Albus Potter made his way through the train, peering into compartments as he went, while telling the story of a particularly amusing prank he had pulled over the summer to his best mate, Scorpius Malfoy.

"You should have seen the bloke's face!" Al concluded, laughing, as he stopped in front of the compartment that he had been looking for and pulled open the door. "Hi Rosie. Thanks for saving a compartment for us."

Rose looked up from the book she'd been reading and acknowledged her cousin with a smile. Scorpius followed Al into the compartment, laughing as well.

"I wish I could have been there, mate. I really do."

Al had just lifted his trunk onto the overhead storage rack when the sudden silence that had settled on the trio caught his attention. He glanced over his shoulder, nearly dropping the heavy luggage on himself when he observed the way that his cousin and best friend were staring at each other.

"Oh bugger it all," Al thought to himself as he pushed his trunk fully onto the rack and turned around, looking back and forth between the two. They both seemed frozen, wearing expressions of mild shock as they took in each other's appearance. Al found himself remembering a conversation he had shared with his Dad during the summer.

Albus tumbled off his broom as it swooped low to the ground and lay, sprawled on the grass in front of his Dad and Uncle Ron, breathing heavily.

"All right there, Son?" Harry asked, with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Rose...new broom...fast...can't keep...up," Albus panted, pointing a finger upward in the vague direction of his cousin, who was still swooping around through the air along with several other redheads.

Ron began to chuckle. "See that, Harry? That's my little girl who is kicking your son's arse!"

Harry ignored the jibe, leaning forward to offer his son a hand and hoist him up into a sitting position. He then conjured a glass, filled it with water, and handed that to Al, who accepted it gratefully and began to drink.

"You kids seem to be having a good summer," Harry commented, sitting back in his chair and looking up at the bevy of flying teenagers.

"Of course," Al responded. "It's not quite the same without Scor here though. I don't know what his parents are playing at, making him stay home this year. It's not as if they ever cared before. He told me once that his Dad thought he was 'making important connections' by being friends with me and Rose."

Both Harry and Ron laughed at this.

"Imagine that, Harry! We're 'important connections' now! Back in school we were just a couple of blood traitors. Now he's encouraging his son to rub elbows with us!" Ron laughed.

"Yes, well, Draco was always more interested in image and status than anything else," Harry commented.

"Yeah, he's always pestering Scor about 'redeeming the Malfoy name'. It drives him mad," Al replied.

"I can imagine," Harry agreed. Suddenly, Harry grinned and turned to look at Ron. "I wonder how Draco will take it when Scorpius decides to officially join our family."

"Harry!" Ron spoke with warning in his voice. "We are not having this discussion again."

Harry chuckled. "I wasn't the one who first mentioned it, mate. You said it yourself at King's Cross. I'm just telling you it's going to happen sooner or later. You might as well get used to the idea."

"What are you two on about?" Al interjected with an expression of deep confusion on his face.

"Your father has a theory," replied Ron. "He thinks Scorpius and Rose will end up together."

"Together?"

"Married," Ron clarified.

Al looked back at his father with a horrified expression. Harry just laughed.

"I'm sure it seems absurd to you, Son, but trust me. I've seen it before. One minute you're all three great friends and having lots of laughs together and the next thing you know, you're standing in the middle of a war zone while your two best friends are snogging each other like there's no tomorrow."

"Oy! That's not fair. At that point, we weren't sure there was going to be a tomorrow!" Ron shot back.

"Nevertheless," Harry replied. "Just be prepared, Al. It can be a bit disorienting when you find yourself the odd man out for the first time. They'll always be your best friends. It just changes things somewhat."

Al was quiet for a moment as he sat on the pitch, watching his cousins fly around above him.

"I don't know, Dad," he commented. "I really don't see Rose and Scorpius becoming a couple. I mean, they're great friends and all, but they're always bickering and sniping at each other."

Ron rolled his eyes and scowled. Harry only smiled.

Al was shocked from his revirie by the realization that both of his friends were now staring at him rather than at each other. Scorpius had asked him a question. What had it been? Something about next summer.

"Right, mate. Next year," he muttered, dropping into a seat while Scorpius stowed his luggage. Had his father been correct? Were his cousin and his best mate starting to fancy each other? What if they started dating? What if they started snogging? Al shuddered slightly as Scorpius pulled out a pack of exploding snap cards and they began to play. As much as he tried to focus on the game, Al couldn't help but notice that Scorpius kept sneaking glances at Rose as she sat in the corner, reading her book. Merlin, this year was going to be awkward!