AN: Okay, so I know JKR said McGonagall would not be Headmistress when the next generation showed up, but I always pictured it as such. Therefore, she is Headmistress. End of story. Period.
As the train sped away from the station, Rose Weasley could not help but feel nervous. Albus Potter, her cousin and closest friend, sat across from her, his face matching hers. They swapped grimaces. To comfort herself, Rose pulled out the tattered copy of Hogwarts, A History her mother had given her, turning to a random page. Albus followed suit, pulling out Quidditch Weekly. The two sat in silence, neither of their eyes moving from their set spots. Both were contemplating what their parents had told them on the platform.
"Do you think-"
"What if I'm-"
They both stated at the same time, their worry bubbling out the way one of Uncle George's experiments-gone-wrong bubbled out of a cauldron. Al waved his hand, gesturing for Rose to go first.
"D-do you think Dad meant it? That he'd disown me if I wasn't in Gryffindor?" Albus shrugged, biting his lip anxiously.
"I don't know. James said he would never forgive me if I wasn't. Dad tried to make me feel better about it, but I know they all really want me to be in Gryffindor."
"And why in Merlin's name would you want to be in that bloody house? It's full of mud-bloods and muggle-lovers." A drawling voice asked from outside their compartment. Al and Rose looked over, where the blonde boy they saw on the platform stood. Rose's father had told her to beat him in every subject. Now she understood why.
"I'm Scorpius. Scorpius-"
"Malfoy. We know." Rose said, a hostile tone in her voice. "My mother was a muggle-born, you stupid little prat." He looked surprised, shifting his eyes to Albus. Though not as forward as his cousin, his anger was apparent.
"So was my grandmother." The two glared at the boy, who was looking slightly hurt. "And my entire family has been in Gryffindor, save for a couple of cousins."
"Well, fine. I don't want to sit with a bunch of-" Rose stood up, shoving the boy against the boy, hands at his collar.
"A bunch of what? Think carefully, Malfoy." She spat out his name like poison on his tongue. He shoved her away, glowering.
"A bunch of Weasleys." With that, the pale, slick-haired boy stormed down the hall, trunk in tow.
Rose sat down, her face red with anger. Al took a deep breath, then said, "Now I have to be in Gryffindor. Slimy git."
The rest of the train ride was uneventful. Various cousins popped in and out, telling them not to be nervous, and the family wouldn't shun them too much if they weren't in Gryffindor. Victoire was a Ravenclaw, and only Uncle George had given her a hard time about it.
At one point, Fred and James had shown up, evil grins on their faces. No doubt trying to test some of Uncle George's prototypes on the young ones, Rose quickly rehashed the story about Malfoy. They stared at her in anger and shock, then left the compartment, chuckling. She and Albus almost felt sorry for the poor boy.
Almost.
Before long they reached Hogsmead Station, and-after hastily pulling on their robes-they followed the mass of students out of the train. Over the loud chattering a booming voice shouted, "First years! First years over here!" Hagrid, the enormous half-giant and close family friend, pushed his way through the crowd, waving over all the first years. Rose and Albus scurried towards him, elbowing their way past a clump of third-years.
"Hagrid!" They shouted in unison. He cracked a wide grin, ruffling both of their heads.
"How you two been?" He asked, voice lowering a bit.
"Good! Mum says we have tea with you on Tuesday?" Al asked, trying to remember. Hagrid nodded.
"That's right. Best be getting' off. All the first year's here? Alright, to the boats!" He led the small group to a clump of boats sitting on the edge of the lake.
"Four to a boat! Come on, come on!" The kids scrambled to get into the boats, slipping on the wet rocks. Rose and Albus chose one far away from a certain blonde boy.
Two other people climbed into their boat, smiling dreamily. "Hullo. I'm Lorcan. This is Lysander. I do believe we've met before." The twins tilted their heads at the same moment, trying to remember. Rose had to clench her teeth to stop herself from laughing at the sight, and Albus had to cover up his fit of giggles by coughing.
"Oh, yes, you're Ginny Weasley's son and niece. We've met at a few Christmas parties." Rose nodded in remembrance.
"Oh, yes. You're Luna Lovegood's sons. We have met." Their smiles grew wider as the boats set off across the lake. The group continued talking until the castle loomed above them, shining in all it's glory. It had been mainly restored since the war, with a few differences here and there. Not that Rose or Albus would know.
"Wow." That was all any of them could say, shocked at it's grandeur. "Wow."
The boats hit the shore, and the suddenly panic-stricken first years all piled out slowly. Hagrid led them up to a set of huge oak doors, knocking slowly.
Rose and Albus exchanged a panicked glance before the doors opened to reveal a tiny wizard. "Thank you, Hagrid." He adjusted his pointy hat, clearing his throat. "Welcome to Hogwarts. I am Professor Flitwick. Now follow me, and we'll get you sorted soon enough."
