First Year
I woke up on September 2nd far too early for my liking. I think it was the sleepy noises coming from the other girls in the dormitory that disturbed me, but that's only to be expected when you find yourself sharing a room for the first time in your life.
Never the morning person; I rolled over a few times hoping to grab another half an hour of sleep before I knew I had to get up, but I just couldn't seem to settle again, so I got up and got myself ready for my first lessons. By the time I came out of the bathroom, another girl from my dorm was awake and getting ready too. The girl's name was Niamh Finnigan and we had met at the welcome feast the night before. My parents knew her father when they we at school, and I had met him a few times when Dad had taken me in to the Ministry with him. I had never met Niamh though, as she lived in Ireland and her dad only came over to work in England occasionally.
Niamh looked up at me when I walked back in to the room and smiled. "Morning Rose." She said cheerfully, "Excited to start lessons?"
"I will be once I've got some breakfast inside of me. I really don't like mornings." I replied.
I waited for Niamh to tie her light brown hair back in to a ponytail, and then allowed her to leave before me. The girl was for too cheery for the time of morning it was. She practically skipped down the spiral staircase in front of me.
When we entered the Great Hall, I was surprised to see Albus already sitting at the Gryffindor table along with Scorpius. Al hated mornings more than I did, I wondered how he could possibly have made it down to breakfast before me. As we drew nearer, I saw that he was practically falling asleep in his porridge, so I assumed he must have been dragged out of bed by a decidedly perkier looking Scorpius.
As I sat down, I said loudly, "Wake up Al! I don't fancy having to tell Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny you drowned in your breakfast on your first day of school!" This seemed to bring him around a little, and he jerked his head up to look at me.
"You're one to talk Rosie! I'm surprised you even managed to make it down in time to get breakfast at all." This earned Al a scowl, before I started to load my plate with scrambled egg and toast.
"Hungry?" Scorpius said, looking at my plate as though it had personally offended him.
"Starving!" I replied, before tucking in to the most delicious eggs I had ever tasted. I had closed my eyes while I savoured the taste of my yummy breakfast, so didn't notice James sit down next to me.
"What's that I hear? Rose Weasley's starving? Quick lads, fill your plates while there's still food left for us." James said before grabbing the nearest plate of bacon.
"Oh shut it James!" I snapped. "First, Al, now you. What is this? Pick on Rose day?"
James just laughed at me and flung his arm over my shoulder. "Lighten up Rosie! You know I'm only messing." I couldn't stay mad at James for long. He might spend a great deal of time winding up the various members of our family, but his grin is so infectious, you can't help but smile back. I tried to hide my smile from him by turning to talk to Niamh, but I could tell James wasn't fooled.
After breakfast, Uncle Neville, who happened to be the head of Gryffindor, came down the table with our new timetables. We had Transfiguration first; then Herbology with the Ravenclaws, and after dinner it was double Potions with the Slytherins, which I really wasn't looking forward to.
Our first lesson was brilliant. Professor Cyrus was very impressed with the amount of questions Scorpius and I could answer. Our hands were first in the air every time, and it sort of turned in to a silent battle to see who could answer the most correct answers, and I do believe I won. I could tell this aggravated Scorpius greatly. I even managed to transfigure my match stick in to a more convincing looking needle, though Scorpius disagreed of course, but then Al also thought his was the best.
I realised during that first lesson that actually controlling my magic, and getting my wand to perform the exact spell I wanted it to, had turned out to be more difficult than I thought. Though I supposed that was why we had to practice.
Herbology with Uncle Neville was fun. I could tell he was finding it hard not to see Al and me as his adopted niece and nephew, but he did a good job in treating us just the same as the other students. He did manage to find an excuse to award Gryffindor 10 points though, something the Ravenclaws were quick to pick up on, but I thought Niamh's perfect potting was well deserving of those points.
Finally, we were entering the dungeons for our lesson with the Slytherins. I know there isn't as much stigma attached to being in Slytherin house as there used to be, but I couldn't help thinking they looked like an unfriendly lot. I did think Al and I would be on the receiving end of a few glares, but I noticed that the glares seemed to be aimed at Scorpius.
I was just wondering if they thought that a Malfoy being sorted in to Gryffindor was a great dishonour when one of the first years said loudly "Merlin, imagine what Draco will do when he finds out his precious son is a traitor?" Scorpius looked about ready to kill, but Al grabbed his arm and muttered "Mate, just ignore them. They aren't worth it" and dragged him in to the classroom.
