Rose Weasley was sat in the corner of a carriage in the Hogwarts express, reading a book. Only those sitting closest to her- her cousins Albus and Roxanne- could see her hands shaking. "Listen, Rose" said Roxanne, in an undertone. "You and Albus will be fine. I should know; I went through this last year. Plus, I had to do it without an amazing, wise older cousin to help me. Count yourself lucky!" She patted Rose on the shoulder, and then went back to chatting with Ella, her best friend. Rose was reassured. A little bit. It was just...well, she was so nervous! The only people she knew were Roxanne, Albus and James, and she didn't expect James to hang around for long. Nor would Roxie, come to think of it. Albus might last a little longer, but what if they were sorted into different houses! She was sure to get into Ravenclaw, everyone said it, but Al was...well, he was a little slow. Rose smirked to herself, remembering how he'd spent days in bed, after eating a bunch of blood lollipops, instead of regular ones by mistake. He'd been vomiting blood (luckily, not his) for hours.

Lost in thought, Rose didn't notice the compartment doors opening until a small, pale boy was thrown roughly to the floor by a few older looking kids. "And you can stay in here, Malfoy!" one of them snarled. "We don't want your kind in our compartment." He looked up from the scrawny boy, and suddenly seemed to notice everyone staring at him and his friends. "Oh, sorry to bother you. We just had to let him know his place." Nodding pleasantly, the boys walked away, leaving a carriage of stunned faces behind them. As soon as they'd gone, Albus and Ella had rushed to help the boy up.

"Are you ok?" Albus gasped. "What were they doing that for?" The boy –Malfoy, he had been called- flushed and pulled away from his helpers.

"None of your business! Get off me!" He looked like he was about to burst into tears, thought Rose. She was deeply shocked at how violent the boys had been but...

"Malfoy? You're Draco Malfoy's kid?" she asked.

"Yeah, I am. Scorpius Malfoy. And in answer to your question", he said to Al, "that is why they were being like that. Malfoys are scum now, or hadn't you heard?" His lip wobbled, and he sat down in the empty seat opposite Rose. Albus looked like he was about to say more, but at that moment Roxie kicked him, and gave a warning look.

"So..." she said hesitantly, "are you looking forwards to Hogwarts? You're a first year, right?"

"What do you think! Of course I'm not looking forwards to it. It's my first day, and already I've been...I've been..."

Roxie looked panicked. She really wasn't good at cheering people up, thought Rose wryly. Leaving her book in her seat, she strode over to Malfoy, sitting down on the empty seat next to him.

"Look," she said kindly, "You can get upset, and nobody would blame you. But if you do, you'd be letting those morons win. They don't know you, and is this really how you want people to see you? A cry baby? Don't worry about those kids; it'll be fine when you're sorted. And you can stay with us, until then."
"Sure" chorused the others, their faces a mix of concern, worry and, yes, a little mistrust.

"Thanks" muttered Scorpius. He didn't look tearful anymore, noted Rose, but he was still a little ashamed. "So who are you, anyway?

"I'm Rose, Rose Weasley" She stuck out her hand, but withdrew it slowly, at the dawning look of horror on Scorpius's face.

"You're a Weasley?" he asked, aghast.

"I am. Is that an issue?" she replied coolly. Her eyes glinted angrily, warning Scorpius that he was treading on thin ice.

"Well...no, it's just..."
"We're supposed to hate each other?"
"Well yeah, basically." Relief suffused Scorpius's tone, as Rose seemed to calm down a little.

"Well...we could give it a try, I suppose" she said doubtfully. "Insulting each other and stuff. Um...Pure blood brat?"

"Half blood scum"
"Blondie"
"Freckles"
"Snob!"

"Hey, you don't know that! We've only just met!" objected Scorpius. Rose considered the point.

"True. Look, I'm sorry, this hating you thing just isn't working. I'm trying, but I'm just not feeling it."

Scorpius chuckled. "That's ok. So how are you?"

The sun had set and the velvet night was sprinkled with stars by the time James decided to make an appearance in the carriage. He burst in, with a manic grin on his face, and jumped up to the corner were Rose, Scorpius and Albus had been sat for the past hours, chattering quietly.

"It's ok, it's ok! You can stop crying! I am finally here!"

"James, shut up, you look like a total idiot. Now what do you want?"

"It's lovely to see you too, Al", drawled James, "I want nothing but your company. I'm bored. We were playing exploding snap, but John lost, got in a mood, and vanished the cards. He's such a loser." A small motion in the corner –Scorpius trying to hide from this exuberant nightmare- drew James's attention. "Ah!" he beamed. "New kid! Care to introduce me Rose?"

