TITLE: The Potter Inheritance: A New Dawn
SUMMARY: Albus Potter, along with his brother James and best mates embark on their own adventure full of mystery, wonder, and– most importantly– excitement. J.K. Rowling's familiar cast of characters are back, bringing with them unknown faces and unlimited possibilities.
DISCLAIMER: J.K. Rowling is the genius writer who created Harry Potter and his charismatic cast of friends. Everything familiar in this story is hers. The plot, Jake Greene, and other new characters are the only exception to that rule, seeing as I made them up.
CHAPTER ONE: Aboard the Hogwarts Express
As the train rounded a corner, Albus lost sight of his father's waving figure. Other students withdrew their heads from the windows at once as general chatter ensued, leaving Albus, Rose, and a few other first years the only ones still staring back towards Platform 9 3/4. Albus's excitement vanished as a wave of homesickness overcame him. It was barely ten seconds after they left and he missed everyone already. The thought of not seeing his parents and Lily until Christmas, which was months away from now, depressed him quite a lot.
"Oy, what are you two still doing there, looking out the window like two dolts?" James remarked, approaching Albus and Rose from the train corridor beyond. He sighed as he caught their gloomy expressions. For once, James did not make fun of them but sympathized– briefly. "Come on, let's just go and find an empty compartment."
Albus, laden down with his rather large trunk and new owl Olympus, trailed behind James's strutting figure. He watched as people from almost every compartment warmly greeted his slightly-taller, auburn-haired brother before staring curiously at the two first years. Albus shuffled in James's wake, blushing furiously at the attention people were giving him. He noticed that Rose, who was similarly dragging her trunk behind her with her neon-green Pygmy Puff riding on her shoulder, also appeared embarrassed by all the fuss people were giving them.
"Here we are! An empty compartment," James announced, herding Albus and Rose in. He helped them with their trunks before making for the door.
"Wait a minute," Albus said, confused. "Aren't you sitting with us?"
James laughed, reaching across to tousle Albus's already-messy black hair that he inherited from their father. "Al, Al, Al. Such a joker. Of course I won't be sitting with you! I've got to get back to my friends, haven't I? Can't be rude." And with that, he gave them one last wave and was gone.
Rose collapsed onto a seat, her face white as a sheet. "I can't believe we're on our way to Hogwarts," she said, a nervous tremor in her voice.
Albus nodded, also seated with one elbow propped on the windowsill, gazing out at the fleeting landscape. A few moments of silence descended upon their little compartment as both eleven-year-olds realized with awe that they were finally approaching the biggest adventure of their lives thus far.
Then, realizing that it's just him and Rose now without James's taunting presence, Albus sheepishly asked, "Do you reckon I'll get into Gryffindor?"
Rose stared at him, an incredulous expression on her face. "Of course you will! Don't be ridiculous, Al! Your dad is Harry Potter! Both your parents were Gryffindors. Why wouldn't you be?"
"Yeah...yeah, I suppose," Albus replied, flattening his hair nervously in a manner reminiscent of his dad. "Dad told me the Sorting Hat takes your choice into account. He said that's what happened to him."
"Well, your dad's right." Rose nodded firmly. With her bushy brown hair and delicate features, she looked an awful lot like his aunt Hermione when she does that. "You shouldn't worry about not getting into Gryffindor. That's just preposterous."
Rose's apparently confident demeanor intrigued Albus. "What about you, Rose? Have you decided which one you'd like to be in more? Gryffindor or Ravenclaw?"
His childhood friend hesitated before answering his question. Rose looked thoughtful as she finally said, "Well, you heard my dad. I'd be disowned if I get into Gryffindor, even though Mum said he didn't mean it. And Gryffindor has produced a large quantity of extraordinarily brave wizards and witches, like Albus Dumbledore and our parents. But Ravenclaw House's intelligent allure... And the way our cousin Egbert talks about all the brilliant discussions Ravenclaw students have in their common room... It seems simply engaging."
Albus tried picturing himself all brainy and bespectacled, lounging around in the Ravenclaw common room discussing the twelve uses of dragon blood, and almost snorted with laughter at the ridiculous image. Rose eyed him suspiciously. She knew how he felt about her obsession with books.
They almost did not notice their compartment door slide open as a boy their age stood at its threshold, looking quite nervous and shy. The boy, like Rose, was already wearing his brand-new set of Hogwarts robes and had messy bronze hair. On closer inspection, Albus realized that one of his eyes was as green as his while the other was a bright blue.
"Uh, hi," he greeted them, still somewhat fidgeting. He was staring down at his feet. "Can I join you lot in this compartment? All the others are full..."
Albus and Rose looked at each other for one second before uniformly nodding at their new arrival. The boy quickly dragged in his trunk and took a seat next to Albus. He seemed relieved.
