"Pumpkin Pasties, Chocolate Frogs, Cauldron Cakes!" called out the Trolley Witch. The creak of the old trolley wheels rolled against the wooden planks of the train floor. Hints of chocolate and freshly-baked goods floated down the narrow hallway, and into the noses of the children climbing aboard, including that of young Albus Potter. The commotion and bustle of the warm train felt exhilarating. There were doors opening and closing, students talking amongst themselves, and the faint sound of parents bidding their children goodbye outside on the platform.

Closing his eyes, he let himself be guided by the overpowering scent of chocolate. It reminded him of visits to his grandmother's house in the burrow. He felt his chest grow warm and swell with joy at the delicious scents of pastries that he had grown up on.

But the sharp touch of a hand on his shoulder interrupted Albus' thoughts. He whirled around to find his cousin Rose standing right behind him: one hand on his shoulder, the other resting firmly on her hip.

"Albus, we've just gotten on the train, and already you're wandering off!" Albus shifted his stance, and looked back towards where the Trolley Witch was, but he could no longer see her. Her voice could still be heard in the distance calling out names of various sweets, all of which he was certain taste magnificent. Sighing, he turned back to look at Rose, who he noticed had begun drumming her fingers against her hip.

"Oh, but wouldn't it be alright if we just buy a Pumpkin Pasty or two before finding a seat?" Rose took her hand off his shoulder, shaking her head vehemently.

"No, that won't do! We have far more important things to worry about!" Albus opened his mouth, but Rose took no apparent notice. "We've got to concentrate on who we choose to be friends with. My mum and dad did meet your dad on their first Hogwarts Express, you know. Who we choose to sit with could define our entire Hogwarts experience. Besides, I'm a Granger-Weasley, you're a Potter - everyone will want to be friends with us, we've got the pick of anyone we want!" Albus tugged at his jacket and looked to the compartments around them. There were so many.

"How do we decide which compartment to go in?" he asked, looking back up to her. Rose glanced around, and then walked over to the first compartment on the left.

"We'll rate each one and then make a decision at the end."

"Alright…" Albus walked over to where Rose was standing, and twisted the knob of the compartment door. It opened to reveal a single boy staring out the window of an otherwise empty compartment, besides a velvet green bag resting on the seat beside him. His head turned at the sound of the door opening, and he looked at the two of them in surprise. Albus tugged at his jacket, and glanced back at Rose, hoping she'd be the one to speak first.

But when she didn't say anything, the boy raised an eyebrow, and shifted his position in the seat so that he could face Albus. Blinking, Albus opened his mouth, trying to find words. "Erm, hi. Is this compartment…" The boy frowned, but then let out a small smile and shook his head.

"It's free. It's just me."

Albus breathed out, smiling, and opened the compartment door a little wider and took a step forward. "Oh, well great. So could we maybe come sit for a bit, if that's okay?" He took a step to the side to reveal Rose, who had been standing behind him.

The boy smiled a bit more, glancing between Rose and Albus, and nodded. "That's fine." He stood from his seat and extended a hand towards Albus. "My name's Scorpius."

Taking a step forward, Albus grinned and accepted Scorpius' outstretched hand. "Hi Scorpius. My name's Al. Albus."

Grinning back, Scorpius bowed extravagantly. "It's a pleasure to meet you Alb-" he paused, and straightened himself up. "Is it Al or Albus?"

Albus tugged at his jacket again, and thought for a moment. "Albus." He glanced over his shoulder to where Rose was standing in the doorway. "And that's my cousin Rose," he added, gesturing behind him with the flick of his wrist. Scorpius peeked over Albus' shoulder, and smiled brightly.

"Hi, Rose! Would you like some of my Fizzing Whizbees?"

Albus stood straighter at the mention of candy, and took a breath so as to reply to this boy's terrific offer, but he was interrupted by a voice.

"No thanks. I've just had breakfast." Turning around to face his cousin, Albus was about to remind her that she had in fact skipped breakfast out of sheer excitement for their first day of Hogwarts, but Rose grabbed his shoulder and spoke again. "Come on, Albus. Let's check out some of the other compartments."

Frowning, Albus brushed her hand off. "But Scorpius seems nice," he turned to look at the boy, smiling reassuringly, "and he's got Fizzing Whizbees!"

Scorpius nodded, grinning, and picked up his bag. "I've also got Shock-o-Choc, Pepper Imps, and some Jelly Slugs!"

Albus grinned back, then looked to Rose. "See?"

But Rose only shook her head. "I say we keep looking. Maybe we can find...well, let's just look at more compartments first." And with that, she grabbed Albus' hand, and turned to exit the compartment.

"But-"

"No she's right," sighed Scorpius. Albus turned to look at the boy. He had sat back down, the green bag hanging limply from his hand, just hovering over the floor. His pale face had fallen, and he looked to his shoes as he continued, "She's right. You shouldn't sit here." Albus dropped Rose's hand and frowned. Scorpius looked up momentarily to glance at Albus, before looking back down. "You're Albus Potter," he explained, noticing the confused look on Albus' face, "She's Rose Granger-Weasley. Your parents are heroes: the brave Gryffindors that saved everyone from the wrath of the Death Eaters. I'm Scorpius Malfoy," he looked to his feet, and pulled at the ribbon on his bag. "My dad used to be a Death Eater."

"That's not all," quipped Rose. "What about that rumour."

Scorpius' head shot up, sending some of his smoothly-combed platinum blond hair loose into his face. He glared at Rose. "It's not-" he started defensively, but he changed his mind, and looked to Albus pleadingly, "-it's not true - what they say about me. It isn't." Studying his shoes again, he continued, "I'm not Voldemort's son. I'm a Malfoy." His chest sunk back down with a sigh, and Albus eyed the boy pityingly. "But it doesn't really matter whether you believe me or not. Your parents were part of the Golden Trio. You'll both be sorted into Gryffindor, and then we'll just be enemies for the rest of our lives. I suppose it doesn't even matter who my father is. I'll not be trusted either way-"

"-Well you seem quite trustworthy to me." Scorpius looked up in surprise at Albus. Offering him a small smile, Albus walked over to sit by the boy. "Besides," he glanced back to where Rose stood in the doorway, arms crossed, "Fizzing Whizbees, Rose."

Rose rolled her eyes and put a hand on the knob of the compartment door. "You can stay here if you'd like Albus, but I'm going to look through some other compartments before the train departs."

"Rose-" She was gone with a click of the closing door. Hesitating, Albus fingered the zipper of his coat before turning to Scorpius with a small smile. "So about those-"

"-Fizzing Whizbees?" Grinning, Scorpius began tugging gently at the shiny ribbon and opened the bag, reaching in to pull out a packet of the sweets. "They're my favourite, you know…"