Scorpius - A Harry Potter Fanfiction - Chapter Three Up!

[Princess Porcelain]

Notes

This story is a fanfiction, the emphasis here being on the word "fiction", which means, "not based upon any real events, places, or people." As such, there may be some slight deviances from the books; however, as a general rule, I will do my best to keep this fanfiction as close to the books as possible. Just so you're warned: this is a fanfiction mainly dealing with the pairing of Draco Malfoy's son Scorpius and Harry Potter's son Albus. In other words, there will be homosexual relationships. If you don't agree with that, that's fine; no one's going to make you read it. However, don't come here just to post how horrible you think I am for writing this, as I don't have time for it. Constructive criticism/tips are allowed; feel free to post your ideas on how I could improve my writing. That said, enjoy yourselves! c:

[Princess Porcelain]

Chapter One - The Boy on the Train

As the Hogwarts Express pulled out of Platform 9 ¾, Albus sighed. A mixture of nervousness and excitement rose within him. He would finally be going to Hogwarts, the school he had been hearing about practically all his life. That was exciting enough to drive anyone up the wall. However, the nervousness which was keeping him on the ground at this very moment, was there for a host of reasons, including, but not limited to: one, despite his father’s attempts at comforting him, he still had misgivings about being Sorted into Slytherin, and two, he had never been away from home – or his parents – for this long a period of time before. Before he could let those thoughts sink in too deeply, though, his cousin Rose tapped him on the shoulder. "James has already gone to sit with his friends. Don’t you think we should try to find somewhere to sit too?" Albus nodded dumbly, running a hand through his dark hair, his green eyes searching for the handle of his trunk. When he found it, he grabbed it and began dragging it down the corridor. As he and Rose made their way down the corridor, Rose bumped into a boy a tiny bit shorter than Albus, with pale blond hair and stormy gray eyes, dragging his trunk along behind him. They both stammered an apology to one another. "S-sorry, I was just going-"
"Oh, it’s all right," Rose said with a smile, her dark blue eyes sparkling. "We were just looking for a place to sit. Care to join us?"
The boy nodded and mumbled his assent, his face quite red as he began moving the same direction they were headed. "I, um, I think I might have seen an empty compartment down at the end," he said quietly.
They found the compartment the boy was talking about and put their trunks in the luggage rack. After sitting down and taking a moment to adjust her bushy red hair, Rose looked at the boy sitting next to her cousin Albus with curiosity. "What’s your name?" she asked, though she knew who he was, as her father had pointed him out back at the station, advising her to top him in every class this year. She really could not see what was so bad about him; he seemed nice enough, even a little shy, she now realized.
"Malfoy. Scorpius Malfoy," the boy said quickly, as if he was quite ashamed to have such a name. "And yours?"
"I'm Rose Weasley, but everyone calls me Rosie. This is my cousin, Albus Potter," Rosie said, gesturing to herself and her cousin in turn.
Scorpius looked at Albus with astonishment: his father had pointed to Albus's, explaining how Harry Potter had defeated the Dark Lord some years ago. Draco had said that he and Harry had never really been friends, as he - Draco - had gotten in with the wrong sort from a young age and had ended up as a Death Eater, a fact which he now regretted. He had advised Scorpius to try to become friends with the young Potter boy. "Y-you're it?" he inquired shakily, "You're Harry Potter's son?"
Albus nodded. "One of them, anyway. I have an older brother named James. He's not much fun, though. I don't think you'd like him," he stated, his distaste for his older brother made very clear by his tone. However, he quite enjoyed the company of Scorpius, though the boy seemed to have a bit of a problem with stuttering. Maybe he's just got nerves, like me, Albus thought.
Rose smiled at the two boys, deciding to rejoin the conversation. "Oh, aren't you two so excited? We're going to Hogwarts! I bet it will be absolutely wonderful! Just like James said!"
"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm nervous," Albus confessed. "What if we get Sorted into Slytherin, Rosie?"
"It won't be so bad. I'll probably be in Slytherin," Scorpius stated. "I'm actually afraid they might put me in Gryffindor. None of the Malfoys have ever been in Gryffindor. My parents would be devastated."
"Oh, it'll be all right. I'm sure your parents will love you just the same, no matter what house you're in," Rosie said to the boys, who looked as if they might try to jump out the window at the thought of being Sorted into the wrong house. At her statement, they both seemed to relax a little. She frowned when she looked at their clothes and said, "Perhaps you two ought to change into your school robes. After all, the earlier you do it, the more time we'll have to chat and eat things from the trolley later."
Albus rolled his eyes; he was quite used to his analytical, perfectionist cousin, but sometime he couldn't stand her worrying over him. She could be such a nag sometimes! However, he knew that she would not cut it out until he finally gave her what she wanted, so he said, "Let's go, Scorpius, before she starts telling us to fix our hair, too," grabbed his school robes, and walked out to change, his new friend trailing behind him.
Rose smiled to herself as she watched them walk away, unable to help but noticing that Scorpius's face was slightly pink as he looked ahead at the other boy. They'll make a cute couple one day, if they ever decide to go that way, she thought to herself. She had no idea if either of them was interested in boys, but she did have a feeling that they might be. She knew Albus well enough to know that he was all right with homosexuality and things of that nature - their whole family seemed to be, except for James, of course, who would have nothing to do with it.

