Chapter 1-

Albus Potter sat on the very edge of his seat, his hands resting on his knees. The compartment he was sitting in was empty except for him. There was a horrible heavy feeling in his stomach and he kept shifting around in his seat. He had been dreaming of this day since he was six years old. So why was he so nervous?

Suddenly, the compartment door slid open causing him to jump. A girl with fiery red curls stepped in and turned to shut the door behind her.

"Oh, it's you…" Albus said, leaning back in his seat.

"I told you I'd be right back," The girl said coolly. "And why are you so… jumpy?"

"I'm not jumpy!" said Albus defensively. "It's just…"

"Al, are you still worried about the sorting?" she asked, settling in the seat across from him.

"I- how did you know I was worried?" He asked her leaning forward slightly.

"Oh Al, I reckon mum's right," she said, shaking her head. "You're exactly like dad."

"What's that supposed to-" The compartment door suddenly slid open and a girl stumbled in looking down at the two of them, mildly surprised.

"Er… sorry I thought this was empty," she said. "Do you mind if I stay though? All the other compartments are full."

"Yeah sure," the red-haired girl said. "Make yourself comfortable. I'm Rose by the way. And this is Al."

"I'm Willow," she said smiling with the corner of her mouth. She settled down in the seat next to Rose. She was very pretty, Al observed, with wavy dark brown hair and deep-set green eyes. He stared at her for a long while, not saying anything. Fortunately she hadn't noticed because she was talking to Rose. Albus turned to look out the window feeling odd.

Rose and Willow had begun discussing the four houses at Hogwarts.

"I reckon I'll get in Hufflepuff," Willow groaned. "But I'm hoping for Gryffindor or at least Ravenclaw,"

"Same," Al said surprising himself for he had been feeling too sick to talk once they had started discussing the sorting. Willow turned and gave him a surprised look as though she had just noticed he was there. Albus felt sorry that he had said anything at all and he turned back around to stare out the window well aware that Willow was still watching him.

"What about your parents Willow?" Rose asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence. Willow pulled her gaze from Albus to Rose and blinked.

"What about them?" she asked.

"Well what houses were they in?" Rose asked her.

"Gryffindor mum, Hufflepuff dad," she said, smiling again. She seemed to have forgotten about Albus once more which just made him feel sick all over again though he couldn't see why.

The rest of the ride to Hogwarts was pleasant enough. Albus didn't say much but when the trolley came and Willow explained that she hadn't had time to stop at Gringotts and her mum would be sending her money sometime tomorrow, Albus bought her a licorice wand and shared his gum and Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans with her.

The sorting-

"HUFFLEPUFF," the hat exclaimed though Albus wasn't really paying attention.

"Malfoy, Scorpius," Professor Longbottom, an old family friend, called out. A scrawny blonde boy with a pointed chin scurried up onto the stool upon which the sorting hat lay and forced it, nervously, onto his head. It was several minutes before the hat shouted,

"RAVENCLAW," Now that was a surprise. Albus had heard from his father that Scorpius came from a long line of Slytherins.

"Newton, Jacqueline," Professor Longbottom called out again. A small girl with sleek black hair bounced up to the front and took her seat on the stool.

"RAVENCLAW," the sorting hat yelled again. Albus turned to Rose who was looking nervous now and was rather pale. A few more names were called until,

"Pierce, Willow," Willow raised her head and rushed forward after being nudged gently by Rose. She sat gingerly onto the stool and placed the hat upon her head.

"GRYFFINDOR," the hat shouted and Albus saw Rose give her thumbs up as the Gryffindors cheered.

"Potter, Albus," Albus slowly walked forward, barely aware of what he was doing. He heard whispers echoing around the eerily quiet great hall.

"Potter? Like, Harry Potter?"

"Must be, It's not too common is it?"

"Potter… Cool! I wonder if he'll get his dad's autograph for me?"

Albus sat down onto the stool and placed the hat on his head. It slipped over his eyes and the sounds of the great hall disappeared.

"Ahh… A potter… I wondered if I'd see another. Well I know where I'd like to put you… But let's see, creative, loyal, brave, all good things, yes."

Albus was beginning to feel uncomfortable now. He remembered something his dad had told him on the platform. Not Slytherin… er… please? He thought desperately.

