We Are Family
-Victoire and Albus-
Serpentine
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-September 2017
He sighed as he huddled in the alcove, holding his breath at the trio of seventh year Gryffindors hurried past, their voices loud and harsh as they yelled his name, branding him with the moniker: Traitor.
To an extent, the scorn of the older students hurt him. He hadn't asked the Sorting Hat to put him in Slytherin, he had simply asked the crotchety old hat to put him in the house that he was best suited for. It had responded by placing him in the House of Green and Silver, staining his black tie green and silver from that day on.
He knew that his parents had assured him in their letters that his house didn't matter and that they were proud of him no matter what. Sure, his brother was always there for him and hadn't treated him any differently since he had become a Slytherin and maybe he had managed to make a friend in his new house, but that did not change the fact that both Gryffindor and Slytherin had scorned him.
The snakes didn't want a Potter in their ranks whilst the lions viewed him as a traitor. He had expected their animosity to have waned after the first few weeks of term but if anything, it had just become worse. On a positive note, Albus had become remarkably good at hiding from the bullies and running away fast enough to avoid their hexes and jinxes.
His best – only – friend fared none the better. Scorpius was the son of one of the most notorious Death Eaters to have ever lived, and despite his father having made amends a thousand times over, people tended to remember the bad and gloss over the good.
He wished Teddy was still here but his godbrother had been done with Hogwarts two years before he had ever started. Usually, whenever any of the Potter children had a problem they could have gone to him but how could they if he wasn't here to begin with? He had thought of asking James for help but that wasn't really an option either – he had no doubts that his brother would always be there for him but at the same time, he knew that he could never really escape the bullies if he hid behind his big brother all his life.
Their thudding footsteps had long since faded into nothing when he finally crawled out of the alcove, dusting the cobwebs from his trousers before turning to head back to his common room. He looked over his shoulder, just to be safe, and then took off at a brusque pace towards the dungeons.
"THERE HE IS!" yelled a voice and Albus sped up, running now instead of walking, his heart beating faster than ever as a jinx narrowly missed his head.
"Glisseo," he yelped as the stairs shifted beneath his feet, slipping into the form of a smooth, stone slide. He landed in a heap at the foot of the stairs, biting his lip nervously as the seventh years surrounded him, wicked grins on their faces.
"Who wants to see if the traitor is wearing clean underpants," jeered the leader, a burly youth that Albus recognised as his brother's quidditch captain. He flushed bright red as the meaning sank in, reaching for his wand to try and do something, anything, just so he could escape the humiliation.
"Evanes–" the boy began, aiming his wand at Albus' pants and he felt tears sting his eyes. Why were they so mean?
"STUPEFY," her voice cut his attacker off, her voice melodious as a jet of red light struck the burly quidditch player in the chest and sent him hurtling to the ground. Albus turned, eyes widening at the sight of his cousin, her blonde hair seeming to crackle with fury.
"Thirty points from Gryffindor," she snapped, "EACH!" They boys exchanged quick glances before turning to flee, half-dragging and half-carrying their prone comrade as they disappeared around the corner. They knew well enough not to mess with the brightest witch of their year.
"You okay, Albus," Victoire forced a smile to her face, masking her anger as she offered him a hand. He took it eagerly, returning her smile as she helped him to his feet.
"I'm fine," he grimaced, feeling his freshly bruised back smart as he stretched, the fall down the stair-slide had been more painful that he had originally thought.
"How long has this been going on?" she asked, looking at him through her bright blue eyes – the kind of eyes that seemed able to see right through you and pick out your every secret.
"Since I was Sorted," he admitted quietly, looking down at his sneakers to avoid her pitying look.
"Albus," she fixed the stairs with a flick of her wand and took a seat on the lowest one, gesturing for him to sit beside her. Once he had, she continued, "Why?"
"Because I'm a Slytherin and I hate that that's the reason why."
"What does your House have to do with anything?" she asked in surprise.
"I find myself wishing that I had been a Gryffindor like everyone else, just so they don't have an excuse to beat me up anymore."
"But you're a snake," she admonished, "And you're going to be one of the best damn snakes this school has seen. Next time those bullies give you any trouble, I want you to get me, okay?"
"Thanks, Vic," he mumbled under his breath before standing up to leave, stiffening when she grabbed him by his wrist.
"You remember that spell I used on them just now?" she asked and when he nodded, she smirked, "Next time, don't be afraid to give it a go. Aim for the chest and Stupefy. Show them what a Slytherin Potter can do."
Albus beamed at her as he left, grinning as he twirled his wand between his fingers and practised his new spell.
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Prompt: Wishing
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