set immediately after the Epilogue of Deathly Hallows
Alike in Dignity- A Fable
James renewed his teasing the moment their compartment doors closed and the Hogwarts express rolled away from platform nine and three quarters. He leaned into his brother's ear and hissed like a serpent. He laughed, waiting for Albus' indignance, but it never came. The younger boy merely smiled, looking awfully pleased with himself, as though at some personal secret. James smirked. "Happy to be a Slytherin now, Albus? Looking forward to becoming a dark wizard?"
"I'm not going to be in Slytherin," Albus said, "I'll be in Gryffindor, like you." He lowered his voice and whispered conspiratorially, "Dad said I could choose."
"Choose? What do you mean?"
Albus continued, "He said I could. He told me that he did."
"No way."
Despite his words, Albus could tell that James believed him by the hurt look on his face. The elder boy was clearly disappointed that his father had not confided this secret in him first. Albus merely shrugged.
James stood. "Well, if that's true then…" He opened the door of the compartment. "Oi! Midgets! First years!"
The cluster of students who had been trying to surreptitiously peep at the famous Harry Potter's son jumped. Most looked sheepish, but the smallest boy at the front grinned inanely. He had been spoken to by James Potter! What a story that would make. He was the first to speak up.
"Yes Mr. Potter?"
"Right. You know about sorting?"
A few looked puzzled, but they were soon elbowed by the others, who were nodding solemnly.
"Right. Long line, McGonagall, hat, etc. You lot had better pick Gryffindor. Best house there is. It's the house I'm in, and the house my dad was in.
"Right. So make sure that the moment the hat hits your head, you're thinking just as hard as you can: 'I want to be in Gryffindor.' Hope to see you there."
"Does that work, Mr. Potter? I mean…"
"Would I lie to you?" James ruffled his hair- his father's hair- and smiled disarmingly.
"All I mean…that is…if we could just pick our houses, why bother with the sorting hat at all?"
"Look, do you lot want to be in Gryffindor or not?"
"Of course!" The lad squeaked excitedly
"Then just do it. Now go bother someone else, y'hear?"
"Yes Mr. Potter."
The group walked away whispering breathlessly. Not only had they spoken with the Harry Potter's son, they had a fail-proof way to end up in his House! Every first year they met on the way back to their compartment was delighted to hear the news, and soon the whole train was buzzing with excitement.
Albus was concerned.
"James? I don't think you ought to have said that. I mean, dad never told anyone… I don't think people are supposed to know. Won't it, um, throw things off a bit?"
James rolled his eyes.
"Relax, Albus. It'll never work."
Albus sincerely hoped so.
"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat. The hall was deathly quiet. The Gryffindors had long since stopped shouting for their new classmates. Professor McGonagall had never heard the hat sound so irate.
Scorpius Malfoy, on the other hand, was incredibly relieved. The entire school, including the now bursting Gryffindor table, had watched him for nearly ten minutes as he sat with his eyes screwed shut, silently begging the hat not Slytherin. He walked to the full bench with his head down, ignoring the silence. His fellow Gryffindors eyed him warily. Several of the older ones hissed under their breath, "death eater," and the already crowded space packed closer together to give him a wide berth at the table.
They're already prejudiced against me, he thought, and kept his head down. I made my choice, though. He prayed it was the right one.
Soon enough, it was Albus' turn. He heard his name called and walked forward.
Had the hall not already been silent, the room would have quieted. As it was, an even deeper hush fell on the crowd. Albus' cheeks burned. They had reddened when the third Gryffindor in a row had been called- he had put aside the first two as a mere fluke- and had deepened with every subsequent sorting. It was all his fault. He sat and put the hat on his head. "I'm sorry" was the first thing that came to mind.
Sorry? So this is your doing? You're the one who has turned them against me? A cunning plot. You belong in Slytherin. At least you owe me that for all the students you've deprived me of.
Albus was sure this was the voice of Salazar himself.
I don't belong there, he thought, I should be in Gryffindor, like my father, and Dumbledore.
