To Albus Severus Potter, autumn seemed to arrive too quickly for his liking. He had spent the summer playing Quidditch with his family, bickering about the stupidest things with James and Lily, and eating ice cream at Fortescue's whenever his mother or father fancied a visit to Diagon Alley.

But most of his summer, he spent time dreading the Sorting.

What if he ended up in Slytherin? He'd heard many different accounts of the Second Wizarding War. His father's version sounded humbled, while the other Weasleys' versions made his dad sound like the best thing that ever happened to anyone. Uncle Ron's was beyond far-fetched. But no matter which version of the story, each and every one made Slytherin look bad.

The Potter family crossed a rumbling road leading to King's Cross Station. Albus took a deep breath of air, but then started coughing violently, as the air was smoggy.

A hand from behind gave a hard thump in his back. Albus whirled around. "Thanks, James," he said, though his tone was sulky.

James smirked. "Always happy to help."

Albus turned forward again and kept walking. Behind him, he indistinctly heard his father comforting Lily. She was desperate to go to Hogwarts.

Albus felt a tap on his shoulder. He whirled around again. "What?" he snapped.

James broke into a toothy grin. "You might end up in Slytherin."

Albus exploded. "I won't! I won't be in Slytherin!"

"James, give it a rest!" Albus heard his mother's voice.

"I only said he might be," James grinned at his younger brother. "There's nothing wrong with that. He might be in Slyth-"

James stopped abruptly when he caught his mother's stern expression.

As the five Potters approached the barrier, James hurried forward, shot Albus a cocky look over his shoulder, took his trolley and took off, running and vanishing into the barrier.

"You'll write to me, won't you?" Albus asked his parents immediately, taking advantage of his brother's absence.

"Every day, if you want us to," his mother said.

"Not every day," Albus put in quickly. "James says most people only get letters from home about once a month."

"We wrote to James three times a week last year," Ginny said matter-of-factly.

"And you don't want to believe everything he tells you about Hogwarts," his father added. "He likes a laugh, your brother."

Side by side, they pushed Albus's trolley forward, gathering speed. As they reached the barrier, Albus winced, but felt no pain. After his father had told him about attempting to run through the barrier closed off by Dobby in his second year, he couldn't help but cringe every time they ran through.

Thick white steam pouring out of the Hogwarts Express made it hard to see anybody. James was nowhere to be seen. Albus looked around for his cousins. "Where are they?"

"We'll find them," his mother assured him.

Faces were hard to make out, and voices echoed off the walls of the platform, making them sound louder than they'd normally be.

"I think that's them, Al," said his mother said suddenly.

A group of four people showed up through the mist, but their faces were only totally focused when Albus, Lily, and their parents were right in front of them.

"Hi," said Albus, sounding relieved.

His cousin, Rose, who was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes, beamed at him. "Hi, Al."

"How was the rest of your summer?" he asked. His father and uncle were already chatting animatedly.

"Quite swell," she said happily. "Played a lot of Wizards' Chess with Dad. Taught me some killer tricks. Bet I can beat you."

"Bet you could," Al grinned from ear to ear.

Back on the platform, they found Lily and Hugo, Rose's younger brother, in a deep conversation about which House they would be sorted into when they finally went to Hogwarts.

"If you're not in Gryffindor, we'll disinherit you," Uncle Ron said, "but no pressure."

"RON!"

Lily and Hugo laughed. Albus and Rose, however, looked serious.

"He doesn't mean it," Aunt Hermione put in hastily, but Uncle Ron was no longer listening. He caught Harry's eye and gestured to a family fifty yards away.

"Look who it is."

A tall blonde man with his wife and carbon-copied son nodded curtly towards them and turned away again. Albus realized it was Draco Malfoy, his father's childhood rival. He had heard countless stories (and names. The rude ones were from Uncle Ron).

"So that's little Scorpius," Uncle Ron said under his breath. "Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited your mother's brains."

"Ron, for heaven's sake!" said Aunt Hermione, sounding stern yet pleased. "Don't try to turn them against each other before they've even started school!"

