Chapter 21

Albus's POV

The holidays were really fun - especially the family quidditch game - but Albus was ready to get back to school. He enjoyed his classes and using magic. He was good at it. He missed the cool aesthetic of the Slytherin common room and the fantastic view of the under the lake. Sometimes he thought he could hear what the Giant Squid was thinking as it swam by the enchanted glass wall. He liked to go to the lake where the Giant Squid would surface to meet him, and he would share his thoughts with her.

Back at home was loud and crowded. He had his own room in his parent's house, but it was cramped, and he felt like he was always encircled by his massive family. He actually liked being in Slytherin, where no one (except Frankie) truly knew who he was, besides the fact that he was the famous Harry Potter son. It was refreshing. He could socialize with his cousins and brother on his terms. Albus liked that bit of control he had over himself. He did sometimes wish he and Rose were in the same house, though.

When they had arrived back to the castle, Albus, Rose, and Scorpius went to grab a quick bite to eat, then parted ways to their common rooms. Along the way, Albus ran into Frankie and some other Slytherins boys. They greeted Albus cheerfully, fake punching each other as boys do, and they all began the descent to the dungeons together.

When they got into the common room, Albus felt a calm wash over him, and that made him sleepy. He craved his bed. Albus told Frankie he was off to bed and left his group of friends for the dormitories. He entered his room, happy to see the familiar sight of the five four-posted beds with silver comforters and dark green, silky curtains. He got his things out for the next day, checked his class schedule, and went to sleep feeling totally at ease.

The rest of the school year passed by quickly for Albus. There were several highlights (or incidents as Rose called them), including a fight between him and a third-year Hufflepuff. The kid had called his best friend, "Death Eater scum."

Albus had lost his house 20 points and received two weeks of detention for punching and breaking Derrick Bone's nose, but he was proud to have stood up for Scorpius and vowed he would do it again if anyone tried him. His mum and dad were furious, but he didn't have a problem with his actions.

Another highlight was when he was the first to master the Alohomora charm in Charms class. His new favorite hobby was now finding out which doors could be unlocked and to see what was behind. This new skill pissed off numerous teachers and older students, but Albus found it hilarious. Rose and Scorpius usually declined his invites on these types of excursions-insisting that they didn't want to get in trouble-so he would drag along Frankie.

Albus had even been able to sneak into the edge of the Forbidden Forest with Frankie, as Rose would not entertain this idea. They had only gone in about a quarter of a mile when they heard a howl in the distance and chickened out and turned back for the safety of the school grounds.

End of the year exams came and went, and Albus, Rose, and Scorpius passed with top marks. Albus was eating breakfast at the Slytherin table the morning the Head of Slytherin House, Professor Harrison, passed out the final report cards. He had earned mostly Exceeding Expectations in all his classes and an Outstanding in Charms. Albus looked over to the Ravenclaw table behind him. He knew Rose and Scorpius were in a self-appointed competition to beat the other in classes. He saw Professor Patil, Head of Ravenclaw House, walking out of the teacher's lounge from the door behind the teacher's long table with a stack of report cards in her hand. She passed a card each to Rose and Scorpius, giving them each a small pat on the shoulder. They immediately bent over their cards.

Albus got up to see for himself. He crossed the aisle and put his arms around their shoulders, pulling them close together.

"Alright, who the winner?" asked Albus.

Rose and Scorpius traded cards.

Rose scowled.

"I think it's safe to say we tied," said Scorpius, side-eying Rose.

Albus peered down at their report cards. All O's, except for one E on each card. E for Rose in Defence Against the Dark Arts, and an E for Scorpius in History of Magic.

Albus clapped them on the back.

"Rose, don't sweat it. I'm sure you're both top of the whole class," stated Albus. Rose rolled her eyes and reread her card and began talking with her friend, Beatrice, sitting across from her.

Albus sat down next to Scorpius to eat a bit more bacon.

"So Scorp, what will you do this summer?" Albus asked.

