Disclaimer: We… don't… own… Harry Potter…

But now the doors were slamming all along the scarlet train, and the blurred outlines of parents were swarming forward for final kisses, last-minute reminders. Albus jumped into the carriage and Ginny closed the door behind him. Students were hanging from the windows nearest them.

The train began to move, and Harry walked alongside it, watching his son's thin face, already ablaze with excitement. Harry kept smiling and waving, even though it was like a little bereavement, watching his son glide away from him...

The last trace of steam evaporated in the autumn air. The train rounded a corner. Harry's hand was still raised in farewell

"He'll be all right," muttered Ginny.

"I know he will…"

Perhaps if Albus hadn't been waving out the window at the dwindling figure of his father he would have noticed the two red-haired people enter the compartment. However, he did not, and nearly jumped out the window itself when he heard a sly voice remark, "Why, if it isn't James. James Potter, my old nemesis." After a moment he realized who had spoken, and he was no longer worried.

Sure enough, just as he turned his head, he saw his brother spring from the seat and bellow, "FREDRICK WEASLEY! We meet again! Has it been not… four days?!" They both drew their wands and put their faces so close together that their noses were nearly touching. "Come," they both shouted, "let us have a duel of epic proportions!" With that, the two friends stalked into the hall, their leaving Albus alone with his cousin Tori.

Having the feeling he would not be welcome when a large parade of James' friends came barging through him, Albus decided it would be wise to find a new compartment, and his cousin, Rose. He also had the feeling it would be rude not to invite Tori, so he turned to the stocky female, and asked her, rather awkwardly, "Um… I'm going to go find Rose, so if you want to come, well… You can." She shook her head vigorously, and with a sigh of relief, he slipped the door open, and started down the hall, completely ignoring the 'friendly' duel his relatives were partaking in.

Looking for Rose did not prove difficult, for within a moment of searching, there was an excited shriek behind him, and she bounded up, jumping the last few feet toward him. She had an immense smile planted on her face, her two front teeth just as large as her mother's had been at that age. "Finally!" she half giggled half screeched, "It's taken me forever to find you. Let's go get a compartment, before they're all full."

Unfortunately for them, they were all full. Or nearly so. After looking frantically through frosted glass for a compartment, they finally found one with their two only requirements. Two empty seats (this one happened to have three) and only first years as occupants. Albus gingerly stuck his head in the door, and asked feebly, "Um… can me and my cousin sit here?" He looked through the cast inside the area, and regretted what he had said almost instantly.

There were two boys and a girl. The girl, everyone knew as the daughter of the infamous Gregory Goyle, Veronica. She had jet black hair and grey eyes, and appeared to already be wearing her uniform, but when one gave a closer look, you would realize she was, in fact, sporting a wizarding robe, but not the standard black of Hogwarts. Rather, this one was a green so dark it gave the illusion of being black. She seemed peeved, a sign that she'd been interrupted during mindless chattering. The other, Albus did not recognize, but judging by his dark complexion and Rose's intake of breath when her eyes trailed over him, it was safe to say he was, as James would say, a 'Pretty-Boy Zabini.' He boasted short black hair and skin that seemed a mixture between African and Middle Eastern. In his lap rested a book, the title remaining unseen. The final occupant Albus would not recognize had Uncle Ron not specifically said his name: the blond staring out the window was Scorpius Malfoy.

Albus asked his question again, as he cautiously took a seat across from him, Rose across from the Zabini. He was met with the response, "I can't very well stop you now, can I?"

The black-haired boy gave his peer a grin, "I guess you can't."

Scorpius almost seemed to smirk at that. Even so, an air of awkward silence weighed down on the compartment. Albus, having grown up with the closest thing to quiet being the muggle traffic outside Grimmauld Place, felt uneasy with only the sounds of the train rumbling on. As such, he asked the most predominant question for first years, "So, what house do you think you'll be in?"

