AN: This chapter received a medium sized revision a few days before I posted the third chapter, so you might want to read or skim it again.

Some of this chapter was taken from the epilogue of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling. I melded what she wrote in there with what I wanted to happen in mine. Hopefully it isn't noticeable. Thanks for reading.

Albus was woken suddenly by a hand shaking his shoulder. He rubbed his eyes as they were exposed to the morning twilight, then tossed the covers off in one quick motion. After throwing shorts and pants on, he joined his family downstairs in front of the fireplace.

"Ready, Albus?" his dad asked.

"Yeah," Albus replied.

"Then let's go."

His dad turned with a handful of Floo powder, and intoned clearly: "Potter residence!"

Albus' mom followed, then James, still looking half asleep.

Lily should have gone next, but after taking her handful of powder, she stepped back instead of initiating the Floo.

"You go to Hogwarts today," she said.

"Yes…"

"Well once you leave, it'll be much harder for me to call in my favor. I have to think of something before you leave. And pranking James wasn't even fun, so it'll be something big."

With the threat hanging in the air, Lily gave him an impish grin, then turned back toward the fireplace and activated the Floo, her starkly red hair the last thing visible before she disappeared.

Albus arrived home with little fuss, as the fireplace was kept clean and unused for a reason. His parents gave him a strange glance, probably wondering why he and Lily had taken so long, but they didn't say anything.

When he made it upstairs, he paused once in his room, aware that this was the last time he'd be in it for three months. The walls were sparsely covered, a Hollyhead Harpies poster above his desk and a Gryffindor Quidditch team poster from his dad's school days the only objects of any size present. His trunk sat at the foot of his bed. The sight of it filled him with both hope and dread. Hogwarts was exciting, and he'd been anticipating this day his whole life, but the Sorting would be today too.

All his Hogwarts stuff was meticulously packed in the trunk, but a nervous twinge in his gut told him to check it again.

He opened it, and everything was there of course, but he still thought it was better to be safe than sorry.

As he latched it shut for the second time, his mom yelled up, "Time to go guys!"

A door in the hall slammed open and shut, which would be Lily. James had nothing packed when they'd left three days ago to go to the Burrow, so he'd be trying to at least grab the necessities before someone rushed him out of the house.

Albus dragged his unwieldy trunk downstairs, wincing as it thumped on each step. He set it by the door, then joined his parents and Lily in the kitchen. His mom was leaning on the counter, foot tapping impatiently. When Albus entered, his dad rolled his eyes, glancing at Ginny's neurotic behavior.

Ginny smacked Harry on the shoulder, who at least had the decency to look ashamed, then turned to Albus.

"Are you ready to go?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said.

"Good." She resumed glaring at the ceiling, lips pursed. James'd better get down here soon or start fearing for his life.

Albus glanced at his watch: 7:30. They needed to leave sometime in the next fifteen minutes to make the train, since they were driving instead of Apparating or using a Portkey or Floo. The practice stemmed from a mix of tradition and convenience.

"Come on Albus," his dad urged, standing up. "I need to give you something."

Albus followed his dad down the hall to the living room, then sat down on the couch next to him.

"You know I gave the Invisibility Cloak to James last year, right?" his dad asked.

Albus didn't know, but nodded anyway, not wanting to appear ignorant. The jealousy rose in him, and an irrational pressure behind his eyes told him to be wary of tears. Why should James get it? It was unfair. James always got the best stuff since he was the oldest.

"Well seeing all trouble he got into, I'm not sure that was the right choice," his dad said, laughing uncomfortably. "The point is, I thought you needed something too."

Albus' curiosity was piqued, the momentary sadness fading in an instant.

His dad reached into his pocket and pulled out a faded piece of parchment, folded into a small rectangle.

"The Marauder's Map?" Albus asked.

His dad nodded, a smile forming on his lips.

Thank you!" Albus exclaimed. "This is great!"

Albus didn't need to inject false excitement into his voice at the unveiling; if the map worked like it did in the stories, this would be just as great as the Cloak. He thought of sneaking out at night, knowing exactly where all the teachers and prefects were. The thought sent a jolt through him, a warning. Maybe he would fit in in Slytherin.

"I'm glad you like it," his dad said proudly. "I know I got a lot of use out of it. Just make sure you don't get caught. The teachers don't know about it."

Albus grinned. "I won't get caught, don't worry. You can trust me. Unlike that brother of mine…"

His dad beamed back at him, and said, "At least he hasn't been caught yet. Make sure he doesn't make too much of a mess of things this year."

