The Silver Trio

Rose Weasley and Albus Potter are just as famous as their parents – for doing absolutely nothing. Scorpius Malfoy is just as famous – but for all the wrong reasons. So when the three are finally eleven and beginning Hogwarts, they're bound to be enemies, right?

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or its characters. I wish I did, because then there would be a book on the Next Generation too. Sadly, JK didn't agree with me

Chapter Two: Officially Becoming A Snake

(Scorpius POV)

Rose, Potter and I were sitting in the Slytherin Common Room, in the same spot we'd sat in every day for the past week. Rose seemed to want to be friends with both Potter and I, I could tell that by the way she always insisted on hanging about and waiting for both of us after lessons and mealtimes. But I could tell that Albus Potter certainly did not want to become my friend any time soon.

"Oi – Weasley, Malfoy, Potter!"

We all turned in the direction the voice had come from, the entrance to the common room. There stood the male Slytherin prefects and one fourth year. Jono Zabini, our seventh year prefect; Scott Bulstrode-Davies, our sixth year prefect; Parker Parkinson-Goldstein, our fifth year prefect and Leo Rowle, who seemed to be part of their 'crew'.

We didn't know much about them, despite being Slytherins for about a week now, Potter and I tended to keep to ourselves while Weasley engaged in polite conversation with the older Slytherins in the common room and at the dinner table. All I knew was that my father and Jono's had been friends for years, and that his little sister Aria, to everyone's surprise, had been sorted into Ravenclaw, meaning Rose, Potter and I were the only Slytherins this year. Jono was also captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team, the star of the team, as the Seeker. I hadn't seen him play yet, but judging by the rumours I'd heard, he was the best Seeker our house had had in years. Scott and Parker also played on the Quidditch team as Chasers, and stocky Leo was a Beater, and supposedly a ruthless one at that.

Rose politely stood up from her armchair, so Jono could sit down. I could see the surprise on his face, as he tried to assess whether or not there was ambition in her eyes, typical Slytherin behaviour, but as he nodded at her thankfully and she sat cross-legged on the carpet. Scott and Parker sat next to her, though a deal less graceful in their movement, and Leo leaned against my chair, his arms folded across his chest.

"So, here's the deal, firsties," Jono drawled, a typical Slytherin smirk evident on his face as he leaned back into the armchair. "The thing is… we've got a tradition here..."

I expected Potter to have a comeback. Something about how he'd never heard of any tradition. All he'd done the past few days was snort and laugh at everything I'd said about Slytherin tradition. Either that or argue against it. It really seemed to make Rose upset, so I left it and hadn't turned on him to start a fight.

But Potter didn't say anything. Because he too was scared of these older Slytherins. Older Gryffindors he was fine with, most of them were his cousins. The older Ravenclaws were dignified, but approachable. The older Hufflepuffs were simply kind and welcoming.

But everyone knows not to approach older Slytherins unless you yourself are their age and/or in Slytherin house (and even most of us younger ones are scared of them). Because older Slytherins have a reputation for being mean, spiteful, rude, cunning, cruel… and the list goes on, and on, and on, and on.

"Um… what is this tradition?" Rose bravely piped up, sitting up straight and cocking her head to one side absent-mindedly. "I've never heard of it. Is it just a Slytherin thing?" If Potter or I had the guts to say that, the older Slytherins would have beat us up, but because Rose is petite and pretty, Jono and his crew simply nodded at her.

"It's like an initiation, y'see?" Parker continued, looking at me straight at me. "You ain't an official member of Slytherin 'til you do it. We all did. No exceptions. Even if your ol' man's a famous member, or your family's been in it for generations." Those comments were definitely aimed at me then.

"What do we have to do?" Rose asked, raising an eyebrow and frowning slightly. She was never one for hiding her feelings, Rose wore her heart on her sleeve and her eyes gave away her every emotion."Do we have to do something dangerous or stupid? I want to be an official part of Slytherin, but I'm not going to do something like run around Hogwarts naked or something."

