Author's Notes: So this was supposed to be out two days ago, to celebrate the canonical date of the Epilogue, but I got delayed; makes sense, given that this is my longest one-shot ever. It's sort of a rewrite of my old story "Sorting Things Out," and as always ignores Cursed Child, save for one small part that I couldn't help but include. I hope that you enjoy!

Albus felt a strange squirming in his stomach as Kings Cross Station fled into the distance, along with the last faint glimpse of his family standing on the platform. He kept watching for a long moment, only breaking from his trance when Rose reached out and grabbed his arm.

"Come on, Al. Let's go find a compartment."

"Yeah, alright."

He hefted his luggage and his owl's cage and began following her, still lost in thought. Finally, he and Rose were going to Hogwarts. The whole thing was faintly terrifying, but he also felt a thrill of excitement—especially now that his father had removed one of his biggest fears about the trip. The Sorting was no longer some great, mysterious trial with a verdict that was completely out of his hands. If Dad was telling the truth—and Albus had every reason to trust him over James—he didn't have to walk into his Sorting blind, oblivious to whatever was right in front of—

"Oof!"

Albus was so lost in thought that he walked right into somebody, then stumbled back and nearly tripped over the trunk that he was dragging behind him. He had assumed the tall figure was an older student, but when he looked up to apologize he did a double-take and blurted out, "Teddy?!"

Albus' godbrother smirked down at his and Rose's surprised faces, eyes twinkling beneath his green fringe. "Al! Rose! Fancy meeting you here. I suppose I'm a bit late getting off the train, then?"

"Yeah," Albus said, his face falling. "What are you going to do?"

"Come to Hogwarts with us, obviously," Rose grinned.

"That sounds like fun! But I have work in an hour, so I'll just have to Disapparate off the train. Anyway, don't worry about me," he said, crouching down to be closer to Albus' level. "At least this will give me a chance to give you two one last goodbye. So how are you feeling? Excited to finally begin your magical education?"

"Obliviously!" gushed Rose, while Albus smiled sheepishly.

Teddy dropped his voice to a whisper. "And what about James? Is he still bothering you about your Sorting?"

Albus suddenly had a hard time meeting his godbrother's eye; Teddy was very good at emphasizing, at never judging Albus' many anxieties, which ironically made Albus aware of how petty they usually were. "A bit. But I'm not worried anymore...not mostly. I talked to Dad, and do you know what he told me?"

"That he and Ginny actually hatched James from a troll egg?"

"No, that when he was Sorted, the Hat let him choose between Gryffindor and Slytherin. So that means it will let me choose too! Won't it?"

"My mum actually said something like that!" said Rose. "The Hat considered putting her in Ravenclaw, but she told it that she liked Gryffindor better."

"Ha, see?" Teddy said, reaching out to ruffle Albus' hair. "I told you that you didn't have anything to worry about."

"What about you, Teddy?" he asked eagerly. "Did the Hat ask what House you wanted to go to?"

"Not really. But that's because I didn't really care," he added, noticing the look of fear that had returned to Albus' face. "I was fine with Hufflepuff, but it said I could have done well in Gryffindor, so it probably would have put me there if I had asked it to. So you're not scared anymore?"

"Yeah," Albus said, with another sheepish grin. "I feel loads better now, if I really do get to choose my own House."

"Glad to hear it," Teddy said, standing up again. "So now you just have to spend the rest of the train ride figuring out which House that you want!"

Albus blinked, but Teddy didn't seem to notice. "Good luck! And don't tell James about the troll egg, I'm sure Harry and Ginny would rather that he find out from them." With that he waved and Disapparated with a crack!

Albus was back to looking pensive as Rose led the way down the train. "Let's try to find a compartment to ourselves, or with some other first-years."

"You don't want to sit with James? Or any of the others?"

"James, no—not now that we've finally got you off this Slytherin thing." Rose muttered that last part mostly to herself. "And I doubt any of the others would want to sit with the first years."

"Louis said that we could sit with him if we wanted," Albus said vaguely, but nevertheless didn't object as Rose began to clamber into an empty compartment.

They settled in, putting their luggage in the overhead racks, while Albus carefully placed his sleeping owl, Stripe, on the seat beside him. He looked up to see his cousin beaming.

"Can you believe it? We're actually going to Hogwarts!" Then she frowned. "What's the matter? Please tell me that you haven't already relapsed on the Sorting issue?"

"I haven't! Or at least, I'm not worried about being put into Slytherin anymore. But...what Teddy said got me thinking."

"What that he said?"

"About 'now I need to choose my House.'" He looked at her nervously. "I mean, I really hadn't thought about it much before, but...never mind."

"No, what?"

