Rose shut her eyes tight and exhaled. Albus and James were bickering in the corner of her eyesight. James was once again taunting his younger brother about him getting into Slytherin.
"No I won't!", Albus cried fearfully at James. His face was slightly pink and his eyes were filled with worry and fear. What enjoyment James got out of taunting his brother she would never understand. There was a glimmer in his eyes and a smug smile on his face. Rose blocked them out and faced her mother.
"Remember to keep your grades up", Hermione told her daughter. Rose smiled and nodded.
"Well look who it is", her father muttered. Both girls turned to where he was looking. Rose saw a blonde haired man holding the shoulders of and looking down at a boy who was obviously his son. The boy shared the same platinum blonde hair as his father's, although it was much more casual than his fathers, hanging down into his eyes. Their eyes were the same, except where the man's were a steely grey, the boy's were a stormy grey. In fact, his features were identical to that of his father's, albeit much softer.
"Malfoy. Should have known the ferret had an offspring to carry on his legacy", Ron sneered. So that was the infamous Draco Malfoy, she had heard many stories about him, his name always said bitterly by her father. Ron's eyes snapped to his daughter's.
"You bloody well make sure you beat that Malfoy in every single subject, even bleeding quidditch, you hear?", her mother narrowed her eyes at him for a fraction of a section, he ignored her in preference of glaring at the Malfoy's. Rose said nothing. A loud whistle sounded through platform 9¾.
"Good bye dear! Have fun!", her mother called after her as her father indicated for her to hurry. She spotted Albus just finishing talking to his father.
"Come on, Al! Bye Uncle Harry!", she called, tugging on Albus' arm. They hopped on just as the train began moving, wasting no time in waving goodbye to their families. Once the platform was out of sight, they followed their cousins and siblings to a compartment.
"I'm not going to be in Slytherin!", her cousin's voice rang out, ignored by most of their cousins. Rose glanced to where Albus and James were bickering again.
"Oh for Merlin's sake, will you stop! Of course he'll be in Gryffindor, we all are. Every single one of us are going to be in Gryffindor, and even if not, there's no way that any Weasley or Potter will ever get into Slytherin ", Roxanne scolded exasperatedly. An eruption of agreement and noise broke out. Rose just stared blankly out of the window, uncomfortable. With a sigh, she stood up and marched over to the door.
"Where are you going, Rosie?", Vic called.
"Just stretching my legs. I'll be back in a minute", she replied, sliding the door shut behind her. Once she was around the corner she slid down the wall until she was sitting on the floor. She took some deep breaths and ran her fingers through her hair. Sometimes her family were just plain suffocating. After a moment, she got up and wandered along the hallway. By the time she got to the end, her mind was made up and she knocked on a random door. She would come up with some excuse to tell her cousins later. Hesitantly, she slid open the door and glanced inside.
There was only one person, reading beside the window. She recognized him as the boy her father had pointed out earlier. She ignored her father's words and nervously opened her mouth.
"Hello?", the boy's head snapped up in alarm and he dropped his book. He stared at her.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I was just wondering if I could maybe sit down?", Rose knew her voice sounded nervous. He analyzed her suspiciously for a moment, before slowly nodding his head. She smiled and sat down opposite him.
"Rose Weasly", she said, holding her hand out in greeting. He looked alarmed again and glanced from her face to her hand. Hesitantly, he reached out and shook it.
"Scorpius. Malfoy", he added, watching her face closely for a reaction. She gave none except a brilliant smile.
"Nice to meet you, Scorpius". He seemed to let out a relieved breath, and gave her a small smile in return.
"You too, Rose".
They spent the journey talking and getting to know each other. They discussed books, both having a love of reading, robes, wands, anything and everything, really. Rose loved how easy the conversation was, it was probably due to her excitement, but she found talking with Scorpius easier than when she was even talking to Al, the words just flowed. The train turned a corner and they could see Hogwarts in the distance. There was a moment of silence as both children admired their new school in awe.
"So which house are you expecting to get into?", she asked. He glanced down.
"Slytherin, I suppose. All Malfoy's are in Slytherin", she looked at him closely, he kept his eyes focused on the floor.
