Here it is! Before you all rip my head off! I wouldn't be surprised if you all stopped caring about Freddie, George, Jess, Rose and the gang, and moved onto another half decent story. Anyway, this isn't just for my health! R&R! Pretty please?
This was it. The moment Albus Severus Potter had been waiting for, for the whole three weeks he'd been at Hogwarts. He took a deep breath and waited for the throng gathered around the Gryffindor bulletin board to disperse. He slowly walked over, dodged a few cheering second and third year girls, and looked up at it: the Quidditch list. Albus had tried out the day before and was hoping to get the available position of Seeker. It's not that he was determined to follow in his father's footsteps, but he loved the game and thought that he had put up a fair fight at tryouts. If he didn't make it that was okay with him, but he still really wanted to.
So many kids had tried out for Quidditch in the past couple of years that Madam Hooch, the flight instructor and referee to all the matches, had decided to make a team for first to fourth years, and fifth to seventh years. He saw that his cousin, Andrew, had made the team as a fourth year. He was one of the Beaters. Albus wasn't sure if that was the position he had wanted, but he definitely knew that Andrew would be content with a spot on the team.
He scanned the list of names looking for his own, but didn't see it. He decided to check again for good measure. Nothing. Oh, well. He looked at the column of positions to see who had beaten him out at Seeker, but he didn't see anything. The word Seeker was printed there, plain as day, but no name was listed in the same row under the column Professor McGonagall had titled "The Lucky Seven!" This was really weird. Seeker was the one position a Quidditch team couldn't do without, and Albus had to find out why there was no set Seeker.
He turned around, deciding that this was way more important than breakfast, and headed toward the Headmistress's office.
"Fawkes," Albus said confidently to the stone gargoyle. It leapt aside revealing an all too familiar spiral staircase leading up to the office itself. As Albus ascended, he wondered to himself Could this not be an accident…
"Ah, Mr. Potter. I was expecting you. Have a seat," came the old voice of the Headmistress from behind her desk. She was expecting meAlbus thought to himself. I wonder what this is about….
"Hi, Professor. I was wondering about the Quidditch list. I wanted to know – "
" – why there was no name under Seeker?" McGonagall finished for him.
"Uhh, yeah. Could you explain that to me? I'm a little confused."
"Well, you know who the judges were for your age group?"
"I know one of them was my brother, but I don't know who the other one was. How many were there?"
"There were only two. The other judge was your cousin, George Weasley. In third year."
Oh God. Albus thought to himself. Right now, James hated George for stealing his crush, Lilac Finnigan, but George didn't know.
"Oh, George? I didn't know he was judging," said Albus, trying to cover up his uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"Yes, well, George's twin sister, Freddie, also went out for the position of Seeker."
"Yeah…" said Albus, not liking at all where this conversation was heading.
"The two judges had a quarrel over the two of you. Apparently, the both of you were the most likely candidates for the position, and you can pretty much guess who took who's side."
"Yeah," said Albus, dumbly, the feeling in the pit of his stomach growing more and more intense. "So, what's gonna happen. Is one of us gonna be the alternate, or something. Are we gonna share the position?"
"Not exactly. The judges want to make a permanent decision and keep one person. With the two of them fighting, I personally don't foresee the whole operation running so smoothly. So, I want you to tell Freddie to meet me up here – oh, you as well, of course – and we'll get this whole rut settled. How's that?"
"Fantastic. Can't wait," Albus said, trying to sound cheerful, not meaning at all what he had said. It was not fantastic, and he certainly could wait. He could wait forever. He would rather not make the team then have to go against his favorite cousin. Yes, Freddie was his favorite, even though they were so completely and totally opposites. Well, you know what they say: opposites attract.
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Scorpius sat, ensconced in a cozy armchair by the fire, his back hunched over the enchanted copy of Hogwarts: A History. Right now, he was flipping through a section on how to change the common room passwords. He still couldn't quite believe that there were so many secrets concealed within his school. The things, both good and bad, that could occur if someone other than himself were to get a hold of this were drastically unthinkable.
He was poring over a particularly interesting passage, when he heard footsteps coming up the corridor outside. He quickly stuffed the book in his backpack and began pretending that he was extremely interested in the view of the Quidditch field from the window. A short, frizzy-haired figure bounced through the portrait hole, and Scorpius nonchalantly looked around to see Rose Weasley coming his way.
"Hey, Scorp. What's up?" she asked, just as casually, but not faking it.
"Oh, nothing. Just sitting here. It's been a pretty tough week, so I'm just resting," he replied, even though the work load couldn't have been lighter.
"Oh. Well, what – oh! You're reading this book, too? I've read it seven times! Isn't it fantastic?" Rose was referring to the book thrown carelessly into the pile of books on the coffee table, Hogwarts: A History.
"Oh, yeah. It's great," Scorpius said hurriedly, as he leaped over to the table to remove the book from sight and hopefully change the subject. Of course, nothing ever went his way.
"Wait….why I it glowing?" Rose asked curiously, reaching for the book. Realizing that there was no way he could possibly get out of this, he handed it over so she could see the reason.
He waited for the sure-to-come "WOW! OMIGOSH! HOW COOL!" so he could explain that extremely abnormal day with Albus in the common room.
"WOW! OMIGOSH! HOW COOL!" There it was.
"Yeah, you see, Albus and I were practicing rebounding spells, and it accidently hit the book, and, well, yeah. You see what happened. Basically, it turned into a book of secrets."
"Wow!" Rose said, drawn-out and mystically. She seemed really happy to be learning something new, so Scorpius kind of felt bad that he and Albus didn't at least let her in on the secret. Plus, there was something about the way she looked when she was happy. Her face shone brightly, her eyes glistened and sparkled, her dimples showed…
"So, what are you guys gonna do? Are you gonna show anybody? I mean, this stuff is too interesting to be kept hidden!"
"Well, we were kind of trying to hide it from my father. He's looking for a way to bewitch the Sorting Hat to change my house, and if you look on page 64…"
"Oh, yeah," said Rose knowingly, flipping to the indicated page. Right there, clear as day, were full, easy-to-follow instructions on just how to get the Sorting Hat to do your bidding.
"I heard him talking to my mother in the fire, and he said if he ever found a way to do it, he would. And, he even said that he was pretty sure he knew where to find it! Isn't that terrible! All he cares about is me fulfilling the family legacy and being in Slytherin. I love Gryffindor, and I don't want to leave."
"I know what you mean. We definitely need to keep this book from your father at all costs. But, even if he did get hold of it, the potion that would need to prepared would take months, almost half a year, to complete. Here, let me show you."
Rose walked over to the couch and sat on its arm, placing the book in Scorpius's lap so he could see what she was talking about. He heard her first couple of words, but when she sat down next to him, something didn't feel the same. He noticed a tingly sensation in his stomach and couldn't seem to take his eyes off of her. He got lost in her appearance, her uniquely styled hair, her deep, chocolate brown eyes, her sincere smile. Put it all together, and she was almost beau-
Scorpius snapped himself out of his trance and felt like slapping himself in the face. How could he think of a girl like that, especially a Weasley? His father would have a heart attack, and his mother would most likely disown him. He commanded himself to stop thinking about her and just pay attention to what she was saying, but he couldn't seem to follow through with his own demand. It was a feeling he couldn't help. But, then again, that was all the more reason to go against his family. And that was exactly what he wanted.
I know, I know, short. But my other half was bugging me all week and weekend to post, and I had so much homework. Hey, I know what'll make me feel a whole lot better! Send a review! Even if it is the shortest chapter ever, just say that you read it. Please.
With All the Love in the World,
iheartron547