AN: Guys I'm realllllly sorry that this is so late especially as it's short. GCSE workload is catching up with me but it's not really an excuse so please just bear with me. Please, please keep reviewing; it means the world :).

Chapter Eighteen
Of Good Friends and Bad Impressions; Or Is It The Other Way Around?

Molly Weasley was not in a good mood. She had been, from waking up in her warm bed to choosing a matching outfit with Lien and all the way through her yummy breakfast until her father's haughty owl had landed next to her toast and stuck its leg out for her to untie its letter.

Molly,

Your mother disagrees but I really feel like we have to talk about this. To put it simply, I don't think you should be friends with the Malfoy boy. His family are corrupt, and I should know considering how many times I saw Lucius with the Minister of Magic during my time as one of his PAs. Lien seems lovely and it's nice that you've made friends with people outside your house but everyone's true colours show in the end darling, and I know you'd rather not see Scorpius'. For that matter, the way you skirt around talking about Jayna Blackwood makes me think she didn't fall too far from her family tree either.

I only want you to be happy, and I don't believe you can be with these sorts of people around you.

Anyway, I hope your classes are going well and that the workload isn't getting you down too badly. Lucy misses you I think.

Love,

Dad

"Mol? What's up?" Lien asked, watching Molly's expression sour. Molly glared at the letter in her hand.

"Nothing. My dad's just being an idiot." Molly looked up towards the Slytherin table, where she could see Albus laughing heartily as Scorpius balanced a spoon on his nose. How exactly her father thought Scorpius was a bad person was beyond her. She knew that whatever spell had come out of Scorpius' wand the other day wasn't nice, but she'd made the mistake of not trusting her friends last year, and it had almost cost her, her friendship with Jayna. Molly looked down at the letter again and then got to her feet, marching over to where Scorpius was sat.

"Hey Mol, what's up?" He asked, as she came over.

"I don't understand why people don't like you." Scorpius raised an eyebrow delicately.

"Generally I think they believe I'm destined to start a corrupt organisation that at best mugs them and at worst leads to mass-murder." Molly frowned at him.

"That's stupid."

"May I ask what has prompted this conversation?"

"My dad thinks I shouldn't be friends with you. Or Jayna."

"Really? How amusing. Are you planning on taking his advice?" Molly managed to keep a straight-face for a good two seconds before chortling.

"As if. Even if we didn't share a Secret," She said, wary of the people around them, "you're a great friend. Plus you have excellent taste in Christmas presents so…" Molly winked. Scorpius smirked.

"I see how it is; keeping me around for the money." Molly rolled her eyes with a smile.

The next task involved a huge boulder at one end of the room, and a finish line at the other. Sam and James immediately tried to shove it, while Jayna stared at the rock thoughtfully.

"Should I tell them to stop or-" Jayna asked, looking at Sam and James with amusement after telling Lydjah her plan.

"No." Lydjah grinned. Jayna rolled her eyes but didn't warn the Gryffindors before placing a feather light charm on the rock. Immediately the rock, under the pressure from Sam and James rolled forwards a few metres, and the Gryffindors fell face down on the floor with muffled groans of surprise and pain.

The others laughed themselves stupid for a few moments until they realised that they'd just injured the muscle of the group and the rock was still nowhere near the finish line.

"Winguardium Leviosa!" Molly said proudly after a moment, concentrating on the rock so hard that Lien was worried her eyebrows would be forever stuck in a frown. She easily levitated the rock over the line considering it's now tiny weight and the door unlocked itself again.

Sam and James went out the door bickering about who was stronger but Albus interrupted them.

"Come on Sam; James is cocky enough we don't need another one." James whacked Albus in the arm but Sam grinned mischievously.

"My impression of Dwp here would be great." James raised his eyebrows.

"My impression of you would be better." He challenged.

"Prove it. Me and you, tomorrow, we'll act like each other all day. And these guys," Sam said, gesturing to the other six, "will judge whose impression is the best."

"You're on mate." James smirked. The other six surveyed them with varying degrees of alarm.

Lydjah and Jayna took their seats in Defence Against the Dark Arts near Sam and James with some trepidation. Sam was sat, slumped in her seat, one arm slung over the back of the chair, wand in hand, her legs spread wide apart and her spare hand messing with her hair which was loose for once, rolling over her shoulders. A slightly-too-big Gryffindor Quidditch jumper had been pulled over her shirt so that only the top of her collar was visible.

James had one of his legs resting on the other, so the upper leg formed a triangle with his ankle pointing down. He glared at all the girls that entered the classroom except for Jayna and Lydjah, to their horror. He sat up straight, tense, hands elegantly laid but fully braced on the desk in front of him. His shirt was untucked from his trousers haphazardly, quite like his hair that he hadn't even attempted to control that morning but he actually had his tie on for once, even though it was draped round his shoulders.

