Albus yawned, stretched out his legs, and stared out the window. It was almost pitch black outside due to the dark clouds that covered the sky, so opaque that hardly any light could get through. Wind and rain whipped at the sides of the Hogwarts Express, and the thunder was so loud that it completely drowned out the roar of the train.
“Are we almost there yet, Al?” Lily asked, looking up at him. She and Hugo were building a tower of Exploding Snap cards on the floor of their compartment.
“I dunno,” Albus muttered. “It’s too dark. I can’t see a thing.”
“Look harder,” Lily suggested. Albus opened his mouth to respond, and then closed it with a shake of his head. He looked out the window again and stared off into the distance.
It was the beginning of his seventh and final year at Hogwarts. For some reason, he just couldn’t come to accept the fact that after this year, he would never be coming back to the castle he loved so much. He mulled the thought around in his mind. No, he thought. I’ll be back. I don’t know how I know, but I will come back.
“Are you okay, Al?” Hugo’s voice brought him out of his reverie.
“Hm? Oh. Yeah. I’m fine. It’s just . . . last year,” he mumbled.
“Yeah, we’re going to miss-” The card tower exploded just as the compartment door slid open. Rose walked in and dropped into the seat next to Albus, throwing a quick disapproving glance towards her brother and cousin laughing on the floor.
“I just got back from doing my patrol. It’s going to be a rough year,” she sighed.
“Immature first years?” Albus asked with a grin.
“Yes. I hope we weren’t this bad when we first came here. They won’t even listen to prefects!”
“Don’t worry. We weren’t. We were the quiet first years. The ones who were always terrified of being in trouble. We were perfect little angels,” Albus laughed, and then he made a sweet, innocent face. Rose jabbed him in the arm, but also smiled. Then a voice suddenly announced that they would be arriving at the school in fifteen minutes.
“We’d better put our robes on,” Albus told the others, still laughing. Lily and Hugo quickly cleaned up the cards that were left, and they all set about gathering up their things and putting on their robes. Once that was done, they all began pulling down their trunks, and, in some cases, pets. Albus, Lily, and Rose had all gotten pets around the same time, and, since they were so close, had found the need to give them related names. Albus had named his barn owl Apollo, Lily’s barred owl was named Artemis, and Rose’s sleek black cat had been given the name Athena.
Fifteen minutes later, right on time, the train pulled into the station, and the four of them shuffled out. The train was crowded, so it was hard to move around. Several Slytherin students were violently forcing their way off the train. A path suddenly opened up to the right. Albus tried to get through at the same time as another student, and they crashed into each other.
“I’m sorry,” Albus said. The person turned around, revealing themselves to be none other than Scorpius Malfoy.
“I take that back. I’m not sorry at all,” Albus grumbled.
“Just watch where you’re going, Potter,” Scorpius snapped in response, before he quickly walked away.
Once they finally got off the train, they dropped off their luggage to be brought up to the castle and ran to one of the remaining horseless carriages, eager to get out of the rain.
“Poor first years!” Rose cried once they had gotten in. “The boat ride to the castle is going to be rough!”
“I thought you didn’t like the first years,” Albus reminded her.
“Still! They shouldn’t have to endure that!”
“Do you think they’ll even take them across the lake if the weather is this bad?” Hugo asked.
“Probably. They could put enchantments on the boats to keep them dry,” Albus suggested. The carriage reached its destination then, and they hopped out and sprinted into the castle.
It was nice and warm inside the Great Hall, a huge contrast to what was going on outside. Albus looked up. The enchanted ceiling was covered with clouds that mirrored the ones outside. They too were dispensing rain, only this time it didn’t reach their heads, cut off by invisible barriers.
Albus, Rose, Lily, and Hugo took their seats at the Gryffindor table and were quickly joined by their cousins Louis, Fred, and Lucy. The Scamander twins, Lorcan and Lysander, waved at them from the Ravenclaw table. Little by little, the long house tables began to fill up, and the buzz of conversation filled the room. Students were excitedly catching up with each other, discussing what they did over the break, which classes they were taking this year, how their favorite quidditch team was doing.
“I’m hungry,” Hugo moaned several minutes after students had stopped filing in. “When is the sorting going to start?” As if on cue the great doors opened, and Hagrid walked in, a small group of drenched first years following along in his wake. Albus leaned across the table towards Hugo.
“Okay. No enchantments then.” They both shook with silent laughter as Rose glared at them.