"Of course, of course ,not Slytherin. I'll just have to put you in, GRYFFINDOR,"

All the weight Albus had felt in his stomach since this afternoon was lifted suddenly and the hat was being raised off his head. Immensely relieved at not being put in Slytherin, he walked over to the table and sat down next to Willow.

"Nice one," she said, smiling at him.

"You too," he said, returning the smile nervously and scratching his neck. It was several minutes before Professor Longbottom called, "Weasley, Rose."

Rose Hurried up to the front looking quite nervous now and hesitatingly picked up the sorting hat. She closed her eyes and placed it atop her red curls.

"GRYFFINDOR," the hat shouted and Albus stood up and cheered along with Willow. Suddenly someone punched him in the shoulder. Albus spun around.

"Al, I've been trying to get your attention for the past five minutes." A boy with untidy black hair said to him.

"Er, sorry James," Albus said to him distractedly.

"Congrats on making Gryffindor then," James said to him.

"Uh-huh," Albus mumbled jerking hid head slightly to look behind him. James sighed and grabbed Albus by the shoulder.

"I reckon," he said, turning Albus around, "that you should actually talk to her."

"Huh?" Albus said, confused. "Talk to who?" James rolled his eyes and walked away. Whatever. Albus thought, turning to congratulate Rose. James was just trying to freak him out or something. And he smiled shyly at Willow as he gave Rose a one armed hug.

The common room-

Rose had automatically flopped onto the couch and propped a book up against a pillow. Albus rolled his eyes as she hurried up the stairs to get some sleep. Before he opened the door to his dormitory he looked down the stairs to where Willow sat, cross-legged on the floor, staring at the fire.

His hand clutched the cool metal of the door handle and he slipped into the room. There were two boys in there already.

"Alright there?" The first boy asked, smiling at Albus. "My names Trevor and this is Jacob."

"I'm Albus," he said quietly.

Later that night he sunk into bed feeling warm and full but he still had that odd feeling he had had on the train. He wished he knew what it meant. He figured it was just excitement and anxiety. He rolled over on his side and tried to think about his family at home but Willow kept interrupting his train of thought. He drifted off to sleep, her face still fresh in his mind.

Second year-

"Al! I am going to KILL you!" Rose hissed as she made her way around the couch in the Gryffindor common room. Her cheek and the side of her nose were coated in what looked like cornflakes.

"Rose, I swear, it must've been James or-"Al started to say backing away from her.

"I SAW THE WARTCAP POWDER ON YOUR BED AL!" she shrieked.

"I don't even know where that came from! Honest-"

To his great shock and horror she suddenly burst into tears. "Y-you knew that Charles w-wanted to take a w-walk with m-meee," she sobbed. "A-and now I h-have to get this taken off and I-I…" she trailed off.

"Look Rose," Albus said cautiously, eyeing the wand in her hand. "Just tell him you need to get it removed I mean he'll under-"

"I CAN'T C-CANCEL ON HIM," she sniffled "HE'LL THINK I DON'T LIKE H-HIM!"

"Rose if he can't-"said Albus, a bit frustrated that he couldn't even get one sentence out.

"Al, you ruined everything," she said dramatically, sweeping from the room.

"Oh no…" Al mumbled rubbing his temples and sinking to the floor a the bottom of the stairs to the girl common room.

"Al?" a calm voice called to him from the staircase.

"Not right now Will," Al said, trying to think about what he would have to do to make Rose see he hadn't done anything. Willow shook her head and leapt down the last three steps landing gracefully on the carpet next to Albus. She sat down beside him.

"I reckon you ought to go talk to Charles for her while I visit her in the hospital wing," she said. Albus didn't say anything but gave a small nod. He turned his head slightly to look at her. After a moment they were quiet until Al said,

"I'll go then," he looked at her, "Er, now," he rose to his feet and started for the door.

"Alright," she said giving him an odd, curious, look. He turned to leave and felt her following him. He stopped.

"Well hurry up she won't be in there all day," Willow said, giving him a small push. And she smiled at him, with the corner of her mouth, always the left one. He stayed frozen for a minute, gazing into her eyes that were like chunks of jade, forgetting what he had been about to do.

"Rose, Albus," she reminded him, rolling her eyes but still smiling.

"Oh yeah," he said distractedly. Suddenly, out of nowhere, grabbed her hand and pulled her out the portrait hole. "Last one backs a bogey covered blast-ended skrewt!" he took off down the stairs.

