Chapter 1: Opening Scenes

ALICE GRACE

Alice Grace yawned and blinked blearily, stumbling from her bed she walked out of her matchbox shaped room and into the corridor. The checked marbled floor felt cold underneath her bare feet as she padded through the vast ballrooms, sun rooms and libraries that composed Malfoy Manor. She ran her fingers through her mess of knotted cherry red hair in a desperate attempt to tame it as she walked into the already full dining room. The Malfoys all looked up, acknowledging her presence with hostile glares and hate filled glances.

Alice sighed, knowing full well that they would never accept her as family, her mother Astoria's spite of her was so extreme that she wasn't even allowed to dine with them; instead she had to eat with the house elves on the total opposite side of the manor, which begets the question to what she was doing here, in the Malfoy's banquet hall..

Perhaps if her scarlet hair hadn't been so conspicuous she would have had more time to arrange her thoughts before the Malfoys snapped their attention toward her, but unfortunately she didn't have that luxury.

Astoria Malfoy spoke first from her position beside the head of the table, "I think you've just got lost, your dining room is that way child," she sneered gesturing toward the door which Alice had just came from. Scorpio snickered and Draco didn't lift his head, preferring to stare at his plates.

Alice gritted her teeth, and shoving aside her nervousness forced herself to speak, "M-my birthday, today, is my el-el-venth –"

Astoria cut her off, "That's so nice to know Alice honey, but I'm afraid where a bit too busy for you, besides, I think you should go, I mean I'm sure the house elves are waiting for you." She snapped her fingers, ordering forth a rag clothed house elf who she then commanded to take Alice to her rightful place.

"Wa-wait!" stammered Alice, "My letter, my letter from Hogwarts, it's my birthday so…"

"Oh that..." Astoria stared disdainfully at the piece of parchment beside her with the Hogwarts seal and Alice's name printed neatly on it, and with a smooth, eloquent flick of the risk tore it in half. "I'm afraid you're not going to Hogwarts darling," Astoria continued on, "the school doesn't teach house elves."

Scorpio began to laugh spewing forth the great chunks of pancake and banana he had just been eating and thus making a remarkable impersonation of a baboon making mating gestures to a female primate. Draco however showed no sign of hearing a word that had been said preferring instead to stare intensely at his food and silverware.

Alice however was horrified, Hogwarts was all that kept her going, it was supposed to be her sanctuary. A place where she would find new friends and learn magic and escape the abuse of living with Astoria and the gossip of the house elves that she was some sort of "love-child," whatever that was.

"No, I mean, you can't, every wizard and witch as to learn mag-" she gasped, "they'll find out and- and-"

"Oh yes, they'll be so depressed because they'll be losing a house-elf to attend to Hogwarts. How horribly depressing," responded Astoria with the twisted expression worn by only those who deeply enjoy making others suffer.

This time Scorpio's laughter was not so much a baboon's mating call than it was a baboon's death via heart attack. He began to laugh so hard his face bulged a crimson red, his laughter doubling as he clutched his stomach as if in pain.

And at that moment Draco looked up with an expression that Alice had never seen before, pity took up the most of it, but perhaps, perhaps there was also the slightest glimmer of love. Yet once more he turned away so fast that Alice would've sworn she imagined it. Draco cleared his throat and leaning toward Astoria he murmured rapidly in her ear whilst Astoria nodded thoughtfully.

Astoria laughed before lifting her head up to face Alice and saying, "You're in luck, elf, we've come to the conclusion that you're too much of a burden to be kept here and considering the house elves don't even like you we may as well ship you off to Hogwarts, that is if they'd take you. "

Scorpio's baboon act came to a conclusion as his eyes widened in shock and his bulging features took a more grotesque turn. "Bu-but she can't.. She'll be in my year level," Scorpio began to blubber.

