Well, I got some very sweet comments, and I have some free time, while I'm sick at home with nothing else to do. That's also my excuse if this doesn't go well….

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The first week of school was a bustle of students trying to find their classes and getting stuck on staircases. At one point in the week, there was a full on search party as a first-year Hufflepuff by the name of Gordon Fletchly went missing for more than a day. He was found two hours later hanging rather precariously from a nail on a banister on a secluded staircase. Suspiciously, Peeves the Poltergeist seemed to have left some of his water balloons nearby, and flew off laughing when he saw the crowd surrounding the boy.

Albus, Scorpius, Rose, and Alice had a hard time finding time to talk with one another. Their schedules were full, and they were expected to spend their evenings studying in their common rooms. They were forced to communicate by owl until Rose's and Albus's Uncle George sent them some rather wonderful gifts. He had apparently heard of their new friendships, and had sent four four-way mirrors for them to use. He had gotten the idea from one of Harry's stories, of a present given to him by his Godfather. George thought it a brilliant idea, and decided to expand on it, creating the first line of Conference Mirrors. They were in big demand at the ministry, it seemed.

On Thursday morning, Scorpius received a letter.

Dear Scorpius,

We've not heard from you, and I assume things are going well. I assume you were sorted into Slytherin? It's a fine house, no matter what certain people say.

I know it will be hard for you to deal with your Death Eater lineage while you are in school, but ignore those imbeciles. Do not lower yourself to their level. Cast aside their rubbish. You are of a higher caliber of Wizard. I hope the Potters and Weasleys aren't giving you any trouble. We weren't friendly in school, as I'm sure you recall.

I've sent some Slytherin paraphernalia, which should arrive shortly after you receive this letter. Make me proud, Scorpius.

Your Father

"You haven't told him?" Rose sat beside him at the Gryffindor table, one of the few times in the day they could sneak a moment in. Albus was just walking into the Great Hall, looking as though he had rolled out of bed with his robes still on, and came to join her.

"Well, not exactly, no." He blushed, and tossed the letter to Al.

After perusing it, Albus grabbed a sausage and plunged it into his mouth. "Doesn't seem to bad. My dad did the same thing with Gryffindor stuff, but when I told him about the sorting, he promised to replace it all. By the way…" Albus opened his satchel and emptied into onto the table. "Thought you might like a terrifyingly real lion to wake you up in the morning. Nearly broke it when I got out of bed." The lion was a miniature figurine, with a clock set on its side. Also on the table were a red and gold sweater ("My Grandmum made it…"), a specialized Gryffindor snitch, a Gryffindor flag, some homemade Lion sugar cookies ("I hope you plan to share those!"), a lion-eared wool hat and pawed gloves, and a pair of very embarrassing Gryffindor socks ("My mum thought they'd be funny…"). Scorpius grinned from ear to ear, and jammed a cookie in his mouth, and handed one to Albus. "These are brilliant, Al!"

"Oh, look Scorpius! I think your package has arrived!" Rose pointed up as a large owl descended on Gryffindor table.

"Go ahead and open it, Al. It's all yours." Albus gleefully plunged into the box, exclaiming over an emerald-green scarf, a Slytherin flag, and some wickedly green gummy snakes. The entire time, James, who was sitting nearby, was staring at his brother with a set jaw.

"That's it, Albus!" he bellowed, jumping up from his seat. "I can take the simple, fixable mistake of you accidently getting sorted into Slytherin, but this is getting out of hand! I refuse to allow my little brother to have Slytherin pride!" He lunged at the scarf, which was dangling from Albus's shoulders.

"Petrificus Totalus."

James froze up and toppled over onto his side, with Professor Longbottom standing behind him, pursing his lips with disappointment. "I'm going to have to report this to your parents, Mr. Potter. You know I must. And, Ms. Weasley, will you put down your wand. I'd hate to have to give you detention. And also, please thank your mother for teaching me to perform such a perfect Petrification Charm." He winked, waved his wand, and James slowly came back to life.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a letter to write." He glanced sternly at James, and marched off.

"So weird…"James muttered.

"That wasn't very noble of you, James Potter," Rose snapped. "And you call yourself a Gryffindor!"

James blushed. "Stop being a know-it-all, Ravenclaw!"

"Oh, that's mature! Mister 'I'm a second year! I know so much more than you!'! You can't even open your eyes and realize that Scorpius Malfoy got into Gryffindor because he's just as brave and noble as you, and Albus will never change just because he's in Slytherin! So stop being a bully, you big prat! Come on, Albus, Scorpius." Rose pulled on Albus's arm, and the two boys followed her to the Ravenclaw table, leaving James standing there, gawking after them.

"That was bloody brilliant, Rose! You're fantastic!" Albus grinned at his cousin.

"Thank you, Rose." Scorpius's normally palid cheeks were now burning red, and he was looking at the floor.

"That git deserved it! Wait til I tell Aunt Ginny what he said, Al, he'll be in for it…"Rose trailed off, grinding her hands together ominously. Albus laughed and Scorpius smirked.

"Well, now I just don't know where to sit." Alice had come up behind them, struggling with a heavy bag. "I don't know if I should sit with you at the Ravenclaw table, or sit with my housemates."

"It is tiring, constantly rotating," Rose agreed.

"I don't see why it must be divided by houses! They keep stressing all this interhouse unity, but they separate us at any chance they get," Alice huffed.

