TORMENT (Harry Potter Sequel)

Chapter Three

Aubyn Young slightly stirred as the glare from the sun hit his bed through a crack in the curtains. A fancy alarm clock beside him then began to blare. He groaned and reluctantly reached out to silence it. He rolled over to the other side of his king-sized bed and struggled to fling the large mattress he had been sleeping under off him. Bleary-eyed and still tired, Aubyn yawned and gazed at the time, not on his intricate alarm clock but on the grandfather clock that stood modestly in the corner of his room. 8 o'clock on the dot. Aubyn stood up and stretched. He looked at himself in the full-body mirror on the other side of the room. He was a boy of 11 with a reasonable height for his age. He had shining blue eyes and shocking blonde hair. He hadn't combed and gone through it yet so it still looked messy. He wore a set of pyjamas and while the design on them was nothing spectacular, they had cost his family quite a lot of money. Everything had cost his family a lot of money but they didn't seem to care much. They had more coming in every day, after all they were the prestigious Young family. For many, many generations the Youngs had been very successful and innovative, often being one of the most successful wizards of their generation. Due to this success, it allowed them to gain tremendous wealth which they nobly put back into the world with their contributions to the Ministry of Magic and the wizarding community as a whole. They had a whole empire with connections all across the globe. And an empire needs an heir and an heir needs a good room.

His shelf was practically a library; his closet a separate room; a collection of almost priceless artefacts; a previously mentioned king-sized bed; a telescope and balcony; a studying table; countless little toys and trinkets; and most of all, a lot of space. His room could be mistaken for another man's house. It took 2 minutes to walk from one side of it to the other.

Aubyn's ears pricked up at the sound of a knock on the door.

"Come in," he called out before he broke down into another yawn. The door flung open and in came an entourage of maids and butlers, carrying trays of food and other such.

"Good morning sir-" greeted an older butler who was obviously leading the rest. Aubyn smiled warmly at him.

"Thank you so much but really- you don't need to call me sir," he said casually. The butler tensed slightly despite Aubyn's carefree nature.

"But you are the master of the house-"
Aubyn interjected again, "I guess you could say that but we're all equals around her eh? I'm no better than you, in fact I could argue that you are superior considering how much work you put in all the time."
The rest of the maids and butlers giggled and chuckled at the comment. Aubyn had made sure to stay grounded and unspoilt. He didn't want to be out of touch and even though he by no means hated his privileged upbringing, he would truly be a brat if he did, he wished not to be defined by it.

"Thank you, Aubyn," the butler said, a clear smile now on his face as well.

"I should be the one saying that to you Gregory," Aubyn replied, "And to all of you. Thank you for bringing this to me and being up so early."

"You are too kind," called out one of the maids.

"Isn't he just adorable," another one whispered to her friend. Aubyn gave them his iconic, charismatic smile.

"I just want to make the world a better place," he stretched, "And I can finally start making a big difference today. Because..." he paused and reached down to the tray of food he had been given and picked out a banana, "Today is my first day at Hogwarts!" he announced proudly. He then offered the tray to anyone else who may want it, "Does anyone want some food?"

A few younger butlers and maids eagerly stepped forward and gave their sincerest thanks.

"No problem. If I can't feed and pay you, what can I do?" Aubyn yawned once more and stepped toward his walk-in wardrobe. The butler, Gregory cleared his throat behind him, causing him to turn around.