Scorpius Malfoy had been told many times in his life that he was too timid. Whether it be from his mother, usually when he hid behind her when his cousins came over, his father, who always seemed okay with it as if it were just a fact rather than a problem, or any other relative. However, he never recognized this or found this a problem until he stood before the Hogwarts Express for the first time.

Having heard stories from his family about Hogwarts, Scorpius thought he would be well prepared for the excursion. He packed all his favorite books, his broomstick (even though he knew he couldn't play Quidditch First Year), and all the required supplies, not to mention Orion, his cat, was accompanying him. He planned to get on the train fairly quickly as to not have to worry about who he was sharing a carriage with, but of course his family had planned against him.

His mother wouldn't stop crying, as she couldn't bear the thought of her eldest son going to Hogwarts already (Scorpius's little brother Perseus had another 3 years to wait until he was to go), and his father was once again telling him not to worry about what house he was to be sorted into, even if it turned out to be one Scorpius didn't like at first. All Scorpius could think about was the groups of students flooding the train already, and how he wasn't one of them. By the time his mom had decided to leave and wait outside the platform as to not embarrass her son, Draco had taken into giving a speech.

"You know we don't care where you end up in Hogwarts right?" Scorpius's dad asked, looking about as worried as people claimed Scorpius was.

"Of course."

"And don't feel pressured to pick any house because you think it would make some of your relatives happy." Of course, Scorpius had known this was what the conversation was leading up to. The usual 'you don't have to be in Slytherin' discussion he had, ever since he had gotten the letter of his acceptance to Hogwarts in the mail.

"Of course. I need to get going Dad."

"Oh sorry, I didn't realize. See you during the holidays?" The younger Malfoy nodded before giving a quick hug and then escaping into the crowds.

Now Scorpius Malfoy felt timid.

Surrounded by kids towering over him, including girls wearing too much make up and boys flicking their wands to show random spells, he felt incredibly small. How the heck am I going to find an empty seat in this hoard? Glancing around, and strolling all around the train, he finally found an unoccupied carriage. Scorpius sat down and let out a breath of relief, finally he was alone. He didn't have to worry about being squished, or being trapped in an awkward conversation, or worse: someone asking him about his family.

Whenever Scorpius was asked about his family from nonrelatives, as soon as he claimed he was a Malfoy he was isolated from a group. He didn't believe they did this intentionally, as his father actually worked in the Ministry and had proven that he was a good person who had been put in a bad situation. But the name still carried a lot of meaning, whether or not it had anything to do with the War. The Malfoy lineage was one of the few pureblood lines left, and they were wealthier than most others, not to mention the power people perceived them to have. No one pictured his mother and father dancing around the living room to some obscure band that Scorpius never heard of whenever they felt like it, nor did they think of his brother's obsession with Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes (to be fair, that still shocked many members of his family). The title came with an unspoken standard to uphold, even people didn't realize they were even expecting anything.

It was a good 20 minutes before Scorpius's privacy had been breached. He was in the middle of a book of required reading, glasses resting atop his head so he could bring the book a comfortable distance from his face, when the two members of the Weasley-Potter clan entered. Having seen them quite a few times in the Daily Prophet, he recognized them as Rose Weasley and Albus Potter, but they looked somewhat different up close than they did in the papers.

Albus had sported the 'just gotten out of bed' hair that seemed genetic for the Potter boys (an assumption Scorpius made upon seeing Mr. Potter and James Potter at the train station for a second), but also sported a splash of freckles across his face. Unlike his brother James, the middle Potter had caramel brown eyes, and crooked front teeth. Rose Weasley had the curly ginger hair usually associated with the Weasleys, however pulled it back into a ponytail to reveal a light scar on her jaw. And her lips were moving which meant-

"Sorry, I was lost in thought. What were you saying?" Scorpius asked hurriedly, blushing slightly. Of course he had screwed up his first impression. He tended to do so, but had not expected to butcher his first conversation with the first kids he met at Hogwarts.

Albus Potter stepped forward, somewhat gangly as he moved, "We wanted to know if we could share the carriage? All the others are filled." The blonde nodded, and returned to his book.

"I can't believe James and Fred wouldn't let us sit with them!"

"Calm down Al."

"But Rose, just because they are older than us doesn't mean they can ignore us!"

"They have their own friends Al. Besides we'll get back at them."

"You brought them?" Out of the corner of his eye, Scorpius noticed the female Weasley smirk, and pulled out a box of firecrackers. Those wouldn't be-

"Are those the newest Weasley's Wizarding time activated firecrackers?' The shy boy questioned, before internally reprimanding himself. Of course they had them, they were related to George Weasley himself. God, what Scorpius wouldn't give to get a box and send it back to Perseus. The two turned to him, surprised that he had interrupted their conversation no doubt.

Rose smiled so large it had to hurt her face. "You follow Uncle George's merchandise?" Curling up so he felt smaller, he nodded, adding afterwards his brother was a huge fan of their products.

"What was your name again?" Albus asked, cocking his head slightly. You didn't ask in the first place, there's no again in that… Scorpius thought.

"Scorpius M-Malfoy." Damn his stutter. He shut his eyes subconsciously, waiting for the snarky remarks usually directed at him after admitting his family. It wasn't that he didn't love them dearly, it was just harder for him than it would be for the Longbottoms per se.

"Cool, hey Scorp what did you think of…" Albus started, and the three of them quickly slipped into conversation on different products he had bought, then about Quidditch (Scorpius was a large Chudley Cannons fan, as was Rose, but Albus disagreed), and finally about Hogwarts itself.

"Dad told me that the Sorting hat gave a choice and took your opinion into account. Did you know that Rose?" Albus grinned, as if this were a pressing concern. Scorpius hadn't known that, all he could think about was his father's words. They almost sounded like a plea not to go into Slytherin. But if Scorpius was offered the choice, which house would he pick? Sure he was loyal to his family, but he also loved to read, and he was fairly cunning. He already knew Gryffindor was out of the question, as he was scared of his own shadow and never showed an ounce of spine before. So then, what would he pick?

"Uncle Harry said that? What else did he say?" Rose leaned in, as if was news to her. Maybe it was. Maybe Albus had just found out about the ability to choose his house recently.

"He said that he was almost sorted into Slytherin!" The quietest of the three nearly choked on his pumpkin juice. The famous Harry Potter was almost a Slytherin? How was that possible? Sure, he was ambitious, but his acts of bravery were known worldwide. How could he have been anything but Gryffindor?

Just then, a prefect walked into the carriage saying they'd be arriving soon and that they should change into their school robes. Excusing himself, Scorpius went to change and hopefully clear his mind.