Chapter 2: Lily Vs Albus & Scorpius

Albus awoke several times during the night. He occasionally suffered a recurring nightmare about Delphi, Scorpius and him. It was a skin-crawling recollection of the events that had transpired the year before that had him breaking out in cold sweats and resisting the urge to vomit. It usually started with the three of them on the quidditch pitch, Craig Bowker appearing from nowhere and warning them that everyone was searching for them only to be murdered, in cold blood, by Delphi. The scene switched to the maze of the triwizard tournament, Delphi looming over them, her eyes haunting, as she threatened to kill Scorpius, raising her wand with the killing curse on the edge of her lips. In his memory, Cedric arrived at this point to intervene but, in the nightmare, he never showed up. Instead, Albus would spend hours of sleep watching his best friend being murdered or tortured and he would awake, like now, having had no rest and frantically checking to make sure Scorpius was still alive and breathing in the bed next to his. He would close his eyes, force his way back to sleep then see it all again. It was exhausting.

This time when he woke up, he heard from beside him. He sat up and turned his head towards the noise which he realised was coming from Scorpius's bed. The boy was writhing slowly beneath his covers and was slightly grey in the face. He was mumbling incoherently, the words spilling from his mouth blending together in a long sleepy slur. Albus strained his ears trying to decipher what the other boy was saying but he could only make out every third word or so: "expulso"; "mouse"; "Albus". Albus blushed upon hearing his own name, hoping silently that he wasn't the cause of whatever scene was distressing his best friend. He turned so the he was sitting on the edge of his mattress leaning over so much that his backside was barely on the bed anymore as he tried to get closer.

"Potter," an angry voice called from across the dark dormitory. "Can you do something about him? He's been doing that for ages."

Albus turned his head to see that a faint light was emanating from a crack in the velvet curtains around Carrow's bed. Was everyone in the castle having trouble sleeping or was Carrow just up late plotting some nefarious plan? Either could have been possible, Albus decided, having already decided years ago that he hated this Castle and most of the people in it. Still angry about their skirmish earlier in the week, Albus aimed two fingers at Carrow's bed before he stood, took the two steps required to reach Scopius's bed and gently laid his hand on the boy's shoulder. Scorpius's skin was hot through his pyjamas. Was he feverish?

"Scorpius?" Albus whispered, giving the other boy a gentle shake. He didn't respond, however, he did look more distressed, his eyes becoming wet. Albus glanced over at Carrow's closed curtains quickly before clambering onto Scorpius's bed and yanking the curtain shut so that they would be invisible to anyone looking over. His knee connected clumsily with his friend's middle, waking him up with a start that almost had them both toppling from the bed.

"Albus, what are you," Scorpius began but fell silent as Albus held up a finger to his own lips. Scorpius sat up, crossing his legs to give Albus room to sit at the bottom of the bed. He reached out to his bed side table, withdrew his wand and cast a muffliato charm so that they could speak candidly without being overheard. "If I knew you were coming I'd have put the kettle on."

"Funny," said Albus sarcastically. "You were making weird noises in your sleep. Looked like you were having a bad dream and I think Carrow was ready to come over and hex you for it."

"Oh," Scorpius grinned stupidly. "Thanks then. I don't remember what I was dreaming about."

"You said 'Mouse'," said Albus quizzically. "You know, your cat?"

"Oh yeah," said Scorpius leaning back against his headboard. "I sort of remember thinking about him but I don't know what it was all about. Sorry if I woke you up. Not sorry I woke Carrow up."

"I think he was already wake," said Albus nervously. "And so was I, I think. I had that dream again. The one in the maze."

Scorpius looked concerned and sat forward again, his elbows on his knees; his chin in his hands. "Again? You've not had it for ages." The blond boy looked sympathetic. He had told Albus of nightmares he had had from his time in Voldemort's world; a world where muggleborns and their sympathisers were tortured in the dungeons of the school. Scorpius always said he felt guilty or responsible whenever he thought about that world and Albus understood completely.

"I keep thinking about Craig," he admitted. "I always think that, if I hadn't been so gullible, he'd still be alive."

"Maybe," agreed Scorpius. "But if we hadn't done what we'd done, Delphi would still be out there. What's to say she wouldn't have found another way to get a hold of the time turner and brought Voldemort back without anyone knowing – I've seen that world Albus it's not a nice one." He paused, seemingly dry-mouthed. "I'm not saying what happened to Craig wasn't horrible. It was. I feel guilty too but there's nothing we can do about it and you need to remember it was Delphi who did it, not us."

