After changing into their robes, Fred returned to James's compartment. Alice was still upset with him at the moment, so she decided to go with Rose and Al to look for a different one.
"I don't know why he's acting like a prick," she fumed. "He never acts like this."
"Really?" asked Albus. "I guess it's me. He always acts like that when I'm around."
"And I've never known?" Alice raised an eyebrow. "It's been two years since we arrived and I never knew he treats his own brother like shit. And the amount of time I've actually known him..."
"Yeah, well," said Rose, "don't beat yourself up about it."
"Let's go sit with Louis and Dominique," suggested Albus. "They're real nice."
Dominique and Louis were Victoire's younger siblings. Victoire was in her seventh year. Dominique was in her fifth and Louis was in his second. The three of them were Uncle Bill and Auntie Fleur's kids.
It didn't take long to find them. "Hey Dom! Can we sit with you?" Rose asked.
Dominique smiled and gestured, "Of course," she said, flashing a charming smile.
"Where's James and Fred?" piped up Louis.
"Fred is James's best friend, so naturally, they're together." said Rose.
"And James," said Alice in a bitter voice, "is the world's biggest prat right now."
"Oh well that's wonderful," said Dominique sarcastically.
"Where's Frank?" Louis asked Alice.
"Probably with the other second-year Hufflepuffs," she said.
"How're you feeling right now about the Sorting?" Dominique asked her first year cousins.
"Alright," said Rose lightly.
"Not the best," Al said, shrugging. "That's what James was being a prat about."
Dominique cussed in French. "That James should watch his tongue, or I just might cut it out. The Sorting is a sensitive topic."
They all chatted some more until they arrived at Hogwarts. Albus and Rose got off the train and heard a voice calling out, "Firs' years! C'mon o'er here! Firs' years!"
Al and Rose looked at each other, grinning from ear to ear. "Hagrid," they said in unison.
They made their way toward Hagrid, a large hairy man carrying a lantern. He was actually a half-giant, which was what made him so big.
"Firs' years! Don' be shy, c'mon an' step on out!" He paused. "Hello, Al an' Rose! Doin' alrigh'?"
Albus gave a thumbs-up. "Brilliant."
Rose beamed. "Quite well, thanks!"
Hagrid chuckled. "Ah...jus' like yer Mum, yeh know."
The group of first years chatted excitedly. "Alrigh', listen up!" Hagrid called. The group stopped talking immediately. Many of them were afraid of Hagrid.
"Yeh'll be goin' to the castle wit the boats! There'll be four per boat, an' I'm goin' by meself. C'mon and follow me!"
The group hurried toward the boats, led by Hagrid. They hurried inside, four per boat. Albus and Rose got into one, followed by a brown-haired girl and Scorpius Malfoy.
Al and Rose shot each other a warning kind of look. Malfoys were almost always stubborn and hard to deal with. Best not to provoke him.
They rowed across the Black Lake, and pretty soon, the Hogwarts Castle was in view. The night's deep blackness gave a mysterious look to it. Lights from inside gleamed yellow.
Albus's heart had started racing very fast, and he was sure everyone else's had too.
Rose gripped his arm. "This is so exhilarating!"
"Calm down, Rosie," he said, but his breath was also taken away.
When they rowed across the lake, Hagrid helped everyone anchor their rowboats.
"Alrigh', up to the castle ye go!" He called. "See yeh later!"
"I'll be leading you all to the castle," said a squeaky voice. Everyone looked around. A little man was waddling towards them.
"Are you a garden gnome?" asked a snarky voice. Al recognized it as Geranium's.
The little man narrowed his eyes. "How rude! I am Professor Flitwick, Charms professor, Head of Ravenclaw House, and Deputy Headmaster to Headmistress Minerva McGonagall!"
Al and Rose heard her say "Oh," but Flitwick was no longer paying attention.
"You'll be sorted into your House by the Sorting Hat! Now, you might be startled, boys and girls, because it can talk to you inside your head! While you're here, your House will be your family. Any breaking school rules will lose your House points, and any good deeds will earn them! Whichever house gets the most points by the end of the year wins the House cup!"
