Chapter Two
Something to Write Lily
"Good evening," a lady of many years addressed the student body from the centre of the staff table. "To our First Years, welcome, and to our returning students, welcome back to another year at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry." She looked through the Great Hall, scanning through all of the faces. "For those of you who don't yet know me, I am Professor Minerva McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts."
Albus smiled; the Headmistress was just as he remembered her. She was stern, Scottish and almost Grandmotherly.
"We have several changes in staff this year. First of all, I would like to welcome Professor Melrose Alley, who has graciously agreed to take over his Uncle SIberius' post as Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher." There was a polite round of applause for both Professor Alley and the new Transfiguration teacher, Professor Jacobs. However, there was a roar from the Gryffindor table when the Headmistress announced the next change in staff: "Finally, Professor Dean Thomas, who filled in for Professor Binns last year while the Professor took long-service leave, has agreed to take over the position of History of Magic teacher full time."
Albus could have sworn he saw Professor McGonagall's face break into a small smile.
After the feast, the First Years were shepherded by Albus' cousin Dominique and a boy named Robins, who were the Gryffindor Prefects, up to Gryffindor Tower.
"Girls, your dormitory is up these stairs and to the right; Boys, yours is up this staircase and to the left. Breakfast begins at 7 and finishes 10 minutes before lessons. Professor Longbottom will see you at breakfast tomorrow to hand out your schedules. off to bed!" Robins instructed, watching them walk up the stairs.
"Congratulations, you two!" Dominique exclaimed, hugging both of her cousins. "Now off to bed, or Robins'll have all our heads."
Laughing, Albus followed Scorpius upstairs to the very top dormitory, where some boys they recognised from their Sorting had already claimed their beds.
Thomas Finnigan, whom Albus had already met through family gatherings and such, had claimed the bed to the left of the door; two other boys that introduced themselves as Robert Wilson and Andrew Harrington, had claimed the beds continuing around the room. Albus took the bed on the right-hand side of the door, and Scorpius the remaining bed between his new friend and the boy called Andrew.
"This is weird, isn't it?" Thomas asked Albus, stretching out on top of the covers of his bed. "Being here without mum and dad, I mean."
"Yeah," Albus replied, smiling as he dug out his pyjamas from the trunk at the end of his bed. "But James is here, of course. It's a pity, really. I thought after his last prank, there'd be no way mum would let him back on the train this morning!"
Thomas laughed. "I heard about that! Dad said it was hilarious – dangerous, but hilarious all the same!"
"Was that what happened at the end of term? Something to do with the Squid and the Lake?" Andrew asked.
"Oh yeah!" Robert jumped in. "I read about that in the Prophet."
Albus was astounded. "James' prank made it into the Prophet?"
"Yeah," Scorpius replied, a smile adorning his face, "second page and everything!"
Rolling his eyes and crawling under his covers, Albus muttered, "He's probably got a cut-out of it hanging up somewhere."
There was a small 'Pop,' followed by a small voice, which replied, "Yes, Master Albus, he does. On the wall above his bed."
"That is so typical." Albus shook his head, then sat up and addressed his family's House-Elf. "Hey, Kreacher. Mum sent you?"
"Yes, Master Albus, Mistress Ginny sent Kreacher to check up on both of her sons. And Master Harry asked Kreacher to congratulate Master Albus on being Sorted into Gryffindor, although he says that he would have been proud even if you were Sorted elsewhere. Good evening," Kreacher inclined his head towards the other boys in the room.
"How's Lily doing?" Albus casually asked, stroking the silvery material of his dad's Invisibility Cloak.
"Ah, Miss Lily is not doing well, Master Albus. She is most upset. Kreacher had to come home early from his date," the House-Elf replied, fluffing his young Master's pillow. "If there is nothing else, Kreacher must be getting home."
"Certainly, Kreacher," Albus smiled and hugged his very first friend. "Thanks, Kreacher. Tell mum I'm fine, and Lily that I'll owl her as soon as I have something interesting to tell her."
With a small nod and a low bow, there was another 'Pop' and Kreacher the House-Elf was gone.
The next morning, Albus and Scorpius awoke early, changing into their brand-new Gryffindor robes and heading down towards the Common Room.
"Morning!" James and Fred yelled, joining the two boys at the bottom of the staircase.
"Will you two keep it down?" Louis demanded, holding his head in his hands.
"Louis had a busy night," Fred explained, deliberately patting Louis quite hard on his cheek. "Turned down by three girls, and made out with two others."
