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“Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, that is the fifth time you have looked at your phone in as many minutes. Tu n'obtiendras jamais de bonnes notes si tu ne te concentres pas pendant que tu travailles!"
Looking up guiltily, Scorpius tried to sneak his phone off the desk without his father noticing. It wasn’t that he didn’t think his dad was right, it was just that texting his boyfriend Albus was far more enjoyable than studying for his stupid A Levels. Unsurprisingly, he wasn’t able to hide the phone, and a second later it was taken from his hand and placed teasingly out of his reach on the other end of the desk, right by his father’s elbow.
Scorpius had only managed to read three lines of the French novel he was supposed to be analysing, when the phone buzzed. He looked up at his dad with the most pathetic impression of a wounded puppy dog that he could muster. “Papa, s’il te plaît,” he pleaded, “je ne lui ai pas dit que je ne pouvais plus utiliser mon portable. Laisse-moi le prévenir, au moins?”
His dad gave him an exasperated look, obviously conflicted. “Fine,” he conceded, after a moment. “ One text. And then you’ll work hard for the next hour. No further interruptions. D’accord?”
Scorpius nodded gratefully, pleased that he was still able to get his father to give in so easily, holding out his hand for the phone.
Ignoring his father’s eye roll, he quickly typed out a message to Albus.
I’m sorry, Dad is taking my phone away for a WHOLE HOUR because he says I need to concentrate on studying. I literally had to beg him to let me text you to warn you that I’m not ignoring you! So yeah, I won’t be able to reply for a while.
Scorpius was about to pass his phone back, when Albus replied.
But it’s summer! Why are you studying???
His dad was reading the book, so Scorpius took advantage of him being distracted and sent a second text.
Ha! Welcome to the home-school life. I get random days off because we’re doing stuff, or there’s something going on in the house or whatever, but then I have to do school work in the summer… it SUCKS!
Albus responded impressively fast- he was lightning quick at typing it seemed.
I honestly think I’d lose it if either of my parents tried to confiscate my phone!!!!!! Buttttttt it’s easy to hide your phone in a class! Have you thought any more about asking to go to actual school?
A signature Draco Malfoy fake cough signalled the end of Scorpius’ phone time, and he handed it back over with the question still reverberating around his mind. The last time they’d met up, Albus had innocently asked whether he had ever thought about what mainstream school was like, and it had started an intense battle within Scorpius’ mind. The truth was, he had wondered what it was like; to sit in classes with other students, to eat lunch in a canteen, to wear a uniform that made you belong.
It had been such an off-hand, curious question, but Albus hadn’t known that it would cause Scorpius to acknowledge his very real desire to experience the life almost everyone else lived. Currently, his only point of reference for what school was like, was films and TV shows – although, he had no idea how accurately they represented the real thing.
What Albus didn’t realise was that Scorpius couldn’t simply declare that he wanted to go to school and expect his parents to enthusiastically agree. The situation was far more complicated than that, which is why Scorpius had buried his curiosity for so long and never expressed it before now. The reason Scorpius hadn’t been enrolled in school, was that his father had very nearly died while at boarding school. There had been a horrific fire, and it had left Scorpius’ dad with more emotional scars than the physical marks Scorpius had seen criss-crossing his torso.
It wasn’t something they discussed often, but Scorpius had managed to glean certain details about the disaster over the years. He knew that his father had only survived because one of the other boys had run back into the building and saved him, and he had learnt relatively recently that others hadn’t been so lucky. He hadn’t asked how many people had died, but he did know that a young couple who lived in the grounds had died trying to save the pupils, because he’d found out that his dad had been anonymously donating money to the infant son they’d left behind ever since. His mother had called it ‘survivor's guilt’, and told him that it was a complex situation.
Scorpius could understand the emotional barriers his father had when it came to schools, and he knew why his parents had chosen to educate him at home. He could easily see their logic; the issue was that their reasoning was completely irrational. It frustrated Scorpius that a major decision about his life had been based purely on fear, and fear that was basically unfounded. Yes, the fire had been terrible, but no, fires weren’t commonplace at schools – it had been a freak accident, rather than an inevitable and likely occurrence. He just had to make his parents believe that...
