The Potters

And The Return of the Marauders

By Beatriz Mora

Chapter 1

"Bye Mum! Bye Dad!" Albus Potter waved at his parents as they disappeared from sight. He sat down on his seat. He was on the Hogwarts Express, the train that took students from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to Hogwarts. Albus was excited, but nervous. He was the son of Harry Potter. What if people only wanted to talk about his father? He didn't blame them. His father had saved the world about three or four times, and was the only person to ever survive the Killing Curse. But that didn't mean he didn't want friends that liked him for him. Albus was distracted from his thoughts when his cousin Rose walked into his compartment. "Hey Al. Do you mind if I stay here? All the other compartments are really loud and full." Albus shook his head and Rose sat down. "So, are you excited?" Albus frowned. "Yes. But I'm worried, too. What if people only want to be my friend because of Dad?" "Don't worry, Albus. You're a great friend. People will want to be your friend for other reasons. And besides, Hugo, James, and I will be around." Albus smiled. "Thanks Rose." The compartment door slid open a second time. A short, slightly fat blond boy was at the door. He had blue eyes and rosy red cheeks. "Hi. I'm Aaron Sams. Can I sit here with you guys?" Albus and Rose nodded.

"So, what are your names?" "I'm Albus Potter." "I'm Rose Weasley." "I'm muggle-born, so I know nothing about magic, but I swear I've heard the name Albus before." "I was named after Albus Dumbeldore. He was a Headmaster at Hogwarts. He also was the Transfiguration teacher 86 years ago." "Oh, I know where I've heard of him! He was on the Chocolate Frog card I got!" "Oh, you collect Chocolate Frog cards?" "Yes! McGonagall took me to Diagon Alley and I got a Chocolate Frog there." And Albus and Aaron went into a conversation about Chocolate Frog cards. They only stopped when Albus's owl screeched. "What was that?" Aaron asked nervously. "Relax, Aaron. It's just my owl, Butterbeer." Albus pulled the blanket off Butterbeer's cage. Butterbeer was a barn owl. He was a very handsome owl with brown-gold colored feathers. "Why did you call him Butterbeer?" "It's a drink you get at The Three Broomsticks." Aaron looked puzzled. "Oh right-you don't know about Hogsmeade." Albus started telling Aaron about Hogsmeade, and how delicious Butterbeer was, and how terrifying the Shrieking Shack was, when the compartment door slid open for the third time. "I heard a noise. What was it?" A tall girl with brown hair and amber eyes was standing in the doorway. She looked very annoyed. "Sorry. It was just my owl." "Well can you keep it quiet? I am trying to change into my robes, and I can't hear myself think with that thing making such a racket." She turned around and was about to walk away when she stopped in her tracks. She turned around again. "I'm sorry. I'm just kind of nervous. My mum's a muggle, and knows nothing about magic, but my Dad's a wizard. He thinks I'll fail because I'm like my mum, but I want to make him proud." Aaron gave her a sympathetic smile. "Sit with us."

The girl sat herself down next to Rose. "I'm Camilla. Camilla Tifton." She shook Aaron and Albus's hands. "I'm Albus, and this is Rose." "I'm Aaron. Nice to meet you," Aaron said, shaking her hand. The three quickly began talking, and soon enough Rose joined the conversation, and after a while, they all were friends. The hours passed by quickly, and before they knew it, they were at Hogwarts. They got their things and hopped off the train. "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" A giant, shadowy figure was in the distance. As Albus, Aaron, Camilla, and Rose got closer, they saw it was Hagrid. Albus and Rose had met him and knew him well. Hagrid was in fact James's godfather. "Hagrid!" Albus hugged him. "Hello Hagrid," Rose said, and hugged him as well. "Hiya, Albus! And Rose! How are ya doing?" "We're great, Hagrid, thanks," Albus said. "Well, c'mon!" All the first years joined Hagrid and they all climbed into little boats that had lanterns illuminating the inside. Once all the first years were in their own boats, they were off. They were zooming across the velvety black lake to the enourmous castle that was Hogwarts. The castle had towers and turrets everywhere, and was incredibly intricate and detailed. It was breathtaking. Albus looked toward his friends. Their faces were lit up by the soft yellow glow of the lantern, and full of excitement. And he knew they felt the same way he did. He knew then that it was going to be a great year.