Rolling his eyes while Scorpius' chin hit the floor, Albus turned around to face James, in the pathetic hope that he would provide more stimulating conversation. "I'm surprised to see you up before noon!" he exclaimed, watching his big brother scoff and continue walking. "Kreacher give you a visit last night?"
"Yeah," James replied with a yawn. "He dropped off that damned book! I was so looking forward to not having to go to History of Magic this year! But I guess with Dean teaching, it won't be so bad anymore."
"That's Professor Thomas to you," Professor Longbottom corrected them as he walked out of his office, which was actually a two-bedroom apartment. They were halfway down to the Great Hall now, and it seemed that the Longbottoms would be coming with them.
"I'll see you this evening," Mrs Longbottom said to her husband, kissing his cheek before heading down a different hallway.
"James, would you mind escorting Frank from your Care of Magical Creatures class to Transfiguration this afternoon?"
"No problem, Professor L!" James replied, ruffling young Frank Longbottom's hair. "You gonna hang with us and Hagrid?"
"Yeah! Then tonight, I'm going over to your place with Hugo and Lily for a sleepover!"
James laughed, and then had a realization. "Hey Frank, would you mind, uh…"
"No." was Neville's firm answer to the question James didn't have a chance to finish. "You will not corrupt my son by making him smuggle prank items in and out of Hogwarts."
About a half an hour later, owls began swooping through the open windows and landing in front of their intended recipients.
Rose opened her package and squealed, proclaiming that her dad had bought her that Rune book she had wanted as a congratulations for being Sorted into Gryffindor. Albus, on the other hand, had received a quick note from his dad saying that he was very proud of him and happy that he was exactly where he most desperately wanted to be.
Scorpius, in a reaction different to both of them, simply sat there, staring at his owl.
"Scorpius? Are you ok?" Rose asked, reaching out and touching his arm to bring him out of his trance.
"Wha-? Oh, yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." Still, he continued staring at the letter. "It's just that – well, my dad has sent me a letter."
"Scorpius," he turned his head to face Albus and Rose's older cousin, Victoire. "You need to see what it says."
As he read the letter, his eyes opened wide in shock. Speechless, he passed the letter to Albus, who read over it himself.
Scorpius, it read. You'll probably be surprised to read this, but I am so very proud of you. My son, a Malfoy, in Gryffindor! I told your grandmother this morning and she started crying.
Scorpius, the letter continued, don't be afraid to be who you are. Your surname may be Malfoy, but that doesn't define you. You're not like us. You're more like your mum – determined, brave … This shows we raised you right.
So make some friends, it began to conclude, good ones, not the pathetic ones I made. Introduce yourself to people I never did. Say hello to people every now and then. But learn from my mistakes – you know what they are.
I'm so proud of you, Son. Love, dad.
"Not what you were expecting, then?"
All Scorpius could manage to do was to shake his head.
At the end of breakfast, Neville walked the length of the Gryffindor table, handing out timetables to students. Currently, Rose was begging to take Arithmancy and Ancient Runes.
"No, Rose," Neville sighed exasperatedly. "Those subjects are electives and can only be taken by students who are Third Years and above." He tapped his wand to a piece of parchment and handed Rose her schedule. "There you are. Double History of Magic on the third floor – you should enjoy that class."
The three friends made their way to the History of Magic classroom, following the directions of Victoire and Dominique, who wanted to make sure they weren't late to their first Hogwarts class.
When Professor Thomas opened the door, he smiled and welcomed the First Years in. From the state of the classroom, it was immediately evident that this class would not be as boring as everyone had always said it was.
"So," Professor Thomas called the class to attention, "my name is Professor Thomas. Your name is?" He pointed to Scorpius, who took the cue.
"Scorpius Malfoy."
The Professor smiled. "My name is Professor Thomas, and your name is Scorpius Malfoy." He looked at Rose and continued his name game. "My name is Professor Thomas, and your name is Rose Weasley."
He looked at a boy dressed in crisp Slytherin robes.
"Jacob Moss," he told him, reminding Albus of someone who knew very well their place in society – and thought it was much higher than it was.
"My name is Professor Thomas, and your name is Jacob Moss."
After about ten minutes, he had made it around the classroom. "Albus," he nodded his head at the young Mr Potter, who smiled in return. "Well, everybody, welcome to Hogwarts. And more than that; Welcome to History of Magic." He paused, before beginning to tread side to side at the front of the classroom. "Now, when I was at school – yes, when the dragons still ruled the earth," the class laughed, "I sat where you sat. In this very classroom. Falling asleep while Professor Binns drawled on and on about the Giant and Goblin Wars." He paused for a moment, realizing what he had said. "Oops! Nobody tell Professor McGonagall I said that!" Again, the class laughed.
