"Lily! Get back here!" Albus Potter yelled as he chased his younger sister through King's Cross Station. She giggled as she darted behind a pillar. Albus rolled his eyes. "Lily, we don't have time for this." His voice was strained with desperation. He was responsible for her and he would definitely get into trouble if she wasn't with their parents when the train boarded. His sister was so immature sometimes, it was annoying. He heard the clicking of footsteps coming towards him and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Ever since his brother, James, had graduated from Hogwarts and had become an Auror, he had this 'holier than thou' personality. Always thinking he could do better than everyone else, which included getting Lily to listen.

Life as the son of Harry James Potter wasn't easy. Everyone was always looking at them to be the next greatest thing since sliced bread. They always had to show up for interviews, press conferences, public appearances. They had been watched since the day James was born. Always in the spotlight. It didn't do well for Albus' self-esteem, especially not when he realized how little talent he had. He couldn't play Quidditch, couldn't do good in school. He'd been sorted into Slytherin and from the reaction from the public, you'd think he'd killed a member of his own family. He had begged the sorting hat to not sort him into Slytherin, despite what his father had said. But the Sorting Hat had seen something in him, something dark.

"Lily," Oh right, James was around. Albus watched silently as Lily poked her head out, a huge smile spread across her face. She jumped up and threw her arms around James.

"James!" James hadn't been around much over the summer, wanting to focus on his new job - new life. He didn't make as much time for family anymore. For a week, it made Albus angry, but he got over it quickly. He soon figured out that James didn't love them. James looked over at him as he set Lily down. He ruffled Albus' hair and began to speak, but Albus waved him off.

"I'm gonna go find Rose." He didn't see James frown or Lily look concerned.

Albus searched the faces of the people around him. They stepped out of his way with whispers of "That's Harry Potter's kid." Albus avoided their eyes as best he could. He smiled when he noticed a familiar head of red hair. She was busy arguing with her mother about something. Albus walked over and waited for them to stop talking.

"Oh, Albus," Rose said with a soft smile. "Mother, you of all people should understand that I can not take care of Hugo all year!" Rose shot a pointed look at her younger brother. Rose threw her arm over Albus' shoulder. "I mean, look at me and Al. We're like you and Harry. He'd be dead without me. I can't have something else dividing my attention."

Her mother raised an eyebrow. "And who might Ron be?" Before Rose could answer, her mother sighed. "Never mind, I already know." She said, looking past Rose and Albus. The two turned around in time to see Scorpius wave at them. He was standing with his father. Albus felt Rose's shoulders relax under his arm. He hid a smile behind his hand as Rose's mother went off to her husband.

Scorpius walked over to them, throwing his arm around Albus. "What are we talking about?" He asked, smiling at the two. They really were something different. Albus, the son of Harry Potter. Rose, the daughter of Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. Then Scorpius, the son of Draco Malfoy. The fact that they had become friends was a miracle indeed. Slytherin had a hand in their friendship. If they hadn't been sorted into Slytherin, they never would've become friends. Well, Albus and Rose would've because they were cousins, but they never would've befriended Scorpius. Thankfully in their five years of schooling, they hadn't gotten into as much trouble as their parents. The worst they'd gotten was detention for being out of bed. And that had been Rose, trying to sneak into the library. They weren't as bad as people made them out to be.

"Albus!" Albus turned in time to see a reporter with a camera. He let out a heavy sigh. This was always happening. When the reporter caught sight of Rose trying to hide behind Albus, his smile got bigger. Scorpius turned his head to the side so he could pretend to not be a part of this. "Oh, Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy, too!" Albus rolled his eyes, but quickly remembered what his parents had told him. He plastered on a friendly smile.

"Yes, can we help you?"

The reporter snapped out of his stupor and held up his camera, "Yes, I was wondering if I could get a picture for The Daily Prophet."

