turned at the mocking voice and he glared at its owner. Anthony Sloper, Hufflepuff's Quidditch Captain, who had joined the others in the stands. If there was anyone in the entire school whom Scorpius Malfoy could honestly say he disliked more than any Gryffindor or any Weasley that had ever graced the halls it was Sloper. Where messing with Potter was often entertainment, the rivalry with Sloper was different and to top it off Scorpius genuinely disliked him. Sloper took the concept of 'rabid Badger' to a whole new level. He was saved from answering however by the Red Horde, who out-glared Scorpius by at least half again.

"She's not his girlfriend!" Shacklebolt contested hotly and Scorpius winced at the volume of his voice. Who needed a sonorous charm?

"Are you going to do something?" That was Urquhart in a whisper. Most everyone trying out had arrived now and were watching the escalating argument with varying degrees of interest, Scorpius finding it remarkable that Sloper and Shacklebolt had pretty much forgotten he was there while they bickered.

"No. No, I don't think so." Scorpius answered with a wink. "A Slytherin can get in real trouble trying to do the right thing."

"To truly succeed, others must fail." Takeshi said quietly and Urquhart looked uneasy but capitulated. "Perhaps they will eliminate one another and save us the need to concern ourselves at all." Scorpius liked the sound of that and he grinned at his friend. It was almost time to start and he was surprised to see, up in the stands, somehow Fred Weasley had managed to get everyone to shut up. Who knew?

"Alright, gather around, its time to start." It was nine a.m on the dot when Scorpius turned to those on the field, raising his voice to be heard clearly by all. It really was a wonder that anyone had shown up to watch.The bludgers were getting even more excited in their case and a few students eyed it warily. He hoped they all knew what was inside. "First I want to see how you all fly, so when you get up there, pull out all the stops. I'm not looking for showy unless there's skill behind it, we're not Gryffindors, I want to see some substance behind the flash." That got a jeer from the stands but he ignored it. "After that we'll run a few mini games, and you'll each rotate through whichever positions you are trying out for. If I tell you to get off the field you'll go, no questions." Or he'd hex them. He had his wand on him after all and would keep it when he was in the air and watching everyone's progress. "To end we'll have a little chat and I want to hear about how you thought you did, and how you thought others did. I'll be looking for strengths and weaknesses in all of you and I want you lot to do the same." And that last part would be a nice quiet discussion which would take place in the middle of the pitch where nosy observers couldn't overhear. "School brooms are there for anyone who doesn't have their own. Remember that there are no guarantees of position and if you held a spot last year I bloody well expect even more from you now, so don't get complacent or I'll find a replacement. Let's get started. Fifteen minutes, show me what you've got up there." The responses were enthusiastic, and some were nervous. One little kid looked about ready to wet himself and Scorpius quickly added, "If you need to go to the bathroom, be back in five minutes and make sure you let me know you're leaving the pitch." You know, just so they knew that they could.

He caught Takeshi smiling at him in excitement and Scorpius returned the grin before mounting his broom. Scorpius cast a Sonorous charm on himself so he could be heard across the pitch if need be, and then launched into the air to take up a prime observation position, ready to find Slytherin another winning team.

4.1 In The Slytherin Common Room
Saturday afternoon and Scorpius had homework to do already. For a moment or two he seriously entertained the idea of not doing it. After all, even if the season hadn't quite started yet, weekends were for Quidditch and then, when Slytherin won all their games, for celebrating in style. As Apollo had pointed out that morning, It had been a while since the last really big party; the trashy sort where girls woke up with regrets, while Scorpius somehow woke up with more clout for his ever-growing and grossly over exaggerated reputation. Apollo had been kidding around when he mentioned it, but it was true enough. Sometimes Scorpius felt a bit like the other Slytherins were molding him, making him some sort of figurehead. Silly thought maybe, and Scorpius was well able to stand on his own two feet, but the niggling feeling remained. Maybe it was ego to think anyone was that interested in him (and of course he had a fair bit of that like any Malfoy) but it was also tempered by a depth of feeling that most wouldn't believe he was capable of showing. Then again, maybe that depth of feeling was a Malfoy thing too. An ego thing.

Most of the stories that surfaced about him were pure rumour but Scorp never denied a thing. it was okay by him that the bloody school built up a picture of how they thought the Malfoy heir conducted himself. As long as in the grand scheme of things he was following his own moral code and the rumours didn't get in the way of his every day life, what did it matter? He mulled over this thought as he walked the dungeon corridor. It was kind of funny in some ways to see people believe whatever story they were fed. In Scorp's case, the reputation that resulted from the stories about him caused different reactions from house to house. He was popular in Slytherin, he could count more than a few Ravenclaws among his friends, and had even dated a Hufflepuff the previous year. Scorpius actually had a lot of good friends. People he laughed with, cared about, joked with, spent holidays with. He wasn't lonely, and while he had introspective moments, Scorpius was generally outgoing and confident. His Malfoy swagger sometimes turned towards arrogance, but was coupled with a genuine, easy smile more often than a sneer. It went without saying that he did not have any real friends in Gryffindor. It wouldn't be so bad, he reflected, to have a friend or two in that house, but it had just never happened. He was too Malfoy for any of them to accept him easily.

It was good that he was used to it now, Scorpius reflected as he spoke the password in front of a blank stretch of stone wall and subsequently made his way into the common room. When he was younger he'd had a secret burning desire to be liked. Not that it had been much of a problem exactly, he had friends and a loving family, it was just that he'd found it hard to pretend like he didn't care about the whispers and the assumptions about his character. Everyone knew who the Malfoys were. Not everyone approved, even if his father and grandfather had gone out of their way to restore the family's good name, some people insisted the Malfoys had never had a good name to begin with. Throwing money at St. Mungo's and showing support for new, prejudice-free legislation within the Wizarding World wasn't enough. There were too many who remembered. Too many who held their own prejudice close to their hearts. Weasleys, mostly. There bloody were enough of them to form a majority. Bred like rabbits.

At this time of evening, before dinner, the common room was bustling. He always felt an odd burst of satisfaction when he entered, a feeling of belonging. There was nothing like the Slytherin dungeon and the greenish glow of the lanterns always welcomed him. There were always a few first years who felt ill when first confronted with the common room, either as a reflection of the green tinge which bathed everything in the shared space, or because the concept of being under the lake spooked them, but Scorpius had instantly taken to the place. It was always warm, even if sometimes it could be a little bit damp, and it was at least as grand as home, and yet there was always someone around, resulting in a sense of community that the Malfoy Manor lacked. It made sense when there were more than seventy kids sharing the Slytherin quarters, and it wasn't as if Scorp's family was large enough to warrant a comparison of numbers. There were a lot of empty rooms at home, and besides, nothing could beat going to sleep with the sound of water at your windows. Scorpius even had a little charmed globe at home which made water noises to help him sleep during the holidays.

He threw himself on his favourite couch, a dark green leather thing, claiming the entire stretch of it with his length despite the fact it was made to comfortably sit three. His entry did not go unnoticed but Scorp ignored the younger students and their whispers about Saturday's Quidditch try outs in favour of the greeting thrown at him by his older cousin, Acantha Zabini.

"Malfoy." The Head Girl intoned, somehow managing to put affection and a greeting into her voice as she named him. Scorpius tilted his head back and smiled at her, but didn't move. She looked like she was handling working with the Head Boy quite well in the sense that she no longer appeared as if she was going to implode at any given moment as he had suspected she might just a few days ago. The dark-haired girl examined him for a moment and then stood up, her movements sinuous and controlled. Nothing Acantha did was unintentional and her every movement was designed to draw the eye. She'd inherited her father's high cheekbones, darker skin and almond shaped eyes, but her eyes were the same startling green of her mother, the whole effect was rather exotic and the contrast with Scorpius was in turns complementary and jarring, depending on how much the casual observer liked or disliked one or the other of them.

Scorpius watched her approach. His cousin was someone he admired and even counted on. Acantha was formidable, most were wary of her, but she never seemed to break any rules. It was the opposite really, Acantha was a firm believer in rules, and entirely too adept at bending them and finding loopholes. She was a smart girl, but relied more on her looks than she needed to in Scorp's opinion. She really wasn't much like her younger sister at all. As the thought occurred to him, Scorpius sat up a little and glanced around for her.

"Where's Nera?"

"Scorpius, playing favourites?" Acantha gave his feet a shove with one knee and pouted at him. "Can't you just pretend I'm your favourite cousin for one day? Move your feet, oaf."

"When you talk so sweetly, how can I resist?" Scorpius answered dryly and then laughed, sliding his feet off the couch and sitting up further, though he remained comfortably and gracefully slouched, the embodiment of lounging. Nearby a group of first and second years were carefully pretending not to be listening. The Head Girl and the Quidditch Captain both ignored them entirely.

"Where have you been? I was looking for you earlier." Acantha crossed her legs carefully, and fixed her cousin with a look. Her eyes were calculating, though Scorpius knew there was warmth there too.

"Just around." He shrugged. Scorpius liked a little bit of time for himself, time where he could be alone with his thoughts. As an only child, and despite his social nature, the sixteen year old enjoyed some privacy. It was something you had to give up to at least some extent at Hogwarts. Even if his housemates tended to appear to be leaving each other be, in reality ears were up and everyone was listening and watching for anything that could be of benefit to themselves. It was the nature of things and Scorp didn't begrudge it, but he did often wander about on his own. He'd explored the entire castle in its entirety by the end of his fourth year, and he was sure that was something most students couldn't brag about. Not that Scorpius tended to brag, but his memory was uniquely suited to such undertakings. Any Slytherin learned early on if they wanted directions to anywhere in the castle, to ask Malfoy, who could not only explain in the most simple of terms, but provide shortcuts and obscure ways which would allow a careful student to venture almost anywhere undetected.

