Glory |A. Potter|

Thirty-Three

Scorpius Malfoy valued his sleep more than the average person did. Perhaps it was because there had been a time in his life he had been unable to sleep properly—the dreams he had keeping him awake and making him nostalgic during the day, his nightmares tearing him from inside out—for whatever reason things came out the way they did, though, and the outcome was the same; he loved sleep. He craved it. Hence the reason he was deeply surprised when he woke up one morning almost half an hour earlier than he was supposed to.

There was no use in staying in his bed any longer when he was already awake, and so, he pushed himself up to start his day earlier than most of the students of the castle. He got dressed in his school robes, gathered his books and all he would need for the day in his school bag and carefully in an attempt to not wake up the other three boys—mainly Albus since he was the easiest to be woken up—he opened the door and slipped outside in the corridor.

There was no one in the common room when he reached it and so he left without hesitation. The corridors seemed more cold this early in the morning even though he knew there probably wasn't a difference in temparure, only his point of view. Without the commotion of the morning as the students got ready to head to the Great Hall for breakfast, he managed to reach his destination in only a few short minutes. The groan of the high, double doors leading in the Great Hall seemed defeaning when the castle was so quiet and Scorpius couldn't help but flinch at the unexpected sound. He had never realised how noisy those doors were.

He got over his surprise and embarrassment soon enough, though, when he looked in the Great Hall to see only a handful of students inside. On the Slytherin table, Jane already sat, and he found himself smiling at the realisation he would have some company. He walked over to her and with no hesitation sat down beside her.

"Morning," he greeted. Jane looked over at him with a smile in lieu of a verbal response. "I'm really glad you are here. I wouldn't want to sit alone."

"You did wake up rather early," she hummed, her voice deeper than it already was due to the hour. "Did something happen?"

"Obviously, my body decided I'm well rested, even though I disagree."

Jane shrugged, "Sounds like a real issue. You and your body should have a chat."

"Definitely," he snorted as he reached forward to make himself some breakfast. He suddenly got serious. "I've been meaning to ask you about your mother."

Almost at once, Jane seemed to stiffen at his sudden inquire. "What about her?"

"Did something happen to her?"

"I wouldn't know."

"Oh," he swallowed, "don't you want to send her a letter? You haven't sent her one back ever since you last asked for my owl in October."

"No, not really," was Jane's instant response, "I'd rather not send another letter. There won't be a difference either way."

"A-Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

Scorpius reached for his breakfast and took a bite with a frown that wasn't extinguished as he chewed. "Can I ask you something else?"

"Go ahead."

"What memory did you use to cast a Patronus Charm?" Jane's brows furrowed in clear confusion at the question that seemed quite out of the blue, and at once, Scorpius rushed to explain himself. "I know it seems sudden but I swear it has a logic. See I asked about your mother and you don't seem to have nice memories with her so the thought of nice memories led to you casting a Patronus and that led to the memories you used and so I thought I should ask but you don't have to answer and I won't hold it against you if you don't-"