The air was cool and crisp as the mist rolled over platform 9¾. It was only September 1st but the cold hand of autumn had already grazed Kings Cross Station in London. Albus Severus Potter stood, his knees shaking as his nerves overwhelmed him. His first day at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was nigh and his only form of comfort was running late. "Where are they?" He badgered his mother and father hoping for insight.
His father answered first, his emerald green eyes, framed by his unruly, dark brown hair and round speckles, staring down at Al, "They'll be here soon, don't worry." As if on cue through the rolling mist Al eyed a young girl his same age; she was fair skinned with cinnamon colored hair that rolled down her back in whimsical curls. She had already adorned herself with her brand new Hogwarts robes, and the smile on her face showed her excitement well overpowered her anxiety. At the sight of her Al let out an exhalation of relief. He knew as long as he was with her, his cousin Rose Weasley, he would be okay.
It wasn't long before they were aboard the Hogwarts express with their bodies being jostled about as they perused the cabins for an empty place to sit. The aisles were packed with students moving back and forth still wearing their everyday livery save the too eager (or in Rose's case the too Rose) to resist. They found compartment after compartment with little to no room to spare and many with bodies cascading from doorways.
They found a compartment to themselves near the caboose where Al was finally able to escape the hectic world within the passageways. He sat down and peered out the window; the open world left his mind racing. Hogwarts was his dream; Al had lived his entire life enclosed within the bubble created by his mother and father. His friends consisted of his family, which wasn't a bad thing; he loved his family a great deal, but he knew there was more out there, and he couldn't wait to discover exactly what it was.
He fiddled with the wand nestled within his pocket, 12 inches, unyielding, made of ebony and imbued with the feather of a griffin. He couldn't help but think about what that wand meant. It was his gateway to everything he had been waiting for since he was young. His wand gave him access to all of the magic that he had been enraptured long before his mind could recall. The entirety of the world that he had only witnessed until now would soon lie out before him. It would come slow of course, as any new venture would, but in time he would be able to defend himself, perhaps be a master dueler, or mix potions that could bend luck or postpone death. The thing he was most excited about was Transfiguration, the ability to change one thing into another.
"Al! Al!" He had embellished in his fantasies long enough that he had neglected his cousin and her endless ramblings. Nestled in her lap was a copy of Hogwarts: A History cracked open near the middle. "Did you hear me? It says that it is impossible to apparate or dissaparate anywhere on Hogwarts ground." Al already knew that, he had read the book as many times if not more than she and she had even told him a number of times before, but he didn't want to ruin all of her fun. He knew the same excitement that was filling him was bubbling out of his cousin. "Oh, I just can't wait any longer Al!" Time lagged on after that as the scenery zipping past his window all seemed the same and his anticipation cast its own spell to slow time itself.
"Anything off the trolley?" The question resonated from the voice of a young, dusty blonde haired woman pushing the candy cart up and down the aisle. He purchased a chocolate frog and simply ignored the card. He already possessed every witch or wizard that adorned the inside face of the box, most of which ended up being his father or another one of his relatives anyways, so he tended to avoid the container. He opened the box and caught the frog by the leg as it attempted to jump away. He swallowed it down quickly, still squirming a tad and made a move to throw the box away in the still near candy trolley, but before it fell in the waste basket someone managed to catch it.
"I hope you don't mind if I take that." The hand that grabbed the container was attached to young girl. She was slightly shorter than Al and her hair flowed down in dirty blonde waves just a bit past her shoulders. "Sorry, I have just been trying really hard to finish my collection." She looked down at the card and eyed the face upon it.
"Who'd you get?" Al asked with a curiosity that had long died out within his own collection.
"Harry Potter. I have almost 10 of him already so I am a little disappointed. Did you know you actually look a bit like him? I guess I am just imagining things. Sorry, my name is Hermia Zabat, but you can call me Mia." She held out her hand to shake with him and looked eager for a response.
"Albus... but you can call me Al, and this is Rose" He said it with a smile on his face and as congenial as he could manage while still hiding his last name. Whether she didn't realize his intentional lack of reciprocation or just chose to ignore it she seemed as if she didn't care. They talked and joked around for a bit in the aisle before Al invited her in to their cabin. Mia was a first year too. Her parents were a simple wizarding family, they weren't rich but they weren't poor either. Her father worked in the Ministry of Magic in the department of Magical Law Enforcement but she didn't exactly know what he did. It took a few minutes for Al to pry his cousin away from her book but once he did Mia and she managed to hit it off quite spectacularly. Mia wasn't quite as book smart as his cousin but she was fascinated by everything that Rose felt the need to ramble on about and the added company made time speed up once again.
