- A/N -

Ok, I've just finished reading Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and, I confess, I was too excited about it not to write a fanfiction, so here I am! Considering that this is my first Harry Potter fanfiction and that I may be tempted to write more fanfictions using characters from the original seven books rather than the eighth, which is like going back in time, I guess that this is a rather odd choice for my first dive into the Harry Potter universe, but nevertheless hope that it is accepted.

Now, because the book has only recently come out a few days ago, I don't expect many people to have read it. I myself got lucky in placing a hold on it at my library ahead of time—and getting a freshly new copy, as a result—but don't know if many others have done the same. Even in just the suburbs, where I live, there are 33 holds on the book right now, so I can only imagine how much more chaotic it is in larger cities. Or, wait, scratch that—there are 1560 holds on 338 copies in the city nearest me. So...yeah, it'll be extremely difficult to get your hands on one this early, especially if you're not willing to pay for it. To respect both the original contents of the book and authors however, I strongly advise you not to read this fanfiction unless you've read the original book first.

That being said, this fanfiction will be focusing mainly on the new characters introduced in the eighth book, and the relationships and adventures that they will have. As for what the title means, for anyone who's already wondering, let's just say that it's going to have a similar importance that "the Goblet of Fire" or "the Deathly Hallows" did—in other words, wait and find out.

Of course, spoilers of the eighth book and maybe some things from the original seven are a given throughout this fanfiction, although, if you've read this far, I can only assume that you've either already read the book, or you haven't and just don't care to. Either-or is fine.

Ratings-wise, I have decided to give is a T, although, as for all my stories, I can promise that there will be smut in the future, so be warned ahead of time that some chapters may definitely be M. For those, I will post additional warnings at the beginning the chapters.

All characters, locations, etc. are the rightful property of J.K. Rowling, and what you are about to read is just a non-profit story using these.

Please enjoy, and comments/critiques, follows, or even favourites, are appreciated.

1 - The Younger Two

Rose Granger-Weasley paced—or rather, strutted—down the hallway outside the individual compartments on the Hogwarts Express, ensuring that everyone was settled inside before the train took off. She was a tall, well-figured, redheaded girl in her fifth year, with her prefect sash tied on properly and a gleam in her eye as she watched out for anyone who might be causing trouble—particularly the first years, like her younger brother, Hugo, who didn't know the rules yet.

Not that she had ever doubted for a moment that Headmistress Minerva McGonagall would assign her the task of being the female prefect for Gryffindor, but, now that she had begun, she was taking her responsibilities far too seriously.

"Just like your mother," her father, Ronald Weasley, had joked only a few minutes ago as they said goodbye on Platform 9 3/4.

Yes, Rose knew that she was overly-serious and obsessively organized in everything that she did, but it was the only way for her to be at peace with her strong and competitive personality. Unlike her father, her mother, Hermione Granger, the Minister for Magic, did not question it, perhaps seeing much of herself in her eldest daughter.

"You'll do great," she had encouraged the previous night, being too caught up in her duties to see her children off in person. To Rose, this hadn't made much of a difference, but to Hugo, who was nervous of going to Hogwarts for the first time, it felt utterly unfair.

"She was there for Rose's first year, so why not for mine?" he whined to Ron.

Rose rolled her eyes at remembering for how many days her little brother had been complaining over and over and over again at how unfairly he was being treated. Ever since they were both younger, before Rose had gone to Hogwarts, Hugo's impressions had always been the same: that Rose was the favourite one, that their mother only loved Rose, that Rose was always just better and that he could never match up to her no matter how hard he tried.

Ridiculous...except for that last one, Rose had thought, unable to contain herself. Because, while it was true that she felt herself superior both in skill and intellect to her brother, it was completely untrue that Hermione loved her more or that she was the favourite one—if that was so, then how come she always made more of a fuss when Hugo got himself hurt, whereas her only comments to Rose on similar scrapes would be to "try and take care of it herself using her wand". Maybe it was because more was expected of her with regards to magic, but that was no excuse for cooing over Hugo like he was a baby and giving Rose extra homework to do over the summer. Now that was unfair!

