A/N: Hello! I'm very surprised right now. I've had some pretty terrible writers block lately and this piece absolutely wrote itself in one sitting. It's crazy how that works out. Anyways, I've always told myself I wouldn't really touch the early years of Rose and Scorpius's friendship, much less their first encounter, but I got this idea and it kind of just happen. I hope you enjoy my take! (also, I just recently read about the word Restfeber and loved it. I think it fits Rose's anxiety in this chapter perfectly.

Disclaimer: This is a slight AU to the epilogue. I just added a bit more dialogue than in the actual book that takes place directly after Harry speaks to Albus about Slytherin and what not. I just envisioned a bit more conversation before Rose and Al board the train, and then of course what follows is all my imagination. Enjoy:)


"Oh, Rosie," her mum said, pulling her in for what felt like her hundredth hug that day.

"Mum," she whined, trying to shrug out of her embrace.

"I know, I know," she said as she finally released her. "It's just sad, isn't it?" she asked, brusquely wiping her eyes all the while ignoring Harry's sniggering. She saw Ginny elbow him sharply out of the corner of her eye.

"Yes, love. It's all very sad. But it's also exciting! Isn't that right, Rosie?" Her dad asked brightly, pulling her in for her one hundred and first hug of the day.

"Yes, it's very exciting which is exactly why Al and I need to go! We want to find an empty compartment!"

"Yeah, can we go now dad? Please?" Al asked, looking up at his father desperately. Rose still didn't have any idea how two people could look so similar.

"Let's not rush anything, shall we? I'm sure your brother will let you sit in his compartment," Harry said, ruffling Al's hair affectionately. He winced, but she knew that he loved it. Like her, Al was going to miss his family enormously but refused to admit it. If she wasn't mistaken, she thought her Uncle Harry looked a bit sad as well, but she didn't say anything because she knew her own dad probably looked similarly.

Al pulled a face. "I would rather get killed by the trolley lady than have to sit with James."

His glasses sat crookedly on his face and right as Aunt Ginny was moving in to adjust them, the train gave its final warning and he jerked backward excitedly.

"Mum, Rosie and I really have to go. We don't want to miss the train!"

"Missing the train only happens to idiots, and you dear are most certainly not that," her Aunt Ginny said warmly, pulling Al into her arms and shooting her uncle a smirk.

While Al was busy hugging his parents and Lily goodbye, Rose turned to her own parents and little brother and was shocked to feel her throat constricting. Without another word, she threw herself into her mum's arms. Her mum embraced her tightly and pressed a kiss into her wild red curls.

"Daddy, were you joking about disinheriting me if I don't end up in Gryffindor?" She asked, pulling away tearfully.

"Of course, Rosie. We're going to be proud no matter where the hat puts you," he said firmly.

Her mum nodded. "Absolutely. You're going to do such great things, Rose."

Now it was Rose's turn to rub at her eyes. But her tears dried as she reminded herself of where she was about to go. Hogwarts. It was the moment she'd be dreaming of since she could remember, and she was going with Al, her very best friend. It was going to be incredible and she could hardly contain her excitement. She hugged her parents and brother again and swiftly kissed her aunt and uncle farewell. Her dad had already heaved her trunk on the train so she grabbed Albus's hand in excitement and started to pull him onto the train and down the corridor with her. She neared the end of the hall and stopped suddenly causing Al to stumble straight into her.

"What's the matter?"

"There aren't any empty compartments left," she sighed dejectedly.

"This one back here only has one person in it," Al suggested, jerking his thumb towards the left side of the train.

"I know, but it's that boy, isn't it? The blonde one? My dad said to stay away from him," she said nervously. She wasn't one to break rules, and if her dad had told her not to do something, it was probably for a good reason.

Al rolled his eyes. "And your mum said not to turn against him already. Come on, I think he's a first-year too and he looked kind of lonely. What's the worst that could happen?"

Rose could think of plenty of things, but she shut her mouth. Al had on that determined look of his, and before she could say anything more he had already walked over and slid open the compartment's door.

"Is there anyone sitting in here with you?" Al asked brightly.

The boy was facing the window but turned around quickly at the sound of Al's voice. Rose took him in slowly, finally getting to view him up close. The first thing she noticed was his hair. It looked almost white and she was sure she'd never seen anything like it, not even on Aunt Fleur. His chin was pointy, just like the man he'd been standing with, but differently, his face held a sort of warmness to it. She immediately wanted to be his friend.

