The whistle for the Hogwarts Express blasted loudly throughout the platform, letting the various families know it was last call for boarding. Rose Weasley hugged her mother and father fiercely goodbye as her brother Hugo ran for the train. He was far more worried about getting a decent compartment than any tearful goodbyes.
Rose envied him his carefree existence. He was a lowly second year, with no cares or worries. Rose was beginning her fifth year. She had O.W.L.S. and prefect duty to stress about among various other things. Life had been so much simpler when she was twelve. She felt reluctant to say goodbye.
"Now, I expect you to spend all of your time in the library. I've got a bet going with Uncle Harry that you beat Albus on your O.W.L.S." her father hugged her close and kissed her freckled cheek.
"Ronald!" her mother scolded, "honestly!"
Rose's mother, Hermione, rolled her eyes, but slipped her hand through her husband's arm and chuckled.
"Do remember to have some fun this year, dear. You mustn't spend all of your time in the library."
"Some advice coming from you, Hermione," Uncle Harry interrupted as he strode up to the family. Her cousin Albus trailed behind looking like an exact replica with the same black hair and bright green eyes.
"She spent every spare moment in the library," he continued, giving Hermione a wry smile and pulling Rose in for a hug.
"Very true, mate," Ron quickly agreed. "Maybe if she hadn't had her nose so deeply buried in Hogwarts, a History she would have noticed me sooner."
Ron squeezed his wife affectionately. She smiled up at him and laughed.
"I never had any trouble noticing you, Ronald Weasley."
Ron dipped his head and kissed Hermione sweetly. Both Rose and Albus groaned with disgust.
"On that note, I think it is time for us to go, Rose," Albus said, pulling her away from their parents. It really was very difficult to imagine that all of Uncle Harry's stories about her parents incessant fighting when they had been at Hogwarts were true. They still acted like a couple of teenagers who had just fallen in love. It sometimes made Rose nauseous.
Rose and Albus wound their way through the crowd to the platform. Once boarded on the train, they stowed their luggage in a compartment that had been claimed already for Gryffindor fifth years by Fiona Finnigan and Will Abbott.
"Oi! Al! Rose! Good summer?" Will immediately jumped up and hugged both of them. They were all very close in their year and had been from their first day at Hogwarts. Fiona stood and hugged each of them as well.
"Missed you," she cooed.
Rose couldn't help but notice that Fiona looked meaningfully at her cousin and laughed inwardly that he was so oblivious.
"Where's the rest of the lot?" Albus inquired looking at the unusually empty compartment. Generally it was so crammed full of Gryffindors the only sitting space left was on the floor, and after Rose's reluctant goodbye Al had fully expected he and Rose would be the lucky winners of those coveted seats.
"I expect they will be here any moment," Will said, just as the compartment door slid open and Tory Cross, Amelia Kirke, and Lacey McKinnon tumbled inside.
The chaos of excitement was infectious as everyone greeted one another and began to catch up on the past summer. Rose had received owls from all of the members of the Gryffindor fifth year class at least once during the summer, even from Tory who was not always the most articulate of the crew. She had been surprised to open the envelope and find he had remembered her birthday after all.
"Well then we are just waiting for one more then," Al commented as they all settled into their seats. Amelia had sacrificed and taken the floor.
"Oh, yes. He is coming just now. He got caught by your older brother, Al. I think James was hoping he could negotiate some new broomsticks for the Quidditch team this year," Lacey commented with an eye roll. Everyone knew she found the elder Potter incredibly pompous.
The mere mention of quidditch set the boys off debating about the new Gryffindor quidditch team. James Potter had been named captain, much to Albus' chagrin. Rose felt for Al. Living in the shadow of "The Chosen One," for a father, a professional quidditch player for a mother, and the ever-talented James Potter for a brother could not be easy. Heck, it was hard enough just being his cousin.
Everyone thought that because James was captain Al would automatically get a spot on the team. Both Rose and Al knew better. If anything it would make it more difficult for Al. James may swoon over their little sister, Lily, but he never gave Albus an easy time.
