A/N: Thank you to Pendragon2601 for beta reading this chapter.

Chapter 21

"I can't believe he ditched us," Albus muttered under his breath. Despite his tone, he wasn't angry at Scorpius. He found it difficult to be most days. Rose, on the other hand, was quite easy to be angry at, and he found himself directing his frustration her way as they strolled around the grounds.

She rolled her eyes at her cousin's complaint.

"Are you so co-dependent that Scorpius being gone for one day is going to ruin your mood?"

Scorpius had done this on purpose. Albus knew he had, yet it was Rose that he found himself frustrated with.

"As if he actually has homework he suddenly remembered he hadn't done. This is Scorpius we're talking about. He finishes everything a week early, and he wouldn't even tell me what the assignment was. He's a terrible liar."

Rose murmured something under her breath that seemed to be in agreement.

"What do I have to do to make you less angry with me?" Rose asked out of nowhere, twirling around to face him and crossing her arms across her chest.

Albus stopped in his tracks, caught off guard. They hadn't talked about his anger towards her since the day he had agreed to give her another chance.

He wracked his mind for an answer.

"I'm not all that mad at you anymore," he told her. "At least not, like, actively. I still think what you did was crappy, and it makes me mad, but it was too long ago to be as mad as I was."

Rose rolled her eyes.

"I got that from the way you stopped glaring at me constantly. You did offer me the Map too. I figured you wouldn't do that if you hadn't somewhat forgiven me."

Albus shrugged. He might've. He really wanted to get rid of that map.

He hesitated a moment before he told Rose what the real reason was. "The problem is that I still don't feel like I can trust you."

The grin that had been on Rose's lips dropped into a frown. She turned away from Albus, continuing to walk the perimeter of the lake. Albus followed her without speaking.

"That's fair, I guess," Rose said after a while. Albus breathed a sigh of relief that she didn't sound angry, just sad.

"For whatever it's worth though," she continued, "I have become fond of Scorpius. I don't plan to hurt him."

"To be fair, Rose, what started this didn't involve you planning to hurt him."

This time, Rose shrugged, not as thrown off by Albus' comment.

"I know Scorpius better now," she said matter-of-factly. "That won't happen again."

There was a forceful tone to her voice that made Albus want to believe her. The problem was that he wasn't sure that he did. Rose always sounded confident about things, whether she was right or not.

When he didn't respond, Rose sighed, looking out across the lake.

"I do have to admit that this year hasn't gone how I expected. Scorpius Malfoy isn't like any Slytherin I would have ever imagined, and neither are you."

Albus wasn't sure what she was getting at, so he didn't bother with a response. Rose continued without glancing over at him.

"You're my cousin, and I'll always love you. I actually think I know you better now than before we started at Hogwarts, isn't that strange?"

Albus shrugged. He hadn't given it much thought before, but she was probably right. He'd kept his beliefs about being a Slytherin to himself before September. Now all of his cards were out on the table for the world to see.

"Maybe," Albus admitted. "Everything this year has been weird and unexpected."

Rose offered him a smile, one that was partially a question. Albus quirked his lips upward in a small smile, causing Rose's smile to brighten. Albus looked away, asking Rose if she was ready to head back up to the castle. Her smile fell for a moment, but she nodded, following him back across the grounds.

XXX

It was the last Quidditch match of the season, and if Slytherin could beat Ravenclaw by a hundred points, they'd win the Quidditch Cup. With Gryffindor out of the running, Rose had appeared at the match donned in a Slytherin scarf, shocking her cousin as much as she did everyone else.

Amazingly, no one said a word as she joined Albus and Scorpius in the stands. For the first time that year, Scorpius joined in the cheering, goaded on by Rose's sudden support for Slytherin, even if she did nothing more than clap politely.

When the Slytherin seeker grabbed the snitch, assuring Slytherin of the Cup, the Slytherin portion of the stands erupted in cheers. Scorpius and Albus joined in, hugging briefly as they screamed. In the happiness, many in their House seemed to briefly forget that they despised the two first years, and they were allowed to feel a sense of unity in the accomplishment.

Rose sat quietly, forgotten in the chaos.

It took several long moments before the Slytherins began to realize that the other Houses were applauding too. Slytherin quieted down as they stared out at the other students in the stands.

The applause wasn't particularly loud or boisterous, but it was coming from a small group within the three-fourths of the student body who were in blue and bronze. Even if it was quiet, polite applause, it was shocking.

Many of the students were surprised that students around them were clapping too. Suddenly, you could have heard a pin drop in the Slytherin portion of the stands.

Some of the Slytherins began looking towards Albus, whose face suddenly felt hot despite the cool temperature.

"Well, look at that," one of the older Slytherins who sat behind them said, staring right at Albus. "Maybe you really are making a difference, Potter."

Albus turned away from the boy, looking out onto the Quidditch pitch instead of at any of the Slytherins or members of the other Houses. He kept his features carefully controlled.

XXX

The celebration in the Slytherin common room carried on late into the night, and the awkwardness of that moment on the Quidditch pitch was forgotten, with the other Houses only being mentioned in the many recaps of the game itself. Recaps that were repeated frequently by all.

Scorpius found the whole thing rather overwhelming. There was so much happening, and no one was glaring at him and Albus. It was strange.

He stuck close to Albus' side. Albus was taking their new acceptance in stride, talking to the others and making a strong impression before their good humour wore off. Scorpius did nothing but smile along with Albus. He wasn't sure that he wanted to try to befriend people who had been terrible to them for months, but he couldn't blame Albus for trying, so he quietly tagged along.

Albus, for his part, was extremely aware of Scorpius at his side. He glanced over frequently to make sure that Scorpius was doing okay. Since Scorpius' confession, Albus had learned more about Asperger's, and he found himself understanding why he felt somewhat protective over Scorpius, especially when they were around others. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing, but his eyes kept flickering in Scorpius' direction to reassure himself regardless.