Disclaimers: While I wish I was astoundingly brilliant, I am not J.K. Rowling nor do I own any of her characters, settings or anything of that nature. I simply borrow them for a little fun every now and then.
This chapter is very much only here thanks to the wondrous Petra Megami Assari, who is a marvelous beta! I love her. Like emo boys love skinny jeans. And other emo boys.
Chapter 1: Albus Severus and the Nimbus 2000
Albus Severus pressed his face against the cool glass of the train window, hoping to alleviate his headache. The countryside was whizzing past, hills and trees disappearing in a blur of green. He favored focusing on a single tree or shrub and watching it zoom past, then finding another and repeating the process. It was calming, soothing even, to watch all that green, serving to both be a way to occupy his time and settle an uneasy stomach.
It was infinitely better than listening to James, the source of the throbbing headache, trying to scare Rose and he with horror stories of various pranks pulled on first years. Rose was cowering beside him, clutching onto his arm, which he thought was a bit of an overreaction. Her massively curly red hair made a sort of pillow between her head and his shoulder, though, so it wasn't too uncomfortable. He tried to ignore her nervous shaking before he started to do the same thing, out of pure fear of the Sorting. He liked Rose, though, he thought. She was much like his Aunt Hermione, brilliant, with very strong morals. He thought she might be a Gryffindor, maybe a Ravenclaw.
Houses were a bit of an obsession for him, due to the sinking feeling that he was not Gryffindor material, more of a Hufflepuff or Slytherin, really. He knew of all the Dark wizards that had come from the latter, and was a bit afraid, despite the fact that there hadn't been any Dark activity since his father went all heroic and saved everyone from Voldemort. And despite his two prospective houses being complete opposites - one producing greatness, the other producing the nameless, Albus Severus knew that he belonged to one of them, he just was unsure of which. He didn't think most of the time that he was much, quirkier than his family, but he dreamed of more. Much more than just a Muggle house and squabbling siblings and cousins.
"…and then they found him at the end of the term, still in the girls' first floor bathroom," whispered James in a voice he thought was quite terrifying.
More often than not, Albus Severus thought James was a right git, but he was git who sometimes knew what to say to play on a person's worst fears or strongest desires. He thought it was really just an unintentional blunder on his brother's part, but there had been a few times when a few strategic words had given birth to a distinct lump in his throat, one spawned from a feeling of inferiority. Despite his personality that reminded Albus Severus strongly of his Uncle Ron, James had much darker red hair than most of the Weasleys, more of a deep auburn, but it was straight like their dad's, though not nearly as messy, and he wore it long. He also had his mother's brown eyes and heavy smattering of freckles.
"Oh, shut it, James," barked Albus Severus, dearly wishing to be somewhere else. "You're giving me a headache."
Atticus, James' owl, was making a dreadful squawking noise from inside his cage, which wasn't helping. He didn't really like owls a whole lot. He preferred his two black hedgehogs, Hades and Cerberus. They were snuggled warmly inside the wide front pocket of his hoodie. He generally embraced Muggle culture, much like his father, who thought the idea of wearing robes everywhere was a bit ridiculous.
"Oh, mind your own business, Al. No one asked you."
"Don't call me 'Al'. I hate it when people call me that." Albus Severus rubbed his forehead. His head felt like his brain was trying to burst through his forehead. "I'm going to go put on my robes and uniform. We're almost there, I think." He stood on the seat and opened his trunk that was tucked away on the overhead shelf. He found his plain black robes and the uniform slacks, shirt, sweater, shoes and socks, then decided against the socks and shoes, preferring his charmed emerald Converses. He went to the bathroom to change, desperate to get out of the now-silent compartment.
The bathroom was very small, barely enough room for the toilet and sink, but he always felt most comfortable in small spaces. Looking in the mirror, Albus Severus adjusted the sleek, square black frames of his glasses. He hated how much he looked like his father. The same straight black hair that refused to stay tidy, the same piercing green eyes, the same pale, thin face. Only he was everything his father was not: awkward, introverted, cowardly. He knew that once the kids at Hogwarts realized just how unlike his father he was, they would laugh at him. If they didn't laugh at him for looking too much like The Boy Who Lived. The only thing he was missing was the lightning bolt scar on his forehead. That was a blessing, he thought. He changed quickly, folding his jeans, shirt, and hoodie when he was done, making sure to put his two hedge hogs in a pocket he magicked into the inside of his robes.
