Seventh-Year: The Next Generation

Chapter 11: Never Adorable

The blonde boy sat directly in front of her, across the desk. Albus sat on his right, her own son on his left. Such contrasts, the three of them. One with blonde hair so fine it was almost white, one with jet-black hair that was made up of thicker and heavier locks, and then her son, with flaming hair that was somewhere in the middle.

At the moment, Hugo was lying like someone dead in his chair. His body was completely limp, and his head hung over the back of the seat. She had tried to revive him with a simple Ennervate, but this had proven fruitless. Scorpius had assured her that he was fine, just so exhausted that even a spell wouldn't awaken him.

Albus was sitting up straight, and looking around out of bleary, slightly unfocused eyes. After Scorpius had told her what was up with him, she had used a simple pain reducing charm, and then he had started to respond.

Scorpius was, as usual, looking bored, and as if he thought the world should be running around making sure he was comfortable.

Hermione sighed. "So, do you want to tell me what you three were doing outside of the castle, after dark?"

"Not really, no," said Scorpius.

"Mr. Malfoy, do you want to get into worse trouble then you're already in at the moment?" she asked.

Scorpius opened his mouth to say something, but Albus was faster. "Of course he doesn't," said Albus hastily. Scorpius shot him a look of irritation.

"Were you on the grounds, or did you leave the school entirely?" demanded Hermione.

"I don't see why it matters," said Scorpius in annoyance. "May I?" Scorpius leaned forward, his hand hovering over the small dish of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans that sat on her desk.

"Sure, have as many as you like," said Hermione absentmindedly.

Scorpius took a small handful and sat back, smiling gleefully.

"Why won't you just tell me?" asked Hermione.

"No offense, Professor, but when you were but a wee lass at Hogwarts, did the students go around admitting to their crimes?" asked Scorpius, leaning forward and taking the whole dish of jellybeans this time.

"In my day, all the kids were amazingly well behaved. No one ever stuck so much as a toe out of line," sniffed Hermione.

"Right," snorted Albus. "You are my aunt, aren't you? The one who always snuck around after dark, who started Dumbledore's Army against the strict orders of the Headmistress?"

Scorpius grinned. Hermione frowned.

"We're at school, Mr. Potter, and you will address me as either Headmistress, or Professor," said Hermione.

"Ah, come on, aunt, we don't have to be so formal. You know you want to just lean back and relax," said Albus.

"Yeah, that's right. It's late, you must be tired. Why don't you just let us off the hook, so we can all get to bed?" put in Scorpius.

Hermione suppressed a smile. "You're right, I am tired, and I do want to get to bed. So, I'll make this nice and quick. Because you won't tell me exactly what you were up to, I'll just have to go ahead and give you each detention once a week until Christmas. And thirty points each from Gryffindor."

The dish that had held the jellybeans, but was now empty, clattered to the floor. Scorpius and Albus were both staring at her in horror.

"Surely you jest, Professor," said Scorpius.

"Aunt, you can't be serious," said Albus, gawking at her.

Hermione stood to her feet, stretching out her arms. "I might reconsider, if you tell me what you were really up to," she said, watching both of them.

"Um, I think we'll be going now," said Scorpius hastily, getting to his feet.

"Yeah, that's okay," said Albus.

Hermione suppressed another smile. "I'll let you know the details on your detention sometime tomorrow. Now, please remove yourselves from my office, so that I can go get some sleep."

Scorpius and Albus, each taking Hugo by one of his arms, hoisted the other boy to his feet, and dragged him out of the office.

Hermione watched them go thoughtfully. She remembered the day, six years ago, that Harry had come bursting into their house, waving a letter about in the air.

"Look! Ron, Hermione! Albus's first letter from Hogwarts. You wouldn't believe it, he's made friends with Malfoy! Malfoy! I mean, talk about irony."

"What? Write him back and tell him he can do better than that slimy git!" Ron bellowed.

"Ron, please, give the boy a chance. He's probably perfectly nice," Hermione chided him.

"But, but, he's a Slytherin!" Ron said.

"No, actually,he's in Gryffindor, too," said Harry.

