.

(Is anything true?)

"Times really have changed, back in our day the closest thing was the rumor of my dragon tattoo." Uncle Harry was observing the students on the platform and waving at fellow parents he knew as he muttered this to Ginny. Her aunt was busy smiling and nodding at Luna Lovegood who was many meters down the platform.

"I'm sorry dear but what is, exactly?"

"All the hair and the piercings, did anyone in our years have dyed hair?"

Ginny hummed in thought as she started fussing over the kid's bags. Hugo and Rose had stayed with the Potter's the night before because their mum hadn't been feeling well and wasn't up to the trip to Kings Cross.

"I suppose not really. It was different then. Now, it seems to be one of the main ways young people express themselves. Count yourself lucky that all we have to handle is some pierced ears."

Harry chuckled at this, it had been quite the event this summer when Albus had returned from France with his ears pierced. Not that his parents had particularly minded, but it had been a bit of a shock. Quite a difficult thing to explain during family dinner at the Burrow. Though admittedly less of a shock than the Summer before when Dom had arrived with a ring in her nose that she referred to as a "septum piercing". That one had taken Grandma Molly months to get over.

Rose brushed her hand absentmindedly across the back of her head where her hair was soft and buzzed. It hadn't been too hard of a sell in her family, it wasn't too drastic for them considering what some of her cousins have done over the years. But she wondered what her friends at Hogwarts would think. Rose let the thought float away as quickly as it came, she liked it and that was enough.

They had reached the train at this point and began loading in all four trunks. Just as Rose was helping to pass the last case to Al, someone shouted his name and he raised one hand to wave.

"fuck- AL" the trunk tilted wildly to one side.

"Oh damn, sorry Ro, distracted" he smiled lamely, and Rose responded with an eye roll.

"Sorry Weasley, were you in the middle of something?" She realized who it was that had called Albus. The following eye roll was much longer than the previous.

"Really Malfoy, not the time." She and Al managed to get the trunk tucked into the hall as the idiot beamed at Malfoy. Rose still refused to look at him.

"Help me with mine next?"

Suddenly Rose was nudged out of the way as Al and Scorpius loaded the blonde's trunk, smiling and chatting the whole way. Rose stared resolutely at her nails until Aunt Ginny wrapped her arm around her, wishing her a wonderful year and kissing her on the cheek. She got a similar treatment from Uncle Harry when Ginny moved on to Al and Lily. She heard Malfoy off to her right saying goodbye to his parents, so she hopped on the train in hopes of being able to avoid him.

She sorely miscalculated, since Al was still wrapped up with his parents Malfoy also got on board.

"Shall we?" he asks as if it's typical for them to ever be a 'we'.

She looked up to tell him this but instead started gaping.

"What the hell is that?" as she asked it she reached a hand up and nearly poked his face, but pulled back from touching him at the last moment. A silver ring looped through the right side of his nose, it was surprisingly delicate.

Scorpius Malfoy has a nose ring.

"Come on Weasley, don't tell me you've never seen a nose ring? And here I was, thinking I'm the one with a conservative upbringing".

He reached up and brushed her hand away from his face, instead of just knocking it down, he guided it back to her side before letting go. Rose scoffed, because really what else was she to do with this boy?

"Of course, I've seen a nose ring before, don't be a prick. But why do you suddenly have one?"

Scorpius was still looking at her shocked expression with an amusement Rose found infuriating. Still smiling he shoved his hands in his pockets, and slowly moved to walk past her.

"You don't really think Albus went to get his ears pierced alone do you?"

It looked good on him, Rose couldn't help but notice as she glared. Eyes following him as he stood next to her for a moment, before nodding his head and gesturing for her to follow. Finally, he moved so far out of her peripherals that she settled for rolling her eyes.

"You idiots share a single brain cell, I swear."

(Endoume, Marseille)

Albus laid on a four-poster bed, bathed in warm sunlight filtering into the cozy room. All of the fabric trimmings were various shades of emerald green, but the worn leather armchairs and terracotta rug made it feel less regal. The dark-haired boy was tossing a snitch from hand to hand, swiping it out of the air just before it could zip away. Footsteps approached and the door flew open, Scorpius broke the stillness of the room as he began tossing books onto the coffee table. He dropped a bag by the armchair and flung himself into it in a rather haphazard manner.

"And what, may I ask, are you throwing a tantrum about?"

Albus did not look over to his friend, eyes still trained on the golden orb dancing above him. His mouth quirked to the side and he raised an eyebrow as he asked it though, waiting for the biting response he was sure would come.

"Oh shove it, Potter"

Albus's mouth drew itself into a lazy smile, but he stayed quiet.

