AN: Something that came to me at random and I decided to write it down before I lost it. Hope you like it. Always wondered what Percy's sorting went like, so here's my take. BTW, all the dates and years for things, I got from harrypotter DOT wikia DOT com SLASH wiki SLASH Main_Page . If you could review and tell me what you think, I would really appreciate it…

A Disappointment to the Family

1987 - The Sorting Ceremony

Weasley, Percy!

At the sound of the Deputy Headmistress's sharp voice, Percy Weasley snapped out of his thoughts and made his way up towards the stool at the front of the Great Hall. It all seemed so surreal. Just a few weeks ago he had been walking down Diagon Alley with his parents, talking about Hogwarts with his older brothers who merely smiled and let the excited boy talk endlessly and now he was here, about to undergo the most important moment possibly of his Hogwarts career. Everything depended on this moment.

As the hat was lowered over his curly red hair and the top of his glasses, he could see his two brothers, William who constantly told him to call him Bill, and Charlie. They had already stated making their marks, now it was his turn. Bill was in his 6th year and a prefect who had earned a remarkable twelve O.W.L.'s and Charlie was an outstanding seeker on the Gryffindor team as well as likely to earn prefect due to his high grades when he entered his O.W.L. year next year. Although Quidditch may be a somewhat violent and impractical sport, at least in his opinion, Charlie showed the skills to one day consider a professional career.

Still, their paths were not his path. He was nothing too out of the ordinary among his family yet. He was not the oldest and therefore the first at everything. Bill earned the glory of being the next head of the House of Weasley and the hereditary seat in the Wizengamot that his father never filled due to not having the heart for politics.

It was so foolish! His father could be great, he had a keen mind but he kept fiddling with rubbish and refusing promotions to learn about backwards Muggles!

Nor could he have the claim of being the youngest, his now six year old sister Ginny was the proclaimed 'baby' of the family as well as the first woman Weasley by birth rather than marriage in generations.

No, instead, he was the middle child. Coming in the shadows of his great older brothers who were already regarded as icons in Gryffindor House.

He couldn't be the same as the rest, he'd be better than anyone, he'd show them all what he was capable of!

"Such a thirst to prove yourself young man. Are you truly sure where all that anger might take you though?

"Who's there!" Even in the Wizarding World, hearing voices was never a good sign after all.

"Do not be afraid Percy Weasley, I'm merely the one to point you down the path best fitted for you. Now what say we get to work shall we?"

It was pointless to Percy, he already knew what was going to happen. He would of course belong in Gryffindor with his family, or at least Ravenclaw. He would earn top grades, with a majority of Outstandings. When he was fifteen, he would become a Prefect and eventually Head Boy. He would read and learn all there was to know about magic and its proper application, not waste his time with foolish pursuits like Quidditch. Once he left, he would enter a semi-prestigious department at the Ministry and work his way up into the Executive Department of the Minister and into the Cabinet. He would take a few years to show his merits and by the time he was in his late 30's, Minister Fudge or his successor would retire and name Percy Weasley as successor and he would be confirmed unanimously by the Wizengamot and the Department Heads of the Ministry. He would retire as the greatest wizarding leader in history and his name would live on forever.

"Certainly unique aren't you boy." At these words, Percy felt his chest puff out in arrogance on the stool. Clearly the house could see how things needed to go so he merely muttered "Can we get on with this, a proper sorting really shouldn't take too long and I will have lessons in the morning and I need to send a letter to mother and father about making Gryffindor and…"

"Making Gryffindor, boy! I think you're counting your Kneasels before they hatch. No, Gryffindor isn't quite right. Not loyalty either, your true at the end only to yourself right now despite fondness for your family."

Percy's breath let out so fast he thought the entire hall heard. Not Gryffindor, but the last 10 generations of Weasleys had all been in Gryffindor, he couldn't stop that. What would people think? Traditions and proper order had to be kept up after all.

"Ravenclaw would work I suppose, a sharp mind to say the least Weasley. Still, that ambition and thirst for glory…I haven't seen another like it in quite some time. It's different but similar. Desperate to make people see you instead of look past you, to make your name known. So similar, and yet different. It's there however and Slytherin would help you find your mark in life, they'll use any means and people will take notice of a Slytherin Weasley."

Here Percy cut in, Ravenclaw was one thing, but Slytherin was simply unacceptable. "No listen here you hat. Gryffindor is where I belong. My whole family is there and I will not accept any other end result. I know you feel you know best, but I believe you are mistaken here and we must agree to disagree. If you could kindly announce Gryffindor, we could get on with things please."

"Ambitious to a fault, I see all and no all, but I can only see as far as your own choices. Gryffindor is the house of bravery and valor and I sense neither within you in the proper sense. You have the bravery to go after a distant goal and the valor to not accept no for an answer. Still, that is not what will be needed. Your brothers knew that, even if they didn't yet realize it. However, if you are sure, I wish you the best of luck to find the bravery within yourself for you will be sorely tested in the years to come, perhaps you will find the strength around others in GRYFFINDOR!"

