Star Child

Seren gripped the edges of the stool, the hat knew.

“Don’t worry, child. I won’t tell anyone of anything I found within your mind.” The Sorting Hat told him, sensing the young prince’s fear.

Seren relaxed at his words before thinking, Good.

“You could be great, you know. Your thirst for knowledge and your cunning will help you on you way to greatness, no doubt about that. You would do well in Hufflepuff, but Ravenclaw or Slytherin would suit you best. The question now is which one should you be sorted into? Hmm… I see… better be Ravenclaw!”

Seren stood up and placed the hat back onto the stool before heading towards the Ravenclaw table. Everyone made room for him and were visibly restraining themselves from bombarding him with questions. Seren ignored them and continued to pay attention to the rest of the Sorting, wondering where his new friends would be sorted. Gregory Goyle was next and, after a few moments, was placed into Slytherin with his friend Vincent Crabbe.

“Granger, Hermione!” McGonagall called out.

Seren watched as Hermione practically ran to the stool before jamming the hat eagerly onto her head.

“You are quite the brave child, but your thirst for knowledge far exceeds that.” The hat said within her mind.

Hermione prepared herself to argue with the hat and tell it to place her in Gryffindor before stopping herself. The hat was supposed to know which house each student would flourish within. If she argued against it’s choice, would she remain the odd one out? She’d come to Hogwarts with the hope of acceptance. Hermione bit her lip before telling the hat to place her in the house where she would fit in best.

“I see you’ve decided against arguing, very astute of you. Better be… Ravenclaw!” The Sorting Hat shouted out.

Hermione sent Seren a wide smile, obviously pleased to be sorted into the same house as someone she already knew and quickly made her way to his side. Soon enough, it was Neville’s turn.

“Longbottom, Neville.”

Neville was obviously nervous and began to make his way to the stool only to trip. Neville looked like he was about to cry and Seren felt angered by the snickers of the others.

“Good luck, Neville! No matter what house you get sorted into, let’s continue to be friends!” Seren called out.

Neville smiled brightly at him before picking himself back up and sitting down on the stool.

“Hmm. You’re not afraid to work hard, you’d do well in Hufflepuff. You have potential to do great in Gryffindor. It wouldn’t be easy, but you’re confidence and bravery would grow quite exceptionally within the house of the brave.” The hat said to itself.

Neville waited patiently, he’d decided to trust the hat’s decision. The Sorting Hat would know where he’d fit in best. Either way, he’d already made friends that would remain by his side no matter what house he was sorted into.

It took a while before the Sorting Hat finally shouted, "Hufflepuff!”

Neville smiled softly despite knowing that his grandmother would be disappointed by his placement. She would get over it if she truly cared for him. Neville got up and was about to make his way to the Hufflepuff table when he suddenly remembered that he was still wearing the hat. Blushing, Neville slowly put the hat back onto the stool and made his way to his house table. They watched a few more people get sorted before another familiar name was called.

“Malfoy, Draco.”

Malfoy began to walk to the stool in a rather stoic manner, he wanted to make a bit of a better impression for Prince Seren. If he was more mature and proper, maybe the prince would become friends with him. He prepared himself to convince the hat to sort him into Ravenclaw. His parents would understand and at least it was Ravenclaw. It would have been a different story if it was Hufflepuff or Gryffindor. His mother would accept it, but his father was more likely to disown him if that happened.

The house had barely touched the top of his head before shouting, “Slytherin!”

Malfoy looked both pleased as well as disappointed with his house placement. He’d wanted to get into Ravenclaw so he could get closer to the prince, but he would have to make do. He went to join Crabbe and Goyle at the Slytherin table and waited for the next person to be sorted. The sorting continued, but when they moved from the last names beginning with P’s, many of the students began whispering amongst themselves.

“What about Harry Potter?”

“Isn’t Potter 11 now, why did they skip his name?”

“Where’s Potter?”

McGonagall ignored the whispers and continued down the list. The man, Hagrid, that had brought the first years to Hogwarts looked like he was fighting back tears while Headmaster Dumbledore had lost the sparkle in his eyes at the students whispers. Seren was curious, who was Harry Potter and why was everyone making such a big deal for the boy not attending their school. A majority of the new students had been sorted and only two students were left.

“Weasley, Ronald.”

Ron looked sick to his stomach and slowly made his way to the stool. He was absolutely terrified about his sorting. He had to be in Gryffindor! If he wasn’t… what would his family think? Everyone knew that the Weasley's always went into Gryffindor, they'd been sorted into the same house for generations. He glanced at his brothers seated at Gryffindor, had they been under the same type of pressure that he currently was facing? As he continued walking towards the Sorting Hat, he thought more about his older brothers. While Bill and Charlie had seemed perfect for Gryffindor, he didn't know them as well as the rest of his siblings. It was different for the others. The twins were quite ambitious, determined to start their own joke shop, and they were both as cunning as any Slytherin. Percy, on the other hand, was incredibly studious much like those in Ravenclaw yet was also just as ambitious as the twins as he wanted to climb the social ladder within the Ministry of Magic. He caught Seren’s eyes and received an encouraging smile from his new friend, the first person to believe he could do something different and set himself apart from his older brothers accomplishments. He smiled back before sitting down on the stool.

Ron had one final thought as the Sorting hat was placed atop his head, what about Ginny? If I go into Gryffindor, she’ll be pressured to go into Gryffindor no matter what. Did Percy, Fred, and George beg the hat to put them into Gryffindor?

Ron decided that he'd let the hat decide and he wouldn't argue, even if the hat decided against placing him in Gryffindor.

“Hmm… well, isn’t this a change? You’re the first Weasley I’ve had in quite a while not begging me to immediately place them into Gryffindor. Interesting, very interesting. You certainly have much familial loyalty and being sorted into Hufflepuff would help you grow into yourself greatly... You'd do quite well in Gryffindor as well, you're just as brave as the rest of the Weasley clan, no doubt about that. Hmm, but where to put you? ... Better be..."