Rose hated Scorpius. She dreaded taking the Hogwarts Express each year… until she didn't.

September 1, 2017

Rose followed her cousin Albus through the train, searching for a compartment. She still couldn't believe they had been turned away by their own family. She expected that from James ad Freddie, but Roxanne and Dominique could have been a bit more compassionate.

So there the two first years were, wandering around like hippogriffs with their heads cut off. Albus came to a sudden halt causing Rose to bump into him from behind. She made an indignant sound, but before any words could come out Albus had thrown open a door and was strutting into the compartment.

Rose tried to grab him, thinking maybe he was trying to force them upon more of their relatives. Instead it was another kind of horror entirely. Rose peaked around from behind Albus who was puffing up his chest and trying to fill as much of the compartment as possible.

"Do you mind if we sit here? Everywhere else is full." Albus said, as Rose looked around his unruly hair.

Her eyes widened when she saw Scorpius Malfoy sitting in the corner, reading a rather large book. His grey eyes flicked up and he glanced between the two other first years. He looked slightly put off by the idea but then just shrugged and went back to looking at his book.

"If you want." He said in a snobbish voice. Albus wasn't paying attention and flopped onto the seat. Rose hesitantly looked at her cousin and the boy with blonde hair who wasn't paying them any attention. She tried to give Al a look that told him she thought this was a bad idea.

Unfortunately, Albus decided to try and engage with Malfoy. "So you're Scorpius Malfoy?" Albus said bluntly and Rose shot her cousin a look. Malfoy didn't seem to happy with the statement of the obvious either.

Malfoy looked up from his book and gave Al a dirty look. "Yea, what of it?" He hissed like a snake being poked with a stick. Rose wondered what would happen if you poked him one too many times. Clearly he wasn't a very nice boy.

"Just speaking aloud." Al shrugged and Rose sat down next to her cousin, trying to separate the two boys. They didn't have to interact with each other and Rose thought it would be best to avoid any fights.

Malfoy gritted his teeth. "Well, don't."

Albus didn't seem to hear him. "My father told me about your dad." Malfoy stiffened immediately and Rose shot Albus a look. "Do you want to be in Slytherin?"

Malfoy narrowed his eyes. "Yes, that's where my whole family has been."

Rose scrunched up her nose and expected Albus to do the same. Afterall, he had been worrying and complaining about the possibility of being in Slytherin all summer. But Albus just nodded.

Malfoy surprised her by asking Albus the same question.

Albus thought for a moment and Rose wanted to snap at him to just say Gryffindor. But he didn't. "You know, I'm not so sure. I was worried about being in Slytherin, but then my dad explained to me that it's not so bad really."

Malfoy looked surprised. "Harry Potter said that?" For the first time he didn't sound hostile or defensive. Rose had to wonder when Uncle Harry had said this, maybe when they were talking on the platform.

Albus nodded eagerly. "I was named after a Slytherin Headmaster. Severus Snape." Albus said proudly and that was the first time Rose had heard him speak kindly of his name.

Malfoy smirked. "Albus Severus… that's almost as bad as Scorpius Hyperion." Rose saw a flash of white and realized that the blonde boy had smiled. The train started moving and the loud whistle blew.

Albus laughed, "What were our parents thinking?" He shook his head and then looked at Rose. "You're the only normal one left." Malfoy acknowledged her for the first time and they stared at each other for a moment. Rose was convinced Malfoy looked similar to a rat- he had a very pointed nose and chin and sharp cheekbones. And Merlin, how much gel had he used in his hair?

"Rose Nymphadora Weasley." Rose reminded her cousin softly, not wanting to inform Malfoy of her terrible middle name. But he overheard anyways.

"Yes, but that's only one bad name," Malfoy said and even though the words weren't contemptful, it still felt like an insult coming from his lips. "And I suppose you'll want to be in Gryffindor." He said looking her up and down. Rose felt like that wasn't a compliment coming from his lips.

Rose lifted her chin proudly. "My whole family has been in Gryffindor. It's the best house." She said with finality and Albus winced.

"Rose, I don't really think that's fair-"

Malfoy glared at her and began talking over Albus, "Well, you couldn't be more Weasley, could you? With your orange hair and freckles-"

Rose jumped up. "My hair is red!" She snapped and Albus grabbed her arm.

"Rose, he doesn't mean anything. And you shouldn't say that Gryffindor is the best house." Albus tried to get her to sit down but she jerked away from him.

"Yes, he does! He's a Malfoy! We should just go Albus, clearly he doesn't want to be around half-bloods like us."

Malfoy gasped. "I never said anything about blood! My family doesn't care about that… anymore." He added. Rose fumed and looked at her cousin, wondering why Albus was still sitting down and didn't look like he was about to move anytime soon.

"Albus, come on, we'll sit somewhere else." She said firmly, but Albus just scratched the back of his neck.

"Rosie-"

"Don't 'Rosie' me!"

Albus sighed, "Don't you think you're being a bit unfair? You did start it by saying Gryffindor was the best house, even though you knew it would upset Scorpius." Malfoy looked grateful towards Albus and Rose's eyes burned. Her cousin and best friend, was ditching her because of a boy they met five minutes ago?! And not just any boy, but Malfoy!

"His father started it!" She cried, although she knew that was unfair.

In all honesty, she had spoken with thinking, but she wasn't going to apologize to that smirking git.

"Leave my father alone! He's not like that anymore!" Scorpius yelled back and Albus looked desperately between the two. "Maybe you should leave if that's what you think!" Rose started towards the door, pulling her sack close to her chest.

She looked back at Albus. "Aren't you coming?"

Albus looked frantically between the Malfoy and Rose. The he sighed and looked at Rose with regret. "Rose, don't leave…"

"You're staying? He just insulted me!"

"You started it!" Malfoy argued and Albus sighed.

"I think we've just gotten off to a bad start, but maybe we can still-"

Rose shook her head. "No it's too late. I'm going to sit somewhere else. Are you coming?" She looked at Albus one last time and pleaded with her eyes. She say in his green eyes that he wasn't joining her. "Fine."

"Rose, I'm sorry…"

She slammed the door behind her and stormed off with tears of frustration in her eyes.

Hi everyone! Thanks for coming to my story! This will be a seven part book that follows the trios experiences on the Hogwarts Express throughout the years! Let me know what you think by leaving a review! - Alex