Teddy Lupin decided that today, the first day of seventh year, was not the day that he'd hoped it would be. There was a sort of solemn heaviness in the air as he got settled on the Hogwarts Express. The little firsties didn't feel it, of course; they were all way too preoccupied with magic and boarding school and look at me shoot sparks! They were easy enough to entertain with a few neon hair colors and a couple of tiger stripes on his skin.

The older students, however, were a different story. Every seventh-year felt that imposing weight, and the younger years even down to the fourth-years were quieter than they otherwise would have been. All because of that stupid Law that had been passed over the summer. Shaking his head a bit, he pulled out one of his new textbooks. May as well see what might be on the NEWTs, since there probably wouldn't be much activity on the train until they got to Hogwarts.

Violet Chase couldn't help but notice the somber atmosphere on the train. It unnerved her; she was far more used to the feeling of excitement, of going back to magic school for another year. It was her last, of course, which made it even worse, and she unconsciously touched her wand in her sleeve as she looked around for a relatively empty compartment to sit in. It was a challenge; most of the compartments were full already, and she didn't want to have to settle for a car full of hyperactive first-years. She was not babysitting them.

Juniper Locke made her way through the first years as she looked for a place to settle herself not caring where, she just wanted to get off of her feet. She had almost missed the train, so she knew it would be slightly more difficult to find herself a place to sit. She honestly didn't want to end up as she had last year where she stood almost the entire train ride to Hogwart's. She noted Teddy as he entertained some of the first years and that there was an unoccupied seat beside him.

She cautiously walked up to him, "Hi, Is this seat taken?"

Scorpius Malfoy had finally found a relatively empty compartment. He settled in comfortably in a window seat and gazed onto the field's and town's the train passed through.

His parents hadn't know that he'd snuck off in the middle of the night to get to London and safely back onto the train for another year at Hogwart's. He knew His silent rebellion wouldn't go without scorn. His parents had waited until last minute to say that they didn't want him to attend Hogwart's until the new law had been abolished, he considered what they pulled childish and ignorant. This was the first time he had every defied them and he had to admit it felt good.

Teddy blinked and glanced over when he heard the compartment door open. He had been (happily) distracted from his reading when a group of firsties came in begging him to show them his metamorphomagus powers, and he was currently cycling his hair and eyebrows through the colors of the rainbow. The first-years all looked over, too, and a few of them shied away slightly when they saw Juniper. Teddy, on the other hand, just shrugged a bit and moved his things.

"Go ahead," he said. He recognized her, of course; most of the seventh-years at least recognized one-another, having been in the same class rotations for the last six years. He just didn't remember which House she was in off the top of his head. For all he knew, she was a Gryffindor like him.

Finally, Violet came upon a compartment that looked like it still had some seats in it. Quietly, she opened the door, and then paused. Scorpius Malfoy. Everyone knew who he was, pretty much. He was in her year, so she'd had plenty of classes with him, but she knew him the same way she knew Rose and Hugo Weasley, or Al Potter. Just by name and face. After a moment, she slipped into the car and closed the door.

"Is it alright if I sit in here?" she asked.

"Thank you," Juniper went and settled down in the seat beside him, Just as the trolley went by and the rest of the first years parted. Once it was quiet she spoke again, "I know we never formally met, but you probably already know who I am and I you. It's nice to formally meet you though, Teddy." She spoke softly as she looked at him directly, her green eyes bright as they usually were, she paused. "You make call me June, if you'd like. You probably don't even know what house I'm in--I'm in Slytherin, but I don't descend from any of the foul families that catered to the Dark Lord. Those, they are still about as putrid as ever."




Scorpius looked over at her curiously when the compartment door opened, "It's fine by me, I guess." He paused as he lowered his voice as he looked back out the window, "I probably won't be here long anyways."

He cleared the thoughts of his parent's from his mind and decided to converse instead, "You're Violet Chase, are you not? You probably already know who I am, as most do. I'm a bit curious as I haven't talked with any of the other Student's about it, What do you think of this non-sense the Minister and his Colleagues passed?

Teddy shrugged a bit.

"Doesn't matter to me what house you're in," he said honestly. Now that he wasn't paying it much attention, his hair color stopped changing and settled half-way between green and blue. "Nice to finally meet you, June." He grinned a bit. "Not that we haven't had half of our classes for the last seven years together, or anything. You know, double Gryffindor-Slytherin classes." He leaned back in his seat a bit, settling in. It was quiet, now that the first-years had moved on. Entertaining was one thing, being a side-show was another.

