Mostly a filler. Sorry. Thanks for all the reviews.

Chapter 5

Albus noticed the change instantly. They'd actually speak to each other, and not in the overly polite, forced way, but genuinely. They were calling each other by their first names.

And smiling at each other.

Three times during that week, Al asked what had happened between them. The only reply he got was that they'd started over. He didn't understand. But he didn't care, either.

By the time the Hogwarts Express pulled into King's Cross station, for the beginning of the Christmas holidays, Rose and Scorpius were almost friends. Both had been surprised when they'd started really listening to each other; Scorpius had discovered that Rose wasn't the Ice Queen he'd though she was, or stuck up or showing off. Instead, he saw that she was cable of being nice, and that she really loved learning.

Rose had realised that Scorpius wasn't ignorant, just a little shy. And he wasn't cruel, as she'd assumed he'd be, he just kept an emotional distance

So when Rose saw Al and Scorpius step onto the platform, she smiled at him and waved goodbye.

----

"Rosie, Hugo, over here!" Ron Weasley called excitedly, the moment he saw his children, waving his arms widely and causing several people to turn and look at him, some smirking.

"Ron - Ron they see you." Hermione said, grabbing his arms and trying to lower them. "Ron." With an apologetic smile at his wife, Ron lowered his arms.

"Anybody'd think you hadn't seen them for a year." Ginny said, her eyebrows raised. Ron didn't reply, until his sister spotted James, and called him over, her face lit up, her eyes shining.

"Anybody'd think you hadn't seen them for a year." He smirked. Ginny glanced over at him.

"At least I'm not waving my arms around like a gorilla." She said sweetly, then hugged her son tightly.

Ron turned back to his own kids, catching his daughter in a hug as she reached them. "Hi Rosie." Rose winced at the nickname. She'd convinced everyone else to stop calling her Rosie when she was about nine, but her dad refused to stop. She wouldn't ever admit it, but she kind of liked it, liked the dependability of it.

"Dad - ribs - crushing -" Rose managed, and rubbed her side when he released her and grabbed her brother. "Hi, mum."

Ten minutes later, the nine of them exited the station, the kids all talking loudly and quickly.

" - And everyone says I'm the best captain the team's had in a long time, as well as the best seeker -" James was telling his mother excitedly.

"And I scored seven times in the match against Slytherin -" Lily cut in.

" - I finally managed the shield charm." Al told Harry. "Even Rose couldn't break it -"

"- I got my potions mark up, mum -" Hugo's voice added to the noise.

"I got all "Outstanding" in the practice O.W.L papers Neville gave me, and he said I shouldn't have much trouble with them, the real exams -" Rose explained to Ron, who was grinning proudly.

Several feet behind them, Scorpius and his parents walked in silence.

----

It snowed over Christmas. For some reason, Rose kept thinking of Scorpius, unsure whether or not she ought to write. They weren't really friends, after all...but beside Al, who else would write to him?

Yes, she felt sorry for him. Al really was his only friend in the world.

In the end, however, when Al mentioned that he'd was going to go write a quick letter to Scorpius, she said casually, "Tell him I said hi and merry Christmas."

Al stopped for a second, surprised, and exchanged glances with James, before shrugging and saying he would.

A few days later, Al told her that Scorpius had said "Hi and Merry Christmas" back.

It shouldn't have made her smile, but it did.

----

She shouldn't have smiled so much, either, when she saw him on platform nine and three quarters at the end of the holidays, but she did. And when she saw Albus and Scorpius going into a compartment, she couldn't have explained why she made an excuse to Allison and her other friends, and followed them into it.

"Hi..." She said, almost awkwardly, in the doorway to their compartment.

"Hi." Scorpius said, looking up and smiling slightly. "Good Christmas?"

"Yeah...it was great." Rose nodded.

"Hey, Rose." Albus said, when the last whistle sounded and she continued to hover. "Do you want to sit with us?"

"Sure." Rose replied, and sat down opposite them. Al looked at her, thoughtfully, and she wondered if she was behaving weird. "So, Scorpius, how was your Christmas?"

"Ah...well..." He hesitated, wondering whether to go for the simple lie, or the complex truth. "...Not great." He admitted finally. "My parents...argued a lot."

"Again?" Al said sympathetically, and Rose decided there was something she was missing.

"They argue a lot?" She asked, never considering that maybe she was overstepping the line, that maybe she should mind her own business.

Scorpius nodded, flicked a look a Al, then looked back at Rose. "Ah...my parents...Well, see, after the war, my Grandfather went to Azkaban for a little while. When he came out, he thought that if my dad married a pure-blood, they'd get some of the old family honour back." He sounded slightly disgusted. "My mum went to Durmstrang - her dad was an old friend of Grandfather."

"And your dad just went along with it?" Rose asked, her eyebrows raised. She also noticed the formal "grandfather" and wondered about it.

"Not straight away. But eventually, he decided it was just easier. They never loved each other though, my parents. Not really. And...well, I think if it wasn't for me, they'd have split up a long time ago. I don't think they'll be together much longer." He shrugged, like it didn't matter. But Rose didn't see how it couldn't.

"What about your Grandma? Didn't she try to stop it?"

"Yes, actually. She doesn't really like my mum. When I found out, though, that my parents' marriage was arranged like that, I asked Grandma if she wished they'd never got together."

"What did she say?" Rose asked, unaware she was leaning forward.

Scorpius smiled. "She said she had, right up until I came along. She said I was worth it."

Rose smiled too. "Narcissa Malfoy said that?"

Instantly, Scorpius' smile vanished. "What does that mean?"

"Wh...I just meant...nothing. I - I mean - I know she cared about your dad a lot - she saved uncle Harry's life just so she could find him in the battle - but..."

"Rose just means," Albus cut in quickly, "that it's hard to imagine Narcissa Malfoy as a Grandma. From what we've heard about her."

Scorpius hesitated, like he was going to say more, but seemed to decide it wasn't worth it.

Rose sat back in her seat, and looked at Al, who rolled his eyes at her, but smiled.

After ten minutes of silence, Scorpius started talking again, and offered her a slight smile.

She was forgiven.