Harry Potter: 19 Years Later

Chapter 1: The Hogwarts Express

"So how's your first Hogwarts train ride, little brother?" James asked, ruffling Albus's messy black hair. Albus already had issues keeping his hair neat, and this didn't help.

"It's fine, I guess." Albus replied, shrugging. James ignored his response when he noticed Rose lost in her book. He made a shushing motion, putting his finger up to his lips, to Albus, and quietly leaned over towards Rose. He yelled "BOO!" when he was close enough to her. Rose jumped up in her seat with a gasp, dropping her book in the process. James leaned over in the seat and started laughing hysterically, causing Albus to chuckle also.

"Not funny, James!" Rose gasped again. "And you already made me bend a page in my brand new textbook!" She scooped the book up in her hands, as if it were a precious baby, and worked furiously to smooth the wrinkled page. Her personality was stunningly like her mother's.

"You need to learn to relax, Rosie. It's your bloody first day of school. Here, have a sweet hard candy." James said, pulling out a few pieces of hard candies from his pocket. Rose eyed it suspiciously.

"That isn't one of those exploding hard candies made by uncle George, is it?" She took it and examined it closely. Then she took her thin, wooden wand out of her bag and tapped the candy a few times, muttering a few magical words. Of course she already knows a few complex spells, thought Albus.

"See, the candy is from the sweet trolley. I didn't do anything to it." James smiled his dazzling, friendly smile. Rose decided the candy was okay and slowly unwrapped it, popping it into her mouth. She began reading her book again.

"How much longer do we have until we arrive at Hogwarts?" Albus asked his brother. His stomach was twisted because of nerves.

James chuckled. "Al, we've been on the train for ten minutes. Calm down. The first day isn't as scary as you think it is."

Albus considered his brother's advice, but couldn't help but still feel terrified. He was scared of the Sorting, making friends, his classes, even the future. He kept telling himself to stop worrying. Just stop worrying, he told himself. Hogwarts will be the best experience of your life...

The compartment door slid open again. A tall, pale-faced, blonde boy shyly walked in, standing awkwardly at the door. He was already wearing his Hogwarts robes, which were a bit short for him due to his towering height. Albus and James stared at him, and Albus recognized him from back at King's Cross Station. The boy standing there was Scorpius Malfoy, son of his father's biggest rival from Hogwarts, Draco Malfoy. Albus knew about Draco, and what he'd done. James even told him to avoid the Malfoy's completely. He just wondered why Scorpius had walked into their compartment.

Scorpius cleared his throat, and spoke in a small, surprisingly deep voice for a first year, "Um, there's nowhere else on the train that's available. Can I...can I sit in here with you guys?"

Everyone stared at him. They couldn't say no, could they? He was a first year too, and probably felt as uncomfortable as Albus did. And he obviously had no friends because of his family history, so why leave him alone? Albus had a good conscious, which he inherited from his mother, so he did what he had to do. He had a feeling he'd regret it later because of James...

"Of course." Albus told him. He thought he saw Scorpius smile a tiny bit, then he slowly sat down in the seat available, which was by Rose.

Rose just now noticed someone new had joined them, and was startled to find Scorpius sitting close to her. Scorpius got the idea that he was too close, judging by the confusion in Rose's eyes, and scooted a few more inches away from her.

She shut her book almost immediately after he scooted away, and smiled and said, "Don't worry, I don't bite."

Scorpius chuckled lightly. "Well, I'm glad to hear that. You're the first person today who hasn't kicked me out when I tried to sit with them." He faked a smile, which was pretty obvious.

Rose noticed this, and her eyebrows wrinkled together like they did when she was concerned. "Why that's awfully rude of them to make you leave!"

Scorpius shrugged. "I'm used to people being rude to me. I am Scorpius Malfoy."

Albus noticed Rose cringe a bit as Scorpius said "Malfoy." The whole Potter and Weasley families knew perfectly well what that name meant. But this didn't stop Rose, surprisingly. And Albus couldn't help but wonder if this was his opportunity to make a new friend, even if he was the son of Draco Malfoy.

Rose gave Scorpius a kind smile and said, "Well, Scorpius, I'm not the type of person to judge someone just because of their family. This is YOUR time at Hogwarts, not your father or any other Malfoy. I believe a person has the right to be themselves and make their own reputation."

Scorpius's eyes widened in shock, and his lips even parted slightly into a small "o." Perhaps this was the first time he's heard something like this. Albus felt sorry for Scorpius. Was that a bad thing? He didn't know...

"Wow, um...thanks...I didn't catch your name?" Scorpius said, his face blushing redder by the second. Albus saw James smirking out of the corner of his eye.

"Rose. Rose Weasley." Rose beamed at him. Scorpius returned a smile to her, and that smile actually looked real. Albus could tell that James tensed up at the fact that Scorpius could be one of their friends now. Did Albus mind too? Maybe it wouldn't hurt to have a new friend, even if he was supposedly forbidden.

Just then, footsteps thumped outside the compartment in the narrow walkway. Dozens of prefects with gold badges on their robes poked their heads into each compartment.

A tall, seventh year prefect slid the compartment door open, poked his head inside, and said to them, "Hey guys, we'll be arriving at Hogwarts in about five minutes. You should go ahead and change into your robes and gather your things. Have fun on your first day."

With that said, Rose left the compartment briefly to change into her uniform and black robe, while Albus and James shut the blinds and changed where they were. The new clothing of which he'd be wearing everyday made Albus tingle with more excitement.

This is it, Albus thought. He gazed out the window and saw that the train was approaching Hogsmeade Station. His stomach made a flip-flop motion, and he could vaguely make out Hogwarts castle in the distance. Rose and Scorpius marveled out the window also, and they seemed just as excited and nervous.

Albus saw James smiling at him through the reflection in the window. James already got to experience his first day at Hogwarts, and Albus wondered if he was just as a nervous wreck. Perhaps, like he always acted, he strode into the gates of Hogwarts with confidence and bravery. He really was a true Gryffindor. Albus wanted to ask him quickly if this was the case, and along with a million other questions, but the train came to a stop. His eyes widened, and he knew he'd have to learn everything on his own now. The train had arrived at Hogsmeade Station, and Albus was finally at Hogwarts.

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Yay so chapter 1 is done! Please let me know what you think and vote and comment! Thanks for reading :)