Chapter Text
He envied her.
That was the truth of it, plain and simple. Others thought he hated her, because of his name, his family and his house, all of which were evil and diametrically opposed to the shining goodness of the Weasley-Potter clan.
And in a sense, he did hate her, but only because she had everything he hadn’t.
He looked across the Great Hall to where she was sitting at the Gryffindor table with countless cousins, apparently laughing at something that James Potter had said. A white-hot stab of jealousy seared deep in his gut as he observed their friendly banter.
His father was an only child – which was a good thing, when one considered how many more offspring Lucius Malfoy could have messed up – and his mother only had one older sister with one daughter, whom Scorpius only saw at the annual Greengrass family dinner.
To be honest, it had never occurred to him that he was missing out on having a big family – after all, being the only child meant that his mother and paternal grandmother were absolutely devoted to him, and that he could have anything he wanted without having to share. (His father was strict in his upbringing, though Scorpius knew his father loved him without question.)
That was until that day when he arrived at the Hogwarts platform for the first time, and saw a ridiculously large group of redheaded adults and children, along with a few non-gingers crowding the platform and making an awful lot of noise. His father had stiffened slightly when he saw them, and Scorpius knew this must be the famous Golden Trio and their relatives, whom his father’s family had opposed during the War.
His father had already appraised him of the events of the War, being rather brutally honest about the House of Malfoy’s contributions to the Dark Lord’s reign of terror in a conversation that Scorpius would never forget. His father had also described Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger and their family, ultimately warning him not to make any unnecessary enemies for himself.
All these thoughts had been running through his blond head as he stared at the Weasley clan conversing animatedly with one another. Then he noticed her – obviously a first-year as well, redheaded, and looking almost as nervous as he was about being separated from his parents for the first time. But then a dark-haired boy came up to her with his trolley, and her expression changed to one of such immense relief that Scorpius couldn’t help but envy her at that moment.
And then they were joined by an older boy who looked like the first one, then a few more students who were all boarding the train. There was a large round of hugs being distributed to the children from all the adults, and Scorpius suddenly felt like the grand total of two parents he had to hug him was pitifully lacking in comparison.
He blinked as the memory faded, his gaze refocusing on the aforementioned girl across the dining hall – Rose Weasley. Almost never at the centre of attention in her big family, and yet never out on the fringe of it either. She wasn’t a popular prankster like Fred Weasley or James Potter, or a beauty like Victoire or Dominique Weasley. As he observed each of them, he saw how they individually had their own characteristics, adding their own colour to the group while undeniably remaining united as a family.
Maybe if his father had had ten other cousins to support him too, he might not have become a Death Eater. Maybe if Scorpius had any cousins to be friends with, he wouldn’t constantly feel like he was missing out on something huge. Maybe he would always have family to save him a seat at the dining tables, family to go to for help, family to confide in, and family to make sure he was never lonely.
But why did he single Rose Weasley out of the lot of them to envy? Perhaps it was because she was in the same year as him, and had a cousin along with her who was also her best friend. Rose Weasley and Albus Potter did everything together, which Scorpius was forced to see every time he shared any classes with them.
The fact that she was the brightest witch in their year didn’t help either. While she had seemed shy to volunteer answers at the start, she had grown accustomed to the teachers who loved her and the students who either admired her brains or good-naturedly ribbed her for being a know-it-all. Now it would be strange for a class to go by without her raising her hand to rattle off an answer she’d learnt off by heart from one of her many textbooks.
Oh, he knew she wasn’t just naturally brilliant – he’d seen her slogging away at the books in the library, and heard comments about her doing the same in the Gryffindor common room. Several Ravenclaw students still couldn’t figure out why she hadn’t been placed in their house instead, and bemoaned the points that she was steadily racking up in her house’s hourglass.
His brows furrowed for a moment as he considered this point. Was Rose Weasley in Gryffindor because she was truly brave and chivalrous, or because the Sorting Hat had decided to go along with the family tradition? After all, the Hat had easily put him into Slytherin after saying something about ambition, and Scorpius really didn’t think he had much ambition for an 11-year old.
