Legacies

by tara-k90

"Walking back to her dorm, Rose thought about that night's events. There was nothing happening between her and Scorpius Malfoy. Was there…?" Starting midway through their 6th year at Hogwarts, this story follows Rose, Albus, Scorpius and their friends as they navigate through a year filled with Quidditch matches, surprise friendships, and romantic entanglements. Not only SM/RW.

6. The First Week Back

AN: Well, look what the cat dragged in. Yes, I'm not dead, just the worst updater ever. I'll take this time to apologize profusely and beg your forgiveness with the longest chapter I've written so far. It was 37 pages on Word and 15k+ words long, and that was edited DOWN. Let's just say, there's a lot going on ;). Also as another apology for making you guys wait so long, I've added in a little fluffyness for every ship (well the well-liked ships) in this chapter. So enjoy!

A little recap: Scorpius and Rose decide to be on better terms with each other. Albus is trying to get over his long time crush Darcy. Aiden and Emily had a minor spat (or major, however you want to classify it) and haven't fully made up over it yet. Ella was cheated on by Andrew Turner at her New Years party, but was comforted by James afterwards leading up to a friendly (?) kiss. And Lorcan is still Lorcan ;).

Also I believe someone said in a review that it was a tad hard to keep up with the characters, and how they're related (I don't blame you), so i made up a little cheat sheet for you guys to refer to which is on my profile.

Last thing, this is still not being beta'd by anyone, so any grammar/editing mistakes are on me.

Disclaimer: I am not, nor have I ever been J.K. Rowling.

---

January 2nd, Monday afternoon

Ella stared out the window of the Hogwarts Express, watching the surroundings as they went by, oblivious to everything else going on in her compartment. With her were Emily, Aiden, Albus and Scorpius. Lorcan had long disappeared with Jenny Martin, and Rose was currently doing prefect rounds along the train. They'd been traveling for about four hours now, halfway through the trip, and Emily was just now enlightening Scorpius on his ex-girlfriend's actions at the Zabini's party.

"You're not serious," Scorpius groaned as he stared at Emily incredulously, hoping that she would burst out laughing and tell him all it was a prank. Both Albus and Aiden had entertained looks on their faces, also having missed the showdown between Ava and Rose. "Merlin, how the hell did I not see how mental she was when we first started dating?" he muttered.

"S'not your fault Scorp," Al answered. "They hide it well."

"We are not all like that Albus Potter," Emily scolded, whacking his arm repeatedly from her seat beside him. He grinned as he tried to fend her off. "Aiden, tell him we're not all like that!"

"Yes dear," Aiden replied.

"Oh shut up."

"Yes dear."

"Ella, help me defend our gender!" Emily glanced over to where Ella sat by the window, still staring out of it and not seeming to hear anything they'd said. The others exchanged worried glances, but decided to leave her be.

"I dunno Em, if Ava is any indication, you don't have much to go on," Scorpius said.

"Ok first of all, you're the only one who couldn't see her crazy side from the beginning Scorp," Emily replied, turning back towards him. "To be honest I was surprised when you two started dating because in the past you've dated relatively normal girls, and she's always seemed high maintenance." Scorpius nodded in a agreement. "But anyways, you're well shot of her. And I think Rose pretty much out-argued her, so you're probably safe. Well, for now."

At that moment, Rose opened the carriage door and came in. "Speak of the devil," Scorpius said. She raised her eyebrows and he quickly added, "It's a muggle phrase." Nodding, she took the seat next to him and collapsed down with a sigh.

"Merlin, patrols were such a nightmare. I must've broken up three different duels, not to mention I had to confisate Louis and Freddie's left over supply of fireworks. Those idiots were trying to sell them to fourth years. I swear I'm going to write to Aunt Angelina and Aunt Fleur. Maybe they'll get sent howlers," Rose mused.

"That's just cruel, woman. Where was your partner during all of this?" Aiden asked.

"We decided to split up to cover more area. But I have no doubt he was probably off snogging his girlfriend in an empty compartment because I didn't see him patrolling once," Rose replied, scathingly, the three boys grinning as Emily looked at her sympathetically. "Anyways I don't have to deal with him anymore. We have a prefect's meeting tonight, and we'll be assigned new partners."

"Oh god, I forgot about that," Scorpius groaned. "What are the chances that I won't be paired with Lauren? She was hinting at wanting to be my partner at the party," he shuddered.

"I dunno, I suppose you'll have to take it up with Finnigan or O'Connor. Maybe if we're lucky they'll pair us together," she said, and he smiled.

The others exchanged confused glances, before turning to look strangely at their friends. Finally Albus asked the question they were all thinking. "Okay, what is going on? You two want to be paired together?"

Rose and Scorpius turned to face him at the same time. "Well I mean-" "I just-" they began at the same time, before stopping to let the other continue. Scorpius waved his hands towards her as if gesturing for her to speak. "Ferret and I have decided to get along better. Plus it's not like we hated each other before."

"We know you didn't hate each other, but why is this happening now?" Aiden asked.

"We're likely to be Heads next year, and it'd be easier if we weren't arguing all the time. Plus we can work together just fine. Rose and I study in the library together all the time, and that always works out okay," Scorpius argued back, feeling the need to defend Rose and himself.

"Bollocks," replied Albus. "Most of the times you studied together, one of us was there with you. And even then you'd argue over the things we were learning. And who says you're going to be Heads?"

"That's just how we communicate," Rose interjected, ignoring the last part. "And it works fine for us. We've just decided to be less... hostile about it." Scorpius nodded.

"Well I'm not gonna pretend like I'm not happy about this. It's about time you two started getting along better," Albus said, leaning back into his seat. "Less fights for me to break up."

"Hmm I didn't think about that at all. Say Rose, maybe we should resume our fights just to piss off Al," Scorpius said, grinning wickedly at his best friend.

Rose just rolled her eyes while smiling. She pulled out a book that she'd started over the holidays, while Scorpius and Albus began discussing what the Quidditch schedule was going to be like for the year, and Aiden and Emily sat whispering to each other. A few minutes later, Aiden and Emily excused themselves, and left, presumably to find their own compartment for a while.

"This whole schedule is messed up from that cancelled game," groaned Albus. "I don't understand why McG didn't just let the match continue."

"Al, don't call her McG," Rose admonished.

"Al, there was a freak electrical storm. Turner got struck by lightening! And JD almost did too! Minnie had to cancel the match," Scorpius replied.

"Don't call her Minnie!" Both boys ignored her.

"I still say they could've carried on. I mean that's just a chaser and a beater down on opposing sides. They could've still played, right Ella?" Ella continued staring out of the window, as though she didn't hear Albus at all. "Ella?" When she didn't answer, Albus motioned his head for Rose to get her attention.

Rose got up and crossed over to sit next to Albus, and across from Ella. "El, are you ok?" she asked, gently prodding at her friend's leg.

Ella snapped out of her trance. "Sorry, what? Did you ask something?"

"Ella you've been zoned out for the entire trip. Are you ok?" Scorpius asked from beside her.

"Oh, I'm sorry guys. It's not on purpose, I swear, I'm just a little preoccupied."

Rose paused before asking her next question cautiously. "Are you worried about seeing Andrew at school?"

"Oh, um no not really. I mean if I see him I might try hexing him, but I'm pretty much over it. Actually I think I'm gonna go find the food trolley and get something to eat. You guys want anything?" They shook their heads as she got up and walked out of the carriage.

Rose turned back to the other two. "I can't tell if she's really over it or she's just holding it all in."

"She seems fine. Ella's tough, she always has been," Scorpius replied.

"Yeah she is, but there's only so much a girl can take. Your date hooking up with another girl at your party is not an easy thing to get over."

"I think talking to James actually really helped her," Albus commented. "I asked him what they had talked about, but he wouldn't say. Just said that everything was okay."

"Yeah but since when has James become an expert on girl matters?" Rose asked.

"Hey, I was as surprised as you are. But he wouldn't say things are okay if they weren't."

Rose nodded and stared out the window for a few minutes before going back to her book. Next to her Al and Scorpius resumed their Quidditch conversation. As they talked, Rose barely paid any attention to her book, thoughts of Ella and how she was doing clouding her mind. She was lost in her thoughts until suddenly Albus stood up next to her.

"Darcy!"

Rose quickly looked up to see the blonde outside her compartment stop walking and look in. Albus walked towards the carriage door and opened it.

"Oh, hi guys." Darcy smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. In fact, to Rose it looked like she was slightly upset. Well as upset as Darcy could look. "What's up?"

Albus looked at her curiously. "Not much. Hey, are you ok?"

"What? Oh yeah, I'm fine, just fancied a walk. I was just gonna go find my own carriage. The girls in mine are fighting over something stupid, so I just needed some peace. I'll uh, see you guys later." She waved quickly, and turned around to go back down the train.

Albus turned to the other two and instantly made to grab his wand from the seat. "Al, don't go after her," pleaded Rose as she grabbed his wrist. "You said you wanted to get over her."

"Rose…"

"Are you gonna listen to anything we say?" interrupted Scorpius. Albus shook his head. "Then just go," Scorpius sighed. Al nodded in thanks and left.

Rose snapped her gaze towards Scorpius. "What was that? I thought we agreed to help keep him away from her for a while!" she accused.

"You know Albus, Rose. He's not gonna listen to us, especially when he thinks she's upset. There was no point in arguing with him."

