Author's Note:

I haven't written much for the past few years, and I rarely ever finish stories, but I am cleaning out my FF profile and starting a couple new stories. I've found a new way of writing that makes the process easier for me. As a result I already have the first three chapters of this ready to go. Please go easy on me and return to to foray of fanfiction.

- Emma

Chapter 1

AUGUST 30, 2023

Rose

''HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!" the whole Weasley/Potter family and friends yelled as James Potter blew the candles out on his 20h birthday cake. Rose whistled from her seat with her parents and her brother.

''James, you're so old now!" his younger sister Lily called from the crowd. She was 16 and going into her sixth year at Hogwarts. Lily had her arm around her girlfriend Cady Patil, a fellow sixth year.

"Yeah, soon you'll have to buy hair solution to keep those luscious locks looking so windswept!" his 17 year old brother Albus yelled. Rose laughed, she knew James' hair was a real concern of his, he was perpetually running his hands through it just like his dad.

"Haha, very funny," James waved off his younger siblings and began eating his piece of cake distributed by his mother and Grandmother.

The party continued with family mingling around until around nine when all of the adults excused themselves. All that were left after that were the many Weasley cousins and friends. Rose was the only one left in her immediate family.

Her parents had forced her 15 year old brother Hugo to go home with them, not that he had complained. Hugo had said he had prep work to do for his first prefect meeting. When Rose had reminded him that the Head Boy was his cousin and the Head Girl was a family friend he had waved her off saying that family should not get special treatment. He had also whispered to Rose away from the earshot of their parents that he wanted to impress Marissa, his fellow Ravenclaw prefect by being extra prepared because she was always on top of things. Rose said goodbye to them and turned her attention to the the birthday boy.

''Now that the boring adults have left we can really get this party started!" James yelled to the crowd, "Everyone 17 and older, which should be most of you, can see Freddy for some firewhiskey and other concoctions ready for your drinking pleasure." He indicated Fred standing at the edge of the tent that had been setup for the party.

The crowd cheered and dispersed, "Not you Lily," Rose heard James say as he stepped down from the chair he had been standing on.

"Lighten up James— it is a party after all," Cady, Lily's girlfriend said flinging her arm around Lily's shoulders while taking a sip of her own drink.

"Hey you're not 17 yet either!" James cried out in desperation.

"Well, then you should have sent them home with the Hugo, Lorcan, Lysander, and Louis," Rose said as she approached the group with her own cup of something boozy, she was not a fan of firewhiskey anymore. James walked away, defeated.

''Thanks Rose," Lily said to her cousin before walking away with Cady. Rose scanned the crowd looking for Alice or Roxanne. Finally, she found Alice sitting at a table talking to Albus and his friend Scorpius Malfoy— one of the few people Rose could not hide her distain for. She walked toward them anyway, there wasn't much she could do since he was Albus's best friend. Their friendship became inevitable when Albus was sorted into Slytherin, the first one in the family (followed the next year by Lily). Rose had not talked to Albus the whole first week of school until she had gotten a strongly worded letter from her mother about inter-house cooperation, and how Albus was her cousin and she was making him feel bad.

"Rose!" Alice Longbottom said as Rose approached their table. Alice was the daughter of Neville and Hannah Longbottom, she was a Hufflepuff and one of Rose's closest friends besides Albus and Rose's other cousin in their year, Roxie (George Angelina's daughter, also in Gryffindor). Alice stood up, practically tripping over her chair and landing on top of Rose.

''Hey Alice," Rose hugged her friend and sat her back on the chair.

"She may have gotten Fred to give her a little sneak peek of the after hour party supplies," Albus said as Rose sat down.

"I'm only on my second or third drink!" Alice protested.

"And I'm ready for another drink already," Albus stood up from the table," Want your third or fourth drink Head Girl?" he held out his hand to Alice. She stood up, gracefully this time, taking Albus's hand.

''Lead the way Head Boy," Alice said walking away with a small glance back at Rose, an excited gleam in her eyes. Alice and Al have had a thing ever since fifth year but Alice was too nervous to ask Albus what they actually were, so any gesture of a romantic nature always made Alice giddy. Rose thought it was cute, and nauseating at the same time. But Rose was a good supportive friend so she gave Alice a wink before turning her full attention to her drink.

So then it was just Scorpius and Rose sitting at the table, and it was painfully awkward to say the least. Rose and Scorpius only really speak when they are fighting or making fun of each other.

"So, Rose Weasley, daughter of the clever Hermione Weasley, didn't get Head Girl? Did your mommy cry when you told her?" Scorpius said with a smirk. Rose looked up from her drink. She had really been trying to avoid fighting tonight.

"Really Malfoy? That's the first thing you decide to say to me? Well you didn't get Head Boy, did your daddy ground YOU when you disappointed him?" The drink she had been focusing on seemed to be taking hold already.

"That's the best you could think of Weasley? You seem to be losing your touch."

Rose stood up. "I'm going to get another drink."

"I didn't ask." Scorpius sipped his firewhiskey with a small scowl.

"Whatever," Rose whispered under her breath. She walked away without noticing Scorpios watching her very intently.

She walked up to Fred who was talking to Molly, Dominique and James. "I think we should ditch the lame party tables and transfigure some couches and pillows," Molly was saying.

"Don't you think we're a little old for what I know you're thinking Mol," Dominique said.

