Albus Potter and the Snakes of Slytherin: Part One: Chapter One: The First of Many Meetings

Disclaimer: JK Rowling – that wonderful woman – owns all but the plot. I'm just toying with her characters a little.

Semi-important A/N:
This might very well end up as slash but for now it's a friendship fic with a few minor romances thrown in here and there. Eventually there will be a tiny Drarry spin-off which I decided I wouldn't include in the main story. This is going to be a very long fic so I've decided to split it into about three or four separate ones. For now though this one will be first year to third year. The fist chapter isn't terribly exciting but I hope you enjoy it – please review if you do, it's what keeps me writing.

Stepping out of their large car onto the pavement outside Kings Cross Station, Albus couldn't help but feel both excited and anxious. The longest he'd ever been away from home was a few days, when his mother had been in the hospital and they'd had to stay with their grandparents, and now he was expected to go away for a whole school year, with a few weeks off here and there. He was excited, of course he was, but his nervousness almost cancelled it out. He was sure James hadn't been this nervous. But then, James was James, and James wasn't scared of anything. Not that Albus was scared. No, just slightly worried.

"You'll be fine." His mother assured him, opening the door for Lily to hop out.

"I wouldn't be nervous." His sister informed him, taking his hand as they went off in search of a couple of trollies, "I can't wait to go to Hogwarts!"

Albus smiled, hugging his sister to his side as they walked, "I know. You've been telling us for the past four years; maybe longer."

She elbowed him sharply in the ribs, though not hard enough to hurt him badly, "I just don't want to wait another two years. It's not fair; you and James get to go off and have fun at Hogwarts and I'll be all alone!"

"You'll have Hugo." Albus reminded her, grabbing two trollies and handing one over to Lily to push back to the car, "And the Scamander twins. And Teddy will be staying for a while before he goes off to Romania."

"I know!" Lily whined, "But it won't be the same without you. Hugo's lovely, but he's a boy. I won't even have Rose to keep me company, she's off with you!"

Al laughed, "You'll be fine too, Lil. I'm worse off than you; I have to put up with James and his pranks for the next eleven months."

As if summoned by the sound of his name, James appeared in front of them, looking annoyed, "Here, give me that." He said, taking the trolley from Lily, "Mum says to hurry up; the train leaves in fifteen minutes and Dad needs help unpacking the car. For a former Quidditch player he really is a weakling!"

Albus rolled his eyes and followed his brother back to the car, Lily hurrying along behind them.

"Come on!" Their mother called as they approached, "Al, start loading your stuff onto the trolley. Caius is in the front seat and your trunk is in the boot."

Al nodded and went to retrieve his owl from the front of the car. He was quite small but he still received a few funny looks from passing Muggles as he lifted him from the car. His father handed him his trunk, which he placed on his trolley, balancing Caius's cage on top.

James grinned at him as he handed over the bag containing his robes – the one thing he'd forgotten to pack, "These'll look great with your Slytherin tie."

"James." His father warned but it was too late, Albus was already responding, just as James had known he would. There was nothing he liked better than teasing his little brother.

"I'm not going to be in Slytherin!" Albus cried as they hurried into the station, Lily grasping her father's hand tightly.

"You might." James replied, grinning cheekily when his mother frowned at him.

"I won't! I won't be in Slytherin!" Albus denied, scowling up at his brother. Lily watched them nervously, hanging on her father's arm. She hated watching her brothers fight, even if James was just teasing.

"James, give it a rest." Their mother sighed.

"I only said he might be," Said James, grinning at his younger brother, "There's nothing wrong with that. He might be in Slyth-"

James trailed off as he caught his mother's eye and saw his father frown dangerously. They were approaching the barrier anyway and Albus was almost shaking with excitement and nerves. With a slightly cocky look over his shoulder, James took the trolley his mother had been pushing and broke into a run. A moment later, he had vanished.

"You will write, won't you?" Albus asked.