"We can try!" Rose folded her arms and huffed as Scorpius leaned forward slightly.

"Look I know what we agreed, but this isn't something we can interfere in, or he'll just end up resenting us. It needs to play out on his own." Rose's eyes became less narrow, slowly filling with understanding. "Just let it play out, Rose," Scorpius repeated. "I know you hate the idea of not controlling everything, but it's the only thing we can do, ok?"

Rose stared at him a little while longer before slumping back on the seat and pulling her book back out. Scorpius sighed before reaching towards Albus' trunk to search for the Slytherin Quidditch playbook. Finding it, he sat back down across from Rose, propping his feet up next to her, and began going through plays.

A few minutes later Rose nudged his feet, and when he looked back up at her she mumbled, "You're right. I just don't want him getting hurt. He's my best friend."

He put the playbook down and leaned forward towards her. "He's mine too. And as much as I don't want him to get hurt either, it might have to happen for him to finally get over her."

Rose studied his face for a few seconds before cracking a small smile. "You know you both are like two girls with each other," she teased. Scorpius rolled his eyes but smiled. "But I guess we'll just have to-"

She was suddenly cut off when the lights in the train went out and the train screeched to a halt. Rose was thrown forward, and in result collided head on with Scorpius before falling on him.

"Son of a bitch!" he groaned, holding his hand up to his head, eyes shut in pain. "Are you ok?" he asked after the pain had dulled a bit. He looked down at Rose, who was currently sprawled across him and groaning.

"Ugh my head aches, but I'm fine other than that," she replied. She suddenly realized that she was laying on top of him, and blushed while quickly getting up just as the lights came back on. "Sorry."

"S'not your fault," he muttered. Standing up, he looked out of the window. "We've stopped though. The train never stops." It was getting dark outside, so Scorpius cupped his hands against the glass and tried to look outside. "I can't see a thing. C'mon." He indicated to follow him. They both stepped out of the carriage, looking around. They were at the very end of the train and next to their compartment was the extra baggage area.

Suddenly Rose gasped and pulled at his arm. "Scorp, look," she whispered, pointing towards the back door of the train. Through the window shade, they could see the shadow of a man reaching towards the door.

Scorpius reacted instinctively. Pulling out his wand, he aimed at the door and quickly muttered, "Colloportus," and the door sealed itself with an odd squelching noise. The two saw the shadow reach the handle and try to open, but the door refused to budge. The unknown person yanked on the door a bit harder before withdrawing their wand and attempting to open the door forcefully, but Scorpius' spellwork remained effective. The shadow then retreated and began to walk away from the door, towards the side of the train.

Rose yanked at Scorpius' arm, pulling him back into their carriage. Grabbing her wand from the seat, she pointed at the windows and gasped, "Infusco!" A dark tint began spreading down the window, and reached the bottom just before the man reached their window. Scorpius looked at her questioningly. "It's a tint spell. My mum used to use it when my dad would make us drive in our car everywhere. He won't be able to see us," she explained.

He nodded before looking back at the man outside. He wore a long nondescript black cloak and a hood that covered the top of his face. Where the hood ended, the two could see what looked like a silver mask, thought it only covered one side of his pale face. Suddenly without warning, he threw a spell at the window. Rose gasped and instinctively moved towards Scorpius, who immediately wrapped his arms around her and moved them backwards. Luckily, the spell did nothing and the window remained dark and intact. The slump of the man's shoulders showed his defeat and a moment later he took what looked like a coin out of his pocket and disapparated immediately.

Rose sagged with relief in Scorpius' arms, while he tightened his hold on her. "You ok?" he asked. She nodded against his chest before withdrawing out of his embrace and looking at him.

"Yeah I'm fine. But what the hell was that?!"

"I dunno. You don't think…" Rose turned to him. "You don't think it has anything to do with the Azkaban breakout, do you?"

Before Rose could reply, the carriage door was suddenly yanked open. Scorpius immediately turned around and moved defensively in front of Rose with his wand up, shielding her from whoever or whatever was at the door, only to find that it wasn't necessary.

"Woah Mr. Malfoy," the newcomer cautioned, "It's just me. Everyone alright?" Standing at their door was a young man of about 25 years old, with sandy brown hair and a serious look on his face.

"Professor Ramsey! Thank Merlin you're on the train," Rose exclaimed, relieved at the sight of her Ancient Runes professor. Scorpius stood aside a bit, but stayed alert. "We're fine, but there was someone outside of the train just now. He tried to get in, but Scorpius sealed the back door before he could. Then he tried to break through the window, but it didn't work so he disapparated just before you got here."

Ramsey nodded quickly before going to check the door at the back of the train. "Good job, Mr. Malfoy," he said as he came back. "The train is protected, which is why the spell didn't work. I don't suppose either one of you saw his face?"

The two students shook their heads. "Alright, well at least you're ok. Sit tight, the train should start in a few minutes." He left without another word, leaving Scorpius and Rose just staring at each other, more confused than ever.

---

Darcy! Darcy wait up!" Al paced after the blonde. Though she was a few paces ahead of him, he was also much taller than she was, and caught up to her quickly. When he was just behind her, he grabbed her hand.

She jolted to a stop and turned around. "Al, I really can't talk right now."

"Oh, sure. Um sorry," he stammered, thrown off by her unusual demeanor. He quickly let go of her hand. "I'll leave you be." He turned around to head back to his carriage when he felt a small hand on his shoulder.

"No, wait Al. I'm really sorry, that was rude. I'm just… not really having a very good day."

"T-that's fine, I can leave you be. Or I think I saw Davies in a few compartments back, I can go get him if you want?"

Her violet eyes darkened slightly, thought not very noticeably.

"No, um I don't really feel like sitting with him. But, um, if you want we can go find a compartment to sit in? I guess I wouldn't mind some company," she said, smiling meekly. Albus knew that he should tell her no, that he should tell her to go get Davies or even to go sit with her friends. But he didn't. Instead he grinned and gestured for her to walk ahead.

Before she could turn however, the lights went off and the train jerked to a stop. Darcy flew towards Albus, who managed to catch her as they both fell towards the floor. Luckily the corridor was carpeted, so Albus' fall was slightly cushioned as Darcy fell on top of him.

Looking up, Albus found Darcy's face hovering over his own, closer than he was comfortable with. Her arms were around his body from trying to find balance, but other than breathing hard from the fall, she seemed to be ok.

"Merlin Al, I'm so sorry," she whispered, though made no move to get up. "Are you ok?"

"Um yeah," Al replied, staring back at her. The train was dark, but she was close enough that he could make out almost every delicate feature of her face, including her pale eyes which were staring into his. Up this close, he could see that they had tiny flecks of silver hidden in their violet color. He could feel the warmth of her body as it covered his, and noticed that she hadn't loosened her hold on him. Before he could stop himself, he reached up to tuck a few pieces of her hair behind her ears, and let his hand softly graze her hair. She inhaled sharply, and moved downwards slightly, towards his face, when suddenly the lights came back on and the compartment door next to them slid open.

"Are you guys ok?" The two looked up to find Aiden looking down at them, his face half concerned half amused.

Snapping out of the moment, they simultaneously unwrapped their arms from each other. Darcy was the first to get up.

"Oh uh yeah, we're fine. I guess I kind of involuntarily tackled Al when the train stopped," she laughed nervously.

"Come on, you can join us," Aiden instructed. "Might be better than the corridor." Darcy nodded and looked quickly at Al before passing Aiden to enter. After she did, Aiden looked back down at Al, smirking. "You ok mate? You looked quite, um, comfortable there."

Al lay his head back down groaning. "Shut up. I hate you." Aiden laughed before holding out his hand to help his friend up. Standing up, Albus quickly dusted off his pants and followed Aiden into the carriage to find Emily, Ella, and Lorcan sitting with Darcy. He took a seat besides Darcy, leaving some space between them, who was next to Lorcan.

"I wonder why we've stopped," mused Ella, looking out the window. "We're still about an hour away from Hogsmeade."

Before she could say anything else, the carriage opened.

"You guys all ok?" Professor Sean Ramsay stood in the doorway, looking serious and counting everyone in the compartment.

"Yeah professor, we're ok," Emily answered. "Do you know why we stopped?"

"I'm not sure, Miss Longbottom," he answered distractedly. "But we should be on our way soon enough. If you'll excuse me, I have to check the rest of the students," he finished, leaving as quick as he arrived.

"That was strange," Emily said, turning to the others, who silently agreed.

Lorcan broke the silence a few minutes later. "Um, who was that bloke?"

"Seriously?" Ella asked him, and incredulous look on her face. "That's our Ancient Runes professor. He joined this year."

"Well how would I know that, I don't take Ancient Runes," Lorcan countered.

"He was introduced at the feast in the beginning of the year," Ella deadpanned.

"Which I missed thanks to the lovely distraction that is Selina Parkes," he replied smugly. Ella rolled her eyes in exasperation, but left it alone.

"Kinda young for a teacher, isn't he?"

"According to my dad, he's some sort of Ancient Runes prodigy," Emily answered.

"Did you see that!" Darcy exclaimed, interrupting Emily and pointing at the window. The others snapped their heads around quickly to see what she was pointing at. In the distance, about a mile away from the train, they could see what looked like a lit up wand retreating into the darkness.

"Ok, what the hell is going on," Emily whispered.

