A/N: I'd like to thank J. K. Rowling for creating the Harry Potter universe, and I hope you enjoy my take on the events following the seventh book!

"Al, it's time to get up!"

Al rolled over in his bed with dark circles around his eyes. He had been too excited to sleep much the night before.

"Al!" His mum yelled again.

"I'm up, I'm up!" He yelled back. He was tired, yes, but reminding himself as to why he had to be up so early, filled him with enough energy to keep himself from falling asleep again. It was going to be his first day at Hogwarts after all!

Shaking himself to be further invigorated for the coming day, he rose from his bed with a grin on his face and got ready for the upcoming journey.

Aboard the Hogwarts Express, and after waving goodbye to his family, Al finally sat in a compartment, though sadly devoid of anyone. He half expected to sit with his family but James was already busy with his friends and a number of girls whisked Rose away.

Al sighed and pulled out a book; still cautious that James would take it away from him as he had been doing so all summer long. He ridiculed Al for wanting to learn about his subjects before he even started school. The train began to lurch forward and Al kicked off his shoes and brought his knees to his chin, propping his book up, preparing to read the entire trip to Hogwarts.

The compartment door opened suddenly though. A blonde haired boy poked his head through.

"Can I sit here?" The boy asked.

Al looked up from his book and smiled politely. "I don't see why not," he responded. Al was glad he was finally able to share the compartment with someone else. He watched the other boy store his belongings and sit down across from him. At once Al noticed his piercing grey eyes. Unfortunately, ignoring Al, the other boy pulled out his own book.

Al fidgeted slightly, he did not want there to be an awkward silence following their initial meeting; he decided to break the ice.

"What'cha reading?"

"'A Beginner's Guide to Creating Your Own Spells', you?" The boy asked, glancing at Al's book as well.

"'Time Turners and Their History', not as interesting as yours though. I've heard creating your own spells is difficult."

"That's why I want to get a head start! What's your name anyway?" The blonde boy asked.

"Al Potter, you?"

"Scorpius Malfoy."

They both seemed to pause on the realisation to which their surnames held. Scorpius smiled sheepishly, unable to think of what to say. Al meanwhile, was trying to think of some sort of anecdote that was worth mentioning, about his realisation to whom he was sitting next to.

Over the years, both of their families have received considerable media attention. Albus recalled newspaper articles wherein Draco Malfoy had donated considerable amounts of money to various causes around the wizarding world. When asked if he was merely continuing his father's fascade, he declined the accusation and did not offer an explanation, instead continuing his charitable work.

Al, while fascinated by his father's stories of his time at Hogwarts. Admittedly, Al did not know much about the Malfoys. What little he did know was by way of his uncle Ron, who seemed quite biased when it came to the Malfoys.

After the fall of Lord Voledmort, Lucius Malfoy, who again was able to avoid prison, became a recluse in his own home. Perhaps to avoid humiliation and the public, the wizarding world could only speculate as to what went on in Malfoy manor. It wasn't until approximately a year after the fall of Voldemort, that in a fit of drunken rage, he burned down Malfoy manor, dying in the process. At the time, Draco had been out of the country for unknown reasons and Narcissa was staying with a relative. She was unfit to inherit the Malfoy legacy however, as she was mentally unstable following her husband's antics. Thus, Draco took it upon himself to rebuild his family's honour. Among other things, he had rebuilt Malfoy manor exactly as it was before, sans the dungeon.

Scorpius had heard about the Potters on nearly a monthly basis, which at times included a Weasley or two. Like the rest of the wizarding world, Scorpius knew about Harry Potter, 'the boy who lived' and what he accomplished nearly two decades ago. Scorpius recalled asking his father about Harry Potter. Draco's response was slow, somber and yet purposeful. Draco had respected the man and was glad Harry was making changes to the wizarding world; as Draco put it, it 'was for the better'.

