Okay, so this chapter is really very long - the longest I've written yet. While it doesn't continue the beginnings of conflict from the previous chapter, it does involve a lot. It's light in some places, as well as rather heavy in others, and involves both a lot of banter and some further insight into several characters, especially Victoire. As always, I appreciate any reviews. It is my first fanfiction, so I'd like to know how I'm doing.

Disclaimer: This world and these characters belong to J.K. Rowling. The only thing I own is the plot.

"No school, no Binns killing any joy in the world, all the presents in the world. . . life is good, mates," Scorpius declared as he sprawled across the seat, putting his arm behind his head.

Al glanced at him in amusement, mirroring his posture on the seat opposite him in their compartment. "At least someone has Christmas spirit." He glanced at Alice, who was staring moodily out the window.

Her father had informed her that they were to be spending the holiday in France, meaning that Alice was going to miss the initiation of Lily, Hugo, Morgan, Roxanne, Lorcan, and Lysander into Legacy. That was, unless her first year brain managed to bypass the wards her ex-Auror father put on their villa.

"Shut up," she snapped, glaring sullenly. "You're not the one who's going to miss the only Legacy initiation you'd ever get the chance to attend."

"I'm sure Teddy can come up with something," Rose assured her, absently popping a Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean in her mouth. "Ugh – liver."

"Yes, I'm sure Teddy Lupin, Auror trainee, can compete with my dad, who just so happens to be Neville Longbottom," Alice sulked.

"Hey," Rose said easily, "Teddy has all the Dark Arts knowledge that the pensieve contained, which is a lot of war experience, even if he doesn't actually know what it's like to live in fear of dying every day. He could probably come up with something."

"Besides," Al reasoned, "I doubt he'll have wards keeping you from leaving. All the words will be focused on keeping people out."

"And when I want to go back in?" Alice challenged.

"Tell him you went for a walk," Scorpius put in helpfully. "Or you could always tell him you fell out the window."

Alice gave him a look, and he shrugged. "What? It happened to me once."

Al and Rose turned to him incredulously, but Scorpius appeared not to notice. "And even if you do miss it, I'll make sure to show you the memories later," Rose promised. "Cheer up, Alice. Here, have a bean."

Alice took the proffered bean and chewed it thoughtfully. "I got marshmallow!" she said a moment later, smiling slightly.

Rose's mouth dropped open in outrage. "What?! So far, I've gotten dirt, earthworm, rotten egg, burnt chicken, blue cheese – I hate cheese – grass, cherry tomato, ink, bubotuber pus, and liver!"

Scorpius snickered, and Rose shot him a glare. "I bet I've already eaten all the bad ones," she said thoughtfully. "That must be it." Choosing a clear blue colored one, she eyed it distrustfully. "This looks like it could be some sort of sherbet. . . maybe daiquiri ice. I had ice-cream that flavor once. It was delicious."

She glanced up at them. "Should I eat it?"

Scorpius laughed. "Where's your Gryffindor courage?"

That convinced her. Taking a deep breath, Rose donned the sort of expression appropriate for one marching into battle and tossed the bean into her mouth. After a moment, she turned slightly green and choked, coughing weakly.

"I'm guessing it wasn't daiquiri ice?" Al asked mildly.

Rose gave him a dirty look as Scorpius thumped her enthusiastically on the back. "It was soap - ouch!" She turned the glare on Scorpius, who smiled innocently.

"So sorry," he said, "did that hurt?"

"You're impossible," Rose huffed, crossing her arms. Alice looked quite a bit more cheerful now.

"And to think I thought we all matured," Alice mused, grinning. "All that 'Hogwarts changes us' stuff. You were right, Al; we're definitely acting older."

"I never said older," he said defensively. "I said different. All those nasty encounters with the Slytherins –"

"- being top of our year in class –" Rose chimed in.

