Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns all of the Harry Potter saga.
Spoiler Alert! Contains spoilers from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows! Do not continue if you haven't read that book yet.
Rose Weasley waved like mad until her parents, aunt and uncle were out of sight, then she dragged her trunk down the corridor in search of an empty compartment. Her cousin, Albus Potter, was a bit farther along than her, and she waved him towards her when she came upon an almost-empty compartment. There was just one boy sitting in it, a boy with sleek blond hair and a rather pointed face.
"Do you mind if we sit here?" Rosie asked politely, then not waiting for a proper answer she hauled her trunk right in and collapsed onto the seat opposite the boy. Albus joined her after a moment, giving the other boy an odd look first.
"Are you excited to be going to Hogwarts?" Rosie asked brightly, trying to break the awkward silence and start a conversation. She elbowed Al slightly, telling him to stop staring at the poor boy, who looked as though he would rather be somewhere else.
"I suppose," Rosie was surprised to hear that his voice was somewhat of a drawl. "Although after everything my father's told me of his days at the school, I do hope I end up with more…decent people in my year than he did."
When Albus still didn't say anything, Rosie plunged on bravely. "Well, I'm simply thrilled. Professor McGonagall, the Headmistress, taught my parents when they were there."
"You're a pure-blood, then?" the blond boy asked pointedly, implying that if not, there was no need for further conversation.
"Obviously," Albus spoke up then. "If her parents both went to Hogwarts." He seemed irritated with their new acquaintance, for some reason.
Rosie could feel the tension building, and though she didn't like some of the things the boy had said, she kept the conversation alive. "I don't believe we've been properly introduced, have we? I'm Rose. What's your name?"
The boy seemed to be taking in her rather bushy red hair and light dusting of freckles, and teeth that she wished weren't quite so large. Her mother insisted on her teeth being cared for by her grandparents, who were Muggle dentists.
Finally he replied, "Scorpius Malfoy. What did you say your surname was again?"
"She didn't," Albus answered for her, rather defensively. "And what does it matter to you?"
Scorpius smiled, but it wasn't a friendly smile. "I thought so. You're a Weasley, aren't you?"
Rosie was startled that he knew this. "Yeah, so?" she shot back, now feeling as irritated as Albus seemed to be.
"My grandfather told me there would be a new student coming, a cross of the Mudblood Granger and blood-traitor Weasley family," Scorpius said coldly.
Rosie felt the blood drain from her face, and her ears were getting hot. "Don't you ever speak about my parents like that," she said dangerously.
"And you?" Scorpius continued, addressing Albus, "It was plain from the start that you're a Potter. At least you're a pure-blood, if you can still call that family such."
"My mum is a Weasley, you know," said Al quietly. "Going to have a go at her too?"
"All I can say is, at least your mother isn't a filthy Mudblood," Scorpius remarked chillingly. "That's the only compliment she deserves."
"Well, the things I've heard about your family, Malfoy," Albus started to say, before Rosie cut in swiftly.
"Shut up about our families!" she ordered. "Who cares about our blood? It's what we do that proves us worthy. And that's what the Sorting Hat will look for too."
Scorpius looked at her coldly. "I think I'm going to find a different compartment," he announced, and left directly.
Rosie stared after him as the glass door slammed shut. "Weren't his father and your father enemies at school when they were our age?" she questioned.
"You know they were," Al reminded her, "I've heard more about it from your dad than my own. They weren't exactly pals either, were they?"
"No," Rosie agreed. "Mr. Malfoy rather hated my mum because of my grandparents, you know."
"Some people," Albus said, shaking his head in disbelief. "Aunt Hermione is the smartest witch I know, Rosie. And everybody else says so too."
Rosie smiled faintly. "Thanks, Al. Well, I guess there's no doubt as to which house Scorpius will end up in," she commented lightly.
Worry lines creased his face for the first time. "Yeah, but what if one of us ends up there with him?"
"Don't worry, Al," Rosie replied confidently. "All of my dad and your mum's family have been in Gryffindor, and so have my mum and your dad. Why should we be any different?"
