Amulet again!

This was actually going to be James' chapter, but I wasn't getting much inspiration for it, then this happened. I'll be honest, out of all the Next Gen kids, I find the Potter kids to be the least interesting. They just come off as miniature versions of their parents to me, but I wanted to do something a little different for Albus.

Enjoy!

Sun and Moon.

Yin and Yang.

Fire and Water.

It was a total cliché, but Albus always felt overshadowed by James Potter. It was pretty much destined to happen since the day he was born. The Wizarding World was in an uproar when it was announced that Harry Potter and his wife were expecting their first child. Daily Prophet reporters staked out the Potter doorstep for weeks, no matter how many charms were cast to dissuade them from doing so. Like some kind of Royalty (perhaps to make up for the lack of real ones), Harry and Ginny stood on the front porch, James gurgling in Ginny's arms. They awkwardly smiled in the blinding flashes, hoping that this would be like ripping off a plaster- painful, but quick.

However, although the initial Baby Hype did die down somewhat, the Potter children have all been in the spotlight since before they were born. And each of them reacted to it differently; for James, he learnt to thrive on the attention. By contrast, people were less exciting about the second Potter Baby, but even so, Albus was aware of the stares and the pointing and he could never get used to it. He would do his best to hide beneath his fringe, ducking his head down, because people were always curious about the famous Potter eyes. Albus' first unconscious use of magic was to vanish into thin air, even his clothing disappeared. It took his parents over an hour to figure out what had happened to their son and then find him.

By the time Lily was due, Albus, although still very young, had the vain hope that maybe people would get bored of the Potters and he wouldn't have to put up with being gazed at by strangers anymore. But he had not counted on the hysteria over a Potter Girl, which was apparently not as exciting as the coveted position of firstborn, but still more interesting than the second boy. He knows that he shouldn't pay so much attention to what total strangers think. The Press is a fickle creature, and he is making problems worse for himself, but he can't help how he feels.

James teasing him endlessly over the possibility of being in Slytherin doesn't help. James, of course, ended up in Gryffindor, just like everybody expected him to. The idea of being in Slytherin makes Albus strangely afraid, as if this will confirm everything that is wrong with him. It is strange that Albus Severus is named after two famous Wizards, a Gryffindor and a Slytherin, yet neither identity feels right to him. Like the two are pulling him in opposite directions.

Albus stares out of the window, the endless chatter somehow not really registering to him, as if he is protected by a wall that absorbs the words, leaving them as meaningless murmurs around him.

"Al?"

Rose tilts her head at him.

"Are you all right?"

Albus nods, but Rose knows him too well.

"You're worried about the Sorting, aren't you?"

Albus blinks up at her.

"Rose, does it count as a Sorting if you can just tell the Hat where you want to go? What if it puts you in a house you don't belong in, just because you ask it to?"

Rose smiles slightly, leaning back into the seat.

"Well, there's no way of knowing where you really belong until you see everything for yourself, is there? Don't let your brother get to you so much."

Albus thinks about that as they climb unsteadily into the boats that will carry them across the lake, to their future. He feels as though these tiny vessels will be too fragile for the job, but they follow the path to Hogwarts steadily. He thinks he sees a flicker beneath the water, but the Giant Squid doesn't interrupt their journey.

He is barely listening to the teacher telling them about the Sorting; he just keeps his eyes firmly ahead, unblinking, as the doors to the great Hall open.

Albus takes a deep breath, glances at Rose, who nods at him.

Together, they walk through the doorway.