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The chill of winter had finally begun to grip London, and most evenings Professor Layton found every seat in his living room taken by a snuggled up friend or relative tucking themselves under blankets or cradling a hot beverage. There was rarely a boring evening, however on this particular occasion Katrielle had decided it would be a good idea to try out the Hogwarts sorting hat quiz. She had recently finished the final Harry Potter book, a series they had all agreed as a family to read that year, and had been confidently letting the gathering know how she was most definitely a Gryffindor.
"It only makes sense," She said solemnly, closing her eyes and taking a sip of her hot chocolate.
"What makes sense about that?" Alfendi growled from the sofa. He was spread out across one corner of it, his crimson hair lose around his shoulders and a dark blue blanket over his legs. He waved a hand in question. "All I have heard is you say is how much you think about yourself. Clearly a Slytherin trait."
"Eh, leave her 'lone," Lucy Baker grinned, lifting her head from Alfendi's shoulder and lightly hitting his chest. She was snuggled up next to him under the blanket, and had been listening contentedly from her comfy spot. "Stop teasin'."
Alfendi grinned slyly and rubbed her shoulder, but he wasn't finished.
"Well, it's too bad that you never got your Hogwarts letter now, isn't it? I guess you will never know for sure. And, by definition, that leaves it up to debate." He settled back into the sofa cushion, with the air of someone who had just had the last word. Lucy rolled her eyes.
"Pay 'im no 'eed, Kat," she said friendlily, then winked, "he's just jealous because he's obviously a Slytherin. And ain't no Wizard that didn't go bad that wasn't in Slytherin."
Kat laughed as Alfendi sat up and looked at her with exaggerated affrontery, "Now, hang on a minute, first off that wasn't even English. I don't think I have ever heard so many double negatives in my life. And secondly, I can't be the only one here who can see that Slytherin is clearly the superior house. They are the most ambitious, they have a snake as their emblem, and they are not Gryffindor."
"And what's wrong with Gryffindor?" Kat asked, frowning defensively at her brother.
"You are all stuck up, and think you are the best at everything." He replied with a shrug, as if he had just commented on the weather.
"It's a surprise you are not in Gryffindor then," Kat retorted, folding her arms and burying her chin in her Brown turtle neck.
"Stop being catty, Katty," Alfendi threw back.
"Oh, let's do stop arguing, we were having such a lovely evening," came another voice.
Flora had been sitting in another of the armchairs near the back of the room, her legs tucked up beneath her and a pale pink blanket tucked over her lap. In one hand she held a book, now closed, and with the other she was holding Clive's hand, who was sat cross-legged at the foot of the chair and had been watching the siblings with silent amusement. Hearing her distress, he gently circled the back of her knuckles with his thumb. In answering reassurance she squeezed his hand softly, before addressing the room again.
"I wish we could find out what houses we were really in, then there would be no need for debate. I'm not sure I would even be a Witch - maybe a squib?"
Suddenly, Katrielle gasped, and gripped her mug so tight that Ernest, who was perched on the back of her seat, was worried that she might crush it.
"That's it!" She almost shouted, her face a picture of excitement. Then she jumped out of the chair, sending blankets and pillows over the floor, and threw her mug towards Ernest, who caught it with a small yelp.
"What are you up to now, Kat?" Alfendi drawled, as the whole room turned to watch her.
She skipped her way to the small box computer that was sitting on the desk in the corner of the room and then sat down on the small, wooden desk chair, tucking herself under the table and switching on the device. With a deep wiring it began to come to life, and then the screen began to load. After a few minutes, Kat was furiously tapping on the keyboard, login into the system and opening up the search engine.
"Seriously though, what are you playing at?" Alfendi probed again.
Kat let out a frustrated sigh. "I am finding the Hogwarts house sorting quiz."
"The what?" Lucy asked, her head returned to Alfendi's shoulder.
"There's this website that lets you take a quiz - you answer all sorts of questions and then it tells you what your Hogwarts house is. Bengary told me about it."
"That sounds intensely childish." Alfendi mumbled, but Lucy could see that the thought of doing the quiz intrigued him. She smiled, well practised after all this time at reading his mannerisms. Despite everything that made him different from his family, he was still a Layton, and the concept of a good puzzle was irresistible. After a moment of thought, she narrowed her eyebrows playfully, then slapped his knee, sat up and dislodged herself from the blanket. Alfendi looked up in confusion as she stood, grinning at him.
"Well, it sounds like a lot of fun to me, can I have a go aft' you, Kat?" She bounded over to computer, and then leant on the back of the chair, watching the screen.
