Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy

Albus and Scorpius ran silently down the stairs towards the screams they had heard, hoping only to find Rose alive and well. The stairs spiraled as they went deeper into the ground. Scorpius was always shocked that in the immense castle, someone had thought more space was needed and dug such a massive dungeon into the ground.

At first, those creeping shadows in the passageways and the darkness down the endless stairs had terrified him. He had wished to live up in the Ravenclaw tower, known for having the absolute best views of all, but now he had grown accustomed to the dank and creepy dungeons. The musky smell and small spaces seemed almost cozy and comforting by now. At least, they had, until he heard the screams of what seemed to be his newest friend.

Their footsteps echoed down into the depths below, and both began wondering how much further until they reached the screams. Until, at last, they arrived in the girls dormitory.

Rose was sitting cramped in the a dusty old gray armchair in the corner, a pile of books on the three legged side-table, and she most certainly was not screaming.

Scorpius reached to pull the cloak off and ask what was going on, and who had been screaming, but Albus grabbed his hand, and placed his finger to his lips. He pointed to the ceiling, where the source of the noise was confirmed.

"My goodness, Shannon, why must you keep screaming?" a lanky and flat-faced girl named Tori Whitehead asked the screaming ghost clinging to the chandelier in the center of the rather large dormitory.

The candles flickered out when the ghost leaned into them and screamed once more.

"Shrieking Shannon, they call her. First year who died a few years ago, when Madam Pomfrey was on strike and Hagrid was teaching a class on merpeople. My sister warned me about her. She doesn't shut up until The Grey Lady comes around," a straight-haired, fair-skinned girl named Suzy Kim answered.

"Why here, though? Why not in the lake? Why not haunt Madam Pomfrey or Hagrid?" Tori asked.

The other girl shrugged. Rose stayed quiet in the corner until finally the screams, and discussions about the screams, had begun disturbing her reading.

"Lumos Maxima!" Rose shouted, aiming her wand at the chandelier.

The bright light was blinding, and surprisingly powerful for someone who had not ever stepped inside a Hogwarts classroom. The magical light startled Shrieking Shannon, who leapt from the silver bars of the chandelier and through the ceiling.

All the girls in the room, Albus, and Scorpius stared at Rose in amazement. Some of the girls shifted their faces back into disdain, and Albus tugged Scorpius back to the door.

"How did you do that? You are a first year, right?" Suzy asked in a voice full of disdain and disbelief.

"I read books. It's common knowledge that most ghosts fear magical light."

"Ravenclaw!" Tori hissed, and many of the other girls laughed out loudly.

Rose looked back down to her books. "Not an insult," she muttered, but did not smile. Scorpius kept his eyes on her, and she looked just as he did his first year. Miserable, out of place, and like the room itself might swallow him whole.

"Albus, wait," he whispered, but Albus did not stop and the cloak crept quickly up and over Scorpius' head until he was completely visible.

It seemed to take an hour, although Scorpius knew it had only been a second, before anyone noticed. Then, there was chorus of gasps and screeches, and girls rushed at him hands raised high, some clutching wands.

Scorpius was terrified. The last thing he needed was a letter going home to his father explaining that he had been expelled for venturing into the girls' dormitory. He did not even understand why that was a rule, anyways. The only difference he saw with the rooms was that they were decorated with a dingy silver color rather that the vibrant greens that adorned the boys' dormitory.

He awaited Albus, who was courageous enough to stand up to James, who had joined Slytherin with him, who seemed as powerful as his father, to raise the cloak and help him escape. However, Albus did not come to the rescue. Albus remained under the cloak as he watched his new friend threatened and scorned by a menagerie of girls. As Scorpius made a mad dash from the room, someone in the hall called out a curse he had not learned, yet.

"Verrucas inflammatus!"

He fell to the ground as his arms and legs blossomed with red bulging and bursting boils. He shouted with pain as he turned over to view the perpetrator.

"Graves!" Scorpius cried out at the girl, in a voice he had hoped sounded more angry than it did desperate. However, having boils all over seemed to cause nothing but anguish.

The girl stood above him, with a smirk. "Sneaking into the girls dormitory on your first night back? Into the first years room, no less. Oh, how I wish it had been a room where people knew more curses like mine."

"Why?" Scorpius cried through grit teeth. "What did I do to you?"

Desdemona scoffed. "Nothing last year. Now you're all bosom buddies with a Potter and a Weasley..." she seemed to leave off her sentence there, rethinking it in her head. "It isn't right. It's unnatural to seek those sorts of friendships out. Look at you getting in trouble already over an empty threat to a Weasley. Just imagine the future."

