HP- Becoming Brothers Snippets
Arg. The reason Becoming Brothers hasn’t gotten anything even resembling an update for quite some time is that every time I do manage to convince myself to work on it, I keep getting little snippets like the ones below. Not even entire scenes, just incomplete bits of conversation and the like (these are some of the most complete). And I’m starting to forget the little details set up in TMPR, but it’s been long enough since it was written that I can’t stand to read it long enough to pick them back up. Arg. Arg.
Meanwhile, Art is over here dancing gleefully on, around, and through Wright’s continuing block.
Snippets from the next chapter(s?)
January:
Harry stepped out of the floo into his living room, letting a broad grin and whoop of elation escape now that there was no chance of getting a mouthful of ash. He’d done it. He’d sat the NEWT’s. No results yet, of course, but he was confident he’d at least passed every one.
Now, if only he had someone to celebrate with.
As if summoned, the kitchen window rattled, an owl’s inquiring ‘whoo’ drifting through the glass.
The owl was from Dumbledore.
Congratulations on sitting your NEWTs, Mr. Potter. I do believe celebrations are in order. Would you care to join me for a cup of tea?
OoOoO
Harry stared into his teacup, fighting to keep the sudden dive his stomach had taken hidden from his face. Then he realized that staring into his teacup probably said more than his face could, and forced himself to look up.
“I’ll help if you need me to, but I’m not going to fight this war for you.”
Dumbledore sat back, mouth working behind his red beard. “My dear boy-“
“Don’t call me that,” Harry snapped, suddenly sick of the endearment. With his Dumbledore, it had been comforting, in a way; a reassurance. With this one… it suddenly felt like nothing more than an empty platitude. “That’s what happened last time. Maybe you didn’t intend for it to go as far as it did, but that’s what happened. I’m not going to do that here. I can’t.”
Dumbledore’s hands, both whole, not wrinkled by age as his Dumbledore’s had been, clasped themselves together. The two pointer fingers steepled, tapping at his lower lip. “Tom.”
“Yes. Tom.”
OoOoO
Several Days Later:
Tom made his way to the Quidditch pitch, surrounded by his boisterous classmates, all chattering annoyingly about the upcoming match. He wouldn’t have minded skipping the game entirely except it was Slytherin versus Ravenclaw and it would be social suicide not to show up.
He was just heading up the stairs to the Slytherin section of the stands when he caught a glimpse of Harry on the pitch not far from the stairs, wearing the black and white of a referee. Dumbledore was meandering his merry way towards Harryar, who greeted the professor with a smile. Something about that smile seemed odd, but Tom kept walking, pressed forward by the crowd of Quidditch-obsessed bodies. As Tom reached the next landing the two on the pitch came into view again, just being joined by Professor Slughorn. Harry turned the same smile of greeting on Tom’s head of house. Confidence not quite hiding an underlayer of wary caution, friendly but reserved; the same face he presented to everyone.
As he stepped off the stairs and allowed Lestrange to lead the way to a clear portion of bleachers, Tom finally figured out what was wrong.
Harry was always relaxed around Dumbledore, to a degree something in his face changed as Tom had never seen it do around anyone else. Comfortable, happy in a way Tom didn’t understand and was certain the overbearing coot didn’t deserve. It drove him mad; the old man had done nothing to earn it.
Only today Harry hadn't greeted Dumbledore in a way any different than he treated everyone else.
What had happened, and why hadn’t Tom known about it?
--
Should also maybe mention that this story will ignore anything from Deathly Hallows that doesn't fit with the history I've created for it- specifically, all the stuff about Godric's Hollow and Grindelwald. Anything that I can fit without having to make major revisions, though, might make an appearance, so it is possible there will be minor DH spoilers.