A/N: So this will be something of a hefty time jump but functionally speaking, John's existence won't change the rest of Philosopher's stone much and I'm sure you guys don't want a chapter-for-chapter re-hash. Chamber of Secrets will be largely the same, there will be time jumps, but Prisoner of Azkaban and onwards, things will change more and more. Plus it's not just John that's going to be changing the story, there are going to be more and more differences (and of course, characters!) as we go along. I won't say what they are of course.
John knew that he wouldn't be saying a complete, summer-long goodbye to Harry, Ron or Hermione, especially after the year they had. He'd known the three of them for ten months now. Only ten months and already, he felt like he'd known them almost as long as he'd known Ella.
Dad always says that if you go through struggles with someone else by your side, your relationship with them suddenly becomes stronger than ever.
Would he still know him as dad now though? It was something that John somehow hadn't thought about since McGonagall first showed up at his door. James Potter was his father, Lily Potter was his mother and Harry Potter was... is his brother. But the Taylor family raised him as their son.
He was their son, John decided. He was their son, plain and simple. He just had another family, that was all.
"So? Tell us all about it!", came Ella's excited voice, distracting John from his ruminations.
Damn, where do I start? What didn't I mention in the letters? Quite a lot now that I think about it. Might as well keep that whole Philosopher's stone business to myself though. Don't want to panic them.
"Okay... so you guys know about the subjects I do. I'm not trying to be arrogant or anything but I think I'm the best in the year at Transfiguration. Potions would be interesting if the teacher wasn't... well... no one likes Snape", John started.
"Ah, every school has one of those. By the time you're in your last year I'm sure you'll learn to appreciate him", said Jeremy.
Somehow I doubt it.
"Maybe", said John. "Sports are crazy though. They've got this sport, Quidditch, it's played on flying broomsticks, seven players on a team, four balls are in play and three of them fly-"
The explanation of Quidditch and many of the wizarding world's other truly bizarre quirks, at least from a muggle perspective lasted the entirety of the rest of the journey home.
"So, when can we expect to see some of these friends of yours? And Harry especially?" asked Helen.
"I dunno, I suppose whenever we can. I'll send them letters and we'll think of something. Though Hermione's got a phone since she's muggle-born", said John.
"Excellent, I'd love to know as much about this... parallel world as possible", said Jeremy, rubbing his hands together.
As the summer holidays got into full swing, John did eventually get around to talking to Hermione on the phone and exchanging letters with Ron. Ron promised that John would get to stay with him for the last week of the summer and Hermione would be arriving there later that day.
The doorbell did ring and John answered it to see a man whom Hermione was almost the spitting image of, save for the gender and height. He had the same thick brown hair which was just long enough such that there was a slight curl to it, the same nose and eyes and when he spoke to introduce himself, the same accent.
"You must be John. David Granger", he said, extending a hand out to John, who took it to shake.
"Yeah, that's me. Did you want to meet the others? My sister and parents I mean", said John, stepping aside to invite him in.
"Yes, that would be lovely", said Dr. Granger, who stepped inside, revealing a very nervous looking Hermione behind him.
"And what're you waiting for?" John asked, smirking at her, grabbing her arm near the wrist and pulling her inside as if she was 'one of the guys', making Hermione chuckle slightly nervously.
"I don't exactly have much experience in visiting friends' houses", she said quietly. John saw Dr. Granger stiffen slightly.
So he's the protective type. Doesn't like the idea of kids treating his daughter like a weirdo.
Before long, Jeremy, Helen and Ella rounded the corner to greet Dr. Granger, offering to let him stay for tea as well, which he accepted with a smile.
While he sat down to have what John guessed was a long, boring and very adult conversation with Jeremy and Helen, John lead Hermione and Ella up to his room.
"Well, you don't get along with the girls in our year but I reckon Ella'll be more up your alley", said John.
"Meaning?" Ella and Hermione asked simultaneously, giving him almost identical glares.
"That. Exactly that", said John, grinning.
Hermione and Ella exchanges slightly confused looks and John sighed.
"Ella's the hard-working, academic type. Probably would be competing with you for the top spot in our year if she went to Hogwarts", said John.
