Newcomers - welcome! Regular readers - welcome back!

This book is the third of a series, though it can be read independently, I do recommend that you go to my Profile and read my first book first if you haven't already. Beyond that, I just want to say, I hope you enjoy my writing, please keep reading and feel free to review with any notes or questions. :)

Chapter 1

Simon Says

August 2019 felt like a longer month than most. Sun streamed though the dusty curtains and across the faces of Albus Potter and his siblings as they sat in the front room of their family home. Lily, the youngest, pressed her face to the window and watched a dog wander lazily up the road outside, sticking to the sparse shadowy spots. Albus was glad of the warm breeze drifting through the windows and causing the curtain to rise and fall whimsically.

Teddy, their father's godson, sat on the couch with a mug of tea in his hands, courtesy of their mother, Ginny. All three of the children adored him and there was always excitement when he dropped in, but today the atmosphere was different. James, Albus's older brother had been in a bad mood all day – all summer really – and Albus eyed him wearily as he lay slouched on the sofa reading the sports section of the Daily Prophet. Personally, Albus had been avoiding the newspaper as of late. Himself and James had been involved in some trouble last year and the paper was always updating the story. Albus was more than ready to leave the whole experience behind him.

He chose to focus his energies instead on passing his exams. He had missed half the school year and therefore been forced to catch up on the workload over the summer. If he managed to pass all of the exams, he would proceed as usual onto his third year, if he failed, even one, he would have to repeat.

On top of it all, their mother had forced them into seeing a Ministry-appointed shrink. Albus didn't think it was helping at all but every week he went with James and sat with the nice lady, staring into her thin lipped smile and wondering what it was that he was supposed to be talking about.

"Are you looking forward to the Sorting Ceremony?" Teddy asked with a grin and breaking Albus's wandering train of thought.

"I'm looking forward to the feast!" Giggled Lily excitedly, turning from the window and bouncing onto an armchair.

Teddy's smile widened.

"As for which house I want to be in…" Lily pondered.

Lily was about to join her brothers at boarding school and begin her first year. The school had four houses. Teddy had graduated some years earlier.

"I don't care where I go, so long as it's not Slytherin." Lily said crinkling up her nose at the least loved house.

"Now, now, Lils, not all Slytherins are bad." Teddy said wisely.

"Ha!" Scoffed James.

Lily glanced at Albus looking for his opinion.

"Teddy's right." Albus assured her remembering his fears when starting Hogwarts and hoping his sister wouldn't worry so much, "Like…"

He paused and thought for a moment, "Okay, so I can't think of any of the top of my head…"

"What does it matter, Lily won't be a Slytherin," James interrupted casually chucking the newspaper on the floor, "You're about as cunning as a butterfly."

Teddy chuckled as Lily turned her confused round eyes to him. James swung his legs off the couch and strutted out into the hall muttering about the mail being late. Teddy sighed,

"Never mind him Lily." He said calmly, "His attitude will disappear once you're on your way to school. Has your Mum got you some robes yet?"

With this, Lily launched into excited, high-speed chatter and Albus allowed himself to zone out.

Although he didn't share James foul mood he more than understood it. Today they were due to receive their exam results and if he had failed anything, he would have no choice but to repeat second year. For Albus, not only did this mean an extra year in school but he would no longer have classes with his best friend, Philip. Albus couldn't bear the idea of Flying class without him, or any of his classes really.

Albus's heart sank when he thought of Philip, he hadn't seen him in seven months, would Philip still want to be his friend? Would he have replaced Albus with one of the other boys in their year? Seven months was a long time to not speak to someone. They had exchanged letters in early June but Albus knew that nothing would feel the same until they spoke face to face and cleared the air. Albus longed to explain to him why he had left the school last year without so much as telling him and also to express how much he had missed him. Unfortunately, Philip spent the summer visiting relatives in the Philippians so Albus had yet to have the chance. He had only returned to London a few days ago and was staying in Diagon Alley where his grandparents owned a shop. So long as the mail brought good news, Albus would get to see him tomorrow.

"Owl's here!" Came James strangled cry.

Albus dashed out as his brother sprinted down the stairs. Albus opened the door and the postal owl swept in and settled on the coat rack.

Lily was quick on Albus's heels, Teddy followed at a more relaxed pace and Albus could hear his mother hurrying up from the kitchen.

"Simon says owls can turn their heads almost three hundred and sixty degrees." Lily told Teddy eagerly, dancing around the hall.

Simon, referred to by everybody but Lily simply as Tag was a young werewolf who had escaped from an island off the coast of France with James, Albus and their cousin Rose in April. After being given the all-clear from a hospital in France and with nowhere else to go, Albus's grandparents had taken pity on the boy and taken him in for the summer. With her brothers stuck indoors studying, Lily had quickly attached herself to him. Thrilled to have the opportunity to show him around the Devon countryside and take him to all her favourite spots and fascinated with anything he had to say.

'Simon' was almost the only thing that James and Albus had heard about all summer. Simon can do cartwheels. Simon knows all about trees. Simon knows the names of all the birds in Devon. She went on and on, clearly impressed by her new friends skills. Not that Lily was hard to impress, as James would point out. She tended to look for the best in everybody and was easily fascinated when learning things that she didn't know before.

