Taming

When Scorpius opened his eyes, he was disoriented for a moment. The canopy above him was blue, rather than gold. And he could hear girls’ voices all around. Then he remembered.

The memory caused him such physical pain that he doubled up in the bed, clutching his knees to his chest. The bed curtains parted a crack, and he winced when the light hit his sore eyes.

“Sweetheart? Do you feel like you want to get up?” Rose asked him.

He didn’t answer.

“I have to go to class. And then I’m going to try to find Albus and see if I can figure out what happened.”

At the mention of that name, Scorpius’s stomach pains redoubled and he hugged his knees more tightly.

“Did you hear me?” she asked, gently. He nodded. “Okay. Then I’ll be back as soon as I can. Try to get some more rest. I’m going to get to the bottom of this.” He nodded again, and the curtains shut once again.

In the darkness, the tears started again.

*******************

When he awoke again, someone was gently stroking his back. “Mmmm… Albus?” he murmured.

“Sorry, love, it’s just me.”

Rose. He rolled over and looked at her hopefully. “Did you see him? Did you find anything out?”

She shook her head sadly. “I saw Lily in the hallway. I didn’t know if it was my place to tell her or not, so I didn’t say anything. She was in a good mood, so she doesn’t know yet. I didn’t see him anywhere. I have one more class before lunchtime. Hopefully he’ll be in the Great Hall then, and I can try talking to him.”

“I just want to know what I did wrong.”

“So you can fix it.”

“No, so if I actually did it, I can kill myself.”

“Don’t say that.”

“If I caused this… If it’s my fault. Then I will.”

“Shhhh… Do you feel up to going to class?”

He started to form a biting retort, but he knew how much Rose worried about classes and tests, so he just shook his head.

“That’s fine. No one will bother you up here. I’ll be back after lunch, hopefully with some news for you.”

He nodded. She kissed his cheek and stroked her hand over his hair. Then she was gone, and he let himself drift back to sleep. Sleep was easier.

******************

“Scorpius? Sweetie, are you awake?” He heard Rose’s voice and he rolled over. “Hi Sweetheart,” she said softly.

His heart sank. He could tell by her tone and the look on her face that she didn’t have good news for him. “Just tell me. Don’t be nice about it. Just tell me quickly.”

She sat down next to him on the bed. “Well, I went to the Great Hall, and he was there, at the Hufflepuff table. I went over and tried to talk to him. He… he told me to, and I quote, ‘Fuck off.’ So I went over to the Gryffindor table, and sat with Lily. I ended up telling her, because she was hurt that Albus had ignored her, too. It was horrible. She cried pretty hard. She wants to come up and see you, by the way, but I told her you weren’t up to it just now. But I can get her if you want.” He shrugged.
“Anyway, we had to tell Hugo and Kate, too, since they wanted to know why Lily was so upset. None of us could think of a single thing that could have happened. When Lily calmed down a little, she went over and tried to talk to him as well, but he told her the same thing he’d told me. He said we should all leave him alone.

I don’t really get it. I mean, I can see why he would be angry at me, since he probably knows, or assumes at least, that you’re staying with me. But why treat Lily that way? It just doesn’t make sense.”

He scrubbed his hands over his face. Nothing made sense anymore.

“Honey? There’s more… Do you want to hear everything?”

“Yes,” he whispered. “Don’t try to protect me.”

“He was sitting with Kane Morton. And they looked… cozy.”

At that, Scorpius rolled out of the bed, and grabbed his pants.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m going to kill Kane Morton,” he said evenly.

“God, I shouldn’t have told you!” she wailed, trying to grab his arm. “I made it sound worse than it is, I think. I think they were just sitting together.”

“Kane Morton is a Slytherin, Rose. Why was he sitting at the Hufflepuff table if he wasn’t sitting with… him?”
“I don’t know! Maybe they’re friends!”

“Well, it’s nice to know that he made a new friend so soon. A new friend that I happen to know, from personal experience, likes to fuck guys. Where’s my shirt?”

“I don’t know,” she mumbled.

“Rose, do not fuck with me right now! Where’s my fucking shirt?”

“Your trunk was locked, so I put it in mine,” she whispered.

He practically ripped the lid off her trunk and grabbed his shirt. He was out the door before he even finished buttoning it. Rose was trailing behind him, begging him not to do anything stupid.

He clenched his wand tighter in his fist. He thought about Kane Morton. He thought about the way Kane had pursued him. Then he broke into a run, Rosie still behind him. When he reached the Great Hall, he skidded to a stop and marched inside. He saw Lily out of the corner of his eye, but he had immediately honed in on Albus and Kane, still sitting at the Hufflepuff table.

