Ch. 3- The Sorting/First Day

The old woman, McGonagall, led them into the Great Hall. Scorpius gasped in astonishment. The ceiling looked like the night sky; stars were scattered everywhere, several occasionally twinkled brightly.

He could hear Weasley behind him, whispering to Ads, 'It's enchanted to mirror the sky outside, whether it is a clear sky or a cloudy one with rain. I read about it in my mum's copy of Hogwarts, A History. My Auntie Ginny said the new revised addition will be out by December, so I hope I get it.'

From the corner of his eye, Scorpius could see Albus and Weasley waving at a group of redheads and a few blondes, all seated at one table. That must be the ruddy Gryffindor table. McGonagall stopped at the front of the hall, next to a spindly three-legged stool with a worn, brown hat perched on top.

She began to speak, 'Now when I call your name, you will come up and sit on the stool. I will place the hat on your head and it will determine which house you will be placed.'

Scorpius heard Albus' intake of breath and turned to look at him; he was nervously fidgeting with the hem of his robes, twisting around his fingers.

'Al! Calm down, you'll be fine. Don't worry about it,' He heard Weasley mutter from behind him.

Albus' head moved up and down, jerkily, but he still bounced as if he had ants in his trousers.

McGonagall cleared her throat and called. 'Allen, Cindy!'

A small girl with brown hair slowly walked to the stool, McGonagall placed the hat on her head. She sat there for about a minute until the brim of the hat ripped open and shouted , 'HUFFLEPUFF!'

The girl sighed and nearly ran to the table that erupted in loud cheers. Scorpius didn't really pay attention, he was thinking of his own house placement.

'Anderson, Carinna!'

Albus gasped, 'Merlin's saggy Y-fronts! She's beautiful!'

Scorpius followed his gaze and saw a girl with waist-length black hair and blue-grey eyes sitting on the stool.

She'd be better looking if she had red curly hair. Maybe a few freckles and dark blue eyes…

This time the hat spoke aloud, 'You are very smart and I can see how very brave you are, but I know where I'm going to put you. My, my, my, this is a first. Well, my muggle-born child, I know you will excel in the great house of SLYTHERIN!'

Applause from the table, farthest to the left was low at first, escalating to near deafening. Scorpius watched Albus stare at the girl with a dazed expression. The next names went by quickly, Scorpius not listening, hearing a few students being called every now and then.

'Belby, Rick!'

'RAVENCLAW!'

'Flint, Bart!'

'SLYTHERIN!'

'Goyle, Fabian!'

'HUFFLEPUFF!'

Several sniggers broke out at this sorting from both Gryffindor and Slytherin tables. McGonagall called the school to attention and it quieted once more.

'Greengrass-Malfoy, Adysen!'

Ads walked confidently to the stool and McGonagall placed the hat on her blonde head.

Without a moment's hesitation, the hat called, 'SLYTHERIN!'

Scorpius swore he heard her mumble, 'Figures' as she passed in front of Albus, Weasley, and himself. All too soon, he heard his own name.

'Malfoy, Scorpius!'

He froze. He only moved when Weasley gently shoved him forward with a hurried, 'Go, Malfoy!' He slowly sat down before the brown felt was dropped onto my head.

He didn't know if everyone in the hall could hear what the hat was saying, but it echoed loudly in his ears. From the attention he could see everyone was giving, he figured the hat was speaking aloud, once again.

'Ahh, a Malfoy. I see you have the same brains as your father but the compassion of your mother. I can see your thirst to redeem yourself, and your name, from the wrongdoings of your family. I see a vast amount of courage from you. Tonight, you will be the first of the Malfoy family to be sorted into GRYFFINDOR!'

There was a scatter of applause and when the hat was removed, he could properly see the shock plastered all over Albus' and Weasley's face. He walked to the Gryffindor table, surrounded by Weasleys and Albus' brother. Oh Merlin! What will my father say? He probably won't be too upset, but what of grandfather?!

He barely heard when Parkinson, Peter was sorted into Slytherin. Whispers consumed his ears over his assortment into Gryffindor House.

Then the hall went silent as the next name was called, 'Potter, Albus!'