"Hey no fair!" she said, but she was laughing. He had made her laugh. Albus wasn't quite sure why but he felt like he could have flown as he raced down another staircase feeling oddly triumphant. He grinned stupidly all the way to the astronomy tower where Rose and Charles were supposed to meet, even when he forgot about the vanishing step on the way up and fell on his face.

Year Three-

"You're god awful at potions you know that Al?" Willow said, bending over too look in his cauldron which was emitting red sparks.

"It runs in the family," Albus said, shrugging. Willow grinned.

"Oh yeah, and your hair's on fire!" she said cheerfully, bending back over her own cauldron. Albus rolled his eyes and looked at his reflection in the slimy green potion he was brewing. Something orange was dancing on top of his head. Oh no…

"ARGH!" Albus shouted, using his potions text book to beat down the flame. A few students laughed and professor Slughorn, the potions teacher, shook his head.

"Dear me Mr. Potter you'd want to be more careful. "He said as he continued to walk around the room examining other students work.

"Here," Willow said softly, pulling out a green bottle from within the depths of her book bag. "Add three drops of this and it might help." Al gingerly took the bottled and added a few drips. As it turned out, it helped immensely. His potion hissed and became the exact color and thickness as Willow, who was nearly done.

"Whoa… Brilliant," she beamed, "What's this stuff anyway?"

"Er, it hasn't really got a name quite yet," she said, almost nervously.

"What do you mean?" Albus asked setting the bottle down quickly as though it were filled with poison. "It's not illegal is it? Has James-?"

"You worry too much Al," Willow said, shaking her head. "It isn't illegal," she lowered her voice. "But, it's not necessarily legal either…"

"Will!" Albus cried out. Willow sighed.

"Look, it's something I've been working on for a while. With Rose's help of course," she added. Albus let out a long breath. The knowledge that Rose had approved of what Will was working on seemed to appease him.

"What is it then?" he asked her, picked the bottle back up again.

"Well it's supposed to correct any mistakes you've made in a potion and practically brew it for you," she said looking suddenly exasperated. "as long as you have the right ingredients. It can duplicate them, decrease the amount, and reverse several of your mistakes, in stirring for example. If Rose hadn't gone down to Madame Pomfery's with that stomach bug… she would have liked seeing this…"

"That's brilliant Willow," Albus exclaimed. "No really, it is!" Willow smiled at him as she finished her potion by adding some crushed up fangs. The potion hissed slightly and turned a pale yellow color. She scooped some up in a flask and scribbled her name on it. She walked to the front of the room and set it onto Slughorn's desk.

Slughorn looked only slightly surprised at the quality of her potion, only because she was amazing at potions and, well, everything. His surprise at her potion was nothing compared to his surprise at Albus's.

"Well well! This is excellently brewed Potter!" he said examining the flask from all angles practically bouncing. "I daresay you received a few pointers from Miss Peirce?"

"You could say that," he said grinning he turned around and his eyes caught Willows. She winked. Albus felt as though the lights in the classroom glowed, suddenly, brighter than before as he made his way toward the table he, Rose, and Willow shared.

Year four-

"-snogging David in the corridors, sneaking around the castle with him… Honestly Al, I'm worried." Rose was leaning against the rain splattered window in the Gryffindor common room, a book propped open against her knees.

Albus didn't say anything but he wasn't worried. He was angry. She was always with a guy and seemed to be passing through them rather quickly.

"He's not the best of guys… Remember Alexis? He cheated on her and it broke her heart," she said, not taking her eyes off the page she was reading.

"Uh-huh," Albus mumbled, thinking about a heartbroken Willow.

"Al? Can you follow David around for a little while today? To make sure he's not…. Doing anything he shouldn't?"

"Uh… sure," Al said, barely listening.

"I'm serious Al!" Rose said, a little louder, snapping him back into attention.

"Serious about what?" Al said.

"Al!"

"Sorry, I was just thinking…"

"Well that's a first," she said, rolling her eyes. "Just go watch David and makes sure he's not with another girl or something."

"Ok," Al said, delighted at the thought of catching him doing something.

Al had a free period the next afternoon and he knew David had one too. Unfortunately, Willow did as well so they would probably be together. He decided he would still try, to make Rose happy. He started toward the David's last class, transfiguration, assuming he couldn't have gotten far when he caught sight of Willow. She swept past him, who was concealed behind a suit or armor, looking anxious. As soon as she turned the corner he leapt out from behind the suit and followed her.

