Chapter 1.
Albus watched his father disappear along with the rest of the platform. He had always thought that James, Harry and Ginny had been joking with him about how you got through to Platform nine and three quarters in Kings Cross, however he had been proven wrong last year when, on this exact day, he had watched his older brother James Sirius embark on his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He remembered how he had barged through the wall of Platforms 9 and 10, and watched enviously as James had boarded the scarlet steam engine he now stood inside - Lily, his younger sister, had been distraught at the thought of saying goodbye to James; secretly, Albus had been too, but he'd never admitted it. James had arrived at Hogwarts, got sorted into Gryffindor, made a load of friends and got into a spot of mischief - all while still managing to pass his exams. Harry and Ginny had not been annoyed in the slightest when they realised James had been causing a spot of bother in the great walls of Hogwarts - on the contrary, they were thrilled at the prospect of James finding his own way around the castle. James was always described as the cool, confident Potter, the one with the fiery temperament, the sense of humour, the one who had a 'little personality' from a young age. Albus, however, stuck in his private little shell. Close to his family, the prospect of not seeing his Mother, Father and little sister again until Christmas was daunting. He commonly fretted as to whether he would do as well as James had done on his first year - yet he had something James had never had. Support, a friendly face, someone to share the journey with.
Rose Weasley was standing next to Albus Severus Potter. Albus looked away from the window - it was frosted now anyway, and their was nothing to watch. He turned to look at his cousin; Rose had bushy red hair and blue eyes, with freckles that ran down her nose and her cheeks. She also had rather large front teeth, but Albus commonly tried to ignore them as he knew how insecure Rose was about them, so insecure that her Mother had promised that she could get them shortened when she was fourteen, the same age she had done when she was younger. Rose was slightly smaller than Albus, and at the minute looked absolutely terrified - she was the oldest child of Ron and Hermione Weasley, and had no idea what was in store for her."Come on!" said Albus, looking at her with a sympathetic smile. "Let's go and find an empty compartment while we can.""Ok." replied Rose, with a half sigh. "I hope we don't have to search for too long - I swear Mum packed the entire contents of Flourish and Blott's in my trunk.""I didn't know we had to bring extra books other than the book list we were sent…" said Albus nervously, thinking back to whether his parents had ever advised him to bring extra reading material."It's not a necessity, I mean we have a library for that…" said Rose, and Albus breathed a sigh of relief. "but Mum says it's always good for background reading. She's even packed an old copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard in there, ancient it looks, and it's supposed to 'remind me of home.' I suppose only time will tell if I actually need it.""Yeah, I suppose." said Albus with a smile. "Right, shall we get cracking then?" he asked, and the two children turned to brave the corridors, still flooded by a crowd of students, swapping compartments to speak to their friends.
Albus and Rose picked up their trunks (Rose with more difficulty than Albus), and proceeded to make their way through the corridors with many, "Excuse me!" and "Thank you!"'s. The two first-years spoke quietly but Rose, inheriting the bossy voice of her Mother, managed to get people to move out of the way, squashing into compartments to allow the two corridor was long and narrow, so much so that Rose and Albus were only half way down it by the time they heard a familiar cheeky voice from a compartment to the left."Hey, Albs!" said James Potter above all the noise of fellow students. Albus turned around to see the broad grin on James's face, his chestnut eyes gleaming with happiness to be back with his pack of friends - all fellow second year boys. "If you're searching for a compartment, their's one just coming up on the left." he said, giving Albus a hearty wink."Is this your brother, Jay?" asked one of James's friends, a small boy with ash brown hair, bright blue eyes, and a wide smile that reminded Albus of a monkey.
"Yeah, and my cousin." said James, motioning to Rose. "Albus, Rose, I'd like you to meet Jeremy Bancroft and the gang.""It's awesome to meet you! Call me Jem…" said Jeremy, the monkey faced boy, and Rose and Albus found themselves shaking hands with him, whilst the other members of 'the gang' merely lifted their hands or nodded in recognition of the two first years - it was painfully obvious that James and Jem seemed to be the ringleaders in this 'gang'."Of course," considered James with a cocky smile, which informed Albus that he was about to say something malicious. "I shall disown both of them if they end up in Slytherin."
James's gang laughed (Jeremy Bancroft looked like he was about to have an accident!) and Albus looked down, allowing his messy, jet black hair to fall over his eyes, a vivid green. Rose sighed and grabbed Albus's arm.