"Don't get smug" But regardless of his words Scorpius had calmed his movements, no longer fidgeting and glaring. Albus deactivated the snitch and tossed it to his friend. Scorpius caught it and let it roll around in his palm.

"Lucious sent another Howler. Caught me on my walk back from the port."

Scorpius' eyes flitted everywhere but Albus' face and he tossed the golden ball back.

Albus felt that Scorpius wasn't ready to talk about it more than that, he probably would tell him in a few weeks. The blonde boy was like that, needed time to think before he could bring himself to say things out loud. It had taken some time for Albus to understand because his family processed everything out loud. Or at least they seemed to. As he got older he realized all the things his parents kept inside. And that sometimes, even time doesn't heal.

So he let himself ramble on about his family's life at the cottage. How Rose wanders and draws all day, sunset quidditch games, and Hermione's dusty old books. Scorpius joins in, making jokes and comments as they toss the snitch back and forth. Eventually straying away from the Potter/Weasley tribe.

"All the muggle rockstars have ear piercings. They all look so damn cool."

"You look cool Al" He received a glare "But you're right a piercing would help"

He paused a moment and then continued. "You think I'd look good with a nose piercing? Not one like Dom, a side one. I've been thinking about it. It looks so good on Rissa"

"You want to look like a Marissa Combs? the Ravenlcaw?"

Scorpius chuckled and tossed the snitch at Albus' head, not quite trying to hit him, but still in a retaliatory fashion.

"Don't pretend we don't look alike." Albus snorted "I know damn well what people say. And it's hard to argue with." At this point, Albus began laughing outright.

"I'm a very pretty boy, and she's a tall angular girl. I swear she's gotta have some Malfoy or Greengrass in the family, it's a startling resemblance."

Albus gathered himself as his best friend looked on with a proud and manic smile. He loved it when Scorpius let himself be like this, mischievous and goofy all at once. The brunette caught his breath enough to reply.

"You could have just said yes. I think you'll look rather dashing with a nose piercing…"

The boys smirked at one another.

"And even more like Rissa's long-lost twin"

A green pillow sailed through the air, nailing Albus right in the head.

(Reunions)

Trees and hillsides whipped past, but they were all a blur to Rose. Who sat with her forehead pressed against the window, eyes focussing on her reflection. She'd tried to ditch the boys, but they had followed her, eventually just dropping their bags in the compartment and wandering off in search of Rafael. The glass felt cool on her skin, grounding. She watched as the passing trees caused ripples across her cheeks and flashes of sun made her disappear entirely.

She was lost in a world of her own when the compartment door opened. A tall brunette stood leaning against the doorframe taking her in for a moment.

"First day back and we're already daydreaming Ro?"

The girl had a deep melodic voice, smooth and slightly accented. Her hair floated around her shoulders, gold hoops glinting through the mass of curls. She wore a lilac sweater, which looked particularly vibrant against her warm olive-toned skin.

Rose continued to stare out as she replied. "Gotta get some in before I get in trouble for daydreaming in class"

Walking fully into the compartment, the other girl laughed, sinking into the seat across from Rose.

"Missed your silly ass" She leaned back throwing her legs across her friend's lap. And they sat in silence for quite some time, until Rose finally pulled her forehead away from the glass and turned to the brunette.

"How did you survive summer without me?"

"Painfully" Magda smiled as she said it, contradicting the statement, and letting Rose believe her friend had enjoyed a perfectly lovely summer holiday.

The girls lapsed into catching up about their time apart, they had of course sent owls. But neither was a very detailed letter writer. Instead, their correspondence had mostly been Rose owling drawings she'd done of the French countryside and Magda Whatsapping photos of her cats in response.

Their moment was interrupted by the unnecessarily loud opening of the compartment door. The boy it revealed had a stocky build, and dark brown hair that looked like he'd just stuck his head out of one of the train windows but it worked for him. Just like when you drive past cars with joyful dogs hanging their heads out. In fact, a puppy was the perfect comparison for Rafa, enthusiastic, unaware of boundaries, and incredibly loyal.

"Oh hullo," A grin split his face in two, making the slightly mysterious air of him, vanish immediately.

Magda rolled her eyes as Rose offered a smile in kind.

"Hiya Rafa. How'd summer treat you?"

The boy walked farther into the compartment, dropping to sit beside the taller girl. He met Rose's eyes and replied.

"Well, it was near torturous."

Rose simply raised an eyebrow, knowing that was all the encouragement he needed.

"Alone. Abandoned. Simply desolate. And all the while Albus and Scorp galavanting across the French seaside."

