A.N: Hello everyone, i am back with another chapter. Sorry for the delay on this one, but real life happened. Anyways i hope you like the chapter.
As usual all criticism and suggestions are welcome, please let me know if you want to see something in the story.
Please do review, it motivates me to keep going on!
Summary: Harry has always been thrusted into a life which he never wanted to live, all he wanted was to be a normal boy with a loving family, what if Harry is given a chance to actually have his dream. How will Harry grow if he doesn't have to deal with dark lords, death eaters and constant threat to his life. What if he used all his worth to learn magic, and just have fun. AU, Non BWL Harry, Neutral Potters.
Last time on Normalcy is Divine:
Slowly Harry started relaxing as he took in the festive spirit. For the first time in his life, he was enjoying Halloween. He looked towards the fantastic assortment of sweet wonders on the table and decided to have some treacle tart, he always had a soft corner for them. As he was moving his hands towards the dessert, his hand was slapped back towards him.
"Potter! Who said you could eat all this?" Harry jumped in his seat as he turned to see Seamus glaring at him.
"But it's Halloween!"
"So what? You need to decide Potter what you want? Some dessert of a career in Quidditch!" Seeing Harry slump in his chair he continued "Yes! That's what I thought! Now fill your plate with some protein and fibre."
'I hate Halloween' Harry thought as he looked around to see his friends enjoy the treats.
Harry was once again the center of attention, but for the first time in his life he was enjoying the attention he was getting. The entire school as a whole had accepted him as a talented young boy. As a universal law, fame also brings about resentment from some. As the quidditch season rolled in, Harry could clearly see the change in the student populace's attitude towards him.
While he was already considered as the de facto leader of the Slytherin first years, he was slowly becoming the poster boy of his house, especially after being selected as the chaser for the team. Harry had expected other houses to make a fuss about the first year being on the team, but none had done so. Afterall nobody had seen him play, and a first year chaser didn't seem too big of a threat.
Slytherin would be playing Gryffindor in the first match of the quidditch season. Seamus was training them harder than ever, Gryffindor hadn't lost a single match since Charlie Weasley had joined the team in his second year. The fifth year was clearly a very talented seeker, and unfortunately the Slytherin seeker was not on the same level, which meant it was up to the chasers to score more than 150 points before Charlie could catch the snitch. While extremely difficult, it was doable, as proven by the Irish trio defeating the mighty Bulgarians?
The week leading up to the match, Harry was subjected to countless insults and taunts wherever he went, from the other houses. Everyone tried their best to intimidate the young chaser, in hopes of getting some advantage before the match. Him receiving the latest professional grade broom had also started numerous rumors about how his father must have bought him a place on the team.
Harry however was unfazed by everything going around him. While this would have terrified him in his previous life, he was actually enjoying this competitive spirit in the castle. It was quite funny to see the three quarters of the castle population suddenly consider him vilest of the creatures known to mankind. His house however was all behind him, Harry wasn't even allowed to go anywhere alone before the match. Seamus didn't want to risk anything happening to his newest star.
Everyone looked down upon Slytherin, the hate did not just start from a dark lord being born from the house, this ran deeper than a single dark lord. Slytherin house had the most number of house cup and quidditch cup wins in the past millennia. This house had produced the most number of Ministers of magic, and most influential wizards in history, and rarely any muggleborn were ever sorted in the house.
It's in human nature to support the underdog, everyone loves the story of a dark horse, and similarly everyone wants to see the mighty fall. Call it jealousy, or schadenfreude, but it's just in human nature to wish for the mighty to fall from grace. Harry had always felt the brunt of these emotions. One day he was the savior of the wizarding world, and then the dark lord the next day.
This life was no different, his exceptional talent in magic, combined with him being on the team in his first year, in addition to him being very rich had made people quite envious of him. People like him were what went against the normal things taught to a common man. 'Work hard to achieve your goals' didn't really feel real when one of your classmates could simply quit his schooling and still would spend his life in absolute luxury without even lifting a finger. Life was clearly unfair, and Harry could not help but thank whatever deity out there who dealt him the best cards possible.