Professor Bole stood in thoughtful silence for a few minutes before he finally spoke.
"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard quite a few horror stories about potions lessons from your various family members." His eyes lingered over the Gryffindor side of the room before he carried on. "I'm not here to tell you that I will be more lenient than some of my predecessors, because I won't. I do not tolerate misbehaviour of any kind in my classroom. Some of you will do well to remember this." I had a sneaking suspicion that James and Freddie had caused some manor of mayhem in potions last year, because that last statement seemed to be directed at Al.
We were set to work on creating a simple sleeping draught in pairs. Together Niamh and I managed to produce a potion only a few shades lighter than that stated in our book. I could hear Scorpius and Al having an argument because Al had put the Valerian extract in at the wrong time and Scorpius was now having to hurriedly try to fix the mistake. At the end of the lesson, Professor Bole walked round the classroom passing comment on the various states of each pairing's potion. He complimented many of the Slytherins, though I thought they hardly deserved it, and criticised Gryffindor students with what seemed to be enthusiasm, walking straight past our table so avoiding praise. He stopped at the table Al and Scorpius were working at and sneered in to their cauldron. "Well, I expect nothing less of a Potter, but I was rather hoping a Malfoy could produce something a little better than this disaster." Scorpius glared at the Professor's retreating back, knowing better than to earn himself a detention on his first day by answering back.
As I packed my things up, I felt Scorpius storm past me and I turned to see a less than happy look on his face, then as we left the classroom, I heard a yell up ahead.
"Oi Malfoy! Has daddy disowned you yet? I'm surprised he hasn't been up to the school demanding to see McGonagall already."
Al rushed ahead to find his new friend, and I heard Niamh whisper "oh no."
Scorpius finally came in to view and I could see he had his wand pointing towards a short, stocky boy with very short dark hair. "Shut up Goyle if you know what's good for you, or you might find yourself waking up with an uglier face than the one you've already got." Scorpius seethed. "Of course, I'll have to find a spell powerful enough to achieve such a result first." He added, almost thoughtfully. I couldn't help but giggle at this, which earned me a glare from Niamh.
"Rose, this isn't funny! He could lose us all those points I earned this morning!"
I rolled my eyes at her and said loudly "sure it is. I for one would love to see what kind of spell could possibly make that face look any uglier." People stared at me as I walked over to Scorpius, plucked his wand out of his hand and turned him towards the stairs leading to the entrance hall. "Come on Scor, my tummy and I both think we have better things to be doing than wasting our time on these losers, like eating a plate load of toad in the hole."
Scorpius didn't say a word all the way to the Gryffindor table or even when I handed him back the wand I had taken. Only as I loaded my mouth with my first bite of Yorkshire pudding did he say, "What did you do that for?"
"Oo wha?" I said.
"Don't play dumb with me Rose" Scorpius snapped.
I rolled my eyes for the second time in 15 minutes before swallowing my food and answering, "we both know that Professor Bole could have walked out of that classroom at any minute, and that your dad would be a lot more disappointed in your earning a detention on your first day than he could be in you being sorted in to Gryffindor ten times over."
He obviously knew I was right because he just stared in silence at his plate as Al loaded it with the craziest mix of food I've ever seen.
"Al! What are you trying to do to the poor boy? Death by indigestion is not pretty!" James said as he sat down next to me.
"What's this I hear about you threatening some slimy Slytherin git Scorpius?" Freddie added as he sat down opposite.
When Scorpius didn't answer Niamh piped up "He could have gotten in to so much trouble and lost all my hard earned house points just because of some silly comment about his father."
I'm glad James spoke up because I could see Scorpius getting angry again. "What a git. If he says anything else to you, let me and Fred here know yeah? We'll be glad to help get the bastard off your back."
"James!" I exclaimed. "If Aunt Ginny found out you was trying to recruit new troublemakers, she'd hex you in to next week."
"Ah but she won't find out will she Rosie?" He replied with a warning look in his eye. I might be a stickler for rules, but I had inherited my dad's need to protect his family, and I certainly wouldn't be grassing James up any time soon. James, unfortunately, knew that too.
Scorpius looked at me then turned to James and Freddie. "Thanks guys. I'll let you know if I need anything." I just scowled at this and went back to my food. Urgh, boys!
