-Chapter Eleven-
The Phantasm Realm
To Albus' great relief, Elina was speaking to him again. She had evidently decided that he should be forgiven for hurting James at the Quidditch match.
"Well," Elina said gloomily on the day break started, "I'm staying at Hogwarts for the holiday."
"Why?" Albus asked. "Don't you have a family?"
Elina turned pink with embarrassment and looked at the ground.
Albus paled and spluttered something about being sorry. After giving him a small smile, indicating that she accepted his apology, Elina left to say good-bye to Rose and, infuriatingly, James.
Albus joined Scorpius at the Slytherin table, noticing that it was significantly emptier. Many people were already on the way to Hogsmeade Station to go back home.
"Why do you look so mopey?" Scorpius asked curiously, looking up from his toast.
Albus sighed and said, "Elina and James."
Scorpius smirked unhelpfully as Albus started spreading butter on his toast. Both he and Albus had said their goodbyes to Rose earlier.
The first week of break passed blandly, though Albus rather enjoyed the peace and quiet. Sometimes, he and Elina met in the library to discuss their Potions project.
On Christmas, Albus expected a bunch of stupid pranks from his cousins, and he was not disappointed. Fred had sent him a punching telescope, and Louis had sent him a murderous Jack-In-the-Box. James, however, had sent him the picture that he had taken of Rose, Scorpius, and Albus standing together.
Albus personally thought that it was the best present that James had ever given him. Had James seriously thought that it would insult Albus? Perhaps Albus' perfect prankster brother was losing his touch. Albus, smirking, framed the picture and stared fondly at his friends.
Roxanne and Dominique had both sent him some clothes, but when Albus took a closer look, they were frilly dresses. Annoyed, Albus threw them aside. Their idea of a dumb prank, apparently.
Albus received a quite boring-looking book on becoming a prefect from Molly and Lucy, though he supposed that he would read it anyways. Victoire and Teddy, however, had given him a set of books on Defense Against the Dark Arts. Albus grinned and made a mental note to write a thank you letter to them.
Then Albus unwrapped the present from Rose. It was a book that was titled: Potions Secrets—Become a True Potions Master! Albus smiled, because he had wanted a book like this for a long time. Albus opened Scorpius' present as well and saw that it was a Potions kit filled with rare ingredients.
Leave it to his two best friends to give him something he would truly appreciate. Albus then saw a present from Elina, and his heart skipped a beat. He hadn't gotten her something! Feeling terribly guilty, Albus opened the present and saw that it was another book: Teaching Potions—Learn to Be a Potions Professor. Albus smiled widely and flipped through it, his heart fluttering.
After that, Albus opened the lumpy package from his grandparents. He pulled out an emerald green sweater with a silver serpent in the shape of an 'S' sewn on it. Albus sighed with relief—his grandparents still loved him and had now accepted him as a Slytherin. After putting on the sweater, Albus opened Lily's present, which was a pack of sweets. It came with a letter:
Dear Albie,
It's Lily! I gave you some candy! I think James might have mixed in some prank chocolates in there, though. So, be careful! I love you, and I miss you. Why didn't you come back from Christmas? Do you hate us that much? I love James, but I want you here, too.
Love,
Lily
Albus smiled sadly at his sister's letter. I don't hate them, they hate me. At least Lily didn't mind that he was in Slytherin.
With some trepidation, Albus picked up the package from his parents and opened it. A silvery and soft cloak fell out of the wrapping paper. He gasped as he felt the cloth.
His parents had given him the Invisibility Cloak. Albus snatched the letter that came with the cloak and read it.
Dear Al,
You're probably shocked. Yes, I did give you the Invisibility Cloak. I got it from my father and want to pass it on to you. I gave it to you instead of James because he would probably only use it for pranks. I give this to you in the hope that you will use it well. I'm a bit worried about happened at the Quidditch match. Keep an eye out for things—perhaps the cloak will be helpful here. Don't tell your mother that I gave you the cloak. She'll be furious at me for encouraging you to stick your nose into trouble. Merry Christmas, Al, and remember that we love you.
Love,
Dad
Albus stared at the letter for another minute, reveling in the fact that his father trusted him more than James. Dad was telling the truth back on the platform. It doesn't matter to him what house I'm in, Albus realized, immensely overjoyed. Then, Albus wondered whether he was trustworthy as his father thought.
I hurt James and Derlwin with that bright green glow, and I haven't told Dad about the spirits and what I suspect about Irving. Albus decided that nobody would really believe him anyways, and he didn't want his father to think he was crazy.
