Albus Potter and the….
Chapter One – A Predictable Beginning
It was midnight, and the moon was hanging low over twelve Grimmauld Place, highlighting a small boy who was huddled over the windowsill fast asleep. A violent drop of water fell from the drainpipe above his head onto the long skinny nose that protruded from beneath round, slightly wonky, glasses. Albus Potter awoke with a start. He rubbed his eyes and looked out into the night sky as if expecting someone, but noticing its vacancy, he pushed his hand back through his untidy black hair and fell down on his bed.
A small tingling began to spread up his legs and stretch right down to his fingertips. Not for the first time in his short eleven years, Albus was gripped with an overwhelming fear. What if it never came? What if, Albus gulped, his parents had been wrong?
He turned his head and looked at the photograph beside his bed. His Mum waved at him. This was not an unusual occurrence for Albus lived in what might have been termed an unusual house, unless of course you were a wizard. He smiled back at the picture of his Mum. Ginny Weasley, now Potter, had grown taller and even more beautiful than she had been when attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The hand that was not waving at Albus was holding onto her husband, their fingers entwining, where he sported a large gold ring on his wedding finger.
Harry Potter had a huge grin on his face that would have surpassed his father, or Dumbledore, or even Hagrid; whose grin, being the size he was, tended to take up a lot of room. Albus knew why his Dad was smiling – he was surrounded by his family.
His Dad's right arm was wrapped around a tall ginger haired boy of thirteen, who had dark brown eyes like his Mother, but was built like his Dad; his hair flopping in all directions on top of his head. His hand kept twitching towards his back pocket where Albus knew James to be concealing a WWW product that no doubt Mum would frown over, even though her own brother had invented it. On the other side of Ginny, Albus grinned out at himself, his arms wrapped around the front of his younger sister Lily, who lent back on her brother in the picture and stuck her tongue out at her brother in the room. Her hair was pulled back in bunches, ginger like James, apart from a large streak of blonde at the front where her cousin Victoire had been practicing a highlighting charm. As he watched, she twirled it around in her fingers.
Reluctantly he dragged his gaze back to where he was standing in the photo and instinctively reached his hand up to his forehead; it was smooth and clear. His Dad grinned at him and pulled up his fringe to reveal his lightning bolt scar. To an outsider, Albus looked exactly like his Father, apart from his long nose – which he seemed to have inherited from his Uncle Ron – and of course he did not have The Scar. The Scar that had made his Dad famous, his Dad who had more power in his little finger than Albus had in his entire body.
What if…?
He hauled himself off of his bed and stole to his door, silently pulling it open and leaving his dark bedroom for the gentle light of the corridor.
His door clicked closed behind him, now adorned with two plaques – the formal announcement of ownership by RAB, a person that – although he had never met – he was supposed to owe part of his life to. Underneath it, on a green background, the name 'Albus' was written in rippling gold ink. Flying around the word were mini broomsticks and even smaller snitches. Sometimes, Albus had noticed when looking closely, other things came floating through the name plate including a Pumpkin Pasty and a Sneakoscope. Once Albus was sure he had spotted a rather lost looking house elf.
Albus snuck down the stairs, pausing only briefly to ensure he had woken no one up, before making his way into the main living room where he collapsed down easily on a well-worn armchair that moulded quickly to his frame.
"You're up early aren't you?" Came a voice from the wall, Albus looked up at the portrait of Dumbledore and attempted to grin. Dumbledore looked at him over the top of his half-moon glasses.
"It's not unheard of, is it?" Albus ventured, "I…I mean squibs?"
"But highly uncommon" The professor responded.
"James flew a broomstick on his first try, when Lily was two she accidentally turned the whole house purple."
"A most unfortunate incident" Dumbledore recalled, thinking back to his temporarily lilac skin and violet fingernails.
"I've never done stuff like that!" Albus blurted out, "Never. And I've tried and I just can't…what if…" He trailed off. The occupant of the portrait glanced across at the clock on the wall, jumping slightly as it stuck one o'clock, a small black bat replacing the usual cuckoo.
"Try and get some sleep, Professor McGonagall has already written the letters, and I don't think you…" He winked at the small boy in the chair "…have much to worry about"
*
Albus woke later that morning feeling far more refreshed than he had in days, catching his eye in the mirror, he pulled on some jeans and fished a t-shirt out from under the bed where it had probably begun to nest, and ran down the stairs to the kitchen, slipping on the last two steps and landing in a crumpled heap on the floor.
Luckily no one seemed to notice as he skimmed his eyes over into the kitchen and let them come to rest on a parchment envelope at the end of the dining table. Albus pulled himself up from the floor and tottered into the room, never taking his eyes off the letter, which consequently meant he tripped over his brother James who was laid flat out on the floor in a full body bind.
"He tried to open your letter" Lily explained, eating a pancake in small torn off strips which she dangled into her mouth, "Mum got angry," She mouthed to him while Ginny's back was turned.
Albus sank into the end chair and fingered the parchment. He was less nervous than he had been in years, following his conversation with the previous headmaster, but the butterflies in his stomach still wouldn't settle.