"I thought your mum said it wasn't just about family," Al reminded her. "And you said yourself, the Sorting Hat doesn't care about our blood."
Rosie swung her hair around carelessly. "So what? They wouldn't dare put Harry Potter's son in Slytherin."
Rosie had to remind herself several times that her cousin James, her parents, aunt and uncle, and countless other relations and friends had gone through the exact same thing and made it through. But as she stared at the looming castle, the thought wasn't terribly comforting. She'd been looking forward to this moment for years, it was true, but the actual Sorting made her rather nervous, if she was honest with herself. She knew Albus didn't have a thing to worry about, but she was dying to be in her parents' old house with him. What if she wasn't brave enough to be a Gryffindor?
She only confided this fear to Hagrid, the Care of Magical Creatures teacher, as she sat in a boat with him alone. Albus had disappeared somewhere after they got off the Hogwarts Express. Rosie strongly suspected her older cousin James had something to do with this disappearance. He'd probably fed Al horror stories of the Sorting right up till Albus got into a boat.
"Ar, Rosie, don' worry 'bout the Sorting," Hagrid said reassuringly. "Yeh come from a family o' great witches an' wizards—look at yer mum! Best in the year, she was."
"Yes, but Hagrid," Rosie argued as she boat swayed a bit in the wind. They were nearly there. "Mum told me blood doesn't mean anything. And she was almost in Ravenclaw!"
"Well," Hagrid said reasonably. "There's nothin' wrong with bein' in Ravenclaw, Rosie. Be my firs' choice—after Gryffindor, o' course."
"You see!" Rosie exclaimed. "Everyone wants to be in Gryffindor! Well, except the people who come from Slytherin families," she added as an afterthought. "They seem to like where they are."
"Ah, yeh'll do fine," Hagrid said firmly. "Yer not the on'y one ter be nervous before a Sorting. Yer uncle Harry, he was jus' as bad. An' look where he ended up!"
Rosie smiled a tiny bit at this. "I suppose you're right," she admitted. "At least I know I've got one friend at Hogwarts, Hagrid," she said more cheerfully, beaming up at him.
"Well, yeh got more than that!" Hagrid assured her. "Albus an' James and a whole host o' other cousins already, an' tha's just in yer own family!"
Rosie couldn't contain her grin as she lined up with the Deputy Headmaster and Head of Ravenclaw House, Professor Flitwick. It did feel a bit odd towering over a teacher, she decided, but so far Hogwarts was even better than she'd imagined.
"Rosie!" Albus exclaimed, jumping into line behind her. "There you are! I was stuck in a boat with some bloke named Creevey, he was driving me mad, for some reason he wouldn't shut up about my dad…"
"You do know your family's famous here, don't you?" Rosie teased, feeling more light-hearted than ever with her closest cousin and sidekick beside her.
"Yeah, but it's not like I ever did anything," Albus protested.
Just then, Professor Flitwick spoke in a rather high, squeaky voice. "Attention! The Sorting is about to begin! File into the Great Hall after me, students!"
Rosie moved ahead into the Hall, and was instantly mesmerized by the hundreds of glowing candles, sheer number of students, and enchanted ceiling. She had, of course, known that it was bewitched to look like the night sky for years (ever since reading her mother's copy of Hogwarts: A History at the age of six), but it still intrigued her. Tonight, it was spangled with bright, twinkling stars, the only specks of light in an ink-black darkness.
A patched, frayed and (was it looking rather burnt?) hat was on a stool. Butterflies swooped in Rosie's stomach. The Sorting Hat!
"When I call your name, you will sit on the stool and I will place the Hat on your head. When you are Sorted, you will join your House table," Flitwick squeaked.
Rosie looked along the staff table to see her teachers, many of them for the first time. Hagrid, of course, had taken his seat, next to ghostly Professor Binns, who still continued to teach History of Magic; Professor Longbottom, of Herbology, was no stranger to Rosie or Albus, as he had dined with their families on several occasions throughout the years; next to him there was a space for Flitwick, to his right sat Headmistress Professor McGonagall (who was looking, Rosie noticed, almost wistfully at the Sorting Hat—she knew it had been McGonagall who Sorted her parents and aunt and uncle); then there was the Potions master, Professor Zabini, who looked least pleasant of all the teachers; next to him, an elderly witch Rosie didn't know; beside her, the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Patil; and a few others Rosie didn't recognize.
