Of the Golden Trio, only Hermione had ever been comfortable admitting that the sorting hat had considered placing her in a different house. Being a Ravenclaw did not have any negative stigma attached to it after all.
For Harry, the fact that he'd almost been placed in Slytherin had weighed heavily on the back of his mind for years. It was only after the war, when he'd learnt that goodness could manifest itself in the most unlikely of places, that he began to except his inner Slytherin as a part of himself he could be proud of.
As for Ron, the fact that he had almost been made a Hufflepuff had made him practically ill to the stomach. The teasing he'd have had endured from Fred and George was enough to have him squirming in his seat every time he thought about it. Just as it had with Harry, the sorting hat took his choice into consideration despite believing he'd have done well in Hufflepuff. It had seen in him the same thing that Dumbledore had; his over powering loyalty and courageousness, two things highly valued in Hufflepuff house.
It wasn't until the trio had reached a great age, and had sat down and begun to reminisce one breezy evening that they finally revealed to each other just what the sorting hat had said to them when they were just 11 years old.
"Blimey." Ron had wheezed when Harry told him, running a hand through hair, which had long since gone from red to grey. "Imagine if you've been a bloody Slytherin." Ron's prejudice against the house still ran deeper than it should have. Even after all these years.
"Imagine if you've been a Hufflepuff. And Hermione a Ravenclaw." Harry replied with a frown.
Hermione smiled indulgently at the two old men, who were still the best friends she'd even had. "I can't help but think it would've worked out anyway." Harry and Ron looked at her questioningly, clearly not seeing what she did. Hermione continued with a sight. "Perhaps you would've been a bit unwilling to associate with Harry, Ronald, but I find it hard to believe that either of you would've put up with the way Malfoy treated people." She said nodding to herself, seeing everything replay in her mind. "And we would've all known Hagrid one way or another. Ron because of your brothers, Harry because of your parents, and me, because before you guys Hagrid was one of the first people to actually be kind to me. It would've taken longer, but we would've found each other in the end." She said with a smile.
Harry and Ron pondered this before both grinning at Hermione.
"You always were the smartest witch of your age." Said Harry. Hermione rolled her eyes.
Slowly the grin slid from his face and Ron was silent for a moment, his brow furrowed as though he was thinking hard about something. "I was just thinking…" He said. "We basically make up the houses."
"What?" Harry asked.
"We make up the houses." Ron repeated, the smile once again breaking out of his tired old face. "Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each one of us holds a different piece of another house, and we combine it in Gryffindor. Hermione's brains, Harry's cunning, my…loyalty." He said, his eyes suddenly dancing with excitement.
"Dumbledore always used to say that the houses were strongest combined." Hermione said slowly, thinking it over in her mind.
"And whose bond is stronger than the Golden Trio right! God's of the wizarding world!" Ron joked.
Harry didn't say anything for a long moment, before finally he reached up and touched his scar, rubbing his fingers over the now-faint lightning bolt.
"Thank-you guys." He said suddenly, his green eyes scanning over the faces of his best friends. Hermione and Ron looked at him questioningly "They still call me the Chosen One, even after all the years, but I can't help but think that maybe we're all the Chosen ones, none of us could have done it without the others." Harry explained. "Thank you for saving the world with me."
And with that, Hermione stood, her eyes brimming with tears, before she pulled Harry into one of the bone crushing hugs that she was famous for. And Ron, with a grin and a slight nod simply said;
"Any time."