DISCLAIMER: I don't own these characters - J.K. Rowling does.

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Albus and Rose hurried along the train carriage, dragging their trunks behind them. Rose blew the mass of bright amber curls away from her face.

"Al, here's a compartment, there's only… oh," Rose trailed off as she looked inside the compartment.

"Who Rosie?

"Let's keep looking," Rose urged.

Al glanced into the compartment that Rose had paused outside. Seeing the pale, blonde boy inside, he rolled his eyes at Rose's hesitancy and slid open the compartment door.

Rose huffed quietly behind her edition of Hogwarts: A History. Ever since Al had first introduced himself to the Slytherin scum, she'd felt lost. The two boys had immediately bonded over their love of Quidditch and had immediately engaged in friendly rivalry over their two different teams. Rose was horrified that her favourite cousin could befriend the very person their parents had warned them about.

"Rosie likes Quidditch too," Rose heard Al telling him. "She supports the Harpies."

"They're not her local team though?"

Al laughed, "No. We all live in the South West. I live in Godric's Hollow but Rosie's local team would be the Falmouth Falcons."

"I can see why she wouldn't support the Falcons!"

Al shook his head. "That's not why she doesn't support them. My mum played for the Harpies and they were the only games Aunt Hermione let Rosie go to. Rosie wants to play for them when she's older."

The boy scoffed. "The daughter of Weasley is our King and Granger?"

Rose seethed quietly. She was determined to completely ignore the blonde ferret that sat opposite her.

Al spoke pointedly, "She's also the niece of Harry and Ginny Potter, and of Charlie Weasley. She's got Quidditch in her blood."

"Malfoy, Scorpius," the stern lady, that had greeted them in the Entrance Chamber, called, her voice echoing through the Great Hall.

Al gave his new friend an encouraging smile as Scorpius shuffled hesitantly to the stool.

"SLYTHERIN!" the hat declared. Rose wasn't entirely sure but she could have sworn that she'd seen a grimace flicker fleetingly across Malfoy's face.

"Potter, Albus."

Al sauntered up to the stool amidst whispers. Rose wondered at what point he had begun feeling confident when it had only been that morning when he'd been absolutely terrified about the sorting. She watched Al's face as the Sorting Hat deliberated on which house her cousin should be put in. After a minute, a triumphant smirk featured on his face as the hat announced, "SLYTHERIN!"

Rose's stomach lurched. Glancing towards the Gryffindor table, she saw her own feelings reflected on the faces of her cousins. Shock, horror, disbelief.

"Weasley, Rose."

Rose's palms were sweating as she nervously made her way to the front of the hall. Knees shaking, she gratefully sat on the stool as the Sorting Hat was placed atop of her fiery hair.

"A Weasley, hmm… but I see you're different. Ah yes, a Granger too. There is a desire to achieve, to prove you're the best. You've definitely got ambition."

"Slytherin?" Rose's thoughts betrayed her and she begrudged herself for sounding vaguely hopeful.

"No, I think not. Your need to achieve is founded on your want for learning and your value on knowledge. I think that you will thrive in…. RAVENCLAW!"

Rose sat still. Numbness overcame her as she thought about what her parents would say and how they'd react. Her whole family had been in Gryffindor and, now, in the same sorting, she and Al had broken tradition; she'd failed to be brave enough, courageous enough and, thus, proven herself unworthy of being a Gryffindor.

A hand firmly gripped her elbow.

"Come along Rose," a calming voice said. "The Ravenclaw table is this way."

The comforting voice kept speaking to her as she was led across the Great Hall. Rose was aware of a distant buzzing but she focused on the voice, soothing her frazzled mind. As she sat down, two boys caught her eye. They were watching her, laughing and sniggering to themselves at the Slytherin table.