Author's note: Welcome! This is my first fanfiction, and the start of a hopefully great series. Planned are 7 books, analogous to the original Harry Potter series, with Albus as main character. Many interesting themes, which came a little short in Rowling's books, such as Goblins, Squibs, international magical Cooperation, Coexistence with Muggles etc. will be more in the foreground. Of course, I'm going to add some new developments in the magical world.
I know that this chapter is a somewhat slow start and not very creative, but I wanted to introduce some characters first. However, you should definitely proceed to chapter 2, I promise you it'll pay off.
Just like probably every new author, I ask you to review my work! That would be a great motivation for me to proceed faster with my writing.
And now, I invite you to become fans of the first hour! It's going to be epic!
When he boarded the Hogwarts Express for the first time in his life, Albus Severus Potter felt less Gryffindor than ever. Although he had already been told much about Hogwarts from his parents and his brother, James, it was something entirely different to stand there, amidst dozens of other young wizards.
"Come on, Al. We have to find a compartment. Haven't you heard what mum said? Our parents became friends at their very first ride of this train," hissed Rose behind him. Shaking off his temporary astonishment, he followed his cousin, only to look into one full compartment after the next.
"This is all your fault, Al. If you hadn't stood around silly for ages, we'd long be sitting," complained Rose, just as short-tempered as usual.
"Shut up," said Albus. "Look, here are only two boys, there's still plenty of room for us."
Determined, Albus stepped into the compartment, leaving Rose, who had a doubtful look at her face, standing behind. The two boys who already sat inside looked up. One of them had very blonde hair, a sharp chin and was already in his Hogwarts robes. Albus remembered that Uncle Ron had mentioned him on the platform. Judging by the expression of his face, he was utterly terrified, as if it wasn't a first year, but a dementor who had just entered the compartment. The other boy was thinner and had shorter, dark blonde hair. He seemed slightly more relaxed than the light blonde boy, but also remained silent and looked up at Albus with a mixture of curiosity and anxiety.
"Er… Hi," began Albus awkwardly. "Do you mind if we sit with you?"
The thin boy smiled and shook his head no, while the light blonde boy was just trying to look as small as possible.
"Thanks," said Albus relieved, taking the lack of answer from the light blonde as a "no". "I'm Albus, by the way, Albus Potter. And this is my cousin Rose Weasley," he added, dragging Rose, who still seemed undecided, finally into the compartment.
"Hello," said the dark blonde boy. "My name is Quentin Simiol. Nice to meet you, Albus, Rose."
Relieved, that finally someone else than him had said something, Albus sat down, smiled and nodded. Rose, on the other hand, turned to the other boy.
"And you have to be Scorpius Malfoy," she stated. "Actually, my dad doesn't want me to be friends with you - "
"Rose! You don't even know him yet!" interrupted Albus angrily. Scorpius looked as if his worst fears had been confirmed.
"Well, I suppose you're right. Dad can say some pretty weird things sometimes" admitted Rose and sat down as well.
For a while, all remained silent. Rose, who was always very uncomfortable with such silence, tried to put up a conversation, asking "so, which houses do you think you'll be sorted in?"
Albus shifted uncomfortably in his seat. This subject still gave him headaches, because he couldn't help recognizing how different he were from the rest of his family. When his brother, James, acted at once, Albus always paused, thinking. He didn't feel very brave, even though he surely wasn't a coward, and he certainly thought of himself and his own advantage first. All those traits resulted in his fear to be sorted into Slytherin.
"From my family, I'd say Slytherin, because my mother was there," said Quentin, pulling Albus out of his thoughts. "My father went to Beauxbatons, though. Personally, I feel I'm more of a Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff."
"Why did your father go to Beauxbatons?" asked Albus.
"Because he is a Frenchman," said Quentin. "He went to Britain, since he became ambassador of the French ministry in London. There he also met my mother. What about you, Scorpius?"
"All - almost my whole family was in Slytherin" whispered Scorpius, speaking for the first time. "Everyone keeps saying, I could be the one to break the tradition, though. And they don't mean that in a positive way. Ravenclaw was my mother's house, so that wouldn't be too bad. But Gryffindor or Hufflepuff…" He shuddered and fell silent.
