Thursday evening Scorpius dutifully left the warm coziness of the common room for his detention with Professor Hagrid. He hurried down the staircase, hoping that Bernard and Adam weren’t close behind him. As he was nearing the Great Hall, he heard voices.
“Give her back!”
“What’s the magic word?” taunted Rachel Zabini.
Danny Longbottom was frantically jumping for something in Rachel’s hand, but the older girl easily kept it out of his reach.
“Please,” begged Danny. “You’re hurting her!”
“Is the son of the great brave Gryffindor going to cry?” taunted Rachel.
A pitiful croak came from within Rachel’s hand.
“Dolores!” shouted Danny.
Scorpius ran at Rachel, not even thinking about drawing his wand. She didn’t turn to see him in time, and he collided with her, hard. She kicked him in the shins as they fell to the floor. Danny and Scorpius were prying at Rachel’s hand, trying to force her to loosen her hold on Dolores.
“Stop it, the lot of yeh!” yelled a loud, angry voice.
Scorpius felt an enormous hand grab him, pulling him off Rachel, who seemed to have a bloody nose. Professor Hagrid was gripping one of Rachel’s arms in one hand and rather roughly grasped Scorpius’s shoulder with the other. To Scorpius’s relief, he saw that Dolores was safely in Danny’s hands, much safer than he felt in Hagrid’s.
“What’d I tell you about fighting, Malfoy?” asked Hagrid, angrily.
“But I had to!”
“Quiet!” Hagrid replied gruffly. Scorpius was immediately angry over being told to be quiet after having been asked a question. Hagrid was looking from Scorpius to Rachel. “The pair o’ yeh! Gangin’ up on another kid! I’m disgusted with the both of yeh!”
“But Hagrid! It wasn’t them against me; it was us against her,” confessed Danny.
Hagrid was clearly shocked. “Danny? Why would you do summat like that?”
Danny looked at his feet and clutched Dolores protectively. “She… she took Dolores and wouldn’t give her back. She was hurting her!” he said in a choked voice.
“That’s not true, right Scorpius?” interrupted Rachel. It was the first time in Scorpius’s memory that Rachel Zabini had looked at him in a manner resembling kindness. It suddenly occurred to him that if he helped Rachel out of this sticky spot, she’d owe him and he was fairly certain that she could help him with some of his other problems.
Scorpius looked between the boy who had abandoned him his first night at Hogwarts, and the girl he’d detested for years; finally, his eyes settled on Dolores and he made up his mind. “I was going to detention and heard them. I didn’t know what was happening at first, but I realized Rachel was hurting the toad and I got angry and tried to make her let it go before she hurt it more.”
“You little liars! Professor, they’re friends; of course they’d lie to save themselves…”
“He hasn’t even spoken to me since the night we got here,” argued Scorpius, narrowing his eyes.
Danny found an interesting spot on the floor to stare at. Hagrid looked rather shocked and cleared his throat. “Righ’ then. Five points each from Ravenclaw, Slytherin and er, Gryffindor fer fightin’.”
Scorpius wanted to protest but Hagrid continued, “Thirty points from Slytherin fer being cruel an’ a bully. Five points ter Ravenclaw and Gryffindor for defendin’ Dolores, the toad.”
“But…” Rachel’s voice trailed off.
“An’ I’ll be having a word wi’ Professor Sinistra regardin’ this,” added Hagrid. “C’mon Malfoy, you still have a detention.”
Scorpius followed Hagrid out onto the grounds. He wasn’t terribly pleased about detention, or that his points had cancelled out. Then again, he supposed that Danny had done no better and Hagrid seemed to really like Danny. Plus, he’d punched Rachel Zabini in the nose and wasn’t actually in trouble. Perhaps Professor Hagrid wasn’t so unfair after all.
“Umm, Professor?”
“What?” Hagrid still sounded rather gruff.
Scorpius had been trying to work up the nerve to apologize, instead he asked, “What am I doing for detention?”
“Muckin’ out stalls. Yeh’ll be gathering Hippogriff manure to fertilize some o’ Professor Longbottom’s plants.”