"No, I don't think so," the boy faltered quietly.

"Brilliant!" Said Rose, pushing past Al who was still standing in the doorway and extended her hand enthusiastically. "I'm Rose Weasley."

"I know. I'm Scorpius. Scorpius Malfoy," he said shaking her hand delicately. His fingers were freezing and she almost jumped backward at his touch.

"How do you already know who I am?" She asked, collapsing into the cushioned seat across from him. Al slid the door shut and took a seat next to her, opening his bag and dumping its contents on the floor immediately.

"Albus!" she shrieked in embarrassment. Besides her cousins, Rose had never had many friends. Sure, she had Albus and Hugo and Lily, but everyone else was a bit older than her, and James had always teased her. And now as she entered Hogwarts where there were plenty of people to become friends with, the last thing she wanted to do was make a poor impression on the first new person she'd met that day.

"What? I wanted to get us a chocolate frog to share," he said sheepishly.

She rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Sorry about him. Anyways, as you were saying,"

She noted that Scorpius looked embarrassed. His cheeks were flushed a brilliant pink, a stark contrast to his pale skin. "My father just mentioned that you might try and stay away from me."

"My dad said I should, but I don't actually care too much. Or at least, Al told me not to. He's a pretty good judge of character," she said babbled, trying to conceal how nervous she felt. To distract herself she moved to snatch the chocolate from Al's hands.

"Bloody hell, it's just your dad again," she cried in frustration.

Al groaned and threw himself back into his seat. "You keep it then. I don't need anymore."

"Your dad is on a chocolate frog card?" Scorpius asked in disbelief.

"Yeah," Al responded. "It's really not as exciting as you'd think. Plus, it's an old picture. He was just Teddy's age so it's not really that accurate. Here," he said reaching over to hand Scorpius the card, but his head snapped up before Al could hand it over to him.

"Teddy Lupin?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yeah," Al responded cheerfully. "He's my brother."

"How is that possible?" Scorpius asked curiously.

"Well, he's not technically my brother. He's my dad's godson but he might as well be. At least that's what dad's always saying," Al said, splitting his chocolate frog in half, offering the rest to Rose. She took it without a second thought.

She was intrigued. It was very unlike Al to be so forthcoming. He'd always been more on the nervous side, but seeing him talk so openly was interesting to her. She pushed her thoughts away, shrugging it off as excitement.

"How do you know Ted?" Rose asked.

"Oh," said Scorpius, looking suddenly uneasy. "Well, I don't really know him. I've never even met him."

"But you knew who he was," she prompted. She knew she was probably being annoying just like James and Fred always said, but she really did want to know what his connection to Ted was.

"Yes, that's because he's my cousin," Scorpius replied reluctantly

"What?" Al asked incredulously.

"But that's impossible. Teddy's my cousin," Rose exclaimed.

"His grandmother is my grandmother's sister," he said quietly. Rose had no idea why Scorpius looked so nervous. It was as if he thought they were just going to up and leave him or something. Before she could bombard him with the hundreds of questions floating around her mind, Al interrupted her thoughts.

"Wicked."

Scorpius looked shocked but laughed nervously. "Yes, I guess it is."

Al threw him a chocolate frog. "That one's all yours. But tell me what card you get, yeah?"

Scorpius caught it and nodded, looking at it strangely. "Thank you. I've never had one of these before. They don't taste funny, do they?"

Now it was Rose's turn to look shocked. "What?" she cried

"My family isn't big on sweets," he said sheepishly.

She looked at Scorpius quizzically. He really was strange. But she was glad she hadn't listened to her dad. He was nice and she really did want to be his friend. She couldn't figure out why though. Maybe it was because she sensed that he'd never had many friends either. There was just something about him that intrigued her, that pulled her towards him. Something that she wouldn't understand for years. But as he held up the chocolate frog card in amusement (this time it was a picture of her father), he showed her his first smile causing her to smile too. She was going to be great friends with this Scorpius Malfoy. She just knew it.


A/N: I hope you enjoyed this and that you're staying safe/are quarantining if you're able. Please please please follow/fav for more, and leave a REVIEW! I would love to hear from you. Wash your hands ! XOXO