Essence of Crimson Roses

By: Technicolor Visions and LeLoUcH FanGirl

Chapter 1 : The Train Ride Home

~Albus~

If someone would have told me that when I entered Hogwarts, I would become best friends with the son of my father's longest nemesis, I would have laughed at them and taken them to go visit the mental ward at . But five years later, here I was, sharing a compartment with one Scorpius Malfoy. Currently my battered chess board was set up between us, Scorpius was wearing a serious look as he contemplated what move to make. I leaned back, crossing my arms, smirking as I watched my best friend try to figure out what my battle strategy was.

Scorpius had once told me that he would only play chess with someone if they could keep up with his thinking process and had more of a personality then paint drying. Of course I had then questioned him if he would even consider playing a Gryffindor if they could match his demands. Instead of giving me a proper answer; Scor broke out into a fit of laughter, doubling over as tears threatened to leak from his grey eyes. After several seconds of uncontrolled hysteria, Scorpius had said "The day I play with a bloody Gryffindor, is the day when the Dark Lord rises again!" From that day on I never questioned Scorpius' feelings towards the Lion Lovers.

Personally, I didn't have anything against Gryffindor. My house was filled with Gryffindor Alumni, so I had always figured that I would one day follow everyone's footsteps and land in the Lions Den, unfortunately that hadn't happened. Either way, I was used to the dangerous crazy schemes that my siblings and cousins came up with. I had learned that Gryffindor's did have courage, and that it was wise to sometimes just walk away slowly. Yes, at school I did give in to the rivalry between the snakes and the kittens, but I only would let it go so far, they were my family after all. Still, I did find some amusement in tormenting the Gryff's.

"Got you Al," Scorpius finally moved his knight, sitting back and smirking proudly.

Impossible! I raked my eyes over the board, pushing the panic out of my veins. I hated losing, and losing to Scorpius was even worse. Concentrating as hard as I could, I tried formulating a plan. And there it was. Allowing Scorpius two more turns of confidence, I slowly got ready to strike. Finally, I made my move. Sliding my piece across the board I proclaimed, "Checkmate."

Throwing his king to the floor Scor gave me a venomous look, "I really hate you sometimes Potter."

"Eh, like I could really care," I ran a hand through my hair as Scorpius sulked.

"Hello brother dearest," the compartment door banged open loudly as James barged in, without being invited he fell onto a seat, smiling, "And how are you this fine day?"

"Quite fine until you decided to barge in," I replied as Scorpius joined me.

"Ah, well then I've done my job!" James smiled broadly as he scooched over to make room for Rose who had just entered.

"Hey Al," smiling brightly, my favorite cousin gave me a hug before sitting down, throwing a nasty look at Scorpius.

"Oh gods, Weasley just entered, I can tell by the sent of trash in the air," Scorpius scrunched his nose, waving a hand in the air.

"Oh like you're one to talk Malfoy," Rose snapped, "As I recall, YOU were the one who crash landed in the garbage dump last week during the scrimmage. Have you managed to fully bathe away the putrid scent of humiliation yet?"

And that is one reason why I love my cousin. Rose was one of the few people who could keep up with Scorpius' tongue when she wanted. Their rivalry came from years of Scor tormenting Rose about being a Weasley (which I couldn't fathom what was wrong with that, and I was sure he couldn't either), and from Rose thinking of him as nothing more then a spoiled little boy. Though they both never went too far, Scorpius always knew when to end the teasing, and so did Rose. The arguing never lasted long in front of me, though I'm sure if I left them in a room together there would be blood shed.

"Yes, yes very funny indeed Ro," I smirked at my two best friends. They both sat back with one last venomous glare.

"Hey! Family time!" I swear Lily's voice could shatter glass if she truly wanted.

I opened my mouth to yell at her to shut up, but the words caught in my throat as Stella walked in behind my sister. Stel and Li sat down on my side, both smiling widely. I tore my gaze away from the blonde girl, trying to hear what everyone was saying.

"So how does it feel to finally graduate?" Rose asked James, sitting sideways to look at him.

Leaning forward, J shook his head, "A little surreal actually, I keep waiting for someone to jump out and yell 'SURPRISE', or for me to wake up from this dream."

"Do you not what you are going to do after the summer?" Stella asked, sitting cross legged on the seat. Her knee brushed my arm, and I pulled it away as a small shock ran through my skin.

"Not really actually," James admitted, scratching the back of his head, "I actually thought I would try my hand at Curse Breaking."

The compartment went silent as we all let that sink in. Now my brother may act the part of a fool, but his head was not filled with saw dust. James excelled in Defense Against the Dark Arts, along with Ancient Runes. We had had this conversation before possibly only days ago, so it didn't come as big a shock to me as it did everyone else.

"That's wonderful J!" Rose recovered, smiling and hugging my brother.

"You'll make a great Curse Breaker," Lily joined in a second later, going to sit next to James and hugging him.