The group followed him through a marble entry way, past the huge doors that led to the Great Hall. The sounds of laughter and chatter leaked through, calming Rose a bit. They were told to wait for further instruction, then Professor Flitwick left.
"Did you see him? They'll let anyone teach here, won't they. What a disgrace." Scorpius Malfoy's voice carried over the other students, causing Rose to clench her teeth in frustration.
But Professor Flitwick came back before she had time to do anything…drastic. With a small gesture, he led the students into the Great Hall, to wait in a line in front of all the other students.
A wrinkly, tattered hat sat on a stool in front of them all. Out of the blue, a rip began to move, and the hat began to talk. He spoke of how the houses were divided, but also, how they were so very alike. At the end of his song, the hall applauded, then silence fell over everyone. Flitwick pulled out a scroll of parchment, and began to read names.
"Ackerly, Susan!" A serious looking girl ran forward, placing the hat on her head. After sitting for a second, the hat shouted out, "Ravenclaw!"
It went like that for a while, until "Lovegood, Lorcan!" was called. He walked up to the hat, and put it on. He looked quite peaceful up there, not concerned at all where he ended up.
"Ravenclaw!" He nodded, then went to sit at the cheering table.
"Lovegood, Lysander!" His twin followed suit, flattening down his long blonde hair with the tattered hat.
"Hufflepuff!" He nodded as his brother did, quite unperturbed. As he sat down at said table, Lorcan waved to him happily.
A few more names were called, and both Rose and Albus were started to get bored when "Malfoy, Scorpius!" was called. He walked smugly up to the hat, placing it on his head. Instead of immediately shouting out "Slytherin!" like Rose expected, the hat deliberated for a minute. Scorpius seemed to be arguing with it, his mouth moving ever so slightly.
"Gryffindor!"
The hall went silent, and Scorpius looked absolutely appalled. Very slowly, the Gryffindor table started applauding, forcefully. He threw the hat back on the chair, stalking off the crimson and gold table. Nobody seemed to want to talk to him.
Albus leaned forward and whispered, "Great. Now we have to become Hufflpuffs."
A few more names passed, then "Potter, Albus!" was called. All the students looked a bit more interested, curious as to where the second son of Harry Potter would go.
The hat sat on his head for a few second, then shouted, "Gryffindor!"
The Gryffindor table exploded. Not only were all of the students excited to get both of the sons of the most famous wizard in history, but the entire Weasley family started banging on their goblets, happy they didn't have to disown him. He waved excitedly at Rose, giving her the thumbs up. She smiled.
After "Vaisey, Brian!" was sorted into Slytherin, Rose started to really panic.
"Weasley, Rose!" She walked slowly up to the hat, setting it gently on her frizzy hair.
"Hmmm…" The hat's voice murmured in her head. "Lots of talent, I see that. You would do well in Ravenclaw. And ambition. A fine Slytherin you'd make. But, then again, you are a Weasley. Courageous lot, you all are. Hmm, where to put you…Gryffindor!" Rose sighed in relief, whipping the hat off her head, almost afraid it would change its mind. The table cheered loudly again, her family moving on to banging plates together. Albus gave her a quick hug as she sat next to him, and James ruffled her hair.
The feast was delicious, the Headmistress's speech(thankfully) short, and the relief…monumental. The only person who seemed to not be enjoying himself was Scorpius. He kept muttering to himself, scowling at his plate. At one point, Rose noticed, he even left the table. Though back soon enough, she still couldn't help but be suspicious.
The feast ended with a sense of drowsiness and contentment. The prefects called to the first years to follow them out of the hall, to show them the way to their rooms. As everyone started spilling into the marble hallway, a loud booming sound filled the air. Everyone grew silent, looking around for the source. Another boom, and a crackle, and a boy fell from the sky, screaming. He landed on the floor in a heap, then looked up, scared. As he spotted Headmistress McGonagall, he smiled.
"Professor! Professor! Is it over? Is the war over?" He was older than Rose, about sixteen or seventeen, with curly blonde hair.
"Professor! Did we win? Did we defeat Voldemort?" Professor McGonagall said nothing, only clasped her mouth with her hand.
The boy stood up, rubbing his shoulder. "Professor? Are you okay?" He stepped towards her, and she looked like she was about to faint.
"How-how are you alive? You can't be. Who are you?!" He looked hurt, a little dejected, and utterly confused.
"But, Professor, it's me! Colin. Colin Creevey."
Ooh, cliffy! I know, I know. R&R pleez!
Okay, so Scorpius is a douche bag. For now. He gets more loveable, like Draco did. =)And yes, I was too lazy to write a sorting hat song. Sue me.