Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
Seven-year-old Albus Severus Potter stared at the house in front of him in fear. He clung to his Aunt Hermione's shaking hand with one hand, and held a secure group on his bag with the other. She had tears in her eyes as she looked down at him.
"You're going to be okay, Albus," She whispered, leaning down on one knee to be eye level with him.
He shook his head, "Why can't I stay with Uncle Neville? Or you? I-I don't wanna go." A few tears trickled out of his eyes and fell down his cheeks.
"You know why," the woman responded sadly, brushing the hair out of his eyes.
He did. He knew why, but that didn't mean he understood it.
He didn't understand a lot of things lately. He didn't understand why his mother was killed. He didn't understand why they blamed his father and arrested him. He didn't understand why they'd taken him away from his Uncle Neville (who was supposed to be taking care of him until they proved his daddy innocent) simply because he defended his father. He didn't understand why they were putting him and his siblings in something called the "Wizarding Foster System" and he didn't understand why they split him and James and Lily up. He didn't understand why he had to stay with this family.
There was something bad about them. He knew this. When his Aunt Hermione came and told them who they were going to be staying with, his Uncle Ron had cursed really loudly and attempted to demand he get placed with someone else. Hermione had explained to him how she couldn't do that. The Ministry had started the new program, and not even the family had a choice in the fact that they would be having a child staying with them.
The Ministry, due to the large number of suicides after the war (of people devastated of their lost loved ones) that left many children orphans and the lack of people willing to take them in, had decided that the best thing to was to literally force people to take them in. People had been angry about this, of course, but there wasn't really a better alternative that they could afford after having to put so much money into rebuilding. Thus, once they decided that his Uncle Neville was unfit to take care of them due to the fact that he was defending Harry and so many people have threatened him over it; they had been dispersed to the family they felt was most fit.
James and Lily had been lucky, in Albus' opinion. Lily had managed to get placed in the care of Dean Thomas, a family friend. James would be staying with Percy, their uncle who was also the Minister of Magic.
Albus… well, Albus hadn't been as lucky.
"Just be brave," she continued, "Your dad will be out of Azkaban before you know it and he'll get you guys back. This is only temporary. Just- Just be good. Be brave. Don't forget that we all love you and we'll be waiting for you guys to come home."
He nodded shakily and hugged his aunt tightly, "I love you too," he whispered in her ear, "Tell daddy that I miss him."
She nodded and hugged him back, "All right," she spoke softly as she turned and knocked swiftly on the door, "Everything is going to be okay."
The door opened shortly, revealing a blonde haired man. He scowled at Hermione and Albus hid behind his Aunt's legs.
"Granger," he greeted stiffly. His grey eyes slid down to where Albus was hiding behind her legs, "This must be Potter's kid."
Hermione nodded and even Albus could tell she was forcing a smile, "Yes, Draco, this is Albus. I'm surprised you've forgotten that my last name is now Weasley."
The man seemed to flinch very slightly when Hermione said his name but he nodded and gestured for them to come inside.
Albus followed his aunt, sticking very close to her as they walked into the mansion. He stared in wonder at the many portraits lining the walls, all Malfoy ancestors. They all stared at him as he walked past, some glaring, and some laughing.
Draco led them down the hall and into the living room. A pretty, brunette woman was sitting on the couch and reading a book. She smiled warmly at them when they walked in.
"Astoria, our guest is here," he said, sounding as if he wanted nothing more for Albus to leave.
The woman looked at Draco in disproval, obviously noting his tone of voice. She got up from her spot on the couch and set the book on the table beside her before walking over to Albus. He hid behind Hermione's legs again, but she simply got on her knees and held out one hand, "It's nice to meet you, Albus. I'm Astoria."
He hesitated and looked up at his Aunt in concern. She nodded in encouragement and he took the woman's hand and shook it lightly.
Astoria smiled warmly, "We're very glad to have you here. Aren't we, Draco?"
She glared at her husband and he faked a smile, "Yeah, we're jumping for joy."
Albus wasn't stupid. He knew he was being sarcastic, but he also knew he couldn't do anything about it. He stayed silent and stared down at his shoes. The group fell into an awkward silence where Albus could tell without even looking up that Astoria was glaring at her husband again. Finally, Astoria broke the silence, "Albus, how about I show you to your room?"
