A/N: Hello all! First of all, I'm sorry for the long wait. I have academics to blame for that, and writer's block. Two, thank you so much for your patience! And lastly, hello all new readers!

This chapter's particularly long - to make up for my long absence, and it's one of my favorite chapters. Mostly because, and because why it took so long to update, of the Triwizard Tournament (whoop whoop). Yes, I did that and I just had to. Also, I tried making some developments - family and friendship-wise. It can't always be about Erin and Albus.

If it seems a bit rushed, I apologize. I was just so bent on updating. Leave me a review at the end for your thoughts so far, okay?

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING BUT THE PLOT AND THE OCs.


[Sixth Year: Raging Hormones]

With the years passing by, he noticed that things were getting harder – academics and his growing fancy for Erin. It didn't help that she grew up gracefully; the years have been good for her.

Growing up, little did she know that she had acquired admirers but were always kept at arm's length because of Scott, but since he's graduated, was replaced by Astley, the Scamander twins, Scorpius and him. It didn't help either when the little things about her can get him, especially when they were together. The little things she did enticed him, and as much as he can, he tried to keep his cool (especially when around their friends).

He watched her take a deep breathe, a shaky one. The grip on her wand was tight, her knuckles were almost white. Purple hues burned with determination, but anyone can see the lying fear behind those eyes of hers.

Things were getting harder and harder, especially the spells in DADA.

Staring at the dummy he set in front of her, she turned her head to him.

"W-What's the spell again?"

Nothing's changed; her offensive spells were still poor, clumsy even. Even Lily and Hugo could beat her without breaking a sweat. But she was rather formidable with defensive spells, at least there was that.

"Levicorpus." He said, clearing his throat. "and remember, this is a non-verbal spell. Sort of a basic one."

Nodding, she turned to the dummy, casting the spell in her head. The dummy turned slowly, but fell upright after. She tried again. And again. And again. Thirty minutes later, she was sweating heavily, but still can't make the dummy hang by its ankles.

Erin sank to the ground in defeat, Albus quickly by her side.

"I think we need a break."

Erin nodded tiredly, staring at her wand. She was shaking, her fingers chaffed from gripping, she realized sadly.

"Albus, I don't think I can ever perform offensive spells." She admitted sadly, staring into her cup of chocolate blankly, the marshmallows sagging. "What if I repeat a year? Or worst, never graduate?" she lifts her head to him, eyes glistening. It was really getting to her, her weakness.

Frowning, he lifts his hand to pinch her nose. Erin squeals at this, swatting his nose away. "Now don't you say that, you'll be fine. All you need is to practice, is all."

"But I'll never get the spell done!" she whined. "We've been at it for weeks!"

"Erin-"

"You, Astley, Scorpius and Rose are the top of the class; even the twins can do a simple non-verbal spell. And here I am, moping helplessly like a Leprechaun with no legs." She pouted, looking really cute when she did that. "I'm hopeless."

Hating to see her this way, Albus stood up and sat in front of her, taking her by surprise. Taking both her shoulders, he stared deep into her eyes. "Who are you and what have you done with the real Erin Scott Alisdair?"

Her eyes twinkled in recognition. She did this to him once when he was saddened by the news that she had an admirer. Coincidentally, to keep it from her, Lily was injured in the last Quidditch match. Thank Merlin he developed a skill in lying.

"Where's the bubbly, high-spirited, lively, happy-go-lucky, optimistic-"the more he went on, the more Erin's expression lightened, she was giggling with every adjective he'd throw. "positively peculiar," she scoffed, offended. "brilliant, energetic, and beautiful girl I know?"

He stared at her long and hard, frowning. But the expression quickly wiped off when he realized his last words. Did he just-?

Blushing furiously, he hastily took a step back, only to fall on his back. Erin was laughing at him now, adding more to his embarrassment.

Putting her mug down, she gently got to her knees, holding her hand out.

"Thanks for cheering me up, Albus." She was smiling now, reaching her eyes. "I needed that."

Clearing his throat, he reached out to take her hand. His heart never missed to skip a beat when he held her small hands in his.


Albus was fuming, positively fuming. For the first time in his 16 years of existence, never before has he been this mad. And it was all because of his brother and his meddlesome partner-in-crime, Fred!

What started out as a simple prank turned into a disaster! Really, how was he going to show his face ever again?

It all started when he was with the twins, both had something to purchase. He just tagged along, thinking that he'd do the same when it came to him. Lysander was to buy a new set of Quills, while Lorcan wanted to make some purchases (which he won't tell as to what). Afterwards, they decided to take a quick snack at the Three Broomsticks before returning to the castle.

Upon entering, he found his brother and cousin sitting at the far corner with smiles on their faces. He knew that smile anywhere. And it was, as always, up to no good.

