Isaac Potter
Chapter 1
Gentle rain dribbled down on the dark pavement of Diagon Alley. Moonlight reflected off the dirty windows illuminating a nondescript door at the end of the third lane in the Alley, above which a wooden sign swayed back and forth in the soft wind.
Albus Dumbledore stood just before the door, his deluminator in one hand, a sleeping baby in the other. A black cat circled the area; her eyes fixed on the door.
"Am I wrong, Minerva?"
The darkness disguised the transformation of an Animagus.
"For all our sakes, I sure hope that you aren't."
He sighed, then put away the deluminator, picking up his wand with the ease of long practice. A moment later, the child was in a basket, charmed to reflect the rain, with a single piece of paper stuck on his forehead. A forehead that bore no scar.
"Where is his scar?" Minerva whispered.
"He had some talent in Metamorph-magic." He sighed again, a sigh that was somehow heavier than any Minerva had heard. "Possibly through his Black ancestry. Unfortunate as it has been for him, I have used it and have confounded his mind to accept the unblemished skin as his natural form."
"You con–CONFOUNDED HIM?" Minerva screeched. "He's a child, Albus! How could you–"
"It was the only way," Dumbledore said simply.
"Did you–" words died in her mouth.
Did you try illusions? Did you think of healing it up? Did you?
All were questions she wanted to ask. But she knew those answers: yes. Yes, he did try those, and possibly many other countless archaic magics unknown to her. And what worked, after everything, was the child's own magic.
So she stared at his forehead for a moment, and finally nodded. Dumbledore kept on looking at the wooden door, thinking, planning, hoping.
He held her wiry hand, and a sharp pop sound echoed through the silent night.
/****\
"… And don't you try hiding any boyfriends from me!"
"Or girlfriends, for that matter."
"Yes mum, dad." Hermione's face blushed crimson. "Can I go now, please?"
"Go on," her father ruffled her hair. "And don't forget to look up some Sarcio Dentes potions for us!"
"Uhh, sure!" she swiftly turned around, grabbed her trolley, and started running towards the barrier wall on Platform 9.
"She didn't even correct your blasphemous Latin," Helena laughed when Hermione had seemingly disappeared into a wall. "She really is that nervous."
"She'll be fine," Edward smirked, "it's the magical world I'm worried about." His hands snaked around her waist. "Let's go home," he whispered into her ear.
She giggled. "Sure thing, hon."
/****\
Hermione lugged her heavy luggage towards the train. She stopped near a newspaper stall and pulled out her ticket. "No seat number," mumbling to herself, she looked around, but it didn't afford her with any distinguished carriage for first year students, so she picked a random carriage that appeared relatively empty and began dragging her trunk.
"A couple… more… minutes…" She mumbled between laboured breathes.
"Young lady? Do you need some help?"
Hermione looked up. "Huh? Oh, no, I'm good, thank you," she replied reflexively.
"You don't look too good," the older woman smiled at her. "Let me help. Wingardium Leviosa."
Her trunk became impossibly light. She grabbed hold of the handle, worried that it might float away.
"Thank you, Miss…"
"Oh, no need for that. You can call me Olivia, like everyone else."
"Thanks… Miss Olivia."
"You're welcome."
Hermione tried pulling her trunk, but it was stuck in the air. "What?"
"Oh, my apologies. Let me walk you to your carriage."
Olivia waved her wand, and the trunk started following along.
Hermione nodded gratefully and started walking alongside her. "So… Miss Olivia, uh, I'm a muggleborn."
"I gathered as much, and a first year too," she nodded.
"I really don't know much about this world," Hermione admitted. "I would appreciate any advice you give."
The crowd increased ever so slowly.
"Advice?" Olivia seemed very surprised. "I wasn't fortunate enough to study at Hogwarts, sadly. Well, I am a potioneer, so I can help you with potions if you ever need it."
"Oh… if it isn't too personal, can you tell why you didn't attend Hogwarts?"
Olivia smiled a bit, "I can't tell you that, at least not yet. Though feel free to ask more."
Hermione blushed, and then asked, "What is it like? Magic?"
"It is wonderful. I have heard it described like petting your most beloved pet or hugging your mother. I, personally, feel like I am submerged in a lake as gentle, cool, soft water washes over me. Everyone seems to experience it differently."
"Wow…" Hermione stared ahead, "I would love to feel it someday."
"I wish every day that I could forget about magic just so I could relive the moment I experienced it first."
Hermione grinned widely. They were almost at the carriage she had chosen.
"Thank you," Hermione hefted her trunk onto the carriage.
"Don't you worry," Olivia patted her head. "Have fun at school!"
Hermione just realised something, "Do you have someone studying in Hogwarts?"
The crowd had increased enough that people were bumping into each other.
"Why? Yes, actually." Olivia smiled. Before Hermione could ask, she had disappeared somewhere into the crowd.
"Weird."
Hermione dragged her trunk through the empty carriage. Each of the compartments already had a couple of students, talking and laughing with each other. She thought of introducing herself, but realised she didn't really have any idea how she could do so. 'Hello, my name is Hermione, my parents are dentists' didn't really work on a population which had no idea what a dentist was.
So, in the end, she chose a compartment with another boy, and opened the shutter. "Hello, I'm…" she stopped. The boy was reading a book and hadn't even looked up. She couldn't see his face. "Hello?" she tried again, only to receive a similar silent treatment.
The train gave its warning whistle, so she slid her trunk under the seat, took out her own book from her handbag, and began to read.
She looked up when the train jerked, and looked out the window. Hands were waving, parents were dabbing their eyes to hide their tears, Younger siblings were crying, and the train was quickly gaining speed.
