A/N: J.K. Rowling owns anything and everything that you recognise as canon.

For this chapter: "Arminger" is pronounced "ahr-min-juhr."

"I feel so used."

Rose sat down beside her cousin, dumping another roll of parchment — which was most likely Al's Charm's essay — on the Table. Albus swallowed and thanked her for the homework.

She replied him with a "Oh shut up Al. There's no need to rub it in my face."

Albus looked at Scorpius (whom was seated across him) in confusion. The trio were seated at the Gryffindor Table in the Great Hall, finishing off their breakfast. Scorpius, who had finished long ago, turned to Rose, "I think you're over-reacting Weasley."

Al agreed, "Yea — I mean — you've lost to Malfoy tons of times! Why should this be any different?"

Scorpius refrained from laughing. Rose, meanwhile, looked like she was about to take the jug of orange juice and spill it over her cousin's head. Al bowed his head in shame, "Sorry." He carried on with breakfast quietly.

Rose rubbed her forehead in frustration. Scorpius asked, "You okay?"

She locked eyes with him for the first time that morning, "Do I look okay? I have his homework to do; my own to do; because I lost to you — by half a mark — no less; and I'm constantly thinking about how my dad's going to kill me when I get home and you're bloody asking me if 'I'm okay'?"

Scorpius apologised, "Alright, sorry for asking!"

Joyce approached the trio, "Yo."

Rose rested her head on the Table with a loud groan. Joyce looked at her, "Well — good morning to you too Weasley…!"

Joyce then sat down beside Scorpius. She looked up, "Post's here."

About a hundred owls flew in again, each searching for their owners. Joyce glanced over at the Slytherin Table to find Priscilla Angell receive a letter at which she smiled. Her attention was then stolen by a young eagle owl that landed on the table next to Scorpius; a letter tied to its leg. Joyce sat up, "Is it Aqui?"

Scorpius replied, "Let me open it first!"

Rose slowly sat up and the three first-years waited. Scorpius finally retrieved the letter, opened it up and read it and then smiled. Joyce stared at him pointedly — both clearly aware what she wanted to know. Scorpius folded up the letter, thanked his owl who left and replied, "Good news. Aqui's coming round this Christmas."

Joyce smiled, "That's great — you haven't seen each other in what? A year?"

Scorpius nodded. Then, Albus asked, "Who's Aqui?"

"My only cousin."

Rose asked, "How come you've not seen your cousin in a year?"

Scorpius hesitated, "Aqui's family… they — they live abroad."

"…oh."

No-one spoke for a while. Al realised how different him and Scorpius were. Whilst Al would give anything to be rid of his many — many cousins and siblings; Scorpius got to see his only cousin once a year. It must be really lonely for him.

Another owl came by, this time, with a letter for Joyce whom rolled her eyes and muttered, "This better not waste my time."

She opened up the letter, and read through. She stared at it for a while, then wrote down a short reply. She'd asked her owl, "Make sure this gets back to Taylor. Don't let Emma find out."

The owl flew off. Before anyone could ask Joyce anything (which they all didn't dare), she got up and left the Great Hall.

The trio sat in silence until the owls left the Great Hall — this also was enough time for Albus to finally finish his breakfast. But they remained seated. Al asked Scorpius, "Should we go to the Forest?"

Scorpius had a thoughtful expression, "I don't know — she must've just been imagining things…"

Rose burst out, "Why in Merlin's name would you two want to go back to the Forest? What if — that Thestral — it's probably still there!"

Albus replied, "Haven't you heard?"

Rose looked puzzled as Scorpius explained, "Mary Burton reckons she's seen a woman in the Forest."

Rose looked even more confused as she asked the two boys, "So — just because — some girl said she's seen a woman in the Forest; that's a good enough excuse for you two to go back?"

The two boys shrugged and Al reasoned, "Well — we are pretty bored."

Rose groaned. Then decided, "I'm coming with you!"

Scorpius gave her a confused look, "I thought you didn't want trouble."

She replied, gesturing to her cousin, "Obviously not! But as his official babysitter — I've to make sure he doesn't get into any trouble!"

Al contradicted, "You are not my babysitter — you just follow me around because you need someone to boss and nag!"

Rose frowned, "I am not bossy!"

Al laughed, "Right — and Uncle George has both ears."

