A/N: I decided that, giving that Voldemort won the war, the new Headmaster, Amycus, decided to get rid of the Gryffindor house. So yeah, there's no Gryffindors. Moreover, I skipped six days so just so you know, Rabi and Cygni didn't get to mate on the Mating Night so problems are coming up REALLY fast.
*CM*RL*
-6 days later-
"Dad?" Cygnus called to get his father's attention as Lucius was reading the Daily Prophet. "I don't feel so good."
Cygnus was supposed to start Hogwarts today, hence why he had woken up so early. But as soon as he had woken up, he had been assaulted by an awful stomachache. He had taken a shower and had dressed himself up, hoping that not thinking about it would make it go away. But he had been wrong.
Lucius frowned in worry and felt his forehead for any sign of a fever. "What's wrong?"
"My stomach hurts." Cygni whimpered.
"Only your stomach?" Cygni nodded. "It's probably just a little anxiety. Are you feeling nervous about going to Hogwarts?" Cygni nodded again.
He was nervous. He had talked about it with his Mum and Dad when they had gone to Diagon Alley to get his school supplies two days ago. He had been ecstatic about getting a wand, he only had had to try two wands at Ollivander's before finding the right one. From what Ollivander had told him, his wand was unique and powerful. It was eleven inches long, made of aspen wood, dragon heartstring and a single drop of an Elf's blood. Cygnus hadn't understand how it had been possible to put a drop of blood into a wand but it was the Wizarding World, anything was possible after all. He loved his wand already.
Cygnus had talked about the Houses with his parents. They had told him how every Malfoy had been sorted in Slytherin and how every Black had been sorted in Slytherin. Except for his mother's cousin, Sirius. He had been in Gryffindor. But the Gryffindor house didn't exist anymore so Cygnus was sure that he wouldn't end up like him. From what he had understood, Sirius had been a traitor once, he had been manipulated, but he had been a traitor still. Luckily, he was back on their side now.
From the short time he had spent in Sirius's company, he loved the man. He was funny and always made jokes and funny pranks. Cygnus loved funny people. He was almost as funny as Rabi but in truth, he couldn't compete with him. Rabi was perfect.
Cygnus loved his family. He wouldn't trade them for anything. He loved his Mum and Dad, his brother, his Uncle Rod, his Aunt Bella, his Uncle Siri, his Uncle Tom, his Uncle Reggie and even little Corvi. But the only one he had trouble being comfortable with was his Uncle Sev. He was scary. He had a big nose and he looked like he wanted to murder someone sometimes. But he loved him anyway. He loved Blaise too, Cygnus was sure that he would be family one day.
All in all, Cygnus wanted to be sorted into Slytherin. He would get to spend time with Draco then. He wanted to make his big brother proud and be just like him.
Lucius chuckled. "It's just anxiety Cygni. It will go away eventually. And you do not need to be nervous, there is nothing to be nervous about."
Cygnus bit his lip. "But what if I'm not sorted into Slytherin?"
"Then you will not be sorted into Slytherin. It does not matter, we will love you no matter what House you are in." Lucius kissed his son's forehead. "Come on, it's time to go."
They quickly went to the fireplace where Narcissa was already waiting for them and Flooed to Hogwarts. They arrived in what Cygnus assumed to the Headmaster's office.
"Lucius!" A man exclaimed. "I was waiting for you." He shook hands with Lucius and turned to Narcissa. "A pleasure to see you, Narcissa." He kissed her hand. "And you should be Cygnus, right?"
Cygnus nodded, a small smile on his lips. The man was too cheerful and too loud which made Cygnus want to laugh at him. "Well, I'm Amycus Carrow and I'll be your Headmaster from now on."
"Sorry, he's a little nervous." Narcissa said when Cygnus didn't answer. Cygnus frowned slightly and wanted to protest. He was not nervous, his stomach just hurt to much for him to act like a civilized person.
"Oh, but there's nothing to be nervous about. I'm sure you'll be really comfortable here." Amycus, well Mr. Carrow, said. He couldn't quite call his Headmaster by his first name, right?
His parents and Headmaster started talking about things Cygnus didn't want to understand so he busied himself with trying to forget about his stomachache. He stayed close to his father, almost melting into his side. Small whimpers started to leave his mouth when the pain became too much.
"Dad." He whined. He knew he acted like a little child but he wanted his father to comfort him, to make the pain go away.
Lucius silently picked his son up. Cygnus thanked Merlin that he was so small and so light and that his father could still pick him up. It was a little awkward for a fifteen-year-old to be held like a baby but it made Cygnus's heart flood with warmth. He wrapped his arms around his father's neck and gripped his waist with his legs. He buried his face into his father's neck, wanting to forget about the pain.
"What's wrong with him?" The Headmaster asked.
"He's been a little..fussy ever since he woke up. He complained about stomach aches." Lucius said.
"I'll get him to the Infirmary after breakfast." Cygnus stopped listening to their conversation after that and clung to his father harder.
"How about you let go of me, uh?" Lucius told Cygnus. "Your mother and I have to go now."
Cygnus only tightened his hold of his father. "I don't want you to go. Don't leave me alone."
"You will not be alone. You'll be with Draco, darling." Narcissa softly petted Cygnus's hair.
Cygnus sighed. He didn't want to leave his parents but he wanted to see his brother again. He quietly wriggled out of his father's arms. "Okay. See you soon?"
"We'll visit next weekend. And we'll write, okay? You'll just have to write us a letter right after the Sorting and your visit to the Infirmary." Narcissa smiled sweetly at him and kissed his forehead.
