Unfortunately, I do not own Harry Potter, or any of these characters except for Harvey, Chris, and Felix. Hope you enjoy! And please please please leave a review. It would make my day!
"Anything from the trolley, dears?"
There was a mad scramble as Al and his cousins pulled money out of their pockets and grabbed treats. Al quickly slapped two sickles onto the trolley and took a chocolate frog. He began to open the box, but his brother, James, snatched it from his grip.
"Hey!" Al shouted, lunging for the box.
"Hold up," James said calmly, holding the chocolate frog out of Al's reach, "you still owe me 2 sickles from when we bet about Teddy and Victoire snogging."
"I won that bet, you idiot!" Albus dove towards his chocolate frog, but missed and crashed into the trolley. The trolley lady shrieked in surprise. Al's face turned bright red. "Sorry miss," he squeaked. Looking flustered, the witch hastily handed Rose a cauldron cake and wheeled her cart away.
As soon as she left, Fred burst into laughter, slapping Al a high five. "You should have seen the look on her face," he crowed.
Still blushing furiously, Al turned back to his brother. James had already opened up the packaging and was sliding out the card. He studied it for a couple seconds, before sighing dramatically. "Ugh, I got Dad again! You can take the frog Al, I just wanted to see if the card was worth keeping."
"Thanks for reminding me that you owe me two sickles, by the way!" Al said, through a mouthful of chocolate. He extended his hand.
"Are you kidding me? That was like, three years ago!"
"Once, Molly made me give her a galleon because of a bet we made when I was five!" Lucy added solemnly. Al smiled. Molly was extremely forgetful, except when it came to bets.
James cleared his throat loudly, obviously wanting to change the subject before he had to hand over the money. "So, do you guys know where Dominique, Vic, and Louis are?" The three siblings had all poked their heads into the compartment to wish Al and Rose luck, but hadn't stuck around.
"Dominique's a prefect, remember James?" Roxanne said, "and I think Vic's with a bunch of her friends. Probably squealing about Teddy's little farewell." They all giggled.
"And of course Louis is most likely flirting with a bunch of witches," Fred added mischievously. "It really isn't fair, having to compete with the first part-veela male in history! You lot are lucky you aren't in his year!"
Laughter echoed around the little train compartment. Al realized how lucky he was to have so many cousins at Hogwarts. They had all chosen to sit with Al and Rose rather than their own friends, to offer them moral support before the sorting. Even if he didn't make any friends, he would always have someone to talk to.
What if he didn't make any friends? A dark cloud of worry settled itself in Al's head. He was more nervous about the sorting. Every single one of his cousins had been placed in Gryffindor. Al couldn't imagine their disappointment if he were to break the tradition.
"You lot better put on your robes now, I expect we'll be arriving soon," Rose said. She had been wearing her robes ever since they had boarded the train. Al's mum and dad kept laughing about how much Rose was like Aunt Hermione. Rose looked a lot like her mum as well, with the same bushy hair, but red. Al searched his cousin's face for any sign of nervousness. She had seemed a bit worried back on Platform 9 3/4, when Uncle Ron and James had joked about them being sorted into Slytherin, but now she radiated confidence. Al tried to mimic her calm expression, but stopped when James began giving him strange looks.
Al slipped on his new robes and turned his attention to the window. Rolling green hills flew by his eyes. In the distance, he could see the very tip of one of Hogwart's turrets.
Suddenly, the Hogwarts Express jolted to a stop. Around Al, everybody was gathering their belongings and heading out of the compartment. Al took a deep breath, then stood up and followed James out the door. He was excited about school, he really was. He was just worried that he might not fit in.
"Firs' years, firs' years! Over here!"
Al looked around wildly until he found the source of the familiar voice. "Hagrid!" He cried. Hagrid visited his house frequently, and knew Al very well.