"Of course!" Kat cheered.
Alfendi grumbled, not particularly pleased that Lucy had abandoned him and left his right side feeling cold. He sat for a moment, biting his tongue, the crimson of his hair refusing to refute itself. It appeared that Potty was around for the entire evening.
A few minutes passed as the present company sat quietly in their seats, with Flora having returned to her book, listening to the tip tap of fingers on the keyboard while Kat mumbled the questions and selected her answers, every now and again making a comment to Lucy who laughed and responded in kind. Suddenly, Kat threw her hands up and squealed.
"Yes! Gryffindor! Eat that, Al. I knew I was right." She turned in her seat to look at her brother, who rolled his eyes.
"My turn, my turn!" Lucy danced on her toes as Kat vacated the seat and took her place behind the chair, letting Lucy sit in front of the screen. She gripped the mouse in one hand and selected the option to retake the quiz. As the sand timer on the display spun, Lucy turned to look at Alfendi.
"Come on, Al, aren't you curious to see what 'ouse your fiancé's in? You'll have to live with me, after all, you might 'swell see where my allegiances lie."
She wrinkled her nose and stuck out her tongue, grinning with a cheekiness that Alfendi couldn't resist. He sighed, making a point of having to get up, but their was a light in his eyes that betrayed his interest.
"Well, let's hope this doesn't change anything, then." he teased, coming up to the back of the chair. Carefully, he placed his hands on her shoulders and rested his pointed chin on the top of her head, watching as Lucy began the quiz.
Clive and Flora looked at each other, chuckling.
"You okay over there, Greeves?" Clive looked back, tilted his head and enquired of the young man, who was still sat to attention on the back of the chair Katrielle had been sitting in. He started, not expecting the sudden conversation, and then laughed nervously.
"Oh yes, thank you Master Dove."
Flora and Clive exchanged knowing smiles, then Clive patted the vacated sofa cushion beside them, indicating for Ernest to take a seat. With rather sudden movements that made his hair bounce about, he moved off of the back of the chair and made his way over to the couple, perching on the edge of the sofa cushion with his hands fixed together in his lap. Clive smiled kindly up at him.
"You can relax a little, lad, you look like you've been called on by the teacher," Clive glanced at Kat, who was stood behind Lucy and next to Alfendi, watching the screen, "Is everything okay between you two?"
Ernest nodded earnestly. "Oh, Master Dove, fantastically. And I am very happy that she got the Hogwarts house she wanted. She has been talking about it all day today -" suddenly he stopped, and then leant forward towards Flora's chair. He eyed them both earnestly, seeking their confidence. "You see, I was worried that she would take this quiz and get Slytherin," a look of genuine fear crossed his features, "she would have been devastated!"
"Ernest! Come and do it next, come and do it next!" Kat's shrill voice sounded loud across the room and made the young man freeze, and then he jumped up and walked quickly over to her.
"Of course, Miss!"
Clive and Flora chuckled again, and then watched for Lucy to finish her quiz. It didn't take long.
"I'm a Hufflepuff!" She gasped, covering her mouth and grinning. She turned to face Alfendi, who rolled his eyes, then took her hand in his.
"Looks like I will have to reconsider that ring I gave you." He smiled a sly smile, and Lucy gave him a playful shove, removing herself from the chair and letting Ernest sit down.
"Well, don't be so sure. It's your turn after this. You might just be a Hufflepuff after all. Then we will have to convert that flat into a badger's den." He knocked playfully into her, and she responded in kind, giggling.
"Alright, I'll do it. Just to prove you wrong."
Ernest sat for a few extra minutes completing his quiz, it taking all the longer thanks to Kat's suggestions of answers he should take. She had worked out which questions would get you into which house, and she seemed to want him to join her in Gryffindor.
"No, not that one, that one. That shows you are brave."
"Let the man choose for himself, you loon." Alfendi growled, "surely you want to see what house he would actually be in, rather than trying to sort him yourself. He's already proven that there is more to him than meets the eye. I'm curious myself. I'm guessing Ravenclaw."
"I think Hufflepuff," chimed in Lucy, enjoying herself immensely.
Finally, Ernest submitted his answers, and was sorted into his house.
"Ravenclaw!" Kat moaned, a look of disappointment crossing her eyes as she pouted. Alfendi grinned with smug satisfaction and crossed his arms, resulting in a shove from his sister. Ernest turned and smiled at her reassuringly.
