A/N I can explain. No, seriously I mean it. OK, so there are a few reasons for the extreme lateness of this chapter. The main one being that that my internet has been screwing around with me lately (particularly on this website). There is also the fact that I have a pile of homework that grows at an alarming pace no matter how fast I finish it. :'( Anyway I am SO, SO SORRY (sigh,apologizing is becoming an awful habit/tradition of mine). Cudos to sweetstrawberrysmiles for the relentless nagging':I (dont worry it's a compliment, I could'nt have done it without you)

Enjoy

"Compared to the first half, the rest of today is turning out is turning out to be much simpler..." thought Albus to himself. Charms was easy enough and Herbology was almost fun. Albus enjoyed flicking bits of dirt at Amy and Tallulah while Professor Longbottom wasn't looking but stopped once the girls retaliated by pegging an enormous mud ball at his head that they had been secretly working on under the table. Rosie and Scorpius kept a safe distance away from Tallulah, Amy and Albus for most of that lesson.

When the bell finally rang Albus, Amy and Tallulah had to trudge back up to Gryffindor tower to have a shower as they were utterly filthy from head to toe. This left Rosie and Scorpius to make their way to dinner on their own. Albus met the girls in the common room once they were all cleaned up and just as they opened the door to the great hall, they came face to face with a very sombre looking Rosie and a watery eyed Scorpius who was trying very hard to conceal his tears.

Amy tugged Albus back by his robes to let Rosie and Scorpius through the portrait and Tallulah pulled up a few squishy armchairs for everyone to sit in. Scorpius tucked his knees up under his chin and gazed at the fire in silence. Rosie took a seat between Albus and Scorpius and started to explain. "You remember that boy from this morning right?" She asked everyone. Albus's heart dropped. Yes, he remembered. The boy had been entirely too interested in Scorpius and not in a friendly way, he had been menacing. Everyone in the room murmured a quick "Yes" or "Mhmm" so Rosie continued. "Yes well, we bumped into him in the entrance hall because we both had our eyes on the timetable we were checking..." Rosie paused for a moment and glanced at Scorpius.

"And then what?" Tallulah pressed.
"Well, um, the boy got all overly offended and aggressive" said Rosie.
"He didn't hurt you did he?" yelped Albus. Scorpius pulled his eyes away from the fire and looked over to were Albus was sitting. "I wish he had" murmured Scorpius softly.
Now Albus could see Rosie's eyes welling up as she watched a now dry-eyed Scorpius begin to speak. "If he'd just ruffed me up a little it would have been easy to report and there was a few people around who could have been witnesses."
"What did he say then?" Asked Albus anxiously.
"He talked about my evil ways, that I was going to hell for my families sins, that I was..." he paused and then spat out his next words as if they left a bitter taste on his tongue "unfit for a place in this school let alone the wizarding world. Needless to say he was referring to my families past, er, political, um, failures."
"But that's ridiculous!" cried Albus "You can't choose your own parents!"
For the first time that afternoon Amy spoke up. "We know that Al, but I doubt the entire year will be as understanding as us, it's easy to judge a person with notable differences if you don't know them that well. In this case, I'm assuming Scorpius's family has a bit of, well, not-so-pleasant history."

Albus noticed that Scorpius's hands had started to shake, his shoulders were rigid and his silvery-gray eyes were narrow and ablaze. Albus surprised himself by feeling a bit frightened, it was the first time he'd seen Scorpius truly angry and the effect was even more pronounced as the young aristocrat had been so teary only moments ago. "Look Scorpius" Amy began again softly "what happened was awful and wrong and completely unacceptable. Nobody should be allowed to have that happen to them and we feel for you, we really do." Tallulah was nodding her head earnestly at all this and when Amy finished she spoke up as well.
"But you have to understand that even though its a horrible thing, it's also unfortunately common. I'm guessing you've had a relatively sheltered life coming from such a wealthy family and all, and the benefit of that will probably out way the cons in the long run but..."
"What cons?" asked Scorpius quietly yet stiffly.
"Well, you've never had anyone show you any ignorance have you?" stated Tallulah simply. Scorpius's brows furrowed at this and he slumped back into his chair.
"You're both confusing me" he told them tiredly. Albus agreed, he didn't understand either. Suddenly he found himself sharing an exasperated look with the blonde and they both grinned quickly to each other.

By now Rosie had caught up on what the other girls were trying to get across to Scorpius. "I guess what the girls are trying to say is" she took a deep breath and looked straight in the eye "that you've never been bullied before which has amplified the effects of what happened today" Scorpius stared at her.
"I'm not being bulli-" he started but was cut off when Albus finally decided to speak up.
"Actually, mate, it does kind of look like it. Remember when he got all aggressive in defense? Well, that's twice now he's had a go at you. It kinda reminds me of this one kid in primary school." Albus's parents had sent him, James and Lily to the local primary school instead of homeschooling them like a normal magical family usually would. They had told Albus it was so he could be with kids his own age and learn good social skills. Albus just reckoned they couldn't be bothered to teach three kids seven years of basic math and literacy skills.

"Hmm, well he defiantly sounds like a bully" said Tallulah.
"OK then" said Scorpius as he got up and stretched "fine then, I'm being bullied, I just won't let it bother me" he told them with an air of indifference and walked off to bed. Albus thought Scorpius had rather missed the point. He exchanged a look of surprise with the others. At that precise moment the doors of the portrait hole opened and the rest of the Gryffindors spilled into the common room.
"Oh bloody hell" Albus swore.
"What?" asked his cousin in a disapproving tone.
"We missed out on dinner" Tallulah and Amy shot him filthy looks and Rosie actually slapped the back of his head before all three girls went off to bed muttering things like; "there's a time and a place..." and "no consideration..." and "some people..."

*
Concealed in shadows on the staircase that lead to the boys dormitories, Scorpius listened to Albus grumble something about dinner and grinned to himself. He then heard the three girls hissing in disapproval at Albus's comments. Scorpius padded off to bed for real this time being quiet as possible so he didn't get caught. He found his four poster bed, drew the curtains, laid down with a tired "huff" and closed his eyes. Scorpius thought about what he had just heard and found that he couldn't bring himself to be angry with Al, for he was also extremely hungry and besides the little Malfoy heir had come to really quite like Albus Potter.