Disclaimer: I am not J. K. Rowling. If I were, I'd be publishing this as part of a HP sequel series and earning some money with it. As much as I could use the money, I am not a complete dunderhead, no matter what some may say. I have no wish to go to Azkaban for breach of copyright. That is for those of Lockhart's ilk. So, for all of those who wish to disgrace Slytherin house by being overly fond of litigation, the Harry Potter series does NOT belong to me. This is a work of fanfiction and is written for the fun and challenge of writing. Please do not sue me. You could probably extract more money from Weasley than from me. If you want money, go sue Lucius. He's got it by the vault and you might actually be able to win a case against him now that the Chaos of the Phoenix has managed to clean the Ministry up a bit.
Author's Note: This is in response to the challenge for Silverfox1's The Last Lion.
Albus Severus Potter took a deep breath as he stepped into the Great Hall with the other first years. He winced as he thought of James' incessant teasing. He really didn't want to be in Slytherin -- not since his own brother would make fun of him for it. He sighed. But he didn't feel like he belonged in Ravenclaw -- there was definitely more to life than studying. That just left Hufflepuff. Teddy said that no one was sorted into Gryffindor anymore. The small first year glanced at the long empty table. Why was his own father's house empty?
"Malfoy, Scorpius," a dark-haired man called.
Albus blinked. Had they gone through the alphabet that quickly? He watched the slender blond boy sit confidently on the stool as the dark-haired professor put the Sorting Hat on his head.
"Gryffindor!" the hat announced loudly.
Albus gasped. The first Gryffindor in sixteen years. And he was a Malfoy?! What kind of sense did that make? What would Dad say? Uncle Ron and Uncle George would be horrified. He stifled a snicker at the thought of Uncle Ron turning a sickly green at the news.
"Potter, Albus," the professor announced.
Albus slowly made his way forward. He barely perched on the edge of the stool. The brim of the Sorting Hat shaded his whole face.
"Hmm..." the hat mused in the black-haired boy's mind. "Another Potter. You have intelligence, but not of the bookish sort. You'd never fit in Ravenclaw. You'd never fit in with that placid house. And they've only grown more so since the war. You are loyal, but you have too much exuberance to fit in Hufflepuff. You are determined, ambitious and cunning, but not heartless. And all that bravery, yet you allow your intelligence to guide it."
"Not Slytherin," Albus muttered. "Please, not Slytherin. James'll never let me live that down."
"Not Slytherin?" the hat continued. "Never fear. I had no intention of putting you in Slytherin. No, you are too much like your father and mother for that. I've been waiting for this opportunity for over a decade and a half. It's about time that the feud between the Potters, the Weasleys, and the Malfoys ended. A lion cub like you belongs in..."
"Gryffindor," the hat annouced to the entire school.
Albus stood and walked silently to sit next to the Malfoy boy. He could feel his brother's eyes on him from the Hufflepuff table. He met James' gaze triumphantly.
Albus quietly looked at the silver-haired boy. He bit his lip. What would it be like being in the same house as a Death Eater's son. He'd grown up hearing about the legendary fights his dad, Uncle Ron, Aunt Hermione, and Mr. Malfoy had gotten into back when they were at Hogwarts. It would be thoroughly miserable if this Malfoy was that sort of git.
A short time later, Rose sat down beside him. "So much for Dad telling me to avoid Malfoy," she quipped. "I guess I'm one of the Gryffindor prefects. Which of you is the other?"
Albus rolled his eyes. "Count me out," he retorted. "Why would I want to be a prefect? For that matter, you're no goody-two-shoes, either."
The blond cracked a smile at that. "I guess that leaves me as the other prefect,"he said quietly. "Maybe then Father won't be so upset that I'm not in Slytherin."
"Your dad will be angry that you're not in his house?" Rose asked, growing serious. "But why? It's not like you had any say in the matter."
The boy shrugged. "He says that all Malfoys are Slytherins and if you're not a Slytherin, you're not a Malfoy," he muttered. "At least you two are normal for your families."
"If you count being in the same house as a Malfoy as normal," Albus countered. "Anyway, I guess you'll be famous. You're the first person to be sorted into Gryffindor since Dad left Hogwarts. That's got to count for something with your dad, right?"
The other boy shrugged again, but looked happier. "I can hope." He held out his hand. "Scorpius Malfoy."
Albus shook the other boy's hand. "Albus Potter," he replied. "But everyone calls me Al."
"I'm Rose Weasley," Albus' cousin said, extending her hand. "Pleased to meet you." Suddenly she yelped as a grey, transparent figure rose through the table.
"At last!" the ghost exclaimed. "It's a little hard being the Gryffindor ghost when there are no Gryffindors. Welcome to Hogwarts!"
"Thanks, Nick!" Albus replied as the ghost floated away. "And here I was afraid I'd end up in Slytherin and James would tease me every time he saw me. Of course, he still might."
Scorpius glared at him. "What's wrong with Slytherin?" he challenged.
"Oh, nothing," Rose replied calmly. "Just Dad told me he'd disown me if I was sorted into Slytherin -- not that he meant it, of course -- and James has been harrassing Albus about getting sorted into Slytherin since we got our letters. Everyone else might want to get sorted into Slytherin, but Dad and Uncle George have convinced James that Slytherin's the worst fate imaginable. Nonsense of course."
Albus frowned. "The only problem with this all is..." he paused for a moment. "How are we ever going to win the House Cup? There's only three of us. All the other houses have at least a hundred students to earn points. Gryffindor hasn't had a chance in over fifteen years."
Scorpius grinned. "Well... I don't suppose anything excitng happens anymore, not like when our parents were here? The war ended before we were born, but that doesn't mean that the wizarding world is perfect, does it?"
Albus and Rose looked at each other and back at Scorpius. "Are you saying what I think you are?" Albus asked.