AN: Thank you so much for the reviews! Not sure if I replied to everyone as I work out of town half the week, and I certainly loved each one! Oh, that reminds me. To the reviewer who "corrected" the students having Muggle Studies in second year: as you will find out soon, in an already written segment, there have been changes to the school curriculum. Also, this is fan fiction – the authors can certainly change anything they wish. It is our creative right. Thank you, however, for keeping a watchful eye. To be honest, I can't remember those specifics (easy to confuse fan fiction stories I've read and the actual books), as I do not feel they matter when I am writing my own stories or reading others - whether I like them or not. I don't mean to sound harsh, it's just a strong belief I have.

Chapter II: Third Year

Scorpius

He did it! He got on the team! Scorpius went running to his two friends, both in seventh year, to tell them the news.

Garrett smiled. "Of course you did, we all knew you would." Garrett was also Head Boy that year. "Now, I have to go to a meeting. Can you help my sister Clair with her Potions assignment?"

Scorpius nodded. He sometimes tutored others, hoping it would help him earn a role as Prefect one day. His desire for the role had nothing to do with his father's insistence that he remain on top of every class, participate in every role he could. And it would somewhat make up for him not being sorted into Slytherin. No, Scorpius Malfoy didn't need to listen to his father. He wanted these things himself.

As it stood, Scorpius was only a few points away from tying Rose Weasley as top of their class. He knew she didn't care about such things, but for him it was important. He wanted to beat her, just once. Of course, that was another thing his father, Draco Malfoy, wanted him to do. Beat Hermione Granger, er, Hermione Weasley's daughter in the school's academic standings. Little did either of the two know, but occasionally he did.

He still watched her during his third year at Hogwarts. Then one day, the morning of his first match, he was running down the hall to lunch after a quick meeting and ran head into her.

At first, he didn't know whose body he rammed into as he turned the corner. Papers went flying and he saw the girl laying on the ground, groaning as she started to get up.

"Here," He said, offering his hand.

Rose Weasley looked up and saw who it was that ran into her. She gasped. She took his hand tentatively as he helped her up.

"Sorry about that, I was just trying not to miss lunch. I was late…the Quidditch match…" He was rambling.

She looked at him with a puzzled look on her face. "Well, you missed it," She said matter of fact, "Lunch, that is. They were just closing up…I was just trying to turn in an assignment early before the match."

Scorpius was disappointed. His first match…and he didn't have anything to eat! And he was starving.

Rose paused for a moment, and then brought something out of her bag, which had miraculously stayed on her shoulder the entire time. He thought the bag looked heavy. Hadn't his dad said something about Granger always lugging around books all the time? And why did his dad talk about Rose's mum all the time? He knew they saw each other a lot at the Ministry. Yes, that was it. He was always discussing their arguments about this bill and that bill. Something about house elves…

His attention turned back to Rose as she took something out of her bag. It was a wrapped sandwich. "Here," She said handing it to him. I made a few since my friends often get hungry during the matches. You can have another if you like…"

Scorpius smiled and took the sandwich. "Thanks! You're a lifesaver. This will be enough. I can get something to drink at the locker room…"

She started to leave, but then turned around. "Good luck."

Scorpius watched her leave. Her last words replayed in his mind. He smiled and headed toward the Quidditch lockers…his team was playing Gryffindor.

Rose

Rose sat on the bleachers with her friends, all wearing their house colors: red and gold.

The game started and Rose watched and screamed along with her friends when Gryffindor claimed the first goal. She saw Scorpius and suddenly froze. Was he looking at her? She thought she saw him smile, but then he was off on his broom again; flying, looking for the snitch. George's son, Harris, was the Gryffindor seeker and was also searching for the snitch.

The game continued, and often Rose found herself, once again, watching Scorpius Malfoy. She was confused. She didn't know him; he bumped into her today and she had given him a sandwich. She had even wished him luck. Why? Hadn't her dad told her to stay away from him?

She shook herself from all thoughts on Scorpius and continued rooting for her team, along with her housemates.

Allison was sitting next to her, and turned to whisper something in Rose's ear. "Finally decided to stop staring at Scorpius?"

Rose shook her head. "Why…what are you talking about?"

The girl gave her a friendly smirk. "I know more than you think."

Rose shook her head again. Allison was actually quite complex. She was often very quiet, but had many friends. Rose and her were particularly close, and Allison's parents were friends with her parents. Dean and Luna Thomas. Dean was a lawyer and sometimes artist, while Luna was the editor for her family's news bulletin. The woman often wrote strange editorials. Rose would get confused at some of the ones Hermione read aloud at the dinner table, her mum laughing at something Rose did not understand. Apparently the woman was quite humorous, but only her closest friends seemed to get it.Except dad; Mrs. Thomas also confuses him.

