The next morning, Albus woke up feeling groggy. Like he needed more sleep. He yawned and stretched his arms over his head, blinking his eyes open a few times. He opened the curtains surrounding his bed and looked around the room. Scorpius had already gotten up and left, his bed made and settled. Albus got out of bed and quickly got dressed. He had classes, which wasn't that bad but he wasn't looking forward to it at all. He went into the Common Room, where Scorpius and Rose were having a heated discussion on one of the couches. Albus stood in the doorway of the boy's dormitory and watched them for a moment. The two didn't seem to notice him right away. He couldn't hear what they were saying because of their hushed tones, but from the way Rose looked like she was about to murder someone, he had a few guesses. Before Rose could wrap her hands around Scorpius's neck, Albus cleared his throat loudly. Rose and Scorpius looked up and smiled at him.
"Hey Al'." Rose said, jumping up from the couch and walking over to him. Scorpius stood up as well, walking over. "I thought you were going to sleep all morning."
Albus laughed, "Luckily I didn't." He said, hugging Rose. He turned to Scorpius, "Why didn't you wake me up?"
Scorpius shrugged. "I tried, you mumbled something and tried to hit me." Albus raised an eyebrow at his friend.
"Oh? Must have been some dream. I'm exhausted." He yawned for emphasis. Scorpius chuckled lightly.
"Come on, we better get to class before we get into trouble." Albus nodded. They grabbed their satchels and headed towards their Potions class. There was a new professor, a Professor Jacobs. She had an certain air around her that made Albus drawn to her. He'd first noticed it at the Welcome Back feast the night before. He smiled at her as she lifted her head to greet her students.
"Good Morning, Professor." Rose chimed in next to him. Rose was very friendly with most of Hogwarts' staff. Albus wasn't sure why, it wasn't like they played favorites or anything, but that was just who she was. She had a strange need for people to think kindly of her. Albus didn't understand it. The trio took their seats near the front. Rose sat between them, on her right and Scorpius on her left. Albus always took the aisle seat while Scorpius preferred to sit near the walls.
"Alright students," Professor Jacobs quickly received silence from the normally noisy room.
Albus stared at her. He'd never had a crush on a teacher before, but if he ever did it would be Professor Jacobs. The way she moved around the room, Albus's eyes were practically glued to her. She discussed how her class would be taught, what they'd go over, and all of the other standard stuff that Albus heard from all of his other teachers. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Rose and Scorpius writing notes to each other in the corner of her notebook. Albus held back a laugh. His best friends were so in love.
"Does anyone have any questions?" Professor Jacobs asked. Albus glanced around the room. No one ever had questions. It was all the same procedure really. Professor Jacobs smiled. "Well then, for today's lesson we're going to brew a special potion. Now, this potion is not for consumption. I have ways of testing it's effectiveness. It is only because you're seventh years that I'm allowing you to brew this." Albus knew that Scorpius was smirking, without even looking at his friend. Albus felt himself do the same. "It's called the Drink of Despair." Even it's name sounded bad. Albus couldn't wait. Professor Jacobs handed out a list of ingredients and equipment that they would require. As she handed the paper to Albus, their hands touched, their eyes connected for a brief moment. Albus watched her walk away. Rose was immediately on her feet and going to get their ingredients. Albus turned to Scorpius only to catch him looking back at Albus with a worried look on his face.
"You alright, mate?" Albus nodded.
"Yeah, of course. Why wouldn't I be?" He asked,confused. Scorpius started to say something when Rose called him over to assist her. Albus looked back at Professor Jacobs who was now talking to another student. He caught her glance over at him however.
When Rose and Scorpius returned, they got to work on their potion. Albus was a little wary about brewing this potion due to it's name. And the fact that it wasn't in any of their books. Maybe it was a potion that only a select few Wizards knew. That only increased it's allure to Albus.
Near the end of the class, Professor Jacobs called everyone's attention, signaling that the time was up. She walked around to each of the groups' cauldrons, testing each potion. She smiled at the trio when she said that their potion was perfect. Not bad for a first try. Professor Jacobs dismissed the class with a big smile. Before Rose, Scorpius, and Albus could leave, however, she stopped them.
"Potter, Weasley, and Malfoy. Yes?" She asked, stepping towards them as the other students piled out of the classroom. Albus nodded. Professor Jacobs held out three pieces of parchment towards each of them. "I'd like for you to join this little.. group I'm starting. Call it my own little Slug Club." Everyone knew about the Slug Club, an exclusive club started by Professor Horace Slughorn years ago. Albus's mother, father, and aunt were members.