His hands gestured with each word, finally raising to the sky in question.

"What have I ever done to deserve such treatment?"

At this Madga snorted, bumping his shoulder with the movement.

"Oh shove off." Sarcastically "Minerva knows what I could've done" Another eye roll "Raf, nearly half of Hogwarts knows intimate details of what you've done"

He turned to look at her as if inspecting her face. "Anyone ever told you your face will get stuck like that if you keep it up? Crosseyed and all?"

"Of course they have. You're not special"

"Ohhh, so you've just always had a bad attitude. got it got it"

As they continued they leaned towards each other, seemingly without realizing it.

It was Rose's turn to roll her eyes.

"Did you see their new look?" Rose shot Rafael a mischievous look, breaking up whatever was happening in front of her.

"They face-timed me right after, worst Slytherins in history, no subtlety" Flicking his hand as if writing them off, he shook his head in disappointment.

"Talking about Scorpius's nose ring?" Magda tried to read the faces in front of her, and her expression changed as a thought occurred to her. "Please tell me Al didn't get a matching one?"

"No, no love, he went for the ears, very original."

"Some might call it classic."

"Some." Rafa tilted his head to the side as if acquiescing. "How bout you 'Lena, get any new ink?"

Magda just hummed a non-answer, clearly enjoying withholding it.

"You know you might just make a better Slytherin than my idiot roommates."

Rose nodded solemnly "That's not exactly news dear, but glad you're all caught up."

(Coyoacán, Mexico City)

Madga made her way down a busy cobblestone street, swerving around children, dogs, and street vendors. The sun was warm and bright, tickling her neck and shoulders. She reached the end of the block and darted across the street as a truck crossed, playing a jingle. A woven bag hung over her shoulder, filled with fresh produce, weighed down by a papaya larger than her head.

The sun wasn't high in the sky yet, and Magda was hoping to be back at her grandmother's before it began to bake the streets through the canopy of trees above her. She stopped in the corner store to get the sweets her nephew liked, before reaching the turquoise gate in a stone wall that marked her destination. As she closed it behind her she heard barking, Luna clearly wanted to be let out into the yard to see who was coming in. She heard her grandmother's voice scolding the mutt and the barking ceased as she saw the blur of Luna charging towards her. She excitedly licked Magda's shoes, dancing around her as the girl approached the house.

"estupida, solo estuve fuera una hora" She tutted at the dog, smiling.

She heard the chorus of her family as she passed through the doorway into the house. Her grandmother kissed her cheek while using her foot to keep to dog out, telling her if she wanted to be outside so bad she had to stay out. As if Luna understood, staring forlornly as the carved wooden door slammed in her face.

The children were scattered around the kitchen table, her uncle standing over the stove making breakfast and singing along to the radio tucked in the windowsill. It was much cooler inside, and Magda sighed as she set down her bag and unloaded her haul. Her eldest cousin swooped in and began peeling and slicing some of the fruit, not breaking the conversation she'd been having with her mother.

Monica rushed over to Madga, tugging on her pant leg and chanting "Lena, Lena, tia Lena"

Smiling, the older girl squatted down to Monica's level and asked what she needed. A ridiculously fluffy orange tabby brushed against both their legs, vying for attention.

"An owl came for you! It was big and fluffy! It had the prettiest eyes too"

"And claws!" her brother interjected from his seat at the table.

Magda chuckled "Did she let you pet her? Buttercup is very friendly"

The children nodded, smiling wide. Monica began petting the cat leaning against her leg. Speaking over one another to tell her how cool it was and arguing about which of them Buttercup liked better.

Her grandmother walked over, holding out a roll of paper "Para ti" she made a face "Esos búhos" She shook her head walking over to the stove after she handed off the letter.

"nunca entenderé a los ingleses"

"They don't understand our way either abuela" The older woman waved her hand smiling.

Magda excused herself to her room upstairs, rolling the parchment out on her desk. They were the most lovely drawings from Rose. One showed the shoreline, waves crashing, a boat off in the distance. Another was of her cousins around a table, none of them looking at Rose except Albus, a smirk on his face. Magda spent a moment longer than she'd care to admit studying it. She then pinned it up on her wall next to her growing collection of snapshots from Rose's summer.

(More Reunions)

The students spilled out of the Hogwarts Express and onto the platform as the sun sank below the mountains in the distance. Rose found herself climbing into a carriage with Magda and some of the other 6th-year girls they shared a dorm with. Rose was still in a pensive mood, and let the voices around her fill the carriage. Swapping rumors and chatting about the year ahead.

"That headline in the Prophet was certainly spooky."

