The Sorting, a harry potter fanfic

THE SORTING.

Summary-Rose and Albus' sorting.

(A/N- lame title, I know, but the story isnt that lame. Promise.)

Rose Weasley practically dragged her parents and her little brother through the barrier between platforms nine and ten, onto a bustling platform.

Her father groaned. "Rooosieeee, did you have to wake us up at five? Now we're here and it's only ten... You've just broken the Weasley tradition of never boarding the train 'till the last minute."

Hermione Weasley-Granger rolled her eyes at her husband. "Ronald, you could write a book on Weasley traditions. I'm glad we're here early for once; Its Rosie's first time going to Hogwarts, and I don't want her all rushed. Now go and put her trunk on the train. And take Hugo with you."

Hugo Weasley mumbled sleepily. He had woken up when Rose had, finished all the chocolate in the house, and had had a sugar high. Now, the early morning was finally catching up with him.

Ron and Hugo went off with Rose's trunk, both grumbling about unfairness and early mornings.

Hermione shook her head and glance at her daughter, who was looking at her expectantly.

"Well," she asked. "What did you want to tell me?"

Hermione smiled at her daughter. She always they always knew when the other had something on their mind. "Rosie," she said, "I just want to tell you that I'm going to miss you a lot. And I want you to be very careful. Your father, Uncle Harry and I had some amazing adventures at Hogwarts, and I know it sounded like fun. But it was also extremely dangerous. And I know that you have been waiting for so long to come to Hogwarts, ever since Teddy came, in fact. Just don't be too disappointed if you don't save the wizarding world in your first year, okay sweetie? Because I know how your dad always over-hypes these things so much, and I know Hugo plans to stop an evil wizard when he joins Hogwarts-or at least assist...and I know you're so much more sensible, but I just wanted to make sure..."

"Mum, don't worry. I know that things like that happen only around Uncle Harry, so I'm not expecting anything much. And James hasn't seemed to inherit Uncle Harry's inexplicable attraction to all things strange, so I'm pretty sure Albus hasn't either."

Her mother chuckled. Rose was so much like her, and yet so much like her father.

"Dad and Hughie are back!" She exclaimed, acting like she hadn't seen them for years.

"Have you guys seen Harry and Ginny? They should be here by now..." asked Hermione, worried.

"Well maybe they decided to uphold the Weasley tradition of arriving late."

"Ronald..."

"Look dad, here they come!" Hugo's weariness seemed to have worn off.

"Where, Hugh? I don't see 'em."

"There Rose!"

"Where?"

"THERE!"

"Hugo, don't shout."

"Sorry mum, but there right there, near the boy with dreadlocks."

"Hugo, that isn't them."

"It is."

"Isn't."

"Is."

"Isn't."

"IS"

"NOT"

People were staring.

"Stop shouting."

"Sorry mum."

"Hughie, that wasn't them, that was some other person with red hair."

"Oh."

"Told 'ya."

"See, they did decide to uphold the Weasley tradition."

"RON! Stop it with the Weasley tradition thing!"

"Oh look, I've found them!"

"Where, Rosie?"

"Hugo, stop it with the acting. There right in front of you."

"Oops. I really didn't see them."

"Sure you didn't."

Rose waved at her cousins and her aunt and uncle.

"Hi" said Albus, sounding slightly relieved.

Rose beamed at him. "Hey" she said. "Nervous?"

Al raised and eyebrow.

"Ok Ok. James at it again?"

"Mph."

Rose grimaced. "I'll have a word with him."

Meanwhile, Lily and Hugo were discussing houses.

"Definitely Gryffindor, Lils."

"I agree. But Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad either, I suppose."

"If you're not in Gryffindor, we'll disinherit you." intervened Ron. "But no pressure."

"Ron!"

Albus and Rose glanced at each other, looking worried.

"He doesn't mean it.", reassured their mums.

But Rose wasn't sure. Her dad really was stubborn about these Weasley traditions.

Her father was now pointing someone out in the crowd. She heard the word "Malfoy" and immediately tuned off. Her dad could rant about the Malfoy family for hours. She looked over at them and saw the blonde family. She heard her dad saying something about beating the boy at everything and looked at him. He looked as if he was a first year too. She could tell by the nervous expression on his face. It looked just like the one on Al's. He seemed to notice someone watching him and looked up. She smiled at him, but he just looked confused, and looked back down. She shrugged. It wasn't as if she hadn't tried to be nice.

Just then, James came running towards them. "Hey!"

"Teddy's back there" he said breathlessly, "just seen him. And guess what he's doing? Snogging Victoire! Rose shook her head. It was so like James to find out only now. She had known since they started dating. Partly because Vic had told her, of course, but she would have found out anyway, they made it so bloody obvious. Everyone else had guessed too, except James, Fred, Louis, Uncle Bill, Uncle Harry, and her own dad. They had been oblivious.

