CHAPTER 1: The Birthday (Or An Explanation of Things)
Hey guys! This is my take on 'Albus Potter At Hogwarts'. This chapter in particular is long, but the rest will be relatively short. This chapter serves as the introduction for all the characters. The next chapter will actually begin on Al's journey to Hogwarts. I don't own Harry Potter, as I am not JK Rowling. I hope you enjoy! Also, as a side note, older characters who share a name with younger characters will be in Italics, so like Molly and Molly.
Al woke up in his bedroom one early Saturday morning full of excitement. It was June 20th, which meant that he, Albus Severus Potter, was officially eleven years old! That also meant that today, he would get his Hogwarts letter.
Al climbed down out of his bed, and padded across the room in his bare feet to an old wooden door that was hidden behind a bookshelf. It lead down a spiral staircase (not unlike ones in old libraries) to a secret hallway that only Al and his father knew about. From there, Al could get to the kitchens, among other places, without waking the rest of the house.
Al liked his room. It was large, and had a great number of bookshelves. There were floor-to-ceiling windows on one side of the room, and there was an adjoining bathroom that could be accessed using a door. There was also a spiral staircase in one corner that accessed a small observation deck. Al's bed was a four poster one, and had rich blue curtains and a blue bedspread. The walls of the room were light yellow. There was a spell on the room that let Al change the colors to whatever he wanted. All Al had to do was ask.
Al lived in Potter Manor with the rest of his family: his father, Harry Potter; his mother, Ginny Potter neé Weasley; his brother, James; and his sister, Lily. Al was the middle child. Lily was nine, and James was thirteen, and was going into his third year at Hogwarts.
Even though only five people lived at Potter Manor, or the Keep, as James had dubbed it, it often felt like more. Harry's godson, Teddy Lupin (who was eighteen), came around for dinner about four nights a week, and even had his own official room. Teddy's legal guardian was his grandmother, Andromeda Tonks, but Teddy was such a constant presence that Al considered him an older brother. Al's Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione were often at the Keep as well, mainly because they and Harry all worked at the Ministry (Uncle Ron and Dad in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement as Aurors – Harry being Head Auror – and Aunt Hermione in the Department of Magical Creatures) as well as being best friends. Because of that, Al and his siblings were quite close with their cousins Rose and Hugo. Hugo was Lily's age, and Rose was Al's. So far, that totaled up to 10 people who were often in the Keep. Rose and Hugo had their own rooms, of course, as did Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron.
Then there were James' friends. James had many friends, but his Prank-Posse (as was secretly called by Lily. James said the official name was the Golden Marauders) consisted of three people, not including James himself. They were: Freddie Weasley, Uncle George and Aunt Angie's son; Louis Weasley, Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur's son; and Robby Alcott. Freddie had dark ginger hair in an afro, freckles, and sparkling blue eyes, despite having darkish tan skin. Louis, on the other hand, had silvery blond hair and clear blue eyes that could win over any girl (as he often bragged. Al seriously doubted that.). Robby was short, small, and had rectangular glasses.
They all had special roles in the prank process. Robby was responsible for getting the required information, which could include anything from the password to Neville's office to whether or not the statue of Gregory the Smarmy was made of marble or granite. Freddie was in charge of getting the required items. This was mainly because Freddie had close to complete access to all of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. The only place he couldn't and wouldn't was the testing room, where Uncle George came up with new products. Uncle George was fine with pranking (much to Aunt Angie's chagrin) but didn't allow usage of the test products because of anything going wrong. He himself (along with Uncle Fred) hadn't used any self-made products for pranking until they were completely finalized and finished. Louis was responsible for setting everything up, and making sure the target was in position, as well as making sure that anyone who wasn't the target was not where the target should be. Lastly, James was the brains of group. He made the plans for the pranks, and delegated everybody's responsibilities. He was the leader of the group, and had an ego bigger than an overfilled hot air balloon. (Al liked this particular analogy because it also hinted that James was full of hot air.).
Because it was the summer, they were over at least twice a week, which brought the total up to thirteen people. Luckily there was an entire wing devoted to guest rooms; otherwise the Keep would never have been able to fit everyone.
Al arrived at the Kitchens, where the two family house elves were busy preparing for that day's breakfast. One quickly hurried over to Al, bringing a tray holding a pot of tea and some toast and sausage; Al's favorite.
