Aberration
The prologue to this story is titled Prophecies, You don't have to read it in order to understand the story.
Disclaimer: I don't own any part of the Harry Potter Universe. It's JK's world I'm just playing in it.
Chapter 1:
Albus Potter double checked his trunk making sure he packed everything he would need. Al felt like he had waited all of his life for this moment. He was finally going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Al's older brother James had gone last year and he spent this past summer talking about how awesome Hogwarts was.
"It's time to go" James said as he leaned casually against the Al's bedroom door frame.
"Okay, I'm coming" Al said.
"Are you sure you haven't forgotten anything? You don't want to get to school and then realize you left all your pants here" James said jokingly.
Al wasn't one to be riled up. "I'm not you James, of course I packed my pants."
"Okay, don't say I didn't warn you" James said and he walked away.
Al was about to follow him out of the room when he paused. It would be just like James to take out all of Al's pants and hide them. So Al went back and double checked to make sure he had everything again. And he did. Al rolled his eyes at his brother's antics before he went downstairs to where his parents were waiting.
"It's not fair" Lily was complaining to her mum, "I want to go too!"
"And you will go, Lily. You just have to wait you're eleven and then you can go" Ginny said.
"You can make me an aging potion" Lily said.
Harry laughed. "Do me a favor Lily, next time you see your Uncle George ask him about the time he and his twin took an aging potion."
"Did it go wrong?" Al asked.
"No, but it was still hilarious" Harry said.
"Is everyone ready to go?" Ginny asked. "No one forgot anything important?"
Both James and Al nodded.
"Okay, let's go."
Harry drove in his Rolls-Royce. They rarely ever used to car. The only other times Al could remember being in the car was when they used to visit Harry's cousin Dudley.
"Are you okay, Al, you look a little nervous?" Lily asked. The ride was taking longer than she thought it would and Ginny wouldn't let them change the radio station.
"I'm fine" Al said. It wasn't completely true. Of course he was nervous, he was finally going to Hogwarts. Al kept feeling like there were so many things that could go wrong. He could get lost at King's Cross, it's always crowded in September. The train could crash and everyone could die before they got to the school. The boat could sink and he'd be eaten by the Giant Squid or a Merperson. James said once a year the giant squid makes a sacrifice out of a first year and Al did not want that person to be him. And okay, let's say he made it through the train ride and past the water creatures, then he would have to get into the school and face Gwap, the giant gatekeeper, who only allows passage to good kids. And if for some reason Gwap liked him enough he'd still have to get the approval of Ririn the talking hat, who would eventually sort him into his house. So yes, there was a lot for Albus Potter to be nervous about.
"Yes you are you little liar" James said pulling Al out of his thoughts. "You're nervous. True Gryffindors are never nervous."
"James" Ginny said in a warning tone from the front seat.
"I'm going to be sorted into Gryffindor" Al said defiantly.
"I don't think you're brave enough" James said.
"I am too"
"Nah, I think you'll be sorted into Slytherin" James said.
"No I won't"
"What's wrong with Slytherin?" Lily asked innocently.
"Nothing" Harry said from the driver's seat.
"They're all evil" James said drowning out his father's words.
"Really?!"
"Yep" James said with a nod. "They like to haze their first years by tying them up against the Whomping Willow on the first night. And all of the Slytherins have to learn how to speak Parsletounge by the time they make it to Christmas or else they'd have to spend Boxing Day in a tub of snakes for ten hours."
"Stop it James" Ginny said.
"Don't listen to anything your brother says" Harry added. "Slytherins aren't all that bad and there is no way they'd be able to tie someone up to the Whomping Willow."
Both Lily and Al looked from Harry then to James. James shook his head letting them know that their father was lying. After all it had been years since their parents had been to school maybe things had changed.
"Maybe you won't be in Slytherin, you're really smart you could be in Ravenclaw" Lily said.
James shook his head and then started hissing like a snake.
Al didn't want to be in Ravenclaw, he didn't want to be in Slytherin either. He just wanted to be in the same house as the rest of his family. Actually there were a few members of his family that weren't in Gryffindor. Victorie and Lucy are Ravenclaws. But they're both prudish.
James told him that there were only two types of Ravenclaws. The ones who walked around with their nose stuck in books and the other ones who walked around with their noses stuck up in the air looking down on everyone else. Al didn't want to be either of those.
