I just wanted to thank JK for her world, and her continued generosity with it! These are her toys! I own any OC's that appear, they're MINE ALL MINE! BWahahahaaah! Sorry little touch of megalomania there. So enjoy my take on the continuing saga of the epilogue to DH.

Chapter Notes: Continuing my determination to add more detail to my writing, I tackled the inner workings of number twelve Grimmauld Place. Albus family has their own rhythm and way, but I found somethings universal. I think its the universality that makes this Chapter so fun for me to read, I hope you all agree. That bit about James getting "Siriused" is take directly from Hondagirl's story Yuletide Days.

For those who read, I hope you take the time to review!

Thanks!


Albus Potter and the Black Badger Society

Chapter2: Conversations and Crisps...

The next forty-five minutes were a blur to Albus.

He went on to Flossy's and got the Cauldron for his Aunt and Roxie, and the Brazilian Nut Date cone for Hugo but forgot the extra sprinkles. Hugo received it and was about to comment but he saw Albus' face.

"You having a panic attack Albus?" he asked, concern etched in his young face. Albus shook his head, "I'm fine Hughie, don't worry."

He walked into Tri-W, he found Aunt Angel back in the office, organizing the invoices. She barely looked up, "Set it there, Alby, Roxie's overseeing the boys; she'll be back in a minute."

"I need to go home, Angel, I'm not feeling well," Albus murmured. She looked up concerned; her hand reached out and felt of his forehead, "Panic Attack?" Albus shook his head, "No, just need to lie down." Angel's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "This is a bit sudden, Albus, is there something you need to talk about? I'm sure Sweedy or Dinky won't mind if you take a nap on one of their beds." Albus shook his head, "No that's okay; I just want to go home." Angel sighed, "You always were more secretive than James, a better liar too." Albus glared at her reproachfully. She smiled, "You are very good, and that irritated look is a nice touch. You forget something though; I'm married to your Uncle George." Albus let the weariness show, "I just want to go home." Her eyes softened. "Okay, Albus. You can Floo home, but don't go near your dad's office, he has a meeting going on right now. That's why he wanted you guys out for the day. I have your word?" Albus agreed. She smiled and nodded toward the Tri-W Floo. "Don't forget your amulet or you'll wind up back here."

Albus grabbed a bit of Floo Powder and threw it in, the Flames turned green, he grabbed the amulet in his robes that cancelled out the Unplottable effect, and allowed him through the Fidelious charm, and he stepped in. "number twelve, Grimmauld Place," he yelled.

A series of swirling images, the amulet pulsed under his hand and he exited in the familiar living room. Kreacher was not anywhere nearby or he would have found his way to Albus instantly. The old boy must be napping, Albus thought. He could not take too much ministration now anyway. He just wanted to go to his room, and curl into a ball on his bed as he always did when he was feeling overwhelmed. James mockingly called it, "Al-baby Time."

Events from the previous year came heavily to Albus' tired mind. Sorted into Hufflepuff, attacked by rogue Bludgers the first flying lesson, learning to fly with Uncle Charlie, (he would not forget that anytime soon!) Making the Hufflepuff Quidditch team his first year along with his best friend Scorpius Malfoy, all of the interference at the actual matches leading him into being tricked into a binding contract to find the culprit by his friend Cormac's mum, (who happened to be a Leprechaun!) Finally facing down one of his professors, only to find that he had a golem imitating him, and facing that thing as well, finally Hufflepuff winning both the Quidditch and House Cups for the first time in decades, overall it was an exciting year to be a badger. He sincerely hoped the next one would be boring!

The house welcomed him with well-known sights and sounds, every creak of the boards and shaft of light highlighting a family heirloom welcomed him as he resignedly crossed and climbed the stairs to the second story landing. Grimmauld Place was not always a pleasant place to be, from the stories his dad told. When Albus' dad and mum first stayed here, it was a crusty and dusty repository for dark arts and strange artefacts. Now the strangest relics belonged under James' bed! Just as he was turning to continue up to his bedroom on the fourth floor, Albus heard voices from his dad's office.

He would have kept his promise to Aunt Angel, but one of the voices belonged to Headmaster Kingsley Shacklebolt from Hogwarts, and the subject of conversation was Albus.

He really tried being obedient, he really did, but the rumbling deep voice of the Headmaster was like a siren call. He pulled out the Invisibility Cloak, and tossed it over himself just in case someone noticed. He crept down the hallway, and stood outside the office door as the meeting continued.