Meanwhile, Scorpius and Albus had run into trouble. As they had emerged from the changing rooms and were headed back to their compartment, they had run into James, who had been coming the opposite way. He scowled immediately at the sight of the young Malfoy boy. "Albus, what are you doing, hanging around with his type? The Malfoys are all a bad lot, you heard Uncle Ron!"
"You leave him out of this, Scorpius is nice enough!" Albus shouted. Down the corridor, other students poked their heads outside to see what all the commotion was. A fight between James and Albus was never something to be missed; it usually started off as a yelling match and sometimes devolved into exchanging blows. There was never any dueling involved, as Albus did not yet know any spells and James was not allowed to use magic outside of school. As it was, today was not the day for a fight.
Rosie came and stood between the two boys, looked James in the eye, and spoke, "James, you leave Albus alone. You may not like his friends, but I think Scorpius is a wonderful boy and neither of us care what you have to say about it. Go away and leave everyone alone."
Despite the fact that she was almost six inches shorter than him and a little over a year younger, James felt intimidated by his cousin and obediently left them alone, but not before mumbling some facetious comments about how she must be "infatuated with the wonderful little Malfoy boy" and how his brother had to have "a silly little girl" to protect him. Both comments went unnoticed, as Rosie was determined not to give him the satisfaction of a retort. After he left, Rosie led the way back to the compartment in which she, her cousin, and the pale child in question had previously been sitting. After a few moments of strained silence in which both boys thought about how un-manly they must have seemed, having a girl stand up for them like that. Finally, Rose broke the quiet by inquiring, "Have you heard that two of our professors this year are married, and they're both women?"
"I had heard something like that, but is it true?" Albus inquired. Rose usually knew more about these things than he did; he was not inclined to keep up with the gossip vine.
Rose nodded excitedly. "Oh, yes. The Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Chloe Epperson, is married to the Runes teacher, Brittany Epperson! And Chloe's a Metamorphmagus! I can't wait to meet them!" she exclaimed.
"Well, I doubt we'll be seeing much of Professor Brittany; I don't think you can take Runes until third year, can you?" Scorpius quizzed. The two female teachers being married had been a point of interest for his parents shortly before they had sent him off to school - they were also, his father had heard, from America, and Wizarding schools there tended to be run differently.
"Oh, well, that's right, I suppose. But we'll get to meet Chloe - er, I mean, Professor Epperson," Rose stated. At that point, the trolley arrived, serving as a momentary distraction from their conversation as their stomachs overtook their brains. All three children bought plenty of snacks - so many that the lady pushing the trolley playfully scolded them, saying they might as well have bought the whole cart. With his stomach having been filled, Albus unwittingly leaned his head against Scorpius's shoulder and fell asleep as his new friend looked out the window. Meanwhile, Rose, who had always taken after her mother, took out a book and began reading to pass the time.