The eldest two boys seemed to find that hilarious and practically wet themselves with laughter. "Nah, Weasley," Jono said, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. "You don't do that." His grin got wider as Rose relaxed, and couldn't help but wink at her. "Not until after your OWLS."

Rose's mouth fell open and her golden-brown eyes widened, looking completely horrified. Potter looked disturbed and worried at the same time, fidgeting anxiously in his chair. "Do we have to do that? Really? You're serious?"

Jono nodded, his lips curling into a smirk. "Oh yes, oh yes. Only the girls though. It's always very interesting. The guys have to do something completely different though. I wasn't told that. I got all excited and spent my holidays in the gym." I was about to ask what the boys had to do, when Scott spoke up, running a hand through his brown hair.

"Jono, man. Can you just tell them?" he groaned, pulling a face at him and sighing heavily as he looked at his watch. As Jono and the other older boys raised their eyebrows, his cheeks flushed slightly. "I've got a study date with Penelope Parsons in fifteen minutes. And I ain't missing a date with Penelope Parsons."

All the other guys rolled their eyes, particularly Parker, who, being in her year, knew the girl well. Penelope Parsons was a brunette fifth-year Ravenclaw who was supposedly really kind, but apparently went out with anything with a pulse. And let's just say she didn't have a particularly reserved reputation either.

"Wouldn't you rather stay here for longer, Scotty boy?" Leo chuckled, running a hand through his dark hair. "She might not be willing to take you to her room for a bit of private time after, but Weasley's must prettier than Parsons." I watched as he winked at her, making Rose's cheeks flush. I fought the urge to get in a fight with the brawnier, older boy. Couldn't he get girls in his own year and lay off my friend?

As Scott grunted, Leo sighed. "Basically, guys, you've got to 'get' one of the older years. You know what I mean. Prank 'em, or even just embarrass them in front of the whole school. Older, and preferably a Gryffindor, though any house is good. You got that?" I pursed my lips. This was bad. This was very, very, very bad. We couldn't prank an older kid. We'd get killed. Especially if they were Gryffindor.

Potter seemed to share my opinion, but unlike me, he sat up straight and looked petrified as he babbled, "Not Gryffindor! Half our family are in there! What will they say? What will they do, I mean –"

"We'll do it."

Both Potter and I turned to Rose, who'd answered on behalf of us. For the first time since we'd been at Hogwarts, Potter and I actually agreed on something – his cousin was crazy. What was Rose thinking? The older boys looked just surprised, exchanging confused looks. "Tomorrow, yeah?" Leo said, standing up and turning to go outside. "At breakfast?" Rose simply nodded and the older boys strode out, shaking their heads in apparent disbelief.

The second the portrait door slammed shut, Potter stood up and turned to his cousin, who was getting up off the ground and dusting herself off. "What the hell was that, Rose? What the hell? What the hell have you gotten us into? Our cousins are gonna bloody kill us they are! They'll spew all that crap about blood being thicker than water or something like that! And even if we don't get them, an older student's gonna know way more spells than us! We'll be send to the Hospital Wing before we can say 'Hogwarts'! What are we gonna do?"

I nodded in agreement. I hated him, but I wasn't going to disagree with him at a time like this. I was pretty sure she belonged in Gryffindor with thoughtless bravery like this, maybe the Sorting Hat had been wrong about one of the Weasley descendents this year. Rose rolled her eyes and grinned at us, her brown eyes sparkling. "I haven't gotten us into anything. Listen, I've got a plan… just trust me on this one."

We sat at the Slytherin table the next day, eating our breakfast. Potter and I were jumpy and nervous as we nibbled at our slices of bread and drank our pumpkin juice, not talking at all, just flinching whenever an older student walked into the Great Hall. But Rose was completely calm and casual, as if it were any other day. The only sign that she was up to something was the twinkle in her golden brown eyes, apart from that she seemed perfectly composed and her appearance was immaculate; she looked every bit the perfect Hogwarts student, as did her mother. She twirled her wand around in her left hand and ate her toast with her right.

