After his mum and sister came home, everyone sat at the table eating dinner. He could tell his father just wanted to be alone, but he just sat around the table with his family, having a deep look on his face. Albus saw a bit of shame there. He knew it was from the words his dad had said to his Aunt Hermione, blaming her for the death of Draco Malfoy.
He felt a sadness come over him at the words his dad had said: that he had lost the love of his life. Did that mean he didn't truly love his mum?
Albus shook the thought away. No, he had seen it. He knew his dad loved her; he just knew it.
He knew his dad wasn't the type to say false words or to lie about something like that. He always looked up to his dad; he knew the world saw him as Harry Potter, the chosen one, the war hero.
He just saw Harry Potter, his dad, the man who always made sure his kids were happy and safe, to show them that he would always be proud of them no matter what.
He remembered when he got his Hogwarts letter. Albus was so scared it wouldn't come. He hadn't shown any type of magical abilities. He thought for sure his parents would be disappointed if he wasn't, not love him as much.
His dad could tell his thoughts on the matter; he reassured him that nothing would stop him from loving him, from being proud of him.
The letter came, of course; his dad took him to get his first wand after it arrived. It was a special day between them.
Albus smiled to himself as he went down the memory.
Ollivanders. Albus' wand.
"Alright, son, now remember: don't get discouraged if it takes a bit for the wand to choose you; mine took a while as well," his dad told him as he ruffled his hair and gave him a soft smile.
"Dad! Don't mess up my hair! It took me forever to get it just right," Albus mumbled as he smoothed down his thick black locks.
His father gave him a curious look and laughed softly. They walked into the wand shop together, Mr. Ollivander greeting his dad with a big smile.
"Oh, Albus Potter, I have been expecting you," the man said.
Albus widened his eyes and looked at his father; his father just laughed and nodded for him to follow the wand keeper.
They made their way down rows of shelves, boxes full of wands sitting and flying about.
The man grabbed a box and handed it to Albus. Albus grabbed the wand and gave it a swish like he was told. Nothing.
He frowned and handed the wand back to the man. It went on like this for a while. Albus had tried to listen to his father's advice, but he felt shame.
"Maybe I'm not a wizard; maybe they sent the letter by mistake," Albus mumbled to his father.
"I promise, Albus, that isn't true. Your wand will find you; I just know it," his dad said with determination.
He watched as the wand keeper looked him over, assessing him. He gave him a soft smile and then seemed to come to some sort of conclusion. He watched as the wand keeper disappeared towards the back.
Albus shifted on his feet. Had the man just given up?
He opened his mouth to ask, but then the wand keeper popped back into view, carrying a small wand box.
He came to stand in front of Albus and gave a nod as he handed him the box.
Albus didn't get his hopes up, but he took the wand out of the box nonetheless. As soon as his hand wrapped around the wand, Albus felt something he had never felt before—a sense of calmness, belonging, a sense of finding a missing piece in his life.
The wand glowed brightly, filling Albus with so much warmth and happiness.
He turned quickly to his dad and gave a bright smile.
"Did you see that, Dad? It worked! You were right; I am a wizard!" Albus said with glee as he hugged his father.
His father hugged him back and gave him a kiss on the head.
"I told you, and you are going to be a great one; I just know it, son," his dad said warmly.
His father turned towards the wand keeper.
"What's the type?" his dad asked.
"Ah, that's a holly wand, 10 inches with a unicorn hair," the man said brightly.
"He heard his dad take a breath; he was blown away by the smile he gave.
"That's…. " His dad cleared his throat.
"That's amazing. That's a great core, Albus. You know that core…. It's …. Well, it's the most difficult type to turn to dark magic… not that I think you would, just, well. That's also….. I defeated him with a wand with that exact core," his dad said with a fond smile, but he seemed to have something else in his eyes that Albus couldn't place.
Albus gave him a confused look.
"I thought your wand had a phoenix feather core?" Albus asked him.
His father smiled warmly.
"I do, but it wasn't my wand I used that day…. It was the wand of someone…. special." His dad cleared his throat and nodded to the wand keeper for them to head up and pay.
Present
He came out of the memory with a soft smile on his face.
Yes, his dad was a good man; he just knew it. Nothing could change his view of him. Sure, he was upset about the secrets. His dad must have had a good reason, right?
He turned his attention to his mum, as she told everyone their plans for Christmas, like it wasn't the same every year.
They would wake early in the morning and head to the Burrow, like they did every year.