"I know you're right," said Albus. "I just sometimes wonder what would have happened if we had just stayed on the train last year."

"Let's not go back and find out," said Scorpius. "I've had enough time travel to last me a lifetime."

"Me too," agreed Albus. "Would it be weird if we hugged now?"

"Probably," said Scorpius but he leaned over and wrapped his arms around Albus's shoulders anyway. Albus melted into the contact while it lasted breathing in everything about Scorpius as his own arms encircled the other's chest. The contact lasted a few beats longer than normal and he had the fear that it had become awkward when they pulled apart but Scorpius seemed indifferent. He leaned back once more and stifled a yawn. "What time is it?"

"It's about five, I think," said Albus, his heart still racing uncontrollably as his body reacted - against his will - from being so close to Scorpius. He crossed his legs and hugged his knees to his chest subconsciously. "I'm not sure I can get back to sleep though. Every time I do, I have the dream again."

"Well," said Scorpius. "We could work on the potions essay."

"Without Rose? You know it's a group assignment and she's in our group, don't you?" asked Albus, his mouth falling open at Scorpius passing up an opportunity to work with the self-professed love of his life who had no interest in him whatsoever. "I'm shocked." Scorpius blushed in the darkness though his face fell visibly. "In fact, I don't think you've mentioned Rose all week. Are you sick?" Scorpius coughed mockingly. "Thought so."

"Merlin's pants," gasped Scorpius dramatically. "I think I might be over Rose Granger-Weasley." He buried his face in the crook of his elbow. "How ever will I go on?"

Despite the obvious attempt at humour, Albus became excited by the thought that Scorpius might actually be over his cousin and he had a feeling he would be in high spirits today. Albus agreed to work on their essay provided that Scorpius did the writing and that they do it in the library where they were unlikely to meet any other students at this early hour. They dressed quietly, Albus taking note that there was no light from Carrow's bed any more and that the other residents of their dormitory were snoring.

"Bring your potions book," said Albus after rummaging through the trunk at the foot of his bed looking for his own for several minutes, deciding that the large case now swallowed textbooks as well as half of the socks that had ever been inside it.

Scorpius had no problem locating his book and they set off for the library soon after. A couple of older students sat in the common room, poring over coursework of their own but nobody looked up from the pages in front of them as they passed through the shared space and out of passageway, the bricks rearranging and reforming behind them. They met only the bloody baron on their walk to the third floor who insisted on accompanying them as he was not prepared to let Peeves "make a mockery of members of his house" – once out of earshot Albus insisted that the Baron just had nothing else to do; Scorpius pointed out that the Baron's behaviour was always questionable at best.

The library was deserted, as it always was, this early in the morning save for Madam Pince who was older than time and, as far as Albus knew, had never left the walls of the library. She made a fuss about them being clearly up to no good and made it clear that she would be watching them. "At the first sign of malintent you will be out, understand?" she exclaimed in her signature whisper which Scorpius had professed made him feel like there were ants crawling on his skin. They sat in a desk which was embedded in an alcove by a window that was as far away from Madam Pince as they could manage. When they spoke, they spoke quietly for, despite there being nobody else in earshot, the librarian was known to come down hard on any noise above the absolute minimum.

"Albus," Scorpius whispered. They had been working on their essay for a little over an hour and were ready to give up and go to breakfast when Scorpius spotted an unusual exchange. "Is that Lily?" Albus twisted around in his chair to get a look at what Scorpius was seeing.

Standing just in their line of view in a dark corner of the library, Albus's sister Lily Potter was standing with her arms folded and he head to the side, her angry expression framed by the fiery tendrils of red hair that had escaped from her messy ponytail. She withdrew her wand from the red tangles from the back of her head and was pointing it at someone who was obscured by the bookcase that was probably obscuring both of them from the librarian.

"Can you see who she's talking to?" whispered Albus, ducking back into the cover of the alcove as his sister glanced their way briefly. She hadn't noticed them and turned her attention back to whomever was currently incurring her wrath. "Or threatening, more like."

"No, I think its," Scorpius's mouth fell open all of a sudden as he stopped talking. Albus turned to enquire what was wrong. "I think she just obliviated them."

"What?" asked Albus loudly, his head snapping back round to see for himself but his exclamation spooked the girl who was obviously on edge and she bolted. Albus was on his feet in an instant and ran over to where the girl had been standing, Scorpius hot on his heels. "Where did she go?"

