I've got some time off of school and I'm not feeling very anime-ish lately. So, I'll write some Harry Potter stuff. Enjoy my second Rose/Scorpius story. I really enjoy reading about and writing about these two.

This entire story is told from Scorpius' side of things. This story will consist of seven chapters (one for each Hogwarts year) and perhaps an epilogue. Don't expect the chapters to be of equal lengths.

On with the show! I hope you enjoy it.

As he stood at the platform at King's Cross, Scorpius Malfoy could feel the butterflies in his stomach.

Well, he wished they were butterflies. They felt more like hippogriffs, or maybe phoenixes. Scorpius was both excited and terrified at the prospect of his first year at Hogwarts.

He was excited at the prospect of learning how to create amazing potions. Excited at the freedom and thrills of flying a broom. Excited at the thought of being introduced to all of the incredible plants that Master of Herbology and recently appointed Head of Gryffindor House Neville Longbottom (Scorpius had read about it in the Quibbler, one of very few stories in that paper that was actual news) would undoubtedly introduce him to.

He was also terrified. Terrified that he'd hurt himself while learning magic. Terrified something would happen to him at the famously odd Hogwarts castle. Terrified that the sorting hat would simply declare him un-sortable and send him home. Terrified that he'd be hated by both students and teachers alike for being a Malfoy. Terrified that his small stature and rather mild demeanor would invite mistreatment from bullies and people who felt they had a score to settle with the Malfoy family.

Terrified that he'd have no friends.

Not that this would be anything new. Scorpius led a rather solitary existence at Malfoy Manor, preferring to wander about the grounds and gardens by himself instead of spending his time in the company of others. Still, he didn't think Hogwarts was something one should face alone.

A commotion grabbed Scorpius' attention and he turned to see a large group of red and black-haired people, with a few browns and blondes mixed in. And one who seemed to have turqouise hair, oddly. Wait, now it was red. Turquoise again. Polka dots?

Scorpius' eyes then settled on the red-haired girl who seemed to be the epicenter of at least a portion of the commotion. She appeared to be his age and was also carting luggage for a trip to Hogwarts.

Scorpius knew it was rude to stare, but he felt compelled. This girl had dark brown eyes, thin lips, furrowed brows, a ridiculous pile of bushy red hair that made it look as though her head were on fire, an uncomfortable-looking ramrod-straight posture, and was so covered in freckles that it looked as though they had been fired onto her skin at close range with one of those muggle 'shotguns'.

A second later her eyes locked onto his and Scorpius looked away, but not before he saw a large red-haired man who he assumed was the girl's father say something to her. The girl glanced his way again, with a slightly harder look on her face, but Scorpius didn't see it. He'd already turned away.

"That lot are the Weasleys and Potters. You've heard of them."

Scorpius was jolted out of his haze by his father's slippery voice. Scorpius had indeed heard of the Potters and Weasleys. Everyone had. This was his first time seeing them in person, though. He hadn't expected such a legendary group to be so...noisy and disorganized.

"I do not want you to antagonize them, but I would rest much more easily at night if you avoided much contact with any of them. Rather unpleasant history, you know." finished Draco

Scorpius' bright, icy blue eyes met his father's steel grays. Apart from the age difference and the eye color, the two Malfoys might as well have been looking in a mirror. Scorpius was smaller than his father had been at that age, but hoped he would hit a growth spurt soon. Draco returned his son's look before looking over towards the large, noisy Potter/Weasley group and giving a curt nod to the black-haired one Scorpius recognized as the famous Harry Potter.

"Oh leave our boy alone, Draco! He'll be friends with whoever he likes." scolded Mrs. Malfoy, somewhat to Draco's chagrin. Astoria leaned down to give Scorpius a hug. "Oh dear, the train is here. Now Scorpius, you be careful at Hogwarts. And make sure you owl us often!" she said as she squeezed her son.

Scorpius smiled and nodded. "I will, mum." He replied in his soft, smooth voice.

"Okay, off with you, before I cry!" Scorpius nodded and boarded the Hogwarts Express, looking back and waving as he did. His parents waved back.

