Chapter Text
--- Tommy ---
Afternoon of July 24th, 1992
Tommy watched his foster brother jump off the swing screeching loudly. He winced at the noise but held it down as his friend cheered. They talked far too loudly but Tommy had gotten pretty used to it by now.
He had tried doing what his foster brother did for fun but he didn’t understand the point of it so he stopped trying. But then again, he didn’t understand a lot of things that “normal” kids did so he didn’t care that much. Especially since this foster brother was perfectly fine with ignoring his presence at all, which was a good improvement considering the last one. He was fine with being different because what he could do, made up for most of it.
What he could do was magic or whatever it was called and it was amazing. He realized at 5 that he could do completely unexplainable things. He could open locked doors, make light, and move things. The few people who had seen it had immediately thrown him back to the orphanage.
Tommy knew that it would have been smarter to not use it but it was addicting and it had even saved his life many times. He wasn’t willing to give it up so he instead became better at keeping secrets and hiding, just to excel in it.
At first the brightest light he could make barely made a difference to the darkness but after practicing so much that he fainted 3 days in a row, he managed to make a blinding light the size of his palm.
Thankfully, wanting to not die was apparently a brilliant motivator.
Tommy quickly scanned the area and after making sure that no one was looking at him, he started to try and levitate a tiny rock. It was difficult to explain how he was doing it but it felt a bit like he was drawing things close to himself and then funneling it through his hand to make the rock do what he wanted. He smiled as he felt the familiar hum of his magic as he slowly raised the rock.
With one last look to make sure no one was looking, he started to draw. Tommy was by far from a good drawer but it helped him get an outlet for all his ideas while practicing his magic. So balanced precariously on a low branch, he started drawing his greatest wish.
Tommy barely managed to draw for a few minutes when he heard a loud rustle in a bush. He froze and the rock dropped into the ground, lifeless once more. He quickly spotted the bush and watched warily when a grey tabby walked out of it.
Tommy smiled and quickly dropped down from the tree. The cat slightly jumped back in surprise but to Tommy’s delight didn’t run away. He loved animals but most of them ran away from him. The tabby with sharp green eyes stared at him, meowing.
Tommy squatted down and offered his hand. The cat watched him with eyes that seemed far too intelligent before hesitantly rubbing its head against his hand. He slowly started petting the cat and the cat purred. He grinned and properly sat down.
“Hello,” Tommy murmured softly. “Where are your owners? You’re far too clean and healthy for a wild one.”
The cat meowed in response and Tommy hummed back.
“And far too nice,” Tommy continued with a giggle.
The cat lightly batted his hand as if offended and Tommy stared at the cat in surprise.
“You’re rather smart, aren’t you,” Tommy said in fascination.
The cat meowed again, sounding a little too much like they were saying “duh”.
Tommy snickered and he watched as the cat moved their attention to his incomplete drawing. It looked terrible but to be fair, Tommy hadn’t even gotten to the details before being interrupted. The cat meowed almost curiously as they tilted their head towards the drawing.
“Oh, you want to know what I drew?” Tommy asked intuitively.
The cat meowed in agreement and Tommy looked at the drawing one more time. He smiled grimly and opened his mouth before he shut it. He sighed and looked at the cat again.
“Don’t worry, it’s something that doesn’t matter,” Tommy responded softly.
That was all that he got to say to the cat before he heard the familiar call of his foster mom calling them in. He quickly said goodbye to the cat and petted them one more time before skipping to the house.
--- Minerva ---
Minerva watched the boy run off.
She hadn’t meant to approach him like this but when she had seen a floating rock controlled by a boy in a tree, she had been curious, to say the least. She could already tell he would be a good student just by that show of wandless and wordless magic.
Most Muggleborns try to recreate what they had done some out of curiosity, some out of survival need but it was rare to have that level of control. She silently hoped though that he hadn’t learned because he needed to survive. Kids should be able to live happily and not have to worry about such things.
As she transformed back to her human form, she looked once more at whatever the boy had been drawing and her innate curiosity desperately wished she could know what it was. Drawings can occasionally show what a person is like and the emotions that passed through the boy’s face when she had asked had been chilling.
She retrieved his letter from her pocket. It was identical to a few others and she quickly scanned the envelope to see his name, Tommy Lloyd. She had more students to meet so she had to get a move on.
Minerva left the small clearing and moved purposefully to where she had seen Lloyd go. She soon arrived at a 2 story house with pastel blue roofing and clean white walls. It was a rather pleasant house and she calmly knocked on the maroon door.
She heard a few shouts and waited patiently until the door slammed open by another boy. She smiled at him as he looked at him in confusion. She noted in her mind that Lloyd looked absolutely nothing like the boy and quickly factored in the idea that he could be fostered or adopted.
“Hello, may I speak with your parents,” Minerva asked politely.
“Uh, who are you?” the boy asked suspiciously.
“I am the Deputy Headmistress of a special school that Mr. Lloyd has been placed in,” Minerva explained kindly.
She wondered if she shouldn’t have said that as the boy stared at her with even more confusion and suspicion. Thankfully, a woman who looked like the boy appeared.
“Hello, I am here to talk about Mr. Lloyd,” Minerva greeted. “May I come in and explain more?”
The woman looked weary but hesitantly let her in. Minerva walked confidently through the neat hallway before reaching a large living room.
“Can Mr. Lloyd also be here?” Minerva asked.
“Tommy!” the woman called out. “Who are you?”
“I am the Deputy Headmistress of a special school that Mr. Lloyd has been placed in,” Minerva repeated patiently.
