**N.B: This has been revised slightly since I first published it. Not overly much, but enough.
Also - this story is just something I created for a friend. Please don't be too harsh.
CHAPTER 1:
Exhaling heavily as he stepped on to the Hogwarts Express, and replaying his father's words in his head, Albus Potter assured himself that he was not going to be outcast from the Potter family, even if he did get sorted into Slytherin house- not that he thought he would be sorted there, really. With that thought easing his mind, he turned to beckon his cousin, Rose, and the two began the task of searching for somewhere to sit.
It soon became apparent that they were unable and unlikely to find an empty cabin, so Albus and Rose decided to settle into one they saw with the least amount of people. Carrying on throughout the train passageway for a time, heaving their trunks and carriers behind them, they finally came upon a cabin with only two occupants: a grey-eyed, pale, blonde boy and a skinny, brown-haired girl with freckles across her nose. Both of them appeared to be first years, too.
Sliding the door open, Rose stuck her head in and asked "Mind if we join you? Everywhere else is full."
It was the boy who responded with a pleasant nod.
"Sure." He agreed easily.
Albus sighed in relief. Carrying his trunk was starting to get tiring, and if they had said no, Albus didn't really want to go looking for another cabin while pulling it and his ferret carrier along.
"Cheers!" Rose said brightly, walking into the cabin and setting her trunk and owl cage at her feet.
"I'm Rose Weasley, and this is my cousin, Albus Potter." Rose stated as Albus followed her in, setting his own things down.
"Oh … Nice to meet you both." The boy said, smiling nervously.
"This is Gisele …" He began, gesturing to the girl and looking to her to say her surname.
"Fawley- Gisele Fawley. Pleasure." She supplied affably, offering a nod of her head.
"And, er, I'm Scorpius …" He said slowly. "Um, Malfoy. I'm Scorpius Malfoy."
Rose shot a wide-eyed glance at Albus.
"Oh! You're a Malfoy? Er. Okay. Right. Uh, we actually, I just remembered, we can't sit in here. Because … because … just because." She said, faltering for an excuse as she picked up her trunk and owl cage again.
Albus noticed Scorpius cringe and look away, his face turning slightly pink in embarrassment. Gisele's face took on a look of confusion as she looked between Scorpius and Rose.
"I'm sorry … I don't understand. Why can't you sit here?" Gisele asked, hesitantly.
"Well, because, well …" Rose fumbled around for an excuse, flushing heavily as she did so.
"Oh, fine." Rose huffed out.
"Because he's a Malfoy, and the Malfoy's aren't a good sort. I don't want to be associating with one of them."
At that, Scorpius' face flushed an even darker pink.
"Are you serious?" Gisele asked Rose, narrowing her eyes, clearly taken aback.
The look Rose offered Gisele was answer enough.
"Get out." Gisele said coldly.
Rose stared at Gisele and looked like she was gearing up to have a go, but Albus, sufficiently uncomfortable now, tugged at Rose's arm and manoeuvred her out of the cabin before addressing Scorpius and Gisele himself.
"Er … we'll go find somewhere else to sit. I'm, uh, I'm really sorry." Albus said awkwardly to them.
Offering a small smile that was more of a grimace to both Scorpius and Gisele, Albus gathered his trunk and carrier into his hands and walked away with Rose.
It was another ten minutes before they found a cabin at the far end of the train to settle in to. In it sat an older boy, already dressed in his school robes and practising magic. He told them rather huffily that they could share the cabin, but their pets needed to stay in their cages and Albus and Rose needed to stay quiet, so he could concentrate. Five minutes later, Albus and Rose had settled completely into the cabin, putting their trunks and carriers into the overhead storage.
Staring out the window, Albus frowned as he thought of Scorpius' face when Rose had begun looking for an excuse to leave after hearing his family name. Scorpius had seemed pleasant enough, then he'd just sort of shrunk into himself. It was like he fully accepted that he should be treated poorly, just because he was a Malfoy.
Albus thought that Rose had been out of line. Both Scorpius and Gisele had seemed nice enough.
Before he could help himself, Albus was opening his mouth to quietly admonish Rose for her attitude towards Scorpius.