Unnoticed by Scorpius, Apollo and Nera stepped into the common room, chatting idly.

"Around." Acantha repeated in a fondly teasing tone. She nudged his knee. "Anyone would think you're going off with a Weasley, as secretive as you are."

Scorpius gave her a wide-eyed look and instead of sneering at the idea as one might expect from a Malfoy, he laughed. Did that even need words to explain how absurd the idea was? Clearly Acantha had heard about that whole potions thing and his appearance at the Gryffindor Quidditch tryouts, but that had only been about irritating Yates Shacklebolt and the Weasley element was practically irrelevant. and even if Scorpius had played along, he'd maintain that stance until his dying days.

"Eww." Nera's voice. "Can you imagine? The babies would have pink hair." It was a tired joke. She ruffled Scorp's own blond head and moved around the couch to take a seat in an armchair, tucking her feet up and resting her chin on her knee. She regarded her cousin and sister from behind her glasses, her expression serious. Scorpius knew the glasses were an affectation. It wasn't as if the Zabinis didn't have the money for Nera to get her eyes fixed, but the girl enjoyed wearing them, both for fashion and as a supposed statement against the pureblood status quo, which, while Nera was fond of appearing to be against all the blood purity stuff, actually mattered a great deal to her. She thought good breeding was especially important, and was very, very proud of her wizarding heritage, even if her own father's exact lineage was unknown. The green, rectangular frames suited Nera and gave her an intelligent look which luckily was backed by a prodigious intellect. Not that Nera was one to put her brain to use in the traditional sense, usually she only scraped by with average marks, something that baffled the professors. Nera preferred to spend her time researching her own interests or entertaining herself with the subtle manipulation of their peers. She was less physical than her sister, preferring to use her mind to gain power, rather than her body. Where the eye was generally drawn to Acantha, Nera was the opposite. As striking as she was, somehow the eye often forgot to notice, and slid over her. At least until she spoke. Her voice was a weapon and she could be very convincing where she had reason to be. Apollo perched on the arm of her chair, as co-prefects they were often together now, though it was Scorpius who they had in common and Scorpius had always thought they mostly just coexisted and tolerated each other for his sake.

"Zabini, come over here would you? Settle an argument." Montague called from where he was sitting at a cluster of tables. Acantha had been sitting with him moments before joining her cousin. Both Zabini girls looked up, Nera looking away again in apparent boredom when she saw who it was and realised she wasn't the one being addressed.

Acantha sighed and stretched like a cat. "My people await." She blew Scorpius a kiss and stood up, sauntering back to the tables and leaving the three sixth years be. With her leaving, the younger students went back to their own conversations, less interested now that the head girl was gone and nothing exciting was being discussed.

Nera was watching Scorpius again and he turned his head to look at her but didn't give her the satisfaction of asking what she wanted.

"That potions essay, seriously its like Sato wants to bore us to death." Apollo was saying and Scorpius took it as a natural progression of the conversation considering the Weasley Incident. Nera smiled and raised one eyebrow at Scorpius. "I wonder if he even reads the bloody things. I mean, surely he gets bored too? Who cares about... what was it?"

"How the phases of the moon affect the harvest of water plants and the subsequent effects on a potion." Nera supplied automatically.

"Could it be more convoluted?" Scorpius commented, deciding that Nera's staring was even more pointed with those glasses she wore. Like when you angled a magnifying glass so that the sun was concentrated through it. If she wanted something, he hadn't managed to decipher what it was.

"Can you think of a more straight forward way to say it?"

"No and I'm not about to try." Scorpius wagged one finger at Nera. He'd known her since they were babies but whatever motivated Nera often remained a mystery to him. He eyed her, noticing that she had her hair tied back today, barely enough of it to stay in a ponytail. Her hair could be a little on the kinky side, but she kept it smooth, tamed and glossy with charms and potions and maintained a fringe which only served to emphasize her glasses and the same green eyes her sister boasted. Nera's skin was lighter than Acantha's, but not by much. Her face was more heart shaped, her bone structure resembling that of her mother's more so than that of her father's. She was slimmer than Acantha too, and yet softer, less muscled. Nera cared little for exercise and was unfit enough that she'd dropped all the classes held in classrooms located above the sixth floor as soon as she'd been able to, something Scorpius would tease her about if only Nera would react. Really though, who chose their academic pursuits based on the location of each class in the castle? She didn't care what he though, and met any such teasing with a cool look and a calculating smile that made you wonder if it was all part of some grand scheme and she was the one who ought to be laughing.

"How about 'The relationship between moon phases and water plant harvesting in regards to potion brewing.' Or something like that." Apollo suggested, fussing with his tie and not looking up at either of them.

"How about who cares?" Scorpius made a face and adjusted one of the cushions at his back to a more comfortable position. Nothing worse than getting a kink in your neck or your back from slouching, not that he'd sit up except when his grandfather or father insisted on it. It was hard work to drape yourself in a manner that appeared careless while also protecting your spine.

Scorpius actually liked potions, and was always getting excellent marks but the term had barely begun. If this essay was an indication of how NEWT prep was going to be, Scorpius wasn't looking forward to the rest of it. Without looking at Apollo, Nera gave her co-prefect a nudge, pushing him off balance so that he stood up. Looking as if he was tempted to hiss but couldn't quite work up the energy, Apollo glanced at her, and then at Scorpius who shrugged and indicated that the other boy could join him on the couch. Apollo took the other end, then used his wand to move a foot stool close enough for his use, lazily kicking his feet up and crossing them at the ankle, expensive boots on display. His head was turned and he was watching a game of Wizard's Chess through heavy lidded eyes.

"I might go and scope the library before dinner, get a start on this thing." Scorpius was already standing up even as he spoke and Apollo looked back at him, clearly not inclined to come over all studious himself.

"I'll save you a seat, mate." He answered in dismissal.

Scorpius nodded and, absently pulling his robes around him a little tighter, strode from the common room. He could feel Nera's eyes on his back and the feeling remained the entire way to the library.

4.4 The Hidden Journal

To Whom It May Concern:

It is considered extremely rude to read someone else’s journal, which is what you're doing right now. Put it back where you found it immediately.

Scorpius smirked, wondering if instructions like that would work on anyone? No, book; Scorpius Malfoy would NOT put you back, immediately or otherwise. He continued reading.

To Whom It May Concern:

I can only assume that since you are still reading this journal, you believe yourself to be above the rules of common decency. I feel very sorry for your mother having raised a child as rude as you are.

In actual fact the journal was right. Scorpius did tend to believe himself above anything at all considered common, but he hardly thought it was fair to assume him rude. It was a book. In a library. There was nothing odd about him reading it, or rude. And his mother had raised him very well, thank you very much, book.

Dear Interloper,

I was quite assured last year, during the Horrible Incident in which my own cousin stole my journal from beneath my mattress and read snippets aloud in the common room, that I am the most boring person alive and that no one with a life of their own would be remotely interested in my day-to-day or the things I feel pertinent enough to record. If that is true, and if you are still reading this journal in spite of the fact that it is rude and invasive, I might as well offer one last warning: you probably have better things to do than read my thoughts and activities. After said Horrible Incident, I bought a charmed journal and found a new location to hide it in order to discourage the extreme lengths curiosity will lead those of my own blood. As all the old and boring entries have been transferred over via copying charms, you should be prepared to be very bored in short order. There is neither scandal nor salty language in this journal, nor have I had time or desire to cultivate a great romance at this point in my life.

All in all, if you persist in reading that which is clearly not your business, I must warn you: prepare yourself for extreme boredom and disappointment.

This journal and its author clearly needed to be taken down a peg or two. Scorpius, ever obliging, would do so simply by reading it in spite of the stupid warnings. If it was too boring to read, then he'd stop because he wanted to and not because some bloody journal insisted it was nobody's business. He'd already figured out a thing or two about whoever the owner was. Trumped up opinion of themselves, possessing of at least one unsavoury family member, female (after all, there was that 'Great Romance' bit), bossy. Definitely that last one. He pulled a disparaging face at the book and turned the page to the first entry.

1 September 2017

Breakfast:
1 egg, scrambled
1 slice of bread, lightly toasted, served with butter and marmalade
1 glass, milk
2 strips, bacon

I am not exactly sure how this whole journal thing goes. L insists that any proper girl must keep a diary for all her adventures and love affairs, which is a bit frightening from a 9-year-old. I don’t think I can keep anything so frivolous (isn’t that a marvelous word?) as a diary, but a journal is quite alright. Even Aunt G keeps a journal, and she’s worked as a actual writer for years and years. Mum bought me this little lined book, even though I never would have asked for it myself. Everyone is so uptight about journals in this family, which is why L continues to beg for one unsuccessfully. She likes the ones with the tiny heart-shaped lock and even tinier key, but Aunt G absolutely refuses.

It seems very Romantic to write letters to oneself. Not in the kissy-face way, but in the Heathcliff on the moors sort of way. (Yes, I’ve read that book, although I think it would scandalize Dad tremendously. People dying for love and all that codswallop). Except maybe that isn’t the way Mum wanted me to use this book. Suppose I’m supposed to keep track of my homework and such in here, and she would think it self-indulgent to spend two WHOLE paragraphs worrying over what to write. I doubt she’d ever ask to see what I write about, but sometimes I feel that she just knows things.

Down to business, then. We’re leaving for the train station in a few minutes, and I’ll be on my way to Hogwarts for the first time. We’re taking the car, which is why Dad and H keep walking around it in the driveway, kicking at the tires and talking loudly about ‘horsepowers’. I don’t know what a horsepower is, and I’m pretty sure Dad doesn’t either. I spent all weekend packing my trunk, but, even though I used the checklist she provided, Mum has unpacked it twice to make sure I’m not forgetting anything. She even colorcoded my packing list and stuck it inside the lid of the trunk. As if I need an alphabetical listing of which pajamas and socks I’m taking.

