4 - Time Out

Ginny and Harry were waiting to meet them as they were guided off the platform in small groups, and by the time Albus and Scorpius made their way through the iron gates of Platform 9 3/4, Ginny was smiling a little impatiently at them.

"Come on Albus, we haven't got all day!" She grinned and opened her arms wide for a hug.

Albus hesitated, looking at Scorpius sadly. Scorpius flashed a covert smile and wave in his direction before trailing off to where his mother and father were standing quietly. From his mother's arms, Albus watched as a slightly reluctant-looking Scorpius was also embraced by his mother. Draco stood a head taller than the pair of them, wearing the high-collared black coat he seemed to live in.

"Right, we've got the car waiting outside." Harry spoke, squeezing Albus' shoulders in greeting. "Everybody here? Right, follow me then!"

The group trailed behind Harry out to the front of the station, a decidedly surly-looking James bringing up the rear, alongside Hugo who was gazing around the high-roofed grey station as if he'd never seen one before.

"Isn't Aidan coming, Auntie Ginny?" Asked Rose, looking around the soot-filled station for a glimpse of her cousin's spiky red hair.

"He's gone to stay with Uncle George until Christmas Eve." Ginny smiled, ferrying Lily ahead of her.

"How come he gets to go and stay with George?" James stopped so abruptly Hugo narrowly avoided skittering into him. "Why can't I go and stay with them??"

"Because he's... James, please, you've not been back ten minutes."

Teddy was waiting in the car, splayed out on the back seat with his feet resting on the driver's chair, a lazy grin decorating his face as the small family veered into view. Ginny admonished him playfully as she shuffled him out of the car to make room for everybody. His hair was a vivid green and he laughed as with a squeal, Lily launched herself at him like a small red-haired cannonball.

"Teddy! I missed you!!" She buried her face in his grey t-shirt and clung there like a burr as he laughed.

"Missed you too, Lils - how was your first term? How did you get on with Transfiguration?"

"She's a natural." Rose beamed over Lily's head at Teddy, loading her trunk into the back of the car alongside James' hooting tawny owl, Puck. "Oh, do be quiet Puck, we'll be there soon."

Albus' barn owl looked as somber as he did, turning dark globelike eyes on him as he lifted his trunk in on top of Rose's and reached out to pet the bird. Flick clicked her beak and nibbled his fingers. Albus smiled and turned away from her, helping Ginny lift Lily's luggage into the boot before closing the lid with a heavy slam.

"Surprised you're not off having fun with George and Lee." James spoke to Teddy in a low voice, looking down at his feet.

"Nah, I've got better things to do than lend my constitution to those two for experiments." Teddy grinned, thumping James on the shoulder. "Believe me, I'd rather be eating dinner at your Mum's than whatever they've got planned."

James seemed brighter after that, managing a smile as they turned into the tired old street ahead of number twelve, Grimmauld place and parked the car nearby. It was hardly necessary to keep the once-Headquarters a secret anymore, but Harry smiled as the house slid into view between eleven and thirteen. As soon as the group stepped over the doorstep, the hallway was awash with suitcases, bumping their way towards the floors above and into bedrooms as Ginny waved her wand masterfully at the foot of the stairs.

"Rose - you'll be in Lily's room, and Hugo, you're with Albus. Go on, hurry through to the kitchen, you must be hungry!"

Herded down the stairs to the basement level kitchen, Albus spared an eye for the photographs lining the walls - smiling portraits of people he would never know - Uncle Fred and Teddy's parents among them. The beaming faces waved at him from their frames, as if welcoming everybody home. The kitchen was already decorated for Christmas, with only the tall tree stood by the fire left bare. A wizened old house-elf appeared beside it with a grim smile, grinning toothily at Lily as she ran and stooped to hug him.

"Kreacher!" She cried. "It's so good to see you - how have you been?"

"Kreacher has been very well, but missing young mistress in her absence." Said the old elf, his quavery voice accompanied by a smile. "Would mistress like a cup of tea?"

He was already bowing and shuffling towards the kettle when Harry ushered James into the room, ruffling his hair proudly. Albus noticed with a faint smirk of triumph that James had evidently elected not to fill his father in on the details of what happened on the previous day.

The days before Christmas Eve came and went, the girls decorated the tree and hung tinsel along the bannisters as Kreacher pottered amongst the family, spoiling the youngsters with fat chicken and ham sandwiches accompanied by sugary tea. The house was cozier and more inviting than it had ever been in its hundred years' service to the Black family, before being left to Harry following the death his Godfather. The portrait of Sirius' mother still hung over the entrance hall, as if holding council above all who entered. Occasionally the curtains would fly back from the portrait, revealing her face red with fury, but while the Potters hadn't been able to remove the frame from the wall, they had managed to silence the angry woman, and James laughed in her face as he pulled the curtains shut over her silent screams.