Scorpius had been one of the first to enter the train, so he quickly found an empty compartment and sat down, pulling out the most recent issue of the Quibbler to read. Not even Scorpius' mother knew of his devotion to what his father described as 'a worthless rag full of complete nonsense.' but Scorpius dutifully bought a new issue every month, and kept them hidden in his closet. He found the magazine completely engrossing, if a bit far-fetched at times.

Every so often, a student would slide open the compartment to find Scorpius' small frame occupying a portion of a seat. Upon taking in Scorpius' white hair and deathly pale complexion, they'd quickly make a sour face, having identified his heritage, and slam the compartment door shut. Scorpius would sigh and then go back to reading Luna Scamander's article about her recent (and unsuccessful) expedition to the United States, hunting for the elusive Hodag, a large, horned, lizard-like creature supposedly indigenous to the forests of northern Wisconsin.

The third time the door opened, Scorpius looked up and found himself staring at the redhead girl from earlier. At this distance, Scorpius was able to ascertain that she was several inches taller than him. Her hair looked even more ridiculous up close.

And her face looked even harder. Which was doubly unsettling, since she was staring at Scorpius with an intensity that he found uncomfortable.

Her face was also turning beet red as she looked at him.

Behind her, stood a young man with jet black hair, bright green eyes, square rimmed glasses, and a mild-mannered look on his face.

"May I help you?" Scorpius asked pleasantly. He knew his father said to avoid these people, but that was no reason to be impolite.

The red-faced girl began to splutter a bit, her face growing even redder and Scorpius thought he saw a thin sheen of sweat forming above her wide-open eyes.

"Merlin's beard, Rosie! Are you going to stand there all day?" asked the black-haired boy as he shoved the girl into the compartment. "Sorry to be a bother, but do you mind if we sit here? We got on late and most of the compartments are full." he asked Scorpius.

"Not at all." replied Scorpius from behind the Quibbler . He watched with one eye as the odd pair sat down.

"I'm Albus Potter."

"Scorpius Malfoy" said Scorpius as he extended a hand, which Albus shook with a raised eyebrow, but said nothing else about it.

They both looked at Rose, who did nothing but watch Scorpius out of the corner of her eyes. Albus sighed. "That's my cousin, Rose Weasley." Rose still did nothing.

"Rose, this is..."

"I know who he is!" Rose snapped, interrupting Albus, before turning away and crossing her arms, hiding her red face behind a giant mop of red hair. Albus merely sighed again before turning and mouthing 'sorry' to Scorpius, who himself merely shrugged before returning to the Quibbler.

"Forgive me for being rude, but I wouldn't have expected a Malfoy to be reading the Quibbler." said Albus. Scorpius merely smiled.

"My father hates this magazine. He has no idea that I read it."

"And you are a regular reader?" asked Albus.

"I haven't missed an issue in 4 years." smirked Scorpius. "I find it to be a good distraction from normal life. Right now, I'm worried about being sorted, and this magazine is a welcome diversion."

Albus nodded enthusiastically. "I know what you mean. My brother keeps teasing me, saying I'll be the first Potter sorted into Slytherin."

Scorpius ignored the comment about his family's usual house, and said "I'm just worried that the sorting hat will declare me a lost cause and send me home." with a weak smile. "That, and my grandfather hexing me if I don't end up in Slytherin."

Albus just nodded politely at the mention of the serpentine house, before turning his attention back to Rose, leaving Scorpius to continue reading his Quibbler in peace.

After a somewhat harrowing boat ride across the lake (the giant squid had raised a few tentacles out of the water near the boats, scaring several children badly.) and suffering through the sorting hat's song and a stern lecture on necessary decorum for the sorting ceremony from Headmaster McGonagall, Scorpius found himself fidgeting as he stood and waited for the sorting hat to call his name.

"Flint, Elizabeta!"

Scorpius watched as a somewhat dark-complexioned girl with a nasty scowl and the worst teeth he'd ever seen sauntered up and placed the hat on her head. After a few moments of deliberation, the hat called out "SLYTHERIN!"

Scorpius heaved a breath. So far, all of the people sorted into that house had either been big, looked mean, or was big and looked mean. 'Am I going to be safe in that house? Maybe I don't want to be sorted into it after all.'

"Karlssen, Ida!"

A very tall girl who appeared to be half-Viking and half-Veela fluttered towards the stool, leaving a wake of confused but aroused boys in her wake.

