Author's note: So the last chapter was just a silly little thing introducing a few of the characters. This chapter is gonna do a little more of that, with a little bit of backstory and a few more characters introduced. The last chapter's main character was technically Lily, and this chapter it's Albus. My plan is for each chapter to focus on one of the characters, and alternate between the third years (aka: Lily, Hugo, Lorcan, and Lysander), the fifth years (aka: Rose, Albus, Fred II Scorpius, and Molly), and the sixth years (aka: James, Roxanne, Dominique, and Alice II). If you enjoy it, please give me a review! -Maddie

Disclaimer: JKR owns Hogwarts and the Wizarding World and (most of) these characters, not me.

Albus Potter's Wandering Thoughts

or

Tales of Sortings Past

The herd of students filed into the Great Hall, all of them trying to gaze at the beautiful night sky that was the ceiling without running into anyone. Albus Severus Potter was no different. He followed the handle of the Big Dipper towards the North Star, his very favorite star. It was the same one he looked at out of his dormitory window when he felt homesick, and the one he looked at from his bedroom window when he missed Hogwarts. And, Merlin, he'd missed Hogwarts. His father had always regarded the castle as his favorite place in the world, and Albus felt very much the same way.

Though, of course, he didn't lead nearly the terrible and trying life that his father had led, so Hogwarts wasn't the same kind of escape for him that it had been for Harry. And, even though he spent most of his year there, it wasn't home to him, not really. Not like it had been for his dad. Rather, it was the only place that made him feel... like he was part of something bigger. Something grand and ancient and magical.

He and Rose had rode the carriages up with two of her roommates, Norrie Russell and Cara Bennett, and they searched the crowd for their other friends, whom they had lost on the platform after disembarking from the train. Fred Weasley, their cousin and fellow fifth year Gryffindor, spotted them from where he'd already found a spot at the table, and called to them, smiling brightly. They made their way over to him and their other friends, Toby Pritchett and Liam Allen, sitting down relievedly.

"Long time no see, Fred," Rose quipped, knowing full well that not only had they just ridden with him on the train, but they'd also spent practically all of the day prior together at The Burrow with their entire Weasley family. Grandma Molly and Grandpa Arthur liked to throw a big "Back to Hogwarts" dinner the day before they all left for school. In the years past it had been somewhat of a "good luck," dinner to whichever of their grandkids were starting their first year. Two years ago the banner had read, "Good Luck, Lily and Hugo!" And now it simply read, "Good Luck at School!" Last year was the first year in a long time that Hogwarts had gained no new Weasley (or Potter) kids.

For practically as long as Albus could remember, the letters on the banner had been red and gold. Gryffindor's colors. Practically all of the Weasley's were Gryffindors, so they'd never had to change them. But then, the year after he and Rose and Fred and Molly went off to school (all sorted into Gryffindor) their cousin Louis broke the mold.

Louis Weasley was an odd little duck. At least, that's what his maman called him. Of course, he didn't mind so much when she said it.

His sister Victoire had been the Hogwarts Golden Girl- beautiful, popular, funny, brave, adored. His other sister, Dominique, wasn't anyone's Golden Girl. But she could have been. She was very much like Victoire in very many ways, though she worked exceptionally hard every day to make sure that nobody thought so. But Louis had known her when she was little- and he knew what she was really like.

Louis, on the other hand, liked books. Louis liked to sketch, and sit outside memorising poetry, and he loved to take photographs. Louis also liked to be left alone. Not that he always wanted to exist in solitude, or despised the company of others, or anything like that; more like, when he didn't have solitude he craved it. He also hated confrontation and he hated making meaningless conversation. He always had.

Louis was no Gryffindor. His whole family was- both his sisters had been, and he was almost sure his maman would have been had she gone to Hogwarts. But he was no Gryffindor.

On the night before his first day at Hogwarts, his Grandma Molly and Grandpa Arthur had bewitched their banner to say "Good Luck Louis!" in red and gold letters. Now that he thought about it, the letters had always been red and gold. They'd never had to be anything else.