"Don't worry, Miss! Ravenclaw suits me, blue and all!" He gestured down to his blue jumper.
"Not to mention he is the brains of your detective agency." Remarked Alfendi.
"You are just a bundle of joy this evening," grumbled Katrielle, crossing her arms.
"Guys," chuckled Lucy, stepping between them. Then she turned to Alfendi, placing her hands on his chest. "Your turn now, Prof."
Ernest jumped out of the chair and Alfendi slumped down into it, sighing as he leant forward and began to tap on the keyboard. The others, bar Clive and Flora, stood attentively, watching for his answer. When the green, serpentine emblem appeared, Alfendi sat back again, and grinned smuggly at Kat.
"Told you. Best house," he boasted.
Kat raised one eyebrow. "Really, Alfendi? You are 32 years old. Aren't you a little too old for I-told-you-so?"
Alfendi stood up and tousled her hair as he walked around her back to Lucy's side. "Not when it comes to you."
As he walked past Lucy he took her hand in his and gently led her back to the sofa, pulling her down with him so that they were snuggled into the corner of the chair once more. Kat followed, stopping just behind her own armchair.
"I wonder if Placid took the test, would he get a different house?" She mused loudly. Alfendi tensed, but quickly relaxed again as both he and Lucy turned to look at her. They had been looking for answers about his maintained split personality for the last three years with frustrating fruitlessness, although he had made progress in holding onto Potty for longer, who was closer to his true nature. Naturally, it was currently a sore point, and Kat was well aware. But Potty handled it with his usual tact.
"That man wouldn't qualify - the quiz would actually create a new allocation for irritating muggles." He shrugged, wrapping his arm around Lucy so that she could rest against him. However there was a new light in his eye, and Kat didn't retort. Instead, she turned to Flora and Clive, who hadn't moved from their seats.
"Did Father say when he would be back?" She inquired, moving round the seat and falling into it again, one leg swung over the arm which Ernest was also sat on.
The Professor had popped out a few hours before to run an errand, and he had not yet returned. It was not yet late, nearing 7:30pm, however his absence was notable. No one sat in the Professor's tan leather armchair, which was positioned in the corner beside the bookshelves. Flora thought for a moment.
"No, I don't think he did. Don't fret Kat, he'll be back soon."
Kat sighed and went quiet again. She lay her head back against the back of the chair and swung her leg back and forth, like a child who was growing increasingly bored. Lucy and Alfendi had settled into a cosy silence, whist Flora had returned to her book and Clive was sitting, his eyes slightly unfocused as if he were thinking about something substantial.
"Auntie Flora," Kat said quietly, not lifting her head from the chair but instead looking down her nose as far as she could in Flora's direction. Flora looked up with a smile.
"Yes?"
"Did you and Uncle Clive want to take the quiz?" She now sat up, a thoughtful look on her face, "I reckon you are a Ravenclaw, and Uncle Clive, I bet you are a Gryffindor."
"Or a Slytherin," piped up Alfendi with a sly smile.
Clive chuckled, then looked up at Kat.
"Sounds like fun, why not?" Clive and Flora had made reading the Harry Potter series into a competition, and, as expected, Flora had won, but only by a day, as Clive was often quick to follow up with. Lifting himself from the floor, Clive stood and followed Kat over to the computer. She showed him how to complete the quiz and then waited while he filled it out. Kat's gasp let the rest of the room know that his quiz result was not something that she had guessed.
"A Ravenclaw?" she pondered, clearly surprised, "interesting, I guess I can see it." She looked him up and down, and then turned away from the computer just as Flora walked over.
It had only been a few weeks since Clive and Flora had found out that Flora was pregnant, so there was not much to show for it yet. However she had been struggling with morning sickness, and was finding evenings exhausting. Clive was ever the attentive husband, and so when she came up behind him and pecked him on the check, he squeezed her hand and then stood so that she could sit down.
"Ahh, so it took hearing that I might be smarter than you to pull you away from that book?" he jested, squeezing her shoulders as she batted him away.
" Well, I'm doubting the reliability of this quiz now," she laughed, "so I thought I would conduct a conclusive test to make sure."
Katrielle set it up and then Flora took the quiz, thinking carefully about her answers. When her result was also Ravenclaw, there was a glow of pride about her, and she turned in her chair, smiling up at Clive who was leaning on the back of the chair.
"Well, look at that, clearly it's not broken. I guess there is always the chance for erroneous results though," she teased, then stood up. Then they both went back to the armchair they had taken, and whilst Flora sat back down on the cushion, Clive mimicked Earnest and sat along the back of the chair, his hands resting either side of Flora's head.