Scorpius thought he saw the feet of Albus dash past him up the stairs, but Desdemona seemed unaware. He wanted so desperately to just agree with her, and to have her remove the curse. After all, Albus was abandoning him already. Instead, he lifted himself to his feet, a daunting task as several boils exploded on the soles of his feet.

"It looks a whole lot better than the past. I don't get why you care at all who I talk to. It's not like we're friends."

Desdemona glanced down and shifted her jaw to keep it shut. Her jet black hair glittered in the firelight from the candle on the wall.

"Remotio!" she muttered, wand barely raised. "I won't tell on you, Scorpius. I'll make sure they won't either. Just rethink your friends, okay?"

Scorpius was perplexed but healed. There was still the matter of pus in his socks and on his shirt, but there was no more pain. He couldn't understand the gesture, although he would like to think he was fairly empathetic. Why would a girl who hated him keep him safe from expulsion?

Desdemona turned to enter the first year girls dormitory, while Scorpius watched from a dark staircase. He found himself wanting to say thank you, but also found himself furious over being cursed. He couldn't understand how he was feeling, and so he began his ascent back up the stairs.

"And, that, girls, is one of the spells you'll learn if you don't do anything stupid and get yourself expelled," he heard Desdemona's voice echo through the hallway. "Pretty realistic. Looked just like that oaf Malfoy, right?"

Scorpius rolled his eyes, glad he hadn't expressed his gratitude, but still feeling two-ways about it. He reached the door to the common room and felt relief as no one had remained up late. He supposed most people went to bed excited for their first real day back in classes.

The fire still flickered and Scorpius sat beside it, not looking forward to seeing Albus, yet.

He could understand the desire to hide from that sort of situation, and they had only become friends, but it still felt like a betrayal. They had gone to find out if Rose was okay, and she was absolutely fine, which made him feel irrationally angry at her, as well. She had, also, done nothing to protect him either from the hoards of girls, although she had proven that she already knew quite a few powerful spells.

He understood the fear. He did. He was sure that in the same circumstances, he would have done the same thing, at least he knew that he usually did.

However, this was friendship. Friends stuck up for one another. He felt himself getting warm with anger and then realized it wasn't the anger but the fire.

The fire had grown in size, as another log appeared on it, suddenly.

As it was a magic school, things like this were completely normal, but Scorpius still gasped. Not out of fear, but excitement.

"Winky?!" he called.

The house elf peeked out from beside the fireplace bricks.

"Scorpius Malfoy, Winky is glad to see you."

Scorpius smiled, as he was reminded that he did have at least one good friend at Hogwarts.

"Winky! I'm glad, too. How are you feeling? Do you need to talk?"

She shook her head. "No, no, Winky just saw that Master Malfoy was not looking so happy, so Winky thought he needed to talk."

Scorpius took in a deep breath, and he laid down his head on the green and silver serpent rug. Winky walked over in her toga bearing the Hogwarts' crest and plopped down beside him.

"Well, it'd be easier to talk if I didn't have socks filled with pus. Gross!"

He removed his shoes and socks, and placed them by the fire to dry. Winky looked to the socks, concerned.

"Is Master Malfoy having another bad year?" Winky asked, her eyes grew even bigger with worry that Scorpius was afraid they might fall out of her head.

"I don't know, Winky. All I know is I thought I made new friends today...I'm not sure, though. They don't seem very good at being there for me when I'm in trouble."

Scorpius wasn't sure why it was so easy to talk to a house elf about things like feelings, or just things he normally wouldn't say aloud, but Winky never seemed disparaging or to discourage his feelings. It felt comforting and warm.

"Winky had a friend," the house elf began. "Winky's friend was a good friend, but a bad house elf. Winky's friend went against all the house elf beliefs, and Winky hated him, at first. Winky's friend helped Winky when her Master died. Helped Winky get here to Hogwarts. Winky's friend asked for her help once, but Winky was afraid. Winky did not help her friend, and Winky regrets it very much. Winky would go back and help if she could, but Winky was so afraid. Winky couldn't..."

Winky began crying, and Scorpius sat up to pat the poor house elf on the head. Winky seemed incredibly distraught, and it made Scorpius feel pity for her. Without realizing it, he also started feeling sorry for his friends; that he had put them in the position to get in trouble, to get hurt or expelled, and expected them to act on it solely to protect him. Why should they defend him when he had not even proven that he would protect them either? His anger abated completely, and he removed his hand from Winky's head.

