Chapter 10 – Thorn and Greybeard

It had been a few weeks since Alex humiliated Scorpius in a dual but that didn't stop Scorpius from insulting him at any opportunity. Scorpius seemed determined to make Alex feel miserable. He'd been getting better at insulting Alex too; waiting until teachers weren't around so he didn't cost Slytherin any more points. Alex had been explaining this all to Charlie during his detention period on Friday evening.

"As long as you don't lose your temper on him – "

"I know" Alex was standing with his arm outstretched and wand in hand. Charlie was helping Alex master the water charm in a room on the seventh floor. Charlie said no one would bother them up here.

"Well try it again" Alex nodded

"Aguamenti" Alex said it with enough conviction to get the same splash of water he was able to get last week. With a sigh he rested his arm at his side. Charlie stood behind him, thinking.

"You never did tell me where you got that wand"

"Oh – it was made for me. By-by the people who gave me the scales…" Alex said quietly, "Maple ten inches…dragon heart string" Charlie could hear the sadness that easily crept into Alex's voice whenever they started talking about what had happen to him. It was because of this that Charlie decided to help him with his school work until he was ready to talk.

"Maybe we can take you to Ollivander's this weekend. See if that's the right wand for you" This seemed to lift Alex's spirits. He turned to Charlie with a curious smile.

"The old man in Diagon Alley you mean?"

Charlie nodded, "Just have to clear it with the Headmistress first"

"Cool" Alex said and his smile widened.

Charlie ended the detention there, about five minutes early. Alex was excited to tell Albus and Rose he'd be getting a wand from Ollivander. Not that they ever asked where he got his wand. The question would probably come up now though, Alex thought. It wasn't until Alex was in front of the Fat Lady did he realise he wouldn't have the money to pay for a new wand. Alex had left his money in North America's branch of Gringotts and didn't know if it was transferred.

"Are you coming in or not?" The Fat Lady asked him.

"Umm…be back in a second" Alex decided to go ask Charlie. With a bit of fear that'd he'd be caught and get in trouble, Alex ran back to the room. Luckily it was on the same floor. He had gotten there quickly and it looked like Charlie was still in there since Alex saw flickering candlelight coming from the crack of the slightly open door.

"-you could have told me!" Alex heard someone shout from the other side of the door.

"Would it have made a difference? Your job was to get him here safely" Alex recognised that as Charlie's voice. Trying to not make a sound, Alex knelt by the door and opened it just a little bit more so his right eye could peer through.

"To a place where there may very well be someone trying to kill him?" Alex could see two red heads arguing. Alex decided the other person yelling must be Rose's father.

"That's just a presumption McGonagall has. There is no actual-" Alex saw Harry in there too. He slid into view and gave something to Charlie – looked like a piece of paper. Alex saw Charlie's mouth move but he didn't hear what was said.

"Yes, meeting with an identified member of Noctis" Harry said.

"Noctis?" Charlie asked

"Oh, stop pretending Charlie!" Ron yelled

"I'm not pretending I've never heard of them in my life" Charlie snapped at his brother.

"They're the group that abducted Alex"

Alex gasped causing the three adults behind the door to look in his direction but Alex was no longer there. He ran back to Gryffindor tower as fast as he could, knowing he had just heard something he wasn't suppose to know. Problem now was that he did.

Next morning students through out the castle were enjoying the day off however they pleased. Rose and Albus were eating breakfast and were planning on visiting Hagrid again this week. Last week's visit was cut short when a salamander for Hagrid's class got out and nearly burnt his hut down. Hagrid was yelling something about 'not again' as Albus and Rose walked back to the school. The two of them were hoping Alex could come meet Hagrid since he had detention last week.

"Where is Alex anyway? It's not like him to miss a meal" Rose asked.

"You've been watching him eat have ya Rose?" Xavier teased but Rose ignored him.

"Was still asleep when I left" Albus told her. Content with the answer Rose went back to eating until a loud roar interrupted the meal. The doors to the Great Hall flew open followed by a burst of flames. Out of the flames shot a pile of robes that collided with the floor and slide halfway to the head table. Students rushed to the entrance but only dared to peek at what stood there. Albus was the only one to walk out onto the path the flame just took. He looked at the entrance and met Alex's gaze but his face wasn't twisted with anger like when he attacked Flint. Instead Alex looked blissfully content with the current situation. Then something seemed to snap in Alex; he lifted his hand to cover his mouth and tears welled up in his eyes. He quickly ran to the pile of flaming robes which only now began to scream and roll.