"RAVENCLAW!"

Scorpius began to sweat. His name would be called soon. 'I sure hope I don't trip on my way to the hat. Dad would never let me live that down. Well, the hat should be calling my name any time now...though if the idiot currently being called never moves, I suppose it won't. Just who the heck are we waiting on, anyway?"

"MALFOY! SCORPIUS! ARE YOU HERE?!"

Scorpius blushed beet red and ducked his head as he quickly scuttled towards the front. He was idly aware of Rose Weasley snickering as he did. Apart from that, the hall had gone silent as soon as he'd emerged from the crowd. Scorpius sat down and sheepishly placed the hat on his head.

"Ah, a Malfoy. It has been quite some time since one of you have worn me." mused the hat as he sat on Scorpius' head.

"Hello, Mr. Hat." greeted Scorpius politely.

"Well, that is certainly a nicer greeting than I normally get from you lot. Now, let's see where you belong, young man." And with that the hat began probing Scorpius' head.

Hmmm. I sense potential here, definitely potential. The Malfoy family rarely produces untalented wizards. But, you lack the ambitions of your predecessors. Nor are you very aggressive. I fear that Slytherin simply won't do.

Scorpius felt relieved, to his own surprise as well as the Sorting Hat's.

Oh-ho! Didn't want Slytherin, eh? You truly are a unique Malfoy! Moving along....you seem to lack the bravery and selflessness required of a Gryffindor....yes, Gryffindor is not a good fit for you. You're no fool, I can sense that. But, you lack the natural genius and wit required of a Ravenclaw.

"Hey!"

Please do not take offense, young man. Hmm. I suppose this only leaves us with one option, doesn't it? And since I'm sensing both a gentle temperament and a willingness to work, I don't doubt that is is the best option. Scorpius Malfoy, I hereby declare you a...

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

At that, Scorpius quickly got up and made his way over to the Hufflepuff table, too intent on getting out of the spotlight to worry about the fact that he was the first Malfoy ever sorted into Hufflepuff. Though, the look on his face said otherwise. Everyone else looked equally shocked or confused, and apart from some polite applause from a few Hufflepuffs the entire hall was deathly silent.

Scorpius threw himself onto the bench of the Hufflepuff table and heaved a breath. It was over. Now, he could watch the rest of the first years suffer through their sortings. Tomorrow he could worry about sending an owl back home with the news.

"Longbottom, Frank!"

Scorpius watched as a lanky, awkward-looking boy with dark hair and teeth almost as bad as Flint's scuttled to the sorting stool. A moment later, he was scuttling towards the Gryffindor table. The nervous boy had stood up so fast to get away that the sorting hat had simply fallen backwards off of his head and landed on the stool, squawking indignantly the whole way.

"Longbottom, Nancy!"

Scorpius looked up in surprise. This time, a rather chubby girl with blonde hair in two pigtails, blue eyes and red cheeks scurried towards the sorting hat. 'She must be a fraternal twin.' thought Scorpius.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

A second later, the chubby blonde girl was sitting next to Scorpius, breathing heavily and looking both relieved and somewhat disappointed. Scorpius decided to make conversation. "Did you expect to sorted into the same house as your brother?" The girl jumped, startled.

"Oh, I..um." she looked a bit perturbed at Scorpius' attention.

"Look, I realize what family I'm descended from, but I'm not going to bite, I promise." said Scorpius with a pleasant smile. The girl glanced at him for a moment, before relaxing and smiling herself.

"Well, yes. But this is okay too. My mum was a Hufflepuff herself." Scorpius nodded politely.

"I'm Nancy Longbottom, by the way. That's my father up there, I was rather hoping to be sorted into his house, I admit. But mum will be pleased with how things turned out." said Nancy as she motioned towards Professor Neville Longbottom, who appeared to be chatting with a considerably grayed Rubeus Hagrid as he sat at the staff's table at the front of the room.

"I'm Scorpius Malfoy, just like the hat said." Scorpius shook her hand. "And, if it makes you feel any better, I'm the first Malfoy ever to be sorted into Hufflepuff, as you might have guessed." They both laughed. "But, I think I'm content with my placement if the rest of the Hufflepuffs are as pleasant as you." Nancy smiled again, but before she could say anything, McGonagall's voice rang out again.

