The Eyes of the Wolf

King's Cross station was simply packed with Muggles, and Rose had to clutch to Dad's coattails to keep up with her family. Mum was walking with Hugo, but when they reached platform 9 ¾, she let go of Hugo's hand and brushed Rose's cheek. Rose sensed that Dad had talked to her.

'How are you feeling, Rosie?'

'I'm fine,' Rose said, even though she hadn't slept much the previous night. 'Where are the Potters?'

'I'm sure they're somewhere, Oh Rosie, I'm going to miss you terribly!' Mum squeezed her affectionately. 'Remember, this is your O.W.L year, and you can always - Oh Hugo, please don't pull out your tie! Grandpa Granger gave that to you.'

'It's stupid,' Hugo said. 'It's too tight.'

Mum started loosening the tie, and Dad lifted Rose's trunk and the owl cage from the trolley.

'Watch it!' Someone bumped against Rose rather rudely, and the movement made Rose stagger. She caught a glimpse of a boy with a blond ponytail, hurrying on between a blond man and a very elegantly dressed woman.

'What is it?' Dad asked.

'That boy just bumped into me,' Rose said, massaging her arm. 'But I'm fine.'

Dad straightened himself to check out the boy and his parents. A frown rose on his lips.

'Malfoy...'

But before he could continue, a cacophony erupted behind them.

'I'm carrying the cage, James!'

'Oh fine, if carrying cages is that important to you!'

Mum and Dad both smiled.

'If it isn't the man who's got the loudest family in the wizarding world,' Dad said, and Uncle Harry laughed.

'And yet it feels so quiet now that Lily's gone to Beauxbatons.'

'Have you heard from her yet?' Mum asked.

'Yes, she sent a quick owl when she arrived at the Delacours. She's fine, very excited.'

'I wish wizard student exchanges had existed when we were at school,' Mum sighed. 'I would have loved to spend a year at Beauxbatons.'

'Well, I for one am glad they didn't exist,' Dad said. 'I don't know what Harry and I would have done without you.'

'At least Beauxbatons would have been better than Durmstrang, wouldn't it, Ron?' Uncle Harry said with a wink. 'But I really don't know how we'll manage this year without any kids at home. Maybe Ginny's right and we should have a fourth.'

'Dad!' Albus hissed. 'Will you stop talking about making babies in public!' He glanced around and jerked his head defiantly at a tall boy passing him.

'But babies are so wonderful,' Mum exclaimed, her eyes sparkling. 'One day you'll see that, Albus.'

'Uh-oh,' Dad said. 'We're heading to a dangerous territory...'

Everybody laughed, and Dad and Uncle Harry picked up the trunks and boarded the train. After being slapped on the hand by the pouting Hugo, and hugged and kissed by both Mum and Aunt Ginny, Rose followed. Dad and Uncle Harry had put all trunks in one compartment, and Rose sat shyly on a window seat. Uncle Harry rumpled her hair and left the train, but Dad crouched low in front of her.

'Rosie, does it bother you what you saw last night?'

Rose shook her head.

'One day, we'll tell you everything, down to the smallest detail. I promise. But not yet. We want to give you happy and carefree school days, the kind we never had.'

Rose nodded, even though she didn't quite understand.

'Have a great term,' Dad said and kissed her. 'Write home as often as you can.'

He left the train, and Rose wiped her eyes quickly in her sleeve. She opened a book and flipped the pages without remembering where she had last stopped. Within minutes, James and Albus entered the compartment, and the train started moving.

'No offence, Rosie, but I spied a compartment full of giggly girls, and I have a nice, shiny prefect's badge right here,' James said with a grin. He pinned the badge on his robe, winked, and left the compartment. Albus took out a pack of chocolate frog cards and started shuffling them in silence. Soon the door slid open, and a sandy head peeked in.

'Al?' Ciaran Finnegan said. 'What're you sitting here for? Come join us!'

'Sure.' Albus picked up his cards, cast a sheepish glance at Rose, and hurried out.

Rose tried to swallow the lump in her throat, but it refused to go away. She stared out of the window for a while, letting herself wallow in sweet misery, but when the train passed the distant ruin of a castle, she perked up. The dark silhouette rising majestically against the rosy sky birthed great legends in her eyes, of valiant soldiers, of fair maidens, of brave battles, of forbidden love... Villages and fields flew past, people scooted along the corridors, and dusk crept over the earth like a sly fox, but Rose was not in this world. She was riding on a shooting star, hastening away from the King's brutal soldiers, burying her head against a knight's wide chest...

Someone was watching her; a shadow dimmed the light streaming in from the corridor. Rose started and dropped her book. It was the same blond boy who had bumped against her at the station. His hair was unkempt, with several loose strands framing his face, and his grey, wolf-like eyes bore into Rose's as if they were able to see her innermost fancies. Rose blushed and looked resolutely away. The boy moved, and in a second, he was gone.

'Was that Scorpius Malfoy staring at you?' James entered the compartment and opened a small locker in his trunk. 'The git! Now, where's that Snitch with Krum's autograph...old Raffy Nott just won't believe till he sees it.'

'That wasn't Scorpius,' Rose said and picked her book from the floor. 'Scorpius is really short, and he doesn't have a ponytail.'

'Nah, that was Scorpius, definitely. He has just shot up during the summer and obviously stopped washing himself. You stay away from him, kid. Ah, there it is.' James closed the locker. 'See you.'

He slid out of the door again, and neither him nor Albus, or Scorpius for that matter, showed themselves any more before the train glided to the Hogsmeade station.