Locomotor
Spell to set something in motion
Albus took a deep breath as the train doors rattled shut behind him.
He ran to nearest window and stared out, watching the distant figures of his parents fading into the distance. It was finally time. He was a Hogwarts student! He spun around and stared down the length of the train, digging his toes into the carpet through his shoes. He needed to find Rose, she'd already gotten on and was surely saving them a compartment.
He started down the hall, peeking in here and there. Each window led to a different group, one of which contained Professor Longbottom. He gave Albus a friendly wave and Albus flailed his arm back. Some compartments were packed with more first-years even smaller than Albus, shoved in as tight as sardines. Others were home to towering seventh-years that Albus thought could be giants. He saw all manner of kids, but no Rose. His legs were starting to get tired from walking up and down the train for so long, he considered going to an empty compartment.
"No way!" he heard a girl yell out from a nearby compartment. He whipped around to see a silky-haired girl bouncing up and down in her compartment. "You're Albus Potter!"
"Uh-" Albus stammered.
"Come sit with me!" she insisted.
"Well, um..." She looked so excited to see him, it would break her heart if he walked away. "Sure, I guess." He stepped into the tiny room and sat on the bench across from her. The rest of the seats were empty.
She seemed to notice his glances at the unfilled seats. "Oh, my other friend is coming." She stuck out her tiny hand for a shake. "I'm Veronica. Veronica Parkinson."
"Albus Potter," he said, accepting her greeting. She pumped her arm vigorously and stared at him with wide brown eyes. Parkinson...he was sure his dad had mentioned that name.
"Well, duh! I know your name!" Veronica said. "I saw the special on your family on WizVision."
"Oh, right," Albus remembered. He sometimes forgot his family was famous. "My parents are hopeless at using WizTech. Even though my uncle started the company!" he complained.
"Oh my god, I never made that connection!" she realized. "Your mom is George Weasley's sister. That's so cool!"
"What's your family like?" he asked.
A shadow passed over her face, but it was gone in an instant. "They're fine. Nowhere near as cool as yours, though! Did your dad ever tell you the story of when he beat the Dark Lord?" she asked, beaming.
"Only, like, a million times," he said, exasperated, but he was smiling too. Maybe this would be his first new friend.
Suddenly the door was wrenched open. He snapped around to stare at the figure in the doorway. It was a lanky boy, an inch or two taller than Albus. He had pale skin that was almost the same color as his hair. His piercing gray eyes darted from Albus to Veronica and back to Albus.
"Hiya, Scorpius!" Veronica exclaimed, patting the seat next to her.
"Who's this?" he asked, cocking his head at Albus.
"Are you...are you Scorpius Malfoy?" Albus asked, wrinkling up his nose.
"Uh, yeah," the boy said, looking wary. "Wait, are you that Potter kid?"
Albus jumped to his feet. He didn't know why, but rage was flaring up inside of him. "You think you can just be a Death Eater and get away with it?"
Scorpius looked like he'd been punched in the gut. Veronica gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. "Albus!" she chided.
"You too! You're his friend? Don't you know his folks still follow Voldemort?" Albus said.
"That's a lie!" Scorpius said, his voice quivering.
"My parents warned me about you Malfoys," Albus spat.
"You don't even know me!" Scorpius complained.
"I know enough," Albus said, and he pushed Scorpius out of the way and stormed out of the compartment.
He couldn't believe he had almost become friends with Veronica! If she was consorting with the likes of the Malfoys, he didn't want any part of it. His parents had warned him over and over, don't talk to the Malfoy boy, don't stare at the Malfoy boy, don't befriend the Malfoy boy. He knew that he would be just his daddy, Draco, and from from the stories his dad had told him, that was one of the worst people possible.
"Albus! There you are!" he heard Rose's shrill voice call from a nearby compartment. He looked it saw it was almost full. One one side sat Rose and Louis, and on the other were the Scamander twins, Lorcan and Lysander. "Where have you been?"
"I just ran into that Malfoy jerk," Albus explained as he collapses next to Rose.
"Ooh, my parents told me the Malfoys are bad news," Louis said, running a hand through his hair, bringing it to a perfect white coif. "Aren't they Death Eaters?"
"Well, they used to be for sure," Rose explained.
"You shouldn't judge him based on his parents," Lysander said, his eyes unfocused and his voice airy. Or was that Lorcan?
"I think you can in this case," the other twin said. He pressed his lips together tightly and stared at his brother fiercely. "Even before Voldemort, the Malfoys have always been evil. It goes back generations!"
"Well, I told him off for it," Albus said proudly.
"It's rude to assume!" the first twin said again.
"Lorcan, will you come off it?" Lorcan chided him. "Kids end up like their parents! Just look at Rose, the spitting image of Hermione. And you may as well be a male version of mom. Why should Malfoy be any different?"
