EVEN AFTER ALL these years, the same ephemeral sense of wonder still overtook Albus Severus Potter as he propelled through the brick wall between the ninth and tenth platforms at King's Cross Station. One moment, he was standing in the Muggle world, and the next, he wasn't.

       Platform Nine and Three-Quarters was constantly bustling with all sorts of witches and wizards; some were dressed like ordinary, non-magic folk, with their Muggle shirt and jeans, while others wore long cloaks complete with pointed hats. The Hogwarts Express was stopped in the very middle. Thick puffs of white smoke rose from it, swirling around the top of the train.

No matter where his family went—except when it was in the Muggle world—people always stared. Albus knew it was probably because his father, Harry, had defeated Voldemort, the darkest wizard in history. Or perhaps it was because his mother, Ginny, was a famous Quidditch player and Captain of the Holyhead Harpies. Either way, the Potter children clearly had a lot to live up to.

       Lugging his trunk with a sigh, Albus craned his neck and searched the sea of faces for a familiar one. He didn't see his best friend, his cousins, his aunt or his uncle, but he did spot Lorcan and Lysander Scamander with their parents.

       "Lils, look, it's your boyfriends," said the boy beside Albus. He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, nodding his head towards the Scamander twins.

       The boy was his brother, James, who had come to see him off to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. After graduating, James had moved in with his girlfriend, Annabelle Rosevear. Though he no longer lived with the rest of the Potters, he came to visit so often that they almost forgot he didn't.

       "You know they're not really my boyfriends, James," came a reproachful girl's voice. This one belonged to Lily, Albus's younger sister. "I'm not actually dating either one of them."

       "Still, it must be loads of fun to juggle them at the same time, right?" His hazel eyes glinted with echoes of mischief. "If they're not as odd as their mother, that is..."

"Luna's not odd, James," said Ginny, tucking a lock of flaming red hair behind her ear before placing her hands on her hips. "She's just eccentric—and brave and kind, which is exactly why we chose to make Lily's middle name what it is." She turned to her daughter. "And Lily, if you're going to date two boys at once, they can't be brothers. Merlin, haven't I taught you anything useful?"

"What?" Harry chimed in, dumbfounded. He glanced at Lily, adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose, then gaped at her. "I disagree. You can't date two boys at the same time in general, whether they're brothers or not. And don't give me that look."

       She smirked. "Actually, I was going to say that maybe I'd like to be polygamous."

       James let out a bark of laughter and winked at his sister.

       Harry winced and glowered at his youngest child. "You're lucky I'm not Uncle Ron, because he'd say you can't date anyone at all, ever."

"He does say that to Rose," said Lily, rolling her eyes, "which, by the way, is very sexist. He only says it to her. He never tells Hugo that he can't date. Anyway, it's not like she'd actually listen. If there's anyone she really wants to be with, she'll go for it. I'm placing bets that Rose and Scorpius end up getting together by Christmas. They'd be so cute together."

Albus's emerald green eyes widened. He felt a sudden, inexplicable pang of anger at the thought. But his feelings were normal.

       Of course he didn't want his best friend and his cousin to date. He'd always be the third wheel when they hung out together. It would be weird. Awkward.

"Ron would die," Ginny snorted, completely oblivious to her son's sudden panic. "A Malfoy dating his daughter? Yikes."

"Do you think that is likely to happen, Al?" James asked, quirking an eyebrow, genuine curiosity crossing his features. He ran a hand through his messy dark hair. "Does he like her? You're his best friend, you'd know."

Albus bit his bottom lip, his heart jumping to his throat. When he spoke, he was tripping over his words. "Well, I mean, he kind of acts all—sort of flirty with her, but—but I can never tell if he means it or if he just enjoys annoying her. But she despises him, absolutely despi—"

"Hello Harry! Ginny!" someone interrupted.

       A wave of relief washed over Albus.

       He whipped around and saw a woman with blond hair and large, protuberant eyes. It was Luna Scamander, the twins' mother. She hurried over to greet the Potters, her husband and sons rushing to catch up with her. By the time they reached her, she was already talking about an article that had been written in the latest edition of The Quibbler.

Meanwhile, Lily dropped her trunk and darted towards Lorcan and Lysander, greeting them with batting eyelashes, her curtain of red hair spilling over her freckled shoulders.

"And that is our cue to leave," James muttered quietly to Albus, who was still reeling at the thought of Rose and Scorpius dating. James raised his voice so that the Potters and the Scamanders could hear him over the thrum of voices. "As stimulating as this conversation about Plishy-Lipped Squabblehumps may be, we'll just be leaving you adults to it," he said, flashing a charming grin.