"Master Albus has come down early again this morning. Tinka is thinking that Master would like some breakfast," said the house elf, setting the tray on the kitchen table.
"I told you, Tinka, you don't need to call me 'Master'. You can just call me 'Al'. Or 'Master Al' if you want. Just not 'Master Albus'," said Al wearily. Tinka, as usual, ignored him. The other house elf by the name of Hoppy came and brought the book Al was currently reading: The Science of Magic by Mollie Ceule. Al found it very interesting, and was currently on the part about the parallels between Chemistry and Potions.
Presently, the large window in the kitchen opened wide to let in that day's owls. One flew straight to Al. It landed by Al's toast, and dropped a letter. It was made out of heavy yellow parchment, and the address reading
Mr. A. Potter
The Middle Bedroom in the Northwest Wing
Potter Manor
Kent
in emerald green ink, the same color as Al's eyes. Al eagerly tore open the letter, and saw two pieces of parchment. He read the first one:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmistress: Minerva McGonagall
(Order of Merlin, Second Class, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Mr. Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list
of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than
July 31.
Best,
Neville Longbottom
Deputy Headmaster
Al didn't even wait to look at the other piece of parchment still in the envelope. He dashed out of the kitchen, up a set of thin stairs that led straight to his parent's hallway of the house. Upon reaching their bedroom, he didn't hesitate to barge in without knocking.
His parents' room was still dark; the curtains still drawn. It was only 7 after all, and this was one of the rare mornings that James wasn't up before the sun doing who knows what. But that didn't mean that Harry and Ginny wouldn't get a lie in.
"Dad! Mum! Get up! Guess what came?" Al shouted.
"James! I thought you would give us a break this morning," said Harry sleepily.
"Jamie, be a dear and go and shout somewhere else," asked Ginny, rolling over.
"No, it's me, Al! My Hogwarts letter came!"
"Merlin, Al. It's a surprise to see you in our room this early. Happy Birthday," Harry said.
"Oh, it's you, Al. Sorry, I assumed it James," apologized Ginny.
"It's fine. But look, my Hogwarts letter!"
"Oh, it came! That's wonderful, dear!"
"Already? I suppose it's good you got up early, then."
"Albie? Why don't you show Sirius and Remus your letter? I'm sure they'll be happy to hear you got it. Oh, and show Lily and James as well."
"Yes, Mum."
Al ran out, eager to show Sirius, Remus, James, and Lily his letter.
He ran all the way to the portrait room, where all of the portaits were held. Because this was the Wizarding World, the portaits moved and talked, and one could hold conversations with them. In the portrait room, there were portraits of all of Harry and Ginny's friends and family who had died. That included Sirius, Remus and Tonks, James and Lily, Fred, Dumbledore, and Snape. There was a fireplace and the room was furnished with couches and chairs.
Al ran right up to the wall where Sirius, Remus, Tonks, James, and Lily hung. Only Tonks was awake.
"Al!" she stage whispered. "Happy birthday! Say, is that your Hogwarts letter?"
"Hi, Tonks," Al replied. "Yeah, it is. It came when I was eating."
"Wow! Who signed it?"
"Neville!"
"Longbottom? He's Deputy Headmaster?"
"Yeah!"
"Wow! I never would have guessed. I mean, I knew he was a teacher, but Deputy Head . . ." she trailed off, lost in thought. During their conversation, Sirius seemed to have woken up.
"Hey, Al. You're here early. Oh, hey, Tonks"
"Hi, Sirius. Guess what Al got?"
"What'd he get?"
"I got my Hogwarts letter!"
"Are you serious? Of course you're not, that's me!"
Al and Tonks groaned at the poor excuse for a joke.
"Siri, that's old," said Tonks, exasperatedly.
"An oldie but a goodie, my dear Nymphie. Now, back you Al. You say you got your Hogwarts letter? That must mean it's your birthday! You're what, eleven?" Sirius asked. Al sighed. Sirius was just no good at remembering birthdays, although he always seemed to know Harry's.
"Nice deduction, Sherlock," teased Tonks. Al suddenly remembered something.
"Anyway, Sirius," said Al, cutting across the banter. "It is my birthday, and I am eleven. But I wanted to ask you something."
"Ask away."
"How do you become an animagus?"
"Well, it's very complicated, and requires a lot of trial-and-error. Why do you want to know?"