Scorpius looked at the duo strangely at this comment. Rose folded her arms and turned facing away from Al. He ignored this action of hers and turned to Scorpius, "Hey, d'you remember how Mary said that the woman was petting something invisible?"

Scorpius nodded and Al suggested, "What if it's that Thestral we ran into?"

Scorpius considered this, "It would make sense if the woman could see the Thestral but Mary couldn't."

A brief silence. Al asked, "You can see Thestrals, can't you?"

Scorpius nodded, already dreading where this was headed.

But instead of another question, Scorpius heard a thud. He looked up and saw that Al was cringing in pain and Rose was glaring at Al, whispering, "What did I tell you?!"

He smiled at how close the two were, bickering and arguing, but only because they loved each other. This must be what it's like to have a friend. Joy's words rang in his head as he recalled that if he wanted a friend, he was going to have to come out of his shell. So that's what he did.

Instead of waiting for them to settle, Scorpius struggled a bit getting the words out, "It — She — My gra— My grandmother — died — a couple of years ago."

Both Albus and Rose turned to him — completely forgetting their argument. Scorpius began to feel a bit uncomfortable under their stares.

Rose broke the silence, "I'm really sorry — You didn't have to—"

Scorpius shook his head and gave a small smile, "No — I — It feels better — telling someone."

Then, Scorpius laughed.

Albus asked, "What's so funny?"

Scorpius replied, "I feel so stupid — I've never actually said my grandmother died since she did — I was afraid and I don't even know why — and that I was scared of something so stupid — I don't know — it just seems laughable!"

Albus just smiled and shook his head at Scorpius whom was still laughing. Rose stared at Scorpius — deep in thought. She had only now come to realise how insensitive she'd been. The poor boy had so much to overcome in his life.

For one, he had been judged by so many — including herself; Rose was ashamed to admit — just by his last name. He had been Sorted into Gryffindor; alone and shocked himself. And by the sound and look of it, none of the Gryffindors even acknowledged Scorpius' existence. He also had his family to break the news to — and from what Rose had heard; Lucius Malfoy was not a forgiving man. At home, he had no siblings; so it was obviously very lonely — and even his only cousin he only got to see once a year. Plus, he'd lost his grandmother and hadn't told anyone about it.

As well as all that, Scorpius also managed to somehow put up with all the bullying he had received over the past month and a half. And to top it all off, Rose was horribly and unfairly hostile to him all because of some probably-exaggerated stories that her uncles and father had told her. And after all this, instead of hearing him complain, she heard him laugh; Scorpius Malfoy truly was a Gryffindor.

And so, after her Ravenclaw analytic skills showed her how unfair she was being to a boy who already had so much to deal with, it was then that Rose Weasley decided that she would not make life worse for Scorpius Malfoy.

Her first course of action was giving him a smile; which he returned.

Later that day, Scorpius and Albus were walking back from Defence Against the Dark Arts.

"Thank Merlin that's over!" Scorpius voiced.

Albus could not agree more.

It wasn't that Defence Against the Dark Arts was bad or anything … it was that — Professor Arminger (A/N: "ahr-min-juhr") was a bit — intimidating. And for the first-years; he was absolutely terrifying. Just about as terrifying as Headmaster Dumbledore himself. So the first-years were always relieved when they managed to leave the classroom alive; although they never showed this until they were sure they were at least a hundred feet away from the D.A.D.A. classroom in case Arminger heard them.

"Oy, Potter!"

The duo turned around to find Priscilla Angell headed for them and asked Scorpius, "Hey, Malfoy, you don't mind if I borrowed Potter here for a second, do you?"

Scorpius and Albus shared a puzzled look before Scorpius gathered himself, "Um — I guess not…"

Without giving either of them a chance to react, Priscilla Angell smiled and dragged Albus away down the corridor. Scorpius lost sight of them when they turned a corner.

Scorpius stood there for a while wondering what in Merlin's name Priscilla Angell wanted with Potter. He didn't have long to ponder about this as the sound of footsteps proved that Joy was running towards him. She asked, "Have you seen Angell?"

Scorpius stared at her for a while before replying, "Yea — she came by and dragged Potter off to who-knows-where." Joy's eyes grew sharper as she waited for Scorpius to finish. "They went that way, I think."