Albus squirmed; he was having a hard understanding his feelings himself, let alone articulating them. "I don't know, it's just—it feels like a lot of responsibility. Like, I get to decide where I'm going to be for the next seven years. It's a relief, but it's also kind of scary in a different way. You know?"

He expected Rose to say that he found everything scary, but instead she hesitated, giving Albus a serious look. "Do you want to know a secret?"

"What?"

"I've been thinking...that I might want Ravenclaw instead of Gryffindor."

Albus could only stare for a few seconds. "You do?!"

"Yes. I mean—I like being brave and all that, but I just feel like Ravenclaw would fit me better. What do you think?"

"...I think you're Gryffindory," Albus said, feeling stunned and rather stupid at the moment.

Rose looked away, awkwardly twisting her robes around the knee. "You don't think my dad was serious, do you? That he'd be upset with me for getting into a House other than Gryffindor?"

With effort, Albus tried to shake off his confusion and give it a second of thought. "Of course not. I mean—I'm sure that Uncle Ron was just joking. But—you really don't want to be in Gryffindor?"

"Well, does it really make a difference?" she said, a bit defensively. "It's like Dad said, I have a lot of brains, I could be in Ravenclaw. And why is everyone so gung-ho about Gryffindor anyway?"

Albus rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I—I don't mean to say that you can't be in Ravenclaw if you want," he mumbled lamely. "I'm just...surprised, is all."

Rose smiled wanly. "I know. I'm sorry."

"So you're going to ask the Hat for that? Instead of Gryffindor?"

She shrugged. "Maybe. I haven't decided for sure yet."

Albus squirmed uncomfortably in his seat. "But...if you choose Ravenclaw, then you and I will be in different Houses. We'll hardly ever get to see each other."

"That's not necessarily true," Rose said, though she sounded unsure herself. "We might have classes together. And we can sit with each other during meals. And besides—maybe you won't get into Gryffindor anyway."

"But—"

"No, I mean—are you sure that you even want to be in Gryffindor? I'm serious, Al—why do you want to be in Gryffindor so badly? Is there a reason, other than that that's where our parents went?"

"Well...it's also where James and Molly and Victoire are. And, you know...it's the House for heroes and all that."

"Come on, Al. I thought that you were supposed to be the rebel in the family?"

She smiled awkwardly. It was an old joke—usually when the Potters attended a Quidditch game, Albus wound up supporting the opposite team than his parents and siblings, and the others would quip that he was "the rebel in the family." In reality, Albus was the meekest of them all—he hated confrontation, even about something as small as that. If he was really honest with himself, though, he enjoyed that appellation—he got a little thrill at being brave enough to defy his family, even while knowing that they wouldn't truly hold his feelings against him.

Now, however, he looked out the window, not even feeling such minuscule bravado; his newfound exuberance at the thought of his Sorting had vanished quickly. Him and Rose, in separate Houses? The thought filled him with newfound dread. But at the same time...Rose's question was like a distracting itch in his mind. Did he only want to be in Gryffindor because of his family? And was that necessarily a bad thing? He just didn't want to be separated from his brother, or his cousins either.

But still...if he could really choose any House that he wanted...it didn't have to be Gryffindor. If his dad said that he would be okay with Slytherin, obviously he would be alright with Ravenclaw, too. Right?

"Just...think it over a bit," Rose said, giving a weary shrug. "You can pick Gryffindor if you really want to...and maybe the Hat will put me there, anyway. I'd be happy with either House."

Albus wasn't sure what to say, and before he could decide, he was distracted by a commotion outside of their compartment. The two looked at each other, and without a word both headed for the door, opening it to peek outside.

A small group of students seemed to be having a tussle in the corridor, while several more stood around, watching and egging the combatants on. One of the spectators moved aside and Albus was surprised to see that James was involved in the struggle, along with his friend Gavin and an unfamiliar blond boy.

"Hey! HEY! Move aside! And you three stop!"

James, Gavin and the third combatant were suddenly wretched apart by an unseen force; everybody turned and saw a freckly, gingery seventh-year make her way through the crowd, her wand extended, a Head Girl badge shining on her robes.

"Well, I wish that I could say that I was surprised," she said, crossing her arms and giving James a look. "Couldn't even wait until we got to the station this time?"

"Hey, Victoire, I wasn't doing anything! I wasn't!" he exclaimed, as their cousin quirked a skeptical eyebrow. "I was just trying to stop Gavin from beating up this first year!"

Gavin glared at James, but looked away as Victoire rounded on him. "Alright, Blishwick—what's the story, then? ...Hello? Alright, then—First Year. What's your name?"

The blond boy winced, but forced himself to look her straight in the face. "Scorpius Malfoy."