I wish we’d just GO already. My stomach is full of snitches.

Scorpius read through the first entry once and then again and slower having taken particular note of the date. Whoever wrote this wasn't just at the school now, they had, by the date, been sorted at the exact same time as him. Well that was interesting enough. He considered the warnings at the start of the journal and the note that the old entries had been transferred into it from whatever original book held them, and wondered at why the author had felt it necessary. Maybe there was something useful in here, or why waste the time and effort let alone the paper?

Continuing to read, Scorpius spent a moment scoffing at the journal. Wuthering Heights! He knew it was a girl, just knew it. Didn't even need the writer to confirm it when there was stuff like that peppered throughout. Never mind that Scorpius caught the reference and understood it. The library at home was expansive, that was all that meant. Not that he had to justify himself to a journal. He had his own moment of introspection, recalling that first trip to Kings Cross. His father certainly hadn't taken him by car. Who did that, honestly? Might as well just make it go all the way there like a muggle. What did they call that again? Driving! Might as well just drive it all the way to Hogsmeade instead of taking up space on the express. He raised one eyebrow. These people were obviously bonkers. Horses had nothing to do with cars. And horses with powers were obviously magical horses. Flying horses made far more sense as a method of transportation in Scorp's eyes. He continued reading.

Lunch:
1 sandwich, corned beef
1 grape soda
1 chocolate frog (Card: Hermione Granger. Is that supposed to be comforting?)

I keep remembering that Mum and Dad met each other on their very first train ride, and that Dad met his very best friend in the train station beforehand. Every single person I look at, I keep thinking ‘are we going to be friends?’ and then ‘oh, Merlin, I hope I don’t have to fall in love with you someday.’ The very first person we met when we got here was this extremely short boy with a squashed-puppy face, and if he’s my soul mate, then I am very disappointed in the state of my soul. I expected so much more.

Mum keeps reminding me, “You’re going to have a lovely time. Don’t worry if you don’t make any friends at first. People are intimidated by brainy women.” And SO ON. And then Dad says, “Avoid mountain trolls. And if you’re sorted into Slytherin, don’t bother coming home for Christmas.” I know he’s JOKING, but Mum gets all frantic and starts touching my hair and sighing.

I don’t think my brother knows how to keep them from making each other crazy. What will they do without me?

In spite of Mom’s fretting, as soon as A shows up, I remember that I’m not going to school without friends. I’m going to school with my best friend since we were wearing diapers, practically. He’s worried too, I can tell, and it makes me feel brave inside. I always feel brave when A is scared, because I know it’s my job to make sure we end up right in the end. And I’m going to make sure A and I end up right at Hogwarts, and we get into Gryffindor together, and that we get the best grades possible, and that someday we’re Head Girl and Head Boy together.

We’re on the train now, and I ought to put this away and go look around a bit with A. Now that we've eaten the lunch his mum packed, he’s impatient to see things, and if I don’t go with him, he might not make it back to our car in time to change into his robes later. Not sure if I’m even doing this journal thing right, but it seems awfully time consuming.

Why was he still reading this? Why was this girl writing her food down? Dieting? Whoever she was would have been eleven or twelve, since obviously they were sorted when he was, according to the dates that the journal oh so courteously provided. The mere mention of 'dinner' instantly made Scorp's stomach gurgle in response. Well he'd just have to get something later, since rolling into the Great Hall during meal time was never a good look, and always garnered unwanted attention from professors and prefects alike, though he supposed he could use Quidditch Captain business as an excuse. That was one he preferred not to overuse though, Scorpius Malfoy wasn't one to cry werewolf so to speak. He went back to reading and the journal got a bit of a stare at this whole 'if you’re sorted into Slytherin, don’t bother coming home for Christmas' business. Gryffindor. Well. That cleared things up. His eyebrows went up at the mention of Head Boy and Head Girl. The only person he could think of in his year that was actively angling to be head was Yates Shacklebolt. Or maybe not so much angling as expecting it on a silver platter, something Scorpius wouldn't mind seeing thwarted. Something he wouldn't mind having a hand in thwarting actually, as long as there were no repercussions on him of course.

His stomach was being insistent with its hunger pains now so Scorpius closed the journal. The disclaimer had been a little bit right, about the boring stuff, but he still wanted to come back and read a bit more, see if he could figure out who it was and maybe find out something useful. For now though, he shut the journal and carefully placed it in the alcove, exactly as he had found it. The shelf was replaced and Scorpius checked to see that he'd left everything just so. Satisfied with his efforts, he decided to head to the kitchens and bribe a house elf to provide him with something to eat in his dorm and puzzle over who could possibly be the journal's owner and how he might make use of that information.

5.3 Have Something Orange
Less than a week after the first Hogsmeade Weekend and Halloween fever had begun to spread at Hogwarts, particularly amongst the younger students who seemed to go a little bit mad participating in the Halloween related activities that had been cooked up by the faculty. Jack-o-lanterns, apple bobbing, and decorating the Great Hall with orange streamers and live bats were all part of the line up in the days immediately preceding Halloween, and speculation about what entertainment would be provided at the feast became a popular pastime for those students not madly studying or preparing for the upcoming Quidditch season, due to start with a match between Gryffindor and Slytherin on the upcoming Saturday. A week. Scorpius reminded himself. One week to get his team ready. They'd been selected only a few weeks ago and were still getting that balance of playing together. His new Seeker, Coraline Shettigar was good but inexperienced. All teams save Gryfffindor had a brand spanking new Seeker in their line ups, but that didn't help Scorpius since they'd be facing Gryffindor first and even though James Potter wasn't as much of a dynamo on the field as he thought he was, he did have experience and that counted for a lot.

It was Wednesday now and Scorpius had just finished running a harrowing practice for the Slytherins. Most of his team preferred to go straight to the Great Hall for dinner and eat in their Quidditch robes, but Scorpius always showered first and so he pushed open the double doors and stepped into the hall a little late but refreshed, hair still slightly damp from bathing. He'd not bothered with robes, though he changed back into the rest of his school uniform, sleeves rolled up neatly and tie pulled a little loose, but otherwise fresh and crisp and not crumpled at all despite being at the end of the day. It was, of course, a rule to come to meal times in your uniform. Quidditch robes were the only acceptable alternative. Luckily small talk was unnecessary since most everyone was stuffing their faces at this point of the meal, though boisterous conversation could still be heard in different degrees from all four tables as an accompaniment to the food.

It wasn't even quite Halloween yet but it seemed to Scorpius that there was an inordinate amount of food that was incredibly and disgustingly orange. He found colour coordinated food to be unsettling and eyed it in mild distaste as he tried to decide what to eat first.

"What did the pumpkin pie ever do to you, Scorchie?" Acantha stretched past several other students in order to rub his hair as she addressed him, causing several strands of it to stand up straight from the resulting static. It was baby fine and since it was drying unevenly, most of it stayed put, which Scorp was thankful for. Still, he was in an alright mood and managed a smile at his oldest cousin.

"Nothing its just that all that orange tricks my mind into thinking everything tastes exactly the same. Its never as good when it all blends together on your plate. Everything is better with a bit of variety." Scorpius was filling his plate even as he spoke and glanced up at her grimace of mock horror.

"Perish the thought, Scorch!" There was that nickname again. "Some things would be far better if there were less colours invading the spectrum. For instance, if the entire school was full of Slytherin students." She gestured grandly and somehow the movement dissolved into a sinuous stretch that had much of the male population at the Slytherin table and nearby Ravenclaw table, turning to look.

A grunt from nearby. "You'd get bored, Zabini." It was Montague, seventh year prefect and one of the Slytherin Beaters. He had a point, Scorpius thought.

"I wouldn't." She insisted. "It would be lovely."

Scorpius followed the superior look that she directed across the hall and decided that she could only be eyeing the Head Boy who was currently in a competition with several delighted looking first and second years, trying to eat their food from their plates without using their hands. Or, well, from what Scorpius could see, they were using their hands, only to do things completely unrelated to the process of eating. Things like a sudden burst of spontaneous applause, or tickling the person next to them or -was Fred Weasley trying to juggle?- how odd. Scorpius tore his eyes away and measured Acantha's disgusted expression as Hugo Weasley leaned over and dumped an entire pitcher of pumpkin juice over the Head Boy's dark curls, some pulp sticking there in little globules that didn't seem to bother the boy in the slightest. Fred simply kept eating and then sat up, fists in the air as if he'd apparently won some sort of contest. There were cheers from the Gryffindor table and Scorp decided that Merpeople made far more sense than Gryffindors when it came to how they kept one another entertained.

"On second thoughts, perhaps you're right about all that orange, Scorpius."

He licked some sauce from the pad of his thumb and eyed Acantha askance, choosing not to comment. A rattle of chains directed the conversation elsewhere as the Bloody Baron made an appearance down the table and chose a seat next to a terrified looking first year who clutched their goblet with a death grip that turned their knuckles white. Nera, who was sitting at that end, surrounded by a gaggle of Slytherin girls, reached over and neatly plucked the poor abused goblet from the child's hand and gave him a comforting smile before greeting the Baron with delight. Nera had taken to the Baron immediately upon meeting the blood-coated ghost and Scorpius still privately thought she was mad for it. It wasn't that Scorpius disliked ghosts, he just found them unnecessary and tended to avoid them where he could. He certainly had not chosen to take up Ghoul Studies, an after hours class which was available for those few NEWT students who thought they might be interested. Nera said they mostly sat around and chatted with those spirits which called Hogwarts home. Scorpius imagined it would be much like spending time talking to elderly relatives who had rambling, nonsensical stories punctuated with names of people who had died before you were born and it was never quite clarified if said dead people were important to the story or relevant to you in any way. Nera informed him he was mistaken and actually it was much like History of Magic and that it was a pity he hadn't signed up because she was sure that he'd enjoy it immensely.