---

None of their questions were answered until much later during dinner. After the train had arrived at Hogsmeade station, Rose and Scorpius had found the others before going up to the school. At the Great Hall, Darcy had left for the Hufflepuff table with a small wave to Al, and the others scattered to their relative house tables. As dinner arrived and they ate, Rose could hear the whispers of her surrounding peers, all speculating as to what could have caused the train to stop.

"Scorpius reckons it might have something to do with the break out over the holidays," Rose whispered to Emily and Ella. "He said-"

"Silence please!"

Rose was interrupted by a loud voice from the front of the hall. Along with the others, she turned towards the front, where Professor McGonagall stood. At eighty-seven years old, Minerva McGonogall was still at Hogwarts as the Headmaster, having taken over the position after the war ended. Intending to retire soon after, she found that there was no where else she'd rather be than Hogwarts, and so she stayed each year.

"I know you are all confused and have questions about the incident that occurred with the train today. I've just received word from the Minister about the situation, and we along with the Ministry have decided that you need to be aware of what is happening."

Rose quickly glanced over to the Slytherin table where she could see Albus and Scorpius muttering softly to each other while paying attention to McGonagall. Scorpius caught her eye momentarily and they exchanged quick looks before turning back to the front.

"Over the holidays, two prisoners from Azkaban escaped." The hall gasped at McGonagall's blunt statement and immediately the chatter rose before she could continue.

"Silence!" Professor McGonagall's magically enhanced voice filled the hall. "Before you resume your conversations, I'd like you to listen." When no one said anything, she continued. "These two prisoners are war criminals. Their names are Alecto and Amycus Carrow, and they were great supporters of the Dark Lord during his rise to power. Initially I didn't think it was necessary for you all to know this, seeing as it doesn't pertain to you while you're in Hogwarts, but the Ministry received some information today that suggests that they are part of a group that may have been responsible for the train stopping today. This information also implies that this unknown group may be plotting something near or at Hogwarts. Due to this, we have some new rules to implement."

A groan went through the audience, but was silenced immediately by one look from McGonagall.

"First, from here on out, no one is allowed outside the castle after six in the evening, unless it is for a class. If you have a class on the grounds, you are to gather near the castle doors until a professor comes to escort you there. Second, prefect patrols will double. No one is to be out of their common rooms after 9pm, unless you have class in the castle, in which case your professor will give you a permission slip. Third, and this isn't a rule but rather a suggestion, please do not wander around the castle by yourselves. If you can, find a partner to go with you if you need to wander the castle. Prefects, when you patrol, there will be no more splitting up. Stay with each other the entire time. Lastly, and this is already a rule, no one is allowed in the Forbidden Forest. So please, do keep out. Understood?"

The students nodded in response.

"Finally I do have some good news. Next weekend we will have the make up Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff." Cheers erupted throughout the hall. McGonagall put her hand up, but had an amused look on her face. "Yes yes, I know, you're all happy. I've spoken to both the captains and we've agreed that the match will take place Saturday at ten in the morning. Prefects, the Head students would like me to instruct you to meet in the Prefect lounge so they can assign new partners and patrols. That's all, carry on."

As she went to sit down, the hall once again erupted into conversation. "Merlin, what would those old Death Eaters want at Hogwarts," muttered Rose. "You'd think they'd take their freedom and run."

"Yeah, well according to my dad, the Carrows aren't all there, if you know what I mean," Emily said, pointing to her head. "He told me that they used to torture students who didn't obey them during his final year at school," she whispered. Ella looked disgusted as she pushed around the food on her plate, and they lapsed into silence once again.

---

After dinner, Rose said her goodbyes to Emily and Ella, and headed to the prefect's lounge.

"Weasels!" she turned around to find Scorpius jogging over towards her. "Hey, I thought we could walk together," he grinned at her. She smiled and kept walking with him beside her.

"So, how much do you think these extra patrols are gonna suck?" she asked.

He chuckled. "Probably a lot. And I swear if I'm stuck with Lauren, I'm handing in my badge." Rose laughed beside him as they turned the corner, but before she could reply, they were interrupted.

"Rosie, I've been looking for you everywhere babe," Zach said walking towards them. "Malfoy," he said curtly, not even bothering to make eye contact.

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Rose, we're gonna be late," he tapped his watch.

"He's right Zach. Is it urgent?"

"Yeah, I really need to talk to you," he pleaded.

Rose sighed. "You go ahead Scorp. Tell them I'll just be a moment." His eyes narrowed, but he nodded and kept walking. She turned to Zach and said, "So what's up?"

"Nothing really, I just wanted to get rid of Malfoy," he grinned, moving towards her.

"Zach," she groaned exasperatedly, pushing him away. "That's sweet, but I have a Prefect's meeting that I'm late for." She pushed him gently and kept walking.

"I know, but I also wanted to ask about when you have some time to spend together. I didn't see you at all on the train," he reminded.

"You said that you had Quidditch stuff with your teammates that you had to discuss!"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I didn't miss you. Maybe tomorrow?"

"I dunno, I have like four classes through the day."

"How about after, at night?" he pleaded.

She looked at him and sighed. "Didn't you hear Professor McGonagall? We're not supposed to be wandering around at night."

"Oh c'mon, that's more like a suggestion than a rule. Loosen up Rose," he grinned at her.

She frowned. "No Zach, it's a rule. That's what she said. And I'm a prefect, I can't be caught wandering the castle and breaking the rules." Before he could interrupt, she continued. "Look we'll figure it out, ok? But for now I have to go," she said, trying to hide her exasperation.

He had a resigned look on his face, but nodded before moving in to kiss her. She kissed him back briefly before pulling away and saying bye. Finally, he left and she hurried to the meeting. Reaching the door, she walked in just as the Head Girl was starting the meeting.

"I'm so sorry," she apologized to Christa Finnigan, who waved her apologizes away in good nature. She walked over to stand by Scorpius, who made room for her.

"No problem Rose, we were just getting started. Ok so as you all know prefect patrols are going to be doubled. Really all that means is that you're going to be patrolling every week instead of every other week for two hours, ok?" Everyone nodded as she looked towards the head boy, Killian O'Connor, to continue.

"Right, so new year, time for new patrol partners. Now as usual, these are picked randomly so no complaining and no switching," he warned. "Also we've tried to match this to your schedules as best as we can, so if there's a conflict, let us know. Alright here goes: Lily Potter and Aaron Nott, Monday nights from eight to ten. Julia Pickering and Nicholas Hooper, Monday nights from ten to midnight…"

Rose's attention was pulled away from the front by Scorpius nudging her. "So what'd loverboy want?" he whispered teasingly, though his voice had a slight edge to it that surprised her.

"Nothing really, just to know when I had free time for him. I swear he always wants me to make the time, but of course he can't cut into his precious Quidditch practice. I mean he is the bloody Captain, you'd think he could schedule practices whenever he wants."

"… Zelda Bletchely and Hugo Weasley, Tuesday nights ten to midnight…"

"So whatever happened to the rethinking the relationship that you told me about after the party before holidays?" he asked, not looking directly at her.

She sighed. "I was drunk and pissed off at him Scorp. It wasn't something I meant to act on," she whispered back. Before he could reply, however, she said, "Hold on, this is me."

"… Rose Weasley and Darcy Wood, Thursdays from ten to midnight…"

Rose looked over toward Darcy who sent her a small smile, and she grinned back. "Well I suppose if you and I couldn't be partnered, Darcy's the next best thing," she whispered to Scorpius.

"Yeah, well pray for me. Lauren still hasn't been assigned," he muttered. They both looked towards the Ravenclaw in question, who seemed to be alternating between smiling seductively at Scorpius and sending Rose scathing looks.

"… Lauren Montague and Lysander Scamander, Friday nights from eight to ten…"

Rose heard Scorpius quickly sigh in relief before they glanced over towards Lauren again, who was looking murderous. They knew she wouldn't have been as angry about being paired with his twin, but Lysander on the other hand was a bit more… free-spirited, to put it nicely. Turning away as soon as she looked toward them, they barely succeeded in holding back their laughter.

"Merlin that was lucky," he snickered.

"…Scorpius Malfoy and Natalie Stanforth, Friday nights from ten to midnight…"

"Oh that's not bad, Natalie's a blast," Rose whispered, waving to seventh year Gryffindor who was good friends with Louis, Fred, and James.

"Yeah and she's also usually in detention with Louis and Fred. I don't fancy having to do those patrols myself," he groaned back. "And late Friday night!"

"Don't worry I'm sure Albus will keep you company," she teased. "You can bond and do each other's nails, and talk about how mean we girls are," she winked, causing him to roll his eyes.

"Those are the patrols guys," Killian finished. "Christa and I will be taking all of Sunday nights, and filling in for when people can't make it. Now that is not an excuse to fake some illness or tell us you can't patrol. That's only if there's some legitimate reason you can't do them, got it?" The prefects all nodded in agreement.

"Okay, so other matters. We need to start thinking of a theme for this year's Victory Ball. As usual, the sixth year prefects will be mostly in charge of planning it, and Killian and I will be keeping an eye on you for the positions of Heads next year." Rose couldn't be sure, but she thought she saw the two Heads cast a longer glance on Scorpius and herself as they looked around the room. "You'll need to start brainstorming soon so that we can get the right decorations and entertainment. I think that's it, so you're free to go. Patrols start tomorrow!"

Everyone rushed to leave the room to get back to their dorms quickly, except for a few people who took their time to gather their things.