"Do you have a story for me, Scorpius?"

He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, then looked away. Victoire sighed.

"Alright, then. I should take away points from all of your Houses, but since one of you doesn't even have a House yet, I guess I have to be fair and let you all off with a warning. But cause any more trouble, and I report you to the Headmistress as soon as we get to school. And write your mother," she added, with a pointed look at James.

"I didn't do anything for once!"

Gavin let out a snort of anger, turned, and stalked past Victoire to make his way down the train; James gave a worried look and ran after him. "The rest of you, go find a compartment," Victoire sighed. "Including you, Malfoy."

She walked away as the crowd dispersed, but the boy called Scorpius stood there for a moment, fuming. Then he grabbed his trunk and birdcage (which was lying on its side on the floor, the owl inside hooting indignantly) and began walking in the opposite direction as James and Gavin—which meant that he walked right by Albus and Rose, who were still standing in the doorway of their compartment.

The two inched back to give him space, but as Rose turned and began to head back inside, Albus heard himself say, "Er—Scorpius, was it?"

Rose gave him a surprised look as Scorpius froze, then turned slowly, his face quite expressionless. "Yes?" There was a slight edge of warning in his voice.

"Do you, er—need a place to sit? I think most people already have a compartment and ours is...mostly empty..."

Scorpius' expression remained stony, and Albus quickly began to regret this offer. He was somewhat taken aback when the boy said, "Yes, thank you," and turned his trunk around, dragging it into their compartment.

Rose shot Albus a look as she slid the door closed behind them. "Why did you do that?!" she hissed, as Scorpius was too busy putting away his luggage to hear.

"I don't know. I felt bad for him," Albus murmured. "James' friend tried to beat him up."

"Well, when we were on the platform, my parents were talking about him."

Albus frowned. "They were? What did they say?"

"I didn't understand it, but I got the feeling my dad didn't like him very much."

With that she went back to their seat, and Albus followed. Scorpius had settled himself into across and separate from them; already he had planted a book in front of his face, like a wall between them. Rose gave him a brief look before turning back to Albus.

"Anyway...it's going to be hours before we get to Hogwarts, so let's no spend the whole time worrying about our Sorting. Want to play some Exploding Snap?"

Albus gave a wan smile. "Alright, I suppose."

The next several hours passed by as Albus and Rose played games, talked about Quidditch and retreaded old conversations about what their lives at Hogwarts were going to be like. The whole time, Albus' mind kept turning back to the issue of Houses. If we're in the same House, we could spend time like this every night, he thought, laughing as their playing cards exploded in Rose's face. But only if he picked Ravenclaw. Or if Rose decided that she wanted to be a Gryffindor after all.

Every once in a while Albus caught Scorpius peering at them from over his book, but each time he quickly looked away. Besides that he kept to himself until the trolley witch came, at which he politely declined her offer of candy.

Albus and Rose, of course, bought an armful of sweets each. As they began to tuck in, Albus caught Scorpius eyeing them hungrily.

"Are you sure you don't want anything?" Albus asked, motioning to his candy.

Scorpius' eyes snapped away. "No, thank you. My mother doesn't like me too eat too many sweets," he murmured.

Rose rolled her eyes. "Oh, just eat a Chocolate Frog already," she said, and threw one from her pile. Scorpius jumped but managed to catch it, blinking owlishly.

"Er...thank you, then," he muttered.

He carefully unwrapped the chocolate and broke it into pieces, eating it quite slowly as though savoring each bit. Albus watching him out of the corner of his eye, all while debating Rose about the Holyhead Harpies' newest Beater. He couldn't help but wonder how Scorpius had gotten into a fight with James' friend; Albus had met Gavin before, during the summers, and while he was certainly a troublemaker he had never come off as a bully. Scorpius didn't seem like the sort to start a row, unless perhaps Gavin had mistaken his stiff formality for condescension.

"Do you want the card?" Scorpius asked when he was done with the chocolate.

"No, you keep it," Rose said offhandedly before turning back to Albus.

Scorpius looked down at the card; it was a Harry Potter, which were so common that they were hardly worth keeping. He began to put it in his pocket, then paused, doing a double take between the picture and Albus, who was talking with Rose. He shook his head, pocketed the card and then returned to his book.

A few more hours passed, and the sun was beginning to set; all three of them began to look anxiously at the fading light outside their windows.

"We're almost there," Rose breathed.

"I know," Albus said, and his voice was shaking. Once again he thought of the Sorting, and the decision that lay ahead.

"You should probably change into your school robes," Scorpius murmured softly. He didn't look up from his book, but it was the first time that he had spoken without any outside prompting.