“What school?” Lloyd asked bluntly as he walked into the room. “You’re sending me away?”
His accusatory tone didn’t surprise him though his apparent unfriendliness was.
“You may want to sit down,” Minerva told him, experiencing far too many fainting people during these meetings.
The woman sat down but Lloyd glared at her defiantly.
“To introduce myself again more clearly, I am the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,” Minerva told them just as bluntly.
Lloyd stared at her in shock while the woman snorted.
“Impossible, what is this a prank?” the woman said scathingly.
Minerva smiled as she drew her wand and turned the teapot on the coffee table into a parrot. The parrot flared their wings as the woman stared at it in shock and horror. Lloyd on the other hand looked delighted and amazed.
“I can learn how to do that?” Lloyd asked with an excited smile.
Minerva tried to not laugh at the difference in how he was acting and she nodded smiling. She handed him his letter which he quickly tore open.
“School starts on September 1st if you decide to go,” Minerva informed him. “The supplies you need are in Diagon Alley which I can guide you around if you wish.”
“Now now wait!” the woman stood up. “He’s not going anywhere.”
The smile on Lloyd’s face dropped and Minerva stared at the woman coldly.
“It is his choice alone to make this decision and if you impede on that decision, then I have the right to erase your memory of Mr. Lloyd’s existence,” Minerva told her.
It wasn’t completely true but it was a genuine law that Muggles cannot control their child’s magical education. They can of course put in their input but Minerva wasn’t willing to let the Muggle bring Lloyd down.
The woman bristled angrily.
“Are you threatening me?” She snarled. “If you are then get out and if you want to go Tommy, then go. I don’t care either way. You must have cursed us for such evilness to come here.”
Lloyd looked decidedly close to exploding on his guardian and even though she would have loved to see it, she also hated paperwork.
“Mr. Lloyd, please pack quickly if you wish to go,” Minerva told him.
He nodded and ran upstairs. Minerva looked at the upset Muggle and murmured.
“Obliviate,” Minerva watched as the spell took effect. “You will forget about my existence and you will just think that Mr. Lloyd ran away.”
The Muggle collapsed and Minerva transfigured the teapot back to its original state. Minerva sighed. She hadn’t meant for this to happen and she hated having to mess with Muggles but more than that she hated when kids were shown, such little love.
She quickly went over to the other boy and also obliviated him. The boy fell over and she quickly grabbed him and gently laid him on the ground. She heard a small gasp and she looked to see Lloyd with a small red backpack staring at her in scared fascination.
“Don’t worry, I just removed some memories, he’ll be fine in an hour,” Minerva explained.
Lloyd didn’t seem concerned, more interested in the magic she used which she honestly expected but it was better safe than sorry.
“Is that everything, Mr. Lloyd,” Minerva asked sadly.
“Yep,” Lloyd said awkwardly. “Why are you calling me Mr. Lloyd? It makes me feel fucking old.”
“Language,” Minerva said, trying to hide her amusement. “You will find soon that the culture of the Wizarding World and the Muggle World is much different. One vitally important thing is etiquette and that involves titles. Being rude can have severe consequences though some people go against that norm. I don’t think I should explain politics to you as I am rather biased. I can recommend some books if you wish.”
Lloyd looked at her blankly.
“So I have to constantly be called Mr. Lloyd?” Lloyd said, displeasure coloring his voice. “And what’s a Muggle?”
“No, when you feel close enough to someone, you may invite someone to call you by your first name,” Minerva told him, in amusement. “A Muggle is a non-magical person.”
“Okay, then call me Tommy,” Lloyd said.
“I cannot,” Minerva said. “It is considered inappropriate for professors to call students by their first name. You may call me, Professor McGonagall, if you wanted to know.”
Lloyd looked at her with exasperation.
“What the fuck,” Lloyd complained.
“Language, I do suggest keeping a hold of your language because it will lose you points,” Minerva admonished, trying not to laugh.
“Points?” Lloyd asked.
“I have a lot to explain to you but maybe we should get going first to Diagon Alley,” Minerva said patiently.
Minerva could practically hear the unasked questions.
“Diagon Alley is like a Magical shopping area,” Minerva explained. “It has everything you need which you can see on the second page of the letter.”
“Oh,” Lloyd said while scanning the letter. “The fuck? Robes and dragon gloves?”
“Language,” Minerva repeated, already knowing that it was useless. “You can see when we get to Diagon Alley.”
“Where is Diagon Alley?” Lloyd asked.
“I can Apparate us there,” Minerva said, and before he could talk she continued. “Apparation is like teleporting and do I have permission to Apparate us there? I will warn you, it is not a pleasant experience.”
“Uh sure?” Lloyd responded confused.
Minerva extended a hand and she tried to convey how important this decision was. Lloyd didn’t have to come with her and this was his final chance to walk out. After this, he would leave behind his world and he couldn’t ever truly come back because magic was addicting and to cut it off, was to cut off your own heart.
She watched as Lloyd stared at the house thoughtfully and smiled when Lloyd hesitantly took her hand. Minerva quickly concentrated and pulled on her magic and Apparated.
--- Tommy ---
Tommy immediately collapsed and threw up.
The lad- Professor McGanacal or something rubbed his back soothingly and he suppressed his reaction to flinch.
As he sat there, trying to compose himself, he realized how fucking surreal this was. He was going to fucking magic school and he was free from the system. He had no idea where the fuck he was going to stay but hopefully, Professor McGanaical would help him there.
“Not fucking pleasant,” Tommy said sarcastically.
She didn’t respond and instead vanished the fucking puddle with a stick or some shit.
