Scorpius dangled his feet in the shallows of the lake, having already promised the squid that he wasn't about to chuck himself in again. He breathed in deeply and chucked his head back to catch the early morning sunshine, his fingers splayed in the grass behind him. He exhaled loudly and banished his nightmare to the back of his mind, promising himself to ask Rose for another draught when he could catch her in Charms. He glanced beside him and smiled at his friend. Albus was waddling over with a pilfered picnic in his arms, his tongue poking out in concentration. A trail of assorted foods in his wake.

'A feast for two strapping lads!' Albus announced, kneeling to drop half of his hoard in his friends lap. Scorpius crinkled his nose as a sausage rolled down his leg. 'Oops sorry buddy, meant to grab the sausage rolls'.

Scorpius shook his head and laughed. 'I love you Albus, you know that'. The boy snatched up a handful of dry cornflakes and ate them shamelessly, smiling harder at the thought of his Dad's pained expression if he were to ever find out his son was eating cereal with his hands. Albus blushed and punched Scorpius in the arm.

'I love you too! But I'm also trying to enjoy my breakfast without puking, so kindly shut up'

Rolling his eyes, Scorpius sighed contently. He always enjoyed taking breakfast with his friend on the banks of the rolling lake, Hogwarts truly felt like home in moments like these. It was as though only the pair of them and this happiness existed. It was as though the creeping nightmares were blown away, scattered from the sunshine and warmth Albus radiated.

'Al-what do you think the dreams mean?'

Albus wiped cream from his upper lip with a wet smack. How he managed to find the treats for breakfast, Scorpius never asked. He gave his hands a wipe before pointing over the lake, one hand on his stomach, still kneeling.

'I believe Professor Trelawney can guide us with her mystical ways'.

Both boys howled with laughter. Albus fell backwards kicking his legs, shooting cereal and snacks into the lake with heavy plops. Scorpius wiped his eyes and coughed.

'Al, as amazing as that impression was. I am deadly serious'

Sighing with a smirk, Albus relaxed backwards in the grass staring at his frowning friend. Those grey eyes narrowed seriously. The sun always made Scorpius shine.

'Well Mr Serious Slytherin, you say it's the nightmares have built up to a werewolf. So- I recommend staying away from dogs'. Scorpius snorted. 'No I mean it. Uncle Ron always says listen to your gut! And well maybe your gut is telling you something-like dogs are evil?'

'With your trail of food I wouldn't be surprised if a pack actually turned up'

Albus smiled sheepishly. His expression grew dark for a split second, his jaw clenching. He shook of Scorpius's concerned questioning and sat upright. Scorpius could always hear the gears grinding in his friends head.

'A new idea to get us expelled or beaten up?' Scorpius probed, half serious. He arched a brow as his friend raised a hand and shooed him into silence. The gesture left his stomach squirming. 'Al?'

'Hang on Scorp!' Albus uncharacteristically snapped, shaking himself free of the picnic and getting to his feet. He gritted his teeth and punched his leg in annoyance. 'Stay here. I need to talk to Dad'.

'What? Why?' Scorpius started, a sudden sinking feeling over-washing him. 'You can't run off we were having breakfast-well you can, but well you know what I mean' he continued, climbing to his feet. He hadn't wanted this morning to end so quickly. Swallowing the selfish thought he stared hard at Albus, mentally demanding an answer.

'You've just reminded me of something Dad told me the other night, okay. Maybe you've had a premonition or something'.

'What!' Scorpius blanched. 'They're-just nightmares. I'm stressed about our N.E.W.T.S clearly. Al?'

Albus gripped Scorpius shoulders and squeezed them. He stared hard into his friends face, their noses almost bumping.

'Don't freak but the day before you had your nightmare-well Dad and I had spoken. He was telling me to stay safe because-'Albus scratched the back of his head, his cheeks flaming red. 'He-I'm such an idiot to forget something so important! I'm sorry Scorp! I swear it just fell out of my head! I didn't even think it was a problem because it-'

'Al. Please. You're scaring me now. What did your Dad tell you?'

'Scorp, how many times have you had that nightmare?'

Scorpius gulped. 'The once! The others were kinda, well they seem like build ups to it you know? Most were me walking alone in the woods, shouting for Dad-wait! You think this has something to do with Dad? He hasn't done anything!'

Albus shook his head. 'Scorp, no one's blaming your Dad for anything! Just listen. He said to ignore the papers because some criminal somewhere had escaped and the papers might cause a panic. He said it was nothing to worry about because we're safe at Hogwarts but to keep an eye on my siblings and that he'd owl me if anything came up'.

Scorpius sagged with an elongated sigh. 'Well that's not our concern Al, we have Aurors for that! I hope you didn't think we'd go chasing some criminal. You had me worried there! What does this have to do with my nightmares exactly?'

'I thought there might be a connection between the dates'

'Excuse me?'

'I know you've had nightmares for a while but you had that one the morning after I'd spoken with Dad. So I thought, crazily, for a moment that it might be..linked-'

'Al, you're one of the most dramatic people I've ever met. Close second to Dad really. But the inside of my head isn't related to some weirdo running about. I would know if it was. Who isn't afraid of the big bad wolf?'

Albus had to agree there, werewolves were pretty terrifying. But something nagged at him, a little voice telling him to talk with his Dad again.