(( A silly little Hogwarts AU, discussing Hogwart's Houses and headcanons concerning them. Hope you guys enjoy. ^^ ))

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Early in the summer of the children's eleventh year, Princess Amber, Prince James and Princess Sofia all received three letters each. They were addressed from the most prestigious magical academies across the continent - Durmstrang, Beauxbatons, and Hogwarts: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. All three of these famed schools had invited each of the children to continue their tutelage at their respective schools.

"How exciting for you all!" Miranda praised them the morning they'd gotten the letters.

"Well? Would you like to go?" Roland added.

Since Durmstrang boasted an impressive array of sport classes, included jousting and swordplay, as well as their sorcery courses, James decided to go there.

Based on the beautiful castle, tasteful uniform, and all the lavish amenities it offered, Amber decided that Beauxbatons was the school for her.

Last of the three to decide, Sofia looked over the pamphlets the schools had sent her for a long time. She was indecisive and worried she would pick the wrong one, until Baileywick mentioned, "Hmm, Hogwarts? Why, if I'm not mistaken, that's where Cedric went to school..."

"Really?" She blinked, then grinned, folding the Hogwarts pamphlet away into her pocket and sprinting away to the sorcerer's chambers.

"Mister Cedric!" She called, knocking at his door as soon as she arrived. "Mister Cedric, I need your help with something!"

He rolled his eyes as he opened the door, "Yes, yes, what else is new..."

She disregarded his usual grumpiness and took out the pamphlet again. "It's nothing hard this time! I was just wondering if you could tell me a bit about your old wizarding school, Hogwarts? I got a letter of invitation from them." She explained.

He blinked openly now, glancing over that familiar old pamphlet, momentarily becoming nostalgic over the day he remembered getting his invitation. "Oh... Well, alright then, come in..."

She accepted his invitation and went over to sit on his work-bench. He followed after and sat next to her, listening as she went on, "Hogwarts seems pretty neat! Was it fun when you went there?"

Cedric shrugged and averted his eyes, "Well... Kind of, I guess, yes..." He answered, unwilling to commit to his answer. Most of the students weren't to his liking, but that was the case with most people in general. He had plenty of fond memories learning magic at least, even if most of his professors had never been especially impressed with his work. Sofia would likely have a much better time than him, though, since she excelled at all her work and was much more sociable. "The atmosphere is pretty interesting, I suppose..."

"That sounds great! There's just one thing I'm unsure about..." She went on to point at a section of the pamphlet where it was explained that Hogwarts students would be placed in one of four houses, which would become like a second home to them while they were away from home. "This four house thing - I'm really not sure which house would be best for me. I don't want to get there and not know where I should be. Which house were you in, Mister Cedric?"

The sorcerer's face immediately went pale-white, and then bright red with a blush. "...R-Ravenclaw." He muttered, definitely looking away from the princess now.

She glanced up at him, and blinked at the obviously awkward look on his face. "Uh... Mister Cedric? You wouldn't happen to be lying right now, would you...?"

He grit his teeth stubbornly. "Perhaps it's none of your business!"

Her lips bloomed into a scandalous grin. "You -are- lying! But why? Oh wait, I think I know..." She scrunched up her nose playfully as she exclaimed, "You were in Gryffindor, weren't you!"

"What! NO." He immediately snarled back. He didn't want to admit the truth, but that was the one assumption that was even worse than the truth. His perfect goody-two-shoes older sister, Cecilia the Splendiferous, had been placed into Gryffindor a couple of years before him, and he refused to have anyone thinking he had followed in her footsteps. "Listen... I'll tell you, alright? But you have to SWEAR on your LIFE that you won't tell anyone..."

She nodded, staring at him expectantly until he finally muttered something under his breath. She then blinked in confusion, "I'm sorry Cedric, but I didn't quite catch that-?"

"HUFFLEPUFF! There, I said it!" He suddenly shouted quickly, then crossed his arms over his chest. "I was in Hufflepuff, alright! I couldn't decide between Ravenclaw or Slytherin, so the Sorting Hat sent me there instead. Apparently lots of Hufflepuffs are actually students that couldn't decide between the other houses..." He mentioned, totally embarrassed now.

He expected to be teased about it, just as he nearly always was, but instead, Sofia looked down at the pamphlet, deep in thought and with a serious expression on her face. "Hmm... Hufflepuff House Qualities: Dedication, hard work, fair play, patience, kindness and tolerance... Of course!" She suddenly exclaimed, grinning up at his blushing face. "I know what house I want to be in now! It's definitely got to be Hufflepuff for me!"

Somehow managing to blush even more, Cedric glanced down at her bashfully, "What? You silly girl. It's nice of you to want to be in the same house I was in, but it's obvious to anyone with eyes to see, that you're a total Gryffindor..."

"Why is it obvious?" She blinked up at him.

He fought with his voice for a moment, "W-Well... Because. You're brave..."

She blushed at his half-hidden compliment. "Oh! Thank you, Mister Cedric! But you know..."

To his great surprise, she suddenly reached over and placed her hand over his. He looked down at her hand, and then back up at her as she explained to him, "I don't want to go to Hufflepuff just because you were in it. I really, honestly feel like it makes sense for me to be there. Who knows, maybe that's why we're such great friends - Because we have so much in common, being from the same house and all!"

His blush was now more gently warm than embarrassingly hot. "R-Really...?"

"I think it makes sense!" She grinned, then added mischievously, "And the Hufflepuff common room is right next to the kitchen! That's a big plus!"

Cedric chuckled, "I suppose that's all true..."

"Besides," She added gently, taking his hand as she got up, and leading him with her to the door. "You can be brave, and not always show it... You know?"

He stilled as they reached the door. "I... I suppose, if you say so..."

She squeezed his hand one last time before letting it go, and heading for the door. "I'll really miss you and everyone else, while I'm at school... So when I come back again at Wassailia and in Summertime, we'll have to spend time together then."

He nodded. "We'll surely do so then. I promise."

What little doubt had been inside her faded away as he said that, and she laughed in excitement, "Just think! In just a few years, I'll be a full-fledged sorcerer! Just like you!"

He frowned a bit then. "I hope I won't have to worry about my job when you get back...?" He was joking somewhat, but he was also somewhat serious.

She giggled and shook her head as she headed out the door, calling over her shoulder, "You need not worry about that, Cedric - You're definitely a Keeper to me!"

"Actually I was the Seeker..." He replied, but she had walked away by then. Just as well. She wouldn't have gotten the joke, and for that matter, neither had he.

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