“This is going to be hard to get fucking used to,” Tommy said.
“Please watch your language Mr. Lloyd,” Professor McG chided.
Tommy tried not to wince at the name. He fucking hated being called that but apparently, everyone was going to be calling him that so he had to get fucking used to it.
“No thank you, Professor Mcganical?” Tommy trailed off.
“McGonagall,” Professor McGonagall corrected.
Tommy excitedly looked around and then frowned in disappointment. It didn’t seem magical, just sort of normal. He looked at Professor McGonagall in confusion.
“This looks so normal,” Tommy commented, trying to hide his disappointment.
“Oh no, this is merely the entrance,” Professor McGonagall responded quickly. “Let me show you around.”
Tommy followed Professor McGonagall as she walked into a dark pub called Leaky Cauldron. He noted that no one else in the streets seemed to notice it. Around 20 people were sitting spread out in the pub, their rambunctious chatter seemed to go down a bit when they noticed Professor McGonagall. They greeted her politely which she returned and Tommy noted silently that a lot of them were calling her different things.
“Sorry, I would like to talk more but I need to show Mr. Lloyd Diagon Alley,” Professor McGonagall said with a light smile.
“Ay, of course you are,” the bartender said. “You never know how to take a break Minerva. You have got to relax for once.”
“I will later,” Professor McGonagall responded with ease.
“Uhuh,” the bartender responded disbelievingly before looking at him smiling. “You’re in good hands young lad, I wish you luck in Hogwarts.”
Professor McGonagall quickly led him to a stone wall at the back. Tommy looked curiously as she started tapping on some of the bricks in some sort of pattern with her stick. She pulled her hand away and Tommy gasped as the bricks pulled away from the middle to show an incredibly crowded and lively street.
“Holy shit,” Tommy said, astonished.
Tommy looked around eagerly there were shops fucking everywhere and the people who were standing around were with fucking fancy robes and hat everything. It was like everyone cosplayed as a witch on Halloween.
It was amazing! It wasn’t necessarily pretty or clean or fancy but it quite literally felt amazing. It felt like home…
“Mr. Lloyd, I think that exploring Diagon Alley may be more fun than staring at it,” Professor McGonagall said with amusement.
Tommy looked at her in embarrassment and nodded excitedly.
“So we are going to Gringotts Wizarding Bank first,” Professor McGonagall told him. “I am sorry about your guardian, I didn't mean to cause a divide.”
“Don’t worry, there was already a 3ft gap between us, another foot wasn’t going to make a difference,” Tommy said bitterly.
“Still, thankfully Hogwarts does have a fund for students like you,” Professor McGonagall said gently. “The main problem would be where you would live.”
Tommy’s head shot to her in panic.
“What?” Tommy asked desperately.
“You could either go to an orphanage which I will assume that you will not want to,” Professor McGonagall explained. “Or we could place you in a House as a temporary ward.”
“You’re going to put me in a house and ward what?” Tommy responded confused. “And definitely no to the orphanage, I’m fucking sick of them.”
“Houses are families but it’s a fancy title for it,” Professor McGonagall answered. “I am Professor McGonagall of the Noble House of McGonagall. I’ll show you a book to answer the Noble title.”
Tommy wrinkled his nose.
“What would I be?” Tommy asked.
“You are not titled,” Professor McGonagall explained. “When you are of age, you can register your surname as a House but currently, you are simply, Mr. Lloyd.”
“Oh okay,” Tommy said while frowning. “So a family will take me in, same as my last situation.”
He scowled at her and she winced.
“I do apologize for that but I cannot do much to help,” Professor McGonagall said sadly. "I promise that you will be put in a safe and caring House."
They reached a large white building that people were streaming in and out of. Tommy drew back a bit, he fucking hated crowds and he hated being touched so wasn’t this fucking amazing. Professor McGonagall easily slipped in and Tommy cursed and tried to go through the crowd and almost immediately crashed into someone.
“Oh for fucks sake,” Tommy spat.
“Sorry!” a young boy around his age said while helping him up. “I mean apologies.”
The boy’s voice got hilariously fancy and calm and Tommy stared at him for approximately 3 seconds before bursting out laughing. The boy’s mask cracked a bit and smiled nervously as well as he looked around.
“Are all you fuckers fancy as shit?” Tommy asked genuinely amused or horrified, he wasn't sure which one.
“Uh there’s a huge split between the ones that are and the ones that aren’t,” the boy shrugged and hesitantly put out his hand. “My name is Tubbo.”
“Tommy,” Tommy responded while shaking Tubbo’s hand. “Now why do you look hunted?”
“My aunt’s gonna murder me if she hears me speaking like this,” Tubbo said as an explanation as he kept looking around.
“Dude, you’re attracting more attention to yourself by doing that,” Tommy said cackling.
Tubbo flushed sheepishly and looked at Tommy’s jacket that he had wrapped around his waist.
“Can I borrow that to hide?” Tubbo asked pleadingly.
“What the fuck are you a spy?” Tommy snorted but did give him the jacket. “You better fucking give it back though.”
“What? Of course, I will,” Tubbo responded. “I’m not like that.”
“Well, how was I supposed to know that,” Tommy grumbled. “The world’s filled with wrong’uns.”
“You have the strangest language I have ever heard,” Tubbo muttered back while tossing the jacket on his head. “How does this look?”
Tommy looked at him and burst out laughing again. Tubbo flushed and tried to get Tommy to answer but Tommy was just dying. Tubbo was wearing full-out fancy robes with patterns and shit and then just had a normal jacket perched on the top of his head.
