Author's Note: Man, it's been a minute since I last wrote any HP fic. But I'm very firmly in camp "Percy got shafted in canon," so I thought it'd be fun to try and get into his head a little. Sorting seemed like an obvious choice for that, so...simple idea for a fic here, but I like how it turned out.
The Sorting of Percy Weasley
Percy wasn't nervous.
He was never nervous—he knew that whatever happened, he could make it work. That applied to everything. But whatever house he got sorted into, it would be the right one. And he knew how the process worked; Bill and Charlie had already told him about it.
But as the line dwindled in front of him, he had plenty of time to actually watch the Sorting Hat in action. Some students were placed almost immediately. Others took several minutes, and he could see the embarrassment on their faces as they sat waiting for the Hat to make its choice.
Percy subconsciously wiped his palms on his robes. What if he was one of those students who had to wait in front of the whole school just to get sorted? He knew he had to get placed somewhere; everyone did. But if he got stuck somewhere he hated, with classmates who didn't care—
"Weasley, Percy!"
He took a deep breath and sat on the stool. No, he'd make it work. Professor McGonagall set the Sorting Hat on his head, and the brim slipped down over his forehead. His glasses were knocked slightly askew, and Percy jumped when he heard the small voice in his ear.
"Well, what have we here?" the Sorting Hat murmured. "Interesting, very interesting… You've got brains, I can see that. You'd do well in Ravenclaw, you know… They'd teach you well, push you to learn more…"
Percy swallowed. That didn't sound too bad. Sure, it was different from the rest of his family, but Fred and George had always teased him for spending so much time with his nose stuck in a book. Ravenclaw would be a decent choice—
"And you're ambitious; you want to go far in life… You've got goals for yourself, don't you?" The Hat hummed in thought. "You wouldn't do badly in Slytherin, either…"
"Not Slytherin," Percy muttered before he could stop himself. "I can't go there. Can't you put me in Gryffindor?"
It sounded stupid as soon as it left his mouth. Why did he care what anyone said about him? He didn't, he didn't. But there was one tiny part of him that didn't want to be the family oddball. Wouldn't that make it much harder to learn, to do things, to get anything done, if he was always getting grief from everyone else?
And—there was an even tinier part of him whispering desperately in the back of his mind—he didn't want to get left out, either.
"Ah…" The Sorting Hat was silent for several long seconds, making him feel even more foolish. "Gryffindor. Hm… Well, it takes some bravery to ask, you know. I always consider such requests, but hardly anyone thinks to do it!"
It murmured indistinctly for a few more seconds, and then Percy clearly heard, "I see. Not wanting to let people down… Is there enough loyalty there to make Hufflepuff a good choice?"
Oh, Merlin, the Hat had just gone through all four houses! It couldn't pick a place for him after all. Percy knew it; he'd be the exception somehow. Of course he'd be the first student at Hogwarts not to fit into a house. What would they do with him then?
"You really would do well in Ravenclaw," the Hat mused after what felt like an eternity. "But I think what you need most is…GRYFFINDOR!"
There was a roar of applause as Professor McGonagall pulled the Sorting Hat off his head. Percy staggered over to the Gryffindor table more clumsily than he cared to admit. He sank into a seat next to his brothers, and Charlie slapped him on the back good-naturedly.
"Congrats, Perce, I knew you'd make it!"
"Really?" Bill grinned and raised an eyebrow. "You were up there so long, I was starting to get worried."
Percy shot him a weak glare. "I-I wasn't worried—"
"I mean, imagine if you got put in Slytherin! Mum would send you Howlers for weeks."
"C'mon, Bill, don't be like that." Charlie groaned. "All three of us made it into Gryffindor! Don't you think Mum will be proud of him?"
"Of course she will, I'm just saying…"
Percy remained silent as Dumbledore rose to address the newest batch of students, deciding not to mention that the Sorting Hat had mentioned Slytherin.
He didn't feel especially brave anymore—but maybe getting put in Gryffindor would be the push he needed.