A Brand-New Trio: Albus, Rose and Scorpius

Albus Severus Potter was unlike any other eleven year old boy. For one thing he was definitely not normal, he was a wizard.

Albus looked exactly like his father, untidy raven black hair, large green eyes hidden behind round glasses and he was very skinny for his age. The only difference between him and his father was that, unlike his father, he had no mysterious lightening bolt scar on his forehead.

That scar also hid within it a wondrous and terrible past, a past that Albus and his siblings (an older brother named James and a little sister named Lily) knew nothing about. It was in that unknown past that held the five Potter's fame, Albus, James, Lily, Harry and Ginny.

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Chapter One: The Hogwarts Express

"But dad, what if I end up in Slytherin?" Albus whined.

"Albus, if you end up in Slytherin, than you end up in Slytherin," his father responded.

"Albus honey, there is nothing wrong with any of the houses, don't listen to what James tells you. James is only trying to make you scared," his mother said sweetly.

"Nothing wrong with Slytherin, are you kidding mom? Albus, Slytherin is full of dark wizards, if you end up in that house than you end up in Azkaban," his brother told him from across the car.

The Potters were on there way to Kings Cross Station. James would be starting his second year at Hogwarts and Albus would begin his first year.

Through the entire ride Albus had been terrifyingly asking his father what would happen if he were to be sorted into Slytherin. Every time he had asked his father had told him that it was nothing to worry about, as did his mother, but his brother was the one who made the idea of being in Slytherin terrifying. James had told him over Christmas last that Slytherin was a terrible house, that the students of Slytherin were all evil.

Albus's sister Lily had her own worries, through the ride she complained about not being able to go. Lily still had two years before she could attend her first year. Seeing her brothers leaving was killing her inside and she knew that there was not a thing she could do until she got her letter.

(a/n: this is the epilogue from Deathly Hallows, basically word for word!)

They had finally arrived at the station and all waited in the car except for Albus's father, who had gone to retrieve two trolleys for the luggage. At his fathers return, Albus loaded his trunk and his caged owl onto his own trolley. When his brother had finally loaded his things, they set off into the station.

"It won't be long, and you'll be going too," his father whispered to Lily.

"Two years," sniffed Lily. "I want to go now!"

The commuters stared curiously at the owls as they wove their way toward the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Albus's voice drifted over the surrounding clamor; he had resumed his argument with his brother.

"I won't! I won't be in Slytherin!"

"James, give it a rest!" their mother said.

"I only said he might be," said James, grinning at Albus. "There's nothing wrong with that. He might be in Slyth-"

But James caught their mother's eye and fell silent. They approached the barrier. With a slightly cocky look over his shoulder at Albus, James took the trolley from their mother and broke into a run. A moment later, he had vanished.

"You'll write to me, won't you?" Albus asked his parents immediately, capitalizing on the momentary absence of his brother.

"Every day, if you want us to," said his mother.

"Not every day," said Albus quickly. "James says most people only get letters from home about once a month."

"We wrote James three times a week last year," said his mother.

"And you don't want to believe everything he tells you about Hogwarts," his father put in. "He likes a laugh, your brother."

Side by side, they pushed the second trolley forward, gathering speed. As they reached the barrier, Albus winced, but no collision came. Instead, he emerged onto platform nine and three-quarters, which was obscured by thick white steam that was pouring from the scarlet Hogwarts Express. Indistinct figures were swarming through the mist, into which James had already disappeared.

"Where are they?" asked Albus anxiously, peering at the hazy forms they passed as they made their way down the platform.

"We'll find them," said his mother reassuringly.

But the vapor was dense, and it was difficult to make out anybody's faces. Detached from their owners, voices sounded unnaturally load. Albus could hear his Uncle Percy discoursing loudly on broomstick regulation, and Albus could sense that his father was quite glad of an excuse not to stop and say hello…

"I think that's them, Al," said his mother suddenly.

A group of four people emerged from the mist, standing alongside the very last carriage. Their faces only came into focus when Albus, his father Harry, his mother Ginny, and Lily had drawn right up to them.

