Chapter Two: The First Day

He'd seen James in the Great Hall the next morning and had introduced him to Scorpius. James had just frowned down at them and stalked off to sit beside Braeden Finnigan at the Gryffindor table. Scorpius had looked at Al curiously but his friend had just shrugged at him.

"He wanted me to be in Gryffindor, or at least Ravenclaw like Molly and Rose. He'll get over it eventually."

"Will the rest of your family be upset?" Scorpius asked.

Al thought for a moment, imagining the reactions when the others found out, "I expect Uncle Ron will be furious and I can't say George will be too thrilled. Rose obviously isn't happy about it but I'm sure the others will be fine. They've always said they'll accept me no matter what house I'm sorted into – I think they've always know I wouldn't be in Gryffindor." He laughed quietly, "Lily – my little sister - is going to be thrilled – now she's got family in every house."

Scorpius frowned at him, "You don't have family in Hufflepuff." He pointed out.

"We have Alice and Luna Longbottom and they may as well be family."

His blond friend chuckled and shook his head, piling sausages and egg onto his plate. Al doubted Scorpius would ever understand his family and the bond they shared, even with other people. He was an only child after all, and still a Malfoy, despite the difference between him and the rest of his family.

Albus jumped as Rose seated herself beside him at the Slytherin table. One of the second year Slytherin girls glowered at her.

"Oi, Weasley. Thought Ravenclaws were smart; this is the Slytherin table – bugger off."

Rose sneered at her, "It's not against the rules to sit at another table and I'm having breakfast with my cousin."

Albus grinned, knowing this was Rose's way of apologising, "It's okay Rose, you can go and have breakfast with the Ravenclaws."

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" She asked, not sounding very offended as she loaded her plate with food (she had inherited her father's appetite, it seemed), "We promised we'd stick together." She reminded him, "And that is what we will do. I'll just have to put up with your …" She glanced at Scorpius, wrinkling her nose, "Unsavoury friend choices."

Out of the corner of his eye, Albus saw Scorpius scowl down at his plate, ignoring the red-haired girl sitting just two seats down. Overnight, they both seemed to have reverted back to the prejudices of their fathers and neither said a word to the other.

"Thanks Rose." Al said quietly, giving her a brief one-armed hug before he began eating.

They had Charms first that morning, with the Ravenclaws. Neither Scorpius nor Rose looked too happy about this.

"Charms, in my opinion, is one of the most important lessons Hogwarts can teach you. Over the next seven years you will learn many charms from the simple household spells, like Wingardium Leviosa, to the more complex Aguimenti-"

"Merlin." Scorpius muttered to Albus, "When is he going to retire?" He whined.

Rose, who had been forced to sit on the other side of the blond, frowned disapprovingly at him, "That's not very nice, you know; he's a very good teacher."

Scorpius snorted, "I'm a Slytherin; we're not known for being 'nice'"

Rose glared at him and turned back to Flitwick, who was just announcing that they would be learning how to preform Wingardium Leviosa.

After repeating the charm numerous times, Rose smirked at Scorpius and cast the charm on the feather in front of her. It twitched slightly, one end lifting minutely off of the table before it fell back down again. She frowned, ignoring Scorpius's snort of laughter and tried again.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" She said clearly, pointing her wand at the feather. Once again, it moved slightly but didn't leave the table.

Albus sniggered at his cousin, "You're saying it wrong." He told her quietly, "It's Leviosa. Not Leviosar."

Rose scowled at him, "What would you know?" She muttered, annoyed at both herself and the two boys.

Al rolled his eyes and turned his gaze to the white feather on his desk. Calmly and determinedly, he said, "Wingardium Leviosa." He flicked his wand in an upwards motion and, to his cousin's surprise, the feather rose with it, drifting back down after a couple of seconds.

"Very good, Mr Potter." Flitwick called across the room, "You need to work on your control though; try to keep it in the air longer."

Albus nodded, not really listening, and smirked at Rose, "Not much of a Ravenclaw, are you?"

xXx

Rose wasn't in their next class which was just as well, as she would have outdone them every time. Quidditch was always going to be Rose's best subject. The Weasley had been born to be a Quidditch star, and was better even than Albus, who had been taught by the 'youngest Quidditch player in a century', as Quidditch professionals still insisted on calling him.

Perhaps Rose had inherited her skills from her father; perhaps she had picked it up from all of those Quidditch books she's read growing up. All Albus knew was that she'd beaten him in Quidditch every summer since they were old enough to play.

Professor Wood grinned at them as they filed out onto the grounds, where their brooms lay in two rows on the ground, waiting for them. Madam Hooch had retired the year before James had started at Hogwarts, and Oliver Wood had been teaching ever since. Rumour was he had been kicked off of the Quidditch team he'd been playing for but no-one knew why; he was a brilliant player and a brilliant teacher too, when he stopped thinking about Quidditch long enough to remember that first years weren't allowed to play.