Trish finally said something that caught Rose's attention. Her blue eyes were wide as she said it, staring around at the other girls to see their responses. Magda's head snapped to look at Rose, immediately inquisitive.

"It was only last week" Rose answered the unspoken question. "It was about that group everyone was whispering about last year."

Magda's mouth shifted to a grimace as she nodded understanding.

"What'd they do to get noticed?"

"They sent a bunch of 'threatening' packages to the homes of muggle-borns in the area" Trish shrugged, eyeing Rose. "The article didn't elaborate, but apparently, there was also a lot of hate speech graffiti on and around their homes as well. So. Their meaning was clear"

Rose met the blonde's eyes and shrugged in response. "I didn't hear any more details than you, our parents have been very sneaky about all this. Don't want us to worry I suppose"

Magda took a deep breath "I don't know if that's comforting or concerning" she furrowed her brow, squinting off above Trish's head.

Exhaling Rose turned her head to look back out the window. "Neither do I honestly, and it's been driving me mad"

The girls were thoughtful for a moment, but eventually, the carriage filled with chatter again as they rose further up the hill and the castle came into sight. Streams of students entered the castle from the carriages, which dropped the students off and returned to pick up stragglers. Rose was swept up in the flow, getting waves and hugs from friends and family. All the students were making their way up the stairs and gathering in the Great Hall, some trickled in more slowly, spending time catching up in the Entrance Hall first. The stone echoed all the young voices, giving the illusion that there were many more gathered than were stood around laughing and chatting.

Rose lost Magda and found her again three times on her way from the grand doors into the castle, to the second set leading to the Great Hall. She became more grounded in the moment the farther into the stone structure she walked. The place had raised her in many ways, and though her mind was far away when she entered, she was able to wrangle it back to the present.

Amara caught her halfway through the hall, scooping her into a comforting hug, she'd missed her roommate from London. They both squealed and chattered about their time apart. Even though Rose didn't live far away most of the summer, she'd been gone when Amara was in London, and Amara had been visiting family in the Caribbean when Rose was home. They made their way through the crowd, arms around each other.

They found Magda.

She was whispering conspiratorially with Ivan, a tall Ravenclaw boy who was bent over, face pressed close to hers. He had black tousled hair and deeply tanned skin. He and Madga were often confused as siblings, even though they didn't actually look alike, they had similar coloring and features.

Magda had known him since they were kids, years before Hogwarts. While Rose felt confident that she was Magda's best friend, she could never shake the feeling that the two had a connection even she couldn't compete with. When he saw Rose, Ivan straightened with a smile and held his arms out to greet her. She returned the hug and felt the air beside her rush as Magda and Amara jumped and embraced. Pulling apart from Ivan she watched as the two girls held each other, almost dancing in place, rocking with excitement.

Once they'd gathered Magda and waved to Ivan, the three proceeded to the red and gold gilt table in the Great Hall.

The Welcome feast commenced much like it always had.

The candles lit up the room, floating between the tables and the night sky above. Rose only partially tuned in for the sorting, as even her youngest cousins were Second years already. She joined in the obligatory cheers for every Gryffindor but barely registered any of the names. As a Prefect she probably should have been paying a bit more attention, but she was lost again in her thoughts. Both wrapped up in the conversation they'd had in the carriages and the memories of her own sorting.

Being separated from Albus had always been her biggest fear when coming to Hogwarts. They had never really been apart for very long when they were young. Always thick as thieves. She couldn't help but think how her younger self would have never believed what her life had become. That they would be in different houses, but still as thick as thieves. She had learned that things can be both different and the same, and that life rarely goes as expected. She let her eyes wander to the table on the far side of the hall, with a sea of green ties. She sought out the shock of platinum hair she knew would be easier to find than her cousin's. Her eyes landed on the blonde, only allowing herself a moment to survey him before focusing on the boy beside him. A Slytherin had just been sorted, so her cousin was shouting and clapping his hands in the air. She watched, lost in her memories as the boys whooped and clapped, occasionally leaning into each other to whisper and laugh. Rose exhaled deeply and drew her eyes away, knowing her younger self would have been seething at the image. She was learning to leave space for that feeling, without letting it drag her down. Because she too was happy and had other friends and joys.

Growing up was just as exciting as it was terrifying.

"…during these renovations greenhouse 5 will be closed to students. I would also like to address something that's been in the news and surely on all of your minds"

Rose's drifting was brought to a halt by the Headmaster's words. She focused her eyes on her uncle, not through blood, but in every other way. Longbottom stood on the dais in a sage robe, mud on his boots, clearly having forgotten to change them from when he was certainly in the greenhouses earlier that day.