It doesn't matter anyway, Rose reflected as she paced further down the hallway, now reaching the compartments at the back, where the first years were more likely to be. Now I'm back at Hogwarts, in my most important year yet, and I can't let the problems from home affect me. No doubt Mum will...write letters to Hugo probably more than to me, but it's just because he's a first year. Get a grip on yourself, Rose! And, speaking of which...

"What are you doing? All students must be in their compartments once the train leaves!" she exclaimed, coming across a group of second years, it looked like, who seemed content to take up the entire width of the corridor, barring anyone from passing and engaging in unimportant conversation.

"Oh yeah? Says who?" a girl with crooked teeth and a high forehead sniffed.

Rose glanced down at the students' uniforms. Slytherins—she might have guessed.

"It states it in the official rules of Hogwarts, chapter one, subsection five, paragraph—"

"Look Carrottop, we're not interested in the the rules say," another girl, taller and with black hair, sneered. "We're asking who you are to tell us to do anything, especially when you aren't even in a position to—"

Rose knew where this was going and she intended to put a stop to it, fast. Whatever the girl was suggesting, it was already headed in that familiar direction of the Gryffindor-Slytherin rivalry that had been going on for years, and she wasn't about to get caught up in it.

"Rules are rules," she cut in, "and it doesn't matter which house I'm in. As a prefect, I have the right to give all of you a detention as I see fit, or, once we get to Hogwarts, deduct points from your house."

"The year hasn't even started yet and you're already issuing orders? That's rough—take a break, would you, Rose?"

Turning, Rose encountered the familiar person who had addressed her—Albus Severus Potter, her cousin—standing with another less-familiar person whom she only recently had begun talking to—Scorpius Malfoy. Looking down, she noticed that apparently Scorpius had also been appointed a prefect in his house, which would've made him perfect for resolving the situation that she had been put in, but Rose refused to ask him for help.

"The rules of Hogwarts extend to and include the Hogwarts Express. If the year starts off this way and acts of disobedience are tolerated, then who's to say how the rest of the year will go?" she challenged, now shifting her focus from the group of Slytherins to Albus, albeit briefly.

Meanwhile, the Potter boy, who had shockingly been sorted into Slytherin instead of Gryffindor during his first year, and thus breaking up the once-close friendship that the two had shared, which both were working on repairing now, gave an indifferent shrug, looking for the life of him the exact same way that his father had looked when caught in the middle between Ron and Hermione—trying to make everyone happy, and yet himself detached from the issue at hand.

"I'm just saying that it's a bit early is all. Come on, Rose, the train hasn't even left yet!"

Suddenly, a whistle sounded, signaling that the train was in fact, starting to move, which gave Rose the necessary satisfaction to smirk at her cousin before turning back to the girls.

"Now, for the last time, get into your compartments," she ordered, trying to remain calm.

The girl with the crooked teeth stepped up. "What if we don't want to? What'll you do then, Miss—"

"Rovella, you and your friends get back into your compartment," Scorpius cut in suddenly, stepping forward, but not daring to step in front of Rose.

Glancing down, Rovella relented as she noticed the Syltherin insignia on his robes, and began to lead her friends back into their assigned compartment. After checking to make sure that no one lingered outside their compartment further down the hall, Rose turned to address the other two boys her own age, mostly looking at Albus and avoiding eye contact with Scorpius out of habit.

"You didn't have to do that," she said, clearing addressing Scorpius first. "And as for you,"—to Albus—"you have no excuse for being out of your compartment either. I suggest you go back."

