Our protagonist is bitter
Four Years Later
Albus
Charms
December 20th
15 : 00
It was a positively dreary day at Hogwarts and Albus Severus Potter was dully staring out the window of the castle in Charms class.
“MR POTTER ! “
Albus was snapped out of his daydream by Professor Flitwick s squeaky voice.
“ I understand that its almost Christmas time, and that you are all tired, but that gives you no reason to daydream in my class ! “
Professor Flitwick s voice was squeakier than usual as he stared at Albus with a disappointed frown.
Albus could hear Lana Abbot and her friends snickering from here.
“ Im sorry Professor ” Albus mumbled.
The professor lowered his voice so only Albus could hear. “ You out of all the other students
should be concentrating on doing a good job “ he admonished “ The end of term is coming up soon and please try to get at least an “ Acceptable “ this term.
The tiny professor walked away, unaware that Albus was starring daggers into his back.
His best friend Scorpius Malfoy looked at him and shrugged.
“ I tried to warn you mate “ He said. He readjusted his round glasses and got back to work.
Scorpius Malfoy was Albus s best ( and pretty much his only ) friend. With platinum blond hair and bright grey eyes, he was an exact copy of his father. But unlike him,Scorpius always had a sunny disposition and worked hard, and along with Rose Weasely was part of the best students in his Year. He was also the seeker in the Gryffindor Quidditch team.
The same could not be said about his best friend however.
Albus was withdrawn and almost had a permanent scowl on his face. Albus had problems with his magical abilities being almost incapable of casting a spell or riding a broom. This has led him to becoming the butt of many of the fourth years s jokes, particularly The Gryffindors.
Albus rolled his eyes and playfully elbowed him.
“ Alright students class dismissed ! Have an amazing holiday ! “
As Albus and Scorpius left the room, Lacy Abbot and her minions William Chapman and Jessica Dexter brushed past them.
“ Nice going squib. I don’t expect you to return after Christmas so I bid you farewell in advance. Have fun tarnishing the Potter name even further.”
Lacy pranced away, possibly to go find another kid to pick on.
Albus clenched his fists, and increased the pace of his footing to go give Lacy a piece of his mind but a hand clenched his shoulder.
“ Wo-ah Albus ! Don’t go do something you might regret ! “ A new voice said cheerfully.
“ Oh Hi Bree ! “ Albus heard his best friend enthusiastically say next to him. “ How are you today ! “
Brielle Harrington ( or Bree as she preferred to be called ) was a exchange student from the wizarding school of Ivermony. It was Albus s Aunt Hermione idea and it was part of Hogwarts initiative to form a friendship with other schools.With her ever-changing colorful hairstyles and lively, happy go lucky personality, she was well known and loved in their grade. The Hufflepuff has been trying to be friends with Albus, but Albus was not interested and the girl did not know when to take a hint.
“ What are you guys doing this holiday ? “ She asked.Today she decided to but her dark afro in two braids with colorful strings weaved in it. “ Im going back to America to visit my parents. “
“ That seems nice. “ Scorpius said appreciatively “ My dad and I are going to go to Romania with my grandad for a couple of weeks. We are going to go see some dragons.” His eyes lit up at the thought.
“ WOAH- sorry. “ She said quickly as Albus and Scorpius cringed. “ I tend to get loud when I’m excited.”
“ S’ alright. “ Albus muttered, even though he s sure his eardrums are going to ring for the next hour.
“ Anyways what are you doing for Christmas Albus ? ” she asked.
“ Im going to go spend it with my grandparents like I do every year.” Albus muttered.
“ What ? “
“ Hes going to go spend it with my grandparents. “ Scorpius said.
Scorpius is one of the few people who can understand Albus s muttering.To other it sounds like gibberish.
“Bu-ut, there s something new this year…? “ He not-so-subtly nudged Albus s shoulder.
“ Fine. My dad figured out that he has another living relative on his mother s side and he invited her over to spent Christmas with us. He s super excited about it. “
“ Wow ! Congrats Albus ! Im sure you will have a wonderful time meeting her ! “ Bree said.
“ Not really. Im assuming she s a forty-year old woman. Dad and Mum say that they want to keep the details a secret.”
“ Oooh a surprise ! That could mean anything ! “ Bree s amber eyes shimmered.
“ I hate surprises.” Albus thought, green eyes narrowing.
“ Hey Bree ! Over here ! “
Bree s eyes flickered to aRavenclaw leaving the transfiguration classroom.
“ Oh ! Hey Ai Mei ! “
“ Isn’t that Cho Changs daughter ? “ Scorpius asked “ She s not with her usual group “ He noticed.
Bree turned to the boys.
“ Hey guys, I promised Ai M we would meet her friends at the black lake. “
“ Meh. “
“ Okay Bree, see you later ! “
They watched her walk over to the Ravenclaw girl and start a conversation.
“ I think its great of her to be social like that “ Scorpius said softly.
“ Well, that’s what happens when your not the kid of a hero or a former death eater. You dont have the expectations weighing you down.“ Albus commented bitterly.