Surely Ririn would place him in Gryffindor. Al had plenty of courage. Like that time Fred and James dared him to climb to the top roof of the Burrow and pushed him down once he got there. Even though it was four stories up and the fall was long and the ground was really hard Al didn't cry. He didn't cry when he hit the ground even though he broke like (insert number here) bones in his body.
"I'm brave enough to be in Gryffindor" Al said.
"Sure you are" James said sarcastically.
They finally got to the train station. Al thought he could escape his brother's teasing but he was wrong. James would purposely walk behind Al hissing in his ear like a snake.
"It won't be long, and you'll be going too" Harry told Lily who started to complain again that she wouldn't be going. She was sticking to her aging potion idea like glue.
"Two years" Lily whined. "I want to go now!"
"Don't worry Lily, when you get there you won't be a snake like Al" James said.
"I won't! I won't be a Slytherin!" Al protested trying to get away from his brother.
"James, give it a rest!" Ginny said in that final tone of hers.
"I only said he might be. There is nothing wrong with that. He might be in Slyth-" James smile faded as he saw the look his mum was giving him. James had been on the receiving end of that look for a few years now and he knew that look was usually followed by him getting into a lot of trouble.
They had reached the platform. James looked at Al cockily and then ran through the barrier.
Al took that as the perfect opportunity to talk to his parents.
"You'll write to me, won't you?" he asked. He had never been so long without communication from his parents.
"Every day, if you want us to" Ginny said.
"Not every day" Al said. He could imagine that the other students would think he was a baby if he couldn't go a single day without hearing from his parents. "James says most people only get letters from home about once a month."
"We wrote to James three times a week last year" Ginny said.
"And you don't want to believe everything he tells you about Hogwarts. He likes a laugh, your brother" Harry said.
Al knew that he shouldn't listen to James, his parents had been warning him every since he was five. But still some of the things James said had some truth to it. Like the time James said that Aunty Fleur would turn into an angry fire breathing harpy if someone ate the last of her bouillabaisse. She wasn't exactly a harpy but small balls of fire did appear in her hands.
Being assured for now Al followed his brother past the barrier and onto platform nine and three quarters. There were a lot of people on the platform, enough people to get lost in the crowd. Al grabbed onto his father's hand remembering what James said about what happens to the students who get left on the platform.
"Where are they?" Al asked anxious to see his favorite cousin Rose who would also be starting her first year at Hogwarts. Al heard a familiar voice and turned around but it was only his Uncle Percy who was chatting rapidly to an elderly couple about broomstick regulations.
"I think that's them, Al" Ginny said and Al turned around so fast he nearly got a crook in his neck.
Four people came through the fog and Al smiled when he recognized the familiar profile.
"Hi" he said to his cousin Rose who was already wearing her school uniform.
"Hey, you look nervous" Rose said.
"A little" Al said.
"James thinks Al is going to be in Slytherin" Lily piped up.
Al rolled his eyes, he didn't think anyone was listening in on his conversation.
"Don't listen to James, only the sorting hat knows which house you'll be in" Rose said.
That didn't make Al feel any better.
"But you have to be in Gryffindor" Lily said.
"My mom says Ravenclaws aren't so bad, and Hufflepuffs either" Hugo said joining the conversation.
"But still it's not Gryffindor" Al said.
"I know, I think my dad might disinherit me if I'm not in Gryffindor" Hugo said.
"Don't be silly, dad would never disinherit either of us. Now I read in Hogwarts, a Revised History that the sorting hat was made to look into people's brains and tell what house would suit them best."
"If you're not in Gryffindor, we'll disinherit you, but no pressure" Uncle Ron said. The adults seem to have finished their conversation.
"Ron!" Aunt Hermione said in reproach. She was always doing that.
"He doesn't mean it" both Hermione and Ginny said.
Neither Rose nor Al looked like they believed him. Great, now Al had more things to worry about. If he didn't get into Gryffindor his family might start to treat him differently.
"Look who it is" Ron said, he might have been talking to the adults but the kids looked too.
Three people stood out, two blonde one with black hair. Al had never met any of them before and before he could ask who they were Ron muttered "So that's little Scorpius," then louder he added "Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited your mother's brains."
Aunt Hermione started to berate her husband. Al was still looking at the family. Al couldn't see anything too wrong with them. They didn't look evil. Maybe they were Slytherins.
