"I'm telling you, Rosie, you have to crush the leaves," said Scorpius.

"And I'm telling you, Scorpius, you have to slice the leaves," argued Rose.

"Again, you're both right," groaned Al. "Professor Longbottom said it didn't matter how the leaves are distributed since they will dissolve regardless!"

"Merlin, it's so cold!" said Rose, nuzzling her chin into her house scarf. "Why did we come outside?"

"Well, you thought it would be a good idea to be outside," retorted Scorpius. "Because according to you, we had castle fever!"

"Cabin fever," said Rose, rather haughtily. "Honestly, Scorpius, you never listen!"

"Oi..." groaned Albus as he continued to listen to Rose and Scorpius bicker endlessly.

The trio walked through the courtyard on a cold November afternoon after Herbology with Professor Longbottom. All of the fireplaces at the school were now in full use so a soft warmth carried through the castle, much to the chagrin of Mr. Filch. The Christmas holiday was still another month away but already Molly and Arthur had already invited to Scorpius to spend the holiday at the Burrow. The thought of spending Christmas was Rose and A excited Scorpius, as he always loved hearing about the Weasley-Potter when they returned from the holiday.

"AL!" cried Lily, running out to the courtyard with Iris and Evie in tow.

"Lily? What's wrong?" asked Al, concerned at Lily's panicked tone.

"Jay's fighting with Troy in the galley!" said Lily.

"Find McGonagall," said Al to his sister, running past her to the galley with Rose and Albus behind.

As he approached the galley, Al could hear the loud rancor from students echoing from the corridor. As Albus pushed his way through the crowd, he found James being held in a choke-hold by Troy Charmer. Meanwhile, Stanley and Bruno stood on each side with arms folded as they watched the fight ensue.

"Kyra, do something!" called out Albus when he spot her. However, Kyra simply snarled at him and turned away.

"C'mon, Potter! Had enough?" asked Troy to Jay, who was trying to get out of his choke-hold.

"LEAVE HIM!" yelled Albus, fed up that no one was doing anything to stop the fighting. Using all of his strength, Albus pushed Troy which loosened Troy's grip over James. James stumbled to the ground after being released, but now Troy was throwing punches at Albus. Rose and Scorpius tried to intervene but were blocked by the horde of students surrounding the brawl.

"What's wrong with you?!" yelled Albus as he blocked the punches. At that remark, Troy pushed Al up against a wall, making several students gasp in horror.

"Get off him!" yelled James, who was being held back by Stanley and Bruno.

"You want to know why I want to beat you and your brother's arses right now?" said Troy, pushing Al harder against the wall. "Because your father just arrested my father for conspiracy!"

Just then, Al felt Troy let go of him as James managed to get out of Stanley and Bruno's grasps and pull Troy off of Al. Once again, James and Troy began to fight again, with Al attempting to get Troy off of James.

"That is quite enough Mr. Potter, Mr. Potter, and Mr. Charmer!" yelled McGonagall, as the students surrounding the fight fell silent from fear of the Headmistress.

"Headmistress, Jay and Al were beating up Troy!" cried Kyra, pointing at the Potter brothers.

"Well, Miss Ballington, I see you very pro-active in preventing this predicament," said McGonagall, as Kyra looked down in embarassment at being called out. "The three of you in my office, now."

"Yes, Headmistress," grumbled the three boys following behind her.

Scorpius and Rose were waiting for Al to come out of the Headmistress's office. When they heard footsteps, both stood up to see if it was Albus walking out, which to Rose and Scorpius's relief it was both Albus and James both walking together.

"Well?" asked Rose.

"Was she easy on you two?" asked Scorpius.

"We're all getting detention for a week," said Albus. "And I'm on probation for being in a fight as a Prefect."

"What does that mean?" asked Rose.

"Basically, I can't take away points from others," said Albus. "Or get myself out of detention."

"What happened. Jay?" asked Scorpius.

"Dad arrested Troy's father today for conspiracy," said James. "I guess they had evidence that he was using Ministry funds to support the activities that were happening at Dover Street. Anyway, I was walking with Rory when all of the sudden I felt my head go back. The next thing I remember was Troy yelling at me, but I don't remember exactly what he said..."

Rose cleared her throat loudly as Troy walked towards the group, who were all on guard even though Troy was without his squad.

"Just you wait, Potters," said Troy, looking at both James and Albus. "Your father will pay for what he's done..."

"Our father has done nothing wrong," retorted James. "Our dad's a good man!"

"You're all just a bunch of snakelovers..." laughed Troy, rudely.

"Whatever, mate," huffed James. "You're not worth it, really."

"So, it's official, you're siding with the nerds?" asked Troy to James, gesturing towards the trio.

"You bet," said James. "I don't want nothing to do with a prat like you."

"Fine," said Troy. "Enjoy the snakes." As Troy walked away, he purposely bumped into Scorpius's shoulder as he walked while the Potter brothers, Rose, and Scorpius stared at him with cold and unforgiving eyes.

"Wow," said James, shaking his head. "I can't believe I actually though of him as a friend."

"Now do you believe us?" asked Al. "We've only been telling you this for ages..."

"Really, Al?" asked Rose.

"No, it's fine, Rosie. As much as I hate to admit it, Al's right," said James. "I was stupid to believe him over you lot."

"Yes, you were," agreed Al, as Rose nudged his shoulder. "I mean, are you okay, Jay?"

"Yeah, I think so," said James. "I'm just...gonna grab some dinner."

"Same," said Scorpius. "We'll join you."

"I don't need bodyguards, if that's what you're thinking," snapped James.

"If you think for one second that Troy and his lot aren't planning to ambush you, you are being naive!" responded Rose.

For once, Al didn't see the confident James that he was used to seeing for so many years. Instead, for the first time since Al could remember, James looked defeated.

"Actually," said Al, turning to Rose and Scorpius. "I need to show you guys some real quick, for Herbology before I forget."

"Now?" huffed Rose.

"Yes," insisted Al. "We'll catch you later, Jay." Jay, looking slightly confused, simply nodded his head as he walked away from the trio.

"Well, what it is?" asked Rose. "What do you need to show us..."

"Um...that the leaves are actually sliced..." said Albus, looking through his satchel for his Herbology book.

"HA! I knew it!" said Rose, jumping triumphantly. "Now, can we please grab something to eat?"

"Yeah, sure," said Al, looking at Scorpius, who nodded his head in understanding.

James needed to be alone and collect his thoughts. Al was merely stalling to allow James a head start so they weren't hovering over him. It was rare for Al to pity his brother. Today, that all changed as James saw Troy's true colours. This realization was enough for Al to see his brother in a better light.

"I believe this where you say that Rose was right about James," whispered Scorpius to Al.

"She already knows," said Al, watching his cousin skip down the hallway after proving she was right about slicing the leaves.