"And which house do you want to get into?", his eyes flicked up and caught hers. She searched them for an answer. Then the compartment door was flung open, and James, Fred, Vic and Albus stood there.
"Rosie! Thank Merlin! We didn't know where you had got to!", James exclaimed, looking at her with relief.
"What are you doing here anywa-", his gaze settled on Scorpious and his eyes hardened.
"Malfoy. Rose, you shouldn't be talking to the son of a Death Eater", she was startled at his change in attitude. But then she got angry. Angry that James thought she couldn't look after herself, that she didn't know what she was doing, and angry about the flash of hurt and fear that went through Scorpious' eyes.
"I can talk to whoever I want to, James", she snapped. He switched his gaze from Scorpius to Rose, surprised.
"And even if his father was a Death Eater, that gives you no right to gudge him!", Scorpius looked at her equally as surprised as James.
"He was raised by his dad, Rosie. You might like to see the best in people, but he's evil. All Malfoy's are. All Slytherin's are", Vic spat. Albus' eyes flashed in alarm. Rose scowled.
"Get out. You have your own compartment, and I don't want to talk to you, so get out", they stared at her for a second, and then James stormed off, followed by Fred and Vic. Albus stood frozen, glancing from one of his relatives to the other three. With a sigh, he hung his head and followed them, sliding the door closed behind him. Rose just stared at the now closed door.
"Thanks", Scorpius muttered from beside her. She turned to him and smiled.
"We'll be over it in an hour. And that's what friends are for", his eyes lit up at the word friends.
"Yeah", he nodded.
It wasn't long before the train pulled into the station. Rose and Scorpius got off still talking.
"Hello Rose! It's good ta see yeh! Albus jus' wen o'er there", Hagrid nodded in the direction of the lake.
"Hey Hagrid! It's good to be here, finally. Thanks!", she called, making her way towards the lake. Scorpius looked at her unnervingly.
"What?", she asked, maybe more hostile than intended.
"Nothing, sorry. It's just... You know him? That, uh, man. My father told me some stories about him...", he trailed off. Rose rolled her eyes.
"Family friend", she replied, leading him towards an empty boat. They sat down on opposite sides. Scorpius trailed his fingers across the surface of the dark water, causing the tiniest of ripples. Rose smiled at him, gliding her hand along the top of the icy lake.
"Um, hi". Rose glanced at her cousin, Albus, who was fidgeting.
"Hey", she replied cooly. Scorpius glanced between the two nervously.
"Can I sit with you guys?", Rose nodded, watching as he climbed in and sat as far away from Scorpius as possible, avoiding looking in his direction. Rose sighed to herself and gave Scorpius a small smile. The boats started moving suddenly, making her jump. She watched as Scorpius slid his hand into the water, causing it to swirl and ripple.
"How can you do that? It's freezing!", she asked quietly. He shrugged softly.
"It's calming. After a moment you don't feel the cold", she glanced at him, her look letting him know she thought he was crazy. After a second, she hesitantly tapped the surface, flicking her hand immediately. She took a deep breath and lowered her fingers into it, wincing at the temperature. Scorpius grinned at her, and she poked her tongue out at him. It wasn't long before they hit the dock.
Rose stayed side by side with Scorpius the whole time, through various teachers explaining things, and pointing things out. Then they reached two large, wooden doors.
"This is the Great Hall. In here, you will be sorted into one of the four houses; Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor and Slytherin", Proffesor Longbottom went on to explain about the four houses, but Rose let her mind wander, not particularly caring. She could research it later if she wanted to. The doors opened and they filed inside, gasping and 'wow'ing at the decorations. Rose met James' eye, he turned his head away from her, not acknowledging her presence.
"Are you sure you'll be fine?", Scorpius asked, noticing the interaction.
"Oh, yeah. Don't worry. It won't be long before they're all crowding around me, showing me the dorms, the best couches, telling me random 'tips' about the Common Room and all that", she said with a playful roll of her eyes.
"So you're expecting to get into Gryffindor, then?", he asked offhandedly. She suddenly realized she hadn't thought about it. Hadn't considered anything else.
