Bouncing and rattling its occupants, the Hogwarts Express slowly pulled out of Hogsmeade station. Inside, the Hogwarts students were chattering away, eagerly trying to pack in as much as they could before saying goodbye to each other for the summer.
In a compartment three-quarters of the way back on the train, Albus Potter was sitting with his brother James, his sister Lily, his cousin Rose Weasley, and his friend Scorpius Malfoy.
"What a year," Albus said wistfully as the trees rolled past. "What a year it was."
James laughed. "Yeah, your year was pretty stupendous. Detentions every other week, about three hundred house points lost at various intervals, removal of privileges for a month after you socked that Cygnus Bulstrode bloke in the nose-"
"He was beating Hugo up!" Albus defended himself. "He had it coming!"
"Yeah, well, you had it coming when McGonagall found you," Scorpius said reasonably from his window seat, one arm thrown casually over Rose's shoulder. Rose grinned.
"And she was pretty pleased with me the next day when I gave Bulstrode a good hex up the-"
"The food's here!" James announced loudly, throwing open the door to admit not the food cart, but a friend of his, Tricia Bell. James went pink. "Oh. Not the food."
"Hey, James, want to come down to the front?" Tricia asked, grabbing James' arm and pulling him out of his seat. "Horace Wood and the others are there, too."
"Sounds nice," James smiled sheepishly. "I'll come. Al?"
"Nah, you go ahead," Albus granted, waving an arm in dismissal. "We'll have to continue without you. Go have your fun."
"Can I come?" Lily asked excitedly. Tricia nodded, smiling. His blush deepening, James departed with Lily swinging off one arm.
"You've got to get yourself a girlfriend, Al," Scorpius said lazily, tightening his hold on Rose, who whacked him lightly.
"Shut up, Scorpius, or your daddy will hear about this," Albus shot back, grinning. Scorpius went pale and stiffened.
"I'm going to tell him, okay? I just hadn't- got around to it yet."
"Does Uncle Ron know?" Albus asked Rose, who shook her head, looking shifty.
"Um, no, but I plan to tell him as soon as we get home. When Hugo's not around and Mum has a tranquilizer gun handy."
"Good plan," Scorpius murmured, giving her a light peck on the cheek. "Maybe I'll do that."
Rose whacked him again.
The three sat in silence for a bit, until Hugo, Rose's younger brother, popped in and asked whether anyone wanted to play Exploding Snap. Several packs and a couple of singed eyebrows later, the food trolley arrived, upon which Hugo apologized and said he wanted to get some Cauldron Cakes back to his friends down the train. Albus bought his usual five packs of Bertie Bott's Every-Flavor Beans, Scorpius got his usual Licorice Whips, and Rose purchased a few Chocolate Frogs.
Later, several hours in, Albus sat amusing himself with Rose's Chocolate Frog cards. Scorpius had taken out a book, and Rose was dozing lightly on Scorpius's shoulder. Albus smiled at the two. They were so perfect together...
He only wondered what Uncle Ron and Scorpius's dad would think.
His legs beginning to cramp, Albus decided to take a turn down the train to see what James was doing. He found his brother and sister seated amid a mound of candy wrappers, reminiscing about the finer points of Quidditch with Horace Wood, Tricia Bell, and André Spinnet. Horace grinned at Albus.
"What d'you know! The esteemed Slytherin Seeker himself has come to grace your presence! But he's a brother of our even-more-esteemed Beater, so sit down, Al, and we won't jinx you."
Albus grinned as he sat down with the others, Lily depositing herself in the seat beside him. André passed him a Frog, and Albus decided Scorpius and Rose could use a little privacy anyway.