Hi! So, I don't have anything to say. Enjoy!

----------------———————--

A week had passed and Scorpius wasn't doing great. He was doing well in all of his classes, however, that didn't mean he was doing well in the other aspects of school. The social hierarchy of Hogwarts wasn't a difficult one to explain. At the top you had the children of war heroes, below that was the friends of the children of war heroes, then there were the children of nobodies, and at the very bottom, the children of Ex Death-Eaters. Their friends of course fit into the hierarchy based on circumstances such as parentage, skill and house. Albus was somewhere between the children of nobodies and the children of Ex Death-Eaters. Of course, rumoured children of Voldemort had a very special place underneath everything else.

So, with Scorpius Malfoy at the bottom of the hierarchy, there were quite a few things students did when they saw him. Most commonly was name calling and whispering, people would sometimes throw things at him - usually food, send hexes and jinxes his way, if he was alone they might pull him aside to beat the crap out of him, and the latest addition, sexualise him. Yep, Connor and his goons all knew about his Klinefelter syndrome and all started calling him Scarlette. 

One kid, Jason Spinnet from Gryffindor, had seemed to be quite entertained by the whole thing. Not only calling him Scarlette, but also occasionally referring to him as Kitty Cat. Scorpius had been confused until he realised it was an innuendo. Essentially replacing the word many use to describe female genitalia. Upon hearing it the second time Scorpius had clapped and turned to look Jason directly in the eyes.

"Wow, inventive," Scorpius crossed his arms. "Did you really invest all your brainpower just to give me a pet name? I'm flattered."

Jason hadn't particularly liked Scorpius saying that. As retaliation Jason had jinxed Scorpius to spend the rest of the day walking around with cat ears. That hadn't been very fun and he wore a beanie to try and hide them, but the teachers told him it was ridiculous to wear a beanie in summer and he was forced to take it off during class. He supposed he was quite lucky that the only classes he'd shared with students from other houses were Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, Astronomy and Potions.

And the only class out of those four he'd had that day was Herbology with the Ravenclaws. None of them found it too funny, instead they were just more curious about what spell was used and if they could find a way to reverse it. None of them knew how of course, but a lot of them made suggestions. The Slytherins didn't really care either. Demeter had said that she preferred to stay away from conflict for the exact reason he was demonstrating. You never knew what the Gryffindors or Hufflepuffs had up their sleeves.

But that wasn't the worst of what Connor, Jason and their friends did. Coltan Kettleburn from Hufflepuff had also found Scorpius' situation amusing. He never called him Kitty Cat, but Coltan had called him sweetheart a few times for a laugh. Coltan was in a relationship and so the whole thing made Scorpius question Coltan's loyalty, however he was also fully aware that the name was simply to piss him off.

He didn't dare bite back after the whole incident with Jason. And Scorpius would rather not walk around with hearts covering him from head to toe. 

Scorpius was taking books from the shelves in the library because he'd arranged to meet Lilith and help her. She wasn't quite understanding everything about goblin wars or the witch trials so Scorpius had agreed to help catch her up. He'd taken a third book from one of the shelves when he turned to see Coltan there. He jumped back in surprise and hugged his books to his chest loosely.

"Hey Scarlette," Coltan greeted with a grin. "What are you doing?"

"Kettleburn," Scorpius nodded and felt his throat tighten slightly, "for the last time, it's Scorpius. And I'm getting books to study so if you wouldn't mind —"

Before Scorpius could leave Coltan pushed the books out of his arms and they fell to the floor.

"What did you do that for?" Scorpius clenched his fists and dug his nails into his palms.

"Oh come on sweetheart," Coltan smiled, "you've just gotta pick them up. Come on," Coltan leaned over so that Scorpius could feel his breath, "bend over and pick them up."

Scorpius instinctively brought his arms up to ascertain distance between the two. Scorpius turned slightly red and Coltan seemed to be enjoying it too much for someone in a relationship, with an actual girl no less. Scorpius let out a shaky breath and bent his knees into a kneeling position, collecting his books into his arms. As he got to his feet Coltan knocked them back onto the ground.

"Now sweetheart, I know you can hear perfectly fine," Coltan was too close for comfort and Scorpius took a step back, almost falling onto a chair. "Now tell me, did I say kneel down, or bend over?"

Scorpius looked away, blinking as he felt Coltan's warm and sticky breath against his face. This wasn't quite how he'd planned the tutoring session with Lilith starting. Scorpius bit his lip, "I uh, don't see how the method matters if um, the output is the same..." Scorpius stuttered out.

