He was in his bedroom. His night light was glowing a bright shade of crimson, his alarm clock ticking away the seconds. A blue moon lit the room, whilst everything else was lit by the ceiling James had bewitched for him, so it looked like it was glowing.
He felt alone, but he didn't want to interact. It was Teddy Lupin's birthday today, everyone was having a brilliant time, firewhisky and butterbeer was being served, and the triple chocolate fudge cake....
Albus wasn't in the mood for all of that. Not that he liked big crowds and all that anyway, over the quietness of his room.
He was wishing nobody would notice (they probably would) if he didn't come out at all. Memories haunted his mind. An image of Voldemort flashed in his mind, disappeared, then replaced by an image of Popplewell...the professor who had joined the Death Eaters.
By the thought of the death eaters, a violent shiver went down his spine. Not them. Anything but those death eaters...they scared him. The death eaters wore dark clothing and they were as evil as can be...doing anything and everything for the wrong cause, and Voldemort-no, you-know-who, himself....so scary, with his raspy, half-alive voice.
There was so much he didn't understand...so much he wished he did...no, he didn't want any of this. This stupid thing about Voldemort, or death eaters, or anything...he thought his father had gotten rid of them, but here they were, haunting his very dreams.
He looked out the window. The Potters lived in a large house, with a brilliant view out every window. The house was bewitched to open the door automatically for those whom they knew, and the clocks would whisper at night (very rarely), and the windows would open up when it was sunny. It was, however, a wonderful house, and the only really messy place there was in this house was his Father's office, or James's room, both of which where usually crammed with things of all sorts. Albus had once found a stray chocolate frog underneath James's bed...who-knows-how old.
The laughter and music outside of his bedroom continued. The loudness increased when his bedroom door creaked open...
It was Teddy. Teddy had cut his hair (usually it was long and varied in colors) today, it was a bright sort of gold, with brown highlights. It was cut but all over the place. He was looking happy.
"Hey, there Albus. Where have you been?"
Albus didn't want to answer. What was he supposed to say?
"Oh, I'm just...tired, really." Albus said.
Teddy smiled and sat down next to Albus. Teddy was turning twenty this year....nineteen last year.
"Are you sure you're just tired?"
Albus shrugged.
Teddy bit his lip. "I heard about...the whole "chosen" thing and...all of that stuff."
"Have you." Albus replied.
"Yup. And you know what I think?" Teddy said.
"I don't know, what do you think?" Albus asked quietly.
"I think you're scared, Albus."
Albus didn't know how to respond. Was it an insult, that he couldn't face all of this? No, it wasn't, because it was true, and Albus had never been too brave to began with. He didn't want to be scared, though. He looked up to his father, but how had the famous Harry Potter done all of that? He was brave...but Albus...he was nothing like his father, but he didn't want to let everyone down. He was-
"Afraid of being afraid." Teddy finished his thoughts.
Albus was a bit stunned. Could Teddy do that reading minds thing? But it couldn't be that, Teddy hadn't studied...Legilimency, wasn't it?
"I...." Albus took too long to think of how he could finish that sentence.
"Sometimes, Albus, I look up to my father...even though he's dead and all, he seems to have been really brave. So sometimes, I want to be all brave like him but I...can't be as brave as he is in my mind. He helped in the duel against Vol-or, You-know-who, so he seems to be the kind of person who'd be glad to slay a dragon without any qualms about it.
"But you're forgetting something, Albus. And so was I, when I thought of my father in such a way. See, now, your father and my father...both pretty brave people...were scared when all this stuff happened. How do I know this? Well, because they're humans, Albus. Humans get scared and sad, wizard or muggle, animal or insect, hippogriff or hungarian horntail...we all share the same trait of fear, and one who has not experienced fear is not human.
"So if you judge a fish on it's ability to fly, it'll live the rest of it's life thinking it's stupid. That's this muggle quote I heard somewhere. Your father didn't just go up to Voldemort and defeat him. For him, too, and everyone else, it took sacrifice, and lots of work, worrying and fear. If you think you're father was so brave that he defeated Voldemort on first try, and you want to be like him, you'll live the rest of your life thinking you're stupid."
"Maybe I am." Albus said quietly.
"This fear you're feeling is only natural, because you're human as well. Just keep you're head up and do what you can. And don't get mad at yourself. That's like, about the last thing you wanna do. Oh...extra tip. Don't worry yourself to a pulp. Nobody has any expectations for you. You, like everyone else, have a limit to what you can do. If you wanna reach beyond that limit, you have to take little steps to get there. Oh, and on the meanwhile, why don't you come down and have fun with your family? We miss you being there Albus. Not the same without you. Got that?" Teddy ruffled Albus's hair.
"Hey!" Albus ducked so Teddy couldn't mess up his hair anymore. Albus laughed.
"Ah, there it is. Come on and have fun, will you?" Teddy smiled and left the room, leaving the door closed.
Albus sighed. Just as he was about to leave his room, a little hoot came from his window.
"Borthwick!" Albus said. The little owl perched itself on his arm, Albus removed the little parchment scroll Borthwick had held in his beak.
Borthwick was about the tiniest an owl could get. He had wide eyes, and a little chubby face. His wings weren't that wide, and he was completely teensy compared to the other owls, but adorable all the way.
He unrolled the parchment:
Dear Students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,
Second Years at Hogwarts, Welcome! Do know that school will be abiding by a few new rules.
1. The platform 9 and 3/4 will be inspected heavily, due to new safety measures.
2. Students will be escorted into Hogwarts with Aurors at their side.
3. Anybody who misses the train will not travel to Hogwarts in any other way.
4. The train at platform 9 3/4 will be inspecting passengers.
5. The food on the train is prohibited to first through sixth years. Seventh year students are free to eat the food on the train, although they will need special permission to do so.
The reasons for the new rules will be explained only shortly, as of for now, everyone is asked to safely abide by these rules without further notice. Anyone breaking these rules will, for first through fifth years, be appointed to the headmaster, and for sixth and seventh years, will be appointed to specialized Aurors for special inspection.
As of other notices, students that have joined the F.A.M.E. club will have to drop by Diagon Alley to buy the following textbook:
Wizarding Spells throughout the ages by Francis Jude.
Without further ado, we all hope that children of the school will follow these new strict rules. More rules will be placed once you have reached the school. Be aware and be safe this year, we look forward to teaching you.
Sincerely,
Shelly Jeanine, chief secretary of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