"Well, probably they can't hear it anymore, but as far as I know, Rose' and Albus' ancestors were exclusively in Gryffindor," pointed out Quentin, his eyes twinkling. Albus already liked him.
"Don't get me wrong, personally I'd have no problem with Gryffindor," said Scorpius. "My mother would also be alright with it, maybe even my father. But my grandfather…" Again he broke off, apparently embarrassed.
"Well, I'm absolutely sure I'll be in Gryffindor, just like my parents. And, for your information, Malfoy, they will be more than fine with it," snapped Rose, obviously personally offended, that Scorpius' grandfather was no fan of Gryffindor.
"In the end, I don't think we have much influence," said Quentin. "After all it's still the Sorting Hat who makes the decision."
Albus remembered what his father had told him on the platform. According to him the Sorting Hat did take the personal choice into account. He didn't say anything about it, though, and instead changed the subject.
"What does your father do as ambassador?" he asked Quentin.
"Most countries send an ambassador in other important states," said Quentin. "My father represents the French interests in Britain. I believe, he even met your father once, Albus, and sometimes he talks to your mother," he added towards Rose.
Albus' father was Head Auror and hunted Dark Wizards, whereas Hermione Weasley was the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Her husband, Ron Weasley, also worked as Auror in the Ministry.
"What are your parents actually doing, Malfoy?" requested Rose. Quentin rolled his eyes.
"My father doesn't really have a regular job," Scorpius said, slightly taken aback. "We have enough money, and he doesn't want to be out in public so often. Sometimes he makes some potions for steady customers, though. My mother is an artist, she often does decoration or arranges music for parties and stuff."
Albus knew from his father's stories who Draco Malfoy was and what he had done, but his father had also told him, that Mr Malfoy hadn't been a death eater by his own choice and had changed completely after the war.
The conversation turned towards other subjects, and the train ride was quite pleasant. Albus got to know Quentin and Scorpius a little better, and he really liked both. Quentin was always friendly and a very pleasant conversational partner, even though he was relatively quiet and reserved. Scorpius, on the other hand, opened up considerably and talked a lot more than at the beginning, seemingly relieved, that Albus and Quentin were friendly to him. Rose still was somewhat nervous and snappish and soon hid behind a book on curses that her father had given her "in case Malfoy's boy played up".
Time elapsed quickly, and soon they put their Hogwarts robes on and left the train. They stood around somewhat lost for a few seconds, until there was a deep, loud voice calling "first years over here, first years to me!"
They looked around, and it didn't take long to determine, from where the voice came. The giant shape of Rubeus Hagrid was absolutely impossible to overlook.
"Hagrid!" shouted Rose and Albus simultaneously, and ran over to the huge man. "All right, you two?" asked Hagrid. "Yeah, fine" said Rose breathlessly.
"All first years here? Good, follow me," said Hagrid and led the way. There was silence between the new students while they followed Hagrid. Finally, they passed the last corner - and Hogwarts was in front of them, on the other side of a dark, black lake. A huge, majestic castle, impressive, but also slightly intimidating.
Albus, who had heard so much about Hogwarts, was still as overwhelmed as the others and held his breath.
Hagrid guided them into the boats, and they started to cross the black lake. Albus sat in a boat with Quentin, Scorpius and a fat, red-haired boy who introduced himself as Leon Strelka. Unlike Albus, Quentin and Scorpius, Strelka didn't seem too impressed by the sight of Hogwarts, which Albus found quite strange, as Strelka had proudly stated that he was muggle-born. However, he seemed to know everything about Albus' and Scorpius' families and their history.
"Tell me, Malfoy, how does it feel to be the son of Death Eater scum?" he asked mockingly. Scorpius, apparently used to such attacks, only frowned and said nothing.
"I'm surprised they actually let you attend Hogwarts, with a family like yours. I mean, ill weeds grow apace, don't they?" Strelka continued.
Albus, who got angrier from moment to moment, wanted to defend his new friend, but Quentin, who until now had been mesmerized by the sight of the castle, was faster.
"Be quiet, you idiot, it's not his fault what his ancestors did," he said.
"Oho, defending the little pure-blood prince, are we?" Strelka answered. "I think you need to be told a lesson…"
With this, he pushed Quentin with all his force out of the boat, shouting "Quentin! Stop attacking me… Hey, Hagrid, help!"