Albus heard a loud yawn from behind him and turned around to see Scorpius stretching on his bed. "Merry Christmas, Al," Scorpius grunted, getting off his bed and spotting the presents on his dresser. "Really nice present, mate," Scorpius said appreciatively as he held up Albus' present, a book titled Climbing the Ladder of Wizarding Politics.
Albus grinned back and said, "I knew you'd like it."
"Wait a moment," Scorpius said suddenly, looking at Albus' bed, "what's that?" Scorpius was pointing at the Invisibility Cloak.
Albus told him.
"Amazing," Scorpius said in awe.
"I want to try it out," Albus said, "but I don't really see a good reason..."
An hour later, Scorpius and Albus arrived at the Great Hall. Albus saw Elina sitting alone at the Gryffindor table, looking exceptionally pretty and lonely. Scorpius gave him a smirk and sat down at the Slytherin table while Albus slowly approached her and sat down at the Gryffindor table.
"Hello, Al," she said, nibbling at some toast. "Thanks for joining me."
"It's all r-right," Albus stuttered, unable to look away from her doe-like, blue-violet eyes.
"How did you like your presents?" Elina asked, turning slightly pink.
"I'm so sorry, Elina," Albus spluttered apologetically. "I d-didn't think you'd g-give me one!"
"It's all right," she said, smiling.
They were quiet for moment. With a shudder, Albus realized that James probably had given her a present—and probably and expensive one. James loved to charm girls.
"You know, Al, I think that we should become better friends," Elina suggested. "You're really sweet, different than the other boys I hang around."
Albus turned the same blood red shade as his wand. "O-Okay," he mumbled, blushing and dazed.
Elina grinned at him and continued, "I mean, they're really fun, but they're never serious or modest. That's James' biggest problem. He brags a lot, don't you think?"
Albus nodded enthusiastically.
Elina added, "It's like he's your opposite. James likes attention, but you hate it. But it seems like you both get lots of attention, but different types."
Albus knew what she meant. Everyone awed and revered James, while they made fun of and hated Albus. Both brothers were extremely well known—James for the right reasons, and Albus for the wrong ones.
Elina and Albus finished their breakfast, though he too busy staring at her to eat properly.
Christmas dinner was a rather bubbly affair. All the four house tables and the High Table had been combined. Stacks of wizard crackers were littered across the table, and the professors—quite literally—decided to let their hair down. Albus was quite overwhelmed at all the food choices: Uncountable, fat roast turkeys; heaps of roasted and boiled potatoes; huge ships of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce—and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs. Finally, Albus decided to heap some of everything on to his plate and ended up not eating half of it.
The wizard crackers just didn't just bang—they went off with a blast. Soon, the table was covered with smoke of all colors. Scorpius had gotten a flowery bonnet—which Albus forced him to wear—and Albus had gotten a Grow-Your-Own-Warts kit. Elina had found a silver sickle in her slice of cake, which everyone had found hilarious.
The most amusing part of the evening, however, was when Professor Moore and Professor Patil had drunk so much wine that they had started dancing around the Great Hall, their hats lopsided.
Other than all this, Albus noticed something else strange. Elina was getting along very well with all the professors—too well, actually. She acted like the professors were her family, and Albus remembered that she hadn't been on the boats and all the teachers had clapped exceptionally loudly at her Sorting.
Did Elina live at Hogwarts? Albus wasn't given much time to puzzle over this, because soon Christmas dinner was over and Albus and Scorpius were walking through the dungeons. Once they had reached the Slytherin common room, the two boys were too full and sleepy to do anything but throw pillows at each other.
However, something had been nagging at Albus for the whole day, and he finally remembered it when he climbed into bed: the Invisibility Cloak. Deciding that he would try it out some other day, Albus fell fast asleep.
Albus jerked awake the morning after Christmas, realizing that it was the break of dawn and Scorpius was snoring in the next bed.
Well, Albus thought. I can't go back to sleep now, can I?
He changed into his robes and left the dungeons, unsure of what he was going to do so early. Then he remembered what Hoffman had said about the Potions Master's Haven. He decided to go to the seventh-floor corridor and try what Hoffman had told him to do.
On the way, nothing significant happened, (unless you counted Peeves dropping hot chocolate on Albus' head) and soon he had arrived on the seventh floor. He saw a tapestry of Barnabus the Barmy's futile attempt to teach trolls ballet and walked toward it. Albus remembered that Hoffman had told him to walk three times along the corridor and think of the Potions Master's Haven.
