A/N: I was wondering why my fic had so little views- then I realized it was because when I published chapter 1, the iPad I was using didn't include the characters I selected. Go figure. It's fixed now.

"This is impossible," Albus muttered to his cousin.

At that moment, Rose couldn't agree more. The idea that they were suppose to be able to transfigure a match into a needle within only two weeks of being at Hogwarts seemed absurd. Clearly, several of the students in her class were of like mind, angrily staring at the thin strip of wood with occasional moans of despair. Rose merely grunted in response, once more trying the spell on the infuriating object. Still nothing.

It was their third Transfiguration class, but the first time they had actually practiced the refined art in-session. Professor Shabbit, a middle-aged wizard of nondescript looks and a scraggly beard, slowly strolled between the aisle of desks as he watched his students. He never seemed to be in a hurry, always speaking with slow deliberation, as if he had thought quite a lot on each word before it left his mouth.

As the Professor came close to her desk, Rose notice him slow even more (if that were possible). Realizing her chance to perhaps finally show some form of skill, she concentrated with all her might on the match and forcibly said the incantation. "Acusia!"

Much to the red-head's fury, the object refused to change in any way.

Shabbit moved onwards with a disappointed expression, striding purposefully between the desks in his un-hurried fashion. He didn't stop to inspect the other students so closely, and that was what annoyed Rose. Ever since her first class- not just in Transfiguration, but in every subject- the teachers seemed to pay her particular attention. It was annoying. Despite her argument to James on the train about not being shy, Rose Weasely hated being brought to special attention, and each teacher's not-so-subtle inspection of her talents was getting on her nerves.

Eventually, Shabbit bade them to stop and launched into a drawling lecture about how Transfiguration required deliberateness and relaxed concentration to succeed. Rose blew a stray curl of hair from her face with a huff- every student had already heard the talk twice.

When the class was finally excused, Rose and Albus immediately headed off to lunch. Neither had been very successful in their Transfiguration of matches to needles, and, naturally, they decided the best way to vent was to debate between the more boring professor: Binns or Shabbit?

"I'd still say Shabbit's better," Albus was arguing as they entered the packed Great Hall. "He doesn't drone on in a monotone like that old crotchety excuse for a-"

"Hi Albus, Rose!" Katie McMoore approached, interrupting cheerily. "How did you like Transfiguration? Isn't it amazing?"

Albus scowled in response.

"I'm afraid neither of us were very good," Rose admitted. "Maybe we're just not cut out for it."

"Don't be ridiculous," snorted a short, black-haired boy, who stood to the right of Katie. He had dark blue eyes that betrayed mischief. "It was your first time. Most of our class didn't even come close to succeeding, so I doubt it's just you."

"Shove off, Nick!" Katie playfully elbowed him, pretending not to notice when the boy doubled over winded. She inclined her head at him. "Apparently, he got his pretty close. It was silver and pointy, and really was just missing the thread hole."

"What?!" Albus exclaimed. He looked even more disheartened.

"It wasn't that close," Nick argued, sufficiently recovered enough to speak. "It was too thick, and it barely had a point."

"I can't believe this," the young Potter moaned, dramatically clapping a hand to his face in mock-shame. "I've been shown up by a Ravenclaw!"

Rose scoffed at the comment but couldn't hold back a smile at her cousin and friends. "Have you guys had lunch yet?"

Katie shook her head. "No, I was in your class, remember? Nick only just got out of History."

"How about we take it outside?" Albus suggested, glancing at the sun streaming through the windows of Great Hall. "It seems nice outside and crowded in here."

"Good enough for me!" Nick exclaimed.

The three Gryffindors and the Ravenclaw quickly piled up a plate of goodies before proceeding out onto the well-manicured lawns of Hogwarts grounds. Albus was right- it was sunny and gorgeous outside, and none of the young friends wanted to waste the entire day indoors.

As they sat beneath the cool shade of an ancient oak by the lake shore, Rose munched on a ham sandwich as she surveyed her new companions. Albus, of course, was her cousin, and they had always gotten along well. Katie, with her dark, loose curly hair and charming sense of humor had immediately gotten along splendidly with Rose. And Nick was much wittier than one would expect from the short boy. It had only been two weeks, and already she was forming her own little gang of friends.

Rose had completely forgotten about her earlier annoyance of over-bearing teachers; it was, after all, impossible to be disgruntled in such warm company, especially on a day like this. She couldn't wait to write to her parents about how well the year was going.

