all the whispers of the possible become clear

Chapter 9: 7th Year - Part A

It was probably the last time he would be boarding the Hogwarts train here, Scorpius mused, as he stepped onto Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. If he had been a more sentimental type of guy, he might have paused to commemorate the feeling of poignancy. Instead, he looked around for Albus and Rose, who were usually easy to spot because of the large group they came in and the admiring glances at their parents.

He caught sight of Rose and was about to wave her over when he noticed that she was walking hand in hand with a boy who looked familiar. The realisation that she'd apparently gotten a boyfriend over summer hit him like a shockwave, and even he was surprised at the strong feeling of negativity within himself.

"Hey, there you are." Albus clapped him on the back, and Scorpius could barely eke out a reply. "Come on, Head Boy, let's grab a good compartment for our last train ride to Hogwarts."

Scorpius nodded and followed his best friend, his mind still whirling with thoughts of Rose and the boyfriend, whom he now recognised as a seventh-year Hufflepuff by the name of Derek Ford. He'd had no idea Rose was even friends with him, let alone dating him.

"Mate, are you alright?" Albus raised his voice slightly. "You're not listening to a word I'm saying."

"Of course I am." Scorpius retorted stiffly before putting his bag onto the overhead rack. "You were talking about Merry."

Albus couldn't tell if Scorpius really had been listening or if he'd just made a lucky guess, but decided not to bother anyway. "Yeah, she's sitting with us until we have the Prefects meeting and then she'll go back to her Hufflepuff friends."

Just the mention of the House put a tiny crease in Scorpius' forehead.

"Have you and Rose decided how to run the meeting?"

"Ah, not yet." Scorpius blinked and tried not to think about Rose and Ford, which was proving to be quite the impossible task. "I was thinking of discussing it briefly here. Where is she?" He hoped his voice sounded casual.

"Eh, probably talking to Derek." Albus paused and noticed the puzzled look on Scorpius face. "Oh, maybe she forgot to tell you. She started going out with Derek Ford recently."

"I didn't know they knew each other." Scorpius ventured tentatively.

"Merry introduced them during her birthday party that you missed out on because of your family holiday." Albus reminded him. "And he was kind of obviously into her then. I think they've been exchanging letters all summer...you can ask her when she gets here."

Scorpius was finding it rather hard to believe that Rose would date a boy she clearly hadn't known for very long. Then again, what did he know about Rose Weasley's romantic inclinations? Close to nothing was the pathetic answer, which made sense considering he'd barely thought of her as a girl in that sense until this year.

In fact, it was really none of his business, and it shouldn't bother him. But it did.

--

Many students were under the impression that being Head Boy or Head Girl came with a sizable list of privileges. Unfortunately, this was mostly untrue, since the only difference between being Head and a Prefect was that they were given an office which they could use for their Head duties or for studying.

"You've forgotten that it comes with the perk of being beheld with even greater fear by the younger ones, so that we can turn them into our minions." Scorpius reminded Rose as they continued on their patrol on the train.

She snorted. "You're lucky I know you're joking."

"I'm not." He said with all seriousness. "I've already embarked on my recruitment of little first-years to join my secret army."