"Where did who go, Potter?" Richard Carrow was standing beside a small boy from Hufflepuff who looked dazed and unsure about where he was. "I was just showing William, here, where the recreational History books are kept. I am a prefect, you know."

"Don't play dumb, Carrow," spat Albus. "I saw Lily. What would she be doing here with a waster like you?"

"Waster?" asked Carrow, his hand moving to rest over his heart in mock-anguish. "That hurts, Potter. I thought we were becoming friends." He smirked and tapped his nose. "Looks like it's healed well."

Albus withdrew his wand and pointed it at Carrow's head; Carrow withdrew his and pointed it at Albus; Scorpius stepped in front of William, the Hufflepuff, in an attempt to shield him from whatever might happen. The two boys were breathing heavily and neither was ready to break eye contact. Albus's wand flew from his grip then, Carrow's followed suit as Madam Pince came charging up the aisle to where they stood.

"This is a library," she uttered, passion leaking from every syllable that left her mouth. "The duelling club meets on a Thursday evening and they do not start fights in front of the books. Collect your wands and leave. Immediately." William groaned momentarily then fell to the floor. "You two," she indicated Albus and Scorpius, "take him to the hospital wing. None of you will be allowed entrance to the library without permission from your head of house."

Carrow drew his eyes from Albus and Scorpius as they each threw one of William's arms around their shoulders. He collected his wand then, while the librarian's eyes were still on them, located Albus's and slid it into Scorpius's robe pocket bowing elaborately as Albus begrudgingly thanked him.

The boy turned out to be a second year, he informed them after he regained consciousness as they left the library, and he was unsure why he had been in the library or, in fact, where anything in the castle was. Albus exchanged a look with Scorpius and they silently agreed that Lily had used a poorly-executed memory charm on him. Albus and Lily had always had their differences and he had told their parents on several occasions that she was pure evil but he had always been exaggerating. He had never suspected she would do something like this. Not to mention that she had clearly been in the company of Richard Carrow.

"Why was Lily trying to modify your memory?" asked Albus irritably as they approached the hospital wing. Scorpius caught his eye and raised an eyebrow. Of course the boy wouldn't remember, he barely remembered his own name. Nonetheless, William opened his mouth to reply but lost consciousness again. "Lily's got a lot of explaining to do."

"Right," agreed Scorpius, the strain of carrying a dead weight again evident in the raspy breaths he was now displaying. "Let's just get him to Madam Pomfrey, the you can worry about grilling Lily."

"Fine," said Albus, shouldering the door open and alerting the Hogwarts matron who, like Madam Pince, had to be at least a hundred years old. She had been dozing off behind her desk, a mug of luke-warm tea spilling as she stood and regarded the situation with a stern eye.

"What happened here?" she asked, directing them to the nearest empty bed where they struggled to place the unconscious form.

"He passed out in the library," said Scorpius exchanging a look with Albus that asked whether they should tell her the full story. Albus, still fuming, had no problem with leaving Lily in the mess she had created.

"We think he's been hit with a really crap memory charm," said Albus. "He couldn't remember who he was or why he was here. Then he passed out. Again."

"Did you see who did this, Mr Potter?" asked Madam Pomfrey who was already leaning over her new patient and checking his vitals as she tried to obtain a clear picture of what had happened. "Memory charms are difficult to work with and are sometimes irreversible – have you ever heard of Gilderoy Lockhart?" They had. "Thankfully if this is a poor attempt, it should be reversible with a Limbic Restoration Potion but whoever has done this has committed a serious offence."

Albus hesitated. He was debating now whether or not he should speak to Lily first. After all it could just be a misunderstanding. Perhaps William the Hufflepuff had done something to deserve it. He was worried that he was just making excuses for his sister but he managed to push his anger to the back of his mind and never mentioned her yet, resolving to shout at her first. Madam Pomfrey told them to go and speak to Professor McGonagall and tell her what had happened.

Albus groaned as they left the hospital wing and made their way to the headmistress's office. "She'll probably just give us more detention. She hates us."

"She doesn't hate us," protested Scorpius but he too looked extremely nervous about approaching the statue that concealed the entrance. "Um, hello?" He tapped the large stone gargoyle on the wing. There was a great sound of cracking stone as it turned its head to look at Scorpius, making him taking a startled step back.

