Competition/Challenge Block:
Written for/Stacked with: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry (Term 10); Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition (Season 7); Monthly Challenges for All (Year 2)
House/Team: Wigtown Wanderers (Quidditch League)
Role/Position: Keeper (QL)
QL Prompt: "Well as long as we're digging up the past, we may as well dig up your mother." Grimm
Word Count: 2,278 words (per Google Docs)
Beta(s): Bailey

Coming back to school was a mistake. Scorpius thought he would be able to handle going back and reintegrate with his peers after his mother's passing, but it seemed like his extended absence on winter holiday had caused some of his friendships to dissolve. Other students seemed to look down on him with disdain because he'd been granted the privilege take the extra time and still return to school. It wasn't the warmest of welcome backs, to say the least. Albus, of course, greeted him with a long, comforting hug and quiet company while helping Scorpius unpack his trunk in their dorm room.

Brooke Dahlquist was the only other person who acknowledged him when Scorpius and Albus came into the common room an hour later. Her long, dark hair was braided down her back and bounced around as she skipped up to them.

"Welcome back, Scorp," she said, offering a light, but quick hug. "Things haven't been the same without you here."

Scorpius glanced around the Ravenclaw tower, taking notice of the way acquaintances quickly turned their attention away, or simply ignored him altogether, when he looked their direction. He and Albus claimed the large couch by the floor-length window where a telescope was stationed.

"Seems like you've managed alright."

"Yes, well, we missed you anyway."

Brooke took the remaining seat next to Scorpius and pulled some parchment from her bag. "Albus and I have been planning on an event for the astronomy club while you were gone. There's supposed to be a meteor shower occuring in about three days, according to the Innerweb—"

"Internet," Albus corrected, trying to send a signal to Brooke to dismiss the subject.

"Sorry. Anyway, I thought it would be a great event to kick off the new year for the club. Professor Sinistra seems very interested in the subject as well and has approved extra credit for whoever attends and participates."

Her voice was very enthusiastic as she sifted through the notes in her lap, not seeing Albus' hand signal in the meantime.

"Sounds great," Scorpius said, but the flat tone to his words said something else entirely.

He was the creator and leader of the schools astronomy club. It was a pretty popular one because Scorpius made sure to keep Professor Sinistra involved and informed in what they did, which encouraged the professor to offer extra credit on certain activities that caught students' attentions. He didn't limit it to a single year either, which expanded the interest greatly, especially among those who were pursuing an OWL or NEWT in the subject and needed a slight edge on their grades.

Astronomy was one of those things that Scorpius also shared a deep connection for with his mother.

The smile from Brooke's face dropped. She looked to Albus and silently asked if she said something she shouldn't have. Scorpius was quite interested in a stray thread on his robes sleeve, which he picked at while feebly trying to hide his sulking, slightly hunched over demeanor.

That was how it went for several weeks. Scorpius wandered through school life in a haze, barely acknowledging the teachers in class and his friends in the common room. Albus was understanding and knew when it was best to leave him be and offer the quiet comfort he needed. Brooke tried to help by keeping Scorpius busy, but he had no interest in her attempts to focus his attention on the club. Astronomy meetings and outings were cancelled because he just didn't have the energy to run it, much to Brooke's annoyance. Of course other members of the club were getting agitated with Scorpius as well because they were missing out on that valuable extra credit, which is what caused Brooke to approach him again about it a couple weeks later.

"Has Albus mentioned anything to you about the Aurora Borealis yet?" she asked one Saturday morning after breakfast, falling into step with Scorpius as he wandered aimlessly down a corridor.

"No," Scorpius said, holding in his scoff.

"It's kind of a big deal, Scorp," Brooke pressed. "Seeing that here at Hogwarts is super rare. Cancelling the meteor shower was fine, but this? This is phenomenal stuff."

"Yup," was all he said.

