Disclaimer: Let's keep it short and sweet: Not mine

He had evaded her for too long. Best friends needed to talk their problems over, and that was exactly what she planned to do. Stealthily, silently, she crept over the expanse of lawn towards him until he was in touching distance. Then, she finally allowed her presence to be made known.

'Al,' she said, quietly, but distinctly.

Jumping and, much to Rose's amusement, drawing his wand, he wheeled around to see who was standing in such proximity to him.

'For goodness sakes Rose, you nearly gave me a heart attack,' he gasped.

'Put your wand away, Albus.'

He straightened up and, blushing, stowed his wand safely beneath his robes. Then he stared at her stonily, waiting for her to speak.

She hesitated.

'Well?' he snapped, 'Just spit it out, ok? I'm tired of having you follow me. Just – look, say whatever it is, yell at me, I don't actually give a damn about what you have to say.'

She watched silently as his cheeks grew red, his hands became fists and his green eyes glowered at her.

'Al. Calm down, would you?' she suggested, soothingly.

'Not. In. The. Mood. For. Games,' he growled.

'Neither am I,' she assured him, softly. Even seeing him there, fury etched on his face, she felt a wave of fondness wash over her. She had missed him dreadfully.

'Aren't you? You come over here, telling me to calm down, you hypocrite! How calm were you, pray tell, when I sent that damn letter to my parents?' He began to walk towards the lake, in a quick stride, weaving in and out between the older students.

'Albus,' Rose said as gently as she could while bouncing along behind him, but she could feel her temper rising, Rose may have had the sense of humour of her father, but she also possessed the terrible, rare, fury of her mother. 'We need to talk ok? I'm sorry I shouted at you that last time, truly. But come on, give me a break, I was going through enough that day.'

'So was I!' he stormed on past the meaningless faces that threw a few interested glances in their direction.

'Ok, ok. Sorry, I'm sure you were,' she said, a faint hint of patronising hidden within her voice. As far as she could see, Albus had very few problems to deal with; that day, he told his Gryffindor family that he was also in Gryffindor; she told her dad that she was in the same house as his crazy friend. His words were still fresh in her mind:

"I see you're in Ravenclaw, but don't worry …"

Don't worry. I forgive you for messing up and becoming a Ravenclaw. Stupid thing to do, really, but we'll get through this. Don't worry; you just made the mistake of being yourself.

Scowling, she shook her father's face from her memory.

'Look, take it easy on me, ok? I don't even understand why the hell you're even mad in the first place!'

He stopped. They were by the lake edge, but a little to the left of the main throng. He stooped to pick up a rock and repeatedly tossed it in the air.

'You really don't know, do you? Honestly Rose, for such a smart, intelligent, clever witch you can be such an ignorant person.'

She hadn't missed the Ravenclaw traits he had mocked. Scarlet cheeks, she tried to speak once more, 'If it's about the letter I regret yelling, but –'

'I don't give a damn about the letter.'

He flung the stone into the lake; it flew through the air for about twenty feet before dropping with a resounding "plop" into the glassy water, sending ripples around the edge.

She could feel herself snapping.

'That's right, Albus, you don't give a damn that my family hates me. You don't care that I'm almost in tears, seeing our friendship in ruins, like this. You don't care about anything at all, except yourself, the last thing you'd give a damn about, Albus, is about me!'

In the fleeting glance she allowed herself at his face, she saw shock mixed with confusion, mixed with betrayal.

'I can see this is useless,' she murmured. She hugged him tightly before walking quickly away. She wasn't sure where to, the forest seemed as good a place as any. It was as dark as her mood, at least.

'Rose,' he called. Her heart skipped a beat, but she kept her steady, metronomic pace. 'Rose, I will talk.'

She stopped, wiped a tear away from her eye with her sleeve, and faced him again.

'Good,' she whispered, but a sudden feeling of dread overtook her. It was all well and good to shout at him, but was she really brave enough to hear why he was so angry with her?

The two cousins sat.

The silence was excruciating. Rose was going to start crying again if he didn't speak soon; cursing her sensitivity, she tried to get a grip on herself.

'Did you say your family hates you?'

'Well, some of them do.'

'But my family is your family.'