Albus was speechless of anger for a moment. Quentin was struggling to keep himself at the surface of the water, until a huge tentacle grabbed him and threw him back into the boat. Hagrid had already arrived with his boat and angrily asked: "What happened here?"
"Please, Sir, Quentin here suddenly tried to attack me, but lost his balance and fell into the water," Strelka said over the loud protests of Albus and Scorpius.
Hagrid only groweld and turned to Quentin, who was shivering because of the icy water in the lake. The half-giant took his tent-sized coat and flipped it over Quentin, who nodded gratefully.
"We're there!" shouted Hagrid. Everyone climbed of their boats and followed Hagrid into the castle. In the entrance hall, a tall, strong wizard awaited them. Albus recognized him immediately: It was Neville Longbottom, the Professor for Herbology and a good friend of his father.
"Thank you, Hagrid," he said, smiling. "He fell into the lake," said Hagrid, pointing at Quentin, who appeared relieved, that Hagrid took his heavy coat back. Professor Longbottom took out his wand murmured something. Suddenly, Quentin was not wet any more at all.
"Thank you, Sir," said Quentin. "You're welcome," said Professor Longbottom. "Welcome to Hogwarts! In a few minutes you will enjoy the great feast with your fellow students. Before that, however, you have to be sorted into your house. There are four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Your house will be your family at Hogwarts. With good achievements, you can get points for your house. If you break the rules, points will be deducted from your house. The house with the most points at the end of the term wins the prestigious House Cup. Now follow me into the Great Hall."
Professor Longbottom opened the portal and led the new students in a huge hall. Albus struggled to take everything in, especially the enchanted ceiling, which looked like the sky outside, was astonishing. Not wanting to look too impressed however, he gave his face a confident expression and looked forward, to the old hat, which Professor Longbottom just placed on a chair.
Immediately, the hat opened his mouth (or whatever it had to be called) and started to sing.
"Oh you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
if you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folks use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!" *
The hall burst into applause, but Albus still heard Rose hissing in her characteristic noisy whisper: "That was exactly the same song it sang for my parents in their first year, mum told me all about it."
"Well, you try to invent a new one every year, I suppose, it has to repeat itself sometimes," Albus breathed back.
"When I call your name, please sit down on the chair. I will place the Sorting Hat on your head, and it will call his decision loudly," said Professor Longbottom.
"Abbot, Albert!"
A plump, small boy stumbled forward and sat down on the chair. Professor Longbottom placed the Hat on his head, and after a second, the hat screamed "HUFFLEPUFF!"
The long house table with the Hufflepuffs applauded, as Albert Abbot joined them, looking relieved.
"Boot, Oby!"
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Burke, Belvina!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Carrow, Cissy!"
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Dindane, Aurora!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
While Aurora Dindane, who had a dark skin and long black hair, joined the cheering Slytherins, Albus was again struck by cold fear. What if he would indeed get sorted into Slytherin? He looked for James, who had to be sitting somewhere at the Gryffindor table, but couldn't find him.
In the meanwhile, "Finch-Fletchley, Rory" had been sent into Hufflepuff, whereas "Goldstein, Gabriel" became the second new Ravenclaw.
"Greengrass, Gergely!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
Actually, the Slytherins didn't look that evil to Albus. Maybe his father was right, and there were good Slytherins as well. But still, what a shame it would be for Harry Potter's son to come into Voldemort's house…
The sorting proceeded; "Hartell, Serena", "Hepburn, Harold" and "Longbottom, Alice" (Albus knew her, because she was Professor Longbottom's daughter) were all sorted into Hufflepuff. Then…
"Malfoy, Scorpius!"
The hall went quiet, some students were whispering. Strelka snorted derogatory. Scorpius stepped forward and sat down on the chair. The hat had already opened his mouth, presumably to shout "Slytherin", but hastily closed it again. It seemed confused, and if it had a brow, Albus could swear it would have frowned. It didn't take very long however, until the hat shouted
"RAVENCLAW!"
Scorpius appeared immensely relieved, as he ran towards the Ravenclaw table, where there was only half-hearted clapping. Scorpius sat down at the very end of the table, as far from the other students, as he could.