There was much excitement and chit chat. Finally, after Flitwick got them all to calm down, the large doors leading to the Great Hall opened.
There were four long tables, one for each house. At the Gryffindor table, he saw James, Fred, and Alice. Fred was between them, talking to them back and forth, but James and Alice themselves seemed to be ignoring each other.
The first years made their way toward the Sorting Hat and the stool. The Hat looked at them. "Oh, another bunch. Let's get it over with it!"
"When I call your name," said Flitwick's squeaky voice, "please sit on the stool!"
"Albany, Clara!"
She went up nervously and sat down on the stool and pulled the hat over her head.
"Hufflepuff!"
Smiling, she made her way towards the cheering Hufflepuff table.
"Bow, Mallory!"
"Ravenclaw!"
'Ebony, Felicia' and 'Flint, Quintus' were sorted into Slytherin, and 'Holmes, Kila' was sorted into Ravenclaw. Then, after 'Jared, Karmen' was sorted into Slytherin as well, 'Lourdsson, Hazel' was the first to be sorted into Gryffindor.
The Gryffindor table erupted in applause and piercing whistles. Hazel looked nervous, and seemed quite relieved her sorting was over.
'Macmillan, Darrell' was sorted into Hufflepuff. Next was Scorpius.
The room went silent. Everyone was anticipating what would happen next. The Malfoys were known for being old Death Eaters.
Albus remembered what his Uncle Ron had once told him. "The hat wasn't even on his head yet, and it shouted out, 'Slytherin!' Tells you a lot, huh, doesn't it? Never trust a Malfoy. They're greasy, blonde-"
At that point, Aunt Hermione had slapped him across the face, and scolded him for over-generalizing things and installing a fierce hatred in the kids for the Malfoys before even meeting any personally.
It didn't matter what Aunt Hermione said after being exposed to the story. During that moment, Al was so sure that Scorpius would end up in Slytherin with no reluctance from the Hat.
He was surprised. It could've been a full minute for the hat to finally decide to put him in Slytherin.
The Slytherin table applauded, but Scorpius himself looked a little crestfallen. Al wondered what in that Malfoy had made the Hat hesitate.
"Potter, Albus!"
Buzz and excitement went through the room.
"He'll probably be in Gryffindor," said a bored voice from the Ravenclaw table.
"Blimely, looks just like his father!" a ghost whispered.
Albus felt like his brother had just cast the jellylegs jinx on him. His knees felt wobbly and while taking a seat and pulling on the hat, his hands were slightly shaking.
"Hmmm…I can already see you're much like your father," the hat said inside his head. "However, unlike him, you wouldn't be good for Slytherin. You're not ambitious at all! Ravenclaw could work, but you're much braver than you are smart. GRYFFINDOR!"
Albus grinned like a madman. The hat had said he wasn't even close to being in Slytherin! With a spring in his step, he made his way toward the cheering Gryffindor table.
Many Weasleys clapped him on the back. His back started aching, but he easily ignored the pain. Then he got another clap from James.
"Well done, brother!" he smiled. He ruffled his hair. "I guess you're not so hopeless after all."
Al rolled his eyes playfully. "Oh, shut up, you git."
Alice congratulated him while 'Thomas, Ignatius' was being sorted into Gryffindor. The Gryffindors started roaring again with pride once more.
Many others were sorted, but time flew by. Albus did not care much for people he didn't know. The only moment Albus started paying attention was the person before Rose. After Watson, Marianne was sorted into Ravenclaw, it was Rose's turn. She didn't look nervous at all. Calmly, she put the hat over her head.
"Another Weasley! I know just where to put you, you redhead... GRYFFINDOR!"
Rose strode toward the roused-up table and slipped into the unoccupied seat next to Albus.
"Same house," Albus smiled cockily. "Gimme five."
She slapped his hand a little too hard, but like he cared, right?
A boy named Xavier Wood, whom Albus had once met before, also ended up in Gryffindor.