“Tha- That’s not how you put it on,” Tommy managed to wheeze out.
At this point, they were attracting so much attention and Tubbo started dragging him away from the crowds.
“You are the worst,” Tubbo said exasperatedly. “How do I put it on!”
Tommy through his wheezing gasps showed him how to put it on. It took 2 minutes because Tommy kept nearly collapsing on Tubbo in laughter.
“You fucks think I’m weird while you don’t know how to put on a fucking jacket,” Tommy said snorting.
“I do,” Tubbo insisted in mock offense. “Your jacket is just strange.”
“Suree,” Tommy said sarcastically.
“You’re a Muggleborn right?” Tubbo asked.
Tommy looked at him blankly.
“Yep you are,” Tubbo snorted. “I refuse to believe that you were intuitive to find this on your own. Where is the professor that led you here?”
“Hey!” Tommy responded. “I am very intuitive.”
Tubbo gave him an undeserving pure look of disbelief when it finally hit him.
“OH FUCK,” Tommy cursed loudly before running out of the small alley that Tubbo had brought him to.
He barely made it out of the alley, ignoring Tubbo’s surprised shout, before crashing into Professor McGonagall. Professor McGonagall slumped in relief at seeing him before tensing again.
“Woops, sorry professor,” Tommy said sheepishly. “I met someone new though!”
He turned to Tubbo whose face had turned completely cold and polite.
“Well met, Heir Apparent Umbridge,” Professor McGonagall greeted politely and yet coldly.
“Well met, Professor McGonagall,” Tubbo said in the same tone.
“Er, what the fuck,” Tommy said dumbfounded. “I thought you weren’t fancy and shit.”
Tubbo’s face scrunched up a bit before smoothing up again.
“It’s a bit complicated Mr. Lloyd,” Tubbo answered vaguely.
“What the fuck are you a teacher,” Tommy said, annoyed. “Call me fucking Tommy.”
“You did not give me a formal invitation at first Tommy,” Tubbo said. “I apologize.”
“How the fuck do I fix him,” Tommy asked Professor McGonagall who winced.
“Tommy,” Tubbo whined, his mask finally breaking a bit.
“Ha! I fixed him!” Tommy said in mock delight.
Tubbo snorted but he did stop with the fancy fucking mask or some shit.
“How the fuck do you that?” Tommy asked curiously.
“Do what?” Tubbo asked back, they both ignored Professor McGonagall’s sigh and language.
“The emotionless shit,” Tommy pressed impatiently.
“Meh, hard to explain,” Tubbo shrugged.
“You’re shit at explaining things,” Tommy complained.
Tubbo looked close to responding with a sassy bite but then a glance at Professor McGonagall had him shut down. Tommy frowned, clearly something was going on between the two of them but he didn’t fucking know. He could tell that Tubbo was going to leave and Professor McGonagall was perfectly happy letting that happen.
“Do you want to go shopping with me?” Tommy asked brightly.
Tubbo and Professor McGonagall stared at him in shock.
--- Tubbo ---
Tubbo was close to either strangling or hugging Tommy.
Every moment with Tommy was a risk of getting found by his aunt but at the same time, it was… fun. It had been long since he had talked to another kid his age without political reasoning and he never met a kid so loud, funny, and exasperatingly annoying like Tommy.
Sure, was he taking advantage of Tommy not understanding the importance of his House? Yes, absolutely but he couldn’t bring himself to feel bad as he talked happily with Tommy. He let Tommy talk for the most part since he was wary of Professor McGonagall.
They went to Flourish and Blotts first and while Professor McGonagall had been polite to him, she kept showing books to Tommy that were deeply biased towards the Light. Tubbo gritted his teeth and let it happen. Besides, he hadn’t even chosen which alliance he wanted to align himself with yet.
Though Tubbo made sure to show some books that were a more neutral standpoint and made carefully worded points that Tommy blindly walked into. He wasn’t trying to but he did realize after a sharp glare from Professor McGonagall that he was technically manipulating Tommy. Though he didn’t let that realization show and cooly glared back.
Somehow Tommy managed to be either completely oblivious to the tension or just completely ignoring it. Tubbo tried to convince himself that he wasn’t bribing/manipulating Tommy by buying him a few things. Tubbo honestly did believe that the Galleons that Hogwarts gave was far too little. It was barely enough to get everything required and it would have to be the worst quality.
So he made it a point to try and buy things for Tommy especially since he was starting to get the idea that Tommy didn’t have a lot of belongings in general. Though he had to say that Tommy was absurdly stubborn, Tubbo could be even more stubborn and he also had power.
The shop owners recognized his family’s crest and while some looked at him disgusted, they would serve him quickly. The Noble House of Umbridge wasn’t particularly well known but Dolores Umbridge was. His aunt was…
He had faced years of this, he was perfectly fine dealing with it. Though it was an understatement saying that Tommy was extremely refreshing company. Not only did he not know about his aunt, but he also didn’t know anything about the Wizarding World so it was nice to show him different things.
After nearly 3 hours of the most fun he had in years, they wrapped up their shopping as they went to their last shop, Ollivanders.
“Ready?” Tubbo asked.
“Fuck yeah!” Tommy responded with a wild grin.
Professor McGonagall at this had completely given up with Tommy’s language. Tubbo could only imagine the nightmare Tommy would wreck upon the House points.
Together they walked into the store with Professor McGonagall waiting outside. Wand choosing could get personal so teachers would not come in and Tubbo would have stayed outside as well but Tommy invited him to come as well.
