all the whispers of the possible become clear

Chapter 3: 3rd Year

September came around quickly, and now it was Lily and Hugo's turns to board the Hogwarts Express for the first time. Rose secretly couldn't wait until they got used to Hogwarts – it had been tiring to handle their incessant questions about the school over the summer holidays.

Unlike the previous year, Scorpius glanced into their carriage and started walking off instead of entering. Albus frowned and called his friend's name. Scorpius retraced his steps rather reluctantly and slid the doors open. "Hey."

"Hey. Want to sit with us?" Albus asked, belatedly realising that Scorpius might want to sit with the other Slytherin third-year students instead. It also then occurred to him that he always ended up sitting with his cousins rather than seeking out his year-mates from Gryffindor.

Scorpius' gaze flickered over the carriage of Weasleys and Potters, getting an uncomfortable feeling in his chest. "It seems kind of full, so..."

Rose glanced around the carriage, and determined that there was actually enough space even if the Scamander twins decided to join them as well. But she wasn't about to invite her number one rival to join them and ruin her ride to Hogwarts.

"Nonsense." Albus smiled and all but dragged Scorpius in. "This is my sister Lily, and Rose's brother Hugo." The two redheaded first years smiled and nodded back at him, Lily looking rather in awe at the third-year student. "Guys, this is Scorpius Malfoy."

"Hello." He said stiffly, and extended his hand to politely shake theirs.

"Scorpius Malfoy?" Hugo echoed. "You're the one Rosie keeps mentioning in her letters?"

Rose gasped and elbowed her younger brother in the ribs. Scorpius tilted his head to the side, his interest now piqued. "Does she now?"

"Yeah." Hugo nodded enthusiastically. "She's always saying how you're competing with her-"

"Hugo Weasley!" Rose fairly growled. "One more word and I promise I'll tell Mum and Dad about every bit mischief you get up to in my weekly letters."

"You're going to do that whether or not I tell him about your letters." Hugo scoffed, knowing his sister all too well.

"Yes, but I might just decide to exaggerate how much mischief you were actually involved in. Who do you think Mum and Dad are going to believe?" She grinned fiercely.

Hugo rolled his eyes and turned back to Scorpius. "Older sisters are the worst, don't you agree?"

Now Lily scoffed at that. "Please, older brothers are way worse. Just look at James and Al." She looked to Scorpius expectantly.

He shrugged awkwardly. "I wouldn't know."

"Don't you have any brothers or sisters?" Lily asked curiously. Scorpius shook his head, trying not to feel bitter at her innocent question. "What about cousins?"

"I've got one cousin, but I only see her about once a year."

Sensing that the atmosphere around Scorpius was becoming rather awkward, Albus redirected the conversation towards Quidditch. Rose observed Scorpius, clearly still ruminating over the earlier topic of family, and wondered just what he was thinking.

--

"Rose, don't you think taking eleven subjects is stretching it a bit?" Albus pointed out as they rode up to the castle, carriages pulled along by invisible thestrals.

"I told you, if it gets too much to handle, I'll just drop the least interesting one. Professor Longbottom already said it's okay." She said impatiently, having heard this question several times over the summer.