Louis had left the big family dinner early that night, heading inside and hiding in a closet where no one would find him. But somehow- he'd never thought to ask how- his maman had found him there.

"May I come in?" she asked, her slight French accent familiar and comforting. He didn't see how there was any room for her- it wasn't a very big closet. But then again... she wasn't a very big woman. She squeezed herself in next to him and closed the door behind her.

The closet was completely dark for a second, before Louis' magic took effect once again. He didn't know how or why, but every time it got dark in a space around him, a dozen tiny little blue lights appeared out of seemingly nowhere, brightening up the space around his head and casting everything in a pale blue light. They helped him read at night, and helped keep him from being scared when he did things like this. Shut himself up in broom cupboards, I mean.

"You make ze most beautiful magic," Fleur said to her son, gazing at the tiny little lights floating around their heads. She had seen them before, and still couldn't fathom how he made them appear without even trying. They just came- had since he was maybe two years old. Maybe younger. "You will be a great wizard."

"Merci, Maman," he thanked her, but something in his voice said that he didn't mean it.

"What, you don't believe me? You will!" And then, as if Fleur knew what her youngest child was thinking, she leaned in close and whispered, "Quoi qu'on en dise." No matter what people say.

She saw tears pricking in her son's eyes, and she drew him close, hugging him against her and patting his unkempt mop of strawberry blonde hair. She knew that he had struggled greatly to fit in in muggle primary school because of how different he was. She had always understood him in that she didn't understand him. He was unlike herself, unlike Charlie, unlike his sisters, unlike anyone she knew. And that was an extremely good thing, in Fleur's eyes. Because her baby wasn't ordinary- he was extraordinary. "You be who you are, Louis," she whispered to him, "You don't let anyone change zat."

And he didn't.

And that's why the very next night at the Sorting Ceremony, when the Sorting Hat called his name, and all anybody in the Hall heard was "Weasley", and the Gryffindor house prepared itself for a new member, Louis sat down on the stool with confidence, knowing what was about to happen.

The Hat, seeing that he was a Weasley, asked him if he wanted to be a Gryffindor. And Louis had replied, "Only if that's where I belong." And, a moment later, the Hat had shouted: "Ravenclaw!"

The entire hall fell silent, and his cousins- all 10 of them there at the time- had stared at him bewilderedly. And then... the Ravenclaw table burst into applause, as did the rest of the students. And Louis suddenly wasn't embarrassed to be the center of attention, and didn't find himself wanting nothing more than to be alone. Instead, he wanted only to join his new house, with his new family, where he knew he could finally belong.

Albus sat contemplating his Ravenclaw cousin, who was sitting at the next table over, debating away with his Ravenclaw friends, looking like the happiest, most normal kid in the world. It was a far cry from the introverted way he'd been when he had started at Hogwarts, and his entire family was simply happy to see him happy. No one had given him any grief about his house placement, and now they mentioned it only jokingly. They'd even changed the banner so that the letters were an alternating red, gold blue, and silver.

But the Weasley-Potter kids weren't the only ones who were all getting sorted into Gryffindor. You see, after the end of the Second Wizarding War, when Harry Potter and Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger's fame had rose to new heights, the Gryffindor house had become extremely popular. Practically every kid whose parents didn't pressure them to become Slytherin wanted to be a Gryffindor.

Or course, the Sorting Hat had done it's best to keep the houses relatively equal, trying to sort kids where they belonged. However, it was an unknown rule that the Sorting Hat would present a person with options, always trying to give them what they wanted. And since the majority of the students wanted to be Gryffindor, this meant that the numbers became increasingly skewed in Gryffindor's favor. The Gryffindor house had consistently gained almost 25 new students per year, as opposed to the normal 15 or so.

