60A/N: I'm so excited to start this story. I'm trying a new style, I've had the opportunity to work and write in so many different mediums and styles since I first began, so this is very refreshing for me and I feel better prepared. Joanne Rowling owns Harry Potter of course. I also wanted to mention any likelihood to "Cursed Child" are coincidental, since I didn't read it. Shame on me.
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"Just squeeze my head off, why not, Rose?" Roxanne Weasley frowned at her cousin as she tightened the silver and green tire around her neck. She examined herself in the mirror. "I think this one's too short, though. It's got to be Prefect's regulations. I can't believe how much I grew over the summer." Roxanne turned to look at her cousin for her opinion.
"It looks fine," Rose said half-heartedly.
"Well, you'd better not write me up for it. I expect as cousin- and best friend- to the Head Girl, that I'll have some special privileges, won't I?"
Rose nodded and smiled at Roxanne. Although they were the same age, Roxanne was nearly a head taller, and much leaner. Her hair framed her shoulders in tight, cinnamon brown coils. "Of course."
Roxanne examined herself in the mirror again. "I need these hemmed up. Go on, Rose. Try on your robes, too."
"I'll try them on at home," Rose assured her. She couldn't concentrate. All day, her mind had been on the letter she'd received, with the searing red ink and-
"What a bloody treat," Roxanne said loudly, exasperation in her voice. "Thought I wouldn't have to deal with him until practice."
"Deal with who?" Rose asked, her eyebrows wrinkled.
"Merlin, all those books you read have got your mind numb. I'm talking about your Head Boy, of course."
Rose turned into the direction of the door. Entering Madam Malkin's was Scorpius Malfoy. She'd never really spoken to him, although Roxanne and her twin brother, Fred, seemed to loathe him. All Rose knew of him was that he kept to himself and his friends, and that their fathers had been enemies because of the Second War.
"Oh, you mean Scorpius," Rose said instead.
"Is the sky blue?" Roxanne retorted. "And look, there goes his little dog following behind him." Roxanne watched
"Don't be so mean. That's his girlfriend, isn't it?"
"His fiancé," Roxanne corrected. "Newly engaged. Don't you read the Prophet?"
"You know a lot about him to not like him."
Roxanne elbowed her cousin. She took off her robes, revealing an oversized football jersey. "C'mon, let's go pay for these rags."
Roxanne marched up to the counter and placed her robes atop, smiling at the cashier. "I'll take these-"
"Excuse me, Miss, I'm picking up some tailored robes for Malfoy," Scorpius said at the same time.
"Oh, my apologies," Roxanne said grandly, taking a large step back. "I forgot royalty goes first."
Scorpius turned around from the counter. He frowned, his piecing grey eyes narrowing at Roxanne. Rose thought he looked intimidating, but not very mean. He seemed highly irritated.
"Roxanne," Scorpius sighed. "I didn't do it on purpose, I-"
"You saw us coming," Roxanne argued. "It's bad enough I have to deal with you bossing me around at practice, now you want to cut line as well? What's next?"
Scorpius rolled his eyes. His fiancé stood at his shoulder and watched quietly. She and Rose made eye contact a couple times, watching the other two argue as they had done numerous times before. The cashier watched the two of them argue as well.
"Look, Roxanne, I don't really have time-"
"I don't either. We're supposed to be meeting my dad-"
"We're both wasting time. You go ahead." Scorpius stepped back.
Looking affronted, Roxanne stepped to the counter to purchase her robes. Rose glancedat Scorpius again. He had a worried expression on his face, and he help his fiancé's hand tightly. He couldn't possibly be as worried as she was, she thought.
"Shit," Roxanne said loudly, jarring Rose out of her thoughts. "I left my wallet at Dad's shop. Loan me some galleons."
"I only have enough galleons for mine."
Scorpius reached into his pockets and pulled out his own black wallet. He looked at the cashier. "Look, I'm in a hurry. I'll pay for her robes, but I need mine as well."
"This is rich," Roxanne complained. "Look, I'll pay you back when term-"
"Don't worry about it," Scorpius said. "Just don't give me any mouth on the pitch."
"I can't promise that."
Scorpius collected his robes and handed Roxanne her own bag. He then exited the store quickly, his fiancé trailing behind him.
"He doesn't seem as bad as you make him out the be," Rose said helpfully.
Roxanne groaned loudly as Rose paid for her robes. "Of course, because he does things like that. He only paid for my robes so he could leave faster. It's all about him."
For the first time that afternoon, Rose smiled. Albeit, it was at how ridiculous her cousin was being. "Let's go. We have to meet Fred and Albus and the others."
The girls exited the shop into the blinding sunlight that stretched itself over Diagon Alley. "We have time to eat first if you want," Roxanne suggested.
"I'm not hungry," Rose responded. "We had a big breakfast at Grandma Molly's." In reality, her stomach was so uneasy she didn't think she could keep any food down.
