Albus and the others from his compartment shuffled off of the train in the large mass of students. Feeling rather lost despite being with friends, Albus was very glad to hear a familiar voice drifting over the crowd.
"Firs' years, this way! First years, over here, don't be shy!"
Aries quickly hugged her nervous brother before she and Iris vanished into the crowd moving toward horseless carriages. Albus, Rose, and Scorpius joined a lot of young students toward the half-giant carrying a lantern who was calling out to the first years.
"Hagrid!" Rose shouted, waving enthusiastically. "Professor Hagrid!" The large man smiled and waved back to her before continuing to call out for the first years.
"You know that…that man?" Scorpius asked Rose.
Rose looked a bit surprised, seeing as Scorpius had said very little since they had met. "Yes, he's an old friend of my parents."
Scorpius' eyebrows rose, and he looked rather impressed with Rose personally knowing two Hogwarts professors.
The three got into a boat together, along with a boy who had hair that looked extremely wind-blown. He eagerly introduced himself to the three as Thomas Wood, and he was absolutely giddy when he heard Albus' last name. When he was introduced to Scorpius, however, he fell silent and kept looking suspiciously over at the blond the entire trip across the lake.
The first years went up the stairs and entered the castle, many looking around and murmuring in awe. A rather stern-looking, but lovely woman stood at the top of a flight of steps and in front of a pair of great oak doors. She waited for all the first years to enter the Entrance Hall before she spoke, and the whispering ceased as soon as she began.
"I am Professor Clearwater, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts."
Rose elbowed Albus. "That's Uncle Percy's girlfriend!" she hissed with a giggle.
"You will soon pass through these doors and into the Great Hall, where you will be sorted into your houses before sitting down for the feast." Professor Clearwater had clearly given this speech many times before. "There are four Hogwarts Houses: Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin." She said the last of these with slight distaste. "The people of your House will be like your family."
"Blimey, that's a big family!" a voice said jokingly from somewhere behind Albus. A few people laughed.
Professor Clearwater glared at the speaker a moment before saying, "Come along." The doors opened without anyone physically moving them. The large group of first years followed the teacher into the Great Hall. Albus looked up at the ceiling, except that it looked like the night sky. Banners emblazoned with a large "H" hung high above them and lit candles floated a few meters above them as well.
"Wow," he heard Rose say under her breath. Scorpius nodded silently in agreement.
Albus looked down the tables. He found James looking across a table and at Aries Malfoy, who did not appear to notice his glare as she scanned the first years, presumably searching for her brother. When she saw the trio she smiled and elbowed Iris, who followed Aries' gaze and nodded to them.
Albus looked at the teachers' table as he neared. At the center of the High Table, in a large chair that looked much like a throne, sat a middle-aged man with dark brown hair. The man, the Headmaster, was examining the incoming students with piercing black eyes. There was an empty seat to his right, probably Professor Clearwater's seat. Next to the empty chair sat a woman with rather red hair who was currently scribbling something quickly down with a quill. On the Headmaster's left sat Neville Longbottom. Neville was speaking with the woman next to him. The woman had reddish brown curls falling haphazardly about her shoulders, her bright green eyes twinkling as she smiled at something Professor Longbottom said.
Neville turned to look at the first years as they stopped before a stool that had an old, dirty hat on top of it. He smiled at Albus and Rose, who both grinned back. He whispered something to the woman, who looked at them and smiled. She then looked at Scorpius and nodded slightly. Scorpius smiled back and straightened up as though the woman's smile had given him the courage that he had previously been lacking.
"That's my mum," he said under his breath to Rose.
"She's beautiful!" Rose whispered back.
Albus had to agree with Rose. Professor Malfoy was very lovely. Her green eyes found Albus again before she turned back to Neville, who had said something quietly. Albus watched suspiciously as the two shook hands beneath the table.
The murmuring in the Great Hall faded, and Albus followed everyone's gaze to the Sorting Hat. Albus had heard about the hat before, and how it would sing a song at the beginning of each term at Hogwarts, but he was still surprised when a rip near the brim opened like a mouth and the hat began to sing.
"I know that I'm not pretty,
But don't judge by what you see.
I'll bet that you could never find
A hat with brains like me.
There's nothing in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see.
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And the only hat like me.
So put me on and I will tell
In which house you ought to be.
You may be in Gryffindor,
Where the brave and bold stay,
Or maybe in Ravenclaw,
Where the wisest find their kind;
Or possibly Hufflepuff,
Where the kind-hearted find their way,
Or perhaps you'll be in Slytherin,
Where the cunning lead the way.
Now put me on, I will not bite.
I will sort you into your houses
And then have a goodnight!"
The Great Hall burst into applause as Professor Clearwater unrolled a scroll. "When I call your name, you will sit on the stool, place the hat on your head, and be sorted." She looked at the scroll. "Alexander, Mary!"
A girl with hair in a dark brown plait moved cautiously forward, glancing around nervously as she stepped up to the stool. She picked up the Sorting Hat and sat on the stool. She looked at the hat uncertainly before placing it onto her head. After a few seconds, the hat shouted, "RAVENCLAW!" She jumped a little when the hat shouted, and then put the hat back on the stool as she ran to the table second from the left, where everyone seated was cheering.
Albus began to get lost in thought as "Carson, Theodore" was sorted into Slytherin. Albus glanced at Rose, and then at Scorpius. He did not turn to look behind him, but he thought of his brother as well as Aries and Iris. Although Albus had boarded the train fully intent on asking the hat to sort him into Gryffindor, he was having second thoughts. The two Slytherins he had met where not how he had imagined Slytherins to be at all. In fact, they were probably two of the nicest people Albus had ever met. And Professor Malfoy appeared very kind as well; she seemed to be a friend of Neville's, too. Maybe he should just let the Sorting Hat do its thing. He probably had nothing to worry about, he decided as "Finnigan, Michael" was put into Gryffindor. Albus would also probably be in Gryffindor, just like his parents and his brother.
