Year Two
When my family got to King's Cross on September 1st, I clutched my dad's arm even though I was fourteen years old until we reached the Hogwarts Express. Stalling, I stood with my parents and pretended to be interested in what my brother Hugo was saying. Luckily, I was relieved of him as soon as the Potters emerged from the crowds of parents and students milling around. He dashed off and in a flash he was engulfed in the Potter branch of the Weasley clan. For once his red hair didn't cause him too stick out as Aunt Ginny and Lily both have the same flaming locks he and I inherited from our dad.
I had long since stopped wearing my Hogwarts robes by that time. Not really wanting to board the train and face Scorpius, who had taken a real interest in my younger cousin in the past year, I whirled around and gripped my father's waist. For the first year I really didn't want to leave my parents. He looked down and cupped my face in his hand.
"Hey, Rosie. What's wrong? You've been off all day. You're always excited to leave for school."
Feeling an intense sadness at leaving him behind, I reburied my face into his good-smelling shirt. "Just a little sad about leaving you and Mum is all," I mumbled. He laughed kindly and told me that I would forget about him and Mum as soon as I boarded the train. I smiled and nodded and he glanced down at his watch.
"Time to go, Sweetie. You'll miss your train."
Before I knew it I had hugged my parents and aunts and uncles and older cousins and Teddy and was boarding the train. Albus, Hugo, and I found ourselves an empty compartment just as the whistle signaling 11:00 and the beginning of our journey. James eventually showed up, followed by Dominique and Louis. With the five of us in the compartment, it was already cramped, but Albus made the decision to announce that he had invited a friend to join them. The Weasleys groaned.
"This is a family only compartment, Al!" cried his brother.
"We always sit with each other! It's a Weasley tradition!" said Louis.
I rolled my eyes at them. "Who's this 'friend'?" I asked playfully. We were each other's best friends, but we liked to tease each other by pretending to replace the other.
"Just Malfoy," replied Albus.
I felt my heart skip a beat. "Since when are you two friends?" I demanded, all playfulness gone. He gave me a questioning look and shrugged.
When Malfoy did show up at the compartment door, Al graciously let him in… and who else but my cousin Lily followed him in! She sat down next to me and patted the small space next to her, motioning for him to sit there.
Scorpius grinned at me. He looked a bit funny in the compartment where everyone had either flaming red or jet-black hair. Not seeming to mind this, he squeezed himself in between Lily and me.
After everyone calmed down and got used to Scorpius being in there with us, I attempted to start up a conversation with Dom, but all I could focus on was Scorpius' arm around my cousin's shoulders.
It's going to be even worse than last year, I thought.
Brilliant.
