When they reached a great pair of oak double doors, Hagrid raised his mighty fist to knock on the doors, but they swung open before he made any contact.
Standing in the entrance hall was a familiar professor, who smiled at the students with his cheerful, round face. The man was just about to speak when there was a loud cackling, followed by a boisterous, obnoxious voice. "Look, look, ickle firsties!" A little man appeared, who was wearing a loud orange bow tie and floated about seven feet in the air. He did a somersault, then surveyed the crowd. Spotting the tiny blond boy who had been thinking about centaurs, the little man zoomed over their heads and dropped a water balloon, which he had apparently been hiding behind his back.
The short boy squealed and the professor stepped forward. "Peeves!" he shouted. "Do you want me to go get the Bloody Baron?" Peeves laughed gleefully, blew a raspberry, and zoomed off.
The professor watched as Peeves left, then turned back to the students, shaking his head. "I apologize on behalf of Peeves. He's the school's poltergeist, and quite the prankster. In my days at Hogwarts, I was fairly terrified of him." The girl with blond hair and glasses, whom they had shared a boat with, laughed. The professor grinned at her.
"Now, then," he said, clapping his hands together. "I am Professor Longbottom. Here at Hogwarts, I am Herbology teacher, as well as head of Gryffindor House. I hope that I get to know all of you during your time at this school.
"In a few minutes, you will go into the Great Hall for the Sorting Ceremony. Keep in mind, that the sorting is extremely important, as it will determine which House you will be placed in for the duration of your years here. Within your house, you will eat together, attend classes together, and even live together.
"We have a competition here for the House Cup. To earn the cup, your house must have the most House Points. Teachers may give out House Points as rewards, and will deduct points for any rule- breaking. I hope that you will all be beneficial to your respective houses." Professor Longbottom smiled at the new students. "Good luck to all of you. I am going to go prepare for the Sorting. Please wait here. I will return for you all in just a few minutes."
The students watched Professor Longbottom's retreating back. The minute the doors closed behind him, they all broke out chattering. Rose and Albus huddled together, talking quietly, when Rose saw Scorpius standing alone near them. The young girl felt bad for Scorpius, so she called him over. "So, Scorpius," she said nicely. "What House do you think you'll be in?"
Scorpius shrugged. "Probably Slytherin, I suppose," he replied dully.
Albus coughed, covering up what sounded like him saying "That figures." Scorpius then turned slowly to look at Rose's tactless cousin. "Excuse me?" he asked, in a tone that was too polite to be true. "What was that?"
Albus stood up straight staring at Scorpius. Unfortunately, Albus had inherited his father's height, so he was nowhere near as tall as Scorpius was. "I was just saying that it figures you'll be a Slytherin, considering who your family is."
Scorpius' eyes were cold. "What do you mean?" he asked, feigning innocence.
Albus smirked. "Well, everyone knows that your family is just a bunch of filthy Death Eaters."
Rose grabbed Albus' arm. "Come on, Al. Forget it."
Bot Scorpius wouldn't let her cousin off the hook that easily. "No," he said to Rose. "Let the boy talk. What's this about my family?"
"Oh, you know. They're all Death Eaters and you'll probably end up as one, too." On that note, Scorpius Malfoy practically launched himself at Albus and the two boys fell to the floor, fists flying. The double doors opened then, and as soon as Professor Longbottom saw the two boys, he cast a quick spell, which separated them by about five feet.
"Fighting!" He said, practically yelling. "After the Sorting, you will both miss the start of term feast. Instead, you will go straight to my office. I will be writing to both of your parents, as well. Albus Potter, I expected better of you. And you," he said, looking at Scorpius. "What is your name?"
Scorpius was staring at the ground. "Scorpius Malfoy," he mumbled. He had a bloody nose, while Albus was sporting a busted lip, and had a black eye beginning to form.
Professor Longbottom faltered slightly, taking a closer look at Scorpius. "Right then," he finally said. "Well, if you will all follow me, we are ready for the Sorting to begin."
The students followed the professor into the Great Hall, where most of their mouths fell open in awe. The ceiling mirrored the night sky exactly. Rose looked at Albus, who was walking next to her. "They've bewitched the ceiling so that it looks like the night sky. I read all about it in Hogwarts: A History.