Poor Hufflepuff's numbers had dropped considerably, and they were hoping for a better turnout this year. Most of the student body was hoping along with them. The Gryffindors weren't sure how many new housemates they could stand at this point, and the rest of the houses were sick to death of getting beat in the Quidditch Cup every year by Gryffindor. Though that was perhaps more due to the abundance of Quidditch super-stars that the Weasley-Potter family provided, than the extra number of Gryffindors.

Molly Weasley- a highly opinionated political activist sort- was leading some of the older students in a "Stop Gryffindor-centricity" campaign, though she herself was a Gryffindor. The campaign's purpose was to boost the opinions on the other houses with advertisements of sorts for the non-Gryffindors. The Gryffindor House wouldn't be excluded- they too would get adverts- but it certainly wouldn't be the biggest house getting promoted. This would coincide with the "Stop House Hate," campaign the Slytherins had put on a couple of years prior, and the "End House Stereotypes," campaign that was also being put into effect.

This is what Albus thought of as the new first years (fresh off the boats) were paraded into the Great Hall and lined up in the front. They stared anxiously at the Sorting Hat, which was now perched upon its stool in all it's unpleasant glory. It sang a variation of it's same old song, about the brave-of-heart Gryffindor and the just and loyal Hufflepuff, the wise and witty Ravenclaw and the cunning and ambitious Slytherin. When it was done, everyone cheered with a few people half-heartedly cheering "Go Hufflepuff!" or "Yeah, Slytherin!" Then the names were called, one by one, in alphabetical order.

The very first boy to be called up- Joseph Adams- was a "Hufflepuff!", and the entire hall, not just his new house, burst into cheers. He looked very pleased with himself, albeit a little confused as to what he'd done to receive such praise, as he found a seat at his new table. A few more were called, and not a single Gryffindor yet. Everyone, even the Gryffindors, seemed relieved.

Then a girl, Madison Foster, was called up, and she strode confidently up to the hat, chin back, ready to accept her fate. Albus knew what would be called before it was, because he could practically feel the Gryffindor energy coming from her. "Gryffindor!" the Sorting Hat shouted, and Madison emerged, beaming, as the Gryffindor table let out a collective chant:

"One More Gryffin-dor!"

Most of the younger Gryffindors didn't know how or when the "One More Gryffindor," tradition got started, but Albus did. In fact, not surprisingly, it was his infamous older brother, James, who had done it.

It had started at the Sorting Ceremony exactly 6 years prior, when James first came to Hogwarts.

The young 11 year old James Sirius Potter had confidently strode up to the Sorting Hat, not doubting for a second what house he belonged in. His father was Harry Sodding Potter, for goodness sakes! And his mum was a Weasley. And all the Weasley's were Gryffindors- they just were. He had no reason to doubt that, despite the statistical improbability that every member of the same family all be sorted into the same house. James didn't think statistically- he thought with his gut.

The hat had barely touched his head before it called out: "Gryffindor!" in it's familiar voice, and the Gryffindor table had erupted into cheers the likes of which hadn't been heard since Harry Potter himself was sorted.

"We've got Potter!" one kid shouted, and everyone grinned broadly at their new housemate. James was famous just by his association with his father, and many students ignorantly thought of James Potter and Harry Potter as very much the same thing- though poor James had never done anything nearly as extraordinary as Harry in his life. Yet.

As the Sorting continued, there were more and more enthusiastic new Gryffindors, all wanting to be in the same house as James Potter, so they could become his "friend" in the hopes of maybe one day meeting Harry Potter. Soon, the numbers for Gryffindor had become a bit too high, and the enthusiasm coming from the table itself greatly diminished. When the Hat finally reached the "W's" many of the students had stopped clapping altogether for the new Gryffindors.

"Dominique Weasley," was called up, and though there wasn't an audible groan, you could almost feel it coming from the Gryffindors as the nervous young redhead had made her way up to the hat. She was a Weasley, and all Weasley's were Gryffindors.

