Chapter 1 – At First Sight
"So that's little Scorpius," said Ron under his breath. "Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited your mother's brains."
Rose studied the blond boy from a distance. Though his father was facing the other way, Scorpius still stood gazing at them, smiling as if remembering some distant memory. Their eyes met for a second and something like recognition passed between them. She had grown up listening to stories told by her parents, Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry about the Malfoys. Yet she couldn't see any scorn on this boy's face. Sure, his high cheek bones and pointed chin suggested arrogance, but there was something softer in his features that she couldn't quite place. "Strange," Rose thought, drowning out the sound out her mother chiding Ron for the umpteenth time; but then was soon brought to the surface by the mention of her name.
"Don't get too friendly with him, though, Rosie. Granddad Weasley would never forgive you if you married a pureblood."
Her cousin took the perfect time to arrive with some new gossip he'd caught nosing around. Rosie wasn't too interested, lost in her own thoughts about this boy. "I won't get too close to him," she thought to herself, her stomach convulsing at the thought of getting on that scarlet engine that stood in front of her. Hogwarts. After eleven years of waiting, finally Hogwarts. She really hoped that she had done enough studying to pass the sorting test, whatever it was. Dad was always teasing her about what it was, and even stopped Mum from telling her!
"Coming, Al?" she asked her cousin, as Ron hoisted her trunk onto the Hogwarts Express. Al nodded, still clutching onto his Dad's hand. "You go first, Rose dear," Aunt Ginny beamed, "find a cabin for yourselves." Rose waved once to Hermione and Ron, then to Hugo and finally she let out a breath and climbed on towards a new future…
xxx
Scorpius sat in a cabin by himself, unsure of whether to sit with his 'Slytherin' friends. He didn't want to be in Slytherin. Sure, it sounded badass but Gryffindor sounded way better. He didn't know what his dad would say if he didn't get into Slytherin, though. Dad was always shielded, never letting his actual feelings show, but sometimes it would slip and he could see this softer side of Draco Malfoy. The side that didn't scorn the Potters and the Weasleys; the side maybe even Mum didn't know.
He liked to think he's taken after this side of his Dad. But his whole family was in Slytherin. Scorpius kicked his trunk as he thought of how to get out of this dismal house. Wasn't there someone called Sirius Black who ended up in Gryffindor instead of Slytherin? How did he do it?
"What if I get into Slytherin?"
Scorpius nearly turned his head towards the open window, but caught himself in the last second. They can't know that he was listening; this was clearly a private conversation. Out of his peripherals he saw Harry Potter and his son… Albus? The whole family had always intrigued him but he was far too arrogant on the outside to show any real interest. Especially in front of Draco.
"Albus Severus," Harry said quietly. Aha! So it was Albus. "You were named for two headmasters of Hogwarts and One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew."
"But just say-"
"-then Slytherin House will have gained an excellent student, won't it? It doesn't matter to us, Al. But if it matter to you, you'll be able to choose Gryffindor over Slytherin. The Sorting Hat takes your choice into account."
"Really?"
"It did for me," said Harry.
Scorpius smiled to himself. Well that was the secret then. "Gryffindor here I come" he muttered under his breath. He was going to prove that being a Malfoy didn't mean you have to be a Slytherin. Now that, he smiled to himself, was badass.
xxx
"So, what are they doing for the sorting?" Rose asked Albus as he entered the cabin. Albus smiled secretively. "Something you're going to have to find out for yourself," he said whilst he sat down and stared at the third member in the carriage, who seemed fast asleep, face slightly obscured by a dark, long coat sleeve.
"You know, you can be quite annoying when you're not shy!" Rose scowled playfully at her cousin and was about to persuade him further when –
"Who's he?" Albus said, immediately quieter in his tone when he realised it wasn't someone he recognised. Nor necessarily someone he was going to be very friendly with. "And where's James. And Teddy? And Victoire?"
