Dreadfully sorry about the delay in updates. If you haven't already, make sure to read the revised version of chapter 2, I had to add on a suggestion of my mum's. I know, Mum is telling me what to write, but I liked her idea, so now it's in the story.

Then, a very old lady sitting in the center of the table of teachers rose to address the crowd.

"Welcome back to a new year at Hogwarts," she said, her voice surprisingly loud for such a frail body. "I do not want to keep you from your dinner, so eat up!" She clapped her hands and immediately the tables were filled with platters containing every sort of food imaginable. Albus lunged for the plate of Shepherd's Pie, which was conveniently placed right in front of him.

Scorpius was staring at his empty dish. It seemed as though he was wondering if he could dive into the reflected universe and never return.

"Aw, come on, Scorpius," Albus said, reaching for a leg of chicken. His father always said he had inherited the Weasley appetite. "It won't be that bad, being a Gryffindor. Come on, who wants to live under the lake anyway?"

"My father's going to murder me," he said without moving his gaze. "Even if he doesn't, he will make me transfer to another school. Probably Durmstrang." He shuddered.

"You never know," Rose said kindly. "Maybe he'll be proud!" Scorpius slammed his head onto the table.

"You don't get it," his voice was muffled by the table. "Your father jokes about disinheriting you if you don't make it into Gryffindor. With mine, it's no laughing matter. You either make it into Sytherin or don't bother coming home for Christmas. I can expect a Howler tomorrow morning." Albus looked at Rose.

"Just leave him be," she whispered, before turning to engage in conversation with Madeline Davis. Owen, meanwhile, seemed to be enjoying himself more and more the longer he spent a Gryffindor.

Albus glanced up at the staff table and shoved a roll in his mouth. He spotted Neville Longbottom deep in conversation with Professor Thomas. Thomas was to the right of the old witch in the middle, and Neville was on his left. On Neville's left was a centaur, probably Firenze, the Divination teacher. On the old witch's left was the half-giant, Hagrid, of whom Albus had heard a lot about. Albus put another roll in his mouth and studied the table for others he could know. Not noticing anyone, he returned his attention back to the Gryffindor table.

"Hi, Abus!" A curly haired girl walked over to sit across from him.

"Hi, Lucy," Albus said halfheartedly. James' age, Lucy was the least favorite of his cousins.

"Isn't this exciting, Al? You and Rose, finally at Hogwarts," she beamed at Rose, who acted as if she hadn't noticed Lucy's presence. "We're going to have so much fun together! Just wait, we can have study sessions together when you start learning things!" she gasped. "We should start a club! Only people who can prove that they're closely related to the Weasley's can join! Oh, this is going to be so much fun!" She bounced off to join her friends.

"What are the chances of that club having members?" Owen laughed.

"Slim to none," Albus replied. "Nobody in our family likes Lucy. I feel bad for her sometimes, but she ended up finding people to stick with her." He glanced down the table at Lucy, leaning in with her friends, having an intense conversation.

Albus followed the immense first course with a landslide of desserts, before all the food and dishes were magically cleared away. The wizened old witch stood to speak again.

"I expect you all enjoyed your first meal back here at Hogwarts," she said, smiling. "I am Professor McGonagall, your headmistress, and I have a few start-of-term announcements before you can head off to bed. Quidditch tryouts will be held on the third Saturday of September for all second through seventh years. Keep in mind you may only try out for your House's team. The first visit to Hogsmeade for third to seventh years will not be until October, so don't bother asking." She smiled good-naturedly.

"Schedules will be given to you tomorrow after breakfast and before classes begin. Please report to your Head of House to receive this year's list of classes. Now, Prefects, please lead the first years to your common rooms and good-night to all. Pip, pip!"

There was a mass movement and all the students rose to exit the Great Hall. Rose grabbed Albus' hand as not to get lost.

"Gryffindor first years, over here!" The Prefects were shepherding the youngest students into a pack. Rose pulled Albus to the growing group of students.

"Is this it? Everyone here?" Molly Weasley, Lucy's sister, was the girl Prefect for Gryffindor. Her boyfriend, Alexander McLaggen was the boy Prefect. Percy had been thrilled when his daughter was made a Prefect. "Now all you need is to make Head Girl!" he'd said through tears.

Molly led the small throng of Gryffindors through the winding staircases of the school. Most of the paintings were asleep by now, and Albus couldn't blame them. He felt dead on his feet. Harry had told Albus that the same painting had marked the entrance to the Gryffindor common room for years. Sure enough, the Fat Lady was still there, asking for the password.

"Extraho spiritus," Molly said confidently. The painting swung open to reveal a roaring fire and the chairs Harry, Ron, and Hermione had loved so much.

Rose ran off to join Madeline Davis, Tanya Jordan, Daisy Dursley, and Savannah Magnus in the girl's dormitory. Albus tromped up the stairs to the boy's dormitory with Owen, Scorpius, and a sandy haired boy and a tall, dark haired boy whose names he didn't remember.

Albus noticed right away that his trunk and belongings were already at the foot of a bed that was meant to be his. The quilt his grandmother knitted him was already laid out on the bed.

"'Scuse me?" a voice behind him said. "I think that's mine," The sandy haired boy was pointing to a picture frame with a photo of a little girl and a golden retriever. Her parents were standing with their arms around each other in the background, laughing. Albus picked it up and handed it to the boy.

"Albus Potter," he said, holding out his hand. "But you can call me Al."

"Ian Finnigan," the boy shook his hand, smiling. "Is your dad Harry Potter?"

Albus grinned. "Yeah, I get that question a lot."

"That's cool," he said. Ian had a very strong Irish accent. "I think our dads were in the same year together, Seamus Finnigan?"

"I think Dad has talked about a Seamus," Albus said, scanning his memory.

"Right, so you already know everyone?" Ian said looking around the room. Scorpius was lying on his bed, still in his robes and on top of the blankets. Owen was arranging various pictures and postcards on his nightstand. The dark haired boy was rummaging in his trunk.

"Almost everyone," Albus replied. "Do you know who that is?" he added in a hushed tone, gesturing toward the dark haired boy.

"You know, you are not very good at talking quietly," the boy stood and faced Albus and Ian, leaning up against his bed. He had a very distinct Eastern Europe accent, Bulgaria maybe, or Romania. "My name is Dmitri Tzvetkov. I am of Bulgarian descent."

"How did you come to Hogwarts then?" Owen asked, joining the conversation. "It isn't exactly close to Bulgaria, is it?"

"It is not," Dmitri replied, shrugging. "My parents, they want me to have a better education and Durmstrang vas not vat they vanted for me." He turned away as if that ended their conversation and climbed into his bed. Ian and Owen followed suit, turning the lights off as they went.

Albus walked to his bed and gazed out the window. A full moon cast an amazing reflection across the lake and Albus knew exactly why his father had loved Hogwarts so much.

Huh, huh? I really like the character of Dmitri, even if his name is hard to pronounce. (I don't even know!) Thank you to my devoted four or so fans, I love you. :)