Author's Notes: I thought it would be interesting to see this story from Harry and Ginny's point of view. Hopefully this is funny/insightful enough to justify writing it/no longer having "the most powerfully magical number" of chapters.

I don't think Ted Tonks has a canon House, but fanon seems to put him in Hufflepuff.

The door to Harry's study was ajar, and Ginny knocked lightly before sticking her head in. "Harry? It's almost time for dinner."

He jumped before turning, a slightly awkward smile on his face. "Be right there, dear. Just—finishing up a bit of paperwork."

She quirked her eyebrow, entering the room. "Oh, surely that can wait until later, can't it? You don't want your food to get cold."

"Well, it's—just a bit urgent, and—er—"

Harry quickly tried to hide the parchment, but Ginny's hand shot out and pinned it to the desk before he had a chance. The Marauder's Map showed the whole of Hogwarts, with nearly all of its dots assembled in the Great Hall for the Sorting. The tables were so filled with names that they were almost impossible to read, but a small group of first-year dots were clearly visible before one that read The Sorting Hat. Ginny gave her husband a look, and he grinned back guiltily.

"Alright, I know I shouldn't be checking up on them this soon. But I—"

"Shut up. Has he been Sorted yet?"

His grin widened. "Not yet," he said, as they both leaned down and stared avidly at the Map. "We're on...Thomas Murray now. Al's here," he added, pointing with his wand. "Wait—okay, Thomas Murray just went off toward...Ravenclaw, I think..."

"Did I miss anyone interesting? What about the Malfoy boy?"

"He got into Gryffindor, if you can believe it."

"Ha! Maybe he and Al will be dorm-mates. Then they can continue that lovely friendship that you and old Draco had."

The pair watched anxiously through Ludmilla Neff (Slytherin), Ian Orptington (Hufflepuff) and Elijah Patterson (Gryffindor) before Albus' dot finally moved forward. They both sucked in a breath.

"Watch him be a Slytherin," Ginny said, trying to relieve the tension. "Just to surprise us."

"Yes. Al's actually been a morally-ambiguous Pureblood supremacist all these years and just managed to hide it from us."

"Because he's got that Slytherin sneakiness."

They both jumped as Albus' dot moved again. And it was heading towards...

"Is that—Hufflepuff?"

"It must be. Look—there's Louis." Ginny looked at her husband, who was staring blankly. "Come on—surely you realized that Gryffindor and Slytherin weren't his only options?"

"I know, but—I gave him that whole speech about how the Hat listens to you. Do you supposed he asked it for this?"

"I'm not sure," Ginny said, frowning. Then she shrugged. "It fits him, though. He's always been such a sweet boy."

"Well, yes—definitely." Harry was still a bit puzzled, but he found the idea unexpectedly agreeable—he took a moment to ponder Albus grinning in a set of bright-yellow Quidditch robes. "Do you think we should keep watching for when Rose gets Sorted, or—?"

"MUM!" Lily said, sticking her head into the room and causing both of her parents to jump. "The oven is smoking!"

"What? Oh—Merlin's pants!" Ginny said, rushing to the kitchen and leaving her husband to watch for their niece alone.

Before going to bed Harry decided to write both of his sons a letter, though he and Ginny agreed not to mention their inside knowledge of the Sorting. (After all, he didn't want the boys to think he was spying on them, even if he was.) To Albus he wrote we're sure that the Sorting turned out better than you expected. Please write as soon as you can to tell us where you turned up. And remember—we're proud of you no matter what. He figured it was vague enough to sound like he was still writing about Slytherin, but would also help in case Albus really was disappointed about not getting into Gryffindor.

He added something to James' letter too: Wherever Al ended up, please don't give him a hard time about it. Try to remember how you felt last year when you were adjusting to life at school.

"Do you really think he's going to listen to that?"

"Well...no," Harry admitted. "But it couldn't hurt."

"Ron, leave him alone," Hermione said.

"No, come on, mate," Ron urged, prodding Harry annoyingly. "I know you were watching on that bleeding Map of yours! Now come on, tell me!"

"Even if I was, couldn't you just wait a few hours until Rose sends you a letter?"