She rolled her eyes. A very Albus observation.

'Yes, Albus, they are.'

'Who?' he demanded.

The weather was turning nasty; it was beginning to drizzle. The crowd of students began to thin.

'Hmm, let's see … well, there's you,' she put up a hand to silence him as he opened his mouth,' James, Fred, Molly, Dominique. My Dad. My brother. And that's all whom I know about yet.'

'I don't hate you! I'm your best friend!'

'Excuse me? My best friend? No best friend of mine goes around shunning me for days at a time.'

He looked slightly guilty, but then that hard look of resolve returned to his face.

'I'll tell you why I'm angry. After I go through the rest of the family you say hate you. Our family does not hate each other.'

'Hmmph. Go ahead.'

'Who was there on your list, again? Molly? Fred?' he asked incredulously.

'I saw their faces after I was sorted, Al,' she informed him, curtly. 'Right after. They looked mad.'

'But they weren't!'

She laughed, humourlessly.

'Our family is less than perfect, Albus. Maybe I would have believed differently before boarding that train, before meeting Scorpius and before getting sorted, but I know better now. You could say I'm enlightened.'

Rose noticed his eyes narrow at the mention of Scorpius' name and felt pure disgust.

'Fred and Molly thought it was weird that you were in Ravenclaw. That is all.'

'Yes, that's me. I'm the weirdo in this family. But only recently am I proud of it.'

'I didn't mean …'

'Go on. Tell all about Dominique.'

'Dominique is a stuck up idiot. But she doesn't hate you. She's just being a prat.'

'Oh, how reassuringly convincing.'

'She loves Gryffindor too much. It's a sort of patriotic thing, I suppose.'

'Wow, Albus, you're so amazingly deductive. You honestly think I didn't realise that for myself? It's the same for James, I suppose.'

'James?'

'Yeah, he hates me for the same reason as Dominique, right? Gryffindor power, and all that jazz.'

'None of them hate you! You're so … paranoid.'

She wondered briefly if he would say that after having the week that she just did.

'James … well, he does love Gryffindor,' Albus continued. 'But he wouldn't –'

'Wouldn't hold it against me if I'm not?'

'Well, yeah.'

'You haven't seen the way he looks at me,' she muttered.

'James loves to joke –'

'Trust me Al, this is no joke.'

'Hang on. Did you say your brother hates you?'

'You know what, Al? I've had enough of your theorys, clever as they are,' Rose said loudly and authoritatively, speaking over his protests. 'Let's just skip on ahead to what you do know for sure, shall we? Like, why the hell have you been so horrible to me of late?'

'Fine! I'm angry that you are a Ravenclaw.'

Silence. A pure, cold silence.

'What?' she whispered.

'I – I hate that you are a Ravenclaw.'

She could hear the gentle breeze rattling the leaves somewhere that seemed like a thousand miles away. She could hear the laughter of youths enjoying their day off even further away. She could hear the rain hitting the lake, far, far away.

'I am who I am. It's not my fault I'm in Ravenclaw.'

'Yes, Rose, it really is.'

She blinked. This didn't make sense. Albus was the cousin most like her, most conscientious, most understanding, they always agreed and they were always together.

'You're not making any sense,' she told him, desperately.

'When I dreamt of attending Hogwarts,' Albus whispered quietly, 'I was always with you. We were best friends, we took classes together, we ate together, did homework together, cheered on the Quidditch together.'

She sighed. She had thought so, too.

'It's not my fault I'm a Ravenclaw –'

'Don't make me laugh. It's your fault, because you didn't choose Gryffindor. You heard the hat say, "Oh, you'd be a great Ravenclaw," and then you didn't think, "No. To be with Albus is in Gryffindor is more important." '

'Than my future? Are you serious, Al?'

'My father said the Hat will respond for your wishes. And your, wishes, Rose, were clearly to stay with that – Malfoy – boy, instead of me.'

'I chose to go to the house that would recognise, appreciate and utilize my best qualities. I chose to be an individual and not to be ruled by my family.'

'Your family is who you are.'

'That,' she said, thinking sadly of Scorpius, 'is the most ridiculous statement that has ever come out of your mouth.'

'Whatever, Rose. I just want you to know this one thing before I leave.'