"I'd love to sit and chat James, but Albs and I had better be finding that compartment." She sniffed with her bossy tone, before shutting the compartment door and walking on further, pulling her trunk along with her head held high - Albus followed."That boy has a nerve on your first day…" she said, as she found an empty compartment door and clambered inside it, Albus afterwards. Albus slumped down onto the train seats before replying."That's just James, Rose, you know that." said Albus, pulling his backpack off of his back before standing up again and lifting his trunk into the overhead compartment.
Rose decided not to attempt storing her heavy trunk away, so she sat opposite Albus, her trunk by her side. Albus opened a side section of his bag and poured some Galleons from it, placing them in his pocket."How hungry are you?" he asked Rose.
"Not very." said Rose hurriedly, obviously not liking his attempt to change the subject. "Anyway, what would you do if… well, if you were a Slytherin?" she asked quietly, her voice almost a whisper, as she leaned towards him in her seat."Well I don't know." said Albus, sighing. "I bet I will be in Slytherin.""I doubt it." smiled Rose. "Not one of our family have been in that house."Albus stared out of the window, the freeze had now melted and he could now see green fields with cows and horses, a lake in the distance."Albus?" said Rose, and Albus's attention was drawn back to her. "You're not seriously worried about this are you?" she asked. Albus considered for a moment, before slowly shaking his head."No, not really. Dad told me something before we got on the train. It really helped." he smiled, and Rose drew back a little."What did he tell you?" she asked, picking at her nails and trying to sound casual.
"You've got to promise not to tell anyone…" said Albus cautiously, though he was wasting his breath. He trusted Rose and the Weasleys more than anyone, especially more than he trusted James, who didn't seem to know when to keep his mouth shut."I won't tell anyone, you know that…" said Rose with an encouraging smile."Good, because I don't know if it's supposed to be a secret or not…" said Albus, before taking a deep breath and commencing to tell her about what Harry Potter had told him. "Dad said that I've been named after two Hogwarts headmasters and that one of them was a Slytherin - and that he was the bravest man he had ever met." started Albus, talking quietly, softly and slowly. "But this is the really good bit…" Albus started again, but he was interrupted by the clang sound of the compartment door being pulled open ferociously.
A small, pale sickly boy was standing outside their compartment. He had blonde, slicked back hair, grey, bleak eyes and a pointed chin. He was wearing his black Hogwarts robes already, as if to gain a sense of authority over the other first years, still dressed in their Muggle attire."Hello." said the boy. His voice was dull and expressionless, as if their were far more important things he could be doing at the present time than talking to his future classmates.
"Hello." said Albus and Rose, studying the boy carefully - they had seen him before, on the platform.
"I can't find a compartment." said the boy, and deeming this an acceptable form of self invitation, he stepped into the compartment, placed his briefcase firmly on the floor, shut the compartment door and sat next to several minutes of awkward silence, the boy spoke again. "My Mum and Dad know your Mum and Dad." he said to Albus, before turning to Rose and saying, "And yours too.""Yes, from what I've heard, they don't get on so well." said Rose in her harsh tone; she highly disapproved of the boys interruption.
"No…" said the boy, seeming to consider. "No, they don't…" he finished, before biting his lip. "I'm Scorpius by the way. Scorpius Malfoy." he added, stretching his hand out for Rose and Albus to shake."I'm Albus Potter." replied Albus awkwardly."And I'm Rose Weasley." said Rose civily, not daring to smile at the boy - feeling a somewhat loyalty towards her sat in silence too, once again; Scorpius had long since given up on shaking Rose and Albus's hand, and had placed his hand down now, staring at the ceiling.
Time seemed to pass very slowly, but soon, the green fields were replaced by dank Muggle cities, grey and stone, steam and pollution rising in the air. Muggles took no notice of the scarlet steam train as they bustled about trying to finish their shopping; oblivious to the sheer amount of magic contained in the mode of transport. Albus and Scorpius were wide awake, staring at the wall opposite them, yet Rose, sick of the silence one can only presume, had dozed off, her head resting on her heavy trunk. Albus thought that the many books enclosed in the case couldn't have been very comfortable to sleep on, yet he had nothing of more substantial comfort to offer her head a resting place. His Galleons jingled in his pocket, itching to be spent; Scorpius drew out his own Galleons, and Albus realised Scorpius had far more than himself - the thought didn't bother Albus particularly, though.
"Anything off of the trolley dears?" asked a plump, old, white haired Witch, pulling a trolly full of sweets; she had Pumpking Pasties, Chocolate Frogs, Liquorice Wands, Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, Droobles Best Blowing Gum and Cauldron Cakes, among others of Albus's favourites!
