The Time Is Ours
A/N: I don't own Harry Potter! Gods know it'd be nice though. This story is going to be mostly about Albus and an OC named Sera Malfoy as they rise through the years in Hogwarts, though other pairings will very likely crop up in later chapters! Rated K through the first few years, M for future .. scenes, and violence! Nothing yet, though! Make sure you leave reviews and tell me what you think! Positive reviews = more likely that I'll upload the next chapter!
Chapter One - Platform 9 3/4
"Hurry, everyone!" Hermione called behind her, holding Hugo's hand as she led her family through the crowded station. The barrier between platforms Nine and Ten was just ahead.
"Don't worry so much, Hermione. We'll make it in time." Ron called, nudging Harry as he waved his family ahead of them, giving his two children the go-ahead to follow their cousins onto the platform. "She never changes, does she?" he asked as he stepped through the barrier with his old friend.
"I thought that was why you married her." Harry said, grinning fondly at his own wife after they'd stepped through the wall to the platform, as Ginny re-buttoned their young daughter's jumper. Poor Lily looked ready to cry along with her cousin Hugo, who still had two years before they were due to board the scarlet train for their first year at Hogwarts.
"It was, but don't tell her that. I'll never hear the end of it." Ron replied.
"Tell me what?" Hermione asked, coming up behind them while she let Rose and Hugo run off to group with their cousins. The crowd around them seemed even larger than last year, when Harry had come to put his oldest son on the train for the first time.
"Er... How lucky I am to have married you, of course." Ron answered, his cheeks reddening to match his hair.
"Well, of course you were. Not like you had many options." Hermione said, grinning at her husband.
"Oh, ha ha, Hermione. Thanks ever so much." was Ron's reply.
"Harry!" Ginny's voice called out, raising her voice to be heard over a group that had begun shouting angrily.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione turned, their collective gazes quickly finding the source of the problem. Harry's two sons, James and Albus, were fighting with two dark haired boys.
Harry ran over to separate his boys from the fight, while Ron pulling the two dark haired boys back, with Ginny and Hermione kept the rest of the youngsters from joining in.
"All right then, James, Albus, out with it. What's the meaning of this nonsense?" Harry demanded, holding each son by the arm.
Before either boy could answer, one of the dark haired boys spoke up. "What did I tell you, Valerius? They -are- just as filthy looking as their troll of a mother. And look, it's true. Their aunt truly is a Mudblood, I can smell her from here." he said, glaring with a snake-like expression through bright blue eyes.
"Oi! Watch your mouth!" Harry said angrily, holding Albus back as he lunged for the speaker, while the other adults looked on in shock. It had been years since such language was used in public.
A crowd had formed around them by this point, of both parents and children alike. Harry didn't miss spotting Draco Malfoy standing with his wife, or his son and daughter at their sides. More noticeably was the smug grin worn by three of them, on each face but the daughter's.
"Careful, Magnus. We'll have to wash our hands now that we've come in contact with garbage." said the other dark haired boy, Valerius. "Let's go. The train will be leaving soon, and I'd hate to have to sit with any of these bottom-dwellers."
With that parting insult, the brothers disappeared into the crowd, toward the front of the train.
As the gathered people dispersed, Ron and Hermione moved away to say their goodbyes to Rose, and to calm a now hysterical Hugo who was outraged on his mother's behalf. After all these years, Hermione was used to the insults about her heritage by now, even if the insults still stung.
Harry glanced at his wife, who's face was still splotched with anger. "Are you all right, Ginny?" he asked softly.
"I'll be fine, Harry, really. Go talk to the boys." Ginny said, fussing again with Lily's jumper. It was obvious that she was still upset by the insults from the two young strangers, but she was trying not to let it show. It was one of the million things Harry admired about her. She knew how to keep her head about her.
With a small nod to his wife, Harry led James and Albus away from everyone else. "Listen, boys. I don't know what was wrong with those two little gits, but I don't want to get any letters home saying either of you were fighting. Understood?" he asked, looking between the two.
"Understood, Dad." the pair chorused.
"All right, then. James, go tell your mother and sister goodbye. The train will be leaving any minute now." Harry said, quickly kissing the top of James' messy head.
James went off to do as he was told, while Harry turned to his youngest son.
