Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy

Thanks to Scorpius, this sight of the boats on the lake was no surprise to Rose or Albus. However, he forgot to account for the giant squid, whose tentacles sometimes appeared on the dark and murky water. Albus and Rose had both taken their customary gasps at the sight of the castle, turrets shining in all their glory underneath the starry sky. The moon cast its light against the gray stone of the towers and walls, making them appear to be silver and even more magical than Scorpius could describe.

Scorpius recalled his own first sight of Hogwarts. It was raining lightly, and he was stuck in a small boat with Crabbe and Goyle and a few other future Slytherin’s going on and on about the size of the giant groundskeeper leading them. They all had owls or ferrets (the new “thing” according to Magical Menagerie in Diagon Alley). Despite his lack of decent company, the rain, and the darkness around them, the castle had shone like a beacon in the night. Somewhere he could escape. He imagined that Albus and Rose didn’t think of it as an escape. They didn’t need one, in their perfect Potter friendly lives.

Scorpius had suffered through a horseless carriage ride with Crabbe and Goyle, and just managed to avoid James Potter. When the carriages arrived, the first years were still half-way across the lake. Scorpius had hated parting with them at Hogsmeade Station, and clung to the chocolate frog cards that Albus told him to keep, although he didn’t even collect them. He wished on the faces of the two Dumbledore cards, 3 Harry Potter cards, one Oravella Redbaum card, and three Yvette Gloromonde cards, that some way or another they would remain companions.

He was rushed into the hall after he left his owl with a house elf to whom he had grown quite fond.
Winky had promised to take his owl straight to the Owlery, so that he would have a better perch than the others. She also promised to feed Hagrid the owl exactly as Hagrid the teacher suggested. She felt rather grateful to him when he found her crying outside of the kitchens when he was exploring. Although, he hadn’t done much aside from tell her it was okay to cry. Apparently all the house elves found her to be a nuisance, and Scorpius didn’t think crying was all that annoying at all. He wished the people around him would just break down and cry so they could feel better instead of acting cruel and rude all the time.

When he arrived at the Slytherin table, it was almost as if they knew where he would sit. They saved at least eight seats with the hopes that none of them would have to sit beside him. Crabbe and Goyle snickered as he followed suit and sat in the middle of them.

“Whatsat, Malfoy? Ain’t got any friends, ‘ave you?” Goyle sneered.

Scorpius just ignored them, and kept his eyes on the doors for the first years, and when he grew tired of waiting he watched the teachers. He wasn’t used to being the older kid, and so watching as McGonagall and the other staff set things up and took their seats was all new to him. Professor Slughorn quickly poured himself a glass of what looked to be wine, and chugged it straight down. Headmaster McGonagall just glanced over him as if she had not seen anything.

Professor Trelawney wasn’t present, but she never was. She hated being seated next to the centaur, Firenze. Scorpius had never taken their classes but he had heard the gossip. Apparently, she had fallen in love with the centaur and he turned her down.

There was a new teacher though, that seemed familiar for some reason to Scorpius. He sat beneath the banner of Slytherin behind the head table, right beside Professor Slughorn. He was slightly larger than a normal person, but it all seemed to be muscle. His dark hair was slicked back, and his face had a five-oclock shadow about it.

“Krum, my boy!” the slightly drunk Professor Slughorn exclaimed for all the hall to hear. Then he covered his mouth and blushed as all in the room turned to see the famous quidditch player. The boisterous conversations in the room turned into excited whispers. Victor Krum, winner of 40 different trophies in the past ten years alone, here at Hogwarts.

Then, Headmaster McGonagall called the room to order, and as if she had transfigured their lips shut, everyone silenced.

“At last, we meet again. I hope you all had a wonderful summer, and a safe summer. I do feel that it needs reminding that magic outside of Hogwarts is not permitted for those under age. To do so can and will get you swiftly expelled. You may have noticed some of your fellow students missing. It is not some joke, I promise you that.