"You could have waited an extra day. Now come on! She's a Gryffindor, right? Chip off the old block?"

Harry grinned cheekily. "And what if she's not? What if I told you she got into Slytherin?"

"I'll kill you."

"Ron!" Hermione gave him a look, then turned back around. After a moment she frowned.

"Rose didn't...really get into Slytherin, did she, Harry?"

He rolled his eyes as the doors of the lift opened on their floor.

Harry was reading the Prophet in bed that night when Ginny came in, frowning. "We got a letter," she said, holding it up. "From Neville."

"Oh?" He lowered the paper warily. "You don't sound like it's good news."

"He had a talk with Al today. I'm guessing he didn't ask the Hat for Hufflepuff, because apparently he was quite upset about it. He seems to think that going anywhere but Gryffindor proves that he's a coward."

"What?! Let me see that."

Ginny handed over the letter; Harry read it twice before looking up. "We haven't gotten a letter from Al yet, have we?"

"No," Ginny murmured. They had had Ron and Hermione over for dinner, and the two were quite happy after receiving a note from Rose. ("Should have known she'd be a Ravenclaw! I always said she was a genius, just like her mum.") "And Neville doesn't want us to tell him that he wrote us."

"No." Harry hesitated for a moment. "Should we write to him again?"

"...No. If we seem like we're pestering him, it might make him feel worse," Ginny said slowly. "Let's give him a few days. By then he should calm down and feel ready to tell us on his own."

"I hope so."

They didn't get anything from Albus on Tuesday, though they did get a letter from James. P.S.: Al got into Hufflepuff. I always knew he was a dork. Harry responded by telling him that he better be nice to his brother or he would have Grandma Molly send him another Howler.

He hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should write Albus another letter too. He wasn't sure if Ginny's idea was right...it would be a good idea for James or Lily, maybe, but Albus had always been a bit more sensitive. Maybe he needed some extra encouragement? But then, there was no way to really offer it without admitting they knew his problem, and that might upset him more...

Finally Harry decided against it, then looked around for their owl. "Ginny, have you seen Brocard? I need him to send this letter to James."

"Oh. I'm sorry. I just sent him out."

Something about the way she said it made Harry pause. "Where?"

"...To Hogwarts, with a letter for Al."

He quirked an eyebrow. "I thought we were giving him space?"

"I know, but he's so sensitive!"

"I can't believe Albus got into Hufflepuff!" Lily said, making a face.

Ginny gave her a look that reminded Harry very much of his mother-in-law. "And what's wrong with Hufflepuff? Louis is a Hufflepuff. Your Aunt Hannah was a Hufflepuff. As was Teddy's mum," she added, motioning to her godson as he piled mashed potatoes on his plate.

"And my granddad. The Hat seriously thought of putting me there, too. Said I was 'affable.'"

"But that's the House for losers!"

"You listen to James so much," Harry said, giving Lily his own, much less potent stare. "Now eat your peas."

"I'm surprised Al's so upset about this, to be honest," Teddy said. "I'd think if nothing else he'd be happy to get away from James' pranks. Do you want me to write to him? Maybe he'd feel better, you know, talking to someone more on his level."

"Maybe," Harry said. "But we don't want to dog-pile him—if the whole family gets in on this it will just seem like a bigger deal than it is. I've thought of writing to Louis, though, see if he can keep an eye on him for us."

Lily decided she was bored of this conversation and decided to change the subject. "So, Teddy—if you and Victoire got married by this summer, how long do you think it would be before you had a baby?"

He responded by spitting butterbeer all over his food.

Harry and Ginny didn't get any word from Albus on Thursday. On Friday, they got a letter from James, pointedly not mentioning Albus or Harry's order to be nice to him.

"You know what I should have done?" Harry said suddenly as he and Ron were eating lunch. "I should have written to Hagrid. Al's supposed to meet him this afternoon, maybe he could say something to cheer him up."

"I still say you should just write and tell Al that you know what's going on," Ron said, shrugging.

"Easy for you to say. You know, I'm sure all your talk about disowning Rose didn't help his confidence."

