‘This has been going on way too long!’ James stated in an annoyed voice that Amelia wished he wouldn’t use. That annoyed voice usually meant that her cousin was going to start up a fight with her or rant about something. He plopped down next to Amelia at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall.

The whole hall was lit up in Halloween colours with ominous pumpkins over-looking the tables which were lined with various delicious looking food. Amelia was sitting with Albus and eating the feast which was undoubtedly the best part of Halloween at Hogwarts. She sat away from her “friends” but she caught them giving her looks that would kill her if looks could kill.

James started piling food into his plate, after missing the whole Halloween speech, he was enjoying the feast. Amelia briefly wondered where he had been but the frazzled way his hair was sticking up made her suspect that maybe her cousin had gotten lucky tonight. She chuckled to herself.

‘What are you talking about?’ Amelia asked, watching him take a bite of food and moaning at the incredible, mouth watering taste of it. He chewed for a good minute and Amelia stared at him, frowning slightly. Then she rolled her eyes, ‘take your time.’

‘Amelia,’ James said, after gulping his enormous bite. He glanced down the table at Amelia’s so-called friends and a frown line appeared on his forehead, ‘I know you’re still upset over what they said about your parents. Are they giving you  a hard time?’

Amelia looked down at her food and played with her potatoes by stabbing them with her fork and moving all of her other food around too. Of course, she had to share a dormitory with Naomi, Abigail and Caroline – who were her friends since first and second year. They had made it perfectly clear that they didn't want anything to do with her and that was because of her parents, apparently. Amelia didn't want to sleep in her own dormitory now but she told herself that there was only a year left and then she would leave and they wouldn’t get to annoy her anymore.

‘No, I avoid them and they avoid me,’ Amelia lied, turning to face her protective cousin. The girls had tried to start a fight but things didn't escalate as they would have hoped. She knew that James wouldn’t hesitate in threatening the girls that annoyed her; she didn't need him to do that, ‘don’t worry about it, James!’

‘I do worry about you... and so do your parents,’ James said and dug in his pocket for something as they ate. Albus was watching them curiously and Amelia was watching James with the same expression as before. He handed her a piece of parchment, ‘it’s from your mum and that’s not the only letter she’s sent me. I have tons more.’

Amelia didn't take the letter, she stared at it with her blue eyes that she loved so much since they looked just like her fathers. Although Fred, her father, would always say that she had her Uncle George’s eyes. James thrust the letter into her hand and Amelia sighed, before looking down at it. Albus stared at her for a second and Amelia shot a look at him and then glared which made him look down at his food instantly. She read the letter reluctantly.

Dear James,

Fred is getting anxious as to why Amelia isn’t sending any letter home. I know you get my letters and the excuses you make for her are just that; excuses. Tell Amelia to send us an owl message or her father will stomp down to Hogwarts just to see if his little girl is alright... you know how Fred is.

I hope you are well and enjoyed the cakes I sent you.

Love,

Hermione.

‘She sent you cakes?’ Amelia asked, outraged, and James looked up at her. Albus looked up too, staying quiet, ‘my mother sent you cakes and she didn't send me anything?’

‘To my recollection, she sent you like a million messages by owl which you did not reply to. Are you really surprised that she sent me cakes and not you?’ James smirked at her and bumped his shoulder with hers in a way that made Amelia grit her teeth and fight the urge to push him, ‘maybe you should stop being such a bad daughter and just talk to her.’

‘Wait, why isn’t she talking to Aunt Hermione?’ Albus asked, pushing into their conversation. Amelia and James both turned to look at him, giving him a foul look. Albus sat up a little straighter and coughed awkwardly, ‘alright, I’m sorry for asking!’

‘We’ll talk about this later, okay?’ James asked, turning to Amelia, ‘it’s been too long since you’ve talked to your family and I think your mum is right, your dad will fly down here if you don’t send him a message any time soon.’

‘What did you say to my mum when she asked why I haven’t been sending letters?’ Amelia asked quietly as she pushed her food away from her. She wasn’t really in the mood to eat anymore, not after the horrific looks she was getting from her ex-friends.

‘I said you were busy with work for classes,’ James shrugged as though it was no big deal. He took a sip of pumpkin juice, savoured the taste, swallowed and then winked at her, ‘I didn't tell them the real reason though.’

‘Thanks, James,’ Amelia said and hugged him with one arm before standing up. She didn't think she could bear to talk about what happened with her friends to her mother and father just yet, ‘I’m going to call it a night.’

Amelia left the Great Hall while everyone was still waiting on dessert. She didn’t feel like eating anything sweet, all she wanted to do was go to sleep and then wake up tomorrow without a headache. As Amelia walked up the staircase tiredly, she thought of her parents. She badly wanted to ask her mother or father if it was true. Did they cheat on each other? Was she a mistake? Was her father an alcoholic? Did they even love each other or is it just Amelia that was binding them together?

