Bonds of Affection

During the Sorting Ceremony, seated at the Faculty Table, Harry Potter watched with trepidation as the Hat mumbled and shifted on the head of his youngest son, Albus Ronald Potter, otherwise known as “Al”. The pale, thin face of the boy was wrought with anxiety, but he was fighting it off bravely, biting his lower lip, and whispering quietly, as if a mantra: “Gryffindor, please Gryffindor, Gryffindor...”



“Gryffindor?” the Hat exclaimed. “I think not, Albus Ronald. I am afraid there are too many Potters in Gryffindor already.”



“Please!” Al insisted. “Gryffindor is where I want to be!”



The Hat mumbled something unintelligible.



Harry cast a pitiful glance at Hermione. “Any chance you could...”



“No, Harry,” she said patiently, “I\'ve told you already, I can\'t cast an Imperio on the Sorting Hat. No-one can. It\'s not possible – it\'s ...you know... it\'s charmed, it\'s aware, but it\'s not sentient... it has no... intelligence.”



“You can say that again,” Harry muttered. He glanced at his son with sympathy and wondered if he would be able to pull off a Wilhelm Tell and simply shoot the Hat off his son\'s head, like the proverbial apple... But the rational Hermione Granger squeezed his hand gently and whispered,



“Relax, Harry. Have faith.”



Yeah, right.



The Hat began to mumble again:



“As I said, there are too many Potters in Gryffindor already. I don\'t know what it is about the Potter girls – but they all go to Gryffindor. I remember each and every one of them. Elaine Hermione – Gryffindor. Lily Luna – Gryffindor. Minerva Sybill – Gryffindor. Good grief. At this rate, we\'ll have more Potters in Gryffindor than Weasleys. No, I am afraid Gryffindor is maxed out with Potters, for now.”



“I suppose I could put you with your brother, Tobias James, in Ravenclaw. Now that is a very bright boy. But no, Ravenclaw would not agree with you. You are not the one to spend days with your nose in the books. You like a hands-on approach to things.”



“I suppose you would do well in Hufflepuff. Yes, Hufflepuff, with Fred Remus Potter.. Speaking of which, how is he doing, I wonder? He\'s another one who wanted to be a Gryffindor. What is it with all you, Potters? You think Gryffindor is some kind of promised land, and once you get sorted into Gryffindor, you can do no wrong? Never mind, don\'t even answer that. I really don\'t want to know.”



“Well, well, I see you are getting fidgety. I suppose it\'s time to make up my mind. It\'s easy enough, young man. You have been named after two people who know how to play a cunning game of chess, and how to do whatever it takes to win! And so will you. Finally, simply put, no Hogwarts House should be without a Potter. And for that reason – let you go to Slytherin!”



Rounds of applause followed from the Slytherin table. Al paled slightly.



In his spot at the Faculty table, Harry Potter was ready to pull out his own hair. Then he glanced at the Headmaster, saw the intolerably triumphant smirk on his lips, and issued a low growl. Hermione placed her hand on Harry\'s shoulder and squeezed soothingly. “Shush, Harry. It\'ll be fine.”



“AL just got SORTED into SLYTHERIN!” Harry hissed furiously. “Please tell me, Hermione, HOW is THIS going to be FINE?”



“I don\'t exactly know,” she murmured.



Al hadn\'t moved from his chair. The Hat smacked the back of his head. “Stop hogging the chair and get going,” it advised him. “I told you, Slytherin.”



“Blimey,” Al muttered. “Really? You are not kidding?”



“I assure you, I am not kidding. Now move. See the young blond boy at the end of the Slytherin table? His name is Aries Malfoy. He\'s a very worthwhile young man. I should know, I just sorted him fifteen minutes ago. You go and say hello to him. Go now. I won\'t change my mind, you know.”



“I hate you so much,” Al muttered, making his way to his new table.