"I'm scared, Dad. What if I end up in the same House as those two? What if I don't get into Gryffindor?" Albus asked, worry clear on his face.
"You'll be fine, Albus. Besides, the Sorting Hat will put you where you need to be. If you ask it it will put you in the House you want to be in." Harry said, smiling.
"Really? Albus asked, just as the train's horn sounded, signaling the last few minutes before it was due to leave.
"Really." Harry answered. "Looks like it's time to say goodbye, then." he said finally, pulling Albus in for a hug as Ginny came over with James and Lily.
"Oh, Albus! I can't believe you're already leaving for your first year at school!" Ginny said sadly, all signs of her earlier anger gone as she pulled her son in for a hug.
"Aw, come on, Mum! You're messing up my hair!" Albus complained as he tried to cover his head, which Ginny had begun trying to flatten. The attempt was futile, of course. Both boys had inherited their unruly, unmanageable hair from their father.
Harry cast a stern look to James, who was barely containing a fit of laughter at his younger brother's expense.
"That's enough, you two. Give your sister a hug so you can get on the train. Both of your trunks are already loaded." Harry said, standing back while Ginny looped her arm through his.
Albus and James gave each other a look before diving at their younger sister, sandwiching her into a hug between them as they laughed. It seemed that the only time the pair worked together was when their sister was involved, and usually only when it involved teasing or torturing her.
Lily shrieked in protest before squirming out of the tangle of arms that held her, sticking out her tongue at her brothers before darting off to say goodbye to her cousin, Rose.
Still grinning, Albus and James gave their mum and dad another hug before boarding the train with Rose, turning to wave out the window as the door shut behind them.
"Bye, Mummy! Bye, Dad!" Rose called out the window from next to her cousins, while other students pushed and shoved behind them to say their last goodbyes to their families.
"Bye, Rosie! Bye, boys!"
"Have fun! We'll miss you!"
"Behave yourselves!"
"Study hard and don't forget to brush your teeth!"
A few more goodbyes were shouted as the train pulled away from the station, erasing the two families from sight.
"Well, I'm off to find my mates. I'll see you two at the Welcoming Feast!" James called, already halfway down the hall as he looked through compartment windows for his second-year friends.
"Oh, no. I thought we'd all sit together.." Rose said sadly, who'd been counting on her second-favorite cousin to help them out.
"James? Sit with us? Not a chance." Albus replied, who knew his brother always put himself first. "Come on Rosie. Maybe we can find Louis or Molly." he said, naming two of their other cousins, who were starting their third year.
"Or Lorcan and Lysander. Dad said he saw Aunt Luna when we first got to the station." Rose said, mentioning the twin boys of yet another of their large family's numerous friends.
"No, wait, look here. There's only one person in this one," Albus said, pulling the door of the compartment open.
"Do you mind if we sit here? There aren't any empty spaces left." Albus asked, before realizing who he was speaking to.
"No, I don't mind. Please come in." the girl said, tucking a strand of white blond hair behind one ear.
Rose hesitated at the door, as many did when they encountered a member of a family of known Death-Eaters. But Albus pulled her in anyways, having been taught by his father to not judge a person by their family. Tugging Rose onto the seat next to him, he turned to the girl opposite them.
"I'm Albus Potter. This is my cousin, Rose Weasely." he said, getting their half of the introductions out of the way. "I know you're a Malfoy, but I'm afraid I don't know your name."
A corner of the girl's mouth twitched upwards into what almost could have passed for a smile. "Yes, of course. Everyone knows who you are. The son of famous Harry Potter, who killed He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. The children of the Order." she said, causing Albus and Rose to frown. Would they only ever be referred to as their parent's children?
"You haven't told us your name." Rose said crossly, folding her arms over her chest. Impatience was a value she'd learned from her mother, who had also hated guessing games.
"I'm sorry, how rude of me. My name is Seraphina Malfoy. You can call me Sera, if you like." she said, folding her hands delicately in her lap, as if some cue had been given. Two years of etiquette tutoring, more like.
"Pretty name," Rose said, almost begrudgingly.
"You think so? I can't stand it, myself." Sera replied, offering a real smile to the girl across from her.