Veronica sneered vehemently, "Slytherin, right guys?"

She was met with a vigorous nod from the Zabini, who may not have heard the question, being so absorbed in his book. Likewise, Scorpius responded, "Yeah…" He seemed more interested in the clouds than the question at hand.

Albus was not put off, "So, why?"

Veronica cackled, sounding oddly similar to a crow, "What other house is there?"

"Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, and Ravenclaw."

"I meant what house is there worth being in." Albus answered her with his previous response, coming off slightly irritated this time. Sensing his annoyance, Veronica pressed on, eager to force these intruders out of her territory. "My father says that Gryffindor hasn't turned out any truly powerful wizards. After all, what's the point of knowing something if you don't use it? Personally, I think it shows weakness."

This time it was Rose's turn to speak up against this Veronica, "Maybe being able to control yourself shows more strength. Y'know?" For this she received a dreadful glare from the other female, but not a witty response. On the contrary, her companion's (the one with the book) face was an odd twist between disappointment at her failure to tell off someone with less blood purity than her, but was almost smirking. Scorpius was staring at the clouds, which were about to let way and drench the surrounding fields, his face passive.

"You- you don't want to be in Gryffindor, do you? Then again, knowing your family's history, I shouldn't be surprised." Again, it was the Goyle who spoke, the others being too immersed in their activities. The glare she received from the cousins across the seat was far worse than the one she had given.

"Yes, we do." Although Albus did not exactly agree with Rose, he did not contradict her, figuring he wanted to be in Gryffindor, but would be perfectly fine otherwise because of his father's words. "And what were you saying about our family?"

Once again, the vicious female picked further into the making of a fight, "Oh, just that it's full of blood traitors and halfbloods? I suppose you have muggleborns thrown in there too?" To her, this was the ultimate insult. To them, however it was rather funny, and they couldn't stop themselves from smiling.

Scorpius joined the conversation, though he did not pry his eyes from the window, "That's Granger's kid."

Veronica was baffled, "Granger?"

"You know nothing about the second time Voldemort came to power, do you?"

She shrugged, "Well, it wasn't a Death Eater, right?"

Scorpius couldn't help but let out a laugh, which to Albus, sounded surprisingly friendly, "Hermione Granger was the only full time companion of the famous Harry Potter." Upon a dirty look from Albus, Scorpius added, "Well, your dad's famous, what do you expect me to say?"

Veronica asked, "How do you know who everyone's parents are?"

"I paid attention to who people were with at the train station… what were you doing?"

"Me and Cyrus were looking for you everywhere!!!"

The boy with Middle Eastern features, apparently Cyrus, spoke, "Not true. She looked for you. I followed."

Everyone in the compartment was slightly taken aback, for this was a rare occasion; Cyrus was talking, and had yet to put his nose back into his book, which was spread open on his lap, face up. "Oh!" exclaimed Rose, noticing the title, "I love that story. Have you read it before?" The Zabini looked at her cautiously, and down to his copy of the play 'Hamlet,' seeming to contemplate what was a proper response.

"My seventh time. You have to give it to muggles, their literature is exceptional." Without another word, he picked up the play and resumed reading the age-old tale. Veronica, however, had more ideas about just what made a book great.

Looking at Cyrus, she said sweetly, (although after meeting her, it was hard to actually think of it as sweet) "Cyrus! You must like some wizarding books too."

To which he responded, "The best piece of wizard fiction is 'Magical Me.'"

It was met with laughter from Rose, until Cyrus added, "That wasn't a joke."

The silence that followed was as hard on Albus as the previous one. In another attempt to dissipate it, he asked Scorpius, "You never answered my question, why do you want to be in Slytherin?"

Still not dragging his eyes from the window, Scorpius replied, "Well… I want to follow in the footsteps of my ancestors."

"That's a lame excuse."

"Do I need an excuse to be in Slytherin?"