"Wow, I bet Draco will flog him when he gets home, Slytherin pride and all," said Ron.

"No," said Harry thoughtfully, "I don't think he will. That is probably what Lucius would have done, but Draco is not his father. He might have become him once upon a time, but not after his experience with the Dark Lord. That changed him."

"What do you think will come of this friendship?" asked Hermione.

"I don't know. Maybe it'll become nothing, maybe they'll become close. There's nothing to do, but wait and see."

Hermione smiled to herself. At the time, they could hardly imagine Albus Potter being friends with Scorpius Malfoy, but now, all these years later, she couldn't picture either of them without the other.

Stifling a yawn, Hermione headed to bed.

***

"He's still passed out," said Scorpius with distaste, standing in the doorway of the fifth-year's dormitory.

"You're kidding me, right?" said Albus, peering over Scorpius's shoulder.

But there he was, lying sprawled on his four-poster, his arm thrown across his face.

"That whole coming of power thing must really have done him in. You don't think we should tell anyone, do you?" asked Albus anxiously.

"Nah, not yet, anyways. We should probably talk to him first," said Scorpius, turning away from the room, and swinging the door shut behind him. Scorpius had filled Albus in on everything that had happened, while they were walking back to the Gryffindor Tower the night before.

"Let's go to breakfast then," said Albus, turning and walking down the stairs to the common room.

They slid out of the portrait hole, and found Baddock waiting for them. She was leaning against the wall, a pose remarkably like one Scorpius often used. Her hair was wet, and twist up into a fancy bun at the back of her head.

"Potter," she said with a nod at Albus. "Malfoy," she said, giving Scorpius a wide smile.

"Baddock," said Scorpius cordially.

She stepped toward him, and slid her hand into his, interlocking their fingers. "Let's get some breakfast together, shall we?"

Scorpius pulled his hand back, but didn't move away. "What are you playing at?" he demanded.

"Oh, come now," she said. "The whole school knows that Driscoll is with Rose now, and they all think we're together. We wouldn't want to disappoint them, would we?" she asked.

"On the contrary," said Scorpius wryly, "I think that all the women of Hogwarts would be quite crushed to know I got a new girlfriend already, and didn't give them any chance to try and take the highly desired role."

Baddock laughed. "Your charm never ceases to work its wonders. Let's go, dear," she said.

"Ah, I think you are kind of confused, Baddock," said Scorpius. "Just because we shared a passionate kiss yesterday, and Rose is no longer with me, that does not mean we are suddenly an, ah, what do they call it? An item."

"But why not?" demanded Baddock. "I'm beautiful, you're beautiful. I have wit, you have wit. I'm popular, you're popular. We were made to be together, a perfect fit. Besides, you have no other ties, why won't you have me?" She took another step toward Scorpius. Albus noticed they were dangerously close now, but Scorpius did not back down.

"You see, lovely Baddock, while all that is true, there is this thing called a heart. Generally, that needs to be tied in when people are involved with each other. And while you are practically irresistible, my heart is otherwise engaged."

"Why? She no longer wants you, she's with Driscoll now. It's time to move on, Malfoy," said Baddock.

"That may be true, but that is not a decision that is directly under my control at the moment." With that, Scorpius spun on his heel and walked away, followed by Albus.

"I'll be waiting," called Baddock after them. Scorpius made no reply.

They entered the Great Hall, and Scorpius's tensed, ever so slightly. Albus turned to look at what had made Scorpius react.

Rose was sitting at the Slytherin table, Driscoll's arm around her shoulders. She was looking down at her plate and blushing slightly, as Driscoll whispered something in her ear.

Scorpius turned, and went and found a seat among his fellow Gryffindors, shaking his head.

Albus followed his friend, looking up toward the head table, wondering what Hermione would think about this latest turn of events. He saw her watching her daughter, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"We need to work on the Patronus sometime, Albus," said Scorpius.

Albus looked up from his food, and blinked in surprise. "Yeah, okay. But what are we going to do about everything else?"

"Everything else?" echoed Scorpius.

"Well, Hugo and Driscoll."

"What about them? There is nothing to be done with Driscoll, he won Rose's heart. I lost it. There's nothing more to it," he said flatly. "As for Hugo, I don't see what else we are supposed to do besides tell him what happened."

