Chapter four
The first week did not go well. Everywhere that Albus went there were hushed whispers and he was stared at wherever he was, whatever he was doing. He tried to keep his head down and ignore them, but every comment stung. The worst lesson of all was the flying lesson. Albus had already been dreading it, as he had never even gotten the hang of the toy brooms at home, and it turned out to be dreadful indeed.
They had the lesson on Thursday, together with Griffindor. Scorpius was trying to cheer him up as usual, but Albus didn't even hear him. They were the last to arrive and stayed to the side of the two groups of students.
'You weren't the only one that couldn't get the feather up, Albus,' said Scorpius, referring to the Charms class they just came from. 'And at least yours didn't catch fire!'
Albus had to smile at that one. Yann Fredericks had not just set fire to one feather, he destroyed three, before Professor McGonagall decided to put a charm on the feather to make it fire resistant.
At that moment, Albus was distracted by a woman that stormed towards the center of students.
'Well, what are you all waiting for?' she yelled. 'Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up.'
Suddenly realizing that this had to be Madam Hooch, they all hurried to one of the brooms. Some pushing and shoving was required, but before long, everyone had one.
'Stick out your hand over your broom and say "up",' Madam Hooch continued.
They all followed her instructions with various results. The brooms of Rose and Yann sprang into their hands at their command and they grinned at the rest of them. Most of the brooms however, just rolled or trembled. Albus stared at his, the only one to fail at making his broom even twitch.
'Up!' he yelled, together with the others, apart from Rose and Yann. 'Up!'. Nothing. He stared at the wooden object in anger. Everyone had now succeeded and was watching Albus struggle. More than a few were giggling. Albus could feel his cheeks warm up with the humiliation and frustration. As the class was distracted by the next instructions, Albus quickly snatched the broom off the ground.
'Albus Potter, the Slytherin Squib,' chuckled Karl Jenkins.
'He really isn't like his father at all, is he?' added Polly.
'Okay children, time to fly!' said Madam Hooch.
Albus was glad when Friday evening arrived. So far, his lessons had all concluded in failures. His potions blew up, his charms failed to work and his broom had barely lifted him off the ground. Though at the moment, he was glad to be hurrying over the grounds, away from the castle, and towards Hagrid's hut. Scorpius had decided to stay in the castle, saying he had to finish his homework, but Albus suspected that he wanted to give him the opportunity to visit Hagrid alone. He felt grateful for it. Though they only knew each other a week, Scorpius was very sensitive to his moods.
As Albus started knocking, he was surprised when the door flew open at his first tap.
'Albus!' Hagrid yelled as he pulled him into a bone crushing hug. 'I though ye didn't know where I lived! Good to see yah. Welcome to me home!'
Albus was ushered inside the cottage. He had heard about it from his father and although it was rebuilt, it looked the same as the description. Fang, the great boarhound, limped towards him. He was getting on in years, but his drooling lived up to the stories. As the dog put his huge head on Albus' lap, drool started to poor over his hands in no time at all.
'Here, have some tea,' said Hagrid, as he carefully placed a cup in front of Albus. He was surprised to see it was a regular side.
Following Albus' gaze, Hagrid said: 'Gift o' Hermoine, that was. She figured I needed summing respectable for guests.'
Albus smiled at that. He could imagine the indignation of his aunt as she was forced to drink out of a tankard.
'Well? How was yer first week?' asked Hagrid.
Albus' smile dropped. He looked at Fangs head, still resting in his lap.
'It's horrible,' he said softly. 'Everyone compares me to my dad and I just can't do it. I'm not like him!' He shouted the last line as he looked up, forcing back tears.
'Of course yer not like Harry,' said Hagrid soothingly. 'Yer you, don' let them others decide who you should be.'
Ablus picked up the flower decorated teacup, sipping at his tea. He contemplated Hagrid's words for a moment. 'It's easier said than done though,' he said. 'I can't even get a simple spell right. Rose is making everything look easy, and I doubt James had any trouble.'
'I'm not too sure about that last bit,' Hagrid said, grinning. 'I remember yer brother sittin' here cyrin' cuz his potion gave him warts. Didn't dare going to the hospital wing, 'fraid they'd laugh.'
Albus nearly spit out his tea at this, staring at the half giant in disbelieve.
'Don't believe everythin' yer brother tells you, Ablus,' he continued, 'he likes a bit o' drama he does. And he doesn't like looking bad.'
When Albus walked back towards the castle that evening, he felt a lot better. He even felt like he could eat a proper meal for the first time in the week and when he entered the Great Hall, he was glad to see Scorpius sitting there already. As he planted himself next to his friend, he grabbed a piece of chicken and started to wolf it down. Scorpius was looking at him in surprise.
'Had a good time at Hagrid's place, I presume?' he said.
'Was good seeing him again,' Albus answered in between bites.
Scorpius smiled and went back to his own meal.
Ablus' good mood didn't last long however. Classes started to become more difficult as the year progressed and he had a hard time keeping track of everything. If he didn't have Scorpius to help him, he'd have failed several classes at least a dozen times. Magic just didn't seem to come to him as easily as it did to all the others. The term "Slytherin Squib" was used frequently now. He even heard James use it once. Not even Hagrid's pep talks could cheer him up anymore. The only class where he wasn't behind was Herbology, and only because he got a lot of help from Professor Longbottom who took pity on him. More than once the old family friend tried to talk to Albus, trying to cheer him up, telling him that things would work out in the end, but Albus couldn't bring himself to trust the kind Professor. He was afraid that the things he said would find a way back to his parents.
And there was the other issue: his parents. He still got regular owls, but their letters were pretty much always the same: 'I hope you're doing alright, why won't you write to us more regularly, it doesn't matter in what house you are, we are so proud of you' and so on. But Albus knew they were disappointed in him, in his grades, in his performances, in his house. And so, when Christmas came around, he wasn't sure what to do. He was torn between wanting to leave the castle and not wanting to go home. In the end, what decided it for him, was the fact that Scorpius was going home. Albus didn't like the idea of staying in the castle without him, so in the end, he was sitting in the train, back towards King's Cross Station.