-

Shacklebolt was still speaking, "I don't know how Albus wound up in the middle of this, but he seems to have a knack for those situations. He reminds me of someone, trying to think who," he concluded with a playful chuckle.

Albus' dad sighed, "Yeah, Ginny has bawled me out over it more than once, as if I could honestly control what I passed down through my genes! My parents bumped up against Voldy three times before he got them, it's in the blood I suppose."

Albus started when he heard a familiar chuckle and his Uncle Neville's voice. Kingsley being here was one thing, Albus' dad often consulted him, but Uncle Neville rarely involved himself in Auror affairs anymore since he retired to teach Herbology at Hogwarts. "So in review," Neville began, "Atticus admitted to, attempting to Confund the Sorting Hat, Imperiousing Cormac Collins to use his Leprechaun magic to swing the Quidditch game in Hufflepuff's favour, later he stunned Lilith LeBlanc for the same reason, and sometime in the past he created a golem. Which is right down there with Horcruxes in terms of illegal dark spells? All of those crimes point directly to him and him alone, but I got the impression he never really liked Hufflepuff. He never defended them, or spoke up in their behalf, why would he risk his career for them now?"

There was a silence, and then Albus got another surprise when he heard his Uncle Ron's voice. Uncle Ron is here too! "We think that he was after more than Hufflepuff winning the House Cup, he was in charge of Defence Against the Dark Arts for twelve years, and had access to every student that came through Hogwarts from that time to this. If you put it into chess terms, they've had a pawn on our back row for years weakening our ability to fight, waiting to turn into a queen inside our defences, pretty clever move when you think about it."

"So you think we have been at war for all these years, we just didn't know it?" Kingsley concluded solemnly.

Albus dad made a sighing sound that Albus had heard many times before, usually when things were worse than he was going to admit. Albus stomach rolled and nearly vomited right there on the stoop, but he stopped it in time to hear his dad continue, "We are way behind if we are. Despite of all of our diligence, they caught us unawares. Pharrel told Albus that, when the Dreamer finally awakens, he was going to offer Albus like a jewel. That statement bothers me more than anything else, because we couldn't get him to explain it even under Veritaserum."

Uncle Neville's voice was grave, "He withstood Veritaserum?"

"Yeah, we tried everything we could; we even brought in the best Legilimens we could find. She told us that Atticus' mind was like a labyrinth, and we could not offer her enough money to try to decipher it. She was fairly certain that she wouldn't be able to find her way back," interjected Uncle Ron.

"Atticus didn't appear to be that complicated," Uncle Neville commented.

Albus' dad Harry settled into his chair, Albus would know that creak anywhere, there was two clunks, as he rested his boots on hard wood of the desk. "We won't get any more opportunities to find out, unfortunately."

"The Leprechauns caught up with him?" inquired Shacklebolt.

Albus' Dad sighed wearily. "We found Pharrel this morning, he had more gold coins inside him then I thought a human body could hold."

Uncle Neville summed it up, "Ouch!"

-

Albus backed away from the door, until his back was against Lily's bedroom door across the hall. He would have said, not good, but he suddenly needed to get to a lavatory. He made it to the one at the end of the second story hall before his dinner, and he was certain, a good portion of his breakfast as well, came up. He rested his hot fevered face against the coolness of the porcelain. That would have been me, he thought, if Cormac had not intervened. He flushed the evidence down, and scrambled up to his room. He did not even think to take the cloak off as he crossed his bright yellow and black room and collapsed onto his bed, and curled into a protective ball. He pulled out his wand and laid it on his nightstand, not wanting to think about it either.

Sleep came to him almost immediately.

-

He was on a clover-covered hillside in a land he had never seen. The fields stretched out from his vantage point like a lush green carpet that will not lie flat. Here and there little cottages clustered together in protective herds like sheep when the wolf is near.

"D'ya like it?" inquired a voice to his left. He felt strangely calm as he turned. Cormac's mum looked like a young maiden with elaborately plaited bright orange hair and pointed ears peaking through. She appeared not much older than Albus, but Albus knew she was older than his Granddad Arthur. She was wearing a simple blue green dress that flowed in the light wind, her eyes, and the same shade as the dress, seemed to be full of laughter one moment and cold the next.

Albus nodded, "Yes, it's very beautiful."

They sat in silence. She seemed to have all the time in the world, and Albus felt sure that wherever here was, he was not on a schedule himself. The land seemed to resonate with him. With the simplicity and purpose among untouched hills, to him it was paradise.

