Chapter One-

As soon as Albus Severus Potter climbed on board the scarlet Hogwarts Express, he was pretty sure life was going to be very different from now on. His brother, James, had told him all sorts of stories about Hogwarts, not all of which he liked. Of course, he wasn't foolish enough to believe James' tale of being knighted by a manic depressive hiccupping vampire, whom he had cured at Halloween, nor the story in which he had caught the snitch after a 50 foot dive, knocking out 3 mountain trolls in the process (him being the best Quidditch player in over a century, of course). These in particular, Albus highly doubted: though James was undoubtedly a good flier, anyone who had ever seen Lily fly could detect the falsehood in this- his sister was the best flier Albus had ever seen, and not ashamed to admit it! However, as he trudged through the crowded train, he thought not about the trolls or James' fabled vampiric status, but yet again about Slytherin. "Slytherin's where they'll put you, Al!" James had yelled across the dining room that very morning, "Slytherin's where they put all the LOSERS". He knew, of course, that his brother wasn't being serious (or "sirius" as James tended to say), but still, he wondered...

"Hello!"

Albus spun around. His thoughts had been interrupted by a small, round faced boy with sandy hair. The boy was staring at him with an ecstatic grin on his face. He saw the boy's eyes make the familiar flick towards his forehead and back. To be honest, Albus was getting annoyed with this constant association with his father. The boy was buzzing with excitement as he said,

"You're Albus Potter, aren't you?"

The boy held out a podgy hand towards him. "I'm Connor. Connor Finnigan!"

The boy, Connor, looked expectantly at Albus, as though he ought to have dropped his suitcases in delight and embraced this stranger as a brother. Albus racked his brain for any mention of a Connor Finnigan, but found none. This obviously showed on his face, because the boy began again, a little uncertainty this time.

"Finnigan. My dad's Seamus Finnigan..."

Again, Albus searched his memories for any Finnigans, but found none. He decided to change the subject.

"Um... How did you know my name?" said Albus.

Connor's eyes flicked again to his forehead, and said, awkwardly,

"Well, you're Harry Potter's son, aren't you?"

Albus sighed. Here it was again. Could he go NOWHERE without someone mentioning his father? He loved his father, of course, but he was getting a little sick of "You look so much like your father, Albus..." In fact, the only difference anyone seemed to be able to note about them was the thin, lightening-shaped scar on Harry Potter's forehead. When he, James, and Lily were young, the scar had been an object of mystery in the Potter household- they had played a game, trying to touch it without him noticing, but when Albus was 10, his mother and father had deigned to tell him, as they had told James at that age, the story of that scar- how an evil dark wizard named Lord Voldemort (his mother had shuddered at the name) had killed Harry's parents, Albus's grandparents, how Harry had defeated Voldemort all those 19 years ago, and how he was still famous for it- the boy who lived. Of course, James had taken this in his stride, joking that the title must be passed on to Harry's eldest child, and Lily would undoubtedly be more excited about her father's face on a chocolate frog card, but Albus had taken the matter more seriously. You couldn't live in awe of someone if you lived with them 24/7, though, so Albus got used to having a famous dad. He wished everyone else would too. Suddenly realising that the boy wanted an answer, he said:

"Oh. Uh, well, do I know you? I don't think I've ever heard of any Finnigans."

"My dad- he used to go to school with your dad... his best friend dated your mum?"

"Nope." said Albus, without thinking. The boy's face fell, and so did his outstretched hand.

"Well... bye then." He started to walk away with a mournful expression on his face, trailing his enormous trunk behind him and muttering quietly, "'course he doesn't remember you, you're nowhere near as important as him".

Cursing his insensitivity (and his irritating reputation for non-existent brilliance), Albus cried "Wait!"

The boy turned around, looking hopeful.

"You seem..." (Albus attempted to search for an affectionate word to describe the starstruck boy, but failed and settled for a common adjective instead) "...alright. Want to help me find my cousin Rose? She went to find a compartment and that was the last I saw of her."

Connor considered this for a second, then that Cheshire-cat smile returned.

"Ok!" he said, and began, with difficulty, to pull his vast suitcase towards Albus. Albus took one look at the boy's grinning face, and knew he had found a friend.