Albus glanced at his companions, "What do you say guys?" Rose came out from hiding with a few choice words under her breath while Scorpius shrugged. They released each other and the reporter directed them. Albus was used to this, so was Rose. Every year a reporter showed up to get pictures of them as they were heading off to Hogwarts. After the reporter had taken a few pictures, he glanced nervously at Scorpius who frowned. Albus watched as the reporter ran off to find Lily and Hugo, Rose's younger brother. James wasn't out of the woods yet though, he had to deal with it all too only he enjoyed it. Growing up, James had always been the one to enjoy the fame and fortune that came with being a Potter. It used to get on Albus' nerves like crazy when James would go out of his way to put them on the front page. Not that he needed to do anything himself really because they were always watched. The Daily Prophet was one who always seemed to want them on the front page, always looking for a photo op. The only interviews they ever did were for the Quibbler, because Lily's god-mother, Luna Scamandar ran it. They didn't let anyone else interview them because Luna's reporters knew what topics to stay away from.

The look that the reporter had given Scorpius had unnerved Albus. The Malfoy family had reformed, constantly shown that they had changed with donations to charities that involved muggle-borns and such. But, ever since Scorpius' mother, Astoria, had been murdered.. Things had changed. Scorpius had a darker look to him, even Rose noticed.

The train's horn blew, signaling that everyone who needed to board should do so in a timely manner. Albus glanced around, looking for his family. When he spotted them he turned to his friends.

"Our usual compartment?" He asked. The two nodded and waved as they went to their own families. Albus, reluctantly, walked over to his dad and gave him a hug. He kissed his mother on her cheek and gave his older brother a hug as well.

"Don't kill anyone this year." James said with a joking tone. His parents didn't seem to think it was funny.

"James." Albus' mother, Ginny, said in a stern voice. Albus didn't understand why it was such a big deal, James said it every year. Before he could dwell on it for much longer, Albus' father, Harry, quickly called the cousins in. Albus' family was huge. The Weasley family itself was huge. Albus had five uncles on his mother's side which left room for a lot of families. Rose was the one he was closest to though, being similar in age and being sorted into the same house. Hugo and Lily were close as well. It also helped that Rose's parents were Albus' dad's best friends. During family time, they would all get together and spend time together. Albus sometimes looked forward to it. The Malfoy family wasn't family, they were just friends, only connected by Albus and Rose.

A reporter for The Quibbler ushered them all into a big group, with Albus' father and Rose's parents at the head and took a few pictures of them. Albus plastered on the public smile. When they were done, their parents pushed them towards the train. Albus held onto Rose's hand so they wouldn't get separated as they searched for their usual compartment, near the back of the train. It had been theirs ever since their first year. They scared anyone who happened to get in it if someone was. Albus sat down next to the window and Rose sat across from him after making sure their bags were tucked away good enough.

It didn't take long before Scorpius was joining them. He sat next to Albus.

"More photographs?" Scorpius pointed out the window. Rose and Albus glanced over and saw a photographer trying to get a picture of Albus through the window. Albus rolled his eyes and turned to Scorpius.

"When will they just give it a rest? My favorite part about Hogwarts is that the reporters can't get in." Rose nodded in agreement.

"It is creepy how they follow us around."

"Just as long as they keep their distance from you and only take photographs, then they don't have to die just yet." Scorpius joked. Albus laughed while Rose shook her head.

"What am I going to do with you boys?" She asked, leaning forward. They jerked forward slightly as the train began moving. Rose rolled her eyes and tucked a few strands of hair out of her face and behind her ear. "I hate this stupid train." She muttered under her breath. Albus laughed lightly.

"It's not so bad, but I do think they should have a better form of transportation to get to school." Scorpius started laughing as he looked at Rose.

"Maybe you should ask your dad for your grandfather's car." Rose grinned

"Oh yeah, that'll go great. 'Hey, dad remember when you and uncle Harry crashed a car into the Whomping Willow? Can Al' and I try it?'" She laughed again, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'd get yelled at for weeks by Mum." Albus nodded in agreement. "What about you, Al'? Can't you ask uncle Harry and aunt Ginny to do something? I mean, your dad has a lot of pull with Hogwarts, maybe we can get VIP treatment." Albus shook his head.

