Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything to do with it, really. I mean, obviously my writing would be a lot better if I did… Nor do I own the lovely song you see at the beginning of this chapter. That belongs to the lovely boys of McFly (but maybe I'll get some rights after I marry Harry Judd... ) I do take some credit for any characterizations and the way I've characterized the Next Generation.

Keep Living Your Life

Prologue: One for the Radio

So go tell your lovers, your fathers and brothers,

Your sisters and mothers, how lucky they are.

Light speed, I'm out of my mind!

I'm hurt but I'll be fine!

Put your fist in the air,

Raise your voice and declare.

-"One for the Radio" McFly

Today in History of Magic class, we talked about our generation. How our generation is different from our parents' generation. The changes that our generation has experienced. The way our generation will change the world. We were asked to write one word to describe our generation. Then one sentence, then a foot of parchment. So, I started thinking about my generation and I compared it to what my parents had told me about their childhood. I suppose that the most noticeable difference between my generation and my parents' is that my generation does not live under the threat of an impending War. We don't have to deal with the fear and uncertainty that my parents did because of the ever-looming threat of Lord Voldemort. Their generation was one of secrets and fear. Our generation is one of openness and freedom and information. Our generation is one where blood status doesn't matter anymore. Our generation is one where wizard-muggle marriages are growing more and more common. Our generation is one where at the same time as mixing bloodlines is accepted, same-sex relationships are accepted. Our generation is one of education, where everyone has the right to know all that they wish to know about the world. Our generation is one that has seen vast improvements in the relationship between the Wizarding World and the Muggle World. Our generation is one of change. So, that was my one word to describe our generation, change.

The War didn't only affect our generation by decreasing the fear factor and making this time an all-together more happy time. It also caused what people are calling a Baby Boom, to borrow a term from the muggles. Before the War was over, people were afraid to start families because of the risks involved. Even after Uncle Harry defeated Lord Voldemort, people weren't quite convinced that the danger was really gone. It took a couple years for people to finally realize that the War was really over. Then, they began multiplying like rabbits. You may laugh, but it's true. As soon as Wizards between the ages of 20 and 40 realized that their children would be living in a better world, they began to have lots and lots of children. But, they also had children later, because they wanted to taste some of the new freedom before they became bound by parenthood. Thus, between the years of 2000 and 2015, the Wizarding population of the United Kingdom skyrocketed. And to give you some perspective, my mum said that if she and dad and Uncle Harry had graduated with their class after seventh year, there would have been about 36 people in their graduating class from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. When I graduate in three years, presuming that my class doesn't lose or gain any students, my graduating class with have about 78 students in it. That's more than double the size of my parents' class. That's how many children the witches and wizards of my parents' generation had.

But, I think that one of the most important things that our generation has that our parents lacked is unity. Petty family differences and the ties of ancestry are being demolished quickly by our generation because we learned what devastating effects prejudices can have when we learned about the War. Our parents raised us to judge people only on their virtues and vices, not on their names and histories. And this is how we've lived our lives. It is for this reason that me and Al being friends with Scorp is not so odd. Because in my parents' generation, a Weasley and a Potter being friends with a Malfoy would have never happened under any circumstances. But, in this generation anything is possible, including the first Malfoy in the history of Malfoys being sorted into Gryffindor, giving Scorp the reputation of this generation's Sirius Black (which, in turn, gave him one of the biggest egos this school has ever seen... but we all put up with it because he's also awesome... the annoying part is that he knows it). We don't care about what his father or grandfather did because we know Scorp and we know that he's a good person. That is the type of generation we live in.

I'm really proud of all that our generation has accomplished already. Not only have we made these breakthroughs in social barriers, but we've helped our parents to let go of prejudices and grudges. That's why my mum in particular really enjoys having Scorp over for the holidays and why the Malfoys have even had me and Al over for dinner a few times. Who knows what feats we'll accomplish when we're running the government? Our generation is one of freedom and individuality and acceptance and unity. Our generation is one that is so filled to the brim with love that even Dumbledore himself would be in awe.

There is no doubt in my mind that our generation will only change the world for the better... We have to grow up first, though.

~ Rose Weasley

Fourth Year

Gryffindor

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

A/N: So, after DH came out and we all read the Epilogue, I became fascinated with the Next Generation of Weasleys and Potters, etc. I think it's because absolutely ANYTHING is possible in this generation and because everything in their world will have changed. Then, I subsequently went on the become an almost obsessive shipper of Rose/Scorpius because they're just an amazing couple!!

Anyway, so this is my first attempt at writing a Next Generation fic… I'm rather excited! I'm planning on using all of the characters we read about in the epilogue and writing about their lives. Thus, this is the only part of the story that will be in first-person because I want to be able to talk about everyones' lives, including those not at Hogwarts. I'll also be adding in quite a few of my own OCs to make the story more interesting… A lot of them are based on characters from other books/TV shows/movies, so I'll give you more info on that later.

I'd also just like to tell everyone that it took me a really long time to decide which house to put everyone in. I debated about putting both Al and Scorp in Slytherin. Scorp in Ravenclaw with Rose, Scorp in Hufflepuff (just because Draco's reaction would be priceless), etc. But, then I thought about who all of their parents were and the type of people I wanted them to be and I decided I wanted all three of them in Gryffindor. Some of the others in the Weasley clan will be in other houses, but in reality, I think it would be hard for anyone with Weasley blood to be sorted anywhere but Gryffindor. As for Scorp, I wanted to use him to illustrate the changes this generation has experienced. Even though in the books Draco is a complete coward, I have some faith in him and in his wife, Astoria. I also wanted Scorp to be a Gryffindor because of the personality description it came with…

Please let me know what you all think so that I can decide whether this is worth continuing… Thanks for reading!!

Happy Holidays to all!!

Jess