Welcome to my attempt to write a next generation novel for our beloved H-Pitty/Harry Potter.
The beginning is mostly copied word for word from the epilogue of book 7. I'm pretty sure that most of you will know what is mine and what is J.K.'s work. Anywho, I hope you enjoy 19 years later :)

Al trailed along silently after his parents. Today was the day he had been waiting for since he was five years old and now that it was here he just wanted to go home and hide under the covers on his bed. James wasn't making him feel any better either.

"I bet you're gonna be in Slytherin," James grinned in that evil way of his.

"I won't! I won't be in Slytherin!" He cried. It was his deepest fear, and he cursed himself for telling his brother a few nights before over hot chocolate and biscuits.

"James, give it a rest!" Al's mother called in that exhausted way that parents have after dealing with their children for far too long.

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

But James caught their mother's eye and fell silent. The five Potters approached the barrier. With a slightly cocky look over at his younger brother, James took the trolley from his mother and broke into a run. A moment later, he had vanished.

Al watched him disappear through the barrier and felt some of the panic fade. His brother would make so much fun of him if he heard what he had wanted to ask all day.

"You'll write to me, won't you?" Albus asked his parents, capitalizing on the momentary absence of his brother.

"Every day, if you want us to," said his mother.

"Not every day," said Al quickly. "James says most people only get letters from home about once a month."

"We wrote to James three times a week last year," said Ginny.

"And you don't want to believe everything he tells you about Hogwarts," his dad put in. "He likes a laugh, your brother."

Al rolled his eyes. His dad hardly needed to tell him that, Al had been on the receiving end of most of his brother's pranks and practical jokes for most of his eleven years.

Side by side, they pushed the second trolley forwards, gathering speed. As they reached the barrier, Albus winced, but no collision came. Instead, the family emerged on to platform nine and three-quarters, which was obscured by thick, white steam that was pouring from the scarlet Hogwarts Express. Indistinct figures were swarming through the mist, into which James had already disappeared.

"Where are they?" asked Albus anxiously, peering at the hazy forms they passed as they made their way down the platform.

"We'll find them," said Ginny reassuringly.

But the vapour was dense, and it was difficult to make out anybody's faces. Detached from their owners, voices sounded unnaturally loud. Al hoped they were also hidden in the steam so no one would see him press himself closer to his father.

"I think that's them, Al," his mother's voice cut through the rising panic suddenly.

A group of four people emerged from the mist, standing alongside the very last carriage. Their faces only came into focus when Harry, Ginny, Lily and Albus had drawn right up to them.

"Hi," said Albus, relieved at the sight of his cousins.

Rose was already wearing her Hogwarts robes, which hung off her tiny form. Albus suspected this was because she had grown at least five inches last year, and uncle Ron and aunt Hermione didn't want to buy her new robes when they came home for Christmas. The two of them stood together in awe of the train before them. Butterflies filled their stomachs as the waited to get on board. Rose's little brother Hugo was talking to Lily over by the trunks and Al knew that it was Hogwarts they were talking about, after all, it was he and Rose who had been doing the same thing last year when James went off to Hogwarts for the first time.

Uncle Ron bent down and beckoned conspiratorially. "If you're not in Gryffindor, we'll disinherit you," said Ron, "but no pressure."

Though it was directed at Rose, Albus felt his stomach sink into his trainers.

"Ron!"

Lily and Hugo laughed, but Al and Rose stood solemnly.

"He doesn't mean it," both Hermione and Ginny tried to soothe Rose and Al's nerves. Rose calmed down a bit, but Al was more apprehensive than ever. His mind kept going over the possibilities for him to disappoint his family on the first night there. His worst nightmare was that the Sorting Hat would say that he had no place at Hogwarts, declaring him a squib and sending him home without ever seeing the rest of the castle. Second to that was being sorted into Slytherin and being convinced to use the dark magic his dad fought against on a daily basis. His dark thoughts were interrupted by his brother, who as always, had such a knack for timing.

"Hey!"

James had divested himself of his trunk, owl, and trolley and was evidently bursting with news.

"Teddy's back there," he said breathlessly, pointing back over his shoulder into the billowing clouds of steam. "Just seen him! And guess what he's doing? Snogging Victoire!"

He gazed up at the adults, evidently disappointed by the lack of reaction.

"Our Teddy! Teddy Lupin! Snogging our Victoire! Our cousin! And I asked Teddy what he was doing-"

"You interrupted them?" said Ginny. "You are so like Ron-"

"-and he said he'd come to see her off! And then he told me to go away. He's snogging her!" James added, as though he worried he had not made himself clear.

