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The year 2020 - where corona called bullshit
"Here we are, Tom. Here is your new home," A 39-year-old Harry potter opened his car door for a young boy. The young man stepped out of the passenger's seat and looked at the grand house. His mouth agape in awe, the 17-year-old stared at the Potter's mansion.
"It's so... vast," he whispered, holding his luggage tightly. With all his courage, the young man followed Harry to the front doorstep. He watched the older man fiddle with the house keys, before finally opening the mansion door with a click.
"Dad!" a young teen dashed across the hallway, embracing Harry in a tight hug.
"Hello, Lily," Harry gave her daughter a kiss on the forehead.
"Lily," the young boy mumbled to himself while he looked at the beautiful girl. Lily II had long, ginger hair and her skin was pale. She sported tiny freckles on her face.
"Dad, who's that?" Lily II inclined her head towards the young man behind Harry. Sheepish, he hid behind Harry, causing a chuckle to escape Harry. The older man turned to the side and patted him on the back, gently pushing him forward so the shy boy could introduce himself. "Lily, meet Tom. Tom, meet Lily," Harry said.
Tom II looked at the older man for reassurance before sticking his hand out to shake Lily's II hand. "I'm going to be staying at your house for a while," Tom II sheepishly rubbed the nape of his neck.
"You should come and meet my siblings and my cousins. Oh, and my friends!" Lily II grabbed Tom's II hand and dragged the shy boy all the way to the living room.
"I knew they'd get along quickly," Ginny emerged from the kitchen and stared at the pair of young teens. She gave her husband a quick peck on the lips and Harry picked the luggage up. "What are you cooking, love? It smells amazing," Harry smiled, kissing his wife on the lips again.
"Treacle tart hearts, your favourite," Ginny laughed quietly. Harry excused himself, taking Tom's suitcase upstairs.
"Ginny? Have you seen Hugo? He needs to have his medicine," Hermione asked the ginger lady. Ginny nodded her head, gesturing over to the living room.
"Thank you, Ginny," Hermione smiled and walked towards the living room door. She opened it and immediately fell back in shock.
"Regulus, you can't do that-!" James II shouted.
"Oh yeah, why not?!" Regulus II shouted back, holding the Marauder's map.
"BECAUSE THE MATH ISN'T MATHING!" James II yelled, lunging at Regulus II. Tom II immediately hid in the cupboard, scared that he had caused something and waited for the fight to die down. Lily II looked around the room to find Tom II but he had just disappeared.
"BOYS!" Hermione got up hastily, picking up the medicine from the floor. Regulus II and James II stopped fighting immediately. "What have I told you about fighting?!" Hermione scolded the pair as they looked down at the floor in shame.
"We're sorry, Aunt Hermione," they both chorused in sync.
"I'm just surprised that Fred wasn't part of the fight this time," Roxanne laughed from the couch.
"Speaking of Fred, where is he?" Rose piped up, looking up from her book. Tom II quietly climbed out of the cupboard, trying not to gain any attention from the other children. Out of nowhere, Fred II popped out from underneath the invisibility cloak and scared Tom II. The quiet boy screamed and fell to the floor in terror, quickly covering his head with his hands and shook on the spot.
"Hey, no need to be afraid, it's just Fred being Fred," Victoire placed a hand on Tom II shoulder. Tom II slowly moved his arms away and cocked his head up to stare at Fred II - who was laughing so hard that it was most likely he would have five heart attacks right there. Victorie glared at the laughing male, who immediately stopped laughing.
"Say... are you that 7th year Hufflepuff?" Delphi stretched out her hand and Tom II took it, picking himself up. Tom II nodded shyly, rubbing the back of his neck again.
"Nice to meet you! I'm Delphini, Delphi Lestange," Delphini shook his hand enthusiastically. Tom II nodded and turned to Rose.
"I'm Rose Granger-Weasley. And these are my best friends, Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy," Rose pointed at the said people while she introduced them. The pair of Slytherin boys waved at the newcomer and Tom II shyly waved back.
"I'm James Sirius Potter, extraordinaire, most handsome, the best-" James II was interrupted by a glare from Molly II.
"Right, uh, nice to meet you!" James II exclaimed as he shook his hand. Tom II nodded his head lightly.
"Hey, there. I'm Teddy Lupin. And I hope you have a wonderful stay at our house," Teddy patted the younger boy's head. Tom smiled gingerly, laughing awkwardly.
"These idiots are Regulus Black and Fred Weasley," James II patted his best friend's on the back while they laughed. The boasting boy looked behind him and pointed at the quiet boy in the corner (who was looking at his phone silently). "And the loser in the corner is Tobias Snape!" James pointed at the said boy.
Tobias looked up from his phone and glared at James II, pouting, "I'm not a loser!" He stuck his tongue out and continued to scroll through whatever the fuck was on his phone. Tobias looked a lot like his late father, Severus Snape; however, he had his mother's nose and used conditioner, so looked a bit more handsome.
Tom chuckled quietly and noted in his head that James II was a bit of a joker.
