Evening all. So, this is my firs fanfiction. Tell me what you think about it because I don't want to continue if my writing is crap. I'll be uploading a chapter every week (Hopefully) and eventually I'll actually finish something! =D I hope you enjoy the story thus far.
It's been so long...The war ended with so many broken hearts. Lost souls, lost loves...
The immediate years after the war were filled with trials and tribulations. Many wizards went to Azkaban. Others were put under parole. And yet again, Harry Potter was labeled a hero.
It's not like he had ever not been one to society. Just that it had never been as uprooted as it was just after the war. Not since he was a baby. But what could the raven haired boy do? There was no stopping the Daily Prophet from writing those damned articles. How many times had he walked down the street, only to be pointed at and whispered about. Some people with awed expressions, others in disgust. It had become somewhat vexatious in his mind. Not to mention that, since the wizarding world saw him as some big thing, whenever he did something, everyone knew about it. The problem with being a celebrity was that whenever you did something that would be considered normal for everyone else, it was suddenly a big huge topic of gossip. Like when he broke it off with Ginny. Oh Merlin, the articles that that one inspired.
Did he dislike being famous? Yes. Yes he did. Aside from killing his parents, that's something else that he will forever curse Voldemort for. For making him a famous icon. He just wanted to live a normal life.
Yet again, he found himself pondering this same thing as he stood outside of a small cauldron shop in Diagon Ally, starring at the days Daily Prophet newspaper. There, on the front page, was a picture of Harry (of course) sitting next to Ron at the Quidditch World Cup just a few days ago. At the time Ron had been giving the green eyed boy a brown paper bag with a book inside about a new Quidditch player named Marcus Flint. The headline? "Is Our Beloved Hero into Heroine?" Harry swore, they took everything someone did and turned it into something vile.
"Bah" Waving his hand at the ridiculous paper, Harry turned away and started walking again. The things people came up with always astounded him, however he rarely got involved. Let them think what they want, he knew the truth. Although, it was hard not to blush and duck his head when a few older witches scowled at him and wagged their fingers, newspapers in front of their noses. Desperate to get away from the stares and glares of pedestrians, Potter slipped inside the nearest store he could find. Just a quaint little coffee shop. Running fingers through his unruly black hair, he walked up to stand in line at the counter. Out of the corner of his eye Harry saw a man sitting in the back, tea cup in hand, magazine in the other, with his feet up as an enchanted broom swept the floors. He turned to look for a moment before turning away again. Magic would always seem so out of this world to him. He never got tired of it.
"Next!" The scratchy voice of the store clerk called forth to whoever was next in line, which happened to be Harry. Stepping up to the counter he gave her a dazzling smile, unaware he was doing so, and tilted his head so a few strands of black hair fell into those intensely green eyes of his.
"Evening ma'am. Can I have a black coffee please?" He watched as the red headed woman behind the counter nodded in awe at him as she turned around and started stumbling to make him a cup of coffee. What's her problem? He wondered. Reaching into his back pocket he pulled out his wallet and handed her the money for the coffee before turning away and going to sit down and drink in peace. However, being famous as he was, peace often evaded him. For instance, he caught a couple of young girls starring at him from another table across the shop. Fifth years, by the looks of it. He turned his head away and starred out the window, pretending he was somewhere very far away. Very far away indeed.
During his daydreaming, Harry noticed a very familiar face standing outside the coffee shop, looking as though he had forgotten something. And that was what tipped Harry off. Smirking, he finished the rest of his coffee and walked out, hands in his pockets as he walked up to his old time friend. Neville Longbottom hadn't changed in all the years since the war. Since the beginning actually. He was still just as forgetful as ever.
"Evening Neville. You look like you've lost something." The raven haired boy watched as his old friend dug around in his pockets and the grocery bags he was carrying.
"Ah! Hello Harry! Haven't seen you in a long time. I want to say about four years now? Oh! Yes. I seem to have misplaced my sunglasses..." Trying to stifle a laugh, Potter reached up and pulled the sunglasses off of his friends head and gave them too him. Neville smiled bashfully and put them on his squinted eyes. Over the years Neville had lost of his baby fat and had also apparently grown a bit of muscle. It made him look so different than the child that Harry had known in his years at Hogwarts.
"Much better. So. What brings you to Diagon Ally Harry?"
"Oh nothing really. Just thought I'd get out for a while." Harry leaned against the nearest light pole and watched as Neville moved out of the way for someone passing by on a broom. Afterward he stood beside Harry, shouldering the briefcase bag he wore.
"Have you heard from Ron lately? I hear him and Hermione are getting married."