For some unusual reason, Joy looked like she was in a rush. Which meant it must be important — Joyce Hanwell never rushed. She thanked him and followed his directions; calling back, "Weasley was headed for Gryffindor Tower a couple o'minutes ago — you can still catch her!"

Since Scorpius had literally just been abandoned; he decided to follow through with Joy's suggestion of finding Rose — Joy never said anything that was unnecessary. If she'd told him to go find Rose, it was for a reason. So Scorpius Malfoy turned around and headed for Gryffindor Tower; in hopes that he may run into Rose on the way there.

The moment they had turned a corner and were out of sight, Priscilla Angell broke into a run; dragging Al with her to wherever she was headed.

"Where are we going?"

No reply.

Okay, this was annoying.

Albus felt that he was being too patient with her so he dragged them both to a halt and demanded to know what it was this damn girl wanted.

She looked to be in a gleeful hurry, "You'll never believe what I found in the Forest!"

Albus did a double-take, "What were you doing in the Forest?"

She brushed him off, "Oh, please! I know for a fact that I'm not the only one who goes wandering into the Forest!"

Whether she meant him or not, Albus Potter did not know. He remained silent. She didn't say anything either. Suddenly, she jerked her head into the direction they had just come from. In a sudden hurry, she shoved Albus into the nearest empty classroom and followed inside. She'd also told him to shut up and stay quiet. Whilst Albus (as quietly as he could) tried to collect himself, Priscilla Angell peeked outside to make sure whoever was there had gone.

Whilst waiting for the corridor to be clear, Albus was sure he heard Priscilla mutter something along the lines of, "Stupid Mudblood."

Being Harry Potter's son, Albus decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. Priscilla then slowly and quietly opened the door — grabbed Albus and was running in the direction of the Forest again. Albus seemed to notice that for an eleven year old girl, Priscilla had a really rough, firm grasp on his arm. On the way, Albus was also sure he caught a glimpse of a familiar puff of blood red hair which could only be —

Rose turned a corner and nearly ran into Scorpius — "Oh!"

He looked expectant. Rose gave him a puzzled look to which he replied, "Heard you were headed for Gryffindor Tower."

Rose suddenly unsure — stumbled out a reply, "Oh … yes, well — I just thought if we're going to the Forest because of the woman … it might be useful to find out anything we can — and — Mary Burton seems to be the only one who's seen the woman … so …"

"That seems reasonable." Scorpius agreed. Noticing Rose's hesitation about her idea, he asked what was wrong.

Rose gave him a strange look, then realising she had no other choice — with an exasperated sigh, she sat down on the floor, leaning against the wall and hugged her knees, and bowed her head, away from the world. Quietly, Scorpius joined her and waited for a reply.

His patience was rewarded when she looked up and started to speak, "It's just — all my cousins are in Gryffindor and then there's me — the disappointment. I don't know — with me wearing this stupid blue tie and surrounded by all their red and gold — I don't know — I feel kind of left out. I mean — I'm a Weasley! Gryffindor is our home! Every Weasley before me was in Gryffindor and I've just — ruined everything. I can't — I'm just not ready to face them." She took a shaky breath and wiped her eyes before any tears were shed. She then slowly turned to him, "Why don't you go instead of me?"

He gave her a look, "No." Scorpius then stood up and faced her, "Look — I don't know how close you and your cousins are but what I do know about the Weasleys — is that they never turn their back on their family. You'll be fine — I'm sure they're proud of you anyway — I mean I've never met anyone who can get such extensively detailed notes on the Gargoyle Strike of 1911 in justonelesson." Rose gave a slight smile. "And hey — you were half a mark off beating me on that test — imagine how soon you'll be beating me on every test!" He paused. "Look — just because you're in Ravenclaw doesn't mean you're any less Gryffindor as any of your cousins — just means you're smarter than them."

"Come on." Scorpius grabbed her hand and dragged her out towards Gryffindor Tower. "You'll face your cousins and they'll be proud — and you'll see there's absolutely nothing to worry about."

Rose noted that for someone who had never known anything about her or her cousins; Scorpius seemed very sure of himself.

Merlin, let him be right.

They must've been running for about ten minutes. Albus didn't even know the Forbidden Forest stretched out this far and deep. Finally, Priscilla slowed down, and eventually came to a halt. Albus gave her a pointed look, "So — what was it you wanted to show me?"