"Now I thought you were the kind of kid that followed instructions Scarlette," Coltan smirked. "Now, are you going to pick those books up?"

Scorpius felt his chest tighten, his entire body go warm and his hands felt sweaty. He continued to stab at his palms with his nails and he left them up in defence, debating whether he should embarrass himself more or continue to defy Coltan until Lilith showed up. He didn't really know which one would be worse. Continuing to have Coltan in his personal space bubble wasn't all that desirable, but bending over right in front of him was humiliating to even think about.

He tried his luck kneeling down to pick them up again, hoping that Coltan might get board and just leave him alone. Certain other things like an Earthquake happening at that exact moment or Voldemort appearing to take over were just two examples of things that seemed more likely but that didn't mean Scorpius couldn't hope. Granted, the end of the world happening at that exact moment was another of the many things that seemed more likely, but hope was really all Scorpius had going for him.

Scorpius knelt down and sat on his heels, biting his lip and glancing up to see Coltan was annoyed. He sighed and as he reached for the first book and began lifting it, a weight pushed it back to the ground. Scorpius looked to see it was a foot, and that the foot was attached to Coltan's leg. He wanted the ground to swallow him whole. 

"You really don't like doing what your told to, do you?" Coltan sighed, frustration evident on his face.

"Well uh...," Scorpius bit his lip and looked down, "it's just that lifting with your um, back is bad for you. Especially when it's uh, heavy. These books are quite large so um, I just thought —"

"You thought you'd do it your own way?" Coltan leaned over and placed his hand on Scorpius' shoulder, giving it a painful squeeze. "Because I told you to bend over, not kneel down."

Scorpius gasped slightly as Coltan's grasp continued to tighten, and he saw the boys knuckles turning white. Coltan's grip moved to the side of his upper arm and he pulled Scorpius up to his feet, his grip tightening still. Scorpius moved his other arm to pull Coltan's hand off but it was futile. Coltan was still uncomfortably close and Scorpius' legs were shaking, he was biting his lip so hard he was surprised he couldn't taste blood and he could feel the backs of his eyes stinging with unshed tears.

"Now pick the books up, correctly," Coltan freed Scorpius' arm and the blonde rubbed his shoulder. He'd probably have two hand shaped bruises there.

Scorpius let out a shaky breath and blinked quickly to stop any tears from falling. This was humiliating. He bent his knees slightly, chancing a look at Coltan to see his smirk returning. He knew Scorpius had given in. Scorpius' legs were right against a chair, so he couldn't step back. Scorpius contemplated his next move. Coltan was only just enough of a distance away for Scorpius to bend down without crashing into him. But Scorpius' head would still graze against his torso and thighs.

"Can I have a bit more space?" Scorpius fiddled with his fingers, trembling slightly and waiting for Coltan to take a step back.

"You want more space?" Coltan replied. "Maybe if you'd done what I asked the first time," instead of stepping back, Coltan stepped forward.

Scorpius sucked in a breath. His lungs were beginning to twist and he could hear his heart beating. He could taste blood. His tongue grazed past a sore on his lip where he'd been biting. His palms hurt. His nails stabbing so hard he wasn't entirely sure of what the wetness on his hands was. Sweat or blood. His throat felt tight. His shoulder ached. His head hurt. His eyes stung.

Not here, not now! Scorpius scolded himself. He dropped his head. He was shaking and he felt his knees go weak. He thought he might faint. He blinked vigorously and tried to keep the tears at bay. But his hearing wavered. He barely registered his swaying. He was too distracted by the lack of oxygen he was getting. His tongue felt like sandpaper against the cardboard insides of his mouth. 

He glanced at Coltan to see the boy still standing over him, with a smirking expression. It had felt like an hour. Was Coltan really willing to wait an hour? No. Scorpius must've been processing time wrong. It had probably only been seconds. 

Scorpius' legs began to give way. He quickly grabbed onto the desk for support. His arms began to decrease in strength. He was going to faint. He was going to faint and hit his head. He was going to faint and hit his head and die. All over three stupid books. A pathetic end to an equally pathetic existence.

"Hey!" He heard a familiar voice call out just before he staggered. "I think Jenkins said you guys have practice today." 

Scorpius tuned out the rest of the short conversation. He felt like vomiting. His head hurt. His neck hurt. His arms hurt. His legs hurt. He stumbled and landed directly into someone's arms.