"Let's move on to something a little less depressing," Louis said, swirling his hands through the air. Of everyone Albus had met, no one gesticulated more than his cousin. "What house do you guys think you'll be put in?"
"Gryffindor for me," Albus jumped in immediately.
"I see myself as more of a Ravenclaw," Rose admitted.
"Us too," Lorcan said.
"Honestly, I could care less," Louis said, crossing one leg over the other. "But I think Gryffindor colors will look best on me."
"Louis, you look good in literally anything," Albus reminded him. "You're part veela!"
"Doesn't mean I don't have to try," he retorted, checking his nails to make sure they hadn't chipped.
They spent the rest of the train ride talking about classes and teachers and houses, laughing and thinking. Halfway through the trip Rose bought them all food from the cart and they gorged on Cauldron Cakes and Chocolate Frogs.
Suddenly the train started slowing down. Rose squealed in excitement. "We're here! Oh, I can't believe we're finally here!" They scurried out of the compartment and were caught up in the tidal wave of students pouring from the rest of the cars. Albus was practically carried out into the crisp air of Hogsmeade.
"First years, over here!" a gruff voice yelled. Towering above the crowd, Albus could see Hagrid's giant head and voluptuous beard, shining silver in the moonlight. "First years!"
"Hagrid! Hi!" Albus yelled, squirming through the tightly knit throng.
"Li'l Albus! And Rose, darling! Louis, handsome as ever. And the Scamander twins!" Hagrid cried out to them in turn. "So glad you're here. We'll have loads o' fun!" He turned to the lake behind him. "Everybody into the boats!"
Rose grabbed Albus's hand and pulled him into a little boat with her. The twins took the one next to them and Louis paired with a dark-skinned girl who seemed to be chatting his ear off. "Alright, everyone in?" Hagrid shouted. He received whoops and cheers in response. "I'll take that as a yes! Off to Hogwarts!" Everyone cheered again in earnest as the boats started drifting across the dark water of the lake.
"Oh, gosh, I'm so nervous!" Rose cried. "What if I get put in a bad house?"
"You mean Slytherin?" Albus asked. Rose nodded sheepishly. "I'm nervous about it too. But trust me, you're not the type. You're a Ravenclaw for sure, maybe a Gryffindor." He pointed a finger over her shoulder where he'd just spotted Scorpius and Veronica sailing together. "They are Slytherins. Conniving, cruel, cold-hearted. And you're nothing like them. You are brilliant." Her eyes glimmered with reassurance.
They sat in nervous silence the rest of the way until the bottom of their boat scraped against the shore. "Everybody out and follow me up to the castle!" Hagrid called out. Albus looked up in wonder at the impossibly high turrets and ancient stone walls of Hogwarts. He stumbled over the edge of the boat and felt his shoes sink into the wet sand. He and Rose shared an excited glance and started trudging toward the entry hall.
"You excited, Albus?" Hagrid whispered to him as they made their way through the grounds.
"Totally," Albus said, but there was way more to it than that. He was excited, sure, but more nervous than anything. He had so much to live up to! Both his mom and dad were famous, and no matter what his dad said, if he somehow ended up in Slytherin he knew they would be disappointed.
Finally they pushed through the grand doors into the entry hall. A thin, frail woman waited for them there, her gray curls falling gently around her shoulders. "Good evening, students. Welcome to Hogwarts," she said, spreading her arms wide. "I am Professor Grubbly-Plank. I'll be escorting you to the Great Hall for the Sorting Ceremony. Remember, there is no wrong house! No matter where you go, you are still a great wizard," she assured them, her eyes scanning the group. "Follow me, now."
They started marching down the hall in two long lines, Albus's hands shaking and his armpits breaking out in sweat. Finally the doors to the Great Hall swung open and Albus braced himself for the Sorting.
"Everyone find a seat at one of the house tables," Grubbly-Plank told them. "When it's your turn, we'll call you up and you should go sit with your new house."
Albus looked around the enormous room at the four tables. On one side of the room were the Slytherins, raucous and obnoxious as ever. Next to them were Ravenclaws, whispering to each other excitedly. The next table held all the Hufflepuffs, who were even louder than the Slytherins. Finally there were the Gryffindors, and it didn't take much searching to find his brother James at the table. He waved, and Albus waved back. Just that small gesture was enough to boost his confidence.
"I'm going to sit with Lorcan and Lysander at the Ravenclaw table," Rose told him.
"Alright, Louis and I'll sit with the Gryffindors," Albus told her, and they went over to take a seat next to James.
"Welcome to Hogwarts, dude!" James exclaimed, ruffling Albus's already messy hair.
