A/N: Oooh okay guys. here it is, chapter seven. you are going to love this one, for one reason in particular. I'll let you read on and find out what that reason is ;)
Chapter Seven
"I'm home." Rose called, shutting the front door behind her and hanging her coat up.
"Darling!" Hermione Weasley rushed into the hallway, dishcloth in hand. "I wondered where you'd got to!"
"Sorry mum. I got talking to my friend outside on the way out of school." Rose said, smiling slightly.
"A friend?" Her mother asked, her eyebrows raising in surprise.
"Yeah, Jake. You know what it's like when you get talking with someone." Rose shrugged, heading up the stairs.
"Yes of course... Well um, never mind then. Try not to be too late next time." Hermione said, and watched her smiling daughter disappear up to her bedroom incredulously.
"Since when did Rose have a friend called Jake?" Hermione whispered to Ron when she returned to the kitchen.
"Jake? A boy?" Ron looked up from his copy of the Daily Prophet.
"Yes dear. A boy." Hermione said patiently.
"Hmm. Not a boyfriend I hope." Ron muttered.
Hermione raised an eyebrow.
"I should go speak to her about it, shouldn't I."
"No, no, Ron. Don't mention it. It's nice to see her come home happy like that, don't go spoiling it." Hermione said hurriedly, imagining her husband thoughtlessly blundering in and firing questions at her about this 'boy'.
Ron opened his mouth to speak, but Hermione cut him off. "And even if it is a boyfriend, she'll tell us when she's ready. You were sucking Lavender Brown's face off when you were 16, remember." She wrinkled her nose at the memory.
"Oh yeah." Ron shrugged, going a little red, but looking slightly relieved that he didn't have to have to talk about boys with his daughter. He would quite happily put that conversation off till a later date.
"What you could do is take her up a cup of tea and ask her about her day." She suggested, pointing her wand at the kettle and not watching as a cup lifted off the shelf and the kettle tipped and filled it with hot water. A teabag dipped in, and the lid of the sugar pot lifted and a stream of sugar arced through the air to be stirred into the tea with a silver teaspoon.
Ron folded his newspaper and placed it on the table as he stood up, grabbed the cup off the counter, and kissed his wife.
"You are perfect." he said, smiling as he walked out of the room.
"Rose?" He knocked carefully at the third door on the landing.
"Come in." Rose called, and he pushed the creaky wooden door open.
"Hey kid. I brought you a drink." Ron said, approaching Rose where she sat at her desk with her back to the door. He peered over her shoulder as he placed the drink down next to her.
"Maths huh." He rested his hands on both her shoulders and she glanced over her shoulder.
"Thanks." she said, turning back to her paper and continuing to fill the lines with numbers and letters.
"So what I don't understand, is how you can add letters..." Ron said.
"It's called algebra, Dad." Rose said, not looking up.
"Algebra... it looks difficult."
"It's not." Rose shrugged, moving onto the next question.
"Well, not for you, clever clogs." Ron grinned, ruffling up her hair. Rose grumbled and batted his hands away, and he backed away chuckling.
"Dinner'll be ready soon. We're having roast chicken – Mum thought it would be a nice idea to put the chicken in sandwiches and take them with us tomorrow. You know what the journey to King's Cross is like, especially with that bloody motorway." Ron hung around by the door.
"That's a nice idea." Rose said.
"There'll be enough for you. If you want to come...?" He suggested. Rose hadn't come to pick up Hugo from the station since his very first day. The whispers and pointing from other students and parents on the platform had been too much for thirteen year old Rose, who was already so devastated at not being able to attend Hogwarts herself. They all knew who she was, and what she was. It had been a heartbreaking experience for the whole family as well as Rose, and she refused to go through it again year after year.
Rose put down her pen.
"Sure." She said after a few moments. Ron spluttered in surprise.
"Oh! Great. Fantastic. Well, I'll... I'll make sure mum remembers to bring a flask for you. Hot chocolate on the motorway... yes. All three of us. Lovely."
"I'll be down for dinner when I've finished this." Rose said, and Ron nodded, thankful for the interjection.
"See you in a while then." He coughed and left the room.
Scorpius stared out of the window. The seats shook as the train steamed on, and the lights inside the compartment flickered. Outside, the afternoon sky was a steely grey, and the green fields they passed were dull and cold. Raindrops ran at a steep angle down the steamed up window, and Scorpius's own grey eyes stared back at him from the glass.