"Hey, its okay," the voice said. "Coltan's gone down to the Quidditch pitch. He'll find a bunch of Ravenclaws, but that'll keep him distracted for a while."

Scorpius felt a pair of hands gently hold just above his elbows and bring him down to the floor. His breathing began to slow, but he still couldn't get any air down.

"Hey, deep breath in," the voice said calmly, "deep breath out."

Scorpius sat there for a few minutes, taking deep breaths until he finally calmed down. He looked up to see green eyes, hidden behind black framed glasses, messy copper brown hair and a sprinkling of freckles.

"James?" Scorpius asked.

"The one and only," James smiled. "Or I guess, the second. But the first ones not here."

Scorpius chuckled, "Wait, why did you help me?"

"You were having an anxiety attack," James explained with an empathetic smile. "And, as a Gryffindor it is my job to save people."

Scorpius rolled his eyes slightly, "How do you know so much about anxiety?"

"I uh, that's an um, interesting question," James seemed to be looking for an answer.

"No way," Scorpius said. "You have anxiety."

"I do not," James crossed his arms. "I'm James Sirius Potter. I don't get anxious."

Scorpius sighed, "Exactly. You're James Sirius Potter. It makes sense. Of course Albus isn't the only one with problems."

"Excuse you!" James exclaimed defensively. "I will have you know that there is absolutely nothing wrong with me!"

"You even sound like him," Scorpius sighed. "Being Harry Potter's child affected him, why should it not affect you and Lily? And as the oldest, you're under the most stress to be like him."

James narrowed his eyes, "Your mind games won't work on me Scorpius. When it comes to Albus you might be able to change the subject to his issues but I'm smarter than I look. You won't get away with it when talking to me."

Scorpius closed his mouth. Had he really been that easy to read? If Albus ever got worried about Scorpius he could just say something that would get Albus sad and upset so that he didn't have to go into it. He didn't really insult Albus, he'd just say something that would get Albus to complain about his life so that he'd be momentarily distracted from whatever was going on with Scorpius.

"Okay fine," James sighed. "I have severe anxiety. But, that is exactly why I am here to help. Albus may be gullible, but right now we are talking about you. So, what caused the attack?"

Scorpius bit the inside of his cheek. He wasn't entirely sure if he should really tell James what had happened. He might have to explain why it was happening and how he found out about it and everything else and he just didn't want to get into any of that.

"Kettleburn was um, you know, he uh," Scorpius blushed slightly.

"Was all up in your personal space, I saw," James sighed. "He's been like that since Emilia broke up with him."

"Wait, those two broke up?" Scorpius really didn't like the idea of a single person getting in his personal space. At least when he thought Coltan was still in a relationship it meant he was safe.

"Yeah, pretty publicly too," James nodded. "It was at Louis' birthday party when Coltan was trying to get her to sleep with him."

"Oh," Scorpius looked down. "So, he's always been a massive pervert?"

"Got worse after she broke up with him," James went on. "What exactly was he saying before you had your anxiety attack?"

"We're still talking about that?" Scorpius smiled nervously.

"I told you, your tricks won't work on me," James smiled. "If you don't want to get too much into it that's fine. But it's probably a good idea to tell someone what happened. Maybe Albus —"

"No it's fine," Scorpius interrupted. "He has his own issues. You have your own issues. Everyone has their own issues. So I should probably just work this out myself."

"That logic is flawed," James stopped Scorpius from getting up. "I have a similar issue. People get up in my personal space too. One time someone touched my ass. Not fun."

Scorpius snorted.

"So, since we have similar issues, and I've just given you a story," Scorpius didn't like where James was going, "it's your turn to give me a story. You can be vague if you like. But you need to get what happened out some way or another. It's either this or having a mental break down in the middle of a Halloween party."

"Would you be speaking from experience?" Scorpius smiled.

"Just tell me what happened."

Scorpius bit the inside of his cheek. James was giving him enough reason to tell him. And he'd rather not start bawling his eyes out in the middle of any important gatherings. But this was still James Sirius Potter. The same guy that had called Albus the Death-Eater Potter when Albus was upset. A feat that earned James a broken nose and broken pair of glasses. Although, that was probably when the rumours around Albus' mental state began. And he'd gotten detention for hitting another student so Scorpius still wasn't sure if James would pull a joke or not. But he'd shared his own story, so he chanced that it was sincere.

"Kettleburn knocked my books to the ground and told me to pick them up," Scorpius looked down blushing.