Albus stumbled as he walked to the stool and a few giggles cascaded around the room. He turned bright red. The hat sat on Albus' head for a good two minutes and everyone was murmuring about a "hatstall" until—'GRYFFINDOR!'

The Gryffindor House table exploded in applause. Albus skipped to sit by Scorpius, shooting Weasley a thumbs-up. It seemed like every Gryffindor came and clapped him on the back. A few even gave him nods of encouragement.

In no time at all, McGonagall called, 'Weasley, Rose'

The hat's mouth opened, 'Well, well, well, another Weasley. I see you have your mother's brains, that Granger was the brightest witch of her age. Your parents, two-thirds of the famous Golden Trio, passed on a lot of good qualities onto you. I can see that you're very cunning, never heard the word "No" in your life. Your immense amount of ambition is what drove me to my decision, young Rose. I hope your being there will change the idea people have of this ancient and noble house. You will do great in SLYTHERIN!'

Scorpius saw all the color drain from Weasley's face, her blue eyes filled with tears. Her family all around him, excluding Albus, shouted angrily. 'What the hell?!' 'They can't do this!' 'She's a Weasley!' 'I never believed zis pozzible!'

McGonagall had to send several red sparks into the air, to quiet down the noise from all the Weasleys.

Albus sighed, 'Oh no, poor Rosie. I wish she had gotten into Ravenclaw. Uncle Ron wouldn't have been too mad but Slytherin? Well, at least she has Ads, right Scorpius?'

'Yeah, Weasley will be fine, I guess,' he mumbled.

This is gonna be a damn long year.

xxxxxxxx

Slytherin, seriously?! Oh Merlin, my dad's going to kill me! Rose trudged to the Slytherin table, listening to the angry hisses from her family. She sat next to Adysen, misery obvious on her face. The last student was sorted, and Stefan Zabini sat across her as he also joined Slytherin house.

'So, you're the first Weasley ever sorted into Slytherin, eh?' he asked, conversationally.

'Yeah, I don't know what my dad's going to say. I wouldn't be surprised if he disowned me,' she replied

He laughed, 'I doubt that, you can't disown someone under seventeen. My name is Stefan, by the way.' He held out a hand to her. Going to be here for the next seven years, might as well make friends, right? Rose thought.

Rose shook his hand, 'Rose. This is Adysen,' she gestured towards Adysen.

'Nice to meet you Adysen,' he said, shaking her hand.

She smiled, 'Call me Ads, everyone does.'

The feast suddenly appeared in front of them, and they all stopped talking so they could eat. Once pudding was over, Rose heard prefects calling the first years. She glanced at the Gryffindor table, and her blue eyes locked with grey. Malfoy broke the gaze first, looking sympathetic. It surprised her to see the flash of emotion cross his face, then it was replaced with a look of superiority and smugness. Bloody git, thinks he's better than me for getting into Gryffindor. Whatever, I'll show him I'm better, even being in Slytherin, Rose glared.

She followed Ads and Stefan –her new friend—out of the Great Hall, down a dark corridor. They approached a black, stone wall and the prefect told them they were in the dungeons. The prefect took out her wand and tapped a brick, fifth from the bottom and said, 'Ambition.' A miniscule, emerald green snake appeared and slithered across the wall, leaving a handsome mahogany door in its wake. They all followed the prefect, as she pushed the heavy door open, into the common room. It was filled with comfortable looking, black armchairs and squashy green sofas. The windows let in an eerie green light that looked faintly misty. It was unusually warm, Rose thought as she glanced around. Didn't I read somewhere that the Slytherin Common room was miles under the school. Uncle Harry told me it was at the bottom of the Black Lake that's why the dormitories had staircases. The lake is what gave the windows the green light. I wonder what Uncle Harry was doing in the Slytherin Common Room, after all he was a Gryffindor.

The other prefect cleared his throat, 'Hello, my name is Andrew Pucey, and this is Sarah Hopkins,' he gestured towards the prefect who opened the common room, 'It is only necessary for you to tap your wand upon the wall the first time you enter the Slytherin Common Room. It registers which students are entering and those that have been sorted into said house. After you've "registered" your wand with the room, merely say the password from then on and you'll be granted access. Now, girls, your dormitories are up the staircase to your left. Boys, yours are up the staircase to your right. Goodnight, and remember Slytherins pride themselves on punctuality and good appearance. Be sure your attire is tidy and try not to be late to any classes.'

