I am sorry for the delay, I wasn't able to write much because of school starting back up. I hope you enjoy this next chapter!
Chapter 4-
"First years, this way!" A man hollered over the crowd. He was easy to spot, as she was at least twice the size of the students. He had a bushy brown beard that was covered in oil and dirt, and his gigantic arms were waving in the air.
All the first years were gathering in front of him, while he continued to wave and call to make sure that no first year was left behind. Scorpius and Albus grouped with all the other first years. Scorpius spotted Rose amongst the crowd and waved to her, but she quickly looked away and started a conversation with a group of girls, who all started laughing at whatever Rose had said.
"All first years, come over here!" the man's deep voice boomed. "First years, follow me!"
The man started walking towards Hogwarts, the group of first years at his heels.
"Who are you?" a boy asked. He was plump with ginger hair and freckles, and his two front teeth were so big you could mistake him for a mouse.
"Rubeus Hargrid," the man replied. "Gamekeeper at Hogwarts, as well as yer Care for Magical Creatures professor. Which, o' course, yer won't be startin' till' yer third year."
"How are you so tall?!" the boy asked in awe.
"Well, I-I'm half-giant, see.." Hagrid whispered.
"Cool," the boy exclaimed.
The group walked the grounds for a long time. Scorpius and Albus enjoyed exploring the castle; they kept pointing out weird paintings (who would get mad and start ranting), laugh when the staircases changed directions, and stare in awe at the spells being used around them.
"We have arrived!" said Hagrid, stopping in front of a pair of double doors. "Everyone wait here, and Professor McGonagall will come ter get you when it is time."
All of the first years gathered around the doors, eager to step through them. Scorpius took in his surroundings, looking at every little detail about the school.
Suddenly, the doors opened and a tall woman stepped out. She wore a tall leather hat, small, square-shaped spectacles were perched atop her nose, and her stare was so cold that it was like being in Antarctica.
"Everyone follow me to the sorting ceremony," Professor McGonagall instructed. As the bundle of first years entered the double doors, they all saw the spectacular room before them. It was a big room with four tables facing vertically, and then a teachers table at the end. Each of the four tables had a flag above them; the first one had a serpent, the second had a lion, the third had a badger, and the fourth an eagle. Those probably represent all of the houses.. Scorpius thought to himself.
Professor McGonnagal walked up onto a stage where a stool stood. Atop the stool sat a hat, but this wasn't any ordinary hat. It looked run down and beat up, and it had multiple stitched patches.
"Now, when I call your name, you will come forward," McGonnagal explained. "and I will place this hat on your head so you can be sorted into your houses. There is Gryffindor, for the very brave students, Slytherin for the ambitious, Hufflepuff for the dedicated and loyal, and Ravenclaw for the wise." She then took out a long piece of parchment and began to read. "Abbott, Jackson!"
A skinny yet short boy walked slowly up to the stage. He sat down on the stool, shivering, and McGonnagal placed the hat on his head…
"HUFFLEPUFF!" The hat hollered and a round of applause came from the Hufflepuff table.
"Altor, Lilly!" McGonnagal yelled and a pale girl made her way up.
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Becony, Bella!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Closh, Lance!"
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Cooper, Sierra!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Crenton, Leia!"
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Seconds passed, then minutes, Scorpius' turn getting closer and closer..
"Granger-Weasley, Rose!"
Rose looked quite nervous as she walked up to the stage. She sat down, took a deep breath, and the hat was placed on her head.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Scorpius clapped loudly as he saw her face disappear amongst the crowd of Gryffindor students.
"I'm so nervous…." Albus stammered.
"Don't be," Scorpius assured him. "You'll get into the house you want to… my mum told me that she told the hat to place her in Slytherin, and it did."
"Yeah, same with my dad, that worked for him, too…"
"See! You have nothing to worry about! Everything will be fine."
"Yeah… yeah, you're right I guess…"
"Malfoy, Scorpius!"
"Oh, uh… it's my turn now…" Scorpius stuttered.
"Good luck," Albus smiled.
Scorpius slowly walked up to the stage, his limbs trembling with worry. I need to get into Slytherin, make my dad proud. And especially my mum, I don't want her to worry about me being in a different house, since she's all ill….
Scorpius sat on the stool, looking out at his fellow first years, all of whom looked worried for whenever their turns would be. McGonagall approached him, the Sorting Hat between her fingers, which was then placed atop his head….
Come on, make my mum proud, make my dad proud…..
"SLYTHERIN!"
Scorpius sighed with relief as he went to join the Slytherin table. He sat down and started searching through the first years, trying to spot Albus.
"Welcome to Slytherin!" exclaimed a boy. He had dark brown hair that was immensely curly. He looked older, maybe in his fourth or fifth year, and wore a friendly smile. "I'm Anton Jenson." Anton outstretched his hand. "And you are?"
"Erm…." Scorpius hesitated. Usually, when people found out who he was, they would start making fun of him, reminding him of those horrible rumors…. "Scorpius.."
"Scorpius…?"
"Erm… M-Malfoy…."