"That sounds like a good idea," Hermione said, squeezing Albus' hand in encouragement.
Astoria smiled and gestured for them to follow her as they walked down the hall and up some stairs. Albus was surprised at how big the house was, and the more they kept walking, the more sure he was that he was going to get lost everyday.
Finally, they stopped outside a room. It was a fairly large room, with blue walls and a white carpet. His bed had sheets with brooms and snitches covering it and there was a desk in the corner with a large stack of paper and Muggle Crayons. One entire wall had bookshelves lined up against it, carrying an assortment of both Muggle and Wizard books. There was a box filled with toys, and the closet held several robes and Muggle outfits.
"Do you like it?" Astoria spoke hopefully. Albus found it funny how different she was from her husband.
He nodded slightly and gave her a small grin, but it was all he could muster. After the death of his mother, his father's arrest, and being ripped away from his Godfather, it had been a rough week. He really couldn't muster a real smile for her.
Still, the small smile must have been enough for the woman, as her face lit up in a proud smile.
There was a pause, and then Hermione turned to Astoria, "Do you mind if I have a few moments alone with him before I have to leave?"
"That's fine, Mrs. Granger," she said politely, leaving the room with one last look at Albus.
Hermione picked Albus up and sat him down on his new bed, "Alright, this is a nice room, isn't it? It looks like they read your transcripts really well, as they even have somewhere for you to color. You should like it here."
He looked down at his hands and shook his head slightly, "I want to stay with you," he whispered, a tear slipping down his cheek again.
She sighed and seemed to think for a minute before she pulled a locket off around her neck. She instructed Albus to hold open his hand before placing the locket in it. He looked at her in confusion.
"This is a locket that your mother gave to me last Christmas," she opened the locket up, revealing a moving picture of his entire family standing in front of the Christmas tree. He could see his parents standing off to the side, Harry with his arms wrapped around Ginny. His grandparents stood in the back, warm smiles on their faces as they gazed at their large family. James was sticking up bunny ears over Albus' smiling face and Rose had her arm slung over his shoulder. Teddy's hair turned from blue to green to pink as he smiled up at the camera handsomely, Uncle George making a goofy face behind him. The rest of the family was there as well, smiling happily at the camera, and Albus remembered that his Uncle Neville was the one taking the picture.
Hermione continued as Albus gazed longily at the photo, "I have a copy at my house, okay? I want you to keep this. Whenever you begin to miss us, look at this photo. Remember that we're always with you, no matter how far away you are," she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, "Your mother, too. She's still with you, watching over you. You're going to be okay. You're going to be brave."
He nodded, showing that he understood. She helped him put the locket on and he didn't even care if James would have teased him for being girly. He wasn't going to take it off as long as he could.
Hermione kissed the top of his head, hugged him one last time, whispered a soft, "We love you, Albus," and left the room.
He scurried to the door and listened as his Aunt had a quick talk to Astoria.
"We'll try and let him visit you guys," Astoria was saying, trying to sound cheerful.
Hermione sighed, "Thanks, but you know that the judge said. Anyone who is defending Harry can't have any contact with the kids anymore. The only reason Percy got James is because he's the Minister and isn't publicly defending Harry so he can take care of him," she paused, "Just, take care of him. Please. He's only a child, and he's gone through so much this week."
"He'll be safe here, Mrs. Granger. My husband might not be thrilled about this, but he'll warm up to Albus," Astoria spoke softly and politely, "I'm sure this will all be cleared up soon."
"Thank you. It's Mrs. Weasley now, though. I've got to get going, though. I was told to be back in my house by six. They wanted to make sure I didn't try anything like kidnap him or something. Keep him safe."
"We will. You don't have to worry."
There was a pause and Albus knew that his aunt was hesitating. His heart leapt, hoping that she had changed her mind and was going to take Albus home and figure out this entire mess despite the consequences. His heart fell, however, as he heard her footsteps walk away.
He was alone.
Author's note: Here's a story I've had in my head for a while. What do you guys think? This is only the prologue and the next two chapters will involve time jumps to show bits of his life over the next four years before he heads to Hogwarts. That's where the story really take place.