Albus looked down, remembered that he was still in Muggle clothes, and nodded. "Yeah," he said, his mouth dry. "I'll go try and find a bathroom to change in."

He took his robes and went off, but unfortunately, he wasn't the only one to have this idea—the only boy's toilet that he could find had a queue of people trying to use it before the train reached Hogsmeade Station. Albus quickly wished that he had just stayed in the compartment and asked Rose to cover her eyes for a moment.

The wait gave him time to remember his predicament. I want to be in Gryffindor, he thought. I want to make Mum and Dad proud...but I also want to be with Rose. But then, if I'm not in Gryffindor, I won't be with James, Molly or Victoire. But what if Rose is right? Do I really just want to be in Gryffindor because that's what the family wants? But then—

This went on until Albus finally exited the bathroom, carrying his Muggle clothes under his arm. But by now it seemed like everybody was emerging from their compartments, and he had to fight through the throngs until he made it back to his own.

He stepped in, however, just as Scorpius was stepping out, and looking over his shoulder he saw that Rose wasn't there anymore.

"Where's Rose?"

"She left looking for you!" Scorpius said, looking worriedly over Albus' head. (Scorpius was nearly a foot taller than him.) "Come on, let's go find her. Just throw your clothes in there, I guess, they said to leave all your luggage behind..."

They waded their way through the throng, but she was nowhere to be found. Eventually, however, Albus spotted a familiar head with gold-blond hair, and waded toward him.

"Louis! Have you seen Rose? I can't find her anywhere!"

"Al! Hey, yeah, I found her looking for you. Anyway, they just called everybody off the train, so come on—don't worry, I'm sure she got off too..."

Albus and Scorpius followed him through the crowd, still searching the heads for Rose's bushy red mane. Soon they had stepped off of the train and into the crisp autumn night. Louis stopped and pointed.

"Hagrid should be collecting first years over there, okay? The rest of us go with the carriages. Anyway, good luck, okay?"

He gave Albus an encouraging smile and headed off. Still frowning, Albus led Scorpius the way that Louis had pointed, until...

"Firs' years! Firs' years!" a familiar voice called, as Hagrid's enormous head appeared over the crowd.

The two boys joined the group of first-years, near the back; Albus continued to search for Rose, but couldn't see her in the dim moonlight. They followed Hagrid and his lantern down a path and around a bend, and suddenly Albus could see the lake, the mountain, and Hogwarts Castle glittering in the distance.

"Whoa," he breathed, temporarily distracted from his search. Scorpius merely nodded.

"Four to a boat! No more than four to a boat!"

Albus growled in frustration as everyone began to pile into the dinghies. "Where's Rose?"

"I'm sure that she's around here somewhere," Scorpius said. "Let's just find ourselves a boat."

They were two of the last to board, joining a pair of girls. "Everyone in?" Hagrid called from a few boats away. "Then FORWARD!"

The boats set off. Albus fell back against the wall of his ship, grimacing. The two girls in their boat were talking to each other, while Scorpius scanned the other vessels.

"Wait—is that her?" he asked, pointing.

Albus looked up and followed his gaze; several boats away Albus could see someone who looked like Rose, with her long, frizzy hair, though he couldn't tell for sure through the dark and the distance; Rose, if it was her, was facing away from him. He leaned over that side of the boat, waving. "Rose!" he whispered loudly. "Rose!"

"Are you trying to talk to somebody in another boat?" one of the girls asked suddenly. "There's no way that they'll be able to hear you."

That was obviously true, but Albus merely leaned farther over the edge of the boat, causing the whole thing to lean about an inch. "I just—can't see if that's—WHOA!"

"Albus!" Scorpius called, just as he suddenly fell out of the boat and splashed loudly in the lake.

The icy water hit Albus like a slap in the face—he waved his arms wildly, trying to swim in his robe and shoes, feeling a momentary panic as his limbs went numb—

He felt another hand grab his, and it pulled him roughly halfway out of the water, nearly dislocating his shoulder in the process. He gasped, suddenly feeling the wood of the boat under his arms—he opened his eyes and saw that Scorpius had grabbed his hand, and the two girls in their boat had grabbed the back of Scorpius' robes, and the whole boat was tilting over and filling with water as they tried to drag him back in.

There was a gruff shout, and then, in a split second, Albus felt as though an invisible person had grabbed him around the middle and thrown him roughly into the boat. He slammed into Scorpius, who pitched back against the other side of the vessel, and the two girls both gasped with surprise.

There was a lot of muttering now from all the boats, and Albus looked up to see Hagrid's ship swiftly approaching theirs. His massive friend had his pink umbrella out, and Albus realized that it was Hagrid's magic that had managed to pluck him out of the water.

"'Ey there! Are you lot alright?! Al?"

