The bright sky and crisp September air were, in the opinion of Rose Weasley, perfect for the beginning of an adventure. As she hurried to unload her trunk and owl from the car, she couldn't help but feel a shiver of excitement run down her spine. Her day to join her cousins at Hogwarts had finally arrived. As she turned toward the barrier between platforms nine and ten, she began to feel butterflies in her stomach and looked up at her mother. 'Could you go with me, mum?' she whispered, smiling as Hermione Granger-Weasley took hold of the trolley beside her. 'Easy does it, Rosie,' she advised, 'best to go at a bit of a run. One, two, three!' Laughing, mother and daughter pushed the trolley through the barrier and onto platform nine and three quarters, followed by Rose's father and brother. 'Where are Uncle Harry and Albus?' asked Hugo, peering through the mist. 'They should be here any minute,' replied Ron, as he placed his arm around his wife contentedly. 'Ah, there they are!' As Rose watched the Potters come into view, she was relieved to notice that Albus looked just as nervous as she did. Her older cousins had already told her hundreds of stories about Hogwarts, but Rose and Albus were particularly worried by some of the things that they'd heard James and Fred say. Soon, the entire Weasley-Potter clan had assembled on the platform and many of the older children were beginning to board the train. Suddenly, Rose's father turned his head sharply, along with her Uncle Harry. She followed their line of sight and watched as three figures emerged from the steam. 'So that's little Scorpius,' (Rowling, DH 605) she heard her father say. 'Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited your mother's brains.' (Rowling, DH 605) Rose studied the family as they moved toward the train. The boy looked very much like his father, she thought, noting that both had pale blond hair and striking features, but he also seemed to cling to his mother, and displayed a similar calm demeanor. Before she could observe him further, however, Rose's attention was snatched by a shouting James, who claimed to have seen her cousin Victoire snogging Teddy Lupin. Teddy had always seemed to be the big brother of the Potter-Weasley clan, despite the fact that he wasn't related to any of them. The idea of him snogging Victoire was strange to her, but then again, Rose didn't quite understand why couples snogged at all, despite having seen her parents do it countless times. She heard the train's whistle and turned to her parents, who buried her in a hug. 'We love you, Rosie,' said her dad, and as she looked up, she saw her mum nod in agreement. 'You'll be brilliant,' whispered Hermione, with tears in her eyes. 'Make sure you write, and stay safe, and listen to your professors, and-' 'She's got it, Hermione,' interrupted Ron, who gave her one last squeeze before pushing her toward the train. Rose boarded and made her way to the compartment that held the rest of her family, making sure that she and Albus got the window seats. She waved to her family as the train picked up speed, and saw her dad's arm wrapped around her mum, with Uncle Harry's hand on her shoulder. She thought she saw her mum brush her eye, but then the train rounded a bend and the platform vanished from sight.
Scorpius Malfoy was completely alone. Having truly left his parents and grandparents for the first time in his life, the young wizard wandered down the train attempting to find a familiar face, and paused for a second glance as he came to a compartment filled with students. The compartment, which had been magically expanded to fit more people, hosted a multitude of boisterous teenagers, many of which were redheads. The only exceptions to this were two nervous-looking figures, a boy and a girl whom he assumed to be first years just like him. With a jolt, Scorpius realized that this must be the famous Weasley-Potter clan, and he hurried away before they could catch sight of him. Ducking into an empty compartment, he sat down his grandfather's words from earlier echoing in his ears.
'if you see any red headed brats on the train, be sure to hex them,' his grandfather had instructed. 'Nothing good will come of befriending potters and Weasleys, do you understand, boy?' 'But grandfather,' Scorpius had replied, 'why can't I be friends with them? Father said to be kind to everyone.' 'It doesn't do to be kind to the enemy,' Lucius had snarled. 'Stay away from-'
Scorpius suddenly snapped out of his reverie, looking around for a moment before finding the source of the distraction. A redheaded girl stood in the doorway, clearly waiting for him to reply to something she had said. 'Er, hi,' he muttered awkwardly, trying to think his way out of his situation. The girl was the first year Weasley that he had seen in the crowded compartment, and Scorpius had no idea what to say to her. 'Are you all alone?' she asked, looking into the empty compartment. For some reason, this question bothered him, and so his reply came out harsher than he had intended. 'No.' He paused before adding, 'You're a Weasley, right? My grandfather said that all of the Weasleys have flaming hair and that they breed like rats, but I don't-' 'What a horrible thing to say!' she exclaimed, her face reddening in anger. 'I only came in because I saw you here all alone and thought that you could use a friend, but if you're like that all the time, I'd wager nobody would want to be your friend.' At this, Scorpius jumped up, and, with a raising voice, said, 'I do have friends, Weasley, none of which are as irritating as you seem to be. I don't need your pity. As if a Malfoy would ever beg from a Weasley.' 'So you're pulling our last names into it, are you?' She threw back, her voice cold as ice. 'In case you didn't realize, I never mentioned my last name, even though I knew who you were. I guess what my father said is true - the acorn doesn't fall far from the tree.' With this, she spun on her heel and stalked down the corridor and out of sight.