ICN: Yes, I do subscribe to the 'Hermione as a POC' HC and I actually think of James/Harry and Sirius/Regulus as being mixed race too. Also I imagine that Hugo fits onto the autistic spectrum, though I doubt he'd be diagnosed as he's very high-functioning.

HAIR: auburn.

EYES: brown.

WAND: walnut, unicorn hair, ten and three quarter inches.

Hugo Weasley watched his little cousin, who was actually two months older than him but had always seemed much younger, try to remain straight and still as the Sorting Hat was placed on her flaming head. Her neat, straight red hair was clipped to the side with a glittering snitch-shaped grip, falling smoothly to her delicate shoulders and shining in the candlelight. She looked calm, even with the small frown on her face.

Hugo was impressed. He knew that Lily must be scared out of her wits and it was unusual for her to display such calm bravado. Perhaps she would be in Gryffindor after all…

Perhaps not. The Hat proclaimed his cousin a Hufflepuff and Hugo watched her skip off to her new table. She settled comfortably on the bench seat and immediately introduced herself to the girl sat next to her. Making friends had never been a problem for sweet Lily Potter. Hugo, on the other hand, was awkward and easily confused in social situations. Everyone said he was a classic Ravenclaw: an academic genius, but useless at small-talk and slow with humour. He was just about the only cousin able to withstand a conversation with Molly, as they were similarly afflicted with a lack of personal charm. This was exactly the conundrum, though; if he was such a Ravenclaw, how was he going to deal with being the only one in that house?

Hugo sighed and once again concluded that he was going to have to wait and see. And besides, Molly might be difficult to get on with but she had found her place at Hogwarts. He peered over to where his irritable cousin was ensconced in an argument with a scruffy-looking, sandy-haired boy opposite her, her uppity-looking friend nodding smugly beside her. Molly looked more animated than Hugo could remember seeing her at any of the family gatherings but the boy she was telling off looked completely relaxed, leaning forward and nodding in over-the-top fascination, provoking the redheaded girl further. Hugo shook his head sadly. The boy was clearly and unknowingly marking himself out for a bat-bogey hex. Aunt Ginny had determinedly taught all her nieces a selection of hexes and jinxes as 'self-defence' and Molly had taken to her lessons with alarming zeal.

A flash of movement caught Hugo's eye and he cringed as he saw James waving enthusiastically from his seat opposite Rose, Dom and Fred. His other arm was slung around his latest airheaded girlfriend, who was scowling at the tomboyish but effortlessly beautiful Dom. Rose was covering her eyes with one slim, freckled hand whilst Fred was grinning broadly at her. Hugo glared at James, nodding impatiently to stop the incessant waving. Sometimes his cousins could be ridiculously irritating. Poor Rose was doing well to stay so sane in Gryffindor, with the 'three Musketeers' gallivanting around embarrassing her. Hugo had to admit that he wasn't too upset that he wouldn't end up with them; although it frightened him, he rather agreed with everyone that Ravenclaw would suit him better. Then again, they had said that about Albus.

The russet-haired boy's deep brown gaze skimmed across the tables to rest on his two Slytherin cousins, huddled together in the sea of green and silver. Al looked a little subdued and Hugo couldn't blame him; apart from the Malfoy boy - whom Rose had spoken of frequently with strong dislike, and whose frown was fixed on a spoon he was turning in his long fingers - his only company seemed to be the fey, faint-looking Lucy, who was gazing at the enchanted ceiling with intense interest. As Hugo watched, she slowly lowered her eyes – green like Albus', yet such an odd, deep green that they might have been a totally separate colour - and fixed them on his own, quirking her lips. He shivered but returned her smile uneasily, quickly turning back to the front.

Just one person left in front of him. Hugo shifted on the spot, stamping down on the fear rising up.

He took a shaky breath as the girl in front of him was called up. She dallied on the stool for almost a minute and Hugo couldn't tear his eyes from her; not only was she quite pretty, with soft light brown hair and wide blue eyes, but he couldn't help wondering if he would have to sit up there for as long as her, his uncertainty growing with each tick of the clock.

Finally the girl was declared a Ravenclaw and Hugo took a deep breath as his name was called. He met Rose's eyes as he sat down, taking some comfort from her wide smile. Rose liked to tease him but she was essentially a very sensible person, so if she wasn't worried why should he be?

"Another Weasley," sighed a small voice in his mind, making him tense. "You've certainly proved a mixed bag these recent years. There was a time when I could place you all in an instant."

Hugo swallowed. "I'm no Gryffindor."

"No?" said the Hat, amused. "No, I suppose not. What are you then?"

The boy shrugged, unwilling to take too much responsibility for his own fate.

"Too late," murmured the Hat. "I can read minds, you know. And you're right."

Hugo opened his mouth to reply, but the voice above his head beat him to it.

"RAVENCLAW!"