This is my first attempt at writing fanfiction and I'd appreciate any and all feedback :) Second chapter is already written and will be up in a week or two! Enjoy
Silence. Complete and utter silence. No cheers or applause filled the cavernous expanse of the Great Hall. The mass of students wearing red and gold sat shell-shocked, staring at the pale blond boy standing at the front of the room. Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy had just been declared a Gryffindor.
Rose Weasley stood beside her cousin Albus unsure of how to act. She looked over at her older cousin, James, not even noticing the smirk growing on Albus’s face. As she watched James stood up and clapped. Once the shock of the sound registered the rest of the red and gold burst into cheers. Scorpius kept his head down as he joined his house and the applause stopped abruptly as he took his seat.
“First Malfoy in Gryffindor.” Albus commented with a hint of malice, “I’ll be damned if the entire school talks about a Malfoy instead of a Potter tonight.”
Rose tore her gaze from Scorpius at looked at her cousin alarmed, “What’s that supposed to mean Al? Don’t do anything stupid please?”
“Don’t worry about me Rosie, I’ve got this under control.”
Rose was unconvinced but before she could formulate a response she was interrupted by McGonagall.
“Albus Potter.”
Albus practically skipped to the front and closed his eyes as the hat was placed on his unruly mess of black hair. As he sat there Rose tried to figure out what he had meant earlier.
“First Malfoy in Gryffindor….no way.” She whispered to herself, “He couldn’t want to be the first Potter in...”
“Slytherin!” The Sorting Hat proclaimed as Rose let out a whimper. Unlike when Scorpius was declared a Gryffindor the Hall erupted with noise as Albus proudly took his place among the green and silver crowd.
***
“Did Al say anything to you Rose? Anything to suggest why he would pick Slytherin?” James hissed at her while everyone was busy eating, “He was completely against Slytherin just this morning, and now he’s sitting there like he’s their king.”
“He’s your brother James you must have some idea.” She glanced at Scorpius as she said this, a pang of guilt running through her as she surveyed the lonely figure at the end of the table.
James followed her gaze and let out an exasperated sigh, “Of course. A Malfoy in Gryffindor, a Potter in Slytherin. That git.”
“James.” Rose warned, “I don’t agree with what Al did but he is his own person. Free to make his own choices.”
“More like mistakes.”
“Well like it or not Al is a Slytherin. And you have to admit, it kind of suits him. Didn’t your dad say the hat described Slytherins as ‘cunning folk who use any means to achieve their ends’? He has always been the most devious in the family.”
James couldn’t argue with that logic so he just grumbled and went back to his food. Rose took the opportunity to look once more at the boy her father had told her to stay away from mere hours ago. He looked deflated, so much different than he had when she had seen him at Kings Cross that morning. She wondered how his father would react to the news. She’d heard plenty of stories about Draco Malfoy but even her Uncle Harry had admitted that he never knew much about him. She was curious about Scorpius; James had been proof enough that children aren’t always like their parents, so maybe Scorpius was different too. Making sure that James was still concentrating on is food she slid down the bench until she was across from Scorpius.
“Hi, I’m Rose Weasley, you must be...”
“I know who you are and you know perfectly well who I am. So why are you speaking to me?” He sneered, not looking at her.
“Sorry, you just looked kind of lonely. I thought…”
“Well you thought wrong didn’t you.” His voice didn’t carry the same power that it had earlier and he was still looking down at the untouched plate of food in front of him. Rose thought she saw a tear drop into his mashed potatoes.
“Gryffindor isn’t that bad. It’s for the brave at heart after all. Crying into your potatoes won’t make you many friends Scorpius Malfoy.” She replied indignantly.
“I don’t need friends.”
“Everyone needs friends Scorpius. I’m even willing to be yours once you get over the terrible disappointment that is Gryffindor and accept that you belong here.” Rose huffed and began to slide away. And as she approached her cousin she thought she heard Scorpius utter one last sentence.
“I chose Gryffindor…”
***
Scorpius regretted that choice as soon as the Gryffindor prefect left the first years to get settled in their new dorm. The other five boys, who had been pointedly ignoring him, turned to him and studied him like he was an alien.
“Scorpius Malfoy.” The tall one with curly brown hair stepped forward and regarded Scorpius.
“And you are?” Scorpius couldn’t believe they were turning on him already. He cursed his choice, why couldn’t he have just said yes to Slytherin? He would be down in the dungeons being treated the way he deserved to be treated. Instead he had to go and prove to himself that he could be someone without the influence of his father’s name.
“Sebastian Perdue.” He said as his expression relaxed a bit, “No need to be so defensive dude, we’re not Slytherins.” The other boys started laughing with Sebastian and then introduced themselves to Scorpius. He quickly learned that they had no problem with his last name and were actually pretty cool guys.
