Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

"Daddy! Look over here! Daddy!"

Harry glanced up from where he was tiredly going over documents on his desk. School would be starting later that day and he needed to be ready. He was going to be sending his kids to Cassie, Sirius' wife, soon for the feast. He was starting to regret not sending them earlier, especially when he saw what Lily wanted him to see.

She was floating in midair.

Heart in his throat, he quickly hopped off the desk and grabbed her out of the air. She giggled happily, "Magic, daddy! I did magic!"

He nodded, "Yes, you did," he said, trying to keep himself calm. Lily had yet to do magic, as they usually started around four or five, and it was not going to be fun with three of them doing accidental magic. Two was bad enough. James had nearly set the house on fire several times and Albus had a habit of making things shatter when he was upset.

"Be careful," he told her as he set her down. Once sure that she was not going to float and possible hurt herself, he gave a sigh of relief, "Where are your brothers?"

"I'm not supposed to say."

Harry raised his eyebrows at his daughter and crossed his arms, "Oh?"

She nodded, looking proud, "James said that if I don't tell anyone what he's doing, he'll give me his cookie at dinner."

"Well, if you tell me what he's doing, I'll tell Aunt Cassie to give you the biggest cookie."

Lily's eyes lit up as if Harry had just promised her the world. She nodded quickly and grinned widely, "Okay, I'll tell you. Jamie and Albie went exploing!"

Harry didn't bother correcting the child on her word. He simply sighed and ran his hand over his face. He'd told them several times that they could not explore the castle without him but of course, they did not listen.

He checked his watch. He had an hour before the feast. He just had to find them, send them to Cassie's, and get to the feast. He could do this.

Luckily, he had the map.

Opening the drawer on his desk, he pulled out the Marauders Map. Lily hopped up beside him, peering at it as he spoke the words and watched as the castle appeared.

"Ooh," Lily whispered in amazement.

He searched the map for his son's names and saw them on the fourth floor. He folded the map up and turned to his daughter, "Want to come with me to get your brothers?"

She nodded enthusiastically.

He lifted her onto his shoulders and left his quarters, making sure to lock it on his way out. He held the map in his hands, making sure the two boys didn't leave the area, and headed straight for where they were. They seemed to be a deep conversation with a portrait.

"James. Albus."

The two boys looked up at him and guilty expressions immediately crossed over their faces. Harry raised his eyebrows at them and Lily giggled slightly from above his head.

"Hey, Dad," James said sheepishly.

Harry sighed. He knew he would have to punish them for disobeying but he honestly didn't have time at the moment.

"Come on, we need to get to Cassie's. I'll talk to you two tonight."

Harry had never been the one to discipline. That had always been Ginny.

The two boys nodded, grateful that they would get out of their punishment for the moment, and Harry grabbed both of their hands and started walking down the hall.

It didn't take long to reach Sirius and Cassie's quarters, luckily. He knocked on the portrait of a big black dog and beautiful white tabby cat and it recognized his magic signature. It opened up almost immediately.

James ran in once the door was open, practically bouncing over to where Cori, Sirius and Cassie's daughter, was. James and Cori were best friends and partners in crime. Sirius had raised his only daughter to be the best prankster the Wizarding World had ever seen and, with as much time James spent with them, he'd picked it up as well.

He lifted Lily off of his shoulders and sat her on the ground as Cassie walked in. The woman gave him a wide smile. She was a fairly tall woman who was a bit younger than Sirius. She stood with grace and her round face was bright with happiness. Her blonde hair flowed down her shoulders like a river and her bright, brown eyes gleamed with kindness.

"Cassie!" Harry said happily, giving the woman a hug. Sirius had met her shortly after the war when his name was finally cleared. He'd been given a whole lot of money from the Ministry once they realized that they had locked him up for twelve years for something he didn't do and had used a lot of it to go on vacation in the United States. He struck up a conversation with a waitress while at a restaurant once learning that her name was Cassiopeia.

It had amused both of them that they had been named after stars and Sirius had gotten her number. One thing led to another, and Sirius had ended up staying in the States for a while. Remus had been the best man at his wedding and little Teddy, Sirius' godson, had been the ring bearer. Victoire, Bill's daughter, had been three at the time and was the flower girl.

The moment Cassie met Harry and learned that he was Sirius' godson, she had immediately decided that she would be the best godmother there was. She constantly acted as if she was his own mother, always calling to see how he was doing and she and Sirius were at St. Mungo's not even five minutes after Harry had called them in a panic when James, always causing trouble, was born two months premature, despite being eight months pregnant herself.

Cassie had took learning of magic in stride, too. Of course, it had been a shock, but she had simply seen it as a whole new adventure.

"Harry!" Cassie greeted happily, hugging him tightly, "Another year. You ready for it?"

Harry grinned and shook his head, "I can never be ready for these children. Where's Sirius?"

"Oh, he already headed down to the feast. Hermione's there too. Rose and Hugo are already here. Speaking of which," she turned down to Albus and Lily, "They're in the playroom. Draco Malfoy's son, Scorpius, is here as well. He's your age, Al."