"You two again?" its voice was raspy and inhuman as it rolled its eyes. "Password?"

"We don't know it," said Albus, jumping as the gargoyle's head snapped in his direction. "Madam Pomfrey told us to come tell McGon- Professor McGonagall about…"

"No password no entry," the gargoyle closed its eyes and returned to its original position. Albus and Scorpius exchanged a concerned look.

"Should we just leave it?" asked Albus. "I don't think we're going to get in."

"Won't Madam Pomfrey be angry?" asked Scorpius. "Hang on." He tapped the statue once again. It sprung to life, raised itself up from its haunches and roared in Scorpius's face this time. So unexpected was the act that the boys fell over their own feet in shock and landed hard on the cold floor in a tangle of limbs.

"Hey," yelled Albus angrily, looking up at the ugly stone winged-beast. "What was that for you glorified rooster?" Scorpius elbowed him fearfully, obviously not wanting to make the guardian any madder than it already was.

"I've told you both, no password," it began.

"Yeah, yeah," interrupted Albus. "No password no entry. Well what if we don't bloody want in? Ever consider that?"

"Albus," hissed Scorpius, his sweaty hand wrapped around Albus's wrist subconsciously. He may not have realised he had done it but Albus was now very dry in the mouth as all he could now think about were Scorpius's warm fingers on his skin. "Can we just leave a message," asked Scorpius, his voice quivering nervously. "Then we'll go and you won't have to shout at us anymore."

The gargoyle seemed to consider this as it returned to its haunches and stroked its thick grey chin with its claw as it considered the request. Surely it had taken messaged for the headmaster of the school before – in fact that was probably the statue's primary function. Albus tore his eyes away from the point of contact between him and Scorpius and looked back at the stone beast with such valour that, had he been wearing the sorting hat it would have sworn it had sorted him into the wrong house.

"Ignatius, must you really?" Professor McGonagall appeared from a doorway further up the hall. She looked older than usual with her white hair in its tight bun atop her head with no pointed hat to conceal it. "Get up you two," she indicated at Scorpius and Albus. "Now, why don't we discuss why you're loitering around outside my office and harassing my already temperamental gargoyle who is already one strike away from being replaced."

"I was built by Godric Gryffindor himself," gasped the Gargoyle as though he had just realised how finite his job security was becoming.

"What do you boys think?" McGonagall turned to Albus and Scorpius. "Do you think a thousand years is long enough to consider redecorating?" Albus smirked at the gargoyle who had fallen silent and sat dutifully still before the entrance of the office. "What can I do for you both?"

"Madam Pomfrey sent us," said Scorpius at once, clearly eager to be out of the corridor. Albus grinned like an idiot as he considered his friend's heart to be racing as fast as his (though for a different, more obvious reason he suspected). "A boy from Hufflepuff's been oblivated."

"Badly," added Albus. "I mean, probably by someone who doesn't know the charm very well."

"And you didn't see who committed this offence, I assume," stated McGonagall firmly. "Or else you would have told me a name, wouldn't you?"

"Right," they both agreed nervously trying to not give anything away until they were sure they knew what was going on. Neither of them wanted to believe that Lily would do something so foolish without good reason.

"Very well," said McGonagall. "It sounds as if you both put this boy's well being above your own. I will award you both five house points. I will also restore your privileges for the rest of the week for bringing this incident to my attention."

"Does that mean we can go to Hogsmeade at the weekend?" asked Albus enthusiastically.

"Provided you return to Hogwarts afterwards," replied McGonagall. "And don't, as they say, do a runner."

"Thanks Professor," said Scorpius gratefully as he and Albus made their way to the great hall for breakfast, excited that they had something to look forward to. "I really hope she does get rid of that gargoyle by the way."

"Me too," agreed Albus as they entered through the great oak doors and took a seat at the still mostly empty Slytherin table. Scorpius nodded towards the Gryffindor table where Lily Potter was sitting with her back to them accompanied by her friend Hannah and Rose Granger-Weasley. "I wonder if Rose knows anything about what happened. They're thick as thieves those two."

"We could ask her in potions," Scorpius suggested as he buttered toast and passed it to Albus before starting his own - Albus was too busy staring at his sister, deep in thought about what was going on with her, that he didn't notice until Scorpius was almost finished.

"Thanks," he said, willing himself to not make a big deal out of the totally platonic gesture as he accepted his breakfast as casually as he could manage. "Post is here," he said, scratching his throat as he swallowed too much toast.

