Before long, winter had properly melted away and the school was preparing for the Easter Holiday. Fewer students returned home to spend it with their families than during the winter, and the Weasley-Potter clan collectively decided it was best for the children to stay at Hogwarts instead of traveling home.

It's not that we don't miss you, Rose's father had written, but your mother and I are both very busy with work right now and can't take enough time off to spend with you and Hugo. It would only be a few days anyway, and that's a long train ride for such a short time. We'll see you both at the end of the term.

Tell your cousins that they're not welcome in our home unless they win the Quidditch Cup.

Love,

Dad.

Roxanne and Fred were the only two from the family to return home. It was Roxie's birthday, and Aunt Angelina insisted that they spend it as a family. Rose watched as Fred said goodbye to his close-knit group of Hufflepuff friends before leaving the castle with his sister, smiling as she watched him leave. All of his friends stayed in the entrance hall until the door was closed behind him, collectively sighed, then headed for the Great Hall.

The holiday was primarily designed for student to prepare for their final examinations, which Rose was intent on doing. However, she found that when she woke each morning, there was simply something more interesting to do. She read another two novels, agreed to face Albus in another game of wizard's chess, promptly remembered just how much she disliked the game, and started re-reading an old favorite before Lysander called her out on her behavior.

"You said you'd come to the library with me," he complained. "I'm tired of going alone. Lorcan won't even come this week, and for something designated as a study break, you'd be surprised how empty it is in there."

"Fine," huffed Rose, "we'll go tomorrow."

After a casual breakfast that lasted nearly an hour and a half, Rose and Lysander excused themselves from their friends and started off towards the library. Clare was not behind the main desk when they entered, but that was far from unusual. After all, someone had to replace the books that messy students left scattered around the study tables. Some were enchanted to re-shelve themselves, but Clare had explained that charms did not take well to older tomes. Something about how the magic adhered to the aged parchment.

"I'll be over in a few," said Lysander as Rose settled in at one of the circular tables. He disappeared behind one of the stacks, and Rose could only stifle her curiosity for a few seconds before dropping her bag and following him. He had looped around the back of the Transfiguration section and seemed to be heading for-

"Lysander!" hissed Rose. "You can't go back there! That's the Restricted Section!"

Lysander jumped, unaware that Rose had been following him.

"I have my note," he said, pulling a folded piece of parchment from his pocket. "I'll be back over in a minute or two, relax."

But Rose found it hard to do so as Lysander held the parchment up to the enchanted barrier between the open section of the library and the Restricted Section, which contained books that the students were not typically allowed access to. Lysander had failed to mention that he was allowed in there, which Rose was quite perturbed about. Instead of returning to their table, she waited between the shelves for him to return. After a few quiet minutes, she grabbed a random book and flipped it open, determined to keep herself occupied as she waited.

Lysander emerged after about ten minutes, carrying a small stack of books and eyeing Rose curiously.

"You didn't have to wait," he said, "it's not like I'm gonna get lost in there."

"Never know," muttered Rose.

Lysander chuckled and shook his head.

"It's not that big," he explained, heading back to their table. "I just needed more research books for Professor Randor's class. I'm trying to pick up some extra credit, but everyone already took all the obvious topics."

"Got it," said Rose. But when she tried to look at what books Lysander had pulled, he had already slid most of them into his bag, just leaving Transference on the table.

Meals during the holiday break were less formal than usual, which allowed Lorcan more freedom to come and sit with the rest of them during most dinners. He had been focusing on studying Runes, which was taking up most of his time, but it didn't seem to be tempting him to use his Sight. He hadn't brought it up since their trip to Hogsmeade in February, though he had laughed when Rose and Lysander had told him about finding Professor Evariste and Clare together.

"I tried to warn you," was all he said before changing the subject completely.

Even Hugo and Lily came to the Gryffindor table for dinner towards the end of Easter break. It had been difficult to convince Hugo to leave his friends for the night, and Rose had finally had to go over at the beginning of the meal and explain to the group of them that they could have her brother back in an hour, but for the remainder of the meal, he was being held hostage by Gryffindor. A few of them looked frightened before Taylor assured them that she was joking and that Hugo would be fine.