"Every day." His father teased.

Al nodded, gripped the trolley a little tighter, and closed the short distance between him and the wall between platforms nine and ten. As he emerged onto platform nine and three quarters, his parents and sister close behind him, he gazed around anxiously.

"Where are they?"

"We'll find them." Ginny reassured him, guiding him further onto the platform.

Sure enough, just a few moments later, a red-haired girl with her mother's brown eyes bounded towards them, dragging her younger brother along behind her.

"Morning Rose." Harry greeted his niece, "Hugo."

They grinned up at him," Hi Uncle Harry."

"Uncle Harry." Their father repeated as he emerged from the thick smoke to stand behind his daughter. He greeted his best friend with a hug and then stepped back to grin at his sister, "Hermione, I found them!" He called behind him.

"I found them." Grumbled Rose, but then her mother was appearing behind her, wavy brown hair tied back in a messy bun.

"Harry! Ginny!" She greeted, "God, it is busy here, isn't it. I don't remember it being like this when we were at Hogwarts! We weren't sure we'd be able to find you."

"Rose found us." Al supplied helpfully, causing his Uncle to scowl down at him.

"Parked all right, then?" Ron asked Harry, "I did. Hermione didn't believe I could pass a Muggle driving test, did you? She thought I'd have to confound the examiner."

"No I didn't-" Hermione exclaimed.

Albus grinned at Rose, who smiled warmly back at him.

"Excited?" She whispered.

Al nodded, "Nervous?"

"Very."

"I want to be in Gryffindor, or course." Lily told Hugo, "But I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad."

Hugo shook his head, "Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff are the best houses. I wouldn't like to be in Slytherin, but I suppose if that was where I belonged …"

"If you're not in Gryffindor we'll disinherit you." Said Ron, only half joking, "But no pressure."

The others laughed but Rose looked worried, as did Albus. As much as they knew what their parents wanted, both had their doubts about Gryffindor.

Ron glanced across the platform and scowled, "Look who it is." He said to Harry.

They all looked across to where Draco Malfoy stood with his son, an almost exact miniature of himself, platinum blond hair and all, and his wife Astoria. Draco caught sight of them and nodded at Harry, lips twitching up into a half smile before he turned away again.

Ginny frowned at Harry, who had turned an odd shade of red.

"So that's little Scorpius." Muttered Ron, distracting them all, "Make sure you beat him in every test Rosie. Thank god you inherited your mother's brains."

"Ron, for heaven's sake!"

"He's quite handsome isn't he?" Lily whispered, still staring at the small blond boy.

"Eh." Said Rose

Albus grimaced, "Lily, please!"

He hated the idea of his younger sister looking at boys but he had to admit, she was quite right. Scorpius looked exactly like his father had when he was young, and yet somehow managed to be his own person. For example, his hair, though much like his father's, was not gelled back like Draco's had once been, but was instead left to fall around his face in soft curtains. He smiled shyly at Albus, a smile much unlike his father's slightly sarcastic one, causing Albus to blush at having been caught staring. He quickly turned back to his own family, including James had suddenly reappeared with news of Teddy Lupin and Victoire Weasley. Though he pretended he was as excited as the others, James was, of course, upset by what he had discovered and Albus knew it. He was, after all, the only one James had confided in about his crush on Teddy. So he smiled comfortingly at James as their sister gushed about marriage and becoming part of the family.

"It's nearly eleven." Harry told them, "You'd better get on board."

Albus suddenly felt his nervousness return and his father must have noticed, as he took him aside while his mother said goodbye to James.

"What if I'm in Slytherin?"

His father crouched down to look at him, "Albus Severus." He said quietly, "You were named for two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew."
"But just say-"

"-then Slytherin house will have gained an excellent student, won't it? It doesn't matter to us, Al. But you'll always be able to choose Gryffindor over Slytherin. The sorting hat does take your choice into account; at least it did for me."

