Hello lovely readers! I know, I know. I'm a couple...months late. I'd give you my long list of excuses but I'm sure you'd much rather get on to reading about Mr. Scorpius Malfoy, so I'll just say my life got a whole lot busier a whole lot faster.

Special thanks to iCarlyFTW77, Miss Lib, for getting me off my butt and onto the keyboard. (: I appreciate it so so much. I'll try my very hardest not to be a stranger again.

Well, on to the Great Hall, the lot of you! Hogwarts is waiting!

Hope you enjoy! xx, Chelsea

It's not like I meant to pay so much attention to the boy sitting across from me. I mean, with Rose and Albus sitting on either side of me, there were plenty more interesting options to look at. But something in the way his eyes shined, like a bad joke had just been told, made a horrible feeling linger around the space between he and I.

This continued the whole dinner—as delicious as it was—and I was just starting to get seriously freaked out when Albus leaned into me.

"Is it just me, or is that bloke got something wrong on his mind?"

I blinked up at Al from my pumpkin juice, which I had been intentionally staring into to avoid the strange boy's contact. Now I allowed myself a look.

He gazed away from his friend and back at me in an instant, as though he'd been expecting me. Same anger, same scowl, same shiny eyes. I cleared my throat awkwardly.

"It's not just you," I muttered back, returning to my drink.

Albus' eyebrows rose curiously as he studied the boy. "Do you know hi—"

"Attention, students, attention! Ah, look at that, so eager for instruction." Headmistress Sprout, an old, round, red-cheeked woman, clapped happily. "I hope you all enjoyed your dinner. Ah, yes, yes! Let us thank the kitchen elves, shall we? Such lovely cooks… Anyhow, I regret to tell you that the time for our parting has come. Do not fret! You'll see all your friends tomorrow. Prefects? Please escort your houses to their quarters for the year."

The house prefects were suddenly on their feet and ordering us into lines, the whole room a dizzying mosaic of excited conversation. I stuck behind Rose, watching her flaming curls bounce with a certain unavoidable fondness. I was distracted by a small tug, and glanced back to see Albus clutching the back of my robes with a small smirk. He'd surely be catching onto my feelings soon.

Gryffindor Tower was spectacular. I'm not going to lie, the huge portrait of a tubby woman and its use as our door creeped me out just the slightest, but I recovered quickly as soon as I saw inside.

Gold, and red, of all hues, hanging and shimmering down every surface, illuminated by the two grand firepleaces on either side of the common room. Large, comfortable-looking couches, throw-rugs, and two grand staircases. A home. I cannot find any further ways to describe it.

Almost instantly chatter was poured into the silence, and I turned, grinning, to Rose, who had thrown her arms around Albus' neck in excitement. He grinned back at me, and Rose, seeming to have remembered me, shifted to stand between us as always. Her hand found mine.

"This is only the beginning, you guys, know that? Only the beginning." She whispered, the glow of the fireplace flickering in her eyes. I squeezed her hand.

That's when I felt the punch.

I fell back with the impact, landing with a loud thud. The momentum sent me on my back in a split second, and suddenly there were faces, everywhere; peering down at me either in amusement or concern, flooding my vision.

Commotion erupted; gasps, floods of whispers, the pounding of wood as kids abandoned their own chairs to see what had happened. There was a huge clash, something like silverware flying, and Professor Longbottom's voice thundered out of nowhere, silencing the room.

"MR. BELL! OUT, NOW!—SIT DOWN, MRS. WEASLEY!"

I wondered vaguely what Rose had done as s searing pain shot through my left cheekbone. Albus was the one on his feet for the table, and yet she obviously didn't sit down as she was told. In a second she was bent over me, fiery hair tickling my face, Albus looking on worriedly from behind. Her eyes clicked into mine snugly. I don't know if it was the fearful expressions or her hands cradling my head or the fact that I'd just been punched in the face by a stranger, but I wanted to cry. Damn.

There was also a lot of embarrassment somewhere in that chaos. How stupid could I be? I couldn't even defend myself. My father's face clouded my mind, and suddenly I felt a deep shame settle onto my chest. A cowardly Gryffindor. A weakling disappointment of a son. Damn, damn, damn.

Rose's hands moved from my head, and I felt her thumb stroke across the newly tender area under my left eye. Great, I thought, it'll be black for my first day of classes. I winced, even more embarrassed, until I remembered I was at a school of magic. Merlin. How hard was I punched?

Rose's head whipped up to the spectators, who were all still whispering furiously.

"He's fine," She hissed viciously to them, and some backed off immediately. She sent them a parting glare and returned her attention to me. Her voice became softer. "You're fine." She told me confidently, almost a gentle order reminding me to get up.

I got to my feet, brushing myself off and refusing Albus' offer to walk me to the hospital wing. My attacker, last name Bell, was staring at me angrily from the other side of the table, teeth bared, but he was somehow hexed into a body bind. I shivered as my eyes ran over a long, shallow gash on his cheek…how in the world…

Professor Longbottom's hand was on my shoulder at once.

