Hi, I'm lemonisquared, and this is my first story on this account. I wrote Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and the Mary Sue , which is going to remain incomplete because I started it a long time ago (four-five years) and my writing style is already all over the place in it. Of course, it's just a silly light-hearted parody that I'm not going to take down because it still holds a special place in my heart.

On to more important things; this is the first of (hopefully) several stories about the next-generation Hogwarts students. I haven't added any OC's just yet (unless you count animals), so DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything related to the Harry Potter series, including setting, storyline, characters and other things, and this is not for monetary gain.

This should be, for the most part from Scorpius Malfoy's perspective, and I've tried to make sure everything matches up to canon. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE leave me your thoughts/constructive criticism whether you like the story or not, and I'll try to improve! (''this is not my head-canon" is not constructive). Enjoy?

"I heard the Malfoy kid's a couple compartments down. Interested?"

A boy stood in the doorway wearing a smirk. He looked a little older than the other two freckled children sitting in the current compartment, and certainly a little more self-assured. It didn't take a genius to put two and two together. It was clear that he, whoever he was, had something slightly devious, or at least annoying, in mind. At least he was referring to the freckled boy and girl in the compartment, and failed to notice that Scorpius was sitting right there.

"I'll pass," the boy sitting across from him said, looking thoroughly unimpressed. Families began to shift around to leave the station behind the window pane. Some remained, rushing stragglers into the doors of the red Hogwarts Express, and others were still saying their last good-byes. Scorpius could barely make out his parents anymore as the crowd swarmed around their pale faces. His burrowing owl, Plume, chattered excitedly in her cage.

"What's he done to you, anyway, James?"

The red-haired boy in the doorway shrugged and grinned. "Just wanted to say hello, that's all. You coming, Rose?"

The girl rolled her blue eyes and smiled. "I'll make sure he doesn't do anything terrible," she told them.

Scorpius watched them leave down the hallway and felt a sudden release of anxiety. That should have ended badly, and he was grateful it didn't. Of course, he couldn't quite place why James hadn't realized he was sitting right there. The train began to depart from the station, the crisp September afternoon blurred outside the window. The boys sat in silence for a minute or two, with Scorpius trying (and failing) to think of something to say. As the time passed, the other eleven-year-old kept leaning on the glass, staring outside at the passing landscape. His eyes were a startling green, his nose was long and almost completely covered in freckles. At several intervals, he scratched at his black hair, like he too was trying to start a conversation, but instead went to petting a silvery cat sitting smartly beside him.

"Sorry about my brother," he said finally. "He's kind of an idiot, James. I don't think he would do anything like start a fight, though, at least I hope not. I should've followed him to make sure, you can't really be too sure. But Rose is with him, so it shouldn't be too bad." He scratched nervously at his cat's neck as he speaks.

Brothers? It made sense, actually, and Scorpius was surprised that he didn't pick it up. They had the same nose, same skinniness and the same freckles. If anything, the fact that everyone else in the compartment had freckles should have been some sort of sign. As pale as he was, Scorpius never seemed to freckle; of course, his mother wasn't exactly keen on letting him out in the sun for too long to get sunburnt. The thought of his mother made his stomach turn unpleasantly with sudden homesickness.

"Brothers," Scorpius repeated lamely. "Now that you mention it, you do look similar. Is Rose your sister, too?"

The other boy shook his head. "No, we're cousins. Her dad is my mum's brother."

Again, they sat in awkward silence for several moments as the two tried to devise something with which they could continue the conversation. "What's your name?" Scorpius asked, the question coming out more quietly than intended.

"You have to promise not to laugh." He stared at Scorpius with an appraising look. "It's Albus Severus Potter." The name came out mumbled, the words crashing into each other like marbles. "You?"

"Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy."

"I don't believe this," Albus answered. What, that 'The Malfoy Kid' was sitting in the compartment the whole time or that someone had an even stupider name than he did? "But you looked different on the platform. Your hair, well... it looked like there was a lot less of it."

Scorpius pushed his hair, a wavy mop of platinum blond, backwards into the slick style it had been in before. "My parents insisted on me wearing my hair like this but, um-"

"You're worried about going bald," Albus finished for him. He laughed, but before he could continue-

"James couldn't find him, so I came back."