He's leaving. Your best friend is leaving. Forever. Do something!

'Scorpius Malfoy,' he continued, no longer looking at her, 'will one day break your heart.'

Do something! Wait … break my heart?!

'Albus, I am not in love with Scorpius!'

'See you, Rosie.'

'It's Rose!'

He's getting up. He's walking away. DO SOMETHING!

…

…

He's … gone?

It began to pour. The rain was cold and heavy and showed no signs of yielding. Rose stood there, stationary, getting soaked.

Yes. He's gone.

***

On his way back out of the castle, Scorpius met one Albus Potter, looking drenched to the skin.

'Albus,' he said cordially, 'how are you?'

Albus glared at him with such hatred that Scorpius took an involuntary step backwards.

'Stomach-ache?' he enquired mildly, in his head alarm bells were ringing.

'You're so damn funny, Malfoy. You think everything is a joke, you think you own the place.'

'I own no more than anyone else.'

'Shut up! You think you're so mysterious and, and smart and – philosophical.'

Scorpius burst out laughing. This time it was Albus who jumped at the loud sound. His face reddened.

'I know you, Malfoy. I know what you're really like. I see through your 'nice-guy …'

'Façade?' Scorpius supplied, grinning. 'Once again, I'm forced to reitierate. You may know about my family, Albus, but you don't know –'

'No. I really do see the lying, cunning, evil bit of filth you are.'

'Look, I don't know what has gotten you so excited, but –'

'Damn it, Malfoy you are exactly your father over again,' Scorpius face went pale and his eyes narrowed.

'I think you'd better leave it there, Potter …'

'You stole my best friend!' he roared, 'You practically stole my sister; you stole my cousin; my Rose.'

'Melodramatic, aren't we?'

'That day on the train … if she had chosen to sit anywhere – anywhere else she would be in Gryffindor and she would never have spoken to you in her life. She would be happy. She's been miserable because she thinks she upset our family.'

'I did not make her unhappy, Albus.'

'No, Ravenclaw did and you made her choose Ravenclaw!'

'I did nothing of the s-'

'James told me that when he left your compartment he heard you telling her to take a "don't-care" attitude to her family when she was being sorted.'

'I stand by that! It's her life! And I didn't tell her to take it, I merely stated that was what I'd be doing!' he gazed at him incredulously. 'And why the hell was James eavesdropping?'

'That stupid Malfoy don't-care attitude made her miserable. And now she's not even my friend,' Albus said, ignoring the question. 'I just hope you're happy. She has a crush on you or something so when she realised you were in Ravenclaw she asked to be there too. Your stupid charms have ruined her life and you don't even care!'

'Ruined her life?' Scorpius couldn't help asking, with a smirk.

Albus was angry, he wanted to show Malfoy he meant business, but they were just two first-years, with no magic, what harm could they possibly do to each other?

Albus balled his hand into a fist, pulled it back slowly and punched Scorpius Malfoy in the face – hard.

Passers-by froze. They stared at Albus Potter, the quiet son of the famous, good Harry Potter who looked as though he was shocked by himself. Albus saw James' face in the crowd looking rather impressed, a Greta who looked like she was torn in between laughter and fury and Victoire Weasley, looking surprised and very disappointed.

A/n: Hey. Uh … I hope you all don't hate this chapter too much, as some of you will probably say Albus was OOC.

Just to go through the reasons behind it: Albus' childhood best friend whom he cares about a lot will no longer be fulfilling his expectation that Rose and himself will go through Hogwarts together. Instead he believes she is infatuated with Scorpius, who is no different in nature to his ancestors, and he will someday break her heart.

All this built up and seeing Scorpius smirk like that only served to confirm what he suspected. So he hit him. Sorry.

We all have crazy moments when we do things completely unlike ourselves or the anger just slowly builds.

Wow that note was way too long. And rambling. Oops.

On a brighter note, a big thank you to all my fantabulous reviewers!

That is: ari11990, aznphoenix95, lilyre, Potted Lilies, Paperback28, A True Dreamer, GoldenTresses91, AngelicKat445 and Katamabob. You're the best!

So I'm very interested to hear what you thought of this latest chapter! Please review, they're always much appreciated!