Ron and Hermione Weasley were just about to clear up the breakfast dishes when Hugo came rushing into the room.
“Mum! Dad! You’ve got a letter!” he shouted, waving the envelope excitedly.
Ron eagerly took the envelope. Both he and Hermione had been waiting for news from Rosie. However, he immediately realized that the handwriting on the envelope wasn’t hers. Curious, he opened the letter.
Dear Uncle Ron & Auntie Hermione,
I feel it is my duty to let you know that Rosie has been associating with the Malfoy boy. I’ve warned her and Albus that they can’t trust him, but neither have listened to me.
Sincerely,
Victoire
Hermione bit her lip to keep from laughing. She’d often thought that Victoire rather took after her uncle Percy. Then she noticed that Ron did not look as though he thought this a laughing matter.
“For goodness sake Ron, you look as paranoid as Victoire sounds,” she admonished lightly.
“Paranoid? I don’t want that boy around her. Victoire’s right; he’s a Malfoy and can’t be trusted.”
Hermione looked at her husband skeptically. “Honestly, Ron; he’s eleven and you haven’t even met him.”
“I saw him. He looked like a miniature of his git of a father,” answered Ron.
“Well, appearances can be deceiving,” replied Hermione loftily.
“So can Malfoys.”
Hermione sighed in mock exasperation and gave Ron a peck on the cheek. “I’d stay here and argue with you but I need to get to the office and start filing the motions for that new house-elf protection act.”
Ron grinned and kissed her back. “I know you’re only leaving because you know I’m right.”
“Just don’t set any Aurors on the poor boy before I get home. Fair enough?”
“And lose critical hours of surveillance? Maybe just one Auror?” Ron asked hopefully.
Hermione kissed Hugo’s forehead, stuck her tongue out at Ron and then Disapparated. Ron ruffled Hugo’s hair and asked him, “Perhaps an Auror-in-training?”
Hugo pretended to consider this carefully before answering, “Mum would murder you.”
“She would. Of course, she can’t murder Harry for doing it,” replied Ron, grinning. “Now, we’d best get you over to Uncle Harry and Auntie Ginny’s.”
Astoria and Draco were having a pleasant breakfast when Merlin the owl flew in and deposited an envelope on the dining table then flew off again.
Astoria eagerly opened the letter. Draco noticed the expression on his wife’s face change from eager anticipation to a look that rather frightened him.
“That… that hat had the nerve to put him in Gryffindor!”
Draco nearly dropped his cup of coffee. He’d secretly been worrying for months that this might happen and now it had.
“And they’ve given him detention!” added Astoria, still furious.
Draco was still speechless but a part of his mind wondered how on Earth Scorpius had managed a detention already; maybe he really did belong in Gryffindor.
“He wants to be transferred. I’ll send an owl to Durmstrang, right after I send one to that idiot Sprout!” continued Astoria. “I’m going to demand he be placed in Slytherin and that detention was clearly undeserved! I’ll bet it was that perfect moron Longbottom! Well, if he thinks he can bully my son, that blood traitor has another thing coming!”
Draco decided it would be best to let Astoria continue to vent. His mind was still spinning from the fact that Scorpius was in Gryffindor. He knew that they couldn’t simply insist he be put in another house. Neither could he help but feel some disappointment at the thought of sending his son to Durmstrang. Draco absentmindedly read the letter from Scorpius and decided that if his son didn’t want to go to Hogwarts, he shouldn’t have to.
“I’ll write the letter to Durmstrang,” he told Astoria, who didn’t seem to be listening anyway. She was already dictating a scathing letter to Headmistress Sprout.
On his way to his study, Astoria called out after him. “Should we tell your parents?”
Draco turned, incredulous. “Are you mad?”
That evening, Ron and Harry Apparated to Grimmauld Place. Before they had a chance to remove their shoes, Lily and Hugo came running to them, clearly excited.
“Hurry! Al and Rosie sent letters! Mum and Auntie Hermione won’t open them until you come!”
“We’ve been waiting all day!” added Hugo, while tugging on Ron’s wrist.
Harry winked at Ron and said, “Oh… I don’t know. We’re really hungry and I think we might want to have supper first.”
“No!” shrieked Lily, who was also pulling her father by the hand.
“I think we forgot something at the office,” added Ron.
“You can go back for it later,” assured Hugo.
“I dunno; it was pretty important…” replied Harry.
“You two, stop teasing the children and get in here now or we’ll open these letters without you!” called Ginny from the drawing room.
“Race you!” yelled Ron, taking off.
All four of them arrived in the drawing room in a rather undignified heap. Hermione and Ginny couldn’t help but laugh, and even Kreacher chuckled.