But you've another name too, boy. Severus. He was one of my best. A very noble man. And don't let them tell you that he was a Gryffindor at heart. After all, a spy with bravado is about as useful as a leaky cauldron. No, he was a Slytherin through and through.
I'm sorry.
And so you are. Don't worry, boy, I'll send you off to Godric. None of mine would ever be so contrite. But just remember: prejudice towards any house will be the ruin of this school. Every talent has its place, and each is worthy, in its own way. Don't forget that. Now I'm tired of talking to you. Better run along to "GRYFFINDOR!"
This time the table broke into applause and cheers. Albus, though, was entirely sobered by his conversation with the hat. He ignored his brother's beckoning, and the dozen seats he was offered, to sit next to Scorpius Malfoy. He solemnly put out his hand.
Malfoy looked surprised, but took it.
"Potter." The blond boy jerked his head down in a nod of recognition.
"Congratulations Malfoy."
"Likewise."
They sat in silence, and the school returned its attention to the new student waiting to head to Gryffindor. Though neither Scorpius nor Albus dared to glance at the other, had they looked, they would have seen smiles.
The rest of the sorting went as badly as the beginning. In the end, a handful of first years took the steps to Ravenclaw tower, two wore the yellow and black of Hufflepuff, and just one, a small, slightly chubby blond girl who looked the very image of Sweet Helga herself, found her way to the underground lair of Slytherin. The remainder formed a veritable sea of red and gold.
"Well, we should have an advantage now in the House Cup," James said cheerfully to his little brother. "More people to earn points."
"and to lose them," muttered Albus.
A scuffle broke out just in front of them.
"My parents are not Death Eaters, and I have as much right to be in this house as you!" Scorpius' voice rose above the noise of the crowd.
"Yeah, right!" The antagonists flew at each other, until Professor McGonagall caught them in her Gorgonish gaze.
"Boys! If you want to prove yourselves members of my House you will both behave with more decorum. Ten points from Gryffindor."
Albus looked over his shoulder at the rubies flying into the upper bulb of Gryffindor's hourglass. James grimaced.
"Oh dear."
"Oh dear, here we go again," Professor Longbottom sighed. As much as he loved herbology and Hogwarts, he was almost dreading the start of the school year. Last year had been, simply put, a fiasco.
Gryffindor house had thoroughly ashamed itself in the House Cup. The multitude of first years had splintered into feuding factions, all styling themselves some variation of "the true Gryffindors." Eager to prove their "daring, nerve and chivalry," the youngsters turned to dueling when they felt their honor slighted. The older students had watched in horror as their hard earned points vanished with every punch thrown and every jinx cast by the Gryffindor gangs.
The Slytherins, originally deeply offended by the sorting slight, had their own honor restored by absolutely crushing their opponents. Professor Slughorn was ever so smug, and smiled condescendingly as he reproached the Gryffindors. "Tut tut… If a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. Old words, but true. I'm afraid that will be five points from Gryffindor" Slughorn had no need to worry with his own first year. The sweet girl was an absolute niffler when it came to finding out mischief, and never failed to expose her peers' wrongdoings.
Albus also looked forward to the year's sorting with anxiety. It was his fault that the disaster had occurred. He shifted in his seat when McGonagall placed the hat on its own accustomed stool.
The first years were nervous, as usual, but it was an excited nervousness that first years always had. Everyone else was truly worried, bracing themselves for what the hat might say about the disaster of last year. Finally, when it was sure it had complete silence, the Sorting Hat began to recite.
"Though I'm a hat and very old
I'm wiser than you children
I've had a thousand years or so
to sharpen my acumen
Brave Gryffindor himself had snatched
me from his golden head
so I could find whose courage matched
his own when he was dead
From Ravenclaw herself I learned
to temper heart with wits
If your true love's intelligence,
I know the house that fits
Good Hufflepuff informed me that
the patient always win
hard working ones have their reward
who toil through thick and thin
And Slytherin, though slandered much,
knew cunning was the key
to take the virtues of his peers
and use them practically
So then, if you would deign to think
that you know more than I
where you should spend your Hogwarts years
I fail to reason why
Despite what Potter may have said
about his famous choice
This founders hat knows where it's at
Please listen to my voice
While some of you may fancy that
you're rather bold and daring
I must confess, though I'm a hat
I've seen much braver herring
You puffed up youngsters are too proud
"I'm far too good" you think,
"To end in Hufflepuff, the shame!
and Slytherins all stink."