Albus coughed, dragged himself away from Scorpius and rubbed the hair from his eyes. "Yeah."

"Yes, sir," murmured Scorpius and the girls, all of whom were nearly as wet as Albus.

"Yeh gotta be more careful, Al," Hagrid chuckled, putting his umbrella back on the floor of his boat. "And oi, you lot—good o' yeh to try and pull 'im out yehrselves, but yeh coulda gone overboard too. Anyone else have any trouble, jus' let me take care of it, understand?!"

He called this out to all of the boats, and Albus was quite aware of how every other first year was staring at him. He felt his face heat up, and looking up he noticed Rose, who was indeed the girl from the other boat, hiding her face in sympathetic embarrassment.

The boats set off again, and Albus slumped in his seat, wishing that he could curl up and disappear. Scorpius looked sideways at him. "Are you sure that you're alright?"

Albus nodded slowly.

"Well, that's the important thing," drawled the curly-haired girl who had spoken before. "Quite a pity that we're now all wet, though."

"Oh!" said the other girl, whose voice was quite soft. "Let me try something..."

She took out her wand, carefully inched toward Albus, and waved it at him. "Caldus!" Instantly it emitted a stream of hot hair at his face. Albus blinked as the girl waved her wand at his robes, which he could feel drying against his skin.

"Excellent idea, Charmian!" said the curly-haired girl, clapping her hands together.

"Oh—thank you," Albus murmured, as Charmian started to work on his hair. "And, er—thank you all, for helping me."

"No problem," said Scorpius.

"Of course not," the curly-haired girl agreed, with a dismissive wave. "I'm Ludmilla, by the way, and this is Charmian. And you are?"

"Uh, Albus. You can call me Al."

"...Scorpius."

"Scorpius Malfoy? Draco Malfoy's son?"

"Yes," he said, and Albus detected that threatening tone in his voice again. "What of it?"

"It's just that our fathers are business rivals," Ludmilla laughed. "My father is Vaclav Neff, of Neff Potioneers."

"Oh," said Scorpius, and from his tone, Albus could tell that he had been expecting Ludmilla to say something very different.

Ludmilla began to prattle on about some charity event that her and Scorpius parents had both attended recently. Scorpius nodded along politely, and Charmian returned to her place beside Ludmilla, now that Albus was mostly dry. Albus let his eyes wander over the lake, not really listening, until Ludmilla said "So we'll have the Sorting first thing when we get to the castle. What are you two hoping for?"

Scorpius stiffened; Albus looked down at the floor of the boat, still covered by half a thin layer of water. "Gry—well, I'm not entirely sure, to be honest."

"Charmian and I are going to be in Slytherin," Ludmilla said confidently. "It's a tradition in both of our families."

Albus blinked in surprise. "Oh," he said simply.

"What about you, Scorpius?"

He gave a small cough. "Well...both of my parents' families have traditionally been in Slytherin as well."

"Wonderful! Perhaps Albus will become a Slytherin, and the four of us can all be there together, then."

Albus gave an awkward smile, then looked back out over the lake. He felt very confused; his boat-mates were not at all like the Slytherins whom he had imagined, nor how James or his uncles had described them. He rather liked Scorpius so far, and these girls seemed nice too—they had even tried to save him from the water, after all. He didn't like the idea that the three of them were destined to soon become enemies.

For a moment, Albus remembered his earlier fear, that he might be Sorted into Slytherin himself. He still trusted his father that he wouldn't be put there against his will...but maybe, if the Hat did want to put him there, he should let it? He shook his head; but then he would be separated from Rose and the rest of his family! They would all be his enemies! (Except Dominique, his only Slytherin cousin, but she was hardly a fair trade for the others.)

His thoughts continued to swirl as they reached the opposite shore and everybody clambered out of their boats. As they trudged up the path toward the castle, Rose ran over and joined him again.

"There you are! I looked all over the train for you, and then you scared me half to death when you fell in the water! Are you alright?"

"Fine," he muttered. "Just...damp and near-dead from embarrassment, that's all."

"If it makes you feel better, nobody else even knows your name yet," Scorpius mumbled from behind him. "They'll have probably forgotten about 'that boy who fell in the lake' by the time they learn what 'Albus' looks like."

Albus looked thankful as the crowd of first-years climbed the steps of the school; they were too far back to see what was happening, but soon they were ushered inside, gazing in wonder at the magnificent entrance hall. They were led into a chamber next to the Great Hall, and Albus craned his neck to see the short, stocky witch who was standing before before them.