"Absolutely no hate speech of any kind is to tolerated here at Hogwarts. Regardless of family and upbringing all of our students deserve to have a safe environment for learning."

His gaze drifted from table to table as he spoke.

"I would like to underline that this applies to all students, I do not believe the politics of any of your parents should be projected on you. So please bear this in mind."

He turned and began to pace the edge of the stage as he continued.

"I am well aware that Hogwarts has been breached in the past, so I will not stand here and say that there is no possibility of any threat here. But I will tell you this, you keep each other safe. You have much more power than you might think. Stay alert, focus on your studies, and my door is always open."

He had stopped in the middle of the stage again, surveying the students before him.

Gave a final nod "Cheers" and turned to walk to his seat as the food appeared on all the tables.

The room had fallen into an eerie silence while the Headmaster had spoken as if everyone was holding their breath. This was quickly broken and the air was filled with voices and clattering as the students filled their plates and continued to catch up with old friends. The older students held onto the silence a little longer. Slower to chit-chat, they had moments of surveying each other, taking Headmaster Longbottom's words to heart. Sizing up who around them they trusted and knew, lost in the future he had laid before them.

Coming from a man who had lived it, it was hard to ignore.

(The Penultimate Year)

Despite the tone of the year's inception, Rose's sixth year carried on much like all her years before.

Academically 6th year is a bit strange, as it sits right between OWLS and NEWTS. It meant she was preparing for career-defining tests, that were nearly two years in the future. Which meant the stakes felt strangely proximate and simultaneously distant. There was always tomorrow to study instead because the tests were so, so many tomorrows away.

Days were spent in classes and lounging by the lake, while the weather still permitted. She'd sit and sketch Amara as she leaned against a tree, Magda wading into the shallow water, and Ivan laying back reading a book.

Evenings were either for quidditch practice or hanging out around the castle. Depending on how committed they were to studying that evening, sometimes she and her friends would find themselves in the library, though more often than not they were in a common room.

Nights with her family were almost always in the Commons, as the Potter/Weasley commitment to studying would surely disappoint her Granger mother.

The Commons was opened when her cousin Teddy was in school. She remembered her uncle Harry being excited about the opening ceremony.

It had once been a few classrooms at the top of the Grand Staircase in the Entrance Hall. They had been magically combined to create a space twice as large as any of the house's common rooms. There were four fireplaces, each surrounded with couches and cozy chairs. The perimeter of the room was scattered with tables of various sizes. There was a big announcement board hanging on the wall across from the entrance, littered with information about clubs, tutoring schedules, and the odd request.

"In search of 6 frog legs harvested under a blue moon. Serious offers only"

Besides the smaller fireplace, a scoreboard sat on a shelf next to what looked to be an old tattered notebook.

This was one of James' proudest inventions. It was magically wiped clean each week and the two words at the top of each column would change. It was enchanted so each student could only vote once, and once a vote was cast it couldn't be changed. The notebook held all the final tallies of votes past. If you decided to peruse the archive you would find the history of Hogwarts students' favorite things.

Chocolate Frogs 103 vs. Bertie Bots 72
Puddifoots 31 vs. The Three Broomsticks 209
Apples 135 vs. Bananas 84
Potter 142 vs. Weasley 142 (that was a particularly rowdy Sunday).

On the third Friday in September, as Rose sat between her cousins on an olive green couch, the scoreboard read Nimbus 30 vs Firebolt 52.

It was such a silly thing and the categories varied wildly, which was part of the joy of it. It could spark the most absurd debates and it accomplished precisely what it set out to do. Pushing the student body to engage with each other beyond house loyalty.

Rose would always remember the day James first explained the board to his father. He recounted a particularly divisive lineup. And the pride she saw in her uncle Harry's face when James explained how a Slytherin and Hufflepuff had joined forces to debate a Ravenclaw and Slytherin from the opposition. The audience had been split pretty evenly with no mind for house lines.

She watched as a third year walked over to the book, and scribbled in their tally, bumping Nimbus up to 31.

"I just don't get Zan, why would he draw the line at elixirs?" Albus was leaning towards his younger cousin, his body half out of the armchair he was perched on. "like, not that I want him to be more strict on you mind, but at that point just say you can't dose any, ya know?"

Roxanne rolled her eyes as she let her head fall back on the cushion behind her and released a sigh. She was sat crisscross on the floor leaning against the sofa where Rose was sprawled.

"I know, it's so stupid, but you know Freddie. He's maybe the most stubborn of all you idiots." She pulled her head up again to look at Al "And honestly whenever I press him on these things he always pulls some cautionary tale horror story out of the air and it makes me not want to do it anyway."

