His Father's Son
He had never meant to let go of his mum's hand but he had to see the new racing broom that they had displayed in the window. There was already a small crowd around it of his peers and he didn't want to be the only eight year-old who hadn't seen this much touted about broom. So he took his opportunity when his mother was momentarily distracted by his younger sister's tantrum and darted away from his mother. He ducked through the pedestrian traffic of Diagon Alley to join the throng at the window of the Quidditch supply store.
The broom was awesome in all its wooden glory. Highly polished and shiny, each little straw impeccably placed, the gold trim gleamed, its lines and planes smoothed for maximum aerodynamics. Oh, it was a dream to behold.
But when he turned around to return to his mother, he suddenly became lost and disoriented in the crowd. Everyone was too tall, all the grown ups looked mean and unfamiliar. He called out to his mum and dad but he felt as if he small voice was lost and drowned in the sea of people around him. An old witch came up to him at one point to ask if he was lost but she looked so unfamiliar and frightening that he turned and ran away. This only made him more disoriented and lost, he didn't know where he was. None of these shops looked familiar, they were dark and scary and some of them had frightening creatures and objects in them that he knew would give him nightmares for days.
"Are you lost dearie?"
Ryan turned to see a scary looking hag with rotting yellow teeth and warts all over her face. He cried out in terror and ran away from her, hearing her cackling behind him. Everywhere he turned were frightening looking people, cloaked figures, some peered at him curiously but every time one of them came close, he would run in the opposite direction. He was lost, scared and alone so he hid in a pile of discarded crates where no one would see him and everyone would leave him alone. He just wanted to be with his mum and dad and brothers and sisters. He would never see them again, he knew it. He would be forever lost.
But just as he began to come to terms with his fate as an orphan, a ray of hope pierced his dark thoughts when there was a commotion in the alley. Did he hear his name being called? There was a cry of terror and outbursts of anger coming from down the street. People were hissing and scurrying away from something, deserting the streets as they scampered into nearby shops.
"Ryan? Ryan?"
Hope exploded in his chest and he shot out from his hiding place when he heard his father calling for him.
"DAD!!" he cried out and ran toward the familiar figure of his father.
"Ryan!" his dad exclaimed as he knelt to embrace him. Ryan wrapped his arms around his father, instantly feeling protected and safe. Nothing could harm him when his father was around.
His father led them out of this scary place and back into the sunny streets of Diagon Alley where his mother and siblings were waiting for him. His mother sobbed and held him close. He felt comfort in her embrace, there was nothing more soothing in the world than his mother's arms. His little sister had been crying and would later tell him that she thought she would never see him again.
Ryan wiped at his eyes as he let go of his mother and turned back to his father who was kneeling down to face him face-to-face. "Never, ever leave our sides like that again. Do you understand me?" he said in a gentle but stern voice.
"I-I only wanted to see the broom," Ryan hiccupped.
"I understand that," his father replied. "And I was going to take you inside to see it but you just needed to be patient. It wasn't going to just disappear like you did."
Ryan frowned. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "I didn't mean to get lost like that. I thought I'd never see you and mum again."
His dad put a gentle hand on his head then let if fall to his shoulder where it rested. "No matter how lost you are," his father said, looking right at him, "I would always find you."
"Ryan? Ryan, wake up."
Ryan opened his eyes to see Neville's face hovering above him. He groaned slightly as he shut his eyes. Crap, he was still stuck in this nightmare. He reluctantly sat up.
"What time is it?" he asked.
"Seven," Neville replied. "You don't want to miss breakfast do you? You're the last to get up, didn't you set your alarm charm?"
Ryan looked over at his clock and saw that it was displaying. "Yeah, you're going to miss breakfast. Sorry."
He distinctly remembered placing the charm on it the night before. A muffled snicker brought his attention to his uncle Ron who was standing with his father by the door of the dormitory. Of course one of them would mess with the charm, probably his father if the mischievous gleam on his face was any indication.
"Very funny, Harry," Ryan grumbled as he flung the covers off of him.
Harry shrugged. "Just call it a bit of first day hazing. Welcome to Hogwarts," he said and left the room.
As if it couldn't get any more awkward and uncomfortable, when Ryan finished getting ready, Neville was waiting for him.
"I didn't want you to go down alone. This castle is pretty big and you can get lost in it," Neville said as they walked down the corridors. It was just too surreal and a little depressing that Ryan's only friendly roommate was a guy who was going to be dead in less than ten years. "Harry and Ron are alright," Neville continued. "They're actually pretty nice, they can be pranksters sometimes. Ron's brothers own Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, have you heard of it?"