"Good evening, first years. My name is Professor Baumgartner, Deputy Headmistress and Professor of Charms. Let me be the first to welcome you to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In a few minutes we will be begin our Start-of-Term Feast. First, however, you must all be Sorted into one of our four Houses, which you will learn about shortly. This is a simple procedure carried out by one of our school's oldest treasures. It alone will decide which of you belongs to Gryffindor, to Hufflepuff, to Ravenclaw or Slytherin, and which of you will instead be fed to the castle dragons."

Several students gasped, including Albus.

"...That was a joke," Professor Baumgartner said, the edges of her mouth twitching. "Now, please wait here while the rest of the school finishes assembling in the Great Hall."

She turned and swept out of the room. Many of the students began to mutter among themselves. Albus took a deep breath.

It was the moment of truth. One way or another, Albus had to make a decision, or else have it made for him.

He turned to Rose, who seemed deep in thought herself, her eyes closed, her breathing slow and steady. He looked at Scorpius, and was surprised to see that his usually impassive face looked quite as nervous as Albus felt himself. Dimly he remembered that the two of them might become enemies in a moment, but he mentally shoved that thought away; they were still friends now, at least.

"Are you scared, too?" he murmured softly.

Scorpius winced, as though brought of a trance, but he gave a very small nod. Albus bit his lip.

"If it helps...my dad said that the Sorting Hat listens to where you want to go. He wanted to go to Gryffindor, so it sent him there instead of Slytherin. So you could just ask it for Slytherin if you wanted."

A few seconds passed before Scorpius spoke. "I'll keep that in mind, thank you."

The door opened, and Albus jumped in surprise. "Queue up and follow me," Professor Baumgartner's voice called.

They entered the Great Hall—the magnificence of which managed to distract Albus for a moment—and walked among the four House tables. Albus craned his neck—at the Gryffindor table sat James, who met his eyes and grinned at him, Victoire, who was smiling at them all, and Molly, who was ignoring the first years to talk with her friends. He turned toward Slytherin, where Dominique was watching closely, though she seemed determined to feign boredom. Next he glanced at Hufflepuff, where Louis and all his friends turned to flash the group thumbs-up. Finally he looked at Ravenclaw, where he didn't have any family yet—Rose, if she chose it, would be the first.

They took their place before the head table—Albus saw his godfather Neville beaming, Hagrid waved, and he forced a nervous smile in their direction. Between the first years and their professors was a stool that held a beat-up old hat. Albus' heart began to hammer at the sight of it.

The hat straightened up, opened a tear near its rim and began to sing.

"Our tale begins so long ago
A thousand years or more,
When Hogwarts was first founded
By these great wizards four:
Gryffindor, the brave and bold,
Slytherin, of shrewdest mind,
Ravenclaw, her wit renowned,
Hufflepuff, good and kind..."

Albus was only half-listening as the Hat continued; he knew all this already. He just didn't know where he wanted to go.

"…and thus ends my song,
So don me now and find out
To which House you belong!"

The Great Hall burst into song as Professor Baumgartner strode forward, unrolling a scroll. Albus closed his eyes in terror.

"As I call your name, please come forward and put on the Hat for your Sorting. Ackergill, Anita!"

A girl ran forward, put on the Hat and sat down. Thirty seconds seemed to stretch for an eternity, until...

"SLYTHERIN!"

The Slytherin table burst into applause, and several students down the line, Albus saw Ludmilla and Charmian clapping softly.

"Bailey, Douglas!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Bowker, Craig!"

Albus turned to Rose, who met his gaze. "Are you sure that you want Ravenclaw?"

"No," she admitted. "And I certainly don't want you to go there if you don't want it. Go wherever you think you'll be best."

Albus nodded, turned, and once again wondered what that really meant.

He quickly began to regret having a "P" name...he was distracted from his thoughts when "Farley, Charmian" went up and became a Slytherin; she blushed as she ran to her new table amidst all of the cheers. "Goyle, Gallia" joined her a moment later, then "Haworth, Isabelle" became a Ravenclaw...soon they were at "Kask, Olivia," then "Llewellyn, Adrostos" and...

"Malfoy, Scorpius!"

"Good luck," Albus whispered.

"You, too," he murmured, his face very white, before striding forward and sitting on the stool; Albus noticed that his eyes were closed tightly before before they disappeared under the Hat.

A long moment passed; Albus' brown furrowed. He wondered what was taking so long, and then—

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Huh?!" Albus said stupidly, as Scorpius took off the Hat, and, looking dazed, wandered over to the Gryffindor table.

Rose, however, was clapping with Scorpius' new Housemates. "Maybe Dad was wrong about him after all," she said with a wink.

