The Sorting of Albus Potter
Albus Severus Potter steadied his breathing as he listened to the names being called to try on the Sorting Hat. His cousin Rose was separated from him a few people away. He could see her nervously fingering her Hogwarts robes. He focused his eyes on the person in front of him on the stool. A young boy named Thomas Finnigan. Albus felt his heart pounding against his chest. James's words still rung in his ears, but so did his dad's.
"The hat takes your choice into account," Albus's dad's voice echoed.
"I'm just saying that he might be in Slytherin," James's smirking image came to mind.
Albus swallowed what little spit he had left. His mouth had gone very dry the closer they got to calling his name. He looked out into the crowd of Hogwarts students cheering for Thomas as he made his way to the Gryffindor table. He could spot his brother James easily. James, like Albus and their dad, had glasses and untamable hair. James had opted for Dad's old glasses, which though had given James lots of grief, survived more of his stunts then his previous ones. Albus, however, had taken a liking to a pair of glasses that his dad had put in a special drawer that was full of memories from his times at Hogwarts with Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione. Albus had gotten into the drawer while Harry had been at work. Ginny had been downstairs in the kitchen, helping Lily bake a cake to have after supper, as a special treat. Albus had opened the glasses case and stuck the glasses on his face. He had noticed how nice and light they felt, how he barely noticed he was even wearing glasses at all, and how clearer his vision was. He had even forgotten to put the glasses back in its case and wore them the rest of the day. While Albus did get in trouble for going through his dad's things without permission, he was allowed to keep the glasses. His dad told him that it had once belonged to Albus Dumbledore himself, and that he was surprised they fit. James told him that just meant he had a big head, but Albus was fonder of his glasses since he knew that.
Albus gave a little jump when he heard the next name. It wasn't his, he knew that, but he had been lost in his own thoughts and missed three people being sorted.
"Longbottom, Alice," Professor McGonagall's voice called. A darker-haired and fair-skinned girl stepped hesitantly out of line and approached the wooden stool. She glanced back at another girl in the line, who had blonde hair instead of the dark brown, and smiled a little. Alice, who Albus suddenly recognized as his mum's friend Luna Lovegood Longbottom and Professor Neville Longbottom's daughter, sat on the wooden stool and clutched the sides of it tight enough that her knuckles turned white. It was a few seconds before the hat's voice called out, "RAVENCLAW!"
Alice smiled widely as she hopped off the stool and rushed down the steps to join the cheering table. Professor Longbottom was clapping the loudest from his place at the teacher's table.
"Longbottom, Theodora," McGonagall called next. The blonde girl who Alice had looked back at smiled dreamily as she approached the stool herself. That's when Albus remembered that Luna had twins. It was hard to remember that, because Alice and Theodora looked nothing alike except for their eyes. They shared Luna's odd grey eyes. The hat had barely touched the top of Theodora's head when it shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"
Theodora practically skipped to the table, but she looked longingly at her twin. Alice looked back at her, and shrugged, as if telling her 'What can you do?'. Albus barely heard the next name.
"Malfoy, Scorpious," McGonagall's voice carried, silencing the two still cheering Gryffindor's. Albus couldn't help but be slightly embarrassed of his older brother and his cousin Fred the Second. Albus was thoroughly surprised when the hat took its sweet time with Malfoy. He had been sure that it would've immediately screamed out Slytherin the minute it touched the first hair on Scorpious's slicked back hair. Finally, the hat called out what everyone had predicted. Scorpious moved to the Slytherin table and was patted on the back by the Slytherin prefect. Six more people went before it was finally Albus's turn.
"Potter, Albus," McGonagall's voice called, with unnatural sweetness in the undertone in her stern voice. Albus was shaky as he walked slowly to the stool where McGonagall waiting to place the hat on another Potter's head. Albus took his seat and the hat slowly slid over his eyes. A slithering voice whispered in his ear, coiling around his mind. It felt as though it was burrowing itself into his thoughts.
"Yes, quite like your father, you are," the hat's voice whispered in his ear. "So much potential. Very bright, very bright indeed. Short-tempered, too, but kind at the same time. A thirst to prove yourself to the rest of the world. Sounds like you belong in-"
Albus's heart stopped. He knew where that was going. He frantically thought of what his dad had told him on the platform. The hat will take your choice into account. Albus knew exactly where he didn't want to go. He didn't want to go into Slytherin. Not after all of James's teasing and taunting. Not even after his father's reassurance that they would love him even if he was. He couldn't be in Slytherin. He couldn't!
"Can't be in Slytherin, eh? Not just like your father in your looks, are you? No, no. But it's all here, Slytherin would fit you perfectly…but what's this? Lots of courage, yes, plenty of that, plenty of bravery. But still…no? Well, then it ought to be GRYFFINDOR!"
The hat had yelled the last word so the whole hall could hear. Albus could hear James's yell the loudest. Albus smiled wide, but he couldn't help but feel the doubt as soon as the hat was removed from his head. Was what the hat said true? Would he do better in Slytherin than in Gryffindor? Albus shook his head. He's in Gryffindor, and he should be happy about that. James had teased him, saying that he'd be in Slytherin, and Albus had proved his brother wrong. Though, Albus was sure James was only teasing, he was also sure he heard a bit of surprise in his older brother's ecstatic cheers. But Albus smiled at his brother, who clapped him on the back and wrapped his arm around his shoulders and rubbed his fist hard on the top of Albus's head. James and Fred were laughing with glee. James was shouting, "This is my little brother! My little brother's better than yours! Go, go Gryffindor! Ha ha!"
"Now we've only got to wait for ickle Rosiekins to get sorted," Fred sighed as McGonagall glared at the two boys who were still cheering for Albus long after everyone else had stopped. Albus smiled and looked up at his cousin Rose. He gave a thumbs up, knowing she'd be in either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. Rose spotted Albus and his thumbs up and gave an appreciative smile. Albus sighed internally. Dad had been right, Albus thought to himself, unable to stop smiling.