I was very inspired by Skins for this fic, so they'll be a lot of swearing, sex, alcohol and drugs in later chapters (just warning you all now!). Like in each Skins episode, each chapter will be focused on one individual character, though in a few parts so chapters don't get too long. It'll all tie together in the end. This is my first fic, so I'd be really grateful if you could leave reviews as you go along. I accept constructive crictism but please don't flame me! Enjoy.
Rose carefully piled her books in to neat towers on the left hand side of her trunk. Then, with a frown, she scooted them over to the right. Resting on top of her clothes pile was the thick woollen jumper her Grandmother had knitted her that past Christmas, and Rose smoothed it down before closing the lid shut on the trunk. She then caught sight of herself in her the long mirror attached to the inside door of her wardrobe. She was quite tall for her age, something Rose expected she had inherited from her father, with a mane of bushy red hair and a button nose peppered with freckles. Rose had never considered herself anything special. She was just Rose Weasley; ambitious, a perfectionist, the most hard working person she knew.
"Rose are you almost ready, darling?" her mother's voice drifted from downstairs.
"Coming mum!" Rose called back. She gritted her teeth, seized the straps on her trunk with both hands, and gave it a determined tug towards the door.
Hugo, her thirteen year old brother, was stood watching her at the top of the stairs. Hugo was tall too, and was already Rose's height despite the two year age difference. For this reason many people assumed that the siblings were twins. Like his sister, Hugo Weasley had a bush of red hair and freckled skin, though his eyes were a considerably darker brown. Rose continued to try and push the trunk towards the stairs. She blew a strand of hair from in front of her face, looking up to glare at her younger brother.
"Give me a hand, would you?" she asked.
"Sorry," Hugo mumbled, making his way over to the trunk. His gangling frame made him clumsy and he tripped, stubbing his toe on the corner of Rose's trunk. Hugo swore loudly.
"What was that?" his mother's voice called sharply from the bottom of the stairs.
"Nothing!" Hugo trilled.
"Idiot," Rose muttered.
"Come on you two, your father's already started the car," their mother responded.
Together, Rose and Hugo lugged the trunk down in to the hall where theri mother, Hermione, stood waiting. She smiled at her two children proudly and dusted them down with her hands. "Perfect. Are you ready to go?" she asked.
Rose scooped her huge tabby cat, Motley, who had been circling her ankles, in to her arms. Hermione had bewitched the trunk to float easily in to open boot of the car, and the three of them descended down the garden path together. Rose turned back to stare at the quaint little house. She loved Hogwarts, every student did, but she still always missed her family home.
As usual, the Weasleys were running late, and Ron powered his way down the motor way and in to London. The four of them raced in to Kings Cross, and then over to the wall that separated the Muggle world from the magical. Ron whipped out a huge map from his pocket, and together with Hermione spread it completely out, pretending to read it with intent interest as they held it high in the air so that Rose and Hugo could slip through the wall undetected.
When the two of them appeared on to the platform on the other side, completely in one piece, they saw that the great scarlet train in front of them was already churning out steam. Somewhere above the din a whistle blew. "Quick!" Hermione's voice yelled from behind them, and with help from Ron she ushered her children and their trunks on to the train.
"Promise you'll both write," Hermione said as they boarded.
"We will," Rose and Hugo both chorused.
"And no flirting with young Scorpius, Rose," Ron added with a wink. It was a small joke he shared with his daughter.
"I won't," Rose said with a false, girlish giggle.
"Hugo try not to grow out of your robes so quickly this time," Hermione said in exasperation.
"I won't. Bye!" Hugo chirped, and in a second he had flitted off down the corridor.
Rose waved at her parents before following him. The train was in its usual state of pandemonium as students tried to locate compartments and each other. Escaped cats were crawling up the carpet, and somebody had let off a replica Golden Snitch. Its golden wings fluttered, gleaming in the light of the weak afternoon sun. Rose stumbled her way through the throng, frowning and hissing as people repeatedly stepped on her toes. Then she felt somebody tap on her shoulder. Rose turned and saw that it was Albus.