George, Angelina and Lee Apparated on the doorstep on Christmas eve with Aidan, Fred and Roxanne in tow, their arrival greeted by a flurry of feathers as they disrupted the owls from their perches by posting a great handful of indoor fireworks through the letterbox.

"GEORGE!" Roared Ginny, storming out of the kitchen and up the stairs to admonish her brother, but Lily beat her to the door, flinging it open and jumping into the arms of her uncle gladly.

With a flourish, Lee presented Ginny with a large bouquet of winter flowers, which rather allayed her temper as she calmed the owls. Angelina shuffled past with a sheepish grin, herding Fred and Roxanne before her.

"Ohh, didn't you invite Verity? I did say she was welcome..." Ginny surveyed the doorstep behind them, mild disappointment apparent in her voice.

"I asked her to come, but she'd already made plans to go to Alaska with her family for Christmas. We've been working triple shifts since she left on Tuesday!" Smiling, George shooed Lily away, and with a flourish of his wand, a great number of cardboard boxes marched their way into the hall and piled up the stairs.

"Those had better not be what I think they are, George..."

"Of course they're not!" Grinned George, leaning down to hug his sister before he, Aidan and Lee followed Lily and the others down the kitchen.

"Isn't Uncle Percy coming too?" Lily asked, taking Aidan's hand and looking up at him curiously.

"Not tonight," Aidan shook his head. "But he said he'll try and come to the Burrow for lunch tomorrow."

"We're going to the Burrow tomorrow??" Lily's face was alight with excitement as she turned to her father. "It's Christmas, and we're going to go see Nanny and Grandad??"

Harry laughed.

"Well, it was supposed to be a secret, but..."

Christmas Eve sped past in a blur and Albus was glad to be able to creep off to bed without having said a word to James all evening. The less time the two of them spent together, the less chance James would have to vent his frustrations on him, and the less chance he had of ending up bruised. Thankfully though, James was very much enamoured with George and Lee, and spent most of the evening chatting with them, Aidan and Teddy, as the five of them enchanted the cutlery to dance or scattered pieces of confetti for Rose's flat-faced ginger cat to chase.

The family set off for the Burrow early the next morning, after opening their presents and enjoying a quick breakfast prepared by Kreacher. Leaving the house-elf in charge of things, they packed into the bewitched car and set off through the snow toward the rickety house in Ottery St Catchpole.

Molly Weasley was waiting to greet them at the gate, dressed in a thick tweed jacket and wellingtons, her hair long-since greyed, but her face warm and smiling as ever. Seizing each of her grandchildren in turn, she crooned over them one by one as she sent them off towards the house where Bill, Fleur, Dominique, Louis and Victoire sat around the table. Nobody so much as blinked when Victoire ran to greet Teddy as he bustled in, arms laden with bags. Soon, everybody was settled in the cozy livingroom, which seemed smaller and more full than ever before.

"Ohh, it's so good to see you all..." Said Molly, squeezing the shoulders of the nearest person she could find, who just so happened to be Hugo. "Now, Percy, Audrey, Ron and Hermione should be here shortly. Oh, Merry Christmas! Who wants some butterbeer?"

Even Albus enjoyed Christmas, preoccupied as he was. It was great to be surrounded by so many of the people he loved, although he rather wished he'd been allowed to bring his best friend along. A feeling which deepened as, with a victorious bark of laughter, Heather and Bracken appeared in the doorstep four days before the start of term.

"Bracks!" James rushed out to greet his friend, hugging him and laughing.

"Auntie Mabel said you were around - Mam packed us off down here on Boxing Day, said it'd be easier to get to London this way, but I'm not sure I agree." Bracken smiled, shrugging his shoulders loftily. "Sure owls look a bit weird on the Intercity, but at least Glasgow's not the middle of nowhere!"

"We can try Side-Along-Apparition from here, Bracks! And you've got some explaining to do, haven't you." Heather elbowed him in the ribs with a smile.

"Oh yeah, that..." Bracken looked at her sheepishly. "Yeah, I... I got stuck-"

"As Padfoot." James finished the other boy's sentence for him, laughing. "We guessed."

"Mmm. Heather had to help me change back." Bracken smiled at the sound of his nickname - it had been James' father's suggestion to call him that, and while it was a bit unusual, he wore it as a badge of honour.

"And if it happens again, just leave him where he is and he'll find me." She shook her head. "I can't believe you tried to get him out past Filch and that cat!"

