Flutter360: Haha thanks! And wow, I'm impressed you caught that! Believe it or not, it's not actually a mistake - and there's an actual reason for Harry not to be there seeing his kids off. Thank you for your review! :)
NOTE: I edited some of the chapter and added more details!
THE HOGWARTS EXPRESS, 1 SEPTEMBER 2017
Albus and Rose walked together along the carriage of the train. Albus could feel excitement bubbling inside him, perhaps tinged with a bit of nervousness as well. An old witch approached them, pushing a trolley filled with magical sweets.
"Anything from the trolley, dears?" she asked them. "Pumpkin Pasty? Chocolate Frog? Cauldron Cake?"
The mention of Chocolate Frogs caught Albus' attention. After James started Hogwarts two years ago, he always brought home pocketfuls of Frogs for Albus, though he always kept the cards for himself. Albus had developed a sweet tooth for them - so much that his mother was forced to pull the family off sugar altogether. Now, away from his mother's omniscient presence, Albus was free to take all the sweets he wanted.
Rose, spotting Albus' loving look at the Chocolate Frogs, dragged him away and said, "Al, we need to concentrate."
"Concentrate on what?" he asked.
"On who we choose to be friends with," she said, as if it were the most obvious thing ever. "My mum and dad met your dad on their first Hogwarts Express, you know..."
"So we need to choose now who to be friends with for life?" Albus asked, bemused. "That's quite scary."
"On the contrary, it's exciting!" Rose said eagerly. "I'm a Granger-Weasley, you're a Potter - everyone will be want to be friends with us, we've got the pick of anyone we want!"
"So how do we decide?" Albus asked. "Which compartment to go in-"
Rose answered readily, as though expecting the question. "We rate them all and make a decision."
Albus rolled his eyes and smiled. Rose was just as clever as her mother, and had inherited her father's unorthodox quirkiness. So it came as no surprise that his dear cousin would create a rating system, of all things, for making friends.
He opened a door and looked in on a familiar blond boy sitting in an otherwise empty compartment. As the boy looked up, Albus recognized him as the same boy he saw on the platform with Draco Malfoy - Scorpius, Uncle Ron had called him. Seeing as the compartment was nearly empty, Albus smiled at him. Scorpius immediately smiled back, his teeth pristine and white.
"Hi," Albus greeted. "Is this compartment-"
"It's free," Scorpius said immediately. "It's just me."
"Great. So we might just come in - for a bit - if that's okay?" Albus asked hesitantly.
"That's okay," Scorpius said eagerly. "Hi!"
"Albus. Al. I'm - my name is Albus..."
Trust me to muck up introductions, he though.
"Hi Scorpius." the boy said before quickly realizing his mistake. "I mean, I'm Scorpius. You're Albus. I'm Scorpius." His face was quite red now as he turned to Rose. "And you must be..."
She had that look on her face again, Albus noted. She was staring at Scorpius as though he were a difficult textbook that needed to be memorized. Her eyes subtly darted across him, taking in his features and nervous expression as she regarded him silently.
This carried on for ten seconds, in which time she even glanced at Albus, who gave her a look as confused as Scorpius was.
Finally, she smiled slightly and, with a rather satisfied look on her face, turned to Scorpius and said, "Rose."
"Hi, Rose!" Scorpius said, relieved that he appeared to have passed whatever test Rose had subjected him to. "Would you like some of my Fizzing Whizbees?"
"I've just had breakfast," Rose said. "But thanks."
"I've also got some Shock-o-Chock, Pepper Imps, and some Jelly Slugs - Mum's idea," he explained, before breaking into song. "She says 'Sweets, they always help you make friends'!"
Rose looked like she was trying not to laugh. Scorpius quickly realized that singing was a mistake. "Stupid idea, probably," he muttered.
At this, Rose nudged gently Albus. He looked at his cousin, who subtly nodded at Scorpius. Understanding suddenly coursed through him.
"I'll have some," Albus said quickly. "Mum doesn't let me have sweets. Which one would you start with?"