"You don't think that, maybe, all these things are tied in together, somehow?" asked Albus.

Scorpius looked slightly taken aback, as if he hadn't thought of that. "I don't think so," he said slowly. "Like I said, Driscoll and Rose are an open and closed matter, nothing there. As for Hugo, I highly doubt that a little bit of blackmail among students is going to lead to the climactic events that Hugo is supposedly going to be predicting, Albus."

"I guess you're right," said Albus, turning back to his food.

"I'll see you in History of Magic," said Scorpius, getting to his feet.

"What? Where are you going?" asked Albus.

"Nowhere," said Scorpius.

"If you're moving from here, you must be going somewhere," said Albus.

Scorpius shook his head. "It's my own business."

"Okay," said Albus, not wanting to press the matter. He watched silently as Scorpius left.

Scorpius walked down the lane between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff house tables, his eyes fixed straight ahead. One foot in front of the other, that was all there was to it.

He entered the entrance hall, and positioning himself so that no one could see him from inside the Great Hall, he leaned against the wall.

The students who passed looked at him curiously, but he studiously ignored them, keeping his eyes on the floor, his lids lowered.

It wasn't long before they came, his arm still flung carelessly around her. They froze a few feet from Scorpius when they caught sight of him.

He raised his eyes, and surveyed them. Driscoll's dark eyes watched him closely, and were hard to read, his face a mask. Rose looked at him, then at Driscoll, and then back at him, her eyes filled with worry.

"So, Rose," began Scorpius quietly, "do you have time for your old friends, or are you going to spend it all with...with him." He jerked his chin at Driscoll.

"Why would she want to spend any of her time with people like you?" asked Driscoll coldly.

Scorpius pulled himself off the wall. "I think Rose can speak for herself, Driscoll," said Scorpius, his voice icy.

"Okay, you want to hear it in her own voice? Then, by all means, I won't stop you." Driscoll turned to Rose. "Tell him, tell him, darling. Tell him how you want to spend all your time with me."

Rose wrapped her arms around herself, and seemed to shrink inside herself, to become smaller.

"Rose?" said Scorpius, softly, gently.

Rose looked anywhere but at Scorpius, not wanting to make eye contact with him. "It is true, Scorpius, I do want to spend as much time as possible with Driscoll." Now she brought her deep eyes up to his. "But that doesn't mean I don't care for you anymore, I--"

Scorpius held his hand up to silence her. "Don't," he said. "I understand. It's okay, you don't have to say anymore."

"Scorpius--"

"Just go," he said, turning his back on them.

There was a moment of silence, then they brushed past him. At the foot of the stairs, they halted. Driscoll looked back at him, and flashed his white teeth in what Scorpius thought hardly could be counted as a smile.

Rose looked up in confusion at Driscoll, not sure why he had stopped. Driscoll flicked his gaze purposefully down to her face, and then, leaning over, he kissed her full on the lips. It was brief, but still, it was there.

Scorpius's hands curled into fists that were so tight, they left crescent-moon shaped marks on his palms. His teeth ground together painfully.

As Driscoll pulled back, Scorpius thought he saw the flash of something, there in his eyes. Was it amusement? Satisfaction?

Then they were gone, Driscoll pulling Rose up the stairs after him.

Scorpius turned away, and walked right into Lily.

"Watch it!" he snapped, pulling back.

"Well, sor- ry," Lily said.

"What are you doing?" asked Scorpius irritably.

"Walking in the entrance hall. Why, is that against the law?" she asked with annoyance.

"When you get in my way it is," said Scorpius, moving to walk around her.

She stepped in his way hastily. "Arrogant and irritable as ever this morning, are we, Scorpius?"

"Get out of my way," he said, glaring down at her.

"Does this have anything to do with whatever was going on last night?" She was rewarded by Scorpius's eyes widening in surprise, if ever so slightly.

"What are you talking about?"

"You know very well," she said. "I know you ran off for one thing, and that Albus and Hugo went after you. I also know that you returned quite late, and that Albus was unable to walk completely by himself, for some reason. And, that there were two strange men with you who were carrying Hugo. What was that all about?" she demanded.