The persuasive arguments flowed through Scorpius’ mind like a battle cry, and the French words on the page danced around under his complete lack of focus. Previously, his wish to go to a real school had been there, but not strongly enough for him to risk his relationship with his parents. Scorpius had always been well behaved; he hated disappointing his parents and would do anything to avoid confrontation with them. Albus increased the lure of school tenfold, but as much as Scorpius wanted to be able to spend all that extra time with his boyfriend, he still wasn’t quite sure whether he would survive the inevitable argument with his parents.
“Alright. Spill. I can read you like that book which you are clearly not currently reading. Do you want to talk about it?” Scorpius felt his mouth go entirely dry, and he tried to swallow but it felt rough and difficult. “Scorpius, you know how much your mother and I love you. We’ll never judge you; you can talk to us.” His father placed a hand on his shoulder. It was clearly meant to be reassuring, but it felt suffocating. Scorpius avoided making eye contact, but he could feel his dad’s gaze piercing into him like a laser cutter. “Is it something Albus said? Is he asking you to do something you’re not comfortable with? Because if—”
“No. He’s not like that, Papa.” Scorpius finally met his father’s eye, then quickly looked away again; he couldn’t bear seeing the concern and kindness written all over his dad’s face.
“OK, so it’s something else?” His voice was gentle and almost pleading. Scorpius had never been able to hide anything from his parents; he’d never wanted to, before now.
Looking down at where his agitated fingers were spinning his pencil around and around – Scorpius whispered the truth croakily. “I want to go to school.”
Silence. Complete and utter silence. They stay like that for several excruciating moments, Scorpius still fiddling with the pencil in his hands. Eventually, he cracked and glanced at his dad, then immediately wished he hadn’t. Draco Malfoy rarely cried, yet there he sat, with tears gathering in his eyes. He looked both devastated and terrified, and Scorpius had never felt more guilty.
“Astoria!” His papa’s voice broke on the “ri”, and it was the worst sound Scorpius had ever heard. Suddenly, he wished he had told his mother first; she hadn’t been the one who had experienced the trauma, and she would have known how to approach Scorpius’ dad in a far better way than he had just done.
She appeared in the doorway looking flustered and harried. “Draco, Scorpius? What’s wrong?”
His dad’s voice was hoarse and croaky as he answered simply, “It’s happened. Scorpius wants to go to school.”
It had been far easier than Scorpius expected to convince his parents to allow him to go to a proper school. They told him they had expected him to ask for a few years now, and were only grateful that it had taken him so long to do so.
They had even gone so far as to compile a list of options, which they nervously presented to him. His mum had tried her best to suggest that he go for the closest option, which involved an hour bus ride to and from school each day, but neither of his parents had been at all surprised when he tentatively requested to go to the boarding school Albus attended; Hogwarts.
It had only been after they’d all agreed, that his father told Scorpius in a small voice that he too had attended Hogwarts School.
The day that he was due to leave came around alarmingly quickly; it felt like one day they made the decision, the next they were hurriedly buying uniforms and new school supplies, and only the day after that he was putting everything into his brand new trunk.
“Scorpius? Are you ready?” His mum’s voice was as soft and caring as ever. Scorpius blinked back tears. What would he do without hearing that voice waking him up and looking after him? Albus had made boarding school sound so cool, and the pull of seeing him every day was definitely still there, but faced with actually leaving the safety and familiarity of his home, Scorpius found himself overcome with nerves.
It felt weird to think that the possessions in the trunk they hefted into the boot of the car were the only ones Scorpius would have for the next 8 weeks. His dad has been chattering incessantly since the previous evening, anxiously offering advice and reassurances, with intermittent warnings. It was a stark contrast to his mother’s uncharacteristic quietness, though Scorpius preferred her wistful sadness to his father’s stress-inducing anxiety.
If it hadn’t been for Albus’ excitement and encouragement constantly buzzing into Scorpius’ phone, he was pretty sure he would have just asked his parents to turn the car around, go back home and forget this experiment had ever happened. As it was, he tried his best to swallow his fear and focus on the fact that he was finally about to experience what he had dreamt about for years: school.
