YEAR 2

THE GREY GUARDIAN

Author's Notes:

This is the second part of The Mongoose series, so for anyone that hasn't read "The House of Judgement", this won't really make much sense. For those who finished that and are sticking around to give this one a try, thanks for sticking around! :D This one may be kind of short, too, though hopefully not as short as the first one. I'm... a little impatient to get to the fun stuff in the upcoming years lol
Enjoy! 3

~*Chapter 1*~

Expectations

Felicia burst into Al's compartment twenty minutes after the Hogwarts Express had left King's Cross Station. She was loaded down with a stack of books, two suitcases, and a small cage from which something was screeching in continuous hysterical bursts.

"Al! There you are!"

Rose hastily got up to take one of her bags and help her stow it in the overhead compartment, while Al heaved the second one up above his own seat. "Cripes, Felicia," he gasped. "What'd you pack, rocks?"

She laughed, looking flushed and happy. Al wasn't surprised; her last few letters of the summer had become increasingly more excited as their second year at Hogwarts approached. "Dad got a raise at work, so Mom went a little nuts for back-to-school shopping, I guess. I brought a few things for you all, too." She dropped breathlessly into the seat beside Al, beaming across at Rose and Molly.

Once again I'm surrounded by girls, Al thought with an internal wince. He wondered briefly where Andrew was. James had already claimed a compartment for himself, Roxanne, and Fred. The three were likely already up to some sort of mischief, if not talking themselves hoarse about Quidditch. They were desperate to play again after not being allowed to finish last year's matches.

Molly smiled and nodded politely; she was a year older and barely knew Felicia. Rose was looking pointedly at the shrieking cage Felicia had clasped in her dark hands. "Er, what is that, Felicia? Did you catch a pixie or something?"

"Oh, it's my owl!" She held up the cage proudly. "That's the surprise I wanted to tell you about, Al, that I mentioned in my last letter. Isn't he cute? His name's Nicodemus."

They all leaned in to get a closer look at the infuriated owl. It was an ash-colored bird, still somewhat young judging by its size, and puffed up with indignation at its rough handling and confining cage.

"It looks more murderous than cute," Al pointed out.

"Oh, he's just huffy because he got banged about a bit. My hands were full. Did you get one, Al?" Felicia made soothing noises and set the cage on the floor between her feet.

Al grinned and rose to his feet, carefully sliding loose a boxy carrier from the overhead compartment. He settled down and turned the carrier in his lap so that she could see through the bars in the door. "Meet Trinity."

"Ooo!" Felicia crooned, immediately sticking her fingers through the bars. "What a cutie! You really did get a cat, huh?"

"Dad wanted to get me an owl, but James already has one, so I can always borrow his for letters and stuff." Al laughed as a throaty and surprisingly loud purr issued from the carrier. "She's pretty friendly, and it'll be nice to have her sleep on the bed with me. I've never had a pet before."

"Why Trinity?" Felicia asked, scratching the black cat's chin through the bars.

Al shrugged. "I didn't name her. The seller said she came from a small litter, only three kittens, all black. She was the last one born."

"Better than 'Midnight' or 'Shadow', anyway," Molly teased.

"Can we let her out?" Felicia asked eagerly.

Al hesitated. He was tempted, but he feared somehow she'd get loose on the train and he'd never find her again.

"She's a wizard's cat, Al," Molly reminded him, sensing his uncertainty. "She's smarter than the average cat, and she knows how to behave herself."

Before Al could answer, the door slid open, and Andrew, the other friend he'd made during his first year, popped his head in, preceded by his beakish nose. He gave an exaggerated sigh of relief. "Oh, good. Everywhere else is taken except for one with a few scared looking first years. Got room for one more?"

"If we squish together," Rose started to say, but Molly was already standing up.

"That's all right, I'd better get to the Ravenclaw carriage. Luanne and Bethany will be wondering where I am." She took her bag and squeezed past Andrew, waving over her shoulder. "See you when we get there!"

"Phew!" Andrew hurled his bag up onto the overhead compartment and threw himself into the seat beside Rose, shoving his hair out of his eyes. Al eyed him enviously. His own mother had insisted on getting her boys' hair cut before school, and his felt a little too short, especially above the ears. Andrew's, in contrast, was just this side of shaggy, but it looked cool.

Belatedly, Andrew noticed the animals, and sat forward quickly. "What! You seriously got 'em? Man, my dad said I'm not getting an owl until I pull my grades up. Lucky!"

"Al got a cat," Felicia declared, still wiggling her fingers inside the cage. "She's cute!"