"No, I would but Dad's been on edge lately, like something is happening."

His mind went back to when he came home from school last year. It had been James' last year so of course they were happy to see him come home in one piece (especially after everything that happened to his parents), but when they looked at Albus, arm-in-arm with the Slytherins. Rose on his right, Scorpius on his left. It was Scorpius that set off the alarms in his parents' heads, he thought. It wasn't a secret that his parents disliked the Malfoys. They were friendly enough. Whenever there would be parties to remember the fallen heroes, every May 2nd, the Malfoy Family and the Potter family were civil, professional. They made small talk, asked how lives were going and at the end of the night it was over. They went back to their lives. So, the look on his father's face wasn't something new. He saw it every time the Malfoys were around before the smiles and show faces were plastered on. But as they got closer and Scorpius went to see his own family, Albus noticed the eyes were watching him, not Scorpius. Like he was something dangerous.

Impossible.

Albus looked over at Scorpius who was watching him with a concerned look, "You alright? You kind of zoned out there."

Albus nodded, "Yeah, of course. Just thinking about having to do another year after this at School. Maybe I'll go into hiding after I graduate." Rose frowned.

"Are things going okay?" She asked, voice rid of all joking or teasing. It was what he loved about his friend and cousin. They knew when things were serious. But, he smiled and shook his head.

"Yeah, everything's fine. James is annoying as usual." That earned a laugh. They continued talking for the entire ride, the issue shifting from more serious things to how James annoyed Albus, how Rose hated having to take care of Hugo, how Scorpius boasted about being an only child and other things that were just normal between them, things teenagers talk about.

Albus threw himself onto his bed, staring up at the canopy top above him. Students bustled around him. Scorpius was up in the common room, talking with some of the other Slytherins. Rose had complained about exhaustion for over an hour before she went to bed as well. Albus turned over, looking at the window. The sea life swam past his eyes. Mermaids, Grindylows, Occasionally a giant tentacle would attach itself to the wall, but it hit the forcefield surrounding the castle and quickly swam away. The creatures of the sea would look in and watch him before swimming away. He stayed silent, blinking every now and then but otherwise unmoving. It wasn't uncommon, the first night back was always rough. Students adjusting to not being around their parents, having to be at school. Catching up with friends, etc.

Scorpius came down from the Common Room and pulled off his tie. Albus turned over to stare at the top of his bed again. Scorpius glanced over at him, "You sure everything's okay?" Albus nodded.

"Yeah, just-" He sat up. "You know how our families pretty much hate each other?" Scorpius sat on his bed, the one right next to Albus'. He nodded.

"Yeah, who doesn't?"

"A few months ago, Dad looked strange as we got off the train. I thought he was just upset at you being around." Scorpius nodded again. It wasn't a secret that Scorpius wasn't well liked by the Potter and Weasley family, but he was Albus' and Rose's best friend. That didn't mean they had to be really civil to him. "But, when you left to go talk to your mom, he still looked at me weird. I started doing some digging, spying." Scorpius leaned in closer, motioning for him to continue. "There's something going on. An Auror was killed and his partner was near death but they managed to heal him. He said that.. They were coming." Scorpius furrowed his brow.

"They?" Albus nodded.

"Yeah, I've no idea what that means, but.. Dad's concerned. I saw the Auror that got away and he was messed up really badly. Whoever these people are, they're dangerous. And they want something. Something my dad has."

"How do you know they want something from your dad?"

Albus glanced around. "Because I heard them say there was a prophecy that my dad needed to hear. Him and my mom."

"Do you think they're looking for the Deathly Hallows?" Albus shook his head.

"Definitely not. He put it back with Albus Dumbledore's grave. The Stone is useless, and who really needs the cloak that bad? No, it has to be something else."

Scorpius shook his head. "It's late, Al'. Get some rest. We can talk to Ro' in the morning."

