Disclaimer: I am not Jo Rowling, and I don't own Harry Potter, or any Harry Potter characters. I do own Alec and some minor characters in this story, but that's about it. So please don't sue me. :)

Summary: James Potter and Alec McGovern were best friends--brothers, until the sorting hat intervened, changing their lives forever.

The Parting of Brothers

"McGovern, Alexander!" Professor McGonagall, the strict-looking woman with square spectacles, called. McGonagall was standing next to the sorting hat, which rested on a four-legged stool.

I glanced sideways at my best friend, Alec. He was visibly trembling. I gave him an encouraging nudge in the ribs, and his copper-colored eyes met mine. He was terrified. Deep down inside, I wished he would toughen up just a little.

Tearing his eyes from mine, he stumbled toward the hat that would determine the rest of our lives. He sat on the stool, obviously tense.

Maybe it was just obvious to me because he's been my best friend ever since his parents invited my family over for Thanksgiving dinner six years ago. We were both five, and our fathers worked together at the Ministry. After trying to force down the completely awful dinner Alec's mum prepared, we decided to go to his room, where we played with his charmed train set for hours.

And after that, we became inseparable. Best friends. Brothers.

I've been worrying about this moment for weeks now, mainly because the chances of Alec and me being sorted into the same house are slim.

"Please be in Gryffindor," I thought urgently to myself.

I was guaranteed a spot in the Gryffindor house. All Potters were.

My parents were both in Gryffindor. My sisters were both Gryffindors, as were my uncles, and nearly all of my ancestors, except for my great-great-grandaunt, who was disowned when she was sorted into Slytherin.

Actually, she was disowned because she killed her mother with a poisoned potion when her mum sent her a howler for being sorted into "the worst house possible."

But the point is, as I am James Potter, I'll be in Gryffindor.

Guaranteed.

But Alec, my best friend for almost as far back as I can remember, isn't as certain as me.

His dad was in Ravenclaw.

His mum is a muggle.

And his ancestors are a jumble of Slytherins, Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws and very few Gryffindors.

Alec is a good kid.

He's a loyal friend. He always wants to do what's right.

He also has a great brain, and provides excellent ideas for jokes we can pull on the cranky neighbors.

But he's not very brave, and that's why I'm worried.

I'm always the one to execute pranks, even though it's his brilliance that provides the greatest prank schemes. Alec's always too worried that he'll get caught. He's all about obeying the rules and pleasing his parents. It's not exactly a brazen Gryffindor Lion that dwells inside Alec.

But he has good, bold, brave intentions. I really doubt he'll be sorted into Gryffindor, which is going to suck for both of us.

It'll be so tough to deal with living away from my brother, and not being aloud to hang out in his dormitory with him to rant about stupid teachers, protective parents or Quidditch every day.

He'll probably be in Ravenclaw. I swear, that brain of his…

The hat took its time sorting him. Too long. Eventually I realized that I was tapping my foot on the stone floor annoyingly when a short blonde girl cast an irritated look at me. I stopped.

I don't have any real brothers, but Alec feels just like a real brother to me. I have two older sisters who already graduated, but because they're so old, we're not very close.

Alec, however, is like a blood relative to me.

He could probably even pass as my brother just based on appearances.

We both have brown eyes. His are copper, while mine are a darker brown. We both have messy hair--almost jet-black, it's so dark. I wear glasses, and he currently has a mess of metal in his mouth (braces), but we really do look similar. Like brothers, according to all the neighbors, and even our parents.

We look like brothers.

We act like brothers.

We are brothers.

And being separated from my brother for the next seven years sounds like hell.

Hey! Wait! The hat just sorted him! I heard it wrong. Merlin, I'm going nutters. I thought it said Hufflepuff. No, I heard it wrong.

But then why is Alec going to the Hufflepuff table? He's not a Hufflepuff! There's been a mistake!

The hat screwed up. It must've. If he's not in Ravenclaw, he could manage being in Gryffindor just as easily as Hufflepuff. Alec can't be in Hufflepuff. It's wrong. What the heck? Why is he sitting down with them? All the goody-goody kids--it's not right!

Alec can't be in Hufflepuff!

I could manage being sorted into Ravenclaw with him. But Hufflepuff?

Our eyes meet.

Alec sees my disappointment.

He knows I'm ticked off.

He looks like he wants to cry.

Ah, dang it, Alec. Don't go proving that you're a bit of a crybaby. Merlin, please don't cry. It'll prove you're a Hufflepuff and destroy your reputation even amongst the Hufflepuffs.

It still sounds so weird. My best friend, my brother, is a Hufflepuff.

I don't believe it.

A Hufflepuff.

The rest of the M's are sorted. Now Nack…then Nelson…Nibley…Olson…Otto…Parkinson…Perkins…Perks…How many flippen first years are there?…Peterson…Potter--oh, that's me.

Maybe I can talk the hat into sorting me into Hufflepuff. Can I request a different house? Then Alec and I can be together. I swear, without me to watch out for him, I don't know how that kid will be able to get through Hogwarts. I don't want to be in the sissy house, but my brothers gonna need me.

'And you're going to need him,' a voice said somewhere in my head.

Argh. Great. I'm going completely insane, hearing voices and wanting to be in Hufflepuff, all in one day.

Merlin.