"- learning how to be sneakier –"

"- antagonizing Boris Morris and that git Corney –"

" – yeah," sighed Al. "We've had a good year."

"You're going home for Christmas break, not leaving for the summer," a new voice broke in, sounding amused.

Rose grinned up at her older cousin. "James!"

James ruffled his brother's hair, ignoring the look of extreme annoyance on Al's face. "Hey, Scorpius. Alice." He punched Scorpius in the shoulder and nodded at Alice.

"Good to see you again," said a petite girl with dark red hair and a lilting accent.

"Cecy!" Scorpius grinned at her. "Who's that?" He pointed to the girl on James's other side.

"That's my twin sister, Delyth," Cecy answered, and the girl waved, her sea-green eyes sparkling. "She's a Gryffindor." The sisters would have been identical if it weren't for the fact that Delyth's hair was a very dark shade of brown. She had the same features; had the same slender body structure; even had the same pretty waves – only the color differed.

"She's also my fellow Chaser," James told them proudly. "We demolished Hufflepuff in our first game; Dom and Kat were bloody proud. Pity Kat's graduating this year; we'll need a new Seeker. Perfect timing for you, Al, really."

"They're not going to want more second years on the team," Al objected.

"Well, you can't fly your way around a hoop, but if there were an incredibly talented Seeker, I'm sure they wouldn't mind. We're going to have three openings next year; our Beater, Dennis Jordan, is graduating with the Cap'n, and so is our third Chaser, Christian Creevey. So those are spots for Scorpius and Rose. Sorry, Alice, maybe in a couple years."

Alice, a Beater, looked sorely disappointed. "It'll be you and me competing for the spot next year, mate," she told Scorpius, who grinned at her, raising his eyebrows challengingly.

"Kat had seniority over Dom, right? How come Dom was made captain last year?" Alice asked.

"Kat gave up the position to her – her dad died the summer before last year, and she was a mess. She still played Quidditch, but didn't want the captaincy, so Dom got it instead. Dennis Jordan and Dom have played on the team for the same number of years, so I guess it was a tossup between them and Christian Creevey."

"I remember Lucy and Dom didn't speak to each other for weeks last year when Gryffindor beat out Slytherin for the Cup in the final match," Rose remembered fondly. "Last year, they both started their first year of captaincy. Slytherin's going to be hard to beat this year."

"We've got a strange team this year, too," Delyth added. "Three seventh years, three second years, and a fifth year Captain."

"We're here," Alice said suddenly, turning away from the window. "We're pulling into King's Cross Station."

James grinned wickedly. "What do you think the parents will say when they see Scorpius walking out with us, chatting amiably?"

"Amiably," Al muttered, looking vindictive. "Didn't know you were capable of such diction, dear brother."

"Oi! Only I get to call you 'dear brother,'" James scolded. Then he ruffled Al's hair. "How quickly they learn! My baby brother's growing up."

Al shoved him. "Piss off, James."

James laughed and left the compartment, Delyth and Cecy following. Al shook his head. "What did I ever do to deserve him?" he asked fondly.

Scorpius frowned at him. "I'd give anything for a brother, mate. It's no fun being an only child."

"We've already adopted you. Why don't you just come live with us?" Al asked.

"Or I could give you Hugo," Rose offered, tugging off her robes and shoving them into her trunk. She frowned down at her Muggle clothes. "He's obnoxious. I don't want him."

Alice ducked as Al's elbow swung towards her face; he was standing on his chair to get at his trunk. "It's true," she told Scorpius from behind Rose's back. "I'm an only child and I'll tell you this much; spend a week or two with this lot and you'll go mental."

Scorpius frowned. "They're not that bad."

"I'm not talking about just the cousins." Alice shook her head. "Mate, you've not seen chaos until you've met the adults of that family. Combined with the cousins and family friends, it's absolutely mental!"

Al's trunk fell as he crumpled to the ground, and with reflexes borne of innumerable impromptu duels and ambushes courtesy of the Slytherins, all four whipped out their wands and chorused, "Wingardium Leviosa!"

