AN: Hello fanfiction community SageNrage speaking, just wanted to let you know this is my first ever fanfiction story! I have been for the last year reading a lot from this site so I thought I would give my own crack at a story. If you have any tips to improve my writing or just want to tell me what sucks and what doesn't please leave a review. All reviews will be greatly appreciated and taken into consideration. All I ask is that you be serious with whatever it is you're saying. My update speed on this story my change quite drastically, but the more people review it and ask to see more will change the amount of time I work on the story quite a bit. Thus speeding up the upload time.
This story takes place in an AU of the Harry Potter series. (If somehow you didn't pick up on that already.) The main character is one that I created to tell the adventures of the Harry Potter universe threw. He will be going to hogwarts the same time as all the other characters in J.K. Rolling's books. The overall "Enemy" of the books won't change, just the specific events that happen in the stories.
Also, I did change some of the dialog of the characters. One thing that I found kind-of unrealistic in the Harry Potter series was how most of the kids talked like "young adults." Like, I don't know about you, but when I was eleven and up threw high school the kids freaking swore! (I say this as I still am in high school, but whatever.) Sure there are some kids that didn't use any crud language, but those were way less common than those who did. I get that J.K. Rolling's publishers probably didn't want her writing inappropriate language in a book that was mostly directed towards a younger audience...but since I don't have a publisher and I'm writing just for fun to get better, I'm going to write a bit more of a realistic feel to it. At least in my very humble opinion that is.
Don't fret if you get offended by that stuff easily. I didn't do it that often and there are no extreme words, just the average Joe swear words.
If I do get to the point in the books where they are using spells more often I'm going to also add a more violent and aggressive use of the magic.
Alright that's enough of my babbling, hope you enjoy Sebastian McQuade and the Sorcerer's Stone.
(I own nothing from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rolling, If I did I wouldn't be writing this.)
Chapter One
One Messed Up Joke
"Alright I have had ENOUGH!"
Sebastian McQuade quickly grabbed his violin, shoved it in its case, and threw it under the bed. He could hear is father's heavy stomps as he marched down the hall to his room. Mr. McQuade was a big man, he was a linebacker back when he played for his high school and some in collage, and looked as if he could pick up a man. He had dark, short hair and no facial hair of any kind and was in his mid-forties. Sebastian knew he shouldn't have been practicing, yesterday his father had yelled at him for the same thing, and now he was no doubt going to get lectured on how he should go outside and be a normal good boy like his older brother.
"I told you yesterday that if you didn't go outside I was going to take it away!"
Sebastian knew that hiding his violin under the bed would accomplish nothing but he couldn't help himself but defy his father just a little bit.
His father busted threw the door looking like he was one step away from homicide.
"Sebastian give it here or you won't get to play it again for the rest of summer!"
"I Don't know what you are talking about." Sebastian said defiantly.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY!" His father exploded.
"I said I don't know what you are talking about."
"GO OUTSIDE NOW!" He demanded.
Without even looking at his father Sebastian walked down the hall, opened his older brothers room grabbed the change on the dresser, and started making his way out.
He had started playing violin back at the start of 1st grade when his parents signed him and his brother up for private lesions. His brother had barely lasted a year with it, begging his mother to let him quite after every lesion. But Sebastian had actually really gotten into it and kept on playing it even when bullies at school had teased him for it. By now he was pretty good, he could play grade four and five level songs, and with time learn about any song you put in front of him.
"Sebastian why don't you want to go outside and meet some kids and make some new friends?" his mother called from the living room. Mrs. McQuade was a thin and had light red hair. She came up to the upper-chest of Mr. McQuade in terms of height and looked much younger than she should for being an early forty-year-old woman.
Sebastian took after his mother much more than his father, he had dark brown eyes, was pretty small for his age, and had some freckles seemingly thrown across his face. The one thing he did have of his fathers was his dark hair. Sebastian had very dark red hair of moderate length, it looked almost black in dim light, but when he was outside with the sun, it reflected bronze back into the eye of anyone around.
"I wouldn't have to if dad didn't take this stupid job anyway." responded Sebastian.
"Oh, honey you know that's not fair at all." Said his mother. "Please stop being this way, it will make life better for you and us if you're out trying to make friends."
