A/N: Well thank you to my one and only reviewer, Silver Tears 11. C'mon, I know there are more of you reading this.
Muggleborn
Rice Parker was quite possibly the first Muggleborn (or at least the first to admit to being one) ever sorted into Slytherin. Of course, he didn't know this as he sat down opposite a pale blonde boy at the Slytherin table.
The boy didn't look at him; he was staring intently in the other direction, watching the Sorting. Rice realized their table was clapping again; a girl with long blonde hair was sitting down at the far end, looking perfectly delighted to be there.
"Potter, Albus."
Whispers shot across the Great Hall as a skinny boy with messy black hair made his way up to the stool shakily.
"Harry Potter's son, that's right..."
"James Potter's little brother..."
"Shoo-in Gryffindor."
"Bet he's just as obnoxious as the other one."
Rice listened curiously to the people around him. From the Slytherin table were mostly negative remarks, hinting at this Albus Potter's being obnoxious, conceited and big-headed like his brother James, who was apparently a Gryffindor, or to his being an attention-seeking busybody like his father. To Rice, who had never heard of Harry Potter, it might as well have all been Greek.
Albus Potter sat up there a long time. Nearly two full minutes had already passed, which was a lot longer than it had been for Rice. The Hat had only talked to him for about ten seconds before sending him to Slytherin.
The tear near the brim of the Hat opened, and a hush fell over the Great Hall in anticipation. Rice craned his neck to see half of Gryffindor already halfway to their feet.
"SLYTHERIN!"
The silence was so profound that Rice swore he could hear his own heartbeat.
Albus Potter stood, a hard look in his eyes. He handed the Hat back to Professor Wickham and marched toward the Slytherin table, his head held high. He was halfway there before someone a ways down the table lifted his hands and began to clap hesitantly.
The smattering of applause died out quickly as Wickham straightened out his scroll again and cleared his throat.
"Rames, Haylee." The Sorting continued.
People stared at Albus Potter where he sat next to the pale blonde boy across from Rice. Albus ignored them all, focused entirely on the Sorting, but Rice could see the hard set of his jaw and could just tell the boy was angry. But was he angry for being put in Slytherin or because of the whispers and stares he was receiving?
As the end of the Sorting neared, Rice began to lose interest. He was hungry and tired of watching other kids sit on the stool with a big hat on their heads. His stomach growled. How much longer?
There were four left, including the girl currently sitting on the stool. She went to Hufflepuff. "Watershed, Sienna" joined the Slytherins.
"Weasley, Rose" was a girl with a lot of curly red hair who looked very excited as she clamored up to sit on the stool. She had a huge grin on her face as Wickham lowered the Hat on her head. It barely touched her.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Albus Potter clapped quietly, smiling for her.
"Zeke, Jessamine" was the last, also going to Slytherin. Rice heaved a sigh of relief. They had to be eating soon, right?
A severe-looking woman stood up from the center chair at the teachers' table, and the Great Hall fell silent again.
"Welcome," she said, the slightest of smiles turning up the corners of her mouth. "I won't keep you very long because I know you are all eager to get to your feast. I would just like to remind you all to please remain seated at the end of the feast for a few announcements. Now, let a new year begin," she said, spreading her hands. Rice's eyes nearly popped out of his head when piles and piles of food appeared on the table in front of him.
He no longer wondered why the Potter boy was attracting so much attention. He no longer cared that the blonde boy across the table from him was acting as though the entire table were invisible, speaking to no one. He no longer noticed anything but the heaping platters of food.
Ten minutes passed before he even paused to take a deep breath.
"This is amazing," he said in awe. Both Albus Potter and the blonde boy glanced at him to see if he was talking to them. Neither replied to his statement.
"I don't remember the last time I had so much food," he continued. "It's so good." He paused to stuff his face for another couple minutes before swallowing and saying, "I still can't believe this is all real." He stared upward at the enchanted ceiling and floating candles and shook his head.
When he looked back down, both Albus and the blonde boy were staring at him oddly. He felt the need to explain.
"My parents aren't magical. Neither of them. When the man from the Ministry of Magic came to talk to us about my letter, my mum fainted and my dad nearly punched him," he said, chuckling at the memory. "My older brother is so jealous," he added with a grin.
"You're Muggle-born?" the blonde boy asked at last, looking so baffled that Rice actually lowered his fork. He nodded uncertainly.
"Beat me with a broomstick," the boy muttered, more to himself than anything. Then he gave a short, humorless laugh. "My dad will laugh himself silly."
Rice didn't know whether or not to feel insulted. He looked at Albus's face to see if the other boy's expression held any indication, but he was simply looking thoughtfully at one of the hangings on the wall depicting the Slytherin serpent. After a moment he met Rice's gaze again, shrugged, and went back to his food. Rice decided it would be wisest to do the same.
From down the table where a few older students sat, bits of conversations were drifting toward the three boys.
"Can't believe Potter's in Slytherin."
"His father will probably disown him."
"His entire family is going to disown him. They've all been in Gryffindor."
"I thought that one Weasley was a Ravenclaw. Diane or whatever her name is."
"Dominique? Yeah I guess she is. But she's not much of a Weasley anyway. She has blonde hair."
