Summary: Albus Potter and Rose Weasley are off to Hogwarts. While riding the train they meet a group of students who might just change Albus' opinion of what it means to be Slytherin.
Notes: This fic is going to be the first of a series that will follow Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy on their journey through Hogwarts.
There are lots of OCs in this fic and I'm going to try very hard to develop all of them into believable characters. If anyone has suggestions for developing any of the characters let me know. Please don't take my OCs though. I've worked very hard to develop a whole new cast from nothing. I would like to keep them.
That is enough from me for now. Please read, enjoy, and please let me know what you think of all the work I have put into making my characters and creating a new generation.
Albus watched his father's face as the train started to move and continued to watch the retreating figure until the train twisted around a bend in the track and the platform became lost from view. For a moment he continued to stare just for the sake of staring. Going to Hogwarts both frightened and excited him and a shiver racked down his spine.
"Albus?"
"Huh?" The dark haired boy spun to face the one who had spoken to him and he found Rose frowning at him.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah." He did not feel alright. His stomach was doing flips and he felt the sudden almost desperate urge to move. He pushed himself to his feet and paced across the narrow compartment while Rose silently watched him. "I just... I can't believe that we are finally going!" It was both a dream come true and a nightmare all at once. Rose laughed softly and shook her head.
"You've let everything James has said get to you. You know you can't believe half of what he says."
"I know, but... but what if he isn't lying? What if all the stuff he has said is true? What if... if..." Albus suddenly found himself at a loss for words. His mind was so jumbled with various tales about Hogwarts that he had no idea what to believe and what to dismiss as rubbish.
"It will be fine Albus. You will get there, see that James is a big fat liar, and once you start learning actual magic you won't want to go back home. You will love it." Like always Rose's clear logic cut through his doubts. It was what Albus loved most about his cousin. She could take any illogical fear and make it seem perfectly harmless.
"You really think James is lying?"
"I i know /i that James is lying. Your father told you before we left the platform that he is only trying to upset you." Again her words made sense and Albus felt some of the knots that had formed in his stomach relaxing themselves. As they did he felt new ones taking their place. If James i really /i was lying than he could not wait to get to the school. His dad had told him some great stories about the ancient building and Albus had sensed that his father had a genuine love for the school that had been his one time home.
"Let's go explore." He said suddenly. Being coped up in the narrow compartment was only making him more jittery and he wanted to move, even more he wanted to meet people. Dad had told him that Hogwarts received an average of about forty to fifty new students a year which meant that there were other first years who might be as nervous as he was.
"We can't leave our things Albus!"
"Yes we can. They won't go anywhere. The train is moving Rose and we won't reach the school for hours." The girl worried her lip between her teeth in indecision and Albus moved beside her to grab her hand. He tugged her into a standing position and pulled her towards the door. "Come on Rosie I'm not about to let you stay coped up in that compartment for the whole ride."
"I guess." Now she was the one to sound nervous. Albus yanked the compartment door open and pulled Rose behind him as he moved into the aisle. By this point most of the students had found their friends and settled into compartments of their own so the two first years were able to navigate the narrow passage easily. As they walked Albus busied himself by glancing into each compartment.
It was easy to pick out the other first years but many of them had attached themselves to older siblings and Albus did not want to mingle with those not of their year if he could help it. He quickly realized that finding a group of solitary first was going to be impossible and finally settled on a compartment full of first and second year students. Rose squeezed his arm and pulled him back before he could knock on their compartment door.
"Albus! No!"
"What?" He glanced back at the group of children and for a moment wondered why Rose was hesitating.
"That's Scorpius Malfoy."
"So." Albus glanced back into the compartment and easily picked out the slim blond who was seated by the window. He was either disinterested in the group or the group had not bothered to invite him to join their discussion when they had invaded his compartment.
"It's Scorpius i Malfoy /i Albus, i Malfoy /i ! Daddy said to be careful around people like him. Come on." She tried to tug him back down the hall. "Let's find another group."
"No."
"Albus please!"
