Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, settings, etc. in this story. They all belong to JK Rowling. I only wish I did. Oh, and one of Ron’s lines in the middle was also stolen from DH epilogue so I don’t own that line either.

A/N: This story was originally three different drabbles combined into a one-shot for a challenge. I am first and foremost a huge Dramione shipper but I thought I would give it a try at writing Rose/Scorpius. This one would be my first so it isn’t amazing but I hope you enjoy!

In Between Red and Green

Rose Weasley walked through the crowds with her parents at her side, looking all around for the Potters. The smoke was dense but soon, she found Albus’ face in front of hers. The smile of relief that displayed on his face mirrored her very own. She was glad that she had Albus with her. They would get through their first day of school together.

While the adults talked of things that didn’t concern them, Rose and Albus discussed their very first magical obstacle: getting through the barrier and onto Platform nine and three quarters.

“W-what if I can’t make it through?” Albus asked worriedly.

“Oh, come on, I’m sure you’ll make it through just fine,” Rose replied, trying to sound confident. Although secretly, she too worried about whether or not she would be able to make it through the barrier. What if Hogwarts made a mistake in sending her a letter? What if she was actually a Squib? What if she didn’t have enough magic to make it through the barrier? How disappointed would her father be? Would her parents then disinherit her or something?

The irrational questions kept running through her head and the worry was harder for her to hide.

She was taken away from her wild thoughts when she became aware that her father was talking to her.

“Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited your mother's brains,” Ron was saying.

Rose looked over to see who he was talking about and landed her eyes on Scorpius Malfoy. She growled inwardly. She heard much about the Malfoy family and how they were die-hard enemies of her family. She heard about how Lucius and her granddaddy were always waging war against one other. She heard about how it was just the same with her own father and Draco.

And now, it was her turn.

And then she felt her mother’s hand on her shoulder. “It’s time to go, honey.” Her mum steered her toward the barrier. And now that Rose was standing in front of it, she began to lose confidence once more.

She looked up at her mum with uncertainty. Hermione sensed her daughter’s worry right away. She looked back at Rose and her eyes began to do all the talking. They were saying, “You can do it. I know you can.” Hermione smiled and squeezed Rose’s shoulder slightly.

Rose smiled back. Who was she kidding? She was no one other than Hermione Granger’s daughter, the brightest witch of the age and the greatest woman Rose ever knew.

Determination fired up in her eyes.

She would make it through the barrier. She would beat Scorpius Malfoy.

She will make her parents proud. She could do whatever she wanted if she tried hard enough.

With such determination, she faced the barrier and ran toward it.

And she emerged victorious.

Rose smiled proudly and looked back at the barrier, waiting for the rest to come through. Albus soon followed her and upon seeing him, they high-fived each other, a small sign of their victory.

Their smiles, however, vanished as it came time for them to say goodbye. Rose looked up at her mum and dad with a sad look on her face. Hermione bent down so that she was face-to-face with her daughter.

“I know you’ll do just fine,” she whispered to her.

Rose had no reply so she just hugged her mum tightly, not wanted to let go.

“You can write to me whenever you want,” Hermione said and then let go of her daughter. Rose smiled up at her mother and knew that she would always be there for her.

After finishing her goodbyes, Rose hopped onto the train and went to find a compartment.

***

Rose settled in and sighed as she sat down. She looked out the window and saw her parents waving enthusiastically at her. She beamed and waved back. The train started moving forward and she watched as her parents became smaller and smaller in the distance and when the train made a turn, they vanished completely from sight.

“It’s going to be strange, isn’t it?” Rose asked Albus who was sitting opposite of her. “You know, living without our family?”

Albus nodded absent-mindedly, who was also looking out the window.

It sure would be strange. Rose had never been so far away from home before and she wondered how it would all be like. She was sure she would miss her parents terribly and just wasn’t sure how life would go on without them.

And then she heard Albus chuckle. “Well, technically,” he said, turning to look at her, “half of our family is actually already at Hogwarts.”

Rose laughed too. She could always count on Albus to give her a laugh when she needed it.

And so, the two of them talked and laughed about the many adventures still yet ahead of them. And before they even realized it, Hogwarts was in their sight.

Seeing Hogwarts before Albus did, Rose jumped up from her seat and exclaimed, “Albus! We’re almost there and you didn’t change into your robes yet! I’ll leave the compartment so you can just change here quickly.”

And without waiting for an answer, she swiftly walked out of the compartment and shut the door behind her. In her haste, she bumped into someone who was trying to pass.

Turning around, she saw that it was none other than Scorpius Malfoy and thinking that he had bumped into her on purpose, she spat out viciously, “Watch where you’re going, Malfoy!”

He raised his brow at her. “And who may you be?” he asked coolly.

