Albus Potter, Hazel Malfoy, Scorpious Malfoy, and Rose Weasley are new first-years at Hogwarts, and the four of them only have one thing in common-- they're determined to change the destiny that their parents have unknowenly written for them. One tr...
Soon after Albus flew away and Mr. Potter bid goodbye, I turned to Dad.
"Do you ever wish that you had made different choices?" I blurted. "You know, with the Dark Lord and everything?" I had to know. The Sorting Hat made it seemed like none of those things mattered, but to me, to my family, it mattered.
Dad tilted his head. A ray of sunlight passed over it, highlighting his sharp features. The roar of the Quidditch field had deafened slightly, signaling to me that everyone was going into the castle for a feast.
"No," he said finally. "Every choice I made was for what I believed in. People look down on that, but if I had the choice to do it again— I wouldn't change anything." He looked at me sideways. "Do you wish I had made different choices?"
I thought for a moment. Life would probably be easier without my father's legacy, but not as interesting. "Don't be ashamed of our family, Hazel" Scorpius always told me. I guess I was, because my next words surprised myself almost as much as Dad.
"I love that you made those choices. I'm proud of it."
Dad took a deep breath and turned towards me. Kneeling slightly, we were the same height, looking right into each other's grey eyes. "And Hazel... His name is Voldemort. Not the Dark Lord."
"It's your fault," said James. He sat in front of me, glowering at the lost Quidditch match. "You let in so many goals."
I stared at him. "You let Scorpius catch the Snitch. That let in 150 points. I let in 40. Relax, James. We lost."
He was still glowering at me. "You need to be stronger, Albus. And braver. Maybe then you could make better saves."
"Is Quidditch really all that matters to you?" I asked angrily. Other Gryffindors sitting near us looked up in alarm and tried to scoot away.
"Yes!" said James. He turned his face away. "Never mind."
"I am brave, James. There's a reason the Sorting Hat put me in this house, ya know."
James stared at me for a moment. "I know," he said finally. "I always knew that you were brave."
"Then why did you make life misery for me?" I challenged, almost leaning over the table. "Telling me you were trying to make me more of a Potter?"
My brother sat a little straighter. "You'll thank me one day," he said stubbornly. "I just wanted the Potter-ness to come out sooner than it wanted to."
"You are ridiculous," I said tonelessly. Then I swallowed. "And James... I appreciate you thinking about me, but please— never try to help me again."
"Fine," he said.
It was a small victory, but standing up to my brother had always been a fantasy of mine. I had never been able to do it, and I just did. If that wasn't considered bravery, I didn't know what was.
I guess you're right, Sorting Hat. Perhaps I'm where I belong after all.
"Hey, Scorpius," I said. The small boy looked up from talking to all of the adoring Hufflepuffs to look at me. His eyes widened and he began to stutter something.
"Rose," he said.
He looked to the side and I remembered what the Sorting Hat had said. How kindness is strength, not a weakness, and how everyone can connect to someone who is caring and loving and kind. I swallowed my pride and smiled. Not a real smile, it had been ages since I had one of those.
"Great job at Quidditch today," I said. "And... about before. I know that I probably can't make things right— but I wanted to you to know that I am not going to do anything like that again." I took in a deep breath and felt the clean oxygen filling my lungs to the brim. "I don't want to really ask for your forgiveness— but I hope you will take it into consideration."
I turned away, ready to go back to Mum and Dad, who were waiting by the doors of the Great Hall for me. I turned back again when I felt a warm hand on my shoulder.
"I do forgive you," Scorpius said. His grey eyes were strong and sad at the same time. Then," I know what it's like to have the entire world against you."
And this time, when I smiled, it was a real one.
I watched Rose leave the Great Hall, her braid of dark red hair trailing down her back. As she walked, students drew away from her uneasily. We were more alike then I realized. Just as the world was against me for things I had never done, the school was against Rose for things that she had done. But I knew that she could make things right with her housemates. What she had just done proved that.
"Hey Malfoy," called one thin African-American Hufflepuff," are you going to sit with us?"
I looked to the Hufflepuff table, where several of them were waving me over, bright smiles on their faces. In the past weeks I had sat at the very end of the Slytherin table, wishing that Hazel was eating with me.
"Um..." I said.
The same boy spoke again. "Come on! We're badgers— we don't bite that fiercely."
I strode over to them, grinning. "Oh I don't know about that. Didn't we just beat those big-headed Gryffindor lions?" I sat down next to the boy, where he extended a hand.
"August Thomas," he said. I shook it, and he twisted in his seat to look at the Gryffindor table. "You're right, Scorpius. They don't look to happy, do they?"
"It's just because they got beaten by a Malfoy," I added rather gruffly.
August shrugged. "Maybe. James Potter was the only one to blame, though. He didn't catch the Snitch fast enough." I grinned, and he nodded happily at me. "So. Have you tried these sausages? They're quite good, with lots of spices and—"
My mind drifted off, and August's voice faded into the background of the Great Hall.
There's a Hufflepuff who actually likes me. Maybe I don't have to be alone after all. Maybe Hazel isn't my only source of conversation. Maybe— I've found a friend who doesn't care what my pale skin and white hair mean. A friend... who doesn't care what Dad or Lucias or Narcissa did.
Someone who likes me for me.
That's what I'd been looking for all my life, apparently.
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Well, it's the end of the book. *Wipes tear away. If you've made it this far, well done! This was by far, the longest book that I have ever written. But, of course, the best one, because I had all of my amazing readers to cheer me on! If it weren't for Wattpad, and you guys, I wouldn't have even attempted to write this story. Thank you so much!
