Author's Note 2016: This is a project I've kept in my mind for a long time, and finally I've nabbed onto the inspiration and time to do it. It's based off of the animated film "Anastasia," and begins right where the Death Hallows Epilogue ends: at King's Cross Station for Albus Severus Potter's first year. This is an AU and will likely not follow any plot or additional characters from the Cursed Child, or at least very little. We'll see how it goes. I hope you enjoy it. I think it's going to be a great deal of fun!

Content: Eventual Slash, but mild. Next Generation AU.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Anastasia.

Chapter 1: A Rumor in Diagon Alley

It was nearly six years ago that it happened. The first of September was a day that was always special, and we were all so happy.

My youngest boy, Albus Severus, was eleven years old and on his way to his first year at Hogwarts. Nerves and excitement filled the entire Platform 9 3/4 and I knew that he was going to make me proud. The train whistled departure time, my son waved to me from the window of his compartment in the third car, and I watched happily as he disappeared from sight. It was supposed to be a time of peace.

We were foolish to think so. Dark magic was at work. Dark magic that I thought I had abolished decades ago was festering beneath the surface of our peaceful little world. A curse had been set in place, woven into our lives. Our destinies. Now, after all this time, it was ready to rise back to the surface. Even now I don't believe that the time and place was a coincidence. This was a curse meant to hit the wizarding world where it would hurt the most.

It happened with no warning. Most families had started to move out, single parents apparating, those with younger kids, like mine, waiting in line to slip out the platform into King's Cross. Everything felt normal. We were next in line when the explosion rumbled the entire platform. Many people screamed. I ran out onto the tracks and what I saw made my blood run cold.

The Hogwarts Express had stopped barely miles from the platform and a bright, emerald green explosion erupted around it. As myself and many other trained Aurors dashed forward to help, the light took the shape of a giant, monstrous snake that bore down on the train, engulfing it entirely. Green flames and black smoke surrounded the crimson, metal body. The second I was within range of the train's protective charms, I apparated the rest of the way, right on what remained of the tracks. It was even worse close up. The train had been twisted, much of it thrown onto its side. Children ran screaming... those that could at least. Some cried and screamed, bloody and burned, trapped under rubble, while others... too many... lay lifeless on the ground.

I was selfish. I didn't stop to help any of those children. I rationalized that older students were on the job, saw that they tried to block the flames and get the younger ones out as quickly as possible. I like to think I shouted orders as I ran past the ruined cars, but I can't remember what I might have said. Every ounce of my being had one need: to get to the third car.

"Albus!" I called jumping inside. This car had mostly cleared out already. "James!" No answer from either of my sons. I heard a creak and jumped back just as the roof above me caved in. It was too dangerous to stay, but I couldn't give up on my boys. So I threw on an additional shied charm and kept going. "Albus! James! Answer me!"

"Rose. Rose, please! Wake up!"

I heard Ron's voice outside. Were Albus and James with their cousin? There was no sign of them, of anyone, in the car, so I ran out against all hope, but was met with a horrible sight. Among chaos of people trying to gather students and help the injured, I saw Ron curled around the unmoving body of a little redheaded girl. He held her in shaking arms, calling her name over and over. Meanwhile Hermione had her wand out, muttering spell after incantation after charm so quickly the lights and colors from her wand could barely keep up as they wove magic around the little girl.

But what shook me to the core was what I saw next, half buried under debris from the turned train, the unmistakable form of my oldest son, James. His eyes, those beautiful laughing eyes, stared at me, lifeless. His body, his blood, his spirit... I knew he was gone.

"Harry!"

I turned around to see Ginny running towards me. I intercepted her with a hug, blocked her from the scene. I couldn't let her see our son like this. But I could tell she knew. Her heart was already broken, same as mine.

I do not remember much about that day past that moment, except for the echo of an evil laugh that blew past gently with the wind, and the Dark Mark that shined in the sky above the smoking train, well into the night.

The Hogwarts Express was only one of many targets that day. Other wizarding schools had suffered similar fates, and many of my friends and colleagues lost children in the aftermath. We had worked so hard to build a better world for our children, only to have them taken from us in less than an hour's time.

In the aftermath of the attack, my son James Sirius Potter was dead, and my niece, Rose Weasley was in a coma, confined to St. Mungo's hospital. But I never found out the fate of Albus. We searched day and night, but a body was not recovered, nor any sign of his remains except for his trunk. Even years later, I couldn't help but hope that somehow he had survived the attack, and was out there. Alive.

-Six Years Later-

Seventeen-year-old Scorpius Malfoy walked through the streets of Diagon Alley, holding tightly a worn down leather case. He carried himself with a confidence that made his second-hand robes look particularly dapper, and an idea that made him feel particularly smart.

Rumors around town were that Harry Potter, one of the great hero's of the last wizarding war, was looking for his son, Albus. That alone was all swell, but what intrigued Scorpius was the large reward money that came with the deliverance of the boy. Now Scorpius had grown up a fairly privileged boy, his family living off inherited money and a general sense of pride, but all that changed when he was eleven. An act of dark magic had attacked the Hogwarts Express, killing hundreds of students on their way to school. Scorpius's parents were taken into custody thanks to a long ago connection to the Death Eaters, and Scorpius had lived a rather humble lifestyle since then.

The second he turned seventeen, Scorpius dropped out of school, able to make a living through... let's call it "deception". An artifact sold here, a love potion brewed there, and many a discretely ordered hex. But the prospect of being able to live comfortably without all the work? Now that was appealing.