Alice struggled to contain her grin, knowing that if Astoria knew that she was happy she definitely wouldn't be allowed to go to Hogwarts. Mumbling a thank-you she stumbled down to the elves' kitchen hardly able to contain her happiness.

Hogwarts, she thought with a smile, At last.

ALBUS SEVERUS

Albus Severus Potter awoke instantaneously his eyes snapping open and mouth widening into a smile instantaneously with the knowledge that today would be his first year at Hogwarts. He raked a hand through his mess of black hair, slipping on his glasses he stumbled down the stairs and into the landing.

His eyes automatically slipped across to the food and he bit his lip hungrily, Ginny – his mother grabbed a wooden spoon and playfully hitting chastising him to leave some for his brother. Albus sighed in the mere thought of his brother; the world seemed to revolve around the great and prodigious James Potter II.

In his first year at Hogwarts James was not only housed in Gryffindor home to the "Nobel and Brave" but he had also been awarded the seekers position in quidditch, -the post that Albus's father, Harry had had before him generating a lot of pride in the family, he had also garnered so many house points that it was probably because of him alone that Gryffindor won the house cup. Honestly the way they went on about James, it was almost as if he was holy or something.

Albus Severus couldn't deny he was jealous, but he also had to face the added pressure of also being sorted into Gryffindor. What if the sorting hat didn't like him? Do hats even have the capability to like people? Albus forced himself to think clearly, at times it almost seemed to him that being sorted into Slytherin wasn't too bad an idea, surely all of the Slytherins couldn't be evil.

"Albus!" Shouted Ginny.

"Huh?" mumbled Albus as he snapped out of his thoughts. Lily, his younger sister who sat beside him giggled, her freckled face cracking into a smile.

Ginny smiled, "Hurry up! If you keep sitting here and playing with your porridge the Hogwarts Express will leave without you! And where is your brother?"

"Upstairs," replied Albus, "Looking for his potions textbook." Potions was a subject Albus was much better at, apparently he had gotten it from the first Lily Potter, his grandmother. Albus loved it, mixing elements and creating substances, but the best bit about potions was that James sucked at it; potions was the one thing that Albus Severus shone in that James could never hope to compete in.

Ginny sighed and deserting the porridge pot she trundled upstairs to help James, all the while muttering something about the useless lot of dunderheads her kids had suddenly morphed into.

Lily sighed and twirling her red hair blowed a raspberry, "I wish I was going to Hogwarts!"

"A few more years Lily," responded Harry, Albus's father who had just walked through the doorway levitating two enormous trunks behind him.

"But I want to go NOW," whined Lily, "Besides Al doesn't even want to go, he doesn't even like Gryffindor!"

"I do to like Gryffindor!" Shouted Albus angrily, all the while glaring at Lily.

"Well," responded Harry thoughtfully, "Slytherins aren't all so bad, one of the bravest men I ever knew was a Slytherin, you're named after him Al. Come on now, everyone one in the car, there'll be more time for talk later for now we have to get to the platform before it closes."

"Ginny!" Harry yelled up the stairs, "James's potions book is in his trunk! Let's go where getting late!"

"That's what I said but none of you listened," called down Ginny as she and James came down the stairs, "You all just sat there playing with your porridge and staring off into space, now we're late! And its Al's first year too, I hoped to be early!" Harry smiled, kissing the top of Ginny's head affectionately and murmuring for her to relax.

Al gave his porridge a suffering glance; he just wished they wouldn't make such a big deal about it. Chucking his spoon back in the bowl he made a last ditch attempt to flatten his hair before joining his dad outside, Albus Severus then piled into the car along with his family and they all drove off to platform 9 and ¾ to catch the Hogwarts Express.

Hi! I'm new to writing fan fiction so please be gentle! This is Harry Potter fic featuring Albus Severus and Alice Grace (O.C); and their lives in Hogwarts. This is kinda just the opening chapter and characters and plot lines are just being introduced, we really pick up the pace next chapter when the two meet.. :) I hope you like it!