Ads and Rose said bye to Stefan and walked up the stairs to their dormitory. They walked into their room and saw two girls were already there. Rose saw her bed was the one closest to the door, and collapsed onto it. Ads pushed her to the side and sat on the edge of the bed. Rose heard giggles and saw a familiar girl in the bed next to hers, already dressed in her pajamas.

She giggled again, 'Hi, I'm Evie Thomas. You're Rose Weasley, right?'

Rose nodded, 'Thomas? You're not Parvati and Dean Thomas' daughter, are you?'

She smiled, 'Yeah, I am.'

Rose grinned, 'I remember you! Your parents would visit my parents and Uncle Harry sometimes. Our dads would always end up drinking too much Firewhisky, and Uncle Harry would have to levitate them to the couches.'

Evie laughed, 'Yeah, that's my dad. We haven't been over in a while though; my mom's been kind of sick lately. What do you think your parents would say about you being sorted into Slytherin?'

Rose grimaced, 'My dad won't be happy, I think my mum will be fine with it. She said she'd be proud of me no matter what.'

'Yeah, mine said the same thing as your mum.'

Ads turned to the girl sitting on the bed across from Rose's own, 'Your name is Carinna?'

The dark-haired girl looked up at them, 'Yes, and you're Adysen, Rose, and Evie,' At their stunned looks, she chuckled, 'I actually paid attention at the Sorting ceremony. I wanted to ask you three, seeing as your parents are magical, is it all that bad that I'm the first muggle-born in Slytherin?'

Ads answered before Rose could, 'It's not bad, it's just come as a shock to most pureblood students because only purebloods were admitted into Slytherin house. Very few half-bloods were allowed.'

'Oh. I guess I'm a trendsetter then,' Carinna joked lightly.

Rose giggled at her seemingly carefree attitude. I wish I could feel the same about this, but I just can't. I mean I've always been told this is the house is of utmost evil, I mean does this mean I'm evil too? There was a knock on the door and the haughty looking prefect, Sarah, stuck her head in, 'You four best be getting to bed. Now.'

Ads and Rose went to the bathroom and brushed their teeth after, alternately, changing into their pajamas. They climbed into their assigned beds while Evie and Carinna pulled their green silk hangings around their four poster beds. As soon as they were all lying down, the lamps along the ceiling faded into nothingness, leaving behind darkness. Almost immediately, the sounds of steady breathing filled the dormitory.

)

Green light streamed through the crack between the silk around Rose and the wall. The events of last night flooded her mind. She pulled back the curtains and peered at the small clock on her night table. 6:58. Might as well get up, don't want to be late my first day of term. She took a quick steaming shower and was dressed by the time the others awoke fifteen minutes later. Rose sat on her bed pulling a brush through the snarls that were her hair. It wasn't as bushy as her mum's was in the pictures she has from when she was Rose's age, but in the morning it was a right mess. During the summer, her mum tended to go spare at the disarray it was in because she just didn't feel the need to bother with it. By 7:30, they were heading towards the Great hall with their bags slung on their backs. She was still stunned to see how fantastic the Great hall was. Her family's stories didn't do it justice. It was extraordinary! Ads and Rose sat on one side of the table, Carinna and Evie across them, filling their plates with sausage, eggs, and bacon. Stefan slid into the seat beside Rose, greeting everyone before shoving food into his mouth.

'Have you all told your parents you're in Slytherin?' he asked, through a mouthful of sausage.

Ads shook her head, 'No, I expect Scorpius will have sent a letter last night.'

'No, I haven't which I should though. Mum will really go spare if I don't do it soon,' Rose sighed, 'Though, I wouldn't be surprised if they already knew, my family makes up pretty much half of Gryffindor.'

She pulled out a scroll of parchment and a bottle of color-changing ink her mum bought her especially for letters.

Dear Mum and Dad,

I hope you all are well. I had a great time on the trip up here and met a lot of new people. I have four new friends, and luckily, we're all in the same house. Three of them are my dorm mates; Adysen Greengrass, Evie Thomas, and Carinna Anderson. My other friend I met at the feast his name is Stefan Zabini, he's really funny.

