After the epilogue, part 2.

“Hey, Albus!”

His name was accompanied by a raucous laugh Albus knew well to be James’. He whipped around and saw his brother running towards him, Rose and Victoire in tow.

Albus smiled to see his cousin Victoire; she was probably the prettiest person he’d ever seen, even prettier than her mother. She had long, almost waist-length strawberry blond hair and eternally rosy cheeks. She had a Ravenclaw scarf wrapped tightly about her neck.

Rose had one hand on her hip and exploded, “How could you be hanging out with a Malfoy? Have you gone insane?”

“I think your father’s brainwashing has gone too far, Rosie.” Albus looked solemn. “And not too loud…he’s not too far ahead of us.”

James chuckled. “Well, little bro, I don’t care who you hang out with personally, but keep an eye out for those thestrals. I can’t be seen with first years so I can’t stick around and beat them off for you.” Albus knew his brother was anxious for Quidditch tryouts—he was gunning for a Beater position. There couldn’t be anyone better suited, in his opinion.

As he hurried away, Albus called after him, “Well, Victoire thinks it’s okay to stay with us, and she’s older than you are!”

Victoire smiled gently and gave Albus and Rose a quick hug. “Well, with N.E.W.T.S. this year, I’ve definitely got bigger things to worry about than being seen with first years. You two have a great Sorting, I’ll be seeing you in my House, yeah?”

Rose shook her head. “It’s Gryffindor for this Weasley.”

“Me too.” Albus’ grin was confident. Where else could he be placed? After all, he had the blood of the greatest good wizard ever seen coursing in his veins…

A warm hand slipped into his and Rose nodded her head. “Time to go then? Hagrid’s calling for the first years.”

Albus nodded and picked up his trunk and owl cage. A little snowy owl looked back at him and cocked its head; after hearing about his dad’s owl, Hedwig, Albus couldn’t help but pick a snowy owl as well at Eeylops’ Owl Emporium.

“Ready to go, Merlin?”

The little owl hooted and Albus felt a little more reassured. He quickly followed Rose to where Hagrid stood, by the edge of the lake. He was impossible to miss, even if Albus hadn’t grown up around him. Hagrid’s face lit up noticeably when he spotted Albus and Rose.

“Eh, it’s me fav’rit firs’ years!” He gathered them up into a big bear hug, and Rose’s cat, Luigi, mewed plaintively until he let them go.

“Hey Hagrid!” both kids chorused. He beamed down at them and tugged at his expansive beard.

“No time t’ waste, grab yerselves a boat.” Hagrid gestured to the rows of little candle-lit boats waiting to take them to the castle beyond the lake.

Rose dragged Albus over to a vacant boat, and was about to hustle him into it when another familiar voice caught Albus’ ear.

“Oi! Potter! Saved you a seat with me!” Scorpius stood in a boat a little ways down, waving frantically at Albus. Rose gave Albus a scathing look.

“You can’t possibly be thinking—”

“Sorry, Rosie.” Albus gathered his things once more and hurried over to Scorpius’ boat. He looked back and saw that Rose had turned a bright, angry red, but settled down when their cousin Derrick Weasley and the fair-haired Artemis Longbottom approached her about sharing her boat.

Rose had always been partial to Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood’s daughter, who had turned out to be uncommonly beautiful. Crimson-haired, tall and lanky, Derrick was every inch the jokester his father was. Albus decided that Rose would be perfectly entertained without him.

Albus settled into the boat across from Scorpius, who had finally sat down. He was flushed and poked a finger into Merlin’s cage for him to nibble.

“Can’t break away from the Weasley, huh.” Scorpius chuckled and reclined slightly. The boats began to move, and Albus felt excitement bubble in his stomach.

“Never.” The dark-haired boy grinned.

Scorpius pulled a slim pair of glasses out of his pocket and slipped them on. Albus marveled at how intelligent they made him look.

“Look, it says here in Hogwarts, A History that you can’t Apparate into Hogwarts grounds. That’s pretty neat, huh?”

Albus’ mouth fell open. The sounded like something Rose or his crazy Aunt Hermione would say.

“You sure you’re going to get into Slytherin like the rest of your family? You’re awfully brainy.”

