(I do not own Harry Potter or the characters or anything.)

Thanks for reading and please keep the reviews coming. They really help inspire my writing, so they're much appreciated!

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Albus wasn't listening to the names being called. His stomach hurt so much he thought he might collapse. On top of that he was nautious like he'd never been before. It was horrible. He was certain his face was some awkward shade of green, so he kept his head bowed uncomfortably and his arms wrapped around his stomach in some failing attempt to ease its aches.

"Albus, you were just called!"

Albus looked up, startled. It seemed every person in the Hall was staring at him. Correction, every person was staring at him, it didn't just seem that way. In front of him, his redheaded friend Rose was staring at him in astonishment. She was the one that snapped him out of his day-nightmare of discomfort.

"Albus Potter!" Professor McGonagall called again, sternly glaring down at the boy.

Ebarrassed and beyond nervous, Albus slowly marched up the steps and took a seat on the wobbly stool that really needed to be replaced. Before he knew it, an enormous hat was placed on his small head, going down so low it covered his eyes, blocking his vision with a shield of foul-smelling cloth.

"Mmm, a Potter," the Sorting Hat whispered in Albus's ear, "Just as your father, you seem to have a bit of everything. Smart, I see. A definite desire to prove yourself to friends and family. How far would you go, I wonder, to achieve that goal?"

Albus practically shrieked when the Sorting Hat made that comment. He knew what the Hat was getting at; he was implying that Slytherin may be a good choice.

Upon the first year's reaction, the Sorting Hat chuckled softly saying, "Like father like son, I suppose. I wonder how you'd do in Ravenclaw, then…." The Sorting Hat's voice trailed off.

Albus hadn't even considered anything but Gryffindor or Slytherin, so hearing the Sorting Hat mention Ravenclaw totally threw him off. Ravenclaw? He thought to himself. Is that really the House for me? I don't think I'm smart enough for Ravenclaw…. Like the Sorting Hat's voice, Albus's thoughts trailed off until there was a brief period of silence in his head.

All silences must end, however, and the Sorting Hat finally said, "Or perhaps Gryffindor. Your father and brother have done fine in it, and you seem quite a bit like them…." Again the Hat's voice trailed off into nothing.

I am not like James, Albus thought, but I do want to be in Gryffindor. Please put me there! He hoped his thoughts would get through to the Sorting Hat and that the Hat would take them into consideration.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the Sorting Hat yelled for the entire Great Hall to hear.

Happily shocked, Albus stumbled down the steps to the House table like a drunk man, not much paying attention to anything that was happening. He faintly heard his brother laughing at his reaction and other first years joining the table.

Finally Professor McGonagall called for silence and announced to the entire Hall, "Now that we have all been Sorted, I would just like to remind you all that the Forrest on the outskirts of the grounds is strictly forbidden to all students. With that said, let the feast please begin!"

As soon as the last syllable of the Headmistress's speech had been uttered, food filled the House tables. There was so much of it that there seemed to be no room for anything else. There were all sorts of meats; chicken, ribs, pork, beef, steak, and lamb. There were potatoes, cooked every way possible; baked, mashed, and boiled. Corn and green beans lined the tables, carrots and mushrooms along with them. As if all that wasn't enough, there were also all sorts of berries including strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and cherries joined with grapes as well.

Albus's mouth was watering to the point of drooling as he loaded up his plate with a bit of everything, focusing mostly on the chicken and ribs. It tasted so delicious, it nearly melted Albus's tongue. He might have mistaken the feast for a meal in Heaven, had it not been for the obnoxious students surrounding him. When he was too full to stuff anymore food in him, Albus was surprised to see the food vanish and be instantly replaced with desserts of all sorts; puddings, cakes, ice creams, crepes, cupcakes, and even cookies of all shapes, sizes, and colors now adorned the tables.

Not being able to resist, Albus filled his plate once again, this time focusing his attention on the cake and pudding and filling himself to the point of explosion. It tasted so good, however, even better than the dinner food, that he did not mind much.

It was then that the sudden impulse to make comments about the food hit him, that Albus realized that someone seemed to be missing. Looking up and down the Gryffindor table, he couldn't locate Rose. At first he thought he just missed her, so he looked again. And again. And again. When he still couldn't find his friend, Albus looked about at the other tables and saw Rose chatting happily to some other first years at the Ravenclaw table.

Albus was instantly saddened. Rose had always been his best friend, and he couldn't believe that she'd been Sorted into a different House than him. It was very difficult for him to comprehend and hadn't fully sunken in yet.

Looking around, Albus realized he didn't really know anyone else at the table besides his brother, James. He suddenly cursed himself for not accepting the Sorting Hat's suggestion to put him in Ravenclaw. At least he'd have been with Rose that way. To face facts, Albus wasn't a social butterfly and he now feared that he would never make any friends.

It was as Albus was mulling over these less-than-cheerfull thoughts that he noticed someone on the far side of the room. He was fairly small, about Albus's size, and had a pale and fairly pointed face. His blonde hair was pretty long but shaggy. The boy was sitting in the corner of the table not talking to anyone or eating. He was incredibly thin, making Albus wonder if he ate properly.

The girl next to the boy, a second year, noticed Albus staring and told the boy. The pale boy looked up and glared at Albus. The girl, satisfied with the pale boy's reaction, smirked and glared a bit herself before returning to her dessert.

Albus wasn't sure why, but the reactions of the boy and girl bugged him. The boy looked very frail and incredibly lonely. Feeling quite lonely himself, Albus thought maybe they could be friends. Apparently not, though, with the way he had glared at him.

Not being able to clear his head of these thoughts, Albus quickly ran his eye over the rest of the table and realized with a jolt that it was the Slytherin table. He suddenly realized that he'd seen the boy before, on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. He had been with his mother and father, and Ron Weasley had told Rose to beat him in every test. That was the Malfoy's son, Scorpius.

The fact that Scorpius was in Slytherin at all should have turned off all friendly thoughts Albus was having, but he still felt bad for the boy sitting there all small and helpless looking. He continued to feel the urge to befriend the pale boy, regardless of his being in Slytherin and him being Albus's father's enemy's son.

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Please review! As you may be guessing by now, this story is probably (most likely) going to contain fluff at the very least between Albus and Scorpius. If you're not going to like that, I guess you should stop reading now. If you'll be okay with it, then continue on. Also, I'm going to try my best to not have their crushings on each other dominate the story. Reviews always help my writing process, so please send them in, especially since I'm kind of unsure what to have happen next. Thanks so much! -Bloodmuffins