Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Another Malfoy, eh? the Sorting Hat said into Scorpius' ear, It's been quite a long time since Hogwarts has seen a Malfoy.
Scorpius gripped the seat of the stool he was sitting on, in front of the entire school, and wished he could disappear from sight. Everyone was staring at him, waiting anxiously to see where the son of Draco Malfoy, ex-Death Eater turned Auror, would be sorted.
I want to be in Slytherin, Scorpius thought, Put me in Slytherin.
Slytherin? the hat asked, Why Slytherin? You don't show the qualities.
My whole family is in Slytherin, I have to be in Slytherin.
Hmm…No, I don't think you belong there. the Hat said, I can't help but notice that the only fights you've ever been in have been over defending your family. That's called loyalty.
Scorpius' heart sank as he realized what the hat's words meant.
Hufflepuff? He exclaimed, Seriously? My whole family has been in Slytherin, and you want to make me a HUFFLEPUFF?
Yes, the hat said calmly, It's where you belong.
Scorpius was about to argue, but just then the hat stopped speaking silently and yelled for the entire school to hear, "HUFFLEPUFF!"
Silence filled the Great Hall as Headmistress McGonagall removed the hat from his head. Scorpius sat on the stool, stunned, and the rest of the student stared at him in shock.
"Mr. Malfoy," McGonagall urged, "Off you go."
Scorpius nervously got off the stool and walked over to the Hufflepuff table, where he sat down and tried his hardest to not be seen.
You're very cunning, I see, the Sorting Hat muttered into Albus' ear, You know how to get what you want, and I see here that you tend to get in trouble quite frequently at home.
Don't you dare put me in Slytherin, Albus thought, I can't be a Slytherin!
You'd do good in Slytherin, the hat replied, And besides, it's not like the Weasley/Potter clan doesn't already have a student in Slytherin. Two years ago, I sorted your cousin Fred-."
Yes, yes, I know about Fred, Albus said, But he's a troublemaker! He takes after my Uncle George.
Ah, yes, I remember George. I probably should have put him in Slytherin, as well, but oh well, the Sorting Hat seemed to enjoy reminiscing, But I also know that you and Fred spend quite a lot of time together, playing pranks on others. Don't try to hide things from me, young Potter, I can see everything in your mind.
My father told me you won't put me in a house I don't want to be in…
So tell me, dear boy, why don't you want to be in Slytherin? the hat asked slightly sarcastically, Give me one good reason, and I'll put you in Ravenclaw with your cousin Roxanne Weasley.
Uh… Albus thought as hard as he possibly could, but he couldn't think of one good reason why Slytherin wasn't the house for him.
That settles it, the hat said happily, and then yelled out "SLYTHERIN!"
Albus groaned and hopped off the stool after McGonagall took the hat off his head. He put his head down and miserably walked over to the Slytherin table, sitting down next to Fred, who shook him happily.
Later, Scorpius was hiding away in the tree near the Lake, sitting on one of the lower limbs, but still out of view of anyone passing by. He was looking around when he noticed another first year walking along the shore, his black hair untidy in the back. He instantly recognized Albus Potter, one of Harry Potter's children. Scorpius watched for a moment as Albus ran his fingers through his hair and sat down in the grass.
After a few moments, Scorpius suddenly felt himself lurch forward, and too late he realized that he'd been leaning too far forward to see Albus. He fell face first to the ground, and felt his glasses snap in two, and blood rush from his nose.
"Bloody brilliant," he muttered, picking up the pieces of his glasses with one hand and holding onto his nose with the other. A shadow covered the grass in front of Scorpius and he looked up to see Albus staring down at him, his eyebrows raised in curiosity.
"Need some help?" The dark-haired boy asked.
"I- I-," Scorpius stuttered helplessly, his voice horribly muffled by the blood coming out of his nose, "I tink by dose id broken."
Albus reached down and pulled Scorpius to his feet.
"You're Scorpius Malfoy," Albus stated, as if Scorpius wasn't blind and bleeding.
"Yed, I am," he tried his best at speaking normally, but his words still came out odd, "Add you're Albus Podder."
Albus nodded, "I think you should go to Madam Pomfrey about that." He gestured to Scorpius' nose. "I'm sure she'll fix your glasses, as well. My Aunt Hermione taught me the spell for fixing glasses, but I can never remember well enough. James is the one who wears glasses, not me, anyway."