Inside the compartment, the atmosphere was buzzing with conversation. Three Ravenclaw girls had been all too happy to join his and Albus's half empty compartment, as the rest of the train was full – or so they claimed. For the first two hours of the journey they'd quizzed him with questions, complimented his good looks, and tried out every chat-up line the young witches could think of. To begin with, he'd played along. He'd answered their questions vaguely to keep them guessing, he'd responded modestly to their compliments, and smiled charmingly and pretended to be impressed at their embarrassing lines.
But all that quickly got boring. Really they weren't that pretty, or particularly intelligent, and he had little interest in talking to any of them. He told the girls he was going to take a nap, and turned to face the window with his hood pulled up covering his face. He sent Albus a mildly annoyed look, who returned it with a smug grin as he hid quietly behind a book, undisturbed by girls. Scorpius closed his eyes and tried to block out the voices of the girls chatting and giggling.
Beneath the surface of boredom, Scorpius was actually feeling a little sick. Well, not sick... apprehensive. His stomach was knotted up nervously, and every time he remembered that he was on his way to, not his own home, but to Albus's, his heartbeat would speed up. It wasn't that he was scared... no. He was just nervous. He knew all the stories about how 'well' Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy had got on as teenagers and during the Great War. He knew there was a huge rift between the families, and despite his friendship with Albus, he'd never been to his house, and had never spoken to his mother or father. All thanks to his father hurrying him off the Platform when he picked him up, to avoid any kind of contact with Potters or Weasleys. Scorpius didn't know what it would be like. He'd never stayed in a house other than his own, and certainly not stayed with a friend. He didn't know how he would act, how they would, if they would like him...
But in between waves of nervousness, Scorpius was also very excited. A whole week with his best friend away from school, spending the days however they wanted. No lessons, no father, no annoying girls... Scorpius scowled at the reflection of the girls in the window, who were still chatting animatedly.
Albus coughed loudly and Scorp turns his eyes to him. Albus inclined his head towards the window, and Scorpius looked at it. At first he stared outside, at the nondescript stream of green that hurtled past the window. But then he refocused on the actual window, and right in front of him was a message written with a hasty finger in the condensation.
Fancy a walk?
Scorpius wiped the message off the window and grinned at Albus. He pulled back his hood and yawned loudly, stretching his arms above his head.
"I'm all stiff." he groaned, "I need to take a walk." The girls giggled loudly at his use of words, looking up at him through their eyelashes.
"Let's go Al. Be back soon ladies." Scorpius gave them a quick wink before he slipped out of the compartment door, Albus following behind him looking quietly amused.
"Urgh, I couldn't take much more of that." Scorpius grumbled in a low voice as the two wandered down the train.
"Me neither." Albus agreed. Down the far end of the train there was a mass of students squished together, clutching purses and wallets.
"Food trolley!" Scorpius grinned, his eyes lighting up and his mood immediately lifting. He began to jog. Albus shrugged and followed after him, pulling a handful of coins from his pocket.
They returned to the compartment ten minutes later, their arms laden with various sweets and chocolates and drinks. At the sight of food from the trolley, the girls had the same idea and left the compartment immediately. Scorpius sighed in relief.
"Food, and peace and quiet. Perfect." He commented, looking out of the window as he opened a box of Bertie Bott's Beans. Outside the fields had now disappeared, and swathes of rooftops across the landscape indicated their approach to London.
"Ten minutes I'd say." Albus commented, looking out of the window too.
"Fifteen." Scorpius countered.
"Five Galleons?"
"You're on."
Albus reached across and they shook hands.
Twenty minutes later, the station came into sight and the train began to slow. The girls who had since arrived back in the compartment gathered their bags and put on their coats. Albus leant closer to the window to scan the approaching platform for familiar faces. Scorpius's stomach flipped over momentarily.
"See you around, Scorpius." One of the girls said, fiddling with the door handle.
"And you-" Scorpius searched his head for her name, but nothing came to him. "-darling. It's been a pleasure." He inclined his head and she flushed, beaming as she disappeared through the door, her friends following behind. As the door shut behind them, he distinctly heard an excitable, girly squeal.
Behind him, Albus was on his feet fastening his coat, watching as the train decelerated and the platform rolled up beside them, parents and family huddled in little groups, smiling at the arrival of the train filled with their children. Scorpius sighed nervously and pulled his bag down from the rack.
Rose pushed her hands deep in her coat pockets and hunched her shoulders up like she was cold. So far so good. Only a few whispers and looks in her direction when her and her parents crossed into Platform 9¾... she could deal with that. They found Harry and Ginny and the adults chatted loudly while Rose looked around and took in everything she could see.
The brakes on the train squealed and the whistle blew as the train pulled in slowly. She searched the windows for familiar faces of cousins or her brother. A ginger head ducked past a window that might've been a Weasley, but it was too brief to tell. Frantic waving at one window caught her eye. Albus! Rose pulled a hand from her pocket and waved back. He grinned, and pointed to the door, before disappearing again.