Albus felt incredibly stupid as he did so, but he need not have worried. He had only gone the length of the corridor once when he ran into the person he least wanted to see—Irving.
"POTTER!" Irving snarled, grabbing Albus by the shoulder. Albus gulped and stepped backwards in alarm, the fear evident on every inch of his face.
"P-Professor—" Albus spluttered. Please don't kill me, he begged inside his head.
"What are you doing out of bed so early?" Irving asked.
"I thought I'd g-go for a walk, sir," Albus muttered. Then he suddenly grew angry. Irving had no right to chase him away from where he wanted to go!
He can't hurt me in Hogwarts. He wouldn't dare! I don't have to be scared of him, Albus convinced himself. Then Albus remembered that Irving had not hesitated to hurt him with his ice-blue eyes several times, not to mention when Irving had tried to kill him during the Quidditch match.
Irving was dangerous.
"Well, stay away from this corridor," Irving snarled. "You look rather suspicious."
"So do you," Albus remarked before he could stop himself. I won't show my fear anymore. I'm standing up for myself. He doesn't deserve my respect.
Irving's ice-blue eyes met Albus' emerald green ones, and Albus felt pain run through him like a shock.
How can he hurt me? Albus wondered angrily.
Irving snorted and took out his wand and tapped it on his palm impatiently. "You'd be surprised to find out how many people can hurt you, Potter. Aren't you glad that it's just me right now?"
Albus gritted his teeth at Irving, but was unsettled. How does he know what I'm thinking—and what does he mean by that, anyways?
"I suggest not wandering around alone anymore," Irving snarled, stalking toward the end of the corridor, "for your own good, Potter. I'll be watching you..." With those words, Irving was gone.
Albus gulped and gripped his own wand tighter. He doubted that Irving would let him come to the Potions Master's Haven in broad daylight, so Albus had to find another way. He wasn't going to listen to Irving's warning.
I guess now's the time to use that cloak that Dad sent me.
Precisely at midnight, Albus went upstairs to receive his cloak from under his bed. He felt reassured by the soft, almost liquid-like feeling of the cloth and picked it up.
He put on the Invisibility Cloak and looked back at Scorpius, who was snoring. This is my father's Invisibility Cloak. I'll go alone this first time, Albus thought. He walked out of the Slytherin common room, shivering in the cold darkness.
Slowly, he ascended to the seventh floor. He passed several school ghosts, all of which looked in his direction with confused expressions on their faces, unable to see him. Albus' worst fear was Peeves, who Albus mercifully did not meet on the way.
Finally, Albus arrived at the seventh floor and walked the hallway three times, thinking, 'I need the Potions Master's Haven' as hard as he could. The third time he did so, a door popped out from nowhere.
Albus waited outside the door for a second, excited for what he was going to see. He couldn't wait to use the special supplies and information the Potions Master's Haven surely had in store for him.
He walked into a dark corridor with black stone walls. When Albus took another tentative step, the lamps along the corridor lit up. The flames were an eerie shade of green. Cautiously, Albus continued along the corridor, wondering exactly where he was. Feeling a bit warm, Albus removed the cloak.
This certainly wasn't the Potions Master's Haven—Albus couldn't see any cauldrons or ingredients anywhere.
Then, out of nowhere, Albus heard a whooshing noise from in front of him. The green light from the lamps was too dim, and Albus couldn't see what had made the noise. Slowly, a figure came into view. Albus strained his eyes to take a better look and suddenly wished that he hadn't. It was a spirit. Hoffman had called them 'Guardian Spirits' on Halloween.
But it wasn't just one.
It was an army of them. Albus let out a squeak of fear and turned around in order to run back out on to the seventh floor, but the door that Albus had used to come in was no longer there.
He couldn't leave. Fighting the urge to faint, he turned back toward the spirits. They were worse than he remembered, and he was frozen to the spot in fear. Then, as one, the spirits let out an immense bellow of anger.
Albus let out a strangled gasp and huddled against the wall. Then, the spirits came closer, and he finally took control of himself. He whipped out his wand and yelled, "Lumos solem!"
The spirits at the front wailed with pain and shrunk away from the light. Albus yelled the spell again, driving them further backwards.
Then, quite suddenly, they began to speak. "We must protect the Orb. The Opponent is here, and we must destroy him."