He knew why he was here. "Would your people have killed me like you did Professor Pharrel?"

She nodded, but she had a small smile on her face. "I would've been forsworn, and when tha Hunts about, you don wanna be foresworn Albus. You were never in danger though; I can give you my werd on that."

"Never?" Albus inquired cautiously. He did not want to seem like he was questioning her. The full strength of her eyes bore into his, he had to turn away.

"Me boyo would've protected you, Albus, as I knew he would."

"Would you have killed him like you did Professor Pharrel?"

She stared off into the hills, suddenly there was a distant baying of wolves, but it was deeper and scarier than any sound Albus had ever heard.

She smiled sadly, "Ah, tha Hunt, they know oath breakers Albus, you don' want to be an oath-breaker."

She turned and gave Albus the full strength of her otherworldly beauty. "I will be returnin home soon, Albus, I canna stay in human realm for long, me boyo is going to stay with a Muggle couple the ministry picked out. I would like fer you to remain his friend. He will have to make a decision before he reaches manhood, human or Leprechaun, he canna stay both, the magic is far too strong and dangerous. I want you ta help him if you can."

Albus felt a bit of trepidation, things had not gone so well the last time he agreed to something for her, so he said nothing.

She laughed and it echoed throughout the hills, "Ah yer learning. Very good!" She smiled at him, her eyes shining with mirth, "I would consider it a favour, please."

Albus carefully nodded. She smiled and gently kissed him on the forehead.

He thought of something he wanted to ask. "Our caretaker at Hogwarts is a Goblin, he told me that Goblins don't deal with Leprechauns because they play for keepsies every time, what did he mean by that?"

Without looking at Albus, all the emotion left her face, she stared off into the hills, "Your Goblin is wrong Albus." She turned to him and there was something terrible in her eyes, "Leprechauns, don't play."

-

Albus shot up in bed. The invisibility cloak fell off him. He rubbed his eyes and wondered if it had been a dream after all. Suddenly he heard himself discussed just across the hall in James' room.

"What did you do to upset your brother? Where is he? Angel said he flooed home hours ago."

"I didn't do anything to Al-baby mum! Fred and I were too busy cleaning out the creature cages without magic, without MAGIC mum! I don't hear you saying anything about that one!"

"Don't call your brother that, and you probably deserved it."

"Well he is a baby, mum! Always getting upset, running and hiding in his room, bet you'd find him under his bed! No wonder he didn't wind up in Gryffindor!"

"James Sirius Potter!"

Albus winced. He had better tell his mum where he was, James was getting "Sirused" that was never a good thing.

He stuck his head out to door only to see his older brother and his mother literally nose to nose. Both were red-faced and his mum had her wand out. They turned at the sound of his door.

"I'm home mum, sorry if I worried you."

His mum's face immediately went from irate to thoughtful and concerned, "Are you okay, sweetie?"

James rolled his eyes, made an exasperated sound and retreated into his room, shutting his door after him softly as to not wind his mum up again.

Albus nodded, "I just needed to take a nap, and I feel better now."

His mum frowned at him, she crossed to him and bent down so she could search his face for a sign he was worse than he was letting on. Albus was careful to give her the same expression that he started with until she seemed satisfied he was not putting her on. "Well, in the future, don't run off like that, okay? Your Auntie Angel was worried, and I was too."

Albus gave her his best smile, "Sorry mum, it won't happen again."

She gave him a kiss on his forehead, "I doubt that."

She stared at his forehead oddly, "I could've sworn you had what looked like lipstick there a second ago."

Albus felt a sudden chill, but forced himself to give her a bemused look, "Mum are you feeling okay?"

She glared at him playfully.

She turned, shot a dirty look at her eldest son's door and descended the stairs.

Albus went back into his room and checked out his forehead in the mirror. There was not a mark, but he sensed that there was something there nonetheless. He gave the coin around his neck a gentle tug. Great...more favours from the Leprechauns, I do wish they liked me less! Then his mind wandered unbidden to an image of his former DADA professor discovered spitting up bloody coins in his cell. He shuddered involuntarily and concluded it was better to stay on the "wee folk's" good side!

He still felt a bit tired and his stomach was not much better so he went back to the bed.

Before long, there was a cautious knock. "Yeah?" The door opened and he saw Lily's bushy red hair before her cute, freckled face, pinched in concern, stuck in. "Albus? Are you okay?" she called.

