Second Part
Once the Sorting had ended, Malfoy seemed eager to try to speak to Albus again. This time it was the Headmistress herself who came to Albus' rescue. Once Headmistress O'Faolain rose, the murmur in the Great Hall died down almost instantly. Malfoy leaned back in his chair again and Albus suppressed a grin.
"To the new faces, welcome to Hogwarts. We are all ecstatic to have you. To the old faces, welcome back, we are very pleased to have you with us for another year," O'Faolain added with a smile, "There are many things I must tell you, but let's save that until after dinner. Enjoy your meal!"
With that, she sat down and food appeared on the tables. Food hardly did it justice though, it was a genuine feast. As Albus lunged for a particularly large piece of beef he forgot his earlier concerns for a while. Even Slytherins were allowed to enjoy the famous opening feast.
"I cannot believe this," Romulus muttered as he speared a potato with his fork and studied it, "Where did this come from? Magic?"
"In a sense. The House Elves prepared it in the kitchen, but they use magic to send the food up here," Albus explained as he took a sip from his pumpkin juice, doing his best to ignore the snake decoration on the cup. He still remembered when aunt Hermione had given him Hogwarts: A History for his birthday, together with her self-written addendum on House Elves. He doubted there was any student, apart from Rose, who knew more about House Elves. He cast a look at the Gryffindor table, trying to locate his cousin. He just hoped she hadn't saved him a seat.
"House Elves?" Romulus asked as he wolfed down the potato, clearly deciding that, while magical, it definitely wasn't poisonous.
"They're magical creatures that get a kick out of serving wizards. A bit goofy, but really helpful and friendly," Sophie elaborated when she saw Albus was too busy chewing on his meat, "just don't ever make them feel they did something wrong. They'll try to punish themselves rather severely. Our House Elf once tried to run herself through with a dead swordfish."
"A dead swordfish? How?" Albus asked.
"Seriously, don't ask, you don't want to know" Sophie muttered, "All I can say is that for once it wasn't Ambroise's fault."
"Okay, fine, keep your secrets. I guess that's expected of us Slytherins," Romulus said cheerily, "Happy to be here as well?" he asked at his neighbour. Malfoy. Albus steeled himself for the inevitable blood purity rant that'd follow. By now Malfoy would no doubt have figured out Romulus was a Muggleborn.
"Oh yes, it's a bit of a family tradition to end up in Slytherin as a Malfoy, so I was quite relieved-" Malfoy started before an older student a bit further down the table cut him off.
"Already talking about your family? I could have known. Why don't you mention how rich you are, while you're at it? Or how it's not just being a Slytherin that's a tradition in your family, but also being a Death Eater," the older boy pressed as he gave Malfoy a downright hateful glare. Romulus arched an eyebrow and seemed to shuffle slightly further away from Malfoy.
"Now, that's uncalled for Fredricks! I doubt snapping at your housemates is acceptable in Slytherin," Sophie interjected with what Albus would almost describe as Gryffindor courage. She looked at Albus for support, who just shrugged. He wasn't going to get involved with this for a Malfoy.
"It's nothing, I should have expected this," Malfoy said with a hint of sadness in his voice.
"Actually, being terrible to your housemates is a fine Slytherin tradition, or at least it used to be back in his dad's day." Fredricks continued, "It's really nice of you two to stand up for someone you don't know that well, but don't bother with this one. He's not worth it. If you don't believe me, ask Potter. His family knows all about the Malfoys."
Malfoy seemed to deflate even more and started to push the food on his plate around. Albus on the other hand was absolutely stunned. Why was a Slytherin so hostile towards a Malfoy? Perhaps he had misjudged the house.
"Oh can it Fredricks," Sophie snapped, "he hasn't done anything wrong yet."
"He will," Fredricks muttered, "but if you don't believe me, just wait and see. It won't be long before he curses a Muggleborn because their blood is not pure. And then you'll have to decide if you want to be friends with a Death Eater, or the rest of your house."
And without further comment, Fredricks continued the conversation with the boy on the other side of him. His scowl was rapidly replaced by an amiable smile. Clearly he considered his work here done.
"Well I believe in actually giving people a chance," Sophie huffed, "so, tell me Scorpius, are you a blood purist?"
"No, no, not at all," Malfoy stammered, clearly he hadn't gotten used to Sophie's lack of tact yet, "But I doubt they'll believe that, so you're better off just avoiding me. Otherwise they might lump you in with me. Thanks for talking to me though. Also Potter, I'm aware of our family's history, but I have no intention to continue the vendetta. If you feel like cursing me though, go ahead. It'll probably help Slytherin's reputation, as well as yours," he concluded before rising and walking away from the table.
"Already got rid of Malfoy? Good job Potter!" a Slytherin jeered though a warning glare from the female Prefect shut him up.
Albus just shook his head in confusion. He wasn't sure what to think of Malfoy. He had grown up hearing plenty of stories about that particular family, but so far, their youngest scion didn't really match his expectations, nor did the Slytherins' reactions. Was this some sort of convoluted plot by the entire house to make Albus drop his guard? It could be; they were Slytherins after all. Then again, that would require Malfoy to be a really good actor. The kid had looked genuinely devastated.
"Well, guess not all rumours about Slytherins were wrong," Sophie muttered darkly, "It just seems they have a new object of prejudice. You better not think about actually cursing the poor kid Al."
"Unless he does turn out to be a pure-blood fanatic of course," Romulus added, "then feel free to go all out."
"I wouldn't even know any curses, though I guess that will change quickly enough now that I'm in Slytherin," Albus replied.
"I think you'd pick up on those quickly regardless of your house. I mean, with this amount of kids squeezed together in one castle, it's only a matter of time before you stumble across someone you dislike strongly enough. And then it just takes a couple of trips to the library and you're ready to go," Sophie said as she turned her attention to the appearing desserts.
