Title: Harry Potter and the Next Generation
Summary: The story of the Next Gen's years at Hogwarts, beginning in Teddy's first year all the way up to Lily and Hugo's seventh.
Warnings: Swearing and stuff.
Notes: Sorry I've been away for so long. But I've been having to deal with school and standardized testing and all that stuff, and unfortunately, haven't been able to find any time to write. So here this thing is.
Disclaimer: Any recognizable characters, settings, events, items, concepts, or spells belong, not to me, but to JK Rowling. I am claiming no ownership of them, and am writing this story for fun, not for profit.
Chapter One
"Firs' years! Firs' years, over here!"
Teddy followed the sound of Hagrid's voice, joining the clump of first years. Hagrid caught his eye and waved. Teddy grinned.
He saw the older years climbing into the carriages. He knew—from what his godfather had told him—that the carriages were pulled by thestrals. He didn't try to look for them; he knew the conditions under which the creatures could be seen.
"Nice hair."
"What?"
"Nice hair, I said," the boy next to Teddy repeated. "I like the blue."
"Oh. Thanks."
Teddy wasn't used to people genuinely liking his hair. Even on the train, he had been mocked for it by a group of older Ravenclaws. He smiled at the boy, who grinned back.
"I'm Corey," the boy said, extending a hand.
Teddy shook it. "Teddy."
The remaining first years arrived, and Hagrid led them to the edge of the Black Lake, where a cluster of eleven boats floated in the water. "Four to a boat!" he called, sitting down in and taking up the entirety of his own boat. Teddy ended up in a boat with Corey and two others.
"You're hair's stupid," said the dark-haired boy bluntly.
"I like it," said the girl.
"What don't you like about it?" Corey asked the dark-haired boy defensively.
"It's just stupid," sneered the boy. He turned back to Teddy. "Blue hair doesn't look good on anyone, son of war heroes or not."
Teddy lowered his eyes. He hated it when people knew who he was.
"War heroes?" Corey asked, looking at Teddy, confused.
"The Second Wizarding War," the boy smirked. "Don't you read? It's in all of our textbooks."
The girl spoke up again. "Actually, Byrne, it's only mentioned in our history book. So clearly you haven't read the textbooks, either."
Byrne flushed; Teddy and Corey laughed.
After Professor Longbottom's speech about the Houses and the point system, he led the first years into the Great Hall. Teddy had heard descriptions of the enchanted ceiling from his godparents and grandmother and Hermione, but those were nothing compared to really seeing it.
Around him, the other first years were also in awe. They passed between the Hufflepuff and Slytherin tables, before Professor Longbottom stopped them and stepped up to the three-legged stool. Teddy had also been told by his grandmother what the Sorting process would be like; that didn't make him any less nervous.
He paid no attention to the Sorting Hat's song; he knew about the Houses and the attributes—how Slytherin favored the ambitious and Hufflepuff took the loyal.
Then the song ended, and Professor Longbottom unrolled the scroll in his hands.
"Adams, Amira!"
The girl had worn the Hat for barely five seconds before it shouted for the entire Hall to hear, "RAVENCLAW!"
"Allen, Elena!" and "Atkinson, Darcey!" also went to Ravenclaw, and "Bailey, Zane!" sat, relieved-looking and pink-faced, at the Hufflepuff table. "Baker, Alba!" was the first Gryffindor and "Barter, Charlie!" the first Slytherin.
"Burton, Alannah!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Byrne, Jason!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Chambers, Ruben!" followed Byrne, before "Cooke, Jimmy!" and "Dawson, Frankie!" went to Gryffindor.
"Doyle, Corey!"
Teddy paid strict attention as the other boy stepped up to the stool, the Hat falling over his eyes. Moments later—
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Graham, Agnes!"
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Green, Jensen!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Hamilton, Rex!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Harris, Lucas!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Hart, Nina!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Henderson, Leah!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Holland, Leo!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Jones, Iris!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Kennedy, Chester!" went to Gryffindor, then "King, Lana!"—the girl from the boat—joined Corey at the Hufflepuff table.
"Lupin, Edward!"
"Teddy stepped up to the stool, terrified. The last thing he saw before the Hat fell over his eyes was Corey watching apprehensively from the Hufflepuff table.
Difficult, the Hat said into his mind. I could easily place you in any of the Houses. No less ambitious than you are intelligent. Brave. Loyal. Yes, difficult.
I'm not brave, Teddy thought. And I'm not that ambitious.
You are determined, however. Loyal.
No, I'm—
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
The Hat was listed removd from Teddy's head, and he walked shakily to the Hufflepuff table, where he sat next to Corey and across from Iris Jones. A prefect shook his hand; he smiled nervously.
The Sorting continued.