"I am a growing young athlete and I need my nourishment." Roxanne's eyes lit up. "You know Quidditch Monthly says Fred and I are top picks for Falmouth? Says we're best two beaters the school league's seen in ages."
"Really? That's great," Rose said earnestly. She'd never been much into quidditch herself. She found the sport dangerous and overly-competitive.
"And then you've got that study under the Chief Mediwitch at St. Mungo's coming up, right? Merlin, we are too good."
Roxanne threw her arm around her cousin's shoulder. The words made Rose wince. She had been studying her new Potions books just this morning, taking extra care to memorize which ingredients were necessary for medicine when the letter had fallen right out of the book into her lap. She blinked, trying to force the memory out of her mind.
"What's been up your bum lately?" Roxanne questioned. If only she could tell her. But she'd been instructed specifically not to, and she wasn't too keen on finding out the consequences.
"Nothing, I'm just tired."
"Tired? The day's just begun, love. Next up is cauldron shopping, book shopping, trunk shopping for me since I burned a hole in mine- these are the perks of waiting till the day before to do all your shopping," Roxanne said sarcastically.
Rose didn't answer. She turned sideways, looking into the Three Broomsticks. There Scorpius sat in the window with his fiancé, secluded in a corner. She did a double take when she realized Scorpius was showing her a piece of parchment identical to the one Rose had received. Much to her surprise, Scorpius' fiancé reached in her purse and pulled one out too. Rose felt her breathing go shallow, wondering what it all could have meant.
"Let's hurry up and get things done and over with," Roxanne said. "Seems like the heat's getting to you."
"Lily Luna, if I so much as hear another Whizbang, you're going to be in deep trouble!" Ginny snapped, putting out the small flame on the curtain with her wand. Lily slapped five with her eldest brother, James.
"Oh, come off it, Gin. She's just showing off the product," George said good-naturedly, giving his niece an approving grin. "Just set 'em off at school, Lils. It's more fun there anyway. Old McGonagall will piss herself."
"Can I have some, too?" Hugo asked his uncle.
"Absolutely not," Ron and Hermione said in unison. Hermione looked around the table. "Who are we waiting on?
Trying to take roll in such a massive family was almost impossible. Albus looked around the table, trying to figure out which of his cousins were at the table and which were not. He watched as his Grandma Molly began to set out plates, helped by his Uncle Percy and Aunt Angelina. His cousin Fred sat to his side. They'd spent the day trying to prepare for the school year and hang out with their other friends, but his heart hadn't been in it much. He'd woke up that morning to a strange letter under his pillow, and he couldn't shake the feeling it had given him.
His Aunt Victoire muttered something in French to her daughter, his cousin Dominique. Dominique looked around the table. Her blue eyes met Albus's on the way around. "Victoire et Teddy," she responded.
The cousin's giggled and whooped as Dominique got up from the table and headed upstairs to fetch them. All of their parents shared looks of annoyance. Bill rolled his eyes.
"Quiet down, all of you," Arthur said, although a smile played at the corner of her lips.
Victoire and Teddy came down, led by Dominique. Teddy's hair was in disarray and switched quickly from a garish shade of red to his color of choice, Turquoise.
"Here come the Newlyweds!" James said dramatically. "Now that you're done shagging, we can eat."
"James," Harry admonished. He had been poring over a copy of the Prophet with Bill. He set it down as Molly began to fill the table with food. "It looks delicious, Molly."
"Thank you, Harry. Although I have a hoard of grandchildren, none of them seem to want to help me."
"We don't want to ruin your flow, Grandma Molly," Roxanne joked. Her twin brother laughed with her.
"Right, and you lot are impatient, wanting to do everything with your wands nowadays," Arthur agreed. All this time and Albus still didn't see his grandfather's fascination with embracing a muggle lifestyle.
"Seventh Year is a milestone, you'll finally be expected to master nonverbal magic," Hermione mentioned.
"Al hasn't even mastered magic with his wand yet," Lily joked. "The only one of them who has a chance is Rose, considering she's got your brains, Aunt Hermione." Albus glanced over at Rose. She seemed removed from the conversation as well. One of their younger cousins, Lucy was trying to talk to her, and she kept responding with short answers.
Molly finished setting the food around the table. "Tuck in, everyone."
Immediately, the table fell into a handful of smaller conversations. Albus caught bits about quidditch, school, the idiots in the Auror Department, and Teddy's oncoming year of teaching at Hogwarts. Hogwarts. Up until this morning, he had been nothing short of excited to return to school. He couldn't wait to hopefully lead Gryffindor to victory this year, and to finally graduate after seven long years of schooling. Until he'd received the letter with the words he didn't quite understand, written in scarlet letters that had been seared into his mind.
"Al?" Hugo said, jarring him out of his thoughts. "D'you not want any of the pasta? It's your favorite?"
Albus nodded and accepted the bowl from Hugo, not wanting to draw any attention to himself. When he pulled the bowl back to himself, he noticed Rose looking at him intently.
