Okay, yay! AS/S fanfiction! Please read and review.
And also, I think I need a new beta. My first one got through the prologe, but hasn't emailed me back the first chapter yet. It's been a while. Anyone interested? It would be appreciated a lot.
My beta for this chapter was scariekitten, and I love her guts out, even if she is a little flakey.
PROLOGE
Albus Severus Potter shook as they called his name. He approached the sorting hat, scared out of his mind. What if he got in Slytherin? Slytherins were supposed to be evil. He didn't want to be evil.
He couldn't stop the trembling as he sat down and the hat dropped over his eyes, blocking his view of the great hall.
Not Slytherin, he thought. Please, not Slytherin.
"Like father like son, I see," said a voice next to his ear. Albus jumped slightly and then blushed like mad.
"Not all Slytherins are bad," the hat continued. "The war is over now and we are all on the same side. I think you would do well in Slytherin."
"No!" Albus blurted out.
Shit. I didn't say that out loud, did I?
"Alright, alright, I won't put you in Slytherin if you really don't want to. How about... GRYFFINDOR!"
Albus sighed in relief as the hat was pulled of his head. Standing, he walked towards the Gryffindor table, who were clapping politely. He sat next to Rose, who grinned at him, and across from James, who said "I can't believe you tried to talk to it!" and cracked up. Albus blushed scarlet. He'd never heard the end of this.
"Its okay, Al," said Rose comfortingly. "The important thing is that you got into Gryffindor, like you wanted."
Al nodded and tried not to think to hard. Glancing down the table, he recognized a few of his friends. With surprise, he saw the kid his folks had been watching on platform 9 ¾. His parents didn't think he had noticed, but he did. He saw a lot of things they hadn't realized.
The kid's name was Scorpius, he remembered. Malfoy's son, who Dad had mentioned. But they weren't close, and never had been, as far as he knew. Malfoy had been in Slytherin. Why wasn't Scorpius?
The boy looked up and saw Al staring and gave him a weak smile. That was all it took for Al to know something was wrong. He tried to smile back reassuringly, but Scorpius had turned away.
It was late when they finally trudged up to the common room, full and tired. The first years were guided to their dorm, where they all sat on their beds, feeling a confusing mix of excitement and tiredness. Except for Scorpius, Al noticed, who looked like he was about to cry.
Al moved to sit next to him. "What's wrong?" he asked softly.
Scorpius took a deep breath. "I'm in Gryffindor," he said, sounding as though he couldn't quite believe it.
"There's nothing wrong with that," Al assured him.
"Tell that to my dad! He's gonna kill me."
"Surely he can't care that much…."
"Yes he does! He hates Gryffindors, says the whole lot is a bunch of stuck-up, confusing, prats. He'll hate me for the rest of my life!" Scorpius's eyes started to water and he wiped them away dramatically.
Al didn't know what to say. Eventually he settled for "I'm sorry."
The tired boy looked up at him, eyes wide and scared. They were a beautiful light blue, Al noticed.
"Not your fault," he mumbled.
"You're Scorpius, right?" Al asked in attempt to change the subject.
He nodded. "My friends call me Score…."
Al snorted. "Really?"
Score looked at him, slightly annoyed. "Yes, really."
"Okay, Score. I'm Albus. Or Al for short."
Cory smiled at him. "Thanks, Al."
His smile was so enchanting; Al couldn't help but grin back. Or notice how the expression light up his eyes, making them even more gorgeous.
He returned to his own bed, feeling content, and so much better.
Score got a howler from his dad the next morning.
It was at breakfast, in front of everyone.
Apparently he heard it from Zibini who was told by his daughter, Janika. But it didn't matter how. He would have found out eventually anyway.
The basic point of it was, "DO YOU RELIZE HOW MUCH SHAME YOU'VE CAUSED TO OUT FAMILY? YOU LITTLE TRAITOR!" Not to mention, you could hear his mom in the background saying, "Please, Draco! Calm down. It's not that big of a deal…. Please."
Score sat there the whole time, stony faced. It wasn't until the letter crumpled and burned into ash that he stood, turned, and sprinted out of the great hall.
Everyone was staring at the Gryffindor table, but Al hardly noticed.
"Wait! Score!" he called, hurriedly standing and chasing after his friend.
It took him 10 minutes to find his fellow Gryffindor. He had almost given up when he heard sobs coming from the boys' bathroom on the second floor. Entering, he found Score on the floor, his back against the wall and his face buried in his knees. As he stepped closer he saw that his body was shaking out of control.
Without thinking, he dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms around his friend. The blonde shifted and hugged him closer, pressing his face into Al's neck.
Albus's heart broke for the boy. Rocking him gently, he whispered calming nonsense into his ear. "It's okay. You're okay. I've got you. I won't let you go. I've got you. You're going to be okay…."
They stayed like that for a while. Eventually, the sobs subsided and the violent shaking quieted to a tremor.
"I'm sorry, I'm being a pussy," Score mumbled, but didn't let go.
"No, you're not. Anyone would be in a wreck after that." Al squeezed his friend tighter, wishing he had the power to make everything better.
"Thanks, Al."
"It's no problem."
They smiled at each other like the night before, but this time the light didn't reach his eyes.
After an entire month of the cold shoulder, Score's dad cooled down and forgave him. Not that there was anything to forgive, Al thought.
Of course, his own dad got a little ticked when he found out he was best friends with Malfoy's son. But he got over it when he heard that Score belonged to Gryffindor.
Al didn't know if Score's dad was aware of their friendship, but if he did, he didn't show any sign of it. It seemed, from the way Dad had described him, that Malfoy would throw a fit if he knew, but he hadn't heard anything. Still, it would be extremely easy for him to find out, so Al didn't know what to think.
Of course, Al and Score became best friends extremely quickly. Within the first month they had already been described as "inseparable." Score had also made quick friends with Rose, but James still didn't trust him.
Al didn't care what he thought, anyway. James was a jerk.
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