She held up her hands in defeat as Albus shook his head with a dark chuckle.

"Honestly Rox, I've only done one elixir, and it was lovely but also such a pain to get. And you can get nearly the same high with potions and draughts." Rose assured the younger girl and dropped a hand to Roxanne's shoulder. "And soon enough you can do whatever you want. Freds' just caught up on this right now, he'll ease up eventually."

"Ooo Ronnie, that reminds me, were you able to make the laughing and pepper-up potions for next weekend? Scor can't right now."

Roxanne's eyes darted between the two, sizing up if either would give her an answer to her next question as Rose nodded.

"What's next weekend?"

Albus shot her a grin, which Rose to this day, could still not quite tell when he was using as a weapon or not.

"Unfortunately not a party, just some Quidditch team bonding"

Roxanne repeated her previous sigh and head drop "Merlin, why is this whole family so damn Quidditch obsessed. It's an illness."

Pillows were thrown and the cousins lapsed back into easy conversation.

Roxanne eventually packed up her bag and blew both cousins kisses as she made her way out of the Commons and back to Ravenclaw Tower.

They chatted for a moment about nothing at all until Rose brought them back to the question before.

"You know it might be trickier this year to nick ingredients for extracurricular activities."

Albus looked at her curiously, for she had never before had a problem with sneaking in and snagging them.

"When I went to the store closet yesterday with the cloak, it was pretty barren, like, end of finals barren."

"You think there's a late shipment or something?"

Rose shrugged. "I dunno, it seemed like there was enough of everything, just not extra like usual"

"Tightening the purse strings on the potions budget? I mean what? no more freebee mistakes for ickle firsties?"

"Yeah that would be silly, maybe you're right and something is just delayed."

Rose didn't spare it another thought. She'd gotten enough Billywig wings and Knarl quills for two full potions. Which dosed out, would last them for a few parties. And after that, they'd figure it out again.

She was more curious about what Albus' star potion maker was so busy with, that he couldn't even make a couple of measly pepper-up potions. But Rose knew better than to ask about Malfoy. After this summer things had fallen into a more comfortable rhythm. They'd exchanged multiple pleasantries since the start of the year, which was honestly an impressive record. However despite that, Rose still felt like Albus had his guard up, like he was expecting the other shoe to drop and a fight to break out at any given moment. She supposed she was in no position to blame him. Noses had been broken, braids had been cut, and she was pretty sure the scar on her knee could be blamed on Scorpius.

So she didn't ask, and Albus didn't volunteer.

THE WILDEST WEASLEY
Sunday, 18 September 2022

Rose Weasley, Daughter of the war heroes Ron and Hermione Weasley was seen with Jeremy Walters at a club this summer, and this witch finally got her hands on the photos and all the dirtiest details.

Rose tried not to wake her roommates with the force she used to throw the offensive magazine to the floor. Minnie, her owl, knew to bring Rose the tabloid magazines in her room as soon as they arrived - having learned delivering them to Rose in the Great Hall never ended well. Rose took a deep breath and grabbed a treat from her bedside table for the black feathered owl perched on the windowsill. Once the reward was received Minnie flew off to her tower on the other side of the castle. The sun was in the sky, but barely, and Rose's anger was still hot, dancing just under her skin.

She felt like screaming. Glancing at Magda, chest rising softly as she slept, Rose opted for pacing. Once her breath was under control she sat down and began to write a letter. Buttercup was perched on a stand between her bed and Magda's, staring out at the moon and fluttering his wings every so often. Rose opted to tie the note to his leg rather than risk sending Minnie.

Even after she sent him on his way, her body still buzzed with energy. Quickly, before she could change her mind, she stripped off her clothes and pulled on bike shorts and a sweatshirt. Then ducked out of the sixth-year dorms.

That morning Rose ran drills until her arms ached from holding too tightly to her broom, and sweat dripped down her spine. The sensations grounded her and ebbed her anger. Sometimes it felt like the world only made sense from up high, like she should see things more clearly, in sharper focus.

These early morning quidditch drills became a habit she picked up over the next couple of days. The sunrise flights brought a feeling of calm and helped release all the anger and anxiety she didn't know how to name. And kept the insomnia at bay. Some days she would bring a book and lay on the grass of the quidditch pitch, catching her breath and distracting her mind.

That Wednesday, as she strolled back up to the castle, she decided to sit under a tree by the greenhouses to read her Arithmancy book. She settled into a nook between two larger roots and was thoroughly engrossed when she heard the door to the greenhouse in front of her fall closed. She glanced up to smile at who she assumed to be Professor Téllez. Only to find Malfoy looking at her with a funny expression on his face. He walked closer to her as he pulled a pair of corded headphones from his ears and shoved them in his pocket.