“It’s not funny! They must’ve been terrified!” she hissed. They both made a face at her and then turned back to watch the sorting. The young Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Edward Daniels, brought out the three legged stool and placed the Sorting Hat on top of it. Everyone waited for a moment before the hat opened its tear at the brim and said:
“This school was founded centuries ago,
And I was lucky to be there,
As young witches and wizards,
Hurriedly came from everywhere.
They wanted to gain knowledge.
They wanted to be taught.
And so Hogwarts school began,
An event I haven’t forgot.
The sorting process began,
As a result of competition.
Slytherin chose first.
He wanted those with great ambition.
Gryffindor chose the brave,
While Ravenclaw chose the wise.
Hufflepuff, she took the rest,
They were all the same in her eyes.
But how would the students be sorted,
Once all of the founders were dead?
That is when Gryffindor had an idea.
He took me off of his head.
The founders gave me the power to think,
So I could sort you all.
And this is why we are gathered together,
Tonight in the Great Hall.
So put me on your head.
Your true character is what I’ll see.
I’ll take a peek inside your mind,
And tell you where you should be!”
Everyone burst out into applause as the sorting hat finished its song. Professor Daniels pulled out a scroll of parchment.
“When I call your name, please come forward so we can sort you into your respective house.
“Adams, Lachlan!” A confident-looking boy with russet colored hair stepped forward and placed the Sorting Hat on his head. There was a pause before the Sorting Hat opened its brim wide and yelled:
“GRYFFINDOR!”
Albus cheered with the rest of his house as they welcomed their first new member, and then the sorting proceeded. Most of the first years looked anxious and scared when their name was called, while others seemed excited.
“Donovan, Kate!”
“RAVENCLAW!”
“Evans, Courtney!”
“HUFFLEPUFF!”
“Harris, Deandra!”
“SLYTHERIN!”
“Hurry up already!” Hugo moaned. “I’m hungry!” Rose kicked him under the table.
“Shh! Pay attention!” she whispered.
“Keane, Aurora!”
“RAVENCLAW!”
Brayden Knox and Nick Shepherd both went on to become Gryffindors, followed by Reyna Stewart who became a Slytherin. Gryffindor gained yet another member when Alex Swift was called up. Then:
“Truman, Kadmus!” A small boy with copper hair and freckles walked up to the hat, hesitated, and put it on. He sat there for no less than two minutes before the hat sorted him.
“GRYFFINDOR!” Kadmus hopped off the stool and trotted over to the Gryffindor table with a huge grin on his face. Then he turned to face the rest of the remaining group, and he suddenly looked nervous.
“Truman, Kahill!” A boy identical to Kadmus went up and eagerly placed the hat on his head. The hat had barely touched his head before it yelled, “GRYFFINDOR!” Kahill nearly sprinted to the table to join his brother.
The sorting passed quickly after that, and finished with Dameon Wolfe being sorted into Slytherin. Professor Daniels moved the stool out of the room as Professor Longbottom stood up and said, “Let the feast begin!”
The golden plates in front of them bloomed with all sorts of foods, and everyone cheered.
“Finally!” Hugo shouted as he shoveled mashed potatoes onto his plate. Rose scowled and shook her head.
And so everybody ate and ate and ate. And when they thought they couldn’t eat anymore, desserts appeared, and they suddenly found that they were ravenous again.
Once everyone had had their fill, the food gradually disappeared, and Professor Longbottom stood up again. Everyone fell silent.
“Welcome, everyone, to another year at Hogwarts! To all of the first years, I wish you good luck as you begin your journey of magical education. To all of the older students, especially to the ones who will be leaving this year, let’s make this year the best of all of your years here at Hogwarts. I can already guarantee that it will definitely be the most memorable.
“A very special event is going to take place this year. It will be filled with suspense, excitement, and possibly even sorrow. You will laugh, and you will cry. You will cheer, and you will groan. But in the end it will all be worth it, because each and every one of you will have witnessed history. We have decided to put our own spin on the event, something that has never happened before.
“You see, this year, Hogwarts will once again play host to the Triwizard Tournament.”
Harry Potter: The Next Generation by seeker15
Chapter Notes: *Disclaimer*
Although I do own all of her books, I DO NOT own J.K. Rowling's fantastic story.
Chapter Endnotes: First of all, thanks for reading! This was basically an into chapter, so it's not very exciting and fairly predictable. But I promise I have many twists and turns in store for you. Just stick with me here! And please please PLEASE review! Thanks a bunch! :^)