Alan Greenmont was a 24 year old muggleborn living in London with his two-year-old son, Michael. His wife Sherry, a muggleborn witch, died in childbirth and he was the only one left with the care of his son as his muggle parents practically disowned him when they found out he was a wizard and first received his Hogwarts letter. He hasn't heard of them since he graduated six years ago. He was talented in Ancient Runes and it was his passion and was full of hope for his future when he finally got his NEWTS results. But fortune quickly abandoned him when he couldn't even get hired at his preferred job in the Ministry specialising in Runes as he was cast aside for a less talented pureblood.
Now he was working two jobs in the muggle world as a waiter for two different restaurants, struggling to make ends meet. Spending 7 years of his life learning magic and he had nothing to show for it. Alan sighed despondently but pasted on a polite smile for the customers.
It was a stroke of chance that he read the Daily Prophet the next day and saw a job ad for a company called Potter & Black Inc. They were looking for people proficient in Runes! He couldn't believe his luck. Quickly leaving his son to the old lady next door and apologising for the short notice and calling in sick at work, he went to Carkitt Market and quickly finding the tall building with bold golden letters. This was it.
Walking in he was met with a posh-looking storefront with a wide array of merchandise that he has heard of that were all the rage these days. Pushing through the exuberant customers he asked the clerk manning the desk and was directed to the upper floor. There were already people lined up and Alan got nervous. He didn't know how many they were hiring but he hoped he got a spot, or better yet not cast aside for a pompous pureblood. He sat at the designated seating area and waited for his turn.
After a half an hour he was finally called in a large office with tasteful furniture and soothing-colored walls. He was confused at first because there was a dark-haired child seated behind the large desk. Maybe he was waiting for his parents and was manning the desk in the mean time? He didn't ponder for long as the child gestured for him to take a seat and smiled politely at him.
"Mr. Alan Greenmont, a pleasure to meet you. My name is Harry James Potter and I am a co-owner of this company together with my godfather, Sirius Black. He is on an international business at the moment so I will be conducting your interview. May I see your credentials, please?"
Alan was suddenly unnerved. This…this is no child. No child his age could speak so eloquently and with with authority behind his voice, like a true professional. Noticing that he was gaping, he scrambled to hand over his documents.
"O…of course! Please, th…these are my OWLS and NEWTS."
"Please, Mr. Greenmont. You don't have to be so nervous. I know that this is…unconventional seeing that I am still a child but I assure you I am completely qualified to conduct this interview." Harry smiled understandingly at the nervous man as he perused the documents. "Let me tell you a little secret, Mr. Greenmont. It is true that my godfather handles most of the business talking and negotiating, but what people don't know is that the Portals, Portal Boxes, and the M-phones and Pokeballs that we are selling downstairs, all of them were invented by me." Alan widened his eyes in shock at the revelation. He didn't doubt for a second that this child wasn't telling the truth. The conviction and the smooth voice of this child…no, young man. He must be an unparalleled genius! He was a Hogwarts graduate with NEWTS in Ancient Runes and Arithmancy and he couldn't even fathom what went into making a genuine portal, like from those sci-fi films in the muggle movies. It was the wet dream of all sci-fi geeks out there.
Harry, of course, was too busy looking at the documents to notice the turmoil he had given the poor man. Finally looking up he addressed Alan.
"These are impressive NEWT scores, Alan. It says here, however, that you haven't been hired before and are currently working in the muggle world." Harry looked at him perplexed but having an inkling as to the reason.
Alan face instantly turned angry. He told Harry that after he graduated he tried looking for a job in the Wizarding World but was unsuccessful. He shared that he was always sidelined as he wasn't a pureblood. The only job he could find that would accept him was waiting tables at a restaurant in the muggle world as he didn't finish his muggle education. Hell, the salary he got waiting tables was more than what he was offered as a paper pusher in the Ministry! He also had a little boy to take care of so he couldn't accept working all day at the Ministry with so little pay. He poured all of his grievances at the young man in front of him.
Harry listened attentively and consoled the aggravated young father. He already liked the man as he had a great but underutilised talent in Runes but he also made sure to scan his thoughts. He had been doing this all day to all his interviewees to make sure he didn't hire problematic people that would give him headaches down the line.