"Do you have your grandfather's pocket watch? Do you have all your stationery, so you can write your father and I?" Astoria questioned, looking her son over. The platform was bustling with students saying their farewells to their parents and heading onto the Hogwarts Express to begin the schoolyear. As usual, Scorpius' parents made their goodbyes much longer than necessary.
"I do, mother," Scorpius nodded.
"Do you have all your cloaks, and your badge?"
"Mother, it's pinned to my chest."
"Oh, right." Astoria pulled her son into a tight embraced. She kissed the top of his head. "Your father and I are so proud of you. We want you to do wonderfully. In quidditch, as Head Boy, with your schoolwork- oh, we're so proud of you!"
"Thank you." After Astoria finally released her son, Scorpius shared a hug with his father.
"We are very proud of you, Scorpius," Draco agreed, sharing a warm look with his son. "You'll make a great man in the Ministry someday."
"Thank you, Father. Will I see you before Christmas Holiday?"
Draco nodded, looking down at his son, who greatly resembled him at his age. "Who's your biggest competition this season?"
"Gryffindor."
"Then we'll be sure to attend the match," Draco said.
Scorpius felt his mother's eyes studying him intently. "Are you all right, Scorpius? You look exhausted."
Scorpius nodded his head. In truth, he hadn't slept all night, thinking of the letter he'd received. It hadn't a name on it, only words he has spent hours trying to decipher with his now-fiancé, Maxima Zabini. So far, they'd come up with nothing.
"I'm just eager for school, is all. Big year," he assured his mother.
"Of course, you are, darling. But make sure you get some good rest tonight. You look a fright."
Scorpius nodded, although he knew it most likely wouldn't happen. "I will, Mother. Really, I have to leave or the train will go without me."
"All right, another hug at least." Astoria pulled her son close and kissed him again, taking care not to leave a lipstick print on him. He shared another hug with his father and a final goodbye, and headed off for the scarlet train.
Once aboard, Scorpius pushed past the students milling about. He knew this year he'd have to sit in a compartment with Rose, reserved for the Head Boy and Girl. Although he, along with the rest of the wizarding world, knew of her family, he never interacted with her personally. Some students waved to him, others simply got in his way as he tried to make his way to the back of the train. Subconsciously, he glanced into compartments as he passed. He neared the back of the train where the older students tended to sit. In one of the compartments he saw a scene eerily reminiscent of himself and Maxima the day before.
Fred and Roxanne sat in a compartment across from one another alone. Typically, he didn't particularly care for the twins. He found them loud and abrasive, especially Roxanne. She argued with him at every turn, and he resented having to play on the same quidditch team as the two of them. It was one of the only downsides he'd found to being in Slytherin House.
He stopped in his tracks as Fred and Roxanne showed one another identical letters. He noticed them because it was the very same one he'd received the day before. It settled him a bit that they looked as panicked as he had, and just as confused.
Suddenly, Roxanne felt a presence on the other side of the glass and looked up. She noticed Scorpius staring at them both and got up quickly to open to compartment door.
"Mind you own business, Malfoy!" she snapped, all but shoving him away from the door before slamming it. Scorpius continued down the hallway, numb in his thoughts, trying to figure out what connected him to the Weasley twins. Granted, he was in a relationship with Maxima, but the twins were his housemates and teammates at most.
Shaking his head, Scorpius opened the compartment to the very rear of the train. He found Rose sitting inside, reading. Every time he passed her in the library, that was what she seemed to be doing. Her curly brown hair was tied back in a ponytail, helped by a thick headband. Her face was dusted with freckles. She was already wearing her robes, accented with her blue and bronze tie. She looked up at him, marking her book and setting it down. She revealed to him inquisitive brown doe eyes.
"Hello. You can have that seat if you want," Rose offered. Scorpius sat down across from her. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know what he and Rose had in common. He didn't even know if she wanted to speak to him beyond the courtesy of offering him a seat. "Thank you for paying for Roxanne's robes. I'm sure she'll never thank you herself."
"It's no matter," Scorpius assured her. "I mean, I didn't mind." He didn't want to sound as if he was throwing his money around and had only thought to do so because of his wealthy family. He didn't want to make a bad impression with Rose, knowing they'd be working in close quarters all year.
Rose's facial expression didn't change. She seemed upset for some reason, and looked to be tired as well. He wanted to mention the fact that two of her cousins we involved with him somehow, but he didn't want to risk telling her lest she not have received a letter himself. It would be too risky to say anything.
"We're supposed to assign duties before the meeting after the ceremony," Rose reminded him.
"Oh right." He searched his bag for quill. Rose must have decided he was taking too long, because she handed him one of her own. "Thank you."
Rose nodded and went to writing. Every so often, she rubbed her forehead.
"Are you all right?" he asked, trying to gauge her response.
"Just a migraine. I'm sure the new schoolyear will be stressful," Rose said.
"I imagine so."
When Rose said nothing more in response, Scorpius returned to work himself, wondering just how many of those cryptic letters had gone out to Hogwarts students, and what the purpose of it all was.
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