Scorpius

Scorpius lay on his bed. It was the night after the quidditch game, and it had been a close one! Of course, last season the Gryffindor team had won the final match, as it usually did when Potter's eldest was playing. But Scorpius was smart; smarter than his father in fact. At least, in Quidditch he was (and in general areas in life, no doubt). Definitely not Potions, but he excelled in Transfigurations.

During those games young Malfoy had watched the Gryffindor team's plays every chance he got. No noticed something, too. Like how they could defeat them. And that's how Ravenclaw beat the Gryffindor team today, thanks to Scorpius' advised plays and catching the snitch. He now had the snitch placed carefully in a secret drawer, wanting to keep it – his first win with the team.

But right now Scorpius was not thinking about Quidditch. He was thinking about Rose Weasley. Well, not just her; he was thinking about their respective families animosity toward each other. He had tried mentioning it once, the summer after first year.

"Trust me when I say this to you, son, they are nobody worth knowing." His father told him. With that Draco left the dining room to go to his study.

His mother let out a hmph! as she watched her husband leave the room.

Scorpius waited until his father's footsteps had faded.

"What do you make of it, mum?"

"I know enough that your father won't relent on his childish hatred."

"What do you mean?" Scorpius asked, curious about the matter.

"Perhaps when you're older I'll tell you. Better yet, your father should but I am afraid he'll paint his own portrait."

"He paints?"

His mother laughed. "No, he will likely just give you his side of what happened. Son, you…you know how your grandfather Lucius is."

Scorpius nodded. He knew his grandfather had done terrible things in the past and, although many regretted (at least in public) the man still had his prejudices. Especially about muggles and muggleborns.

Scorpius' father had somewhat been tamed over the years. Over the past decade he had started to hire muggleborns to work at Malfoy Industries, one climbing the ranks to become Draco's vice president and good friend. When it started, Lucius had been furious, but gradually accepted them into the company when he saw how most were very creative and productive, allowing Malfoy Industries to be one of the first few companies to incorporate muggle devices into products for wizards and witches.

"Yes, I know mum."

Scorpius had, of course, tried to look up the Potter and Weasley families, but it seemed the tombs he wanted were no where to be found in the Hogwarts library. At least, not available to him.

He once asked Garrett about it. His friend had laughed, saying that the Ministry, still somewhat "tight in their britches", didn't allow teaching of the Voldemort Wars until students reached fifth year.

"They're too afraid someone might start planning something, you know, until they are of age or some nonsense like that. Although I did hear that a Weasley, the one who works in the Law department, has been fighting it."

"So, are you going to tell me or not?"

Garrett shook his head. "No, I'll have my badge for that one,"

Scorpius sighed. He wanted to know.

Rose

The only daughter of Ron and Hermione Weasley was currently staring at herself in the mirror. She was, in fact, aware that she was going through her 'awkward stage.' Her face looked peaked, her body was oddly shaped, and to make things worse: she had several pimples.

She knew mum would have a fit if she used a beauty charm. In fact, the great Mrs. Weasley forbade her daughter from such horrors until she grew older. Then you can decide for yourself, her mum had said on countless occasions.

Mum had told her that third year was her awkward year, but that started to feel more confident in her sixth year.

Ah, yes, that must have been the great Yule Ball catastrophe dad always talks about when they argue, Rose thought. Hermione had a few choice words herself, but Rose had no idea what was wrong with Auntie Lav. She knew Auntie Lav had been in the same year as her parents, and then married Uncle Percy when she was six. They were currently expecting their second child.

As Rose continued to stare in the mirror, she couldn't help but wonder why her friend Allison thought Scorpius Malfoy watched her. Was he? Why? What was so…interesting?...about her? Or perhaps it was because of who she was.

Unlike Malfoy, Rose knew a bit about the rivalry between their families. She knew his father, Draco, had been horrid to her mum and that dad had tried to hex him several times and mum had hit Scorpius' dad.

She was also aware of the Malfoy prejudice. Did Scorpius think she was repulsive, like Draco did her mum?

Of course, the young Weasley girl had no idea what Draco Malfoy had actual told his wife what he thought about Hermione Granger. That was another story, and rather complex. And certainly she had no way of knowing her mum was a constant in Draco's development of tolerance throughout the years.