"Really?"

Harry simply nodded and stood, "Now come on, let's get you onto that train before it leaves without you."

Suddenly realising the train was already filling with students, Albus hurried to jump on, leaving his father to lift on his trunk and his mother to close the door behind him.

Beside him, Rose squeezed him hand as they waved.

Harry walked alongside the train, waving goodbye to his son until he was almost out of sight. Ginny smiled, squeezing his arm reassuringly, "He'll be fine. I'm going to go and find the others and we'll all go back to the Burrow."

Harry nodded silently and watched his wife disappear back into the smoke to find her family. No sooner had she left than a sharp pain shot through his scar and he gasped in shock and pain. He heard footsteps behind him but he'd already fallen to his knees and was too busy trying to stay conscious to see who it was. Then arms wrapped around him and an all too familiar voice was calling out, "Weasley!"

"Maybe you hadn't noticed." Spat his wife from somewhere nearby, "Bug I'm no longer a Weas- Harry!" She cried as she spotted her husband.

Harry didn't respond, "Never thought I'd be in this position again."

Above him, Draco Malfoy chuckled, clutching him tightly as he helped him to stand, "Really Potter, I know you fancy me and all but must you swoon whenever we meet? It really is quite embarrassing; and in front of our wives too!"

Harry smiled through the pain, "You love it really."

"What happened!" Ginny demanded. She glared threateningly at Draco, "What did you do?"

"Ginny!" Harry pleaded, "Don't start! It … wasn't him. It's my scar."

Ginny's eyes widened but Harry didn't see her, his head buried in Draco's shoulder as he tried to block out the pain, "I don't understand." She gasped, "It was meant to have stopped. You told me it had stopped!"

Harry didn't get a chance to reply, as at that moment, Ron and Hermione reappeared with Lily and Hugo in tow, "What's going on? We heard Malfoy shout and then Lily came running."

Harry shuddered, finally lifting his head to look at his friends, "Get them out of here; take them to the Burrow and then meet us at Grimauld Place."

Hermione stared at him, wide-eyed, "But-"

Harry nodded, and then winced in pain, "Call the Order."

xXx

Albus and Rose had sat with James and his friends for all of two minutes before they'd grown annoyed and wandered off in search of another – hopefully empty - compartment. Eventually they found one, right at the end of the train, and settled in. Rose had taken out her T*Witch Weekly magazine and Al had just started on his book when the door creaked open.

"Excuse me."

Rose glanced up and scowled at the blond boy standing in the doorway, "Yes?" She snapped.

Albus frowned at her harshness and looked up, surprised to see none other but Scorpius Malfoy standing nervously at the door.

"I … I was wondering if I could sit here. All of the other compartments are full."

Rose opened her mouth to say no but Albus cut her off.

"Of course." He replied, and Scorpius smiled gratefully at him, knowing the girl had been about to refuse him.

He took a seat across from the two cousins and saw Rose's gaze immediately soften as she spotted what he held in his arms.

"Awww!" She cooed, moving to sit next to him, "How cute!"

Albus laughed but he too moved to sit on the other side of Scorpius so he could get a better view of the tiny kitten Scorpius held on his lap. It was still quite small, maybe four months old, and a beautiful cream colour with a pale warm grey face. It looked up at Albus and he was surprised to see it had shocking blue eyes, much like Scorpius's.

"Her name's Areya. She's a lilac point Siamese."

Rose, seemingly forgetting everything her father had told her, immediately began telling Scorpius all about her own cat, Isis, who she'd had to leave at home. Albus rolled his eyes and stroked the cat that had just clambered onto his lap.

"I'm Albus." He said to Scorpius, interrupting his cousin before she could bore them both to death, "Albus Severus."

Scorpius smiled, "Scorpius Hyperion. Malfoy." He added with a grimace, after a short pause.