It was the following day, and the once-beautiful weather had turned cloudy and humid. As she had promised herself, Rose had dutifully written a letter of respectable length to her parents and brother at home. Now, with it in hand, she climbed the winding staircase to the top of the owlrey. Not having an owl of her own yet, Rose guessed she would use one of the school's that was set aside for student use.

What she hadn't been expecting was someone else having the exact same idea.

Totally ignorant of the idea of someone else in the drafty tower, Rose hummed to herself as she made her way to one of the designated nests, gently stroking the breast feathers of a young eagle owl. "You're pretty," she murmured to the avian. "You've got big, orange eyes and soft, mottled down. I have a letter I need delivered to Devon, so it's not too far. And mum always gives the post a little treat for reward. If-"

There was a cough behind her. Rose whipped around, unaware until now that someone had also occupied the room.

Scorpius Malfoy looked as if he was torn between bizzare amusement or bewilderment. Rose turned slightly pink as she realized how she much have sounded, speaking to the owl. Probably like some avian psycho. She cleared her throat, not entirely sure what to say. "Er...sorry, I didn't think- I didn't know anyone else was here."

"Clearly."

Rose wasn't sure if the comment was meant to sound rude, but decided not to react if it was. "Yeah, was just...y'know, sending a letter home. Keeping my parents updated and what not."

He just stared at her.

"It's just that I know my brother wants to hear every detail of Hogwarts, since he'll be here next year..." she trailed off. Malfoy looked as unresponsive as ever, so clearly small talk wasn't getting anywhere. In truth, Rose didn't know why she was even trying. This was the same kid who made it so clear to her on the train that he despised her family. "I'll just...be going..." she muttered, allowing the eagle owl to take the letter from her hand and launching it into flight. The Weasely turned to hurry out.

"That was my family owl."

Rose stopped in her tracks at his slow words turning to face him hesitantly. "What?"

"That eagle owl," he said simply with a frown, as though he was greatly displeased. "That was my family owl you just sent off."

That can't be right! It was in one of the school owl nests. But sure enough, with a quick glance at the bird's former perch, Rose realized too late that the designated sign was for the nest to the right. No wonder he had been puzzled by her earlier affections for the owl! "Oops?" she offered hesitantly. "Um, sorry..."

Malfoy's frown turned to a scowl. "Forget it," he muttered irritatedly. "I'll just come back another time."

Rose didn't particularly like the blond, but she did feel bad about using someone else's owl without even realizing. Quite embarrassing, not to mention awkward. "Okay, well, sorry."

"Yeah yeah, just don't think you've got the right to use whoever's owl you please."

Abruptly the Weasely girl was reminded why she didn't like Malfoy. He kept bringing up her (and her parents') reputation in the oddest of circumstances. Just a few days ago, she had been in the library, trying to find some guides for charms, but couldn't reach the shelf. Malfoy was taller than her and nearby, and, temporarily forgetting who he was, asked if he could reach it for her. Naturally, he'd sneered then, too. "What, princess can't reach it herself?"

That wasn't the only time, either. Any time Rose made to speak with him, his response was always some nasty comment about being a Weasely. While she supposed she could kind of understand the animosity he may feel towards her, the red-head was getting fed up with his sourness and wasn't sure why he went to such unpleasant lengths with her. She glared at the boy. "And why would I think that?"

Malfoy looked surprised at her response for a second before deepening his scowl. "Because you're a goody two-shoes who probably thinks the world owes her something."

"Why would I think that?"

"Because, you know..." Clearly the blond was becoming uncertain in this argument.

"That's precisely it," Rose gritted out between clenched teeth, "I don't know. Ever since you barged into my cousins' and mine's compartment on the train, you've been nothing but nasty. All I do understand is that you have some sort of a grudge against my parents!" She took a deep breath to suppress her mounting anger. "I just..." she expressed more calmly, "I don't understand why you hate me so much."

Malfoy had the decency to look half-way guilty...for a second. Then it was replaced by anger, roughly pushing past Rose and out onto the staircase. "Just stay out of my way, Weasely."

"Fine!" she shouted after his retreating figure, "But that goes both ways, Malfoy!"

With a huff, Rose followed him more slowly down the rough stairs and back to the castle. What an annoying prat. I haven't done anything to him to deserve his attitude. Not for the first time, she wondered why he'd been placed in Gryffindor.

When the door to the room slammed open, Katie jumped in surprise. She whirled around to see who had burst into the room. "Geez, Rose!" she exclaimed. "You nearly gave me a heart attack! What's gotten you in a temper? I thought you went to the owlrey?"