Before Albus knew what was happening, they were walking into The Great Hall. He walked past the Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin tables. James gave him a smile from the Gryffindor table, but some of the Slytherins sneered. Albus did his best to ignore them. Soon enough, they stopped walking. He saw a dirty, patched, and frayed hat placed on a stool. It was the Sorting Hat. A wide hole like a mouth opened near the brim. Soon enough, it started singing.

Welcome to Hogwarts, where we learn plenty.

We have wands, potions, and spell books? We have many.

But tonight, you're here to be sorted!

And don't worry, I'm the best, and you will not be thwarted.

There are four places you might belong.

I can tell you more if you keep listening to this song.

There's Ravenclaw, for those intelligent and witty.

To be not chosen for such an excellent house is a pity.

But there's also Hufflepuff, if you're hardworking and patient.

They're also loyal; they stick to friends even if they're ancient.

And Slytherin!

They're cunning and mischievous.

They are good people, they are not frivolous.

Lastly, Gryffindor.

They are brave and warmhearted.

That is even the house where the headmistress started.

So join us, become part of our clan.

We'll be friends, a great family, for Hogwarts has the best plans!

The song ended and all those in The Great Hall erupted into applause. Then the Headmistress, Minerva McGonagall, stepped forward. She unrolled a large scroll of parchment. "When I call your name, you will step forward and place the sorting hat on your head. When it calls out your house, you will go sit at the table for your new house." She cleared her throat. "Ackerman, Zeke!" A boy with short black hair and rectangular red glasses stepped forward. He put the hat on his head. The Great Hall waited. After one minute, the house shouted out its decision.

"RAVENCLAW!"

The boy took off the hat, leaped off the stool, and placed the hat on it. He walked over to the Ravenclaw table, where his fellow Ravenclaws were clapping politely for him. McGonagall said the name of the next student. "Blubunas, Mildred!" A blond girl walked forward and sat on the stool. She put the hat on her head. After thirty seconds, she was sorted.

"SLYTHERIN!"

She joined her fellow clapping Slytherin students after taking off the hat. McGonagall kept reading names. Albus drifted off. It wasn't until she said, "Potter, Albus!" That he started paying attention again. He walked to the stool and put the Sorting Hat on his head. It was so large that it covered his eyes. All he saw was the black inside of the hat. But he wasn't paying attention to that. He was paying attention to the voice talking in his ear.

"You're Harry Potter's son. You're smart. He was too, as I recall. But Ravenclaw isn't right for you. Hmmm. You're interesting, Potter."

Albus thought of what his father told him before he got on The Hogwarts Express.

"Um-Mr. Sorting Hat? I was hoping you wouldn't put me in Slytherin. You're not going to put me in Slytherin, are you?"

"Hmmm... Oh! I know."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Albus stood up, shaking. He took off The Sorting Hat as The Great Hall exploded into applause. He sat down next to James. "Welcome to Gryffindor, Al," he said. Albus smiled. A few more students were sorted. And then it was Aaron's turn. They waited. It had been three minutes and Albus was starting to get worried when the hat shouted Aaron's house.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Relived, Albus applauded, along with the other Gryffindors. Aaron sat down next to him and grinned. They turned their heads back to the stool where the Sorting Hat was sitting. "Tifton, Camilla!" McGonagall yelled. Camilla walked up to the stool and put the hat on her head.

"HUFF-"

Albus froze. But then, the hat shouted something else.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Albus's nerves melted as Camilla sat down at the table in the seat across from him. He applauded with the rest. Then McGonagall called some more names. And then it was Rose's turn. She jammed the hat on her head. After a minute, it was decided.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