"We know." Rose muttered. Then she sighed and held out her hand for Scorpius to shake, "Rose Jean Granger-Weasley."

Albus snickered and Rose shot him a glare before turning back to Scorpius.

"My Dad hates your family but I suppose he'll have to get over it now Al has taken a shine to you."

Al's grin slipped and he blushed, "That's Rose speak for 'I want to be your friend but I'm not going to say it out loud.'"

Scorpius laughed, settling back in his seat, "My Dad won't mind, not really. It's Mum you've got to watch out for. She's a true pureblood."

Rose snorted, "And your father's not?"

Scorpius glared at her, "No. Not anymore."

xXx

Harry, still being held up by Draco, stumbled into the kitchen of Grimauld Place and collapsed into the chair at the head of the table. Draco hesitated for a moment, glancing over to where his wife was seating herself beside Hermione, before perching himself on the arm of Harry's chair. Harry, though still in pain, raised an eyebrow at him in amusement, "Comfortable?"

Draco scowled at him, shifting uncomfortably, "Very."

Harry snorted and, much to his wife's surprise, scooted over so Draco could sit next to him, "I'm sure we could find you another seat. Maybe between Ron and Seamus."

Draco glanced over at said men, who smirked at his expression, "Don't even think about it!" He hissed, shifting a little closer to Harry.

"Come on," Harry teased, rubbing his scar absent-mindedly, "I'm sure they wouldn't hurt you … badly."

"I am deeply wounded." The blond said, faking a hurt expression, "Here was I, thinking you may still care for me!"

It probably should have been uncomfortable after everything that had happened between them during the war but the two seemed completely at ease flirting and teasing each other. Ginny couldn't understand how her husband could be so friendly with their old school-rival but then, she'd never understood Harry. Even as she was thinking this, he was shifting further to the side, making more room for the blond to sit beside him, half on the chair, half on his lap.

She looked around, wondering why no one else seemed to find it odd, and almost laughed when she realised that nobody would find it off. Apparently this was their normal behaviour; the way they'd been ever since Ginny had left Harry for that year when she'd had to go travelling with the Harpies.

"As lovely – and totally not disturbing – as it is to watch my married godfather flirt with another man, why are we here?"

Harry blushed and scowled at his godson, "We're not flirting." He snapped, glancing around at the amused faces of what was supposed to be the Order of the Phoenix, "This isn't the Order."

Hermione frowned, "Well, no, not exactly. I had to do a little last minute recruiting when I couldn't get a hold of everyone. Arthur and Percy are at the Ministry, Neville and Hagrid are at school, Angelina's looking after the shop and Lavender couldn't get away from hers, Charlie's in Spain at the new dragon reserve and Dedalus seems to have disappeared altogether. I couldn't get in touch with Bill and Fleur-"

"They're in Paris." Teddy interrupted, "Visiting her parents."

Hermione acknowledged this with a nod, "So I had to bring in reinforcements, hence the presence of Teddy, Luna, Rolf, Cho and Padma."

Harry sighed, still rubbing his scar even as the pain subsided, "I suppose they'll do. We'll need more members anyway."
"Why, Harry?" asked Luna, leaning forwards in her seat.

"Sorry. Yes." He ran a finger over his scar as he did often when he was thinking, "I had a … vision of sorts; I saw into the Dark Lord's mind and that in itself is a bad thing because he shouldn't have a mind. He's supposed to be dead. But he does and he's not; he's returning and we need to be ready."

xXx

Albus gasped as they entered the Great Hall. He'd been there before, of course, many times actually – for memorials each year and Teddy's graduation the year before, but there was something different about being there as a student, when school was actually in session. He glanced up at the enchanted ceiling, which was dark as the night sky outside, stars scattered on the blue-black background.

"It's-" Rose began

"Bewitched, I know."

