Chapter 9: The First Attack
Scorpius was a ghost for the next several days. Albus knew that whatever negative feelings he had were felt solely towards Puckerd, but this did not make him feel better about the situation. The fact was, their Potions professor had attempted to "get to his friends," and on some level, he had certainly succeeded.
"I'm really not mad at you" Scorpius said to him quietly one morning at breakfast. "You didn't do anything wrong."
"I know" Albus said. "But it's because of me that you were interrogated. And I'm the one who made you steer the conversation. Plus I chose to not have Morrison interrupt-"
"Quit it Al!" Morrison threw in, giving a shaky laugh. "He doesn't mean that Scorpius, no one did anything wrong except for Puckerd-"
Despite all insistences of this however, there was no denying that it was a more melancholy, generally disinterested Scorpius that was joining them for meals and studying among them. Though the changes seemed subtle at first, they became readily apparent once Albus learned that he was no longer playing messenger for Rose and Mirra.
"You had a good thing going mate" Albus said to him lowly in Muggle Studies one day. "Don't throw it away..."
But he merely shrugged.
The saddest thing about the entire situation was that Albus knew precisely why Scorpius was so hurt by it, and what's worse, he did not think that he was able to tell him without sounding accusatory. The first day that Albus had befriended him way back in their first year, Scorpius had commented about the degradation of his family name, as well as about the pressure that his mother was putting on him to restore it. Whatever the motives for Puckerd's offer, Albus knew that for a moment-maybe even two- it had sounded tempting. But as Albus could hardly tell Scorpius that he had most likely given serious thought to betraying his best friend, he was forced to act as though he didn't know what Scorpious was thinking about in silence.
Before October passed to November, however, Morrison had taken it upon himself to try and improve his friend's cheer.
"Dates" he said simply in the Common Room one day, a little bit later, when they only had the oldest students to listen to them from afar. "After the wedding there's a reception, and that means dancing. And for the sake of normalcy, we have to dance with girls."
"Won't there be girls there?" Albus asked.
"Of course there will" Morrison said. "But, it's best we all kind of have our own dates. Mirra's invited, so that covers you Al."
Albus made a pumping motion with his fist, pleased that having a girlfriend was benefiting him now more than expected. He now had the luxury of not having to awkwardly dance with one of Morrison's cousins.
"My date will be Melonie" Morrison continued simply.
"Oh are you two dating then?" Albus asked.
"No, but good question!" Morrison replied, pointing at him. "We will be though, by the end of the wedding. I've got it all planned out. While you lot were playing delivery boy and scanning nonsensical letters I was hard at work..."
"Well you're going with Melonie, and Al with Mirra" Scorpius spoke up, his voice almost raspy; he hadn't used it s much as of late. "What about me?"
"You, my dear Prefect, are going with Rose" Morrison said, and both Albus and Scorpius raised their eyebrows.
"What about Lance?" Scorpius asked.
Morrison made a dismissive sound. "What about him? I didn't invite him. I don't want him smiling and blinding our guests. Rose has no date, you have no date, so you'll go together. Don't worry, I'll work it out with her."
Albus could not confirm the validity of this statement-he had no idea just how much power Morrison had over a girl that he scarcely talked to- but either way, this prospect seemed to cheer up Scorpius as intended. Albus, however, would have preferred a more drastic improvement. With all that was going on in November, he thought that Scorpius' spirits needed to be rather high.
The first Quidditch game of the season was set for the thirteenth of November, which meant that if Albus had his team practicing every single day for twenty fours hours straight up until the day of the match, they could possibly end up scraping a narrow loss. The cold weather made the already abysmal practices even worse, with the younger players showing limited mobility and complaining loudly about the harsh cold.
"If it gets too cold, then they'll cancel it right?" Garth Moone asked one practice, sniffing twice afterwards. There was murmuring from the other second years.
"Well duh, I mean they wouldn't have us play in snow-"
"Yeah, I'm sure that there's a certain temperature where they stop play-"
"No!" Albus bolted out, frustrated, and Scorpius, even in his generally disheartened mood, cracked a smile at this. "Have you guys even watched Quidditch before? Weather doesn't matter! If the fans can show up, then the players can play! Now get back out there!"
As aggravated as he was with his team's shortcomings, Albus thought that the bigger factor could end up being his brother. He was not able to sit in on Gryffindor practices, but as Lily did, he had some indication as to what they were up against.
"So," he started, cornering her in a hallway on her way to Charms one day, "how is James holding up? Is his team hindered by the cold? Any illnesses?"
She shook her head violently. "I haven't heard a single complaint" she said. "He's more like a coach than a captain, to be honest. He seems pretty intense this year. And he's got everyone looking scary good."
Albus did not inform his team of this information however; he didn't want to deter them or make them any more lackadaisical than they already were. The good thing about Quidditch though, was that it provided more than just entertainment on the day of the match. Though the Final had been cancelled last year under tragic circumstances, no one seemed to view this as something that should be perpetual. The fact that the game hadn't been played in so long only added to the eagerness of nearly everyone in the student body, and, likewise, this meant that Albus was now going to have the chance to redeem himself for having "betrayed" his house.