"Mr. Greenmont. I like you and you have considerable talent. You are one of our most talented actually in Runes at the moment and I would like it if you joined Potter & Black Inc. as one of our Runes specialists. If you accept, there will of course be considerable benefits. Paid sick leaves, paid vacation leave, free medical care for you and any family members, a monthly stipend for child support for parents like you. We also have a very supportive Rent-to-Own Program. We have recently built a small town on the East side of Wiltshire County, one of my family's properties. It will be a magical town called Darkwood Town, named after the surrounding Darkwood Forest. You will have other witches and wizards as neighbours as well but if you stick it out for five years, which is also when your contract with the company ends, you will be able to permanently own the house and the plot of land it stands on. Of course, this is entirely optional but we encourage people to move in as the town only has empty houses at the moment. The Rent-to-Own Program is only offered to the first 50 families and luckily you are one of the first. As soon as you sign the contract you can already move in as the house you will be given will already be fully-furnished."
Alan was already dazed at all the benefits Harry was offering but the young company owner wasn't done yet.
"You have a son correct? If you decide to move in in Wiltshire, there will be a Day Care School for the little ones. You can leave him there when you go to work and they will be taught simple basic reading and writing, basic Arithmancy and Runes, World History, and Beginner's Potion Making, where they will be taught the theory on how to prepare potion ingredients. If they become proficient enough they will be taught actual Potion Preparations. If your son is too young, there will be competent staff on hand that will look after him and all the other younger children. If you like what the program entails and decide to join it, the rent will be automatically deducted from your salary. Now the salary…" at this point Alan choked on literal air.
"After all of that there's still talk about salary?!"
"Don't be silly, Mr. Greenmont. Of course there's a salary." Harry continued as if he hasn't sensed the bewilderment of the man.
"Your actual salary will be 600 Galleons."
"Oh, that's…generous." Alan was disappointed which he couldn't quite successfully keep off his face. 600 Galleons a year is less than what he made currently.
"Disappointed, Mr. Greenmont?" Harry smirked.
"No! It's just that…" Alan bit his lips. Except for the salary the benefits were quite generous already. So he supposed it was a good exchange.
"You didn't let me finish. Your salary will be 600 Galleons…monthly." Harry was grinning at the gobsmacked Alan. He really enjoyed messing with people. He snickered inwardly.
"A month?! But…but that's more than double what an Auror receives! Is that really alright?" Alan was excited of course but it just seems ridiculous at this point on top of the other amazing benefits already.
"It's true, Mr. Greenmont. Opportunities here in the magical world are deplorable, I'm sure you know. We at Potter & Black want to make a thriving community where people don't have to beg for scraps just because they're not a pureblood who are only 10 percent of the whole magical population. We only number at the hundreds of thousands currently compared to the millions of muggles in Britain. Who else should we help but ourselves? Anyway, what I'm saying is, what use do I have for gold if I can't help people with it. Of course, this is not a charity. I expect excellence and dedication in everything that you do, Mr. Greenmont. I do not tolerate complacency. So what say you?" The extraordinary young man in front of him asked him seriously this time.
"I"ll do it! I would be honoured to work for you, Mr. Potter."
"Excellent. I'm glad to have you, Mr. Greenmont."
Both Alan and Harry stood up, the child standing less than a foot his own height but it didn't diminish the strong aura that he could feel. Both of them shook their hands.
Later that day as he got back home Alan looked around his house. He was already thinking all the things he would pack. With magic it would be easy enough.
The young father went inside his little son's bedroom and looked down at the crib where Michael lay asleep, peacefully. For the first time in his life he cried. It was a cry of joy, of relief, and of hope for a better future.
—-
It was an evening in the middle of December and the temperature continued to drop and darkness blanketed the whole of London. At this time people were already home from work enjoying a hot beverage and children were huddled buried in warm blankets, happily listening to Christmas carols. Well not all children.
