Maggie

Chapter 40 - Albus' Tale

-TW Explicit mention of sexual assult-

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 "You live HERE?"

I gasped in shock as we drove up the longest and most elegant driveway I had ever seen towards a house that could've belonged to the National Trust.

Scorpius smirked at my awe, clearly enjoying my reaction to his family home.

It was enormous. Five stories high and at least four times the width of my own home. It was built from huge bricks of grey stone and every external wall was decorated with pillars, ledges and windows so large that the manor had Hardwick Hall trumped for glass. My mouth was agape and I could've sworn I drooled right into my lap.

Gravel crunched beneath the tires of Draco's Aston Martin and we crawled past immaculately groomed hedges and towering topiary trees. The day was cold and miserable; dark grey clouds loomed low over the slated roof of the mansion and a light rain was creating puddles on the driveway in which I could make out the reflection of my professor's flashy car.

It was a credit to Draco, realised at that moment, that Scorpius had been brought up in a house like this, clearly wealthier than the rest of Hogwarts combined, and he didn't turn out to be a spoilt, pretentious asshole.

'Parents, take notes!' I thought with a breathless laugh.

The car stopped right in front of the huge, black front door and Draco shifted the hand break, turning around to look at Albus and me in the backseat. Scorpius was already climbing out of the car and jogging towards the house.

"You guys head straight inside. I'll get someone to bring your bags in once I've parked up. Scorpius will show you around."

Neither Albus nor I could speak, apparently. Malfoy grinned at us and we threw open our own doors and walked briskly through the rain after Scorpius.

"Welcome to my humble abode!" Smiled Scorpius, already handing his cloak and shoes to a house-elf in the front hall.

"Humble?" I squeaked in disbelief. "Oh, honey, this is everything except humble!"

"You think this is something, you should see our mountain house in Innsbruck!" He winked.

"Geez," I muttered under my breath.

Albus was still staring around him, mouth agape and eyes wide. Scorpius laughed at him and lightly punched his shoulder.

"Close that mouth of yours, Al, or I'll have to do it for you!"

Albus blushed furiously at this. I slapped a hand to my forehead.

"You two are something else."

Scorpius laughed again before taking my hand.

"Come on," he said. "I'll show you guys where you'll be sleeping!"

Still awestruck, I let him tow me up a wide staircase of white marble, Albus following behind me.

"I swear," I grumbled a few minutes later, my legs aching from their trek across the property. "By the time we actually get to our bedrooms, the two weeks will have gone by and it'll be time to go home again!"

We had already walked along four separate corridors, up three flights of stairs and through a library. The place was a labyrinth. Every wall was decorated with paintings and tapestries, every nook and cranny home to a marble bust on a plinth or a vase. We traipsed past door after door, some of them open revealing huge rooms which wouldn't have looked out of place in a historical TV drama. I was panting, my collar damp from sweat.