Scorpius laughed. “Don’t tell my dad that. If I’m not a Slytherin, he’ll disinherit me, and I’m not particularly fond of that idea. Besides, you don’t know what Darkness lurks beneath this intelligent façade.” He wiggled his eyebrows and Albus chuckled.

The boat landed on the other side of the lake none-too-gently, and Scorpius scrambled out first, extending a hand to Albus. In a flash, their belongings disappeared, to be placed in their respective dormitories once Sorted.

Albus couldn’t contain himself for much longer. He wheeled upon Scorpius with a big grin. “I’m so excited for Sorting!”

With a chuckle, Scorpius patted his back. “Me too, although I’m sure it’ll be fairly anticlimactic for me.”

Minutes later they found themselves in the Great Hall, and Albus felt that shiver down his spine once more. He was ushered to a seat by Scorpius, who had a gentle look in his eyes that made Albus feel somewhat more reassured.

A couple of tables over sat Rose, who shot him a sullen look but was immediately distracted by Derrick, who was sparking his wand for Artemis Longbottom. She giggled and tossed her golden hair, while Rose merely rolled her eyes.

Suddenly, the candles above their heads exploded into colorful confetti, which scattered all over the tables in bursts of green, red, yellow, and blue. A magnified voice boomed over their heads, as an aging Professor McGonagall, now Headmistress, addressed the students.

“Welcome back to Hogwarts, children.” She beamed down at them in her matter-of-fact way. “I presume you all had a satisfactory holiday?”

The Hall erupted into cheers, and it took much hushing from the teachers lined up behind her to quiet the students once more.

“I won’t take but a bit of your time, but as you know, the first years must be Sorted, and then we shall introduce you to the faculty here at our respected institution.”

The response from the students was a mix of cheering and groaning this time. Silence settled once more, however, when the Sorting Hat made its glorious appearance on the stool that had floated over to settle in front of the teachers’ tables. It wiggled slightly and a mouth appeared on its face, which burst open into a jaunty sing-song:

“Though I might look patchy and worn
From my witty-wise decisions
Great witches and wizards are born!
So give me a try and you will see
Your future, your life, your destiny!

You may hear a brave lion’s roar
If when you try me on
I shout, “Gryffindor!”
Forthcoming and strong
With Gryffindor you can’t go wrong!

Or perhaps a badger’s toil
Sweet Hufflepuffs
Enemies can never foil!
Patient and loyal you’ll be
If Hufflepuff you hear from me!

Maybe your wisdom is your key
Then witty Ravenclaw
Is the place for you to be
If your goals are smarts and learning
Ravenclaw’s midnight candle you’ll be burning!

Or your strengths may lie in what seems
A sort of different means
To achieve ambition beyond compare
If mighty Slytherin is your fare

Slip me on, don’t you fear!
You may not be as you appear!”

There was only a moment of silence before Professor McGonagall took her place beside the Sorting Hat. She pulled out a long scroll and the students watched as it rolled down the steps up to the teachers’ tables and between the middle rows of tables.

“Abbott, Ginger.”

The Sorting Hat barely touched her golden curls before there was a cry of “HUFFLEPUFF!”

Albus watched nervously as the very first Sorted student skipped off to the Hufflepuff table. He gripped the edge of his own table until he was white-knuckled, and Scorpius laid a hand on his shoulder and smiled.

“It’s okay, we’ve got a while before us anyway.” Albus wished he could have returned the smile, but bit his lip to keep from whining aloud.

Scorpius couldn’t have predicted, however, how quickly the alphabet flew by. Soon, his head snapped up at the cry of, “Malfoy, Scorpius.” Albus looked over to see that Artemis Longbottom had been Sorted into Ravenclaw, and was being congratulated by a beaming Victoire.

To Albus’ left, the young Malfoy rose from his seat amongst a flurry of giggles and whispers, and strode confidently up to the Sorting Hat, placing it firmly onto his long blond locks.

The Sorting Hat seemed to take an awfully long time to decide, for it was almost a full minute before it thundered, “SLYTHERIN!” with a semblance of finality. The whispers grew louder as Scorpius was greeted at the Slytherin table, and they sounded unfriendly to say the least.

“Potter, Albus.”

Again with the whispers. Albus could feel the cold sweat forming on his palms as he pushed off from the table and walked mechanically to the Sorting Hat. What was once such a harmless piece of clothing all of a sudden seemed menacing.