Amelia rubbed a hand over her face as she walked. Everything was just so confusing! If they did cheat on each other and did all the other things that were rumoured, surely her parents would tell her? Maybe that was the reason why Mr Weasley, her Grandad, seemed to prefer James over Amelia... and Ginny over Fred. Even Amelia noticed the awkwardness between Mr Weasley and Fred, especially when Hermione was around.

‘Amelia George Weasley! How does it feel to have a whore for a mother?’ a voice shouted behind her in the long and empty corridor.

Amelia stopped in her tracks, her mouth falling open when the shout reached her ears and her brain. She turned on her heel in infuriating anger that seemed not to be quenched by balling her fists up. Amelia could see the three girls standing a couple of feet away from her with their horrible smirks on their faces. Naomi Davis, Abigail Thompson and Caroline Barnes; the three girls that used to be Amelia’s best friends until she caught them saying bad things about her parents.

Caroline was the shortest of the three witches with blonde hair that hung off one shoulder in a braid today. She raised her perfectly sculpted eyebrows when Amelia glared at her. Amelia knew that Caroline was not smart but she was good enough with a wand.

Abigail had brown, short hair that stopped growing just past her ears. Her parents weren’t the nicest of people but Amelia was friends with her because of how funny she was. Now, she looked  like a murderous villain.

Naomi was the tallest of the three and the most vicious, in Amelia’s mind. Even when they were friends, Amelia wasn’t too fond of Naomi and was not surprised when she found out that Naomi was the one who started saying bad things about her and her parents. She had long, midnight black hair down to her hips and brown eyes that were quite popular with boys, although her body was what attracted them. She was beautiful and girls were jealous of her.

‘Say that again, Naomi. Just give me a reason to murder you right now,’ Amelia muttered threateningly as they stopped in front of her. Abigail and Caroline chuckled darkly as Naomi glanced at them both with a smirk. Naomi stepped forwards so that Amelia and her were face to face.

‘I don’t think you can fight your own battles, Weasley. I’m pretty sure your cousin is lurking about here, ready to pounce when I say something,’ Naomi said in a quiet voice that seemed almost inviting Amelia in to fight. She looked around in mock surprise that James hadn’t jumped out to protect the damsel in distress just yet.

‘I don’t need him. I can take you down in a second,’ Amelia muttered and her eyes shrieked hatred; an emotion she didn't know she was capable of feeling,  ‘call my parents anything ever again and I will end you.’

‘Bit protective, are we?’ Caroline mused from behind Naomi and Amelia turned her steely gaze to her. She faked a pout that looked quite ugly on her face, ‘I bet your filthy muggle mother is just as protective of the whores she produces.’

Amelia had had enough and her fists shook in anger. That was one thing she didn't like about herself. Now that she was older, her anger was harder to control. She used to be really calm and collected but now she just felt raw anger clouding her eyes. Amelia wanted to pounce on her and tear her hair right out of her scalp. She made a loud, annoyed sound and took a step forwards but arms were pulling her back, strong arms.

‘Whoa, hold on there,’ the person holding her back whispered in her ear. Amelia was surprised for a second when she turned to see that it was Scorpius and she let him pull her back so that she didn't strangle Caroline, ‘you’re going to get suspended if you start fighting!’

‘Let me go!’ Amelia said between clenched teeth but Scorpius shook his head, determined to be the responsible one for once, ‘this isn’t your fight!’

‘I think you girls should leave before a Professor sees you fighting,’ Scorpius said, turning to Naomi, Caroline and Abigail, ‘I’m sure we don’t need Professor’s suspending you just yet. Now leave.’

‘Let’s go, girls,’ Naomi said.

She walked past Scorpius, giving him a wink as she did so. Amelia had a permanent frown on her face and was panting heavily as she watched them walk, one by one, past Scorpius and then herself. They smirked at her when they passed and soon left the corridor. Amelia groaned under her breath and turned to Scorpius with a that was not directed towards him but she needed someone to vent to.

‘I hate them!’ she yelled and was sure that her voice would carry straight down four floors and into the Great Hall where everyone would be enjoying their feast, ‘how dare they call my mother a whore! They don’t even know her and think they can make judgements. I hate them so much! How dare you stop me! I could have... I wanted to... you shouldn’t have stopped me!’

‘Follow me,’ Scorpius said simply and held out a hand for her to take. She looked at his hand as though it was alien to her and after a second’s hesitation, she took it.

Scorpius lead her down the corridor and Amelia watched as his hair bounced; his hair looked a little wavy today and she guessed that he had been out in the rain. They hadn’t spoken since their detention although they did sit next to each other in History of Magic, Professor Binns must have developed acute hearing because he looked up immediately when they even uttered a word. James was glad that Scorpius was keeping his distance and Amelia didn't think too much of it. But now she felt her heart jump in her chest as he pulled her into an empty classroom.

‘What are we doing here?’ asked Amelia as Scorpius lit up the room with a wave of his wand. He sat on a desk and gestured to the desk opposite him without saying a single word. With trudging steps, Amelia sat on the desk and faced him, crossing her legs as she did so.