"Macmillan, Erica!"
A blonde girl rushed forward eagerly and shoved the hat onto her head. "GRYFFINDOR!" The table on the left clapped and cheered as she went over to the table.
"Malfoy, Scorpius!"
Scorpius looked at Albus and Rose, biting his lip nervously. Rose gave him a sort of encouraging smile. Scorpius tried to return it, but only managed a sort of grimace as he made his way through the first years and up to the stool and the hat. The hat took much longer than it had thus far on the other students, making Scorpius grow even more nervous. Finally, the brim opened and shouted "SLYTHERIN!"
Scorpius sighed as he went over to the second table from the right, sitting next to his sister and looking at Albus and Rose, relief washing over his face. He then looked up to his mother at the teachers' table. She smiled at him and gave a small nod, showing her approval.
"Moon, Jemima!" was sorted into Hufflepuff before Professor Clearwater said, "Potter, Albus!" Finally, the moment had come. Rose smiled at him as he walked up to the stool. A few people whispered when they heard his name.
He placed the Sorting Hat on his head. "Ah, another Potter! Brave, of course, talented…" Albus' eyes practically rolled into his head as he looked up at the hat. "Hmm…you want to prove yourself…you want to show your worth…very caring…very, very difficult…" The hat stopped talking for a few moments, making Albus worried that perhaps he had not heard its decision, or that something was wrong. But then the Sorting Hat continued. "You're harder to place than your father…let's see…better be…SLYTHERIN!"
Albus' heart stopped. He was certain that he had heard wrong. But when he lifted the hat from his head, the table second from the right was cheering and clapping enthusiastically, the two Malfoys applauding the loudest. Rose looked a bit stunned, but the look on her face was nothing compared to the look James was giving him. He appeared stupefied and thoroughly appalled.
Professor Clearwater gently prodded Albus to get him to get off the stool. He went to the Slytherin table and sat next to Scorpius. He looked up at the High Table, where Malfoy smiled at Albus kindly. She then elbowed Neville, who looked at Albus and back to Malfoy. He reached into a pocket and Albus saw him place a few galleons into her hand under the table. Professor Malfoy smiled as she quietly glanced down at the money and placed it into her cloak.
Albus was brought out of his thoughts when he heard Clearwater say "Weasley, Rose." Albus watched his cousin walk up to the stool. After a few moments, the Sorting Hat shouted "GRYFFINDOR!" Albus' heart sank slightly as Rose went to the Gryffindor table. Rose smiled sadly at him as she sat down. He had not really expected her to be in Slytherin, too, but Rose was his closest friend, and he was sorry to see her sorted into a different house than him.
"Wood, Thomas!" The boy that had been in the boat with Albus, Rose, and Scorpius was the final student to be sorted. The hat had hardly touched his head when it shouted "GRYFFINDOR!"
After Thomas sat down next to Rose, Headmaster Darcy stood. "Welcome to this new year at Hogwarts." He made a vague motion to the tables. "Enjoy the feast."
"Short and not too sweet," Iris muttered somewhat bitterly.
Albus looked down at the table and gasped. The golden plates, which had been empty moments before, were now overflowing with delectable food. Chicken, roast beef, roast potatoes, bacon, pork chops, carrots, corn, peas…and what seemed to be every possible food one could think of was before him. Albus piled so much food on his plate, he began to feel like a pig.
Albus suddenly spit out his roast chicken in shock as a ghost appeared through the table, silver blood covering his robes. The ghost moved down the table, slashing around with his sword. Albus heard someone further down the table say, "Good evening, Bloody Baron!"
After everyone had eaten their fill, the leftovers vanished, leaving all the plates completely clean. The plates all suddenly filled once again with food, this time desserts: every flavor of ice cream possible, puddings, pies, chocolate éclairs, tarts, strawberries—there was no end to the treats.
Albus somehow managed to eat enough desserts for five people on top of his dinner. The desserts all eventually vanished, and Professor Darcy stood to speak again. "As always, the Forbidden Forest is off-limits, and no magic is to be used in the corridors. Any dabbling in the Dark Arts is also prohibited and will get you expelled." Albus' brow furrowed as Darcy focused on the Slytherin table. "Goodnight."
There was lots of bustle as all the students stood. "First years, this way!" Albus heard multiple older students calling. He spotted a boy with a gleaming prefect badge moving toward the Slytherin first years. Albus and Scorpius followed this prefect, who introduced himself briefly as Jason Zelig, down to the dungeons. They stopped at a blank stone wall. "The password is basilisk." A stone door hidden in the wall slid open. Jason led the group through the doors and into the Slytherin common room.
The common room was a very long room, deep underground. Albus could not see any light source except the touches along the walls and the fire that was crackling under an elaborately carved mantelpiece, yet dim, green light bathed the room. The furniture was mostly black leather couches and high-backed chairs. Many old tapestries decorated the rough stone walls. Jason pointed out the boys and girls dormitories before sending them off to bed.
All of his things were up in his room, along with his owl, Althea. After quickly saying hello to her, he changed out of his robes into his pajamas, as were the rest of the boys in the dormitory. At first he was eager to meet them all, but then found that he was too exhausted, as was everyone else. Scorpius fell asleep the moment he lay down, though he was not even under the sheets yet. The others also went to bed quickly, saying goodnight vaguely to anyone else who was awake. Albus lay down on the green sheets after pulling the dark emerald hangings around his bed. He fell asleep almost immediately, slipping into strange dreams with talking chocolate éclairs and scorpions and roses all inside a giant hat.
