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Eleven year old Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy inspected the black mark on his left wrist. According to his father it was supposed to be a dove. It was beautiful, posed elegantly in mid flight, with both wings over its body, as if heading towards his thumb. But none of that was important. What was important was the fact that it was a black mark.
Today all the first year wizards and witches were taught about soul marks. How every one of them had a soul mate out there who shared the exact same mark in both shape and colour.
Scorpius' parents both shared a turquoise apple tree. As a child he used to spend hours watching the identical trees on their legs. Admiring the way it slightly swayed its leaves. When they were outside, the tree would shake in the wind. Scorpius would watch in delight as the leaves would get reddish-turquoise in the autumn, fall off during winter, only to grow back in the spring.
The young Slytherin regarded his own soul mark. It stood still, like it would for the rest of his life. Still. Black. Dead.
They learned in class that there were many different colours of soul marks. Colours could represent a lot of things: the partners, the type of love, the life together. Red could be fierce passion, blue could mean you met in the water, and yellow could be a placid relationship.
But black.
Black represented something different.
“I'm not saying you should give up all hope if you have a black mark,” a plump wizard had said, “after all, it doesn't always mean it. You and your soul mate could be some of the rare few...”
Just... usually.
Most likely.
Almost always.
Scorpius looked at his black soul mark and tried not to cry. It was only now he realized why his parents always looked at him with pity. The hush whispers of “oh poor boy” from his relatives whenever they thought he was out of hearing range.
They pitied him, because black meant you didn't have a soul mate.
Black meant no one could ever love you.
-
“Hand the book over and answer the question!”
Scorpius wasn't fast enough to stop the other Slytherin from snatching his copy of A Guide to Advance Transfiguration right out of his hands.
“Rose,” he said calmly, looking up at the red haired girl sitting across from him, “I kind of need that for the project we're working on”
“I'll give it back to you when you've answered the question,” she said grinning at him. Sometimes she acted so childish, it was hard to remember she was in 6th year rather than 1st.
Scorpius sighed, no use arguing with her. “Alright, what's the question?”
“A ha! I knew you weren't listening”
“Holiday break is in three days and this project's kind of due the day before...”
“And that's exactly what I wanted to talk to you about,” she said cheerfully. “Do you wanna come over for Christmas diner?"
“What” the blond blurted quite loudly in surprise. He had meant to whisper his bewilderment, but had still earned himself a nasty look from the librarian. Scorpius flushed and glared at his friend
Rose gave him a cheeky grin and started to repeat the question, “Do you wa-”.
“I heard you the first time,” he grumbled still glaring at his friend. He reached over the table and grabbed the transfiguration textbook back.
“So...” she learned forward.
“So what?”
She rolled her eyes, “Are you coming or not?”
He looked up at her. Rose had to fight the urge to roll her eyes again at the confusion painted on his face.
“You're serious?”
“Yes”
“I'm a Malfoy”, he said as if it were obvious.
“Scorpius for the last time”, she said frowning, “they won't care who your parents are, they'll love you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”, she said so firmly and confident it almost made him believe it.
Scorpius hesitated for a moment. It was a tempting offer.
For Christmas diner, he and his parents attended large parties every year. They weren't heartwarming family gatherings, they were business parties. This year was the Malfoys turn to host and Scorpius was tempted to stay at Hogwarts for the break just to avoid the affair. There was no way Scorpius could stand for hours, greeting guests and relatives he didn't know. Pretending he didn't hate every second of it was going to be difficult.
“Are you sure your parents won't mind?”, he asked.
“It was their idea actually. Even Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny are eager. They're all dying to meet the boy Albus and I won't stop talking about.”
Well, how could Scorpius turn down the chance of dodging this year’s Christmas celebration? Especially one he’ll have to help host. Just thinking about the formal clothing he’ll have to wear made his skin crawl. Scorpius also recalled the suggestion his father made about him making a toast this year...
“Alright,” he said hesitantly, “if you're sure they won't mind.”
Rose's smile could light up all of Hogsmeade, “You won't regret this”.
-
Scorpius found himself standing in front of Rose's front door, finger hesitantly over the doorbell, definitely regretting the decision. But before the young Slytherin could chicken out and call for someone to drive him home, the door swung open.
Luckily Scorpius found himself facing his best friend of six years, Albus Severus Potter, rather than a relative he didn't know.
Six years ago, if anyone looked into a crystal ball and said they saw Albus Severus Potter and Rose Weasley in Slytherin, they would have probably been laughed at by the entire wizarding community. If they added that they would become Scorpius’ longtime best friends, they would have been declared crazy and locked up.