Lily was far more willing to come, especially once she learned that Scorpius would also be joining their group. They ended up moving to the far end of the table away from the rest of the Gryffindors, some of whom regarded them oddly as they began to fill the table with more students from other houses. Not everyone seemed to object; Louis, seeing what his cousins were doing, shrugged and made his way over to the Ravenclaw table. Arianna looked surprised but moved down to make room for him to join her.

"This is bizarre," said Lily lightly, spooning potatoes onto her plate. "So you sit here staring at the wall?"

"Better than this side of the table, where we're staring at the Slytherins," replied James, giving Scorpius a mild smile.

"If he was smart, he'd be watching the Hufflepuffs," said Hugo with a grin. "But no, that's fine, keep underestimating us. We'll see who's laughing when we have the Quidditch Cup."

Rose was immensely thankful for Hugo's ability to change the tone of the conversation. Everyone around her immediately launched into a debate about the current state of the Quidditch Cup and how the remaining matches would affect the outcome. Slytherin was set to play Hufflepuff at the end of Easter holiday, which Rose had managed to forget about since it did not involve the Gryffindor team.

Scorpius seemed more relaxed than usual around James, which Rose decided to take as a good sign. Even James seemed to forget about the fact that there were Slytherins present as the meal went on. Perhaps it helped that one of them was his sister and he could no longer paint all of them with the same brush.

By the end of the meal, Rose was grinning from ear to ear. It finally felt like everyone was getting along instead of trying to tear each others' heads off, even though they had spent most of the night bickering over the upcoming games. Something about it had felt right.

Her friends and family returned to their houses as the meal ended. Lily practically dragged Scorpius back to the Slytherin table. James' eyes narrowed as he watched his sister grab Scorpius' arm, but he said nothing. Lorcan returned to the Ravenclaws, and Louis gave Arianna a deep kiss that was sure to lose them a few house points for public displays of vulgarity. Hugo gave Rose a brief, tight hug before scampering back over to his friends, who were eagerly awaiting him at the Hufflepuff table. Taylor met Rose's eyes and waved.

As much as she cared for Scorpius, Rose staunchly refused to go to the next Quidditch game.

"I'm already going to the one next month," she explained as he glared at her. "I've gone to almost all of them this year, in all kinds of weather. I came right from the Hospital Wing last time!"

"But we're gonna beat Hufflepuff," whined Scorpius. "Don't you want to see Hugo's face when we beat them?"

Despite Scorpius' wheedling over the course of the next week, Rose did not change her mind. So that Saturday, as most of the Gryffindors prepared to watch the match, Rose was settling in to work on her Arithmancy.

"Cheer for everyone for me," she said absently as Lysander passed.

James groaned.

"We're cheering for Hufflepuff," he said. "Quick game, low points all around, Hufflepuff victory. Best case scenario for us going into the final match."

"Of course," said Rose, only half listening.

Once the common room emptied out, it was easier for Rose to concentrate on the equations spread out before her. She managed to get through all of the current week's work and actually began on next week's reading before students began filing back in.

"We did it!" said James triumphantly, sweeping back in with Patricia close behind. She and James were still more or less attached at the hip, though Rose did not understand how the other girl did not see his lack of genuine interest.

"We?" said Rose dubiously.

"Hufflepuff," clarified Patricia.

"It was close 'til the end," said Albus as he dropped his bag, "then Sesmitt found the Snitch and started swerving around like a loon. Nearly fell off his broom. Hesbula grabbed it right out from under him!"

"Good for her," said Rose. "Hugo must be thrilled."

"Puts us in a great position for the final match," said James. Rose turned back to her book, tuning him out as he launched into a full explanation of the points they would need to win the Cup. She had already heard him explain this multiple times and did not care for a refresher.

At dinner that night, Professor McGonagall stood before the food appeared and clapped for the students' attention. Their chatter died down and their faces turned to the headmistress.

"After a well-played game," she said, her reedy voice echoing throughout the hall, "I believe a hearty congratulations are in order. To the Hufflepuff team, for their victory this afternoon, and to the Slytherin team for a match well-played."

Polite clapping broke out through the room, broken up by hooting and hollering from the normally well-mannered Hufflepuff table. As the applause died down, the sudden boom of music made Rose jump, slamming her knees on the table. She cussed loudly, but her cry was drowned out by the holiday music.

"What?" Albus mouthed, looking around in confusion. James looked down the table to Louis, who shrugged and held his hands up. It wasn't him.

