Albus Severus Potter turned away from the window with a sigh, suddenly rather bored with the blurring scenery the Hogwarts Express passed with great speed. He smiled at his cousin Rose, who had already made herself comfortable across from him and had her nose in a book. "Aren't you worried?" he mumbled, folding his hands together in his lap.
"Worried? Why would I be worried?" Rose questioned, her eyebrows pulling together as she peeked around her book. Her auburn hair was curly, but not nearly as bushy and thick as her mother's was. She studied the boy with a small frown, meeting his green-eyed gaze with her own hazel one.
Albus shrugged his thin shoulders. "I–I don't know. I mean, James says I'm going to be placed into Slytherin. I'm Harry Potter's son; I can't be in Slytherin," he replied, frowning.
The eleven-year-old girl rolled her eyes and folded a small corner down of the page she was reading, before gently closing the book and sitting it next to her. She sat up and leaned forward slightly, raising her eyebrows at her cousin. "Al, listen to me. You're going to be great in whatever house you're placed in. Daddy says that I'm going to be in Ravenclaw because I've received Mum's brains, but I don't think I want to be known for that. I don't know. All's I know is that we're both going to do great, no matter what. Not every Potter or Weasley has to be in Gryffindor, though. Understand?" Rose explained. She finally gave him a half-smile, before falling onto her back once more and returning to her book. Obviously, she wasn't going to wait for an answer to her question. She knew she was right.
With another sigh, Albus finally sat back and relaxed. He knew she was right, too. Smiling, he returned his green-eyed gaze to the window, suddenly rather eager to get to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Who cared if he was in Slytherin? He'd make the best of it, even if James made fun of him for it. These next seven years were going to be all right, he decided.
It was nearly an hour later when both Albus and Rose stood, but it wasn't to finally get off the train; no, they weren't expected at Hogwarts for another hour or so. Albus had actually heard the man first and had practically sat on Rose's legs to get her attention. Now, the cousins were standing with their compartment door open, eagerly waiting to try the so-called delicious snacks that waited upon the trolley. By the time the man behind the trolley had brought them their snacks and they had given him a couple of nuts in return, both he and she were sitting across from each other again. They ate their treats in silence, but Rose didn't return to her book because a blonde boy had suddenly found his way into their compartment. Albus and Rose watched as the boy walked in with his back to them, not really sure what to say. From what they could see, he was pale and had a slightly pointed face.
"Excuse me," Rose said, deciding to speak up. The boy jumped and turned around, revealing his gray eyes and soft features–he wasn't as pointed as he'd seemed. Rose blushed and ran a hand through her hair while Albus wiped his mouth off with the sleeve of his robes. "Oh..! I didn't mean to scare you, I'm sorry. I'm Rose Weasley." She replied. She stood and stepped forward a bit, before sticking a hand out for him to shake.
The blonde gave a small smile and shook her hand, gently rubbing the back of his neck. "It's fine," he mumbled, glancing at Albus, who quickly looked away. "I'm Scorpius Malfoy. I didn't know anyone was in here, which is why I kind of just walked in. See, I was in a compartment by myself when that James Potter and a couple of his friends came by to bother me. I was just looking for a place where I could sit at until we got to school." He explained. He took his hand back from Rose and folded his arms across his chest.
Rose didn't sit down. "James is bothering you?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. She also looked at Albus, who met her gaze for only a moment. "Al, we're going to have to talk to him," she said, before turning back to look at Scorpius. "I suppose Al and I should apologize for his behavior; he's my cousin and Albus' brother." She added, nodding her head in the direction of Albus.
"James is a git." Albus stated, finally finding his voice. It was his turn to stand, it seemed, because he got up and made his way toward Rose and Scorpius. "Don't let him bother you. He's not as scary as he makes himself look," he mumbled, grinning when Scorpius laughed.
The three sat and talked about Hogwarts together, exchanging views on what it would be like once they set foot into the Great Hall to be sorted. Rose repeated half of her story from earlier, stating that her father had said that she would be in Ravenclaw and that James had continuously told Albus that he would be in Slytherin. By now, if only a little bit, Albus had accepted the thought of being in Slytherin. It won't be so bad, he told himself again.
Nearly an hour and a half later, the first years and Hagrid had made their way successfully across the Black Lake and were climbing from their boats. Albus, Scorpius and Rose had been in a boat with each other, save for McKenna Longbottom who only Scorpius didn't know–Al and Rose had known her since around the time they all started walking, if not before that.
"Yer sortin' should be startin' soon, so we all need to start headin' up to the school. We're almost there, don't you worry." Hagrid grunted, before turning upon his large heels and starting for the doors that lead into Hogwarts. The group followed him, noisily chatting amongst themselves as they neared the massive doors. Albus ran a hand through his hair with a soft sigh, suddenly feeling very strange because McKenna and Rose were catching up and Scorpius had also fallen rather silent. None of them really knew what to expect.
Before they knew it, the group, still lead by Hagrid, finally stepped into the Great Hall. At this very moment, nearly every pair of eyes turned to look at them. Albus spotted James at the Gryffindor table, clad in red and gold, with a smirk on his face. Swallowing hard, Albus followed the rest of the first years to the waiting Professor Minerva McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She didn't smile at all, but Albus and Rose both knew all too well that she was a very nice woman when she wanted to be.