September 1st, 2021
When Ron and his siblings left for school, there was always something left behind. Clothes, books, pets, even a wand or two were forgotten over the years. This inevitably led to a harried dash back to the Burrow and a scramble to find whatever was left behind.
For Ron's sons, it wasn't that they forgot things. It was that they remembered too many things. For example, Artie cleverly remembered to pack three entire boxes of Whiz-bangs. Fearful that he'd cleverly remember to sneak them onto the train, Luna ran back into the house to stuff them into the attic. After another check for contraband, she then found two brooms (mysteriously shrunken) in Lysander's trunk.
"It's a stupid rule, anyway," Ron noted as his wife ran to the garden to put the brooms back in the shed. She got back just in time for the chipped teacup to glow with the blue of a Portkey and whisk the family away to London.
They landed in an alley near King's Cross. A few moments later, Harry and Ginny arrived with the cousins (Jamie's red and gold Quidditch Captain badge already on his shirt). Lily sidled over to the twins, and as soon as she thought the adults weren't looking, said, "do you have them?"
"No, mum found them," said Lysander glumly.
"And the brooms," added Artie.
Luna simply stated "and thus we solve the mystery of the shrunken brooms! It will be so nice to have helpers over Christmas holidays! Artie can fill the paperboxes, Lily can tie Quibblers to the owls, and Lysander can help me keep track of subscriptions! How fun!"
The kids groaned. Helping out at the Quibbler was not their favorite pastime.
The Boot family (Hermione, Will, Hugo and Rose) appeared next. Rose and Artie, as usual, scowled at one another.
"Everyone here?" yelled Harry over the din. "We've got about 20 minutes, so let's head out."
During Teddy's early years at school, Harry and Ginny learned that the press liked to camp out around the public floos to catch celebrities. Mostly Harry Potter. So in the ensuing years they'd perfected the art of unpredictability: some years they apparate in, others they took a portkey nearby and went through the barrier. A few times, once Rita Skeeter had given up on catching them, they'd even taken the public floos. Some years they'd come early, other years late, hoping to confuse the Prophet reporters. When Hermione's kids started school, she'd joined them. Ron and Luna chose to do the same.
The group hurried from the barrier at 9 ¾ and onto the train, loading everyone's trunks. Ollie hooted a few times as he was stowed above the compartment, and Artie whined when Rose decided to join the twins. The other Weasleys arrived in a flurry of red hair and yelling, and the kids greeted their cousins before heading back to the platform to say goodbye to their parents.
Luna gathered both boys into her arms. "Say hello to Jack for me!"
Ron racked his brain for someone at Hogwarts by that name. "Dear, who's Jack?"
Straightening Artie's collar, Luna said, "oh, that's the hat's name."
Hermione overheard this. "The Sorting Hat? None of the books said it had a name."
"Well, did you ask? He was happy to have someone to chat with when I got sorted."
"I suppose I never thought of it." Hermione shared an eye roll with her husband.
From the other side of Ron, Ginny snorted with laughter. "We always wondered why it took you so long to get sorted. You and the hat—"
"Jack. Well, really, John, but he goes by Jack…"
"You and the hat were having a nice chat."
"Yes. He's quite an interesting character-"
The train let out its boarding whistle, and Ron's heart dropped. One moment it was a normal conversation, the next was the hardest moment of his life. His boys were leaving for Hogwarts. He'd only see them on holidays and summers…he could kind of understand why his parents had 7 kids. At least there would be someone left when they went home.
Ron swallowed the lump in his throat at he hugged his boys good-bye. A thousand warnings and pieces of advice swirled around in his head, but all he could manage was a thump on each boy's back and a gruff, "take care of each other."
Lysander, always the optimist, smiled back, "of course we will dad! We'll be together!"
Ron swallowed back another lump.
Luna hugged and kissed each boy, tears in her own eyes. "If you need anything, talk to uncle Neville. If you're in Gryffindor, go find Hugo, he's a Prefect. Or I suppose Jamie or Roxie could help you out. If you boys get put in Ravenclaw, Professor Flitwick is very helpful, and Lucy's a prefect over there. No matter where you end up, you've got someone to help you. Write to us tonight and let us know about the sorting!" The tears began to spill over and Luna's voice cracked. "Oh, my boys! This is much too soon!" She engulfed them both in a hug again as the whistle blew the final warning.
Ron disentangled his wife, and gave each boy another pat on the back as they boarded the train. The boys leaned out the window with Rose and waived as the train pulled away. Ron held (a now sobbing) Luna and waved until the Express was out of sight.
"Sending the first one was hard, but sending the last one was harder," Hermione said in the bustle. "I can't imagine sending both at once. It'll be easier their second year, I promise." Beside her, Will nodded.
Luna gave her a wan smile and snuggled closer into Ron's side. "So what now?"
"Well," said Ginny, "we usually grab lunch in Muggle London, then head to our own places to enjoy the peace and quiet."
"I'm up for Mexican!" said Harry.
Ron had to agree that lunch sounded good. "Verity has the shop under control, so I'm free for the rest of the day."