"With Wood gone, you'll be keeper for sure, mate. Nobody even comes close to you," Will said, encouragement evident in his tone.
"I don't know if I'm even going to try out this year," Al replied. He didn't want to be under the thumb of his brother. He knew James had the very distinct possibility of making keeper for the Gryffindor quidditch team a living hell.
"Really?" squeaked Amelia in surprise, "but you're a Potter. Are you even allowed to not play? I mean, your mum is Ginny Weasley!"
"Exactly," Al grumbled under his breath as the compartment door slid open once more to reveal the final Gryffindor fifth year.
"Blimey! Scor! Where have you been?" shouted Al at his best friend, Scorpius Malfoy, as he sauntered through the door with hands placed casually in his pockets. A self-assured smile crossed Scorpius' face as he took in his fellow Gryffindor fifth years.
"All right, everyone?" he asked, raising one blonde eyebrow, and looking around the room. His eyes rested on Rose's for a brief moment before moving on to Albus. His face melted into an ear-splitting grin as he took in his best friend.
They hadn't seen one another all summer. Scorpius had spent his summer at his grandfather's in Bulgaria. Most of his family had been banished after the war and had settled there. Rose didn't know how he could even bare being in the same room as those people. She had seen pictures of them in the history books, and they looked utterly sinister.
"Glad to be back on English soil, then?" Al asked, getting up and giving Scorpius the one-handed hug that seemed to be the only acceptable form of physical affection between teenage boys. Then he nearly pushed Rose off of the seat, in an effort to make room for Scorpius. Rose huffed in annoyance and decided to take a seat on the floor next to Amelia rather than sit uncomfortably with half her arse on the seat the entire ride to Hogwarts. Amelia bumped knees with her in acknowledgement and gave her a small smile of sympathy.
"You just missed Potter's big announcement!" Tory nearly shouted, pulling Scorpius' attention away from Al.
"And what would that be?" Scorpius cocked his head to the side in curiosity, and his cool, blue eyes flashed to Rose once again before focusing back on Tory.
"He's not trying out for the quidditch team," Tory answered giving a bewildered shake of his head.
"I said I might not-"Albus stammered before being interrupted by a bark of amused laughter from Scorpius.
"Ha! Afraid of what your big, bad brother will do to you as captain, eh Potter?"
Al's face turned bright red all the way up to the tips of his ears. Although he looked just like his father, he had inherited the blasted Weasley blush that did not allow hiding any of one's emotions, especially embarrassment.
"Maybe he is being responsible and intending to focus on his O.W.L.S." Rose said primly, quickly rising to Al's defense. Everyone thought that just because they belonged to the Weasley-Potter family you had to play quidditch. Well, Victoire hadn't and neither had Dominique. Just because Fred and James had practically run the quidditch team since their fourth year didn't mean that Rose and Albus were in any way obligated to tryout. But that was easy for Rose to say. She was bloody awful at quidditch. Albus was quite good, but something about the presence of his older brother sometimes made him fall apart at the seams.
"He's trying out," Scorpius said calmly and confidently, "I'll see to it."
"If you were his real friend, you would let him make his own decisions," Rose shot back.
"If you knew anything about him you'd leave him to me," Scorpius replied.
"Ha! I don't know anything about him? I'm his bleeding cousin! We were born two days apart! We share DNA!"
Scorpius' eyes flashed with anger.
"From my experience, DNA means very little," Scorpius replied in an icy tone, alluding to his own infamous family with whom he shared very little in common.
Rose narrowed her fire-filled eyes at Scorpius, and began to protest his comparison of the Weasleys and his family but Albus interrupted.
"Let's talk about something else, shall we?" he asked, sensing an argument brewing between Rose and Scorpius and that never ended well for anyone.
"Tell us about your summer, Scor," Fiona added, trying to help Al save the mood.