The rest of the year was pretty uneventful. I spent most of my time with Niamh, and occasionally Al when he'd chickened out of one of the harebrained schemes Scorpius, James and Fred hadn't managed to convince him to take part in. Scorpius and I competed for the title of 'top of the class' in every subject, and squabbled constantly. Mostly about him being a bad influence on my cousin. He had received a letter from Mr Malfoy a few days after the start of term, and as Scorpius had predicted, Mr Malfoy was very supportive of him being in Gryffindor. Al said that Mr Malfoy thought it was the perfect opportunity to show the world that the Malfoys had turned themselves around, and the youngest family member was a much better person than he himself could ever have been. That last part had been told to Al in the strictest confidence, because, as Scorpius had explained, his father was a very proud man and would never admit in public that he had made such grave mistakes in the past. Of course, Al couldn't keep anything from his favourite cousin.
Somehow, Scorpius and Al managed to avoid getting detention until May. This was a great achievement in itself considering their involvement in some pranks, and James and Freddie were set to outperform James's granddad James Potter and Sirius Black in the rule breaking department and earn themselves more detentions in one year. However, on the anniversary of the battle of Hogwarts, during breakfast, Fred had dared Scorpius and Al to set off a whole bunch of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes fireworks in the great hall in tribute to Freddie's namesake, our Uncle Fred, who had died in battle.
The hall was almost full of students when Albus and Scorpius looked at each other then stood on their seats and threw their fireworks in to the air. The whole room was suddenly filled with bright lights and the roaring of the various elaborate lions that flew around the room. The display only lasted a couple of minutes before Uncle Neville stood up and vanished them easily through years of practice, having attended many a Weasley gathering (Uncle George had finally relented and come up with a spell to get rid of them). This wasn't before a tribute to Uncle Fred wound its way across the hall though. It read 'In loving memory of Frederick Gideon Weasley, one half of the founders of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, and one seriously brave man.'
Uncle Neville was fuming "Mr Malfoy. Mr Potter. My office! Now!" He boomed.
Al and Scorpius grinned and high fived each other before hopping down from the seats they were still stood on and strolling out of the great hall to general applause. I looked up at Professor McGonagall and I swear I saw a small smile on her lips and a twinkle in her eye before she cleared her throat and stood up to address the students. "Now, as I'm sure you are all aware after that rather extravagant display. Today is the anniversary of the battle that happened here on Hogwarts grounds, ending years of fear and loss at the hands of the most terrible Wizard to ever live. I would like you all to take some time out of your day to think about those brave Wizards and Witches alike that fought to make the magical world a more peaceful place for you all to live."
The students fell silent for a few minutes after the Headmistress returned to her seat. I realised I truly was grateful for everything our parents and their friends had done for us before we were even born. I had spent many hours in the library reading about those years leading up to Lord Voldemort's death. I had not realised until this year how great a part my family had played in the war, but I really did not blame them for not talking about it too much. It did explain though why we got strange looks in the street, and everyone seemed so interested in our sorting at the beginning of the year. I also realised that I didn't really want to talk about it with anyone myself, and I understood why none of my cousins had brought up the subject after they started at Hogwarts. It was something to be proud of yes. But it wasn't something that should dictate the way we live now. We were just a normal family; living in a normal world; apparently getting in to trouble for breaking normal school rules, but just so happened to be quite well known across Britain.
Albus and Scorpius received a week's worth of detentions, which earned them both howlers from their mothers and high fives from James and Freddie. Uncle George even wrote to them both to congratulate them on a display that would have made his twin proud. Apparently, when Aunt Angelina found out, she went mad. Mum had written all about it in one of her letters because they had all been attending a family dinner at The Burrow at the time.
Before I knew it, we were on the train back to Kings Cross for summer. I was sat playing exploding snap with Niamh, while Al and Scorpius discussed their plans for the summer, which involved a lot of Quidditch, and also some prank planning with James and Freddie. I looked at the disapprovingly when I heard about the plans. "One day, you two will get in to some serious trouble, and you will regret never listening to my warnings!"
"Oh lighten up Rose. We're only kids; we're supposed to enjoy ourselves while we can. I bet you'd enjoy it too if you joined us once in a while." Scorpius said.
"In your dreams Malfoy." I said. And I meant it (at the time).