The thing is, when Albus, Rose, and Scorpius had first encountered one another in Twilfitt and Tatting, they had just clicked. Though Albus was more arrogant and Rose was more childish, the two were very similar when it came to that Potter-Weasley playfulness and mischief. Rose and Scorpius had bonded over a love for learning, Scorpius being the top of the class in charms and Rose having a talent for potions. The two boys had bonded with their similar taste in humor, dry and sarcastic, sometimes making others laugh hours past their conversation. Rose preferred cherry humor that made everyone laugh as they talked to her.
“Hey Scorps, here to corrupt my family or what.”
Scorpius rolled his eyes, “Of course I came for your family, you don’t think I made all this effort to come here for you, did you?”
Albus pretended to look hurt as he stepped aside for his friend to past. “You’re so mean sometimes Scorps”, he pouted.
Scorpius snorted softly, “Well, someone has to take of the hard job of keeping your head from over inflating. I’m willing to take on that role for the greater good.”
“You’re a real hero”, said Albus dryly.
They probably would've continued their "conversation" (dry, sarcastic insults) for hours if Rose hadn't called.
“iS THAT SCORPIUS?”, Rose shouted from upstairs.
“YES”, Albus shouted back. Scorpius watched as the redhead eagerly raced down the stairs, one that he easily recognized as Rose. He also recognized that Rose was probably going to give him a very loving, tight, painful hug. Which she did.
“You’re actually here! You didn’t chicken out!”, Rose exclaimed in awe after finally letting him go.
“Yeah, I’m not regretting it at all”, he said as he rubbed his sore arms.
She rolled her eyes, again, but her bright smile never left her face. Not even Scorpius’ tart comments could bring her down.
“Common,” she chirped as she grabbed his arm and dragged him towards the living room entrance. Albus trailing behind jumping with the same excitement as his cousin.
“Everyone’s dying to meet you”, Albus said happily.
As he was being dragged, Scorpius wondered if it would have been a better idea to just help host the Christmas party this year.
--
Two hours of awkward conversation with the parents of his best friends later, Scorpius found himself on the floor of Roses’ room. He was sitting cross legged next to Albus, who had his legs stretched out on the blonds lap. Lily had joined them only recently because “James and Hugo were being jerks”, and was plopped next to Rose on the bed.
“So how was it”, Lily asked.
Scorpius shrugged, “It was actually not that bad, I expected more people”.
It wasn’t a huge gathering with 30 extended family members as Scorpius had anticipated. It was just the two families of Rose and Albus. No cousins, uncles, or family friends. Just siblings and parents. Even the grandparents, Molly and Arthur, were attending a different event.
“It was actually Dad’s idea,” he heard Albus, “We told our parents you didn’t like big crowds and he suggested doing a smaller diner party this year so you wouldn’t get overwhelmed”.
The adults, except for Mr. Weasley, had been very welcoming. They seems genuinely interested about him, asking questions about his school work, hobbies, and other things.
Mr. Weasley seemed fixated on glaring at Scorpius and asking questions about his relationship with his daughter. That was odd.
Scorpius was a little bit surprised, “they changed the plans for me?”
Albus shrugged, “they really wanted to meet you”.
“It’s because Rose and Al won’t stop talking about you”, Lily said from above.
Beside her, Rose winked. ‘Don’t worry, we only say good things”.
“Didn’t you see their faces Scorps, they adored you”, Albus said grinning, “I think mom has half a mind to adopt you.”
“But Mr. Weasley was glaring”, Scorpius mentions.
“That’s because dad thinks I have a crush on you”, Rose commented, “he should know better, you've seen my mark and according to you they don’t match”.
Scorpius recalled seeing Rose’s mark for the first time. Her’s was a sun coloured the same red as her hair. It was a good fit, Scorpius believed it matched her personality well.
“What does she mean by ‘according to you,’” Lily asked, “hasn't she seen your mark”.
“Scorpius liked to hide it,” Rose answered “he always had a it wrapped on, even when he’s wearing long sleeves.”
“Why?”, the younger redhead asked.
“It’s probably because it’s embarrassing”, Albus playfully teased, “I bet it’s a pink flower.”
“Maybe it’s a heart”, Rose joked, “a bright red heart."
“It’s black actually”, Scorpius blurted out, “a black bird."
The room was silent and Scorpius was amazed to look up and not see pity in any of their faces. But there was something else, a mixture of shock and realization.
It was Lily who spoke up first. “Is it a dove?”, she asked hesitantly.
There was a look of pure shock on Scorpius’ face. Frowning, he asked, “how did you know?”
“Can we see it?”, Albus asked leaning forward, completely ignoring the question. Rose and Lily both got off the bed to sit in front of him.
Still too stunned to speak, Scorpius found himself reluctantly reaching for his wrist. He rolled up his left sleeve and took off the wristband.
He heard a gasp from Albus. Rose leaned forward and grabbed his wrist it get a better glimpse.