Scorpius looked immensely relieved that something was finally going right and pulled out the large bag, which Albus realized was the very same one that Scorpius' mother had given him on the station.
"Easy." Scorpius said. His tone had now changed - didactic and eager - which reminded Albus of how Rose would tell him all about their parents' deeds in whatever book she was reading. "I've always regarded the Pepper Imp as the king of the confectionery bag. They're peppermint sweets that make you smoke at the ears." he said.
He held out the sweet bag eagerly to Albus, who hesitated.
"Hang on, you said your name was Scorpius, right?" he asked. "Your dad is Draco Malfoy, right? The Death Eater?"
Rose did not bother to hide it anymore - she smacked Albus on the back of his head and threw him a furious look.
"Albus!" she whispered furiously. "Don't be rude!"
He turned to Scorpius, only to see that the boy's face had fallen.
"Listen, I know what you must think about me because of my parents," he said. "But I swear, I'm not - that's to say we're not - what you think we are!"
"What do you mean?" Albus asked, looking thoroughly bewildered now. He had only been making an observation - he certainly didn't mean anything by it, and he couldn't understand why Scorpius had turned so hysterical.
"I recognized your dad on the platform - Harry Potter. You're his son, aren't you?" Scorpius said. "I know our parents didn't get along, but my parents aren't Death Eaters! Well - Dad was - but Mum wasn't!" he said in an almost pleading voice.
"And his family was pardoned, Albus," Rose said with finality. "So don't you go starting that up again."
Albus looked at his cousin, guilt surging through him as he realized his mistake. Rose was quite clever that way - she knew exactly how to behave with people to make them feel welcome. And she was always the first to stand up for them, no matter if it was against an older bully or her thick-headed cousin.
"You're right," Albus said quickly. "Besides, I'm sure your parents can't be that bad, if that bag of sweets is anything to go by."
Scorpius laughed at this, pathetically grateful that his family name's stigma appeared to be forgotten. The two boys looked at each other, and something passed between them - a mutual understanding, perhaps, that their parents' history would not get between them anymore.
Rose appeared to have noticed the tension between them thin, for she cleared her throat and said, "Yes, well, I should get going. See you later, Albus," she said.
"Wait, you're not staying?" Albus asked.
"Nope," Rose smiled. "I've lost enough time as it is."
"What do you mean by that?" Albus asked, somewhat irritated.
Rose's face immediately took on a distinctly 'Hermione-ish' look, as Ron called it. "How in Merlin's name do you expect me to rate everyone on this train if I spent the whole time with you two?" she demanded.
And with that, she gave both boys a smile, to indicate that she had not meant any insult, before heading off.
"She's quite fierce," Scorpius noted, a somewhat dazed expression on his face.
"You should see her play Quidditch," Albus said, grinning at Scorpius. "She once beat our Uncle Charlie in a one-on-one: twelve goals in a row, and my Uncle Ron was playing Keeper for him too!"
"Wow," Scorpius said, impressed. Suddenly, he looked at Albus square in the eye. "Thank you," he said. "For staying with me."
Albus felt his face grow hot at Scorpius' gaze. With his father's famous tact, he stammered, "No. No I didn't stay - for you - I stayed for you sweets." He realized what he said. "Sorry! I didn't mean it like that-"
Scorpius laughed, "No. I like it. Do you prefer Albus or Al?"
Albus watched as the boy grinned and popped two Peppermint Imps into his mouth. Normally everyone called him Al, but some part of him wanted to make himself as unique as his new friend was.
"Albus," he said, smiling. "You can call Albus."
Scorpius smiled broadly, shouting over the steam pouring from his ears, "THANK YOU FOR STAYING FOR MY SWEETS, ALBUS!"
"Wow!" Albus laughed.
'Wow...' he thought again to himself.