"Anderson, Ava!" Flitwick called first. A girl with long blonde hair and determined hazel eyes, looking much more confident than Rosie felt, stepped forward quickly and put on the Sorting Hat. After a moment, it announced, "GRYFFINDOR!"
Rosie looked quickly as the second to left table burst into cheers and applause. She saw her cousin James whistling loudly, Victoire looking coolly pleased, and Uncle George's daughter Frederica, or Freddie, banging her fists on the table and whooping. Ava Anderson sat down calmly, but even she was unable to contain her smile.
"Booth, Lance!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Bowes, Yvette!"
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Cairn, Emeth!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
Rosie merely glanced at this boy as he passed on his way to the far right table. But she did a double take in an instant. All the other Slytherins were cheering and howling for him, but he looked frankly miserable. His face had gone pale, and he looked as though he wished he were going anywhere but to join that lot.
"Creevey, Harry!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
Rosie had to stifle a giggle as she distinctly heard Harry Creevey mutter, "Drat! I was hoping to end up in Gryffindor, like Harry Potter!" as he passed by.
"Dursley, Devon!"
Rosie exchanged glances with Albus as the muscular boy made his way slowly to the stool. She'd quite forgotten he was starting school with them this year. It had been quite the family joke when her uncle Harry's cousin (son of parents who loathed anything to do with magic) had married a woman who turned out to be a witch, and later given birth to a wizard son. But Rosie had never actually met Devon except when they were both very young.
The Sorting Hat took a while, possibly (Rosie sniggered) considering his wizard-hating relatives. Finally it bellowed, "HUFFLEPUFF!"
Devon looked relieved—for having grandparents like he did, he seemed to have turned out all right—and joined Harry Creevey and the other Hufflepuffs.
After a few others, the nastiest boy Rosie had seen yet ("Flint, Farley!") was also sent into Slytherin, and later he was joined by Scorpius Malfoy, who looked extremely pleased with himself. The next boy ("Montague, Roman!") sat next to Scorpius, who had Flint on his other side. Rosie wrinkled her nose at all three of them.
Soon it was Albus' turn to be Sorted. Rosie gave his shoulder an encouraging squeeze, and with a deep breath, he stepped forward as Flitwick called, "Potter, Albus!"
There was an instant buzz. Rosie caught the words "Harry Potter!" and "Dumbledore" and "You-Know-Who". Poor Albus' ears reddened slightly as everyone realized how much Al resembled his famous father, then he sat down.
James, for all the tricks he'd played on his younger brother, seemed to take pity on him, for he flashed him a grin and a quick thumbs-up before checking to make sure no one had seen this display of affection.
The Sorting Hat considered Albus for a while, just like it had Devon Dursley. Rosie could've sworn she saw Al fervently mouthing the words, "Not Slytherin, not Slytherin!" before the Hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"
A look of deepest relief shone onto Albus' face as he fairly leaped off the stool and hurried over to join his brother at the Gryffindor table. James, Victoire and Freddie all leaned forward to congratulate him. Rosie swallowed hard. What if she didn't get to join her family? What would they all think of a Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or even (she shuddered) Slytherin cousin?
She was so busy worrying that she didn't even realize when Flitwick called her name. It wasn't until the boy next to her elbowed her lightly in the ribs that she jerked to attention and fairly ran to sit on the stool. There were titters in the crowd, and her face flushed.
Rosie couldn't breathe as the Sorting Hat rested upon her flaming red hair, her cheeks now matching. The Hall was quiet once more…
And the Hat began to whisper in her ear…
AN: Hey! This is my first attempt at Harry Potter fanfiction, so I hope it wasn't too bad. I'd appreciate reviews a lot, suggestions for improvement, questions about something, etc. And what House will she end up in? Gryffindor with her family? Ravenclaw? Hufflepuff? Or even (shudder) Slytherin? Haha.
http://wc6.