"I don't care what Simon says," Muttered James grumpily, pulling a wad of letters from around the owls foot, "Simon didn't have to spend al summer studying for his exams."

Lily opened her mouth as if to reply.

"What?" Snapped James angrily.

Lily said nothing, knowing better than to antagonise her already provoked older brother.

For once Albus was inclined to empathise with James, Simon – Tag – was far from his favourite houseguest. Charming around Lily and the adults, he had an insuppressible cheeky streak that riled Albus up even more than usual when he was stressing about schoolwork.

"Whatcha doing?" Tag would singsong as Albus slugged his way through Transfiguration notes.

"I'm studying." Albus would groan in response.

"What for?"

"So that I can go back to school in September." Albus would sigh short-temperedly.

"I don't know why you care so much," Tag would shrug, "I don't go to school and look at me, I'm fine!"

"Arguable." Albus would think, but he didn't want to prolong conversation.

James handed an envelope to Albus. It was marked with his name and had a Hogwarts seal. There was no mistaking what it was. With butterflies in his stomach he tore it open as James ripped into his own one.

"Yes!" Exclaimed James, punching the air and passing the letter to his Mum to read.

Albus scanned through the list of grades on the paper, barely believing his eyes. The grades weren't great but he had passed everything. Relief filled him up as Lily pulled at his arm,

"Well?" She asked desperately.

He nodded his head and felt James thump him a little too roughly on the back,

"I knew that you had to have passed if I managed it."

"Looks like we'll be celebrating tonight," He heard his mother saying though she sounded far away, "Do stay for dinner, Teddy."

Albus read the rest of the letter.

'I am pleased to inform you that having passed the end of year examinations and will proceed into third year this coming September. Attached is your new book list. Term begins on 1st September.

Yours sincerely,

Nicholas Liberius

Deputy Headmaster'

Albus felt overwhelmed with the relief and collapsed against the wall. Now he could leave everything that had happened last term in the past. For a little while at least.

The next morning, Albus got up early and got ready for their annual family visit to Diagon Alley. There was a lot to get – spell books, potion ingredients, new robes for Lily and for James who had outgrown his. James's height was now on par with their mother's. Albus reckoned James would be happy with this as it would give him a bit of extra force on the Quidditch field. Quidditch was the sport at Hogwarts, it involved seven players on broomsticks and three different types of balls. It was the only thing on which the Potter brothers' opinions aligned. Quidditch was awesome.

His height was not the only thing that made James look older this year. His time in captivity had changed him. His cheeks were more sunken making his face look less juvenile. Albus wondered if he had changed as much. It was harder to note the difference on himself. He looked in the mirror. Nope, for all of his thirteen years he still appeared to himself just as chubby cheeked and wide-eyed as he had been at the start of his very first year - and only a little less nervous.

Albus was joined at breakfast by Lily, who was so excited about the days itinerary that she kept bouncing up and down in her chair and could barely seem to eat.

"Which shop do we go to first? When can I see the pets? Will Hugo be there?" Lily asked hurriedly.

Their mother, Ginny, shook her head frustratedly as she dug around in the cupboards looking for something.

"Yes, yes, Hugo will meet us outside Flourish and Blotts when we get there. Provided we get there on time, of course." She muttered.

Hugo was their cousin, his parents, Ron and Hermione, would also be preparing him for his first year at school. Their daughter, Rose, who was in Albus's year, was currently in St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

Albus's Dad, Harry entered the kitchen.

"Harry, please go and wake James up, we can't be delayed." Ginny said, glancing around at her husband.

Harry exited once more as Lily's endless stream of questions continued.

"Mom, can I get a cat rather than an owl?" Lily asked.

It was typical for students to bring a pet with them to the magical boarding school.

"James and Albus both have owls so I can use theirs to send letters and cats are so much cuddlier."

"That really depends on the cat." Muttered Albus thinking of the Weasley's big, old, fat cat, Crookshanks, that Rose brought to school in first year.

"What about Simon?" Asked Lily as Harry re-entered, followed by a semi-conscious James, "Will Simon be coming?" Lily continued.

Ginny continued shaking her head with frustration, "Have you seen the Floo Powder, Harry?"

"Oh, it's upstairs, I'm sorry, I didn't think-"

"Never mind, never mind, I'll get it in a minute." Ginny dismissed, "Have some toast."

"Simon says he's never been to Diagon Alley but he thinks it sounds fun, he's even more excited than I am." Lily delighted.

James groaned.

"Simon says-"

"Yes Lily, yes." Ginny finally replied, "Simon will be there. Hermione and Ron are bringing him."

She collapsed at the table and poured herself a large mug of coffee.

"Mind you, I don't know what they're going to do with that boy when everybody else leaves for Hogwarts. Mum's already having enough trouble supporting him, apparently he eats like a…"

"Wolf?" James suggested.

Their mother gave him withering look.

"He's a growing boy." Harry said, glossing over a scone with the butter knife, "Nothing your mother can't handle."