Albus Potter was Rose's cousin and also one of her closest friends. He was tall and slender, with a mop of dark hair and glittering green eyes. He was a good looking boy with an impish grin and ruggedness about him. He grinned at Rose. "Looking a bit flustered there, what do you say we go and track down a compartment?" he suggested.
"Just get me out of this bloody madness," Rose muttered.
"I can't find the others," Albus said as they made their way further down the train, "Unless… Aha."
He stopped and slid open one of the compartment doors. Rose followed him inside. The compartment held three others. There were two blonde boys attempting to lift both an owl cage up and a trunk in to the luggage rails. They were almost identical looking, except one was slighter with round, orb like grey eyes and high cheek bones, and the other was stockier with eyes the colour of milk chocolate.
"Come on Al, give us a hand!" The stockier one called.
"Really, Lorcan? A big strapping lad like you," Albus said. He went over and gripped the bottom of the trunk, helping the other twin, Lysander, to lift the trunk sucessfully on to the rack.
Another boy was sat by the window. He had a thin face and sleek, pale blonde hair. On his lap was a broomstick, which he was polishing with great concentration.
"Hi Scorpius," Rose said, trying to keep her voice at an even tone, "You got scouted over the holidays, didn't you? Dad said your father was boast- I mean talking about it at work." Rose could feel the tips of her ears heating up.
"Yeah, I did," Scorpius replied with a broad grin, "By the manager for the Whooshing Wasps. I wanted to drop right out of school next year and join them, but mum wouldn't let me, so they just took my name and said they'd get in contact when I've left Hogwarts."
"Good. That's really good," Rose said eagerly.
"Here's the other half," Lorcan announced, nodding towards the door.
Two girls were coming towards the compartment. The one in front held a thin Siamese cat in her arms. Fai Chang possessed a waterfall of poker straight black hair which glowed slightly blue when it caught the light. She was attractive with a cool air about her, and her lips seemed to produce a constant smirk. The girl behind her was smaller, with a mass of curly blonde hair, beautifully clear skin and pink Cherubic lips. Her big blue eyes were a lot warmer than Fai's.
Fai entered the compartment, and let her cat slide down to the floor as she pounced on Lorcan, consuming his face with kisses. Albus pulled a face of mock disgust. "God, if all girls snog like that I'm glad I'm not interested," He said.
"Hi Lyra," Rose said to the blonde girl.
Lyra faced Rose with a bright smile. "Rose, how are you?" she gushed. She had moved over from Russia at the age of eleven, and despite being fifteen still carried a trace of her old accent.
Fai had finally released Lorcan, and she turned to Lyra. "So, as I was saying..." She said, forcing Lyra to smile apologetically at Rose and turn away from her.
The train suddenly gave a lurch as it was set in to motion, and the compartment door promptly flew open. In walked a petite girl with short, ruffled hair and a squat but pretty face. Her nose sparkled with a diamond piercing. When she entered a rush of energy seemed to flow in to the room. Lysander's face had lit up.
"Hi guys!" The girl cried, "Oh God I've missed you all."
She walked with a lithe dancers step, skipping over to the boys and planting a kiss on Lysander's cheek. "I was starting to think you hadn't made it," Lysander confessed. He was softly spoken and delivered his words in an off hand sort of way.
"I was up at six this morning," The girl explained, "I've been so excited to come back. Rome was so boring!"
"What did you do there, Phoebs?" Lyra inquired.
Phoebe buried herself in between Fai and Lyra to begin her story. Now the girls sat on one side and the boys on the other, but Rose didn't feel like she belonged with either of them. Everybody was engrossed in conversation, and not wanting to interrupt anyone, Rose dug out a book from her trunk and tucked herself in to the corner to begin reading.