Rose shook her head, handing the invitation back. "No thank you, Professor. I'd like to focus on my studies, I'm not doing too well in a few of my classes and I'd like to not have anything distracting me this year, but I really appreciate the offer." Rose said respectively. Professor Jacobs looked disappointed, but she didn't push the offer. She simply nodded in understanding.
"Alright, dear. What about you two?" She asked Scorpius and Albus.
Scorpius shrugged, "Yeah, I'll come check it out." Albus agreed.
"Me too." It meant more time with Professor Jacobs. She smiled.
"Great, I look forward to seeing you there."
The trio left and headed for their next class, Transfiguration. Albus disliked the class because he thought it was too easy. He had a natural talent for transfiguration. Rose theorized that it was because his parents were skilled, and his grandparents were as well. They chose a spot together again. All through class, Albus couldn't stop thinking about Professor Jacobs and the secret club she was forming. He wondered who else would be attending, maybe her other classes. He glanced over at Scorpius who was listening intently to the Professor. Albus hadn't caught his name. The first day of classes always consisted of the Professors telling them what to expect during the year. It was all very boring to Albus, but he powered through it. The rest of the day went relatively the same, an explanation of the class and what they'd accomplish, and then an exercise to test their abilities. Albus did exceptional with his friends by his side.
The trio headed back to the Slytherin Dormitory after classes ended. They had a few hours before the feast at the end of the day, and then Scorpius and Albus had their meeting with Professor Jacobs. They sat on the couch, Rose in the middle and the two boys surrounding her.
"Are you two really going to join that club?" Rose asked, glancing at the two of them. Albus shrugged.
"Why not? Dad, Mum, and Aunt Hermione were members of the Slug Club."
"Yeah, but I thought we weren't trying to be like our parents. Besides, I think there's something wrong with Professor Jacobs." Albus leaned forward so he could see both of his friends.
"What do you mean?" Scorpius asked, leaning forward as well. Rose looked down at her lap.
"I've heard of that potion before. Voldemort used it to hide one of the horcruxes. It makes you see your worst fears and suffocates you." She shivered, whether from fear or the cold atmosphere of the Common Room, Albus wasn't sure. "What kind of professor makes us brew such a dangerous potion?"
"One who thinks we're not children?" Scorpius asked. "What's the big deal? She's a nice Professor who doesn't treat us like we're five."
Rose stood up, "Look. I just want you both to be careful when you go to this meeting. But, if you two think I'm crazy, then I'll be on my way. I'm going to spend my time with Anneliese or something." Anneliese Zabini was another Slytherin, Scorpius's pseudo cousin. While she wasn't really part of their group, she was Rose's best girl friend. At least in Slytherin. If Rose was really looking for someone to talk to, she'd set up a meeting with Lily or Hugo. Most of the time, she used Anneliese as a way to say that she was annoyed with the two of them and needed to talk to someone who would agree with her. Albus shook his head as she went into the girl's dormitory. Scorpius turned to him.
"She's being paranoid." Albus nodded in agreement. Rose was right most of the time, but this time she was way off. This would be fun and she would be kicking herself later for missing out on it. The two discussed what they knew of the Slug Club and compared it to their ideas on how this club would be while they waited for the meeting's time to draw near. After the dinner feast, the two boys headed towards the potions classroom, where it would be held.
Immediately as they stepped into the room, they knew something was off. The room was dark, the only lights giving it a dark green feel. Very Slytherin. Albus threw a cautious look at Scorpius who's brow furrowed in confusion. His eyes darted around the room, accessing the environment.
"Scorpius. Albus." Albus nearly jumped out of his skin as Professor Jacobs' voice seemed to come out of nowhere. Albus turned around and saw her standing in a black robe, a hood over her head. "Follow me." She motioned towards a door that led to a supply closet. Albus suddenly had flashbacks to a party that Christan Nott threw in their fifth year, when he and his friends played a game called 'Spin the Bottle' and Albus had landed on Capriella Lestrange. They were pushed towards a closet together and left there for seven minutes. It ended with Capriella without a shirt and Albus getting very close to not having any clothes on.
Somehow, he didn't think this would be anything like that.
As they walked towards the closet, Albus realized that it wasn't the supply closet that it'd been earlier. It extended into a long hallway that had a downward slope, it curved into a staircase leading down under the castle. Scorpius and Albus followed her into a dark room with several cloaked figures. This was starting to feel less like a club, and more of a cult. Albus looked at Scorpius, brow raised. Scorpius stared straight ahead as they walked. As they reached the center of the circle, Professor Jacobs stopped. Albus and Scorpius stopped behind her. Albus glanced around nervously. The other figures had their heads bowed, masking their faces.
"Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy." Professor Jacobs announced. The figures said something in unison that Albus couldn't decipher. Professor Jacobs turned to them. "We were hoping to see Rose Weasley here as well, but I suppose that can't be helped. Maybe someday she'll change her mind." One of the figures stepped forward, holding a crystal ball. Albus watched warily. "Scorpius," Professor Jacobs took the ball and handed it towards Scorpius. Scorpius glanced at it for a second before he looked back at the figures.
"What is it?" He asked. Albus stayed quiet, his hand going to his pocket where he kept his wand, he'd do anything for his friends. Even hex a professor, even hex Professor Jacobs. If they were going to hurt Scorpius, he'd attempt to kill them all.
One of the figures responded, "We're the Knights of Salazar." Alright, now Albus was positive he didn't want any part of this. Salazar had a thing for blood purity. Scorpius was the grandson of a pure-blood and a muggle-born. He was definitely not pure. Scorpius however, was very pure. The Malfoy family strived for purity prior to the war, so did the Greengrass family. Rose was the daughter of a muggle-born and a pure-blood. Why did they want him and Rose? Why not just Scorpius? "This is a prophecy that was handed down through our society. It was said that there would rise one who will lead us in our quest. The Pariah. You can see why we chose you." Scorpius was an outsider, for the most part. Scorpius reached forward but stopped himself before he touched the cold surface of the crystal ball.
"What exactly is your mission?" He asked. Albus frowned. Why was Scorpius asking questions? Why wasn't he just telling them that they weren't interested. Scorpius seemed mesmerized by the Crystal Ball, as if it was hypnotizing him.
"To finish what Salazar started. To create a perfect world."
Albus stepped forward and grabbed Scorpius's wrist. He was done listening to this. "Alright, we're leav-" He used his other hand to push the figure away, his hand brushing across the crystal ball. He froze, staring at the ball. A scene played on it.
He saw James, the perfect son. Head Boy, now an Auror. The golden boy of the Wizarding World. Everyone loved him, everyone cheered and flocked towards him when he entered a room. The reactions from the Daily Prophet said that clearly enough. Albus could never compare to the wonderful and powerful, perfect James Sirius Potter. The image morphed into his father. The Chosen One, the Boy Who Lived. Everyone loved him, living in his father's shadow was bad enough, his brother only made it worse. He would never amount to what they accomplished. He was the problem child, the screw up. He was sorted into Slytherin. He made friends with the worst company. He hated his family. He brought down the family name. He never fit in with his family -
He was an outsider.
The Pariah.
As those thoughts ran through his head, the image changed again. Scorpius standing in front of him, his wand raised, as if he were protecting him. A group of people staring up at him with adoration and amazement. His followers. Commanding that Scorpius kill someone, Rose screaming.
Scorpius placed his hand on Albus's shoulder, bringing him back to reality. He blinked a few times and looked at the crowd around them. Albus dropped Scorpius's wrist, looking at the ground. Professor Jacobs took a step towards him.
"Albus?" She said his name softly, Albus couldn't help the small smile that appeared on his face. "What did you see?" Albus turned to Scorpius who had a look of concern on his face.
"I-" He couldn't explain what happened. What he'd seen. That wasn't him. He didn't feel that way, did he? He didn't hate his family - but he did. "I don't-"
The figure that held the Crystal Ball stepped closer, "Knights, I believe we found our leader." Albus bit his lip. Praying that they weren't thinking what he was. "Albus Severus Potter shall lead us in our quest. Won't you, child?" How could he? He knew what Salazar Slytherin was working towards. What he wanted. His aunt, Rose's mother. How could he want that as well? And yet there was a dark feeling in the pit of his stomach, pushing him towards agreeing.
"Yes." He said immediately. "Yes, I will lead you in your quest."
Scorpius shook his head, squeezing Albus's shoulder. "Albus, no." He pleaded. "You can't be serious, we need to leave now. Your aunt Hermione is a muggle-born. How can you seriously think about creating a 'perfect race'?" Albus turned to him.
"I don't care about a perfect race, Scorpius. But I have seen what the future holds. James. Father. The entire wizarding world, they will all feel terror and despair when they hear my name."
"Albus.. This isn't you. What would Rose say?" Albus pushed Scorpius's hands off of him.
"Rose wants just as much as we do to have a world where she isn't known as the daughter of Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. Wouldn't you love to be known as something other than the son of Draco Malfoy?"