Feeling peckish, Albus rummaged once more into the side pocket of his bag, pulling more Galleon's out as Scorpius stood up to take his order.
Albus ordered two of everything, so Rose had plenty for when she awoke. He sat down and started rummaging through the sweets, feeling much more inclined to speak."So you said your Mum and Dad know my Mum and Dad?" said Albus, turning to Scorpius, who looked much more like a child now he wasn't all prim and proper, and was digging into his Pumpkin Pastie."Well, my Dad mainly." said Scorpius inbetween chews. "He and your Dad were enemies at school, and he told me how your Mum once performed the Bat Bogey Hex on him!" he finished with a sly smile."How come they never got along?" asked Albus, unwrapping a chocolate frog."No idea. Just rivalry I think. I've never asked him." said Scorpius, chewing his Pastie thoughtfully. "In fact, I've not really ask him much in a while…" he continued. Albus sat and watched awkwardly, not really knowing what to say. He always asked his Father questions, though perhaps not as often as James, inquisitive as he was.
Thankfully, the awkward silence was banished by a tap tap on the window, which coincidentally awoke Rose from her slumber."What was that?" she asked as she bounded up, but Scorpius was already blocking the view of both of the cousins, as he bounded towards the compartment window, a greedy expression of delight plastered to his sickly pale complexion. Rose rubbed her eyes to increase her awareness, whilst Albus stood up in an attempt to witness what had so pleased Scorpius. "What's going on?" hea shut the window that he had previously opened, and turned to face Albus and Rose, his face triumphant. In his open pal was perched an elegant Eagle Owl, a formal looking letter clutched in its beak; the Owl looked thoroughly pleased with itself."I've got a letter from my Grandmother and Grandfather!" said Scorpius, and though the excitement he felt was clearly etched all over his face, his tone of voice remained as dull as ever."Already?" asked Rose, as both Albus and Scorpius sat down; Scorpius started stroking the official, pompous looking bird."Father warned me that Grandmother Malfoy would be most enthusiastic about my first day of school, and how proud Grandfather Malfoy would be in spite of his ill health." said Scorpius, as he pushed some sweets to the side to make way for the letter he was about to open. Albus watched Scorpius as he performed the task. He was under the impression that Scorpius came from a rich, pure background, where he was used to getting the best of everything; it gave Scorpius the impression of an old man in a childs body, what with his complex vocabulary range for an eleven year old, and his seeming incapacity to let himself completely unwrapped the letter and flattened it before commencing to read it:
"Dear Young Scorpius,
Congratulations on the commence of your first year of Wizarding Education, and may you proceed to be sorted into the precious house of your ancestors, Slytherin. Your Grandfather and I were of course delighted when we first heard the news that you had received your Hogwarts letter - though of course not surprised, as you come from Pure Blood ancestry and their was no doubt that you were not a squib ever since you managed to make your Uncle Greengrass's wig disappear at your Mother's birthday banquet when you were seven years old. This, of course, was an embarrassing situation for all, yet at least your first spout of magic was entertaining! Anyway, we thought that your Father might have applied you for Durmstrang, because as a boy he took a particular shining for that place, however we are most pleased that he chose otherwise, for it'll be much less of a journey for Opal to deliver your letters.I assume Astoria has given you a sufficient amount of Galleons to buy Chocolate Frog's with, but find enclosed several more so you can maintain your collection of Chocolate Frog Cards - here's hoping you can find the Harry Potter card you so desperately seek to complete your collection at last!Enjoy your first day and don't worry yourself over us - Grandpa Lucius is doing well and his condition certainly hasn't deteriorated anymore than it is currently, which is always a good thing. Soon, maybe, he could be fit enough to write you a letter himself. Good luck dear Scorpius, we hope to hear from you Narcissa Malfoy, andGrandfather Lucius Malfoy."Scorpius finished reading the letter sheepishly and folded it back up again, placing it back into the envelope with the Galleons.
