Chapter Text
The first of September was always one of Albus’s favourite days of the year, marking the beginning of his favourite season. The beautiful colours of the leaves falling, perfect to make piles for diving; the first appropriate day to start wearing each of his favourite sweaters every day. Each year, Albus couldn’t wait for fall. This year, however, it seemed to come too soon.
He walked alongside his older brother, James Potter, who confidently strutted past all the platforms, ready to start his second year at Hogwarts. Albus tried to mimic his brother’s energy, but couldn’t help the nerves. He always looked forward to his first year at Hogwarts, but for a moment, as he and his family made their way to the Hogwarts Express, he wanted nothing more than to be back home raking leaves.
Behind him, Albus could hear the owl cages rattling atop the trolleys his parents were pushing, and his father giving words of reassurance to his little sister, Lily Potter, who had to wait another two years before her first day. Suddenly, Albus was yanked out of his thoughts and brought back to reality by a nudge on the shoulder.
“Hey,” James whispered, “if you get Slytherin, don’t worry, I’ll make sure to alert the Death Eaters in Azkaban. They’ll have a ball with that.”
“Shut up,” Albus replied, “you can’t name one single Potter or Weasley that hasn’t been a Gryffindor. I won't be the first.”
“Actually, I can. Victoire, Dominique, and Rosie are all Ravenclaws. I just want you to be prepared, it’s a possibility you can’t deny.”
“I won’t be a Slytherin!” Albus shouted.
“James, give it a rest,” said Ginny.
“I only said he might be,” said James, shooting a mischievous grin at Albus. “There’s nothing wrong with that, he might be in Slytherin.” Albus expected his brother to keep poking fun at him until Ginny gave them the look all children hate to see on their mother.
The Potters stopped at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. James took his trolley from their mother, shot one last cocky look at Albus, and pushed his way through the barrier. Seeing his opportunity, Albus turned to his parents.
“You’ll write to me, won’t you?” he asked, feeling the nerves getting worse with every step he took.
“Every day, if you want us to,” said Ginny.
“Not every day,” said Albus, feeling embarrassed already, “James says most people only get letters from home about once a month.”
Ginny chuckled.
“We wrote to James three times a week last year.”
“And you don’t want to believe everything he tells you about Hogwarts,” said Harry. “He likes a laugh, your brother.”
Albus nodded and rounded his trolley to push through the barrier with his father. They easily glided through it with no issues. Albus coughed from the sudden thick steam that surrounded him, but then looked up in awe at the gorgeous scarlet train.
Many families were buzzing all around the platform and James had already disappeared. Albus squinted at the crowd anxiously.
“Where are they?”
“We’ll find them,” said Ginny.
Albus was worried he wouldn’t find his cousins before he got on the train. Other than his brother, they were the only people he knew. He couldn’t sit with his brother, obviously, and how would he ever find his cousins on this enormous train? Then he’d have to find a compartment that’s already full of people who know each other and sit awkwardly for a million hours. What if he fell asleep? The embarrassment would follow him into adulthood.
“I think that’s them, Al,” said Ginny suddenly. Albus let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding at the sight of his family.
“Hi,” said Albus, immensely relieved. He immediately went in for a group hug with Sadie and Louis Weasley, excited to see his favourite twins.
“Parked all right, then?” asked Uncle Fred. He wrapped his arm around Harry’s shoulder, giving him a brotherly tap on the shoulder. “I did. Hermione didn’t believe I could pass a Muggle driving test, did you? She thought I’d have to Confund the examiner.”
“No, I didn’t,” said Aunt Hermione, “I had complete faith in you.”
“As a matter of fact, I did Confund him,” Albus heard Uncle Fred whisper to his father, but kept quiet as they lifted his trunk and owl onto the train for him.
Albus turned to say goodbye to his sister, but she was already having an animated discussion with Rosalie, Sadie and Louis’s older sister. She was about to start her second year along with James.
“I’ll definitely be a Gryffindor like my mum! I’m brave and strong just like a lion!” Lily rambled.
“Don’t get too attached to the idea,” said Rosalie, “we could always use another bright mind like yours in Ravenclaw.”
“Don’t listen to her,” Uncle Fred pitched in, “we disinherited her when she didn’t make Gryffindor.”
