I don't own anything, all credit goes to the fantastic Ms. Rowling.

Rose Weasley stood in anxious wonder as the First years filed into the Great Hall. She was finally here! Her eyes wandered up to the high ceiling and the candles flickering gently against the night sky.

All the books she'd read and descriptions she'd wheedled out of her relatives couldn't even begin to compare to this! The grandeur, the beauty, the…magic-ness of the castle. This wonderful place where her own parents had lived and learned and fought and loved…

"Careful, Rosie. You're eyes are about to go so big they'll take over your head." Her cousin, Albus, elbowed her as they inched forward. She smiled back at him and nodded towards the sorting hat, currently working it's way through their class.

"You nervous?" She asked, her voice shaking. Al smiled a bit mysteriously before he answered.

"You know I was, but…" He shrugged. "I'm not really anymore."

Rose was about to question him, but a hush fell over the room. She looked and saw the small, blond boy her father had pointed out earlier walking shakily up to the Sorting Hat. There was a long pause as the hat was placed on his head and fell to his ears. The Hat made a thoughtful noise.

"Very well…Gryffindor!" A gasp echoed throughout the hall, but the boy…Scorpius something looked rather relieved as he climbed down from the stool to sit in the first empty spot at the Gryffindor. Rose's eyebrows raised as she guessed at Scorpius's last name.

The occupants of the table could only muster a half-hearted cheer through their apparent astonishment, but Scorpius seemed to be impervious to the fact that he was the only one not receiving loud cheers from his new house.

"What's all this about?" Albus whispered to her as the noise in the room climbed back to its previous volume. Rose scoffed at him.

"It's like you don't know our own family's history? That's Scorpius Malfoy. His family were heavy supporters of Voldemort. The Malfoys have always been Slytherin. His father grew up with our parents and made their life Hell. He was your dad's mortal enemy."

"I thought my dad's mortal enemy was Voldemort?" Albus smirked back at her, but his eyes wandered over to Scorpius, a new respect for the boy who seemed so nonchalant about throwing generations of family history out the window.

He made a face at her as the hat called his name. Rose watched as he worked his way to the front of the crowd, heard the hall grow hushed at his last name.

"Another Potter? Soon you'll start rivaling the Weasleys! Well…" The Sorting Hat trailed off thoughtfully, presumably telling Al things only he could hear. "…Gryffindor!" It shouted, and the Gryffindor table burst into applause. Al grinned and hurried down to the table where he sat hesitantly down next to Scorpius.

Rose shifted from foot to foot. She was tired of waiting, and the "W"s were a tedious place to be on an alphabetical list. Not soon enough, yet all too soon, her name was called. She tried to ignore the hush as she broke away from the dwindling group of unsorted first years and took her place on the stool.

There was a whoosh of darkness as the Hat fell over her eyes.

"A Weasley, again!" She heard it say, "You'll never stop coming, I'm afraid. Well…" and all of the sudden, the voice she heard was quieter, much more conspiratorial.

"Let's have a look, shall we?" The voice whispered into her ear, and she squeezed her eyes shut, wondering what the Hat was seeing. "Oh just your character, your history, a bit of the future…" The Hat answered her thoughts. "You're very clever, just like your mother. You should be in Ravenclaw, but…I had this same trouble with your mother. She had other destinies to fulfill. She had Gryffindor grit! But you…You have enough bravery to defy an entire country. Think you're up to it?"

Rose flung her eyes open and thought fleetingly of her dreams of doing something as important as her parents.

"Oh, it's important. Just not the easiest road to take…That's your decision, then? Alright. Gryffindor!"

Rose winced at the light flooding her eyes and the deafening cheers from her new house-mates. She practically ran down the stairs to her cousins. Taking a seat next to Albus.

"Hat seemed to have a lot to say to you, Rosie. What did it say?" Albus asked. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Scorpius lean in closer.

"It was quite mysterious, actually. It kept talking about my mum and destiny. Said I had a hard road ahead." A fork clattered by Albus's elbow, and both the cousins looked at Scorpius, who hastily reached to sip his pumpkin juice. Ever-friendly Albus turned to the blond boy.

"Scorpius, right?" He asked, and the other boy blushed and nodded, trying to keep his eyes ahead. "What did the Hat say to you?" Albus asked. For the first time, Scorpius looked up at them.

"Well…it's more what I said to it. I asked not to be in Slytherin and it said…some things about bravery and put me here." He trailed off as Albus gaped at him.

"You wanted to be put in a different house?" Al stared in awe. "My dad did the same thing! He asked not to be put in Slytherin!" It was Scorpius's turn to look shocked, and the two boys stared at each other for a moment before Scorpius burst into laughter.

"Well, why would he? They're all uptight little gits! And I'd know, I have to live with them!" Albus, too chortled with laughter, and when Rose joined in, it was hard for any of them to stop.

Later, the sleepy first-years were lead to their houses. Rose, Albus, and Scorpius walked close together, not wanted to get lost, or to lose the magic of their first Hogwarts friendship. Rose and Scorpius were talking animatedly about quidditch, while Albus was half-heartedly chiming in, looking tired.

"First years, boys' dorms are fist door on the right, same for girls on the left." Victoire told them loftily, supervising the new Gryffindors as they stumbled up the staircase, more than one young boy staring at her, outright.

At the landing, Rose turned reluctantly to the door marked "First Year Girls". Albus bid her goodnight and opened the door, waiting for Scorpius. Scorpius, however, was as reluctant to leave the landing as Rose was.

"Breakfast together in the morning?" She asked the boys. Scorpius nodded emphatically, while Albus yawned. Turning to go, she stopped when she heard Albus clap their new friend, disappearing into the boys' dorms saying, "I'm glad you're in here with us, mate."

Rose smiled and walked into her own dorm, scratching a few lines to her parents, telling her dad that she'd be sure to beat him in everything, but that there was a very slim chance that she'd resist being friends with Scorpius Malfoy.

Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! This is just a plot that came to me, and we'll see how far I take it. I'm thinking about doing a chapter per year, but that might be too spread out…any thoughts?