"Now, wha' 're you bunch standing aroun' here for? Aren' yeh planning on eatin' anything?"

The foursome looked up into the hairy face of Professor Hagrid, who was carrying a large sack over his shoulder.

"Well, where are we supposed to sit, Hagrid? We're all in different houses!" Rose complained.

"Heh, well, maybe yeh could join me for a spot of tea tomorrow, how 'bout it? James always seems to be off with 'is friends, an' I don' get much company when Maxim's out o' the country. Mayhap for lunch, eh?"

"Oh, yes! I'd love to see your cabin Hagrid!" Rose exclaimed, with Albus agreeing heartily. Alice, who often visited her father while he was working, was no stranger to Hagrid's home, but Scorpius looked nervous. He glanced furtively at Rose, who grinned at him, reading his thoughts. "Of course you're invited, Scorpius, isn't he, Hagrid?"

"Any friend of Rosie and Al is a friend of mine, Mr. Malfoy. It will take some gettin' used to, mind you..." Hagrid added. "Well, I'll be seein' yeh!"

"Yes Hagrid!" They all waved goodbye, grabbed some rolls and sausage, and headed outside to enjoy the morning.

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The next morning, classes couldn't pass quickly enough. Rose and Scorpius shared double potions with Slughorn, while Alice had to endure transfiguration with Professor Wheedle, and Albus fell asleep in History of Magic.

They all met up on the trail to the Forbidden Forest, which led straight up to Hagrid's cabin. Albus knocked on the large door, and heard a loud barking from inside.

"Oh, hush down, Fido! Don' make me turn yeh outside for company!" The door opened, revealing the monstrous half-giant.

"Hullo Al, Rosie, Alice. Scorpius." He strained a smile. Then, leading them into the cabin, muttered, "Yep, this will definitely take some gettin' used to."

"So, how were yer first week of classes? The teachers loadin' yer heads yet?"

"Oh it's wonderful!" Rosie exclaimed, just as the others let out groans of exhaustion.

"Jus' like yer mum, you are, Rosie. Hermione was always excited to be learnin'. Drove yer dad crazy, lemme tell you!" Rose beamed.

"So, you bunch all been split up by the hat, eh? The entire school is separated by house. Mus' be hard on yeh."

"It's terrible!" Albus moaned. "Especially for Scorp and I! The Gryffindors all hate him, and the Slytherins all want to kill me, I think! Especially that Zabini. Nasty old wart!" Scorp nodded emphatically. "And James is the worst! Won't accept that I'm a Slytherin, and shuns Scorpius like he has spattergroit."

"Eh, he'll come roun'. Yeh just gotta be patient with him. He's too much like his grandda'. Give him time teh get use' to it. If tha' doesn' work, I hear yer mum has a mean bat bogie hex." He winked, and set down a kettle of tea. His guests looked around, each (besides Alice) surprised at the frills and lace surrounding them. Hagrid noticed Albus looking aghast at a particularly horrible doily and lace pillow, and scratched his beard uncomfortably.

"Maxim's really pu' her touch aroun' here. Says it's not a bachelor pad anymore, and I need to get use' to havin' a woman aroun' the house. How can I though, when she ain' ever here, anyhow?" He glared balefully at the pink, ruffled curtain. "Can' wait til she retires from that awful school…"

"How's Grawp?" Albus asked.

"Oh, he's doin' fine. Up in Northern England. Foun' a mate, matter o' fact. Ugly thing, she is. Can' even tell she IS a she!" He grimaced. "Bu' as long as Grawpy's happy, I'm happy, o' course." He wiped a tear away. "Anyway, so wha' are you plannin' on doin' abou' this housin' situation? Seems yer all a bit upset abou' it."

"Actually," Rose began, while the others shook their heads without a clue, "I have thought of something. I don't suppose you have an extra table somewhere, do you Hagrid?"

"Why, as a matter of fac', I do have one out in the shed ou' back."

"That's your plan? To carry in a table for us to sit at?" Albus raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"It is. But it's bigger than that. It's our first Hogwarts rebellion," Rose said seriously.

The other three students stared at her for a moment before bursting into laughter. "Rose Weasley? Leading a rebellion?" Albus gasped for air.

"Why are you laughing? I'm serious! It's not fair that they separate us by house! It's completely unethical! So I say we create our own table."

"And how is that a rebellion, Rosie?" Albus asked.

"Simple. It will show that they can't divide us simply by character. Just because I'm the brains and Scorpius is the brawn doesn't mean we can't be together." She blushed. "That we can't be friends. It's like the Sorting Hat said: together, we are stronger than any of us as one. And so I propose a new table. The Hogwarts Table."

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That evening, no one could believe what they saw. In the middle of the room, gilded in silver, gold, bronze, and black; decorated in emerald, scarlet, blue, and yellow; and emblazoned with the giant emblem of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was a round table, surrounded by four students. A Gryffindor, a Hufflepuff, a Ravenclaw, and a Slytherin. In the very center of the Great Hall sat the first Hogwarts Table.

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A/N

So, I hope you liked. I enjoyed this chapter because it really begins the struggle of the whole series. There will be different plots for each "book" but the main idea is that of unity. I hope you guys enjoyed it. More action coming soon! (And, again, I LOVE reviews! ;D)

Hannah