Sometimes Scorpius wondered if she really knew him at all.

Instead of Ghoul Studies, Scorpius had chosen to take an after hours Alchemy class which would be tonight before curfew. With only a handful of other sixth years since it was an elective course that required high grades in Potions and Charms as well as written permission to participate from the individual student's Head of House. Atra had allowed Scorp to attend with very little convincing needed. That was a man aware completely of the strengths and weaknesses of all the students under his care and guidance. His mind wandered even as he continued his dinner, eating with careful manners that were almost out of place in the rowdy Great Hall where savages were only barely kept in line by those prefects who hadn't quite descended into the same madness.

"What is she looking at I wonder?" Acantha was still watching the Gryffindor table and she snapped her teeth threateningly. It would have been alarming if it hadn't been funny. Scorpius grinned at his cousin and then followed her line of sight, trying to figure out who she was currently staring down. Lily Potter. Fourth year. Scorpius always thought she looked rather vapid.

"Aww, leave her be, Acantha. She's probably heard a million and one horror stories about us by now." Scorpius leaned past Acantha's dorm mates, Jora Cram and Archana Kartik to slide her a slice of pie. "Here, have something orange, it will make you feel better."

Acantha eyed him. "You have something orange, Scorpius. You're looking peaky." She leaned past her fellow seventh years and placed a goblet of pumpkin juice in front of him.

"Oh no, I insist." Scorp's next offering was a spoonful of mashed carrot, which he grandly served to Acantha's plate. "It goes so well with your badge."

"I think it goes better with your own badge, Scorchiepants." Oh she was so sweet. Dripping with it. Next to him Archana stiffled a laugh, presumably at the nickname and Scorpius wondered if the girl knew its origins. It wouldn't surprise him.

He presented an apricot to her with a flourish and from there it only got more and more ridiculous until both of them had plates stacked with a horrifying mix of orange food that did not go together in the slightest, and several other students had joined in .

"No you have something orange."

"Oh no, I insist. Orange for you."

Scorpius was laughing by the time it was done and he vanished the plateful of food in front of him, unable to look at the quickly congealing, orange mess of it.

From the Ravenclaw table, where they had earned an audience, Christine Macmillian, the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain, turned to face him and leaned towards the Slytherin table

"Oh poor deprived Slytherins, you don't even know how to have a food fight properly." Her husky voice was teasing and her eyes sparkled as she spoke up to be heard. She was actually the only one of his fellow Captains this term that Scorpius didn't outright hate. It had been no surprise when she was appointed to replace Billy Boot.

"Maybe not in a traditional sense." Scorpius licked a stray fluff of mashed carrot from the knuckle of his pinky finger, unconcerned by what was good natured ribbing. If it were Sloper or Potter he'd show them how well he could throw food. Oh wait, he'd already shown Potter that this term. He smiled again. "But our way is less messy isn't it? Think of it this way, Ravenclaw table, being in close proximity to our own, would likely suffer some collateral damage. So its purely out of the goodness of our collective, slimy hearts that we adjusted the rules. For you, Ravenclaw." He gestured widely, including Mei Wyman, Gracie Egerton and Alyson Sutton in the motion and good naturedly smiling at them all. He stood up and walked around the end of the table, then took up a seat on the opposite side, though he faced the Ravenclaws and kept his back to his own table as it began to empty.

"I would hate to get pumpkin in my hair. You're my hero, Malfoy." Christine told him, rolling her eyes.

"Mine too." Mei added and giggled prettily, attempting to wind a short, glossy lock around her finger, but her pixie cut made the motion next to impossible.

"As long as you don't make a mess." Gracie sounded doubtful, but a hesitant smile curled her lips.

Alyson was the only one who didn't seem amused. She sniffed and pouted and tried to pretend like she was doing something else, but Scorpius was used to that now. He'd learned the previous year that dumping a Ravenclaw wasn't easy and tended to have lingering results. It was like she'd taken it personally or something.

"Did you finish the pre-reading for class, Scorpius?" Mei leaned towards him to ask.

But before he could answer, an interruption in the form of Yates Shacklebolt appeared between the two tables and Scorpius forced himself to give the Gryffindor a pleasant smile, which contrasted nicely and made Shacklebolt's glower look unreasonable.

"Come on, Mei." He battled to ignore Scorpius. "We're going to the library." Shacklebolt did have smiles for Mei, but they seemed forced in Scorp's eyes. Mei Wyman was all sweet smiles as she extracted herself from the Ravenclaw table and hooked her arm around Shacklebolt's.

"I'll see you later, Scorpius." She told him and Scorp's eyes immediately flickered to Yates's face, even as he answered.

"Right. Eight sharp. I'll save you a seat." Possibly he was pushing it and Yates would snap. Possibly it was worth it. Mei was in Scorp's Alchemy class, as was Gracie who she usually sat with. The Ravenclaw prefect was currently sitting there looking sweetly confused, eyes flicking between the others and finally coming to a rest on Shacklebolt as he shot Scorpius a dirty look and led his girlfriend away.

They all watched their retreating backs and Scorpius was surprised when Gracie spoke.

"I don't like him." She said thoughtfully.

Christine and Alyson looked equally surprised and Scorpius decided it was time to take his own leave rather than hang around and hear the way the two girls defended Yates and sung his praises. He left the Great Hall without saying goodbye and was almost immediately tackled by Barnaby Goyle. It was a friendly tackle but it still almost wiped Scorpius off his feat. Goyle could be a bit like a trained crup sometimes. He even got violent on cue. Apollo was standing nearby, grinning in a way that had Scorpius assuming that he'd put the bigger boy up to it.

"You should shower. He told Goyle. Who was still in his Quidditch gear. It was partly a dismissal as he started towards the common room.

"So." Apollo fell into step beside him. "Are you ever going to explain that whole Scorchiepants business?" Apollo gave a stray jack-o-lantern a kick and sent it careening into the wall, where it imploded, the candle within extinguishing itself immediately. Safety charms. Apollo ignored it. Scorpius shook his head and straightened his tie.

"Not any time soon." Nobody needed to know that.

6.1 easier to find if you’re a little lost
"Tams, would you mind moving just a little bit?" Scorpius, growing a bit exasperated, turned to the Slytherin girl, who was practically in his lap, and severely impeding his intention to eat breakfast. He was mostly lost in thought, ruminating over the Quidditch loss so he didn’t see Tamsin gaping at him as if she was surprised that he wasn’t somehow flattered by her attempts to distract him. He glanced up and elaborated in a carefully polite voice, "I'd quite like my leg back, it is a bit numb, and really I'm much too tired to do anything-" he paused as he mentally decided what to start with "-apart from eat."

There were a few quiet snickers at the shutdown, but Scorpius barely noticed. The sixth year was torn between blaming himself and internally raging about his teammates. He certainly wasn’t interested in snogging Tamsin Urquhart right then. He didn’t want a consolation prize; he wanted to win Quidditch games. It’d be easier to blame the other Slytherin players or perhaps mentally justify the loss by accusing that blasted James Potter and the other Gryffindor players of cheating somehow, but realistically he knew that was futile. They’d played better. It was simple, and really as captain Scorpius was just as responsible for any of his team member’s weaknesses as they were as individuals. He was certainly the one who would be taking the fall so to speak. Slytherin’s student leaders had regular meetings and his peers would hold him accountable.

The draw meant that it’d be a few weekends before they were due to play again, plenty of time to really work on what wasn’t working. He felt so on edge, like he was going to implode or something, but he was so tired that he was sure he didn’t have the energy for it. The strange part about it all was that he was sure there was a moment there, during the game, where he’d just flaked out, his thoughts had wandered elsewhere. He had suddenly been thinking of a different game, a different time, and while getting lost in a memory wasn’t a bad thing exactly, there was a time and a place for daydreaming. He had to brush it off; he wouldn’t let it happen again. His tension was obvious to the more observant of his housemates, obviously Tamsin wasn’t one of those people and she pointedly moved a few seats away, in a snit with him.

Scorpius found a trace of resolve and proceeded to eat, trying to ignore everyone or risk having a fit. On the surface he appeared calm and collected, even distant. Apollo was watching him closely but hadn't yet said a thing. During the match it had been as if he was transported back to his very first Quidditch game, in second year. He felt the same rush of excitement and nerves, and for a second or two he could have sworn that Ryuu Haneda, his former Quidditch Captain was there and shouting orders. But the only Haneda there had been Takeshi of course. Despite spacing out for a few minutes, Scorp had managed a couple of goals, but he'd had to work hard for them, scoring only twice off four attempts. Unusual for him. Pucey had managed three and Hightower four. The game hadn't been lost due to lack of scoring ability, it was simply because James Potter had caught the snitch before Slytherin's Coraline Shettigar could even blink. She was subdued at the end of the table, the third year clearly taking the defeat hard, blaming herself. She sported more than a few bruises since Potter wasn't one to go easy on a fellow seeker just because they were younger and smaller and had nudged her out of the way a few times. It was hard having a brand new seeker but he had faith in his ability to put a team together. If she wasn't good enough it meant he shouldn't have picked her. His responsibility. She was good enough though. Scorp vowed to work with her. Help her find that confidence.

There was silence at the Slytherin table. Coming down from the high of the previous term’s Quidditch cup win wasn’t an experience that any Slytherin relished, and in the case of the snakes, false commiseration was unwelcome. The entire team, those who had played and those who had been on the bench, were varying degrees of sullen and snappish. Hearing the cheerful and boisterous voices of the Gryffindors didn’t much help matters. Scorpius knew he should say something, but he couldn't bring himself to search for the words yet. In fact, he actually quite liked the idea of being alone with his thoughts. Being as his morning was free, Scorpius buttered some toast and added honey, then took his breakfast with him as he left the great hall. The library would probably be pretty quiet, it was still early.