There, mischief ensued.

Once their drinks were served, together with a few others, things happened.

The three was just having a lively conversation when they heard a scream.

From four tables to their left, where it was filled with snotty-pureblood girls from different houses, one of them started to grow a beard. He recognized the girl to be one of Astley's haters. The table right next to them, a student slowly morphed into a cat. And then, as if all at once, everyone was changing.

Horrified, Albus realized that it was because of their drink. It was a common denominator. He dropped his mug, but he was too late. Suddenly, his body felt weird. He coughed out the contents, feeling his mouth go dry. In front of him, the twins did the same too. Recovering, he straightened up to check on his friends, only to stop. He screamed, pointing at them. The twins did the same. They had been turn into girls!

"You're a girl!" screamed Lysander.

"So are you!" Albus screamed, too, still pointing.

"Oh no, we've been turned into girls!" Lorcan screamed in horror.

As it turns out, James and Fred filled random mugs of drinks with a prank potion. The two watched the scene unfold from their seats, clinking their own drinks together at their success.

Half an hour later, and he was still a girl. His brother and his fabulous side-kick fled the scene, leaving him to his misery. A few guys tried to hit on him, making him wallow more into his misery. Lorcan had locked himself in the loo, swearing that he wouldn't leave until he returned to normal. While Lysander enjoyed his femme form, off to Merlin knows where.

Thankfully, Scorpius and Rose were around and helped him out of the situation. He felt guilty for ruining their date and angry for his brother and cousin for tricking him.

"Don't." he warned them, as Scorpius and Rose bit down their lips.

Composing himself, the blond raised his hands in surrender. But beside him, unable to help it, Rose buried her laughing face on her boyfriend's back. Still, the two sworn to secrecy.

"You're such a pretty girl, Allie." Rose teased, lifting his shoulder-length hair.

He swatted her hands, keeping his head low. The couple laughed.

Thankfully, the potion's effects wore off as they neared the castled grounds. ('Looks like the polyjuice potion wasn't strong enough if it lasted for about an hour.' Commented Rose)

He just wanted to go to his room, bury himself into his sheets and wake up whenever. His anger diverted to his older brother and cousin. It'll take a lot of chocolate frogs just to make him forgive them, lest, prevent him from writing to his parents about this. But to make matters worse, it began to rain. Godric, he didn't even bring an umbrella with him! Lest, his wand!

He groaned in frustration, ducking his head as he ran, the two following after him.

When they came back at the castle, the rain poured harder. They were running back when he saw a familiar figure – Erin.

She was standing in the rain, her arms stretched to her sides, her head held high as she smiled, as if she were welcoming the rain.

Cupping his hands, he called out, "Erin!"

She looked out, surprised, searching for the origin. When she met his gaze, she waved. "Hi~"

He groaned. "What are you doing!?"

"I'm enjoying the rain!" she yelled back, cupping her hands to her mouth. "Join me!"

"I'd rather not, you'll catch a cold!"

Despite the rain, he could hear her sweet laugh. "No I won't!"

"Erin!" he yelled in frustration, turning to the two behind him who only shrugged in turn. When he turned his head back, he failed to see the two plotting. Rose and Scorpius exchanged glances before smiling knowingly. Together, they quietly approached him, before pushed him hard enough, nearly launching himself.

"Sorry, not sorry Al!" yelled rose with a smile.

Albus turned to the two with a frown, but they only smiled cheekily in turn before joining them.

"Yay! We're all here!" Erin said happily. "Doesn't this feel great?"

"Sure does," agreed Scorpius. "but I'll regret it in the morning with a cold." Beside him, Rose laughed at her boyfriend, before tackling him for a hug.

Erin laughed with glee, taking his hands and lifting it in the air. He blushed at the feel of her hands.

Though wet, he couldn't help but remark on how beautiful she looked. Her hair was sticking to her face, her clothes to her skin, but it didn't bother her. Her cheeks had a rosy tint, and her eyes shone. She was so happy.

And just like that, under the rain, he found himself smiling with her.

Miraculously, they didn't catch a cold (thanks to Ikki, for that herbal tea he served them).


That night, Albus lay awake in bed, just staring at the ceiling.

It had been a long, very eventful day.

While his roommates filled the room with their snores and talks in their sleep, Albus didn't bother as his mind was elsewhere. He can't help the smile on his face just remembering the day he spent with Erin. Turning to his side, he fished out from his side table his favorite book, a collection of poetry by famed wizards and witches, and took out from a secret compartment of the book.

In his hand, he held two things of the same kind – photos of Erin. One was the one he allegedly stole from her when they were second year, and the other, when he stole a moment from her during Valentine's Day. He smiled, loving the smile on her face. Everything about her glowed. One look at her smile and all his problems just seem to fade away.

