Nineteen years later: The beginning

The Sorting

'First years, where are the lot of ya?' came a wheezing voice as Argus Filch hobbled into sight. Suddenly, there was a loud bang - Filch jumped and dropped Mrs. Norris effectively hitting her with his cane. She howled as Filch cursed searching for the source of the noise only to see James Potter clutching his stomach and laughing. Quickly picking up his cat he brushed aside the students and came to them muttering darkly about how if he'd had his way James Potter would be eaten by the giant squid.

'Grimy little buggers all of ya' he said wrinkling his nose at them and gesturing for them to follow him into the boats. Albus, Rose and Scorpius quickly huddled together trying to find a boat which was empty. They were ushered into the last boat by an irritated Filch only to see that there was already somebody sitting there. It was a girl. There was nothing extraordinary about her unless you looked at her face. Dark eyes that seemed to be filled with determination stared at the trio. Albus shuffled next to her awkwardly before sticking out his hand and introducing himself and his friends. The girls eyes flashed in recognition and for a fleeting second almost seemed to glow red on hearing their names. Almost immediately she rearranged her features into some semblance of normalcy before nodding at them politely.

'I'm Lenore. Nice to meet you' she said with a smile. Albus thought he must've imagined the red glow in her eyes. She looked just like a nervous first year to him.
'Are you nervous? I know I am!' she babbled with a faint accent.
'What accent is that? I've never heard it before' said Rose curiously.
'What? Oh. It's Bulgarian'.
'Ooh! Are you from Bulgaria? We have some friends over there! The seeker Krum is friends with with my mother' gushed Rose immediately.
Immediately Lenore went back into her shell. 'No. I'm not from there.'
'Then where..?' began Scorpius before Albus nudged him to shut up. He glanced at Lenore out of the corner of his eyes. Her guarded expression was back and she'd turned away from them facing the lake instead. The rest of the ride to the castle was uneventful except for Mrs. Norris trying to push one of the unsuspecting first years overboard.

Astonished gasps and excited squeals could be heard from the small group of first years that walked up to the sorting hat.
'Silence please!' came a voice from the side and Professor McGonagall walked in with her black robes flourishing behind her and a wand in one hand. She cleared her throat and began to read out names from the parchment in her other hand.
'Abbott, Hendricks' she called. A chubby boy with blonde hair waddled up to the chair and placed the sorting hat on his head. Not a moment later it screamed 'HUFFLEPUFF'.
The Hufflepuff table burst into applause as the beaming boy ran to them.
'Dudley, Harrison'.
'Wait. Did Professor McGonagall just say DUDLEY? Dudley. As in dads cousin that we're never allowed to visit??? The one that Uncle George laughs at every time that he's mentioned' whispered Albus aghast.
'I don't know. Let's ask him if he knows your dad' hushed Rose confused.
'RAVENCLAW' the hat screamed as the table in front of it clapped in excitement.
'What are you two muttering about?' asked Scorpius curiously when the headmistress announced his name.
'Good luck' they said nervously watching their new friend walk towards the hat.
The sorting hat barely touched his head before screaming 'SLYTHERIN'. Scorpius laughed and ran to the table towards his left as some of the students laughed about another Malfoy joining Slytherin house.

'Mortebella, Lenore' said McGonagall in her clear voice. The dark haired girl nervously walked up and placed the hat on her head. 'Hmmm. It is not often that I get surprised child' said the hat with a shocked tone quite different from its usual monotone. Lenore fidgeted nervously waiting for the hat to finish. 'Whether it is a pleasant or an unpleasant surprise still remains to be seen young Lenore Mortebella' it said thoughtfully. 'Very well then. GRYFFINDOR' it said with finality. Lenore quickly removed the hat not wanting to spend one more minute with the hat on her head and sat down at the Gryffindor table next to Harrison Dudley smiling and shaking hands with everybody as the table cheered.

'Potter, Albus'
The whole hall quieted down almost immediately. The tension was palpable in the air. Albus walked to to the sorting hat. Sure he knew his father was famous. Just like Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermy. But they were just like the others who fought in the war. He never did understand why the Potter name was so revered. Maybe dad saved somebody, he mused as he placed the hat on his head.
The hat was silent for a moment before shouting 'SLYTHERIN'. The hall was enveloped in silence. The son of Harry Potter. A Slytherin. Students muttered to each other staring at Albus before quickly looking away. Meanwhile, the Slytherin table banged their goblets shouting with glee and Scorpius laughed along with them moving to make room for him. Albus dared to sneak a glance at his brother James over at the Gryffindor table. James stared back at him blankly before turning away. Feeling miserable Albus slouched into his chair waiting for the sorting to end. After a few more names Rose was finally called. She walked towards the hat confidently, placing it on her head with a smirk and sitting down. And the sorting hat screeched, 'SLYTHERIN'. Al and Scorpius jumped with joy and cheered with the rest of Slytherin table as Rose cheerfully walked upto them. There was complete chaos among the houses by then. A Potter and a Weasley both in Slytherin.

'Aah.. I believe this is going to be a rather interesting year' mused the Sorting Hat as Professor McGonagall clapped and the feast began.