Of course, no one was surprised that he’d been sorted into Slytherin. And there constantly were snide remarks being made about his family and how he was probably just as evil as his father and grandparents. It seemed that his grandfather in particular had really been a nasty piece of work, if the never-ending references to his murders were even half true. Even some of the other Slytherins hated him on principle because he gave their house a bad name.
And while he was getting all the flak for apparently having chosen the wrong parents to be born to, Rose Weasley was basking in the admiration for being the daughter of two out of three of the Golden Trio, being praised for being ‘just like her mother’ on a weekly basis, and being adored by her troupe of older cousins.
It wasn’t fair at all, he scowled. Then, as if hearing his thoughts, she turned her head and looked straight at him, her blue eyes widening as she saw him staring at her. Scorpius realised he’d been caught and quickly averted his gaze back to the unappetizing food in front of him.
--
“Hey, Al, isn’t that Scorpius Malfoy?” Rose nudged her best cousin and tilted her chin towards the blond head studiously bent over his plate at the Slytherin table.
Albus looked up from his chicken. “Yeah, why?”
“I think he was… glaring at me.” Her voice held a tinge of bewilderment. “Why would he do that? I barely even know him.”
If it had been James or Fred, they would have shrugged it off as her imagination or simply as ‘Slytherins all have messed-up faces’, but Albus liked to analyse things almost as much as Rose did, though in a quieter way. “Maybe he doesn’t like you.”
“Albus Potter!” Rose hit him on the shoulder with a book, leaving Albus to wonder why she had even brought a book down to dinner in the first place. “How could you say such a mean thing?”
“I didn’t mean it like that!” He retorted, rubbing his shoulder woefully. “It’s just that, well, his dad and our dads didn’t really get along, did they?”
They both knew that was a gross understatement, having learnt the history of their parents in the war since they were toddlers. “Dad told me to beat him in every test.” She recounted doubtfully. To be fair, her mother had chastised her father for that, but it seemed that he really didn’t like Scorpius Malfoy’s father.
“Seeing as how you beat everyone in everything, I hardly think he’d personally count that against you.” Albus shrugged. “Although I think I heard from someone that he’s coming in a close second.”
“Well, if he thinks I’m going to stop trying my best just so that he doesn’t think we’re mortal enemies, he’s in for a surprise.” Rose said firmly.
Albus chuckled at his cousin’s competitiveness. “Didn’t think so. Still,” his gaze turned contemplative as he observed the Slytherin first-year, “do you think we should, I dunno, just make sure that he knows we don’t hate him? Dad always said that judging people by what family they come from is the reason the war started in the first place.”
“Maybe.” She pondered this suggestion. “But what would we say? ‘Hey Malfoy, I know your dad and mine hate each other’s guts, but I just wanted to let you know that I don’t feel the same way’?”
“When you put it like that, it does sound kind of silly.” The two first-years turned to see their older cousin Victoire smiling down at them.
“What do you think, Tori?” Rose asked, having full faith in her beautiful cousin – who was Head Girl and one of Rose’s role models – to give them the right advice.
“I think it’s a good thing that Al listens so well to Uncle Harry’s speeches.” Victoire patted Albus on the shoulder. “Not everyone who’s surname is Malfoy, or Lestrange, or Black-” she paused significantly, “is a bad person.”
“You mean like Teddy’s grandma.” Rose said astutely.
“And my dad’s godfather.” Albus chimed in.
“Exactly.” Victoire smiled again, nearly causing a passing group of Gryffindor boys to trip over their feet. “I’m not going to tell you what to do about him, but I believe that you will act in a manner befitting the children of those who have fought hardest to prove that no one should be judged by their blood.”
--
“I am not going to be friends with him! Ever!”
“Come on, Rosie, I thought we discussed this-”
“Al, he was deliberately upstaging me during Defence Against the Dark Arts today!” Rose slammed her books down on a table in the Gryffindor common room angrily.
“Aw, did someone make our Rosie-posy mad?” James laughed, looking highly amused.
“Scorpius Malfoy managed to answer some questions during DADA today, and she’s upset because she didn’t get to.” Albus explained with a roll of his eyes.
