CHAPTER ONE
At King´s Cross station, a particularly small, dark-haired girl was walking next to a rather large man; they were both shaking, one with giddy excitement and one with fear and nostalgy, as he couldn't help but remember a certain scarred, skinny boy walking down the same path with him so many years ago.
The girl kept standing on her tiptoes, sweeping the crowd with her gaze. She recognized a lot of the faces that she used to watch every day at the school grounds, and she let out a wide smile as she realized that now she was finally one of them.
"Have you seen them, Hagrid?" the girl asked.
He opened his mouth to reply, but thought better of it and just pointed to their right, where the three kids he once watched grow up were standing alongside their families. He looked at her amusedly as she spotted a brown-eyed boy carrying his luggage and a mischievous grin grew on her face.
The little girl started running towards them, and as she got closer, the first one to notice her was the boy with disheveled hair that at the sight of her couldn't help but smile brightly and open his arms to engulf her in a big, warm hug.
"I missed you, James!" she cried.
The boy let out a musical laugh and said, "I just saw you last week, Arabella."
"Shut up," she playfully punched his shoulder, as she started registering little sniffles coming from behind her. She turned around and out of the corner of her eye she saw James waving awkwardly at the crying Hagrid before leaving them alone. "C'mon, Hagrid. You're going to see me everyday."
"It's just that… Yer so… Big now!" He started sobbing uncontrollably, "I just can't help but feel like you don't need me anymore. You're going to leave me anytime now."
"What are you talking about?" she asked indignantly, "You're my papa, I'll never leave you! Besides, I'm only moving a few yards away, the Gryffindor tower isn't that far from the hut."
"Gryffindor? Hmm… I like the sound of that," Ron piped in, getting scolded by Hermione, while her friend Albus was slowly walking away from the group, with a faraway look in his eyes. Arabella vaguely noticed Harry following his youngest son silently, while Ginny looked on approvingly.
"Don't worry, Uncle Hagrid, I'll keep an eye on her," James grinned, putting an arm around Arabella's tiny frame.
"I don't need you to take care of me," she proudly replied. "I can easily do that on my own, thank you very much."
Suddenly, Hermione looked at her phone with an alarming look and proceeded to usher the kids to the train. The rest of the parents gave their last goodbyes and Hagrid let out a final sob before the soon-to-be-students climbed up the train.
"Where's Albus?" Rose asked, a few seconds after they all settled in a compartment. As if summoned, the green-eyed boy stumbled into a seat with a small, hopeful smile on his face.
"What's gotten into you?" James inquired.
"A sudden craving for chocolate frogs," Arabella hopefully intervened. "I'm going to go get some now. Anyone wanna join me?"
Albus kindly declined, whereas James instantly jumped out of his seat with a sudden crazy look. Chocolate frogs were his favorite.
"Race you, Hagrid!" James yelled, getting a headstart.
"You're on, Potter!" she shot back while catching up to him.
In their haste to beat each other, James almost toppled over the trolley, and Arabella stumbled into a certain platinum-haired girl, her overall appearance so shiny that it hurt her eyes. She had the kind of presence that made everyone unconsciously flock to her, that made heads turn as she walked by.
"Merlin's beard! This isn't a bloody race track! Watch where you're going," she sneered. The illusion shattered as soon as she opened her mouth. Arabella's eyes widened in surprise; she considered telling her off, but she didn't want to make a scene before she even got to Hogwarts. So instead of replying, she just watched her strut away.
"What's got her wand in a knot?" Arabella muttered under her breath.
"Don't bother with her, she's a Malfoy," James told her.
She instantly remembered the countless times Harry had mentioned his old school nemesis, Draco. She half-heartedly hoped his kid didn't turn out so much like him. Recalling one of papa's favorite stories, she chuckled and said, "I hope she stays away from any hippogriffs."
"Speaking of, I'm so hungry I could eat a whole pack of 'em."
"Quiet now, you're starting to sound like a mandrake with all your whining," she jokingly replied and finally turned to the trolley lady and ordered two chocolate frogs.
"Can I have your card?" said James while stuffing his mouth with candy. "I've already got my father, which is kind of weird, to be honest."
"First of all, mind your manners; it's rude to speak with your mouth full," she scolded, ripping open her own package. When she didn't continue, James looked over her shoulder at her card and saw the picture of a man in a knitted vest, smiling warmly up at her.
"Look, it's Neville!" he exclaimed. "Please let me have it—I've been waiting to have him for so long," he whined.
"Fine," she sighed and gave it to him. "You can have it, mandrake," they started down the corridor toward their compartment.
"I'm so thankful, my chizpurfle," he playfully bowed.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?" she asked for the umpteenth time.
"But it's cute!"
"It's a bloody parasite!"
"It's an adorable parasite," he winked. She ignored him and stomped forward.
"What's the matter?" asked Albus when they got back.
"Just your brother being his charming self," Arabella sarcastically muttered.
"Nice to know that you find me charming," he smirked. "Just don't keep me all to yourself. Remember, I'm nothing if not shareable."
