The morning of the first of September was crisp as autumn seemed to fall over them early that year. It was cold enough that they could see their breath as they spoke.

Al walked alongside his brother James. Both boys were pushing rattling trolleys with their cages owls and school trunks across the platform. Lily trailed behind her older brothers sadly. "it won't be long until you're going to Hogwarts too," their dad told her sympathetically. He was dressed in his auror uniform, a dark blue suit with a swaying black cloak.

"Two years." Sniffed Lily. "I want to go now!"

"Well you cannot," their mum interrupted. "Come now. The barrier is right over there."

"I'll go first," James said, pushing his trolley past Al, throwing a cocky look over his shoulder at him.

He adjusted his grip on his trolley then set off into a run toward the brick barrier, disappearing onto the other side.

"You'll write me, won't you?" Al asked his parents.

"Every day," said his mum warmly.

"Please, not every day," Al said quickly. "That would be embarrassing—getting a letter from your parents every day."

"Tell that to your brother." His mum laughed. "We had to write him three times a week for his first few months last year. He was so scared. You'll be fine, Aly,"

He smiled, wondering whether or not he should bring up what her heard with James to tease him or use it as blackmail material somehow. His brother James, the cockiest boy alive. He could hardly believe he was scared to be away from their mum and dad.

"And you don't want to believe anything he tells you about Hogwarts," his dad put in. "He likes a laugh, your brother."

He took a deep breath, grabbed tightly onto his trolley, then ran through the barrier. He winced slightly, expecting a collision despite knowing better, but instead, he emerged onto Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters. His parents appeared his a moment later with his sister Lily.

The entire platform was covered by thick white steam coming from the scarlet train known as the Hogwarts Express. James was nowhere to be seen, no doubt having gone off to try and find some of his friends or cause a havoc.

"Where's James?" Lily asked behind him.

"Don't worry. We'll find him before we leave." Their mum assured her. "He's probably just with his friends."

Uncle Percy wasn't far away, standing with his wife Audrey Audrey and daughters, Molly and Lucy, talking to a security auror, talking to a security auror on the platform. He thankfully didn't notice them walking past so they had no reason to stop and chat.

Lucy did however see them and gave a quick wave. Her hair was no longer streaked with blue as colourful colours. It was a shame, Al thought the blue really suited her. so they had no reason to stop and chat.

"I think that's them," his mum said suddenly.

A group of four people emerged from the mist and walked up to them.

"Hello," Al greeted.

Rose, who was already wearing her new black Hogwarts robes from Madam Malkin, and holding her pet toad, fondly called Pickle, beamed at him.

"Find a good parking spot?" Uncle Ron asked. "It took us nearly twenty minutes."

"We did." His dad replied. They were soon conversing about muggle driving tests and smiling discreetly.

They headed over to one of the many entrances onto the train and lifted their owl cages and trunks into it. Lily and Hugo had hugged and were now discussing which Hogwarts house they would be sorted into when they finally went to Hogwarts. They were best friends and looked like twins with the same shade of red hair and tons of freckles splattered across their faces.

"If you're not in Gryffindor, we'll disown you," Uncle Ron said. "but no pressure,"

"Ron!" Aunt Hermione wasn't impressed.

Lily and Hugo laughed, but Albus and Rose looked solemn.

"He doesn't mean it," said Aunt Hermione, but Uncle Ron was no longer paying attention.

"Look who it is," he said, pointing across the platform to where the steam had thinned for a moment.

Draco Malfoy was standing with his wife, a dark coat buttoned up to his throat. His long white hair was pulled back into a neat ponytail. There stood a young boy in front of them. He had the same pale blonde hair as his father, but cut short, and was dressed in a black skivvy and a coat akin to his fathers.

Draco caught sight of them looking and nodded curtly then turned away again.

"So, that's little Scorpius," Uncle Ron said under his breath. "He looks just like Malfoy did at that age, doesn't he? Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie."

"Ron, for heaven's sake." Said Aunt Hermione, half-stern, half amused. "Don't try to turn them against each other before they've even started school. For all we know he's a sweet boy who deserves a chance."

"You're right. Sorry," unable to help himself, he added, "Don't get too friendly with him though, Rosie. Grandad Weasley would never forgive you if you be befriended a pureblood."

"You are a pureblood, Ron," Al's dad interrupted, smiling at the irony.

"Not that type," his uncle defended himself, pouting his lips jokingly.