Al's cousins dispersed, Fred finding Louis and joining the fifth years, Roxy moving towards the rest of the fourth years, and Molly squealing as she hugged a blond third year friend. James gave Al one last thump on the back, said, "you better be in Gryffindor," and heading off towards the carriages.
"Ha, I told you the thestrals were invisible!" Al called triumphantly after his brother, as the carriages pulled away. Then he took Rose's hand and followed Hagrid towards the boats.
"Potter, Albus."
Trembling, Al stood up walked to the front of the Great Hall. He tried to ignore the whispers, knowing that they were just because of his dad. Rose smiled encouragingly as he took the Sorting Hat and placed it on his head.
"Ah yes, another Potter," the hat said, in a deep voice. "Let me see here, you are a very clever boy. Slytherin or Ravenclaw would suit you well, though if you are anything like your father, my guess is that you do not want Slytherin. You are also very kind and loyal, would do well in Hufflepuff. And a heart that is brave a true. You would do well in Gryffindor."
The hat takes your choice into consideration. Al remembered his dad's words.
"Gryffindor," Al muttered, "I want Gryffindor."
The hat seemed to think for a couple seconds, making Al fidget in his seat with nervousness. "Curious, are you quite positive?"
"Yes, yes," Al quickly said.
"Just like his father," the hat murmured. "Alright then, better be... GRYFFINDOR!"
The Gryffindor table exploded in cheers. Grinning from ear to ear, Al took a seat next to James, who clapped him once again on the back. "I knew you had it in you!" Al peered down the table, spotting out the rest of his cousins one by one. Each smiled at him, giving him thumbs ups.
"Weasley, Rose."
Al held his breath as his cousin stepped confidently up to the hat and placed it on her head. For over three minutes she sat, and the Al jumped when the hat finally roared, "GRIFFYNDOR!" The Gryffindor table cheered once again. Beaming, sat down next to Al.
"The hat couldn't decide between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor," she explained. "It took the longest time, and I finally just told it that I would rather be in the same house as the rest of my family. And it listened to me, can you believe that?"
"That's fantastic, Rosie!" Al had felt a little guilty that he hadn't told Rose his dad's advice, but he should have known she'd be smart enough to figure it out for herself.
"Attention, everyone!"
Al and Rose looked up. Professor McGonagall was giving her speech.
"Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Just a few announcements before we can begin tour delicious feast. First, I would like to introduce Professor Kim, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."
Al craned his neck to see a smiling young woman with waist-length shiny black hair.
"And second, our caretaker, Argus Filch, would like to remind you-"
"I wonder how the new DADA teacher is," James muttered into Al's ear.
"She looks nice," Al responded.
"I hope she doesn't give as much homework as Professor Nicholson did last year. He assigned a twelve-inch essay on the first day!" James then turned to his friends on the other side of him and began a heated discussion on the injustice of Professor Nicholson's homework.
"-And of course, for a full list of items prohibited besides those purchased from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, ask Mr. Filch, or check the bulletin boards in the common rooms. A reminder that the Forbidden Forest is, obviously, forbidden. Now without further ado, I believe that a feast is in order!"
Professor McGonagall waved her wand with a flourish, and plates and trays bursting with food appeared along the four house tables. It was then that a great sense of relief washed over Al, when he realized that he had done it, he had made it into Gryffindor.
"So, did you see that kid my dad was talking about at Platform 9 3/4 got into Slytherin?" Rose asked Al, spooning steak and kidney pudding onto her plate.
"Scoeusalpoy?" Al mumbled through a mouthful of sausage.
"Albus Severus Potter, that is disgusting!" Rose reprimanded him. More heads turned at the name "Potter." People had been staring at Al throughout the whole feast. At first it had bothered him, but after a while, most began to pay more attention to their food than Harry Potter's son.
Ignoring the stares, Al laughed, and swallowed. "You sound just like my mum!" He said, and Rose did a spot-on impression of Ginny telling Al and James to stop fighting, sending Al into a fit of laughter.
"So anyway, Scorpius Malfoy?"