Albus neither surprised nor infuriated her by giving a cocky smirk, although Rose couldn't hold back the twitch of irritation that followed this action. "Or what? You'll 'give me a detention or take away my house points?' Rose, you should know as well as anyone that it won't affect me now—Scorpius and I served all of last year in detention, remember? And who said that we're particularly supportive of our house winning the House Cup every year, either?" For, as a fact that none of them could deny, Slytherin still persisted in taking the lead in the competition for the House Cup every year, which was in no small part due to their superior Quidditch team, something that irked Rose greatly. Of course, none of this had anything to do with Albus and Scorpius, who were still as recluse as ever, but Rose still didn't go easy in her treatment towards them, for the fact that they were Slytherins if for nothing else. For Albus, who was used to seeing her as being a bit calmer and, well, more like a girly teenager in the summertime when their families took vacations, the change that came over her at Hogwarts was unfortunate; but for Scorpius, who was used to seeing her only this way and who practically worshiped the ground she walked on, this was ordinary and he didn't pay it any mind.

Growing increasingly irritated with the presence of the two there, Rose folded her arms. "Go, both of you. Now."

"Come on, Albus. We'd better get back before someone thinks it's ok to start invading our space," Scorpius said, shooting Rose a quick glance. "We left our own compartment unguarded, so you never know." And her gave her a hopeful smile, which she ignored, and then grabbed hold of Albus's arm, seeing as his friend didn't seem like he was going to move yet.

"I only came down here to check on Lily—mind giving me a chance for that?" Albus asked, somewhat mockingly and somewhat truthfully. For, much as he was convinced that his younger sister would also be sorted into Gryffindor like their elder brother, James, he still wanted to make sure that she was alright.

This gave Rose, as she too was in a similar position. Only, unlike Lily, who might appreciate having her older siblings look in on her, Hugo probably wouldn't want to be around the "model sister who was supposed to show him how things were done". And having her be a prefect probably wouldn't help either, so Rose was still debating on whether or not to take off her sash when checking up on him. Best to let him make new friends for now, and then check up on him once he's sorted into Gryffindor. Ok, done, she decided.

"You can have a few minutes, I suppose, but get back to your compartment after that," she said.

Albus gave her a grateful smile and then brushed past her, heading to the first year compartments.

"I'll wait for you here!" Scorpius called after him, after which he glanced down at Rose, once again looking at her in a way that...well, that made her understand why he had asked her out the previous year, as well as made her understand how she could ever come to feel pity for him, despite everything. "Um...hey," he murmured awkwardly.

"Hello," Rose replied dryly, wondering why she didn't leave earlier when she had the chance. If she knew it'd be like this, then she really would have. In fact, usually she would have, and never given it a second thought; but, now that she was trying to rebuild her relationship with Albus after having torn it down for their first four years at Hogwarts, the last thing she needed was to upset his best friend. Even if that best friend was Scorpius Malfoy...

"You...look beautiful, as always," Scorpius said shyly. "I like how the sash looks."

Rose sniffed. It wasn't that she didn't agree with his compliment or anything, but it was obvious that this newfound boldness of his to speak his mind, which he had acquired last year after, apparently, saving the world, was going to his head—did he actually think that it would be enough to soften her up?

"I know. It's definitely an honor to be a prefect. Best for any of us not to mess it up." And he could interpret that how he liked.

Scorpius blinked twice. "No, of course not. I-it's a position of trust."

Rose nodded. If possible, she wasn't going to prolong the discussion. After all, now that her duties at the moment were done, she wanted to go back to her compartment to be with her friends and, if possible, to plan some things for Quidditch ahead of time. Because, after all, this would be James Potter's last year as Quidditch captain, and she planned on getting that position next year if she could help it. The first step of course would be to convince James to give her some training and then appoint her to it, but that was easier said than done...

Giving the pair some much needed relief from the tension that had development between them, Albus appeared the next moment, disrupting the silence.

"I just talked to Lily. She says that she "kind of wants to be 'different' and break tradition" like I did, and apparently the best way for her to do this is not to be sorted into Gryffindor," he explained.