"Hi," said Albus, sounding immensely relieved.

Rose, who was already wearing her brand-new Hogwarts robes, beamed at him.

"Parked all right, then?" his Uncle Ron asked his father. "I did. Hermione didn't believe I could pass a Muggle driving test, did you? She thought I'd have to Confund the examiner."

"No, I didn't," said his Aunt Hermione, "I had complete faith in you."

"As a matter of fact, I did Confund him," Albus heard his uncle whisper to his father, as they lifted Albus's trunk and owl onto the train. "I only forgot to look in the wing mirror, and let's face it, I can use a Supersensory Charm for that."

Back on the platform, they found Lily and Hugo, Rose's younger brother, having an animated discussion about which House they would be sorted into when they finally went to Hogwarts.

"If you're not in Gryffindor, we'll disinherit you," said his uncle, "but no pressure."

"Ron!"

Lily and Hugo laughed, but Albus and Rose looked solemn.

"He doesn't mean it," said Albus's mother and aunt, but his uncle was no longer paying attention. Catching his father's eye, Albus saw his uncle nod covertly to a point some fifty yards away. The steam had thinned for a moment, and three people stood in a sharp relief against the shifting mist.

"Look who it is."

Albus saw a white haired man standing there with his wife and son, he had a dark coat buttoned up to his throat. His hair was receding somewhat, which emphasized his pointed chin. The boy resembled his father and much and Albus resembled his father. The man caught sight of Albus's father, mother, aunt, uncle and Albus himself staring at him, he nodded curtly, and turned away again.

"So that's little Scorpius," said his uncle under his breath. "Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited your mother's brains."

"Ron, for heaven's sake," said his aunt, half stern, half amused. "Don't try to turn them against each other before they've even started school!"

"You're right, sorry," said Albus's uncle, but unable to help himself, he added, "Don't get too friendly with him, though, Rosie. Granddad Weasely would never forgive you if you married a pureblood."

"Hey!"

James had reappeared; he had divested himself of his trunk, owl, and trolley, and was evidently bursting with news.

"Teddy's back there," he said breathlessly, pointing back over his shoulder into the billowing clouds of steam. "Just seen him! And guess what he's doing? Snogging Victoire!"

He gazed up at the adults, evidently disappointed by the lack of reaction.

"Our Teddy! Teddy Lupin! Snogging our Victoire! Our cousin! And I asked Teddy what he was doing-"

"You interrupted them?" said their mother. "You are so like Ron-"

"-and he said he's come to see her off! And then he told me to go away. He's snogging her!" James added as though worried he had not made himself clear.

"Oh, it would be lovely if they got married!" whispered Lily ecstatically. "Teddy would really be part of the family then!"

"He already comes round for dinner about four times a week," said their father. "Why don't we just invite him to live with us and have it done with?"

"Yeah!" said his brother enthusiastically. "I don't mind sharing with Al-Teddy could have my room!"

"No," their father said firmly, "you and Al will share a room only when I want the house demolished."

His father checked his watch.

"It's nearly eleven, you'd better get on board."

"Don't forget to give Neville our love!" his mother told James as she hugged him.

"Mum! I can't give a professor love!"

"But you know Neville-"

James rolled his eyes.

"Outside, yeah, but at school he's Professor Longbottom, isn't he? I can't walk into Herbology and give him love…."

Shaking his head at his mother's foolishness, he vented his feelings by aiming a kick at Albus.

"See you later, Al. Watch out for the thestrals."

"I thought they were invisible? You said they were invisible!"

But James merely laughed, permitted their mother to kiss him, game their father a fleeting hug, then leapt onto the rapidly filling train. They saw him wave, then sprint away up the corridor to find his friends.

"Thestrals are nothing to worry about," his father told him. "They're gentle things, there's nothing scary about them. Anyway, you won't be going up to school in the carriages, you'll be going in the boats."

His mother kissed him good-bye.

"See you at Christmas."

