A/N: Hi... You may recognize me... Maybe not, you haven't seen me in awhile. It's still me, don't worry. No alien is pretending to be me, I promise (though that would be cool). Don't kill me, just enjoy.

(Scorpius POV)

Finally, Hogwarts has started again. I can't wait to see Rose- I saw Al over the summer, but Rose was cruising with her family in some far-off place. Honestly, I miss my friends. It's only been a few weeks since I saw Al, but I miss him like crazy. And Rose, the mastermind of our pranks last year, would surely have something new planned.

But for now, I'll have to settle for my kitten - well, she's not a kitten anymore, but she still acts like one. She's sitting inside of my trunk, which I still have to pack, despite tomorrow being the first day of second year. She's so cute, though, playing with one of my red and gold ties, that I have to scoop her up and cuddle her. She meows, annoyed at having been interrupted. I set her down and look at the layer of trash at the bottom of my trunk. I don't even know how so much accumulated over only one year, but accumulated it has, and I have to get rid of it somehow. I remember the charm that Rose used before we got off the train at the end of the year, Evanesco. I've been reading up on charms and spells all summer, because Rose beat me in our competition last year and that can't happen again. I try the spell and it works.

"YES!" I shout very loudly, and Dad walks into my room, eyebrow raised. We don't live in Malfoy Manor ever since Dad got disowned and Grandmother divorced Lucius (he doesn't deserve to be called Grandfather). Instead we live in a small house at the edge of a Muggle-Wizard integrated neighborhood, next to a forest, with kilometers upon kilometers of adventures and fun. But I digress. Dad is looking at me like I'm insane, so I explain.

"I mastered the Vanishing Charm." I blush as he stares at me and shakes his head. I swear I hear him muttering about restricting my reading time, but he doesn't mention it. He just turns and walks out of my room, head still shaking. I turn back to my trunk and am absorbed in packing until I hear a tap at my window. I recognize Rose's family owl Azurelle, a pretty snowy owl. She's carrying a package in her claws, and I rush to relieve her. I give her an owl treat and stroke her pretty head, then send her back to Rose. I open the package and find another package and a letter inside. I tear open the letter, eager to hear from one of my best friends.

Hey Scorpius!

I know this is really late (and I'm so sorry!) but I was on a cruise. I think I already told you that. Anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I really hope you enjoy this- it took me ages to think of something that you might like. I'll see you soon!

Rose

The letter flutters onto my bed and I dive for the package, eager for my present. I know it seems self-absorbed, but I have been waiting for ages for this! Rose always gets the best gifts, as I saw last year at Christmas. Then she got me a new sketchbook with new colored pencils bewitched to change to any hue of the shade of the pencil. For instance, the orange pencil could do anywhere from sunset orange to neon orange, and on to infinity. My attention returns to the present at hand, and I rip off the old newspaper that covers it. It's a Muggle book, a fairly recent one I think. It's a 15th anniversary edition and a few years old, a book called The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I instantly love it. I spend the next six hours devouring every inch of it and close the cover with a tear slipping down my cheek. I throw it across the room and curl up in a ball, before I remember that it's a special edition and that I had better take care of it.

I rush across the room and pick up the book. I whisper Reparo under my breath, and luckily the book only repairs itself to the state it was in before I threw it, keeping its beautiful 'gently loved' look. I shake myself and look up, then see my sketchbook still sitting on my bed. I walk over, each step as light as a daydream, and grab it and my pencils. I sketch Liesel, and Rudy, Max, Death, the accordion, the train at the beginning of the book, everything that helps me to process the horrors that Muggles- that people- have experienced. I end up using many of the pages in my sketchbook, and that's when I discover that I will never beat Rose at Charms and Transfiguration. My sketchbook is self-replenishing and self-condensing, which means that no matter how many pages I use up, it will always be the same size and weight, with the same number of blank pages, but all my old sketches will still be there. I hug it to my chest and pack my colored pencils away in their case, then carefully set my art stuff on top of everything else in my trunk. I close the lid, and lock my trunk. Then I go to bed and fall asleep, dreaming of books upon endless books, and laughter in a meadow. It's a happy dream, and it nourishes my mind, keeping it light instead of weighed down.

…..

(Rose POV)

I wake up in the morning and my eyes snap open as I come face to face with big brown doe eyes. My baby brother, Hugo (the owner of the doe eyes) grins and jumps off my bed.

"Rosie! Just one more year!" I know he's referring to his own Hogwarts debut, which I am certain will happen, but I can't help but tease him.

"Unless you're a Squib!" His eyes get really wide and he races downstairs to the kitchen, where Mum is no doubt making bacon and french toast. It's her favorite breakfast and what she says will be our Hogwarts day tradition. Every time I came home for the holidays last year, she made it on my last morning. It's fantastic and the house-elves at Hogwarts don't make it quite the same, so I savor it as much as possible.