Had he heard of it? Most of his allowance when he was younger was spent in that store. "Yeah, I mean everyone's heard of it," he replied.
"So you see where Ron gets it?" Neville explained.
"Yeah, and Harry's a Marauder's son, right?" Ryan wished he could take it back.
Neville's eyes narrowed. "What did you say?"
"Nothing. Listen, I'm just trying my best to stay out of his sight, out of his mind."
"Well, best avoid Hermione then. That just seems to ruffle Harry's feather's a bit."
"Really?" Ryan asked. "Are they…together or something?" Ryan silently prayed that some miracle occurred last night and that his parents indeed had somehow gotten together on their own.
"Harry and Hermione?" Neville asked. "No, they're just friends. But, Hermione seems to have taken a liking to you, you lucky dog." Ugh, lucky, alright.
They entered the Great Hall and sat down across from Harry and Ron who seemed to be absorbed in their own conversation. All the better, Ryan thought, he just wanted to get through this meal and see Professor Lupin as soon as he could.
"Hello Ryan," said a familiar voice and before he could protest, his mother plopped down next to him.
"Er, morning," he replied as he inched away from her. She scooted over and closed the gap again.
"Did you sleep well your first night here?" she asked brightly.
"Er…"
"A little too well," Neville jumped in. "He nearly overslept."
"Don't you know you're supposed to charm your clock?" Hermione lectured. It was such a familiar thing his mother did to him that he reacted instinctively.
"I did but…" Crap. His eyes had flickered over to Harry and Ron. He didn't mean to but it felt as if his mother had been lecturing him, scolding him, not Hermione or whomever. This was sooo confusing.
Hermione saw his eyes glance briefly at Harry and Ron and she turned to look at them for an explanation. The two boys suddenly found their breakfasts very interesting. "Did you do something to him?" she asked them.
"What? No!" they both protested. His dad quickly glanced at him, giving him a look that made him want to disappear under the table.
"What is wrong with you two?" Hermione scolded. "Why would you do that to the new guy, he's probably feeling already so scared and alone." She reached out and placed a hand on his. His dad's eyes fell on the contact and Ryan quickly removed his hand and scooted away from his mum. He just wanted to disappear. "Harry, I expected more of you," Hermione continued to lecture. "I was hoping you would take him under your wing and show him around. After all, he did save my life." Saved her life? Wasn't she exaggerating a bit?
"Aren't you exaggerating a bit?" Harry shot back. "I think the only thing he saved you from was a Jelly Legs curse."
"Whatever, Harry," Hermione waved him off. "Just because someone else has a Hero complex around here doesn't give you the right to be vile to him."
"A Hero what?" his father exclaimed.
"What's that on your face?" Ron suddenly spoke up.
Hermione turned to him. "What are you talking about?" she asked.
"Your face," Ron pointed to her. "It's all…glittery."
"It's called make-up, you dolt," Ginny said. She was sitting next to Hermione.
"Make-up?" Harry spat out. "You're wearing make-up?" He looked at Ryan. Oh God, this wasn't his fault too, was it? "Since when did you wear make-up?"
"Since now," Hermione replied.
"I think she looks pretty," Ginny beamed. "Don't you think so Ryan?"
Oh, God. All eyes turned to him. He looked between his mother's hopeful face and his father's look of wrath. He just wanted to get out of here.
"Um…I…er…," Ryan floundered for something to say. What did his mum always tell him? You couldn't apparate out of Hogwarts. Bummer, he could really use that talent right about now. He looked around him and saw that everyone was staring at him, waiting for his answer.
"Mr. Harrison."
He didn't know what to say. It felt as if time was ticking away.
"Mr. Harrison."
What the hell was he supposed to say? His mother was looking at him with that hopeful look like when she cooked a new meal and presented it to the table in hopes that she wouldn't have to take everyone to St. Mungo's later on. His father was looking at him like he wanted to squash him like a bug. It was a very uncomfortable feeling.
"Mr. Harrison," he was nudged and he looked up to see Professor Lupin peering down at him. "Mr. Harrison, Ryan, are you okay?" he asked pointedly. Harrison…oh, Harry's son. Hmm, clever.
"Uh, yeah-yes, sorry. Yes, sir?" he finally spit out. Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you for the distraction.
"Your class schedule," Lupin said, handing him his card. He moved on to hand his mother and father their class schedules then moved on to give the other Gryffindors their schedules. Ryan looked down at his.
"Great," he muttered. "I won't be able to talk to Professor Lupin until later this evening."
"Why do you want to talk to him?" Neville asked.
Ryan stuffed the schedule into his bookbag. "Nothing. Nevermind," he said and grabbed a muffin before leaving the war zone that was the table.
