Title: Scars of Time

Rating: T

Summary: It was in the moment before the sorting hat dropped onto his head, as he stared into a pair of bright silver eyes still rimming with unshed tears from when that Gryffindor had tripped him, that he made his choice.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the prope o J. K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. However Georgina and any otehr characters you dont' recognize (unless otherwise stated) are products of my own imagination.

Chapter One

Grey eyes flickered around nervously as the scarlet steam engine whistled it's warning to those still standing on the platform. Scorpius' gaze landed on his dad, standing calm and regal in the train's billowing smoke. Draco met his son's look with identical wolf grey eyes and smiled at him, pushing a lock of the child's silvery blond hair behind his ear.

"Come on, it wouldn't do for you to miss the train on your first year at Hogwarts." He gave Scorpius a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder before gently nudging him towards the nearest door.

"But what if I'm-" Scorpius started, nervousness cutting off his words. Draco knelt beside him so they were eye level, shooting his son a concerned look. "But Dad, I look terrible in yellow. " The whispered words rushed out and the boy looked away, unable to continue eye contact. Draco softened and placed a comforting hand on Scorpius' shoulder. To a passer-by it would seem merely a shallow, vain comment, to Draco it was admittance of a deep-seated fear; fear of rejection. One he had felt far too often growing up.

"Scorpius. I don't care what house you get sorted into and you shouldn't either. The house system is only in place to make class sizes smaller and to give an extra incentive not to break any rules. Oh, and to make separate Quidditch teams." Draco smiled as his words brought a laugh out of his son. "There is nothing that can happen that will make me any less proud of you, that's a promise. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Good. Now go or you really will miss your train. I'll see you at Christmas."

"Promise to write?"

"Of course. Now go, have fun." Draco gently pushed Scorpius towards the train door. The blond boy hopped onto the train a few seconds before it began to pull away. There was a startled shout from Draco's right and he looked around to see the younger Potter boy, Albus he recalled from an article in the Daily Prophet, still on the platform and running to catch up with the train.

Scorpius was just about to head inside when he heard the commotion. On instinct he seized one side of the train doorway and held his free hand out for the other boy. They both burst out laughing once Albus was safely on the train and it began to pick up speed, creating a wind that made his hair even messier than it was normally.

"Thanks, I owe you. I'm-"

"Albus Potter. I know. I'm Scorpius, it's nice to meet you." Albus laughed again and slung an arm around the smaller boy's shoulders, steering him into the train corridor. Scorpius gave his companion a curious look and took a moment to observe him more closely. Impossibly bright green eyes stared back at him from behind a too long fringe. This boy, strangely enough, seemed open and friendly towards him; unlike most people he had met in his life. His surname caused him to be generally avoided and led to a majority of his time being spent with either his Dad or Uncle Greg, his Dad's best friend. Separation from general society hadn't been conducive to making many friends and Scorpius could only count one person his age who could be called a friend; Greg's eleven year old daughter Georgina.

His Dad had warned him that Hogwarts could be the same situation, especially with the Potter's and their close friends. But this boy, this Albus, didn't seem to understand that he should hate Scorpius on principle and the blond boy wasn't going to be the one to inform him. He was being so kind. It couldn't be that he didn't recognize him; his Dad had been in the papers often enough and Greg was always saying how much Scorpius resembled him. He felt a small flicker of hope come to life in his chest. A hope that was quickly smothered as he felt the warm weight of Albus' arm ripped unceremoniously from his shoulders.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Al?" The boy who had stopped them was a burly third year with thick auburn hair and was already wearing his red trimmed Gryffindor school robes. He pulled Albus a few steps away from Scorpius. "You don't want to be seen talking to a Malfoy."

"You know he can hear you, right James?" Scorpius had walked away before he could catch whatever James, James Potter the Prophet worshiped eldest child of the savoir of the wizarding world, said in response and made his way to the compartment that he had placed his trunk in earlier. It was thankfully empty and painfully obvious that the name S. H. Malfoy stamped onto the side of his trunk in silver ink was a deterrent to any potential occupants. He had just settled down with a book when there was a soft knock and the compartment door slide halfway open. He looked up to find Albus standing in the doorway, looking upset.

"Look, I'm really sorry. My brother is a colossal jerk. And a few other things my mother would ground me for saying. Just ignore him, I do."