It can determine your future, he reminded himself.

In one swift motion he jammed it onto his head, and forgetting everything his father had told him, cleared his mind and held his breath.

“…SLYTHERIN!”

For a moment, Albus felt like he was floating. He couldn’t have heard it correctly. Slytherin? But…what could he had ever done…? Dizzy, he gingerly pulled the Sorting Hat off of his head only to see the astonished faces of practically everyone in the Great Hall, including the teachers and Professor McGonagall. The look on James’ face was pure murder, and even Victoire looked surprised.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” he stuttered quietly. It seemed as though Professor McGonagall was the only one who heard, because her face softened at the tears in Albus’ eyes and she laid a hand on his shoulder.

“Hurry off to your House table, Potter. It will be quite all right.”

If he had walked up to the Sorting Hat mechanically, the trip to the Slytherin table was even stiffer. The only smile that greeted him was that of Scorpius, who laid a friendly arm across his shoulders and squeezed when Albus sat down.

“Congratulations, Potter! I know it’s not what you wanted, but hey, we’re in the same House, right?” He took a deep drink of the pumpkin juice that had appeared before them. “Come on, it won’t be that bad.” The tears welling up in Albus’ eyes seemed to alarm Scorpius.

“My parents are gonna kill me,” Albus whispered.

“Weasley, Derrick.”

“Hey, isn’t that your cousin?”

Albus turned to see the family joker, Derrick Weasley, approach the Sorting Hat. It too, took a few moments, and Albus’ mouth fell open at its decree.

“SLYTHERIN!”

Derrick looked every bit as dazed as Albus had, as he took his place next to them at the Slytherin table.

“Blimey, didn’t see that coming.” He managed a lopsided grin, and mussed his dark crimson hair. “Mum was a Slytherin though, so I suppose it’s in the blood…”

Albus felt the hot tears prickling even harder now. “But! Both my parents were in Gryffindor, how could this happen? It must be defective, they don’t put Weasleys in Slytherin!”

Scorpius chuckled. “The thing must be getting old.”

The young Potter was so distraught about his situation that he didn’t even hear when Rose was Sorted into Gryffindor. He swore he heard James whoop loudly, and winced to think of his brother’s reaction the next time they met face-to-face.

Everything his father had said at the train station came rushing back; why hadn’t he told the Sorting Hat that he needed to be in Gryffindor, like his father had been? Was he really such a bad seed that even his subconscious didn’t fight for it? Why had he let his only chance slip away so easily?

The Sorting completed, Professor McGonagall set about introducing teachers. Albus could care less, and buried his face in his arms on the table.

“We are proud to announce a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher this year, yes, Professor Grimm retired at the conclusion of last term.”

Cheers erupted in the Hall once more, and the Headmistress looked horrified.

“Show respect, students! I’m appalled! Nevermind the disruption, however, your new DADA teacher is Professor Theodore Lupin. Please welcome him warmly.”

The shocked look on Victoire’s face told Albus immediately that she had no idea her boyfriend was the new DADA teacher. Teddy appeared from behind Hagrid, his hair and soul patch gloriously turquoise, and winked, seemingly to say, “Surprise!”

At least one of the teachers wouldn’t discriminate him for being a Slytherin.

“The rest of the teacher roster has remained the same as always. Professor Brahe, Potions.”
The professor was a strange sort of man, tall and with a mess of dark hair, who kept his hands plunged into the pockets of his robes and looked like the sort who would rather stare at stars all day rather than his students.

“Your Transfiguration professor, Professor Andras.” Professor Andras seemed like the most normal of the teachers standing in front; he had his arms folded neatly and looked very stern.

“Professor Stentoften, Charms. Sir Jafolo, History of Magic.” Two fairly unremarkable-looking old cranes. Albus spared a chuckle at the thought that the latter was ever knighted—he looked impossibly old and fragile. Probably a veteran of the Grindelwald wars.

“Professor Longbottom, Herbology...and Hagrid will continue to teach Care of Magical Beasts…” Professor McGonagall drifted off into a steady drone, and all Albus could focus on were his sneakers.

What was he supposed to do now? Slytherin? Would his family ever look upon him the same way again?

He glanced quickly over at Rose, who was cajoling happily with James at the Gryffindor table. No, he decided, family life would most definitely never be the same again.