The rhythmic clatter of the train on the tracks was a comforting hum in the background, but Scorpius found himself only half-listening to it. His mind was still tangled up in everything that had happened in the last hour. He had boarded the Hogwarts Express expecting a long, lonely ride—maybe a few wary stares, some whispered gossip, but nothing unexpected.
Instead, he had somehow ended up becoming friends with an eleven-year-old kid whose father was an enemy of his. Scorpius held back a laugh at the thought of how Draco would react to this unexpected development.
When the boy entered the compartment with his red-haired friend, he immediately recognized him as Harry Potter's son. The boy looked like a carbon copy of Harry Potter from the movies, minus the glasses and the lightning bolt scar on his face. Seeing that he was a nice kid, even if the girl beside him was annoying, was refreshing.
Maybe it was engraved into his genes, but he didn't mean to snarkily ask which generic Weasley the girl was. The girl was bossy and snobbish, so it shouldn't have surprised him when he learnt that the girl was Ron and Hermione's daughter. Before his shock could be seen by them, Brynden provided the perfect distraction by calling her a red rose.
After the girl left, the conversation became deep. Albus revealed his hidden insecurities about not being able to live up to the expectations. Scorpius pitied the boy. Lots of descendants of famous people had this fear of not living up to the legacy. To lighten the mood, Scorpius made a ridiculous deal.
Scorpius glanced at Albus, who was still grinning about their ridiculous bet. The deal was absurd, of course. It wasn't like they could swap Houses on a whim, but the very thought of it—it-the sheer chaos it would cause—was amusing enough to make Scorpius go along with it.
A sharp voice suddenly rang through the train.
"We will be reaching Hogwarts in ten minutes. Please leave your luggage on the train; it will be taken to the school separately."
Scorpius blinked and sat up straighter. Since when did the Hogwarts Express have an announcement system?
Brynden, his raven, ruffled his feathers and croaked, "Noisy~bad."
"Yes, noisy bad," Scorpius muttered, shaking his head. He turned to Albus. "Was that always a thing?"
Albus shrugged. "Dunno. Maybe the conductor's just yelling loudly?"
Scorpius gave him a flat look. "And which wizard do you know that can yell loud enough to be heard over an entire train, despite the noise from the engines and rails?"
Albus barely even hesitated before answering, "My mum."
Scorpius stared at him. "Your mum?"
Albus just nodded.
Scorpius mentally mapped the name—Ginny Potter. Ex-Weasley. He had never met her, but if she was anything like Molly Weasley, then, well… maybe Albus had a point. A shudder ran down his spine at the thought.
"Sound from here," said Brynded while pecking at a tube running through the length of the compartment. It was so high up that Scorpius would have never noticed it if it wasn't for Brynden's help.
"Do you think it's enchanted?" asked Albus.
"Probably," said Scorpius.
The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way toward the door and onto a platform on the outskirts of Hogsmeade. The sun was just beginning to set, painting a picturesque landscape in the sky.
Scorpius got down from the train. Albus followed behind him. From the crowded platform, he spotted many familiar faces. He saw the Slytherin prefect Horace Parkinson lead the green-robed students to where he assumed the Therestrals were. A teenager with neatly cropped blond hair led the Gryffindors, and he assumed the other house prefects were doing the same.
"First years! Firs' years over here!" said a robust voice.
Scorpius turned toward the voice and immediately spotted Hagrid standing at the edge of the platform, towering over the sea of first-years. He was still just as massive as his father had described, but age had softened some of his rough edges. His once wild beard was now neatly trimmed, though still thick and full, giving him a rather Santa Claus-like appearance. His long hair, streaked with gray, was tied back into a loose ponytail that rested between his broad shoulders.
"First years! Firs' years over here!" Hagrid called again, waving a large hand.
Scorpius nudged Albus, who was craning his neck to take in everything around him. "Hagrid's still the gamekeeper?"
Albus nodded. "Yeah, that's Hagrid. He's been a gamekeeper forever. My dad says he used to teach Care of Magical Creatures too, but he mostly takes care of the grounds now."