Scorpius paused for a second, glancing at the ground. Albus knew he'd gotten to his friend. Why couldn't Scorpius just see things his Way. Maybe if he saw what Albus had seen, he'd understand. Albus took Scorpius's hand and made him touch the crystal ball. Scorpius went quiet, eyes staring blankly ahead. If it weren't for the subtle rise and fall of Scorpius's chest, Albus would have been concerned that his friend was dead, he was so still. After a few moments, Scorpius blinked his eyes, looking away. As Albus had done. There was something in Scorpius's eyes that made Albus wonder what he'd seen. Had he seen the motivation and future that Albus had? Or had it conjured up a special blend of images and feelings? If so, what did he see that put that look on his face? Did he see himself ruling everyone?
Scorpius turned to Albus, a determined look on his face. "If Albus is destined to lead you, then I will join him." Albus smiled. He knew that his friend would see it his way once he'd seen what Albus had seen. "But," Oh no. "People are going to talk. They're going to know that something is going on. Our parents are already preparing for a war. Use me. Make people think that I'm leading you."
No! Albus couldn't let that happen. He wouldn't let that happen. "Scorpius. No. You're not risking your life for me."
"I've seen what's going to happen. They will attack us. I want to protect you. I want to do this for you. If they come barging our doors down, they'll go straight for the leader. If I fall and you live on, you can still carry out things from the shadows. In the end, it's going to come down to you or me. I want to be your personal guard. I'll bring all of the attention to myself, make them think I'm behind everything so they'll target me. I can take care of myself. I've been training my entire life."
Albus knew that Scorpius could handle himself. Both physically and magically. He'd proved that many times. In class and out.
Albus turned his gaze to the ground. How could he even think about putting his life in danger? Especially for Albus? Scorpius couldn't do this. Albus wouldn't let him. Albus would-
"It is decided then. Albus, you will lead us, however Scorpius, you will be our leader's guardian. His protector. We will publicly serve you while we truly serve Albus." The group chanted something in unison, dropping to one knee in front of Albus. It was then Albus noticed just how many people surrounded them as the room lit up, illuminating them all. Scorpius turned to him before bowing as well. He opened his mouth to deny this, to tell them that he wouldn't agree to it as long as Scorpius's life was in danger, but he couldn't bring himself to. The rush of power that he felt in that moment as he looked at his people, bowing to him, willing to do whatever he said, willing to die for him if he commanded it. The euphoria of the knowledge that these people swore themselves to him.
It was like nothing he could ever describe.
Scorpius and Albus headed back to the Slytherin Dormitory. Rose looked up from the couch, a book in her hands. She didn't say a word as they walked in until they were close to her.
"So? How was it?" She asked. Albus glanced at Scorpius. It wasn't like they could tell her what had really gone on. Not until she had a chance to see for herself and they had a lot of time to explain to her what was going on. She wouldn't understand, not yet at least. They could explain it to her, just not here. Not within the walls of Hogwarts where everyone was listening. The Bloody Baron glanced at them as he flew around the dormitory. Everyone was listening, even the ghosts. They couldn't let this get out until they knew for sure who they could trust. And while they knew that they could trust Rose over everyone else, the other students, the ghosts, the portraits, everyone else had to be considered an enemy.
Albus smiled, letting her know that everything was okay. He had to.
"It was great. You really should have come." Rose looked at them with suspicion before she shrugged.
"Like I said, I want to focus on my studies and Professor Jacobs gives me the creeps." Albus felt defensive, but he didn't let it show on his face. Rose was just voicing her opinion. If she'd been there she would've understood why it was so important. Albus glanced at Scorpius again, but Scorpius wasn't looking at him. Scorpius laughed, stepping forward to throw his arm around Rose's shoulder.
"You're right, she's a creep." Albus felt anger rising in his chest, how dare Scorpius say that about Professor Jacobs! She had only been trying to help them with their destiny. She wasn't a creep, she was light, warmth, and everything good in the world. Before Albus could speak, Scorpius was sitting Rose down on the couch and engaging her in deep conversation. Later, he'd be grateful that he didn't have the chance to speak, but the thought of being a leader, being the leader caused a deep stirring within him. A sense of pride and a lust for people to obey him.
As he lay in bed that night, tossing and turning, he knew that he would better than anything anyone could imagine. Voldemort would have run from him when he was done with his destiny. His father would tremble before him in fear, the mud-bloods would run screaming from the mere mention of his name. There wouldn't be any of this disobedience when he was in charge, there wouldn't be any 'son of Harry Potter' idiocy. The world would be his.