"I'm so glad we'll be partners, Rose," Darcy said, coming up to the two.

"Me too," Rose said in relief. "I was partnered with Holmes before, and I swear when we split up to patrol, he'd just meet his girlfriend for a snog."

Darcy laughed. "Anyways, I'll see you in class so we can figure out then where to meet up Thursday night." She waved and then left the lounge, heading in the direction of the Hufflepuff dorms.

Rose looked at where she'd left. "Merlin, I wish Al could've picked a worse girl to like. At least then she'd be easier to hate for breaking his heart."

"Yep," Scorpius agreed. "C'mon, I'll walk you back to your dorm."

They started walking towards Gryffindor Tower, but were joined quickly by another (unwelcome) presence. "Scorpius, I was really hoping that we would be paired together," Lauren purred, ignoring Rose completely. She batted her eyes at him and linked their arms together. "Maybe I can get Natalie to switch with me."

Rose snorted softly, but decided to let Scorpius handle it.

"Oh, um you hear O'Connor, Lauren. No switching. Plus I've got late Friday nights, no one would want to switch to that," he said, unlinking their arms as best he could. "Isn't the Ravenclaw dorm the other way?" he asked.

She pouted slightly before nodding and telling him she'd try and talk to the Head Boy about switching, then winked at him and turned to walk the other way.

"Well you're lucky that there's practically no chance O'Connor will change the partners," Rose commented as they climbed the stairs.

"This is fucking ridiculous," Scorpius complained from beside her. "Why won't she take the hint?"

"Because she's oblivious to any type of rejection. It just strengthens her resolve. I'll give her this, it's a good skill to have when we graduate and look for jobs," Rose laughed.

"Yeah but not when dealing with blokes," Scorpius replied. "I mean it'd be like dating Ava all over again, and I'm not going near that with a ten foot broomstick."

Rose chuckled as they turned the corner and walked toward the portrait of the Fat Lady. "I dunno what to tell you Ferret, she's relentless. If you're lucky she'll find some other poor soul to sink her claws into."

"I can only hope."

"Anyways, this is me," she said, walking in front of the portrait. She turned to smile at him. "Thanks for walking me. 'Night."

"Goodnight Rose," he murmured. "See you tomorrow." He waved and walked back the way they came.

"Such a polite young man, walking you back," the Fat Lady commented.

"Yeah, polite…" Rose mumbled thoughtfully before giving the password and retreating to her dorm.

---

Tuesday morning

The next morning the students all received their new schedules at breakfast.

"We've got Herbology first, then Care of Magical Creatures, then Potions," Albus said. He was glancing over the schedule as Scorpius ate besides him, both of them having signed up for most of the same classes given that they had the same profession in mind. "But you also have Astronomy tonight. Why are you taking that again?"

"No reason," Scorpius replied, looking over the Daily Prophet as he ate. "I like stars."

Albus sent a strange look towards his best friend before continuing to pour over his schedule. "Not bad though, only three classes during the day, with a break right after lunch. And I'm done at five." They both finished up breakfast before leaving for the greenhouses.

"…which reminds me I need to collect the team's schedules so I can reserve the pitch for practice when everyone's free and- Scorp?" Albus turned around to find that he'd been walking a few paces alone. Looking back he saw his friend had stopped near a group of Ravenclaws, including Rose's boyfriend. He quickly hurried back to where his friend was standing.

"...how does the Ministry not suspect that some of those old Death Eaters, who are free now, aren't helping them." Eddie Parks' voice drifted towards where Albus and Scorpius were standing. "For all we know, the Malfoys and others are housing those criminals."

Albus blanched and turned towards Scorpius, who was seething as he began to walk towards the group. Albus hurried after him.

"...I mean his father was a Death Eater for Merlin's-" Eddie broke off as he was shoved from behind. He caught his balance before turning around to face his attacker. "What the hell?!"

"Why don't you shut the fuck up and stop talking about what you don't understand, Parks," Scorpius snarled.

"Oh look, the Death Eater's son has come to defend him," Zach sneered. "Gonna hex us like daddy dearest would?"

"Sod off Corner," Albus snapped, grabbing hold of Scorpius before he could do anything he would regret. His friend struggled slightly, but Albus just grasped his arms tighter.

"This doesn't concern you, Potter. How do your parents even allow you to be friends with him. He could be helping the people that your family put away," Eddie said, with the others nodding behind him.

Scorpius growled. "I swear to Merlin, I'll fucking-"

"What's going on here?" The group's attention turned towards a voice from down the hall. Killian O'Connor was striding over towards, a concerned look on his face. As he reached them, he took in the scene. "I hope we're not fighting on the first day back, guys," he said warningly.

"Course not O'Connor," Zach said smoothly. "Just a friendly discussion. We'll be on our way to class now." With one last glare at Scorpius, Zach and Eddie turned around and left with their friends.

Once they were a safe distance away, Albus released the hold on his best friend. "You ok Scorp?"

"Fuck, I really hate them," he gritted out.

"Don't listen to them, they're right prats," Albus replied. "Thanks O'Connor."

"No problem guys, just keep the fighting to a minimum. I don't fancy having to deduct points from my own house," he sighed. "Potter, here are the schedules for everyone on your team. Be sure to figure out a practice schedule soon. I'm trying to hold off on letting the other captains reserve the pitch, but I can't be caught favoring Slytherin," he smirked. "Your brother already cornered me this morning," he said as he left.

Albus grinned. "Yeah sure, I'll get back to you tonight. Thanks again." The Head Boy nodded and went his own way.

"You sure you're ok?" Albus asked his friend warily.

Scorpius had a distant look in his eye. "Yeah I just... Merlin, no matter what he does to make up for it, it'll never be enough, will it?" he asked. Rather than angry, he seemed resigned, which worried Albus even more.

"Don't listen to those idiots, Scorp. Your dad has proven to everyone he's a different man. Hell, even my family knows it, and they didn't even get on well in school."

Scorpius nodded absentmindedly and they started walking towards the grounds. Just as they entered the greenhouses, Albus heard Scorpius mutter quickly, "Thanks Al." He smiled and clapped his best friend on the back before steering them over towards their friends.

---

Tuesday evening found Rose in her favorite study spot at the Library, a small corner behind the History of Magic section in the library that nobody else seemed to occupy due to the fact that there were very few students who even looked at the History of Magic books. She'd found it in her third year, and the only person who knew that she studied there was Albus, and that was only because he'd cheated and used the Marauders Map when he couldn't find her.

Rose sighed and slumped down in her seat as she finished the fifth inch of her essay. Somehow, on just the first day of classes, she'd already been assigned a twelve inch essay on everlasting Elixers for Potions, a ten inch essay on the properties of bobotuber pus and how to properly dilute it for Herbology, as well as three chapters of reading for Ancient Runes.

"At least I only have three classes today," she muttered to herself. Only a voice from behind her ten minutes later interrupted her concentration.

"There you are!"

Killian crossed to the other side of the table and sat down opposite Rose. Killian O'Connor was something of an anomaly to Rose. Tall with black hair and blue eyes, the charming seventh year Head Boy was a Slytherin. Yet to Rose he didn't seem to fit the typical profile of the house. Of the few Slytherins that she knew well, she could identify each of the underlying characteristic they possessed that had placed them in that house. For Albus it was his extreme resourcefulness, for Scorpius it was his ambition, and for Roxanne it was her cunning nature. To Rose's best knowledge, Killian had some of these qualities, yet they didn't seem to be his main characteristics. He was smarter than some of the most clever Ravenclaws, as kind as the nicest Hufflepuffs, and more chivalrous than half the Gryffindors she knew. For the life of her, Rose couldn't seem to figure him out.

Rose raised her eyebrows. "I didn't realize I was needed, O'Connor. How'd you find me?"

"Rose we've known each other for 5 years, I think you can call me Killian now," he chuckled.

"Sorry, habit," Rose replied.

He smiled. "And Albus told me I'd probably find you here."

"He needs to stop giving away my secrets," she said exasperatedly. "Well, what can I do for you?"

"I was looking over the patrol schedules and I noticed that have a conflict."

"I do?" This was news to her. Rose pulled her schedule out and examined it. Looking at Thursday, she saw Astronomy as listed from nine to eleven that night. "Damn, you're right. I forgot that my patrol night switched."

"Right, so I can try and talk to someone and have them switch with you. Do you have a specific day you'd prefer in mind?"

"You're giving me a choice?"

"Yeah sure why not?" He gave her a wry smile.

"Let's hope the other prefects don't find out," she teased. "Actually, I can keep Thursday night."

"How?"

"Astronomy is a once a week class, but it's offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I'll just go tonight and ask Professor Sinistra if I can switch to tonight."

Killian looked so relieved. "You're an angel. This is why I like you the best. But sshhh, don't tell the others," he winked at her. She laughed as he got up, said bye and left her to continue to work. She got another three inches written before her next interruption.

"I need to talk to you." Albus sat down in the seat next to her. Rose finished the last word in the sentence she was writing before putting her quill down and looking at him.

"Ok first, stop telling people where I study. Second, what's up?"

"I need to talk to you about two things." He looked wary.

Rose frowned. "Good or bad?"

"Both aren't great. But one applies to you, the other is about me. Which first?"

Rose looked at her cousin warily before relenting. "The bad one for me I guess," she sighed.

"Your boyfriend and his friends are prats," Albus said bluntly.

