A long chapter! Longer than I've written in a while, I think. I'm also done with my sophomore year of college by the time I upload the next chapter-my last final is a week from Wednesday-so I'll finally be able to start writing at a faster pace again!

This chapter might make some people (a lot of people) angry with me, but I'm willing to take that risk for the sake of where the story goes next... I promise, it'll all work out in the end :)


CHAPTER SEVEN

THE ANIMAL INSIDE

O

Eating breakfast alone again, Albus was caught up in his negative emotions once more. He was trying to compose himself through what he had learned from his father and Dr. Varnisse when he noticed someone approaching him.

"What's wrong today?" she asked as she placed herself directly across from Albus again, adjusting the cute little white flower that was usually tucked behind her ear.

"Hi, Kayla," said Albus. "Same as always."

"So, does that you still have no idea why?" asked Kayla.

"No idea," said Albus. "These bouts of depression are getting worse and longer. And more frequent. It's doing things to me. Yesterday I didn't even go watch James in the first Quidditch match… I just stayed in my room."

"You must have had some reason at the time, even if it was stupid," said Kayla. "You couldn't see how bad that would probably make James feel?"

"He's been ignoring me all day, but I haven't tried to get his attention anyway," said Albus. "And there was a reason, at the time. I was so angry that he'd been Seeker for every year I've been here and I haven't gotten a chance yet."

"You played last year," said Kayla, raising an eyebrow. "When James was banned? Remember?"

"I know, but it was one game," said Albus.

"But, so, you have gotten a chance to play."

"Yes," said Albus. "You said yourself it wasn't going to be a good reason. Well, it wasn't. And it was stupid and now there's nothing I can do about it."

"You can apologize, silly."

"That doesn't change what I did."

"No, but it does change a lot else," said Kayla. "It changes what James thinks about you, and it changes the context of how it happened. If your brother knew you weren't thinking clearly, not only would he forgive you but he'd probably want to help you out like I'm helping you now. You need as much help as you can get, believe it or not."

"I believe it," said Albus. "Every thought in my head right now is proof."

The owls swarmed in for the usual mail deliveries. Albus hadn't received much mail all year, so he was very surprised when three letters dropped down onto his lap.

"Wow, someone's popular," said Kayla, looking up at the owls.

"I guess so," said Albus, shrugging. One of them was from his parents, one of them was thicker and addressed from Rigel Rivard, an unfamiliar name, and the last one didn't have the name of the sender. He first tore open the one from his parents, which was very short, but very exciting.

Albus,

Such great news! Teddy and Victoire are getting married! He proposed to her and they'll soon be setting a date. We'll keep you updated as we know more!

Love, your loving mother

P.S. You haven't written us this year! How are you? And what do you want for Christmas? So sorry to have to make you stay at Hogwarts, but transportation is dangerous nowadays as you know, and we want to keep that to a minimum.

P.P.S. So excited for Teddy and Victoire!

"Wow," said Albus, another light shining into his heart.

"What's happened?" asked Kayla. "You look like you're in a great mood all of a sudden."

"My cousin is getting married to my dad's godson," said Albus, grinning. "I can't believe it! Or, no—actually, I guess I just can't believe it took that long."

Kayla smiled. "Well, that's good news! Should I write to your parents every time you find yourself in a funk, and ask them to send you a letter saying someone's getting married?"

"If it works every time, sure," said Albus, next ripping open the thick letter from Rigel Rivard. "Though there are only so many people I know who can get married…"

There was a short note inside, along with a small receipt, a short form for ordering something, and a copy of the latest Jiggery Potpourri magazine. Albus instantly realized what it was, and he took out the note.

Dear Mr. Potter,

A pre-paid copy of Jiggery Potpourri (purchased for you by Mr. Dalton Desulgon) is enclosed. Examine at your leisure and pleasure. If you would like to subscribe to Jiggery Potpourri with the first three months absolutely free, please fill out our order slip (enclosed). You may cancel your subscription at any time. We hope you enjoy your read.

Rigel Rivard

Editor, Jiggery Potpourri

"Jiggery Potpourri," said Albus, extracting the magazine.

"Excuse me?" snorted Kayla.

"That's the name of the magazine," said Albus. "I think it's a pun on Jiggery Pokery. My dad used to say that all the time when he was pretending to do magic."

"Pot, pour, rye," said Kayla. "How does that spell 'poh-puh-ree?'"

"I think it's French," said Albus, opening up the magazine.

His heart ached every time he thought of anything that was French, because of Janelle. He hated it and tried to convince himself that he didn't have to get all moody every time anything happened that reminded him of the existence of a country. There were kind of a lot of things in the world that were French.

"You enjoy that," said Kayla. "I've got to go study up on the Summoning Charm."

"The Summoning Charm?"

Albus remembered studying it in fourth year Charms class, but he hadn't found the charm incredibly difficult.

"Yes," said Kayla. "I've heard that you literally never have to study, but some of us actually don't immediately understand everything we're taught… I've got to go learn this by tomorrow or I'm screwed on the exam. Sorry to leave you, but it looks like things have worked themselves out in your head?"

"Yeah, I guess so," said Albus, smiling. "Thanks for stopping on by."

"You're welcome, stupid," said Kayla, gathering her belongings. "See you around."

"Wait, do you want help?" asked Albus. "You've been helping me so much to get through all this, and I can do a mean Summoning Charm… It's only fair that I—"

"No, I'd actually rather you not," said Kayla. "I really do appreciate the offer, of course, but I want to be able to figure these things out by myself. I won't always have people there to help me and it'll be healthy for me to learn to be self-sufficient. Thank you, though."

"You're welcome," said Albus. "If you change your mind, I'll be in the common room."

"Bye," said Kayla, plucking a last piece of bacon off of the table and biting into it as she left.

