As the train pulled away from Platform 9 and 3/4, Rose and her cousin Albus found their heads sticking out their cabin window, waving frantically at their parents as they shouted their last goodbyes. It was strange to be going away. Rose and Albus had been looking forward to this day for years, watching with envy as their older siblings and cousins had boarded the Hogwarts Express without them. But now that it was their turn, they weren't so sure they were ready to leave home just yet. Rose especially, felt a sinking feeling in her stomach as she watched the image of her smiling parents drift further and further away, blurred by the steam from the train. Albus seemed to sense this and resignedly the pair, closed the cabin window, taking their seats.
It was difficult to tell that they were related. They looked nothing like each other. Albus was a miniature version of his father, the dark unkempt hair, sparkling green eyes, even the spectacles were almost identical to Harry's. Rose had hazel eyes. Her hair was curly, not as bushy as her mother's had been and instead of the typical Weasley ginger hair, her's was a shade of auburn. Attempting to entertain herself, Rose pulled out, "Hogwarts: A History" and Albus gazed out the window. They stayed that way for nearly an hour until Albus broke the silence. "Nervous Rosie?" he asked her. Rose looked up from her book. Albus' face was neutral, unreadable."I suppose" she answered.
Albus nodded, chewing his lip. Rose could tell he was nervous. He didn't have to tell her. His body language practically screamed, "Help! I think I'm going to be in Slytherin and my world will come to an end!" Shutting her book she gazed at him. "What would you do?"
"Pardon?" Albus seemed rather startled at her question, obviously lost in his thoughts.
"What would you do if you were in Slytherin?" Rose asked.
Albus furrowed his brows. After a pause her murmured, "I don't know"
Rose leaned forward and looked at her cousin. He refused to meet her gaze.
"What are you afraid of?" she asked.
Albus shook his head. "It's just the kind of people of are in Slytherin that freak me out."
Rose nodded, "Ok so you think that if you get into Slytherin, you'll be a bad person?"
Albus didn't respond but Rose continued anyway.
"You're a good person Al." she smiled.
Albus looked up to meet his cousin's gaze. "I know" he nodded. "It's just the whole concept of that house, the history, what has gone down there... Honestly Rosie, would you want to be in Slytherin?"
"No" came the swift reply.
"You see?" Albus stated as if he had made his point.
"But" Rose cut in, "If i was put in Slytherin, I wouldn't die either. There's a reason for everything Al. I mean I'm sure there's a purpose to house sorting."
Albus smiled. "I wonder if you would say that if you really were in Slytherin." he chuckled.
Rose smirked. "Well we just have to wait and see."
After that the conversation lightened up. Soon enough they found themselves fast approaching their destination. Albus had gone to change into his robes. The train was coming to a halt and Albus was still not back. "Al!" she called from within the cabin. No answer. She sighed. Just like him to change into his robes at the last minute. She of course, had changed before even boarding the train. Deciding that she should look for him, she slid open the cabin door and made a right, bumping straight into someone. "Oof!" Rose exclaimed as she fell backwards on her bum. She looked up to see a blonde haired boy with grey eyes staring down at her in surprise. She blinked once, twice. It was apparent that he was not going to help her up. She didn't know what to do.
Luckily for her, the boy seemed to have emerged from his daze and mumbled a "Sorry" before helping her to her feet. His hand was cold, like ice. "Sorry about that." she rubbed her bum. "I was just looking for my cousin. Didn't see you." The boy just seemed to nod. He stared at her looking, to Rose's surprise, almost intimidated. The pair stood there, looking at each other awkwardly. "Erm well see you?" Rose muttered and hurried away in the opposite direction. She didn't dare turn back, in case he was still there. Strange behaviour. He had acted like she was some Hungarian Horntail, going to rip him to shreds. Or maybe he just wasn't used to talking to girls? He seemed familiar though, where had she seen him before...
"Rose!" she was jolted out of her thoughts as she saw Albus hurrying towards her. "There you are!" she exclaimed. "Come on!" she grabbed him and they hurried along with the other first years to get off the train.
"Hagrid!" Rose smiled up at their half giant friend.
"Rose, Al!" Hagrid smiled at the pair and ruffled their hair.
"Hagrid!" they both exclaimed.
Hagrid chuckled in response. "To th' boats with yer'!" he raised his voice, addressing not only them but the rest of the first years.
Linking arms, Rose and Albus hurried along to the boats. Climbing into one of them, they watched with awe as the boats slowly drifted towards the magnificent castle that was Hogwarts. Albus was squeezing Rose's hand so tightly she thought she might as well cut it off. But she couldn't blame her cousin. She had seen pictures of the castle but seeing it for herself, at night it was even more beautiful than she could have imagined.
The first years were hurried into the castle and ushered up the stairs till they reached the entrance to the Great Hall. Rose and Albus smiled as they saw the familiar face of Neville Longbottom or Professor Longbottom, now that they were students at Hogwarts. Noticing the pair, Neville gave them a knowing smile. Then he turned to face the first years. "Good evening first years! I trust all of you had a safe and comfortable trip. I am Professor Longbottom here to brief you on your house sorting. Now when you enter the Hall you will see four tables, one representing each house, Griffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. Now while you are here, your house will be like your family. Any wrongdoings will result in deducted points. Good deeds result in addition of points. At the end of the year, the house cup will be awarded to the house with the most points. When we enter, I will call your names, you will approach me and I will place the sorting hat on your head, for you to be sorted. Are we clear?" the students nodded solemnly. Neville nodded and gesturing to the students, the doors of the Great Hall opened.
Rose thought she was in heaven. Nothing could describe her emotions. She gazed at the bewitched ceiling and smiled as she saw James and their other family members wave from the Griffindor Table. The sorting was according to Alphabetical order. Being a Weasley, Rose watched impatiently as one after another, people were sorted. "Scorpius Malfoy!" Neville called. Rose gasped. That was the boy on the train! Now she knew where she had seen him. Her father had told her to stay away from him. She couldn't understand why though... "SLYTHERIN!" the hat called. "Oh" Rose thought to herself. "Maybe that's why."
"Albus Potter!" Neville called. Rose squeezed her cousin's hand as he made his way up to the hat. No sooner had it touched his head did it shout, "GRIFFINDOR!" Rose cheered as she watched her cousin hurry over to the Griffindor table, looking relieved. She was glad that Albus was happy.
Name after name was called and finally it was her turn. Taking a deep breath she marched up to the stool and waited as Neville placed the hat on her head. "Hmmm" a little voice in her head murmured. "This is interesting, a Weasley-Granger mix. Well there's intelligence yes but not much courage. I don't see you in Griffindor." Rose's heart sank a little. "Well not Hufflepuff... wait what's this. A bit of a sly devil are we? Well this will be interesting. Yes yes you will do well there. Better be, SLYTHERIN!" the hat finally exclaimed. Rose felt a shock overcome her. It was as if the world had gone cold. The claps that surrounded her seemed to have muted. She found herself smiling and walking towards the Slytherin table. But she felt nothing, absolutely nothing. It was as if she was hollow and all she could think about was the looks of astonishment and horror on the faces of her family.