He would get overwhelmed with the loudness and the cheery atmosphere of the Burrow. He could tell it overwhelmed his father, even with how long he had been a part of the Weasley family.
He was a lot like his father; he knew that. Everyone said so. He was quiet, reserved, thoughtful. That's why Albus's curiosity about this mystery wouldn't leave him. He needed it. He looked towards his sister and listened as she told their father all about what she hoped to get for Christmas.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his mum's voice.
"So, where are you, Albus?" His mum asked him softly.
Albus swallowed and stole a glance toward his father. He didn't lie to his parents, especially not his mum, but he knew he couldn't tell them where he had been.
"Oh….. well, I needed a new… book for herbology class…. I got distracted and, well, I hadn't realized I had been gone so long, sorry." Albus lied but stumbled too much over his words; he knew that based on the look his father was giving him.
"You suck at herbology," Lily said with a snort.
"I know that! That's why I needed the book, Lily." Albus snapped back.
His parents' eyes widened at how he was speaking to his sister. He hadn't meant to snap at her, but his thoughts and feelings from all the secrets were running fast through him.
He looked to his father and swallowed thickly at his glare.
"Sorry…. it's just been a long day. I'm tired, sorry Lils." He said and smiled at her.
He knew she wouldn't cry or anything over this; Lily was tougher than that.
"It's ok. I'm sorry I said you suck at it." She said sheepishly.
He looked away from his father's piercing gaze, assessing him.
"I'm…. well, dinner was great, but I think I'm going to head to bed. Oh….. can I go out tomorrow? I still need to get presents for you and Lily." Albus lied again.
"I can go with you."
"No! No… I mean I'm going to get you something as well, Dad… I want it to be a surprise, you know," Albus said quickly, interrupting his dad.
His dad looked him over. Albus felt his palms begin to sweat from his gaze.
His dad just took a breath and gave a nod.
"Ok… just don't be gone long. We have hardly spent any time as a family since you two have been home; we should go out," his dad said.
Well, we haven't spent time as a family because ever since the name Draco Malfoy was brought up, everyone has been acting weird, Albus thought.
He looked at his mum to see how she felt about the news. She just gave his dad a tight smile. Albus swallowed thickly.
"Alright, Dad, I won't be long… promise," Albus said as he stood. He said his goodnights to his parents and bounded up the steps.
He opened the door to his room. His eyes widened when he saw a familiar owl tapping on his bedroom window. Albus felt a sickness wash over him.
It was his best friend's owl, Thomas Flint. He and Albus had been best friends since their first year at Hogwarts.
They both had been sorted into Slytherin. He thought for sure his father would hate that he had gotten sorted there, but with what he knows now about Draco Malfoy, his father's reaction to the news made more sense.
His father had been proud, telling him that being in that house didn't mean any less than being sorted anywhere else.
Thomas wasn't liked much by many people at Hogwarts. Not that he was mean or anything; he had a bit of a temper at times, especially after what happened with his father during second year.
His father had been arrested—by his father no less—for being caught with dark artifacts and for performing dark magic on Muggles.
It had been all over The Prophet, Thomas's father's face plastered on the front page, with his father holding him by the arms, locked in cuffs.
He had thought Thomas would blame him for the arrest, that he wouldn't want to be his friend anymore. Though Thomas was embarrassed by the news, he didn't turn on Albus, but the rest of the school had.
They bullied the boy. Albus had tried his best to protect him, but now Albus was ignoring him. He hadn't spoken to Thomas since the beginning of fifth year, but it had nothing to do with his father arrested his.
Albus opened his window slowly. He softly took the letter from the tiny, brown owl and gave it a pat on the head. He went to his bedside table and grabbed some treats for the owl.
He softly stretched his arm out. The owl took the treat, but nodded its head and flew off into the night.
Albus bit his lip as he sat on the bed and looked at the letter. His name was scrawled out across the front in Thomas's elegant handwriting.
Albus slowly tore the envelope open. He smiled when he smelled Thomas's scent seeping out of it. He smelled of citrus and peppermint.
He opened the letter slowly and looked down at what Thomas had written to him.
Albus,
I haven't heard from you at all since leaving on winter break... I mean, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You haven't spoken to me since what happened. I thought maybe you just needed some time... but I can't go on like this. Are we just never going to talk about what happened? You can't just ignore me, we have been friends for so long... we... We don't have to talk about it. We can just go back to how we used to be, please Albus... You mean so much to me... I don't want a stupid kiss to ruin our friendship. I can bury my feelings... I understand... if you don't see me that way, just please Albus, just talk to me...