Albus felt bad for her, knowing this wasn't likely to be the first time she had to get some extra practice in. She probably had to go to an empty classroom to practice most if not all of her spells. It was strange for Albus to know that one of his friends was in that situation. Since he first arrived at Hogwarts, he had always surrounded himself with very smart friends. Rose and Aidan were top of their year. Eftan was still super-smart and had been from the time they'd met on the train. Alec was admittedly a slacker in his classes but was nonetheless one of the most talented spell-casters that Albus had ever seen. Exo and Mia were also pretty bright; perhaps not at the level of Rose or Aidan, but they were generally able to keep up with the rest of their friends. Holly and Janelle, his two significant others over the years, had also been quite sharp. And even now, as he was making a new friend, the new friend happened to be the biggest child prodigy in America. He had observed Riley struggling in class from afar, but he'd never been this close to someone who needed help, and he wished she would allow him to help her like she was helping him.

Albus turned back to his mail and opened up the copy of Jiggery Potpourri. The cover showed a man stealing a lollipop from a crying infant, and the headline read:

TAKING CANDY FROM A BABY?

Did famed researcher Gideon Fracas steal his ideas of Quantum Qualicy from a brilliant and innocent young mind at Hogwarts with whom he had been in contact? (By Rita Skeeter. See page 14)

Albus flipped to the table of contents.

Aanmar Vioulii's shady past (pg. 3)

Mexican Cruxor is thriving (pg. 9)

Gideon Fracas: Fraud? (pg. 14)

Absolutely nothing (pg. 20)

Dirigible Plum record (pg. 22)

Hourglass Empire (pg. 28)

Curiosity piqued, Albus turned to page 20 first. True to the word of the magazine's table of contents, pages 20 and 21 were completely blank, for no apparent reason. He shrugged and flipped back to page 14 for Alec's story.

Alec had presented a very strong case. He presented to Rita the quill with which he had written the letter, and Rita had cast a spell on it which caused the quill to rewrite things that it had previously written—a sort of Priori Incantatem for writing. With another spell that could date the writing, she had been able to successfully determine that Alec's letter to Fracas predated Fracas's work on Quantum Qualicy. From there, the next step was to confront Fracas about the accusations, but he had apparently dodged the interview that Rita tried to schedule with him, which looked extremely suspicious on his part. Albus smiled as he read and hoped that Fracas was nailed for this disgusting crime.

He flipped back to the table of contents, but nothing else seemed particularly interesting. Aanmar Vioulii sounded like some foreign band and the Hourglass Empire sounded like a bargain store. He didn't know how many people read this magazine, but he hoped it was enough to make a splash. For Alec's sake.

He next turned to his last letter, from an unknown source. He cautiously reached for the letter. He had already touched it, so it probably wasn't cursed—besides, Hogwarts generally ran a security scan of all incoming mail to make sure there was nothing incredibly dangerous. It could be rigged with Bubotuber pus or something less dangerous that got through the scans, but the letter seemed to be too thin for that.

He took out his wand, and opened the letter with magic while keeping his distance, just in case. The letter was slit open, and a small piece of paper extracted itself from the inside, covered in some strange lettering. There was still no indication of who it was from, and it was clearly in a code he was going to have to break if he wanted to know anything about its contents.

hljcl ylg,yls sndfdk zutjg k,yls sndfdhlj zfdxl .kxgdybllc/ kyddc hljfnd.;/ hljxzs uhudulfh – gndudulfh lv;dyyh/ kcl ylg,yls sndfdxnd kxzyc kgnky, xludlydhlj ,ylsuzh kyndf xjccdyckxz;;dzfzyed – xludlydsnl szygxuh kyvlfuzgklyztljg gndcdrlegfkedx/ kzu edfgzkygndh ndfnlxgzbd … tdezjxdxnd kxuh skvdzyc gndhszyg uhkyvlfuzgkly/ knzrd yllyd glgjfy glyls tjghlj/ ;.dzxdvkyc ljgsnzg nz;;dydcgl ;dyyhzyc tfkybndf , glud/ zyck sk..gd.. hljzyhgnkyb hljszyg gl,yls/ ;.dzxdnd.; udxzrd uhskvd/

O

"It looks like a Pseudocipher," said Rose, peering closely at the letter on the desk in the Gryffindor common room. "That's my first guess, anyway."

"What's a Pseudocipher?"

"A code formed by some unknown set of rules, different for each case," she replied, turning it sideways and upside-down. "You need a certain keyword to unlock the contents. But you also need a Pseudecryptor. It's a magical implement that allows one to unlock the contents of any Pseudocipher, if you know the keyword."

"Why would anyone want to send a letter in code, if anyone could read it by guessing the right word if they have a Pseudecryptor? Doesn't that sort of defeat the purpose of a code?"

"If the sender had put a spell on the letter to make it only respond to the reader," explained Rose, "then the letter might not make it through routine scans, because it would be investigated for containing magic. Magic leaves traces, you know, and not only could mail security have detained the letter for inspection if they noticed there was a spell on it, but they could have decoded it and read it in the interests of keeping you safe from an unknown party."

"They can read our mail?"

"Only when there's definite evidence that indicates a threat. A letter with an unknown spell on it is definitely suspicious enough to investigate."

"Whose job is mail security?"

"Madam Duopold, I think. Otherwise she'd really have nothing to do at Hogwarts since she's only teaching first-year flying and coaching Quidditch. She also takes care of the owls, so it would make sense she's also in charge of mail."

Albus looked down at the Pseudocipher. "So, if I get a Pseudecryptor and guess the right keyword, then the Pseudecryptor is what does the magic so that the letter doesn't have to have telltale magic on it when it's in transit."

"Exactly."

"How do I know the keyword, then, especially if I have no idea who it's from?"

"Think of a few people you know, and guess words related to them," suggested Rose. "If they wanted you to read this, they'd make it fairly easy for you to guess."

"Good point," said Albus. "So, the rules for decoding this message… are not magical rules. So then Muggles could decode these, too, if they had enough time and ability?"

"It would be incredibly difficult without knowing anything beforehand, but yes, I suppose they could, if they figured out all the rules," said Rose. "Though there are usually multiple rules. That's where the Pseudecryptor comes in handy. Every time you write a letter on the Pseudecryptor, it applies a different rule to the letter, but the rules are different for each letter. Then, when you've written every letter of the keyword, that's when the Pseudecryptor applies the exact set of rules to decode the message correctly. The Pseudecryptor is a complicated device, and there's absolutely no way to determine exactly what rules it uses for any or all situations. You can only try out keywords and see what combination makes actual words appear."