Albus smiled despite himself, he patted a place on the bed. She broke into a smile and bounded across the room. Her stuffed toy Thestral, with the glowing red eyes she called Tock, was stuck under her arm as usual. She was probably too old for it but she usually showed up with it when she was feeling worried or concerned.

She landed on the bed with a bounce. "I looked in here earlier and didn't see you. Mum was turning the house upside down, and Kreacher checked the Extendable Wing thinking you might have gotten lost over there again." Albus glared at her reproachfully, "That happened only once." Lily giggled, "It's still funny!" Albus sighed and rolled his eyes. Lily glared at the bedroom door, and to her older brother's room beyond it. "I asked James where you were but he was rude about it." Albus chuckled. "What did you do?" She gave him innocent brown eyes, "I don't know. Underage magic can be unpredictable, right? Aunt Hermione always says so. He was being mean to me then he just turned green all of a sudden." Albus smiled slyly, "Slytherin green?" Lily beamed, "I don't know, never been in Slytherin, have I?" Albus grinned, he gave his sister a hug, "Thanks Lils, I'm feeling better already."

She gave him a hug back and bounded off the bed and with Tock firmly under her arm she waved as she left.

The irony was that Albus could not sleep afterwards. He stared at his ceiling for what seemed like hours. His eyes then wandered the darkening yellow walls, over his Puddlemere United poster with its image of Ridley Bartlesby raising his dragon scale gloved hand around a struggling Snitch triumphantly. He was going to see the United play the hapless Cannons the next day. His eyes fell on a long cylindrical package, wrapped in blue-sky patterned paper with a Snitch in the middle of the red ribbon, reminding him of Scorpius' birthday party.

He was supposed to meet Scorpius and his parents in Diagon Alley, and then they were going to get their school supplies for the impending year and top the day off with a Professional Quidditch match. Scorpius' dad arranged and was paying for the entire thing; the Malfoy family owned a share of the United club, and the party was taking place in a private box at the stadium.

Albus was still nervous around Mr. Malfoy after his actions the previous year. Albus could understand wanting to revive the Malfoy family name, and move the company back to England from overseas in Romania, but using his own son as a stalking horse for the press just bothered Albus. He grew up in a family where he was a child not just another resource to manipulate, his friend seemed to be okay with it, but Albus was not mollified.

He could not help but wonder how having his dad's approval was going to affect his friend, after all, practically the entire time he knew Scorpius, he was getting Howlers from his grandfather, and silence from his father. Now that he was not the outcast, but the Malfoy's greatest hope for the future, things were bound to change. One image came unbidden to Albus' mind.

They were standing with their families at Kings Cross station:

"Hey Albus," called Scorpius. Albus turned to see him with his parents, he held the handle to Kublai's carryall with its glowering occupant, and he looked nervous. "Send me an owl, ok?"

He realized that his friend who had been with him through so much that year was still insecure about his friendship. That moment of vulnerability was the true Scorpius; no matter what changed, he was still the same bloke on the inside. Albus hoped that he would see more of that boy as he got more comfortable with him and Rose. He had a niggling suspicion that their struggle to remain friends was not over, but might just be starting.

To distract himself from those stomach-churning thoughts he hopped off the bed and crossed to his desk. On the well-worn, pitted surface, was a Sneakascope, a pair of Omnoculars (he needed to remember for tomorrow) and a single book.

The name of the book was, Paranoia Justified: The Diaries of Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody by Orion Cody. It was navy blue, with embossed gold lettering. It was a first edition copy.

His dad had sent the diaries to a man in America who evidentially was a protégé' of Moody's and a writer, and that man had put the entry's into a book. Albus' dad used it to train his Aurors

It had become his defacto Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher the year before, and he had read most of it. He idlely wondered who the new professor would be as he picked up the volume and carried it back to his bed for a read. He opened it to his bookmarked page.

The name of the chapter was:

-

Secret Organizations and their Uses

There will be times when an offensive needs to be organized. If you are surrounded by enemies and have no idea who to trust, but a few who you do, then the time has come to think about a forming secret organization, that is an invaluable asset when it comes to fighting against overwhelming or unknown odds.

The advantages are as follows.

Being a secret organization means that your enemies cannot determine your numbers and that creates paranoia in their ranks. It also gives those who would support you a rallying point, a name to call out when they feel scared about what they are facing. Both good and evil, governments and all who rebel have used this method.

Disadvantages are significant as well.

Since you are organized, if one falls so do they all. One defector, one measly turncoat and the entire thing comes down, very few can seem like a lot when unknown, but once revealed, and your entire cause jeopardized by the knowledge of your true size.