Alex looked tormented at the sight just as everyone else was. Without saying a word Alex slashed his wand through the air and doused the flames with conjured water before quickly turning and running away. Fear had a solid grip on most of the students until Professor Odette ran into the Great Hall and checked on the burnt pack of robes. She rolled it over revealing Scorpius Malfoy, who lay silent on the wet floor. The fire ate through his left sleeve and fed on his skin all the way up to his neck. Odette was waving her wand, muttering incantations until more professors arrived to take Scorpius to the hospital wing.

"Merlin's ghost what happened in here?" James had arrived in the Great Hall after most of the students had cleared out. Albus sat on the floor and was almost as white as a ghost. Harry knelt in front of him with a hand on his shoulder. James walked up behind his dad and stared down at his little brother.

"It's like it wasn't even him" Albus proclaimed. He'd been repeating that over and over to his father who sat there and tried to console him. The glimpse Albus had of Alex's face just after he attacked Scorpius looked like someone Albus had never seen before. Looked like someone who was happy to cause harm. Uncle Ron and another Auror had gone with some professors to find Alex. Harry tried asking him if he knew where Alex went but Albus could only repeat himself.

"It's like it wasn't even him"

Rumours spread like wild fire that night about where Alex had gone and why he attacked Scorpius Malfoy. Some say they saw Scorpius passing by Alex and Alex just attacked him for no reason. Others say Scorpius said something to him before hand. There were rumours that he was already off school grounds and was headed to the nearest dragon reserve. Even more ridiculous were the rumours that the Aurors killed him on sight.

Most the rumours were put to rest the next morning when Alex was seen going to and from classes. Alex wasn't allowed to talk to anyone and was being escorted everywhere by two Aurors. Albus had recognised one of them to be the one who escorted Alex on his first day; the one with a long black ponytail. That same man had told Albus not to talk to Alex during classes. Alex didn't look at anyone during or between classes and was no longer allowed to eat in Great Hall. Scorpius Malfoy made a full recovery in a day; Madame Pomfrey had described his injuries as minor. When he arrived at the Slytherin table for breakfast he had enjoyed showing off the bandages up his left arm to his neck.

Alex had made headlines again but this time the Daily Prophet had an interview with Hogwarts newest Headmistress, Professor Hermione Weasley. She explained that the safest place to keep the boy was at Hogwarts but that didn't go over well with student's parents. The article noted that the new Headmistress spoke with a shaky voice and went on to question how she had obtained such a prestigious position. Former Headmistress, Professor Minerva McGonagall, gave no comment on the matter. Wizards throughout Great Britain found this to be a great topic of discussion over the next few months. Some even became advocates to see to it that the boy was kicked out of Hogwarts, imprisoned or even put to death.

Albus and Rose had gone just over two months without speaking directly to Alex. He was under constant guard; even in the lavatories the guards stood in front of his stall. Once they found where Alex was sleeping, since he was no longer allowed into the Gryffindor tower, Rose thought of a way to communicate with him. During the night the Aurors stood (or rather sat while playing wizard's chess) guard of a room on the seventh floor but during the day it was completely unguarded. During this time Rose or Albus would sneak in and leave a note for Alex.

Alex,
We need to know what happened. Why did you attack Scorpius? Why did you run?
Leave a note for us where you found this one. We'll pick it up and leave another when the room is unguarded during the day.

Albus and Rose

The next day Alex gave no signs of receiving their note in class. But when Albus went to check during a break he found a note waiting for him.

I was being controlled! I don't know who it was, but I didn't attack Malfoy on purpose. My vision went fuzzy and I felt like I was flying. When I saw Malfoy it was like the flames jumped out on their own. When my vision came back and I saw what I had done I was too afraid to stay. Please believe me! I know it sounds ridiculous but please! I have no one else. I'm not even allowed to talk to Charlie.

PS Don't use real name just in case someone finds these letters. Burnt the last one.

Albus had believed him, remembering the way he seemed to change afterwards. Rose was reluctant at first but had believed Albus when he explained Alex's change in demeanour. They had spent the next few weeks looking for any kind of spell that was meant for controlling people in books from the library but had turned up empty. And they knew asking a teacher would just raise suspicion. Christmas holidays were right around the corner and Albus didn't think they had the means to search at home so before leaving they left Alex one more note.

We'll be going home for the holidays and we don't think we'll be able to find much there. We still need to know who cast the spell if we are going to prove you're innocent. If it's possible do some digging while there are less people in the school. I know this will sound stupid but try talking to Torch. He may have seen someone behind you or something. If you can't, we'll try talking to him when we get back.

Thorn and Greybeard

A/N: Edited and cleaned 26/10/2011. Details on my profile.