Albus could see his point. He didn't need an excuse, but this was a brilliant way to form a plan "Well, I'm not going to stop bothering you until you give one, am I?"

"Can't we talk about something else!?"

Beaming triumphantly, Albus let out a gleeful cheer of, "AHA! I've got you, I'll talk about anything. You can pick."

Of course, all good things come to an end, and the friendly talk was interrupted by the already detested Veronica Goyle. "Since you offered, I think we should all talk about whether mudbloods should even be let in." She found herself the object that seemed to be attracting three dirty looks; Cyrus was reading. Even Scorpius was appalled. "How can we trust them? I mean, sure, there have been some decent ones, but magic just doesn't appear in genes out of nowhere."

Scorpius actually let out his friendly laugh, but it was tainted with a unique distaste. "Veronica, I believe you just directly quoted your father. Do you get all your opinions from him, or are you capable of thought?"

Enraged that her childhood friend would embarrass her in such a way, Veronica nearly shouted. "Well maybe I only quoted him because he's right! Am I not allowed to agree with him? Besides, you don't contradict your father when he goes on about mudbloods." It was Scorpius's turn to be enraged.

"MY father hasn't used that word since his seventh Hogwarts year, and he doesn't have a word to say against them. In fact, all he's ever said is that he's angry that 'that muggleborn tart Hermione outdid every Slytherin' that's a compliment." He quickly addressed Rose. "I think my dad would kill me if your mum ever got wind of that." Rose laughed, but nodded.

After a few moments of angry glaring in every direction, Albus broke a smile. "Y'know, Scorpius, you're on our side figuratively, come sit on it literally."

Scorpius sighed, seeming to want to go on their side, but looking obliged to stay for some reason. "No, I'm good." He peered out the window, apparently thinking hard. Albus asked him why, and the response was rather foolish, so that even as the blonde boy said it he gave a nervous laugh. "Well, I ah- I want to sit on the window seat. I- get a little claustrophobic."

Laughing, Albus and Rose each scooted over a seat towards the door, giving him a knowing smile. Without a second thought, Scorpius moved across one seat, which although it was a short distance, to everyone in the carriage, it felt like he was jumping universes. However, when he glanced up, Cyrus seemed to care very little for the new seating arrangement. On the other hand, Veronica's seemed determined to bring Scorpius back to the universe he had just stepped out of. "Scorpius! You'll let yourself get infected by, by those blood traitors!"

Scorpius seemed to be full witty remarks, giving Albus the feeling he knew Veronica all too well. "Don't worry; I'm not planning to cut them." He put on a joking scowl, looking at Rose. "Yet." Everyone, even Cyrus, laughed. Veronica looked like she wanted to, but refused on principle. Something about the previous comment made her look murderous soon after.

"FINE!" she shrieked, "We don't need you, as you'd obviously abandon friends you've had since you were a baby!" At this, Scorpius looked guilty, but quickly shook it off. "Cyrus and I are going to find somewhere else to sit!" As she walked out the door, she realized she was not being followed. "Cyrus!" Begrudgingly closing Hamlet, the object of her shouting joined her, murmuring something about seeing Scorpius later. He'd clearly not been paying attention to the previous events.

Albus looked apologetically at Scorpius, whose emotions seemed to be mixed. "I'm sorry I split you up with your friends and all. But that Veronica-"

"Yeah, she's an ass," even as he said it, there seemed to be a bit of almost brotherly compassion in his voice. Perhaps part of the reason he liked her was because she was like a sibling. Then again, maybe it was because they apparently had known each other forever. Again eager to change the subject, he decided to talk of a relatively safe topic, "Now, for something far more important than what we've been saying. What's your Quidditch team?"

Instantly Rose's response was heard, "The Cannons." This, much to her surprise, was met by laughter. Albus's face was pale, and Rose's eyes had narrowed to nearly slits in her face. "We shall conquer!" At this, Scorpius stopped laughing. He had not considered the possibility that the Chudley Cannons had any fans let alone that one may be on the train. Maybe the topic was not as safe as Scorpius has thought; though Albus made a comment that made him chuckle heartily.

