Disclaimer: Sadly, I own none of these characters, places, or magical references, so please give credit where it's due- the fabulous J.K. Rowling.

Updates: I'll be updating as often as I can, probably once a week- I've already written a few chapters. That being said, I AM a college student, so please bear with me!

Story: The plot begins immediately after the Epilogue, and is told from Rose's POV. I might change the rating later, but that being said this is not a porno, sorry (Just like Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is "Not. A. Prequel.")

Please review, and I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1

First Year, Part One

The train rounded a corner, and all at once Rose lost sight of her parents on Platform 9 ¾. Her hand, like Albus', was still raised in a gesture of farewell through the nearest window; she withdrew it slowly, reluctantly, because doing so meant that she really had left her family. Well, not all of them, she thought as she reached down to squeeze her cousin's palm. There would be many members of the Potter-Weasley clan attending Hogwarts this year, and she knew that with their guidance she would adapt quickly. The question now was whether any of them would deign to share a compartment on the overcrowded train with two first years.

Twenty minutes later, she had her answer: a resounding no. Each family member Rose and Albus had passed, most of whom were easily identified by their red hair, either had no room to spare or, as in Fred and James' case, refused on principle (even though they were only second years). As they reached the end of the train, when they had all but given up hope of finding seats, Rose glanced into the very last compartment and saw that it was vacant except for one small, pale, blonde boy whom she recognized from the platform. Although she knew her father would have preferred for her not to associate with Scorpius Malfoy, she could see no way to avoid the interaction and doubted he would hold it against her if it was limited to this single occasion. Moreover, her arms ached from pulling her heavy belongings along the entire length of the train, and more than anything she wanted to sit and rest. Still, she hesitated.

Albus finally interrupted her thoughts, reading them with his usual uncanny precision. "Uncle Ron hates Draco Malfoy, not his son; there's a difference. Or at least, there should be." In his mind that settled the matter, and without further ado Albus pulled his heavy trunk and nervous owl into the nearly empty compartment. Through the glass, Rose watched to see how the probable future Slytherin would react. Much to her surprise, the Malfoy boy's face lit up into a smile after a few moments of conversation with Albus; the expression transformed him, erasing all trace of resemblance to his father's white, pinched face.

Encouraged by this, Rose opened the compartment door. As if on cue, she heard her name being spoken as she entered:

"-my cousin Rose-"

Al broke off as he heard the scrape of the sliding door and turned to her as he sat across from Malfoy. He smiled just as the other boy's expression grew wary.

"Ah, there you are. Rose, this is Scorpius Malfoy; Scorpius, this is Rose. She won't bite, I promise."

Rose, who hated it when Albus spoke for her, muttered under her breath about making promises he couldn't keep. It was an empty threat, however, and Scorpius seemed to sense this. The wide, genuine grin she'd viewed through the window returned for one brief moment before once again collapsing into caution. Curious, Rose stepped toward him and held out her hand.

"Nice to meet you, Scorpius."

After a moment's pause, Scorpius shook her hand.

"Pleased to meet you."

She sat down next to her cousin. She could see Scorpius was on the verge of saying something, and he had that odd guarded look on his face again, but before he could overcome his hesitancy, Albus made a comment about blubbering humdingers; although Rose had heard this same joke from Lysander Schmander only last week, it helped defuse the strange tension she sensed coming from Scoripus and laughed gratefully. The trio continued to talk as the scarlet Hogwarts Express wound through the countryside, slowly getting to know one another beyond their surnames.


"Another Weasley?" The Sorting Hat's voice filled Rose's mind as she sat on a stool in the Great Hall of Hogwarts. "The Burrow hasn't run out of you yet, it seems. Most of them belong to Gryffindor, and you'd do great things there as well…"

Rose held her breath.

"…but that's not what you want, is it? You want to make a name for yourself beyond your family's bravery, hmm? Well, you're ambitious enough to be a Slytherin. And your quick compassion and loyalty to those you care for makes you a promising candidate for Hufflepuff."

Rose blushed. Her gaze flitted to the Ravenclaw table decorated with blue and bronze hangings, where Albus was sitting, looking hopefully up at her- and so was Scorpius, she noted with a bit of surprise. Gone was that peculiar look of uncertainty he'd seemed to have around her on the train; she only hoped it would last- she rather liked him, and wondered what it would be like to be his friend. The boys sat next to one another on the long bench, the inky black hair of her cousin startling next to the near-white blonde of Malfoy's.

It had been shock enough when Scorpius Malfoy, son of Draco, grandson of infamous Death Eater Lucious and relation to countless other dark wizards, had been sorted into Ravenclaw before the Sorting Hat had even come to fully rest on his head. Whispers of a Confundus Charm rippled across the Great Hall but soon quieted. Albus came next, and rather than soothing the crowd with a quick placement into Gryffindor as was expected, he sat on the stool for five minutes and twenty seconds, becoming the first Hatstall since Peter Pettigrew and Minerva McGonagall before him. Finally, he was sorted into Ravenclaw. For a solid two minutes, the Great Hall was pandemonium. It seemed that although both Scorpius and Albus had to fight to leave the shadow of their families, more was demanded of Albus in carrying on tradition.