McGonagall rolled up the scroll and Filch, the caretaker, picked up the stool and hat and walked off. McGonagall stood where the stool was and began talking. "Welcome, students. I welcome back old students and welcome new students. I hope you are all excited for the new school year. Filch, the caretaker, would like me to remind you that the Forbidden Forest is off-limits and highly dangerous, so I would advise you not to enter. It is not permitted to enter the corridors at night, and I expect you all to be in your common rooms by sunset, unless doing a detention or having a Quidditch practice. Speaking of Quidditch, if you wish to play for your house team, contact Madam Hooch. Now, we shall eat!" Food materialized on the silver and gold platters. There was chicken, steak, beef, and white rice, brown rice, seafood, and peppermint humbugs. Albus took almost everything and piled it onto his plate. He took seconds, because it was delicious. He chatted and joked and laughed with his friends as he ate. Soon enough, the plates cleaned themselves and dessert appeared on them. Ice cream, donuts, pudding, brownies, cookies, cake, pie, candy, trifle, treacle, and any dessert imaginable replaced dinner. They all ate heartily. It was an amazing meal. Soon enough, the food was gone. The plates cleaned themselves and vanished. McGonagall told the prefects to lead the students to their common rooms. All the Gryffindors followed a few prefects out of the Great Hall, around some corridors, up a few staircases, until they reached a portrait of a very fat lady in a pink dress. "Password?" she asked. "Ereticus Munrublus," a prefect said. The portrait swung open to reveal a hole they could all climb through. All the Gryffindors followed the prefects. "This is the common room. You will be in here between classes, on weekends, and in the evening, unless you are in the library, at detention, or at Quidditch practice. Boy's dormitories are on the right, and girl's dormitories on the left. Your trunks and things are already in your dormitories. Good night." The prefect left. Albus said goodnight to Rose and Camilla, and Aaron, James and Albus went up to the boy's dormitories. James said goodnight and went to the second year's dormitory. Albus and Aaron went inside their dormitory. Albus found the bed next to his trunk, fell into it, and fell asleep.

The next day, it was a bit hard for Albus to find The Great Hall. There were many staircases, and they moved very often. And the doors were also very hard to find. Sometimes he would go to the wrong door, and sometimes he would simply get lost. But he finally made it to breakfast. Camilla, Aaron, and James were already there. "Where were you?" Camilla asked. Albus had started to explain when everyone looked up. Hundreds of owls were flying into the Great Hall to deliver the mail. Albus sat down and poured himself some pumpkin juice as Butterbeer flew down in front of him. Butterbeer affectionately nibbled Albus's ear and ate some of his cornflakes. Albus looked at his class schedule in excitement and felt himself swell with hope when James tapped him. "Hey Al," he whispered. James sat next to him. "I found this in Dad's desk. There was a note on it that told me how to work it. Just say 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good and it'll show a map with dots so you can see where everybody in the castle is. Say 'Mischief Managed' and it'll go blank. Try it out."

Albus grinned at the piece of parchment. He leaned over and hid it under the table so no one would see. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good," he whispered. Like magic, ink spread across the parchment and formed itself into a map of the Hogwarts castle. There were dots everywhere labeled with the name of the person it was, and you could see where everybody was. "Albus? What are you doing?" Rose asked. "Mischief Managed!" he whispered quickly, and the parchment went blank. He hid the map in the folds of his robes. "Nothing," he said.

Later that day, Albus, Aaron, and Camilla collapsed onto the comfy chairs of the Gryffindor common room, exhausted. Rose had gotten just as much work, but she seemed to be better at handling it then the other three. "You are too much like Aunt Hermione," James said in reply to Rose's coolness. The rest of them simply groaned at all their homework, but Rose noticed that someone had entered the room. It was Professor McGonagall. "Hello, Gryffindors. I am here because Gryffindor Quidditch team tryouts are to be held Saturday the 13th of September. Contact Madam Hooch if you do not own a broom. Flying lessons will begin tomorrow. The Gryffindor captain is Scarlet Montgomery, a fourth year. She will be overseeing the practices and tryouts. Goodnight." "So, Albus, are you going to try out?" James asked. James was on the team, in fact. He was Keeper. "I don't think so. Quidditch is fun at home when it's you and Dad and me, but I don't think I can do it for real." Camilla looked ecstatic. "I'm trying out!" she exclaimed excitedly. "I want to be Seeker." "Okay, Tifton. Good luck," James said. "Yeah, you'll do great," Albus said. "Thanks," Camilla said. She sat down and pulled out her copy of Flying: Some useful Tips and began reading.