Now, James was saying enthusiastically that he didn't mind sharing a room with Al, and Teddy could have his room. Albus, however, didn't look very happy at the prospect of having to share a room with James. Luckily for Al, his father was disagreeing. "No. You and Al will share a room only when I want the house demolished. And it's nearly eleven; you'd better get on board."

Rose turned back to her own family. Her mother was looking at her with tear-filled eyes. They hugged.

"Take care, Rosie. Write to me, and don't get into trouble. I love you."

"Don't worry mum, I'll be fine. Love you too."

Rose turned to her father, who had an odd look in his eyes.

"I've changed my mind, Rosie, you're not going."

Hermione looked annoyed. "Ron, she'll be fine."

"Yes, because she's not going."

"Ron if you're going to be stubborn..."

"She's not going."

"Daaaddd..."

"Confoundo!"

"Bye now, Rosie."

"Bye mum. Tell dad I love him."

"See you Hughie."

"Bye Rosie."

Rose climbed onto the train, and waved to her aunt Ginny while waiting for Albus.

Albus got on, and the train started moving. She felt a surge of excitement and nerves. They were finally off!

They waved 'till they were out of sight, and then turned around and looked at each other.

"So. Let's go find a compartment."

"Yep."

They made their way down the train, lugging their trunks behind them. They stopped outside the noisiest one, which could only contain their thousands of relatives. They opened the door and peeked inside, and were hit by a wave of noise. It was chaos. Victoire was shouting her head off at James for interrupting her and Teddy, and James was trying to let off a dung bomb behind her back. Fred was demonstrating to Louis how the old Nosebleed Naught was better than the new version. Roxanne, Fred's twin, was hovering close to the ceiling on her broomstick, trying to catch her feisty owl, Hades. Dominique was tuning the radio, looking for something to listen to, with the volume on, loud. And Molly and Lucy were talking to each other, while trading chocolate frog cards. It was a miracle that they had all fit inside. Rose and Albus went out as quickly as they had come in.

"Look for another compartment?" asked Rose.

"Definitely."

They went on looking for quite a while, when they came across one that had only one person in it. Rose recognised the pale Malfoy boy from the station.

"Mind if we sit here?"

He looked up briefly, shrugged, and then looked back out of the window.

They sat down opposite the Malfoy boy.

"Oh, how rude of me, I forgot," said Rose. "I'm Rose, and this it Albus. And you are...?"

He sat a little straighter. "Malfoy. Scorpius Malfoy."

Rose giggled. "You remind me of this character from this muggle movie I once watched."

Scorpius looked surprised. "James Bond?"

"Yeah. How do you know?"

"I've watched 'Quantum of Solace'."

"Yeah, I've watched that too, on the veletision. Noisivelet. Pellyvisio-"

"Television, Rosie."

"Yeah, thanks Al. Anyway, my granddad programmed it so we can even watch Quidditch on it."

"You play Quidditch?" asked the Malfoy b - Scorpius, sounding surprised.

"Do we?" asked Al, sounding shocked.

"Our whole family is Quidditch crazy," Explained Rose more clearly.

When the trolley lady looked inside, she had the shock of her life. A Potter, a Weasley, and a Malfoy- all talking animatedly about Quidditch. And not fighting.

Well not completely.

"How can you support them? They suck. Bottom of the charts every year."

"Well forgive me for having an opinion, Mister Snooty. Just because I don't support some posh stuck-up bunch of losers..."

But that was more of arguing. It wasn't exactly fighting.

"Firs yeahs ov' here"

"Hey Hagrid!"

"Hello Al, Rosie. Finally here, eh?"

They grinned. Both loved Hagrid, and had known him since they were born.

"All righ. No pushin' now. An' no more 'en four to a boat."

Albus and Rose climbed into one boat, dragging Scorpius with them.

Another girl also stumbled into their boat, holding her pet toad.

"Hey 'Liz!" Rose greeted her.

Scorpius looked at her, a slight sneer on his face. "Just how many cousins do you have?"

Rose was unruffled. "Oh 'Liz isn't our cousin. She's Elizabeth Longbottom. Family friend."

"Humph."

This time, Rose smirked.

But as soon as they rounded the corner, Albus looked like he was going to throw up, Scorpius had gone deathly white, Elizabeth dropped her toad, and Rose let out a whimper. They looked up at the castle looming above them. It was beautiful. It was ancient. It was where they were going to live for the next seven years. But that was after they were sorted into their houses.

They were in the entrance hall. Waiting. Waiting. Professor Flitwick came back in. "You may now proceed for the sorting."

The first years went in through the doors of the great hall, some of them looking around them in wonder, like Rose, but most of them trying their best to look invisible. Like Albus.

As they walked up towards the old hat on the stool, Rose looked around for her relatives. There were James, Louis, Fred and Roxanne at the Red and Gold Gryffindor table; Victoire and Dominique at the Blue and Bronze Ravenclaw table; and Molly and Lucy at the Yellow and Black Hufflepuff table. That was one good thing about having a large family. Wherever you were, there would always be someone to help you. Except Slytherin, of course.