"I wanted a bat," Andrew said, looking bummed. Felicia made a face. "But I guess those aren't approved or whatever." He looked over at Rose a little curiously. He'd studied with her before, just as Al and Felicia had, but he hadn't seen her much outside of the library. "Aren't you in Ravenclaw?"

She shrugged easily. "I may go back there later. I wanted to hang out with Al for a bit."

Andrew nodded, already switching topics. "Hey, Al, give any thought to Quidditch?" He leaned his elbows on his knobby knees and leaned forward with an eager grin. "We're second years, now. You can try out."

Al groaned inwardly. Andrew had brought this up already a few times in his letters, and Al had been evasive. He should've known the other boy wouldn't let it drop. "I don't know. Quidditch is great, but I'm not sure I'd be any good at it. That's James's thing."

"Oh, come on! You're a Potter! Both your parents were amazing at Quidditch, right? You should totally try out for the Seeker position. I heard last year's isn't going to do it this year because she wants to focus on her NEWTs. Your dad was one of the most famous Seekers in Hogwarts in his day, right? Don't you wanna... I dunno, follow in his footsteps?"

Al felt like sinking into the floor. One of the worst parts of being from a famous family was that everyone had high expectations for him. Not only did he have to live up to his father's name, but he also had to show he was as good as his older brother. One of the only good parts was that most of the awe and expectations had already been laid at James's feet when he'd arrived at Hogwarts. James, however, had loved the attention, and at least he was on the Quidditch team and doing very well in Defense Against the Dark Arts- only fitting, the Professors said smugly, for the son of Harry Potter.

Harry and Ginny had been careful to raise their children as normally as possible, but they'd known there'd be no protecting them from fame and high standards once they started attending Hogwarts. The students didn't react to the Potter brothers the same way students from almost two decades ago had reacted to Harry, but many of them had heard the stories of Harry Potter, at least. It was the Professors sometimes who were worse, Al reflected. Like Professor Macmillan, the DADA teacher, who'd known Harry during school, and even fought beside him. He had nothing but praise for James, but was always harping on Al to try harder, to be as good as Macmillan was sure he must be. Al had caught several Professors eyeing him thoughtfully during his first year, though he hadn't thought much of it at the time. Now that the other first year students he'd met had possibly gone home and mentioned him, would they be giving him unwanted attention as well? That's what had clearly happened with Andrew. He'd spoken of his friendship with Al to his parents, and they'd talked his ear off during the summer with stories about the famous Harry Potter.

At least Andrew had taken it all mostly in stride, Al thought with a small grin. Andrew had told him about his parents' reaction in a letter, and their reaction to his response- "Yeah, but Al's a geek" -had earned him a scolding, but Al had found it oddly encouraging. Andrew may now have high hopes for him, but he wouldn't put him on a pedestal like some of James's admirers did. Or at least, he hoped not.

Felicia, at least, was Muggle-born, and her knowledge of his family was spotty at best. She would only know what she'd heard in passing at school. She had no reason to treat him any differently.

"You learned to fly properly the same time I did," Al reminded him now. "I'm not comfortable enough on a broom to go head-to-head with someone hell-bent on knocking me off mine." What he didn't say out loud was that he wasn't sure he'd like all the pressure that came with the games. What if he was responsible for losing a match? Quidditch was a big deal at school. His House would be upset with him, his teammates would be disappointed, and James would be hopping mad. Not just for losing, but for making James look bad by simple relation. Roxanne and Fred would definitely make it a point to tease him about it nonstop. He shuddered. Too much depended on the Seeker, and that was definitely not a responsibility he wanted. "Even if I did," he said when Andrew pulled a long face, "I would probably try for Chaser or Keeper. Being a Keeper sounds less dangerous, at least." He added hastily when Andrew began to practically bounce in his seat, "But I don't even know if I want to try out. Why don't you do it if you're so keen?"

"Me? Hah!" Andrew sank down lazily into his seat. "Flying's a fun enough way to get around, and Quidditch is great to watch, but I'd rather watch than do, I guess. I just thought... I dunno, that you'd want to carry on the family tradition or whatever. I figured it's in your blood. Your dad played, your mum played... heck, even your uncles played. And now James and your cousins."

There were those unwanted expectations. Al frowned, fighting back irritation. "I'll think about it," he said flatly.

There was a tense silence for a few moments, then Rose cleared her throat and tactfully changed the subject. "So, you remember what the Headmaster said last year? About starting some sort of competition to help bring the Houses together?"

She instantly had everyone's attention.