"Granddad Weasley would never forgive you if you married a pureblood" Ron was saying. Their grandpa was obsessed with all things muggle.
"Hey!"
James came back and Al was surprised he didn't have Fred with him. The two of them were like two peas in a pod even though Fred was a year older. Both of them liked pulling pranks on people. Fred's dad George owned a Joke shop and he was always letting Fred and James try out his new prototypes.
"Teddy's back there" James said.
Al looked up. Maybe he could talk to his god-brother Teddy, he wasn't in Gryffindor either. Teddy was sorted into Hufflepuff. All day everyone has talked about Gryffindor, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw but no one said anything about Hufflepuff.
"Just seen him! And guess what he's doing? Snogging Victoire!"
Lily and Rose automatically turned to each other and began to discuss the new couple. James seemed to be expecting that reaction from the adults.
"Our Teddy! Teddy Lupin! Snogging our Victoire! Our cousin! And I asked Teddy what he was doing-"
"You interrupted them?" Ginny said.
Since Teddy seemed busy there was no way Al could go ask him about what it used to be like in Hufflepuff. Teddy only graduated last year so he would still be able to give some input.
"I can't walk into Herbology and give him love" James said shaking his head, then he turned to Al and added "See you later, Al. Watch out for the thestrals."
Normally Al wouldn't have reacted but he was already nervous enough as it was. "I thought they were invisible? You said they were invisible!"
"Thestrals are nothing to worry about" Harry said, "They're gentle things, there's nothing scary about them. Anyway, you won't be going up to school in the carriages, you'll be going in the boats."
The boats that go over the lake that houses the giant squid, who is just waiting for his new sacrificial first year.
"See you at Christmas" Ginny said and she gave Al a kiss on the forehead.
"Bye, Al. Don't forget Hagrid's invited you to tea next Friday. Don't mess with Peeves. Don't duel anyone till you've learned how. And don't let James wind you up."
Al took a deep breath and said what worried him the most "What if I'm in Slytherin?"
Harry crouched down so their faces were level. "Albus Severus," Al almost groaned at hearing his full name, "you were named after two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew."
"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."
Al had never heard that before. If that was the case then all he'd have to do was ask the hat to put him in Gryffindor. "Really?"
"It did for me" Harry said.
The doors started to close and Al gave both of his parents hugs and jumped onto the train.
As he looked out of the window he noticed that everyone seemed to be staring at his family. "Why are they all staring?" he asked.
"Don't let it worry you. It's me, I'm extremely famous" Ron said.
Al and Rose laughed naturally as the train began to move. Once they could no longer see their parent's faces they decided to go find a compartment.
*Prophecies*Book*One*
Al sat in a compartment with the rest of his family. At first it was just him, Rose, James, Fred and Roxanne. James and Fred left right after saying hi to everybody. Then Dominique and Louis came into the compartment. Louis stayed for about two minutes and then went to go find his friends. Molly, Lucy and Victorie came last. Molly and Lucy were prefects and Victorie was head-girl and they had just come back from the meeting. Feeling like there was too much estrogen in that compartment Al left.
Al didn't know where he would go and he doubted he would find an empty compartment.
Al was in luck, the last compartment wasn't empty but it only had one person in it. The person was reading one of his school books.
"Is anyone sitting here? Everywhere else is full" Al asked.
The boy looked up, he was the boy from the family his uncle had pointed out.
"You're a Potter" the boy said.
Al frowned. "So, and you're…" he had no idea, he didn't think his parents mentioned his last name.
"A Malfoy"
"Okay" Al said.
"Go ahead and sit down if you want" the boy said.
Al sat down. "My name is Al, by the way" he said, wishing he hadn't left his trunk in the other compartment so he'd have something to do.
"Scorpius" the boy said. "You really don't mind that you're sitting in here with a Malfoy?"
"No why would I?" Al asked.
"My father says that people are automatically prejudice of us because of our last names, especially Potters and Weasleys" Scorpius said.
"Oh, well I've never even heard of you before and my father isn't the kind of person who would hold a grudge" Al said.
Scorpius shrugged his shoulders. "Your family is usually Gryffindor and mine is usually—"
"Slytherin" Al guessed.
"Yep, except for my mom, she was a Ravenclaw so there is always a chance I'll go there" Scorpius said.
"Both of my parents are from Gryffindor but my brother seems to think that I'm not Gryffindor material. He was mostly joking" Al said. He hoped James was just joking.
