Chapter 1
"Self- righteous gits;" that's how I had always heard my father refer to the Malfoy family. This statement would always be followed by a comment from my mother about how "people change" and he doesn't "know what they've been through". The conversation was no different the day I got my letter for my fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
It was the twentieth of July, just over five weeks until start of term. Everything went as normal; Hugo, who was entering his third year at Hogwarts, got his letter and poured over his list of required books and supplies. I, on the other hand, opened my letter slowly. The excitement had officially worn off after four previous years of receiving a letter from school listing everything I would need for the upcoming year, nothing ever changed; until that year.
As I was loosening the wax seal, I realized that my letter seemed a bit thick. Excitement began to bubble up inside me. Perhaps this was the moment that I would officially become a prefect of Ravenclaw house. The more excited I became, the more I ripped and tore at the seal; desperate to get to the letter that I had been dreaming of my entire life.
"Rose, sweetheart, be careful; you're going to rip your letter. What's got you so excited?" My mother was constantly worrying over my brother and I, especially when it came to matters of our education.
"There's something else in here, Mum! I think it might be my Prefect letter!" In less than a second, my mother was standing over my shoulder, holding on to the chair back to support herself. My father, never exactly keen on such scholarly events, stayed with my brother explaining how to properly handle one Monster Book of Monsters.
"Go ahead, Rose! Open it up!" My mother sang excitedly. I swiftly broke the now obliterated seal and yanked out the contents of an envelope. Inside, was the usual list of required items, which I promptly tossed to the side. There was also another piece of parchment which I assumed was the letter informing me of my newly acquired prefect status, it would've been life- changing; little did I know that the actual contents of that letter would alter my path forever.
As I read, my bright smile faded. My father, ever observant, was at my side in an instant followed by my brother who continued to ask questions about his upcoming classes.
"We'll talk later, Hugo. What's the matter sweetheart?" He took my hand in his while my mother took the letter from the other and I continued to stare at where that accursed parchment had previously been. "What's it say, Hermione?"
My mother's eyes skimmed over the parchment rapidly, the crease between her brows becoming ever more prominent. "It's a letter informing us that Rose has been selected to participate in The House Exchange Program," she replied, confused.
"What the bloody hell is a House Exchange Program?" My father got to his feet and followed my mother into the sitting room, all the while being tailed by my little brother who repeated the same question, "What is it?"
"According to this, a select number of students are chosen every year to be temporarily transferred into a new house for the entire year. It says it's in order to allow the students to "experience new things and better understand their fellow students'," I could hear my mother explain.
"So they're just going to rip our daughter out of the house she was sorted into and throw her into another?! That's bloody ridiculous, that is! How do they expect her to know how to get into her common room?! How do they expect her to even find the bloody place?!
"It says here that every transfer is assigned a guide of the same age from their temporary house to show them around and be there for them if they have any questions." My mother, though obviously confused, replied calmly.
"Oh well, that's bloody fantastic! Some silly git is going to be showing my daughter how to survive in a house that she's completely lost in! Shouldn't that be the prefects' or the head boy or girl's job?!"
"Apparently not," she continued. "Oh my goodness," she gasped quietly. This was it, she had finally gotten to the part that had made my heart sink into my feet and simultaneously conjured bile into my mouth.
"What is it now?!" My father bellowed.
"You'll never guess which house she's being transferred into."
"Please don't say…"
"Slytherin," she finished worriedly.
"No!" Dad was really steamed now, and that wasn't even the worst part. "My daughter is not about to go skulkin' around in the bloody dungeon! What kind of experience do they expect her to have in a dark, nasty place like that?! Death?!"
"Ron, calm down; it's not that bad," Mum replied calmly. "She's a strong girl; she'll be fine."
"Not that bad?! Hermione, they're putting our daughter into Slytherin! What kind of sick joke is this anyway?! Why even have a bleedin' Sorting Ceremony if you're just going to turn around and put them in a completely different house?
"You haven't even heard the worst part yet. Guess who they've assigned to her as a guide."
"At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if it was Scorpius Malfoy!" My mother was silent. "Her- Hermione? It's not him is it?" Dad asked nervously.
"I'm afraid so."
"Seriously?! Hundreds of students in that school and they have to pair our daughter with a Malfoy?! Bloody hell, Hermione! Isn't there something we can do?! Appeal for a new one or something?!
"There's no sense in yelling about it, Ron. The school's made its decision. Scorpius will be her guide; there's nothing we can do about it." What?! She wasn't even going to TRY and fight this?! My mother who had once started an organization to fight for the rights of house elves, and still fought for them at work, was just going to let this happen to her daughter without a word?! This finally shook me out of my stupor. I sprang from my chair and rushed into the sitting room.
"That's it then?!" I bellowed. "You're just going to let them send me to Slytherin without saying a word?! And with a Malfoy as my guide no less?!"
"Rose," Dad took a deep breath. I watched as the red drained from his face to leave it a somewhat natural color, "your mother has a point. Whatever the school's reason for sending you to Slytherin, it's most likely to your best interest. As to the Malfoy thing, all I can tell you is try to put up with him as best as you can." I had never even spoken to Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, but after fifteen years of hearing my father tell stories about how rotten and cruel his father was in their school years, I wasn't exactly hitching up my knickers to get to him.
Normally, I counted down the days until the start of term out of excitement; this year, I did it as a way to say goodbye to happiness until the Christmas holiday. The next forty days were filled with shopping with my family for school supplies and dreading the days to come. As a transfer, I would be required to wear the colors of my hosting house, green and silver. Ugh! What a revolting color combination! None the less, my uniform for the following year was a vomitus testament of Slytherin pride.
In no time at all, it was departure day. I waved woefully to my parents as the Hogwarts Express pulled away from Platform 9 ¾, and turned sadly back to an empty compartment once they were gone. Suddenly, there was a sharp knock on my compartment door. I jerked my head up, expecting to see my brother or one of my cousins; who I saw brought back the bile that had plagued my taste buds since the day I received my letter. Standing there at the door to my otherwise vacant compartment was none other than Scorpius Malfoy.