"Speaking of, what's Hogwarts like? I mean for a girl, not a gorilla", said Ella, grinning nastily at John, who flicked the back of her head.
"Honestly, it's wonderful. I'm learning the most... outrageous things, it's an entirely new world to experience, and even if I don't get along with everyone there, people are a lot nicer than in my primary school", said Hermione.
"Same for me at secondary school. It's just what happens when you grow up, when you're twelve and older you don't act quite so harshly for no reason. Of course there are still the bullies and spoiled brats, but it's not so bad", said Ella.
"Well everyone seemed to be a bully at my old school", said Hermione quietly.
"What do you mean?" asked Ella.
"Lots of schools have a hierarchy and when it came to who liked who, I was right at the bottom. I suppose that was the other children's way of balancing out how I always wanted to do the best on every test in every subject. Kids who were bullied ended up bullying me", said Hermione.
"Bottom of a food chain type thing by the sounds of things", said John.
"That's about right honestly", said Hermione, shrugging. Ella looked rather uncomfortable.
"But hey, you managed to smash Malfoy in every test and made it out with at least three close friends, didn't you?" said John, bracingly and nudging her with his elbow. Hermione did smile at that.
"Malfoy... the kid who keeps trying to get you into trouble?" asked Ella.
"That's the one", said Hermione, wrinkling her nose at the thought of the pale, arrogant boy. "Though speaking of three friends... I've heard from Ron and obviously I've heard from you, but have you heard from Harry yet?" asked Hermione.
"Come to think of it I haven't. Sent him three letters already", said John, frowning.
"Yes, I was hoping to see him again this summer", said Ella, slightly disappointedly.
"Doesn't seem right though, you'd think me and Ron would be the ones not bothering to answer letters", said John.
"Ron and I, John", said Hermione, almost correcting him on a reflex. John rolled his eyes. "But yes, it does seem strange. If he doesn't answer another letter from both of us, what do you think we should do?" asked Hermione.
"Not sure. Ron said him, Fred and George have a plan though, I'll ask them", said John.
"A plan for what?" asked Ella eagerly.
"Honestly? Probably something really reckless. Something I'd like to watch with a box of popcorn", said John, laughing.
"They'd better not break the statue of secrecy!" Hermione interjected.
"The what?" asked Ella.
"The wizard law that states how we can't reveal magic to muggles. Unless the muggle already has wizard relatives obviously", Hermione explained.
The remainder of the evening was spent speculating about Ron's potential plan to find out what was happening with Harry, making plans of their own on what they would do themselves and merrily chatting about Hogwarts and playing a game of exploding snap, which Ella was fascinated by.
When John received the letter from Ron explaining what had happened with Harry and how his letters were being intercepted apparently by a house elf, a creature John had never heard of, he wanted to laugh at the absurd manner in which Harry was rescued but also found himself pondering why anyone would want to intercept Harry's letters. It was something that he brought up almost immediately when he arrived at the Weasleys' home, the Burrow.
"We think it could be Malfoy's idea of a joke, telling Harry not to come back to school, steal his letters and all that. House elves look after big, old mansions and stuff, and Malfoy's always running around like he owns the whole bloody world", said Ron.
"Yeah... could be. But you're telling me that this elf was genuinely terrified? I don't know, did the elf look to be the type to understand how to act and lie?" asked John.
"Well... no", said Harry thoughtfully. "Actually if he lied, he'd probably punish himself", he added.
"Punish himself?" John asked.
"Yeah, every time he did something he thought his masters wouldn't like, he'd start whacking himself with my lamp or slam his head into a wardrobe or something", said Harry.
"What the hell..." John muttered.
"Yeah, he's a weird creature. If you ever see him you'll get what I mean", said Harry.
"No doubt", John mused.
It wasn't particularly long until it was time for them to visit Diagon Alley for their school supplies for the year. And by school supplies, it seemed that it meant most of the bibliography of one Gilderoy Lockhart.
"New defence teacher must be a fan", mused Fred.
"Oh he is wonderful! His guide to household pests and domestic charms are such a help!", said Mrs. Weasley.
"Maybe mum's the new teacher", Ron whispered to Ginny who started giggling.
