Old Friends' Creations Become New To One Another

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor have I ever. J.K. Rowling is an amazing writer, and no one shall ever change that.

A/N: This story takes place right after the ending of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows. So please, unless you want to spoil the book (this is a note for those who have not yet read/finished the last book) I would advice you NOT to continue reading this. Thank you.

Albus Potter made his way through the Hogwarts Express, the cushioned, red velvet carpet of the train's hall making no noise under his feet. He pressed his hand against the compartment glass as he glanced inside it; a young boy, probably the same age as Albus himself, was sitting on the seat alone in the compartment, a tiny black owl perched on his lap. His face seemed so familiar to Albus, as if he had seen it before; slightly pudgy in the face, with a mop of dark brown hair and a nervous glance out the window. He resembled a picture that Albus' mother, Ginny, had shown him one night before going to bed.

"And this, Al, is an old friend of your father and myself. We went to school with him, and he has now taken on the roll of Herbology teacher," she had told him, laying the open photo album onto Albus' lap. Albus looked down into the photo album; a man with a round face, yet beaming smile was waving and smiling with his mother and father and his father's two oldest friends, Hermione and Ron. They were all much younger in the picture, though, about fifteen at the time.

"His name is Neville Longbottom. And when you attend Hogwarts next year, Al, you'll meet him too. He's a very kind man, and wouldn't dare hurt anyone, so I hope you treat him with respect," his mother had said before placing a soft kiss on his forehead and turning the light out.

As Albus glanced at the boy again, he noticed that the boy's big brown eyes were staring back at him. Albus slid open the compartment door and smiled.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" he asked, gesturing towards the seat across from the boy.

"N-not at all," the boy quivered nervously. Albus beamed and slid into the seat across from the boy. The tiny black owl fluttered it's wings at the new arrival.

"I'm Albus, Albus Potter. I think I know who your dad is," said Albus, extending a hand to the boy.

"My dad's the Herbology teacher at Hogwarts. I-I'm a first year. My name's Axton Longbottom," the boy said, taking Albus' hand in his. He shook it nervously.

"I thought so. I'm a first year, too. My parents are Ginny and Harry Potter." At the mention of his father's name, Axton's eyes grew wide with excitement. Albus was used to that kind of treatment, since his father had destroyed the most dangerous wizard ever to have walked the wizarding world.

"It's a honour, I swear!" said Axton, beaming happily as he bounced his knees under the black owl again. The owl hooted angrily and glared up at Axton. "Oh, I'm sorry Cleevey!" he replied, patting the owl's head.

Just then, there was a small tap on the compartment door, causing both Albus and Axton to turn towards it. A boy with ruffled black hair and bright blue eyes smiled at the two boys, where behind him a girl with long, wavy red hair and enormous blue eyes clamped onto his arm tightly. The boy pushed open the glass door.

"Al, who's this?" asked Albus' older brother, James, who was followed closely by the daughter of Ron and Hermione Weasley, Rose.

"This is Professor Longbottom's son, Axton. He's a first year, too," said Albus, gesturing infront of him. "Axton, this is my older brother, James, and Ron and Hermione Weasley's daughter, Rose. James is a third year, but Rose is a first year like us."
"Hi," said Axton nervously. James smiled.

"Hello!" said Rose unexpectedly, causing James to jump.

Just then, two almost identical children came up behind James and Rose. Both were platinum blonde with big blue eyes; the girl's hair was much longer and pulled into a ponytail with strands of gold hair framing her face, and the boy's hair was spikey and messy. Both were wearing their school robes already, displaying their navy-and-silver-striped ties.

"Oh, hello Tristan and Tessah Lovegood," said James, glancing over his shoulder. Tristan waved shyly and looked towards the open compartment.

"First years?" he asked, walking in to shake their hands. Albus introduced himself as James' brother, and Axton introduced himself as Professor Longbottom's son.

"You may want to change into your robes now. We're merely half an hour away from Hogsmead," said Tessah, playing at the badge of an eagle emblazed on her robe. Albus reached into his trunk and pulled a set of black robes, grey pants, a white button-up shirt, and a black tie and headed towards the boy's bathroom to change. James was already dressed in his robes, which were the same design as Tristan and Tessah's, except the tie was gold-and-red-striped.

Thirty-minutes later, the Hogwarts express pulled up infront of the town of Hogsmead. The prefects held the doors open for the train as the rest of the students piled out, most knowing exactly where to go while the first years looked around in a confused daze.

"Alrigh', first years are with me, come on 'ow," a rough voice called from down the train's platform. Albus looked up to see a very tall man, possibly ten-feet high, standing infront of him, an oil latern hanging from his garbage-lid-sized hands. The man had a thick, black beard that had grown tiny patches of grey from age, and an even thicker black mane of hair. His small beady eyes glanced down at Albus as he approached.

"Is that Albus Potter, I'm seein'?" the man bellowed cheerfully.

"Er, uh, yes," Albus said, scratching his ruffled head of black hair and blinking his green eyes up at the man.

