Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

10: Bragging Rights

After a spectacular catch in the first Quidditch match of the season, Albus owned the family bragging rights. Having been the only family member to date to be sorted into Slytherin, he was the only one on the victorious side the previous Saturday. It was evident from the game that the House passion was as high as ever. Whatever Hogwarts ties had united everyone the previous year, the Slytherins were once again quick to display the emerald and silver at every chance. Albus was as guilty of this as anyone, he was sure to always have a scarf or tie or the green of his robes showing. Albus was also smirking at his brother and cousins every time he saw them in the hall which usually earned him a dirty look. Albus, however, knew not to think much into these,he knew that they would all get over it and began preparing for their next match in the next week or two. The smirk was wiped off his face the Tuesday following the match. He was walking to breakfast on a particularly cold morning which meant he was wearing his scarf, and he saw James walking towards the Great Hall. He smiled at James, when his brother looked over at him. James turned quickly and walked straight towards his younger brother. "You think you're so great, don't you?" James said, his voice cold and harsh. "You and the other snaked. Just because you beat us in a Quidditch match? You didn't even deserve to win. Just wait until the Final, we'll beat ye in it." James said, staring daggers at Albus. If looks could kill, Albus would be dead several times over. "If ye make it that far" James added coldly.
Albus was upset and annoyed for the entire day. Luke and Scorpius, who were with him in the Entrance Hall, understood why he was so upset, but to everyone else, it looked like he was sad when he should be happy. He trudged around the school, hanging his head. He thought about what James had said and realised how silly he had been to brag about his victory. It was the first game of the season,a game between the two big rivals but the only game people remembered was the Final game. The game that decided the destination of the Quidditch cup.
Albus didn't pay much attention in his classes throughout the day. He did the minimum through the day. He made sure to take note of the homework and was also sure to make notes on any practical work they did during any of the classes. He kept telling himself he'd practice it later. After the end of classes that day, Albus was alone and was walking back to the Common Room. Luke had gone with Scorpius to do homework but Albus was in no mood to accompany them. He hung his head as he walked. "Salazar" he said as he reached the entrance to the Common Room. The door duly opened to admit him. He quickly scanned the room and saw Ashley and Emily sitting at a table in the corner, laughing. Albus didn't want to dampen their high spirits but as he tried to escape to the dormitories, he was spotted and called over, which left him with no choice but to join the two girls. He sat down beside them. "Do you want to talk about it?" Emily asked. Albus looked up at the two girls.
"Luke and Scorpius told us about your little run in with James this morning" they said. "We met them on their way to the library. We were leaving and noticed they seemed one lighter than usual." Ashley said.
"So..." Emily said, "...wanna talk about it?" she smiled kindly at him after finishing the sentence.
"I just realised how much of a prat I'd been" Albus said. "James was right." That's all Albus had to say on the topic.
"No, he wasn't right. I remember you saying that you never got anything on James when you were younger and he always made sure you remembered that." Ashley said. "You finally beat him and then he can't handle it. You had every right to brag about beating a team full of family members. I'd do the same thing in your situation." she said, very calmly.
"She's right. He was the prat, you were just taking pride in your house being victorious, even if you were related to the seven players you beat. It was not your fault and James really should apologise for what he said." Emily added. Albus considered this and realised that they were right. Suddenly his mood changed. He was no longer hanging his head, he was happy, excited and done the strangest thing. He picked up his bag, took out the sheet of parchment he was writing on earlier and began to practice everything he had neglected during class earlier in the say. The pair of girls watched in disbelief as in the next two and a half hours before dinner, Albus was fully up to date on all his work. Essays due for Friday or Monday were complete. He mastered spells with one or two attempts. His confidence was sky high, his confidence had returned. The same confidence that was knocked out of him that morning, that he had obtained from catching the Snitch, beating his brother spectacularly.

Luke and Scorpius seemed to be surprised when they returned to find Albus in a good mood rather than the downtrodden Albus they had left in the Entrance Hall. They sat in the corner table, waiting for dinner to come. "What's got you so happy?" Luke asked.

"Nothing" Albus said. The two eyed him suspiciously. Before they could ask him another question, a small first year boy approached them holding a scroll of parchment. He stopped at their table and looked at them for a while. He handed Albus the scroll.

"This is from your dad" he said, and, when Albus took it, he walked away. Albus furrowed his brow. He unrolled the parchment and scanned through it. He was even more confused now.

Albus,
I don't have the time to meet with you personally today so giving this to a first year from my class was the best idea I could think of. Meet me tonight, at the sleeping hour in my office. Make sure to keep warm and wear a cloak.
-H.J.P

Albus had to read it a second time to understand it fully. "I don't get it" Luke said.

"What's the sleeping hour?" Scorpius asked.

"Well, I remember my dad used to call midnight the sleeping hour for some reason. So, he wants me to meet him at midnight I suppose" Albus said.

"And why's he telling you to 'keep warm and wear a cloak'?" Luke asked, still wearing a puzzled expression. Albus was now deep in thought. He stared at the stone wall straight ahead of him, at the opposite side of the Common Room.

"He wants you to wear your Invisibility Cloak" Scorpius said.