"So?" James didn't seem to get it. "You just kneel down and pick them up. What's the big deal?"

"The big deal is, I did that, but he didn't like that," Scorpius waited to see if James would get it and was surprised when he didn't. "He knocked them back onto the ground and told me to pick them up again. Because I did it wrong the first time."

"How can there be a wrong way to pick up books?" James furrowed his brows.

Scorpius sighed, "He wanted me to bend over. Not kneel down."

"Oh," James' eyes widened when he realised what that meant. "Oh! Scorpius I am so sorry. Coltan's a dick, but I didn't think he'd do that. Usually it's just talk with him."

"Again, would you be speaking from experience?" Scorpius wasn't entirely joking.

"Um, not me," James sighed. "Although he was once suggesting some pretty crude things to my cousin Daisy. Fred looked like he was just about ready to murder him."

"Oh, so he usually only talks?" Scorpius felt his heart beat a little faster and he began to fiddle with his fingers. "He doesn't normally um, do anything himself or ... try to get others to do things they don't want to?"

"You're the first I'm hearing of," James picked a book from the ground. "Now, last time I checked Albus wasn't a fourth year, so that means you aren't a fourth year, so why do you have books assigned to fourth years?"

"Oh, I'm helping a girl get better grades in History of Magic," Scorpius explained. "She's a fourth year."

James smirked, "A younger woman? I see what's going on."

"Would people stop with that," Scorpius took the books and got to his feet. "I'm just helping her with her homework. I'm not into her, she's not into me."

"With a mind like that you're gonna be a little heart breaker," James got up. "I'm almost proud. Clearly the few minutes we've been friends has had an affect on you."

"We're friends now?" Scorpius wanted to know.

"Yeah, I'd say so," James smiled. "Here's a deal. If I'm feeling anxious, I can come to you, if you're feeling anxious, you can come to me. Deal?"

James held out his hand and Scorpius looked at it a moment. Taking his hand would mean multiple things. They'd officially be friends. Scorpius would have a human shoulder to cry on while at school. Scorpius would be someone else's shoulder to cry on. And James would end up having the most dirt on him out of everyone in the school. But he'd also end up having the most dirt on James out of everyone in the school. 

James had given Scorpius no reason not to trust him. The worst things James had ever done to Scorpius was name calling. And usually that was only when others were around. Scorpius glanced up to look James in the eyes, and he couldn't spot any malice at all. There was nothing villainous about them. All Scorpius found was sincerity. So, he took a deep breath, and James' hand.

"Deal." They shook hands and suddenly a short girl with brown hair and blue eyes wearing a Ravenclaw uniform appeared behind James. Scorpius smiled to her and James turned around.

"James, this is Lilith," Scorpius introduced them, "Lilith this is James."

"Pleased to meet you," Lilith smiled.

"The pleasure is mine," James replied.

"JAMES YOU BASTARD!" Came the loud booming voice of Coltan Kettleburn.

"That's my cue to leave," James quickly ran to get out of the library and Coltan came to a stop next to Lilith and Scorpius.

Coltan turned to Scorpius and pointed to him, once again in his personal space, "Don't think we're done either Malfoy!"

And with that said, Coltan ran to chase James most likely all around Hogwarts. Scorpius straightened himself out and turned to see Lilith wearing a shocked expression. Scorpius didn't really feel like explaining too much, but he felt like she deserved an explanation.

"Kettleburn is a bully," Scorpius said simply. "James tricked him so that he'd leave me alone."

"So, you and James are close then?" Lilith asked, refusing to meet Scorpius' eyes.

Her refusal to look at him hurt a lot more than he'd care to admit. He supposed she'd gotten an earful from her housemates or friends when she told them who she was going to meet. Maybe it was better that she stayed away, it would keep the bullies away from her. Simply being friends with him seemed to be a red flag for those kinds of people.

"Not really," Scorpius shrugged. "I think that was the longest conversation I've ever had with him where he didn't insult me. He's Albus' older brother, and by default, needs to be tolerable."

But James had been a lot more than tolerable in the moments before hand.

Lilith seemed to perk up, but still didn't look Scorpius in the eyes, "You must be really great if he's helping you with bullies then." 

Scorpius smiled and pulled a chair out for Lilith. She sat down and he began helping her with her History of Magic. Theta was right, Lilith did need help.

--------------------——————-

So~ that was a chapter. Please vote, comment and suggest. Thank you!

      - Turtlefreakakw2 <3