At a young age, Scorpius began to understand the implications of being a Malfoy. While Scorpius may not have understood it all, for his father to inherit a legacy reviled by the majority of the Wizarding people, was a great burden. Unlike Draco's father though, Scorpius was never imparted the supposed importance of being superior to wizards and muggles for being a Pureblood. He wanted to love his son, not corrupt him. Despite this, Scorpius was still taught in the importance of the Malfoy name. He was often reminded of the importance of one day heralding the once prestigious name that he Draco, would hope to improve in his time.

Finally Al spoke up, "I guess we have a lot to live up to, huh?" He gave a wry smile.

"Yeah I guess… So what house do you reckon you'll be sorted in?" Scorpius asked, changing the subject.

Al frowned and looked down, clenching his fists, "I really don't know. My brother keeps saying I'll be in Slytherin though."

"What's so bad about that? My father was in Slytherin, and he turned out alright!" Scorpius countered, slightly raising his voice.

"I know. There's Severus Snape too, he was in Slytherin, and he helped my dad get rid of Voldemort. It's just that my whole family's in Gryffindor and I don't want to disappoint them."

"You may only be disappointing yourself…" Scorpius said smartly.

Al thought about this for a minute then finally asked, "And what house do you reckon you'll be in?"

"Slytherin." Scorpius said simply.

"Aren't people going to think you're just going to be like your dad or worse?" Al asked.

"Probably, I don't care though; I could ask you the same thing about you and your dad being in Gryffindor anyway."

Al understood what Scorpius had said, but that did not make him any less confused. He furrowed his eyebrows with his index finger and thumb, wondering about his predicament. He wanted to live up to his family's expectations and fame, he wanted them to be proud of him, perhaps even more so than the rest of his family. Could he achieve that in Slytherin? His father said he'd just be as happy if he were in that House after all. And Al knew that Slytherin wasn't all bad, even other Houses have sprung bad wizards and witches, but would he really find greatness in Slytherin? He would after all, be the first Potter-Weasley in quite some time to have been selected in a house that wasn't Gryffindor. Then there was this boy in front of him, so icily confident that he'd be in Slytherin. Scorpius intrigued Al…

"Well that's that then!" Al said suddenly, causing Scorpius to look up from his reading material. "I'll go into Slytherin with you too."

"You know the hat makes the decision right?" Scorpius reasoned.

With a mischievous grin, Al leaned in close to Scorpius placing his hand on the other boy's shoulder, his mouth near the other boy's ear, clearly wanting to tell a secret.

"My dad says the hat takes your choice into account," he whispered.

"Really?" Scorpius asked, clearly confused.

"Yeah-"

Al suddenly sprang back letting Scorpius go; a loud noise of someone opening the compartment door interrupted him. It was his brother, James.

"Oh dearest brother, may I so kindly bother you for-"

This time it was Al's turn to interrupt. "No you can't have any more of my money, you seem to 'forget' to pay me back, plus I wanna save what mum gave me for later."

"I am offended, young man!" James said mockingly giving an exasperated expression and straightening his back. "You, as a first year and my brother will need my help getting to know about the ins and outs of Hogwarts. Seeing as I'm starting my third year, I'm willing to help." James walked fully into the compartment now.

"I can get by just fine without you, thanks…" Al retorted.

"You misunderstand…" James said, walking forward pulling out his wand, "Petrificu-"

"Expelliarmus!" Scorpius yelled. A jet of red light shot out of Scorpius' wand causing James' wand to fly in Scorpius' hand. Stunned by Scorpius' quick reflexes and the fact that he hadn't noticed him before, James could only stand rooted to the spot, mouth agape.

"Finally noticed me have you?" Scorpius asked scathingly.

James, having gained some composure, glared at the blonde boy menacingly, then his eyes grew wide. "Hang on! You're Draco Malfoy's son." He spat, turning to face Al. "What the bloody hell are you doing in the same compartment as this loser? He'll just be like his dad, a muggle-hating-Slytherin!" He was raising his voice.

Al, amazed by Scorpius' tactics, finally gained the confidence to speak up again. Standing up and right in front of his brother, he poked James in the chest as he spoke. "Excuse me? Who was it that attacked me, and who was it that defended me? Just- just get out." Al grabbed James' wand from Scorpius and tossed it into the coach hallway. Al always had a short fuse with his brother this being no exception.