"Bye, Al," said his father as he hugged Albus. "Don't forget Hagrid's invited you to tea next Friday. Don't mess with Peeves. Don't duel anyone till you've learned how. And don't let James wind you up."

"What if I'm in Slytherin?"

The whisper was for his father alone, and his father knew that only the moment of departure could have forced Albus to reveal how great and sincere that fear was.

His father crouched down before him. Albus stared into his fathers green eyes, eyes that he had only received and eyes that his father had receive from his grandmother.

"Albus Severus," his father said quietly, so that nobody, but his mother, unknown to Albus, and Albus could hear; his mother was tactful enough to pretend to be waving to Rose, who was on the train, so as not to let Al know she was listening, "you were named for two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew."

"But just say-"

"-then Slytherin House will have gained an excellent student, won't it? It doesn't matter to us, Al. But if it matters to you, you'll be able to choose Gryffindor over Slytherin. The Sorting Hat takes your choice into account."

"Really?"

"It did for me," said his father.

He knew his father had never told any of them that before, Albus couldn't hide the wonder when his father told him that. But now the doors were slamming all along the scarlet train, and the blurred outlines of parents were swarming forward for final kisses, last-minute reminders. Albus jumped into the carriage and his mother closed the door behind him. Students were hanging from the windows nearest them. A great number of faces, both on the train and off, seemed to be turned toward Albus's father.

"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 his Uncle Ron. "It's me. I'm extremely famous."

Albus, Rose, Hugo and Lily laughed. The train began to move and Albus saw his father walk alongside it, looking at Albus through the gleaming windows. His father kept waving after him until the train rounded the corner and disappeared. (a/n:end book scene)

Albus and Rose stood rooted to the spot until the train rounded the corner. With the final glimpse of their parent's faces for many months to come, they turned on their heels and headed towards the very last compartment on the train.

As they walked down the corridor, many of the older student's faces turned towards them looking out of the glass doors as they made their way by.

"Why is everyone staring?" Rose asked.

"I don't know, Uncle Ron said everyone on the platform was staring because he's famous. I don't believe him, something else is going on," Al responded looking into another of the compartments they had passed.

The two first years had finally reached the last compartment which held their belongings alone. The two sat down looking out of the train window as multiple fields flew by.

"Do you think I should change into my robes now, seeing as how you have already?" Al asked Rose.

"I don't know. Mum says it takes about two hours to get to Hogwarts and we just left. You have plenty of time to change if you didn't feel like it just now."

Albus stood and reached into his trunk. He pulled out his new set of black robes and, making sure Rose had covered her eyes, pulled them hastily over his head.

Sitting down across from her, Al pulled out his new wand, oak, 9 3/8 inches long, phoenix feather core.

"Hmm…I wonder what kind of spells we'll learn on our first day," Albus wondered out loud.

"Well, Mum said they learned the levitating charm their first class. I expect that we'll learn just the same."

"Blimey, you sound exactly like Aunt Hermione."

"Humph, I hate when people tell me that! Mum and I are completely different!"

"If you say so."

At that same moment the blonde boy Albus had seen on the platform, opened there compartment door looks disheveled. He was pulling his trunk around and had his tawny owls cage in his hand.

The boy took a quick look at the pair, set the cage down and stuck out his hand to Albus saying, "My names Malfoy, Scorpius Malfoy."

Al took his hand trying to keep himself from laughing.

"You think my name's funny, do you?"

"Oh no, not at all," Rose interjected.

Scorpius looked at her more closely, eyeing her new robes and red hair.

"You must be a Weasely," he stated more than asked.

"So what if she is?" Albus retorted.

"My father told me all about the Weasley's. All read haired and freckled. But you don't seem to have freckles. The hair is still unmistakable."

"Well it just so happens that I am a Weasley. I'm Rose Weasley, Mr. Malfoy," Rose spoke. Albus was looking at Scorpius with a glare in his eye and Scorpius had a smirk on his face.

"Don't call me that. Just Scorpius is fine," he said haughtily.

