'Alwinton, Megan!'

A polite applause followed slender & petite Megan Alwinton to the Sorting Hat, dying down as the item was placed onto her head. The whole Great Hall fell into silence, awaiting this 'best judgement' they anticipated so much.

'RAVENCLAW!'

More applause, especially from the Ravenclaws as Megan was indicated where to sit and watch the rest of her peers.

'Andrews, Isobel'

Izzy Andrews, a bulkier brunette racewalked down to get the whole even over with a quickly as possible, almost shaking with anxiety.

'GRYFFINDOR!'

'Wait, what?' whispered Teddy. 'She's in the brave house? Look how scared she was!' He was thinking that getting into Gryffindor would be easy if that was the standard he had to live up to.

'Bobbin, Clarise'

A black-haired Korean girl tossed her extended locks back and strutted forward filled with bravado.

'GRYFFINDOR!'

Obviously.

'Cattermole, Harvey'

The first boy on the register maintained a constant slow pace and neutral expression.

'HUFFLEPUFF!'

'Curtis, Annabeth"

'That's AXEL!' shouted a red-haired boy with a jolt upwards, across his face the desire to leap forwards at McGonagall from some deep, possible animalistic part of him. This, of course, did not happen. Instead, he just plodded forwards after his friend pat him on the shoulder, muttering to himself as he got sorted into Gryffindor house, the applause masking everyone's confusion.

McGonagall took a second to recompose herself, shuffling her shoulders backwards to shake off some tension. The extra wrinkles on her face vanished after this.

'Right. Let's move on, shall we? Dougalby, Jack!'

Thus, everything continued. Jack Dougalby was sorted into Gryffindor, followed by Preston Foley into Slytherin, Lennox Galbraith into Hufflepuff etc. All this time Teddy was left to twiddle his thumbs in polite silence, trying not to shuffle too much in line.

It wasn't long before Otto Johnson, an apparent Slytherin, was one with his sorting meaning the next name to be called was –

'Lupin, Edward!'

'At last!' thought Teddy. He bolted upwards and practically skipped down the aisle, perching instantaneously on the seat giddily glancing upwards as the Sorting Hat was lowered onto his head.

'HUFFLEPUFF!'

Oh, how quickly his smile drooped away. He cared not for the ovation he received from the table he was forced to sit down at. Making eye contact with absolute no one, he clenched his fists and crumpled his brow, determined not to fraternize with even the prefect who were desperately attempting to connect with him.

How had this happened? The Sorting Hat gave him no chance to even make a case for himself. He, the godson of Harry Potter, had been deprived of the chance to be placed in the same house as the person he looked up to most in the world and wanted so desperately to be like. In his mind, the only outcome worse than the one would be if he had ended up in House Slytherin. That would have destroyed any remainder of self-pride he had left in him.

There was no way any of Harry's actual children would end up in any other house! Teddy pictured James in Ravenclaw, Lily in Hufflepuff and Albus in Slytherin. It was almost unthinkable! But Teddy wasn't a Potter, nor was he a real part of the family. Nor was he even a Gryffindor.

Ω Ω Ω

Saffron Undercliffe.

This was the name belonging to the girl Teddy had befriended on the Hogwarts Express and shared his taste in exotic hair colours. She, unlike Teddy, was over the moon that she had been sorted into Hufflepuff and had noticed the sombre change in her friend's mood since the sorting took place.

Teddy busied himself by stuffing his face with yassai yaki soba and gulping it down with the aid of his pumpkin juice. Saffron constantly tried to get his attention, so barely touched her tortilla de patatas until Teddy finished his plate.

'Come on, tell me what's up,' she demanded. 'Alright, you didn't end up in Gryffindor. So what? Hufflepuff's not a bad place.'

'You don't understand,' grumbled Teddy. 'I've wanted to be in Gryffindor for as long as I've known about Hogwarts. It was one of the things I was most looking forward to before coming here.'

At this point, a prefect tapped him on the shoulder, grabbing his attention.

'There are plenty of other things to enjoy about Hogwarts besides what house you're in. If you ask me the whole premise of houses is outdated beyond belief. No one should actually care where people end up.'