James gave Al a brief icy stare, glancing at Scorpius as well, who was still pointing his wand at James. He left their compartment quietly, leaving the door open, grabbing his wand from the floor and headed to where ever he came from.

"I'm really sorry about that…" Al apologized, walking towards the compartment door and shutting it before sitting down again. "My brother can be annoying. He must have lost a bet or something again…"

"Ah," was all Scorpius could say. Since he was an only child, he couldn't relate.

Al's eyes suddenly grew wide, "But wow! You know some magic already? That's cool!"

"Heh yeah, my father made it a point to teach me some spells before going to Hogwarts to defend myself." Scorpius holstered his wand. "Seems like that's not the case so far. I better not have to save you every time your brother comes by."

"Ha! Just you wait, I'll learn some useful magic soon enough, and I'll be saving your arse." Al retorted.

Their friendly bickering didn't last long until they began amicably talking about the year to come. Their musings were interrupted only by the trolley lady to whom they happily bought some sweets from.

It wasn't until the topic somehow meandered to the school's dress code, did they realise they had to change into their school robes. They changed just in time too, because the train was already slowing to a stop.

Students began filing out with the two in the midst of the sea of black cloaks, attempting to get off the train. Greeted by a loud booming voice calling first years, they made their way over to the origin of said voice, Hagrid.

Al began to wave both his arms frantically, "Hey Hagrid!" He called.

"Hiya Al!" Hagrid called back smiling.

Once it appeared that all first years were accounted for, Hagrid led them to the boathouse where the boats were already prepared for the first years.

Scorpius and Al ended up sharing their boat with two girls who seemed to be in an avid conversation of their own. They couldn't quite see the castle from where they were at the moment, but if James' written reaction from two years ago, was anything to go by, Al would not be disappointed.

"How do you know that big guy?" Scorpius asked.

"Oh, Hagrid? My mom and dad know him, I guess. We see him every once and a while." Al answered. "He's not a very good cook though."

The boys remained silent as the boats began to move of its own accord. As the boats rounded the corner, the first years "Oohed" and "Awed". They stared wide-eyed as they got a full view of the castle in its magnificence. Its cobblestone and seemingly impossible architecture was a spectacle to behold as the setting sun seemingly melted on to its brick face.

Finally arriving to the castle, Professor Gilborn greeted the first years, addressing himself as the deputy headmaster. He gave the new students a quick explanation of the school and its houses and then led them into the Great Hall.

As if the outside of the castle wasn't dazzling enough for the first years, the Great Hall offered a golden swath of light from the floating candles and a starry sky as the ceiling. Professor Gilborn led the first years to the front of the great hall. The new students whispered in anticipation noticing the lone hat that stood on a stool.

Suddenly, a flap opened up, and the hat began singing. When it had finished the school clapped politely.

A woman stood up and cleared her throat. "Greetings everyone and first years," she spoke in a commanding yet warm voice. "I am Professor Meripen, your Headmistress here at Hogwarts. Before the feast begins, let us begin the sorting!"

The school erupted into cheers as well as jeers calling for the feast to start. The Headmistress sat back down again, cueing Professor Gilborn to start the roster. Acknowledging as such, he pulled out a long scroll.

"When I call your name," he announced, "Please sit on the stool and once you have been sorted into your house, indicated by the hat, please sit with them."

Even after his discussion with Scorpius, Al couldn't help but feel a little nervous. He watched as one by one the first years put on the sorting hat. After a moment, the hat called out their new house, followed by cheers from the respective house. Al figured he shouldn't feel this nervous as he was already confident in his choice, after all, the newly sorted students looked happy.

Finally, it was Scorpius' turn. The students seemed to fall silent upon hearing the boy's surname. He gave Al a wink as he walked up and sat on the stool. The hat barely touched the boy's head when it had called out: "Slytherin!". Wild cheers erupted from the Slytherin house, though Al could hear stifled "boos" coming in particular from the Gryffindor house. Scorpius sat down with his new house, happily accepting him as one of their own. Any evidence that Scorpius would not be accepted, due to his family's past, was not readily seen. Al couldn't help but feel a little jealous of their acceptance of Scorpius.

