A/N: Just a short view on Albus going to Hogwarts.

"We better find a seat," Albus said to Rose, turning away from the window. His waving parents had finally disappeared completely from view.

"Well, Charlie said I could sit with her," she said, almost apologetically.

"Oh," Albus said.

"I'm sure you're welcome too!" Rose seemed guilty to be abandoning him.

Albus peered doubtfully into the carriage full of happy, gossiping eleven-year-old girls, and shook his head, pushing his glasses up. He turned and smiled at his cousin.

"I'll be fine, I'll find my own seat."

"Oh, if you're sure," Rose said, helplessly.

Albus nodded and moved on, his trunk banging slightly behind him. He seemed to walk past millions of doors, each of them filled with cheery smiling friends.

He began to feel bad, despite the stories of how his father had said that he had been all alone too, that he had made friends in his compartment anyway.

Finally, reaching the end of the train, he found a compartment that wasn't quite as full.

Apart from a moody looking boy sitting hunched on one side, it was empty; Albus knocked on the glass door and poked his head in.

"Can I sit here?" he asked.

The boy looked up at him and nodded, then looked out the window.

Albus dragged his trunk in, stowed it away and sat down opposite the boy.

"I'm Gerald."

"Albus," Albus said.

"I know. You're Potter's kid."

Albus nodded.

"Tell me, how does it feel to be named after an old man?"

Albus looked sharply at the boy, who was almost sneering. "He was one of the greatest wizards my father ever knew."

Gerald snorted, looking disdainful.

"What's your name?" Albus asked.

Gerald narrowed his eyes. "Gerald McLaggen."

The name didn't mean anything to Albus. "What house do you want to be in?" He expected Slytherin; after all, he seemed to dislike Albus' father and Dumbledore.

"Gryffindor, of course," Gerald said. "The best house in Hogwarts. Like my father."

Albus looked surprised.

"Aren't you going for Gryffindor?"

"Yes – maybe."

Gerald looked incredulous. "Maybe?"

"My father said it wouldn't matter if I went into Slytherin."

"Get out of here."

"One of the bravest men he knew was in Slytherin."

"Slytherin's a house of nasty creeps," Gerald said.

The door was slid open by a boy with white-blond hair and a face almost as pale.

"Hi, Scorpius," Albus said.

So this was the son of his father's greatest ex-enemy. Dad had saved Mr. Malfoy's life, so they weren't enemies anymore, although they still didn't like each other. Albus wondered if Scorpius hated him.

Scorpius nodded at him. "Can I sit here?"

"Sure," Albus said.

"No way," Gerald said. He looked disbelieving. "This is a Malfoy, Potter. They're evil, the whole lot of them have been in Slytherin."

"But that doesn't make him evil."

"You don't need to defend me, Potter," Scorpius said. He turned to McLaggen. "The only one who's been rude here is you."

"Oh, yeah?" Gerald said, and he smiled a twisted little smile as he stood up, taking his wand out from his pocket.

Albus looked alarmed. Scorpius took out his own wand.

"I'll bet your parents haven't taught you anything," Gerald sneered.

"You haven't even learnt your manners," Scorpius said, calmly.

Albus was mystified. Through his parents' stories it had been seen that it used to be Gryffindor versus Slytherin all the time, and Gryffindor always good; now before his eyes it was the complete opposite. He wondered if a mean version of Uncle Ron or a not smart Aunt Hermione would come in.

Then Gerald began to cast a spell, and Albus yanked out his wand and said, "Expelliarmus!"

A feeble wind whooshed over the two duelers, and Gerald's wand gave a twitch and fell to the floor. Darn. Albus had yet to perfect what was his father's trademark spell, according to all the adults in what used to be the Order of the Phoenix.

Still, it managed to impress Gerald sufficiently, who scowled and, picking his wand up, dragged out his trunk and left the compartment.

Scorpius held his hand out to Albus, who shook it, feeling rather proud of himself.

"Let's not…you know, our parents' thing," Scorpius said.

And the two boys reached an understanding that though their parents might have been enemies, they didn't need to be.

"But I don't have to be your friend, either," Scorpius added, but he smiled anyway.

At this point, the door opened and a girl with smooth blonde hair came in, and said rather bossily, "Have any of you seen a toad?"

Albus' mouth fell open. Was this to be his Hermione?