Chapter 1

Rose Weasley liked to keep to herself. She disliked attention. She doesn't believe in having "friends" and whenever her mother asked her about her preferred loneliness, Rose Weasley's explanation was simply, "I don't need friends."

Really, she knew she probably needed "loved ones" like friends, but she just felt too comfortable being alone. She hated small talk. She didn't like to "party" like her other classmates. Really, Rose Weasley simply didn't get the concept of friends. To her parents and cousins and aunts and uncles, it all seemed so easy. To her, the effort just seemed unnecessary. She was fine with her books and art. She figured others wouldn't like her, anyway. She was fascinated by the muggle world and had a muggle way of doing things.

Walking onto platform 9 & ¾ to start off his fifth year, Albus Severus Potter had a plan. A plan enforced by his Aunt Hermione, but it was still a plan. His plan- his goal- was to get Rose to realize that she needed friends. As simple as that.

Then he spotted her leaning on the wall, her long pale red orange hair pulled into a high ponytail and her pale freckled face deeply engrossed in a book. A familiar nervous looking boy, Lorcan Scamander, stopped by her and attempted to talk to her. She barely looked up. Looking defeated, Lorcan sulked away.

Albus sighed, shaking his head slightly, "This is going to be harder than I thought."

"What's going to be harder than you thought?" Albus jumped, and rolled his eyes at his best friend, Scorpius Malfoy, who was laughing because he scared him.

"Nothing, mate, let's go," Albus muttered, rubbing the back of his head and following Scorpius inside.

He sat in a compartment with Scorpius, Bryan Zabini, and Rebecca Chang. The train started moving, and watching Rose pass by his compartment, Albus had an idea.

He stood up, and the conversations in the compartment stopped. He fled out the compartment as quickly as he could and Rose was nowhere to be found. He cursed and started checking compartments. He spotted her in one by herself, flipping through the pages of her Sketchbook. Her legs were crossed and really, she sat up so straight and looked so proper, she could be mistaken by a girl who went to Beauxbatons.

"Hey, Rosie," Albus entered the compartment and sat across from her.

"What's up, Al?" She asked, not looking up from her book.

"Are you excited for fifth year?" he asked her, grinning.

"Not exactly," She replied.

There was a slight awkward silence before Albus spoke again, "I heard you're a prefect?"

"Yeah, dad's super proud."

"Rose, come on. You're talking to me, not your book," Albus muttered, irritated.

Rose looked up sharply, her eyes wide, "What?"

"Rosie, why don't you even try?" he groaned, shaking his head.

"What are you talking about Al?" Rose's eyes furrowed.

"I'm making the effort to talk to you and you act like you don't even know me, like I'm not in front of you right now trying to have a conversation with you."

Rose frowned, "I'm sorry, Al, I didn't realize…"

"What happened to you, Rosie? When we were younger you were so fun, always laughing… we were best friends," Albus sighed.

Rose shrugged, "I don't know, Al. We got separated. You're in Slytherin, I'm in Gryffindor."

"That doesn't mean you stop being my friend. I keep trying to talk to you and you brush me off. Just like everyone else."

"I do not brush everyone off," Rose countered.

Albus rolled his eyes, "Oh, right, sure. Hey, Rosie, come hang out in my compartment with Scorpius, Bryan, and Rebecca."

"I'm fine here, Al, tha-"

"There you go! Brushing me off!"

"Because I like being alone, Albus! Why can't you, and everyone else, accept that?! Not everyone needs someone!" Rose yelled, clenching her fist.

Albus crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, "So you're telling me, you like not having anyone in your life? You like keeping everything bottled up, you like not being able to express your feelings to anyone? In ten years, you think you're still going to like being alone? How about in fifty years? Are you going to like being by yourself? Not having anyone around, because you pushed them away long ago?"

Albus stared at Rose for a long time before sighing and getting up, right before he left he looked back, "I'm trying to help you, Rose. No one can get through this world alone. Not even you. No one's strong enough for that. I'm going to keep trying to be your friend. Feel free to meet me hallway whenever you want."

He left and Rose didn't say a word.

Later that day at dinner in the Great Hall, Rose pushed her food around her plate. She was sulking and she knew that, but she had no one to talk to about what Albus had said to her so it was the best she could do.

"A bit depressed now, are we?" Rose looked up at the voice that spoke to her, slightly startled.

It was Rebecca Chang and Blaire Finnigan.

"Not at all," Rose replied, trying not to sound annoyed.

"Doesn't seem like it, you haven't touched your food and your expression tells us otherwise," Blaire inquired.

"I'm surprised my 'expression' doesn't tell you I'm mildly irritated right now," Rose muttered.

"Why is it, Rose Weasley," Rebecca started, ignoring what Rose had said, "that you roomed with us since first year, and we've barely spoken?"

Rose smiled bitterly, "You tell me," she pressed her hands together and leaned forward.

"We can't, I mean, we've tried speaking to you, but after a while, one learns not to speak to someone who seems hard of hearing," Rebecca responded and Rose's smile faltered.

"Did Albus put you up to this?" Rose asked, glancing back at the Slytherin table.