“Ooh, someone’s finally giving our Posy some competition.” Fred joined in the conversation.
“It’s not that he answered the questions – it was the way in which he did it!” Rose fumed. “He was totally mocking me!”
“Rose, I really don’t think he was.” Albus tried to placate her, but it was useless. Rose took after her mother in refusing to listen to anyone else when she was on one of her tirades.
“If it’s a competition he wants, he’ll get it!” She pulled out some parchment and a quill from her bag. “My essay is going to be loads better than his.” She muttered as she began writing furiously.
Albus shook his head in resignation as his brother and cousin sniggered. To be fair, he could understand why Rose felt this way – despite being assured of her own intelligence and hard work, she secretly hated being called a know-it-all who was far too enthusiastic about answering questions in class. Having someone else raise their hand and answer in a similarly enthusiastic manner just fuelled her insecurities about how others viewed her.
Professor Hunt had been rather surprised that anyone would try to volunteer an answer with Rose Weasley in the same class, and had decided to give the Slytherin student a chance to answer. Malfoy’s answer had been absolutely correct, though not verbatim from the Standard Book of Spells, as Rose had claimed after she’d gotten over the shock of ‘being upstaged’.
Maybe it was a good thing that Scorpius Malfoy had stolen Rose’s thunder, Albus mused. He loved his cousin dearly, but even he had to admit that Rose could be a bit overbearing about showing off her knowledge. However, he still had the feeling that Malfoy didn’t like either of them. And if he kept this up, Rose might just go ahead with Uncle Ron’s sentiments and not rest until she’d beaten him into the ground, with the other Gryffindors laughing.
Albus sighed and wondered why he seemed to be the only sane person in the common room.
--
By the time Christmas came around, almost everyone in first year was aware of the silent but ever present rivalry going on between Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy. No one could miss the smirk on Rose’s face whenever she managed to answer a question first or was praised on a particularly well-written essay when Malfoy wasn’t.
While Rose took it personally, Scorpius wasn’t actually invested in beating her. It had been the constant spiteful remarks made about his family and dirty looks he received that spurred him to work hard and do his best, so that he would one day be seen as a capable wizard in his own right. Making Rose Weasley angry was just an added bonus.
He was rejoicing inwardly over the good grade he’d received on his latest Potions essay when he overheard the conversation between Weasley and Potter as they left the dungeons.
“So are we all heading to the Burrow for Christmas?” She was asking her cousin.
“Yeah, why wouldn’t we be?” Potter replied, apparently surprised that she was asking a question with such an obvious answer.
Weasley bit her lip. “It’s just that, we’ve been given a lot of holiday homework, and it’ll take forever to research and get it all done.”
“Rose, are you seriously considering spending Christmas doing homework in Hogwarts rather than enjoying Grandma Weasley’s famous roast chicken and potatoes at the Burrow?” Potter raised a brow. “Not to mention backyard Quidditch, seeing Hugo and Lily again, testing Uncle George’s latest Wheezes-”
“Alright, alright, I got it.” She grumbled good-naturedly, and then brightened as a thought occurred to her. “I’ll try to finish most of it before we go home, and then ask Mum to proofread it for me!”
“Mind if I copy yours after that?” He asked innocently, earning a smack from her.
As they went off chatting happily about the upcoming holidays, Scorpius felt any previous joy draining away from him. His mother had asked him to come home for Christmas, but it would be just them and his grandparents having a fancy dinner in their dining room while his father looked uncomfortable around his grandfather and his mother would talk incessantly to his grandmother to cover up the awkwardness.
Maybe he should just stay at Hogwarts.
--
“Hey.”
Scorpius looked up to see a most unlikely person standing next to his table in the library.
“Do you mind if I sit here as well?” Albus Potter gestured to the empty seat opposite Scorpius. “The library’s pretty full today.”
“…okay.” Scorpius replied slowly, moving his books to clear some space for the other boy. It was a fair statement, since the end-of-year exams were coming up.