"Conquer, eh? Like you did last year, I suppose." Rose hit him in the back of the head, a blow which was not extremely painful, but far from playful.

Scorpius decided (foolishly) it was safe to poke fun at her team as well. "Let's all just keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best!" He received a similar punishment, but it was well earned for the approving glance given to him by Albus.

"Anyway Scorp," he stopped after the nickname, but received no objections, so he moved on, "since you appear to like teams that are not complete rubbish, who's yours?"

"The Wimbourne Wasps." He was glad that this was met with a very approving glance, and a slap on the back.

"Ah! Good to meet a fellow Stinger! Didn't do so bad this year did we?" Scorpius caught on quickly. The truth was, they done rather badly this year, finishing only a few places above the Cannons. However, there were a few great games, and one of them was very important to fans.

"Well, we did beat Appleby; I suppose that's all that really matters, isn't it?" Albus went on to say how he was selling their dear team short, they had, after all, demolished the Cannons. This earned him another achy spot on the back of his head from his cousin, and an approving look from the Malfoy.

Over the next few hours, they discussed everything eleven year olds about to enter Hogwarts discuss, and they did so over Chocolate frogs and pumpkin juice. (Albus got Severus Snape and Albus Dumbledore as two of his chocolate frog cards, causing everyone to laugh at the eeriness.) Their only interruptions were when Scorpius' face turned white, and he'd open the window, staring at the forests and towns and mountains around them. Soon, they noticed how dark it was outside, and the bottoms of their stomachs dropped out. They'd be arriving soon, then sorted, and were positive their short friendship would end, or at least not increase to any level of closeness because being Weasleys and Potters, they were sure to be in Gryffindor. Scorpius, of course, was due to be in Slytherin.

Suddenly there was a crash outside, with cheers, and laughter from a large group of people. "WAIT!" yelled an unfortunately familiar voice. "I must go check on my teensy Al, for my mother would send me howler if he were to 'accidentally' miss the first year boats! So, mortal enemy, for now lets make peace." Like a tornado, in flew two cousins who were the best of friends.

"Hello again, dearest sister- Oh I'm sorry- brother." Albus looked at Fred Weasley, the spitting image of his namesake, like he was insane. "Well- you're like a sister to me, coz. The sister I never had. Just kidding, Tori's a doll. Too much of a penchant for the rules, I swear it's gonna get her into trouble someday." Their throng of friends all laughed on cue, but stopped when the jokers did. They were all looking at a rather uncomfortable Scorpius.

Despite this, he smiled up at them in a show of minor bravery, "Hey, there. I know I'm handsome, but could you stop ogling?" They suddenly viewed him with a sort of wary acceptance, grabbing his hand and shaking it vigorously nonetheless.

"Excellent sir, grand to meet you, I've never seen a more handsome dungbomb in the world!" announced James. They seemed to be slightly less wary as they saw him laugh heartily at himself, but Albus had the feeling it would be a long time before they completely accepted his new friend. Not that they're going to have to, after all, he's headed straight to the Slytherin common room.

"Alison, dear," this time it was James' turn to insult his brother, "our darling mother wanted me to remind you to change, and now seems like the perfect opportunity to do so, as we were strolling by." With that, his brother and company all walked out of their part of the train, going back to enjoy every flavor beans in their compartment.

"Sorry about them," laughed Albus, "they haven't had a chance to torment anyone together in a few days. But we do need to put our uniforms on." In turn, they'd change, with the other two standing guard in front of the glass in the doorway, so no one could see into the compartment. Just as Rose, the final to put her robes on, came out adjusting her new witches hat, and everyone left the train, forming a confused mob. Over the crowd's roar there could be heard a loud and booming voice, which first years had answered to for decades now. "Firs' years! Come this way, t' th' boats, four 'n a boat when we get there!"

