Rose POV

The wall came closer, and closer, and closer – and then she was through.

She and her family walked around, the thick steam making it hard to see.

"There he is! Look, Mum, Dad, it's Al!" Rosie ran eagerly towards the family of four. Well, five, but James wasn't there, and personally, Rose was very happy about the development. James wasn't her favourite, he was too prejudiced for her liking.

"Hi," said Al, sounding happy she was there.

She smiled, noticing that he hadn't changed yet. She was so excited, she had come to the station wearing her robes. She got several funny looks for that.

She vaguely noticed her parents and Uncle Harry talking about pakring, or whatever it was called. With the car-thingies.

As she loaded her stuff on the train with her parents, she discreetly looked around for Scorp. He should be here soon…

They headed back to the platform, where Hugo and Lily were talking about Houses. Rose personally wondered where she would be. Gryffindor, like most of her family? Ravenclaw, like Vic? Hufflepuff, like Freddie? Or Slytherin, like Dom?

"If you're not in Gryffindor, we'll disinherit you, but no pressure."

"Ron!"

Lily and Hugo laughed, but Rose stood nervously. Al did the same. What if they weren't in Gryffindor? Then what?

"He doesn't mean it," said her mother and Aunt Ginny. But Ron wasn't paying attention anymore, and neither was Rose.

There he was. His father and mother were standing there silently. Scorpius seemed nervous and slightly awkward. The twins appeared to have been left at home.

"So that's little Scorpius. Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank God you've inherited your mother's brains."

"Ron, for heaven's sake. Don't turn them against each other before they've even started school!"

"You're right, sorry. Don't get too friendly with him, though, Rosie. Granddad Weasley would never forgive you if you married a pureblood."

Rose felt stricken. This was why she never told her father about her and Scorp's friendship.

James came back with news of Teddy and Vic snogging, but she didn't really think about it. They were supposed to be together, everyone knew that. Everyone but James, it seemed.

Rose got on the train, and noticed Al talking with his father. It was about him being in Slytherin, she knew. She waved back politely to Aunt Ginny, who was obviously trying not to listen in, and strained her ears. But she caught nothing.

Al jumped on board, and she went up to him. "What did Uncle Harry say about it?"

"That he couldn't care less if I was in Slytherin. Said that I'm named after two Hogwarts headmasters, one's a Slytherin and the bravest man he knew."

"That's nice," Rose said softly. They sat down together and waited for a certain blonde to join them, as everyone around them stared at the famous families.

Scorpius POV

The wall came closer, and closer, and closer – and then she was through.

He and his family walked around, the thick steam making it hard to see.

The twins were at home, they both caught the Flu and now couldn't see their older brother off. That was okay, though.

Mum and Dad, Dad especially, looked rather uncomfortable. Even though a lot had changed, and prejudice was going down, and plus Grandmum Narcissa and Dad had been freed of all charges by Harry Potter himself, there were still people who held grudges against the Malfoy family.

"Scorpius?"

"Yeah Dad?"

"Remember that no matter what, we'll always be proud of you. No matter what House your in, no matter who your friends become, I will always be proud."

Scorpius looked up at his father.

Draco Malfoy looked sad and tired. It must be so hard, Scorpius thought, to have everyone hate you for something your family forced you to do.

"Okay Dad."

Just then, Scorp saw Rose, and Al, as well as their respective families, minus the ever-famous James. Scorpius had never personally met him, but Al made him sound like a right git, and Rose only ever agreed with what Al said.

Scorpius watched Ron Weasley, Rose's father, whisper something to Harry Potter. The former was staring at the family critically, whereas the latter just seemed curious. Scorpius immediately liked Harry Potter better. His father nodded curtly and Scorpius just stood there awkwardly. He noticed Mr Weasley lean down and talk to Rose, and Mrs Weasley admonish her husband. He smiled. Rosie always felt closer with her mother – she was a lot more accepting. He decided he liked Ms Weasley.

"Come on Scorpius, we need to get you on the train."

He followed his father as Mum and Dad helped him load his trunk and owl on the train. He kissed them both goodbye, and went off in search of Rosie and Al. He found them in a compartment and sat down to join them, as their family disappeared around the corner.

A minute later, a small girl with chocolate coloured hair and bright hazel eyes opened the door.

"Do you lot mind if I sit here? Everywhere else is pretty full…"

"Sure, come on." Al helped the girl put her trunk away.

"So, what's your name?" Scorpius felt slightly uncomfortable. The three children all had rather famous families, and Scorpius was the one with the bad reputation. He took a deep breath. "I'm Scorpius Malfoy."

To his surprise, the girl just nodded and turned to Al. "Albus. Albus Severus Potter. But you can call me Al."

"And I'm Rose Weasley."

"I'm Charlotte Anderson. Most people call me Charlie."

"Okay Charlie."

"And if I don't know something, it's probably because I'm muggleborn." That made a lot of sense.

They introduced her to Exploding Snap and several wizarding sweets. She was delighted.

"So, I have to ask," she started. They were sitting in the middle of a bunch of candy wrappers, full. "Why does everyone keep staring at you when they pass the compartment?"

Rose and Al looked very uncomfortable, so Scorpius decided to explain. "About twenty years ago, there was this really big war. It was called the Second Wizarding War. My dad… he was on the bad side. His parents, well mostly his dad, forced him into believing all this shite about how purebloods are better than everyone else, and muggleborns aren't real witches and wizards. My dad made sure I had the opposite beliefs growing up. He really regrets everything he did in the war." Al and Rose looked down, and Charlie looked solemn.

"But what about you two?"

"My dad, his name is Harry Potter. He ended up defeating the dark wizard who lead the other side. Rosie's parents both helped a lot, and my entire family – the Weasleys – were big war heroes in general. My dad was orphaned when he was a baby, and Uncle George's twin brother, Fred, died in the Final Battle of Hogwarts. Yeah, it happened at school," Al said, catching Charlie's curious look. "A lot of people were injured or killed. It was awful. My godbrother, Teddy, his parents both died that night. He was raised by his grandmum and my parents."

"We don't know everything – Scorp's dad obviously doesn't know everything that happened to our parents during the year they dropped out of school to defeat Voldemort and our parents won't tell us – but we know enough," Rosie piped up.

"Yeah."

Silence.

"That's pretty cool, actually. You'll have to tell me more."

Scorpius laughed. This girl had guts. Or maybe she was just crazy.

So the four talked the whole way to Hogwarts, about the war, and about other things. They became really good friends. And then they were there.

It was time for the Sorting.