Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters; they belong to J.K. Rowling. I am not recieving any monetary gain, this is just for fun

Chapter 1: An Uninvited Guest
Albus

He sat with his face pressed against the window, watching as his family disappeared around the bend. It was the first time he was leaving them. He was going to be gone for ages. Oh, how he was going to miss them. He had already planned what he was going to put in the letter he would write when he reached his destination. Then a sharp voice brought him back to earth.

“Stop your sulking, Al. We’re going to Hogwarts!”

His cousin, Rose Weasley, was sitting opposite him; her arms crossed in front of her and her eyes were glinting. They were sitting on the scarlet Hogwarts Express, heading to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Albus and Rose usually got along, but when Rose was bossy, Albus got annoyed.

“Gosh, you don’t have to get mad because I’m going to miss my family,” Albus snapped. Rose opened her mouth to retaliate, but was cut off when the compartment door opened.

In stepped a pale-faced boy with sleek blonde hair and a pointed face. His head was lowered, not looking at Rose and Albus.

Albus sprang to his feet, whipping his wand out as he went. He knew this boy. It was Scorpius Malfoy, the son of his father’s old enemy at school.

Scorpius raised his head, staring down Albus’ mahogany wand. He looked fleetingly at the two and practically flew out the door.

Rose flipped her braid over her shoulder. “Well, I’m glad you got rid of him!” she muttered.
Albus merely grunted a reply. The look on Scorpius’ face hadn’t been what he had expected. I was of someone timid and shy, not the arrogant boy his Uncle Ron perceived him to be.

An elderly woman walked past the compartment. “Anything off the trolley?” she inquired.
Albus leapt up. Of course he wanted something! He planned on buying as many Chocolate Frogs as he could, to find a card of his dad to show off.

A few minutes later, Albus was completely covered in wrapper and hopping frogs. He was waving a card triumphantly in the air.

“Got one!” he called happily.

“No kidding Al. No kidding.”
*
Fairly soon, the scenery outside turned from grassy meadows to rolling plains. A light rain was falling as the train wound through the hills. Rose had changed into her Hogwarts robes, and was nagging Albus to do the same. “You want to be prepared, don’t you?” Rose inquired.

“Not so early,” Albus muttered, “that everyone stares.” He gestured to the window on the door where a large cluster of girls, still in their Muggle clothes, were staring at Rose in what appeared to be shock.

Rose, on the other hand, simply smiled and waved at the gaping girls, who scurried off down the corridor.“Hogwarts,” Albus exclaimed. “I see Hogwarts!”

“Wow squirt, it is Hogwarts! Good for you!”

Albus jerked his head around. His annoying big brother James was standing in the compartment doorway. He was in his robes. “Just came to warn you one last time about Slytherin, Al,” James taunted.

Rose frowned. “Stop teasing Albus,” she spat at James. He just smirked and mussed up Rose’s bangs. Then he shook his dark hair out of his eyes and left the two, chortling all the way.
*
The train pulled into Hogsmeade Station a while later. Albus had finally changed into his robes and Rose was already halfway off the train. Albus picked up his bag and raced to catch up to Rose. “Firs’ years over ‘ere! All firs’ years!”

A towering giant was ushering timid-looking first years over to a flock of boats on the edge of an expanse of black water. Then the giant man turned. “‘Ere’s the little Albus,” he boomed. Albus smiled at the large man. “Hi Hagrid!”

Rose smiled too, and then started on a long stream of chatter. “Can you really lift trees? Did you really get expelled? Is your brother a real giant? Are you a real giant?”

Albus knew that Rose didn’t believe what her father had told her about Hagrid. She was to practical, and her father had tricked her enough times. Suddenly his breath caught in his throat. What if they were in different houses? This thought had occurred to him before, but he hadn’t really registered what it might mean.

He wouldn’t know anyone in his classes. He wouldn’t have anyone to sit with at meal times. He would have to make new friends and that’s what worried him the most.

Albus was terrible at making friends. At Young Sorcerers Academy, where he went before Hogwarts, his only friend was Rose. When she wasn’t there, he was all alone. He was afraid that people wouldn’t like him for who he was, only who his dad was.

“Yeh can get in the boats now, Hagrid announced. “We’re all ‘ere.”

Albus leapt into a spot beside Rose in the closest boat. Scorpius Malfoy slipped unnoticed on the seat behind the duo.

The sky was just beginning to darken as the fleet of boats started across the black lake to Hogwarts castle.


Please leave Feedback so I know if I should continue with the story.
A/N: I hope you liked the first chapter of my new fic. The chapters will get a bit longer. I will be switching points of view with each chapter.

A big thank you to my beta emma_weasley!

Chapter 2: A Reason for Everything
Rose

“Clunk!” The wooden boat gently bumped against the shore. Rose leapt out and turned to look at her cousin, Albus, who was still in the boat. Her mouth dropped open. “Were you behind us the whole time?” she cried. “I’m supposed to stay away from you!” Then she stormed over the giant Hagrid to wait. She didn’t notice the apologetic look that Albus gave the person Rose had shouted at.

Lead by Hagrid, the group of young witches and wizards started up the winding path leading to the castle. Rose bounced ahead of the others, eager to get inside. Then she stopped short. Why was Scorpius Malfoy in her boat?

Albus had chased him out of their compartment on the train. He had looked scared then. Why would he choose their boat to sit in after that?

Albus ran up to her, gasping for breath. “Why didn’t you wait for me?” he panted.

“I’m sorry,” sighed Rose. “I was a bit upset.”

“Cheer up Rose, we’re here,” smiled Albus, looking over her shoulder.

Hagrid trudged to the intricate door and pounded his great fist on it. Then he took a step back as the door opened. A stern looking witch stepped out and ushered all of them inside. Hagrid stomped ahead, through a large doorway not unlike the main.

The stern witch, whom Rose knew as Professor McGonagall, lead them straight past the door Hagrid had gone in, and took them to a smaller door next to it.

Rose listened intently to Professor McGonagall’s speech about houses and rules. “If you do something good you will earn points and any rule breaking loses points for your house. The four houses are Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff after the witches and wizards who founded Hogwarts. Now I’ll go see if they’re ready for you. Wait here please.”

Rose started fidgeting. Which house would she be in? She would most likely be in Gryffindor, but Ravenclaw was a possibility too. Hufflepuff wouldn’t be so bad, but she would die if she were in Slytherin. Her mother would be sad. She would willingly accept it, but she would be sad. Her father would hit the roof. He would cut off contact! He would disown her! He would throw her out! He-

“We’re ready for you,” Professor McGonagall announced, re-entering the room. “Come along.”

Rose pushed to the front of the line, dragging Albus with her.. She bounced behind the old professor smiling. Of course she wouldn’t be in Slytherin; neither would Albus, no matter how much James had teased him.

Professor McGonagall stiffly reached out and opened the beautiful door and led the parade of new scholars into the Great Hall. Rose gasped. Hogwarts, a History didn’t do it justice.
There were four student dining tables stretching the length of the hall. The staff table was on a platform at the opposite end of the hall. Students crowded both sides of the dinner tables, staring at the new kids. The ceiling was like a black velvet tapestry of the night sky, stars glittering like jewels on it. Candles floated in the air casting a warm glow over the entire Great Hall.

Rose could see her cousins; James sitting at the Gryffindor table and Victoire at the end of the Ravenclaw. Both were beaming at her and Albus. Her dad’s friend, Professor Longbottom was smiling widely and Hagrid looked like he was sitting on two chairs.
When they reached the staff table, Rose turned her attention back to Professor McGonagall, who was taking an ancient hat off a three-legged stool. All the chatting stopped and everyone stared at the old hat. Then the hat began to sing.

“Welcome all to Hogwarts,
You are a charming lot;
You’ll go through all your classes,
And show us what you’ve got.

“Before you take your places,
A house you will be in;
I can see inside your head,
And you’ll be placed to win.

“Ravenclaw’s are witty,
Hufflepuff’s really love,
Slytherin’s- very cunning,
Gryffindor’s- bravest of above.

“You might be in Gryffindor,
Where brave at heart are placed;
You might be in Ravenclaw,
Where true wit is faced;

“You might be in Hufflepuff,
Where your real friends are;
You might be in Slytherin,
Where you will go far.

“You can’t decide where you will be,
Put me on your head,
Because I am the Sorting Hat,
I decide instead.”