"Who is he exactly?" John asked.
"Some sort of adventurer wizard I suppose. He's dealt with a bunch of dark creatures and wrote books about his travels and stuff", Ron explained.
"Well time's of the essence if we need to get his books, they're always in demand. Let's head to the fireplace", said Mrs. Weasley.
"What?" Harry asked, baffled.
"The... fireplace? We need to get to Diagon Alley", said Mrs. Weasley, confusedly.
"Harry and John haven't used floo powder before mum", Ron explained. A look of realisation dawned on Mrs. Weasley's face.
"Ah of course. Well you watch Ron and do as he does, it's very simple. How did you get to Diagon Alley last year though?" she asked curiously.
"We used the underground", said Harry.
Mr. Weasley's face lit up.
"The underground! Were there escapators?" he asked excitedly.
"Not now Arthur", said Mrs. Weasley tiredly, handing Ron a pot full of powder. Harry and John watched as Ron grabbed some of the powder, stepped into the fireplace and spoke.
"Diagon Alley!" he said loudly, before dropping the powder at his feet. Green fire burst up around him and in an instant, Ron was gone.
"Simple. Just speak the name of your destination clearly and you'll find your way", said Mrs. Weasley.
Harry shouldn't have been surprised about the fact that he got it wrong, being a first-time floo powder user. Still though, seeing Malfoy and his father was an interesting experience to say the least. He was also sure that Mr. Weasley would like to hear about the fact that Malfoy senior was dumping a lot of the artefacts in his house.
He himself was delighted to hear Malfoy's indignation that Hermione had beaten him in every single subject without fail and tried not to laugh when his father pointed out as much.
That being said, he was happier that Hagrid had bailed him out from Knockturn Alley. In Hagrid's words it truly was a 'dodgy place'. Now to find the Weasleys and John...
Before he saw any of them, he heard a familiar and very welcome voice however. That of Hermione, and to Harry's relief, it was John she was talking to.
"You've lost weight!", she said.
"Yeah. Remember when Malfoy was going on about me getting fat? Turns out he was right. I've spent the summer sorting myself out. Listen Hermione, I'd love to stay and talk but Harry's made a mistake with some Floo powder and- oh hi Hagrid! Shit, there you are Harry! What happened to you?" he asked, taking in Harry's dust covered appearance.
"Showed up at a place called Knockturn Alley, he did", said Hagrid.
"Where?" John asked, puzzled.
"I ain't tellin' yeh, yeh'll probably tryn' find it knowin' you!", said Hagrid, smiling wryly at John.
"Well you're here now at least! John was saying that you came here with Ron's family, do you know where they are?" asked Hermione eagerly.
"Righ' there", said Hagrid, who stood at double the height of everyone else, allowing him to spot the Weasleys long before Harry, Hermione or John. Indeed, Mrs. Weasley came bustling through the crowd with Ron and Ginny in tow.
"Oh goodness we hoped you'd only gone one grate too far!" she said, brushing dust off Harry's cloak.
"Righ' then, yeh're in good hands, I best be off. See you all at school!", said Hagrid.
After waving their goodbyes to Hagrid, their first collective stop was Flourish and Blotts. It was far more crowded than Harry remembered from the previous year, the reason for which became apparent very quickly. There was a book signing happening that very day and by the author of half of their book list, no less. Gilderoy Lockhart, an exceedingly handsome blonde-haired wizard sat in front of the enormous queue, signing copies of his books. It wasn't difficult to notice how many of the witches present were blushing, smiling shyly or itching to speak to the man.
"I'd expect something like this for... Tolkien maybe if he was still alive", John murmured.
"For who?" Ron asked.
"Muggle author. Probably one of the best who ever lived", John.
"You never told me you'd read Tolkien's works! Hermione gasped, her attention turning from Lockhart for a moment. John shrugged.
"Didn't peg you for the fiction reading type. You're always banging on about the best textbooks and all that", he replied.
Ron exchanged a look with Harry, hoping for some explanation as Hermione got into an excited tirade about how she adored Tolkien and everything the man had ever written.
"Don't look at me, the Dursleys never bought me books", he said, shrugging.