Out of my family, I was the only one who had inherited my mothers red hair. It was dark, but definitely red. James and Lily both had my dad's dark hair, but we all shared dad's eyes, the bright emerald green that everyone seemed to love. Like me, Rose had received Uncle Ron's (her dad) flaming red hair. Where mine was more subdued, Rose's was bright and I swore turned to flames when she was mad. She was a Weasley through and through, from the red hair, blue eyes, and freckles that splashed across her nose. The only thing she had inherited from her mother was olive skin, and even then it was washed out. If anyone were to look into the compartment, the only one who would stand out would be Scorpius. With his white blonde hair, grey eyes, and pale skin, he almost look unreal compared to the rest of us.

The conversation soon turned from James to Qudditch, as it usually did when we all got together. Though I admit Scorpius was not a favorite around my siblings and cousins, they tolerated him, I think mostly for my benefit then anything else. I appreciated that they made an effort to not be nasty to him when I was around, and I knew that this summer was going to be a challenge with them since Scor was going to stay with my family for almost a month.

When I had asked my dad if Scorpius could stay, he was a little reluctant at first, probably because him and had some rivalry thing going on. After letter after letter of me all but begging him to allow it, my dad gave in. I was sure my mum had something to do with his. Though I was sure mum hated the senior Malfoy as much as my father, I think she understood that it was time for change, and I had a small guess that she was willing to forgive and somewhat forget. Of course when Uncle Ron found out, well, that was just disturbing. He sent three Howlers to me, trying to persuade me to tell Scorpius that he couldn't spend the summer with me. I was bribed with season Puddlemere United tickets, to as many Galleons as my heart desired. It all ended when mum found out and gave, what I was sure, a nasty hex to her brother.

It would be difficult to keep the peace, and as I watched Rose and Scorpius start an argument over their game of Exploding Snap, I knew I was in for a battle. All I could hope for was a minimal amount of peace, and possibly that there was no blood shed.

There was exactly one tradition that I will allow myself to take part in with my family, and that is the Platform Jump. Sounds simple, but trust me, it's not. The story goes that when James came home from his first year at Hogwarts, he was so happy to see us, that when he caught sight of my dad eagerly waiting, he jumped from the carriage while throwing his arms in the air yelling "IT'S HARRY BLOODY POTTER!" and threw himself at my dad while everyone around him laughed at their antics. From that day, each of us has joined in on that little interaction. The calls changed between "The Man-Who-Lived" to "The Dad Who Needs to Give Me More Money" that one was bestowed by Lily. As the train came closer to the station, we all changed quickly, my siblings and I preparing for the greeting ritual. What I forgot at the moment of reminisce, was that I forgot to tell my best friend about what was about to happen.

So when Lily, James, and I literally threw ourselves at my dad yelling, "PATRONUS POTTER!" I was sure he had thought that I had gone over the deep end. When we finally all untangled I placed a hand on Scorpius' shoulder and pushed him forward, "Dad, this is Scorpius Malfoy."

The smile fell from my dad's face as he let go of Lily, it came back a second later (though it looked forced) when mum put her hand through dads. So with a pained grimace dad said, "It's nice to finally meet you Scorpius. I'm glad that you could come stay with us."

Mum took over seeing as dad was shooting quick glance at Ron and Hermione who were watching us closely, while Rosie whispered quickly to them. She embraced Scorpius, and he stiffened at my mothers forwardness, "I'm sure you boys will have a wonderful time. I know our house is probably going to be a tad bit strange to you, but I do hope you'll like it."

Being able to keep a cool head, Scorpius smirked at my mother before replying smoothly, "I'm sure that everything will be satisfactory, thank you for having me."

Mum looked a little taken aback by the formalities, but smiled and motioned for the Weasley's to join us. Hermione was the first to say anything, but it was directed towards my parents, "Are we still on for dinner tomorrow night?"

"Of course!" Mum beamed at her friend, "Come around whenever you want. James is having a few of his friends over and I'm sure Rose will have Lily and Stella to keep company with."

"Nah, she'll be with me of course!" James put an arm around our red-haired cousin, "she's part of our little group after all."

"Well there we go!" Dad laughed as Rose smiled up at my brother.

"Is there anything we need to bring," I blocked out everything else that the adults were exchanging, instead turning to see Scorpius watching them all with a curious expression.

"Sorry about my mum," I scratched the back of my head, "She was a bit forward."

"It's alright," Scor rolled his eyes, "It was just a bit of a shock that was all. I appreciate that she didn't try and hex me or anything."

I couldn't hold back the peal of laughter as I saw the serious expression that he wore. "Don't worry, my parents would never dream of doing that to someone underage!"

"Thanks for the confidence booster there mate," Scorpius rolled his eyes before we followed my parents through the gates. Bidding farewell to my Aunt and Uncles, and sliding into the car.

As we started driving, I saw the uncertainty coursing through Scor's eyes. James and Lily did little to help his doubts about traveling the muggle way as they kept talking about the car crashes that had recently happened, including every gory detail. Mum finally shut them up with one of her Stares of Death. For the rest of the ride, Scorpius was bombarded with questions from both of my parents. Dad was stiff for the first few minutes, but as he got to know a little more about my friend, his shoulders fell and he slumped like he usually did.