"Yeah, I wonder what it's gonna be." Felicia finally pulled her fingers away from Trinity's cage and dug guiltily in her pockets for owl snacks. "And how are competitions supposed to help smooth things over? Remember how vicious everyone would get before Quidditch matches?"

Rose shrugged. "It's obvious, isn't it? Whatever this competition is, he'll make us work together to win somehow."

"Together, like... You mean like work with Slytherin?" Andrew made a retching sound.

"They're not all bad," Al said, but without much conviction.

"The fact that you and Malfoy can be in the same room and hold a semi-civil conversation doesn't really give me much hope, thanks," Rose said primly.

Andrew snorted loudly in agreement. "Name one Slytherin besides Malfoy- who, by the way, is an enormous stuck-up git –that doesn't make you want to hit them in the face."

Al shrugged uncomfortably. He and Scorpius Malfoy had found an uneasy truce in Potions class and during the uproar of the so-called fifth House's jinxing spree during the previous year. They weren't friends, but the fact that Scorpius was even grudgingly willing to work with him was encouraging. "I don't really talk to other Slytherins."

"Speaking of which, if I have to sit with Delilah Castor again this year in Potions, I'm going to poison myself," Felicia said grimly, earning a laugh from the others.

"Assuming she doesn't poison you first," Al warned. "Don't let her anywhere near your cauldron this year, okay?"

She gulped audibly. "I'll keep that in mind."

They spent the rest of the train ride talking about their summer activities, discussing the mysterious competition the Headmaster had hinted at, and going over the possibilities of their upcoming classes. Almost before they knew it, it was time to pull on their robes and haul their luggage- grumpy animals and all –out onto the Hogsmeade station.

It was as everyone was jostling for a place in the line for the carriages that Al spotted a familiar thatch of white-blond hair. He reacted almost without thinking, stepping over quickly and raising his voice over the excited babbling of the throng.

"Hey! Scorpius!"

The boy turned to see who'd hailed him, and stiffened slightly in recognition.

He was still small and skinny, with a pinched face and wary pale eyes. He stared at Al blankly, but otherwise didn't respond.

"How was your summer?" Al asked awkwardly.

An older boy stepped forward, in between the two of them. Slytherin. Al glanced around with growing unease. He'd stepped right up to a group of Slytherin students, and none of them looked pleased to see him.

"Get lost," the older boy snapped.

"Hey, isn't that Potter?" one girl said suddenly.

Some of the Slytherins made a threatening move forward, faces dark.

"He wasn't a Judge," Scorpius said, tone flat.

"His brother was," said another girl. Al stared at her unhappily. It was the girl whose arm had been broken during the ill-conceived antics of the House of Judgement in Al's first year. She'd also led that last ambush in the hall that had ended up bringing the fifth House's deeds to light. It seemed she still held a grudge.

Scorpius was already walking towards the nearest carriage, however, so his friends reluctantly followed.

Al let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

"You're thick," Andrew growled, startling him. Turning, Al saw that his friends had come up behind him to offer back-up.

"That was close," Felicia said, eyes wide. "Good thing Malfoy spoke up, I suppose."

"Why'd you even talk to him?" Andrew demanded.

Al shook his head, avoiding Rose's concerned look. He felt embarrassed and foolish. He and Scorpius weren't friends, and he should know better than to treat the boy with familiarity- especially in front of other Slytherins. They'd become very defensive since the Judges had started so blatantly targeting them last year. In their minds, any Gryffindor trying to get near one of theirs was highly suspicious. Especially when his own brother and cousins had been behind some of the jinxing.

But while Scorpius hadn't been very friendly, at least he hadn't egged on his classmates, Al reflected, trailing after the others as Rose pointed out an empty carriage. Scorpius could be cold and unapproachable, but at least he wasn't the bully his father had been.

And anyway, things were sure to be better this year, he told himself firmly. The idiotic fifth House was done with. And after the severe punishments that had rained down at the end of it all, jinxing in general would hopefully become a rarity. At least on school grounds.

He couldn't help but feel a little bit bigger and more optimistic as he settled into a seat beside Andrew, throwing a look towards the frightened gaggle of first years following Hagrid towards the boats. He wasn't a little first year any more. No longer one of the new kids. And while he hadn't done that great in all his classes last year, he was looking forward to Charms. It was the one class he'd excelled at. Heck, maybe he would think about trying out for Quidditch this year. Just to try it out. Surely being a Keeper couldn't be that hard. And it was nice to ride up to the castle knowing he already had a small group of secure friends.

He joined in on the excited conversation, feeling that surely this year had to be less perilous than the last.