A/N: This is the first time I've written anything in a while. Please be kind, although constructive criticism is appreciated.
When Albus Severus went off to Hogwarts, his father told him that he was named after the two bravest people he ever knew. The words had calmed Al, and he didn't spend his first train ride panicking over what House he would be sorted into, and instead laughed and joked with his brother and cousins. The anxiety started to pick up again once the train arrived at Hogwarts. It picked up even more when the first years were brought out into the Great Hall. Albus stayed close to Rose, who was quite possibly even more panicked than he was. She was desperately hoping for Ravenclaw.
To Al's surprise, almost as soon as the hat was placed on his head he was sent to Hufflepuff. There were a few familiar faces: his cousin Lucy Weasley and Katie Longbottom, who were both a year older than him. Rose was sent off to Ravenclaw as she had hoped, and before the kids went off their separate ways, James bounded over to exclaim how proud he was that his little brother and little cousin hadn't been sorted into Slytherin, even if that meant they were in different houses than him.
Al didn't have the same discrimination towards the infamous house as his older brother, and due to his shared classes, he found himself making several Slytherin friends. Scorpius Malfoy was one to his brother's dismay, and Layla Nott. Although both Scorpius and Layla had Death Eater roots, they were nothing like their grandparents. Scorpius was tall and proud, but made a point to verbally denounce the Dark Arts whenever he could and made sure to the entire school of Hogwarts that he was not going to ever follow the footsteps of his Death Eater father and grandfather. Layla was quieter, and didn't necessarily have to publicly denounce the Dark Arts to make friends. Her father had stayed neutral during the war, and even though her grandfather was a Death Eater, he wasn't one of the more well-known ones. The Nott family had managed to hide away and stay neutral and unnoticed during all the years that followed after the war.
Albus, Scorpius, and Layla stayed close by each other's sides during their years at Hogwarts. Everyone knew how inseparable they were, and Al had been caught several times by Hufflepuff Prefects trying to sneak Scorp and Lay into the Hufflepuff common room. It was easier for Scorpius and Layla to sneak Al into their common room from their fifth year and onwards, since they were both appointed Prefects. It was during one of their late-night, half-drunk heart-to-hearts one night that Albus' name got brought up.
"I read in a book once that Albus Dumbledore was gay," Layla had commented out of the blue. "He had an affair with Gellert Grindelwald when they were teenagers. Isn't that so weird? This guy was known for being one of the most anti-Dark Arts guy ever but he had dabbled in it during his youth? Also, he was gay?"
"Okay, that's just a rumor," Albus shouted, which was followed by Scorpius shushing loudly and Layla throwing an empty bottle of firewhisky at him.
"No, no, his brother Aberforth gave proof! They wrote a lot of raunchy letters to each other…"
Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Listen, Lay, just because you're a lesbian doesn't mean you have to throw your conspiracy theories at us," he muttered, taking another swig of firewhiskey.
"Yeah, and just because you're an alcoholic doesn't mean you can take all the damn alcohol," Layla retorted, madly grabbing for the drink Scorpius was holding.
While his two drunk friends were bickering over the state of their firewhiskey stash, Albus sat and reflected. He didn't care if the wizard he was named after was gay. Al himself liked boys, even though he hadn't admitted it to anyone yet. He had never been with one, only girls, but he would be lying if he said he had never fantasized about Daniel Bones, a fellow Hufflepuff and another good friend, who Al found to be very attractive. What mattered to Al about his namesake wasn't his sexuality, but the other things he had heard about Albus Dumbledore. Like how he had ignored his father for almost an entire year, how he had screwed the rules to make sure Gryffindor won the house cup for five years in a row, and how, overall, he was a controversial figure. Sure, Albus Dumbledore was the greatest wizard behind Merlin, but Al had heard too many bad things about him to be comfortable with his first name.
His middle name made him feel even worse. Severus. Al was close to his Herbology professor, Neville Longbottom, who had been one of his father's friends, and was a war hero. Professor Longbottom was Al's idol, and he had told the boy many things about his time at Hogwarts, like the general abuse Severus Snape had inflicted on his students. Professor Longbottom was so terrified of him that his boggart took the form of Severus Snape. Albus didn't think that was right. He thought his father was blind. Sure, Harry Potter was one of the most famous wizards of the time, a war hero, and had saved the wizarding community on multiple occasions, but he was blind. Blind enough to name his second son after two men who were not the bravest wizards he had ever known, but controversial and maybe even bad people.
Albus was brought back to reality at the sound of a commotion. He snapped open his eyes, which had been closed for his thinking session, and was greeted with the sight of both Albus and Scorpius threatening a poor first-year with his life if he told anyone about the scene he had just walked in on. The first year was almost in tears, and kept repeated the same phrase: "I just have to pee! I won't tell anyone!"
Albus stood up and dragged Layla, the main assailant, away from the first year. "Go to the bathroom. Don't tell anyone," he said. The first year sighed in relief.
"Thank you so much! I won't tell anyone!"
He ran off to the bathroom and Al looked over at Layla and Scorpius and raised an eyebrow.
"You two are the worst Prefects I've ever seen." The two only grinned sheepishly in response.
Al left the Slytherin common room soon after. It was nearing two in the morning and he had an early class, but before he went to bed he wrote a letter.
Dear Mum,
I'm sorry for mailing this to you so early in the morning. Hopefully you won't get it until a reasonable time. I was just wondering why it was okay for Dad to name me after two horrible people? Albus Dumbledore was not a good man and neither was Severus Snape. Of course, I wasn't there while they lived, but I've heard a number of things from textbooks and professors and other students. If their opinions and stories are correct, I'm afraid. I know names don't govern who a person is - look at James he's one of the best students in this school - but I'm afraid I'm going to end up like they did. Dead and leaving behind a legend of being gay and manipulative or just an abusive arse. It makes me uncomfortable. I want to change my name. Please don't tell Dad about this letter.
I love you and miss you,
Al
Years later, Al changed his middle name to Remus.