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ROSE

The first day back to term is always so hectic, and I love it. It's kind of sad to know this is my last year on the Hogwarts Express, but sort of cool at the same time. I can move on with my life, and find out what else there is to offer. That's rather exciting.

Most of the other kids have already said goodbye to their parents and are talking to their friends. But not us. Mum is steady giving Hugo and Scorpius a rundown on how important it is that they watch out for Nina during her first year, and Dad's being just as serious about it, too. Personally, I don't think she'll need it. Even though she's small, Nina's pretty tough and knows how to hold her own. After all, Mum and Dad raised us well. Or as well as they could have.

Scorpius looks more irritated than ever. Apparently, he's too important to acknowledge the fact that he has a family anymore. I wish he would quit acting, because he's really a sensitive git no matter how mean he tries to act.

"She isn't going to die," Scorpius says, rolling his eyes as Mum keeps rattling on. "Honestly, what do you think can possibly happen to her? She's my sister, not a glass sculpture." Scorpius is just as much as related to Nina as he is to me. Only he doesn't know that. Most of our family has been based on lies an false pretenses.

"The two of you are men. You need to protect your sister. Both of your sisters, actually," Dad says, looking at me matter-of-factly. I don't know where I stand with him half the time. I don't doubt that he loves me, but sometimes I just wish my own dad did, too. From what I can remember, which is very little, he wasn't as standoffish as Dad often is. He cares for us, but in a very tough way.

"We're simply telling you to watch out for your sisters," Mum says tightly. Hugo shuffles his feet, showing he's annoyed too.

"I'm not a baby," Nina protests, frowning at our parents.

Scorpius gestures to her. "See, Nina said it herself."

Dad narrows his eyes at Scorpius. "Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy-"

"No need for full names, Dad. Got it. We'll take great care of her. Promise," Hugo says quickly, diffusing the situation.

Dad gives Hugo a satisfied look. It always seems like they've got their own nonverbal way of communicating. It's scary how well they understand one another. I don't get why it's not the same way for me.

Mum checks her watch. "Well, you have around fifteen more minutes. Is there anyone else you wanted to-"

"Isobelle," Nina says, standing on her toes. Her eyes light up as she sees our other sister making her way across the platform, practically dragging Elle. Isobelle looks ridiculous. No matter where Isobelle goes, she always insists on being so dressed up like it's still the Middle Ages. She dresses Elle the same way. In honesty, I think Isobelle has too much money and too much time on her hands. Everyone else goes quiet. The look on Scorpius' face changes, as if he's detected something wrong already.

"I apologize for being late," Isobelle says slowly with a deep frown. "Delphine decided to throw a tantrum at breakfast and ruin Daddy's robes when he came home to eat."

Elle looks at the ground with her lower lip poked out like she's ashamed of herself. For some reason, I don't feel like this is the complete story. Isobelle and Simon always seem to blow anything Elle does way out of proportion. He generally leaves Isobelle to watch Delphine on her own, which would be a horrible choice for even a stupid person to make.

Mum frowns. She doesn't like the idea of Isobelle watching Elle, she'd much rather her and Dad did it. I agree with her completely. "How was it handled?" Mum questions hesitantly. She's probably asking whether Isobelle punished Elle, or Simon. Those would have two very different outcomes.

"Her father gave her a good spanking, of course," Isobelle says plainly. "She made him late for work." Perhaps it's me, but it seems horrible that Simon would ever think to hit Elle, who's a 4-year-old little girl. Either way, Isobelle and Simon don't seem to understand the concept of mistakes, unless they're the ones making them.

Dad puts his hands on Mum's shoulder, telling her to give it up.

Isobelle yanks Elle's hand forward like she's a rag doll. "Say goodbye, Delphine. It's almost time for them to leave. You wasted all your time-"

To shut Isobelle up, I bend down and lift Delphine in my arms. She's quite little. "I'm going to miss you, Elle," I tell her with a small smile. "You're going to miss me, aren't you?"

Elle nods, her eyes facing downward. "Words, Delphine," Isobelle prompts impatiently. She won't ever shut up.

"Yes," Elle says quietly. She looks at Isobelle, as if she's waiting for directions.

"Say goodbye to your uncles and Nina. You were so excited to come, and now you're here," Isobelle continues.

Elle looks at me, then to Isobelle. "Mummy-"

"She can't do it if you won't let her go," Isobelle says smartly, frowning at me. "Hand her over, Rose."