Rose shrugged. "Being older, I supposed they're off doing something that's rather inappropriate. I, on the other hand, am completely determined to follow the rules." Rose settled back and looked to the side, letting her eyes rest for a while on the boy sleeping next to her, wondering if she should do something to wake him up. After all, shouldn't they all be changing into their Hogwarts robes? "I think I'm going to go ask the driver if he can tell us how long exactly this journey will be," Rose smiled and started to get up. Albus couldn't help thinking that she sounded too much like Aunt Hermione. "That still doesn't answer who-"
"And this," Rose said, cocking her head towards the boy, "is Scorpius Malfoy. Not that I meant to come into this cabin, but this was the only one that was free. And I didn't really notice him." Rose coughed slightly, hoping Albus didn't pick up on her lying, which she wasn't exactly good at doing. Admittedly, the fact that Scorpius was in the only 'free' cabin and that he was asleep made sitting there the best choice ever. Rose shook herself, there's no need to get too close. "And he seems," she continued, poking him slightly and scrunching up her nose, "fast asleep."
xxx
Scorpius woke up, unsure of when he had managed to doze off. He moved his hand off his face, feeling slightly hot in the coat that he meant to take off the minute he was on the train if not for the interesting conversation he overheard. "Must have fallen asleep thinking of all the possibilities" he thought as he blinked and took in the figure in front of him, staring at him with a peculiar expression. If he didn't know better he would have thought it was fear. But Albus Severus Potter and fear? They didn't seem to mix.
Wait a second. Albus Severus Potter? Scorpius jolted upright. "Hello," Albus said quietly out of a way of being polite. Actually, he was unsure of what to do in this situation. This was Draco Malfoy's son… His father's ex-archenemy. "Potter," Scorpius acknowledged with a curt nod of his head. "What are you doing here?" he then proceeded to ask, not bothering to hide his annoyance at being found in this rather embarrassing situation.
Albus blanched and gulped. Taking a deep breath, he thought "if he's going to be mean, then you shouldn't back down! Remember was Dad told you."
"We came and sat here because no other carriage was free. I think that's not against the rules, right?" He smiled inwardly at having come up with a good reply to Malfoy. "Woah, calm down!" Scorpius offered his hand to Albus. "Formally introducing myself as Scorpius Malfoy," he grinned as he waited for his hand to be shaken. That was something that Albus hadn't expected, forcing him to feel even more intimidated by this person sitting in front of him. Weren't the Malfoys supposed to be arrogant and… mean? Shake or not, Albus debated silently in his head. He finally decided to put his hand forward. "You can call me Al," he said, since Scorpius already knew his name. What else was he supposed to say?
The door slip open and they both turned, hand still locked in the shake.
Rose took in the sight before her and, despite herself, started laughing. Gasping for air, she sat down next to Albus, still laughing at Scorpius in front of her. He scowled and she stopped immediately. "Sorry, it's just… I suppose this must have been the first time that your parents met and I don't think this was the way they met at all. In fact from what I've heard…" Scorpius listened to her talk very, very fast for the next several minutes about their parents' history. He gaped at her, wondering when she would stop.
Rose could feel the sudden utter and awkward silence in the cabin when she stopped speaking to take a breath. She didn't feel like she was doing a very good job of explaining herself. "Now that you've shut up," Scorpius said, "do you have any idea when this thing is going to arrive? I'm starving." Rose felt that he was being a bit rude, but decided to answer his question anyway. "Well actually, I was just up at the driver's and he said that we'll be getting there in an hour but I think that we should probably-" Scorpius could feel her getting into one more of her epic speeches when he cut her off.
"Is she always like this?" He asked Al, pretending as though Rose wasn't there. "Introducing Rose Weasley!" Albus grinned, convinced that he'd found a good friend and hoping that they'd end up in the same house. Not that he wanted to be in Slytherin… Rose on the other hand couldn't help but feel a little betrayed. Since when had her cousin – Al! The shy one of the lot! – made new friends that he ignored her over? She scowled at Scorpius and he winked back, making her scowl even harder.
She hoped dearly that his boy wasn't in her house.
