Chapter 8 - The Letters of Albus Severus Potter
September 2017 ~ First Year
Dear Mum, Dad and Lily,
Well, I am in Gryffindor after all. It was actually okay. Lily, don't take any notice of what James said, it isn't true. The Sorting doesn't hurt at all, it's fine.
Sorry about that ink splodge. That was Jamie, looking over my shoulder and trying to stop me writing that last bit. It's okay, he's gone now. I've promised to put this letter in the fire and write a new one that doesn't tell you about the sorting, but I'm not going to, so don't tell him, okay?
Rose has mostly gone off with some of the girls in our year, so I've been hanging around with this boy called Gareth Llewellyn (he had to tell me how to spell his surname, it's Welsh) who seems really nice.
Rose got detention today, because she hit a boy in the nose and made it bleed. She doesn't seem to mind though.
It's fun here, but I do miss you all a bit. Write back,
Lots of love, Albus.
December 2018 ~ Second Year
SECRET CHRISTMAS STUFF INSIDE, MUM AND DAD DON'T LOOK.
Dear Lily,
Sorry I haven't written sooner. I hope you're okay. We'll be home for Christmas soon, and then it's only two terms before you come to Hogwarts too!
James says he saw a really nice set of quills and ink in Scrivenshaft's in Hogsmeade that Mum might like for Christmas, but it was really expensive so he wants to know if we want to join in with him and get it together. I'm going to give him some money to get it when they go to Hogsmeade next week, and you can pay us back when we get home if you want.
The thing is, I'm not sure how he saw it, because they've only had one trip to Hogsmeade this term (the second one is next week, like I said), and James wasn't allowed to go because he made up a rude song about Professor Mundy in Potions. I think James might have taken Dad's map-the other week I saw him and Louis and the others all looking at something on a parchment, but when I went up to them, he covered it up and wouldn't tell me what it was. And then I saw Louis with chocolate from Honeydukes, and I suppose he might have saved it since the last trip, but Louis doesn't usually save chocolate, he usually eats it.
And I know Dad wouldn't have given the map to James because he wouldn't even give it to Teddy, so Jamie must have stolen it.
Don't tell Mum and Dad, though.
Love, Al.
October 2019 ~ Third Year
Dear Mum and Dad,
We had our first Hogsmeade trip today-it was great! Gareth and me went with Rose and Sapphie and the other girls, and it was really fun. Sapphie's on the Quidditch team now you know-she's really good. Her and Rose argue about it, though, because Rosie says Quidditch is a stupid game. I just stay out of it.
The extra subjects I'm taking this year are okay, but to be honest, I think I'm going to concentrate on the core subjects-it's things like Charms and Potions and Herbology that are important to be a Healer.
Lily and Hugo seem like they're getting on fine. They've made friends with people in their year, and I don't think you need to worry about Lily or anything. She's nothing like as shy as I was.
Love, Al.
May 2021 ~ Fourth Year
Dear Mum and Dad,
Just a quick letter. Everything fine here.
The Quidditch team won the last match, even with James in St Mungo's, so we've won the cup this year. Actually, you've probably heard that already from James. He won't shut up about it. Although I suppose he does have some right to be pleased-Ravenclaw have won the last three years in a row, after all. Personally, I think the fact that we've won this year is more to do with the fact that Dominique and her friends have left than the fact that James is captain. But I'll let him believe what he wants. He has got a good team together, to give him credit.
He seems completely recovered from the chewing gum thing anyway. You'd never know that anything had happened, except that Rose still isn't talking to him because of us all being banned from getting stuff from Uncle George's shop. She blames him and Louis.
Can you send me my copies of the Lord of the Rings please? Sapphie really want to read it, and I said I'd lend it to her.
Love, Al.
November 2021 ~ Fifth Year
Dear Teddy,
OWL year's going okay so far, thanks. The exams won't be much fun, but the lessons themselves are pretty interesting. At least when it comes to exams I don't have impossible standards to live up to (unlike in Quidditch)-I know I can do at least as well as James did without too much bother.
Glad to hear about your new job-breeding hippogriffs sounds right up your street! When do you start?
Being a prefect's surprisingly all right too. James was giving me hell about it at home after I got the letter, but he's laid off a bit at school. I think he's not totally sure that I wouldn't give him a detention if he's too much of a dick. I'm not totally sure either, to be honest.
Scorpius Malfoy's a prefect too, and I actually had a conversation with him the other day, when we were talking about patrol duties. I've never really talked to him much before. But he's actually surprisingly okay. We had a completely civilised conversation. I don't really know why him and James have hated each other so much since the start. Do you know him? I've only just realised you might, because he's sort of your cousin isn't it?
This is kind of embarrassing, but I'm going to ask anyway. Ted, what do you do when you want to ask a girl out? I mean, not necessarily you personally, but in a general way. There's this girl in my year who's really nice and pretty, but I think she only likes me as a friend. I was thinking about asking her to go to Hogsmeade with me, only I don't know whether to or not. She's a bit out of my league to be honest. I think she'd say no, and I don't want to just look like an idiot, or spoil the fact that we're friends.
And I don't know how to do it. Gareth says I should just go up to her and ask her in a lesson or something, but I'm not sure I trust him. It's pretty pathetic, isn't it, that I've got to fifth year and never asked anyone out? James would think it was pathetic anyway. He goes out with a different girl practically every week. You're probably going to laugh at me, but have you got any advice?
Good luck with the new job!
Love, Al
October 2022 ~ Sixth Year
Dear Mum and Dad,
Not much news. I expect Lily's already told you that she got onto the Quidditch team. So now I'm the only non-Quidditch playing member of the family. Can't say I'm heartbroken. I'm a bit surprised Jamie picked her actually. I mean, she's good, but I thought he'd avoid her, just because she's his sister. Obviously not though.
We saw in the Prophet about that Muggle girl who got Imperiused. Sounded pretty bad if what the Prohet said was true. Everyone was a bit shocked to be honest. Any idea who did it yet? There are all kinds of crazy theories going round here.
That Malfoy kid seems to have settled in quite well. It's quite funny to hear James on the idea of a Malfoy in his house (I think he thinks Gryffindor personally belongs to him). Anyway, Alice has taken her under her wing, which is kind of ironic when you think about it. I think she's been a bit upset by the whole Imperius charm thing though-can't be nice when your parents are getting the blame for something like that.
Alice seems completely fine-I suppose it's different starting Hogwarts when your dad's here too. Oh, and I told Uncle Neville about your plants that were dying, Mum, and he said that if all else fails, pour a finger of Butterbeer into their soil, because they love it and it perks them right up. But I think he's going to write to you himself.
Love, Al
September 2023 ~ Seventh Year
Hey James,
Here's a tip: if you want someone to do you a favour, don't make stupid jokes about them being Head Boy. We don't all have to almost get expelled in our final years.
Sorry I didn't reply sooner (although it was like a week before you wrote to remind me-calm down), but I'm not doing it anyway. Since when do you need my help to get a girl? I don't know what you did to offend her, but you can fix it yourself-or just accept it and get over it. It's not like me getting involved would do any good.
Al
A/N: Find out about the Malfoy kid in Gryffindor and the Imperiused Muggle (and the girl Albus wanted to ask out) in House of Cards. And read James's letters to Al during the autumn of Al's seventh year in These Mortals.