Albus yawned, stretching his arms out and rumpling his unruly hair. 'I say we call it quits for today, wha'd'you think?' He had been studying for the impending charms exam with Ivy, because Rose had decided to turn in early before her runes exam the next day.

'Sounds excellent to me,' replied Ivy, and she began to pack away various quills, books, and bits of parchment.

Albus followed suit, and soon their corner of the Gryffindor common room was free of study materials. 'Want to stay for a bit before going up? We need a bit of a break.'

'Alright, what should we do then?'

Albus thought for a moment, and then a wicked grin lit his face and he asked, 'Are you ticklish?' He watched Ivy's eyes widen for just a second before she began to vehemently deny that she was ticklish.

'Then I suppose you won't mind if I do this!' He poked her side, and watched as she flinched away and giggled.

'That's not fair!'

'Of course it is!'

'Well then, I suppose YOU won't mind if I do THIS!'

Now it was Albus' turn to flinch as Ivy began to prod his side. He tried desperately not to laugh, but eventually gave in, causing Ivy to smirk as she continued tickling him.

'Alright, time for payback!' Albus retaliated, and soon both of them were in fits of laughter. Luckily, the common room was empty; it seemed that everybody else had retired to bed. Albus and Ivy continued their little fight until, after a small shove from Albus, Ivy slipped out of her seat and fell to the ground.

Instantly, the smile on Albus' face was replaced by concern. 'Ivy, are you alright? I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to push you off!'

'Don't worry, it's only a small bump from where I hit the table, nothing a quick spell won't fix,'

'I think we should go to the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey will be able to help you… Oh, I'm so sorry!'

'Honestly, I'm fine!' She stood up, pointing her wand to a spot on the back of her head. Albus saw her give it a quick tap as she said, 'Episkey!'

'Good as new!'

'Are you sure? We can't have you all battered before exams!'

'Al, I'm completely fine, you're overreacting! All I need now, is some well-deserved sleep.'

'Alright, but you'd better go see Madam Pomfrey if it hurts tomorrow.'

Ivy rolled her eyes before fetching her bag from where it had fallen in their battle. With a cheerful smile, she piped, 'Good night!' before disappearing up the staircase to her dormitory.

xxx

Scorpius slid onto a bench at the Slytherin table, famished after a long day of revision. He didn't understand how sitting there reading and writing could work up an appetite; he was as hungry as he would be after quidditch practice. He had taken care to sit away from Noctus and Alcor, as he wasn't exactly on good terms with them at the moment. Their last conversation had consisted of him storming off in frustration after trying to convince the other two to stop being so predjudiced, bigoted, blood-obsessed… okay, maybe he was more than just frustrated. Scowling into his shepherd's pie and chips, he didn't notice his owl, Artemis, until she landed beside him and pecked his arm to snap him out of his brooding. He untied a letter from her leg, and, with a sinking feeling, noticed the sharp and precise characters of his Grandfather's writing. Brilliant. Just bloody brilliant. After gulping down the rest of his food, Scorpius wandered out of the great hall and up several flights of stairs, not really thinking about where he was going, focused on the letter.

Grandson,

I must admit, I am rather disappointed with you. First, you told your father about our correspondence, which was a private affair concerning the both of us, and now I hear that you've been turning your back on your natural peers and fraternizing with riffraff, including the Weasley-Potter clan and even mudbloods. Are you determined to drag the Malfoy name through the mud? Have you no shame? You are heir to one of the most prestigious pureblood lineages of the sacred twenty-eight, and you've chosen to leave your status behind, instead sullying yourself and your name by mingling with those who will never understand you, those who will NEVER be like you. Do you think that those sorts really care for you as a friend? More likely, they've been instructed by their parents to keep an eye on their enemies, a category under which you categorically fall. For your own sake, I will take action if you continue to consort with the enemy. And, before you even think of showing this letter to your mother and father, know that the parchment is jinxed so that if you show or tell them about any of this, you will face rather unpleasant consequences. This is for your own good, Scorpius, even if you can't yet realize that.

Your Grandfather,

Lucius Malfoy

xxx

'Alright, I think we'll have to wrap up for today; it's almost curfew.' Rose stood and began to pack her books away.

'Good idea, I'll make copies of our notes,' answered Lysander, pulling out his wand from his bag. 'Geminio,' he muttered, before taking the copies and handing Rose the originals.

'Thanks,' she replied, giving him a quick hug before turning to walk away. 'Thank merlin we've only got one exam left!'

'Rose!' Lysander called quietly after her

'Yes?'

'I just wanted to say… it's just that…' he mumbled something incoherent.

'Sorry, I didn't catch that.'

'You look nice today,' he blurted, before turning crimson and fixing his gaze upon the ground.

'Oh? Uh, thanks Lys,' she said, turning slightly pink.

'Yeah, well, uh… good night!'

'Don't let the bedbugs bite!'

'What?'

Rose's cheeks filled once more with colour. 'Oh, um… it's just a silly muggle phrase that my mum used to say when we were younger, I don't know why I even said it… anyway, good night!'

Hurrying off toward Gryffindor tower, Rose cursed herself, 'Don't let the bedbugs bite? How old are you, five? Get it together!' Keeping up her stream of self-admonishment, she rushed up a flight of stairs. Only twenty minutes until curfew; she really was cutting it close. But as she sped through a deserted corridor, a flash of light from under a door caught her eye. She paused to investigate, knocking softly. 'Hello? Is anyone there?'