I narrow my eyes at Isobelle. She's hateful, and she talks about Elle like she's an object. I give Elle another hug and kiss on the cheek before handing her to Scorpius. He looks awkward holding Delphine, and like he doesn't really want to. I couldn't imagine Scorpius with children of his own.

"Bye, Uncle Scorpius," Elle says quietly. She puts her arms around his neck.

"Don't give Isobelle any trouble," he whispers so that Isobelle can't hear. "Or you'll have me to answer to." Elle gives him a tiny smile.

"We'll see you at Christmas," Hugo says to Elle.

"And we'll write you every week. We promise," Nina assures Elle, tickling her. Elle can't help but laugh, and things almost seem normal for a bit.

The whistle on the train blows, signaling that we have five minutes left, or we'll be left on the platform.

Isobelle opens her arms, waving Nina to her. "Tell me goodbye, you," she says with a weak smile. Isobelle and Nina hug, and Belle kisses the top of Nina's head. I could almost mistake her for a real sister. "I can't believe how old you are now. You'd better write me, Georgina."

"I will, Belle" Nina promises.

"Good." Isobelle hugs Hugo next. He towers over her. "Do well in quidditch," Isobelle says. "And watch out for Nina."

Hugo rolls his eyes at Isobelle good-naturedly. He's too nice to ever get upset with her. "Sure. Love you, Belle."

"You too, Hugo."

I know that I'm next to say bye to Isobelle, but I don't particularly want to. Dad gives me a look. Isobelle holds her chin higher.

"Rose," she says rigidly. "Come and say goodbye to your big sister."

I roll my eyes and give Isobelle a halfhearted hug. She reeks of Firewhiskey masked with a thick layer of perfume. Isobelle's been a heavy drinker since she was around my age. Alcohol is the last thing she needs, it gives her a bad temper. Now I get why she seems extremely irritable.

"Is there something wrong?" Isobelle questions, noticing the look I'm giving her. Her voice is low. She isn't stupid, but she's not intelligent.

"Elle needs to go home with Mum and Dad," I say firmly. It's impossible to say all the times Delphine's nearly gotten into danger from Isobelle's carelessness. It's sick.

"I'm fine," Isobelle rolls her eyes. "Perfectly fine."

"It's not even nine in the morning. You probably woke up with alcohol in your system."

Isobelle looks at Delphine, and then back to me. "My daughter is going home with me. But I appreciate your concern."

Isobelle ignores me. "Scorpius," she calls. "Quickly." Mostly everyone else is on the train now. This is one of the setbacks of having a large family, and being related to Isobelle.

Scorpius shifts Elle onto his other hip. He puts his arm around Isobelle in a hug. "Take care of yourself. And Delphine," he says to her. I'm not sure what's happened between them, but Scorpius has been acting like he hates her less than usual. It's odd, since Scorpius acts like he hates everyone. He hands Delphine back over to Isobelle.

"I will. I love you, Scorpius," Isobelle says meaningfully. Even Mum and Dad seem surprised. The two of them have known each other the longest out of all of us, and things were always sort of complicated between them. "Say hello to Teddy for me," Isobelle adds. Scorpius' eyebrows knit.

"Certainly," He says. He glances over his shoulder. "Well, we're going now. Mum, Dad."

My siblings and I say our final goodbyes and we're off to the scarlet train. Nina has a bit of trouble lugging her heavy trunk behind her, so Hugo takes it for her.

"You can sit with Lily and me," Hugo invites her. "If you want to."

Nina grins at Hugo. "Okay." Normally, Hugo sits in a different area of the train than Scorpius and I. We're about to split up.

"I'll see the two of you when we arrive," Scorpius says. He pats Hugo's shoulder dismissively. "Watch Nina."

"Scorpius!" Nina snaps, giving him a pretty nice glare.

"Mum and Dad's orders," Scorpius says lazily. "Bye." Scorpius and I head off on our own direction. Nina waves, and then says something to Hugo that I can't hear.

The train is incredibly loud. Students are still greeting one another after a long summer of no contact, but they're slipping into compartments as the Hogwarts Express prepares to take off. Scorpius opens a compartment door and puts his trunk in the rack at the top, and then mine.

"Thanks."

Scorpius doesn't answer. He takes a seat. "Who is he?" he asks instead, giving me that creepy grey-eyed gaze of his. Since he's my brother, I can be the first to say that Scorpius is a rather unsettling person. He isn't exactly warm, either. He's scarily like Dad.

"Who is who?"

Scorpius rolls his eyes and glances out the window as the train begins to move. "This boy you've been seeing. I want to know about him. If he exists, that is."