"Hey!" James had reappeared. He had divested himself of his trunk, owl and trolley and had a massive grin on his face.

"Where did you disappear off to?" Their mum asked, crossing her arms.

"I put my trunk away on the train and saw Mason and Freddie." James explained breathlessly. His cheeks were bright red, either from the cold or running around the platform "Anyway, Teddy's back there." He pointed over his shoulder, not like they could see anything with all the steam covering the platform. "Just seen him. And guess what he's doing? Snogging Victoire!"

He gazed up at the adults, evidently disappointed by the lack of reaction. "Our Teddy. Teddy Lupin! Snogging our Viccy! And I asked Teddy what he was doing—"

"You interrupted them?" Said their mum. "You are so like Ron."

"—and then he said he'd come with Uncle Bill to see her off! And then he told me to go away. He's snogging her!" James added as though worried he hadn't made himself clear.

"Oh, it would be lovely if they got married!" Lily whispered erratically. "Teddy would really be apart of the family then!"

"He already comes over for dinner four times a week." His dad said. "Why don't we just invite him to live with us and be done with it?"

"Yeah!" James continued enthusiastically. "He could stay in my room with me. I know we have a spare room but I don't mind."

"No," said their dad firmly. "You and Teddy will share a room only when I want the house demolished."

Al glanced down. James wouldn't even let Al in his bedroom but he would let Teddy sleep in there with him. He knew James preferred Teddy over him. He would probably prefer that Teddy were his brother instead.

"Did you see Uncle George?" Their mum asked. "It's Roxy's first time going to Hogwarts also, I was hoping to see them off,"

"No," James said. "I wish I did though. I wanted to ask him about his new prank product; chocolate sweets that turn your hair different colours. Isn't that cool?"

Their dad checked his battered old watch that had once been Gideon Prewett's. "It's nearly eleven, you'd better get on board."

"Don't forget to give Neville our love!" Their mum said as she hugged James.

"Mum, I can't give a professor love!"

"But you know Neville—"

James rolled his eyes. "Outside, yeah, but at school he's Professor Longbottom, isn't he? I can't walk into Herbology class and give him love."

Shaking his head at his mother's foolishness, he vented his feelings by aiming a kick at Al. "See you later, Al. Watch out for the thestrals."

"I thought they were invisible? You said they were invisible!"

James merely laughed, permitted his mother to kiss him and his father give him a quick hug then leapt onto the rapidly filling train. "Hope you find some Slytherin's to sit with!"

"I'm not going to be in Slytherin!" He shouted back at him.

"I only said you might be!"

"Shut up!"

"Bye!" He yelled through one the windows before sprinting down the corridor to find his friends.

Al rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. Rose walked over to him and whispered, "Don't worry about him."

"Thestrals are nothing to worry about." His dad told him. "They're gentle things. There's nothing scary about them."

Al looked at his dad unsurely.

"Anyway, you won't be going up to the school in the carriages. You'll be going in the boats with the other first years."

His mum kissed his head. "See you at Christmas. Don't forget to write. I want to know all about your first year."

"Goodbye, Al," His dad said as Al hugged him shakily. "Don't forget, Hagrid invited you to tea next Friday. Don't mess with Peeves. Don't duel anyone till you've learnt how. And don't let James wind you up."

"What if I'm in Slytherin?"

The whisper was for only his father to hear. His dad crouched down so that his son's face was slightly above his own. "Albus Severus," he said quietly. "You were named for two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and was probably the bravest man I ever knew."

And how much did Al hate that. He often found himself wishing he could've been named after somebody ordinary so the weight of being as exceptional as his namesakes wasn't tossed on his shoulders.

"But just say—"

"Then Slytherin House will have gained an excellent student. It doesn't matter to us, Al." He smiled slightly. "But if it matters to you, you'll be able to chose Gryffindor over Slytherin. The Sorting Hat takes your choice into account."

"Really?"

"It did for me."

Al wasn't sure how to feel. He wanted to ask more but there was no time, the doors were slamming shut all along the scarlet train.

He jumped into the carriage with Rose and his owl and his mum closed the door behind them. There were loads of students walking around the train with their various pets and luggage, making it difficult to get anywhere without bumping into someone.

"We should've gotten on earlier to find a compartment. They're probably all full now," Rose sighed, pulling Al along by his hand down the rows of compartments with their trunks dragging on the floor behind them. "Should we find James?"