"Wait, what?" Rose spluttered. That was not what she had been expecting. "What are you talking about?"

Albus launched into the story of what had happened that morning, making sure to tell Rose all the pertinent details, including the fact that Scorpius hadn't said anything to warrant such an attack on his family. "I dunno if they knew that Scorp was within hearing distance or not, but it doesn't matter. When Scorp confronted them, they both just kept antagonizing him more."

Rose looked upset. She got along very well with Scorpius' dad, and even Ron, who had been less than fond of Draco during the formative years of Albus and Scorpius' friendship, never said anything bad about him in front of the kids. "I'm so sorry Al. I don't know what's wrong with Zach or his friends, but I'll talk to him. They had no right to say any of that about Mr. Malfoy, Scorpius, or his family."

"Yeah. Scorp didn't want to tell you, but I thought you should know. Merlin Rose, what do you even see in that guy?"

Rose sighed heavily. "Let's not get into this now Al, ok? I know you guys aren't particularly fond of Zach, but he's not always a prat. At least he isn't to me. And this thing with him and Scorpius…" she trailed off. "I just don't know, but I'll talk to Zach about it, ok?" Albus didn't want to let it go, but nodded anyways. He'd approach that subject with her at another time. "What was the other thing you wanted to talk about?"

"Oh right. I uh… I need some advice."

"On…?"

Albus paused. "Um, well… I want to tell Darcy how I feel about her," he blurted out.

"What?!" Rose looked at her cousin with wide eyes. "Why?!"

"Hear me out," he gestured for her to stop. "We had this… moment, on the train. When the train stopped she kind of got thrown into me and we fell on the floor." Rose was about to say something, but stopped herself and gestured for him to continue. "Anyways, she fell on top of me, and I dunno, it seemed like she was about to kiss me. And then Aiden turned up and the whole thing ended. But she was definitely about to kiss me, you can ask Aiden!"

Rose remained quiet as Albus finished his story. "Al, it's not a matter of whether or not she was going to kiss you," she said softly. "This isn't a good idea."

"But Rose-"

"No," she commanded, "you hear me out now. Yes, you may have had a moment, but that's all it was. And I know that she cares about you, that part is obvious. But she's still dating Davies. Telling her about your feelings is a risky game. You could either win it all, and she'll return your feelings and break up with him, or you could lose it all, including her friendship. Are you willing to risk that?"

Albus sat still for a moment, thinking over Rose's words. "Yes," he said, surprising her. "I just can't take this anymore, Rose. I love being friends with her, but it's killing me. And I feel like if I don't tell her, it's always going to be a 'what if.'"

Rose cocked her head and looked at her cousin with sympathy. "You've thought this through."

"It's been on my mind for a while," he admitted.

"What does Scorpius say?"

"I uh, I actually haven't talked to him about this," he replied, surprising Rose. "I wanted a girl's opinion. Actually no, I just wanted your opinion."

Rose smiled fondly. "If you're determined to do this, then nothing I can say will stop you. Just please, be careful. I don't want you to get hurt."

Al moved to hug her. "Thanks," he whispered in her ear. "Alright, I'll leave you alone now." He got up and Rose watched as he left, a slight frown on her face.

---

Tuesday, 9:00pm

Rose hurried up the stairs of the Astronomy tower to the top floor. Reaching the top, she immediately sought out Professor Sinistra.

"Hello Professor," she greeted.

"Ms. Weasley," the professor replied in a tone of surprise. "Not that I'm not pleased to see you, but I was under the impression that you were in my class on Thursday."

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. My prefect patrols got switch to Thursday nights, so I can't make it then. The Head Boy said he could find someone to switch with me, but I didn't want to be a hassle so I told him I'd ask you if I could attend class on Tuesday nights instead."

"My dear, I wouldn't mind at all except everyone is already partnered up. And it's simply too much work for you to do by yourself," Professor Sinistra answered sympathetically.

"Oh well I suppose I'll just-"

"Rose!" Rose turned to see Zelda Bletchely hurrying towards her. "O'Connor told me you had to switch the night of your Astronomy class because of patrols." Rose nodded. "Well I do to. I was assigned Tuesday nights with your brother."

"Oh, right! Professor is it ok if Zelda and I just switch then?"

"I don't see a problem. I'll see you Thursday night Ms. Bletchely."

Rose thanked Zelda as she left, and turned to see who she would be working with. Finding all the students paired up, she was about to ask the professor who Zelda's partner had been when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"Sorry I'm late professor, I got held up at dinner." Rose whirled around to find Scorpius reaching the classroom.

"Try not to make it a habit, Mr. Malfoy. Oh and you have a new partner. Ms. Bletchely had to switch with Ms. Weasley due to their prefect patrols."

Scorpius looked over to Rose in surprise and gave her a small wave which she returned. As he walked over, Rose began to grow anxious. For some reason, she felt responsible for her boyfriend's utter lack of tact towards Scorpius in his family. She had intended to apologize on Zach's behalf, but at her own time, not when she hadn't even expected to see him.

"Hey Weasels, I didn't know you still took Asronomy," Scorpius greeted.

"Um yeah. I just love the mythology behind the constellations, so I decided to keep it. How come you still take it?"

"Same, actually. Growing up with the name 'Scorpius Hyperion' kinda made me curious," he joked, causing her to laugh. "Anyways looks like we're partners, so…" he indicated for her to move towards a telescope.

"Class, tonight we're just going to be charting some of the constellations," Professor Sinistra addressed the class. "Next week we'll start observing planetary movement patterns, locations, and their environments. Alright, get to it."

Rose and Scorpius walked to an open telescope and took out their charts.

"Alright, what do you want to start with?" he asked, looking down at the parchment.

"I'msorrymyboyfriendandhisfriendswereidiots," she blurted out really quickly, then mentally scolded herself.

"What?" Scorpius gave her a baffled look.

"I said, I'm sorry my boyfriend and his friends were idiots," she said softly.

He took a deep breath. "Albus told you?" She nodded silently and he sighed. "I wish he hadn't. It really isn't your problem."

She looked up quickly. "Scorpius it may not be my problem, but I'm still sorry. He and his friends should never have said anything about your family. It's completely unnecessary."

"I wouldn't say that, Rose. I mean they were Death Eaters," he muttered.

"Operative word being 'were.' Look I wasn't upset about it only on your behalf, I happen to like your dad. He's always nice to me, and I consider him to be a good guy and mentor. So you can bet I'll be having words with Zach just over that. Insulting you just makes it worse since you really haven't don't anything ever to deserve it."

He took in her words, quite stunned at how passionate she was about it. "Why are you so adamant about this?" he asked quietly.

"Because you don't deserve it," she repeated. "Look, Albus and I and all our cousins have to live with the stigma of what our parents did for the Wizarding World. And you have the same for your family, except it's in a more negative light. And while I think we've all come to accept it, it's completely unfair and I don't think it should be thrown in our faces, whether it's positive or negative." He looked at her thoughtfully. "And because... Well because you're my friend too," she finished, smiling gently at him.

He stared at her for a few moments before nodding. "Thanks Rose. That… that means a lot. And thank you for defending my dad too. I know he'd appreciate it."

She laughed softly. "Well I do like him more than I like you," she teased, only for him to nudge her playfully. "As for my boyfriend… well I'll be talking to him about acting his age. And before you say anything, it's not just for you. He shouldn't be saying stupid shit like that about anyone."

"Rose Weasley, you are… you are really something," Scorpius commented. She smiled at him before looking down at her parchment, and he could feel his heart tugging softly. This was not doing much for quelling those damn pesky feeling of his.

---

Wednesday afternoon

"Scorp, come on! If we're late that old bat will give us detention."

Albus and Scorpius ran up the stairs of the North Tower with about thirty seconds to spare before their Divination class started. Reaching the top, Al pushed on the circular trapdoor and climbed up the ladder. Once at the top, he reached down to give Scorpius a hand, only for both of them to turn and come face to face with Professor Trelawney.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy," Professor Trelawney greeted them with a mystical sounding voice. "So good of you to join us. Of course I foresaw that you would be late." Behind the professor, Al could see Lorcan and Aiden sitting at their usual table, barely stifling their laughter.

"Uh, sorry Professor. We were on our way when, uh-"Albus tried to grasp at the first excuse to come to his mind- "when, um… Scorpius had a vision!" Scorpius' head snapped towards his best friend, and he quickly mouthed What in the bloody hell?

"A vision! My dear boy, you must tell me what you saw!" Professor Trelawney cried. "You may very well be blessed with the Sight!"

At this point, Lorcan and Aiden weren't even trying to hide their laughter anymore, while the rest of the class had amused and skeptical looks on their faces.

"Um, well… yeah, you see I saw…" Scorpius tried to think up something on the spot. "I saw um… a giant marshmallow man." It was Albus' turn to look at his best friend with a baffled expression, but Scorpius kept going. "Yeah, a marshmallow man and it was walking around London. And then Albus tried to stop it, but it ate him-" Lorcan and Aiden were clutching at each other in an effort to not fall off their seats- "and then I tried to save him but uh, my broomstick turned into a… pumpkin. So Al got eaten by the marshmallow."

Al rolled his eyes but Professor Trelawney looked enraptured. "My dear boy, that was quite a vision. You'll have a chance to interpret what it might mean today, as we're working with the crystal ball for then next two weeks. Take your seats, and we'll get started."

