Ivy Lestrange is the daughter of Rabastan Lestrange and OC. Oh and yeah, I made Wentles up. They don't actually exist, either in real life or HP.

This chapter starts from Sixth Year. I promise that from here there will be a lot less jumping around, and chapters will follow each other chronologically. Enjoy.

Sixth Year

Rose waved furiously out of the window at her parents, watching them grow smaller and smaller before vanishing completely as the Hogwarts Express pulled away from Kings Cross Station. Then, abandoning the large smile she had plastered to her face for their sake, she sank back into her seat with an audible groan.

She was a sixth year now, Rose thought hollowly. A Senior Prefect. Her cousin James was Quidditch Captain for the second year, and her other cousin Roxy had been chosen for an exchange program to Beauxbatons and would be gone for most of the year. Dominique was in a serious relationship with Calvin Davies, who had finished school and was starting an apprenticeship in his father's business. Over the summer, Victoire and Teddy had announced their engagement. Both of Percy's children were working as interns at the Ministry of Magic. Even her brother Hugo had a girlfriend he had been owling all holidays.

It made her feel old.

For the first time Rose felt like she belonged to the 'senior' group of the Potter-Weasley clan to attend Hogwarts. And with growing up came a huge number of responsibilities that she didn't feel like she could handle at the moment. Although she had received perfect marks on all her OWLs as intended, she still had no idea what it was she wanted to do with her life. The indecision made her feel slightly queasy, despite her parents' assurances that there was no rush to choose a career path.

And then there was her summer. Everyone seemed to be pairing off, and she didn't like it. It made her feel she was behind the eight ball, somehow, for not yet being in a relationship? She was only sixteen, for Merlin's sake. But truth be told, that wasn't really what was bothering her most. Sure, Dom was irritatingly obsessed with Calvin, and it was just plain creepy to think of Hugo being in a relationship, but what had made her most miserable all summer, was Albus.

Rose closed her eyes, a wave of anguish washing over her at the thought of her cousin. He had been giving her the cold shoulder ever since their conversation on the steps of the Entrance Hall earlier in the year. He seemed to take her hatred of Scorpius as a personal insult, even though Rose had never even said anything afterwards. Not once. She had merely ignored Scorpius' existence like she always had, to which she thought she had every right after what he said to her. Besides, he was ignoring her as well; she might have been invisible for all the notice Scorpius took of her apart from the odd glare in her direction now and then. So it was more than a little unfair of Albus to take it all out on her. But that's what he seemed to have decided. Except for a few words exchanged during the exam period and on the train home, Al had barely said anything to her since that disastrous week, and he'd been steadfastly ignoring her all summer. That hadn't been helped by the fact he had spent three weeks staying at Malfoy Manor, much to Ron's well vocalised horror.

"Oi!" the abrasive voice of her little brother shattered the silence, and Rose gave a start. She hadn't even noticed Hugo sitting there, and, she realised with dread, neither had she seen Lily beside him. She blushed a little under their curious gazes, embarrassed to have been caught sulking in front of them. "What's up with you?" Hugo asked, availing his usual enormous subtlety.

Rose stared at them. They were like twins, Lily and Hugo, utterly inseparable. The two of them did pretty much everything together; sometimes it even appeared as if they could read each other's minds. And of course, she thought wryly, they were both in Gryffindor. No, Lily hadn't ruined her and Hugo's friendship by being sorted into Slytherin. As soon as this thought crossed her mind, Rose felt ashamed of herself. Albus couldn't really help where he was sorted, and it hadn't ruined their friendship at all. She needed to pull herself together, she needed to –

"I think she's gone mad," Hugo whispered to Lily, who nodded solemnly. "Too much studying, you know? Dad always said – "

"Oh shut up Hugo!" Rose snapped, and standing up, she shot her brother a withering glare. "I'm going to the Prefects' carriage. You two behave." They broke out in whispers as soon as her back was turned.