"I'm sure your friend would forgive you, Winky, if he knew you were so afraid. After all, a real friend wouldn't put their friends in danger in the first place, right?" he asked.

Winky began sobbing hysterically, and Scorpius found himself hugging her as if she were a toddler. "There, there. It's okay."

"Winky should have helped Dobby, sir. She should have helped him," she sobbed with giant droplets of tears soaking the front of Scorpius' robes.

Scorpius didn't know what else to do but comfort the poor elf, as it was the only thing to work in the past to ease her sadness. After several minutes, she stopped sobbing, and placed a small hand to Scorpius' face.

"Winky hopes these is good friends. Master Scorpius is a good friend, he needs good friends."
Scorpius half smiled, not sure how to respond to such a kind gesture. As he wasn't very good with 'thank you's he just nodded and smiled.

Just then, they heard a shuffling of feet and Winky disapparated. Scorpius felt sad that she departed, but knew that they both had comforted one another enough for the night. He looked where she had stood by the fire and noticed his socks and shoes were no longer there. He smiled again, before turning to the sound of the footsteps coming up from the stairs leading to the boy's dormitory.

"Albus, no one is here," he called as the door opened with no one there. "It's safe, now."

"I heard talking," the body-less voice called.

"They're gone, I promise."

Albus removed the cloak and came to sit beside Scorpius and the fire. He played with the silver serpent's tail on the rug and did not say a word. Scorpius wanted dearly for Albus to apologize profusely, to tell him how wrong he was, but he also knew how awkward it was to hear it. Also, it was not as if Albus had been in the wrong, entirely. After seeing someone get cursed like that, wouldn't any first year run away?

"Scorpius, I'm-" Albus began after a few minutes.

Scorpius cut him off by placing his hand on Albus' head and giving him a kind pat. Albus looked confused and small, like he was at least five years younger than he was. Scorpius wondered if everyone looked like a child when they wanted to apologize. Realizing you've done something to hurt someone else must make you feel so small, he thought.

"What a night, right? To think I'd be cursed and saved by the same girl," Scorpius laughed. "I'm glad you got out of there safe. No telling what she would have done if she caught Albus Potter."

Scorpius looked over to the confused Albus and winked. Albus' eyebrows knotted up and he cocked his head to the side.

"Aren't you angry," he asked.

Scorpius shrugged. "You're safe, and that is the best possible outcome. What's there to be angry about?"

Albus looked even more concerned. "You're really not angry. Not at all?"

Scorpius put an arm around Albus' shoulder and pulled him down to lay on the rug.

"Something about being next to the fire with your friend warms away all those cold feelings, don't you think?" Scorpius said, smiling at the ceiling. "Ah, I wonder what terrible person painted that terrible mural..."

Albus kept watch on Scorpius face, to be sure he wouldn't suddenly get angry as had been known of his brother. When he was certain Scorpius wouldn't suddenly sock him, he looked to the mural, as well. There was a dark haired bearded man lifting his wand above his head and then swinging it towards a large group of naked strange faced people who began shrieking and squirming. The artist had infused the painting with silver and green hues to match the room and it was in the style of the Renaissance artist, and therefore very detailed and all the more gruesome as it moved over and over again.

"What's that man doing to all those people?" he asked.

"It is Salazar Slytherin, performing the Cruciatus curse on the muggles and mudbloods."

"Dreadful," Albus said, repulsed.

"Absolutely dreadful. But how much more horrible must you be to paint this portrait for several years in such a painstaking place to be seen by young students forever," Scorpis thought out loud.

"I had not thought of that," Albus said, animatedly. "Maybe Salazar made him do it. Cruciatus curse and all. He could have been Imperiused! I heard that happened to a lot of people a while back! Some people got out of Azkaban for it!"

Scorpius laughed in surprise, then realized that sounded strange in response.

"Sorry, not funny. Actually, so not funny, it hurts."

"Scorpius, I forgot! I'm sorry!" Albus caught on very quickly, sat up, and apologized profusely.

Scorpius had heard all sorts of scorn over his grandfather in Azkaban who had plead innocent via the Imperius curse, but no apologies or sympathy. His father once plead innocent of the same in court in the trials following the Voldemort downfall. The Ministry was excited to put the Malfoy's away for good, but good old Harry Potter attested to Scorpius' father's story.

"Forget it, please," Scorpius said, finally. "That's just-can't we be friends despite who our parents are and what they've done?"

"I would like that,"Albus said, quickly. He laid back down and stared at the mural. "I really would."