Sorry for being so late on this update! There's just been a lot of school lately. Please R and R and make this girl happy!

Chapter 3

In front of him was none other than Rose Weasley, the famed daughter of Minister Granger and former Gryffindor and now Auror Ron Weasley. She was all smiles as she walked in, her muggle sundress falling down to her ankles. He never really remembered her as pretty, but this summer she really seemed to have change. Scorpius took his place next to Liam at the back of the foyer as the Weasley- Grangers came in, shutting out the cameras of reporters behind them.

"Hermione," his mother greeted her friend, before uncertainly turning to the Minister's husband, "and Ron, of course."

"Astoria, thank you for inviting us. I didn't know you changed the decor. The earth tones really lighten up the Manor," she replied. Ms. Granger was an observer, and so was Scorpius. He remembered when she first came to the Manor, for a peace meeting between the Ministry and his family. She looked scared underneath her confident demeanor. His father had later explained how during the War his Great- Aunt Bellatrix had mercilessly tortured her. There were two morals from that story. One, judge people on how they treat their inferiors. Aunt Bellatrix was crazy, and cruel, and hearing about her trying to kill Hermione was horrifying. Second, don't mess with Hermione Granger, or any other half- bloods or those without any magical blood from their parents at all. His parents had been big on respecting all wizards and witches, and prejudice no longer existed inside the walls of Malfoy Manor.

Scorpius felt Liam edge next to him as Hugo and Rose fit in with Carly, James, Albus, and Lily.

"It's weird, right?"

"Aren't you friends with all of them?"

Liam shrugged. "My mum and Hermione go out to have lunch sometimes, but that's it. We don't see Rose and Hugo much outside of Hogwarts. Carly is pretty decent friends with Rose, though. Remember how Carly always tried to invite to Hogsmeade with Rose and Grace?"

Hesitating, he guessed, "Grace Longbottom?"

"Yeah, her."

"I've always felt bad for Grace. She's very pretty, but the last name Longbottom isn't exactly appealing to me," he whispered. Liam laughed, and they looked at each other before Scorpius started to laugh as well. The two of them we so caught up in Alice's last name that they didn't notice when Minister Granger and Mr. Weasley walked out of the foyer, and so did all of the other teens except for Carly and Rose, who were glaring at them.

"Only my brother can make Scorpius laugh that hard," Carly observed, a hint of bitterness in her voice.

"Don't be jealous, Carly. You're the only girl he truly seems to care a lot about," Rose solemnly said, sneaking a glance at him. Scorpius had grown a lot, and now instead of being an inch taller than her, he seemed to be around 4. But he still had the same white blond hair, and the same dignified way he stood and walked. She still couldn't quite find out why so many girls liked him.

"I'm not!" protested Carly, and Rose rolled her eyes.

"What about this: I think I should get Scorpius to like me and then pass him on to you."

"So, basically flirting on my behalf? What makes you think that you'll make him like you?" Carly questioned, her hazelnut waves framing her face.

"I'm a Weasley- Granger, all boys like me." Rose lied. She pondered why she couldn't see that she was trying to help her close friend.

"I get that, but-"

"Let me try it. I don't really know what you like so much about him, but I can do it." Carly knew there was nothing she could do to change the ginger's mind.

Carly watched as she saw Scorpius and Liam approach them."You haven't grown at all, Rose," Liam teased.

"I haven't, that's true. But you, Scorpius," Rose casually said, "have grown quite a bit." Scorpius chuckled in response, not really knowing how to react. He rarely talked to Rose at school, and the only thing that he knew about her is that she was a great keeper for the Gryffindor team and a straight A student. Remembering the talk he had with his father, he was focused on making a good first impression.

"Yeah, I needed to get new robes and everything."

"I thought you get new robes every year! And a new broomstick too," Scorpius had learned over the years that people like Rose weren't trying to insult him, but only making a joke. He played along, saying,

"I'm not going to deny that," he said, amusing Rose.

"Right," she looked distracted as he saw her… sniffing the air?

"What's for dinner? I'm starving!" she announced, walking up the staircase, probably looking for food. She turned at the top of the stairs and looked down at them, winking at Carly. He felt confused, as if excluded from an inside joke.

"The kitchen isn't even up there, Rose!" Liam called up to her, beckoning her to come back down.

"It has to be! My sense of smell is never wrong!" Everybody laughed with her as they reluctantly trooped up the staircase.

"Scorpius, are we there yet?" chorused the group behind him. They were walking to dinner and currently on the third floor. He didn't want to break to them that they were in the wrong wing and the dining room was two floors down.

"I sure hope we're close, Malfoy," Albus mumbled. He was starving, Lily was complaining about the blisters from her flats, and James was being James, trying to determine how old the house was by the ridges in the rocks.

"We are, Potter. If you would like to lead the way in a house you've never been to before then you're welcome to. Do you want to go ahead and show us where dinner is?" Becoming impatient, he walked down the corridor not caring whether or not the rest were following. He knew if there were any problems the Zabini's would know where to go. They knew the Manor as well as he did.

