AN: I know I'm only four chapters into 'Aftermath' but I wanted to write something apart from Romance/Angst (though that will probably come later here as well). Thought I might have a bit of fun with the Next Gen characters - it's basically pure fluff; there isn't a sirius plot unlike Aftermath.

I'm re-uploading this because Bicky Monster has been absolutely amazing and beta-ed all the chapters – thank you! I made some really minor changes to what the sorting hat said; just implying that James is more of a mischief maker than Al.

Disclaimer- No, I don't own the HP series, as amazing as that would be. All dialogue until they get on the train is taken directly from Deathly Hallows, but from my take on Al's PoV.

Enjoy.

Sure Fire Winners

Chapter 1- 19 Years Later

Al stood next to his father as the two walked towards the stone pillar in between platforms nine and ten. Around them groups shouted, tannoy systems spoke, people hurried past them to catch their train. Nobody gave the pair a second glance. They continued walking and Al screwed up his eyes slightly just before they reached the pillar. He had seen James walk through it mere seconds before, so he knew it could be done. But still, it was a stone pillar.

Before he had the chance to change his mind they were through, being swiftly followed by Lily and their mum. He looked around, everything was so similar to the other side of the division, but so different at the same time. People were still calling to each other, hurrying about their business, the conductor attempting to be heard above the noise. But the conductor was using a Sonorous charm to be heard, people were wearing robes, carrying wands and all manner of pets. The biggest difference was the lack of sleek, fast electric trains, replaced by the giant, red steam engine with 'Hogwarts Express' written across the front in large black letters.

Al searched the mass of faces, searching for a familiar few.

He turned to Ginny, "Where are they?"

Ginny gave him a quick reassurance before he continued his search, glad to remain unnoticed by his Uncle Percy who was talking to his father about broomstick regulations, or something equally as boring. His mother placed a hand on his shoulder, pointing trough the steam from the train.

"I think that's them, Al"

Sure enough, four people emerged from the steam and the two groups met. As Harry, Ginny, his Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione began talking about driving tests and Confudus charms, Al turned to his cousins.

Rose was grinning from ear to ear, already dressed in her robes, plain black with the Hogwarts crest in place of one with the house colours. Before they could begin any sort of real conversation, or James could start going on about being sorted into Slytherin again, Ron turned to Rose.

"If you're not in Gryffindor, we'll disinherit you, but no pressure,"

As his wife scolded him Lily and Hugo started laughing, but Rose and Al remained solemn, sharing a glance. Both were worried already about which house they were to be sorted into and this wasn't helping. Hermione turned to reassuring Rose, who started to look worried, but their fathers were no longer paying attention, talking about a family of three down the platform.

"So that's little Scorpius," turning back to Rose he continued, "Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank god you inherited your mother's brains."

"Ron, for heaven's sake, don't try to turn them against each other before they've even started school!"

At this Al and Rose looked over at the blond boy –'Scorpius'. He resembled his father with a pale complexion, shockingly light hair and stern expression. Al, however, fancied that he could see a playful glint in his grey eyes, guessing that this look was just a front for his father.

As he finished his analysis of the other boy, James ran over to their group, looking so excited he could burst. "Teddy's back there," he panted out after his slaloming around the masses of people, "Just seen him! And guess what he's doing? Snogging Victoire!" His face lost some of the excitement at the lack of reaction from the four adults "Our Teddy! Teddy Lupin! Snogging our Victoire! Our cousin! And I asked Teddy what he was doing-"

At this their mother cut in "You interrupted them? You are so like Ron-" James ignored Ginny and continued his story to the other four children who were listening with rapt attention

"-and he said he'd come to see her off! And he told me to go away. He's snogging her!" At the end of the story Lily began talking about how great it would be if they got married, which took them to how much time Teddy spent at their's, finally bringing them onto their bedrooms. Harry glanced at his watch, his eyes widening in surprise.

"It's nearly eleven, you'd better get on board."

Ginny bent down to hug his brother, "Don't forget to give Neville our love!"

"Mum! I can't give a Professor love!"

"But you know Neville-" James rolled his eyes and in his head Al agreed. He hadn't even gotten to school yet but he already knew that you couldn't walk into a classroom and give love to a professor.

"Outside, yeah, but at school he's Professor Longbottom, isn't he? I can't walk into Herbology and give him love…"

With this they said their goodbyes and Rose jumped onto the train with James, but not before he could pretend to kick Al and warn him about the Thestrals.

Al took his chance, turning to his father as he hugged him, voicing his fears.

"What if I'm in Slytherin?" He whispered the question, not wanting anyway to think him such an idiot. Harry crouched down to his level and the bright green eyes met.

"Albus Severus, you were named for two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was the bravest man I ever knew."

Al still wasn't totally convinced by his argument, "But just say-"

"-Then Slytherin house will have gained an excellent student, won't it? It doesn't matter to us, Al. But if it matters to you, you'll be able to choose Gryffindor over Slytherin. The sorting hat takes your choice into account."

