Complexity

By ChocolateEclar

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters or places, although I do own this story and some elements of the characterizations of Al Potter, his siblings, and their cousins. (I own Ben, Abigail, and Dittany too now.)

A/N: Thanks again to the reviewers! I actually wrote this chapter after I had already started two others, but the two others are connected and the second of which is not quite done yet, so I decided to post this one instead. (Al is twelve in this. This takes place a little after the events of chapter two with the Doxycide poisoning.)

Also, to reviewer Rachel, who wanted a Lily chapter, that's the first of the set I've been working on for a while. I don't really take requests, but you seem to have read my mind about what was to come, so I figured I'd mention it. (Lily is turning out to be a very different eleven year old than my Al in 'Curiosity.')

Chapter Four: Conformity (or a lack thereof)

Albus Potter is sitting on the floor of the office for ten minutes when the door is suddenly thrust open. No one heard the person coming, so there are shrieks from several portraits, and Al makes a dive for his invisibility cloak. Snape is almost impressed by the newcomer's silent entrance, but Al's reflexes are good as well.

It is too late, however, and the person entering the office yells, "Expelliarmus!" to remove Al's lit wand from his grasp and "Impedimenta!" to knock Al backwards and away from the cloak.

"Ben!" gasps Al when the other boy holds up his own lit wand. "What are you doing here?"

"I knew I'd find you here," proclaims the older boy. He is extremely tall with a round face and blond hair. "You can't just run around all over the place and not expect someone to follow you. I told James he couldn't do it either. I snatched that silly map from him."

"What are you talking about?" Al hollers. "I've been coming here to talk to these people for two years now! And you snitched the Marauder's Map off of my brother? What are you going to do now? Take away the cloak?"

"I'm Head Boy and you've been caught out of bed," states Ben neutrally.

"What?" yelps Al. "You're like my second cousin or something for Pete's sake!"

"Come on," says Ben. "I'll only take ten points from Gryffindor if you come along back to bed now."

"But I've just gotten here – " begins Al in panic. He gazes wildly around and then takes a deep breath. Calmly, he adds, "Benjamin Dudley Dursley, please. I'm barely doing anything wrong at all. We're just talking. You can ask any of them."

"I'm sorry, Al," says Ben. "Am I going to have to tell the headmistress you've been coming up here?" he asks.

"I ought to tell your grandpa Vernon about you waving your wizard Head Boy status all over the place," Al mutters. "He hates all of this as it is!"

"You do that," Ben says. "He probably won't believe you though. And besides, he and I have a love-hate relationship. He loves me, but I am one of 'those people,' after all, even if I am just a muggle-born." He crosses his arm and taps his wand on his leg impatiently. "Do I have to do a full body-bind curse on you?"

"No, but I may do something nasty in the future," Al says, as he sulks.

"Don't be in a funk," says Ben cheerfully, as Al stands up and grabs his wand and invisibility cloak.

"Expect some Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products, cousin," Al replies darkly.

"Cheer up," insists Ben. "I'll be graduating in three months."

"Merlin's pointy hat, I will be glad of that," declares Al theatrically. "Then you can go into law enforcement or something. You're a regular Uncle Percy."

"You're just like Dexter," sighs Ben, "except my little brother doesn't have a bit of magic in his body."

"At least that means he doesn't have a big-headed, Hufflepuff Head Boy breathing down his neck during the school year," Al groans.

"Al, don't be like that," says Ben, as he opens the door for them. "The real reason I'm here is I'm a little worried that you don't talk to people enough. Every time I see you you're talking about being up here during the night." He sighs and addresses the portraits, "No offense, but you lot aren't quite substantial."

"And what if they aren't?" Al mutters. "I like talking to them because it makes them happy. They're portraits! If they aren't talking, they just sleep all day."

"Al."

"And it's only once a week!"

"C'mon, Al – "

Al grunts and launches himself down the staircase, taking two steps at a time. Ben grimaces apologetically and then follows. A long silence fills the office until several portraits begin to loudly converse.

It takes about a half-hour, but Al reappears, panting and hiding under his cloak, back in the office. "Gave 'im the slip," he mutters, as he collapses on the floor. His head emerges, but he keeps the rest of his body under the cloak.

He coughs and says, "Sorry about that. He's a pain. I know perfectly well you're all dead." He shrugs and says, "I guess I'll just have to change up my schedule for a while, so he can't catch me up here again."

"You shan't come up here for our sakes," insists a witch with a powdered wig.

"Oh, it's no problem," Al replies. "I like it up here. It's a good place to think, and if I ever become a teacher, I'd like to work my way up to being a headmaster and be in this office as much as I want."