Quidditch ended up being the second thing on most people's minds however. At the Halloween feast, it had been announced that the first Hogsmeade trip of the year was set for the sixth, approximately one week before Slytherin was to play Gryffindor. This caused something of a stir among the students; most of them, Albus knew, had thought for sure that the Massacre would have had a much more profound effect on the scheduling of Hogsmeade trips.
"Settle down, settle down," Professor McGonagall said, her mouth thin as she waved her arms almost like a bat. "The Ministry of Magic has wished for me to inform you that there is now greater security than ever both within and around the village. Some of the most highly regarded members of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement will be present, as will several Aurors who specialize in recognizing clandestine dark activity. In addition," she continued, and her mouth became, if it was possible, even thinner, "Wands and Redemption has promised to further secure the village by providing their own members, to ensure that safety is of highest priority."
Albus saw Puckerd roll his eyes at this, and for the first and probably last time, he could not help but agree with him. Having WAR there did not help Albus feel safer at all. If anything, he felt that a battle might end up occurring inside the village long before any exterior attack took place.
"Why do you reckon they're bringing Hogsmeade back already?" Albus whispered over to Scorpius.
"Money" he grunted. "If there are no students to shop there, then there was no reason to rebuild it. Hogwarts visits are their busiest days."
The new Hogsmeade visit did, however, provide Albus with the opportunity to spend some quality time with Mirra outside of the castle. He knew that she was still not getting along with Rose, and this meant that unless she wanted to spend the day with Eckley instead of her boyfriend and his friends, he was in the clear.
"Yeah, we're all going together" Scorpius told him one night, having returned from a Prefect meeting in which he'd had the opportunity to speak to Mirra.
"I'm bringing Melonie!" Morrison piped up from the corner.
Though they were among the most cheerful, Quidditch and Hogsmeade were not the two most primary topics amongst Hogwarts students. There had been no more newspaper articles on the Silver Wizard, and yet the mysterious figure was still talked about in between classes and at mealtimes, with various people claiming to know who it was or to have had information prior to the Ministry. Still, the references and conversations thinned eventually, and soon it became the wonder of the student body if they would ever receive more information. The other topic on the minds of the students, as it turned out, were the meetings with Puckerd.
Albus had hoped that Scorpius would be the only victim of such an interrogation, but this was not the case. Scorpius' rejection of Puckerd seemed instead to have been a catalyst of a drastic change in the situation, one which now had students of all houses and years going to speak with him on any given day. This made Albus rather nervous; no one as close to him as Scorpius had been selected yet, but there'd been a few close calls with acquaintances.
"What did he say?" Albus barked at Bartleby Bing one night as he entered the Common Room, fresh from a chat with Puckerd.
Bartleby shrugged. "Not much" he said. "Asked what my life goals were, if I had any brothers or sisters, stuff like that..."
"Anything about me?" Albus asked, so sharply that Scorpius and Morrison looked at him.
Bartleby gave him a perplexed look. "Why would he ask anything about you?
After he walked away Albus gave an exasperated sigh and sunk into an armchair.
"That's the third one this week mate" Scorpius said. "Nothing about you yet."
"But he's only asked that Barry Bryant kid and Denise" Albus said, jerking his head towards the latter, who was in the common room studying.
"He talked with that Hufflepuff Prefect Anastasia or whatever" Morrison said. "She helped you find a library book once in like third year or something I think..."
"Well I hardly doubt she knows enough about me or my dad then" Albus said. "I just-I don't know. I get the feeling that the next person he picks is going to hit me hard."
Albus hated it when he was right. The day of the Hogsmeade trip, a fresh chorus of booing told him that a Gryffindor was on their way over. Mirra flashed her badge for minimal effect before approaching him.
"Hey" he said, giving her a kiss on the cheek, much to the annoyance of a few housemates. Some of the older ones even hissed.
"Hey, listen-" she started.
"All excited for today?"
"I actually have to tell you something-"
"I figure we'll want something warm to start, so the Three Broomsticks will-"
"I can't go" she said sulkily.
"What?" he replied, now crestfallen. "Wh-"
But then he saw the curled up piece of paper in her hand.
"Aww no way!"
"Just got it" she said. "And the appointment is for two o' clock, so I can hardly leave and be back in time. Really bad timing, I know."
Albus snatched the letter away from her. "It's not bad timing!" he said, not bothering to read it and merely crumbling it up. "It's not bad timing at all! He did this on purpose! Forget it, just go..."
"I can't" she said, and Albus noticed just how upset she looked. She pointed at the crumbled piece of paper in his hand. "It says that we're going discuss my Prefect duties, and that I can't miss it..."
Albus could only stare, mouth agape as Mirra gave him a hug and promised that she'd make it up to him. As soon as she'd turned around, Albus stared up at the high table in anger.
Puckerd was waving at him, a wide smile on his face.
"That," Morrison said, shaking his head, "is low."
Albus returned to his seat and stabbed a link of sausage so hard with his fork that it almost exploded. "How does he even know that we're dating?" he asked to no one in particular.
