Us And Him [J.S.Potter and L.L.Potter]

A Potter Goes to Slytherin

First Year

"Slytherin"

The hat shouted out, loud and crystal clear, without any hesitation in its voice. It was followed by the ominous silence. Nobody expected the outcome of the Sorting to be this. Nobody expected to hear the word.

James sat at the Gryffindor Table, flabbergasted by the announcement of the Hat. He saw his brother Albus walk towards the Slytherin table, and sit down beside the Malfoy heir. He thought about the encounter the two of them had before boarding the Hogwarts Express.

"You may go into Slytherin."

"Shut up, James. Dad!..."

It was all a joke. James thought that Albus would go into Gryffindor, although honestly it did not matter which house you were in, times had changed and so had perceptions of the different houses. But from the looks of the occupants of his table, who were continuously staring at Albus, it hadn't.

James felt extremely guilty as he had his food. He should not have teased Albus so much about it. Albus feared going into the Snake House so much that he prayed every night that he would not go into Slytherin. That is exactly what happened. James did not find the Hogwarts feast delicious and kept quiet throughout it, ignoring his friends' jabs and giggles.

James noticed that Albus had gotten up from his table; Malfoy followed right behind. He got up from his table and followed the two of them outside of the Great Hall, ignoring the weird flirtations he got on his way, from boys and girls and others in between.

James reached the hallway in time to find Albus and Scorpius walking towards the dungeons. Luckily they had not gone far.

"Al! Wait!"

Albus stopped where he was and looked back at his brother, annoyed.

"What do you want now, James?"

"Al, I...are you alright?" James asked, his voice matching the concern in his face. He tried to place his hands on his shoulders, but Albus backed away.

"Alright? I am doing awesome, James. Going into a house I always wanted to get into. Yay!" Albus said, his voice heavy due to sarcasm.

"You wanted to be in Slytherin?" Scorpius asked, not getting his sarcasm.

"I always wanted to, Scorpius." Albus said, continuing his sarcastic speech, "You know what? James wanted me to get into Slytherin more than anyone else. Right, James?"

"Al, I am sorry for what I said on the platform." James said, his voice soft due to the guilt, "I really did not think it would happen."

"You did not think? You always wanted this to happen, right? So you could be The-Boy-Who-Lived's ideal son."

"Al, no. I did not want this to happen, and I don't want to be Harry Potter's idol son." James said, getting worked up at the moment. Albus really knew how to get under his skin.

"Albus, I think we should go." Scorpius said, noticing that the two of them would slit each other's throats if he did not intervene now, "We have to reach the common room on time. We don't even know the password yet." 

"Right," Albus said, as he started walking with Scorpius, "See you tomorrow, idol son."

James seethed at the nickname his brother gave him as he walked away, with Scorpius. He did not say anything as it would make matters worse. Now was not the time for a show for the students who came out at the moment. He signed, as he walked towards his common room. He really should not have teased Albus. But at the back of his mind, James was confused. Why did Albus hate the fact that he was in Slytherin now?