Chapter VI
When they entered the Great Hall for lunch, Albus spotted Rose making her way through the crowd in the distance. He quickly excused himself, but it seemed Sophie and Scorpius hardly noticed his departure, involved as they were in their discussion. At first, Albus had felt some trepidation about approaching his cousin, but his earlier talk with James had reassured him at least somewhat. Clearly his Sorting hadn't changed their perception of him, or not yet at least.
"Hey Rose, how are you doing?" he said as he placed his hand on her shoulder. She turned around, her hand already wandering towards her wand but once she saw him her expression softened and her hand dropped to her side.
"Al!" she shouted, giving him a fierce hug, "good to see you. How are you doing? How were classes? How's Slytherin? James told me you were already fitting in."
"Of course he would say that. I'm sure he's glad he's going to remain Gryffindor's only golden boy. However, for once he's actually right," Albus chuckled, "I'm doing fine. Everyone's nicer than expected. I haven't heard a single bigoted comment yet," he said as he tried to get free from Rose's embrace.
"That's great. I was worried a bit, but it seems you're doing great. I noticed you were even talking to Malfoy; you sure dad approves of that?" she said with a mischievous grin.
"He's nice actually. A bit timid, but okay. I doubt even uncle Ron would be able to say anything bad about him."
"Then you don't know dad as well as I do. He'll find something for sure. We've got classes together this afternoon anyway, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt at the very least until then. Is it true they give you your own pet cobra in Slytherin that you can use to torment other students with?"
"What? No," Albus stammered.
"I was just teasing Al. Relax," Rose said as she patted him on the cheek, "you clearly need to get used to your status as Slytherin. You're allowed to call us rash and brainless, and we'll make fun of you for being evil."
"Sounds like I got the short end of the stick there. And how are you doing Rose? You seemed a bit tense when I tapped you on the shoulder," Albus said.
"Oh, it's nothing," she said, turning away. Albus grabbed her by the shoulder to prevent her from leaving.
"Rose, I'm not your mom, you can tell me things," Albus pressed, "and if you don't, you know I'll just keep bugging you till you do. We've been friends long enough for that."
"It's nothing major. It's just… I'll tell you later, okay?" she added as she looked around, "how about we meet directly after lunch at the Defence classroom? I doubt anyone will get there too early," she said, "and I'd prefer to do my story without risking being overheard."
"Sure. Well, then I better start eating if we want enough time for our talk," Albus said as he let her go and made his way to the Slytherin table.
Albus was worried. It wasn't like Rose to be that jumpy. Clearly something was bothering her. He just hoped she'd be honest. She had always tried to hide it whenever something was wrong, not wanting to be weak. That's what you get when your parents helped bring down Voldemort and are capable of handling anything the world throws at them. The same thing is expected of you, the same resilience and independence. That was one thing Albus could sympathise with for sure.
He looked at Rose who was leaning over her plate and spooning down her food. She hardly seemed to say something to the people around her. Albus frowned, Rose reminded him of Scorpius at the Opening Feast. Could it be that he had actually ended up in the better of the two houses? He shook his head and dropped down next to Scorpius. He'd enjoy his food first; he could worry later.
"Everything okay Albus? You look even more concerned than Scorpius usually does," Sophie said, "and he's a real downer, trust me. I'm not sure what's the saddest, his stories about his family or the fact that he believes the Chudley Cannons can win the cup this year."
"I'm just thinking," Albus replied.
"In that case, don't think too often. It looks terrifying," Sophie said as she studied a dish before her, "what even is this?"
"Mash," Scorpius said.
"Mash of what though?" Sophie said as she took a spoonful and held it before her eyes.
"Mash," Scorpius simply replied as he went for a second helping. Sophie raised an eyebrow, lifted the spoon in the bowl and studied the composition of the mash, letting it slowly drip down.
"I'm not eating that. Not now, not ever," Sophie declared.
Albus ignored their exchange and just started shoving down food, taking care to also try some of the mash. It was, as could be expected at Hogwarts, delicious.
"What's the rush? I admit we may have gotten lost a couple of times, but I really don't think it's so extreme that we have to hurry through lunch. Usually, we only incur a delay of about fifteen minutes," Sophie said.
"Maybe he's just trying to have an excuse to leave without you, as people who go with you tend to get lost," Scorpius filled in for Albus whose mouth was too full to permit a civilised answer.
"Oh please. It's easy to just follow and criticise. Why don't you lead us next time?" Sophie shot back.
"Sure," Scorpius shrugged as Albus finally managed to swallow his food.
"I promised to have a chat with Rose before class," Albus said as he downed a cup of pumpkin juice and rose from his chair, "see you two later."
"Oh no you don't, we're coming with you," Scorpius said as he pushed his chair back, "otherwise you might get lost. Or worse, I guide Sophie directly to the classroom and she denies it afterwards because there were no witnesses."
"Well, no offence, but I think Rose would prefer to talk to me in private," Albus said, brushing some crumbs from his robes.
"No worries, we'll just sit in the class in the meantime. Or we'll sneak off like proper snakes and explore the surrounding corridors," Sophie promised as she wiped her mouth and got up as well.
"And get lost while exploring," Scorpius added, earning him a glare from Sophie.
"Okay, fair enough," Albus said as the three of them headed for the exit.
