“Albus! Hey!” Nicole exclaimed from her seat by the window, and Albus smiled at her tentatively, then turning to look at the person sitting across from her – the source of his anxiety. “Oh, this is Scorpius…. There really weren’t any open compartments, but he’s a first year, too! So he said I could sit here.” Nicole grinned at the blonde boy, who was staring straight at Albus, obviously uninformed beforehand that his new compartment-mate’s friends were Potters and Weasleys.

“Ughh….” Was the only noise that Rose made, and Scorpius smirked.

“Amethyst Shelly isn’t very happy about not being Head Girl.” He said, putting his hand against Rose’s head and pushing a couple stray curls back toward her ponytail.

“Surprising…” Nicole answered sarcastically, pulling her legs up and crossing them on the seat. The tip of her left knee just touched Albus’ own thigh, and he was suddenly very aware of its presence.

“Sorry…” Albus began, glancing sideways at Nicole, who shrugged. “I was just making sure.”

Billingsley looked a bit ashamed, but kept his head held high.

Head Boy, indeed… thought Nicole.