Rose stiffened. "What's wrong with Gryffindor?"

"Nothing, only she says that every single person in our family's been sorted into Gryffindor, and she's right. There's every single Weasley since ever, all the Potters, your mother, my grandmother, and, heck, even Sirius Black! And then, put you and James into the mix and everyone's a Gryffindor. Personally, I think she might just be having a personality crisis and doesn't want to get lost in the shuffle is all."

"I wasn't aware that there was a shuffle," Rose retorted.

Albus grinned. "Seems that there is. Makes me feel even better for avoiding it by being in Syltherin." He exchanged a satisfied look with Scorpius.

Rose shook her head. "Maybe I should talk to her."

"Anything from the trolley, dears?" a voice interrupted.

Albus and Scorpius both shivered, turning around to face someone who, since the past year, had become one of their nightmares: the Trolley Witch.

"Uh, no thanks. We've, uh, got to get back to our compartment," Albus said, quickly grabbing Scorpius's arm and pulling him out of there.

Rose blinked after them, confused. Since neither boy had ever talked about their experience with the witch, either from embarrassment or just from disbelief, no one else really knew how frightening and how dangerous she could be.

"Something for you, dear?" the Trolley Witch asked. "Pumpkin pastries? Or a chocolate frog, perhaps?"

"No thank you," Rose replied. Then, turning, she sped away towards her own compartment, for the moment forgetting her earlier intention to speak to Lily Potter. Because, as it was, she had her own problems to attend to, and couldn't be bothered with seeing to the problems of her younger cousin. Sure, the younger two, Hugo and Lily, could definitely use some help getting adjusted to Hogwarts, but that could all come later.

Because, after all, they'll both be in Gryffindor, Rose assured herself, knowing that the odds were highly in that favour. Lily Potter's brief thought to be placed into another house was, by all accounts, foolish, and so Rose wasn't going to take it into anymore account than a passing fancy. And, once the two were in Gryffindor, there was all the time in the world to see to them and make sure that they were cared for. Reporting to both her parents and Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny was, after all, just another one of her many duties. James couldn't be trusted to give accurate accounts, and Albus was in another house altogether, detached from everything, so, naturally, she was the only one that they could depend up. Just like always.

- End Note -

I really hope that you liked this first chapter, and I really hope that I got the personalities of the characters right. I am by no means doing justice to J.K. Rowling's writing, I know, but I try to at least get some of the elements right, which I guess can be judged by the readers through reviews. Again, thank you for any of those, as they would be much appreciated and help the writing process along.

If anyone's wondering where any of our older characters like Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and others are, let's just say that we'll be focusing on the children more than the parents for a bit, although the parents will make up part of the story as well. Just as Harry Potter and the Cursed Child tried to focus on the development of next generation in the Harry Potter universe, I'm trying to do the same. For anyone missing Harry Potter as a character, believe me, I understand, but at the same time I think that the charm of his children can make up for his absence.

And, if anyone's wondering on who the "main character" will be in this fanfiction, to be honest, I haven't intended there to be one. I mean, yes, the majority of this chapter was written from Rose's point of view, but by no means do I intend her to be the primary focus or anything. Nor will the primary focus be Albus or Scorpius or Hugo or even Lily. Instead, this story is going to be about all of them, to different extents, but with no one as the primary focus. That being said, I hope that you enjoy the story from all angles.

Extra Note : It has been pointed out to me that Lily Luna Potter is actually already in Gryffindor during the original Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and yes, I am aware of this fact, but have decided to alter it to suit my purposes. For that matter, I hope that these alterations will be for the good of the story rather as a hindrance to it, so while some things may seem questionable, please know that most, if not all of them, are intentional. Thank you very much for your understanding.

Please comment, follow, or favourite to show your support, and I look forward to writing on in the next chapter. Cheers!