A/N Life is busy, time gets away from me, the usual. At least now I have some time to work on this story, so hopefully another edited chapter will be up by tomorrow.

Thank you to those who continue to support this story!

Chapter Ten

Hermione sat back in the comfortable office chair, studying her best friend's face.

Harry Potter hadn't changed much since their early years in Hogwarts. He still had the same green eyes, which stared intelligently through his glasses' lenses. He was still somewhat scrawny, though years of being an Auror had given him a bit of wiry muscle. He still had that lightning bolt shaped scar, which was somewhat faded and hidden by the fringe of his black hair. It seemed at first glance, to Hermione at least, that Harry was going to remain youthful forever.

With a closer look at his face, however, anyone could see that Harry Potter was anything but a seventeen year old boy. Small lines had creased on the sides of his eyes and between his brows; the cause of which could be amounted to too much laughter coupled with a ridiculous amount of stress. If Hermione looked close enough, she could see the patches of grey in that impossibly black head of hair. There was a sense of weariness about him, now more so than ever. Hermione watched the way he ran a hand across his brow, an indication that he was in over his head.

But then again, when wasn't he—no, Hermione mentally corrected herself—when weren't they in over their heads?

"Er," Ginny spoke up, "Yeah? What about them?"

James shuffled his feet, looking rather like Hugo when he was caught teasing his sister. Hermione knew that Hugo had probably copied the look from James and not the other way around, but it was still amusing to see him looking so similar to her son, guilty expression and all.

"Harry, what is going on?" Hermione asked kindly. .

"There's something I never told you, something that happened during Sixth year," Harry began, twiddling his thumbs absently, "Those students, the ones I was just talking about? They weren't exactly…"

"Weasleys," Draco Malfoy greeted as he stepped out of the roaring green flames, brushing soot off his clean-cut black robes. Hermione startled. She had not anticipated his sudden arrival. Generally the arrival of Malfoy would give her a migraine, but she was in a rather good mood and her head remained blessedly clear.

"Potter." Malfoy added to his initial greeting, turning to Harry with an outstretched hand.

Harry stood, shaking hands cordially with Malfoy. The green flames shot up again and out stepped Astoria, her dark brown hair in a bun, not a hair out of place.

"Good evening, Mr. Potter," She said, smiling genuinely at everyone in the room, "How are you this evening?"

Hermione smiled at her; she'd never had a problem with Astoria. In fact, she rather liked the strong-willed woman. They'd had tea once or twice, while Scorpius was spending time at their house with Rose. Hermione might even go as far to say that she respected Astoria. After all, anyone who could marry Malfoy and remain sane was to be admired.

"Just jolly, Mrs. Malfoy," Harry responded to her question, gesturing to a worn-down blue couch in the back. The couple took their seats without a word, though Draco expertly avoided their eyes doing so.

"So why exactly is Mafloy here?" Ron inquired, a bit roughly. Hermione lightly slapped his arm, muttering 'Ron…' but Harry held up a hand to stop her.

"Where should we start, Malfoy?" Harry's attention was now on the blonde sitting towards the back of the room. James, who had been shuffling towards the door, was stopped by his mother's cold look. Malfoy glanced at him, narrowing his eyes.

"So they really were sent back, eh?"

It was less of a question than a statement. Malfoy obviously had directed his words at Harry, but that didn't mean they didn't make an impact on Hermione. She had the sudden urge to ask to go check on Rose, just to be sure that something wasn't wrong…

"Well," Draco sat back in his seat, reaching for his wife's hand. She took it, squeezing lightly.

"Let's start at the beginning,"

"That's generally the best place to start." Ron muttered, but Hermione barely heard him. That creeping, suspicious feeling was threatening to overtake her. She reached blindly for her husband, and when she found his knee, she held on tight.

"It was in the Slytherin common room," Malfoy said slowly, "A few weeks before Christmas and the night before the Slytherin versus Gryffindor game. Three students, two of which looked quite like myself and Mr. Potter here, suddenly fell out of nowhere and into the room,"

James' eyes went wide. Ginny groaned. Ron gaped. Harry smiled with grim satisfaction. Astoria's hands flew to her mouth. Malfoy was stoic.