The girl in question flounced over to her canopied bed and practically threw herself onto the plush sheets. She sighed deeply into the feather pillow before turning her head to speak. "Had a run in with Malfoy."

"Oh. That explains it. I'm going to hazard a guess and say he was a prat?"

"Bingo."

Her friend shrugged. "You shouldn't let him get to you so easily. That's what he wants."

"But that's just it!" Rose exclaimed, sitting up to face Katie. "It's not so much the snide remarks that annoy as much as it is not knowing the reason why."

Katie hung a damp towel she had recently used at the showers on the heater that stood in the middle of the room. She wish she knew a drying spell, but after only two weeks at school, they were no where near those kinds of charms. "I can't answer that for you," Katie shrugged. "It could just be he's an annoying prat. It's not just you that he's rude to- he snaps at anyone who comes near him in the common room. Wendy Henrick told me that he nearly bit her head off when she asked him to pass the nightshade powder in potions class. Maybe that's all there is to him...maybe he's just a self-centered toerag."

Rose shook her head slowly, pulling her knees close. "No. I mean, what you said makes sense, but...I don't know. Something about him just doesn't seem to match up to the toad he acts like."

She received a snort in reply. "Maybe. What makes you say that?"

"Well..." the red-head bit her lip, "could be he's just lonely, and that's coming out in snappy behavior. He's always sitting by himself during meals-"

"Probably because he verbally abuses everyone close to him."

"-and doesn't seem to have any friends. At least, not that I've seen. Don't get me wrong," Rose added, "no matter what his reasons may be, his actions and words aren't justifiable. I don't know, I guess it's not that important."

Katie looked at her curiously. "Why does it interest you so much?"

Rose's only reply was a shrug. "Not sure. Probably just the mystery behind it. Anyways, which professor is your favorite?" She purposefully changed the subject, not wanting to dwell on the awkward conversation.

As her friend enthusiastically took the line and began comparing the many different teachers at Hogwarts, Rose did her best to push her thoughts of Malfoy from her mind. She had been honest when she said she wasn't certain why she found the boy's attitude so curious- but she knew it had something to do with pity. Get over it, the Weasely thought. Why is it my problem if he scares everyone away and has no friends? It's his own fault that he's miserable. Yet she couldn't push the image of him at the school feast directly after the sorting, when he had stared at his empty plate with a blank face until they had been lead to the common room.

Rose couldn't have helped but notice, when all the students had stood up to leave the Great Hall for bed, that his movements had appeared stiff, as if he had been moving automatically. The Gryffindors had been marched up the Grand Staircase to the portrait of the Fat Lady, and in that time Rose had forgotten the blond boy, too caught up in the excitement with her friends. The common room had been everything she'd expected: warm, cozy, and inviting. To her delight, she had discovered that her and Katie would be sharing a dorm room as was customary for girls of the same house and year. There had only been one other Gryffindor girl that year, Syla Opplence.

Rose frowned at the thought of their third roommate. If she remembered right, Lyla Opplence, who had gone to Hufflepuff, must be her twin. Syla was very quiet and reserved and not over-fond of conversation with her fellow Gryffindors. From what Rose had seen, the girl much preferred books to talking and always seemed to have a nose in one. The Weasely didn't mind her being a bookworm, but sometimes she felt like Syla was purposefully ignoring them. Sometimes it seemed like she didn't even want to try and be friends with her roommates.

The girl in question was currently lying on her own bed, completely oblivious to the current discussion of teachers and totally absorbed in the pages of a book. Rose squinted at the title: To Kill a Mockingjay. She made a face. What kind of book was that? Why on earth would someone want to read about slaying a bird?

"Rose, are you even listening?"

The red-head blinked at her friend, whom she only just noticed had trailed off in her comparison of Professors Dolvowitz and Longbottom. "Sorry, what? I zoned out there for a bit."

Katie rolled her eyes. "Obviously. Did you catch anything I said?"

"A bit. Something about the clear difference in age between the two."

"Guess that's more than I expected." Katie followed her roommate's line of sight to the book in Syla's hands. "Hey, Syla, what're you reading?"

"A book," Opplence replied absentmindedly.

Katie rolled her eyes. "Thanks, that clears a lot up. Hey Rose, want to go down for dinner? I'm starving, it's been forever since I last ate- two hours, I think!"