"Why Christmas music again?" asked Lysander, shouting to make himself heard over the ruckus. "It's April!"

"I hadn't noticed!" said Rose, rubbing her knees, which were smarting.

Professor McGonagall was waving her wand, but her attempts had no affect on the music. If anything, it seemed to get louder. Rose covered her ears and looked around the room. Many of the other students were doing the same thing, but at the Ravenclaw table, Lorcan had caught her attention.

Rose elbowed Lysander, then jerked her chin towards the Ravenclaw table. Lorcan was drawing furiously in what appeared to be a textbook. One of his classmates was trying to yank the book away from him, but he didn't seem to notice.

As suddenly as it had begun, the music dropped out of the air, replaced by the chatter of students. Rose and Lysander ran over to the Ravenclaw table, where the girl was still trying to get the book away from Lorcan.

"I can't believe you!" she was saying. "I can't even read the ingredient list now! Lorcan Scamander, you are the worst!"

Lorcan looked at her blankly, then up at Rose and Lysander.

"Hullo," he said, confused.

"We'll replace the book," said Lysander quickly, tugging it from his brother before the girl could get a good grip on it. "Sorry about that."

Lorcan had been trying to draw what looked like a young girl, but Rose couldn't make out any specific features. He was still rubbish at drawing people. She had long hair hanging in two plaits by her sides, but that was the only defined feature.

"Who is she?" asked Rose.

Lorcan took the book from Lysander and looked at the sketch, his brow knit together.

"No idea," he muttered, staring at it like he had never seen it before. "I didn't- I didn't mean to."

"I know you didn't," said Lysander reassuringly, touching his twin's shoulder gently. "Don't worry about it. Look, the food's here!"

Dinner had appeared, perhaps in an attempt to pacify the curious students. Rose and Lysander returned to the Gryffindor table, where Albus and James were in the midst of discussing the Christmas music incident.

"Maybe it means we're in for a second Christmas," mused James hopefully. "We'll all get more presents, another Christmas feast- maybe we can go home for another holiday!"

"Maybe Hogwarts just doesn't know any Easter songs," replied Albus evenly. "Everything alright?" he asked, eyeing Rose and Lysander curiously.

"Fine," said Lysander smoothly. "James, I'm not too sure about your Second Christmas theory, but I think it's probably for the best that you had the brooms moved inside. Just in case."

Rose was unable to get Lysander alone once they returned to the common room. James had challenged him to another game of Wizard's Chess, and Albus needed help with his Care of Magical Creatures homework. Rose insisted that she was the last person he should be asking since she wasn't even taking the course, but the material ended up being simple enough. It turned out that he just needed another set of eyes on his essay.

The next morning Rose tried to catch Lorcan on his way into the Great Hall, but he seemed to be in a hurry.

"Sorry Rose," he said, continuing his brisk pace, "I'm supposed to meet up with Hesper and Sophie."

"But-"

He brushed past her and made his way to the Ravenclaw table, where he sat next to one of the boys Rose had seen taking extra Runes lessons with Professor Stramus. She would just have to ask him about whatever vision he had had over dinner later.

Lysander seemed to be encountering the same difficulty in finding a moment alone with his twin. He told Rose the next night at dinner, before either of the Potters arrived, that he had been trying to corner Lorcan but his brother seemed determined to slip away from him.

"I don't know what his problem is," said Lysander, frowning in frustration. "I mean, I told him that I knew having the vision wasn't his fault. It's not like I was angry with him or anything. It was an accident. He's been so good about keeping his Sight in check since winter holiday."

"Maybe he doesn't want to anymore," mused Rose, "and he doesn't want to get into another fight with you about it. Maybe he's decided that he wants to risk using his abilities, no matter how detrimental it is to him."

But Lysander shook his head.

"I would be able to feel that," he said. "I feel... I don't know. Something's off, but it's not like when he was making himself sick in the fall."

"I'm glad I'm not a twin," said Rose.

That weekend, Rose and Tia agreed to spend some quality time with the other girls in their dormitory. Tia had been trying to convince Rose since Valentine's Day that they actually weren't as bad as they had seemed, which nearly branded her as a traitor in Rose's mind. Still, she had somehow managed to get back ahead in all of her coursework without even consciously deciding to do so, and the latest novel that Aunt Luna had sent her was unexpectedly dull. The library was swamped with students preparing for their O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s, so Rose had no choice but stay in the Gryffindor Tower and, reluctantly, her dormitory.