Albus was still confused as "McNamara, Joshua" took the stool and was sorted in Hufflepuff. Did this mean that the Hat didn't put you where you asked? In which case...Albus might actually be put in Slytherin?! But now he had even more reason to be put in Gryffindor! Unless Rose wound up in Ravenclaw. Or—

Ludmilla looked pleased with herself as she strode off to the Slytherin table. Albus took a deep breath. "Patterson, Elijah" joined Scorpius as a Gryffindor, and then, finally...

"Potter, Albus!"

He stepped forward, feeling like he was about to be executed, terribly aware that every eye and every murmuring tongue was focusing on him. He took the Hat, sat down and slowly put it over his face. The world went dark...the Hat seemed to squirm a bit on his head...

"Hmm," said a voice in Albus' ear. "Well, you're an anxious one, aren't you?"

Albus felt his face heat up, closed his eyes tightly and thought, Are you gonna put me in Slytherin?

"I wasn't planning on it, no," the Hat quipped, as Albus' whole body visibly relaxed. "But don't you have a friend or two in there now?"

Albus frowned. No. I mean...Ludmilla and Charmian seem nice, but...

"You're still afraid of the big, bad Slytherins?"

Albus felt rather stupid; he heard the Hat sigh. "Never mind. Your personality is really all wrong for Slytherin anyway, even if you weren't so unfortunately prejudiced against it. You're far too candid, and quite dependent on others, if you don't mind me saying so. In fact, that's what seems to have you in a bind right now, isn't it?"

I don't...I mean...I just don't know where I want you to put me. I thought it was Gryffindor, but I want to be with Rose—can you tell me if she's going to end up there or not?

"Not until I look into her head, no."

But she might wind up there. And most of my family's there, and my new friend Scorpius, so...I guess that's what I should pick?

"Well, I already know where I want to send you. But your father was right—I shan't put you there unless I can convince you that it's right. So let's stop and think. Why do you want to be in Gryffindor?"

Because most of my family's there, Albus thought instantly. James, Molly, Victoire—

"Interesting. And Ravenclaw?"

Because I want to be with Rose.

"So your chief concern is being with your loved ones? Not becoming brave, not becoming smart, certainly not becoming ambitious...just to remain with them?"

Well...I want to be those things too!

"You're close to your godbrother Teddy, aren't you?" the Hat said, quite changing topic. "Just today, your father said that he was practically a part of your family."

Yeah. I mean...he never lived with us, but he's practically like my big brother.

"And which House was he in?"

Albus suddenly had an idea where the Hat was leading him, and he frowned in confusion. Hufflepuff. Are you—are you saying that you want to put me there?

"You have intense loyalty for those closest to you. You're a remarkably kind person. I think that you would do well there."

But then I won't be with Rose or the rest of my family! I mean—I like Louis, but—

"Does Louis maintain good ties with the rest of your family? Does Teddy? Has being in a different House strained their relationships with anyone?"

Albus thought for a long moment. Do I have to go there?

"I won't send you there if you don't want me to," the Hat repeated. "But I think that deep down, a part of you likes the idea. Always the rebel in your family, aren't you?"

Albus could feel the Hat's "mouth" smirk against his forehead. He bit his lip. Are you...sure that I should be in Hufflepuff? That I can still be friends with my family, and Scorpius or anyone else?

"You won't find a friendlier bunch than Hufflepuffs. I daresay you'll keep your friends and find plenty of new ones as well."

Albus didn't say anything, but he let the idea settle in his mind. If the Hat was right...if he really didn't need to worry about being with anyone else...Albus felt a weight lift from his shoulders, as great as the one that his father had lifted that morning. He wondered what Hufflepuff was like, and as he wondered, he felt a strange and unexpected thrill of excitement.

"Is that a yes?"

Albus hesitated, and then nodded.

"In that case, I hereby pronounce you a HUFFLEPUFF!"

Albus heard cheers, took off the Hat, and to his own surprise found himself grinning. He stepped down from the stool and, flashing a smile at Rose's surprised face, headed off toward the Hufflepuff table, where Louis quickly tackled him into a tight hug.

"FINALLY, another Weasley 'Puff!" he said, giving his younger cousin a playful noogie. "And hey, Teddy's gonna be happy too, just the other day he told me how much he hoped you'd wind up here!"

"He did?"

"Yeah, he came over to Shell Cottage for lunch. He's been spending a lot of time there, for some reason." Louis winked, and Albus followed his gaze toward his sister, cheering at the Gryffindor table for "Prewett, Hippolyta." "Anyway, he didn't want to say anything, since you were already so nervous. But how do you feel? Not too disappointed about Gryffindor, are you?"

"No, I...I think I'm alright."

He was still nervous, but a few minutes later he was caught up in the euphoria of "Smith, Kezia" joining their table, and then joined in the fervent discussion of some other boys were trying to explain Quidditch to a Muggle-born Housemate.