"I'll be od my way, den," Scorpius said, turning around and walking away.
He didn't get very far before he realized that Albus was following him.
"The whole school was shocked to hear that a Malfoy is in Hufflepuff, you know," Albus said.
"I doe dat," Scorpius rolled his eyes, "Wha'bout you? You're a Podder, and you're in Dlytherin."
"Yeah," Albus sighed, "That stupid hat wouldn't listen to me when I kept saying I don't belong with the bloody snakes. I mean, I know Fred is in Slytherin, and all, but me? I'm Harry Potter's son, I do not belong in Slytherin House."
"Da hat doesn't go by who your family id," Scorpius said, pinching his nose harder in an attempt to stop the blood flow, "Jud look at be. By fader is Draco Malfoy, do you dink I wanted to be a bloody Hufflepuff?"
"Well…." Albus started, looking at Scorpius' bloody nose, "Nah, too easy…"
"Shudup," Scorpius said.
They walked the rest of the way to the hospital wing, and Madam Pomfrey sighed.
"Already, Mr. Malfoy? It's the first day of school, and you broke your nose already?"
"Id wassa accidend," Scorpius said, "Cad you fix id?"
"Of course," Madam Pomfrey said, "Don't insult me, Mr. Malfoy. A broken nose is nothing."
She waved her wand and Scorpius yelped in pain as his bones quickly snapped back to their rightful positions.
"Right, then, off you go," Madam Pomfrey said.
"Wait, I need you to fix my glasses, too," Scorpius said.
"What on earth did you do?" Madam Pomfrey asked, "A broken nose and glasses?"
"I…er- I fell out of the tree near the Hogwarts Lake," Scorpius said, turning red.
Madam Pomfrey sighed and took Scorpius' glasses from his hand.
"Oculus Reparo," she said, waving her wand. She handed his glasses back to him and he slid them back onto his face.
"Thanks," he said.
"It's no trouble," she sighed in reply, "Off you go."
The two first years exited the Hospital Wing.
"You really think you don't belong in Hufflepuff?" Albus asked, "You practically cried when Madam Pomfrey fixed your nose."
"I did not cry!" Scorpius exclaimed, "Besides, you try having your bones broken and forced back into place!"
"Please," Albus scoffed, "I've been in so many Quidditch accidents, my Mum has had to fix my legs loads of times. And my arms a few times…"
"That's not much to brag about," Scorpius rolled his eyes, "That just means your rubbish at Quidditch."
"Am not!" Albus shouted, "I happen to be the best Quidditch player in my family."
"And you think you don't belong in Slytherin?" Scorpius asked, "You're cocky."
"Am not!" Albus repeated.
"Why don't you try being a Hufflepuff, then," Scorpius asked jokingly, rolling his eyes.
"Hey, that's it!" Albus exclaimed.
"That's it? What's it?" Scorpius asked, "Potter, I was kidding."
"But it's brilliant!" Albus said happily, "You can be a Slytherin, and I'll be a Hufflepuff."
"How on Earth are we supposed to do that? We can't just swap houses!"
Albus waved his hand like this rule was just a minor setback. "You just give me your Hufflepuff robes, and you can have my Slytherin ones."
"You're a moron," Scorpius said, and then looked at Albus and sighed. "Fine! I wanted to be a Slytherin, anyway…"
"You're short, you know that?" Scorpius asked after trying on Albus' robes and noticing that his ankles stuck out the bottom.
"Maybe you're just too tall," Albus said, trying to lift the bottom of Scorpius' robes off the ground and trying to walk around in them.
"Maybe you're just stupid," Scorpius said, "I can't believe you walked me into this. We look like morons."
Albus rolled his eyes. "You're looking at this the wrong way. Wait til your father hears that you're actually a Slytherin, and not a squishy Hufflepuff."
"Hufflepuff's aren't squishy!" Scorpius yelled, "Beisdes, you're a Hufflepuff now, remember?"
"Yeah," Albus grimaced, "Not my house of choice but what are you gonna do?"
"You are aware that your cousin Rose is a Hufflepuff, as well, aren't you?" Scorpius asked.
"Yeah, Rosie always was a big softie," Albus smiled.
"Now what?" Scorpius asked.