"What you said to Scorpius wasn't fair. He seemed nice, and you were rude."
Rose opened her mouth to argue, but the third-year boy shot a scathing look in their direction and hissed "Quiet!" at them.
Shooting a frustrated look in his direction, Rose proceeded to sulk for the remainder of the journey to Hogwarts. She knew that to some degree, she was in the wrong- which was why she was so annoyed with Albus for saying something to her.
The train journey was mostly silent, with both Rose and Albus retrieving books from their trunks to entertain themselves. Rose was reading some muggle book about a fake witch in a wardrobe with lions- something that Aunt Hermione had given her as a going away gift.
Albus sat reading his copy of Magical Drafts and Potions.
A couple of hours had passed when the older student suggested that the pair of them should change into their robes, as they would be arriving soon. Both Albus and Rose gathered their robes from their trunks and headed off to change into them, barely three words spoken between each other.
Upon their return to their train carriage, the pair of them resumed reading their chosen books, sitting in silence for the remainder of the journey.
By the time the Hogwarts Express pulled up at Hogsmeade station, Albus had memorised the twelve uses for dragon's blood and what ingredients were used to brew a forgetfulness potion. He was feeling quite confident that, at the very least, Potions was a class in which he would do well this year.
He and Rose quickly grabbed their things and headed out on to the platform.
On the platform, a booming voice that Albus immediately recognised was calling "Firs' years! Over 'ere. Firs' years, over 'ere!"
Rose, who was still miffed with Albus, stormed off towards the deep voice, leaving him to himself. Albus didn't mind this, as he thought Rose was in the wrong. He thought himself a very good judge of character, and he had thought both Scorpius and Gisele seemed like good people. They were definitely the kind of people he would have wanted to try to be friends with. Shaking his head at his cousin's behaviour, Albus gripped his belongings and headed towards the voice of his father's good friend: the half-giant, Hagrid.
"Leave yer belongins' over ere'. We'll be gettin' to the castle another way. Leave em all 'ere. Right you lot, follow me!"
Settling his trunk and his carrier in the designated spot, along with about sixty-five other people, Albus followed Hagrid towards a bevvy of boats. Looking wide-eyed at the enormous lake that the boats floated in, Albus thanked Merlin that it was a calm night. This was not a trip he'd want to make in rough waters.
"Alrigh' you lot. Lots of five and into a boat. Come on now!"
Albus very quickly found himself in a boat with a trio of extremely chatty girls and a grinning, brown-skinned boy.
"Righ', everybody in? Off we go then." Hagrid called out.
The boats seemed to begin moving of their own accord all at once towards the castle. Staring in wonder, it finally sunk in for Albus that he was here!
After what felt like an eternity in waiting, Albus was finally at Hogwarts.
"Innit better than you coulda imagined?" The other boy asked Albus.
Smiling at him, Albus nodded his assent.
"I'm Dori. Short for Theodore, but, well, that's too long, innit?" The other boy said, holding out his hand to shake Albus'.
"Albus. Just call me Al." Albus responded as he shook Dori's outstretched hand.
Dori nodded at Albus, and continued the conversation.
"You know what house you wanna be in?" He asked.
Shrugging his shoulders at Dori, Albus responded, "All my family are in Gryffindor. I guess I'll probably go there too. What about you?"
"My dad was a Slytherin. Wants me to be one too. But I reckon I wouldn't mind Hufflepuff. Be hilarious to give him that news. I can just imagine him telling my grandparents. They'd disown me." Dori said with a laugh and a shake of his head.
Laughing along with Dori, and deciding that he rather liked him, Albus chatted with him more on the journey across the lake.
When the boats finally reached the muddy bank of the school, Albus, Dori, and the three girls who had introduced themselves as Emilia and Harriet Strauss and Lola Hunter clambered out of the boat and joined the forming group of first-year students.
"Alrigh', follow me!" Came Hagrid's booming voice.
The group quickly made their way towards the Hogwarts entranceway, where they were greeted by another of Albus' parents' friends- Neville Longbottom.
"Thank you, Hagrid." Neville said kindly. "I'll take them from here."
Turning to regard the first years, Neville called out for them to follow him to the Great Hall and began leading the first years through the castle.
