Hermione pulled Rose from the book store and knelt down in the busy street.

"Sweetheart?" Hermione whispered. "You don't have to go."

"Go where?" she asked worriedly.

"I know what's bothering you dear, you cry in your sleep. You don't have to go back to school if you think it would be too much on you."

"No." said Rose a little too aggressively. She knew that Hermione wasn't as much asking her, then pleading with her. "I'll be fine mom," she said more calmly. "I'll be fine."

A thunder clap sounded just as Rose could have sworn her name was called. She squinted through the dark, rainy day to see a silhouette running at her through the fog. She recognized the slightly awkward run and pulled from her mother's arms to meet her cousin Al.

He was grinning broadly and Rose ruffled his already messy black hair. He had green eyes and looked like a miniature, non-glasses wearing, version of his father, Harry Potter.

"Where's Harry and Ginny?" asked Hermione meeting up with them.

"They're heading this way." Al smiled. "We've just finished at the Apothecary and now we're coming for our books."

"Look what I've found!" he said excitedly, mainly to Rose. Al turned around his eyebrows furrowed. "Where'd he go…? Oi!"

Another silhouette began making its way toward them, difficult to see through the witches and wizards bustling through the crowd. But as the figure grew closer, there was no mistaking that indigo hair and confident stride.

"Max!" she shouted before jumping at him. When she hugged him however, she found that her head didn't meet his head anymore. She pulled away to find that her ear only met his chest. In surprise, she backed up to find that Max was nearly a head taller and was visibly broader. But his features remained the same, he still had a strong jaw and defined characteristics.

He was grinning at her and grabbed the bottom of her hair. "Its gotten longer." He said, and she was startled to find that even his voice was deeper.

Rose turned back to her mom who was watching them and quickly and unconvincingly smiled at him. Rose found herself becoming uncomfortable and Max faltered when reaching for Hermione's hand.

"Nice to see you again Mrs. Granger-Weasley." He stammered, his confidence slowly decreasing.

"Just Weasley, Maddox." She said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

This was hard to watch. Last year, her folks had really liked Max, he had even spent the Holiday with them and received a Weasley jumper. But ever since everyone found out what had happened during the last week of term, they had all pinned the whole situation on Max. Though Rose could understand why everyone blamed him, she didn't. He smiled awkwardly and turned back to Al who also seemed uncomfortable.

"Max!" Hugo shouted, running up to him and giving him a fist bump.

Max smiled at this warmer welcome and ruffled Hugo's hair.

"Its gotten longer now, kid." Said Max.

"Who are you calling kid?" Hugo asked puffing himself up. "I am now entering Hogwarts, where dwell the tall in stature and strong in mind!"

"Who fed you that nonsense?" Max laughed.

"I did."

Max's purple eyes widened and he turned to see Ron standing behind with Harry.

"Mr. Weasley." He breathed, trying to regain himself. "Fancy seeing you here."

"Why wouldn't I be here, with my family?" said Ron calmly, but there was something in his voice that sounded contradictory and threatening.

"No, I mean-" Max stammered. "I was just-"

"Can we head on to Madam Malkin's for our robe fittings?" asked Rose quickly.

"Whose we?" asked Hermione suspiciously.

"Me, Al, and… and Max?" she responded hopefully.

Hermione took a deep breath. "I really don't think that's a very good idea. You guys could get lost and it looks like it's about to rain."

"That's alright Aunt Hermione!" said a confidant voice from behind them. Rose turned to see her cousin James, Al's older brother who was starting his third year at Hogwarts, striding up to throw an arm around Max and Al's necks. "I'll go with them. We'll be back before you're done shopping." And he stirred them away into the mist and the lightly falling rain.

"Are you guys daft?" asked James, removing his arm from around their neck and striding in front of them. "You can't go asking for freedom after what you did, especially to be asking to go with him." He jabbed a thumb at Max. "No offence man."

Max bowed his head. They were having difficulty seeing through the mist and the bustling crowd jostling them to and from. Rose tripped over a person and stood back up apologizing before she realizing that she had tripped over a manikin.

"I think you should apologize again, Rose." Laughed James. "I don't think it heard you properly, I hear manikins hold grudges."

They were in front of Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions.

"Look," said James, turning them toward him. "If our folks ask, we got separated because of the fog, alright?"

The friends nodded. "I'm going to see Tyler, he's at Flourean Fortesue's Ice Cream Parlor. Don't go getting into trouble because everyone will end up blaming it on this guy." He slapped Max on the back before disappearing into the mist.

