Everything is J.K. Rowlings. I only claim the plot. Everything else is hers, all the characters and the magic, all of it. Please let me know what you think though, I encourage feedback of all kinds, just be nice about it!

Well, Rose and Scorpius discover Frederick. Tell me how you like it because I'm not totally sure how I like it but oh well, here it is.

Meet My Friend

Laughing loudly, Scorpius walked beside Rose as they headed to the library. It was October already and Sixth Year was flying by but it was turning into one of the better years he had had. His classes were fascinating. The Diplomacy and Law classes was something he was easily excelling at and he and Rose were already drafting amendments and bills to add to current legislation and creating new ones from ideas they had for their future departments. It was very entertaining and it was more time he got to spend with Rose since they didn't have many classes together anymore. His language class was interesting as well though he wasn't excelling at it like he did with all his other classes. He found Mermish to be easier than Gobbledegook though.

From what Rose said, she found her language classes to be the most fascinating, preferring her Russian and Chinese over French and Spanish, which he personally didn't understand but that was Rose he supposed. The two were currently on their way to the library to catch up on their Charms homework. He had been hoping Albus would join them but he hadn't seen his best friend since dinner.

"Oh! So, how about for the essay we separate the non-verbal history and the examples. Do you want history or -"

"Shh!" Scorpius whispered harshly before grabbing Rose by the arm and shoving her behind a bookcase. They had been walking through the library trying to find a spare table when Scorpius saw it...or should he say him...them?

"What!" Rose hissed sharply, looking cross. Merely holding a finger to his lips, he pointed through the gap in the books at the view on the other side. Tossing a glare his way, Rose did as he asked and gasped. Looking back at him, her eyes wide. Wordlessly, they turned together to spy on the other side of the book case.

Sitting at a small, secluded, round table tucked in the corner of the library, sat Albus and sitting beside him was none other than the member of the trio's nemesis trio. And the two were laughing and whispering and...and Albus looked like he was glowing and beaming….positively smitten is the word Scorpius would have used if it had been any other person. But this was Albus! He couldn't be smitten with….him.

Scorpius remembered Albus mentioning that Frederick would be in his Alchemy class with him, they were the only two in it. But the interactions before him showed a relationship going far past just a month or two. He didn't know what to do and neither did Rose it seemed as they continued to spy on her cousin.

"Ok, ok, ok," Albus laughed. "So what happened then?"

"What do you think happened? It's my mum. So of course she flipped her shit. Said no son of hers would be on the Quidditch team. Dad of course was being himself, you know how he gets. Well, he was listing of facts of Quidditch injuries and what not. So anyway, it takes lil sis to help me-" "There's another point for Team Julia in my book" "-convince them that being on the Reserve team doesn't mean anything really."

"What are you kidding! Being a Reserve is great. You get all the same training, you get to share in the victories, and then when the string team is all weary and tired you can come in all fresh and whoop some ass! You're like a secret weapon. Well, except Slytherins' team of course, because sorry but I don't care about our friendship but Ravenclaw is going down!"

"Ha! We will see about that. I mean I am after all the secret weapon," the curly haired Ravenclaw joked with a small wink. "But you know this means I can't keep helping you with Quidditch drills. It would be like helping the enemy."

What the hell! Was the main thought swirling through Scorpius's mind. When did Albus meet this blokes family? He was getting Quidditch plays from him? Was that all those plays and drills Albus had been using all last season and summer? Did that mean Albus and Frederick had been friends for an entire year! When had this happened? How had this happened? How had he not noticed?

"Oh come on! You gotta keep helping me with the plays. Think of it as payment for the flying lessons."

"I thought showing you my sketchbook was payment for those."

"Yes, well I still haven't gotten to see a single sketch so, I need a more immediate payment."

"Fine, fine, but you know that just means that with me on the team now and sharing plays, Ravenclaw and Slytherin are going to be evenly matched."

"Damn...well...Slytherin is still better. I mean we've got me as Captain," he responded cockily.

"Can't wait till Ravenclaw knocks you off your pedestal, Mr. Conceited Much."

Albus just responded with a confident wink.

Flying lessons! Sketch book! Scorpius chanced a glance at Rose and she looked just as bewildered and confused as he felt.

"Anyway," Albus sighed, his dorky grin still not fading from his face, "we should probably get back to studying. What subject do you want to start on?"

"Well, we've already done Alchemy and Transfiguration, so why not Charms?"

"Sounds great to me," he agreed, leaning forward and bringing the necessary textbooks closer.

"But not great to me!" Rose cried out, jumping out from behind the bookshelf, dragging Scorpius with her.

Albus jumped so high out of his chair; his face white and panic stricken as though he was seeing a ghost. Scorpius eyed him curiously while also examining Frederick, who looked surprised and extremely nervous at his and Rose's arrival. Rose on the other hand just glared at Albus.

"It does not sound great to me, Albus Potter because we were supposed to be studying Charms together. All three of us! And now you are ditching us... and for him? He and his friends hate us Albus."

"Hey! Whoa. Chill the fuck out for a minute," Albus responded crossly. "One, he has a name and it is Frederick. Second, I was unaware of any predetermine Charms study session, my apologies. Third, he does not hate us, he happens to be a very good and close friend of mine. And fourth, he doesn't like the other two either. Now, lastly, as I said, he is my friend and will remain as such no matter your opinions. However, I would greatly appreciate it if you got the hell over yourselves and actually tried to get to know him."