Now, I'm sure dad is wondering what house I'm in, so don't get mad. I was sorted into Slytherin. (Cue the angry yells from dad) I know that reaction is inevitable considering what I heard from the cousins last night. While I'm upset about being sorted here, I'm angrier at the fact that Scorpius Malfoy was sorted into Gryffindor! A Malfoy! Merlin, I find that hardly fair. Adysen is Malfoy's cousin and although, legally, they're siblings, she prefers her surname to be Greengrass, instead of Greengrass-Malfoy. And another thing, Al and I sat with them on the train, and guess who are best friends now? Albus Severus Potter and Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy! I know Mum, I shouldn't be spiteful but I particularly loathe Malfoy. We fought a lot, even right before the sorting!

I'll try to write again soon, I don't want to be late my first day of lessons. Give Hugo, Lily, Uncle Harry, Auntie Ginny, and everyone else my love. Even Crookshanks!

Love,

Rose N. Weasley

(Rosie)

Rose sealed the letter just in time to see an enormous eagle-owl swoop down in front of Ads. She said his name was Magnus. Yeah, I know, weird name but I'm not going to judge, Rose thought as she attached Rose's letter to his leg, releasing it to fly off after she told it where to deliver it. A man in black robes with shoulder length, dirty blonde hair stood behind Carinna and Evie. He looked quite young, mid-twenties maybe, blue eyes, and had the build of a Quidditch player. He was very handsome, but Rose would never admit that to anyone.

He handed them their schedules and said, 'My name is Professor Keynes. I teach Potions and I am Head of Slytherin House. Here are your timetables, please be aware that it is necessary to attend all classes on time. I should point out that due to the previous years' house rivalry, all classes for first year Slytherins will be taken with Gryffindors and will continue henceforth.'

He walked away and Ads let out a low whistle, 'Whoa!'

Rose looked up and asked, 'What? Your food too hot?'

Ads exclaimed, 'No, my food isn't too hot! But that Professor Keynes, oh Merlin! He's hot as fire!'

Evie and Carinna giggled, Rose was flabbergasted, 'Adysen Greengrass-Malfoy! He is your teacher! And Head of House! You cannot possibly say those things about him, besides he is way too old.'

Ads laughed and threw a piece of bacon at her, 'Oh, hush Rosie-Posie! I was merely stating the obvious but I will further keep my comments to myself.'

Pulling bacon from her curls, Rose looked at the paper in her hand. First class was double Herbology, then History of Magic. After lunch, was Double Charms. The schedule determined this would take place every Monday and Wednesday. Tuesday and Thursday's schedule was; Double Potions, Transfiguration, lunch, Defense Against the Dark Arts, with Astronomy at midnight. Friday's schedule was double Defense, Transfiguration, lunch, then the afternoon off. Rose noticed, as Professor Keynes said, every class had the silver-embossed word Slytherin linked with a bright gold Gryffindor.

They all stood up and headed to Greenhouse One for Herbology. They got there ten minutes before the late bell; the room had several tables crowded close together and had plants touching nearly every surface. Rose and Ads saw there was only one table at the front of the class next to Al, Malfoy, and a boy neither recognized. Stefan went to a table with two other Slytherin boys. Evie and Carinna sat along one side of the table while Ads sat in front of Evie, leaving Rose the only open seat next to Malfoy. She groaned internally and sat as far away from him as she could, which for her, wasn't far enough.

Neville—Professor Longbottom—walked in and smiled at her, 'Hey, Rosie, Al. Hope your summers went well.'

Normally, Rose hate when people called her "Rosie", but she'd known Neville since she was a baby. Only he and her parents were allowed to call her Rosie, but everyone did anyway, much to her annoyance.

Al nodded, 'Hey, Nev. Yeah, it was fun. Rose and I played a prank on James and let's just say he was pink for days!'

Professor Longbottom laughed, 'Wow, you two are crazy. Remember, Al, at school, I'm Professor.'

Rose heard Malfoy whisper to Al, 'You guys know Professor Longbottom? That's brilliant!'