"Rose! Don't tease your brother!" She yells up the stairs and I only grin, thinking of all the fun I had over the summer with pranks. I can't wait to get back to Hogwarts! I only hear Mum sigh, and I jump out of bed. My clothes are already laid out, a pair of comfy blue jeans and a nice button up white shirt. My trainers lie on my floor in a heap, and I shove them on as I double-check my trunk's contents. This takes me only a couple minutes, so I have time to shove my hair into a ponytail before I jump downstairs. Sadly, my hair hasn't kept its natural un-frizziness, so it floofs out behind my head after it's been contained. I get downstairs and see Dad sitting at the table with a mug of tea in one of his hands. His other hand has the Daily Prophet pinned to the table, and he looks very angry. Of course, though, he won't tell me. I would assume that it's something about the Weasley-Potter family, probably just paparazzi crap, but his ears are red, and that almost never happens. In fact, the last time his ears turned red was when we had to attend the annual "Rebuilding Ball" that the Ministry holds every year on May 2. That's the day that everyone dreads, because it means that the press will pull our stories out of the semi-privateness they hold for the rest of the year and make up facts about us. It sucks, but we tolerate it because it's better than being public all year round.

"What's that, Dad?" He looks up at me as if seeing me for the first time, and I see true fear in his eyes before he smothers it.

"Nothing, Rose, just some idiot who thinks that the Dark Arts are cool." He tries to reassure me, but I can see that it's something more than that. I don't press the issue, though, because I know it won't get me anywhere.

We eat breakfast, chattering about other things, and then Mom looks at the clock.

"Shoot, Ron, it's 9:30!" Dad rolls his eyes and gathers everyone's dishes. "Ron, I don't trust you around the car anymore, so I'll be driving. Rose, go get your stuff and put it down here. Hugo, I swear to Merlin, if you make one more comment about 'one more year' I will personally make sure that you never go to Hogwarts." Mum has turned into what Dad calls "Mrs. Bossypants mode". He only calls it that behind her back because, of course, she'd kill him if she heard it. We all rush about the small, modest house, doing our best to appease Mum before she becomes murderous.

Inevitably, we leave the house early and get to King's Cross at 10:30, giving us plenty of time. Finn is set atop of my trunk on a trolley, and we head off to platform 9 and 3/4. We get there and claim a chunk of space for ourselves, waiting for everyone else. Uncle George shows up a few minutes after us with his family, and he beckons me over.

"Now, Rosie, as I was just telling Fred, this is all top secret. I've made some new supplies for you, and you can't let anyone know where you got it, seeing as McGonagall's banned my products. Got it?" I nod my head and conceal a grin as he shoves a parcel into my hands. I can only imagine the goodies that he's crammed into it, because Al and his family show up just then, with 5 minutes to spare.

We say all our goodbyes and promise to write before heading towards the train. I bump into Scorpius for the second year in a row when we are inside the train. We all find a compartment together and shut the door, only opening it when our cousins come knocking. In some weird, twisted way, we all manage to fit inside the compartment, and I look around. There are 9 of us:

James, a fourth year;

Fred II, also fourth year;

Roxanne, a sixth year;

Molly, a first year;

Me, Scorp, and Al, second years;

Dom, a third year;

And Lucy, also a third year and Molly's older sister.

Next year Hugo and Lily will be joining us, and I don't know what we'll do for space then.

Someone brings out a chess board, and we hold a mini tournament. I slaughter Fred, move on to dominating Lucy, take Dom down a notch, and annihilate Molly and Roxanne. Finally, it's me against James. I don't know where he learned it, but he's actually pretty good. Too bad Ron Weasley is my dad. It takes me longer than usual to best him, but eventually I do.

As the undisputed champion, I'll play whoever wins the game between Al and Scorpius. I silently hope that Scorpius wins, because I'd love to best him at something. It appears that Al has spent entirely too much time with my dad, though. He beats Scorpius in 5 moves, and I start to grin.

"So, Albus Severus, looks like it's just you and me." He glares at me but I ignore him, opting to crack my knuckles instead. I take my place on the same side of the board as the white pieces, and begin setting them up for a new game. Al does the same thing with his pieces, and then we play.

The game lasts well over half an hour. I'll gain the upper hand, then he will. Then I will, then he will. Truth be told, it's one of the hardest games of chess that I've ever played. Then I see it. Al's left his king wide open to my bishop. I smile deviously, then make my move. I've won the game. I can feel it. I look up at him just in time to see something flash across his face. Next thing I know, his pawn- his bloody pawn- has taken out my bishop, and I'm in checkmate. A scowl slides into my face as my king dies. I manage to remember that it's all fun and games, just a friendly competition, and I relax.

We put away the chess set just as the Trolley Lady is coming around. Between the nine of us, we buy enough candy to restock Honeydukes. Then the inevitable happens. Someone was pushed, or someone stole a Chocolate Frog card, or something else. Al, Scorpius, and I pull back to occupy only a small corner, and Scorp pulls Daria out of her cage. We play with her until someone realizes that we should put on our robes, and then the carriage becomes a frenzied mess. Wrappers are on the floor, books are on the seats, and trunks are falling out of place. I sigh and Vanish all the wrappers. Next I return all books to their rightful owners. I'm about to scold Fred for pulling Dom's hair when I see the castle.

Everyone immediately settles down and crowds around the window. We range from ages eleven to sixteen, yet we somehow forget about that just for a moment. I smile contentedly, glad that my family and friends are one in the same. Then the moment's over, and things return to their barely confined chaos. It's beautiful, really, and I can't wait to spend a whole nother year stuck in the middle of it.

A/N: I really am sorry. I meant to spend so much more time on this over the past year. To all who've read this far, thanks for sticking with me, and I'm sorry again. I hope the length makes up for the time. Please let me know whatever you think about the story this far! See you soon!

(And yes, I really do mean soon!)

~TWLS