A/N: Welcome to the new story! I love reviews, criticism, even flames, so leave me some. A big thank you goes out to my new beta, HPkitty, who edited this for me. I hope you enjoy it. - Sharpie
Chapter One: The Sorting
The first time I saw him, it was impossible to tear my eyes away. Those slate gray eyes… the slicked back white hair… Yes, Scorpius was the most handsome man I had even seen. In fact, I was so fixated on the boy that I stumbled off the train and ended up with my face smashed against the pavement. Groaning as I heard a group of girls giggle and walk around me, I figured I should just let myself lay there for the rest of my life, as the embarrassment would be permanently etched into my face.
Behind me, I heard my cousin Dominique sigh. She grabbed me by the back of my robe and yanked me up into a standing position. "Honestly, Al!" Her high pitched voice mixed with her obviously French accent made me wince internally. "Get yourself together. If you can't at least pretend to not be awkward, we can't be seen with you." Behind her, I saw Victorie and Louis nod. The three, despite being three different houses, were inseparable.
"And, if you're going to stare at the Malfoy boy, do your best not to drool all over the place," Victorie said as she wrinkled her nose. Even though I figured I wasn't really drooling, I still wiped my sleeve across my face.
Then, quite suddenly, a big shadow appeared from behind me, and I found rather large, rather strong hand on my shoulder. "Al, shouldn't ye be uh getting' yerself on the boats with de rest of de first years?" Saved by the bell, I thanked Merlin. Hagrid saw me off to the boats before piling into one and riding with us all the way across the black lake.
Lucky for me, Malfoy's boat had already been filled, so I got to sit with my cousin Rose and some of the other first years. Being the genius she is, having taken after her mother, Rose prattled on and on about facts regarding the Black Lake until we docked again. I didn't listen though; my breath had been taken away by the mysterious beauty of the world that surrounded us. My older brother, James, had told me about this, but he didn't mention the details. The way the gray clouds seemed to hug the moon and the stars glittered in the background, was simply magic. The black as night waters seemed to sparkle in the reflection of the sky. Beside me, Rose made some frustrated noise when she realized that I was tuning her out. She, like Aunt Hermione, hated to be ignored when she was trying to give an informative lecture.
The boats were docked within fifteen minutes of the ride beginning, and then we were all herded into the Grand Entrance of Hogwarts. My father told me it looked completely different now than it had before the war had been fought. The Death Eaters had totally destroyed it, but with the help of the remaining Hogwarts professors and the Head Mistress, it had been put back together. Large statues of medieval looking knights greeted us as we walked through the halls of the castle before we were greeted by two large wooden doors. A man with messy brown hair and a kind smile waited for us by the doors.
"The firs'-years, Professor Longbottom," said Hagrid.
"I'll take them from here." The man, Professor Longbottom, replied as the giant went into what was supposed to be the Great Hall. "Welcome to Hogwarts, students," the professor spoke, his voice thick with an accent that I couldn't quite place. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses." I could feel my stomach clench, but the words my father had spoken to me at the train station were still in my mind. "You were named for two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew." The man before us kept talking, going on about the four houses, telling us about house points and dorms and the house cup. "I'll come and get you when we're ready for you. Try not to be too nervous, everything will turn out fine."
With that, the professor slipped back inside the large doors, shutting them softly behind himself.
"I'm hoping for Ravenclaw," Rose said, causing me to jump as she suddenly appeared by my side. "Gryffindor would be fine as well, but I don't think my knowledge would be properly appreciated among them," I rolled my eyes at her straight forwardness. She was definitely Uncle Ron's child; he never had a single problem with speaking his mind… ever.
"I'll be happy in any house you're not in, Rosie," I grumbled before wincing when she cuffed me in the back of the head, making my skull feel like a thoroughly rung bell.
"What would grandmother say if she heard you talking to me like that? Oh, you make me so mad, Albus Potter!" Her face was becoming a red as her hair, and as magnificent as it was, it didn't really help the fact that she wasn't all that attractive to begin with.
"She would probably just tell me not to speak to family like that and to apologize or some rubbish like that," I shrugged. As Rose opened her mouth to whine at me some more, Professor Longbottom returned with a goofy grin on his face.
He pushed open both wooden doors, and many students around me gasped as they looked at the grand hall for the first time. "Come now, the Sorting Ceremony is about to start."
Like a herd of cats, we all went through the doors in organized chaos, walking past the long tables in the middle of the hall, until we ended up before a platform. On the platform sat a bench and a hat that reminded me very much of a wrinkled old man.
"That's the sorting hat," Rose whispered to me in an excited tone. It was easy to see that she had already forgotten our previous argument. That was to be expected though. She was bright, but she was still a girl. In my experience, girls seemed to forget past drama when something more exciting happened.
"Welcome to Hogwarts!" An elderly voice sounded from somewhere on the platform. It only took a moment for us all to know the voice had come from Headmistress McGonagall. "Now, if you would all settle down, we are ready to start the sorting." With that, she expected us all to shut our traps, which we did, and she pulled out a long list of names. I nearly groaned as I started to wait for my own.
About thirty names had been called before McGonagall said one that actually caught my attention. "Scorpius Malfoy," she called in her usual clipped tone. The boy I saw earlier, the one who had been carved by the gods, stepped up on the platform, did a small spin on his heel when he reached the stool, and sat down quite gracefully. The way he held himself made him look quite like a muggle super model; his long legs crossed as he sat with his back straight. The hat sat gently on his white hair, which was slicked back in the Malfoy fashion, though I couldn't help but notice that he didn't have a widows peak like his father.
"Slytherin!" The Hat announced, as if it wasn't totally obvious. There had yet to be someone in the Malfoy family that wasn't a Slytherin. The blonde hopped off of the chair before making his way over to the cheering table. He sat next to my cousin, Louis, and they chatted for a few moments before the room grew silent once more.
"Albus Potter," McGonagall said, before looking up at me from her list. With a deep breath, I climbed the three steps leading up to the platform, my mind swimming with thoughts. What house would I be in? Would they accept me there, or would I end up being an outcast? James had told me that was a possibility, but I had pushed it from my mind until now. After gulping down the lump in my throat, I sat down lightly on the wooden stool, feeling more than nervous. I wondered if my father had felt that way when he sat on it years ago, but I figured he had probably been confident, like he always was.
I winced internally as the sorting hat was placed on my head. It started saying things like "Ah" and "very interesting", which only served to make me become even more nervous. By the time the hat cleared its throat, I felt as if my stomach would explode from all of the butterflies fluttering about inside it.
"Slytherin!" I felt my jaw drop slightly.