Albus waved out the train window as he watched his parents disappear round the corner. He was filled with excitement and fear. He was finally going to Hogwarts. The school his parents attended and told him so much about, the place where his father, Harry Potter had defeated Lord Voldemort nineteen years previously. This was it. He was on his way.

But what was this feeling of dread and fear inside of him? The words of his brother echoed in his head.

"You might be in Slytherin."

This was the thing that feared him most. Would he disappoint his parents? Would everyone laugh if he, Albus Severus Potter, was in Slytherin after his parents, his brother James and his Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione were all in Gryffindor? Then he remembered what his father had just told him minutes before:

"Slytherin house will have gained an excellent student. 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. It did for me."

Albus smiled to himself as a voice behind him brought him back to where he was – the Hogwarts Express.

"This is it, Al," came the voice of his cousin Rose. "We're finally on our way to Hogwarts," she beamed!

"Come on then, lets go and find a seat!"

They turned and walked down the train corridor looking into compartments as they passed. Finally, they found one with one girl in it. Albus knocked and the girl looked startled. "Excuse me. Is it alright if we sit in here with you? There are no other seats anywhere else." The girl nodded silently and Albus and Rose slipped into the compartment and took their seats opposite the girl.

"Is this your first year too?" Rose asked.

The girl nodded and said, "My name is Isabella Brown."

"I'm Rose Weasley," replied Rose, "and this is my cousin, Albus Potter."

Albus smiled at Isabella as she said to him, "Is your dad Harry Potter?"

"Yes," replied Albus. He had a feeling he was going to be asked that a lot this year. James had warned him over the summer as he had also been asked the question so many times last year.

"Wow."

Rose laughed. "So, Isabella, did you have a nice summer?"

"Please, call me Izzy. Yes. It was really good. I was shocked to get my letter from Hogwarts, though. Both my parents are muggles. I always had a suspicion something was different about me though. When I was younger, I used to be able to make things happen without having an explanation. Let's just say, I managed to blame my younger brother for many things."

Albus laughed. Unless he was mistaken, he believed that he and Rose had just made their first friend at Hogwarts.