“Well met Lord Ollivander, I am Heir Apparent of the Noble House of Umbridge and this is Mr. Lloyd,” Tubbo said, smoothly slipping into his practiced mask.
“Well met Heir Apparent Umbridge, well met Mr. Lloyd,” Ollivander answered with a small smile. “Going to Hogwarts?”
“Yep!” Tommy chirped happily.
Tubbo had to slam down on his mask to not groan about Tommy’s behavior. While Ollivander was loose about etiquette, other Lords/Ladies would not be.
“What is your wand hand?” Ollivander asked.
“What?” Tommy frowned while scrunching up his face.
“We both use our right hand,” Tubbo answered calmly.
“Of course,” Ollivander nodded before going to the back.
“I don’t use my right hand for a few things,” Tommy said, confused.
“Yeah but the way you are moving things around suggests that you would use your right hand,” Tubbo explained in amusement.
“You know, your mask and shit are so fucking eerie at times,” Tommy whined.
“That’s like half the point,” Tubbo said, smirking.
“What’s the other-” Tommy started.
“You don’t want to know,” Tubbo said giggling. “Tommy, you’re so predictable and unpredictable at the same time. You're infuriatingly amazing.”
“I’m glad Heir Appant or some shit,” Tommy said with a mocking bow.
“Heir Apparent,” Tubbo corrected while poking his head.
Unfortunately for Tubbo, Tommy was a lot taller than him so Tommy easily dodged and smacked his head.
“Tommy Lloyd what am I going to do with you,” Tubbo sighed.
“Get me a moth so that I can name her Clementine,” Tommy said so unexpectedly that Tubbo choked and stared at him for a few seconds. “What! I’m being serious. I think?”
“Oh dear Merlin help me,” Tubbo prayed ignoring Tommy’s indignant squawk. “My friend doesn’t even know when they are being serious or not.”
Tubbo nearly cursed at the look on Tommy's face when he said friend. Tommy was making it way too easy to manipulate him and Tubbo wasn’t even bloody trying. Thankfully, he was saved from making more morally ambiguous choices when Lord Ollivander came back with 6 wands.
“Now Heir Apparent Umbridge, this is a Holly wand with a Phoenix Feather as a core and Mr. Lloyd this is a Reed wand with Unicorn hair as a core,” Ollivander gestured eagerly for them to try.
Tubbo confidently took the wand and tried waving it around and it caused a pot to explode. Tommy tried to touch the wand for it to completely turn into ash. They both wince but Lord Ollivander looked delighted and started running around at an insane pace while rambling.
After 1 more try, Tubbo got a Holly wand with a Dragon Heartstring as the core. However, Tommy took 8 more tries which was impressive because Ollivander was known for being brilliant in knowing which wands fit the owner. Finally though, Tommy got a Blackthorn wand with a Phoenix Feather as a core.
The pure happiness on Tommy’s face when he held his wand was hilarious and sweet. They paid for their wands and they walked outside where Professor McGonagall was waiting. Tommy seemed to tense a bit and Tubbo frowned a bit.
“So which House are you going to shove me into?” Tommy asked grumpily.
Tubbo slipped back into his mask as he thought what Tommy meant. Then he remembered that orphans or kids that cannot go back to their houses are sent to Houses as temporary wards before they go to Hogwarts.
Tubbo could offer sanctuary as the Heir Apparent but his aunt would kill him and she could override his offer. No, it would be better to stay out of it. He ignored the sad pang in his heart that he wouldn’t see Tommy in over a month. Then again, Tommy might not even want to talk to him again after he realized who Tubbo truly was.
“The Most Ancient and Noble House of Longbottom is willing to take you in,” Professor McGonagall stated. “They are well-respected and I have personally known them for years. You will be treated well.”
Tubbo’s blood went cold.
First, the House of Longbottom was historically extremely light and they would no doubt teach Tommy all about the world from their perspective. Tubbo would be lucky if Tommy even decided to look in his direction again.
Second of all, the way that she had phrased that sentence made it clear she couldn’t and wouldn’t even think badly of someone. He would be fine with that if it wasn’t about an 11-year-old who didn’t understand the world they were living in. Especially someone with a not amazing past should be given a safe way out because a just-in-case was everything to people like them.
Them…
The impulsive part of him wanted to curse Professor McGonagall for not even looking into his past. But then again when did she ever care for anyone who was against her political values. Tubbo decided that he had to go before he did something he would regret.
“Tommy, I have to go,” Tubbo said with a strained smile. “Here's your jacket. See you at Hogwarts!”
“Oh! Okay see ya fucker!” Tommy said a bit sadly while taking his jacket back.
Tubbo snubbed Professor McGonagall by leaving without saying goodbye. He was far too tired to force himself to be polite. Trying to ignore his emotions, he quickly went up to Leaky Cauldron and bought some Floo powder. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he used the Floo Network to reach home.
Tubbo let his mask fall and he sighed, exhausted. He yawned and stepped forward, only for ropes to tie him up. He was slammed against a wall and he resisted the urge to scream as he heard a crack. He groaned in pain as his fuming aunt came into view.
“Where have you been,” Aunt snarled.
Tubbo didn’t answer.
“Last chance Mudblood,” Aunt warned. “I spent a bloody hour looking for you and had to stoop down to talk to REVOLTING GOBLINS TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHERE YOU WERE!”
“Shopping,” Tubbo muttered while bracing himself.
“Diffindo”
p a i n
--- Neville ---
Night of July 24th, 1992
Neville stretched and winced as he cracked a few bones at his back and neck.
His grandma had given him some Moly seeds and he had spent the last few hours taking care of the small black stem that had appeared.