Hermione nodded slowly, "Right,"

Perhaps a migraine was coming on after all.

Monday morning came bright and early. Perhaps too bright and early, because Albus was rubbing sleep out of his eyes as he followed his two best friends to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Rose and Scorpius were both quite irritated at one another, and had not spoken at breakfast. They had finally started talking to one another again, or rather bickering with one another. It was getting on Albus' already frayed nerves.

"Merlin's pants, Rose, I tried to say I was sorry at least five times!" Scorpius exclaimed, stomping after Rose—who was not taking any of it.

"I don't want your apologies." She sniffed, rolling her shoulder up to reposition her bag.

"But… I mean…" Albus watched Scorpius flounder helplessly, "Rose!"

Rose, without facing Scorpius, gave him two fingers as a response.

"How the hell am I supposed to apologize if you won't even talk to me?!" Scorpius finally shouted, drawing the attention from a small group of fourth years walking in the opposite direction. Albus shot them what he hoped was an intimidating glare; which apparently worked because they scuttled away quickly. He watched them disappear around a corner. Noticing the hallway traffic was significantly lighter than it had been just a minute ago, Albus hurried to catch up with his friends—

-Who were arguing. Loudly.

Great.

"…All I'm saying is that you're overreacting—"

"Overreacting? Seriously? Are you insane?!—"

"Yeah, apparently, because you're taking this far too seriously—"

"Ugh! I cannot deal with you right now…"

"Guys!" Albus yelled, reaching for his cousin's shoulder to get her attention. Before he could touch her, Scorpius spun around to face him.

"What the hell are you doing? Mind your own business, will you?"

Albus was infuriated by the statement. They'd only been there one. Single. Day. And all his best friend and cousin managed to do was draw attention to them and behave irrationally. It was time for Albus to put a stop to the behavior, preferably as subtly as possible.

"Will you kindly shut the fuck up for two seconds?" Al hissed, holding Scorpius' collar in his fist, "People are going to spread rumors."

"Yeah, 'spreading rumors' about the new kid grabbing his brother's shirt, ready to give him a fist to the face." Scorpius commented dryly, raising an eyebrow. Al felt the heat in his cheeks as he dropped his hand slowly from its hold on Scorpius' shirt.

"Alright, alright." Al shot Rose a critical look, "But you two aren't helping things. Keep your real names out of it, alright?" Scorpius nodded in agreement as Rose flushed a deep crimson hue and stared pointedly at the floor.

After a few seconds of silence, Rose glanced up and promptly gasped, "Oh no! We're going to be late for class! A—I mean, Ben—"

"—Ben?" Al interjected, somewhat confused at the unexpected use of a nickname, though Rose didn't seem to hear him.

"—Victor, c'mon!"

Once again, Al found himself running after Scorpius and Rose. They raced up a staircase and around a corner, stopping only for a second when Rose nearly fell over her own feet. The corridors were nearly deserted now, with a few stragglers wandering about without purpose. Al knew that they only had a minute or so to get to class—a class Severus Snape taught.

Oh goodness. That thought certainly hadn't crossed Al's mind before. Now that it had, it was all he could think about.

Albus was about to be taught by one of his namesakes. A namesake who, according to various sources, was a brave and insightful man. A double agent, strongly allied with Dumbledore, though this particular fact wouldn't become apparent until after his death. A man who, though somewhat of an a-hole, was still good in the end.

Albus was excited beyond belief. He'd seen Snape at breakfast the previous morning, though it was just a brief glance. Al hadn't actually thought he'd be able to meet the man, but then again, Professor Snape did teach Defense Against the Dark Arts.

The trio was almost to the DADA classroom (an entrance which Al was anticipating, and the other two were dreading) when they heard voices at the end of the hall. Or rather, one loud, obnoxious voice. It quickly became apparent who it was, even before they came into view.

"—Really want is for you to mind your damn business. I can handle my own life, Blaise, I don't need a second mother. Merlin knows one is enough…" Said Draco Malfoy in a patronizing tone to a stoic Blaise Zabini.