"Then first things first, I need a Pseudecryptor," said Albus.

"Yes, but they're not sold in Hogsmeade," said Rose. "Where could you get one?"

"I might be able to find a way," said Albus. He reached into his bag and took out a quill and some parchment. His parents had asked him what he wanted for Christmas… Well, he'd just had an idea.

"So," said Rose. "In other news… what's going on between you and Kayla Reagan?"

"A friendship," said Albus calmly, continuing to write.

"Really," asked Rose with a smirk. "A friendship."

"Yes, a friendship," said Albus, looking up from his letter. "Why does that seem to be so interesting to you?"

"Oh, it is," said Rose, giving Albus a Don't-play-dumb-with-me look. The look annoyed Albus even more than usual, because what Rose thought she was so smart for knowing was wrong. He wasn't playing dumb. They were honestly friends.

"Well, I really don't care how interesting other people are finding it," said Albus. "It's a friendship. That's it. End of story, no matter how interesting other people think it is."

"You must be extreeeeeemely good friends, then," said Rose, saying extremely at such a slow pace that it made Albus dig his fingernails into the desk.

"We are," said Albus, "but still, nothing more than—"

"You and she seem to be getting reeeeeaaally frieeeeeeendly…" said Rose in the most annoying voice Albus had ever heard.

"CAN YOU SHUT THE HELL UP?" screamed Albus, rocketing up in his chair so fast that he knocked it over, staring Rose in the eye.

"Sheesh, okay," said Rose, backing away. She looked like she still wanted to tease him, but was legitimately afraid.

"Hey," said a soft voice from the portrait hole.

Albus looked over; Kayla had just entered the room and was walking towards him. She put a hand on his shoulder and lowered him down into his chair again; he sighed and let her whisper calming words in his ear. He took a deep breath and stopped himself from cursing Rose as she smugly twisted up her nose, probably now certain that she was right. Kayla rubbed his shoulders, and he felt himself relaxing under her grip.

O

The whole school was already convinced that Albus and Kayla were a couple, although both of them consistently denied it while remaining unruffled. Albus ate most of his meals with her now, because she knew how to calm him down when he was feeling emotional. His friends took it as a sign that they were dating and weren't bothered, so perhaps it was a good thing that they thought he wasn't just deserting them.

Of course, his other friends were able to help him too, and he wasn't about to stop being friends with any of them. But Kayla had some sort of special touch. She had been through a lot in her life, none of which she disclosed. But even without disclosing it, she made Albus feel like he wasn't alone.

Kayla and Albus played with Gimmick in the common room for almost an hour on the night that classes finally ended for the term. Albus felt bad that he hadn't given his cat quite enough attention, but Gimmick held nothing against him. He entertained them greatly, especially Kayla, who loved cats. Gimmick swatted at strings they were hovering around and generally acted like a kitten again.

"Ugh, I'm exhausted," said Kayla after Gimmick had finally collapsed from exhaustion. "This week has kicked the shit out of me. I need to go to sleep as soon as possible."

"You do that," said Albus. "It would suck if you started off the holidays while still incredibly tired. Especially since Hogsmeade is tomorrow." He thought for a moment. "Hey, do you want to go together?"

"To Hogsmeade?" asked Kayla. She smiled. "Sorry, but… I don't have a permission form. I never went last year, either."

"What?" asked Albus. "You've never been… to Hogsmeade?"

"Nope," said Kayla. "Never."

"Why don't you have a permission form…?"

"I'd rather not get into that," said Kayla. "I'm going to sleep now, but I'll see you tomorrow. Have fun in Hogsmeade!"

"But…" mumbled Albus as Kayla walked away. That wasn't fair… He wondered if Kayla had a situation anything like his father's. Did she live with relatives that hated her, or whom she hated?

He wished she would open up to him the way he'd done for her.

Lucas strolled over towards Albus, who looked up and smiled to see him coming. Gimmick got up from lazing on the ground, stretched out his back, and started rubbing against Albus's leg. He then crossed over to Lucas, and started rubbing against Lucas's leg.

"Aw, hey there, Gimmick," said Lucas, reaching down to pet him. Gimmick reached up his head to allow the contact and purred loudly.

"Gimmick seems to like you a lot," said Albus curiously.

"Well, I used to play with Gimmick a lot in our third year," said Lucas. "He was probably my best friend, because he was the only friend I knew wasn't fake."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I was upset a lot in my first year here," said Lucas. "But I could sneak out with Gimmick at night and have a lot of fun, and no one would ever catch me."

"You must have gotten good at sneaking around."

"I didn't need to," said Lucas.

He cracked his neck to one side, and then began shrinking. A dark patch appeared around his eyes and his hands and feet shrunk faster than his torso. He turned into a fairly plump raccoon, and he and Gimmick immediately began rolling around playfully.

"Right," said Albus. "You're a natural at sneaking around…"

He stared down at Lucas as a raccoon, and suddenly he had a thought that he felt he should have had a very long time ago. He pondered whether he was good enough friends with Lucas to ask the question.

"Lucas?"

Lucas the raccoon looked up away from his playmate, and morphed back into a human. "What's up?"

"Do you think…"

Albus swallowed.

"Do you think you could teach me to be an Animagus?"

Lucas smirked.

"It's been going on two years that we've lived in the same dormitory," said Lucas. "I'm surprised it took you so long to ask, considering how much you love studying advanced magic… I was beginning to think you wouldn't ask at all."

"I'm surprised it took me this long to ask, too," said Albus. "I mean… I guess everybody wants to be an Animagus."

"But not everybody can," noted Lucas.

"I can."

"Good attitude," said Lucas. "Want to start over the winter holidays?"

O

Kayla sat on the most comfortable armchair by the fire, reading a girl's magazine. She was one of the oldest students left in the common room, as most of the students in the upper years had already gone to Hogsmeade, so she had gained control of the best seat by the fire.

Albus crept up to her under the Invisibility Cloak. He waited as a tiny first year girl retreated back up to her dormitory, until there was no one left in the common room but him and Kayla. He snuck right up to her ear, his nose almost brushing against the little white flower tucked behind it.