"I'd of though that the kissing, holding hands, and giggling in his class was a powerful indication" Scorpius said, looking up from his Herbology textbook.
Albus stared down grumpily at his plate, and by the time that they'd departed for Hogsmeade, his mood had not changed. It was just as cold as every Quidditch practice, but the wind had picked up considerably, blowing them back an inch with every step they took. Morrison and Melonie were walking close enough so that they could have a hushed conversation all to themselves. Albus and Scorpius struck up a conversation about their terrible team to pass the time.
"Alright, where to first?" Scorpius announced just as they'd passed through the gate to Hogsmeade. Albus surveyed the village with interest, too preoccupied with a sudden thought to give an answer.
It looked amazing. Whatever his personal feelings were towards Waddlesworth, there was no denying that funneling gold into the village had been a good idea. The streets were more crowded than he could ever remember them being, and the shops looked splendid, full of vibrant colors and stable, welcoming architecture. Stands were set up along the roads with people selling different items and foods, every few seconds or so stopping to address a customer. Even as Albus looked he watched a young boy walk away grinning from the stand nearest to them, holding up a black shirt to his friend. It had WAR written on the back in large gleaming letters, and the small wand-sword insignia that they wore on the front in the corner.
With a chill that had nothing to do with the wind, he looked through the street and tried to see if he could pinpoint the exact place where Ares had been murdered. He couldn't.
They headed towards The Three Broomsticks first, taking care to glance at the windows of shops and see if any majpr changes had been made. He saw Hugo and Lily, on their first Hogsmeade trip ever, standing in Honeydukes with several other third years, licking their lips in anticipation of the euphoria that they'd soon be tasting. A few shops down was a new antique store called Relics and Remnants, a shop filled with interesting looking things like old fashioned clocks that seemed to fire spells every hour, as well as finely crafted tables that looked as though they had Egyptian symbols carved into them. He could see James walking among the rows of strange art with his girlfriend, looking sullen as she pointed at things that he seemed to have little interest in.
More than just full of new shops and loads of people however, Albus saw some strikingly similar features to Diagon Alley. On just about every corner were two black robed members of Wands and Redemption, all of them standing straight and turning their heads as though looking for trouble. On the contrary, the official looking Ministry members sporadically placed around the village all seemed to be rather nonchalant; they were staring ahead blankly from their posts, looking as though they were sleeping with their eyes open.
They reached the Three Broomsticks half as fast as they normally would; all of the stopping and excursions prolonged their trip. The welcoming warmth of the pub almost managed to bring a smile to Albus' face, and he saw that the place had been refurbished completely, with all new tables and decor. The counter was in the same place however, and it was Albus who went and purchased Butterbeers for his group.
When he'd returned he saw a sight similar to what he'd seen during the walk. Morrison and Melonie were sitting extremely close, and Scorpius was sitting with his face supported on his hands, his expression as bland as those of the Ministry workers.
Albus tried not to match this expression as Morrison and Melonie giggled together for five minutes straight. He knew that it was not Morrison's fault that he and Scorpius were both dateless, but that didn't make things any more enjoyable. After a moment he decided to look in the direction that Scorpius was glaring, curious as to what he was so transfixed on. There, in a cozy corner of the pub, sat Rose and Lance, huddled together and talking lowly.
Albus nudged his friend.
"Why are you looking over there mate?"
Scorpius didn't lift his eye for a moment.
"Because I'm stupid" he admitted under his breath.
Albus sighed and took a large gulp of Butterbeer, the warm and fuzzy feeling in the pit of his stomach the highlight of his day by far. He wondered what Mirra was going through. Would Puckerd simply give her his regular treatment of odd questions? Or would he go more in the same route that he'd went with Scorpius, resulting in a furious interviewee marching out of his office? With a slight pang, he hoped that her parents weren't going to be brought up as well...
He heard the sliding of a chair from afar off and, snapped from his thoughts, saw that Lance had stood up and pushed in his seat He began walking across the pub towards them.
Albus looked around wildly. Had he seen them looking? He approached their table unsmiling.
"Hey buddy" Morrison said casually, oblivious as to what was going through Albus' head.
"Hello" Melonie added pleasantly.
"Hey, nice to meet you" Lance said, and Albus thought that he sounded as if he were in a hurry. He quickly turned his attention over to Albus. "Can I talk to you for a second?" he asked, jerking his head in the direction of a different corner of the pub.
Albus looked passed him and saw Rose sitting, unsmiling as she swirled her drink. "Yeah, sure."
Lance led him over to the corner, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he did so. Standing upright and across from him, Albus noted that Lance was about as tall as his brother-that is to say, a little bit taller than Albus-and that his good looks did not make him look any less intimidating.
"We need to talk for a second" Lance said seriously.
"What's up?" Albus asked, stuffing his own hands in his pockets. He quickly withdrew them when he realized he wasn't as cool looking as Lance when he did it.
"I know that you know what's going on with Rose and Mirra" he said, and Albus was not taken aback; he'd expected something along these lines. "And I'm not going to lie to you; Rose hasn't been very pleasant to be around since."
