“Don’t become too friendly with him, Rose.�

Her father had told her that just a couple of minutes earlier and here she was already fantasizing about that mysterious Scorpius Malfoy. Good Merlin she was hopeless. Maybe it was the fact that he was now suddenly off limits that got her so intrigued. Now she found herself glancing his way every two minutes!

It was the first of September and Rose Weasley was just about to board The Hogwarts Express. She was finally going to Hogwarts, something she dreamed about every night since she was six years old. She was prepared to have the time of her life.

The whistle blew, signaling to the families and students on the platform that the train was ready for departure. She pecked her mother and father on the cheek, hugged her little brother, and waved to her aunt and uncle. She climbed onto the steam engine and made her way into a compartment that was occupied by her two cousins, Al and James.

She sat down next to Al, who was also a first year. “Excited?� she asked him.

“Yeah,� he replied. But Rose knew that he was nervous for the Sorting. He was afraid he was going to be picked for Slytherin instead of Gryffindor. She just gave him a sympathetic smile when something caught her eye outside the compartment.

There he was: Scorpius Malfoy. His face was blank as he passed the door and continued on down the train. What was he hiding under that mask, void of any emotion? It was almost as if, as if he didn’t even want to be there.

“Rose? Rose? ROSE!� James was waving his hand in front of her face, apparently trying to get her attention. She started and looked at James. He had the most puzzled look on his face. “Honestly,� he said shaking his head. “Do you want something off the cart?� The witch who pushed the cart full of candy smiled kindly at her. “Oh,� Rose replied, “No thank-you.�

James still looked oddly at her. Rose, however, paid no attention to him and went back to thinking about Scorpius. She had to know why he seemed so miserable. What was his story? “EARTH TO ROSE!� James yelled. Rose did a sort of jump in her seat, startled by the sudden noise. “Merlin, what’s with you? I’m going to go catch up with some friends. You two will be all right here?� Rose and Al nodded and James left the compartment.

The two sat in silence for a moment before Al said, “I saw you staring at the Malfoy kid.� Rose raised her eyebrows and said a little defensively, “So what?� Al shrugged. “Nothing. It’s just, he hasn’t got a very good reputation.�

Rose let that sink in; not a very good reputation? At last she said, “What do you know about him?�

“Not much. Just that his family were big supporters of You-Know-Who.�

“Honestly Al, he’s dead, it’s okay to call him Voldemort. And anyway, just because his family was like that doesn’t mean he’s the same!� Why was she getting so worked up about this? She didn’t even know the kid!

Al shrugged again and raised his hands in an “I get it� sort of way. “Okay, okay. I only thought I’d tell you before you go making friends with the wrong sort.�

The wrong sort. Who was he to make judgments about the wrong and right people to hang out with? He didn’t know anything.

Al and Rose just stared at each other until there was a knock on the compartment door. A girl slid it open and she stood sort of hesitantly in the doorway. Rose could see a boy who looked remarkably like her standing a bit behind her. “Are those seats taken?� she asked. “Everywhere else is full.� Rose nodded encouragingly and the two stepped into the compartment and sat down opposite Al and Rose. “I’m Rose,� she said, “And this is my cousin, Al.� The girl introduced herself as Nadine and the boy Gregory. They were twin Muggle-borns.

“You don’t think we’ll be terribly far behind everyone else, do you?� Gregory asked. “Us being Muggle-born and all. I expect you already know a lot about magic and Hogwarts.�

Al shook his head. “Oh no, most everyone starts at the same level at Hogwarts. Even purebloods.� This seemed to reassure them both because a moment ago they had looked like they were about to be sick. Now, they were getting a little color back in their faces.

They spent the rest of the train ride talking and laughing and eating. Nadine and Gregory thought it horrifying that they actually eat frogs, even made of chocolate! This made Rose and Al laugh very hard until Al explained that they aren’t real frogs. The four changed into their Hogwarts uniforms and just waited until they arrived at the castle.