"You think you might be a teacher?" asks Dilys Derwent curiously.

"Oh, yeah," Al answers. "I like Hogwarts – and I don't mean that in an 'it's-my-only-home-and-I'm-Lord-Voldemort' kind of way – and I'm good at Transfiguration. I was thinking about becoming an illegal Animagus just for fun…" He bursts out laughing at the exasperated expression on Snape's face. "I'm kidding! I'd become the legal kind at least. James is the one with those rebellious ideas anyway. I think it comes of him being named after two unregistered Animagus."

"Albus," says a motherly witch with a sheet of reddish blonde hair and glasses on the tip of her nose. "You really do talk to people your own age, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do," replies Al, as he leans back on his hands and taps his feet on the ground. "Besides having a boatload of Weasley cousins, I get along with my house all right. Ben's the stupid meddling Hufflepuff. I think his dad might've put him up to it. My dad and him never really got along growing up, and I think Uncle Dudley feels a bit bad for it. His dad, my dad's Uncle Vernon, is an absolute freak about hating magic."

"Surely it isn't that bad?" says the witch.

"Oh yeah?" Al says with a snort. "Sometimes Uncle Dudley invites my family over for tea and Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia come too just because Uncle Dudley didn't tell them we were going to be there. It's sort of awkward, especially since my dad doesn't even get mad. He just sort of accepts it and smiles. James said some nasty things the last time we were there. I thought Uncle Vernon might explode.

"But back to me having friends or not," Al continues, sitting up straight again and smirking a little, "I do, but only a few close ones, which is really no different than my dad. I mean, in my year, I have Scorpius Malfoy and Dittany Longbottom – who refuses to tell me if she was joking when she told me her middle name is 'Mimbulus Mimbletonia' – and Abigail Abbott, among other people. And that's not including the dozens of relatives. Believe me, you guys are not hurting my social life or anything."

"You say that this year," remarks Everard, "but what about last year? Were we your only friends?" It is the closest they ever get to talking about the time when Snape had asked why Al spent so much time with dead people, and the implication makes Al frown.

"Last year was… different," Al says slowly, while staring at his trainers thoughtfully. "I didn't hang out with Scorpius until after he felt bad for poisoning James this year and Abby wasn't much for talking to anyone, but I became good friends with Dittany at the start-of-year feast and her dad, Professor Longbottom, has been a friend of the family for ages." Sighing, he stands up and looks at all of the portraits staring back at him or sleeping through his visit. Something flickers across his features and then is replaced with a smile. This time, the smile is fake and uncertain. Strangely enough, Snape understands it. It is the smile of someone unsure if his or her friend is trying to push them away purposefully and indecisive on what to do about it.

"You're leaving, Mr. Potter?" asks Dippet with a warm smile.

That seems to set aside some of Al's doubts, as he replies, "Yeah, I need some rest after that running-through-the castle-trying-to-lose-Ben business."

Snape glances at Dumbledore, knowing that the man will know what to do about an upset preteen far better than him (because he, personally, just wants to yell at the boy to get over this fear of them not talking to him anymore already), and meets the blue eyes. Dumbledore is smiling sadly, but he nods and turns to address Al. Snape crosses his arms and watches.

"Albus," he says. Al looks up at him curiously and waits. "We are still here for you," continues Dumbledore. "We will always be, as long as you need us."

"Thanks," mutters Al.

"Oh, and, in the event you need more proof that you are welcome here, Professor Snape agrees with me," Dumbledore adds.

Snape snorts and turns away.

"I know," Al says. "And you said something similar once, didn't you? Something like, 'As long as there are people at the school who believe in you, you'll always be here.' My dad mentioned it once."

"Something quite like that," Dumbledore replies, while smiling fondly at him.

Nodding, Al says, "I'll be back sometime next week, professors," and heads out of the office with a little spring in his step.

A/N: If you're wondering, yes, Ben Dursley is the boy Harry mentioned Dudley having in chapter one (he's four years older than James and five years older than Al). He's strangely Percy-like for being Dudley's son. The Dudley Dursley family isn't exactly having tea with the Harry Potter family every week, but they are on speaking terms, especially with Dudley having a muggleborn son and needing advice.

A/N 2: Neville's daughter had to have a plant name of course. Thus, I went for Dittany, since I like the look of the various flowers with that name. It's also the thing Snape says Draco should put on to prevent scarring after Harry hits him with the Sectumsempra in book six. (Oh yeah, and Mimbulus Mimbletonia is said, at some point, to be Neville's favorite plant.)

A/N 3: Next chapter… We'll finally meet Lily Potter during Al's third year (and her first) when Al is unable to come to the office. Oh yeah, and please review! Thanks!