Lily Potter took a deep breath and exhaled as she stood in front of the small mirror propped up on the desk in her dormitory.


The wind was howling as she stepped into the Great Hall. She saw the tile on the floor depicting her father circling the mighty Lord Voldemort as two animals circle each other, waiting for the other to attack. Albus said that it performed the scene on Holidays, but for now the images simply glared at each other. The ceiling, however, was not so mobile, and as she stood waiting, lightening illuminated the large black clouds floating silently across the sky like demonic shadows.

She watched them to try and avoid the panic that rose within her when the sorting started. Her siblings had warned her, her parents had explained to her, and all sorts of stories were shared between their rather large extended family. But nothing had prepared Lily for what happened when her name was called.

"POTTER, LILY!"

Generally students whispered or shared silent looks with their friends as the sorting occurred, occasionally cheering whenever they got a new addition to their house or whistling to a family member or younger friend. But as Lily stepped forward to the stool where Headmistress McGonagall, still going strong at ninety-three years old, was waiting with the sorting hat, everything seemed to go still. Lily was sure that even the clouds in the sky were holding their breath when she sat down and the hat plopped down onto her head.

"Please, please... but... I can't be in Griffindor. I'm not brave enough."

Says who?

Despite having been warned, Lily jumped in her seat.

"I, I... I'm not like my parents. I'm scared. I'm scared right now."

Another Potter, eh?

"Yes."

Your father struggled with his sorting. Everyone does, but I daresay that your father had more to be afraid of than others, considering his destiny.

"What do you mean?"

Where do you think you belong, little Lily?

"I... I don't know. Isn't it your job to tell me?"

Ah, no. It is my job to sort, but not to decide. Decisions are up to you. Alas, I am but a hat, and cannot decide. I can only look inside your head, and say what I see.

"So, if I were to be a very smart person, but asked you not to put me in Ravenclaw..."

Ravenclaws are smart, Slytherins are cunning, Griffindors are brave, and Hufflepuffs are loyal; these are the traits by which the houses are known. But, does a member of one house not possess all of those traits?

"So what you're really saying is, people cannot be judged by which house they are in?"

I am saying that there is more to every person than the house which they are in.

"I told James that the Malfoy boy wasn't bad. See? Just because his parents, and then he was put in Slytherin, but I mean honestly, I'd be mean if everyone acted like I was, too."

You are wise. You would do well in Ravenclaw. But even more importantly, Lily, you will be strong...


Lily inhaled deeply, closing her eyes and whispering to herself.

"Griffindor, where dwell the brave at heart..."

She exhaled, opening her eyes. Her reflection in the mirror was still the same. Her skin was still pale, her eyes were still bright with fear, the green matching perfectly to the emerald pendant hanging from the delicate silver chain around her neck, where it had been since Scorpius gave it to her months ago. She had lied and said it was a belated birthday gift from a distant cousin. There were so many Weasleys that no one had bothered to ask who.

"I don't feel any braver."

"Maybe you should try some liquid luck." Lily jumped as Abigail walked into the room. "We're heading out, you coming?"

"Uh, yeah. Let me grab my scarf."

The two girls walked down to the gates where Albus, Rose, and Hugo were standing together talking to the Scamander twins. Though Lysander was relatively normal, Lorcan was just like his mother, and, at present, was attempting to inform his companions of the true, altruistic nature of Blast-Ended Skrewts, although no one but Albus had the patience to listen.

Lysander waved as the two girls walked up to the group and they headed down the lane towards Hogsmeade together. They had three different conversations going at once, all of them laughing and talking over each other. Though it was only September, the weather was chilly, and they wore their cloaks pulled tightly around them.

Eventually Lysander fell back and Lily slowed down to match his pace. They had this way of privately communicating the need to speak alone, and they managed to do so without being noticed by their friends.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong."

"Lily." Lysander had the impeccable ability to communicate almost psychically with people, and Lily was reminded of how Luna recognized Harry through his disguise at her uncle's wedding.

"I'll tell you later."

"Lily, I'm worried about you."

"I know, I know..."

"You haven't been the same since you've been sneaking out at night." Lily gasped.

"How did you-"

"You've got circles under your eyes and you've been exhausted lately. Normally I would blame it on not sleeping well, but you seem happy every night you don't get any sleep, so..."

They left the school grounds and their path took them to a small bridge covering a large creek. It just so happened that there, sitting on the edge of the bridge between the behemoth sons of Goyle and Parkinson, was Scorpius Malfoy, who had, by necessity, kept up the facade of antagonism between his house and the Griffindor crowd, but had also managed to do so without pointing out the fact of blood purity. Hugo and Rose Weasley had taken the characteristics of their parents almost exactly, so it was naturally Hugo who chose to antagonize him first.

"What are you doing here, Malfoy?"

Scorpius looked down at his shoes, sighed deeply, and then slid off the bridge, crossing his arms over his chest. Parkinson and Goyle climbed down, albeit far less gracefully, and stood on either side of him.

"I believe I'm enjoying the fresh autumn air, Weasley. And yourself?"

"What's the matter Malfoy, too scared to be arrogant and condescending today? Makes a difference when you're outnumbered, eh?"

"I should point out, Weasley, that my companions and I were sitting peacefully when you approached us."

"I'll teach you to get snooty with me, you little-" Hugo stuffed his hand into his cloak to grab his wand when Lily stepped forward.

"Hugo!" She said harshly. "Don't." She looked angrily from him to Scorpius and her face betrayed just a hint of concern as she spoke. "He's not worth it."

Scorpius had uncrossed his arms and drawn himself up to his full height when he saw Lily, and now his eyes looked her up slowly from head to toe and back.

"You look like you're walking to your death," he said cryptically. Lily inhaled slightly.

"I'll - I'll be sure to let you know."

"In which case, I best be going." He nodded slightly and turned, walking back up the back toward the school, Goyle and Parkinson following behind him. He had barely made it twenty feet away when Hugo turned on Lily.

"What the HELL was that?" He roared, glaring daggers as his face turned red. But Lily was not looking at him. She was looking over his shoulder, to where Lysander was standing, staring at her with a look on his face that said he, for one, knew exactly what the hell that was about.