One of them snorted.
Rice watched Albus curiously to see his reaction to all this; he didn't really know who the Weasleys were or why it was such a big deal that Albus Potter was a Slytherin, but he could tell the talk was bothering the black-haired boy. His grip on his fork was very tight and he had an uncomfortable expression on his face.
"Poor Potter. Disinherited at age eleven."
"I bet his father won't even let him in the house after this."
"Forget what his family thinks, what about us? We have to deal with a Potter now. One was bad enough, but now there's two, and one of them has to live in our dormitory, share our common room, eat at the same table as us."
Rice was sure Albus was about to whip out his wand and hex them all to kingdom come. His jaw had that angry set to it again. Even Scorpius, whose face had been impassive up till now, started to look a bit wary when he glanced at the other boy's face.
"It's a disgrace."
"It's disgusting."
"It's just annoying."
Rice shot a look down at the older students. There were five of them, fourth or fifth years by the looks of them, and they all had looks of contempt on their faces. One of them curled his lip as he waved his fork around as though to illustrate his point.
"It gives a bad name to Slytherins. I mean I don't mind the half-bloods, and I can even deal with a couple Muggleborns, but a Potter? It's just not right."
"Do you think we can give him back?" They all sniggered.
"Maybe if we pay McGonagall enough..."
"Shut up." The words were out of Rice's mouth before he was fully aware of saying them. As soon as he'd said the , he wished he could take them back. The five older kids turned to look at him incredulously.
"What did you just say?" one asked, looking too shocked to be angry.
Rice's heart sped, and he swallowed hard. He glanced at Albus, who was watching him with interest, then looked back at the others. "I said," he started, his voice wavering. He cleared his throat slightly, then tried again. "I said, shut up."
They all burst out laughing. Rice felt his face heat up, but continued to glare at them. One them calmed down enough to ask, "What're you gonna do about it?"
"Nothing," Rice muttered. "It just isn't nice."
They were positively howling now. "Oh, did you hear that, Gage? It isn't nice."
"Do me a favor kid," another one said, chuckling slightly. Then very suddenly his face was deathly serious. "Mind your own damn business." The snarl held a very obvious threat. Rice stared at him with wide eyes.
A second later they were all laughing hysterically again and had turned back to their suppers.
"That was really stupid."
Rice turned to see Albus Potter staring at him. He noticed for the first time that the other boy had very green eyes. However, those green eyes were currently glaring at him. He squirmed uncomfortably.
"Why was it stupid?" Rice asked, feeling rather stupid as he did so.
"Because those blokes are twice your size, and there are five of them."
"And they're about half as intelligent," Rice retorted, though he kept his voice down just in case they were still listening.
Albus stared at him a long moment before a smile flickered across his face.
"I'm Albus," he said at long last, holding his hand across the table. Rice shook it, very confused at all that had just happened, but feeling it was turning out all right.
"Rice Parker," he replied with a smile.
"So you're Muggleborn, huh?" Albus asked curiously. His previously dour expression was suddenly full of light, making him look much more approachable.
-o-
As the students of Hogwarts were growing sleepy and sluggish from the vast amounts of food they'd just consumed, the headmistress - Rice had learned from Albus that her name was Professor McGonagall - stood again, and the murmurs of conversation died away.
"A few reminders before you all head off to your dormitories. Your caretaker Mr. Almaeus would like me to remind you all that Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes products are not permitted in the halls or common areas at any time. Also, the forest is forbidden to all students, and swimming the lake, while not prohibited, is not recommended except in the shallowest of areas. A reminder that first years are not allowed their own brooms and if one is found, the broomstick in question will be confiscated until the end of term.
"My brother tried to smuggle his broom in last year," Albus commented softly, rolling his eyes. "My dad was so mad when he got the letter from McGonagall. He wouldn't let James play all of Christmas break."
Rice wondered what he'd been forbidden from playing, but the headmistress was still speaking.
"Lastly, only students in third year and above are permitted to leave school grounds for Hogsmeade trips. Some of our younger students would do well to remember that," McGonagall said, her gaze fixed on a point halfway up the Gryffindor table. Rice followed her line of sight and saw four very smug-looking boys smirking at one another.
"He also tried to sneak into Hogsmeade. Twice," Albus whispered. "He's kind of an idiot," he added, laughing slightly.
Rice had no idea what Hogsmeade was.
"First years, your prefects will lead you to your dormitories. Schedules will be handed out Monday morning at breakfast. Enjoy your weekend and try not to get into too much mischief," she finished, a strange smile on her face.
"Just our luck, September first being on a Friday," Rice overheard a Ravenclaw complain. "I want to start classes right away."
Rice, however, was quite looking forward to having the next two days to explore the towering castle. He wondered if he could convince any of his new dorm-mates to go with him. Maybe Albus would.
A/N: I looked it up: September 1, 2017 is indeed a a Friday. So, I hope you're starting to like Rice as much as I do. He's quite an enjoyable character. I'll probably spring for Scorpius next, then we might visit James and his friends again. The next few chapters will probably all be from James and Albus's early years at Hogwarts because my head is currently full of scenes from that time. Please review. Thank you for reading.
-Megan