It didn't take long for Scorpius to get there, and he headed right to a certain dusty section where there just so happened to be a journal hidden away. He needed something mindless to distract him from everything, preferably something mindless that didn't talk back, which was why an inanimate object was a good choice. He hooked the journal out of its hiding place and rather than sit there amongst the dusty magical language books, he tucked it under his arm and found a comfortable chair right under the stained glass windows, choosing an out-of-the-way corner so that he would be relatively unexposed and hopefully left alone. He sat down and opened the book, choosing to pick up where he had left off. It was boring, sure, but that was exactly what he needed right at that moment.

1 September 2017

Dinner:
Too much to list!!!

I don’t think I ever really believed Dad’s stories about the food at Hogwarts, but truly, I’ve never seen so much food in my entire life. Not even at family Christmas, when the house is so stuffed with people that we have to set up tents in the backyard, and Gram spends days working on that Christmas dinner.

Huh. Scorpius couldn't imagine living in a house so small that people would need to stay in tents outside. He also couldn't imagine ever having enough family visit that would make it an issue.

The best part about the feast, though, is that it comes after the Sorting. I felt so ill when we got off the train, and J was just making it worse by telling horrible LIES about what we were going to have to go through. Even thought I knew exactly what was going to happen, I was still nervous. Dad was kidding when he said I had to get into Gryffindor, but that’s still the house I wanted.

Ravenclaw wouldn’t be bad, I suppose. Hufflepuffs seem terribly friendly and gave all their new housemates a standing ovation as they were sorted, but I think I’d find it dreadful. Dad says you can’t trust people who smile that much, not to mention they have to wear so much yellow! Forget what they say about redheads and pink - yellow makes me look like I’m suffering jaundice.

In spite of Dad, I think Slytherin wouldn’t be half bad. I'm pretty sure that's where A expected to end up, and I really only wanted to be with him in the end. Besides, no one in our family has been a Slytherin for ages, so there wouldn’t be any comparing. Downside, of course, is they probably get trained at birth to hate us. Little flash cards of who to glare at over dinner every night, which is silly since I only just met the lot and they shouldn’t have reason not to like me yet.

I met one on the train, only briefly, called Nera Zabini. I actually had the thought that she seemed just the sort of girl that might be an interesting friend, but then her sister saw J and said, “Oh, that’s a WEASLEY” like it was a disease or something. And they hurried away as if being ginger and freckled was catching. Rude.

Scorpius had his eyes narrowed at the hypocrisy of the idea that Slytherins were the judgmental ones. It was just part of their nature not to immediately trust people who were too reckless, too friendly, or too smart for their own good. And from what he knew from talking to his parents and grandparents, all of whom had been Slytherin, things were different now. He couldn't say better exactly, but for sure it seemed to Scorpius that being Slytherin or from a Slytherin family automatically lost you brownie points in the eyes of anyone who considered themselves or their family to be on the winning side in the last war, regardless of whether or not the Slytherin individual had anything to do with any of it personally. He was thinking about this so busily that at first he did not pick up on the mention of red hair, which would have begun to narrow the field about who owned the journal since there weren't a great number of them. Scorpius kept reading and let out an exclamation both at mention of Nera and the revelation that this particular journal belonged to a Weasley. He sat bolt upright and stared at the page in horror, blinking not at the words but at the general thought that he'd been reading... well his year, it had to be Rose Weasley's diary. He flipped back and skimmed the parts he'd read already. So A was Albus Potter, J was James Potter, H had to be Hugo Weasley and was L the little one? Lily Potter? Merlin.

He let out a breath and slouched back in the chair again, not entirely sure if he wanted insight into Rose Weasley's mind, despite the fact that he hadn't quite figured out what in Salazar's name had actually driven her sit with him in potions class back before try outs. He'd decided to be done worrying about that but now he found that he'd been reading her bloody diary! He told himself that the only reason that he was going to keep reading -just to the end of the entry mind you- was because it had mentioned Nera and he owed it to his cousin to make sure that Weasley didn't say anything she shouldn't about his cousin. A deep breath and he eyed the page again.

I did meet a nice girl called Jayne while we were still on the train. At first, I thought she was the dullest person I ever met, and I hoped she’d be a Hufflepuff and have to wear yellow forever. She complained for a full ten minutes about how unfair it was that first years couldn’t have a broom at Hogwarts and then she fell asleep on A’s robes, so he couldn’t get changed right away!

But then she got sorted to Gryffindor with A and me, and she told the FUNNIEST story about the time she went to a Quidditch match and the Snitch got caught up under the bleachers. The winning Seeker thought to use his broom as a lever to pry up the seating, and just as the Snitch escaped so he could catch it, his broom splintered. She even had F and J laughing, and J said she was a pip.

Anyway, the Sorting: A went ahead of me, of course, and when he made it into Gryffindor, I knew I had to make it, too. So when it was my turn to wear the hat, I just told it that I was sorry to hurt its feelings and all, but I just HAD to be a Gryffindor. It said this weird thing, though. “You’ll be easier to find if you’re a little lost.”

But I said no, no, I have to be with A because he needs me. And the Hat went quiet for a while, and I was worried I’d be a hatstall like Scorpius Malfoy had been, but then it finally said, ‘Yes, alright, if you’re sure.’ And I was a Gryffindor. And everyone clapped, and the Gryffindors cheered, and so did Vic and Dom and Molly and Louis at the Ravenclaw table.

And then we had dinner, which was marvelous.

“You’ll be easier to find if you’re a little lost.” Scorp murmured out loud, not sure why the sentence struck a chord with him, then he scowled at mention of his own name and the subsequent flash of memory it evoked about his own sorting. Being a hatstall wasn't exactly something that he was proud of. It still made him nervous, not knowing what that meant about him, about the bits of his personality that drove that blasted hat to indecision for long enough that he'd gone numb from sitting on the stool.

After dinner, they took us to the common rooms for the first time. I don’t think there is a more beautiful room in the castle, and it’s special to just us because only Gryffindors are allowed in here. J and F said that firsties have to stay up all night the first night to prove we belong in the house. I knew they were lying, but it was so nice to curl up on the squashy sofas and look at the fire and talk about what we expected school to be like. When the prefect woke us up later and sent us all to bed, the fire was burned almost all the way down.

It must be very late right now, but I needed to write it all down to remember. Tomorrow is our first day of classes, and I expect I’ll be too busy to write again soon.

Scorpius skimmed through the rest and then snapped the journal shut, refusing to read any other entries. He stood and marched back to the deepest part of the library and returned it to its hidey hole under the shelf, resolving to forget about it entirely. Fancy Rose Weasley keeping a bloody diary. And a pointless and boring one too. He'd have guessed, had he ever had cause to wonder before, that any diary kept by her ought to be far more interesting than this. But no, she even wrote down what she ate for Merlin's sake! The most interesting parts had been mention of Nera and of himself! Well he was done with the journal.

He left the library and headed down to the dungeons. As he walked his mind wandered and all unbidden, he found memories of his own sorting fighting to be remembered. He supposed it was better than dwelling on the Quidditch defeat, but Scorp didn't much like recalling it. He could remember it like it was yesterday...

6.2 Hatstall
Little Scorpius had still been sniggering as the first years were all led from the Boatshed up to the castle and into a little room off the Great Hall. During the boat ride across the Black Lake, Barnaby Goyle had 'accidentally' pushed a muggleborn named Ryan into the water. The kid had immediately panicked because moments before, Nera had calmly been telling him horror stories about the Giant Squid's eating habits. Even when the boy was flailing and screeching in the cold water she had leaned over the side and informed him in no uncertain terms that the squid liked to play with his food and that he'd last longer if he could hold his breath. Hagrid had fished him out soon enough and the boy had been dried off but that one professor, the Longbottom one who had led them into this side room, he'd forgotten the boy's shoes and now Ryan-whatever-his-name-was squelched. Nera stood at Scorp's side, looking perfectly innocent. They waited through the little briefing and Scorpius, who had drilled his entire family for every possible detail about this whole sorting thing, took the opportunity to access his future classmates. Flanking himself and his cousin Nera Zabini, there was Barnaby Goyle, Vincent Nott and Tamsin Urquhart. All of whom he knew. He heard a whispered observation from nearby, only picking out the word 'death-eaters' and he turned his face in that direction, fixing grey eyes on the one he picked out as the speaker just as Professor Longbottom firmly berated the youngster. That word was almost as loaded as the one about dirty blood these days.

Scorpius met the Professor's eyes, and saw, with a keen flash of insight for an eleven year old, that the Herbology professor had entertained that same thought, but nobly quashed it, setting a good example and truly practicing what he preached. Though perhaps he was not quite able to ignore that flicker within himself either? Scorpius eyed the group he was standing with and couldn't really blame the man. The thing was though, it was normal to gravitate towards people you knew right? And it was a pretty nerve racking thing to wait for, this sorting business. They all said he had nothing to worry about, that he was Slytherin through and through, just like his entire family. Scorp gave Nera's arm a quick squeeze and wandered over to say hello to a few other children that he knew, even making a conscious effort to say hello to the ones that he didn't think had any desire to end up in Slytherin. The great majority of children that he knew were pureblooded like himself though, with a few halfbloods to round it out. The muggleborn ones which Scorpius rather thought he could pick out based on their nervous expressions, and in some cases, the silly questions they were asking of their neighbours, he didn't know at all and he wasn't quite brave enough to say hello. He ended up standing -not hovering, Malfoys don't hover - near Apollo Burke and Yates Shacklebolt.

