Thanks for every review. Special thanks to Rosie for her review.

Chapter 12

The weeks passed, the weather warmed somewhat, the fifth and seventh years began to panic about their upcoming exams, and the teachers continued to pile homework on all students, none of whom recieved it happily.

"The Easter holidays are so close." Al said to Rose, as they sat in the common room, long after the sky had darkened. "At this rate I'm going to spend the full two weeks doing homework."

"Mmm." Rose replied, not looking up from the words she was scrawling. Al surveyed the room, the handfull of people still working on their homework. One seventh-year boy's head kept dropping and jerking back up as he tried not to fall asleep.

"What's the point of even going home if we're going to be working?" Albus continued, looking back down at the essay he'd struggled through. History of Magic was the most impossible lesson ever created, and the homework was worse.

"Mmm." Rose said again. Far too used to her lack of speech while they were working, Al didn't take it personally.

"What are they thinking off? O.W.Ls are still months away."

"Mmm." Rose knew Al's indignation was due mainly to fear, but she was unable to convince him he would pass his O.W.Ls. Instead, her cousin seemed to prefer pretending the O.W.Ls were too far away to worry about.

"Months and months." Al continued darkly.

"Mmm." Rose said yet again, then finally dotted the "i" on her last word. "There. All done."

"Let me see." Albus demanded.

With a loud, pointed sigh, Rose spun her essay round to face Al.

"If you'd just pay attention, maybe take your own notes..." She scolded.

"Why bother when I can read yours?" Al replied. He skimmed Rose's essay, then slid it back.

"I guess I'm done too. You haven't got anything I haven't."

"And yet, mine is still longer." Rose replied sweeltly.

"History of Magic is the only subject I struggle with." Albus pointed out. "And you know I can't concentrate this close to the holidays. Most people can't. Which is why they shouldn't give us so much homework..."

----

The Easter holidays came quickly, the Potters and Weasleys packed quickly, and all piled onto the train early on Saturday morning.

"Budge up, there, Lily -" Fred Weasley muttered, and squeezed into the gap between James and Al.

"Rose, for God's sake, move that owl onto the lugggage compartment, can't you? It's taking up too much space." Lily said loudly, as her hip banged painfully against the owl's cage.

"Well it wasn't my idea for us all to ride in the same compartment." Rose replied defensivly, and shot a pointed look a their seventh year cousin, Percy's son Arthur. "He only suggested this because his own mates are staying at Hogwarts." She added darkly.

"Here - let me help -" Scorpius muttered, and together he and Rose hauled her owl's cage up to the luggage rack.

"I thought it might be nice to travel together for once." Arthur replied. "And itt was you who picked this compartment, Rose." He added, as they all tried to shift around and find more space. "You could've found a bigger one." Actually, the compartment was rather large; it was the amount of people that made it seem smaller.

"It was the first empty one." Rose snapped. "Anyway, we all fit."

"Yeah, but breathing could be a problem." Fred's fourth-year brother Sirius muttered.

"I can leave." Scorpius offered. He was a little uneay about being pulled into the Weasley / Potter compartment by Rose and Al. Arthur had said, after all, that the family should all get one together. And he certainly wasn't family.

"It's fine." Lily told him. "They're just teasing. Mostly."

"Yeah, it's fine Scorpius." James agreed, and Scorpius was relieved. The prospect of sitting all alone on the journey to London wasn't one he'd liked. "'Sides, we're used to crowds. Look at the size of our family."

"Well at least they're not all trying to fit in here." Alastor, Bill and Fluer's seventh year son replied. "The eleven of us can fit just fine."

"Easy for you to say." Hugo muttered.

"Move out of the corner then!" Fred cried. Scorpius grinned.

"It must be fun when you all get together at home." He said to Al.

"It is." Al nodded, shifting over, as the train jerked into movement, so Charlie's fourth-year daughter, Molly, could sit.

"Sometimes it's painful." James added.

Scorpius would be eternally greatful for that train ride. Never had he felt so included, never had he fit in so easily. The whole lot of them seemed to have forgot that he was little more than a stranger to most of them, and all the bad blood between their families. Instead, they accepted him. He knew that this was because of Rose. He wasn't sure if they trusted her judgement or were just trying to make things easy for her, but either way he had a lot of fun on the journey back to London.

He'd always wished for brothers and sisters. The idea of a huge family had taunted him most of his life. But it was a Malfoy tradition, apparently, to produce one child, one heir.

They may have eventually settled down easily enough into the crowded compartment, but as the train pulled into the station, trying to collect luggage and owls wasn't so easy. They had all left a lot of things at Hogwarts, but even so, eleven people meant the luggage rack had been ready to burst.

"Just - let me get out -" Lily grumbled, clutching her bag and her owl, trying to force her way out. "James! Move!"

"One sec - almost got it -" James replied, trying to tug his bag down.

"Ow - James - don't stand on me -"

"Get out of the way then, Arthur -"

"Fred - just give it here -" Hugo demanded, as his cousin held Hugo's bag a full foot above his head.

"Say please, little Hugo, say please -"

"James! You're blocking the door -"

"Lily, just wait will you! Got it! Oh, sorry Rose..."

"It's fine. My nose'll stop bleeding." Rose snapped, even as James fumbled for his wand. "Try to be more careful with your elbows next time."

"Didn't mean to. The bag was stuck, then it came free..." James explained, and mended Rose's nose. Scorpius, who had already retrevied his own things, watched with amusment.

"Sirius - that's mine -"

"I wasn't stealing it, Molly, I was just moving it -"

"Alastor - your bag's there -"

"Right, Arthur, got it -"

"James! You're still in the way!"

"Oh for...there. Happy?"

Finally, they'd all spilled out and onto the platform.

"There they are - looks like they shared again." Ginny amused voice carried across the station to them. Not all the Hogwarts students had travelled home, and apparently they'd spent a while getting off the train, as the platform was a lot less than half full.

Scorpius scanned the scattered families, searching for his own. Finally, he found a familiar face, if not the one he'd expected. Narcissa Malfoy waved at him from a few feet away.

"I better go." Scorpius said. "I'll write." He added to Rose and Al. Wishing they had the privacy for a real goodbye - he could hardly kiss her in front of her parents and his grandma - he touched Rose's arm breifly, smiled, and departed.

"Scorpius." Narcissa said, and swiftly hugged him. When she'd released him, she met his eyes. "Is it true?"

"Is what true?" He asked, with a sinking feeling that someone had written to his family.

"Lucius heard...you and one of the Weasley girls?" He didn't see a point in denying it, and so he nodded. Narcissa cast a look at the huge group, parents and children reuniting, and sighed. "He's not happy. Come on."

Something told Scorpius he should prepare to be shouted at.

----

"Hugo." Rose murmured, grabbing her brother's arm to slow him as they all made their way out of the station. "Did you tell mum and dad about...?"

"No. And none of this lot has either. But I think you should, before someone else tells them by accident." Hugo replied.

"I know." Rose sighed, and glanced at her dad. "I know."