All was well.
Albus watched as the waving figures grew smaller and smaller, obscured by the thick white train steam. His father's words rang in his head "You were named after two headmasters of Hogwarts, one of them was a Slytherin. And he was the bravest man I ever knew." Could that really be true? Albus thought; all his life he had been told that Slytherin House was full of dark wizards that would use any means to get what they wanted. So… I can't be in Slytherin! I'm not a dark wizard! But… what if I am? And I just don't know it yet? What if-
He was woken from his thoughts by the entrance of his older brother. "C'mon, Al! Quit moping around, Mum and Dad have probably already sent off seven owls asking how you're getting on." James was a head taller than Albus with impossibly messy dark hair and a pair of glasses perched on his crooked nose (he'd had it broken by a Ravenclaw girl last year… don't ask). Albus noticed that he'd already got a smear of something on his AC/DC t-shirt and his jeans were looking more frayed than they were at the platform. "Speaking of," James continued without stopping for breath. "What was up with you and Dad at the platform? Were you whining? Wouldn't surprise me." Albus looked away. Slowly, James sat down opposite him and leaned forward. "Was it about your Sorting?" Albus nodded hesitantly, his mop of black hair hiding his eyes. "Hey," James lifted Albus' chin and smiled at him. "It's gonna be alright. Think of it this way: If you do get put in Slytherin, at least you won't have to deal with Victoire reading aloud her letters from Teddy to the entire Gryffindor table, they're super gross." Albus smiled weakly as James began to imitate Victoire as she dramatically recited her love letters.
"Yeah, I guess. But I'd rather deal with Victoire than get shoved into the dungeons with a load of kids I don't know. Would I even see you at school? It's bad enough with you being in another year, but I thought I'd at least get to see you in the Common Room."
"Al, you'll be fine. Look, worrying about it won't change the Sorting Hat's decision anyway."
"Well, it might," Albus said quietly. James' eyes widened. "Listen, Dad said something to me on the platform… he said that the Sorting Hat takes your decision into account, that I could choose if I wanted to be in Slytherin." James laughed and shoved his brother in the shoulder playfully.
"Then what are you worrying about? Just say you want to be in Gryffindor!" Albus shrugged.
"I guess,"
"You guess what?" A freckly girl with frizzy auburn hair stood in the doorway of their train compartment. "Or, am I interrupting?" She was petite and dressed in jeans and a yellow Holyhead Harpies team shirt; a large red book entitled How to Destroy the Opposition: World's Best Quidditch Chasing Tactics was tucked under her arm.
"Rose!" James stood up and hi-fived her. "Finally come to say hi, then?"
"Yeah, I've heard the snacks trolley is coming round soon and was hoping you'd get me a Chocolate Frog." James snorted.
"Not likely! Get your own!" He waved his hand in a shooing motion. "Be gone, chocolate scrounger!"
"Fine, suit yourself," Rose turned to the younger Potter. "Hey, Al? You okay?" He looked up and nodded unconvincingly.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She squinted at him and cocked her head but didn't push the question.
The silence was broken by a cry of "Anything from the trolley?" echoing down the carriage. All three teenagers stood up and poked their heads out into the corridor. An unbelievably old white-haired lady had her hands on the handle of a trolley laden with sweets and chocolates: Drooballs, chocolate frogs, Bertie Botts' beans, pumpkin pasties, sherbet Snitches, and dozens of other wonderful things. "Hi, yeah, I'll have a… umm… a…" James stuttered as he looked at all of the choices.
"Oh, move over! One box of Beans, three sherbet Snitches, and a chocolate frog, please." Rose rolled her eyes at James as she paid five Sickles to the lady. "Want one?" She offered him the box of Beans.
"Nah, I'm good. I always get the vomit one." He replied. Rose went back into the compartment and popped a sherbet Snitch into her mouth. Soon, she was joined by James and Al; they had two chocolate frogs and a packet of Acid Pops between them.
"Are you kidding me?" James looked down at his chocolate frog card. "I got Dad again!" Albus grinned and waved his Merlin card at his brother, James retaliated by throwing a bogey-flavoured Bean at him.
