Name: Dad (Signed) · Date: 12/23/14 10:02 · For: Chapter 1

I thought that was a wonderful start to a great friendship.

Name: Oregonian (Signed) · Date: 12/22/14 12:50 · For: Chapter 1

Hi, Laura. This is Vicki of Slytherin House. I have just read your story, and I really enjoyed it
. I like the characterization of the three Next-Generation kids, showing the influence of their families but definitely not just clones of their parents. You show them as eager, optimistic, and well-adjusted, but still like children, as seen in the delightful scene of playing make-believe with pretend twig "wands" and in their awe at seeing how big the lake really is. We can see the changes that have developed with the passing of time: Scorpius speaks freely of the damage to the Slytherins' reputation because of the events of the war, and there seems to be less stereotyping in the children's minds based on House affiliation.
The sudden arrival of their parents and Professor McGonagall at the lakeside seemed a little fortuitous, since I wasn't sure why the parents had realized that their children had left the tour or that the lake was where the children had gone, so I would suggest including something to indicate how that came to be. Since the whole story is from Albus' point of view, you can't just suddenly cut back to Harry or Hermione, so maybe you could have one of the parents say something on the dock, such as saying that the tour had ended and they had asked somebody where the three kids were, and someone had said they saw the kids sneaking toward the lake or overheard the kids saying that they were going to the lake. If you edit in a few sentences of that sort, then the transition point where the parents arrive on the dock would be a little clearer.
Your idea of some children being able to visit Hogwarts before their initial enrollment is a good one. It always seemed to me that it was a bit of a shock for eleven-year-olds to come to Hogwarts for the very first time on the night of their Sorting, and then be thrown into classes the very next day in such an unfamiliar environment.
You have neatly tied the beginning and the end of the sort together with the theme of Albus' learning about the Second Wizarding War, so that your story has an arc. Interesting that you didn't deal with Allbus' siblings; since James had already been in school for at least a year, James must have known something about the War, but apparently he didn't pass that knowledge on to Albus. I wonder if this was a secret between James and his parents, that they had told him not to tell Albus or to tease Albus by saying "I know something you don't know," as kids so often do. :)
Nice job. Thanks for writing.