jade_chan: Sorting Myths (PG)
Title: Sorting Myths
Author:
jade_chan
Rating: PG
Prompt Set: (e.g. 100.4) 100.1
Prompt: 061. Bewildered
Word Count: 758
Summary: Scorpius is forced to listen to the chatter of one of his fellow first years.
Warnings: None
Notes: Albus chatter ahead! Along with Cedric Diggory reference.
Scorpius was looking forward to the Sorting. Before, he had been a little nervous about the entire ordeal, but after the trip to Hogwarts aboard the scarlet steam engine, he had found something that made every inch of nerves disappear. That something? Was Albus-I-Know-My-Name's-Stupid-I-Hate-It-Too-Potter.
Aside from the first twenty minutes of silence in an empty compartment upon first boarding the train, Scorpius had been forced to listen to Albus as his sentences grew more and more nonsensical and jumbled. The Sorting was his only hope of escape now -- Albus seemed terrified enough of getting into Slytherin that there was no way they would be in the same House.
Because, of course, Scorpius was going to follow in his father's footsteps. Malfoys didn't go to Hufflepuff.
And Scorpius had told Albus as much five seconds ago.
Albus's eyes widened fractionally. "Hufflepuff is bad to go to?" he asked, voice squeaking a little at the end of his question.
For the fourteenth time that day, Scorpius rolled his eyes. Good God -- he had accidentally started the dark-haired boy off again. "Well, yes," he explained as patiently as he was able. "No one good ever comes out of that House. My father told me that the best wizard it ever had got himself killed."
If it was possible, Albus turned several shades paler, tightening his grip on the large bullfrog he had been toting around since hiding from his brother in Scorpius's compartment.
Merlin. There was no hope for properly worrying about his own Sorting with Albus having a panic attack next to him.
Suddenly hopeful, Scorpius cast a glance over the other first years that were waiting with them for the deputy headmaster to return and shuffle them in to wherever the Sorting was taking place. There were quite a few of them, and he was sure that some of them were related to Albus. Why weren't any of them dealing with him?
There was the Weasley girl... but she was talking to another boy about.... something Scorpius couldn't quite make out. Books? He would be deeply surprised if they didn't both end up in Ravenclaw.
Fine. He couldn't send Albus off toward her if she wouldn't pay attention enough to keep him from drifting back. Who else was there? Quite a few who looked just as pale and sweaty as Albus... and a pair of fair-haired twins. The twins didn't seem like a good bet either -- they were seated back-to-back and somehow sleeping soundly despite not even ten minutes having passed since the deputy headmaster had left them.
Scorpius wrinkled his nose in disgust. Weren't there any better options?
While he tried to think of some, his gaze drifted to the disgusting frog Albus was still resolutely clinging to.
He couldn't help himself. He had to ask.
"What is that for?"
Surprised, Albus relaxed his grip on the relieved frog and blinked owlishly at Scorpius. "This?"
Scorpius nodded.
"It's..." Albus seemed to search for the words for a moment, then quickly muttered an answer as his cheeks heated up. "To keep the merpeople away."
Scorpius blinked. "Merpeople?"
"Yeah!" Still red in the face, Albus motioned vaguely with the hand not holding the frog, "My brother told me all about them. He said that after you get Sorted, you have to use one of your House traits to fight one off. 'n then he said if I took a bullfrog with me, it would scare them away. I thought that sounded a little like cunning, and I didn't want to, but James said that he'd done it, and he's in Gryffindor, so I thought..."
Unbelievable.
Despite how obnoxiously annoying Albus was, Scorpius almost felt sorry for him. "That's a myth," he said stiffly.
"A what?"
"A lie."
"Are you sure? Because James said..."
Scorpius was certain that he was getting wrinkles at eleven. And a migraine. "God, Potter. Didn't you already tell me twenty times what a liar your brother is?"
Slowly, Albus nodded, looking both skeptical and horrified. "Yeah, but... something this important... he wouldn't..."
"He would."
"But--"
"He would. Now shut up. It's about to start."
Scorpius again found himself feeling a little sorry for Albus as the boy snapped his mouth closed, but the deputy headmaster had reappeared, giving him more important things to concentrate on, He was about to get Sorted. In just a few moments, he would be away from Albus Potter for the rest of the year (aside from when he ran into him in the hallways).