"Oh, right, sorry. James, meet Scorpius Malfoy. Scorpius, this is my dickhead cousin, James Potter." Rose winked at her cousin, who was rooted to the spot, spluttering.

"Bu...But...what! Malfoy? What the hell are you doing with him, Al, Rose! He's a Voldemort lover!" James looked furious, fumbling in his robe for his wand and muttering curses under his breath.

"Don't you dare, James!" yelled Albus. "If you put so much as one spell on Scorpius, I'll write to mum and dad. They won't be happy!" James sneered. Obviously, thought Rose, that wasn't much of a threat. She guessed that James had been in trouble since he'd begun at Hogwarts, two years ago.

"Oh don't worry Al," James snarled. "Mum and dad WILL hear of this. And then we'll see who's in trouble." He stormed out of the corridor, leaving a shocked silence. The three first years looked stunned, until Roxanne leaned over and whispered

"Don't worry about James, Scorpius. He's always been a bit odd like that. His dad's reputation's given him an ego the size of a giant. If you're as nice as you seem, he'll come around."

At the word "if", Rose glared at Roxie: how dare she insinuate that Scorpius was lying! But Roxanne had already turned back to her own conversation, and Al had begun to chat to Scorpius again. She quickly became drawn back into their conversation...

"First years! Over here! Head towards the light, if you're a first year!" At the sound of the lilting Australian voice, a swarm of first years hurried over to a lit wand, held up high in the air. "Welcome children. I am Neta Hardcastle, the Hogwarts gamekeeper, and it is my duty to escort you all to Hogwarts. Please follow me. When we arrive at the harbour, find a boat and sit down, no more than four people to each one. A warning: do not rock the boat; if you fall in, Hogwarts cannot be held accountable for the events that follow." The last comment caused a storm of muttering, Rose noticed, especially among the children who looked least comfortable in their Hogwarts robes. She could only assume they were the muggleborns.

"She means the giant squid, I bet" whispered Scorpius, knowledgably. "Did you hear about how it almost drowned someone last year?" Rose, busy trying to keep hold of her wriggling cat, paused, looking sceptical.

"If that's the case, how come it's still here? They'd have killed it for sure!" Scorpius snorted, and even Albus rolled his eyes at that comment.

"Yeah, let me know when you find someone willing to attack a giant squid." Rose had to admit –grudgingly- that Scorpius had a point.

"Yeah, well...shut up. Come on, we need to find a boat." Blushing, Rose led the way to the small, cobbled harbour and stepped carefully into one of the few rowing boats left. She was swiftly followed by Scorpius, Albus and, after a short interval, a curly haired blonde girl wearing pink spectacles who proclaimed herself Tanya. Rose shook hands with her, and introduced herself. The second Tanya realised who Rose was, her mouth dropped open and she flushed until she matched her glasses.

"Oh my god!" she gasped breathily, "Your parents are totally famous! Is it true that they broke out of Gringotts on a dragon? Because I heard someone talking about it, but it just sounds so-"

"Yeah." replied Rose, bored. "It's true. They also fought at the battle of Hogwarts, and were on the run with Harry Potter."

"Oh everyone knows that" was the dismissive reply "but there are so many rumours... It is such an honour to meet you. Did your parents teach you any magic? You know, to defend against the dark arts?"

Rose frowned. She was 11, what kind of magic did this girl think Rose was able to do? Only the most basic spells had worked for Rose so far, and that was with her mother's help.

"No, of course no-"

"My dad taught her some. She's my cousin. I'm Albus, Albus Potter." Rose's jaw dropped, her gaze incredulous. What was Al on about? Harry hadn't taught her anything, thought it wasn't safe! She was about to speak up, tell the truth, maybe question Albus's sanity, when Scorpius's foot collided with her shin and she let out a small yelp. He glanced meaningfully at her, and indicated she keep quiet.

"No way! You're Ha-Harry Potter's son? That is so amazing! He killed You-Know-Who!"

Albus chuckled, though he appeared a little pink. He seemed to be enjoying himself immensely.

"I know. But my family doesn't call him You-Know-Who. We say Voldemort." This made Tanya look even more impressed, if that were possible. If her mouth were any wider, shed be able to catch flies thought Rose, acidly. She looked at Scorpius. He had a strange expression on his face, as if he was strongly resisting the urge to burst out laughing.
"She blatantly fancies him" whispered Scorpius, excitedly. "She's not bad looking, either".

Rose rolled her eyes. She knew she'd change her mind soon, but right now, boys annoyed her. Scorpius was better than most, but still a little irritating. Still, Tanya and Al were hitting it off, so it looked like she was stuck with Scorpius, for the boat ride at least. And he wasn't totally bad company. Rose suddenly realised she'd been staring into space, as Scorpius waved a hand in front of her face

"Oops, sorry", she said. "I was just thinking."

