Title: Hogwarts, Class of 2024: Year Three
Setting: Hogwarts; September 2019 to June 2020
Summary: Albus Potter and Rose Weasley find their own way in the world during their seven years at Hogwarts, taught by Professors Neville Longbottom, Gabrielle Delacour, and Teddy Lupin.

Hogwarts, Class of 2024
Year Three

Chapter Five

The first Hogsmeade weekend was upon them–and Albus pleaded with Brendan one last time to come along. But he wouldn't. His exact words, if Albus remembered correctly, was, "No, I'm too busy here today." Even though everyone knew he wasn't. He was in bad spirits, too; the full moon had just been a week ago and, even though he didn't have any cuts or bruises this time, it was nevertheless equally traumatic for him. He looked, if that was possible, even worse. And Albus hated that Brendan just sat on his bed, wasting away.

Still, he would be the only third year staying behind; everyone else, it appeared, had turned out in droves, relishing their first sip of butterbeer, the sweets they would eat at Honeydukes, or all the stuff they could buy at the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes branch store in Hogsmeade, where Zonko's used to be.

Katie and Rose disappeared almost at once–shoe sale at Gladrags, you know–but they agreed to meet Oliver and Albus at the Three Broomsticks at around three. That left Albus and Oliver free to wander the town.

There was a knock on Neville's door–and, as he crossed the room to open it, he could already hear Gabrielle's voice. "Neville, are you going to Hogsmeade?"

He opened the door. "Yes."

"All right. I'm meeting Teddy at the Three Broomsticks and we were wondering–" She stopped, studying Neville for a moment. New dress robes, freshly combed hair, the lingering smell of cologne. "Hot date today, Neville?"

"Not quite a date," he said shyly. "Luna and I were just going to go to Madam Puddifoot's–you know, to discuss the Crumple-Horned Snorkack."

"So it is a date!"

Neville turned a bit red, suddenly became interested in his shoes, and said, "Well, not entirely–but she did ask me to go with her." He gave a wide grin. "It could be the start of something, at least."

"Well," she said, "if it does go poorly–which it won't–I'm meeting Teddy at the Three Broomsticks, and we'd love to have you."

"Things aren't awkward?"

"No," she said. "Not at all. I've been helping him with–" It was her turn to flush a bit red. "With his lesson plan."

Neville seemed to know that quite how the sentence was supposed to end–but said nothing.

"Do you think I look okay?" he asked.

"Oh, Neville!" she grinned. "You look very handsome. You're going to win her over. I know it."

He looked at his reflection in the mirror, gave himself a bit of a smile, and then nervously said, "I sure hope so."

"Look at these," Oliver said breathlessly, as he played with the Reusable Hangman. He poked the little wooden man–who poked back, it turned out–and Oliver didn't seem so keen on it after that.

"I'm just surprised it's still going strong," Albus said, looking around the store. "After Uncle George died, we didn't know what was going to happen to the stores."

"His wife is running them?"

Albus nodded, a bit coolly. "Yes, Aunt Romilda. But no one in the family likes her."

"No?"

"Uncle Charlie–Professor Weasley, I mean–thinks she only married Uncle George for the money. And it could be true. She's spoiled as hell."

"Rich as hell, too," Oliver replied. "What time is it?"

"Nearly three," Albus said. "Think we should go and meet the girls?"

Oliver nodded, grabbing one last set of Extendable Ears, before the two of them went to go pay for all of their purchases–Portable Swamps, Extendable Ears, Shield Cloaks, and Canary Creams–and then they went off to the Three Broomsticks.

Albus had never been in the Three Broomsticks. Oliver had once, two years ago, but no one except for Teddy knew about that one–and Oliver wasn't even sure if Teddy remembered; he had been rather drunk at the time.

Rose and Katie were already there, sitting at a table with four butterbeers. Oliver and Albus quickly joined them–suddenly dissolving into a loud conversation about their day.

Albus stopped talking suddenly–and the other three noticed. He had focused on a familiar face at the next table–which he only, after staring for a few minutes, recognized as Teddy–and he let out a gasp.

