Evil Reawakened

Chapter 1

The sun was setting as the scarlet Hogwarts Express arrived at King's Cross station in London. The train hadn't yet pulled in at platform nine and three-quarters when Scorpius Malfoy slid his compartment's door open and stepped into the narrow corridor, struggling with his heavy trunk. He was eager to be the first to leave, and tried to avoid the irritating noise and confusion that inevitably occurred when so many students hurried to disembark the Express all at once.

He had inherited most of his father's features: the pointed face, the grey eyes and the tall stature. His white-blond hair was also the same colour as his father's, and he kept it in a neat haircut, mostly to distinguish himself from the majority of other students, who seemed very keen to adopt any strange Muggle style. For the same reason, he still wore the black school robes: to stand out from the crowd wearing all sorts of Muggle clothes. He knew these were irrelevant, even childish gestures, but it felt good to be doing even the smallest thing against the seemingly irreversible tide of Muggle fashions.

With a little thud, the train finally came to a halt and Scorpius lifted his trunk over the compartment's threshold. He hated dragging it without magic, but luckily for him, this time he had no owl cage to carry, and it was also his last journey with the train. Two days ago he had attended the last of his NEWT level exams and had finally graduated from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Scorpius' results had been less than impressive and the small number of OWLs he had received two years ago had been a permanent reason of friction with his parents, especially his father, ever since. The results of the NEWTs were due to arrive in about a month's time, and Scorpius was sure that another serious argument with his parents was very likely to occur then.

Scorpius slammed the compartment's door shut behind him without even looking back at his former school mates. There was no one among them he could call a friend, and Scorpius very much doubted that they had even acknowledged his departure. He alone of all students had no regrets for leaving the school. Sure, he had had his good moments there, particularly during the first several years, but as time went by, Scorpius disliked being at the school increasingly more. Towards the end he had become little more than an outcast, even among his fellow Slytherins, who themselves were almost universally detested by the students in the other houses and even by some of the teachers.

As he advanced slowly along the corridor towards the exit, around him other doors began to open and the rest of the students prepared to leave as well. A shorter, black boy, who wore his long curly hair in dreadlocks and one of those new Muggle-style jerseys that had become so popular lately, suddenly blocked Scorpius' path as he emerged from his compartment, walking backwards and talking enthusiastically with someone still inside.

Scorpius stopped abruptly.

"Move out of my way!" he barked, irritated, and his mouth curled to form an expression of deep disgust as he recognised the student before him.

The black boy turned around to face him and his happy smile vanished. "There goes my good mood," he said slowly.

"I'm happy I have this effect on you, Jordan," Scorpius drawled in a malicious tone, looking down at him. "You never deserve to be in a good mood. Now get out of my way."

A girl with short, curly red hair appeared in the doorframe. She folded her arms across her chest in a defiant posture and stared boldly at him. Behind her, Scorpius saw a short, thin boy with black, unruly hair. He then smiled nastily.

"The new trio," he said contemptuously. "Some things never change, do they? Just like in the old days: two idiots bossed around by the ugliest witch in the year. How wonderful!"

Jordan frowned, trying to find the proper reply, but the girl was quicker.

"What are you up to, Malfoy? Picking up fights you can't win again?" she said with her high-pitched voice that always got on Scorpius' nerves.

"I have nothing to worry about, Weasley." Scorpius smirked. "You Gryffindors never live up to your undeserved reputation without enjoying a massive superiority." His condescending gaze travelled slowly from Jordan to the shorter boy behind her. "With only your boyfriend and your little cousin backing you up..."

"You have a very selective memory, Malfoy," the girl said sternly.

Scorpius looked down at all three of them with an expression of complete contempt. "You disgust me," he uttered clearly, suddenly deciding not to waste any more time quarrelling with them. With a brutal gesture, he pushed Jordan aside, clearing his way to leave, and continued on his way towards the exit.

"Don't mind him," he heard Rose speaking from behind. "He probably only wanted to remind us for a last time just what a primitive misfit he really is. What can we expect from a dying breed like Malfoy, anyway?"

Scorpius turned abruptly. "What did you just call me?" he spat aggressively, his face red with anger and his eyes narrowed in fury. His pale hand was trembling as he grasped the handle of the trunk.

"You heard me," Rose answered dispassionately, still maintaining her defiant posture and leaning casually against the doorframe.

Scorpius' right hand flew to his robes' pocket to retrieve his wand, but Jordan was quicker and pointed his own wand at Scorpius' chest. Other students began to crowd behind Jordan. A couple of them took out their wands, threatening Scorpius with them as well and grinning at him.

"Just leave now, Malfoy," Jordan said in a commanding tone. He glanced behind at the others and continued smiling. "We don't want to hurt you, but if you give us no other choice..." Several students burst into laughter.

"Why spare him?" a tall boy spoke. "Just hex the arrogant bastard, Jordan!" A few others shouted approvals.

"See, Malfoy?" Rose asked with satisfaction shining on her face, her eyes fixed on his. "Nobody's on your side. You'd better leave."

Scorpius looked from one opponent to the other, smirking maliciously. His temporary outburst of fury had passed and he had now regained his composure.

"You will all regret this. Mark my words," he said slowly. His eyes narrowed and his voice was deep with hatred. "Every one of you. And much sooner than you expect."

With a final hateful glance at the group, Scorpius turned around for the last time and set off towards the exit door. He heard loud, happy laughter and mockery behind him, and clearly heard someone dismissing his threat as 'spiteful and powerless anger'. They'll have a surprise, he thought and smiled to himself as he got off the train to meet his parents and finally go home to Malfoy Manor.