A few more names were called and finally, Al heard his own name. Walking up to the stool, he couldn't help but overhear whispers of 'another Potter?' and 'he looks just like Harry Potter, just without the scar and glasses'. He even heard cheers coming from the Gryffindor table as though it was expected he'd be in that house. He sat on the stool and Professor Gilborn put the hat on his head.

Suddenly he heard the voice of the hat fill his head. "Hmm another Potter-Weasley eh? You're a lot like your father too. Ah yes, I see you want greatness… "

I don't want to be exactly like my dad. Al interjected, seeing where this was going.

"Then where to put you... You have a thirst for knowledge and the desire to prove yourself, yes I see now..."

Al looked up at Scorpius who looked back at him. Was Scorpius trying to convey something, an expression, hope maybe? I don't really want to be in Gryffindor like the rest of my family, Al reiterated.

"A new chapter, as it were, yes that much is clear. Well then it's obvious- Slytherin!" The hat yelled out the last word resonating in the great hall.

A couple Gryffindors cheered, then quickly stopped as they realised Al wasn't going to be a Gryffindor. Even the Slytherin house appeared confused, though a good number did applaud him.

The professor pulled the hat off Al's head, and Al made his way to the Slytherin table. Despite what James was telling him about Slytherin, his prefect, who introduced himself as Corey McClaggan, gave him a warm handshake. They didn't seem evil at all.

"Welcome to our house," he whispered. "To be honest, I wasn't expecting you to be chosen for this house, but I bet it's cause you have too many relatives in Gryffindor. You can use that rivalry by not letting them win the House Cup again."

"Uh, sure," Al responded. He noticed devilish smiles from his fellow Slytherin, he didn't want to know what they were thinking. Al walked over to Scorpius. "Nothing to it," he sassed, making Scorpius laugh. Al playfully pushed his friend over for an extra seat.

Rose Weasley finally had her turn to be sorted. It was no surprise to Al when the hat called out Gryffindor. He cheered for his cousin nonetheless.

Once the sorting was over the headmistress went over some school rules and finally, with the formalities over the feast appeared in front of the students.

Dishes of beef, pork and goose were flanked by dishes of green beans, mashed potatoes and even a gravy fountain. This was what was only in front of two boys though. Looking around they saw many more unique dishes. They never hesitated for a moment to dig in, as they were quite hungry.

Plates empty, and stomachs full the two boys felt as though they only had energy left for sleep. Finally getting that chance, their Prefect led the rowdy and not so rowdy Slytherins to the dungeons once the feast was over. McClaggan showed them the boys' first year dormitory and promptly left them as firecrackers could be heard off in the distance.

Their room was simple and rectangular. A thick glass window offered a view into the Great Lake. The darker colours of the dungeon was eased by the reflection of the moon as well as the glow of the lamp light. The room housed four four-poster beds, nightstands, dressers and desks for each of them. Their belongings were under a respective bed as well. They sluggishly moved into their new home and got ready for bed, wondering who their two other roomates were.

Not soon after two other boys, quite evidently tired, made their way into the room. Al and Scorpius introduced themselves. The two new boys' names were Aaron and Xavier, muggle-born twins.

"Wait a sec!" Al suddenly realised, "James told me that his room had both boys and girls..."

"Well they must do things differently up in Gryffindor tower," Scorpius chuckled.

"Ugh gross!" Al said, making the boys all chuckle.

With lights finally out, they lay in their beds in the dark waiting for sleep to take them over.

"Did you really have to ask the hat to sort you into Slytherin?" Scorpius whispered towards Al, from the bed next to him.

"Not really, though I think it already wanted to put me in Slytherin anyway, but I wouldn't have it any other way," Al answered quietly.

"Same. Ready for tomorrow you guys?" Scorpius asked, yawning in the process.

"I hope s-so Scorpius." Al said, attempting to stifle a yawn as well. Aaron and Xavier agreed as well.

