Keeping Secrets

Albus watched his father's face drift away. This was really it. Hogwarts was just a train ride away. He figured he'd go find James in one of the compartments, so he peered into every compartment he saw.

There are a lot of kids at Hogwarts, Albus thought, gulping. James got something right. I hope he didn't get everything he said right. Albus finally found James sitting in a compartment with two other boys.

"Hey James," Albus squeaked.

"Go away, little first year!" said the boy to James's left.

"Take a hike, little bro," James sneered, and the boy to James' right nodded in agreement.

"Wh-where am I supposed to go?"

"Somewhere with first years," the boy who had nodded said.

"I met Jake and Jason on the train, just find people who look afraid, like you. Everyone finds their friends on the train."

"But- but- but James! How...err...what if we're not in the same house? Can't I just stay with you, at least until I know who's in my house?"

"No! Now go!"

James slammed the compartment door on Albus's face. He looked up and down the train for anyone with a scared face, just as James had said. Everyone seemed so happy.

What if I'm the only first year? Wait, Rose is a first year! Albus quickly looked around for her, but to no avail. I don't see her anywhere. There have to be other first years here, somewhere.

He kept walking, passing a snickering group of Slytherins and many other young witches and wizards who looked very unafraid.

How am I supposed to make friends? James must have been fibbing again. I'll bet no one makes friends on the train. He then started to walk back to James's compartment.

"H-h-hi," someone stuttered to Albus's right.

"H-hello," Albus replied back, turning around to see a boy with strawberry blond hair and silvery gray eyes.

"Looking for a compartment? There's no one else in here, just me. You could come in if you'd like."

"Oh, yeah, sure! I'm guessing that you're a first year too?"

"Yeah, but I've been to Hogwarts before, my older brother was here before me. He's a sixth year. He got really sick, last year or was it the year before. So, anyway, we got to come and visit him. Hogwarts is really awesome!"

"Oh really? Cool," Albus said. The boy gave him a weird look, and he corrected himself. "Not about your brother getting sick, but, you know, about getting to come here before. I have an older brother too, and he's a second year, but he never gets sick so I never come. I'm Albus, by the way. What's your name?"

"Name's Cody. Well, not everyone does get to come before their first year. What house is your brother in? Mine's in Gryffindor, most of my family has been. Hopefully I am too, it's really likely according to my mum, since she was the only Ravenclaw."

"Really? My brother's a Gryffindor, too, all my mum's side was too, but I don't know about my dad's. My dad and gran and papa on my dad's side were, but that's all I know. I hope I'm in Gryffindor, too, it's still likely...err...isn't it?"

"Oh yes, more likely than being in Slytherin, that's for sure."

Yes! Finally I can stop worrying about that! Cody and Albus continued to talk about the house, until his friend's face lit up.

"I finally got it!" Cody exclaimed. "You looked so familiar and I couldn't place it. You look a lot like Harry Potter!"

"Well, I'm Albus Potter, so I may look a bit like my dad..." And then realization hit him. "But wait, how do you even know who my dad is? I know he's an Auror, but I didn't know people knew Aurors by name, or even by face, for that matter."

Cody laughed. "You Potters! You're always so modest, that's what my dad said. He was three years under your dad, and in the famous D.A. with him, too! 'Said Harry always used to try and make things he did seem less impressive than they really were! No one ever listened to that though."

Albus could not believe his ears. His dad was a legend? No way. The famous D.A.? What was this "D.A.?" Was this guy serious, or was he trying to make him look stupid?

Could his parents have been keeping something from him, or did he just miss something this important. His parents would have told him if his dad was famous, wouldn't they?

"My dad... and your dad? The famous D.A.? My dad was impressive, but modest? Wh-wh-what are you talking about?" Albus sputtered.

"What do you mean 'what am I talking about?' Your dad's a legend!"

"My dad - who's your dad?"

"My dad, he's Nigel Scamander. He's a famous naturalist now, you might have heard of him. Nigel's actually his middle name, but back in Wizard Care, when he was young, he got teased 'cause his first name's Rolf. But I can't believe you're Harry's son!"

"What's so great about my dad?"

"What's so -" Cody glanced at the window, and then - "ALBUS! We're here! We-are-here, look!" Cody pointed out the window to a group of boats, silhouetted behind them was a faint looking castle. "There it is - Hogwarts School of Witch Craft and Wizardry!"

"We're here!" Albus shouted after it finally hit him.

The boys, shaking at the knees, stepped off the Hogwarts Express and onto the platform.

Finally, I'm almost at Hogwarts! Once they were on the platform, they froze. People were everywhere, moving in groups of two or more. Every color flashed past them - red, green, blue, and yellow. The boys stood and waited for someone to tell them where to go.

"First years! This way, all first years make your way towards the boats! They will be escorting you to Hogwarts!"

"That voice sounds familiar," Albus thought aloud, "do... do you recognize it?"

"No, but it has to be one of the Professors," Cody guessed.

"Oh yeah, I forgot..." Albus' voice trailed off just as they approached the boats.

"Hello, Albus, excited to be starting at Hogwarts I hope," Professor Longbottom greeted. Neville Longbottom was a family friend; he always made frequent trips to visit them. They usually celebrated Neville and Harry's birthdays together, for they're only a day apart. Neville was like another uncle to Albus.

"Hi, Neville! Of course I'm excited about going to Hogwarts. I've wanted to go ever since I was five and could understand where Teddy went off too."

"Ah, yes, of course, and Albus, at school it's 'Professor Longbottom.' We don't want people to think of you as a teacher's pet, now do we?"

"Oh no, of course not. James calls you Professor Longbottom, too, then? Is that why he kept calling you that all summer?"

"Yes, and Rose will call me that now, too." Professor Longbottom turned around, and called for first years.