Their dark heads were close together and Kane was laughing at something Albus was saying. Scorpius went blind with rage. He switched his wand to his left hand and swung with all his might directly at Kane’s face.

He’d never punched anyone before. He was surprised to find that it hurt quite a bit. He rubbed his knuckles with his other hand. The blow had surprised Kane, and as a result, had knocked him backwards off the bench.

Albus was on his feet and in Scorpius’s face the next instant. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing… Malfoy,” he sneered, his eyes blazing hate and scorn.

“What does it look like I’m doing… Potter?”

“You had no right to do that, you piece of shite!”

“He was all over you!”

“So fucking what? Maybe I wanted him there.”

That hurt. A lot. “He has NO right…”

“He has every right! And so do I! I’m single, as you well know. I can see anyone I want.”

“So you’re what? Dating him? We broke up yesterday! You certainly move fast, Potter.”

“I move fast? I move fast? You have the most nerve of anyone I have EVER met. Before you met me, you broke the speed of light around here!”

“So that’s what this is about!? I’ve explained my past to you, and I even apologized to you for it, not that I owed you an apology for something that happened before we even met, but I never hid anything from you!”

“You must think I’m really an idiot!”

“As a matter of fact…”

“HEY!” Both of their heads snapped around. Rose and Lily were watching them (as were all the others in the Great Hall by this point), and while Rose was standing, frozen, looking stricken, Lily was red it the face, her fists clenched. “BOTH OF YOU NEED TO STOP THIS NOW!” she roared.

“Keep out of this Lily, so help me…” Albus snarled at her.

“I will NOT. This is mad! Do you hear yourselves? I want to know what happened, and I want to know NOW,” she fairly screeched the last word.

Suddenly another voice rumbled from behind Scorpius. “Try it and it’s the last thing you do, Morton.”

Scorpius turned around. Kane had gotten up off the floor and had apparently been about to attack Scorpius before Hugo’s voice stopped him.

“Good to know whose side you’re on, Hugo,” Albus said snottily.

“I’m not taking sides. But no one is going to throw any more punches. This isn’t helping. What the hell happened?”

“I don’t owe any of you an explanation,” Albus said stubbornly. “People break up.”

“That’s shite and you know it, Albus!” Lily growled. “I’ve never seen two people in love like you two and you’re throwing it away like a stupid child over something you should have worked through a long time ago?”

“Shut the fuck up, Lily. If anyone here is a stupid child, it’s you.” Albus’s voice was back to that frightening snarl again.

“Hey! Don’t talk to her like that,” Scorpius defended her.

“It’s not your business! She’s MY sister. MINE. We’re not together any more, you arsehole! You can stop pretending that she’s your sister, too. And you should stay the hell away from Rose while you’re at it. None of us need you or want you around any more, Malfoy.”

“Albus, I’m perfectly capable of choosing my own friends,” Rose said, clearly trying to smooth the situation over.

“Well, you have fucking shitty taste,” Albus accused her.

“You had the same taste, you know,” she said, gently.

“Well, I was a fucking idiot. A naïve, immature little fool!”

Scorpius sank onto the bench as if he’d been slapped.

“No, I think you’re being an idiot now,” Lily accused. “You’d made a good decision for once and now you’re throwing it away.”

“Fuck off, Lily! I mean it! It isn’t your business! Kane, let’s get out of here.” He grabbed Kane’s arm and started propelling him towards the door. Then he stopped and turned around. “Stay away from me, Malfoy, if you know what’s good for you. If my family wants to act like traitors, they can stay away from me, too. I don’t need any of you lot. I’m finding it surprisingly easy to make new friends,” he said with a sneer.

Kane threw Scorpius a triumphant look and put his arm around Albus’s shoulders as they walked away. Scorpius attempted to get up off the bench, but Hugo’s big hand came down on his shoulder and held him in place. Scorpius let him. Not that he had much choice.

When Albus and Kane were long gone, Hugo let go of him, and Scorpius stood up. Hugo led the way out of the Hall, and the girls walked on either side of him, protecting him. Maybe it was the fact that his friends hadn’t abandoned him, or maybe it was the satisfaction of punching Kane in the face, but he felt mildly better. Hugo led them up to Ravenclaw Tower, but he let Rose field the riddle at the door.

The common room only had one other occupant, and when she saw who had arrived, she grabbed her book and disappeared up a staircase to one of the dormitories.

Scorpius flopped on a sofa, wrung out and defeated, more confused than ever. Lily sat down next to him and wrapped both arms around his waist, leaning her head against his chest. She had been sniffling all the way up to the Tower. He put his arm around her, but he didn’t have anything to say. He didn’t have the energy to comfort her when he could hardly keep himself together.