"But he is right you know. You really don't want to be seen with someone like me." Scorpius returned to his book, fully resigned to being shunned by his school mates, when Albus slipped in and took the seat opposite him. "What are you doing?"

"Those people out there don't tell me who I can and cannot talk to. I will leave when you want me to."

"You would risk social suicide to sit with one almost complete stranger instead of your inevitable adoring admirers?"

"I didn't see any admirers risk their own necks to get me on this train, did you?" Albus asked in a mock seriousness that made Scorpius smile. "Do you want me to leave?"

"No. I would like it if you stayed."

"I guess I just don't understand why everyone dislikes your family so much."

"Something that happened with my Dad in the war before we were born. I thought everyone knew that. The papers always say that our whole family are traitors and that I shouldn't be allowed at Hogwarts at all."

"That's horrible. That's not what my Dad thinks." Albus said quietly, immediately drawing Scorpius' attention. "Whenever he sees an article like that he gets really angry and says that without your Dad we'd all be dead. Well... Mum doesn't agree but she tries to stay out of it and says that I'm too young to know the details."

"I'm glad someone believes him. The people who live near us... well, they don't have a problem expressing how they feel."

"What happened?"

"We were in the front garden and Dad had to go inside for a minute..." Scorpius said softly as he rolled up his left sleeve. His lower arm was wrapped tightly in a white bandage. He explained as he slowly unwound it. "One of our neighbors decided to curse me. I've never seen Dad so angry before." The inside of his arm from wrist to elbow was burned and it took Albus a minute to realize that it formed a pattern. Angry red lines traced the outline of a skull with a snake coming out of its mouth. "It doesn't hurt anymore and Dad gave me a potion to put on it at night to make it fade."

"Did you go to the Ministry? One of the Aurors could have arrested them."

"Most people don't like us much remember? That includes the Ministry." Scorpius said as he put the bandage back on. "Dad wouldn't explain but he said that if we went to the Aurors they would think he had done it and he would be in Azkaban right now."

"Who would curse their own child?"

"I don't know. But I've seen the symbol before. Sometimes Dad and I find it painted on one of the outside walls. It's usually just in black paint and Dad shrugs it off as a prank but the last one I found was drawn in blood. Underneath it someone had written 'follow your master to his grave Malfoy'. It stopped being a prank then." Scorpius lapsed into a pained silence, staring down at the book in his lap. Albus moved so he was sitting beside the other boy.

"If anyone at Hogwarts tries something like that they're going to have to go through me." Scorpius looked at him for a minute before he broke out into the first real smile since the attack. There was a soft knock on the door and they both looked up to find a girl standing in the corridor outside their compartment. She was tall and willowy with long black hair braided down her back.

"I knew I'd find you eventually." She said warmly as she swept into their car and sat opposite the two boys.

"Albus, this is Georgina Goyle my best friend and cousin for all intents and purposes."

"Our fathers are best friends." Georgina supplied as an explanation. "And you are?"

"Albus Potter. It's nice to meet you. Are you two as nervous as I am to finally be going to Hogwarts?"

"Yes." Scorpius said automatically. "House selection mainly..."

"If I get sorted into Slytherin it gives my brother permission to mock me for the rest of my life." Albus said in a deadpan tone and Georgina gave him a curious look.

"Why? What's wrong with Slytherin?"

"His brother is a Gryffindor." Scorpius said icily, recalling his own recent experience with the boy.

"My whole family has been in Gryffindor. Dad would be okay with me in Slytherin, he's already told me that, but James and Uncle Ron... and my Mum, would just..."

"Freak?" Georgina said helpfully. "My parents would be upset but they'd get over it."

"No matter what he says I know my Dad would be disappointed if I didn't get sorted into Slytherin." Scorpius said softly, he was just about to continue when there was another knock on the door. An elderly lady pushing a cart was standing in the corridor.

"Anything off the trolley dears?"

"No thank you, my Mum packed me a lunch."

"Yeah, I'm all set." Scorpius said, gesturing vaguely towards the trunk above Georgina's head.

"Could I just get a pack of chocolate frogs?" Albus asked as he pulled out enough money to pay for it. After she was gone Georgina pulled a container from her bag.

"My Mum's on a health kick so all I have is salad. Rather fancy salad I warn you but you're both welcome to some if you want it."