All around, owls of all breeds swooped, hooting dutifully, into the great hall bringing letters from home, newspapers and parcels varying in shapes and sizes to the now almost-full dining hall. With the morning post came the usual surge of chatter. Scorpius unfurled a copy of the Daily Prophet that had dropped down in front of him, the front page drawing an immediate look of concern that drew his slender eyebrows together and a faint crease appeared upon his forehead. Soon, the high spirited conversation around the grand room was replaced with a quiet murmur as other students began to see what Scorpius was seeing.

"What is it?" asked Albus, concern beginning to exude from the recesses of his mind. It wasn't often there was a story that had such a profound effect on their peers. He had grown to despise the newspapers after all the articles they had printed on his family over the years, hating the unwanted attention it brought, and found that they printed more about his dad than they did about real news. Until that morning. Scorpius budged over and laid the paper out on the table so they could both read. So curious was Albus, that he barely noticed how their legs touched under the table or how they sat shoulder to shoulder in such ease.

The top story gave details on the deaths of an entire family of wizards (fifteen to be exact) in the south who had been being treated for suspected dragon pox – which was now simply a routine series of anti-viral potions – only to develop strange unrelated symptoms which led to their untimely demise. It then went on to state that there were many new instances of similar origins throughout the lower counties but it was yet to be confirmed whether these were standard dragon pox or if the new reports of sickness were connected. The population were being warned to be on the lookout for similar symptoms and report to their nearest medical facility at the slightest cough for examination. The ministry were looking into the worst-case-scenario of setting up quarantines should this mystery disease prove to be contagious.

"Well that's worrying," said Scorpius nervously. "Do you think it'll get up this far?"

"They don't even know if it's contagious," dismissed Albus. "It says right here," he pointed with his index finger, "that the wizards involved were known to have 'Grendyls Disorder'. They probably just had normal Dragon Pox and couldn't fight the infection."

"Malfoy looks like he's going to wet himself," laughed Connor Bates from a few seats up, his pug-like face contorted with laughter. A few sniggers from the boys in his year followed and resulted in a scarlet Scorpius. "Scared of a little cold, Malfoy?"

"Piss off, Bates," growled Stephanie Rutherford appearing behind Albus who was growing hot behind the ears. "Remember last Christmas when you actually wet yourself?" The fourth year boy became red in the face and aimed a rude hand gesture at the three of them.

"Asshole," muttered Albus under his breath. Scorpius looked up and nodded his thanks to the blonde girl. He wished he had said it first but he hadn't had the nerve – confronting Carrow was nothing new but at a table full of people eager to see him fail was a totally different scenario.

"Everything okay Steph?" asked Scorpius. The girl raised an eyebrow at him and Scorpius tripped over his words to correct himself. "Stephanie, I mean. I shouldn't call you Steph."

"Steph is fine, Malfoy," the girl laughed patting his shoulder casually. The touch was nothing special but Albus felt the monster in his chest, that was longing to be closer to the boy beside him, was banging angrily on his sternum. "I'm okay. I actually came to ask you both for a favour." She paused briefly but not long enough for a response from either of the boys. "There's a rumour," she began, lowering her voice so that it could be drowned out by the chatter that had resumed in the hall, "that there's a map of the school. An enchanted map. And I've heard from a reputable source that you are the one to speak to about it, Albus."

Scorpius raised an eyebrow having clearly no clue as to how either of them would know anything about maps but Albus was quick to respond. "Well you'd be wrong then," he said, "it's James you need to talk to." Scorpius whipped his head around to look at his best friend. Albus just shrugged his shoulders.

"There's an enchanted map of the castle?" asked Scorpius, perplexed. "That's news to me." He looked hurt that Albus had never told him but the expression vanished as quickly as Albus had seen it and returned to Scorpius's regular docile appearance.

"Calm down," laughed Albus. "I only just found out about it too. It's how dad was planning to keep us apart last year – it's obviously not a very good enchantment…"

"Your brother James?" asked Stephanie with a sigh, ignoring their exchange. She clambered into the space beside Scorpius and slumped down on her elbows at the table, her hair dangerously close to a bowl of grapes. "It's hopeless then," she huffed. "He's awful."

Albus looked surprised and was glad to see his own expression reflected in Scorpius's countenance. He had heard girls call his brother many things: charming, handsome, funny, to name a few but never awful. He was, however, beginning to have faith that being in Stephanie's company might actually grow on him.

