Hogwarts was certainly the greatest wizarding school of London, or so thought Scorpius. But he learnt that magic wasn’t simple at all. If he had thought that he could become a wizard by casting a few funny spells and waving his wand, he had got quite a surprise! Also, he found it pretty hard to keep his father happy by telling him that he was in Slytherin.

Meanwhile, Albus was having similar thoughts about Hogwarts. He did think that Hogwarts was fun, but learning the names of various stars in the sky, knowing the uses of all kinds of herbs to make potions and writing essays on the world’s greatest wizards from the past, was not his idea of magic. He had fun in Charms and Defence Against the Dark Arts, as they were mostly practical. Besides this, he had something else on his mind. He was really worried about his best friend, Scorpius. Scorpius was lying about his house to his father, which would put him into more trouble. If only Scorpius realized that.

Albus, Scorpius and Jacob were the best of friends at Hogwarts. They always hung out together. Their first week had been extremely busy, yet a lot of fun. They were often invited to tea with Hagrid. His rock cakes seemed to be as hard as they had been when Harry went to school. Everyday at the Gryffindor common room, Rose gave James a lecture on how he should do his homework. Rose did try hard, but did not find many mistakes in Albus’ work.
Scorpius was having a hard time trying to convince people of his kind nature. James was acting a lot friendlier, but Rose was hard to please.

Albus had written to his mother, telling her about his new best friend, Scorpius Malfoy. He hadn’t yet received a reply from his parents.
Albus was thinking about his birthday present for Lily, whose birthday was going to arrive in two weeks.

`I’ll get her something from Hogsmeade,’ James told Albus.

`It’s easy for you to say, you’re in your third year! What will I get her?’ Albus asked James, shaking his head at his brother’s lack of concern.

Scorpius was looking forward to the next day; they were going to have to have their first Quidditch lesson. His father had been a good Quidditch player and Scorpius was hoping to be as good as him. He also remembered that Harry Potter had been a much better Seeker than his father. `Al must be as good as his dad; it’s in his blood! ' He sighed.

`Hey Scorp, there’s Fawkes getting a reply, I bet! There’s another owl with him; is that Scram?’ Albus called over to his friend. Scorpius jumped as he heard Albus’s voice. He looked at two owls getting nearer to Hogwarts. Fawkes swooped in through the window and left a letter on the table. Scram did the same and went off again.

Albus tore open the envelope, bursting with excitement at what his mother had to say about his being friends with Scorpius Malfoy. Scorpius was nervous; he was dreading what was written in that letter. What if his father caught him lying? What if he sent a howler, not even a letter? His hands shook as he reached out to open the letter.