The Hogwarts drive was long, gravelled, and lined with towering oak trees. The moment they had entered the grounds through huge, cast iron gates, Scorpius’ father became more agitated, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel, and forgetting to change gears so the car began shuddering as they slowly rolled towards the imposing facade of the original schoolhouse.
Albus was standing just in front of the Victorian era building, and surged forward as soon as they ground to a halt in front of the main entrance. He yanked open the rear car door with an excited smile, but it turned to shock when he caught sight of Scorpius. “Why are you wearing your uniform ! Move-in day is mufti! Please tell me you have normal clothes in your trunk?” He sounded overly concerned by this.
“It must have changed since my day. I’m so sorry, Scorpius.” His father sounded unduly apologetic. Scorpius already felt like he was missing something, and he’d only been there for 30 seconds.
“Look, it’s all good, the loos are just there. We’ll just grab you some clothes and you can change. Mr Malfoy, can you open the boot?” Albus said urgently, while moving towards the back of the car.
Stumbling out of the car, Scorpius found Albus rooting through his trunk. He tried not to bristle at the sight of someone else rifling through his things. A pair of jeans and a t-shirt were flung against his chest, making him grab them on instinct, and then Albus grabbed his hand and tugged him towards the building. As they rushed away, Scorpius was sure he heard his mother say “should I be worried that the first thing our son does upon arrival is disappear into the toilets with his boyfriend?”
When Scorpius exited the cubicle, now dressed in his normal clothes, Albus looked him up and down, and grinned. “That’s better.” He ran a hand down from Scorpius’ shoulder, intertwining their fingers as he tugged him closer. “Hey.” He pressed a kiss to his lips. “Welcome to Hogwarts.”
Back outside, they found Scorpius’ parents talking to a stern looking older woman. When they approached, she held out her hand for Scorpius to shake. “And you must be Scorpius. My name is Professor McGonagall, and I’ll be your new headmistress. You really are the spitting image of your father at sixteen — I used to teach him physics.” Turning to Albus, she welcomed him back. “I have to say, I’m pleased—” she raised her eyebrows conspiratorially at Scorpius’ father, “—if a little surprised, to see a Malfoy and a Potter getting on so well.”
Scorpius’ father went ghost white. Professor McGonagall gave his shoulder a squeeze before walking off saying “it was good to see you, Draco,” and Scorpius’ mother wrapped herself around her husband’s arm. It seemed everyone knew something that Scorpius didn’t, except for Albus, who was glancing quickly between them all with a look of confusion that mirrored the way Scorpius felt.
Before either of them could question the exchange they had just witnessed, a pair of young men bounded up and sandwiched Albus between them, trapping him with arms over shoulders. One of them bore a striking resemblance to Albus, only he had auburn hair, a slightly more muscular figure and his paler complexion was heavily dusted with freckles. The taller of the pair had vivid pink hair, colourful tattoos covering his arms, and a nose piercing. Scorpius didn’t think he’d ever met someone so cool; it was almost intimidating.
“Get. Off. Me.” Albus ground out. “I’m serious, James. And Teddy you’re not even my brother, how come you get to attack me like this?” The boys both laughed gleefully, and messed up Albus’ perpetually unkempt hair. “Attack? I’m offended Al, we’re showing you affection!” Teddy replied.
Albus’ face was flushed with embarrassment as he turned to Scorpius. “They’re always like this.” The men instantly looked up and their eyes locked on Scorpius, which felt a lot like what he imagined being made a sniper target was like. “I don’t know you. Are you new?” James asked.
Scorpius nodded, uncomfortable under the interrogation, but he was saved from having to answer more fully by Albus. “Scorpius, just ignore them. They’re idiots.”
Scorpius didn’t miss the way James lit up as he heard his name. “Scorpius? As in all Albus can talk about Scorpius? You know, he’s gone on and on about you so much this summer that if I didn’t know any better, I’d say Albus had a little crush on you!” The glee of a brother humiliating his sibling was clear in James’ entire body language. Albus groaned spectacularly and hid his face.