Even when Leo and a bleary-eyed Jono sat down with us (the other two were nursing hangovers from the previous night – Slytherins party like wild animals), she stayed the same. She smiled at them and continued eating her breakfast, even getting a bowl of porridge. That girl may look petite, but she had the appetite of a werewolf.

When Potter No.1 (James, Albus' brother) entered with Fred and Louis Weasley, Rose flipped her wand so it was facing towards them. They hadn't even looked over at the Slytherin table yet, they were probably talking about the next prank they were yet to pull. I gulped nervously, seeing Albus tense across from me at the table. As they began walking closer, Leo yelled, "NOW!"

That was when Rose pointed her wand in Leo's direction, declaring, "Aguamenti!"

Gasps ran through the Great Hall, and once again, silence fell. People looked like they were thinking about laughing and getting killed or attempting to laugh inwardly, whilst most of the Slytherins looked horrified or shell-shocked. Most people were doing the second.

"WHAT THE HELL, WEASLEY?" Rowle barked, wiping his face with the green tablecloth in front of him. His brown eyes were narrowed angrily and his hands were clenched into fists. "DID YOU NOT LISTEN TO WHAT I SAID YESTERDAY? I SAID TO GET YOUR STUPID COUSINS! EITHER YOU HAVE TERRIBLE AIM OR A DEATH WISH! WHICH ONE IS IT?"

Rose cocked her head to one side, raised an eyebrow and smirked. She bloody well smirked . How could she be smirking at a time like this? He was going to kill her! "Didn't you say I had to 'get' an older year, Leo?" she said, her voice clear as crystal and ringing through the Great Hall as her eyes sparkled cheekily. "Aren't you an older year?"

Everyone visibly flinched, including us at the Slytherin table. But to everyone's surprise, Jono threw back his head and began laughing. We all watching in awe as Jono Zabini, one of the scariest, unapproachable boys in school, threw back his head and held his sides as he began laughing hysterically. Seconds later, Leo Rowle began laughing too, throwing his head back and roaring. Soon after, the entire Slytherin table were in hysterics, followed by the rest of the Great Hall. Over at the Gryffindor table, I could see Rose's cousins hooting and applauding her and even McGonagall and a few of the other teachers seemed to have a twinkle in their eyes.

"You're alright, y'know that, Weasley? Not how I expected you to be. Maybe you did get sorted into the right house, " Jono chuckled, smiling fondly at her. He turned to me, next to her, and Potter, across the table and nudged Leo, who cleared his throat, before grinning at us himself. "You three are official Slytherins. On one condition… never do that to me again."

Rose grinned cheekily and winked at him, as he'd winked at her the previous day. "Sorry, Leo, I can't promise that," she giggled. "You know that Slytherin cunning." Everyone couldn't contain their laughter this time, especially as Leo grabbed a strand of Rose's hair and pulled it jokingly.

After breakfast, we were walking back to the Slytherin common room and I stopped in my tracks, turning to Rose. "That was really brave of you, Rose," I said, shaking my head in disbelief at the stunt she'd managed to pull off. "You outsmarted Leo and his crew, and Potter and I got our Slytherin places, without earning them. Thank you."

My redheaded friend shrugged it off, smiling modestly at me, her cheeks going scarlet at the praise. To my surprise, her cousin nodded, the corners of his mouth curling into a smile. "No, Rose. Malfoy's right. Thank you. You really saved us back there, pulling a stunt like that. With brains like that, there's no wonder you're a Slytherin."

Happy we were agreeing for the first time all week, Rose's smile got bigger. "Now that that's over, can the two of you try to be friends? It's not that hard, you may not have a lot in common, but I like you both and wish you liked each other. I don't want to choose between you both. I want the three of us to be best friends, like Mum, Dad and Uncle Harry. Only in Slytherin."

I nodded and smiled. "Anything for you."
Pott – Albus put his arms around our shoulders and beamed, declaring, "Of course, Rose."