"Say, Sera, do you know who those two boys from earlier were? The ones who my brother and I were.. disagreeing with? Your family acted as if they knew them." Albus asked, a thoughtful look on his face as he leaned back in his seat. Given who his parents were, he knew at least half of the students starting school this year, whether it was personally, or through conversations amongst his overly large family.
"Them? They're Magnus and Valerius Lorden. They're my cousins on my father's side." Sera said, and refused to elaborate any further on the subject.
"I imagine that brother of yours is with them, then? Why aren't you?" Rose questioned, not caring if she was being rude.
"Rose," Albus said, frowning at his cousin. She wasn't usually like this, as she was typically soft-spoken and kind. It had to be all of those old war stories Uncle Ron had told her, which were usually laced with venomous tales about the Malfoy family.
"No, it's all right. I don't exactly see eye to eye with my brother and cousins. I'm not going to spend any more time with them this year than I absolutely have to." Sera said, a tone in her voice that said that this particular part of the conversation was over with.
"Understandably." Albus said, who occasionally felt the same about his brother, James.
"Anything from the trolley, dears?" asked an elderly witch from the hall, surprising the children. They hadn't even heard the door open.
A few minutes later, the three were surrounded by a small mountain of sweets. Sera opened the box of a Chocolate Frog, quickly catching the milk-chocolate amphibian in one hand so she could check the prize card.
"Ha, look at this, Albus." she said, holding the card up for him to see. "It's your dad."
Sera cleared her throat and began to speak in a high-pitched falsetto while she read the short list of facts on the back of the card.
"Harry Potter, also known as The Boy Who Lived, or the Chosen One, is the only known survivor of the Killing Curse. He was one of the founding members of Dumbledore's Army, and a member of the Order of the Phoenix. He was a key member during the Battle of Hogwarts, and is the one who ultimately defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named." Sera read, frowning thoughtfully as she flipped the card back over. Harry's image had already vanished.
"So nothing new, then?" Albus asked, making Rose chuckle. Neither of them had known that Harry had been featured on the Chocolate Frog cards, but neither of them were surprised.
"So what House do you guys think you'll be sorted into?" Sera asked as she bit into a Licorice wand, having given the chocolate frog to Rose.
"Gryffindor, most likely." the pair answered in unison, and shared a laugh.
"Or Ravenclaw. My mum was sure she was going to get that, but the Sorting Hat put her in Gryffindor instead." Rose said, shrugging as she bit into the frog. "I wouldn't mind Ravenclaw. Or even Hufflepuff."
"I'll be happy for Gryffindor, or Hufflepuff too. James is in Ravenclaw, and I'd hate to have to share that with him, too." Albus said, unwrapping a Sugar Quill. "What about you, Sera?"
"I don't know, but I honestly hope I don't get Slytherin." Sera said, just as the door opened to show Scorpius, Valerius, and Magnus.
"Is that so, Seraphina?" Valerius asked, sneering at his younger cousin. "I see you've accidentally found your way in with the trash. I do hope you simply got lost on your way to us."
Neither Albus, Rose, or Sera said a word. It was the first time since boarding the train that Albus wished James had stayed with them. As he and Rose were both starting their first year, Al doubted that either of them knew more than the handful of jinxes that their older cousins had taught them.
"Get up, Sera. Don't disgrace our family." Scorpius said quietly, his voice thick with the anger he felt toward his sister. She was embarrassing him, and he was going to make her pay for it. Not for the trash witnessing it, no.. but for making him look bad in front of their cousins.
"Maybe she doesn't want to, ever think about that?" Rose demanded, jumping to her feet to stand between the three boys and Sera, who was beginning to look terrified.
Sera knew that angering her brother and cousins was a horrible idea, because it wasn't just them that she'd be in trouble with if things got bad. While she didn't care if these three were pissed at her, she definitely didn't want any of them sending letters home.
"Well, if it isn't the brat of the blood traitor and the Mudblood. Why don't you shut your filthy mouth and stay out of things you don't understand? I wouldn't expect a Weasely to know anything about family honor." Magnus said, hissing the words at Rose.
With a snarl of anger, Albus had jumped to his feet to stand by his cousin, raising his wand in unison with hers and the three boys in front of them, standing between them and Sera, who's eyes were wide with terror.