“Jamie, c’mon, don’t be mean. That was too far.” Teddy chastised. “I’m sorry, Scorpius. So you’re new? And you already know Al?” The teasing tone was gone, replaced by a gentle kindness that Scorpius wouldn’t have expected given Teddy’s edgy appearance.
“Yeah, I’ve actually never been to school before, so I’m a bit nervous. But at least I’ve got Albus.” At his words, the boy in question stopped fighting with his brother, and took Scorpius’ hand in his, giving him a small, private, reassuring smile.
James promptly lost it.
“Ayyyy!!! I was right! Teddy! Are you seeing this? They’re holding hands ! They’re totally shagging!” At this, Scorpius’ father choked on thin air, and Albus buried his face into Scorpius’ shoulder, letting out an even more pained groan than the last.
Teddy gave Scorpius a sympathetic pat on the arm, but his efforts were undermined slightly by the fact that he was clearly trying not to laugh. “I wish I could tell you that they’re not always like this but… that would be a lie.”
He grabbed James by the arm, and moved to face Scorpius’ parents. “I’m very sorry, we’ve been awfully rude. This is James Potter, and I’m Teddy Lupin. It’s very nice to meet you.” He held out his hand to Scorpius’ father, but he simply stared at Teddy’s face.
Scorpius’ mum hastily moved to shake the outstretched hand, shooting her husband a worried glance, before continuing the pleasantries. “It’s lovely to meet you too, are—”
“—Lupin? Did you say Lupin?” Scorpius’ papa croaked, sounding far too emotional for an introduction with a stranger.
The awkwardness crackled in the air as Teddy said “er, yeah…?”
Albus’ parents chose that moment to approach the group. His father glanced around at the tense faces and sighed, scratching the back of his neck. “James, what did you say this time?”
“Nothing! I swear! Albus’ boyfriend’s dad just freaked when he heard Ted’s surname!” Mr Potter’s gaze fell on Scorpius’ dad, and Scorpius felt Albus tighten his grip on his hand.
“Malfoy, it’s been a while.” He warmly introduced himself to Scorpius’ mum, then gestured towards Albus’ mum. “This is my wife, Ginny”. He turned to Scorpius’ dad. “you might remember her, she was the year below us.”
Scorpius was fairly certain that his brain was about to explode. Their fathers had been at school together? Why had no one mentioned this before?
“Draco, love, are you OK?” Scorpius’ mum said in a low voice, but in the quiet caused by his odd behaviour, everyone heard it, anyway.
“I… I…” Scorpius had never seen his father appear so lost, frightened, and small.
Albus’ mum tipped her head towards the right. “Boys, come on. Lily wanted to show us where they hung the photo of her scoring that goal.” Her husband and the two elder boys began to move, but Albus remained steadfast beside Scorpius, holding onto him even tighter.
“Albus.” There was a warning in her tone, and she beckoned him towards her.
“No. I’ve already seen that stupid photo of Lily. I’m staying here. With my boyfriend.” Albus jutted his chin out defiantly.
It was Mr Potter who responded, placing a firm hand on his son’s shoulder and leaning down to speak sternly. “Even I can see that it would be kind to give the Malfoys a little privacy right now. Leaving you kids here is never easy, and it’s worse the first time, so let’s go and find your sister, and I’m sure you’ll see Scorpius later. OK?” His final question was very obviously rhetorical.
Albus miserably turned to Scorpius, whispered “Sorry, I have my phone if you need,” into his ear, then kissed just below it. Scorpius felt himself turn a little pink; they were in front of their parents!
Before Albus and his family could leave, Scorpius’ papa reached out towards Albus’ dad, and found his voice. “Why are you being nice to me?” He was still a little croaky, and he wavered over the words, but they were clearly heard.
Albus’ father was taken off guard; he looked dumbfounded. “What?” His gaze flickered across the group as if trying to decipher the situation.
“Why are you being so considerate and thoughtful, when I ruined your life?” The first half of the question was delivered confidently; a stark contrast to the latter part. Scorpius noticed his mother wrap herself around her husband, and was surprised to find Albus creeping back towards him in a similar way.
