Disclaimer: Of course, these lovely characters do not belong to me. I do borrow them for my idea.

Thank you for all the reviews, new followers, and favorites. These have just been sitting there, sorry for the delay.


Hufflepuff

September 2020

She still saw the odd look her sister had given her. All houses seemed to have been fair game in her family, although her parents clearly had preferences. All houses but Hufflepuff that was. Her mother had told her that the hat had taken some time wanting to place her in Ravenclaw and even her father had admitted that the hat would have probably thought about it if it hadn't been for his own stubbornness. Then of course there were the actual houses of her parents. But somehow Carina had managed not to end up in any of them. She was a Hufflepuff.

An even bigger shock had been the hat's announcement that Lily would be in Gryffindor. The best friends had sworn to each other that they would convince the hat to be in the same house as the other and she had tried. She had begged the hat to send her to Gryffindor, knowing that Lily wanted to be there. The hat wouldn't hear it, so she begged for Slytherin to at least please her father and sister. Again, the hat wouldn't hear it.

She lifted her hand to wipe the tears when she heard footsteps behind her. It was late. So late that she would probably be tired for her first lessons in the morning, but she couldn't sleep.

"Missing your parents?" The large grin that came with Hugo Smith-Weasley appeared in the dark. He was a third-year now. She shook her head, turning back to the fire. Hugo was the only Weasley to ever not end up in Gryffindor, well he and Albus Potter, but at least he was in Slytherin, which was worth quite a bit with the Malfoys. Of course, Hugo was the least Weasley like of all of them. He had grown up with his mother mostly, being with the Weasleys for weekends and holidays. In some ways, Carina had seen more of his family than he had, since her mother kept dragging them to all the events.

"Didn't expect to be in Hufflepuff?"

Her eyes widened. She didn't want to be disloyal to her house right from the start. It didn't feel right. However, she did not want to be here. A fresh tear traveled down her cheek and she turned away, trying to hide it.

"Dad still jokes about disowning me." He sat next to her. "He thinks it's hilarious."

His face showed that he disagreed. Carina sighed.

"Did you know that Carina is the constellation with the second brightest star?"

"That's cool."

"No, it's not. It's the second brightest, not the brightest." Another tear. "Mum always says she choose the name because I was the second child, but really I'm just second in everything. Second to have a birthday in December. Even Scorpius comes before me. The first boy to be born in December."

"He is a terd. Dad always says if he wouldn't look so much like your mum, he would be a replica of your father." He shrugged: "And I don't think he means his good qualities."

Carina stared at the fire.

"The good thing about being a Hufflepuff is that you can grow on your own. Everyone may underestimate you, but that makes it easier to succeed. Can you imagine being surrounded by all those Weasleys and Potters in Gryffindor? It's way more relaxing here."

"You think?"

"Yes. Just imagine their faces when you are named the head girl as a Hufflepuff."

"You think, I could be the head girl?"

"I think you can be whoever you want to be."