Scorpius's train journey on that Hogwarts day of twenty-sixteen started off in a very similar manner to Jack's.

He boarded with his friend Rose, and ended up sitting in a compartment alone with a new companion.

Except this person wasn't just a friend.

"Scorp," Rose huffed impatiently as Scorpius found himself distracted by the array of goods on the snack trolley. "We need to concentrate."

"Concentrate on what?" Scorpius asked as he tore his eyes away from the Chocolate Frogs to glance curiously at his friend.

"On who we choose to be friends with. My mum and dad met your parents on their first Hogwarts Express you know..."

"Didn't my dad used to call your parents hateful slurs, though?"

"Okay, so they weren't the best of friends during school, but look at them now!"

"So you're saying we need to choose now who to be friends with for life? That's quite scary."

"On the contrary, it's exciting." Rose said eagerly, puffing out her chest. "I'm a Granger-Weasley, you're a Malfoy - everyone will want to be friends with us, we've got the pick of anyone we want."

"So how do we decide which compartment to go in...?" Scorpius asked, feeling suddenly apprehensive. He thought he and Rose would just sit somewhere together. Alone.

"We rate them all and then we make a decision."

Scorpius thought this sounded like a lot of faff just to make friends, but he chose to keep quiet, instead, reaching out for the door of the nearest compartment and sliding it open.

The lonely boy inside looked up at once and gave Scorpius a nervous smile. Scorpius immediately returned it.

"Hi. Is this compartment...?"

"It's free. It's just me." The boy said timidly, his face going pink.

"Great. So we might just - come in - for a bit - if that's okay?"

"That's okay. Hi."

Wow, Scorpius thought. This making friends thing was easier than he'd expected.

"Scorpius. Scorp. I'm - my name is Scorpius..."

"Hi Scorpius. And you must be...?" He tailed away glancing pointedly past Scorpius's shoulder where Rose was stood, her expression cold.

"Rose." Her voice was clipped, matching her expression.

Scorpius turned to raise his eyebrows up at Rose, wondering why the funny attitude, this was her idea, after all. But the boy seemed not to notice and continued in his friendly manner.

"Hi Rose. Would you like some of my Fizzing Whizzbees?"

"I've just had breakfast, thanks."

"I've also got some Shock-o-Choc, Pepper Imps and some Jelly Slugs. Mum's idea - she says 'Sweets they always help you make friends'. Stupid idea probably."

"I'll have some." Scorpius answered when Rose said nothing. "Your mum sounds cool. Which one would you start with?"

Rose smacked his arm. Scorpius ignored her, keeping his attention on his new friend.

"Easy. I've always regarded the Pepper Imp as the king of the confectionery bag. They're peppermint sweets that make you smoke at the ears."

"Brilliant, then that's what I'll- Rose, will you please stop hitting me?"

Scorpius rubbed his arm which was undoubtedly bruised as he glared back at Rose, bewildered by her behaviour.

"I'm not hitting you," she stated, sticking her nose up in the air.

"You are hitting me, and it hurts."

"She's hitting you because of me."

Scorpius froze at the boy's words, wondering what it was he was missing here.

"What?"

"Listen, I know who you are, so it's probably only fair you know who I am."

"What do you mean you know who I am?"

"Come on," Rose said, beginning to tug at his arm. "We better get a move-"

"You're Scorpius Malfoy." The boy interrupted loudly before Rose could pull him away. "She's Rose Granger-Weasley. And I am Milo Nott. My mother is Daphne Greengrass, sister of Astoria. We are cousins, Scorpius."

The name of his birth mother caused all the air to evacuate his lungs. His heart raced wildly in his chest and suddenly he wanted to know everything about this boy with whom he shared a close connection.

"Look, your dad's not going to be happy about this," Rose gritted. "You know how he feels."

For the first time in his life, Scorpius felt a flash of anger towards his father. Did he really expect him not to show the slightest bit of interest in where he came from? It didn't matter if his mother was good or bad, she was still his mother. And now finally he had found a link to her, someone who may help him discover as to who he really was.

"You go on," he said to Rose, coming to a decision. "I'm going to sit with my cousin."

"We're cousins," she said sharply, stamping her foot a little.

"No we're not, Rose," Scorpius said firmly, shaking his head. "Our parents aren't even related. Milo's mum is my aunt. And I want to get to know about my family that my dad pretends doesn't exist."

"There's a reason for that!" Rose hissed, glaring accusingly at Milo over his shoulder. "His aunt tried to kill Jack! Mum and Dad told me everything. And she was no mother to you - she didn't even want you!"

Scorpius loved Rose, he loved her very much, but her words were like little slaps which didn't only serve to push him away but stung him quite a bit too.

