“And now I try hard to make it
I just want to make you proud
I’m never gonna be good enough for you
I can’t pretend that I’m alright
And you can’t change me.�

~*~*~

The dying farm fields blurred past the windows too quickly. Mum gripped her seat so tightly when Dad sped around bends in the road her knuckles turned white, though she kept her face falsely calm. Dad had a habit of looking over at Mum to gauge her reaction when he made a noticeable mistake as he drove. I have no idea why he did this. It only left room for her to make a comment, and bickering only worsened Dad's driving. We had wagered even I could drive a car better than he could. He enjoyed speeding too much.

Dad never would have received his license if it hadn't been for my idea to Confund the instructor. I didn't actually think he'd do it, but I had to admit I was thoroughly pleased when he did. All my life I had possessed the underlying suspicion that Dad lived for breaking the rules. Not enough to do any serious damage, but just enough to keep life interesting. He tended to act at least halfway civilized around Mum, but it was overwhelmingly satisfying to learn I could bring out a mischievous streak in him. I think that's part of the reason Mum never liked me much. She rarely understood the reasons behind my actions, and when she did, she thought they were childish and flippant.

"Ron, the turn is here," Mum reminded him quickly. She was almost too late. Dad swerved dangerously to make it. My stomach experienced the familiar sensation of flipping around as it always did when Dad sat behind the wheel. Mum's expression was cross, but Dad, Hugo, and I each had to fight back laughs. If we were ever in any real danger, Mum could mutter a few spells under her breath to clear a three kilometre radius around us.

"Where to park…where to park?" Dad muttered as he drove idly around the parking lot. He chose a spot at the very back, so as to avoid trying to fit into any spaces between two cars. I rolled my eyes. Why couldn't he just learn to park?

The air outside was unusually chilled and crisp. Dad helped me unload my trunk and other belongings as we huddled together and made our way through the misty air. Hugo kept glancing around as though he thought somebody would somehow see our unusual attire and animal company through all the fog, recognize us, and report us to the local officials. He’d always had an unusual fear of being caught by Muggles. I thought the risk was somewhat exhilarating.

"Just walk briskly through, Rose. Don't slow down for the impact, and it will be perfectly okay—" Mum began as soon as we could see the first platform.

"Yes, I know, Mum, thank you," I murmured under my breath. This had to be the four millionth time we’d discussed this. I tried to pretend I wasn’t bothered. For reasons unbeknownst to me, Mum thought I was physically unable to make it through the barrier between platforms nine and ten at King's Cross station without her constant repetition of "walk briskly, don't stop." I couldn't remember a time in my life when she hadn't been going through these instructions on how to enter the magical platform. I reckoned I'd been hearing it since my exodus from the womb.

"I just want you to be confident about it," she snapped, picking up speed. She tended to busy herself with something when her temper was high. In this particular situation, moving her legs faster seemed to satisfy her hot head.

"Would you like to hold my hand? Little Hugo can follow behind right us if you're scared he won't be able to do it, either," I snapped back.

Dad interrupted before Mum could say anything back. "Rose, come along. We're going to miss the train if you don't listen to your mother."

I rolled my eyes. Even when Dad took my side, I was still furious with the both of them. Hugo wasn’t helping my temper by continuously darting his eyes in every direction. It seemed like everything he did annoyed me to no end.

"Hugo, nobody is going to swoop down on us," I hissed between my teeth as he whipped around when a particularly large Muggle got too close to him. He glared at me and sped up to match Mum's pace to hold on to her skirt. I narrowed my eyes. The little prat. She'd always liked him more.

I could barely make out their figures as I purposefully dropped further behind to Dad's slower stroll. We walked in silence. I liked that about Dad. He didn't need to constantly talk to be happy, unlike Mum. I could spend all day with him while muttering all of two words, and we'd both be perfectly content. Mum wouldn't ever stop lecturing me about some Hogwarts rule or a certain staircase or which hallways to avoid. She didn't understand that I would never learn anything if she didn't let me figure some of it out on my own.

Soon we stood right in front of the platform. Mum and Hugo were already on the other side, for they were nowhere in sight.

I dropped the two bags I was carrying, and Dad stilled the cart in front of him.

"So. This is it," I said, staring at the bricks as if trying to find some magical inscription or glowing circle or something to let me know I was not going to smash into a deceptively solid brick wall. Blast it all, I was nervous no matter what I told Mum. I turned to Dad, and he just nodded.

"Are you ready for this?" Dad asked, his eyes ignited with delight. I realised he probably hadn't walked through the barrier since he had last taken the train to Hogwarts. It must have been a sort of nostalgic experience for him.

"Yeah," I said, fighting to keep the shakiness out of my voice. I piled the two small bags I had been carrying on top of my trunk and took over the cart. I began pushing it very quickly. Behind my annoyed glares and snappish remarks towards my mother, this moment had actually bothered me for some time.