Walking side by side with Dori, Albus followed with the group of first years through corridors and upstairs to the closed entrance of the Great Hall. He noticed Scorpius and Gisele walking slightly ahead of them, chatting to each other. He hadn't noticed it on the train, but Gisele was really tall. She had a least half a foot on Scorpius, who wasn't exactly short.
Quieting the somewhat noisy group to address them all, Neville introduced himself as Professor Longbottom and explained what was going to happen.
"There's a hat that you will place upon your head to be sorted into a Hogwarts house. The hat will see your mind, and might even talk to you. Now, depending on the particular student, the hat could take three seconds or three minutes. While you're here at Hogwarts, your houses will be like your family. Your accomplishments will be rewarded with house points, and your indiscretions will result in the loss of house points. Whichever house has the most points at the end of the year, wins the house cup."
"Once you've all been sorted, the feast will begin. Any questions?"
No one seemed to have any questions. They all simply stood there, wide-eyed, in nervous anticipation.
"Great, well, follow me."
Turning heel, Neville lead the group into the Great Hall, towards a small stool that sat unobtrusively in the middle of a podium. Upon it sat the hat Neville had told them about. It didn't quite meet the expectation Albus had of it. He had pictured a pointy black wizards hat. Maybe with a couple of gold stars. This hat was disgusting and looked tired. Literally.
The hall was silent, and everyone stared at the hat, waiting for something. Suddenly, the brim of the hat quivered open, and it burst into song.
The founders four of Hogwarts school
Charmed me so that when they
Had all passed on, I still could rule
In what house each student would stay.
I'll cast you into Gryffindor,
If your bravery stands out.
If you're bold and daring to the core,
It's where you belong, no doubt.
Or I'll set you off for Hufflepuff
If it's kindness that I see,
If your loyalty and hard work ethic
Are what's most apparent to me.
I'll rule that you're a Ravenclaw,
Should I find eagerness to learn.
If you've a clever or creative mind
Then a place there you have earned.
Or I'll send you into Slytherin,
Should I see you have great ambition,
If your mind is cunning, sly or quick,
To green, you'll have admission.
But know this now, and be aware
That my choice of house for you,
Is a choice I make in consciousness
Of the choices that you do.
No house is better than the rest,
Despite their reputations.
The founders intended harmony,
Not hate or separation.
I do my job, I do it well
For I've never yet been wrong.
No student I have ever placed
Was where they did not belong.
So pick me up, put me on,
It's time for me to dig in,
For I'm the Sorting Hat of Hogwarts,
And I am ready to begin.
The hat finished its song with a bow of its tip, and applause rang out across the hall. With that, the sorting began.
"When I call your name, step forward on to the stool and place the hat on your head." Neville said.
"Allory, Delilah." was the first to be called.
A nervous, mousy looking girl with big eyes stepped towards the stool and tripped over her feet. Scrambling embarrassedly upright, Delilah Allory sat down and pulled the hat on her head. It sat for a moment before announcing: "Ravenclaw!"
A hearty applause started from the Ravenclaw table and died down a couple of moments after she seated herself with the rest of her new house.
That was the pattern that continued for the rest of the roll and Albus paid close attention, waiting to see which house three students in particular, were placed in to.
He watched as student after student was placed into their house- each taking no longer than a minute- and eventually the first of three particular people he'd been waiting to see sorted, was called.
"Fawley, Gisele."
She walked towards the stool, looking relatively calm, except her ear kept twitching, which gave her nervousness away.
She picked up the hat and sat on the stool. The Sorting Hat had barely touched Gisele's head before calling "Slytherin!".
Coolly, she placed the hat back upon the stool and headed for the Slytherin table.
"Wow, when Professor Longbottom said three seconds or three minutes, I thought he was just exaggerating. But she literally took three seconds." Dori remarked after Gisele's sorting, clearly impressed.
The roll carried on, and progressed quite quickly, although no one was sorted quite as fast as Gisele had been. The hat didn't seem to be having much trouble placing any of the students though, Albus thought, as Jordan, Gideon was sorted into Gryffindor.
A couple of names later, Neville called for "Malfoy, Scorpius."