"Hey."

He had expected Kayla to jump about a mile out of her skin and start orbiting the planet, but she merely turned with a confused look, dropped her magazine, and calmly punched him through the cloak, directly in the nose.

Albus staggered backwards, tripped over another chair, and tumbled to the ground as the Cloak fell off of him. He rubbed his nose and laughed. "Wow… Good response. And excellent aim."

Kayla rolled her eyes. "Oh, it's you? Jesus, Albus, I'm not even sorry about that. What the hell was that for?"

"Just to have a little fun," said Albus, trying to fit his nose back into place. "Want to have some fun with me?"

"Ew, Albus."

"Not like that," Albus said. "I mean, how'd you like to go to Hogsmeade with me, and have some fun there?"

Kayla finally landed her gaze on the Invisibility Cloak. "How'd you get a hold of that from your dad?"

"He gave it to my brother a while back," said Albus. "James lets me borrow it sometimes… I asked if I could have it today so I could sneak you into Hogsmeade!"

Kayla didn't grin from ear to ear like he was expecting; in fact, she looked somewhat offended by the thought of sneaking out against the rules.

"I'd rather not get myself into trouble," she said curtly. "Sorry, Albus. You can go, though."

"Why don't you want to go?"

"I just… don't want to," said Kayla.

"Well, you have to have a reason," said Albus, stowing the Cloak in his bag as another first year scurried across the room. The boy stopped for a moment to gaze with a star-struck face at Albus and then disappearing into his dormitory.

"No, I don't," said Kayla.

"Yes, you do. Everyone wants to go to Hogsmeade. You've got to have a really good reason if you don't."

"Even if I do," said Kayla, "I don't have to tell you. Go to Hogsmeade, Albus, and I'll talk to you later."

"I'm not going to Hogsmeade until you tell me why you won't."

Kayla's nose flared momentarily. "Albus…"

"Arguing won't do you any good," said Albus, folding his arms. "I'm resolute."

"Oh, are you?" said Kayla, pulling out her wand.

Albus backed up. "Hey, now…"

"I won't unless you make me," said Kayla, retracting her wand again. "Leave me alone, okay? Just go."

"Does this have something to do with not having a permission slip?" asked Albus, testing the waters.

"No," said Kayla. She was trying to sound steady, but her voice gave a little something away.

"Is it that?" asked Albus. "Is it that being there… would remind you that you didn't have anyone to sign your slip for you?"

"That's QUITE ENOUGH, Albus!" snapped Kayla. "Leave, or I'm going to make you leave!"

"I—"

"Exeunt!"

Kayla's spell was intended to force anyone in the path of her spell out of the nearest doorway. But Albus reacted fast enough intercept her spell with nonverbal Dissipation, surprising even himself. The path of his spell sliced through hers, breaking it apart until it slammed right into her wand arm, and he felt the energy of the spell travel up to her head—

He toppled through space and landed painfully on a hardwood floor. Looking up, he found himself in an unfamiliar house, with a sharp-faced older woman and a grim-looking man in his early thirties or perhaps even late twenties. Though this situation hadn't happened to him in some time, he knew exactly what was going on.

"No," whispered Albus as a younger Kayla walked into the room. "No! I've got to get out of here—this is way too intrusive—"

"Mum?" asked the young Kayla; this had to have been before she'd come to Hogwarts. "Dad? What's going on?"

"That man," said Mrs. Reagan. "The man who came here from that school with the ridiculous name… What was it?"

"Faustulus Earle?" asked Kayla.

"Not the man's name," snapped Mrs. Reagan. "The school's name."

"Oh," gulped Kayla. "You mean… Hogwarts?"

"The very one," said Mrs. Reagan dangerously. "The one you're not going to."

"I know I'm not going, Mum," said Kayla quietly. "You told me that."

"Have you seen the news lately?" asked Mrs. Reagan, flipping on the television.

The news station was reporting on something about the Global Revelation with a general air of complete disbelief. Her mother flipped through the channels, and each one was blaring something else about magic and witches and wizards and what was going to happen to their precious little world and precious little lives.

"Imagine if we'd sent your acceptance letter," snorted Mrs. Reagan. "Imagine if they'd come to carry you away next month to teach you witchcraft and sorcery and Satanism. The man who came here said it would be kept wholly a secret, even from all of our family. Now look. The secret's out. The whole world knows about you… about you freaks. Do you still want to go learn the ways of the devil?"

"N—no, Mother," stammered Kayla.

"That wasn't very confident!" shrieked Mrs. Reagan, shaking slightly. "That was quite a lot of hesitation for someone deciding whether to follow the path of light or the path of darkness!"

There was a loud banging on the door as Albus was trying unsuccessfully to claw his way back out of the memory. Mrs. Reagan turned, snorting like a bull at the disruption, as a voice called out from behind the door.

"Irving! Irv, it's Ingrid, are you in there? What's the shouting about?"

"Auntie Ingrid?" asked Kayla tremulously.

"Why is your sister here from Canada?!" Mrs. Reagan shouted at her husband. "If your sister traveled across the Atlantic Ocean to get here, do you think it might have been a good idea to mention that she was coming?!"

"I—didn't know," said Mr. Reagan, flustered.

The door flew open, and Kayla's aunt charged in. "Is everything okay?" she asked, and then her eyes flew to the newsflash about the Global Revelation.

"Ingrid," said Mr. Reagan, "Lesia's and my daughter… she—"

"DON'T YOU DARE," blurted Mrs. Reagan, "SAY ANOTHER WORD!"

Albus desperately focused to try and free himself from Kayla's mind before she got the wrong idea—if by some slim chance it wasn't already too late—but he was still unsuccessful.

"Kayla?" said Ingrid, strutting over to her niece. "You mean—do you mean she's—a witch?"

"Yes," breathed Mr. Reagan. "Ingrid… I'm so…"

"IRVING!" exploded Mrs. Reagan.

"The secret's out, Lesia, you don't have to be ashamed," said Ingrid.

"Are you joking?" said Mrs. Reagan. "We don't have to be ashamed of our daughter's pact with the devil?"

