Chapter 1

Albus stared at his parents out of his carriage window, feeling a little sad, as they slowly disappeared out of view. He watched Rose dragging her trunk inside and dumping it in a corner. He followed suit and they chose seats facing each other, both sporting exciting looks.

'We are on our way at last', Rose cried after a moment's silence.

'Yeah, it's unbelievable' agreed Albus, and added in an undertone. 'I really hope to get sorted into Gryffindor.'

'I don't have any doubts where I'll get sorted into. The Weasleys have been in Gryffindor for centuries. The Potters are no exception, either,' Rose assured him.

'Do you what Dad told me? The Sorting Hat takes our opinion under consideration as well- '

'- Mom told me that, a long while ago', Rose cut in with a superior tone.

At that very instant, the compartment door opened and a nervous looking boy, seemingly a first year, peered inside. 'Can I sit here? I'm a first year, and can't find a empty anywhere.'

'Join us', invited Rose at once.

'I'm Wayne Wallace' the boy said, extending his hand.

Rose shook hands and told their names. Wayne's face registered a look of awe as he took their names in. 'You are Harry Potter's son'.

Albus nodded noncommittally. He was used to people gaping when they learned this. Rose was curious about Wayne's background. And, he told them that he was from Muggle heritage. From the sound of it, Albus surmised, Wayne was far more overjoyed at the prospect of Hogwarts. They chatted along for a while happily, sharing some tidbits, stuff they had heard from their parents, with Wayne. He kept mouthing words like 'Wow' and 'Blimey'. His enthusiasm was infectious and Albus took a liking to him.

The food trolley interrupted this chatter, and Rose buried her hands into her clothes and pulled a couple of galleons. She came back, her arms loaded with Chocolate Frogs, Beattie's Every Flavour Beans, Cauldron Cakes, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Licorice Wands and Mintballs. The three of them tucked in hungrily. Wayne unwrapped his chocolate frog and found a Harry Potter card inside. A photo of Harry was waving at him. He turned the card around.

'Harry Potter, renowned for his survival against the Dark Lord at the height of his powers, when he was only a baby, was heralded as The Boy Who Lived. He thwarted the Dark Lord's attempts to murder him many times, and finally killed him in a legendary duel, fought at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The entire wizarding world showed their gratification to Mr. Potter by honoring him. He now holds the office of Head Auror in the Ministry. Harry Potter is happily married to Ginny Weasley, and the couple has three children. He is said to enjoy playing Quidditch and he has also won the prestigious Triwizard Tournament.'

'Hey, look whose card I found!' he cried.

Rose looked over and threw a handful of Chocolate Frog cards at him. Soon, Wayne was busy poring over Remus Lupin, Barty Crouch, Severus Snape and Nicolas Flamel, reading with interest and took no part in conversation for some time.

It was some time before he turned his attention to the actual bean. It was an ugly grey colour. But, Wayne took a bite, looking a little wary. He immediately spat it, wearing an expression, which made the other two burst with laughter. 'Wayne, when they say Every Flavor, they mean it. I bet, from your expression, it was wax you tasted,' said Albus.

The compartment door opened for a second time as Albus' brother, James entered with a couple of boys in tail. They had changed into their school robes, already. 'Ah, there's my ickle little brother; my cousin Rose is here, as well,' he exclaimed to his friends. 'Meet Damon and Zack', he said to Albus and Rose. 'You seem to have made friends already,' with a glance towards Wayne.

'You three must be the only ones, who haven't changed into your robes. Hogwarts is due in five minutes. You are gonna get into trouble,' he said and laughed at Albus and Wayne's anxious looks.

Rose, however, looked unperturbed. 'He is just pulling your legs. Mom told me to look out for Hogsmeade and we haven't even passed the village'. She was glaring at James, who merely gave a scathing look at Rose and turned a to Albus. 'I've mentioned about you to some of my Slytherin friends. Be sure to say hello to them when you meet them in the Slytherin common room.' Roaring with laughter, he beckoned his friends into the next compartment.

Albus became thoughtful again as he mulled over what his brother had said. 'C'mon, don't become moody again. You'll surely be sorted into Gryffindor. Let's change into our school robes, just in case.'

Night fell, as the train raced past fields and cows. Soon, the train reached Hogsmeade, which Rose had mentioned. The excitement level was reaching a feverish pitch and even Rose started to fidget. And finally, the trained groaned to a halt. The three of them took their respective trunks and owl cages, and climbed down. Hundreds of students were getting downing and there were lots of shouting and yelling.

Firs' years! Firs' years over here,' a booming voice could be heard over the din.

'There's Hagrid,' Rose said happily. She dragged both Albus and Wayne over to Hagrid.

'Yeh alright, Rose,' beamed Hagrid. 'And yeh too, Albus, remind me a lot of Harry, you do. I can still remember him standing forlornly during his first year.'

All the first years followed Hagrid through a narrow path, surrounded by thickets on both sides. After a short walk, they reached a side of an enormous lake. And perched on top of a mountain, on its side, rose Hogwarts castle, majestically. They could see arrays of boats lined across the bank. Hagrid called loudly that four students should get into each boat.

A petite girl, wearing a nervous look joined Albus, Rose and Wayne in a boat. After Rose had made their names known, the girl introduced herself as Abigail Evans. And, all four looked at the castle, as it loomed closer. Suddenly, they reached a sort of dark tunnel, and they had to duck their heads. After a while, they reached a harbour, and clamored over the boats into rocks and pebbles.

Hagrid waited for all the boats to disembark and ordered everyone to follow him to the castle. Soon, they came along a pathway, which led them to a large oak door. Hagrid knocked thrice, and it was opened by a careworn man.

'That must be Mr. Bumble, the caretaker,' whispered Rose.