"Attention, students! For those who do not know, I'm Professor Grubbly-Plank, Care of Magical Creatures Instructor," she announced from the stage. "I shall be running the Sorting this year. Before we begin, the Sorting Hat has a little song for you." She pulled a worn old witch's hat from behind her back and set it on a stool on the stage. A seam on the hat split open like a mouth, and a deep baritone voice started singing from the hole.
"Although my fabric has been torn,
My edges ripped and frayed,
There's nothing like the Sorting Hat!
My magic cannot fade!
I'll look inside your little mind
And see just who you are,
You never know just what I'll find,
With which house you're on par.
Is Ravenclaw the place for you,
With so much in their heads?
Their ideas flow the whole day through,
And even in their beds!
Is Hufflepuff a better fit,
Where all the kindest dwell?
Their loyalty will never quit;
You know they'll treat you well.
Slytherin could be the place
You will feel right at home,
Ambitious, smart, and powerful,
Once there, you'll never roam!
And finally, there's Gryffindor,
So brave, and noble too!
You can trust a Gryffindor,
To risk themselves for you!
It's time, at last, to see the truth;
Just where do you belong?
Try me on and you will see,
I never can be wrong!"
The seam closed and the hall erupted in applause. Professor Grubbly-Plank stepped forward and cleared her throat. Immediately they fell into silence.
"What a lovely tune. Now, on to what we've all been waiting for; the Sorting! We'll go alphabetically through every first-year student for efficiency. The first is Delilah Akre!"
A pale, blond girl stepped up to the stage. Grubbly-Plank placed the hat on her head, and just a moment later the hat called out, "Hufflepuff!"
The rest of the ceremony was a blur. It was just a whirlwind of Gryffindors and Ravenclaws, the names becoming indistinct and fuzzy. Despite his big meal earlier, his stomach was aching from hunger. Then Grubbly-Plank called a name that drove all other thoughts from his mind.
"Scorpius Malfoy!" He looked to the Slytherin table where Scorpius was rising. Is this really necessary? Albus thought. We all know he'll be a Slytherin.
Not fifteen seconds later, his idea was confirmed. "Slytherin!" the hat yelled. Scorpius blushed and scurried back to his seat.
Not too long later, Veronica Parkinson went up to the stage, another surefire Slytherin. Grubbly-Plank pressed the hat firmly on Veronica's head. This time it took about five seconds to decide. "Hufflepuff!" it roared.
Veronica stared up at the brim of the hat in shock. She gingerly took it off and set it back on the stool. The Hufflepuffs were screaming encouragement, but it fell on deaf ears. A tear seemed to be peeking from Veronica's eye as she shuffled down the stairs. Albus felt bad for her, sort of. Surely her parents wanted her to end up in Slytherin. Would they be angry she wasn't?
Then Albus realized. Parkinson. They were on the Ps. Potter must be-
"Next! Albus Potter!" Shaking from his head down to the tips of his toes, he stood from his seat at the table. He felt James' hand clap him on the back as he started stumbling his way up to the stage. He collapsed onto the stool and felt hundreds of eyes burning into his body. He felt the worn fabric of the Sorting Hat fall onto his head, and all at once an unfamiliar presence filled his mind. It was like someone had broken into his head and was looking at all his secrets.
Please not Slytherin, he thought, hoping the hat could hear.
Slytherin? Yeah right, he heard the gruff voice say in his head. No need to worry, kid. You're definitely a-
"Gryffindor!" the hat yelled. As the hat was pulled off his head, Albus felt like a huge weight was being removed too. The hat didn't even consider Slytherin for him. He was a true Potter!
He ran back to his seat, encouraged by cheers and yells, loudest of all from James. Somehow, all of his nerves had been replaced with excitement. Everything was going as planned!
He zoned out even further from what was happening on the stage, so absorbed in the rush of being sorted. He tuned in only to the people he cared about. Like the Scamander twins, for instance.
Lorcan was the first up, and he didn't look nearly as nervous as Albus. He was so confident in himself, so sure of who he was, and he had no doubt the hat would see that. In a way, he was more of a Gryffindor than Albus was. But of course, he would definitely be in Ravencla-
"Gryffindor!" the hat screamed, almost the instant it was placed on Lorcan's head. He looked shock, his eyes wide as saucers. He didn't look upset, though; just surprised. He blinked a few times and came to his senses. He pulled off the hat and walked down to his new table to sit next to Albus.
"Nice! We're both Gryffindors!" Albus congratulated him.
"Yeah, I guess," Lorcan answered. "Oh, there goes Lysander!"
Now Lysander was having the hat set on his head, his expression still dreamy. "Hufflepuff!" the hat cried, and Lysander smiled widely. The Hufflepuffs clapped for him as he moved down to join their ranks.
"Not really surprised about that one," Lorcan said. "As much as he praised Ravenclaw, I know he really wanted Hufflepuff."
