Disclaimer: As much as I wish I did...I don't own Harry Potter or anything related to him.
Summary: This is about Albus Potter and his life at Hogwarts with his best friend/cousin Rose Weasley, and their many cousins and friends. His father left legends behind, but Albus is just hoping that he can break out of his shell and survive life away from home.
There's a LOT more to it though, obviously. Read it!! And if you do, please review! :) Let me know what you'd like to see. I'm open to suggestions.
Love and Lightning
"Al!"
Albus Potter realized that he had stopped in his tracks to admire his surroundings on the Hogwarts Express. He had been glancing around in awe, not realizing that his cousin and best friend Rose, more commonly known as Rosie, had walked ahead of him, found a compartment, and then realized he wasn't next to her anymore. Now Rosie was walking towards him, shaking her head and rolling her eyes as she tried not to laugh at him.
"Al, come on," she said to him as she grabbed his hand. "We're supposed to be finding compartments. I got one for us already."
Albus smiled back at her. "Sorry, Rosie," he replied. "It's just...we're going to Hogwarts. We're on the Hogwarts Express."
They walked together and sat down in the compartment Rosie had saved for them. Albus was silent as the feelings of being away from home and actually going to Hogwarts hit him. Sure enough, as Rosie and Albus looked out the window, the bright red train was zooming past the bright green countrysides, out of the Muggle world and soon to be arriving in the wizarding world. Albus bit his lip as he realized that he wouldn't be seeing his mum, his dad, or his little sister, Lily, until Christmas break. His mum wouldn't be making any of his food for him or telling him how sweet he was every five minutes. His dad wouldn't be coming home from work and telling him his favorite stories about his defeat of Voldemort or how he managed to take his mum away from Dean Thomas. And he would even miss his annoying but adorable little sister Lily, who had a love for dancing and performing for anyone she would find. Usually it was Albus. One time, he remembered-
Albus's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the compartment door. He was silent, but Rosie, who had always been a bit more outgoing than him, smiled and said, "Come in!"
"Hey..um..," a boy's voice said nervously.
Looking up, Albus saw that the boy was, not unlike himself, shy-looking, but he still wore a smile on his pale face. He ran his finger through his sandy-brown hair nervously and tapped his foot. "So, uh..I was wondering...can I sit with you guys? I heard you're first years too."
Albus expected Rosie to smile and and immediately say, "Sure! Of course!" because she believed in being nice to everyone, but she didn't speak. Instead, Albus was the one who grinned at the sandy-haired boy, hopeful that he and Rosie would make a friend. "Yeah, you can sit with us. I'm Albus." Again, he expected Rosie to say something, but she still remained silent. "And this is Rose," he said for her.
"Cool," the boy replied, forgetting to say his own name and sitting down across from Albus and Rose. He looked down at his feet and began to tap them again nervously. There was an awkward silence for a few seconds, but then Albus, proud of himself for actually talking to someone his age besides his cousins, decided to ask the boy what his name was.
"So," he spoke up, trying to break the ice. He was suprised that Rosie still had said nothing. "Uh..what's your name?"
"Tate," the sandy-haired boy replied. "Tate Finnegan. What did you say your last name was?" He slouched down a bit in his seat, appearing to be much more comfortable and confident than before.
"I didn't," Albus smiled. "It's Potter." He pointed at Rosie and added, "She's a Weasley." 'Why wouldn't Rosie talk?' he wondered. Oh well. He didn't want to say anything and be mean.
Tate nodded. "Wow," he said. Albus tried not to be rude and roll his eyes, but he found it confusing when people seemed excited or surprised when he told people his last name. Tate continued. "My dad tells me he knew your mum and dad at school. And yours too," he motioned towards Rosie. "So what house do you want to be in?" he asked her.
"Uh, me?" Rosie stammered. "Um...Gryffindor."
"Me too," Tate said, not picking up on Rosie's sudden personality change. "I hope we're all in Gryffindor. At least not Slytherin, I heard that Sc-"
"Oh, Albus here? He'll be in Slytherin for sure," interrupted a voice from their compartment door. Albus's older brother, James, was standing in the doorway, winking at him. Albus hadn't even noticed the door open.
