THE CAPTAIN OF THE SLYTHERIN quidditch team was an unexpected surprise in the late Saturday afternoon, when the Hogwarts Express had already departed.
"Packing up already?" Thea noted. "I thought you were staying for break?"
Scorpius jerked up his suitcase from the stairs into the common room, sorely regretting that Hux wasn't here to apparate it for him.
"I am. But I spoke with McGonagall about returning in a few days. I have to speak with my father."
Thea straightened up. "Speak with him? What happened?"
He tensed, doubting whether or not he should tell Thea. While she was his friend, he also knew that she didn't enjoy conflict and preferred to stray away. That's why she would never understand what he was about to do. No one understood pureblood power like Draco Malfoy.
And while he had definitely changed his prejudices, Scorpius knew his father still took pride in being one of the few pureblood Slytherin families. He would give him so well needed... perspective on how to deal with the discrimination against purebloods.
While McGonagall didn't know that was the exact reason he was going home, he did mention wanting to gain insight on how to improve as Head Boy and felt as if he could learn a thing or two from his father who was Head Boy during his time at Hogwarts.
They both froze at the movement on their left. From the boys dorm came Albus, hair ruffled and shirt missing as per usual. Except his face wasn't the typical half asleep- half awake that he was known for and he certainly wasn't sleepwalking in the early winter morning.
He looked almost...remorseful. That expression on the usually prideful Albus was definitely a shocker.
"Mate, you okay?" Scorpius approached with caution.
He dragged a hand down his weary face. "About yesterday. I'm sorry. The whole thing with Roxanne and Rose has me on edge. Mum and Dad made me promise to look out for them. I just can't help but worry. They're Order of the Phoenix kids, and I just fear-"
Thea's voice took a hard edge. "Fear what? Two Slytherin Death Eater kids are going to defile them?"
Albus squeezed his eyes shut. "No. Yes. No. I'm just concerned, ok? Dementors are still roaming the grounds trying to capture anyone who's escaped their Azkaban sentence."
"Same here." Scorpius shook his head. "Did Thea tell you? About what happened?"
His best friend collapsed into the seat across Scorpius' suitcase laid out on the table. "I heard. Salazar, a dead snake? This is exactly why I'm worried."
"Well, rest assured we're not going to be trying anything malicious against our best mate's family." Thea rolled her eyes and sat upon the arm of the chair.
A lump formed in Scorpius throat as he swallowed. "Yeah, of course."
Oh Merlin, he was going to hell.
"By the way," Thea said with a slight drawl. "Did you know Lysander confessed to Lily at Honeydukes yesterday?"
Albus' hands locked like a vice on the arm chairs, eyes narrowed into slits. The boy was practically seething.
"He did what?!"
Looks like Lysander was going to join him in hell as well.
~
The floo powder always seemed to stick to his hair, no matter how much he tried to vigorously shake it out to the best of his ability. The smell of McGonagall's office, which included cat fur and musty books, clung to his civvies.
"Mum?"
Hux appeared instead, already snatching his suitcase and apparating away to his room.
"Scorpius? Darling, is that you?" her voice carried from the kitchen.
He found himself walking just a tad bit quicker at the sound of his mother's voice. She stood in the kitchen in a long sleeve blue dress, brown hair pinned up, apron covered in cake flour and vanilla that entrapped his senses.
She spun around to give him an awkward hug as her hands were sticky with dough.
"Hi Mum," he breathed. "I missed you."
"Oh Darling, I thought you weren't coming home for break?"
"I wasn't. But I have to speak with Father. Where is he?"
The loud steps of Draco Malfoy echoed by the twin staircases. "Astoria, bloody hell, how many batches of those shortbread cookies are you going to make before this house smells like Honeydukes!"
Scorpius ditched the kitchen, moving out to the living room just as his father finished descending the stairs.
He blinked several times at his son before lifting his black cane in his hand. "Scorpius? What are you doing home?"
"I'm visiting for two days. I need to speak with you. It's urgent."
Noting his tone, Draco gestured for him to follow into the study.
"What's on your mind?"