They sat there together, watching their classmates face the hat. Eventually, they reached the W's, and that could only mean one thing: it was Weasley time.
Louis was first. "Wish me luck," he whispered to Albus before he started strutting up to the stage. He waved at the crowd before he sat down. "Hat, please!" he chirped at Grubbly-Plank, who rolled her eyes as she put it on his head.
Albus had expected an immediate answer like there'd been for the others, but the hat seemed to be taking its time with this one. Louis scrunched up his face in concentration; it looked like he and the hat were arguing inside. After what felt like forever, Louis let out the breath he was holding in a big burst, and the hat cried out, "Slytherin!"
Slytherin. A Weasley in Slytherin? Unheard of. And especially Louis! He was just a big ball of fun and energy. How could he possibly fit in with the rest of them?
The Slytherins looked just as shocked. Louis got no applause as he walked down to join them, scowling the whole way. He collapsed between two enormous boys who looked down at him like he had a flesh-eating disease.
Grubbly-Plank cleared her throat and continued. "Rose Weasley." Although Rose looked very distressed about Louis, she wasn't about to let it ruin the moment she'd been waiting for since she could talk. She held her chin high and walked up to the stool. She crossed her legs and set her hands in her lap as Grubbly-Plank's wrinkled hands pressed the Sorting Hat onto her head.
"Ravenclaw!" the hat shouted. Surprise, surprise. Out of all the sortings, this was the one he was most sure about. Where could Rose go but Ravenclaw?
"That's it for the Sorting," Grubbly-Plank said definitively, yanking the hat from Rose's head and ushering her back to the Ravenclaw table. "Now, before we feast, a few words from Headmistress McGonagall." There was a surge of applause as an old woman stood up from the staff table, her back ramrod straight. Albus could tell she was ancient, but she didn't show it in her posture or her stare, which was fierce like that of a hawk.
"Sonorus," she muttered, and the tip of her wand lit up blue. She held it in front of her like a microphone and began to speak, her voice amplified by the spell. "Good evening, students, and welcome to Hogwarts!" Another cheer rang out. "I trust you'll all be very successful here, and to all our new students, I can assure you a high-quality education. This school's days of disrupting classes for battles are long over!" Many of the students chuckled as her eyes surveyed the crowd. "Our staff is of the highest caliber, and they don't go easy on students, so don't skimp out on your lessons! Also, please remember that no one of the opposite gender is permitted in the other dormitory. Well, that's enough rambling!" she exclaimed. "Let's eat!"
The Gryffindor table suddenly filled with platters of food towering high up towards the ceiling. Albus marveled at the stacks of meat, piling chicken onto his plate and drowning it in gravy. Lorcan eyed Albus's heavy plate warily as he scooped himself some salad.
Albus started chatting with all the other first-year Gryffindors, laughing it up and growing new friendships. He saw that Rose was having a good time too, no doubt talking with the other Ravenclaws about their summer reading. Lysander looked like he was at home with the Hufflepuffs, too, but Albus still had a hard time enjoying himself because of Louis. He looked so out of place at the Slytherin table, it almost hurt Albus to look. Instead, he started gorging on the pastries that appeared, stuffing himself with muffins and cakes.
Finally, feeling so full that he felt he might explode, McGonagall stood again. "What a lovely feast! I think I speak for everyone when I say it's time we get some sleep. Please follow your prefects to your dormitories and find a bed. Get a good night's sleep. You'll need it for tomorrow. See you in the morning, and once again, welcome to another year at Hogwarts!"
The students cheered as six students from each table rose and started directing the students of their house out into the rest of the school. Albus and Lorcan stayed glued to each other's sides as their house started marching up flight of stairs after flight of stairs. They reached a corridor that led to a portrait of a large woman lounging on some stone steps. "Password?" she asked in a shrill, musical voice.
"The password is Resurrection Stone!" one of the prefects yelled so they all heard.
"Come on in!" she chimed, and the portrait swung inward to reveal the Gryffindor common room. It matched the way Albus's father had described it to him perfectly: plush red furniture, low wooden tables, a roaring fireplace, and a smell of freshly churned dirt. It was perfect.
"Girls that way, boys that way!" another prefect shouted, pointing to two staircases. "Your trunks are already in your rooms. Go get some sleep!"
Albus and Lorcan charged up the stairs and turned into the first room they saw. Their trunks sat at the feet of two beds right next to each other. They started pulling out their pajamas, getting ready for bed. As they went, the other three occupants started filling in the room. There was Jack Thomas-Finnegan, who greeted them with a bright smile as he started unpacking. Next to arrive was Elijah Jordan who was placed across the room from Albus. Finally, there was Panju Patil, who was placed in the center of the semicircle of beds.
Albus settled in to sleep, his mind racing, nervous and excited once again. His journey at Hogwarts was about to begin.