I was standing on platform nine and three quarters, and I just wanted to get the farewells over with. To be utterly frank, I was pissed off that I had been forced to leave the school I had attended from age six just in order to learn magic. I wanted to continue learning French and Latin, two subjects I knew wouldn't exist at Hogwarts. Mathematics also wouldn't exist: I wasn't bereft about that, but even I knew that I would need some semblance of mathematics in real life.

Wishing my mobile phone would have reception at Hogwarts, or that there would at least be internet, or even electricity so that I could use my mp3, after all, my friends knew that I was going to boarding school, not that I was going to be dropping off the face of the earth, I returned to the present because I could see my dad was about to say something to me.

"Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie." he said, indicating an incredibly pale boy standing with his parents, looking about as irritated as I was. "Thank god you inherited your mother's brains."

"Ron, for heaven's sake!" Responded my mum. "Don't try to turn them against each other before they've even started school!"

"You're right, sorry." Said my dad. He was so whipped. I stifled a smirk. Once mum had turned to chat with aunt Ginny, he continued furtively "Don't get too friendly with him, Rosie. Granddad Weasley would never forgive you for marrying a pureblood." I hated that dad called me Rosie. I was too old for that type of nickname these days, but I knew he liked it.

"Well, I'm off, ickle Wosie off for her first day of big school, have fun without the noise."

"Oh Rose, we'll miss you!" mum enthused.

"I have no doubt. See you." I gave her a hug, and turned to dad. "I'll write as often as I can. I still don't see why I can't just use a ballpoint pen."

"I've already explained it. The magic makes them go insane." Dad said. "No irritating Mrs Norris. I've actually developed some kind of respect for her."

"See you dad." I said giving him a hug, and then carrying my trunk onto the train, my little brother Hugo following, wheeling my double bass. I had been playing since I was eight, and whilst I may have been cut off from the rest of the world, there was no way I was going without my bass.

"See you, Ranga." I said, saluting him as he returned to our parents. Two years younger, he'd be joining me soon enough.

"Et tu, Bruté." He retorted.

I slapped him over the head and waved to my parents from the window. I looked at my watch, or more correctly, one of dad's old watches, and then propped my feet up on the seat next to me. Eventually, someone would come into the compartment, and then I'd get to meet someone new. James, in an uncharacteristic moment of fraternity, was introducing Albus to the first year siblings of his friends. I had declined. All of James' friends were from entirely magical households, they had never been to state school. I found that just a little bit odd. Mum had insisted Hugo and I go to muggle school 'I went there, and it didn't harm me' was the general argument brought forward. The train started to move, and I turned to the window and waved furiously. Once the platform was out of sight, I pulled out the book I had brought for the journey: 'Hannibal' by Thomas Harris. Teddy had recommended it for the gore. I liked it for the plot. Either way, if my parents knew I was reading it, they'd freak out.

I had only read half a page when someone said quietly "May I?" indicating the seat opposite, which was empty, save for my feet, which were clad in mismatched fluorescently striped socks. I immediately realised that in comparison to the boy at the entrance of my compartment, I looked like a total hippie. I nodded.

The boy was the one whom my father had warned me against, although I couldn't see why. He was really pale, but otherwise seemed rather normal. He was dressed normally. I, on the other had, was wearing an old pair of flares that were so faded as to be almost white, converses (on the floor), a shirt that said 'my smirk is entirely obsequious, thanks for asking' (a birthday present from my cousin Victoire, who said my sense of sarcasm was overdeveloped), and, of course, the socks. Socks that, if you looked at them in direct sunlight, caused permanent retinal damage.

I put away Hannibal as this mystery child (or evil mystery child, if my dad was to be believed) sat diagonally opposite from me, slipped off his shoes and rested his feet on my seat. His socks, like the rest of him, were entirely normal. Apart from his paleness, he was the epitome of normal. Pale skinned, completely devoid of freckles, so blond his hair was almost white, and with pale grey eyes, he was the polar opposite of all the boys I had grown up with.