“Alright, which letter should we read first?” Hermione asked.
“Whichever one arrived first,” Harry suggested.
“That would be Al’s,” replied Ginny, smiling. She opened the envelope and began reading aloud:
“Dear Dad, Mum, Lily and Kreacher,
I’m in Gryffindor! I’m sharing a room with six other boys because Uncle Neville said Gryffindor got more students than usual this year. James offered to let me share with him but Uncle Neville said we couldn’t. It’s ok though, I really like most of my roommates. Nigel Jordan, Josh Thomas and Mike Creevey are really nice. I’m not too fond of Adam Jones or Bernard Smith though. Scorpius Malfoy seems a really decent sort. He saved Rosie when I melted her cauldron. Anyway, I have to finish an essay for Professor Proudfoot, just thought you’d like to know I’m in Gryffindor!
Luv,
Albus S. Potter”
As Lily and Hugo whooped for having another Gryffindor in the family, Ginny and Harry exchanged looks of relief; they both knew how badly Albus had wanted to be put in Gryffindor.
“Wait, did he say he melted Rosie’s cauldron?” Harry asked.
Hermione smiled. “That’s why we send them off with used cauldrons for their first year.”
“But you can replace it with a nice brand new one; solid gold would be nice,” Ron added, grinning.
“I remember Hagrid talking me out of buying a solid gold one back when I was eleven. How many owls does it take to send a cauldron, anyway?” Harry wondered aloud.
“You’ll have to ask Percy,” Hermione answered. “Little Arthur melted his too, back when he was a first year.”
“What about Rosie’s letter?” complained Hugo, impatiently.
Hermione opened the second envelope and read to them:
“Dear Everyone,
I thought you’d like to know that I’m in Gryffindor! The hat suggested Ravenclaw as well, but it let me go to Gryffindor instead, I was ever so pleased! Ravenclaw wouldn’t have been bad though, except Victoire won’t be here next year so I’m much happier being with everyone else in Gryffindor. I like my roommates, especially Shannon Finnigan! And I made another new friend! His name is Scorpius Malfoy, we first met in Diagon Alley but we met again on the Hogwarts Express. He’s in Gryffindor too and shares a dormitory with Albus. James and Fred didn’t seem to like him much at first but they do now. He’s read all his textbooks too and he read Hogwarts a History! Albus, Scorpius and I are lab partners for Potions class. I don’t much like Professor Macmillan, but having Uncle Neville for a Head of House and teaching Herbology makes up for it! Professor Proudfoot is very interesting although his class was the shortest, but he did set us an essay. I hope mine isn’t too short, it’s only three rolls of parchment.
I’d better see if I can add any more to it,
Lots of love,
Rosie”
“My girl’s a Gryffindor!” Ron crowed.
Draco sat in his study, staring at the blank parchment. He’d sent the letter to Durmstrang hours earlier. Now he was dreading writing to his own parents. Had this been how Scorpius had felt when he wrote his letter this morning? Draco pushed that thought away and got back to the task at hand.
Dear Mother and Father,
I’m writing to let you know that Scorpius will be transferring to Durmstrang.
Draco crumpled up the begun letter and tossed it away; there was no point skirting the issue, they were going to find out about the Gryffindor placement. Lucius would yell that Draco had obviously raised Scorpius wrong. Narcissa would cry and then be cold as ice. Draco gave himself a bit of a shake and began the letter once again.
Dear Mother and Father,
Unfortunately, Scorpius was not placed in Slytherin. Due to this oversight and the declining standards at Hogwarts, we have decided it would be in his best interests to be transferred to Durmstrang.
Draco paused, once again envisioning his father’s response but was interrupted by an owl pecking at the windowsill. Merlin had returned with a second letter. Draco quickly opened it, wondering what else could have gone wrong in his son’s first twenty-four hours at Hogwarts.
”I know you wanted me to be in Slytherin but I don’t think I would have been very happy there and I hope you don’t mind having a son in Gryffindor.”
Upon reading the last words, Draco vividly remembered the conversation he and Scorpius had only two nights earlier.
“I didn’t want you to be ashamed of me,” he had said, still fearing Scorpius’s response.
His son had hugged him, saying, “I’ll always be proud that you’re my dad.”
Draco quickly crumpled up the second letter he’d started and began a third.
Dear Mother and Father,
Scorpius has been Sorted into Gryffindor and we couldn’t be more proud of him.
Sincerely,
Draco
After sending it off with one of his own owls, he started another letter.
Dear Scorpius,
I can’t begin to tell you how pleased I am that you’re happy and of course I’m proud of having a son in Gryffindor. I’ll always be proud to have you for a son.