Part 1: Gryffindor
Chapter 1
James
James sat down at the Griffindor table and smiled briefly at Louis who sat across from him. He was more nervous than he let on. Molly, who knew how he felt, gave him a reassuring smile.
"He'll be okay, James," she said.
He nodded.
"Hey, Jamie," said Vic, mussing his hair as she passed him.
"Hey, Mrs. Lupin."
She smacked the back of his head and went to talk to Dominique.
"So, said Molly, "she finally said yes to Teddy?"
James grinned.
"That's what it looked like at the train station."
Molly smiled at Louis who rolled his eyes.
"No wonder she was so distracted this summer. Usually she can't stand being by herself, but we hardly saw her at all. She kept disappearing for hours on end and Mum wouldn't say where she was going." He glanced at his sister. "I'll have to get the whole story out of her tonight..."
Louis trailed off as the first years walked onto the stage looking very small and very nervous. James spotted Albus immediately. He was standing on the left side of the stage, about ten students from Rose. James watched his brother glance back and meet her eyes. They gave each other weak smiles. James stomach knotted up.
Albus
Albus fidgeted uncomfortably with the edge of his robes. Looking down at the Griffindor table he recognized his cousins' faces. His eyes met with James' brown ones and for once his brother didn't seem to be mocking him. He gave him a subtle thumbs up. Albus would have grinned had he not been so nervous.
"Aderly, Micheal!"
The first boy to approach the stool, was fairly nondescript: brown hair, brown eyes, average height and build. His mouth was screwed up in a nervous frown and he kept playing with his glasses. The hat was set on his head.
"RAVENCLAW!"
The boy walked down to the table clad in blue, that was cheering for him. He had a small grin on his face.
"Amison, Natalie!"
A small blond girl hurried up to take the stool.
There was a pause of a couple of seconds then, "RAVENCLAW!"
Natalie hurried down to sit at the Ravenclaw table, where she was greeted with friendly grins. She took the seat right next to Michael.
"Baddock,Maria!"
"SLITHERIN!"
"Belby, Henry!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Bell, Katherine!"
Albus knew her, vaguely, her aunt was a friend of his father.
"GRIFFINDOR!" Albus wasn't at all surprised. He watched her run down to the Griffindor table and straight to her older brother who was grinning from ear to ear.
"Corner, Jeffrey!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Daise, Cassandra!" A small girl with black hair. The hat took some time to decide, but eventually it settled on "SLITHERIN!". Cassandra walked down to the Slitherin table with an unreadable expression on her face.
"Dobbs, Tracey!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
Albus tuned out for a little while; the tension was making him feel sick. Instead he looked down at his cousins, sitting at the Griffindor table. Victoire, blond and beautiful, was sitting by her friends, watching the sorting with a small smile on her face. Boys were staring at her from all over the hall, but Albus knew that their hopes were utterly pointless; Vic hadn't even noticed their stares. Dominique was sitting next to her boyfriend, even though he was in Ravenclaw and not Griffindor. She was nearly as beautiful as her sister, but the effect was somewhat ruined by the fact that she refused to wear contacts. She was still breathtaking though. Louis sat across from James and next to Molly who was a year older than him but still his closest friend.
The name Malfoy dragged Albus' attention back to the sorting.
"Malfoy, Scorpius!" Albus felt a brief wave of pity for the boy as he stumbled forward to the stool. He looked even more nervous than Albus felt.
"SLITHERIN!" Scorpius jumped up and permitted himself a small smile as he hurried down to his table. Albus felt a little disappointed, he'd been hoping that his father had been right; that the Malfoys had changed.
"McLaggen, Julia!"
"GRIFFINDOR!"
"Orvil, Elizabeth!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
And then began the Ps. Albus felt his stomach knot up.
"Patil, Arianna!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Patil, Stephanie!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
Those two were obviously twins.
"Peaks, James!"
"GRIFFINDOR!"
"Potter, Albus!"
Albus felt his pulse accelerate and his stomach sank to his feet. Numbly, head pounding, he walked out to the stool and sat down. The hat was placed on his head.
Oh, my my my. You have quiet a mind here. Very bright. Have a lot to live up to don't you?