Albus waved to him and smiled, while "Myers, Zacharias" and "Nott, Phobos" were sorted into Slytherin.
"Patil, Pamela!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Potter, Albus!"
Like in trance, Albus stepped forward, ignoring the humming in the hall. Professor Longbottom placed the hat on his head, and all went dark.
"Another Potter, huh?" a little voice in his mind said. "Yes, but you're quite different from your father and your brother…"
"Not Slytherin," Albus thought desperately. "Well, not that different, obviously," laughed the hat. "It's a close decision however. You have courage, but you're not that reckless and selfless, you are clever, but not a bookworm, you are faithful, but not so industrious and you are cunning, but not really cold and calculating. Hmm, so where to put you?"
"Not Slytherin," Albus repeated.
"No, you're right. In the end I think, it all comes down to…"
"RAVENCLAW!"
At first, Albus didn't realise, that the hat had shouted the last word loudly into the hall. As Professor Longbottom took the hat from him, appearing slightly surprised, Albus hastily got up and went to the Ravenclaw table, which was erupting with applause and cheering. Albus smiled and sat down next to Scorpius, after greeting some particularly enthusiastic Ravenclaws.
After all, he thought, it was an acceptable, albeit unexpected result. He had always felt unsure between Gryffindor and Slytherin, not even thinking of the other two houses. But still, he was quite proud that the hat had judged his intelligence so highly to put him into Ravenclaw. While "Selwyn, Sebastian" was sorted into Slytherin, Albus looked over at the Gryffindor table and finally caught his brother's eye. James looked utterly flabbergasted, and Albus smiled slightly and waved at him, with thumbs up. To cover up is bewilderment, James hastily congratulated "Shafiq, Shawna" who had just become the next new Gryffindor.
"Simiol, Quentin!"
Quickly Albus looked forward again and watched Quentin sitting down nervously on the chair. The hat really took his time with Quentin. Minutes passed, and the hat remained silent. Albus hoped that Quentin would also come into Ravenclaw, and waited impatiently for the decision.
After a long, long pause, the hat finally screamed
"RAVENCLAW!"
Quentin seemed immensely relieved and ran down to sit next to Albus, who clapped him happily on his back. "It just couldn't decide between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff," he whispered. "In the end, I just told it I'd be happier with Ravenclaw, and it listened!"
"Smith, Christina!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Steele, Jermaine!"
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Strelka, Leon!"
"Please not Ravenclaw," Albus murmured. "No fear," said Scorpius. "He'll be a Slytherin for sure."
"SLYTHERIN!"
"A pity they stopped teaching divination after McGonagall became Headmistress," joked Albus. "You'd have been a real ace!"
"Weasley, Rose!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
The whole hall seemed to freeze. No one moved. Albus couldn't believe what he'd just heard. Rose kept sitting on the chair, as if the hat had not sorted her into a house, but petrified her. Professor Longbottom also seemed too shocked to do anything but stare incredulously. Eventually, he reluctantly took the hat from Rose' head and whispered something into her ear. She shook his head quickly, then nodded and moved towards the Slytherin table, which was also frozen in shock. Phobos Nott suddenly began to clap, and the rest of the table followed his example.
Finally, the last student was called.
"Whitaker, Adnan!"
A small boy with short, black hair quickly stepped forward.
"RAVENCLAW!"
Albus clapped with the other Ravenclaws and greeted Adnan Whitaker, who seemed, judging by his lack of reaction, when Albus told him his name, to be muggle-born.
"Attention, please," called Professor Longbottom. Turning forward again, Albus saw the legendary Minerva McGonagall getting up from her chair.
"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts," she said with her brisk, resolute voice.
"Firstly, I want to introduce the Heads of the four houses to our first-years. The Gryffindor Head of House is Professor Neville Longbottom, who teaches Herbology," Professor McGonagall said, pointing at him. "Ravenclaw is taken by Professor Filius Flitwick, who teaches Charms; Hufflepuff Head of House is Reannon Botwright, our Muggle Studies Professor. Finally, Slytherin Head of House is our new Potions Master Philandros Pyrites."