"No way!" Said Al. "I wouldn't willingly sit with him for more than five minutes, let alone the entire trip to Hogwarts."

She sighed. "Fair enough. What about Victoire?"

"She's head girl, remember? She'll be up front with the other head girls and boys and the prefects. She'll be busy and I don't think we're allowed up the front."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot about that."

Al spotted a compartment that wasn't full. There was just one boy sitting in it. He hesitated, recognising the boy as Draco Malfoy's son, Scorpius.

"Al!"

He jumped and looked back at his cousin. "What?"

She gave him an annoyed look. "I asked if you think I would make a good head girl one day?"

"Y-Yeah, of course you would." He said uncaringly then looked back over at the boy in the compartment. "Do you want to ask if we can sit with him?"

"Are you mad? Do you remember what my dad said?"

He gave her a look. "But then your mum said he might deserve a chance—that he might be nice, remember?"

Rose groaned. "Fine."

They stared at Scorpius Malfoy for a moment then walked over together. He opened the glass door partially and they peeked through. "Hello,"

The boy looked up at them. He was sitting beside the window, his chin resting on one hand and holding a book in the other. His grey eyes watched them suspiciously over the top of his book.

"What are you reading?" Rose asked curiously.

"A History of Healing in the Wizarding World."

"Are you interested in that?" She asked. "Do you want to be a healer one day?"

He stared at her for a long moment before nodding. The compartment fell silent as the boy returned to reading his book.

Albus cleared his throat. "Can we sit here?"

"With me?"

"Yeah,"

He appeared hesitant, narrowing his eyes at them. "Do you know who I am?"

"Draco Malfoy's son." Al answered. "Why does that matter.

The boy frowned. "That usually scares of most people. Obviously not you. What are your names?"

"What are you saying?" Rose asked as she closed the door, looking quite appalled. "People shun you just for being Draco Malfoy's son? That's ridiculous!"

Al gave her a long look and Rose looked down embarrassedly. "I'm sorry, it's really terrible that people do that."

"Well, you can sit here if you want. I won't blame you if you leave though."

Al sat down next to him and Rose followed, sitting across from them. "I'm Albus Potter and this is my cousin, Rose Weasley. Nobody calls me Albus though, so just call me Al.."

"I'm Malfoy—Uh, Scorpius Malfoy, sorry." He gave them an awkward smile then returned to his book.

Rose looked unsure. "I'm not sure what our parents would think about us sitting together."

"Just because our parents were rivals… and our grandparents before them, doesn't mean we must be." Al stated.

"My father got over his grudge on Harry Potter after he saved his life in the Room of Requirement during the battle of Hogwarts years ago. I would've thought your parents to have also?"

Al blinked, looking over to Rose who also seemed at a loss for words. "I didn't know my dad saved your father's life. He never told us."

"Maybe you should ask him about it then. It seems like there's a lot he hasn't told you about the war. You don't want to be the son of Harry Potter and know absolutely nothing about him. That's just embarrassing."

Al made a mental note to take his advice and ask his father once he had the chance. He placed his owl's cage down on the floor.

"Your owl looks pretty." Scorpius said. "What's it's name?"

Al grinned and looked down at his owl. It was his own owl that he had only got recently for his first year at Hogwarts. Her feathers were completely black and her eyes bright yellow. "Her name's Furvus."

Scorpius gave him a curious look. "Fitting."

"Why's it fitting?" Rose asked confusedly.

Albus felt his cheeks get warm.

"Furvus is a latin word for black, dark and obscure among other things. The owl is completely black. It suits her."

"You didn't tell me that's why you named her that!" Rose laughed, looking down at Furvus like it was the first time she'd ever seen her. "I thought it was just some weird name. That's so cool!"

"Do you know Latin?" Al asked Scorpius.

The boy smiled slightly but shook his head, his cheeks a bit pink. "Not really. I only know some words that I've picked up from reading books."

"Same here."

They mostly sat in silence for the first few hours of the trip. Scorpius seemed very invested in his book and hardly looked away from it, Rose had fallen asleep with her head against the window and Albus was sat back in the seat, bored out of his mind and watching the changing views through the window.

There was a knock on the compartment door. Rose jolted awake and banged her head on the window in the process. Wincing, she stood up and walked over to the door, glaring at the boys as they smiled at her misfortune.