The Hall erupted with applause for the song that went on for ages before Professor McGonagall was able to quiet everyone down. Then she began to speak again. “When I call your name, please come forward and sit on the stool. Then, when you are assigned to your house, please go to the correct table. Andrews, Eva!”

Rose clapped politely as each person was sorted. She had toned out most of the names until-

“Malfoy, Scorpius!” The blonde boy shakily stepped forward and sat on the stool. Rose was expecting for him to be sorted in a second. On the contrary, the hat was on his head for almost two minutes before Scorpius’ house was shouted out. “Gryffindor!”

When Rose heard that, her jaw dropped wide open, while a sick-looking Scorpius trudged over to the Gryffindor table. “What?” she shrieked, then, quieter this time, “Did I say that out loud?” Albus snorted. Professor McGonagall glared hard at her and continued on with the list.

A few names later, Albus’ name was called. It didn’t take long for the hat to decide that Albus’ would be joining his brother in Gryffindor. He threw James a “Dad was right” look and sat down.

Rose’s name was the last called and she was getting anxious. She slowly walked up, sat down, and pulled the hat over her head.

“Hmm. You are very clever I see. Plenty of brain, but bravery too. You seem loyal, but cunning too. A difficult placer. You know what you want, and what you want is to not be in Slytherin. But you are a Weasley. You will fit just fine in- Gryffindor!”

The Sorting Hat shouted the last word to the crowd. Smiling happily, Rose bounced to sit next to Albus. She purposely averted looking anywhere near Scorpius.

Professor McGonagall took her place at the front of the Great Hall and waved her arms in the air. At once, the five tables were laden with all kinds of food imaginable.

The were joints of roast, piles of chicken, beef, ham slices; baked potatoes, scalloped potatoes, mashed potatoes; plates of different kinds of vegetables and fruits and sauces to go with it all. Rose smiled. Here was one thing that her father never lied about.

She ate hungrily. The twelve Chocolate Frogs she ate on the train had suprisingly not filled her up. Just when she thought she could eat no more, the dessert course appeared. Pudding, cakes, squares and ice cream of every flavor appeared. Plenty of it found its way onto her plate an into her stomach.

Then Professor McGonagall stood up and gave a longer speech on rules, and then dismissed all the students to go to bed.

Rose sleepily followed alongside Albus, while a Prefect directed them all to the Gryffindor Common Room. "The password is Venomous Tentacula- don't forget it," the stern Prefect told them. The boys' dormitory is on the right and girls on the left.

Rose tottered lazily up the stairs to her new dormitory and fell asleep instantly, her dream only broken by thought of home and the hopefully reformed Malfoy.

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A big thanks to Emma for being my beta!

Chapter 3: Cast Away
Scorpius

His hand sat poised on a large stack of parchment, and eagle feather quill between his fingertips. He dipped the quill into a bottle of ink and made a spot on the top of the page. How was he supposed to tell his father?

He, Scorpius Malfoy, was supposed to be in Slytherin. Not in “the enemy’s house”. At least that’s what his father said. All the Malfoys for hundreds of years had been in Slytherin. That was the whole problem. He was in Gryffindor.

He sighed for what seemed to be the billionth time that evening and started to write




No, that wasn’t right. He moved the spoiled sheet to the side and started over.





Well, better... Still, he could do better. Scorpius moved that sheet aside as well.





Out of the three, it was the best, so it would have to do. It still wasn’t great. Sighing again, Scorpius folded the letter and addressed it to his father at Malfoy Manor. Then he stuck it in his bag to send in the morning.

Sleepily he turned at looked at the magnificent grandfather clock in the corner. It was half past ten already. Finally realizing how tired he was, he turned and headed up the stairs to his new home away from home.

*

Scorpius awoke to someone frantically shaking his sholders. His eyes flew open to see no other than Albus Potter, shaking him awake. Suddenly both boys looked uncomfortable.

“You-we-breakfast is almost over,” Albus stuttered. “Umm, thanks,” muttered Scorpius.
In a flash he was dressed, and both boys raced down to the Great Haal.

Rose looked up at them disdainfully.”You were almost very nearly late,” she stated,
Scorpius noticed more to Albus than him. Then she pointed at Professor Longbottom who was making his way down the Gryffindor table handing out schedule.

Just at that moment, the room was flooded with all types of owls. Students stared expectantly at the ceiling, while others outstretched their arms to catch packages dropping from the owls’ talons.

Scorpius’ eagle owl, Dynasty, landed in front of him with no package but a hungry gleam in his eye. Scorpius smirked and offered the owl some toast while he attached the letter to his father on Dynasty’s leg. Dynasty hooted and flew off into the picture of that day’s sky that gleamed on the roof.

Professor Longbottom reached his spot then and gave Scorpius his timetable. He quickly scanned the columns and then frowned. The first class was History of Magic. How was he supposed to find the classrooms?

He noticed Albus and Rose walking out of the Hall. They were in his class. He should follow them. Scorpius sauntered casually behind the two trying not to be noticed. Rose was chattering away to Albus.

“...and I said that I was related to Harry Potter. Then I found those pink knitted pyjamas from Grandmum Weasley and put those on. They are so comfy, right? So then this crazy girl in my dorm was like “Who cares who you are related to” and then I said that I care, and would you believe that she didn’t even know who your dad is? I mean, come on. Then, while this other girl was explaining, I was so cozy I fell asleep. Speaking of sleeping, did you sleep in, or were you waiting for your new friend?”

Rose spoke the last sentence as coldly as a breeze in December and Scorpius wasn`t surprised when Albus recoiled. “What do you mean?” Albus inquired shakily.

Rose wheeled around. “You know full well what I mean!” she snapped. “We’re supposed to stay away from Scorpius!”

The boy in question stopped short. Of corse their parents wouldn’t want them to be friends with him, but couldn’t Albus and Rose make up their own minds?

The two were still walking ahead, but he didn’t want to follow them anymore. he would find someone else to show him where History of Magic class was.

*

The teacher was a ghost, And a boring one at that. Professor Binns had apparently fallen asleep one day, and when he went to class to teach, he had left his body behind. He never stopped talking, save to shuffle his notes. Scorpius yawned and felt his mind begin to drift away.

“Ring!” Half the students jumped, awakened from their sleepy revere. Even Professor Binns looked startled. Scorpius trudged out of the classroom. What a boring class! So far, magical learning wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

Defence Against the Dark Arts was next. This was what Scorpius was most excited for. He took a seat at the far left of the front of the classroom. Albus and Rose, he noticed dually, had taken front and center. Then the professor came in.

She was wearing a long white robe and had long coal-coloured hair. She was hardly taller than the fourth years; the shorter ones. She carried a Muggle businessman’s briefcase and had a short dark wand. She had a golden spangled belt with matching jewellery. Despite her attire, she seemed very cross.

“I am Professor Sugarbush,” there she have a short smile, then frowned again. “Take out your textbooks!” she barked.

Scorpius pulled out his book, Basics for Beginners, and began to read chapter one. What a perfect name, he thought to himself. For both the book and the Professor.

The next hour was spent reading and taking notes. Scorpius moaned. Would there be any exciting classes at Hogwarts?

His question was answered soon after lunch. It was time for Herbology with Professor Longbottom, the head of Gryffindor house.

Scorpius raced out to the greenhouses, wanting to speak to the Professor alone. Luckily, he was the first. Unsure of what to do, he knocked on the door of the first greenhouse. Professor Longbottom opened the door and ushered him inside. “I think I expected you to be here early today. What do you wish to say?”

Scorpius fidgeted. “Am I allowed to switch houses?

“Not exactly.” Then the Professor got a faraway look in his eyes. “I suppose he never told you. He never was the nicest person. He was always being the boss and picking on others; us and Harry especially. I wonder how he’ll take it?”

Scorpius did a tiny cough to switch the Professor’s attention back to the present. He jumped. “Sorry about that. I’m sorry, but you can’t switch houses once you’ve been sorted.” Then, more gently, “Did you tell your father yet?”

Just as Scorpius nodded, the other students filed in and the class started.

Professor Longbottom mostly showed them around Greenhouse One and told them about a few of the plants. Halfway through the lesson, a tough looking boy ran out of Greenhouse Three with a leafy vine trailing from his arm. While that was being resolved, a girl tried to sneak a small blossom of a potted plant, which contained a powder that covered the girl in blisters.

A cross Professor Longbottom sent both to the hospital wings with heavy detentions lurking ahead.