"Oh" Albus said. "That makes sense now." Albus remembered the previous year when he had been going to his dad's office and had been caught in the hallways by Parker. His father must have remembered that as well and aptly warned his son to be careful when going to their rendezvous later that evening.

Albus' mood changed once again. He was worried. Whatever it was that his father wanted to talk to him about, he didn't want anyone else to know about it. Albus was worried, he was nervous. He wondered what his father wanted to talk to him about. Harry Potter was Head Auror. He was used to covert meetings and he was employing his skills to meet with his son.

The evening passed and Albus still didn't know what it was that his father wanted to talk to him about. Albus went to bed as normal, he didn't want to draw attention to himself. His normal routine continued, do some homework, dinner, finish off his homework, go to bed at the same time at Luke and Scorpius. They talked in bed for a while, as they usually did. Brian, who was there sometimes but was usually well asleep by now if he was there, was only ever in the dormitory to sleep and get his stuff. He had become good friends with a Hufflepuff and rarely was in the Common Room unless he was required to be there.

Albus continually glanced at his watch. Time seemed to move slowly, Albus was still wearing his uniform and had his Invisibility Cloak in the bed beside him. Eleven o clock, ten past, twenty past, half past, twenty to twelve, quarter to twelve, ten to twelve. Ten to twelve and Albus was ready to leave. He got out of his bed and pulled the hangings shut. Concealing himself under the Cloak, Albus crept out of the dormitory and through the almost empty Common Room. There were two or three seventh years still up and the glow of the almost dead fire illuminated the stone room. He was sure not to make any noise and none of the older students seemed to notice the Common Room door open. Albus again crept through the ice cold dungeons and walked as quietly as possible up the steps into the Entrance Hall. Albus walked around the Entrance Hall, having a look up the marble staircases from several angles in an attempt to make sure there were no Prefects doing rounds on the higher levels of the school.

Albus was convinced there was no one there and proceeded up the stairs. Albus knew he couldn't be seen but wanted to be safe rather than sorry. He walked quietly, barely taking half a step at a time. Once he got to the second floor, he walked slightly faster but maintained his quietness. Albus finally arrived and knocked quietly on the office door. The door opened slowly and Albus still didn't remove the Invisibility Cloak. His father's face appeared at the door and Albus walked in past him. Only when his father closed the door did Albus remove the Invisibility Cloak. "Ah, Albus, I wasn't sure if you understood my message" he said.

"Just about Dad, Luke and Scorpius helped me decode it. Well, only Scorpius did really, Luke was just there." Albus said, laughing slightly. His father smiled down at him.

"I also sent all the Prefects to the fifth floor. Sent them a note saying that some Gryffindors were planning a prank." Harry said.
"And are they?" Albus asked.

"From what I heard, James is planning a prank… in the Astronomy Tower. You shouldn't have to worry about the Prefects."

"And aren't you worried that James will get caught and get into trouble?" Albus asked.

"No" his father chuckled. "He has the Map, he should be fine" Albus laughed at his fathers disregard for the rules as a teacher and wondered what he must have been like as a student. "While we're on the subject of James, I hear the two of you had an altercation. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, it's okay. Everything is sorted." Albus replied. His father eyed him up and down before turning away and taking a seat behind his desk. "Now on a more serious note, I have talked to Professor Kelly on your progress in Legilimency. He says you're doing well Al, what do you think?"

"I'm getting the hang of it now, I'm doing my best. I try to work hard…"

"There's no need to elongate your answer. If you think you're doing well and Professor Kelly thinks you're doing well then that's it" Harry said. Albus noticed that this was not like their normal friendly conversations, this was serious, almost businesslike.

"While talking to Paul, he mentioned that while he was penetrating your mind, he tapped into one of your memories." Harry started, almost beating around the bush. Albus knew this wasn't what his father was normally like.

"What happened in this memory?" Albus asked.

"Well, according to Paul, you were probably on the school grounds, around Hagrid's cabin, and you were looking into the Forest. You saw a light in the Forest. You stared at it for a few more seconds before turning and walking back towards the castle. Did this happen?" he asked after pausing for a few moments at the end of his explanation.

"Yes" Albus replied quietly.

"Al," Harry said, the sincerity had returned to his voice. "you should have told me about this. I was put in charge of the school's security, if this was nothing, it was nothing but it might have been something. I was in contact with the Auror office and they found five dead, suspected it was Parker or his allies. Is there anything you can remember about this night?"

"Yeah, it wasn't like it was in the Forest. It was more like there was somebody outside the Forest and the light was just shining through. I don't think anybody got onto the school grounds. "

"Alright Albus. I believe you. If something like this happens again, alright?" Harry stared at his son.

"Okay, dad". Harry gestured for Albus to leave and Albus wasted no time in draping the Invisibility Cloak over him and leaving the office.

When Albus arrived back in the Entrance Hall, there was a loud bang, somewhere else in the castle. Albus turned to see if there was any significant damage when… BANG!
There was a bright light and a big noise from somewhere just outside the Entrance Hall. Albus was hurled to the ground and the Slytherin was quick to stuff his Invisibility Cloak into his trousers and hoped it wouldn't be noticed. As he hit the ground, his made contact with the stone floor and Albus blacked out.