"Where shall we go, Al?" Rose asked, holding onto her cousin's hand to avoid getting separated in the rush of chattering people who had just boarded the Hogwarts express. They had run to the open window of the first compartment on the platform side to wave to their family, but a group of third-year girls had politely informed them that they always sat there and if it wasn't any trouble – "Of course," the red-haired first-year had said, slightly embarrassed, and they had left.
"No idea," Albus was now saying. "We could follow James."
"Nah, he'll be going to sit with his fourth-year friends, they won't want us tagging along."
"True. Look, this one's empty!" Albus exclaimed suddenly, pulling Rose unexpectedly towards the compartment on their right. "Oh wait, no it's not ..." The only occupant was a golden-haired boy of about sixteen already decked in his Hufflepuff robes who sat huddled in a corner by the window, his nose in a large book. He glanced up as Albus hesitated with his hand on the door, smiled briefly, and continued reading.
"Come on, I don't think he'll mind," said Rose, who was the bolder of the pair. She pushed open the door and sat down at the other end of his bench, tactfully allowing Albus, who could be timid with strangers, to sit facing her in the opposite corner to the unknown boy. "You don't mind, do you?" she enquired politely.
"No, not at all," he replied. "I'm Jason, by the way, I'm in sixth year. You two are new, aren't you?"
"Yeah," said Rose. "I'm Rose and this is my cousin –"
"Albus," he finished for her.
"Cool. So what house do you want to be in?"
"Gryffindor," they said simultaneously, but Albus added, "or Hufflepuff, or Ravenclaw really, I don't mind, but I don't think I'm smart enough for Ravenclaw. Not Slytherin, though." Jason nodded.
"Good, I mean, all the houses have their merits, of course, but I do think it's easier to go astray in Slytherin. After all, there may not have been many Dark wizards over the last few years, but one can't help but remember that nearly all those old Death Eaters were Slytherins once. I don't want to put you off being friends with them, of course," he added hastily, "oh no, most of them are perfectly nice now. In fact, my girlfriend's brother is a Slytherin and we get on perfectly well. Don't let old prejudices sway you!"
Rose and Albus looked at each other, not sure quite what to make of him. He reminded them rather of their Uncle Percy.
"Did you know Teddy? Ted Lupin?" Albus asked suddenly.
"Oh, yes - he was prefect when I was in second year."
"Yeah! He's my dad's godson," he beamed.
"Oh!" Jason looked a little more closely at the black-haired, green-eyed child in the corner. "You wouldn't happen to be James Potter's brother, would you? Harry Potter's son?"
"Yep, that's me," Albus replied, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. It was very inconvenient being even just a bit shy when one had such famous family.
"Well, I hope you don't turn out quite such a trouble-maker as your brother!" Jason said with his eyebrows raised, which made them laugh a little, but added: "He's a nice boy, though, and very helpful when he wants to be," and this sounded like a genuine opinion rather than mere politeness. "Just ... doesn't quite seem to think that the rules apply to him." They laughed even harder at that.
"That sounds like our James, eh, Al?"
"Well, you see, I was prefect last year, so I got quite well-acquainted with the rule-breakers," the Hufflepuff boy said with half a smile. "Anyway, not wishing to be rude, but I do need to get on with my reading. I'll put these on –" he brandished something which they didn't recognise, but looked rather like wireless noise-cancelling headphones –"so you don't need to worry about disturbing me." He slipped them over his head and they clamped themselves around his ears as he disappeared behind his book.
"So you wouldn't mind not being in Gryffindor?" Rose asked a moment later, trying to sound casual.
"Well, I'd rather I was, but no, not really," said Albus. "Anything but Slytherin, you know."
"Yeah," she agreed fervently. "I'm just worried I'll be in Ravenclaw 'cause I'm smart – sorry, I know that sounds big-headed, I don't mean to be – and Dad won't like it."
"Oh, come off it, I'm sure he didn't mean what he said on the platform!"
"Well no, maybe not, but still. I do want to be in Gryffindor."
"You know –" Albus paused. "Um, if you want – apparently, I mean – something about that you can choose, or – or the Hat listens to you, at least."
Rose frowned. "Really? I've never heard that."
"I don't think many people know," he muttered uncomfortably. His dad may not have said anything about it being secret, but he was pretty sure no-one else knew, so he should probably keep it that way. Rose was curious, but decided not to press him further.
"Hey, have you got that chess set we gave you for your birthday?" she asked brightly, changing the subject.
"Yeah," Albus answered gratefully, and he took it from his suitcase to set it up. He knew Rose would win – she always did – but he would probably enjoy the game anyway, so if she wanted to play, that was fine by him.