Hermione watched him leave. She sighed. "There's just something about him that's so…"
"…weird?" Ron offered.
"…loserish?" Harry added.
"Dreamy," Ginny spoke up.
"No, intriguing," Hermione wrinkled her brow in thought. "I wonder what he wants to speak to Professor Lupin about. Did he say anything to you?" she asked Neville.
He shrugged. "I dunno. He just transferred. Maybe he needs extra help in DADA."
Harry put down his fork and looked up at Hermione. "No, Hermione, no," he said at the pleading look on her face.
"Oh, Harry, why not?" she asked. "Everyone knows you're the best one at DADA in our class. You've already gotten off to a bad start with him, maybe this will make amends with him."
"Maybe I don't want to make amends," he replied.
Hermione shook her head in disgust. "I'd never thought I'd see the day when Harry Potter would turn his back on a fellow Gryffindor who needed help." She grabbed a couple pieces of toast and left the table.
Harry threw down in fork in frustration and ran a hand through his hair. What the hell was wrong with him? Hermione was right, he was acting like a complete prick and he had no idea why. This Ryan guy had really rubbed him the wrong way for only the simple reason that he jumped in front of one of his best friends and took a curse in the chest for her. He should be grateful to him but for some reason, it just ate at him.
"Hermione's right, Harry," Neville spoke up. "You have been kinda mean to Ryan."
"Harry's not being mean," Ron defended. "He's just joking around with him. It's not Harry's fault if the guy has no sense of humor."
"No, Harry's being a jerk," Ginny said then turned to him. "If you want to redeem yourself in Hermione's eyes. Help Ryan."
~*~
"Ryan! Hey Ryan wait up!"
He winced inwardly when he heard his mother's voice. But he obediently stopped and turned around to face her.
"Hey…Hermione," he said.
"So, do we have any classes together?" she asked, making conversation as they continued on their way.
"Um, I don't know," he said quickly. "Listen, I was just going to go to the library and--."
"Ooh the library! I'll go with you!" she smiled. Of course she would, he should've picked a better excuse, this was his mother he was talking to after all. There were many childhood memories of his mother dragging him and his siblings to the library to check out books to read. It was only when he was older and could keep his magical talents a secret that she then took him to a muggle library where he finally discovered the wonders of the Curious George books that his muggle friends had been talking about in Primary school.
"Well, well, well. Isn't this sweet," came a drawling voice and the two of them turned to see Draco Malfoy approaching them with his two friends. "Hogwart's newest hero and the mudblood." Ryan seethed at the name his mother was called.
"Don't call her that," he said in a dangerously low voice.
"Just ignore him Ryan," Hermione tugged on his arm. "He never has anything useful to say." A crowd of students began to form around them.
"Don't get your hopes up…Ryan," Malfoy drawled. "She tends to latch on to famous wizards. Once your notoriety dies down, the mudblood will have moved onto someone else."
Ryan threw down his book bag. "I thought I told you not to call her that."
Draco handed his book bag to the person nearest to him. "Oh, is the hero spoiling for a fight?"
"Ryan, don't," he heard his mother plead but he wasn't going to let this pompous ass get away with calling his mother names like that.
Ryan and Draco shrugged off their cloaks and Ryan only turned for a second to hand his mother his cloak when her eyes widened.
"Look out!" she shouted and he turned and ducked just in time to have whatever curse Malfoy send his way, graze the top of his head. He could smell the scent of burnt hair. He blocked the next hex and quickly replied with a cutting charm, cleverly placed around Malfoy's waist that resulted in the Slytherin's pants falling to his ankles.
Malfoy gasped and bent down to pull up his pants giving time for Ryan to disarm him. "Get him!" Draco instructed the two idiots at his side but Ryan hit them both with a Conjunctivitis curse and they ran around blindly, tripping over Malfoy who was still struggling to get his pants up. The laughter from the crowd drew even more people to the spectacle, among them his father and Ron who stared at the scene before them.
"You're going to pay for this, Ryan," Malfoy threatened as he scrambled away from the group of people that were laughing at him. Ryan couldn't help but smile as the three Slytherins hobbled away.
"Oh Ryan, that was brilliant!" Hermione beamed and threw her arms around him.
"Thanks mum," he wanted to say as he grinned at having successfully defended her. His father would be proud. He looked up at him across the crowd.
Then again, maybe not.
Harry was looking at him with an expression on his face that startled Ryan. His father looked…hurt, like his heart was literally being ripped from his chest. But the look was quickly gone and replaced with steely resolve as he met Ryan's eyes. Ryan quickly pulled away from his mother but Harry had already disappeared from the crowd.
-->