Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, no matter how much I wish I did. I only own Desirae Thomas and Rhys Zabini so far.
A Lot To Live Up To
Chapter I
The Journey Begins
Albus Severus Potter waved goodbye to his parents, little sister, and aunt and uncle until the Hogwarts Express rounded a corner and he couldn't see them anymore. He sighed and pulled away from the window, a bit sad at leaving his mum, dad, and younger sister, Lily, but the sadness was only a fleeting feeling. How could he be sad? He was starting Hogwarts!
He and his cousin, Rose Weasley, made their way through the throng of other milling students in the train's corridors, finding old friends and compartments. "What if we don't find a seat, Ro?" Albus asked nervously, running his hand through messy black hair. "And then we'll have to stand the whole trip." Rose rolled her eyes and grabbed Albus's hand.
"You know, Al, to be the son of the Head Auror, you can be a bit of a worrywart," she muttered as she dragged him along to look for a place to sit.
"I don't worry that much," Albus shot back, though he knew she was right. However, he had a lot on his mind, especially the Sorting, which was only a few hours away.
As he and Rose neared the end of the train, they finally found an almost empty compartment. Inside, a Black girl was sleeping soundly, snuggled up near the window and like Rose, was already dressed in her Hogwarts robes. Albus chuckled as he sat on the blue cushioned seat next to the sleeping girl, setting his eagle owl, Romy, between them. "Reminds me of how our parents met Teddy's dad," Albus whispered to Rose, who took a seat across from them.
Rose smiled slightly as she pulled a book from her knapsack. Now, it was Albus's turn to roll his eyes. Much like her mother, Hermione Weasley, Rose never went very far without a book. "Rose, would you put the book down?" Albus groaned.
She lowered the book long enough to glare at him with dark blue eyes. "No," she said, before putting the book back in front of her face.
Sighing, Albus leaned forward and squinted to read the title of her book. "Hogwarts, A History again, Rose? You should have that memorized by now."
"For your information, Al, I don't," snapped Rose, "This is the twenty-first century edition and I only just bought it when our parents took us to Diagon Alley the day before yesterday." Albus shook his head in disbelief. Yes, Rose was exactly like Aunt Hermione…
Just then, the compartment door slid open, and Fred and Roxanne ran in, breathing heavily. Rose shushed them and nodded towards the sleeping girl. Roxanne plopped down next to Rose, and Fred took a seat on the other side of Albus. Both of them kept snickering every few seconds and Albus grinned. The twins, like Uncle George and his late twin brother, Fred, were the pranksters of the family, along with James, and two of their other cousins, Dominique and Louis. Albus' dad, Uncle George, Uncle Bill, and Uncle Ron often laughed at their antics, but his mum, Aunt Hermione, Aunt Angelina, Aunt Fleur, and Grandma Molly were less amused.
"Where were you?" Rose asked, lowering her book once again.
"Trying out some of our dad's new stuff," Roxanne smiled innocently with big dark brown eyes. Rose tried to look scolding, but ended up smiling. Roxanne, though not one of the youngest but the smallest, had that effect on people, even strict Uncle Percy.
"Where did you try it out at?" Albus inquired, excitedly.
Fred answered good-naturedly. "We thought it would be fitting to try them out on a family member, so we set them off in Victoire and Molly's compartment."
"Set what off?" Rose was suspicious.
"Oh, just some of our dad's new Tropical Storm Fireworks," Roxanne said, nonchalantly.
Albus burst out laughing. Uncle George's new Fireworks were more like Waterworks, and once they were set off, wet everything within ten yards. He could only imagine Victoire's face. She hated getting anything wet, especially her hair. Molly, though she was probably miffed at the moment, would most likely laugh it off in the future.
Rose, however, wasn't laughing. The tips of her ears went as bright red as her curly hair tied back in a ponytail. "You…set off Fireworks…in the prefects' compartment? Do you want to get into trouble before we even set foot into the castle?"
The girl next to Albus opened her eyes slowly and blinked confusedly, staring around at the relatives. She had light brown skin the same shade as Fred and Roxanne's, black hair in braids that cascaded down her shoulders, and pretty hazel eyes. When Albus looked into them, he couldn't help but blush.