"Sure," she responded cheerily. Now that it had been mentioned, Rose was rather hungry. Both girls hurried to the door, but not before Rose had glanced back at the content figure on the bed. "Syla, you coming?"

"I'll be down in a minute."

Rose shrugged. "Okay, but I wouldn't take too long. James told me he overheard that there'd be boston creme pie tonight!"

Silently, Syla closed the book, laid it on the bed, and bounded out the door past her two roommates without a word. "Oi! Leave some for us!" Katie roared after her.

Rose and Katie made their way to the Great Hall the next morning and sat down at the Gryffindor table. The red-head looked like she had just rolled out of bed, and McMoore chewed on a haphazardly buttered bagel similarly to how one would imagine a zombie would. Both squinted around the room with sleepy eyes. "How do these people do it every morning?" Katie grunted as she dipped her knife in marmalade.

"At least it's a Friday," her friend pointed out, "so we can sleep it tomorrow."

"Gosh, ain't that a lovely thought? At this rate I'll end up unconscious mid-potion class and I'll drown in a cauldron."

"If you're lucky, it might be a draught of sleep potion."

"Haha, hilarious, you are."

"Morning, sleeping beauties!"

It took the two roommates and their sleep-fogged minds a few seconds to register the fact that someone had plopped down next to Rose. "If I'm a beauty right now, you must be a goddess, Nick," she snapped.

The wide-awake Ravenclaw ignored the cranky reply. "Why thank you, Rose, I have always considered myself a particularly gorgeous specimen, but to hear it from your own lips only confirms my joy of my self-beauty."

Katie blinked at him as if he was a stranger. "Are you even allowed to do that?"

"Do what?"

"Sit at the Gryffindor table? Since it's not your house."

Her question was dismissed with an off-hand wave. "Nobody cares that much at breakfast. It's a time to be social. And anyhow, I'm not the only one. The Opplence twins always sit together, and more often than not, Greg Patil is sitting with his Syltherin pals." He helped himself to a piece of toast on Katie's plate. "Besides, it's not like I'm a pack of Ravenclaws. Just me."

Katie glared at him for a little longer, then shrugged. Rose couldn't tell if the reaction was directed at Nick's point or his thievery of food.

"How do you do it?" the Weasely asked tiredly, swirling her orange juice slowly. "Be all cheery and awake in the morning. I feel like I'm gonna fall asleep in my breakfast."

"Well," Nick began, chewing on a bit of bacon (Rose wished he would swallow before speaking), "What time did your lot go to bed?"

"I don't know, maybe midnight?"

He snorted, "That makes sense. You're still use to going to bed late and waking up at eight. Hogwarts life kinds of rises and sets with the sun. Here's what I do: be in bed by ten. Breakfast is at seven, so you'll want to be up by at least six thirty-"

"Six thirty!" Katie exclaimed, spraying the unfortunate Ravenclaw in bagel crumbs. "That's ridiculous! I can't do six-thirty! Is the sun even up at that time?"

"The sun rises at 5:37 right now," Nick pointed out. "In winter it might not be until 6:45, but even then, you don't need the sun indoors when the hall torches are lit at six."

Rose cocked her head at him curiously. "How do you know that? Did you read about it somewhere?"

"Nah. Once or twice I've gone to bed a bit earlier than I normally do because my brain's too tired from homework, so I'll get up earlier to finish it on a fresh mind. Curfew is from nine to six anyhow. Back to my earlier advice, if you get up at about six-thirty, it'll leave you a good half hour to properly wake up, get dressed, whatever it is you do in the morning, then come down right as breakfast starts. Then instead of trying to cram breakfast in in the last fifteen minutes before classes start at eight, you'll be able to eat slowly and leisurely. You'll even have a good amount of time for last-hour studying if there's going to be a test that day. After an hour at breakfast, you'll be pretty awake for your first class- potions, right?- and less likely to be in a dozy daze."

Both girls blinked at Nick in a mix of puzzlement and admiration. "When did you figure all that out?"

"I kind of just figured it out for myself in the first few days of school," he admitted. "I was always so tired in the morning like you two, and kept missing half of what Professor Longbottom was saying in Herbology class, so I was determined to figure out some sort of a reliable schedule."

Rose nodded. "Guess the hat put you in Ravenclaw for a reason. I'm assuming you've already eaten, then?"

Nick looked curious, ignoring her second question. "Speaking of, why do you think you weren't put in Ravenclaw?"

"I- what?"