“Oh.”
After a few more steps, Scorpius asked, “Will I get to see the Hippogriffs?”
Hagrid looked at him quite oddly before answering. “No, fer yer safety they’ll be in a paddock.”
Scorpius didn’t quite manage to hide his look of disappointment.
“Wha’ is it?” asked Hagrid, wondering why the Malfoy boy was more upset at this news than over shoveling manure.
“I… I’ve never seen a Hippogriff before,” blurted Scorpius. “Mum and Dad don’t like them and… and I was just curious.”
“I wouldn’ imagine yer Da’ would be over fond of Hippogriffs,” agreed Hagrid. “There’s the stable. Yeh’ll find a shovel and two wheelbarrows in the far end. I’ll be back in an hour.”
Shoveling Hippogriff manure was not a particularly fun task, even after adjusting to the smell. Scorpius had just filled the second wheelbarrow when Hagrid returned.
“Righ’ then, we just need ter take these up to Greenhouse Two and yer free ter go,” Hagrid explained.
As they pushed the wheelbarrows, Scorpius decided it was then or never. “I’m sorry for what I said, Professor. I didn’t know what I called you was… well, I didn’t realize what it… I’m sorry.”
Scorpius focused his gaze on the path ahead of them. After a few moments, Hagrid cleared his throat. “It takes a big man ter say that. Apology accepted.”
Before Scorpius could reply, Professor Longbottom and Bernard Smith emerged from Greenhouse Two. “Excellent! That should be plenty for you to work into my plants, Mr Smith.”
Scorpius unsuccessfully attempted to hide his look of glee upon realizing that Bernard had been given detention by Professor Longbottom and he’d have only gloves separating him from the manure; at least Scorpius had been given a nice long shovel. His happiness was short lived upon seeing the threatening look on Bernard’s face.
“Professor Hagrid? Can I go back to the castle now?”
“Yeah, yer excused.”
As Scorpius turned to go, Hagrid called out after him. “If yer still curious abou’ them Hippogriffs, drop by sometime next week.”
Scorpius grinned. “Thanks! I will!”
“Hey, Rosie! Auntie Hermione’s in the Daily Prophet!” called James.
Scorpius had noticed that James, unlike Albus and Rosie, didn’t seem at all embarrassed to have famous relatives. James passed the Daily Prophet to Rosie, showing her the article.
“What’d your mum do?” asked Shannon, evidently interested.
“Oh, it’s just her work. They’ve set a date for a Wizengamot hearing on a house-elf act or something. It’s probably really dull.”
Scorpius quickly scanned the article.
Madam Weasley, well-known for her many accomplishments in aiding Harry Potter defeat infamous dark wizard, Lord Voldemort…
…Madam Weasley has been an outspoken defender of house-elves since her school days…
Scorpius had to agree, the article didn’t look particularly interesting.
“But, really, it is awful how a lot of people treat their house-elves,” added Rosie.
“Wasn’t it the Malfoy family that abused the house-elf that Harry Potter was friends with?” asked Bernard, rather loudly.
There was an uncomfortable silence after this. Scorpius hadn’t even known his family had ever had a house-elf. He was quite certain neither his parents nor grandparents had ever mentioned it.
“I don’t know and don’t see how it’s any of your business,” replied Rosie, primly.
Bernard looked rather stunned but Rosie wasn’t finished. “And what’s more, I’m sick of you saying horrible things about Scorpius’s family! I know you’ve been talking about him behind his back too, and I think it’s really nasty! Whatever Scorpius’s family did or didn’t do, he’s a good deal nicer than you are!”
All of the Gryffindors, as well as many of the Hufflepuffs at the next table, were staring in shocked silence. Bernard had looked increasingly uncomfortable as Rosie’s rant had continued and was now staring at his plate, face beet red. James began to clap, followed by Albus and Fred. Within moments, the majority of the Gryffindors had followed suit.
Both Rosie and Scorpius were now blushing too. She turned to Albus and Scorpius. “Erm, let’s go to the lake. It’s a nice day outside.”