“Rose Weasley,” she answered with pride.

“Ah,” he said as if that answered all the questions going through his head, “I’ll like you to know that I didn’t intend on pushing you.”

“Ha! Yeah, I’m sure you weren’t,” she said, not believing a word. “All Malfoys are the same.”

Scorpius chuckled.

“Is there something you find funny?” Rose asked, annoyed by his coolness.

“Why, yes there is. You’re judging me before you even know me. And everyone calls Slytherins the shallow ones,” he said and walked away from her, laughing as he went.

Rose was left rooted in her spot, shocked and dumb-founded by the blow.

Now, this was something she had never expected.

***

Rose stared on and said nothing as the first-years waited outside the Great Hall, waiting to be let in. She could feel the nervousness and the tension in the air as students contemplated what would happen next. She tuned out everything, including Professor McGonagall as she talked to them about the four Houses and how the Sorting ceremony took place and how their lives at Hogwarts would be. It was all stuff she already knew. Things that she didn’t really need to think about.

Albus nudged her. “Why are you so quiet?” he whispered.

Rose was broken out of her reverie. “What?”

“Ever since you came back into the compartment, you’ve been really quiet. Did something happen? What’s on your mind?” he asked her worriedly.

Rose shrugged. “Nothing much.”

Albus gave her a puzzled look yet said nothing for the doors to the Great Hall opened and first-years started walking in.

Rose had told Albus that there was nothing on her mind, yet that was far from the truth. Her encounter with Scorpius left her thoughts in a whirl. Her mind was so set on what the older generations had told her about the Malfoys. They had told her that they were all foul-mouthed, rude, Muggle-born hating people who thought that they were better than everyone else. Rose was so ready to face that kind of personality. She was ready to follow in her parents’ footsteps. And one simple line from Scorpius ruined all that. His words ran through her head over and over again.

You’re judging me before you even know me. And everyone calls Slytherins the shallow ones.

Rose sighed in frustration. What did all this mean?

“Malfoy, Scorpius!” McGonagall called.

Rose snapped out of her reverie once more and looked up to see Scorpius walk up to the Sorting Hat. That hat was placed on his head and everyone waited. Rose fervently wished that she could hear what the Sorting Hat was saying in Scorpius’ mind, but alas, the only thing she could do was hold her breath and wait for the verdict.

The Sorting Hat seemed to take a long time before finally shouting out, “Slytherin!”

Rose let out a sigh. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting but perhaps things for her would have made more sense if he wasn’t placed in Slytherin.

But for now, she could nothing more but wait for her name to be called and soon enough, it was.

Nervousness bubbled up in her stomach and thoughts of Scorpius flew from her head as she walked up and sat upon the stool. McGonagall placed the hat on her head and everything disappeared from view as it fell over her eyes.

“Ah,” it started, “another Weasley. Quite brave like those before you. Yet you have a lot of ambition, a thirst to be the best. Extraordinarily hard-working. A very bright mind, I see. Granger’s daughter, are you? You’ve taken her intelligence. Perhaps Ravenclaw will suit you well.”

“No!” Rose said in her head.

“No? You may just be brighter than your mother. But you want to follow in the footsteps of those before you, eh? Well, if you’re sure, then it better be Gryffindor!”

The Sorting Hat shouted out the last word and the Gryffindor table erupted with cheers. McGonagall removed the hat off Rose and she hopped off the stool, beaming and smiling wider than ever. She went over to the Gryffindor table where she received hugs from her family before she sat down to watch the rest of the ceremony.

And so, for the rest of the night, the students of Hogwarts feasted and celebrated, and Rose managed to keep Scorpius off her mind as she enjoyed her very first day at Hogwarts.

However, he was reunited with her thoughts sooner than she would have hoped for.

As she walked out of the Great Hall with the rest of the first-years, she caught sight of him in front of her. And out of the corner of eye, she saw a notebook fall out of his bag.

She paused, debating what to do next. Should she do the right thing and go give it to him? But he’s a Malfoy! she told herself.

But as much as she hated to admit it, she had wronged him. He was right. She shouldn’t have judged him when she didn’t know him, even if he was a Malfoy. And when she wronged someone, she had been taught to apologize.

So to the surprise of everyone, she picked up the notebook and ran after him.

“Hey! Scorpius!” she yelled.

He turned around and seemed surprised to see her.

“You dropped this,” she said, giving him the notebook. “And, um, I’m sorry about before. You’re right. I shouldn’t have judged you.”

He grinned, taking the notebook, and said, “It was nothing. I kind of expected it anyway, considering our family history and all. Who knows? Maybe you and I can break the tradition of hating each other.” He chuckled.

Rose smiled. “I think I’d like that.”

And so, in between the red and the green, a new friendship began.