A/N: Sorry for the shortness of this chapter. I was going to make it include Albus' first day of classes, but I decided to make it into a separate chapter. This one's pretty static and nothing really happens, but it sets up a lot for the future. Thanks again to the reviewers and I hope you guys enjoy it!

Chapter 3 ~ On The Other Side of The Hall

"SLYTHERIN!" the Sorting Hat cried.

Rose's eyes widened in shock. She was sure she hadn't heard the Sorting Hat correctly. Surely it had said Gryffindor. Albus couldn't, could never, be in Slytherin. He was friendly, he was smart, he was brave. Although she had expected he would be in Gryffindor with her, he would fit much, much better in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. Slytherin was just… Rose shuddered. She tried, but failed, to catch Albus' eye. He seemed too preoccupied. She was still in the middle of that difficult task when Professor Lona called her name. She wasn't on the stool for two seconds before the Sorting Hat called out "GRYFFINDOR!" as expected. She sent Albus one last searching glance, but she was sure she didn't catch it. Ah well, she thought. I'm sure he'll be fine. I'll be able to talk to him tomorrow, but for now I should just enjoy myself.

She stared at the table in front of her and spied an empty seat next to Mitchell. On her way there, she passed James, who looked a bit angry and white in the face. She distinctly heard him say "At least the other first year in our family is in the right house…" Rose cringed, realizing that this could be the start of an extremely intense brotherly feud. She was no longer looking forward to the Christmas holidays at the Potter house, as it would probably be the first time Albus and James were forced into close quarters after this incident. Rose loved the two of them, but they were extremely prone to fighting amongst themselves, and something like this could only make it much worse. James was very much the proud Gryffindor, and after Albus got over his house placement, Rose was sure that he would begin to assimilate with the Slytherins.

She settled in next to Mitchell just as the Sorting ended. The headmaster rose. He was a large, formidable man with a bristling mustache and staring brown eyes. His hair, a dirty blond, was cut at a medium length. There was nothing particularly remarkable about him until he spoke; his voice was a beautifully rich and melodic tone, completely incongruous to his bulky figure. "Good evening, students, and welcome to Hogwarts. For those of you who don't know me, I am Herman Long, headmaster of this school. The start of term announcements for this year are decidedly short, so I will just make them before you are distracted by the copious amounts of food that you will surely intake. No changes in rules; as always, forbidden items are hung on Professor Filch's office door. No midnight wanderings in the Forbidden Forest (or anywhere else, I might add), or more than a detention will await you. No changes in staff this year, so you all get every single one of your beloved teachers back. Now I believe that's all…yes, so enjoy!"

The food popped up on the platters at his last words. Rose eagerly reached for some, laughing at Mitchell's astonished face. "You'll get used to stuff like that soon enough," she grinned.

Mitchell laughed a bit too. "I sure hope so," he said, a bit pensively. "Hey Rose. Albus doesn't look too happy over there."

Rose craned her neck to get a peek at her cousin. Mitchell was right. Albus was sitting so that he took up as little room as was possible. His arms and legs were pulled in tight to his body, and he seemed to be shivering a bit. His green eyes were focused on something that Rose couldn't see, but it seemed like a point on the wall. He wasn't talking. He wasn't eating. He clearly felt like an outsider and was making the fact that he was even more apparent.

Mitchell interrupted Rose's thoughts. "Is Slytherin bad or something? They don't seem such a friendly lot."

"Slytherin's not bad," Rose said slowly. "There were just some people in that house who did some really bad things. Basically our whole family was in Gryffindor so Albus is probably a bit put out – "

"Wait, you're related to him?" Mitchell asked bluntly.

"Hm, oh yeah. We're cousins. Our family's really big, you see us everywhere."

Silence. "So who were these bad people?"

Oh god. Muggle-borns could really get annoying sometimes. "It's kind of something that you'll need to know, but right now is not the time to tell you. It's a really long story, see. I'll give you the basic facts when we get to the common room."

Her words were like a signal. The headmaster stood, bid them goodnight, and the whole hall moved as a single mass towards the doors. Just before leaving the Entrance Hall for the staircase, Rose caught sight of Albus, moving along as if he were a ghost. She stood in place, watching him. He didn't really seem to be paying attention to anything, and she still couldn't get him to catch her gaze. He'll get over it, she thought as he progressed towards the passageway down to the dungeons. And yet, she had a feeling that her time on the train with Albus had been like a goodbye, and her beloved cousin Albus would be someone completely different the next time she saw him.

A/N: Please review! I don't know when I have the next chapter up, but it'll definitely be longer, so it might be another week or so.