"I don't know how you knew all that, unless you were following us around for some reason, but you should learn to not go messing around with things that don't concern you," he said, rather viciously.

She stuck her fists on her hips. "What is going on? I know something is up. You and Albus have been acting weirdly lately, and I don't know about what's going on with Driscoll and Rose and you, or Baddock and you--"

"Nothing, is going on with Baddock and me, for Merlin's sake!" said Scorpius in exasperation.

Something fled briefly across Lily's face. It was gone so fast that Scorpius didn't catch it clearly, but he thought it might be, could it possibly have been, relief?

"So, you don't deny the rest!" said Lily in triumph.

Scorpius made gurgling sound in his throat. "You're impossible," he said.

"I wouldn't be one to talk," said Lily, a faint smile on her face.

"Move," he said.

"No," said Lily, sticking out her chin defiantly. "Not until you explain things to me."

Lily could see the muscle in his jaw working furiously as it clenched and unclenched.

"I don't want to do this," he said at last.

"Do what?" asked Lily in surprise.

"Manhandle you, but you give me no choice," he said.

Before Lily could say or do anything, he had placed one hand on each side of her waist, and forced her to the side. Unexpectedly, this shot what felt like bolts of electricity through her whole body.

As he walked past her, he let go. "Thank you," he said, giving her an elegant smile.

She turned and called after his back which was walking quickly away. "That would be woman-handling, or at least human-handling, thank you very much."

He didn't reply, or make the smallest movement to turn or stop, but she could see his shoulders shaking slightly in silent laughter.

***

Albus looked up from The Daily Prophet, as Scorpius sat down across the table from him. "I thought you said you were going to meet me in History of Magic?" he asked curiously.

"What?" asked Scorpius in confusion, his mind coming back to earth.

This surprised Albus-- Scorpius was one who rarely was to be caught daydreaming, in a reverie, past memory, or anything of that sort.

"History of Magic?" he asked helpfully.

"Oh, right. Well, I finished what I needed to do."

"That quickly?"

"Yes, that quickly. Why, is there something wrong with that, Albus?" Scorpius asked irritably.

"No, nothing. Nothing at all," said Albus, looking down at the paper spread in front of him.

"Anything worthwhile?" asked Scorpius, though his voice held no real interest.

"Nah, nothing much," said Albus, eyes still on the paper.

"Here she comes. Again. What will she do this time?" said Scorpius wearily.

Albus looked up, and followed Scorpius's gaze. Baddock was walking toward them, her hair still done up in its elegant bun, though now it was dry, and the light shone off it radiantly, almost seeming to make the air around her more bright.

She walked up and stopped just beside Scorpius. Every pair of eyes in the whole hall was fixed on her and Scorpius, and Albus knew she was enjoying it immensely. He also knew that Scorpius would have been, too, under normal circumstances, but that at the moment, he was probably more worried about the impression Baddock was making.

"Hey, babe," she said, so that everyone nearby could hear her.

"Baddock," ground out Scorpius.

She bent over and whispered in his ear, so that only him and Albus could hear. "This school runs on what it sees, and I know how to use that." She drew back slightly, and kissed Scorpius on the cheek gently, letting her lips linger a good bit longer than necessary.

Finally, she rose up to her full height, and flashed Scorpius a brilliant smile. He glared back at her.

"Ah, you do look so adorable when you glare," she said.

"I never look adorable," said Scorpius in annoyance. "Dashing, surely. Sexy, very possibly. But adorable is not in my repertoire."

Baddock laughed. "See you around, Malfoy." And with that, she turned and walked away, her considerable hips flicking back and forth. She left quite a few boys gawking in her wake.

"She sure is determined, I'll give her that," said Albus in awe.

Scorpius was watching her go, shaking his head. "Yes, determination is one thing she does not lack, and it may very well be the thing that is the end of me. Well, that and the hair. The universe shouldn't allow anyone to have hair that color, it's just not right."

Author's Note:

Another chapter, I hope you guys liked it! Thanks for everybody who has reviewed so far, and don't forget to keep doing it! ;)