Trials of a Slytherin Potter | HP NEXT GENERATION

Chapter One

       EVEN AFTER ALL these years, the same ephemeral sense of wonder still overtook Albus Severus Potter as he propelled through the brick wall between the ninth and tenth platforms at King's Cross Station. One moment, he was standing in the Muggle world, and the next, he wasn't.

       Platform Nine and Three-Quarters was constantly bustling with all sorts of witches and wizards; some were dressed like ordinary, non-magic folk, with their Muggle shirt and jeans, while others wore long cloaks complete with pointed hats. The Hogwarts Express was stopped in the very middle. Thick puffs of white smoke rose from it, swirling around the top of the train.

No matter where his family went—except when it was in the Muggle world—people always stared. Albus knew it was probably because his father, Harry, had defeated Voldemort, the darkest wizard in history. Or perhaps it was because his mother, Ginny, was a famous Quidditch player and Captain of the Holyhead Harpies. Either way, the Potter children clearly had a lot to live up to.

       Lugging his trunk with a sigh, Albus craned his neck and searched the sea of faces for a familiar one. He didn't see his best friend, his cousins, his aunt or his uncle, but he did spot Lorcan and Lysander Scamander with their parents.

       "Lils, look, it's your boyfriends," said the boy beside Albus. He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, nodding his head towards the Scamander twins.

       The boy was his brother, James, who had come to see him off to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. After graduating, James had moved in with his girlfriend, Annabelle Rosevear. Though he no longer lived with the rest of the Potters, he came to visit so often that they almost forgot he didn't.

       "You know they're not really my boyfriends, James," came a reproachful girl's voice. This one belonged to Lily, Albus's younger sister. "I'm not actually dating either one of them."

       "Still, it must be loads of fun to juggle them at the same time, right?" His hazel eyes glinted with echoes of mischief. "If they're not as odd as their mother, that is..."

"Luna's not odd, James," said Ginny, tucking a lock of flaming red hair behind her ear before placing her hands on her hips. "She's just eccentric—and brave and kind, which is exactly why we chose to make Lily's middle name what it is." She turned to her daughter. "And Lily, if you're going to date two boys at once, they can't be brothers. Merlin, haven't I taught you anything useful?"

"What?" Harry chimed in, dumbfounded. He glanced at Lily, adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose, then gaped at her. "I disagree. You can't date two boys at the same time in general, whether they're brothers or not. And don't give me that look."

       She smirked. "Actually, I was going to say that maybe I'd like to be polygamous."

       James let out a bark of laughter and winked at his sister.

       Harry winced and glowered at his youngest child. "You're lucky I'm not Uncle Ron, because he'd say you can't date anyone at all, ever."

"He does say that to Rose," said Lily, rolling her eyes, "which, by the way, is very sexist. He only says it to her. He never tells Hugo that he can't date. Anyway, it's not like she'd actually listen. If there's anyone she really wants to be with, she'll go for it. I'm placing bets that Rose and Scorpius end up getting together by Christmas. They'd be so cute together."