The plan was a simple one, and even he had to admit, probably not all that original. He was going to find a boy to pretend to be Albus Potter. His actor would get to live the grand lifestyle of a great wizard family, and Scorpius would be rolling in the galleons that the Potter family would throw at him in return. Everyone would win! Of course the plot was not without its share of difficulties. The problems he faced at present were twofold. First he had to find a convincing actor. Second, he had to make sure they stood out among all the other boys who would surely step forward as the lost son, Albus Potter.

Clutching the bag in his hand, he smirked. The second problem, he was proud to say, he had just solved.

Tiny bells jingles and Scorpius strolled into the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes Joke Shop. Young children and older parents browsed cheerfully, but there were few in the age in between. Since the attack, people Scorpius's age were hard to come by. It was therefore difficult to forget how lucky a person he was, but rather than brood about it, Scorpius thought it an advantage in life. If he'd been that lucky before, surely he could be lucky in just about everything.

"Hello, Mr. Weasley!" Scorpius waved at the middle aged, ginger haired man working the counter. He looked up and smiled back.

"Welcome back, Mr. Powell."

Scorpius jumped behind the counter and through a door that led to a staircase. He climbed.

Since being on his own, Scorpius had learned that the name "Malfoy" was not well received on the streets. "Scorpius Powell" though not completely unassuming, worked well enough to get him though the days, and keep a little loft bedroom above the joke shop. Once there, he jumped onto his bed and opened the leather case. He pulled out a long, thin box and set it carefully on the bed. This was his ticket in.

Scorpius opened the box and examined its contents.

A wand. Ten and one-third inches, Hazelwood, unicorn hair. It had an owner, a distinct magical scent, however old and faint it was. Scorpius had been holding onto it for years...

-Flashback-

Eleven-year-old Scorpius sat in an empty compartment on the Hogwarts Express. The train was just starting to depart from the station when two other first years burst in, a dark haired boy and a little ginger haired girl. They ran strait past him to the window, waving to their families. As the train pressed forward, Scorpius figured he might as well follow suit and inched to the window. His father gave a short, dignified wave from the platform. Scorpius returned it.

Finally out of sight from the platform, the boy and girl sat down opposite Scorpius. He fidgeted uncomfortably as the two children smiled kindly at him.

"You're a first year too?" the girl said. "I'm Rose Weasley, and this is my cousin."

"Albus Potter." The dark haired boy said.

"Potter?" Scorpius said, surprised. "Not as in 'Harry Potter'?"

The two looked at each other, clearly befuddled.

"What do you mean?"

"What are you two, daft? Harry Potter is-"

"There you are!"

Scorpius was cut off by an older boy, a third-year with messy black hair and laughter in his eyes, despite the anger in his expression. The boy ran into the compartment and started digging through Albus's pockets.

"James!" Albus shrieked, "What the bloody hell are you doing?"

Scorpius inched backwards, made wary eye contact with Rose who merely rolled her eyes at the bickering boys.

"You have my lucky Snitch, I know you do, Slytherin scum!"

"I haven't even been sorted yet! And I don't have your ruddy Snitch."

"Dad gave that to me! It's good luck! How do expect me to bring home the Quidditch Cup without-"

That's when a deep rumble shook the train, ending all chatter. It halted and for just a second, all was silent. Then in a great explosion, everything seemed to erupt in green flames and black smoke. Scorpius was thrown sideways into Albus and together they rolled into a wall, which they held onto for dear life. Rose screamed and James reached out to grab her, just as the train jostled them both full force into the window and out of the still moving train.

Scorpius barely had a second to process what he just saw when the glass exploded from a skylight above him, the falling shards nearly slicing Scorpius to shreds if it wasn't for a burst of blue light that appeared around him, shielding him from the shrapnel.

Scorpius gaped at the source of the shield, emanating from the tip of Albus's wand. The Potter boy looked equally shocked that he'd managed to produce the protective charm, but didn't get the chance to dwell on it.

An evil laughter echoed in the air around them and the train car started to roll. Scorpius lost his grip, was thrown under the seats and a trunk fell from above, blocking his way out.

Immediately the unbearable heat of another wave of green flames hit him and the thick smoke attacked his lungs. He coughed, unable to breathe, and his eyes watered. He tried to call out for help but couldn't muster the voice.

"Hold on!"

Purple sparks from somewhere. Scorpius kicked at the trunk, moving it enough to see Albus try to crawl towards him. Another explosion, more black smoke, a blinding flash and Albus was gone, along with the entire side of their car, which had been scraped open.

Scorpius reached out for the wand that had been left behind, hoping to use it somehow to get out. His fingers barely grasped it when the heat and smoke became too much for him. He passed out.

The next thing Scorpius knew, he was on the grass among other crying kids. He'd lasted long enough to register the wreck of the train in the distance, and the chaos around him, and the unfamiliar wand in his hand, before blacking out once more.

-End Flashback-

When he came to again, Scorpius was being tended to by a private nurse in his own home. Shortly after that his parents were taken into custody and his life changed drastically. He'd kept the extra wand a secret, though never thought much about it, until the rumors began spreading. After that, he'd immediately snuck back into his old manor (it was abandoned now), retrieved the wand from his hidden spot behind a bookshelf, and had it refurbished by talented yet secretive man in Knockturn Alley who would show nobody his face.

The wand, with the undeniable magical signature of Albus Potter, was his key to riches. If he could just find the right boy to play the part...

A/N: And there we have it! In the next chapter expect to see more of Scorpius and George Weasley, check in with the remaining Potters, as well as our first glimpse at the mysterious boy, Al.