She was heading toward Gryffindor common room, probably to meet David outside it. He stayed a good distance behind her, hiding behind anything he could in case she turned around. She stopped outside the portrait hole where a tall boy with untidy black hair stood. She tapped him on the shoulder and he turned around. Without hesitation he wrapped his arms around her neck and kissed her.

Al had never been this angry in his life. Before he could really register all that was happening he rushed forward ,as soon as they had stopped kissing, and punched James, hard, in the face.

"Al?" Willow had shouted but he was already gone, after mumbling the password and storming through the portrait hole.

Year five-

Al and Willow lie on the grass by the lake, shaded by a tall oak tree. Al had his hands behind his head and his eyes closed smiling slightly. It was spring, and there was a slight breeze in the air that tossed Willow's hair in front of her face. She brushed it back.

"Wanna go swimming?" she asked him, sitting up to stare over the water of the lake.

"I don't have a bathing suit," Al said, wondering how he could have forgotten to pack it this year as his mum was constantly reminding him.

"Borrow one from James," she said, "and meet me back here."

"Ok," Albus said, rising to his feet. He hurried off in the direction of the castle.

He caught James waking up the stairs to his dormitory with a roll of parchment in his hands looking bored.

"Hey James?" Al called up to him. "Can I borrow a bathing suit?" James looked surprised for a moment but then said,

"Yeah, sure, hold on a sec." He walked up the stairs and disappeared into his dormitory. He reappeared a moment later and tossed a bundle down at Albus.

"Have fun," he said, and Albus was surprised by the sincerity in his tone.

As he approached the lake, he saw no sign of Willow. He walked toward the small dock, about to dip his feet in the refreshingly cool water. Suddenly, it felt as though someone had grabbed him by his ankle and he fell ,face-first, into the lake. Coughing, his face broke through the water and he looked around confused.

"Tripping Jinx Al," a voice said from his left. Before he could catch a glimpse of them they dove into the water beside him. When they came back up Al saw that it was a grinning Willow.

"Will!" he said pretending to look angry. She laughed. He dove under the water.

"Al!" she said, still laughing. Suddenly, she was pulled under the water by something and she screamed. When both Al and Willow broke the surface, she glared at him.

"It's only fair, you trip-" he was cut off by a wave of water hitting him in the face. Will swam away looking pleased.

"WILL!" he shouted, and swam toward her laughing.

They spent the whole afternoon in the lake and on the shore, laughing and joking. Al returned to his dormitory dry and happy. It was an afternoon well spent.

Year six-

Al had been roaming the corridors, hidden by his dad's invisibility cloak, trying to find Willow for almost an hour. She had run off in the middle of dinner. Just yesterday she had broken up with David (again) and he had spread a nasty rumor about her (again) but this one was bad. Really bad. Somehow, everyone had believed him and Willow had gotten nothing but terrible insults all day long. At dinner, she could hardly take it and she had stormed out.

Albus was very concerned because she could be caught by a teacher. Or worse, Peeves who undoubtedly had heard the rumor too. Albus was just outside the potions room when he heard someone sniffling. He rushed forward and stopped outside a classroom. She was in there.

He pushed the door open just a crack and peered in. Sitting on the windowsill was Willow, her face buried in her knees. Seeing her weak, defeated, crying was not something Albus could take.

"Willow?" he whispered into the dark moonlit classroom. She didn't answer. He shed the cloak and walked over toward her. He sat down on the windowsill next to her.

"You know, I always though David was a prat," he said. No answer. "I don't get why people believe what he's saying anyway, he lies all the time right?" Still nothing.

Suddenly, Al was fed up with this. Why would anyone try to make Will feel bad? She was never mean to anyone (except maybe a few select Slytherins) and always tried her best to help. He sat up a little straighter and looked at Will.

"Look Will," he said so firmly she looked up and he could see her tear stained face. "You're beautiful, and smart, and funny, and if everyone else can't see that than… Well, they must be prats. You shouldn't even listen to them. All you need are me and Rose and-" she had moved so quickly it caught him completely off guard. He lips were on his lips and her hands were on his neck. They stayed there for what seemed like an eternity, they're heads silhouetted against the light of the moon