Oh, that's rich of Scorpius. For some reason, he believes that everyone other male sees me the same way he does. He's wrong. "It's none of your business."

"It is my business," Scorpius says with an indignant glare. He cracks his knuckles, and then smoothens his navy robes. "If the bastard's worthy, then you've got nothing to hide. So, I'm going to ask again. Who is he?"

"Al," I say, smiling gratefully as my cousin enters the compartment. Perfect timing. Al gives Scorpius and me both a sheepish wave. It's not that he's uncomfortable around Scorpius, they're best friends actually, it's just that he's extremely shy. I'm not quite sure how that happened, since Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny's house is extremely hectic.

"Hi," Al says, sitting down beside me.

"It's your Seventh Year, Al. Seems you would've developed a voice by now," Scorpius says with a smile. He nudges Al's knee with his foot.

"I have a voice," Al says with a slight frown. "Asshole."

I can't help but laugh. "Scary how well you know him."

"Shut up," Scorpius says, rolling his eyes at me. He gestures to me matter-of-factly. "Did you know Rose apparently has a boyfriend?" He asks casually. "Tell me you know something, Albus."

Al shrugs. "I didn't," he shakes his head. He turns to me, surprised. "You have a boyfriend?"

I nod. "Why's that so hard to believe?"

"I don't know. Sorry," Al apologizes. "You just never looked worried about it."

"Well, I'm not as worried about it as Scorpius is, apparently," I say.

"I'm going to find out," Scorpius promises me.

"Good luck."

Done with the conversation for the time being, Scorpius props up his feet. "Apparently Gryffindor thinks they've got a chance at the cup this years," he starts. Quidditch has to be the most boring subject of all time. It's pointless and barbaric. I don't understand why wizards find it so entertaining. I, personally, enjoy muggle sports much better.

Al smirks. "No chance," he says. "This is our year."

"So was last year. And the two years before that," Scorpius adds. Slytherin is the best House at Quidditch at the school. And Al, being Captain refuses to let anyone forget it.

"I'm not looking forward to tryouts," Al mentions. He's too nice. I think the thought of having to cut people gives him a panic attack. That's probably why he plays Keeper, since he's too kind to play any other position. Obviously, it works for him.

Al glances upward with a nervous expression and inhales deeply and apprehensively. "She's here," he says, getting up to open the compartment door.

Scorpius frowns. "Who's-"

"Albus!" Daisy screeches, bursting through the compartment door. She tosses her hair over her shoulder with a large smile.

"Hi, Daisy…" Al says. He adjusts his glasses, since they're a bit lopsided from her crashing into him. I don't think Al really likes Daisy, he just tolerates her for Scorpius' sake.

Daisy takes Al's face in her hands and kisses him full on the lips in some tarty sort of greeting. She then throws her arms around Al and presses her chest to his in a rib-crushing hug. Scorpius doesn't seem to care. He gets up to shelve Daisy's trunk. Funy, since no one can get him to do any chores at home.

Daisy smiles, and Al looks like he's going to wet himself. "Look at you, all tall and tan. You're adorable, Albus."

Al's face turns a deep shade of red. "Thanks…"

Daisy grins yet again at Albus, and then turns to me. "Rose," she says flatly, her nostrils flaring slightly. If she makes a sudden move, she's probably going to burst out of her tight silver robes. "Always a pleasure… more or less."

I don't even respond to her. I hate Daisy, and I don't particularly care who knows.

"Scorpius," Daisy grins, sitting on him and draping herself over him like a snake. She places a kiss on his neck. "Aren't you excited to be Head Boy?"

"Of course, I am," Scorpius says in a low voice. He seems to be trying to fend Daisy off to spare Albus. He may die if he sees them kiss again.

"I hope your bed is large," Daisy says with a small laugh. "I can't wait to see your room…" In no time, Daisy and Scorpius are full-on snogging. It's getting rather uncomfortable, how grabby their hands are..

"Excuse me," I clear my throat. "Al and I are still here."

"Enjoy yourselves," Daisy mutters, keeping her attention on Scorpius. I turn to look at Al, who has his face in one of his textbooks. He isn't reading it, rather he's trying to distract himself from Scorpius and my idiot of a soon-to-be sister-in-law.

"Scorpius…" Daisy says quietly, her hands buried in his hair. "We should go."

"Please," Al says, still looking down.

Scorpius pulls Daisy's waist away from his. He finally manages to separate her from himself. Daisy pouts. "Later," he assures her. "Albus and I have some catching up to do. Close your book, mate. You know you're shit at Herbology anyway."