Al tried not to notice the following talk of love and marriage and all the mushy stuff an eleven-year-old boy thinks is beneath him. Al's attention was grasped, and alarm bells sent off in his head when he heard his brother suggesting the end of the universe.

"Yeah!" said James enthusiastically. "I don't mind sharing with Al – Teddy could have my room!"

"No," said Harry firmly, "you and Al will share a room only when I want the house demolished."

'Or your youngest son demolished.' Thought Al.

"It's nearly eleven, you'd better get on board."

"Don't forget to give Neville our love!" Ginny told James as she hugged him.

Al watched from the sidelines as his brother protested against the indignity of giving a professor love with amusement, until his brother decided to vent his frustrations by trying to kick him.

"See you later, Al. Watch out for the Thestrals."

Al had another momentary panic attack.

"I thought they were invisible? You said they were invisible!"

But James merely laughed, permitted their mother to kiss him, gave their father a fleeting hug, then leapt on to the rapidly filling train. They saw him wave, then sprint away up the corridor to find his friends.

"Thestrals are nothing to worry about," Harry told Albus. "They're gentle things, there's nothing scary about them. Anyway, you won't be going up to school in the carriages, you'll be going in the boats."

Ginny kissed Albus goodbye.

"See you at Christmas."

"Bye, Al," said Harry, as his son hugged him. "Don't forget Hagrid's invited you to tea next Friday. Don't mess with Peeves. Don't duel anyone 'til you've learned how. And don't let James wind you up."

Al watched his dad turn to leave, and knew that it was now or never.

"What if I'm in Slytherin?" He quietly voiced the one question on his mind. Al had to know. He had to know if his dad would hate him for being in that house.

His dad crouched so that Harry was looking up into the green almond-shaped eyes that were so like his own.

"Albus Severus," Harry said quietly, capturing his son's attention, "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 if it matters to you, you'll be able to choose Gryffindor over Slytherin. The Sorting Hat takes your choice into account."

"Really?"

"It did for me," said Harry.

Al stared at his dad in wonder. He could feel the butterflies in his belly calming their frantic flight to a small flutter. He could choose, that was enough for him. With his mind set, Al jumped onto the carriage and his mother closed the door behind him. As the train started to move students hung out the windows. Strangely enough most seemed to be turned towards Harry.

"Why are they all staring?" demanded Al, as he and Rose craned to look at the other students.

"Don't let it worry you," said uncle Ron. "It's me. I'm extremely famous."

Al laughed along with Rose, Hugo and Lily.

The train was picking up speed now, and Harry walked beside the train, waving at Al. With a smile, Al returned the wave until his father was lost among the steam that billowed behind the train.

Eventually, he and Rose squeezed their way from the doors and into a compartment that held their trunks and Al's little steel grey owl. Griffin the owl hooted at the sight of his master, who promptly fell onto the seat and made the little owl bounce in his cage.

"I hope I'm in Gryffindor. Every Weasley for generations has been a Gryffindor. I'd hate to let the family down," said Rose as she watched the green hills roll by.

"I hope I'm there with you. James would never let me live it down if I wasn't."

The two sat in silence for a few moments, Rose simply enjoying the landscape while Al worried the time away. Eventually a soft knocking sounded at their compartment door. Al looked up to see a skinny blonde boy standing outside their closed compartment door with his trunk and a small black cat sitting on his shoulder. With a smile, Rose got up and opened the door for the boy.

"Can I join you? Everywhere else is full," He asked quietly. The cat seemed to have other ideas and leapt from his master's shoulder to settle comfortably onto Al's lap.

"I think your cat is insisting you stay here, which is fine by me, Albus?" asked Rose, causing Al to flush. He hated how his name sounded so pretentious. It truly belonged to the great wizard he was named for, not some small, scrawny eleven-year-old. He really was small, Rose was a full three inches taller than him, and this newcomer was a little taller than Rose. He knew it; he was destined to be the runt of their year.

"Thanks," The boy collected his cat from Al and sat down next to him. "I'm Scorpius, Scorpius Malfoy."

"I'm Rose Weasley, and the chatterbox here is Albus Potter. Pleased to meet you, Scorpius," Rose picked up the black cat and began petting its soft fur. "What's this little angel's name?"

"That's Merlin. And he is no angel, let me tell you. He terrorizes the house elves."