"Oh. Well, nice meeting you, I guess but I'm going to go sit with my friends…." Anton stood up and walked over to a group of older kids. He pointed at Scorpius, who quickly looked away. This had been the exact reaction he was expecting, but he didn't like it at all, it always hurt to know people thought this way about him….
"Potter, Albus!"
Scorpius sat up straight, his eyes darting across all the first years, in search of his friend..
"Potter!" a kid hollered. "Oh my gosh everyone, is that the Harry Potter's son?!" These whispers spread like wildfire and soon everyone was pointing in awe at Albus, who walked nervously and awkwardly up to the stage.
Albus sat on the stool, shaking, and the hat was placed onto his head…
There were moments of silence, those seconds felt very long for Scorpius, and probably even longer for Albus, until finally the Sorting Hat had its answer…
"SLYTHERIN!"
There were gasps from the crowd, lots of whispers, as well, and Albus walked over to Scorpius.
"It's ok…" Scorpius assured him, but Albus didn't seem to hear.
"I told that hat that I wanted to be in Gryffindor.." Albus groaned, putting his face into his hands.
"Yeah, but…"
"Did it listen to you?"
"What..?"
"The Sorting Hat, when you wanted to be in Slytherin, it listened to you."
"Sure, but…"
"Why didn't it listen to me then..?"
"I don't know…"
"I'm so stupid…"
"Albus…"
"So unworthy…"
"Albus.."
"Such a failure.."
"Albus!" Scorpius said loudly. Albus looked up at him, having half forgotten he was there.
"Oh, sorry, I just feel like I've failed.." Albus said sadly.
"You haven't!" Scorpius told him. "It's just a house, and Slytherin isn't a bad one, trust me. Now, please Albus, get yourself together, it's our first day here, enjoy yourself."
Albus nodded, brushing away a few tears. "Yeah, yeah you're right."
"May I please have everyone's attention!" Dumbledore hollered, and everyone's attention turned to him. "Welcome to another wonderful year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. First years, we want you to have a wonderful start to Hogwarts, but there are a few things that you must know. First, the Forbidden Forest is restricted to all who don't wish to die the most painful death. Also, you may not enter the restricted section in the library. Everyone must be in their common rooms at 8:00 p.m. and lights out at 9:00 sharp. Once again, I truly hope that you enjoy your first year at Hogwarts. Now, let the feasts begin!" With a flick of his wand, Dumbledore made food scattered across every table. Kids were grabbing plates and helping themselves to anything they liked. There were chicken wings, mashed potatoes, vegetables, all of the dipping sauces you could imagine!
Scorpius grabbed a bowl and poured four spoons of Gazpacho into it. He then topped it off with a pinch of basil, a dash of saffron, and three Matsutake Mushrooms. He then reached out for a slice of garlic bread, which he placed next to his bowl. The smell of the soup was so good…he just wanted to devour it all at once…. No, Scorpius thought to himself. Mum taught me to have manners while I eat.
Scorpius took a spoonful of the Gazpacho and let the warmth sit in his mouth for a few seconds before he swallowed. It tasted so good, one of the best meals Scorpius had eaten in a long time… The saffron gave a nice thrill to the Gazpacho, and the Matsutake Mushrooms gave it a satisfying crunch. Scorpius then picked up the garlic bread, which greased down his thin fingers. He sunk his teeth into the warm bread and savored every rich and splendid bite.
"This food is delicious!" Scorpius exclaimed, putting another spoonful of Gazpacho into his mouth. "You should try it." Scorpius added, staring down at Albus' empty plate.
"Ok…" Albus said, grabbing a bowl and pouring some Miso Soup into it. He also took some pork and set it onto a plate.
"Want some spices?" Scorpius asked, handing Albus some different spices.
"What are each of these?" Albus questioned.
"Saffron, rosemary, sage, thyme, basil, paprika, marjoram, fennel, clove, aleppo pepper, cumin, chives,
dill, oregano and parsley," Scorpius replied, pointing to each one as he said the name.
"Wow… that's a lot of spices…" Albus said as he grabbed the saffron, chives, and thyme. He then poured them into his soup and poured the saffron on his pork.
It took only three minutes for Scorpius to finish his soup, and he got five refills. He also convinced Albus to try the Gazpacho soup, which he loved, and also got quite a lot of refills.
Dumbledore cleared his throat and made his way to the front. He tapped his spoon on his wine glass and everyone's heads turned to him. "I hope you all enjoyed this fantastic feast! But I am hoping that you all have room for dessert!" With that said, hundreds of desserts lay atop each of the tables. There was cherry pie, chocolate pudding, and tiramisu cups.
"Aw man!" a boy whined. He was sitting a couple seats away from Scorpius and was awfully chubby. He had been in the midst of eating when the food disappeared and was replaced by desserts.
Scorpius grabbed a plate and filled it up; he had a slice of chocolate mousse cake, a cup of vanilla pudding, two small slices of pumpkin pie, a scoop of rocky road ice cream, a piece of key lime pie and some tiramisu. Albus had a slice of cherry pie and two scoops of strawberry ice cream, topped with a cherry and whipped cream. Scorpius had licked his plate clean, and was completely stuffed after. Albus ate most of his dessert, but he left a little bit of cherry pie behind.
