Weeks passed, and the weeks turned to months. Finally, the months turned to a year, until it was the next September. Scorpius was a year older, and a year wiser. The same could be said for Rose and Albus, and the trio gained confidence in themselves. All three had absolutely aced their end of the term exams, except for Al, who failed miserably at History of Magic. However, he claimed not to mind, and confided in Scorpius that his father had hated the class as much as he did.

The summer between their first and second years seemed much longer than it truly was. Scorpius spent most of the days at home with his parents, lounging around, re-reading old school books and eagerly awaiting the days he would be reunited with Rose and Albus. Even on Holiday in the South of France, Scorpius longed to see his friends. The company of his parents was almost unbearable now, because, young as they were, their connection to Scorpius was simply maternal and paternal. Out of his holiday, Scorpius received magnificent sunburn that extended from the top of his blonde forehead all the way down to his toes. He was rather partial to the letters he had received from Rose, instead.

By September 1st, he had no more than fifty letters from Rose in his possession. Scorpius treated them all with extreme care, and treasured the rolls of parchment dearly. They were his only link to his friends over the summer, as Albus was far too lazy to write on his own, and Rose's family had chosen to vacation in Bora Bora for the summer. Occasionally, when Albus was joined in Rose's company over the summer, (for his parents had taken him to Bora Bora as well), he would write a small tidbit at the end of the letters. But overall, the letters Scorpius got were all in Rose's scripts, with her stories and puns and comments.

His favorite letter of hers was the shortest she had written, she only took one sheet of parchment, and had written in crimson red ink.

Dear Scorpius,

It's July 6th here. I don't know exactly when you'll get this, so I thought I should include the date, so you know. It's Albus' birthday today. His first birthday present was from James, who thought it would be funny to present him with a gecko…but he placed it on Al's face when he was sleeping. Al didn't really appreciate that too much.

It's beautiful here, truly. I wake up early every morning so I can watch the sun rise. When it does, sometimes I think I see a flash of green over the water. To me, it's magical.

Sometimes I wonder if you ever wake up as early as I do. Sometime, try it. Watch the sun rise, I suggest sitting in a tall tree, or possibly, sit on your roof. Watch as it rises, and see if you can see the green flash of light that I do.

It makes me miss you a little less, thinking you see that light too.

See you on the first,

Rose

Scorpius had laughed at the imagery of Al waking up to a reptile on his face, and then, ever so gently, he folded up Rose's letter and put it under the false bottom in the upper drawer of his desk. He had stroked the plume of the vibrantly colored tropical bird that had delivered his letter with an air of extreme importance. He had released it back into the wilderness that waited, and watched as the greenery surrounding his house had swallowed the bird back up. The next day, he had done as Rose did. And for just a moment, (one of those where if you blinked you would miss it), he thought he might have glimpsed a pale green rising over the yellowed terrain that surrounded him everyday.

On September 1st, Scorpius awoke early, without the help of an alarm. The sun hadn't even had time to barge through his window and filter onto his face before he had awoken. Scorpius was awake so early, in fact, that he lay in bed for a while, listening to the sound of his house. It was almost alive, breathing and creaking ever so often. However, as he considered it, Scorpius realized he was probably exaggerating; his energy was speaking for him. That, or the portraits of his old family members were beginning to awake.

His mother, as per custom, had the house elves make Scorpius' favorite breakfast food, black pudding. But this morning, Scorpius was far too excited to eat. The aroma of the food in the dining room nearly caused his stomach to pitch.

"Mum, dad," Scorpius said, hesitating in the doorway, trying to avoid looking at the food, which was piping hot. The overwhelming stench of the fresh feast caused his stomach to flop unexpectedly inside him. "Really, do you need to eat? What is all of this, can't we just go to the station already?"

"Scorpius," Draco said in a warning tone, which was almost enough to shut him up at once. You see, Draco had never raised his voice to his son. Remarkably, Draco had grown into a mild-tempered adult, surprising, given his background. However, there were times where Draco would acquire a steely glint in his eye, his jaw would set, and his voice would lower to a slow, dangerous tone, like the one he had just used now. Usually, he used this when Scorpius had done something really, really, terrible. Sometimes he used it simply when he was stressed. At times, he had used it when he was feeling especially protective of Scorpius' mother. Draco glanced up at Celia, who was sitting next to him, delicately cutting sausage into small bits. "Don't rush your mother."

"It's alright, sweetheart." Celia placed a hand on Draco's forearm, and at once, he relaxed, softening at her touch. His jaw loosened, and he turned to Scorpius, his face readjusting to a friendlier sort of expression. "We can leave, I can always eat later." Celia pushed back her chair and threw her linen napkin down beside her plate. Her blonde hair swung over her shoulders as she crossed the room so she could squat down in front of her son, who remained to be far shorter than her, for the time being. "Excited for your second term, I see."

"Yes," Scorpius replied eagerly. "I can almost see the castle."