"Come on now!" He called to a few stragglers at the back of the group, "We haven't got all day." He paused and waited until they had all crowded round him before he continued speaking, "For your first lesson we'll be learning how to control your brooms. Now, choose a broomstick and move to stand on the left side of it." Again he paused, waiting for them to do as he'd instructed, "Good. Now, stick your right hand out above your broom and say firmly, 'Up!'."

Scorpius frowned. Of course, he'd been on a broom before. On his eight birthday – that had been the first and (he vowed) the last time he'd go anywhere near a broom. Next to him, Albus shouted his command and the broom flew up into his grip. Scorpius sighed. It figured that Al would be a natural on a broom, his father being who he was.

"Up!" He commanded, scowling when the broom only writhed on the damp grass for a moment before falling still, "Up!" He said again. Nothing.

Beside him, Al chuckled, "Say it like you mean it, Scorp. Don't be afraid; it's not like it's going to hit you in the face or anything."

Across from him, a small Gryffindor girl with brown pigtails and large brown eyes, named Tara, yelped in surprise as her broom swung up off of the grass and whacked her on the nose, before flopping back down at her feet. Scorpius looked at Albus accusingly for a short moment before he lowered his eyes to glare at the broom lying at his feet, "Up!" He said again, surprised when it did as he said and flew into his hand. He flinched slightly as it made contact but managed to keep a hold on it as it struggled in his hand.

Al grinned at him, "Told you."

"Know it all." Scorpius muttered, kicking his friend lightly in the shin.

"Pure-blood." Al teased, kicking him back.

Oliver - Professor Wood – glanced at them, shook his head and carried on with his explanation of broomstick safety with two muggle-borns who seemed to be very nervous at the thought of leaving the ground.

A good fifteen minutes later, when everyone had managed to gain control of their broomsticks, Professor Wood began his explanation of the actual flying.

Scorpius looked very worried as he mounted his broom, while Albus half stood/ half sat confidently as he waited for their next instruction. In all honestly, he found it quite boring. Having been taught flying at an early age, he questioned the need for him to take the class. Still, it was hilarious to watch Scorpius as he lifted off.

The boy's expression was a mixture of fear, pride and wonder at having been able to take off. Albus smiled at him as they hovered mere inches off of the ground. The blond still looked nervous, but grinned back all the same.

"I hate flying." Scorpius told him later, when his feet were once again planted firmly on the ground, "Father bought me a toy broom for my second birthday but – apparently – I took a tumble head-first into a pot of my mother's Fire Flower. I wouldn't go on it after that – kept bawling whenever I saw the damn thing. The last time I was on a broom was three years ago when my cousin roped me into a Quidditch game with a couple of his 'friends'. Or, as I like to call them, evil minions."

xXx

Rose had caught up with them at break and had even spoken to Scorpius civilly for all of two minutes before they were back to glaring at each other when they thought the other wasn't looking. It annoyed Albus no end but he supposed he'd have to put up with it. Rose was his cousin and they were close, but Albus really liked Scorpius; he'd never had a best friend outside of his family – with such a large family there was no need, really – and he and Scorpius were quickly becoming close; closer, almost, than he and Rose.

"What's Dad going to say when he finds out his favourite nephew has been sorted into Slytherin?" Rose asked her cousin, eyes closed as she leaned against a large oak tree a short distance from the castle, soaking up the sun's rays, "You know what he's like."

Albus looked up at her from where his head lay on her lap, "James is his favourite. But he's going to go mad when he finds out, isn't he?" He paused, readjusting his legs so his feet weren't digging into Scorpius's thigh, "It's stupid; Slytherin is no different from any other house. We've just got a bad reputation."

Rose raised an eyebrow, frowning down at him, "'We'?" She repeated, "You've been in Slytherin for less than 24 hours and you're already speaking as if you belong there."

Scorpius moved suddenly, dislodging Al's feet from his lap, "Maybe that's because he does belong there! The sorting hat doesn't sort you without good reason; Al is quite obviously a Slytherin."

"'Obviously'?" She scoffed, "Al doesn't have a Slytherin bone in him!"

"I am here, you know!" Albus muttered.

"He's a pure-blood, he's obviously ambitious and he didn't ask not to be in Slytherin. If you've read Hogwarts; A History then you'll know that the hat takes your opinions into account."

Rose scowled, standing up and letting Albus's head fall to the ground.

He groaned, rubbing his head as he sat up, "Where are you going?"

"Ravenclaw Tower. He questioned my Ravenclaw-ness; of course I've read Hogwarts; A History! Besides," She sneered, glaring down at Scorpius, "I don't associate with Slytherins."

And with that, she grabbed her book-bag and stormed off towards the castle, red hair swaying behind her as she walked. Albus sighed, leaning his head back against the tree.

Scorpius watched him nervously, "I'm sorry." He said quietly, "I didn't mean to make her leave; she just … really gets on my nerves."

Albus smiled kindly, though he didn't open his eyes, "It's fine, Rose gets on everyone's nerves. You'll get used to her eventually. The rest of my cousins are perfectly normal." He paused, "Well, almost."