Albus came extraordinarily close to commenting that Lance now understood how the rest of the planet felt, but he opted out of it. He merely nodded.
"And what's worse," Lance continued, "is that whatever she may say, she's really upset. So I need your help here."
"And how's that?" Albus asked, confused as to how Rose being upset correlated to him.
"I need you to convince Mirra to apologize."
Albus barely held back his laugh. "Look mate, I don't like seeing Mirra mad either, but Rose has to at least meet her half way-"
"Rose can't do that" Lance said. "You know how stubborn she is."
Albus frowned. "I'm not Mirra's argument representative. I can't just 'negotiate' with my girlfriend and make her less proud."
"But you have to!" Lance shot out. "I'm not going to let my last year be marred by this..."
Albus threw him a dirty glare, something that he thought he'd never do. He understood Lance's point, he really did. He wasn't too fond of Mirra going at his cousin's throat either. But Lance was making it sound almost like a threat.
"Well I can't help you mate" Albus admitted. "Maybe you can talk to Mirra, but I'm not even going to waste my time trying to convince her..."
"Yeah you will" Lance cut him off, and his expression darkened. "Because I've had a few chats with Rose since last year, some questions about some previous boyfriends. And it seems to me to like your best mate-" he jerked his head towards the sullen looking Scorpius- "put on a good show in trying to make sure me and her didn't end up where we are now. Now I don't want to upset her further, but-"
"I get it!" Albus spat, feeling nervous. Lance, perhaps the least likely of all to do so, was giving him an ultimatum. He had never seen him like this; indeed, he had actually always seen him as being too kind to be with Rose. Here, however, that thought was no more. All that he could see now was a taller, less attractive male version of Rose.
"So you know what to do then?" Lance said, and his expression softened as if he was relieved that things had gone so well. Albus did not give him this satisfaction.
"I know what you want me to do" Albus said bitterly. "That doesn't mean that I'm going to do it."
Lance leaned in a bit closer. "Look, me and your brother go way back. I have nothing against you, okay? I don't even have anything against your friend! I just need you to do this for me..."
"-Or else you'll ruin Scorpius' friendship with Rose" Albus finished for him menacingly.
Lance gave a frown and a shrug, as if to apologize. And without saying any more, he walked back to his table briskly.
Albus stood firmly on the spot, watching him go. His fists clenched in anger. All that he had going on right now, with Puckerd and his father, with the world being in the state that it's in...and Lance throws this on his plate?
He strode over to his own table, and Scorpius turned to him immediately.
"What was that all about?" he asked.
"Explain later" Albus replied. "And I'm leaving."
"What? Why?" all three of them asked.
Albus threw a nasty look in Lance and Rose's direction. "Not feeling well. Just going to head back and catch up on some homework" he lied, and at the next second, he entered the streets of the village once more.
He walked briskly through the cold, not taking care to acknowledge the shoppers or the security. His head was flooding now, but he thought that it had less to do with Lance's request and more to do with the combination of every thing on his mind. He had enough to deal with apart from having to decide between friends. On one end, Scorpius was among his most loyal and best friends, and with how he'd been feeling recently, the last thing that he wanted was for his chances with Rose to disappear on the spot. On the other end, he was not going to try and force his girlfriend into doing something that she didn't want to do, especially if it was only done as part of a charade anyway.
He sighed as he walked, keeping his head down and mulling over his thoughts, a new dilemma appearing in his head every step. As he pushed his way through the crowd of people, he could not help but notice an unusually large gathering around a certain shop. It appeared to simply be a hot cocoa stand, but most heads were turned towards the side of it. He strayed off from his trail and took a look.
He laughed. It was a wanted poster, the exact same kind that he'd seen two years ago in Diagon Alley. Rather than bearing the faces of Ares or Darvy, however, they had no images at all. Only a description:
Description: Silver Wizard is highly dangerous. Described as wearing silver robes and silver mask. Average height. If you see this figure, contact the Department of Magical Law Enforcement immediately and ask to speak directly to Auror Office. Your life could be in danger!
Wanted For: Vigilantism, Murder, etc.
Reward: 1000 Galleons
Albus did not bother to read any further, he'd already spotted enough errors. Calling the Silver Wizard a murderer was clearly incorrect; from the articles he'd read, no such thing had occurred. And what's more, why was the Silver Wizard's reward even higher than those of Darvy's and Ares' at the time? The Ministry, or at least Fischer's half of it, seemed unable to get anything right.
This cheered him up considerably as he continued his walk back to Hogwarts. At least now he had the comfort of knowing that whatever he was going through, Puckerd's crowd was going through something just as bad.
Albus was quite relieved to learn that Mirra's interview had gone fairly well.
"Really just a quick chat about Prefect duties, a change of schedule for patrolling and so forth. Not really much about you."
"But some about me?" he asked, looking up from the library table.
"Well just how long we'd known each other, actually. I told him early first year."
Albus frowned, trying to piece things together. He had been sure that Puckerd was out for information. Or maybe he really did just want to ruin his Hogsmeade trip?
"And that's it?" Albus asked. "Promise?"