Mr. Potter eloquently repeated, “what?”
Scorpius could tell that his dad was beginning to freak out at the honest confusion on his former schoolmate’s face; he was becoming flustered and stumbling on his words. “I ruined your life. I know that you’d already escaped, but you went back inside for me, and because of that—”
“That was my choice.” Albus’ dad now looked grave, everything about his demeanour serious and solemn. It struck an intimidating image, which only made Scorpius’ father wilt further.
“But you couldn’t have known what it would cost you!” He argued feebly. “You were the youngest player on the English National squad in a century.” He began tugging agitatedly at his hair. “You scored the goal that won the World Cup , and then, because of me, you were so badly injured that you could never play professionally again!”
Scorpius’ mother brought her hand up to catch the one her husband was using to pull hair out of his scalp, and she brought it to her lips to offer a comforting kiss.
“Malfoy, I knew the risk I was taking when I ran into those flames, and if I could turn back time, I would make the same decision now as I did back then. And I don’t even fancy you any more!” Mr. Potter barked out a laugh, as if he hadn’t just dropped a gigantic bombshell.
“You what? Dad! “Gross! You can’t just say stuff like that!” Albus was, quite rightly, outraged.
“Oh, come on Albus, don’t act like—” The reprimand was cut off by Scorpius’ dad, who still sounded nothing short of broken and confused. “But, why ?”
Albus’ dad scratched the back of his neck, his cheeks dusted pink. He really did resemble Albus, in a way that only now seemed disconcerting to Scorpius. “Why did I fancy you? Uhhh—”
“No, moron. I haven’t even begun to process that announcement.” The confidence Scorpius’ father managed for these words was quickly lost and replaced by quiet devastation for the ones which followed. “I mean, why wouldn’t you change the past if you could. T-Tonks. And… and Lupin. They only… after you… I killed them.”
At “Tonks”, Teddy gasped and covered his mouth, his fingers visibly shaking. “What… what do you mean? I… I knew my parents died in a fire, but I thought it was a tragic accident?” Tears were silently spilling from his eyes, and in an instant both Albus’ mum and James had their arms around him.
“It was an accident, Teddy. They—” Mr. Potter’s reassurances were cut off by a devastating, strangled cry; “ NO , it wasn’t.”
The deafening silence was only broken by the sound of Scorpius’ dad sobbing.
“I-I… I didn’t stop him,” he whispered. No one dared interrupt as he drew in a shaking breath. “I knew. And I didn’t stop him. If I had stopped him…” Scorpius felt like crying himself; his strong, confident, incredible father had never looked so vulnerable and hurt.
“Who, Draco?” His mum softly asked, now holding him up – stopping him from collapsing.
“Crabbe.” The name was breathed more than spoken, but everyone heard. “Vincent Crabbe.”
Scorpius’ dad swallowed, and straightened his shoulders as if bracing himself to talk normally. “We were larking about, and he got this idea to set alight Filch’s hideous jacket. Only then it caught far more quickly than we expected, and when the fire reached his hand he screamed,” Scorpius’ papa shuddered. “I’ll always remember that sound. He flung the jacket away from him, and it landed on the sofa, which caught too and suddenly there were flames everywhere.” He looked down at the floor, a huge sob wracking his body as he finished, “I killed them; you should hate me.”
“No.” Teddy’s tone was firm. “You didn’t. You made some poor choices, but we’ve all done that.”
He moved to stand right in front of Scorpius’ papa, who visibly flinched when he looked up and met his eyes. “I don’t hate you. Obviously the loss of my parents is heartbreaking and I wish I had known them, but it’s not your fault.”
“I should—”
“Stop, OK? They chose to follow Harry, in the same way he chose to run in after you. What happened was an unfortunate accident. End of story.” For someone so young, Teddy had an exceptional ability to command attention and control a situation.
Scorpius watched his father nod, still looking pathetically crestfallen. “I’m so sorry.” He choked out, and Scorpius felt like the sun had fallen from the sky, to see his papa appear so pathetic.