Before Arabella got her punch in, the door slid open to reveal a rather tall, pale boy. His eyes were like thunderclouds, piercing and cold. He walked with graciousness, confidence radiating off him, making Arabella think of a peacock. He was the kind of boy that intimidated people without even having to look at them. What's up with so many blondies today?, she thought to herself.
"Blond hair, fancy clothes," Rose sneered. "You must be a Malfoy."
"There's another one?" Arabella asked, filled with dread.
"I take it you've met my sister Margot," the new kid sighed. "She's an... acquired taste." he continued carefully.
"Yeah, I'm sure she's the sweet-on-the-outside,-sour-on-the-inside type," James joked.
"Anyway, what are you doing here?" Rose asked.
"Well, this was the only compartment that seemed quiet enough to enjoy the ride,"
he shrugged.
"A Malfoy looking for quiet?" Rose raised an eyebrow, "That's odd…"
"Don't call me Malfoy, the name's Scorpius."
"Well, Scorpius, you'll have to excuse me, but I'm so tired, I could be casted as Sleeping Beauty," Arabella said and promptly laid her head on James's lap.
"What the bloody hell is that?" Scorpius's mutter went ignored by everyone.
"Wake me up when it's time to change," Arabella continued; as she drifted off to sleep, a rather awkward conversation arose between the kids.
"So what house do you think you'll get sorted into?" Albus shyly asked as Scorpius took a seat beside him.
"I'm sure I'll get into Slytherin," the Malfoy boy dryly replied.
"How could you be so sure?" Albus curiously inquired.
"All my family has been in Slytherin, it's kind of the Malfoy pride," he rolled his eyes. "So there's no getting out of it, not that I'm complaining though. All the other houses are lame."
"Excuse me, you're talking to a Gryffindor here," James indignantly interrupted.
"And Ravenclaw is a great house to be in... or so I've read," said Rose.
"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Scorpius drawled, "Slytherin still's the greatest house."
"The greatest for gits you mean," as the words left James' mouth, wariness arose in Albus, making him wonder about his older brother's reaction in the event that he actually got sorted into Slytherin.
"Do you think the same applies to us?" Albus asked timidly.
"What do you mean?"
"As Potters… do you believe we'll all be in Gryffindor?"
"Well, of course. Gryffindor's common room password might as well be 'Potter'," his laughter didn't last long, as he saw the look of mischief that had appeared on Scorpius's face.
When the Gryffindor noticed his suspicious stare, he asked, "What?" with a raised eyebrow. The blond just shrugged innocently. James opened his mouth to snap at him, but then thought better of it and, maybe for the first time in his life -and probably because of the girl sleeping on his lap-, he chose not to pick a fight and said nothing.
"Oh, zip it, Scorpius. Better stay down in the dungeons, where you belong," Rose snapped for him.
"Mind your manners, will you?" he drawled.
Rose rolled her eyes and pulled out a book from her bag, ignoring the blond boy in front of her.
"So… Albus, have you ever wondered how it would feel?" Scorpius asked, "Being a Slytherin, I mean?"
"Er… me?" He glanced nervously at James, who was absentmindedly gazing out the window, and gulped, "No, why would I?"
"Just wondering," He shrugged nonchalantly.
And the rest of the ride went by quietly and peacefully, until the current Head girl popped in to tell them to change, since they were close to Hogwarts.
James gently woke Arabella up, and with a rather messy bed hair, she shrieked, "Are we there yet?" Scorpius got startled at the sudden noise, making James chuckle.
"Almost there, chizpurfle. Your dreams are about to come true," he solemnly claimed. Arabella let out an excited squeal and started digging through her trunk for her robes.
"I can't believe it James, after all of this time just watching, I actually get a chance to be one of them… an actual Hogwarts student," she happily exclaimed while grabbing her stuff. "Gryffindor, here I come!" as she said that, she closed the door of the compartment and made her way to the bathroom.
"She's as intense as they come," James sighed. "Well, I'll better get going myself, my dashing looks aren't achieved easily, after all. See ya."
"So I guess it's time, right?" Albus's voice quivered.
"Yes, it is, Albus," Rose exclaimed, sure of herself. "Ready to follow on our parents' footsteps?"
"As ready as I'll ever be…"
As soon as they heard the rumble of Rubeus's voice, the kids quickly found their way to the front.
"Hey, papa," Arabella grinned.
The half-giant playfully glared at her and said, "It's Professor Hagrid for you, missy," and winked. Then he raised his voice so every first year could hear him and bellowed, "Okay everyone, get in the boats in groups of four!"
Arabella, Albus and Rose got on a boat. Scorpius looked for his sister, but he noticed she had already made some friends, and, seeing no other choice, reluctantly got on the boat with the same people he had shared the train ride.
The slow trip to the school was the best time Arabella had ever had; she was surrounded by her closest friends -minus James, and a rather unimpressed-looking platinum blond- and was about to start a magical year she'd been waiting for nearly all her life. Even though she had the whole castle committed to memory, she felt as though it was the first time she was seeing it.
If it were up to her, she'd have stayed in the lake all night, watching the stars and moonlight illuminate the castle; unfortunately, nobody shared the sentiment, and it was too soon when they had to disembark the boats and climb up the path to the main doors.