“Fred!” shouted Hermione. Lily giggled but Albus was painfully aware that his stomach had just dropped about ten feet. Hermione placed her hand on his shoulder.
“He doesn’t mean it, love.”
Albus was going to assure her he’s used to the joking around, but at that moment, Uncle Goerge appeared out of nowhere and flung both arms around Harry and Fred. His wife, Auntie Angelina, stayed behind, saying her goodbyes to Roxanne and Jordan, another pair of Albus’s cousins.
“Look who it is,” said Goerge, pointing over Albus’s shoulder. Albus pivoted to see Draco Malfoy preparing his son for his first year at Hogwarts as well. His son resembled him almost as much as people say Albus resembled Harry. He averted his eyes as Mr Malfoy’s gaze met his.
“So that’s little Scorpius,” said Fred, “Louis, front and center.” Louis turned to his father and smiled as he crouched down to eye level. “Swear to me, here and now, you will beat him in every test.”
“I swear,” Louis chuckled.
“Sadie!” shouted Fred, which made her jump. “You kick his arse in quidditch.”
Sadie saluted her father and Hermione let out a defeated sign. Albus can’t remember the last time she told him to watch his language around them, she’d most likely given up.
“Hey!” James’s excited voice came from around the corner just in time for the warning whistle. Five minutes until departure. He greeted Rosalie and Roxanne and started boasting about how he was, once again, going to make the Quidditch team. Albus knew the three of them were like a sort of trio at Hogwarts and hoped he, Louis, Sadie and Jordan would have the same kind of bond.
“Don’t forget to give Neville our love!” said Ginny as she hugged James goodbye.
“See you later, Al,” said James, narrowly missing Albus after aiming a kick at him, “watch out for the thestrals!” Albus opened his mouth to protest but James was already disappearing onto the train, followed by Roxanne and Rosalie. Harry kneeled to speak with his son.
“Thestrals are nothing to worry about,” he assured him. “They’re gentle things, there’s nothing scary about them. Anyway, you won’t be going up to the school in the carriages, you’ll be going in the boats.”
“See you at Christmas,” said Ginny, as she kissed him goodbye.
“Bye, Al,” said Harry as he hugged Albus. “Don’t forget, Hagrid’s invited you to tea next Friday. Don’t mess with Peeves. Don’t duel anyone till you’ve learned how. And don’t let James wind you up.”
“What if I’m in Slytherin,” Albus blurted out. He couldn’t help it, the fear was getting to him in his last moments with his father.
“Albus Severus,” said Harry quietly. “You were named for two Headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin, and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew.”
“But, just say -”
“- then Slytherin House will have gained an excellent student, won’t it? It doesn’t matter to us, Al. But if it matters to you, you’ll be able to choose Gryffindor over Slytherin. The Sorting Hat takes your choice into account.”
“Really?”
“It did for me,” said Harry. Albus suddenly felt much better. Along with all the other students left on the platform, he jumped on the train with Sadie, Louis and Jordan. They poked their heads out of the nearest window to wave goodbye, but Albus noticed most of the students and parents were turned to his father.
“Why are they all staring?”
“Don’t let it worry you, dear,” said Hermione.
“It’s me,” Fred added, throwing his arm over his wife’s shoulder, “I’m extremely famous.”
Albus waved until his family was completely out of sight. He turned to his cousins, not sure what to do next.
“I wonder if there are any empty compartments left,” said Sadie.
“I doubt it,” replied Louis, “but maybe Rose and Roxy have one saved.”
“Why don’t we have a look?” Jordan suggested.
The four of them wandered around the train looking for any compartment that had room for them. As they walked through the narrow corridor, Albus couldn’t help but notice the double takes he was receiving as he walked by full compartments. The twins seemed unbothered.
“Al!” James’s voice bellowed from one compartment. Albus turned back to see there were more people in it than there were seats. His friends, all wearing Gryffindor ties and scarves, were sprawled out on the ground and in each other’s laps. “Ella’s looking for you, says she got you something.” Ella Lovegood was a good childhood friend of theirs. She was starting her first year as well, but Albus doubted she had the same nerves as he did, seeing as her father, Neville Longbottom, was a professor at Hogwarts.
Without responding, Albus continued down the hall. His movements didn’t stop Sadie from chatting with James for what seemed like ages as she continued down the hall behind him.