In all these years, she still has the power to make everyone smile, to make them feel special about themselves. That's what he likes about her. And in all these years, she's never failed to make his heart flutter.


On the fifth of September, the castle was in abuzz when the Headmistress announced that they would be playing, yet again, as hosts for the Triwizard Tournament. Prior to that, there were already rumors going about the Headmistress' announcement, but they didn't expect it to be this big!

The atmosphere changed as preparations were up and about.

Already, he could see the excitement in his brother's eyes. After all, their dad did join in the last one (before it went dark).

"Whoa, can you believe it's been years since the last Triwizard Tournament?" says Fred, fists on the table. "15 years ago!" he slammed both fists on the table, causing their plates and meals to rattle.

Annoyed, Roxanne took out her wand. "Fred, we're eating. Don't make me use this wand." She warned her brother.

Raising his hand in surrender, the ginger lad says. "Can't help it, I'm excited!"

"You're always excited about everything." Albus remarked.

"Well-" he sputtered, containing his excitement. "Bah! You lot don't understand me."

"Agree to disagree on that argument." Albus says, sipping on his orange juice.

"Well, y'know what? Don't elaborate." Fred fussed, filling his plate the third time. "No need to rub it in Freddy's face that he's not getting any."

"What, that Allara girl turn you down?" James asked, referring to Hufflepuff prefect he was fancying.

Fred nods, chugging on his meal. "Turns out, she only dated me to make her boyfriend jealous. And before I knew it, they're back together!" then, he bows his head with a frown on his face.

Everyone in their family turned to each other before turning to patting the lad on the shoulder.

"There, there. Cheer up, Freddy!" Hugo says.

"Yeah! And remember, two schools are coming over, so there's bound to be girls for you."

At the sound of that, Fred lightened up.

Later that day, while they were walking to the library, he could see that the headmistress was not kidding when she said that the castle was to be cleaned extra-thoroughly. Students on detention were cleaning the castle grounds, on every crook and nanny, making Mr. Filch's job easier.

"Hmm, seems like our Headmistress is too much of a perfectionist." Astley remarked with a wry smile.

"Um, what's going on?" Erin asked curiously, peering around. Apparently, she wasn't there during the announcement. Rather, she was with Marlowe, who was sick.

"It's the Triwizard Tournament." Rose informs her. "It's a month away from now."

"Oh." Erin nods, watching as a student struggled to balance himself on a broom whilst cleaning the walls. "What's that?"

Scamander twins filled her in; Erin tried to take in every word they said. The tournament's history, the prizes, the rules, the tragic events, its cancellation, its revival, there was too much to take in such a grandeur – yet dangerous, tournament.

"Does this mean Astley's sisters are coming over?"

All eyes turned to Astley, who looked like she neither denied nor confirm with that straight face of hers.

"That," she huffs, pushing her glasses back. "would be correct."

"Her sisters?"

"Half-sisters." Astley corrected. "They go to Beauxbatons."

Albus and Rose turned to each other, both wondering what her sisters would look like. And Beauxbatons! Now that was an exclusive school! Astley did mention that she was set to go to Beauxbatons before. He wanted to ask more about her sisters, only to realize that they were already outside the library doors.

"Albus." Erin whispered beside him.

"Hmm?" he turned to her, holding the door for her.

"Will your brother be joining?" she asked worriedly. "Being that he's qualified and all."

That question had him worried, he hadn't considered it much. "I don't know."


On the eve of Halloween, the delegates came.

Almost every student flooded he castle grounds just to see the schools. Immediately after breakfast, students practically ran towards the common grounds, some even skipping breakfast.

First to arrive was Beauxbatons, in their blue carriage. Leading the way was their Headmaster, Ferdinand Olympus, nephew to the previous Headmistress. Like his aunt, he too was large in height, and had an air of regality.

Following behind him were his faculty, then students. All of which were all too handsome and beautiful, putting a shame to the students of Hogwarts.

Beside him, Erin stood on her toes to get a look at the students, probably keeping her eye out for Astley's sisters. Funny, that when they walked, there were blue butterflies fluttering around.

"Whoa," said Rose. "that was, uh."

"Too much?" her boyfriend supplied.

"Maybe it's because of their perfume." Lysander complained with a cough, fanning the odor in the air. "Gah, stupid rich-"

Astley turned to him, a thin brow raised as if waiting for him to finish his sentence. Everyone took a step back, watching the two.

"E-Err…stupid, rich, perfume!" he laughed nervously, especially when Astley continued to stare him down before turning back to the crowd. Something crossed her eyes, like a glint of recognition.

Following her gaze, she watched as two women walked arm-in-arm, with a man with silver hair and a cane walking beside them. He figured that the women were his sisters, but he didn't know the man.