Many Years Later

Slipping in the grand doors of Hogwarts with ease, Percy made his way towards the Great Hall, where right now his oldest daughter should be beginning her own sorting. He could only hope she took the right path in life. She was similar to him and yet so different. Molly, named after his mother, valued her family to a fault but also had large dreams in life. Unlike him though, she held no bitterness about her origins or desires to be greater than anyone.

He had once spoken with his Brother-In-Law about his sorting when he looked back on what the hat had told him that day. He hadn't listened, to his young mind, the House of Gryffindor was simply a means to an end and he used it as such without reservations, the ties he forged there severed as easily as they were created. When Harry told him who the hat had said he reminded him of, Percy had been appalled. He reminded the Hat of the man who had taken over the country and been responsible for the death of his brother. However, Harry had also told Percy of his own sorting and how choices made a person, not their background and with time and more talks with Harry and the rest of his family as well as his wife Audrey, Percy had slowly healed. Audrey's aid had been invaluable. A healer in the long term spell damage ward, she had seen all too clearly the pain the war had caused and her nurturing nature had eventually cracked his shell.

Although he had been sent by Minister Shacklebolt and Harry, currently the head of the Auror Department, to speak with the Headmistress regarding career advice sessions for the 5th and 7th year students, he wanted to try and catch his oldest daughter's sorting. Harry had been the person to propose the change to how career advice worked. Rather than simply a single session with the head of house in 5th year, students now looked into 3 professions that were qualified to pursue and discussed them with the head of house. If they were still interested after that, they would spend a day in the life of each profession to get a hands on feel of how things worked. The same thing would occur in their 7th year prior to N.E.W.T. exams if they wished to pursue careers in the Ministry. It had taken a drastic amount of work for the Ministry to arrange for every student interested in Ministry affiliated professions, but it was considered an enormous success.
As he slid into the Great Hall, he could see a young boy atop the stool and only a handful left before it, his daughter one of them. There couldn't be more than seven or so left and even as the thought flashed through his head, the hat opened its brim and called out "SLYTHERIN"

Despite the house rivalries still existing, much had changed at Hogwarts since the end of the war. A communal common room had been established for students to meet from other houses so as to lessen the divide and Harry made sure to come once a year and lecture Defence Against the Dark Arts classes on making proper choices with the use of magic, that bad choices had created Voldemort and they had to stand together as equals and not be divided by their differences any longer. The attributes of the four houses complimented each other and should each be embraced, not isolated. It had taken some time, but it seemed like things were finally going on the right path, there had been less and less reports of blood prejudice and hate crimes by the year and this generation was showing to be one of the most tolerant as the Aurors and Department of Magical Law Enforcement worked tirelessly to get Death Eaters who had escaped off the streets and even going so far as China to eradicate a sleeper cell started by Selwyn who had gotten away after the Battle of Hogwarts in the chaos

"Weasley, Molly!"

There was the name he had been waiting for. In his youth he may have been disappointed if she was not a Gryffindor like her family, but now he merely wanted her happy and proud of wherever his lovely daughter ended up.

Watching her fiery red hair be covered by the Sorting Hat, his eyes met Headmistress McGonagall who nodded in acknowledgement and several other members of the staff including Neville Longbottom did the same. Although Neville had initially been wary of Percy for his original alignment with the Ministry, he had warmed up to him with time and seeing that Harry and the Weasley family had forgiven him.

Somewhat ironic really. He had gone about the wrong way of making something of himself, only worrying about his own glory and doing it for the wrong reasons, to be remembered and loved, not to actually improve the standard of living for Wizarding Britain. Now though he was still close to his goals, however they meant nothing almost. He was a top aide to Minister Shacklebolt and although Kingsley, as he had been told to call him for years with little results, had wanted to nominate Harry as his successor, Harry showed no desire to be Minister and Kingsley had randomly mentioned last week he intended to name Percy as his named successor and call for a vote within the next few years and return either to working with law enforcement or settle down and retire. Kingsley was well loved in Britain for the stability he brought with the chaos of the war and while the public would be sad to see him step down, Percy knew Kingsley disliked political affairs and had preferred life as an Auror, despite how well suited he was as Minister.

Returning his gaze to Molly, he saw her mouth moving rapidly and almost laughed. She seemed to be debating with the hat and yet also enjoying it immensely. He on the other hand had been too proud and cocky to believe the hat might be able to give him some real advice.

"Finally I think I know what to do with you young lady…Loyal to the end and willing to fight for what's right. You'll do well in HUFFLEPUFF!"

As the hat shouted the last sentence, Percy applauded loudly and smiled, catching his daughter's eye as she headed for the table where sat the House of the Badger and he saw the joy in her eyes and gave her a look of bride and nod of his head before her beaming smile widened and she took a seat at her table.

His daughter was a Hufflepuff, the house of loyalty and hard work, so different from what he was at eleven. She wasn't a Gryffindor like her family. In the old world of blood and family tied being most important, she would have been considered a disappointment.

His daughter belonged to a house of 'O'Duffers'

His daughter embodied what he had denounced at eleven.

His daughter was a disappointment to the old ways.

He had never been so happy and proud to be disappointed in his daughter