Albus, shocked that they could talk, was taken by surprise when the army of Guardian Spirits suddenly surged forward. He felt his heart turn cold as the mist touched him, realizing that he was going to die and that the spirits weren't going to give up.
What a terrible way to go, Albus thought. I haven't even made up with my family yet.
And it was his family and friends that gave Albus his strength. "STOP!" he yelled. A familiar sensation took over him, and the dark power was running through him once more. Albus drew from this sinister power, feeling invincible. At top of his voice, he shouted, "LEAVE ME ALONE!" To Albus' great shock, the spirits obeyed his orders. They stopped, looking confused. "GO AWAY!" Albus continued, pointing his wand at them.
They disintegrated into mist just as he finished his order.
Albus gasped and stumbled backwards, shocked at what he had just done. The feeling of immense power left him, and he now simply felt weak-kneed.
To his horror, more spirits appeared in place of the old ones, but they were different than the others. Instead of a terrifying, misty white, they were a calming blue. Albus felt strangely content, but he could not imagine why. More spirits? They're not attacking me... are they a different kind than the 'Guardian Spirits'?
Every single one of the spirits stared straight at him with their hollow eyes. As one, they spoke.
"We are the Phantasm Spirits. The Final Paradox, we beg you to fulfill your destiny."
"What are you talking about?" Albus demanded. He couldn't think clearly—the 'Phantasm Spirits' had a dizzying effect over him.
"We show you our Realm... the Realm which you must destroy and save...," they chanted.
Then, the world around Albus began to spin. He could see everything distort around him as he was drawn toward the crowd of Phantasm Spirits. Albus tried to run the other way, but it was hopeless. He could do nothing as he was sucked into the very spirits themselves.
Albus shut his eyes tightly, hoping whatever was happening wasn't happening to him.
And suddenly, everything stopped spinning. He was thrown out on to a hard surface. Albus opened his eyes slowly, wondering what exactly he had gotten himself into. He got up cautiously and looked around. The place he had landed in was extremely strange. Everything around him was an unsettling indigo blue shade, yet he could not see anything at all. It was simply an empty space. The only thing he could see was a group of people outlined in black standing far away.
He began running towards them, and as he neared them, he saw that they were people he knew. His mother, father, sister, and brother were among the crowd. His whole family, including Rose, was also present. Albus saw Scorpius and Elina there, too. He couldn't properly see their faces—it was too dark. Albus was utterly confused. My whole family is supposed to be at home! And aren't Scorpius and Elina at Hogwarts? Why are they here, then?
He tried to remember what the Phantasm Spirits had said to him. They had said they were going to show him a 'Realm.' Of course, Albus realized. This isn't real. It's a dream or vision—or something like that.
He finally reached his family and friends. He was close enough to see the expressions on their faces. He turned cold with fear. Their eyes were blank and haunted. They flickered and suddenly disappeared, causing Albus to yell out in shock.
"Albus Severus Potter, turn around and face me," came a cold voice from behind Albus. He whirled around automatically.
It was figure in a blood-red cloak. Albus could not see his face at all.
"Your family and friends are dead," said the figure in a low, cruel voice. "Submit your powers to me, and I will bring them back."
Albus gasped and stepped backwards. "What powers?" he demanded.
"You know!" snarled the figure. "You have always known." The figure suddenly cackled. It was a ruthless, insane laugh. "They say that you are the only one who can stop me, but you are nothing but a fool."
With those words, everything in the Phantasm Realm turned black. Albus felt the darkness pressing in on him, wrapping him in its deadly clutches. Albus began to glow bright green, refusing to be taken down. He could vaguely see a dark red glow off in the distance and began to walk towards it.
Both Albus and the figure in red glowed brighter and brighter, until the Realm was bathed in both emerald green and blood-red. Albus moved closer to the figure, reaching his hand out...
Suddenly, everything began to spin again. Albus shouted out as his surroundings twisted and distorted. The mysterious figure in the blood-red cloak disappeared in the gloom, and Albus felt himself being sucked backwards. He was thrown back out on to the stone floor in the supposed 'Potions Master's Haven.' He opened his eyes, hoping that the nightmare was over. He was indeed back in that room on the seventh floor.
How do I get away? Albus thought frantically. I need a door out of here! Albus struggled to his feet and saw a door appear in front of him. Albus seized his Invisibility Cloak and ran. He ran as fast as he could, not stopping until he got to the Slytherin dormitories.
What just happened? he thought, hoping against hope that he had been hallucinating or having a nightmare.