A/N: All this is the property of JKR. This is a little 300 word drabble I wrote for the Clever_Claws Community for LiveJournal. The prompt I used was "waiting". I rated it T because Terry has a bad mouth.

Michael waited for the Sorting, standing next to Terry Boot, a vulgar but perceptive boy that he has just met on the Express.

Terry was nattering about something, but Michael barely listened, worrying instead about which House he'd be going to.

Slytherin? Any House that bred You-Know-Who? Probably not an ideal environment for personal growth.

Gryffindor . . . no. Michael was cautious in nature; he didn't pride himself on stupid impulse and God complexes.

Hufflepuff. His mum had been a Hufflepuff; she was a great person. Generous, devoted to her work, family and friends. Plus, she was just cool. She loved music, magical and Muggle. Michael had even learned to play the guitar from her.

He also saw how some people looked at her whenever she said she had been in Hufflepuff. Like it was a flaw. Something to be pitied.

And Ravenclaw. The Enigma.

His father was a Ravenclaw; he'd been oddly reticent to describe the true Eagle. "We're smart, but intelligence can have many different meanings. Academic intelligence. Creative genius. An exploration of the self—"

"Hey, Mr. Made-of-Brains." His mum wrapped her arms around his neck. "Are you going to take your quest for intelligence over to our kitchen and help me with dinner?" She grinned as his father blushed…

Terry interrupted Michael's thoughts with a sharp elbow to his side.

"What?"

"I overheard this bloke on the platform say Slytherin's the wankers, Hufflepuff's plonkers, and Gryffindor's full of cocks."

Michael laughed so hard, he didn't even ask about Ravenclaw.

He was surprised, but not terribly so, when Terry got sorted into Ravenclaw House. He did seem to possess an odd awareness about things, despite all the vulgarity.

Michael decided if the Hat asked him, he might be able to give it an answer.