Albus boarded the Hogwarts Express, and felt a swooping sensation in his stomach as the train took off. He turned around and looked out the window of the now closed door, and saw his parents grinning and waving at him. Feeling comforted, he returned the smile and watched them fade into the distance. When they were nothing more than specks, Albus picked up his bag and started off to find a place to sit. Albus knew that there was no chance that James would be seen by his friends with his little brother tagging along, so he searched for his cousin Rose.
After what seemed like hours of searching, he finally spotted familiar bushy red hair in one of the compartments. The train shook as Albus slid open the door to see that Rose was not sitting alone. A blonde boy with blue-grey eyes was sitting opposite of Rose, tapping his fingers nervously on the window sill. Rose greeted him smiled and motioned for Albus to sit by her. "Oh, hi." said Albus, as he sat down next to his cousin. The boy nodded his head to show that he heard him, but kept his eyes on the floor. Rose shifted in her seat to face Albus. "Albus," she said hesitantly, "This is Scorpious Malfoy. He is a first year like us." "Malfoy, that sounds familiar…" said Albus, until it finally clicked and he remembered the stories his father and his uncle Ron told them about their days at Hogwarts. Ron and his father didn't seem to view Draco Malfoy as a lovely guy, considering his dark past. He decided it wouldn't be a good idea to intertwine with this Scorpious fellow.
His thoughts were interrupted with a loud screech that escaped Rose's mouth. Albus looked down and saw that Piggy, his toad, had escaped his front pocket and was now blankly staring at Rose. Just as Albus made a grab to retrieve him, Piggy leaped up onto Scorpious's knee, causing him to jump slightly, but then pick him up. As he handed him to Albus he quietly said "I've always wanted a toad, but my father thinks all animals are filthy." A moment of silence swept over the three small children and Albus slipped Piggy back into his shirt pocket. Scorpious spoke up again "I'm sure you've heard your parents speak of my father. To be honest, I am ashamed of what he has done. He tells me that I should be proud to be a pure blooded wizard that has "dark" ancestry, but I'm not. I always wonder what lives would have been spared if my father had stopped what he was doing and switched to the good side….your parent's side." Scorpious shifted uncomfortably to his side, signaling that that was all he had to say. Rose looked over at Albus, a confused expression lye across her face as if she didn't know whether to trust what he said or not. Albus looked into Scorpious's pale eyes, stretched out his hand and smiled "I'm Albus Potter; you can call me Al if you like." Scorpious looked up, a bit startled by this sudden attempt at Albus befriending him, and slowly shook Albus's hand with a firm grip. As he pulled away, a grin slowly spread across his face as he said "Hi, I'm Scorpious Malfoy." Rose had already previously introduced herself, so the tension that had been felt before was released as the Hogwarts Express rounded a corner and headed into the snowy mountains towards Hogwarts.
As the children talked on about various topics such as past experiences, the latest products that George was now selling, and Quidditch (Rose paid no attention to this, rather she picked up a book on Magical beasts), the topic of housing came up. "My father would kill me if I ended up in there," muttered Scorpious in response to Albus's great wish to be in Gryffindor. "I don't think it really matter's what house you are in, as long as you are a good person deep inside" replied Rose smugly as she put down her book. "My father would only believe that if pure wizard blood flew through your insides." Retorted Scorpious, causing Albus to grin. "Well, maybe we will get lucky and all be in the same house" laughed Albus. "Yea right, every Malfoy to date has been in Slytherine, and I don't see that streak breaking anytime soon," sighed Scorpious. "You never know, before we left Kings Cross my dad told me something that I've never heard before." Replied Albus quietly. "He told me that in his first year, he asked the sorting hat to be placed in Gryffindor. Apparently, my father was supposed to be a Slytherine. Maybe you could do the same?"
The train was slowing down, and as Rose, Albus and Scorpious looked out the window, a beautiful castle was becoming visible in the dark night sky. Moon light shone down upon a dark lake and torches lit up the castle. Albus had only seen pictures, and even thought the pictures sprung to life like muggle movies, they still didn't compare to the real beauty of the old castle. This is going to be my home, thought Albus, and the train pulled to a complete stop. "It really is magnificent," said Rose in awe. Scorpious's jaw was still dropped. As they stood up to get off the train, James slid open the door to the train compartment. "Hey kiddies, you better hurry up or old Hagrid's gonna leave you here to feed grawp." James walked away with his year 3 friends laughing. Albus knew that Hagrid wouldn't leave him behind, but he didn't want to take any chances. "Come on now" he said as he exited the compartment. "Oh slow down Albus, you know James is kidding. Besides, Hagrid can't wait to see his favorite kids!" said Rose, following Albus. "Hagrid?" asked Scorpious quizzically. It hadn't occurred to Albus that Scorpious had never heard, or seen (even though he was hard to miss) Hagrid. "Hagrid is an old family friend," puffed Albus as he carried his trunk full of various items down the path to where all the other first years stood, "He really helped my dad and Rose's parents when they went to Hogwarts. He is like family to us. You won't be able to miss him" smirked Albus as Rose grinned.
The three approached where all the first years were gathered, exchanged hugs with their old friend Hagrid while Scorpious stood in shock by Hagrid's size, and set across to the school's entrance. There were plenty of "Ooooh's" and "Ahhhhh's" followed by a series of giggles as Peeve's the Poltergeist flew over head, chasing a 5th year witch while dropping her school books onto her. Hagrid ran after the two and yelled back "Stay were ya are. Professor Earwobble will be wit ya soon." Within seconds, a short, blonde haired woman appeared on the steps with a grin. "First years follow me." She pronounced loudly as her voice boomed through the castle entrance. Rose was close to Albus's side, clearly frightened while Scorpious, who was on the opposite side of Albus, seems to be showing no emotion at all. The doors to the great hall were open as cheering commenced from inside. "This is it" stammered Rose, as she gripped Albus's hand. The nervous first years walked in and waited to be sorted.