James POV

James walked happily across Platform 9 ¾. He looked behind him to see his brother watching the train nervously. Maybe he shouldn't have gone so far with the whole Slytherin thing. But come on, Albus was way too fun to mess with. It was his own fault for believing him, anyway. They weren't actually going to disown Albus if he was placed in Slytherin. he watched as his father knelt down to talk to his little brother. James shrugged and hopped onto the train. He didn't have to walk very far to come to the compartment that held his closest friends. He flung the door open quickly, and after hefting his trunk onto the shelf, he laid himself across his friends' laps.

"Aw come on Jay! Get off me! You weigh a ton!" He chuckled and wiggled a bit, as if to make himself more comfortable, "No can do, Marie. I don't think I've ever been more comfortable in my life." She sighed before bringing her hands up and pushing him forcefully to the ground. He flailed a bit as he landed and made a noise that didn't sound quite human. He clutched his heart dramatically and put on the most shocked face he could muster, "Why Marie! I can't believe you! I've never been so hurt! I would have expected this from Freddie or Cas, but from you? Never!" All three laughed heartily at him as he slowly got up from the ground. He tried to fake a glare at them but ended up laughing, too, as he collapsed into his seat.

He had really missed his friends over the summer. Sure, Fred was his cousin and he saw him all the time, but he hadn't gotten a chance to see Marie and Casper quite as much. It had been weird not eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner with them, or sneaking around late at night together. So James was very glad he was back.

James jumped a bit as the train lurched into motion. He vacated his seat and pressed himself close to the glass, frantically waving goodbye. Even though the independence was amazing, after a while everyone began to miss their family while at school. At least Marie didn't have it as bad, seeing as her father was the herbology professor at Hogwarts.

Once the platform was no longer in sight, James settled comfortably into his seat, ready for the long journey ahead.

Albus POV

Albus ventured deeper into the train. He walked down the aisle, peering into the compartments, looking for a place to sit. After passing many compartments, each filled with kids he didn't recognize, Albus found his brother James, who was lying on the floor, surrounded by his two best friends, Freddie and Casper. He was about to join them when he noticed a girl with dark hair sitting in the seat next to Freddie. He sighed, making his way farther down the train. He stopped at another. Looking in he saw his cousins Dominique and Louis sitting with two older boys that he didn't know.

It seemed like the entire train was full until he reached the very last compartment. Inside there was a boy with white blonde hair sitting alone and staring out the window. He knocked softly on the door. The boy glanced up at him, before moving quickly to open up the compartment door. He sat down in the seat opposite the boy. "I'm Albus Potter," he said, sticking his hand out. "I'm Scorpius Malfoy." The boy answered, taking Albus's hand in his own and shaking it firmly, "It's nice to meet you.","So, are you excited for the sorting?" Scorpius asked, trying to make conversation. Albus shrugged, "I am, it's just that I'm worried about what House I'll be placed in," he answered quietly. "What do you mean?" Scorpius asked. "It's just, my entire family has been in Gryffindor, you know? What would happen if I got placed in Slytherin?" Scorpius smiled at him, "Well, that would be amazing then." "Really, why?" Albus asked. "Because then you'd be with me," Scorpius replied, "Because I'm going to be in Slytherin too."

"You are?" Albus asked him, looking shocked. Scorpius laughed, "Yeah. And what's with that face?" "Nothing," Albus said, "you just don't seem like a Slytherin to me." Scorpius continued laughing, "And why is that? You don't think I look like one of the old Death Eaters? Do I not radiate darkness?" This caught Albus off guard. "Ummm no, not really." "Well good, I sure hope not," Scorpius said, "You know there's a lot more to Slytherin than the dark arts and a bloodline obsession. There's just a few who give us a bad reputation. We're not all trying to take over the world and slaughter muggles like- well I'm sure you know all about him. What I'm trying to say is that there are plenty of good wizards that come out of Slytherin." "Yeah I guess you're right," Albus said, remembering the conversation he had had with his father about Severus Snape.

The boys continued to talk and joke with each other for hours. "It's starting to get dark," Scorpius observed. "I guess that means we're almost there,"Albus said. "Yeah..." They sat in silence for a few minutes before changing into their robes. Then, they looked out the window some more, craning their necks to try to see the castle beyond the tall trees.

The train slowed steadily until it eventually came to a stop. The boys looked to each other, grins appearing on their faces. "We're here," Albus said "we're finally here." He jumped up, grabbing hold of Scorpius' arm, dragging him out of the train. "Come on now, we've got to get up near the front!" Scorpius laughed, allowing himself to be dragged along by the grinning boy, who was following the deep voice yelling "Firs' years, this way!" Albus finally let go when they saw the source of the voice. It belonged to the largest man Albus had seen in his life, but he knew who he was immediately.

"That's Professor Hagrid," Albus whispered excitedly to Scorpius, whose mouth was hanging wide open, "my dad told me all about him." That was when Hagrid turned to look at them. "Well you must be Albus," Hagrid exclaimed, "your father told me that you would be a first year. You look just like him, and my, you've got your grandmother's eyes." Hagrid didn't look as excited when he saw Scorpius. "Oh. And I guess we've got a Malfoy, too." He said gruffly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir." Scorpius replied politely. Hagrid looked startled but then began to laugh. "You're different than your dad, I like you." Scorpius smiled up at him, "Thank you, sir." "Well," Hagrid said, "It's about time you boys got on the boats." The boys left him with a hurried "Nice to meet you, sir." and jumped down into an awaiting rowboat.

"Oh there you are, Albus," Albus heard from behind him as Rose awkwardly stepped into the boat, "I didn't see you anywhere on the train." "Oh, yeah, I was sitting in the back with Scorp," He explained. Rose glanced at Scorpius uncomfortably. "Oh, I'm sorry," Albus said, "Rose, this is my new friend Scorpius. Scorp, this is my cousin Rose." "Well it's nice to meet you," Rose said stiffly, although it was obvious that she didn't mean it. They were soon joined by a small, fragile looking girl with long blond hair, blue eyes gleaming with excitement. "Do you mind if I sit with you," she asked nervously. "Of course not! Come on in! I'm Albus Potter. This is my cousin, Rose Weasley, and this is Scorpius Malfoy." "Thanks," she said smiling, "I'm Elle. Elle Jackson."

It wasn't long before the rowboats began to move by themselves. They traveled swiftly across the lake without disturbing the water beneath them. As they turned a corner, the castle came into view and everyone gave a large gasp of appreciation. The castle was absolutely beautiful, Albus could feel the excitement growing inside of him. He looked toward his new friend Scorpius, and could see that he felt the same. This was going to be the start of something great.