He didn't respond to that. Deep down he knew she was right so there was no point in arguing. Sebastian opened the small apartment's door and walked down the three flights of stairs out onto the somewhat busy streets of the suburbs of London.
That summer Sebastian's father had taken some job at the company he worked at which required him to move to London. So, at the start of summer they had all packed up their belongings and shipped off for Lovely England. Sebastian had just turned 11 years old this summer and was about to start 6th grade at his middle school. He and his family had lived in Alexandra, Virginia for his whole life and them moving off to London had Royally screwed over his summer. And now that he thought about it, probably his life.
It's not like he had many friends back in Virginia but at least he had some. Sebastian had always had a hard time making friends. Some people who didn't know him probably thought of him as stuck-up or pretentious. But this simply wasn't true, he just had a hard time opening up to people. Sebastian would never admit this to himself but the reason for him not opening up was probably because he was afraid he would be made fun of or bulled for his weird hobbies like violin or model building. His older brother Michael never had any trouble with the "friends" department in life. As soon as they had gotten here his brother was off making friends at the park. Sebastian had seen him trying to teach them the American football game threw his apartment window.
Right now though, Sebastian was walking to a small local café a couple blocks away from his apartment that he had discovered the first week they had moved here. Sebastian was addicted to coffee, but the reason for him liking coffee stimmed from the most comical of reasons. When he was younger around five or six years old Sebastian had asked his father if he could try some of his coffee, his father had said that it was a grown-up drink and that he wouldn't like it. So, he of course made it his mission to prove his father wrong. At the start, he really didn't like it that much but as time went on he began to like it more and more, until now where he can't go a couple days without it and not start going through withdraws.
Just waking threw the door of the café made him start to forget his argument with his father not even five minutes ago.
"hey Seb! The usual today for ya?" said the old man who ran the place.
"yep the usual." Sebastian had been coming here at least four times a week so he practically new everyone who worked there by name. At the start he got odd looks, well he was an eleven-year-old kid by himself in a pretty large city so it kinda made since. As time went on though, they started warming up to him and by now none of the staff gave him any more thought as they would any other customer. As much as he got annoyed with his parents the one thing he really did appreciated them for was giving their children a high level of independence. While most parents wouldn't have allowed their eleven-year-old to wander in a big city alone his parents didn't seem to give it much a thought. His father at a very young age told him to trust no one no matter who they were or what they looked like. Any new person was guilty until proven innocent in Sebastian's mind. Once his parents thought he fully understood this concept they trusted him with his own judgement.
He ordered a cup of black coffee, he would have preferred it with cream but Sebastian didn't have enough money. Then he sat down at the window and watched the cars drive by. Sebastian had no reason to go home to his father who would probably ground him for talking back, so he just sat there drinking his coffee for probably hours, Sebastian didn't know.
It had started to rain outside and it was getting dark so Sebastian got up and left. On the way home Sebastian was lost in deep thought, thinking of what his new school would be like and if anyone here was going to like him enough to become friends. He with wasn't really paying attention to what was going on so he never noticed the three boys tailing him.
"Oi Kid! What do you think you're doing?"
"Um I'm s-sorry what?" Sebastian stuttered out.
"Oh, an American eh? What are you do'en here?" The left one said. He was a tall kid probably around his brother Michael's age.
"What's it to you?" Sebastian spat out. He didn't like where this conversation was going.
"I don't like your tone kid, but you're new here so we'll give you the benefit of the doubt eh? This is our town so every time you use something from our town you'll have to pay us….lets say….somethen like a tax."
"The hell is wrong with you? I'm not giving you shit, now get away from me!" Sebastian said.
"Oh well you see that was the wrong thing to say my little American buddy. Now come here and empty out your pockets." The far right one spoke this time. He was a mass of a kid, with greasy blonde hair plastered to his face. Sebastian couldn't even guess what age he was.
Sebastian didn't even respond this time, he had dealt with kids like these before and no matter of words were going to save him here. He sure as hell couldn't fight them, even if there was only one not three. So, he simply turned around and ran.
He probably made it about half a block when something hit the back of his head hard. He sprawled on the ground clutching the back of his head.
"We hoped it wouldn't come to this you know."