Now then, as with every year, I hope that we can enjoy ourselves, but before I go into the school rules yet again, let us begin with the sorting.First Years!”

There was a pause as almost everyone looked towards the door large ornate doors. Nothing happened, and everyone started muttering under their breath jokes about how the boats could have sunk, or how Hagrid must have taken them to eat. McGonagall rushed to the door, flustered that her timing wasn’t impeccable. Scorpius couldn’t help but laugh as Hagrid leapt forward into the room after a small toad.

He caught the thing and walked it back into the hall, to what sounded like a sobbing girl. Scorpius wondered who brought frogs to school anymore. He didn’t seem to be the only person with this thought, as most of the Slytherin table was mocking the poor girl before ever seeing her face.

“Hagrid? Honestly! Hurry up, now. There we are.”

The first years began lining up in alphabetical order behind the Sorting hat. The sorting hat was looking extraordinarily old, as if it would fall apart on someone’s head rather than spring to life and sing a song. Alas, it did sing a song, describing all the different houses, and coloring them with all the best notions.

“Abbot, Abigail.”

Griffindor. Wild cheers. Scorpius didn’t care too much about which house gained a member. More and more first years were sorted and a few didn’t know any better when sorted into Slytherin and sat almost near him.

“Peatree, Loliander.”

“Hufflepuff!”

Scorpius who had spaced out on all the other names while looking for Albus in line, flinched when he realized they were almost to his name on the list.

“Pinta, Lola.”

Should he have hope?

“Ravenclaw!”

“Piles, Norman.”

Norman Piles took relatively longer than the others, and he looked quite afraid that the hat would simply send him home. Albus had entered the hall now, and glanced around but did not seem to see Scorpius. Instead, Scorpius saw him lock eyes with his brother, who smirked at his brother as if saying “go ahead, let’s see you do it, then.”

“Gryffindor!” the hat decided, and the boy quickly threw off the hat and rushed to the empty seat that the clapping Gryffindor’s had made for him, and the sorting hat fell to the floor rather than the stool. It shouted a few curses after Norman, but McGonagall was quick to quiet him and set him firmly back onto the stool.

Scorpius couldn’t tell that Albus was nervous by the smile he returned to his brother, but by the slow determined steps he took towards the stool onstage. His straight black hair fell over his slightly red ears, and his eyes were locked firmly ahead. He seemed to pause before placing the hat on his head, and covering all the way to his nose tip.

The dusty old hat seemed to be muttering away at the ever small looking Albus Potter, creases that appeared like eyebrows raised. They furrowed again, and Scorpius thought he noticed Albus’ lips moving, too.

Everyone seemed to have their eyes locked firmly on the sight of the Harry Potter kid, and Scorpius knew that James had not been wrong. People had their expectations, and the long deliberation was causing quite the controversy. Scorpius recalled that James Potter had the hat placed on his head and it immediately called “Gryffindor!” Now, with the hat no longer moving at all, Scorpius along with the entire hall of students and teachers, were riveted on the small mouse-like boy.

“…SLYTHERIN!”

There was a small, momentary silence in which no one knew what to do. Only Scorpius, Rose, and maybe James knew to have any sort of expectations of such an event. The Slytherins were not sure whether to clap or boo him, and the Griffindors were just wide-eyed looking between the hat, Albus, and McGonagall waiting for some indication that this was, indeed, some sort of practical joke.
Albus left the hat atop his head, afraid to remove it, as no one had clapped or said a word at all. Scorpius immediately filled the silence with his quiet, insignificant applause. It seemed to shock everyone else into action, as there was a dull buzz of chatter around the room, and Professor Slughorn had joined him. He always loved a great new prize student for his collection, and now to have a Potter in Slytherin, Scorpius imagined he must be ecstatic.

Encouraged by the applause of Professor Slughorn, others slowly joined. Teachers first, then students, although nearly ninety-nine percent appeared confused as to whether it was something to applaud or fear.

“Potter, you may take off the hat,” McGonagall called.

