Chapter 1 - Albus
"Why are they all staring?" demanded Albus, as he and Rose craned around to look at the other students.
"Don't let it worry you," said Mr. Weasley. "It's me. I'm extremely famous."
Albus, Rose, Hugo and Lily laughed. The train began to move under Albus' feet, and he watched his father walk alongside it, smiling and waving, and Albus did the same as the wheels picked up speed. The train rounded the bend of the tracks, and he lost sight of his family, a little sadness mixing in with the elation. Albus bit his lip, a habit of which he did when he was nervous. James immediately noticed this.
"You're not going to get glum on me now," scolded James. "You're going to Hogwarts, the most wondrous and terrible place on Earth!" He spread his arms like a ringmaster announcing the next act and gave a toothy grin.
"Oh, don't exaggerate, James," Rose snapped. "It's not all as grand and scary as he makes it out to be, Albus, you'll be alright. Mum told me."
"'Not all as grand and scary'?" the older boy repeated in mock horror. "Constantly changing staircases! Toppling over as they sweep through the air! Sentient suits of armor, feel their gaze everywhere you go!"
"Do you even know what sentient means?" Rose rebuked.
"And don't forget," he added conspiratorially, ignoring Rose, "the slimy, clawed, far-reaching tentacles of the giant squid! The sharp, bloody fangs of the werewolves, hear them howl! Awooooooooo!"
"Shut it, James!" Rose scolded.
Albus sank into the red cushions and stared out the window; stormy skies poured rain into jade forests, droplets resembling liquid diamond streaking across the glass.
"I'm starving, when does the snack cart arrive?"
Rose glanced at her watch. "In a while, probably. Mum told me that Dad, Uncle Harry and her had to wait quite a while."
"Is there anything your Mum didn't tell you?" James grumbled. "How come Dad never told me any of this stuff?"
At that moment, quite a bit of loud chattering could be heard outside their compartment. Albus strained to hear. It went something like this:
"D'you think there are any free compartments here?"
"Maybe…"
"Shut up, Dopey, it's your fault we don't have one!"
"Hey!"
"Yeah, Dopey, if you hadn't got stuck so many times trying to get through the barrier…"
"Who does that anyways? I mean, it's a wall, that prevents Customaries from getting in."
"I do! I'm sorry, okay, look, there's space here…"
A nervous looking girl with dirty blond hair tied up neatly slid open the frosted-glass door. "Er, sorry, would you please let us sit here? There's no other space anywhere else on the train...um, it's alright if you don't want us to, I –"
"If you don't let us sit here I'll drag you to hell and back," called a female voice from behind her.
James blushed at the blonde and quickly said, "Oh. Of course, I could never turn down anyone as beautiful as you."
The girl, rather than looking pleased, frowned and said, "You don't mean that, do you? You're just making fun of me."
"No, no, of course I…"
The blonde sighed and sat next to Rose and Albus.
"I'm Sophia Walker, and that's Hannah and –"
"I'm immortal," interrupted the girl with short black hair.
Sophia cleared her throat. "She's Caroline."
"James, love, and this is my brother Albus and my cousin Rose," James informed them, sweeping his arms, gesturing for Sophia, Caroline and Hannah to sit. "I'm in the third year, and Albus and Rose here are just starting. I'm assuming you're all just starting too?"
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I can't rip your throat out, with a variety of weapons," The black haired girl Sophie had called 'Caroline' growled. "Just because we're friggin' starting again here…"
"Err, okay then…" Rose said, uncomfortably, turning to James. "James, don't you think Sophie is a little too young to be hitting on?"
"What?" James said, outraged. "She's only two years younger!"
"That's exactly my point," Rose said, rolling her eyes. "And she's eleven."
"But… but, some of the other girls I've snogged are eleven!" James protested.
"Ew, that is disgusting, James," Rose said, recoiling. "And you just met Sophia. Please just act your age, will you? Act like you're actually a teenager!"
"Rose," Sophie reassured gently. "Can I call you that? It's okay, I don't believe him, anyways."
"See?" Rose said, smugly. "Not every girl falls for your so called charm. In fact, did you even tell your mum you've already snogged girls? At eleven at that?"
James suddenly looked very uncomfortable. "Er… Rose, you wouldn't!"
