Chapter Text
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Harry Potter always felt like he held no control over his life or people's expectations of him, living in the shadows of his family and friends' successes was not an easy feat and the realisation that he might never live up to his expectations was heart-wrenching and it slowly chewed up on any sense of purpose he had. He hated how ungrateful he sounded at times; he hated his ability to hand the blame to anyone around him rather than placing the blame where it truly belonged: on himself. Harry was fully aware of how certain things were his fault, however, he did his best to try to place the blame on anyone and anything else.
No matter what privileges others' triumphs brought into his life, he still felt jealousy and bitterness linger, eating up whatever sense of rationality was left in him, and in these moments of anger and envy, Harry truly felt like he was being boiled alive, his insides turning over. Despite these moments of weakness, Harry was aware that he lived a truly privileged and in a sense, sheltered life, he lived a safe and comfortable life, never struggling any more than necessary.
Harry was raised by his parents, the formidable alpha and omega pair of James Potter and Lily Evans-Potter. His father was one of the most successful Aurors in the Auror's office, climbing up the ranks of the DMLE at a terrifying pace. James is thought to be a prime example of what an alpha should aspire to be: powerful yet not tyrannical, responsible despite the mischievous streak that never left him, and most importantly, he was kindhearted and considerate, ready to move mountains to ensure the safety and happiness of those who were important to him. Harry’s mother was an influential champion for omega rights who was popular for her once radical views on how dynamics should act, a salient potioneer and author of one the most significant books on the study of potions, and according to almost everyone in wizarding society, a loving and perfect mother who stopped at nothing to make sure everyone in society was treated fairly and held an equal position without any exceptions. Lily was a kindhearted yet strong woman who held up strong boundaries and always made sure she was respected.
Harry also grew up with his roguish godfather, an alpha who grew up and worked with his father, and his beta husband. Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were a constant in his life and greatly influenced his worldview on almost everything. Harry was often found in some corner of the house, giggling with his honorary uncles. Sirius viewed his godson as the greatest thing to happen to him, knowing he would never be able to have his children due to his Remus being a beta male. Sirius could also deep down admit to himself that he didn’t want any children due to the fear of them ending up like him; the Black genetics do run quite deep. Sirius cherished Harry above all else in his life and almost held him on a pedestal.
Harry was scantily aware of the dynamics that organised life around him; he knew what alphas, betas and omegas were, and he realised these dynamics held some power over almost all the adults around him, but he tended to ignore this topic in favour of more entertaining issues as a child. He knew what his mother thought of omegas who gave into their nature too easily, what she thought of alphas who displayed any sign of power that was not necessary and of betas who she admired for being in practically complete control over their instincts. His father showed a lack of care about dynamics other than the occasional comment and would rather completely agree with his wife on whatever opinion she held on this matter. Harry always found it amusing how much more his mother cared about these issues, but he never said it out loud because he knew it would end with a boring lecture.
Despite the lack of care the people around him showed about dynamics and their importance in his day-to-day life as a young child, his family still brought up the topic occasionally. His father and mother sat him down on the evening after his tenth birthday, forcing him to discard the muggle novel his mother gifted him which he surprisingly enjoyed and which began his imminent obsession with muggle literature: The Hobbit. Harry huffed about having to leave his little bubble; however, he obliged and sat across from his parents in the living room.
“Harry, dear” his mother began, “I’m sure you already heard about secondary genders-“
“Mum, is that why I’m here? We already talked about this so many times before. I don't think there's anything left to say.” Harry whined childishly.
“Harry, do not interrupt your mother again. This is important. We're doing this for your own good. I do not care how repetitive you find this topic to be. So please don’t make this any more difficult than it already is. And you might thank us for giving you the talk when everyone's talking about it at Hogwarts.” His father fixed him with one of his rare pleading looks that indicated this conversation was completely serious.
At the mention of Hogwarts, Harry straightened up willingly. Growing up, he knew that he was guaranteed a spot at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and his excitement was boundless. Hogwarts sounded, in his mind, like what the Muggles described to be heaven.
“Harry, there is a huge chance you will end up as an alpha, and while it may sound like a dream come true, it comes with its own set of unique challenges. You will have to learn many new ways to control yourself. This may not make sense now, and it can seem entirely effortless at the start, but when you present, you will realise how demanding and sometimes weird this new way of life will be. You might start appreciating your old man a little more.” His father started, grinning happily.