As they came into view, Al was surprised to see that Crabbe and Goyle were nowhere to be seen. In all of his dad's stories, Malfoy was rarely without at least one of the brutish boys in tow.

"Well shit," Scorpius whispered. Al nodded in silent agreement to the statement. Al saw Rose slip her hand into her robe pocket; presumably where her wand was currently placed.

"Besides, it's an honor to serve the—" Draco stopped cold, seeming to see the three teens at the opposite end of the hall for the first time. Al felt as though he'd been turned to stone, books still clutched under his arm. His gaze snapped between Draco and Scorpius, who seemed to be sizing one another up. It was the first encounter they'd had face-to-face since the incident in the Slytherin common room two nights ago. Tension, almost palpable, hung in the air.

"Well well well," The boy- Blaise Zabini, Al concluded- said, "If it isn't the new Weasleys. You lot do seem to… pop up everywhere, don't you?"

The tension between Scorpius and Draco dissipated. Al shuffled in place, tugging the books closer to his chest. He didn't like the dig Zabini made about his family, but he wasn't going to say anything about it. Not if it kept the situation calm.

"Say that again," Rose exclaimed, drawing the attention of all those in the hall. She pulled her wand from her front pocket, holding it in front of herself in a defensive position, "I dare you!"

Al nearly groaned, but could not help reaching for his own wand. She was his cousin after all, and ultimately he was on her side.

Blaise stepped closer, as if daring Rose to make the first move. Draco's eyebrows shot up to his hairline and remained there. Scorpius had yet to move.

"Go on, you Blood Traitor filth!" Blaise jeered, prodding the air with his wand, which seemed to appear from nowhere. He shuffled back and forth on his feet, which was almost a nervous gesture.

Rose crossed her arms over her chest. "'Blood Traitor filth'?" She quoted sarcastically, rolling her eyes, "Right. I've never heard that before."

"Come on, Rose, there's no use. We're going to be late!" Scorpius pleaded desperately. Al watched him step closer to Rose, reaching for her arm. She stumbled backward at the intrusion, and the deep scowl on her face was terrifying.

"Oh, so the little Gryffindor doesn't want to be tardy?" Draco sneered, but he seemed to be watching the interaction between Scorpius and Rose closely.

"Shut up!" Rose snapped at him. She pointed her wand at him.

"Weasley, what are you—" Blaise tried to interject. Rose wouldn't let him.

"Stay out of it, assface!"

Blaise glared at them, raising his wand higher. It was obviously a challenge. Al eyed his cousin wearily.

"Expelliarmus!" Rose yelled.

Almost simultaneously Blaise shouted, "Locomotor Mortis!"

Rose's spell was faster, and she caught Blaise's wand neatly before he could finish casting the spell. She twirled the wand between her fingers nimbly, but quickly readied herself as Draco drew his wand.

Al wasn't about to let his little cousin get hurt over a trivial fight. He dropped the books he was carrying and, with a smooth motion, he pulled his wand from his pocket.

"Don't." Hissed Al, stepping between Rose and Draco. He kept his wand steady, pointed right at the spot between Draco's eyes. Without looking at her, Al commanded, "Rose, give Zabini back his wand."

"Al—" Scorpius started to protest.

"Just do it."

Rose shot Al a venomous look, but gave the wand to Zabini regardless. He wore an irritatingly victorious look on his face as he twirled it between his fingers.

Scorpius glanced at his watch, and said calmly, "We're late."

Rose groaned. Al stepped away from Malfoy, dropping his wand at last. Draco sneered at him, and turned to Blaise, who was still leering at Rose.

"Come on, Blaise. You know Snape will forgive us for being late. Especially after I tell him about this particular… encounter." Malfoy said as he walked toward the classroom door. Al, sharing an exasperated look with Scorpius, had no other choice but to follow.

A/N (pt 2)- Just a quick side note about Al's character. I was rereading the previous chapter and I realized that Al appears slightly out of character (what with the getting drunk vs. the usual, placating and slightly sarcastic character I made him to be). The explanation I have for that chapter is this: alcohol does crazy things to a person. And Al is kind of a sloppy drunk (at least in this universe). Besides, who can resist a normally sane character letting loose every now and again?