Rose, Oliver, and Katie all turned, too, and also gasped. Teddy, always handsome and neat, looked like he had fallen off the Astronomy tower. He had two black eyes, a cut lip, and a deep gash, now turning purple, on his cheek. He sat there, just a lump in the chair, sipping a large tankard of firewhisky with what appeared to be great effort, his lips arranged in a painful grimace.

"What the hell happened to him?" Oliver whispered.

Neville practically skipped to Madam Puddifoot's, a permanent smiling grazing his boyish face.

Luna was already there–looking beautiful. Perhaps it was the glow from the lantern that hung over her table–or, perhaps, it was just the absence of the radish earrings and butterbeer cork necklace; it was just her, dressed plainly but attractively in dark blue robes, her curly blonde hair hanging down in her face.

"I'm glad you could come," she said. "I ordered you a tea."

"Oh–that's fine," he said, sitting down across from her. "I thought I was supposed to do that."

"Do what?"

"Never mind. I'm–I just don't do this very often."

She looked at him a bit quizzically, narrowed her eyes a bit, and asked, "Do what often?"

The door swung open again, and Rolf stood there–a smile on his face as well, as he pulled up a chair between Neville and Luna. "I'm sorry I'm late, dear," he said, kissing Luna on the cheek.

Neville felt his grin slip off his face–so he quickly hoisted it back up when they both turned back to him. "I didn't know you would be coming," he said, trying to sound as breezy as he could–none of that underlying bitterness, of course.

"Oh, of course!" he said. "If we're going to go to Sweden, we have to start planning already."

As Luna leaned over, kissed her boyfriend on the cheek, and began to read over his shoulder at the thick mound of documents he brought in, Neville slowly sunk down in his chair.

Gabrielle, entering the Three Broomsticks and, upon seeing Teddy, she let out a loud gasp, dropped her purse to the ground, and stared. Teddy saw her–he was facing in her direction, after all–but showed no sign of actually recognizing her.

She went over to his table, sat down, and stared at him for a second.

"What?" he muttered.

"You–what happened to you?" she choked out.

"Fell down the stairs," he said plainly.

"That's a lie," she whispered. "What really happened?"

"I'm a metamorphmagus."

"You didn't!"

He nodded a bit, leaning in–at great pain, it looked like. "You've saw him after the last time," he replied. "He'll kill himself before we get the Wolfsbane Potion done–so I turned into another wolf."

"And he fought you?"

Teddy tried to shrug, trying to be as nonchalant as possible–quite a feat, of course, looking like he did. "It's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal? Look at you!"

"It's only for three more transformations," he replied, "until you get the Wolfsbane Potion done. It's fine. I can do it three more times." He leaned in a little more, dropping his voice even further. "You didn't hear the gossip last time, did you?"

"No."

"Everyone was talking," he said, "about Brendan. How he disappeared–and came back looking like he did. They were all talking. If it happened again–hell, someone would notice, don't you think? Scorpius Malfoy already mentioned that it was odd it happened on the night of the full moon. And Malfoy's a little bitch. He'd tell Charlie, and then where would we be? Where would Brendan be?"

He leaned back a bit, drank a little more firewhisky, and said, "I'll be fine."

"What happened to you?" gasped Victoire, later that evening, as Teddy's face appeared in her fireplace. "You look like–"

"I fell," he said plainly. "How's France?"

"Oh, it's wonderful!" she said. "I've so much to tell you. I had a meeting with the French Minister of Magic this morning–and he offered me the position of Junior Minister!"

"That's wonderful!" Teddy exclaimed. "Though it seems a bit odd, doesn't it, to take a job for five months?"

Victoire said nothing; she only looked away–said something about in quick French to someone that he couldn't see–probably Louis, Teddy thought bitterly. She turned back to Teddy. "It might be a bit longer than a year, darling."

"How much longer?"

"Oh, that's Louis with dinner now!" she exclaimed. "I have to go."

"No, wait!" Teddy exclaimed. "Victoire, wait!"

She looked at him for another second, and the last thing he saw was Victoire pouring a large goblet of water into the fireplace.