Albus did so at once, and rushed, red in the face, off stage. Scorpius looked to James at the Gryffindor table, who was not looking at Albus, but rather stared furiously right back at Scorpius. When their eyes locked, Scorpius knew it was only appropriate to look away, lest he start any new sort of rivalry, but instead he just smirked back at James and turned away to greet Albus.

“Nervous?” he asked, needlessly.

Albus just rolled his eyes, and then they turned to his wringing hands on the table. The hat resumed calling names, but even the teachers lacked the interest anymore.

“See? I told you.” Scorpius grinned, trying his best not to show his shared nervousness.

“What’s that?” Albus asked, not glancing up. Scorpius noticed indents in Albus’ palms from his fingernails, as he opened his palms to twiddle his thumbs.

“They clap for everyone. Even when they ARE suffering from a massive brain hemorrhage.”

Albus attempted a laugh, but it came out as a heavy breath. Scorpius couldn’t take his eyes off of Albus, scared that if he did that none of it would be true. The he wouldn’t be there at all and the whole wonderful day had been some awful, sick joke of a dream. Still, he knew that Albus had made a huge sacrifice, and so he didn’t say anything more. He didn’t ask the questions he sincerely wanted to know. Had he chosen Slytherin, or had it been forced on him? It was extremely hard to tell based off of his current state of reaction.

“All that’s left of it is Rose,” Albus finally said. “I saw her. She was the last in line.”

Scorpius nodded. He doubted that Rose would make the same choice, as she seemed too timid to make that sort of choice. Although, it seemed no one too much cared about her choice as everyone was still staring in Albus’ direction.

So, when the hat called gruffly: “Weasley-Granger, Rose” and the small red-headed girl entered, she walked onstage with only a few teachers, Scorpius, Albus, and James watching.

Though Scorpius had known her only a few hours, he had never seen her so resolute. The second the hat touched her head, it exclaimed:

“SLYTHERIN!!!"

For a moment she appeared shocked, as if expecting some argument or deliberation with the hat. However, it seemed the hat didn’t need any arguments. Albus and Scorpius glanced to one another and back towards the stage to wave her down to the empty seat that had beside them. Rose scurried quickly passed, not even for a moment glancing at the other Slytherin’s. Then, she plopped down, crossed her arms, and let her head lie there as if she could just disappear by hiding her eyes.
Albus glanced at Scorpius who placed a polite hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t worry, Rose,” Albus said, sounding more self-assured now that Rose was there with him. “We’ll be alright anywhere, so ‘long as we stick together, hm?”

Rose shrugged, and Scorpius felt responsible for the misery she felt. Although, even he had to argue with the hat for a moment before it decided to place him in Slytherin. He wanted to ask them both, but felt it would be rude. Although, they had asked him, he knew there were certain times that certain questions could wait. His mother had taught him that much.

“And with the sorting complete, I remind you of all the school rules, and shall repeat them all for the new students, lest they lose their house any points.”

McGonagall read off the school rules, with Filch’s (now a Hogwart’s ghost) new bans on Exploding Ink Erasers, Broken Arm Bites, Almost True Love Potion, and the entirety of Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes stock. Apparently, according to the Slytherin rumors, he hadn’t been a Squib all along, or at least had figured out enough magic to make himself a ghost. Perhaps, it was his hatred for all things Weasley and contraband that kept the old man a ghost, but you could often times find Crookshanks the cat, who replaced Mrs. Norris when Hermione left the school, attempting to nuzzle the ghost’s leg when he forgot that there was nothing solid there.

After the speech, dinner began, and the children found something else to stare at aside from Albus, as the ghosts appeared, first-years asked a million questions, and of course, every one focused heavily on food.

Scorpius wondered if the two would regret their choices, or if they already were, as he helped himself to a duck leg, and a large helping of whipped yams. He felt like he should apologize, but he sensed it would only make it worse. So he chose to say nothing, and they all chose that option, and dinner was filled with everyone’s chatter but their own.