The trunk hovered in the air before it was gently set down, and the quartet exchanged grins for a moment before they heard Dom's voice shout, "Your four, get your arses out here! What are you doing, hatching dragons?!"

Grinning at Dom's subtlety, Scorpius made for the door just as Al shoved his trunk out. The trunk shuddered and snapped open, hitting Scorpius in the back of the head. "Ah!" he yelped, rubbing his head while glaring at the trunk as if it had committed a heinous crime. "Is that thing cursed?"

Al frowned. "I don't think so. . . the only think that – DUCK!"

The all hit the ground as the trunk emitted several red sparks, following by a few spectacular bangs, and green letters burst out, spelling the words sure you're in the right house, little brother?

"James," Al growled. "I'll get him for this."

Rose sighed. "Oh, no." She looked at Scorpius. "They've just started the Weasley family prank competition. Every year at Christmas, we get points for spectacular pranks, and whoever wins get rewarded by our Uncle George. It's great fun, but it's also more dangerous than the Triwizard Tournament."

Scorpius, who had seen what their family was capable of, did not doubt this. Warily, he made a dash for the door, escaping relatively unscathed. Scowling, Al dragged his trunk after his friend, wincing every time it emitted more sparks. Rose and Alice followed at a wary distance.

When they got off the train, Dom looked at the sparking trunk with her eyebrows arched. "James?" she asked Rose.

Rose nodded. "James," she confirmed.

"I think I've got a bump on my head," Scorpius complained, falling into step between Rose and Dom. "If Al doesn't find a way to fix it, I'm going to smash that thing to bits."

"If it's any consolation, Al appears to be suffering just as much from it," Dom told him, eyeing her cousin, who was currently dodging gold sparks as they tried to set fire to him.

Scorpius eyed his best mate darkly. "Oh, he'll suffer even more if I have anything to do with it."

Overhearing this last comment, Al protested, "Don't kill the messenger!"

"He's right," Scorpius conceded, before shouting, "James Potter, I'm going to murder you in your sleep!"

"To be fair," Louis called back, grinning, "Fred and I helped. So unless you want to take your chances with the three of us. . ."

"He won't be," Al argued, glaring. None of the cousins noticed the parents behind them, watching in bewilderment – and this included the red-faced Ron Weasley, shocked Harry Potter, and horrified Draco Malfoy, who was sure when Scorpius realized how irritating Al Potter and Rose Weasley were would have ditched them immediately for better friends.

"Rose?" Fred asked, looking to his cousin. "You're on our side, right?"

"Sorry," Rose replied with a grin, ignoring the betrayed look on Fred's face. "These are my best mates you're threatening. You know how it goes." She threw one arm around Scorpius's shoulders and the other around Al's.

"WHAT," shouted Ron Weasley, before their easy banter could progress into a full-blown argument, "THE BLOODY HELL IS GOING ON HERE! THAT IS A MALFOY! A SLYTHERIN!"

At this, Lucy gave him a withering look, and Ron added hastily, "No offense, Luce, darling."

"I'm not in Slytherin," Scorpius informed Mr. Weasley, quite unfazed by his temper. Most children would be quaking in their shoes at the sight of the renowned war hero looking as if he might kill them. But Scorpius was a Gryffindor, and Gryffindors did not quake.

Also, the four had been in trouble with McGonagall so many times that adults had ceased to frighten them.

"I'm a Gryffindor," Scorpius continued. "Really. So please don't insult me ever again by saying –"

Lucy's wand was on him in an instant, and Draco Malfoy was looking incensed. "Finish that sentence, son, and I'll disown you."

Scorpius grinned. "Oh, hello, Dad!"

"Dad, he's my best mate," Al told his father, and Harry Potter's eyebrows rose ever so slightly.

