Prologue
Somehow, nonchalantly strewn across the seat of the Hogwarts Express, Lilium Malfoy was elegant. The girl could be compared to a ballerina, moves made to look effortless and refined, as if she tried to make her actions a work of art. Her elegance, however, was that of an icicle. Though she looked beautiful, crystalline, from afar, she was cold and sharp until she warmed up to you. If she warmed up to you.
She was intensely staring at a Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean, rolling it between her thumb and forefinger as she contemplated the formidable risk she was facing. "Moss,” she said with a frown, her eyes still locked on the bean, “do you think this bean is spoiled milk or vanilla?"
Moss Faraj looked up from the assortment of peppermint toads and chocolate frogs he had released and focused his deep brown eyes just as intensely at the offending bean. His eyes narrowed as he contemplated a moment. "Last time we decided vanilla had little brown specks and spoiled milk had a yellow tinge to it."
"How yellow was the tinge?"
"Enough to show against your hair, I think."
"Hmm...." Lilium mused as she pulled a small section of her white hair towards the bean. She scrunched her nose in disgust and tossed the sweet into an empty bean box.
Focusing back on his task, Moss waited until the last of the candy amphibians attempted to escape before rearranging them into three rows on the seat beside him. He grinned towards Lilium before taunting, "Bet you another bean box that I can get at least one of these frogs to sing."
"That’s a terrible arrangement– I have every faith in you and your saccharine choir." Lilium’s words were followed by a pitiful "meep" from a peppermint toad that had just lost its charm and hardened completely. Moss beamed proudly at the inanimate candy, and soon, a cacophony of amphibious sounds ranging from pitiful to oddly melodious erupted. The noise quickly faded away as each of the sweets’ spells wore off.
Moss gazed at his choir with admiration. "Lili… I don't think I can bring myself to eat them now."
Lilium’s mind raced with the possibilities. "Well, I know there's a spell for turning humans into toads in our school books, but I can't recall if there's one for turning something inanimate into real amphibians." She dug through her trunk, pulling out a well-worn book, and flipped through the pages before triumphantly exclaiming, “Aha!”
She practiced the described wand movement a time or two before turning to the line of sweets.
"You found one?" Moss asked excitedly.
Lilium didn’t waste her energy on a response. Instead, she pursed her lips and carefully articulated,"Amphibifors.” The spell was aimed at the peppermint toad that had made the original attempt at music. In an instant, the smooth candy turned dry and fleshy, becoming a more realistic representation of a toad, which began squirming around.
"That's brilliant!" Moss beamed at his friend. "Can you do the rest?"
Lilium obliged, and with repeated transfigurations, the little candies became little creatures instead. Lilium eyed her work. The previously peppermint toads had retained their stark reds and whites, while the formerly chocolate frogs were a rich brown. She turned toward her friend with a wry smirk. "Enjoy your new friends, Moss. Aren't they charming?"
Charming was one word for the creatures, though it probably wasn't a word many would use.
"They're hardly hopping! They're squirming around like they've got no back legs!"
"Well, can you blame them for not knowing how to move properly? They've only had one good jump before this, and that was before they even had a brain. They'll learn." Lilium perched back on the seat and picked up her Every Flavor Bean Box once more. She pulled a single bean out, and frowned over it. "Is this one lime, grass, green apple, or bell pepper?"
"None of those sound too bad. Don’t overthink it,," he advised as he gathered up all the squirming creatures. Then he paused, giving her a sideways glance. "Lili... are we ever going to talk about it?"
Lilium remained silent, raising an eyebrow as she chose another bean from the box without looking at him.
"How is Scorpius anyways?" Moss tried again.
"He seems fine enough," she replied curtly before sighing and giving in. "Apparently all of our darling pureblood cousins are gathered in a compartment together. Scorpius seems happy. He's not even nervous about the Sorting. I was nervous."
"Well, he has the advantage of being with people he already knows. Why didn't you have a compartment full of rich, entitled children to spend time with in your first year?" He asked curiously, wondering why she had befriended a Muggleborn like himself.