Last was Geranium. She was sorted into Slytherin. "Surprise, surprise," said Rose tonelessly. "Who knew?"
"I did," said Al with mock pride. Moving on to a more serious tone, he said, "The Hat said I wasn't even close to being in Slytherin. He even considered Ravenclaw, but then said I was braver than I was smart."
Rose's mouth hung open. "Albus, that's great! So, in other words, you didn't have to worry months on end abou—"
"Save it, Rosie," he said.
She grinned. "You just don't want me to ruin your fun."
He looked at her. "Exactly."
"Welcome, everyone!" Headmistress McGonagall said. "I would like to remind all first years that the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds for everyone—"
Al saw James give Fred and Alice a knowing look. They grinned.
"-and that Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes products are still currently not allowed to be used at Hogwarts."
Students from all around the Great Hall snickered. Nobody bothered following that rule.
"With that, I'd like everyone to enjoy the feast!"
She waved her hand and food appeared at the table. Xavier Wood particularly looked delighted.
There was roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops, lamb chops, mashed potatoes, sausage, bacon, steak, chips, Yorkshire pudding, carrots and peas, as well as peppermint humbugs.
Al helped himself to some roast beef, sausage, and Yorkshire pudding. He looked over and noticed his brother had a whole pile of peppermint humbugs and only one piece of bacon.
Everyone chatted happily. Well, almost everyone. The new first year Slytherins were trying to get Scorpius involved in a conversation, but he did not look quite eager to.
Albus talked to Ignatius. Apparently, his father and Al's father had been in the same house and year. Ignatius was also a major Quidditch fan.
"I like playing, but I'm not really that good," Ignatius admitted. "But I play football really well."
"What's football?" Al asked.
Ignatius looked dumbfounded. "Well, there's two goals, and you try kicking the ball into another team's goal. It's a Muggle sport."
"Oh! I remember my dad telling me about that!" Al cried triumphantly. "My dad was raised by Muggles, so he knows all about that kind of stuff."
"Great. Nice talking to you!" Ignatius decided to converse with Louis, and Al turned to Rose.
"Like the food?"
"Yeah, it's great!" she swallowed her food real quick to prevent speaking with spraying bits of potato.
"Better than my mum's cooking," Xavier Wood put in.
They laughed. After nearly everyone was finished, dessert magically appeared. Quite literally, magically.
There was treacle tart, pumpkin tart, an assortment of ice cream, chocolate eclairs, apple pies, jam doughnuts, almond chocolate fudge, and bread pudding.
Albus decided to go with the treacle tart and a few pieces of fudge. The fudge was a little too sweet after eating more than one, so he washed down the taste by drinking water. Then, he decided that he couldn't resist the apple pie, so he took a piece of that as well.
After the Feast was over, he heard a voice calling, "First year Gryffindors! Follow me, please! Keep up, now!"
Albus and Rose linked arms, so they wouldn't lose each other in the crowd of students rushing out of the Great Hall.
Albus and Rose followed the Gryffindor prefects up the stairs. "Be careful!" one of them called. "The stairs have a habit of changing positions!"
Albus and Rose looked each other in the eye and decided that it was best that they hurry before the stairs decided to change. The Gryffindors stopped in front of a great door. "This must be the Fat Lady's portrait!" whispered Rose ecstatically.
"Password?" she inquired the prefects.
"Dragon gas," one replied to her. A couple of students snickered.
"Correct, dragon gas!" the Fat Lady beamed. "Come along, now!"
The students were forced to file into two lines by the prefects. Each line alternated the students climbing into the portraits.
After climbing through, Al found himself surrounded by many students inside one, cozy room with a fire crackling merrily in the fireplace. Students were greeting one another, asking each other how their holidays were, and the general niceties.
Even if being in the Common Room for only fifteen seconds, Al was sure that this place would hardly need getting used to, as he felt warm and welcome here. Not long after, Rose climbed in. She stood there, awestruck, looking around the room.