"Well, excuse the immature boys for their actions. I'm Molly Weasley, and here is my younger sister Lucy," another beautiful ginger girl stepped forward. Tom smiled at the sisters and was soon face-to-face with two blonde children.
"I'm Dominique Weasley and that's Louis, my younger brother. Victoire is our older sister-"
Louis elbowed his sister away and stared at the young man before him. Tom laughed awkwardly, trying to take away the tension between them, "Are you a veela?" Louis narrowed his eyes. Immediately, Tom shook his head.
"Are you sure, because you're very handsome," Dominique moved her head closer to observe Tom. The shy boy quickly backed away.
"Hey! Are you saying that I'm not handsome?!" Regulus II butted in, causing Dominique to roll her eyes.
"You two, stop interrogating the poor boy," Lily II snapped, making both Louis and Dominique back away slowly. Besides, Lily Luna Potter was a lot to handle when she was angered. Hermione left the room after feeding her son his medicine and Hugo stepped forward, "I'm Hugo Weasely, Rose's younger brother," the young red-head smiled, sniffling slightly.
"Um, nice to meet you all," Tom started. He was nervous to state his name, scared of their reactions. At Hogwarts, he rarely interacted with anyone and avoided having friends. He was just a lonely Hufflepuff. Ever since the whispers and gossiping had started when he was called up to get sorted to his house, he had isolated himself. It seemed that throughout the years, the gossiping had finally died down, along with his reputation.
He had turned into a nobody, no wonder why the people in front of him never heard about him before.
"So... what's your name?" Delphi asked, getting a little curious. Tom played with his fingers, looking down at the floor as he mumbled a few words.
"What did he say?" Albus questioned. Tom whispered something quietly, still looking at the floor.
"Huh? So I am confusion-" Scorpius fell to the ground as Tom shouted.
"TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE!"
Some of the children gasped, others looked in shock. "Children! Dinner's ready!" Ginny popped her head in the living room. Tom gulped and looked down as he left the room. The children carefully followed Tom, feeling a little cautious.
"I see you've met the children, Tom. Were they being nice to you?" Harry smiled at the children, oblivious to the fact that there was tension between them. Tom nodded silently, taking the seat that Ron had pulled out for him.
"Bloody hell, you're a tall chap, aren't you?" Ron laughed, taking a seat next to his wife, Hermione. Harry sat next to Ginny while Draco sat next to Astoria.
"What a lovely dish you cooked, Ginny," Angelina smiled, helping Fred II carry the food onto his plate. Fleur nodded as she wiped a stain off of Louis' shirt. "Here, I'll help you," Harry smiled, placing some food onto Tom's plate.
"Uh, Thank you, sir," Tom replied quietly.
"Just call me Harry," the older man laughed, digging in to eat his wife's cooking.
"Business at the joke shop has increased because of the holidays," George started, digging his fork into some lasagne.
"A joke shop?" Tom asked.
"Yes, Uncle George runs a joke shop in Diagon Alley. It's amazing!" James II piped up, hearing the words joke shop.
"Yes, and Aunt Hermione is Minister of Magic!" Roxanne exclaimed.
"And Mr Potter is head Auror while Mr Weasley is deputy head!" Scorpius explained.
"And Mr Malfoy is teaching me how to become a nurse since he's a head nurse too," Victoire smiled.
"Dad here works as a curse-breaker," Dominique gestured towards her dad, Bill Weasley.
"And my mum used to play in a Quidditch team, but now she works for the press," Albus added, finishing his last piece of food.
"Woah, you all seem so-" Tom quickly dodged a fork that was hollered at his way.
"POTTER!" Tobias yelled, looking down at his lap (which was covered with ketchup). James pouted, looking offended, "It's not my fault your arms are like noodles. You go swish-swish and knock everything in your path!"
"How about I go swish-swish and slap you in the face?!" Tobias was about to launch himself at James when Harry scolded them.
"You two stop that ruckus!" Both boys immediately stopped and huffed in their seats, shuffling their seats away from each other. Tom blinked silently, his eyebrows raised.
"Don't mind them. They absolutely despise each other," Lily whispered.
"I've finished sir- um, Harry," Tom was about to pick his plate up when Astoria picked his plate up for him.
"You can go upstairs and make yourself at home, dear. I'll clean that for you," Astoria took his plate to the sink while Tom stood up and left the dining room.
"You'll probably need some help finding your way around. I'll show you," Teddy emerged from the dining room, giving Tom a reassuring nod. Tom followed the older boy through the long hallway of portraits. He stopped occasionally, admiring the paintings, but then quickly caught up with Teddy.
"Here, you're sharing a room with Tobias, Regulus, Fred and James," Teddy opened the door for him. Tom walked inside, observing the very spacious room. There were five beds inside, and his suitcase was near the end next to the window.
Tom sat on his bed, looking around the room. There were Quidditch decorations; moving posters of Quidditch players, painting of the golden snitch, flags of the boy's favourite teams. The three beds in the middle fashioned red curtains with golden accents. The bed on the far right was dark with little green, and his bed was plain white.
The young boy leaned back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling, breathing quietly.