Albus looked at the four teachers, who had all reacted differently to their introduction. Professor Longbottom had smiled awkwardly and waved; the tiny Professor Flitwick had gotten up from his especially high chair and fell under the table, so that in the end no one could really see him. Professor Botwright was a short, plump, friendly looking witch, whereas Professor Pyrites was the polar opposite, very tall and thin. He beamed, when his name was called, and waved happily at the students.
"Furthermore," Professor McGonagall continued, "I want you all to remember that the Forbidden Forest is obviously strictly forbidden for any student. And Mr Filch, the caretaker, asked me to point out once more that magic in the corridors is also strictly forbidden. Now I wish you an interesting term - let the feast begin!"
With these words, suddenly huge amounts of food appeared at the tables. The older students at once helped themselves to steak, potatoes, pasties, pudding or pumpkin juice. The first years took a moment to recover, then they also joined the delicious meal.
"Cool," said Adnan, when he saw that empty bowls just refilled, "there are advantages to be a wizard, aren't they? My parents are not magical, so this is all entirely new to me. For you everything is probably normal, though?" he asked.
"Believe me," said Albus, "a feast like this isn't normal at all, even for wizards."
"But the sorting was surprising, wasn't it?" said Gabriel Goldstein. "I mean, a Potter and a Malfoy, united in Ravenclaw, who would have thought that? But remember, Albus, my father fought alongside yours in the war, so if he"- he nodded towards Scorpius - "makes you problems, I'll be on your side, okay?"
"Scorpius is my friend," answered Albus coolly. Many looked up, surprised. Even Scorpius, who had blushed, seemed slightly startled at this open statement. Obviously he had not expected that Albus really saw him as friend. Only Pamela Patil, obviously entirely oblivious that Albus had been serious, threw her head theatrically back and laughed heartily. Only when Belvina Burke elbowed her, she recognized that no one else laughed, and abruptly stopped laughing, as if someone had turned off the sound. "Oh," said Gabriel most surprised. "Oh. Okay."
"Guys, do you mind filling me in what this is all about?" asked Adnan, who seemed completely clueless what was going on.
"Albus' and Scorpius' fathers were enemies in their youth. Now they get along well enough, though, and it doesn't make any sense anyway to blame Scorpius for what his parents have done or not done," said Quentin, glaring at Gabriel and Pamela, who blushed and nodded hastily.
During the feast, the conversation turned to other subjects, and everyone was friendly or at least neutral towards Scorpius and overly friendly and effusively towards Albus. He was slightly irritated by this, but when he glimpsed Rose at the Slytherin table, he decided that things could be a lot worse.
When the feast was finished, the new Ravenclaws were led to their common room by the prefects. When they arrived at the door that apparently was the entrance of the common room, a prefect knocked with a bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle.
"What comes always, but never arrives?" the eagle knocker asked.
"To get into the common room, you have to answer a question. This way you learn something, which is only appropriate for us Ravenclaws, isn't it?" said the Prefect. "What do you think?"
"Tomorrow, of course," said Scorpius at once, as if the knocker had just inquired which day it was. Everybody looked at him, astonished.
"That's right," said the eagle knocker and opened the door. They stepped inside.
The view was absolutely breath-taking. They stood in a wide, airy room with mountain views, bookcases and a domed ceiling painted with stars. In fact, it was the airiest room Albus had ever seen. Still he immediately felt very much at home. Quentin and Scorpius also seemed to feel very comfortable.
The prefect showed them their dormitories and wished them a good night. Tired from the eventful day and the rich feast, Albus and Quentin went to bed at once, to be fit for tomorrow's classes. Scorpius, who for some reason didn't seem tired at all, stayed in the common room to explore everything more closely.
Before he fell asleep, Albus tried to sort his thoughts about the day. He had been sorted into Ravenclaw, which he would never even dreamt of. To his own surprise, he felt very comfortable with his new house. Of course, he had originally hoped for Gryffindor, but… Maybe it wasn't a bad thing to be in a different house than his brother. This way he wouldn't be compared with his father all the time, could make his own name. He felt sorry for Rose though, who had been so sure to be a Gryffindor. He imagined the reaction of Uncle Ron, who hated Slytherin… Albus thought that the Sorting Hat seemed to be very fond of complicated or surprising turnarounds, before he finally fell asleep.
* Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, p.88