"Well, when I didn't disown Rose he should have taken a hint!"

That afternoon, when Harry was safely locked in his office, he took the Marauder's Map out of his pocket and began to scan it for Albus. He had done this several times in the previous week, but it never told him much—he was usually just in class or the Hufflepuff Common Room. This time, however, he was in Hagrid's hut...

...next to Scorpius Malfoy?

Harry blinked, trying to imagine himself and Draco Malfoy as children, having a casual teatime around Hagrid's rough, wooden table. He kept watching until they left together a few minutes later, only separating when they got to the Great Hall and joined their respective Houses.

That night they got a letter from Hagrid. "Albus asked him if he could get his House changed. Hagrid arranged a meeting with Professor Sprout, but he doesn't think she'll go for it. Also, apparently Al and Scorpius Malfoy are best mates, but James has made Scorpius his personal punching bag."

Harry's tone was dry. "I'm very disappointed in at least one of our sons, but I'm not entirely sure which."

"I'm not being obsessive," Harry said, staring at the Marauder's Map again on Saturday.

"Of course not, mate."

"There—there! He's finally going up into Sprout's office."

"You realize the Map won't let you see what she's saying to him, right?"

"Shut up, Ron."

After a while he forced himself to stop watching, then checked again an hour later. By then Sprout was alone in her office and Albus' dot was walking besides the dot labeled Scorpius Malfoy again. When the pair separated Scorpius headed for a bathroom while Albus went back to the Hufflepuff Common Room, where he stayed until dinnertime.

Apparently Albus was staying where he was. Harry just wish he knew whether that was good or bad.

Dear Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry,

James is apparently being a prat to Albus. Also the sky was blue today, not sure if you've heard.

Your niece,

Victoire

Ginny grimaced as she made breakfast on Sunday morning. "Remember what I said about giving Albus space? Well, it turns out that was stupid. If he doesn't write by the end of the day, I am."

"Don't bother. If he doesn't write by tonight, I'll Floo my head into the Hufflepuff Common Room."

"Alright, now that would be humiliating." She paused. "Though I'm not saying a definite 'no.'"

They got a letter from Albus around lunchtime. Harry sat on the edge of his seat as Ginny read.

"'...think I'm okay now. I'm still sort of sad that I can't be with Rose...' He said James was bugging him, but he isn't going to let it bother him anymore." Ginny's face suddenly broke into a weary grin. "Well, that's progress! Hufflepuff seems to be bringing out his Gryffindor courage after all."

Harry got up, reading over her shoulder. "Does it say anything else?"

"Uh, let's see—oh, it says he met Dumbledore and Snape in the Headmistress' office, and that he hates his middle name now."

Harry blanched. Ginny blinked, and then rounded on her husband, giving him a light smack in the shoulder. "See, I told you! We should have gone with 'Neville!'"

"Look, I love Neville, but his name is terrible."

"But you're okay with 'Severus?!'"

"I said we should have gone with 'Ronald!'"

"Oh, sure, inflate his head more, why don't we?"

They wanted their reply to be comforting and insightful, but that turned out to be harder when Albus seemed to be on the right path himself. Finally they just wrote that they thought he was as kind and loyal as any Hufflepuff they could think of, that they were sure he would be happy in his new House, and to remember that they and the rest of the family would always be there for them, whether they were across the Great Hall or an owl away.

In a few days they received another letter that was even more optimistic. Albus apparently had made several new friends, the foremost being Scorpius and a fellow Hufflepuff named Joshua, and he loved most of his classes. Ginny sighed with relief.

"I knew we were overreacting. Remember last year with James? Three tear-stained notes in the first week, but by the second he hardly wanted to come home for Christmas anymore."

"Hmm." Harry's eyes were on the Map as she spoke, watching Albus' dot glide into the Great Hall between Scorpius' and Rose's. Once alone at the Hufflepuff table he was joined by Joshua McNamara, and Harry tried to imagine his son and another boy avidly talking about classes and Quidditch.

"Mischief managed," he said, wiping the Map clean. To Ginny he said "You're right, dear—I think Albus will be just fine."