He smiled widely at the little plant as it flourished under his care. He had struggled with magic in general so much but Herbology came so easily to him and he loved it. It was one of the only merits he had as a wizard.
The smile wiped off his face. He sighed softly, he couldn’t even feel good about himself for a few minutes before it got crushed. He had to suffer through the disappointment of his grandma when he had been easily tossed away by Hermione.
Sure, he had earned points for being brave but he couldn’t honestly bring himself to actually believe those points he had deserved. The only thing keeping himself from saying that to Harry and the others was that they got to hit the Slytherins’ ego a bit.
Especially after that humiliating experience of Malfoy stealing his Remembrall, Neville was grateful to Harry for saving it but at the same time, he wished he was actually good enough to do it himself. He had felt so useless and humiliated after that incident that he had actively tried to avoid Harry for a while.
It wasn’t fair to Harry but every time Neville saw Harry, all he could think was his grandma’s disappointment that he wasn’t as good of a wizard as his parents.
His parents… He would see them in less than a week. He never could tell if it got better seeing them or not because he loved his parents. However, it hurt so much seeing them unable to do anything, to see what they had been reduced down to.
Neville sighed and was about to leave the garden when he heard a loud pop. He turned at the familiar noise to see Linna, one of the house elves looking at him with wide blue eyes.
“Mistress Longbottom is looking for Young Master,” Linna squeaked.
“Where?” Neville asked kindly.
“At the main living room,” Linna squeaked once more before popping away.
Neville was curious about what was happening since his grandma never asked for him at this time unless it was an emergency or something interesting had come up. He quickly disinfected and went downstairs to see his grandma sitting down on one of the couches staring at the fireplace.
“Grandma,” Neville greeted.
“Hello Neville,” Grandma greeted back with a small smile. “What were you doing to cause such a mess on your clothes?”
“Oh,” Neville mumbled sheepishly, looking at his dirt-ridden clothes. “Remember the Moly seeds you gave me?”
“Ah, I see,” Grandma nodded. “Though I must say that we are meeting our new Muggleborn Ward so you might want to clean up.”
“Wha,” Neville gaped at his grandmother. “Muggleborn Ward?”
“Close your mouth Neville,” Grandma said. “Yes, we are taking in a Muggleborn Ward because he doesn’t have anywhere to go. His name is Tommy Lloyd and he’s going to Hogwarts as a first-year.”
“Oh,” Neville mumbled, still surprised.
“Neville,” Grandma said gently. “I thought you might be lonely and I’ve been told that Mr. Lloyd is bright and extroverted so I had hoped that you would take a break from that garden for a bit.”
“Ohhh,” Neville said with more understanding. “I’m not lonely, Grandma.”
His grandmother gave him a sharp look and he winced a bit in bitter acceptance.
“So clean up he’s coming in about 10 minutes,” Grandma told him bluntly.
Neville immediately started running up the stairs and nearly tripped on all of them. He had to show himself well to reflect on the Most Ancient and Noble House of Longbottom. So he quickly put on some clean robes and went down the stairs carefully as he had tripped far too many times to count.
“Much better,” Grandma nodded approvingly at his state. “Now are you ready? Mind you, he has no gauge for manners so you don’t have to be that stiff.”
“Er aren’t we supposed to show him what he should do as well,” Neville said frowning.
“No, we shall teach but we will not force him to make his decisions,” Grandma gave him a harsh look which he winced at but nodded adamantly.
“So how formal should I be?” Neville asked.
“Don’t be,” Grandma told him. “I’ll do my part but you should be open and friendly. Remember our duties as a part of the Light Alliance is to take care of the Muggleborns and help them out.”
Before he could respond, the fireplace burst into green flames and Professor McGonagall and a lanky teenager appeared. The teen almost immediately fell over and cursed fiercely while Professor McGonagall walked out gracefully.
Neville watched in light concern as Lloyd cursed and while Professor McGonagall chided him, he didn’t seem to care that much.
“Hello Augustus,” Professor McGonagall greeted his grandmother with warmth. “Are your days well?”
“Well as they could be and you?” Grandmother returned with the same tone.
“Rather busy but well, I had the pleasure of touring Mr. Lloyd around Diagon Alley,” Professor McGonagall said. “Thank you for taking him in.”
Neville noted nervously that the teen in question seemed to scowl fiercely at that. Lloyd was surprisingly tall for an 11-year-old and skinny to a point it was slightly concerning. Gran looked at him meaningfully and resisted the urge to groan. Remembering that the teen was not the formal type, he went for a much blunter greeting than he usually went for.
“Hello Tommy?” Neville said. “I’m Neville.”
“Oh hi, that’s a strange name,” Tommy said with a wide smile.
Neville stared at him in confusion and decided to take it as it was. Though he did silently note Professor McGonagall’s quiet sigh of exasperation. Grandma was understating how informal Tommy was but Neville was perfectly fine with that.
“Why doesn’t Neville show you up to your room?” Grandma offered in a way that wasn’t really an offer.
“Oh okay,” Tommy said while blinking furiously.
Neville awkwardly led him upstairs but paused when Tommy froze and gasped. Neville stood there hesitantly, unsure of what to do.
“Tommy?” Neville asked with uncertainty coloring his voice.
“You guys are rich as fuck,” Tommy said in shock.
“Yes?” Neville responded in wariness. “Is that a problem?”
Tommy looked at him fiercely and Neville suppressed the urge to flinch. Tommy stared at him for a few more seconds before he snorted and broke eye contact.