"Yeah, they are. You should see the rock that Ron got for her. I'm going to be his best man at the wedding. How have things been at St. Mungo's?" After the war, Neville went on to work at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. According to the Daily Prophet his work had been phenomenal thus far.
"Things are going great! My parents have been doing better too, though I'm not allowed to work with them. Familiarity and all that." The brunette boy rubbed the back of his head and he looked around. Harry just nodded and smiled. It was nice to see someone from his childhood after so long of seclusion. Of course, he still saw Ron and Hermione but that was a given. They were his best friends and his biggest supporters.
"Say, where are you living Harry? Did you really sell Sirius's house?" Neville's voice almost sounded sad as he asked and Harry nearly bit his tongue off in the attempt to pretend he didn't care about what he had just said.
"I'm living in a small house out in the country away from everyone. Heh. And yes, I sold Sirius's home. To a very lovely couple who needed a big place for their family to grow. I've already had wizards come in and help me make it suitable for living so there's no need to worry." He added the last bit when he saw Neville's nervous face about how Harry gave the house to a family. Smirking at how fast the boy's face reverted to that of relief, the green eyed 'hero' patted his shoulder.
"I have to get going. Lots of things to do. I'll see you later alright?"
"Of course. OH! Harry! Before I forget, I have a message for you somewhere here." Neville started digging in his brief case again and Harry grimaced slightly. If Neville forgot where he put the message it could take forever for him to get to it. Harry didn't really want to take the chance. He pulled out a pen from his pocket and grabbed a piece of paper from Neville's bag. He wrote down his address and gave it back to Neville, smiling kindly.
"Owl me. I have to go. Bye Neville!" Before the brunette could argue, Harry turned and crossed the street, walking away and going towards Florrish and Blotts to buy some parchment and quills. He was running low at home. See, while everyone else got jobs in the ministry or went on to get muggle jobs or play Quidditch professionally, Harry decided to stay home and become a writer. So far he had written two books about defensive spells. He was on his third book and it was coming along swimmingly. All he needed now was one more spell and he'd be finished.
After buying what he needed, Harry decided that it was time to leave. He slipped out through the Leaky Cauldron and caught a cab that took him out to the edge of London. It was peaceful out there, much better than he could have ever hoped. He walked a little ways up a deserted path where he found an old abandoned shack. This was where he had stashed his broom for the day so he could go out. Taking it out and straddling it, he kicked off from the ground and zoomed a little farther out into nowhere. Which was precisely where he lived.
He remembered it clearly, the day he bought the house. He had just put Sirius's house up on the market and was flying around the countryside for something to do when he saw the FOR SALE sign in the front yard. It was two stories high and white with red trim and a black tiled roofing. The porch sagged a bit and the paint was chipping. Windows dusty and a tractor beside the old thing in the shade, hiding from the summer sun. It was perfect. He stashed his broom in the woods just down the road and walked by, got the number, called, and bought it on the spot. The owners seemed to be particularly happy to be rid of it. And Harry soon found out why. The roof leaked, the basement flooded, bees invaded the wood work during the summer, bugs were always getting into the house, and the woods were home to numerous kinds of animals. One of the animals being a lone wolf that had often scarred the happy couple off the property in the middle of the day when they were mowing the grass. It didn't frighten our fine 'hero' though. Oh no. He started putting out meat for the wolf, and soon he befriended it. It didn't take long. Apparently animals really liked Harry. And Harry really liked the wolf. It reminded him of Sirius. It's fur was just as black. It's eyes were a hazel colour that made Harry think of swamps though. After getting all the paperwork filed out, he made the wolf his own pet. And it was more than happy to go along with him.
A few years had gone by since then and Harry had fixed up the house to near perfection and Jet, the wolf, normally stayed and slept outside. Today though, Harry had let him inside so he could bask in the cool air of the house. He had put an air conditioner in the window just last week since the weather was getting so hot out lately. It was going to be a long summer.
Upon entering the house, Jet jumped up on Harry, nearly tackling him to the ground, his tail wagging and his tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth just like a dog.
"Jeeze Jet! You're as big as I am! I think you need to quit it with the whole growing thing." His joking received a playful growl and a howl from his 'little' friend who then proceeded to lick his face and nip his chin playfully. Harry laughed and scratched behind his ears, pushing him off gently so he could calm him down. Eventually, Jet bounded off to go lay down on his bed in front of the air conditioner, yawning big though his tail continued to wag.
"Silly wolf." Harry chuckled and Jet growled again. The raven haired boy went to go put his things away upstairs in his study before going back downstairs and starting dinner. The night continued on in much the same manner as always and eventually, in the early hours of the morning, Harry finally went to sleep.