Chapter Nine: Respect at a Cost
Though the whole of the Gryffindor Common Room was abuzz with the story of how the Gryffindor First Years had jinxed the Slytherin First Years the night before, Albus still felt as though they were being given a rather short shrift by James. The older Potter boy rarely had any time for him, or Fred, or Rose; and Albus' other friends were lucky if they got James to speak to him for more than ten seconds in the course of a week.
In fact, it had taken James until Halloween to remember Luke's name, and learn that Darren was in fact not Muggle-Born, and so he did not need to explain every little thing for his convenience.
No, James preferred by far to spend the vast majority of his time with his own Second Year friends, and didn't have very much time for his younger family members, let alone their stupid friends. Of course, had James known that Albus' circle of friends included a pair of Slytherins it's doubtful that he would have showed the same lack of interest.
Still, lack of interest was still better than what would have happened had James known this. Had knowledge of Albus' allegiances reached his ears, he certainly would not have hesitated to hex each and every one of them. So it was probably with good reason that Albus saw no need to tell his brother that he was still socializing with Scorpius Malfoy and Ace Carrington.
While Fred was still rather hesitant to be hanging around with a pair of Slytherins, everyone else had gotten over the initial awkwardness of the situation. By late October Albus Fred, Luke, and Darren were spending almost as much time with Scorpius and Ace that James was spending with his Dorm Mates; the difference however being that James didn't know anything about it.
Several times the topic of conversation turned to how they were going to get James to stop from jinxing Scorpius and Ace into oblivion when he learned that his brother was befriending them. After all, James had a built in hatred of Slytherin House that seemed to extend to everyone but Leon Bartlett.
When Albus pointed out to James that his hatred of Slytherins was rather hypocritical considering that he had a friend in that House, James had dismissed his brother out of hand.
"You don't get it Al." James said impatiently, as though his brother were insisting that one plus one actually equaled three. "Leon, well, he's not a 'real Slytherin', if you know what I mean."
Albus had not responded, staring at his brother with that condescending expression that always set James' blood to boiling.
Sensing that his brother did not understand, James snapped "Well, he doesn't associate with the rest of them, if you ask me he should never have been a Slytherin in the first place, they all hate him over there."
It seemed that James was not going to see sense anytime soon, and so Albus was forced to continue to keep his friendship with the two Slytherin boys a secret.
James could not understand why his brother was being so distant lately, it seemed as though he spent all of his time alone. James had, like the 'nice' older brother he was, tried to get him to hang out more with Rose and Julie Knight, to get out more and make some friends.
OK, so maybe that had mostly because James was sick of having to deal with them all of the time. Andrew's younger sister was such a tag-along it was getting impossible to handle, and James was quick to jump to his friend's side when he expressed his annoyance with his younger sister. And Rose, well James was hoping that Albus could get her back to her old ways.
It was scary how depressingly boring Rose was being as of late. She, like James had teasingly suggested at the beginning of the year, was practically living in the library, and rarely did anything besides study. To their horror, she was turning into her mother right in front of their eyes, and neither James nor Albus liked the change in her.
They had both liked their cousin a lot better when she was more carefree and reckless like they were. It wasn't that they thought that she shouldn't pay any attention to school, well James DID think that but, it was more that they wished that she would spend less time studying and more time hanging out.
Julie on the other hand, was spending about ninety percent of her time tagging along behind her older brother in the hopes that she would eventually be welcomed into their group. A prospect that was unlikely at best, and in reality was all but impossible. Jeremey especially, said every day that she was really annoying, and none of the boys could stand her incessant tagging along.
On Halloween night, the same night that James finally remembered that it was 'Luke' not 'Lance' and that Darren came from a Half Blood Family, James resolved that it was time to have a little chat with his brother, a chat that he had been putting off for some time.
So that night, rather than go sit with the rest of his Dorm Mates, James found where Albus was sitting at the table and went towards him, taking his seat beside him to the great surprise of everyone present. Clearly they were all surprised that James had elected to sit away from the rest of his 'posse', as his Uncle George put it.
Occasionally, the four would coincidentally wind up next to Albus and his friends, but tonight James was there by himself, and he had sat there deliberately, which was glaringly obvious to anyone who bothered to look.
