A/N: I don't own the Harry Potter series, the only things I own are the plot in this fan fiction and all the characters besides Albus Potter, Rose Weasley, James Potter, Luna Longbottom, Neville Longbottom, Horace Slughorn, Scorpio Malfoy, Harry Potter, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Ginny, in fact the whole Weasley clan, the sweets lady, Hagrid, Voldemort, and some other characters that may mentioned along the way, like Crabb. Also, since this is based on the films, what happened between Neville and Luna wasn't shown, if I got my facts dreadfully wrong, don't be afraid to tell.
I look out of the train's window as the spot my father occupied shrinks to the point of vanishing. I think of what he said to me, about being named after two Hogwarts headmasters, one of who not only being a Slytherin, but someone my dad's come to admire. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad being put into Slytherin my mind reassures me, but I know otherwise. I've heard plenty of horror tales of the students who got placed into that house. It's full to the brim of bullies and future Lord Voldemorts. I sigh at the thought of being placed into such a house.
"Albus? Are you alright?" Rose asks from beside me. Rose and her mom, my Aunt Hermione, had made an agreement that for this year, Rose will be my shadow, acting as my best friend and protector. Our parents have always been cautious, especially with Hogwarts. Don't get me wrong, they still love the place, but they're still afraid a lot might still go wrong.
"I'm fine, Rose," I reply, returning her worried look with a smile. This will be my first of seven years in Hogwarts. I just hope I find myself in the right house.
Rose notices that I am all but fine, and so, with the help of my older brother, James, they work together to try and cheer me up.
"Hey, Al! Check this out!" James says enthusiastically as he whips out his wands and a feather and turns said feather into a big, hairy spider. Rose immediately leaps out of her seat and screams.
"James! You know I hate spiders! Get rid of it! Get rid of it!"
"Aw, but look at this little guy! Do you really want me to kill it? It just wants to be your friend. Look! I think it wants a hug!" My brother says as he holds the spider towards Rose, who screams, backing away until she hits the window.
"James! I said get. Rid. Of it."
"Fine, fine. Spoilsport." And with that, James turns the spider back into its original form, as I sit there, already feeling much better. That's what these two do to you, they make you feel miles better without you even catching on.
"Thanks, guys," I say, still smiling after the show they just put on.
"Hey, your welcome, Al," James replies, smiling back at me as he puts his wand back where it came from. Rose takes the opportunity to try another tactic by talking to me.
"Albus, are you afraid of what house you might be placed in? Is that why you're so nervous?"
"Yeah," I say, eyes downcast as she places her hand comfortingly on my shoulder.
"Look, Albus, I'm sure we all feel that way, or at least I do." She smiles encouragingly at me.
"Yeah," James continues on. "Besides, you're bound to be a Gryffindor, afterall, mom was one, dad was one, and pretty much everyone in our family's been a Gryffindor, so you've got nothing to be afraid of."
"Thanks James." And I mean that. James always knew how to make me feel better.
"Your welcome, Al. Now, let's talk about all the things we look forward to in Hogwarts."
We did this to pass time for a couple of hours until the sweets lady came along.
"Anything off the trolly dears?" We all swarm to the door and look hungrily at the sweets filled trolly. Dad had told us about the trolly and the mountains of sweets it holds, he even gave us each some money specifically for this moment.
"Trust me," he'd said as he handed us the sweets money. "You'll thank me when she comes." Thank you, dad.
We ended up buying two each of everything, except the chocolate frogs. We bought twenty of those with two galleons each for the return trip.
"Not Merlin again," Rose huffs as she opened her frog only to receive her twenty eighth Merlin.
"Yeah, that's starting to get just a little ridiculous," I mutter as I open my third chocolate frog. What I get makes me grin.
"What is it, Albus?" Rose asks as she tosses her Merlin card onto the floor.
"It's dad," I show them the card.
"Heh. So it is. So far the only one in our family that I've got is Uncle George." James says, as we all chuckle with him. We all love Uncle George, but from what dad tells us, when his brother was alive, they were the funniest in the entire school. From what dad says, Fred and George were as close as anything, and after Uncle Fred's death, he's never been the same again.
"So," James finally says once we've eaten all we can eat. "We've got another three to four hours to kill. Want to, I don't know... Go on an adventure?" Both me and Rose shake our heads, grins firm on our faces, though. That's James for you, always wanting to go on some new adventure.
"No, thanks. I think we'll have plenty of adventures in Hogwarts," I say, still grinning.
"Oh, come on! Trust me, you don't go on all that many adventures, unless you call learning an 'adventure.'"
"Learning is always an adventure," Rose counters. James just simply rolls his eyes.
"Whatever. I'm going, whether you are or not." And with that, he stood up and left for greener pastures, or in this case over crowded compartments.
"Adventure," I snort, shaking my head. James has always been the rebel in the family, always causing mischief with a smile on his face.