They continued to chat for the next few hours as they approached Hogwarts, but Albus hardly noticed the time fly while talking to his new friend. He felt content, at ease. He never had many friends while growing up: most of the kids his age were his siblings or cousins. He got along with them most of the time, but he had never felt as comfortable with them as he was with Scorpius. Scorpius' dynamics perfectly complimented Albus': balancing passion with passiveness, quirkiness with orthodoxy, wittiness with sarcasm, and seriousness with lightheartedness.
It felt like only minutes had passed when they arrived at Hogsmeade. They had already changed into their Hogwarts robes, and made their way off the train and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Albus shivered in the cold night air. Suddenly, a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Albus heard a gruff voice: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"
Albus looked at the source of the voice and gasped in awe. A giant of a man was standing on the platform, holding a lamp in his hand, which was as big as a dustbin. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but his eyes were still discernible, glinting like black beetles under all his hair. His father had told him a lot about Hagrid, but he had never actually met the half-giant. Albus had asked his dad why they never invited Hagrid for Christmas, but his father, noticeably uncomfortable, had simply said, "Hagrid's a busy man, Al," and left it at that.
"An' you must be Albus!" Hagrid said, recognizing the boy staring nervously at him. "Yeh look jus' like yer father!"
"You're Hagrid, aren't you?" Albus said. "My dad's told me a lot about you."
"Wow!" Scorpius cried. "You're Hagrid? I've read all about you! Is it true that your brother is a giant? Can I meet him?" he asked in wild excitement.
"An' who's this?" Hagrid asked, bemused.
"Scorpius Malfoy, sir," Scorpius said eagerly.
"A Malfoy, eh?" Hagrid said, studying Scorpius closely. "Yeh look just like yer father, Scorpius."
Scorpius faltered, unsure how to respond to this. Albus came rushing in defense of his friend. "Scorpius is really nice, Hagrid. And he's really smart too! I'm sure you'll like him if you just give him a chance!"
Hagrid raised his shaggy eyebrows and studied Albus' earnest expression before smiling. "Never thoug' I'd live ter see the day a Malfoy and a Potter became friends! I suppose yer alright then, eh, Scorpius?" he chortled, patting Scorpius on the back lightly.
Still laughing, Hagrid turned to lead the new students, calling out, "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"
Scorpius put his hand on Albus on the shoulder. "Thanks for - er -what you did- " Scorpius began.
"Don't mention it," Albus said, jolted by the the coursing rush he felt from their contact.
Hagrid's big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads.
"C'mon, follow me - any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"
Scorpius immediately took his hand off Albus and ran eagerly towards the half-giant. Albus simply stood there, his shoulder feeling oddly colder since Scorpius' hand was there.
"Albus, come on!" Scorpius called over his shoulder. "Or else all the good seats will be taken!"
He shook his head slightly, as though to push away the distracting thought, and headed after his friend.
"Ye' all get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," he heard Hagrid say. "Jus' round this bend here."
"Woah..." he breathed.
The narrow path they were walking on opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black take. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.
"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore.
Albus and Scorpius were followed into their boat by Rose and another girl. "Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. "Right then - FORWARD!"
The fleet of boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.
"Hello, Albus, Scorpius," Rose said. "This is Polly Chapman. We've just been discussing which House we hope to be Sorted in."
"Albus Potter?" Polly asked excitedly. "No need to ask where you're ending up! Nothing less than Gryffindor for the famous Harry Potter's son, I expect!"
Albus smiled, though it came off as more of a grimace. This was exactly what he was worried about - even before reaching the school, everyone had already formed an image of him - expecting him to be just as great as his father.
"What about you, Rose?" Scorpius asked. "Gryffindor like your parents, right?"
"I expect so," Rose said. "Although I wouldn't say no to Ravenclaw."
"Hang on, aren't you Scorpius Malfoy?" Polly asked, scrutinizing Scorpius. "Well, there's no question where you'll end up. Slytherin - just like your Death Eater parents." she said in an awful tone.
Even in the darkness, Albus noticed Scorpius' face turn pale.
"And what's wrong with Slytherin?" Albus demanded. "Severus Snape was a Slytherin, and he was one of the bravest people my dad ever knew!"
"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid, just as Polly was about to respond.