On the match day, Septimus could be seen in the common room, trying to explain to his fellow housemates how awesome chants are. He had seen what an entire stadium filled with thousands of fans cheering on their team could do, however his idea was not really landing for his house mates. Singing and screaming was for plebians, and Most of the people in the house of green seemed below them. He however managed to convince a few first and second years.
After breakfast, the Slytherin team huddled in the changing rooms near the pitch, their captain giving them last minute instructions. "Alright guys, we have worked hard for this, we are completely prepared to win no matter what. Our main focus is to stop Weasley, I don't care who you are or what position you are in, if you see him diving stop him. Our priority is to score a difference of 150 as soon as possible. Trust in your abilities, trust in the hard work you all have put in and let's crush those Gryffindorks!" Finished Seamus as the team cheered.
The team walked out to the entrance, and waited for them to be called. "I heard we are gonna have live commentary this year" said Owen, the fifth year chaser.
"Yeah, A First year Gryffindor convinced McGonagall of it, apparently Dumbledore loved the idea. This is good, we can keep a year out and know what is going on. This helps." The Slytherin captain said as he saw some nervous looks.
"Welcome! To the first quidditch game of the season. I am Lee Jordan and will be your commentator for the Evening. We have a great game lined up for you, the greatest rivalry of the Hogwarts four! Gryffindor vs Slytherin!" A voice boomed across the quidditch pitch.
"Looks like this is going to be fun!" Harry commented earning grins from all the Slytherin players.
"First of all let's welcome the Slytherin team, led by Captain and chaser Seamus Troy, followed by keeper Miles Bletchley, Beaters Selvinus Gamp and Wayne Gerrard, Seeker Alan Keane and the remaining two chasers Gabriel Owen and Hadrian Potter!" The commentator exclaimed as the Slytherin team flew out and did a lap around the pitch in the arrow formation. The Slytherin section screamed in joy, as the boys in green flew out. Harry looked towards the teachers stand and was filled with warm feelings, as he saw his parents, brother and uncle sitting there waving at him. Cygnus was jumping in his seat waving the green scarf to show his support.
"We love you Slytherin, We do!
We love you Slytherin, We do!
We love you Slytherin, We do!
Ooooh Slytherin, We love you!"
Harry couldn't help but laugh Septimus led the chant with a few younger years, and the others followed with each encore. Soon the entire Slytherin section was singing and clapping in synch, and overruled any other noise. He could see the chants did its work, as the other sections also stopped to see Slytherin students singing. The Slytherin players sat up straighter on their brooms, as they heard their house support them.
Everyone was so busy with Slytherin students that they actually missed the arrival of Gryffindor teams in the air. The mind games were already on, as the team in red clearly looked miffed at not getting the reception their opponents got.
Harry blocked everything out, as he focused on the game, as all the players lined up for the start of the match. As soon as the quaffle was released, Harry shot through like a bullet, keeping his form low, he nabbed the quaffle before anyone else and shot towards the opponent's hoops. Before anyone could even react, he was already in the shooting range, as he chucked the quaffle in the left hoop, scoring the first points of the game.
Harry couldn't help but laugh at the bewildered looks on other player's faces, not even his team had seen him fly like that. The professional grade broom was doing its magic. Harry was clearly fastest on the broom, and it showed through the next hour, as the Gryffindor Chasers couldn't keep up.
Slytherin strategy was simple, they had decided to play on the counter attack, due to his smaller frame, Owen and Troy had decided to be the interceptors, and pass it long to Harry who could outfly everyone on the pitch.
Within the first ten minutes, Slytherin were up by 50-10, out of which Harry had scored 4 goals. The beaters solely focused on the Gryffindor seeker, keeping him out of play as much as they could.
In the teacher's stand, two males were filled with mixed emotions, while a certain lady Potter tried her best to control her laugh and console her companions.
"I can't believe I am wearing Green on Hogwarts pitch" James said as his face seemed to turn the same color as his scarf.
"I feel the same Prongsy, I am so proud of the lad, he is bloody brilliant out there, but couldn't he do that in red and gold" said a grumbling Sirius.
"We are not cheering for the house, we are only here for Hadrian!"
"Too right mate! We just want the pup to win, that's all!"
Narcissa watched amusedly as the two ex Gryffindor players jumped out of their seats as Harry scored yet another goal and waved the green scarf in delight. They even joined in one of the Slytherin chants before realizing what they were doing and immediately sat right down. On the other hand, she couldn't stop but felt her heart shoot in her throat as she watched her eldest fly at breathtaking speed and doing stunts he shouldn't be doing at all. As fun as it was watching these two overgrown children behave like idiots, she just could not watch her baby doing all that 50 feet above the ground. At least her youngest seemed to have fun.
The Slytherin stand was having the time of their life, their youngest chaser was toying with the Gryffindorks and, the boys in red, had no answer for him. Entire house was singing in perfect synchronization cheering on their players. The Yaxley heir was very creative with the chants and they loved every minute of it.
Lucretia Graham, a second year Slytherin, watched on from her seat in the stands, as her house for the first time since she started Hogwarts, trounce the invincible Gryffindors. While she never really cared much for the game in itself, this year it had been different. Like her friends, she had also felt she had grown in more ways than one. She had discovered new feelings and urges, and this strange attraction to the boys. While the boys in her year were all dunderheads, she had come to watch the handsome and charming seventh year Seamus Troy. He definitely looked like a prince, and like many others, she wouldn't mind being rescued by him.
No matter what she felt for the older boy, she knew nothing would come out of it. Firstly, He was half-blood and not as rich as her family. Her mother always said to make friends with people of the same status and would never accept him as her husband, and secondly he would be graduating this year, and wouldn't even notice her, when he was already surrounded by so many pretty and grown women. She once again looked down towards her chest and cursed her slow growth, her friends had clearly been growing well, while she had been the same as last year.
Still at least she could watch him, and so she had come for the quidditch match, but this year had been different, her entire house was singing and jumping up and down as their team scored. She had been apprehensive at first, but soon she got into the rhythm and started singing as well. She, like everyone else, felt silent, as the first year led them through another song. His songs had indeed been funny, and at times quite insulting to other houses. She clapped in rhythm as she learned the new lyrics and recited with others from her house.
"Hadrian Potter is Slytherin,
He wears the Emerald hat,
He could have sorted in other three,
But he said No fuck that!,
He scores from his left,
And he scores from his right!
And when we win quidditch cup,
We gonna sing this all night"
Hadrian Potter, she couldn't help but feel the heat coming to her face, as she thought about the first year boy. Everyone in Hogwarts had heard about the young prodigious boy, who could perform all the spells on his first try. It sounded a bit ridiculous at first, but now seeing him fly better than anybody had squashed all the doubts in her mind. Lucretia was entranced by his flying, the maneuvers on the broom, the breathtaking speed, or the way he would leap off the broom or twist or twirl it in celebration after scoring was quite a sight.
Now that she thought about it, he was indeed a handsome boy, taller than half the boys in her year, he seemed to have an athletic build to his body, clearly the exercises with Seamus were paying off. The more she thought about him, the more attractive he seemed. While he was younger than her, it really didn't matter, as her father was two years younger than her mother as well. She cheered loudly with the rest of her house as the said boy scored his ninth goal, changing the score to 130-30. She promised herself she would go and talk to him, if they won the match.
Harry let another whoop as he curled in the quaffle for yet another goal. He flew around the Slytherin stand to give them a small wave. Septimus had outdone himself, he never knew he had even prepared solo chants for him, and boy did it feel good. Harry was completely in his element, the broom felt like an extension of his body and he was enjoying every second of it. There had been close calls from a couple of bludgers, and one time Charlie had actually seen the snitch, only to be stopped as the Slytherin captain flew in his path.
They already had lead of 150 points withs score being 180-30, it felt like the gryffindor chasers had given up on the game altogether, however the game isn't over yet. If Weasley catches the snitch, then it will still be a victory for the Reds. At that moment, his captain had called a timeout and called everyone in a huddle near the Slytherin hoops.
"Alright guys, great work out there! We have the lead, we need one more goal, and then we can stop focusing on the weasel. Stay tight, and don't break the formation, Potter stays deep and ready for the passes, don't waver from position unless you see Weasley going for a snitch. Higgs, look out for the golden menace, and you best. Come on people, I know you guys are tired, but victory is almost in our hands!" With a final cheer, the team flew back into their positions.