"Come inside guys, it's too cold out here! Maybe you can come up to London with us!"

Heather protested faintly as James led them into the kitchen, but was suitably grateful and quite relieved when 'Mr and Mrs Potter' offered to help the pair of them get to King's Cross the following Sunday. Albus watched jealously as James showed off his Christmas presents to Bracken, and shared chocolates with him, laying belly-down on the living room floor. Ginny seemed to have noticed, because she appeared at his side and put her arm round his shoulders gently, speaking quietly so that only he could hear.

"You can have a friend to stay over the summer if you like."

"Thanks mum, but..." Albus looked down and leaned into her. "My best friend doesn't get along very well with James, so..."

"Well, why don't you go and stay with him then?"

"I... don't think that would be a good idea." He shrugged her off with a grateful smile and slid off into the kitchen where Molly, Hermione and Rose were busy preparing for dinner.

Ginny wasn't to be thrown off that easily, however, following him through and cornering him by the sink, where a bowl of peas were carefully shelling themselves into a bowl of water.

"It's that Malfoy boy, isn't it?" Rose's ears pricked up behind her.

"So what if it is, mum - James is giving me a really hard time about it and I don't need it from y-"

"No, no, no, Albus." Ginny smiled, patting him on the shoulder. "I know you choose your friends carefully-"

"He's really not that bad, Auntie Ginny." Piped up Rose, looking over the bowl of carrots she was peeling. "Just that James absolutely hates him for some reason."

Ginny smiled.

"Well, his father and yours never really saw eye-to-eye."

Albus looked up at her suddenly. He'd heard his parents mention the Malfoys before he joined Hogwarts, but neither of them had ever gone into much detail about the family. He'd heard Uncle Ron muttering about them in the past, and heard him chiding Rose to beat Scorpius on every test, but he'd never really known exactly why his father and uncle seemed to have something against Scorpius' parents. Ginny noticed his curious expression and continued with a slightly weathered smile.

"A very long time ago - long before either of you two were born," Molly coughed into the sink. Ginny frowned at her before continuing. "The Malfoys were supposedly involved in Lord Voldemort's affairs."

"You mean..." Albus gasped. "Scorpius' dad was a..."

"Well, more likely his grandfather, but they were believed to be great supporters of His, way back when." Ginny smiled at Albus' aghast expression. "Oh, Al, don't look so serious, there's not enough hours in the day for somebody your age to worry so much - it's all in the past now."

"Albus, would you mind giving Rosie a hand?" Molly smiled and passed Rose another handful of carrots, seeming suitably impressed at this sugar-coated white lie. Hermione didn't look quite so impressed, squinting at Ginny subtly from the narrow worksurface behind Rose where she was engaged in chopping potatoes with a grim relish.

Albus moved to sit next to Rose, his head now spinning with possibilities and visions of Draco Malfoy standing on the platform edge with a hand clasped around Scorpius' arm, hiding a great and terrible evil beneath his cloak. The thought made him feel rather ill as he picked up a peeler and set to work beside her in silence.

"Scorpius is a very good Legilimens." Said Rose after a while, making Molly drop a dish into the sink as she jumped. "Isn't that highly advanced magic?"

Ginny looked at her curiously as Albus sunk in his seat.

"Your mum might know more about it than I do..." She trailed off, looking over at Hermione who was suddenly intensely interested in one of the gnomes making rude gestures at her from the lawn.

"Mum?" Rose turned to look at Hermione hopefully. "I tried to find some books on it in the library, but there wasn't really much about it - things about maintaining eye contact... more about how to do it, or to avoid it than about what exactly it is."

"It's a branch of magic not generally taught at Hogwarts." Hermione said sharply, aware, as Ginny was, of Molly listening with bated breath.

"So..." Rose mulled this over for a moment, frowning in concentration. "Is it a spell, or...?"

"I believe it is usually cast with the incantation 'Legilimens', and that similar to a curse, eye contact is often essential." Said Hermione, sounding almost guilty as she turned to look at the back of Molly's head. Molly said nothing, but she was very obviously listening - twenty years on, and she was ever more protective of her family.

Albus wasn't going to say anything, but he was more than familiar with the finer workings of Legilimency. He'd picked up various tricks to avoid Scorpius probing his mind in the past two years - both from books and from experience. He'd tried studying Occlumency once, but he'd given up upon realising there was only so much you could learn with books, and without letting Scorpius onto what he was planning, he had no way to put the theory into practise. The only thing he really knew about Scorpius' skill, besides the fact that it seemed to be gaining strength as he got older, was the fact that it was not textbook Legilimency, if indeed it was Legilimency at all.