"James.." he began, trying not to show that his face was flushed and he was trying not to tear up. His brother was always cracking jokes at him, but he didn't want him to ruin his first real attempted friendship at Hogwarts. And even though father had told him that the Sorting Hat took their own choices into account, but he still couldn't help but to listen to his brother and worry that the hat might choose him to be in Slytherin. His father had also told him that Severus, the man his middle name came after, was a Slytherin, but Albus didn't want to be separated from his family either.
"Relax, little bro, I might only hurt you a little bit if you're in Slytherin." James patted Albus's head and laughed. "But surprisingly, making witty remarks at you is not what I'm here for right now. I've been saint-like, actually. I found Roxy and Lucy. They've been looking for you guys." He moved out of the doorway so that two girls could pass him.
An average-looking, brown-haired girl sat down next to Albus and Rosie. She had freckles on her face. She did not look like a Weasley, but she was. Like Rosie, she was Albus's cousin, but wasn't as close since he didn't see her as often. Uncle Percy did not come to all of the family events at the Burrow, which made Grandmum cry every time he didn't show up. At the next one he would apologize and blame it on Minister Shacklebolt working him overtime.
"Hey, Lucy." Albus reached out to hug her, but Lucy, being somewhat awkward like her father, Percy, didn't notice and merely smiled at him.
"Hey Al," she replied. "How are you?"
"Good, you?"
"Good." He looked at the other girl who had come into the compartment. "Hey Roxy," he greeted her sweetly.
Roxy, short for Roxanne, was also a Weasley, but unlike Lucy, she carried the trademark flame-red hair and was far beyond average looking-she was gorgeous. Albus knew her a little better than Lucy because Uncle George came to all the family parties at the Burrow. Roxy was a little eccentric and boy crazy, though, and preferred playing with the older boys in hopes that she could meet their friends. In particular, she had always been close to Albus's brother James.
"Hey, Albie," Roxy replied, giving him a hug. Albus always hated it when she called him Albie, but he let her. He didn't want to say anything.
Roxy greeted Rosie not unlike she had just greeted Albus, and sat down next to Tate.
James cleared his throat from the doorway. "Well..I'd better get going," he said. "You might not think so but I have more interesting things to do than to watch awkward first years. Freddy says Uncle George gave him a good supply from the shop to use on Filch. We gotta own him if we're gonna pull anything like a Weasley. See ya." A "Weasley" was referring to Albus's Uncle George's and his deceased twin, Fred's escape from the Umbridge tyranny at Hogwarts during his dad's fifth year. Albus had heard the story many times and was fascinated by it. But he was not nearly as fascinated as James, who always wanted to know every single detail so that he could get more ideas for his schemes. Roxy, Rosie, Lucy, Tate, and Albus all said, "Bye" in unison to James and he walked away.
Roxy turned to Tate and eyed him up and down. "Well hello there," she said to him, batting her eyelashes and twirling her fingers through her hair. "I'm Roxy Weasley."
Tate looked astonished, as if he had never seen a girl before. "I, uh, um, hi. I'm Tate Finnegan."
Rosie kicked Albus and he instinctively squealed, "ow!"
"Why..why did you do that?" Albus asked.
Rosie then proceeded to pinch him. This time Albus said nothing, in fear of being bitten or elbowed in the stomach. He decided that maybe if she wanted to talk about it, she'd bring it up later.
Lucy, Rosie, and Albus all sat silently in the train compartment and listened to Roxy flirting with Tate and Tate attempting to flirt back. She would toss her hair playfully and he'd stare up at her as if he'd seen a veela. Albus noticed that Rosie stared at her hands, seeming uncharacteristically irritable.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, the train arrived at Hogwarts.
"Firs' years over here!" a gruff voice sounded.
Albus smiled. "Hagrid!" he greeted the half-giant as he, Rosie, Roxy and Lucy walked up to him excitedly. Albus was much shorter than he was and found he had to crane his neck to look up at him.
