Rose looked at Professor McGonagall, momentarily shocked, before she started to speak. –Professor, please, you have to understand-â€
–Rose Weasley, unless you would like to join Mr. Malfoy, you will do well to hold your tongue!†she snapped, her brows furrowed. Rose gulped and glanced at Scorpius.
–It's okay, guys,†Scorpius said, probably more bravely than he felt. –I'll... see you all later.â€
The now six friends climbed into their carriage slowly, watching as McGonagall led Scorpius away.
–Think he'll be alright?†Rose asked softly as the wheels on their carriage began turning, and they began the slow journey up to the castle.
–He'll be fine,†Thomas said, tossing his hair out of his face.
–Are you sure, Tom?†Alaina said quietly, shifting slightly in her seat beside Lily. –McGonagall looked ready to spit fire.â€
Lily glanced around at them all, the worry clearly etched on her face. –Think about it, you guys. She's always had a huge soft spot for us, right? She loved our parents... But for Scorpius? His father was in Slytherin, an opposing house. She might resent Scorpius.†Albus tilted his head.
–Do you really think she'd judge him based upon Draco?†he inquired, thinking it over. –I mean, sure, from the stories Mum and Dad have told me, his dad was a prat. But Scorpius is so different from his father! He has great grades, he's polite to all the teachers and students, and he's often talking all of us out of doing stupid stuff.â€
–I guess we'll find out soon enough,†James said.
The castle soon loomed into view, the rest of the ride silent, each in their own thoughts. As the carriage rolled to a slow stop, the three boys leaped out first and helped Alaina, Rose, and Lily out. Another carriage quickly followed, filled with a few fifth year boys; James' friends.
–Well, it was fun, youngins, but I really must be going now,†he said, ruffling Albus' hair before taking off. Albus tried hurriedly to fix his hair.
–Why does everyone keep doing that?†he asked grumpily. Rose patted him lightly on the head, laughing.
–You've just got that kind of hair, Al,†she said, grinning. He swatted her away, and they all began walking up to the castle, laughing.
They joined the flow of students making their way into the entrance hall, up the main staircase, and into the Great Hall. The torches on the walls danced merrily as they took their seats at the Gryffindor table. Lily and Alaina sat next to Lea Finnegan and Alex Thomas, their friends also in their third years. Albus, Rose, and Tom sat further up the table together, quietly awaiting their friend.
Soon, the doors of the hall were flung open, and the line of tittering, nervous first years made their way up the aisle, followed by, to their surprise, Scorpius and McGonagall. Their friend took his seat beside Rose, ignoring their curious looks.
Albus watched Professor McGonagall take her seat at the High Table slowly, as the Assistant Headmaster, Neville Longbottom (Thomas and Alaina's dad), set out the Sorting Hat and stool for the first years.
As the Sorting Hat began its song, Albus leaned towards Scorpius. –So what happened?â€
–She's given me detention every Saturday for the first month, and she's going to write to my father,†Scorpius whispered. –I think she let me off easy because I explained to her what I had been hitting Ian for, and he admitted to it.†Albus nodded in acceptance.
–She didn't seem very angry when you came in, actually,†Rose murmured softly. –Why was that?â€
–Before we came in, she said that while it was a noble thing for me to have done, defending my friends, it was uneccessary,†Scorpius explained. –I reckon she would've let me off completely if she thought no one would complain.†Rose smiled, glad that McGonagall knew how to not hold grudges. She patted Scorpius' hand under the table, and his usually pale face flamed red.
Just as they finished speaking, the Great Hall erupted into applause; the Sorting Hat had finished its song.
–First years, if you will step up to the stool when I call your name. You will sit down, and I will place the hat on your head. This is how you will be placed into your separate Houses,†Professor Longbottom announced to the shivering eleven-year-olds.
–Adiel, Francis,†he called, and a small boy with sandy blonde hair and a spattering of freckles walked slowly up to the stool and took his seat. The hat fell over his eyes, and after a moment it shouted out, –HUFFLEPUFF!†The Hufflepuff table all cheered, welcoming the now grinning boy to their family.
