The North Wind

Author's Note:

Hello, I'm Lady Mirelle! This fic will be a next-generation story about the children introduced at the end of Deathly Hallows. I will probably claim a bit of artistic licence with the characters' personalities, and things such as their wands, eating habits and talents, etc. If J.K.R. releases things about them on Pottermore later and I turn out to be completely wrong, forgive me!

Please let me know what you think of this first chapter! I'll post the second chapter if this gets a good response. I'd love to know how you feel about the plot and the way I've portrayed the characters, and my OCs. If you find something negative, please let me know, but please be constructive as well! I appreciate your opinions, and the fact that some of you are better educated in English than I am.~

Of course, Harry Potter and everything related belongs to J.. OCs and plot belongs to me!

Please enjoy!

Chapter 1 – Snakes and Ice

After a long morning of travel down to London from Malfoy Manor, Scorpius was stifling a yawn as his father pushed his trolley through the wall onto the platform.

"Not long now, darling, and you can sleep on the train," his mother cooed, taking his hand and walking him to the barrier. He held his breath and screwed his eyes shut as she pulled him through the wall. There was a moment when Scorpius expected to hit brick, but suddenly, there was a hiss of steam and the steady babble of speech grew around his ears – he had made it to Platform 9 ¾.

The place was alive with activity. People from all wizarding backgrounds were swarming onto the train. As Scorpius and his parents approached a scarlet carriage, his father gave a slight nod in the direction of another family. Scorpius craned round to see who it was, and his eyes widened at the sight. It was the famous Harry Potter! His stomach gave an excited lurch.

"Dad! That's Harry Potter! You know Harry Potter?" he gasped, turning to his father.

His father suddenly took hold of Scorpius' shoulders.

"Scorpius, I have lots to tell you that I don't have time for now. Yes, I know Harry Potter. We went to Hogwarts together. He almost destroyed our family, but he saved us, too. The Potters are a respectable family, even if they aren't purebloods. So be nice to his little brats."

Scorpius gave a solemn nod. He gave his mother a kiss on the cheek then boarded the train, lifting his owl's cage on himself. The inhabitant, a black screech owl named Cloud, flapped his glossy wings in protest. Once on the train, Scorpius pressed himself against a window to wave goodbye to his parents, his heart fluttering with excitement. In the back of his mind, he wondered if his pulse would slow enough once he was sat down to manage to eat something, or if it would make him vomit. He really hoped he wouldn't vomit on his first day at Hogwarts, since, knowing his luck, he'd vomit on someone, probably someone from a rival house, and probably someone older. Scorpius himself was quite tall for his age, with a fairly strong torso, after having spent a whole summer learning how to play Quidditch in the Manor's extensive grounds. However, he wasn't confident he'd come off best if it came down to strength, since he was only eleven after all.

"I've just got on the train and I'm already worried about getting in a fight?" Scorpius muttered, shaking his head. He gave his parents a last wave, as the other students craned round to stare at Harry Potter and his family, blocking his view. Scorpius sighed, a small crease appearing between his eyes as he became annoyed by the noise of people clamouring by the windows. He pushed his way through the crowd and down the carriage, to find an empty compartment. Most of them were packed full already, red, gold, blue, silver, green and yellow clothing making the dull burgundy interior come alive with colour.

At last, at the very end of the train, Scorpius found a compartment that was empty, except for one girl who had her head buried in a book. He slid the door open gently and stepped inside.

"Do you mind if I sit in here? Everywhere else is full." He placed the heavy owl cage onto the seat and waited for a response from the girl. When he got none, he shrugged and sat down, shutting the door behind him. Cloud gave a contented hoot and promptly fell asleep, as the train rattled away from the city. Lifting the cage onto the luggage rack, Scorpius persevered to make conversation with the girl sat across from him.

"My name's Scorpius Malfoy. I hope to be in Slytherin like my parents. What's your name?"

At first, Scorpius thought she was just going to continue ignoring him. Then, the book (a heavy, black leather bound book with "A History of Hogwarts: The Battle of Hogwarts" printed across it in gold lettering) lowered away from her face; and she stared at him.