Sebastian turned around and could see two of them holding rocks in their hand, and the center one who must be the leader was holding a switch blade.
"John go pick him up."
The right one who must be john walked forward and grabbed under his arms lifting him up off the ground for a second and then stood him up.
"Now, let me ask again. Empty, Out. Your. POCKETS!" The leader ordered.
"Make me." Sebastian said. And then he spat on the foot of the leader.
"Okay I will. John hold him still." Then he grabbed his left arm pulling back the hoodie sleeve.
"So here is the deal, every time you don't do what I say I'm going to cut a tally on your arm."
"What?! You guys are crazy! Let me go!" Sebastian said. Then he kicked franticly trying to loosen the grip of the behemoth of a kid John.
The leader pushed the knife into Sebastian's arm. Making a cut about a centimeter long.
"AGRRRR! What did I do to you? Just leave me alone!" Sebastian screamed. "Just take the money, It's not even a dollar's worth!"
"You see that's the thing mate, you didn't DO anything." And the he began to push the knife again. "Now we have to teach you a lesson of who the boss is around here and who to treat with respect."
Then something happened that saved Sebastian from whatever those kids were going to do to him that night. Sebastian was so angry that he could feel his adrenalin pumping threw his veins. It was as if the world was on fire.
John the kid that was holding him screamed and dropped him to the ground. Sebastian got to his feet instantly ready to fight, but then he saw the kid doubled over holding his hands to his stomach. The two other kids grabbed him and pulled his hands out from under him. They were blisters all over his hands and they were bright red. It looked as if he had pressed them to the stove when cooking something.
"Wha Wha?! What did you do?" stammered the leader of the bunch.
Sebastian didn't waist a moment, he clutched his cut on his arm and took off down the street. Not looking back.
Sebastian only had to run for about five minutes, he wasn't very far away for him apartment at all. When he was running he noticed how there was practically no one about, that's probably why the bullies chose to strike then. That's why no one went and got help. Sebastian busted threw the door and ran down the hall to the bathroom.
"Hey honey! Everything all right?" called his mother from the small kitchen.
"Yep," he said, "Just had to go to the bathroom that's all."
"Well when you're done in there come out here and have some diner. Okay?"
"Will do." He said shortly.
All threw-out Sebastian's life bad things would always happen to people who made him extremely mad. One time in the fourth grade some kid had grabbed his violin out of his case and started tightening the strings on it, obviously with the goal of braking them. Sebastian had tried to grab it back but the kid kept it high out of his reach. So, he punched the bigger kid in the back, not thinking that it would do much, but he sent electricity volts threw his fist into the kid. The bully laid down and shook as if he was tased by a policeman. And there were other smaller incidents, like changing his brother's gummy worms into actual worms when he wouldn't share them with him.
He didn't know what to make of these incidents, and neither did his parents. They just thought that somehow he stole the actual candy and traded it with worms. I mean what else were they to think? Sebastian's close friends back in Virginia also knew of the weird stuff that would happen, and sometimes they would try and re-create the incident again to try and get him to do it again. They never managed though, Sebastian thought it was because they just couldn't get the series urgentness of the original to stem the reaction.
Sebastian looked down at his cut on his arm to assess the damage. He decided it wasn't that bad and just ran some water over it and washed the dirt of his hands and face. He opened the door and walked down the hall to the kitchen. In most of the rooms along the thin hallway there were piles and piles of boxes. His family had moved from a much larger of a house back in the states compared to this smallish London apartment. So, there were rooms that were obviously meant as a guest room but instead was being used as a storage room.
His family was around the small diner table eating some Chines food one of his parents must have gone out and got. Michael, his older brother, was there eating only the chicken ignoring all of the noodles and rice. Michael was the spiting younger version of his father. Once at his grandparents' house back in Virginia his grandma had found an old picture of his dad at the start of high school and now that Michael was older you could tell that he was going to end up being exactly like his dad. Broad shoulders, tall, and dark black hair with blue eyes.
"Where were you?" asked his father. His tone wasn't necessarily threatening but it caused Sebastian to get slightly defensive.
"Just down the street at the café." Said Sebastian.
"You should try and not spend so much of your money there," said his father, "Coffee's not that good for you and it can get expensive."