"Come on Rose. If you don't learn anything about him than how are you going to beat him at everything like your dad wants you to?" Rose's cheeks turned a delicate shade of pink as he spoke and she let go of his arm.
"I don't think its worth it."
"He's eleven Rose, just like us, and just like all those other guys. He won't bite."
"Well..." Before she could form any more excuses Albus knocked on the carriage door and moved to pull it open. The group turned to look at him and Albus threw a grin at Rose as he plowed into the cabin.
"Hi." The other boys nodded to him and a couple gave him soft greetings. "Do you mind if I join you?" A second year boy of Indian descent, whose robes were trimmed in Slytherin green smiled at him and flagged him in. Albus' smile widened and he moved further into the cabin to shake the other boy's hand.
"I'm Sevak Macmillian." The boy gestured to his twin whose robes were trimmed in Ravenclaw blue "That's my brother Indu." Albus nodded to the boy but kept his focus on Sevak as the older boy continued to speak. "That is my friend Ammon Cauldwell and that's Indu's friend Alisa Sloper."
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Alisa managed to pull her nose from her book long enough to look up and greet him before returning to whatever she was reading. Sevak continued as though she had not spoken.
"The rest of this lot is the new blood. They'll all be in your year though its anybody's guess where they will end up house wise. The girl with black hair is Morgain Finnigan, the blond by the window is Scorpius Malfoy, and the boy with the dark brown hair is Avedis Harkiss."
Albus was a little overwhelmed but quickly matched the correct faces with the rapid fire introduction he had received.
"Albus Potter. That..." He gestured towards Rose who was still hovering in the aisle. "Is my cousin Rose Weasley." There was a moment of thick silence after he had announced who they were and Albus glanced back at Rose. The first year girl that Sevak had introduced as Morgain broke the momentary tension by waving at Rose and moving over to make room on the bench beside her.
"Aren't you joining us?" She called when Rose still made no move to enter. The girl finally gave up on her determination to stay in the hallway and moved into the room to sit down. She seemed uncomfortable around all the people and Albus glanced around the rather cramped compartment for an empty spot of seating.
Seeing his indecision Sevak pushed his brother down the bench to make a space between he and Scorpius. "You can sit here Potter."
"Thanks." Albus squeezed past the piles of luggage and dropped onto the padded bench beside Malfoy. The blond appraised him for a second and then stuck out his hand.
"Scorpius Malfoy, but then you already knew that since Sevak likes to run his mouth." Sevak reached across Albus to lightly punch Scorpius' shoulder. "Come on Malfoy I'm not that bad, you've been friends with my cousin Roshan for years."
Malfoy shrugged and gave the older boy an amused glare. "Roshan Nott doesn't run his mouth like you do though." Sevak shrugged and grinned at the blond. "That's true." Sevak pulled his arm back and Albus found himself still faced with Scorpius' outstretched hand. He finally took it and gave it a firm squeeze. That seemed to satisfy Malfoy and the other boy let him go.
"So what houses do you all think you will be in?" To Albus' surprise the question came from Rose and not Sevak." Morgain was first to answer Rose's question.
"My father was in Gryffindor but I think I'm going to be in Ravenclaw, or Slytherin, but probably Ravenclaw." The dark haired girl nudged Avedis with her elbow. "What about you?" The brown haired boy shrugged.
"Neither of my parents went to Hogwarts so I don't have a preference really, wherever they think I'm best suited is where I'll go and I'll do well wherever I'm put."
"You really don't have a preference?" Albus could not stop the question before it escaped him and he almost regretted it. Avedis shrugged again.
"Nope. I've heard good things and bad things about all the houses. It will be an adventure no matter where I end up and I'm not going to change the amount of effort that I put into my school work just because of my house and its colors."
"Well put." Interjected Sevak. "It really doesn't matter what house you end up in. I thought it would be the end of the world when I wasn't sorted into Ravenclaw with Indu but we actually get along better since we aren't in the same house."
Indu nodded in agreement. "It's great. I don't have to wake up every morning and see his ugly mug staring back at me from across the dorm room."