*

After dinner, Scorpius sat alone in the common room doing his homework. Slowly the other students drifted off to bed until only he was left. An owl rapped on the window. Scorpius stood up and let the owl, who was his own Dynasty, in.

Dynasty hooted loudly while Scorpius untied a letter from his leg, and then flew out.
Scorpius slowly unrolled the note, and when he read the contents, he slowly sank to the floor and began to sob.

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Please forgive the long wait; a touch of writer's block. But this chapter and the next are progressing smoothly, so the waits shouldn't be so long! And lollipops for my hardworking, awesome possum, loyal beta: emma_weasley!

Chapter 4: Forbidden Mystery, Part 1
Albus

Albus sat up and looked at the clock. It was nearly eleven, so why did he wake up? Then he noticed an empty bed, but he couldn’t think of whose it could be. He heard something coming from the common room; a quiet sobbing of sorts. In a flash, Albus was down the stairs to investigate. His jaw dropped at the scene that met his eye.

Scorpius Malfoy was hunched on the floor beside the glowing embers of the fire. His face was red and blotchy, stained with the tears that were dripping steadily from his eyes. Something was clenched tight in his fist, while the other pulled at his blond locks.
Albus cautiously stepped forward and sat next to the distraught boy. Scorpius didn’t notice Albus sitting next to him, and Albus did his best to keep silent. It worked until Albus inhaled some ash from the hearth.

Oh, no, he thought to himself. I can’t sne- The resulting sneeze shook the walls and started to echo around the room. Albus opened his eyes swiftly. His nose was directly pointing at Scorpius, who had a strange look on his face.

Albus bolted to the box of Magi-Kleenex on a table and snorted loudly into one. Then he sprinted over and started wiping off Scorpius’ face with a clean sheet. Then another surprising thing happened.

Scorpius opened his mouth and began to laugh. Albus jerked back, looking bewildered. “What did I do?” Ha asked, concerned and confused at the same time. “Your face!” gasped Scorpius. “The look on your face!”

Something about Scorpius’ hearty laugh sparked something inside Albus as well. Soon both boys were rolling on the floor, tears of mirth streaming down their faces, revelling in the comedy that had just taken place.

Minutes later, as they were gasping for air, Albus remembered why he had come down in the first place. “Why were you crying before?” He inquired, trying not to break the cheeriness.

His efforts did nothing, for Scorpius’ face immediately hardened. “Well, if you promise not to tell,” Scorpius pleaded, “Then I suppose I can tell you.” At Albus’ reverent nod, Scorpius thrust the now battered note at him. “It explains itself,” Scorpius said sullenly. So Albus read the cruel letter.

Scorpius Malfoy
How dare you call yourself my son! You have dishonoured the family in going to that house. You were supposed to be in noble Slytherin, house of the Malfoys for centuries. But you had to be in Gryffindor, didn’t you? I won’t try to understand the good bits- there are none! Why should I give mother love from you, if you don’t care enough to carry on tradition? And don’t even think about coming for holidays. You are never coming back here, nor are you to call my home yours! You are a no good, dishonourable youth, and I never want to see you again.
-Mr. Draco Malfoy
Albus’ jaw dropped about ten feet. How could someone write a thing like that? Much less to their own child.

“Now do you understand?” Scorpius’ face had dropped considerably since Albus had read the letter. Albus nodded glumly. “I won’t tell anyone though, I promise.”

It was at that moment that a new friendship was formed; a special bond between the two boys. Over that one evening, Scorpius and Albus became pals, determined that not even their rivalling parents could keep them apart.

*

When they came down for breakfast the next morning, Rose was already there. She glanced nonchalantly at the boys, then her head shot back up. “What are you thinking?” she shrieked at Albus, who hadn’t thought of what Rose would think. Albus knew how prejudiced she was against Malfoys and how stubborn she could be.

Albus shuffled uncomfortably, trying to buy time to compose a speech. Scorpius gave him a small pat on the back and moved a ways down the row. Albus grimaced. “Lovely weather today, Rose.” She glared at him. “Explain,” she growled dangerously.

“He just isn’t as bad as you think, Rose Weasley. Scorpius is my friend now, and there is nothing you can do about it.” With that, Albus walked off to sit with Scorpius, leaving his cousin sitting in shock.

*

Over the next few days, Albus and Scorpius became inseparable. They spent all of their time talking and laughing as if they had known each other for their whole lives. They did their homework together, and Albus had switched his seating arrangement so that the two boys could sit together. Rose was left out and, in Albus’ mind, forgotten. He didn’t think of Rose’s feelings for a while. Not until after that particular Charms class.

Old Professor Flitwick had been working hard trying to teach them proper levitation charms, Today they were working in pairs, and Flitwick, not yet aware of the boys’ friendship, paired Albus with Rose.

Rose glared frostily at Albus as she crossed the room to sit with him Albus felt a flush creep up his face. He hadn’t given a thought about how Rose felt. They had once been closer than close, but he had abandoned that for a new person. Rose had been flicked away without a second thought. No wonder she was steaming. He rubbed his head, trying yet again to find the right words to reason with the temperamental Rose.

“Rose,” he implored softly. “I’m sorry.” She turned, daggers in her eyes. “Why would you be” she whispered evilly.

“You’re my cousin and you always will be. I still care about you.”

“What about Junior Malfoy? What about me?” All that time you never cared a dust speck for me. Waltzing off with that Malfoy, leaving me to fend for myself. How could you be so selfish? You never cared then; why should you care now?”

“I was just so glad to be able to make a friend on my own. I wanted to get to know someone else. That was my biggest fear: that I wouldn’t be able to make new friends. I thought you would understand. Besides, it’s a little hard to share things with a girl, even if you are my cousin."

Rose’s face broke into a smile, and Albus knew he was forgiven. There was just one more thing. “So you don’t mind Scorpius hanging out with us?”

“I mind,” Rose muttered. “But, for you, I can live with it.” So Rose became the newest person in their twosome, making a trio.

*

Days became weeks, and weeks became months. Soon it was late October and the students were eagerly awaiting the Halloween feast. Albus, Rose and Scorpius were no different. All three had heard magnificent descriptions of the event and couldn’t wait.

It was a cool, crisp evening and the three were doing their homework from a bed of crunchy leaves. Albus yawned and stretched, crackling the leaves below him. Suddenly something darted past the corner of his eye. His head spun around to see what it was.

Not a thing was near them, nor in the direction of the movement. In fact, they seemed to be the only ones outside. Albus shook his head, wondering if maybe all the work had finally gotten to him.

When Scorpius noticed Albus looking puzzled, Albus said he was just imagining things. Yet, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. And when the three trooped back to the castle, he didn’t notice the other movement. The movement of branches shaking as an invisible something brushed into the Forbidden Forest.

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Thanks to Kit (emma_weasley) for being my ever observant beta!

Chapter 5: Forbidden Mystery, Part 2; Into the Woods

Rose

98, 99, 100. Rose set down her hairbrush, looked in the mirror and sighed. 100 strokes and her hair was still a wild mess of tangled curls. But, thinking about it, her hair was the last of her many worries.

First of all, she had reconciled with her cousin, but he was best friends with a Malfoy. Those boys were never separated, so if Rose spent time with Albus, Scorpius was there too. She still wasn’t comfortable around Scorpius.

Secondly, the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher wasn’t teaching them anything and seemed to have a grudge against them all. Rose wasn’t happy about how the class was turning out, as her expectations had been quite high.

Third, keeping her new friendship from her father wasn’t easy. He had given her strict orders at the beginning not to befriend Scorpius. She had never kept a secret from her parents before, and they were not helping. They kept sending letters asking if she had made any friends, but she couldn’t say. Her father would kill her if he found out she befriended a Malfoy.

The last thing in her troubled mind was the strange thing that Albus had seen that evening. She hadn’t witnessed anything, but Albus seemed very upset about it. He didn’t usually act like that. The only thing that she had figured it could be was just a figment of his imagination.

Rose rubbed her forehead. Everything going through her mind was giving her a headache. She glanced around at her roommates sleeping peacefully, and decided she too should finally be carried away to the serene world of sleep.