"I hope you are all stuffed so you won't complain about being hungry," Dumbledore said, which was followed by some laughs and chuckles. "But it is now time for bed. First years please follow your house prefects to your dormitories.
"Over here everybody!" a tall boy hollered, waving his hands in the air for everyone to see him. "All Slytherin first years, over here!" The prefect was a tall boy who had light brown hair that swooped over his eyes. Scorpius saw a lot of girls looking at him and he could tell why, he was insanely handsome.
All of the first years started making their way to the prefect. They all lined up behind him and he started leading them out of the Great Hall.
"I'm so excited to see what the common room looks like!" Scorpius exclaimed, trying to drag Albus to the front of the crowd.
"Yeah, so excited…" Albus said sarcastically.
"By the way, my name is Atlas, and I am your prefect," Atlas said. "What I do is enforce rules, keep people in line, and occasionally boss someone around for the fun of it." Atlas then chuckled, and a few students joined in.
"I don't like this prefect very much…" Scorpius said, stopping in the middle of the crowd.
"As you can probably see, the portraits and paintings hung up on the wall move," Atlas explained, gesturing to the portraits around them. "They talk, too!"
"Hello there, youngsters!" a portrait hollered. The portrait was of a plump man bearing thick red robes and had hair that was already going white. "You must be the new group of first years! Welcome to Hogwarts, I do hope you enjoy your time at this spectacular school!"
"This way!" Atlas instructed and all of the first years followed him. Everyone stepped onto a staircase, but when they reached the top, Atlas stopped them. "Wait for it…"
Suddenly, the staircase shifted, leaving some students star struck.
"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you the staircases change," Atlas shrugged. "Anyways, here we are." There was
a staircase going down in spiral movements, and Atlas started making his way down it. After about two minutes of walking, they reached a beautiful flowing waterfall.
"Wow!" Everyone gasped in awe at the amazing waterfall.
"Come along, everybody!" Atlas said, pointed at the waterfall. He put his hand through it and then
pulled it out, revealing to everybody that his hand hadn't gotten wet.
"How did you–"
"What the–"
"How's your hand not wet?!"
Atlas chuckled, "It's magic. Now, everyone follow me." Atlas went through the waterfall, leaving all the kids on the other side.
A few of the kids stepped out of the crowd and walked into the waterfall. Then a few more joined them, and a dozen more after that. Soon enough, Albus and Scorpius were the only ones left on the other side.
"Let's go!" Scorpius exclaimed, pulling Albus to the waterfall.
"I thought we had to tell a password to a portrait to get to the common room…" Albus said in a confused tone. "That's what mum and dad always told me."
"That's probably just Gryffindor that does that," Scorpius told Albus. "Every house has a different way of getting into the common rooms."
"And yet another reminder that I am not in Gryffindor…" Albus sighed.
"Well, you got to admit this is way cooler than a portrait, besides there are millions of them in this castle! This is also cooler than what my dad told me, he said that he had to say a password to a stone wall."
"That's so lame," Albus said, and the two shared a laugh.
"Come one, let's go through the waterfall now, we don't want to be the last to claim our dorm rooms." Albus and Scorpius walked through the waterfall, revealing a bunch of students on the other side.
"We have been waiting forever for you two!" Atlas yelled.
"You could've claimed dorm rooms without us…" Scorpius told him.
"We are not claiming dorm rooms yet!" Atlas said. "We still have to tell the password to the stone wall!"
"Oh… so my dad wasn't joking…" Scorpius said.
"Anyways everyone, the password for today is 'fidia'. The password will change every two to three days, and the new password will be posted on the Updates Board, which will be on your left when you first enter the common room. Got it?" (With everyone's nodding approval) "Fidia," Atlas said to the stone wall, which split in half, revealing a narrow doorway. "Be careful, it may be a bit tight."
Scorpius stared around at the common room, taking it in. There were comfy looking couches everywhere, and a fireplace under a giant portrait of a serpent.
"Ok everybody, boys' dormitories are on the left, and girls' dormitories are on the right. Go claim a dorm, and remember that there are only four people per dorm," Atlas instructed, and almost immediately after he said this, the first years started running to claim the best dorm.
Albus and Scorpius went into a dorm room with two other boys. One of them was very short and had blonde hair with freckles, and the other was rather tall and handsome, with long brown hair that was neatly combed.
"Hi, I'm Scorpius and this is Albus," Scorpius introduced. "Mind if we stay here?"
"Not at all!" the short boy exclaimed. "My name is Jimmy, but you can call me Jim if you'd like."
"Nice to meet you," Scorpius smiled, then turned to the other boy. "And you are…"
"Noah…" the boy replied, eyeing Scorpius suspiciously. Does he know who I am… does he know about the rumors…? Scorpius was too tired to care at the moment, so he got dressed and hopped into bed, hoping that this would be a great year…
