Chapter 1: Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy
The train left the station like a long scarlet snake leaving its burrow. Admittedly, the snake also looked as if it was smoking, because it was, after all, really a train, no matter how effective the simile was.
As she sat in the last compartment, Rose Weasley was terrified, as conscientious students tend to be on the first day of a new school. Albus Severus Potter was as excited as an eleven-year-old on their first day in a famous school… oh, right. Both of them chatted away, and did not notice the pale boy that was sharing the compartment with them.
“I’m so nervous, I can’t wait to get to school, and I’m afraid and… can you imagine all the things we’re going to learn? I hope I’ve prepared enough. I don’t know what I’ll do if I’m not,” Rose said, nervously.
“Stop worrying, Rose. You know you’ll be more prepared than anyone else. With brains like yours, you’ll be the best in the year!” Albus rolled his eyes.
“Oh, don’t say that, Al, I’m never going to get anywhere! Although… Mum says I’ll be in Ravenclaw, because I’m so smart…” Rose was back on track. “But I really want to be in Gryffindor. You know, after all the stories Uncle Harry’s told us. It’s supposed to be the best House.”
“Well, I’m not worried, I’m going to choose Gryffindor,” Albus said proudly.
“Father says Slytherin’s the noble House, but I don’t know,” drawled a voice.
Albus and Rose looked around, startled. Sitting by the window was a familiar pale boy with blond hair. Harry and Ron had pointed him out earlier in the station.
“Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy.” He held out his hand for them to shake. Rose took it politely.
“Rose Weasley.”
“A Weasley, eh?” Scorpius sneered.
“And?” growled Rose.
“Oh, nothing.” Scorpius lost his sneer immediately, replacing it with a drawl.
“And I’m Albus Severus Potter,” squeaked Albus Severus Potter.
“Really? Son of Harry Potter?” Albus nodded. Scorpius seemed torn between admiration and something else.
Despite his Weasley remark, and the fact that, for some reason, he couldn’t speak without drawling, sneering or drooling, Scorpius was actually quite friendly.
“So, you think you’re ready for Hogwarts then?” Scorpius drawled later on.
“I hope so! I’ve been looking through the textbooks and I’ve learnt a few spells, but I’m really scared that’s not enough,” Rose said.
“Well I don’t know what’s enough, so I’ve been learning all I can. Father’s told me I’m taking it too far, but everything’s so interesting. I like to learn about battles in History of Magic, and Father’s been helping me with potions, but the best part is creating the spells,” Scorpius told them, sneering uncontrollably.
“Creating?” Albus felt even worse. He had ignored Rose’s demands that he bury himself in his schoolbooks all summer, thinking it was just her usual paranoia, but if another student had been doing even more…
“We had to learn to create spells?” Rose shrieked, her red, bushy hair standing on end.
Scorpius shrugged. “I don’t know, but I thought I should try just in case,” he drooled.
Albus watched as his cousin turned from pink, to red, to purple, to blue, to green… “Okay,” he said fearfully. “Maybe we should just stop talking about school now.”
“He’s probably just joking,” Albus added in an undertone to Rose. She safely deflated.
“So, Albus,” Scorpius drooled, unfazed by the previously multicoloured Rose, “who do you think’ll win the League this season?”
“I don’t know. But did you hear? The Chudley Cannons have started winning!”
“Yeah, started. Those losers couldn’t dream of beating the Falmouth Falcons.”
Before the discussion could become a spirited argument that would threaten to consume the world in fire and ice (although how they would both work at the same time, nobody was sure), the compartment door slid open with a bang and a dimpled lady stood in the doorway, light shining around her heroically. She opened her mouth and spoke those sacred words that would change the course of history forever.
“Anything off the trolley, dears?”
Albus and Scorpius spun back from beginning their world-destructive argument and decided that food was more important than Quidditch. Albus and Rose piled themselves up with Bertie Botts Every Flavoured Beans, Cauldron Cakes and Pumpkin Pasties. Scorpius bought nothing.
“Aren’t you hungry, dear?” the lady asked him, tired after saving the world.
“Oh, I have my own food,” he sneered.
“Oh,” she said, looking slightly put-off by his tone. “Are you sure you don’t want anything? It’s really tasty; ask any of the older students here.”
“No, thank you,” he drawled.
“If you insist,” she said, and then burst into tears. “This is the first time in nineteen years that this has happened to me!” She sniffed, wiping her nose daintily and smearing bogies into her dress.
“I’m sorry,” Scorpius drooled and spit flew all over the lunch lady.
