Albus Potter leaned out of the window, waving as hard as he could as his parents disappeared in the steam from the train. He pulled himself back in, suddenly feeling lost. He turned around and with great relief realised that Rose Weasley was beside him. He smiled at her and she smiled back.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"I don't really know," Albus answered, shrugging.
"Come on," Rose said, laughing slightly. "Let's go find a compartment." She pulled on his cloak and practically dragged him down the corridor. There was only one compartment that wasn't jam-packed, and Rose pulled on the door and slid it open. There were two people inside, a boy and a girl, and they didn't seem to be talking.
"Hey guys," Rose said with her usual brashness. Albus looked at her admirably. "All the other places are full, so can we come in here." She obviously wasn't asking a question.
The boy nodded. The girl just shrugged. Rose walked in, yanking Albus in behind her. She sat down, and Albus settled down next to her. There was silence for a while.
"I'm Rose," Rose announced. The boy looked at her. The girl continued to stare out the window. Albus remembered seeing to boy on the platform, and his dad and Ron talking about him. He was sort of zoned out on what they said though. "This is Albus," she continued.
"I can speak for myself," Albus muttered. Rose didn't hear him.
"Well," she said. "Who are you?"
The boy shrugged. "Scorpius Malfoy," he said.
"Oh," said Rose, failing to hid her surprise and mild dislike. "So that's you."
The boy looked confused.
"And what about you?" Rose turned to the girl.
The girl faced Rose. "I'm Amanda Thomas."
"Okay," replied Rose.
"Do you know who I am?" she said.
"No," Rose addmitted, shaking her head.
The girl snorted angrily.
"Your Dean Thomas's daughter," Albus said quietly.
"Who?" Rose asked.
"Dean Thomas. He plays a chaser on the Quidditch team for England."
"Yeah," said the girl, looking at Albus. He thought he almost saw her smile. "That's right. Who are you then?"
Rose made a noise like a snort. Amanda looked at her. "What's your problem?"
Rose glared at her. “I don’t have one.”
Albus rolled his eyes.
Amanda looked at him. “So who are you?” she asked, obviously curious.
“Albus Potter,” Albus muttered. He stared at his lap. He hated being known.
“Oh, really?” said Amanda, leaning forward, staring into Albus’s face. Albus blushed.
“Yeah.”
“Wow! That’s so cool!” Amanda said. “My dad used to know your dad.”
“Yeah,” Albus repeated. He looked over at Scorpius. The boy looked flushed and was glaring out the window.
The compartment door slid open, and James Potter stuck his head in. “You okay Albus? Dad said to keep an eye on you.” His face looked concerned enough, but Albus knew that smile. James was looking for entertainment.
"Yeah, fine thanks,” he said, lifting up his chin.
“You okay Rose?”
Rose folded her arms. “Yes, I’m grand, I’m not a baby.”
James grinned, and looked around the compartment. He spotted Scorpius. His furrowed his eyebrows. He turned to Albus. “Hey, Al, can I talk to you for a sec?”
“No,” Albus said, snuggling back in his seat.
James reached in and grabbed Albus’s cloak and yanked him out. He slid the door behind them and pulled Albus down the corridor a bit, keeping a tight grip on Albus’s arm. Finally Albus yanked his arm away.
“What the hell was that all about?” he snapped angrily.
James sighed. “Look Al, I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but making friends with one of the guys Dad hates the most might not be the best idea.”
“What?”
“Scorpius Malfoy is Draco Malfoy’s son Al,” James sighed.
“So?” Albus said.
“Oh, don’t be so thick…”
“Shut up James! Just leave me alone,” Albus snapped, tired of James annoying him.
“Al!” James snapped back. “Just be quiet okay? Let me speak!”
“You have spoken! And I don’t know what you’re going on about and if I did, I wouldn’t care.” Albus stormed back the way he had come.
“Albus!” James called after him.
Albus ignored him. James caught up with him and swung him around. Albus almost looked like he was about to cry. “Leave me alone,” he said. “I can look after myself.”
“I know,” James said, shaking his little brother’s shoulder. ‘Here’s some money for the sweet trolley.” He put three galleons in Albus’s hand.
“Thanks, Jamie.”
“S’okay. Just…. Think about what I said.”
“Maybe,” Albus said, smiling a little now. Then he turned and walked back to his compartment.
James stood there, thinking for a minute. He tapped his leg, like he always did when he was thinking. Then he turned around himself and made his way back to his friends.
He was worried. He didn’t want his little brother mixing up with that crowd.
