A/N: Thanks for all the reviews so far! Keep 'em coming folks! I've just finished my rough plan for this fic - it's looking to be quite long actually if I stick to it!
Main Characters: Rose Weasley, Scorpius Malfoy, Albus Potter
Disclaimer: Much as I wish I did, I don't own any of the HP characters...

--

A warm fire was blazing in Hagrid's hut when Albus, Rose and Scorpius entered - a welcome change from the chilly September breeze of the Hogwarts grounds. A dog basket lay in one corner and Rose was reminded of the large boarhound, Fang, who had passed away a few years ago of old age. Hagrid had vowed that he would never have another pet, although those who knew him knew that it would only be a matter of time before he took on something new - whether it was magical or not. Hagrid had let them into the hut, and then disappeared a little way into the forest, towards the paddock area, saying that he would be back soon and that they should make themselves at home. While she and Albus sat down happily at the table in the centre of the room, Scorpius looked a bit more wary, hovering nervously behind a chair instead.

"Oh come on," Rose sighed. "The chair isn't going to hurt you, you know."

"He said make yourself at home," Scorpius replied defensively. "At home I happen to prefer standing."

"Don't tell me you're scared of Hagrid?" Albus said, trying hard not to laugh. "I thought you knew he was half giant?"

"I did! Just...if he's half giant, exactly how big are full giants?"

"About 20 feet," Rose answered. "Give or take..."

"That was a rhetorical question."

--

The door flew open, and the large silhouette of Hagrid filled the gap, holding a squirming bundle in his arms.

"Sorry fer leavin' yer," he said. "Had ter go collect this little 'un. Been keepin' Witherwings company y'see."

He placed the thing that he had been holding onto the floor, where it immediately scampered over to where Scorpius was standing and sat gazing up at the blond boy, tail wagging furiously.

"Well would yer look at that," Hagrid chuckled. "He likes you! C'mere, Harry, there's a good boy."

"Um, Hagrid..." Albus began, getting up from his chair. "You named a puppy after my dad?"

"Course I did! 'E's been so good to me, yer old man, figured I had to do summat to show my gratitude. Woulda named him after Professor Dumbledore, only you arrived firs', and I didn't think Brian was a very good name fer a dog..."

"But Harry is?" Albus muttered under his breath, causing him to receive a sharp dig in the ribs from Rose.

"I'm sure Harry will feel very honoured, aren't you Al?"

"Yeah, honoured, sure," Albus agreed, glaring at his cousin.

"What kind of dog is he, Hagrid?"

The question came from Scorpius, who was looking and sounding a lot more confident since the arrival of the puppy. Crouched down on the floor, he was busy playing tug of war with the new pet, who appeared to have claimed one of Hagrid's ties as a toy.

"Mostly Alsatian - far as they could tell anyway..." Hagrid replied, a broad grin on his face - apparently it didn't matter to Hagrid what your last name was, if you expressed an interest in his menagerie of interesting creatures you were alright in his opinion. "They found him abandoned when 'e was just a newborn, apparently."

"They say dogs are a good judge of character, don't they?" Rose asked innocently, watching how Harry was acting around her new friend. "Like they can tell when something's not quite right?"

"Most animals can, to tell you the truth, spose it's a bit more obvious with a dog though, yeah."

Rose looked at Albus, then across to Scorpius, then back to Albus again, a smug smile on her face. Albus rolled his eyes at her and started talking to Hagrid about their first couple of days at Hogwarts, making sure to avoid looking at his cousin again during their visit.

--

It was dark by the time the trio left Hagrid's hut, with a promise to visit him as often as they could throughout the year. They walked quickly back to the castle, eager to get back into the warmth of the common rooms. After taking a few detours thanks to Hogwarts' famous moving staircases, they eventually reached the seventh floor where they would go their separate ways - Scorpius and Rose heading towards the Ravenclaw Common Room, and Albus towards Gryffindor. They had only taken a few steps, however, when Albus turned and called back to them.

"Malfoy? Can I have a word?"

Scorpius looked surprised, however he told Rose to go on without him anyway, assuring her that he'd be right behind her. Rose continued on her way to the common room, slightly concerned about what it was that her cousin would need to talk to Scorpius about - surely he wouldn't be stupid enough to challenge him to a duel in full view of anybody who might still be making their way back to their respective towers?

--

The silence between the two boys seemed to last for an eternity. Albus paced about the hallway, inspecting the different portraits hanging on the walls, while Scorpius watched him, a slight look of impatience on his face.

"Look, have you got something to say to me or not?" he finally asked, as Albus studied a picture of a group of monks for what must have been the twentieth time. "Only, if you haven't, I've got things I could be doing right about now -"

"You and Rose are friends, right?" Albus cut in, abrubtly.

"Um, yeah, I'd say we are anyway," Scorpius replied, caught slightly off guard by the sudden question. "Thought you knew that?"

"I...I did. It's just...well, if you two are going to be friends, it means you and me..."

"...are going to be seeing an awful lot of one another."

"Exactly. And that means..."

"...that we're going to actually have to talk to one another."

"Yes! So to be able to do that, I wanted to..."

"...apologise for believing that my family is scum, although you're still thinking it secretly anyway."

"Yeah - wait, no! I mean...yes to the first part, no to the second, you know?"

"I think so," Scorpius said, laughing. "You really are terrible at apologising, did you know that?"

"Yep."

--

(A/N: Review? I'm not sure whether I went a bit over the top with Hagrid's speech or not...I might in future just write him speaking normally, what do you think? As for the dog called Harry...I had to do it. My brain wouldn't let me continue until I had!)