[Princess Porcelain]

Chapter Two - The Sorting Hat

Albus was a little startled to find himself being shaken awake by his favorite cousin. The train was slowing down; it appeared that, at long last, they had finally arrived at the Hogsmeade station. The young boy, after realizing what he was leaning his head against, quickly removed himself from his friend Scorpius, whom he had now noticed, was holding his hand. How did that happen? he wondered, stammering an apology, his face as red as a beet. "S-sorry, I must've fallen asleep by accident-"
"It's all right, I'm not bothered much," Scorpius admitted. Albus stared at him for a moment, trying to decide whether the slight upward curve of the corners of his mouth was natural or if the blond, gray-eyed boy might actually be smiling.
"It was the cutest thing I've ever seen!" Rose exclaimed, giggling. "You fell asleep, Albus, and then took his hand in your sleep! I swear, I've never seen anything more adorable!"
James decided to make an untimely appearance at that moment, with his cousin Fred. He scowled at the Malfoy boy after hearing Rosie's words. "Oi! You, stop messing with my brother, you hear? He doesn't go that way, and scum like you aren't worth his time anyway!"
"Shut up, James!" Rosie ordered him. She had drawn herself up to her full height, her dark blue eyes boring into his brown ones, an expression that might even intimidate Molly Weasley herself on her face.
James walked away obediently, mumbling, "Next time, you won't have your silly little girlfriend to protect you, Malfoy."

Scorpius looked as if he might try to inform James that Rosie was most certainly not his girlfriend; however, one look from the redhead advised him that this was definitely not the best idea he had ever had. Instead, he, Rose, and Albus calmly got off the train and followed Professor Hagrid to the boats that awaited them by the lake. During the ride, Scorpius considered his new friends. Albus and Rosie were the two people you would least expect someone of his lineage to be associating with; however, he got along with them quite well. He had never really had friends before until now; he had lived a rather secluded lifestyle in the Malfoy manor, his only regular companions being his parents, his mother's cat, and his broomstick, which he, regrettably, was not allowed to bring during his first year. Since he had never had friends, he was rather socially inept, and quite nervous about the whole business, afraid that he might accidentally mess up and ruin everything. The thought mortified him. As the castle grew closer, another thought came to the forefront of his mind: What house would he be Sorted into? With the Sorting only an hour or so away at the most, he became concerned. Of course, Rosie had said that his parents would care for him no matter what house he was in, but with the way they had talked about him being in Slytherin, as if being a Malfoy made that decision final, he was afraid she might be wrong.
Albus, who had apparently noticed his distress, looked at him, his green eyes filled with concern for his friend. "What's wrong?"
"Oh, I was just thinking about the Sorting again," Scorpius answered. "Being a Slytherin has practically become tradition in the Malfoy family; you'd be a little nervous too if you were me."
"It will be all right. I think I've come to terms with this whole Sorting business now, though I am still a little nervous. All I have to say is, if you, Rosie, and I aren't all in the same House, I think I might as well just call it quits now. I really don't know any of the other first years, and outside of my brother and my cousins, I don't know any of the older students, either," Albus stated. He sighed at the end of this, clearly worried about making friends. On top of worrying him about what House he'd be in, ever since he'd gotten his letter, James had been trying to convince him that he would never make any friends at Hogwarts and that all the girls would hate him. His parents had been telling him the opposite. "Why, with your good looks and charm, you'll have all the friends you want!" his mother, Ginny, had exclaimed one evening after James's hateful comments had reduced him to tears. He and his older brother had never really gotten along; they did not agree on much other than the fact that they were constantly annoyed with each other. Their mother often lamented this fact, though she could not honestly say that she had not seen her share of sibling rivalry, having grown up as part of the Weasley clan. The two just tended to clash, like a cat and a rat.
Scorpius felt encouraged by his friend's comments, though he was still a little unsure of himself. I wish I was more confident, he thought to himself as he watched Albus, who, having said his piece, was now staring absent-mindedly into the dark water, beneath which something appeared to be stirring.