She sighed and pulled down the cover over her side of the window.
The boy finally looked up. "Uhh, sorry," he spoke.
Hermione put two and two together. "Were you hiding?"
His eyes instantly darted around the whole compartment before settling on hers. "Yeah," he said.
"Why?"
"I don't like crowds."
"Uhh… are you some kind of celebrity?"
"I don't like being called that," a sour expression flew over his face. "Anyway, I'm guessing you're a first year too?"
"Yes," Hermione accepted the change of subject, "I'm the first witch in my family."
"Figured as much," he nodded. "Hey, I'm Isaac, pleased to meet you," he extended his hand.
"Hermione," she accepted his handshake. "Are you the first in your family as well?"
"Uhh, let's just say I have grown up with magic around me."
"Do you know any spells?"
"Yes actually," Isaac pulled out his holly wand, grinning widely. "Gran tried to stop me, but really it was too easy trying out a couple of spells in the woods."
"Which one?" she asked excitedly.
"Only the simple Lumos for now." He stared hard at the end of his wand. "Lumos," he spoke.
Nothing happened.
"This is awkward…" He screwed his eyes shut, and tried again, "Lumos!"
A tiny speck of light grew at the end of his wand. Hermione inhaled.
Hearing her, he opened his eyes and grinned yet again. "Took a bit of effort, but worth it."
"Yes," she spoke in wonder. She had seen many adults do magic by now, but here was a kid, not even in Hogwarts yet, who used a spell. It was going to be hard but not, hopefully, impossible.
He let the light slowly fade away. "Hopefully it gets easier…"
"Yeah…" Hermione was still staring at the vacant tip.
They heard a knock on their compartment door. "Come in!" Hermione shouted, and Isaac instantly had a book in his hand covering his face. A face with a blond hair popped in.
"Word is out that Potter's in this carriage."
"Potter?"
"Harry Potter."
She looked at Isaac, who had refused to so much as look up. "Uhh, he's Isaac, there's no Harry Potter here."
The blond had shut the door without another word.
Isaac finally sighed. "I don't know how I'm going to do this. I mean, I know I need to interact with them… It's just…"
Hermione stayed silent.
"I've never been so far away from home," he finally admitted. "Gran was always around whenever we were harassed by a crowd. Now… I'm alone," he ended, sounding so very small.
Hermione looked out the window. This wasn't going to be easy.
She stood up, and changed her seat to sit beside Isaac. "I'll help you any way I can," she said with more certainty than she felt. "It'll be alright," she patted his shoulder.
He accepted her words with a nod.
/****\
They had fallen into a comfortable silence when there was another knock on the door.
"Come in," Hermione looked at the page number before closing her book, and finally looked up as the door slid open.
"Have — have you seen a toad in your compartment?" came the trembling voice of a boy with dirty blond hair. His nose was a bit puffed, Hermione guessed he had been crying recently.
She looked around the small cabin, even pulled out her trunk to look behind it, but no toad was found.
The boy sighed and turned around to leave.
"Hey! Uhh, what's your name?" Hermione asked quickly.
"Neville," came his dejected answer, "Neville Longbottom."
"Have you asked the prefects about your toad, Neville?"
He nodded. "They said that the Summoning Charm can't work in a fast moving train. Trevor would be crushed to a pulp if they tried." He sniffled. "I just know, know, that Trevor is going to jump out of the train on his own."
Hermione chanced a glance at Isaac, only to see him looking utterly engrossed in his book. She made her mind.
"Wait, a sec." She stood up, carefully placed her book back into her side bag, and turned around. "Let's go."
Neville was looking at her nervously. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, two pairs of eyes means half the work. Come on!"
He looked bewildered, but followed her nonetheless.
Harry Potter, alias Isaac, lifted his face from behind the cover of his book.
"You know, I am perfectly capable of being an ordinary child," he seemingly reproached the air. "Stop babying me."
"Aww, I'm definitely sending this memory over to Olivia," Tonks giggled under her invisibility cloak.
"Very funny."
"Yes, it most certainly is. And it will be ten times funnier when I play this memory in your wedding."
"Tonksie," Harry whispered under his breath.
"Don't you dare."
"I have heard of a couple of young pranksters who have been troubling a certain seventh year witch. It would be oh so awful if annoying nicknames of that witch reached unfortunate ears, won't it?"
"Fine," Tonks grumbled. "This memory stays in my head, that awful name stays in yours."
"Deal," Harry grinned.
She sobered up. "Malfoy was looking for you."
"I wonder why."
She gave him an annoyed look. "You should've spoken to him."
"And then? I wouldn't have tolerated the first time he said that terrible word. Spells would've flown, people would get suspicious."
She sighed. "Don't project his father on him, Harry."
"He didn't even have the courtesy to knock before slamming the door open."
"That just makes him an impatient child, nothing more."
Harry kept staring at the floor.
"This has to end at some point, you know?" Tonks pulled back her cloak and looked at Harry. "I have a couple friends in Slytherin. They're not that bad. Just… Just keep an open mind, yeah? If you don't, you would be no different from the Purebloods that judge Muggleborns for their heritage."
Harry nodded reluctantly.
"Good."
One silencing spell and invisibility cloak later, the compartment was empty again, save for a young boy with plain black hair who had no scar on his forehead.
/****\
AN: I hit a major writer's block, again. So, here's a new story to keep me going.
Vaccines are round the corner, fun is legal again, I had thought, 2021 was looking like a good year. And then US elections happened. Sigh.
Anyway, here's to hoping for a slightly less awful year!
Wear masks. Stay safe.