"Thanks," he said, nodding gratefully first at Albus then at Rose. "I don't know anybody here, and the compartments are all loaded with students who all seem to know each other. Bit daunting to approach them. I've been wandering up and down these corridors for what seems like hours. Didn't find a sparse enough compartment. Then I spotted you two in here. I'm Jake Greene, by the way."
As he babbled nervously, Albus decided that he was a pleasant enough bloke and appeared to be a Muggle-born since he revealed not knowing anyone here. And perhaps, Jake Green would not recognize his famous last name...
"I'm Albus. Albus Potter. Or just Al for short," he introduced himself with a wary grin, watching Jake's face closely to see if he started at the word "Potter" as others usually do. Jake just grinned enthusiastically back at him, apparently blissfully ignorant. Albus immediately liked Jake a lot more.
"And I'm Rose Weasley," added Rose, who was smiling kindly at Jake across the compartment.
Jake beamed at them for a minute or two then could not seem to contain himself as he blurted out, "So are you two full wizards then? Do you already know how to do magic and stuff? I only found out I was a wizard a couple of weeks ago, so I don't know how to do anything."
Albus and Rose exchanged a look before Albus replied carefully, "Er, well, my dad's a half-blood and my mum's a pureblood, and Rose's dad is a pureblood and her mum is Muggle-born. I suppose that doesn't matter, though, does it? We're all equally witches and wizards."
Rose interjected, "And as for doing magic, we're not allowed to practice them intentionally yet. Although I have read all our textbooks, and Albus used to have a toy broomstick."
Jake gaped at Albus, his face full of wonder. "Cool! A toy broomstick! Wow..." Rose just rolled her eyes. Albus thought he heard her mutter something like "boys" under her breath.
Albus spent most of the afternoon telling Jake all about Quidditch and wizard chess– his two favorite pastimes– while Jake told him all about how he found out he was a wizard and his family. Rose, who gave up trying to contribute to the conversation, was perusing a copy of Hogwarts: A History, which she had already read three times.
About three-quarters of their way to Hogwarts (that is, according to Rose) and about halfway through eating all the sweets that they bought from the trolley witch, Albus, Rose, and Jake received surprise visitors. Their compartment door slid open rather harshly and two boys, both in Hogwarts robes, appeared in the doorway, scanning the room until their gazes latched onto the black-haired, green-eyed boy at once. Meanwhile, Albus was growing rather annoyed that he was still the only one not wearing his robes.
"Are you the Potter kid?" the blond one of the two asked bluntly, pointing at Albus. He had pale blond hair combed neatly back from his forehead and an equally pale, pointed face. His eyes were a deep, molten silver. "I'm Scorpius Malfoy," he added as an afterthought, as if that would explain why he basically barged into their compartment.
Albus remained silent. Where had he heard that name before? Rose frowned, closing Hogwarts: A History in her lap. Jake just looked curiously from the blond boy, to his companion, to Albus, then to Rose.
"Well, are you?" the blond boy– Scorpius– pressed on, looking impatient. He was still only staring at Albus. Sighing inwardly, Albus nodded his head curtly, although he did not want to acknowledge who he was. He had a bad feeling about them.
Scorpius's dark gray eyes gleamed with excitement and something else as he stepped into the room and glanced briefly at Albus's other two companions. His companion, a tall dark-haired boy with prominent cheekbones and cat-like eyes, followed his friend's lead and stepped inside as well. Albus didn't bother asking who he was since he wanted to get rid of them– fast.
"My dad said you'd be here," Scorpius finally said, filling in the silence. Realization dawned on Albus. "He said Harry Potter's younger son would be my age. See, my dad has quite a history with your dad." Albus and Rose still did not say anything, opting to stare blankly at Scorpius's arrogant frame. Jake looked puzzled.
When it seemed like Scorpius was not about to give in to the silence again, Albus spoke up reluctantly, "Did he now?" He hoped his indifference would frustrate Scorpius and drive him out of their compartment.
"Yes. They were in the same year at Hogwarts, too, don't you know?" Scorpius said equally breezily, flicking off invisible lint from his impeccable robes. "Never quite got along, though, Father said." He paused, looking thoughtful. Rose was now narrowing her eyes at Scorpius and his companion. Albus was carefully arranging a neutral expression on his face. At last, Scorpius spoke again, "But let us break from tradition, Potter. I don't want to create any tension between us." He suddenly smirked here. "At least for now. I like to have a solid reason to back up my hatred, don't you, Potter?"
Both Albus and Rose had leapt to their feet at this point– their new wands drawn out and aimed at Scorpius– but they were too slow for the blond had already turned around and disappeared into the corridor with his friend close behind him.
Albus sat back down and stowed his wand safely away into the pocket of his jeans, muttering darkly under his breath. Rose sat down as well, although she was still silently frowning. Jake looked first at Albus then at Rose then at Albus again.
"Who was that?" he asked, curiosity etched all over his face as he tried to peer down the corridor from where he was sitting. Albus stood back up and closed the compartment door rather sharply. Jake started.