"Hey Al, what's been happening?" James asked, something that would have been an ordinary enough greeting if one forgot that the brothers had not spoken very much for the last two or three weeks.
"Erm, fine." Albus said uncomfortably, using a tone that was not comforting to James. Obviously his brother assumed that he wanted something or he would not have been sitting there. Admittedly James had an annoying habit of borrowing money and never paying you back, but this was different.
James tried to ignore his brother's suspicion, as he said, with visible discomfort "Look Al, I'm sorry that I haven't been talking with you all that much. I mean, you're a sappy git and everything, but you are my brother."
Coming from James Potter, that was extremely sentimental, though James thought that his brother was being a bit overdramatic by gaping at him like a fish out of water.
"Did you lose a bet or something?" Albus asked at last, "Is that why you're apologizing to me?" An understandable suspicion, James Potter didn't just go around offering apologies.
But James' level of compassion for the day, scratch that…for the year…had been used up. "Jeez, if I'd known you were going to be such a girl about it I wouldn't have bothered." James snapped, getting up from the table and returning to his usual spot between Jeremey and Andrew further down the table.
"What do you reckon that was about?" he heard Albus mutter as he walked away.
Luke said something funny, but James could not make out what it was. However, it must have been something amusing because Albus chuckled in amusement.
"Luke, trust me when I tell you that James doesn't just go around offering apologies. There's always something in it for him." Albus said loudly enough for James to hear him, his words displaying a confidence in his belief that made James bury his head in his right hand, this had not gone the way that he had tried. It just went to show, that's what you got for apologizing. He would make a note not to do so again in the near future.
Later that night, as the Castle was trickling out of the Great Hall after the Feast, James heard an unfamiliar voice saying "When Potter and his friends pass through here, that's when we'll get them!"
James froze, immediately preparing to double back around another corridor when he shook his head, no one would be stupid enough to try and jump him with his fellow Gryffindors nearby. No, they must have been talking about Albus.
Ordinarily, James would have stayed back to help his brother, you didn't mess with James Potter's younger brother. But after Albus had shoved his extraordinarily generous apology back in his face, he didn't owe the boy any favors.
As he glanced back over his shoulder, he saw his brother tensing up, and looking at him in desperation, waving his arms to try and signal something to him. It would seem that Albus had heard the boys too and was petrified by the thought of what was coming to him. Ha! Served him right. Maybe in the future he wouldn't be such a prat when James was trying to be nice to him.
Unfortunately for Albus, Luke and Darren had both left the Feast early, and Fred had wandered off at some point earlier. And while Albus was not exactly a poor spell-caster, he didn't stand a chance in something like this without any backup.
Then, the boy suddenly darted to the side and grabbed the arm of some blonde haired kid and began speaking to him frantically. Wait a minute…wasn't that…
"Hey James!" Andrew said, interrupting James' train of thought as he tried to get James' attention once again.
"Huh?" James muttered, returning his attention to his friends, surely he must have been seeing things. That was it, in his desire to justify his anger with Albus he was making things up.
"I'm telling you James, I'm not gonna do it!" Andrew said, jumping right back into the discussion about their latest prank.
"Nah man, you've gotta do it!" James said with a laugh to Andrew, who had been suggesting that James should set Professor Slughorn's robes on fire during their next Potions Class.
"I've already got Detention for trying to put his favorite hat into my Shrinking Solution." Andrew countered, "It's your turn."
James had been about to say something in reply when he heard a voice behind him shouting in his direction. Slowly, he turned around, just in time to see a jet of red light fly past him and slam into Andrew's chest.
Things went downhill really quickly, and even if James had wanted to he would have been unable to escape because the other kids had formed a wide ring around the dueling students.
Andrew was already unconscious, as was one older Slytherin boy who had been on the other side of the duel. Meanwhile, the standing students looked even worse than the ones who had been knocked out.
James had a bloody lip, and his face looked as though it had been clawed at by a cat as blood streamed down the side of his head. Jeremey seemed unable to stand, and was reaching for his wand which lay just beyond his grasp, while Zach was seemingly about to pass out, and it looked like his arm was bleeding badly.