*

She was running; running faster than she ever had in her life. She had to get away. Something was chasing her. Some strange unseen being was following her. She knew it couldn’t get her. She ran faster and faster, then suddenly, she stopped. It was a small clearing in the trees; it seemed to be her destination. She was surrounded by darkness, but wait! Something bright was appearing out of the gloom. She eagerly leaned forward to the light, to see what was emitting such a hypnotic glow. It was a giant serpent, all made of silver. The mouth was opening. She was suddenly struck with fear, but she couldn’t move! Out of the menacing mouth of the snake burst a flash of fire. It lit the ground; flames racing towards her! She still couldn’t run! Beads of sweat rolled down her face, the heat becoming unbearable. Suddenly the strange thing that had been pursuing her leapt out of the blazing snake and started throwing jets of green light at her. She was being swallowed up by fire and brightness. She screamed to help, but to no avail. The evil being was laughing cruelly at her. The last thing she saw was a trail of the green luminosity coming straight at her chest. Then she knew no more.

*

“Rose! Rose! Please get up!” Her eyes snapped open. She was panting heavily and was drenched with sweat. What an awful dream that was!

“You're awake!” Rose turned her head to see her classmate, Ivy Blackburn, standing over her looking scared but happy at the same time.

“You were screaming and tossing around for ages. I- we thought you would never wake up.” Rose craned her neck to see her other roommates staring worriedly down at her.

Ivy placed her hand on Rose’s clammy forehead. “Maybe we should call the nurse,” she trilled.

Rose suddenly felt annoyed with the attention. “I’m fine,” she snapped, a little harsher than she meant to. The other girls retreated dejectedly to their beds, but Rose didn’t notice their hurt looks. The only thing on her mind was telling the boys.

Albus and Scorpius were sitting in the common room, revelling in the fact that it was the weekend. Their peace didn’t last long, for Rose soon raced down the stairs. She was bursting to tell them about her nightmare. She knew it wasn’t an ordinary dream, for her ‘scary’ dreams had never been so real.

When she had explained, Albus shouted out, “That’s the thing that I saw yesterday!” Then of course, he had to explain it all to Rose and Scorpius again. Rose furrowed her brow.
“What could it mean?” she mused. “What could it mean?”

*

The Hogwarts P.I.’s trooped out of the castle at 1300 hours, determined to get answers. The first thing, Rose insisted, was to question the first witness. Albus Potter, 11, gave his statement.

“I couldn’t tell exactly which way it was going. It all happened so fast.” Rose was grilling Albus on the direction the mysterious figure had gone. Now she was getting impatient.

“Come on, think!”

“Well, it kind of went past me like this, and I think it went that way,” described Albus, pointing past the castle towards the Forbidden Forest.

“No way,” Scorpius stated flatly. “I didn’t come to school to get in trouble.” Albus nodded in agreement. Now Rose was really annoyed.

“You boys have less courage than- than a bashful bunny! My grandmum wouldn’t be scared to go into that forest, and Uncle Harry did millions of times! If you won’t go in, I’ll just go alone.” With that, she stalked off purposely towards the Forbidden Forest, Albus and Scorpius shouting restraints.

Rose ignored them; there was nothing that would stop her now. Except for-

“Oi! What do yeh think yer doin’?” Harid had come out of his hut and was staring quizzically at Rose, who was one step away from the woods. “I-I-I was just-”

“We upset her, so she was running away from us, Scorpius put in, gasping for breath.

“That’s right,” Albus puffed. Rose smiled at the support, and then turned back to Hagrid. “I wasn’t actually going into the forest,” she said, flashing a huge smile.

“Jus’ see tha’ yeh don’t,” Hagrid commanded, shuffling back to his home.

“Thanks for the cover, guys. But we still need to get in there.” Albus’ face lit up. “I could write Dad for the Invisibility Cloak.” “You do that.”

The threesome walked up to the castle with a new hope of solving the mystery.Their adventuresome spirit must have reminded Harry of someone, for he sent the cloak the next morning with no questions. Only a note which read simply, Don’t get caught.

*

It was pitch black outside as they made their way down the quiet halls of Hogwarts at midnight. They had covered themselves completely with the cloak and were walking noiselessly, so that if anyone happened to come their way, they would hear and see nothing.

Rose, in the lead, opened the oaken door just enough so that all three could squeeze through. Silently they crept across the grounds, only pausing once to make sure that Hagrid was asleep. Then the time had come. Rose took a deep breath and stepped into the dark forest.

Please forgive the long wait, as school has taken over much of my time Anyways, I have this chapter all ready for you to read, and the next few as well. This chapter is unbetad, so please let me know if you find any mistakes.

Chapter 6: Things That Go Bump in the Night

Scorpius

Happy. It was something he hadn’t felt in a long time. But now he was happy that things were finally going his way. He had made two great new friends who, although one kind of ignored him, stuck with him, even though they were supposed to. He had also stayed with his promise and set off one morning to Professor Longbottom’s office. Brandishing the wretched note, he had knocked on the office door.

“Welcome Scorpius. Won’t you come in?” The professor had ushered a distraught Scorpius into the room. “Here’s the letter my-” Scorpius had paused, and wondered how he could ever call Draco father again. To save the pain, he had pushed the letter across the desk for the Professor to read.

Several agonizing minutes passed while Professor Longbottom read the note, and had puased every once and a while to frown. When he was done reading, the Professor had looked as though there were many rude things he wanted to say.

Instead he had asked, "What are you going to do now that, erm, Mr. Malfoy has thrown you out?"

This had caused Scorpius some grief, as he hadn't though much about that part of the situation.

Finally the Professor had patted him on the shoulder and sent him out a with some sympathetic well-wishes.

Although that had been painful, Scorpius still held on to his reasons for happiness. Well, not now. Now was a time for terror and uncertainty. It wasn't a time for cheerfulness, even if he could have smiled. Why? Because he and his friends were trooping straight into the Forbidden Forest, a place of danger, dark creatures and doom.

Unsure of where they were, or what exaclty they were doing, the trio was meandering through the pitch black silence. There were few paths and nothing resembled what they were looking for.

Scorpius, one hand on Albus' shoulder to guide him, tried to puzzle it out. Exactly what were they looking for?

Albus had supposedly seen something flying around the other day, and Rose had had some crazy nightmare. He, Scorpius, hadn't seen anything, so what was he doing trooping around the forest, risking life and limb? Because his friends had persuaded him to come. They wanted to solve some obscure mystery, and he had been dragged into it. And where was he now? That's right. Lost.

"Augh!" Rose screamed.The boys jumped straight up in the air. "What? What is it?" Albus shouted, panic-stricken. "This is the place in my dream!" screeched Rose.

The sighs of relief the boys let out might have misdirected a tornado. Rose''s scream could have meant, well, Scorpius decided he didn't want to think about it.

Rose was talking now. "A big, bright snake thing appeared over there." She pointed straight ahead, and took a step cautious forward, slipping out from under the fluidlike Invisitbility Cloak.

"Crack!" The three looked around, and realazed that none of them had made a sound.

"Crack!" The noise came again, and without a second thought they ran, but not before they saw the ghostly white figure appear before them.

Branches tore at their arms as they raced through the woods, determined to get as far away as possible from the clearing. The Invisibilty Cloak fell off the boys as they ran, but they didn't even consider stopping to retrieve it.

The ran as fast as they ever had in their life not thinking of taking a break, though they desperatley needed it. If an Olympic runner had been with them , the kids would have won any race. That was how terrified they were of the figure in the woods.

Somehow they managed to get out of the forest, appearing behind the greenhouses. The minute they were on familiar ground, all three collapsed on the grass and gasped for breath. Clutching his side, Scorpius arose and wondered how soon it would be before he got caught in another mess.

The other two were rising as well, and before Scorpius had opened his mouth, Albus panted, "We left the cloak in the forest! Dad is going to kill me!"

Rose, who was annoyed with her cousin once again, said something that sounded like "dumbbells". Then she twirled her wand around and pointed it towards the trees.

A minute later, the cloak came zooming out of the forest and landed at Rose's feet.

Scorpius' jaw dropped as the silvery cloak landed softly on the ground. He hadn't thought that such magic could be performed by a first year.

Rose looked completely non-pulssed by her display and ducked under the cloak. "We had better get going," she said. Albus rolled his eyes. "We can't see you Rosie."

A hand materialized out of the air and waved them over. Invisible yet again, they trooped up to the castle, not just to sleep , but to puzzle over the events of the midnight hour they spent in the woods.

*

Scorpius was wandering the halls feeling a new emotion. Grief. Sure, he had been sad before, but not like this. This was the burning hole in his stomach when he turned around. This was the pain he felt in his mind when he thought of the situation he was in. This sadness needed a different word, and that word was grief.

That morning, he, and the other two had slept until lunch, exhausteed after their escapade. They had hardly known the morning, only the sleep they had during it. The morning had been fine.