Mirra narrowed her eyes. "No Albus. We snogged on his desk as well."
Albus gave a wry smile at the sarcasm, but stayed silent. Mirra brushed her hair out of her eyes and continued to speak.
"So how was Hogsmeade?"
"Fine" Albus replied quickly. "Just fine."
He did not tell her about what Lance had said. Partially because he knew that it would only agitate her, and secondly because it would probably diminish all ideas of reconciliation with Rose even further. He could not hide this truth from Scorpius however, and as he'd predicted, his friend took the news very poorly.
"Do it" he said strictly. "You have to do it mate, confund her if you have to!"
Albus sighed, staring into the fire that illuminated the dark Common Room. "You know I can't do that" he said. "Mirra wouldn't go for it anyway."
"Explain the severity of the situation!" Scorpius blurted out, looking over his shoulder to check that the few other people awake didn't hear. "Tell her it's a matter of life and death!"
"But it's not..."
"I still can't believe Lance" Morrison chimed in, shaking his head. "He always seemed like such a great guy."
"I knew he was evil" Scorpius said through gritted teeth. "Pure evil. Knew it all along. And all you guys did was ignore me..."
"I know that it's wrong of him" Albus spoke up. "But evil is a little much. Just extremely selfish. Either way though, I really don't know what to do..."
"I told you what to do!" Scorpius said. "Convince Mirra to-"
"Now you're the one coming off as selfish mate" Morrison cut him off, and Scorpius went silent.
Scorpius' vehement insistence that he try and convince Mirra to go groveling to Rose weighed in his head over the next few days; so much so that it had begun to interfere with his studies. Despite whatever initial struggles he may have had, Albus had been pleased up until this point in the year to say that he was content with his work. Transfiguration class was now asking him to conjure things out of mid-air, a tricky piece of magic that he looked forward to tackling, even if it was a little bit later than most of the class. Neville and Hagrid were showing them more exciting things each and every class, with Hagrid even allowing them the opportunity to approach and touch the thestrals as he explained their habits. Even Puckerd-who Albus now stared at venomously every class period- had stepped up his game slightly. About two months into the year, he was finally assigning Potions that required that Albus exert some effort.
Still, he didn't let his actual classes get in the way of what was really important; the spirit of competition. And thus, he was completely prepared on the morning of the thirteenth. Dressed and in the locker room early, he waited eagerly as his team joined him.
"What, are people just not showing up?" he asked Scorpius, though even as he said it Barnabus Curder marched in, his dark hair plastered over his eyes as if he'd just woken up.
"I'm just going to have a quick breakfast-"
"No you're not!" Albus spat. "You're going to get in your uniform so that we can prepare. You should have woken up earlier if you wanted breakfast."
One by one they marched in, every few minutes or so, all of them yawning and showing displeasure.
"Why do we have to be up so early-?"
"Is this really necessary-"
"Yes, because I'm the captain" Albus said. Once they were all there he watched them sloppily throw on their Quidditch clothes. Only when they were all dressed did he realize that some of them looked extremely nervous. Tiffani Garret, his second year Chaser, was shaking silently.
He frowned. "I know that a lot of you are nervous. I was too in my first game. But you can't let that get to your head. If you tell yourself that you're going to fail, you can never hope to surprise yourself and succeed. You have to go out there eager to do your best."
Scorpius nodded his head from beside him. "Now you listen to him" he told them all, wagging his finger up and down as if they were dogs. "He's won the cup, he has."
They marched out of the locker room about an hour later, Albus hoping that his team was fully woken up by now. They were met with sounds of contempt, three fourths of the audience being in support of the scarlet clad. The clapping from the Slytherin stands was barely audible, but Albus was more than accustomed to this by now. Some of his new recruits, however, most likely weren't.
"Just ignore it" he called back to his team. "Sometimes it's more fun to be the bad guy. Makes victory sweeter. And we do have our own fans" he added, throwing a look towards the emerald portion of the stands.
Some of them nodded their heads, but for the most part they all kept a furtive look on their faces as they marched to the center of the pitch. The roaring of the crowd signaled that James was making his way towards the middle as well, and indeed, Albus saw him stroll confidently with his team behind him, stopping to bow his head to the Gryffindor side of the pitch as he did so. Once the noise had died down considerably Albus could hear the commentator, a different voice from last year but still an unfamiliar one. Albus wondered what house he was in.
"And the older Potter has led his troops out! They're a ferocious looking bunch this year; you can tell that Potter is eager to have a Quidditch Cup on his resumé before he graduates! And now the captains shake hands!
Albus and James approached each other, and Albus could see Charles Eckley, aBeaterfor the Gryffindor team, staring ahead eager to get swinging. Next to him stood his cousin Fred, who was wearing a similar expression.
Though Albus did not have a large amount of faith in his entire team, he could not help but feel some sort of exhilaration as he and his brother quickly clasped hands. No final had been played the year prior, but Slytherin had defeated Gryffindor in their last meeting together. As this was his brother's last year of Hogwarts, there was always the possibility that this would be the last time that they played against each other. It would take yet another Gryffindor-Slytherin final to give either of them a second chance. The pressure was starting to sink in...
