It was Rose's first year at Hogwarts. She was definitely nervous, but excited, too. She knew she would be in Ravenclaw. After all, she was far ahead of any other children her age in academic prowess. She excelled and reveled in the thrill of learning. How could she not be a Ravenclaw?
"Weasley, Rose!" Professor McGonagall called her name.
There were only two more students behind her, yet to be called, and she knew the others were becoming impatient at the length of the ceremony. She walked, calmly as she could, up to the stool where the Sorting Hat was placed, and pulled it onto her head, feeling a bit ridiculous as she did so.
"So, Rose," a breathy little voice began in her mind. "Ah, a smart one, no? You wish to be in Ravenclaw."
"Yes, please! I know it's just right, the perfect house for me, and-"
"And yet," it interrupted, "I have just the strangest feeling you belong in another…"
Rose froze. No, she would not allow herself to be put in any other house than Ravenclaw! Rose knew she was stubborn, and she would protest if she had to, yet it was always safest to take the polite route, at least at first.
"No, I assure you, I am most certainly a Ravenclaw, and nothing else!" Rose answered, and recognizing its communication to be telepathic, repeated the forceful statement in her mind, along with the fierce whisper.
"I detect you have the spirit of a Gryffindor, my dear," it continued nonetheless. "I think you would do quite well in Gryffindor, yes… I knew your mum, you act just like her, smart but bold…"
Rose was starting to get a bit panicky by now, her mum had been the smartest in her grade, and yet she had been in Gryffindor, too… and her dad. But that was the purpose of the Sorting Hat, to give an unbiased decree and take her personal opinions into account, disregarding any background lineage! Why would it not listen to her?
"Stop it! Really, I'm a Ravenclaw. Listen to me! I. Want. To. Be. In. Ravenclaw. No exceptions."
"But your whole family has been in Gryffindor so far, it would be a shame to disrupt a perfect record like that… I urge you to contemplate the effects, at least consider Gryffindor, will you? I really think you could mature quite nicely in an environment so familiar and yet entirely foreign… It would challenge you, Rose, to grow into a better person in the whole, to develop leadership and bravery unlike you would have in Ravenclaw alone… Even if you are not placed in the house of your choosing, it will not prevent the pursuit of your interests or affect your personality on any great level. Be aware of that…"
"But I will not be comfortable among my fellow students in Gryffindor or any other house, save Ravenclaw. Is that not the most important aspect of school? And of course it would affect my personality, and certainly on a very high level. Every decision we make reflects our character, and the circumstances forced upon us no doubt shape our lives to a very great degree. I prohibit you from forcing such unfortunate circumstances upon me; I demand I be put in Ravenclaw!"
"Unfortunately, for you, I'm afraid you have no such power; I will do as I like, but I implore you not to turn this into a nasty argument, I am simply trying to find the best place for you. Do not treat me as your executioner, I seek only what is best for your experience at Hogwarts."
"Well, here's my review so far: My experience at Hogwarts is off to a very bad start, and as I've assured you countless times, the best place for me is in Ravenclaw, quite obviously, and I don't understand why you can't accept that!" Rose could hear the nervous tittering of the other students, worried if something had gone wrong. Maybe something was wrong. She had to get it to put her in Ravenclaw!
"Gryffindor is for the bold and the brave, you said it yourself. But I assure you, I am neither. I am quite content in the background, thank you, and would like to remain there. Now will you please comply with my wishes?"
"My dear, you are still blinded. Think of all you could be! Wise and bold are the best virtues in a leader. What is it you humans say, get out of your comfort zone? I suggest doing that, Rose, for once. Become a Gryffindor, and join the elite!"
"Have you not been listening to me at all for the past five minutes? I have told you, and I will say it once more, I. DO. NOT. WANT. TO. BE. IN. GRYFFINDOR. End of story. Announce me to Ravenclaw, so that we may be done with this tiresome argument!"
"Methinks the lady doth protest too much." It sighed. "Rose, perhaps you would not like it at first, but I'm sure you'll come to love Gryffindor. The same fire you fight me with only displays your true Gryffindor qualities. And though we are supposedly an unbiased school, I'll let you in on a little secret…you'll be treated far better as a Gryffindor than you would as a Ravenclaw, here and beyond. Trust me on this one. I do know what's best, believe it or not. You are a Gryffindor at heart, and once you choose to remove your blindfold of ignorance, I'm sure you'll agree with me."
"Excuse me? Blindfold of ignorance? Are you insane? And you sound as if you've already decided to put me in Gryffindor. I'm not yet done with you. You WILL put me in Ravenclaw. I will not allow myself to be sorted into any other house."