"I'll try," Albus replied, still euphoric from the gift.

"Speaking of James, where is he?" Harry asked, standing up.

Albus shrugged, and they walked back to the kitchen together, Harry's arm thrown around Albus' shoulder. Albus was unable to prevent a smile from creeping onto his face, his lips turning up seemingly of their own accord. Lily eyed him with suspicion, but she was a problem for another time.

James finally made it downstairs at 7:45, looking harried. He managed to force the grimace off his face and hold back the complaint that was otherwise sure to issue forth as he saw Ginny's glare turned on him. She silently pointed to the front door, and everyone packed into the car.

Once they were all seated, Ginny turned to face the kids.

"Let's try to be a little more on time next time, alright?"

Her barely restrained fury threatened to burst forth, and James only nodded, before sullenly looking out the window. Albus for his part shrunk down in his seat, or as much as he could being in the middle. James was the biggest, and Lily claimed she got car-sick, so Albus was stuck cramped between them.

After an hour, James seemed somewhat less grumpy and started playing around with his wand.

Suddenly anxious, Albus patted his jacket pocket to make sure he had his, and took it out to look at it. Ten and three quarters inches, broad-leaf Cottonwood, supple yet firm, with a Manticore tail core, Mrs. Kristensan had said. She'd taken over Ollivander's shop after he retired following Voldemort's downfall.

While Al was examining his wand, he saw James turn towards him out of the corner of his eye. A smirk emerged on James' face and Albus shivered involuntarily. That raised eyebrow, slight twist in his lips, and flared nostril always precipitated something awful.

Albus sighed, and tucked his wand away. If things got physical that was the most important thing to protect.

"So Albus, you bring some green sweaters?"

Albus calmed slightly, glad that James was on the same tangent as before.

"It's not like you have a bunch of red ones," he snipped.

"But Slytherin is all preppy and stuff, don't you think they'd want you to match?"

"Wherever I go, I'll do what I want."

"Oh sure." James snorted. "Just like all those times you follow Rose or whoever else's around to direct you?"

"James, shut up," Albus finally blurted out.

James's grin only grew bigger at Albus' outburst, but Albus' mum turned around in her seat before James said anything.

"Please just keep it together until we get there," she pleaded. "Albus, don't say 'shut up', and James, stop teasing, okay?"

They both nodded complacently.

After their mum turned back around, James whispered to Albus, "Testy, are we? I didn't know Slytherins had tempers, they're always so composed."

"You're my family," Albus said, sighing. "I don't have to put on a façade for you."

"Hah!" James almost shouted. "So you do admit you're like them."

Albus tried to look pityingly at James, but fear and anger probably morphed the gaze into somewhat of a snarl.

"That's the best you can come up with?" he asked.

"Na na na, Slytherin!" James stuck out his tongue at Albus.

"You're a bastard, just shut up!" Albus rammed his shoulder into James, finally fed up with his brother's stupid, immature, inane antics.

James, as the larger of the two, pushed back, though the exertion showed on his face. He braced himself against his wall, and Albus turned his body away to try and better position his own body.

Though Albus pushed as hard as he could, he had no leverage since Lily was between him and the wall of the car. Albus got squished up against Lily, but James didn't stop shoving. Albus' face was buried in Lily's red hair, and he could smell the shampoo she used.

"Please get out of my space," Lily said quietly. Albus saw his mom out of the corner of his eye gripping the arm rests tightly, resisting the urge to yell at her children.

"I can't," Albus said to Lily. "James is too fat."

James just pushed harder at that, and Albus grunted. Lily was flat against the wall of the car now, face furious.

She somehow got her hand up to Albus' ear, and pulled down hard. He yelped. It felt like someone had applied a red-hot poker to the side of his head.

Their mum finally spun around in the passenger seat and yelled, "Can't you lot keep it together for an hour in the car?! I had to drag you out of the house so you wouldn't miss the train, and now this. You can't manage to ever be on time for anything, and I have to hassle you even to be on time for things you like. The only reason we are doing this is for you and even then I have to nag you. You'd think I was raising Kneazle kittens from the amount of bother you are."

She turned back around and let out a deep sigh. Albus' dad laid his hand on hers. Albus and his siblings sat back in their own seats, chastened. They were relatively silent the rest of the car ride, which meant Albus had a lot of time to think about Slytherin, once again.

