Disclaimer: I only own the original characters and the situations the characters find themselves in. All other characters belong to J.K. Rowling.

Draco Malfoy cast a sidelong look at his son as they walked together through Platform 9 and 3/4. Scorpius had grown into a fine young man; despite who he had for family, Draco mused. He stood tall, taller than Draco and just a bit taller than Lucius, much to his grandfather's disgust. His pale golden hair was cut short at the back, and kept long in the front, styled so it fell messily over his right eye. Grey eyes were sharp and intelligent, looking straight ahead, his face a cool, indifferent mask. For all that he was a Ravenclaw, he looked very much like a Slytherin. Only the blue lining of his robes and the House emblem over his breast distinguished him as a member of the brainiest House of Hogwarts.

"Do you have everything?" Draco asked quietly as they came to a stop in front of the coach for the prefects, captains and Head Boy and Head Girl.

Scorpius nodded, giving his father a faint smile, "Did Mother tell you to ask me that?"

Draco couldn't help his chuckle, "You know her. You're seventeen years old, but she still thinks you're a child. She was so annoyed that you forbade her to come see you off."

Scorpius rolled his eyes, "She's been bedridden for the past week with the flu and is only now recovering her strength. There was no need for her to bother."

Draco smiled softly, "It's your last year at Hogwarts."

Scorpius nodded, hands in his pant pockets, "So it is."

The elder Malfoy's face tightened with emotion for a moment, "Did we completely ruin it for you?"

He had never asked his son that question. He'd never felt brave enough to ask it. He was too afraid of Scorpius's answer. Too afraid that his son would confirm his fears that his mistakes had spilled over to taint Scorpius's school years.

Having Scorpius had been Astoria's decision. And though Draco was grateful for the decision with every breath Scorpius took, he also felt great sadness in knowing that he had inflicted suffering upon his child. He had known even as he held Scorpius as a small baby in his arms that his son would stand apart from the rest of his peers. Acceptance would be hard to come by, and he had always expected for Scorpius to return home after a school year or during the holidays cursing Draco for being his father. It surprised him time and time again when it didn't happen.

In a rare show of emotion, Scorpius put his arms around his father and hugged him tightly. "You didn't ruin anything, Father. I've never been ashamed of being your son."

And with those words, Scorpius pulled away and turned to the coach. Once he was on the train he looked back, meeting his father's emotional grey gaze with his own, "Tell Mother to rest until she's truly better. If she starts overexerting herself before she recovers she'll—"

"I'll take care of her, son." Draco promised with an affectionate smile. "Have a good year, yeah?"

Scorpius nodded, "Yeah."

Albus Potter glanced up as the compartment door opened and shut, green eyes watching Scorpius Malfoy let himself into the small space and take something out of his robe pocket. He placed it in the luggage compartment and waved his wand, a non-verbal spell transfiguring the miniature trunk to its original size. Cool as a cucumber, he ignored the fact that the compartment had gone silent at his arrival, and sat down gracefully in the empty seat marked for the Head Boy.

The silence reigned for a few moments before chatter slowly started up again. Albus looked away from the blond, giving his attention to his cousin Rose who was sitting beside him in the seat marked for the Head Girl.

"I had a feeling he'd be made Head Boy. It makes my job so much harder." Rose muttered under her breath, clearly annoyed.

Al chuckled, "How do you reckon? He's one of the most scarily efficient people I've seen. Excluding you, of course."

"True." Rose conceded, "But he doesn't talk, Al. How am I supposed to coordinate the inter-House events, the Quidditch tournament and the dances with someone who has the social skills of a thestral?"

Al raised a single brow, "You're being a bit harsh, don't you think? I mean, you don't even know the guy."

"You're making my point for me." Rose said, exasperated, "Of course I don't know the guy. No one does!"

"You don't need to know someone to work with them, Weasley." A quiet voice interjected, and suddenly the compartment was silent once more.

Albus turned to look at Malfoy's calm expression, marvelling at the way the man made everyone sit up and take notice. Did that happen just because the blond rarely talked or was it in his true nature to be dominant, Al wondered absently.

Scorpius looked around the space, realising he had everyone's attention. Usually he hated that, but for now it would serve his purpose. He cleared his throat, "Let's finish up our business here, and everyone can get back to their friends and family." His eyes shifted between Lily Potter, Eli Griffin, Julia Thomas and Albus Potter. "Do the quidditch captains have anything to say at the moment? If not, I think you can leave. After all it isn't as if we have anything to organise. Don't you agree, Weasley?"