"Yeah, but John? Reading?", Ron asked.
"Suppose everyone could be convinced to read for some reason or the other", Harry mused, before realising that Hermione's near incessant barrage of praises for Tolkien had effectively shut John up and he was barely listening any more. Not that Hermione had noticed as much.
Her rant was cut short however, when Gilderoy Lockhart spotted Harry in the crowd, his eyes instantly flickering towards his famous scar.
"It can't be Harry Potter! Come here my young man, come here, don't be shy!" he said, flashing a set of brilliant white teeth in a radiant smile.
Murmurs and whispers filled the book shop as Harry found himself walking towards Lockhart. He didn't know why he was doing it, perhaps some form of crowd expectation?
"Nice big smile Harry, together you and I rate the prophet's front page, no question", Lockhart said quietly to Harry, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. Harry, for his part, looked confused. A smile was nowhere in sight for him, but Lockhart was too busy looking at a nearby cameraman to notice.
"Ladies and gentlemen, what an extraordinary moment this is indeed! When our young hero here came into Flourish and Blotts to purchase my autobiography, magical me, available in fine book stores such as this one everywhere... he had no idea, not even an inkling that he would in fact leave this wonderful store with my entire bibliography to date", Lockhart said, handing Harry a large stack of books, all with Lockhart's beaming visage on the front. "Courtesy of yours truly", he finished.
The assembled crowd in the shop began a thunderous round of applause and Harry quickly escaped, though not without Lockhart's attempt to get him to stay for further photos.
"But there's more! I have a further treat for young Harry and indeed, for the other students of the legendary school, Hogwarts! I will in fact, starting this September, be taking the critical post of Defence against the Dark Arts professor there, ready to pass on my skills to the next generation of heroes I hope!" said Lockhart. The applause, if thunderous before, was all pervasive now.
Harry did manage to escape Lockhart's clutches eventually, handing Ron the set of books he'd just had thrust upon him.
"I'll buy my own set", he muttered. Ron did look uncomfortable about this sudden gift, but kept quiet, given how little room Harry left to argue.
"Bet you loved that, didn't you Potter?", came an all-too familiar voice.
"The famous Harry Potter apparently can't even go to a bookstore without making the front page", said a boy who was unmistakeably Draco Malfoy, pushing his way towards Harry.
"Leave him alone, he didn't ask for that!" Ginny shot back angrily. Malfoy smirked.
"Look at this Potter, I think you've got yourself a girlfriend!" he said, the malice all too apparent on his face. Ginny went scarlet.
"Are you still here?" John asked, tiredly.
"Surprised your sister's not following your every footstep. Has she got herself a mind of her own now?" Ron asked nastily.
"Now now, Draco, play nicely", came a voice eerily similar to Draco's, though one that somehow seemed even colder and more drawling. It was Lucius Malfoy.
Draco was almost the spitting image of his father, who had the same pointed features and sleek blonde hair, though his was far longer.
"Mr. Potter. A... privilege to meet you. Lucius Malfoy", said Mr. Malfoy, holding out his hand. Harry took it, exchanging an uncertain sideways glance with John, who merely shrugged.
"A shame my wife and daughter are busy measuring robes. I would have loved to introduce our family in a more proper way. Now I'm sure you're tired of such requests, but you must forgive me", Mr. Malfoy continued, shifting Harry's hair aside with his expensive-looking cane.
"Your scar has become something of a legend in our community. As of course has the wizard who gave it to you", he said in barely more than a whisper.
"Voldemort?", Harry scoffed. Mr. Malfoy's eyes widened ever so slightly.
"Voldemort was murderous filth. He got what he deserved. Dumbledore is the actual legend", John said firmly.
"You speak his name freely... you must be very brave", said Mr. Malfoy with a sneer which suggested that he wasn't being entirely sincere.
"Fear of a name only increases the fear of the thing itself", said Hermione, echoing Dumbledore's words.
"You must be Miss Granger. Yes, Draco's told me about you too, and your parents. Muggles, aren't they?" he asked, looking to Hermione's parents who were in conversation with a very animated Mr. Weasley.