By the time she reached the Prefects' carriage, having threaded her way through numerous pale-faced first years and a couple of quarrelling third years, Rose was in such a foul mood she was ready to hex the first person who crossed her. Slamming the door to the carriage open, she threw herself onto a seat and thanked Merlin she was alone. That was until –

"Little early isn't it Weasley?"

She darted from her seat, staring at the speaker with a mixture of surprise and annoyance. It would just so happen that Scorpius Malfoy was already here, wouldn't it? First Hugo, now Scorpius…couldn't a girl get some peace and solitude around here?

Gradually, the shock of his presence began to wear off and something else registered in her brain. He had actually spoken to her. It had to be the first time – yes, it definitely was – that he had addressed her directly since she slapped him. She had almost forgotten what his voice sounded like, it had been so long.

"I…I…"

"Please don't give yourself a seizure," he said disdainfully, looking out of the window at the passing scenery. "I wouldn't want to be responsible for your sudden and untimely death."

Rose was so stunned by his speech, she barely registered what he was saying. He had been purposely avoiding contact with her and going out of his way not to speak to her since their conversation almost six months ago, and now here he was, snarking at her as if nothing out of the ordinary had ever happened between them. As if he'd had his memory wiped during the summer. Well no, that wasn't quite right. His tone was definitely colder than it used to be and he wasn't quite meeting her eye. She stared at him for so long he raised his eyebrows at her.

"What?"

"You're...talking," she stammered.

"Well done," Scorpius' voice dripped with sarcasm. "You've finally discovered that I own a voice."

"To me," she said, wishing her own ability to speak hadn't deserted her at this crucial juncture. "You're talking to me."

"Yes I suppose I am," he sighed and turned his head away from her. "I'll stop now."

"What are you doing here?" she asked a little bullishly, still not moving to sit down.

"I'm a Prefect, in case you've forgotten."

"I know that," she snapped. "But I mean, why are you here now? The meeting's not for at least another quarter of an hour. Shouldn't you be off with…" she was going to say Albus but bit off at the last minute. "With people," she finished lamely.

He frowned. "I don't know if you've ever noticed," he said in a weary voice. "But I'm not exactly popular with the 'people' as you call them."

"Huh?" she stared at him in confusion. Scorpius Malfoy, not popular? "Come off it Malfoy. Every time I see you you're surrounded by a gaggle of admirers."

"No, every time you see me I'm with Albus, who is surrounded by a gaggle of admirers," he smirked humourlessly and folded his arms. "Your reaction to my presence is pretty typical, actually."

She was a little taken back by his dejected tone. "I don't believe you," she replied stubbornly. "I've seen plenty of girls fawning over you."

"Ah yes, girls I don't have a problem with," he said, an unreadable expression on his face. "Some girls, anyway."

Before she could reply to this strange comment, the compartment door slid open and Albus strode in, looking pleased with himself. "Scorp, there you are, I've been looking for you everywhere. You'll never guess what I've – " he spotted Rose and broke off, looking between the two of them. She bit her lip and pleaded silently with him not to shun her in front of Scorpius. She didn't think she could stand the shame if he did. "Oh, hi Rose."

"Hi," she said weakly.

Albus hesitated, then sat down next to his best friend. Rose sat too, reasoning with herself that she shouldn't feel uncomfortable. After all, this was the Prefects' carriage, she had just as much right to be here as Scorpius and Albus. More than Al in fact, seeing as he wasn't even a Prefect.

There was an uncomfortable pause, before Albus resumed his story. "Well, yeah, I bewitched the toilets at the end of the train so that all the boys read the sign 'girls' as 'boys' instead," her cousin smirked, and Rose was forcibly reminded of Scorpius. "Jackson Lobek's already been Bat-Bogied from walking in there. How many more victims do you think I'll claim before it gets discovered?"