Hagrid hadn't changed much since Albus' father had come to Hogwarts, (granted Albus had no way of knowing this), the only difference being the gray that was beginning to show in his beard, but it was still mostly black. Just like his father, he received a wave from the man, who he was not at all taken aback by, for though he had met the half-giant on few occasions, it was still adequate for Albus to know him well enough. "See you on Friday!" Albus called through the crowd, to a beaming Hagrid.

"See yeh then!" Moving with the other first years, the three friends went together through a small patch of woods, where they ran into Tori, who walked with them, and boarded their boat. As soon as they were no longer in open air, seeing him with only the dim light of the lanterns, Albus noticed Scorpius's eyes were glazed in fear, and his fists were clenched so much his knuckles were white. The Malfoy was the first to get out of the boat in the underground harbor, scrambling frantically over the rocks, and dashing in front of Hagrid to get through the tunnel. He heaved a huge sigh of relief, and went through the crowd to find Albus.

As Hagrid walked through the doors to the Great Hall, he whispered, kneeling down rather far, to a short wizard with the whitest hair any of the first years had ever seen, "This years Malfoy is a 'lil skittish, I think." The short wizard nodded, and walked to the front of the mulling crowd, where his squeaky and welcoming voice was heard.

Smiling, he began as so; "Hello, dear first years, I welcome you to Hogwarts! I am Professor Flitwick, and I have taught charms here for many, many years. Now, right when we go through those doors, you'll be sorted, which is very important. You'll spend most of your free time in your common room, and have classes with your house. Now, what am I missing? Oh! Points can be gained for your house for exceptional triumphs, and will be taken if you misbehave. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will win the house cup, an honor if you will. Naturally, you'll sleep with your fellow housemates." After informing them he'd be back in a few minutes, he left, mentioning he'd hope to see their smiling faces in Ravenclaw, his own house.

Nervous, and willing themselves to forget, Scorpius, Albus, and Rose turned to a rather short boy, with black hair. "So, do any of you know what we have to do to be sorted?"

Scorpius glanced at him, "You have to fight a dragon. I've been practicing all –oof."

Rose withdrew her elbow from the blond, "Don't worry, you just put on the sorting hat."

"The… sorting hat?"

Veronica, who'd been listening in from behind them, huffed, "Talking to muggleborns now, Scorp?"

He smirked at her, "Why, it appears I am. So, kid, you're a bit short, your birthday's in August, right?"

The boy glared at him, "I turn twelve in four days…"

Scorpius was taken aback, Albus snickered a bit at him, "Sorry… so... what's your name again?"

Before the boy could answer, the apparent Professor Flitwick returned, saying gleefully, "Time to sort you children!" All too nervous to correct him, they followed him into the Great Hall. Looking up at the ceiling reflecting the night sky, Scorpius let out a sigh of relief. Albus was wondering just how bizarre it must look, to have a teacher that was shorter than all the first years leading them in. Well, there was one first year that might have been a little shorter, but not by much.

As Flitwick placed the four legged stool in front of the single file line of first years, there was nervous rustling of god knows what, but they seemed to have found things to rustle; probably their robes. When the hat was placed, even this was silenced, and with his usual twitch, it came to life, the rip of the mouth singing to all of Hogwarts.

I am the hat upon the head

And sadly I must sing

A warning brought back from the dead

A caution I must bring

So long ago, my cunning friends

Did Salazar take oath

That Slytherins would be

Of him and Hogwarts both

Rowena, she could also see

Though hers were garbed in blue

Ravenclaws with minds their key

Should be of Hogwarts too

The kindly woman Hufflepuff

Had once announced with glee

"Mine," she had said beaming

"Of Hogwarts too shall be"

So last to join was Godric

And his brave Gryffindors

With his words performed the trick

And now we have one core

My darling those of Hogwarts

I hope now you understand

Your unity's in danger

Broken will be the band

I've told you of the tether

All those who're here are kin,

Remember, stay together

Let the Sorting now begin.