“Oh Merlin”, he heard Rose whisper. There was recognition in her voice.
That's odd.
Then, almost as if the trance had been broken, both Albus and Rose got up and sprint out the room. He heard their loud footsteps going down the hallway and eventually the stairs.
“Oh Merlin I always knew he had a soulmate!”, Lily had said excitedly before following them.
What?
Oh
Oh
Scorpius’ heart skipped at the comment. He was too in shock to run after them to demand who they were talking about.
A few moments later when he heard very frantic hush voices from downstairs. He guessed they were talking to their parents.
Scorpius wasn't stupid. It also didn't take a genius to realize his friends recognized his mark matched someone else's.
It’s just.
The young Slytherin had spent more than half his life alone from children near his age. Scorpius never liked any of his cousins, they were all snotty and prejudiced. His parents encouraged him to meet other children. He tried but they often turned him away because of his last name.
Scorpius had spent his entire life teaching himself to accept that there wasn't someone out there who would love him.
And today he found out that wasn't true. He actually had a soulmate.
Wait
Scorpius backtracked on that sentence in his mind and realized he actually had a soulmate.
At that moment a storm of thoughts and emotions ran through his mind. Happiness, anticipation, fear, excitement. He would have sat there in shock all day if an awkward cough hadn’t startled him out of his thoughts.
Scorpius was very stunned to see James Sirius Potter, leaning against the doorstep looking quite nervous. It was a weird sight if you asked anyone. Scorpius had never had more than a few polite exchanges with James whenever his siblings were present. Though from what he’s heard, James didn't fidget, he didn't look nervous, or hesitant. He was practically the poster boy for Gryffindor, confident, brave, handsome, and proud to a fault.
But here he was, his smile and eyes were shaped in a clearly shy expression. So much more different from the mischievous smirk he had on whenever he was planning some complicated prank, which was always. Though both versions had sufficient effects on Scorpius’ heartbeat.
Scorpius’ eyes widen when he realized why they had sent James up here. The Slytherin’s eyes quickly glanced down James arm to his left wrist. It was covered by the sleeve of his ugly red Christmas tree sweater, but Scorpius had a good idea what was beneath it.
The two just looked at each other for a while in silence. Moments passed until James spoke.
“So, can I come in?” the older of the two asked.
“I don’t know it’s kinda not my room.”
James had a look of surprise on his face for a second before laughing. Scorpius smiled slightly as he admired the sound. It was nice, he could get used to listening to it everyday.
“Funny and cute, could you get anymore perfect?”, James asked as he sat down across from the now flushing blond.
Scorpius grinned a tiny bit and mentally congratulated himself for lifting off some of the awkward tension. “I don’t know, maybe you should stick around and find out?”
James grinned that stupid Potter grin he often saw on Albus. But James’ version made Scorpius feel light headed.
“Could I…” James asked pointing at Scorpius’ wrist.
The younger of the two had no problem letting James gentling take his wrist into his left hands. The Gryffindor's fingers were warm and Scorpius found himself dizzy from the touch and having James so close.
Scorpius watched the older male as he lifted up both their sleeves with his right hand, revealing an identical pair of small palm sized doves. Carefully he brought their wrist together and Scorpius felt a wave of warmth go from his wrist to the rest of his body when the two marks touched.
He heard a pleasant gasp from James when the two birds came to life. The two boys watched in delight as the doves flew across their forearms and hands. For a while no one said anything, only the silence to fill the air.
When Scorpius looked up he saw that James was smiling at him, so bright that it could outshine all of Rose’s cheery smiles. “I can’t believe it”, he muttered softly, eyes never leaving Scorpius’ eye once, “I've loved you for so long and now I can’t believe you’re actually mine.”
Scorpius, thrown off at the statement, frowned. “But we've never even talked to one another, you've always avoided me,” he noted.
James shrugged and gave Scorpius a small playful smirk. “I know it sounds cheesy”, he started, “but when I first saw you at the station waiting for the Hogwarts Express I knew I was fucked”.
Scorpius raised an eyebrow at him but James just continued.
“I always thought it was just a really strong crush that would go away with time. Then after a few months it didn't go away. It just got stronger every time I got a glimpse of you across the room or Al mentioned you”
“So you just started avoiding me?”, Scorpius finished for him.
James gave him a guilty nod. “Sorry?”, he tried weakly.
Laughing Scorpius leaned over and intertwined their hands. “It's alright”, he said, stroking the part where the dove had been dormant. His heart skipped a beat when he saw it fly past James collar bone. “You have a lot of time to make it up to me.”
He felt the Griffindor's pulse speed up at the statement. “Yeah you're right”, James said, the delight in his tone was impossible to miss, “When do we start?”
AND THEY LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER THE END