A/N: Hey guys! I've had this one on my computer forever, so I just thought I'd post it! Enjoy!


Rose sat comfortably in the overstuffed armchair situated directly next to the fireplace, her worn copy of Hogwarts, A History occupying her attention. The grate was empty, as the summer months were warm, even as September drew closer and closer. Laughter floated through the open windows from outside, and she could vaguely hear Molly and Lucy squabbling about something petty.

It was one of those many occasions on which the entire family, as well as several family friends, got together for an afternoon. Lorcan and Lysander Scamander were coercing Lily into helping them extract some questionable species from the pond out back, and Scorpius Malfoy was hanging out with Albus upstairs. Rose's brother, Hugo, and Alice Longbottom were engaged in a rather playful game of exploding snap, and Alice's older sister, Augusta, who had just finished at Hogwarts, was chatting amiably with the adults, who were strung about the kitchen and living room.

Rose felt slightly guilty for her anti-social behavior, but reasoned with herself that Scorpius and Albus were probably discussing things that she wasn't certain she could stomach; going into their fourth year, the boys' were reaching the age at which they seemed to realize that Rose wasn't, in fact, a boy, and that it wasn't very polite to talk about "Athena Morgenstern's shapely arse" in front of her.

She was glad, however, that Scorpius had been able to come. She knew that their parents hadn't always gotten along, but it pleased her to see the lot of them sitting around the table chatting politely—albeit slightly forcedly—with one another. It helped that Rose's mother, Aunt Ginny, and Scorpius's mother had grown very close. The three women were currently in the kitchen, and every few minutes, their laughter drifted through the open door.

Rose was just getting to an interesting bit about a fascinating room on the seventh floor, when Albus and Scorpius stumbled into the room, James, Fred, and Louis in tow. Albus and Scorpius' faces were flushed, as though they had been laughing very hard, and James looked vaguely annoyed. It was common knowledge that, though Albus and Scorpius were best friends, James barely tolerated the boy.

"Hiya, Rosie!" Albus's beaming face appeared in front of her, blocking her view of her book. She swatted at him like an irksome fly.

"Albus." She said shortly, before turning back to her book. Before she could find where she left off, however, she felt a sharp tug on one of her braids. Her head whipped towards the offender, who was perched on the end table next to her chair, smirking wryly at her.

"Hey there, carrot-head."

She rolled her eyes. "Mrs. Malfoy?" she addressed the woman who had just emerged from the kitchen, followed by her mother and aunt. "What did you say was the name of that spell that Professor Moody used to turn Mr. Malfoy into a ferret? I've decided that Scorpius would be much easier to look at if—"

She was interrupted by Draco's splutter. "You told her that story? You don't just go around telling people that—"

Astoria grinned mischievously. "I couldn't help it. I was just explaining to the girl how to subdue Malfoy men—"

Scorpius's attention was back on Rose. His lips were curled into a sneer. "You couldn't manage a spell like that anyway."

Rose's eyes flashed. "Excuse me," she seethed, bolting to her feet. "I'm top of our year!"

Scorpius got to his feet to, a splash of pink tinting his pale cheeks. "Barely. I'm less than a point behind—"

"And it's going to stay that way until we graduate!" She taunted, her voice taking on a condescending tone. "I'm going to graduate top of our year, and get a higher job in the Ministry, and make more money than you!"

He scoffed, the signature Malfoy smirk making its way onto his face. "Please. Like I would even need to work for the rest of my life, if I didn't want to. Have you any idea of the inheritance I'm coming into—"

James, who was sprawled across the sofa, made a disparaging noise, and Draco's eyebrows shot up.

"Not with that attitude. I'll disinherit you before you can say 'fortune.'"

Scorpius flushed darker, his eyes narrowing as he turned back to Rose. "Well, anyway, I'm doing you a favour by letting you graduate top of the year."

Despite her best effort, Rose's curiosity won out. "And why's that, exactly?"

His smirk returned, and he leaned closer to her. "Because you're going to need all the money you can get to take care of that hornet's nest on top of your head."

"Oh, that is it!" She said shrilly.

Rose's face, comically enough, resembled a tomato, and before anyone could blink, her wand was in her hand. Scorpius's grin was triumphant as he, too, drew his wand. The parents looked as though they weren't sure whether they should break the two of them up, or let them work it out themselves.

"It's not as though you can out-duel me," Scorpius taunted, as though he had a death wish.

Moving astoundingly fast, Rose charged at him, trodding on his foot with all her might. "You are so immature!"

"I'm immature?" Scorpius practically shouted back, making a valiant effort not to wince. "You're the one who bloody threatened to turn me into a ferret, of all things—"

"GUYS!" Albus was suddenly between them, and the two of them promptly shut their mouths, which, no doubt, were preparing to hurl numerous insults at the other. The dark-haired boy glared at each of them in turn. "Cut it out. You're both immature, got it? Rosie, don't let him get you so riled up, Scorpius, seriously, stop calling her 'carrot-head', mate—"

"Why am I the one that gets reprimanded? " But Albus cut him off with a glare.

"We were only coming down here to ask if you want to come play a game of Quidditch with us, Rosie." At that moment, Louis and Fred returned with a handful of broomsticks.

Rose sunk back into her chair, pulling her copy of Hogwarts, A History against her chest as she tried to ignore how hot her face felt. "Al, why would I want to come play Quidditch? I hate Quidditch."

Albus shrugged, accepting his broomstick from Fred. "I dunno. I didn't think you'd want to play either, Scorp was just badgering me to ask if you'd come—"

The blonde sent a swift, highly conspicuously elbow into his friend's ribs, his pale face turning bright pink. "Let's go," he muttered, grabbing his broom and heading out the door, not waiting for the rest of them to follow. Albus, Fred, and Louis followed, waving at Rose as they left.

The girl in question, however, simply buried her face deeper in her book, hoping that no one would notice that her face, which had momentarily lost its flushed appearance, had promptly turned bright red once again, not, this time, in anger, but at Albus's words. Consequentially, she did not see the amused, knowing looked that passed between Astoria and Hermione.