frank/alice, part i: the question is obvious (G)
450 words. First installment for
rarepair_shorts, prompt table here.
Two very different conversations with the Sorting Hat.
i. the question is obvious
1 September 1959
"Oh, you would be well-suited to Hufflepuff. Compassionate, fiercely loyal, a strong sense of justice... Helga would be delighted."
What? But my parents weren't Hufflepuffs! They--
"Yes, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor respectively. I remember Dominic as a most affable boy, and Mariel as too sharp-tongued for her own good. But in the end, you are not them, and my second choice for you would be Slytherin."
...You must be joking.
"I am quite serious, dear child. You have great plans for yourself: straight into the Aurors after leaving school, how very ambitious. Though I must tell you, I can't count how many dreams of wearing Auror's robes have fallen by the wayside."
Shows how much you know. I will be an Auror, Hat, you just wait and see. It's tradition for my family.
"Mm, of course. Your great-great-grandparents were most celebrated Aurors, practically revolutionized the department, and many of your relations have followed their path."
So I've no choice in the matter? Hufflepuff or Slytherin, that's it?
"You always have a choice. I will say that you are not particularly suited to Ravenclaw, as your desire to learn is merely a means to an end, and not joy in the knowledge itself. Gryffindor is, at first glance, a good match: no lack of mettle, though with a touch of foolhardiness and a particularly--"
Oy!
"--strong penchant for stupid dares. Yes, those qualities would serve you well in Gryffindor."
Right, well, you said I have a choice, so we're settled, Hat: put me in Gryffindor. My brother and one of my cousins are there, and that's where I want to be.
"May I say something?"
All right.
"Miss Chase, my job is not to see where you might fit, but where you will best fit. Yes, you would do well in Gryffindor. But what do you want to be more: Gryffindor, or Auror?"
Can't I be both?
"Oh, perhaps. But as a Gryffindor, you would be the exact same person in your seventh year as you are now. I hold that if you want more than anything to be an Auror, if that is the greatest desire of your heart, then you should listen to my choices."
And I have to pick now?
"Students are often sorted by the time they remove me, so yes."
You're messing with my plans, Hat, and don't think I'll leave you be if they don't take me into Auror training.
"And it is things like that that make me want to say Slytherin."
But you said--
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
1 September 1963
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Huh. Mum will be dead shocked!
"Dear boy, Augusta can huff and mutter all she wants, but that will not change your nature."
I believe we could be excellent friends, Hat.
"Indeed. Good luck in Gryffindor, Mr. Longbottom."
------------
Thanks for giving it a once-over,
such_heights!
eta 7/28/08: Switched around the italics and quotes to make Sorting Hat dialogue like it is in the books.
Translation: Russian
rarepair_shorts, prompt table here.
Two very different conversations with the Sorting Hat.
i. the question is obvious
1 September 1959
"Oh, you would be well-suited to Hufflepuff. Compassionate, fiercely loyal, a strong sense of justice... Helga would be delighted."
What? But my parents weren't Hufflepuffs! They--
"Yes, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor respectively. I remember Dominic as a most affable boy, and Mariel as too sharp-tongued for her own good. But in the end, you are not them, and my second choice for you would be Slytherin."
...You must be joking.
"I am quite serious, dear child. You have great plans for yourself: straight into the Aurors after leaving school, how very ambitious. Though I must tell you, I can't count how many dreams of wearing Auror's robes have fallen by the wayside."
Shows how much you know. I will be an Auror, Hat, you just wait and see. It's tradition for my family.
"Mm, of course. Your great-great-grandparents were most celebrated Aurors, practically revolutionized the department, and many of your relations have followed their path."
So I've no choice in the matter? Hufflepuff or Slytherin, that's it?
"You always have a choice. I will say that you are not particularly suited to Ravenclaw, as your desire to learn is merely a means to an end, and not joy in the knowledge itself. Gryffindor is, at first glance, a good match: no lack of mettle, though with a touch of foolhardiness and a particularly--"
Oy!
"--strong penchant for stupid dares. Yes, those qualities would serve you well in Gryffindor."
Right, well, you said I have a choice, so we're settled, Hat: put me in Gryffindor. My brother and one of my cousins are there, and that's where I want to be.
"May I say something?"
All right.
"Miss Chase, my job is not to see where you might fit, but where you will best fit. Yes, you would do well in Gryffindor. But what do you want to be more: Gryffindor, or Auror?"
Can't I be both?
"Oh, perhaps. But as a Gryffindor, you would be the exact same person in your seventh year as you are now. I hold that if you want more than anything to be an Auror, if that is the greatest desire of your heart, then you should listen to my choices."
And I have to pick now?
"Students are often sorted by the time they remove me, so yes."
You're messing with my plans, Hat, and don't think I'll leave you be if they don't take me into Auror training.
"And it is things like that that make me want to say Slytherin."
But you said--
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
1 September 1963
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Huh. Mum will be dead shocked!
"Dear boy, Augusta can huff and mutter all she wants, but that will not change your nature."
I believe we could be excellent friends, Hat.
"Indeed. Good luck in Gryffindor, Mr. Longbottom."
------------
Thanks for giving it a once-over,
such_heights!
eta 7/28/08: Switched around the italics and quotes to make Sorting Hat dialogue like it is in the books.
Translation: Russian