Albus nodded. "Night, Scor'."

Scorpius laid down on the bed and waved his wand so that the curtains around him closed.

Albus did the same, turning onto his side. He couldn't stop thinking about it though. What did they want? An object? A weapon? A seat of power? A person?

More importantly.. Who were they?

Albus didn't get any sleep that night, trying to make some kind of sense out of what he'd found out over the summer. He sat at the Slytherin table of the Grand Hall, bent over a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, and toast. A glass of orange juice beside it. Scorpius and Rose had been made prefects so they were doing a few rounds together before coming to breakfast. He bit down on one of the sausages as Scorpius sat beside him, his back towards the table. He leaned back on his elbows as Rose came up behind Albus, a bag slung over her shoulder. She placed one hand on each of them, her right on Albus' shoulder, her left on Scorpius'.

"So, Scor' and I were thinking.. Since it's the first day back and all, we should go out to the you-know-what." She said, a certain tone to her voice. Of course Albus knew what she was talking about. In their fourth year, Rose had been messing around the Whomping Willow when she'd slipped in. She had a way with the tree, it didn't aim to hurt her. Rose actually had a way with all nature. In Herbology, she was the one they turned to because she calmed nature and nature calmed her.

What she found had them thinking she'd hit her head and needed to be taken to the Hospital Wing, but she convinced them to follow her and they did. She found that there was an entire house at the end of the tunnel. It was a house outside of the village of Hogsmeade. A way out of the castle - or a way in. They had been using it as a hideaway, whenever they needed to get away or talk about private things.

Albus nodded immediately and stood up. The trio wandered off. Rose had sort of made a reputation for herself after people found out that the Whomping Willow wouldn't hurt her. So, when she approached it she was disregarded. Albus and Scorpius being there didn't strike anyone as odd either. She slipped in between the branches, whispering kind, soft words of comfort to the tree. She disappeared in the flurry of swinging branches as Albus and Scorpius ventured near. The stopped out of it's reach and waited. After a moment, the tree grew still, giving the boys time to slip underneath it to the hidden passageway. Rose went through already, brushing herself off as Albus fell into Scorpius' back. The boys rubbed their sore bodies as Rose rolled her eyes, making a joke about boys being weak.

The three walked through the dark hallway. Rose pulled out her wand, "Lumos." She commanded, light coming to her wand, illuminating the area around them. "We should really put some lights in here." She commented. They came up through a trap door just next to the stairs.

The Shrieking Shack had quite a reputation, for years people spread stories of the screams that came out of the building. Rose had initially been afraid of the place, but after a few years she was over it. They headed for the upstairs bedroom, sitting on the bed. The entire house was covered in dust and Scorpius swore he saw a rat running around one time. Rose reached into the bag she'd been carrying and tossed each of them an apple. Albus bit into his, feeling the cool, refreshing juice slide down his throat. Scorpius tossed his in his hands for a moment.

"So, I wanted to talk to you two." Rose looked at Albus, taking a bite of her apple. Scorpius looked at him as well.

"About last night?" Rose glanced between the two of them.

"If you two are about to tell me something happened between the two of you, can you just wait until I'm done eating?" Albus shot up.

"No! No! Nothing like that!" He said. Scorpius laughed at the two of them.

"Really, Rose? That's your first thought?" Rose shrugged and took another bite.

"I mean, Louis came out to me about a year ago so." Albus raised an eyebrow.

"Our cousin, Louis?" Rose nodded.

"I guess the whole 'veela attract men' thing is true." Albus shook his head.

"Never mind that, it's serious." Rose's smile faded.

"Is it what was bothering you yesterday?" Albus nodded. Rose sat up straight.

"We're listening."

Albus explained to Rose what had happened, what he heard, and what he thought. By the end, Rose was silent.

"Say something." Albus urged. Rose always had all the answers, just like her mother. If anyone knew how to make sense of this, it was Rose.