"Scorpius doesn't use an incantation." Rose set down her peeler and crossed her legs beneath her, watching her mother with wide, unblinking eyes. "Also, I read that the subject ought to be thinking about the subject the Legilimens wishes to see... or rather, the Legilimens can only see what the subject is currently thinking about."

"I... from what I understand, I believe that is correct." Hermione turned back to the potatoes and shuffled her feet, her speech uncharacteristically mitigated.

"But Scorpius can pull up any memory, and he doesn't always seem to make eye contact either!" Rose sounded intrigued, seeming excited by the prospect, speaking with a hint of what almost sounded like pride in her voice.

"More carrots, Rosie!" Without saying as much, Molly declared the conversation to be over, as she deposited another handful of carrots between Rose and Albus. "Hermione, dear, would you go and ask the boys to bring in some more wood from the garage?"

Albus elbowed Rose sharply as her mother nodded and padded into the other room, followed by Ginny. She shot him a reproachful look and he glowered back, but neither of them spoke, engaging in a silent argument behind Molly's back, finishing when Rose turning away from him with a swish of her bushy hair and realising she'd manage to peel so much of the carrot in her hand that it bent limply in half as she looked down at it. She dropped it in the bin with the peel and set to work on the pile between them with an angry sigh.

Albus managed to avoid being alone with her until the night before they were due to leave for London, when she caught him by himself in the room he was sharing with Hugo and Teddy.

"There you are!"

"I'm packed, I'm packed!" He moaned groggily, pulling himself up from where he had obviously been dozing on the bed.

"It's just me, silly." She grinned.

"Oh great." he said dryly, sitting back down on the bed and rubbing his eyes. "What do you want?"

"I want to talk to you about Scorpius."

"That's nice, I don't."

"Albus-"

"Rosie, for God's sake stop sticking your nose in, honestly, you're just making trouble for us." Although he hadn't said anything, Albus had been given the distinct impression that Scorpius certainly didn't appreciate his sister's interfering, nor her standing-up for him in front of James and his cronies.

"You know what he does, don't you. He must be doing it to you - he brings up a strange old memory, and it doesn't have any relevance to what's going on or what you're thinking."

Albus rolled his eyes and ignored her, getting up to look out of the window grumpily.

"From what I've read, it doesn't seem like standard Legilimency, but I think it is, anyway." She paused as if waiting for a reaction, but carried on when Albus continued to ignore her. "I don't think he has any control over it."

This made Albus turn slightly to look over at a point above her head.

"What do you mean?"

"I think," She continued, smiling now, glad to have his attention. "I think that while he may have the power to turn it on and off, as it were, I don't think he can control where in a person's mind he ends up. I think he also might do it when he feels threatened - I think he did it to James when we were in Hogsmeade, but James'll never admit it. Also, he did it to Dom in one of the corridors, and whatever memory he saw made Dominic really angry."

She sighed and stopped when Albus didn't make an effort to say anything, merely turned back to the window and looked out at the clouded winter skies. She moved as if to leave, but turned to look back at him before she did so.

"I just don't know if he's doing it on purpose or not and of course he won't tell me." She waited for an offer of help, but when it didn't seem forthcoming, she added: "I was wondering if you could talk to him and find out for me."

"He's not your school project Rose. Just leave him alone." Albus didn't say it, but in truth he doubted if Scorpius would tell him anyway. Partially because he'd be too proud to admit to not being in complete control, and partially because it was just his way - he played his cards very close to his chest, even in front of Albus. It was certainly something to think about though - it would explain why he wouldn't stop doing it, even after a few rather serious arguments about it, maybe he wasn't doing it on purpose to rile Albus up after all.

Albus was even quieter as normal as they set off back to Grimmauld Place the next afternoon. Rose and Hugo left with their parents in the morning, leaving Albus in the car with his brother, sister, mother, father and Aiden, as well as Heather and Bracken, both looking faintly embarrassed. Lee and George left the Burrow in a hurry on Boxing Day, saying something about a delivery of Knarl quills and Verity having an unfortunate phobia of spiders - neither hung around long enough to explain the connection between the two. Angelina made polite excuses and left shortly after, collecting Percy's daughters Molly and Lucy, as well as her own brood with her as she went.

"Your Dad must be busy at the Ministry, Aiden." Heather spoke as if she couldn't bear another moment's silence in the back pressed so close to him.

"What? Oh, yeah. He's going for the Ultimate promotion, he says." Aiden smiled humourlessly, the lack of conviction in his tone could hardly be more apparent. "I think Mum's finding it quite hard, with all the overtime he's putting in, but it should pay off if he becomes Minister."

