Autumn seemed to have come quick that year. It couldn't be put into words how nerve-wrecking Albus Potter was feeling as he approached the wall, 9 and ¾, that led to the Hogwarts Express. The Hogwarts Express was a specially charmed, magical train located at Kings Cross that led to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Albus knew that his family had been wizards all his life. He was a short skinny boy with neat brown hair and beautiful green eyes that he had inherited from his paternal grandmother and father.

Lily Potter was his sister. His very annoying, very impatient sister. She had short ginger hair and a pale complexion.

James, their brother, gave Albus a headache every day for the past 11 years of his life; he was a year older and already attended Hogwarts. James was a very energetic and easy going boy with big brown eyes. He had very poor timing and a knack for interfering in other people's love lives. He was also known for having a great fondness for mischief and a superb sense of humor. He was in his second year of Hogwarts already.

The moment that Albus went aboard The Hogwarts Express, he noticed all the children staring unmistakably at his father, Harry Potter.

"Don't let it worry you," said Ron Weasley, his uncle. "It's me. I'm extremely famous."

Ron Weasley was his mother, Ginny Weasley's, older brother, and also one of his father's best friends. Hermione, whose previous surname was Granger prior to her and Ron's marriage, stood next to her spouse, smiling at her daughter.

"Go on, find a compartment before they all run out," said Hermione. "Rose, sit with James and Albus, and don't forget to send us an owl as soon as you arrive!"

Rose Weasley, Albus' cousin, was also attending her first year at Hogwarts this year. She had flaming red ginger hair that she had obviously inherited from her father. She was already wearing the school robes before it was necessary, greatly resembling her mother's promptness. Rose has also acquired her mother's intelligence and big, bushy hair which she ties in a ponytail for control. She had just escaped from the grasp that her younger brother, Hugo, had on her trying to make her stay.

Children were always talking about how extremely excited they were to attend Hogwarts but, when the time came, everyone shared anxiety concerning which house they would be sorted into once they arrived. Hogwarts had four houses named after the four founders: Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, and Salazar Slytherin.

Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione and all of the Potter-Weasley family were sorted into Gryffindor house. Gryffindors were known for their great courage and determination. Their rival house, Slytherin, was all about cunningness and dark arts. Ravenclaws were known for their great intelligence and Hufflepuffs were known for their loyalty and hard-work.

Albus hurried into the Hogwarts Express and found a compartment where he sat with James and Rose.

"Move! Get out of the way!" roared a nearby voice. "I will push you!"

Everyone in the compartment quickly stared at each other; Albus moved over to sit next to James as soon as he saw a silhouette on the compartment door. In came a short girl with long blonde hair, a pale freckled face, and a very messy bag with papers falling out of it.

"Is that seat taken?" asked the girl whilst pointing at the empty seat next to Rose. She shook her head uncomfortably and the girl sprang up next to her.

"Hi, my name is Veronica Cambridge. But call me Ronnie!" beamed the girl, clearly excited to meet new people, even if they were looking at her like she had three eyes.

"Wow, what a name you've got there." giggled James, obviously laughing at her, not with her.

It seemed quite obvious that right then and there, Ronnie didn't seem to take a fondness to James. She only talked to, or at least tried to talk to, Albus and Rose the whole way there. Once or twice, you could see Ronnie give James a dirty look.

"So what house are you hoping to get into?" asked Ronnie. Albus shied away and did not respond. Instead Rose said "I hope I get into Gryffindor; my father said he'd disinherit me if I didn't!"

It was, in fact, true. Ron had told her back at King's Cross that he'd be very disappointed if she didn't get into Gryffindor. Although he had said it in a joking fashion, Hermione hadn't been very happy about it. Rose indeed was afraid of what the outcome would be if she didn't get sorted into Gryffindor.

"Well, as for me, I am most certain that I'll be sorted into Ravenclaw," beamed Ronnie very proudly. "I have no doubt about it!"

