potter, albus serverus

Albus Severus Potter was born the second son and the middle child of the Potter family. He grew up sheltered, in a way. He always noticed the looks others gave him and his family. The awe, the reverence, the whispers... He never understood it, and his parents always either changed the subject abruptly or skillfully distracted him. Eventually, he just forgot about it.

His family is his treasure, even that arrogant toe-rag of a brother. James always made fun of him growing up, getting a kick out of the fear his stories caused. "You know, sometimes parents don't always know best, little Albus. They could be wrong. Maybe there really are monsters under your bed, and they're just hiding and waiting... biding their time... until... they getcha!" He hadn't been able to sleep a week after that little prank, even after his parents made James apologize.

Lily was Albus's best friend, though. She was everything James wasn't. Kind, supporting, and encouraging. They argued, yes, but that's how it always went with siblings. Grudges never lasted more than an hour with his sister, on either end.

His first year of Hogwarts was abysmal. He was the first Slytherin in both sides of his family, Potter and Weasley. James made his life miserable, and even his cousins avoided him uncomfortably. Not even his Housemates liked him for his name. Many of them had had family members thrown in jail or killed during the Great War.

Albus thought he'd be alone his entire Hogwarts career, until an angel saved him in the form of Scorpius Malfoy. Scorpius hadn't even introduced himself or asked to sit down. He'd just plopped right next to Albus in the common room and asked for his thoughts on the Potions essay.

From there, the rest was history. With Scorpius's help, Albus made more friends, and though the majority was in Slytherin, he was also rather close with some Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. Eventually James and their cousins got over themselves and apologized for the way they'd been treating him.

Now in their sixth year, Albus is starting to wonder where exactly his fate will lead him.


He was thankful for the grin she gave after his rant. It made the tight ball in his chest relax so he could breath easier. "Oliver? Is he in our class too?" He nodded affirmation, but let her continue speaking without interruption when he saw her nose crinkle. "I can't imagine someone doing that to themselves. Does he consider that fun?" Teal eyes widened as she stared at him in awe. "My brother's just a drama queen. I think Oliver takes the cake."

Ulrich snorted and smirked at her, feeling much more at ease now that she wasn't crying. "Literally. He can eat an entire cake by himself. I've seen it happen before. How he isn't as big as the castle, I'll never know." Chani took his hand and shook it. "I'm Chani, weirdo vegan hippie!"

He chuckled again with his usual half-grin. "Nice to meet you, Chani!" Yay, he had a friend now! "I'm going to hug you now." ... Wait, what? Before he could react Chantal practically LAUNCHED herself at him. If anyone asked him in the future, he'd never acknowledge the unmanly squawk that came him him at the moment of impact, tensing and freezing automatically. "Get used to it."

At least she was giggling now. Yay? Chani pulled back from him wearing a mischievous smirk that Ulrich saw daily on Oliver's face. "Gods, you're never allowed to meet Oliver. You two would smother me with affection whether I wanted you to or not." he groaned, shaking his head. Despite his words, his half-grin grew into a genuine smile. "We should head to the castle. . . But, I uh. . . Left my stuff."

Ulrich nodded and gestured for her to lead the way. "I'll help. We can leave the flowers for nature to get rid of and just take the blanket and leis."