A New Beginning: An Unlikely Partnership
CHAPTER 1: THE START
It wasn't so much hatred he felt for those who were muggleborn or mixed blood, it was more of a thirst for their blood. Any kind of blood would do for Fenrir Greyback but the blood of a muggleborn, or as he would call it: the blood of a mudblood is more satisfying to him simply because it was the blood of people he thought were inferior to him. Him being a pureblood werewolf and all. But a muggleborn's blood wasn't the only blood he found especially appetizing. Blood of children also seem to satiate his thirst, though not as much as a muggleborn's.
His supply of those particular types of blood was cut down horrendously once the war ended and the Dark Lord Voldemort was no more. There was only one person to blame, Harry Potter. Greyback was tired of settling for any random witch or wizard's blood that happens to cross his path. There was only one way for him to get his revenge on Potter, go after his friends and family. Starting with Pothead's children.
Albus Severus Potter couldn't help feeling anxious and kept fidgeting upon boarding the Hogwarts Express. This is it. I'm finally going to Hogwarts. I'm finally going to be put in a house. Oh God, what if I AM in Slytherin? Would Mum and Dad let me go to Durmstrang? he thought. He looked out the window and saw that the train was already too far from King's Cross station to see the train station, let alone ask the conductor to stop the train.
"What's the matter, Al? You're not still worried about being put into Slytherin are you?" James Sirius Potter asked his brother who was sitting across from him in the carriage. James had taken a liking to having Albus worry about Hogwarts.
"NO! Dad said I was named after a Hogwarts headmaster that was in Slytherin and he was the bravest man he knew. So, I'm not worried at all!" answered Albus with a huff. You're such a filthy liar Al. And you're already showing the signs of Slytherin by lying! Albus thought to himself.
"Well, okay. I'm just saying Al, you COULD be in Slytherin. That doesn't mean you ARE going to be. But that doesn't me you won't be either," James replied with a grin.
"Oh, come off it, James. He's worried enough about going to Hogwarts in general, don't torment him even farther," Rose Weasley said laughing.
Suddenly there was a knock on the carriage door. All three kids turned to see a boy with platinum blonde hair and grey eyes open the door.
"Excuse me, is it okay if I sit with you? There isn't any more room in the other carriages," said the boy.
"Of course! Come in, come in. You can sit next to Al," Rose said gesturing to the empty seat next Albus. "I'm Rose, this is James, and that's Al. What's your name?"
The boy sat down next to Al and said with a big grin, "I'm Scorpius, Scorpius Malfoy. This is my first year at Hogwarts."
James looked at the Al and Rose with alarm as he realized this was the son of his father's arch nemesis' when they went to Hogwarts. His father had always claimed that his relationship is not the bitter mess it was when they went to school but they aren't exactly friends. Al and Rose hadn't noticed James' concerned look (and apparently the boy's last name) and had their full attention on the boy who was now sitting comfortably amongst all of them.
"It's your first year? It's mine and Rose' too! Which house do you want to be put in?" Al said to Scorpius excitedly.
"My dad and mum were in Slytherin when they went to Hogwarts but I'm not sure. Slytherin or Gryffindor I guess," Scorpius said with a confused look on his face.
"Slytherin? Your parents were Death Eaters!" said James accusingly. "Death Eaters killed our Uncle Fred!"
"JAMES! Stop, or I'll tell Mum and Dad that you attacked a first year on the train," Al threatened James. Turning back to Scorpius, he said, "Sorry about that. James is just a bit sensitive when it comes to the war."
"Yes, we apologize for James outburst. He won't do that again, will you James?" Rose directed to Scorpius while glaring at James.
"No. I'm sorry," James responded quickly to the shaken Scorpius once he saw Rose glaring at him. She really can be like Mum or Aunt Hermione when she tries. This is definitely not going to be as fun as last year now that I have a "mom" again.
"Anyways, James is in Gryffindor and Al and I want to be in Gryffindor too. All of our parents and Aunts and Uncles and Grandparents were in Gryffindor," Rose said lightly with a smile.
"Wow. I want to be in Gryffindor then if you guys are in it," Scorpius replied looking stunned. Whether it is because of their legacy to be in Gryffindor or the previous outburst or even both, he wasn't sure.
"That'd be awesome if you were in Gryffindor! James is my brother and Rose is our cousin so if we get into Gryffindor, we'd already have someone to talk to but it's nice to have someone to talk to that's not in our family!" Al exclaimed. Scorpius seems really cool but James seems to think there's something wrong with him. I'll owl Mum and Dad when we get to Hogwarts.
"Oh, so you're all related?" Scorpius asked feeling slightly out of place. It would be nice to have someone to talk to. I wish Mum and Dad would give me at least a brother or sister. It is getting a bit lonely at home. Maybe I should owl them when we get to school.
"Yup! James and I are brothers and our dad married Rose' dad's sister so we're all related," Al said eager to tell their life story.