Ron, however, was grinning broadly. "He's a Gryffindor," he murmured gleefully, looking at his wife and his best mate. "Ha! Malfoy's only son, a Gryffindor."

"Where is the justice?" Draco muttered under his breath. "Look, Weasel, I'm sure –"

In an instant, all of Legacy had their wands pointed at him. "Don't you dare," Lucy warned him. "Look, I'm as Slytherin as they come, so you can go ahead and insult those Gryffindor pansies as much as you want. All of it's true, anyway. But you do not get insult my family, or I swear I'll transfigure you into a small woodland animal – a ferret, perhaps."

There was a loud choking noise, as if someone was hiding a snicker, and they saw with some surprise that it was Hermione. Draco narrowed his eyes at them. The adults found this statement to be particularly hilarious, although they knew the children probably didn't have any idea why.

"What are you, a fifth year? I'm terrified," Draco retorted flatly, giving Lucy a chilling look. Lucy didn't flinch. That look was taught to all Slytherins in their first year.

It was at this moment that Teddy Lupin chose to walk in. "Oh, look!" He said in delight. "Uncle Draco! Aunt Astoria! Hello, Scorpius. Hi, Harry. Ginny. James, Al. Lily, darling! Vic. Everyone."

Taking advantage of the distraction, Lily Potter flung herself at her eldest brother. "James!" James's expression softened, and he ruffled her hair, returning the hug tightly. Lily beamed and jumped into Al's arms, throwing her arms around his neck. "Al!"

"Hey, Lils," Al said gently, looking at her fondly.

Hugo eyed his sister. "So," he said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Rose arched an eyebrow. "So," she echoed. They stared at each other for a moment, before Rose's mouth tugged up into half a grin. "Has Mum scolded Dad for doing something stupid yet today?"

Hugo's face broke into a grin. "Only about twenty times."

Rose nodded. "Good. Haven't met the quota yet."

Hugo's grin grew. "Are you planning anything that might get you in trouble?"

Rose stepped closer to him, nodding proudly. "You know it."

Hugo took a step back. "Rose! Not in public. I can't have anyone I know seeing me closer to you than I have to be."

Rose's eyebrows arched. "Oh, please. I'd be doing you a favor. Who would believe that I would bother with you?"

Hugo didn't deign to answer. Instead, he turned away imperiously, and Rose grinned slightly to herself. Scorpius was watching her from her side. "You really are lucky, you know," he told her.

Rose frowned at him. "No idea what you're talking about."

He rolled his eyes. "Fine. Deny it all you want. You know you love your brother."

Rose looked scandalized. "What brother? Do you mean that thing? We are not related! I deny it on all counts! What an accusation! That's insulting! We got him from a Muggle zoo. He's a monkey in disguise. Can't you tell?"

As he gave her an amused look and they started chatting animatedly about the time they were charming monkeys to sing in Charms and Rose and Scorpius had "accidentally" turned Boris Morris into a monkey with a couple stray spells (But Professor, I don't even know how to do that! Believe me, I wish I did. . .), neither of them noticed Hermione Weasley and Astoria Malfoy exchange knowing smiles, and neither of them noticed George and Bill Weasley exchange money from the other side of the crowd.

"Dad!" Rose suddenly shouted loudly, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Could we have Scorpius over for Christmas dinner?"

As Ron Weasley and Draco Malfoy began spluttering and Rose Weasley, Scorpius Malfoy, and Al Potter started snickering maniacally, none of them noticed Harry Potter observing the obvious closeness between the first years and hand over some money to Bill and George with a resigned sigh.

"Teddy!" Rose yelled, flinging herself forward and jumping into his arms. He caught her with a grin, spinning her around once before setting her down and turning to Al and Scorpius to ruffle their hair.

"Can we hurry up?" Roxanne demanded impatiently, bouncing up and down. Lily was watching from beside James, her eyes narrowed.