"You're right, sorry," though his uncle sounded nothing of the sort. "But don't get too friendly with him, though, Rosie. Grandad Weasley would never forgive you if you married a pureblood."

"Hey!" James came scurrying toward them. His things were apparently on the train, since he didn't have them with him. He seemed to be bursting with news.

"Teddy's back there. Just seen him! And guess what he's doing? Snogging Victoire!"

He gazed up at the adults, disappointed by the lack of reaction.

"Our Teddy! Teddy Lupin! Snogging our Victoire! Our cousin! And I asked Teddy what he was doing-"

"You interrupted them?" asked Ginny with a hint of disgust. "You are so like Ron."

"—and he said he'd come to see her off! And then he told me to go away. He's snogging her!" James almost yelled, as though worried he had not made himself clear.

"Oh it would be lovely if they got married!" whispered Lily like an infatuated schoolgirl. "Then Teddy would really be part of the family then!"

"He already comes round for dinner four times a week. Why don't we just invite him to live with us and have it done with?" Albus's dad suggested.

"Yeah!" said James with much enthusiasm. "I don't mind sharing with Al. Teddy could have my room!"

"No," said their dad firmly, shaking his head. "You and Al will only share a room when I want the house demolished."

He checked the time on his watch. "It's nearly eleven, you'd better get on board."

"Don't forget to give Neville our love!" his mom hugged James.

"Mum!" exclaimed James. "I can't give a professor love!"

"But you know Neville-"

James rolled his eyes. "Outside, yeah, but at school he's Professor Longbottom, isn't he? I can't walk into Herbology and give him love…"

James, embarrassed by his mother's apparent foolishness, vented his feelings by aiming a lousy kick at his younger brother. "See you later, Al. Watch out for the thestrals."

"I thought they were invisible! You said they were invisible!"

But James just laughed lightly, reluctantly let his mother kiss him, gave his father a quick hug, then leapt onto the train and after waving, went to find his friends.

"Thestrals are nothing to worry about," Harry told his son with a smile. "They're gentle things, there's nothing scary about them. Anyway, you won't be going up to school in carriages, you'll be going in the boats."

Ginny kissed her youngest son goodbye. "See you at Christmas."

"Bye, Al," his father said as Albus hugged him. "Don't forget Hagrid's invited you to tea next Friday. Don't mess with Peeves. Don't duel anyone till you've learned how. And don't let James wind you up."

Albus's throat felt dry. "What if I'm in Slytherin?" he whispered.

Harry crouched down so that his face was level with his son's. He gazed into Albus's eyes.

"Albus Severus Potter," he said quietly, "you were named for two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew."

"But just say—"

"—then Slytherin will have gained an excellent student, won't it? It doesn't matter to us, Al. But if it matters to you, you'll be able to choose Gryffindor over Slytherin. The Sorting Hat takes your choice into account."

"Really?"

"It did for me," Harry smiled brightly.

Albus hopped onto the train with his luggage and his owl, Archimedes. His mother closed the door after him. Students were hanging on the windows nearest them. All the faces seemed to be craned toward his father.

"Why are they all staring?" Albus was annoyed.

"Don't let it worry you," Uncle Ron snapped into a Gilderoy Lockhart-eque pose. "I'm extremely famous."

Al, Rose, Hugo, and Lily laughed. The train began to move. Albus saw his father waving. Remembering his father's words, all doubt and worry ceased for a fleeting moment, replaced by a blazing sense of excitement.

Sighing, Albus and Rose left to find a compartment. With each compartment they passed, stares and whispers emitted from their inhabitants.

"Can't give us a break, can they?" Rose seemed half disgusted, half amused. "It's not like we're some ancient artifact or something."

"You never know. My dad turned out to be a Horcrux," Albus reminded her.

"Inconsiderate morons," Rose sniffed. "Let's go find Roxanne and Fred. At least they don't stare," suggested Rose.

"Sure."

They sent out to find them. Finally, they found them sitting with James and Neville's daughter, Alice Longbottom.

"Hullo!" Alice greeted them warmly.

"Hi, Alice," Rose and Al chanted in unison.

"What're you doing here?" demanded James.