"It explains why my parents started getting secretive. They were called too. Someone from the Ministry came to my house and told them that they had to come with them. When they got back, they looked at me differently."

Scorpius bit his lip. "Maybe it is me. Something to do with me."

"If we need to know, we'll know. There's no use in obsessing over it right now. Let's just try to enjoy ourselves this year, okay? We can not be like our parents, miserable at school because we couldn't keep our noses out of other people's business. I'm not going to be my mom and put myself in life threatening situations because two boys decided to play heroes." Albus and Scorpius looked at her. "Let's just have fun. No drama, no war."

Albus tilted his head to the side, "Who said anything about a war?"

Rose paused, biting down on her lip lightly. "Dad thinks there's going to be a war again. They're getting ready to fight." Albus shook his head.

"No, you're right. We can't obsess over this. It's pretty much likely nothing at all. And if it was something concerning us, then they'll tell us. Until then, we'll only stress ourselves out." Albus stood up, shoving his hands into the pockets of his trousers. "So, you two are prefects." He commented. Rose laughed lightly.

"Yep, Merlin knows why they'd choose us. I mean, I'm the obvious choice cause I'm amazing, but Scorpius here.." She trailed off, throwing a look at Scorpius. He raised his eyebrow at her, silent.

Scorpius often didn't say anything and instead used facial expressions. A lot of people were quick to judge him without even knowing him. He was a Malfoy, a traitor to everything their parents fought for. Albus' father threw a fit when he learned that Albus had befriended Scorpius. Albus still remembered the letter his mother sent to him, stating that she had to talk him out of sending a howler with a few hexes to Scorpius. Albus was grateful for that, it would've been quite a show and would've made things worse for Scorpius. Of course, Scorpius had no problems in saying when something bothered him or if someone was messing with him or his friends. After an unlucky first year had made the mistake of mentioning Scorpius' father and something about being worthless and Scorpius had decked him. He'd gotten sent to the Headmistress' office, of course, but he later commented that it had been worth it. Albus agreed. And when Rose was being harassed by a Ravenclaw who couldn't take no for an answer, Scorpius somehow managed to make sure the guy learned that Rose was absolutely off limits. Rose was very upset about it, claiming she could take care of anyone that messed with her, which caused her to not speak to either of them for a month, but they eventually made up.

Even though Albus knew Scorpius was more than capable of taking care of himself, he was worried. His upbringing, being told constantly that he wasn't good enough by his peers, that he was evil, dark, and more. With all of the secrets going on with their parents, the talks would only get worse.

"Well at least you two can give anyone who says anything to you detention." He said. Rose laughed.

"Oh, I plan to. There's this first year who keeps bothering me so I plan to threaten him with detention if he says a word."

Scorpius laughed, "Or you can always hex him if he gets too grabby." Rose smiled at him.

The three talked for a few more hours before Rose glanced out of the window. "Guys, it's getting late. We better head back up to the castle." Albus nodded and stood up. Scorpius followed suit. They made their way towards the castle and into the Slytherin Dormitory.

No one ever questioned where they were when they disappeared. Maybe it was because Albus was Harry's son and no one wanted to find out what he was up to, or that Scorpius was the son of Draco Malfoy and the other students were scared of him. Or they were afraid of the looks that Rose gave them when they looked at them accusingly. They intended to keep their secret about the building that they spent their time in. It was like their secret sanctuary that no one else could touch. They could talk about their hidden desires, their fears, their worries, anything they could think of. There weren't any secrets between them. They had no reason to keep secrets from each other. After all that they'd been through, break-ups, family drama, embarrassing moments, nothing was hidden. When they'd stay at the Malfoy Manor (an event that rarely happened), they'd share a room and Rose would opt out of wearing pants at night, just because they were so comfortable around each other. They were best friends.

Albus hugged his cousin as she stated she was going in for the night. She patted him on the back.