"Oh, did you see them?" asked Erin, still standing on her toes.

"Yes, we did." Albus nodded, pointing at them. Even if she caught their backs, she smiled.

"What!?" sputtered the twins. "Where? We didn't see them!"

"Your loss then." Scorpius grumbled. Ironic that they were the tallest amongst them friends.

Once the students of Beauxbatons were led by their tour to their grounds, the carriage left. Following after was a magnificent ship, belonging to Durmstrang. The twins awed at the sight of it.

"Whoa, Erin you have got to see this." Hollered the twins in unison. "I-It's…"

Having enough of her small stature, Erin turned around and climbed on of the pedestals. She had a better view from there. "Much better."

"Yeah, but you did miss Astley's sisters." Albus tells her, having followed after, sitting beside her.

She shrugged. "It's okay, we'll meet sometime later."

Turning their attention to the newly arrived Durmstrang, it was amazing to see such a spectacular architecture of sea transportation. It almost looked like a pirate ship. Albus laughed; clearly she had said that aloud.

One by one, they began to get off the ship.

Leading them was their high master, Igor Karkaroff, who scanned the area with cold eyes.

Almost everyone cleared away when they walked off the ship; they looked more of an army than a school. The air was heavy, as opposed to the earlier delegates. Students who were watching found them rather intimidating, though, some of the female population were already ogling their eyes at the male students.

"Alright, you lot, on to yer classes!" said Mr. Filch, shooing students from the corridor, hallways and grounds. "C'mon, off ye go! Don' make me wunna break yer wands!"

Erin laughed at that, hopping off. She always thought Mr. Filch was a funny man.

Before he could join her, he took one last look at the banners of Durmstrang. That was heavy competition there.

Later that night, the delegates were re-welcomed to the students of Hogwarts.

Fred could hardly look away at the female students of Beauxbatons, causing Roxanne to flip her brother upside. He did the same with the female students of Durmstrang, causing Roxanne, again, to flip her brother upside. But when that didn't work, sent him a Hot-air Charm.

The next day, the students of Hogwarts were abuzz as to who would be their champion. Some feared that maybe the events of 1994 would happen, but some have refuted that. Still, it was rather an exciting time.

"Are you sure about this?" Lily asked their brother during breakfast, worry etched on her face. "Not that I'm against it, but I'm worried."

James stopped chewing, staring deep into the eyes of his sister. Swallowing his meal, his eyes then turned to Albus, who too, had his face etched in worry. His eyes got him, after all, he has their mother's eyes.

Allowing a smile to form on their face, he leaned over to ruffle their hairs. "I'll be fine," he said. "so long as I've got the family on my back."

That alone was enough to ease their worries, but not entirely.


Later that evening, names were plucked from the Goblet of Fire, building tension around the Great Hall. The tension seemed like to build the blue flames, taunting each and every student who vied to be in the tournament.

Almost everyone held their breath as the headmistress began to pluck names.

Isobel Khan was Beauxbaton's champion.

Hektor Dostoyevsky was Durmstrang's champion.

And finally, James Potter was Hogwart's champion.

Although she did show her support, Lily couldn't help but tear up. Albus had to hold her, watching their brother walk with the other champions to another room to await further instruction.

"Shh, he'll be alright Lily." He rubbed his hand over her shoulder. Soon enough, the whole family approached, worried about her. "She's in shock," he tells them as she began to wheeze.

"Should we bring her to the clinic?" asked Hugo worriedly, seeing as she was having a hard time breathing.

"Lily? Lily!" Roxanne got to her knees, clasping her hands. "Breathe, okay?"

She did as followed, albeit, with some difficulty. Soon enough, she was breathing normally again.

"W-Water…" she gasped. Immediately, she was given one. "T-Thank you."

"You're welcome." Said a new voice, they all looked up, finding a woman dressed in white and blue. She smiled kindly at them. "I put a bit of herb mix in there to soothe your nerves, I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all," Albus said in a whisper, he was sure Hugo was blushing at the beautiful woman in front of them, as was Fred, and Roxanne, and Rose.

Taking a step forward, she fell to her knees and stared at Lily in the eye. "I know how you feel, about having your brother go in there. And frankly, I'd rather not watch my sister risk her life. But then, that'd be tad unfair of us, siblings, now would it? It's supposed to be our job to support them from the frontlines."

Lily nods, tears starting anew. The woman reached up, gently brushing her tears away. "Now, stop your crying now. It won't do for a pretty face, like yours." Lily managed to laugh, much to relief of the family. "That's better." Getting to her feet, she left them a smile. "Best of luck to our siblings, yes?"

As he watched her leave, it was then that he realized that that was Astley's sister. Like them, she was feeling uneasy with their sibling set as champion of their school.


