Albus Severus Potter was shifting nervously amongst the other first years in the corridor. They were waiting to be sorted and Albus was still afraid that he wasn't going to be in Gryffindor like his dad, his mum, and his older brother. He just fiddled with the black tie around his neck in order to try and to divert his thoughts away from what lay ahead of him. Albus was so focused on his tie that he didn't notice the person next to him was talking to him.

That is, he didn't notice until the kid poked him on the side of the head, "Oi! Are you deaf?"

Albus looked up. An eleven year-old boy with white-blond hair, pointed features, and ash-grey eyes was staring at him expectantly, "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"I said my name is Scorpius Malfoy. What's your name?" Scorpius smiled at Albus.

"Albus Potter." Albus stuck his hand out to shake Scorpius's.

Scorpius grabbed the out-stretched hand and shook it vigorously, "Hey! Our dad's work together at the Ministry! My dad is Draco Malfoy." Scorpius swelled with pride when he spoke of his dad. Albus didn't know why, from the stories he'd heard from his dad, he wouldn't have much pride, but Albus decided not to mention this, "What House do you think you'll get?" Scorpius asked eagerly.

Albus swallowed hard; this was what he'd been trying to avoid, "Um, I don't know. The rest of my family has been in Gryffindor."

Scorpius stood confident as he said, "I'm probably going to be in Slytherin like my father."

"My brother would probably beat me up if I was in Slytherin." Albus said solemnly.

Scorpius laughed slightly and said, "He says that, but I doubt he means it. Inter-house family relations work just fine most of the time."

Then the Transfiguration teacher, Professor Hermoine Weasley, called the students forward out of the corridor and into the Great Hall. She lined the shaking first-years up in an orderly line, and then she went forward and set a tattered, old hat on a stool. The hat began to sing a song about the bravery of Gryffindors, the loyalty of Huffelpuffs, the cunning of Slytherins, and the intelligence of Ravenclaws, and once it was finished, Professor Weasley unrolled a piece of parchment and called out, "Ambrose, Hailey."

Hailey was a small brunette who was sorted into Ravenclaw and several more Ravenclaws, a few random Huffelpuffs, a couple Gryffindors, and two Slytherins were sorted, before Mrs. Weasley called, "Malfoy, Scorpius". Scorpius strolled confidently forward and seated himself on the stool.

The Sorting Hat had barely touched his head before it yelled out, "SLYTHERIN!"

Professor Weasley kept going down the line of first-years until she finally called, "Potter, Albus."

James Sirius Potter cat-called at the mention of his brother and Albus turned red as he walked to the stool. He sat down and the Sorting Hat slid over his eyes, "Hmmm… Tricky. You desperately wish to cling to your family legacy, but you're very loyal, more intelligent than you wish to admit, and you have such ambition. A lot of ambition." The Sorting Hat thought for a moment before saying, "Trust me," Then yelled out to the crowd, "SLYTHERIN!"

The Slytherin table cheered and James started a round of 'boo's from the Gryffindor table, before yelling out, "RECOUNT!"

Albus stared at his feet, disappointed as he walked over to the Slytherin table and sat down next to Scorpius. Scorpius clapped him on the back in a comforting way and said, "Looks like you and I are going to be spending more time with each other." Scorpius smiled big at Albus, and then got quiet again when Albus shot him a down-trodden look.

The sorting finished and the feast began. Albus was starting to cheer up while Scorpius told him jokes and the other Slytherins told funny stories about their summers. But once the feast had ended, and the first year Slytherins were making their way back to their dorm rooms, Albus became sad again, "I just really wanted to be in Gryffindor. Just like my dad and his dad and his dad. Pretty much all the Potters have been Gryffindor."

"Cheer up!" Scorpius said, light-heartedly, "Houses run in families like hair color. You get all these brunettes, then a random red-head shows up and you wonder where the heck THAT came from. But it doesn't mean you love the red-headed kid any less then the brunette kids. The same principal applies here. I doubt your dad will love you any less now that you're in Slytherin."

"You're right!" Albus said, perking up. He unpacked his trunk and claimed the bed next to Scorpius. All the boys got into their PJs and settled in for the night. Albus was happier now that he was starting to make a friend and he figured his time in Slytherin would be much more bearable with a friend in his same House. Albus smiled and pulled out a spare piece of parchment. He scribbled a quick note to his dad about his day on the train and the new friend that he'd made. Then he ended the note with the House he was in, sealed it, and sent it on its way with Draconis, Scorpius's jet black owl that he borrowed for this letter.

Scorpius and Albus stayed up late talking about the classes they were looking forward to most, the places in Hogwarts they wanted to visit, and the pranks they wanted to pull. They concluded that this was going to be a fun year, and then they both lay down and drifted off to sleep.