Within a few minutes, their little canoe had run aground and they were headed inside the warm recesses of the castle. Headmistress McGonagall led all of the first years into a room off the Great Hall before the Sorting. She was tall from the children's perspective, with square glasses and black hair, shot through with gray streaks here and there. Her eyes studied them all before she spoke, as if examining the new witches and wizards in training. She cleared her throat. "You have arrived at your first year at Hogwarts. Congratulations to all of you. You are about to be Sorted into the House in which you will remain for the rest of the time you spend here. Your House will be like your family at Hogwarts, and there will be a competition between the Houses throughout each year. At the end of the year, the House with the most points will be awarded the House Cup. Try not to worry yourselves too much over what house you'll be in; wherever you happen to be placed, you will most assuredly fit in and make friends. That having been said, I believe it is now time for us all to convene in the Great Hall for the Sorting and for supper."

With that, all the first years - about fifty or so in all - filed out of the room one by one with loud shuffling sounds and headed into the Great Hall, where they assembled themselves in a line on the far wall, awaiting the Sorting. Albus leaned against a point somewhere near the middle of the stone wall with Rosie on one side and Scorpius on the other. The three whispered quietly to each other until Headmistress McGonagall called, "Malfoy, Scorpius!" Scorpius sighed dejectedly, as if resigned to a fate of being in a different house than his friends, and walked slowly toward the stool upon which the Sorting Hat sat. Albus and Rosie held their breaths, hoping for the best. They watched carefully as the Sorting hat was placed on Scorpius's head. It did not do anything immediately, and they thought perhaps that something might have gone wrong. Scorpius himself looked a little green, as if his lunch was about to make a second appearance. After some apparent deliberation, the Sorting Hat screwed up its "mouth" and proclaimed loudly, "GRYFFINDOR!"
At this, everyone at the Slytherin table looked a little confused, having heard the name "Malfoy" and expecting someone with such a name to be among their ranks, while the Gryffindors cheered, looking pleasantly surprised, as if the Sorting Hat's decision was unexpected. Albus and Rosie looked at each other with astonishment, now hoping more fervently than ever that they would both be placed in Gryffindor. They whispered to each other excitedly until Albus's name was called. He sat down on the stool, realizing for the first time exactly how exposed he was. He and Rose had been two of maybe ten to fifteen of the fifty or so first years that had not yet been Sorted, and he was at the front of the room, on a stool, with everyone staring at him. What if he accidentally overbalanced himself and - heavens forbid - fell off the stool? The thought was horrific.
As the Sorting Hat was placed on his head, he kept repeating to himself in his mind that he must be in Gryffindor. He recalled his father telling him once that the Sorting Hat spoke to him when he was Sorted. It wasn't saying a word to Albus now, though, which both comforted and disconcerted him. He only had to wait a few moments, but that short amount of time seemed like hours. Finally, the Sorting hat made its decision. "GRYFFINDOR!" it shouted, causing Albus's ears to ring. He got up excitedly and sped over to the far end of the Gryffindor table, where the young Malfoy boy was sitting. They congratulated each other on their good fortune, and then watched to see if "Weasley, Rose" would be Sorted into their house as well. The redhead seemed to be mumbling to herself as she sat upon the stool, and when the Sorting Hat finally proclaimed, "GRYFFINDOR!" and she had skipped merrily over to her cousin's other side, where she sat between him and a bulky seventh-year boy. "Why were you mumbling to yourself, Rosie?" Scorpius asked as she sat down, his voice resounding with curiosity. Albus had been wondering the same thing.
"Oh, the Sorting Hat wanted to put me in Ravenclaw, and I was trying to convince it not to. I guess it worked, because here I am," Rosie replied. "I didn't know the Sorting Hat could do that."
"Father told me something like that once. He said the Sorting Hat would always have its own idea of what House you should be in, but if you asked it to, it might put you in a different one," Albus informed his cousin. "He said that's what happened when he was Sorted. The Sorting Hat almost put him in Slytherin."
Rosie gasped. "Uncle Harry? In Slytherin? How could anyone do that?"
"I don't know, but apparently the Sorting Hat thought it was a good idea." The two of them, along with Scorpius, continued to whisper excitedly to each other throughout McGonagall's start-of-term speech and only stopped when they realized that there was now food on the table. They all quickly filled their plates, and then resumed talking to each other until the meal was over. Going to bed that night, Scorpius could not help but be happy that he was in Gryffindor, completely forgetting that his parents might have other opinions.