"And accompanied by the Weasleys. Conspicuous as ever I see", said Mr. Malfoy, looking at the gathering group of red-haired wizards and witches that made up the Weasley family.
"Lucius", came Mr. Weasley's voice. Harry wasn't sure when he had stepped in.
"Arthur", Mr. Malfoy replied curtly, though not looking at him and looking instead at Ginny's cauldron which held her books. "I see fortune has not favoured you since we last met", he said, picking up one of Ginny's second-hand books and examining it as if it were a wand with troll-bogeys on the tip.
"What's the point of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you for it?", Mr. Malfoy asked, almost mirroring his son's malicious smile.
"We have a very different idea of what disgraces a wizard, Lucius", Mr. Weasley said through gritted teeth.
"What's the point of being rich if you can't even buy a friend, let alone earn them?" John shot back. Mr. Malfoy gave John the same insincere, would-be intimidating smile.
"Careful now. What's the Hogwarts school motto? Never tickle a sleeping dragon?" he asked.
"If I see any sleeping dragons, I'll let you know. All I see are garden snakes with no fangs", said John.
Nearby onlookers looked more than slightly shocked at that. Clearly the Malfoys had a reputation and to them, they were watching a child insulting one of the most powerful wizards in the country to his face. Ron, Fred and George however, laughed.
The smile however, did not leave Mr. Malfoy's face, in spite of how furious Draco looked.
"As I understand it, you are relatively new to the wizarding world. There are... unspoken rules. Some wizarding families are better than others", Mr. Malfoy said.
"I know. I don't want to scrape the bottom of the barrel, so if you don't mind, I have a broom to buy", said John, turning on his heel, leaving a genuinely shocked Malfoy father and son pair behind.
"John, I appreciate you standing up to Mr. Malfoy like that but you shouldn't be antagonising people like him. The sway they hold... you wouldn't believe what they're capable of", said Mr. Weasley.
"Well if he's petty enough to get revenge on a kid who was mouthing off at him, then I don't think he's worth worrying about!", said Hermione, folding her arms angrily.
"I wouldn't put it past him. I wouldn't put anything past him in fact", said Mr. Weasley darkly. "Be careful around him, alright?"
"With any luck I won't have to see him again. It's not like I'm planning on visiting the Malfoys for Christmas", said John, shrugging.
Mr. Weasley didn't look satisfied, but he chose to let the issue drop for the moment.
The rest of the day was marked with John buying a broom which matched Harry's, another Nimbus 2000, with the intent of trying out for the Quidditch team that year, though with an interruption from the Malfoy twins.
"Come off it Potter, not being a fattie any more doesn't mean you'll make the Quidditch team!", said Draco.
"Worth trying though. Besides, I wanted to thank you actually. You were right last year when you made fun of me getting chubby. Spent the summer improving myself. I see you spent the summer becoming more of a little shit", John shot back, resting his broom on his shoulder.
"You're actually admitting Draco was right?" Elena asked with a raised eyebrow.
"A broken clock is right twice a day. I wonder when he'll be right next though", said John, walking away nonchalantly.
"John... don't tell me you lost weight over the summer to stop them making fun of you", said Hermione.
"Nah, but they were right though, weren't they? I spent last year getting fat off those feasts at Hogwarts. Can't let that happen again, can I? Just because the Slytherins were the only ones who wanted to point it out doesn't mean they're wrong", said John, shrugging.
"I suppose so", Hermione conceded.
"What about the Quidditch though? It'd be really cool if both of us played together!", said Harry, excited at the mere prospect.
"Definitely. Hope you don't mind being upstaged though", said John, grinning.
"Harry's a seeker, how are you going to upstage him?" Ron asked, scoffing.
"By being a really, really good chaser. Apparently my dad was, so maybe it runs in the family like flying in general", said John.
"It shouldn't be about upstaging each other, you'd be in a team!", said Hermione.
"Oh come on, it's always fun to compete and be the best. Remember how pissed you were when you found out I'm better than you at Transfiguration?" John asked.
"You're not better... you just..." Hermione started.
"Understood everything the subject had to throw at us quicker than you all year", John offered, grinning. Hermione slapped his shoulder.