"Don't feel out of place or anything! We spend so much time together that we're already getting sick of each other!" Rose said quickly noticing Scorpius getting quite uncomfortable. Scorpius smiled at Rose while Al continued to talk about their family history. Soon enough, they could see Hogwarts from the window and the four children changed into their robes. The train pulled to a stop and they stepped off the train. As James was walking away to join the rest of the second year students, he said, "I'll see you guys later. That's IF you guys get into Gryffindor. Anyways, watch out for thestrals!"
"You said they were invisible!" yelled Al.
"Exactly," James replied with a wink and turned to join the second years.
With a roll of her eyes, Rose lead Al and Scorpius to where the first years were to meet. Once there, they met an extremely tall and gruff man. Al ran up to the man and yelled, "You must be Hagrid!"
"Ye're absolutely right lad! Now who might yeh be?" the gruff man replied.
"I'm Al! My brother James said you know him!"
"Ye're not talkin' about James Sirius Potter, are yeh?"
"Actually, I am," Al said with a grin.
"Alas, we've finally met! Nice ter meet yeh Al."
"Nice to meet you, too! My dad said you were really good friends when he went to school here. He said he went to your cottage all the time."
"Yes, we very well were. I haven't seen yer dad in a long time though. Yeh can come to cottage as well if ye'd like. It seems ye've got some friends here. Why, I'd know who yer friends are anywhere. This," he said pointing to Rose. "must be no other than Rose Weasley. Hair color like yer father's but everything else, from yer big bush hair to yer big brown eyes, exactly like yer mother."
"Exactly right," Rose said smiling.
"An' yeh must be Malfoy's son!" exclaimed Hagrid.
"How did you know?" Scorpius asked surprised.
"Well, yeh look exactly like yer father now don't ye? With those grey eyes and extremely light blonde hair, yeh can't be anyone else but Malfoy's son!"
"I guess I do look like him."
"Would yeh look at the time! We've got to get all yehs on the boat! If yer dad 'membered to tell yeh, we'll have tea on Friday. Bring yer friends if yeh want." Hagrid bellowed. And with that, their conversation ended and the first years started boarding the boats. Once all the first years were on the boats, they started their approach to the big castle that is Hogwarts and their home for the next nine months.
After the boat ride, they came to a giant pair of wooden double doors where a fit woman with blonde hair, greeted them, "Good evening first years and welcome to Hogwarts. I am Professor Bell and I will be your flight instructor and the Quidditch referee. Through these doors is the Great Hall where you will eat your meals and is open after classes for studying and other activities. Once through these doors, you will all gather in front of the Sorting Hat. When I call out your name, you will sit on the stool and we will place the Sorting Hat on your head. The Sorting Hat will then say which house you are in and you will sit with your house at the assigned house table for the rest of the year. Is that understood?" Many of the years nodded and mumbled in agreement. "Okay, please follow me." The doors of the Great Hall opened and Professor Bell lead them through the tables to the front of the room near the large windows. The first years looked around in amazement at the vast tables of houses and up at the where a ceiling should be but only to find that it seemed to be the night sky. As the first years gathered at the front of the room, the Sorting ceremony started and the tattered, old, hat on the stool started to sing:
"Though years and years have passed,
It's a surprise that I have last,
For I am the hat you try on,
To see which house colors you'll wear from now on.
Could it be Gryffindor's red and gold?
For those who are courageous and bold.
Or is it Ravenclaw's bronze and blue,
For those whose calling for knowledge is true.
Maybe it's Slytherin's silver and green,
For those who are cunning and rumored to be mean.
Can it be Hufflepuff's black and yellow?
For those who are dedicated and try to carry the heavy load?
Well put me on let us see,
Which of those you are to be."
The whole room applauded the hat as the tip of it bent forward as though it was bowing. As Professor Bell stepped up next to the Sorting Hat, the applause died down, and she started to call out names. The names were called in alphabetical order and it was a long wait for the students whose last name starts with an M, P, or W.
Scorpius was listening intently and paying much attention to the people being sorted but someone interrupted his concentration by tapping on his shoulder. He turned around to see a boy with brown eyes and dark skin standing behind him. The boy glanced at him and held out his hand and whispered, "I'm Dax Zabini. You must be Scorpius. You look like your dad. I would know, he's my dad's best friend." Scorpius took his hand and shook it quickly. Scorpius wondered how that could be. His dad or mum never mentioned the name Zabini.
"Yes, that's me," Scorpius whispered back.
"Well, I hope you get into Slytherin with my brother, Ansel, and me."
"Err… Yeah, maybe." And as if on cue, Professor Bell called out his name, "Malfoy, Scorpius."
Scorpius walked through the clump of what was left of the unsorted first years to the stool nervously. He sat on the stool as Professor Bell placed the hat on his head.
"Strange. You're so much like your father yet so different. Strange, and difficult," the Sorting Hat thought aloud. Scorpius looked around at the tables and saw a boy that looked like an older version of Dax, grin at him and look at the seat next to him. That must be Dax' brother, Scorpius thought. His thoughts were interrupted when the Sorting Hat spoke again. "But I know where to put you, GRYFFINDOR!"