Next thing Cygnus knew, his parents were gone and he was awkwardly standing in the Great Hall. His eyes were fixed on Draco, seated at the Slytherin table next to Blaise and a dark-brown haired girl. He was smiling reassuringly at him which made Cygnus a little calmer. The only people he recognized in the Hall were Draco and Blaise, he didn't know anyone other than them. But there were four long tables. The Slytherin table, the Hufflepuff table, the Ravenclaw table and another table. But Cygnus didn't know what table it was. There were only eleven people seated at this table and Cygnus couldn't help but wonder if they were outcasts or if they were somehow grounded.
He patiently waited for the Headmaster to speak up. "Good morning everyone, we have a new student today. Please, welcome Cygnus Malfoy." Everyone clapped heartily except for the eleven people on the last table. Cygnus couldn't help but feel hurt. Did they hate him already? They didn't even know him yet. "He was home-schooled for some time but he decided to come to Hogwarts." Cygnus was glad that the Headmaster didn't tell everyone the real story. "So I'll ask everyone to be nice and welcoming. Now, the Sorting."
"We want to be sorted as well." A tall, red-headed boy shouted from the last table.
"No, you're not going to be sorted, M. Weasley." The Headmaster said.
"But that's not fair, according to-" A brushy haired girl protested.
"Don't talk Mrs. Granger, you're giving me a headache already." The whole room exploded into laughter at the Headmaster comment. Cygnus personally thought that the Headmaster was being mean.
"We have to be sorted!" The red-head, M. Weasley, yelled.
The Headmaster huffed in annoyance. "Alright, you'll be sorted. Just stop bugging me. What are you, parasites?"
A small, plump woman, who looked a lot like the Headmaster walked until she was standing next to Cygnus. "We'll proceed as usual. Alphabetic order. Seventh years first." The woman said as the eleven people from the lone table walked toward her and the Hat.
"Brown, Lavender." The Hat was placed on the girl's head.
"HUFFLEPUFF." The Hat yelled. Cygnus's parents had told him about the Sorting Hat and he found it funny. A Hat that could see inside people's head and determine which house they should be in depending on their qualities and defaults, it was marvelous.
"Finnigan, Seamus."
"HUFFLEPUFF."
"Granger, Hermione."
"RAVENCLAW."
"Longbottom, Neville."
"HUFFLEPUFF."
"Patil, Padma."
"RAVENCLAW."
"Patil, Parvati."
"RAVENCLAW."
"Potter, Daniel."
"HUFFLEPUFF."
"Thomas, Dean."
"RAVENCLAW."
"Weasley, Ronald."
"HUFFLEPUFF."
"Now, fifth years. Lovegood, Luna."
"RAVENCLAW."
"Malfoy, Cygnus."
The woman finally placed the Hat on his head, smiling warmly at him. Cygnus noticed that he was the only one she had smiled to.
"A Malfoy." He heard in his head. "I never thought you would come."
"I came." Cygnus mumbled in reply.
"I can see that, I can see that.And now I have to sort you. Slytherin, Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. Where should I put you?"
"Slytherin?" Cygnus suggested in small voice.
"Slytherin, ugh? Why would you want to go there?"
"'Cause my brother is there."
"Right, you're a Malfoy. Your name only should give you access to the House of the Snakes. But a name isn't everything, right?" He didn't even give Cygnus a chance to answer. "Ravenclaw is out of the question. Not that you're not smart enough but it just doesn't fit you. Now, either Slytherin or Hufflepuff. Decisions, decisions." Cygnus was inwardly praying to be sorted into Slytherin. He wanted to be with his brother and Blaise. Besides, the red-head, Ronald, had been sorted into Hufflepuff and he didn't like him very much so he wanted to avoid being in the same house as him."I'd say..."
"HUFFLEPUFF." The Hat shouted.
Cygnus could feel his world collapse. He didn't want to be in Hufflepuff. He felt his eyes moisten and a second later, strong arms wrapped around him, pulling him into a hard, comforting hug. Draco.
"I wanted to be with you." Cygnus sobbed as he clung to his brother's robes.
"It's okay, little one. Hufflepuff is okay." Draco whispered to him.
"But I wanted to be like you."
Draco pulled away and looked at him square in the eye. "It's fine. You'll be great in Hufflepuff. Not everyone can be a Slytherin. Besides, I'm glad you're a Puff, I always hated traditions. Every Malfoy being in Slytherin? That was bad." Cygnus giggled despite himself. "You see my friend there?" He pointed at the brown-haired girl he had been sitting next to earlier who was smiling at them. She was pretty. "That's Daphne. Her little sister is a fifth year and she's a Hufflepuff, just like you."
Cygnus looked at the Hufflepuff table, they were all smiling at him, except for the ones who had been sitting at the lone table and were now at the Hufflepuff table. They looked like mean people. He looked around the table and tried to find a fifth year who looked like Daphne. When he finally found her, she was waving slightly at him. She was as pretty as her sister but her hair was a little darker which made her pale skin stand out even more.
"You should go sit down now, I'll see you after dinner, okay?" Draco told him softly.
Cygnus didn't want to go sit down there but he knew he had to. He sighed and slowly went to his table, leaving Draco to go back to his. He sat down next to Daphne's sister, hoping that maybe they could be friends just like Daphne and Draco.
"Hi." She greeted him. "My name's Astoria." She was literally beaming and she engulfed him into a warm hug. Cygnus nearly jumped in surprise but he hugged her back. If every Hufflepuff was as cuddly and welcoming as her, he would love his housemates.
He glanced at Draco one last time. He was whispering something into Daphne's ear and she laughed wholeheartedly. Draco then looked at him and winked before he went back to his dinner.
That would be a interesting year.
*CM*RL*