[Princess Porcelain]

Chapter Three - The First Day

All of the Gryffindor first years were so excited for their first day at school that they barely slept that night. The lucky ones were able to get four hours of sleep at the most, and all their talking and chatting kept the older students awake and attempting to restore order without having to use magic. By the next morning, there was a rumor going around that Victoire Weasley, the prefect of Gryffindor House, had administered Sleeping Potions to two of the rowdiest girls in the Gryffindor tower, though no one was really sure of the validity of that claim, nor who had first made it. Nevertheless, breakfast saw a very subdued, exhausted-looking group of first years filing into the Great Hall for breakfast. Among them were Albus and Scorpius, who were sitting at the Gryffindor table, wondering where their redheaded wonder had gone to. "Perhaps she was so tired that she decided to sleep in," Albus suggested over a bowl of cereal, though the fact was that that would be unlikely. Tired or not, she was probably one of the ones who had helped her cousin Victoire get everyone up on time for breakfast.
Scorpius frowned, shaking his head as he swallowed a bite of bacon. "I'm positive I saw her coming from the girls' dormitory just before we left. I wouldn't miss that head of hair even if she was in a crowd full of gingers."
"She probably just went to organize everything, or maybe she forgot one of her books. She's exactly like my Aunt Hermione, let me tell you," Albus stated. "All the stories Uncle Ron's told of Aunt Hermione at Hogwarts have matched Rosie exactly. Just like her."
"Runs in the family, I guess," Scorpius commented with a shrug. "Like mother, like daughter."
"Perhaps while we're waiting, we should check our schedule?" Albus proposed, pulling his out of his bag. He and Scorpius looked on together. "Let's see...Our first class is Transfiguration with Professor Bella Evans..."
"...And we have it with Slytherin House," Scorpius spoke, sounding a little put-out. "I was hoping I would not have to be reminded of their existence until my parents sent me an owl asking how I was doing. My mother swore she'd send one every day."
"Well, it's not like there's too much to do about it now," Albus noted. "Let's see, our second class..."
"We have Herbology with the Ravenclaws, and then lunch, and then Potions with the Hufflepuffs and then Defense against the Dark Arts and History of Magic. I've got the whole list memorized," came a voice from behind them, shortly accompanied by what appeared to be a tangle of red hair with legs, carrying a school bag. Rose Weasley faced them, looking excited. "I'm very sorry for being so late. I just had to make sure I had everything I needed!"
Albus observed her bulging bag, which looked almost too big for her to carry. "And you're sure you didn't just stuff your entire school trunk in there?" he inquired, looking apprehensively at the overloaded satchel.
"I'm positive. There wasn't enough room for everything I wanted, so I just brought the essentials," Rose explained, opening her overlarge receptacle to reveal books, some that had been on their school list, and others that hadn't even been required, but that Rosie had bought anyway, simply for her love of reading. There were also quills, ink, and parchment for writing notes. The boys were positively stunned.
"How in the world did you fit all that in there without using an Expanding Charm?" Scorpius catechized, his eyes bulging. The bag was nearly half his size.
"Oh, I would have gotten Mother to do it for me before I left if I had thought of it!" Rosie exclaimed, clapping her hand over her mouth. When she removed it, she mused to herself, "Why didn't I have Mother do it? I suppose I'll have to teach myself to."
"That sort of thing is beyond our year, Rose. We wouldn't be able to do it if we tried," Albus spoke, trying to console her. She now looked distraught over the fact that, despite all her brains, she had neglected to put an Expanding Charm on her school bag. "After all, what good's it going to do you to carry everything you own in your bag? You couldn't possibly use it all in one day."
"But at least I'd have it if I needed it!" Rose exclaimed, looking distraught.
"You'll be fine, Rosie," Scorpius said encouragingly. "And if you absolutely have to get out of class for a moment to get something, Al and I will cover for you."
Rose smiled. "Thanks, Scorpius. You really are a help."
"Besides," Albus said, now rummaging through her possessions, "When are you ever going to need Advanced Potion Theory? I bet even seventh-years don't read that stuff. And...Fashion is Magic: How to Stay Fabulous in the Wizarding World?" At this point, Albus seemed quite surprised, as he had never known Rosie to care about fashion and such. Mostly, her life revolved around asking endless questions of her mother, who was always ready with a well thought-out answer, as if it was part of a planned speech. Sometimes, it seemed like Hermione Weasley knew everything, and her daughter wanted to bask in her omniscience. It was almost unbearable at family gatherings, because everyone would be playing Exploding Snap or discussing the latest Quidditch match, and Hermione and Rose would be in the corner of the room, discussing magical theories, the facts of life, and anything else their highly intelligent minds could think of, and when someone interrupted their talks, they would stop what they were doing only long enough to inform the other person that they were busy. Sometimes Albus swore that they would keep on talking, even if the world began to explode around them. At that point, his uncle Ron would agree, saying that the worst of it happened at home.
Rose quickly snatched the magazine, and the rest of her possessions, away from him. "Those are mine, thank you very much," she voiced in a way that made it clear that she was not at all grateful for his actions.