For about an hour it was just me and Rose in that one compartment, talking about everything we know about magic, which is depressingly little, considering we both have world famous super wizards and witches for parents.
We were just discussing potions and its link to herbology when a knock sounded at the compartment door. It opens just as we turn to look, revealing a boy with light brown hair, a chubby face and what looks like second hand clothes.
"Hey, is it alright if I sit with you guys?" He mutters.
"Oi, fatso! Come here! I've got some nice, juicy chocolate cake to shove down your fat gob!" The poor boy flinches at the insults and looks at us desperately.
"Alright," Rose says, taking mercy on him. "You can join us." The boy is thrilled, he immediately enters, not needing to be told twice, with his belongings trailing behind him.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" He says as he sits down, bags still in hand. "They were threatening to steal my things! I just had to get out!" He explains. Me and Rose both nod, well those boys must be going in Slytherin.
"What's your name?" Rose asks politely once the boy's settled down.
"Err, Cancerius Crabb," he replies, turning red with embarrassment. I nod my head slowly.
"Yeah, my dad told me he knew a guy named Crabb..." I'm not trying to imply that he's evil and conniving, it's just an observation, but Rose still shoots me a look.
"I-I'm not like my father! Honest! In fact they all say I'm more like my mother, Mila Crabb!" He stammers, visibly shaking with fear that he'll have more than his weight to be teased with.
"Don't worry, I'm not saying that you're like your mom or dad, it was just an observation," I say in an attempt to calm him. It seems to work, until the compartment door opens up, making him jump.
"Hey guys!" James says, his need for adventure answered to and cared for for now. "Who's chubby?" Rose and I roll our eyes as Cancerius looks close to tears again.
"Five minutes until we reach Hogsmeade! If you are not already in your Hogwarts robes, get dressed now! Make sure that any owls or other cage confined animals are in their cages, and make sure everything's in your bags. Bags and belongings will be taken to the castle separately. If you are ready, just sit tight and enjoy your Hogwarts year." When the announcer finished speaking, me, Rose, James and Rus (he says he'd prefer it if we called him Rus) were already packed up and ready for Hogwarts.
"You've got no animal?" James asks Rus, confused. Rus' eyes suddenly go wide.
"Lobs!" He cries as he runs out of the compartment, calling, "Lobster! Here boy!"
"He really called his pet Lobster?" James asked, staring at the door, eyebrow raised.
"Looks like," Rose answers as she checks her bag to make triple sure she's got everything.
Five minutes later, Rus returns with Lobster, a pretty black owl, just as we pull into Hogsmeade station.
"He was a farewell gift from nan," he says proudly as the announcer returns, this time announcing our arrival and where we first years need to go.
"I'm nervous," I whisper, barely audible as I stare at the door, but still Rose's hand squeezes mine reassuringly and still Rus makes a whimpering sound before nodding his head to the point of it nearly flying off.
"Don't worry, Al. I'm sure it'll be just fine," James reassures me as he walks to where the older years are waiting to exit the train, leaving me, Rose and Rus. Taking a deep breath, I join the other first years.
We all step out into the cold, dark night, and are greeted with an old family friend.
"Over here first years! Gather 'round, gather 'round!" It's Hagrid, one of dad's dearest friends from his time at Hogwarts.
"Hey, Hagrid!" I call, waving to him. He grins and waves back before waving us towards him. Finally, when we are all grouped in front of him, he leads us to the lake.
"Hope yer don' all get sea sick!" He calls as he gestures towards the boats. There are a mixture of groans and gasps of excitement from the people around us, me being one of the groaning students. I hate boats. I've got a long history of throwing up while in boats and planes, even cars sometimes. But boats? There's no 'sometimes' about it. I always feel ill while at sea... or lake... Hesitantly I step into the thing, glaring when starts to wobble under my weight.
"I hate you," I sneer at the boat, it merely wobbles more in response.
"Come on, Albus, just this once," Rose says from behind me. She knows about my hatred towards boats, but it's obvious she's getting more than a little impatient.
"How would you like it if someone told you to ride a spider?" I reply, she shuts up after that.
Finally, all three of us are safe in the damned boat, or as safe as you could be, and we are sailing across the lake magically.
"Aw, it looks so beautiful!" Rose says from beside me, looking around at the trees, the night sky, the castle drawing nearer. I huff.
"Yeah. Beautiful." Rose just simply rolls her eyes and continues admiring the view of what's to be our new home for the next seven years.
"You better get used to it, Albus, because this is the view you'll be staring at for the next few years. Enjoy it while you still can," she lectures. I just roll my eyes and huff yet again.
"Enjoy the view. How can I enjoy the view when I feel like throwing up all over it?" Now it's her turn to roll her eyes.
"Child," is her only response.
