So, when I said I might not have time to post this week, clearly I underestimated the powers of procrastination. Despite having to pack and prepare for a final presentation at work (which is tomorrow, yikes!), I couldn't stop thinking about this chapter and eventually realized I'd only be able to focus on my other obligations once I finally wrote the damn thing. Hope you're happy with it!

As always, thank you so much for the comments, favorites, follows and PMs! We reached 1,000 views today, and I'm incredibly excited!


Chapter 7

Second Year, Part One

Of course, summer never lasts as long as we think it will, even when one is actively wishing for it to be over. Andy began her visit in the beginning of July, during which time she was frequently invited to The Burrow. Just as Rose had expected, Grandpa Weasley questioned the poor girl endlessly about things like the Internet and 3D movies, and was reduced to the pure exhilaration of a child when she gave him her iPhone to examine (though she wouldn't let him take it apart as he seemed to hope). Eventually, she left with an open invitation to stay at either house whenever she liked in the future; the entire family seemed to like her, and even Ron had slipped in a comment wishing all of his daughter's friends could be like her when Hermione was out of earshot.

As according to plan, Rose returned the visit a month later later, though it was only for a week and Andy tried to keep them out of the house as much as possible. It was large, beautiful home in a wealthy neighborhood, far nicer than Rose had expected, and yet she felt ill at ease during the entirety of her stay. She'd been warned in advance by her secretive companion that their family life wasn't the best, and although the revelation had only increased Rose's desire to stay with Andy so that she could hopefully alleviate some of the stress of being home, it seemed her friend didn't want her to know the full extent of the problems. Though her family was on their best behavior during her visit, she sensed rather than saw the effort necessary to keep up the image, and once or twice the father's composure slipped as he turned to snap at Andrea or her mother.

Instead of remaining at the house, therefore, they toured Muggle London and spent a good deal of time at the dojo where Andy had started learning Mixed Martial Arts at a young age; though Rose was hardly a violent person, she quickly came to realize the wisdom in learning to defend herself in case she was ever left without a wand, and strived to master the basic grabs and locks her friend patiently taught her. Rose was left wondering why the girl's fellow Gryffindors hadn't been informed of her hidden talent, knowing it would make the rather outcast girl extremely popular. When asked the question directly, Andy responded: "I'm alone because I choose to be; I don't trust people easily, and what's the point of spending time with someone if you can't trust them enough to tell them what you're thinking? I get along well enough with the rest of our year. The fact that I'll defend just about anyone if they need protecting probably doesn't hurt on that front. I've lost track of the number of times I've had to jinx those older Slytherin bullies when they decided to picked on another first year."

Rose paused for a moment, thoughtful. "If you try to be alone, then, why did you want to be my partner in class last year? Or start a conversation, for that matter?"

Andrea shrugged. "You have an honest face. You take the time to get to know people, otherwise you wouldn't be close with Malfoy. And I could tell you were nervous about something- he was having a rough day, wasn't he?"

Rose nodded and let the conversation drop.

The rest of her time with Andy passed quickly, and all too soon she was heading back to her own home (recently dubbed The Nest by her mother, though the name hadn't really caught on) near Ottery St Catchpole, The Burrow and the Potters'. She spent her days in the warm sun playing Quidditch with her family, reading ahead for the coming school year, and counting down the weeks on her calendar. Finally, the day she'd been waiting for arrived in the middle of August, when Scorpius was set to begin his stay at the Potters'. Just like last time, he arrived via Floo, a mode of transportation safe enough for the twelve year-old to make the quick journey on his own; though they had been civil upon encountering the Potters at the end of the school year, it seemed the thought of being offered a cup of tea and idle chatter in the home of Ginny Potter nee Weasley and The Boy Who Lived was still too much for the Malfoys. Rose stayed with her aunt and uncle, though her parents and brother surprisingly came to dinner most nights. Miracle of miracles, her father even contributed to several conversations at the table in which Scorpius was directly participating; despite the fact that these talks revolved exclusively around Quidditch and Ron refused to speak to the blonde-haired boy directly, she still felt that progress was being made.

The trio was ecstatic they wouldn't be separated until the winter holidays- Scorpius would remain with them until the first of September and accompany them to Kings Cross. Though they passed their days at the Potters' in much the same manner as they had in their own homes, filling them with broomsticks and books, it was infinitely more satisfying to do them together rather than apart. Scorpius didn't have to worry about avoiding Lucius, who would attempt to insult him whenever he was in earshot, and was excited to be with others his age besides Delilah Macnair and others he didn't quite see eye to eye with (the elder Mr. Malfoy had recently insisted on inviting Slytherins to dinners at the Manor in the hopes they would rub off on his grandson). Albus, the last one in their group to turn twelve, spent his August 25th birthday in a state of bliss as they indulged in heaping plates of Weasley secret recipe birthday cake and took turns riding his new Firebolt Supreme (broomstick of choice for the Bulgarian National Quidditch team in the 2014 Quidditch World Cup). Rose was simply content to not have to overthink everything for a change.


