Albus Potter smiled and waved at his parents, Harry and Ginny Potter, as the Hogwarts Express started moving down the tracks of Platform 9 3/4. His father had tears in his eyes, which made Albus almost tear up also. He expected his mother to cry when he left for Hogwarts, but his father? His father was always overprotective of him and his siblings, James and Lily. He knew what his father had done when he attended Hogwarts. His father was the famous Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived.
Maybe his father was scared that Albus would go through the same troubles that he did, along with his Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione. Albus heard the story many times as a child, and he remembered begging his father to tell him why his face was in almost every history book there was those days. He immediately regretted it, and now that he was maturer, he realized how hard it must be for his parents to live with the memories. Albus mentally promised himself not to get into trouble at school like his father told him he always did...
"Earth to Albus. Are you there?" Albus snapped back to reality when he saw his cousin's hand waving in his face. Rose Weasley sat in the seat directly in front of him, with one of her Hogwarts textbooks cracked open in her lap. How normal of her, thought Albus. She was Albus's best friend, and always had been. He was just glad he wasn't alone on his first day at school.
"Oh, sorry, Rose. I must have been lost in thought." He said.
Rose smiled and rolled her eyes, then continued peering into her copy of "Hogwarts: A History."
"You know, you'll have plenty of time to study that book when school ACTUALLY starts." Albus said.
Rose looked up from the book and glared at him. "My mum always says it's-"
"-better to do some extra studying. Yeah, Aunt Hermione tells me that almost every time I see her." Albus said, finishing Rose's sentence. Again, Rose rolled her eyes, tucked a piece of her frizzy Weasley red hair behind her ear, and peered into her book again.
Albus hated the lack of conversation. He was already nervous enough. Rose was quiet when she was nervous, so it was best that Albus left her alone, unless he wanted to see his cousin's snappy side. So, he decided to stare out the window of the train.
The countryside flew past the window as the Hogwarts Express made its way towards the historic school Albus had been craving to see ever since he could walk and talk. Ever since he discovered that he was a wizard and had powers, and of course learned of his parents' pasts, he wanted to learn more. This opportunity to attend Hogwarts meant the world to Albus. He just hoped that it would be as amazing as his elder relatives said it was.
Albus couldn't help but wonder: Would he make any friends to make memories with at Hogwarts? Would he succeed at his lessons? Would he be sorted into Slytherin house, which he dreaded almost more than anything? Would he be able to live up to the Potter family legacy, and be just as amazing as his father? He knew he shouldn't compare himself to his famous father, but his mind couldn't help but bear the thought. As for the friends situation, he knew he would always have Rose and his brother James, but he wondered if he would make new friends. What if he possibly found love there, as did his parents? And as for the housing situation, what IF he was sorted into Slytherin? He remembered his father telling him that he was named after a great Hogwarts headmaster, named Severus Snape. His father loved the man, and he was Slytherin during his years at school. Deep inside, he hated the idea of him wearing green and silver on his robes instead of scarlet and gold, like his family. This terrified him. But Albus would only have to find out when he got there. The next few years of his life started today.
All of a sudden the compartment door slid open, and James Potter walked in and sat beside him. James was already in his third year at Hogwarts, and Albus heard that his brother had already earned himself a big reputation. He was most popular in his year, and pretty well-known in Gryffindor house. James even played as Gryffindor's Keeper on the Quidditch team. Albus wondered if he would live up to his brother's standards. Would he have the potential to do so?
"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 :)