"Malfoy." Shacklebolt greeted him first. Scorpius knew him well enough, but their only interactions were usually brief, while their elders conversed. Shacklebolt's father was still Minister for Magic, and a popular one too. Scorp's own father had become quite the philanthropist in recent years, contributing to various charities and providing substantial monetary support to the Ministry itself. Some claimed it was evidence of the Malfoys trying to buy their way back into society's good graces, which was partly true, but as his father often said, you had to take the given path until you found a shortcut to where you wanted to be, and Scorpius understood that there was no reason why a wizard shouldn't make the journey along that path as easy as possible in the first place, something his father was doing as best he could. In addition to Draco Malfoy's wizarditarian actions, Scorp's grandfather was firmly established as part of the Board of Governors for Hogwarts itself, as well as Minister Shacklebolt's own Privy Council amongst several other high profile committees and groups within Wizarding Britain. All of this meant that the interactions between Scorpius and Yates had almost been play-acting in the past, the emulation of their fathers and a quiet battle for superiority. Scorpius had more finesse, but Yates had a more overblown entitlement and knew very well that he was rather untouchable with his father being the political leader of British Wizarding society, and a war hero to boot.

Apollo's pedigree on the other hand, was far less stellar. His name was best known in association with Borgin and Burkes, an infamous shop in Diagon Alley which was known for the sale of dark artefacts. His family, while also pureblooded, had prudently kept their noses clean during the second wizarding war and relocated to Greece. Apollo's mother had been a Greek witch, and upon her death he and his father had moved to England, very much welcomed by those pureblood families who remembered the Burkes. Now once again the Burkes had business in Knockturn Alley, Apollo's father had a monopoly there, so far as Scorpius knew, but they weren't as wealthy as the Malfoys and they had to actually work for their money. The three boys chatted quietly together and Scorp looked when Apollo subtly pointed out Albus Potter and Rose Weasley, Yates loudly acknowledging that he knew them and proceeding to boast about his father's exploits during the war and how very close he was to the legendary Harry Potter, now Head of the Auror Office in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. It made Scorpius twitchy and he was wholly unimpressed. Yates got a flat stare but didn't seem to notice the icy expression on the young Malfoy's face. Nera did, from across the room, and the little girl swooped imperiously over to the three boys. Her dark hair was cut square to her jaw and she sported a fringe that was also straight-cut. The heart-shaped face was currently tipped up, the chin raised, and Nera looked down at them through her rectangular-framed glasses despite being shorter than each of the boys. Neither Yates nor Apollo appeared to take the slightest bit of notice of her until she spoke and then both boys stopped talking mid-conversation.

"Scorpius, come be by me, we have to go in soon. I'll be last you know." She hooked her arm in his and led him closer to the door, waiting. He looked over his shoulder at Apollo and Yates a few times and then settled to wait arm and arm with his cousin, pleased to have her comfort but pretending like he was only trying to make sure she wasn't too nervous. All too soon the door was opened and they were led out into the Great Hall. Even Scorpius who was well used to impressive magic and great looming feats of Wizarding Architecture , couldn't help but marvel at the star spangled ceiling and the heavy feel of history permeating the air.

He was nervous now and Scorp swallowed roughly but tried to look nonchalant, knowing that they were being watched. Nera seemed more subdued too, clinging to his arm tightly, though she had looked for her sister at the Slytherin table and waved with great enthusiasm when the first years had been led out to face the masses of students. Scorpius had never thought that there would be so many. He barely registered the beginning of the ceremony, he was too busy looking out over the hall and trying to count all the heads.

It wasn't until the hat first began to name the new Slytherin students that Scorpius fixed his attention on the hat and the sorting of those students who came ahead of him alphabetically. Apollo Burke was quickly sorted to Slytherin along with a girl named Selina Evercreech. Curtis Flint and Barnaby Goyle had made Slytherin too. They were in the H's now, with two more Slytherins.

"I, J, K, L, M." Scorpius whispered to himself, watching the hat avidly now. At the Slytherin table it seemed there was a bit of betting going on. The boy with the squelching shoes was a HUFFLEPUFF and Nera snorted inelegantly.

"Figures." It seemed to give her more confidence and she straightened. Scorpius tried to do so too and risked another look out at the house tables. His eyes lingered on his goal, Slytherin, but he couldn't help but look over at the Gryffindor table too. He was being glared at. The blond boy blinked slowly. Weasleys? He couldn't think about that right then, his eyes went back to the Slytherin table and Acantha Zabini gave him a thumbs up.

"Malfoy, Scorpius."

The entire great hall went silent for a moment and it was eerie. Scorp extracted his arm from Nera's and, hearing a few jeers from older students out there at the tables, suddenly felt very small as he strode over to the stool and the hat. The Slytherins started to cheer when he got there, which made him feel better. He sat on the stool and Professor Longbottom held the hat out, lowering it to Scorp's head.

Nothing happened.

Slytherin?

Nothing.

"Young Malfoy." The hat spoke and Scorpius startled. He knew the hat could talk but his father had told him that he'd not had any interaction with the thing, that it had barely touched his head before yelling Slytherin. Scorpius chose not to say a word, he just sat there on the stool, gripping the base of it as if he were worried the hat would suck his brains out. Professor Longbottom seemed surprised by the indecision too and shifted restlessly at his side. Scorpius and the hat proceeded to have a long one-sided conversation whereby Scorp continued to say nothing at all and the hat hovered between the choice of two houses. After a minute the whispers began, but Professor Longbottom hushed them. Two minutes and you could hear a pin drop. Three minutes and Scorpius was sure that his heart was going to stop. The eleven year old boy sat on that stool and tried to look over at Nera but the professor was obscuring his view. He looked out at the Slytherin table instead, eyes finding his cousin who looked thoughtful but not particularly worried. He straightened and finally addressed the hat and tried to hide his panic. Of everyone in the great hall at that moment, students and teachers alike, only the Headmaster seemed unworried. The whispers couldn't be hushed now. Four minutes in. Not wanting anyone to see the panic he was currently feeling, or for anyone to discern the internal argument from his expression, Scorpius Malfoy smirked, nothing like his usual smile but he punctuated it with a fake yawn. Finally, at Five minutes and twenty four seconds the hat reached a decision.

"SLYTHERIN!"

The cheers from the Slytherin table were impressive and Scorp went right over there, squeezing in beside Acantha. He felt a bit sick and barely managed smiles at the greetings and congratulations directed at him from his now housemates. The rest of the ceremony went by in a blur though there weren't anymore delays or surprises. The Slytherins had piles of things on the tables amongst the empty plates. galleons, sickles, chocolate frog cards, valuable knick-knacks of all sorts, all of which was swept up or added to depending on what house each student was sorted into. There was a lot of whisper about odds for the first years with known familial ties. Like Albus Potter, whom Scorpius had met on the express, and Potter's cousin Rose Weasley. Both Gryffindors of course, along with Yates Shacklebolt. Finally Nera Zabini was called and Nera spent all of four seconds on the stool before joining Scorpius and Apollo at the Slytherin table. She didn't ask about the sorting incident.

Nobody did.

Later he'd find out that he had almost lost Ryuu Haneda 50 galleons, but still, nobody ever asked which house was the might-have-been. Scorpius wouldn't have told them if they had.

7.2 A Date and a Favour

Scorpius was to meet Jayne Wood at the front gates for their little Hogsmeade date. It had snowed during the week and there was a thick, fluffly layer coating the grounds, though the snow had stopped falling that morning. He liked it when it was like this; the snow hadn't yet turned to sludge and the air was crisp but the sun was out. Scorpius enjoyed the cold, but he wasn't stupid enough to go outside without having had wrapped up warm. Today he'd worn grey slacks with perfect creases folded down each leg and a dark olive green sweater over a crisp white shirt, open at the collar. As a nod to warmth he sported a cozy looking charcoal grey scarf, tucked into a black wool pea coat, with a touch of sheepskin peeking out at the neck. He looked sharp, even if he did say so himself, and he did, frequently. To himself. In the mirror. A pep talk never hurt anyone. A black wool beanie, gloves, and shoes completed his ensemble and he was warm as he stepped out of the castle and down to the front gate.

There were plenty of students mingling about but most were on their way through the gates and down to the village rather than waiting about. He spotted Jayne right away. The first thing he decided was that she looked cold and as he got closer he could see there was a nervous, forced smile plastered on her face. Scorpius suspected she'd been instructed to smile like that by a certain bossy redhead. She did look nice though, and Scorp smiled easily as she saw him and started to offer up an enthusiastic wave until she apparently second guessed herself and patted her hair jerkily.

"Hi, I hope you haven't been waiting long."

"No." She laughed a bit. "Not long." Her breath was visible in the air and he watched her shiver.

"You look nice." He told her and made a show of looking. She did, but he wondered how she cold stand having her legs practically bare to the air like that. Pantyhose couldn't do that much to keep you warm, surely? Not unless there were a whole lot of warming charms in place, like what the Slytherin girls relied on. Judging by the shiver, he didn't think she or Bossy Redhead had thought of that. Not that Scorpius didn't appreciate the ultra short corduroy skirt, Jayne Wood did have nice legs. Quidditch and all, he supposed. The boots were a nice touch too.

"Oh." Jayne had trouble with the compliment, even if it was pretty perfunctory. "Thanks. You do too." She sort of gestured at him and Scorpius nodded and took her hand as if she'd offered.

"Lets start walking, shall we?"

Jayne nodded and after a few wobbly starts -the heels of the boots causing her a bit of trouble- she walked with him, seemingly glad of the warmth of his glove.

Scorpius was enjoying the muffled crunch of gravel beneath the snow as their feet compacted it even further and that fresh crisp air had a calming effect on him, a little smile making itself at home on his lips. The walk to the village was always nice no matter the season, but he liked the sparseness of winter and he liked the way that the path twisted one way and then another so that sometimes it felt like there was nobody else in the world and all you could see was nature in front, nature behind, and nature on all sides. Jayne interrupted his thoughts.

"D'you think people will...?" She trailed off.

