Albus Potter and The Venom Circle

Chapter 1

The Express Assassin

Albus Severus Potter stood amidst the burning rubble, clutching to what little chance of survival he had. He could still feel his wand arm, now completely torn off, which is what bothered him the most about the whole affair. The feeling that still hung in the air.

Feeling.

The word stung him, somehow making him feel even more pain.

Albus spun around, thinking to have heard something. He stuck his ear out, just enough to hear over the burning mix of metal and wood.

"Are you listening?"

Albus nodded in response, wincing a bit as he did so.

"Then what do you want from the cart?"

"The... what?" Albus questioned.

"The cart, Al! What do you want from the cart?!"

Albus was knocked out of his dream via an angry Rose Weasley. The treat trolley sat outside of his train compartment brimming with sweets. Albus, now feeling a bit embarrassed, hastily apologized to Rose.

"Sorry, I was sleeping." Rose could sense the slight annoyance in his voice as he stated this.

"I noticed." Rose said, slightly more annoyed.

Albus looked at the trolley stacked with goodies, and decided to let Rose pick for him. The trolley lady went on her way as Rose tore open her assortment of candied goodies.

"Have a Chocwate Fwog Codd." Rose stated, food falling out of her mouth.

Albus tentatively agreed, not really wanting to eat at the moment. The frog jumped out of their compartment, only to be picked up by a large 4th year. Albus studied the card, and jumped in surprise when he saw who was on it.

Ronald Weasley

Hero Wizard Of The Battle Of Hogwarts

Respected Auror

March 1, 1980-Present Day

"Uncle Ron's in here!" Albus shouted to Rose.

"Lemme see!" Rose exclaimed, spitting everywhere as she did so. "Gosh, I knew he was important, but... Chocolate Frog Card important?" Rose sputtered utterly shocked.

"I've got two of 'em." Rose and Albus spun around, peering at their new visitor. It was a short boy, a bit smaller than Albus, wearing robes a tad too big for him. His blonde hair was slicked back with one strand sticking out at the front, and to Rose, had the dumbest smirk on his face imaginable. Albus was the first to respond.

"Really? Got anything else good?" Albus quickly asked, happy to be talking to someone who wasn't Rose.

"Loads. May I come in?"

"By all means." Albus scooted over to make room. "Lets see 'em."

The boy took his hand into his robe, pulling out a wad of cards. "Here, you can look through them if you want."

"Definitely." Albus stated, flipping through the impressive collection.

Starting at the top was Albus Dumbledore. Nothing extraordinary. Everyone seemed to have one of those. Below him was another Ron Weasley. Albus moved through the whole lot, most of them people he hadn't even heard of. However, something at the very bottom of the deck caught Albus' eye. The wizard was a grim looking man, with dark hair. He had this unpleasant look about him. Al quickly looked at the name. Severus Snape. He gasped, realizing that this was the man he had been partly named after. He wondered if he could really be named after someone so... unpleasant looking.

"Albus, I-" Rose started, but was unable to finish due to a loud BANG resonating throughout the train. The lights flickered three times and went out. Screaming girls and boys alike were heard.

"What the hell?"

"Who turned out the-"

"Shh, shh... It'll be alright..."

Albus looked around frantically, but to no avail. It was pitch black. He moved his hand across the wall, finally finding Rose's hand.

"Rose the lights just went out, that's all. Okay?"

"Yeah, yeah..." A sniffle was heard in the darkness.

"Hey, uh, kid? You good?" Albus asked, guessing where his most likely position would be.

"I'm fine. The Redhead's the one who's crying."

"Shut your mouth, card kid." Rose responded, sniffling at the end.

"Someone's not making Gryffindor." Card Kid chuckled. A loud smack was heard, as Rose apparently hit him across the face.

"You don't have a clue where I'm ending up, Goldilocks! And as for your rude self, you'll probably end up in Slytherin!"

"That was the plan, actually." He responded truthfully.

"Why, of all the scum to-"

"SHUT UP! BOTH OF YOU! Just stop fighting, okay?"

"What are you going to do about it?" Rose shouted. "You never fought anything in you're life!"

"Maybe I don't like to fight!" Albus shouted back.

"That's exactly why you won't get in Gryffindor. You don't fight back. You just sit there and try to avoid conflict. Why don't you grow a pair already?" Albus was too shocked for words. Rose had never spoken like this to anybody, let alone her cousin.

"Maybe James was right," She paused, looking down. (Though no one could see her in the dark anyway.) ", Maybe you will get Slytherin."

Albus was hurt. The cousin he had stuck with his entire life was turning on him. The one he tried to stay on good terms with was treating him just like everyone else.

"You're just like the rest of them." Albus stood up and was leaving the compartment when suddenly the entire train shook violently. Albus fell to his hands and knees, struggling to stay stable. Albus' luggage fell on top of his leg. With a yelp, he succumbed to it's weight. An audible snap was heard as a bone broke. The compartment doors slid open as a voice yelled through.

"Is everything alright?!" Albus was able to make out the voice as his older brother.

"James..." Albus muttered, the pain extraordinary. James quickly crouched down.

"Al, are you okay?"

"Albus wheezed a bit. "No..."

"I think something fell on his leg." Card Kid had said from somewhere in the compartment. James grabbed for Albus' leg, and pushed up on the luggage. Al crawled out from underneath as James dropped the luggage.

"Lumos!" James shouted, whipping his wand out from his robes. Three terrified faces were revealed in the wand's light. James knelt down by Albus.

"You okay, Al?"

"My leg, James. My leg."

James pointed his wand at Al's leg, gasping in shock. A bone was sticking straight out of the leg, surprising Card Kid and sickening Rose.

"Al, you're a damn trooper." James stated, surprised that Al hadn't passed out from the pain. "We gotta get that checked out though..."

Suddenly, the lights were back on in three flickers. In the excitement, they had not noticed the train had actually stopped. Sweat rolled down Albus' face. He grimaced, looking down at his leg. James stood up, breathing deeply.

"Stay here, guys."

"I don't really have a choice, do I?" Al retorted.

"Shut up, you bugger." James smiled.

James closed the compartment behind him, wand in hand. As soon as he left, a small sniffle was heard. This time, however, it was Albus.

"Listen mate, it'll be fine. There's all kinds of magic that can fix that thing up." Card Kid stated matter-of-factly. Albus smiled, feeling better.

"By the way, the name's Scorpius." Card Kid said reaching his fist out.

"Albus...Potter." Al winced, reaching his out. They fist bumped, with Albus adding an explosion at the end.

"Dude, no one does that." Scorpius laughed.

"Well, I-" Albus began but was interrupted by James slamming open the compartment door.

"Hey guys, you're not going to believe this, but... the conductor's dead."

"Was whatever that shake was really that violent?" Rose asked, shivering a bit.

"No, it wasn't that." James paused. "It was this." He held in his hand a small, bloody dagger.

"A muggle weapon?" Scorpius spitted, to shocked to speak coherently.

"Yeah. A muggle weapon."