“I saw you talking to Rose Weasley earlier Scorp that seems risky.” Jason said with a grin, “A Weasley and a Malfoy being friends? That’s gonna cause waves.”
“Girl is a know it all. I doubt she has any interest in having me as a friend. Her father would kill her.” Scorpius laughed then added, “Mine probably would too. Not that he has anything against the Weasleys…he actually said he probably owes them his life.”
“Please Scorpius, Hogwarts has changed. There’s a Malfoy in Gryffindor and a Potter in Slytherin. The Weasleys can do whatever they want.” This time it was Edgar adding his opinion.
“Thanks for the reminder Ed; I swear Albus did that just to spite me. He grinned right at me as he skipped to Slytherin.” Scorpius had no idea what he’d done to make Albus want to spite him; he figured it was a family rivalry thing. Which made no sense because wasn’t it James Potter who applauded Scorpius’s sorting? Apparently the younger Potter thought he had something to prove.
And speaking of that family, he ought to go apologize to Rose for being a git earlier. She has just been trying to be nice to him, and it wasn’t like his father had told him to stay away from her. Quite the contrary actually, he had been told that the Weasley-Potters were good kids and he should be nice. His father had respect for the family and had taught his younger son the same respect. Sighing, Scorpius got up and went downstairs to apologize.
***
Albus was well on his way to proving he was worthy of wearing green and silver. The Slytherins were over the moon at having a Potter in their midst and kept congratulating him on going against his family’s wishes. Albus just wished that he could go to sleep and find his brother and cousins tomorrow to explain. James had looked furious and Rose has been astounded. He hadn’t had a chance to find his other cousins in the crowd but he was sure that they weren’t too pleased. Finally people had stopped talking to him and he started to make his way to his room when he was stopped by an intimidating girl.
She had pin straight, jet black hair that fell to her waist. It was a stark contrast to her pale porcelain skin. However her most stunning trait was her large violet eyes, framed by block bangs. Albus felt his breath catch in his throat. He had noticed the girl earlier but he had been too busy glaring at the back of Scorpius’s head to listen for her name.
“The infamous Albus Potter. Or not so infamous. Nice stunt you pulled today Potter. The other Slytherins might believe you did it to spite your parents but I saw you on the platform this morning. What changed your mind Al?” She didn’t sound venomous, more aloof and curious. It took Albus a few seconds to reply.
“And you would be?” Great, he hadn’t sounded cool at all. Way to go Al he chided himself.
“Ariadne. My last name’s not important.” Albus thought he caught a hint of nerves in her last statement.
“Well nice to meet you Ariadne but I’m exhausted.” Wow, he had actually managed to sound even more like a geek than he had before.
Ariadne just laughed, “Goodnight Potter, don’t let the snakes scare you!”
Albus walked past her and up the stairs to the first year dorm. He let himself collapse into his bed and fought the urge to cry. Why had he chosen Slytherin? Yes the Sorting Hat had suggested it at first but his father had said he could choose not to accept that. So why didn’t he refuse? He cursed himself for letting his animosity for Scorpius get in the way of what he wanted. He didn’t even know why he disliked Scorpius. All he knew was that when the hat had yelled that Scorpius was a Gryffindor he had felt sick to his stomach. And he refused to share a dorm with a Malfoy for the next seven years. So when the Hat had suggested Slytherin he had jumped at the opportunity. He should have listened to Rose and not done anything stupid. But he had and he was now stuck in this dungeon under the Lake for seven years. A tear threatened to leak out of his eye but his thoughts were interrupted by footsteps.
“Are you okay man? You looked kind of overwhelmed out there. And then you were attacked by Ariadne.” Albus looked up and saw it was Malcolm, who also lived in Godric’s Hollow. They seldom talked but he was a welcome familiar face.
“Nah I’m fine. James’ll kill me tomorrow though.”
“He did look steamed. I’m sure he won’t kill you though.” As Malcolm finished talking four other boys walked in. They barely glanced at Albus; they simply left him alone as they all got ready for bed. Albus lay staring at the ceiling wondering what he had gotten himself into.
***
The next morning Albus was accosted by James outside the Great Hall.
“Are you satisfied with yourself Al? Satisfied that you’ve made a fool out of Malfoy and yourself?” James was furious and had Albus’ robes in his fists.
“Calm down James!” Rose demanded as she separated her cousins, “Now you’re making a fool out of yourself. People are watching.”
James backed off but continued to glare at his younger brother. By now a crowd had gathered and the other five Weasley cousins had broken through. Victoire and Dominique looked annoyed at the antics of their younger cousins. Fred was laughing and Roxanne and Molly were attempting to calm James down.