"Typical." James remarked, only loud enough for Albus to be able to hear. It was known that he never really liked Ravenclaws that much because he believed they thought they were so great just for being smart. It's obvious that he believed his house, Gryffindor, was superior to all the rest.

Albus tried hard not to think about the idea of which house he'd be sorted into the whole train ride there; he was extremely nervous and couldn't even sit still due to his anxiety. What if he were to be sorted into Slytherin? What would his parents think!? He would be too embarrassed to write to them, but surely James would do so himself. Ravenclaw wouldn't be that bad, and neither would Hufflepuff but his heart was still set on Gryffindor.

As the trolley lady came around to sell Chocolate Frogs and Every-Flavor-Beans, Albus caught sight of a beautiful girl with long, straight black hair, a wicked smile and eyes that captivated him completely; she was breathtaking. Before he could even get up to greet her, she had already bought her sweets and walked away.

No one in the compartment noticed how happy Albus was after that brief encounter. All his fears of being sorted were no longer present in his mind. All he could think about was that girl, how he longed to talk to her, he wondered deeply what her name could be.

Not much time passed by when, suddenly, a boy with platinum blonde hair and a pale pointed nose burst through the compartment door. He seemed to be very afraid of something as he closed it as if something was chasing him. He was panting heavily.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" asked the boy. "Oh my goodness. Where are my manners? Hello, my name is Scorpius Malfoy."

At the sound of that name, Rose whispered to Albus about what her father had told her back at Kings Cross. "Make sure you beat that little Scorpius in every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited your mother's brains."

Hermione, half stern and half amused had yelled at her husband, "Ron, for heaven's sake, don't try to turn them against each other before they've even started school!"

"You're right, sorry," had said Ron. However, unable to help himself he'd added "don't get too friendly with him, though, Rosie. Granddad Weasley would never forgive you if you married a pureblood."

Rose wasn't worried about that aspect though. She didn't find Scorpius attractive at the very least. Or, that is what she was trying to persuade herself to believe.

Scorpius didn't explain why he needed to leave wherever he came from so urgently, but there was a rip as clear as day light in his robe no one dared to ask about. The whole train ride there was filled with awkward conversation and mild laughter.

The train came to a steady halt. As Albus and James exited the train, the moonlight lit up the grounds. It was a warm and calm night some might call beautiful. Albus heard an odd voice; it was deep and one could hear it above all the pandemonium. Setting his eyes on the huge man holding up a lantern, he recognized Hagrid.

Hagrid was Albus' godfather. He was a friendly giant who had a personal relationship with his dad when he was at Hogwarts. They've been close ever since. He wasn't sure how he missed Hagrid in the first place as he was a man twice as large as a regular man and almost five times as wide. He had a bushy beard that merged with his hair that only left a little bit of room for a face.

"Firs' years this way! Firs' years!" called Hagrid, signalling all the children to a path different from where all the older children were headed.

"Hello Hagrid!" said Albus rather quietly so Hagrid barely heard him.

"Why 'ello there! 'Ow was the train ride?" beamed Hagrid as he almost pushed about five students trying to turn around to talk to Albus.

"It was fine, nothing unusual."

Albus then caught another glimpse of the girl with long black hair. He didn't get to talk to her on the train and, at the moment, she was in a crowd so it'd be impossible to talk to her now.

"Well, we better get to it then! Off ter the boats!" yelled Hagrid so that all the first years could hear him. "This way!"

It wasn't much longer until all the students reached an enormous lake. The moonlight reflected upon it beautifully and everyone was excited to see little boats on the shore, waiting for them to hop on. Every vessel could carry three students while Hagrid had one all to himself.

Albus got on a boat with Rose and a boy he didn't know. Not far behind was Ronnie, Scorpius, and a boy whom Albus did not recognize. He had straight black hair that was chin length and a bit of a tan complexion. He spoke to neither Ronnie nor Scorpius but kindly kept to himself the whole way there.

Walking up the steps to the Great Hall was hard for everyone. All the students were so anxious, they could barely move. They approached a halt when they reached the top of the staircase where there was an elderly woman wearing a green robe embroidered in gold, with a black witch's hat. It was none other than the Headmistress McGonagall.