The boats had reached the cliff. They all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles. Then they climbed up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle. They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door. None of them had spoken after Albus' retort, although he did notice Rose glaring angrily at the back of Polly's head.
Hagrid knocked on the large door, which opened at once. A very tiny wizard with a tuft of white hair and ivy-green robes stood there. The top of his wizard hat barely reached the heads of the first years. Albus immediately recognized him as Professor Flitwick, the new Deputy Headmaster of Hogwarts when Professor McGonagall took over the position of Headmistress.
"The firs' years, Professor Flitwick," said Hagrid.
"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." she said.
They followed Professor Flitwick across the flagged stone floor into a small, empty chamber off the hall. He quickly explained to them about the four Houses and the point system before leading them into the Great Hall. As they walked, Albus heard muttering around him.
"A Potter. In our year!" whispered one boy.
"He's got his hair," another one said. "He's got hair just like him."
"And he's my cousin," Rose whispered back. Everyone around them turned to look at her. "Rose Granger-Weasley. Nice to meet you all."
At last, the Sorting Ceremony began. The Sorting Hat opened its mouth and began to sing:
I've done this job for centuries
On every student's head I've sat
Of thoughts I take inventories
For I'm the famous Sorting Hat
I've Sorted high, I've Sorted low
I've done the job through thick and thin
So put me on and you will know
Which House you should be in
One by one, Professor Flitwick called each first year's name. They would sit on the stool and wait as the Sorting Hat deliberated, finally calling out their House.
When Professor Flitwick called out, "Granger-Weasley, Rose," the Sorting Hat called out a resounding "GRYFFINDOR" the second it touched her head.
Finally, he called out, "Malfoy, Scorpius."
Scorpius ran up to the stool and placed the Sorting Hat on his head. The Sorting Hat deliberated for a moment before it announced, "SLYTHERIN!"
Expecting this, he nodded to Albus and half smiled. He then took his place at the applauding Slytherin table.
"Well, that makes sense." Polly Chapman nodded from the Gryffindor table.
After a few minutes, the crowd of first years had significantly thinned. Finally, Professor Flitwick called out, "Potter, Albus."
Albus walked swiftly up to the stool, ignoring the hundreds of eyes on him. He placed the Sorting Hat on, and immediately felt everything quiet. From the back of his head, he heard a somewhat snarky voice speak.
"Another Potter, eh?" the hat said. "Well, let's see here..."
Memories raced across his mind: each passing too fast for him to discern.
"Hm... difficult, difficult... plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There's talent, my goodness, yes... I've seen this sort of mind before - you're a spitting replica of your father, boy!"
At these words, Albus suddenly became aware of the faces staring at him. He saw Scorpius looking at him from the Slytherin table, saw Rose's face fixed on his own, saw James smirking expectantly, and Polly Chapman looking maddeningly smug. And suddenly, he remembered what she said to him on the boats: "No need to ask where you're ending up..." A flicker of irritation flew across his mind. He looked again at the Slytherin table and saw Scorpius staring back at him, with an expression of anticipation, and perhaps - fear? And at that moment, he made up his mind.
"Slytherin, put me in Slytherin." he told the hat.
"Your father seems to have told you the big secret, hasn't he?" the hat asked, more amused than irritated. "Well, this is quite unexpected then. It seems only moments ago that your father put me on and asked me to not put him in Slytherin!"
"All the more reason to put me in Slytherin then, isn't it?" Albus thought. "I don't want to be a copy of my father. I want to be someone different, someone unique. Just like Scorpius..."
"Well, now we've gotten somewhere, haven't we?" the hat chortled. "Well you do speak like a Slytherin. And if it's your choice, of course, then I suppose there's only one place to put you..."
"SLYTHERIN!" the hat cried out.
Albus took off the hat, but the silence around him did not go away. Shocked faces stared back at him. The grin had vanished from James' face. Polly Chapman looked as though she had stepped on a Dungbomb. Rose tried to remain expressionless, though even she couldn't hide her surprise. He looked over to the Slytherin table: Scorpius was beaming at Albus, who briskly walked to his new House's table.