Celia glanced over her shoulder, at Draco, who smiled the slightest bit at her. Celia placed her hands on her son's shoulders and kissed him on the forehead. Scorpius didn't even attempt to squirm away; he knew it would only cause her to hold on more tightly.

"Go get your trunk," she instructed, and Scorpius ran up to his room, his heart racing with anticipation. Celia let out a small huff of laughter, and held a hand up to her mouth, as if to hold it inside, as if she could keep the joy within from escaping. Draco stood from his spot at the table and came to her side. Silently, they linked hands, Celia's wedding band and engagement ring glittering brightly amongst the crowded mass of alabaster skin that belonged to them both. "Do you remember when we were that excited for school?"

"Of course I do," Draco said. "Though I pretended to hate it at times."

"You never really did. I saw right through you."

"It wasn't anything without you, though."

"I think…correct me if I am wrong, our son seems to be mirroring your excitement for returning to school. Perhaps he harbors the feelings you did for Hogwarts, hmm? Or, maybe he is unaware, but there is someone, drawing him in?"

"Perhaps," Draco agreed, kissing his wife's temple. "I certainly hope so, for his sake."

At that moment, Scorpius reached at the bottom of the stairs, his trunk colliding with the railing with a tremendous crash to announce his arrival. His parents broke apart, and Draco helped his son load his school things into the car while Celia waited patiently in the front seat, watching her son's gleaming face in the rear view mirror.

When they reached Platform 9 ¾, Scorpius could hardly contain himself. He felt his legs shaking, as if they were urging him to take off at a run. He couldn't wait to see Rose and Albus. It had been too long, far too long since he had seen their faces in person, though Rose had sent him a photo of her, Al, and James in Bora Bora. Scorpius bid his parents goodbye, doing his best to console his mother as she began to get teary eyed, and then stepped on the train, walking down the hallways, peering in compartment after compartment, searching for his friends. It seemed, at a point, that they were all filled with chattering first years, nameless faces he could not recognize. Then, all at once, there was a screech that filled his ears. It was shrill, excited. It was the most beautiful screech Scorpius had heard.

He turned at the last moment. Rose had run at him at full speed, and enveloped him in a hug that nearly knocked him to the ground. He wheezed, his ribs aching as she wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him around the neck too tightly.

"I missed you," she breathed in his ear, and then stepped back, beaming. She had grown an inch or two taller over the summer, and her eyes were nearly level with Scorpius' now. Her skin was extremely brown, and freckles littered her cheeks and forehead. Her hair had darkened too, and was plaited into a braid that hung down her back.

"You got taller." It was all Scorpius could manage to say, he was so happy to be back in her bright presence. Rose laughed and seized his arm, holding onto his elbow with a tight grip.

"Come on," she said, bossy and commanding as ever. It was wonderful to hear her voice again, even if she was controlling. "Al is waiting in a compartment. I hope you don't mind, but we aren't the only people in the compartment this year. Our younger siblings, remember I told you about them? Anyway, Lily and Hugo are being sorted this year, so they're waiting in the compartment too."

She pulled open a door at the end of the hallway, and Scorpius peered inside. Immediately, Al rose to give him a gruff hug and an embarrassed smile, accompanied by a pink-tinged glow in his ears.

"How was Bora Bora?" Scorpius asked him, clapping him on the shoulder.

"Warm," Albus said sullenly.

"Albus got stung by a jellyfish," Rose said in a sympathetic tone, but because Scorpius knew her so well, he could sense the laughter in her voice. "It wasn't his finest moment, he peed on his own foot."

"That's what you're supposed to do," Albus replied, and Scorpius let out a burst of laughter.

"Rose? Albus?" An unfamiliar voice came out of the corner of the compartment. Scorpius looked carelessly towards the corner, only to freeze. Sitting there was a pretty girl, prettier; he dared say, than many a girl at Hogwarts. She had brown eyes that seemed to have the texture of rich velvet, red hair that framed her pixie-shaped face, and features that were sharpened, yet, at the same time, feminine and delicate. "Aren't you going to introduce us?"

"Yes," Scorpius breathed, looking to Rose, and raising his eyebrows in question. "Aren't you going to introduce us?"

Rose's eyebrows furrowed as she looked from Scorpius to her cousin, trying to decipher the sudden connection that had seemed to crop up between them.

"Scorpius, this is Lily Potter. Lily, Scorpius Malfoy."

"Potter," Scorpius repeated, holding out a hand for Lily to shake. She looked up at him, completely sure of herself, almost with a degree of arrogance, and slipped her small, smooth palm into his.

"Malfoy," she shot back, staring him down.

Rose stared at the pair of them, and immediately, her hands began to sweat. She didn't like the look of this meeting, she felt as if something was out of place. Albus, oblivious to it all, opened a chocolate frog, handed one to Hugo, and gestured for Rose to sit down. However, for the rest of the train ride, all Rose could focus on was the way Scorpius looked at Lily, like he was trying to figure her out, and he seemed determined to do so.