'Yes, Malfoy, we do. Jealous?' Rose sneered. Malfoy merely glared and turned towards Professor Longbottom.

Professor Longbottom cleared his throat loudly, 'Hello, I'm Professor Longbottom and I—' he was interrupted by yells from around the greenhouse.

'Helped win the Great Battle at Hogwarts!'

'Cut off the head of You-Know-Who's snake!'

'Fought at the Department of Mysteries with the Golden Trio, Ginny Potter and Luna Lovegood-Scamander!'

'Was one of the ringleaders of Dumbledore's Army!'

'Won the House Cup for Gryffindor your first year for having the courage to stand up to your enemies but an even greater amount to stand up to your friends!' Rose yelled.

Everyone turned and gave her incredulous looks, even Nev-Professor Longbottom, that's going to take time getting used to, Rose thought to herself.

Rose's eyes widened, 'What? My mum told me, I thought everyone knew that.'

Everybody shook their heads, some laughed outright at her, and she saw Malfoy smirk at her. Rose felt herself blush and looked down at her hands.

Professor Longbottom continued explaining about Herbology. He then proceeded to give them seating assignments, saying it was to help diffuse any Inter-House rivalry. Rose almost laughed when she saw the slightly crestfallen expression on Al's face when Carinna was assigned on the other side of the greenhouse. Al was seated next to Adysen and Professor Longbottom placed Rose in front of Adysen. To her utter dismay, he put Malfoy in the seat to her right.

She was about to complain when he announced, 'These will be your seats for the remainder of the year. Now, the first plant, is Devil's Snare. Does anyone know about Devil's Snare?'

'Devil's Snare has tentacle- like appendages that suffocate anything it touches. It thrives in dark and damp areas, while hating light and fire. When faced with Devil's Snare, it is best to use Lumos Solem,' Rose answered.

Professor Longbottom looked impressed but not surprised, 'Exactly, Miss Weasley. Ten points to Slytherin.'

'Wow, Weasley, you're a know-it-all like your mother,' Malfoy whispered.

'Thanks, Malfoy. That's a compliment coming from you, considering you have no brains at all,' she hissed, in his ear.

He smirked, 'You wish, Weaselette. I'll show I'm smarter than you without even trying hard.'

Rose laughed quietly, 'Keep telling yourself that, Malfoy. You'll be crying when you see I'm far more intelligent than your ferrety self.'

That's how the lesson went; Rose took notes studiously and fought quietly with Malfoy. She let out a continuous stream of insults until the bell rang for the next class. They all walked back to the castle, slowly making their way to History of Magic. The classroom was empty but a message on the chalkboard stated to sit where they pleased and they'd sit there for the year. Ads, Stefan, and Rose all sat at a table towards back of the class.

'Father Draco said to sit in the back because this class is really boring,' Ads said.

'Yeah, my dad said this is a great class to catch up on much needed sleep,' Stefan added.

Rose gasped, 'What? Why would you sleep here? History of Magic seems very important!'

'Of course it would to you, Weasley,' a drawling voice said behind her. Ugh, Malfoy!

She wrinkled her nose and bit back an angry response because right then an elderly looking ghost floated through the blackboard.

'Hello, my name is Professor Binns, and this is History of Magic. You will learn about the founders of Hogwarts and other important magical events,' the ghost droned on.

Rose heard yawns around her and saw Ads and Stefan placing their heads on their arms. Within minutes, both were sound asleep. She sighed and took notes as Professor Binns rattled off mind-numbing information. Almost an hour later, Professor Binns dismissed them early and promptly fell asleep, or whatever it is ghosts do.

After waking Ads and Stefan up, they walked to the Great Hall for lunch. They sat at the end of the Slytherin table closely followed by Evie and Carinna. They all piled their plates with a delicious looking pasta and salad. Rose was halfway through her meal when Al and Malfoy showed up in front of them.

'Hey, Rose, budge up, would you?' Al asked, squeezing between Rose and Ads, trying to sit across from Carinna, Evie, and Stefan.

'Umm, Al, what are you doing here? This is the Slytherin table,' She said, enunciating each syllable.

'I want to have lunch with my favorite cousin,' he replied cheekily. 'We won't get in trouble; we can sit at any table for breakfast and lunch.'