Albus squinted as the bright rays of the sun glinted off the glass windows of the train station. The large brick building loomed ahead, imposing yet familiar. Albus had been here many times before, wishing cousins and a sibling farewell. This time already had a different feel. He'd be getting on the train this time, not watching as others waved goodbye from its windows.

They entered the station as a group and loaded the two trunks and assorted accessories onto trolleys. Heavily laden, Albus strained to push his, while James tore around like a maniac. Fortunately, they made it to the platform without an accident or incident of any type. Albus had a sneaking suspicion that his dad used Felix Felicis whenever James accompanied them out in public.

When they arrived at the entry to Platform 9 ¾, the brick wall stood firm; a gateway into the unknown. His dad and mum went through first with Lily, then James, and now it was his turn. He'd never taken a trolley through before. The wheels rattled over the cement underfoot, shaking so much Albus had trouble keeping the cart from careening away from him. As he approached the barrier he slammed his eyes shut, as if it would lessen the pain of impact.

And then he was through. The Hogwarts Express lay dormant on the tracks, bright red and gleaming. Steam filled the air and obscured his vision. He hurried to catch up with his family. James had already disappeared, probably to claim a cabin with friends.

"Where are they?" Albus asked anxiously, peering through the mist, trying to spot Rose.

"I'm sure they're here somewhere," Harry reassured him.

They continued through the fog, passing all sorts of people in various get-ups, burdened by a variety of objects large and small. The air was at once filled with the squawking and chirping of animals and people, parroting the heartfelt well-wishes their parents had in turn passed onto them many years before.

"I think that's them," Ginny said suddenly.

Albus turned in the direction she was pointing and saw a family of four come into view. His heart rose at the sight; Slytherin was his main fear, but he'd be able to survive anything as long as Rose was there.

Rose walked up to him and gave him a quick hug, while Hugo did the same to Lily. Sometimes it seemed like the younger siblings copied anything Albus and she did.

Together, they moved a little bit away from everyone else.

"I think I'm going to go for Ravenclaw," Rose said abruptly, surveying the crowd.

"What!" Albus gaped. "You've always been so excited about Gryffindor."

"I know, but I like learning simply for the sake of learning. That's more Ravenclaw."

"But Houses are really more tradition and family than anything it seems like," Albus argued. "You know, like people following their parents."

She snorted. "Well maybe I want to be different. You're not the only one who can be unique, you know."

"No," Albus retreated quickly, "I didn't mean it like that. I just didn't want you to feel as though you have to go to a different House because I am."

Her gaze softened, and she smiled. "I wouldn't do that. We can go wherever we want. We'll still be happy, right?"

"Y-yeah." His voice faltered as he thought about it, but he quickly recovered. "I think we can try at least."

A silence stretched on as Albus looked at Rose, not sure what else to add. The awkwardness was broken by Ron, Rose's father.

"If you're not in Gryffindor, we'll disinherit you, Rosie. But no pressure."

"Ron!" Aunt Hermione interjected, glaring at him.

Albus and Rose were drawn back into the main conversation, which focused on banalities until the adults almost simultaneously turned to look at a family appearing in the distance.

"He hasn't changed at all," Albus' whispered softly to Ron.

"Well what do you expect," Ron scoffed. "Once a slimy pureblood, always a slimy pureblood."

"Oh I'm sure he's not that bad now," Hermione quickly put in, for the kids benefit.

Albus turned to Rose and rolled his eyes. She grinned back. It was yet another attempt to reassure them that Slytherins weren't awful.

The father of the family looked stern, in a tight black collared suit, while the mother's gloves, hat, and dress that were all immaculate, so white they probably were sullied by being in the very prescreen of commoners.

The son, whom Albus presumed was in his year, seemed to be wishing he could be anywhere else at the moment. The mom reached down and tousled his hair, and the boy's pale face turned a beet red.

"So that's little Scorpius," Ron said quietly. "Looks a spitting image of his father. Make sure you beat him on every test, Rosie."

"Ron," Hermione began, stern, "don't turn them against each other before they're even in school."

Albus glanced at Rose. She was looking at the boy intently, but at her father's comment glared up at him.

Ron, more amused than anything by the glare and unable to help himself, continued, "And don't get too friendly with him, Granddad Weasley would never forgive you if you married a pureblood."

Now Rose blushed, but everyone was too distracted by James' sudden return to notice. Albus knew Ron had just ensured Rose would befriend Scorpius the first chance she got. No one told Rose Weasley what to do.

Albus turned back to the rest of the family. James was jumping up and down, bursting with excitement.

"Know what I just saw?" he asked breathlessly. "Teddy. Teddy Lupin. Snogging Victoire. Our cousin Victoire."