Sure enough, "Gryffindor!" was called out, and Dominique emerged from under the hat, looking extremely excited, only to have her excitement diminish greatly by the lack of enthusiasm from her new housemates. Her cousin James had cheered loudly for her, but it didn't mask that he was one of the very fewwho had bothered to cheer at all. She had taken her seat, flushed and embarrassed, and no longer looking at all happy with being a Gryffindor. And then it happened.

"Roxanne Weasley!"

This time the groan was audible, and unmistakable. Roxanne would be a Gryffindor, not because she was a Weasley, James thought, but because his cousin- his favorite cousin, might I add- was fearless. And yet, when she made her way up to the Sorting Hat, she had looked at the Gryffindor table, probably searching for James but not finding him amidst the crowd, and she had actually looked frightened. James couldn't believe it. His Roxanne: the beautiful, funny, mischievous young daughter of the great George Weasley of "Fred and George Enterprises," was afraid?

This simply would not do.

So, after resting on her head for a few anticipation-filled moments, the Sorting Hat called out: "Gryffindor!" And, for a second, it seemed like no one would cheer. Until James Sirius Potter mustered up all of his courage and shouted at the top of his lungs:

"One More Gryffin-dor!"

Roxanne emerged from under the hat and found her cousin immediately, smiling broadly. The outburst had startled some of his housemates, but many of them found it funny, and laughed good-naturedly. A few kids next to him followed his lead and started chanting: "One More Gryffin-dor!" over and over again until the whole house was chanting it. And Roxanne had beamed at them all, and she had taken her rightful seat at the Gryffindor table, next to her very favorite cousin, James.

Albus locked eyes with his cousin Frank (Roxanne's younger brother), who also knew the story all too well, and who was most certainly thinking of the exact same thing as he. Albus' brother, though he liked to feign an aura of mystery that made all of his shenanigans all that more intriguing (How did he do it? Why did he do it? Did he even do it? How is he so cool?), was actually a bit of a show off. And a bragger.

A few more first years were called up, and Albus watched their frightened expressions with amusement, wondering how exactly he could have been so scared by such a little thing.

But then again, thought Albus, it wasn't such a little thing. Actually, it was everything. He thought about his life, and about his friends, and about every experience he'd had since he'd first came to Hogwarts, and there was one common thread that linked them all together- Gryffindor. And if you took that thread away, Albus Severus Potter would be a very different boy, with a very different cast of friends and a very different set of experiences. He could scarcely imagine it.

But it wasn't being Sorted that had determined all that about him. No, it was something else. He was hesitant to call it fate, but that's basically what it was. He firmly believed that, deep down, he was predestined to be a Gryffindor. It was part of his identity- not because the Sorting Hat had said so, not even because Gryffindor was what he had asked for, but because it just was. Because he was Albus Severus Potter and he was a Gryffindor.

Of course, when he was 11 he hadn't been so confident. He'd been scared to death of becoming a Slytherin- a thought that seemed funny to him now. His sister, Lily, had had some of the same fears he had had at the start of her first year, and he'd tried to comfort her, though really she didn't need it. The girl always got what she wanted.

"I think I might be a Hufflepuff," Lily Luna whispered to Albus in the car on the way to King's Cross, and he smiled.

"I thought I might be a Slytherin." She wrinkled her nose at the name, and Harry, hearing their conversation from the front, smiled knowingly.

"Ew. No way. You're also a Hufflepuff," she teased.

"No, I'm a Gryffindor."

"Yeah..." she stopped and contemplated, before stating resolutely: "So am I." And that's when he had known that she was. Because she was Lily, and because she was Harry and Ginny's daughter and James and Albus' sister, and because she was Lily.

During the Sorting Ceremony, however, she hadn't looked quite so sure as before, and he noticed her glancing repeatedly at the Hufflepuff table, as if imagining what her life with them would be like. She wouldn't be a bad Hufflepuff, really. She was friendly and loyal and all that. But there was something so profoundly Gryffindor about her, he just couldn't put his finger on what it was, exactly.

