A/N: This is my first ever fan fiction, and I'm looking for a beta, let me know if you'd like to read/edit for me :) And please please review, I could use some inspiration!

"Albus!" I shouted, hooking my arm through my duffle bag straps and closing my bedroom door behind me. "I hope you're ready, we need to leave in like 20 minutes!"

"Give me a minute," he yelled back.

I dropped my bag by the door and went into the kitchen to grab a glass of water. I made it halfway to the sink before I realized someone was leaning against it.

And not just any someone. A tall, thin, blonde haired boy, clad in slim jeans rolled once to the ankle, light blue adidas trainers and a collarless white cotton shirt, top two buttons undone.

I froze.

"Scorpius?!" I choked.

We stared at each other for a long minute, and I registered my own shock mirrored in his grey eyes. I wasn't sure which was more surprising: the fact he was standing in my kitchen or the fact that I had called him by his first name. Or maybe the fact that my heart was pounding uncomfortably fast.

He recovered first.

"Fancy seeing you here, Weasley," he drawled, his familiar voice jolting me back down to earth.

"I live here, Malfoy," I snapped. "Can I ask what you're doing in my kitchen?"

"Waiting for Albus, of course."

"When did you get home?"

"Last night," he said. "Hope you don't mind a third wheel on your trip." He smirked at the expression of outrage on my face.

"You can't be serious," I said, my mouth hanging open.

"Oh, I'm very serious." He positively beamed at me, humor dancing in his eyes.

I stood there, fuming for a moment. Albus had some explaining to do. But as he still hadn't materialized, I wasn't going to go shouting around the apartment for him as I might've when I was younger. Instead, I turned away from Malfoy and banged the cabinet open, looking for the kettle.

"Fancy some tea?" I asked, as sweetly as I could muster. I turned, just in time to catch the startled look on his face turn to /as he covered it with a smirk.

"Feeling civil, are we?"

"You could say that."

I grinned as I filled up the kettle, turned away so he couldn't see. Kill him with kindness, Rose, he won't know what to do with himself. My lovely cousin decided to pick that moment to walk into the kitchen.

"Ah, Rose, I see you've noticed the surprise," Albus said, a little uncomfortably.

I pointed my wand at the kettle, which shot steam into the air, and whirled on Albus.

"Will you excuse us for a moment?" I asked Malfoy, not waiting for an answer as I led Albus from the room. Malfoy just leaned more comfortably against the counter, looking amused.

"Albus Severus Potter!" I hissed, rounding on him as soon as we were out of earshot. "You could've at least told me he was coming home! He nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"I didn't want to ruin the surprise!" He grinned, but quickly stopped when he saw the expression on my face. "Okay okay, so maybe I should've mentioned it–"

"You think?" I muttered angrily.

"–but I knew you'd be angry. But he's my best mate, Rose. It's been six months since I've seen him and plus, it's his family's place we're staying at. I can't exactly tell him he can't join us!"

I huffed, hating that his words were true.

"Come on!" He nudged me. "It'll be fun! You haven't seen him in over a year, hell, you haven't had to spend more than a couple hours with him since Hogwarts! He's been in bloody Finland for the past couple years, you've been in France, you guys probably have loads in common after living abroad! I'd have hoped you would both be past this stupid teenage spite towards each other by now, really!"

He did have a point. We were both 22. But old habits die hard, especially where Malfoy was concerned.

I groaned.

"Rose." He said firmly. "Please. If nothing else, will you at least try to be civil around me?"

"Fine." I took a deep breath, running a hand through my shoulder length red hair.

"It's vacation, Rose! St. Tropez! Don't tell me you're not excited!" He nudged me, grinning, and I couldn't help but smile back. He was trying, he really was.

I followed him back to the kitchen, where Malfoy waited. I pulled out teacups and poured earl grey for the three of us, shoving the cups toward the two boys.

"How was the flight?" Albus was asking Malfoy.

"Fine, honestly," He replied. "Not too long. Looking forward to the train ride though, I'm a much bigger fan of trains."

"Same," replied Albus.

I stirred milk into my cup, leaning against the island across from the boys. I watched Albus, who was chatting animatedly with his best friend. He bore a striking resemblance to his father, but his unruly hair was a few shades lighter, thanks to his mother. My eyes fell on Scorpius, whose aristocratic profile and blonde hair were so obviously Malfoy, without the sneer marring his features. He caught my eye at that moment and I looked quickly back down at my tea, hating my Weasley genes as I could feel my cheeks heating up.

This was going to be a long week.