Harry Potter : the next generation

chapter 1

Albus Potter stared out the window of the Hogwarts Express as the station faded from sight, his apprehension gone.

            I'll be in Gryffindor, he thought. I'm going to be in Gryffindor.

            The thought gave him heart as he watched the landscape fly past him. A couple more first-years, both nervous-looking and silent, filtered in, taking the seats near him, but they didn't talk either. Rose, sitting across from him, was buried in a copy of Hogwarts, A History.

            I can choose, he thought again. Now that he knew that, he could be excited about going to Hogwarts. It was only a matter of hours before the Sorting Hat would be placed on his head and he could tell it where he wanted to go.

            The trolley came by, and although Ginny had given him a small bag full of Galleons and Sickles to take with him, he didn't get anything; he was too excited, thinking about the coming feast. James had eaten so much at the first banquet that he had ended up sick, at least according to John Lupin; James himself would never admit to as much.

            "What are you going to do if you're in Slytherin?"

            Albus turned to see his older brother in the doorway; it was as if thinking about him had made him appear. James had already changed into his Hogwarts robes; he had thrust his chest forward so the scarlet and gold lion was prominently displayed. Standing next to him were several friends of his. Albus knew all of them quite well: Romulus Lupin, the fourth-oldest of the Lupins and the youngest who was at Hogwarts, and Fabian and Gideon Weasley, two of Al's cousins. It seemed that James had told his friends why Albus was so nervous: Romulus's hair was flaming scarlet and gold, and both Fabian and Gideon were wearing their Gryffindor robes. Fabian had made an attempt to Charm the lion emblem so it roared, but he hadn't done it very well; it sounded more like the lion was squeaking.

            "We'd have to disown you, you know," James said casually, sliding into the seat opposite Albus; the two first-years he didn't know, seeing the confident gang of second-years, had disappeared from sight, leaving only Al and Rose in the compartment. Al half-wished he could follow the other first-years out. "Everyone we know's been in Gryffindor. All of us: Teddy, Victoire, Missy, John, Artie—"

            "Not everyone," Rose said, looking up from a thick book. "You ought to know better." She looked to Romulus. "You're one to talk, Rommy. Your mum was in Hufflepuff."

            "Well, all the rest of my family's been Gryffindor," Rommy said. "Dad, me, Teddy, Missy, and John. And I'll bet when Trina and Thecla get here next year, they'll be Gryffindors too."

            "I'll bet your parents said they didn't care where you got Sorted, though."

            Romulus made a face. "Dad said he didn't care even if we were Sorted into Slytherin, but I know he didn't mean it. Mum said she'd kill us if we got Slytherin, although you should've seen the look Dad gave her when she said it. After that, she told us she didn't care, but you know they didn't mean it. I mean, she's got Slytherin relatives, so you think she'd know."

    James raised his eyebrows at Albus. "Everyone we go to school with is in Gryffindor. What're you going to do if you're in Slytherin?"

            Albus bit his lip, flinching a little, but then he remembered what his father had said. Feeling a new surge of confidence, he said, "I won't be in Slytherin. I'll tell it I don't want to be there, and it won't put me there."

            "And how do you know? The Sorting Hat tells you where you're going to go – you don't get to pick."

            "He's right, Al," Rose said. "Do you think anyone would be Sorted into Slytherin if they had the choice?"