"That's nonsense," said Ingrid, her face clouding over. "It has nothing to do with the devil. It's genetic—"

"It sure as hell isn't MY genes!" barked Mrs. Reagan.

"No… it's our family's," said Ingrid, looking at Mr. Reagan.

Mrs. Reagan whirled to face her husband. "What?!" she snarled. "You knew about this?"

"What? No, of course I didn't!"

"LIAR! You were probably getting all ready to teleport her away to Hogwarts behind my back—are you a witch, too?!"

"No!" cried Mr. Reagan. "I'm NOT a witch, and she's NOT going to Hogwarts!"

"WHAT?!" blurted Ingrid.

Both of the parents turned to face her, looking aghast. They both reached for their daughter; each grabbing an arm rather strongly, they charged towards the back door.

"Exeunt!" shouted Ingrid, suddenly extracting a wand.

Kayla's parents screamed as the spell struck them, forcing them out the back door and slamming the door behind them, but Kayla remained standing where she was. This spell… It was the same one Kayla had just tried to use on Albus, which explained why it triggered this particular memory inside of her…

"YOU!" screamed Mrs. Reagan. "YOU'RE A WITCH! SERVANT OF SATAN! HELP US! HELP! LUCIFER HIMSELF HAS LAID CLAIM TO OUR DAUGHTER! SOMEBODY HELP US! SOMEBODY SAVE HER!"

Mrs. Reagan was smashing on the window as Mr. Reagan dialed the police on his cell phone. Ingrid bent down to hug her niece tightly.

"Kayla, you're going to Hogwarts," whispered Ingrid. "I'm so sorry for how your parents feel about this… I promise, you need to go, and it's not evil. It's the most wonderful place in the world. Will you come with me? Do you want to go learn how to do… magic?"

Ingrid waved her wand and conjured a little white flower in her hand; she placed it behind Kayla's ear.

"Yes," said Kayla, her eyes brimming with tears.

The "yes" echoed endlessly as the memory faded and Albus tumbled back onto the gold and red carpet of the Gryffindor common room.

"WHAT THE HELL, ALBUS?"

Kayla stood paler than the flower in her hair. She was shaking with anger the way Albus had occasionally found himself this year—the way he'd never expected to see Kayla, ever.

"You crossed the line, Albus," she said, and she picked up her magazine and left.

"Kayla, wait! It wasn't on purpose—"

"I don't care," said Kayla with an air of simplicity. "It shouldn't have happened—not on purpose and not accidentally. Get lost."

She slammed the door to her dormitory. Albus rushed up behind her, to try to talk some sense into her, but with a wailing alarm, the stairs suddenly flattened into a slope with absolutely no traction; he slid all the way to the bottom and groaned.

"What's going on?" asked Professor Longbottom, suddenly entering the room. "Who tried to… Albus?"

"Hi, Professor," grumbled Albus.

"Well, I came in here to ask why you never showed up at Hogsmeade," said Professor Longbottom. "Albus, you had us worried sick when you said you were going and then Alana and Rohan never found you with the incoming students. They were supposed to be escorting you, Albus… you could have at least had the courtesy to tell them you weren't going!"

"Sorry, Professor," said Albus. "I forgot."

"Is this why you stayed back?" asked Professor Longbottom, pointing up to the fourth years' dormitory. "To stay with… Kayla… since she can't…?"

He trailed off when he saw Albus's face screwing up in anger, and backed away. Albus growled to himself. He couldn't go into Hogsmeade without protection—how was he expecting to spend any time with Kayla if he was being constantly watched and she clearly wasn't supposed to be there? This was a completely unnecessary detour—he would have had to send her back. Which meant that they never even had to have this conversation, and so the accident should never have happened…

He roared in irritation, rolled over and slammed down his fist, leaving a dent a foot deep in the stone floor.

"Er… I'll be in my office, if you need me," said Professor Longbottom, stepping outside. Albus heard him cast a Patronus to inform the Hogsmeade escorts before the portrait door closed, leaving him alone in the common room with his thoughts, as alone as he had been before Kayla had befriended him. And now he'd lost the new closest friend he had, just because he accidentally came a little too close.

O

"Woo-hoo!" blared Riley, running into the fifth years' dormitory. He was one of the last ones back from the Hogsmeade trip. "Woo-hoo! Par-tay! Party all night and all morning! No more classes!"

"We know," huffed Albus from the armchair in front of the fire. "Classes ended yesterday… you'd know that if you went to any."

"I go to some classes," said Riley. "But they don't teach you the right things—the things you really need in life. Like… like sneaking alcohol into Hogwarts!"

Nine faces turned towards Riley abruptly as he pulled bottle after bottle after bottle of Finn and Nicky's Firewhiskey and Dirty Chip's Almost Ambrosia from a seemingly endless bag. A few bottles of harder liquor followed.

"No effing way," said Toby, walking over and examining one of the labels. "They frisk you for stuff like this when you come in! How did you get it?"

"His sister got it for us," said Scott, jabbing a thumb in Riley's direction.

"Yeah, Jade's seventeen," said Riley. "So she could buy this stuff."

"Not in Hogsmeade, you can't!"

"She wasn't in Hogsmeade today," said Riley with a grin. "She hopped on her broom and flew down to Tibar, stopped down in the lower district and picked up some stuff for her friends… and I pushed some good Galleons on her and told her to pick some stuff up for the boys here!"

"Yeah, attaboy!" shouted Kolby, running towards the drinks. "What do we owe ya?"

"Depends on what you have, and how much of it," said Riley. "I've got a list—anyone who wants any, come and get some, but don't rat us out or you're gonna piss off all the rest of us who just want to GET pissed and have a good time! Make a line, everyone, and come quick 'cuz it won't last long!"

"But Riley," laughed Parker, looking a bit nervous about underage drinking, "how did your sister manage to get it—"

"Astronomy tower," said Riley. "Professor Obbin still has some house-elf habits to break. He'll never say a word if you directly order him not to tell anyone. The Astronomy tower isn't only good for dumping off dead Headmasters, you know."

Albus felt his heart lunge forward, smacking against the front of his chest, and he wanted to pop Riley's stupid head off his stupid shoulders.