"It's awfully nice of your Grandparents to write to you so early in the term… well, before term, really." said Albus, trying to relievethe tension that had suddenly grown between the three children. Albus had heard the line clearly - even though Scorpius had somehow attempted to fade it out; Scorpius desperately craved a Harry Potter Chocolate Frog Card, though Albus chose not to mention it. Rose, too, seemed to choose against mentioning her Uncle's name - besides, Harry Potter was an exceptionally famous Wizard, so it wasn't really that much of a shock to her."Is that her name? Opal?" asked Rose, motioning to the Eagle Owl, that seemed to be eyeing up the rest of the sweets hungrily, yet restraining herself."Yeah," said Scorpius. "she's my Grandma's. I wish I had my own Owl with me, but Father says that I'm getting one for my birthday, but that's ages away in February!" moaned Scorpius, before picking up his briefcase and opening it, rummaging through it until he found what he was looking for - some Owl treats, which he started to feed Opal. "Of course, I've got to be ready for when Opal and my Mum's Owl comes to stay. My Father says he'll write to me, but I doubt it.""How come?" asked Rose."Father is always very busy at work, so he doesn't have time…""-To write to his own Son?" said Rose, interrupting Scorpius with a tone of disgust."Father's just busy, that's all…" said Scorpius coldly, turning his head away from Rose so she couldn't see the scowl now upon it.
The students sat in silence once more, each working separately on different topics, but most certainly not talking to one another. Rose was reading a book that made Albus's eyes water just looking at it, Scorpius was staring at the Owl called Opal, occasionally feeding her some more Owl treats, and Scorpius was just thinking to himself. Rose wasn't being as welcoming towards Scorpius as she could have been, in his opinion. Normally, she was very welcoming towards people she met, yet she was acting strangely cold towards Scorpius. Albus grabbed a Pumpkin Pastie and started to chew on it as he sat in thought, and his chews were heard distinctively threw the silence. Scorpius ignored them, how engrossed in the Owl was he, but Rose kept shooting Albus dirty looks over the complex book.
Fifteen painfully long minutes passed this way, until a loud beep made Rose jump in her seat."Gosh, what's that? It almost made me jump out of my skin!" said Rose, hurriedly."My new alarm clock, Dad got me it." Albus said apologetically, checking his watch and pressing it so that it stopped beeping."What's that?" asked Scorpius, looking at the watch like it was a bomb ready to go off."An alarm clock, a watch, don't you know what that is?" asked Rose impatiently, and Albus gave Rose a stern look. He hoped that she was only acting so horribly to hide her nerves."Well I know what a watch is, but Wizards only get them when they're of age, don't they? But why is it beeping like that? I don't have any Muggle things you see, Mum and Dad don't want them." explained Scorpius as he continued to stare at the Watch, and Albus smiled."It's beeping to remind me of a certain time. It's set beforehand." he said to Scorpius, and then looked down to the watch on his wrist. "It beeped to let me know that we should nearly be there by now."Coincidentally, just as Albus finished speaking, a smooth voice was heard from throughout the train. It was a female voice, and it was loud without sounding like any form of strain had been placed upon it. "We are approaching Hogsmeade, please be ready to arrive in five minutes. Leave your luggage on the train, it will be bought in for you."
Albus's stomach gave a jolt of nerve, and he looked up to see Roses eyes were panicky as she looked down at her clothes. Instantly, she unzipped her trunk and started to rummage through the contents."Not in my robes… can't change in front of you… have to…" she managed to mutter before she managed to find her school robes and run out of the door hectically, leaving Albus and Scorpius alone together."Rose doesn't seem to like me much." said Scorpius as soon as she was in distant hearing range. Albus sighed, "I think she's just nervous." he said, as he unzipped his backpack to find his robes, that had crinkled slightly from being roughly slung into the bag before the journey. Scorpius looked down at his robes, already on, and still looking looked out of the window as Albus changed in silence, both two nervous to speak. Soon Albus finished and sat back down, awaiting the return of Rose. Albus took the opportunity to smile at Scorpius encouragingly. "Don't worry about Rose, she's normally nice enough. She'll come around, I've never seen her this nervous before." he said, and Scorpius looked up nervously."Aren't we all?" he said, "I'm worried about which house I'll be sorted in. All of my family have been sorted into Slytherin instantly, but what I've heard of them so far in my life has hardly been positive, even what my family intended to sound so.""I understand." said Albus sympathetically. "My Dad got to choose which house he was in, out of Gryffindor and Slytherin; the hat took his opinion into account. He chose Gryffindor in the end - my family's descended from Gryffindor!" he finished proudly, puffing out his chest."Then you don't have much to worry about." sighed Scorpius, and Rose returned to the Compartment just as they felt the train start to slow down."Are you ready then?" asked Albus, with a smile."Ready." said Rose,"Ready." repeated train stopped completely with a jolt, and the three first years turned and looked at each other, all united in that sense of nervousness, of excitement, of their new journey, their new path. Seven years they were to spend at this school, and it was all to start here.