"Like your twin?" Romulus pressed.
"What? Ambroise? No, what ever gave you the impression I disliked him Rom?" Sophie asked with wide eyes.
"Well, just about everything you said these last few hours," Romulus replied.
"Oh don't be so flippant. I love my brother. We just like to tease each other. A lot."
"Makes sense, it's the same with me and James. I just hope he doesn't hold my Sorting against me," Albus said as he reached for a slice of apple pie.
"I doubt it. He seemed quite vexed with the Hat but that's about it," Romulus reassured him.
The three of them continued to talk during dinner. In the meantime, Albus studied his housemates. Few of them seemed to be the typical brutes he'd heard so much about. In fact, now he saw them up close they hardly looked that different from the other kids in the hall. Occasionally he also cast looks at the Gryffindor table and while he still couldn't find Rose, he did lock eyes with James once. His brother tilted his head slightly and then winked before turning back to his conversation partner.
Once everyone had finished eating, the Headmistress rose. Quickly the chatter died down as her gaze swept across the Great Hall.
"Hello again. I hope everyone has had a pleasant meal. There are a few notices I should share with you, the newcomers in particular. As always, the Forbidden Forest is off-limits. I'd like to stress it is especially off-limits this year as a few Blast-Ended Skrewts seem to be roaming it," she said. Hagrid could be heard chuckling, albeit rather nervously.
"Our caretaker, Mr Weiss, would like me to encourage all of you to check out the list of forbidden items, as well as its thirty-seven annexes. Should you do so, please inform the rest of the staff if you've found anything important in there. Electronic devices are not prohibited, but as they do little more than explode here at Hogwarts, they are discouraged. Moreover, please refrain from using magic in the corridors and then we'll hopefully have fewer students in the infirmary this year. While we're on the topic of infirmary visit encouraging activities, Quidditch trials will take place in the third week rather than the second as the Pitch is still undergoing repairs after last years' final match."
Albus grinned at that; his brother had told him how after winning the Cup for the first time in eight years, all of Gryffindor house had stormed the pitch. During the celebration, several rings ended up either destroyed or transfigured into a Gryffindor ornament.
"Finally, I would like to present a new member of staff to all of you. Together with the board of governors, I decided that professor Binns should no longer be teaching History of Magic. His class will therefore from now on be taught by Professor Tanner," O'Faolain said with a nod towards a younger witch on the right side of the table.
Professor Tanner gave an enthusiastic wave at the students as they clapped, though Albus wasn't sure whether the applause was for her, or for Binns' departure.
"With that, I've reached the end of my announcements. Allow me to wish you a good night's sleep and I'll see you tomorrow," O'Faolain concluded.
The students immediately started to rise from their chairs and head towards the exit. Albus wondered where they'd got the energy from. After the feast, he felt so full he could hardly waggle, let alone rush, out of the hall.
"First years to me please!" the male Slytherin Prefect Shane shouted, "You don't want to get lost and end up in another house's dormitories. Trust me, ours is better. We're underneath the lake."
"I can't wait for a leak that will see us all drowned in our sleep," Sophie said as Albus and his friends carefully made their way towards Shane.
As they made their way down to the dungeons, Albus somehow ended up next to Malfoy, who had at least had the decency to reappear from wherever he had run off to. Albus managed to avoid a conversation by staring at the living paintings and ghosts they encountered on their way. In the background, Sophie was keeping up a running commentary for Romulus' benefit. It seemed she knew the history behind most, if not all, of the ghosts and paintings. Albus was starting to suspect she had read Hogwarts: A History as well.
After going down several stairs and taking so many turns Albus felt completely lost. The Prefect on the other hand seemed quite confident and continued to walk until they finally stopped before a stone wall.
"Okay everyone, prepare to see one of the coolest things ever," Shane declared, "Redemption!" he stated and immediately a stone door concealed in the wall slid open.
"This is so much better than a portrait swinging open. Welcome to your new home, the Slytherin Dungeons!" Shane said as made a flourish and gestured for them to enter.
Albus stumbled through the rectangular hole that had been revealed. He found himself in a long, low underground room. Greenish lamps were hanging on chains from the ceiling and a fire crackled in a large hearth under an elaborately carved mantelpiece. It depicted the Slytherin coat of arms, though the motto had been blasted off. Several tables were spread across the room, each of them accompanied by a few chairs. A large couch stood in front of the hearth. One wall was covered in names which upon closer inspection seemed to be those of the fallen ones during the war, at first sight Albus didn't spy any Death Eater names.
A lot of students were still present in the common room, including the blonde Prefect who had spoken to Albus before. Most of them were talking among themselves, but some stared at the newcomers, and specifically Albus, expectantly. Albus felt his skin crawl and resisted the urge to draw his wand. He wondered how many former Death Eaters kids still attended Hogwarts.
"Okay everyone, meet the new first years," Shane said as he climbed through the entrance and walked to the middle of the room, "they're going to be here for a long time, so do try to make them feel at home. If I find out you're treating them bad, there will be trouble. More specifically, I'll tell Claire," he said with a wave towards the blonde Prefect who had approached Shane in the meantime.
"Thank you for that Shane," she interrupted as a lot of the older kids laughed, "Welcome from my end as well. We'll show you to your dormitories in a second, but let's wait for professor Perrine first. As our head of house, he likes to give a welcoming address each year," she explained.
Albus resisted the urge to roll his eyes. No doubt the speech would be a lot of nonsense about how great Slytherin was and how they were the only true wizards here. Then again, James had always been very fond of Professor Perrine.
A/N: And here we are again. This time I'd like to thank livvylane for her kind review which spurred me to get this chapter out there.