The whistle blew, and Albus immediately kicked off. Circling high, he saw Scorpius speed off towards the hoop, a blank expression on his face that Albus liked to attribute to what he called "Impossible Mode" a state of mind that Scorpius seemed to enter right before it became nigh impossible to score on him. Grinning, he scanned the pitch for the snitch, listening rather than watching the rest of the game unfold.
"Already a quick start for Gryffindor, with Thomas, new member, taking the Quaffle right away. Dodges a pathetically hit Bludger by Slytherin newcomer Luong-"
This statement told him that the commentator was most likely a member of the Gryffindor House, but it was the sounds of utter disappointment that told him what happened next.
"And Malfoy saves it" the commentator said, sounding upset. "It looked so close to being in..."
Scorpius continued his obliteration of the Gryffindor Chaser's confidence over the course of the next ten minutes, batting each and every shot away as if his life depended on it. Rather than use this to their advantage in gaining a lead however, Albus' own chasers were doing just as bad; though he knew that this had little to do with Gryffindor's keeping.
"And Curder drops the Quaffle! Not really sure why, there wasn't another player or Bludger in his proximity..."
Realizing that it would come down to he and James only, Albus took his search a step further and began tailing his brother. A common Seeker tactic, Albus knew that it would irritate him more than anything, providing a necessary distraction. It almost worked until-
WHAM!
"And Potter takes a nasty bludger to the back, courtesy of Fred Weasley!"
"Sorry Al" he heard his cousin say as he whizzed by. Albus continued to spin rapidly, regaining compose and feeling his back with his hands. It wasn't broken. He'd be fine.
"And we have our first goal of the game! Tabbers gets by Malfoy with a nice deke and the right goal post was left wide open!"
Albus looked over at his friend, who was cursing under his breath and looking furious with himself. Albus wanted to tell him to shake it off, that it was only one goal, but he knew what Scorpius was now thinking; with their pitiful offense, Albus would need to be one who caught the Snitch for them to win.
He continued to try and trail James, now more mindful of his surroundings, but it amounted to nothing. The cold weather was starting to sink in fifteen minutes into the game, and Albus feared that it would end up taking its toll on his new allies. They were not, as he knew, fond of the cold.
"And Bryant seems to have inadvertently hit himself with his own bat!"
Albus sighed, wondering how such a thing was even possible, when he heard a barrage of booing. He looked around frantically.
"And Moone gets by the Gryffindor Keeper following a mediocre pass from Curder. Ten to ten!"
Albus blinked a few times, trying to wake up. Once he realized that they were tied once more, he continued his search-
There it was. Hovering just near the left goalpost of the Gryffindor side, the Snitch was obscured by the flurrying of movement from the Gryffindor Keeper. Albus shot towards it, dodging a Bludger from Eckley as he did so.
"And it would appear as if we have our first sighting of the Snitch! Potter is bolting towards the Gryffindor hoops!"
Albus continued to swerve his way around players, oblivious to the noise of the crowd. Slytherin could scrap a win right here, despite their terrible overall play-
He hit a roadblock. Or more accurately, a player block. James had somehow managed to cut him off, opting to obstruct Albus' attempts rather that aim for the Snitch himself.
"You've got speed on me" James said, hovering in the air and grinning. "I'll give you that. But all that means is that I can't let you move."
Albus narrowed his eyes and tried to move underneath his brother's arm, but James, more muscular and toned, had moved down with him, arms spread out as if to create a barrier. Albus was forcibly reminded of how James had blocked his entrance to the bathroom over the summer.
"And it seems as if James Potter has found a way to successfully shield his younger brother single-handedly! And to great effect! The Snitch is gone..."
Albus gave a growl of anger and spun around, flying in another direction and realizing that he'd have to rework his plan of tailing James. Doing so kept him too close, and Albus could not risk James getting in his way again.
But it did. Ten minutes later and James had twice more blocked his way to the Snitch, each time cutting him off and not bothering to race for it.
"Are you even going to try and catch the damn Snitch!" Albus roared through the wind, ducking marginally to avoid a Bludger that may have accidentally been hit by one of his own Beaters. "Or are you just going to cut me off until we both get old and one of us snuffs it first!"
"Oh no, I'll go after the Snitch" James said. "Once you're on the entire other side of the Pitch from where it is. I told you that I wasn't going to race you..."
Ten minutes later the score was still ten to ten, and Albus was growing more than agitated. The next time that he saw the Snitch, James was already hovering in his way, smiling broadly.
Albus accelerated. James had thus far stood his ground because Albus had attempted to avoid collision. This time, it would be his brother who moved out of the way. He began picking up more and more speed. The wind was screeching in his ears now as he headed straight for his brother, who certainly was not stubborn enough to stay in the way and be impaled-
He was. James had refused to move, and Albus shot right into him at full speed, crashing and sending them both toppling through the sky. Albus barely managed to keep hold of his broomstick, and he saw an injured James struggling to do the same. He heard a whistle sound.