The two boys walked towards their usual table, and sat besides Lorcan and Aiden.

"A giant marshmallow man?" Albus hissed. "Really Scorp?"

"What? I couldn't think of anything and then that movie we watched over break popped into my head, you know, 'Ghoulbusters.'"

"You mean Ghostbusters," Albus corrected before turning his attention to the front of the class.

"Today we shall be studying the art of crystal gazing," Professor Trelawney began. "Crystal gazing is a difficult ability, and I do not expect you to See on the first time you look into the Orb's infinite depths. First, I want you to practice relaxing your mind and external eyes, so that your Inner Eye is clear. Once you think your Inner Eye is clear, try gazing into the crystal, and note what you see."

"What a load of rubbish," Lorcan complained. "Remind me why we took this class again?"

"Because it's a blow off class and the only one we can take together and not have a load of actual work," Aiden reminded him. "So, why were you blokes really late? Don't tell me Scorpius really has found his inner Seer."

Scorpius snorted as Albus answered. "Yeah right. Nah, we just went to find O'Connor to book the pitch for our first practice."

"Oh? When did you get?" Aiden asked.

"Like I'm gonna tell you," Albus scoffed. "You may be my mate, but I'm not gonna let you sneak onto the pitch and spy on our practice."

Aiden clutched his chest. "You wound me, Albus. After all these years of friendship, the mere fact that you would even think-"

"Fourth year," Scorpius interjected, and Aiden scowled at him.

"You Slytherins never let anything go, do you?" Both Slytherins smirked at him, before quickly wiping the smiles of their face when Professor Trelawney came to their table.

"Any progress yet boys? Perhaps you Mr. Malfoy?" she asked, sounding hopeful.

"Uh, actually Lorcan's gazing first," he informed her. She immediately turned to look at Lorcan, who was glaring at Scorpius.

"Well Mr. Scamander? Do you see anything? You know your mother had quite the open mind and strong Inner Eye," she said dreamily.

"Uh yeah, I think Lysander inherited her talents more than me," Lorcan said.

"Well give it a try, my boy. You'll never know if you don't test your Inner Eye."

Lorcan refrained from rolling his external eyes and looked towards the crystal ball in the middle of the table. "Ok well I see… I see a shadow. It looks like it's taking something, out of the ground." The three other boys turned to look at Lorcan as he spoke. "There's someone else there now. They're fighting over the object and…" he trailed off.

"And?" Professor Trelawney questioned."

"And it's gone. Sorry professor, the ball fogged up again," he apologized.

"There's nothing to be sorry for, my dear boy," she said kindly. "You saw more than is to be expected for the first time. Perhaps you have more of your mother's talent than you think." She gave him a smile before moving onto the next table.

"Did you seriously see anything?" Aiden asked.

Lorcan laughed. "Nah, made it all up. Figured it sounded mysterious enough that I wouldn't have to explain, and it probably symbolizes something or the other." The others laughed with him. "So what's new with you guys?"

Scorpius and Aiden shook there heads, but Albus replied. "Um actually, I think I'm gonna tell Darcy how I feel."

"What?!" The other three mirrored Rose's reaction to the same news.

"Hear me out," Albus reasoned. They nodded so he continued. "I talked to Rose about it already. I just feel like I'm never gonna get over her if I'm don't get this out, you know? And I'm willing to risk the friendship because to be honest, I dunno if I can continue to be friends with her after this anyways."

"You've thought this through," Aiden stated. Al nodded. "Well I'm good with it, mate. It's risky but I think you've gone past the point of caring about risk anyways, so…"

"Yeah, I have. I'm just tired of it all. I want to be with her, but I just can't keep carrying on as just a friend. Hey, maybe it'll make her admit any feelings he has for me," he said hopefully. The others smiled at him, but didn't say anything. Truth was they all thought that it was possible that Darcy had feelings for Al as well, but the fact that she hadn't broke up with her boyfriend spoke louder than any thoughts.

"So when are you gonna do it?" Scorpius asked. He'd been pretty blindsided by the whole thing, especially since Al usually talked to him about this kind of stuff when they were by themselves.

"Probably this weekend. The Gryffindor/Ravenclaw Quidditch match is Saturday morning, so maybe I can catch her before or after."

Scorpius nodded, and was about to reply when Professor Trelawney interrupted them.

"Ok class, that's enough for today. But we will be continuing the noble art of crystal gazing next time." The students began to gather up their stuff. "And I want you to start keeping a dream diary, as we will also being interpreting our dreams. Trying to record at least 3 of your dreams before our next class." Everyone groaned softly as they got up to leave.

"Bloody bat," Lorcan muttered. "I never remember my dreams anyways. Except for you know, the ones about girls." Aiden made a disgusted face at his best friend. "Guess I'll just have to make stuff up again," he said, as they all descended the ladder.

---

Thursday, 7:30pm

"James?"

Ella poked her head into the Captain's office Wednesday evening, looking around the small room. The Gryffindor team had just finished up their first team practice of the year, during which practically all traces of the fun and laid-back James that they'd seen over the holidays seemed to be gone and replaced with a captain determined to lead his team to victory. After informing the team that he'd finally been able to corner the Head Boy and reserve the pitch for Thursday evening, they'd spent an hour going over drills in the locker room, then another two hours on the pitch before finally being released. Just before Ella could leave however, James had asked her to stay back.

The chair behind the captain's desk swiveled around, revealing James. He was looking down at a playbook as he turned. "Hey Ella. I'll just be a sec." He scribbled on the page before motioning for her to enter and sit down.

She hesitated before walking into the office, but remained standing. Fidgeting with her hands, she barely suppressed her desire to run out of the room to avoid the inevitable awkwardness that was bound to ensue. She couldn't lie; she was slightly apprehensive that James was about to bring up what happened between them at midnight on New Year's. Though everything between then had seemed perfectly normal right after it happened, she couldn't help but over think their kiss more and more in the days that followed. That led to her avoiding him on the train, and as much as she could during the first few days of school. Of course that was getting to be pretty difficult seeing as they shared the same house, were on the Quidditch team together, and took the same History of Magic class.

"Sorry about that," he stood up, dropping the book and quill on the desk and then sighed dramatically. "A captain's job is never done," he joked. She laughed nervously. "Do you want to sit?" He motioned to the chair in front of his desk.

"I'm fine," she replied, trying to hide any unease that might lace her voice. "Um, what'd you want t talk about?"

"Straight to the point, huh?" he chuckled. He walked around to the front of the desk, about three feet in front of her, where he leaned back against the desk so that he was half sitting and half standing. "So we're playing Ravenclaw this weekend."

Ella tried to keep a confused look off her face. That was not what she had been expecting. "Um yeah, I know James. You repeated it like a hundred times during practice."

He laughed softly and shook his head. "I know, I just wanted to make sure you'd be ok, that there'd be nothing distracting you."

She cocked her head in confusion, as she began to doubt that this was about their kiss. "Like what?"

He cleared his throat, beginning to look slightly uncomfortable. "Well you've had a lot of things going on and-"

"James, just spit it out," she cut him off bluntly.

He took a deep breath before laying it out. "Davies and Turner are both on the team. And I heard they're dating now. I just…" he trailed off. "Is that going to be a distraction for you?" he asked.

She let out the small breath, that she'd been holding, in relief. If she had to choose between talking about their kiss or her cheating date, she would choose the latter every single time to avoid the awkwardness of the situation. "It won't be a problem, James. I mean yeah it still hurts, but it's not like I was that invested in the relationship." James raised an eyebrow. "I mean…" she backtracked, realizing that she sounded too casual. "What I meant was that he and I had only been out once. It's not like he was my boyfriend and we'd been dating for a longer time. That would've hurt more," she clarified.

"Right, well that's good. I can't have my best chaser distracted from the game," he grinned at her.

She laughed softly. "You scared me, I thought you wanted to talk about something else," she told him as she turned to leave.

"What do you mean?"

Facing the door, she squeezed her eyes closed, cursing herself for saying anything. Slowly, she turned back around. "Um well I thought… that you uh… maybe…" she stuttered, trying to come up with an answer. When she failed to find a lie, Ella composed herself as best she could and muttered, "I thought you were going to bring up what happened between us on New Years."

Realization dawned on James' face and he smiled as she blushed furiously. "Actually now that you mention it-"

"It was nothing," Ella blurted out, before looking down. Since she was looking anywhere other than at James, she missed the slight look of hurt that crossed his face. "I mean, I know it didn't mean anything, James," her cheeks reddening even more.

A few moments passed before he spoke. "That's not what I was going to say." He got up and moved towards her. Raising a hand, he lifted her chin up until she was looking at him and then moved his hand to softly caress her cheek. "I was going to say that I haven't stopped thinking about that kiss since it happened." Her breath hitched. "I was going to say that it was the best part of my night." His eyes moved down to look at her lips. "I was going to say that it definitely meant something." He moved closer to her, tilting her chin up a bit more. "And I was going to say that I would very much like to do it again."

Before she could get a word out, he lowered his face and kissed her.

Ella froze for just a second before she lost her train of thought, closed her eyes, and began to kiss him back. Spurred on by her reaction, James' hands moved to hold her face as he deepened the kiss. She sighed softly and instinctively moved closer to him, putting her hands on his waist.

She'd never felt this way when kissing someone before. Sure there had always been heat and electricity with other blokes, but with James there was something else. There was a feeling of comfort, like she was at home. She felt safe in his arms, almost like nothing else existed outside of them.