As he splashed water on his face, the door opened. He froze, realizing that he had, in fact, forgotten to lock the lavatory door. Thank goodness he hadn't been actually using the toilet or still changing. That would have been embarrassing. A very pale boy stood in the doorway, looking very surprised and uncomfortable. From his white-blond hair and aristocratic nose and cheekbones, Albus Severus knew exactly who the boy was: Scorpius Malfoy. And from the grim smirk that quickly formed on the other boy's face, he knew that he was recognized as well.
"Sorry, Potter." Albus Severus had no reply as Malfoy closed the door. He knew what his parents had told him of the Malfoys. Well, actually, his father hadn't said much, but from his expression as he spat the word "pure-blood", he knew that there was an unresolved issue between them and his father. And so it would probably not be the best idea to be nice. He didn't like the Malfoy boy already, simply because of his father's bitterness towards them, but he hated doing things because his father did them. Being reminded of the uncanny resemblance was the last thing he wanted.
He shivered, hoping that the nervous chills that ran down his spine would go away. Hogwarts was making him nervous already and he wasn't even there yet. He checked the little swatch of fabric that he had magicked into the inside of his robes, scarlet and gold, to give him some sort of hope. It was all that he wanted: to be in Gryffindor, to hold up the family tradition. His entire family was all in Gryffindor at one time or another, even James and Teddy, and all he wanted was to continue the family tradition. But he didn't think he was brave enough, like his father, mother, Aunt Hermione, Uncle Ron, Teddy, James, and the Delacour-Weasleys, even though Louis, the youngest, was in his year and would most likely carry the tradition. He was nothing like them. When they all tried out his father's old Firebolt, Albus Severus was too afraid to even come within ten feet of it, let alone leave the ground. James had taken a flight around the house. Even Lily had hovered in the air for a few seconds, despite being seven at the time. Albus Severus had merely clung to his mother. All he wanted was to not embarrass his parents, to live up to their legacy, but he doubted that would happen.
Back in the compartment with his brother and cousin, Albus Severus found that both of his compartment mates had already dressed in their school robes and uniforms, James' with a tiny house crest where a breast pocket would be on both the sweater and robes. He longed for a matching scarlet and gold crest to be magicked on after his Sorting. He would wear it with pride down those long-sought-after hallways. He would be a role model. The Gryffindor prefect, perhaps Head Boy, even. He would make his parents, his father, proud of their youngest son. That was his little daydream, what he let his mind wander over as he sat in his window seat, watching the English countryside passing by. But he knew deep down that it would never happen. The Sorting Hat would not take his choice into consideration; he was not The Boy Who Lived.
He realized he had dozed off when he felt someone shaking his shoulder gently. "Al, wake up," Rose said.
"Don't call me Al. That's what mum and dad call me, and I hate it."
"I know, I know. Just get up. The train's stopped," Rose sighed.
"Alright already." He stood and pulled down his large trunk, groaning as his slightly stiff muscles protested the effort. He lugged it behind him, jerking it through the narrow aisle of the Hogwarts Express with more difficulty than he'd like to admit. He got off the train and was awed by the vast size of the castle. It was much larger than he expected, the stony towers seeming to scrape the bottom of the sky. It was late sunset by now, the sky exploding in a startling array of warm colors behind the castle, making it look like it was on fire. It was stunning, the effect, giving the school a look more magical than it already had. But Albus Severus' view was obscured by a quickly approaching, hulking mass. The mass picked him up in a very tight bear hug that threatened to squeeze the very life out of him. He tried to yell, but the pressure on his ribs prevented any air from passing his lips. Just before his vision went black from lack of oxygen, the large, slightly odorous mass put him back down on his feet. Once freed, he recognized the mass immediately from several memorable summer visits.