Al's eyes widened as his head-strong, stubborn, impossible cousin meekly nodded, agreeing with Malfoy. He then watched Scorpius with new eyes, interest sparking in him as the blond dealt quickly, efficiently and authoritatively with each order of business. Gone was the quiet, seemingly wallflower personality, and in its place was a veritable alpha male. Al didn't realise how hard he was staring until grey eyes swivelled to meet his gaze, "Something wrong, Potter?"

Al recovered quickly, smirking as he shook his head, "Nothing. Just observing."

Scorpius gave him a dry look, "I'm not a museum show piece to be observed. If you don't have any business here, you can leave."

Al was well aware of the heads turning back and forth to watch each of them as the most responsible students of Hogwarts gawked openly at their first ever glimpse of Potter-Malfoy banter. Might as well entertain them, Al thought to himself, amused.

He leaned back in his seat, folding his arms behind his head, "I'm fine here, actually. Go on with your meeting." He made a shooing gesture, his eyes glinting mischievously as he saw Malfoy's jaw tighten.

Turning sharply away from him, Scorpius wrapped up the meeting, all too aware of the pair of eyes watching him intently. Albus Severus Potter.

Where his elder brother James had been charming, charismatic, head-strong, every bit the Gryffindor from the moment he had stepped into Hogwarts, Albus had been different. Scorpius remembered meeting him on the train, judging him to be a quiet, meek boy. Never had he been so wrong about someone.

Albus had been Sorted into Slytherin the moment the Sorting Hat had touched his head and there, he had bloomed. The quiet, uncertain boy had disappeared over the course of the first two years of school and in his place was a self-confident, mischievous rebel. If James Potter was the typical Gryffindor, Albus Potter had proved to be the typical Slytherin; though the definition of a Slytherin was vastly different now than it had been when their parents had been in Hogwarts. Albus was ambitious, clever, sometimes manipulative, and always observant. He could talk his way out of any situation, and as he got older, could talk his way into anyone's pants.

It helped that he was ridiculously attractive. Albus had inherited the best of his parents' genes. He had his mother's angular face, his father's eyes and the unruly Potter hair. He learnt early on though that his father's style didn't suit him as much as growing out his hair did. By fourth year, his hair fell to his waist, pulled back in a messy braid that left just enough hair in front to frame his face. He went through partners the way some people went through clothes, and when he became too bored with dating girls, he'd decided to give dating guys a try. Al's tendency to lose interest was legendary by the end of their sixth year, since he'd managed to go through nearly ten boyfriends and girlfriends in the span of that one year.

Just why in the wizarding world was Potter staring at him, Scorpius wondered irritatedly, dismissing everyone, not missing the fact that Potter remained where he was despite his cousin's and sister's efforts to get him to leave with them. He knew the Slytherin didn't hate him. After all, as Albus had pointed out before, they didn't know one another to hate each other. Why else could the Slytherin be staring though? Whatever the reason was, Scorpius was sure it would definitely disrupt his now comfortably predictable life. Albus Potter had trouble written all over him and the Malfoy would really prefer a trouble-free final year.

The Ravenclaw contemplated leaving the compartment briefly then discarded the idea. He wouldn't give the Slytherin the satisfaction of seeing that he had annoyed him.

That decided, Scorpius moved to where his trunk was, opening it slightly to slip a book out. He then sat back down in his seat, opening the book and ignoring Al's presence.

Intrigued by this, Al decided to let Scorpius play it his way, sitting back in his chair, idly watching Scorpius. He tugged lightly on his braid, eyes moving over the Ravenclaw's fit body. Funny how he hadn't noticed before just how attractive Malfoy was. Then again, Al mused watching the blond revert back to his default personality, the blond managed to be completely unnoticeable when he wished. Al found his interest didn't wane though, despite the reappearance of Malfoy's boring alter ego. If anything, he was even more interested. Why did Malfoy shut himself off from everyone? He wondered.

The pair spent the remainder of their journey in this manner. Scorpius with his head buried in his book, eventually forgetting Albus; and Albus watching Scorpius, pondering what he was going to do about the Ravenclaw.

When the train jolted to a stop, Scorpius snapped his book shut, standing smoothly and transfiguring his trunk once more, putting it in his robe's pocket. He pulled the door open only to have it slam shut, a hand looming at the side of his head, over his shoulder. He turned calmly to face Albus, grey eyes unreadable. He didn't speak, but instead leaned back against the door with an air about him that made it clear he was waiting for Al to spit out whatever he intended to say.

Al obliged with a small smirk, green eyes holding that grey gaze, "Hey, Malfoy. Are you gay?"

Scorpius thought he did an excellent job of hiding his alarm. Somehow in all his musings of what Albus Potter could possibly want with him, he hadn't considered this. Pushing away his thoughts so he could deal with them some other time when Albus wasn't practically pressed against him, he pursed his lips and said in a dry tone, "No."

