The Silver Trio: Year One

Scorpius looked silently across the platform, following the gaze of his father. For a moment, he wanted to ask who they were, but then his eyes drifted up to the man's face and he realized: of course. It was Harry Potter. His father never talked about him—never talked about much at all from his younger years, actually—so he wasn't sure how the two knew each other, but any wizard with two eyes would recognize The Boy Who Lived. He wasn't much of a boy anymore, but Harry Potter and his intimidatingly large family had been featured regularly in Witch Weekly and other such magazines for as long as Scorpius could remember. He'd seen them right smack on the front page of The Daily Prophet and The Wizarding World News enough times that, if he'd ever started counting, he'd have lost track by now.

Somehow he'd forgotten that there were kids in the Potter-Weasley clan that would be in the same year as him at Hogwarts.

Just as he was starting to inspect the dark haired young boy, Scorpius was pulled from his thoughts and into his mother's arms. She smiled warmly down at him. Scorpius couldn't help but notice the hint of sadness in her eyes. "Don't worry," she told him, "We'll write. Every day."

"Every day seems like a bit much," he responded, but his tone was light and his words were given with a smile. His mother laughed in response and straightened up, rubbing his back.

"You'll be having so much fun, time will fly by and before you know it, you'll be home for the holidays," his father added, the corner of his lips barely turned upward yet somehow meeting his eyes. "Stuck with us." He winked.

Scorpius openly rolled his eyes and laughed, shaking his head. As much as he loved his parents, he saw them all the time. He wanted get their goodbyes over with so he could get on the train to Hogwarts: a place he'd never seen before, and so, was eager to explore. "I'll miss you," he told them both, as that was about as close as he could get to 'goodbye' without cutting them off outright.

While his mother moved to hug him again, his father got the hint. With a brief chuckle, Draco ruffled Scorpius's hair and placed a hand on Astoria's back. "Go on," he told his son with a nod, and nudged the back of his head, urging him toward the train. Astoria reluctantly released her son, hands folding against her mouth while her eyes glistened. Scorpius grinned and hopped onto the train, suitcase in one hand, owl in the other. He only glanced back long enough to see his mum press her face against his dad's neck, while his father wrapped one arm around her and waved with the other. Then he tore down the isle in search of his friends.

Meanwhile, Rose and Roxanne Weasley elbowed each other back and forth in their compartment, each girl vying for the optimal waving spot. Albus Potter rolled his eyes, shoving all three of their belongings into the compartment.

"Move over!" Rose shouted, knocking her hip against her cousin's.

"Oh, shove off!" Roxanne pushed at the other girl's shoulder.

"I was here first!"

"Were not!"

"There's room for all three of us at that window," Albus pointed out solemnly.

"Not if I want to see my parents," Roxanne hissed after about four more shoves between them.

Rose scoffed. "Your dad is so tall you can see him from behind me."

Roxanne responded with a well aimed kick to Rose's shin. Rose reached for her wand. Albus was so thrown off by that, that for a second, he just lifted his eyebrows at her. What exactly was she planning to do, poke her with it? They hadn't learned any spells yet. They hadn't even gotten to school! Then again, he thought, knowing Rose, she'd probably read all of the required books in advance, and he wouldn't put it past her to have mastered some jinx or other before they'd even been sorted. Albus shoved himself between the girls. Both were taller than him, but they were so shocked by his intrusion that they nearly fell over when he pushed them apart. Roxanne gaped at him. Rose lifted her hands to fend him off, eyes wide, then bust out laughing. Albus chewed his lip. The train started to pull off from the station, and the girls gasped, immediately squeezing in to lean out the window. Albus tried to open it further, but it wouldn't budge. He thought about asking Rose if she knew a spell to fix that, but figured they didn't have the time right then, and such a thing would be irrelevant later. There probably wasn't one, anyway.

A chorus of 'goodbye's, 'love you's, and 'don't forget to write's filled the train, echoing through the station. Albus jumped to meet his father's reassuring gaze one last time before their faces disappeared along the platform. Rose was the first to retreat from the window—she leapt straight into her studies the moment she could no longer make out her family's faces. Roxanne continued to wave for at least a full minute, then paused to compose herself before she sat down. Albus lingered by the window, arms folded under his chin, long after he'd seen the last waving hand disappear into the train. The boy relished the silence, merely watching the blurred scenery until his worries crept up on him again.

His dad told him earlier that the sorting hat took one's preference into account. As much as that reassured him, it wasn't quite enough to stop Albus feeling queasy. James's taunts kept echoing through his mind. All of the Weasleys and Potters for generations had been Gryffindors—every relative he'd ever heard of had been in Gryffindor except Aunt Fleur, and he was sure she would have been, if she'd actually attended Hogwarts. Even Uncle Percy was a Gryffindor, and as far as Albus could tell, the man was better fit to Ravenclaw. There was no way he could handle being sorted into another house, away from his family; especially not Slytherin. His father might have said it was okay, that he and mum would still love him, but Slytherin and Gryffindor were rivals—enemies.