They followed the crowd of first-years toward Hagrid, who gave them all a broad, welcoming grin. "Right then, everyone follows me! It's a bit of a walk, but we'll be at the boats soon enough."
The group began moving, following Hagrid down a neatly paved path with unlit streetlamps. The air was crisp with the approaching autumn, and the last golden rays of the sun cast long shadows as they walked. Scorpius could hear the excited chatter of his fellow first-years, many of whom were nervously discussing the Sorting Ceremony.
Rose was already deep in conversation with two other first-years a few paces ahead.
"So your dad was a Gryffindor too?" Rose asked, eyes lighting up as she spoke to a tall boy with messy dark brown hair.
"Yeah," the boy replied with a grin. "Henry Wood. My dad was Oliver Wood—he was a Quidditch player back in the day. I'm hoping to try out for the team once I'm old enough."
"Oh, you have to meet my dad," Rose said excitedly. "He still goes on about his Quidditch days."
Beside them, a girl with curly auburn hair laughed. "I think everyone's parents do. My mum still talks about how Gryffindor won the House Cup in her first year. I swear she's told me that story a hundred times."
Rose grinned. "That sounds like my Uncle Ron."
The girl smiled. "I'm Lucy Thomas, by the way. My mom told me that my dad and my Uncle Seamus met in Hogwarts."
"Nice to meet you," Rose said, shaking her hand. "I'm Rose Weasley."
Henry smirked. "Like that wasn't obvious."
Rose rolled her eyes. "Oh, hush."
"Man, Rose's already made many friends," whined Albus.
"We'll make a couple of friends too," said Scorpius," By the way, I thought that we would have to walk in the dark on a muddy trail."
"Why would you think that?" asked Albus.
'Because I read the books,' thought Scorpius, but said something else, "I heard that from my parents."
"That doesn't sound safe," said Albus.
"Too bad, I've been practicing my Lumos charm for this moment," said Scorpius.
As they continued walking, the trees thinned, revealing the edge of a great black lake. The smooth, glassy surface reflected the deepening twilight, and just ahead, bobbing gently in the water, were several small boats. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.
"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore.
Albus stepped onto a boat and offered his hand to Scorpius," Careful, the boat is rocking."
"Thanks," Scorpius said, taking the hand and sitting down near the front. By now, the sun had completely set, and the dark sky was only illuminated by a bright moon. There were no stars visible in the sky. Luckily, each boat had a lantern equipped, so students did not have to blindly trip all over.
"Mind if we join your boat?" two other kids asked them.
"Sure, come join us," said Scorpius.
"Thanks," said one of them. They stepped onto the boat carefully, and once they got comfortable, they introduced themselves. "Wow, there are so many boats here," said one of the boys awkwardly, probably trying to make small talk.
"There are forty-five boats in total," said Albus.
"Did you count them that quickly?" asked Scorpius.
"No, there are numbers painted on the side of each boat," said Albus.
Scorpius leered over the edge to look at the numbers. The boat they were on was labeled number 39.
"With 45 boats, that means that they can fit 180 first years in total," said Scorpius.
"180! How did you multiply that?" asked Albus.
"In my head."
"Wow, if I wanted to do the math, I would have to do it on paper," said Abus in astonishment. Hey, tell me, what's 57 times 7?"
"I'm not a calculator," Scorpius rolled his eyes.
Albus and the other kids on the boat looked at him expectantly. Scorpius stared back at them with a battle of wills. They stared back harder.
"...399," Scorpius finally replied in defeat. "But enough about me, I still don't know your names."
The boy who had spoken first cleared his throat. "Right, uh—guess we should introduce ourselves, yeah?" He had light brown skin and wavy dark hair that was slightly longer on top, falling into his eyes. "I'm Adrian Sahota. I live in Durham." He grinned, his dark brown eyes gleaming in the lantern light. "I had no idea that magic was even real until a Professor came to our house and told us."
The other boy, who had slightly curly blond hair and sharp green eyes, smirked. "Jonas Selwyn. Half-blood." He tilted his head slightly. "Technically from an old pureblood family, but my mum's a Muggle-born, so my grandparents don't talk to us much." He didn't sound particularly upset about it, just stating a fact.