Dad chuckled as he lengthened his strides to match my newly increased speed. I kept my eyes peeled open, refusing to blink until I knew it was over. The brick wall looked completely solid—my steps faltered. My arms tensed against the cart, which was practically glued to my fingers, as my body uncontrollably braced for impact—but of course, it never arrived. As we began our entrance into the barrier, the bricks surrounding us still looked like bricks, but they weren't bricks at all. They morphed in my line of vision as the cloaking spell whooshed past my entire body.

Without warning, reality appeared again. I couldn't see for Galleons where the scarlet engine was, but I could hear it exhaling steam in long breaths. Mum and Hugo stood waiting for us, the latter appearing to be unpleasantly frazzled.

"Having trouble getting through the barrier, ickle Hugo? Did you forget Mumsie's instructions of walking briskly, no stopping?" I whispered quietly enough for only my brother to hear.

"Shut it…" he murmured, but I had already pretended to turn my attention elsewhere.

"Harry and Ginny will probably be here already. Shall we find them?" Mum asked.

We waded through assortments of bodies, trunks, and shrieking caged animals.

"Remember, Rose," Mum continued, "Albus will be new, too. You can both stick together. It's always easier with friends."

Albus. Lovely. "Of course, Mum. I wouldn’t ever be able to make it through Hogwarts all on my own."

Dad persistently teased me about always having to have the last word, regardless of what it was. I inwardly shrugged. He was right about that.

A voice startled me as someone began shouting something about broomstick regulations far above the mutter of the crowd. It seemed to be unnaturally amplified in the mist, detached from its owner.

"Good ole Perce…" Dad said under his breath, steering me in the opposite direction of Uncle Percy. "Your mother and I will…meet up with him after the train leaves. He seems busy now."

I smirked. I didn't believe Dad for a moment, and he knew it.

We walked past the last of the train carriages towards the front. Quite suddenly, James, Albus, Lily, and my aunt and uncle were all right in front of us.

"Hi," Albus said, looking directly at me.

I could feel Mum's glare boring into the back of my neck. I beamed politely, acting like the perfectly obedient daughter my mother knew I wasn't.

Albus was nice, really he was. But there wasn't anything else to him. I found him courteous and friendly, but overall rather boring.

"Parked all right, then? I did," Dad said to Uncle Harry, unable to keep a note of smugness out of his voice. I tried very hard to keep from rolling my eyes. I failed. "Hermione didn't believe I could pass a Muggle driving test, did you?" He turned to Mum and grinned. "She thought I'd have to Confund the examiner."

"No, I didn't," Mum insisted, "I had complete faith in you."

Oh please. As if.

Mum turned back to the Potters and hugged them all, asking how they all were and how their holiday went. Even though we had seen them all two weeks before, two weeks was an unusually long time for the Potters not to see the Weasleys.

I averted my attention and looked over to Lily and my brother predicting what house they would be in next year. This discussion was beginning to bore me. Albus and I had debated for months whether or not he was destined for Slytherin. As much as I didn't…like him, I couldn't find a nice enough way to tell him he wasn't sneaky enough. His face was like an open book, and he was the worst liar.

Dad and Uncle Harry walked over after lifting Albus' and my belongings onto the train.

"If you're not in Gryffindor, we'll disinherit you. But no pressure.� Dad patted me on the shoulder.

I was too tired of this joke to laugh. Albus was too nervous to find any humour in it, but Hugo, who laughed at most everything Dad said, and Lily, who'd never heard the joke before, giggled.

"He doesn't mean it," Mum and Aunt Ginny reassured us.

"Look who it is," Dad said suddenly. I followed his line of vision to a family of three about fifty yards away. The mist had visibly cleared here, making them very noticeable. They were all blonde, pale, and very attractive.

The tallest one—Draco Malfoy, as I recognized him—acknowledged our presence with a stiff nod when he noticed we were all staring at them.

"So that's little Scorpius. Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie," my Dad said. "Thank God you inherited your mother's brains.�

"Ron, for heaven's sake, don't try to turn them against each other before they've even started school!" my mother scolded, half amused. She was always trying to get me to make more friends with everybody.

"You're right, sorry," Dad said, though he couldn't help but add, "Don't get too friendly with him, Rosie. Granddad Weasley would never forgive you if you married a pureblood."

I vaguely wondered if anybody else's parents were so abnormal as to consider their once archenemy's son their daughter's soul mate. I glanced over at the Malfoys one more time and got a good look at Scorpius. Underneath his icy beautiful features, he looked entirely too proud of himself.

The warning bell suddenly rang from the train. I gathered my belongings and packed them onto the train before James could tell me all about cousin Victoire and Teddy getting busy in a compartment somewhere. Dad followed behind me as Mum continued talking with the rest of our family.

"Rosie, be safe," Dad said, leaning on the side of the train before I got in. "And know that your mother is trying to do what she thinks is best for you. She's not used to somebody being unimpressed with her knowledge and experience, though she'd never admit it." He grinned.