"Potter, Albus!"

Scorpius and Nancy both looked very interested at the imminent sorting of the Chosen One's son.

When Albus emerged from the crowd, the hall went just as silent as it had when Scorpius had gone up. It probably didn't help that both boys were the spitting images of their fathers.

But, unlike when Scorpius had been sorted, nobody was surprised when the hat yelled out "GRYFFINDOR!" only seconds after being placed on Albus' head. Everyone clapped loudly when he made his way to the Gryffindor table. Scorpius sighed and deflated a little at that, wishing his own sorting had gone so well. Nancy put a hand on his shoulder and offered a few encouraging words, which made Scorpius feel a lot better.

A few more names and sortings, and then;

"Weasley, Rose!"

Everyone watched as the bright plume of bushy red hair with a tall freckled girl attached to it made it's way to the front, and mashed the sorting hat down over her voluminous coif.

Nancy glanced over at Scorpius and took in the rather pensive expression he had on his face.

Scorpius' sorting had been greeted with near-total silence. But even that seemed like the world's loudest Quidditch match when compared with what followed when the hat yelled

"SLYTHERIN!"

Even Rose herself looked stunned. Even more so than everyone else. But, she quickly composed herself and strode over to the Slytherin table and sat down. She was the first Weasley to have ever done so.

Soon after, McGonagall gave her welcoming speech and commenced the feast. As the mountains of food appeared on the tables, Scorpius and Nancy tucked in. Nancy with considerably more enthusiasm than Scorpius. As the two happily chatted about Hogwarts and Malfoy Enterprises and living above the Leaky Cauldron and their families a variety of other subjects, Scorpius was struck with a thought.

'It's only my first night and I've already made a friend!'

And he felt greatly relieved that one of his biggest fears had already been proven false. Nancy's presence was already strengthening Scorpius' resolve about being the best Hogwarts student he could be.

While Albus Potter had been polite and nice, he had not shown any inclination towards wanting to be Scorpius' friend, and Scorpius had felt the same way. But with Nancy, Scorpius was pretty sure he'd enjoy having her company at Hogwarts. Scorpius decided to make sure he earned her trust and friendship.

Shortly later, as everyone was shuffling towards their respective living quarters, Scorpius and Nancy overheard a girl with a rather loud voice talking behind them. It was Rose, talking to a few of her new Slytherin housemates.

It seemed that Rose fit into Slytherin a bit better than anticipated.

"...and did you see that idiot who didn't go up to get sorted until the fourth time he was called? Yeah, Malfoy. He looks like an albino gerbil! I bet he IS just as bad as the rest of his family! And into Hufflepuff no less! What a wanker. Did you know he reads the Quibbler? Apparently he hasn't missed an issue in years! I wonder if he believes that garbage. And look, he's even found himself a nice Hufflepuff cow girlfriend already!"

Scorpius tensed, but Nancy just shook her head. "Don't let the bullies get to you, Scorpius. It's not worth it." she said quietly.

Scorpius nodded but he wasn't happy. 'I didn't do a single thing to deserve any of that! And neither did Nancy! So what if I read the Quibbler and so what if Nancy is a little portly? It's not like the Slytherins are an attractive bunch! And she wouldn't even be civil on the train! You know what? Dad was right, I think it best if I avoid these people.

And I think I hate Rose Weasley.'

I think my Rose is kind of nasty. And my Scorpius is kind of a weenie.

Yeah, there was very little Rose/Scorpius interaction here, but that was intentional. Every chapter after this one is going to be a scene involving direct actions between our Slytherin and our Hufflepuff, so don't worry. And the chapters should have more dialog as well. I honestly think this chapter will be the weakest one in the end, so maybe give the second a chance if you weren't blown away by this one.

Nancy and Frank are obviously the children of Neville and Hannah. I decided that they would be fraternal twins, and that they would be named after deceased grandparents. Frank for Neville's father, and Nancy for Hannah's unnamed mother. Frank won't be seen much, but Nancy will pop up. She becomes Scorp's best friend, after all.

If you want to know what a Hodag is supposed to look like, check wikipedia.

I appreciate feedback, since it tells me how well I did with my writing.