The Potters arrived in Diagon Alley only seventeen minutes later than they had planned, a new record. If Lily had been excited at breakfast, it wads nothing compared to how she looked now.

"Look Mum! There's Hugo and Simon!" She squealed manically, pulling on her parents' arms.

"What's your plan, boys?" Harry asked, trying to restrain her enough to achieve a moment of civil conversation.

"I think we should go and see the Pais." Albus replied, glancing at James, "Is it okay if we leave you and Mum to pick up our books?"

Harry conceded and Lily dragged him off as James and Albus wound their way through the throngs of witches and wizards to find the Quidditch Emporium where Philip and his family would be.

The Quidditch Emporium was a magical place. The latest racing broomsticks lined the walls, flags, banners and t-shirts in the colours of various teams were piled on tables and draped all around the shop, a serious-looking man known for his stint as the coach of the Kenmare Kestrels polished a glass display box full of Golden snitches which buzzed around inside like tiny yellow hummingbirds.

James and Albus had to restrain themselves from wandering and drooling all over the shop's inventory. There would be time to wander through the shop later, right now they were on a mission. Albus needed to see Philip again and make sure that they were still friends and they also needed to make peace with his older brother, their Quidditch Captain, Rangi.

A kindly old lady stood behind the counter and she glanced at them over her spectacles as they approached.

"Can I help you?" She asked politely.

"Yes, em, I'm looking for Phil-"

"Oh!" She exclaimed, "You're Philip's friend! Albus, of course, he's told me all about you." She fussed as Albus felt his face grow hot.

She called up the stairs behind her as James murmured,

"I'll let you talk to Philip for a minute before we go and see Rangi, I'll just be looking around…" He trailed off, eyes roaming all over the store.

Albus allowed his brother to wander off. He didn't much want him hovering over him for this conversation anyway.

"Albus!"

Philip had appeared on the stairs. He ran down and squeezed out from behind the counter where boxes full of extra products were stacked precariously.

"I'm glad you're here." He said as Albus felt himself fill with relief, "How did your exams go?"

"Better than expected," Albus replied, smiling at how natural everything felt.

"Oh good, Hogwarts isn't the same without you." Philip beamed.

"Yeah, listen, I'm really sorry about – everything, I guess." Albus admitted, Philip's Granny was trying to look busy but Albus could tell she was straining to listen in.

"Forget it." Philip said quickly, putting a hand on Albus's arm and leading him away a few paces, obviously conscious of the same thing, "I know you were trying to help Rose."

"Even still, I'm sorry." Albus repeated, unable to look Philip in the eye.

Philip shook his head, "How is Rose?" He asked.

"Still in Mungo's," Albus told him, "But she's improving, steadily."

Philip smiled, "She's not going to risk missing the first day of school is she?"

Albus laughed, "Teddy says she's already reading our new text books."

Teddy was training to be a Healer at the hospital.

"You're going to have to fill us in on everything that happened while we were gone." Albus told him, feeling relaxed again.

James wandered over looking a little dazed.

"Funny enough, not a lot did happen without you." Philip laughed.

This seemed typical to Albus, wherever he went, trouble seemed to follow – or maybe it was wherever James went. Either way, he always seemed to be caught up in the middle of it. Philip and had probably had a lovely relaxing few months without them around.

"However," Philip continued, his voice dipping into a more serious tone, "We did lose the Quidditch Cup, rather spectacularly, without you."

Albus's stomach plummeted.

"I'm not really sure how Rangi's going to react to you being here." He warned.

"Better to get it over with now than wait till Hogwarts…" James muttered.

Philip nodded in agreement, "Follow me." He said, and led them behind the counter and up the stairs into the proprietors' home.

A/N: Hey everybody, so first of all, I really hope you enjoyed this first little taste of the new book and got a nice little catch up on where everybody is and what's been happening. Please review and let me know what you think.

Just a few formalities though - I still don't own the rights to Harry Potter. This novel is written for fans by a fan and there's no profit or intended infringement involved. Also, as far as keeping Canon goes, I began this series after reading the books but before all this online extra info was published so, anything that you read in Harry Potter should be true to this (and if I slip up, let me know) but I can't keep changing things whenever more info is released so outside of that I take creative liberty. There are no major plot-related changes but you can expect changes in James and Albus' extended family and their careers. For example, I mentioned above that Teddy (in my books) is training to become a Healer, I chose this because I see Teddy as a very caring person who seeks to help others in pain - but if JK Rowling posts tomorrow that Teddy actually becomes a Curse Breaker or something, well then that's just a variation that you and I will have to accept. Changes have been made to the families of George, Percy, Charlie, Draco, Bill etc. but some won't be relevent or even mentioned and where they are, I'll be my best to make them clear and you do your best to go along with them. Deal?

Phew, that was long winded. To finish up, I just want to say that I'm sorry my predicted release date was two weeks off. There were some complications both with the story (like the fact that I couldn't come up with a title for AGES) and with technicalities (I had no internet for a bit) - the point is, to make up for it I have this first chapter up on the anniversary of the first chapter of The Serpent's Tongue AND I'm gonna have Chapter 2 ready for you, this weekend! So let's be excited for that!

Peace out people,

ASG