The Trolley Lady came by and both of the boys bought a lot of sweets. The subject changed from houses to quidditch.
"I've convinced my cousin into smuggling my broomstick for me so I'm definitely trying out for the house team this year" Scorpius said.
"What position do you play?"
"Seeker, just like my dad. How about you? If you try out what position would you try out for?"
"Keeper, maybe. James said I'm too small to be a keeper and I should play seeker. No offence or anything, but I think seekers are overrated" Al said.
"Seekers aren't overrated. They are the most important players."
"Keepers are pretty important too. If there isn't a keeper that leaves chasers free to score as much as they want."
"That's true but the chasers would have to score over fifteen times to win"
"That should be easy for any chaser to do if there is no keeper"
"I guess that's true but without the seeker the game would never end"
"That's also true"
The door slid open again. The boys thought it was the Trolley Lady again but it wasn't.
"Here you are Al, I've been looking all over for you" Rose said as she entered the compartment. "Oh," she looked at Scorpius, "I thought you were alone. Hi my name is Rose Jean Weasley. You must be Scorpius Malfoy"
Scorpius threw Al a what-did-I-tell-you look.
"Sit down Rose, yes this is Scorpius. We were just talking about quidditch" Al said.
"That's so normal. All the girls in my compartment wanted to talk about was cute guys. I'm so tired of the babble. I hope you guys don't mind if I intrude" Rose said.
"No, and don't worry we won't talk about all the hot girls around you" Scorpius said sarcastically.
They changed from talking about school quidditch teams to the professional ones. While Rose was insisting that the Harpies were the best team in the league, Al and Scorpius both thought that Puddlemere was better.
"Oh come on, The Harpies have the best chasers in the league" Rose said.
"Pfft, the Harpies haven't been good since Ginny Potter" Scorpius said.
"I'll tell mum you think so" Al muttered.
"It's all about Puddlemere. They have the best seeker in the league" Scorpius said.
"Seekers aren't everything" Rose said.
"What is it with you Weasley-Potters, the seeker is everything" Scorpius said.
The two of them continued to debate, their voices getting louder and their opinions getting more and more off base. Al wasn't paying attention. Suddenly his head started to hurt.
Al rubbed the sides of his head hoping it would relieve the tension. Al got headaches like this every once in a while. And to prepare for them he usually kept a potion kit on hand. But his potion kit was all the way in his trunk in the third compartment.
"Darkness has arrived at Hogwarts again."
Both Rose and Scorpius stopped arguing and looked at Al. His eyes had rolled into the back of his head and he was breaking into a heavy sweat.
Rose and Scorpius exchanged glances.
"Once again the school will become a battleground."
"What the hell is he talking about?" Scorpius asked.
"No clue" Rose said starting to panic. She had never seen her cousin act like this beofre.
"Once again young blood will be spilled. History will repeat itself as the darkness slowly grows. The longer the darkness stays the stronger she will become."
Al gasped and started coughing.
He blinked a little noticing how watery his eyes were. When he got his focus back he noticed both Scorpius and Rose were staring at him with wide petrified eyes.
"What's wrong?" he asked weakly. His throat was sore and he tried to clear his voice.
"What do you mean what's wrong? You're eyes rolled into the back of your head and you started saying some creepy shite" Scorpius said.
"What's going on Al? What all this talk about darkness and history repeating itself" Rose asked warily.
"I need some parchment and a quill, can I borrow one?" Al asked ignoring Rose's question.
"Sure I got some in my trunk" Scorpius said. He lifted down his trunk and started looking for the items.
"What was that?" Rose asked.
Al felt a little nervous. There was only five people who knew about what he could do. His parents, his siblings, and a man named Marty Cambridge who worked as an Unspeakable in the Department of Mysteries.
"A prophecy" Al said.
"You're a seer?" Scorpius asked as he pulled out the required materials.
"Something like that" Al muttered. He didn't like the word Seer, it was so feminine. He began writing a letter to his dad grateful that there weren't more people in the compartment.
"Do you know exactly what I said?" Al asked. He hated how he couldn't remember what he said when he had prophecies. Sure his dad said that was normal, but Al didn't think it was normal that he was speaking words and saying things that he knew nothing about.
"You said something about the school becoming a battleground" Rose said.
"And blood being spilled" Scorpius added. "I think there was something about darkness."
