Sorting Out the Family (G; Severus Snape, Harry Potter, OMC, OFC, Minerva McGonagall; 500 words)
Title: Sorting Out the Family
Author: iulia_linnea
Characters: Severus Snape, Harry Potter, OMC, OFC, Minerva McGonagall
Rating: G
Word Count: 500 words
Summary: Harry and Severus' children are Sorted.
Disclaimer: This piece is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K. Rowling; various publishers, including, but not limited to: Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books, Raincoast Books; and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Author's Note: Written for elewyiss.
"Cedric Arthur Potter-Snape!" Headmistress McGonagall called, and a tall, gangly, black-haired boy rose from his chair and walked nervously forward.
Sitting down, he bit his lip as Headmistress McGonagall placed the hat on his head. Before it could even settle, the Sorting Hat exclaimed, "Gryffindor!" and the Great Hall erupted into cheers.
"He looks pleased," Severus murmured to Harry, who was sitting next to him at the High Table with the other professors.
Harry slid his hand into Severus' and whispered, "But Lily doesn't, does she?"
"Don't worry. It will be-"
"Lily Eileen Potter-Snape!" McGonagall called, and a tall, coltish, black-haired girl rose from her chair and strode confidently forward.
The Headmistress placed the Sorting Hat on Lily's head, and Harry and Severus watched nervously. Nothing happened.
"She's talking to it," Harry said.
"So I see," Severus replied, his voice tight.
"Don't worry, I'm sure that-"
"Slytherin!"
The Slytherin students leapt to their feet, cheering wildly, and Lily, rising from the chair, made a dramatic bow.
"Well," Severus said.
Harry glanced at his husband. "You're smiling in public, you know."
"Am I?" Severus asked, grinning unrepentantly.
Harry laughed. "The twins have never been separated before. Do you think it will cause problems?"
"I doubt it. Lily won't allow it to," Severus replied, nudging Harry with his shoulder and dipping his head in their daughter's direction.
She had stopped at the Gryffindor table to shake hands with her brother. Spontaneously, all the Gryffindor and Slytherin students, who were quickly followed by the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, rose from their tables to shake hands with the members of the other houses.
"Well," said Minerva, sometime later, as the students were eating, "I've never seen anything like it. I expect great things from both of your children, but Lily will be a leader."
Severus smirked. "I told you, Minerva. She wants your job."
"Yep," Harry agreed. "She has since she was four-years-old."
"This is her home. It's only fitting that she should want to make it a happy one," Minerva replied. "We were just talking about inter-house unity. She's very proud of both of you for all your hard work in promoting it."
"But she feels we've not yet done enough," Severus said.
Harry laughed. "She gets her perfectionism from you."
"I'm glad she's not upset about Cedric's Sorting," Minerva said.
"Oh, she's annoyed about it, certainly," Severus replied, "but Cedric told her this morning at breakfast that she would have to learn to do without him."
"He was that confident of his own Sorting?"
"Yes, Minerva. But more than that, I think it was Cedric who convinced Lily that she'd be all right on her own. I know the twins have talked about not wanting to disappoint either Severus or I. We told them it didn't matter, but-"
"As usual, they think they know what's best for the family," Severus interrupted.
Harry smiled. "'For the family'-it has a nice ring to it."
Squeezing Harry's hand under the table, Severus replied, "So it does."