A/N:

This has been inspired by HPCC and will be a reworking of the story with some plots drastically changed. There may be some very similar dialogue in places.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts 1 and 2, by J.K. Rowling, John tiffany, and Jack Thorne, Published by Little Brown, 2016

I don't own Harry Potter. The JKR does.

CHARACTERS: Everyone? Mains: Albus Severus, Scorpius, Rose, Harry, Draco, Neville.

Rating: M

Warnings: Murder, mutilation, PTSD, torture, geeky Slytherins... and some general Dark shit.

Dark Wings

Sorted

"BYE!"

"Au revoir!"

"Write to me," Hugo Weasley-Granger yelled as he ran next to the moving train carriage. Platform nine and three-quarters was a blur behind him, and his red hair whipped in the breeze.

"We will!" replied his sister, Rose. She grinned at her cousins standing next to her, James and Albus Potter, and nudged their shoulders.

They were going to Hogwarts. Hogwarts!

After a last glimpse of his smiling parents, Albus hung back and away from the hundreds of waving people, and beaming faces craning out of the Hogwarts Express windows. He was excited and anxious that he was finally going, but mostly anxious.

Rose laughed. "What's that look for?"

"I, er, don't know."

Rose closed the window, and Albus caught his thin-faced reflection in the glass. His light green eyes blazed back, while his black hair was forever messy like his dad's. He mostly took after his dad in looks and build. Except, he had a few freckles, and those were from his mum.

His cousin giggled as she brushed her brown hair from her eyes. "Come on, let's sit down—"

"Ahh, not so fast!" James said. "Go find your own carriage—"

"Hey!" Rose said in annoyance, putting both hands on her hips.

"Go on. Go!" the black-haired boy said, pushing them out.

"You're kicking your own brother and cousin out?" Rose spat.

James cocked an eyebrow. "My friends will be coming in soon, and I don't have room for two ickle first years. Now shove off."

"Prat!" Albus said under his breath. All week his elder brother had been taunting him about being sorted into Slytherin.

Rose huffed, as James slid the door closed. She stuck out her tongue at him. Then she focused on Albus, sucking in a breath through her gleaming white teeth. "Your brother is always an arse."

"James is James." Albus shrugged.

There was a moment of sheer fright between the two of them, as children bustled between carriages, changing into robes, showing off their animals, pelting people with memos.

Rose pulled her thick, bushy hair into a bun and grabbed Albus's hand. "Come on, let's find our own carriage! However, we need to concentrate…"

"What do you mean, concentrate?"

She pulled him through the tight throng of young witches and wizards as the train trundled along. "Well," she said as matter of factually. "Our parents became friends on the Hogwarts Express and our choice of carriage will shape who our friends will be. They need to be worthy of our friendship."

"Wait, Rose… worthy? I think we should give everyone a chance."

She stopped abruptly and stared menacingly into his eyes. She had more freckles than he did. Her blue eyes twinkled back. "Al—"

"Don't call me—"

"Al… our parents are famous. Fa-mous. We're big names at Hogwarts. We don't want our reputations tarnished before we're even Sorted."

"Woah, you're scary sometimes!" he said as she yanked him forward.

He glared at the back of her head. She had always been bossy growing up. More than a few times she wanted to one up on him: in play, at school, at sport, at basically everything. Albus gave up trying to beat her a long time ago. Besides, he wasn't great at anything.

Rose opened a carriage with one lone boy in it. A blonde, pointy-faced boy Albus had seen on the platform. He had noticed by the curt nods their fathers had given one another that their relationship was a strained one. So, Albus gazed curiously at the slight boy.

"Hello," started Rose.

"Oh… Hello." The blonde-haired boy seemed shocked that someone had walked into his carriage.

"We're Rose—"

"—Weasley-Granger and Albus Potter. Everyone knows who you are."

Rose grinned. "Yes and you are?"

"Er… Scorpius Malfoy."

"Pleased to meet you, Scorpius," smiled Albus, offering the boy his hand to shake. Scorpius took it graciously. Rose on the other hand, hung near the doorway. That's when Albus noticed her eyes had narrowed to slits.

Suddenly, Albus felt as though the carriage had gone considerably cold.