“Thanks.” Albus said in relief and sat down, taking out his own writing implements. “I’m Albus Potter, by the way.” He stuck out a friendly hand.
Scorpius blinked. What was Potter up to? Had he been put up to some kind of dare to ‘prank the Malfoy kid’? Yet the other boy didn’t seem to have any ulterior motives, and Scorpius gingerly shook his hand. “Scorpius Malfoy.”
Then they lapsed into silence, and all that could be heard was the scratching of quills on parchment, until Albus spoke up again. “Sorry to bother you…” Scorpius looked up with a slight frown. “…but have you done the Potions essay on the 12 uses of dragon blood?”
“Yes.” Of course he had – he’d finished it a few days ago, double-checked it for any mistakes, and added a few more lines for extra credit. Why, was Weasley now enlisting her cousin to spy on Scorpius’ homework before it was even handed in?
“Um, do you think you could help me with mine?” Albus asked tentatively. “I usually ask Rose to help me, but she’s really busy with her other homework.”
“Don’t you have a whole heap of cousins and a brother to ask for help?” Scorpius couldn’t help but retort, with a hint of bitterness in his voice.
Albus looked a little surprised at Scorpius’ tone. “Oh, I hadn’t really thought of that. They’re all older and have their own things to do though, especially Victoire, Dominique and Molly. That’s why I normally ask Rose for help. James and Fred are kind of useless in that regard.” The last part was said in such a conspiratorial whisper that Scorpius couldn’t help but smile a little.
He ended up helping Albus after all, finding the right book to get his answers from, and correcting some of his mistakes. He was still a little suspicious about the other boy’s motives, and didn’t let him simply copy his own essay, though to his credit, Potter didn’t actually ask to do so.
“Wow, thanks.” Albus smiled, looking proudly at his finished essay. “I really owe you one, Malfoy.”
Scorpius winced as he heard his family name. “Don’t…call me that.” It wasn’t that he was ashamed of his family – well, maybe a little ashamed of Grandfather Lucius – but after being mocked for months simply for being a Malfoy, he didn’t want any more people addressing him by it if he could help it. Words were powerful, and he wanted people to remember him for who he was, not who his father was.
“I’ll call you Scorpius, then.” Albus quickly amended. “But only if you call me Albus. Every time someone calls me ‘Potter’, I think they’re referring to James or my dad. Rose feels the same way about her name.”
“What’s so bad about being a Weasley?” Scorpius replied without thinking. The Weasleys were by far the largest and most prominent family in Hogwarts, and everyone either loved them or envied them to the extreme.
Albus looked at him contemplatively, thinking he was finally starting to understand how the other boy felt. “You’d have to ask Rose to find out.” Seeing his expression grow darker, Albus tried to relieve the tension. “Speaking of Rose, don’t tell her I said this, but I think you’re better at Potions than she is. And a better teacher as well.”
He grinned at Scorpius’ bemused expression. “Come on, it’s almost dinner time.”
It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
--
“Bye, Scorpius. See you after the summer holidays.” Albus waved, and Scorpius waved back, though a little less enthusiastically as he saw Rose Weasley give them an incredulous look.
“Since when are you on friendly terms with Malfoy?” Rose hissed as their parents drew near.
“Dunno, not too long ago.” Albus tried to recall the exact date. “He helped me with an essay.”
Before Rose could reply, their parents descended on them in a flurry. “Oh Albus, we missed you so much!” His mother gave him a bone-crushing hug.
“What am I, chopped liver?” James complained.
Ginny Potter turned towards her elder son with a menacing gleam in her eye. “You, young man, are in serious trouble for attempting to mail a toilet seat to Lily!” Ron guffawed at the mention of James’ latest prank, and got elbowed in the stomach by his wife.
“It was Fred’s idea, honest!” James pointed a finger at his cousin, who was beaming innocently, though Albus knew that Uncle George secretly encouraged his son to improve on the pranks that he and his twin had attempted in their years at Hogwarts.
Unbeknownst to them, Scorpius was observing their interactions with a familiar deep-seated jealousy in the pit of his stomach. He allowed himself one last look at the large family before turning to follow his mother out the station.