"Goodbye Rose!" Shouted Ron, waving, as his duatgher ran through the barrier into platrom 93/4. She grinned at him and waved, he had been shouting "goodbye" every few minutes since theyd left the house this morning. sure enough, he ran through the barrier a few seconds later and shouted "goodbye!" twice more before he actually left.

Finally, though, Ron left with Hugo and Hermione and the books they hadn't been able to convince Rose to bring, and Rose sat down on a bench to read a magazine. It was her first year, but she knew she would be in Gryffindor with her cousin James, and Albus once he was sorted. even without them, she wouldn't have wanted for popularity, of course, as the daughter of two war heroes, but she had no intention of sitting back and waiting for her famous relatives to support her. Rose Weasely had plans.

Plans that would get her sorted into Slytherin if she weren't careful, she reminded herself, so shed best think brave Gryffindor thoughts until she was safely sorted.

"hey, wanna go throw eggs at Scorpius Malfoy?" Suggested a voice

Ooh, nice, very Gryffindor Rose thought, and commended herself for such a realistic attitude.

"Oy! Rose!" The real owner of the Gryffindor voice said from behind her. "Stop daydreaming and come help me throw eggs!" Rose turned around and rolled her eyes at James potter, who grinned and flicked his wand at her throwing a shower of glitter into her face.

"Nice to see your back with us in the land of the living" he said. "everyone else stopped to talk to your parents, so we've got a few minutes before they notice us"

rose blinked momentarily, then gave her cousin a wicked grin. They had always been partners in crime, an arrangement that worked the best for everyone. Rose had always thought of James as the perfect Gryffindor, he was bold, reckless, fun, and divided the world unambiguously into friends and foe. If she wanted to be the Gryffindor princess she knew she would be, she could think of no better role model. And for James, a cunning little sidekick was the perfect thing to elevate his games from juvenile pranks to the next generation of marauders.

And rose really did enjoy the pranks, she thought, as she accepted the eggs her cousin was offering. an ulterior motive didn't preclude a mischievous attitude.

XXxsexxxXXy

"Augh!" Shouted Scorpius, trying to flee from the swarm of eggs that was hovering calmly around his head. Every so often an egg would break away from the pack and divebomb the unfortunate young wizard, and he had yet to shake them.

Rose grinned, from where she was hiding, and fist-bumped James. Her upgrade had made the prank more magically draining for the second year, but James was always eager to show off his magic, and he didn't seem to be straining to much yet.

"You two really are incredibly mature and kind" Albus potter said from behind them, in a calmly detached voice. James took this as his cue to burst out laughing.

"We really are, you know." he agreed, wiping his eyes. "We ought to be Prefects" Rose nodded solemnly.

Albus rolled his eyes. "Rose, your mum was looking for you." he said, as he stepped past them to go help Scorpius. James grumbled at his brothers interference.

"I'd better go find mum, then." Rose said. She stood up, nodded at James, and swept away. The train had already arrived, so she wondered what was so important it was worth making her possibly late to get on. Probably books.

"Mum?"

"Rose. Over here." Rose frowned at her mothers oddly serious whisper. Something serious was going on.

"Mum, what's-" Hermione shook her head and drew rose with her into a corner of the station. The other kids were already piling onto the train, so no one was looking at them. Hermione pulled out her wind and made a complicated series of gestures, that cut out all of the sound from the rest of the station. Her lips compressed into a thin line, and she looked down.

"Rose, I've been keeping something from you. Something important" She said. "I should have told you earlier but, I waiting until you were older."

Rose didn't say anything. It was clear her mother had this planned out, and if she wanted to hear it she should let her speak.

"The truth is," Hermione continued "Ron isn't your real father. I've cast glamors over you, to make you look like you ought to, but when you arrive at Hogwarts, they will fade without my help. I- I don't know what to do about it, except to ask that someone with magic cast the glamors for you… or visit myself, but-" she trailed off.

"If Dad isn't.. actually dad, then who…?" Rose asked

Hermione looked up. "Your real father is… Crookshanks!"