"You can sit next to me!" Scorpius whispered to him.
"Right. Yes." Albus muttered, unsure whether he ought to regret his decision or not.
"Whoa! A Potter? In Slytherin?" a boy whispered loudly, inciting a new round of muttering.
"I suppose his hair isn't that similar." said the boy who had commented on Albus' similarity to his father.
Professor Flitwick continued as though nothing had occurred, calling out the next name. Moments later, all the students had been Sorted and mounds of food appeared on all the plates around them. The rest of the night was a whirl to Albus, who met several of his new classmates, including Craig Bowker Jr, the boy who had elicited muttering after his remark about a Potter in Slytherin. After the feast ended, and Professor McGonagall gave her start-of-year announcements, the prefects led all the students to their dormitories. They climbed down the stairs into the dungeons, talking excitedly amongst themselves.
They stopped at a stretch of bare, damp stone wall.
"You'll need to know the password to enter the common room," one of the prefects told them. "Generally, it's something to with Slytherin House." Turning to the stone wall, he spoke clearly, "Salazar."
A stone door concealed in the wall slid open. The prefects marched through it, the first years following suit.
Albus stared around in awe. The Slytherin common room was a long, low underground room with rough stone walls and ceilings from which round, greenish lamps were hanging on chains. A fire was crackling under an elaborately carved mantelpiece ahead of them, and several of the older students were silhouetted around it in high-backed chairs. The prefects began explaining the history of their House to them. Albus tried to listen - after all, this was his new home for the next seven years - but it was really quite boring.
"Whoa! We're under the Black Lake right now! " Scorpius whispered excitedly. "That explains why the light around the room has such a greenish tinge. Can you believe how amazing this is?"
"Really cool," Albus said, rather unexcitedly.
Apparently Scorpius had noticed Albus' lack of enthusiasm, because he frowned and turned away, before grinning and facing him again. "Think we might get a good look at the giant squid?"
This caught Albus' attention. "There's a giant squid here?" he whispered.
"Sure there is!" Scorpius whispered back. "We have merpeople and grindylows too! Surely your dad must've told you about them! He swam in the lake during his fourth year, remember? In the Triwizard Tournament?"
"Oh. Oh yeah!" Albus said.
Truth be told, Albus had forgotten. It was hard to remember everything significant thing his dad had done - half of which was when he was underage, as Scorpius reminded him. Eventually, the prefects finished covering their House's history and proceeded to listing the House rules, which took a significantly shorter amount of time than the textbook reading they had received before. Albus noted they were mostly common sense: no magic in the corridors, don't reveal the password, don't bring students from other Houses into the common room. Finally, they were dismissed. Albus, Scorpius, and three other boys were shown their room, where their belongings awaited them atop their own four-poster beds. The boys wasted no time in unpacking and changing into their nightwear.
Just as Albus pulled on his pajamas, Scorpius came up to him with a somewhat apologetic expression. "Listen, Albus," he said. "I'm really sorry that you didn't get Sorted in Gryff-"
"You think I wanted to be Sorted in Gryffindor?" Albus asked him. "How do you think I'd survive Hogwarts without you by my side?"
He smiled slightly at Scorpius' incredulous expression.
"I mean, it'll take some time getting used to all this green," Albus said. "But other than that-"
"The green matches your eyes."
Of all the things Scorpius could have said, this was not something Albus expected. Scorpius seemed to realize this, for he immediately turned pink and began rambling, "Sorry, that just came out. The walls just reminded me of your eyes - not that I was thinking about eyes! I mean I was - but not like that - and - I just meant - it suits you. Not the walls, of course! I meant being a Slytherin and all. I- I'll just shut up now."
"Scorpius?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks. I appreciate that."
Scorpius grinned sheepishly and crawled into his bed, before he could embarrass himself further. An hour later, the lights went out, and everyone was asleep - everyone but Albus, who still lay awake in his bed, smiling foolishly in spite of himself.