To Al it was as if the rest of the ride dissolved into laughter and delightful tales of dramatic expectations. In the blink of an eye he had donned his school robes, and the Hogwarts express was making its way into the Hogsmeade Station. He found throughout the ride that Rose and he thoroughly enjoyed Mia's company and by the end he was hoping that all three of them would be sorted into the same House. And of course he hoped that House would be Gryffindor. The rush to get off of the train was nothing short of a student stampede. As soon as Al stepped outside his cabin he was nearly swept away by the onslaught of students. He was ushered out of the train car onto the station platform with Rose and Mia in tow.
Immediately Al heard a deep bellowing voice. "Firs' years over here! Firs' years over here!" Al turned his head back and gave Rose a knowing smile. To the two of them that voice was recognizable anywhere. Al began chasing after the voice, the two girls close behind him. He pushed his way through the crowd following the call. They came abruptly to a halt in front of a man nearly twice the size of a normal man. He had long scraggly hair, as black as coal, and a matching beard that hid most of his face. Automatically a look of glee crossed Rose and Al's faces while at the same time one of awe floated onto Mia's. Apparently she had never seen a giant before or in this case a half giant.
"Hagrid!" The cousins let out their cry simultaneously drawing the oaf's attention.
"There yeh two are! I can't believe the two o' yeh finally be here." Hagrid let out a bubbly laugh. "Was only yesterday that I was seein' yer parents standin' in that same spot." Hagrid briefly interrupted the small reunion to give off a final yell to all first years. "Who's this yeh got with yeh Al?"
"This is Hermia, Hagrid." Upon hearing her name Mia snapped out of the daze she had been in.
"Hermia Zabat. But you can call me Mia." She said as she regained her composure. "Nice to meet you."
"Hermia… I'll remember that, I will. Well the 3 o' yeh better run and join the others." The three students shifted quickly towards the crowd of other first years.
"Listen up firs' years! The name's Hagrid, I'm the Care of Magical Creatures teacher an' Games keeper here at Hogwarts." Soft murmurs of teacher came from some of the trembling first years that Hagrid towered over. "Follow me! Follow me!" Hagrid lead the students down a slick and narrow path. "Any secon' now an' yeh'll get yer firs' glimpse o' Hogwarts." As the children began to round a slight bend, a collective "oooh" echoed in the night. There Hogwarts stood across the vast blackness of a lake and perched atop a high mountain. Its windows glowed far brighter than any of the stars in the night and its tall towers pierced the sky.
"No more'n four ter a boat, try not ter tip." Hagrid called as he pointed to a set of boats nestled up against the shore.
The orders started up a mini storm of their own. Instantly kids were trying to sit with their friends, bickering over who would get to sit next to whom. By the end of it Al, Rose and Mia were the only three left without a boat and there was only one boat left with room enough for them. Inside that one boat was a young boy with platinum blonde hair and a pointed chin. His face declared his sadness; it was like he was the last one picked for the Quidditch team. His face seemed so familiar but Al couldn't figure out why. As soon as he set foot in the boat the name came suddenly rushing back to him. The swift remembrance caused him severe distraction and he nearly lost his balance and fell him. But he was saved. The boy, Scorpius, shot up, maintained his balance and steadied Al in a single swift motion.
"Thanks!" Al said, taken aback by the sudden turn of events. "You're Scorpius right?" As soon as he said it the look of melancholy on Scorpius's face sank deeper. It was like Al's recognition of his name signified his loneliness, that because Al knew who he was something mean or hurtful was on the nigh, but it never came. Instead Al just stared blankly at Scorpius and hoped he was right.
"Yeah..." The voice came out in a combination of a whisper and a squeak.
"I'm Albus, or Al for short." Scorpius's lips were quivering and the words he tried to vocalize came out in a soft mumble that only vaguely sounded like I know.
"Yeah, Al the stumbling bloke that won't get out of the way so the two of us can get in!" The voice of Rose shot out from behind Al's back.
"That thing is Rose," Al stated as he finally took a seat and Rose was stepping in, "and that's Mia."
As soon as she took a seat Rose leaned in close to Al. "Hey, isn't that the kid that my dad sa-" Al elbowed her in the side slightly to get her to stop talking and shushed her.
Really Rose was quite brilliant, but for all of her mother's brains that she had obtained she received an equal part of her father's lack of any common sense. You see the very thing that Rose was about to mention was the very thing that had caused Albus to know Scorpius's name. Earlier that day, Rose's father had pointed Scorpius out, telling his daughter that she had to beat Scorpius at every test, whilom indicating some not so long forgotten grudge between Al's Uncle Ron and Scorpius's father.