"Hey Potter, are you trying to be Perrine's favourite as well by being half an hour early for class?" Vance said as they passed her. She clearly hadn't rushed her food and was still eating.
"Just going for a walk Vance, for digestion," Albus answered.
"Of course Potter, of course," Vance said as she raised her cup in mock salute, "if your digestion earns us any house points, do let me know."
"She's annoying," Scorpius said as soon as they were out of hearing range.
"Of course she is, she's in Slytherin," Albus replied as they walked through the doors of the Great Hall.
In the end, Scorpius managed to lead them directly to the Defence classroom. If not for one exploding suit of armour, it would have been a flawless journey. As it was, a helmet landed on Scorpius' head after the explosion and it took several minutes for them to free their guide from the thing. His normally so carefully combed hair was rather dishevelled as a result, though Scorpius didn't seem to care much and stowed the helmet in his backpack, claiming it'd be useful for Halloween.
Rose was already there, leaning against the wall and trying to act casual. She was twirling her wand in her hand and looked at a book, but Albus could tell she wasn't actually reading it. For one, she hadn't turned a page for at least fifteen seconds, which was way below her average reading speed.
"Hey Rose," Albus greeted.
"Hey Al," Rose said as she cast a suspicious look at his two companions, "I didn't expect extra visitors."
"Oh, right. Rose, these are Sophie and Scorpius. Scorpius, Sophie, this is Rose," Albus introduced quickly. Scorpius and Rose shook hands, the former much more enthusiastically than the latter. Despite her promise to reserve judgment for now, Rose didn't seem too pleased to meet a Malfoy. Sophie on the other hand was greeted with more warmth.
"Good to see you again Rose," Sophie said as she pulled Rose in an embrace. Rose returned it a bit awkwardly and voiced her agreement.
"Anyway, we'll leave the two of you to it. We'll see if we can find other pieces of armour to complement Scorpius' helmet," Sophie said as she dragged Scorpius around the corner.
"Yeah, don't ask. They can be a bit strange," Albus said in reply to Rose's arched eyebrow, "so, what's bothering you? You seemed kind of lonely during lunch."
"Are you spying on me?" Rose countered as she folded her arms across her chest, "I don't need someone watching over my every move."
"Spying? Hardly, but as we're both eating in the same hall, I couldn't help but notice. So, what's up Rose?"
"Well, first of all, I'm not that lonely as you assume. It's just that my regular lunch partner already landed himself in the hospital wing," Rose stammered.
"Why is he in the hospital wing?" Albus asked.
"He's a Gryffindor, Al. That stuff just happens occasionally. This time it was caused by him having his first Potions class. It was rather spectacular, the explosion even left a small mushroom cloud," Rose grinned.
"Okay, fair enough, and the rest of your house? You'd think someone would talk to you at least," Albus pressed.
"It's nothing major, we just had a small disagreement this morning."
"What, you had a disagreement with all other first year Gryffindors? How did you do that?"
"Well, Charles, that's my friend in the hospital, and I had a disagreement with all other first years," Rose corrected, "it's just a small thing. It will get better soon enough. Don't worry about it Al," Rose said dismissively. Albus kept his eyes on her, but Rose just shrugged, "really, you worry too much. I appreciate the concern, but I'll be fine. It's you who should watch your back, surrounded by Slytherins as you are," Rose winked.
"Don't worry Rose, I will. But what did you argue over?" he pressed, unwilling to change the topic just yet.
"Just the article in the Prophet. Someone voiced their support for the Manifesto and when someone insulted the current quota system, I felt obliged to defend it."
"Let me guess, you did remember aunt Hermione's defence, unlike me," Albus said as understanding dawned upon him. Rose was very much her mother's daughter. Dad had sometimes told him about his time in Hogwarts and from what Albus had understood, aunt Hermione hadn't had that many friends in the beginning. Her intelligence and eagerness had been intimidating apparently. Judging by what he'd just heard, it seemed Rose faced similar issues. Albus just hoped it wouldn't take a troll to remedy the situation.
"Don't worry about it Al," Rose muttered, "just leave me to it, okay? I'll sort it out. James is also already trying to meddle but you Potters need to understand I can take care of myself just fine."
"Okay, okay," Albus said, raising his hands in assurance, "I won't meddle in your affairs."
"Besides, if you had just gotten yourself sorted into Gryffindor, there wouldn't have been an issue to begin with," Rose snapped. Albus swallowed and gave Rose an annoyed glare.
"Don't hold my Sorting against me Rose," he warned, "that's hardly fair."
She let out a sigh and seemed to deflate.
"Sorry Al, I'm just a bit testy today it seems."
"Don't worry about it," Albus said as he slapped her on the shoulder and led her to the classroom, "let's just find a place together somewhere. I'm curious for my first Defence class and until your friend's out of the hospital wing or you've sorted things out with your house, you're sitting with me," he said as he guided her into the classroom and took a seat near the front.
"Oh, yes, sitting with a Slytherin will definitely help my reputation", Rose sneered though she did sit down next to Albus.
"of course it will, everyone knows we are the coolest kids around."
A/N: Still quite busy so the next update might take another week. Hope you enjoy the update and as always, I do love reviews. Thanks to The Three Stoogies' last review some errors in previous updates are now corrected.