Silence. But Rose knew that she had seen something, and so she tried the handle of the door. It was unlocked, and so she pulled on it experimentally. The door opened a fraction, and then was yanked shut by some force on the inside.

'Who's there?' She asked again, lighting her wand and trying the handle once more.

'Go away,' came the voice from the other side.

'Malfoy?'

'Go AWAY.'

'What are you doing, skulking around in the dark?'

'None of your business, Weasley.' The last word sounded too much like the sneer that Rose had heard in the past for her not to react.

'It's twenty minutes to curfew, MALFOY, so perhaps you should quit whatever you're doing in there and go back to your common room.'

At this, the door flew open, and Rose saw a visibly angry Malfoy who, it seemed, was doing all he could to restrain himself from releasing some rather unpleasant words. 'It's none of your BUSINESS, Weasley, so please just leave me alone!'

Rose took a deep breath and was about to retort back at him, when she noticed something else. 'Your hands are bleeding!'

'Yes, I know.' was the terse reply

'Well?'

'Well what?'

'Why are you bleeding?'

'Will you just stay out of it?'

Inhaling and exhaling to release her frustration, Rose decided to be the bigger person. 'Fine, don't tell me. But at least let me help you clean it up and heal it!'

'I'm fine.'

'No, you're not. Look, I already said I won't ask what's going on. But I'm not going to let you stand here with minutes until curfew, bleeding like you've been attacking a wall!'

Scorpius looked as though he'd been punched, and Rose realized that she had hit home on her assumption - Malfoy was taking something out on the wall of the broom cupboard. She lifted her still illuminated wand, peering into the small chamber. Yes, those were definitely blood stains on the wall. 'You know, a fistfight with a wall is not generally a battle that you'll win, just in case you were trying to prove your skills as a fighter,' she said, moving her focus back to Malfoy with a small smile. 'I'd say that the wall is doing significantly better than you are.'

Her joke must have eased some of Malfoy's anger, because he relaxed, his face shifting from anger to mere frustration and a bit of something else… sadness? 'I won't tell anyone, if that's what you're worried about.' And oddly enough, Rose meant it. If Malfoy asked, she would even keep this from Al and Ivy.

'I would appreciate it if you didn't,' was his response.

'In that case, would you let me take a look at your hands?'

'Fine, but it's worse then it looks.' Nevertheless, he held out his hands for Rose's inspection.

She took out her water bottle and poured the water over his wounds. Looking around, she spotted some gauze on a shelf in the cupboard, and gently dried away the water, noticing his wince. 'Sorry about that, I just wanted to get them clean.' Some of the cuts were deep, but the majority were shallow. Pulling her wand out, she added, 'This might feel a little strange, but it should heal your hands without causing any scars.'

'Are you sure you know what you're doing? We haven't been taught healing spells as far as I know… which, if you think about it, is rather stupid, considering all of the trouble that Hogwarts students can land themselves in.' He smirked, and Rose smiled back.

'My uncle taught me this one; apparently he was never taught healing spells either in school, and there were so many times that he needed to heal himself and didn't know how, that now he makes sure that we all know a few good ones. Don't worry, I'm not using anything strong, because these are physically created injuries, not magical ones.' She murmured, 'Episkey' several times, touching each wound with her wand as gently as she could. 'Good as new! Now let's clean up the wall and get to our dormitories before curfew, before we get a detention.'

Scorpius pulled his wand from inside his robes, and together, the pair made short work of removing the blood from the wall that he had attacked. Scorpius moved to clear away the last patch, and Rose noticed a folded piece of paper on the floor.

'Is this yours?'

'Give that to me,' he snapped, grabbing it from her.

'You needn't be so rude about it,' she replied defensively.

Scorpius' anger dissipated at her retort, and Rose saw a flicker of vulnerability cross his face as he slid down to sit against the wall. 'I know, and I'm sorry. I should be thanking you for everything today, and here I am, acting like a prat toward you for doing nothing more than wanting to help.'

'Hey, change takes time, and anyway, I shouldn't have picked it up without asking first.'

'You think that I can't change from who I was before?' he demanded, looking up to meet her eyes.

'No, but nobody changes overnight, and - '

'I have changed, if you'd bother to notice!' he cried, becoming angrier. 'And anyway, this doesn't have anything to do with any of that! It has to do with the fact that my Grandfather wants me to bloody make enemies with half the school and live like an entitled Slytherin pureblood who can't make friends beyond his entitled Slytherin housemates!' Scorpius was shouting now, and Rose was quite at a loss for what to say or do. Scorpius stopped, realizing that he had let far too much slip in his tirade. 'I'm sorry,' he spat bitterly, before pausing to compose himself. 'I'm sorry,' he repeated, in a far gentler tone.

'It's okay.'

'I'm sorry you had to hear that, and I'm sorry I took it out on you - that's not what friends do, and that's what I was trying for, before I got that awful letter from my Grandfather.'

'Would it be easier for you if we weren't friends?'

He hesitated for a moment, looking as though he was arguing with himself, before saying, 'You know what? No. You are my friend. You helped me when I needed it, and my Grandfather can just live with it.'

'Will he… would he do anything?'

'Not to me,' laughed Scorpius bitterly. 'And honestly, he wouldn't touch you either, you're too well-protected by your family.' More quietly, he added, 'I wish my family was like yours.'

'Oh, we're far from perfect, but I guess we do all look out for each other at the end of the day.'

'Must be nice.'

'You have friends who look out for you,' Rose smiled, 'including me and Al and even Ivy. Don't you worry about that.'