"Well aren't you going to open it?" His mother asked, wiping her hands on a tea towel and drawing out a seat further down the table. Slowly Albus turned over the envelope, noticing that the wax seal with the Hogwarts crest was torn, and opened the parchment before pulling out the contents inside.
Dear Mr Potter
We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Headmistress
"I got in" Albus said, a little dumbly, lost somewhere between shock, amazement and ecstasy.
"Never doubted it" Responded Harry as he entered the room flicking his wand and undoing the bind on James.
"Finally!" James said jumping up and snatching the second piece of parchment from his brother, "Usual list of suspects," he added, scrolling down the book list, his eyes paused at a handwritten amendment at the bottom. "Trust McGonagall"
"What?" Questioned Albus, taking the list back and scanning down to the bottom. "'As I constantly remind your brother, an invisibility cloak is not a requirement at Hogwarts and would be better left at home'"
"Wouldn't let you have it anyway," Said James, reaching for a pancake and smothering it in peanut butter.
"I don't see why not" Albus retorted. Lily opened her mouth about to join in, when their father moved his chair with a loud squeak and announced he was going to work. Kissing Ginny and Lily goodbye he rapidly disapparated before he could be audience to the argument he knew was about to start.
"I'm going to Gran's today" Ginny said, depositing a pancake on Albus' plate, "anyone want to come?"
"I will" Lily responded, jumping up and heading upstairs to get changed.
"Can't" Said James un-sticking his peanut butter filled mouth, "I'm meeting up with Sean, we're gonna play some Quidditch on Bryars Heath"
"Albus?" Ginny questioned.
"Nah, got plans."
Albus watched as ten minutes later the red haired members of his family threw Floo Powder into the fireplace and disappeared up the chimney.
"Will Master Potter be wanting lunch?" Kreacher, their loyal house elf asked as Albus began to ascend the stairs"
"Not today Kreacher…although if you feel like making doughnuts?"
"Kreacher will start immediately Master" Kreacher grinned, limping off into the kitchen.
Once in his bedroom, Albus headed over to his Gringotts piggy bank, he didn't quite understand why it was called a 'piggy' when it was in the shape of the large white building, but Auntie Hermione had insisted that they all have one as christening gifts. Uncle Ron had added the enchanted goblin. Albus handed a small gold key over to the little figure who immediately sprang to life and ran his nail down the slit in-between the doors of the bank, which opened forward to reveal a small pile of Knuts, Sickles and Galleons. Albus reached into the back of the bank and flipped a small leaver which caused the roof to pop open, inside there were a couple of ten pound notes and an assortment of muggle coins. Scooping a collection into his pocket, he took the key from the goblin who shut everything up again, and then headed downstairs to get his doughnuts off Kreacher.
*
Albus had enjoyed catching the bus into the outskirts of London, having to count out all the different coins and being able to watch the different muggles on the bus. Many young people were sitting with little bits of wire in their ears – Albus had wondered whether they were ill and were on some new form of medication. One had seemed to be nodding along to a silent beat.
Still clutching his bag of warm doughnuts, Albus had descended from the bus at a familiar stop, and dawdled down the road until he came to a small terraced house, identical to those either side of it with the exception of the satellite disc that sat on the roof, this being the size of a large tractor wheel.
Now happily on the doorstep, Albus reached up and rang the doorbell, holding out his doughnuts in offering as the door was opened by a very large man with a twitching Moustache.
"Hey there Uncle Dudley" Albus said in greeting as he stepped over the threshold and into the hall.
It had been a great surprise to everyone when the eighteen year old Dudley had showed up at Grimmauld Place all those years ago. He had come alone; neither of his parents whom Harry had spent seventeen years with had wanted to see their nephew again. But Dudley had stopped by to say thank you. Turned out he'd listened enough to the Ministry to understand that Harry was the reason the streets were no longer filled with dementors, and for this he was very grateful.
He hadn't stopped by often, the two cousins had little in common after all, but he had attended Harry's wedding, and grown quite attached to his youngest son when Albus had shown an interest in a games console.
Albus walked into the living room, stepping over the piles of dirty washing and dropped himself down on a well used sofa. Dudley followed him in, already onto his second doughnut, the sugar all over his chin, chucking Albus a control pad.
Albus wasn't sure what the aim of the game was or quite why the little blue hedgehog felt he had to catch all those gold coins, but he knew it involved no magic which meant he could actually manage it. Also he enjoyed Dudley's company; the sound of constant munching was kind of comforting.
"Where's everyone today then?" Dudley asked, licking his fingers clean of the last few crumbs of sugar.
"Gran's, work, Quidditch"
"Bless you" Dudley responded, not batting an eyelid. Albus grinned.
"I thought you might have been working today" He said, trying to work out which button would stun the other player.
"I can do most of it over the phone these days" Dudley said, jumping over Albus' character and nicking the coins above his head. Dudley was now the manager of a drill company named Grunnings where his father had worked for many years. Albus presumed they promoted you according to size as Dudley had never displayed any brains to think of and, by the state of his house, was obviously still living like a student.