As they were leaving, Scorpius noticed James, Fred and Gideon walk over to Bernard and could hear James saying, “Didn’t we already have to tell you to leave Scorpius alone?”
After they made their way outside, Rosie muttered, “Well, that was rather awkward, wasn’t it?”
“Only a bit,” replied Scorpius. “But thanks, both of you. So why are we going to the lake?”
“Because Albus and I are supposed to visit Hagrid in an hour and I didn’t want everyone staring at us ‘til then.”
“Oh.” Scorpius hadn’t realized that he’d be spending the afternoon alone.
They skipped stones across the lake until it was time for Rosie and Albus to leave for Hagrid’s. Scorpius decided to go to the library and work on some assignments. Even if Rosie’s speech and her cousins’ threats had had the desired effect upon Bernard, Scorpius still didn’t really want to see him.
After a few hours, Scorpius was pleased with his Transfiguration essay, for Professor Horton. He’d written a good deal about the theory behind the transformation of simple inanimate objects into similar ones. However, he still wasn’t sure if he’d be able to properly Transfigure a match into a needle. He was fairly confident that his eyebrows would remain relatively safe though.
“Hello, Scorpius.”
He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as Rachel said his name. “What do you want?”
Rachel pouted a bit and replied in a falsely sweet voice, “There’s no need to be rude. I only said ‘hello’ to you.”
“Fine then,” he replied. “Hello Rachel, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Where’s your girlfriend?” she asked lightly.
Scorpius narrowed his eyes. “I don’t have a girlfriend, so nowhere, I guess.”
“The Weasley girl who made that scene at lunch today,” elaborated Rachel.
“She’s not my girlfriend,” retorted Scorpius.
“That’s wise of you; your parents would have a fit if you had a half-blood girlfriend,” replied Rachel.
“No they wouldn’t!” answered Scorpius angrily.
Rachel laughed. “You really don’t think Mummy and Daddy would care that she’s the daughter of a Mudblood? Especially that Mudblood!”
“No, I don’t!”
“Really? You don’t think they want to keep their family pure?” she asked.
“No. And what did you mean by ‘especially that Mudblood’?”
Rachel laughed again. “Didn’t your parents tell you anything?”
Scorpius wanted to say ‘yes’, but after the revelation that they used to have a house-elf, he was beginning to feel as though everyone knew more about his family than he did.
“What do you know?” he asked, cautiously.
“Oh, just what’s common knowledge,” she answered silkily. “And what my parents told me, of course.”
“Which is?” prompted Scorpius, between gritted teeth.
Rachel considered him a moment. “Well, if I wanted to find out more, I suppose I’d read this.”
As she said this, she handed him a book entitled, Death Eaters Who Got Away, A Closer Look at the Malfoys, by Rita Skeeter.
“What’s this?” he asked, horrified.
“Your family history,” Rachel answered nastily. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and turned to go. “Never get me in trouble with a teacher again, little Malfoy.”
Scorpius barely heard her as he stared in horror at the book she’d left him with. There was a bookmark in it. Overwhelmed by curiosity, he turned to the marked page.
As is widely known, Malfoy Manor was used as a base of operations for Lord Voldemort and his closest supporters. Prisoners were held captive in a secret room for well over a year and tortured for information without mercy. What isn’t as well known is that Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, were also briefly held captive there.
With Lucius, Narcissa and Draco’s assistance, the infamous Bellatrix Lestrange (sister of Narcissa), used the Cruciatus Curse upon Hermione Granger.
Scorpius snapped the book shut. His father had watched Rosie’s mum be tortured and had done nothing to stop it, instead he’d helped her attacker. He didn’t know what to think anymore. He simply couldn’t imagine his father doing that. It had to be a lie. Except there it was, in print.
Scorpius put the book into his bag and went to the Astronomy Tower. It seemed he had a lot of thinking to do.
