A/N : this chapter is actually NOT a chapter but an interlude ! It will be relatively short but very… informative.
I hope you will like it regardless and prepare for the next chapters !
GOOD READY EVERYONE !
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(31st July 1998 ;Potter Manor ;England)
It was a rather rainy day in England as William Edouard Potter looked outside through the window of his room with an expressionless face. He knew what day it was but he didn't care as his only thoughts were on someone he missed dearly : his brother Harry.
It had been 7 years since the last time he saw him and had NOT forgiven his family for abandoning Harry to who-know-where. The auburn haired 11 years old boy had changed a lot after his brother's disappearance… and not to the better in many people's opinion.
Before, William was cheerful, always happy and sociable… now he was cold and distant. When Harry was around, the auburn boy would play Quidditch with his father… but not anymore. Now he staid HOURS in his room or in the Library.
His parents, Lily and James, had tried to reason with him, stating that it was right to give up Harry… but in the end, they created a larger gap between them and their last son.
William grew to HATE his parents and every people responsible in Harry's abandon : Albus Dumbledore, Sirius Orion Black and Remus Lupin. All of them were now in his 'red list'. Of course, they had tried to change his mind but it never worked.
In the Manor, the only people William accepted to talk to were the House-Elves because they were the only ones, beside him, who were angry by Harry's abandon.
Susan Bones, Hannah Abbot, Daphne Greengrass, Tracey Davis, Neville Longbottom, Blaise Zabini and Ernie Macmillan, his friends, had tried to help him as well… but he rejected them again and again. Susan and Hannah broke their friendships with him after 5 failed tentatives to comfort him and soon they were joined by Ernie.
Daphne, Tracey, Blaise and Neville were the only 'survivors' of his little group as they stubbornly stood by his side. 4 years after Harry's abandon, he acted better and welcomed them back. But they all knew that their friend's parents, godfather, honorable uncle and 'grandfather' would not be forgiven anytime soon.
As the time passed, the faces of Lily and James Potter also changed : they weren't as happy as they were a few years ago. They were sad because William wouldn't interact with them anymore and not because they gave up Harry. Their minds also turned darker…
Why ?
Because they grew to think that their son stopped loving them because of a Squib. The little love they had for Harry disappeared since William turned his back and them. Thanks to this, they thought that the black haired boy was responsible for everything that was happening in this family.
Why can't he see that his brother was not one of them ?! Why can't he see that Harry was a problem to them all ?!
Apart of William who was sad with Harry's disappearance ?
Albus Dumbledore and Sirius Orion Black . The two of them missed the boy dearly and sometimes even regretted agreeing living him to Muggles. The former tried to change his mind with his many positions in the wizarding society while the latter distracted himself with his son Perseus Black who had grown a lot since then.
Back to present, William had 11 years old that day but, like the many birthdays before this one, he refused to go down, locking himself in his room. The auburn boy's attention was on the outside as he watched the rain falling, listening to the sound of water clashing against the ground.
"Happy birthday Harry… I wish you were there with me..." he sadly thought to himself.
But then a knock at the door caught his attention and he narrowed his eyes slightly
"Who is there ?" he asked harshly
"Us !" a feminine voice echoed from the other side and hearing it, William jumped to the door to open it.
Once he did, he came face to face with his friends and Nymphadora Tonks who all smiled at him. Tonks, as she preferred to be called, had acted like a big sister to William and she was appalled by what the Potters did to Harry (it was Sirius who told the Tonks).
"Happy birthday William !" they all cried out at the same time while having presents in their hands.
"Thanks guys..." the auburn boy replied politely but it was clear that his birthday was the last thing in his mind.
And they knew it.
"Can we come in ?" Daphne asked him with a tiny smile and he nodded at them as he stepped aside.
The next few minutes were kinda uneventful as they mostly opened the presents or eat a bit of cakes Neville managed to steal from the kitchen.
"Your parents are exasperate you know birthday boy~" Tracey whispered to him with a grin.
"As if I care about them anyway !" William spat in disgust before sighing deeply.
His friends looked at each other in silence as they all understand his words.
"Will… soon you will all be to Hogwarts with me ! Away from them ! Isn't that what you want ?" Tonks asked him with a smirk in an attempt to brighten the mood.
A tiny smile formed on the auburn boy's face as he looked at the Metamorphmagus
"Yeah…"
"What House do you think you will be ? I bet I will be Slytherin !" Blaise inquired with a smile of his own.
"Same !" Daphne and Tracey said at the same time before looking at one another
"Sorry Daph but you won't get rid of me that easily !" Tracey cooed to her best friend who glared at her
"Don't call me that !" then her expression turned playful
"And don't you want to go to Slytherin to join a certain boy?~"
Daphne's eyes glanced back and forth between Blaise and her best friend at those words.
Blushing madly, the concerned two looked away from one another while the others all laughed with humor and amusement… even William who allowed a chuckle to escape his mouth. Tracey shot a glare toward Daphne who shot her a mischievous grin in response, not bothered by it at all.
"I think I will be in Hufflepuff… I'm not brave enough to be in Gryffindor…" Neville answered from his place once everyone stopped laughing at the blushing duo.
"What about you Will ?" the Longbottom Heir asked his friend and everyone turned their heads to look at the Boy-Who-Lived.
They all saw his eyes narrowing dangerously but ignored it as they waited for his answer.
"Either Ravenclaw or Slytherin..." William responded in a cold tone.
"I imagine what the Daily Prophet will wrote if you somehow end up in Slytherin : 'The Boy-Who-Lived is a Slytherin : is he a Savior or the Next Dark Lord ?' !" Blaise replied from his seat with a teasing smirk on his face.
