A/N: This is a story I started a couple weeks ago on Ao3. I decided to start uploading it here as well. If you'd like to read it on Ao3 instead, simply go on that website and search 'And So It Starts'. Enjoy! xx

Smoke curled through the air of the tiny compartment before being sucked out through the window. Rose watched it spin and waver away, wispy and white against the blue sky.

"You nearly finished?" Alice asked, annoyance lacing her voice.

Scorpius nodded, "Sure, I guess, why?"

"It's freezing in here, how do you two not realize that?" Alice responded quickly, glancing between Rose and Scorpius, both of whom were currently seated upon the bench across from her.

Rose shrugged, her eyes still following the smoke, "I've got my jumper and these jeans are rather thick. You're wearing a skirt and a blouse, Alice."

Scorpius plucked his black jumper, "I'm dressed for the weather as well."

Alice rolled her eyes, "I thought it would be warmer. Yesterday was 28 degrees and rather balmy."

"That's Tinworth, Alice. This is Scotland," Rose replied simply.

"Well, I know that, of course. I just thought maybe it'd be a bit brighter considering yesterday was still August."

Scorpius stubbed out his cigarette against the windowsill and stood to shove the little window closed.

"Thank you," Alice said gratefully.

Scorpius hummed in response and pulled out a deck of Exploding Snap cards, "Anyone game?"

Rose shook her head, gesturing to her book, but Alice raised a hand, "I am."

"Okay, you first," he said, moving to sit beside Alice and splitting the cards between them.

Alice flipped up a card from her pile and onto the stack. Scorpius flipped one of his onto the stack. Rose watched as they sped up, slapping down cards over and over.

"Snap!" Alice exclaimed, slapping her hand down on top of the cards. She pulled the cards into her hands.

They continued placing cards until Alice, once again, called, "Snap!" and pressed her hand to the cards. The cards snapped under her hands and she jumped back as if burned, "Shit," she muttered, "I could've sworn that was two queens."

Scorpius smirked and Rose watched the game continue for a few before returning to her book, blocking out the intermittent snapping sounds.

Soon Alice jumped up from her seat and rushed to tug open the compartment door. The trolley lady stood outside, pushing her cart up to the door.

"Anything off the trolley?" she asked sweetly.

"Yes, licorice wands, please," Alice said.

The woman handed the licorice wands over to Alice in exchange for a sickle. She looked at Rose and Scorpius, "Anything for you two?"

Rose nodded, "A cauldron cake, please."

"And two pumpkin pasties," Scorpius called out, his back turned.

Rose handed over the money to the woman, mouthing an apology for Scorpius' lack of manners. As the woman moved away, Rose tugged the compartment door shut. She tossed the pumpkin pasties to Scorpius, "You were being a prat again, by the way."

Scorpius shrugged indifferently, "Thanks for the pasties."

"Mm-hm," Rose hummed disapprovingly, "You could have said that to the trolley woman."

Scorpius turned to look at Rose, his eyebrows raised, "She didn't pay for my food, Rosie."

Rose gave up when Scorpius turned back to Alice and his game.

"Damn," Alice muttered, "these robes are much scratchier than I remember."

Scorpius reached over to rub the fabric between his fingers, "Where'd you get these? They feel like shit."

Alice batted his arm away, "I got them from Second-Hand Robes. I'll charm them softer later."

"Oh my God," Scorpius said, the beginning of a laugh on his lips, "You did it again, didn't you?"

"Did what?" Alice asked defensively.

"Merlin, Alice, you do this every summer," Scorpius sighed, "You went school-shopping just yesterday, yeah?"

"It's not like I didn't manage to get everything," Alice replied, tucking her shirt into her school skirt, "Hey, Rose, tie or no tie?"

"Alice, you've got to wear a tie, it's the rules," Rose said, "If you get detention during the first week of school, you probably wouldn't be able to make the party."

"Fine, fine, fine," Alice said, looping the gold and red tie around her neck.

Rose turned to Scorpius and smiled before moving over towards him, "One of these days," she said, "You're going to have to learn how to tie a tie."

"I think I could get by with having you do it everyday," Scorpius replied with a smirk, looking down at Rose's hands knotting the fabric.

"I have a class at six in the morning this year, how will you get your tie done when I'm not in the common room?" Rose asked, tightening the knot up to his neck.

"Wow, what a coincidence, Rose," he said, "I just remembered I have to switch my potions class to the six o'clock block."