"Albert!" Hagrid grinned down at him. He had never called Albus by his name, just Albert or Al. Albus's dad explained to him that the death of Dumbledore made it too hard for Hagrid to say his name, so Albert was a sufficient substitution.
At that moment, the rest of the first years joined up with them, so they all filed into the boats and sailed across the lake. They reached the entrance of Hogwarts, and Rosie squeezed Albus's hand.
"This is it," she said. "Hogwarts."
Albus and Rosie walked into the castle, hand in hand, cousin and cousin, best friend and best friend, with Lucy, Roxy, and Tate closely behind them. As they entered, Headmistress McGonagall was waiting for them.
"Welcome, first years. My name is Headmistress McGonagall. I trust that you've all had a safe journey here. Now, you are all going to enter the Great Hall and be sorted. When I call your name, you will come up, sit in the chair, and join your house. There are four houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. I wish you all luck in your years at Hogwarts."
The first years walked silently and nervously into the Great Hall. Stars gleamed above them, shining brilliantly in contrast to the blackness of the night sky. Albus did not remember seeing stars before. "How are there stars?" Albus wondered aloud.
"It's an enchantment," Rosie replied, back to her old bookish, outgoing self. "I read about it in Hogwarts: A History." It took a couple of minutes for Headmistress McGonagall to settle down the older students, but soon they were quiet and the ceremony was ready to begin. To commence the Sorting, the Sorting Hat sang its famous song, the same one that Albus's dad, Harry, had heard upon being sorted. By this time, Albus was shaking. He was desperate not only to become a Gryffindor, but was also hoping that James wouldn't humiliate him...James warned him that the ground could be a little wet...if he slipped and fell in front of everybody..
"When I call your name, you will come up and be Sorted," Headmistress McGonagall's voice rang throughout the hall. "Avery, Ryan!"
Albus saw a pale, black-haired boy with dark brown eyes and an arrogant, snickering face approach the chair. The Hat only took about ten seconds to sort Ryan Avery-"SLYTHERIN!" The Slytherin table applauded wildly as he walked in a sort-of-strut to sit with them.
"Boot, Madison!"
This time, a blonde girl walked over to the chair. She appeared less arrogant than Ryan Avery, but was still confident as she made her way through the crowd. When the Hat was placed on her head, it decided on "RAVENCLAW!" "Burrow, Alexis!", another confident girl but this time a brunette, was also placed in Ravenclaw.
The first "HUFFLEPUFF!" was the next girl, "Cauldwell, Emily!" Albus began to wonder when people would start being sorted into Gryffindor. Then he noticed "Creevey, Colin!", a small boy with a magical camera in his hands, walk up to the chair to be sorted. Albus wondered what he was doing with a magical camera while he was being sorted...but his thoughts about the camera were interrupted by a loud yell of "GRYFFINDOR!"
So Colin Creevey was the first Gryffindor. Albus grew more and more nervous as more and more people were sorted-"Corner, Jonathan!"and "Goldstein, Isabella!" were Ravenclaws, "Fleet, Matthew!", "Fletchley, Claire!", and "Hopkins, Lucas!" were Hufflepuffs. Then the Sorting Hat called a familiar name: "Finnegan, Tate!"
"Good luck, Tatey!" Roxy called out flirtatiously. Rosie's scowl returned as Tate staggered up to the Sorting Hat chair nervously. He put the hat on and Albus could feel tension rising as seconds passed. Finally, it called, "GRYFFINDOR!" Albus was relieved.
"Goyle, Gabriel!" A piggish-looking boy approached the chair, and immediately after the hat was placed on his head, it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!"
"Malfoy, Scorpius!" When this name was called, the Great Hall was filled with whispers. Albus's mum and dad had told him stories of how his father had been not-so-nice to them, but in the end, they ended up saving him. As Scorpius made his way through the crowd, he bumped shoulders with Albus. "Potter," he said smugly, noticing Albus's shocking identicalness to his father, Harry, especially the jet black hair and brilliantly emerald green eyes. He walked up to the Sorting Hat and received the expected "SLYTHERIN!" and applause from his table.