This took Harry by surprise. Hermione might be friends with Malfoy, but Harry was not. They had a grudgingly civil relationship going on simply due to the fact that they were coworkers. Harry had not known that he left his son with Cassie.

"I didn't know Scorpius would be here," Harry said as Albus and Lily went running back to the room.

Cassie nodded, "Oh, of course. Draco is Sirius' cousin, after all, and Astoria is going to be with Madame Pomfrey from now on. She's practicing to be the Hogwarts Matron since Poppy is planning on retiring after this year."

Harry knew that. He had gotten close to Poppy after he started working at Hogwarts and now fully appreciated all she had done for him. He'd been in the Hospital Wing more times than he could count, after all.

He hadn't thought that this would mean that Scorpius wouldn't have somewhere to stay.

He simply nodded, "This year's going to be pretty interesting. Freddie and Georgia are starting."

Cassie let out a laugh. When both Angelina and Alicia had gotten pregnant at the same time, Fred and George had agreed to name their children after each other. George had a boy whom he had named Fred (or Freddie, as everyone called him) and Fred had a girl who he named Georgia. The toy were a pranking team that rivalled James and Cori and since their father's owned Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, it was going to be a wild year.

"Caroline is as well," Cassie said, referring to Remus and Tonks' daughter. Tonks had badly wanted a girl after the war and she had gotten her wish.

"What houses are you betting on?"

With Teddy and Victoire, the only two of their group that was in Hogwarts, everyone had bet on the houses they would end up in. Harry had been right with Teddy, betting that he would go into Hufflepuff, as the boy was hard working and fair, just like his mother, but he'd been wrong with Victoire. He'd been sure the girl would be a Ravenclaw with her brains but she'd gone to Gryffindor.

Cassie grinned at that, "Oh, Harry, I'm ashamed that you would believe that I would take place in this betting system."

Harry gave her a look. He knew quite well that Cassie had bet the last two times, and she'd won both times.

"Oh, alright. Caroline's a Gryffindor, through and through. I have no doubt about that. Freddie and Georgia are a little more complicated but I said Gryffindor as well."

Harry didn't agree with that last one but he kept quiet about it.

The door open and Harry turned to see Neville at the door. He gave them a grin as his oldest, Frank, dashed to where James and Cori were excitedly talking about what was obviously a prank. Frank was Harry's saving grace. He was the one that held the two pranksters back. He looked like Neville, though he had inherited Luna's love of magical creatures.

Alice bolted in afterwards and into Harry's arms. He grinned as he picked up his goddaughter.

"Uncle Harry! Guess what!" the girl exclaimed. Her blue eyes were bright with excitement.

"What is it?" he asked her.

"I lost a tooth!" she said, smiling brightly and showing off the missing front tooth.

Neville laughed as he walked over with Lorcan and Lysander, the twins, attached to his legs,"Lost it this morning. The tooth fairy's going to be coming tonight, isn't she?"

Alice nodded happily and shimmied her way out of Harry's arms. She held up two fingers, "Daddy said that I'm going to get two galleons!"

"Oh, I bet you will," Harry said, nodding seriously.

Alice giggled and then asked, "Where's Lily?"

"Oh, they're in the playroom," Cassie told the excitable girl and before she could say more, the five-year-old bolted from the room.

Neville laughed slightly at his daughter. Then, he turned downwards to where his two four-year-olds were attached to his legs, "Come on, guys, don't you want to go play?"

"No!" Lorcan said sternly, clutching tighter to Neville, "Not going!"

Lorcan and Lysander were a bit… attached.

Cassie kneeled down so she was on their level, "How about, if you guys let go, I'll show you my coin collection?"

The two boys seemed to contemplate it for a moment before they nodded and hopped off their father's legs. Neville gave them both a hug and they disappeared to the playroom.

Harry did not envy Cassie one bit. She was going to be watching eleven kids while they were at the feast.

"Well, Harry, we should probably get going. Don't want to be late," Neville said, "Thank you for watching them, Cassie."

"Oh, it's no problem," Cassie said truthfully, "I love the kids."

Harry didn't doubt that. Cassie had had a rough pregnancy with Cori and wasn't able to have any more kids, though she always wanted more.

"Well, we better be off. I'll tell you about the houses when I come to pick them up. Thanks for this!" Harry said, giving her a hug.

And with that, Harry and Neville left the room and headed down to the Great Hall. Hermione would be picking up the first years from the boat and taking them to the castle but the rest of the staff would be there.

He talked to Neville as they walked.

"How's Luna?"

Neville grinned at the mention of his wife, "She's great. Ollivander said that he's going to retire next year, so she'll be taking over."

Luna was an incredible wand maker. Ollivander had taught her a lot when they had been held hostage at the Malfoy's together and had given her a job once the war ended. Harry had been surprised at how good she was at it but she was famous in Diagon Alley now.

"Oh, that's great!" Harry said, "I bet she's excited."

Neville nodded at that, "She definitely is. How's Gin-"

He cut himself off, seeming to realize his mistake. The entire Wizarding World knew about the divorce. It had been on the front cover of the Daily Prophet only two days after they told their kids. Of course, they had told their friends and family before then.