Rose glanced around the street to see if any of her family had seen James leave. Then she decided that it would be difficult to see anything through this rain that was falling heavier now. Wand tips were sprouting up to form a small shield over the witches and wizard's heads as they hurried down the cobbled stone path and pass old shops with orange lit windows.

The three of them entered the robe shop. It was small and warm, slightly dusty but homed a strong sent of cologne. Two kids were standing on pedestals, an elderly witch bustling back and forth with pins in her mouth, hemming up their robes. Three chairs lined the wall beside the door and two parents were already sitting in them. Rose shook some of the water off of herself before starting about the room and trying to remember how they had ordered her robes last year.

"Rose, you go first." Said Max, leaning against the wall so to leave the third seat open to a very pregnant witch who had just entered with a first year boy.

"Rosebud?" came a very familiar, very pleasant voice. There were only two people she knew that called her that, Max and… "Scorpius!" she exclaimed when the taller of the two kids on pedestals turned around. Scorpius had white blonde hair that hung loosely in his face, grayish blue eyes and had always been tall. But over the summer he seemed to have grown the same distance in height as Max had. Scorpius, had a strong jaw, nose and chin that seemed to have defined themselves. Max had grown broader, but Scorpius was still mostly lanky.

"You mean Gorpius." Al corrected, beaming and starting toward his best friend.

Rose ran over and hugged him around the middle, her ear only meeting his stomach. Scorpius, however, remained as stiff as a bored with his arms out at his sides. "Hey!" he said excitedly. "I would hug back but she swats my hand if I move." He gestured to the elderly witch hemming up the first boy's robes. "Al!" Scorpius dared to lean over and fist bump Al and Max.

"How long have you been here?" Rose asked as the elderly witch ushered her onto a third pedestal and threw an overly large black robe over her shoulders.

"Like a half hour." Scorpius groaned. "There was a huge line, you just missed the rush.

The witch measured Rose up and down and began pinning the robes. Rose looked at Scorpius again, she just hoped that he only seemed as tall as he did because he was on a pedestal, because she hadn't grown at all. It had only been three months. The process was long, but Scorpius and the first boy had finished and Al and Max were taking their spots.

"Where are your parents?" asked Al as the witch was measuring between his legs making him uncomfortable.

"They're in Knockturn Alley." He replied casually.

The others looked at him for a moment. Scorpius caught their wary eye and smiled. "It's not what you think." He smiled. "They're buying poison candles to kill the gnats it our basement. They didn't want me to come along, so they sent me here."

Knockturn Alley was a very dodgy strip that housed only cruel, disgusting, or dangerous items for cruel, disgusting, and dangerous people. Nothing good ever happened in Knockturn Alley.

"They're heading to Flourish and Blott's book story after that." Said Scorpius. "I reckon they're already there."

"So are our folks." Said Al. "I wonder if they're going to run into each other."

Max was finished before Rose surprisingly, and finally after she was allowed off the pedestal with an armful of new robes, she looked up slowly to assess the damage. Scorpius and Max were standing directly on either side of her, both discussing Al's robe size and teasing him for being short. Both her friends seemed like giant compared to last year.

"I feel short." She mumbled.

Scorpius stopped talking and looked down at her. "That's because you are." He smiled. "Don't give me that look, short is just fine. You don't have to always stand in the back for photos."

They left the shop and were startled to find that rain was pouring as though the Heavens were crying. The three of them didn't have their wands to use as umbrellas. Rose pulled her soot robe from inside her bag and slipped the hood over her head. The others didn't have any protection from the whipping wind at all. All along the streets were shop owners pulling their merchandize from store front and into the safety of their doors. The kids were whipped around by the wind and a steady flow of water were drenching their ankles. The street was almost empty now because of the people who had entered shops to wait out the storm. Rose suggested very loudly over the wind, that she thinks it would be best to find their parents, but she couldn't remember where Flourish and Blott's was in proximity to Madam Malkin's; she had only been to this alley a couple times before, but she knew it wasn't far.

They decided to head to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, knowing that was were James was and that it was most likely the closest shop to them. A very large group of people were looming nearer from the pouring rain as they headed to the Ice Cream Parlor and Rose grabbed Al by the arm and pulled him away. These people were very dodgy looking, some with misshaped faces and long, dragon like fingernails, others looking oily and dressed in scraps of rag all smelling like sick. They passed and Rose took a deep breath as the smell passed. Something didn't feel right, "Where's Gorpius?" she asked looking around.