Students watched them from their tables as they made their way up to where the sorting hat sat on its stool. Al caught his brother's eye and smiled nervously. James grinned reassuringly at him, silently confirming that he had only been teasing him earlier. Next to him, Albus saw his cousins – Lucy, Fred, Roxanne, Victoire, and Dominique. Almost all of his family was in Gryffindor. Except Molly, of course, who was a Ravenclaw prefect in the running for Head Girl. And then there were family friends, like the Longbottom family, who were all Gryffindors.

Beside him, Scorpius grabbed his hand and squeezed. Rose scowled but refrained from saying anything, lest she upset her favourite cousin.

Neville - Professor Longbottom - led them until they stood before the Head Table, facing the sorting hat. For a moment it was silent, and then it burst into song, startling the muggle-borns, and even some of the others.

Oh you may not think I'm pretty

But don't judge on what you see

Just try me on and I will tell you

Where you ought to be

You may belong in Gryffindor

Where dwell the brave at heart

Or perhaps it could be Ravenclaw

For those with wits and smarts

But then there's also Slytherin,

Ambitious but not kind,

Or maybe in Hufflepuff

Your true friends you will find

So put me on. Don't be afraid

And don't get in a flap

You're in safe hands (though I have none)

For I'm a thinking cap

The Hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song but Albus felt numb with nerves as he clapped his hands, barely registering Professor Longbottom's words, or even the first student scurrying up the steps to sit on the stool.

"Slytherin!" The Hat announced loudly, and the girl hopped off of the stool, looking decidedly pleased with herself as she skipped over to her house table.

"Abercrombie, Fabius." Professor Longbottom called.

He had barely placed the hat on the young boy's head when it called out, "SLYTHERIN!"

Next was "Aldermaston, Tabitha", who was made a Hufflepuff and soon enough it was Scorpius's turn and he was releasing Albus's hand and making his way up to sit on the stool. For a while it sat there in – what appeared to be – complete silence, with Scorpius looking more and more distressed. Then it finally cried "SLYTHERIN!"

Looking incredibly upset, Scorpius slipped off of the stool and made his way to the Slytherin table. Albus watched him go, wishing he could believe that being in Slytherin wasn't such a bad thing.

Five sortings later and it was his own turn.

"Potter, Albus!"

After a reassuring smile from Rose, he climbed up onto the stool and waited nervously as the hat was placed on his head.

"Well then." A voice said in his ear, maing him jump slightly, "Another Potter. It has been a while. But you aren't much like your brother, are you?"

Albus shuddered at the thought and the hat chuckled in his ear, "No, there isn't much Weasley in you. I should think you're more like your father. Yes, he would have done well in Slytherin too, just as you would."

Albus nearly choked, 'I'm sorry?' He thought, 'My father was a Slytherin?'

"He could have been; he could have been great, just like you will be."

'My father is great." Albus thought harshly.

"Arrogant too." The hat chuckled, "Yes, you are very Slytherin. But you have some definite Ravenclaw qualities – you wish to do well … in everything. You would make a fine Gryffindor too, with your courage. But where to put you …"

Albus glanced at his brother, over at the Gryffindor table, surrounded by his family, then at his new friend, sitting alone at the Slytherin table, trying to ignore Jenna Hasely's attempts at conversation.

'Put …' He thought hesitantly, 'Put me where I belong.'

Albus imagined the Hat was grinning widely as it said, "Very well, then it will have to be … SLYTHERIN!"

Gasps echoed throughout the Hall but Albus barely heard them as he looked at Scorpius, whose head snapped round to stare at him with wide eyes. He grinned, seating himself next to the blond boy at the Slytherin table, his back to James and his cousins.

"What happened to Slytherin being 'the worst house in Hogwarts'?" Scorpius asked, smiling down at him.

Albus shrugged, "I figured it wouldn't be so bad if you were here."

Grinning, Scorpius turned to watch the rest of the sorting.

"Weasley, Louis." Neville said a while later.

Albus sat up a little straighter and Scorpius chuckled beside him.