Rose nodded. "That's the one."
Al turned around and searched the table for Scorpius. He finally spotted his slicked-back blond hair. Scorpius was at the end of the Slytherin table, staring at his food and not speaking to anyone.
"He looks kind of lonely," Al said. "Makes me glad I've got you here, cos." He elbowed Rose and gave her his cheesiest smile. She hit him playfully on the shoulder.
"I guess our parents don't much like his," she said.
"He doesn't seem very likeable either to me," Al said, "see how he keeps stabbing his food violently?"
"Oh wow, call the ministry, someone's putting their food on a fork!" Rose said sarcastically.
"What? If his parents aren't nice, then he's probably the same way."
"Not necessarily," Rose said. "I mean, you hate being compared to James, right? Or when people stare at you because you're related to-" she dropped her voice down to a whisper "-Harry Potter. We shouldn't judge Scorpius because of his parents! Besides, we don't even know his parents, so we still shouldn't say anything."
Al sighed. Rose was always so logical that she made him feel bad about himself.
"Okay, but I'll judge him when I meet him," Al said.
"Sounds good to me."
Al took one last bite of treacle tart before all of the food vanished. And then he and Rose followed the rest of the Gryffindors to the top of a tower. They were shown the common room, which looked like a fantastic place to work on homework. Then Rose went with the other first year girls and Dominique. Al followed the male prefect, named Henry Thompson, along with the other boys. Much to Al's annoyance, the other boys kept shooting him quick glances and whispering.
By the time he finally made it to his dormitory, Al was exhausted. He found his trunk and his pet ferret waiting next to his bed.
"Shhh shut up Patches. Shush!"
Al spun around and saw a short boy with white-blond hair trying to calm his cat, who didn't look happy to be there.
"Patches!" The boy cried, scooping up the cat. Patches had begun shredding the drapery around the boy's bed. The cat squirmed out of its owner's grip and streaked towards the door.
Al grabbed the cat by its stomach, slamming the door shut.
"Thanks," the boy said sheepishly. "I've had Patches since I was nine, and I don't think he liked having to leave home."
"It's fine!" Al said, "I'm used to it. Casey's the same way." He pointed to his ferret. "Whenever I take her somewhere new, she goes bonkers!"
As if on cue, Casey began trashing around in her cage. Al laughed, and so did the other boy. It was then that Al realized that this was the perfect opportunity to make friends with his new roommate.
"I'm Al, what about you?"
"Er, Harvey."
The boy stuck out a small, cat hair-covered hand, then quickly brushed it off on his robes, looking embarrassed. When the two shook hands, Harvey looked up at Al. His eyes widened, and he dropped his hand.
"Blimey! Y-you're..."
"Incredibly good-looking? Yes, I know," Al teased. Harvey smiled, and confidence burst through Al. He was doing this. He was making friends.
"Yes, I'm Harry Potter's son," Al said.
Harvey's eyes were practically popping out of his head. But he swallowed, and smiled again. "Pleasure to meet you."
Suddenly, the door flew open. In stumbled two more boys, laughing and slapping each other on the back. One was tall and thin, the other about Al's height.
"Hello!" The tall boy cried. "I'm Chris, and this here's my mate Felix. So I guess we're roommates!"
Felix went from Al to Harvey, pumping their hands enthusiastically. The boy's long, shaggy brown hair swung just above his shoulders.
"Er hello," Harvey murmured, looking taken aback by the boys' enthusiasm. "I'm Harvey. Harvey Kemp."
"And I'm-"
"Albus Potter!" Both boys cried at once. Al noticed that they were both staring at him. But it felt different than most of the other students, somehow.
"You can call me Al."
The four boys grinned at each other. Al understood that Harvey, Chris, and Felix weren't staring at him with awe, curiosity, or worship. They were looking at him with kindness, seeing him as a friend instead of Harry Potter's son.
It was at that moment when Al felt he truly belonged at Hogwarts.