There was no cheering or clapping. All there was whispers and murmured words through all the tables. Even the staff's table seemed to be in shock.
"WHAT?" screamed James. The whispering and murmuring suddenly ended and started up again as quickly and abruptly as it had ended. James, realizing what he had done, sat down immediately and hung his head. I really need to owl Mum and Dad, he thought. Scorpius stood up from the stool and walked to the Gryffindor table avoiding everyone's gaze. Professor Bell cleared her throat a few times trying to get the attention of the room again. After it quieted down, more names were called. Soon, it was Al's turn.
"Potter, Albus."
Oh dear Merlin. The moment of truth. Not Slytherin. Not Slytherin. Not Slytherin, Albus chanted in his head as he walked to the Sorting Hat. He sat and waited as Professor Bell put the hat on his head.
"I definitely see it in you. It just hasn't shown yet," the Sorting Hat muttered.
Al looked at James for encouragement. He saw that James head was still hung so he looked at Scorpius. Scorpius smiled and gave Al a thumbs-up. Al looked at Rose and she smiled at him. "Please not Slytherin," Al whispered.
"Oh, definitely not. GRYFFINDOR!"
The Gryffindor table erupted in cheers as Al jumped off the stool and ran to the table. He took his seat next to James and smiled at Rose. More first years were sorted into the other houses and eventually it was Rose' turn to be sorted. She strode up to the stool with pure confidence and smiled as the hat was placed on her head.
"Another Weasley? No other than, GRYFFINDOR!" exclaimed the Sorting Hat. Rose simply stepped off the stool, walked to the table, and plopped down next to Scorpius with a smug smile on her face. She broke into a genuine smile and turned to watch as the rest of the first years are sorted.
Later on, after Dax Zabini was put into Slytherin, an aged witch, that could only be Minerva McGonagall, stepped up to the podium. She looked amongst all the students and smiled. Thus, she began her Start of Term speech. "To our first year students: Welcome to Hogwarts. And to our returning students: Welcome back. Another year starts and the staff and I are glad to see all of you here to join us in this new school year. We hope this year is better and brighter than the last and we hope you will help us in making it that way. Speaking of making this year better, we have decided to change the way classes are scheduled this year. You will have half of your classes on one day, and the rest on the other. Those days being: A Day and B Day. There is also C Day where you will have all of your classes in one day but those days will be rare. Tomorrow will be a C Day and the day after, A. Mr. Filch asked me to remind you that any merchandise of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes or Zonko's Joke Shop used inappropriately will be confiscated. Thank you, and let the feast begin!"
The tables were filled with various foods. From turkey to ham, chicken to fish, it was all there. Rose, Albus, James, and Scorpius all talked excitedly while eating when many older students came to join them. This included the Head Girl, the Potter and Weasley's cousin, Victoire, her sixth year sister Dominique, her fifth year brother Louis, the kids of Uncle George and Aunt Angelina, the sixth year Fred (Who is much like his late Uncle Fred, which he is very proud to be. Whenever someone says so, he gives a slight smile and a shrug that says, "I know.") and the fourth year Roxanne who all came to congratulate them. Uncle Percy and Aunt Audrey's kids, the sixth year Molly and the second year Lucy were there to congratulate them as well. After the many cousins left, two people, who weren't related, congratulated them last.
"Lorcan! Lysander! It's good to see you again! This is Rose, Albus, and Scorpius. This is Lorcan," James exclaimed gesturing to a blonde with green eyes and a stern face. Lorcan smiled at them. James then gestured to the other, which looked exactly like Lorcan except with a friendlier face, and said, "And this is Lysander. They're Aunt Luna's kids and they're twins."
"Like it wasn't obvious enough, James," Lysander said with a laugh. James elbowed him in the stomach playfully, laughing. "Well, welcome to Hogwarts. We're third years so if you have any questions, don't be scared to ask! I'm in Gryffindor and Lorcan here, is in Ravenclaw." Lorcan just stood by his twin and continued smiled. James, Albus, Rose and Scorpius all could tell that Lorcan's smile was not a real one and he didn't really want to be there and was just forced to be there. They chatted a bit and Lorcan excused himself to sit at the Ravenclaw table while Lysander stayed with the rest. "Sorry 'bout that. Lorcan's a bit of grouch."
"It's alright. So, do you have any tips you can give us first year about what to expect here?" asked Rose. They talked the rest of the meal. Later, after they decided that they were all extremely full and a bit sleepy, they started to walk to Gryffindor Tower, James leading the way. Once in the common room, the four boys left Rose as they went to the boy's dormitory and she went to the girl's. After a few minutes, they were all changed and ready for bed. Al decided to owl his Mum and Dad so he took out a piece of parchment and a self-inking quill. Then, he began to write about the train ride, James, the Sorting Ceremony and getting into Gryffindor, and then James again. He finished writing and went to bed. First REAL day tomorrow. Oh Merlin, help me, he thought as he drifted off to sleep.
A/N: So, this is kind of a test run on how people like this idea. PLEASE REVIEW. If I do not receive any reviews, I will probably not continue with the story. Thank you. (:
