ix. The Potter Squib

Hogwarts Third Year

It was no surprise for Scorpius Malfoy to get in Slytherin, since his sister had gotten in the same house back in her first year. Lyarra and her friends had clapped so loud and welcomed the young boy to their table. Scorpius smiled shyly and sat next to Lyarra and her group of friends. His sister had finally introduced him to Jemma and Sarah, since he had met Blaise and Christophe before.

But when the Sorting Hat announced that Albus Potter was to be in Slytherin, the whole occupants of the Great Hall went silent. James had his jaw slack and his friends were too stunned to clap for Albus.

Even though James had joked that Albus would be in Slytherin, he did not really expect his little brother to get in the house of the snakes.

Albus looked lost as the hall were silent, eyes assessing him as they whisper that a Potter got into Slytherin. Lyarra noticed him gulp as he didn't know what to do as he almost stumbled walking to the Slytherin table.

She didn't want him to feel that way.

"WE GOT POTTER!!!" Lyarra suddenly shouted and clapped while she stood up, which her friends and the rest of the Slytherin table start to follow. James had snapped his eyes to follow her figure standing up as she welcomed Albus to the Slytherin table.

Albus sent her a small appreciative smile.

"Lyarra Malfoy," Lyarra held out her hand, introducing herself. Albus' eyes went wide in recognition and his eyes then trailed to Scorpius who was now standing up beside his sister.

"T-Thank you. I'm Albus Potter..." Albus shyly took her hand and shook it. Lyarra giggled at that and patted his shoulder with her free hand.

"We know, you were getting sorted in front and we heard your name!" She joked, making Albus turn red.

Lyarra then smiled sincirely.

"Welcome to Slytherin, Albus Potter. You'll do great here!" She motioned for him to sit in between her and Scorpius which Albus followed with a grateful smile.

James watched the whole thing with a glare. He guesses this was karma for all those years teasing Lyarra Malfoy. Now his own brother is in the wretched house. Fred had patted him on the back and told him to ignore Al being chummy with the Malfoys, which he reluctantly followed.

But as the Sorting Ceremony continued, he couldn't help his eyes trailing to the Slytherin table where Al seemed really happy as both Malfoys whisper to him stuff unknown to James.

Al looked like he really belonged there.

James kind of wished he hadn't.

Albus was torn.

It had been weeks into the term that he had become friends with Scorpius Malfoy, and something that came along with that was Lyarra and her friends. They made it all bearable, amidst the lingering stares and whispers of students.

Even James was avoiding him, and with that, Fred naturally followed, along with Rose who was also in Gryffindor. So Albus stuck around Scorpius, who was also a fellow wallflower like him.

The two had been getting teased a lot by older Slytherin students, especially by Marvin Flint, the 6th year Quidditch Beater and current team captain. Lyarra had told both of them to pay him no mind, since Flint's hobby is bothering younger students that make him feel inferior.

Flint had called the two young Slytherins several mocking names. Since he had heard rumors that Albus wasn't performing magic very well in class, Albus had gotten the nickname "The Potter Squib". Scorpius on the other hand was called "The Malfoy Brat" which somehow annoyed Albus. Scorpius wasn't a brat, he was the nicest kid that he had met in the entireity of Hogwarts that was the same year as him.

When Jemma had heard Flint calling the two names, she had consoled them and advised to pay him no mind, and the same thing had happened to her back in first year.

"What did he call you?" Albus asked curiously. Flint wasn't that creative in giving names. Jemma's lips quirked.

"He called me a Mudblood," She chuckled as she tore her bread into two.

"And... You're okay with that?" Scorpius tried to ask, since he knew the word was bad and forbidden. Their parents have taught him not to say the word so carelessly, and that it had meaning to certain people. Draco had cringed as if his memories came back, reminding him of something he did in the past.

"Yeah, it's just a word. Doesn't mean anything to me much," She brushed it off nonchalantly.

"Oh Jem, no one's as carefree as you," Lyarra had shook her head in amusement as she cut into her meal. The two girls laughed.

"He doesn't call you that anymore, does he?" Scorpius asked and bit into his pie.

"No, he stopped back in first year. Now he only gives me glares..."

"How'd you make him stop?" Albus asked curiously.

"Him and his friends got pranked by somebody who didn't like what he did," Jemma answered vaguely. "Their eyebrows were turned into leeches and their nose were painted red like those clowns. In the end they do not have eyebrows because the leeches fell off."

Lyarra snorted.

"Oh shut it, Lya." Jemma elbowed her friend with a chuckle and a knowing crinkle of her eyes. Lyarra smiled to the boys.

"What Jemma's trying to tell you lot is that words have power if you think they do. Just ignore him and who knows? He'll get bored and move on with his life." She advised.

"Hasn't he been a headache at Quidditch?" Sarah chimed in finally after stuffing her mouth with food.

"Yeah... He's nitpicking on so much stuff. It's going to be a tough year." Lyarra sighed.

After that dinner, both Albus and Scorpius had taken Jemma and Lyarra's advice and ignore the sixth year. Scorpius had become more happier the following day but Albus was still affected since his nickname was a little bit true.

Magic didn't come easily for him. He tried so hard to do spells properly but sometimes it didn't work very well. Thank goodness for Harry teaching his children how to ride brooms back when they were younger, because if it wasn't for that, Albus would embarass himself in flying class. Scorpius was a natural in the air since he shared that he used to fly a lot with his sister.

Albus' anxiety skyrocketed as he wasn't able to transfigure a single rock into a feather. Scorpius had done it easily and tried to teach him, but it still didn't really work. And Marvin Flint's growing nickname on him only made it worse when people started whispering that maybe it was true, that Harry Potter's Slytherin son was a Squib.

Even when Harry tried to assure Albus that him being in Slytherin was fine, he couldn't help the heavy burden that he carried by being the son of the Chosen One. Albus truly didn't know how James did it. It truly came easy for his Gryffindor brother. And James avoiding him made it worse.

It affected Albus in a lot of ways. He can't see people's eyes if they were talking, and started to look downwards. Lyarra had commented on this and told him to keep his chin up, and that she would help him with his problems.

Slowly she tutored him and gave him pointers and by a week Albus had improved greatly. Lyarra was a wonderful tutor and was very patient with him. She even gave so many detailed explanations and tips and tricks for him that Albus found very useful.

He was very thankful of Lyarra.

The nickname had become bearable as he tried to prove himself throughout the following weeks. Although Marvin Flint kept mocking him with the nickname, he suddenly stopped doing so after the Slytherin Quidditch game against Hufflepuff.

Flint had embarassingly appeared with a giant red bow on top of his cropped pink hair and red lipstick to the pitch, inviting several flashes of magical cameras. The Hufflepuff captain could be seen holding his laugh as they shook hands, along with his team. Most of the Slytherin team members tried so hard not to laugh since Flint was the captain. Lyarra only hid her smile behind her hands in amusement.

Albus had thought it was James and Fred's doing but seeing the impressed and shock look on his brother and cousin's face, it was obvious that they didn't do it, even if they have a knack for pranks and pranking Slytherins throughout the years.

Even after that, Slytherin had won against Hufflepuff when their Seeker Lyarra Malfoy caught the Snitch, after prolonging the game to almost two hour mark. Albus had to give her props for still looking so elegant like her usual self even though she had flown around the pitch with wind tousling her hair. Scorpius had laughed and said that Lyarra had did it on purpose, as she could have ended the game 20 minutes after it started.

"She did it just to embarass Flint, Albus!" Scorpius wheezed as they watch Flint taking off to the locker rooms, avoiding people's looks.

"Did you notice that Flint has stopped calling us names?" Scorpius whispered a week after the game. They were lounging in the Slytherin common room in a Saturday morning, preparing to do their homework.

Lyarra, Jemma, and Sarah had sat together at a table, near a window that the older Malfoy had enchanted to reflect the morning view where the sun had shined its rays throughout the room. It looked pretty warm considering the Slytherin common room's icy atmosphere of the Black Lake. Jemma and Sarah were talking, as Lyarra was reading the Daily Prophet. Albus caught himself looking curiously.

"He doesn't even look at us straight anymore. He looks like he's scared of us yet hates us at the same time," Scorpius added, snapping Albus out of his gazing.

"I'm not the Potter Squib anymore?"

"Yes, and I'm also not the Malfoy Brat anymore."

Albus smiled at that actually, "Well, that's great!"

"I think he was done when someone did that awful prank at him on the Hufflepuff vs Slytherin match." Scorpius added his two cents.

"Who do you think did it?"

"I don't know," Scorpius frowned, "But I guess it's the same bloke that did it back in Lya's first year."

At the name, Albus' mind wandered back to the table where he gazed at Lyarra's nonchalant figure, flipping the Daily Prophet. Noticing that she was being watched, Lyarra's eyes trailed around the room until they caught his curious ones. Lyarra gave him a curious look.

Albus uknowingly smiled, and felt the most calm in the second month he had been in Hogwarts. He knows that Lyarra Malfoy had did it, and Albus was quite thankful for her actions. James was very wrong about her in so many ways, and Albus thinks that even if he tried, he couldn't get away from Lyarra Malfoy that easily.

And as Lyarra Malfoy gave him a soft smile, his heart skipped a beat and heat rose to his ear.

She has a really nice smile.

A/N

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