Thomas
Albus felt tears beginning to form as he read the letter from the boy he loved so much. He didn't know when his feelings for Thomas had changed from friendship to longing, but they had. They may have always been there from the moment they met... he hadn't understood why he ran after him; his reaction had hurt Thomas... he can remember it so clearly.
Beginning of Albus's fifth year.
"Hurry, this way. There is a classroom down here. Come on, Albus, before we get caught by Flitch," Thomas said as he grabbed Albus's hand and pulled him down the hallway.
Albus felt heat from the contact, a sense of electricity coursing through him as he held tightly onto Thomas's hand.
He looked at him as they ran down the hall. He saw Thomas's shaggy blonde hair waving wildly as they ran. He could see sweat coming out of his temple, a drop coming down his beautiful tan skin.
Albus just stared at the boy as they ran, trying to understand the feelings he was having, as Thomas came in front of a door and opened it quickly, pulling Albus behind him.
"Shit, that was a close one," Thomas breathed out fast as he ran his long, elegant fingers through his blonde hair. He watched as Thomas went to the desk and hopped onto it, huffing out a breath as his legs flung over the side of the table.
Albus walked softly and hopped up next to him. He studied his friend as they sat in silence.
"Did you hear that Longbottom and your cousin Molly Weasley were caught snogging in the alcove by the kitchens?" Thomas said with a laugh.
Albus grimaced and shrugged his shoulders. People were always caught snogging. He was sure when his uncle found out, Molly would be in so much trouble.
"I wonder what it's like," Thomas asked
"What's like?" Albus asked breathlessly. Did Thomas want to kiss Molly? He felt a dread and a jealousy he didn't understand.
"To snog someone. I've thought about it, you know. I mean, it must be fun if everyone is doing it… but… I don't know. I wouldn't want to waste my first snog on anyone. I would want it to be with someone I really cared about. Makes it more special," Thomas said with a thoughtful look.
"Yeah… someone special," Albus mumbled out as his eyes met Thomas's. They stared intently at each other for a bit. Albus felt heat rising to his cheeks.
He watched as Thomas gave him a small smile, then his eyes darted to his mouth quickly. Albus felt his heart beating wildly. He saw Thomas's hand rising towards his cheek; Albus didn't make to pull away.
When Thomas's hand landed on his cheek, he smoothed his fingers over Albus's cheek, moving his fingers across his sharp jawline. Albus sucked in a breath when Thomas's fingers met his lips.
He saw Thomas start to lean in; Albus came to meet him. When their lips met softly, Albus felt fireworks going off in his body, his magic flowing softly through him. He felt Thomas grab him by the hair and tug a bit at his fine black hairs. Albus made a gasp and felt Thomas slowly bringing his tongue into his mouth.
When their tongues met, Albus grabbed Thomas by his shirt and tugged him forward. Their kiss became heated when Albus heard a loud bang from outside.
He shoved Thomas away so quickly that he almost fell onto the floor. He saw Thomas's face fill with hurt, and Albus so badly wanted to take it away.
"Did you hear that? Do you think someone saw us?" Albus asked in panic as he jumped off the desk and moved towards the door.
He heard Thomas scoff.
"No… don't get your knickers in a twist, Potter," Thomas spat out harshly. Albus cringed at the use of his surname.
He needed to say something, to tell Thomas he didn't regret it, that he liked the way it felt, that he liked him, that he was someone special. But Albus did none of those things.
He turned quickly away from Thomas, flung open the door, and ran. He heard Thomas yelling after him, begging him to wait, but Albus didn't listen.
Present.
Albus came out of the memory and clutched the letter tightly to him. He should respond, tell Thomas he didn't regret it, that he would like to do it again. He felt terrible that he hadn't really thought of Thomas since being home, but with everything going on, and now knowing his father had been in a relationship with another man, hiding it, Albus felt a sickness wash over him.
Would his father be disappointed in him if he knew he felt this way? He remembered Nott's story, how his dad had pushed Draco away when caught, but that Nott had told Draco it was only because he had been caught kissing him, not because he had been a man, but Albus didn't know if he believed that.
Albus didn't know what to think anymore; he was starting to wonder if he really knew his father at all.
Albus laid down softly in his bed, still clutching the letter close to him.
Tomorrow, tomorrow he would find out more about his father and Draco Malfoy. He smiled to himself, maybe even find out his aunt's secrets.