"Hey, Albus," said Jonah, trotting over to Riley. "You look like you've got a lot of built-up feelings right now. You know what the best way to forget those is, right?"

He gestured towards the drinks.

"Alcohol?" muttered Albus.

"Exactly! Ten shots to Gryffindor!"

Jonah held out a shot glass for Albus.

"Come on, bro!" said Riley, laughing, apparently forgetting that he was a complete arse to Albus ninety-nine percent of the time… Could alcohol really make you forget your grievances like that?

Albus reached out a tentative hand and grabbed the shot glass. Exo took his even more timidly. Parker had one placed into his hand, and Kolby took one for Eben, but Eben didn't take it from him. Lucas placed his glass next to him and didn't look at it.

"To the end of the term!" said Riley, raising his glass. "And to the fact that Wilcox never brought back those god-awful midyear exams.

"Yeah, to that!" said Scott, and he tilted his head back to down the first shot, then fought back tears and coughs but was instantly grinning.

Albus looked over at Exo; Exo was watching him. Against his better instincts, and everything in his head that was screaming that he'd never do this if he thought anyone would find out, he knocked back his own shot, and immediately the sharp fingernails of the drink raked the back of his throat. He hacked for a moment, then Riley angled a spell in his direction and his throat spasms calmed down.

"Er… thanks," said Albus.

"You're quite welcome," said Riley. "As a seasoned alcoholic, I am duty-bound to assist my tenderfoot friends in the same manner I was assisted in my first time. …Was that your first drink?"

"It was," said Albus, blinking away a slight blurriness entering his vision—was it the alcohol already, was it tears, or was it just his imagination?

"Cool, let's get you your second!" said Riley. He nodded to Exo before he turned away, and Exo pretended to shrug nonchalantly and take his own shot. He immediately spit most of it back out.

"Need a little help there?" asked Riley, turning around with a smirk.

"No," insisted Exo. He grabbed Lucas's ignored shot glass instead and drained it, this time like a champion.

"That's better!" said Riley. "Now you're getting the hangover—er, the hang of it!"

"That too," said Scott, still grinning like an idiot as he grabbed a bottle of Almost Ambrosia.

"Not gonna have any?" asked Riley, looking suspiciously at Lucas and offering out a bottle of Firewhiskey to him.

"No," said Lucas, rolling his eyes. "But don't worry your drunken arses about it, I'm not going to tell anyone what they can and can't do. I'll just stick around and be sober and make sure nobody dies."

"Oh, good!" said Riley, brightening up instantly. "Forgot about dying. Thanks!"

"Don't mention it," said Lucas, rolling his eyes. "Well—actually, you probably should mention the dying part, and be careful that nobody does."

"We'll remember it, Luke," said Riley. "Luke. Puke. Puke-us Lotor. Aw, that would have been the perfect nickname for you if you'd gotten way too drunk and threw up everywhere. All right, everybody else—let's get partying! Woo-hoo!"

Somebody shoved a bottle of Almost Ambrosia into Albus's hands. He stared at it suspiciously, then poured it into his shot glass and tried some.

It had a stronger general taste than the first shot, but it wasn't quite as alcoholic. He tasted honey, maple syrup, fruit juice, and whatever a garden of assorted flowers might have tasted like, along with another unidentifiable taste that seemed familiar in a bad way. It actually wasn't bad.

"Like it?" asked Riley, striding up to him. "Good for you, Albus! I was wondering if you'd be too much of a priss to enjoy yourself tonight."

Albus rolled his eyes. Last time Riley had "won" Albus's respect, it was because he thought Albus was going to start failing out of school.

"Have some Firewhiskey, too," said Riley, passing him the bottle and a larger glass. "Mixing drinks can only be a good idea!"

It wasn't long before Albus's depression over angering Kayla became numbed completely out of existence. He grinned in as much of an idiotic way as Riley and walked around the room a little more clumsily than usual. Was it working, or was it all just a big placebo? He didn't know, and he didn't care.

"What're you doing?" asked Albus, looking at Lucas writing something in a notepad.

"Talking with Holly," he mumbled.

Holly.

The name reactivated some irritation in his brain for some reason, but he pushed it aside with ease. He was able to completely distract himself just by engaging in the difficult task of trying to keep himself standing and formulate words at the same time. He wouldn't take these abilities for granted again…

"Holly, huh," he said, laboring greatly on the L sound. "Not telling her about what we're doing in here, are you?"

"Oh, of course, and she said Professor Wilcox is on his way right now," said Lucas.

"WHAT?" bellowed Albus in a voice that was uncharacteristically deep for him; he threw a wild punch at Lucas but completely missed and landed on Lucas's bed.

Lucas scooted over. "God, Albus, I'm joking," he said, laughing. "No, I haven't told her anything. I told you guys, I'll respect your stupid decisions so long as no one gets hurt, okay?"

"What're you talking to her about?" asked Albus, immediately back to his grin.

"Mutual boredom," said Lucas. "She wants to sneak out and wander, but… I actually do think you guys need a sober person here, so I told her not tonight."

"Wow, you actually do care," said Albus, throwing himself into a hug around Lucas, which was reciprocated awkwardly. He bounded off the bed and was just about to go talk to Exo, who was looking a little green around the gills, but was interrupted when their dormitory door opened.

Thankfully, it wasn't the teachers. A legion of about a dozen sixth year guys and girls streamed into the room, laughing loudly when they saw the stores of alcohol. Jade's boyfriend, Leonardo Ibis, was apparently a sixth year, and had told all the guys about the booze. Then, since Patrick Wellwitz of the sixth years was dating a sixth year Gryffindor named Jeniffer Davis, all of the girls ended up hearing about it, too. Roxanne, however, was not among them. They didn't mention whether she had heard when Albus asked, and they simply went straight for the drinks.

"Hey!" said Riley. "You're welcome to it, just pay me up front because I paid my sister good Galleons for this! Hey, people, just toss a few coins my way—thanks—make a line, everyone!"