"Yes, Dad," I said. He was forever trying to convince me to get along better with Mum. I could see his point sometimes, and I'd even try to follow his advice every once in a while, but he refused to say anything to Mum about it. I knew why, but it still didn't incline me anymore to improve our relationship. Mum's temper was awful when Dad confronted her about such things. I didn't think it was fair, having to compromise so much with her when she put forth so little effort.

"Be sure to write every once in a while. It'll be good to hear how Hogwarts is doing now."

I nodded and let him pull me into a tight hug.

"I'll miss you, Dad."

He smiled. "I'll miss you too, Rosie. But you'll have a great time. And Christmas will come soon."

Mum and Hugo walked up to say their goodbyes.

"Bye, Hugo. Bye, Mum."

"Goodbye, darling," Mum said, and I permitted her to hug me, too. She wasn't an awful person. We just didn't see eye to eye on…many things.

"Bye, Rose. See you at Christmas," Hugo said, and hugged me around my arms. I hugged him back and stepped on the train.


~*~*~


I despise boats.

I mean, really, they're not safe at all. Wood on water. Wood can have holes, knots, and get waterlogged. I don't mean to seem ridiculous, but I've always refused to ride in them. Until, of course, I didn't have a choice. It was a pity, really, because I had always thought Hagrid was an extremely sweet person, bringing surprises for Hugo and me, best of friends with Mum and Dad and all that jazz. He was part of the family, really. Family. Humph.

I sat practically glued to Hagrid the whole way over, and while that made me feel a little safer, the Hogwarts shore still looked entire ages away, even when we bumped into the rocks and he set me down on a rather large one.

"C'mon now, up we go," he shouted back to us as the the first-years struggled to keep up with his long strides, " We're runnin' a bit behind schedule t'nigh’. and we wouldn't wan' t’ upset the headmistress, would we?"

I had the nagging suspicion our tardiness was due to my irrational fear of boats and refusing to get in one, though Hagrid was kind enough to not mention that.

Hogwarts had seemed a monstrosity from far away, but up close, I felt vastly disproportional. I ran my fingers along the smooth bricks as we walked up to the front entrance, where a man I knew as Uncle Neville stood, grinning and waving. Hagrid raised a hand in greeting and unintentionally gave the side of my face a good whack. I hadn't removed myself from Hagrid's side after leaving the boat. I yelped as the force of it knocked me back a few steps.

Hagrid's hand quickly found mine. "Oh, Rose, so sorry."

I took a hold of his outstretched hand, the culprit of my smarting cheek, and let him hoist me back in line.

"-'S alright." I muttered. I was starting to think Teddy's clumsiness had rubbed off on me.

As soon as every first-year was gathered in the entry hall and Uncle Neville and Hagrid locked the twin oak doors, Uncle Neville came to the front of our small group.

"-'Ello, everyone, and welcome to Hogwarts!" He looked around at our group, and, knowing not to expect a response from a terrified group of first-years like us, he continued with his speech. "My name is Professor Longbottom, and I'm the deputy headmaster - and head of Gryffindor house. I will also be your Herbology Teacher," he added, smiling. "We'll walk into the Great Hall, and when your name is called, I want you to climb up to the stool that's set out for you." Neville looked at his watch. "Come on, then. In we go."

Two large doors behind him swung open and we marched inside, almost as though we had rehearsed this.

We all walked in, staring straight ahead, until someone in front stopped. The rest of very noticeably and hastily stopped to avoid the embarrassment of bumping into each other. A rather plump woman with a lop-sided hat smiled warmly down at us, opened a roll of parchment, and called the first name.

" Appleby , Jordan ."

The tattered old Sorting Hat had barely touched the girl's head when it called "RAVENCLAW!" The table to the far left cheered as she jumped off the stool and ran down to them.

I was sorry to discover I missed most of the Sorting after that. I knew I would most likely be the last one called, and I became mesmerized by the ceiling decorations. It was just when I was thinking that I could stare up there forever that I was brought back to reality with a jolt - the plump woman in front called, "Weasley, Rose."

I placed the tattered hat on my head, and it was like having to share my mind.

"Oh, my, quite interesting, yes. Yes, you're a tough one indeed. Gryffindor family, hmm? Yes, yes, you've certainly got a lot of bravery in you. But I suspect something else, something sitting deep inside you. You're a sly one, my dear...quite interesting, yes. Hmm...better place you in -

"SLYTHERIN!"

I thought I was going to die.

I saw my father's face flash in front of me, warning, "If you're not in Gryffindor, I'll disinherit you." His joke seemed like a very real threat to me now. He was shouting so loud at me inside my head I was surprised nobody else could hear him.

I opened my eyes. I saw my cousins James, Victoire, and Albus all staring up at me in complete shock from the Gryffindor table. I don't think the worst spells or potions in the universe could have made me feel any more inferior right then, because their eyes did that and then some. But I got up, set the hat on the stool, and walked over to the silent Slytherin table with my head high. I sat down quickly, hoping to throw the attention away from me. I tried my hardest to look calm and collected, just like I should have been feeling a few feet over at the Gryffindor table. But inside my head, I was devastated and wondered where the hell I had gone wrong.