Rose's voice (and the rest of her) materialised in the doorway, just in time to recognize Scorpius as the Malfoy he was.

"I don't believe this," she whistled. Her face broke into a friendly grin, and sat herself back down beside Scorpius, looking him up and down. Scorpius immediately released his hold on his hair, which almost immediately returns into a pile of waves. Rose was tall for her age, much taller than he was, and her freckles dotted her cheeks and nose. She fixed her glasses and glanced over at Albus.

"You're a saint, you know that, Al?"

Albus shrugged in response. "I didn't know until just now either. I feel pretty stupid for not realising it sooner."

"Yeah," she replied, but she scrutinised Scorpius with a bemused expression instead of looking at Albus. He saw that, when she blinked, freckles dotted her eyelids. Her eyelashes were quite long, and they were bent by the lenses of her spectacles. "I couldn't tell before, you hair makes you look so different, but it's the same pointed face and midget height." She messed up his hair good-naturedly, beaming down at him. "I'm not going to tell James, if that's what you're worried about," she offers him a hand to shake, "I'm Rose. Rose Weasley."

Scorpius stared up into her face, transfixed. "I'm Scorpius."

Crinkles appeared in her long nose as she smiled even wider. She had a very small mouth, but a wide grin, and her teeth looked more than a little crowded in there. Rose certainly didn't look eleven, but everyone seemed older to Scorpius. Albus was shorter than she was, but still taller than him. "He's got a worse name than you do, Albus!"

The compartment couldn't help but to laugh.

The sun darted in and out behind the clouds above them. The afternoon began to grow chillier as the hours past, and the students passed the time playing chess (which Al was the best at) and eating sweets. Scorpius had asked, somewhat tentatively, about Al's and Rose's parents. He'd heard that they had been pretty important people when they went to Hogwarts, but Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger weren't exactly topics of interest at Malfoy manor. Rose was more than enthusiastic to talk about both her and Al's parents; how her father and his were both Aurors, her mother was in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and his the senior Quidditch correspondent at the Daily Prophet. Scorpius listened in awe at the stories that came pouring out of Rose's lips, the stories of the Battle of Hogwarts, the Second Wizarding War, the Holyhead Harpies, while Albus shifted about in his seat, upsetting Demeter, his cat.

As the mountainside continued to zoom past outside the train window, the trio chatted excitedly about Hogwarts. Rose couldn't bring herself to choose between Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, and Albus and Scorpius were both worried about being sorted into Slytherin. Scorpius' reasoning was that if his parents had enjoyed their time there, he was definitely not going to fit in. Of course, as he joked to Rose and Al, they'd definitely disown him if he doesn't get sorted in. Albus spent several minutes (not successively) worrying about being sorted into Slytherin, most of which were just him reassuring himself that he's not going to be.

"Don't mind him, the thought of it's just driven him mental, that's all," Rose whispered to Scorpius. Jules, her handsome Spotted Owl, hooted in agreement. Al shot the two of them a halfway dirty look.

"You know what, just because I'm concerned about the next seven years of my life, it doesn't make me mental," he answered. "It's a huge decision, alright? A decision we don't even get to make-"

At that moment, a tall, slender Gryffindor prefect entered their compartment. She too had a smattering of freckles across her deep brown skin. Her black curls were cropped close and she wore a concerned expression on her face. She was already in her uniform, as were several other Hogwarts students that ambled up and down the aisle behind her.

"Al, have you seen James? I'm almost certain he's set off several Dungbombs at the back of the train."

"No, I haven't, sorry Roxanne," he replied.

Rose shook her head. "I haven't seen him recently either, but that doesn't sound like him. Not enough... skill in that prank.

Roxanne sighed and looked at the first-years. "Well, you lot better get changed now. We're going to be approaching Hogwarts soon and it won't do if you're the only ones out of uniform." She started off before returning. "Rose, I hope you don't plan on changing in here."

"Oh, right. That makes sense." Rose picked up her owl and things and followed Roxanne out of the compartment. "I guess I'll find you two later?"