"I've never thought about it, I always assumed I would, anyway. Like Roxy said earlier, we all get into Gryffindor. All the Weasley's and the Potter's, that's just how it works". Scorpius gave her a sideways glance, as if searching for something.
"Abbott, Michael", they all watched as the first First Year walked up and sat on the stool. Proffesor McGonagall placed an old, worn hat over his head.
"HUFFLEPUFF!", it announced after a fraction of a second. There were loud cheers as the beaming boy walked over to his new table. Rose listened interested as more names were called out. ...Collins, Georgina...Evans, Drew...Gallagher, Eva...
"Malfoy, Scorpius", Rose gave her new friend a thumbs up as he sat down on the stool. He sent her a nervous look. The hat seemed to be taking longer than for most of the others.
"SLYTHERIN!", it eventually called out. Rose caught his eye and smiled reassuringly. ...Montgomery, Terrance...Nelson, Teresa...
"Potter, Albus". The entire hall went silent as Albus made his way to the stool, looking like he might get sick, eyes filled with worry. His eyes met Rose's for a brief moment and he seemed to relax as the hat slid over his eyes. Rose held her breath, as did most of the hall.
"... GRYFFINDOR!", a huge applause rippled across the room, started by the wildly clapping Potter and Weasley clan, all too eager to welcome their relative. Rose cheered and clapped louder than most, glad that her cousin's worrying was over. ...Redmond, Shauna...Simmons, Zachary...Vermont, Juliet...
"Weasley, Rose", she wasn't expecting to get as big of a reaction as Albus had, which she didn't get nor want, but she couldn't help the butterflies in her stomach as the hat fell over her eyes and everything went dark.
"Ah, another Weasley, so many of them these days. And off to join your family you go. No, but wait, something about you is different. Much smarter than usual, you've inherited you're mother's brains all right, and there is a sense of loyalty, perhaps Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff? No. There is that courage, although not as brazen and hot-headed as many of your relatives... And yes, certainly cunning, very cunning... But where to put you..."
Rose listened to the voice, deciding to just listen. Where did she want to go? She decided to let the hat decide.
"Very well, then. I expect great thing from you, Rose Weasley. Good luck "
"...SLYTHERIN!".
That did warrant a larger reaction than Al's alright. The entire room froze, including McGonagall and Rose herself. Slytherin... Slytherin... Slytherin. The words seemed to echo around the room, bouncing off of all of the walls. She stood shakily. Looking over to her cousins, she was met with frozen eyes and disbelieving faces. Looking around the room, no one seemed to know how to react. Then she looked over at the Slytherin table, her table. Scorpius was staring at her, a grin on his face, and it made her smile. He started clapping, and one by one the rest of the table joined in.
She hurried down the steps and practically ran to sit on the bench beside Scorpius. Eyes followed her, and she let her long, auburn hair fall in front of her, hiding her face.
"Well hey there, Weasley", Scorpius said teasingly.
"I guess you just had to stand out from the crowd, huh?"
"Gryffindor is just too mainstream", she agreed. They looked at each other and laughed again. A part of her loved the astonished and gobsmacked looks on her cousin faces, a pretty big part to be honest. She looked down the length of the silver and green decorated table, and smiled.
The duration of the meal was spent by Rose ignoring all the stares and strange looks she was receiving. She figured it was for two reasons, 1) She was a Weasley, who had gotten into Slytherin, and 2) She was a Weasley, talking to a Malfoy. Strangely enough, neither of these two facts bothered her. She wasn't her parents. And neither was Scorpius.
"So who'd you kill to get yourself landed in here, Weasley?", she turned her attention to a boy leaning against the table next to her, looking at her with interest. She raised an eyebrow in answer.
"Or maybe you're going through a rebellious faze? Angry at your parents? You are talking to the son of a Death Eater, who was coincidentally your parents 'arch-nemisis', after all", the boy had dark hair curled up around his ears, deep brown eyes, and a smirk on face. Rose hadn't a clue who he was.