'This is the reason we haven't won the House cup in years' jested a sixth year. 'It's people like you the destroy the group morale.

'Oh, spare me the lectures, Michein,' sighed the prefect. Teddy and Saffron judged by her expression that this was merely a banterous exchange, unlike the Slytherin fifth year conversation they accidentally walked in on.

'Ignore him,' she smiled. 'I guess a little friendly rivalry never hurt anyone.'

At that moment, McGonagall tapped her glass and stood up, prompting silence across the room.

'Very well, students, tonight's feast is nearing its completion. I'd like to extend a warm welcome to our newest additions to the Hogwarts student body. May your days here with us be used wisely. I refer, of course, to your studies and the opportunities we provide to further your development as young witches and wizards. Be pleased that in this time of peace, Hogwarts is the safe and encouraging place it was always meant to be, and that –'

As McGonagall spoke, Teddy somewhat zoned out. The Headmistress' speech was delivered as everyone expected, but seemingly lacked essential charisma behind it. The only thing that remotely grabbed his attention was the denotation that Hogwarts now sported a PA system which Professor Wallace insisted after the battle in 1998 (choosing not to refer to it by name) along with a few other changes. Harry had ensured he was familiar with muggle technology but had also told him to expect a complete absence of it. Nothing seemed to be going the way he was anticipating.

'Very well. All second to seventh-years, please vacate the Hall and head to your respective dormitories except for the fifth-year prefects, who will stay behind to escort the first years.'

Suddenly the Great Hall felt empty. As the first years lined up behind their prefects, there was plenty of room for Teddy and Saffron to catch Oberon Clarke's gaze for a split-second. But he had the Slytherin students to worry about, only taking the time to wave to a mousey brown haired girl of similar height to him that was the last to leave before them.

The Hufflepuff Prefect from before introduced herself as Natalie Clearwater and was accompanied by Monty Knox.

'If you remember only one name, remember hers. She's the likable one' he jested. Natalie giggled in a somewhat embarrassed nature.

'Anyways,' she blushed. 'We're in a new position right now, just like you are. So we're nervous too. But for now, all we need to do is go to bed. So it's not too bad.'

Much the Monty's annoyance, this line got a bigger laugh than his previous joke. 'Let's get going then' he sighed. 'Lead the way please, Nats.'

The only thing Teddy really paid attention to while going around the Hogwarts interior was where the PA system was obvious, partially out of morbid curiosity but most just to avoid the shock of the infernal feedback from before.

Chunks and pieces of the castles were very obviously newer than others, possessing close to none of their wear and tear. It wasn't long before Natalie and Monty revealed their destination: a nook on the right-hand side of the kitchen corridor. Monty knocked rhythmically on one of the barrels (two from the bottom, middle of the second row), which opened up to reveal a passage into the Hufflepuff common room.

'You have to rhythmically tap "Helga Hufflepuff" or else you'll be doused in vinegar and barred access' explained Monty.

The first-years laughed at this.

'He was being serious' insisted Natalie. 'Anyways, in you go!'

The tunnel into the Hufflepuff Common Room wasn't nearly as tight a squeeze as the first-years thought. Logically speaking, this barrel had to be wide enough for of age wizards to fit through. In fact, the gap was wide enough for Teddy to roll along the walls like a pendulum, but this is something he would attempt later, for he had just emerged into the cosiest room he had ever laid eyes on.

The Common Room was round and earthy and low-ceilinged. Surprisingly, though it was a basement, it possessed circular windows with a view of rippling grass and dandelions. There was a myriad of burnished copper about the place, and plants, which either hung from the ceiling or sit on the windowsills. Serving as a reminder of when Professor Pomona Sprout, former Herbology teacher, was Head of House. The sofas and chairs were overstuffed and upholstered in yellow and black.

'Dormitories this way' indicated Natalie, pointing to one of the round doors in the walls of the common room. Copper lamps cast a warm light over the four-posters, all of which were covered in patchwork quilts. The prefects split the boys and girls up and made sure the all picked their beds. Barely anyone said anything before the tucked themselves in and went to sleep.