"Blimey, there you are!" Alice came rushing over. She looked very happy. "How do you like Gryffindor Common Room?"
"It's amazing!" exclaimed Rose. "These tapestries on the wall, how old do you reckon they are?" Rose's pointer finger was pointing towards a woven tapestry with a medieval looking knight brandishing a lance.
Alice bit her lip. "Gosh, darn, Rosie, I dunno. Nobody really pays attention to the tapestries."
"No need to be alarmed, Ally, Rosie here is just a bit geeky!" James came striding over. He ruffled Rose's bushy auburn hair. Rose smiled affectionately, but she was also quite annoyed.
"Stopped fighting, have you?" Alice's voice was colder now that James butted in.
"Whacha mean?" James asked her, cocking an eyebrow.
"Did you stop fighting with Al?"
"Al doesn't take it personally, right?" James grinned, and Al returned it. He remembered what his father had said about not letting James get to him. "He knows I'm a git to everyone."
"Got that right," Alice breathed, but James didn't seem to have heard.
"Sorry if I offended your boyfriend," James said coolly to Alice.
"Just because I'm not an arse to him doesn't mean he's my boyfriend, you prat! Al's like a brother to me, and you should start acting like you really are his brother, because right now you seem like a pretty poor one to me!" raged Alice.
James stopped grinning abruptly. "Sorry," he said quietly.
"Bloody right about that, huh?" Alice said. "Why have I never seen you act like that before?"
James was silent and did not speak, but shot his brother a glance. Al felt sorry for him.
"Ally, it's okay," Albus said calmly. "It's better if you two just learn to accept it and move on."
Alice bit her lip again. "Okay," she whispered.
"Go on," Rose said, and Albus noticed she looked as if she were rather enjoying herself. "Give each other a hug and make up or something."
James and Alice were alarmed. "What?"
"Well, you're best friends," Rose ventured.
Hesitantly, James gave Alice a one-armed hug. Then he went up into the boys' dormitory.
Alice seemed shocked for a moment, then smiled at Al and Rose. "Goodnight, guys. See you tomorrow," and she went up to the girls' dormitory.
The prefects instructed some confused first years where their dorms were, and informed them that their luggage, suitcases, and pets had already been taken upstairs to the bedrooms.
Al gave Rose a hug. "Goodnight, sleep tight," he said.
"Don't let the wrackspurts bite," she said automatically.
They giggled. Then, Al watched his cousin go up to the dormitory.
Al went up into his own dorm. He saw his roommates: Ignatius and Xavier.
"How're you?" he addressed them.
"A bit full," admitted Ignatius. "Too much treacle tart."
Albus nodded his head with understanding. "The treacle tart's bloody amazing," he said.
"I'm okay," said Xavier, "but I am having a Quidditch withdrawal."
"Meaning...?" asked Ignatius.
"I'm kind of addicted to Quidditch," said Xavier. "My mum and dad both played for Gryffindor when they were at Hogwarts, and my dad used to play for Puddlemere United. Dad's a Keeper, Mum's a Chaser."
"You?" Al asked him.
"Me? Bit of both, but Chaser is easier for me."
Al nodded. "I like being Chaser or Seeker. But Seeker seems to have been taken by James on the Quidditch team."
Because they had already known each other, Xavier and Albus easily talked about Quidditch until they felt very sleepy. Ignatius eventually fell asleep because he was so full.
"'Night, Al!" called Xavier.
"Goodnight, X," Albus called back. Al turned off the lights and climbed into bed. He laid there, thinking about today and tomorrow.
How could he have ever worried about being in Slytherin? The Sorting Hat said he wasn't even close. That was good. And the warm feeling when he was in the Common Room made him feel like Gryffindor was the only possible house he could've belonged to.
Then he remembered what his father said about his second year when he pulled Godric Gryffindor's sword out of the Sorting Hat. "Only a true Gryffindor could've pulled that out of that hat," his father quoted Albus's name sake.
Albus's last thoughts before falling asleep were trained on the Sword. Could he pull it out of the hat... ?