Author's note: I've been wanting to do this for awhile. Surely it's been done many times, and surely much better than me. But it's fun. Haha. review please! :]


Prologue

"Stay away from those Potters," my father whispers as he bends down on the pretense of straightening my scarf.

I roll my eyes where he can't see. "Of course, Father," I assure him quietly. He's so paranoid about that family.

"And the Weasleys," he adds, straightening up. "Be polite, of course. But...they've been raised differently than you." His blonde eyebrows are knit together. "Just...make me proud."

I sigh quietly. "I'll try, Dad." Really, I have to try hard to make him proud. That man has such high expectations...

He gives me an awkward one-armed embrace, and my mother bends over to kiss both my cheeks. (It's a French thing. ...She's French.)

"What house do you think I'll be in, Mum?" I ask quietly, not wanting my dad to hear. He's been saying Slytherin ever since I was five.

She waits a few moments before answering, gazing off peacefully at nothing. "You could be in Slytherin," she answers carefully, gently, knowing that answer exasperates me.

"But I mean, really," I emphasize. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Dad strike up a conversation with an old friend. "Do you really think I'll be in Dad's house? I bet you would have been in Ravenclaw if you had gone there. Why couldn't I be in Ravenclaw? Or..." I lower my voice even more, glancing nervously at Dad. "Or Gryffindor?"

My mother smiles. "You could be," she says evasively. "We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?" She hugs me tightly. "You'd better get on the train, Scorpius. The doors are about to close."

She's right, of course. I hug her back and wave to Dad, grabbing my owl Salazar's cage.

As I jump on the Hogwarts Express and the doors close behind me, I slump against the wall, sighing with relief. Finally, no pressure from my father. Finally, I can do what I want.

Finally, things will change.