The first things Scorpius noticed were her eyes. They were a vivid, icy blue; so blue that it almost gave Scorpius a headache to look at them. They were narrow, and slanted as though she came from some Asian country or other. Scorpius thought it was like glancing the sky through thick clouds, right after a storm.

His gaze travelled quickly about her face, once he tore away from her eyes. She had sharp features, except for her nose, which was wide and flat yet somehow suited her pointed face. Scorpius thought she had a dangerous feel, but continued to smile in a friendly manner (though he lowered his gaze to her neck, which was slender and pale) in order to suggest that he was waiting for a reply.

After what felt like an age, her narrowed eyes opened slightly and the room warmed up instantly. Scorpius' smile brightened. He could feel charsima rolling off her in breathy waves.

She spoke. Her voice was like the drip of melting icicles.

"My name is Kita, of the honourable family Norgana."

There was an accent he couldn't place, but she seemed to have trouble pronouncing the letter "r".

"How do you do?" Scorpius replied, inclining his head. It seemed the polite thing to do, though probably a little formal since he didn't know her blood status. "Where are you from?" he added, his curiosity about the accent getting the better of him. Before she could answer, her plump coral lips parted as the response caught on her tongue, the door slid open, revealing a gangly, flustered looking boy. His short black hair was stuck up at odd angles like he'd forgotten to brush it and his bright green eyes were wide as he glanced about the compartment. He was panting, and could barely force out a greeting.

"Excuse me, have you seen a-?" He stopped short, as he spotted what he was looking for: a scarlet and gold scarf, which was bundled in a corner under the seat. "Oh!" he exclaimed, darting forwards to retrieve it. He clutched it tightly as he stood up, almost tripping over Kita's outstretched foot.

"Sorry!" he gasped, sitting down hard on the seat next to Kita to stop himself from falling over. "My brother James took my scarf when I got on the train and I really needed to find it. It belonged to my dad so I didn't want to lose it. I didn't mean to barge in but I already looked everywhere else and this was the only carriage left…" He trailed off to catch his breath.

Scorpius held out his hand and introduced himself amiably. "I'm Scorpius Malfoy. First year." The green-eyed boy shook his hand but wore a wary expression in his face.

"Did you say Malfoy?" he asked, thin black eyebrows pressing together above his wide eyes.

"Yes," nodded the blond boy. "And this is Kita Norgana."

"Also first year," she added, her intense blue gaze turning from her book to the squeaky boy beside her. The newcomer's face broke into a smile as their eyes made contact. Scorpius noted again the odd warmth that emanated from her when she turned on her charm.

"I'm Albus Potter." Having caught sufficient breath, Albus shuffled along the seat, to give Kita more room. He started to look uneasy again. "Our parents went to Hogwarts together," he remarked, at Scorpius, who nodded.

"That's true. I hope to be Sorted into Slytherin, since that's where my parents were Sorted. What about you?"

Albus squirmed uncomfortably. Harry Potter was famously a Gryffindor, so Scorpius wondered if he'd told his son to hate Slytherin, or something.

"I don't know. I'd rather be in Gryffindor but my dad said something to me before I got on the train …"

"That being in Slytherin wouldn't be a bad thing, since he knows good people who came from that house. Correct?" Kita stated, from behind her book. Her eyes flicked towards Albus with the last word.

"Um … yeah. He said that one of the bravest men he knew was a Slytherin and I was kind of named after him. My middle name's Severus …" Scorpius' sudden rapt attention made shy Albus glance away.

"As in, Severus Snape?" he asked, his heart pounding forcefully. This random boy who just happened to walk into the compartment he'd chosen was possibly named after the very man Scorpius' own father had admired, been protected by during the war and who he'd been told countless times had sacrificed himself in many ways for the good outcome of the war. This was too much to be coincidental, Scorpius thought fervently.

As Albus' nod confirmed it, Scorpius exhaled sharply, his dark grey eyes glistening with a smile.