"I'm sorry, do I know you?", she replied sugar-sweetly, a warning beneath her tone, ignoring his questions. His smirk widened.
"No. Not yet", and with that he walked away. Rose sighed and put down her fork, having had enough food for one night. She turned back to Scorpius, who was glaring in the direction of the boy. She didn't comment.
"Prefects, please lead the First Years to their dorms", McGonagall's voice came from seemingly everywhere as the food vanished. Rose stood up and followed behind Scorpius as they were lead by a tall, gangly boy out of the hall, a shiny Prefect badge pinned proudly to his cloak. She did her best to remember the way down to the dungeons, cursing the moving staircases. They made their way down, below ground level, and stopped in front of a scroll-like painting of an old poet.
"Cornipicious", the boy said clearly. The poet glanced at him, uninterested. The scroll rolled up to reveal a deep green bricked passage. Rose stared at the scroll in awe, remembering her cousins telling her about the fat lady portrait swinging open. Somehow, the fact that she was the only member of her family who knew the Slytherin common room entrance was different, and the password, made her smile.
She knew the common room was under the lake, and honestly expected a dark, damp, dimly lit room. She was pleasantly surprised when she entered a large, warm, green and silver decorated room, with crackling fires in the fireplaces and comfy looking couches. She immediately felt at home. The boy was talking, but she wasn't paying attention. She caught Scorpius' eye and grinned. Rose could already imagine herself sitting in front of one of the fires, a book in hand.
"The girls' dorms are on the first landing, to the left, the boy's to the right. You'll find your names on a sheet on the front of the door, same with your beds", she heard and joined the crowd of girls moving up the stairs. On the third door she checked, she saw her name printed in silver. Pushing open the door, she found four girls already sitting on their beds. She saw her name and cases along with her now empty bird cage placed at the foot of the only bed left. Sitting down and running her hand across the silky green duvet cover of her four-poster bed, she looked at each of the four other girls in the room.
Two of the girls were talking quietly to each other, one had brown hair in a pixi cut and the other had dark plaited hair, she had a small, delicate frame. The girl farthest away from Rose had blonde hair that she was taking down from a bun and thin lips, her features were very sharp and she was eyeing Rose suspiciously. The last girl was lying down and reading, her hair sprawled around her on the pillow, large glasses perched on her nose. She was tapping her foot in some kind of song.
"Hey", Rose called out hesitantly. The two girls stopped talking and focused on her, the girl reading turned her head and the blonde girl raised an eyebrow.
"Uh, I'm Rose. It's nice to... Meet you all", the room was silent and she started to regret speaking.
"Kristen, you can call me Kris", introduced the reading girl suddenly. The girls who had been talking looked at each other.
"I'm Becca, this is Emilie", replied the one with the pixi cut, nodding her head at the other girl who waved. They all turned to the blonde, who was now brushing her hair.
"Sonja", she said after a moment. Rose smiled at her.
"Goodnight, then", Emilie said, climbing into bed. She gave Rose a small smile and shut the curtains around her bed.
"Night", Becca echoed, shutting her own curtains. Kristen just nodded and the curtains shut. Sonja slid her curtains closed without a word. Rose just sat, staring into space. She was in Slytherin. Her, Rose Weasley, was in Slytherin. What the hell had happened. She suddenly felt the crash of realization hit her, and it hit her hard.
She wasn't in Gryffindor. She was in strange, unknown territory. No cousins to help her out. No tips, no knowledge. She was an anomaly. Someone who strayed away from her family. What would they think? Oh crap, what would her father say? Her mom? Her aunts and uncles? Every single member of her family and most of anyone she knew were in Gryffindor. Rose buried her face in her hands, laid down, and waved her wand, shutting her curtains. Now there was no noise, no distraction. Now all she had was quiet and space to think.
No. She decided. She could do this. She wasn't her parents. Daughter of the Gryffindor Princess, niece to the Chosen One, product of two thirds of the Golden Trio. She was Rose Weasley, a Slytherin. With a determined mind, she shut her eyes and felt the day's events take their toll on her, and she slipped into sleep.
So that's chapter one. What to you think? Please review. I want to know your thoughts. -Crys