Somber applause met this final statement, and those about to be sorted were more nervous than they had been before. In his squeaky voice, the short Professor announced that when one's name was called, they should come forward and he would place the hat on their head. Pulling a large scroll from his sapphire robe pocket, he began to read of names, "Abbot, Steven!" went to the applause of the Hufflepuff table, "Bullstrode, Claudia!" was sorted into Slytherins cheers, "Curtis, Yolanda!" ran into ecstatic Ravenclaws, and Albus whispered almost silently to his cousin and friend until the G's, where Scorpius silenced him, so he could see where the Goyle's were to go.

"Goyle, Loretta!" Much to everyone's surprise, (and a cry of "Hell, no!" from her twin) she was sorted into Ravenclaw, and went, slightly red in the face, to sit next to one Yolanda.

"Goyle, Veronica!" took roughly four seconds to be sorted, where she went to Slytherin, glaring at her sister as she passed the table of Ravenclaws, angry despite her applause.

Several more students were sorted until…

"Malfoy, Scorpius!" There was a cackle of laughter from two second year Gryffindors. (A/N: This will only be done for some sorting, but we're going to switch to Scorpius' point of view, temporarily)

"Malfoy, Scorpius!" Gulping, he walked towards the hat which was placed on his head, a tiny voice that so many had heard before him spoke into his left ear.

"Why! I've never seen this before!" The hat said to him. "Never in my whole existence has there been a Malfoy I haven't put in Slytherin almost instantly. But you- you're different." Please, please sir, put me in Slytherin. "No need to call me sir, but it seems you're rather tough, I might be on your head for quite some time. Now tell me, Scorpius Malfoy, why do you want to be in Slytherin."

Who are you, Albus? "Dumbledore? Certainly not. But- why?" My family's been in Slytherin forever, I can't let them down. Even on my mother's side. "Scorpius, I don't think you understood my question." What isn't there to understand? "I asked you not where your family wished you to be; Scorpius, I asked you." Slytherin, I want Slytherin. "But you don't match it at all, you aren't all that cunning. Here, let me tell you a story, and perhaps you'll be persuaded." C'mon, the others are waiting.

Completely ignoring his response the hat went on, "Once there was a boy, not so long ago for me, but quite some time ago for you, who wished to be in Slytherin, although he held many qualities that would suit a Gryffindor and the person he cared for probably most in the world was sorted there, family prejudice made him ache for Slytherin, and no matter what I told him, he wanted to go there. Finally, unable to convince him, I put him where he wanted to go. Eventually, this was a great wizard's downfall."

Are you suggesting if you put me in Slytherin I'll die? "Well, no. I was trying to show you that you need to reach into yourself, and decide, perhaps for the first time in your life," hey! "What do you want?" I- I don't know what I want. Slytherin. I want Slytherin. "Here's something. Remember the first time you used magic? Do you remember what you did that day by the ocean?" Of course I do! But why is that relevant?

"You see, boy, Slytherins are cunning, and use that cunning to do what they want, but only if it assists themselves. A true Slytherins first show of magic would be much more conceited, much more prosperous only to him, as I recall, yours was quite the opposite." That's not the point! "Yes it is, boy! Yes it's exactly the point! Don't you see? In five minutes, just five, I will ask you again which house you want to be in. That response will land you there. Think carefully, boy- one minute. SHUT YOUR MOUTHS! I NEED TO CONCENTRATE, FOOLS! My apologies, where was I? Oh, yes. I will direct your thoughts to areas that are relevant if your mind wanders." Scorpius thought, thought hard.