A few minutes after that, "Weasley, Rose" was called up. Trying not to be sad about their separation, Albus stood up with Louis and cheered when she ran off to become the first Weasley in Ravenclaw.

The Hufflepuff Common Room was in a basement near the kitchens. Albus was a bit worried when he heard this, having long been prone to claustrophobia, but in fact he found the place rather cozy, and enjoyed a good night's sleep, helped on by his fullness from the welcoming feast.

Albus approached the Great Hall the next morning and saw Scorpius walking a few feet ahead of him. Just as he was about to enter, however, Gavin Blishwick pushed past him, sending him a dark glare. Scorpius stopped and stared indignantly after him as Albus caught up.

"Good morning, Scorpius."

He looked up. "Morning, Albus," he grumbled, before returning his glare to Gavin's retreating back.

Albus followed his gaze, then asked, "If you don't mind me asking...is there some reason that he seems to hate you so much?"

"It's...nothing." Scorpius squirmed, then asked, "Can you keep a secret?"

"Yeah."

He looked around, as though worried about eavesdroppers, and said, "Back during the war...my father and grandfather were both Death Eaters. But they're not like that anymore!" he added quickly, seeing Albus' shock. "But anyway, back on the train, Blishwick was spreading lies. He said that my grandfather killed his grandfather during the First War, but it's not true. My grandfather was never convicted of anything during the First War, and never of any murders!"

His crossed his arms, and his was so defiant that Albus couldn't help but suspect that he was trying to convince himself more than him. He decided not to mention that, however, and instead just said "Oh."

"Now I have to share the same House as him. If I had known that he was a Gryffindor I probably wouldn't have asked the Hat to put me there."

Albus blinked in surprise. "So you asked for Gryffindor! But I thought you wanted Slytherin?"

Scorpius winced. "No...I mean, my family's all gone there, but...so have a lot of...unsavory people," he mumbled darkly. "I have enough problems with people like Blishwick without encouraging my reputation."

"Oh." Albus paused. "I was sort of afraid of being put in Slytherin, too, to be honest. Then again, Ludmilla and Charmian from the boat seemed nice."

"I suppose." Scorpius' brow furrowed. "I just hope that Father doesn't disown me."

"Well...most of my family are Gryffindors. If he does, I'm sure that one of them would be willing to adopt."

Scorpius actually smiled at that. "Thanks for the offer. Anyway...I'll see you later, then?"

"Yeah, see you!"

They entered the Great Hall and headed for their respective tables. Albus piles food onto his plate and started to eat, only to look up and notice Rose waving at him from the Ravenclaw table, beaming.

Albus waved back, paused, and then spotted one of the Hufflepuff prefects about to sit down.

"Excuse me—is it alright if I go and sit with my cousin at the Ravenclaw table?"

"Normally that would be fine, but everyone has to stay in their seats today so that the professors can pass out schedules."

"Oh. Thank you."

He returned to his food, and sure enough his new Head of House came by, passing out timetables to each of the first years. Albus scanned his, and was delighted to see that he had double Charms with the Ravenclaws that afternoon, and double classes with Gryffindor and Slytherin later in the week.

Albus looked up again; Rose was holding up her schedule and pointing emphatically. Albus grinned and nodded, holding up his own.

Soon, the mail came in a rush of wings and feathers, nearly startling Albus out of his seat. His own pet Stripe, a southern white-face, fluttered onto the top of his head, while Brocard, a pretty eagle owl who belonged to his parents, landed on the table beside him, two letters in each beak.

"Oh!"

Albus took the letter with his name on it, and Brocard flew off to visit James at the Gryffindor table. He quickly opened it up:

Dear Al,

We know you said that you didn't want us to write to you too often, but your mother and I just wanted to wish you a happy first day of school. We hope that you had a good time at the feat, and that the Sorting turned out as well as I promised. Please write as soon as you can to tell us where you wound up. And remember—we're proud of you no matter what.

Love,

Dad

Albus quickly turned it over, thought for a moment, and then scribbled:

Dear Mum and Dad,

You were right that the Hat listened to what I wanted, but thankfully it knew what I wanted better than I did. I'm in Hufflepuff! I was scared of being away from Rose and the others at first, but so far I'm having a great time. Please don't tell Teddy, I want to write him myself!

Love,

Albus

He tied it to Stripe's leg and sent him off with a bit of toast, watching as he disappeared out the window. He glanced over at the Ravenclaw table again, and saw Rose enthusiastically writing a letter of her own.

He thought back to the day before and felt silly. What had he been so worried about? Even if the Sorting hadn't worked out like he expected, all remained well in the Weasley-Potter clan.