"Weasley"

"Malfoy" she paused, debating if it was time to have their age-old discussion. She has no self-control. "We've talked about this. There are far too many of us at Hogwarts for you to simply use my surname"

He peered around as if expecting Hugo to pop out from behind the greenhouse. "Well, right now it's just you, I don't see any others"

She rolled her eyes. "I see you haven't fully grasped the concept of object permanence just yet"

He was looking at her with that expression in his eyes she could never quite place as he began to smirk.

"You really would rather I call you something else?"

Surprised that he'd finally conceded the argument and worried she was walking into a trap she said "yes", because Rose Wesley had no self-control.

The slow smirk grew and the blonde boy shook his head.

"Ok Reggie, it's a deal"

And he grinned wider than she'd ever seen as he walked away.

For a while she stared at his retreating form, trying to work out where that had come from.

Shaking off a feeling she didn't care to figure out, Rose gathered up her belongings and followed the same path Scorpius had moments before, returning to the castle.

Sunlight filtered through the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall as the girls entered it for breakfast the next morning. Magda's hair was tied in a ponytail high on her head. As students said good morning to them Rose had to dodge her friend's hair as her head swirled back and forth, smiling and calling out greetings in return. Rose finally ducked out of the way and sped to their typical bench. She stuck a scone in her mouth and began pouring them cups of tea whilst stepping over the bench to have a seat. Rose was engrossed in her breakfast when Magda joined her.

"What bullshit did they write this time?"

The brunette didn't even glance at Rose as she sat beside her and piled fruit and eggs on her plate. Noticing the cup of tea for her she smiled and clinked her cup against Rose's where it sat on the table.

"Ta"

Rose snorted. "I can't stand you".

Magda nodded solemnly as if Rose had actually answered her question. Ignoring the interaction entirely she started asking Rose about the Hogwarts team, and if she knew yet when and where their first match was.

The Hogwarts team was founded in 2012, in no small part thanks to Ginny Weasley.

In the early 2000s, she started the Student League playoffs. It was part of her campaign to promote unity across the wizarding world through Quidditch. It ran alongside the Quidditch Cup matches at Hogwarts. The Cup was all about points totals, while the playoffs were just about winning matches - it was a fun shift for the players. These matches were also much less formal. They played in practice gear and were stricter about fouls involving bludgers, but much more casual about subbing players. So house teams could test out how new players performed in real matches.

They were essentially practice matches, fewer fans came to them, and they were at random times, whenever both teams could clear a 2-hour window. There was a limit to how long they could run, unlike a real match which could last days. It was more about strategy and testing new plays than house competition, and most of all, it was fun - the players lived for it. The trophy was a miniature gold statuette of the three Quidditch hoops. In many ways, the captains valued this trophy as much as the actual cup. After Ginny saw the results of her small initiative at Hogwarts, she pushed to expand it to the world stage. Soon she had coordinated matches between Wizarding schools across Europe, and eventually even further. The Student League ended up being how Hooch chose the Hogwarts teams for the next year. Which for the sake of school unity, was pulled from each of the four houses. They were the best players in Hogwarts, and this year Rose was on the team.

"They haven't announced yet- I think the bracket gets published next week." Rose was still feeling frustrated but appreciated Magda's effort. She allowed herself to chat casually about who they each thought looked strongest on the team this year, and where they hoped they get to travel for the Student World Cup.

"You know the final lineup for the school team right?" a nod from Rose as her mouth was full "Is Greene captain this year? or was Mickey able to snag it from her?"

"Greene, Mickey's like next in command though. I think he's fine with it."

"Are you guys doing the classic bonding exercise for the new school team? Try to bridge house divides and all?"

"The classic?"

"Yeah age-old classic"

"Ohhh, get fucked up, plastered, three sheets to the wind?"

"Yeah, that one"

"For sure, Albus has an itinerary and everything. Saturday."

Magda laughed, a melody that always made Rose smile.

(Don't you love me?)

Rose felt like every inch of her skin was being lightly tickled. It made her giggle as she swayed to the music playing through the enchanted speakers. They were stacked on the counter that stretched out beside the row of lockers. The room was dim.

She twirled and found herself falling into Alexis Greene, who caught her with grace. The two chuckled as they righted themselves, continuing to dance, dragging Mickey and Sean in to join them. It could have been an hour spent dancing, or just 10 minutes, either way, Rose was on cloud nine.