None of the adults commented, just stared down at James, wry grins emerging on Ron and Ginny's faces.

"Why don't you care?" James whined. "This is important."

"Yeah, but it was also so freaking obvious," Lily said under her breath.

James deflated and Harry put a comforting hand on his shoulder. Ginny turned to Lily, hands on hips.

"What did you just say, missy?"

Lily blanched. Reputation at risk, she blamed the person closest to her.

"I didn't say anything, it was Hugo."

Ginny glared at Hugo, but truly, the topic was settled at that. Hermione turned a blind eye towards cursing, saying that freedom to make mistakes brought out the best in children. Her own children were so well behaved that her lack of regulation didn't matter, but Albus thanked his lucky stars Lily wasn't Hermione's daughter. Lily being able to act without the fear of punishment was a frightening thought indeed.

The train whistle sounded, and a puff of steam burst out of the smokestack. Students started boarding, wishing good-byes to tearful parents. Ron and Ginny offered to load the three trunks, and after wishing quick farewells, took the younger kids with them to the luggage compartment.

Suddenly it was just Harry, Hermione, Albus, Rose, and James.

James was the first to leave. He gave Hermione and Harry quick hugs, then jumped on the train, off to find his fellow mischief-makers.

And then there were four. Albus looked to Rose, mentally pleading with her, and she somehow got the message. She dragged Hermione away, leaving Albus alone with his dad.

"What if I'm in Slytherin?" Albus asked tentatively, partially afraid of the answer.

Harry crouched down so that his face was at the level of Albus' own. His forced composure didn't completely hide the worry and empathy he felt for his son. Albus looked into those eyes, a mirror image of his own.

"Albus Severus," Harry said quietly, "you are named for two of the bravest men I ever knew, and one of them was a Slytherin."

That wasn't reassuring. Perhaps seeing how Albus' face fell, Harry continued.

"The Sorting Hat takes the student's opinion into account. You can choose Gryffindor, or Ravenclaw, or even Hufflepuff over Slytherin if you really want to," Harry reassured him.

"Really?" Albus asked, shocked.

"It did for me. Now that may be because I'm Harry Potter," and at this he let out a wry chuckle, "—but I think it's more likely it does that for everyone. Also, you don't have to talk aloud, it talks to you in your head."

"Thanks dad," Albus whispered, wrapping his arms around Harry. Tears threatened to fall, but he held them back.

Harry embraced him for a few seconds, then stood up and smiled at Albus.

"Now go get on that train. You'll do great!"

Albus walked to a door, one of the last students aboard, and stepped into his new life.

Albus took a few unsteady steps as the train started moving before finding his balance. The wood side paneling blanketed the walls as he made his way towards the rear of the train. He had no idea where Rose was, but with only two directions to choose from it didn't matter much which way he went first.

He glanced into cabins as he walked. Most of the occupants were too caught up in their conversations to notice him, which he was thankful for, but the ones that were still settling in stared blatantly at him as he passed. He'd expected something like this, but that did little to negate the shock of it actually happening.

Albus still hadn't found Rose when a boy with dark hair eagerly opened the door he'd just passed.

"Do you want to sit with us?" The boy then paused for a second, and asked more warily, "You are Albus Potter, aren't you?"

Albus froze for a second, heart-rate still accelerated from the boy's sudden appearance.

"N-no, I'm looking for Rose, my cousin. She has red hair."

"Oh." The anonymous boy looked disappointed. "Well I think I saw her go by earlier. See you around?"

"Yeah," Albus said. There was no other appropriate response, as much as he wished the boy would vanish forever.

He continued on down the train, getting a few more offers of seats, including a group of pretty girls that he had a hard time saying no to, but he still didn't find Rose. He did see Scorpius in one of the cabins, leaning against the window, already isolated from the rest of his peers. Albus felt bad for a moment, but quickly tossed the feeling aside. For all Albus knew, the only reason no one was talking to him was because they were all Gryffindors.

As he looked in the second to last set of windows he finally saw Rose, and let out a sigh of relief. She was alone, looking harried. Her eyes lit up when she saw him, and she jumped up and dragged him inside, locking the door as he entered.

"Thank God you're here!" she exclaimed. "People keep asking to sit with me."