Albus resisted the urge to nod.
Yes.
Indeed, but you are not ashamed of that. Frightened maybe, but not ashamed. You will, I think, do well wherever I put you... yes, but I can see that you will be happy in Griffindor. So be it.
"GRIFFINDOR!"
Albus stood, a grin spreading over his face. He could hardly stop himself from running down to the table where he was first met by Molly and then Louis and finally his brother.
"Way to go, Al," said James. He clapped him on the shoulder and Albus was happier than he had ever been in his life.
He sat down between Molly and Louis and looked up at the remaining students.
"Riley, Evan!"
"SLITHERIN!"
"Runcorn, Mary!"
"GRIFFINDOR!"
"Sadree, Gregory!"
"SLITHERIN!"
"Scamander, Lorcan!"
Albus smiled at the tall boy with wild blond hair stepped forward. He moved kind of slowly, sort of like he was drifting. Lorcan had inherited his mother's odd ways. Albus had met him and his brother several times. Lily was even named after the twins' mother.
Lorcan sat on the stool with a small smile on his face. There was a few moments of silence.
"Come on, Lor," muttered Albus.
"RAVENCLAW!"
Albus nodded. It fit.
"Scamander, Lysander!"
Proffesor Sprout's brown furrowed as she read this name.
Lysander, or San as he corrected everyone who called him by his full name, stepped forward. He walked quickly to the stool and sat down. As much as he looked like his brother, Albus knew that the two of them were very different.
"RAVENCLAW!" Still, apparently they had some similarities.
"Thomas, Theodore!"
"GRIFFINDOR!"
"Towler, Jane!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Weasley, Rose!" Albus' stomach flipped again. His fists tightened.
"GRIFFINDOR!"
He relaxed and stood up to meet Rose as she ran down to the table. He hugged her. She was grinning from ear to ear. All of the cousins congratulated her and as she hugged Albus again she whispered in his ear.
"It groaned."
"What?" Albus asked her.
"The hat," she said, "I put it on my head and it just groaned and said 'oh, they're like rabbits'... What do you think it meant?"
Albus frowned and shrugged. "No idea."
They both looked up to see the last person sorted.
"Wood, Claire!"
"GRINFFINDOR!"
Rose
Professor McGonagall stood up and held up a hand for silence. Albus let Rose have his seat and went to sit next to James.
"Thank you," the Headmistress said, "I would like to welcome our new students and welcome back our old. It is my hope than you will all have a very pleasant and memorable school year. Before we eat there are a few matters I would like to discuss. One is that I must remind you that the Dark Forest is... forbidden, as always. I would recommend that new students and old students alike brush up on the school's rules and policies. The second matter is that tryouts for house quiddich teams are going to be held sometime during the third week of September, so talk to your team captain if you wish to try out. The third matter," said Professor McGonagall, "is this: it has been brought to my notice, over the last few years that a great dislike, mistrust and even hatred has formed between the four houses here at Hogworts." She paused, looking down at the students' curious faces. "I'm not saying that a little friendly rivalry is in any way a bad thing, but respect for all of our students, no matter what house they belong to, is crucial in order for us to provide a learning environment that is both pleasant and safe for everyone."
Rose looked around to see if anyone else was following this. Albus was watching the Headmistress intently, but James, Molly and Louis seemed to be paying no attention whatsoever.
"So," said McGonagall, "with that in mind, the heads of houses and I have decided to put a new system into place." A murmur ran through the entire hall as people heard this and wondered what it could possibly mean. Especially the older students, who were intensely loyal to their houses, were frowning. "We will be holding a competition this year. It will require bravery, cunning, knowledge, hard work, proficiency at your grade level work and most importantly teamwork. Everyone will be required to participate. All teams will compete with the other teams in their year."
Talk erupted in the Great Hall, forcing McGonagall to raise her voice. "Teams will be assigned," she said, causing a disappointed hush to fall over the students. "However, as I and your teachers understand that you will be spending a good amount of time with your team mates, we will do our best to pick carefully. And one last thing," the Headmistress said, with something as close to an evil glint as anyone had ever seem in her eye, "each team will consist of one Griffindor, one Ravenclaw, one Hufflepuff and one Slitherin."