‘I just thought you might want to talk in private before you ended up blowing up the whole school in your anger. Now tell me, why are you fighting with girls that I thought were your friends?’ Scorpius asked and ran a hand through his hair. Amelia watched as his blonde, slightly wavy, hair fell back into place in perfection.

‘It doesn’t matter...’ Amelia whispered and got off the desk. She straightened her shirt and then took a couple of steps away while still facing Scorpius, ‘I don’t want to talk about it.’

‘Amelia, wait,’ Scorpius whispered, jumping off the desk and striding to stand in front of her. Amelia looked up and into his eyes, wondering just how deep those grey pools could be, ‘this is about your parents, isn’t it?’

Amelia stared at him without saying anything. She didn't need to, all she did was nod. Scorpius held out his arms and Amelia wrapped her arms around his waist when she felt the lump in her throat. Soon she was crying into Scorpius’ chest, all the stress and anger seeped out of her in the form of tears. Scorpius held her without a word and his large arms around her soothed Amelia.

‘I’m sorry,’ Amelia said, pulling back suddenly. She turned her back to him, embarrassed that she had let tears fall free in front of Scorpius. Amelia hastily wiped her tears away and turned back to him, ‘I didn’t mean to cry. It’s just that... I’m tired... of... I’m just tired of everything. I need my parents to tell me the truth and...’

‘Ask them and I’m sure they’ll tell you the truth,’ Scorpius suggested lightly. Amelia shook her head, sniffing slightly. She looked up at him and Scorpius understood the look in her eyes. It proclaimed that Amelia didn't know him that well so didn't feel comfortable taking advice from him. Scorpius understood and sighed, ‘listen, I know how you feel.’

‘How could you possibly know how I feel?’ asked Amelia, running a hand through her hair. Scorpius boldly took her hand in his and she stared at him with eyes that wondered if she could trust him. Amelia decided to trust him and squeezed his hand once in hers which made him smile.

‘My father... he’s lied to me lots of times before,’ Scorpius revealed as the smile left his face. He just shrugged but Amelia felt the disappointment beneath his tone, buried deep inside of him.

‘You don’t need to tell me this,’ Amelia whispered hoarsely and a little uncomfortably. She was conscious of the fact that Scorpius had linked their fingers together but didn't try and stop him.

‘I want to tell you,’ he shrugged and then continued after a deep breath, ‘my father, he invites lots of... women over to spend the night and I guessed he was just lonely since he isn’t married. I mean, he IS lonely but that’s not the entire reason.’

‘What is it?’ Amelia asked, drawn into the conversation by the tone of Scorpius’ voice.

‘He’s in love with some... woman. I asked my father if he was still in love with my mum and was that the reason why he was compelled by so many women at night? He... he said he still loved my mum. I don’t see why though, she dumped me onto him the second I was born!’ Scorpius said angrily, shaking his head and muttering something bad about his mother under his breath. Amelia didn't have a clue what to say but she was spared the awkwardness as Scorpius carried on, ‘I soon learned he was lying to me. He wasn’t in love with my mum, well maybe he was a little but there was this other woman he loved more. She occupied his thoughts most of the time, I could tell he loved her. I asked him who the woman was but he would deny ever loving another woman that wasn’t my mother.’

‘Did you ever find out?’ Amelia asked in a quiet voice.

‘No, but every time I would ask him about the other woman, he would get angry. I was just a kid and I knew I was losing my father. I... I grew up, witnessed my father drinking a lot more, bringing different women into the house, and he wouldn’t even look at me. When I was about fifteen I... I made some friends. It was the only release I could get from my father. I didn't want to stay at home for the holidays where he couldn’t bear to look at me. These friends, they... weren’t the best influences on me and my father realised that. That was when he started to take an interest in what I was doing. We fought a lot, my father and I. I hated his guts; I still do and I’m not proud of admitting that,’ admitted Scorpius, biting his lip and gulping as he said this, ‘every time he sees me, I just know that... I wasn’t supposed to happen. I know that he thinks everything would have been so much better without me. Maybe... maybe he could have gotten the women he loved if he didn't have a child to take care of.’

‘I don’t think your father regrets having you, Scorpius,’ admitted Amelia, ‘I saw him dropping you off at the train station. I saw you leaving him in the middle of his sentence. That expression that he made when you left was heart breaking.’

‘He wasn’t always like that. The things he said to me when he was angry would make my ancestors turn in their graves. I shouldn’t be a Malfoy; I’m not cut out for this,’ Scorpius sighed, taking her other hand and looking down into Amelia’s eyes, ‘you know more about me than anyone else does. It feels good to get things off my chest. Maybe you should do the same.’

Scorpius leaned down slightly with a smirk planted securely on his face. Amelia felt her heartbeat quicken and her thoughts went to they grey eyes getting closer to her. The grey pools of perfection dropped to her full lips and then up at her eyes before smiling, closing his eyes, and leaning further in. Amelia closed the space between them quicker and felt Scorpius’ shock when their lips met. The shock soon faded and they were kissing each other lightly. Amelia felt the instant sparks between them grow into fireworks. They pulled back slightly and Scorpius smiled.

‘Thank you for listening,’ he whispered.