Disclaimer: We do not own Harry Potter. All credit goes to J.K Rowling.


Chapter One

Rose Granger-Weasley sat on her trunk, fingering the polished prefect badge that was neatly pinned onto her brand new Hogwarts robes with an air of satisfaction about her. Hugo sat next to her. The pair of them were waiting for their cousins, James, Lily and Albus Potter to arrive at Kings Cross to meet them. Rose stood up in an anxious acknowledgement as her complete family suddenly appeared a few feet in front of her, pushing their trolleys in a speed much too slow for her liking.

"Can please we go now? I have a prefect meeting in five minutes and I have to talk to the new Quidditch Captain about possibly proceeding them next year and…" Rose ranted, pushing her family members toward the Hogwarts Express. James, Lily, and Hugo rolled their eyes and started to head for the steam train. Albus had spotted someone and already ran ahead. A scarlet flush crept up her neck as her gaze rested on a certain blonde haired boy that he was now avidly talking to. She dutifully waved to her her parents in the form of a reluctant goodbye and dragged her trunk onto the train, heaving with effort.

"Rose!" Karl Jenkins called, brushing his ragged brown hair aside. A prefect badge shone proudly on his chest. She turned on her heel, exasperation clear on her face. She stared at him, taking in his crude features.

"What do you want, Karl?" she asked, irritated.

"We have the Prefects Meeting, remember? Come on!" he said dryly, grabbing her hand and pulling her along.

"What are you doing?" Rose snapped, pulling her hand away from his pudgy one. Karl blushed, but continued jogging down the train to the Prefect Compartment.

"Nothing… Just, come on," he said, averting his eyes. They made their way to the room, trapped in a awkward silence. The rest of the prefects were absent, minus the head girl. The said girl was a Ravenclaw, and Rose had never seen her before. She had wide brown eyes behind square glasses that didn't fit her face right, curly blonde hair, and a heavily freckled complexion. She was staring out the window with a fierce expression on her face. Her trance didn't break even as Rose cleared her throat noisily to get her attention.

Rose folded her cloak underneath her as she sat down on one of the cushioned seats, grimacing as Karl did the same only a few centimetres away. She inched away from him silently as the other prefects entered the room.

After a long, dull hour of a lot of note taking and even more lecturing, the prefects were dismissed to their compartments with a flourish of the glaring Head Girl's hand. Rose was almost to her compartment when she was chased down by a flushing, out of breath Karl. "Rose! Rosie, wait up," he puffed. She involuntarily flinched at the nickname, but did as he said and stood still.

"What do you want, Karl?" she said, her tone verging on irritation.

"Erm… um so I was wondering… willyougotohogsmeadewithme?" he burst out, breathing heavily. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"What?" she asked skeptically. He mussed up his hair in an attempt to get it out of his eyes.

"Will you maybe... accompany me to Hogsmeade?" he whispered, but Rose was close enough to be able to hear him. Her face had turned a horrible shade of magenta and her mind was screaming to run. She opened her mouth shakily, but didn't utter a word.

"Rose?" he asked worriedly, reaching to place a hand on her shoulder. He was cut off by the sound of approaching footsteps behind them. It just so happened to be Scorpius Malfoy dressed in ordinary muggle clothes, passing by to the trolley witch with a bag of coins in his hand. He halted to a stop when he saw them.

"Rose?" he asked inquiringly, pale eyes darting back and forth between them curiously. Rose was going through all the possibilities of how she could turn this situation around in her head.

Karl, however, interrupted her thoughts. "Malfoy. What are you doing here? Going off with the little pot-head to terrorise some poor, unsuspecting little first years?" he sneered, arrogance twisting his features. Scorpius glared at him defiantly.

"Shut up, Jenkins," he snapped angrily. Scorpius' gaze was directed at anywhere but Rose's face. He finally looked over at Rose.

"Albus needs to talk to you, by the way. He says that Hugo injured himself or something and wants you," he said, a pink blush staining his usually pale face. His eyes seemed to be saying something different. He was staring at her forcefully; like he was trying to tell her something.

"Wait, what?! Is he okay? What did he do?" she exclaimed loudly, overprotective instincts taking over her mind. She stared at the two boys. Both were staring at her with intense humour in their expression.

"Yes, he is. But he wants to talk to you," Scorpius wheeled, continuing to stare at her agonisingly.

"When was this?" Karl spoke up, eyes narrowing as he leant against the wall of the train.

"Like ten minutes ago, but we couldn't find you so…" Scorpius trailed off awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck.

"Okay, where is he?" Rose asked, completely ignoring the boy standing behind her.

"In our compartment," Scorpius responded quickly. "Come on, Rosie." He grasped in the air for her hand, clutching it tightly as he interlocked their fingers. She sent him a flat, harsh glare and tried to snatch it back, to no avail.

"Don't call me that," she snarled. He sent her a quick, sly grin. He tugged her hand, smirking all the while, and took off down the corridor.

"Come on, Rosie. Live a little," he remarked, staring at her sideways as he sprinted. He squeezed her hand.

This time though, she didn't try to pull away.