"We've got to wait for Vic and Molly to come back with Morgan, Lorcan, and Xander." As if on cue, Victoire Apparated with Lorcan in one hand and Lysander in the other.

"– Merlin, Xander, you're looking green!" Morgan Wood exclaimed, having just Apparated in with Molly. Lysander was making a horrible face while his twin watched with half amusement at his predicament and half smugness at managing to keep his nausea at bay.

"Oh, no," Rose hissed under her breath to Alice, who had snuck away from her villa in France with Teddy's help. "Morris and Carney are going to have a field day with the twins, aren't they? 'Xander Scamander.' Bloody hell, can you imagine?"

"Boris hardly has any room to judge," Scorpius snorted, leaning against the wall. "Besides, younger or not, they're Legacy. They'll be fine."

"What's Legacy?" Hugo demanded suspiciously. His eyes turned large. "Oh, Merlin, is this in case we die? You're going to make us do something dangerous, aren't you?"

"What – well, you caught us. You might get eaten by a dragon, but only if you're too slow!" Rose laughed. "After all, I'm sure you won't lose all your memory in that curse room." At Hugo's horrified look and Molly's arched eyebrows (she was hiding a smile, Rose knew it!), Rose grudgingly added, "No. Believe me, you won't have to worry about leaving behind a legacy tonight."

Hugo gave her a betrayed look before grinning broadly. "Good. So I can tell Mum you swore, right?"

Immediately, the older kids all began to protest, while Rose, Alice, Scorpius, and Al took great satisfaction at being the ones in the know for once. "You never," Teddy told the initiates sternly, "ever side with the adults against one of us."

"Or we'll have to disinherit you," Fred added solemnly.

"Possibly kill you," James agreed.

Lily folded her arms and glared at her older brother. As much as she still adored her brothers, she had learned by the age of seven not to trust them completely when they said things like that.

"All right then," Teddy said cheerfully. "Follow me!" The large group of cousins that had insisted on assembling for their last initiation marched through Potter Manor. When they arrived at the forbidden door, Teddy paused dramatically, surveying his family with a sense of nostalgia. This was where everything had started. He envied the younger kids, because they still had their entire Hogwarts lives ahead of them, and Hogwarts was a place where magic of all kinds had been occurring for generations. Those years were probably the best years of any witch or wizard's life – even for their parents, who had been living through a war at that time. Probably especially their parents, including his father – the sort of friendship between the Marauders wasn't common. Their family was incredibly lucky, to have that closeness occur several times – within the Golden Trio, within legacy and even the smaller groups inside of Legacy: the so-called Silver Quartet and Golden Quartet, etc.

The others seemed to be having similar thoughts of their own, because none of them urged him to open the door. At least not until Hugo piped up, "Are you waiting for a sign from above? Open it!"

Exhaling slowly, Teddy pushed open the door.

"Merlin," Lily whispered in horror, staring at the ground.

Lorcan didn't believe it. "Is this some sort of joke?" he snapped at the older kids. But he knew it wasn't – there would be hidden smiles, or at least some sort of lightness about them – not this heavy solemnity palpable in the air; the heavy, seen-too-much looks in their eyes; the fierce, united-we-stand manner evident in their stances.

"Our Mum," Xander said incredulously. "I can't believe she fought like that – she broke into the Ministry. She always seemed so . . . innocent."

"Our parents," Hugo muttered, looking up at his sister desperately. "How are we supposed to compete with that?"

Rose smiled uncharacteristically tenderly down at him. "Trust me," she told him. "Now you know what 'Legacy' means."

Lily glanced at James and Al. "That's why people seem to worship Dad?"

James looked at her with a mix of pride, sadness, and affection. "You noticed?"

Lily gave him a look, and while it still held the knowing quality it had taken on since she turned seven the previous year, it also had a look of quiet understanding that was heartbreaking. "Of course I noticed. And our Mum, her second year – Merlin, her sixth year."