"Matthews, Erica!", "Miller, Albert!", and "Morris, Harriet!" all went to Gryffindor; and "Murphy, Rory!" joined Ravenclaw.
"Murray, Daisy!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Reid, Kiera!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Reynolds, Jessica!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Rose, Georgie!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Scott, Bentley!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Scott, Jordan!"
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Shaw, Rio!" went to Ravenclaw, "Star, Michelle!" to Slytherin, and "Stone, Rufus!" to Gryffindor.
"Walker, Xander!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Walsh, Solomon!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Williams, Sienna!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
And with "Willis, Leila!" joining Hufflepuff, the Sorting Ceremony ended.
"This food is so good!"
Teddy grinned at Corey's exclamation, taking a bite of his own potatoes.
"Hey. Lupin."
Teddy looked over his shoulder to see Jason Byrne trying to lean over the aisle.
"What?"
Byrne chuckled. "Are you a werewolf?"
"No."
"That's not how lycanthropy works, Byrne," said Bently Scott from Teddy's right. "You have to be bitten to be a werewolf."
"How do I know he wasn't bitten, Scott?"
"I wasn't bitten."
"And how do I know you're telling the truth, Lupin? You're the son of a half-breed and the daughter of a mudblood and a blood-traitor—"
"Shut up about my family, Byrne," Teddy growled.
"Defensive, I see."
Teddy rolled his eyes and turned back around.
"Don't listen to him," said Lana King. "And yes, he's always this much of an idiot."
"Do you know him?" asked Teddy.
"My parents know his. So I've spent some time with him."
"Sorry about that," said Bently, grinning. "He does seem like a bit of an idiot."
Lana raised an eyebrow. "A bit?"
Teddy laughed.
"So do you go by Edward or what?" Bently asked.
"I mean, I prefer Teddy, but—"
"Teddy it is, then."
Teddy didn't really listen to Headmistress McGonagall's speech about the rules. His grandmother had lectured him several times about not getting into too much trouble. Or any trouble, really. She had even quizzed him twice on the rules.
The first years were at the front of the line when the Hufflepuff prefects led them down a few flights of stairs to get to the basement.
"Alright," said one of them, stopping the line. "We'll show you how to get in," he directed at the first years, then turned to the other prefect. "Katie, explain."
"Well, then. You have to tap your wand against this particular barrel—" she slapped it to indicate which barrel she was talking about, "—to the rhythm of 'Helga Hufflepuff.'" She demonstrated it, and the top of the barrel slid open.
"What if we do it wrong or tap the wrong barrel?" asked Corey.
"You get doused in vinegar," said Katie calmly. "Anyway, there's a ladder in this barrel. It leads to the common room." She stepped into the barrel, climbing down the ladder. The other prefect followed her, gesturing to the first years to do the same.
Corey, at the front of the line, went first. Teddy followed him. The ladder led to a short tunnel, at the end of which was a rounded door. The prefect whose name Teddy didn't know opened it, holding it open for everyone.
The common room looked very comfortable, with two yellow couches in front of a magically-lit fire. There were armchairs scattered around the room, with two hallways branching out in two directions.
The prefects stood in front of the ten first years, as the older students migrated to armchairs or couches or seats by magical windows. "Boys' dormitories are to your left, down that hallway," said Katie, pointing. "Girls' dorms are to your right." She pointed again. "You have classes tomorrow, so I suggest getting some rest."
Teddy followed Corey, Bentley, Zane Bailey, and Xander Walker down the boys' hallway. Zane opened a door with a sign hanging off of the doorknob that read FIRST YEARS on the front and listed their names on the back:
ZANE BAILEY
COREY DOYLE
EDWARD LUPIN
BENTLEY SCOTT
XANDER WALKER
The dorm, much like the common room, looked very comfortable. The walls and bedspreads were a very welcoming—but not too bright—shade of yellow. There was an armchair in the corner of the same shade, next to a window enchanted to show a view of the lake. The pillows were black, and there was a black stripe of paint two feet up the walls. Teddy sat on the bed where his trunk and owl, Moony, had been placed.
An hour and a half later, only Teddy and Zane were still awake. Zane was flipping through his copy of The Standard Book of Spells: Grade One, trying to cast the Levitation Charm on his copy of Magical Theory.
"What do you think classes are going to be like?" Teddy asked.
He saw Zane shrug. "Dunno."
"You play Quidditch at all?" Teddy asked; it was the first question that came to mind after his first one.
"Sometimes I chase a Snitch around with my sister in our backyard. You?"
"I play a lot of Quidditch on holidays with my godsiblings' cousins. Well, not the younger ones, since they're one, three, and five, and there are so many of them, but I play with one of the seven-year-olds against a nine- and seven-year-old. James—he's five—always wants to join, but his parents never let him."
Zane chuckled.