The sun had set and the stars were beginning to appear in the sky. Merlin had managed to find his master and sat on his Scorpius’s shoulder, affectionately nibbling at his ear. Merlin had been a present from his father, who had stood by and watched an innocent girl be tortured. Scorpius felt that he was the one currently being tortured. Rachel Zabini was far more skilled at hurting people than Bernard Smith would ever be.
“Stargazing, Mr Malfoy?”
Scorpius was quite startled at the sound of someone else’s voice. He was even more surprised to find that the voice belonged to Professor Longbottom.
“You weren’t at dinner.”
“I… I wasn’t hungry,” Scorpius answered.
“Your friends were worried. I believe there is a Weasley-Potter search party underway.”
“They won’t be my friends after they read this.” He roughly handed the book to Professor Longbottom.
Neville sighed. “How much of this did you read?’
“Enough.”
“Too much then. Scorpius, I went to school with your father.”
Scorpius looked up in surprise. Professor Longbottom continued, “He… he wasn’t the nicest person back then but he certainly wasn’t as bad as this book makes him out to be. You shouldn’t put any trust in anything Rita Skeeter has written. She’s the sort of person who will take a grain of truth and twist it into something ugly.”
Scorpius barely dared to hope that the book was all lies. “The… the part that’s bookmarked… it says he helped someone hurt Rosie’s mum.”
“His aunt, Bellatrix Lestrange,” interrupted Neville, his voice full of bitterness.
Scorpius looked at his teacher in shock but Neville was looking into the distance. After a few moments, he spoke again, but his tone was even once more. “My wife was there that night. She’d been held prisoner for a long time by then. When Harry, Ron and Hermione were brought there, your father wouldn’t identify them. He immediately recognized Hermione and Ron (Harry was disguised) but he tried to cast doubt as to who they were. I can assure you that he had no chance of saving Hermione that night. Bellatrix Lestrange…”
Neville paused. “She was the one who tortured Hermione. From what I heard later, your father wanted no part of it. He and his parents suffered for the prisoners’ escape. Voldemort was not the forgiving type.”
“But then why didn’t Dad tell me?”
“I really couldn’t say. Have you considered that speaking of those events might be painful for him?”
Scorpius looked down at his feet. “No, I hadn’t.”
“You know your father better than that Skeeter cow ever will. I would advise burning that book. I expect it would make much better kindling than reading material.”
Scorpius managed a small smile. “Thank you, Sir.”
“Oh, and if you find your appetite has returned, I suggest that you ask Mr James Potter and Mr Fred Weasley for some advice concerning a ticklish pear.” Professor Longbottom gave a small wink and left.
Scorpius was left wondering if Professor Longbottom was quite sane. It wasn’t long before he found Albus and Rosie.
“Where have you been?” she demanded, hands on hips.
“I had some thinking to do and lost track of the time.”
“Oh. Is everything alright?” she asked.
“Yeah… I think so.”
“Did you want to explore the fifth floor?” asked Albus.
Scorpius’s stomach gave an audible rumble. “Sure, but I have to ask your brother something first,” replied Scorpius.
As they made their way through the portrait hole, Rosie added, “I nearly forgot! Hagrid wanted us to let you know that you’re invited for tea next Friday too. He would have invited you last night after detention, but he didn’t know we were all friends. So, if you’re free next Friday at two…”
Scorpius grinned. “Sure! That’d be great!”
He noticed that Bernard was writing at a nearby table and looked thoroughly disgusted with Hagrid’s offer, but was mercifully silent as well. Scorpius hurried over to the common room’s fireplace; James and Fred were sitting in the comfy chairs with Gideon.
“Umm… I know this sounds stupid, but Professor Longbottom told me to ask you about ‘ticklish pears’. Does that make any sense to you?”
Gideon burst into laughter, soon followed by Fred and James. Scorpius felt even more foolish. What had Professor Longbottom been playing at?
“Guess Uncle Neville noticed some missing food,” James finally said.
“You’re lucky he didn’t take points for it,” added Arthur, who was sitting nearby.
“What are you talking about?” asked Albus, indignantly.
James looked around to be certain the other students couldn’t overhear. “Care for a bit of an adventure?” he asked with a gleam in his eye.