This was news to Al; he had never imagined being able to choose your house, "Really?"

"It did for me."

This made Al's mind reel. His father, Harry Potter, the Chosen One, the man who had defeated Voldemort, had almost been in Slytherin. Suddenly being a Slytherin didn't seem like such a bad option. Maybe it really didn't matter which house he was in; he'd still have his family, still have his friends. It wouldn't make any difference.

"Why are they all staring?" he asked as he noticed the crowds of people trying to watch without being noticed.

Instead of his father, his Uncle Ron answered, "Don't let it worry you. It's me. I'm extremely famous."

Still laughing Al dashed to the train as the four parents blew kisses to the children hanging out the window, shouting reminders to them, to write, not to get into fights, not to pull pranks- the last directed more towards James than Rose or Al.

The train pulled away from the station, and Hugo and Lily ran along the station, waving to the three friends, unknowingly mimicking Ginny on Harry, Ron and Hermione's first day.

James nodded goodbye to the other two, wandering off down the train looking for his friends, probably too cool to be seen hanging out with a couple of first years, especially his little brother and cousin.

Deciding not to embarrass him more than absolutely necessary Al and Rose walked in the opposite direction, trying to find seats. They were half way through the second carriage before they found any space.

Opening the door they saw the compartment had four other first years in it. Two boys were sitting opposite each other leaning in to talk, a girl laughing at their conversation, while a third boy stared quietly out the window. The two boys had a certain air around them, drawing you to them; one was slightly tanned with messy sandy coloured hair, while the other was equally tanned but his hair was longer, the dirty blond strands tied into a short ponytail at the nape of his neck. The third boy seemed to blend into the background in comparison to the two; he was pale, as if painted by watercolours, even his plain brown hair seemed to have faded.

Al caught a look at his eyes as the passed over the two new comers and they were the darkest blue he had ever seen, like two small lakes. The girl however was the most striking; she had dark tanned skin and long raven black hair that reached down to her waist, done up in tight braids, bright threads plaited through them and coloured beads hanging on the ends.

Rose, the more forward of the two, decided to speak first once the four were watching them.

"Hi, I'm Rose and this," she gestured to Al who was standing slightly behind her, "is Al. There's not many seats left, do you mid if we sit here?"

Two of the boys exchanged looks, as if they were about to confer on it, but the girl just stood up, beaming at Rose.

"Sure, that'd be great," she stuck out her hand to Rose, "I'm Saundarya. Saundarya Das. Most people just call me Arya."

Rose accepted the hand and returned the smile, "Nice to meet you. I'm Rose Weasley and this is Albus Potter."

"Just Al, no one calls me Albus," the small boy murmured, also taking the handshake.

At the mention of his last name the boy in the corner, who until now had only given them a brief glance, looked up sharply.

"Potter? As in Harry Potter?"

Rose continued to beam but Al just blushed slightly and nodded his head. "Yeah, he's my dad."

At this revelation the other two ceased their whispered conversation, also starting to smile. The slightly blonder one reached out his hand for Al's. "Your dad is so cool. Ours would tell us stories about him when we were little. I'm Jack Taylor and this is my brother Oliver. Oh and this is our friend Nathair, he doesn't say much."

Nathair nodded at them and went back to the window as the others exchanged handshakes before sitting back down. Jack and Oliver seemed unwilling to go back to their previous conversation. In an uncommon bout of bravery Al decided to start a conversation.

"So, where do you all come from?"

He said he'd start a conversation, not that he'd start a good one. From there they went onto families, to schoolhouses, to animals. By the time they got to the Hogsmeade Jack and Oliver were having a heated discussion, eagerly watched by Arya and Rose, about whether or not a cherry could sing and dance if you knew the right charms, as Al and Nathair both looked out the window, their eyes widening at the sight of the castle in the distance.

Al reached over shaking Oliver's arm, breaking up the argument. Apparently they would never hear what it was he had to say on a larynx.

"Guys, we're here." The simple statement caused a hush to fall over the compartment and the six of them crowded round the window in an attempt to see the castle. Unfortunately at that moment the train came to a stop with a small jolt, causing them to fall onto the seats and Al and Jack to get slightly squished by their new friends.

A few minutes later they were huddled on the Hogsmeade platform, surrounded by swarms of people heading towards carriages pulled by invisible horses- probably the Thestrals James had mentioned earlier. Just as Al was wondering where they were meant to go- James had also said something about boats- they heard a voice calling over the heads of the other students.

"First Years! First Years, this way please!"

The six of them headed towards the voice, which was now accompanied by a bright lantern being held on a long, tall stick. The teacher in question was a tall thin woman, bearing a remarkable resemblance to the pole she was carrying. As the students gathered around her she brought the lantern lower down, bringing herself into the circle of light, revealing a warm friendly face.

