It's Okay (Bandom Hogwarts AU)

Birthday

Josh woke up at exactly five in the morning and, after double checking his calendar, let out a whoop. It was his birthday, and he was finally eleven. He was finally as old as his best friend, Tyler, who couldn't hold his age over Josh anymore. Josh ignored the fact that Tyler was still technically older than him, and sprinted out of his room and down the stairs into the kitchen. The small house was, of course, quiet, as it was five in the morning and the sun still hadn't risen.

Josh realized he may have been a little loud, and he stepped out onto his tiny, rickety porch. He sat down in one of the creaky lawn chairs and stared at the street, humming and watching the occasional car drive by. He must have zoned out for a while, because he awoke to his mom calling his name from inside the house. He jumped up and walked inside, his entire family giving him a smothering hug.

"Good morning!" Josh said, laughing and trying to escape from his family's arms.

They all wished him a good morning in return, and let him go to start breakfast. While his dad was making his favorite (blueberry pancakes), his mom and his siblings began giving him gifts. They weren't too fancy, but he didn't mind. It was all he wanted. A new NASA shirt after he tore his old one, even though they didn't live in America anymore, a new cymbal for his make-shift drumset, and some school supplies with little aliens adorning them.

"Thanks, you guys!" He said, hugging his family again and sitting down for breakfast.

---

Tyler woke up to angry voices echoing around the house, and he quietly got dressed and walked downstairs. His parents were arguing about something again, probably him, and they didn't notice when he snuck out of his house to walk next door. He went to go knock on Josh's door, spinning a new set of drumsticks in his fingers as he waited. Josh pulled the door open and gave him a huge smile, which he returned.

"Happy birthday, Josh!" He said, handing Josh the drumsticks.

"Woah! How did you get these?" Josh said, before putting them in his back pocket and holding his hand out. Tyler stared at it for a second before remembering, and reached his own hand out to do the elaborate handshake he and Josh made last winter.

"Saved up my babysitting money." Tyler said, finishing the handshake and walking in past Josh, who follow him.

"Babysitting? You're barely any older than a baby." Josh said, laughing at his own comment.

"You say that every time, Josh."

"Whatever." Josh said, leading Tyler to the steps. The two of them spent the rest of the day like usual, hanging out in the Dun's damp basement, playing goofy songs that Tyler wrote. The two families met after they both moved into the same neighborhood in the same week, and Tyler and Josh quickly bonded, unlike the parents. The Josephs wanted nothing to do with Tyler and Josh, or their siblings, so the Dun family told them where the spare key was hidden, and never said anything when one of the Joseph kids would walk in and sit down during dinner.

---

The summer quickly passed, and as the next school year grew closer, the two kids got more worried. Tyler was going to a private school, because even though his parents didn't like him, they still wanted him to become a doctor or a lawyer or something. They didn't care that he didn't want to do that though, so they paid to send him away to the distant private school. Josh, like always, was scheduled to go to the regular public school a few blocks away, and was usually on the verge of tears whenever he thought about missing Tyler.

Tyler was in the middle of comforting a sniffling Josh when a sharp knock echoed through the house. Tyler got up and opened the door, leaving Josh to watch him from the kitchen table. It was his parents, and his mother immediately grabbed his hand and tried to pull him outside. His father was looking away, spinning their car keys on his finger and trying to ignore everyone else.

"Hey," Tyler said forcefully, trying to pull his hand away, "Let me go!"

"We're going shopping, you little brat. You've been ignoring us for weeks, but you go to school soon, and we can't have you making us look cheap." His mother said, gripping his hand. Josh was standing up now, anger clear in his face, but Tyler sent him a pleading look and he stayed back in the kitchen, almost crying again.

"I said let me go!" Tyler yelled, and the sounds of the skirmish were silenced when the sound of something breaking echoed through the entryway. Shards of ceramics fell to the floor next to Tyler's mother, drops of coffee staining the wall right next to her head. She let go of Tyler's hand, who ran back to the kitchen to stand by Josh, and shrieked.

"Devil child!" She shouted, going to say more, but was stopped by more voices.

"Leave before I call the police for trespassing." Josh's mom said, looking as angry as Josh.

Tyler's mother went to argue, but was stopped by an equally sharp look from Josh's mom and Josh himself, and she huffed and walked down the driveway, her husband following. Tyler slumped down into one of the kitchen chairs, tears filling his eyes. Josh sat down next to him and smothered him into a hug, which Tyler shakily returned..

"I'm really sorry," Tyler said, "I need to go," He suddenly stood up, but stopped when he saw the shards of an old coffee mug littering the doorway. He stared at them in confusion, seeming to just now grasp what happened a few minutes ago, and looked at Josh. "Did you throw that?" Josh looked at the shards, then looked up at Tyler with a pale face.

"No." Was all he said, before grabbing Tyler's hand and leading him to the basement. He knew Tyler liked it best down there, and he needed some way to cool off. His parents let the pair leave, and later that night, received an angry voicemail, the woman on the other line only spitting out a "You can keep him" before ending the message.

---

A few weeks later, the Dun family and Tyler were all sitting in the living room, watching the news on the old TV when the mail fell through the slot in the door. Tyler and Josh raced to go pick it up, and let out gasps when they noticed the letters were for them. They ripped them open, ignoring the wax seal and fancy writing on the outside and quickly scanned the letters. Josh looked over Tyler's shoulder to see he had received an almost identical letter to his, which read:

Dear Mr. Joseph,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find an enclosed list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Headmistress

A neatly written signature was scrawled onto the letter, and they studied it before looking at each other.

"Witchcraft and Wizardry?" They both said at the same time, and heard a gasp come from the living room.