"Yes, you've made that quite clear. However, you do not decide, I do. And I have decided you shall be in Gryffindor. It's for the best." And with that final statement, it announced to the room that Rose was indeed, a Gryffindor.
Rose was horrified. NO! she screamed, reaching out with her mind. "PUT ME IN RAVENCLAW, YOU LITTLE-"
"I'm afraid that's not how it works, dear," The Sorting Hat said smugly. "Now's the time where you remove me and place me on the stool, and walk over to the glorious Gryffindor table. Go on, now."
Rose hesitated for a second, deciding whether or not to protest. It's not worth it, I can take it up with Professor McGonagall later, I suppose. Stupid, biased, idiotic little prat, Rose thought as she stomped over to the Gryffindor table, adorned with its scarlet and gold colors. There was a half-hearted cheer as she sat down, but most of the other kids looked a bit uneasy of her. How long was I arguing with it? She wondered.
The girl next to her nudged her a tiny bit. Rose glanced sideways, curious as to the intent of the motion.
"What?" she whispered.
The girl paused for a quick second, then asked, "Did you know you were a hatstall?"
Rose was confused, but then she suddenly remembered: A hatstall was a person on whom the Sorting Hat did not sort for over five minutes. She had read it a while ago, in a book called Hogwarts: A History. It was her mother's, and she had suggested Rose read up on the school she would be going to soon. Rose had thought it a great idea, and had immediately started her research, beginning with the obvious source.
"Really? I was a hatstall? It didn't seem that long… Hey, my name's Rose, by the way."
"Yeah, I know. McGonagall called all our names before getting sorted, remember? If you weren't paying attention, mine is Lucy. Lucy Lundan. My friends call me Lulu. Well, it was certainly interesting meeting you, Rose," Lucy said as the last student was sorted, this one to the Ravenclaw she should've been in. Professor McGonagall then picked up the Sorting Hat to be put away for another year, and Headmaster Longbottom stood up to address the crowd. He started with a few formalities, but quickly ended with "Let the feast begin!" which all the students had been waiting for, including Rose. Even as she knew it would happen, she was still slightly surprised when the food magically appeared on the tables before them. All through the meal, Lucy talked. Talked about everything, about her family, herself, her interests and opinions, only occasionally inquiring of Rose, of which she was glad and generally answered minimally as possible. As the banquet ended, Headmaster Longbottom stood up again, made a few announcements of which Rose paid little attention to, mostly because they did not concern her, and dismissed everyone to their respective dormitories.
Oh, joy, Rose thought. The stupid common room with stupid scarlet and gold colors and stupid decorations with stupid overrated parties…
"Come on, Rose, let's go," Lucy (Lulu?) said enthusiastically. "We're going to the dorms! How exciting! Do you want to be in the same room? Are we allowed to pick who we share with? Oh, wait, we're probably assigned rooms… pity, though I hope we're together…come along now, you're falling behind, Rose! Aren't you happy? Our first day at Hogwarts! Imagine…" she continued rambling on, and on… Rose wished she would just stop talking already.
"… we'll have so much fun, I just know it! Rose, what do you think? Rose? Rose! Hey! Earth to Ro-oooose!" Lucy snapped her dainty fingers in front of Rose's face.
Crap. Rose thought. I zoned out. "Um, what? Yeah, yeah. Sorry. Yes. I totally agree." Rose said awkwardly.
"Rose, show some Gryffindor pride! You're a Gryffindor! I'm a Gryffindor! The glory awaits us!" Lucy grabbed Rose's hand and pulled her along, nearly dragging her in the crowd of nervous, excited, and rowdy first-years.
Whoa, invasion of privacy much? And 'the glory awaits us'? Did she honestly just say that? This girl needs to calm the spark down. Rose thought, a bit more than irritated now. "Oh, what I would do to be in Ravenclaw," Rose muttered under her breath.
"Did you say something?" Lucy asked.
"No." Rose stated flatly.
"Oh. Well, never mind, then, we're almost there! See? Just down this corridor, and through the painting, and we'll be finally in our own dorms. I can't wait!"
Neither can I, Rose thought sarcastically. This is going to be one hell of a year.
Scorpius was still sulking. How could he have been sorted into Hufflepuff? It was a disgrace. The ultimate disgrace. He didn't even know what his father would do when he heard about this… He was so not a Hufflepuff. He would take the matter up with Professor McGonagall as soon as possible. Obviously something had gone horribly wrong. What the hell had the Sorting Hat been thinking? It was an embarrassment to his family, the Malfoy name, his father, hell, it was an embarrassment to him. Was that all he was? An embarrassment? No. He'd prove himself, by any means, to be a Slytherin. It was practically his right to be in Slytherin, as much as it was for the Potters and Weasleys to be in Gryffindor.