"Well, you certainly have your mother's brains, and you've become wise beyond your years. You're well-suited for both Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, and although I must advise you that the best decisions made for the wrong reasons can have their own consequences, I think you'll certainly reach your potential in RAVENCLAW."

The last word became a shout, audible to the rest of the Hogwarts assembly. Once again there was a commotion, but Rose didn't give two knuts about what any of them thought or expected of her as long as she was able to sit with Scorpius and Al.


Rose sat at the top of the spiral staircase of Ravenclaw Tower, tears streaming down her face. She had only been at Hogwarts for three days, and on her first try to enter the common room by herself after getting kicked out of the library at curfew, she'd been unable to answer the eagle doorknocker's riddle. More time had passed, and as the hour grew later and Rose grew more tired, she became progressively more upset. Hadn't she, after all, convinced the Sorting Hat to place her in Ravenclaw against its better instinct? It had wanted to sort her into Gryffindor; she could certainly defend others, and herself- growing up in such a large family had necessitated it. But Ravenclaw? What had made her think she could be a Ravenclaw? She couldn't even answer a stupid, most likely simple question posed by an animated object. Rose loved her house, with its spacious common room that she could sit and read in without anyone teasing her about being a bookworm, their intriguing ghost the Grey Lady, the other first years she considered to be her friends… but thinking of them was exactly what had gotten her into this spot, wasn't it?

Rose was about to start circling all over again when she saw a shock of platinum hair emerge at the bottom corner of her view of the stairs. A moment later, she was able to identify the individual it belonged to- Scorpius. Hastily she stood and dried her cheeks with the sleeve of her robe, although she knew that her red eyes must make her attempt at subterfuge a lost cause.

Caution filled Scorpius' face when he caught sight of her, as per usual. Rose quickly snapped at him "Why do you keep looking at me like that?" Scorpius ignored her question. "Are you okay?" She nodded unconvincingly, looking down at the hem of her robes. He eyed her, and then his gaze flitted to the eagle-shaped bronze doorknocker guarding their common room. Understanding filled his features, and he stepped up to the door to grab the knocker firmly in his hand before letting it fall with a thud. The eagle's eyes opened and its soft, musical voice spoke:

"If a tree falls in the Forbidden Forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"

Scorpius thought carefully for a moment before answering, sounding unsure.

"Yes? Because it could be detected by a Supersensory Charm, couldn't it?"

"Good deduction," answered the eagle before to door swung open to admit them. It was empty, which was unusual since most Ravenclaws preferred to stay up late studying. Rose followed Scorpius and sat next to a window that gave a beautiful view of the Black Lake during the day.

"Thank you," she said quietly, embarrassed, looking out the window although it was much too dark to see anything.

"I'm just glad I could answer it- this would have been my second time getting locked out if I hadn't."

Rose was thoroughly shocked. "Really? But the Sorting Hat put you into Ravenclaw immediately!"

Scorpius shrugged. "That just means I like to learn- I certainly don't know everything. The doorknocker is supposed to make you think about things you haven't already."

"I guess I hadn't looked at it that way." After a pause, she added: "that makes me feel better about being a good fit for Ravenclaw, at least. I've been so worried that I made the Sorting Hat put me in the wrong House- it said I would do just as well in Gryffindor, but I don't want to be just like my family."

"Nothing wrong with that- if it had wanted to put me in Slytherin, I'd have asked not to- there's already been enough Malfoys in Slytherin. It's time to shake things up a bit."

"I feel the same," said Rose. She bit her lip. "I'm not sure my family will agree, though. I haven't told them about the Sorting yet. Al and I persuaded James, Fred and the others to keep quiet for a bit- they weren't too pleased either."

"I haven't written my family," said Scorpius. "I've been too nervous. Maybe tomorrow, we can get Albus and the three of us can send out our owls together?" His voice climbed slightly higher at this question, as if he was nervous about how it would be received.

She nodded. "You still didn't answer my question. Why do you look at me like that sometimes?"

He responded with a sigh. "You're just not what I was expecting, Rose Weasley. My dad respects Al's dad, grudgingly, and he thinks your mum is brilliant…"

"But he never liked my dad, did he?"

Scorpius shook his head. "He doesn't particularly care for any Weasleys, really." Malfoy at least had the decency to look ashamed at this. "The war changed a lot of his opinions, and it's not that he's ever talked badly about your family…"

"What exactly were you led to expect?"

"Irate. Loud. Prejudiced against purebloods, with good reason. And very, very red."

Rose snorted. "We do tend to have a bit of a temper- Nana Weasley says it comes with the red hair. And we are loud- every Christmas at the Burrow we sound like a stampede of hippogriffs. As for the prejudice-" she shrugs. "Your lot hated us for so long, what else did you expect? Although I'd like to think we're moving past those things…" she bit her lip. "Dad wouldn't exactly be happy if he knew we were friends."

Scorpius' face lit up with the same smile she'd noticed when they'd met, and she realized that up until this moment he hadn't quite trusted that she considered him a friend.

And so it came to pass that a Potter, a Malfoy and a Weasley sat at the edge of the Black Lake after their lessons the next day under the shade of a large old oak, making out letters to their families.