"Yeah, how was Bulgaria?" Amelia chimed in from the floor. She moved closer to Rose and wound her arm comfortingly around Rose's own tense one, giving it a squeeze.
"It was Bulgaria. I listened to my Grandfather reminisce about his days at Hogwarts when Purebloods ruled, and combated suggestions to be transferred to Durmstrang around every corner. My Grandfather still believes my placement in Gryffindor must have been a mistake. It's been five years, you would think he'd get over it by now. And the rest of the family? Just as impossible. It's like the war happened last week and not twenty-five years ago. I mean, my uncle talks about Voldemort as if he is still bloody alive. And don't even get me started on the stupid Goyles coming to visit in July. That was a complete nightmare. Verity tried to snog me for heaven sakes. I nearly hexed her right then and there. I'm tempted to ask Rose to perform the obliviate charm on me right now so I never have to think about it again."
There was a long, awkward pause as everyone scrambled from something to say in reply to Scorpius' tirade. Although they loved and accepted Scorpius for exactly who he was, none of the fifth years ever had a decent response to his family troubles.
"So you're saying you had a great time then?" Will laughed heartily and the rest joined in. Scorpius' face went from one of intense disdain to light-hearted laughter in a matter of seconds.
"Let's just say, I'm glad to be back. Here. Where I belong," his eyes once again rested on Rose's briefly before turning to the rest of their friends. Rose felt a shiver run down her spine, but before she could think too deeply about it the candy trolley came around and everyone was knee deep in chocolate frogs and Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans. Albus grimaced as he bit into a bogie flavored one and had the entire compartment hooting with laughter once again.
Soon they were nearing Hogwarts, and the head boy and girl came around to gather up all of the prefects for a short meeting before the students departed the train.
"Come on, then, Rose. I guess we better get this over with," Scorpius offered her a hand up from the floor and guided her out the door.
They continued down the crowded hallway for a moment before either spoke. Finally Scorpius broke the silence between them.
"So, were you surprised?" Scorpius asked, looking back at her briefly before continuing on.
"Surprised? About what?" Rose wondered, a look of confusion on her face.
"About being chosen as a prefect. I sure was. I thought it would be Albus. I mean, he is a Potter. And I am a Malfoy."
"James isn't a prefect, nor was my Uncle Harry."
Scorpius shrugged. "I guess you're right, but Albus is just so… good."
Scorpius had stopped and turned around on that last word, his eyes reflecting some unknown feeling that Rose couldn't even begin to decipher. They stared at each other for a moment, his blue eyes boring into her own brown ones. And then finally the connection between her brain and mouth reconnected again.
"You're good too Scorpius," she said quietly, not breaking eye contact, wanting him to know she meant it. She knew his family's past plagued him. She wanted him to know that she believed he was different.
A rare blush crept across his cheeks and he gave her a half smile. His hand came up, as if to stroke her hair, but then fell quickly back down. Rose felt an ache in her chest that she couldn't identify as another moment passed between them in which neither of them said a thing, but neither looked away either. Scorpius had the oddest blue eyes that Rose had ever beheld - so light blue that they bordered on white, and they laid all of his emotions bare, like windows to his soul. Rose had never found it easy to look directly into them for too long, but also found she often could not stop herself from seeking them out, spellbinding as they were. At this moment they were softened with what seemed gentle affection, but quickly cleared to their normal state of critical vigilance.
"But of course you weren't surprised, right?" he snorted, interrupting Rose's reverie. "You are Rose Weasley."
"I guess you're right, I wasn't all that surprised," Rose replied in a fog. She shook her head as if to clear her thoughts.
Get ahold of yourself, Rose Weasley. She thought to herself as they continued to down the corridor in companionable silence.
Finally they reached the prefects compartment, where nearly everyone else had already arrived. The head boy this year was Henry Dobbs, a know-it-all Ravenclaw seventh year, and the head girl was Rose's own cousin Lucy Weasley.
Rose and Scorpius took a seat in the door, as they were the only ones left in the cramped compartment. Henry glared down at them.