An old lady with a floral bonnet poked her head through the door. "Anything off the cart dear? I have sandwiches of all sorts, pumpkin pastries, pies and hot chips."

They pulled their money pouches out from their pockets and each bought some food for lunch,

along with drinks, a small box of Every Flavour Beans to share and some other treats. Rose got muggle lemonade while Al and Scorpius bought wizard-made fizzy drinks in watermelon and orange flavour.

"So, what house do you think you'll be sorted into?" Rose asked as she sipped her lemonade. "I think I might be in Gryffindor like my parents but Ravenclaw seems appealing, don't you think?"

"I'll be in Slytherin." Scorpius said firmly. "I don't I have many attributes of the other houses… and I'm a Malfoy. What about you, Al?"

"Gryff—maybe Ravenclaw? I'm not sure." He mumbled, sinking into his seat. He reminded himself of what his father told him—that he could just ask to be placed in Gryffindor and the hat would oblige.

"Do you think you might be sorted someplace elsewhere?" Scorpius asked, placing his tomato sandwich aside and leaning toward him curiously.

Albus gulped and didn't respond.

"He thinks he'll be in Slytherin." Rose said simply. "His brother James always teases him about how he'll be a Slytherin. I thinks it's gotten to him. I honestly think he's more of a Ravenclaw—always wanting to know about things and he's really clever, you know?"

"There's nothing wrong with Slytherin." Scorpius said defensively. He wasn't even sorted yet but he seemed certain that he would become a snake in the house of silver and green.

"Voldemort was a Slytherin." Al argued, sitting up straighter. "So were most of his death eaters."

Scorpius gazed down. "You shouldn't judge a house by one student who attended Hogwarts decades ago. And yes, while most of Lord Voldemort's death eaters were Slytherin, a vast amount were Ravenclaws."

Rose flinched at his words.

"Besides," Scorpius continued, "many great people have been sorted into Slytherin; Merlin himself is a good example of that."

They finished their lunch quietly.

Rose picked up the box of Every Flavour Beans and peeked inside it cautiously. "Do you want to try one?"

Al winced, remembering the time he ate a mouldy cheese flavoured bean.

Scorpius reached into the box and picked out a single pink bean.

"What about you, Al?" Rose asked, shoving the box in his face.

He dipped his hand into the box and pulled out one single orange bean. He hoped it would be something good like orange or pumpkin. He had finished his drink so he would have nothing to wash it down if it were gross.

Rose then picked out a green bean and eyed it carefully. They counted down from three then put the beans in their mouth at the same time.

"Strawberry," Scorpius said.

Al smiled, relieved that it tasted nice. "Pumpkin,"

The boys looked over at Rose who had a contemplative look on her face as she chewed. "It's good. It tastes familiar."

"What flavour?" Al asked.

"Spinach, I think."

Al and Scorpius looked at each other.

"How is that a good flavour?" Al asked his cousin. "I'm worried for you, Rosie."

"Hey!"

Scorpius opened the package for his chocolate frog. "I got your mother, Rose." He passed her the card.

"Hermione Jean Granger-Weasley," Rose read out. "Hermione is most notable for her role alongside Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley in the downfall of Lord Voldemort. She was widely considered to be the brightest witch of her age during her years at Hogwarts.

"That certainly sounds like Aunt Hermione," Al said with a smile.

"Hermione also founded the Society for the Promotion of Selfish Welfare, better known as S.P.E.W. She is married to pureblood Ronald Weasley and has two young children." She handed the card back to Scorpius.

"I met your mother once before." Scorpius told her. "At the Ministry of Magic. My mum took me to her work once when I was little. She's a representative for the Education Department but also defends the S.P.E.W campaign and is one of their benefactors."

"Really?" Rose asked in astonishment. "I didn't think your family were the time—No offence!"

"None taken," Scorpius said though his smile had vanished. "I'm used to people's assumptions about my family. But anyway, my mum's pretty nice and my family isn't exactly what you'd refer to as the snobbish pureblood type… not anymore."

The train let out a rush of steam and slowed down, jolting them in their seats slightly.

"Are we there already?" Rose asked, peering outside the window. "It's still daytime."

"Dear students aboard the Hogwarts Express," a voice sounded throughout the train. "Please get dressed into your school robes if you haven't already and prepare to leave the train. Put your belongings away if you have any with you. You mustn't leave nothing behind on the train. We will be arriving in Hogsmeade Station shortly."