Any other day, Rose would have scolded her cousin for his bad behaviour, then stormed off to set the charm right. But she was so relieved that he was acting normal around her that she didn't dare tell him off. A small voice in her head told her she was a coward, but the larger part clobbered it with a broomstick, and it fell silent.

"None," said Scorpius, standing up with a rueful grin. "Because I'm going to go and change it back." Albus' face fell, and he made a choking sound, but Scorpius shrugged. "I'm a Prefect mate, I've got to or it'd be my head on the line. Shouldn't have told me." He left before either Albus or Rose could protest, engulfing them in awkward silence.

Rose took a deep breath. It was now or never. She had to apologise to Albus and make up with him, or she might not get another chance.

"Albus I – "

"S'okay," he said gruffly. He had grown exponentially in the past twelve months, and now seemed about twice as large as he used to. Playing Chaser on the Slytherin team had hardened his otherwise rather gangly frame, and he had lost the youthful softness of his cheeks. He looked more and more like his father every time she saw him, particularly after a break over the summer. She only hoped his emerging good looks didn't inflate his ego any further; he was already famous for being a Potter, Rose wasn't sure her stomach could handle his fan club growing any larger.

"You haven't even heard what I was going to say," she whined, although she could tell from his expression that it was going to be alright.

Albus half smiled. "You're going to apologise for being such a prat, and I'm going to apologise for being an equal idiot over summer. And then you're going to get all soppy and hug and we'll be friends again."

"Oh Al!" she practically threw herself on him. Tears flooded her face in relief. "I've missed you so much. You have no idea."

"Yeah, I've missed you too," he said, then pinched her cheek. "You are my favourite cousin, after all."

"Well I – " but she never got to finish, for at that moment the door flew open once more, and Rose saw Scorpius with such an uncharacteristically fearful expression on his face that she felt her stomach swoop with unease. Albus jumped up, his wand already in his hand.

"What is it?" he demanded, but Scorpius just gestured for them to come with him and vanished down the corridor. Rose and Albus followed without a word.

There had obviously been quite a commotion. Luggage was strewn everywhere, a pair of owls were hooting angrily from beneath the mounds of clothes and schoolbooks, and a fearsome looking ginger cat hissed in fury at the freed contents of a wizarding chess set which had been upended in the turmoil and were now trying to attack it. Amidst the turmoil, Professor Longbottom was hauling two students up by their ears, his face crimson with fury.

"Never in all my years at Hogwarts – " he shouted at the two boys, both of whom looked surly and a little shamefaced. It was only then that Rose, her heart hammering rather wildly, caught sight of a third figure, half-hidden by the piles of bags around him, lying slumped on the floor. He was unconscious, his face bloody and bruised, and his arm poking outwards at a sickening angle. With a horrible lurch, Rose recognised him as Hunter Macnair, and she realised that these were the same third years she had pushed past earlier on her way to the Prefects' carriage. If only she had stopped and paid attention to what they were saying…

Suddenly feeling unsteady on her feet, she reached out and clasped Albus' hand. Except…Rose turned her head so quickly her neck cricked, and found a pair of startled grey eyes boring into her own. Scorpius' face was blank with shock. Hurriedly, she yanked her hand from his, feeling the warmth of his contact evaporate.

"Rose, Scorpius," Professor Longbottom had caught sight of them. "Could you please take Hunter up to Madam Pomfrey at the front of the train? Quickly now," he said, a note of urgency in his voice. Scorpius nodded once and scooped the boy into his arms as effortlessly as if he weighed nothing at all. He gave a quick nod to Albus, who was leaning against the wall looking stunned, before marching away up the corridor. Rose hurried behind him, trying to be useful by snapping at people to get out of the way.