"Wait up!" Liam called, his feet thumping on the polished floors. His friends reached him, his breathing slightly heavier than normal.

"If they starve Carly can take them down to dinner. Why did you even follow if you knew that we were going the wrong way?"

"I thought it was fun, and Carly wasn't paying attention because she was too busy conversing with Rose. But you're right, it wasn't practical. To get back the quickest way possible, we should have turned right a while ago…" Liam had spent a lot of time calculating routes around Malfoy Manor for fun while they walked.

"Well then you can blame Rose. She thought she knew where she was going until she reached the room where Father keeps all of his office supplies." He said irritated. Rose thought she would know where to go considering the fact she had never been here and had only heard about it from her mother, who was there during the War.

"It's not Rose's fault," Liam said, heading down the staircase going back to the first floor. Scorpius looked back and noticed the rest of them weren't following. He smirked.

"Lost them," he announced, hearing the chatter of his parents and their company.

"What will our parents say? My dad and mum aren't going to be happy when they find out we left them all alone, and lost too." Scorpius shrugged, not really caring.

"There's Carly. No one will be angry. We'll just say they wanted to explore the Manor."

"Good idea," the brown hair boy agreed.

They walked in, taking their places and each unconsciously placing their napkin neatly on their laps. The parents all turned to look at them.

"Where are the rest of you?" Blaise asked, eyeing the empty spots.

"They're coming, they wanted to explore the castle." Scorpius replied coolly.

His father gave his approval and Scorpius proceeded to tackle the steak on his plate.

"HELP!" A voice called, and Scorpius and Liam looked at each other. It was Hugo's. They were most certainly busted now, but that was the least of their worries as they quickly excused themselves and ran in the direction of the screams, the adults hot on their heels.

"Where do you think they are?" Liam frantically asked him, skidding around a corner.

"Most likely my father's office. There's a trapdoor there and if there's too much weight on it it can open. It's on the third floor too, so the location would make sense," he puffed and ran up the stairs. He didn't stop until they reached the third floor.

The duo and the adults burst into the office. The screams escalated and then suddenly quieted.

"Dad? Mum?" A quivering Carly questioned.

"How did you guys get stuck down there?" Minister Granger asked, removing the carpet and revealing a very deep hole, where the seven frightened kids were cramped and huddled at the bottom.

"We were exploring the Manor and got stuck."

"Couldn't you use a spell and get yourselves out? Rose, I didn't buy you that new book of spells for nothing!" The Minister scolded her daughter.

"I was pretty sure the Manor was safe, I didn't think I would need my wand!" Rose reasoned.

"You seven are going to tell me you forgot your wand? You have to bring it with you no matter how safe you think it is. You're the Minister's daughter after all!" In the dark, Rose rolled her eyes at her mother.

"I'd like to come out now," Albus yelled up to his dad. Harry shook his head.

"You shouldn't have been in Mr. Malfoy's office in the first place. This room probably contains some personal things."

Scorpius' mother came forward, wand poised in her hand.

"I'll get them out, the rest of you can return to dinner if you wish."

"It's alright, I think we need to go home after this. Liam and Carly, both of you are in huge trouble." Blaise said disappointed.

"Why?" Liam complained.

"Because you should have never left them, Liam. And Carly shouldn't have been sneaking around."

"Same goes for you three," Ginny Potter glared down at her children. A chorus of complaints arose from the hole.

Hermione got her children out with her wand, and started towards the door.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay for dinner?" Narcissa asked, feeling bad that the kids had gone through so much.

"We'll be alright, thanks. We have some talking to do. Right Ron?" Ron looked stonily at his offspring.

"We do. Thank you for dinner, Narcissa," he said formally, heading out to the floo, dragging Rose and Hugo with him.

"We'll be leaving now, but we promise to reschedule," Harry announced, with the sound of steps down the stairs. Soon it was only Narcissa, Draco, and their son left.

"I can't believe you irresponsibly lost not, one, not two, but seven children of the three most powerful couples in the world! They'll never let us in now!" His father hissed, and Scorpius felt scared. His father always did his best not to be too harsh on him.

"I didn't think they'd get lost! They had Carly!"

"Exactly!" his father growled, and he knew that he was right. Carly wasn't the best with directions, like the time they had to use the tube on a trip to London…

"Scorpius!" His father raised his voice, seeing Scorpius tune out to other things.

"Luckily for you, your mother has devised a clever plan to save your sorry arse." Draco waited expectantly for Narcissa to explain her plan.

"You will have to be friends with Rose, Albus, and the rest of the Weasley- Grangers and the Potters." she said. Scorpius tried not to let his draw drop for the second time. Albus Potter? What are they thinking? This is so unfair…

"Whether it's unfair or not, you'll be doing it if you know what's good for you and this family. Understood, Scorpius?"

He mutely nodded, worrying about how bad this year was going to be. And just because they got stuck in a hole.