A pronounced hush fell over the great hall as he made his way to the stool, everyone straining to hear what house the son of the only Death-eater to avoid Azkaban, after the war, would be placed into.
Picking up the hat and pulling it over his eyes, Scorpius Malfoy sat upon the stall far longer than any other first-year thus far.
Three minutes passed, and the hat gave no indication of announcing a house.
"Christ, what's it been? Like ten minutes?" Dori muttered under his breath to Albus.
"Try three." Albus murmured back, dryly.
Another minute later, the brim of the hat finally opened to call out "Slytherin!"
Clapping began from the Slytherin table, and Scorpius, after removing the hat, hurried over to sit next to Gisele, smiling in relief all the while.
A couple of students later, "Nott, Theodore", was called.
"Well, this is me." Dori said to Albus before making his way towards the stool.
Pulling the hat onto his head, there was a slight deliberation before "Slytherin" rang out across the hall.
Shooting a quick, dry grin towards Albus, Dori turned and jogged to sit with the other Slytherin first years.
Five minutes later, Neville finally called "Potter, Albus.".
It was his turn to be sorted, and an ugly dread settled into his stomach as he approached the stool, picked the hat up and sat down. Albus hesitated before pulling the hat over his head.
Albus startled as a voice immediately piped up in his mind.
"Well, well, I haven't had this happen with one of your lot before." It said.
"What?" Albus asked.
"I've had many of your cousins, and even your brother sit here on this stool. Not one of them gave me trouble at all. I knew exactly where they were going. But you… hmmm."
Albus began to worry at that.
"I… but me what? I'm not like the rest of my family? Am I not a Gryffindor?" He asked the hat, worriedly.
"You're brave, plenty of courage like your family. You could be a Gryffindor. But I think you'd do better elsewhere… You're a quiet boy. A clever one too. And you have plans for yourself. You want to be a healer, do you, boy?" The hat asked him knowingly.
"Well, no. Not exactly. I want to create a potion that helps people like my Uncle George. That's all." Albus replied.
"Hmm, I see. You intend to help others and are prepared to put in the work to see it happen. You are also fair and just- the markings of a proud Hufflepuff. But that mind. Steady, sure, determined, clever. A mix of Slytherin and Ravenclaw. You'd do well in any of the four houses. But where to put you?"
The hat continued to muse in his head as Albus stayed quiet.
"Well, I, just … not Slytherin?" Albus said, ending on a question.
"I can't be the first Weasley-Potter to be in Slytherin." He explained quickly to the hat.
"Are you sure? That thirst you have to reach your goals, to help the people closest to you. That's all Slytherin you know."
Albus considered for a moment, but then James' words came to his mind.
"But Slytherin is the evil house. My brother James said so." He told the hat quietly.
"Ha! No, boy. Slytherin is a house of true greatness. A house of ambition, dedication and true loyalty. Where you'll find your real friends. Where I believe you in particular, could thrive."
The hat seemed to be convincing itself and Albus had to admit, he really quite liked Dori. And Scorpius and Gisele had seemed like a good sort in the short time he'd known them. All three of them were in Slytherin house. Also, Albus himself was named for a Slytherin, so the house couldn't be all bad.
Softly, Albus asked the hat, "Do you really think I might belong in Slytherin?"
"I told you before, you would do well in any of the four houses. But in Slytherin, you would do more than well; you would do great. But I'll give you what I allowed your father- a choice. Do you truly not wish Slytherin to be an option?"
This was it, Albus thought. Here was his out. He could just tell the hat right now, that he absolutely did not want to be in Slytherin… except that would be a lie. James didn't want Albus to be a Slytherin- despite his teasing. Uncle Ron didn't want Albus to be a Slytherin- he hated the lot of them. But Albus, Albus secretly didn't mind.
Finally, Albus told the hat, "Ok, just put me where I belong. Wherever I belong."
"Very good, boy. Always know that I am never wrong. It'lll have to be …
SLYTHERIN!"
Although a few people began clapping, the majority of the students, and most of the teachers, sat in shock. Albus knew, as he started walking towards the Slytherin table, that people would talk about him. They would talk about how he, the son of Harry Potter, the son of The Chosen One, was a Slytherin.
Albus could hear the whispers start as he slunk into the space Dori had made for him.