–Hope we get some good ones this year,†Thomas muttered to his friends. –Remember last year's batch of new kids? They followed Albus around like he was some god.†Everyone but Albus snickered quietly.
The Sorting continued without a hitch, ending on –Walace, Avangelise,†(–GRYFFINDOR!â€) before it was taken from the hall. As the applause from the Gryffindors settled down, Professor McGonagall stepped up to the podium in front of the High Table.
–Good evening, everyone,†she called. –To the new students, welcome! And to our older students, welcome back! I trust that this year will be a good one. But I'll bore you with my speech later; now, a feast!†She waved her hand gracefully and the hall filled with bright colors and delighted gasps as the plates before them filled with food.
Rose smirked at Scorpius as he immediately began to fill his plate to the point of overflowing with the fantastic feast laid out before them.
–Slow down there, bud,†Rose laughed, carefully spooning some potatoes onto her own plate. –You'll want to save some room for dessert.â€
Soon, everyone's bellies filled to the brim, the food was Vanished and McGonagall approached the podium once more.
–Another fantastic feast,†she said with satisfaction, smiling around at them all. –As I said before, welcome to you all. Our Caretaker, Mr. Forre, as asked me to tell you all that the list of banned objects is able to found on his office door. The Forbidden Forest is, obviously, out-of-bounds, to any of you who do not wish to be in great peril and or pain.†A bit down their table, the four friends saw one of the first years whisper frantically to his neighbor about this piece of information.
–Those of you who wish to try out for your House Quidditch team can submit your names to your Head of House, who will give it to your Captain. Otherwise, I have no news to share with you all, so off you all go to bed.â€
With the scraping of many benches, everyone in the hall stood, the sound of many voices mingling and filling the air. –C'mon, you all, let's go before we get too badly trampled,†Thomas said with a smile. Rose and Scorpius, on the opposite side of the table from Thomas and Albus, got lost briefly, before they met the two again at the end of the table. They could hear the Prefects yelling for the first years to follow them, and they all grinned at each other; how stressful it would be, to be a Prefect.
Rose knew her mum expected her to become a Prefect next year. Honestly, Rose didn't want it. She didn't fancy having to boss everyone around. She knew that she probably would be made one, sadly. Her grades were always the top of the class, and she'd never been in trouble with a teacher. Often left to her own thoughts, she wondered who'd be the boy Prefect. Maybe Albus? He'd always been a bit of a teachers' pet. But he did like to stir up trouble. Perhaps Thomas; he was a stickler to the rules, mostly because his dad's a teacher, though his grades are sometimes a bit low.
That left Scorpius. He had never been like his father; never arrogant, never talked back, always focused on his school work and helping his friends. He was a bit of an obvious choice. Then, of course, it could be one of the other boys in their level; Tyler Ream, Alexander Pollis, and George Day. But she didn't think it was very likely.
–Rose!†Albus was shouting in her face, grinning madly. –Did somebody zone out completely?†She slapped him away, sticking out her tongue.
–Oh, shut up,†she groaned, the three boys snickering at her. They were at the portrait of the Fat Lady now, dressed in her usual pink frilly dress.
–Waterlily,†Thomas said to her, stating the password. She smiled and the painting swung open, revealing the Gryffindor Common Room. It was mostly empty, besides Tyler Ream; they had taken a short cut and had gotten here quite quickly. Albus' father had given him a map of the school, called the Marauders' Map, in his third year. It's come in handy many times when they were in a bit of a tight situation.
–Hey, you guys,†Tyler spoke up from a chair by the fire as the four of them took their seats in the plushy armchairs. –Good summer?â€
–Fantastic,†Scorpius responded. –Yours?â€
–Dull,†Tyler said with a grin.
Rose glanced around at the faces of her friends: Scorpius, his eyes on her, as they always were; Albus, completely checked out of any conversation going on between the five of them; Tom, grinning like an idiot at something Tyler had said jokingly. She felt content.
Never The Same by foreverandalways14
Chapter Notes: Hope you guys enjoy it! :)
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