"Well well well, Theodore Lupin. How are you?" The woman's stern face broke into a smile. "And who is this?" she asked, looking at King.
Teddy looked at King, who stayed mute. "His name is King," Teddy told the woman, who King guessed was McGonagall. "He made it through the wall, and got on the train. He doesn't know his parents. Sounds like he's a wizard, right? But- he never got a letter."
The woman's face turned stern again. King could already hear it: Then how did you know to get on the train? King didn't want to tell her how he snuck on, so he hoped for the best. McGonagall didn't seem to want to press him, so she said, "Let me check my records." She took a large yellow book off of the shelf behind her and flipped through it. King waited with bated breath. I don't belong here. She's going to kick me out, he thought.
Two or three minutes of breathlessness later, McGonagall made a small noise from the back of her throat that sounded almost like a meow.
"Professor?" Teddy asked.
"Well, King, this is an interesting case. We have your name in the book, but I suppose you never got your letter. Your parents were Malasi and Edward Trogon, correct?"
"I don't know," mumbled King honestly.
"That would make sense. You are eleven years of age, no?" She waited for King's nod and then went on: " You parents passed on eleven years ago."
For a split second, Teddy could see tears glistening in Kings eyes, but then his face went back to usual: youthful, but wise, clearly trying to hide his emotions behind a mask.
"We sent a letter to your Aunt Georgia, who you live with, correct?" This time she didn't wait for a nod. "Our owl saw her open it, and the owl also saw a small boy reading it. That was you, no?"
"No," King croaked. "I-" He made a small sobbing noise in the back of his throat. He couldn't cry in front of them, but his shoulders were shaking.
Gently, Teddy placed his hand on King's quaking shoulders.
"I will go," said the woman, seeming to notice that Teddy was giving the poor boy much more help than she could have. "I must begin the Sorting Ceremony. As soon as you want to, you may come down to the Great Hall." She walked out and King collapsed into Teddy's arms.
A few minutes later, King had calmed down quite a bit.
"Do you want to go and get sorted?" asked Teddy. King nodded. Teddy led him to the Great Hall. They walked in very inconspicuously. Nobody noticed but McGonagall, who gave a small, reassuring smile in King's direction. Teddy pushed the raven-haired boy into the group of first-years and walked off to the Hufflepuff table.
Teddy pushed King into the large group of first-years and then walked over to the Hufflepuff table.
"Perry, Christine," called McGonagall. The girl walked to a wooden stool and placed a large, pointy, battered black cap on her brown hair. About thirty seconds later, the hat called out, "GRYFFINDOR!"
Courage, King remembered as the Hall erupted into applause. He slowly walked over and found Nymph and Red as McGonagall called, "Potter, Albus."
"That's our cousin!" Red whispered to King. Albus placed the hat on his head and squeezed his eyes shut. King noticed that Teddy was clasping his hands together. "GRYFFINDOR!" Albus opened his eyes with a sigh of relief and walked over to the cheering table of red and gold.
Three names later, King jumped when he heard "Trogone, King." Red patted his back, pushing him forward. King walked up to the stool and placed it on his head, shaking with anticipation.
He almost ripped that hat off when he heard it inside his head. "Many secrets hide within you. But you have much greatness. A brave soul. A curious mind. A promising future. Hmmm. The real question is, what is your best quality?" King sat frozen, gripping the stool so hard his knuckles turned white as snow. "There are many, but I would say that your best has to be a good heart. HUFFLEPUFF!" The hat's word echoed around the hall for an anxious second before the Hufflepuff table went crazy. Teddy was smiling so wide that his lip piercing looked to be stretching. Several other girls and boys were jumping and whooping. King grinned. He was the first new Hufflepuff. He walked on slightly wobbly legs to the cheering group. Teddy slapped him on the back, grinning. King squeezed in between Teddy and one other person, who moved enough to give him room to sit. He sat there, smiling widely, until he heard "Weasley, Fredrick." Teddy sat up in anticipation. Red jammed the hat on his head. About a minute later, the hat called out, "HUFFLEPUFF!" Red looked slightly disappointed, but he covered it up with a smile. Everyone stood up, cheering with the same enthusiasm as they had for King. Joyfully, King joined in. He hadn't celebrated anything recently, and this ceremony definitely counted. After everyone's cheering slowed, Red sat down on the other side of Teddy.
"Hey King! Hi Teddy!" Red said, looking jolly. "King, wanna be my bunk mate?"
King was surprised. "Sure!"
"Jolly good!" Red laughed. Suddenly, he said, "Shhh!"
"Weasley, Nymphadora!" Red seemed very nervous.
"HUFFLEPUFF!" Red jumped up and clapped so hard his hands seemed to turn the color of his hair. Teddy and King were up and cheering, too. Maybe it was a twin thing, but Nymph had the same slight look of disappointment on her face that Red did, and she covered it up in a smile the exact same way. King guessed that they had wanted to be in a different house, but they didn't want to hurt Teddy's feelings. King had always been pretty good at reading people's emotions. He had needed to, with his aunt's unpredictability.
"Weasley, Rose!"
"That's Victoire's sister," Teddy whispered to King.
"RAVENCLAW!" yelled the Hat. Everyone at the Hufflepuff table applauded. Finally, after "Zacari, Harry" was sorted into Slytherin, the China plates became filled with food. It was a feast. Roasted turkey, grapes, gravy, potatoes, noodles, sauce, tomatoes- almost any food you could ask for. King stuffed himself, chatting with all the Hufflepuffs. Well, King did more listening and eating than actually talking. That was just how he was.
After the feast, Teddy led the group up to the Hufflepuff dormitory. Before King could even admire the common room, he followed Red into the boys' room and crashed on the bed. Covered in soft blankets, every worry left his mind. All he thought was I belong somewhere. I am a Hufflepuff. And then his mind was blank.
