Because he's a Malfoy…

Summary: The notion of a Weasley and Malfoy being friends is weird enough, the concept of them being anything more than that is simply preposterous. Isn't it? Rose/Scorpius. Post Deathly Hallows.

Rating: T (for language in later chapters), begins as K.

Disclaimer: I wish I could take credit for the brilliance that is Harry Potter but I own none of it. JK Rowling does. I write for fun, not profit, please don't sue.

A/n: This is the first time I've taken a shot at writing anything other than a 24 fic and I feel like I've taken a real leap out of my comfort zone. I've not read that many Scorpius/Rose stories so sorry if this idea has already been done to death already, but was re-reading end of DH the other day and was inspired to write this FF for some reason! This story takes up where the epilogue ended. I hope you like it- not sure how many chapters it's going to be but I know it's going to be quite long and how it's going to end, which is always a good start!

Prologue

The Hogwarts Express

2017, Kings Cross Station

It was September the 1st and Rose Weasley was nervous. Not just nervous in a 'my tummy is doing little flip-flops' kind of way, but nervous-nervous. Infact, her tummy had butterflies whose wings seemed to be flapping as wildly as a hippogriffs. The said reason for such nervousness was that today, after what seemed like a never-ending wait, Rose Weasley was finally off to Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. Finally! The last few months had seemed endlessly long as she had gathered together her multiple syllabus books, her brand new wand (made from maple and phoenix feather and purchased at Ollivanders) and her very own familiar bought from the Magical Menagerie in Diagon Alley. Now today was finally here and she was feeling a little anxious, though incredibly excited too.

Her cousin Albus was nervous as well, she knew, as both of them stood surrounded by the members of their respective families, gazing at the shiny red Hogwarts Express whose steam was chuffing merrily from its vast smokestack, and obscuring the crowds of students waiting to board. "Whoa," she heard Albus mutter, awed. His voice contained a reverence that could be heard even over the crowds of chattering students who milled all around them, calling and laughing to one another, carrying everything from broomsticks to fat rats, to slimy green toads.

Rose looked up at her mother and father who were beaming as they gazed around Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters and they smiled down at her fondly, both with nostalgic looks in their eyes. Her little brother Hugo crossed his eyes at her, causing her to giggle as she caught him in a hug, which he was quick to wriggle out of. "It'll be you soon," she promised him in undertone and he nodded, pouting slightly. She knew Hugo sometimes felt left behind being two years younger than her but at least he had little Lily to keep him company whilst she was away at Hogwarts. The Potter and Weasley families lived very close to each other in Port Cicely in Cornwall, a mere two streets away in fact, and only an hour away from her granny and granddad Weasley, though much quicker by floo. Rose liked having the people she cared about living so nearby and whenever her mother had to work late at Gringotts where she was Head Curse-Breaker, she and Hugo spent a lot of time at her Aunty Ginny's. Aunty Ginny was an independent potioneer and had her very own laboratory in what had once been an old garage attached to their house. The cars were long-gone however. Rose was always fascinated by the potions brewed there with their strong smells of sulphur and zingy magical components. Her aunty had even managed to brew a Bat-Bogie Hex in a jar, which Rose thought was wonderful. Rose thought that maybe she could be a potioneer too when she grew up, or maybe a Healer, though she was only eleven and knew she had plenty of time yet to change her mind.

"Look who it is," her father's voice cut into the excited chatter as he caught Harry's eye and tilted his head to some point fifty feet down the crowded platform. A slender man with a somewhat pointed face stood there in a long dark coat, flanked by presumably his wife and a young boy who was clearly his son as he looked so much like him, right down to the pale skin and slender figure. When the man caught sight of Mr. Weasley, his expression was curt. He merely nodded and then focused back on his own family once more. Ron grinned at Harry who found himself smiling back, knowingly, an amused spark in his green eyes.

"So that's little Scorpius…" Ron muttered under his breath and Hermione and Rose looked up then too. "Make sure you beat him in every test Rosie, thank god you inherited your mother's brains…"

Rose found herself following her father's eye line, not paying attention to her mothers immediate reproach, and wrinkled a freckled nose with interest as she caught sight of the boy to whom he was referring- evidently he was one of the Malfoy's she had heard so much about, it was written all over him from his well tailored trousers to perfectly groomed hair that was so incredibly blond that in the gloomy station it looked almost white. He had piercing grey eyes, reminiscent of cold sterling silver. Dressed in his Hogwarts robes already like her and clutching a beautiful tawny owl to him in a large cage, she thought he looked a little lost and almost frightened. But only for a second. As his father said something to him, the boy smiled, seemingly assured, and was then swept up in a hug by both of his parents, before he made his way to the train, clutching his trunk tightly to him. His departure seemed to spur on James, and Albus too, who turned to his father and looked upset all of a sudden. He tugged his fathers arm and Harry bent down and addressed him solemnly, in such a low voice that Rose couldn't hear what he was saying.

"You'd better go and get a seat, the train will be leaving shortly," her mother looked tearful for just a second but then caught herself. "You and Albus stick together at first, alright?"