He was quite surprised when Albus tentatively spoke. “Um. Mr. Malfoy, would—” he glanced between Scorpius and his dad, as if seeking approval. “Would you like to see the memorial?”
Albus looked so nervous that Scorpius just wanted to grab his beautifully thoughtful, amazing boyfriend and never let him go. He slid his arms around Albus’ waist, and murmured a “thank you” that only he could hear into his neck, before pulling back to look at his parents.
“Good idea, Al.” Mrs. Potter gestured to the right. “It’s just this way.”
As the group trudged across the grounds, nerves began to creep up on Scorpius. He honestly trusted Albus, but he just wasn’t 100% convinced that what his father really needed was to see a dreary stone statue to the people he had been internally mourning since his teenage years. Albus, being the incredible human that he was, seemed to pick up on this, and gave Scorpius a reassuring half-smile while squeezing his hand.
Their walk took them along the edge of a shady forest, which only added to the slight feeling of foreboding that Albus hadn’t entirely extinguished. As they rounded a corner, it was proven that yet again, Albus had shown that he knew exactly what the situation needed. Far from being a grey, depressing set of statues, the memorial was bright and somehow managed to inspire hope.
Sun streamed into the large clearing, where multiple wooden benches were arranged in a circle around a beautiful fountain, adorned with a seemingly random selection of things, each one somehow made more beautiful than reality’s version of what it represented. Two wolves played together under one of the streams, and a rugby ball appeared to be flying through the air, past a carved out depiction of an old-fashioned camera.
Scorpius heard his father gasp, and turned to see that the tears had returned to his eyes, but this time they were joined by a smile.
Mr. Potter spoke gently, proving he was just as sensitive as his son. “They wanted it to represent those we lost; do you remember how supportive the professors used to be?” He smiled wistfully, sadness filling his voice. “They were always trying to promote friendship and unity, so that’s why they made it ring, so everyone who sits here feels included.” He gestured to the central fountain. “And then in the centre, we tried to make sure we included things that reminded us of them – how Crabbe loved rugby, how we called Tonks and Lupin Mumma and Papa wolf…”
Scorpius’ dad nodded, his voice barely a whisper. “It’s beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing this with me. It… all these years… this feels like closure.”
Scorpius wrapped an arm around Albus’ shoulder and in a very quiet voice, let him know “I love you”. It was the first time he’d said it, but he’d never meant anything more; he felt nothing but affection towards Albus. He felt him stiffen, his eyes wide with shock until he met Scorpius’ eyes and clearly understood what he saw there, because he mouthed “you too”, with a small smile tugging at his lips.
Their moment was ended when Teddy spoke. “It’s in the past. You don’t have to forget to move on.” He turned on the spot. “Right. Who wants to go listen to Lily bragging about her football skills?” he asked with forced brightness, but it did work to dispel the overly serious atmosphere.
“I think we need to make sure Scorpius is enrolled correctly and everything, but I’m sure we’ll see you later,” His mum said, rounding up her family. Albus looked torn between the groups, but at his own mother’s stern glare, he begrudgingly detached himself from his boyfriend and moved to join his family, who were heading in the opposite direction to the Malfoys.
As they began to move away, Teddy turned back. “Oh, and thank you for the money, but it really isn’t necessary.” With that, he jogged back to the Potters, leaving Scorpius’ father doing a goldfish impression; his mouth opening and closing soundlessly.
“Albus! Come on .” Scorpius moaned. Albus hated when he nagged him like this, but he had been in the bathroom for decades .
He emerged a second later looking far more handsome than should be allowed, as per usual, but almost exactly the same as he had thirty minutes ago. “Alright, alright. I’m ready.”
Scorpius raised an eyebrow. “You’re going to meet your parents in that?” He asked, a grin breaking out across his face.
Albus rolled his eyes, and pushed past his boyfriend, the warmth of his bare chest a tantalising heat where it brushed against Scorpius’ arm. “Duh. Haven’t you heard that towel sarongs are all the rage?”