"We've got the day off, too," replied Hermione.
"You brothers want to come?" asked Harry, looking over to where Bill, Percy and George were gathered with their wives.
"I think they're headed to the Leaky to get drunk. As usual," Ginny reminded him.
"Then let's go!"
At home that evening, Ron found himself pacing again. Calculating and re-calculating how long it took an owl to get from Hogwarts to the Rookery. Figuring out what time the boys would finish dinner and how soon they'd get to their bunks in Gryffindor tower to send out their letters.
He kept telling himself that he wasn't nervous. After all, the worst that would happen would be that they'd end up in Ravenclaw or something. He could even come to terms with them being separated; Lysander really was more suited to the 'Claws, and Artie was 100% Gryffindor. There was, of course, the chance one could end up in Slytherin. It happened to Albus. As much as Ron liked to joke about Slytherin, he was pretty sure he could handle it. And if they were in Hufflepuff, they'd be with the Longbottom girls, which wouldn't be bad either.
He and Luna sat down to listen to the wireless and read after a too-quiet supper when the fireplace turned green. Neville's head poked out. "Ron? Luna?"
"Already?" asked Luna. "I suppose they wanted to get a head start on pranking. Here we come, Neville!"
Ron and Luna knelt on the hearth to talk to Neville's head. Ron took comfort in that; if it were serious, Neville would have stepped through.
"Hey guys! I just wanted to give you a heads up, so I had the boys give me their letters directly. Uh…the hat separated them. Artie's pretty upset."
"Well, the hat knows best," Luna said, accepting the letters. "He'll have to get used to it. He's got his cousins around, so I'm sure he'll settle in quickly."
Neville continued, "well, Lucy and Rose are doing their best, but he stormed up to the boys' dorm and told them to go away. Lucy got the male prefect to go check on him, and the kid started itching uncontrollably."
"Huh, the itching jinx is usually Artie's favorite. Lysander's upset, too?" Luna looked concerned.
"Lysander's quiet about it, but I don't think he's as upset as Artie. He and Louis were sitting by the fire playing chess last I saw."
"Wait…" said Ron as his mind began whirring. "Lysander's with Louis…which means Lysander's in the Gryffindor common room."
"Yes. Like I said, they were separated. Artie's upset for the obvious reasons…"
"Bloody hell, Artie's in RAVENCLAW? Neville, go get that stodgy old hat and re-sort them." Ron's heart was beating a mile a minute. "That hat—"
"Jack."
"Has no business putting him in Ravenclaw. Is it senile? Did someone hit it with a Confundus? Did it mix up which twin was which? Get my kids, get the hat and let me have a word with it. We'll re-sort them."'
Neville closed his eyes. "Ron, no one gets re-sorted. We'll just have to handle things the way they are."
"Like hell we will! Lysander could handle Ravenclaw. The pair of them could handle it together, but putting Artie alone in a tower full of swots and stuck-up…" he glanced to Luna who looked back at him with her eyebrows raised. "Why would the bloody hat put him there?" he finished.
"I actually talked to Minerva and then Dumbledore's portrait about the situation. And let me tell you, he had a sensible chuckle when he heard who Artie's parents were…anyway, he said the hat doesn't make mistakes. It sorts people for a lot of reasons."
"I thought you could ask it to put you somewhere? I'm sure Artie asked for Gryffindor."
Neville's head shook in the fire. "Ron, I begged it to put me in Hufflepuff. But it put me where I needed to be. Other times it sorts people into houses that need them. For example, without Hermione around, would any of the Gryffindors in our year have ever studied? And sometimes people get put where they want to be. I need you to trust the hat."
The three were quiet as Luna began reading the notes. "Neville, do you need us to come out to the castle tonight?" she asked.
"I think it would be best if we give him a few days to settle in. If he's still upset, I'll let you know. But I reckoned I'd deliver their notes straight off, just in case."
"Thanks, Neville," Luna said as his head disappeared.
Ron snatched one of the notes from Luna's hand. It was short and neatly written.
Mum and Dad,
If you haven't read Artie's letter yet, go read it first. He has a bunch of stuff to get out.
I'm okay with the sorting. I don't understand it, but Jack seemed pretty nice about it. He says hi, by the way, mum. He says you're one of the few students to ever ask his name. I have some fun dorm-mates here in Gryffindor, and Louis introduced me to his friends. Jamie says I'm a shoo-in for keeper next year for Quidditch since Rodney is graduating with him. Too bad Jamie and I won't be on the same team, huh?
Anyway, we'll probably need a second owl, since Ollie decided to go with Artie.
Love,
Lysander
That wasn't so bad. Lysander seemed to be settling in well. The owl thing…well, Ron could handle a fourth owl. Pig was getting on in years, and Badius was often on the Continent anyway. Ron took a deep breath and took the second letter from Luna, whose expression was unreadable. This letter was significantly longer, messier, and full of blotches.