"I wish we could go back to Hogsmeade before the end of term," sighed Kara, flipping through one of the owl order catalogues that had arrived during breakfast. "There's still so many cute little shops I haven't seen there!"

"Are you still thinking about asking my cousin?" asked Rose from her bed.

"James?" said Kara with a laugh. "No, he seems pretty locked onto Patty."

"I don't think members of the Quidditch team should date each other," said Mary thoughtfully. "I mean, suppose they break up. That would make things all kinds of awkward, and we have games to be thinking about."

"Yeah, but if it's true love-"

Both Rose and Tia laughed at this.

"Trust me," said Rose, "the only true love James knows is Quidditch. End of story."

Kara let out a dramatic sigh.

"Looks like I'll have to find someone else to set my sights on," she said, feigning disappointment. "It's hard being me."

"You certainly got over Albus fairly quickly," noted Rose. She wasn't sure if Kara recalled that the last time they had had a similar conversation, it was actually the younger Potter brother she had been considering asking to Hogsmeade. "If you're just looking to end up with a Potter, he's still— ah— free, as far as I know. Why not him?"

"Or Lily," suggested Tia with a devious grin. "She's got that Potter prestige, and much less of a chance of dying during a Quidditch match than either of the boys."

Kara exchanged an amused glance with Mary and Loren.

"Because," she drawled, "Albus has as much interest in girls as Lily does."

It took Rose a few moments to catch up to the meaning of Kara's words. When she did, she nearly toppled off the edge of her bed.

"You mean- you mean Albus?" she stammered, her voice going up an octave. "He- he's not-"

"Into blokes?" finished Loren. "Please, Rose."

"But- I would have noticed!" objected Rose, feeling her face flush. Albus was her cousin, but he had been raised as practically her brother. If he was interested in boys, certainly she would have caught on by now. Certainly.

"Really?" said Kara. "When was the last time you discussed your romantic life with him, hmm? Last time you asked who he was interested in?"

"Well- well I-"

"He took a girl to the Yule Ball first year," said Tia thoughtfully.

"She asked him," retorted Kara, "and besides it was first year! It's not like anyone was seriously interested in anyone back then. Except for maybe Loren."

"Hey!" squealed Loren, tossing a pillow at Kara, who ducked out of the way. "You promised!"

"What did you do?" asked Mary, leaning forward curiously, all thoughts of Albus forgotten. Rose, however, blocked out the rest of their conversation to think about her cousin.

It's not like it mattered, who Albus was romantically interested in. She hadn't really thought about him being interested in anyone, to be honest. They were still young, and it wasn't as if Rose was feeling particularly boy-crazy. James had always been the one talking about girls since the time they started school, while Albus was more reserved. Was that really because he was interested in boys instead?

But then she thought about her own recent musings about love and such things. A hot blush rose to her cheeks. Even if this was true, perhaps it wasn't something Albus was interested in discussing with her. After all, she had had no interest in telling him the way her stomach had turned when Lysander had given her a book for Valentine's Day- no, on Valentine's Day, she corrected immediately. The date was a mere coincidence. It was a simple gesture, an apology for his recent behavior. Nothing more.

Rose decided not to bring up the topic of prospective romantic partners with Albus when she saw him the next day. There was no need to cause a potentially awkward situation while they were supposed to be focusing on classwork, and she didn't feel like making him uncomfortable with her intrusive questions. And anyway, what if her friends were entirely incorrect in their assumptions?

"We're supposed to finely grate these roots," said Rose, peering at the instructions in her Potions textbook while Albus began sorting through the ingredients. "Those will go in with the trout scales and frog legs to boil off for ten minutes."

"Finely grated," said Albus, "got it. You'll get the scales?"

"Sure," said Rose, popping open the jar. They worked in comfortable silence for a few minutes, which was only interrupted by the door to the classroom opening.

Professor Slughorn looked up, seemingly exhausted by the simply action. Lysander was hovering in the doorway, and both Rose and Albus stood upon seeing his expression.

"Hello, m'boy," said Professor Slughorn with a sigh. "What can I do for you?"

"Sorry Professor," said Lysander hurriedly, "but Professor Evariste needs to see Rose. It's an emergency."