"He one of yours?" He asked.

Albus nodded, watching as the hat was placed onto a mop of blond hair. It had barely touched his head when it announced he was to be a "SLYTHERIN!"

Shocked and surprised, Albus watched his cousin bound over to their table, not looking at all upset as he took his seat. He waved down the table at them before turning back to the ceremony where Rose was finally being sorted.

In the end she was sorted into Ravenclaw and, though Al knew she was upset at not being in Gryffindor like her parents, she seemed content with her placement. She smiled warmly at him from the Ravenclaw table before she began chatting with the girl sitting beside her.

"Before we eat, the Headmistress has a few announcements." Neville told the Hall, before he, along with everyone else, looked towards their headmistress.

She was a young woman was long black hair and blue-green eyes and, while she wasn't incredibly beautiful or attractive, she could be considered quite pretty by some. Albus had met her before and knew that, kind and helpful as she seemed, she was very strict. "I would like to welcome you all to another year at Hogwarts School. For those of you who do not know me, my name is Professor Periwinkle and I am the Headmistress of this fine school. I would like to remind you all that Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products are, as always, banned. Also, any student who dares to enter the Dark Forest will be severely punished. That said, let the feast begin."

Around the Hall gasps could be heard as the tables filled with food; everything from roast chicken to chips to giant bowls of different kinds of soup. Albus immediately lunged for the plate of pizza before the last two slices – as people had already begun helping themselves – could be snatched up. He dropped one onto Scorpius's plate and took a bite out of his own.

"Thanks!" Scorpius said, picking the few pieces of pineapple off of his slice and placing them on his plate before he started eating.

"Aren't you going to eat them?" Albus asked through a mouthful of pizza.

Scorpius grimaced at him, causing Albus to swallow and apologise, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, "No, I don't like pineapple on pizza."

Albus gave him a strange look, insinuating that he thought he was crazy, before he ate the pineapple pieces Scorpius had left.

"Al will eat anything." Came a voice from behind them. Louis stood there, loaded plate in his hand, "Mind if I join you."

Albus shook his head, too busy eating to speak, and shuffled along a bit so Louis could sit down.

Scorpius smiled somewhat awkwardly at the new arrival, reaching for some more food.

"I'm Louis Weasley." Louis told him, grinning widely, "Al's cousin. You're Scorpius."

Scorpius nodded, looking somewhat dazed and feeling strangely shy as he offered his hand to Louis to shake.

"Don't worry." Albus chuckled, "He has that effect on everyone; he's part-veela."

"Ah." Scorpius murmured, turning away from Louis to resume eating.

Louis laughed, "Sorry. I forget I'm doing it; I can't really control it yet."

"S'fine." Scorpius assured him, "My cousin's part veela, you get used to it after about ten minutes. I've never met a male veela, though."

Al snorted, "That's 'cos Louis here shouldn't exist. Veelas are generally female; Louis's like … one in a million."

"It's one in a thousand, thank you very much." Louis corrected him.

Albus rolled his eyes. He loved Louis – everyone loved Louis, you couldn't help it – but he did get on his nerves. He always got what he wanted and could charm his way out of anything with those veela-blue eyes and oh-so-charming smile. And yet he couldn't even convince his father to buy him a new broom; it was completely unfair.

Albus felt eyes on him and turned to see James staring at him, looking both confused and annoyed at once. Al smiled sheepishly at his brother, shrugging his shoulders when James continued to stare questioningly at him, and went back to his meal. He would have to speak to James eventually but he'd been awake since seven that morning and he was too tired to worry about what that conversation might entail. He'd have to owl his parents in the morning; surely they wouldn't be too upset, disappointed maybe, but if he himself way happy then that was all that mattered. He glanced at Scorpius and found himself thinking that yes, he was sure he would be quite happy here.

xXx

"Of to bed now!" Professor Periwinkle announced, "Prefects, lead on."