Finally, at long last, after what felt like hours of feeling green, we finally reach the castle. Finally. At the steps of the grand, majestic structure ( 'cause I did have enough time to admire it even while trying to keep the sweets down), there stands an elderly man, patiently waiting for us to finally reach him. He smiles at each of us, before finally introducing himself.
"Hello, first years! I am Professor Slughorn, now if you will come with me, you will be sorted momentarily," and with that, he leads us all into the castle, and into a room where we all just about fit before telling us to wait as he walked through the doors into the great hall. I look over to Rose nervously, she just smiles at me serenely. I just keep reminding myself what dad said about Slytherin.
"You were named after two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin, and the greatest man I know."
Dad used to tell me stories of my two namesakes, his favourite being the tale of Severus Snape, an unsung hero, so dad calls him. Everybody knows of Severus Snape as the one who brought hell to Hogwarts, but dad specifically told me, when I was young, of all Snape had lost in order to successfully creep behind the Dark Lord's back. He'd tell me of my grandmother, and how he had loved her perhaps as much as my grandfather had, he'd tell me about what he saw in Snape's memories, and the guilt he, my dad, had felt over thinking of Severus Snape as the bad guy all this time, not realizing the truth...
He had sacrificed so much... perhaps Slytherins aren't all that bad...
Professor Slughorn returns, gesturing for us to enter the great hall. I follow him like as if I were in a dream, like all this wasn't truly happening, because surly it can't be happening. I just keep reminding myself over and over again about the school itself, that no matter where I end up, it's a privilege to be here. I find myself staring at the table where the teachers sit, already choosing the ones I ought to go to first if someone starts picking at me or bullying me for whatever reason. I know Professor Longbottom, he used to be in my father's year, and is apparently a rather talented herbologist. I know Professor Flitwick, who's still teaching charms it looks like... and... Luna, married to Professor Longbottom, is a close friend of my dad's and helped during the battle that Voldemort had started on these very grounds. Luna, from what I hear, chose to teach divination, as over the years after what had happened in Hogwarts, it has grown as a sort of fascination for her. Other than that, I'm not entirely sure of the others, apart from that ghost teacher, who dad frequently joked about, I think his name's Professor... Bean? Yeah, I think that's it... But from what dad says, he could easily bore my bullies to death. Yeah, safe and sound...
Finally we reach the end of the room in front of the teacher's table, where a stool and a tattered old hat lies. Slughorn tells us of the procedures, he calls our name out, we step forward, put the hat on, sit on the stall, get placed into a house, place hat on the stool again and run to our house table. Simple, really.
"Don't be afraid if the sorting hat takes longer than usual to determine your house, as some sortings may take longer than others. Right, so first in the list: "Abbot, Richy!" Richy Abbot, a terrified looking boy, shakily made his way to the hat. He placed it on his head, took a deep breath and... nothing. An entire minute went past until finally, "HUFFLEPUFF!" A large round of applause erupted, while I simply got more and more nervous. The names flew by too fast, "Beacon, Rimney," Ravenclaw, "Creevey, Celeste," Gryffindor, "Crabb, Cancerius," I smiled encouragingly at the nervous boy, who nervously placed the hat on his head. "SLYTHERIN!" He looked shocked, but I guess it just proves not all Slytherins are evil backstabbers, I just get the vibe Rus isn't like that. More and more names are read out. "Lock, Dorothia, " it took 5 minutes for her to be sorted, within which there seemed to be an argument between her and the hat, before finally "SLYTHERIN!", "Malfoy, Scorpius," well, there's a familiar name. Slytherin, of course. "Monty,Charlie," Gryffindor, "Nigel, River," Ravenclaw, "Nocturne, Star," Gryffindor and finally, "Potter, Albus!" Slughorn called. As I step up to the seat, all eyes turn on me. I put on the sorting hat. Almost immediately, a whispering can be heard beside my ear.
"Ah, you must be another one of Potter's boys. The power, the potential, it seems to run in your blood. You could be placed anywhere, really. You have the desire to learn, the ambition is also there, you have courage, skill, and the need to prove that you are not your father, but just as brave and noble as him. The need to be remembered. You could be placed in any house... Ravenclaw will do you well, show you what you could learn, place you with others who desire and want to improve. Or I could place you in Hufflepuff, where you will be surrounded by supportive friends who will cheer you on and encourage you every step of the way. Or perhaps you could be in Gryffindor," my heart skips and I find myself whispering pleas to be in that house. "Gryffindor, where your bravery will be rewarded, where you be great and with others of the same level of courage, curiosity, where they will fight for you and probably even win, and why? Because you are family. But then there are the Slytherins." My hands tighten to fists and I shake my head. "Please, boy, let me continue. They will also be like a family to you, they could teach you more ways with magic, ways to fight and ways to survive..." What does he mean by 'ways to survive'? "Hmmm... this is a very tricky choice, but I say that to me, the best place for you right now would be..." Not Slytherin, not Slytherin, not Slytherin, "SLYTHERIN!"