"Hey!" she heard a distant shout. "Got off, you lot smell of dead rats!" Rose hurried away from her friends to see with horror, a tall, lanky silhouette of a boy fighting desperately to get through the crowd that was pushing him forward and into a narrow alley way which bore a sign above the entrance with words that you could not mistake said anything else then 'Knockturn Alley.'

Max pushed forward and was the first to make his way after their friend. Rose and Al followed quickly and all three of them pushed and shoved, all holding their breath, through the group of people. Rose supposed that it was okay being short, she was easily able to slip under the arms of the warlocks and witches who all seemed to hiss as they were jostled about.

"Scorpius!" called Al as they neared him.

The crowd began to thin as a few of its occupants entered some of the nasty shops. But the majority of them, all pushed the four friends into a dark shop as they entered. Finally, they were free and peered around where they were. Many old and dusty tables and shelves littered the room, nasty looking items were displayed in glass cases and candle light illuminated the cobweb covered walls and the store smelled of death and rancid meat. Rose looked through the dirty windows to read the sign above the shop, 'Borgin and Burkes.' Her eyes scanned the room and fell upon an old vanishing cabinet, jewelry, and what looked to be spare body parts floating in mason jars.

"Guys?" she whispered. "Guys, I think we should get out of here?"

She turned to find that her friends were not behind her. All three boys were staring around the room in awe. Max split to poke at a shriveled hand on a pedestal and Scorpius and Al had just begun a sword fight using what looked to be two long, spirally horns.

"Are you nuts?" she scorned, jerking the horns from their hands. "These are 72 Galleons each! No!" she hissed before slapping Max's hand away from the mouth of a gorilla head. "Come on!" she took Her cousin and Max by the sleeve and began ushering them from the shop.

"But Rose," pleaded Scorpius. "This is the most interesting shop I've ever seen!"

"Yeah, and 75% of the items in here will kill you if you touch it."

She pulled them from the store and back into the furious storm. "Come on." They began up the street again, this time, much more difficultly due to the uphill slope and the rushing water.

"Ow! Merlin's bloody beard!" Scorpius staggered backward, holding a bloody nose in his hands from where a shop door had hit it.

The couple who had just flung open the door to a shop called 'Poisonous Candles,' turned around quickly.

"I'm so sorry, young man! Are you alright?" said the woman, squinting through the rain. And with a stroke of horror, Rose recognized this couple as Draco and Astoria Malfoy, Scorpius' parents.

"He's fine, thanks." Said Max, gripping Scor under the arms and dragging him away. Rose wondered whether or not Max had known who they were.

Al did. Rose saw him dare to peak behind him to see the Malfoys now walking in the same direction as them and gaining quickly. Al opened a random shop door and pushed everyone through. Scorpius was holding his possibly broken nose as the other three gagged from the horrible, rotting smell which lingered in this shop.

This alley sucks. Rose thought.

"Merlin's beard, Scor!" exclaimed Al quietly. "Look at yourself."

"I can't." said Scorpius irritably and with his eyes closed. "I'll vomit if I see blood, you know that."

"Let's just get you a tissue." Said Max, grabbing Scor by the arm and leading him forward.

"Can I get a volunteer?" said a detached voice from inside the crowd of people gathered in the middle of the store. Rose looked around as Max and Al searched for some sort of tissue or rag. Hundreds of heads, all with their mouths sewn tight, sat on the shelves, peering down at them. It was a horrible sight and she started to feel sick.

"Dang, I should do this professionally!" came a voice from inside the crowd that sounded oddly familiar.

Rose pushed through to find a large cauldron, bubbling and smoking. In front of the cauldron… was James and Tyler. Tyler, a tall, broad boy with blonde hair and a wicked grin, was holding a shrunken head above the pot and James was reading to sew its mouth shut with the large stakes and robe.

"James?" asked Rose in disbelief.

James jumped at his name being called and turned to see her making her way toward him.

"Yes?" asked a toothy man leering down at her.

"Not you, that James!" she said pushed him away angrily. "The James who's only thirteen and would be switched if his parents found out he was in here."

"I was just-!" James said as Rose grabbed him by the sleeve and tried pulling him out. "Hold your horses, won't you at least let me finish this?"

Rose scowled, "Perhaps I should get Ginny and ask her if I should let you finish."