"Foul!" Mr. Wood called, and to Albus' immense shock, he saw a hand waved in his direction. "Deliberate broomstick-to-body contact with the Seeker outside of the vicinity of the Golden Snitch. Penalty shot awarded to Gryffindor!"
Both Albus and James flew towards the referee. Albus saw that his brother looked fine, if not a little disheveled.
"Penalty!" Albus barked. "He's been getting in my way all game!"
"But he hasn't made deliberate contact" Mr. Wood said, his voice sounding extremely official.
"Because I've been skidding to a halt!"
James spoke up next. "I was just minding my own business, floating in the air, enjoying the breeze and the like, and then this fiend comes and rams into me, entirely unprovoked, and I say two penalties sir, because he's arguing with your decision as well-"
"It will be one penalty to Gryffindor" Mr. Wood reiterated.
The Gryffindor chaser that ended up taking the shot was Thomas, and whether it was from annoyance or having actually been beaten, Scorpius was unable to save it. Slytherin was now down twenty to ten.
Albus wanted desperately to call a time out just as play was resuming, but he feared that if he did so they would never resume. He saw Tiffani nearly collide with Barnabus just a moment after play resumed, and he thought that his two Beaters were chasing their bludgers rather than trying to hit them. Intent on ending the game as fast as possible, he flew upwards and decided to circle the pitch from above again.
He knew that this was precisely what James wanted, to keep Albus out of the vicinity of the Snitch just in case, but it was too illogical to continue to tail his brother, especially as he now knew that garbage penalties were going to be thrown at him. He instead meandered through the sky, taking care to inspect every inch of the field for James as he did so. He also did not want his brother to get a good jump. Just as he was peering over the middle of the pitch he saw yet another glimpse of gold. And this time, James was not near him to take preemptive measures.
With a surge of speed he pulled into a downward spiral, and once again, the noises of the stands became nothing but a blur of sound. He dodged a Bludger that was going straight for his head ("Sorry!" he heard Barry Bryant yell) and he turned himself sideways to move in between two Gryffindor Chasers. The whirling of the wind told him that someone was flying right behind him, and he knew it to be James. It didn't matter however, he was faster. He extended his hand-
He heard buzzing in his ears. Strange, things were supposed to be almost silent apart from the wind. He was suddenly starting to feel sick. Had he grabbed the Snitch yet?
And then he felt it, a strange surge of pain had shot through his body, and his eyes were now jammed shut, flashes of gold that had nothing to do with Gryffindor's robes now visible to him.
Not again he thought in his head. Not now. Why now?
"Slytherin wins! Potter proves to be the savior of his team, pulling into a dive that his brother simply couldn't keep up with! One hundred and sixty to twenty! And after a brilliant showing by the Gryffindor Keeper as well, this one's a heartbreaker..."
Albus landed on two feet, blinking rapidly. The feeling was gone. Everything had returned to normal. The only moments that he'd missed had ended up being the most important of the match. He opened his hand and saw the Snitch nestled in his palm, but before he could see much else he was swarmed by his team. Scorpius was clapping him on the back, and Barnabus Curder and Barry Bryant were trying to lift him up, though they were not big enough...
It happened again. More stabbing pains, and then, quite suddenly, more flashes of gold under his eyelids.
"Al!" someone was asking, but their voice sounded distorted. "Al are you okay?"
He could feel more and more people crowd around him; the Slytherin stands had joined as well. He wished that they wouldn't. He was starting to feel slightly claustrophobic. He felt himself sink to his knees for a moment, but afterwards he felt good enough to stand. People were clapping him on the back and talking to him, but he could only hear them half the time...
"You okay?" he heard again, and he saw that it was Scorpius who'd asked it.
Albus blinked a few more times. He suddenly felt better, as though it'd passed for good. "Yeah I'm-I'm fine"
But then there was more noise. Yelling from the remains of the audience. Albus saw adults running towards the field, Headmistress McGonagall among them. He could see Neville waving his hands in front of the Gryffindors.
"Back to the Common Room!" he was yelling. "All of you, now!"
There was muttering from everyone on the pitch it seemed.
"What's going on?" Denise Toils, closest to the headmistress asked as she neared.
"Back to your dormitory! All of you! At once!" she said crisply, her nostrils flared.
"What? Why?" a seventh year called over the heads of the rest of them.
"There has been an attack not far from the castle!"
The news continued to spread throughout the entire day, every hour or so more and more information trickling through the student's population. By the time that they'd all been called out to their Common Rooms for dinner the story seemed to be almost entirely told. Members of the Dark Alliance-along with the horrifying monsters that his father had called Silhouettes- had completely destroyed a town known as Tottsville, a place mixed with both wizarding kind and muggles. Albus did not believe some of the more preposterous rumors-like that the skeletal monsters had entered the village riding on charcoal black horses twice the size of normal ones-but the story still gave him goose bumps all the same. To know that so many people had been injured or killed, all while he was playing a game of Quidditch...
"And no one was caught from it?" said a third year blonde haired girl that he did not know. One of the seventh years, who Albus knew only by the first name Sidney, answered her.