"It'll be okay, Al`." She whispered into his ear. She kissed his cheek and smiled. She did the same to Scorpius, whispering something in his ear. What it was, Albus couldn't hear. With Scorpius, though, she kissed the corner of his mouth. Albus frowned slightly as he took in the gaze that Scorpius and Rose were sending each other. He had often questioned the relationship between the two, but never had he seen any real evidence of a romance. But the look that Rose gave Scorpius was a look that he'd seen often between his parents, but Rose looked away before anything else happened. She looked at Albus again, an innocent look in her eyes. Albus smiled at her.

"Night, Ro'." She smiled and nodded.

"Night guys." She waved to the two and headed into the Girl's Dormitory. Albus turned to Scorpius who was watching Rose walk away.

"You love Rose." Scorpius snapped out of it and looked at Albus. He laughed and shook his head, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Where'd you get a stupid idea like that?" He asked. Albus raised an eyebrow. "Rose and I are just friends."

"Yeah, so are my parents." Scorpius shook his head again.

"You're out of your mind, Al'." Scorpius waved him off as he walked towards the boys dormitory. Albus rolled his eyes with a laugh. He followed Scorpius down and walked into their room as Scorpius was getting things ready for bed. "Ro' and I are just friends, just like you and me." He said, not glancing up. "Besides, even if I did like her, nothing would come of it. I'm Scorpius Malfoy, she's Rose Weasley. It would never work out." He said, sitting on the bed. Albus frowned. Obviously Scorpius had spent some time thinking about this. It wasn't just a thought he'd had floating around in his head. He'd thought about this before. "We're from two different worlds, and she would never be interested in me." Albus sighed.

"What makes you say that? That she wouldn't be interested in you, have you seen the way she looks at you? Rose treats you a lot better than she treats anyone else. She's head over heels in love with you."

"You're out of your mind." He repeated. Scorpius laid down on his bed. Albus followed suit, staring up at the canopy. "Do you think there will be a war?" Albus shrugged.

"I don't know. Even if there is, what sides are fighting? My dad, obviously. He's the chosen one. The first one to be on the front line if it comes to war. It's who they're fighting that's the problem."

"Yeah." Scorpius trailed off, as if there was something else on his mind. Albus almost asked what it was, but stopped himself. Scorpius would speak if he wanted to. He always did. Albus turned over and looked at his best friend. Scorpius kept to himself most of the time, following behind Albus and Rose but there was a hidden insecurity that rested in his eyes whenever anything to do with their parents came up. Scorpius never felt like he was good enough, growing up in their would would do that to you when you were known as a Death Eater's son. In that grew a lust for chaos. He loved when Albus and Rose pranked the other students, especially when the students freaked out over it. It was almost an even bigger game to Scorpius.

Albus never understood why Scorpius felt the way he did, but he didn't grow up with Scorpius's background. After Scorpius's mother died, things changed. His father started spending more time away from home. Keeping secrets. Scorpius spent most of his time alone. It made Albus sad to think about, but there wasn't much he could do to help. It wasn't like Scorpius could live with them, he was barely allowed to stay at their house as it was. He'd come over for a weekend every summer, and then his parents told him he had to go home. They kept in contact through Owls, but it wasn't the same. If Scorpius was turning to the dark side, Albus wouldn't have blamed him. You can only go through hell for so long before you start trying to blend in to it.

Scorpius turned to look at Albus, studying him for a moment. "I'm glad you're my friend, Al'." Scorpius said with a small smile. Albus smiled back and nodded.

"I'm glad you're my friend too, Scor'." He replied, "I don't know where I'd be without you. You know, if you want to date Rose, I'm okay with it. I can't think of anyone better for her than you." Scorpius laughed lightly.

"Let it go, Al'." He said, turning over and spelling the curtains surrounding his bed closed. Signaling that the conversation was indeed over. Albus let out a sigh and did the same to his own curtains, closing them. In his dreams, he dreamt of a huddled group and whispers of a great evil. One that rivaled even Lord Voldemort. When Albus woke up the next morning, the dream vanished from his memory, leaving him blissfully unaware.