Albus Potter and the Cursed Legacy | Scorbus

1. The Beginning

Steam clouded the air. Footsteps rang out as feet hit hard stone. Shouts rose above the clatter. Chatter muddled together into a roar of noise. People took up every inch of space, pushing through the crowd. 

The commotion of the train platform overwhelmed Albus, his senses on high alert as the world seemed to rush around him. He felt like a fish trying to swim upstream--no, not upstream, up a rapid river--the water trying to overtake him. His own beating heart only added to the noise that filled his ears.

 Albus tried to keep up with his family, navigating through the hoards of people the rushed around, pushing trollies piled high with trunks, broomsticks, cauldrons, and owl cages. He pushed his own trolley in front of him, swerving through small gaps and trying his best not to run over anyone. Returning students raced down the platform to greet their friends with cries of excitement and enveloping hugs. Parents looked over their children with teary eyes, instructing them to be good and promising to write.

Albus' heart slammed against his chest as he gripped onto the handle of his trolley for support. He chewed at the inside of his cheek, his stomach churning, despite the little breakfast he'd eaten that morning. He could barely hear his family, who conversed with a certain cheer and exhilaration that could only be brought by the excited thoughts of the year to come. James ran ahead to meet up with his friends, leaving their mother to push his trolley. Lily clung to her father's arm, looking at the train with starry eyes, eagerly awaiting the day she would be able to board along with her older brothers.

Albus only caught pieces of his father's expressive tales from his years at Hogwarts.

"--Met your aunt Hermione and uncle Ron on this very train my first year--"

"--Had some brilliant times in the common room--"

"--Coming back to Hogwarts was always--"

"--Made the quidditch team the very first year. Ended up choking on the snitch!"

Albus had heard all of it before. Whether it was in books, The Daily Prophet, or his family's stories, he was always hearing about his father's school years and amazing feats. He wondered what his first year would bring. What friends would he make? What classes would he be good at? What adventures awaited him? He'd waited for this day since he was a little kid listening to his dad reminisce about the cosy Gryffindor common room. Albus could imagine sitting by the warm, crackling fire, curled up in a red, plush sofa, surrounded by bright red and gold tapestries, joking around with a group of friends.

When his older brother, James, started at Hogwarts just a year previous, he was overcome with jealousy, so much so that his parent's had to buy him a book filled with moving pictures of the castle and its magical origins.

But now that the long-awaited day had finally arrived, everything seemed so much more daunting.

The whole journey to King's Cross was filling with his brother's pestering.

"If you're late to class, they hang you in the rafters by your cloak!"

"James," Ginny said with a warning tone before taking her youngest son's hand and giving it a squeeze, "Don't listen to your brother, Al. He's just trying to scare you. Hogwarts is a wonderful place."

Albus pulled his hand away, not convinced.

James didn't listen to his mother, leaning over to whisper in Albus' ear, "Watch out for the Slytherins! They'll jinx you in the halls if you even look at them the wrong way. They sense fear." He snickered at Albus' sudden intake of breath.

Slytherin.

He'd heard the cautionary tales and rumours. The Dark Lord's house. An aura of darkness and fear surrounded it. But James insisted on teasing Albus about it, claiming that he could be sorted into Slytherin. Albus tried not to think about the possibility. A Potter in Slytherin? That couldn't be possible.