Scorpius laughed, "Your family sounds amazing."

Al chuckled, "They are; there's never a dull moment in Weasley Village."

"Weasley Village?" Scorpius asked.

"Yeah. Over the years all the Weasleys have built houses around the Burrow – that's where our grandparents live – and it's turned into a little village so that's what we call it. We even have a little square where we have parties and stuff. We – us Potters – don't live there, though. Mum wanted to, but Dad won't leave Grimauld Place. He says it reminds him of family. I wouldn't mind it so much if he could get that portrait of Mrs Black of the wall; the wretched woman keeps screaming at me … well, she screams at everyone but I swear she hates me the most." He paused, eyeing Scorpius, "You'll have to come visit some time. I suppose she'll like you, what with your Black blood. Mind, she doesn't like Teddy much, but then, his mother was a blood-traitor and his father was a werewolf so … he doesn't class himself as a Black, anyway; goes mental when anyone brings it up."

"I'd love to meet Teddy. Grandmother talks about him and his parents a lot; she speaks most of his grandmother, though, her sister – Andromeda. She says she regrets the way she acted, mostly because it lost her her sister"

"Aunt Dromeda talks about her too. She'd love you." Albus added, grinning, "She's almost as bad as Grandma when it comes to kids – she loves us Weasleys and Potters 'cos there's so many of us. And you're related to her, so that'd be even better."

Scorpius snorted, "What is it with the women in your family?"

Al stuck his tongue out childishly, "You should come stay over Christmas and meet them all!"

His friend looked unsure, and frowned over at him, "I don't think our parents would like that idea very much; and nor would the rest of your family if Rose and your brother's reactions are anything to go by."

"Forget them!" Albus said, linking arms with his blond friend, "We're friends so they will just have to get used to it."

xXx

"Dear Mum, Dad, Lily and anyone else who happens to be there when this arrives,

Albus here. So, I got sorted into Slytherin. I don't know how you'll feel about that; I know you said it wouldn't matter but, you never know. It's actually not as bad as I thought it would be. The common room is amazing. Not at all how you described it! Everything's green and silver, and there's a silver fireplace with green flames and there's forest green armchairs and silk cushions and a huge black sofa that fits almost all of us boys on at once. Also, the windows and ceiling are charmed so you can see the lake – Louis swears he saw a mermaid swim past this morning but no-one believes him. They don't come that close to the shore usually, so they?

Yes, Louis was sorted into Slytherin too, but there was never any doubt about that, was there? Even Uncle Bill said he'd end up in Slytherin. At least that means I have one friend already. But he's gone off with this boy called Caden who's also in Slytherin in our year, so I've found myself a new friend. You probably won't like him much. At least, Mum won't. I know you – Dad, because I know you're reading this aloud to everyone – don't have anything against his family anymore. Or you say you don't. See, I'm best friends with Scorpius Malfoy. It's amazing how much we have in common. He's not very good at Quidditch but he's an amazing artist (like me – just kidding, Mum, calm down) and he's just brilliant. You'll love him Lily, truly you will. I don't know how else I can describe him, though. He's laughing at me now because I asked how I should describe him – the git. Sorry about that ink blot there, Scorp kicked me in the arm.

Rose is mad at me, but mostly she's angry with Scorpius. You should talk to Uncle Ron; she's so nervous about upsetting him that she can't even be within three metres of Scorpius without snapping at him. Though that might be partly because of their personalities. She's a Ravenclaw, you know. But of course, she would be, it is Rose after all.

The other boys in my dorm are okay. There are seven of us altogether: Me, Scorp, Louis, Hadrien, Caden, Alaric and Fabius. Hadrien's quite quiet – he hasn't spoken much to anyone except Fabius, who hasn't spoken to any of us at all (excluding Hadrien). They're both rather weird; I expect they're pure-bloods, just from the way they act. Alaric is a lot like James (just don't tell either of them I said that); he has his prejudices, mostly when it comes to other houses, but he's an alright person, I suppose. He's strange though – very … enthusiastic? Hyper might be a better word. I haven't spoken much to Caden. Actually, I get the feeling he doesn't like me very much. I have no idea why. Anyway, he's been spending all of his time with Louis and I've been hanging out with Scorpius.

Speaking of Scorpius, I was wondering if you would mind terribly if I invited him over during the Christmas hols. I'm sure everyone (okay, nearly everyone) would love to meet him. Obviously it's up to you and Mr and Mrs Malfoy but I really hope you'll agree.

One last thing before my hand falls off: don't worry Lily, I'm sending a package with another owl. I thought you might want a few souvenirs from Hogwarts. They're just a few things I found lying around, and some photos I got off Colleen Creevy. You know, Dennis Creevy's daughter. She says you knew her uncle, Dad. She's quite amazing; she knows all about cameras and different types of photo – muggle and wizard. Anyway, I hope you like them; the package should arrive in a short while. I'll have to try and get a school owl, since Caius is too small.

I'll write again in a week or so, hope everything's okay at home and everybody's well. Write back soon,

Albus Severus