"Dad won't tell me. He seems to think that if he told me, I'll attempt it in my first year! But I'm not stupid – I know to wait till at least fifth year."
Sirius laughed. Harry had become an animagus a couple years before Al was born. He chose a stag of course – a light brown one with green eyes.
"He probably doesn't want to information to somehow reach Jamie. You know how he is. You might be smart to wait until fifth year – which isn't the best decision; you should really wait until you graduate – but James would attempt it the moment he knew how."
"I guess so. But you did it in fifth year!"
"Because we were stupid and immature. It's a wonder we didn't die, or end up permanently changing parts of ourselves. Becoming an animagus is risky – you could end up permanently changing your arm into a bird wing or something!"
"Yes," said Remus, whom Al supposed had woken up when Sirius had laughed – his laugh was loud. "Peter" (Remus said the name with contempt) "ended up having a rat nose for a week!" Remus said, laughing humorlessly.
"I remember that! We had to use glamour charms so that nobody would notice. We did end up having to go to Madam Pomfrey. I don't think she believed our story of an 'accident in Transfiguration'," said James, who had also woken up. "Hey, Al! Happy birthday! I suppose you got your Hogwarts letter, then. Congratulations!"
"Congratulations, Albus. I'm very happy for you," said Lily. Al smiled, and grimaced at the use of his full name. Lily didn't miss it.
"Oh, Al, you have a wonderful name!"
"It's embarrassing!"
"Al, my name is Nymphadora. It doesn't get much worse than that. At least you have a good nickname! I just have 'Dora' and 'Nymphie'."
Al couldn't argue with that.
-z8)-(8z-
By the time Al got back from the Portrait Room, the rest of the house had woken up. Al walked into the dining room where everyone was milling around. Al spotted Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione talking to Harry about something, and Uncle George was telling Hugo and Lily about some adventure he and Uncle Fred had gone on. Rose was busy scolding James for something, while Freddie tried to sneak off without being seen. Victoire and Teddy were "saying" hello to each other. Dom and Molly were busy gossiping about something in Slytherin, and Lucy was busy with Aunt Fleur. Louis was desperately trying to get out of a conversation with Uncle Percy. Al couldn't blame him. When Uncle Percy got started talking about something on work, you were trapped until he either left or was distracted. It was usually the former. Uncle Bill, Uncle Charlie, and Aunt Angie were talking, and Molly and Arthur were busy in the kitchen with Ginny. Al stood there for a moment before being swarmed by Lily.
"Hey, Albie! You finally arrived. Mum and Dad said you were up at dawn this morning," said Lily, her red hair fanning out behind her as she ran. Lils had Weasley red hair, and bright emerald green eyes. She was covered head to toe in freckles, and was bubbly and friendly. She also had an odd habit of giving people the most embarrassing nicknames and getting away with it. Sev, for example, was called Russie, and Dom was Nicki. They both tolerated the names from Lily, but anyone else who tried calling them that would receive death threats, which were more than likely to be followed out. Dom in particular had to be restrained by Aunt Fleur on a number of occasions.
"Hey, Albie," teased James, grinning. Al scowled. He hated being called Albie even more than being called Albus. Only Lily and Mum could call him that. James had the looks and personality of his namesake, James Potter Senior. He had messy black hair and hazel eyes. He was, according to Al, like a pimple: annoying, taunting, and never going away.
"Hey, Jamie," Al retorted.
"Boys, calm down would you? Happy Birthday, Al," said Rose warmly, coming up behind them. She gave Al a bear hug. Rose had Uncle Ron's height, and her mother's looks. She was tall, gangly, had bushy reddish-brown hair currently in braids, bright blue eyes, and freckles. She was also a bookworm just like Aunt Hermione, but she loved doing dangerous things. She was also very loud and extroverted. She was known to have both Aunt Hermione's and Molly's tempers combined, so Al was sure to never get on her bad side.
"Sure thing, Rosie," said James. Rose also hated being called Rosie. Lily had given her that nickname, and of course, only she was allowed to say it.
"James Sirius Potter, do you want to die a slow and painful death? Because
you're going to get one!" James started laughing and running around the room. Rose tore after him, nearly on fire from anger.
Dom and Molly approached Al next.