"Ok mum," Rose said with a smile, setting down her rickety cage to which her father cast a look of visible distaste.

"Can't say I'm sorry to see that thing go," he muttered with a pointed look to the ginger kneazle-kitten inside, who hissed at him by way of retaliation. Her dad took a couple of hasty steps backwards, almost stumbling over Roses' trunk with his long legs. His wife giggled as she helped him to his feet and he smiled sheepishly.

"Daddy," Rose pointed out with an exasperated grin so like her mothers, "Crookshanks II is very well-behaved, you just always seem to get him on bad days."

He hugged her tightly to him, "if you say so darling," he said good-naturedly. "Now, you be good, you hear? I know it's given that you'll work hard, but even your mum was led astray at Hogwarts…"

"Your fault ninety nine percent of the time, Ronald," her mother said indignantly, crossing her arms and eyeballing her husband with good-humored reproach. Harry, who was still hugging Albus, snickered and Ginny hid a smile of agreement.

Her dad lowered his voice, "…and you can owl me whenever you want, ok? Just use Albus' owl. I'll miss you Rosie, but we'll see you at Christmas."

Rose blinked back tears, not wanting to cry in front of her cousins and aunt and uncle, but her dad seemed to sense the way she was feeling and held her extra tightly for a minute. "You too, daddy."

Her mother was next. She hugged Rose to her, stroking her red hair. "You're going to love it there," she promised her daughter, "just be happy sweetheart, ok? Oh, and stay away from the third floor. You have Victoire and James if you need any help finding your way around and--" she laughed self consciously, "you'll be fine," she asserted instead; "I know you will…"

"Ok mum," Rose said swallowing her nerves as she gave her brother another cuddle and he stuck his tongue out at her, though she noticed he hugged her back just as strongly.

"Come on kiddies!" her cousin James called, brightening at the realization that he was now in fact a second-year, "hey... it's nice not to be one of the young ones any more… I've got us a carriage in the good part of the train! Hurry up, slowcoaches!"

With one last look at her parents who were beaming at her, Rose followed an exuberant James with Albus trailing behind her, as they got settled into one of the plush carriages. By the time they'd finally finished fiddling with their things, Albus became aware that the other students in the carriage were gawping out of the window. And not just in their carriage. His brow furrowed in bewilderment at the realization that so many eyes up and down the train were in fact gaping in awe at his very own father. "Why are they all staring?" he demanded, baffled as he opened the windows and addressed his parents.

"Don't let it worry you," said Roses' dad with a modest grin and a wink at his daughter; "it's me. I'm extremely famous." That was true of course, Ron was a former world-class quidditch keeper and now a very famous quidditch referee and wizard sports commentator, but Rose knew the real reason why people were staring at her Uncle Harry: he was The-Boy-Who-Lived, The-Boy-Who-Defeated-He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and now a world-renowned Auror, the most famous dark-wizard catcher ever, who apparated the globe tracing signs of dark magic. She suspected that maybe Albus hadn't been quite aware of his dad's notoriety. She was sure once they got to Hogwarts he would become a lot more perceptive at just how big a part his dad had played in Wizarding history, but for now he was just… dad.

Rose and her cousins laughed as she beamed at her mum and dad, who were smiling back up at her, and at Hugo, who was looking forlorn now that his big sister was leaving him at last. "I'll owl you and tell you all about Hogwarts," she promised him, and his little face visibly brightened.

Five minutes later, the Hogwarts Express chuffed slowly out of Kings Cross and Rose and Albus pressed their faces to the window, waving through the glass until their parents and siblings became tiny dots in the distance and eventually they couldn't see the station at all any more.

HPHPHPHPHP

After the initial feeling of tears and loneliness had abated, Rose found that traveling by the Hogwarts Express proved to be a very fun experience indeed. She, Albus and James were in a carriage with some of James' friends from Gryffindor and soon a very heated game of exploding snap was underway. The game grew ever more intense (and loud) after the addition of some joke firework powder given to Albus by his uncle George from his joke shop. A game of wizard chess with Albus also took up a pleasurable few hours, aided with much-needed sustenance from pumpkin pasties and big bags of wizard sweets. Rose had a particular fondness for Pepper Imps and her mum had also pressed upon her a peculiar addiction to toothflossing stringmints. She won at chess of course too; she wasn't her father's daughter for nothing and had inherited his seemingly unbeatable strategies, much to Albus' chagrin as he saw his terrified little players taken out one-by-one.

The hours flew by, as outside the train the sky grew ever darker. They passed through large towns, rolling countryside and eventually the terrain grew more rugged as it trundled through hills and moors dotted with purple heather and scattered with fluffy sheep. "Almost there," James told them cheerfully, prodding his brother in the shoulder, "you'd better put on your robes now, Al."

Rose held her breath as the scarlet train began to slow, and then finally came to a complete stop in an archaic, tiny station.

They were here. A feeling of expectation and utter anticipation coiled in her stomach as she jumped to her feet in excitement.

They were finally here.