They walked up to the hat.

Flitwick started calling out names.

"ASTON, ERIC."

A tall, dark haired boy walked up to the hat.

"Hufflepuff!"

"BANNET, SHEELA."

"Ravenclaw!"

"CARTER, LUKE."

"Gryffindor!"

"FINNIGAN, DEBORAH"

"Gryffindor!"

"LONGBOTTOM, ELIZABETH."

"Hufflepuff!"

Soon, it was Scorpius' turn.

"MALFOY, SCORPIUS."

"Good luck." Whispered Albus, and Rose squeezed Scorpius' hand "and don't worry, even if it's Slytherin, we'll still be friends."

Wait. Rose had squeezed his hand?

He felt a little lightheaded as he put the cap on my head.

Hmm. Said a voice, which he assumed was the hat.

Yes, that is me. Now. Which house should I put you in?

How was he supposed to know? The hat was the professional.

Sarcasm. Definitely a Slytherin trait.

Was the hat going to put him there?

No. Are you bothered by that?

No. He wasn't... His dad had told him that he would be proud of him wherever he was.

Good. Now. Let me see what other qualities you have. Loyalty, yes... also bravery. And intelligence too. You definitely have the potential to go places in life... but you could use your qualities best in...

"RAVENCLAW!"

More whispers as he set the hat down and put it on the stool. Even more as he walked towards the Ravenclaw table. No one was clapping. Wait ... someone was. He looked around. There were Rose and Albus, both clapping as hard as they could. After that, everyone else started clapping as well. He smiled at Rose and Albus and gave them a thumbs-up as He sat down. 'Thank you' he mouthed at them as the teachers read out the next name (MILLS, HAROLD). Albus winked and Rose mouthed back 'That's what friends are for'. He grinned to himself. He had friends.

Albus felt sick again as Mills, Harold was sorted into Slytherin. What if Rose's father was serious? What if what James said was true? What if he was sorted into Slytherin? Would he be disowned?

"If you are, you can come and live with us," whispered Rose, as Nylen, Reginald was sorted into Gryffindor.

"Did I say that out loud?"

"Nope, I could tell from your face."

"Rosie, sometimes you freak me-"

"POTTER, ALBUS"

Rose pushed him ahead. "Go!"

He walked up to the hat and jammed it on his head, blocking out all the people staring at him.

Hello. The second Potter son.

Yeah, that was him. The second Potter son. Definitely him. Most definitely.

Stop babbling! Hmm. I know exactly where you should go. But you don't want to go there.

Not Slytherin!

It's not that bad ,you know.

But James...His father...

Your father was very nearly in Slytherin himself , you know.

He knew. His dad had told him.

Really? And what else did he tell you?

He had told him that... that He'd be proud of him no matter what. That he named him after one of the bravest people he knew, who was a Slytherin.

And do you believe him?

Yes.

So trust me. You'll do well in Slytherin.

...ok. He would.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Albus took the hat off his head. There was silence, just like after Scorpius' sorting. Then Rose started clapping, and Scorpius. That was it. The son of Harry Potter sorted into Slytherin? Albus walked over to the Green and Silver table. He sat down and looked directly at James. He shrugged. Then... James started clapping. As if a signal, the rest of the school burst into cheers. Sometimes, Albus' brother was cool.

As "JASON THOMAS" was sorted into Gryffindor, Rose stopped feeling worried.

So when her name was called out, she skipped up the aisle, and jammed the hat eagerly on her head.

She was a little nervous, of course, she would be mad not to be. But now, whichever house she went to, she would have someone there. And even if it wasn't Gryffindor, she could handle her dad.

Another Weasley? You definitely sounded like a Gryffindor back there. But you have your mother's brain...And you are extremely loyal. The only traits you don't have are the Slytherin ones. No Weasley ever has any Slytherin traits... except your great-great-great-great-great-great-great- great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, and look where that got him.

Hmm.

All right, all right. I'll hurry up. Ok. Cut out Ravenclaw. You have your mother's brains, but she didn't fit into Ravenclaw, and neither would you.

That was a little disappointing. Now she couldn't be with Albus or Scorpius.

Yes. Both of them were surprising, actually. And now, I can't really decide between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. You, girl are the first one I've had such trouble with. You can decide.

Since when did the Sorting hat ask the student to decide?

Since now.

That wasn't fair. He was the one who has to tell her. She was only eleven. She didn't know herself and all.

Ok, fine. I'll pick. But it will take some time. I'll have to look deep into your mind...

Three minutes were up. Was he done?

Almost.

Done.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Rose felt a little smug as she took the hat off and made her way to the wildly cheering Gryffindor table, her cousins all clapping her on the back. Her father, she thought, would be proud.

Thats it! How did you like it? OK? Not bad? Good? Bad? Feel free to tell me.

-bookwurm7