Chapter 1

First Year

Both in their first years, Scorpius and Rose first met. And quite by accident.

"Rose, are you coming or not?" Albus called, hanging out of the beautiful scarlet carriage of the grand Hogwarts Express. He was oblivious to Rose saying her pain felt goodbyes to her family.

"Al, don't rush her." His mother chided from somewhere, engulfed in the billows of steam. Rose was sniffling as she clung to her mother, who was stroking her hair soothingly.

"I don't want to go." Rose whispered into her coat, squeezing beads of misery from her eyes as she shut them tight, hoping to find herself back home.

"But you were so desperate just last year, Rosie, don't you remember?" Her father insisted, clutching the hand of her younger brother, Hugo, who was chattering to young Lily Potter, who herself was moping about her desperation to go to Hogwarts, and her father was right, she had been the same just a year ago. But so much could change in a year. Would she change again at Hogwarts? She liked how she was now...Her father bent down to his knees so he was below her, looking up at her earnestly, his lined face bemused.

"That was before I p-painted my room and made friends with Jane…why can't she come too?"

"She's a muggle, Rosie, we told you, she can't come. And it's probably best to send her letters through their post, she'll have a bit of a fright with an owl popping up outside her window." Hermione reminded her, cupping her chin and smiling reassuringly. Rose gazed up at her, taking in all she could of her mother- the flyaway hair bundled into a clasp, loose strands lifted by the breeze. She committed the depth of those brown eyes to memory, the start of a smile budding at the corners of that mouth, the smell of lavender and freshly mown grass. How was she supposed to go a whole year without the comfort of her mother?

She turned to her father, and had one last look at his eyes, a sky blue that he'd handed down to her, the flourish of red hair, thinning now, the brash colour now faded. She'd miss his itchy jumpers that he wore because Grandma had knitted them specially (though she was pretty sure her own mother had something to do with it as well) and his stupid jokes, that only the two of them would find funny.

"Don't worry, we'll write-"

"Every week?" She demanded tearfully.

"Every week." Her mother promised.

Rose nodded solemnly, and turned to Hugo, flinging her arms around him.

"Bye, Hu." She said blearily, as more tears surfaced.

"Don't forget Maisy." He told her in his piping voice, attempting to lift the cat basket with his little arms, which caused Maisy to yowl in protest at the sudden movement.

"I'll get it." She took it off him hastily, realizing that she was going to miss her little brother's clumsiness, regardless of the many times she claimed to have hated it. She gazed at her family through her blurred vision and knew that already she couldn't wait for the holidays.

--

Scorpius Malfoy had much less trouble bidding farewell to his own parents.

"I'll write if you want me to," He offered, just to fill the silence as they waited for him to board the train.

"Only if you feel the need." His father said stiffly, straightening his smart robes, a little too formal for a simple outing to the train station. Scorpius didn't expect him to say anything other than that. Emotion was something his father didn't like to portray publicly.

"I'd better find Matilda th-" But before he could speak another word about his sister who had already boarded the train, his mother had folded him into a hug. He took in the starch smell of her perfume and waited for her to let him go. What was the point of pretending that the embrace was a sign of affection rather than a simple obligation?

"Stay out of trouble." Meaning we have a reputation to think about.

"Study hard." His father added. We're depending on you to do well; otherwise you'll be a disappointment to the whole family.

His mother finally stepped back, gripping his shoulders for a little longer and harder than necessary, before releasing him. He could almost hear her thanking God that he wasn't her responsibility anymore.

"Goodbye." They both dismissed.

"See you at Christmas." He said and he turned round, not before hearing the words:

"We'll see."

Alone and determined to get away from his parents as fast as possible, the eleven-year-old, just an eleven-year-old, felt their gaze drop away from him almost at once, uncaring. They'd already said goodbye to Matilda, their chore was done, eleven years of putting up with him finished and to be forgotten. His mother and father stepped through the barrier, severing their connection with the boy for what he hoped was evermore.

--

"That's a lie!"

"I swear it." James Sirius Potter -who was just starting his Second Year and was under the impression that he knew the school better than his Uncle George-insisted, chewing openly on some Wizard confectionary. Rose grimaced at his lack of manners. Grandma would go crazy if she saw him doing that. And there if was, another ache in her chest as she thought of the little things of home.

"Yeah, it's true," James' friend, Maddy Bell said, "Go out to Dumbledore's grave at Midnight, whisper the spell three times and these things called Sherbet Lemons appear."

"But who is Dumbledore?" Albus asked in wonder.

"More importantly, what are Sherbet Lemons?" Maddy countered dramatically. The children thought for a moment, their personal images of Sherbet Lemons less accurate than the last.

Feeling discomfort at sitting still for so long with such dreary conversation to listen to, Rose excused herself and went to find the toilet. As she slipped down the narrow aisle she glanced in the compartments. In some there were huge groups of children bundled in, a few sitting on the floor, and there were smaller groups, maybe even just twos or threes. Or one.

She slowed down and looked at the boy sitting on his own, face leant on a fist. He had an owl with him, and even though it was out of its cage, it was sitting quite obediently on one of the storage racks, a beautiful slate gray. She knew who he was. Her father and uncle Harry had spotted him with his parents. Rose had heard the name Malfoy mentioned here and there in her family's conversations, but the topic was never developed. All she knew was that they were rich, pure blood and they weren't strong family friends.

"Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie." Her father had told her upon seeing the Malfoy boy, much to her mother's annoyance. She didn't even know him, though sitting there, with his head in his hand, his expression glum, his shoulders turned in, he looked how she felt.

Exactly how she felt.

And that's what made her slide open the door and step into the compartment, blissfully unaware of how this one decision would be change her life forever.

--

"Hi, do you mind if I sit in here for a little while?"

It was quite a strange question, as if she just wanted a little rest from a long journey, and quite forward for a complete stranger, as if she wasn't going to listen if he said she couldn't. He took in the wild, fiery hair in loose corkscrew curls that fell just around her shoulders, the sprinkle of freckles across the bridge of her nose and the summer blue eyes that were on him, unembarrassed. She was already in her robes and was slight, her big black sleeves pushed up to her elbows, revealing skinny little arms, as pale as snow with more freckles, like sugar spilt across a table cloth. Not saying a word, he nodded. She crossed the compartment and took the seat opposite him, gazing out of the window like he had just been. He stared at her eyes following the country side for a few more seconds before resuming his watch on the passing landscape himself.

There was a silence as they lost themselves in their own daydreams.

"I'm Rose Molly Weasley by the way. This is my first year."

"Mine too." She was expecting his name...he would have to tell her sooner or later, "… I'm Scorpius." He expected her to laugh at the strange name, but she didn't. She continued to stare out of the window.

"Scorpius Malfoy?"

"Yeah… how did you know?"

"My dad knows your dad." Rose told him simply, "They were in the same year at Hogwarts."

"Oh, they weren't friends were they?"

"No…how did you know?" She smiled at him, at the Déjà vu. He didn't know how to respond to that, a proper smile, one that meant something.

"Well, he wasn't very popular. He still isn't." He mumbled, embarrassed at divulging this sensitive piece of information.

"Oh." She said simply, not pressing him for details. He appreciated it.

There was another silence as the train swayed and rattled, its creaking like a lullaby whilst the beaming sunlight filled the compartment with hazy heat.

"I don't want to go." She whispered, her expression pained as she made her hands into little fists.

"Where?" Scorpius asked softly, surprised by this sudden comment.

"Hogwarts!" She said, slightly more strained this time, turning her clear gaze on him as they both swayed in synchronization with the carriage.

"Well, why not? It's brilliant." He said, although he didn't think this helped.

"I liked it at home, with Mum and Dad and Hugo," Oh no, were those tears? He couldn't handle tears; he hadn't seen them for years, not since Matilda cried at the passing of their Grandfather, whilst his parents stood in the shadows feeling no need to explain to him the concept of death.

But there they were, gathering in her lovely eyes. She tried to blink them away but this only caused them to fall, to roam down her rounded cheeks and drip onto her new uniform. He sat there, frozen as she looked to him for words of comfort.

"You'll change your mind once you get there." He insisted stiffly, still unable to move. He didn't dare pat her on the hand, let alone go and sit next to her, "Honestly, it's meant to be one of the most amazing places in the world, everyone loves it there. My sister's already fretting about leaving and she's only just started her third year."

"But I'll m-miss them." She hiccupped, and it was like a drop of water in a pond.

"You'll settle in," He promised. He didn't understand how it was so easy to talk to her, "You'll soon feel at home. Don't you have any brothers or sisters here already?"

"No, I've got a little b-brother. He's not coming for two years, though. But I've got cousins. Albus and J-James." She sniffled. Scorpius guessed it wasn't the first time she had broken down today.

"They'll look after you." He reassured her, "Just hope you're in the same house as them."

She blinked at him, "I hadn't even thought of that!" She looked ready to burst again.

"Oh no, no, you will be." He said hastily, "Family's are always together."

"Always?"

"…Well almost always." He said reluctantly, "But it's really rare, most families have the same traits, you see?

She nodded, letting out another hiccup, just as the door slid open.

It was a boy a little older than the both of them, with messy black hair, brown eyes and square glasses, who'd already managed to mess his uniform up, his scarlet tie hanging low and the top button dangling off.

"There you are! Maisy's yowling for you." He said, looking to Rose, but not before taking a look at Scorpius, "Who are you sitting with?"

"This is Scorpius," Rose said in a small voice, wiping her eyes quickly. Scorpius shifted under the boy's stare.

"A Malfoy?" He said, but it sounded more like a statement, as if he could not believe it. He nodded slowly.

"This is James, one of my cousins, he's a third yea-"

"So you're Matilda's brother?" He demanded. Blushing slightly, Scorpius nodded again. James looked as if he wasn't sure what to say.

"That's a unique sister you've got there, mate." He told him finally. Scorpius wasn't quite sure what this meant, but chose not to answer. Rose shot James a look.

"What do you want?" She asked, surprisingly sharp for an eleven-year-old.

"I was looking for you." He answered, "What are you sitting with him for?"

"We're just talking!" She replied hotly, "Have you got a problem with it?" She was alarmingly direct. James' eyes slid from hers to Scorpius'.

"Let's just see what house he's in." This was all he said before sliding the door shut behind him, leaving them alone together, in a silence much less comfortable than the last.

Oooh...Tension. Anyway, I'd love some feedback, guys

Toodle, Ooh.