As the game resumed, Harry flew towards the Gryffindor posts only to stop dead in his tracks as he heard the double whistle signifying the end of the match. The feeling of dread came in as he turned to look towards Weasley flying towards the ground. Harry felt his heart break, as he heard the commentator speak "And in an anticlimactic end Terrence Higgs has caught the snitch. Slytherin wins 330-30" said Lee Jordan on the microphone in an absolute devastating voice"
'Wait- what?' Harry's head shot up towards his seeker, to see him still in his position, holding the golden snitch in his hands with a bewildered look on his face. It took a second for the entire student populace to understand what had happened, and as one the entire Slytherin section broke into wild cheers and yells of victory.
Harry couldn't help but laugh it up, as he flew towards his team as they landed near the Slytherin section. He was immediately accepted in the group hug, and then lifted onto the shoulders ofnthe two chasers.
"Three cheers for our star chaser!"
"Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!" Everyone cheered, as they were joined in by more students in green running towards the pitch.
When he was put down, he was hugged by his best friend, who looked like he would burst out crying. "Mate you were bloody brilliant out there! I made 75 galleons, by betting on you!"
"What? How much did you get?" Asked Harry in a shocked voice, the amount was pretty high.
"Well the odds were pretty against you, I bet 5 galleons on you being the highest scorer of the game, and won 75, nobody expected you to play that good."
"That's great bruv, I guess you can pay me back those 30Gs"
"I don't know what you are talking about," Septimus replied as he turned away innocently. Harry could only sigh at his best friend and his failure to acknowledge his losses.
"Anyways, I will meet you later! I need to go and meet my family."
"Yeah yeah, don't be late Harry, Troy said the Slytherin parties were pretty insane, and send my regards to you family." Septimus replied as he walked back towards the castle with his fellow Slytherin singing the Harry Potter chant.
Near the teacher's stand, the Potter family and Sirius stood talking to some teachers and other parents who had visited, while waiting for Harry.
"Hadrian Potter is Slytherin, He wears an Emerald hat… What?" Sirius exclaimed as he looked at the elder Potters looking at him incredulously. "I can't help it, the song is pretty catchy!" Sirius whined.
"It is indeed catchy, while they could have avoided the profanity, I personally like it! It praises my son after all" said Narcissa as he looked around in search of her eldest son.
"Of course you would like it my love, I wonder if you would have liked it if he was sorted in Gryffindor" James retorted, only to receive a roll of eyes from his wife.
"There he is!" Exclaimed Sirius as he moved to engulf Harry in a huge hug, followed by James.
"Son! You were brilliant out there, the speed and accuracy were off the charts. We are definitely coming back for all your games. By the way, how did you curve the quaffle in the opposite direction of the barrel roll?" Asked James excitedly.
Before he could answer Narcissa interrupted "Hadrian Potter! Why do you keep doing this to me, do you care not for your mother's health! You were flying so fast! And if that was enough, you decide to dance like a monkey on your broom!"
"Cissa, that's called celebration! A little showing off hurts nobody!" Sirius said, trying to calm his cousin down.
"A LITTLE! MY SON WAS STANDING UPSIDE DOWN ON HIS BROOM! WHAT IF HE HAD FELLEN DOWN?" Narcissa screamed at Sirius, clearly it wasn't the right thing to say to her.
Harry, seeing his mother lashing out, immediately went up to hug her tightly, and said softly "You don't have to worry mom, I knew what I was doing and was in complete control, I would never do anything dangerous, plus the new broom is a blessing and very safe." This seemed to calm Mt. Narcissa down as she hugged her eldest back.
Harry had spent the next half hour with his family, talking about his stay in Hogwarts and some random stuff. Narcissa was exceptionally glad that he wasn't slacking off his academics. Soon the time was up, and Harry had decided to accompany his family till the apparition point. When they turned around the corner, they came face to face with the professor of muggle studies.
Harry watched on as Lily Evan's expression turned exceptionally sour as she saw the Potter family in front of her. The scowl and trembling hands were a dead give away. She kept glaring at his father till his mother decided to intervene. Sirius on the other hand was looking on nervously.