"No!" James shouted. "I'm coming. Tyler?" Tyler slipped the unfinished shrunken head into his side bag and followed them into the foyer. "Wait a moment!" said James angrily pulling his sleeve from her grasp. "What are you doing in here? In Knockturn Alley even? You're in enough trouble as it is. If I tell, that would be strike three for you."

"We were pushed down her by a crowd of people." She said reproachfully.

"Your parents won't believe that." Said Tyler suddenly grinning.

"Why not?" she asked suspiciously.

"Because you're with him." James finished, pointing at Max who had just slipped a handkerchief from on old wizard's pocket to give to Scorpius.

Rose glared at James. "Look," he said calmly. "I won't tell, if you don't tell, alright?" Rose thought for a moment. She didn't think that this was very fair. James and Tyler had been here on purpose and had been shrinking heads, she and the others had been here by accident. But she knew that he was right, she shook his outstretched hand.

"But you're lucky Tyler Garner." She glared. "Your Aunt would kill you if she knew."

"Don't get all feisty with him." James said rolling his eyes and pushing her from the shop. "Let's get back for Hugo's wand waving ceremony."

"Oi!" came a loud voice bursting from the shop. "You get your hands- Oh…" Al had just blinked confusedly. "James? Augh, we thought someone was kidnapping you, Rosie."

"For future reference," she said, swatting James and Tyler's hands off of her. "If you're gonna try'n play hero, have Max do it. Al, you're not threatening and Scorpius looks as though he just lost a fight."

The rain had slowed down in ferocity and the street that they emerged onto was once again getting crowded. They all smelled bad, from either being crammed into a crowd of nasty people, or having just been hovering over a cauldron of shrunken heads. The six of them made their way to Ollivander's wand shop and squeezed in. The room was small and dusty. Though crowded, it was somehow silent enough to hear a pin drop. The floor boards creaked as they moved along, looking for Hugo. A small line of eleven-year-olds were being magically measured by a thin piece of tape that was whirling about. Rose's eyes landed on an extremely old wizard, he had a cane in one hand, and was snatching wand after wand from another little boy's hands who was trying to find his wand. On the desk where the two were standing around, was a mountain of wands, Rose guessed probably forty. Then her eyes landed on the boy who was waving them.

"Louis!" she said delightedly, and her voice echoed across the room.

Her cousin Louis, looked up at her with his big blue eyes and brushed his blonde hair from them. She had almost forgotten that Louis was starting at Hogwarts this year too.

"Hey, Rosie!" he smiled. "Has Hugo had his wand waving ceremony yet? I didn't want to miss it."

"I don't think so." She replied. "Where's Bill and Fleur? Why are they missing yours?"

"Mom and dad ran out to give Dominique her money, she forgot it. The line was long when they left, I think they thought that they could make it back in time."

Six wands had been handed, then taken from him during this statement. The door burst open and Al jerked Scorpius away so to keep him from getting slammed again. Bill and Fleur, Rose's Aunt and Uncle, had just hurried in looking out of breath. Ron and Hermione, Harry and Ginny, Hugo and Lily had just run in behind them making the shop more cramped and claustrophobic.

"Louis!" said Fleur, hurrying over to him. "Have you found it yet?"

"No…" said Louis lazily, now leaning on the desk with one hand open as wands were placed, then taken from him by a confused and muttering shop owner.

"What's that smell?" asked Ron, looking around the room with his nose upturned. His gaze led him to where Rose, James, and Tyler were standing.

"It's Tyler." Rose replied casually.

Suddenly, a blast of purple light and a whoosh swept across the room and through every customer there. Louis was holding a long, slender wand. Around the handle and slowly up the wand was what looked like feathers carved into the wood. A couple people who had been frightened by the sensation staggered back and Mr. Ollivander, the shop owner, began to clap slowly.

After paying for his wand, Louis stepped out of the store, being known to get claustrophobic, but he kept his nose to the window to watch Hugo's wand waving. Bill and Fleur stepped out, along with the two kids behind Louis who found their wands on the first and third try. Hugo was next, after being measured, he hopped up to the desk buoyantly. Mr. Ollivander looked from Hugo to his parents. Ron, Hermione, and Harry walked up and shook his old hands.

"Nice to see you, old friend." Said Harry.

"And I you, and I you!" said Ollivander enthusiastically. "Sending another off to Hogwarts just after the first are we?" he asked, glancing to Rose and Hugo.

"Yes, yes they're growing up quite fast." Said Ron.