"Did I wake you? I'm sorry," Rose apologized at once. Albus shared a grin with the twins. She had just perfected Grandma Molly's transition from ultra-scary to ultra-sweet in less than a couple seconds.
"It's okay," the girl said, and yawned. "Have we left the station yet?"
"Yes, a while ago," Albus told her, "I'm Albus Potter, and these are my cousins, Rose, Fred, and Roxanne Weasley."
"I know," she grinned mischievously. "My mum played with yours on the Holyhead Harpies, and my dad dated her." Albus's face went red and he glared at Rose and Roxanne, who giggled. Fred, on the other hand, looked as sick as he did. The thought of his mum with any man but his dad made him a bit queasy. Then, it clicked.
"You're Dean and Demelza Thomas's daughter, then?"
The girl nodded. "I'm Desirae. I can't believe I'm finally starting Hogwarts! What house do you guys want to be in?" She asked, animatedly.
"Gryffindor!" cried Fred and Roxanne.
Albus nodded once he got over the shock that he was talking to his mum's ex-boyfriend's daughter. "Yeah…my parents and grandparents were all in Gryffindor."
"I agree," said Rose, "but it wouldn't be too bad if I got into Ravenclaw…well, it wouldn't!" She added, off Fred's amused look. "You, Desirae?"
"Gryffindor, duh!" Desirae responded loudly. "If it hadn't been for Gryffindors, neither of the Wars would have been won!"
At that moment, the compartment slid open once more to reveal Scorpius Malfoy, who like Rose and Desirae, was in his school robes, and a boy with slanting eyes and dark skin.
"Slytherin helped in the war, too," the other boy said scathingly, "The old Headmaster, Snape, sacrificed his life in it, and if Scorpius's gran hadn't told Voldy that Harry Potter wasn't alive, the Boy-Who-Should've-Died definitely would have!"
Albus stood immediately and pulled out his wand. He didn't know any spells yet, but sure hoped he looked intimidating. "Hey, watch what you say about my father!"
The boy raised an eyebrow. "Oh, so you're one of the Potter brats, are you?" He then glanced around at Fred, Rose, and Roxanne. "And I'm guessing you three are Weasleys?"
"You've got that right," Rose shot at him.
He turned from the Weasleys to Desirae. "And you're the daughter of Mudblood on the Holyhead Harpies?" Desirae got up and strode towards him as if she dearly wanted to throttle him, but Roxanne held her back. Rose and Fred joined him with their wands drawn, and Albus knew Rose was positively fuming. During their parents' school years, his Aunt Hermione was usually called that disgusting word by many of their Slytherin classmates.
"So you're still on about that nonsense, are you?" Rose sent him a death glare. "And who are you?"
"Rhys Zabini, for your information." With a sneer, he turned and left the compartment. Scorpius Malfoy lingered for a few moments, muttered "I'm sorry," and followed the Zabini boy. Surprised, Albus stared at the blond's retreating back. Uncle Ron had always said Malfoys had too much pride to apologize or admit they were wrong.
Rose had the same thing on her mind. "Did a Malfoy just apologize?" she asked aloud, stowing her wand in her pocket and sitting back down. The others did the same.
"Apparently," Roxanne spoke up, "My dad said to watch out for Scorpius Malfoy, Marvin Goyle, and Ashtyn Montague, but I guess we have to add Rhys Zabini to that list." She turned towards her twin. "What should we ask Dad for, Freddie?"
"Everything," he said seriously. "We'll need the lot to prank that git."
Albus looked over at Desirae to see that she was still glowering intently at the door. "You shouldn't worry too much about him, Desirae. Just ignore him."
"It's more than that. My dad always thought he was a Muggleborn during the War," she sighed, "Two years ago, he found out that his dad was a wizard who was murdered during the First War. He was killed by Zabini's granddad who then killed himself rather than be given the Dementor's Kiss. I bet if I would've mentioned I was Jude Thomas's granddaughter, he would've known who I was."
Not knowing how to respond to her words, he grinned slightly at her. Desirae offered him a small smile back and Albus hoped that in her he found a friend for life.