The Not Famous Potter

Chapter 8

The Weasley house was bustling with activity as everyone was getting up for the day and waiting for breakfast. Mrs. Weasley had told the twins to invite Oliver for a week, wanting to get to know their fellow troublemaker. Oliver had already almost wet his pants twice from laughing so hard at the twins and their silly antics.

Mrs. Weasley set a full plate in front of Oliver and affectionately rubbed his cheek, "There we go."

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley," Oliver beamed at her and smacked his lips at the amount of food before his eyes.

"It's no problem dear," she waved his appreciation away and continued to serve everyone else with a wave of her wand.

"So, are you trying out for Quidditch this year?" Charlie asked with a full mouth of eggs.

Mrs. Weasley tried to smack Charlie with a tea towel that he easily dodged, "Close your mouth when you're eating."

Oliver nodded, "I'm not sure if I want to go for Seeker or Chaser."

"The girls won't appreciate that much," Fred chortled into his cup.

Charlie shook his head at his brother, "Don't listen to him, Oli. Gryffindor will be lucky to have you, whatever position you play."

A red faced Oliver opened his mouth to reply when Errol flew in with the mail. He landed in a heap on the table, creating a mess of feathers and eggs. He quickly got back up and let Mr. Weasley grab the mail from his leg.

Everyone at the table laughed, except Oliver who was staring intently at the front page of the Daily Prophet, "Who is that?"

Mr. Weasley unfolded the paper and his eyes widened, "Listen to this! Harry Potter sighted at Diagon Alley."

The table went silent, everyone suddenly very interested in what Weasley senior had to say. Oliver's face scrunched in confusion.

"Who is Harry Potter?"

Eight pairs of incredulous eyes were on him. "You don't know who he is?" Ron, the youngest brother, piped in.

Oliver shook his head and took the paper Mr. Weasley passed him. He looked at the picture of the boy. He was dressed in clothes twice his size, had round glasses, and a scar peeking from behind his fringe. Oliver blinked, why does his name sound familiar?

"I can't believe you've never heard of him," Ginny said, "he's famous in the wizarding world," her eyes twinkled slightly talking about him.

Oliver wrinkled his nose and squinted back at the photo. He was scary thin and looked almost terrified standing next to Hagrid.

"Why is Hagrid with him?"

Fred snatched the paper from him, "It's obvious, ain't it?"

George grabbed the paper from his twin and scanned the words next to the photo, "Not to Oli. Harry's parents were murdered by You-Know-Who ten years ago. He probably doesn't have anyone to take him to Diagon Alley."

"He must be living with someone who could take him," Oliver muttered, he hadn't met this kid and he already felt annoyed by him. What could he be famous for?

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The night before Oliver was due to leave for his second year at Hogwarts, he sat his parents down in the living room. If this Harry Potter kid was going to be at school, he wanted to know more about him.

"Who is Harry Potter?" he blurted out.

Remus spat out his tea and began to cough violently. Sirius quickly rubbed his back as they waited for Remus to settle down. Oliver frowned, he hadn't expected this kind of reaction.

"Where is this coming from?" Remus demanded.

"He was mentioned in the Prophet. Everyone at the Burrow was surprised that I had never heard of him."

Sirius gave Remus a look that Oliver pretended not to notice. He sat patiently as he watched his parents bicker between themselves through their eyes.

Finally, Remus slumped down, "Fine, you can tell him."

Oliver perked up and excitedly turned to Sirius. "Do you remember asking us about our friends, James and Lily?"

"Yeah."

Sirius swallowed hard and gripped Remus's hand tightly. He blinked back tears, "The year that we adopted you was also the year that they were murdered. It was Halloween night," he paused, his emotions getting the better of him.

Realization dawned on Oliver. He never understood why his parents hated the dark holiday. Sure they celebrated his birthday but it was always with a heavy heart.

Remus continued with the story, "The wizard who did it was named Voldemort. Well, he tried to kill their son, Harry, but he didn't succeed. Nobody really knows what truly happened."

Oliver sank deeper in the couch cushions as the words soaked into his mind. Harry Potter's parents had been killed by an evil wizard.

He sat up suddenly, "Wait, have I met them before? James and Lily?"

Remus's eyebrow rose, "Why do you say that?"

"I think I've had a dream about them. There's a woman with a soft laugh and red hair and a man with messy hair like Harry's."

"Oh," Remus hummed thoughtfully, "You only met them once. I'm sure you only recognize them in your dreams from the photos."

Oliver looked down at his hands, "So that's why everyone is obsessed with Harry? He's famous for something he didn't mean to do."

Sirius laughed, "Jealous are we?"

"No!" Oliver said, "I was just wondering."

Remus suddenly went serious, "I do want to warn you though to stay away from him. We don't know what kind of person he will be or what trouble he may cause."

"I have no problem staying away from him," Oliver rolled his eyes. He didn't care how famous this Potter kid was. He wanted nothing to do with him.

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