I was pacing outside the infirmary doors waiting for word about Albus. Scorpius had gone down to get us some snacks. Uncle Harry had asked me to sit outside while he chatted with Albus. I was not sorted in to Slytherin just because I begged. I cast a spell on the door and stuck my ear against it so I could listen in.

"Yes. And you're... you will be fine. For recuperation, Madam Pomfrey

wasn't sure what to prescribe and said you should probably eat lots of... chocolate. Actually,

do you mind if I have some...?" Uncle Harru sounded hesitant. "I've got something to tell you and I don't think you'll like it."

Yeah, definitely glad I was eaves dropping.

"Okay. I think." Albus sounded terrified.

I could hear nothing for a few moments and then Albus ased. "Better?"

"Much." Uncle Harry didn't sound much better. "The arm, how does it feel?"

Albus sounded tentatively optimistic "It feels great."

Uncle Harry's voice was soft when he asked. "Where did you go, Albus?" I can't tell you what it did to us. Your mum was worried sick..."

It was a really good thing Albus was such a great liar. "We decided we didn't want to come to school. We thought we could start again... in the Muggle world. We discovered we were wRong. We were coming back to Hogwarts when you found us."

"In Durmstrang and Beauxbatons robes?" Shoot I forgot about those.

Albus stammered but stuck to his story. "The robes were... The whole thing... Scorpius and I... we didn't think."

"And why... why did you run? Because of me? Because of what I said?" No, we hadn't run because of that but it was a great excuse! Go with it Albus, I thought at him as hard as I could.

Albus was no legilimens but he seemed to think this was a good excuse too. "I don't know. Hogwarts isn't actually that pleasant a place when you don't fit in."

I felt bad, I had Quidditch and Scorpius had been caught uo in guarding me. Unecessarily guarding me, but it didn't occur to me to wonder where this left Albus.

"And did Scorpius... or Lilliana, did they encourage you to... go?" WHAT? The whole damned thing was ALbus' idea, Scospius and I didn't even want to go. If I wasn't so invested in spying I would have marched in and told Uncle Harry where to stuff it.

Albus sounded just as outraged. "Lils? Scorpius?! No."

What Uncle Harry said next REALLY made me want to tell him off. "I need you to stay away from Scorpius Malfoy."

Albus was as confused as I was angry. "What? Scorpius?"

Uncle Harry sounded firm. "I know you are family, but this thing you did... this is beyond a kid's prank. And now... I need you to..."

"My best friend?" Albus shouted. "One of my only two friends?"

"He's dangerous." Uncle Harry sounded sooo convinced. "You may still be friends with Lilliana but..."

Albus wasn't through. "Scorpius? Dangerous? Have you met him? Dad, if you honestly think he's the son of Voldemort..."

Uncle Harry's words next were outrageous. "I don't know what he is, I just know you need to stay away from him. Bane told me..."

Albus was furious. "Who's Bane?"

"A centaur with profound Divination skills. He said there's a black cloud around you and..." This Bane sounded like a dirty little tattle tale to me.

Albus sounded very dubious. "A black cloud?"

"And I have very good reason to believe that Dark Magic is in a resurgence and I need to keep

you safe from it. Safe from him. Safe from Scorpius." From SCORPIUS?!

"And if I won't? Stay away from him?" Good for you, Albus! Don't take that crap!

"There's a map." Uncle Harry's smugness was just creepy. "It used to be used for those wanting to get up to no good. Now we're going to use it to keep an eye... a permanent eye... on you. Professor McGonagall will watch your every movement. Any time you are seen together... she'll come flying... any time you attempt to leave Hogwarts... she'll fly. I expect you to go to your lessons... none of which you will now share with Scorpius, and between times, you will stay in the Gryffindor common room!"

Oh I would just like to know how Uncle Harry thought he would get Professor McGonagall to agree to THAT!

But wait... "You can't make me go into Gryffindor! I'm Slytherin!"

Oh Merlin's beard. THAT is why Uncle Harry sounded all wrong. We messed something up.

Harry sounded like he was pacing. "Don't play games, Albus, you know what House you are. If she finds you with Scorpius, I will fix you with a spell which will allow me eyes and ears into your every movement, your every conversation. In the meantime, investigations will begin in my department as to his true heritage."

"But, Dad... you can't... that's just not..." Albus was in tears.

That was IT I was over this. I flung those doors open with a flick of my wand causing them to bounce. Uncle Harry and Albus looked up startled. "You enormous ARSE!"

Uncle Harry looked at me a moment startled and then back to Albus. "I thought for a long time I wasn't a good enough dad for you because you didn't like me. It's only now I realize that I don't need you to like me, I need you to obey me because I'm your dad and I do know better. I'm sorry, Albus. It has to be this way. And Lilliana I am not your father... but..."

"Damned right you aren't my father Harry." No more Uncle for him. "And you WON'T be telling me to stay away from Scorpius."

"We'll see about that." Harry glared at me and started to walk out.

Albus wasn't done. "What if I run? I'll run."

Harry sighed. "Albus, get back in bed."