"Are you all sorted out now?" He asked in a very fatherly way. I nodded quickly as a reassurance, but as I did so my head pounded, the room slightly tipsy.

Bell exploded at this exchange.

"You don't deserve to be in Gryffindor!" He spat at me loudly, "Your father—"

His mouth snapped shut harshly before I could hear a word more; He crashed to the floor with the impact. I looked to the source of the spell and saw Professor Longbottom staring at him fiercely, wand pointed. He lowered it now and yanked the boy up by his collar.

"My office. Now," He whispered menacingly, and with a swish of his wand Bell was unhexed enough to run out of the room frantically.

Rose gave my back a friendly, somehow awkward pat as I sat down on the cushion nearby, sinking into the seat helplessly.

"Professor Longbottom will take care of that dolt." She assured me, but I was hardly listening. All my energy was put towards making sure I didn't cry, and what was left of that was put towards making sure Rose didn't notice that.

She smirked, recognizing my reluctance to agree with her. She sighed contentedly, looking towards her cousin in extreme pleasure.

"Glad Albus and I got a good hit in with that silver platter set, though. That'll teach him to mind his manners."

I smiled weakly at the memory of the loud clash and the slight gash on his face. Of course that had been them. They were the ones who belonged here.

Suddenly the pathetic attempt at a smile was wiped away. They were the ones who belonged here, I repeated slowly to myself.

The truth hurt worse than the hit.

It was about one in the morning when I heard the fuzzy rustle of my blankets being moved. I hummed in my sleep, and then something sat on my leg. I sat up quickly, hissing in pain.

"Sorry, hold on," A voice whispered, and then took out a small bag of candy—Sparkmixies—and shook them a bit. The bag lit up slowly, revealing a pair of green eyes staring at me from across my bed. Albus smiled proudly at it, and then looked back to me casually. "Hey."

I grunted and laid back down.

"No, don't go back to sleep!" Albus slapped my arm with the bag, causing it to light up brighter.

Reluctantly, I sat up again, roaring at him. "WHAT?"

He clapped his hand against my mouth. "SHHH!"

We both froze as the boy in the bed next to mine shifted in his sleep, mumbling "No Hagrid, please don't eat me," in a pleading choke. Crying? I stifled a laugh through Al's hand.

Albus looked concerned. "Think we should wake him?"

I slapped his hand away. "No! So he can see you in my bed? People will start assuming things, you dolt," I told him, embarrassed. I threw the glowing candy bag to back to him. It only illuminated his grinning face.

"Oh, they'd never assume that about us. You're obviously sweet on my cousin."

"Am not," I said firmly, but I felt my cheeks getting hot.

"Oh, I saw the way you two were practically…googling at each other when she ran to your aid on the floor. You know, after that guy punched you and all…"

"Please don't remind me," I muttered.

"Aw, don't feel too bad. That Bell guy, he's pretty big. Intimidating, and all. He'll probably ask the nurse not to heal that scar we gave him," He smiled fondly, remembering his act of daring heroism. "Good with the ladies, you know. Scars."

"You're an idiot." I snorted, scowling, but my stomach was churning nervously at the thought of how tough Bell was. He'd be sure to terrorize me the rest of my Hogwarts existence. Shamefully, I laid back down and pulled the cover over my head.

Al patted my knee from over the blankets. "It's okay." He said kindly, too kindly, and I made a note to be nicer to him. Later on, when it wasn't the middle of the night, of course. I felt an exhausted sigh empty my chest.

"It's awesome, isn't it? Gryffindor? You know, despite Bell?"

Al sighed too, leaning against the wall contentedly. "Despite Bell. Very awesome. And we belong here, you know. We." He turned to me, smiling. "Glad I met you, Scorp."

I nodded weakly. My voice felt stupid. "You too, mate."

We were both silent as the light from the Sparkmixies faded slowly, our faces disappearing into darkness. I stared at the wall as it shifted from dim egg yolk to a dark shadowy maroon. I listened. Al was falling asleep, his legs stretched over my ankles, chest moved by slow breaths.

I smiled just a little bit as I climbed out of bed—gently, so as not to disturb him—and pulled him into my place. I pulled the covers over my best friend and yawned as I crawled into his bed. A little switch, I thought, no harm done. After all, it's a big day tomorrow.

I slept good that night. It seemed to help, imagining Rose's face lit up by a shroud of bright potion powder, her freckles dancing across her nose as she'd laugh, squeezing my hand. Albus, his anxious face relaxed with a grin, his green eyes twinkling with easy wisdom. Merlin.

This is what my father missed; I'd be willing to bet anything. I wished very suddenly that I could go back in time and talk to the boy I'd seen in old photographs. My dad, at my age, how unhappy he'd been. I swear, I would've shaken his shoulders and yelled in his face: Having friends was so worth it.

To Be Continued.

(By the way, if you were wondering, our dear antagonist Mr. Bell IS Katie Bell's son. Yay next-generation creativity!)