"Suddenly, Aaron reminded him something he was going to tell them. "Hey Al, weren't you going to show us something?" "Right!" Albus pulled out the map, which had hidden in his robes. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good," he said. A map of Hogwarts castle appeared on the parchment. There were little dots labeled with the name of a person, so the person holding the map could see where everyone was. Rose, Camilla, and Aaron leaned forward to look at the map. They studied it for a while, marveled at the incredible power of the map. "Wow…this is amazing," Rose said. "Hey, give credit to me! I got the map." James had appeared next to Camilla. "Thanks, James. But here's the thing about this map: we have no idea who Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs are. And I want to find out. They created this map, and it's bloody brilliant. So we need to start looking." "You're right. The day after tomorrow, we'll get to work. We'll go to the library and do some research."

"You can do it, Camilla!" Albus and Rose cheered from the stands. Camilla was nervously standing among the other Gryffindors trying out for seeker. Despite her age, she was eligible to try out, but she was the only first year there. There was a tall, burly, muscular sixth year girl next to her that looked very intimidating, a skinny and brittle-looking third year, and an average-looking second year. They had already done the trials for the Chasers ("None reached Flores standard," Albus had commented), Keepers, (James had done brilliantly and kept his spot as Keeper), and for the other Beater. (Their team captain was Beater.) Now it was time for the Seekers to try out. The sixth year went first. While she looked very strong, she didn't have the right body type to be a seeker. They were supposed to be light, speedy, and nimble. She was none of these things and hit her head in her dive for the Snitch. Scarlet (their team captain) sent her to the hospital wing with an apology note. The third year seemed fine at first, but when the Snitch flew above his head, he threw up, flew down, and claimed that he was scared of heights. He sauntered off, ashamed. Now it was Camilla's turn. She mounted her Firebolt, which had once been considered a fantastic broom, but was now over twenty years old and a bit jerky. Nevertheless, she kicked off and the soared above the stadium. The Snitch was released. Camilla looked around the stadium in an attempt to spot the tiny flash of gold zoom by. Albus cheered enthusiastically, and Camilla smiled gratefully in his direction. And then-as she looked at Albus-she saw the Snitch hovering next to him! She flew toward it like a speeding rocket. Albus, Rose, and Aaron jumped away frantically as Camilla closed her hand around its flapping wings, which had a rhythm that resembled her heartbeat. Scarlet whistled. Camilla flew down, her face pink. "The first one to catch the Snitch: Camilla Tifton!" All those watching applauded, but Albus, Rose, and Aaron did more than that. They screamed, whistled, shouted, and stomped their feet. Camilla was a bit embarrassed by all the noise they were making, but smiled nonetheless. She sat down with them and waited for the last Gryffindor to try out. She was a tall second year. She had a Comet 400, which had been released a couple years ago. (The broom everybody wanted was The Lightning Bolt 2000, but nobody at Hogwarts but Scorpius Malfoy could afford it.) The second year climbed on her Comet and kicked off. She spotted the Snitch wherever it went. She followed it like a madwoman. She went up, down, around, and in circles. Wherever it went, she went. She eventually caught it on the grass. She was twenty feet above the stadium, and managed to dive down so fast all you saw of her was a flash of red. She flew above the grass and held the Snitch in her fist, triumphant.

Everybody clapped as she started to fly down. She went in a dive once more to show off, but unfortunately, she was not paying attention to the ground and ended up crashing onto the floor. Her face was bleeding and cracked in a few places. Scarlet escorted her to the hospital wing. When she came back down, she looked very distraught. "Melanie will be alright. It's going to take a few weeks, but her nose will heal. The problem is she smashed her face into her broom as she came down, and because her broom is unbreakable, the strength of it cracked a few face muscles. And it's going to take more than an Episkey charm to fix that." "Wait…if she's going to be in the hospital wing for weeks that means she's going to miss the first game against Hufflepuff!" "What do you mean?" Scarlet was puzzled at Aaron's question. "She's the new seeker. If she's injured, she can't play. And without a seeker, you can't play the game." "She's not the new seeker." "Huh?" "Camilla is. I don't want Melanie as seeker because the whole reason she got hurt was because she was showing off. I don't want my teammates to have a big head. And Camilla does not. Congrats." Scarlet patted Camilla's back as her friends cheered. "I can't believe it….I'm the team Seeker!" "You'll do great, Camilla." Camilla smiled proudly. "I know I will."