"You need to smirk Sam." Was Jayna's only comment.

"James you need to look more dangerous. At the moment you just look like you're concentrating too hard." Lydjah added, laughing. Sam attempted to smirk flirtily but it came out like a grimace. Lee from the seat in front turned with a raised eyebrow to eye-up her girlfriend. Sam tried desperately not to laugh.

"I'm super attractive and I have great hair and I'll never tell anyone I love Transfiguration." Sam said finally, lowering her voice and ruffling her hair. James punched her in the arm.

"Well I'm too cool to smile properly and I'm always looking for a fight also did I mention that I automatically hate everyone?" James flung back. Sam rolled her eyes but let it go, her attempt at a flirty smirk growing.

"You're just jealous of my great hair."

"You already mentioned your hair." James muttered.

"Exactly." Sam winked. James huffed as Jayna and Lydia laughed. Sam turned to Lydjah. "I know my girlfriend's right there, but I'm going to blatantly flirt with you anyway." James sat up, offended.

"I do not- I mean I'm not even going to tell my best friend about my relationships until months afterward they started." Lee looked at him.

"No need to make it personal." Sam laughed.

"I'm never going to take my hand out of my hair unless I'm holding a Quaffle and even then I'll try to do stupid reckless moves to impress people."

"Well I'm going to hit the Bludgers with such ferocity that I end up hitting my teammate in the face with a bat."

"That was one time!" Sam cried, glaring at him. Lydjah and Jayna cracked up laughing.

"Sam wins." Lee said, with a small smile. "Now please go back to being yourself; I have no interest in ever going out with James." James started, outraged, but the class had begun and he was left with sulking and muttering about how he'd beat her next time.

"I've been asked to inform you," Professor Avisana began, "that anyone interested in doing an Exchange trip with a student from Beauxbatons this summer should go to Professor Babbling's office at lunch."

"You going to do it?" Sam asked quietly of her two Ravenclaw friends, already knowing there was no way in Hell James would want to go France unless there was a pretty girl involved. Jayna and Lydjah looked at each other, communicating non-verbally and then nodded.

"As long as Jay-Jay does the talking." Jayna rolled her eyes but Lydjah could tell she was secretly pleased.

"Bien sûr."

After class, the Ravenclaws were walking back to the Tower and Lydjah, being her usual blunt self, was frowning at Lee.

"Lee Wright doesn't sound very African." Lee looked up at her, raising her eyebrows. She huffed a sigh and, as she would insist to herself later, replied with the truth only because she felt guilty for overhearing their secrets.

"'Lee' is short for Lesedi. My Grandpa, who was English, used to call me Lee and it stuck. 'Wright' is my Mother's maiden name; my Dad's surname was more recognisable than I wanted to be."

"Who's your Dad?"

"He's just about the only African you white people have ever heard of."

"Babajide Akuring?" Jayna said, barely concealed surprise in her voice.

"Who's that?" Lydjah asked, confused. Jayna swatted at her arm.

"He's the Supreme Mugwump for the International Confederation of Wizards!" Jayna announced. Lydjah tried to hide a laugh but Lee saw and dredged up a rare smile.

"Yeah I know. It sounds ridiculous. Who wants to be a Mugwump?"

Conjure a slug.

"What?" Molly asked as Jayna read out the latest instruction and they slunk into the Secret room.

"Why?" Lien seconded, sounding vaguely repulsed.

"We can't use Transfiguration in here." Sam mused. "How are we going to conjure a slug?" James smirked slowly.

"I know."

"Well go on then." Albus said, rolling his eyes.

"I can make someone vomit slugs for ten minutes."

"Wait; what?" Scorpius interjected, evidently having come into the conversation slightly late.

"Sorry." James said, sounding not even slightly sorry as his smirk grew. "I don't see a better option. Who's it going to be?"

"I don't think you sound upset enough about this James Potter." Molly reprimanded. Lydjah sighed.

"It's alright I'm always puking my guts up anyway might as well make it slugs." She stood in front of James, too tired to glare as she hadn't really slept the night before. James felt a small twinge of guilt, but it wasn't enough to stop his glee.

"Slugulus Eructo!"

Lydjah barfing slugs was an image none of them were getting out of their minds for some time, which is why Scorpius suggested doing another task; hopefully something interesting would rid them of it. The fact that Lydjah was still vomiting slugs into a bucket wasn't exactly helping, but they all agreed.

Handwriting is everything.

When they walked into the room nothing appeared other than the note Scorpius was still holding. Quickly deciding that he couldn't deal with the retching sounds from Lydjah's corner of the room for any longer, he took a wild guess with a spell.

"Illegibilus!"

For the second time in two weeks, Scorpius vanished out of the room again before any of them had time to protest (not that Lydia could if she had) and Albus had a sinking feeling that the older they got, the more this was going to happen.