"You mus't be little Albus Severus! You look so much like yer Da', I though' it was little Harry the first year! Oh! And James and little Rosie! C'mere all of yer! Giv ol' Hagrid a hug!" And with that, they were all smothered in Hagrid's suffocating embrace again. When he let them all go, James greeted him warmly, reminiscing on occurrences from the year before. Hagrid then left to greet other students as James took Atticus and went with all of his second year friends, and Rose and Albus Severus climbed into a row boat to cross the Lake. The lights in the windows of the castle were like oversized stars beckoning them. Albus Severus was looking at the reflection of the windows in the rippled surface of the lake when he stiffened. There was a hedgehog in his slacks. And it was tickling his leg. In a very awkward maneuver, he reached under his robes and fumbled with his pants until he found the offending hedgehog. He snuggled it to his chest whispering words of comfort to the warm, wriggling creature. He did not imagine that in his pants were a pleasant place to be. Rose noticed his fond cuddling of Hades.
"Oh. My. God. Albus, tell me you did not bring Hades and Cerberus. Those can't be allowed! The list said only cats, toads, and owls! You're going to be expelled!"
"I'm not going to be expelled," he muttered, secretly afraid that he might be, but only because they would all realize how inferior he was.
"Yes, you are. After what happened with Scabbers and my dad back in the day, they don't allow small animals like that. Ever. You're going to be expelled."
Albus Severus coddled Hades, trying to ignore the sense in what she said. The poor little thing was frightened of its new surroundings. He found Cerberus as well, and cooed encouraging words to them, trying to help them ease into the new place. He was just as afraid as his hedgehogs, though. He was dreadfully frightened of the possibility of being a Slytherin. And being a Hufflepuff, while it wouldn't be nearly as scandalous as being a Slytherin, would still be shameful. He was shaking in his boots. Metaphorical boots. He had left his Doc Martens at home, thinking they were inappropriate for a wizarding school, especially one that would definitely not know of obscure Muggle fashions. Even so, he hoped they wouldn't think his Converses were too strange especially since he had charmed them to turn whatever color he wanted them to be, whenever he wanted. He liked doing simple magic like that, because he was too afraid of being found out if he attempted anything bigger, so he kept it basic, trying not to do anything noticeable. But he was planning on seeing what he could do once at Hogwarts.
Standing before the great wooden doors with Rose, Albus Severus became even more nervous than before. It looked so imposing. But inside, the Great Hall was warm and soothing enough to calm his nerves a little. The first years all poured into the center of the room while all of the other students were already at their respective house tables. Albus Severus saw Victoire off at the Gryffindor table, along with Dominique, the former a sixth year, and the latter a third year, and sitting a little bit away from them were Molly and Lucy, though he didn't know them very well. The Delacour-Weasleys, including Louis, all shared the shimmering blonde hair and sky blue eyes that they inherited from their Veela ancestor, but their hair had a very slight strawberry tint, due to those stubborn Weasley genes.
Rose slid her hand inside Albus Severus', trying to give him some sort of comfort when she realized that he was shaking. She wasn't actually too afraid of the sorting, but more of what would come afterwards, he thought, but he knew that she figured that she would do very well in her classes. They were up near the front, so they could see the faculty table very clearly. They spotted Professor Longbottom, who was whispering to the headmaster, someone they recognized from old photographs of their parents: it was Luna Scamander-Lovegood, or, to be more correct, Professor Lovegood. She looked a lot less spacey than in her photograph, Albus Severus noticed. He also saw Hagrid. The other professors were completely foreign to him. But then Professor Lovegood tapped her goblet with her knife, letting out a loud, clear ring that was most definitely enhanced by magic, and the room went silent.
"Greetings to all our students, both first years and those who have come back after the summer. I hope all of you had a pleasant time, and I would like to welcome everyone back for this year." The hall erupted in loud applause. "Quiet down, quiet down. We now have to commence the sorting of the first years, then we will eat. Would Professor Chang please call out the first years to be sorted?" A slender woman with long, straight black hair came around from the other side of the table and walked towards the first years with a piece of parchment. The Sorting Hat was sitting on a stool a bit in front of the faculty table. It was much uglier than Albus Severus had imagined. But that hat made him increasingly more fearful. The feeling of worms crawling in his gut was overwhelming. He had the distinct feeling that he would be pass out, but tried to dismiss it. Professor Chang held up the piece of parchment and called out the first name. A thin, frightened looking girl went up and sat on the stool, placing the Sorting Hat on her head. After a short moment, the seam at the brim opened up like a mouth and shouted the word "Ravenclaw". The girl smiled a little as the Ravenclaw crest appeared on her robes and went over to join her house table, where the students were all cheering very loudly. The sorting went on as such, with cheering tables and relieved students. Until one oddity.