"Please can you just approve the activity? You don't even have to go if you don't want, I can handle everything else. I just need your signature," Brooke pleaded.

"I'll think about it," he muttered.

Brooke stepped in front of Scorpius to stop him in his tracks. "Look, I know you're going through a really hard time right now. I get it, but people are starting to get really angry with the cancellations. If your heart isn't in it right now, I mean…"

She fiddled with the braid that was draped over her shoulder. Scorpius stared at her with an intensity that she had never seen in him before. "If you need to take a break, I really don't mind taking over things for a while, if you want?"

"No," Scorpius snapped back. "I don't care if people are angry at me for cancelling things in my club! It's mine, I created it, I fund it, it's my club and I can do whatever I want with it!"

He heard someone approaching from behind, but it didn't stop him from continuing to rip into Brooke. "It's all everyone ever wants from me, isn't it? To get their precious extra credit? No one would've given a damn otherwise if that wasn't a perk. And now you want to snatch the entire club from under me?"

"That's not—" she started to say, but Albus arrived and distracted her.

"Hey, what happened?" Albus said, approaching them and taking in the situation. "Guess it didn't go well, huh?"

Scorpius let out a callous laugh. "You knew about this?"

"Uhh, what?" Albus asked, noticing Brooke starting to tear up.

"Brooke wanting to take over the club. You knew?"

"I suggested it, but I thought we were going to bring up the subject together," Albus explained. "Sorry, mate."

"You suggested it but didn't bother to ask me about it first?" he spat, looking between them with unbridled fury.

"I—We…"

"Forget it!" Scorpius hissed, glaring at them both. "If the club is so important to you, I'll make it easier on everyone. As of now I'm dissolving the astronomy club for good! Happy now? You can't take what doesn't exist anymore."

He shoved past Albus and stormed down the hall, the few straggling students giving him a wide berth as he passed them.

Brooke avoided Scorpius after that encounter. A lot of the club members jeered at him and shouted an offhand remark about his idiocy for shutting down the club, but Scorpius didn't care. Albus, though upset himself from the entire ordeal, still stayed by him and made sure to not mention anything that hinted at the sky or the class, even when they were up at midnight peering through telescopes at an exceptionally bright Mars a few days later.

The weeks trickled by with little incident, though Scorpius knew that tests for the upper class were just around the corner. He kept his head down, aware that some of them were still quite salty about his choice to dissolve the only useful academic club in the school.

One late night astronomy class with a mixed group had Scorpius especially on edge. There was another meteor shower, and Professor Sinistra had everyone Fourth Year and up outside to view it. Andy McLaggen, a Sixth Year and one of James' Quidditch teammates, conveniently shoved Scorpius by accident while he was fumbling in his book bag. He was the grudge-holding type, especially when it came to the club shutting down.

"Hey!"

"Oh, sorry, Malfoy. Didn't see you there," he snickered, grabbing his book bag and pulling it up over his shoulder. "Nice night, isn't it? Great for stargazing."

"Shove off, McLaggen," he growled, shrugging his own bag strap into place before heading back for his dorms.

Scorpius didn't think of the encounter as suspicious until the following day when he searched his bag for his mother's star map that was needed for the astronomy homework. This map was far more advanced than the standard recommended ones for school. There were several charms and enhancements made to it to change from the northern to the southern hemisphere, and even could change between the countless variations of constellations other countries and cultures interpreted from the stars above.

Unable to locate it, he began to spiral into a panic.

"Albus? Albus? Do you know where my map is?" he asked, ripping everything out of his bag and then his trunk.

"It's not there?" Albus asked, alarm coloring his own voice.

"No, no! I had it here just… last night," Scorpius started to say and then trailed off.

Scorpius knew Albus recognized the expression that painted his sharp features—it was the same one he'd had when he yelled at Brooke—but thankfully Albus couldn't read his mind. Before the other boy knew what was happening, Scorpius dashed down the spiral staircase.