It took a little over an hour before we finally reached my home. The house was set in the middle of Dean Woods, surrounded by tall pines and twenty minutes away from the Weasley's. My dad had supposedly wanted to be away from the Wizarding World, but not so much that we were separated. If you went about ten miles into the woods, you crossed the magical barrier. Fortunately the house was hidden enough that we were still able to fly around.

Our house was fairly large, mostly due to mum I think. The top level consisted of a large kitchen, a living room, four bedrooms plus two guest rooms, an office for dad, and a patio that lead to the balcony overlooking the back yard. The bottom half was a game room, and an extra bedroom. The game room led to the pool outback that was surrounded by a gate that led to the forest outside. I had grown up here all my life, so none of the muggle appliances held any interest to me, but Scorpius was overwhelmed to say the least. Mum didn't need any prompts as she began explaining what each foreign item was used for.

After settling Scorpius into the guestroom next to mine, I took him down the game room, introducing him to my favorite muggle item, our game system. For someone who had never grown up with anything muggle, Scor caught on fast, and soon had me on my toes.

"Boys dinner!" Mum voice rang down the stairs, just as a loud bang from our game echoed through the room.

"One sec!" I yelled, twisting my controller to try and shoot Scorpius.

"You're bloody terrible at this game," Scorpius smirked as he easily dodged my attack.

"Beginners luck!" I spat at him.

"Mum said now!" Lily screeched from the doorway.

"Alright, alright, don't get your knickers in a twist Lil, we're coming," I threw my controller down, shutting the game off just as Scor was about to win. We would definitely not be playing that game again.

"Don't tell your sister such crude things Albus," Mum scolded as we sat down at the table.

"Well if she didn't scream like a banshee I wouldn't have to," I countered.

"Sorry about them, they seem to think it's ok to act like a pack of wild animals," Dad sighed to Scorpius who laughed.

"It's fine, I'm sure Al and I have said worse to each other," Scorpius said, much to the amusement of my family.

I had been to Malfoy Manner one time, and the whole time Scorpius not once said anything to his father or mother, only answering politely when needed. They were stiff and I felt like I had to sit up straight and not put my elbows on the table. But as I watched Scorpius engage in a Qudditch conversation with my father, I saw him relax. I always thought that maybe Scor just wanted to be somewhere he could feel comfortable in, and my family had that effect on people, one that I was grateful they had.

"Scorpius, do you think you're mother and father would like to join us tomorrow for our cookout?" Mum asked, dad and Scorpius both choked on whatever they were eating.

I slapped Scor on the back hard, which earned me a glare, "Just trying to save you mate."

"Gin," dad started, "I don't think that's necessary."

"Yes. It. Is," Mum growled out and dad looked down at his plate, muttering, "damn Weasley blood."

"Uh," Scorpius composed himself quickly, smoothing his hair back down, "I'm sure they would enjoy that. But are you sure it wouldn't be an inconvenience?"

"Of course not!" Mum smiled happily, sipping at her drink, "I'll owl them later giving them the Floo directions."

The conversation luckily turned as Lily flung a roll at James. As dinner finally ended and everyone retired to their own places, I found Scorpius and myself sitting back in the game room, tossing the Quaffle back and forth.

"You think your dad is going to come?" I asked, shuffling the red ball between my hands.

Scorpius sighed heavily, "Yes, he'll feel inclined to since I'm staying here. The real question is: Who is going to throw the first blow?"

"And yet again, you are right," I threw the Quaffle back to him, running a hand through my hair, "I guess all we can do is hope for a miracle."

"Come now Potter, you know as well as I do that no such thing is going to happen."

"True, mate. Hopefully mum will remember to cast some defense charms."

"No, I'm sure your mother is the type to just let them knock the shite out of each other."

"You're right on that one. I think we better prepare for tomorrow then."

Smirking, Scorpius dropped the Quaffle, "What are you plotting Al?"

"Me? Plotting?" I held my hands up innocently, "You wound me with that unspoken acquisition."

"Oh come off it, what are you planning?" Scorpius snapped.

"Just that tensions are going to be high tomorrow, so I figure that some harmless fun would be nice," I shrugged my shoulder, standing and starting towards the stairs.

"Potter, watch yourself. I know that smirk, and if you do anything to me, I will not stop myself from retaliating," Scorpius.

Standing in my doorway, I smirked at my best friend, "I look forward to the challenge then."

With that I closed my door, the perfect plan formulating through my had. I wasn't in Slytherin for a reason, and my family was in for some…harmless fun. Tomorrow, though dangerous as it could be, was going to be a day to remember.

A/N: Alright guys, Max (Technicolor Visions) here. I finally forced myself to sit down and write this chapter. It took me forever for some reason (my sudden case of ADD probably) Luckily some Pandora, , and insomnia allowed me to come up with this little thing you have just read. Please leave reviews, which I know being the wonderful amazing readers you are, will ;) Any comments/suggestions are always welcomed :) Hope you liked it!

Post Script (cause I'm just so cool I write it out): Check my profile for the character links, and I'll be adding some more soon here since I need to talk with my lovely co-author about the next chapter. Never fear, the next should be out by at least Monday!

Post Post Script: Thank you Z for reading! :)