Friday morning, Albus was walking along the hallways of the castle. He had just received a letter from his parents, both equally proud of their oldest and worried.

After all, the last time someone was sent in the tournament, had died, their dad said from experience, and of the stories. Still, they knew that this year would be different, knowing that the Ministry has instilled stricter protocols.

Somehow, he had a feeling that his brother would do just fine.

A meow broke him of his reverie, making his stop on his tracks. On instinct, he reached up his head, surprised to find a familiar cat. He brought it to his face, the grey Persian cat.

"Fancy seeing you out here, Ginger." It meowed back.

He smiled, tucking his letter into his pocket before snuggling the cat in his arms. He was expecting to find Erin along the hallways, being that she always fetched her for Astley. Instead, as he continued his trek, he found her and she was not alone.

"Albus! Come here!" Erin called excitedly, standing next to Astley, who was talking to two women he couldn't make out because of the students blocking his way.

Finally, when he was up-close, he found that the two women who were undoubtedly gorgeous and had strong aristocratic features. One of them had red-almost-brown hair, while the other had dark brown hair.

"These are Astley's sisters – Sophitia and Isobel!"

"Ah, the infamous child to the famous Harry Potter. A pleasure to meet you." Sophitia was the one with red-almost-brown hair; her hair was cut short with a bit of a fringe, framing her small face, the same woman who helped them yesterday. "How's your sister?"

"Oh, she's okay. She was shock is all, she'll get over it. She has to." He said, in a polite tone.

Erin and Astley turned to Sophitia in question, in turn; she filled them in on yesterday's events. While they were busy, he felt eyes on him.

Then there's Isobel, just a year older than them, with a straight, medium length hair. She wore her uniform with pride, judging from her posture. Despite the refines, there was fire in her eyes and a cat-like grin on her face.

"Albus Potter, a delight to meet you!" she says, chirpily.

"A-And you too."

"You're an interesting fellow, you. And it's not because of your father." Her head tilts, the cat-like grin on her face.

Affronted, he had to ask. "Sorry, what?"

"Oh, never mind her." Sophitia says with a wave of her hand. "She's always had an inkling with knowing our family's friends better." Isobel giggled.

"So, your sisters." He turns to Astley, who smiled drily.

Just as she was about to say something, Isobel interjected. "Just two-thirds of us, there's Lyra, two years older than me. Lyra's busy with work but sends her warmest regards."

"Chatty as always, Isobel." Astley rolls her eyes at Isobel, but adds. "Lyra's my other sister, who works for the International Office of Law. She can't be here because of an impending case."

"Erin, have you been using the shampoo I gave you?" asked Sophitia suddenly.

"Oh, yes I have! I always have, you know." She piped up.

Erin had her hair done in an under braid. He frowned, thinking about Erin's sweet fragrance. Mostly because it came from her hair, the rest of Erin smelled like morning dew, grass and a bit of mud. It was all a strange combination, but he loved it.

Seeing the look on his face, Sophithia explained. "I teach Potions at Beauxbatons." Sophithia informs him. "And when I'm bored, I tend to experiment with things, before I knew it; I can make shampoo and started a business out of it. Also, I'm also happily married."

"To a pure-blood, Luka Stein." Isobel supplied, taking the cap from her head running her fingers through her hair. "You saw him earlier, right?" she asked, putting her cap back on. "The man with strikingly silver hair?"

Recognition fell on Albus' face, remembering the said man from earlier. He was rather enigmatic and reserved. Sophitia saw the expression on his face and laughed lightly, very ladylike. It was easy to see that the sisters grew up in such a refine society.

"Well, we better get going now. We are rather famished." Sophithia says, sounding apologetic.

"Yes. Oh! It was nice knowing you, Albus Potter." Isobel calls.

Before leaving, they turned to Astley, kissing her both on the cheeks before walking away.

Once they were out of sight, Erin laughed, saying that she missed them already. To which, Astley smiled wryly at.

"Wow, your sisters." He says, gently handing over her cat.

"I know." Astley replied, smoothing Ginger's fur. "I love them, but sometimes, they're a handful. But don't worry, they mean well, but can be high maintenance sometimes."

"Astley! That's not very nice!"

"They're my sisters, Erin, I would know."

"Still!" Erin laughed. "I have Scott, but he's never as you say as you describe your sisters!"

At the mention of her brother's name, Albus noticed the change in Astley's eyes. However, she mastered the art of indifference and fixed it quickly.

"That's different, because he's your brother. You don't have sisters, Erin. Three of them, to be exact."

Reaching the Great Hall, their 8 o'clock was already filled with student's chatters, moving of utensils, and occasional flutter of wings. The three entered, walking their way to the Ravenclaw table.