Rose looked very reluctant, but she loosened up. "Fine, James, but you owe me. You're lucky you're my cousin."
"Albus…"
"I won't, James," Albus said, hastily. He didn't want to face his wrath of his older brother, but this could be a very useful bargaining tool for later. "I won't tell mum, nor dad."
"Oh!" Sophia exclaimed, jumping up. "I almost forgot. Hannah, Caroline, we have to change into our robes."
Hannah arched an eyebrow. "Robes? Robes? What is this, the 1600's?"
"Oh, c'mon, Hannah," Sophie said, desperately trying to get her to stand up. "They can't be that bad. Look, Rose, Albus and James are wearing them."
"Actually, contrary to that belief, Dopey," Caroline began. "They're weird. We're weirder. Weird and weirder don't mix."
"Just, please, get into the robes," Sophia said, pleading.
"Fine, Dopey," Caroline said, rolling her eyes. "The things I do for this weird school."
Hannah soon followed, leaving Sophia alone. "Erm, sorry for my friends. They're really nice when you get to know them, though. Caroline's a bit violent and Hannah's a bit demanding but other than that…"
"SOPHIA!"
"I've got to go," Sophia said hastily. "See you at the castle?"
James nodded quickly, Rose smiled and Albus gave a small nod. He wasn't sure what to make of these strange students.
"Did you notice their accent?" Rose pounced as soon as Sophia closed the door. "I mean, I didn't want to say anything offending, so I kept my mouth shut, but I'm pretty sure their accents aren't European."
"Who cares?" James said, dreamily.
"Caroline will probably murder you in your sleep," Rose said haughtily. "She's quite fierce, isn't she?"
"If you're right, Rose, what are foreigners doing here?" Albus wondered.
"I have no idea," Rose shook her head. "There's suppose to be some really old prejudice against the continents. Maybe they're using the accents to try to fool us?"
"Why would they do that?" James instantly defended Sophia. "And wouldn't it be a pain in the arse?"
"Language, James," Rose said, rolling her eyes. "I'll tell Uncle Harry about that."
Someone knocked on the door and slid it open. The knocker was revealed to be a sweet-looking woman leaning on a cart emblazoned with 'BERTIE BOTT'S EVERY-FLAVOR BEANS'. "Can I get you anything?"
They rifled through their pockets for money and scrambled to turn it in for candies, purchasing heaps of chocolate frogs, mounds of sugar quills and two boxes of the Every-Flavor beans, because, let's face it, those are scary.
"Hey, have you read the papers yet?" inquired the trolley lady.
James shook his head. "No, anything important?"
She handed him a copy. "Read it and find out. It's quite interesting. Have a good day!"
Rose peered at the large bold title. "'Worldwide Ministries Agree to International Education Exchange'? You'd better read this out to all of us…"
WORLDWIDE MINISTRIES AGREE TO INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION EXCHANGE:
MINISTRIES DECIDE TO PUT ASIDE OLD PREJUDICES
By Eulalie Jerusho
In an attempt to further strengthen bonds between countries, Britain proposed the International Education Exchange Project last Wednesday. Its primary purpose is for three major schools of all seven continents to send trusted and tested eleven-year-old academics from each school to other continents in a schedule. You may be asking yourself, why? Which I reply with, have you been living under a rock?
No, I kid you, my valued readers. Allow me to go over a brief history lesson: Each continent has used its own unique brand of magic since 1395, when it was decided so schools could teach one specialized (or generalized, in the case of Europe and N. America) realm of magic rather than seven, all of which have varied branches within themselves. They are assigned like this:
Europe: Wands, obviously!
North America: Channeled through the body, e.g. the hands or eyes. Reportedly, easier to summon, but less immediately powerful.
South America: The students have a choice of a wide range of aspects (list undisclosed.) They may choose one, and their magic varies greatly depending on the aspect chosen.
Asia: The language of magic; both spoken and written. Incantations and runes are used. Cards are a starting beginners base.
Oceania: Enhanced senses plus physical & mental capabilities.
Africa: The branch of healing, applied through various charms, potions, incantations, runes, etc.
Antarctica: Communication with life forms like animals, plants, fungi and humans.
Paranoia, secrecy and division have led to each realm of magic being obscured from those who know the others! And, so, leading to the proposal of the International Education Exchange Program.