"What?" the meeker boy queried, his pale face turning pink.

"Nothing. My dad knew him, that's all. You'd do well to be proud of yourself if you end up in Slytherin. Members of that house have lots of good qualities," he continued.

Kita's face reappeared from within her book. She shut it gently and picked up Scorpius' thread, her voice now soft like fresh snow. Scorpius could have sworn her eyes were now a paler shade of blue, not the intense sky-blue they had been before.

"A Slytherin is resourceful, cunning and ambitious above all else. Pure blood status is favoured but not essential. Strong family histories lead to powerful wizards being produced from Slytherin house. Successful life is almost guaranteed for wizards Sorted there. Slytherin wizards can combine other qualities associated with other houses, such as intelligence and bravery, with the traits that allow them to use their powers in a controlled, cunning way. A wizard who is both brave like a lion and sly like a serpent would do well in the wizarding world. Don't you agree?" Her voice had faded to almost a whisper, nothing more than snowflakes falling from a leaf to the floor. Scorpius' attention was completely absorbed by the girl as she wove the explanation. When she stopped speaking, he pulled his eyes away from her face and glanced at Albus, who seemed unable to look away from Kita's lips himself. Scorpius cleared his throat and the shorter boy snapped out of it – just in time, as the lady with the trolley had just arrived at their compartment.

"Anything off the trolley, dears?" she chimed, cheerily. Kita's lips pursed and her eyes shone brightly; they were suddenly the intense ice blue they had been when Scorpius first sat down. She returned to her book. The temperature dropped in the compartment – Scorpius was sure it wasn't just his imagination.

"I'll have …" Albus began, pasing to scan the cart. He gave a long list of the items he wanted, and Scorpius was pretty sure he got some of everything. Especially chocolate frogs.

"Would you mind not eating the chocolate in here? I'm allergic and I react even if I just smell the stuff," Scorpius explained, gesturing towards the growing pile of chocolate frogs. Albus looked startled, his vivid green eyes widening even further, but he nodded silently before tucking in to a pumpkin pasty. Scorpius ordered a large amount of liquorice wands.

Albus had been able to delicately open the chocolate frogs to get the cards without revealing the actual chocolate, so there was a growing pile of cards beside Scorpius. Albus had decided to give to Scorpius the cards that he already had copies of at home, which turned out to be almost all of them, since Scorpius never got chocolate frogs. When the fiery girl arrived, Scorpius was admiring the cheerful, twinkling-eyed portrait of Albus Dumbledore, the first card Albus had proudly handed him.

The compartment door flew open and there she was – red hair, freckled face and angry eyes. In a commanding voice, she said, "Albus Severus Potter! What would your family think if they knew you were swapping Famous Witches and Wizards cards with a Malfoy?" The girl spat out his surname with venom. Scorpius felt an instant dislike for the girl bubble through his chest, and a foul insult was on the tip of his tongue when Albus stood up and followed her out of the compartment, taking his sweets but leaving his scarf.

"See you later, Scorp! Bye Kita!" he grinned, before the ginger girl pulled on the sleeve of his robes, dragging him out of sight. Scorpius exhaled sharply, the insult dying in his mouth. He shook his head and turned back to Kita, whose eyes were now steely grey.

"Weasley," she shrugged, by way of explanation, though her voice was frosty and her features were turned down in the same expression of dislike Scorpius felt on his own face. To change the mood, Scorpius enquired about Kita's eyes. Peering over the top of her book, she raised one eyebrow in a knowing manner, and her eyes changed from steely grey to the intense sky blue, through so many shades of blue that Scorpius couldn't count them all. His mouth fell open in a small "o" and Kita gave a harsh, cold chuckle, which made her black, shiny hair ripple about her shoulders. It reminded Scorpius of tiny razors. If he were to run his hands through it, he was half-certain his fingers would get sliced to ribbons.