"Boy, your time is up. What house do you want?" I guess I want…"

The Sorting Hat had rested upon Scorpius's head for around fifty five minutes, approaching an hour. Albus was terribly worried, and was about to yell that his new friend had been murdered by the hat. Teachers were discussing what to do if it did not let up soon, and the Hall had broken into whispers. As he was about to turn to Rose, the hat bellowed something no one was expecting. "SHUT YOUR MOUTHS! I NEED TO CONCENTRATE, FOOLS!"

Five minutes later, there was another shout, "GRYFFINDOR!" There was a shout of "HOW COULD YOU!" from the Slytherin table, then a few minutes of silence, where Scorpius was rooted to the spot in front of the stool, the hat placed gingerly behind him.

Suddenly, there was heard two rather obnoxious boys cheering wildly, standing and laughing hysterically. Just before the whole crowd broke into a standing ovation (omitting the Slytherins) James Potter and Fred Weasley screamed together, "Congratulations, old boy! You live up to the name of a true Dungbomb!" Although no one understood this, they knew it was somehow not a joke, but a serious welcome. He went to sit with the three other Gryffindors that had been sorted, including the short boy whose name they had yet to learn.

Scorpius's passing into Gryffindor had three negative affects on the Hall's first years. First off, Jeffrey Medici (also a Gryffindor) had to follow the amazing 'performance' of Scorpius Malfoy. Secondly, Scorpius had fleeting thoughts of how badly the Christmas vacation would go (his grandfather being a Slytherin fanatic and all), and how he would miss Cyrus and Veronica.

But most importantly, old fears of being put in Slytherin were renewed in Albus. Had Scorpius been placed there, he would at least have had a friend to welcome him in, now all that awaited was another 'Oh Hell no!' from Veronica.

After several more, "Patil, Tabatha!" was announced a Hufflepuff, and Flitwick called out, "Potter, Albus!"

Albus approached the hat cautiously; as if afraid it would rear up and attack. Though he traveled at a relatively steady pace, there was a cry from a certain Gryffindor second year to 'Get on with it!' This did nothing for his nerves. After what felt like hours of walking (In fact, it was about half a minute), the hat was upon Albus's head.

"Ah! Another Potter I see. Your brother doing alright in Gryffindor?" Uh… "I knew I should've put him in Slytherin, but do you lot ever listen to me?" Umm… really? "Oh no, of course not. So, where should you be…?"

Albus thought over and over again, Gryffindor. I want to be in Gryffindor. "Gryffindor? You're sure then?" Too sure. "Too sure? Very well then, you seem to be truly positive, unlike certain others. You know, this one boy tonight took nearly…" Yes, I was there. "Oh yes, you would've been, wouldn't you? Alright, enough small talk, it's been nice to talk to an agreeable person, but… GRYFFINDOR!!!"

Albus was welcomed to the Gryffindor table amidst thunderous applause. His brother received him with a shout of, "Good job, Alison!" and a slap on the back that nearly knocked the smaller boy over. He took his seat between Scorpius and the boy who lacked a name.

Once the applause died down, Scorpius smirked at Albus, "They cheered for me longer."

"That's only because they were hungry, you git," the emerald eyed boy responded.

"I think it was because I'm better looking."

"That you are, Dungbomb, that you are."

"I think I liked 'Scorp' better."

"Scorp it is then. Shut up and pay attention, they're sorting 'Scot, Mary.'"

"So they are."

She was put into Ravenclaw, who currently had more than its share. Shrugging it off, "Weasley, Rose!" was called.

"Weasley, Rose!" Now it was Rose's turn to walk towards the hat. She wasn't at all worried. Something in her told that there was nothing to worry; she was going to go to Gryffindor. It was that simple. However, the closer she got to the stool, the more worried she became, until she reached it. There she realized was not worried. She was terrified. As she sat and placed the ancient hat upon her head, she whispered, out loud, but inaudible to everyone in the Hall, "Gryffindor, sir."