Frederick Leighton was ten, he preferred being called Freddie, and he was walking the cold streets of London alone. Freddie was a tall kid for his age with brown locks and blue eyes and no, he was not walking for fun in the middle of London but he was abandoned. What was a kid like him doing wandering the streets at night? Isn't that dangerous? Well, you see, he was left in the streets with nothing but the clothes on his back. It's been a a few days since his parents left him out in a nearby parking lot and he's been wandering since then, begging for alms and sometimes even searching in the trash bins. People tried reporting him to the police but he always ran away. He didn't want to go back to his parents.
Mr. and Mrs. Leighton were very devout Christians and fanatics. They always dressed 'proper' and other people would call them a normal family. Yeah, Freddie didn't really believe in their nonsense because his mother always gossiped and said bad things about their neighbours and his father always drank a lot and always had some women's perfume on him when he came home. It all started going wrong though when weird things kept happening around him. Unexplainable things. Doors would close on their own. Things would float around. One time he knocked off his mother's prized china and it shattered. Thankfully nobody was home at the time and in a panic he went to get a sack. When he came back the ceramic was whole as if it was never broken! Unfortunately, that was the only incident his parents didn't know about. All the others happened in plain sight of them.
Then, the beatings and the shoutings started. He always went back to his room with bruises. He was lucky if he was given dinner. They also withdrew him from primary school saying he had a medical condition but at home his father would shove him in his room and shout at him telling him he was the devil's spawn and that he was going to hell. The last straw that broke the proverbial horse's-or was it a camel- back though was when his father was giving him his daily beating. Tired and fed up of being a punching bag he glared and his father was pushed back by an invisible force slamming him into the wall and slumping on the ground. That was when his parents decided that they didn't want to deal with him anymore and so drove everyone to London in the cover of the night and tossed him in out, driving away and never looking back.
He was somewhat glad that they left him in the streets as no one minded him out here. He was just another kid. But now it was cold and he was hungry. It wasn't anything new but he thinks it might snow and he didn't want to be out there when it did. After a bit of looking he found an empty dumpster. The truck must've come by recently, lucky for him. He opened it with difficulty and went inside. It was stinky and really cold and he was weak from hunger. He could always sleep his hunger and try his luck in the morning though. Yeah, sleep sounded good. Freddie closed his eyes.
—-
It was a dark and cold night but Harry Potter wasn't bothered by the freezing temperature. He's been trying and somewhat succeeding interacting with other people as Mewtwo. Learning how to speak human with his set of alien vocal cords was challenging. It was like he was a newborn just learning how to form sounds into words. He didn't expect it to be a quick process and so he kept at it. Eventually after a few weeks he made progress and he was able to speak English but with a strange accent. Since then he was elated and kept practicing every night and after a few months he was able to speak exactly as a human would.
On this night though he was doing something else. A thin film of solid energy covered him from the tip of his long tail down to his toes. Making himself look like a human was not enough as then with just a light touch anyone would know that there was something wrong with him. His solution was covering himself with a layer of psychic energy malleable enough so he was able to manipulate it to make it look like whatever he wanted. Wandering the streets of London during the day, sometimes he would pretend to be a kind old lady with a cane and people would often help him cross the road. Sometimes he would be a businessman, tall and stern-looking. He would be a young woman merrily carrying her groceries home. He would also pretend to be a police officer, a store clerk, or even the queen! The last one had him guffawing as he waved at the confused but still adoring populace but would turn a corner and he would be gone.
Right now though he was just a dark-haired boy with green eyes. Humming to himself he thought of all the fun he had today pretending to be someone else. It was liberating in a way he hadn't experienced before where he could just BE. Maybe he should invite Sirius or Remus some time? Nah, Remus wouldn't go for it but Sirius definitely would.
Harry paused in the middle of the street. Where was it coming from…over there! Walking cautiously towards an alley the black-haired boy looked around. It was deserted but he was sure somebody was here. Pain. Cold. Hunger. Fear. Over and over again like a broken cassette tape he felt the roiling emotions.