Al knew what she meant. While their father had gone off with Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione to hunt horcruxes, their mother, along with Neville and Luna, had been fighting a war of their own at Hogwarts, and they had all come away with scars, both physical and not. His mother had led a resistance of her own, as had his father.

Morgan suddenly spoke up, breaking into all of their thoughts. "Why am I here?" she asked, looking around. Her gaze bored into her sister's. "Why are we here? Mum and Dad were only part of the beginning memories, and those were all about Quidditch. Neither of them were in the Order."

Rowan sighed. "I suppose we have less of a name to live up to, even if both our parents are international Quidditch players. We'll never fully understand how they feel." She nodded at the others in the room. "You and I are here because I accidentally ran across these guys during James, Fred, and Louis's initiation. But Morgan, just because our parents aren't in there doesn't mean they didn't fight."

"You're one of us," Louis assured her unexpectedly, smiling at her. "Never doubt that."

Morgan looked doubtful for a moment. She'd never give them a reason to doubt it either. Whatever she needed to do, she'd put everything into it. Speaking of which, what were they here to do? From the promising looks on the older kids' faces, there was more. Legacy. . . that name was perfect for their situation. There was too much ambition, too much intelligence in this room to be satisfied with the truth and the knowledge that there was too much to live up to.

There had to be more. "That isn't –"

"All," Lorcan agreed, apparently having the same thoughts as Morgan. "What are you planning –"

"– to do about it?" Lily finished, agreeing with her friends.

Lucy's expression was suitably blank, but her eyes held a sort of shining pride. "You certainly figured that out faster than they did." She nodded at the four first year Gryffindors, who narrowed their eyes challengingly.

"I know what you're thinking," Alice growled, "and excuse me if –"

"We are NOT doing this," Vic interrupted, giving them all hard stares. Most people assumed that Gryffindors and Slytherins clashed because Gryffindors were brave and reckless; chivalrous and noble while Slytherins were deliberate and calculating, looking out for themselves. It was a Ravenclaw theory, however, that the two houses clashed because of Gryffindor's determination and Slytherin's ambition, one Vic supported.

It was the same characteristic displayed in different ways. Gryffindors didn't let fear get in their way, and fear of some sort was the only thing that ever stopped a person from doing whatever they wanted. Therefore, Gryffindors always got what they wanted. Slytherins, on the other, were equally as ambitious – they were hungry for power, but got it by plotting and deceiving and making sure that they didn't get hurt in the process of taking it. These were two completely different approaches with the same end, and therefore the Houses clashed horribly.

That, and their pride. Slytherins were elitist and proud, even if the elitism wasn't strictly blood-related any longer, but Gryffindors were just as arrogant. Neither house would back down – even if Slytherins pretended to so as to prevent themselves from getting hurt in a direct confrontation, they always plotted revenge from the shadows. Of course, the Gryffindors were well aware of this fact, and in turn never let their guard down. They were daring, they were brave, they were noble, and they would take whatever was coming, crush it in their fists, and send it flying back at the enemy.

Vic knew her Aunt Hermione supported this theory, but Aunt Hermione was biased, being a Gryffindor herself and possessing the aforementioned pride, so she put it a little differently. (There was a certain Christmas dinner conversation Vic recalled that proved her point perfectly.) In Vic's opinion, Ravenclaws were the best. They were intelligent about these things. Knowledge was important, not because knowledge was power, as the Slytherins believed, or because knowledge let you know what you were facing so you could deal with it, as the Gryffindors believed, but simply because if fed the brain, heightened one's intelligence, and was always useful. Daring and ambition could get you killed, but you were always better off knowledgeable as opposed to innocent and blissful.

"That's for another night," Teddy broke into her thoughts. "You'll find out soon, I promise. But for now, just try to take it all in."

The younger kids looked slightly disappointed, but they nodded anyway. Dom gave them a grin. "Believe me," she told them, "this is where the fun begins."

None of them had any trouble believing her.