“What your father is forgetting to mention is that you might also not present as alpha, and that is fine. It even has its unique benefits and experiences, and we will love you so much no matter what happens. Being a beta is a wonderful thing.” His mother added hastily with a smile.
“But Mum, what if I end up as an omega?” Harry asked curiously.
Lily frowned, “Well, Harry that’s quite unlikely, most omegas are female and omega numbers are pretty low already, don’t forget your father is also an alpha and so are most of the men in your family, so the chances of you presenting as an omega are exceedingly low, of course if it does end up happening we'll treat you the same as we would had you presented as anything else.”
The conversation went on, and Harry went to bed armed with plenty of new knowledge about the society he lived in. He knew that he should present sometime around the age of fifteen and what the symptoms of presentation felt like, from the increased temperatures to the uncomfortable itching and the pounding headaches. He knew what potions he should drink to make his presentation less painful. He knew what betas went through and how alphas' voices and actions affected the others around them. Harry picked up the discarded book and momentarily forgot the conversation he had with his parents. After some reading, he drifted into sleep without realising it.
Harry woke up the following morning with his glasses skewed and the book lying over his chest. Walking down the stairs, he heard the rambunctious laughter of his godfather, losing all decorum, he ran down the stairs and greeted his godfather by flinging himself onto him.
“Uncle Sirius! What are you doing here?” He asked happily.
“Do I need an excuse to visit my favourite godson?” Sirius grinned back, placing a kiss on his temple.
“What? But I’m your only godson!” Harry exclaimed with fake offence. Sirius pretended to weep in return, making him explode with laughter.
Harry left his godfather's embrace and found himself greeted with the sight of a wide selection of food that their family house-elf, Winzy, spread out across the table. His mother tried her best to protest the fact that their family owned a house elf; however, after a series of serious discussions with his father, she came to appreciate having someone to help around the house, especially with her and James' tight work schedules. Another reason Lily was convinced that keeping Winzy was for the best stemmed from her ultimately unsuccessful freeing of the other family house-elf that they owned when they first moved to the Potter Manor, which tragically ended with her accidentally driving it to suicide.
“So, Harry, did your dad tell you that we're visiting the Weasley's today?” Remus broke the easy silence of the room as everyone enjoyed the food that was served.
“What?” Harry mumbled dumbly around the food that was stuffed into his mouth. After swallowing, Harry exclaimed excitedly, “I didn’t know we were.”
“We weren’t sure our schedule would fit this visit, so we didn’t want to promise you something we couldn’t deliver. That’s why your mother and I decided to keep it a secret until now.” James chimed in, interrupting his conversation with Sirius.
“’S fine,” Harry said over another mouthful of food with a grin almost splitting his face open. The conversation around the table returned to its previous pace, and he continued to stuff his mouth with huge amounts of food, reminding himself of Ron.
After finishing the food on his plate, Harry immediately ran up into his room with unconcealed glee, stumbling over the mess that he never bothered to clean. His mother refused to let Winzy clean Harry’s room claiming that he had to learn responsibility. Personally, Harry thought it was rather stupid and in silent protest he refused to clean up his room. Pulling open his closet door, he pulled out his favourite jumper and jeans with a pair of mismatched socks. As he shed his clothes, he glanced into the mirror looking over himself. He was as short as ever, which made him the target of a lot of teasing at his muggle school. Frowning, he continued to dress up. Harry really wasn’t that insecure about his height, his small figure helped him in being chosen as a seeker in all the games he played with Ron and his many siblings. His worries about his height seemingly disappeared, replaced with his excitement for the day he had ahead at the Burrow, his favourite place outside his home and Sirius and Remus’ flat.
Unbeknownst to Harry, his friendship with the Weasleys, and especially their youngest son Ron, tamed a huge fear Lily and James had about their son. Throughout his childhood, Harry preferred the quiet company of the walls of his room, the library, the garden and anywhere without people outside of his immediate family or family friends. He had a silent friend in Neville Longbottom, the both of them being as awkwardly shy as each other. However, Harry was painfully shy and quiet and over time his parents' fears only grew. As he entered school, Harry didn’t make any friends and his parents were met with the teachers’ concern.