"Nothing big planned. My parents don't like going out too much, but my dad and mum said they'd take me to the quidditch game your mum got me tickets for, and I'm super excited about that," said Scorpius. "Maybe your parents would let you come along… Mrs. Potter did give me four tickets."

"That would be awesome. We're supposed to go on holiday to Spain this summer, but I'll ask if I can still go to the game too!" said Albus, grinning and grabbing one more piece of bacon. "Alright, I'm going over to the Gryffindor table. See you all later."

Albus got up and walked around the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables to the Gryffindor table. He saw a gaggle of redheaded people and had second thoughts about being social, but his cousin Fred saw him.

"Oi! Al - c'mere!" shouted Fred. Albus sighed and walked over to his family.

"How did your exams go?" asked Molly.

"I passed everything with mostly E's," said Albus with a shrug. He was just glad exams were over. He enjoyed learning about and using magic, but he did not share the same drive for test results as Rose and Scorpius.

The conversation turned back into friendly banter between siblings and cousins. Albus grew tired of this quickly and decided he wanted to take one last walk to the lake before leaving Hogwarts for the summer. At the end of the Gryffindor table, he noticed his cousin Joseph Dursley eating alone. He was slightly ashamed to admit he had pretty much ignored him for most of the year. Joey seemed to have a couple of friends, but the Weasley clan didn't often include him as they did with James and Albus.

"Hi, Joey," Albus said as he approached his cousin.

"Hey, Albus," replied Joseph. "What's up?"

"I was just going to go for a walk to the lake - do you want to come with me?" asked Albus.

"Erm...sure…" Joseph got up from the table and grabbed his report card and stuffed it into a pocket in his robes.

"How did exams go for you?" asked Albus as they left the Great Hall together.

"Okay," stated Joseph. "I did pretty good in everything except potions. Professor Summers let me pass, but she said I'd have to do some summer homework before I can take her class next year."

"She's a really tough teacher-maybe I can help you with Potions. If you come over the summer, we can go over the homework together. I know my dad's talked about a helpful book he used to use in Potions, maybe we can use it too," suggested Albus.

"That would be great," agreed Joseph. "Sometimes, I feel like I don't belong here." His body slumped a little when he admitted that to Albus.

"Oh…" Albus wasn't sure what to say. "Erm, you've made it through your first year, so you definitely belong here."

They had made it to the lake and sat down on a bench near the water's edge.

"I know I can do magic, but it's still hard to believe this place exists. My dad says magic scares him and that he was nervous about letting me come to this school. But your dad somehow convinced him to let me come to Hogwarts…" said Joseph. "We're supposed to go see my Grandma Petunia this summer, and my dad doesn't know if we should tell her I'm a wizard or to tell her I'm just in boarding school in Scotland."

Albus didn't know how to respond to that and fell into an awkward silence. Suddenly, the surface of the lake broke, and the Giant Squid poked a long tentacle out of the water for a couple of seconds. Joseph gasped.

Albus ran over to the water, kicked his shoes off, and stepped into the cold water. He went up to his knees and stuck his hand under the water. He reached out with his mind, trying to make a connection with the Squid.

Something touched his hand gently. It slowly wrapped around his arm and tugged at Albus. The Squid was beckoning him to come deeper into the water. He let the Squid pull him further out. The water was up to his waist.

Joseph yelled at him to come back, but he shook his head. Joseph ran off, probably to find a professor. Albus stepped out further into the water. Another tentacle reached out to his other hand. He took a big breath and let her pull him under the water. He wasn't afraid. He could sense that the Giant Squid was only curious about him. He opened his eyes under the water. His vision was blurry, but before him floated the Giant Squid. She was even bigger than Albus had thought she was. She pulled him closer to her body and let go of one of his arms. She held him close up to her massive eye, peering at him.

Hello, my friend. Albus reached to touch the Squid's tentacle that was holding him. I will need to go up for air, but don't leave just yet. Albus wondered for a moment if the Squid really could understand his thoughts. She gently pushed him up to the surface and released him. Albus tread water for a moment, took another breath and plunged under again. The Squid was still there, but she did not reach out to Albus again. He swam a little deeper, but the Squid slowly backed away.

