Having extensive contacts within Hogwarts did have its advantages, Severus reflected. He stood in a shadowy corner of the Great Hall, arms crossed, watching the straggling line of first years make their way toward the front of the Hall. Every time one of his grandchildren was Sorted, he had made it a point to call in a favor from one of the professors. He was always the first of the family to know, which also had its advantages. Like, when Rose had unexpectedly made Slytherin, for example. Knowing how unreasonable Ron could be, Severus had immediately written to Molly and gone shopping. By morning, a sweater of soft green wool had arrived (Molly had enchanted her needles and hadn't slept a wink), along with a small silver ring set with an emerald and the words "Be proud" engraved on the inside. (Albus had made Ravenclaw and by the end of the first week had become friends with fellow housemate Scorpius Malfoy). Though Ron made a lot of quips about having a heart attack, in the end he had been supportive.

Severus' eyes swept over to the first years, looking for two children with red hair. He kept a trained eyed on the children, a small smile on his lips at the perceived nervousness that they shared. It was Hugo and Lily's turn and although Severus would never mention it, he found himself closest with Lily and wanted her to be the grandchild in Slytherin.

After Headmistress McGonagall welcomed the first year, Neville began the Sorting with "Abernathy, Colin" who was sorted to Ravenclaw. Severus quietly clapped from his dark corner.

The small, red-haired girl had a fierce, determined look on her face. She really didn't look that much like Lily Evans. Lily Luna (as Severus often affectionately called her) had flaming red hair, whereas her grandmother had had auburn, a liberally freckled face (Lily Evans had only a few freckles), a narrower face, and brown eyes instead of green. Severus was reassured by the differences, in a way. It confirmed to him that he didn't love her as a copy of her grandmother, but as herself.

It hadn't necessarily started out that way. When Harry and Ginny had announced they were having a girl, Severus had marched right up to Harry and said, "You're naming her Lily. Spell it L-I-L-Y, not L-I-L-L-Y. Your mother hated it when people misspelled her name. Ginny, drink this potion every day for the next month, and her hair should come out red."

Ginny had promptly threw the potion at Severus' head. He had narrowly dodged it. Harry, grinning, had said, "We are thinking of Lily, but what about Petunia? After all, Aunt Petunia did raise me. Sure, she locked me in a cupboard and abused me and generally was not nice. But our relationship has really improved. Besides, I like Lily with two l's. It looks nicer. Ok! Ok! I'm kidding! Put down the wand! Her name's Lily! Lily with one L!"

Hugo's jaw was set, his blue eyes intensely staring at the Hat when "Finnegan, Brigid" was called. Severus chuckled under his breath. Despite being a carbon copy of his father appearance-wise, Hugo was definitely his mother's son. While his sister would be outside playing Quidditch with their cousins, Hugo was inside reading a book on the couch with Cousin Molly. Severus would not be surprised if the boy was made Ravenclaw (or even prefect or Head Boy later).

"Potter, Lily!"

Silence and then murmurs of: "That's Harry Potter's daughter," "...James Potter's little sister," and "...Albus' little sister" scattered across the Great Hall. Severus watched the small, freckled girl push her way forward, holding his breath as Neville dropped the worn, battered Hat over her eyes.

Lily Luna held her breath as the Hat settled on her head. Godric Gryffindor must have been a humongous bighead, she thought and smirked in spite of her nerves.

"Interesting, very interesting," said a little voice in her ear. "The third Potter and unnumbered Weasley I've seen the past few years, but you're not quite like the others."

Lily straightened at that, a little grin on her face. She liked to be different, to be noticed. It wasn't easy, with so many (loud) cousins. Many of them were girls, so she didn't even have her mother's advantage of being the one female among boys. Different how?
"Many of your relatives have cunning and ambition, but they aren't very obvious about it. You, you wear it on your sleeve. You're proud of your decidedly Slytherin traits, aren't you? But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Where else might suit? Creative, daring, willingness to work hard for what you care about..."

Keep on talking. Let's make me a Hatstall!

"Yes, it definitely has to be SLYTHERIN!"

After nine and a half minutes, making Lily Luna's Hat Stall one of the longest ever, the Great Hall was still silent. No one could believe that Harry Potter's only daughter could be sorted into Slytherin, even Headmistress McGonagall's jaw dropped. Over at Gryffindor, James made eye contact with his Ravenclaw brother at this shocking revelation. The two boys had decided that whose house Lily joins, that brother would be the one to keep a close eye on their sister. Now how can they watch over Lily if she's in another house?

Severus' smile gradually turned into a grin. Not only did he get two Slytherin grandchildren, but one of them is his Lily Luna!

A sudden thought came to Severus about his Slytherin granddaughters' names: Rose and Lily, two flower names. Severus' grin grew even larger, almost a bit inhuman, at the feeling it gives off. The first Lily had a sister named Petunia, yet another flower name, who longed to be a witch and because of Lily's magic it diminished their relationship. Severus wondered if this was fate's way of giving Lily and Petunia a second chance of friendship, of sisterhood, after all Minerva McGonagall have always told first years that a house is like your family.

Lily had not moved, slightly unnerved at the quietness of the hall and slightly encouraged to stay put and be notice. She did move when her cousin, and now fellow housemate, Rose stood up and cheered: "Another Weasley/Potter in Slytherin! Yeah! Go, Lily!"

Lily took her seat next to Rose, who flung an arm around her shoulders. She swept the hall with an unrepentant smile. Unable to resist channeling Uncle Ron, James pulled a face. Albus shrugged and waved. Hugo looked terrified for no other reason than that his sorting was coming up.

"Weasley, Hugo." The Hat dropped over another redhead, and in less than thirty seconds: "GRYFFINDOR!" Lily and Rose clapped and cheered along with Gryffindor house. Severus smiled thinly. It would be something of a consolation to Ron's house pride, he supposed, to have a Gryffindor child, even though he truly was proud of Rose.

The last students were sorted. The feast began. Just as Lily was about to tuck into her plate, she caught sight of a familiar figure in a dark corner. Her face split into a huge grin. "I did it!" she mouthed. Severus smiled back.

He turned with a swish of his cloak, leaving Hogwarts behind. He, first, went to Diagon Alley, bought soft green wool and ordered an emerald and silver ring with the engraving "officially my Slytherin Lily Luna" like he had done for Rose.

"Well, their houses," was the first thing Molly had said when Severus entered with a brown parcel.

"Hugo's in Gryffindor," Severus said blankly.

"Oh good, but I knew he would be," Molly responded. "And, Lily? Severus? Oh... I'm sorry." She yelped in the middle of her apology as the papered parcel was tossed unceremoniously to her. Instinctively, she dodged the parcel and then scooped it up. "What is this?" Severus motioned for her to open it. She did and gasped at the wool.

"Lily Luna's a Slytherin." Severus said grinning. "The younger ones don't have to be in Slytherin. I got Rose and Lily."

"Me too!" cried a voice from the kitchen doorway. Arthur, who was spending his parents' date night with his grandparents, dashed up to Severus and stared hard up into his face. "I'm going to be in Slytherin, too, Grandpa. Remember?"

Severus nodded solemnly. "Of course, Art. How could I forget?"