"Gather around children, gather around. I am the Headmistress, Professor McGonagall and I will be leading you into the Great Hall to get your sorting started."

McGonagall went into the Great Hall and the first years waiting on the other side of the door could hear her voice as she began the ceremony by letting everyone there know that the first years had arrived. She then came through the doors and announced to everyone that it was time to go inside and get sorted.

Entering the Great Hall for the first time was truly something you just could not forget. The ceiling was bewitched to look like the sky outside; the stars gleamed beautifully along with the floating candles scattered all around the hall. There were four long vertical tables on which sat the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, and Slytherins. At the end of the hall was one last long horizontal table which sat all the teachers; a big throne-like chair in the middle obviously belonged to the Headmistress.

When all the children got to the end of the hall where they would be sorted, they gathered around an empty stool. No one outside of Hogwarts knew what the sorting would be like. Older brothers and sisters of new comers would always lie and say they had to fight dragons, ogres, and even each other. All the invented rumors that flew around made the sorting ceremony more frightening for all the first years.

But not Albus. Albus' father had told him long ago how the sorting took place, after James convinced Albus that it was fighting with a dragon. Students would have to sit on the stool and McGonagall would place an enchanted hat on their heads. Beforehand, the hat would sing a song in front of the entire school and then start to decide which house each student wearing it would be sorted into.

When McGonagall walked to the front of the crowd with an old raggedy hat, everyone was clearly confused. All except Albus and one other boy, who happened to be the shy boy he'd seen on the boat earlier.

"Really interesting how the sorting hat works, I read about it in Hogwarts: A History." he said to a boy next to him. The young lad also had longish hair like him except it was a really dark brown. He didn't seem too interested but did answer as they whispered a little more. Albus wondered why he spoke to him and not Ronnie or Scorpius.

Right before the sorting began, he started looking around for his brother, James, and found him almost instantly since he was standing up, laughing and giving him two thumbs up along with his friend, Rick Thompson.

McGonagall set the raggedy hat on the empty stool and a rip tore at the hat's brim. The sorting hat began to sing:

"Many, many years ago

Back when I was new

Four great wizards gave me their brains

Just before they were through

The great idea of Gryffindor

Saved the school from breaking down

As I could sort and decide for them

Even if they weren't around

Everyone that's brave at heart

Belongs in Gryffindor after all

If intelligence was your strength

Then you belong in Ravenclaw

For Hufflepuff you'd need

Trust and love to get in

But if you're all about cunningness

Then you belong in Slytherin

All houses work

In perfect harmony

If you don't know where you belong

Right now you shall see

And even if you set your heart

To a certain house

Your true path, the real you

I, The Sorting Hat shall announce"

Just as The Sorting Hat finished singing, the whole great hall broke into applause. After McGonagall hushed the students down, she began to call names from a long piece of parchment.

"Abel, Kara."

The sorting hat quickly decided to place her in, "RAVENCLAW!"

"Abel, Laura."

The girl was the twin of the first girl called, and she was also sorted into "RAVENCLAW!"

The twins were greeted warmly with applause from the Ravenclaw table. Albus was looking as nervous as ever. He really hoped to get into Gryffindor. It was his biggest desire right now. He noticed his cousin, Rose, also fidgeting around nervously. He really hoped that they'd go into the same house.

"Cambridge, Veronica."

Ronnie then stepped up to the stool very confidently. On the train, she was gloating about how sure she was going to get into Ravenclaw. The hat then opened the tear in its brim and called out,

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Ronnie's heart seemed to drop. She got off the stool very unamused and almost looked like she was on the verge of tears even though the whole Gryffindor table was clapping for her. If only Ronnie knew how envious Albus and Rose were right now, having been sorted into the house of their dreams. Then a girl named Pagan Cowell was sorted into Hufflepuff. Applause broke out from the Hufflepuff table as she walked over to it very happily.

"Greenfield, Alex."