Al's smirk widened, green eyes alight with mischief, "Liar."

Scorpius's face hardened, "Move, Potter."

Again, Al obliged, backing away. Scorpius watched him warily for a moment before turning and stalking out of the compartment and the train. Al stepped out of the compartment as well, watching the blond walk away, admiring the way the Ravenclaw seemed to glide more than walk. This, he decided, was going to be an excellent final year.

Scorpius let himself into the Heads' quarters, sighing as he did. These rooms were the exact reason Scorpius had worked so hard to earn the badge he now held. The privacy they afforded him would be invaluable. The only other person who could enter would be Rose Weasley, and she never spoke to him on principle. To his way of thinking, that was brilliant. He disliked talking to people anyway. Most people tended to judge him based on his last name or the actions of his father and grandfather. Interacting with them was a waste of time, and Scorpius hated wasting time.

He collapsed on the couch in front of the roaring fire, closing his eyes and enjoying the comforting sound of wood crackling. It felt like hours later, when he was at a point of being almost completely unconscious that he heard someone enter the quarters. He heard giggles as more people entered the room. Suddenly more awake and aware, Scorpius kept his eyes shut, uncertain of what was going on.

"Is he asleep?" He recognised that voice as Rose Weasley's and relaxed a little. It was only the Potter/Weasley brood. He had watched them carefully over the years and knew they wouldn't hurt him when he was asleep.

A few footsteps sounded as one of the members of the most infamous family in the wizarding world stepped closer to take a look. "Yeah. He's out. Looks tired, poor guy." It was Lily Potter's voice.

"Okay, good. We can get upstairs without him figuring out I gave you lot the password to get in. I really don't want to start off my year by fighting with Malfoy." Rose said in a heartfelt tone.

"I don't think he'd be the type to fight." Albus Potter mused, "He seems more like the kind of person who would shoot frigid looks that'll make you feel extremely small if you pissed him off."

"You seem unusually interested in him today." Hugo Weasley observed, "Did something happen?"

Someone snorted. "Malfoy got bossy during our prefects and captains meeting on the train. For some reason, Al found that hot." Rose said dryly.

Scorpius managed to keep his grimace from his face. Merlin, was that it? Well, that was easily remedied. He would just never take charge around Potter again. That ought to put the Slytherin off, right?

"Makes sense." Hugo said, "After all, look at the kind of partners Potters have been attracted to in the past. Something about getting told off and being ordered around must really get them off."

There was a general noise of disgust.

"Excuse you, I am do not go for guys like that." Lily said, still sounding mildly ill.

"Neither do I!" Al said quickly, "It's just that I never realised how fit Malfoy was before."

As Scorpius tried to come to terms with the fact that the most sought-after boy in school found him attractive, Lily burst out laughing, "I think you've finally gone and picked someone who's never going to fall for your shit, Al. Malfoy would never go for you."

"Mind making a wager on that?" Albus asked, sounding like he was smirking.

Silently, Scorpius prayed the female Potter would not goad the Slytherin further. He really didn't want the man following him around for the rest of the year.

"Actually, yes. I bet Scorpius Malfoy would never sleep with you." Lily said smugly.

Someone, most likely Albus, chuckled, "And I bet he'll be in my bed before Christmas."

"Wait a minute." Rose interrupted, sounding uneasy, "This isn't right. You're talking about an actual person. You can't just string him along to win a bet, Al!"

"Says who?" The Slytherin sounded amused.

Rose made a sound between a growl and a groan of frustration before stalking off. There was a moment of silence before the remaining members of the family began laughing. Lily finally spoke, her smile evident in her tone, "She's so easy to rile up."

"We'd better go after her before she breaks something. Besides, we don't want to wake Malfoy." Hugo pointed out.

"I can't say I'd mind waking Malfoy." Albus sounded like he was smirking again.

Someone snorted, "All right, Casanova, move it!"

There was chuckling and a general shuffling of feet as the cousins left the room.

Scorpius waited until the sound of footsteps had receded before sitting up feeling a little shaken. His private refuge had been private for only a few hours, but that thought didn't bother Scorpius as much as the realisation that Albus could disrupt his privacy whenever he so wished, and now the Slytherin had a reason to constantly want to be around him. The blond had a bad feeling about this year.

Hello! It's been ages, I know :) I'm back with an Albus/Scorpius fic!

This one is going to be shorter than 'Never Saw It Coming', but it should be a more intense read. I've tried quite hard to make this Albus and Scorpius different from those ones, so hopefully I've succeeded.

As always, I love reviews. Do let me know what you think. This story is pretty much complete - so I'll be posting a chapter every week pretty regularly.

~Living to Laugh and Love.