Rose giggled and began cooing over the little cat and the two boys shared a look that plainly said what they thought of the treatment of the cat.

"Girls," Al groaned.

"Agreed," said Scorpius.

"So what house do you want to be sorted into?" Al asked, fixing his attention onto a potential new friend. Though he was raised in the Magical World he didn't know many people outside his family.

"My mother wants me to uphold the family's tradition of being in Slytherin, but father says he doesn't care. I don't really know which house I prefer. Slytherin for my family, Hufflepuff for the difference, Ravenclaw for the chance to let my mind expand, or Gryffindor," Scorpius ran a hand through his pale blonde hair. "What about you, Albus?"

"Please, don't ever call me Albus!" said Al violently, surprising Scorpius and Merlin, making them both jump. "Sorry, but Albus was the name of a great wizard. I am not a great wizard, so call me Al."

"Alright. For now, you shall be known as Al, shortest of wizards," Scorpius smiled.

"I'm not that short!" cried Al before he settled into a pout.

They three lapsed into silence as the sun began to sink and the sky began its colorful journey to darkness. They all took turns playing with Merlin and Al let Griffin out of his cage to stretch his wings. They watched the two animals play in the compartment with amused smiles, but after the trolley had gone by and the last of the cauldron cakes were eaten Al began to feel the familiar nervousness creep back into the pit of his stomach. Rose had long ago forced the two boys to change into their robes. Eventually the train came to a slow, screeching halt. Al, Rose, and Scorpius pressed their faces in attempt to see the world beyond the yellow light of the gas lamps that lined the platform.

Rosie snapped out of their spellbound state first. "We should be getting on the platform. Hurry! We don't want to be late!"

She pushed the two all the way out of the carriage and onto the platform. There they were shuffled forwards by the crowd. Al once again felt his small stature as he was jostled about by all the students in older years. The older students eventually all got on the carriages and left. It was a relief to Al to see that the Thestrals were indeed invisible.

"Firs' years, this way! Firs' years, this way please!" called Hagrid over the noise of the train and the many voices of the excited first years.

"Hagrid!" said Rose as she ran towards their giant friend.

"Rose! And Albus!" Hagrid said as the two crashed into his giant moleskin coat.

"It's good to see you, Hagrid. And please just call me Al, everybody does."

Behind the reunion Scorpius stood off to the side and waited for his new friends to be done. The giant in front of him was also very intimidating and Scorpius watched the large man warily with his wide steel grey eyes.

"Who's this here?" Hagrid bent nearly double to look into the frightened face of Scorpius Malfoy. "Blimey, you're the spitting image of Draco Malfoy!"

"I should be, he's my father," said Scorpius apprehensively.

"Ah," said Hagrid. "Well, we best be getting to the boats."

The clear night meant that the stars and the full moon were reflected in the water. The autumn air was cold and Al wrapped his black cloak tighter around himself, but he didn't feel any warmer. The first years stood on the long dock apprehensively looking down at the dark water. Some only gave it a passing glance, preferring to bounce on the balls of their feet while others edged closer back to the center of the dock looking frightened.

"My dad told me there was a giant squid living in the lake," someone whispered behind Albus and he felt the familiar pangs of panic set in.

"There's a squid in the lake? A giant squid in the lake! It could eat us or it could tip the boats and drown us or-"

Rose grabbed his shoulders and shook Al to make him be quiet before too many of their classmates noticed.

"Shut up, Al" she hissed. "The squid's been there for ages and it hasn't hurt anyone. Just get in a boat and close your eyes if you're so bloody nervous."

Rose ended up pushing him into a boat with Scorpius and jumped into the one behind them with a dark boy who slid over immediately to make way for the frowning redhead. Rose had all the crazed determination of her mother and it was very scary to behold.

Once the last boat was filled Hagrid turned towards the distant lights of the castle, and as one, the boats pulled away and began the silent journey over the water. Al started with a white-knuckled grip on the side of the boat, trying to see any sign of an evil tentacle of nightmares, but as they drifted he relaxed in the surreal beauty of it all. The boats seemed to make no ripples in the mirror-like surface of the lake and no noise as they glided over the black depths. It was magical. More magical than anything Al had ever felt before. The castle loomed high above them as they drew closer. Their ride came to an end when the boats gently tapped against a dock identical to the one they had launched from. Waiting for them in on the solid rock beyond the weathered wood was a centaur. Al felt his little heart nearly stop at the sight.

He had done it. He had finally made it to Hogwarts. Now all he had to do was get sorted properly. No big deal, right?