Violet nodded slightly.

"Yeah, I'm Violet," she replied. "And you're right, I do know you, Scorpius Malfoy." She smiled slightly. "By name only." She was quiet for a moment as she listened to his question and thought it over. Of course, the new Law applied to her; she was a Muggleborn and she was female, it made her desirable in the eyes of the Law. "I think it's a terrible idea," she said finally. "I sort of understand the motivation, of course, but it's still a bad idea. I don't see any good coming of it."

"Yeah, I know," Juniper grinned, "I honestly don't think a person's house should be an extension of their new found personality as most people turn to when sorted." She paused, "I barely pay attention to anything of unimportance that goes on in class, if the double classes didn't tell who we would be working along side of I probably wouldn't even know. "I'm head girl this year..I had to scold some prefects earlier. I'll be in and out for quite a bit, so hopefully it doesn't disturb you."



He rolled his eyes a bit, "Of course you know who I am, my Father set an outstandingly arrogant reputation for me." He lowered his voice and spoke in her direction, "What house are you? You're a Slytherin, am I correct?" He paused, "Between you and me, I probably won't be here all that long seeing that my Mother and Father still think they hold a bitter reign over me. They didn't want to even come this year, I defied them because I like Hogwart's. I personally don't care for the new law--though I'm sure it's not as horrible as those say it is and I won't object to it, as it get's me away from them and their insanity."

"As long as you don't scold me for making faces at people, we're good," Teddy replied, grinning. For good measure, he reshaped his nose into a pig snout briefly before turning it back. He'd heard from his uncles (honorary uncles, anyways) that it had been a favorite trick of his mother's.

"Actually, I know your name because you're fantastic in Defense Against the Dark Arts class," Violet replied tartly, a small grin on her lips. "No need to get high and mighty over your family name at me." She was quiet for a second. "My parents don't know. About the Law, I mean. The owls were sent out to all Muggleborn seventh-years, but I got to it before my parents could, and I didn't tell them. I guess I keep hoping the law is repealed before anything really happens."

"I won't and why would I?" She laughed at his pig snout, "..If I could do what I'm able to do, then I would do it, too. Never mind that though. I've got to go check up on the prefects, so I will be back soon." She left almost abruptly, an felt rather foolish for she bared a sliver of her inner-self to someone she didn't even know. Once far enough away from him she changed into her robes and proceeded onwards. She knew her true origin's were uncharted to those who sought power and if they were to become known she would be in a fair amount of danger.

She had finally made it into the first coach that held all the Prefect's some looked up and acknowledged her presence while some ignored her, "Prefects! Listen up! Train inspections will be starting in ten minutes, so those of you who haven't changed into their robes should do so in the next five minutes. Notice for the new Prefects, have your badge's ready and displayed. Those of you who are clueless on inspections look to your head student or as an older Prefect. I have been assured that you can point them out." On that note she turned and headed back to her cabin, once there she settled back down quietly.




"Why, thank you," Scorpius grinned softly, "..And I wasn't trying to get high and mighty with you--I was just pointing out my Father's imperfection's. Sadly, being of supposed pure blood doesn't mean you have a perfect relationship with your family. You should consider yourself lucky that your family doesn't know, both my Mother and Father are in the Ministry and they knew far before the new law had arisen. They even tried extremely hard to have it repealed, they made it worse than it was. At first it was only going to be suggested.."

Teddy just grinned a bit as he heard Juniper giving orders. Just to mess with her a little, he changed his hair to a vibrant neon green just before she came back in, just to see how long it would take her to notice.

"Giving orders just like a professor, I approve," he teased. "Is that what you plan to do with yourself when you graduate?" His father had been a teacher, he knew, and one of the best. But his mother had been an Auror, and he himself was leaning towards that profession.

"I would think that the people at the Ministry would put a little more weight on the opinion of a Malfoy," Violet commented. "It seems a bit unusual that your parents' opinions on the matter were fought against so hard, doesn't it?" At least, it seemed that way to her. She sighed softly. "Well, I plan to just keep my head down and graduate," she said. "Maybe get a quiet job somewhere until this all dies down. I might even go into the Muggle world for a while, I can live without using magic if I have to. But I don't want to be forced to marry a pureblood just because some law says that purebloods and muggleborns should breed."