Dominique, Louis, Molly, James, Fred, Albus, Rose, Scorpius, Lucy and Roxanne all visited Diagon Alley to get their new books and supplies a week before the start of term, and were joined by the younger Lily and Hugo even though another year would pass before they would be old enough to attend school. The large group was ostensibly being chaperoned by George and Ron, but as business quickly picked up at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes due to an influx of Hogwarts students, they were soon left to their own devices and Teddy's supervision. At first, all behaved remarkably well as older family members aided Lucy and Roxanne in purchasing everything on their first-year checklist (though they had promised to wait to visit Ollivanders until at least one of their parents could get off work, as they wanted to be there to see the girls get their first wands). Once everyone in the party had gotten the necessary books and potions ingredients, the two eleven year-olds were herded to Madame Malkin's (now owned and operated by her daughter, who was married but chose to keep her maiden name), Potage's Cauldron Shop, Scribbulus Writing Instruments, Amanuensis Quills, and various other establishments. Since neither girl was particularly fond of owls, Lucy picked out a purple Pygmy Puff and called it Ruffles, and Roxanne found a black cat she dubbed Persephone. With all the necessary shopping behind them, however, the group quickly grew rambunctious. Each had their own favorite shops in Diagon Alley, and all were too impatient to wait for the others to follow them. Soon, they split into groups of twos and threes, leaving their unperturbed chaperone at an outside table at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. Red-haired mayhem soon followed (even Teddy, who'd inherited his mother's metamorphagus abilities, had turned his locks ginger for the occasion). Lily, Hugo and Louis raced to Sugarplum's Sweets Shop; James, Fred and Roxanne all but trampled those standing between them and Quality Quidditch Supplies; Dominique and Molly headed straight to Madam Primpernelle's Beautifying Potions; and the Ravenclaw trio made a beeline for Whizz Hard Books. Only timid Lucy, truly her father's child when it came to following the rules, chose to stay with Teddy, who looked on at the madness his family wreaked without a care in the world.

The scene Percy caused when he was finally able to leave his desk at the Department of Magical Transportation to accompany Lucy in getting her first wand was stuff of legend, sure to be passed down in Weasley family stories for generations to come. Though Rose, Scorpius, and Albus had been mostly behaving themselves as they eagerly browsed countless rows of books, occasionally becoming too excited about a title and shouting across the store before remembering where they were, the rest of their family had created considerably more chaos. Several displays in the sweets shop had been accidentally upended, Molly had spilled a hair-dye potion on her cousin's head and turned it a vivid shade of blue, and several brooms had somehow been set loose without riders to terrorize the customers of Quality Quidditch Supplies. Percy, of course, ensured that they were clearly and loudly informed in front of all Diagon Alley's patrons that members of their family had never caused such embarrassment. Even Fred and George, he said, had never created such a disgraceful situation. Though only Molly and Lucy were his to punish, the latter of whom looked as if she desperately wanted to borrow her uncle's Invisibility Cloak, he would ensure their parents knew what had happened here and expected them all to be severely punished. Even Teddy had the good sense to look abashed, though whenever Percy's back was turned he looked dangerously close to laughing aloud. With that, he dragged them all off to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, muttering phrases such as "why do they have to take after the twins" and "bloody joke shop" all the while. He left them in the care of Ron and George, who he also gave a piece of his mind to, before leaving to take Lucy to Ollivander's. Though Ron and George seemed considerably less concerned at their children's actions, for the good of all they sent the rest of the party home (except Roxanne, who like her cousin had yet to purchase a wand).

"I'm sorry we had to leave so soon," Rose apologized to Scorpius; with his impeccable manners, she thought he must be appalled at her family's actions. Though she usually tolerated if not enjoyed the madness of her family, she abhorred public humiliation, and to have one of her closest outside friend witness it… "My family…"

"No need to apologize." And sure enough, his face broke into his usual genuine, radiant smile.

"But with Uncle Percy-"

Scorpius snorted. "With all that yelling about 'disgracing the family', I imagine he'd get along splendidly with my grandfather."

The trio was not punished for their very small part in the day's events, though Hugo and Lily were given extra chores and James was grounded for the rest of the week. There was much grumbling, of course, but their sentences were made considerably more bearable by the date; the Hogwarts Express left that Sunday, and once James was gone Lily and Hugo were released from their duties, as both sets of parents agreed it made little sense for their penance to last longer than that of the least innocent culprit.


When they arrived at Platform 9 ¾, Scorpius was surprised to see that his parents had come to meet him. His mother hugged him fiercely and kissed his cheek, and his father reached down to ruffle his hair. "We couldn't bear the thought of not seeing you off." Though he was far from complaining, the young Malfoy was struck by how odd it was for his parents to show him quite this much affection, and he stepped back for a moment to examine their faces. Indeed, his mother's eyes looked mistier than normal, her bones slightly more prominent, and the corner of his father's mouth was drawn even more tightly than he was accustomed to seeing.

"Something's wrong," he accused. "Something happened."

Astoria's face fell, but she didn't speak a word.

After a few moments of silence, Draco embraced his wife with one arm and patted his son's head again with the other. His voice was quiet, devoid of its usual confident ring. "It'll be alright. We'll discuss things when you return for the holidays."

"But-"

"It will only distract you from your studies, Scorpius," his father said firmly, though still with that same curious tone. "There's nothing to be done at the moment. Hopefully things will clear up by Christmas… we'll inform you if things… progress, I promise."

Astoria seemed nearly close to tears as she bent down to embrace her son once more. "I love you so much, Scorpius," she whispered in his ear, rendering him speechless. And with that, they were gone.