"We believe that in this time period, after the vanquishing of so much evil and mistrust it is ever more vital to re-establish relations. And how better to do so, than to knock down unnecessary barriers?" said Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt.
The three student representatives, who will be sent without guardians as a sign of trust (for controversy over this decision see page 3) to a specially chosen school that is not providing a representative for each continent. There, they shall research and learn some of the magic of said school while they learn their country's magic during the summer. The schools and representatives are as follows below:
Europe
Host School:
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Representatives:
Theodore Lang from Austria
Odette Andersen from Denmark
Yavanna Abukuvmo from Russia
North America
Host School:
Strongfellow Institute
Representatives:
Sophia Walker from Canada
Hannah Stewart from Mexico
Caroline Lawson from the U. S. A
South America
Host School:
Loriumm Collegiate of Aspects and Magic
Representatives:
Derrick González from Argentina
Brian Torres from Paraguay
Felix Vidal from Peru
Asia
Host School:
Xiaoqing Academy of the Language of Magic
Representatives:
Adrianna Park from Korea
Erizabesu Makimoto from Japan
Leon Bishara from Lebanon
Africa
Host School:
The School of Babalu-Aye
Representatives:
Paul Okar from Kenya
Irene Jang from Nigeria
Oliver Soyinka from Uganda
Oceania
Host School:
Marvelous Institution of Enhancement by Magical Means
Representatives:
Miles Harris from Canberra, Australia
Willow Jones from Fiji
Gerald King from Tasmania, Australia
Antarctica
Host School:
Antarktikos Academy
Representatives:
Jasmine de Palma from Athene City
Kayla Jenson from Loki City
Nyle Simons from Mars City
The order of exchange students arriving at Hogwarts will follow in this pattern: N. American, Asian, S. American, Australian, African and Antarctica. Now, I did mention that Britain only proposed this, right? Aww, I guess stating the names gave it away. Yes, the other nations agreed in a near unanimous vote! (The title was a bit of a spoiler too.) Today shall be the first day of a world-changing project. The Prophet will be watching closely, and waiting.
Contact Eulalie Jerusho at…
"Sophia Walker?" wondered Albus. "Then...?"
"Wasn't that the girl…?" Rose gaped at the compartment door. "And the other two…"
"Well, I guess we'll be meeting them at Hogwarts," Rose sighed and picks up a book. "No wonder they had accents."
"D'you think dad knew about this?" Albus asked James. Dad would've told him… right?
"I'm not sure, Al," James sighed. "Something I've learned is that adults like to keep their secrets."
Albus shut his mouth after that and took the moment to watch out the window, where the rainfall had developed into a raging thunderstorm. Rain furiously shot past them, lightning flashed and thunder roared. He remembered what James had told him earlier;
"In your first year, you'll be rowing to the castle while everyone else rides the carriages. There's quite a bit or distance to cover, and the waters are rough, so I'd imagine you arriving on a rainy day would not bode well for you. Bad on your part."
He sighed. Hadn't James also said something about vicious kelpies living in the lake? A giant squid? Oh, joy.
"FIRS' YEARS OVER 'ERE! FIRS' YEARS, WITH ME!" boomed an enormous dark silhouette, voice rough and deep. The sky flashed, illuminating briefly a shaggy beard and beady eyes.
"That's Hagrid," said James confidently. "Go on, off you trot. You know we're supposed to take the carriages."
"OI, HAGRID!" James bellowed over the gunfire sounds of rain and rumbling thunder.
Hagrid turned to him, his giant face crinkling into a grin.
Albus whimpered.
"JAMES! BIN A WHILE SINCE I SAW YEH, EH? THAT'D BE YER BROTHER ALBUS, THEN! WOULD THAT BE YER COUSIN ROSE? NICE TER MEET YEH, I TAUGHT YER PARENTS! 'ERE, YEH CAN SHARE A BOAT WITH SCORPIUS 'ERE! ROSE CAN SHARE A BOAT WITH THESE GIRLS."
Scorpius? Albus thought. Oh, he must be the Malfoy boy. Dad said to stay away from him, but he doesn't seem all bad...