"Hi. I'm Scorpio Malfoy. I'm a first year." He offered me his hand. I shook it.

"Rose Weasley. Ditto."

No wonder dad didn't like him. Generally, his stories of the 'good old days' all involved some Malfoy bashing. Mum generally chimed in to say that he wasn't all that bad, just a bit of an ass.

"Nice name."

I groaned internally. My name was so bland that everyone automatically commented on it. "Hardly. It implies sweetness and innocence, with perhaps a touch of embroidering something."

He half smiled. "And I take it you're not the sweet, innocent, embroidering type."

I snorted. "I'm more the rugby playing, bass clef reading, preteen rebel."

"Bass clef reading?" he asked incredulously.

"My school's band was rather sexist when it came to assigning instruments to learn. Girls were pure treble. Since they wouldn't let me play tuba, I talked my mum into letting me learn the double bass externally." I indicated the bass. "It seems she didn't like the whole tuba idea either."

Scorpius smiled a little more. "I was at an all boys school, which meant someone had to play the… higher pitch instruments. Luckily, I – to quote the music master – exhibited an affinity for the tuba. One of my friends was stuck playing the flute."

"Ouch."

"He's a real martyr about it. Tell me, is there a nickname you prefer?"

"Not really. I'm warning you, though. Call me Rosie, and I will pull your internal organs out through your nostrils." I smiled sweetly. "That having been said, do you have a preferred name?"

"God yes. At my school, fitting in was paramount. When I was enrolled, my father put down a different name. I'm called Scorpius after my great grandfather, but I've been called Riley by all of my friends since I was five."

"Riley it is."

"For now." He said bitterly. I tilted my head questioningly.

"Apparently, I'm to be Scorpius at Hogwarts. I need to get used to it." The way he said Hogwarts gave me the impression that he wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea of attending.

"Not too excited about boarding school?"

"That's not the issue. I've been attending one for the past six years."

The curiosity was getting irritating.

"Where did you go to school?"

Scorpius muttered something slightly coherent. I must have misheard.

"You went to ETON?"

"Yeah."

Well. It seems I hadn't.

"Eton?"

"Eton."

"ETON?"

"The same. I mean for heaven's sake. I have to change schools, and I can't even attend one with a normal school uniform? I thought the tie and tails were bad, but at least they weren't robes."

"I know. It's nasty."

"So," he asked, "where did you go to school?"

"St George's prep. The local school." I stood up to stretch. Sitting down again, I could see that our owls were clearly getting along.

"It seems Spike has become well acquailted with your owl."

"You named your owl 'Spike', Rose?"

"My mum named him. She said when I'm older hand have fully appreciated the wonders of Buffy I'll understand. What's yours named?"

"Jack."

"That's very garden variety." I was trying not to laugh. That would have to be the most normal name for an owl in the history of wizardkind.

"As in 'the ripper'." He said with an absolutely straight face.

"Nice." I said appreciatively.

We chatted for the next few hours about our families, our lives before Hogwarts, music and sports. Glancing out the window, I saw it was getting rather dark.

"We'd better get changed, Scorpius. We should be at Hogwarts soon."

"Oh. I'm terribly sorry." Was his reply, and as I stood up to access my trunk, he left the carriage and closed the door. Wondering what as going on, I walked to the door and peered out.

"Care to enlighten me as to what that was about, Scorpius?" I asked.

Scorpius was looking straight ahead, not even glancing at me in his peripheral vision. He turned slightly pink.

"You were about to get changed. It would be improper…" he stuttered.

He was worried about my virtue. How sweet.

"I'm putting on a robe."

"But you need to change into the rest of the uniform."

"But I'll have the robe on top."

I couldn't see what the issue was, I had a brother and a few thousand male cousins, I knew how to get changed discretely.