Scorpius nodded in understanding. The Selwyns were one of those families that had been deep into the whole blood purity thing. The fact that Jonas was here, casually shrugging about his family issues, made Scorpius feel like the future was way better than what would have happened in the books.
"Your mum's a what?" asked Adrian.
"A muggle-born is a wizard born from muggles," explained Jonas.
"And muggles are people without magic?"
"Yes."
"So having magic guarantees that your children will also be able to use magic?"
Jonas winced," Not exactly. You could also be a squib--a descendant of wizards without magic."
"What about you two?" Adrian asked, glancing between Scorpius and Albus. "You both seem like you know this already."
Albus rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I grew up with a wizarding family, so… yeah, I guess?" He hesitated, then added, "Albus Potter."
Adrian blinked, then sat up a little straighter. "Wait. Like, Harry Potter Potter?"
"Er… yeah," Albus said, looking slightly embarrassed.
Adrian whistled. "Okay, that's kinda cool. I saw an entire shop filled with posters, storybooks, and the whole lot about your father."
Albus groaned. "Great. Even new Muggle-borns know about my dad.
Adrian tilted his head. "So, what exactly did your dad do? I mean, I know he took down some really powerful bad guys, but was he like… a traveling hero? Did he go on a quest to defeat evil?"
Scorpius stifled a laugh as Albus looked increasingly uncomfortable.
"Uh… not exactly," Albus said slowly. "He fought in a war when he was a teenager, but after that, he became an Auror."
Adrian frowned. "An Auror?"
Jonas leaned back slightly, looking amused. "They're kind of like the magical version of the police. They hunt down dark wizards, make sure no one's out there messing around with dangerous magic, that kind of thing."
Adrian's eyes widened. "Whoa. So, your dad still fights bad guys?"
Albus shrugged. "Sometimes."
"That's wild," Adrian said. He leaned forward, eyes gleaming with curiosity. "How does it feel to be the son of a celebrity?"
Albus stiffened, looking away. He didn't answer.
An awkward silence settled over the boat. Jonas raised an eyebrow at Adrian, who blinked, realizing he might have hit a nerve.
"Uh—" Adrian scratched the back of his head. "Sorry. That was probably a weird question."
Scorpius, sensing the tension, smirked and leaned in slightly. "Oh, he loves it. The fame, the adoring fans, the endless supply of chocolate frog cards with his dad's face on them—"
Albus shot him a glare. "Shut up, Scorpius."
"Wait, Scorpius!" It was Jonas who exclaimed out loud. "As in Malfoy Scorpius."
"Yes," said Scorpius.
Jonas stared at Scorpius as if he had just grown a second head. His mouth opened, then closed, then opened again before he finally let out a short, incredulous laugh.
"You're kidding," Jonas said, shaking his head. "This is insane."
Scorpius, thoroughly enjoying the reaction, leaned back and crossed his arms with a smug grin. "Oh, please. Do go on."
Jonas let out another laugh, rubbing his face. "I just… I spent my whole childhood hearing about the Malfoy family, right? My dad used to tell me stories about how they were these big, important pureblood wizards—super rich, super influential." He looked Scorpius up and down, his expression caught somewhere between amazement and amusement. "And here you are, sitting in a boat with Harry Potter's kid, cracking jokes."
Scorpius smirked. "Oh, trust me, if you told my grandfather about this, he'd probably faint."
Jonas chuckled again, shaking his head. "Man, the irony."
Adrian, who had been following the conversation with growing interest, suddenly frowned. "Wait… so what's so funny. Is he a bad guy?"
Scorpius turned to him, still looking completely unfazed. "No."
Adrian blinked. "Oh. Alright then." And with that, he simply nodded, accepting the answer at face value.
Jonas snorted. "That's it? No follow-up questions?"
Adrian shrugged. "I mean, he said no. What, am I supposed to interrogate him?"
Scorpius let out a laugh. "Finally, someone other than Albus who doesn't think I'm a bad guy."
Jonas raised a hand, but Scorpius shrugged him off," You're a Selwyn. You're automatically half-bad. You don't count."
"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a larger boat to himself. "Right then -- FORWARD!" And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once.