Priscilla pointed ahead of her, "It's right there!"

Albus, looked back and forth from her to where she was pointing. "I don't see anything!"

Priscilla gestured for him to face where she was pointing, "Keep looking! If you look close enough you'll see it."

"Okay then … "

Albus saw nothing but tried to concentrate his weak eyes — looking for — whatever he was looking for. Behind him, Priscilla's eye glowed red. She raised her wand and pointed it at the oblivious Potter —

"Entomor—"

"Stupefy!"

Albus jerked around to find an unconscious Priscilla Angell collapsed onto the ground after being rammed into the tree behind her; her wand knocked out of her hand. He blinked, letting the scene sink in. Then — he heard the familiar shriek which he related to the Thestral he'd heard the last time he was in this Forest.

"Incendio!" the same voice cried again — setting Priscilla's wand on fire.

Albus turned around to face the direction the spell had come from — who was doing this? And why were they doing it?

He began walking towards the source of the spells but the Thestral's shriek was so close this time that Albus was forced to run.

"Godric." Scorpius and Rose waited as the portrait swung open to reveal the hole in the wall that would lead the duo to the Gryffindor common room.

Rose hesitantly followed Scorpius through the hole and into the common room. She smiled at the sight; it was a warm, cosy room clad in red and gold. Then — Rose caught sight of Dominique Weasley and Alice Longbottom II headed her way.

"Hey!" Alice grinned at Rose. "Look — there's our favourite raven! Long time no see kiddo!"

"Hey Rosie!" Dominique ruffled Rose's hair. "Congrats on making Ravenclaw!"

Rose just smiled back.

"Always knew you were smarter than this lot!" Alice joked.

"Well — see you round Rosie!" Dominique turned to Alice, "Come on then — that Charms essay isn't going to write itself!"

Alice groaned but with one last ruffle of Rose's head; the two girls exited the Gryffindor common room.

Neither girl seemed to acknowledge Scorpius' existence but apparently he had gotten used to this. He gave her a pointed look and she lightly shoved him, "Oh shut up!"

He laughed, "I haven't said anything!"

She gave a small chuckle then composed herself and asked, "So … are we going to ask Mary or not?"

Scorpius gestured towards a small group of first-year girls all messing about instead of doing their work. In the midst of the girls, Mary Burton was laughing about something one of her friends had just said.

Rose approached the group; the girls all turned to her, "Hi … um — could I speak to Mary? It'll only take a second!"

Mary and the other girls looked confused for a while before Mary stood up and the two headed over to where Scorpius was; away from the rest of the Gryffindors.

For some reason, Mary looked confused; she had no idea what it was Rose wanted.

Rose asked, "I wanted to ask you about the woman you saw."

Mary raised an eyebrow.

"You know — the one in the Forbidden Forest."

Mary shook her head, "What woman? And why would I even go to the Forest for — I mean I know I'm in Gryffindor but I wouldn't dare go into the Forbidden Forest!"

Rose and Scorpius looked at each other in confusion, then back at Mary.

"But — you said — you saw a woman in the Forest!" Scorpius burst out. "Remember? You told me and Potter when we passed by you in the corridors on Friday!"

Mary tried to recall but could only say, "No — I don't remember anything from last week — and I'm sure I haven't spoken to you or Potter since September — except in class, but that's it."

"Okay … thanks anyway." Rose ended the conversation. Mary went back to her friends, as if the conversation never happened. Rose then gestured Scorpius and the two made their way out; hoping to find Al and an explanation for what they'd just heard.

It was a tense silence Rose and Scorpius walked in; both pondering on what could possibly have happened.

Scorpius knew what he saw and heard from Mary — but she seemed different now than on Friday. How could she have forgotten something so important so quickly?

Rose, with her lowered gaze, then suggested, "Maybe — maybe it was a dream … which she thought was real. Maybe there really isn't any woman in the Forest … "

"… Maybe … " Scorpius muttered in reply.

"Rosie! Malfoy!" The duo were snapped back to reality from the sound of Al's voice. He sounded urgent — but it was also the sight Albus was running towards them — nearly tripping on his robes — looking as if he was being chased by the Thestral.

They stared at him in waiting. He finally reached them — panting.

"Mary Burton — she was right." Albus stated. "There's someone in the Forest."