"Hello darling!" Hermione called, waving Hugo over. He pulled his trunk behind him and allowed himself to be pulled into his mother's arms for a hug. He then got a rather more manly hug from his father, before he put his arms around his big sister.
"Hey Hue." Rose said, giving him a squeeze.
"You came for once!" Hugo grinned happily.
"Yeah I did." she replied with a little smile. Just then Albus reached the group, Scorpius following a few steps behind.
"Rose!" he flung his arms round her and Rose laughed loudly, hugging him back gladly.
"How have you been, cuz?" Rose asked. Albus let go of her and smiled, "Fine thanks, and you? So glad to see you here! Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"
"I'm good actually, thank you. It was a last minute decision." she shrugged. Albus smiled and looked over his shoulder.
"Hi Mum, hi Dad!" Albus hugged his mother and father next, and Harry ruffled his hair affectionately.
"This is Scorp. He's staying with us this half term." Albus looked to his dad, then to the rest of the group. They all turned to look at Scorpius, who looked up suddenly, having been staring intently at his shoes.
Ron nodded curtly, Hermione and Ginny smiled, and Harry put out a hand to shake Scorpius's firmly.
"Nice to meet you, Mr Potter." Scorpius said politely. Albus's father smiled.
"Call me Harry." he replied warmly.
"Ginny." Albus's mother introduced herself, putting out her hand too. Scorpius shook it with a smile.
"Thank you both for allowing me to stay with your family this holiday." He said politely. Harry waved it off.
"Our pleasure." he smiled, regarding Scorpius with his hazel eyes. He couldn't help thinking how similar he looked to his father.
"Dad! Mum!" Lily Potter hurried over to her parents and threw herself into their arms, beaming.
"Lils! I missed you." Ginny exclaimed, pulling her daughter into a tight hug. Scorpius turned away, glad the spotlight was off of him. For now. The thudding of his heart died down a little.
"This is Rose." Albus introduced her.
"Your favourite cousin." Rose added, nudging Albus playfully.
"My favourite cousin." He repeated with a grin. Rose finally made eye contact with Scorpius.
"The famous Rose Weasley. Pleased to meet you." Scorpius smiled after just a moments hesitation under her gaze. Rose faltered, her smile dropping just a little, her confidence cracking. Famous for being a Squib, she thought painfully. Scorpius backtracked.
"Albus talks a lot about you, I can tell he's very fond of you." he continued, willing her smile to return as soon as he realised she'd taken his words the wrong way. He felt guilty immediately and cursed himself for his insensitivity That wasn't what he'd meant at all. The corners of her lips pulled up a little, and the smile she gave him was sweet, but the pain in her eyes only dulled a little.
"Aww, Al." she turned her blue eyes away from Scorpius to Albus. She pinched his cheek, "Aren't you sweet."
Her eyes then turned to the last student to approach the group.
"James." Harry grinned, stepping forward to embrace his son. James clapped him on the back as they hugged.
"Hi Dad." he greeted him, then bent a little to kiss his mother on the cheek.
"Hello Mum." he straightened up – taller than either of his parents, well-built and handsome. Star Quidditch player material. Scorpius stood up a little straighter, his body stiffening and his face going blank.
"Malfoy." James nodded, after he'd greeted all the rest of his family.
"James." Scorpius replied, smiling slightly and inclining his head, sure to use his first name in front of his family. He didn't want to cause any problems, but this was James Potter, his Quidditch rival.
"Well, I'm sure you'll all be seeing each other lots of the holidays-" Hermione began.
"I'll pop round yours as soon as I can, I brought a few things from school for you." Albus whispered quietly in Rose's ear. She smiled excitedly.
"And we'd love to have all of you over for dinner one evening, wouldn't we Ron." she continued. Ron grunted.
"We'd love to, Hermione." Ginny smiled, breaking away from the group with her arm linked with Harry's, her other holding Lily's hand. James stood by next to his father.
"I'll see you soon, Rose." Albus bid Rose goodbye and walked over to his family, barging playfully Scorpius with his shoulder as he walked by him.
"Ready?" he asked.
"Sure. Off to the Potters' it is." Scorp grinned. But as he walked away he couldn't stop himself from looking over his shoulder to steal once last glance at Rose.
A/N: so who can guess what reason i was hinting at? Of course, it's Scorpius and Rose's first meeting - finally! So... let me know what you thought of it. It's nothing too exciting just yet I know, but it'll get better. ;)
-DaizeeG