"My lord, yer the spittin' image of 'Arry. I'm Hagrid. Your father may'of mentioned me once or twice," the man bellowed. Albus thought for a moment, but could not recall anything, but before he had the chance to answer, Hagrid was snapping his mouth at the first years.

"Come along. We'll be travellin' by boat now. I want five people per boat, and don't any of you dare try steerin', seein' as them boats are enchanted," said Hagrid.

Albus glanced around and quickly found Axton Longbottom and Rose Weasley, who found him aswell and made their way over. The three of them climbed into one of the worn-down wooden boats, where they quickly greeted two new students at Hogwarts, Helena Brown and Jackson Thomas. Albus noticed Helena was very pretty, with long, shiny black hair and soft brown eyes, while Jackson was more rough-looking under his mop of brown hair and cold green eyes. Still, both were very kind to Albus, Axton and Rose.

The boat-ride up to Hogwarts was long. The dark, moonlit sky caused an enchanting reflection of the moon to be cast on the dark waters of the lake surrounding Hogwarts. Their only source of light were tiny, oil lamps hanging from hooks at the back and front of the boat. Axton still clutched Cleevey in his hands, where the owl made no noises, but kept its head burried under its tiny wing. Rose and Helena had both started to fall asleep, Rose's head perched on Helena's shoulder while Helena's cheek rested in Rose's hair, yet Jackson made no notion of wanting to talk to Albus, who was perfectly fine with that.

When the five finally made it to the shore of Hogwarts, all of the other tiny boats were pulling up aswell. Albus seemed suprised to find that the last boat, which had somehow managed to hold the half-giant-half-man Hagrid, was still fully intact. As they made their way up to the castle, lead closely by Hagrid, Albus took in his surroundings, finding it hard to imagine that this would be his second-home. The enormous Hogwarts castle was dark in the moonlight except for the tiny windows of yellow light covering its stone surface. A tall, thick, moaning tree seemed to be snoring in the distance, and a tiny hut could be seen on the opposite side of the castle with billows of grey smoke toppling out of its chimney.

Hagrid lead the first-years into the castle, where fire immediately burst from the stone stands by the doors, leading towards the tall stairs that lead to an enormous, oak door. The door was so tall that Hagrid's head seemed to be ten feet away from the tip of the arch.

"Alrigh', you best all wait here for Professor Flitwick. He'll tell you exactly what to do when you enter the Great Hall," said Hagrid, and with a flick of his flowery, pink umbrella, he dissapeared.

Just then, the tall doors that stood infront of Albus and his fellow first years opened. At first, Albus did not see anyone, but when he looked down slightly, he saw a very short man with a long, trailing white beard and a floppy purple pointed hat gaze up at him from behind his rectangular glasses.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, first years! My name is Professor Flitwick, and I will be teaching you Charms this year," the tiny man said."Now, before you enter the Great Hall, you must only know this. When you enter, be in a single-file line and head straight to the front of the hall. From there, wait until Professor McGonagall has made her announcements and then the sorting will begin. The sorting involves sitting on a wooden stool and having a Sorting Hat placed upon your head, where it will place you in one of the following houses; Ravenclaws, the nobel ones; Hufflepuff, the sly ones; Slytherin, the powerful yet dark ones; and Gryffindor, the brave and strong ones. Good luck!"

Professor Flitwick pushed open the tall, oak doors and revealed the Great Hall. Albus gasped in shock and amazement at the sight that stood before him. The Great Hall was enormous, with four long tables stretched out in the room. Above each table hung four banners, each displaying which house each table belonged to. Albus beamed as he saw the Gryffindor table, where James sat near the front of the row, beaming down at Albus. The ceiling was enchanted into a night sky, with twinkling stars and floating candles throughout it's dark sky. It was astonishing.

Professor Flitwick lead the first years towards the front of the hall, where he took his place in the empty seat along the staff table. Albus glanced at Axton, who was smiling and waving towards a man quite similar to him in appearance, only much older. Albus recognized him as Professor Longbottom, Axton's father.

"First years, there are several rules you must follow," an elderly woman's voice said. Albus looked up to see a woman with a tall, pointed navy hat perched on her head, her black, greying hair tied into a tight bun and her rectangular spectacles perched on her nose. She folded her hands in her lap and stared down at the first years, her eyes fixed upon Albus.

"The Forbidden Forest is, of course, forbidden to every student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry. You are banned from roaming the halls of the school anywhere past nine-thirty. You may not try out for Quidditch, or the newest competition at Hogwarts, Supressed Dueling, unless you are over the age of twelve. Any questions?" said Professor McGonagall, her eyes fixed upon Albus again. When no one made a noise, Professor Flitwick scurried over as fast as he could on his small legs and placed a stool at the front of a hall, where he placed a tearing, withering hat upon it. He then handed Professor McGonagall a long, rolled-up piece of parchment as she made her way towards the stool before returning to his seat.

