"Mum! Dad!"

Albus had planned to greet his family in a composed and dignified manner befitting a Slytherin, but somehow that decision flies out of the window when he sees his parents and Lily through the crowd of people on the platform.

As he runs to hug his mother, Albus notes out of the corner of his eye Scorpius pausing slightly before approaching Draco and Astoria and disappearing from sight.

"What about me?" Lily asks. She's standing next to his father and wearing a small green hat, in what Albus assumes is a supporting gesture. "Didn't you miss me?"

"Not really," Albus tells her cheerfully, but at the expression on his dad's face quickly amends, "of course I did."

He hugs his dad and Lily, then pulls away to survey the area. He doesn't see Scorpius, which is too bad- he was looking forward to introducing him to the Potters. Or maybe not; Albus is still not sure how happy they are about his befriending a Malfoy.

Rose and her parents are nearby, but Hugo is nowhere to be seen due, according to Albus's parents recent letters, to a bout of dragonpox. Hermione and Ron wave at the Potter kids, and Albus looks away as Lily waves enthusiastically. He hopes that they'll leave soon so that he won't have to talk to Rose, who's been- well, he doesn't want to talk to Rose.

"Tell me everything!" Lily is practically squealing when Albus turns his attention back on her. "Is the food as good as Dad's? Are the ghosts scary? Is the Slytherin dungeon really under the lake? Can you see real mermaids?"

Albus rolls his eyes. "I'll tell you later," he says with no actual intention of doing so. Luckily, Lily's attention is diverted by the arrival of James, who is carrying both his and Albus's luggage and who seems to be suffering heavily for it.

The Potters make their way through the crowd and Albus tries not to notice the way people stare. Once outside, they pile into their car, which is vaguely disappointing because Albus much prefers the Floo. The sensation is dizzying in a better way than flying, for one, but mainly it means that there's a lower chance of their transport turning into a screaming row.

"Mum, it's not fair, I haven't got a wand, he's not allowed to hex me! Mum, tell him!"

"I wasn't goinig to do anything, Lily, you're such a crybaby!"

"He was, he was! He pointed his wand right at me and said spellwords, I heard him!"

Albus stays quiet. He's learned to tune out his family years ago- a necessity when you're half Weasley- and instead focuses on other things, such as the train ride here, which had been blissfully peaceful. Albus and Scorpius had sat with their dormmates, who had all been too high strung to make much conversation, and even Scorpius had at one point managed to keep his mouth shut for ten consecutive minutes.

Albus isn't the only nervous about his family's reaction to his new house, he knows; Russell Bagman is just as anxious about the holidays. Albus knows this although they hadn't discussed it, at least not in the way Albus is used to. Rather, there had been vague comments about Russell's father having been in Hufflepuff and unrestrained fidgeting as Christmas drew nearer. Scorpius had explained to Albus that this was the Slytherin equivalent of Russell coming out and saying that he thought that his father would disapprove of him and was terrified of the idea.

Slytherin confuses Albus to no end, if he's being honest, which he's not because he's in Slytherin. It's fun, though, in a way, and Albus is mostly glad to not be constantly submitted to blunt questioning the way it usually is around his family, none of whom seem to know the meaning of the word subtle.

They arrive sooner than Albus expected, and before he knows it they are pulling up the driveway of a plain brick house. Almost before Harry puts the car in park, Albus opens the door and makes a beeline for his room to unpack. So far, James hasn't said anything to him, about Slytherin or otherwise, but he knows its only a matter of time and he wants to be prepared.

Albus's bedroom seems smaller than when he left. He surveys the room where he's lived since he was two years old, which is decked out in various shades of red and Quidditch patterns, and decides that it's high time to redecorate.

The Color Changing Charm is out of the question, as it's OWL level stuff and Albus isn't technically supposed to use magic over break. Luckily, he has, with a surprisng amount of foresight, stripped his bedsheets at Hogwarts, and now, with no small struggle, he manages to transform his bed into a small island of green amidst a sea of red.

Next are the curtains. Scorpius promised to send over green ones as soon as he could, but for now Albus can do without. He rips them down, tossing them into a wad at the door that he can take care of later. The Quidditch posters he for the most part leaves, aside from a couple that Albus has never liked much anyway but never had a reason to throw out.

This accomplished, Albus turns to his walls, but as he is contemplating what to do about those, there is a rap on the door. Before Albus can decide whether or not to let whoever-it-is in, Ginny Potter, who apparently doesn't understand the whole point of knocking, enters.

"Need any help unpacking?" she asks. "Your dad says that dinner's almost-"

Ginny's eyes widen as she takes in Albus's bedroom. He has to admit to himself that it looks a bit awkward, what with the green-and-red color scheme, but he plans to fix that soon, and anyway it matches the rest of the decorations that have been put up around the house.

"Huh," she says. "Any particular reason for the sudden Christmas spirit?"

Albus's mum is not nearly as funny as she thinks she is.

Albus shrugs, unsure of how to explain it, or whether he even wants to. "Well," he says, looking at his bed, "not really." When she raises her eyebrows at him, Albus sighs and goes on. "Only, I know James will tease me, and you and Dad- well, you were both Gryffindors and all, and Scorpius said that people can't attack you for things you're proud of. He's going to send me curtains," he feels the need to add. "Green ones."

Ginny gives him her Mother Look, the one that says that she knows a lot more than what he's telling her.

"Let's go eat," she says, giving the room one last glance as she opens the door, "and then I'll help you repaint the walls."