"This is it, Rosie!" Albus said in a stage whisper as "Popp, Emily," bounded off the rise, going to sit at the loudly-cheering Hufflepuff table.
Rose looked more nervous than he did. "Oh, good luck, Albus! I know we'll see each other at the Gryffindor table!" He winked at her as Professor Longbottom called his name. As he advanced toward the chair and the hat, the Professor whispered quietly, "Good luck, Potter!"
The hat spoke to him inside his mind. "A Potter? Excellent, excellent… you have intelligence and wit, oh yes, and strong sense of empathy and an idea of putting others before yourself. I see… only one choice then. Got to be… GRYFFINDOR!" It shouted the final word to the hall, and the Gryffindors erupted into jubilant shouts, excited to add another Potter into their ranks. Albus joined his brother and a few of his cousins, the former of whom slapped his shoulder gruffly.
A few more names passed, until "Weasley, Rose," was walking timidly up to the hat. Albus and the entire hall watched as another of the war heroes' children waited to be sorted. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath.
"RAVENCLAW!" A stunned silence, and then the Ravenclaw table burst out with applause and hollers. Rose looked like she was about to cry as she sat down at a table full of strangers. Albus tried to get his best mate's attention multiple times, but she would not meet his eyes, nor anyone's. She escaped the hall after the feast before anyone in the family could speak to her.
It seemed like such a long time ago to Albus now. He and his friends were halfway through their seventh year, just entering Christmas break. They had all elected to stay at Hogwarts for this break; Albus and Cassidy, Scorpius and the only other Slytherin the rest of them could deal with named Alexander, and Rose and her Ravenclaw friends Crystal and Dylan, who were dating.
"And she was just sobbing," Crystal said with a small snort.
"I was terrified!" Rose whined defensively. "Basically my entire extended family had been in Gryffindor; it was within my rights to be scared. Especially after my father had told me I'd be disowned if I wasn't in Gryffindor."
"Uncle Ron is a bit harsh," Albus chuckled appreciatively, taking a bite out of his sandwich. "But he was only joking. You're still a Weasley, right, Rosie?"
She smiled at him. "And proud of it!"
"I was honestly worried I'd end up in Slytherin," Cassidy said. The group burst out laughing. "I'm not kidding! I had a mean streak when I was younger, and I was terrified it would carry over into my sorting."
"You're barking," Alexander told her with a smile. "I don't think I've ever heard you say a mean word to anyone." He gestured between he and Scorpius with his thumb. "That's our job."
Rose laughed and set her hand on Scorpius', who had yet to say a word. "Nah, Scorp is too much of a sweetie. Right?"
He blinked at her. "I'm sorry, what were we saying?"
"Blimey, mate," Albus chastised. "You really ought to pay more attention, and that's coming from me! What's on your mind?"
Scorpius shrugged. "I'm just a bit out of it, is all. My bad." He stroked the back of Rose's hand with his thumb and smiled sloppily at her.
"Ick, couples," Albus grumbled as he watched Rose and Scorpius making eyes, and Crystal and Dylan had been snogging for a couple moments. He set his head on his and puffed out a sigh. "I wish Raina was here! You all are so boring; she'd get some kind of party bumping in here."
"Her family's gone to America, Al," Cassidy said. "You really expected her to miss that?"
Albus threw up his hands. "What if she's off fraternizing with some American playboy?!" He blinked, then scrambled over his words. "Not that I care, of course. Why should I?"
"Yes, why should you?" Rose asked, suddenly interested in the conversation again, but her hand still gripping Scorpius'.
"Albus and Raina, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" they sang at him in unison, spouting off a silly song they had heard a few Muggle teenagers singing the one time they had taken a brave field trip to a Muggle 'shopping mall' with Rose's mum.
"Get off my case!" Albus said angrily, his face turning almost as deep a red as a Weasley's hair. "I can like who I want!"
"Awwww!" Rose, Crystal, and Cassidy all squealed together.
"You should tell her!" Rose insisted.
"I bet she likes you too!" Crystal said dreamily.
"She already told me she does," Cassidy told them nonchalantly. Albus blinked at her, his eyebrows raised.
"Did she now?"
Cassidy nodded, taking a big gulp of pumpkin juice. "A few years ago, actually. Frustrated that you've taken so long, she is."
"Whoops," Albus muttered as the others laughed at him. "Stop it, you lot!"