“I didn’t do it on purpose, James. The Sorting Hat chooses the house.” Albus spoke softly, refusing to look his brother in the eyes. He saw Scorpius approach through the crowd and stand next to Rose. Rose glanced at him and smiled. That made Albus feel even sicker than he had last night. What was wrong with him? Malfoy had never done anything to him and he had never felt hatred like this towards anyone else.
“Yeah right. I saw your smirk after the Hat said Slytherin. And that smirk was directed at him.” He gestured towards Scorpius who had been looking at Albus curiously.
“It had nothing to do with Malfoy.” Albus sneered.
“Al! Don’t use that tone! You don’t even know him.” Rose exclaimed.
“You don’t either Rosie so you can drop the saintly act. Now I’m starving so if any of you would like to have a normal conversation about this later that would be great.” With that he shoved through the crowd and into the Hall. Rose looked at her feet dismayed. She couldn’t believe that Albus had spoken to her like that. They had been best friends since they were born. They told each other everything.
“You okay, Rose?” It was Scorpius, looking at her with concern.
“I’ll live.” She looked into his grey eyes and smiled, “Let’s go eat.”
With that the crowd dispersed into the Hall and Rose followed Scorpius to the Gryffindor table. They were joined by James and Fred, the latter who turned to Scorpius with a serious expression.
“I couldn’t help but notice how you stood up for my cousin out there Malfoy. You should be warned her father is a very demanding, important man. I must know your intentions towards my cousin so I can report back to my Uncle.”
“Fred!” Rose screeched. He just laughed while continuing to look at Scorpius.
“Ummm….well she’s my friend? I intend to be her friend?” Scorpius looked unsure and slightly terrified of Fred.
“Not good enough Malfoy but it’s a start.”
At that minute the rest of the first year Gryffindors joined them. Rose greeted the girls with a smile after shooting a glare at Fred while the boys punched Scorpius’s shoulder. The rest of breakfast passed without much excitement and soon the group was headed back up to the Gryffindor common room.
Albus watched from the Slytherin table and felt a pang of loss. He didn’t get much time to mope however because he was quickly joined by Ariadne and a pretty blonde girl.
“See he’s utterly pathetic! Staring at his family feeling sorry for himself!” Ariadne exclaimed gleefully, “Al this is Katherina.”
“But if you ever call me that I’ll castrate you.” She said icily, “It’s Kat.”
“Meow.” Ariadne giggled.
“Hi. Wait you didn’t call me Potter, Ariadne. That’s progress.” Albus countered.
“Awww he’s learned how to fight back. How precious. I figured that you might get interested in my last name if I keep calling you yours. And mine’s not important.”
“More like she doesn’t want you to hate her because of it.” Ariadne glared at Kat and she just smiled, “Its okay sweetheart, your secret is safe with me.”
Ariadne grumbled and proceeded to fill her plate with food all while ignoring Albus and Kat. Kat looked at her best friend amused for a minute before turning her attention to Albus.
“I don’t mean to seem crazy but I’m so happy you’re in Slytherin. My older sister said Gryffindor was getting a superiority complex from having so many Weasleys and the eldest Potter.”
“There are Weasleys in the other two houses as well.”
“Yeah yeah but Gryffindor has the most. And the children of the Golden Trio are the only ones who seem to matter.”
“Only James and Rose are in Gryffindor so far.”
“And everyone knows the younger ones are bound to join them. You’re special Al. The only Potter who is unafraid to make his own path. Be different from your father.”
“Actually on the contrary I’m the most like him. You don’t know anything about my family Kat, no offence; we just met five minutes ago. So yes you sound crazy. I have to go find my brother and convince him not to tell mom and dad before I do.” With that Al got up and stormed out. He stopped at the base of the Grand Staircase, realising he had absolutely no idea where to find James or the rest of his family. As he stood there disheartened Scorpius appeared at the top of the stairs. Albus scowled and turned to go to the dungeons. Scorpius ran down the stairs and cut him off.
“Why do you hate me?”
Albus glared at him, “I don’t hate you, what gave you that impression?”
“Well you have been glaring at me a lot lately. And when you’re not glaring you’re completely ignoring me. You sneered earlier when you were forced to say my name. If you hate my name then that’s your problem because I’m not my dad and you’re not yours.” Scorpius said with a note of finality.
Albus couldn’t believe Scorpius was saying this. The horrible part was he didn’t even know why he disliked him. But the twerp had the nerve to suggest that he did because of a decades old rivalry between their fathers. That was reason enough for Albus.
“You don’t know me Malfoy. You don’t know what my relationship with my father is. Or whether or not I want to be like him.”
“Well you don’t know me Potter. And if you want to mirror our dad’s rivalry then so be it. This time the Malfoy is in Gryffindor and it’s me who has a Weasley sidekick.” With that he left Albus in the hallway and walked calmly up the stairs. He wore a smirk the whole walk back to the Gryffindor common room.
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