Albus Potter and the Return to Hogwarts

It was starting to get dark outside the compartment window, and Albus was beginning to get tired. How long was it going to take to get there? The excitement had surpassed by now and he was beginning to feel nervous again. Many students had stopped by his compartment to introduce themselves, and most of them had asked him what house he thought he’d be sorted into.

He had mostly answered with Gryffindor, but a voice at the back of his head was whispering; “Slytherin”. Students seemed to take an interest in him, looking at him with fascination. When Albus had asked James why they looked at him this way, he had replied; “Don’t be daft, Al. We’re The Chosen One’s children, everyone’s going to stare.”

Albus didn’t know how to react when people asked him questions like; “What’s it like having Harry Potter as your father?”, “Are you able to conjure a patronus?” and “Are you going to be a seeker like your dad?” It was all too much for Albus; of course he couldn’t produce a patronus. He hadn’t even been sorted yet and people were asking him to perform sixth year magic. What next?

Just at that moment a middle aged witch pulled up outside their compartment with a trolley full of sweets. Albus could see Chocolate Frogs, Burty Bots Every Flavour Beans, and even products from Uncle George’s shop. “Anything from the trolley, dear?”

“Could I have some Every Flavour Beans please?” He asked, handing over three bronze coins. He sat back down, satisfied. He hadn’t had some of these for weeks. He pulled out a brown coloured bean. He grimaced.

Rose saw him hesitating. “Go on, eat it!” He looked at the bean, and then back at her. “Oh, come on. Look, I’ll eat it.”

Rose took the bean from his hand and threw it in her mouth. Albus watched in amazement as she struggled to swallow it. Her face turned red and she spat it out. Albus giggled, throwing a green bean into his own mouth.

“Okay, that was horrid.” Rose giggled, throwing the bean out the window. “Liver.”
Albus smirked and swallowed his own bean. “That one was toffee. Unlucky, if you’d have let me eat it you might have had a nicer one.”

Rose smacked him playfully. “You’ll get a disgusting one in a minute, you’ll see.” Her face went suddenly serious. “I’ve seen the way you look at people when they ask you what house you think you’ll be in. Don’t worry, our family has a history of being sorted into Gryffindor.”

“But what if I’m not? What if I’m sorted into Slytherin?” Albus blurted. He knew he could trust Rose with any of his secrets, but he felt embarrassed nevertheless.

“What if you’re sorted into Hufflepuff, or Ravenclaw?” She answered, taking a few more beans from his packet. “Slytherin is no different to any other house, and it would be an honour for you to be placed into any of them.”

Albus sighed. She sounded just like his Aunt. She was defiantly her mother’s daughter. “I wasn’t saying it wouldn’t be an honour to be in Slytherin, I’m just worried I’m going to let my parents down. James and Lily would never leave me alone if I were sorted into anything other than Gryffindor.”

Rose patted his knee sympathetically. Albus cast a glance at his sleeping brother. “I felt the same way last year. Being sorted into Gryffindor was such a relief. Although, if I had been sorted anywhere else I would have been fine.”

“I doubt that.” Grumbled Albus. A figure stood outside their compartment, hesitating to come in. Just a few seconds later, Scorpius walked in looking very uncomfortable. In his hands he held his wand, and Albus noticed he was now wearing his plain robes. Albus looked away, Scorpius had seen him staring at his plain badge.

“Oh! I completely forgot about getting changed! We’ll be there in an hour!” Rose cried, pushing past Scorpius and running from the compartment.

Albus laughed. “She needs to relax; we’ve been ‘nearly there’ for hours now.”

Scorpius didn’t answer, twisting his wand around over and over again in his hands. He seemed to be just as nervous as Albus was, which was a little comforting. He was about to give up trying to talk to him, but then he remembered his father’s words; “Be nice to Scorpius, Al.”

He tried again. “It’s really nerve racking isn’t it? Waiting for so long. I wish we could just get there already, my brother never mentioned how long it took.”

Scorpius looked up at him. His green eyes were piercing. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I don’t feel like talking right now.”

Albus was taken aback. He had only been trying to make conversation. “I’m sorry; you looked like you needed so reassuring. I’m just as nervous as you, trust me.”

“What, because you don’t want to be sorted into Slytherin?” Snapped Scorpius. “There are some people on this train that would love to be in Slytherin.”

Albus didn’t know what to say. His father had told him that Scorpius was a nice boy, and had been raised differently to how Draco had been. He had told Albus that just because he and Draco hadn’t been best of friends, it didn’t mean Scorpius and Albus couldn’t be. But now Albus wasn’t so sure. “How did you know I didn’t want to be in Slytherin?”

Scorpius shrugged. “I overheard you talking to James earlier.”

There was a slight awkward silence. “It’s only because I know what people will think of me if I am put in Slytherin. I know they’ve changed since the Battle, but I can’t help but feel scared.”

For a moment, there was no reply. And then Scorpius sighed. “I’m sorry. I feel the same way. I’d love to be in Slytherin, but a part of me thinks: ‘What if I’m not supposed to be in Slytherin? What if I’m a Hufflepuff?’ I’d like to be in a different house but my dad..”

“..wants you to be in his house?” Scorpius nodded solemnly.

“Is your dad like that too?” Before Albus could answer, Scorpius started laughing. “Stupid question. Your dad is probably the greatest wizard ever. He wouldn’t judge you by what house you’re sorted in, would he?”

Albus nodded. Maybe Scorpius wasn’t so bad after all. He was just worried about arriving at Hogwarts, like everyone else. He couldn’t blame him for being bad tempered at first. Maybe they could be friends. Albus smiled at the blonde boy opposite him, and his smile was returned.

The door flew open with a bang and James jumped up at the sound, looking around in a daze of confusion. There stood Rose, in her red robes. James started to complain. “You woke me up!”

“Well, then you shouldn’t have been sleeping.” Snapped Rose, sitting next to Albus. “You need to go get changed into your robes, both of you.” Albus looked over at his brother, and then followed behind him to go and get changed. Rose could be bossy sometimes, but she meant well.