I sit down on the stool and McGonagall sets the hat on my head. It falls over my face strangely, and I reach up to adjust it.

"Ah, this'll be easy," a voice says in my ear. Or maybe in my head. I'm not entirely sure. "Another Potter. And no different than most. Looks like you are through and through a--"

'Wait!' I think urgently. 'Don't sort me yet. I know I'm a Gryffindor by birth and all, just like my dad, and his dad, and his dad…you know. But I don't want to be in Gryffindor. Well, I do, but--"

"But what?" the voice demands. "Gryffindor is a great house. What's the problem?"

'I know Gryffindor's great. I've wanted to be in that house ever since my dad told me about Hogwarts. But something changed my mind. Can I request a different house?'

"Why on earth would you do that, lad?" the perplexed voice wonders. "Well, I reckon you'd do well in Ravenclaw, if you focus more on school than you have in the past. Not a bad mind you've got in there…"

'Er, thanks. But actually, could I request Hufflepuff?'

The voice doesn't reply for a long moment. I'm assuming the voice is the hat. At least, I hope it is. I really don't need to hear voices in my head. That would be bad for my image.

"Hufflepuff? Oh my dear boy, no!" the voice cries. "You are not all suited for the Hufflepuff house! No offense, but you're not very well-behaved, nor do you try to do what is right all the time. You'd be miserable in the Hufflepuff house. I could put you in Ravenclaw, and maybe even Slytherin if you wanted, but Hufflepuff is out of the question! It's completely wrong for you."

'But you don't understand!' I think, worry and relief washing over me at once. 'My best friend, Alec McGovern--you sorted him a few minutes ago. Please just put me in Hufflepuff with him! He's my brother! We have to be together! We need each other!…Or better yet, re-sort him.'

My fingers were beginning to feel numb, I was clutching the sides of the stool so intensely. The hat's silence was maddening. And finally, he spoke--

"Sorry, lad. No re-sorting. And there is no way you'll succeed and reach even half of your potential in Hufflepuff. Your friend will be fine, and someday, you'll agree that it's best this way. As I said from the start, you are a true GRYFFINDOR!"

The voice, now confirmed as the hat, (not my insanity), yelled the last word out for the whole Great Hall to hear.

Applause rang out, and the hat was lifted off my head.

I stood, feeling slightly dizzy, and Alec's and my eyes locked.

He looked betrayed, but I saw him try to mask it as he smiled at me and gave me a thumbs-up.

I always imagined being sorted into Gryffindor would feel glorious.

But it felt like I had a medicine ball strapped on each leg as I walked over to the table of cheering students.

My future family.

At Gryffindor table.

I sat down next to a taller, dark-haired first year who was grinning jocularly at me.

"Sirius Black," he said pleasantly, extending a hand.

I shook it.

"James Potter," I said, grinning at him.

"Check out the hot Gryffindor chicks," he said, lowering his voice and gesturing around the table.

There were a few…

As soon as the sorting ceremony was over and Dumbledore's little spiel was through, Sirius and I dug into the feast, talking about Quidditch. He knew a heck of a lot more about the game than Alec.

Then we talked about home and our families between mouthfuls of cherry tarts and chocolate cake.

I knew Sirius and I would be good friends. He was easy to talk to, and hanging out with him seemed to dramatically improve my standing with the girls. We both had girlfriends halfway through dessert. Two hot second years down the table named Isabella and Susan had been ogling us all meal long, and they finally came over and asked us out. That's right--they asked us. I don't think that would've happened had I been sitting with Alec over at the Hufflepuff table. Hell, I don't think it would've happened had I been sitting with a muggle movie star. (Hufflepuff girls seem pretty shy--like Alec, I guess.)

Sirius and I stood up, eager to see our new common room and dormitory.

My eyes met with Alec's again, and I felt guilty for being glad to be in Gryffindor and for enjoying myself so much with Sirius while my brother looked miserable.

I smiled a half-smile at him and waved good-bye.

And then we went our own ways.

He followed a Hufflepuff Prefect down toward the kitchens, to the Hufflepuff common room, while Sirius and I followed Isabella and Susan to the Gryffindor common room, flirting like idiots.

That night while lying in bed, remembering the night before, when Alec had spent the night and we'd stayed up planning pranks to pull on our first day of school, a new thought struck me.

This was a new experience.

Alec and I both seemed to need new experiences.

We were best friends forever.

But already it seemed Sirius was a better suited best friend for me.

And was I truly the ideal best friend for Alec?

He could do better for himself.

Just like me.

I was happier in Gryffindor.

And he would be better off in Hufflepuff.

Yeah, the sorting sucked.

I still felt awful for Alec, being the meek kid he was, for having to start school alone.

But I loved him like a brother, and I knew that this was the best thing for my brother.

We need to grow-up, and we needed to be apart.

So we parted ways that day, me and my brother.

And I decided not to look back.

Years later, over the summer before our last year at Hogwarts, we both happened to be outside, mowing our lawns.

So we wound up taking a break together, and over glasses of lemonade mused over the changes the years had brought.

And we agreed.

The sorting hat was right.

We agreed.

We were both right where we belonged.

Apart.

The End

Please review and let me know what you think of my first one-shot! Thanks for reading--I appreciate it bunches! And happy holidays!