"Come here, Albus." She pulled him away. He reluctantly obeyed. "His dad is Draco Malfoy—the Malfoys are Death Eaters!" she whispered frantically.

"Were," corrected Albus. "Besides, my dad named me after a Death Eater…"

"That's different, Al." Rose pursed her lips as Scorpius scrambled over his seat, pulling up a bag of sweets.

The bag rippled and the lollies fell everywhere. "Do you want some?" the blonde boy said, picking them up. "I've got loads of Fizzing Whizbees, choc frogs, mounds of Pepper Imps and, and… this Muggle sweet called Mars Bars. My mother got me hooked onto those."

"A Death Eater who likes Muggle sweets?" Albus said slyly to Rose.

"No thank you, Scorpius, I'm not allowed sugar in the morning," Rose said shrilly. "I'm sorry we've bothered you, but this isn't the carriage we wanted—"

Albus yanked his arm loose. "I think I'll take my chances here."

"You always have a weak spot for outcasts, even in Primary. And you wondered why you got teased and got into lots of trouble? It's because you found the wrong friends." She huffed. "Fine! You stay here—keep the poor boy amused. I'm going to find us some better friends." With a false smile at Scorpius, Rose left them alone.

Scorpius had gone considerably quiet as he rounded up the sweets he had dropped. "She doesn't like me much… no one does, not when my parents are Draco and Astoria Malfoy."

"My dad likes Mars Bars…" Albus said. Sitting across from the boy, he plucked the chocolate bar off the ground.

Scorpius looked up, smiling as he popped a Pepper Imp into his mouth. Albus returned the smile, and the carriage felt warm again.

"What House are you expecting to be Sorted into—? I'll be in Slytherin for sure—I hope that doesn't ruin my chance of a friendship with you. I don't have many you see..." Scorpius's cheeks suddenly went pink at the admission.

Albus chuckled lightly. "I honestly don't care which House my friends are in…" He gulped, losing interest in his Mars Bar. "But I'm a bit worried where I'd end up…"

"How could you not… with your parents and all…"

Albus straightened up in his seat. "Exactly!"

"You'll most likely end up in Gryffindor."

Albus bit his lip. He just didn't know. He didn't feel like he was, and perhaps that was why James's goading had hit a nerve. "I don't know…" However, his dad's words struck a cord. "I'll listen to what the Sorting Hat has to say, and I'll make my decision then."

"Great words," beamed Scorpius, ripping open his chocolate frog.

The frog hopped on the seat, but with their incoordination, the frog escaped their clutches and out of the window.

"Ha!" Scorpius laughed. "I doubt we'll get into a Quidditch team any time soon."

Albus's heart was pounding as the Sorting Hat was drawn over his eyes.

"Hmmm…"

"Not Slytherin. Not Slytherin, please," Albus whispered.

"But, why not?"

"Because…"

"You have a great burden, I know, just like your father before you. Your parents, your siblings and the world is watching you… too much expectation on one so young." The Hat seemed a little sad.

"Just not Slytherin."

The Sorting Hat sighed. "I see great things with you, Albus Severus Potter. You may not, but I do."

"Y-you think so?"

"Yes, but where to put you… hmmm."

The Sorting Hat took a moment to think. Albus felt like fainting and wondered what people were thinking about as his sorting was taking a while. Maybe he won't end up being sorted at all!

"Say something!" Albus said.

"Well… this is hard. Very Hard… You might do well in Gryffindor—but there will be too much pressure there for you… you will crack. You might do well in Hufflepuff, however your toil is… left to be desired. Ravenclaw…? Perhaps, if you had the diligence to study, though you and I both know you will not. However, it is Slytherin that will help you grow. You will find yourself there and your own worth. You will find friendship and belonging. Albus Severus you will be great there."

Albus thought hard for a moment. Minutes before he had watched Scorpius get sorted into Slytherin; the one friend he had made so far.

"Slytherins can be brave too. You have no shortage of it. But there is much more than that in you. There is kindness and loyalty, and fierce determination to prove yourself, just like your father had. There's cunning and resourcefulness too, lots of it."

"Okay…" he said numbly.

"Okay what?"

"Just… okay." Albus cringed.

The Sorting Hat chuckled.

"SLYTHERIN!"