Suddenly, a key in the front door began to jangle, and then it opened to admit the Professor, wrapped in his large winter coat, scarf and, of course, his famous top hat. A cold breeze swept in with him, but he hesitated to close the door.
"Good evening, everyone!" he said cheerily, "I have a surprise guest."
The Professor then took a step back, and through the door walked an older woman, adorned in a large yellow coat and a green bobble hat that rested on waves of brown curls. The Professor closed the door behind her, and then they removed their outdoor clothes, hanging them on the already loaded coat stand. The pair then stood at the far end of the room, and Layton carried out the introductions.
"Everyone, this is an old friend of mine, Miss Emmy Altava."
Emmy smiled widely, and waved to everyone in the room.
"Hello! The Professor has been telling me all about you. I'm sorry we have not yet had the pleasure to meet."
The Professor went around and introduced everyone, with Clive and Ernest standing on ceremony.
"It feels as if I have known you forever," laughed Flora, when everyone was settled about a new pot of tea and a fresh cake that the Professor had picked up, he revealed, on his way to collect Emmy from the train station. "Luke spoke of you so often."
"If only Uncle Luke was here," sighed Katrielle, carving off another chunk of her cake slice with her cake fork, "then everyone would be here."
"Indeed," said the Professor, "but I can understand their not being here."
"Yes," Flora piped in, "I can imagine that everything has been turned up on its head by baby Hershel's arrival."
"Luke is married?" Emmy asked, wide-eyed, almost choking on her cake, "and a father?"
Professor Layton chuckled. "We have a lot of catching up to do, but never fear, my dear, there will be plenty of time."
"Oh, but I wish I could see him!" whined Kat, she placed a hand on Ernest's knee and looked up at him, "I showed you the picture Uncle Luke sent, didn't I? He is so cute, with his chubby little hands and cheeks!" Ernest blushed and nodded, as Kat turned to face the room again.
"I can't wait until I can give him a big cuddle from his Aunty Kat." She began to cradle her empty plate, and then seemed to remember something. "Oh, Dad, you have to be sorted into your Hogwarts house!"
The professor paused, his teacup half-way to his mouth, then he lowered it again. "I'm sorry, my dear?" he had a bemused look on his face.
"We have all taken a quiz that Katrielle's friend told her about, which sorts you into your Hogwarts house," clarified Clive, who was digging into his cake.
"Indeed," Kat said, "and so far I am the only Gryffindor. Which is a little disappointing really."
The Professor placed his teacup back on the saucer and lowered it onto the coffee table. "Well, if everyone has already done this quiz, it is only proper that I do so as well. But we should really let our guest go first."
"Have you read the Harry Potter books, Emmy?" Kat asked, her eyes wide.
Emmy thought for a moment. "You know, I don't think I have. But I've heard a lot about them, and I know about all of the houses. I'll give it a go, what's the harm?"
Kat jumped out of her seat with joy and led Emmy over to the computer, leaving the Professor and the rest of the group exchanging amused glances.
"I got Gryffindor!" called Emmy a few minutes later, and then the two ladies returned, Katrielle practically jumping.
"I knew I liked you," she said to Emmy as she sat down again, and then she went over to the Professor and offered him her hand. "Your turn, Dad!"
With a chuckle, the Professor stood, and took his turn at the computer. He had recently taken to wearing a pair of reading glasses, and so popped them over his eyes as he got started. He took his time reading the questions, assisted by the ever-helpful Kat over his shoulder, and soon enough he had also been sorted. They then returned to their seats, so that everyone was now sat down.
"I knew I wasn't alone in Gryffindor," Kat nodded solemnly as she planted herself again in the chair, "I just had to wait until all of the worthy people returned to the house."
"How can you be sure that your house is the worthy one?" questioned Alfendi. Lucy was half asleep and leaning against his shoulder, so he was careful not to move too much. "Perhaps no one else here is worthy enough to be in Slytherin."
Kat put her nose in the air. "Dad is in my house, so I think that decides it."
With a chuckle Alfendi shrugged and let the matter lie, resting his hand carefully over Lucy, pulling her closer to him.
"Well, Professor," remarked Emmy, sipping her tea, "you have an amazing family. I look forward to getting to know everyone better."
"Well, you know our Hogwarts houses now," grinned Kat, "so you are off to a good start. We'll have to get Luke and Marina to do the quiz when we next see them."
And with that, they settled into their cake and tea, and enjoyed hearing about Emmy and her adventures.