That night, his dreams were filled of people bowing to him, killing for him, instilling fear because of him. The land was his, the world was his. The darkness within him swirled. He would do things that no one ever even thought of. He would be great, a true Lord over the Wizarding World. And he wouldn't stop with England, no he'd spread his influence to all countries around the world.
The next morning, he remembered everything. The entire dream was clear in his mind. When he sat down next to Scorpius he wanted to tell him about the dream, but before he could they were joined by Rose. Albus wanted to tell her as well, but a look from Scorpius told him not to. Albus didn't understand why, if Rose knew then they could all be together.
He asked him about this when they were alone. Rose had gone to write an Owl to her mother and the rest of the Slytherin house was off doing other things. The two boys sat alone in their dorm room. Scorpius was laying in his bed, staring up at the ceiling while Albus sat with his legs thrown off the side of his bed, watching his friend.
"Why haven't we told Rose about what's going on? She's our best friend, my cousin. Shouldn't she know what she could do if she were with us?" Scorpius sat up and gave him a stern look. It was one of those times when Albus felt way younger than Scorpius though they were only separated by two months. Scorpius hardly ever looked at him like that. Albus didn't like it, he didn't like being looked down on. So, he decided to do something about it. "If I'm going to be the new Dark Lord, you better start treating me with some respect." He demanded. Scorpius adverted his eyes, as if ashamed. Albus felt pride swelling in him. He didn't have a problem with standing up to people, especially not his friends, but ordering Scorpius was something he wasn't used to. "Rose should know." Scorpius nodded.
"I know, but not yet. Let's wait until things calm down before we tell her." Albus agreed. They needed to prepare, and why he didn't think Rose would rat them out, he didn't know if she could be trusted with this secret just yet. Their dorm-mates joined them soon after, so they left and headed for another place to talk.
The next morning at breakfast, an owl came for Rose from her father, telling her that things were going well, but they'd be out of contact for a few days. Ministry business. Albus resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Ministry Business. They were looking for him. Good thing they were looking in all the wrong places. Albus received a similar one from his parents, as did Scorpius from his father. But only Scorpius and Albus knew the true meaning behind the letters. Rose just ripped hers up and tossed it away, looking over at Hugo as he opened his own letter from their parents. Albus saw Lily open one as well. Most likely telling them the same thing. Lily glanced over at Albus and mouthed something to him.
She wanted to meet with him. Privately.
He nodded, and mouthed 'The Lake, hour before curfew', before he stood up and motioned for his friends to follow him out of the Great Hall. As they left, he wondered what their parents had told Lily. An hour and a half before curfew, Albus bid goodbye to his friends and headed for the lake. Lily would know exactly where. There was a little path that was slightly secluded that led to a shallow part of the lake. When Lily first arrived at Hogwarts, Albus brought her there so they could play in the lake water, since Lily loved playing in pools and such. She was scared her first year. All of them were due to the stories they heard of their father's years. Hell, Albus was scared until his fifth year, thinking that someone may come after him the way they did his dad. So, to calm Lily down, he brought her to this part of the lake so she could play in the water. Albus walked over to the spot and leaned against the tree that hung over the lake. He waited for his sister to join him.
He heard a twig snap and his head whipped over to see Lily's red hair come into view. She was looking down at her feet as she walked. When she stopped in front of him, she crossed her arms over her chest and looked around.
"We haven't been out here in forever." She commented. Albus nodded. "Look, I'll get straight to the point. Something's up with mum and dad. They said they'd be out of contact because of some ministry business, but they never get out of contact with us. And.." She bit her lower lip, as if there was something she wanted to say but was afraid to.
Albus tilted his head to the side, "And what, Lils?" He asked, using the pet name he had for her when they were younger. Lily looked down. "Lily, you can tell me anything. What'd they say?"
"James said.. That we should be careful around Scorpius." She said, nervously. "He said Draco Malfoy's been acting very strange lately, and that they could be hiding something."
Albus almost sighed in relief. He decided to act unconcerned. "I'm sure it's nothing. You know how paranoid our family is about the Malfoys. If Scorpius does something suspicious, I'll let you know. Okay? Until then, there's nothing to worry about."
Lily nodded. "Just be careful, Albus. I know how much you care about him."
Albus put his hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, Lily. I'm always careful. We're dad's kids, remember? We have to be careful all the time." Lily cracked a smile before nodding and stating that she had to go to bed because of a test coming up. Albus nodded and watched his little sister walk away. He headed back to his dorm as soon as she was out of sight. He began to wonder if she'd need to be taken care of as well.