"Did you forget that his ugly mug is your ugly mug too?" It was the first time that Ammon had spoken and the group immediately burst into laughter as Indu turned a dark shade of red. As the laughter died down Albus found himself relaxing against the seat and glancing at Scorpius. The blond was smirking and shaking his head.
"What about you Malfoy? Where do you think you are headed?" Avedis had picked up the conversation from where it had ended before the twin's outburst.
Scorpius shrugged. "Father was in Slytherin and Slytherin is a Malfoy tradition so I guess there. What about you Potter? Headed for Gryffindor like your father and mother I suppose?"
For the first time Albus actually had doubts about wanting to be in no other house but Gryffindor. Sevak did not seem so bad and he was a Slytherin, to be truthful Albus rather liked him and would not mind being house-mates with him. The older boy was, at least in his mind, living proof that not all Slytherins were dark and unfriendly. There was also some sense in what Sevak and Avedis had said about house not mattering. He would still put in the same amount of effort no matter what house he was in.
He wanted to be in Gryffindor like his father and brother but his father had made it perfectly clear that, at least to him, what house he ended up in did not matter. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to be in Slytherin.
Albus abruptly realized that the others were waiting for his answer. He blushed and went with the first response that came to mind.
"Gryffindor I suppose. My older brother James is there." Scorpius nodded and turned in Rose's direction.
"What about you Weasley? Are you going to be the first to break the unspoken rule that all Weasleys are automatically in Gryffindor?" Albus turned his gaze in Rose's direction and noticed that Rose's cheeks had once again turned a delicate shade of pink.
"My mum says I will make an excellent Ravenclaw but by dad fully expects me to carry on the Gryffindor tradition."
"And are you a daddy's girl or a mummy's girl?" Rose's cheeks turned a darker pink and Albus was just about to come to her defense when Sevak cuffed Scorpius on the back of the head.
"Be nice to the girl Malfoy. She'll end up in whatever house the sorting hat decides is best for her and it won't matter which of her parents she favors." Scorpius looked a little offended at being hit but after a moment he nodded.
"Right. Sorry Weasley." Albus was actually surprised when Scorpius actually apologized. He did not look all that happy about having been forced to do so but he had still done it. The low opinion of the Malfoy family that his uncle Ron had instilled in his mind had just gone up a notch. The youngest one, at least, could be taught. It was something to keep in mind.
A silence fell over the compartment and Albus shifted nervously. There had to be a way to break the ice before it grew too deep. An idea came to him almost immediately and he ran with it.
"Do you guys think that the Toyohashi Tengus are going to be able to hang on to their Quidditch World Cup title for a second year in a row?" There was a loud chorus of "No ways" and a single "I can't believe they beat the Bigonville Bombers last season! There is no way they will win another title this year!"
"If you guys aren't Tengu fans than who are you rooting for?" Albus was able to make out the names of five\teams as the group of boys that surrounded him, along with Morgain, each shouted out the name of their favorite team. It was highly amusing to listen to them as they each tried to out voice one another. It also gave him a headache. "Come on guys one at a time. Sevak why do you think the Falmouth Falcons are going to win?" Thankfully the others quieted down as Sevak launched into his reasoning for favoring the Falcons over the other British teams. He was eventually interrupted by Indu who insisted that the seeker for the Caerphilly Catapults was far better than the one who was currently playing for the Falcons.
From that point on it was pretty much an unmoderated free-for-all as everyone of them, save Rose, sought to show off just how much they each knew about their favorite teams. The discussion, if it could be called that, finally ended when a plump elderly witch tapped on their compartment door and offered them her selection of sweets.
"Hey Ammon I bet I can eat a whole box of Berty Botts Every Flavor Beans without making myself sick." Indu was grinning as he held up the box and Ammon's eyes widened.
"Every flavor?" Indu nodded and Ammon's eyes narrowed as he smirked.
"I bet I can eat two." Indu did not back down.
"If you can do two than I bet I can manage three." Ammon looked slightly less confident after hearing Indu's suggestion but after a moment he took the bait.