"My granddad told me about your family, too. Purebloods and evil. No doubt you're the same way."

"We may be purebloods but we aren't evil, my granddad is, but my dad and I aren't," Scorpius said angrily.

Albus, who had kept quiet mostly, said, "Well, would you like to sit down? Or were you planning on standing in the doorway the entire trip?"

Scorpius entered and, with Albus's help, managed to get his trunk onto the over head rack. He sat down next to Albus and look out of the window.

The three sat quietly for a few minutes. James broke their silence when he opened the compartment door.

He entered and sat down next to Rose looking at Scorpius sternly.

"Who are you?" he asked rather rudely.

"Malfoy, Scorpius Malfoy," Scorpius said softly.

"Malfoy? As in Draco Malfoy's son?"

"Yes."

"Nice to meet you Malfoy," James held out his hand.

Scorpius shook his hand momentarily and said, "Just call me Scorpius, Malfoy's my dad."

"Yeah, I know. I know all about you and your father. I know everything your father and granddad did. Don't worry, I don't hate you, I hate them," James got up and walked out without once looking at his brother or cousin.

Albus and Rose looked at each other with the same confused look on their faces. Neither had actually heard a lot about the Malfoy's.

Scorpius's face had gone even paler than it naturally was. He knew his father and granddad's actions perfectly. His granddad had continuously told him every chance he got before he was sent to Azkaban and received the Dementor's Kiss.

"Are you alright, Scorpius?" Rose asked getting up from her seat and kneeling before him. Rose looked extremely concerned as she looked up into his pale face.

"I'm fine," he whispered trying to hold back tears.

"Err…I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the sweets lady is staring at us," Al interjected.

At that moment the said women opened their compartment door and asked sweetly, "Anything from the trolley dears?"

Al retrieved his money bag and got many of the snacks. He turned, dumped his goods on the seat Rose had vacated and closed the door.

"Dig in guys."

Rose stood up and sat across from Scorpius. Rose helped herself to a pumpkin pasty and Scorpius took a chocolate frog but didn't open it.

"Scorpius, you have to eat something. It's not good for a growing boy not to eat. It doesn't matter what your relatives did, it's what you make of yourself. It's how you represent yourself and redeem your family name. I don't believe that you're evil nor do I believe your father is. My mum told me that anything I hear people say about him is wrong, that he wasn't as evil as he pretended to be. She told me he was honest, charming in a cocky sort of way and did everything because he loved your grandma. She never actually told me what he did, but my mom is the smartest women alive." By this time Rose was on her knees in front of Scorpius again. It had always pained her when she saw people who were sad.

"Yeah, Scorpius. You seem like a nice bloke. Now are you going to be my mate and eat something or am I going to have to shove something down your throat?" Al asked laughing as he did so.

Scorpius looked up with a smile on his face. He wiped the tears from his face and took a big bite out of the chocolate frog he had been holding. When he finished the frog, he took out the card and looked at the magician on the front.

"Hey, look! This guy has the same name as you!" he said excitedly. He flipped the card over and read the back. "Hmm…it says he was a Headmaster of Hogwarts. He did some alchemy work with some bloke named Nicholas Flamel and battled Lord Voldemort."

"Who?" Al asked as he flipped over the card and hurriedly read the back. He turned the card over again and looked at the picture of the old man on the front who was smiling up at him and waving. "This must be one of the guys my dad told me about."

Rose took the card and studied it momentarily. "What did your father tell you about him?"

"Not much, just that I'm named for him and some other Headmaster."

"Wow, I wonder why your dad never told you about him."

"So, who is this Lord Volde-thingy you mentioned earlier?" Al asked Scorpius.

"Lord Voldemort. He was the most powerful dark wizard of all time. He hated mudbloods and muggles, and would torture and kill them any time he got the chance. My granddad said that he was the best person he had ever met."

"Torture and kill, that's awful!" Rose said thinking of her muggle-born mother.

"So, what ever happened to him?" Al asked.