"Now, we go to classes. Give me your schedule."
"Albus, why are you in this class?" Teddy Lupin asked, raising his eyebrows at the younger boy.
"Teddy, Scorpius Malfoy and I decided to switch houses," Albus said, "Now I'm a Hufflepuff and he's a Slytherin! So obviously I need to be in the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw Defense against the Dark Art class."
"It's Professor Lupin at school, Albus," Teddy said, "And you can't just switch houses. You're a Slytherin, not a Hufflepuff."
"I don't want to be a Slytherin," Albus grunted, crossing his arms over his chest and looking like a very small child.
Teddy sighed and pulled Albus out of the classroom, where all the Hufflepuff's and Ravenclaws were snickering at him. In the corridor, Teddy knelt down and put a hand on Albus' shoulders.
"Why don't you want to be in Slytherin?" he asked, "Your father told you about-."
"The guy he named me after, yes," Albus sighed, "But I don't care, I don't want to be in Slytherin."
"Why not?" Teddy asked, "You still haven't given me a reason."
"Well…I don't know," Albus said, "Every bad wizard ever has come from Slytherin…"
"But that doesn't mean every Slytherin is bad," Teddy said, "Look at your cousin Fred. He's a Slytherin, and the worst thing he's ever done is cause a bit of havoc around the house. That doesn't mean he's going to grow up to be a dark wizard."
Albus blushed in embarrassment.
"I'm sorry Professor Teddy," he said.
Teddy opened his mouth to correct Albus about calling him Professor Teddy instead of Professor Lupin, but thought better of it. Most of the Potter/Weasley kids just refused to call him Professor Lupin, so there was probably no use in trying to correct them.
"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to go to the Headmistress' office. Students can't just switch houses, Albus."
"I know," Albus sighed, "Okay, I'll see you later, Teddy."
Scorpius sat down in the Potions classroom next to Fred Weasley, who looked at him in confusion and raised his eyebrows.
"Uh…I think you have the wrong room, Malfoy," he said.
"No, your stupid cousin decided that we should switch houses," Scorpius said, "So now I'm a Slytherin and he's a Hufflepuff."
"I don't think you can just-." Fred started, laughing, but Professor Slughorn interrupted him.
"Scorpius Malfoy, what are you doing in my classroom?" he asked, "You belong in Defense with the rest of the first year Hufflepuffs."
"Sir, I am a Slytherin," Scorpius stated in what he hoped was a convincing tone.
"Do you think I'd believe that?" Slughorn asked, "The whole school knows that you're a Hufflepuff, son. Much as I'd like to have you in my house, you're not."
"That's why I want to be in Slytherin!" Scorpius exclaimed, "The whole school is talking about how I'm the first Malfoy not in Slytherin. I'm sick of listening to people."
Slughorn sighed and motioned for Scorpius to follow him into the corridor.
"Now, tell me why you shouldn't be a Hufflepuff," he said.
"Well…my family-,"
"Never mind your family, boy," Slughorn said, "what matters is you. Where do you belong?"
"Well, Hufflepuff, I suppose," Scorpius said, turning pink, "I'm loyal and hard working…"
"Right," Slughorn said, "And, pardon my language, but I think you'll make a damn good Hufflepuff."
"Thank you, sir," Scorpius said.
"Now, off you go to Headmistress McGonagall's office," Slughorn said, "I can't have you in my class if you're not a Slytherin or a Gryffindor."
"Right," Scorpius sighed, "I'll be off, then."
"This was a stupid idea," Scorpius said to Albus as they both sat in McGonagall's office waiting for her.
"No it wasn't," Albus said, "The idea wasn't the problem. It's the school rules…"
"Pardon my intrusion," they heard an elderly voice say, "But what is it you boys are in trouble for?"
"Albus, how many times do I have to tell you that we're not supposed to talk to the troublemaking students? I for one am sick of hearing McGonagall lecture you for 'helping' them with their problems."
At first Albus though the second voice, which sounded considerably younger than the first, was speaking to him, but then he realized that it was two portraits talking to each other.
"Wait, your name is Albus?" Albus asked the older portrait.
"Yes, dear boy. I am Albus Dumbledore, previous headmaster of Hogwarts. And this is my friend Severus Snape," Dumbledore gestured to Snape.
"No way!" Albus exclaimed, "Severus?"