And this realization scared her more than anything else.

Suddenly she pushed him away. "What you doing?!"

He grinned at her, obviously pleased with her initial reaction. "Snogging you. And quite enjoying it. In fact you seemed to be enjoying it too," he said, moving back closer to her.

She threw out her arm to keep him away. "No, stop. We can not do this!"

He looked confused. "Why not? It seemed like it was working pretty nicely just now," he chuckled.

"James this isn't funny. This is so-"

"Right? Perfect? Hot?" He winked at her.

"-Wrong," she gritted out.

"How is it wrong?" he asked, becoming exasperated as he realized that she wasn't joking. "I fancy you. You certainly seem to fancy me. Or are you telling me that you don't?"

She groaned. "It has nothing to do with whether or not we fancy each other. We just can't ok?"

He threw his hands up in frustration. "Why not? Give me one reason why," he retorted.

She hesitated, trying to think of an excuse other than that her feelings scared her. "Because.. because you're my best friend's cousin!"

He scoffed. "Rose would be completely fine with it, you know that. Wanna try again?"

She mentally cursed him, knowing he was right. "You're my captain. It's bad form to date team members."

"Now you're just making excuses," he sighed. He caught hold of her hands and pulled her closer to him. Holding her hands to his chest, he looked at her meaningfully. "Ella, tell me this isn't what you want. Tell me that you don't fancy me. Tell me that our kiss meant nothing," he murmured. "Tell me that, and I'll back off."

Ella stared into his hazel eyes. "James… I…" she stuttered. She closed her eyes and pulled her hands out of his. "I just can't." Turning around, she yanked the office door open and ran out of the locker room, ignoring his call after her. She ran all the way back to Gryffindor tower, ignoring the looks from everyone she passed, and collapsed on her bed once she reached her dorm. Looking around, all of her roommates were gone, and she found herself relieved that Rose had patrols that night and Emily had her Astronomy class so that she wouldn't have to explain her flustered state.

After laying on her bed for twenty minutes, trying desperately not to think of the kiss, the door to the dorm opened and she sat up to see Charlotte Jones and Mia Boot walking in.

"Hey Ella," Mia greeted her. "We didn't see you at dinner."

"Not really hungry," Ella muttered.

"Really? After Potter grilled us on the field, I was starving," Charlotte replied, walking over to her bed. "Speaking of which, he's looking for you."

Ella snapped her head up. "James is?"

"Yeah," Charlotte said nonchalantly as she cleared went to pull something out from under her bed. "He was in the Great Hall, and he asked if I'd seen you after practice. I think he's in the common room now, if you want to talk to him."

Ella hesitated. "Uh, actually I'm kinda beat from practice, I'm just gonna sleep. I'll talk to him tomorrow," she lied.

"I don't blame you," Charlotte laughed as she found her Gobstones set. "He really went all out on the pitch today. I'm so beat and all I did were Seeker drills. You guys had it way harder."

"Yeah," Ella agreed. "Anyways, I'm gonna shower then go to sleep. Night guys," she said, walking towards the lavatory. The other two girls waved to her as they left to head down to the common room. Closing the door to the loo, Ella leaned back against it and slid to the floor.

"Fuck."

---

Thursday, 11:10pm

"So, what's that one there?"

Emily and Aiden were laying on their backs on the top level of the Astronomy Tower. Their Astronomy class had just ended but they'd stayed there longer telling the professor that Emily was helping Aiden with his charting.

"That is Cassiopeia. It's named after the queen of Aethiopia," Emily whispered to her boyfriend. "The mythology behind it is that Queen Cassiopeia boasted that her daughter, Andromeda, was more beautiful than the Nereids, who were Sea Nymphs. As punishment, Poseidon placed her in the sky tied to a throne. As she circles the celestial pole, she's upside down for part of the time since she's tied to the throne."

"Hmm, you make Astronomy sound much sexier than Professor Sinistra," he murmured into her neck, causing her to laugh. "What about that one?" He lifted his head to point at the sky quickly, then moved back to her neck and began kissing it.

"That's Ursa Major. It's… ah… it's um sort of in the shape of a… um-" she stuttered as he paid more attention to her neck- "a bear. The myth behind it is… ah… oh sod it." She cut of and turned her head to kiss him fully on the mouth.

"You know, we could get caught," he murmured against her lips.

"It's ok, Rose is on patrol tonight," she whispered as she began to kiss up his jaw.

He smiled and began stroking her hair. "Well thank Merlin for friends who are Prefects."

She laughed softly in near his ear before kissing him on the cheek then sitting up. Turning around, she sat in between his legs and leaned against him as he put his arms around her. "You know, we still haven't really talked since… since our fight."

"Oh yeah," he said lamely. This is exactly what he'd been trying to avoid for so long, but a voice in the back of his head told him he needed to stop running. This was Emily, the girl he'd loved for… longer than he could remember. He still remembered being nervous to ask her to Hogsmeade without all of their friends back in their fourth year. "Well I guess I'm ready to talk now, if you want."

She turned to look at him, a surprised look on her face. "Wait, seriously? You're not going to change the subject or run out? Or maybe jump off the tower?"

"Hey! I'm not that bad," he said defensively. She gave him a look. "Alright, well maybe I'm not great at the whole confrontation thing, but I'm still here, aren't I?"

She smiled and nodded. "Yeah, you are."

"So…?" He prodded.

She took a deep breath. "I just want you to let me explain what I meant about our future." He nodded. "First off, obviously I see a future with you, you idiot. When I hesitated at the thought of kids and marriage, it wasn't because I didn't want those things with you. It was because I don't want them to hold you back from your dreams." He began to talk, but she interrupted him. "No, let me finish Aiden. Look, we both have big dreams for our future. You want to play Quidditch and I'd like to join the Department of Mysteries. How do you think kids will factor into that? I don't want our families raising our kids while we're off doing our jobs." He inhaled and nodded silently. "And as for marriage, of course I want to marry you. But I don't want to hold you back from what you want to do."

"Ems, you could never-" he started, but she interrupted him again.

"Not in the way you think, Aiden. I mean that I know you. If we got married, you'd feel bad about traveling for Quidditch all the time and being away from me. And as my husband, you'd feel more obligated to stay behind rather than if you were only my boyfriend. Don't tell me I'm wrong Aiden Zabini, I know you better than you know yourself. I know it hurts when you see your mom sad when your dad has to travel for work, and that's not even that much. You'd be traveling a lot more."

Damn, he thought. She's spot on. He sighed. "You know me too well."

She smiled and moved closer to him. "Don't I know it. But anyways, back to the point. I just think we shouldn't make any definite plans now because I don't want us to be disappointed if they don't work out the way we plan it to. Or even worse, I don't want us adhering to those plans when they're not right for us down the road."

He sat silently for a few minutes pondering her words, and then spoke. "Why do you have to be so god damned smart Emily Longbottom. I swear, you are too good for me."

Relief covered her face as she turned around and lay back against him. "That doesn't matter, because you're the only one for me," she murmured.

He kissed the top of her head, and they sat gazing at the stars for a while longer, before gathering their things and leaving the tower.

---

Thursday, 11:30pm

"So, you had a good holiday then?" Darcy asked.

She and Rose were currently patrolling the fourth floor, checking classrooms and hallways for anyone who was breaking curfew. They'd been at it for about an hour so far, and in Rose's opinion, Darcy had seemed slightly distracted for the most part. Rose couldn't help but wonder if it had anything to do with what Albus had confided in her. She hadn't had the chance to talk to her cousin all day, and didn't want to bring it up with Darcy.

"Yeah, it was good I suppose," replied Rose. "The whole family got together, so it was nice to see everyone. Oh, And Teddy and Victoire got engaged."

"Yeah, I heard. James told JD," she smiled. "Have they set a date yet?"

"I think they're planning for summer. There are so many family members on our side that summer is the only time we're all usually in one place," Rose smiled. "Vic's mom and aunt are planning everything. Though I think Gabrielle was still holding out hope that she could set Victoire up with some French guy, so let's hope she doesn't sabotage anything."

Darcy laughed, assuming Rose was joking. When she saw Rose look at her questioningly, she raised her eyebrows. "Oh, you were serious?"

"Dead serious. Apparently Gabrielle thinks that Victoire, Dom, and Louis have lost their French roots by living in England and going to Hogwarts. She wanted them to attend Beauxbatons with their cousins, but both Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur shot that idea down." Reaching a classroom, Darcy poked her head in to look around for anyone. Content that it was empty, they continued down the hall. "But, I don't think she would actually do anything to mess with the wedding," continued Rose. "Victoire is her goddaughter after all. But how were your holidays? Did you have fun at the party? Sorry I didn't get to talk to you much."

"Yeah, it was fun," Darcy said. "It looked like you had enough on your plate though, I didn't want to be a bother." Rose looked at her in confusion. "I mean with Ava and then Ella's… situation with Andrew," she explained. "He's such a prat. And I heard he and Amy are dating now."

"I know. I mean to cheat on your date in her house and at her party. I'm still plotting revenge on Ella's behalf."

"I will gladly join you in that," Darcy grinned. "I've never liked Andrew much."

"To be honest, I don't hang out around Zach's friends much, so I didn't know too much about him before," Rose said. "Have you spent time around him with Callum?" The blonde looked slightly uncomfortable, so Rose backtracked. "I don't mean to pry or anything…."