"I don't know, granddad always got too upset at that point to tell me if he was still alive or not. He'd always storm around yelling about how, one day, he was going to kill some bloke named Harry something."

"Harry Potter?" Al asked hesitantly.

"That's the name!" Scorpius practically shouted out.

"Oh my!" a stunned Rose said.

Scorpius looked at the both of them quizzically. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Albus Potter," Al said after a few moments of silence.

"Oh."

The trio sat silently for most of the rest of the train ride. Each thought about what the possible meaning of everything they had just found out, could mean.

Rose had taken out a thick volume from her trunk and began to read avidly. Soon she was whispering little oh's and wow's.

When she had finally closed the book, she turned the two boys and said, "I think I know what's going on. It says here in 'Hogwarts: A History' that Albus Dumbledore was a legendary figure in the wizarding world. He had many contributions to the current knowledge wizard's posses and had a great influence over the entire wizarding world. He was offered the position of Minister of Magic multiple times, but each time he refused. He was the longest raining Headmaster and also the most mysterious. It wasn't until his death twenty years ago that people learned about his childhood, most people just knew that he had been in Gryffindor when he was a student at Hogwarts. Turns out that after his murder, his murderer became the Headmaster of Hogwarts under unmentionable circumstances. Guess what the name of his murderer, ex-teacher's name was," Rose paused for only a second. "His name was Severus Snape."

"Severus?" Al asked.

"Yes! Al can't you see, Uncle Harry named you after Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape, a hero and a murderer!"

"But my dad said I was named after two Headmasters-"

"I said that Severus had become Headmaster under 'unmentionable circumstances'."

"-and one of them was in Slytherin-"

"Severus was the Head of the Slytherin House and potions master."

"-and that that man was the bravest man he had ever met."

"Oh, well, I guess he could have been brave."

"My dad wouldn't name me after a murderer! And there's no question about it!"

"I know, Al. But, well, I don't know. Maybe this Severus guy did something extremely brave, and your dad didn't know that he had murdered the previous Headmaster."

"Not a chance, my dad named me after that Headmaster too."

"Oh, yeah."

"Snape was a traitor," whispered Scorpius softly.

"What are you talking about?" asked Rose.

"My granddad always talked about a guy named Snape being a traitor to the Dark Lord. Snape was a, well, you know what he was."

"Maybe they only think that this Severus guy killed Albus."

"No, Al. It says right here that Severus used the killing curse on him on the Astronomy Tower at Hogwarts."

"How can they know that? Were they there?"

"No," Scorpius said.

Rose turned to look at Scorpius, "How do you know that?"

"My granddad told me that no one saw what happened except for a couple of Death Eaters-"

"Who?"

"Followers of Lord Voldemort. Well only some Death Eaters were there and," Scorpius looked at Al for a moment before saying, "your dad."

"My dad?" Al said.

"Your dad and my dad saw Snape kill Dumbledore. I always got yelled at when I asked my father about it, so I don't know if my granddad was telling the truth."

"Our fathers were there? But, why?"

"I don't know. My dad overheard my granddad telling me and threw him out. He told me not to listen to such foolish stories. He never actually told me if they were real or not."

"Wow! Well there's only one way we can find out what no one will tell us. We have to look in the library," Rose said after the compartment had been quiet for some time.

"Don't tell me, your mums name is Hermione Granger isn't it?"

"Yes, yes of course. Why?"

"My dad told me about her too. He said that she was the most brilliant witch of all time and most powerful too. He told me stories of how your fathers and mine would get into fights in the hallway and that your mum would stop them by screaming about breaking rules and getting detention."

"Sounds like Aunt Hermione to me," Al said laughing hysterically almost falling onto the compartment floor.

"So, Al. What's your mum's name?"

"Ginny."

"Weasley I take it."

"Yes."

The three just looked at each other. None said a word as the train began to slow down at Hogsmeade Station. They grabbed their trunks and owls and made their way towards a gigantic black figure who was yelling out over their heads, "Firs' years over here! Firs' years this way!"