When she was called up, she was practically shaking, but Albus wasn't nervous. Whatever happened, would happen, and it was all for the best. And when the Hat called out "Gryffindor!" and the table erupted into an enthusiastic: "One More Gryffin-dor!" and their brother James shouted a humourous "We've got Potter!" causing an eruption of laughter from his side of the table, he felt it more surely than ever. She was meant to by Gryffindor.

Lily had giggled excitedly and came to sit in between he and Rose, some familiar faces. As the Sorting Ceremony continued, she leaned in and whispered to her big brother-

"I didn't ask for Gryffindor, like you and Daddy did. I just asked for the Hat to put me where I belonged. And I guess that's here." He smiled broadly at her sweet little freckled face.

"What have I been telling you all along, Lil?" And she had just rolled her eyes at him. After that, they both waited intently for Hugo Weasley- Lily's very best friend in the whole world- to be sorted, and to no one's surprise, there was another Weasley Gryffindor to add to the lot.

"Hugh is such a copycat! He only wanted to be a Gryffindor because I'm a Gryffindor!" Lily joked, and her brother smiled because he knew how much more there was to it than that.

The list had finally reached "W," and many students were still surprised when there was no Weasley called. Up until the year before, there had been a new Weasley every year since Lucy, not counting Victoire because there was a gap of 4 years between her and Luce.

Albus glanced over at Rose, to see if she was also contemplating the utter lack of fresh Weasley blood, but she seemed distracted. She was staring somewhat angrily over her shoulder at something, though he couldn't tell what.

"Rosie?" he asked, shaking her out of her daze.

"Hmm?"

"Are you alright? What were you looking at?" Rose didn't answer right away, and a slight blush rose to her easily-flushed fair cheeks.

"I'm fine," she answered simply, and Albus tried to shake off the thought that was haunting him. However, he couldn't help but glance in the general direction she had been looking in, and he fixed his eyes on Scorpius Malfoy, the fair-haired Slytherin jerk who had been bugging Rosie for years. He was being very chatty with Ruby Bulstrode, Albus noticed, to no surprise. She was just as conceited and arrogant at he was- they were perfect for each other. Then Albus looked away, shaking his head.

That couldn't have been who she was looking at, he thought. But if it had been, that would explain the anger he had seen in her expression- because Rosie despised Malfoy, who had been competing with her for top of the class since their very first day at school. Al wasn't quite sure who was winning the competition at this point. He'd stopped paying attention quite a long time ago, as had everyone else, though he was sure the two of them were still at it.

But that didn't explain the blush.

He shook his head again, determined to let it go, and engaged one of his roommates in a conversation about his summer holiday. He would have to bring it up to Fred and them later, see what they thought about it.

The fifth year Gryffindors were very much like that: Norrie Russell would do or say something weird in Potions, and Cara Bennett would ask Rose who would, in turn, ask Albus or Fred or someone what they thought about it. Or Liam Allen would say something to Cara, who would then turn to Toby Pritchett to dissect what "he could possibly mean by that." Or Fred would talk to someone who he didn't generally speak with, and Liam, who saw him doing this, would ask Norrie or Rose or Al or someone if they thought this was strange, or if they should maybe do anything about it. Or... well, you get the picture.

Al continued to watch Rose discretely out of the corner of his eye for the remainder of the Welcoming Ceremony, and all throughout the feast. Rose, however, was most likely aware that she was being watched, and determinedly did not glance in the direction of the Slytherin table again for the remainder of the evening. And, when it was time to retire for the night, unpack and all that up in their dormitories, Albus had almost forgotten to bring it up to Fred.

Almost.

So I hope you liked this chapter. I really enjoyed adding a little Fleur cameo in there, and I love the idea of her as a supportive, loving mom who supports her children no matter what. I think Louis could be a really interesting character, and I'm definitely gonna come back to him and give him more story later. I'm also going to come back to the idea of the Weasley family (led by Molly) working together to support house equality and end house hate. Please review and read on for more! -Maddie