"Now that we finally have everyone here, I think that we shall begin," Henry stressed the word finally while making sure that Scorpius and Rose knew he was referring to them. Lucy offered an apologetic smile for her partner's intensity.
"First off, I'd like to welcome our new fifth years. Congratulations. You are the best and the brightest of your class and have been carefully selected for this prestigious position at Hogwarts. I am sure all of you are more than flattered."
Scorpius let out an almost inaudible snort next to Rose and she smiled to herself. She had heard Lucy complain about Henry all summer, how he had been owling her nearly every day. Apparently he took the responsibility of head boy very seriously.
"First off we need to discuss the schedule for watches. Each week you will receive a schedule of when you are on prefect duty. Prefect duty runs between the end of dinner and two hours after curfew, at which point you will guard the halls of our sacred school and ensure that all students are meeting, nay exceeding, the expectations of a student of Hogwarts."
Wow, this guy really had a complex about the importance of his position, Rose thought to herself. Lucy hadn't been kidding.
"Lucy and I will make up the schedule every Sunday night. If you are unable to fulfill your duty for your scheduled night it is your responsibility to find a replacement. You will be paired up. You may be with your house-partner and you may not. It will be a rotating schedule so as to discourage favoritism.
Now, I know all of you are aware of the Hogwarts Handbook, and I do hope that you read it cover to cover as I encouraged you to do when I owled it to each of you this summer, but I think that it is necessary to review some of the more key points just so that we are all on the same page."
And with that Henry was off and running. Rose couldn't help but notice that he hadn't let Lucy make a single comment.
Scorpius shifted inattentively next to her as they passed the thirty-minute mark of Henry reviewing school rules that they were all perfectly aware of already. Rose couldn't help but feel a tingle at the contact of his shoulder against her own and then chastised herself. Scorpius was her friend. He was Al's best friend. She shouldn't be feeling any tingles or shivers or anything like that. And she certainly shouldn't be having any lingering gazes with him in which she got completely lost in his eyes. He was off limits. She was deciding that here and now.
Finally as her own eyes began to glaze over, Lucy diplomatically interrupted Henry and finished up the meeting with quick precision.
"Thank you Henry, I think that everyone feels very refreshed on the more important responsibilities of being a prefect. Now, we just have one more thing to discuss before we arrive at Hogwarts. All fifth year prefects will be in charge of the new first years as we depart the train. You will guide them toward the lake, where Hagrid will be waiting to help them board the boats. Then you will catch a carriage up to the castle, at which point you will wait for the first years and finally lead them in to the great hall for the sorting hat ceremony. Henry and I will be there to direct. Are there any questions?"
The cabin was silent, afraid to ask any questions in case they started Henry off again. He was looking over at Lucy in disgust for commandeering the meeting from him, but the rest of them were beyond grateful.
"Alright, if there are no questions, you may return to your compartments for the duration of the journey to Hogwarts. Remember your duties. You will be receiving a watch schedule no later than 9:00 p.m. tonight. Thank you all for coming."
With that, Rose and Scorpius shot up from the floor and flung open the door, not waiting to see if Henry added anything else. They had been in the meeting for nearly an hour and had to be nearing Hogwarts. They needed to change in to their school robes and were eager to be back with their friends.
"Blimey, Henry is really something, isn't he?" Scorpius exclaimed as soon as they were out of earshot.
"That's putting it mildly," Rose agreed.
"Hopefully you and I get paired for watches. I can't imagine I'll have any fun with any of the rest of those puritans," Scorpius sighed.
Feelings of both dread and delight clashed within Rose as she gave a noncommittal shrug and a half-hearted laugh. Rose knew what these conflicted feelings about Scorpius meant for herself and she had battled them for years, but the possibility of working in close proximity brought them roaring back to life, fiercer than ever before. And, she knew that she was in big trouble.
Scorpius Malfoy is off limits. Absolutely and completely off limits. Rose reminded herself once again as they made their way back to their compartment. Get it together, Rose. It is not happening.