Albus was hot on his heels, but that didn't matter. Scorpius would be the first to reach his ultimate target: the Quidditch pitch.

Luckily for Scorpius no one had taken to the skies for practice yet. They were standing around discussing strategy or something when he stormed to the center, face flushed from the pace he'd kept for so long. Albus puffed in from behind, babying a stitch in his side.

"McLaggen!" Scorpius shouted, walking right up to the beater. "Give it back, now!"

Andy smirked at the nerve he had and decided to play dumb. "Give what back, Malfoy?"

Scorpius' eyes sharpened, causing Andy's smirk to falter. "My star map you nicked from me last night, you git!"

Albus put a hand on his shoulder then, trying to prevent whatever was about to happen next. "Scorp, you need to keep your head right now… don't do anything rash…"

"Oh, that? Well sorry, my friends and I needed something to study with for our NEWTs, and since you decided to drop the club like a hot potato, it seemed only fair that you'd be more than happy to help us out."

Scorpius jerked his hand out in front of him, palm up. "I don't care. Give. It. Back."

"Or what, Malfoy?" Andy challenged.

James cut in then, signaling the team for the skies. "Hey, clear out, everyone! Get in the air and warm up, McLaggen!"

"Be right there, Potter!"

"No," Scorpius hissed. "I want my property back. Now!"

Albus chimed in then. "You can't just take that star map because you're angry about the stupid club, McLaggen!"

"And why not? Malfoy here shut it down for selfish reasons without any regard for his club members and what it meant to them," Andy said tauntingly. "People relied on it."

"That isn't my problem. Maybe you all should have studied your stars better and paid attention. That way wouldn't have to rely on a younger student's school club for extra brownie points on your NEWT classes," Scorpius hissed.

A wicked smirk crept across Andy's face, ignoring the shouts above from his captain.

"Well as long as we're digging up the past," Andy said, taking a step forward to size Scorpius up, "we may as well dig up your mother."

Scorpius saw red. The next thing he felt was his hand connecting to Andy McLaggen's very hard jawline.

The skirmish didn't go unnoticed, and by the time Scorpius felt the wind get knocked out of him from being shoved to the ground, James had seen Albus attempt to push Andy off his friend. James swooped in and hopped off his broom, ripping Andy off Scorpius and screaming obscenities at him. Scorpius didn't hear anything. His mind was racing, his chest heaved, his teeth were gritted; he only felt anger and pain from his very hurt left hand.

Scorpius cradled his wrist after Madam Pomfrey finished bandaging it. He could've sworn he'd broken the damn thing with the way he attempted to pound that jerk Andy's face, but it was just a bad sprain. Naturally, Scorpius was in trouble alongside Andy once he was released from the hospital wing, but right now Madam Pomfrey was tending to the very swollen black eye that Scorpius received when he was struck to the ground.

The anger had long since simmered out, leaving Scorpius feeling very empty and hurt. Albus had excused himself for supper and promised to get back to him immediately, but Scorpius didn't want to see anyone right now. When he noticed Brooke approaching his bed after Madam Pomfrey finished tending to his eye, he was surprised.

"Hi."

"Hey," he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head with the hand that only had skinned knuckles.

"I uh…" Brooke stalled, reaching into her bag. "I got your map back from McLaggen. He didn't damage it, as far as I can tell."

She handed it to him and he eagerly accepted it, sitting up so he could spread it out on the bed to inspect it. "Thanks, Brooke. I really appreciate it."

She gave a light smile. "You're welcome."

Scorpius looked from the star map to her, worrying his lip as the silence settled. She bowed her head and made a half-turn.

"I should let you rest."

"Wait…" Scorpius said before he could stop himself. "I'm sorry for being such a jerk…"

"Apology accepted—for now," Brooke said, smirking.

He raised a brow at that, tilting his head. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Brooke's smirk turned into a full-fledged grin. "Feel better soon, Scorp," she said, giving him a wave before leaving the ward.