"They just wrecked the place and left. I hear that Aurors are there now investigating. They've got other people wiping memories from Muggles, other dousing flames and the like. It's just terrible..."
Albus stared down at his plate, unable to touch his food. He had been in such an enthusiastic mood hours ago when the game had first started. He spared a glance up at Puckerd, who was also staring at his own plate, nothing having been touched. For the second time now, he felt some sort of connection. Perhaps his father had been right in that they were all allies. But still, Puckerd had ruined his Hogsmeade visit with Mirra out of spite only...
Dinner ended with Professor McGonagall giving a brief speech on the safety of the castle, ensuring them that the retreat to their Common Rooms was simply a precaution and that Hogwarts was well protected. She began to choke up slightly at the mention of the actual attack, but she had them raise their goblets to the victims before dismissing them to bed.
Albus was not sleepy when he returned to his dormitory. He still had other things on his mind, things that were now worrying him for the first time in months. Most of the house was still down in the Common Room discussing the day's events-the Quidditch victory now overshadowed by the first actual attack by the new Dark Alliance-and thus Albus had ample opportunity to sit on his bed and dwell in solitude. His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of his friends however.
"What are you doing up here?" Scorpius asked.
"Maybe he's ready for bed" Morrison said. "Tired from wiping the floor with Gryffindor today..."
Albus did not have a response for either of them.
"Al, what's wrong mate?" Morrison continued, his tone changing at the look on his friend's face.
"You don't blame yourself for the attack do you?" Scorpius asked incredulously. "I thought you were over that phase where everything's your fault."
"It's not that at all" Albus said quickly, turning to them and feeling tense. Should he even bother explaining? He wished that he had his father to talk to; they had been so honest with each other as of late. Or Fairhart. He'd discussed these things with Fairhart before.
"Then what is it?" Morrison asked.
Albus hesitated. "Remember that thing that we wrote about over the summer a bit? And-and the thing that was going on last year, that I told you about-"
"You mean all your weird dreams and golden eyes and stuff" Scorpius cut in, and he sounded somewhat agitated. Of the two of his best friends, Scorpius had always put the least thought into what Albus was talking about, and indeed, never truly seemed to consider it as an issue either. Morrison however, who had seen such an instance occur first hand, gave him a serious look.
"What about it?"
"It happened. Again. On the pitch."
Morrison widened his eyes in shock. "When?"
"After you caught the Snitch?" Scorpius asked. "When you were looking all out of it on the field?"
"Around there" Albus said quickly. "In the air too, actually, near the end..."
"Probably adrenaline" Scorpius said. "Adrenaline, plus your a wizard, typical combination for weird things-"
"It wasn't adrenaline!" Albus said, and for a moment, he felt an unusual amount of anger in himself. It quickly faded. "It-I don't know what it was-I'm just not used to it. Not for a while now."
Before either of his friends could make another suggestion, he voiced what was his biggest concern.
"And it happened-it would have happened right around the same time that that place was being attacked."
Both of his friends opened their mouths to speak, probably completely different ideas, but they never got the chance. There was a sudden, sharp knock on the dormitory door, and then the unlikely entrance of Melonie Grue.
"What are you doing here!" Morrison gasped. "How'd you even-"
"Girls are allowed into the boy's dorms" Melonie replied sweetly. "Just not the other way around. Pretty old rule actually."
"Well next time wait for permission, don't just knock once and barge in! What if we were naked in here!"
Melonie raised her eyebrows. "Oh I'm sorry, are the three of you usually nak-you know what, never mind. I have a letter for one of you."
As she held it out, Morrison snatched it away.
"Hey, don't snatch from me!" she said.
"Sorry" Morrison mumbled, reading over the front of the envelope.
"Who's it for?" Scorpius asked.
"I figured it was for Albus" Melonie said. "It came during breakfast, but he and Scorpius were already in the locker room, and you were still in bed Morrison..."
Albus took the letter from Morrison. His heart plummeted as he read the untidy scrawl on the front.
Black haiR
Gren eyes
Slytherin
Albus stared down at the letter, anticipation mingled with wonder in his head now. "Did a tawny owl drop this off?" he asked Melonie.
She thought about it. "I think so, yeah. Or maybe it was a barn owl. One of those common ones. Aren't you going to open it!"
Morrison went over to her and started steering away towards the door. "Privacy please!"
"Hey, just because you're bigger than me doesn't mean you can move me around as you see fit!"
"That's exactly what it means" he told her cheekily, and within the next few seconds she was gone and back down in the Common Room.
"Well, open it up mate" Scorpius said, and Albus saw that he too looked extremely curious.
Albus tore into it. What he unfolded was the shortest letter that he'd ever seen. Written in the same child-like scrawl was:
Is,
it
- you?
"Is it you?" Morrison read from over his shoulder. "Is what who?"
"I-I have no idea" Albus said, peering over the letter but knowing that there wasn't enough there for him to be able to decipher anything. "I really have no idea."
He turned to Scorpius, who was silent and looking equally perplexed. It was Morrison who spoke up again.
"Blimey, we're just not going to get that year where nothing weird happens, are we?"