"You mean, you don't know?" He looked slightly disturbed by her expression of confusion. "It's just...a lot of people were expecting you to go to Ravenclaw. Many of us were surprised when you went to Gryffindor instead. Although in hindsight I suppose it's really not all that shocking, considering it was your parents' house."

The Weasely was utterly confused. "Wait, what do you mean? Why would anybody think that? I mean, don't get me wrong, Ravenclaw's a great house, I'm sure. But I don't get why 'lots of people' would expect me there."

Katie was watching the conversation with equal intrigue, her eyes flicking between her two friends like she was watching a ping-pong match.

"Well, I'm not entirely sure what everyone based the thought off of. I'm muggle-born," Nick explained apologetically, "so the only things I've heard have been since I came here. My family didn't even know the magical world existed until a few months ago, when I got my letter."

"What have you heard?"

"Not much. Just that the general consensus is that many people expected you in Ravenclaw! Something to do with your mother. All I know, really, is that your parents are basically celebrities in the wizarding world, and that has something to do with it." Nick appeared uncomfortable being put on the spot about the topic, and Rose felt guilty for pressuring him.

"No matter, then," she conceded, "it's no big deal. This was just the first I've heard of this, so I was surprised that it's so apparently well known. Thanks."

After a minute or two of silent munching, Katie broke the awkwardness. "Hey," she murmured to Rose, "I've never noticed before, but ever since you talked about Malfoy being lonely last night, I've noticed more and more how he always seems to be alone."

Rose looked down the table where Katie had gestured. Sure enough, the boy in question was sitting on his own at the very end of the table, picking at his food with a fork. His head rested on his cheek, and he looked as tired as Rose felt- only Rose had a suspicion it had nothing to do with sleep on his end. While students usually sat in spaced-out clumps at breakfast, there was a good ten-foot radius radius around him devoid of company.

Nick noticed where the girls were looking, and craned his neck around Rose to see. "Who's that?" he inquired, peering at the solitary blond.

"Scorpius Malfoy," Katie explained absently.

"Oh. He was that guy everyone thought would be in Slytherin, right?"

"Yeah, including him, I think."

Rose frowned. "Nobody seems to get why he ended up in our house. I certainly don't."

"I know his placement made a bigger uproar than yours did," Nick added. "Does he not have any friends?"

Before either Katie or Rose could respond, the now-familiar screech of several owls at once filled the air. The post arrived, soaring in from the rafter windows that had been opened for that exact purpose. To Rose's delight, she recognized her family Great Gray a moment before it landed smoothly on the table in front of her, a letter clasped firmly in his beak. "Thanks, Faron!" she exclaimed, accepting the offered mail and quick ripping open the envelope. It was a letter from her mum- she recognized the handwriting as Hermione's elegant caligraphy rather than Ron's untidy scrawl.

Nick had also received a letter that he proudly proclaimed was from one of his younger brothers (who he later affirmed was probably non-magical). Katie had gotten no mail, but seemed content, since she had received a welcome package from her own parents the other day.

Further down the table, Rose couldn't help but notice the pretty eagle owl she had used yesterday, now sitting in front of its young master. Apparently, after sending Rose's letter (why it had, she had no idea), it must have flown back to Hogwarts. She wondered if Malfoy had sent it out again with his own letter.

The boy in question hesitantly took the post from his owl and carefully opened it in a more dignified manner than Rose had. She could have sworn she saw his hands shaking as he unfolded the letter. Nick and Katie, who had noticed her line of sight and had also turned to watch, must have noticed it as well. "Must be expecting bad news," the Ravenclaw commented.

The others turned back to their breakfast and own mail, respectively, but Rose couldn't help but continue to watch. She knew it was a bit rude to stare, but she couldn't help but wonder what could make such a confident and secure boy turn so nervous. The longer Malfoy read the letter, the paler his face became. Abruptly, he stood up to leave, pocketing the letter roughly into his robes and swiftly striding from the great hall.

In the moments before he finished the letter, Rose could have sworn she saw his face twist into one singular emotion: dread.

End chapter 2!
I'm sure it doesn't take much to guess who Scorpius's letter was from and what it probably said.
Also, I know the owlrey scene seemed a little chopped up in the writing, but I couldn't figure out what in particular was wrong, so after half a dozen revisions I just let it be.
Also, we had some introduction of new characters! Just in case it wasn't clear, Nick is a Ravenclaw of the same year as Rose and Katie.

Please read and review! I update and write much faster with the encouragement of knowing that people are actually enjoying my writing and I'm not just publishing to empty air and disappointed audiences.