No, it was the note that had caused the grief. He had almost forgotten his father's words. The words in which he said he disowned him. The memory of the first note had been painfully brought back with this one.

I have sent all of your belongings to the castle. You are no longer welcome in my home.

That was what had caused the grief. Those few simple words, and yet they were nothing near simple.

Alll the possesions he had in the world were now crowding the dormitory. He was heading off to see Professor Longbottom, the only person he truly trusted now.

"I won't!" The peircing scream lifted Scorpius off hiw feet. He soon located the source of the shriek by finding the doorway where the pictures were shaking the most.

Scorpius was about to check if the occupant was all right, when more voices were heard. Quieter and more ominous than the first, this voice seemed to be scolding the other.

"Quiet! Do you want the whole castle on our trail? You just smarten up and hear me out."

The frist gave an annoyed huff, so the second person continued.

"It's not so much, just a small distraction. Then I'm free to coninue with the plan."

"How is the process going? You said you hit a snag."

"The snag hasn't been sorted yet, but the other problem has been done away with."

"Do you still want me to continue-" "With what you are doing, yes. We don't need them knowing anything."

There was a long pause, then the former spoke again. "You'll want to be careful. You were almost caught yesterday."

Scorpius backed quickly away from the dooorway, shocked at the conversation he ought not have heard. He heard some loud, pacing footsteps near the door, and he quickly walked away. He did have something important to do, after all.

*

"Your father stuck with what he said then?" The Professor inquired. Scorpius nodded miserably.

Professor Longbottom rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "We could always put the stuff in the Room of Requirement..."

"Which room?" Scorpius asked eagerly. Professor Longbottom suddenly looked embaressed, like he hadn't meant for Scorpius to hear his thoughts.

"Just give me you things, and I'll take care of them for you."

Scorpius walked back to the common room, happy again. Suddenly an earsplitting scream rocked the castle.

Scorpius recognized the scream, but it wasn't that shriek that he had heard that morning. It was the shriek that he had heard last night.

It was Rose.


I think this is one of my favorite chapters so far. And you know I always want to hear what you have to say: Feedback!

Chapter 7: There are all Kinds of Pain

Albus

Homework seemed to pile up unceasingly at Hogwarts. That's how Albus saw it at least. The workload actually didn't pile up to much, but he left it until the weeekend to do. So that's what he was doing that Sunday afternoon. Homework.

It was harder that day, as he was sitting alone in the common room. Scorpius had wandered off on is own and Rose was out for a walk on the grounds.

Albus shook his head. He couldn't daydream now. Not when there was homework to be done. He had just picked up his quill again when-

"Augh!" Albus leapt up. What was that? It came to him in a flash. Rose! What had happened?

He was out of the room and down the hall before you could say Transfiguration. He practically flew out of the castle with the rest of the student body at his heels.

Then he saw her. "Rose!" He gasped. She didn't look like the Rose he knew.

His cousin Rose was constantly talking and bubbly. The Rose he saw now was lying quite still on the ground, her eyes closed. She was breathing shallowly and was covered in various gashes and bruises.

Professor McGonagall and Hagrid reached him then and Professor McGonagall gave a loud, audible gasp of horror.

"Oh my! Hagrid, do you think you could take Miss Weasley to the hospital wing? Miss Blackburn, would you please run ahead and tell Madam Pomfrey? Mr. Potter come with me. The rest of you, back inside!"

Albus stood up slowly, unaware of his doing so. But there was ine thing he was sure of. When Professor McGonagall placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, her hand was shaking.

*

"Rose!" Her parents had just arrived and Albus couldn't blame them for thier shock. Rose didn't look much like herself. Albus couldn't quite get over it either. He and Scorpius had been sitting miserably beside Rose's bed for the past few hours, not speaking.

Rose hadn't stirred once yet.

Albus stood, and he felt his muscles strain from sitting for so long. He slowly slipped his arm around his aunt, who was quite near tears.

"Who would do such a thing?" She sobbed, voicing the question that had Albus himself had voiced so many times already that day.

Albus shrugged and turned around, not wanting to look at poor Rose any longer.

Scorpius was looking incredibly uncomfortable, as if he was intrudin in on something very private.

"Do you want to go for a bit?" Albus whispered. A grateful Scorpius rose from his chair stiffly and the two boys trudged out of the hospital wing. A harried figure brushed past them, and at the recognition, both parties stopped. "Dad?" Albus asked incrediously.

Scorpius raced like a rabbit down the hall as father and son embraced.

"Who was that?" Harry Potter asked his son. Albus started to ponder and answer, but he didn't seem to need one. "Where is Rose? Is she awake? Were you with her? Did you get hurt?"

Without waiting for any answers, Harry strode quickly into the hospital wing.

"See you later Dad," Albus called feebly. As much as he wanted to be with his father, he couldn't go back to that lonely room.

*

"Potter! Malfoy! Pay attention!"

Albus shook his head. Was someone talking to him? Oh, dear. Someone was, and that someone didn't look too happy. Professor Sugarbush, the DADA teacher, was standing in front of him, an angry glare in her eye.

"I expect you to listen to my lectures, not daydream," she snapped. With that she wheeled around and marched back to the front of the room to resume her speech on Dark Creatures.

Albus tried to pay attention, really he did. But there was so much on his mind right now, that even talk of Lethifolds and Chimeras couldn't stay on his mind.

His father had left that morning, after a friendly chat. Aunt Hermione and Uncle ROn were staying at the castle and Rose was no better.

Then there was his excitement for the Halloween feast, but it was somewhat downplayed by his concern for his cousin. He could only assume that Scorpius was sharing the same thoughts.

"Ring!" The bell signalling the end of class cut through Professor Sugarbush's droning speech; welcomed by all of the students.

Albus and Scorpius raced as fast as they could down to the hospital wing to see Rose. She looked better, but she still wasn't awake. Madam Pomfrey said that Rose had moved a bit during the night, which apparently was major progress.

The nurse appeared beside them , with several potion bottles in her arms.

"Out! She needs plenty of rest and quiet."

"Gosh," Albus whispered to Scorpius. "I thought she was getting plenty of that."

Scorpius snickered at that annd Madam Pomfrey looked disapprovingly at them.

As they slunk up to Gryffindor Tower, Albus remembered something. "What was that all important errand you had to do the morning Rose was attacked?"

"Pumpkin pie," Scorpius announced. Albus was incredilous. "You had to get a pie?"

"No. It's the new password."

Albus turned red. He had indeed forgotten the latest password change. "So if you weren't eating a pie..."

"I was talking to Professor Longbottom about my stuff."

Albus rolled his eyes, thinking of the jumble of knick-knacks that were cluttering up the dormitory.

Just then, a bright eyed girl from thier year bounced up to them. Albus recognized her as Ivy Blackburn, one of Rose's sort of friends.

Ivy hopped all around them, looking very much like she had chugged a bottle of Pepperup Potion. "She just said, I mean I just found out, I mean I should have straight away, but I didn't know who to come to first and it's just so exciting and-"

"What?" Scorpius asked. Albus wasn't quite sure what was going on either. "COuld you just tell us?"

Ivy took a deep breath. "Rose is awake!"

Without a second thought, the boys raced out of the common room, eager to her Rose's tale. They found her sitting up in her starched white bed, looking peaky but happy.

"Tell us everything," Albus said. And Rose began her story.



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Chapter 8: No Calm; Big Storm

Rose

Oh my. What a splitting headache she had. And why did her body ache so much? She obviously wasn't well. Ugh. She was so groggy and tired, but she knew she had to get up. Classes must be starting and she didn't want to be late.

Alright. Time to wake up. Hang on! Why didn't her eyes open? Her eyelids felt like the weighed a million pounds.

Ready? One...Two...Three. Ahaha! They opened! But she must be still sleeping. This wasn't her bed. It wasn't even her room. She didnt recognize this place. Where was she?

"My, my. Will wonders never cease!" A woman holding many potion bottles bustled up to her.

Rose recognized the woman as the Hogwarts matron, and with that recognition came a flood of memory washed over her.

Rose struggled to sit up, but Madam Pomfrey gently pushed her back down on the starched pillow.

"No, no. You must sit. Drink this."

Madam Pomfrey shoved a hot, burging liquid down Rose's throat. Rose felt her insides seemingly rearrange themselves.

"Don't worry dear. It's just restorative with a hint of pepperup and peppercorn."