Albus looked at Rose. "That was who your dad was talking about, right? Back at the platform." He had recalled his uncle Ron telling Rose to beat Scorpius Malfoy in every single test at school. Now he understood why Uncle Ron had said that.
Jake wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Well, whoever he is, he's got an odd name, that Scorpius. Being a bit of a bully, too, isn't he? Threatening you around like that, Albus. We haven't even reached Hogwarts yet!" Albus, too annoyed at Scorpius's impromptu appearance, changed the subject and subsequently pulled on his Hogwarts robes.
They spent the rest of the trip not talking about Scorpius Malfoy. As dusk fell and a few stars began to appear feebly in the sky, Albus's stomach gave a nervous jolt. Rose just announced that they should be at the school soon, and Jake was positively bouncing on his seat next to him. He, on the other hand, felt quite sick after eating so many sweets and would probably hurl if he bounced up and down like Jake. He could hear the excited clamor of students as they were about to reach their destination and groaned inwardly at the prospect of what awaited him. His judgment day, it seemed, has finally arrived.
I will NOT be put into Slytherin, I will NOT be put into Slytherin, he repeated over and over again in his head like some kind of mantra. Then, much too soon, Albus heard a voice prompting everyone to leave their luggage on the train and that they will arrive in five minutes time. As if it was some sort of alarm, students clambered into the corridors, shouting and laughing as they assembled in the corridors, apparently impatient to get off the train. Rose and Jake were already on their feet; Rose's Pygmy Puff Mica hopping excitedly on her shoulder. Albus, still sitting, was left to stare dazedly at his majestic eagle owl, his stomach doing cartwheels and back flips.
"Albus?" Rose asked, noticing that her friend now had a greenish tinge to his cheeks. Her expression softened. "Don't worry. You'll do fine." She patted reassuringly on the back.
Albus turned towards her. He gulped, then whispered very quietly so that Jake could not hear him, his voice filled with horror, "James told me we'd have to battle trolls." Rose gave him a skeptical look, then looked away and grumbled something about James being a total moron. She tugged his arm until he gave in and stood up just as the train slowed to a standstill.
Jake slid open the door, revealing the thick queue of students in the corridor. He gestured to them eagerly, joining the throng. Rose gave Albus an encouraging nod before following Jake into the corridor and Albus, still feeling queasy and hesitant, dragged his leaden feet behind them.
Outside, Hogsmeade Station was as noisy and crowded as Platform 9 3/4 with students bustling everywhere, hooting owls contributing to the din, and a particularly loud voice that could be heard even above the racket–
"FIRS' YEARS! FIRS' YEARS OVER HERE! FIRS' YEARS!" Hagrid's familiar voice was like music to Albus's ears. "BLIMEY, ALBUS! IS THAT YEH?!" For the first time in the last ten minutes, Albus regained his usual coloring and grinned up at Hagrid's face. He had the urge to hug the half-giant round his middle. "Yeh look more 'n more like yer father, Al. Withou' the glasses 'n scar, mind yeh."
After Hagrid had rounded up all the first years, they followed him down a narrow, dirt path away from the rest of the student body. All the first years were unusually quiet as they trotted clumsily after Hagrid. Albus, Rose, and Jake were at the front of the line and they got to be the first ones to have a glimpse of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Next to him, Rose gasped and the other students "oooh"ed in unison.
A vast lake, black in the night, stood between them and an enormous, stone castle complete with turrets and towers that was perched atop a high mountain. The castle's windows blazed with light against the dark backdrop of the night.
Hagrid separated the first years into groups of four and directed them to a fleet of small boats bobbing in the lake edge. Albus, Rose, Jake, and a timid-looking, curly-haired boy climbed into a boat.
"All right everyone?" Hagrid yelled, taking up an entire boat by himself. After he made sure everyone was securely in their boats, he shouted, "FORWARD!"
The boats glided smoothly across the water, slowly but surely carrying them closer to the castle before them. Hagrid ordered them to bow their heads as they entered the cliff face and proceeded their way underneath a dark tunnel directly underneath the castle. Soon, all the boats nudged up to a shore made up of small rocks and pebbles.
They then followed Hagrid up a passageway, out onto grassy terrain, and climbed up stone steps that led up to a huge, oak door. To Albus, each step meant getting closer to whatever challenge was in store for him. He gulped. He could hear James's voice clearly in his head, "Trolls ten times bigger than Hagrid! Trolls the size of sycamores!"
Hagrid knocked three times on the castle door, each knock sending Albus deeper into his labyrinth of fear.
A/N I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter of my story! I was spurred on to write about Albus Potter the minute I finished reading the seventh book. He was just too adorable, and there were so many possibilities open to him and his friends. The next chapter should follow shortly in a few days. By the way, I hope none of you are too annoyed over my attempt at imitating Hagrid's accent. (It was hard!) Thanks for reading, and I hope you'll continue following up on Albus's progress!