"It still wouldn't be right." He maintained.

"Is this the type of thing they teach you at Eton?"

"This and multiplication, yes."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever."

I changed quickly, and reopened the door to elbow Scorpius in the ribs. "Your turn, captain chastity."

Scorpius looked sheepish. I rolled my eyes again. A few minutes later, he reopened the door, also dressed in his school uniform with robe on top. We returned to our previous seating arrangements, although this time I had my feet on the ground thanks to the fact that I had to wear a skirt.

Scorpius made a noise as if he had just remembered something. "Apparently, they've scrapped the whole first years travelling via boat across the lake thing."

"What! Why?" I exclaimed.

"My dad's on the board of trustees. It's too much of a risk. Three kids fell in last year, and one of them almost got hypothermia."

"James is going to be so peeved. He's spent the last three months telling Albus how scary it's going to be."

"They are?" he asked.

"My cousins. Two of the multitude."

We looked out the window, just in time to see Hogwarts looming out of the shadows. Soon after, the train stopped, and we alighted.

Someone was calling "First years! Little people over here!"

Indicating with my head that Scorpius should follow, I made my way towards the voice. I saw a tall, rather muscular man in a suit with a few first years already in front of him. They all stood in twos and threes, looking rather scared.

Seeing everyone there, the man spoke. "I am Professor Longbottom, and I'm here to take you to Hogwarts. As some of you are no doubt aware, you will not be arriving by boat."

There was a collective sigh of relief, interspersed with a few groans.

"You will be travelling by carriage, like the rest of the students. You will simply be arriving after them. Now come with me."

Like a flock of sheep, we followed, and got into carriages. Soon we stood at the doors of the great hall, about to be sorted. I was mildly nervous. Everyone in my very extended family was in Gryffindor. My parents and all of their families had been Gryffindor; each and every one of my cousins either was currently was or had once been a Gryffindor. If I were sorted anywhere else, I would be screwed.

Professor Longbottom, whom I realised must have been 'uncle Neville' whom we had visited every summer before he moved to the Orkneys was already calling people up to be sorted. The poor girl at the start of the alphabet, Madeline Angus, looked as if she were awaiting execution. Being at the end of the alphabet helped at times like this.

"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat.

Madeline took it off, visibly calmer, and then walked over to the now cheering Gryffindor table. I glanced over to Al. He was completely white, and it looked like he wasn't breathing. 'Relax' I mouthed to him. He didn't react.

I resisted the urge to tally in my head how many boys and girls were sorted into each house, knowing it would just freak me out more. I sang in my head, a technique uncle George had assured me was fantastic for zoning out in high stress situations like being yelled at by the deputy principal… or even worse, Grandma Molly. Something he assured me had happened incredibly often when he and his twin Fred had been younger.

"They're up to Macarthur." Whispered a tense voice in my ear. Scorpius, it seemed was a touch nervous.

"You'll be fine. It'll be over soon enough." I whispered back. But I was wrong, as there was an incredibly large Scots contingent. After Macarthur (Ravenclaw), there was MacCormack (Slytherin), MacIvor (another Ravenclaw), MacKillop (Ravenclaw again), and some unfortunately named child named Richard MacRichards (Hufflepuff). Finally, professor Longbottom called out "Malfoy, Scorpius."

The deathly silence that fell was, well, deathly. Scorpius swore under his breath, and then let go to take the walk to the sorting stool. Some whispers started up as he went, but they stopped once he had the hat on his head. I waited to see what house he'd be in, hoping it would be Gryffindor so that we could stay friends.

The hat spent a while deliberating, before saying "SLYTHERIN!"

Or not.

Scorpius took off the hat, and walked off towards the Slytherin table. The next name called was Albus. No brainer where he was going.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Not surprising in the least. Eventually I was called. I was the last first year to be sorted. I walked towards the hat, sat down, had it placed on my head, and almost jumped when it spoke to me.