Albus was firm. "I'll run away again."

Harry glared at him. "No. You won't."

Albus crossed his arms. "I will... and this time I'll make sure Ron can't find us."

"And I will help!" I shouted.

Uncle Ron's voice was a welcome one. "Do I hear my name?

Ron enters on a staircase, his side parting now super-aggressive, his robes just a little bit too

short, his clothes now spectacularly staid.

Albus clearly thought so too, "Uncle Ron! Thank Dumbledore. If ever we needed one of your jokes it's now..."

Uncle Ron frowned, confused. And worse, why hadn't he come to hug me yet? He always hugged me first. "I don't know any jokes."

Albus looked as startled as I felt. "Of course you do. Everyone alsways said you should run the joke shop."

Uncle Ron now looked as supremely confused as we were. "The joke shop? Well now. Anyway I'm pleased I caught you. I was going to bring some sweets... for a, uh, sort of, a, get well soon, but, uh... Actually Padma... she thinks about things a lot more... deeply... than I do... and she thought it'd be nicer for you to get something useful for school. So we got you a... set of quills. Yes. Yes. Yes. Look at these bad boys. Top of the range."

Uncle Ron gave me the briefest nod. He had sort of stumbled further in to the room, not even an inch of the man he was.

Albus was more focused than I was. "Who's Padma?"

Harry frowned at Albus. "Your aunt."

Albus shook his head to clear it. "I have an Aunt Padma?"

Uncle Ron looked at Harry sympathetically. "Taken a Confundus Charm to the head, has he? My wife, Padma. You remember. Talks slightly too close to your face, smells a bit minty. Padma, mother of Panju! That's why I'm here, of course. Panju. He's in trouble again. I wanted to just send a Howler but Padma insisted I come in person. I don't know why. He just laughs at me."

What had we done... if Uncle Ron was married to some Padma woman then where was...

Albus got there the same time I did. "But... you're married to Hermione."

Uncle Ron didn't seem to understand this at all. "Hermione. No. Nooooo. Merlin's beard."

Harry almost sneered. 'Albus has also forgotten that he was sorted into Gryffindor. Conveniently."

What the hell was so convenient about it?

Uncle Ron laughed "Yes, well, sorry, old chap, but you're a Gryffindor."

Albus sounded as horrified as I would have been. "But how did I get sorted into Gryffindor?" He looked at me. "You are still Slytherin, right?"

"Of course I..." Shit, it occurred to me I didn't know.

"Well, yeah..." Uncle Ron laughed. "We all thought with my nephew and your cousin in Slytherin you would go too, but you persuaded the Sorting Hat, don't you remember? Panju bet you that you couldn't get into

Gryffindor if your life depended on it, so you chose Gryffindor to spite him. I can't blame you, we'd all like to wipe the smile off his face sometimes, wouldn't we? Please don't tell Padma I said that."

Albus wasn't getting it yet. He needed to stop talking. "Who's Panju?:

Uncle Ron and Harry stare at Albus. "Bloody hell, you're really not yourself, are you? Anyway, better go, before I'm sent a Howler myself."

I sat hard on the bed. "We messed up Albus.. Rose... Hugo..."

Albus looked at me horrified. "But that doesn't . . . make sense."

Harry glared at us. "Albus, Lilliana whatever you're feigning, it isn't working. I will not change my mind."

"Oh just shut up and let me think!" I snapped. Not only was I angry with him, I was angry with us. Rise and Hugo are GONE!

Harry ignored my outburst. "No, you're the one with the choice, Albus. You do this, or you get in deeper, much deeper trouble... do you understand?" Oh little did he know there wasn't much more trouble we could do.

Scorpius was right out in the hall. Snacks in hand. Dang it I had forgot to leave and warn him. "Albus? You're okay. That's fantastic."

Harry looked at Scorpius like he didn't even know him. No worse, like he knew him and was not happy for the relationship. "He's completely cured. And we've got to go."

Albus just looked up at Scorpius broken hearted.. and just walked away.

Which was not good enough for Scorpiusthe Steadfast. "Are you mad at me? What's going on? Uncle Harry? Lils?"

Albus stopped and turned to Scorpius. "Did it work? Did any of it work?"

Scorpius looked down. "No... But, Albus..."

Harry glared at Albus. "Whatever gibberish you're talking, you need to stop it, now. This is your final warning."

Albus looked torn between his dad and his friend. "I can't, okay?"

Scorpius looked at me, I couldn't look him in the eye. "You can't what?"

Albus looked ready to cry. "Just... we'll be better off without each other, okay?"

Scorpius looked up after him. Heartbroken.

I would have the last word. "My grandparents were wrong about you, Harry," He turned and looked at me. "Magic isn't what made you a freak. The inability to give a damned about anyone else? THAT us what makes you a freak."

Harry looked stricken and started to say something but I just grabbed Scorpius by the hand and marched off. I had people to see. And fast. There had to be a way to put this back together.

Merlin's beard Harry thought Aunt Aly had gone back in time and… that was when I knew who I had to see.