A Few Examples of this concept:

Order of the Phoenix

Death Eaters

Dumbledore's Army

The Red Hand

Darklings

Veritas

On occasion governments will have groups within that government that do the work that they cannot do officially. The Aurors did not start out as a policing force, but as a group within the Ministry of Magic that did the dirty work the Ministry could not have attributed to it.

In conclusion, if your numbers are small, but determined and the threat is large and overwhelming, consider this strategy, they will not know who hit them!

(Authors Note: Dumbledore's Army was a student organization, listed here because it was a significant contributing factor in the Battle of Hogwarts. I think it's interesting that when a corrupt government refused to arm the students to fight they armed themselves and saved that very government. It takes courage and guts and determination to do what you know is right, even when those in power say it's wrong. I'm not saying doing something illegal is a good thing all of the time, but when the thing that is deemed illegal is the right thing to do, the criminals become the saviours! Orion)

-

Albus put down the book and sat up in bed. It was dark out, and from the sounds of the house, everyone was asleep. His stomach was still uncomfortably queasy. He hated to bother Kreacher but he had no choice. He glanced at his wand on the nightstand; it sat there with all its elaborate carvings and runes in its polished rowan surface looking benign. As much as he tried, Albus could not go back to being afraid of it. It was as much his friend this last year as Scorpius had been. He smiled to himself, and stowed it in its customary place in his robes, he felt a tiny little vibration, as if it was grateful. So, I've got a intelligent wand, Albus thought. If he stopped using it now, then he would be turning down a gift. He had just gotten used to enjoying his wand; he was not going to stop because some creepy old man told him it might be self-aware.

Albus grabbed his muggle torch that his Granddad Weasley had gotten him, slipped on the invisibility cloak and crept down shading the light with his hand down toward his feet. He was sure seeing a light out of nowhere was going to scare anyone still up so he carefully crept all the way down. He glanced at his father's office when he reached the second story landing and saw the light was still on.

He debated talking to his father, but he knew his dad probably could not tell him much more than he overheard, besides he had promised his Aunt Angel he would not listen in, and he would be all but admitting he had if he asked too much.

He had not eaten all day, and he needed to get something down, so he kept going down to the kitchen.

This was Kreacher's domain, and it had Albus' mum's touches as well. All of the surfaces reflected shiny and clean in the torch's glow. He reached out and flipped the switch turning on the lights not being too concerned awaking anyone this far down.

He turned off the torch and placed it on his folded cloak on the table. He bent down and carefully rapped on the door to Kreacher's cupboard.

"Kreacher?" Albus called. It might take a few times to wake the old elf up but he was patient.

As it turned out after just one time, there was a small crack sound and Kreacher was standing in his little black sleep hat and robes. He looked a little comical holding a lit candle in a lamp peering up at Albus bleary-eyed.

"Master Albus? Is you feeling well sir?" he asked in his bullfrog voice.

"I need a purple, Kreacher, if it won't put you out."

Kreacher shook his head adamantly; he went over to an elf height table and brought out a cauldron and several potion vials. Kreacher had leaned dozens of potions over the years to serve his family's needs. As he had done many times before, Albus sat to watch. He had fond memories of watching the old boy stir. Kreacher even let Albus help on occasion, which was probably why Albus was the top Potions student in his year. He watched as Kreacher measured and added, stirring clockwise this time and counter that. It was relaxing to watch. They had developed shorthand for the potions. Purple was a stomach draught, blue for sleep, green for calming, red for pepper-up, Albus didn't even know the names to them.

"Looks like we had the same idea, yeah?"

"Hey Dad, just needed a purple." Albus called in the way of greeting. His dad came on in, "When you're done with that one, would you mind a blue for me Kreacher?" he inquired. Kreacher nodded as he brought the cauldron to a simmer.

Albus' dad went to the cupboard and brought himself out a snack of crisps, some ham and a wheel of cheese; placing them on the table, he crossed and poured them both tall glasses of milk from the Cooling Box. He then sat down and made a few mini sandwiches, sliding one over to Albus. Albus surprised himself by eating it hungrily. Kreacher placed a vial of his purple potion on the table beside him. Albus drank it eagerly, his stomach improved immediately. His mouth was full so he smiled and nodded his thanks. Kreacher did what approximated as his smile, and went back to mixing a blue for Master Harry.

His dad munched, and was eyeing his son intently. "You know I'm a decent Auror right?" he asked his son quietly. "Albus nodded, not sure where his dad was headed.

