Holly tackled me in a bear hug before I could even see her coming. One moment I was waiting quite calmly outside the dining hall for the others to arrive and the next there were blond curls in my mouth and strong arms trying to squeeze the life out of me.

"Guess who isn't a failure after all?"

"Um, I don't know," I said. I scratched my chin as though deep in thought. "Is it you?"

Holly grinned ecstatically and, releasing me, danced in a circle. The boys, walking at a more respectable pace, joined me in watching her.

"So she passed her classes?" I asked Sawyer.

"Yep," he said. "With flying colors in some of them, thanks to her organizational system."

I forced Holly to pause in her victory dancing long enough to hug her. "Congratulations, Holls. I knew you could do it."

She beamed. "My cards were all a bit bent after that stunt Scorpius pulled in the library" - here, she shot him a dirty look -  "and the cards that clumsy Sawyer managed to rip up" - Sawyer received his own version of the glare now - "but I made do and it really helped! I'm so pleased!"

"We're well aware," said Sawyer, watching as she restarted her dance routine. A group of younger students walked by, giving her bemused looks. "As is the rest of the school."

Scorpius nudged me as Holly shot death glares at the students watching her do her victory dance. "So, Dursley. Did all those tutoring sessions pay off?"

I gave him a huge smile. "Most definitely. I got an E," I said proudly.

He whooped. "If you continue improving at this rate, you could get an O in your N.E.W.T.s and be good enough to become an auror or something!" He threw an arm around my shoulders. "I always believed in you, Esther."

"Thanks for all your help," I said. "Couldn't have done it without you."

"Sure you could've, Ms. Auror."

I gave an exaggerated shudder. "Let me tell you, I am not auror material."

"No? I'm pretty sure you could singlehandedly take down some dark witches and wizards. You would've easily broken Sullivan's nose."

I laughed. "I'm thinking more along the lines of working in potions or in medical magic. So I can easily fix Sullivan's broken nose."

"Not that it'd deserve fixing," said Sawyer, pulling a face.

"As long as he learned his lesson, I would have no qualms about fixing him up."

Scorpius laughed. "That's because you're a such a fair person, Esther. A model Hufflepuff."

I rolled my eyes. "It is my house," I said, "and there are worse things than being fair."

We were almost at the entrance to the dining hall when Scorpius grabbed my arm and held me back. We stopped walking and I gave him an inquisitive look.

"Esther? Can we talk later?"

"Of course," I said. "I'm always available to talk with you. But why later?"

He looked awkwardly at Sawyer and Holly, who had realized we were lingering behind and were waiting several feet ahead and then glanced back at me.

"I guess I want to talk in private. Can we meet where we did our Defense tutoring?" he asked. "After dinner?"

Noticing his discomfort, I squeezed his shoulder. "I'll see you there."

In the dining hall, we split up to sit at our respective tables. As soon as Scorpius had given us his usual half wave and headed to the Slytherin table, Sawyer raised his eyebrows at me.

"What was that about?"

"I'm not sure," I said. "I guess I'll find out after dinner."

I kept an eye on Scorpius throughout the meal. While Sawyer and Midha got into an argument over some controversial professional Quidditch matches - a conversation I would usually be entirely invested in - I watched as Scorpius ate at record breaking speed before bolting out of the dining hall. He usually left the room before Holly, Sawyer, and I finished, especially after what happened with our little revenge plot, but he was gone even before the desserts had been brought out.

Sawyer nudged me. "Pass the ice cream, please. And while you're at it, quit staring at the door and go find Scorpius already."

"Is that okay?" I asked. "I don't want to -"

"Go on. Something's clearly bothering him, and I can see that it's bothering you, too."

Gratefully, I rose from the table. "Thanks, Sawyer. I'll see you back in the dorms. Say goodnight to Holly for me."

"Will do."

I practically ran to the old classroom Scorpius and I used as our tutoring room. As I had predicted, he was already there, sat atop his usual desk with his legs propped up on the crossbar, his head in his hands.

I resumed my usual spot beside him. "Hey," I said.

He glanced up at me. "Hey. Sorry for being awkward back then, Esther, but I didn't really know how else to get this to happen. I don't know how to do this at all, I guess."

"You don't know how to do what?"

"I, uh, well. Let me start again." He was obviously flustered, his hair even messier than usual, his face bright red. He took a deep breath. "I promised myself that I would tell you before the summer, and this is clearly my last real chance to do that. I really left it until the last minute because, well, I'm nervous, Esther, about telling someone this."

I touched his arm lightly. "You can tell me anything, Scorpius. That's what I'm here for."