Scorpius pulled his robes about himself. There was a chilly wind in the air, and dark clouds were piling up over the station in Hogsmeade. He felt odd not clutching Cloud's cage, but nevertheless, Scorpius followed the rest of the first years, Kita giving off coldness close beside him. Soon they were piled into boats to ride across the lake, which was choppy and ominously dark this evening. The darkness had rolled in so quickly that even the moon had been taken by surprise – he was so shocked that he couldn't glow through the thick clouds! Scorpius smiled to himself at the thought. The large groundskeeper – Scorpius couldn't remember his name – ordered Scorpius and Kita into the last boat, which had two other first years in it already. The wind whipped long red hair about one of the figures. Scorpius' stomach flipped unpleasantly, recognition biting him. The Weasley girl. As he climbed into the boat, however, a smile slid onto his drawn, pale face. Albus was the other student in the boat.

"Hey Albus," Scorpius said, cheerfully. The boy with black hair nodded at him, his emerald eyes wide. Scorpius guessed his nerves were getting the better of him, so started to continue the conversation they'd been having on the train.

Although the wind was freezing cold, Scorpius felt warmth radiating off Kita, who was watching the Weasley girl with intense curiosity. The redhead had her hand on her wand for the whole journey on the boats, not that it would do her any good, Scorpius thought with an inwards chuckle. He had a feeling the strange, petite Kita was more powerful than she looked. She did have some odd power of controlling emotions somehow, but it didn't seem to affect Weasley.

Albus noticed how his cousin was scowling at Kita. Scorpius was surprised when he snapped at her and told her to be nice to her. Kita's gaze left Rose Weasley's face for a second to bestow a heart-stopping smile on Albus, who blushed slightly. Rose remained silent; her grip on the wand tightened. Scorpius could see the bones of her knuckles.

He suddenly felt a blast of cold and assumed it was Kita, but was proved wrong when hailstones started to drop from the sky. Cries of surprise rang around the lake as the first years were pelted by the ice-balls. There was a loud splash followed by screams and laughter. Scorpius felt his lips curl into a smile. Someone had fallen into the lake.

They were soon all huddled in the entrance hall of the ancient castle. The large oak doors were closed behind them against the downpour of hail, but the room was still chilly. Scorpius wiped sweat off his top lip. He was terribly warm, himself. He was squeezed between a large brown moleskin coat – which was wrapped around the girl who had fallen in the lake, a wide-eyed girl with dark hair and skin like milky coffee – and Kita, who was radiating her charming heat again. People kept turning round to stare at her, and although her face was stone straight, they were smiling at her. Scorpius couldn't help but smile too. Whatever strange power was rolling off her was infectious, anyway.

As the damp girl beside him gave a shudder and a sniff, the doors to the Great Hall opened. A jolly looking man walked out, with a grin plastered on his round face. The first years collectively fell silent and stared at him.

"Good evening, first years!" the man began, his purple robes fanning out behind him in a non-existent breeze. As he spoke, his light brown eyes glanced from one face to another. Scorpius felt himself warming to him already.

"My name is Professor Pan, the head of Ravenclaw house, teacher of Charms and Deputy Head of Hogwarts. It's time for the nerve-wracking moment: you're going to be Sorted into your houses very shortly!" He spoke as though announcing a Quidditch game on the radio, or something. It had all the first years relaxing a little, and Scorpius felt his own pounding heart settling a little at the sound of his voice.

"So, I expect you already know a lot about the houses already, but for the benefit of those who don't-"

Someone made a cough that sounded like the word "mud" to Scorpius. Professor Pan cleared his throat.

"First of all is Gryffindor house. Represented by a lion, it favours the qualities of bravery and determination. Next is Hufflepuff, which houses loyal, patient students and is symbolised by a badger. Third is my house: the wise, sharp-witted Eagles, Ravenclaw! Last, but least by no means, Slytherin, who is represented by a snake. Slytherin favours pureblooded, ambitious students above all. No matter which house you're Sorted into, you'll all be valued members of the school and are expected to work together peacefully to reach your goals. Now please, follow me into the Great Hall for the first moment of the rest of your lives!"

He gave a sweeping bow, which preceded a smattering of applause. With an elegant gesture of his arm, he led them through the doors into the Great Hall.