"I'll try dad." He said shooting a sideways glace at his brother to see if he noticed that for the past month he'd been nicking his brothers left-over change. Michael didn't seem to be paying attention luckily.
"Can you pass the noodles mom?"
"Sure hun, here. Oh, by the way you got a letter this afternoon." She said.
"Oh really? What was it about?" Sebastian asked.
"I don't know I just saw your name on it. It's over there on the counter. But finish your food before you go and open it, I don't want you covering it with food stains." Said his mother.
"Alright ya sure."
Sebastian wondered what it could be about. Maybe one of his friends back in Alexandrea found out his address, but he didn't even know what it was before he got here so how could they had? Possibly his mom sent it to them? But she had been making a very big deal lately about making new friends, so that seemed unlikely.
Sebastian shoveled the food into his mouth, he wasn't even that hungry so it didn't take him much longer than a few minutes to finish eating. He got up and rinsed his dish in the sink and walked over to the counter. There were a bunch of bills and random magazines he knew nothing about stacked onto of it, so he started fishing threw them looking for something with his name on it. Then he saw it, a small yellow colored looking envelope with exaggerated cursive writing on the front in emerald green ink.
Mr. S. McQuade
The third room down the hall
Apartment 18
Winston Drive
Turning the envelope over in his hand, Sebastian saw a red wax seal with a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a large letter H.
"What the hell…"
"What is it Sebastian?" asked his father.
"Language please Sebastian." said his mom
"I…don't…know… he said, looking down at the weirdest letter he had ever seen. How could someone know where he slept. This had to be some crud joke, and how did they even mail it? There were no stamps of any kind on it. Plus, Sebastian was pretty sure that the heading on the front didn't have enough information on it for the post office to send it anywhere.
Sebastian went back into the kitchen and grabbed a knife out of one of the drawers and began cutting the letter out, trying to keep it in as nice condition as possible. Inside was two pieces of paper, one was the actual letter and the other was a long list of things that you would see in a Dungeons and Dragons game. That sudden thought made Sebastian a little depressed, before they had moved he had played that game almost every weekend with his friends. Sebastian took out the message portion of the letter and put the rest on the counter and read it.
Hogwarts School
Of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Mr. McQuade,
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.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall,
Deputy Headmistress
"okay, this is absolutely the weirdest, most absurd thing I have ever seen." Sabastian said bluntly. He walked over to his dad and handed him the letter. Sebastian watched his father's expression on his face as he read the letter. It went from mildly interested to a face that clearly said, "what in the actual hell am I reading?"
"Dad what do I do?" Sebastian asked.
"Nothing."
"What? What do you mean nothing?"
"Nothing" he said again.
"Okay dad you're saying that like it's an explanation of its self. I still have no idea what you're talking about." Sebastian said rather irritably.
"This is clearly a joke son, I don't want you to respond to this at all." He said, "If we keep getting these…these…spam letters then I'll call the post office and get all this sorted out."
"Um okay sure dad I won't respond." Said Sebastian, "I don't even have an owl they mentioned in the letter anyway." At that moment Michael chocked on his drink.
"what an owl? What exactly was that letter about?" He asked.
"Nothing just some weird joke probably." Responded his dad.
Then Sebastian's mother spoke, "Jim what was it about? Here give it to me." Sebastian's father passed the letter across the table to his wife.
Her reaction was similar to his father, but she looked much more disturbed by it than him. Sebastian could always tell when something big was bothering her because she always scrunched her face up, almost like some invisible person was pushing on the sides of her face.
"Jim are you sure we shouldn't do anything about this now?" she asked in her worried mom voice.
"I mean….the person hasn't done anything yet, so let's just see if it happens again and then we can take action." Said his father.
"I'm going to go to bed." Said Sebastian. He was very tiered for the stressful incident with the bullies and he really didn't want to be in the kitchen anymore where his family was shooting him concerned looks.
"Alright honey, don't worry about the letter I'm sure it is nothing." Said his mom.
"Are you telling me? Or yourself?" he said with a bit of a sarcastic bite to it. She didn't say anything to that and he went to his room wondering if he should respond to the letter or not. Something didn't feel right, but he was certain that not responding to it wasn't the right course of action.
This had to be one of the most eventful and weird days of his entire life.
