Note: If you have any suggestions for how an awkwardly worded sentence could be fixed, please put it into a review! I could always use some help.

There was a small commotion as a boy leapt through a crowd of people to retrieve a calico cat who had decided to flee from it's cage.

"Did you let Jitters into the coffee again, Julian?" asked a tall man with red hair. The man touched the head of the boy affectionately, who had equally bright hair.

"I didn't mean to!" commented the boy. "I guess that's why we call him Jitters." The man laughed. He turned to see a girl with auburn hair standing behind him.

"Karissa! I didn't hear you – I thought you had disappeared. You haven't said a word the whole day. Are you sure you are ok?" he asked, his face softening.

The girl names Karissa nodded. "I'll be ok. It will just take me some time."

"I know, honey." He wrapped his arm around her and kissed her forehead lightly. "I'm just an owl away."

"I know," she whispered. But mom's not.

Karissa's mom had died just a month previous. There had been no warning, no signs that her life would end soon. She was just…gone. Sometimes, Karissa swore he could hear her joyous laughter from the next room, or feel her touch while she slept. But Karissa would run quickly into the other room or bolt upright in her sleep to find the same thing – disappointment. Karissa hoped that going back to Hogwarts would help her, where the imprint of her mother was not in everything from the rug on the floor to the pictures on the wall to the queen-sized bed where her father, George, no longer slept. He slept, instead, on the couch in the living room, to grieved to even enter the room anymore. But Karissa still did – to look at her mother's old jewelry, gaze at her pictures, hug the pillow there her mother's head had once rested.

"Are you sure you're going to be ok enough to go back to school, you guys? We can always go back home, sit in our pajamas all day, eat cookie dough for breakfast, and I could teach you all you need to know about witchcraft and wizardry! It would be fun!"

"No!" said both kids simultaneously.

"Alright, alright," said George, and gave them one last meaningful look before embracing them both. "Get into trouble for me, would you? You have a big reputation to live up to."

"We learned from the very best, Dad," said Julian.

"Give Neville hell for me."

"Of course."

Karissa kissed her father on the cheek. "Are you sure you'll be ok, dad?" she whispered, concerned.

"Yea, I'll be at families' houses a lot. Your grandparents, your aunt's and uncle's…I'll be ok." Despite his words, Karissa could see the apprehension and weariness in his eyes. It would be a long, lonely few months until Christmas holiday when he could see his only connections to his departed wife again.

Karissa and Julian waved as they got on board the Hogwarts Express, the steam of the engine in no way wiping away their worries. "Are you ok to sit with your friends, or do you want me to sit with you?" she asked Julian.

"No, I'm ok. Thanks, though," he said, and walked off in one direction. He was immediately greeted by a group of other second-years, all excited and boisterous.

She sighed and decided to find a compartment, preferably to herself. Unfortunately, the only one she could find had one other occupant. Scorpius Malfoy, in all of his blonde-haired splendor. He was in the same year as Karissa, both starting their fourth year. She slid open the compartment door and popped her head inside. Scorpius glances up at her, and motioned for her to come in.

She entered and slid the compartment door closed behind her before sitting down across from Scorpius. He was slouching in that totally attractive way that only guys could. His blue eyes bore into her brown ones and one corner of his mouth lifted up into a smile. "Hey, Weasley."

"How was your summer?" Karissa asked, placing her trunk in the upper shelf.

"Same old thing as last summer," he said, chuckling.

"Oh. Sorry," she said, sitting back down.

"Yea, it's great to have parents that won't stop arguing for five minutes. Well, they weren't that bad this summer, at least. What did you do this summer?"

"Not a whole lot," she said, looking at her hands. "My mom died."

"Bloody hell!" Scorpius said, moving across the isle to sit next to her. "I had no idea – I'm sorry."

"It's ok, I'm starting to get over it," she said, meeting his eyes again.

"Even someone who married a Weasley doesn't deserve that," he said, smiling.

Karissa smiled as well. It was kind of their own joke about how much their families hated each other. Somehow, George had kept himself calm when he learned that his only daughter had gotten into Slytherin instead of the family's tradition of Gryffindor. She imagined it was her mother that had talked to him before he did anything irrational, like come down to Hogwarts and take her home. If he knew that she was now talking to a Malfoy…sitting this close…practically touching…who knew what he would do. Probably go find Draco and punch him.

Well, what her father didn't know wouldn't kill him. Or her, for that matter. She didn't want to put any more stress on her Father by telling him that she was friends with a Malfoy.

That certain Malfoy had gone from bad-ass boy to concerned in less than a minute and was looking at her with sad, crystal blue eyes. Wow, she thought, he really does seem to care. See, Dad, not all Malfoys are bad!

"Is there anything I can do?" he asked.

"No. Just having a friend is good enough."

He half-smiled. "So we are friends now?"

Karissa's heart dropped. Crap. "Uhm, well, I just thought –"

Scorpius laughed. "No, I just meant that I was hoping we could be a little more than friends." With that, he leaned towards her, his face getting closer and closer.

Oh my gosh, oh my gosh…

And her kissed her softly on the cheek and pulled away. "I thought maybe we could take it slow." This time, a full grin flashed across his face, as well as a blush on his pale cheeks.

"You're not as bad-ass as everyone thinks you are, are you?" she ventured.

"Well, I am – I just have a soft spot," he said, leaning back and putting his hands behind his head. "Just don't let everyone else know that."

"Of course not. I would hate to ruin your reputation," she said, and he winked.

So, once again, any comments or suggestions, please feel free to review! Thanks and have a splendid day!