"Now, we will touch on Giant and Goblin Wars, but not until third year-"
Albus snorted, adding, "James," and laughing.
"-Yes, well." The Professor stopped to smile at Albus. "Anyway, this year – and for the majority of your schooling, for there is much to learn about it – we will be focusing on the First and Second Wizarding Wars."
Rose and Albus sat up straighter in their seats. Their parents had mentioned these topics in passing, and they knew that they were somehow involved, but neither they, nor their cousins, knew exactly how.
"Now, I myself lived through the Second Wizardring War – I was here at Hogwarts when it all happened. Lots of your parents' were." As though to prove his point, he began to point out children in the class whose parents had been there with them. "Rose, Albus, Collin, McMillan – your parents were all here. They fought with me. And Scorpius, your dad was here, too."
Scorpius gave a half-hearted smile, not really sure what to do.
"So, we all know there's Memorials and Remembrances and Days of Mourning and Anniversaries each year, so let's see how much you already know about these wars."
Immediately, Rose's hand shot into the air.
"Rose, you remind me of your mother." Rose smiled at this, and took it as her cue to answer the question.
"There was the Battle of Hogwarts."
"Very good, yes. Now, in your sixth year, you'll see some memories from some key people involved in the Battle of Hogwarts – memories from Professors around Hogwarts, people you've never met or even heard of, and also some of your parents." His eyes lingered on Albus as he said this. "Chances are, many of you will learn more about your parents and grandparents and other family members than you ever dreamed of during this course of study."
Albus tentatively raised his hand, knowing very well that the other students were staring at him.
"Yes, Albus."
"Um, my dad told me about this guy once – the one that gave him his scar. I think he said his name was … Voldemort?"
Professor Thomas shivered. "After all these years, I still can't handle hearing his name," the Professor honestly told the class. "Yes, yes, your dad would know quite a bit about him." Dean sighed for a moment, before asking Albus specifically a question. "How much do you know about your dad's scar?"
"Um…" Albus seemed particularly confused. "He said he got it when he was a baby. The night his parents were killed. Voldemort tried to kill him too, but he couldn't."
"Do you know why?"
"Love," Rose instantly replied, saving the incredibly self-conscious Albus from being the centre of attention. "Lily Potter – Uncle Harry's mum – died to save him, and James – his father – to save the both of them. That's why Voldemort couldn't kill him. It's why none of his curses would ever stick; Lily's love lives in Uncle Harry. There's no way Voldemort could have ever seriously hurt him."
"Right you are, Rose," Professor Thomas replied. "Does anyone else know anything about Voldemort?"
"Um, I do." Everyone stared at Scorpius, who had spoken in front of them all for the very first time. "His – Voldemort's – followers were called Death Eaters. They would do a lot of his dirty work. They were people who enjoyed hurting others and killing people."
"Yes, Scorpius. They did." The Professor smiled at the boy and ruffled his hair. "But people change. I know one who did."
Albus knew that even though he and Rose heard it, that comment was for Scorpius and Scorpius alone.
"So, for next lesson," the class groaned as he said this. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. But seriously, take out your books, please, we're going to write some things down."
The class grumbled, but did as they were instructed.
"So, Voldemort – Lord Voldemort, also known as You-Know-Who, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and the Dark Lord – was a student, just like you and I. He was born the night his mother died, and didn't meet his father until he was much older and murdered not only him, but also his paternal grandparents."
Many of the students faces conveyed looks of extreme shock.
"This isn't a happy story," he informed them sadly. "It goes downhill before it gets any better."
They paused for a moment, and then the lesson continued.
"So, Voldemort was born Tom Marvalo Riddle in an orphanage in London, where he remained except for school terms until he graduated Hogwarts. He quickly gathered both power and followers, and their goal was what we now term Purification: He wanted a world where there were no muggles, and only pureblood wizards. One day – oh, almost 27 years ago now – one of his followers told him about half of a Prophecy…"
"Wow," Scorpius commented as he, Albus and Rose walked out of the History of Magic classroom to enjoy their break. "That was intense."
"That baby in the prophecy – that was my dad, wasn't it?" Albus asked them quietly, already deep in thought.
"Yes, Albus," Rose confirmed, "that baby was Uncle Harry."
Well, Albus thought, at least I now have something to write Lily about.