She sighed and tried to relax herself again. A smile came across her face as she rotated her bridge piercing a bit to ease her nerve's, "..You changed your hair color, interesting color. I am rather good at absorbing materials--probably know more the average student, but their a reason behind that. I am currently not planning anything, I may just lay low for a while as I've been informed of a few heated discussion's concerning.." She paused, rather frustrated with herself. She nicked her lip with her front tooth and it started to bleed, she wiped it away with her finger and looked at it rather curiously before she pulled out her kerchief and dabbed at it. "Sorry, I'm not exactly good at talking to other people. Maybe I should just shut up, I'll live longer that way."



"I think they're becoming tired of my family, that's why I'm not going to be working in anyway with the ministry. If anything, I'll become a professor here I suppose. As for the ministry turning it's back on my family, it's about time they did because they were supporters of the Dark Lord as you should already know," Scorpius paused an started to clean out from under his nails. "The whole ministry in itself has finally started to realize that the wizarding world isn't all unicorn's and fairies. Honestly, I'm not even sure what the Ministry's going to do next, it's not like the all mighty Malfoy's have a tie to the Minister anymore. As for your life after finishing school, good luck."

"Concerning that new law?" Teddy supplied, trying to be helpful. "I've heard a few of them myself." He shrugged a bit. "Really, the law doesn't affect me much. I'm not muggleborn, so it's not really bad for me. I've heard a lot of the muggleborns complaining, though. A lot of the girls."

Violet's expression dimmed a little in hurt. She had thought they were having a perfectly civil conversation, and then Scorpius seemed to turn a bit mean and angry. As much as she tried to be strong and independent, Violet was very easily emotionally bruised and didn't take well to people getting mad at her.

"I can do it," she defended. "The ministry can only track you if you use magic. So if I went into the muggle world and didn't use any magic, they wouldn't be able to find me."

"..No, it's not that that bother's me, right now.Though I am considered pure-blood, but I'm really not," she spoke softly as she did so without thinking she closed the compartment door without the use of a wand. She only used two of her fingers and a quick flick of her right wrist, as she scratched at her scalp nervously with her other hand. Of course, the door itself was several feet away which was a bit unusual, especially with the added strange rustle of wind around her when she did it, "I'm unsure why I'm even telling you this much--I really shouldn't at all."


He sighed uneasy as he hadn't meant to offend her, "That's not what I meant, you took it the wrong way--I'm sorry it hurt your feelings though. I meant it positively, but the way I've been feeling I can see why things aren't coming across clearly. I'm usually a bit more chipper than this, really anytime I'm away from my parent's I am--today though not so much. I know I'm of age to 'make my own choice's', but my they haven't gotten the owls' notice of that yet. I honestly don't want the first thing that comes out of McGonagall's mouth to be something along the lines of my parent's being in her office with my things collected. They can be both be a bit of control freak at times, especially when they don't get their way about things."

"Well, if you want to get technical, I'm not a pureblood, either," Teddy offered. He wasn't sure why, but he wanted to make Juniper feel a bit more at ease. "I come from magical parents, yeah, but my father was a werewolf." That was a matter of public record, really, so he didn't feel any shame in admitting it. Besides, his father had died a hero, and he was proud of that. His attention sharpened a bit when he noticed the flick of her wrist and the compartment door closing on its own. "What was that?"

"I'm 'of age' to make my own choices, too," Violet ventured cautiously, still feeling a bit bruised. "And also 'of age' to be forced into marriage, apparently." She'd read the law carefully when it had gone into affect: Once she graduated Hogwarts, any pureblood wizard within five years of her age could ask for her hand, and she would have to oblige the first one to ask. The thought scared her to death.

"No one is, but there aren't any muggles in my family anywhere. Yet anyways," she grinned. I come from magical parents, too.." Her eye's widened in horror when she realized what she had done and she'd be lucky with only Teddy noticed. "I really didn't mean to do that." She bit the side of her lip that was already cut making it bleed more, "C-can you keep a secret. A big one, one that if told can threaten both my life and the life of others. No one but my dead grandmother know's the true burden of this--what I am."



"Of course, you're of age and I understand that this new law scares you a lot," He gulped still debating on saying what he was think of saying, "What if I helped, shooed the guys off saying you were mine just to keep this law off your back. Would that help ease your mind a bit? You could say that someone already asked your hand--at the end of the year we could part ways and forget the entire mess the law created this year."