Scorpius' heart started to race again. The room was crammed full of people wearing black robes. There were four tables of students, and one of teachers at the far end. Every single pair of eyes was trained on the first years.

Professor Pan bounced along the aisle between the two central tables and the first years followed meekly behind. They huddled together again once at the front of the hall. On a stool, in front of the teachers' table, was an ancient-looking hat covered in patches.

Glancing behind him, Scorpius saw Albus was white as a sheet. He reaches back and squeezed his hand reassuringly, and Albus gave him a weak smile.

Professor Pan cleared his throat. The room fell to silence.

The hat ripped open along the brim and, to Scorpius' surprise, began to sing:

"Over thousands of years I've sat

Heard many stories tell

Judges personality and potential

And the way you'll cast your spells

The houses' healthy rivalries

Experience even so

But put aside when future times

Past dangers start to show

My brilliance and perception

Senses darkness enter here

But for now let's sort the young

And feast tonight with cheer!"

The room erupted into hushed mutters, with some applause here and there. Scorpius looked over to the teachers. Some of them had their heads together, muttering too. Scorpius' gut gave a jolt. Was this kind of thing unusual?

Professor Pan held a purple-clad arm aloft and the room became silent again.

He started to read names from a parchment that appeared in front of him from nowhere. Students were sat on the stool one by one, the hat placed on their head and then their house shouted. Then they were sent to sit at the appropriate table.

As "Jafari, Lela" was read out, the girl who had fallen in the lake staggered up to the stool, the huge coat still engulfing her. The hat had barely touched her head when it shouted "Ravenclaw!"

She scuttled off, her dark eyes wide. She tilted her head in a friendly smile as she passed Scorpius, who felt his stomach flutter. He gave a nervous smile back.

"Labrinsky, Ariella" became a Slytherin.

"Malfoy, Scorpius." A ripple of conversation spread around the room. Scorpius felt a rush of nausea that disappeared suddenly as Kita nudged him lightly, her warmth enveloping him for a second.

Scorpius pushed his way out of the corwd of first-years and moved to stand in front of the stool. Professor Pan lifted the hat off it so he could sit down, then the Professor placed the hat on his head.

Scorpius shut his eyes. He was sure he was going to be sick in front of the whole school.

He heard a soft, crackly voice by his ear.

"Well, it's been a while since I've sorted a Malfoy." Scorpius heard the smile in its voice and, for some reason, felt colour draining from his face. "I'd usually have put your straight into Slytherin without even a second thought, but you're a little different." Scorpius licked his lips, and took a deep steadying breath. "You have a lot of Hufflepuff qualities. You'd fit in very nicely there. You're loyal and have a strong sense of justice. But it's not as easy as that."

"It isn't?" Scorpius muttered, his mouth dry. Everyone was watching, and it was taking ages for the hat to decide. With his pointed features and light blond hair, he was sure people would know he was a Malfoy, and a Malfoy not getting Sorted into Slytherin would be a disgrace, Scorpius thought. But maybe Hufflepuff would be a little less pressure.

"Having doubts?" the hat chuckled. "You have potential if you were in Slytherin. Pureblood and a thirst to prove yourself to your family, with enough intelligence for cunning … yes, a near-perfect Slytherin. The one flaw in that respect is your soft heart. Too much compassion. A snake strikes with a cold heart or his venom won't work."

Scorpius interrupted, "But compassion could be a good quality to add to the Slytherin house, don't you think?" The hat gave a hearty laugh at this.

"You have your heart set on Slytherin boy? Well then. Slytherin it is."

The table on the far left applauded. Scorpius realised the hat must have said the last sentence aloud. Relief washed over him and he opened his eyes, meeting Kita's vivid blue gaze accidentally. A chill ran through him as he wobbled over to the Slytherin table, his heart pounding from the nerves of almost becoming a hatstall, of almost becoming a Hufflepuff, from Kita's harsh, odd stare. He sank into the nearest space on the Slytherin table, next to girl who didn't look much older than him, but hadn't been in the group of first-years.