When it was time for the Sorting, all the first years huddled together in the front of the great hall. Professor Webber, the Deputy Headmistress, pulled out a stool and a worn, mangy hat. The sorting began with “Anderson, Avery�. She was a tall girl with long, chocolate brown hair. She became the first new Gryffindor student. It continued with “Benjamin, Erik�(Ravenclaw) and “Collins, Oliver�(Hufflepuff) until it got down to “Malfoy, Scorpius�. The white blonde boy walked slowly up to the sorting hat and sat down on the stool. The hat completely covered his eyes and it stayed silent for a good two minutes. Rose couldn’t help wonder what the hat was saying. Eventually, the hat shouted out “SLYTHERIN!� and he loped off to the table on the far left.

The Sorting finished after all the names had been called. Nadine, Gregory, Al, and Rose were all sorted into Gryffindor and the table gave out an explosion of applause. The feast was magnificent; the table had everything! Roast chicken, potatoes, steak, ham, and succulent turkey. After the deserts were finished, all anyone really wanted to do was plop into bed.

The Prefects led them to the Gryffindor common room, told them the new password (Mugwump), and instructed them all to go straight to bed. Rose went upstairs and into her dormitory with the other first year Gryffindor girls Avery, Nadine, Libby, and Hattie. Rose was extremely tired. The only problem was she couldn’t get to sleep.

Rose crept down the stairs and tiptoed across the common room and out the portrait hole. She didn’t know where she was going; she just started walking. She decided to go down to the kitchens. She wasn’t much hungry, but she could visit with the house elves. She came upon the painting of a big bowl of fruit and tickled the pear like James had told her last summer. She climbed into the kitchens and stopped frozen. There was already someone there.

Scorpius Malfoy was sitting at a small table and a house elf was patting his back in a comforting way. His shoulders were shaking and Rose guessed that he was crying.

“Don’t cry, Mister Malfoy. Slytherin is a… a good house!� she heard the house elf say in a squeaky little voice. This didn’t seem to help much though, for silent tears were streaming down his face. “Maybe if you would try the Sorting hat on again, Mister Malfoy,� the house elf said uncertainly.

“No,� he said. It was the first time Rose had ever heard him speak. “It’s what my parents want. They were in Slytherin too. I just don’t think I’m supposed to be in Slytherin! But I don’t want to disappoint my parents! They would hate it if I were in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, or God-forbid Hufflepuff!� Scorpius was breaking down into hysterics. Rose suddenly became uncomfortable, feeling as if she were intruding on something private.

She tried to back away quickly and quietly, but another house elf had spotted her. “Hello Miss! Would you like some food?�

Scorpius looked up and saw Rose. His face turned red and he hastily wiped his face free of tears.

“I – I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt. I’ll go now.� she turned to walk out the door but a house elf caught up to her. He grabbed her hand and led her to the small table where Scorpius was sitting and sat her down.

“No no! We love having visitors! We will bring you some food!� he squeaked and ran off. Rose looked at Scorpius and saw that he was staring at her. Their eyes met for a second before they both hurriedly looked away. It was a very awkward moment.

“Er, are you okay?� she asked tentatively. Scorpius wiped his face again and looked at her. He didn’t say anything for a minute. Then, “Yeah. I’m fine. I’ve just been going through some stuff.� The reply seemed awfully nice coming from a Slytherin, especially since she was a Gryffindor. She was a little taken aback. Apparently the surprise showed on her face because he asked, “What?�

Rose shook her head. “Nothing,� she said, “You just don’t seem like other Slytherins.�

He didn’t know how to respond. Again, there was a very awkward pause.

“You know,� Rose started. “It’s okay if you don’t want to be in Slytherin. No one will judge you.� He snorted.

“Yeah right, like none of the other Slytherins will hate me because maybe I wanted to be in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. I know I’m a family legacy but I just don’t want to be in Slytherin! The stupid hat wouldn’t even listen to me!�

Rose thought about that. A Slytherin who didn’t want to be in Slytherin. That was probably a first. “Well, not all Slytherins are bad, you know. Maybe you could start a sort of, unification or something between the Houses.�

Scorpius just shook his head. “No one wants to be friends with me. I’m a Slytherin. They would never trust me. I wish they would just give me a chance.�

This was it. This could be the start of a new relationship between Houses. All it would take is one person. Or really, two. Rose reached out and put her hand over Scorpius’. He looked up at her with a mixture of confusion and disbelief.

“I’ll be your friend.