“Your son is intelligent and polite, but he doesn’t interact much with any of the other kids.” Harry’s parents heard a variation of this complaint every time they stepped foot into their son’s school. These encounters slowly changed how Lily and James viewed their son, they soon started forcing their son into painful afternoon meet-ups with other kids to try and help him get over his undiagnosed social anxiety. These forced visits had only made him more uncomfortable with the kids around him.
His parents' worries were solved with a single trip to Diagon Alley months before his tenth birthday.
Wandering down the alley, Harry was ecstatic that his plan of losing his parents worked! Grinning triumphantly, holding the bag of galleons his father handed him before they made the uncomfortable trip using the floo, which he still hasn’t figured out how to land safely through. He wandered about aimlessly until the view of a quidditch supply store caught the corner of his eye. Changing his path, he went into the store and immediately headed to the broom section, there it was: the Nimbus 2000! He reverently brushed his fingers against the handle of the broom, when his fingers first touched the broom his breath hitched. Wondering what it would take to convince his parents or uncles to get him a new broom, Harry continued stroking the broom lightly with awe clear on his face.
“Brilliant isn’t it?” The voice of another kid broke Harry from his trance.
Looking up at the owner of the voice, Harry saw a lanky redheaded boy across from him looking at the broom with as much admiration as Harry.
“I wish it was mine,” Harry uncharacteristically answered. He was used to ignoring or giving clipped answers to all strangers who spoke to him. His enthusiastic response surprised Harry himself.
“Me too, but we only have old cleansweeps at home and Mum never lets us play for any longer than an hour, says it’s unsafe.” The boy chattered on speedily with his eyes glued on the broom, “But the twins always find a way to get extra time on the broom, especially after getting into Hogwarts. I can’t wait to go there,”
Harry continued to stare at the boy, barely making sense of the conversation due to the sheer speed the boy spoke in. The boy seemed to notice Harry’s confusion and his face slightly reddened.
“Sorry, my name is Ron, Ron Weasley, what about you?” Ron asked Harry with a small smile on his face.
“I’m Harry Potter.”
Ron’s face flashed with recognition. “Oh, I heard about your father from mine. He’s bloody brilliant!”
“Yeah,” Harry mumbled with a shy smile on his face. Shuffling his feet nervously, Harry looked at his shoes and momentarily got lost in his own thoughts.
Harry knew his father was an important person in the wizarding world, however, being constantly reminded of it took away some of the excitement of having a “bloody brilliant” father. Every time he met new people, as soon as they heard his last name, they immediately started praising his father's newest arrest or his mother's new potions discovery. He hoped someday he might be as important as his parents. Looking at Ron through the fringe of his dark hair, he caught his eye and watched as he fumbled around his robe pockets, pulling out two crinkled but sealed chocolate frogs.
“Would you like one? They’re my favourite. Mom doesn’t buy them often but when she does, I always try to sneak away more than she gives me.” Ron continued as he unwrapped his chocolate frog. “You got a favourite sweet?”
Harry grabbed the chocolate frog Ron held out for him and followed Ron’s lead by unwrapping his frog, “I like treacle tart,” Harry held the squirming frog tightly and took a bite off of its head, “Thank you.”
“No problem, honestly, I did have a lot of chocolate today so one less would be better, but honestly, I think I'm addicted to sugar, once i start I can never stop.”
“Well, if you want I've got some spare money," Harry held up the bag of galleons his father handed him sheepishly. "We can go have some ice cream, my treat, but I mean only if you’d like it?” Harry sounded so unsure, that it came out as a question. However, his new friend didn't seem to share Harry's insecurity and beamed down at him.
Grinning, Ron agreed. As they walked down the alley the new pair of friends chatted about quidditch, their families and everything else. Harry learned about Ron’s beta parents and how he wished he would present as an alpha like his older brother, Charlie. They both shared the sentiment that Gryffindor was the best house. Meanwhile, Harry’s family were frantically searching for their son clearly worried and thinking of the worst possible scenarios, however, their fears were soothed when they saw how to calm their son looked talking animatedly with his new friend sharing a bowl of banana split. When his Uncle Sirius heard about what happened, he secretly celebrated Harry's mischief with only a light scolding.
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