There was more alcohol than Albus had anticipated. The common room was more cramped by far than it had ever been—they had hosted visitors a few times, but never the near entirety of another year. Every bed had at least two people on it; Patrick and Jeniffer were snogging on Exo's bed, and Exo was sitting dejectedly with Lucas and Albus on Lucas's bed. Lucas was shaking his head and still writing to Holly; Exo was still rocking back and forth with a sickly look on his face.

The night was getting hazier as it progressed. Eventually a game of Truth or Dare broke out somehow among all of the students.

"Echo Wilcox," said Leo, swaying from side to side precariously. He might actually have been severely drunk before he came, and he was still drinking more. "Truce or derrrrrrrrr…"

"Er. Truth," said Exo; it was the first time he'd been called on.

"Ah, ya pussy-willow," chuckled Leo. "Fine, then… How many people ya kissed—girls AND guys?"

"None," said Exo, looking relieved that the question was so easy to answer.

"No girls?"

"Nope."

"No guys?"

"Nope."

"You're boring," said Leo; with a yawn, he collapsed backwards onto Riley's bed and was almost immediately asleep.

"Somebody sit him back up, or he's gonna stay that way till the coronary's dressing him," said Bradley Dent, giggling. Riley picked Leo up and sat him up straight again while Leo gurgled like a drowning man, his head lolling to the side and rolling in a circle; Albus vowed not to end up like that.

"The coroner, you mean?" asked Scott.

"Whatever that guy is. Exo, your turn!"

"Well… I don't know…" Exo scratched his neck nervously, looking even more sick. A red tinge crept into his cheeks.

"Oh, just say someone's name," said Patrick impatiently, leaning up from kissing Jeniffer for only the time needed to say the sentence before returning to his work.

"Uh… Tessa?" asked Exo.

"Tessa, what?" said Tessa.

"You're supposed to say, 'Truth or dare,'" said Jonah from the next bed over.

"Oh. Right. Er. Truth or, er, dare? Tessa?"

"Dare," said Tessa.

Exo moaned and his head fell into his hands. Evidently he hadn't thought of a dare beforehand.

"Just dare something," said Toby. "Anything!"

"I don't know…"

"Come on," said Ritchie Kane, looking more and more irritated. "Anything. Anything at all. The first dare that comes to your mind—"

"Nothing's coming to my mind!" retorted Exo.

"Tell her to snog someone!" said Tyrone Teller, throwing his hands in the air.

"Er—who?"

"Juss name someone in de room, goddammit!" shouted Leo from his daze.

"Er—Tim. Kiss Timothy?"

The room exploded into laughter, and Exo blushed furiously.

"What?" he protested. "Are they—are they exes or something?"

"They're twins, you moron!" shouted Lara, laughing her head off.

"Oh, fudge," whispered Exo, his head returning to his hands.

"Oh, all he said was to kiss him," said Tessa. She crawled out of her bed and walked over to Tim, then pecked him super-quick on the lips. Tim looked revolted; Tessa walked back to her bed and shrugged.

Albus shivered. That was just wrong… That would be like him kissing Lily. Why would Tessa have just agreed to that? The game was starting to get a little too weird for him…

"Lara, truth or dare," said Tessa.

"Dare."

"I dare you to kiss… the famous Albus Potter!"

Albus backed up in his bed. "Er… I don't—"

Lara charged over before he could say anything, and she thrust her mouth over his. He cringed and fell over backwards, but that was a mistake, as it gave her the opportunity to follow him onto a lying-down position on the bed, and she continued to snog him while he lay there, paralyzed by fear, extreme discomfort, and of course, the alcohol dulling his brain and senses.

"Ah!" said Lara upon removal of her body from Albus. "There ya go—bet that Frenchie never Frenched you like that, eh?"

"Ugh," whispered Albus, unheard through all the whistles, shouts, and laughter

"Charlotte, baby, truth or dare?" asked Lara as she returned to her seat.

"Dare," said Charlotte Templeton, a glint in her eye.

"I dare you… to kiss the faaaaamous Albus Potter!" exclaimed Lara, laughing her head off.

More whistles and uproarious laughter preceded Charlotte forcing herself upon him next; she was less invasive but took a longer time to finish her dare than Lara, and Albus struggled feebly every second of the way.

"Niffer—truth or dare?" she cried as soon as she'd finished.

"Dare!" shouted Niffer excitedly, pulling herself away from Patrick.

"You know what to do!"

"Sure do!" said Niffer, leaving Patrick.

"No—" began Albus, but she essentially tackled him onto the bed. Her face was already wet from snogging Patrick, and Albus gagged at the thought.

"Yeah, Albus!" cheered Riley. "You go, boy! Get some!"

He was seeing stars, and not in the good way. Niffer left him and immediately queried Tessa, the girl who'd just kissed her twin brother, and she was next to descend upon him; he was struggling to speak and couldn't get any words out before Tessa fell on him and continued the chain. She left and, with a grin on her face, questioned Abbott Ashdown, second reserve Seeker behind Albus on the Quidditch team, which one he wanted.

"Dare," said Abbott immediately. "Er—wait! No, that's not what I meant, it's just that everyone had been saying 'dare' before me. Truth, I want truth—"

"Too bad!" exclaimed Tessa with glee. "You know what to do, too!"

"What?!"

"Come on, go and kiss the famous Albus Potter!" squealed Lara.

Lucas stared at the girls in disgust, and Albus saw him hover a hand close to his wand, just in case. Albus turned back to Abbott, who hadn't gotten up from his seat on Eben's bed.

"No, sorry," said Abbott, shaking his head. "That's just… That's too weird."

"Oh, come on!" protested twenty disappointed voices.

"Screw you, Abbott, don't ruin this for us!" shouted Riley above everyone else.

Abbott groaned, and then he lifted himself from the bed and walked towards Albus swiftly.

"Hey—NO—DON'T, STOP—" snapped Albus, but Abbott had already leaned down and pressed his lips against Albus's.

Abbott made it mercifully brief and pulled away immediately, but Albus still pushed him back with such force that Abbott toppled over and landed on top of Parker's bed, knocking the wind out of Parker, who had fallen asleep.

"I SAID NO," roared Albus, standing up, blood thundering through his head.