Halfway across the train, they bumped into Ella, who had gotten them all a chocolate frog and a copy of the Quibbler. Albus always appreciated her gift giving habit, but it always had to include Luna’s latest magizoology article in the ridiculous magazine. He was hoping she had found a compartment for them to join but, as expected, it was full.
They eventually reached the opposite side of the train they started on. The compartments were less full on this side, but they all contained at least two older students, which Albus found too intimidating, and urged his cousins to keep following him.
“Ugh, finally!” exclaimed Sadie once they’d come across a compartment occupied by only one other first year student. Albus identified him as the Malfoy boy immediately. He was focused on a book he had already gotten half way through, looking up only when Sadie swung open the loud compartment door. “Mind if we sit?”
“Uh, no, be my guest,” said Scorpius. He watched the cousins file into his compartment noisily, locking eyes with Albus for just a moment. He couldn’t say anything in his presence, but Albus felt uneasy sitting with him.
“I’m Sadie, this is my twin brother Louis, and those are our cousins Albus and Jordan,” Sadie was always good at handling awkward introductions.
“Scorpius,” said the Malfoy boy shyly.
“Pleasure!” she said cheerfully, then immediately dug into her chocolate frog, beginning one of her rants about the show she’s currently halfway through. She was the only one of the five in the compartment who didn’t seem uncomfortable. Albus felt as though he could cut the tension with a knife, but knew he was probably overthinking it.
He unwrapped his own chocolate frog, trying not to stare at Scorpius, who had gone back to quietly reading his book, occasionally pausing to gaze out the window. He seemed calm and at peace despite Sadie’s loud rambling and the sound of Jordan trying to practice spells followed by his frustrated exclamations and Louis telling him what he was doing wrong. He couldn’t help but wonder what was going through Scorpius’s head. Having heard the things he’s heard about the Malfoys from his own family, he couldn’t imagine what the Malfoys must’ve told Scorpius about his. Regardless, he kept quiet and tried to pretend he wasn’t there.
They had been in the train for about four hours by the time Sadie and Jordan decided to go stretch their legs and find their sisters. By this point Louis had fallen asleep and Scorpius was on the last page of his book. Without Sadie in the room, the silence was deafening and Albus dreaded the moment that Scorpius would close the book. He quietly prayed they could just sit in silence and ignore each other’s existence, but Scorpius didn’t seem to think this was a good plan.
“So,” he said, as he tucked the book into his bag, “what house do you think you’ll be sorted into?”
“I really don’t know,” Albus responded shyly.
“I’m pretty much set for Slytherin. I fear my grandmother will disown me if I turn out to be a Hufflepuff.” Albus chuckled.
“I worry about that too.”
“Gryffindor?”
“Yeah…”
“Don’t worry,” said Scorpius, leaning back and looking out the window, “if Hogwarts is still anything like how my father described it, the sorting will be the least of our concerns.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
Albus looked outside at the setting sun. Fall really was a beautiful thing. He watched as leaves fell and apples grew, feeling calm for the first time that day.
The train came to a stop and all the students shuffled through the narrow hall to get off the train. Sadie locked arms with Albus and Louis and forced Jordan to hold onto the back of her robes so she knew he was there, and they made their own way off together. The first thing Albus saw wasn’t the beautiful, gigantic castle he’d always heard about; it was a giant, hairy silhouette only a foot away from his face.
“An’ there’s little Albus!” exclaimed Hagrid.
“Hello, Hagrid,” said Albus. Most of the first years seemed astonished by the giant man before them, but Albus had met Hagrid multiple times before.
“Hi, Hagrid!” yelped Sadie, jumping as high as she can so Hagrid can catch her in a bear hug.
“Nice to see yeh, Ladybug!” Albus smiled at the nickname. “An’ you too there, boys! Now, come on! Yeh wan’ fron’ row seats fer yer firs’ look o’ Hogwarts.”
They followed Hagrid closely as he waved over all the other confused first years to show them the way. The narrow pathway led to a great black lake. On the other side stood a high mountain holding up a gorgeous, almost sparkling castle. The first years all fell silent as they stared up in awe.
“No more’n four to a boat, come on!”
Albus, Sadie, Louis and Jordan climbed into a boat together, never looking away from their new school. Suddenly, the boats moved forward and Albus could feel his nerves turning into excitement as they inched closer to the castle.