***

Scorpius glanced awkwardly from his mother to his father and back again as they sat around the large, ornate table in the middle of the huge dining room of Malfoy Manor. The light from the many candles on the great chandelier hanging directly over the table glistened on the polished wood and the crystal plates in front of them. Apart from the large table, there were very few other pieces of furniture inside the dining room, but the walls were covered with portraits of distant ancestors and other paintings, some of them very old and valuing hundreds or thousands of galleons. Huge glass doors and windows lead to the garden behind the mansion, but now they all were covered with heavy, dark-coloured curtains hanging from the ceiling to the stone floor.

They were now at dessert, but had barely spoken to each other during dinner. For Scorpius, it was obvious that something had happened that made his parents behave so sulkily, but nonetheless, he waited patiently to be informed. At least it was not related to his school results; he was sure of that. Otherwise he would have been reprimanded long ago and without any delay. By now he had a lot of experience in dealing with his parents' considerable disappointment regarding his grades and overall schooling performance.

Scorpius grabbed a piece of cake, hoping for the meal to finish as soon as possible, not really caring if he was informed of the trouble or not. He had been anxious to be alone in his room ever since he had returned to school after the Easter holiday. Even that visit home had displeased his parents, for they had expected him to remain at Hogwarts and study for the NEWTs exams.

"Scorpius, have you decided what you intend to do from now on?" his father asked suddenly. Draco Malfoy looked tired and stressed. He had dark rings around his eyes and the way he was drumming his fingers on the table was a certain sign for his wife and his son that his nerves were stretched to the limit.

"Not yet, Father," Scorpius answered slowly, avoiding eye contact with his father, sensing his irritation. "But I suppose I'm going to start working with you, helping you with our family's businesses..."

Draco nodded slowly. "Yes, Scorpius, but it's not like you have too many other options, do you?" he said, slightly scornfully. "Not with your less-than-inspired choices of NEWT subjects. I can understand you taking Charms and Transfiguration, of course, but picking Ancient Runes and ignoring Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts? That was more than foolish, especially now."

"I always thought that I'd join you after school," Scorpius said, pushing his plate away.

"I agree, Scorpius, but the problem is that there may be difficult times ahead of us. It would have been very beneficial for you to actually be able to have a career in the Ministry," Draco explained.

Scorpius gave a short, humourless laugh. "In the Ministry? They wouldn't have accepted me there even if I was head boy and got ten Outstanding grades in the NEWTs!" he said with spite.

"This is not true, Scorpius," his mother intervened. "There are entrance tests and..." Astoria Malfoy looked less tense than her husband, but worried nonetheless. As always, she was elegantly dressed and her black hair was arranged in a complicated style. From some old photos he had seen, Scorpius had noticed that his mother looked remarkably similar to his deceased Aunt Bellatrix. Of course, photos of his aunt were nowhere to be found in Malfoy Manor, but his Grandfather Lucius had showed him some old ones that his parents would never have allowed him to see. There were some subjects, like his Aunt Bellatrix, that his parents simply never talked about.

"Mother, you know very well how they choose the Ministry officials," Scorpius cut her off, his voice high and infuriated. "We are not wanted there any more. All they care about is promoting their precious Mudbloods!"

Draco's grey eyes narrowed as he peered carefully at his son. "I must remind you, Scorpius," he said coldly, "how terribly careless for you is to speak the way you do. If some of the laws I hear that are being discussed in the various committees of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement are true... You must learn to control yourself."

Scorpius smirked in defiance, but pressed the issue no longer. "May I be excused?" he asked harshly, looking absently at his father.

Draco hesitated for a couple of seconds, then slowly nodded towards his son. Scorpius immediately pushed back his chair, producing an unpleasant creak as the wood scraped against the bare stone floor. He then turned around and headed towards the marble stairs without a word, leaving his parents sitting in motionless silence.

His quarters were located in the northern wing of the mansion, where Scorpius lived almost in isolation from his parents, whose rooms were in the main, southern wing. He had a huge bedroom, an equally large study and a bathroom for his own personal use, all elegantly furnished with the best pieces available to wizards of his status.

Scorpius entered his room in a hurry and banged the heavy oak door shut behind him. His luggage from Hogwarts had already been unpacked by the house-elf, and everything was in perfect order. He headed directly to the door leading to his study and extracted his wand from the pocket of his long, dark-grey robes.

He stopped in front of the door, pointed his wand at the metal door bolt and muttered a series of enchantments. He knew that his parents never came here, but he had felt the need to block his study when he left for the final semester at Hogwarts. He knew his father or mother were most probably capable of undoing his defensive measures, but was confident that, even if they accidentally entered his rooms, they would have stayed away from a locked door. He had no reason to believe otherwise, as they had always respected his privacy.

The door creaked open with the final password and Scorpius stepped hurriedly inside. His heart beat loudly in anticipation and he felt his palms sweat from emotion as he approached his elegant wooden desk in front of the window. This is the moment of truth, he told himself, trying to steady his breathing.

An unfolded parchment lay on top of the desk, with a long, dark blue quill atop it. Scorpius carefully picked up the quill and grabbed the parchment, his hand trembling. It was almost halfway covered in neat writing etched on it in black ink. As he read it, a huge smile formed on Scorpius' face. It has worked! he thought, jubilant. I can begin now.