What have You Done?

Chapter Two:

Scorpius sat on his own in the train compartment, a book nestled in his lap though he had little interest in reading it. He and his parents had arrived early and, as a result, the thirteen-year-old blonde was one of the few students aboard the Hogwarts Express.

His grey eyes were lidded as he gazed out of the compartment window, awaiting the arrival of a certain Gryffindor and his energetic cousin. His friendship with the renowned Albus Potter and Rose Weasley was one which the Slytherin had expected to dwindle and expire. Had he been honest with himself, Scorpius would have admitted that he was nothing short of amazed that the duo continued to sit with him above most others.

The Malfoy heir had expected little with his arrival to Hogwarts and contempt from his peers at best. If the reaction society had had towards him had been any indication, Hogwarts should have been ripe with offspring who viewed him as dirt. Of course, it was; but with Albus and Rose beside him, Scorpius had gone through his first two years of education in relative peace. He longed for their letters during the summer months when society became an enemy and he was left to deal with people's snide comments once more.

Had the blonde not known that his father would have become impossible to live with, he would have tried harder to sway the Sorting Hat to place him in Ravenclaw, a near neutral house that paid little heed to his surname and what his parents had done.

As it was, he was confined to Slytherin; a social outcast. He had few allies in the reject house of Hogwarts and no friends. They were a bitter sort who bore grudges easily and seemed to carry their parent's past mistakes heavily on their shoulders.

Scorpius was abruptly jolted from his thoughts as the compartments door was wrenched open. The heavy-set girl made to withdraw when she realised the area had already been claimed, but stopped when her eyes landed on Malfoy. The blonde eyed the stocky brunette steadily as a smirk spread across her thin lips.

"Well, well, well," she drawled, her voice irritatingly nasal and grating to his senses, "if it isn't the little Malfoy, all alone, without your precious Potter to protect you." The pair behind her stepped forward, an olive-skinned blonde whom Scorpius recognised as Isabella Zabini, a fourth year Slytherin, and a large, beast of a boy whose face seemed only vaguely familiar.

Scorpius shut his book with a snap. "Yes?" His voice was low, his gaze heated under the sneer of the stocky girl, "can I help you?"

The girl cackled in a sudden outburst of false laughter, as though he had just uttered the funniest joke. "Help me?" she hollered, placing her hands on her hips, "oh no, your family helped us enough, didn't they, Malfoy? Went and betrayed the Dark Lord. They made us lose."

Scorpius sighed, eyes rolling at the same old slanders. "If it's the past you've come to discuss, I suggest you send your feelings to my father."

The girl's face turned an ugly shade of puce and she opened her mouth to spit fire when she was suddenly elbowed aside by an older Gryffindor.

"Move, snake," the sandy-haired stranger spat, "you're blocking the hall."

With one last murderous glance in his direction, the trio left Scorpius alone. The blonde gazed out the window curiously, he had not noticed the station begin to fill. A rustle of clothing caught his attention and he gazed up just in time to shriek as he was enfolded in a tight embrace.

"Hello, Score!"

Rose chuckled at his disgruntled expression, ignoring, as always, the blonde's aversion to touching. Scorpius grimaced as he straightened his tie. "I wish you wouldn't call me that, Scorpius is a perfectly good name on its own. I don't need a nickname."

"I like it."

Scorpius turned to give Albus a dry glare. "You would."

The dark haired boy grinned, tossing a coat aside as he beckoned behind him for someone to enter the cart. Scorpius couldn't help but grin at the wide-eyed red head that stumbled into the space.

"Lily, meet Scorpius," Albus gestured dramatically, "Scorpius, this is the beautiful Lily Potter I've been writing about." The first year flushed hotly, offering a hasty salute to the blonde before diving to sit, half-hidden beside Rose.

The older girl rolled her eyes. "I'd introduce you to my brother, Hugo, but I'm afraid James has taken him under his wing." Albus shook his head sadly, "he's lost to us."

Again, Rose rolled her eyes and Scorpius couldn't help but grin in response.

###

Scorpius growled as he stood on the lace of his shoe for the third time, stumbling and nearly hitting the stone floor. Disregarding the face that he would be late to Charms, he dropped his books beside him and bent to tie the damn lace.

The stinging hex hit him squarely in the back and he cried out, bracing his arms against the floor to keep from falling over. He glared behind him with dark eyes, rising and brandishing his wand in one fluid motion.

Marissa Goyle stood some feet away, twirling her wand innocently between her stubby fingers. Since their encounter on the train in September, the third-year Slytherin had made it her goal to provide Scorpius with as much misery as possible.

"Striking form behind?" the blonde growled in agitation, working the sting from his muscles, "how cowardly."

Marissa threw him an ugly sneer and blocked the expelliarmus Scorpius threw in her direction. "No more than you deserve, blood traitor." She snarled, throwing a hex at him. She followed quickly with pertrificus totalus, catching the blonde unaware. Scorpius cursed internally as his limbs locked and he toppled back painfully.

Marissa snickered from a short distance away as she advanced, her wand raised.

"Excuse me?"

The voice that halted the stout Slytherin was light, vacant and Scorpius groaned. Anyone but Lucielle Longbottom. The dreamy second year would get herself killed.

"What do you want, Longbottom?" Marissa sneered at the blue-eyed brunette.

Lucielle's eyes hardened as she caught sight of the state Scorpius was now in. "Take your hexes elsewhere, or I'll be forced to summon the Headmistress."

Despite the breathless quality of Lucielle's voice, there was a sudden heat there that Scorpius was grateful for. Marissa was no fool and this was not an idle threat, irritation clear in her growl, his attacker stormed away.

A pair of large, blue eyes filled his vision suddenly and Scorpius sighed in relief as his limbs returned to him. He stood, one eyebrow quirked in the Gryffindor's direction. Lucielle tapped her nose and gave him a soft, knowing smile, before strolling away down the corridor.

With a bemused expression, the blonde gathered his books and took off in the opposite direction, eager to salvage what was left of his Charms lesson.