"Smash!" The door to the hospital wing flung open and crashed against the opposite wall. Ivy Blackburn was standing in the doorway, with a small container in her hand.

"Here's that thing that Professor Windermere borrowed and- Rose! Oh my gosh! You're alive!

Ivy dropped the small jar and ran shrieking to Rose's bed.

Rose smiled, much amused at Ivy's bubbling personality. Madam Pomfrey, however, wasn't smiling. "This child has been through quite enough. She needs her rest."

"Madam Pomfrey! I've been sleeping for ages! Haven't I rested enough?"

The nurse pursed her lips; nothing to say in retaliation. "Keep it short."

Rose turned her head to face Ivy again. "Can you do something for me?" She inquired.

Ivy immedietly snapped to attemtion. "What do you need?"

"Can you go find Albus, my cousin, and ask him to come here? Then go find my Mom and Dad. I don't know where they are, but don't send them right away."

If Ivy was at all puzzled by these instructions, she didn't show it. Instead she saluted Rose and marched out of the room, leaping over the spilled potion on the way.

Five minutes later, the door flew open yet again, two boys racing breathlessly in. Rose thought the door was going to fly off it's hinges if anyone else touched it.

Albus and Scorpius ran to her and settled themselves on the uncomfortable chairs at the foot of the bed.

"Tell us everything," Albus said. And Rose began her story.

"I was just going for a walk. That's all. I went to go see Hagrid. We were talking about Billywigs. Did you know that their stings cause insanity? Hagrid says I must have been bitten by one once. I think he was kidding though.

"Anyways, I went out and walked around behind the greenhouses. I wanted to see if we left any tracks when we went into the forest that night. All of a sudden this huge thing burst out of nowhere and tackled me.

"I think someting else might have come after that, but I don't really remember much. It kind of goes fuzzy. I guess I blacked out. Then I woke up here this morning. It is morning, isn't it?"

There was a pained silence as Rose finished her tale. Scorpius spoke first.

"Are you-okay?" He inquired, his pale face lined with concern. Beside him, Albus was looking equally concerned, eager to know how his cousin was faring.

Rose tilted her head from side to side. "Not great, but better than I was."

The poor door to the hospital wing was wrenched open yet again, with Rose's worried parents racing faster than she had ever seen them move. Both cried out with joy as they saw their daughter sitting up in bed.

Ron's cry turned to one of pain as he slipped on the potion Ivy had negleccted to clean up.

Rose's mother rolled her eyes at her husband and continued walking swiftly to her daughter.

"Oh, Rosie! How do you feel? When did you wake up? Did Madam Pomfrey patch you up? What happened? How exactly-"

"Let her breathe Hermione," Ron muttered, rubbing his backside. His face was clearly showing that he wanted those same questions answered.

Rose smiled at her parents. Then she took the deepest breath she could manage and started to explain things.

"I feel alright,an little sore and tired, but fine. Madam Pomfrey was healing me this morningand something attacked me when I was out walking."

Her mother's face blanched at these last words. Rose wanted to reassure her, but she wasn't sure what to say. How to you explain to your parents that you are fine after such a vicous attack?

Rose grimaced a little, them beamed as her parents wrapped her in a hug. The hug was like a wave; strong and powerful, gentle and soft. It was a boa constrictor squeezing her, yet it was as gentle as a summer breeze. It was filled with the love and emotion all three were trying to convey. The hug seemed to breathe a lot of strength into her, and gave her the strength to keep on fighting.

When they finally broke apart, Rose was sure she was glowing, and the strength she hadn't been able to summon this morning had returned.

Rose turned her head to look at them all. Her parents perched on either side of the bed, looking concerned but happy. Her cousin and friend sitting in chairs at the end of the pale sheeted bed, pride etched on their faces. Although, if Rose had been looking carefully, she would have noticed Scorpius looking uncomfortable sitting so close to her parents and Ron was still rubbing his side. But she wasn't looking for such things. She was looking at the people surrounding her, feeling extremely glad to have them in her life.

*

The boys had to go to classes, but her parents sat with her. They spent many pleasant hours sitting together and talking. Her parents told stories about when they were at school ( "Ronald was so sweet") and Madam frequented their talks with medication ("I can't belive the old bat is still alive!") The boys would come in the evening while her parents went to dinner. She did her homework in the early mornings and the quiet evenings were spent listening to her parents whisperings.

After a week had passed, Madam Pomfrey reluctantly deemed Rose fit enough to leave the hospital wing.

Rose was both dreading and eagerly awaiting the event. Awaiting it because it meant she could finally get up and go about her regular schedule. Dreading it because it meant her parents would have to leave.

She couldn't think of a better time she had spent with her parents. True, she had been injured, but the chats they had had were some that she would treasure forever.

She and her mother had had a variety of conversations about magic, the world, life.

And while her father was hardly the sentimental type, he still participated, sharing funny stories of his childhood.

Her mother and father left the day Rose was discharged. It was a fond good-bye that resembled something you might see on Platform 9 and 3/4. Rose was frantically promising to keep them updated on her condition. The most important thing that happened was that Rose vowed to stay out of touble. Only time would tell if she could keep that prommise.

*
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Chapter 9: The Very Witching Hour

Scorpius

With the very last week of October came the cold. A sharp, swift frost that would take your breath away.

Students covered their faces best they could with the thin house scarves. The lucky ones hame warmer, home-knitted scarves, and some had hats. The few with balaclavas were the warmest. But the for sure thing was if you didn't have your face covered, it would be at your own risk. Bare skin was nipped fiercel by the biting wind.

The cold wasn't the only thing that came with the dying days of October. It was the one word that was on everyone's chapped lips: Halloween.

There were many rumors floating around as to what would transpire at the famed Halloween feast. Apparently, the Hogwarts ghosts were going to sing pumpkin carols, the Wierd Sisters were going to have a concert and the staff were going to put on a play. Scorpius doubted any of that was going to happen.

But on the other hand, many of the things he had once doubted had come true.

He had doubted that he would be disowned by his father. He hadn't thought he would make some great friends. He didn't think he would be thrust into a freaky mystery.

Still, he couldn't picture Professor McGonagall getting drunk and doing the Hokey Pokey. Such were the rumors floating around.

Not suprisingly, crazy Ivy Blackburn was spreading most of them.

"Nearly Headless Nick is going to recreate his death using a student!"
"The Holyhead Harpies and Puddlemere United are going to have a Quidditch match in the Great Hall!"
"Hagrid bewitched his giant pumpkins and they are going to tap dance on the tables!"

Ivy was even going so far as to take bets. Scorpius couldn't belive her. Albus though Ivy was loopy. Rose thought Ivy was funny.

"It's just a game," Rose laughed. "No one is dumb enough to bet anything on that stuff. She's not going to make any money. Besides, no one can make up anything as crazy as Ivy can."

And she was right, for the most part. Chelsea Renee of Ravenclaw had started the rumor spreading, but once Ivy started the gossip, Chelsea's theories almost seemed plausible.

The only thing Rose was wrong about is when she said that Ivy wouldn't make any money. Sadly, that's not quite true. Almost everyone in the castle was betting something, and based on the crazy things Ivy had come up with, she was going to be very rich.

As the school filed into the Great Hall for the feast, Ivy was standing by the door, calling out her made up stories and shaking a can full of coins.

Scorpius' jaw dropped as a small crowd of people gathered around Ivy, coins in hand. He shook his head. People could do whatever they wanted with their money. He onther otehrh hand was going to be smart.

To call the Great hall plain is an understatement. It is always majestic, fabulous, stunning--anything but plain. But to call it that is even more of an understatement during holidays-- this one being Halloween.

Thousands of live bats hovered near the ceiling, swooping of one end of the room to the other. Giant pumpkins stood in every corner and smaller ones circled in the perimeter of the hall.

And the food! Scorpius thought he had seen all the food in the world at the Welcoming Feast. He was wrong. The food he saw now was so remarkably different he couldn't stop his eyes from bulging.There were large pumpkins hollowed out and filled with rich soups and stews. Fantastically shapes pies and piles or candies and apples lined each side of the tables. Scorpius could almost hear the tables groaning from the weight of it all.

The only things missing from the room were the things Ivy had predicted. Scorpius wasn't suprised.

It was one of the most wonderful meals he had ever eaten. The food was perfect, and the flavors divine.

What's more, nothing overly exciting had happened. They all sang the school song, but that was it.

No explosions, riots or mass destruction.

As everyone filed out of the hall, full and sleepy, a cry went out.