“Yep, this is totally normal,” Tommy muttered. “Rick motherfuckers not even realizing how rich they are.”
Neville winced. He wasn’t oblivious to the people who suffered because of money but it had completely slipped his mind at that point. He was doing a horrible job at a first impression and he hoped that he didn’t come across as one of those snobby Purebloods.
Neville wasn’t certain which room to give Tommy but after a few seconds of awkward hesitation, Neville gave Tommy the largest guest room. Neville opened the door and breathed a sigh of relief as everything was perfectly clean and ready for use. Neville turned to Tommy to make sure it was okay and then immediately shut his mouth by the look on Tommy’s face.
The pure shock and glee at the room which was a far smaller Tommy’s face said everything so Neville didn’t say anything to not ask any more stupid questions.
“All of this is for me?” Tommy breathed in disbelief.
“Yes, this is yours,” Neville reassured him.
Neville wasn’t certain if Tommy had lived a perfectly normal life and it was Neville’s life that was ridiculous or if it was the other way around.
“I can leave you alone for a bit if you want to unpack,” Neville said while noting that Tommy’s only baggage seemed to be on his back.
“Nah, I’ll keep it on me,” Tommy said in a bit of a strained tone.
Neville frowned a bit in confusion at that reaction but decided to let it be. He wasn’t going to intrude on Tommy’s life.
“Well, do you want a tour then?” Neville asked after a few more awkward seconds.
“Fuck yeah,” Tommy said with his immediate smile.
Neville was a bit taken aback by Tommy’s mood swings but just took it in stride as he led Tommy around the Longbottom Mansion.
Tommy seemed to relax a bit and easily chatted loudly to Neville who responded quietly with one-word answers. That didn’t seem to dissuade Tommy from talking; in fact, Tommy talked even more. Neville hadn’t laughed so much in a while and Tommy’s confusing and loud humor was infectious.
Neville had completely given up the idea of formalities by the time they finished the tour. It was honestly strange talking to someone he barely knew with such little formalities. He tried unsuccessfully to not laugh though when Lenna popped in again.
“What the fuck is that?!” Tommy shrieked.
“I is Lenna,” Lenna answered kindly.
Neville burst out laughing at the look on Tommy’s face.
“Lenna is my family’s house elf,” Neville explained. “House elves serve wizards in exchange for our family magic.”
“So not slavery right?” Tommy asked suspiciously.
“What?” Neville said astounded. “Of course not. Abusing your house elf is seen as disrespectful and Houses are proud of their elves.”
Tommy gave him a still mildly suspicious look but let it go.
“Mistress Longbottom is wanting Young Master and Guest Lloyd to come to the dining room to eat,” Lenna relayed before popping away.
“Why the fuck is that so loud?” Tommy grumbled as he flinched.
“Apparition is just naturally loud,” Neville said while shrugging. “Let’s go eat dinner.”
“Aight then,” Tommy agreed while looking around suspiciously.
“Don’t worry the furniture isn’t sentient,” Neville said, trying and failing miserably to hide his laughter.
“Well I don’t fucking know, could be like the Beauty and the Beast and shit,” Tommy complained.
“Beauty and the Beast,” Neville repeated in confusion. “What’s that?”
Tommy gaped at him openly as they continued walking.
“And you shits call me uncultured while you don't fucking know movies like the Beauty and the Beast,” Tommy snorted.
“Movies?” Neville asked again.
Tommy gaped at him again and Neville sighed in mock exasperation.
“Look you're uncultured in this world and I’m uncultured in the Muggle’s world,” Neville said bluntly. “Let’s leave it at that.”
“No shit,” Tommy muttered.
Neville smiled as they reached the dining room where his grandmother was sitting at the Head chair around the long antique table.
“Hello Mr. Lloyd,” Grandma greeted. “How was your tour?”
“Er good,” Tommy said nervously.
Neville noticed that Tommy seemed more nervous around stranger adults than stranger kids which might just be normal over there though.
Neville winced. He usually thought of himself as open-minded and had knowledge where Muggleborns were but Tommy had practically broken his knowledge in half.
Neville sat down in the chair next to his grandmother and Tommy quickly sat next to him as well. Tommy’s eyes seemed to widen at the amount or maybe the quality of the food. They conversed quietly for a bit while eating when his grandmother started asking a few questions.
“Have you met anyone in Diagon Alley?” Grandma asked. “I’m sure you met at least a few students who were shopping today.”
“Were you not shopping today?” Tommy asked back.
“No, most Purebloods shop a bit after we get the letter to avoid the rush,” Neville explained.
“Oh, so you get yours after the first time?” Tommy asked, confused. “What the fuck is the point?”
Neville sighed but he was honestly surprised Tommy managed to even get this far without swearing. His grandmother seemed to accept it though which was surprising considering she would smack him if he even said bloody.
“Every year has new supplies and it is traditional,” Grandma said.
“I don’t understand politics,” Tommy announced.
Neville stared at Tommy confused. It was such a random thing to announce now and it wasn’t like they were expecting him to understand Wizarding politics. Thankfully, gran seemed to understand
“I see,” Grandmother said analytically. “So I’m guessing you met someone who Professor McGonagall or someone else seemed to clash with for no apparent reason.”
Tommy gaped at his grandmother and Neville hid his smile under his napkin.
“What was their House?” Grandma asked kindly.
“Er Umbridge?” Tommy answered warily.
Neville frowned as he tried to remember what House Umbridge was when his stern grandmother lifted a single eyebrow.
“Lady Umbridge of the Noble House of Umbridge talked to you?” Gran said with pure disbelief.