"Oh people always do." Scorpius answered and crossed his eyes at her. It seemed to startle her into laughter and then she relaxed a bit. Walking seemed to help with the shivering too and she put on a face that Scorpius quietly referred to as a 'Gryffindor face', the one that meant they thought they were about to do or say something brave while the rest of the world usually expected reckless or stupid. Luckily Jayne didn't seem to be the stupid kind of Lion.

"I don't care if they do. This was nice of you, Malf... Scorpius. Even if it isn't a real date, I'm going to pretend like it is." She looked determined about it.

He gave her a thoughtful look. As far as he was concerned, it WAS a real date, no matter that Rose Weasley had arranged it. Scorpius never did things by halves. But he just nodded. "I'm going to pretend like it is a real date too."

She squinted at him, anxiously, as if she were trying to figure out what he meant by that, but Scorp had kept his voice perfectly modulated and smooth. No sarcasm from him in that comment. "So where are we going?"

"Shopping." He supplied and earned yet another scrutinizing look. He glanced at her. "Really. I need to get a few things. Christmas isn't that far away after all, and there's only so much you can order via catalogue."

"Oh." She deflated a bit and then rallied. "Well I probably have to get a few things too."

"And then after that, I thought we could go to Puddifoots. I took the liberty of owling ahead to order their special." Scorpius gave her another sideways glance, but this time his eyes lingered. He suspected she'd thought for a second there that shopping was his whole plan and that he'd just have her tag along. "I don't know if you've had it before, but its pretty amazing. You just can't get it right off the menu, thats all."

Jayne looked intrigued. "What is it? Chocolate?"

"Yeah there's chocolate in it, and berries and some kind of flaky sweet pastry thing, its melts in your mouth and there are these intense little bursts of flavour." He described it with his hands, one still holding hers so that Jayne became part of it too. She watched their hands and shot a look at his face, a smile suddenly breaking through.

"I bet I can eat more than you."

Scorpius laughed. "Oh really? And what are the terms?"

"Well... just that I can!"

"Slytherins don't bet on anything that isn't worth their while." They turned another hairpin in the path.

"Oh yeah? Is that one of those things like how all Slytherins are evil and all speak Parseltongue?"

"Well actually, I can only speak casual Parseltoungue, just the general, 'wheres the bathroom?' 'Open the chamber of secrets', that type of stuff."¹ Scorpius answered, shooting her a grin as she started laughing. "If I win I get to name whatever prize I want. A favour."

"Alright and if I win.... if I win..." Jayne floundered for an idea, so Scorpius supplied a suggestion.

"A kiss."

She stopped walking and stared at him and her expression turned belligerent, an expression he assumed she'd have to use a lot considering who she played Quidditch with. It was like she couldn't make up her mind what to think about that suggestion, or what he'd think if she said no. She made it on her terms instead. "Fine, but in front of James."

Scorpius made a face at her, meant to indicate his disgust over the James part, but nodded his agreement. It was kind of interesting. "Those housemates of yours, we'll make them see what they're missing." Whether she won or not.

They reached the village and Jayne seemed to hesitate a bit before finding some resolve and lifting her chin. Scorpius wondered if Weasley would be lurking about somewhere and trying to watch but desided to put it out of his mind. As long as she didn't overtly meddle it would be fine. They'd certainly been noticed and Scorpius coolly met the startled eyes of Seventh Year Gryffindor, Cole Arncliffe who turned tail and headed up the street.

"He's probably off to tattle to Fred and James." Jayne said and Scorpius nodded. Probably. He suspected they were all holed up in the Three Broomsticks. Scorpius intended they'd go there last of all. Make people wait and wonder.

Shopping with Jayne turned out to be quite fun and Scorpius made sure to be as attentive as possible, tickling her nose with a quill at Scrivenshafts, sharing a few jelly slugs at Honeydukes, playing with the charmed instruments in Dominic Maestro's, mutually drooling over everything for sale in Spintwitches and still managing to pick up a few things for his friends while they were at it.

They headed to Puddifoots next and Scorpius held the door open. Jayne stepped in and immediately sighed in pleasure at the warmth of the little tea shop. Scorpius took off his coat and hung it up on the provided hooks then found a booth for them. Cosy and intimate, but in full view of the doorway.

"You know, I had no idea you could play the piano." Jayne was wearing his gloves now, they were much too big for her but she seemed content with the warmth they provided. Scorp had taken them off to play for her and had been keeping his hands in his pockets for warmth, a bag of purchases hooked over one arm, Jayne hanging on to his other. He glanced at her. Seemed like an odd comment when he was pretty sure she hadn't had any idea about anything real about him before today.

"I had to learn one instrument and I chose piano because most of the other choices meant I'd have to stand up while practicing." And he'd known that he would need to spend a lot of time practicing. It was just common sense but there had been a time where he'd actually enjoyed it quite a bit. "I don't play much any more."

"Quidditch instead?" She asked lightly.

"As much as possible." He agreed. "Its freeing when you're up there, you know?" She had to know, she played too. Jayne was nodding in agreement and Scorp took that as a cue to continue. "It makes me feel like no matter what dreams I have, they're all reachable. I feel... better. Inspired. More... more..."

"More real." Jayne supplied. "And what dreams do you have, Scorpius?"

"Oh." He straightened up a bit and then grinned. "You know, the usual. Money. Power. World domination." He deflected lightly but was saved from further probing when the specially ordered dessert came and as promised, it was amazing. Scorpius being a sixteen year old boy was a bottomless pit and he won by a long shot, though Jayne gamely tried to keep up, seemingly happy to leave her question unanswered. When they left, instead of putting his coat back on, Scorp tucked it around Jayne's shoulders, knowing she'd get cold as soon as they stepped outside. She gave him another surprised look but muttered her thanks and they stepped out into the snow covered main street again. "Ready for the Three Broomsticks?" He asked.

"You bet!"

It was Jayne who pushed the door open, but Scorp had to give her a little nudge of encouragement to get her over the threshold. There were a lot of pairs of eyes suddenly trained on them and Scorp put his arm gently around Jayne's shoulder and managed to indicate a table. It wasn't empty, Apollo and Takeshi were there and Jayne hesitated.

"Relax, they're just holding the table for us. I figured you'd want a bit of space. Just us."

"Just us." She echoed and then led him over there, head held high.

"Malfoy, Wood." Apollo greeted, coming over all smirky. "Anything for me in there?" He gestured at Scorpius's bag and then laughed.

"We were just leaving. I hope you two do not mind." Takeshi had already rose from his seat and hauled Apollo up with very little ceremony.

The prefect laughed again but then as the two boys left Apollo shot Scorpius a significant look. "Watch out for Urquhart and Vaisey."

"We will see you later, Scorpius." Takeshi added. Scorp watched them leave and then looked at Jayne who had slid into the booth. He looked around but couldn't see Tamsin or Madeleine anywhere. Oh well. He joined Jayne, sliding close and cosy before finally looking up to spot Weasleys. Jayne had already been shooting little glances that way, trying to be discreet about it but it wasn't really working. Scorpius was pretty sure that Fred Weasley and Aidan Mclaggen were literally holding James Potter back to stop him from going over the table and lunging at Scorpius.

"Is he frothing at the mouth a bit, or is it butterbeer, do you think?" Scorp asked Jayne in a low voice, whispering in her ear. She hid a laugh and smiled up at him.

"Speaking of Butterbeer..."

"You want one? I can go get them."

"No, I mean I do, but its my shout, okay?" Jayne was already standing up and firmly pushed Scorpius down again when he tried to follow. A small cheer went up from the direction of her team who were all watching avidly. Scorpius just smirked at them and settled back in the booth, watching as Jayne went over to the bar to order. She was accosted while she waited, Tamsin Urquhart, Madeleine Vaisey and a couple of other Slytherin girls surrounded her and blocked her from sight. Scorpius craned his neck to try to see but couldn't until Jayne pushed through them, looking irritated but determined. She held two mugs of butterbeer and soon joined Scorpius again. This time she was the one to move up close and she shot a look over at his housemates. Scorpius took his butterbeer gladly.

"My thanks."

"Don't mention it." She assured him, and then as if she couldn't help it she burst out, "Are they always like that?"

"Pretty much, yes." Scorpius paused and then gestured over at Potter and his crew. "Are they always like that?"

Jayne let out a snort. "Yes. Always." She sipped her butterbeer and relaxed. Scorpius looked around some more, his eyes finding Rose Weasley and Albus Potter seated at a different table from their family and house mates. They were watching too and the expression on Albus's face gave Scorpius pause and he wondered if Rose or Jayne had any clue at all.


He forced himself to look away and not to wonder about whether or not Rose would write about this in her diary. Had she followed them? Scorpius hadn't seen any tell tale flashes of red while he and Jayne had been shopping or when they were at Puddifoots either. It must be killing her not knowing what they were talking about, not being able to meddle. She was so bossy.

For the remainder of the date he and Jayne talked and joked about Quidditch, though he was careful not to give away too much in the way of strategy. They walked back to the school hand in hand and he said goodbye to her at the gate, taking his coat and gloves back of course.

"So what was the favour you wanted?" She asked curiously.

Scorpius just laughed. "I don't know yet." He took his scarf off and swooped it around her shoulders. "Next time, wear something warmer, okay?" Still holding the ends of the scarf he leaned forward and dropped a sweet little kiss on her cheek. "See you later, Jayne."

"See you." She echoed and Scorpius returned to the dungeons.

¹ credit to TFLN for the parseltongue quote, which was a prompt when I did this for nanowrimo way back when :D

7.3 See You In Three Weeks

11 December 2022

Finally broke Jayne down to get her to talk about the date, although I had to promise not to discuss it with anyone. Silly wonderful Jayne - as if I would go to all this trouble to help her and then ruin it by telling J or A about it. She told me every single thing about their date, as best she could remember it, including what food he ordered and how sharp he looked in his winter apparel and the fact that he suggested she wanted to KISS him. Plus she now owes him a favor of some sort, although I didn't really understand the terms under which that occurred.