Hugo looked as though he wanted the small talk to be over so he can hurry up and find his wand. But the small talk wasn't over. Hugo reached into Louis' pile of wands and began swooshing them around. Rose found it very unlikely for a wand in that pile to choose him over the thousands on shelves above. She was about to head over and tell him off for it, to tell him to wait for Ollivander, but just then, he gasped and dropped the wand to the floor.

"It shocked me!" he said in surprise, holding his hand.

"You found it!" said Ollivander delightedly. "Go on, pick it up, pick it up!"

Hugo looked at the piece of wood on the floor and warily leant down to retrieve it.

"Whoa," he said breathlessly. "That feels weird."

"Yes, yes, wands are known to send signals to the person it chooses. The larger signal, the better. You said it shocked you?" Ollivander said looking excited. "Give it here, give it here!"

Ollivander took the wand in his hand and fiddled with it.

"11 ½ inches, elder wood, dragon heart string. I'll have you know young man, that this wand had once belonged to Malik Porprigger. For only one month. It was returned because the spells that it preformed were too furious for Porprigger; a strong wand needs a strong master. And I'll also have you know that wands very rarely choose a second master, this one," he laughed. "this one was on a pedestal young man, it wasn't for sale, until, well until now I suppose."

Hugo took it back and swooshed it before Ollivander had given him the okay. Mr. Ollivander put his arm out and backed everyone to the walls because Hugo's new wand let out a blast of fire that illuminated his startled face. The fire spun in a circle above his head and across the shop, then froze in a ring above his head before turning to water and falling around him. Hugo looked terrified and placed the wand quickly on the countertop and backed away.

Ron and Hermione looked slightly frightened and James stared awestruck. Rose was perplexed, all her wand had done was emit colorful sparks. Was Hugo going to be a better wizard than she was a witch? She was ashamed to be feeling slightly jealous. He was already a very handsome boy, he was not about to be attractive, smart, and a talented Quidditch player was he…? Max began to clap and it was a little while until the others in the shop slowly joined in.

They left the shop, Hugo holding his wand like a child.

"So what do you think?" Ron asked.

"Well…" said Hugo looking at the spiked handle and deadly look of it. "Do you know if Porprigger was a dark wizard?"

"Max!" Rose whispered, pulling the thick History of Magic book that he had been holding over his head to block out the rain, down and pushing it against his chest. "Don't mutilate a book! She already doesn't like you!"

Hermione was looking at him disapproving from the corner of her eye. Max turned slightly red and placed the book under his robe instead.

"Where's you dad?" Rose asked looking around as if Mr. Clent just happened to be beside her.

"He dropped me off." He replied.

"Why? You're only twelve."

"I convinced him, besides, we've grown apart over the summer."

"How come-" she started.

"We had a row about my mother and why he allowed her to get on with what she did. He didn't take too kindly to the things I accused him of." Max said this while grabbing an umbrella from a bucket outside the Magical Menagerie and tossing one Galleon into the bottom which clanged loudly.

"That's stealing." Said Rose watching an old, wheezing man reach into the bucket to retrieve the Galleon and skip away.

"No it's not." Said Max casually. "I paid."

"And that man just took your payment." She said gesturing to wizard who was crouching in a corner, examining the gold closely.

Max looked over his shoulder unconcernedly. "It's not my fault they were robbed." He shrugged before handing the umbrella to Lily who had been wandering outside of the safety of her mother's wand umbrella to get a closer look through the store windows. She took the gift from Max and opened it happily, grinning.

"Thank you." She smiled.

Max gave her an exaggerated bow and continued to catch up with Scorpius and Al.

"It's not broken Scor, don't be a drama queen." Said Al amusedly.

"Are you sure?" Scorpius was saying while poking the bridge of his nose gently. "It feels broken."

"It's just a bruise, Gorpius, really." Max assured him.

"My 'S's' do not look like 'G's' really, I don't know where you guys get that."

Max glanced at Rose's watch as he had done all last semester. "I'm meeting my dad in five minutes." He said. "I should go."

"Oh, but…" Rose stopped. "Can't you join us for dinner?"

Max glanced at Rose's parents. "I think not…" he said. "See you on the train then." And he turned to leave.

"Bye, Max!" Lily called, waving at him.

Max turned and gave her a casual salute before disappearing into the lightly falling rain.

"He's not a bad kid." Said Rose as Ron grabbed her hand to pull her along.

"We never said he was." He said. "But we did see him steal that umbrella."