Tomorrow would begin their journey to becoming full-fledged wizards.

"No Al, that's the Goblin rebellion of 1453 not 1345," Scorpius reminded his friend.

They had just come back from Christmas break, and out of habit were reviewing each other's homework they had done over the holidays, lying on their beds with papers everywhere.

They had been at Hogwarts for four months now and the workload was already beginning to pile up between the pair of them.

The day after they were both sorted into Slytherin, they sent letters off to their families. James seemed less than thrilled that his brother was in the "wrong" house. Though he hadn't confronted Al about it privately. Instead this meant enduring some taunts from James and his friends, but it did help to have a gang of Slytherins nearby to back up the two boys as well.

What both Al and Scorpius were hesitant to write about in their letters home though, was about each other's friendship. While generally not a big deal for most people, the Potters and Malfoys were not exactly known for being the best of friends. This was promptly solved by James who seemed it quite pertinent to tell his family who Al was already hanging out with. Just like with James catching Teddy snogging Victoire at the train station, his plan backfired. Al instead received letters of congratulations from his mother and father, as well as his extended family (though not surprisingly Uncle Ron's response sounded more mechanical).

Even Draco Malfoy and his wife, Astoria seemed not to mind much, after receiving a letter of their own. Whatever reservations they might have had towards the Potters, they neglected to write in their responses.

"So how was your Christmas anyway?" Al asked, ignoring Scorpius' correction.

"It was nice. Quiet as usual. But I got everything I wanted." He handed Al's paper back to him.

Al rolled his eyes, "Everything huh? Christmas at my grandma and grandpa's house was like a riot. It'd be a miracle if I got peace and quiet for Christmas. Lily missed me though, I told her all about you, she's jealous that she's not at Hogwarts yet." He absent-mindedly corrected the year on his paper.

"Did you say how smart I was?" Scorpius asked jokingly.

"Maybe, you may never know," Al joked as well.

Scorpius laughed, tossing Al's quill back at its owner.

They didn't have long to review their homework however, as there was a Quidditch game to attend to. The day before Christmas break Slytherin and Hufflepuff were scheduled to play against each other. However, due to a heavy blizzard the game was postponed. Students complained that the teachers could have just put up an anti-freeze charm around the stadium, but the date was already set and rules were rules. It wasn't common to have a Quidditch match as soon as everyone got back from the holidays, but no one was complaining.

"Gah! We're gonna be late!" Scorpius realised.

"Well come on then!" Al dropped what he was doing immediately, and grabbed Scorpius by the hand, attempting to speed things up through the empty school corridors. Had this been anyone else, Scorpius may have felt annoyed or offended, but he was already used to Al's physicality. The boy was often times, boisterous, emotional and just plain stubborn. Some would have called this naive, but Scorpius understood Al to be more indifferent or care-free. It was a nice departure from his family's rigorous attitude. Being with Al certainly made Scorpius feel more care-free as well.

As the year came to a close, the two boys were nearly inseperable. After their exams (to which they studied quite hard for) they headed to the Quidditch pitch for the school's final game, Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff. They were about to ascend to the first floor for the year's final Quidditch match, Hufflepuff versus Gryfinndor, when Al noticed something and stopped, dropping Scorpius' hand in the process.

"You've seen this statue before, haven't you?" He asked Scorpius. He was referring to a bust of a slender looking woman

"Yeah, why?" Scorpius questioned back.

"Well her eyes are glowing blue. I've never seen a statue do that before."

"What?" Scorpius walked over to the statue to get a closer look. Al was telling the truth. "It's not some sort of joke by Peeves is it?"

"I dunno, maybe." Al took a closer look to the statue looking at it at eye level. "I don't see any writing on it either." He smoothed his two thumbs over the surface of the statue. Nothing seemed off about it, yet the glow of the eyes seemed ethereal, almost hypnotising. Without really thinking about it, Al pressed in on the pupils. They moved with ease as though they were some sort of buttons.