Once they’d reached the other side, the first years all stumbled out of the boats and followed Hagrid towards the school. Sadie skipped alongside Hagrid, holding onto his sleeve and rambling away.
“This is a bit overwhelming,” whispered Jordan as they walked.
“In a good way?” asked Albus.
“Ask me again in an hour.”
They all stopped behind Hagrid when they made it to the castle. Hagrid reached up and knocked on the big oak doors. A few moments passed, and the door opened to reveal Oliver Wood, Head of Gryffindor House.
“Firs’ years, as promised,” said Hagrid.
“Thank you, Professor,” said Professor Wood. “Enjoy the feast.”
Hagrid walked around Professor Wood and into the castle, leaving the first years alone with him.
“Well then, follow me,” said Wood. He opened the doors wide and the first years followed him into the entrance hall, looking everywhere but forward. They stopped before two more big oak doors. Albus assumed this would lead to the Great Hall, hearing the buzz of older students inside. “Welcome to Hogwarts. The start-of-term feast will begin very shortly. Before you all sit down to eat, you must be sorted into your houses.” Albus suddenly remembered the nerves from earlier and took a step closer to Louis and Jordan. He had completely lost sight of Sadie by this point. “You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.
“The four houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each of your triumphs will earn you points, any rulebreaking will lose you points. The house with the most points at the end of each year will be awarded the house cup. We hope you will be a wonderful addition to whichever house becomes yours. Now, quiet down, the Sorting Ceremony will begin as soon as I open these doors. Are we ready?”
The first years anxiously nodded their heads, and Wood led them through into the hall.
It was a gorgeous scene. The first years lined up to follow Professor Wood down an aisle, applauded by the other students. Above them was what looked like a skylight. Albus smiled while looking for the ceiling details behind the image of the sky, remembering what his Aunt Hermione told him about it being bewitched. He felt a soft slap on his arm as he walked by the Gryffindor table, turning to see his brother cheering him on. After reaching the Professors’ table, the first years lined up in front of the steps that led up to the Sorting Hat. Albus gulped as he watched Professor Wood move his finger along a scroll and pick up the hat. He hoped he was at the bottom of the list.
The Great Hall fell silent, and Wood read aloud the first name on the list.
“Acre, Aria!”
A fellow first year nervously stepped up to the stool. At this moment, Albus couldn’t be happier his surname did not start with an ‘A’. The girl seemed to be holding her breath along with the entire Great Hall as the Hat was placed on her head. It suddenly twitched and-
“Ravenclaw!” shouted the hat. One of the four long tables erupted in chants and applause, patting her back and she took a seat at their table.
“Barnes, Ainsley!” Another scared girl walked up and was sorted into Hufflepuff. The next was Slytherin, then another Ravenclaw, a Gryffindor, another Hufflepuff, a Ravenclaw, a Hufflepuff, and on and on this went. Albus could feel his hands shaking as Wood got through all the ‘L’s.
“Malfoy, Scorpius!” Albus looked up for this one. Scorpius’s platinum blonde hair was hard to miss as he walked through the crowd of first years and up to the stool. The Sorting Hat was placed on his head, and about fifteen seconds later-
“Slytherin!” The green and silver table erupted. Scorpius didn’t seem surprised. He walked down the steps and took a seat at the Slytherin table with a smile.
Albus became lost in his own thoughts. He wondered if the Slytherin table would applaud for him, or if his brother would.
“Potter, Albus!” Silence. This was the moment Albus had been dreading all summer. Sadie appeared out of nowhere and gave him an encouraging back hug. Jordan shoved him forward and off he went. The Great Hall hadn’t been this quiet since they’d got there. Albus hesitated, then sat on the stool. He looked up at Wood who gave him a reassuring smile and placed the Hat on his head. Suddenly, he couldn’t see the students anymore, the Hat had fallen over his eyes.
“Hmmmm…” he heard the Hat’s voice as if it was coming from his own mind. “Interesting.”
“What?” Albus whispered.
“You’re much like your father, aren’t you?” The Hat contemplated for what felt like hours. It didn’t say much and Albus remembered what his father told him about choosing his house. But before he could say anything--
“Slytherin!” The Sorting Hat shouted.