Rose fell silent and Scorpius continued to watch Albus who looked rightly pissed off, though he was standing defiantly in front of his Ravenclaw friend, who was watching the scene take place through terror filled eyes, and looking up at Albus from behind his back with a look of admiration and gratitude. Scorpius glanced at Rose and saw her finally shrug with a sigh before claiming a seat at the table.

"Well, then, you claimed to be starting on Charms, that is brilliant because that is what we need to do as well," she said pulling out her books. The three men just stared at her as she set up her quill, ink and parchment. Spying the stunned looks on their faces, she huffed. "What? I trust Albus's judgement. If he says Frederick is decent then I'll believe him. And we were going to study Charms anyway, might as well do it in a group. Plus there isn't any other open tables left."

She said it so simply, as if it was all obvious. Scorpius smirked as he claimed the last seat and began pulling out his things as well, as Albus sat down slowly still looking dazed. Scorpius suspected that Albus had been expecting a bigger resistance. Once settled, Scorpius gazed at the two apparent friends.

"So when did this happen?" he finally asked.

"Last year," Albus shrugged, not looking up from his text book. "About around this time. We had detention together a couple times. Got to talking, offered to help him in a couple classes, and we just kind of clicked."

"So, is that where you were disappearing to all summer and all last term?" Rose asked bluntly.

Albus's ears turned pink but it was Frederick who spoke. Aside from hearing him previously laughing with Albus, Scorpius didn't think he had ever really heard the boy speak before… at least not in recent years. His voice was incredibly soft and gentle, it was surprising coming from the bulky build that the boy sported. "Yeah. Last year he was tutoring me and teaching me how to fly, and last semester I was helping him in Ancient Runes and Arithmancy helping him catch up, just like you two were. And then over the summer that just continued and he would stop by my house a couple times….a week…."

Rose and Scorpius exchanged a glance at the same time that Albus and Frederick did. Another awkward silence descended the table.

Clearing his throat, Scorpius took charge of the situation. "Alright, so, Rose was suggesting earlier that we divvy up the research required for this essay on non-verbals into history and examples. Who wants what?"

Frederick looked hesitant and slightly fearful and he cast a nervous glance at Albus who nodded encouragingly with a gentle smile. "Well...while..while those are good sections...and...and they need to be covered...I think they are a little too broad….for...for this essay anyway…"

Rose's eyebrows shot to the top of her forehead and Scorpius quirked an eyebrow. "How do you mean..too broad?" Rose asked through gritted teeth. Scorpius knew how much she hated to be contradicted by strangers.

"Um….well…" again Frederick glanced at Albus who gave him a nod and a nudge with his knee. "Well history at least should be separated by….by noted users...like inventors and casters. And...and then another half of history should be the specific spells that might have stood out by being used non-verbally, which would...would tie into the examples...and well...I think a section on the pros and cons of nonverbal versus verbal should be included as well."

Rose was silent, though Scorpius could tell she was impressed and kicking herself for not having thought of all that previously. "Right, well, that is four sections. So I'll take the examples, Scorpius if you want to jot down a list of pros and cons, we can debate them all after the history part is done. And Al and….and Frederick you two can decide between the casters and inventors if you want," she offered.

Frederick just nodded his head and Albus dragged him off to the books they needed. Albus returned first and Scorpius was still jotting down pros and cons, when he glanced at his friend. "So, when were you going to tell us about your secret little friend over there? The so-called Quidditch drill creator that you've been hiding from us?"

"Look, I'm sorry, I really am. I wanted to tell you but it never seemed like the right time. And well last year, at least at the beginning of the year you and Rose were a little preoccupied and Frederick was a good friend to me during that time, helped me out a lot. And then during second semester, we were all so focused on O.W.L.s and reuniting that I just didn't see a good moment," his friend admitted with a look of remorse and defeat.

Scorpius sighed. "It's fine, I get it. But we aren't supposed to have secrets remember. And plus the bloke is in a couple of our classes too, now I feel like a right git for treating him coldly because I thought he was still friends with the other two gits. And well, I'm happy that you are happy with your new friend."

Albus winced and turned slightly red at the phrasing of his words but Scorpius didn't dwell on it, slowly becoming more and more focused on his list.

Rose and Frederick joined the table shortly after. Rose was already chattering onto Frederick like they were old friends, clearly over being corrected a short time ago. Frederick, on his part, was trying to pay attention and focus on what she was saying but was looking incredibly overwhelmed. Still, Scorpius had to give him points for trying and he gave him a small smile when he caught the boys eye.

Throughout the study session, Scorpius and Rose warmed up to Frederick completely though he was taking a little longer. Afterwards in the Common Room, Albus assured them not to worry about it, saying it had taken Frederick a while to warm up to him. Nonetheless, since that night Scorpius began seeing a lot more of the blonde Ravenclaw. The boy started joining the inter-house Common Room, sitting with the group at meal times and joining the trio for study sessions. The rest of the group seemed fine with the newcomer as well and it was made clear by Albus that they should all try to accept him because he yes he was shy but he was a great person and a friend.

During this increased exposure, only ever seeing the Ravenclaw in the company of Albus, Scorpius noticed a great deal. The way that the two seemed to hold lingering glances at the other when they thought no one was looking, or how they sometimes got flustered at close, physical contact. How they seemed to rely on each other a great deal for support. Scorpius had never seen Albus take the opinion of someone other than him and Rose so seriously before and Frederick relied on Albus to get him over his shyness around others. It was incredible to watch and it was a development that he doubted Albus even realized yet.