The Sorting was getting long and exhausting, Albus thought. But he remembered that he still had to be sorted..oh, please Gryffindor...
"Potter, Albus!"
The Great Hall erupted into whispers much louder than those from Scorpious Malfoy. Albus did not focus on these whispers and instead had a pep talk in his head. 'It's ok, Al..you can do this...James is not going to make the Sorting Hat eat you..'
He sat down in the chair nervously. Beads of sweat had begun to wet the black hair on his forehead. Slowly, Headmistress McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on his head-
"Hello!" the Sorting Hat yelled in his ear. Albus jumped, startled. "Ahhhh, the second son of Harry Potter, I see! But much different than the first, I must say. You've got a brilliant mind, a kind heart, ambition, and bravery...so where to put you?"
"Not Slytherin," Albus whispered.
"Not Slytherin, eh? Just like your father. You seem to be like him in so many ways...I know...how about...GRYFFINDOR!"
Albus beamed as a roaring applause sounding and he rushed over to the Gryffindor table to sit next to Colin and Tate. James, Freddy, and his other cousins Molly and Dominique congratulated him and patted him on the back (but James punched more than patted.) The Sorting dragged on, but finally it was over and there were many new Gryffindors as well: Rosie, Lucy, Roxy, and a girl Albus had not previously noticed, Lorelei Thomas. More people were placed into different houses, but Albus was too tired to remember them all. The first-year Gryffindors ate their feast and talked among themselves happily until a clink of a glass was heard from the Headmistress's table.
"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As I have begun every year since I became Headmistress, I will start with the words of a very wise man: nitwit, blubber, oddment, and tweak." Laughter sounded from the audience and Albus smiled. He knew those words had come from the speech of Albus I-Albus Dumbledore-on Harry Potter's first night of Hogwarts. "This is our nineteenth year of a great peace since the fall of Voldemort. Hogwarts has surely grown since then, with many new staff members appointed, new students growing up and passing by, and the world of magic evolving before our eyes. We have achieved an incredible sense of security by our recent founding of unity. It is your duty to ensure that we keep this duty, no matter what House you are in. Friends can be found in any House, older or younger..we must always stick together. Sticking together is how we achieved this peace, and it is how we will maintain it. I wish you all luck this year with the hopes that you will keep the theme of unity in mind as you begin your new classes and adventures."
The students applauded for McGonagall, and the first-years were brought up to bed before everyone else. "First-year Gryffindors, follow me!" Molly Weasley called. She was a fifth-year prefect, and Lucy's older sister.
Albus followed Molly and stuck close to Rosie. As Molly led the way to their dormitories, he poked her. "Hey," he said. "Rosie? Can I ask you something?"
"Sure, Al. What is it?"
"I was just wondering what happened on the train today. I think I missed something. You didn't seem very happy. You've never kicked me before."
Rosie frowned. "It's nothing, Al. Don't worry about it."
"Are you sure?" Albus didn't want to press further and annoy her, but he really did want to know what was up.
Sighing, Rosie shook her head. "I promise I'll tell you tomorrow."
"Promise?"
"I promise. I swear to become a Hippogriff if I do not tell you tomorrow."
"Okay." Albus was satisfied.
The Gryffindors had reached the portrait hole where the Fat Lady resided. "Password?" she asked lazily.
"Diadem," Molly recited. The portrait swung open and all the Gryffindors climbed through the hole. "Girls dormitories to the left, boys to the right. Your class schedule will be on your beds. Please wake up accordingly. Good night, and good luck tomorrow!" She turned to Lucy and hugged her. "Write to Daddy tomorrow, ok? Good night!"
Lucy groaned. "Yeah, yeah," she said once Molly had left. She patted Albus on the back. "Night, Al."
Albus bade goodnight to Rosie, Roxy, and Lorelei and went upstairs to the boy's dorm with Colin and Tate. Tomorrow was going to be a long day, he thought. New people, classes...oh, and finding out what was making Rosie upset.
***
That's it! If you like it please review! Reviews=motivation=more updates! :)