"You know, these kids all call me sir now. I haven't a clue why. In any case, for once I quite agree, this was rather boring. Then again, I don't want another Malfoy for some time." Without another word, the crowd heard, "GRYFFINDOR!" as Rose sped towards the table, sitting next to Scorpius and Fred.

After Rose had been put into Gryffindor, there was only one more student that Albus was interested in. Tori was another Gryffindor, although the hat had sat on her head for a good five or so minutes. As he chatted away with Scorpius and Rose, and the boy whose name they still had not gotten, he was abruptly stopped by 'Scorp.' "I want to hear this one. Seeing only two more people in front of the crowd. "Slytherin!" was where Cyrus went, and both Albus and Rose were sure they saw disappointment flicker in Scorpius's eyes.

After Zabini came Zaire, who was also a Slytherin. Everyone was relieved, because it had been the longest sorting any of them had ever attended. Of course, this was due to a single pupil. Before food appeared on the golden platters, Professor McGonagall, the headmistress, rose. "Hello! I am pleased to announce that the term is about to begin, and no known danger awaits you this year. By no means, however, should you think the Sorting Hat's speech shouldn't be taken into account. For first years, you must know the forest on the grounds is forbidden, therefore given the name the Forbidden Forest. No magic is to be used between classes, and culprits will be punished accordingly,"

At this time she was interrupted by a yell of "Not always," from the Gryffindor table.

"Fredrick Weasley, you are to report to Filch tomorrow night for detention. In any case, Quidditch trials are to be held in the second week, contact Madame Hooch if interested. Now, without further adieu, enjoy your meals! And your new year at Hogwarts!"

The meal consisted of such large portions of food, that in some countries, it would be considered offending. As the Gryffindor first years ate, they talked about all sorts of things, never staying on one topic for long.

Jeffrey Medici smirked, turning to Scorpius, "So, Malfoy. What's the big idea making me look like a third wheel."

Scorpius returned the smile, "What can I say, I'm prettier than you."

Rose rolled her eyes, "They were just hungry."

Nodding in agreement, Albus said somewhat offhandedly, "Yeah, the Sorting really doesn't bode well for this year. And am I the only one who noticed how many Ravenclaws there were?"

April Gregory, a stocky brunette girl with two limp braids in her hair, said, "Yeah, there were, like, thousands!"

"Twelve, actually." Rose corrected her, "We're quite the lot to talk, we got ten this year."

Jonathan O'Roake, a tall, but heavy boy with sandy blond hair announced suddenly, "So Scorpius, what're you going to tell your parents?"

He shrugged, "Well, I'm going to write the exact letter I would've written for Slytherin, but any instances where I would've said Slytherin, I will say Gryffindor. I'm not sure, but they may get the idea that I'm in Gryffindor. Then, I will sit back, and wait for the howler."

Albus looked worriedly at his friend, how terrible could his parents be? "Your folks would send you a howler?"

"Oh no, not them. My grandpa would, he's a bit senile. I'm quite excited to see his reaction, actually." Even after this was said, Scorpius did look a little nervous.

Albus ignored this, and continued to eat and laugh with the rest of his fellow Gryffindors until everyone was so full the food just stopped appearing on the platters. At that point, the headmistress rose, and announced that they should follow their respective prefects to the common room. As the doors to the main hall opened, everyone gasped at what they saw…

A/N:

The other one: Ooh! The plot thickens!!! Before we leave you, some closing thoughts…

This one: First off, yeah, those first five paragraphs are quoting directly from the Epilogue, if you couldn't tell. It was probably not our best of ideas, as it makes you go straight from the works of Rowling to our monstrosities.

The other one: On the subject of our monstrosities, we're not British, and we don't pretend to know any British slang. As such, our writing's going to come off a bit Ameritish (Made up word, refers to an American who pretends to be British).

This one: Also, we know that there are a bunch of grammatical mistakes in there that spell check either didn't pick up or caused. That will be all. Please review, flames will be used to heat our dinner, fare thee well.