The Slytherin first-years stood and made their way to the doors where their prefect, a tall dark-haired boy with large teeth, was waiting impatiently.

"Come along now!" He ordered, scowling down at them, "Follow me."

"That's Marcus Flint Jr." Scorpius whispered as they were led down the staircase towards the dungeons, "He's alright really, our fathers are friends, but he hates being a prefect. The Professors only made him one to keep him out of trouble."

Albus smirked as Marcus shoved a fourth year aside, "I'm guessing it didn't work quite as well as they thought."

They were quite silent as they were led through endless damp corridors underneath the lake, until they finally stopped in front of a perfectly normal looking wall.

"Nulli secundus" Marcus said clearly and immediately the stone wall slid open to reveal the Slytherin common room.

His father had told him about it, about how he'd snuck in during his second year but it had obviously changed since then. The Slytherin common room was a large room with a low ceiling, charmed – much like the Great Hall's ceiling – to show the murky lake above them. Albus gazed up at it in awe for a few moments, watching as a Grindylow swam by. The room was lit by green lamps and decorated in green and silver. There was a fireplace against one wall, lit with green flames and letting out a comfortable heat. In front of it and elsewhere around the room, were large black leather sofas and armchairs with dark green and silver cushions. On one wall was a large tapestry of the Slytherin crest and, beneath it, a desk that reached from one wall to the opposite, eight comfy looking chairs placed strategically along it. There were also elaborately carved book-shelves and cupboards but Albus barely noticed anything but the stone stairs that he was certain led down to the dormitories. Sure enough, Marcus led them over to the two staircases. He gestured to the one on the left.

"On your left are the first to fourth year dorms. First years are the first two rooms, girls on the left, and boys on the right. If you need anything, there is a prefect's room at the end of the hallway. Lights out is in half an hour." He finished, glancing behind him as the rest of the students began filing in, "Go on then!"

And so they scurried down the stairs into their dorms. The room was large – larger than it had been nineteen years ago when their parents had been at school – with three four-poster beds against one wall, and four against the other, all different. Albus immediately leapt for the bed closest to the door, a black bed with silver and green curtains, and Scorpius managed to claim a similar one next to him. A dark haired, dark skinned boy got the bed across the room from Albus and Louis snatched up the one next to him. The other three boys squabbled over the last beds, and Albus watched them in amusement.

"I'm Hadrien." Said the boy opposite him, "Hadrien Barker."

Albus nodded in greeting, "Albus Potter."

"Scorpius."

"Louis." Louis said, with his usual charming grin.

The sandy haired boy who had claimed the corner bed introduced himself as Caden Faulkner. He and Louis immediately struck up a conversation about something – probably Quidditch, knowing Louis. Albus soon learned that the other two boys were Alaric Valentine and Fabius Abercrombie. Fabius seemed to be a shy boy; either that or he simply had no wish to talk to them, and stayed silent as he unpacked his trunk. Alaric, on the other hand, was almost as hyper as James, and hadn't stopped talking since they'd asked his name.

"I'm a half blood." He announced, shoving his clothes into his chest of drawers, "My mother's a muggle-born, dad's a half-blood."

"Louis is part-veela so he's a half-blood." Albus said, "I suppose I'm a pure-blood. My mother's a pure-blood and my father's a half-blood but his mother, my grandmother, was a muggle-born so I do have muggle ancestry. It's open to interpretation I guess. We class ourselves as half-bloods though; me and my siblings."

"It'll be written down somewhere." One of the boys suggested, "In your records. I think you'll be classed as a pure-blood though."

"I'm not all that bothered, really." Al replied with a shrug, "It's not that important to me. Or my family."

No one said anything to that, not that they got a chance as the door suddenly flew open and an older brown-haired girl – presumably another prefect - peeked in, "Lights out in ten minutes, boys. Start getting ready for bed."

Grumbling, the boys scooped up their nightwear and made their way to the adjoining bathroom.