Albus jumped slightly, a loud THUD and clatter jolting him from his thoughts. He was momentarily grateful for the distraction, but that moment ended quickly with the incomparably shrill scream of Roxanne Weasley.

"FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED!" Roxanne shouted at the top of her lungs—and, boy, did she have a set of those. There was no wondering what had her so cross; Albus wrinkled his nose at the familiar stench of Stink Pellets. Rose pinched her nose and promptly exited the compartment without a word. Roxanne stormed out soon after her, fists clenched at her sides. Albus tugged the collar of his shirt up over his nose, retrieved the two owl cages, and fled with his wrist pressed desperately to his nostrils; he didn't want the furiously flapping owls to have to suffer through the smell. He looked both ways, but his cousins had disappeared. Of course, it didn't take long for Roxanne's voice to cut through the air, so he followed the shouting.

Three compartments down, Roxanne's brother grinned up at her, one hand waving in front of his nose. "Oooh-ee, someone smells positively putrid," he teased.

"WHAT have I told you about getting into my things?!" Roxanne screeched. "You've RUINED my robes! Now what am I supposed to do?! MERLIN, how DARE you!?" Apparently too worked up to continue with coherent accusations, Roxanne grit her teeth and let out an aggravated battle cry, then launched herself across the compartment.

Fred scrambled back away from her, lifted his hands and kicked lightly in defense. "Whoa, whoa! Whoa! What are you on about, Roxie?"

"You-!" Roxanne started, but was too exasperated by her brother's nerve to finish, and opted for whacking him upside the head then punching him in the arm instead. Was he really about to deny rigging her baggage? The gall!

Directly across from the siblings, James Potter pressed his lips together in a failed attempt to contain his laughter. Roxanne spun on him, and he lifted his palms in surrender, but couldn't stop laughing. Her eyes flared, and she was about to jump on him, too—then he managed to ask between cackles, "You didn't happen to open Rose's trunk by mistake, did you?"

The girl was thrown off by the question. "What? No." Roxanne shook her head, brow furrowed.

James laughed, and Fred peered over curiously. Both Scamander twins, who sat calmly on either side of the window at the far end of the compartment, lifted their eyebrows. "Well our dear Freddy here doesn't seem to have a clue what you're on about, but I know for a fact that it was Rose's trunk I fixed with Stink Pellets back on the platform."

Albus was surprised his brother had pulled the prank on their cousin instead of him. If James had done that to Rose, what surprises might await him in unpacking? He thought about leaving everything be until they got to the school, where his things would be unpacked for him, but soon realized he still needed to change into his robes. The boy frowned nervously.

Roxanne blinked, slowly simmering while things clicked into place in her head. Her eyes turned hard. Almost in unison, the group turned their heads to look at Rose, but she was long gone.

The redhead had snuck away as soon as James opened his mouth. She found the Stink Pellets early on, but had thankfully not dropped them and set them off, so with a little careful handling she'd been able to transfer them safely to her cousin's baggage. At the time, she, too, had assumed it was Fred's doing—but, in retrospect, she should have seen it coming. Why else would James help her get her trunk onto the train?

She glanced over her shoulder to make sure she wasn't being chased yet. Hopefully, Roxie would calm down after a few minutes not being able to find her, and by the time they got to Hogwarts, the incident would be forgotten.

Meanwhile, Valerie Greengrass convinced her cousin to check for the trolley. Scorpius Malfoy stepped out of their compartment at the precise moment Rose Weasley rushed by. As neither of them were watching where they were going, the two first years slammed right into each other.

"Oh! S-" Rose started, but when she looked up at the blond, her eyes narrowed.

"Sorry," Scorpius spoke at the same time, but actually managed to get the full word out. "I didn't see you."

"Malfoy," Rose snarled, and shoved away from him.

Scorpius blinked, taken aback by her hostility. What was her problem? They'd never met before! "You know my name?" He tilted his head, not sure how that ended up being the first question he asked, but there it was.

"You," Rose announced, pointing an accusatory finger right in his face, "are my nemesis." After that grand declaration, the girl huffed, and shoved past him, set on finding Dom or Victoire. She'd sit with them until they neared to the school, then go back to her (hopefully deodorized and Roxie Rage free) compartment to change into her robes.

Scorpius watched her storm off, her fiery red hair swishing back and forth, and wondered how in Merlin's name he'd managed to land himself a 'nemesis' before the year had even started.