"I was the first of the new pureblood generation at Hogwarts. Besides, you were the only one with any dignity, and you weren’t aware of my reputation.”
“They tell me I’m a wizard and think I’ll go all moony eyed over a starry ceiling… Well I didn’t want to make a fool of myself, did I?”As he replied, a toad squirmed out of his grasp. With a huff, he reached out to grab it, another one escaping meanwhile. "What am I going to do with all these toads?"
“That is not an issue for me.”
--- --- --- --- ---
Lilium's lips were pursed as she scanned the sea of first years for a sign of her brother. Scorpius was never the sort to be timid, so she didn't expect him to be looking for her, but she supposed it was possible. Moss had his hands full– literally. As the Hat introduced a new Slytherin first year, the boy would stand and reach into his pocket to pull out a frog or toad at random. Moss briefly became every new first year's hero as he congratulated them with a hearty, "Welcome to Slytherin! Do you have a pet? Have a toad!" Then he'd sit back down beside Lilium, white hair shining, and the first years who had proclaimed him a hero would regret their choices.
Headmistress McGonagall's gaze grew increasingly puzzled as Moss pulled pet after pet out of his pockets and handed them out. There was a veiled amusement in her eyes, as she obviously attempted to pay attention to the ceremony. With every amphibian given out, her lips would quirk at the corners and she’d purse her lips, perhaps to keep anyone from noticing. Eventually it seemed she decided there was little harm in the children getting the animals- the house elves would feed them if the students didn't- and she returned her focus to the Sorting Hat.
Lilium was certainly amused by Moss's antics, but she was also feeling a bit antsy. She tapped her heel absentmindedly below the table before realizing and stopping herself. Then, she fretted with her tie a moment before catching herself again. She could imagine her mother scolding her to present herself better and stop fidgeting, but her nerves got the better of her. She knew Scorpius would be sorted into Slytherin and she was looking forward to it. With double the Malfoys in Slytherin, maybe the scornful looks and cold attitudes— even from her housemates— would stop.
Moss noticed Lilium's intermittent fidgeting and looked for a way to distract her. His eyes swept the crowd until he found something of interest and his teasing smirk appeared. "Look, Lili. Look at that boy over there. He must be another Potter."
Sure enough, as Lilium looked at the sea of first years again, there stood a boy that resembled the hero of the Wizarding World. She pursed her lips at him before glancing over to the Gryffindor table where the elder Potter boy was. He was standing on his seat searching the crowd of first years for his family members. Admittedly, it was probably more effective than Lilium's way of searching.
"I hope he's more... refined than his brother."
"Was that an attempt at not insulting either of them?"
"Yes, did it work?"
Moss didn't get the chance to answer her. Professor Tenebris had called a very interesting name up to be sorted, and the name was just attaching itself to a body in the crowd. The little girl had hair whose color didn't have a name. It was more brown than red and more red than brown- something in between. She was striding towards the Hat with a look of cracked determination on her face.
"Bet you a Bertie Beans box she gets sorted into Gryffindor," Lilium said slyly to Moss.
"No deal, she's a Weasley. We both know how they are."
"GRYFFINDOR!" The Hat roared as soon as it touched her head. Rose Weasley got down off the stool and happily ran over to James Potter and Roxanne Weasley, who were cheering just as hard as every other member of their family in the house. It seemed as though the Potter and Weasley family made up at least thirty percent of Gryffindor, but that may have just been their big personalities taking up so much room.
"Well, look at that. Potter has actually sat back down," Moss observed. "He never sits down before the feast."
"It's a rather large Sorting this year. It even looks like they made the tables longer. Think he got tired?" Lilium responded.
"He's the Gryffindor chaser. You'd think he'd have more stamina than that."
"Oh, he's back up. Seems he only needed a sip of water,"
"Riveting social commentary. The Boy Who Lived's son just sipped a glass of water," Moss added with a chuckle. Lilium covered her smile with her hand.
That moment, another name silenced the hall. The younger Potter boy stepped towards the Hat, looking a lovely shade of puce.
"He looks like he's about to fall over, don't you think?" Moss observed.