"I know, I know," he said, brushing my hand away. He was jittering, biting his lip and glancing back and forth between me and the window.

Finally he sighed loudly and put his hands on his knees, staring straight ahead.

"You remember before the Quidditch final? When I told you that I had my own reasons for getting rid of Sullivan and those other guys?"

"Yes."

"I'm sure you can extrapolate from there but for some reason I feel like I need to make myself say it out loud. I like torturing myself or something."

"Go on."

Scorpius wouldn't look me in the eye. "I'm gay."

I took his hand from his knee and held it, and he let me touch him this time. I squeezed his hand. He was shaking.

"You're the first person I've told."

"Really?" I asked. "I'm honored."

I give him time to take several shaky breaths. I rub my thumb over his to reassure him. He won't look me in the eyes.

"I...I just don't think I could've survived another summer without telling anyone," he said. "Literally nobody knows except you. Unless people suspect things, which they might. I don't know." Scorpius was holding my hand hard, his knuckles white. He gave a breathy laugh. "I like boys, Esther. I want to kiss boys."

I grinned and he gave me a shaky grin back.

"I hope I wasn't leading you on or anything, with our Defense lessons," he said. "I really like you, Esther, but obviously not like that."

"I really like you, too, Scorpius," I said, "but not like that."

We sat in silence for a few moments, just holding hands.

I cleared my throat after a while. "Holly might be disappointed, because she was convinced we would be dating by the end of the year. Even when I told her I wasn't interested, she was adamant."

Scorpius laughed. "Thanks, Esther."

"For what?"

"For listening and accepting me."

I leaned my head against his shoulder. "You're going to write to me this summer, aren't you? Please say you will."

"Of course. Atalanta will have to fly back and forth constantly to deliver all the letters I'm going to write you. Three a day."

"Good," I said. "Don't send them directly to me, though. I forgot to tell you that at Christmas and there was a bit of an upheaval. There's a witch in town, Ms. Thompson, who receives all my mail, because Dad doesn't like owls."

"What about Pavo?"

"He's pretty much on house arrest for the summer."

Scorpius cringed. "No way to live."

The two of us paused after his words, realizing that what he had said was also applicable to me.

"Sorry, Esther."

"It's okay," I said. "Hugo's got a trick up his sleeve, or so he says."

"Those Weasley kids," Scorpius said, shaking his head. "A wily lot. You can always depend on them to fix the toughest of problems." He squeezed my hand once more before letting go and standing up. "We should probably head back if we're going to be good kids in bed at curfew. It would suck to get detention right at the end of the year."

I nodded. "As long as there's nothing else you want to talk about."

"I'm good," he said. "I don't think I could cope with revealing all of my major secrets in one night."

I grinned. "So there are more secrets?"

He laughed and put on a fake air of nonchalance. "Maybe, maybe not."

~~~

Before I knew it, I was back on the train ride home again. Pavo was retrieved from the Owlery and caged, all of my clothes and belongings were gathered from around the dorm and stuffed back in to my trunk.

The train lurched as I followed Sawyer down the train's corridor, with Holly and Scorpius lose behind. We peered into each compartment as we passed, trying to find an empty one or some friendly faces that we could sit with. Holly had made us late to board when she panicked that she had left her precious Magic the Gathering deck in her dorm and then, once we had backtracked, discovering it was actually in her trunk the entire time.

"Anybody in that one?" I asked Sawyer.

"About a thousand Slytherin first years."

Holly groaned behind me. "At this rate we're going to have to sit all the way at the very back of the train."

"It's not that bad," said Scorpius. "Just a little exercise."

"But I want to sit."

"You're incredibly lazy."

"Shut up, you two."

Then a redheaded boy burst out of the compartment behind me, grabbing my arm and making me jump.

"Hugo! What was that for!"

He laughed. "Sorry to scare you, Esther. Here, come sit with us. I've got to explain my evil plan to you anyway."

Hugo disappeared back into his compartment without waiting for a response. When I glanced at the other three, they all shrugged, so I followed him in. Cassie waved from her seat by the window and patted the spot beside me. I sat down and the others filed in.

"Hello, Esther," said Rose. She smiled at me.

"Hello," I said, smiling back. "Glad to be going home?"

"Yes," she said. "I always am, but I'll be glad to return in September, too. What about you? Glad to be going home?"

My face fell, and it must've been noticeable because Albus reached across the compartment to give his cousin an angry poke. Rose waved his hand away and gave me a smirk.

"Yes, I do know what I said, Al," she said. "I'm only teasing."

"I know," I said. I perked back up again. "Hugo has some kind of a solution? His evil plan, as he just called it."

Hugo nodded. "That I do. It's truly maniacal, I assure you."

Albus rolled his eyes. "Get to it already."

"Be patient, I'm building up the suspense like any good storyteller would. Now, without further ado, my plan." Hugo turned to me. "We're going to convince your parents to let you come stay with us over the summer."

I was at a loss for words for a moment. Then I spluttered, "Huh? How are you going to manage that?"

"My dad," said Albus.

Lily, by far the quietest of the Potter-Weasley children, frowned at that from her seat in the corner. "My dad, too."

"Well, yes. Our dad."

Holly was clapping her hands together in excitement already, but I raised a hand to stop her. "Do you think that would work?" I asked. "Why would your dad want to help me?"

"What do you mean? You're his niece, Esther," said Rose, "and he grew up in a very similar situation to yours."

I thought on that. "I guess."

Scorpius was nodding. "She's right, it works out. Harry - or should I call him Mr. Potter? - would have reason to sympathize with you! He was raised in a muggle family and never got to fully experience the wizarding world outside of Hogwarts until he was older."

"Not true," said Hugo. "He visited my dad during the summer. Which is where I got the idea to invite you to stay." He looked excitedly to me. "What do you think, Esther? You wouldn't have to spend the whole summer with us, of course. Half at home with your parents, half with us."

"I love it," I said, "and I hope that it works more than anything."

The whole compartment let out a cheer. I laughed. Then conversation burst out all at once.

"- must take her to a professional Quidditch game."

"Yeah! She's never been, after all, and I think there's one -"

"-do chores because her muggle ones are probably a lot more mundane, right? Shut up, Albus, of course I'm not saying that just to get her to do mine. Why would you even -"

"We'll finally have another keeper for our scrimmage matches, which means -"

"-and school supply shopping! That'll be fun."

I sat there and listened, somehow excluded in a torrent of conversation revolving around me, and smiled.