"Anything interesting?"

"Nah, just wondering about Hogwarts" Rose lied fluently "Wondering what house everyone will be sorted in. Do you have any idea?"

"Well, I know my dad is hoping for Slytherin," mused Scorpius, "but I'm not sure if I mind that much. So long as it isn't Hufflepuff, anyway. Ravenclaw doesn't sound too bad"

"That's where I'm going. It sounds like the best house to me, although dad wants me to get into Gryffindor." She rolled her eyes. "James got into Gryffindor, and look at him! No, I don't want to be one of them. Ravenclaw is my house. It has to be."

"I had you pegged down for a Gryffindor, actually. Saving poor stray Malfoys? Very noble."
"Oh ha ha ha" was Rose's sarcastic reply. However, Scorpius noticed that a small smile graced her face, though she tried to hide it.

"Anyway," Rose continued "Why bother guessing? We'll be finding out for real soon, look!" She pointed forwards, and Scorpius suddenly realised that a turret was coming into view, peeping out from behind a craggy hill. From the gasps all down the procession, Rose gathered that they were not the only ones to notice.

"We're actually here, Rose!" whispered Albus, in a strangled voice "Hogwarts! Oh my god, look at it!" Rose didn't reply, instead gazing at the slowly emerging castle. She was so distracted, she didn't realise that the boats were travelling into shallower waters until there was a large thump, and she slid off her perch onto the floor of the boat. The floor of the boat that happened to contain a few inches of stagnant, muddy water. As the sound of Tanya's low pitched giggles filtered through to her brain, Rose growled quietly, clenching her fists and on the verge of tears. It would happen tonight, wouldn't it. She thought. Just as I'm about to be judged by the entire school, I would fall into a great load of filthy water. Brilliant. Albus seemed to sense her humiliation and shushed Tanya; to her great relief, neither he nor Scorpius had laughed.

"Stand up" ordered Scorpius kindly. She did as he asked, and he craned his neck, to check the extent of the damage. "Nothing too bad, I promise. A little mud around the back, but..." He reached out to brush it off, but caught himself as he realised where exactly it was, and what exactly he'd be touching. "Er... on second thoughts, perhaps you'd better do it." he muttered, ears flaming. Rose giggled at his expression, and dried her eyes, before wiping off the worst of the mud. "Well...that'll have to do I suppose."

Umm...Rose?" asked Tanya, hesitantly, "If you care so much, why don't you ask that Nette Hardcastle lady? I mean, she's a witch right? I'm sure she could clean your robes, no trouble!" The idea was met with silence. In fact, Rose, Scorpius and Albus all looked a little stunned.

"That's so...obvious" said Albus, perplexed. "Why did none of us think of that?"

"Well, one of us did!" replied Tanya, stung.

"Oh, I know, yeah. It's just...well, you don't know Rose. She's possibly the biggest know it all in the UK!" –He dodged Rose's slightly inaccurate kick, and continued- "Normally, she'd have thought of a solution the second it happened, and already be clean and dry by now. It's just...odd." He laughed somewhat nervously. "I guess you get nerves after all, Rosie."
Rose glared at him. Casting a slightly scared look at Rose, Tanya shuffled away from Albus, as Scorpius looked on, amused.

"Ok two things, dung brain. One, don't call me Rosie if you like your face the shape it is. Two, I never said I didn't have nerves. Besides, they make you perform better. It's a well known fact."

"Hey, don't call me-"

"Over here, children!" interrupted Nette, loudly. "Follow me to the entrance hall and wait there for further instructions." Rose nearly tripped over her robes in her haste to ask the gamekeeper to clean her robes up, but, to her great relief, the woman complied. In moments, Rose, looked just as neat (if not more so) as she had done before her unfortunate slip. She managed to slip into line just behind her cousin.

"Sorry I snapped" she mumbled, a little shame faced. "I was just worried that I'd have to get sorted covered I mud."
"It's ok, Rose. I honestly didn't mean to upset you. You have to admit though, it was a little funny. My god, your face..."

Rose was just about to reply, when the line stopped moving, and Scorpius bumped into her from behind.

"Sorry"

"No problem. We're here. Nervous?"

"Yeah, a little."

"Don't worry, Scorp. You'll do great. Hey...we can stay friends, right? If we're sorted in different houses, I mean."

"Course. Who do you think I am, my dad? I don't care about that stuff, so long as I like you. Now shut up, Hardcastle is talking."

Rose rolled her eyes, but faced forwards and tuned into what the gamekeeper was saying. Yet she had a hard time concentrating on the witch's voice as the students began shuffling into the entrance hall. It was so overwhelming! She was used to magic, but grandeur on this scale was totally new to her, Albus, and probably every single first year there...