Such foolishness! Remember that
All talents have their use
Cunning, courage, wit and toil
All worthy, if you'd choose
I've warned you once, I warn you now
where prejudice will end
Each house a stranger to the next
Where once stood just four friends
So Chosen one the boy may be
a hero, to be true
But I picked him, and don't forget
that I'll be choosing you"
There was a moment of silence, and a smattering of applause. The first years looked dismayed (if they had older siblings at Hogwarts) and bewildered (if they didn't).
Suddenly Albus stood up.
"The Hat is right," he said, stepping up onto the Gryffindor table, "and it's my fault that this all happened in the first place. I was the one who told that people could pick their house. My dad…"
He was drowned out by whispering in the crowd.
"That means Harry Potter! His dad's Harry Potter!"
"…my dad told me in the first place. But he was always prejudiced towards Gryffindor. It was really his only connection to my Granddad, I think. And I was scared to be sorted because I was scared of disappointing him. But I got into Gryffindor anyway. So I guess the reason I'm in Gryffindor is to be brave enough to correct the mistake of my father, and change the minds of his old house, and my own house." Albus shrugged. "Besides, being brave isn't all it's cracked up to be. My brother's brave to the point of stupidity, and he's got the ego to go with it."
The hall laughed. James could only sputter.
A Ravenclaw stood up.
"Albus is indeed correct in pointing out that even what are perceived as 'good' traits may be, in practice, bothersome. My own research into the subject has indicated that, despite its reputation for intelligence, sorting into Ravenclaw does not necessarily correlate with higher marks."
A group of Hufflepuffs rose.
"They talk a lot about teamwork and comradery in Hufflepuff. But we," he gestured to his mates standing next to him, "frankly can't stand living together."
All eyes turned to Slytherin. All Slytherins turned to their heroine, their little blond haired girl, now a second year. Finally she got out of her seat, climbing up the bench and onto the table. Even so elevated, she barely could be seen above the crowd.
"Enough has been said about the evils of Slytherin," she said, "so I won't add to that already exhausted topic. And speaking of exhausted…" she beamed at the first years, "you new students must be tired from your trip and anxious to get to the feast. So let's get this Sorting over right away. Let the hat do its job, and we'll all get to eat that much sooner. Thank you."
She hopped down from her perch, and the Sorting began.
The year's quartering went much more smoothly. Though Gryffindor was still a bit crowded, and Slytherin still wanting a few bodies, the difference was now far harder to notice.
At the Gryffindor table, Scorpius and Albus, who had not seen each other at all over the holiday, discussed their respective summers.
"Do you think your dad will let me come visit next year?" Scorpius asked Albus.
"I hope so," Albus said, "I think I saw our parents speaking at the train station this morning."
"Yeah, I think they managed to exchange civil greetings," Scorpius added. He shook his head. "Parents."
"Yeah," Albus agreed. He looked over at the Slytherin table. The golden beauty was staring at him, and she blushed a little when he met her gaze. Albus grinned.
"Hey Scorpius," Albus said, "do you think my parents would flip if I dated a Slytherin?"
"Her?" The Malfoy boy shrugged. "I dunno."
Albus turned red. "I think I'm gonna go find out."
fin
Author's note: I wrote this some time ago. The story is mostly just an excuse for the sorting hat song, which I am fond of. It surprises me that this is (so far) the only Harry Potter story I've got on . I've never actually even read any HP fanfic on , usually using other archives like mugglenet and LJ groups for that. Around here I stick to anime, generally. Most of my other HP stories are just drabbles, and often what I call world based, in that they usually are set in some historic period in the Harry Potter world, but have none of the HP characters and not much to do with canon plotlines. But, this is here. So please leave a review with any and all comments, questions, or anything at all you'd like to discuss. I love and live for reviews.
peace,
La Romanesque