Albus watered at the sight of breakfast, of which, Erin caught. She can't help but laugh, much to his embarrassment. The twins were already eating by the time they came, Scorpius, being the gentleman he was, waited for them as he read the daily paper with a cup of coffee on the side.

They began to eat, indulging into the fact that they ran into Astley's sisters.

"How are they?" Scorpius asked, setting his coffee down.

"Good," Astley replied, taking another bite of her toast. Wiping her meal, she wiped her mouth before replying. "they seem to enjoy the castle grounds, saying that its exactly as I wrote it to them."

"And how did you say it to them?" Albus couldn't help but ask.

"Spacious, quaint, homey, and every bit of spotless from nook to cranny." Astley said with humor, causing them to laugh. "Erin, be a dear and please do my hair."

"Oh! Okay. I just have the style for you!" Erin says excitedly, already behind her.

Albus watched her from the corner of his eyes, enjoying the sight of Erin move and about. She was just amazing sometimes; it was like she was a miracle worker. He watched as her fingers deftly finished two low plaits, fluffed them before twisting them at opposite ends, and pinning them above Astley's head. Astley smiled, liking her hairdo. Erin returned her smile, sitting beside her.

"Hallo," a boy suddenly approached, scarily taller than most of them, he was even taller than the twins! "my name is Ymir Ankov and this is my younger brother, Ylrik."

Unsure what to do, Albus stretches out his hand to which they take with scary shake. "Welcome to Hogwarts." He swallowed when their eyes met; it felt like he was face to face with a bear.

The rest followed after him. However, when Ylrik reached Erin, instead of a handshake, he brought her hands to his lips. Everyone's eyes widened at that, Erin especially. Albus silently fumed.

When he was done, Erin quickly ran to hide behind Astley. Ylrik laughed, licking his lips. Albus held himself from doing anything stupid.

Ymir followed after, nearly towering over everyone. However, unlike his brother, he didn't kiss anyone's hands (much to his relief). Though, he did show some interest in Astley as his gaze, he noticed, lingered on her. She seemed to return the gesture with a half-smile. He bit his lip, her smile grew.

He checked the twins and Scorpius, but they were busy chatting with the Ankov twins.

Just looking at these twins made Albus wish he was taller, or muscular in the least. He was fit alright, thanks to his pushy siblings. And he was alright, but these two made him feel small about himself.

"A pleasure meeting you all, we shall see you all later." Ymir said his accent heavy and a half-smirk on his lips.

"Sbogom!" Ylrik said, to Erin particularly.

Albus frowned as he watched them leave the Great Hall.

"I think he likes Erin," Lorcan said to his twin.

"You think?" Lysander laughed. "Did you see the way he was looking at Erin when they 'introduced' themselves?" he gestured with his fingers, creating air quotes.

"Are you alright, Erin?" Astley asked her best friend. Erin nodded, slowly returning to her seat.

"That was just…um, unexpected."

"Tell me about it," muttered Albus. "how I want to hex him right then and there."

"What was that?" Erin asked, leaning towards him.

"Nothing!" Albus said, laughing nervously.

Thankfully, the only person who caught that was Scorpius. But the lad merely stared at him, his eyes filled with sympathy. Albus sighed, staring grumpily at his pumpkin juice.


Time went on so fast. Before he knew it, it was time for the first task of the tournament!

Three, excruciating days were themed to test out the champion's courage, intelligence, resourcefulness, and magical ability. All of which, have been altered dangerously by year by year.

The first task dealt with courage, involving dragons, much like the one in 1994. However, instead of a golden egg, they were to retrieve a strange cube from the dragon's collar. The cube held a clue to the next task.

The family were there to cheer James on, even though he was second to go. Joining them were Albus' friends, whose allegiances were to James and Isobel. Bets were made on which school would win this year's tournament. The bets stopped when Isobel accidentally woke up the dragon, sending a blast of fire their way, making them duck.

However, the fire stopped by a margin before them as a magical sphere protected them.

True enough with their efforts to revive the tournament were stricter security measures, like installing magical spheres on certain fields on a certain task. Thankfully, it lessened casualties but gained more budget-wise.

"I'm worried about your brother." Erin tells him, after watching Isobel succeed.

"James?"

She nods with a hum, a sad one. "He's never faced a dragon before, has he?"

"No." he said quickly, sighing heavily afterwards. Truth was he, too, was worried about his brother.

"Do you have time to go to him?" hurriedly, she said. "Tell him not to panic, but to look at her straight in the eye. No showing of wand, otherwise it'll think of you as an enemy and burn you-"

"Erin," Lily interrupted, the stage cleared for the next champion, James. "it's too late. But it's okay, we have our uncle Charlie, he takes care of dragons in Romania. Have you heard of him?"