"Evans, how delightful to see you, we missed you at the game. I had assumed you wouldn't miss it, why my son was also playing today. You know after all how great Potters are at the game after all." Narcissa said with an extra sweet smile on her face. Harry had never seen her take up this tone ever.
"Black! I Do have a job and a life, unlike you I don't just sit around looking pretty and watch children play quidditch." The professor said as she turned her glare towards her mother.
"Oh! It's Potter now and has been for years, and being a part of your children's happiness and achievements is something a mother does, not that I would expect you to understand." Narcissa retorted.
Whatever was going on between his parents and Lily Evans, it was extremely brutal. They downright looked ready to murder each other. Sirius acted as buffer, made excuses and dragged the Potter family towards the apparition point. While sending Harry back to his common room. Harry was definitely asking Sirius about this whole thing, the first chance he got.
When Harry arrived back in the common room, the party had already started, the music was blaring, and crates and crates of butterbeer and firewhisky sat in the corner. The table in the center was filled with food and people seemed to be lounging around. A cheer went around the common room as the Slytherin students noticed the presence of their youngest chaser.
As he walked in, he was greeted by many who congratulated on a job well done with hand shakes and pats on the back. He was offered a bottle of butterbeer, as he sat down with his fellow first years. One match had boosted his social standing in Slytherin house, he was one of the most popular members of the house. For the next hour Harry casually went around talking with other Slytherin students, both old and young, making new friends.
He was lounging on the couch near the fireplace with Septimus and Adrian, talking about football, when he was approached by a second year girl, who stumbled towards the three boys.
"Hi Hadrian, can I have a word?" Asked the brunette with rosy cheeks. As Harry got up to move towards her, he smelled a faint amount of firewhisky coming from the girl, which explained the stumble and rosy cheeks.
"Hello, you found me at a disadvantage, while you know my name, I am yet to know yours." Harry said with a small smile, as he led her towards the empty couple of chairs near the stairs to girls dorms.
"Yes we'll, my name is Lucretia, Lucretia Graham, I am in my second year. I wanted to congratulate and thank you for winning us the match, you were pretty incredible on the broom." She said as her face turned a darker shade of red.
" Thank you my dear, it feels incredible to be complimented by someone as beautiful as you." Harry responded with a smile. He knew he was laying it on thick, and it wasn't even his A game, but she was just 12 year old and it wasn't like he was aiming to score that night, he himself was just eleven and frankly, the busty sixth year drunk blond was a much prettier sight than the girl in his company.
Harry was in for a shock, when out of nowhere the second year girl gathered the courage and kissed him right there in the common room. He would have responded if it wasn't for the complete shock. They broke the kiss as the common room erupted in wolf whistles and cheers. Harry broke from his trance as he saw everyone cheer him on with catcalls and whistles, but the girl who had just kissed him, looked on dejectedly. He had never expected this to happen so soon in his life, and certainly not with a twelve year old, but he was an eleven year old on the cusp of puberty, and the kiss had ignited something in him.
"Hey, Lucretia, I am sorry I froze up, that was my first ever kiss and I didn't know how to respond. That was actually brilliant!" Harry said as his partner started walking away, with slightly watery eyes.
"I am so sorry, I shouldn't have done it, I didn't know what I was thinking!" She replied hurriedly.
"No no, it's fine, in fact I loved it. Um, if you would like, we can do it again, properly this time." Harry said with a shrug of his shoulder.
The blush on her face returned with full force as she nodded slightly before leaning in again. Harry cupped her face with one hand while placing another on her waist, as he too leaned in as their lips met for the second time that night. It was short but not too brief to properly enjoy, it wasn't a chaste kiss, nor was it steamy. They had not used the tongue, but the lips moved in perfect synchronization while their bodies moved as close as possible.
Soon it was over, and with a final peck on his lips. Lucretia went back to the girls' dorms with her friends, all of them giggling. Harry walked back to his friends, getting nods of appreciation and pats on the back.
"How in the bloody hell did that happen?" Adrian exclaimed as Harry crashed in the chair next to Septimus.
"It's the hair my friend! It's the hair" Septimus said wisely, as the three dissolved in laughter.
To be continued...
A.N: I hope you liked it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Please rate and review :)