Another wave of laugher echoed from the little group and William shot his friend a blank look before replying sarcastically
"Ah ah aha… Do you see how amused I am ? Do you ?!"
Laughs echoed again at those words.
"Beside, I don't care what is said about me…" William added with a indifferent shrug.
They all nodded their heads in agreement before the little group started to chat about many things. William's mind drifted away from his lost brother just for a moment to pass some times with his friends.
Meanwhile, in the living room, Lily and James were FURIOUS ! Their son, once again, had refused to come to his own birthday party ! Worse, not many people actually came because they 'had better things to do' ! What was more important that to celebrate the Boy-Who-Lived's birthday ?!
Remus had come earlier but had quickly left with a heartbroken look on his face. When asked what had happened, the Werewolf said that William had literally kicked him of his room ! James tried to console his friend but Remus left barely a minute afterward.
What of Lily ? She was disappointed by her son's childish behavior. In her hand was his Hogwarts Letter… she had planned to give it to him as he blew his candles… but he never came down from his room. Instead, his friends cut some pieces of the cakes before leaving TO his room.
She felt humiliated… not only her but the Potter Name as well. The Boy-Who-Lived who refused to see people on his own birthday...The Daily Prophet had taken pleasure in writing all type of things of why the auburn boy did this. Some articles said that William saw himself as above the populace and deemed them unworthy of his attention. With him not refuting this, many people in the Wizarding World started to think it was actually the case.
"What can we do James ?" Lily inquired softy to her husband with clenched teeth.
"I don't know Lil… Tomorrow we are taking him to Hogwarts… maybe he will calm down after his first school year..." James replied back with a bit of hope in his tone.
"For some reason I doubt it…" the redhead whispered back with a deep sigh.
She didn't know it then but she had been right in her words…
Why ? Because a few months later, William Edouard Potter became the proud member of House SLYTHERIN alongside Tracey, Daphne and Blaise.
His coldness grew just like the distance he putted between him and his parents… Albus Dumbledore had been shocked and worried that a Potter became a Slytherin and in fact, many people started to see the Boy-Who-Lived as the 'Boy-Who-Betrayed' or the 'Dark-Lord-in-Training'.
Not that he cared anyway.
00/(Time Skip : 1st September 1998; Location : Montana)/00
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARALD!"
["Happy birthday Harald !"]
Njord, Karina, Einar, Astrid and Aiyanna all cried out at the same time as they surrounded the dark brown haired bow who had grow a lot in those 5 years. His hair grew longer and he developed strong muscles for someone his age.
Currently, our hero was sitting on a chair facing a HUGE cake Astrid bought from him for his birthday. Harald was happy because today he is 11 ! At his side, loyal as always, stood Aiyanna who had herself grew a lot since their meeting.
After she became his familiar, her age slowed a bit to match his. Now, with Harald entering his teen years, Aiyanna is entering it as well. During her time with both her human and Astrid, the blond bear grew accustomed to her new life and in fact, enjoyed it greatly.
Sure she missed her mother (whose name was Winona by the way) but no longer cried about it.
Like Aiyanna, the dark brown haired boy grew out of his sadness over his brother. Sure he still missed William but he knew that wherever he was, the auburn boy was happy… even without him.
Harald smiled at his family before blowing on the candles, earning himself cheers from the little crowd. Despite going to school, Harald was a total loner who made no attempt to befriend people. The girls seemed to like him a lot and he grew to be wary of them because sometimes they looked at him as if he was a piece of meat.
"Happy birthday~" Astrid whispered gently to her son and he gave her a loving smile in answer.
Afterwards, they all took a piece of the chocolate cake (except Aiyanna who was given salmon instead) and once they were done, Harald got to open his presents.
From his grandmother, he received a guitar. Why a guitar ? Because Harald, when he turned 8, became Karina's student in music and his favorite instrument was the guitar. Used to play with his grandmother's instrument, he was overjoyed to have one of his own.
From his grandfather, he received… an axe. But it was a beautiful one : made from resin, it had a wooden haft with a silver-colored textured grip. The grip itself had a wrapped texture and there was an engraved design at the bottom of the haft.
Next, its head had an ornate design : the socket and side panels on the haft possessed geometric patterns. In the center of the socket, there was a blue gem. On the bearded blade, there was a runic drawing which represented a Bear Head.
Karina, Einar and Astrid had shot him a glare for offering a weapon to a child but they allowed it seeing that Harald had received training from his grandfather in using weapon.
Yes you heard right… Njord trained his grandson in the handling of weapons such as swords, bows, axes, hammers and clubs. Harald, of all weapons, preferred Axes so an axe he received.
From his granduncle, he received a strange jewel : a bear -shaped stone necklace with a rune graved on it.
"It is a rune of protection… May it protect you from any harm..." Einar had said to him when Harald asked him about it.
The last but not least gift was from his mother : books.
Of all his gifts, the books were his favorites (followed closely by the axe and the guitar) : the Legend of Kallisto, Ragnarok etc… many of those books concerned Mythology from different Pantheons !
"Thank you Móðir~" he whispered to his mother along with a hug she HAPPILY returned.
"Anything for you son~" Astrid had cooed back at him before kissing his head.
Aiyanna, who wanted some attention as well, pounced on her human who yelped in surprise at the sudden attack before laughing loudly when the blond bear licked his face and again, much to the amusement of the little crowd.
Heck, even the other familiars were amused by the situation !
Harry didn't know it but things were going to be hectic in a few years but now he would just enjoy life to his fullest.
(To be continue…)