Slytherin awaited.
Author:
jade_chan
Rating: PG
Prompt Set: (e.g. 100.4) 100.1
Prompt: 061. Bewildered
Word Count: 758
Summary: Scorpius is forced to listen to the chatter of one of his fellow first years.
Warnings: None
Notes: Albus chatter ahead! Along with Cedric Diggory reference.
Scorpius was looking forward to the Sorting. Before, he had been a little nervous about the entire ordeal, but after the trip to Hogwarts aboard the scarlet steam engine, he had found something that made every inch of nerves disappear. That something? Was Albus-I-Know-My-Name's-Stupid-I-Hate-It-Too-Potter.
Aside from the first twenty minutes of silence in an empty compartment upon first boarding the train, Scorpius had been forced to listen to Albus as his sentences grew more and more nonsensical and jumbled. The Sorting was his only hope of escape now -- Albus seemed terrified enough of getting into Slytherin that there was no way they would be in the same House.
Because, of course, Scorpius was going to follow in his father's footsteps. Malfoys didn't go to Hufflepuff.
And Scorpius had told Albus as much five seconds ago.
Albus's eyes widened fractionally. "Hufflepuff is bad to go to?" he asked, voice squeaking a little at the end of his question.
For the fourteenth time that day, Scorpius rolled his eyes. Good God -- he had accidentally started the dark-haired boy off again. "Well, yes," he explained as patiently as he was able. "No one good ever comes out of that House. My father told me that the best wizard it ever had got himself killed."
If it was possible, Albus turned several shades paler, tightening his grip on the large bullfrog he had been toting around since hiding from his brother in Scorpius's compartment.
Merlin. There was no hope for properly worrying about his own Sorting with Albus having a panic attack next to him.
Suddenly hopeful, Scorpius cast a glance over the other first years that were waiting with them for the deputy headmaster to return and shuffle them in to wherever the Sorting was taking place. There were quite a few of them, and he was sure that some of them were related to Albus. Why weren't any of them dealing with him?
There was the Weasley girl... but she was talking to another boy about.... something Scorpius couldn't quite make out. Books? He would be deeply surprised if they didn't both end up in Ravenclaw.
Fine. He couldn't send Albus off toward her if she wouldn't pay attention enough to keep him from drifting back. Who else was there? Quite a few who looked just as pale and sweaty as Albus... and a pair of fair-haired twins. The twins didn't seem like a good bet either -- they were seated back-to-back and somehow sleeping soundly despite not even ten minutes having passed since the deputy headmaster had left them.
Scorpius wrinkled his nose in disgust. Weren't there any better options?
While he tried to think of some, his gaze drifted to the disgusting frog Albus was still resolutely clinging to.
He couldn't help himself. He had to ask.
"What is that for?"
Surprised, Albus relaxed his grip on the relieved frog and blinked owlishly at Scorpius. "This?"
Scorpius nodded.
"It's..." Albus seemed to search for the words for a moment, then quickly muttered an answer as his cheeks heated up. "To keep the merpeople away."
Scorpius blinked. "Merpeople?"
"Yeah!" Still red in the face, Albus motioned vaguely with the hand not holding the frog, "My brother told me all about them. He said that after you get Sorted, you have to use one of your House traits to fight one off. 'n then he said if I took a bullfrog with me, it would scare them away. I thought that sounded a little like cunning, and I didn't want to, but James said that he'd done it, and he's in Gryffindor, so I thought..."
Unbelievable.
Despite how obnoxiously annoying Albus was, Scorpius almost felt sorry for him. "That's a myth," he said stiffly.
"A what?"
"A lie."
"Are you sure? Because James said..."
Scorpius was certain that he was getting wrinkles at eleven. And a migraine. "God, Potter. Didn't you already tell me twenty times what a liar your brother is?"
Slowly, Albus nodded, looking both skeptical and horrified. "Yeah, but... something this important... he wouldn't..."
"He would."
"But--"
"He would. Now shut up. It's about to start."
Scorpius again found himself feeling a little sorry for Albus as the boy snapped his mouth closed, but the deputy headmaster had reappeared, giving him more important things to concentrate on, He was about to get Sorted. In just a few moments, he would be away from Albus Potter for the rest of the year (aside from when he ran into him in the hallways).
Slytherin awaited.