"Ignore them, mate." Dori said, smirking.
"No one here knows squat except that hat. He told me so."
Releasing a quick laugh at Dori's cheeky tone, Albus made Dori a quick bet.
"Five sickles we hear at least one person bring up how disappointed my dad must be in me." He said quietly.
"You're on." Dori said, amusement heavy in his tone.
The whispering didn't cease for a while, and Albus was able to make out most it.
"But, the hat must be wrong! Surely, it's wrong!"
"Harry Potter's son is a Slytherin! Can you believe it!?"
"Merlin's beard! A Potter!? In Slytherin!?"
"Merlin, imagine having to be the one to tell Harry Potter that his son is a Slytherin!"
The whispering didn't bother Albus, but it did stunt the sorting a little bit. The whispers only came to a halt when the Headmistress stood to hush them.
"If we could get back to the sorting." She insisted sternly.
Clearing his throat to continue on, Neville started calling up the remaining students to be sorted.
Casting a look at Albus, Dori whispered, "You owe me five sickles."
Chuckling quietly to himself, and nodding his head okay- because no one had actually said Harry Potter would be disappointed in his son-, Albus began to look around the Great Hall. Now that he had actually been sorted, he was better able to take everything in.
The walls were decorated with four giant banners, each one depicting a house crest. Giant floating candles danced above his head, and the ceiling reflected a calm, indigo sky.
Tearing his eyes towards where the food would be, Albus was impressed by the huge gold platters that sat empty along the table, accompanied by matching golden goblets and gleaming plates.
James had told Albus all about the Hogwarts feasts, and now that he was no longer nervous about being sorted, Albus was rather hungry.
Looking towards the podium, Albus saw that there were only seven students left to be sorted.
"Strauss, Emilia." "Hufflepuff!"
"Strauss, Harriet." "Hufflepuff!"
"Thomas, Shaun." "Gryffindor!
"Weasley, Rose." "Gryffindor!"
"Wood, Scott." "Gryffindor!"
"Yeilich, Piper." "Slytherin!"
"Zabini, Etienne." "Slytherin!"
Ten minutes later, the last first year had been sorted, and Professor McGonagall was rising to address the school.
"To all new students, congratulations on your sortings. I suggest you take this time to begin learning about your peers, for they will become like your new family.
A warning to all first years, and a reminder to returning students, that the forest grounds are strictly out of bounds, and those of you who disobey school rules, will lose house points.
And now, you may now begin eating."
She clapped her hands and the golden platters that lined the table immediately filled with food.
Roast pork, lamb and chicken, with roasted vegetables and gravy. Thick, creamy potatoes and buttery stuffing sitting next to huge bowls of different types of salads. Fresh loaves of bread, and ladles of creamy pumpkin soup.
"Well damn. This looks great!" Dori exclaimed excitedly.
He was right. The food looked divine, and Albus fully intended on enjoying it. Right after he addressed something first.
Looking up at and holding eye contact with Scorpius Malfoy, who sat next to Gisele and, coincidentally, across from Albus, Albus opened his mouth.
"I'm sorry about the train. Honestly, I know better than anyone what it's like to carry your father's reputation, and Rose does, too. I said something to her. About what she said to you. And, er, I was hoping now that we're in the same house, we could be friends?"
Scorpius had probably assumed that Albus thought of him the same way Rose did and would ignore him after the train incident. He thought wrong.
Surprise crossed Scorpius' face, but he nodded at Albus and offered him a small smile.
"Yeah. We can. Thank you." Scorpius said earnestly.
"Brilliant!" Albus exclaimed in relief.
"Well, uh, I'm Albus- Al. And this is Dori." Albus said, indicating his friend next to him.
"Pleasured to meet ya." Dori threw out, with a smirk.
"I'm Scorpius, and this is Gisele." Scorpius replied, with Gisele adding a pleasant "Call me Elly.", at his introduction of her.
Scorpius had introduced himself and Gisele exactly as he had on the train, except this time, his introduction wasn't quickly met with hostility.
Looking between Dori, Scorpius and Gisele, a pleasant feeling settled into Albus' stomach. He thought to himself, that perhaps the hat was right.
This was where he'd make his true friends.