"We're only 21 Dom, it's not like we're 30. Besides, I was just thinking good old fashioned Truth or Dare," Molly reached into her bag and pulled out some vials of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes truth serum, specifically made to make you more susceptible to telling the truth without forcing it out of you.

"I think that's a great idea!" James said.

"I second that!" Rose said as she got her second drink handed to her.

''Fine," Dominique rolled her eyes and set to work with Molly to transfigure all the tables and the tent into a more comfortable space with a couple of couches set up to face each other.

James used a spell to amplify his voice and announced to the confused crowd. "Sorry for the disruption to your sitting—" Scorpius was now on the floor after his chair had been transfigured out from under him (Rose was laughing at the sight), "and the dancing," Alice and Al had been dancing and now had stopped in their tracks when the floor had been on changed from hardwood floors to carpets. Alice was pouting until James said, "But, it's time for truth or dare!"

Everyone gathered around, there were about 20 people left at the party. Rose sat down next to Alice on her right and Roxie on her left. "This reminds me of one particularly crazy Gryffindor party a few years ago," Roxie said to Rose as she sat down.

"You mean the one where we were only 15 when Fred and James made us go to bed before the real fun started?" Rose took a large sip of her drink thinking back to that night. That had been her first no goals let in game and only her third game playing Keeper. Now, she was a 7th year and going to be Quidditch captain with quite a few no goals let in games under her belt. That had also been the first night she tried firewhiskey and the first night she had kissed her now ex-boyfriend Connor McClaggen, a fellow Gryffindor in her year. Rose shuddered at that thought as the game began, it's no wonder she hated firewhiskey now.

"Since I am the birthday boy I will go first, " James said.

"Your birthday isn't even for three days!" Lily said.

"But we are at my birthday party... okay so, hmm, Emily," he said addressing one of his many friends in attendance tonight. "Truth or dare?"

Rose tuned them out focusing on her drink thinking she may need another one soon. Rose didn't often drink but tonight she was trying to ignore that bloody Daily Prophet article that had called her a family disappointment for not being named Head Girl, it also didn't help that Malfoy had the nerve to put it in her face the first chance he got.

Emily was now choosing someone else to choose truth or dare when Roxie whispered to Rose, "Malfoy is staring at you."

Rose looked up finding Scorpius sitting on the other couch directly across from her. ''He's such a wanker,'' Rose whisperer back to Roxie who just shrugged. Roxie found Scorpius attractive and friendly (much to Rose's dismay), so she had little sympathy when Rose complained about him, though she understood Rose's frustration. Suddenly more than half of the group was leaving the tent to watch what Emily had dared Fred to do.

"I think he has to go skinny dipping in the pond. I need a picture of this for future blackmail!" Roxie got up and followed the crowd out and then there was Rose, Scorpius, and two other people Rose didn't know.

Rose sighed she had no intention of seeing her cousin skinny dip. 'Well, this is probably a good opportunity to get another drink.' Rose thought walking over to the abandoned drink station. Rose could sense Scorpius get up and follow her. She poured two fire whiskeys, she was willing to drink it because Fred wasn't around to make her a different drink. The second drink was for Malfoy, because despite hating him, she always at least tried to be the bigger person.

She handed him the drink wordlessly.

"Did you slip something into my drink?" he asked and took a sip anyway. He obviously wasn't too nervous about the prospect of Rose poisoning his drink.

"Of course not," Rose scoffed and started walking away back to her spot on the couch.

She could hear the laughter and the splashing of water outside but she was content waiting for everyone to return. Unexpectedly, Scorpius took the seat next to her, she raised an eyebrow at his presence.

"Yes?"

Scorpius blushed, the small tint of pink on his very pale skin looked strange to Rose

"Um, well, sorry about what I said earlier?" Rose could not believe her ears, was he actually trying to apologize to her.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me." Scorpius said. Rose looked at him in shock, somebody put him up to this, the Malfoy she knew would never say the word sorry. "Look, I just didn't want to fight at your family's party. Al told me it would ruin the whole thing."

Rose downed the rest of her firewhiskey, and before she could say anything the rest of the crowd returned from watching Fred skinny dip in the local pond. Roxie sat down immediate next to Rose and Alice sat directly next to her, squishing Rose into Scorpius. Roxie did not seem to notice, however, because she started talking about how funny the whole dare was.

Fred came in last, wearing only his pants shouting, "Refills for everyone!" and magically refilled everyone's cups. "My turn: Rose." He pointed at Rose, "Truth or dare?"

Rose almost choked on her newly refilled drink, she was not expecting Fred to choose her. "Umm, dare I guess?" She felt her face turn bright red with all the attention focused on her. 'Please anything but skinny dipping,' Rose thought, though she doubted they would do that twice in a row. Although she was comfortable with her body she wanted to keep her private areas, well, private.

"Okay…" Fred said, "Rosie I dare you to climb up the old tree house in your underwear and sing 'Do the Hippogriff' by The Weird Sisters." Rose thought that wasn't so bad, she knew the song and was wearing cute undergarments that night. She took a long sip of her drink and kicked off her shoes. One of James' friends in the crowd whistled when Rose lifted her shirt over her head. She rolled her eyes when her ex-boyfriend, Connor, cat called her as she took off her shorts. Rose was pretty confident with her body, she was a strong Quidditch player after all.

"Come on everyone let's go!" James said, and once again most of the crowd filed outside. This time even Scorpius followed, he didn't want to miss this.