Al looked up after pressing the two eyes in. A door in front of them began to materialise. Unlatching sounds resonated through the hall, and finally a giant door swung open.

"Huh…" Was all that Al could say. "Well after you dear sir," Al said jokingly, motioning his hands for Scorpius to enter.

He obliged, curious himself, and stepped into a small room. He took out his wand and used the lumos spell as there was no other light source. Al followed right behind him, with his own wand lit up. One side of the room held large bookcases full to the brim with books. The other side contained various magical instruments of all shapes and sizes. The room however was covered in mountains of dust, as it had not been used in quite some time. Curious, each boy went to the opposite sides of the room to further investigate.

"What is this place?" Al asked.

"It looks like someone's secret stash, only they must have forgotten about it or something." Scorpius replied. He placed his wand on the side table in the room and pulled out a book from the shelf. He opened it up sending dust everywhere, coughing in the process. He spoke up again once the dust and coughing stopped. "I can't even read it, it's so old, I don't think it's English either. Find anything?"

"I wouldn't even know what half these instruments do," Al said. He too placed his wand on the side table so he could pick up one of the delicate objects. The first one he picked was a slender glass, containing some sort of mercuric liquid. It swished in the thin and long glass instrument as Al examined it.

"You know, my father never mentioned this room at all when he was here, you think we're the first to discover it?" Scorpius asked.

"Maybe, at least in a while. My dad never mentioned it either." Al responded, walking over to Scorpius curious about the books as well.

"We're probably like our fathers, discovering new things about the school." Scorpius mused.

At this, Al frowned a little, "You know I don't like being compared to my dad, right?"

"Hey now, me neither," Scorpius agreed. "You gotta admit though-"

Scorpius was cut short as suddenly both he and Al felt a sudden and sharp cold wind pass through them.

"Since when was this place drafty?" Al asked.

"Who knows. Anyway, we should probably head to the Quidditch pitch." Scorpius pointed out.

"Yeah… This place isn't as exciting as the Room of Requirement anyway." Al agreed.

As they were putting the items they held back, the cold draft reemerged. This time, hurricane force winds were pushing the two against the wall. The wind drowned out their yells of surprise and pain as instruments smashed on the ground and books fell off the bookshelf. The room was in utter chaos.

Suddenly, a giant gold chain fell from the ceiling, falling on both their shoulders. They heard a voice just as they were enveloped in an orb of white light.

"Gentlefolk, I pray you well and biddeth you of strong heart for perils of unkind await!"

"Oi! Wake up lads! There will be no oversleeping in my regiment." Al could hear someone saying, shaking his leg. "It's Zero Hour."

"Wah?" Al said groggily.

The man had already moved on, attempting to wake up others. As Al opened his eyes however, he couldn't help but feel completely disoriented. He couldn't recall if something happened in that secret room in Hogwarts. Al took a good look around; he appeared to be in a canvas tent, clearly no longer in Hogwarts. He looked around and saw the man who had woken him up. He was attempting to wake someone who looked a lot like an older version of Scorpius. Getting up, Al squinted at the other man, still clearly confused. He realised the man was wearing muggle military gear, but it looked rather dated compared to what muggles wore now. This didn't seem to add up at all, but he thought that that room must have had something to do with it. Al decided to take a risk with the other person in the tent.

"Scorpius, is that you?" He whispered

"Al?" The other one asked, slowly nodding, yet his voice shaking.

"Yeah. What happened, where are we?" Al asked.

"I don't know. Did you take an age potion?" Scorpius got up as well.

"No, did you?"

Scorpius shook his head.

"Soldiers, get yourself ready, Zero Hour commences in 20 minutes from now." A booming voice echoed through the tent.

"Soldiers?" Scorpius exclaimed wide-eyed at Al, no less the wiser moments ago.

"In your fatigues soldiers! The Great War ain't waitin' for yah!" The man exclaimed, popping his head in Al and Scorpius' tent again and quickly popping out.

The Great War, Al attempted to recall. Where had he heard of that before? Then suddenly he realised, his eyes widening.

"Scorpius, I think we're in the muggle's World War I."