"Did it mention a girl?" Al asked as he scribbled hastily on the parchment.
"You did say 'she' but I was freaking out too much to hear what it was. So, how come you never told me?" Rose asked.
"It's my family's best kept secret. No one is supposed to know. I've been having these 'fits' since I was four"
"Damn, so you can like predict the future?" Scorpius asked.
"Not really. I just make these prophecies about growing darkness. I don't even understand it all, and I never remember doing it. Sorry if I freaked you out. It doesn't happen that often. I have to send this to my dad, so he knows." Al folded the paper and pushed past the two as he headed out of the compartment.
Al couldn't believe his luck. He hadn't even arrived at school yet and already he was acting like a freak. Why couldn't he just be normal like everyone else.
His head pounded and he found it hard to concentrate as he made his way towards the compartment with his things in it. All around him students were being loud and rambunctious, and it was adding to his headache.
As he passed on compartment someone grabbed his arm. Al looked up, it was James.
"Are you okay?" James asked with a frown.
"Yeah, I'm fine" Al said. He hoped if he said it lowly James wouldn't be able to hear how scratchy his voice sounded. But James wasn't fooled.
James lifted Al's chin and looked into Al's eyes. "Shite, you eyes are blood red," James looked around and then lowered his voice, "You had another one didn't you."
"Yeah, the train is slowing down. I need to send this off and change into my school robes" Al said.
"I'll come with you" James said.
"You don't have to follow me" Al said. James had let him go but now he was following Al through the compartments.
"Yes I do" James said.
"Did mom tell you to watch over me?" Al asked his temper rising just a little.
"Yes she did, but before you get mad, I would do it anyway" James said.
"I don't want to be treated like an infant like I need someone constantly watching over me" Al said.
"Yes you do. Damn it, what if the wrong person hears what you say and go back and tell someone bad?" James said.
"Someone like who? The girl? Nobody knows who she is" Al said. "No knows about this darkness stuff."
"Well she has to be somebody" James muttered. "And speaking of, who all heard you."
"It was me, Rose, and Scorpius in the compartment" Al said.
"Scorpius who?"
But before Al could answer he walked into the third compartment.
"There you are Al, I thought you were taking a restroom break but you never came back" Lucy said.
"Yea, I met up with another first year and we started talking" Al said as he pulled down his trunk.
"Hey, James, where have you been?" that was Victorie. The compartment was still full of girls.
"Ah, you know me I never stick to one place for long. I was just talking to Al making sure he found his stuff okay" James said. He threw Al a this-isn't-over look and went back to the compartment with his friends.
Al let his tawny owl, Aria, out of her cage and gave her the letter. Then he changed clothes in the restroom and he also took a potion for his headache. Then he went back to the last compartment where Rose and Scorpius had started a game of exploding snap.
"You waited until the train ride was almost over to start playing games" Al said.
"Sure why not" Rose said with a shrug of her shoulders.
The train stopped ten minutes later. All of the students got off of the trains.
"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"
Al recognized that voice it belonged to Hagrid, dad's half giant friend.
Al, Rose, and Scorpius as well as the rest of the first years followed the sound of Hagrid's voice. Hagrid was tall with a lot of bushy black hair and a graying beard.
"C'mon, follow me – any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"
They followed Hagrid down a long, steep, narrow path. It was really cold and all of Al's fears came back when he realized they were heading towards the boats.
"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec, jus' around this bend here" Hagrid called.
All the girls oooh and awwwed when they first saw the castle. It was extremely beautiful. They were standing infront of what could only be the black late. It was vast, and there were tiny little boats on the dock.
"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called.
Al could hardly believe that four people could fit in one boat but he climbed into one followed by Rose, Scorpius, and another tiny little boy.
"Everyone in?" without waiting for an answer Hagrid yelled "FORWARD!"
The boats started moving all at once. It was eerieely silent as the boats moved towards the school until something huge flashed it's tentacle out of the water. A lot of people screamed including Rose who jumped on Al's lap but grabbed Scorpius around the neck and she even had her feet on the kid whose name she didn't know lap.
"Heads down!"
Everyone ducked.
"Um Rose…you're kind of choking me" Scorpius gasped.
"Oh, right, sorry" Rose said and she blushed. She let Scorpius go and slid off Al's lab. "Sorry about that" she said to the boy who she didn't know. "My name is Rose by the way, and this is my cousin Al and our new friend Scorpius."
