By the time the Hogwarts Express thundered into Hogsmeade Station, it had become dark outside. Scorpius had sat through most of the train ride feeling terribly apprehensive, but upon disembarking, his doubts began to vanish as excitement coursed through him. He was going to Hogwarts, the place he'd had daydreams about since he was barely old enough to talk.
Soon after leaving the train, he heard a gruff voice call out, 'Firs' years! Firs' years over here!' and looked over his shoulder for the source of the sound. As it turned out, it would be hard to miss the giant of a man who was bellowing; he towered over everybody else and was surrounded by a group of intimidated first years. Once the platform was clear of older students, the man lifted a rather large hand and waved them over to a dirt path.
'Now, I'm Professor Hagrid,' he informed them, 'the gamekeeper and Professor for Care of Magical Creatures here a' Hogwarts. We'll be headin' to the school a different ways than the oth'rs, so follow me down this path, and don't yeh think to stray off it. Y'understand?'
Scorpius nodded his head with the other students, and as his head rose, he spotted the Weasley girl and the first year WeasleyorPotter boy, he couldn't really be bothered to ask the boy's name after the girl's rudeness on the train. They had moved to the front of the group, and the girl was laughing and chatting with Hagrid, the boy walking beside her and adding a remark now and then. Scorpius supposed that they already knew Hagrid; there weren't many people who were unacquainted with Weasley-Potter family. Personally, Scorpius thought that allowing such a man to teach students was rather unseemly, as his grandfather had always told him that half-breeds such as Hagrid were inferior to wizards, especially pure-bloods such as himself. Then again, his father had told him to accept everyone he came across and not discriminate, and so Scorpius was left somewhat confused in his feelings toward the giant man.
Before he could contemplate this further, the party of first years stopped at the edge of a lake. He looked up to see a massive castle, dotted with golden lights and illuminated by the moon. This first view of Hogwarts was breathtaking, and he heard many of his fellow first years whisper in wonder and awe. That he was here after everything his family had been through was almost beyond belief, and as they boarded the boats that would take them to the castle, Scorpius promised himself that he would try his hardest to step out of his grandfather's dark shadow and become his own person, rather than just another Malfoy.
xxx
Albus Potter stood with the cluster of first years, waiting in a small chamber off of the great hall. He held on to Rose's hand, and reciprocated when she gave his a squeeze, trying to ease her nerves as she tried to calm his. He was terribly worried that he would be sorted into the wrong house, after all, Uncle Ron had told Hugo and Lily that if they weren't sorted into Gryffindor next year, he would disinherit them. Albus knew that his Uncle was jesting, but he still felt that this applied to him as well, and he didn't want to be the odd one out of his whole family!
Caught up in his internal crisis, Albus didn't notice that Professor McGonagall had called for attention until Rose nudged him and whispered, 'Albus, look up!' He lifted his head and saw that a stool had been brought out, and that upon it sat an ancient hat. A hush fell over the hall, and suddenly the hat began to sing, filling the air with its gritty voice.
'Once upon a thousand years ago
Lived founders four
They came together to create a school
That would live in tales of yore
And when they opened up their doors
The students were enthralled
But soon a dilemma presented itself;
How to sort them all?
Brave Gryffindor declared that
He would teach those who were strong
He'd take the courageous of the lot
And instill values for life long
Then Ravenclaw spoke up,
She chose the witty and the wise
Said she, 'I'll teach them to love knowledge,
There can be no greater prize'
Wily Slytherin stepped in
To claim students with ambition
He taught those with cunning minds
To defeat their opposition
And finally, good Hufflepuff
Accepted scholars who
Were loyal, courteous and just,
With hearts both pure and true
Eventually the day came when
They had to leave, and so
They put some brains inside my head
And said, 'now you will know!'
And since then I have always been
The decider of your place
So put me on, don't be afraid,
I've yet to make a mistake!'
A moment of silence passed before the students burst into applause, and then the sorting began with 'Bones, Marie'. She approached the stool with a look of trepidation, and sat on its edge of the stool before placing the hat on her head. It fell down to cover her eyes, and after a moment, shouted, 'HUFFLEPUFF!'
Smiling, Marie took off the hat and went to join the Hufflepuff table amid cheers from her new housemates. The sorting continued as both 'Bulstrode, Eva' and 'Carrow, Noctus' were sorted into Slytherin, followed by 'Goyle, Alcor'.
Some time later, Albus heard professor McGonagall call out, 'Longbottom, Alice', and held his breath as she left her twin, Frank, to take her place on the stool. Albus had been good friends with the Longbottom twins as far back as he could remember, and he knew that their father, his Uncle Neville, was a professor at Hogwarts. The hat took some time to decide which house would be right for Alice, and Albus supposed that it was trying to choose between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, the houses her parents had been in. In the end, it surprised everyone with a carrying shout of 'RAVENCLAW!' Albus turned to look at the Professors' table, and saw his Uncle beaming with pride. Frank quickly joined his sister at the Ravenclaw table, and Albus was happy that they were together; they would have hated to be separated.
As the applause quieted, McGonagall called out, 'Malfoy, Scorpius'.
'That's him!' whispered Rose, nudging him with her elbow. 'That's the boy who was rude to me on the train.'
Albus nodded to acknowledge her words, then said, 'shhhh' as Malfoy sat on the stool. The hat pondered for a very long while before declaring that Scorpius would become a 'SLYTHERIN!' Looking on, Albus saw a flash of what seemed to be regret crossing Malfoy's face before his features arranged themselves into a smug grin. Two more students were sorted, and then Albus heard the words he had been dreading all evening.
'Potter, Albus.' Rose gave his hand a final squeeze, and he walked out of the crowd to face the hat. The hall bubbled with murmurs and whispers, and everybody had turned to stare at him. His hands shook as he pulled the hat over his eyes, and he nearly jumped from the stool when he heard its voice in his ears.
'Well, what do we have here? Another Potter? You know, I almost put your father into Slytherin…He would have done well there…Had something about him, something you possess also…'
'Not Slytherin, not Slytherin,' Albus thought, unknowingly repeating the same words that his father had all those years ago.
'No?' replied the hat. 'Not Slytherin? You could achieve great things there…'
'NOT SLYTHERIN NOT SLYTHERIN NOT SLYTHERIN' Albus shouted the words in his mind, half arguing, half pleading with the voice.
'In that case,' the hat mused, 'I suppose we should place you in GRYFFINDOR!'
The Gryffindor students erupted into cheers at this exclamation, and Albus walked toward the house table with unsteady legs, joining his family and basking in their happiness. Soon thereafter, Rose was called to be sorted, and on impulse, Albus glanced at Malfoy. The new Slytherin was glaring daggers at Rose, and Albus felt compelled to tell his older brother about it.
James followed Albus' gaze, and muttered, 'make sure you and Rosie stay away from him. That Slytherin scum is bound to be nothing but trouble.' Albus was surprised at the amount of vitriol in James' words, but nodded and turned back to Rose, who was sorted into Gryffindor a moment later. All thoughts of Malfoy were forgotten as she took the seat he had been saving for her, and the two of them ate heartily, laughing with their family and new friends under the canopy of the star-studded ceiling.