"Everywhere else is full," Rose snapped, putting her luggage on the rack. "And people keep staring at us."

Fred scoffed. "They were probably just looking at Al, being Harry Potter's son and all."

"Or maybe they were just looking 'cause you look funny," James told Al, laughing.

"If you're insulting Albus's looks, you're insulting your father," Alice reminded him coolly. "He's practically his carbon-copy."

"Thanks, Alice," Albus said.

James got up. "I'm leaving. I'll be in the loo."

He stormed out of the compartment, slamming the door as he did.

Silence filled the room. Roxanne was the one to break it.

"Your brother can be a jerk," she said bluntly.

"Just got that, haven't you?" Albus asked bitterly.

"I don't know what I did wrong," Alice was exasperated. "I spoke the truth, didn't I?"

"Maybe wee ickle Jamsie is jelly that Albus looks more like his father than he does," Fred suggested.

"That doesn't sound like him," Rose sighed. Her eyes narrowed in thought. "It might be something else."

"What do you think?" Roxanne asked.

"Mmm…I need to confirm it first before I tell anyone," she said sternly.

Al let Archimedes out of his cage and petted him gently.

"What did you name him, Al?" Fred asked.

"Archimedes."

"Sounds pretty cool," Fred grinned. "What species?"

"Eagle owl."

"Nice. What about yours, Rosie?"

"This is Io. She's a Great-Horned owl."

Suddenly, the compartment door opened.

Albus had thought it was James, but it ended up being a first year girl. (He could tell because she wasn't wearing any House badge.)

"So there are Weasels and Potties here? This is going to be a wonderful year," she said sarcastically.

"Excuse me-" started off Rose, but Fred didn't even stop to show any manners.

"Who are you?" he asked haughtily.

"Geranium Zambini," she said, with an air that showed she thought very highly of herself.

"Daughter of?" Fred asked, like he was an interrogator.

"Pansy and Blaise Zambini," she furrowed her brow. "I thought you lot were smart."

"Oh we are," said Rose sweetly, "we just thought your Death Eater of a father ended up in Azkaban and your mother offed herself after cracking a mirror with her ugliness."

"Not nice, Rose," Alice warned her.

"What is your problem?" Geranium shot back.

"She's got a bit of a temper," Albus explained hastily.

"I believe you," she said coolly. "A big brain, bad temper, and poor as dirt." Cackling at her own comeback, she walked away.

"What a witch," Rose spat out nastily. "Term hasn't started and I hate her guts already."

"You're a witch, too, Rosie," Roxanne reminded her.

"Oh," she said, embarrassed. "I meant that she's an insufferable, ghastly, and self-absorbed bully."

"How do you know that?" Alice asked.

"Well, for starters, she said all those things about us-"

"No, no," she laughed. "How do you know she's self-absorbed?"

Albus was the one who answered. "Did you see the way she said her name? She could be in love with herself, for all we know."

They all laughed and resumed to talk about Hogwarts. "So which House will you be in?" Alice asked them.

"Either Ravenclaw or Gryffindor, but preferably the latter," Rose smiled.

"Gryffindor for me," Albus said. "And definitely not Slytherin."

Just then, James came into the compartment. He was wearing his school robes.

"So that's why you took so long," Fred chuckled. "I thought, perhaps, you were taking a long time in the loo to take care of some solid waste."

James smacked his cousin playfully on the head, laughing. "No, idiot!" He plopped down next to him. "So, want to know what our theme is this year, Rox, Al and Rose?"

"Theme for your pranking?" Roxanne raised her eyebrows.

Fred, Alice, and James were the school's most notorious pranksters. After Neville, or, now he was Professor Longbottom, Al supposed, came round to dinner one night with his family, and retold the story of the Sorting when Alice, Fred, and James were first years.

After being sorted, each one of them had given the Sorting Hat a hug, something that had never been done at Hogwarts. Ever.

"Almost all teachers saw it," he had said, "James and Fred were bound to follow in the footsteps of their namesakes. And my little girl got into it, too, I suppose!" With that, he had ruffled Alice's hair.