"Well, that was a conversation killer!" Laughed Bracken brightly. "How about them Wanderers, eh?"

James groaned.

"Honestly Bracken, that team are never gunna win the league in a million years!"

"'Specially not with the Falcons going through the ranks so quickly this year."

"Yeah, but the Falcons'll be disqualified before long - always happens."

The journey back to London was filled with the animated discussion of the Quidditch league, and by the time they reached Grimmauld place, it was already dark. Heather sat in the kitchen with Lily and Albus while James excitedly gave Bracken a tour of the house. Ginny mumbled to herself about how empty the house felt when everybody went back to school, as she and Kreacher made packed lunched for the three Potter children, their cousin, and their two guests. Heather had told them not to worry about her and Bracken, but couldn't hide a delighted smile when Kreacher insisted. The three of them looked up when a loud bark came from one of the floors above.

"Is it true that you're an Animagus too, Heather?" Asked Lily, blinking at her excitedly over a cup of tea.

"Yes, that's right, Lily." Heather laughed. "But unlike my brother, I don't use it to stir up trouble, and I certainly don't get stuck that way anymore."

"Wow..." Lily didn't seem able to come up with anything beyond that, and instead sat staring at her in awe.

"How did you become Animagi...?" Asked Albus, his curiosity piqued.

"Looking to become one, are we, Albus?" Heather smiled, clucking in an almost motherly fashion. "It's quite advanced magic - there's not many Witches and Wizards in the country who can do it, and you have to be registered with the Ministry. Our mam was an Animagus, so I think we sort of inherited it... although it took a lot of practise - I heard it can go terribly wrong, which is why I have to keep an eye on wee Bracks at school. Don't want him stuck with four legs forever, although I'm sure he'll make a charming pet for somebody someday."

"Oh..." Albus looked down at the floor. "My Grandad was an Animagus."

"Then maybe it's something you should look into! How good's your Transfiguration?"

Heather was always cheerful. She didn't often talk about herself, and spent most of her time encouraging others or chiding her brother back in line. It was presumably for these reasons that she had been chosen as Head Girl. She was nice enough, but Albus found her optimism to be rather overbearing, and so excused himself to bed early, locking his door and spending the next few hours laying on his bed in the dark, looking up at the ceiling.

He must've drifted off, because the next thing he remembered was the sound of James pounding impatiently on his door.

"C'mon Al! We'll be late!!"

He hurried out of bed and downstairs to where everybody was having breakfast. Wolfing two pieces of toast and marmalade, one of which he finished in the car, they were soon on their way back to the train. Albus looked around for any sign of Scorpius and his parents, but was eventually forced into the train as the whistle blew for it's departure.

"We'll write every day, Jamesy-pops!" Teased Ginny, grinning devilishly at James and reaching out to squeeze Lily's hand with a wink as she did so. "See you in the summer! If you have any problems, sweetheart, you know we're only an owl away."

The train soon left Harry and Ginny behind in the misty gloom of the station platform, devoid of colour now the rich scarlet train was speeding off through the countryside. James shot off like a rocket with Bracken, while Aidan and Heather set about patrolling the corridors, leaving Albus and Lily alone as they shuffled to find a compartment. Finally he caught sight of Scorpius, sitting hunched up by a window, surrounded by burly Slytherin boys.

"Sorry Lily..." Albus slid the door to Scorpius' carriage open and smiled at him. "Scorpius."

Scorpius looked up, shoving the boy nearest him away to make room for Albus. He picked his way across the compartment and flopped down next to Scorpius, feeling ever so slightly uneasy at the large boys leering at him from the opposite seats.

"Was wondering when you'd show up, Sev - I'd like to introduce you to my associates." Scorpius gestured round the room, pointing at each boy in turn.

"Flint-" He gestured at a boy with a flat face and a wide nose, big teeth and a dangerous looking grin - Albus wondered if he didn't have some troll blood in him. "Bulstrode." Seated next to Flint was a well-built seventh-year Albus recognised as one of the prefects from his first year. "Warrington." Closest to Albus sat the third-year Beater, a boy with pale yellowish skin, a strong chin and big fists. "And Goyle." Jason Goyle sat nearest the door, the only occupant Albus was any more than familiar with - Goyle was in the year below them, but already had a reputation for being a bit of a bully, with small piggy eyes and curly hair. He sneered at Albus in way of greeting.

Albus was cordial to these boys for the train journey, listening to them boast about duels they'd won with a sinking feeling in his stomach. He had half an idea why Scorpius might suddenly be associating with such people, but it was quite unlike him to suddenly aquire a crew of bodyguards - there seemed to be something more to it than that.