"I can keep a secret, sure," Teddy replied, looking a bit curious. His hair changed to a light yellow-orange as he tilted his head slightly, waiting for an answer. "Really, it's okay, you can tell me. I won't say anything." When he noticed her lip bleeding, he pulled out his wand. "Hold still." Pointing his wand at the cut, he murmured a healing spell, and the cut vanished. "There. Now what's so important?"

Violet's eyes widened at the offer.

"You would... do that?" she asked. "Really?" She thought he would have wanted to stay out of things as much as he could; both of his parents seemed to be involved with the law, after all, and she doubted Lord and Lady Malfoy would take kindly to their son claiming a muggleborn girl, even temporarily.

She sighed, "I'm not your average which. My birth way foretold by my Great-Great Grandfather who was a Shaman, and his wife was a druid. My Grandmother, my Father's Mother was a bit of both also. I turned out with the strength of her Parent's and a bit of a witch from my Mother..the Ministry doesn't even know. Both my parents work for the ministry, if word got out. God, knows what's left of the Dark Lord's fellowship could crop up. I don't need a potion to bring back the dead, all I need is a ritual. I'm one of those powerful beings you only really hear stories of, I harness the elements. I only found out what I was right before my Grandmother passed as her hybrid cat died, I brought her back to life."

"Thank you for healing my lip, I would have done it myself but the way I would have done it would raise suspicion. Do you remember the day the window randomly opened while we were testing and everything on the nearby desks blew out the window--that was me. I accidentally did it, but thanks to me everyone had an extra day to study.."



Scorpius grinned, "Yes, I'll do it and I stand by that word. I figure it will keep the women off my back and the men off yours, it's a fair trade if you think about it. Many girl's tend to enjoy disrupting my studies and it's down right annoying. I can't be an Auror with bad grade's, now can I?"

Teddy just blinked.

"Say what?" he finally ventured. He wasn't entirely sure he understood what she had told him, and there was an element about her little monologue that was just a little too fantastical. And he knew fantastical: he was the wizard son of a werewolf, who could turn into other people on a whim. It didn't get much more fantastical than him.

Violet gave him a cautious smile. She would find out in time if he really meant what he said, but for the moment...

"You've got a deal, then."

She sighed, as she rifled through her small back pack. She then realized what she was looking for was still around her wrist, she turned her back to the door, and rolled up her sleeve. She then proceeded to murmur a few words of a dead language as she ran her index an middle across the inside of her arm, as she did that the glyph's on her skin lit up showing what looked like symbols. She looked up at him and her eyes shone a bright white. After focusing on the unopened window, she proceeded in a slow arm movements bringing both index and middle fingers up as the window opened and a fierce wind entered the compartment.

She felt rather dizzy after just a few minutes of channeling, so she stopped and herself an leaned back in her seat, then closed her eyes for a few moments. She had done more than he had done in an elongated period of time. Even thought she had had her abilities for a while, she still didn't know how to harness them properly and no one else in her family was alive that could teach her.



"Well then, we're going to have to make it seem really. You don't have to kiss me, but a simple hug and holding of hands like some close friends do will suffice. That and you can study and sit with me when you like because you're always studying alone. We've got to make this look legitimate, otherwise the other people around us won't buy it."

Teddy blinked, surprised enough that his appearance melted back into his true form: hazel-gold eyes and slightly messy brown hair.

"And here I thought a mere metamorph was special," he quipped after a moment, using the shortened term for his ability.

"I just hope we can pull this off," Violet said softly. She looked at Scorpius. "The Law says I have to be married by next summer, or firmly engaged to be married. I really hope we can convince everyone that we intend to be married, at least long enough to escape the law."

"Between you an me, the worlds much larger when you're out of the classroom. Muggles say it differently the term's are about the same though," she grinned. "I have to make my way to Russia at the end of the year--I got word that some of the descendants on my Father's side are still there. I have much to learn, I'm looking forward to going back to Ireland for a while too. I spent a lot of my childhood there with my Grandmother."

"You are special, I think everyone is in their own way--no two people are alike." She paused, "Beyond Hogwarts, a career may just entail working at Saint Mungo's as a healer once I learn how to. Though becoming an Auror might be interesting, too. I've got the entire school year to think it over, so I think it will be more than enough time to work out the kinks."



"I'm sure we can pull this off just fine, I'll 'engage' to you a few months before schools over. I've got a ring in my trunk I can give you as a promise ring here in the next couple weeks and we could say we started dating over the Holiday. Does that sound good to you?"