The boy threw a look at Scorpius and then the turned his face back to Rose, "M' name is Rorie"
Scorpius snickered and Rorie threw him a dirty look.
The boats stopped in an underground harbor type thing. Everyone got off and began to walk the rocky path. After a while the path smoothed out and they began walking on grass.
When they got to the castle Hagrid raised his fist and knocked three times on the giant oak door.
The door opened and there stood a tall slender, kinda round faced man. Al automatically recognized him as Neville Longbottom, the Herbology professor and a good friend of his parents.
"The first years, Professor Longbottom" said Hagrid.
"Thanks Hagrid. Okay first years this way" Neville said.
All of the kids followed him into the castle. The place was huge and the kids all stopped and stared at some point. The walls were lit with flaming torches and the ceiling was really, really high up. They followed Neville until they reached a small chamber.
"Welcome to Hogwarts. The start-of-term feast will begin shortly. In just a few short moments we'll be entering the great hall you'll be sorted into your houses. The four houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house will be like you family. You'll sleep, do your homework and spend most of your free time in the house chambers. Triumphs will earn you points and rule breaking will lose points. The house at the end of the year with the most points win the house cup. I think that's everything" Neville muttered that last part to himself.
"Oh, don't be nervous, sure the whole school will be looking at you but it'll all turn out okay in the end."
Neville's words did more to scare people than it did to pacify them.
"I'll be back in just a second, I have to see if they're ready let. Try not to make too much nose, you'll rouse the ghost."
The moment Neville left the room talk broke out.
"Ghost? What ghost?" a muggle born asked.
"You don't really think they're going to make us fight a troll in front of everyone, do you?" a nervous boy asked.
"Crap, if I'd have known we'd be sorted in front of everyone I would've fixed my hair on the boat" a little blonde girl said.
"I don't want to be in Slytherin; I heard it's full of evil people."
"Yeah, well Gryffindor is full of pricks."
"Take that back."
"My da will disown me if I'm not in Ravenclaw."
"What if something bad happens and I don't get sorted at all and they put me back on the train home" a girl with long black hair spoke up.
Everyone froze as they thought that over.
The door opened up startling a few students. "Okay, they're ready for you. Why don't you try to get into a straight line and follow me."
The great hall was glorious. There were thousands upon thousands of floating candles. Students were sitting into four long wooden tables chatting away. The tables had gold plates and goblets. The sky was a nice dark blue with a few clouds and a lot of stars.
Neville stopped in front of a long table at the front where all the adults sat. Al looked at the headmistress, she looked like the serious sort who had a strict no-nonsense policy. Al vaguely remembered meeting her once when he was six.
Neville placed a three legged chair and an old hat in front of the students.
The hat twitched and a rip near the brin opened wide and it began to sing a song:
"Hoggy Hoggy Hogwarts teach us something please
If you go to Gryffindor you'll be filled with bravery
Sly and cunning my Slyterin friends
In Hufflepuff the fun never ends
And lastly you smarties will be in Ravenclaw
Some of you may possess them all.
But you're only allowed one house, so try me on
I'm the sorting hat and I'll put you were you belong"
The whole hall clapped, and a few first years let out a relieved sigh.
"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted" Neville said. "Avery, James"
A small brown haired boy stepped forward and sat on the stool.
"SLYTHERIN!"
The table over to the far left cheered.
"Boot, Tracy"
"RAVENCLAW!"
The process continued on.
"Well mate, I guess this is the end" Scorpius said just before Neville shouted "Malfoy, Scorpius."
Al did notice people were looking at Scorpius with disdain. Was his last name really that bad?
"SLYTHERIN!"
Al clapped politely while he waited for his turn.
Some people it only took a second while others it seemed took forever. One kid, Doug McMillan, tripped on his way to the stool and the whole hall laughed until the headmistress gave them all the death glare. How she could give everyone the death glare without moving her face no one knew, but it worked.
"Potter, Albus"
Al walked nervously up to the stool. There's nothing to be nervous about he thought to himself, dad says I get a choice, and I choose Gryffindor. Yeah, I'm a Gryffindor. He repeated this over and over in his head until he sat down on the stool placed the hat on his head.
Okay hat, put me in Gryffindor…please
Please always helps
Great, please put me in Gryffindor.