"It's fine," Harry shrugged, "Quidditch season's starting up so she's been training a lot. I'll be bringing the kids over to her place on Saturday for them to spend a week with her. I'm a little worried about it. She works a lot so she'll be getting a babysitter. I hope they'll be okay…"

"I'm sure they will," Neville reassured him as they reached the Great Hall, "It's really nice that the whole divorce went so smoothly. Usually, people can't stand each other when they get divorced."

Harry nodded. There had been rumors about the reason for the divorce all over the papers until he finally explained to the public, "It was mutual. We both just realized that it was the best decision."

"I respect that," Neville said and then he opened the door to the Great Hall.

They were the last staff members to arrive. Save for Hermione who was waiting for the First years, the staff table was full. Harry and Neville walked over and took their seats. Harry sat by Sirius and Neville took a seat by Terry Boot, the Arithmancy Professor.

"Ready for another year?" Harry asked his godfather with a grin.

Sirius' grey eyes were bright with mischief, "Oh, as ready as I'll ever be."

It wasn't long after those words escaped Sirius' lips that the doors opened and a flood of students entered, chatting cheerfully to their friends as they separated to their designated tables. Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw filled up, all but the ends sporting students.

Harry caught Teddy's eye as he sat down at the Hufflepuff table and the boy waved at him happily, hair a bright blue.

Sirius sent Harry a grin, "So, Caroline's a definite Gryffindor."

"Yeah, that's for sure. Freddie and Georgia though…"

Sirius just grinned at that.

The first years piled in after Hermione who grinned at Harry as she entered. She walked up the steps where the stool and the Sorting Hat was and swiftly turned to the nervous first years. Harry's eyes scanned the many faces and quickly spotted the three that he knew. Caroline's eyes were glancing around a bit nervously, but he could see how excited she was. Georgia and Freddie were whispering to each other, probably planning something.

After the hat had sang, Hermione spoke, "When I call your name, come up to the stool. Anderson, Rachel."

A small, mousy girl nervously walked up to the hat and sat on the stool. She gripped the edge tightly as Hermione set the hat on her head and it fell over her eyes. About fifteen seconds passed before the hat shouted, "Ravenclaw!"

And so the sorting began. Student after student walked up to the stool and were sorted into their new houses. Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw. The list got shorter and shorter in Hermione's hands.

"Caroline Lupin."

Harry leaned forward at that one. Hermione gave the brown-haired girl an encouraging smile as she arrived and sat on the stool.

Just as Harry had expected, the hat had barely touched her head before shouting, "Gryffindor!"

The Gryffindor table burst into applause. Harry clapped just as hard as them and Sirius looked like he was about to stand on the staff table and do a jig. Harry saw Teddy at the Hufflepuff table looking a little disappointed, but clapping anyway.

"Knew it," Harry grinned at Sirius, "Sadly, I think everyone bet on Gryffindor."

Sirius laughed at that, "No money for us."

The list continued to go down, dwindling until there were only three first years waiting in line.

"Weasley, Fred."

The boy hopped forward excitedly, not an ounce of nervousness revealed on his face. A prime example of a Gryffindor. He sat on the stool and shoved the hat on his head excitedly.

Everyone expected the hat to shout out the house of the lions the moment it hit his head, but it did not. Harry watched as the excited expression on Freddie's face slowly melted into a nervous one. His fingers tightened on the stool, knuckles turning white. His lips moved silently, as if he was arguing with the hat.

It lasted for three long minutes, longer than any of the previous first years. Harry could see Georgia in the line, looking incredibly nervous as she watched her cousin.

Whispers began sparking up around the hall.

Finally, the hat shouted for everyone to hear, "Slytherin!"

Freddie seemed frozen on the stool, even after Hermione lifted the hat off his head. Georgia stood, mouth open in horrified shock. The entire hall was silent.

Harry glanced at Sirius, who looked shocked, and knew that he had to do something. He started to clap for his nephew, hoping that the boy would understand that he wasn't going to be abandoned for being a Slytherin. Sirius got the hint quickly and joined in, as did Neville, Teddy, and Victoire. A few other students here and there clapped as well, but the hall was mostly silent.

Freddie glanced back at the table and gave them a small, sad smile. Harry had never seen the boy as upset as he was as he walked to the Slytherin table. Unlike when Harry had been sorted into Gryffindor, the Slytherins did not greet him. They did not even speak to him and he sat at the very end, staring blankly at the table.

"Weasley, Georgia."

The girl walked up to the stool, much slower and looking rather disappointed. She sat on the stool and it barely touched her head before shouting, "Gryffindor!"

The Fred and George reincarnations had been split up.

Once Clarissa Zabini had been sorted into Ravenclaw and McGonagall gave her speech, Harry turned to Sirius, "I called it."

AN: Hopefully, this chapter was good! I needed to introduce more characters and information on how things went down. Next chapter, we'll actually have some Harry/Hermione interaction and Harry finding out who Ginny chose for a babysitter.

Leave me a review on how this chapter went, and tell me what you want to see in the future!