Malfoy sat beside Ads at the end of the table and both, he and Al, filled their plates with food. Minutes into the meal, Malfoy turned to Ads, pulling a letter from his bag.

'Here, I sent a letter to Father last night letting him know of our houses,' he said, handing her the letter.

Ads took the letter and leaned towards Rose so both of them could read it.

Dear Scorpius and Adysen,

Adysen, I am extremely proud of you for being sorted into Slytherin. You will find that it is indeed the best house. I know you'll do great things and make wonderful friends. Write to me as soon as you can dear.

Scorpius, I am disappointed that you were sorted into Gryffindor. I understand though, that you cannot choose where you are sorted. With that said, you will do everything possible to redeem yourself in the eyes of the Malfoy family, meaning you will not get detentions, maintain high grades and will be on the Quidditch team next year. Also, I was very surprised to hear that you made friends with Harry-Saint-Potter's child. We may not have gotten along as teenagers, but that's no reason for you two to not be. That Weasley girl you mentioned, that is a completely different story. You WILL beat the Weasel King's kid in every class. I will not have my son outshined by the child of Granger and Weasley.

Grandmother sends her love and can't wait to see you both at Christmas.

Love,

Mother and Father

She gave Malfoy back the letter, 'He doesn't seem too happy about your house placement, does he?'

Malfoy shrugged, 'I knew he wouldn't be.'

Rose stared at him for a moment, 'What does he mean, "That Weasley girl you mentioned"?'

'Nothing, Weasley,' he retorted.

What the bloody hell did Malfoy tell his father about me? Beat me? Hahaha! As if! Rose smirked as she continued to eat her meal.

Furious that Malfoy wouldn't answer her, she scooted over with enough force to cause Adysen to push Malfoy off then end of the table. All the Slytherins laughed and he turned a bright pink. Before he could fight back, it was time to head to their last lesson of the day, double Charms. Seeing as they all had the same class, Al and Malfoy followed the Slytherin first years to the Charms corridor. Again, there were seating assignments, but there were only three to each table. Al, Malfoy, and Rose were assigned to a table behind Stefan, Carinna, and Ads. Ads laughed when Rose mimed hanging herself as she sat between both Gryffindors. The lesson was pretty uneventful as Professor Flitwick had each of them stand up and tell about themselves. I wonder how old Professor Flitwick is. Mum said he was her teacher when she, dad, and Uncle Harry were in school. Rose put her head in her arms and promptly fell asleep. She didn't wake up until Malfoy hit her in the shoulder with his bag. Hard and painfully.

'Whoops, sorry, Weasley,' he smirked.

'Whatever, Malfoy,' She stalked out of the classroom with Stefan and Ads.

They had some free time until dinner so they went to the common room to drop off their bags. Rose left to the library shortly after. It was enormous, filled with every book imaginable. She saw James, Fred, and Louis all sitting around a table in the corner. This surprised her; she didn't think her cousins were the library types., more like prank-you-until-you-cry-of-embarrassment types. She dropped into the chair beside Louis.

'Hey, it's our cunning little cousin. How was your first day with the slithery snakes?' James sneered.

'Shockingly, it's not as bad as I thought. The common room is brilliant; it knows if you're a real Slytherin, so not just anybody can go in there,' Rose explained.

She continued telling them about her day and when she finished, they turned back to each other and began whispering. She sighed, getting up to look for some books for light reading. she checked out several books: Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century, The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts, Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth and Twenty-first Centuries, The Second Wizarding War: A Time of Horror, Quidditch Through the Ages, The Beaters' Bible, and her favorite, Flying with the Cannons. She hadn't realized the time she spent in the library, when she saw it was nearly time for dinner. Merlin! I'd better head to the Great Hall! She ran back to her dormitory, getting lost twice and finally, haphazardly threw the books on her bed, and then ran to dinner. She was out of breath by the time she slid into the seat beside Stefan. They gave her weird looks as she tried to catch her breath. Everyone talked and they were all full and sleepy by the time they left dinner. Rose got back to the dormitory and quickly changed into her pajamas. She was asleep before the lights went out. It had, indeed, been a busy first day. Her last thought before sleep consumed her was—

This is gonna be a damn long year.