The room was silent for the first time in many hours. Everyone was staring at him, looking a little guilty… but looking a little guilty was nowhere near enough repentance for what they had just put him through.

He ripped open his luggage, snatched up the Invisibility Cloak that he still had inside, and stormed out the door, slamming it behind him.

In a total blur caused by intoxication and extreme aggravation, he next found himself in a sixth-floor hallway when he heard footsteps coming his way. Lucas had pursued him and was finally catching up. Albus's brain was so clogged that he hadn't even remembered to put the Invisibility Cloak on; he was just carrying it.

"Albus?" asked Lucas, coming up close and putting a hand on Albus's shoulder.

"Aren't you supposed to be making sure no one dies?" muttered Albus.

"I am," said Lucas. "They've got a lot of people in there to watch over each other, but I'm a bit worried about one drunken kid wandering around the castle by himself at night. You should probably come back to the dorm… I'm sure James would let you sleep on the floor of the seventh years' dorm or something."

"Not going back yet," mumbled Albus. "Arses…"

"I understand that," said Lucas, sighing. "Well… I'll just…"

"You can leave," said Albus. "I'll be okay."

"Well—"

Albus toppled over and nearly flipped himself headlong over the railing by the stairs; he would have fallen five stories if Lucas hadn't grabbed his arm and pulled him backwards. They fell over on top of one another against the wall.

"Jesus, Albus," said Lucas. "You can't be out here by yourself—"

"I'm fine!" said Albus, brushing himself off. He placed his hands on the ground to push himself up, and his fingers accidentally brushed against something that he must have dropped, he picked it up and put it in his pocket. He threw on the Invisibility Cloak and stumbled away from Lucas.

"Albus, this is really dangerous—I'm going to have to tell someone that you're out here and have them come find you—do you want to actually fall over the stairs with no one to catch you this time—"

He tottered away in the darkness. He was making far too much noise for Lucas not to be able to track him, but he hoped Lucas would take the hint to leave him alone.

Lucas's shouts after him faded into his spotty memory of the night.

"Albus…"

"Albus?"

"Albus!"

O

The next memory he had was walking through the trees of a forest again. The Forbidden Forest? Maybe… He wasn't entirely sure how he would have gotten there, but he wasn't entirely sure how he could have gotten to any other forest, either.

He was walking in much more of a straight line than he had been walking earlier; more of a straight line than he'd ever walked in his life, actually. Some sort of purple energy was snaking its way around his arms. There wasn't a sound in the forest except for a small rustle of leaves nearby. He turned and walked towards the sound.

In fact, he soon discovered that he wasn't walking. He was floating. That would explain how his motion was so constant. He didn't make any noise as he approached an adult unicorn, glowing white with radiant beauty.

He raised his arms to speak an incantation.

No—

This was a dream. He knew it was a dream—he'd had the dream before. He had to wake up immediately, before he—

The incantation escaped his lips, but he couldn't hear it. The unicorn turned in fright and readied itself to flee, but the spell was too quick. It sliced right through the creature's neck, and it dropped to the ground instantly.

He slowly lowered himself to the ground, and then bent his head down, sinking his teeth into the fresh wound and sucking—

He jolted awake to a pounding headache, sweating profusely, though he was only under a very light blanket. He breathed slowly and deeply to calm himself.

Just a dream… right?

He looked at the ceiling. This wasn't the ceiling of his dormitory… this was a classroom. And this wasn't a blanket, it was… the Invisibility Cloak? Had he fallen asleep under it?

He felt something under one of his legs, and shifted to pick it up. As he did, his bare leg brushed against something else, which shifted and gave a soft mutter. He realized there was something breathing next to him.

He turned to see the back of a girl's head—strawberry-blonde hair. The rest of her was under the Invisibility Cloak, but the hair was enough to tell him who it was.

Holly.

The object under his leg was Lucas's notepad, through which he must have been contacting Holly. He frantically grabbed it and flipped through to the last sentences while trying not to disturb her awake—

Hi Holly, it's Albus.

Albus? Why the hell do you have Lucas's Legi-Slate?

I accidentally picked it up.

Are you going to, I don't know… give it back to him?

I'm thinking about you.

What the bloody hell does that mean?

Can you meet me in the unused classroom on the floor fourth by the painting of Kendrick the something? I wanna talk.

"Floor fourth?" Are you drunk or something?

No, not drunk, please come? I have the Invisibility Cloak so you don't have to worry about getting caught once you get here.

Fine. I'm coming. This better be important.

Albus threw a hand to his mouth as his senses slowly started returning, and he realized he was naked.

The pounding headache, the stomach sickness, and the incredible soreness weren't enough backlash to punish him for the previous night? Now he had to go wind up naked under his father's precious Invisibility Cloak with an ex-girlfriend who (though he couldn't tell because she was mostly invisible) was probably also bare naked?

Holly turned around, only just stirred awake, and she looked at Albus.

"Oh, shit," breathed Albus.

Holly's eyes creased. "What's wrong?" she asked, placing a hand on his chest.

Albus leapt out from the Cloak, and then stumbled backwards as he remembered that he was still naked. He grabbed his robes from the ground, shielding his sensitive areas.

"Oh, Merlin," he choked. "I'm never drinking again."

"WHAT?" screamed Holly, her eyes ablaze, nearly foaming at the mouth. "YOU WERE DRUNK?!"

"You didn't notice?!"

"You didn't say anything, you just started snogging me! And you smelled like mint and almonds, not alcohol!"

Albus cringed; he must have used a spell to mask the scent.

Holly dragged the Invisibility Cloak with her to her own pile of clothes, and disappeared fully under the Cloak while she changed. Once finished, she threw the Cloak at him and left without saying another word, though he could hear sniffling as she left and the faint sound of sobbing as soon as she thought she was far enough away.

He felt like sobbing, too—he would NEVER have done this sober, and he wished with all his heart that he could take it back. He never wanted this to happen, but not only that—he also knew that he'd probably damaged poor Holly even further.

Albus sank to the ground in a heap, not even able to dress himself. His headache clouded everything else, and he heard something foreign inside his head—a laughter that definitely wasn't his—as he slumped to the ground and passed out again.