"Yes, that's my name," Snape said, looking bored, "Is that fascinating in some way?"
"Well, it's just…my name is Albus, too," Albus said, "And my middle name is Severus. You two must be the headmasters my dad named me after!"
"You're Albus Severus Potter?" Dumbledore asked, "Yes, now I see it. You look just like your father."
"So I've been told," Albus muttered, "Every day of my life…"
"Yes, Harry stopped by once about eleven years ago to tell us that he'd had a second son," Albus said, "When he told us the boy's name, we were shocked, to say the least."
"Just like Potter to be such a suck up," Snape said, rolling his eyes.
"Suck up?" Albus asked, knitting his eyebrows together, "He respected you! You're not at all like he described you…He said you were brave and heroic. I think you're just mean."
"Don't let him fool you," Dumbledore winked at Albus, "He is honored that Harry named you after him, and I am honored as well. He just won't admit it."
Snape stayed quiet, and Albus smiled, a laugh rising in his stomach.
"Now, may I ask again, why are you young boys in trouble? And on the first day of classes no less."
"We tried to switch houses," Scorpius muttered.
"You- you tried….to switch houses?" Snape asked, bewildered, "Why on Earth would you do that?"
"I didn't want to be a Hufflepuff," Scorpius said, "My whole family's been in Slytherin."
"You're a Malfoy, then?" Snape asked, "Yes, you look quite like Draco. I hear he became an Auror?" He couldn't keep the curiosity out of his voice.
Scorpius nodded.
"And you're worried that he'll be angry that you became a Hufflepuff?" Dumbledore asked, "My dear boy, do you have any idea how ridiculous that is? He is a good man, you know. Always has been, at heart."
Scorpius looked at the floor, embarrassed.
"And you're a Potter, and you're in Slytherin?" Snape asked, "Nothing wrong with that, Slytherin is a great house."
"Yeah, my dad told me you were a Slytherin."
"Yes, I was, and I'd never do something as foolish as switch houses," Snape said, "Besides, the house you're in has nothing to do with what you do in your life."
"Take Severus here, for example," Dumbledore threw in, "He was in Voldemort's inner circle, but he also was a leading member of the Order of the Phoenix and helped bring about Voldemort's downfall. He's a real hero."
Snape tried to stop the slight blush that covered his features. "Yes, well," he said, "The point is, no matter what house you're in you can accomplish great things."
Albus smiled at the two portraits. Just then, McGonagall walked in an Snape and Dumbledore pretended to be sleeping.
"Swapping houses?" McGonagall asked, exasperated, "Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy, why do I have a feeling I'll be seeing you two quite a lot in here, this year?"
"Don't worry, headmistress," Albus said, "We're fine, now. I'm glad to be a Slytherin!"
"And I'm happy to be a Hufflepuff," Scorpius added.
McGonagall sighed. "Well, that's good. Now go give each other your robes back and get to class."
"Yes, headmistress," both boys said, standing up and exiting the room happily.
Outside, Scorpius and Albus switched robes back. They started to head off in separate directions to their classes, but Scorpius stopped and turned around.
"Want to hang out later?" he asked Albus, who also stopped and turned around.
"Sure," he replied, "I'll be in the Ravenclaw common room playing Exploding Snap later, with Lorcan and Lysander Scamander. Want to join?"
"Sounds great," Scorpius said, and the two boys headed off to their classes.
Inside her office, McGonagall let a smile cross her face as she looked at the portraits of Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape.
"I know you're not sleeping, you two," she said, "And I heard everything you told those boys."
Dumbledore opened his eyes and they twinkled down at McGonagall.
"Are you going to lecture me again, Minerva? About now interfering with the students, and how you are headmistress, not I?"
"No, Albus," McGonagall laughed, "In fact, I think you two did an excellent job talking to those two. At least now they realize that they belong in the houses they were sorted into."
"It just took a little honesty, right Severus?" Dumbledore asked.
"Right. But you realize that Potter will probably be just as trouble making as Harry and James, right?"
"Probably," McGonagall sighed, "But look on the bright side. You may not admit it, but I can see that you have a soft spot for young Albus. And the more trouble he gets into, the more conversations you'll be able to have with him."
"Brilliant," Snape sighed, unwilling to admit that he was, in fact, honored that Harry had named his son after him.
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