"Yes, the poor dear looks like he can hardly stand," Lilium added. She thought back to how nervous she was during her own Sorting, desperately afraid she would be sorted into the wrong house. Her fears were unfounded, of course.
As Professor Tenebris placed the Hat on the boy's head, they both watched the Sorting with little interest. As the time went on, however, their curiosity grew.
"The Weasley girl was sorted instantly," Lilium observed.
"He's taking quite a while," Moss replied. "I was a hatstall, though, so I can’t judge,"
"How long did they say? Six minutes and something? I thought the Hat was going to give up and make a new house just for you."
"Seven. Seven minutes and forty-six seconds." Moss corrected her.
"SLYTHERIN!" the Hat finally announced.
Lilium and Moss were stunned. Even Lilium's normally composed demeanor was shaken as she locked eyes with her best friend. The entire room fell silent, all eyes on the young Potter boy. The puce green he now sported perfectly matched his new house, with his robes and tie changing colors by magic.
James Potter, who was still standing on the bench, froze mid-clap as he stared at his little brother. He didn't seem upset or angry, just shocked. After a long moment, his hands resumed clapping, and the sound echoed across the hall, breaking the silence. Others joined in for a weak applause, and the youngest Potter boy slowly made his way to the Slytherin table with the rest of the first years.
"Moss," Lilium hissed, jabbing his side with her finger, "give him a pet!" With this reminder, Moss leapt up as if he had been stung, little brown frog in hand.
Lilium looked around the Great Hall, feeling uneasy. All eyes were fixed on the Slytherin table, though no one seemed particularly outraged. There were a few boos and jeers across the hall, but a glare from the elder Potter silenced them. She then surveyed her own housemates, watching her peers eye the young Potter with suspicion. As if a Potter could ever be anything worth suspicion.
The boy disappeared at the end of the table, much to Lilium’s disappointment. Whilst the hall was still in shock, the sorting continued on and children Lilium couldn’t care less about were making their way to tables. Lilium was still trying to get another glance at the young Potter.
“Malfoy, Scorpius,” Professor Tenebris called, silencing the hall once more.
Lilium promptly forgot about the Potter boy as her eyes cut to Scorpius. Professor Tenebris placed the Hat briskly on his head, shielding his face from view.
“Shall we make a little room?” Moss asked.
Lilium didn’t bother to take her eyes away from her brother as she replied, “No, he will want to sit with the first years. As he should. He should learn the identity of his adversaries quickly… and make friends, of course.”
“Of course.”
Lilium’s pursed lips quirked downwards. Her mind was preoccupied with thoughts of her brother, and she grew impatient as the Sorting continued. There was no doubt in her mind about which house Scorpius belonged to. They were supposed to experience Hogwarts together, and Lilium was determined to shield him from any animosity he might encounter while she remained at Hogwarts.
Finally the Hat cleared its throat, and dread suddenly struck Lilium. Malfoys went to Slytherin, and Potters went to Gryffindor. That was the rule, practically law. And yet… a Potter sat at her table.
“GRYFFINDOR!” The hat's announcement came at last, and perhaps it was dripping with mockery and triumph. Perhaps it was mischievous, the hat. Perhaps it was created to cause conflict. The worn leather must have reveled in her despair, for that was the only reason it would have said the word with such reverence.
And Lilium did not react. She said nothing.The entire hall fell into an eerie silence. Her fellow Slytherins at the table observed her, while most others had their attention fixed on Scorpius. She refused to display her pain, denying anyone the satisfaction of glimpsing beneath her composed facade.
Casting a brief glance behind her at Moss, she quickly redirected her focus away from the Sorting, back to her own table. Despite the sudden onset of nausea and the bitter taste of bile in her mouth, she calmly took a sip from her water goblet, her face remaining as impassive as ever.
“Well, that’s interesting,” she remarked offhandedly to Moss. “I would have guessed Ravenclaw.”
“Yes,” Moss agreed, and looked up to where the others around were still watching. “Smart as a whip, that Scorpius.”
If Lilium wasn’t in such shock, she might have found that amusing. Moss had never met Scorpius.