The boy with the black hair stepped up the state quite fearfully, but it was expected. He closed his eyes tight until the Sorting hat called out,

"GRYFFINDOR!"

He half-ran to the Gryffindor table in glee as they applauded loudly.

A few boys were sorted into Slytherin and one girl into Hufflepuff. Then McGonagall called, with a slight look of disgust in her face,

"Lestrange, Bella."

Albus opened his eyes widely as she walked over to the stool. It was the girl that he saw on the train! He had finally learned her name, and it was beautiful. Her long black hair was barely touched by the hat when the sorting hat called out,

"SLYTHERIN!"

Albus wasn't sure what to think; wasn't everyone from Slytherin bad? But that couldn't be the case; the times have changed. Not everyone in Slytherin could be bad, could they? When Bella glanced at Albus, her eyes gleamed, and a locket she was wearing shined brightly in his eyes. He suddenly felt a warm feeling inside that he'd never felt before. He wished that she got into Gryffindor, he really wanted to see a lot more of her. Meanwhile, Scorpius Malfoy was sorted into Slytherin.

His mind went blank almost instantly as McGonagall called out "Potter, Albus" with a smile that seemed as though she was trying her best to hide it.

Albus paced towards the hat as if he were counting his steps. This seemed to have been the longest walk he'd taken in his life, even if it was only a few feet. He sat on the stool slowly and McGonagall placed the hat on him.

There was silence, the loudest silence Albus has ever heard. It drove him mad, he felt like he was sitting there for hours; but it had only been a minute. In that minute he heard the hat whisper to itself, "You're not a dumb boy. No, not at all. Maybe Ravenclaw is where you belong," and "Slytherin could do you well, as it could have to your father." Albus heard a remark from the hat every few seconds and watched as everyone in the Great Hall waited for the response from the hat. The last thing the hat whispered was, "There's a lot buried within you, but when you let it all out, you shall be great." He then called out,

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Albus' whole mood changed. Everything was great. He wasn't nervous anymore, but felt the happiest he had in the past week, worrying about this very moment. As he passed by Rose, he beamed at her and she gave him a quick hug until he was greeted by the Gryffindor's applause and also a huge hug from James.

David Smith was sorted into Ravenclaw, Thomas Spearet into Slytherin and Jake Webster into Gryffindor. Then McGonagall called out,

"Weasley, Rose."

As she hurried up to the hat, partially just to get it over with, she flashed an uneasy smile in Albus' general direction. The hat started to say something, "Oh, another Weasley, you are definite-" but then it stopped. It seemed as though he looked further into her as he said "Wait. You are different. Brains, quite like your mother. Yes, I know where to put you."

"RAVENCLAW!"

Rose's face flushed into a bright red as she hopped off the stool and ambled over to the Ravenclaw table. She didn't look happy at all.

McGonagall then called for "Willingham, Jonathan". The boy who was next to Alex Greenfield was now walking up to the stool. Albus noticed that Alex was paying very close attention to this one, and looked a little disappointed when the sorting hat called out,

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

The boy was greeted warmly to the Hufflepuff table. McGonagall finally called for "York, Jane" and it didn't take much time until the sorting hat sorted her into "RAVENCLAW!"

She was the last one to be sorted, and all the students were now seated. McGonagall gave a quick speech that she ended by magically having all the plates appear with food. Everyone quickly began to eat and Albus was beyond ecstatic. His cousin, Rose, didn't seem very content at the Ravenclaw table, though, which was the only downside to the bliss he felt. He looked around the hall and saw Jonathan with Pagan at the Hufflepuff table; Rose was with Laura, Kara and Jane at the Ravenclaw table. Last but not least, he saw Bella sitting with Scorpius at the Slytherin table. She was tugging him by his robe. It wasn't hard to tell that he was quite frightened. Albus assumed he must have done something wrong to annoy her. There wasn't any other reasonable explanation! Why would she hurt him otherwise? Yes, it was obviously his fault. She wouldn't hurt an elf; she's an angel.