Albus rolled his eyes. "Of course you did," he said affectionately, and Rose swatted his arm. She then caught James and Fred's eyes, and they both winked. Victoire was also at the table, but she and her younger sister, Dominique were busy talking to several boys.
The students formed a crowd near the long table where all the teachers sat, in front of a wooden, three- legged stool. Professor Longbottom then placed a battered old hat on the stool and backed away. To the shock of many students, the hat opened a rip like a mouth and began to sing a lengthy song, describing the traits and history of the four Houses.
Once the hat had finished its song, the Hall broke out in applause. Then, they quieted quickly as Longbottom lifted the Hat up and unrolled a large roll of parchment. In a loud, clear voice, he called out, "Allen, Robert." Robert Allen, a short boy with curly blond hair, approached the stool slowly and sat down. Professor Longbottom placed the hat upon his head. After several long moments, the rip in the hat opened and called out "Ravenclaw!" Robert Allen grinned, then ran quickly over to the Ravenclaw table, where several students clapped him on the back.
And so, the Sorting began in earnest. The Hat began sorting the young students quickly. Rose recognized several surnames from her parent's school stories, such as "Finnigan, Anna," who became a Gryffindor; "Goyle, David", who became a Slytherin as soon as the hat touched his head; and "Davies, Cecilia", who was a Hufflepuff. At one point, Professor Longbottom called out "Longbottom, Alice", proudly, and the blonde girl whom they had shared a boat with scurried up, throwing her father a quick grin. It took a moment to sort her, but Alice became a Gryffindor. Professor Longbottom seemed to clap louder than anyone for her.
Next up, Longbottom called out "Malfoy, Scorpius". Scorpius approached the stool and took a seat. Before placing the hat on his head, Rose heard Professor Longbottom quietly tell him to wait by the doors for him and Albus, so that he could go to his office. The hat was on Malfoy's head for quite some time, while Scorpius chewed his lip slightly. After a while, the hat announced that Scorpius would be a Slytherin. People looked at him very strangely when, instead of going to sit with his house, Scorpius went to the doors, standing sulkily there while holding a napkin to his bleeding nose.
After a few more minutes, Albus' name was called. He walked to the stool, running a hand through his already messy black hair. Rose crossed her fingers mentally, hoping that her favorite cousin would be sorted into Gryffindor like he wanted. Longbottom told Al the same thing that he had told Scorpius, then placed the battered old hat on top of his head. Almost before the hat even settled, it yelled "Gryffindor!" All of Rose's cousins started yelling and clapping, and James scooted over to allow his younger brother a place to sit. But Albus, as smug as he was looking, couldn't sit with his family. Instead, he went and stood near Scorpius at the door to wait for Professor Longbottom.
It was mildly humorous to watch the two boys. They stood on opposite sides of the huge door in mirroring positions. Both boys were facing resolutely away from each other with their arms crossed, but taking turned shooting each other angry glares over their shoulders.
The Sorting ceremony continued on, until there was only Rose and one other girl standing. Professor Longbottom cleared his throat, then called, "Weasley, Rose." Rose approached the hat slowly with her hands balled into fists to keep from shaking. She was fairly certain that she would become a Gryffindor, but she was still worried. Professor Longbottom placed the hat on top of her head, and as soon as it settled, a small voice appeared in her mind.
"Aha," it said. "Another Weasley. The daughter of Ron and Hermione Weasley, both Gryffindors, if I am correct. You seem to have inherited your parents' bravery, as well as your mother's brains. Yes, but where to put you? You would do well in any House… Well, perhaps not Hufflepuff. No, Hufflepuff is not for you. As much as you are like your parents, though, your spirit seems to be very different than their's. Yes, I have made my decision. Better be Slytherin!"
A/N. Jules again! So, I hoped you liked chapter 2. Who do you like better so far: Scorpius or Al? Personally, I love Scorp. =3
What did you think of the fight? And Rose becoming a Slytherin? How do you think that'll affect her relationships with her family?
As usual, tell me what you like, love, hate, as annoyed with, etc. Reviews make me smile, and so do alerts. Thanks to LyricsofEpiphany and vballplaya7 for adding my story to their alert list. It makes me feel loved.
Chapter three should be up with just a few days, so keep an eye out. It may even be up by tomorrow! We'll have to see how much I end up writing tonight.
See you!