Are We Still Friends?
Scorpius returned from the toilet of the Hogwarts Express that was bringing them back to Hogwarts on that first Sunday in January. He sat down in his window seat, leaned forward, thereby asking Albus, who was sitting opposite him, to do the same. Apparently Scorpius didn't want Bernie, Jennifer, Lance and Malcolm listening in.
"Rose Weasley is standing outside in the corridor," he said quietly.
Albus frowned. "What's she doing there? There are only Slytherins in this carriage ..."
Scorpius looked at him pityingly, as if Albus was a little slow on the uptake.
"Let's just say she seemed quite disappointed when she saw me coming out of our compartment. I think she was hoping for someone else."
"If she wants talk to me, she'll have to come here," Albus grumbled gruffly.
"And risk you giving her the brush-off in front of all? I don't think she could bear that." And as Albus did not answer, Scorpius added: "She's looking rather unhappy." Albus was still silent. "And she got as far as the Slytherin carriage to meet you, after all."
"What are you trying to tell me?" asked Albus, slightly testily.
"That you are far too noble a knight to let your queen of hearts suffer when she is unhappy and needs you."
"My queen of hearts – where did you come up with that nonsense?", snapped Albus back, but he couldn't help turning pink.
"Oh, just a vague feeling," Scorpius said, leaning back and grinning smugly at him.
Albus, who felt he was being looked through, returned the glance gruffly. If the Malfoys raised their children from an early age to look closely at people, this education had really been crowned with resounding success with Scorpius!
Finally, Albus pulled out his wand, drew an imaginary rectangle on the window and tapped it: "Speculo." The rectangle turned into a mirror. Under the astonished gazes of his fellow passengers except Scorpius, Albus did his best to flatten his Potter hair and then stepped out into the corridor without another word. He would pretend that he happened to have to go to the toilet.
Rose turned her head towards him and for a brief moment a smile was about to flare up – then she flinched back and pretended again to be completely absorbed in the view of the bleak landscape flying by outside the window in the gloomy winter weather.
Determined not to take notice of her unless she did so in turn, he marched past her with his head held high. Two steps later he finally heard her ask:
"Al?"
He turned to her.
If Scorpius had said she looked unhappy, this had been an understatement. She looked wretched. Pale, trembling and fragile, she looked at him with reddened eyes.
"Al," she asked in a low voice, "are we still friends?"
Albus hesitated, but just for a very short moment.
"Of course, Rose, of course we are still friends!"
Rose breathed a sigh of relief. They looked at each other in silence.
"I'm sorry about how it all went down," she finally said.
"Me too," he replied.
He would have considered inappropriate to blame her now that it had been her fault. After all, it didn't matter.
"I don't know who else to talk to."
"I will always listen to you" he said gently. "Did ... did anything happen?"
She swallowed.
"I think ..." She faltered. "I think my parents are getting a divorce!"
"What?" shouted Albus in dismay.
"They've done nothing but quarrel since Christmas." Tears were running down her cheeks now. "My dad says she's turning the whole family against her and he can't talk to his best friend anymore because of her. He calls her stubborn and fanatic, once he even said she was worse than the Death Eaters ..."
She sobbed.
"... and mum calls him a traitor and even a ... wimp, and she screamed that she could do without someone like him and that she didn't want to be married to someone like him anymore ..."
She sobbed so hard that Albus could no longer help it: He embraced her, hugged her tightly and stroked her hair tenderly. He didn't care about the mocking looks of the second-year students from the compartment they were standing in front of.
"They won't divorce that easily," he said consolingly. "Your parents were in love with each other when they were not much older than we are now, I know from my dad."
"I know that too," she replied, "but you didn't hear them, that wasn't just any quarrel like there is every now and then, that was real hatred. Above all, you should have seen my mother, I didn't recognise her at all, as if she wasn't herself, so cold, so... You can't imagine!"
"Oh yes, I can," said Albus, still holding her in his arms. "I happened to witness it on her as well. I just didn't think she'd be like that at home, though."
"What can I do now?" she moaned in despair. "I have nightmares every night that I'm going to get an owl at Hogwarts that my parents aren't my parents anymore ..."
"It's going to be all right, Rose, I promise you."
She let go of him, looking at him sadly. "How are you going to promise that? You can do even less than I can."
Albus would have given anything to be allowed to tell her now that the curse her mother was under would soon be broken, but of course that was out of the question, he had already said almost too much anyway.
"No, of course I can't do anything, but ..." He didn't know what to say. "It's going to be all right. Don't think about it, and just believe me."
She snuggled, almost clung to him.
"It's so good that you're here."
"I think the Prefect compartment is empty now. Let's go there, these second-years are getting on my nerves."
Albus spent the rest of the journey encouraging her, distracting her and even making her laugh from time to time. When they arrived in Hogsmeade, she was almost cheerful.