'James told me he is a vampire-,' started Albus.

Rose cut across him, clearly not swallowing this piece of information, though Albus and Wayne looked a tad scared.

'Follow me, you lot,' he grunted, and they followed him to a door, which he threw open to reveal the Entrance Hall.

Albus' first impression was, it was too large. Despite having heard about it, he was surprised at its grandeur. Nearby, Wayne was also drinking in his first look at the Entrance Hall.

The enchanted ceiling (Rose was informing this to anyone who would listen), the thousands and thousands of candles, the golden goblets in the four long tables, where the respective house students were seated, everything was simply splendid.

'Fall in line,' a curt voice resonated, and a woman, calling herself Professor Dorothy, escorted them inside. She then gave them some general instructions and asked them to come forward, when their name was called out.

The Sorting Hat sat in a stool, placed in the centre of the Hall. Albus noted that its brim looked slightly charred, and knew Voldemort had set fire to it during the war. After the Hat finished singing, the whole Hall broke into applause. Professor Dorothy came forward and took a parchment.

'Adams, Lee!'

A boy, having blond hair, walked over to the stool, and Professor Dorothy placed the hat over his head.

'RAVENCLAW!' shouted the hat.

The table second from the left erupted into applause. Lee took off the hat and joined that table, looking a little relieved.

'Anderson, Luke!'

'HUFFLEPUFF!'

Now, the table on the right clapped hard. And, Luke made his way there.

Professor Dorothy continued reading from the list, and still none had joined the Gryffindor table. Albus looked in his brother's direction, and thought he got an encouraging smile from James. He dismissed it as his imagination.

'Evans, Abigail!'

'GRYFFINDOR!'

The table on the far left exploded into cheers. Albus could see James wringing Abigail's hands. After a while,

'Malfoy, Scorpious!'

'SLYTHERIN!'

Albus watched a pale boy, with blond hair, making his way to the Slytherin table. When the O's were reached, Albus found his insides writhing. And, soon it was-

'Potter, Albus!'

A huge round of whispers started and people craned their necks to get a better look.

Albus walked dazedly and sat on the stool. The hat was placed on his head and he could see nothing but blackness.

'Hmm, another Potter, I can see lots of courage like your father. But, there is something special, as well. You have stout resilience like your mother. Interesting, I'm tempted to put you in Slytherin; you have the necessary qualities, you know. But, you, like your father before you, have made up your mind to land in Gryffindor. So be it- GRYFFINDOR!'

Utterly delighted and relieved, he made his way to the Gryffindor table, to earsplitting applause. He was greeted by James, and the Weasleys: Dominique, Roxanne and Victoire, warmly. He squeezed in between James, and watched the sorting in a different light now, as if a weight had been removed from him.

He watched Rose keeping a nonstop commentary for Wayne, who kept nodding out of politeness, and couldn't suppress a giggle.

The number of people slowly dwindled, and finally Wayne and Rose were the only ones left.

'Wallace, Wayne!'

'GRYFFINDOR!'

Wayne's joy was written all over his face, as he took a seat beside Albus. They both had their fingers crossed as Rose waded her way to the hat.

'GRYFFINDOR!'

Rose soon joined them at the Gryffindor table, looking positively delighted.

Now that the sorting was over, the Head Mistress Professor McGonagall stood, spoke for a minute, welcoming everyone back to Hogwarts.

As soon as she sat down, food started appearing out of nowhere in the gold plates and goblets. Albus became hungry all of a sudden and began tucking in. At his left, James was cheeking Victoire.

'Is the Head Girl missing her boyfriend?'

What do you mean?'

'Well, I saw Teddy snogging you at the platform,' James said slyly.

'Watch your words, Potter. I may put you in detention,' shot back Victoire.

'I'd like you to try. The whole castle might revolt against you.'

'Do you want me to know what Aunt Ginny asked me to do if you had a go at me, you brazen kid?'

The mention of his mother seemed to do the trick, as James immediately started talking about Quidditch. On Albus' right, Rose was spiritedly talking to Wayne about studies. 'I don't think six subjects are enough for us, do you?'

Albus made a mental reminder to prise Wayne away from Rose's care, a little. The poor boy was surely at a loss of words.

Once everyone had finished eating, the Head Mistress rose again and wished them all good night. The Gryffindors followed Victoire, and soon they were standing before the Fat Lady. "Ignotus", said Victoire and the portrait pulled back.
They went inside, and Victoire showed the bedrooms for boys and girls. Albus and Wayne found their dorm and dumped their trunks in adjacent beds. Their roommates turned up in a little while, and introduced themselves as Andy Brown and Jason Parker.

They started unpacking their trunks, and arranged them. Albus placed a family photo near his bed, and immediately the other three clamored to have a look at the famous Harry and Ginny Potter.

Andy let out a low whistle. 'Is that your house, Al?' Albus nodded. Andy was pinning a poster of the Holyhead Harpies above his bedside.

'Your favourite team,' queried Wayne.

'Yeah, they are thirteenth in the league. My dad reckons the Harpies lost their winning touch, after your mom and Gwenog Jones left,' he said with some feeling. 'I heard your dad is also a good flier.'

Albus gave another nod. 'Yeah, Dad could have played for England, if he didn't join the ministry.'

Wayne yawned. 'C'mon guys, lets turn in. I cant move a feet. The food is so delicious here.'

The others agreed. The train journey had tired them a lot and they fell asleep in a few moments. Albus, however, took a parchment and wrote:

Dad,
I also made it to Gryffindor! I'm so happy. Give my love to mom and Lily.

Al.

He folded it, attached it to his owl, Sorsha, and watched it soar out of the window, into the starry sky. Tired, but happy, he also threw himself into his bed, and fell asleep immediately.