“Well, I dunno titles and shit but I’m a thousand percent sure it was a guy and he was a first-year like me,” Tommy commented.
His grandmother's eyebrow rose even further.
“Really?” Grandma hummed. “I never heard of them. What is their full title?”
“Uhm, like fucking Heir Apparent of the Noble House of Umbridge or some shit,” Tommy said shrugging.
“Oh?” Grandmother said. “Interesting and I’m assuming that Professor McGonagall and Heir Apparent Umbridge didn’t get along?”
Neville had seen that look before. It was her face whenever she gained some interesting new information and she was going to use it to its fullest potential.
“Um, I mean they didn’t like… say anything bad to each other but half the time they were glaring at each other and shit,” Tommy mumbled. “I’m blind to a lot of shit but holy shit they weren’t being subtle.”
“Well to answer your question,” Grandma said calmly. “The Noble House of Umbridge is a part of the Dark Alliance while Professor McGonagall is a part of the Light Alliance.”
“Well, then what the fuck,” Tommy interrupted, upset. “So the fucking teacher doesn’t like a student because of politics? That’s fucking stupid.”
Neville winced a bit but his grandmother took it with genuine understanding.
“I’m afraid so but see the Dark Alliance believe in things that are rather…” Grandmother trailed off.
Neville knew that grandmother could have easily finished that sentence but decided not to due to reasons he couldn’t fathom yet.
“Rather what?” Tommy asked with a slight edge.
“What do you think of the etiquette here?” Grandma asked abruptly.
“Uh, I think it’s shit but you guys can do whatever the fuck you want,” Tommy answered with a small frown.
“Do you believe that Muggleborns such as yourself deserve the right to everything a Pureblood has?” Grandma asked again.
“The fuck you think?” Tommy snorted.
“Then your beliefs align with the Light Alliance which is the opposite of the Dark Alliance,” Grandma finished.
“Wait-” Tommy said, upset.
“And the Dark Alliance goes against Professor McGonagall’s natural morality so can you really blame her?” Grandma said with an analyzing look.
Neville winced at how upset Tommy looked but Tommy surprisingly stayed quiet. However, it did mean that the rest of the dinner was rather quiet as Tommy seemed to be completely absorbed in his thoughts.
Neville wasn’t exactly happy with his gran for basically laying a trap for Tommy but it was safer for Tommy. While he still wasn’t certain about the House of Umbridge, if they were a part of the Dark Alliance, he doubted that their reason for seeking out Tommy was anything good.
Tommy excused himself after a few more minutes and as soon as Neville heard Tommy’s footsteps on the stairs, he looked at his grandmother.
“Why so quickly?” Neville asked, unsure how to ask.
“It’s more important than you think to quickly lay down the ideas in his head,” Grandma said. “Minerva had already told me about Heir Apparent Umbridge of course and I needed to make sure that Mr. Lloyd’s doesn’t sway to the Dark. I know you don’t like this and I don’t particularly like it either but the Light has something planned that needs all the Muggleborn’s support.”
Neville listened intently to his grandmother and nodded reluctantly. He disliked the idea of manipulating someone like Tommy to think this way but he trusted his grandmother.
“I don’t like this,” Neville voiced his opinion, knowing that grandma already knew.
“I know Neville,” Grandma said sadly. “It’s just how it is. But with new plans, hopefully it’ll get better. Now off you go.”
“Good night grandma,” Neville said softly while heading out.
“Good night Neville,” Grandma said with a small smile.
Neville went upstairs and went in front of Tommy’s room. He stood there hesitantly for a few moments but ultimately decided he shouldn’t do anything and left for his room. He collapsed on his bed and looked out his window where the sun was nearly gone.
“I don’t like this,” Neville repeated, unsure what exactly he was talking about.
Or maybe he did know.
--- Tommy ---
Tommy held his breath as he heard rather loud footsteps at the door.
He didn’t know what to expect when he excused himself but he didn’t expect them to go after him. Thankfully, the footsteps quickly left from the door and Tommy let out his breath. Unsure whether to be grateful or amused about how bad Neville was at sneaking around, or maybe both.
He sighed deeply as he tried to sort through his new things. It was incredibly strange having so many belongings, not including the fact that they were magic things. His wand especially was so… so much and he fucking loved it. He couldn’t wait till he could do magic though he was sternly told that laws were prohibiting underage magic outside of Hogwarts.
But right now, he wasn’t concentrating on that. No, he needed to figure out what the fuck was happening with Wizarding politics. While he didn’t particularly like reading a lot, he hated not understanding what the fuck was happening. Clearly, everyone was biased as fuck so he needed to get an understanding by himself.
Tommy finally found the books and pulled out two books of Wizarding Politics that he got. One of them was recommended by Professor McGonagall and the other by Tubbo. “Wizarding Politics: Which Alliance is right?” and “A Deep Look into the 3 Alliances”. He stared at them hesitantly and he felt obligated to read them both but still.
Tommy was a rather slow reader so he should pick the one that seemed more neutral. Basically, he needed some basis for what the fuck was happening.
He was leaning towards the one Professor McGonagall recommended because she was a teacher so she had to be more neutral right? But right before he opened it, he remembered.
Tommy remembered how every single adult turned on him. No matter how nice they started, they never stayed, kept their promises, and they were never fucking there for him.
He knew he was being irrational and it had nothing to do with choosing a fucking book when he was going to read both anyways. But… he just couldn’t fucking push away his deep distrust for adults so he reached for Tubbo’s recommended book.
“A Deep Look into the 3 Alliances”, 472 pages.
Tommy sighed.