Are you sure. You've got some courage, plenty of brains, you're very loyal, and you're a bit sly
So I could go to any house?
Sure you can go to any house but that doesn't mean that house would be the right fit for you.
What does that mean?
It means while you might be bright, you might not actually do well in Ravenclaw. And while you are loyal you wouldn't exactly be fit in Hufflepuff. Yes you have that Gryffindor courage, it is in your blood. But what about you Albus Severus Potter as an individual? What sets you apart? You're so full of ambition. There is only one place where you'll truly be able to be yourself. Sorry to say kid but Gryffidnor isn't for you "SLYTHERIN!"
Al heard a gasp and he turned to look at his brother whose eyes were wide with pure shock. He must've been joking after all. As Al walked over to the Slytherin table he noticed he was getting wide eyed looks from a lot of people, even Neville was hesitating in reading the next person's name.
The headmistress cleared her throat and Neville read "Powers, Luz"
A girl with long black hair walked up to the stool. She placed the hat on her head.
"Who would've thought" Scorpius muttered as Al sat down next to him.
"Expect the howlers in the morning" Al muttered back.
"You're family would really be upset?" Scorpius asked.
"My dad, no. The other members of my family? Yes. Especially my Uncle Ron" Al said.
"RAVENCLAW!"
The sorting continued. Al expected the feeling of nervousness to disappear now that he was sorted, but it didn't. True, his father said it didn't matter if he was sorted into Slytherin. And yes, Al already has a friend in Slytherin, but still he was supposed to be in Gryffindor like the rest of his family.
Rose was the last person to be sorted and she went into Gryffindor.
"Let the feast begin" Headmistress McGonagall said. Food popped up onto the plates and everyone began helping themselves.
Talk broke out. Old students started talking about the holidays. New students started talking about themselves. All of the food was delicious and no matter how much was eaten more just popped back up.
Halfway through a lamb chop a ghost popped up through the table.
"Ah, look at all the firsties" a man with long dark hair who was covered in blood said. "Ah, I know your father" he said turning to Scorpius, "Great seeker, he never did win us a championship. Maybe you'll be better."
The Bloody Baron drifted passed them and moved on to other students.
"I wonder how he got covered in blood?" a first year girl sitting across from Al asked.
"My advice, don't ask him" A second year who overheard said.
Once everyone had eaten their fill the headmistress cleared her throat and stood up. "There are just a few start of term notices for you all before you go to your houses. Firstly note that the forbidden forest is forbidden to all students," she sent a look to Fred and James both of whom just winked. "Secondly, there is a blanket ban on all Weasley Wizard Wheezes, yes Mr. Weasleys this applies to you too." Fred, James and Luis all chuckled. "You can see a long list of banned items hanging on Mr. Welch, our caretaker's office door. No magic should be used out of class in the corridors. That's all. Goodnight"
There was a bustle as students began to get up.
A tall guy with dark hair stood up and said, "First years follow me, keep up. I will not slow down and I don't care if you get lost" a blonde girl grabbed his arm and Al noticed the badges on their robes.
All of the first years got up and followed them down towards the dungeons.
The prefect stopped in front of a stone wall. "Sanguis Vitam" The door opened up. "Remember the past word, I'm not going to repeat it" the prefect boy said and he walked into the common room.
"My name is Dylan Higgs, this is Belinda and we're you're fifth year prefects. Over there on those chairs are the six year prefects Ari and Ophelia."
"Don't call me Ari" a burly blonde guy said, "It's Ariston. And first years listen up. These chairs are reserved for sixth and seven years only so I don't want to catch any of you brats in them."
"Go easy on them, they're still young" Ophelia said.
Ariston scoffed.
"Back to what I was saying" Dylan said. "Last year's batch of newbies were crap"
"Hey!" a second year shouted from the couches.
"Don't hey me, Walter, I've seen your test scores. The giant squid could've gotten a better score. So in order to keep true to the greatness that is Slytherin you little shits better not slack off. You're only job is to earn points as you can. If you want to be on the Quidditch team Rex is holding tryouts the day after tomorrow. Don't bother showing up, if you don't have a broom. Nextly, if you are going to break the rules then you better not get caught. Did I miss anything Belinda?"
The girl, who was still leaning on his arm, said "No baby, I think you said it all."
Dylan rolled his eyes. "Girls follow Belinda, she'll show you to your rooms. Guys follow me."