sgt_majorette

Al was in the kitchen looking for the scraps of gingerbread dough he loves, when the fireplace roared green and Scorpius stepped out in his pickup Quidditch gear, brushing ash from his shoulders.

"Oh, hey, Al! What are you eating there?"

"Shem! I – uh, just, I like... You may have some Nargles there..." He pointed to a sprig of mistletoe flittering about Scorpius' white-blond curls.

"Oh, bother!" Scorpius replied, swatting ineffectually at the mistletoe.

Al grinned ruefully. "It won't go away until you're kissed. Sorry about that, I'll go get Rose or Lils..."

"Is that Malfoy?" said a third voice. "Good, because… James Sirius Potter!" Freddie Deuce bellowed. "Do something! He can't play with that thing buzzing in his face!"

James followed Cousin Freddie into the kitchen. "What? I swear, Freddie, have you ever met your Dad? He does this every year and you always blame me! Anyway, you should blame Al, Shem's on my team!"

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Al went to get one of the girls." Fred and James looked at each other and then at Al, who had returned dragging a protesting Lily Luna behind him.

"Al, let me go! No offense, Scor, but I'm not kissing you!"

Scorpius folded his arms, looking amused. "None taken, Lily. We're not each other's type, are we?"

"Oh, I'd kiss you if it weren't for Al being such a twit! No, Al, I'm not doing it, so you might as well let go of my arm before you leave a mark, and if you think I won't run crying to Nana, you've got another think coming!"

James lost his temper. "Al, what in the name of Godric is your problem? Are you stupid or are you just being the slithery snakeling you are?" He grabbed Scorpius by the nape of his neck and pulled him in for a deep, and possibly unnecessarily long, kiss. Scorpius looked gobsmacked, but then, so did Al. Deprived of its victim, the Nargle-infested mistletoe flew off to lurk by the fireplace to await the next hapless Floo traveler.

Lily took advantage of the moment to free her arm from Al's suddenly slack grasp. She cast a significant look at Freddie Deuce, who merely said, "Well, good, that's sorted, then. Everybody in the air!"

James punched Scorpius' shoulder. "Wake up, Sleeping Beauty. Let's go play some Quidditch!" Scorpius followed James out of the kitchen without a backward glance.

Al shook himself all over like a shaggy dog. Finally coming to his senses, he ran from the kitchen after the others. "Wait! Scorpius – Shem – Wait!

It won't be 50,000 words, but there'll be something every day, and it will be kid-friendly, work-safe pre-slash.

( Go, Scorpius! )

( James and the Headmaster )

( More Scenes From a Marriage )

( In The Slytherin Common Room )

Ginny Weasley was bored. It was exciting to skive off school to accept an invitation to try out for the Harpies, but she had been standing around in her Gryffindor kit for what seemed like hours and she wanted to get her arse in the air.

Viktor Krum tried to catch her eye, but there was no way through the gaggle of girls who couldn't figure out whether to oil up to Gwenyth or Viktor.

Tailing an annoyed-looking Gwenyth like Harry's second-year jinxed Bludger was Brutus Scrimgeour, rumored to be writing the definitive study of women beaters. Well, but who was there anyway besides Gwenyth and --

A battle cry like the scream of an angry banshee rent the air. Ginny looked up: Yes! Sokolova! Viktor's mother! So that's why he's hanging around! With a whoop, Ginny was on her broom, up and away.

"Now, that's a Harpy!" Gwenyth chuckled.

She's so not a hippie love goddess; she's a true innocent. When she marries -- later in life, according to JKR -- she's still a virgin. She knows quite a bit about sex and sexuality, but it's all theoretical. Even Neville Longbottom's shy, tentative advances were more than she was physically ready for. She might even have screamed a tiny bit: as you saw at the end of the movie, it was awkward.

She went home to take care of her adored father, who lived an inconveniently long time, in poor health, after The War. She met Rolf, the son of her father's old friend Newt Scamander, at Xenophilius' funeral. Past forty, she wasn't ready then either. He married her primarily to take care of her; their marriage wasn't consummated for several years.

Dies iræ, dies illa,
Solvet sæclum in favilla:
Teste David cum Sibyllâ...
(Day of wrath, oh, boy, that day!
That's what David and the Sibyls say! --trans. K. O'Brien)

Everybody in the word processing group got out; but what ever happened to the people who never came back to work? H/D slash.

( Harry Potter and the Day of Wrath )

If you Sorted Scorpius into Hufflepuff, you're probably right. He's a modest, self-effacing, non-confrontational type who would be more confused than indignant if you insulted his mother. After all, he'd reason, she's not at all whorish, she's actually kind of prissy; you must be thinking of somebody else's mother...

The Greengrasses are secular Jews who wouldn't have made an issue about Scorpius' religious upbringing except that Mrs. Greengrass cordially dislikes Narcissa Malfoy, and big sister Daphne thinks Draco is a rodent. So Scorpius goes to a Hebrew Wizarding primary school and spends his Hogwarts Sunday mornings with other Jewish students doing his Bar Mitzvah preparation. The Greengrasses plan on a giant affair that will make Narcissa Black ill. There's no way Draco can get out of attending; it will be great value to see him in a yarmulke.

As to his father, Scorpius is resigned to the fact that his father is aloof and probably doesn't love him the way, for example, James and Al's father loves them. Then too, Scorpius has noticed that his father doesn't seem to have any friends or cousins, which is sad and probably why dad is the way he is.

I put him in Gryffindor because it's funnier; but in one respect, Scorpius is a real lion: in matters of the heart, he is fearless and heedless. From the moment he was capable of locomotion, he crawled adoringly after his mama and all the nurses, nannies and tutors she hired. Scorpius is always in love, and he shows it. He's not a stalker, however. He will cheerfully move on if his sentiments are not reciprocated. He's always been a pretty child, so he's confident that he will always be loved.

Does he like boys or girls? Come on, he's twelve. He is possessed by a helpless longing to pull Roxie Weasley's long, thick, glossy braids on the one hand; on the other, he thinks James Potter is the coolest, funniest boy in the world. Of course, Al Potter secretly thinks the same, so maybe they are meant to be together.

He sort of propositioned James once, and got summarily shot down. Scorpius, James implied, would have to be satisfied with noogie punches if he wanted physical attention from him. Roxie thinks Scorpius' crush is cute, and dances with him at parties.

Al himself doesn't realize that he stares at Scorpius until fourth year, after he has a long talk with his mother about why everybody else has a girlfriend. He will bide his time, though, until they're out of school. He's a cunning Slytherin, after all.

People do wonder why that little hottie Al Potter doesn't have a girlfriend or a boyfriend. Truth is, he hasn't totally worked out what his feelings for Scorpius are. Also he's considering going into politics; he's decided he needs exactly the right sort of wife for that, and the logistics of having a boyfriend on the side are complicated.

"It was barking at the children who were gambling in the dark..." (Stagger Lee, trad.)

( Grim Old Place )