"Me, your Mum and your Auntie Angel compared notes about today. See if this scenario sounds familiar." His dad's green eyes bored into his, "I know where Flossy's Parlor is located, and what it's across from, and I know that Mr. Ollivander has taken to sitting out front of his shop under an awning during these warm days." Albus stared at the table guiltily not even sure, why he felt that way. His dad continued. "I also smelt the vomit in the second story lavatory, as I passed by after the meeting, that smell lingers, Angel told me you flooed home about that time, and well let's face it son, throwing up when you get overwhelmed is sort of your calling card."

Albus felt like melting into his chair. The crisps suddenly seemed dry in his mouth; he took a drink of milk. He then managed to say, "Sorry dad, I should have kept going when Ollivander wanted to chat but I didn't want to be rude. I should have stayed in my room when I got home, like I promised Angel. I knew it was wrong but I couldn't help but listen."

He waited for his dad to be mad, but all he heard was a weary sigh. "So Ollivander told you about your wand, and then you came home and overheard what Professor Pharrel had been up too, and what happened to him." Albus nodded gravely.

His dad leaned back in his chair looking exhausted. "No matter what I do, it's like we are on a course that I can't seem to control, or get us off of," he remarked resignedly. He seemed lost in thought a moment, "I'm starting to think that my parents dying might not have been the worst thing after all. It saved them from feeling as helpless as I do right now."

Albus got up, walked around, and hugged his dad crying, "I'm sorry dad. I don't mean these things to happen. They just do." His dad hugged him back fiercely, "I know Albus, and I know you want to be a normal boy. I tried to give you the childhood that I didn't have, but it just isn't happening, and I don't know what to do about it."

He held Albus for a few minutes then he pulled back with a lopsided grin, "Wait a minute, there is one thing we can do." Albus pulled back and wiped his eyes. "What?" His dad suddenly grabbed Albus tight, "We can tickle the hero out of ya." He started attacking Albus ribs. "Albus tried not to be loud but he was squealing in laughter after a few seconds of the torture.

"What are you two doing, you're going to wake up the house."

They looked up guiltily to see Albus mum standing there, hair a bit dishevelled in a robe glaring at them, but with a small smile. "Sorry luv." Albus' dad called, "We were just talking." She looked at them a few moments, came in, waved Kreacher off kindly, and sat down at the table. "So did he finally tell you what was wrong?" Albus' dad nodded, "Ollivander told him about the wand and he overheard our meeting today." His mum sighed, "I thought that was what was going on, and we need to pay Mr. Ollivander another visit it appears." She reached out and brushed Albus hair with her fingers, "I'm so sorry sweetie. I really am." Albus crossed over into her arms for the hug she looked like she needed. "What are we going to do with you," she sighed as she stroked his back. Albus saw from his vantage point she reached out and her and his dad held hands.

It turned out he did not need a blue potion. His parents holding hands was his last memory for a bit. He did not even realize he was asleep until he suddenly felt his bed under him. His dad had carried him up the stairs by the light of his torch, and he and his mum helped him get undressed, she laid his torch and the cloak on his dresser, and gently removed his wand from his robes, carefully placing it on the nightstand as she got him settled in.

They paused looking at him and talked in low tones. They probably thought Albus was asleep.

"He's so small, and such a good boy Harry, why him?" his mum asked quietly as she settled back into his dad's arms. Albus' dad sighed, "I guess we'll find out eventually. One thing I do know now though." She smiled her face lit in the light from the lamp they had turned on when they entered, "What's that?" Albus' dad nodded at Albus. "I feel sorry for whoever is really behind all this, because if he's after Albus, he's going to have to go through the Potters and a whole burrow full of Weasley's to get to him."

The last words before Albus drifted off was his mum replying with steel in her voice, "Count on it.


Thought of the Day: I need to admit something. When I wrote that bit about Harry's lament on how he can't seem to protect his son, I actually felt guilty! The forth wall was nearly broken it was like I had a character asking me why I put it through the things I do LOL! If that isn't surreal I don't know what is. Do I feel a bit guilty that everything seems to happen to Albus? Sometimes. Will that prevent me from putting him through it? Nope. Conflict makes you stronger, and for a special few, conflict is the definition of what makes them special. I think that Albus really shines when the chips are down and the odds aren't good, otherwise he wouldn't be worth one book, much less two! So sorry Albus, Harry, you're in for a bumpy ride!

Bart