Speaking of which, it seemed one of them was getting sorted right now. He couldn't for the life of him remember what McGonagall had called her. He leaned toward the kid next to him and whispered, "What's her name?"
"Rose Weasley. Weren't you listening?" she answered, sounding annoyed to be interrupted.
He smirked and said, "No, I wasn't, actually." And with that, he continued to ignore the rest of his surroundings, yet he couldn't help but become curious as even more time went by, and Rose's house placement was not announced. How strange. He started to study her more closely: she was sort of pretty in a more natural, almost bookish way, red-headed like all the Weasleys were, and looking slightly more than pissed off at the moment, judging from the stance of her body, as you couldn't see most of her face, covered by that goddamn hat.
More students were beginning to notice the pause in the proceedings, many looked a bit confused, some even a little concerned. Scorpius was intrigued, forgetting for a moment his unfortunate situation. Maybe she was having a little problem with the Sorting Hat, too? Perhaps he'd talk to her later… but then again, she was a Weasley, and he was a Malfoy. Not that it really mattered that much, but still, even a war couldn't completely erase what was to be an everlasting feud between the purebloods and, well, the others. He couldn't very well say the M-word, seeing as it was viewed on the same level as an Unforgivable Curse now. That is to say, essentially illegal.
Rose still hadn't been sorted yet. What the hell was taking so long? Perhaps she wouldn't be in Gryffindor after all; maybe she would be rejected just as he was…
"GRYFFINDOR!" The Sorting Hat shrieked, just as these thoughts began to formulate into a plan. He slumped backwards. Of course. She was in Gryffindor, with all the other brave, noble Weasleys, he was a fool to have suspected otherwise.
Waaaaiiiiiiittttt. Hold on a sec. He hadn't bothered paying attention much until now, but suddenly he recalled, there had been a Potter sorted before, too. Albus Potter. If he remembered correctly… his gaze drifted over to the Slytherin table. Sure enough, that's where he was sitting, looking somewhat depressed, though not nearly as much what Scorpius himself was feeling. Huh. Potter in Slytherin. Scorpius could almost feel the rumors that were bound to arise from this unusual situation.
His attention snapped back to the present as Rose angrily stomped over to the Gryffindor table, not even bothering to hide her dissatisfaction. She didn't want to be in Gryffindor? Well. That was a new one. Scorpius allowed himself a tiny smirk. This year is going to be interesting.
Albus didn't know what to think. His fear had come true, but it was all too… he didn't even know. James had frightened him into thinking he would be in Slytherin, that it was the most horrible thing that could happen to you in Sorting, but it didn't really seem all that bad. For the most part, he was confused- he didn't really think he had any exceptional Slytherin qualities or abilities, yet the Sorting Hat certainly seemed to think so. What would his father think, the great Harry Potter? He had, of course, reassured him at the train station when Albus had first voiced his concerns, that he would not think any less of him and that Slytherin would have gained a wonderful student, but still… those were only reassurances, and his father couldn't have actually considered he would really be sorted into Slytherin… oh, it was all so confusing.
Was he a bad person? Albus didn't think so. Why had he been sorted into Slytherin? Couldn't for the life of him figure it out. Well, there had been some sort of Slytherin-y moments, but everyone had those, right? Even though it was hardly a justifiable concern, Albus couldn't help but feel he was somehow less than his brother, certainly more so than his father, and unworthy of Gryffindor. Maybe that was it. Maybe he wasn't good enough for Gryffindor, not smart enough for Ravenclaw, and not friendly enough for Hufflepuff, so they stuck him in the only place left- Slytherin. Great. Now in addition to feeling confused, he was also feeling like a useless piece of crap. This was really improving his self-esteem.
Currently, his know-it-all annoying cousin Rose was getting sorted. He should probably watch that, if only because he didn't want her all on his case for not paying attention. Like anyone actually cared. Okay, Rose. And your house is… in 3, 2, 1… Crap, it still hadn't called it out. Sorting never took this long, right? Was something wrong? Everything's fine, he told himself. Stop being so paranoid. Absolutely nothing is wrong. She just needs a little time. But it really should have sorted her by now. It was probably trying to choose between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. Albus had his bets on Ravenclaw. Rose had talked about it constantly on the train (well, when she didn't have her head completely buried in another one of her ancient books), how she would most definitely get into Ravenclaw, there was no place else for her, and if there was one person who always got her way, it was Rose.
So it came as a surprise to Albus that after several more tense minutes, she was sorted into Gryffindor. Not a great surprise; Albus had experienced her fiery temper on more than one occasion, and was fairly certain she would make a good Gryffindor, but a surprise nonetheless. He knew she would be dissatisfied with her House placement, and that would mean a cross Rose for at least a month. Probably longer. This is going to be a long year.