"Everyone in?" The half-giant yelled. He was so large that he occupied a boat all to himself. "Right then... FORWARD!" Suddenly the boats began to move on their own towards the high cliff. While most of the students were enraptured by the sight of the beautiful castle, Scorpius was staring at the surface of the lake trying to see a faint, distorted reflection of him. Al couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Scorpius. He was about to say something but Mia spoke first.
"So... How exactly do you two know Hagrid?" She spoke softly as if she was slightly afraid of the large man.
"He's an old friend of our parents!" Rose nearly shouted it, completely oblivious of her friend's trembling tone.
"They met when our parents went to school here. They've been really good friends ever since so we grew up around him. He's kinda like just another uncle." Albus said it reassuringly.
Just as Mia was about to ask another question, likely pertaining to the cousin's parents the boats began to slow and Hagrid started to speak. "Heads down everyone! Don't want yeh hittin' them on nothin'!" The boats pulled up close to a vine covered area upon the mountain side and pulled on through. The vines hid a small, hollowed out passage beneath the castle. The cave-like structure was dimly lit and leads up to a small dock and hulking door. The boats pulled up to the docks and Hagrid yelled, "Everybody out! It best be time we be gettin' yeh inside." As the students clambered out of their boats he made one final sweep to make sure nothing (or no one) was left behind and then pounded on the door with a firmly closed fist.
The door opened swiftly and showed a wiry looking man in dark maroon robes and a matching pointed hat. He had salt and pepper hair that shot out from the side of his head and steel gray eyes. His face had been weathered by time, but he wore a soft, gentle smile.
"I got the firs' years for yeh Professor Azarola."
"Yes, thank you very much Hagrid. I'll take them from here." Professor Azarola pulled the doors open wide allowing the students the full view of the expansive entrance hall. Hagrid made his way around the students and the other teacher through another set of doors. Meanwhile, Azarola directed his students inward so that they could listen to what he had to say.
"Hello, first year students, please let me to formally welcome all of you to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am Professor Azarola; I am the Deputy Headmaster here at the school as well as your charms teacher and head of Ravenclaw House. In a matter of moments you will be following me into the Great Hall where you will be sorted into one of the four Hogwarts Houses. Those Houses are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. During your stay here at school your House will be like your family, you will sleep in your House dormitories, eat at your House table, and attend classes with the other members of your House. Your triumphs here will garner you House points whilst any rule breaking will result in points being taken away. At the end of the year all House points will be tallied and the House with the largest number of points will win the House Cup. Now wait here and I will be back as soon as we are ready for you."
As soon as the door was shut behind the teacher Rose began to burst. "I can't wait any longer! Just a few seconds and we're all going to be in Gryffindor; I just know it!" A smile of hope crossed Scorpius's face. "The three of us are going to be the new Golden Trio!" Instantly the smile was swept away and Scorpius's melancholy expression returned. Al was about to offer him some comfort but before he could they were interrupted by a loud and obnoxious voice.
"Gryffindor! How ridiculous! Gryffindor is for nothing but the pretentious arrogance of the children of fame. It hasn't got a thing to do with courage these days." The boy had a large frame for a child their age. He was bulky but not husky with pitch black hair and crystal blue eyes. His jaw was square, his chin sharp, and he carried himself with a great deal of confidence. Standing behind him was an almost dainty boy with frazzled blonde hair and green eyes. He was nearly invisible, hidden in the shadow of the first boy.
Rose's hand made a fist and her teeth clenched before she let out a loud scream. "How dare you! You… you bloody prat! Who are you to say that?" She took a deep breath in between her yelling and just before she was about to speak the black-haired boy let off a laugh. "You think this is funny?"
"Of course it is funny. I know who you are. Almost everyone here does. You stand there in your pristine robes trying to say I am wrong when you are everything I said Gryffindor is. I can't help but laugh." Rose's face turned red with embarrassment. She didn't have anything to say. Mia did. The phrase what does he mean "who you are?" was running through Mia's head, but she didn't get a chance to speak because Professor Azarola burst through the large doors.
"Alright first years, line up now and follow me." The first years did as instructed, albeit with a little pushing and shoving. "When we get into the great hall you will be called up by last name. You will approach the stool, take a seat, and I will place the sorting hat on your head. Following your sorting you will all take a seat at your designated House table and then the start of term feast will begin. Now, let's go; I hear the song is to be quite fun this year."