"I may have," Erin's eyes were stuck on the Hungarian Horntail, with a chain attached to its neck. Her expression was that of heartbreak. "I don't like how the dragons are being treated, all chained-up like that." Albus and Lily turned to each other, before Lily reached to squeeze her hand. Astley, having held her hand since she saw the dragons, squeezed too.

When James came out, the Hungarian Horntail had his eyes on him, giving James a hard time. Lily had to close her eyes, not wanting to see her brother getting hurt.

However, he was quick on his reflexes and resourceful as to lay back the dragon. All those Quidditch practices finally paid off, as was those dueling matches the cousins had.

Before long, he had hypnotized the dragon to sleep, quickly ran towards it, and grabbed the cube. Just as the spell wore off, the dragon came to his senses, but James made his escape, jumping in time when it blew fire at him.

His valiant efforts and bravery to fend off the dragon easily won him that round, followed by Isobel, then Hektor. And that was day one.

Everyone had already fled the arena, but Erin remained, watching as the dragons were being returned to their cages. Her heart broke at the sight of them. She took a step towards them, alarming Albus as he quickly followed after her.

"Oi, you can't be here!"

"We were just leaving." He said to the caretakers. "Erin, let's leave."

Her eyes turned from the cages, from the Peruvian Vipertooth, which Isobel faced, the Hungarian Horntail, which James faced, to the Ukranian Ironbelly, which Hektor Dostoyevsky faced. Slowly, their eyes opened, as if sensing the presence of Erin.

The caretaker was physically agitated, a few others backing up,.

"Oi, you come back here now!" one of them called.

Slowly, she extracted her wand from her pocket, increasing the agitation of the caretakers. The sight of the wand caused the dragons to growl at her, exhaling hot winds from their nose as a warning.

And then, Erin casted the patronus spell, revealing the whispy Romanian Beastly to the dragons. She laughed as it danced around her, before going in and out of the dragon's cages.

Albus held his breathe, watching as her patronus danced around the dragons with ease. The caretakers were murmuring amongst themselves. Who was she? And why what was she doing?

"She's an Alisdair." He said aloud, walking up towards her, leaving them in shock at the sound of her last name.

As her patronus began to wane its wisps were inhaled by the Ukranian Ironbelly, causing it to sneeze. Thankfully, he dodged both himself and Erin out of the way.

Erin's laughed echoed through. "Look Albus, it's laughing!" She pointed. He stared at her, a stupefied look on his face. "Haven't you heard a dragon laugh, before?"

He rolled his eyes, setting her to her feet. Behind them he could hear Lily, James and Astley's voices.

Erin began to smile, melancholically. "That's all I wanted to see."


With James' newfound fame, it was hard to get around the castle without someone cheering for his brother, saying they were pining for him, or how they wished he'd lose. The students of Hogwarts were plenty interesting.

It's bad enough that he grew up with a (sort of) celebrity father, but that was outside the castle. But now…

He was thankful for it, being that his father's fame came with a few trinkets his brother brought with him to the castle. With the help of the invisibility cloak, he was able to get around, including the Marauder's Map, leading him to shortcuts in the castle. But this was short-lived after James said he needed the two badly.

"That was rather eventful," he recalls, finishing a move. He was in the courtyards with Scorpius, they – mostly his companion, were waiting for Rose, who was taking a delayed quiz in Herbology.

Before him, his blond friend coolly scans the pieces, before making his move. "Well my friend, you're rather in a pickle. Thank goodness my siblings give me less of a headache."

"They're six." Albus argued.

"James hardly acts his age, you're more of his nanny sometimes." Scorpius retorted.

"Not funny."

Scorpius raised his brow, as if arguing. "Alright, maybe sometimes."

Laughing quietly, Scorpius deftly picks one of his pieces.

"So how's he dealing with the puzzle?" he asked.

Albus shrugged. "He has no idea. Thankfully, none of the other champions haven't too. That, or they're just hiding it."

"Hmm," grey eyes scanned the remaining pieces, the game in Albus' favor. "there's going to be a ball."

Albus rolls his eyes at that, leaning back. "So that's what the fuss was about. He's going to do something really stupid to ask that Rebecca lass."

"Oak? The Chaser from their team?"

"That one," he affirms, holding out his index finger. Albus sighed, running a hand through his hair. "he's such a prat."

"Maybe he's just shy?" Scorpius offered. "It's a classic juvenile act. You shouldn't be surprised, given his character."

"Yeah," he exhaled, biting his lower lip. "I reckon that you've secured a date?"

Scorpius turned to him, brows raised and a feat of a smile on his face. "My friend, you offend me!"

Albus rolled his eyes at that; of course he'd have Rose, his girlfriend, as his date. Why shouldn't he?

"How'd you ask her?" he couldn't help asking, looking back at their pieces.