"Hello, Professor Longbottom!" called someone from a distance.

Albus squinted to see (he must need a new prescription for his glasses,) and he saw two people running towards them - one who he didn't recognize, and one who -

"Speak of the devil!" Professor Longbottom exclaimed. "Hello, Rose!"

The two girls finally made it to the edge of the lake, and stopped, panting to catch their breath.

"Mum said I should call you that at school, and it seems logical," Rose said, and then she saw Albus, and with a glance, Rose saw the curiosity brimming from his eyes. "Oh, everyone, this is Amber. I met her on the train. Amber, this is..."

"Everyone," Amber interrupted, and the two started giggling.

Cody leaned over and whispered into Albus's ear, "Girls."

Rose then turned to Albus. "I didn't see you on the train. Were you sitting with James?"

Albus thought for a second, trying to figure out how he should reply, but then he shook his head "no" and introduced Cody to everyone, with a "Your dad is Rolf Scamander?" from Rose.

"You kids should really get in the boats," Professor Longbottom suggested, "They'll be leaving soon."

The four children got onto a boar consisting of only one other passenger. He was a blonde haired boy with very soft brown eyes, tall and a bit chubby.

"Hello," said the blonde boy.

"Hi. I'm Albus; this is my cousin Rose, her friend Amber, and my friend Cody. What's your name?"

"I'm Lance. It's nice to meet everyone. What are you all hoping to be in?"

"Gryffindor," everyone else chimed.

"Me too."

The five hopeful Gryffindors' voices faded, as they got closer to the school. The chattering of voices was replaced with, ohs and ahs, as, one-by-one, everyone got off their boats and made their way up the front steps of Hogwarts. The place was quite bigger than Albus had thought; half of the building seemed to be newer looking than the other half did. Any murmur of a sound was immediately silence as they approached the door of the Great Hall. The door was taller than anything Albus had ever seen and that includes his family's friend Grawp, who was a giant and the old Hogwarts game keeper Hagrid's half-brother.

They entered the Great Hall to be greeted by four long tables full of students. At the front of the room sat a long table with a handful of older looking witches and wizards, Albus could only guess that they must be the Hogwarts professors. A stool sat in front of the table with a scrawny hat sitting atop it. That must be the Sorting Hat, he thought, my dad said it was once burnt, but the magic Godric Gryffindor had set upon it helped it to reconstruct itself.

"The Sorting Ceremony is to begin. As I call your name up you will sit on this stool, I will then place the hat upon your head. It will announce to the whole school what house you are to be in, then you will go sit with your respected house," Professor Illimuse addressed to the first years, "first up is Barnes, Chloe!"

A girl with short dirty blond hair and bright blue eyes walked nervously to the stool and did as she was told to. She seemed to sit there for what seemed like hours before the hat screamed, "RAVENCLAW!" The table to Albus' left exploded in applause and welcomed their newest member as Chloe rushed to go sit by them.

Fourteen other first years were sorted before Albus recognized a name. Four Slytherins, two Gryffindors, four Hufflepuffs, and four additional Ravenclaws were sorted.

"Limbritan, Lance," was called up next; he was the boy who they met on the boat. Albus waited for him to be sorted, he was hoping the five of them would end up in -, "GRYFFINDOR!" Now the table to right once again exploded in applause.

Professor Illimuse then called up, "Malfoy, Scorpius," to the stool. That's the guy Uncle Ron said not to make friends with, but Aunt Hermione said not to judge too quickly. "SLYTHERIN!" The table to Albus' far right applauded, but mixed expressions were found upon the faces of the rest of the Slytherins. I guess lots of people feel the same way about the Malfoys as Uncle Ron does. I wonder what they ever did?

"Scamander, Cody." Albus gave his new friend a comforting smile. Cody seemed like a really great guy and Albus could only hope they were in the same house. Cody put the hat on and with in moments was announced a Gryffindor.

"Morel, Lea. SLYTHERIN!"

"Olsen, Natasha. HUFFLEPUFF!"

You may be a Slytherin...

"Penderson, Noah! HUFFLEPUFF!"

Don't say that James...I only said maybe...

"Perry, Michael. HUFFLEPUFF!"

The Sorting Hat let me choose...

"Petit, Martha. SLYTHERIN!"

It will let you choose too...

"Potter, Albus."

Albus's stomach flopped over, and the quiet in the room seemed surreal. Whispers were breaking threw the silence and connecting to Albus' ears, that's Potter's son, Harry's kid, Ginny's little boy, James' brother... Albus now remember what Cody had said; your dad's a legend. Albus sat down and waited for the hat to be placed on his head. He felt it brush against the brown strands of hair that never stayed flat upon his head. He had barely felt it touch the bottom ridges of his hair when the hat yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Albus was filled with happiness, as he rushed over to the Gryffindor table, he saw James clapping loudly and beaming brightly. Albus took a seat next to Cody, James and his friends moved to sit next to him as well.

Albus sat through three more sortings, all three becoming Ravenclaws (Price, Kamile; Reid, Lukas; and Ross, Adam.) "Selesive, Amber," who Rose had introduced him to earlier became a Gryffindor as well. Two more students were sorted before Rose, (Vervive, Nicole [Ravenclaw] and Van Dik, Bence [Slytherin.])

Rose Weasley walked up to the stool with a spring in her step looking confident, and waited, it seemed as if the hat would never decide what house she should be placed into. Then it finally yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!" making all the Weasleys who had attended Hogwarts Gryffindors.

Everyone sat threw as two more girls were sorted into Gryffindor (White, Emma and Wilson, Grace.) Albus happily finished the start of term fest and went up to bed with the thought planted in his head, he was in Gryffindor, and he had made his family proud.