~~~

"As soon as you get an update about when you're joining us in the wizarding world again, send me a letter," said Holly, clinging to me fiercely.

"I'm going to write you nonstop," I said. "Don't worry about it."

She pulled me in for one last suffocating embrace before releasing me and flinging herself on Scorpius instead. He was a bit taken aback by it, but didn't resist. Holly's parents waited patiently by the column a few feet away. Sawyer, who had already endured his goodbye hug from Holly, stood beside me, standing on his tiptoes to easier search the crowd for his dads.

"Any sign of them?" I asked.

"Not yet. I wonder if they've forgotten like they did last year."

I smiled. "I'm sure they'll be here soon."

"I certainly hope so."

"Esther!"

I turned around in time to avoid being unexpectedly grabbed by Hugo again. The rest of his family followed closely behind.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Albus just spoke to his dad," he said.

"Oh? And?"

Hugo gestured behind him. "See for yourself."

Harry Potter himself, my uncle and somewhat of my hero, waved and came over to us. I tried not to look too much like a deer in the headlights.

"Hello, Esther," he said. "Are your parents not here yet?"

"If they are, I can't find them in the crowd," I said.

"Albus and his cousins have been explaining how they want to invite you over to our house for part of this summer. Is that something you're interested in?"

I nodded. "Yes, if you'd have me."

"Of course," he said, smiling. "You're always welcome at our house, Esther. I'm terribly sorry that that wasn't made clear to you sooner."

I beamed. "Thank you."

Harry smiled back. "There's no need to worry about any of it. I'll talk to your parents. I'm sure they'll be very understanding."

"I hope so," I said. I gave Albus, Hugo, and Rose the biggest, most enthusiastic thank you smiles I could muster.

Scorpius clapped a hand on my shoulder. "That's official then," he said. "I'm going to write you a thousand letters a day while you're in the muggle world, and once you're in the wizarding world I'll worm my way into the Potter household, too. You won't be able to get rid of me."

I gave his head a playful shove. "Good," I said. "I wouldn't want it any other way."

Sawyer tapped my shoulder. "I can see your parents, Essie. Oh, yes! My dads actually made it somewhat on time. I can see them, too.

I excused myself and pushed through the crowd towards where Sawyer had directed me. My parents looked out of place among the wizards and witches, as usual, but they had definitely improved in assimilating over the years of picking me up and dropping me off.

"Mum! Dad!" I threw my arms around them. I think for the first time, I felt purely happy to see them, rather than bittersweet.

"Hello, Esther."

My mum kissed my forehead. "Did you have a good term, sweetheart? And are your friends around? I would love to say hello."

I couldn't stop smiling. "It was a great term. Now come on, we have to fetch my stuff and there are a bunch of people who are going to want to talk to you. Boy, do I have a lot to tell you about!"