Scorpius sneered. Never mind. He mouthed a 9-9-9 to Rose, but she just shrugged. He climbed into the rowboat, followed by a nervous Sophia. Albus opened his mouth to question her.
However, Hagrid stopped her, leaning close so he didn't need to yell. "Nah, yeh'd be one o' them foreign students, righ'? Yeh'll git teh Hogwarts by carriage."
Albus glimpsed his smiling older brother beckoning her, and Sophia disappearing after him.
"RIGHT THEN, FIRS' YEARS ROW AN' FOLLOW ME!"
Albus took his paddles and rowed alongside another blond pigtailed girl, while Scorpius leisurely lounged on his end and idly chatted to his friends in other boats. What a brat.
The waves and wind tossed their tiny vessel to and fro, when suddenly a combination of the two lifted him and the girl high in the air, momentarily airborne in one awe-filled moment before they crashed through the black, stormy waters. The dark murkiness and swirling silt obscured Albus' vision and hearing, his world a tumult of chaos as he tried to untangle himself from his heavy school robes, dragging him down and he couldn't hold his breath any longer – was this it? A stream of bubbles spewed from his mouth, a rush of saltiness filling his lungs, and then – yes – something smooth and long wrapped around him, lifting him out of the quiet death of the lake into the raucous storm above, onto his boat. The girl, soaked but unscathed, pounded the water out of his lungs while Scorpius sniffed and inspected his fingernails.
"Well aren't you nice?" the girl huffed. "Show some concern, will you?"
"Why would I show respect to the Golden Boy's son?" sneered Scorpius. "What do I care if he dies?"
"He's a human being just like you are!" the girl exclaimed angrily. "He's got just as much right as you do!"
Albus looked at the girl defending him. She seemed oddly familiar, perhaps he had seen her at the station? When he tried to make eye-contact with her, she looked away.
"Oh-h, c'mon, boys," she said, sighing. "Let's row. I don't want to be stuck in the rain forever. Look what it's doing to my hair."
And row they did. Albus mused to himself how one person could be so kind then so dictator-like the next.
"Row!" the girl ordered. "Row!"
"Care to help us?" Scorpius grumbled.
The girl smiled sweetly. "No, dearie. The castle's only a bit away. Come on, you can do it."
When they reached the castle, every one of the first years were soaked to the bone, and Albus shivered his way to the main entrance. The girl that helped him was out of sight and Albus had no idea where she could've gone to.
"Erm, Scorpius, do you know where the girl went?" he asked, uncomfortably. He didn't feel quite friendly with Scorpius and asking a question made him nervous.
"How could I bloody well know?" Scorpius snapped and strode away, right into Hogwarts.
"Nice meeting you too," Albus grumbled, and stormed into the Entrance Hall.
"Did you see the newspaper article?" He heard excited voices through the heavy oak doors. "Apparently, foreign wizards have come, and they will until our seventh year! How lucky is that?"
"Yeah, North Americans," Albus craned his head to hear other people's input. "The news says they can do magic without a wand, but their magic is a tad weaker than ours."
"Magic without a wand?" scoffed another student. "Who's ever heard of that?"
"North Americans," the second voice answered. "Yet, it's pretty absurd."
"Why are they coming to Hogwarts?"
Albus, tired of all the commotion, rubbed his fingers to his temples. What was such the big deal about a couple of foreign students? He wanted to find Rose, but she was nowhere in sight.
"Are you Harry Potter's son?" a short boy with freckles asked him.
Oh, great, Albus thought, trying to make an excuse. "No, erm, I'm not. I – I have to go."
I suck at lying, he sulked. Was he only going to be known as 'Harry Potter's son'? What's the point of going to Hogwarts when you're going to be judged by people because of your parents' amazing accomplishments?
As the entrance of Hogwarts swung open, Albus noticed many looks of sympathy thrown the first years way, mainly because they were dripping wet. The first years dragged a puddle (sorry, lake) through the grand hall, and a teacher fixed that by the wave of her wand. A small chorus of thank you's were heard.
Albus saw Professor Longbottom clearing his throat and beginning. The hat sang its song, though his stomach was so intensely tied up in knots he could barely concentrate. Albus heard Professor Longbottom speak again, and he struggled to focus on his words.
"Aaron, Kelly!"