-------

Later that day, as they were heading into Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Albus turned to Scorpius, asking, "So, did you ever get an owl from your parents?"
"No, not yet," Scorpius admitted, looking downtrodden and a little nervous. "Do you think that they already know, and they're angry with me for being a Gryffindor? Maybe the school sends secret letters to tell the parents what House their child has been Sorted into."
Al shook his head. "I doubt that. My parents never got a letter from the school saying James was a Gryffindor. He just told them over Christmas break last year."
"At any rate, you boys need to stop talking and look where you're going!" Rose exclaimed, dragging the two through a doorway they had just passed into Defense Against the Dark Arts. They all sat down in the back, which was the only place left that had three seats open, as they had been just a tiny bit late. Professor Chloe Epperson had just finished calling roll when she looked up to see the three students, who were just as suprised at her appearance as she was at theirs. She had short, spiky electric blue hair, blue-green eyes, and a rather petite appearance.
"Oh, you three must be Rose, Albus, and Scorpius. Please sit down, we were about to start," Professor Epperson spoke roughly, but not unkindly. The children were surprised that she had used their first names, but then they remembered that she was from the United States, where this was generally the custom. She smiled at the class as soon as the new arrivals had done as she had bidden and said, "Hello! I'm Chloe Epperson, and I'll be your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher this year, but you can call me Professor Chloe if you want. After all, my wife, who teaches Runes, is also an Epperson, and it would get confusing pretty fast if you called us both Epperson in the coming years. No one would know which Epperson you meant! Anyway, we have some highly interesting topics to cover this year, which I hope you'll enjoy thoroughly. Please take this course schedule and look over it." She began to pass out little pamphlets, which contained the parameters of the course, what all the first years were expected to learn that year, and other useful information, such as what section of the library you might be able to find helpful books in.
Rose looked at hers with astonishment, smiling at Professor Chloe. "Did you make these yourself? They're wonderful!"
The professor shook her head. "No, but my wife did. I just came up with the idea. She's the brain behind everything. I'll tell her you liked them. Rose, isn't it?"
"Yes ma'am."
"May I call you Rosie?"
"If you want to. Everyone else does," Rose informed her, looking quite flattered that a teacher would like to address her on a more personal level. Al and Scorpius shot each other knowing glances from behind their friend's back, able to tell that she and the professor would soon be discussing every tiny section of this subject in detail. With Rose's curiosity and Chloe's knowledge of the subject, there might never be an end to their conversation once it was started. They just sat through the rest of the class, waiting for it to be over so that they could get over with listening to Rose gush about how wonderful their teacher was, which they were positive she would end up doing.