"So," said Scorpius, clearly trying to fill the lull in conversation that was seconds from becoming awkward. "Struggling with finding your classes then?"

Albus snorted and Stephanie shot back up into a sitting position to face the boys with an irritable glare. Scorpius had not meant to sound sarcastic and was stammering a rapid array of goofy apologies in a way that only Scorpius could which caused Albus to laugh harder and Stephanie to turn even redder in the face.

"I think he meant, why do you want my brother's map so badly?" asked Albus between recurring snickers. He waited and watched the girl's mouth open, close, then open again as she decided whether she should divulge her secret. "If you tell us why you need it, maybe we can help in another way," he suggested in an attempt to convince her.

"Er," the girl looked around nervously, blushing slightly. "I have something I need to hide," she confessed. "But I also need to be able to keep track of it when I'm not around…and from what I've heard from," she hesitated, "my source, is the map is the ideal way of doing so."

She blinked expectantly at them while they exchanged puzzled looks. What would need simultaneous hiding and supervision? If it were something trivial, surely she could hide it under her bed or buried at the bottom of her trunk (though Albus considered all the things he had lost buried at the bottom of his own trunk and thought better of it). While intrigued, Albus was certain that there was so much more to whatever Stephanie was hiding but he was convinced that she was unwilling to explain any further than she already had.

"It's not anything dangerous," asked Scorpius, his lip quivering slightly. "Is it?"

"Don't be daft, Malfoy," replied Stephanie immediately. "It just might get me into a bit of trouble if anyone finds it. And I'm a prefect so I really can't be setting a bad example to the other students."

"Are you sure you're a Slytherin?" asked Albus with a smirk. "I hate to tell you but you're doing it wrong."

"Oh ha ha," she replied, rolling her eyes. "Just because I don't want to be in Carrow's gang of bruisers doesn't mean I don't belong in Slytherin," her chest seemed to stick out with pride for a moment as she continued. "We don't all have to be assholes. You know Merlin himself was a Slytherin."

It was now Albus's turn to roll his eyes, for it was a line his mother had used to console him in his first letter from home when he had been distraught about not living up to what he had naively presumed was his 'family legacy'. What an idiot he had been. Watching Scorpius laughing as Stephanie listed all the pros of being in their house, he couldn't imagine anything worse than being in another.

"All right, all right," said Albus finally. "I get it, I'm proud to be a Slytherin too, calm down and take a joke, Rutherford." He caught Scorpius smiling from the corner of his eye and suddenly felt ridiculously cool for saying the right thing then just felt ridiculous when he realised he was wearing a dopey grin.

"Anyway," continued Stephanie. "Will you help me get the map from your brother then, or not?" she smiled sweetly and added a "pretty please" before continuing. "If you do, I'll let you in on the secret."

Albus wanted to say no and that he wasn't interested in her dodgy contraband but Scorpius had been quick to agree to her terms. Albus gave him a questioning look, at which the other boy just shrugged and said, "aren't you usually dying to break the rules? Only, this time I vote we don't jump off any trains."

"Merlin's beard!" exclaimed Stephanie. "So it's true then? You two really did try to do a runner last year? Where did you go?"

"That's a long story," retorted Albus uncomfortably.

"I've got time," replied Stephanie, enthusiastically.

Scorpius winced. "Let's not talk about time," he pleaded much to the girl's confusion but she did not press further. Instead she began to scan the great hall.

"What's your first period?" she asked, skilfully diverting the topic of discussion. "Neither of you do Runes do you?"

"Divination," answered Albus unenthusiastically. "And I don't need a crystal ball to tell you whatever you're plotting is a terrible idea."

"Yeah," agreed Scorpius, "especially if we're involved. We're cursed."

"I don't doubt that for some reason," said Stephanie with a nonchalant grace. "Anyway, we'll meet in the entrance hall after class and discuss tactics on our way to potions. Agreed?"

"Fine," agreed Albus, knowing that they were heading for disaster. When Stephanie finally departed, the great hall had begun to clear and students were making their way to their classes and Albus suddenly remembered that he had been meaning to keep a close eye on Lily at breakfast only to realise that she was long gone. "Oh bugger," he complained lamely.

"What?" demanded Scorpius as they began gathering their belongings. "Have you decided you fancy her back?"

"Hilarious," said Albus scowling. "No, I haven't. I did lose track of Lily though and now we'll need to wait till lunch to give her a row."