Albus took no time in walking off, Scorpius tailing right behind him.
————-
Albus
Fourth year dorm
December 20th
15 : 40
He was finishing packing up his backpack to go home. He never saw the need to bring a full trunk to and from Hogwarts, since they were only leaving for a week. Being a practical person, he believed that he didn’t have to take his whole trunk home, seeing as he was only leaving for a week.
He glanced at his reflection in the mirror. He looked like the carbon copy of his father, inheriting his skin tone, striking green eyes and hair color. The only thing that differentiated them were the fact that he inherited wavy hair ( his parents thought it came from his Grandmum Lily ) and his mother s freckles.
Albus narrowed his eyes at his reflection.
“ Of course since I look like my father, it means I have to be like him. “ he thought.
He turns away from his mirror.
——————
Albus
Hogsmeade
December 20th
16 : 30
“ You know you are extremely lucky to have a big family like the Weasley s “ Scorpius said softly.
The pair were standing on the platform of Hogsmeade, having just reunited a few minutes ago.
“ You and I have different definitions of the word lucky. “ Albus muttered.
Scorpius rolled his eyes. “ Albus we are not having this discussion again are we ? “
“ Look, don’t get me wrong I do love my family, but when you have to spend Christmas with a ton with a ton of (mostly)rowdy red-haired Gryffindors who refuse to give you personal space for two seconds-
Albus was brutally shoved aside and would have fallen if it was not for Scorpius holding him up.
“ McLaggen. “ Albus muttered under his breath.
A tall boy was standing infront of them.
“ What’s the matter Squib ! Can’t even stand up straight ? “ he jeered.
“ Ignore him. “ Scorpius whispered. “ They just want to get a rise out of you. Its best that we play it safe. “
Following his advice, Albus just glared at McLaggen and after making brief eye contact with Scorpius they both walked away.
Scorpius waited until they were out of earshot to speak again.
“ You did a good job back there. “ Scorpius said softly. “ If you fought back, we would be in more trouble. “
Albus laughed, but it was humorless. Years of being picked on by their peers have taught him that.
“ But even playing safe has not helped us either has it ? “
He hears the faint sound of the train in the distance.
“ Cmon Scorp, lets get out of this hell-hole. “
————-
Albus
Four years ago
Hogwarts courtyard
13 : 00
He was standing in the middle of the courtyard , watching the fellow first years play from afar,
and trying to ignore the whispers from the other houses. There has been no attempt of his brother or
cousin reaching out, and he missed his cousin Rose dearly, missing her tone of her voice when
she would drone on about the most recent books she read. He supposed he could ask to play
with the other kids, but then again he was not good with socializing.
“…. Albus ? “
He blinks, disorientated and sees Scorpius next to him, decked out in his Scarlett adorned robes.
“ Oh, uhm Scorpius uhh..Hi ? “
He mentally facepalmed himself.
“ I got this book from the library, I was wondering if you wanted to read it with me ? “ Scorpius smiled tentatively and Albus noticed that he was clutching a book tightly to his chest.
When Albus didn’t respond, Scorpius immediately started to panic
“ I-Uh I mean that its fine if you dont want to but-“
“ Yea, id like that. “ Albus says quietly.
Scorpius s face breaks out into a huge smile.
“ Cmon, I saw a nice tree we can sit under ! “
——————-
Albus
Hogsmeade
December 20th
16 : 45
The train has already started to move. Albus glanced out the window as Hogwarts was slowly fading into the distance. He was not looking forwards to this vacation at all. He turned to Scorpius.
“ You did amazing last week in Quidditch Scorp.”
Scorpius face immediately brightened. It was no secret between the two that Scorpius took great pride in his Quidditch accomplishments.
“ Seriously, “ Albus continued. “ I don’t regret dragging my feet to the Quidditch pit to see you play against the Ravenclaw team. The look on my brother s face when you caught the snitch was priceless.”
Scorpius smiled. His best friend has never been a big fan of Quidditch, so it was a surprise to see him praise his skills.
“ Im glad you came Albus and that reminds me- “
Scorpius dug through his messenger bag and took a folded slip of paper and handed it to Albus.
“ Bree gave this to me after I finished the game, its think its really well done ! “
Albus opened the sheet of paper. It was a drawing of Scorpius when he caught the Snitch. From the wind in his hair and the flush in his cheeks and the excitement in his eyes , Bree has captured the moment perfectly.
Albus smiled and handed the drawing back to Scorpius.
“ I know right ? Its extremely good ! “ Scorpius said enthusiastically.
“ Yea, I agree. Anyways I’m glad I get to brag about my best-friend winning something this time.“
Scorpius snorted, but then his face became serious.
“ Albus, you have to owl me what happens this Christmas. “
“ Scorp , you know I’m going to do that anyways-“
“ No Albus, I will expect at least three paragraphs. “
Albus groaned He knows that his best friend knows well, but sometimes he feels more than an instructor than a friend.
“ Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy are you serious ? ”
Scorpius snickered evilly.
“ Of course I am. “