Rebecca and Blaire glanced at each other, and then back at Rose, "Maybe."

Rose sighed, pushing her plate of food away. "You don't need to pretend to try to be my friend."

Rose stood but at the same time Lorcan Scamander was walking by her and the two collided. She was about to fall, but he steadied her and held her shoulder for a little too long before clearing his throat.

"I-I didn't see you there, sorry Rose," He stammered and Rose barely glanced at him as she picked up her book.

"It's fine," she replied.

He stared at her for a bit longer, and then quickly walked away. Just as Rose was about to walk away also, she noticed Rebecca and Blaire's sly smiles.

"What?" Rose demanded.

"Rose Weasley, you oblivious fool," Blaire laughed.

"Lorcan Scamander is completely into you!" Rebecca smirked.

Rose rolled her eyes, "he is not. I've never even spoken to him."

"Well he is completely infatuated with your mute self. It's obvious," Rebecca stated.

"And how can you tell?" Rose asked, disbelief in her voice.

Blaire came around the table to Rose and mimicked Lorcan, putting a hand on Rose's shoulder, "Oh, Rose, my delicate little flower, I am so sorry for knocking into you, please love me!" she said, being incredibly dramatic and looking at Rose like she was about to cry.

Rose laughed, "he didn't say all that."

"Oh, but his eyes did," Rebecca said, and Blaire nodded.

"You guys are ridiculous. I'm going back to the dormitories." Rose said, with a smile on her face.

"Wait, one second… is that… a smile on my dear Rosie's face? One that wasn't brought up by swell marks?" Albus approached them and Rebecca and Blaire grinned.

Rose tried not to smile but she couldn't help it, "I am leaving, goodbye."

"Bye, Rosie!" Albus called out.

"See you later, Rose!" Rebecca called out.

Rose was the first person in her Potions class the next day. She was also five minutes early. She was reading her potions book when she heard someone walk in.

"Professor, I have a question, I-" She stopped short when she realized the person who walked in was not Professor Slughorn.

"I know I do well in this class, but Weasley, calling me Professor is really unnecessary," Scorpius Malfoy laughed lightly.

Rose narrowed her eyes but said nothing and faced forward. Scorpius took a seat right next to her in the first row. Rose tried hard to pretend he wasn't there. Scorpius studied her, taking in her large brown eyes that scanned the book in front of her and her furrowed eyebrows. Her long pale legs, her left leg over her right knee so her school skirt drifted a bit up her thigh. Her hair, as usually was in a high pony tail and the bottom of it brushed her elbow.

"Is there a bug on my face?" Rose asked, clenching her jaw but not moving her eyes from her book.

Scorpius smirked, running his fingers through his pale blonde hair, "No, just looking at you. I was recently informed that my best friend Albus had a gorgeous cousin and he's been keeping her away from me. You're the reason why I'm not number one in the class, also."

"I guess I am, and it's going to stay that way. Maybe you should stop paying attention to Albus' cousins and flip through a few pages of your book if I'm to have any real competition for number one in our year."

"Oh, she's cocky, also. Well, darling," Scorpius leaned forward close to her ear and slid his thumb across her cheek slowly, "I love a competitive girl."

Right then, students started filing in, as did Professor Slughorn and Scorpius moved away from her. Rose didn't say a word, she was flustered and refused to look at him for the duration of class.

"How do you think we should set them up, Blaire?" Rebecca asked loudly while walking behind Rose after Potions.

"Set who up, Rebecca?" Blaire replied, a strange tone in both of their voice that Rose couldn't put her finger on.

"Lorcan and Rose, of course!"

With that, Rose spun around and narrowed her eyes, "Did I hear you two right?"

They smiled innocently, "Hear what?"

Rose shook her head, "you're not going to set anyone up!"

"Come on, Rose," Rebecca groaned.

Rebecca and Blaire went on either side of Rose and locked arms with her as they started walking.

"He's into you, and who knows, you two could end up getting married," Blaire said.

"And imagine the wedding reception? Us telling the story of us setting you two up? Everyone will love it!" Rebecca sighed happily.

"No one is getting married!" Rose exclaimed.

"Not yet of course, you two have to go on a first date before you get married!" Blaire replied.

"You two are crazy," Rose sighed.

"Hah! She agrees! Let's go plot!" Rebecca and Blaire laughed and ran away from Rose, who called after them.

Rose groaned, "What has Albus got me into?"

"You get used to them, really," someone chuckled beside her.

It was Bryan Zabini. Rose studied him slightly, he was tall, dark, and incredibly fit. She kept walking. "I doubt it," she muttered.

"I'd say go along with whatever it is their so excited about. It'll make it a whole lot easier," he said, glancing down at her.

His voice was so calm and deep, Rose had trouble concentrating. She cleared her throat, "I don't think anything will make this a whole lot easier."

"Are we still talking about them messing with you love life or…?"

Rose laughed lightly and Bryan smiled, "No, I guess we're not, but that's the end of that conversation. I'll see you in class."

She quickened her pace, pressing her books to her chest and walked away from Bryan.