The Sorting was finished shortly, the Headmaster announced the feast, and Harry just continued sitting in his spot, his face buried in his hands. He felt a touch on his shoulder, and the Headmaster\'s silky voice, “Mr. Potter. Won\'t you join me in my office, please?”



“Of course, Sir,” Harry said tiredly, and followed him.



In the his office, Severus Snape sat down, leaned back in his chair, and locked his fingers. The smirk on his face became even more intolerable and blatant. He was loving it, Harry realized... the sadistic bastard was wallowing in it.



“You called me here just to gloat?” Harry hissed.



“Well, I must say – the words \'I told you so\' never seemed so appropriate,” Severus said with satisfaction. “Albus Ronald is a Slytherin to the core. I have known for years. And I\'ve told you, time and again. But do you ever listen to me? No, of course not.”



“Whatever,” Harry snapped. “You won. You were right. May I go now, Sir?”



Severus stood up abruptly and came up to Harry, closing the distance between them. He grasped his face with his hands, squeezing harshly, almost bruising his cheekbones with his fingers.



“Harry,” Severus with gentleness that did not match his cruel grip. “After all these years... don\'t tell me you still think that all Gryffindors are gold, and all Slytherins are irredeemably dark?”



Harry reached forth to place his hands on his husband\'s chest. He felt his heartbeat, and sensed the hesitation and hurt behind his words.



“Of course not,” Harry whispered. “The bravest and smartest and kindest and most loyal person I know is a Slytherin,” he said. “I\'m not upset because Al went to Slytherin. I\'m upset because he really wanted to go to Gryffindor and the Hat wouldn\'t let him do as he wanted....”



“That\'s all?” Severus probed gently.



Harry shut his eyes and sniffled shamefully. “I told him that... the Hat would take his personal preferences into consideration... and wouldn\'t sort him somewhere against his will...”



Severus\' fingers dug even firmer into Harry\'s face. “Harry - why on earth would you say such a ridiculous thing to our son? The Hat never listens to anyone. The Hat does as it pleases.”



“The Hat listened to me!” Harry protested. “It wanted to put me into Slytherin; and I talked it out of it!”



Severus released his face and chuckled in amusement. “Oh, Harry... I don\'t know quite how to say this to you... but... the Hat didn\'t listen to your opinion.”



Harry glared at him. “What do you mean?”



“What I mean, Harry...” Severus said patiently, “Is that the Hat had no intention of putting you anywhere but Gryffindor. You are the ... epitome of Gryffindor. You are a reckless, self-sacrificing, justice-seeking, underdog-protecting, sentimental moron. You could have never been a Slytherin. I am afraid the Hat was playing a practical joke on you that day.”



Harry glanced at him. “The Hat .... jokes?”



Severus nodded gravely.



Harry pressed his face into the Headmaster\'s robe with a stifled whimper. “I really hate that motherfucking Hat.”



Severus patted his back. “There, there, Mr. Potter,” he said in a tone of voice that was far from compassionate.



“And now... my son will end up being best friends with Aries Malfoy,” Harry muttered, still clearly displeased. “You know what that means... family picnics together... going to the Malfoy Manor for dinners regularly...” Harry shuddered. “Please tell me - how could it possibly be any worse?”



“Oh, I don\'t know,” Severus murmured, smirking again. “The Malfoys could have named their son Scorpius.”



Harry shuddered. “You have no idea how much you disturb me, Severus.”



Severus looked at him serenely. He took the young, face in his hands once more, and pressed his lips against the fresh, hot mouth. His tongue parted the thin, tender lips, and entered the warm moist cavern, mapping it out, claiming it, and subduing it, until Harry was melting under his touch, and trembling with desire.



“Really?” Severus asked very softly, pulling out of the kiss.



“Really,” Harry confirmed breathlessly.



Severus nodded, and a sinister smile played on his lips. “Then all is well.”



THE END !!!





author\'s note: If you read the story from start to finish, please let me know what you thought! I loved hearing from all of you.