"I'd have thought you'd like that," he said with a laugh, grateful to be back in his comfort zone

"Well normally I would," she said, fidgeting with her hair. "But I wanted to save a seat for you, and if I let one person in, I'd have had to let them all in. There've been like ten people, and I know I saw at least five of them already sitting down in cabins when I walked here, so I know they had a place to sit. I didn't see your brother and Fred or Molly or Dominique or Roxanne, so they must be in the front of the train. I felt bad saying no to everyone, but it was awful, and none of them really care about us, just our parents."

She looked so frazzled that he gave her hand a brief squeeze, trying to impart some measure of comfort through the contact.

"Thanks for being here now though," she sighed, sitting back down on one side of the cabin.

Albus' trunk appeared under his seat with a faint pop when he sat down. The Hogwarts Express magically made luggage appear in the cabin of the student it belonged to, to expedite the loading and unloading process.

After they'd settled in and calmed down a little, Rose took out her wand, a curious look in her eyes.

Seeing Albus' glance, Rose explained, "Now that we're on Hogwarts property, we can actually practice magic."

Albus didn't want to put a damper on her enthusiasm, but felt the need to point out that they could at home too.

"Just because we technically weren't supposed to doesn't mean no one did magic," Albus said.
"You really think James and Fred didn't wave their wands at everything the moment they got them?"

"Well yeah," huffed Rose, "but I'd think some people would have respect for the law."

"Okay, whatever you say." Albus smirked. "I think you're just upset your mom kept you wand locked away until today, and now you'll be behind everyone."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "I'll have you know, I'm normally pretty good at school."

He shrugged and rolled his eyes. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

A knock on the door startled them out of their conversation, and Rose stowed her wand hastily. A multitude of faces hastened to move out of sight when Albus turned his head towards the door, leaving only boy visible.

Having successfully gotten their attention, the lone tall boy opened the door and held out his hand.

"I'm Gerard Collums, Slytherin Prefect. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

He paused, as if waiting for them to say something.

Rose took the lead, and introduced herself.

"I'm Rose Weasley, First Year. Nice to meet you too."

Albus suddenly felt as if a spotlight was on him; the older Slytherin was intimidating.

"Uhh, I'm Albus. Potter, I mean."

Satisfied with their responses, Gerard resumed speaking.

"It's an honor to meet people from such distinguished patronage as yourselves. Your parents are heroes, and I thank them for their service to our country. As for you two, I like what I see so far. You both would fit right in in Slytherin."

Albus flushed at that, scooting slightly farther away from the door.

"But whatever House you'll be in, I'm sure you'll do fine. Good luck with your Sortings. Now…" he looked to his right, where the other people had disappeared to before he'd opened the door. "I have some people I want you to meet."

And so began an exhausting procession of people, First through Third Years, who were clearly uncomfortable with the situation. Albus began to feel less nervous, at least with talking, since they were so afraid too.

At the end, Gerard shooed the other children away again and said, "I hope you can befriend some of these people, as they would all be assets to you in your upcoming years. For now, farewell."

And with a swish of his robe, for he was already changed into Hogwarts clothes, he disappeared.

Albus and Rose sat in silence, neither knowing what to say.

Finally, Rose burst out in laughter.

"People actually talk like that?" she asked between gasps of air.

Albus laughed too, but it felt a little strained. Gerard's comments about Slytherin and his strange mannerisms unsettled Albus even more than he already was, something he would not have thought possible a few minutes ago.

After they'd calmed down a little, Rose said intently, "We need to get people in here and a conversation started. Then maybe everyone will stop bothering us."

"Okay," agreed Albus.

"We need a way to choose who though. It would be incredibly depressing if all they wanted to talk about was our parents." She paused for a moment, thinking. "What if we just get the first three people who don't seem too eager? If they actually need a place to sit then they'll be more likely to talk about random things, and not our family."

Something in her weird reasoning actually made sense, but mostly he trusted her to have good ideas.

"Okay, let's do that," he said.

"So I'll just do this—" she scratched her left ear, "if I do want them, and this—" she scratched her right, "if I don't. Okay?"

"Why do I have make the final decision?" protested Albus.

"'Because," said Rose, as if speaking to a young child, "I'm better at reading people, so I give the signal. Then you add your input and make the final choice."

Albus crossed his arms, frowning. Rose could be incredibly callous at times. Thankfully he was used to it by now, so he took a second to think about whether what she said actually made sense.

While he was thinking, Rose reached across over and laid a hand on his leg. "Albus, sorry. I didn't mean for that to come out so harshly."

That brought a smile back to his face. He didn't know anyone else their age who would be so quick to apologize after making a mistake.

"It's okay. I think your plan's good."

She smiled back at him, and sat back in her seat.