Standing before the lone dumpster in the alley Harry lifted it up without touching it. Inside there was boy! He looked about his age but that wasn't important. The boy wore rags and was visibly shivering. But what Harry noticed the most was that the boy was like him. Magic. Wizards and witches were fundamentally different than muggles, he found, even if they look and speak the same way. Magic was an essential part of a magical be it plants, animals, and humans. Shaking off his thoughts he floated himself inside and shook the boy awake.
"Hrngk. Who…who's there?" The boy said weakly, squinting in the darkness.
"Hello. I'm Harry. You look cold down here, mate." Harry said casually as he sat down on the far end of the cramped space to not spook the other.
"Cough. Cough. I…I'm Freddie." The tall boy sat up gingerly still wary but finding solace that it was just another kid. "Are you…a runaway too?" In the dark he could see that the other boy had dark hair and was smaller than him.
"No, I'm not."
"Oh." Both boys stared at each other awkwardly for a moment not knowing what to say. Needing to end the silence Harry spoke up.
"Hey. Freddie, right? Do you want to see something cool?" The boy suddenly grinned mischievously and suddenly held out his hand. What happened next completely stunned the other boy.
They were like stars. Glowing in the darkness, they looked all the more ethereal and surreal. The motes of light were like fairies playing and dancing to a tune he couldn't hear. Mesmerised they continued to multiply until he couldn't count them anymore. There were hundreds of them! Soon one of them was bound to touch him in the cramped dumpster. As soon as the mote of light touch his skin it sunk into him and disappeared. Alarmed he looked at it closely and touched it where it disappeared. It was…wet? Oh, he understood. It was water. That single droplet was the signal as the motes of glowing water converged on him. Drop after drop. Every time one touched his skin he felt relaxed and calm like for the first time in a long time he felt safe.
Freddie didn't know when he closed his eyes at some point but when he opened them the lightshow was over. He looked at the other smiling boy.
"What was that?! I feel…great. No…amazing! How'd you do that? Are you…like me?" The taller boy said hopefully.
"I am, Freddie. Have things ever happened to you? Inexplicable things? Amazing things?"
"Yeah! How'd you know?"
"Well. I'm the same. It's called magic. And you're a wizard, Freddie. Just like me and many others. Take my hand." Harry waited for the other boy to do so and when he did he helped the other boy to stand up. "Have you ever flown before, Freddie?"
Not waiting for a response Harry floated both of them high up, higher than the tallest building!
"Aahhhhh!!!" Freddie clung to him.
"Open your eyes, Freddie." Still clinging for dear life he cautiously opened his eyes. It was amazing! They were so high up and the lights down below were a sight to behold.
"Don't worry we won't fall. I promise." Harry assured him.
A few more minutes of just admiring the view, he looked at the other boy.
"Freddie, do you want to come home with me?"
"Wha…but. I…I don't know." The boy clearly wanted to go.
"I know. When I was younger, my aunt and uncle hated me for things I couldn't control. They were…afraid of the things I could do and so they locked me in the cupboard under the stairs." His voice somber.
"But when I was seven, I took things into my own hands and I ran away from my relatives. I found a place where I belong, Freddie. People I could call family. People who wouldn't hate me for who I am or what I could do because they're like me. I was fortunate that I found out I was magic early but it's not too late for you. So, what do you say. Will you come with me?" Harry smiled at him encouragingly but patiently. Freddie needed to decide for himself.
The other boy was conflicted. He was afraid of the unknown. Yet, he couldn't really come back to his parents could he? Now that he's healed, if he came back they would only beat him and lock him up in his room again. He frowned. No, he had a choice now. He was a wizard! Maybe Harry could teach him magic? Maybe he could learn how to fly too? Gathering his courage he finally looked at the other boy and nodded firmly.
"Yeah! That's great! Wohoo!" The black-haired boy flew around him while laughing and soon he joined him as well. Finally calming down, he held out his hand again.
"Come on! Let's go home." Grinning at each other, as soon as they were both holding firmly, they were gone.
——
Author's Ramblings:
Sorry guys! T_T I set chapter 14 to post on a timer and i forgot to change it so it was posted ahead of this one. For those who have noticed I post two chapters every two days. I don't know if this will be a consistent schedule but I'll try to stick to it. Please leave comments for me so I know what you think! Peace!