Train Journey

Harry chuckled and waved before walking back to Ginny and Lily.
Albus turned. "Um, I think I'm going to try and make some friends on the ride," he said. "Thanks anyway."

"Dad, I want to go this year," Lily complained.
James drooped a little. "Oh. Well. Have fun, I guess."

"I know," Harry said. "But you'll have to wait to go with Hugo. You don't want Hugo to go all by himself, do you?"
Albus felt guilty instantly. "I'll come with you," he said, changing his mind.
"Teddy," Victoire said softly, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Well, no," Lily sighed. "But can't he come too?"
James shook his head. "Nah, kid. Go make friends. I'll see you at the Gryffindor table anyway." He lifted a hand and started to walk away.
"Hmm?" Teddy murmured, pressing a light kiss to her temple.

"Well, I don't think your mum is ready to let you go yet," Harry whispered.
"J-James?" Albus stuttered and took a couple steps after him.
"It's our last year," Victoire said softly.

"Oh," Lily mused. "Well, in that case, I guess I could stay another year." She looked up at her parents and smiled sweetly.
James turned. "Mhm, Al?"
Teddy nodded. "Yeah. And I need to go patrol the train, remember. So value this while you have it," he grinned.

"That's my girl," Harry said and kissed the top of her head.
Albus hesitated. "I... I'll see you at Hogwarts," he said, quietly.
"I'm worried about Albus, he seemed off at the station," Victoire said.

Lily smiled wider, and Ginny patted her shoulder. "Home time?"
James nodded. "Course I will. Won't be able to get rid of me."
Teddy nodded. "Yeah. Harry asked me to keep an eye on him. I'll make sure he's alright when I do my rounds."

Harry watched as the train disappeared out of sight and smiled. "Home time," he said softly.
Albus nodded and turned to walk down the train.
Victoire nodded and then noticed Albus walk past their compartment. "Hey, there he goes," she said and sat up.

"I'll just catch him, then," Teddy murmured, kissing her cheek before sticking his head out of the compartment. "Hey, Albus," he called, jogging to catch up.

Victoire smiled as he left.
Albus turned. "Oh, hi Teddy," he said.

"You alright? You looked a little upset back there. I know leaving home for the first time can be hard-"

"I'm fine," Albus said quickly, cutting off Teddy. He didn't want to seem weak in front of someone who was basically his older brother.

"It's okay to not be," Teddy replied quietly, genuinely, dropping the head boy façade for a moment. "I wasn't, when I left for Hogwarts. I didn't have my mum and dad waving me off, and I was really anxious. So it's okay, Al. I'm always here to talk to, and you know Victoire is too, and James... There's always someone, in this big family."

Albus stared up at Teddy. He wanted to tell him, how scared he was, how worried he was. But he couldn't. He looked down instead. "I'm okay," he said.

"Can I have a hug?" Teddy asked. "I'm nervous about being head boy and I could do with one." He held out his arms.

Barely hesitating, Albus moved forward and hugged him.

Teddy hugged him tightly, rubbing his back a little. "It's okay to not be okay," he murmured in his ear.

Albus said nothing in return, he just hugged Teddy and tried to stay calm.

Teddy held him close, not letting him go just yet.

Albus smiled ever so slightly. "Teddy?"

"Mhm," Teddy replied.

"What..." he trailed off, hesitant. "What do you think of Slytherin?"

"Slytherin gets a bad rep," Teddy said decisively. "It's full of incredibly clever and talented individuals. I wouldn't be surprised if you got sorted into Slytherin, Al."

Albus jerked back and looked up at Teddy in surprise. "Wh-What?" he asked.