Suddenly, there was a flurry of movement beside James, as a pair of figures burst out from the throng of students surrounding them.
"Impedimenta!" Albus cried, using one of the jinxes that he had been taught by the Seventh Year Gryffindors to use on the First Year Slytherins. The tall boy who had been dueling with James crumpled, caught unaware by the new entry to the fight.
As James looked dazedly up at Albus to thank his brother, he noticed the second figure that had burst from the crowd. Unable to stand, he pointed yelling "Al, behind you!"
But before Albus had a chance to turn around, the person behind him had already spoken "Stupefy!" cried the voice, his wand flicking towards the combatants.
But the spell did not target Albus, instead it flew from the caster's wand and towards the last standing Slytherin who was towering over Zach.
The person James had been pointing at, was Scorpius.
"I am aghast that you would resort to such low means!" Professor McGonagall was screeching, but surprisingly it was not James that she was yelling at. It was Remington Parker, the Slytherin who had organized the whole thing.
"What did you hope to prove? That you're big enough to beat up students five years younger than you?" she demanded, "Shame on you! One hundred points from Slytherin, and Detention for ALL of you! Now return to your Dormitories immediately!"
With a sigh, Professor McGonagall turned to face the rest of them. They were, for once, being reprimanded not in the Headmistress' Office, but in the Hospital Wing. James, Jeremey, Andrew, and Zach were all in Hospital Beds being treated by Madam Palumbo for the various injuries that had been inflicted on them by the older Slytherin students. Unfortunately, they had been unable to inflict any similar damage on their attackers.
"Well, I suppose I cannot give you Detention as you were acting in self defense." Professor McGonagall said slowly, causing James to grin victoriously "But I must tell you again that such behavior is not tolerated. If any of you try and exact some kind of brutal revenge on Mr. Parker, or Mr. Pearce, or Mr. Tucker then I will personally expel each and every one of you am I understood?"
Perhaps it was just his imagination, but he was sure that Professor McGonagall was staring directly at him, rather than at the group as a whole, while she said this.
The boys nodded grimly, Albus and Scorpius did so as well, just to make sure it was clear that they were not planning any revenge of their own: though James doubted that his brother would have known a good revenge scheme if it jinxed him in the arse.
"And Mr. Malfoy," Professor McGonagall said coolly, "You will be awarded Thirty Points, for showing that doing what is right, is more important than just blindly sticking to House Allegiances."
Staring directly at James, again, she added "And I believe that some of our Gryffindors would do well to learn that lesson as well." Before turning on her heel and leaving the Hospital Wing.
Turning his head to face Scorpius, which was a challenge considering the trauma that his head had just been subjected to, James said "So, you've been hanging around with my brother all year, haven't you?"
James hoped, prayed even, that Scorpius was going to say no. To tell him that what had happened was just a spur of the moment decision, but of course, no such luck.
"Yea." Scorpius answered in a small voice, as though fearing what James was going to do to him. Probably very wise of him, if he could stand, James would probably have jinxed the boy.
"And you never jinxed each other that night either, did you?" James asked, again already knowing what the answer was going to be, and not liking it. It had taken him until now, but he was finally starting to figure it out.
"No, we didn't." both boys answered together, Scorpius still looking fearful, but Albus looking defiant. For once, his brother was manning up and acting like a proper Potter should.
"Well then," James said, struggling with the next words, "I guess I was wro … that wasn't …" James was not accustomed to admitting his mistakes, it was something that he had always viewed as a sign of weakness.
"I was wrong." James said at last, "I guess Al's right, you Slytherins aren't all horrid twisted scum of the earth like Remington." James said, trying to sound kind but not pulling it off very well. Then, before his nerve abandoned him, he added "So for a low life Slytherin I guess you're pretty OK Scorpius."
Scorpius looked rather offended, but Albus clapped him on the shoulder saying "Trust me Scorpius, from James: that's practically an 'I love you'."
James started laughing, but stopped when it felt like his rib was going to cave in, fortunately Albus and Scorpius were there to keep it going. Boy oh boy, James was going to be hearing about this one for a while.