"Who'd you get?" Albus asked Rose. She shrugged and held up a card with a very pretty woman wearing a black dress and a blue tiara on the front.
"Rowena Ravenclaw, already got about four of her, though."
"Better than getting Salazar, he didn't disappear for ages and kept giving me this really weird look." James threw an Acid Pop onto his tongue and pulled a face which showed he regretted it.
"Hey, look!" Rose exclaimed, pointing to the train window. "We're here!" The three students craned their necks to see out.
The great stone castle loomed out of the Scottish mist, its many towers scraping the clouds. At its feet on the west lay a great dark forest, on the east was a vast black lake that reflected the night sky and each of the bright stars. Even though most of the damage from the Second Wizarding War had been repaired, some spells had simply been too Dark and rendered their damage irremovable; a constant reminder of the lives lost in the battle. Albus noticed the permanent halo of light around the tallest tower, put there to remember where his namesake Professor Dumbledore had been killed.
The scarlet train slowed to a halt.
"Guys, robes! You forgot!" James yelled at the younger students. Rose and Albus panicked and pulled their black robes over their clothes, there was no time for shirts or ties or trousers. Rose haphazardly shoved her Chasing Tactics book into a deep pocket. James practically threw them onto the platform. "Okay, so, this is it. You'll be taking the boats," He pointed to where an incredibly large bearded man was directing first year students to the lake. "Good luck with your Sorting and don't piss off Professor McGonagall." He sprinted away to catch a carriage with a group of other second years. What if I'm in Slytherin… What if I'm in Slytherin… What if I'm in Slytherin… The question looped round Albus' head like a mantra.
"Blimey! Are those 'Arry an' Ron's youngest?" A great deep voice boomed across the platform. Albus and Rose turned to the large man and ran to him.
"Hagrid!" Rose cried. He took them both in an enormous bear hug. Hagrid had more wrinkles than before and his beard was streaked with grey, but he still loomed over everyone. "I'm not the youngest, by the way. Hugo's nine." She corrected.
"Right, o' course. Ye know, Rose, even though ye look like yer dad with that red 'air, yer the exact same as yer mum, 'Ermione. Gonna be the brightest witch in 'Ogwarts, I bet." Hagrid turned to Albus, who was standing nearby trying to look like he wasn't weighing up the pros and cons of having a dungeon as a Common Room. "Albus!" He boomed. A look of confusion passed over his face. "Yer not the youngest either, are ye?" Albus shook his head. "Ah yes, there's yer sister Lily. Sorry 'bout that, I get all ye Weasleys an' Potters mixed up some'imes," Hagrid began to herd the first years towards the boats. "C'mon, yer've got Sorting to do!"
Rose and Albus climbed into the nearest boat, gasping as it rocked in the black water. Albus held up the lantern that had been put on the prow, its yellow light danced over the dozens of eleven-year-old faces; some excited, some nervous, some green with seasickness. Hagrid lumbered into an especially large boat at the head of the fleet and waved a pink umbrella. Suddenly, all the boats lurched forwards and began to drift over the lake's dark ripples towards the castle. Albus peered over the edge of the boat and saw dozens of shimmering creatures below the water, he even thought he saw the white tentacle of a Muggle squid. Hogwarts castle was reflected in the lake-water in shades of silvery grey, candlelight flickered in every window.
Soon, the boats stopped near the castle. The students clambered out onto the lake shore. "Yuck, my robe's all damp!" Albus muttered. Hagrid pushed open a stiff wooden door and lead them into a high stone corridor. At the top of a marble staircase stood a tall man in forest green robes, he had neat black hair and slightly too-large front teeth.
"Nice to meet you, first years. My name is Professor Longbottom and I teach Herbology. Now, through these doors," He gestured to the enormous gilded double doors behind him. "Lies the Great Hall and the Sorting Hat. Here you will be placed in one of four Houses: Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin." Albus flinched. "While you are here, your House will be like your family. Are we ready?" The eleven year olds all nodded eagerly. "Well, then," Professor Longbottom waved his wand and the doors swung open.
"Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."