She left, disgusted and sobbing.
“So, what did you bring?” Albus asked curiously.
“Look,” drawled Scorpius, pulling out a soggy, half-rotten tuna sandwich from his bag.
“Ewwww!” squealed Rose. “Are you seriously going to eat that?”
“It’s my specialty,” sneered a grinning Scorpius. He pointed his wand at the sandwich. “Editto Burrito!” It immediately became a steaming hot, tasty-looking burrito.
“Wow,” breathed Albus as Scorpius stuffed himself.
Rose started to hyperventilate, muttering “He-invented-spells-he-invented-spells, oh no!”
“Yum!” he drooled after swallowing hugely. “I’m addicted to this stuff.”
Albus and Rose (who had calmed down by now, and was looking sulky instead) stared as Scorpius took out sandwich after sandwich and turned them into burritos, as if his bag was really a bottomless pit.
“Undetectable Extension Charm,” he sneered when he noticed their baffled looks.
After Scorpius had overloaded himself with burritos and Albus and Rose’s food had run out, Albus and Rose were about to begin a game of exploding snap when the compartment door slid open and a stout boy with brown hair stepped in.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the famous Harry Potter…” he paused, looking confused, as though he had forgotten his lines “…Potter’s son. I’m Henry Macmillan, pleased to meet you. You don’t need to stay with riffraff like them.”
“They’re not riffraff!” Albus said indignantly.
Henry laughed. “One’s a Weasley! And the other’s the son of a failure from the Dark Lord’s days! Look, Potter, you’ll soon find out some Wizarding families are better than others. You don’t want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there.” He held out a hand for Albus to shake.
Albus stared at him blankly. Rose coughed.
“Oh, yes,” he said, flustered. “I think I can tell the wrong sort for myself, Macmillan.”
“All right, Potter, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“But you didn’t warn me about anything.” Albus frowned.
“Oh, sorry. I’m warning you about riffraff like them.”
“Who?”
“You, know, them.”
“Er…”
“Do I have to repeat my speech all over again?”
“No!” Rose suddenly cried, angst and desolation written all over her face. “It was painful enough the first time. Oh, the boredom! The boredom!”
“Get out,” said Albus coldly, over Rose’s wails.
“All right, Potter, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“But you didn’t…” Albus began, but stopped as he noticed Rose’s pleading face. Henry left, miffed.
“I knew something was going to happen,” said Albus as the door slammed.
“Of course,” said Rose, nodding wisely after calming down. “The confrontation with the archenemy always happens after lunch.”
* * *
The light outside grew dim, and the trio were told to change into their school robes. The express rumbled through moors and hills until it reached a large lake, and eventually stopped at the station. Albus, Scorpius and Rose left the train hurriedly.
“Firs’ years! Firs’ years over here!” boomed a voice. Albus hurried over to the speaker, glad to see a familiar face “ Hagrid often came to visit Harry and Ginny over the summer.
“Hi, Hagrid!” Albus called.
“How are yeh, Albus?” Hagrid asked.
“I’m great!” said Albus. A spray of water laden with algae shot out of the water and hit Albus in the face. “Maybe not,” sniffed Albus as the Giant Squid chuckled evilly.
Hagrid turned towards the mass of students around him. “Right, if yeh’d all hop into a boat, we’ll be off.”
Albus got into a boat with Rose, Scorpius, and, to his horror, Henry. The boats set off drifting gently across the wide lake. Albus looked over the edge of his boat and saw a long, purple tentacle under the shiny black water.
“Why’d you spray me for?” Albus hissed, but all he got as a reply was the sound of more evil laughter.
“Albus! Look!” Scorpius called.
Albus looked up and saw a huge castle; its sheer size and age was amazing.
“Tha’s it, kids,” said Hagrid. “Tha’s Hogwarts.”
Albus Severus Potter and the Thingamajig of Destiny by TrueMarauder
Story Notes:
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns everything in the Harry Potter books. Not us.
Warning: Several of the characters in this story are Out of Character. Also, many of the characters that were either not mentioned, or only briefly mentioned in the books were open to interpretation, and we took the opportunity to make them our own. Of course J.K. Rowling owns then though.
Thank you to WritingFanatic (i.e. The Scribbler) for being our Beta-reader.
Chapter Notes: Summary: In which Albus and Rose meet Scorpius, and get a first sight of Hogwarts.
Chapter Endnotes: Please review, there is always room for improvement.
Note: the Albus/Henry scene is taken from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (both the book and the movie), with slight changes.