Professor McGonagall unrolled the parchment and gazed down at the first name to be called for sorting.

"Alyssa Abbot."

Albus glanced along the staff table from left to right; Professor Longbottom was at the end, his hands dingy from dirt and a speckle or two of dirt under his eyes, beaming down proudly at his son. Beside him was Hagrid, his massive body taking up a good chunk of one half of the table, who was combing at his tangled beared with a tiny pink comb. Next to Hagrid was Professor Flitwick, who's tuffs of white hair bushed out from underneath his hat. On the other side of Professor Flitwick was a tall man with long, brown hair tied back into a ponytail and a scruffy face. His eyes drooped slightly and he stared at Albus, his face twisted in some strange way. Albus shivered at the man.

"Let me see.. Hufflepuff!" said the Sorting Hat loudly. An eruption of cheering and clapping came from the Hufflepuff table as Alyssa Abbot made her way towards it.

"Rufus Aberton."

Albus glanced past the eerey man, past Professor McGonagall's empty seat, to a creepy woman with huge bug-like spectacles and a mass of grey and dirty blonde hair underneath a thin purple shawl wrapped around her head. Albus bit his lip and moved away from the bug-eyed lady to a plumper woman, who was still very radiant in a way; her hair golden and wavy, and her eyes slim in a shade of a blueish-green. She was very beautiful.

"Slytherin!"

The Slytherin table cheered as the newcomer made his way over. Albus took his eyes away from the staff tabled as the next name was called.

"Albus Potter."

Whispers spread throughout the Great Hall. Albus glanced sideways towards his brother, who was being whispered upon and stared at at the mention of their last name. Albus creeped up the steps and slid into the stool as Professor McGonagall dropped the hat onto his head.

"Oh yes, another Potter I see. Your father, a very brave man he was," said the Sorting Hat, its brow furrowing and the slit that was to be its mouth curling into a smile."Defeated the Dark Lord, as we all knew he would. He belogned in Gryffindor, or so he thought, and your eldest sibling, James, was a very noble choice of the Gryffindors aswell. But where shall we put you? You have the brains of a Ravenclaw, the sleekness of a Hufflepuff, the strangeness of a Slytherin, and the bravery of a Gryffindor. It really is your choice."

Gryffindor, Albus muttered in his head.

"Gryffindor? Are you sure?" the Sorting Hat repeated, glancing down towards Albus. Albus nodded quickly, his eyes shut tight. "Very well. GRYFFINDOR!"

The loud cheer of the Gryffindor table caused Albus to open his eyes again. Everyone was on their feet, clapping madly, including James. Albus smiled and jumped off the stool, running towards his classmates. He slid onto the bench, beside his older brother who gave him a happy smile.

"Rose Weasley."

Rose skipped up the steps, her read hair bouncing against her back and the butterfly clips holding her hair away from her face almost slipping out. She slid onto the stool, and before the hat could even touch her smooth head, it called out, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Another loud cheer. Albus smiled happily at his cousin as he let her slide onto the bench beside him.

Soon, the once-long line of first years had only two remaining students; Axton, and a boy with platinum blonde hair slicked back onto his head and steeley blue eyes. Albus recognized him instantly as Scorpius Malfoy.

"Axton Longbottom."
Professor Longbottom beamed happily at the mention of his son's name. Axton nervously walked up to the stool and sat upon it, clutching the sides of the stool tightly with his white-knuckled hands. Professor McGonagall slid the hat onto Axton's dark hair.

"Oh, what have we got here? Another Longbottom? Wonderful, another Gryffindor aswell," the Sorting Hat croaked. Gryffindor screamed wildly as Axton made his way to the table, sliding onto the bench across from Albus.

"Scorpius Malfoy."

The blonde-haired boy smirked evily as he proudly stepped up to the stool. Albus noticed the hat slightly grimace as he recognized another Malfoy, and before the Professor could even place the hat on his head, even before she was nowhere near his scalp, the Sorting Hat cried out, "SLYTHERIN!"

Slytherin's cheered at the new comer. As Scorpius passed the Gryffindor table, he let his eyes fall upon Albus, smirking knowingly. They knew each other all too well, and Albus had always found it humorous that the only reason he was supposed to hate Scorpius was because he was the son of his father's most hated enemy, Draco Malfoy, but now Albus knew there was nothing but pure evil beneat his dark robes, blonde hair, and cold as ice eyes.

Once again, Albus found himself staring at the man with the ponytail at the staff table. His eyes seemed familiar to Albus, and suddenly, his hair changed colour; from the depressing brown to a vibrant black with blonde, purple, pink and red stripes throughout it. Albus jumped, startled by the sudden change. As he looked closer, he noticed the man looked alot younger than he had thought before.

"James, who's that?" Albus muttered as Professor McGonagall announced for the feast to begin. Mountains of food spread across the table infront of them, where James was hidden behind an enormous jug of pumpkin juice.

James slid the juice jug out of the way.

"Professor Ted Lupin."