The student-athletes were all gathered in the school team's locker room. The quidditch pitch had always had two lounges for visiting teams and special guests. Now it only had one, and the other was the home base for the Hogwarts team. They each had their spaces in their house's locker rooms, but this space gave them more reason to feel like a unit.

It was an oddly laid out room, as the showers and all, were still in their respective house locker rooms, so it just had a row of lockers, some benches, a table, and a little lounge area. It worked well for what they needed but was obviously thrown together 10 years ago and then never changed.

Albus and Scorpius were sprawled across one of the sofas in front of where half the team was dancing. There was a case of ale from the muggle town past Hogsmeade, a bottle of fire whiskey, and another of gin spread out on the table beside them. Sean wandered over and topped off his cup. The table also had an amber glass bottle, with a dropper as a lid, simply labeled "giggles". Small drips of pink liquid littered the table around it.

Rose felt another bubble of laughter travel through her chest and escape into the air. As she released it her eyes met Scorpius' across the room. The stormy grey-blue of them looked softer somehow at that moment, like a warm hazy day. If she were sober she would have scolded herself for sparing a moment to ponder his eyes, but she wasn't.

Patting Alexis' shoulder as she passed, Rose made her way to the sofa and dropped her body to nestle between the two lanky boys. They were all just a mess of limbs. Rose wasn't sure which of them started the latest round of laughter, but she felt their bodies shake in tune against her own as they settled into place.

"Nice brew Ronnie, compliments to the chef"

She leaned forward miming a bow, causing the sofa to devolve into giggles once again. The room was filled with the melody of all of their laughter harmonizing with the songs playing. Gemma walked over, plopping down on the arm of the sofa nearest Albus, and began to ask about what warmup playlist they should use this season.

"It's got a smoothness I can't typically get. Is it a custom recipe?" The blonde tucked his head closer to hers as he asked the question.

"Is the potioneer extraordinaire asking for tips from little ol' me?"

She met his eyes, they seemed to blur and then focus, zeroing in on her own.

"yes"

It took her off guard, not knowing how to deal with a sincere Malfoy.

"Yea, it's custom" Her mouth stayed parted as she finished her sentence, still a little surprised.

"Nice. I like it."

He smiled and looked away, releasing her from the trance.

"Maybe you can show me sometime?"

She felt the giggles before they broke her lips apart. She leaned farther into him, pulling away from Albus.

"Why not? Next time we're paired up in potions, we'll make a little side project."

"Sneaky. Don't you think Professor O'Reilly will notice?"

The two devolved into laughter again.

"He hasn't noticed us stealing for two years, what do you think will make him start now?"

"Hubris"

"Our own pride will get us caught?"

The Slytherin hummed his acknowledgment. The vibration of his chest against her arm made her smile, it was a comforting sensation.

The rest of the night was a blur of warmth and laughter in Rose's memory. She danced and twirled, filling her lungs with air, and laughed until her face hurt.

It felt so fucking good.

In those moments there was no pureblood movement, her last name didn't matter, and her only goal was joy. She wished she could live in that feeling forever. But everything must end, and soon enough she was stumbling through the portrait into the Gryffindor common room. She turned to blow a kiss to Albus who'd insisted on walking her back, he smiled in return, while Scorpius dodged it. She flipped him the bird, blowing it in his direction for emphasis, he reached out to catch it, tucking it in his shirt and smiling.

She crawled into Magda's bed after making it up the stairs. The taller girl grumbled but ended up drawing Rose in to cuddle against her chest.

Rose slept better than she had since that article was published.

(I'll take what I can get)

Magda strolled into the Great Hall for Monday breakfast, a magazine rolled up in her hand. She scanned the table farthest from the windows, searching for a messy head of black hair. Finding her target she made her way over, stopping to smile and chat on the way. She nodded at Scorpius as she slapped the magazine on the table in front of his dining companion. It was open to a page toward the back, with a short paragraph circled.

She smiled "Our petty queen"

Correction:

Individuals were named incorrectly in an article earlier this month as Rose Weasley and Hermione Weasley. Their proper names are Rose Granger-Weasley and Hermione Granger. We apologize for the inaccuracy.

Scorpius had leaned over his friend's shoulder to read along. As he finished he let his eyes wander over the Gryffindor table, scanning for the cascade of auburn curls.

A/N: heyyyyyyyyy how yall doin...?

So I know I said I published the first chapter cuz I knew I would finish this. Welp. If you'd told me this time last year where my life would be today I don't know if I'd believe it. Which is just to say that a lot has changed since then. But still working on these two, they always seem to find their way back into my head.

Love,

Zo