"Albus Severus, you were named after two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew."
"But just say – "
"–then Slytherin House will have gained an excellent student, won't it? It doesn't matter to us, Al. But if it matters to you, you'll be able to choose Gryffindor over Slytherin. The Sorting Hat takes your choice into account."
"Really?"
"It did for me."
Al kept replaying the conversation in his mind, long after he had boarded the train, long after he had waved his parents and sister goodbye and long after the platform had disappeared into the distance.
It doesn't matter to us, Al.
He wished it didn't; he really wished it didn't. It shouldn't have mattered. He knew that James didn't mean it when he said that Al was going to be an "evil Slytherin snake". If Al turned out to be a Slytherin, James would've actually been shocked. Shocked, yes, but not disgusted or mortified. He knew that his parents wouldn't have minded.
And I wouldn't mind, either, he thought, if only it wasn't a sign for something bigger. If only what happened that day, three years ago–
Al's thoughts were interrupted by an elbow to the ribs – James' elbow. Al's brother had come into the cabin half an hour into the journey, apparently having just remembered how their mother had "used death threats" to make him let Al tag along with him until they got to Hogwarts. It was probably partially true, but from James' smile and the way his friends "subtly" walked back and forth outside the cabin that he, James and Rose shared, he knew that there was a dare and a prank in it somewhere.
"What?" Al asked James, while rubbing his side. After a puddle on his seat, two bewitched spiders and a generous jelly bean offer Al had graciously declined, he thought that James would've had enough. As he looked up, he was pleasantly surprised to see that James didn't have his mischievous smile plastered onto his face. On the contrary, he looked genuinely curious as he turned towards the Asian girl at the cabin door.
Al recognised her right away; the girl looked exactly the same as she had the day Al met her at Ollivander's, from her straight, raven-black hair, ink-coloured coat and boots of charcoal to the alert, cautious look in her eyes. Despite her petite frame, that look and the way she carried herself made her look much older.
That's the first thing he'd noticed about her that day at the wand shop, along with the fact that she was alone. She didn't have her parents at her side like Al did, nor was she surrounded by a group of friends like James. Al had just observed this when the wand he had been trying, chestnut and dragon heart-string, jerked wildly in his hand. Wand boxes flew everywhere, a vase cracked somewhere to his left. Al honestly had no idea why Mr. Ollivander ever bothered with vases in the first place, given the countless times they would've been destroyed. However, at that moment, he was too caught up in not tearing down the place to think any further about the old wizard's choice of decorations.
Once the shop had acquired its messy (yet thankfully still) status, Al felt his father's hand on his shoulder, asking if he was alright. Al nodded. With a few flicks of their wands, the adults had restored the place to its former glory. Al couldn't help but think that he could've done it even faster, without the need of a wand or a spell. He put a reign on those thoughts and mentally slapped himself. This was the first step to controlling his magic, to make him normal.
But you don't need to be normal, a little voice in his head said to him. You can already control your magic. In fact, you're more powerful than all of them, even your father.
He told the voice to shut up. Focusing on the situation in front of him, Al realised that the rebellious piece of chestnut he had been holding was now lying near the entrance of the shop. As he bent down to and reached for the wand, he saw a hand with thin, delicate fingers gently reach down and pick it up. He looked up and saw the girl giving him a shy but friendly smile. Al blinked. He had almost forgotten that she was there.
"Th- thanks," Al stammered as she gave him the wand.
"It's alright," the girl said. To Al's surprise, there was a quiet reassuring confidence in her voice.
"I'm Al, Albus Potter."
"Rina, Rina Gami."