AN: Hiya! This is the first fic I'm writing with a physical keyboard, even if it is an iPad attachment, so I'm pretty excited. This is a fic I've wanted to write for a while now and it's my first Scorose fic so I might not be that great but oh well! I don't own Harry Potter or any character that I don't explicitly say I have created and I don't own Welcome to the Black Parade either (there's a reference to the song at the end) and I don't own The Merchant of Venice either I just needed an old piece of literature for Scorpius and Rose to bond over that I've actually read. Plus, they can get way into Shakespeare later so whatever. I'll just get started with the story now...

Prologue

This was it. This was finally it. She, Rose Weasly was going to Hogwarts. She was, of course, nervous but she had Albus here with her. It couldn't be that bad, could it? What if she and Albus got sorted into different houses? Or suppose one of them got new friends and abandoned the other?! Panic grew in Rose's throat until she felt like crying and-

"Rose? Are you even listening to me?" Albus asked, waving his hand in front of Rose's face over dramatically.

"What? 'Course I am! What was it you were saying then?"

"I was saying, we should probably go and get a compartment before they're all full,"

"Yeah, okay," Rose mumbled. As they set of down the corridor, Rose's anxieties melted away. Of course she and Albus would be fine! Why wouldn't they be? "There's James' compartment," Albus nodded his head in the direction of a door with its windows becoming obscured by a thick, purplish fog. Laughter came from inside which only got louder as they neared it. Albus slid open the door of the compartment and peered inside, "Room for us two?" he inquired.

"Nope, not a chance," James said as he got up and slammed the compartment door on their faces.

"Rude!" Rose muttered as she and Albus continued down the train.

Alas, after ages of searching (it was only a few minutes but it felt like ages) they finally came across an almost empty compartment whose only occupant was the boy from the platform with the platinum blonde hair, nose buried in a book. He was a first year, a fact made obvious by his robes, which showed no affiliation with any house, and the fact he was in the compartment very much alone, save from the company of an eagle owl with topaz eyes and smallish beak. Rose slid open the platform door, walked in, pushed her trunk up onto the shelve and sat down directly across from the boy. "Hello!" she said cheerfully. The boy didn't bother looking up. "I'm Rose, Rose Weasley," She thrust out her hand. Once again the boy didn't bother looking up from his book. Rose moved her hand over the top of the book. "What?" the boy said irritably.

"I'm just trying to introduce myself. It's polite!"

"And?"

"Well, it's customary to introduce yourself back," Rose said flatly.

"Fine. Scorpius Malfoy,"

"Pleased to meet you Scorpius. That wasn't so hard now, was it?"

Scorpius merely grunted in response.

"What's that book you're reading?" Rose inquired. After receiving no response, Rose took matters into her own hands and peered under the book to see the cover.

"The Merchant of Venice. You read Shakespeare?"

"Yes."

"I've read that. I've got a ton of classical literature and plays in my trunk!"

"You've read The Merchant of Venice?"

"YES! I loved it! Do you sympathise with Shylock? He's certainly a very complex character. His flaws seem to be predominantly formed due to prejudice against Jews,"

"He's a very harsh man though. He refuses accept the ducats in exchange for Antonio's pound of flesh which is why he failed to get his revenge,"

"Well, I can see that the dork parade has started in here then," Albus cut in. "I'm Albus by the way,"

"Scorpius,"

"He introduced himself this time!" Rose gasped jokingly, "It's learning,"

By the time the trolly came, Scorpius had learnt a lot more than just introductions, he knew what having a real friend was like. So for the rest of the journey, Scorpius and Rose debated how sympathetic you should feel towards Shylock whilst Albus complained non-stop about how when he was a young boy, his parents took him to the Hogwarts express where he ended up stuck with the dork parade.