"'Sup, Al," said Dom, grinning. Dominique Weasley was fifteen, and already had dyed hair, piercings, and was thinking about getting a tattoo. She was wearing a green tank top that said "Slytherins Slyther-win" with a picture of a snitch underneath. Her medium length silvery-blond hair was dyed purple at the ends and she had multiple ear piercings and a nose piercing. Dom was a beater on the Slytherin team, and was one of the coolest people Al knew.
"Merlin, I feel so old. Guess only the twerps are left, huh. Happy Birthday, Al," said Molly. Al laughed inwardly at her reference to Lily and Hugo. Molly had stick straight hair that was an auburn color. She, too, had multiple piercings, although they stayed on her ears, and she was wearing a tank top that said "Quiddicth Witch". However when it was tapped with Molly's wand, the words changed to "Quidditch Bitch". Al wondered how she managed that, what with Uncle Percy and Aunt Aubrey being the strictest parents ever. Molly was the other beater.
The two of them walked off to go bother Louis about something, and Al was once again left alone, though not for long.
Lucy came up next. She was perhaps the exact opposite of Molly, even though they were sisters. A fourth year Hufflepuff, Lucy was soft, gentle, and was always there to comfort the younger ones. She had Aunt Aubrey's dark brown hair and blue eyes.
"Happy Birthday, Al. I don't suppose you know where Hugo is, do you? He wasn't feeling well, and I don't want him to hurt himself." Lucy was also the main babysitter for the family, since she was so good with kids. Only Al knew that she had a secret passion for the popular band The Weird Sisters.
"No, I don't," said Al. "Have you checked the kitchen? Mum was making a cake, and it was cooling off. You know how much he likes sweets."
"No, I haven't! I will, though. Thanks, Al!" said Lucy, running off to the kitchen.
Once Lucy left, Freddie and Roxie came up next. They were twins, and both third years in Gryffindor with James. Roxie wasn't technically an official member of the Prank-Posse, but she often helped out. She and Freddie often did their own pranks separate from the Prank-Posse, and there was a strong rivalry between the two groups. Roxie looked alot like Freddie: same darkish tan skin with freckles, same blue eyes, and her hair was the same dark ginger color. Currently, Roxie had her hair in cornrows, not unlike the way her mother styled it during her teenage years. However, when Al last saw Roxie, which was two days ago when the Prank-Posse was over, her hair was in an Afro like Freddie's. Roxie often joined the Prank-Posse when the came over to the Keep. The only reason she wasn't an official member was because she wanted something in return for her help. That being, she was an expert strategist and planner, and she had a knack for sneaking around unnoticed, so her services were usually asked for. Al was often left wondering why she wasn't sorted into Slytherin. Today, to combat Molly and Dom's Slytherin pride, she was wearing her 'Roar Like A Gryffindor!' shirt, which was in a Gryffindor scarlet. Under the slogan was a gold broomstick. Roxie and Freddie were the two beaters for Gryffindor.
"Hey, Al! Happy Birthday. Say, I saw James-y picking on you earlier. I think he's in need of a little 'punishment', don't you? What do you say? Up for a little pranking?" asked Roxie, her eyes twinkling mischeviously.
"I agree with you, Rox. Say, we haven't done our 'Weasley Switcheroo' yet, have we, dear sister?"
"No, we haven't, dear brother. And you know, James would be the perfect test subject. But, that will have to wait until later. Right now, we need to give Al his present, don't we!"
"Sorry to burst your bubble, but Mum says that I won't be receiving my presents until tomorrow, because she doesn't want them all broken on the first day," said Al, regretfully. Ginny had made him promise that all presents were to be opened when the danger of relatives had past.
The rest of the day passed in a blur. Al and his cousins, along with Lily and James, all went to Uncle George's shop in Diagon Alley. There, Al was pranked by James, who ended up getting yelled at by Ginny. Lily had run off with Hugo to Florean Flortescue's, and they ended up getting free ice-creams. Roxie, James, and Freddie ran into Robby Alcott, and they all snuck out to Knockturn Alley. Harry had to rescue them, but Al could see he wasn't very angry. After all, it was Al's birthday, and James could get away with pretty much anything then.
That was the first chapter! The next one is in the works, so it will be up soon. And no, it will not be as long as this one is. Anyway, I am a fan of the whole 'Rose, Al, and Scorpius are friends' thing, so yay, Scorpius! Please review!