Madam Pomfrey gave a small 'oh' of shock upon seeing the battered body of Macnair, but quickly settled into a professional manner, bustling about, waving her wand and barking instructions at Scorpius. Although very old, she was nevertheless an incredibly efficient witch, and the situation was under control in a matter of minutes. Rose tried to help but instead ended up getting in the way, so she stood in the corner, watching the frail, pale boy on the makeshift hospital bed, his body shaking and rasping with each breath. Slowly, as the pain relief potion began to take hold, his tortured breathing slowed, and a slight shadow seemed to lift from his young face. Rose was having trouble using her brain. He was such a small boy, undersized even for a third-year, mousy haired, inconspicuous, she'd never even noticed him before. She should have prevented this, she should have done something, she should –

"Thank you Scorpius, I think that will do. I'll do what I can for him while we're travelling, and then when we get to Hogwarts I can fix him properly, poor boy. Who would've thought…on the train…quite a shock." She bustled toward them, and Rose realised they were being dismissed. But for some reason her legs didn't seem to want to move. She stood, paralysed, for what felt like hours, her eyes glazed and staring unseeingly at Macnair, until she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Come on Rose," Scorpius steered her firmly out of the compartment, his grip strong and sure. "Let's go back to the Prefects' carriage."

"I should – " why was she finding it so difficult to breathe? Her parents were war heroes, and here she was nearly fainting at the sight of blood. "I should help. I have to –" she slumped against the wall and covered her face with her hands. Merlin, she was pathetic.

"Hunter will be fine," Scorpius said, his voice calm and soothing. Rose peered through her fingers at him and caught such a strange expression on his face that for a moment she thought she must have fainted and started hallucinating. But then she blinked and it was gone. "There's nothing you can do."

"But…" she struggled to put her thoughts into words. It seemed odd that she should be standing here having this conversation with Scorpius, and yet right, in a twisted way, even though he was the last person she would have thought to talk to. "I could have helped him. I saw those boys arguing in the corridor, and I just walked straight past. If I'd stopped and listened, then maybe I could've – "

"Rose."

" – done something. I could have stopped them."

"Rose."

"And then he wouldn't be hurt," she almost sobbed, ignoring him. Now that she had started talking she couldn't seem to stop. "If I hadn't been so caught up in my own stupid problems, worrying about stuff that doesn't even matter and – "

"Rose!" He said her name with an intensity that made her stop mid-sentence. "You can't do everything. Albus walked past them too, and he didn't notice anything either."

"And I was so useless," she felt compelled to add. "I just stood there without doing anything and – "

"He was messed up," he said. "It was enough to scare anyone. You don't see that every day."

"But you didn't fall to pieces like a child," she pointed out a little resentfully.

Scorpius shrugged, and his eyes seemed to darken. "Yeah, well that's not the first time I've seen something like that." He bit his lip, as if annoyed with himself for speaking.

Rose stared at him in wariness, her own insecurities forgotten. "Where?"

He hesitated. "My Dad's Pensieve."

"Oh," was all she could think to say. "He let – "

"He doesn't know I looked," Scorpius replied, his lips pursed thinly, as though to try and stop the words escaping. But there was a defiance in his eyes when he looked at her. "They were out, and…I couldn't help myself. I've never told him."

They were alone in their part of the train, and Rose had to stifle an irrational urge to draw closer to him. She imagined Scorpius, alone in Malfoy Manor, delving into his father's dark past, and a little shudder went up her spine. She had heard from her parents some of what had happened during the War, knew there had been death and fear, but she was sure they kept a lot of the darker events from her. She couldn't help but wonder what Scorpius had seen.

"I'm…" she faltered, unsure what to say. Sorry your father was a Death Eater? Sorry he partook in the horror of Voldemort's reign? Rose's lungs swelled with the inadequacy of anything she could say. "Sorry."

Scorpius narrowed his eyes at her as if suspicious that she may be mocking him. Then he smirked, and seemed to shake himself. "Not your fault is it?" he cocked his head in the direction they'd come from. "So maybe we should get back to the Prefects' carriage. We're probably late by now."