Taming

Scorpius was barely halfway to the Slytherin dormitory when a short, rather dowdy girl stopped him. “Scorpius? Professor McGonagall wants to see you in her office. This is for you.” The girl handed him a note and headed back where she came from. Cursing the meddling old broad, Scorpius broke the sealing wax and read her note.

“Fuck me!” He exclaimed.

“With pleasure,” a pretty blonde girl said loudly, and she and her friends dissolved into giggles. Scorpius rolled his eyes at her and trudged towards McGonagall’s office to answer her summons. His father wanted to talk to him, and he was going to call on the floo in exactly ten minutes. Scorpius considered it a bit of good luck that he was still in his proper school robes, rather than whatever he would have changed into for the party. His father was much more likely to take him seriously in his tie.

Scorpius still didn’t have much of a plan, but he figured that his only real course of action was to brazen it out. Perhaps flat denial. It would depend if the nosy old bat stayed in her office or offered them privacy. He’d have to wing it. Luckily he was a quick thinker.

He stopped outside McGonagall’s office to smooth his hair and straighten his tie and the collar of his robe. Then he knocked smartly.

“Welcome, Mr. Malfoy. Right on time.” She said this with distaste, almost as if she’d hoped he be late so she could bitch about it. He nodded politely. “Your father will be here any moment. He’s requested that you speak privately, so I’ll step out when he arrives.”

This was a boon. He’d have a much easier time without the two of them on him at once. Before he could respond, there was a flicker in the fireplace and his father’s head appeared. “Good evening, Minerva,” his father said politely.

“Draco. I’ll leave you with your son.” She threw Scorpius a cold look and left, shutting the door behind her.

“Good evening, father.”

“It’s not a good evening, and you know it. What did I expressly tell you before you left for school this year? I’ve given up expecting a lot from you, but I will always expect dignity and decorum. I was very displeased to receive that owl.”

“I know, father, but if I could explain?”

His father sighed heavily. “Let me guess. It’s not your fault,” he said dryly.

Time for the brazening. “I do not dispute being out past curfew, or being caught in the astronomy tower, but I was certainly not snogging anyone.”

“So what Mr. Craddock reports to have seen was simply a figment of the man’s overactive imagination?”

“I really can’t speak for him, father. But snogging? Do you honestly think that I’m some little third year to be confining myself to a bit of kissing and cuddling? If I were really doing anything besides my Astronomy homework, which was my reason for being there that night, Mr. Craddock would’ve gotten a good look at my arse as my pants would’ve been around my ankles.”

“Scorpius, please!”

“I apologize for the indelicacy, father, but I do not spend my time snogging people like a barely-pubescent girl. If I’d had gratification in mind, I wouldn’t have been getting it through my mouth. I’ve been getting it through his, and not with a kiss.”

“Scorpius.” His father’s tone was warning now.

“Yes, I know, but I feel honor-bound to defend my actions. You know me, father. You can’t tell me that when you were my age, you were content to snog.”

“Considering that when I was your age, I was involved in a long and bloody war, that’s a pretty poor argument to make to me. You have no idea how easy you have it, and you insist on defying me. I’ve been lenient with you since, believe it or not, I was your age once and I know what boys can get up to. But I will not have you shaming the family name.”

“And I tell you that I wasn’t! Snogging on the Astronomy tower, for Merlin’s sake! It’s downright romantic! I’m sure you know that I’m anything but.”

His father sighed again, but this time with resignation. “We Malfoys aren’t known for a romantic steak, that’s true. I suppose that we can forget that this happened, but I’m through making empty threats. The next owl I receive that contains even a hint of a scandal is going to result in a complete loss of your monthly stipend, and I am deadly serious. Remember what I said about when I was your age. If I hear even one whispered word against you, you’ll wish you were fighting the Dark Lord by the time I get through with you.”

Scorpius shuddered. He knew his father wouldn’t accept a story like this one again and the loss of all his pocket money would be ruinous to his social life. “Yes, father, I understand fully.”

“I’m sure that you do. Try to remember that you’re a Malfoy. There are responsibilities that go with that privilege.”

“Yes, father.”

“Good.” Without saying anything further, his father’s head vanished from the fireplace.

Keeping his face impassive, Scorpius went into the hall and spotted McGonagall a few meters down the corridor, speaking with Professor Gregory. “I’m finished, Professor,” he said, keeping his voice even. She waved him off, and he walked down the hall, carefully composed. It wasn’t until he rounded the corner that he began to walk with a spring in his step.

He’d dodged a huge bullet with his father, and he was hopeful that he’d see the very interesting Albus Potter later. Lily Potter didn’t seem like the type of girl who would show up to a party, especially the sort Slytherins were known for, without an escort. Plus, as he ruminated on that look, that look, he’d seen in the Potter boy’s eyes, he doubted that he boy could stay away. Scorpius wondered if he’d be able to stay away from the boy when he saw him again.

Then he shook himself. “You’re Scorpius Malfoy, for fuck’s sake,” he muttered under his breath. No one was irresistible save for Scorpius himself.