"That is dedication to a certain kind of laziness," Rose said, smoothing down his collar and stepping away.

"Lazy? By waking up at six? Hardly," Scorpius quipped before shrugging on his smooth robes, "Mm, they're so nice and new. Feel them, Alice."

"Shut it, you prick," Alice mumbled.

The train came to a screeching halt and Rose tumbled into Scorpius while Alice was thrown back onto the bench.

"Sorry," Rose mumbled, letting go of Scorpius.

He looked at her for a moment and Rose vaguely worried he might do something. However, he let go of her at the sound of Alice's loud 'ouch!'.

"Not a problem," he replied easily, smoothing his robes.

"Right," Rose cleared her throat, "All set, then?"

Alice nodded, still rubbing her head, and helped Scorpius pull their trunks down from the rack. Rose accepted her trunk from Scorpius, blocking out the warmth that spread through her hand when it brushed his, and pushed through the students into the corridor. Slowly, the crowd thinned and the three stepped off the train, breathing in night air.

"There's an empty carriage over there," Scorpius pointed out and they moved towards it swiftly. Scorpius hopped on first, reaching down a hand to help Rose up.

"I'm fine," she mumbled, staring at the ground as she hefted herself onto the carriage.

Alice rolled her eyes at the pair and climbed up behind Rose, sitting alone across from them.

"Sorry," came a voice from the ground, "Mind if I join you? The rest are full."

"Of course," Rose said.

Albus Potter jumped up onto the carriage and sat beside Alice. She crossed her arms and scooted away from him, glaring at Rose.

"Good holiday?" Albus asked, looking between Scorpius and Alice.

Alice continued to glare him. Scorpius, however, spoke up, "Yeah, it was nice. And yours?"

"It was brilliant, thanks," Albus smiled, "Had a fantastic Quidditch match yesterday with the family. Didn't we, Rose?"

Rose shook her head, grinning at him, "You can say that because your team won. Mine did not."

"Ah, Rose," Scorpius said, "You've gotta brush up on your skills, huh? It's probably because you haven't had your other chaser to practice with, I bet." He grinned at her blindingly and Rose wished he didn't look so terribly intoxicating.

Rose jabbed him with her elbow, "As if. I do great without you," Rose defended, "It's because I had Hugo on my team and he's rubbish at Quidditch."

"Keep telling yourself that, Rosie," Scorpius said.

Albus turned to face Alice, "And how was your holiday, Alice?"

"Perfectly fine, Potter," she said shortly.

"What? No asking how mine was? Terribly rude of you."

"I just heard how yours was when Scorpius asked. I felt no need to hear it again," Alice replied, staring out at the trees.

"Then I guess it evens out considering I had no intention of asking what you did on your holiday," Albus replied smoothly.

"Prick," Alice muttered.

"Ass," Albus muttered back.

Scorpius shook his head and whispered to Rose, "They're unbelievable."

Rose nodded, "And for a moment I thought they'd be civil," she said. She made the mistake of glancing over at Scorpius, who was still turned towards Rose, and couldn't help it when her eyes rested on his lips. Rose met his eyes quickly and looked away, pinching her arm.

She cleared her throat, "So, how are you feeling about the new season, Albus? Hufflepuff got any decent recruits?"

Albus tore his glaring eyes away from Alice to look at Rose with much kinder eyes and a smile, "Rose, if I told you that then how would we get the upper hand?"

Rose smiled back, a small laugh slipping out, "Hufflepuff has never had the upper hand at Quidditch."

Albus shrugged, unfazed, "Well, maybe we will this year."

Scorpius raised an eyebrow, "Is that foreshadowing?"

Albus smirked, "I guess you'll just have to wait and see."

The carriage drew up to the castle and they stumbled out, Rose reluctantly accepting Scorpius' help.

"Well," Albus said, "I'll see you lot around then, yeah? Hopefully not you, of course, Alice."

Alice sneered at him before angrily marching off with her trunk.

"Yeah," Rose said, "See you tomorrow, I think we've got a class together."

"Brilliant, see you then," Albus smiled once more before running off to join his friends.

Rose turned to Scorpius, "We'd best catch up to Alice then, yeah?"

Scorpius smiled and gestured in the direction Alice had gone, "I think that might be a bit difficult. She moves fast."

Rose turned around and, sure enough, she could no longer see Alice, "Well, we'll just see her there then, I suppose."

Scorpius nodded, "Yeah, let's get going."