"Mum said she was ill," Milo interjected. "It wasn't her fault, really. If she'd gotten help then who's to say she wouldn't have been a good mother?"

Scorpius turned to his cousin, feeling he could cry. What he just said in one sentence was all he had ever wanted to hear - that there was a tiny possibility that his mother could have loved him.

"Go on, Rose," Scorpius repeated more firmly. "If you don't want to join us, then fine. It's probably for the best, anyway."

She hesitated, seeming a little uncertain whether to leave his side or not. Scorpius had to stop himself from grabbing her and apologising, suddenly terrified that this moment was a big life changing moment for their friendship which he had cherished so much.

But when she turned and left, he remained where he was, watching sadly as she walked away from him.

*****

The connection between himself and Milo was instant, and Scorpius listened in awe as he spent the next nine hours hearing all about his 'other' family, including stories about his mother that he'd never heard before.

"It's just me and Mum at home," Milo announced when Scorpius enquired as to how big his family was. "She kicked Dad out when I was still a baby, she's never let him step foot back in the house since."

"I'm sorry," Scorpius said, not knowing what else to say.

"Nah. Don't be. That sort of things happens when you fool around with your wife's sister."

"Your dad and my mum?" Scorpius breathed, astonished. "That was pretty low of them."

He quickly slapped a hand to his mouth, horrified at himself for badmouthing Milo's family. But Milo simply shrugged, unbothered.

"Mum says she doesn't blame her sister in the slightest. Says Dad shouldn't have taken advantage of a vulnerable woman like that. But she lets me go and stay with him every other weekend. Although... I suppose not anymore. It's gonna be hard not seeing them for so long."

Scorpius would have liked to agree, but with the way his dad had been acting lately, he was quite eager for the break. He would miss his mum though, and Lyra.

"My mum- I mean my other mum," Scorpius said, feeling suddenly guilty for referring to her that way, "she gives the best cuddles. It's probably a bit babyish to still like cuddling your mum, although she says you're never too old for them."

"I agree," Milo said, nodding enthusiastically as he opened another Pepper Imp. "Mum doesn't let me go to bed without a goodnight hug. I pretend to make a fuss, but I like it really."

"I'd like to meet your mum," Scorpius sighed wistfully. "Does she look like mine? I mean, if they were sisters, there could be similarities?"

"Grandad says there are, but personally I don't see it," Milo shrugged. "For a start, they had different colour hair. She was very pretty though. Grandma and Grandad have photos on almost every wall of their house. I wish they wouldn't - I still catch Grandma crying over them and it makes my mum sad."

"Did they ever talk about me?" Scorpius asked in a small voice. He couldn't understand that if they were so distraught about their daughter, then why didn't they fight harder to be in his life?

"There's a photo of you as a baby on their mantelpiece. But mum said your dad started to get funny about them visiting you, telling them that their presence was causing his family great distress. In the end they agreed to leave you to get on with your life, feeling they owed it to you after what my aunt did."

"But that wasn't their fault," Scorpius said bewilderedly, feeling another flash of anger at his father. "As you said, my mother was ill."

"They encouraged the marriage, though," Milo replied darkly. "Of course, they deeply regret it now, but at the time it was do or die. Astoria requested to be wed to Draco Malfoy and so my grandad made it happen. Mum said your dad clearly wasn't in a fit state of mind, walking around like a grieving zombie from believing he'd lost the love of his life."

The anger Scorpius had been feeling for his father quickly turned into a stab of sympathy. But it soon disappeared, annoyed that he hadn't been told any of this. If his dad found it too distressing to be around Astoria's family so much, then why couldn't someone else take him to visit them?

"When you write home," Scorpius said, his heart racing at what he was about to boldly request, "tell them I said hi, would you?"

"Sure, but I don't think your friend would approve," Milo muttered, nodding towards the doorway as though Rose was still standing there. "Let alone your dad."

"Stuff them," Scorpius shrugged, amazed that he'd even had it in him, "I don't need anyone's approval to want to know my real mother better. If she were alive today, then maybe I would have been the one walking onto the train loaded with sweets to make new friends with. And I love my mum, I really do, but she just doesn't look at me in the same way she looks at Jack and Ly - her real children."

"So you want to get to know your Greengrass roots, huh?" Milo asked, his eyes glinting excitedly. "Well, I'm your man."

"Actually, you're my cousin, but same difference."

They exchanged smiles, the same smile, the Greengrass smile.

He didn't even care when later that same day Rose got Sorted into Gryffindor and he into Slytherin.

Because he had his cousin, Milo, by his side. The Slytherin duo... the Greengrass boys.

For the first time, Scorpius felt like he could really belong.

*****