He waited until his father had taken a seat at his desk before starting. "Well, there's been an incident at Hogwarts. Several over the past year, but the event as of recent is quite unsettling. Someone is targeting Slytherin pureblood descendants of Death Eaters."
As if on instinct, Draco's hand gripped the tattoo on his forearm.
"What incident?" he said tightly. "Were you harmed?"
"No," he shook his head. "It's actually a housemate of mine, Hera Carrow. Someone killed a snake and left it outside the common room with a letter addressed to her."
"What did it say?"
Scorpius dug into his book bag to pull out the parchment that he got from Hera after much persuasion.
Draco clenched his fist. "Wait till Hogwarts hears from me. That hag of a Headmistress is going to be a Muggle janitor for letting this happen."
The son was quick to douse his father's anger. "That's not what I came to you for. I need advice. You understand purebloods more than anyone I know. I need to understand more about your generation to figure out who could be targeting us. We're not exactly popular amongst the other houses, Gryffindor especially. Are there any families in particular that could be very much still against us despite the war ending?"
"Maybe it's Albus." he muttered grimly. "That's a born and bred Gryffindor right there. No idea why the Sorting Hat shoved the git into Slytherin."
Scorpius rolled his eyes, used to Draco's disapproval of his best friend. "And what if it's not him?"
"Listen, son." Draco leaned forward with hands intertwined, family ring reflecting in the light of the banker's lamp. "The most powerful advantage a pureblood has is their family name. While we may come from a short line of Death Eaters, we still own a lot of the magic world. You want to defend Slytherin House instead of attacking others? Show them who you are. No more pretending to be a house you aren't. You're cunning, swift, and deadly. Act like it. And maybe, just maybe, people would think twice before committing atrocious acts like this. Now go tell your Mum that her bloody shortbread cookies are burning."
~
"Christmas time is here." Astoria sighed, the sound like a fairy.
Scorpius learned from a young age that everything his mother did was magical, mystical, and whimsical in a special way that brought a smile to both Malfoy men.
"Want to come shopping with me?" Astoria asked early in the morning as Scorpius slouched in his seat.
Breakfast was bauble and squeak with sausage links, roasted mushrooms and tomatoes, and scrambled eggs. He didn't exactly have the appetite of a horse that particular morning and the need to escape the vanilla scent that flooded the kitchen led to him agreeing to accompany his mother even if it meant getting even more floo powder in his hair.
A few moments later, they had stumbled into Diagon Alley.
"This great new place opened up for brunch." She bubbled eagerly. "We'll eat there afterwards if you gain your appetite."
"Mum, I'm not five anymore. Even I can't eat that much."
"No," she amended as they walked down the stores. "But you are a growing boy."
He stopped in his tracks. "Mum, I haven't grown since sixth year. I'm forever at 188 centimeters, barely neck and neck with Albus. I'm not like Rose and Albus who can eat buckets of food and still have room for dessert."
Astoria paused, turning to look at him. "Rose? Are you back to being friends now?"
He hated the hopeful look in his mother's eyes. It feed his own mustard seed of hope.
"No. I just have more classes with her. That's all."
Astoria heaved a sigh. "You know your father wouldn't be all that against the two of you dating."
"Mum!"
"-I mean it!" She continued. "I've spoken to him before about it. Of course, he'd be a little miffed. You know how prideful he can be. But, after time, he would get over it. Said so himself. Rose is quite brilliant, though not as smart as my boy."
Scorpius couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"You spoke to father about Rose and I dating?"
"Of course. We both suspected that you two were an item when you always went to their house- ah! The shoes for Daphne, oh Merlin it's the last pair!"
He stood in the middle of Diagon Alley with barely disguised shock written on his face as his mother scrambled to grab the last pair of Vinciguerra Vorbloom shoes for his aunt.
His father was okay with them together.
And suddenly It seemed like the good intention events of fifth year were in vain. All the suffering, all the guilt, all for nothing.
He felt renewed. He had to fix what they had before seventh year was over and their paths would diverge.
Scorpius was going to get his Rosie back.