"Not that it was a big deal or anything," James told them casually when he had come home for Christmas that year. "We just wanted to make sure everyone knew that we're awesome,"

"Or horrifying," Harry had put in. The Potters had laughed.

"Okay, then," said Rose excitedly, "what's the theme?"

"This year has to do with shoes," James said mysteriously.

"Really?" Albus cocked an eyebrow. "What does it have to do with shoes?"

"Oh, you'll see," Alice smiled. "You didn't think we would give you all the juicy details, did you?"

"I thought you said you'd tell us!" Roxanne thundered furiously.

"We said we'd tell you the theme-" said James.

"-not how we're going to apply it." Fred finished for him.

"Fine!" yelled Roxanne. "Be that way!"

She went out to find her friends.

"I don't care how upset she gets," Fred narrowed his eyes, "I'm not going to tell her everything. Letting her in on the theme is bad enough."

"How so?" inquired Rose.

"Always blabbing to her friends. Pretty annoying, really," Fred said sulkily, but you could tell he felt guilty.

Just then, they heard the trolley lady. "Anything from the trolley? Anything from the trolley?"

James and Albus rushed out.

"Five chocolate frogs," said James, and he quickly handed her the money and went back in the compartment.

"How about you, dear?" the trolley lady asked him.

"Um...maybe just a Pumpkin Pasty and a packet of Droobles," Al said hastily.

He handed her the right amount of money and giving him the candies, she said, "Have a good year at Hogwarts, dear."

"Thank you," he said, and he slid back into their compartment.

"Here, chocolate frog for you, Al," James tossed him one.

"Blimey, thanks!" He caught it and opened it up. The frog jumped out. Albus did not bother to catch it. The first time he actually tried eating the frog was when he was five. It squirmed in his mouth, so after that experience, he only got the cards and let the frogs roam around till someone squished them or the spell wore off.

"Who'd you get, Al?" Rose asked.

"Well, hang on a moment!" he rolled his eyes. "Can't even give me a second."

He flipped the card over; he couldn't recognize the picture.

Salazar Slytherin

Born approximately 1000 years ago, Salazar Slytherin is one of the four co-founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He was a Parselmouth (meaning he could talk to snakes) and in his Hogwarts house, valued purebloods and people with ambitious and cunning natures. He built the Chamber of Secrets for his heir to finish his work, which was attacking those around the school with Muggle ancestry. Then, after dueling with Godric Gryffindor, he left the school and was never to be seen or heard of again.

Albus's heart went from being cheery to dull and worried again. Was this an omen? He remembered what his father said. He worried less, but his brain was still clouded with thought.

"Who'd you get, Al?" Alice asked.

He sighed heavily. "Salazar Slytherin."

James burst out laughing. "Ha! So weird, isn't it? You've been worrying about ending up in that very house all day and you just happen to get his card!"

Albus flushed with embarrassment. He thought the others would start laughing as well. When he realized they were serious, and didn't find James's remark funny at all, he lightened with relief.

"Have you really been worried?" Fred asked quietly.

"If you feel pity for me, save it. It's fine, Fred."

"No, I don't pity you!" Fred jumped up. "But I understand. I've been a first year before, you know."

"So has James, but he doesn't seem to care," Albus spat out nastily.

"Well, James is James," Rose shot her cousin a dirty look. "He can't look into a mirror without kissing his own reflection, right? He's so confident that he doesn't stop to think about other people's feelings."

James got upset again. "Why does everyone stick up for you?" he asked his younger brother. He shoved him against the wall.

Albus didn't feel any fear. He had this happen to him before. He pushed his brother back, sending him staggering.

James's face was contorted with rage. "You little—"

"Shove off, James," Alice said coldly.

James shot Al a mean look and sat back down without saying another word.

Rose cleared her throat. "Anyway, I guess this is lovely, being angry at each other and all—"

"All of you should go get dressed in your robes," James said quietly.

Al did not hesitate to get up. Fred got up, then Rose, after saying, "I'm already dressed in mine, but I'd leave anyway."

However, Alice stayed seated. She sat there, staring at him. There were tears in her eyes.

"You too, Alice," said James.

Without a word, she left the compartment.