Scorpius couldn’t help it, eager as he was to see his parents again after so long apart, Albus just looked so good, and there was something about his grumpiness that reminded Scorpius of the first time they’d met; it made him helpless to the mixture of sentimentality, love and desire that washed over him. He grabbed Albus’ arm and used it to pull his boyfriend into his waiting embrace.
Their increasingly heated kiss was rudely interrupted by a loud “for fuck’s sake” coming from their roommate Smith, though his timing was quite fortunate (for him at least), because a few seconds later and the towel would likely have fallen from Albus’ hips…
“Guys, c’mon, we’ve spoken about this. PDA is not OK, and this is a shared dorm.” He rolled his eyes at the sheepish couple’s mumbled apologies, and grabbed a jumper from his bed. “Oh, and Scorpius, I think your parents are here - if your Dad is as blonde as you and drives a blue Land Rover?” He then left without waiting for an answer.
Scorpius squeaked with excitement, making Albus grin in reaction. “You used to do that all the time. It’s cute.” Scorpius felt himself blush. To cover his humiliation, he poked Albus’ still bare stomach. “Clothes! You need clothes! Now! Or I’m leaving without you.” Albus mock gasped and said “you wouldn’t!” but he did at least begin pulling on a t-shirt.
Minutes later, Scorpius was running down the grand stone staircase at the entrance to the main building, and almost bowling his parents over with the force of his enthusiastic hug. God, he had missed them.
A thankfully now dressed Albus descended the stairs far more sedately, and said hello to his parents with quick, understated hugs that paled in comparison to the near suffocating vigour of the Malfoy family’s embrace.
Once Scorpius felt like he’d been sandwiched between his happily fussing parents for long enough, he glanced over at the Potters. They were clearly waiting for them, though Albus’ mum was filling the time by exaggeratedly trying to kiss him, and asking him why he couldn’t still be that glad to see her, too. The half-laughs between Albus’ protests made Scorpius think that he might actually just be enjoying the affection, despite how much he was complaining.
Their parents exchanged brief hellos, and together they made their way to the top of the drive, where a double decker coach awaited. The Potter parents stopped for a ten minute chat with Professor Hagrid, which caused a massive queue behind them as everyone waited to have their names checked off the list by the biology teacher, but eventually they were able to board and find seats together.
The coach was buzzing with excitement; not only were they going to a football match, but they were going to watch James Potter’s first professional game - and it wasn’t every day that you could say you knew one of the players. Albus was the only one who wasn’t excited; he hated football, and was only there because his parents had begged him, and then they had begged Scorpius to beg him, and Albus couldn’t say no when Scorpius begged.
It was strange, the way Scorpius felt, surrounded by his family, his boyfriend and a random mixture of his schoolmates on the coach. It had been three weeks since he’d started at Hogwarts, and he had spent a huge chunk of that time feeling lost; lost while blindly following Albus and other friends through the school’s maze of corridors, lost in classes that didn’t work at all like the ones his parents had given him, and lost socially as he tried to negotiate not only interacting with groups of more people his age than he’d known before now, but also living in close quarters with his dormmates.
At points, Scorpius had been tempted to phone home and beg his parents to come and pick him up, but then Albus would take his hand, beam at him in the corridor, and say how happy he was that his boyfriend was at school with him, and all of Scorpius’ doubts would fade to insignificance. Even on the darkest days when he had arguments with Albus, Scorpius had known that he stood to lose a lot more than his relationship if he gave up on school, like his newfound independence, and the new friends who seemed to like him even though he was constantly putting his foot in his mouth by saying the wrong thing.
It was only now, watching his father’s face break out into a huge smile as he recognised a chant being sung at the front of the coach, and seeing Albus rolling his eyes and feigning reluctance as he joined in too, that Scorpius truly felt like he had made the right decision. When he realised that he actually knew the words and that he could sing along with everyone else, it dawned on Scorpius that this is what belonging felt like, and he raised his voice a little louder, grinning over the words.
“ Everywhere we go,
People always ask us,
Who we are,
Where we come from,
So we tell them,
We’re from Hogwarts,
The mighty mighty Hogwarts…”