"Nothing happened! I win! I was the only one to bet on nothing happening! What foresight! Ten galleons with 10 to 1 odds-- that's one hundered galleons!"

The ecstatic Hufflepuff raced over to claim his winnings from Ivy Blackburn.

It was the only money Ivy lost.

***

One week after the Halloween feast, the snow came.

It started in the afternoon, much to the teachers dismay. As soon as the first student noticed the flakes, everyone flew to the windows.

As soon as class was dismissed, it was a stampede to get outside. The seventh years had orginized a giant snowball fight, and no one wanted to miss it.

When the student body finally cam back in, everyone was soaking. All of them had been hit by at least one snowball.

The snow continued overnight, enveloping the castle in a thick white blanket. By the weekend, they were pretty much snowed in. .

Scorpius was glad of that, mainly because Rose had insisted on going to Hagrid's hut every weekend.

It's not that he didn't like Hagrid, just the food they were fed.

Scorpius was glad of the snow for another reason. It would give him time to do something he had been putting off for a long time. He was going to write a letter to his father.

He ran his hand through his hair. He was sitting at a table in the library with his best friends. Rose was somewhat patiently explaining a Charms theory to Albus.

Scorpius shook his head. Why was he doing this? He couldn't do this. But he had to get some answers. And to get answers he had to write the letter that he knew would be difficult.



***

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Chapter 10: Owl Post

Albus

"Do you get it now? You have to flick your wand more-- it's all in the wrist." Rose finished talking and glanced expectantly at him.

Albus nodded his head non-commitally. Rose could have been speaking Chinese for all he knew. He hadn't been paying any attention to his cousin's persistent tutoring. He had other things on his mind.

Like the snow outside. Albus knew that if he even suggested playing in the snowbanks, Rose would drag him off to visit Captain Stoat Sandwich. He would have to be content with daydreaming about sailing through the perfect powder.

His snowy thoughts were sidetracked when he glanced around the room. His eyes fell upon Scorpius, who looked quite ghastly. His face was pale and lined with worry. He was studying a piece of parchment, shaking his head as he did it.

"Uh, dude," Albus called across the table softly.

Scorpius moaned. "I can't do this. What will he say? What will he do? What I wrote doesn't even sound like me. It's like someone is puttting words in my mouth."

"What do you mean? Who are you writing to?" Albus inquired.

Rose caught on before Albus did. "Oh Scorps. You aren't. It will just make things worse," she whispered.

"But I have to. I need to know."

"If you insist. Just don't come crying to me with the nasty reply."

"I'm not even sure he would write back."

Albus was twisting his head from side to side, watching the conversatino like you would a ping-pong tournament. "Does someone mind explaining this to me?" He asked, feeling quite confused.

Rose turned to his, exasperation written all over her face. "Keep up, Al. How could you not get it? Scorpius is writing to his dad."

Acorpius was looking embarressed. "I don't want you guys making such a big fuss. It's just a letter."

But as Scorpius walked off to mail the letter, Albus could tell that Scorpius was as nervous as he could be.

***

The reply never came. They waited three weeks, and Scorpius' father never wrote back. Or if he did, Albus didn't know about it. Rose was keeping him so busy with study sessions, that he and Scorpius never had a chance to talk. Plus, he had other things on his mind.

He had thought long and hard about this, but he had finally made up his mind. He would do what Scorpius had done. He would writea letter to his dad about the new friendship. He didn't care what the reply would be.



***

Albus didn't know when a reply would come, but he was sure it would be before Draco Malfoy's.

Two days after Albus sent his letter, a note came back. It also came with a suprise. Draco's letter came that very same morning.

Both boys were very suprised. They sat there in shock for a long time before Rose snapped them out of it.

"Oh for heaven's sake! Give them here." She reached over and snatched the letters out of their hands. She started ripping them open.

Albus was glad his cousin had taken over. He didn't think he would be able to read the letter from his dad. He was that afraid of what his dad would say.

"Here's a letter from your sister, Al. Some rubbish about spilling ink over your bed. Ah! Here's the good part." With that, Rose began to read aloud.

"Dear Albus,
I was glad to recieve your letter, though I was quite suprised at the tone you took. If your ecall, it was your Uncle Ron that requested you not become friends with the Malfoy boy. I assume however, that if you are friends with that boy, Rose is as well. I am not going to discourage this friendship, but I will say this. Be careful. You can never know what may happen.
Dad"

Rose huffed. "Well that was disappointing," she murmered.

Albus let out the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. Rose was right: it wasn't so bad. His dad had given him the green light: not that he needed it. It was nice to get it off his chest, though.

Rose was speaking again. "Okay Scorps. Let's see what your dearest Daddy-O says."

Albus drew in another deep breath as Rose carefully slit open the envelope containing Draco's verdict.

Chapter 11:Draco's Verdict

Rose

Rose slowly pulled out the paper containing Scorpius' Dad's letter. Just before she read it out loud to the others, she stopped.

"Scorpius? Do you want to read it? This is what you have been waiting for."

Scorpius shook his head and Rose nearly burst. She wanted to be the one to announce the answer, be it good or bad.

"Scorpius,
Perhaps you are right. Maybe I did act a little harshly. Then again, you did disgrace me in front of the whole family. Nearly destroyed my meeting with the Deputy Head. I will accept you back at my house only for the summers. I am never truly going to forgive you, but you can be my son again.
Draco.”

Rose nearly fell apart. She had been expecting blistering pages of scorn, not this begrudging acceptance. She had almost been praying for anger. She did want Scorpius to be upset, but it would have been so much more exciting if Mr. Malfoy had been more angry.

Sure, he had been a bit cruel, but he had sort of accepted Scorpius back. Uncle Harry was really understanding and accepting. It was making her think. If the others had fessed up, it might be time for her to do the same.

Daddy,
Hi! How are you? I am fine. The castle is practically snowed in. All classes that require going outside are cancelled. Even Astronomy has been put off because cold air comes through the windows. I’m sure there must be a spell that stops the cold, but Professor Bell doesn’t seem to mind the break. I went against your request. I made friends with the Malfoy boy. Actually Albus made friends with Scorpius first, but I did too soon after. Please don’t be too mad. You can’t stop true friendship. Plus, I don’t think Mum would be too pleased if you blew up. Speaking of mom, I don’t think she minds me making friends. I also made another friend. Her name is Ivy, and she is even weirder than me! Give my love to Mum and Hugo. You get love too! I am felling 100% better, and I can’t wait to see you at holidays.
Giggles,
Rosie

Rose smiled when she put down the pencil. She had said more than she meant to, but her dad was used to her digressions. Besides. She got her point across.

Rose started skipping down the hall off to the owlery to mail her letter.She was glad the path was covered, else she would have been a popsicle. Rose didn't know how the owls stood this cold.

She callled to her owl; a large barn named Twitterpated. The owl hooted softly at Rose while she fastened the letter to the owl's leg. Then, with a pat on the head and a whispered farewell, Rose sent her letter of emotion out the window.

The reply cam quicker than the others. Just the next morning, in fact.

It was, in her opinion, even more dull than Uncle Harry's note. It just said that her mom had talked her dad out of murdering Draco Malfoy. That was it.

*

"Wingardium Leviosa!" About six feathers rose up into the air, the highest soaring one being Rose's

Albus whipped around. "How are you doing that?" He demanded, his feather still firmly planted on the oak desk.

The Professor walked by to survey their progress. Rose got a big smile from the tiny Professor Flitwick, while Albus and Scorpius- not so much.

Rose beamed at the Professor and turned back to Albus.

"We've been over this a gazillion times," she muttered. "Swish and Flick!" SHe rolled her eyes.

"Kapow!" A loud bang rocked the castle and everyone fell on the floor. Professor Flitwick quickly scrambled to his feet.

"Stay calm class," he squeaked, but to no avail. The first years were going hysterical. Even Rose, usually level-headed was panicking. Something about the loud bang had stirred a memory in her brain. She could not dislodge it yet, but she had a feeling it was important.

"Augh!" A shriek came from across the room. one of the students was stnading by the window pointing. "The forest is on fire!We're all going to die!"

The teacher flew across the room. "Great Merlin's Beard!" He exclaimed. "Wait here-stay-I must-" he trailed off, before fleeing the room.

Everyone ran to the windows and huddled close together.

"Boom!" Yells and screams filled the air as a jet of blue fire shot out of the trees.

Again, Rose fely something tug at the back of her mind. THere was something she felt she should know about this.