"Another Weasley."

'That'd be about right.' I thought.

"Hmmm… you're the first to give lip since those hell raiser twins. Let's see…" it mused.

'It's Gryffindor, isn't it.' I half asked half knew.

But it seems I had been half wrong.

"SLYTHERIN!"

What. The. Hell. If I thought the silence accorded to Scorpius was deathly, then what followed this announcement was like that silence, after everyone involved was dead, and the entire vicinity had been hit with radioactive weaponry. What were my parents going to think? I knew dad had been hoping I'd follow in his footsteps. I caught a glimpse of my extended family members over at the Gryffindor table. They were all absolutely dumbfounded.

Mentally I shrugged, then I got up and made my way over to the Slytherin table, where the first year students were sitting in a clump next to a corner of the hall. Scorpius had left space next to him, right next to the wall. I sat, glad for the fact that talk had finally resumed. The feast began, but all I could do was lean against the wall and try not to cry. All my life I had lived under the assumption, the knowledge that I would be placed in Gryffindor along with the rest of my family. I would have to tell my parents immediately, lest they find out some other way.

"Are you alright, Rose?"

I opened my eyes and looked at Scorpius, who was looking extremely worried.

"I'm fine. Just freaking out about how my family back home will react. My granddad will probably have a heart attack."

"Wow. My dad didn't care too much about which house I'd be sorted into."

"I'll just have to learn to work with it."

"It's only school."

"For the next seven years of my life, during which time my childhood friends will all have grown up, being normal."

"Rose, for us, this is normal."

Eventually, it was time to go to our new dormitories. In the foyer of the great hall, I managed to get word to James.

"Not a word, to anyone about this until I've told them. Pass it on." He knew I was referring to our parents.

The group of ten first years were led down numerous flights of stirs and through corridors until we reached what looked like a blank wall.

"Alright guys, the password is 'Redemption'" said the female prefect. "You'll need to use it whenever you enter the common room. Otherwise, it's pretty self evident."

The wall had opened at the word redemption, and we all walked in. the common room was decorated in greed and silver, with light coming from glowing orbs floating in the ceiling. There were no windows, but there was instead a glass wall that showed the bottom of what must have been the great lake.

"Girls, with me, boys go with Henry." Said the prefect, who indicated for the boys to follow the male prefect to their dormitories.

"This is your room. Try not to set fire to each other whilst in it. Welcome to the snakepit."

She left, and I turned to the others.

"Snakepit?"

The one girl whose name I knew, Alexandra MacCormack spoke up.

"It's a bit of a Slytherin joke. My mum said they said it to her when she first came here. I'm Alex MacCormack, by the way."

"Rose Weasley."

"Alice Spinnett-Wood."

"Laura Quealey."

"Raeanne Darcy." She spoke with an accent.

Something about Alice's name seemed strangely familiar.

"Alice," I asked, "did your parents play quiddich?"

"Yeah, they did. For Gryffindor. They're going to freak when they find out I'm in Slytherin."

"I thought so. My dad and all but one of my uncles played quiddich with them when they were here. My family are also going to freak about the whole Slytherin thing."

"Mine just freaked when I made the cat float with my mind. The next day, I got the letter from Hogwarts." Laura, it seemed was from a muggle family.

Raeanne moved towards her trunk and began to unpack. "I was going to attend New Salem Academy of Magic, over in Boston, but we moved here before the year started. My parents are just thrilled I got in at such short notice."

"My family's been pretty wholly Slytherin for the past few decades. Seems it'll be staying that way." Interjected Alex.

"Who plays the double bass?" asked Alice.

"Me."

They all turned to look at me.

"Cool." Said Laura.

By then it was past midnight (my watch had to be wind up because clockwork wasn't affected. I had the watch my dad had worn when he was at Hogwarts.) Knowing that I'd have to spend the next day agonising over what to write to my parents, I went to sleep.