"I'll eat it as long as it's not tofu surprise again." Scorpius said, looking uncertain at the bowl in her lap. "My Dad made me sandwiches... for about ten people..." The three of them gave the package he produced a bemused look, inside were at least a dozen neatly packed sandwiches. "At least he doesn't forget that I'm a vegetarian." Scorpius said with a pointed look in Georgina's direction.

"That was one time!"

"Well, between the three of us we've got a decent lunch put together." Albus said, cutting off the agreement before it could start and dumping his package onto the empty seat beside Georgina. The next few hours passed quickly, between food and conversation, and it was dark before any of them realized.

"You two should probably change, we'll be there soon." Albus stood with a grim expression on his face as Scorpius used his seat to reach his trunk. "What's wrong Al?"

"My trunk is in my brother's compartment..."

"Good luck." Scorpius and Georgina said together as Albus slipped from the compartment. He ignored the stares and whispers that followed him down the corridor as he made his way to James' compartment. The older Potter was joined by Rose, Teddy, and two other boys Albus had never met.

"Al, hey. Finally done with your charity case? Move over guys, make room for my brother."

"Scorpius is not my 'charity case', James, he's my friend and I just came to get my robes."

"Scorpius? As in Scorpius Malfoy?" Rose asked, shocked. "Dad told us to stay away from him."

"No, Uncle Ron told you to beat him in every test, he said nothing to me. And Dad said I can be friends with whomever I want. I'll see you all inside." Albus had barely made it back to the other compartment when the train began to slow.

"Scorpius are you alright?" Georgina asked the slight boy. "You're not looking so good." He shook off her concern but Albus couldn't help but notice that his pale face was perceptibly tinged with green. They joined the stream of students down the corridor and stumbled onto the platform.

"First years! First years this way please!" Albus looked over to see the towering figure of Rubeus Hagrid holding a lantern above the crowd of children. Albus took his two new friends by their elbows and dragged them over to the half-giant.

"Hi Hagrid!"

"Hey, Al. I'd forgotten you was starting this year. Oh, and a Mister Malfoy too, you look just like yer Dad."

"Yeah, everyone says that..." Scorpius gave a nervous laugh, trying to avoid looking up into Hagrid's warm black eyes.

"Now there's nothin' wrong with that, yer Dad was one of me best students. Only one in his year to get an O in his N.E.W.T. for my class, if I remember correctly. Then again, he was my only N.E.W.T. student in his year…" This thought seemed to cheer Scorpius up, at least his cheeks had returned to their normal pale pink colour. "I don't know if I recognize you though, miss."

"I'm Georgina Goyle."

"Alright, I know yer Dad then. You're gonna be tall like him, I can tell you that now. How about yer Mum, did I know her?"

"Pansy Parkinson?"

"Oh okay, I see it now. You've got her eyes. Any friends of Al's are friends of mine, alright? Come down for tea sometime." Hagrid smiled fondly at the three of them before returning his attention to the other students. "Have we got everyone? Follow me and stay on the path." It was a ten minute walk down to the castle but the first glimpse of Hogwarts was enough to dispel any thought of being nervous. A thousand lit windows glittered in the night, beacons of light beckoning home a weary traveler. It was a steep climb up to the castle and many of the first years fell behind Hagrid's large steps when they had finally arrived. Hagrid led them to a large staircase inside and gestured them up it.

Standing at the top of the stairs to welcome them was a tall and handsome man wearing a scarlet tunic and brown dragon hide boots under his long black robes, with one hand resting on a ruby-inlaid sliver sword at his hip. "That's the Deputy Headmaster." Scorpius whispered and Albus looked sharply back at the man, trying to find the clumsy and goofy Neville Longbottom he knew in this strangely imposing figure.

"Welcome," He began and Albus heard a few girls behind him giggle. "To Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Just beyond these doors is the Great Hall where your fellow students wait. Before you can join them you must be sorted into one of four Houses. During your time at Hogwarts your House will be like your family, fellow students you can go to for help and support. Your triumphs will earn you House points and rule breaking will lose your House points. The Houses are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin.

"Twenty-five percent chance..." Albus said grimly and was immediately hushed by Georgina who had her eyes glued on Neville.

"I'm sure each and every one of you will be an asset to whatever House becomes yours. And now, if you're ready, I believe everyone is waiting for us."