"I can do four." By this point the poor witch who was guarding the trolley was starting to look a little pale. Luckily however, before Indu could up the bet to five Sevak interrupted him.
"Can we just buy your whole stock of beans? We need something to entertain us until we get to the school and a little betting war over who can eat what might just be the way to pass the time." The witch looked positively disgusted by his suggestion but she quickly started counting out the number of boxes that she still had in stock.
"I've got twenty-seven boxes left." She said finally. Sevak turned back to the group and grinned.
"Pony up kids. We are all going to have to pitch in if we want to do this right." As he finished speaking the compartment was filled with the sound of rustling as each of them dug for their supply of galleons. Albus could not stop himself from grinning as he handed his money over to the woman and accepted his share of the candied beans.
"Do you children want anything other than the beans or can I be on my way?" Albus looked over the selection of sweets. He ignored the small selection of Skiving Snackboxes that were produced by his uncle George's company and pointed to the cauldron cakes, pumpkin pasties, and chocolate frogs.
"I'd like some of each of those please, and some pumpkin juice." He glanced back at Rose. "Do you want anything Rosie?" The girl looked over the cart for a moment and finally pointed to the pumpkin pasties and chocolate frogs.
"Two of those and a frog with some pumpkin juice please." She said quietly. The trolley witch nodded and went about preparing their snacks, and the snacks of the others, before handing out the remaining boxes of Berty Botts Beans. As she began to push her cart further down the hallway the group heard her muttering something about children and their ability to eat anything.
The group shared a laugh at her comment and settled to eat their snacks in relative silence. When they had mostly finished Sevak conjured a small table with a divided tray in the center and used it to begin sorting the beans. When he had finished he glanced upward.
"Who wants to go first?" Indu's hand immediately shot into the air and Sevak grinned as he started selecting individual beans from the tray. A moment later he held out what he had chosen.
"Cabbage, strawberry, and pepper . That's your first challenge Indu. Can you handle it?" His twin nodded and Sevak held out the selection for his brother to take. "You have to chew. Don't forget that." Indu looked a little green but nodded as he took the beans into his mouth. His features contorted as his teeth sunk into the candy and Albus glanced over at Scorpius to find a grin plastered across the blond's face. Everyone save Rose was enjoying this.
When Indu finally swallowed Sevak turned his gaze to Albus. "Let's let one of the first years go. You ready for this Potter?" Albus nodded and forced himself to relax as Sevak started picking out flavors.
"Cardboard, vanilla, and curry." Albus grimaced and glanced back at Scorpius. If possible the blond's grin had widened.
"Malfoy goes after me!" He exclaimed suddenly. The blond's face fell and Albus grinned triumphantly as he took the candy from Sevak. He popped the beans into his mouth all at once and started chewing. It wasn't as horrible as he had expected it to be and a moment later he swallowed.
"You ready Malfoy?" Sevak was clearly enjoying his role as moderator and Scorpius nodded nervously. A moment later Sevak held out the offering he had selected.
"Peppermint, sausage, and sardine." Malfoy frowned but refused to back down as he took the candy and popped them into his mouth. For an instant they all thought that he was going to lose it but after a long moment he finally managed to swallow.
"That was horrible!"
"You did it though. That is what mattered." Scorpius nodded as Albus spoke and Sevak's grin widened.
"Don't get too comfortable guys. This is only round one. Wait till you have to take more than three. That is when it really gets fun." The group laughed nervously and then it was Ammon's turn. He managed his combination with ease and the game continued until they finally ran out of candy.
By the end of the game none of them, save Rose who had refused to participate, felt very well and they lapsed into a quiet discussion of what classes they were most looking forward to. It was a discussion that lasted until Albus and Rose excused themselves so they could return to their original compartment to change into their school robes.
That is the first chapter. REVIEWS are really important to me, especially with this kind of fic. I want to know what you guys think of Sevak, Indu, Avedis, and Morgain.
I'll get the new chapter up as soon as I can.