Al looks up timidly. "What?"

"He's so cute," Daisy says to Scorpius, training her golden eyes on Al. "But you shouldn't pretend to be so innocent."

Al adjusts his glasses, which is a nervous habit of hit. "I'm not-" Before Al can finish his sentence, Daisy crosses the small space between the two of them and sits beside Al, nearly pushing me into the window.

She clucks her tongue, licking her lips slowly. "Please, you weren't put in Slytherin for no reason. Am I really supposed to believe that if you had your chance with a girl, you wouldn't even know where to put your-"

"Al would shit himself if he had a girl in bed," Scorpius jokes, training his eyes on Al. "You look damn near dead now, and Daisy's just being friendly."

If Scorpius considers Daisy kissing and touching all over Al as 'friendly', then I don't want to know what constitutes as intimate between them.

Daisy nods in agreement, kissing Al's cheek. His ears turn bright pink. "Does that scare you?" she asks. "Perhaps you need a bit of-"

"That's enough!" I demand, coming to Al's defense. His nose goes back in his Herbology book. "Can't you see you're making him uncomfortable?"

"You shouldn't speak unless spoken to, Weasley," Daisy says coldly. "I'm having a conversation with the men." She crosses her long legs, and her robes ride up a fair bit. From Scorpius' reaction, who's the only one sitting across from her, she must not be wearing any knickers. She probably never does. Daisy gives him a small smile.

"You're only able to carry a conversation about one topic, Zabini," I retort.

Daisy smirks and gives me a triumphant look. "You'll be calling me Malfoy soon enough." Scorpius and Daisy seem perfectly fine with getting married at a stupidly young age. Then again, they've been engaged since Scorpius was twelve. I highly doubt they actually love each other, or that their relationships anything more than physical, since they're both callous and empty. They fit together perfectly.

"Don't remind me," I say, crossing my arms. "It's disgusting."

Scorpius removes his attention from Daisy and glowers at me. "Shut the hell up, Rose," he snaps.

"Scorpius-" Al frowns, trying to calm the tension.

Daisy squeezes Al's arm. Her movements are snakelike. "Let him get it out," she whispers into his ear. "He always keeps his feelings bottled up, and it makes him so tense. It's bad for him."

"As if you care," I scoff. Daisy doesn't even know what feelings are.

"I do," Daisy informs me proudly. "Not everyone likes to go around with a stick up their ass. Not that you would know."

"Daisy," Al says, scowling at her. I don't need him to defend me.

"Do you enjoy being an object?" I ask, matter-of-factly, faking a look of interest. "It must be fun to get used whenever Scorpius feels like."

"No more enjoyable than it is for you to be disagreeable and a difficult pain in the ass," Scorpius argues, practically leaping at the opportunity to protect Daisy. He leans forward and rests his elbows on his knees, giving me a heavy glare.

"Are you kidding-"

"I'm not," Scorpius assures me. You complain about other people so often, I'm starting to think you get pleasure from it."

Al coughs.

Daisy laughs. "As if that could be possible."

It doesn't surprise me that Scorpius is taking Daisy's side over mine. He's done it since they've been together, or whatever this is. My entire family does it. They get into a relationship, and then they suddenly forget who they're related to. He and Isobelle are the exact same.

"This is bullshit," I say, glaring at Scorpius. "You think you're so much better than me , and that you're finally being the compassionate one in this family, but you aren't. That would be impossible thanks to your rubbish bin of a conscience. You don't care about anyone but yourself."

Scorpius glares at me with a hateful look I haven't seen from him in weeks. Instead of replying he stands and makes his way to the compartment door with a curt nod in Al's direction.

Like the little dog she is, Daisy gets up and follows Scorpius out, her hands on his shoulders. "Let's see if the loo is empty, love," she suggests. Scorpius replies with a blank nod before slamming shut the compartment door. I'm rather surprised my words got to him like they did.

Al shuts his textbook and gives me an apologetic look. I'm not sure why, since it isn't his fault Scorpius and Daisy are terrible people. Only four more hours of this horrible train ride. Seventh Year looks promising.

Yay, quicker update this time. I already have half the next chapter written too, deciding when I'll post that. So, here's a little more insight into Rose than last chapter. She doesn't really talk about herself as much as she does other people, unlike Scorpius and Isobelle. I imagine her to be more of the observer, and more attentive to what others do and feel than she is to herself. Hope you liked it! Leave a review! Oh, and Daisy's a bitch.