Clearing his throat, Scorpius shares that he simply slipped a note in her textbooks when they were in the library together. She gave her reply just after their Hogsmeade date.

"How romantic."

Scorpius shrugs, smiling nonetheless.

"What about you, Albus? Have you asked her yet?"

Scorpius didn't have to mention names, being that they were in public. And besides, there was only one her in Albus' life.

He colored. "Not yet, but-"

"Albus!"

The volume of his tone made him jump; it was rare to see Scorpius so exasperated. Usually, this was caused by the twins. He raised his hands in defeat, making Scorpius frown even more.

"Albus, Albus, Albus," shook the blond's head. "one of these days if your fear gets the best of you, you're gonna miss the chance."

That caught his attention, making him silent. He said no more, maybe mumbling a few things, as they continued to play.

"Hey!" Rose called, running up to them. "What're you up to?"

"Playing chess." Scorpius tells his girlfriend. "Although, I was until Albus lost track the moment I mentioned Erin and played along to humor him." That made him flush, turning his eyes to the board. True enough, they were just going around moving the pieces around.

"Al," Rose sighed. "just go to her."

Beside her, her boyfriend nodded his head in agreement. "Don't make me say it again, Albus. We only get this chance once in a lifetime."

And that was enough.

"Thanks guys," he said, before taking his leave. The couple watched him leave, proud of him.

Albus decided: he was going to ask her! He ran, in his uniform, immediately after the talk with Scorpius, to where he knew he'd find her. It must've been a sight to see, Albus Potter running as if he joined the marathon, but he didn't care!

Seeing the familiar scenery in front of him, he stopped, resting his hands on his knees to catch his breathe. He heard plopping of water, making him smile. She sure loved to skip rocks, she was so good at it.

He just didn't expect to hear someone's laughter. A male laughter.

Looking up, he squinted, seeing two figures. Discreetly, making his presence unknown, he took a path, towards the trees. His steps slowed down when he realized that she wasn't alone.

Ylrik was in the water with her, his pants rolled to his knees. They were both skipping rocks and laughing at some joke.

Then, they both looked up, at Safira., Just as she was to blow her rod he held out his hand, as if asking, 'may I?' she willingly gave the rod, letting him blow from it. Safira cawed, swooping down. Ylrik held his arm out, Safira landed swiftly. Erin was clapping her hands, amazed.

Setting Safira on his shoulder, Ylrik glanced at Erin before he leaned in to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.

He felt his stomach drop, making him stagger from where he stood.

He couldn't take it anymore.

Distressed, Albus found himself walking away from the scene, unable to take it.

He ran, he didn't know where to, but just away from here. He didn't even know Ylrik had gotten close to Erin! And just looking at them, they seemed to catch on. He might as well asked her to the Yule Ball!

It must've been hours, because before he knew it, he was at the opposite side of the lake just facing the Forbidden Forest.

He fell to his knees in defeat, hands limp on his sides. He swallowed deep breathes, releasing staggering ones. The image of the two was still in his head, making his heart wrench. He didn't want to go back to the castle and tell the bad news to Rose and Scorpius just yet, not while the pain was fresh.

Before him, he heard movement from the shrubs. Out of nowhere, Marlowe appeared.

Weakly, while holding himself against the tree, he bowed to the majestic beast. But Marlowe merely stared, but he was too sad to notice.

Turning his body around, he rests his back against the tree, thumping his head back. He did it again, then a few more times. He really felt like an idiot. Above him, the skies were painted with beautiful colors of blue, orange and purple; he could lose himself to the color. Almost too beautiful. But he didn't want to, not right now.

Hanging his head, it was then that he noticed Marlowe moving towards him.

When she was in front of him, she took one step forward and bowed at him. But what's puzzling was that she remained bowed her head to the ground.

It took him a while before he realized what she wanted. It was like she saw his distress and decided to help him out.

And so, Albus gave in. He let Marlowe guide him, seeing as he was no destination in mind.

As she soared, he was reminded of his first time with Erin. His heart wrenched at the memory. Marlowe soared higher, taking him to the skies, into the clouds, where he lost himself to the endless sight of fluffy, cotton candy-like field.

It was twilight; stars began to scatter into the night like a canvas. Pink, orange and purple painted the skies, seeing these colors collide made him smile.

Slowly, the skies turned dark. Illuminating it, was the moon that was his favorite – it was so big, that it felt like he was flying straight to it.

He lost himself to the beauty of the night, as Marlowe flew on, of the cool wind kissing his skin, of the stars that sparkled like diamonds.

"Thank you." He told Marlowe, patting her head.

For a while, he allowed himself to this. For a while, it was like he didn't feel his heartbreak when he saw Erin with another boy. Just for a while, he allowed himself to be free.