Mum and Dad,
That stupid, bloody wanker of a hat put me by myself in Ravenclaw. I need you to get Uncle Neville to put me in Gryffindor where I belong. If the bloody hat needs another Weasley in Ravenclaw, it can shove Lysander over there. I'm ten times as brave as he is, and he's ten times better at studying and school and the like. If you can't get Neville to re-sort me, then I'm coming home.
Someone needs to write to Uncle Percy, too. Lucy is OUT OF CONTROL with the prefect thing. Can you believe she tried to come up to the boys' dorm to check on me? She thinks she's my substitute mum. All through dinner she kept telling me to eat, and she fussed over my trunk. And Rosie follows her everywhere. Where does she get off thinking she counts as a Weasley anyway?! She has no business following me (or Lucy) around. It's bad enough I have to put up with her all the time at home. Now I have to put up with her here? No way.
Last year was great without her around.
Anyway, I told Ollie that he had to come with me so I'd have someone in this tower without their nose stuck in a book. Can you believe they already have a study schedule set up for each year? As a first year, I'm supposed to study for at least 1 or 2 hours every night. EVERY. NIGHT.
Don't even get me started on their Quidditch team. They finished in last place last year by over 200 points. The captain is some sixth year who got 8 OWLS. Everyone is more excited about his O's than they are about Quidditch. Their keeper SUCKS from what I can tell. Someone said she let in 58 goals during their last game. Granted, it was against Gryffindor, so Roxie probably scored most of those. Anyway, I'm pretty sure Ravenclaw gets all their house points from brownnosing.
Did you know you have to solve a riddle to get into the tower? Stupid shite like "What kind of building do you enter blind, but exit with sight?"
So I'm packing up my things tonight, and tomorrow I'm putting them in Neville's office until you come to school and remind him that AS MY GODFATHER, he owes me a different house.
No offense meant, mum.
Love,
Artie
Ron knew where Artie was coming from. The whole thing sounded like a bloody nightmare. His poor kid was miserable, and he wasn't sure how to help him. He could go argue with McGonagall, but fat good that would do any of them. She was like Hermione; even though she was a Gryffindor, she wouldn't see any problem with Ravenclaw. And Luna wouldn't want Artie to change. She'd spent most of the past two years nagging at him to do his schoolwork, write his essays, take after his cousins (at least Percy and Bill's girls).
"So what do we do?" Ron asked Luna as he rolled the parchment back up.
She smoothed the rug in front of the hearth and wiped her hands of ash. "We trust Jack."
"Trusting a thousand-year-old accessory seems like the logical choice, yes. But what if we did something different?"
Luna blinked a few times. "Something different?"
"Yeah, like, I dunno, talked to Artie? Or Flitwick or McGonagall or Dumbledore's portrait? Worked something out?"
"Worked what out, Ron? The hat put him there for a reason."
"Why do you trust the bloody hat so damn much?! It's a hat. You have 18 in the cupboard. Go ask one of them what to do."
Luna closed her eyes as if Ron were the most ridiculous person she'd ever met. "I trust Jack because I've seen what he can do. Who saved Harry and Ginny? Neville? The hat. In fact, without that hat, our boys would only have one Godparent. And frankly, Hermione does the least of all of them to develop the boys' imaginations."
"If Harry and Ginny hadn't been saved, we wouldn't have met at all. But it's still just a hat. There has to be something—"
He stopped when he saw Luna's face. He could count on one hand the number of times she'd been really, truly angry with him. And she was heading in that direction. "What?"
"You're quite upset about our son's sorting, but I'd like you to remember that one of his parents was in Ravenclaw, and two of his grandparents. And that your son has exhibited a great deal of intelligence, wit, and creativity over the years, just as Lysander has exhibited a great deal of bravery. Would you be this upset if the sorting were reversed?"
"Of course not. I would have expected it." As much as the boys looked identical, they were as different as night and day. Artie was impulsive, active. Lysander was quieter, more pensive. Lysander excelled in school. Artie only did well when the subject was interesting.
"You see Artie as a miniature version of yourself. And you're thinking about how you would feel in Ravenclaw."
"You read his letter! I'm not guessing at his feelings. They're all right there, ink and parchment."
Luna sighed. "Yes. An 11-year-old boy has encountered an unexpected hurdle. Do you expect him to respond calmly and rationally? How would you have acted?"
"I would have written an angry letter home…"
"And after a few weeks?"
Ron tried to put himself in his 11-year-old mind. "I would have moped and argued, and eventually made the best of it. Tried to find something good."
"Very well. We're on the same page then. I'm heading up to bed. I'll put a sleeping potion on the table for you, because frankly, I don't want to hear you pace all night." She kissed his temple and went to bustle about the kitchen.
Confused about what he agreed to, Ron guzzled down the sleeping potion and followed her up the stairs. The thoughts in his head began to slow down and crystalize as he drifted off. They could give Artie some time, but if he was still miserable in a few weeks, they'd go to McGonagall. Or something.
The last thing he remembered was asking, "Luna? What building do you enter blind and leave with sight? One of those muggle eye doctors?"
"It's a school, Ron. A school." She patted his arm a few times.
"Bloody hell, even their riddles are about schoolwork." And he knew no more that night.