Something invisible seized ahold of him and yanked him up and out of the water. He landed on the ground and coughed and spluttered up the water he had swallowed from being ripped through the water. He looked up into his godfather's face.

"What the hell were you doing in the lake?!" Neville Longbottom sounded livid. "What if you had drowned…" Neville sat down next to Albus and put a hand on his back. Joseph was standing a few feet back, looking terrified.

"I was fine!" Albus answered, coughing.

"Joseph said you went in the see the squid," said Neville.

"I did, she's my friend," Albus said simply.

"She?! How the hell do you know that?" asked Neville.

"She told me. Well, it was more like an understanding," Albus told Neville. "We've talked before. But never in the water together."

"Let's get you back into the castle to warm up, it's still cold outside," Neville said, shaking his head and helping Albus up to his feet.

"Please don't tell my parents," begged Albus. He didn't know what they would think about his friendship with the Squid, but they would be mad at him for swimming in the freezing cold lake unsupervised.

"I won't this time, but do not go back into the water. There are dangers far greater than the Giant Squid." ordered his godfather.

"She won't let anything hurt me," insisted Albus, but Neville would hear none of it.

Albus's godfather had a way of morphing from family to school professor and as they entered the castle. Neville brusquely sent Joseph back to the Gryffindor common room. Albus could sense now that the man holding his arm and walking him down to the Slytherin common room was Professor Longbottom, Head of Gryffindor House.

As they approached the entrance to the common room, Neville pulled Albus aside and sternly told him to go shower, put fresh clothes on, and asked if he was okay one last time.

"I'm fine," Albus snapped, frustrated. "I won't do it again."

Professor Longbottom looked at him suspiciously, then left Albus dripping in the hall, robes swishing as he turned the corner.

Neville's POV

This was a situation with Albus was not something Nevile had prepared for as a teacher and a godfather. He decided to seek out the advice of Headmistress McGonagall. He climbed the stairs of the Headmaster's Tower and knocked on the door to the Headmistress's office.

"Enter," came Minerva McGonagall's voice.

"Hello, Professor McGonagall," greeted Neville.

"How many times must I ask you to call me Minerva now, Mr. Longbottom?" McGonagall said with a smile upon her ancient face.

"Old habits die hard," chuckled Neville.

"How can I help you," asked McGonagall. "You look troubled."

"Do you remember how Harry Potter could talk to snakes?" Neville inquired.

"Yes...but where are you going with this?" replied McGonagall.

"Can that trait be passed down from parent to child? And can the animal be different?" Neville felt like this was an insane probability.

McGonagall was silent for a long while. She slowly stood up and paced back and forth behind her desk.

"What happened, Neville," she asked in a quiet voice.

Neville began the story from when little Joseph Dursely barged into his greenhouse, yelling for help. He honestly didn't have that much information beyond Ablus telling him he was fine and that the Squid communicated to him that she...was a she.

"Magical zoolingualism is possible. And I suppose this more likely for Albus because of his heritage. I don't know much about this magical ability, but I will look into it further. Please keep an eye on the young man. Diving into the lake can be dangerous in general, excluding all the other magical creatures that lurk in the depths," instructed McGonagall. "Will you talk to Harry about this?"

"Albus asked me not to, so I'm stuck with deciding to be a responsible adult or a trusted godfather…" Neville's voice trailed off. I gave him my word that I wouldn't.

"Albus Potter is a bright child, albeit a bit mischievous… I have a feeling he could go far," said McGonagall. "We have to guide him with special care and tact over the next six years. Especially if he has an ability that sets him apart from other students."

Albus's POV

Albus was sitting on his bed, feeling sorry for himself. He also felt sorry for frightening his cousin. He should probably explain himself to Joey. He didn't want to leave Hogwarts feeling like this. He got up then sat back down because he felt tired and didn't know where his friends would be right now. He would try to find them in the Great Hall at the end-of-term Leaving Feast tonight.