"Congrats," she smiled, her chubby face glowing a healthy pink. Scorpius nodded politely and looked across to the Sorting hat. He blew out a long, steadying breath.

"McGowan, Illyad" was sorted into Slytherin, and "McGowan, Matt" was put in Gryffindor. "Meridian, Narik" joined the Hufflepuff table.

"Norgana, Kita."

The group of first-years parted as Kita walked confidently to the stool. She held herself in front of it with dangerous poise for a second, before sitting down. Professor Pan, his face solemn, placed the hat on her head. He shivered. The hat didn't speak. Its rip, which doubled as a mouth, curled up at one edge. Kita's face also spread into an ominous smile, cold and unfeeling, but the sight of it still made Scorpius' heart lurch as though she'd personally smiled at him with genuine pleasure.

The hat gave a slow, long, croaking laugh that brought goose bumps onto Scorpius' arms. Kita's eyes were turning a dark purple colour.

"Slytherin," the hat said, in a languorous voice laced with venom. Kita removed the hat herself, handing it to Professor Pan, who gave a bright smile as Kita's eyes suddenly turned bright blue again. A wave of warmth swept across the room. Someone gave a delicate giggle.

Kita found the seat opposite Scorpius, and gave him a look that was difficult to read – her eyes were flecked with purple still and her smile didn't reach them – before pulling a book from seemingly nowhere and burying her face in it.

Some of the Slytherins applauded.

"Potter, Albus."

A few cheers from the Gryffindor table made poor Albus trip up the step as he made his way to the stool. His face disappeared under the brim of the hat as it was placed on his head.

A long, long silence followed. Scorpius could just see Albus' lips moving as he argued quietly with the hat but it was impossible to tell what was being said. A soft murmur from the other side of the room started to grow as people whispered to one another. After about ten minutes, even Professor Pan started to fidget. When the fifteenth minute had passed, the teachers were talking amongst themselves. Albus' lips were growing pale and his comments to the hat were punctuated with longer and longer pauses.

The hat made a loud noise that sounded like throat clearing. Everyone turned to look across at it.

"Slytherin," it shouted. There were gasps from the Gryffindor table. One of the teachers did a double take, and the Slytherin table erupted into surprised clapping. Albus almost fell backwards off the stool as the hat was pulled from his head. He scurried to the Slytherin table, squeezed in next to Kita and buried his head in his hands.

"Are you ok?" Scorpius whispered. Albus nodded, so he turned back to the ceremony. Rose was Sorted into Gryffindor. To everyone's surprise, a pair of twins was Sorted into Gryffindor and Slytherin separately. Then, the feast began.

When the food appeared, Albus brightened visibly.

Kita ate small morsels of meat and Albus pigged out on desserts. Scorpius chatted amicably to both of them, and with the second year girl – Felicity Black – who had congratulated him earlier. Soon enough, the feast ended and it was time for bed.

The Slytherin prefect – a stocky seventh year names Charles MacMillan – showed them down to the dungeon, where the Slytherin house was concealed behind an innocent-looking wall.

The room was very low ceilinged, with green leather sofas and sickly green fires. The cold of the stone floors seeped through Scorpius' shoes, as the first year boys were lead down a corridor to the dormitory. He waved to Kita, but she was looking away, up her own corridor. His stomach gave an unpleasant lurch, but he didn't know why.

His eyelids felt like lead, and before he knew it, he was face down on a feather pillow, surrounded by emerald drapes, almost too tired to pull the blankets over him. His sleep was restful, but riddled with odd snatches of dreams.

He was shocked awake by the sound of a loud drum solo, followed by the screeching of guitars. He gave a soft cry and sat upright. There was a thump as someone in the next bed fell out.

"Ow," the faller moaned. It was Albus.

The music stopped.

"Sorry!" someone cried. "It's my phone alarm, I forgot to switch it off!"

Sunlight was streaming through the crack in his curtains as Scorpius flopped back down and sighed.

"Mudbloods," he muttered, with annoyance.