       Ginny shot him a hard glare, but Harry seemed to be struggling to hold in his laughter.

Albus's reaction was somewhere between that: he couldn't decide whether to burst out laughing or to hit his brother. However, the fact that he had just strung random syllables together to mock her didn't even seem to faze Luna, who smiled.

Lily turned away from the Scamander boys to scowl at her brother. "James, you are an adult," she pointed out scathingly.

He grimaced, his eyes going wide with realization. "Yes," he said slowly, "that's right. But at the moment, I'd like very much not to be. Toodles!"

       At that, he grabbed Albus by the forearm and steered him away. Albus kept a tight hold on his trunk as James dragged him.

"Where are we going?" he inquired.

"Anywhere," James mumbled. Then, upon seeing Albus's pointed look, said, "Just kidding. We're going to find the Malfoys. There are some things I have to tell you and Scorpius. Important things. Marauder things, if you know what I mean."

He nodded, slightly confused. "Okay. But where are they?"

"Right there," James said, extending his hand to gesture somewhere.

Albus's eyes followed his finger and landed on Scorpius's parents, Draco and Astoria Malfoy. Draco always looked uncomfortable and out of place. There were still some tensions with the Potter and Malfoy families. They had fought on entirely different sides of the Second Wizarding War many years prior. Draco and Harry had once been mortal enemies, and though they were polite with one another for the benefit of their sons, the ghost of an unresolved conflict still lingered between them.

Bad blood ran true.

Still, Albus had gone over to Malfoy Manor enough times that he knew Scorpius's father rather liked him, despite hiding it behind a cold façade. His mother, on the other hand, adored him and even insisted that he call her by her first name.

When Draco spotted the two Potter boys, he gave them a curt nod, and they returned it with coy smiles.

"Ah, there's Count Dracola, giving the pallor of vampire skin a run for its money. Do you ever just get the urge to drag the Malfoys to a tanning salon?" James asked through his teeth, trying to keep the movement of his lips to a minimum. "Imagine me and Draco getting fake tans together. Nice orange tans. That would be a great bonding experience."

Albus wasn't listening. He whirled around, furrowing his eyebrows. "But Scorp isn't with th—"

As if on cue, someone barrelled into him, knocking him to the ground and causing several people to turn around to see what the commotion was about. The force of the fall had knocked the air from Albus's lungs; he groaned and looked up at the platinum-haired boy on top of him, who made no move to get off.

       "I tried to jump on your back," Scorpius explained casually, gazing down at Albus with raised eyebrows. His icy blue eyes glistered and the planes of his alabaster face were soft, delicate. "Oops."

       "You know you can't do that to me out of the blue!" Albus yelped, shoving his best friend and scrambling to his feet. "You're too tall and heavy for me, especially when I'm not expecting to be tackled!"

       "So you should get on my back, then," the taller boy said, gesturing to his backside. "Hop on, shortie."

"Wait—what—seriously?" Albus stuttered. They acted this way—overly affectionate—all the time at school, but somehow, it felt strange with so many eyes trained on them.

       "Fine, be like that!" Scorpius said, throwing his hands up theatrically. "At least give me a hug."

Without further questioning, Albus grinned and threw his arms around Scorpius pulling him into a hug. It was then that he noticed multiple things all at once.

First, the Malfoy boy was wearing a jumper with the letter S knitted onto it. He could tell because his face was buried in it. He could feel the soft material on his cheek and see the green and silver colours: the colours of Slytherin. Albus's grandmother, Molly Weasley, had given it to him one Christmas that he'd spent with them. The gesture had told him that he had been made an honorary part of the family. Scorpius had worn it proudly ever since, even though his family had more than enough money to buy him nicer, more expensive jumpers.

Second, Scorpius smelled good. He didn't smell like anything in particular—that, Albus couldn't quite piece together. He just smelled like Scorpius; it was probably only his shampoo, his laundry detergent, or a mixture of both. There was also the smell of some sort of sweets lingering on his sweater. Albus suddenly began thinking about how intoxicating the scent was, involuntarily inhaling deeper to have more of it.

Third, his best friend's breath on his neck sent chills down his spine and made the hair in his arms stand on end. For a moment, he was afraid he might start quivering in Scorpius's arms. What had gotten into him? He wasn't supposed to be this nervous around Scorpius. They had always made each other feel comfortable and safe.

He hoped Scorpius didn't notice that when they released one another, Albus's eyes were misty and his cheeks slightly pink.