One of the boys closest to the window shouted out. "Look! The centaurs!"

They all pressed closer to see the great creatures charging full speed out of the forest, matched pace by pace by the pack of teachers that were racing to meet them. Both parties stopped just before they might have collided. A large bay centaur stepped out of ranks of the centaur herd, while Professor McGonagall stood ahead of the teachers.

"I wish we could hear what they were saying," Rose whispered as the delegates conversed.

Albus started rummaging through his pockets. "I knew these would come in handy," he muttered, pulling out some long, flesh coloured strings.

"Al, you're brilliant," Rose giggled, giving her cousin a quick hug. "Come over here." She lead Albus and Scorpius over to a corner window that had not been overrun with anxious first years.

Scorpius cranked open the window whil Albus painstakingly untangled the Extendable Ears (for that is what they were).

Rose slipped one end of the string out the window and held the otehr up to her ear.

"This cannot go on," came the loud booming voice of the head centaur. "For several cycles of the moon we have observed stragne patterns in the skies and terrible happenings in our dwelling. We can only tolerate it for so long."

"But if you would just tell me what is going on, then I could try and help!" The Headmistress was becoming flustered.

"Mars aligned with Polaris. War and suffering is being guided by an ally."

"Which ally? What is going on in that forest? Who started this-this inferno!" THe Professor was shouting now, clearly annoyed with the centaurs cryptic words.

“The blaze of glory fuels flame. Certain fires start from failure. When the Belt is brightest, the trouble will heighten,” spoke the centaur. Then he and his herd cantered back into the Forbidden Forest, where, Rose noticed, the gusts of blue flame had stopped emitting.

Rose started reeling in her Extendable Ear and glanced at her friends. Both of them looked as confused as she felt.

"Um, were we supposed to understand that?" Scorpius asked.

"Well, McGonagall sure didn't," Rose muttered. She gestured out the window where the Headmistress stood in the snow, shaking her head and massaging her temples.

Now that the fire and centaurs were gone, the students didn't feel the need to hang out near the windows. They also didn't feel that they had to sit in their desks either. There were a few minutes of mayhem while kids threw pieces of parchment, chased each other around the room and tried to duel. The mess only heightened when Professor Flitwick returned and tried to restore order. By the time everyone had settled, the bell rang. The Professor threw his hands up in frustration and sent them out of the room, muttering something about "Muggle asprins".

All things considered, Rose was quite glad to retire to her four-posterbed that night. She was looking forward to having a long, restful sleep. The relaxing snooze she anticipated never came.

*

"How could you be so careless? You nearly blew the whole operation!"

"You don't make things any easier, Til. Squandering your days while I slave away on the project."

"And you agreed to that! My portion is essential to this!"

The angry yells faded away and an image came into her head.

A massive silver serpent errupted out of the ground, writhing and convulsing horribly as it did. The snake opened its enormous jaws and a stream of blue fire shot out of his mouth. The jet of flame was heading straight for her. She suddenly found her feet were rooted to the ground, and she couldn't move. She was helpless-could do nothing when the fire hit her in the chest and slowly burned her alive.

Rose woke up screaming.



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Chapter 12 : Rambles and Chats

Scorpius

Scorpius awoke early that morning. Dawn was just breaking as he padded softly down the stairs to the common room. It was strange to see the Tower so silent. No one seemed to be as much of an early riser as he was. It felt peaceful. Sitting by the window in the hush, watching the sun come up over the hills.

Slowly the sounds of life began breathing back into Gryffindor Tower with the sounds of people preparing for their day. Groggy students trudged down the staircase and either sat in a plush red chair or walked straight out the portrait hole for breakfast. It was still quiet in the common room, and was relaxingly peaceful.

Not suprisingly, it was Ivy Blackburn who truly shattered the stillness of the morning.

The girl flew down the stairs looking slightly crazed, the treads reverberating with every leap. Upon spotting Scorpius, Ivy raced across the room and skidded to a halt in front of him.

"You really should come, or we'll come or something, maybe she hasn't recovered yet, but it's happened before, before, maybe she's just wacked or, cause it's the second time this happened and it isn't even Christmas and I don't know what to do and maybe you do and you should!"

Scorpius was bewildered, as he often was when Ivy started blabbering. Rose also had that gift of gab, and it was hard to tell which girl had it worse. He had learned much, though, so instead to asking Ivy to slow down and try again, he just said "Show me."

It didn't work as he had hoped. It just started Ivy on another tirade.

"Well, I don't think you can, I mean she's still upstairs and you can't come upstairs, I mean boys can't, I mean I don't know why, I mean I don't make the rules, I mena, perhaps you could wait here, but I mean someone should come and check on her, I mean like a nurse or someone, but not the nurse cause she isn't sick, I I don't know, and do you think I have to be a plant?"

Shaking his head in true disbelief of Ivy's non-stop speech, Scorpius simply tried to discern what she had been saying.

"Ivy," he asked bluntly. "Is something the matter with Rose?"

"Well, that's what I am saying, well maybe, she was screaming this morning and woke me- all the other girls up earlier than I would like, I mean not overly early, but early enough, she was shrieking something awful about fire or some sort of nightmare and she won't let anyone light the lamps, being fire-powered and all, well good luck getting the story out of her, I mean, she won't talk, I mean, and I'm off for breakfast- Toodles!"

With that, Ivy sauntered out of the common room singing the school song.

Scorpius sat back in his chair massaging his temples. Several times he considered going up to check on her, but he didn't have the backbone to serch through the rooms full of girls. besides, the stairs would turn into a slippery slide the minute he set foot on them. So he sat.

He didn't want anything to happen to Rose. Not after all she had been through. Not after all he had been through.

He would never admit it to anyone but his inner self, but he had grown to care for Rose. Not Love. Not Then. Not Now. More brotherly-sisterly. Or, like Albus and Rose, cousinly.

He sat still, watching the various comings and goings of the Gryffindors. Waiting. He wasn't sure what he was waiting for. Perhaps he was waiting for Rose to appear and recount her supposed nightmare. Perhaps he was waiting for Albus, to tell him about all of Ivy's strange ramblings. Perhaps he was waiting for the Sandman to come and wipe it all away.

But he didn't know, and he didn't have anything better to do. So he sat.

He didn't know how long he sat. It seemed like forever. A long and lonely forever. But forever such a long time; too long for anyone to last. So it wasn't forever.

Finally both of his friends bounded down their respective staircases. Rose looking flushed and serious, while Albus just looked sleepy. Both boys were wrenched out of their stuporswhen Rose spoke of her dream.

Scorpius' mind was whirling with questions. What does it mean? What is going on here?

He excused himself, and walked down the hall thinking. During this jaunt he could not com up with any answers. Finally, slightly befuddled, he looked up to see where he had walked.

Scorpius was suprised to see where his feet had taken him. Unwittingly, he had ended up at the office of Professor Longbottom. His mentor, his friend, his one true confidant.

But did he trust the Professor enough to tell him about the strangeness going on? After all, while Professor Longbottom was a good friend, he was still a teacher. Scorpius didn't think telling a teacher would be right just yet.

In the end, he decided not to tell. It was as much Rose and Albus' secret as his.

"Do you need something?" A stern voice rang out from behind and Scorpius wheeled around. Professor Sugarbush, the Defence Aagainst the Dark Arts teacher was standing looking questionally at him.

"Oh, nothing Professor."

"Then I suggest you run along."

*

"So, Christmas is coming up soon. What are your plans?"

The three were lounging in the common room. Snow was falling heavily outside, and there was nothing else to do but talk.

Albus had brought up the question about Christmas, and Scorpius couldn't help but feel his heart sink a bit. No doubt it would be a long and lonely occasion for him.

"Well, mum owled a few days ago, aand told me we are going to the Burrow. You're probably coming too, Al."

Scorpius was confused. "The Burrow?" He asked. He had an image of Albus and Rose sitting in an underground den. Rabbit and snakes lived in burrows, not people.

"My gran's house. That's what everyone calls it. Anyways, what about you Scorps?"

"I'm going to be stuck at Hogwarts," Scorpius muttered. "No one else besides the teachers are going to be here."

Rose giggled. "Just you and McGonagall then, eh Scorps? Maybe you can have a tea party. Are you going to get her a present?"

Scorpius rolled his eyes at Rose's good natured teasing. Albus, however, looked thoughtful.

Then Albus ran from the room muttering something about mailing letters or Grandma's sweaters.

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