Suppose I owe him a favor too. Do I have to TELL him I do, or does he know already?

As far as dates go, it sounded fairly incredible. I suppose she's adding a little glamour-of-the-newly-smitten to it, because the picture she drew sounds fairly impossible. Not to denigrate Malfoy, who I am sure is perfectly nice to the multitude of girlfriends he has at any given time, but why would he spend all that effort on Jayne without hoping to get something out of it? It certainly doesn't sound like any of the dates I've heard about from the girls in the dorm after Hogsmeade weekends.

So glad I decided to forego romantic entanglements until after Hogwarts. My classmates waste so much time on trivial matters and ignore the important ones.

She can sparkle it up as she wants. My only desire was that Jayne have a good time and realize that she's completely amazing even if J can't seem to see it. The way she's holding herself right now is well worth any cost, even if part of me continues to wonder what game Malfoy is playing. Did he do all this for her, to help Jayne, or does he have some ulterior motive that will harm her in the end? If he makes her care about him and then causes her pain, I will PERSONALLY be responsible for physical harm to his form. I don't care if he stays handsome or NOT.



12 December 2022

Asked Jayne if she wanted to go on another date with Malfoy, and she said they've already got one scheduled!! I shouldn't have asked her in front of the boys, because J started to pitch the biggest fit and nearly shook her to pieces. Even A left the room, which was fairly cold considering she's one of our best mates and we should support her and all that.

Asked her if she thought she might want to date him long term, but she just shrugged and said it didn't feel romantic when they were together. He was just fascinating and she hoped they could be great friends. Like actually friends. So much for my theory that her perception of Malfoy is colored by her feelings for him. The thing is... if Jayne is friends with Malfoy, will she start spending time with him? Will he start spending time with US? Will there be some sort of expectation that we all get along like old chums?

Call me a naysayer, but I'm not sure J or F will ever be chummy with Malfoy. I'm not sure A can either, and he can get along with anyone. And as for me, Malfoy has made it very clear his opinion of me. Bossy. Strident. Insufferable. Jayne ought to come to terms with the fact that being friends with Malfoy will have to be an entirely separate thing from being friends with us.

The second date with Jayne had gone well, even if they hadn't been able to spend it down in Hogsmeade Village again. Scorpius and Jayne had instead spent time together outside playing in the snow and building then animating a snowman, both laughing and playing the fool. It had been fun, and this time she'd dressed a little more sensibly. After galavanting in the snow in full view of several irate Gryffindors, they'd retired inside and taken a picnic down to the Boathouse, a popular choice for Slytherin students but one that Jayne had been pleasantly surprised by. It had been fun, he reflected, but there wasn't any particular chemistry between them. He was convinced that he'd achieved the task that Rose had set out and noticed that her housemates were suddenly looking at Jayne Wood with fresh eyes.

The end of the year was fast approaching and Hogwarts had been decorated for Christmas. To Scorpius this meant sitting through the choir performing various Christmas carols with their toads during mealtimes, and side stepping convieniently placed mistletoe. Tiresome. He was less excited about Christmas this year because his parents were going away and so he would be staying at Hogwarts for the holiday. He could of course choose to stay with his grandparents or with the Zabinis, but even while he wasn't entirely looking forward to being at Hogwarts for Christmas, he felt a strange pull to remain behind and had ended up requesting to do so. His father had been unsure about it but upon Scorp's insistance he'd spoken to Flitwick about it personally and now it was all arranged.

The last Friday of the term came and Scorpius found himself sitting silently during dinner, unable to drive thoughts of a certain journal out of his head. He'd been trying not to read it. He'd even convinced himself several times to ignore the stupid thing because it was so boring and all, but he'd kept going back to it. Scorpius was no longer reading it in order, having decided that random would at least spice the process up a bit. It was a little more interesting to read about things that concerned him a little more directly, even if sometimes what she wrote made him scoff at the pages before him. She was so misinformed. She'd stopped writing about what she ate after the first few times, thankfully. It was almost as if she hadn't been quite sure how to keep a diary and had been covering all the bases. It was odd having this insight into someone he'd spent the great majority of his life alternating between ignoring and disdaining due to her familial connections, but Scorpius was beginning to realise that it was simply because of who she was related to that he had any real misgivings about her at all. Oh and the whole being a Gryffindor thing. That was pretty hard to get past. He didn't care who her parents were or who her uncle was or any of that rubbish relating to the war. It wasn't about blood purity or anything those who had come before had fought over. The problem with her family was just that a good number of them were prats. Maybe it was just in his direction, but it was still true.

"Am I right, Scorpius?" He turned slightly, startled out of his revelry by Nott's voice across the table and Scorpius had no idea what it was the other boy was asking if he was right about.

"I'm almost certain you're not, but to be fair, I wasn't actually listening." Scorp answered, keeping his voice bland. He blinked again and looked across the hall, expression going thoughtful. He missed the looks that his table mates exchanged and barely noticed Nera waving her hand in front of his face, but Apollo reached over and caught her wrist.

"Leave him be, Nera. He's obviously daydreaming about his Gryffindor girlfriend."

"Don't be ridiculous." Scorpius answered vaguely. "Rose isn't my girlfriend."

There was a heavy pause and a lot of stares before howls of laughter erupted from the group of Slytheirns, Apollo's chortle hovered above the rest, while Nera had apparently swallowed her pumpkin juice awkwardly and was gasping for breath and making choking noises. Scorpius blinked, puzzled. Had he said something funny? What were they laughing at? He scowled as the laughter only increased at his puzzlement.

"Oh no, I don't think anyone would have thought that." Nera managed finally and Scorpius stared her down coldly.

Apparently taking pity on him, Takeshi, who hadn't spoken until that moment, leaned over and whispered in Scorp's ear, informing him politely and precisely about his slip of the tongue. This did not improve matters and Scorp clenched his jaw.

"Well, Jayne isn't either."

"First name basis." Apollo noted out loud. "Did anyone else notice that?"

Scorpius stood up. "Merry Christmas. Happy New Year. I'll see you all in three weeks." He stalked from the Great Hall, attempting to maintain some dignity even while his mind was a little bit horrified at that particular slip. It didn't make an ounce of sense. He supposed he could blame the fact that his friends often made Weasley related jokes in his direction and he hadn't been paying attention this time around, but really he couldn't see Nera or Apollo letting that one go.

"Wait a minute, Scorpius."

He turned around and stopped walking when Apollo came running after him and rather than focus on his irritation, he let paused to take stock of his friend. He wondered if Apollo had even noticed how long his hair was getting. His friend had always worn it short before, but now it framed his face, softening an otherwise strong jaw. It almost needed a wash, but didn't seem dirty exactly. Not that Scorp considered himself any sort of hair expert but he was a noticer and the current state of his best friend's hair was something he'd noticed. Apollo had a very Greek nose, it was long and dominated his face and lined up perfectly with the dimple in his chin. When they were younger it hadn't mattered if one or the other of them had accidentally worn the other's school robes, but now Apollo was much taller, a few inches on Scorpius even, and less broad in the shoulder. Apollo was lean, long-boned and all angles and yet not awkward or clumsy like some with his build. His eyes were large and a soft brown, framed by the kind of lashes Scorpius had always heard girls were jealous of for reasons unknown.

Right at that moment Scorpius could have cheerfully hit him had it not been for the fact that doing so would be like some kind of confirmation that his little slip of the tongue had some deeper reason behind it. It didn't. A slip of the tongue was all it was. It didn't mean anything. Scorpius waited.

"Merlin, you look a bit like you want to hit me. Relax would you? Take a joke." Apollo peered at him. "Something's not right with you, and I don't mean that business with Jayne Wood either."

"Maybe I'm just done letting people dictate who I ought to and ought not to ally myself with." Scorpius answered, knowing he sounded grumpy and a bit haughty at that, and that he wasn't making much sense to begin with. He was still feeling oddly distracted, like his focus was elsewhere or as if half of him was daydreaming.

Apollo looked pleased by his words, but that flash disappeared a moment later and Scorpius wondered if he'd imagined it. "Well that's just dandy and all, but be careful, right? Weasley. She's up to something."

"Oh?" What would Apollo Burke know about what Rose Weasley was or was not 'up to'? Scorp frowned and Apollo seemed to sense his disbelief.

"She was talking to Nera. You know, civilly."

"So?"

Apollo ignored him. "She hates Yates Shacklebolt."

"A lot of people hate Yates Shacklebolt."

"Not that many. He's popular. At least as well-liked as you, if not more." Apollo corrected and Scorpius twitched slightly, trying to unclench his jaw. Yates bothered him. There was no denying that. But hearing anything positive about the Gryffindor who was arrogant, obnoxious and willing to let his father's fame pave his way in life, especially from Apollo's lips, was a little bit hard to bear.

"Be that as it may, I don't see your point." Scorpius straightened, managing to continue the conversation coolly.

"Maybe I don't have one."

Apollo could be infuriating sometimes, but he aways had a point. Scorpius raised an eyebrow, waiting for elaboration.

"I'm just saying, something is up and you're involved somehow whether or not you like it. Never thought of you as someone who liked being a pawn in someone else's game of Wizard's chess, especially if the player is sloppy."

He was implying Rose was sloppy? Scorpius was pretty sure she was to controlling to be sloppy. Ignorant maybe, but not sloppy. He did mull over his friend's words though. Apollo wouldn't imply that something was going on if it wasn't. He didn't choose to do anything lightly and he was very, very observant. His judgements might not always match up with Scorp's morals, but you could trust them to come from a place of truth.

"I'll keep that in mind." He let out a breath that he hadn't know he'd been holding.

"That's all I ask." Apollo answered and then clapped Scorp's shoulder. "Merry Christmas. Happy New Year. I'll see you in three weeks."

"Right." Scorpius agreed and turned tail, heading up to the library.

He had some reading to do.