The Slytherin table slowly began to applaud him, seemingly unsure if they had heard correctly, but Albus could barely hear them over the sound of his heart pounding. The Hat was lifted off his head but he didn’t move until Wood gave him a nudge. As he walked down the steps, Albus locked eyes with his brother, who was clearly shocked. Somehow, he made it to the table and sat down. The ceremony went on but Albus was lost. His biggest fear came true. What was he supposed to do now? He felt as though his world was crashing around him. Then, someone nudged his elbow.
“I think that’s your cousin, right?” Scorpius was sitting next to him, and Albus had not even noticed. He looked up and saw Jordan sitting on the stool.
“Yeah, um, thanks,” Albus hoped, maybe one of his cousins would be sorted into Slytherin with him.
“Gryffindor!”
“Weasley, Louis!”
“Gryffindor!”
“Weasley, Sadie!”
“Gryffindor!”
It was official. He was alone.
The Sorting Ceremony was followed by the greatest feast Albus had ever seen, but he couldn’t be bothered to eat. James walked over and sat next to Albus.
“Hey, I just wanted to apologize for pulling your leg earlier. I didn’t realize you’d actually be sorted into Slytherin.”
“Neither did I,” said Albus.
“Cheer up,” said James, “it makes you unique.”
“Thanks,” Albus knew he shouldn’t be so upset, and he wasn’t, it just didn’t seem fair.
“I should get back to my table,” said James as his friends called him over, “make some friends.”
“Easy for you to say.”
The Slytherin Prefects led the first years down to the dungeons. They shared the password and gave a brief tour. There was a gorgeous view of the black lake from the common room and Albus thought it was amazing, but he couldn’t bring himself to sit around too long. Everyone stuck around the common room except for Albus, who went straight up to the dorm. There were only two poster beds, seeing as he and Scorpius were the only two boys sorted into Slytherin that year. His trunk had been brought up for him and he started unpacking right away, not knowing what else he could do. He placed his wand on the bedside table next to a photo of his family on vacation in Paris. There were two desks and Albus picked one to dump his school books on. His owl chirped from the corner to catch his attention. Albus opened her cage and let her fly on his desk. He took a seat and admired his grey tawny owl. He’d had her for almost three years and she was always a comfort.
“What do you think, Nova?” Albus asked her, knowing he wouldn’t be getting any advice from her. “Can this day get any worse?”
Just then, Albus heard a small meowl from the other poster bed. There was a crate sitting just beside the pillows. He approached, hoping to get a glimpse at the cat inside when the door opened and Scorpius walked in.
“Everything alright?” he asked, noticing him examining the crate.
“Yeah, sorry, um, I just heard something.”
“Don’t worry, she probably heard you and thought it was me.”
Scorpius opened the crate and out walked a gorgeous, fluffy, grey munchkin cat.
“Her name’s Ivy. I hope you don’t mind cats,” said Scorpius, sitting on the bed next to her. She immediately hopped on his lap and curiously looked up at Albus.
“No, no, she’s adorable. I forgot we could have cats,” he said.
“Yeah, I’ve never really wanted an owl,” said Scorpius. “When I think of pets I think of a sort of emotional support fluff ball. Owls don’t really do it for me in terms of that, but they’re cool. What’s her name?”
“Oh,” Albus let his owl fly onto his finger, “this is Nova. Don’t worry, she won’t be a bother. She’s a good mailman but she can be quite lazy.”
Scorpius laughed and set Ivy down in front of a water bowl. He prepared her a food bowl as well.
It got quiet after that. Scorpius sat at his desk and opened a new book while Albus sat on his bed and pulled out his phone, making himself busy to avoid having to make further conversation.
James messaged him, profusely apologizing for the teasing and all of his cousins wanted to know if he was alright, but he didn’t have the energy to respond. When Scorpius finally got up from his desk, Albus took off his headphones.
“I think I’ll go to sleep,” he said. “I forgot we have classes in the morning.”
“Oh, yeah, me too.” Albus reached for his bedside lamp.
“Um,” Scorpius cleared his throat, “I know you probably don’t see this as the ideal situation, but I’m excited about this year.”
“Me too,” Albus smiled.
“I know you’ve probably heard some things about my family, but, just know that’s not me.”
Albus nodded, and the boys went to sleep.