"I am Professor Twisthazel," she continued, as she did a quick head count. "We appear to have everyone, so if you would follow me down to the boats."

A few minutes later Al, Rose, Jack, Oliver, Arya and Nathair were sitting in a boat, being propelled by magic across the dark, inky black lake. Arya had lent over and was trailing her fingers through the water, creating small ripples.

"I wouldn't do that dear, the Giant Squid probably isn't asleep yet," said the teacher as she glanced at the young girl.

At the mention of the Giant Squid she hastily pulled her hand out of the water, drying it on her robes, before leaning over the boat again, not with the look of fear Al had suspected, but with one of intrigue. She was certainly an odd girl.

The group of students walked into a huge hall. The walls were covered with red, blue, green and yellow banners and it was light by masses of floating candles. The first years walked down the middle of the hall, between the four long wood tables. Most of the children were staring at the ceiling, which was a perfect replica of the real night sky outside.

Rose leaned over to whisper in his ear, "It's not the real sky you know. Mum told me. It's just a spell to make it look like it."

Al nodded, but he was not looking at the ceiling; he was looking at the other occupants of the hall, not just the first years but also the other students and teachers too, learning as many faces as possible, before noticing James. His brother gave him a wide grin and a thumbs-up as he walked past, Al grinned back.

The first years stopped as an Italian looking teacher came out placing a three legged stool with an old hat on it in the centre of the room, right in front of the teachers' table. The hat opened its mouth and began to sing, something about finally having school unity between the houses, hoping it would last for years to come. Al wasn't really listening; he had gone back to scoping out the students.

As the hat finished the same teacher came out again, this time with a long role of parchment. He began reading off names and the small first years came to the front, some giddy with excitement, some almost sick with nerves and one by one they were sorted off into their houses, their ties changing to their house colours as they walked towards the tables.

The first of their six to be called was Arya, who almost ran towards the stool, jamming the hat on top of her braids. The hat remained silent for less than a second before calling out "Ravenclaw!" and Arya positively skipped towards the table full of blue and silver, her tie now matching theirs.

Next to go was 'Haige, Nathair'; the quiet boy walked to the front, solemnly placing the hat on his head. Again the hat was only quiet for a second and then shouted "Slytherin!" The boy stood up and walked just as surely towards the table at the far right of the room, taking his seat.

Jake and Oliver both ended up in Gryffindor, Oliver almost tripping up the stairs in his haste to be sorted so he could join his brother.

Despite her father's threats Rose joined Ravenclaw, not to Al's surprise- she had always been extremely bright, and he watched as she went to sit with Arya.

Al had begun to get nervous as it got nearer and nearer to his name. Finally he was reached and he took a deep breath walking out to the front of the hall. He felt slightly sick now, though he couldn't tell if it was from nerves or the hundreds of people watching him. He sat down of the small stool placing the headpiece on his, well, head obviously. It was bigger than he expected, and the black cloth fell around his eyes, causing everything to go dark. Then he heard the voice.

Interesting. So you're the second of Potter's children are you? Very interesting;you're more similar to your father than your mother- your brother was more like her. And those twins too. There is some chivalry in there, no doubt about that, but no, not enough bravery for Gryffindor, I think, and it is my opinion that matters here. And yours of course. You seem quite smart, willing to learn. Eager would be stretching the truth though. Not Ravenclaw either then. You are very loyal, but what's this? Also very cunning it would seem. You've been watching the other students haven't you, seeing who's a threat, who's an ally. And not above a little trickery or a few white lies either I see. Well then I think it must be-

"Slytherin!"

The hat was pulled off Al's head and he blinked in the sudden light. As he began walking he looked over at the Gryffindor table, searching out James again. He spotted him; he was clearly surprised, that much was obvious. Al supposed he really had been joking about him ending up in Slytherin. As he caught his eye though his brother smiled, giving him another thumbs-up, and Al continued over to the Slytherin table, not as disappointed as he thought he would be. Actually now he thought about it, he was glad to be in another house, not having to live in his brother's shadow the whole time.

He sat down opposite Nathair, glad to already know someone in his new house. A blond boy was now sitting next to him. Al recognised him from the station. Hadn't his Uncle Ron said something about him? Never mind, it couldn't have been that important, could it?

He reached across the table to the other boy, sticking out his hand.

"Hi, I'm Al. You're Scorpius right? I saw at the station." He looked surprised at someone already knowing his name but took the hand none the less.

"Al Potter, of course. Fancy you becoming a Slytherin. Scorpius Malfoy."

Up close Al could see the light dancing in the other boy's eyes. Yes, the mask on the station had definitely been just that- a mask. There was a look of mischief about this pale boy. He was definitely going to be fun to have as a friend.

So was it awesome? Did it suck? Was it just completely average? Let me know- reviews please!

Chance xx