"No it's fine,' Darcy reassured her. "He's hung around us a few times, and I've always got this 'player' sort of vibe from him. He took my friend Phoebe to Hogsmeade once last year, and while she thought that date went well, he never asked her out again." Rose nodded thoughtfully. Suddenly, Darcy stopped and reached out to stop Rose as well. "Rose, can I tell you something?"

"Uh, sure," Rose replied, slightly wary.

"I um… I need some advice." Rose waited for her to continue, apprehensive that this was going to be about Albus and his confession. "I told Callum that I needed a break," she blurted out.

"Wait, what?" Rose asked. People were on a roll in the department of surprising her this week.

"I dunno, things have been feeling off with us lately. Every time we're together it's like we're only a couple and we only do couple things, you know? I'm starting to wonder what the foundation to our relationship is."

Rose nodded slowly. Somewhere in the back of her head this was starting to sound familiar, but she pushed those thoughts aside. "So you guys are broken up then?" she asked, cautiously.

"No, not completely," Darcy admitted. "I told him that I didn't want to break up and just asked him for some time apart to think about things. I've been feeling like we were going through a routine day after day, rather than actually being invested in it for a while now."

"What'd he say?"

"Well at first he was confused. And then he was pretty mad," Darcy sighed. "He didn't really understand what I meant, and I had to explain it all to him. And even then, he didn't really get it. But afterwards he told me to do whatever I wanted and let him know when I figured it out." She rubbed her eyes in frustration. "And I don't want to ask Phoebe or Penny about it. With them being my best friends, they're too close to the situation to be objective about it. That's why I was hoping I could talk to you about it," she finished.

"Of course you can," Rose smiled. "Lay it out for me."

Darcy smiled gratefully, and they turned to keep walking. "I just feel like there's no foundation to our relationship. I mean I'd been single for most of the summer before fifth year, and then I came back to school and heard that Callum Davies wanted to date me. And it was flattering, you know? He was a year older, and he was well known for being a decent Seeker, and pretty popular to boot. I guess I just got swept away with the idea of it all rather than the reality." Rose nodded along as they walked. "And then he asked me out, I said yes, and suddenly I was his girlfriend. You know we didn't even go out on a date first? He just asked me to be his girlfriend, and I accepted. And yeah we went out on dates after that, but a lot of the time we would meet up with his friends, and the time we actually were alone we'd spend it snogging. We never just talked about stuff that was going on in or lives or anything really. We just settled into this routine, and I guess I got so comfortable with it I didn't notice that anything was wrong."

"So what made you realize finally that there was something wrong?" Rose asked. She wondered whether it was Darcy's ability to talk so easily and openly with Albus, but kept that to herself.

Darcy sighed. "A lot of things really, I've been feeling this way for the last few months. I wrote it off as nerves over him wanting me to meet his family, but now I know it's not that. What really clinched it was seeing Emily and Aiden together on the train."

"Huh?"

"I was passing by their compartment on the train, and the two of them were just sitting their and… talking. And just enjoying each other's company. I think I can count the number of times Callum and I have done that on one hand. And the times I've actually gotten him to talk to me rather than just snog, it was mostly about Quidditch," she explained.

"Yeah but Darcy, Emily and Aiden put all us other couples to shame. And of course they were friends long before they started dating."

"But that's the point, Rose," she interjected. "I want that. I want to be with someone who wants to talk to me about anything and everything, who's interested in my mind not just my mouth. I'm just starting to realize that Callum and I never really even had a friendship. And to this day it's more like we're just a couple, and not friends, and it's made me realize that… I'm not in love with him."

Rose sighed. "To be honest, it doesn't sound like you need any advice, Darcy. It's pretty clear your mind is made up."

The blonde stopped and turned. She let out a breath and gave Rose a small smile. "You're right. I guess I just needed to hear it all out loud." She hesitated before speaking again. "But Rose, what if I'm wrong. What if I'm making a huge mistake and just ruining everything? And I don't want to hurt him, I mean I do care about him."

"I don't think you're making a mistake. Darcy, everything you've said makes sense. And yeah it may hurt right now, but in the long run you're both better of," Rose reasoned.

"True," Darcy mused. "Thanks Rose, you've really helped a lot, I-"

She was cut off by the sounds of scuffling coming from around the corner, and they both groaned.

"Bloody fantastic. School just started, can't they keep it in their pants?" Rose complained, as Darcy stifled a laugh.

They were approaching the corner when Darcy looked down and saw her shoelace untied. Stopping, she bent down. "Bugger. Rose You go ahead, I'll catch up."

"Uh huh, leave it to me eh? Thanks," she said sarcastically. Darcy grinned in response.

Continuing around the corner, Rose approached the broom closet which was emitting some girlish giggles. Grimacing at the thought of catching some love struck couple in the heat of passion, she called out to them. "Ok, if you lot come out within fifteen seconds, I'll only give you detention and not take away house points."

The giggles suddenly stopped.

"And Merlin, please be decent!" Rose pleaded. "One… Two…" she began.

Fifteen seconds later, Rose wasn't surprised to see Lauren Montague getting out of the broom closet, her blouse halfway on.

"You're a bloody buzz kill, you know that Weasley?" she sneered at Rose.

"Do I look like I care?" Rose deadpanned. "You're a prefect Montague. This is hardly setting a good example."

Lauren scowled and rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Now is your partner coming out or do I have to…" Rose trailed off as she saw who was emerging from the broom closet. Her eyes widened, and she muttered, "Oh fuck."

Standing in front of her was Callum Davies.

"Rose did you send them back to their dor-" Darcy came around the corner, breaking off and freezing when she saw her boyfriend standing next to Lauren, both looking disheveled and guilty.

Silence met the group as Callum looked downwards in shame, Darcy stood speechless with her mouth hanging slightly open, and Lauren glared defiantly at both the other girls. Rose's eyes remained focused on her partner as a look of immense hurt slid across the Hufflepuff's face.

"Darce-"

"Are you kidding me?" Darcy whispered, interrupting what was sure to be an apologetic plea from Callum. He immediately quieted. "Are you fucking kidding me?!" she repeated, much louder than the first time.

Lauren finally shifted her eyes downwards while the color drained from Callum's face. Darcy very rarely used swear words, so when she did people knew it was because she was extremely angry.

"Darce-" Callum repeated, his voice pleading.

"No! Don't you fucking dare!" she ordered. "Don't you dare try to explain this. We aren't even broken up! All I said was that I needed time! You're cheating on me, you arsehole!" Callum didn't bother trying to defend himself, knowing that she wouldn't let him. "And with Lauren?!" she cried. "You always said you didn't like her. That she was an annoying bint. I guess that was all a lie," she scoffed.

"No, babe please! I promise, this is nothing!" Callum protested. Lauren looked up, hurt marring her face. Rose was the only one to notice, but she couldn't find it in her to feel sorry for the Ravenclaw girl at all, given the situation.

"Yeah because this," Darcy said sarcastically, indicating towards Lauren and Callum, "definitely looks like you don't like her."

A look of guilt crossed Callum's features as he took a step towards Darcy, but she put up her hands to stop him. "No. Don't even try. Consider our break permanent," she snapped. "Rose, let's go." She turned and began walking back the way they'd come.

Turning to face Lauren, Rose fixed her with a cold glare. "That was a bitchy move Montague."

"Spare me the lecture on morality, Weasley," spat Lauren. "Just give us detention and let us go."

Rose shook her head in disbelief at Lauren's attitude towards what she had just done. "Detention. This whole week, with Professor Longbottom."

Callum still stood motionless, not listening as Lauren balked. "The whole week?! What the hell are you playing at Weasley."

"Take it up with the Headmistress if you want," Rose said smugly, knowing Lauren couldn't do that without bringing up the situation in which she had been found. "Both of you go back to your dorms. Now."

Scowling, Lauren tugged at Callum's hand. He snapped out of his daze but pulled his hand away to walk down the corridor alone. Rose saw a look of hurt cross Lauren's face, but couldn't find it in herself to care, given the situation. The blonde followed Callum towards the Ravenclaw dorms without another glance at Rose.

Shaking her head, Rose turned to follow where Darcy had gone, but found she didn't have to search too far. Turning the corner, she saw the Hufflepuff sitting against the wall, head in her hands. Darcy looked up as Rose sat down next to her. "So much for hurting him," she sniffed. "I know I was going to break up with him but… but it still hurts," she whispered.

"I'm sorry," Rose sighed, not knowing what else to say. "I'm going to steal something from Scorpius and just say 'fucking Ravenclaws.'"

Darcy gave a small laugh which turned into a strangled sob.

"C'mon, let's go to the kitchens. I think we're in much need of some ice cream." Darcy have her a small smile as Rose helped her up, and the two of them walked side by side towards the kitchens.

---

And another chapter done. This chapter was actually cut down because initially it was going to include the Quidditch match and some other stuff, but I've decided to put that in the next chapter because it was simply getting way too long and you guys deserved an update.

Like I said I'm sorry for the wait, but right now I'm in the middle of doing my law school applications, looking for a part time job, and doing a law internship. I don't want to promise anything, but I'm hoping (HOPING being the operative word) to have the next chapter done before I leave for my India trip (again DO NOT hold me to this, it's only if I get the time to write).

As always, reviews would really make me happy! And of course favorites and follows ;)