A petite girl with mousy, brown hair shook as she walked up to the Sorting Hat, which almost immediately called out; "HUFFLEPUFF!" before moving on.
"Abood, William!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
This droned on for quite some time before it reached Albus' name.
"Potter, Albus!"
There was dead silence as Albus marched, trembling to the Sorting hat.
"Harry Potter's son, eh?" the hat whispered, but it was so quiet in the Grand Hall that everyone could hear it. "You're loyal, much more than your father. Would Hufflepuff do you good? But you are also brave. Gryffindor may be the house for you… I choose…. GRYFFINDOR!"
There was an abundance of applause and Albus sat down, next to James, relieved. "Where's Hannah, Sophia and Caroline?"
"Sophia and Caroline are in the corner opposite of where you were. They were in the carriages with us, but I don't know where Hannah is," James whispered to Albus. "When do you reckon they're going to get Sorted?"
"Maybe after the first years are done?" Albus suggested. "Maybe they get their own segment."
James mused this for a while. "I never knew you were smart, Al."
"Shut up, James," Albus muttered. "Let's see which house Rose goes into."
"Weasley, Rose!"
Rose stepped up, confidently, and sat on the stool.
"Hm…" The hat mused to himself. "Sharp mind… clear intentions… I must sort you in… RAVENCLAW!"
Rose looked unfazed as she walked to the Ravenclaw table, and other Ravenclaws cheered her on. Albus gripped James' sleeve. "Was that meant to happen?"
James looked uncomfortable. "I'm not sure, Al. Uncle Ron is going to go mental."
Albus had worry written on his face. "I hope Rose knows what's in for her."
"She's Rose," James said. "She'll be fine... I hope."
The Headmistress stood up after every one of the first years were done.
"What's her name?" Albus asked James.
"Professor Odile Chrikson," James told him. Professor Chrikson had caramel hair, wrapped tight in two sidebuns and deep brown eyes. She spoke.
"As some of you may know, some foreign students are going to come to Hogwarts in later years," Professor Chrikson began. "This is because the Ministry has decided to let go of the old prejudice and set a treaty between the nations. Every year, a different continent's top three students will come. This year, it is North America. They have magic different from ours. That does NOT mean we may be rude to them, or exclude them in any matter. In fact, they may know more magic than you do."
Professor Chrikson sent a beady glare. "Is that understood?" There were many nods from students. "Now, we will Sort these students."
"Caroline Lawson," Professor Chrikson said, as Caroline came out. They shook hands and Professor Chrikson asked her; "Anything we should know about you, dear?"
Caroline grinned maniacally, which sent a few shudders down Albus' spine. "I'm good at summoning knives, guns and swords. Oh, and I'm immortal, obviously."
The students shifted around, not sure what to make of this. As Caroline sat down, the Hat was muttering; "Scary, violent, likes to terrorize students… but… I must say GRYFFINDOR!"
From the Gryffindor table there was a smattering of polite clapping, but Caroline didn't appear to take notice or care as she sat at the very end of the table.
"Hannah Stewart!"
"Where did she come from? I could've sworn she wasn't there a moment ago..." whispered Albus.
"Probably came in when Little Miss Sunshine was being Sorted."
"But from where?"
James shrugged. "How could I know?"
"I usually get what I want, but I'm good at healing," Hannah gave a wary look.
"Hm…" The Sorting Hat mused. "Better be… SLYTHERIN!"
Hannah shrugged as she flounced over to the Slytherin table, making herself comfortable at the end like Caroline.
"I reckoned it would be the other way 'round," James breathed. Albus didn't say anything, but he quietly agreed.
"Sophia Walker!"
"I'm good at arithmancy," Sophia said quietly. "And astronomy."
"Quiet, loyal, kind," The Hat listed. "You should be in… HUFFLEPUFF!"
Well, Albus thought dully. James just got his heart broken.
Disclaimer
We do not own anything you recognize.
Author's Note
Well, hi, again! This is a new story I've decided to come up with, and my friend, QuietlyImagining, is helping me write this fanfic. I hope you like this, even though my writing style is a bit different – we wanted it to match J.K Rowling's format. Also, these characters (Sophia, Hannah, Caroline) are based on our real life friends – we don't mean to offend anyone. So, other than that, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter!
BlueDaylighter & QuietlyImagining