Albus hadn't been able to sleep after all that happened in a single day.
After the talk with his brother, he had had insomnia.
Frantic thoughts wouldn't let him get the proper amount of sleep.
He drank the recommended doses of the potion, but only felt a bit sleepy, and every time he lay in bed, the fear of dreaming about the man in the well made him nervous.
In a failed attempt to relax and get to sleep, he had decided to take another bath (he had already taken one before bedtime). It was 3:00 a.m.
Taking care not to wake anyone up, he came inside the room and turned on the lights, but his vision was directed to the mirror.
…
He realized that someone should have broken the mirror somehow, for there was a huge crack in it, forming some kind of horizontal rift.
He saw his image reflected in the mirror and he could only think that: Yes, James was absolutely right. He did look just like some kind of zombie, with big dark circles in his eyes. It was visible he wasn't getting enough sleep.
But the bath didn't help at all.
The hot water had produced a damp fog, making the mirror incredibly blurry.
I don't like that mirror crack , he thought, it's like something terrible could come out of it.
("Mirrors bring back luck," […] "Mirrors show the other world," ) had said Lukas before.
This crack in the mirror (considering that mirrors show the "other world") would mean then, from the symbolic point of view, that the "other world" would be invading this world? That something that's not from this world would be infiltrating here, coming outside of this crack—
He was just scared by Lukas's words. Simply as that.
Trying to think about other things, Albus recalled that he still needed to write a letter to his parents. He knew he would not be able to sleep so he quickly got dressed and took the feather and the scroll:
Dear dad, mom, and Lily,
Sorry, I took too long to write you a letter.
I was sorted in Ravenclaw and already made some friends! Some of them are in the same house as me, but I have some friends in Slytherin too.
I have some new teachers and also liked the common room.
I don't know what else to say now, but I'm fine.
Also, remember to water the plants that Neville gave me, please.
With love, Albus.
He thought he should maybe rewrite the letter.
It seemed way too empty, maybe even too impersonal... would his parents get worried and think he wasn't liking Hogwarts enough?
Unfortunately, he was simply without much inspiration to complement the letter.
He took the opportunity to also write a brief formal letter of apology to his therapist
He remained awake reading the History of Magic book in his bed.
Celin Ikabonf is a respectable wizard who writes books and engages in innovative projects to support causes he considers important—
No, nothing important.
The need for the New History is to demystify historical traditionalism and create a new interpretation—
He had already read that, nothing that could help him.
He took the Defense Against the Dark Arts book, he saw a small passage at the end of the page, referring to the paragraph about the New History :
Traditional practices are well-established and tend to work better than experimentalism. What Celin Ikabonf tries to do when he evokes the problematic and polemic concept of the "New History" is to question the traditional history treating it as a mere narrative defended by the "owners of the structural societal power". The man, involved with dubious studies linked to the Ikabonf's mystical esoteric, Celin Ikabonf wishes to resignify history. And the recreation of History would bring a new basis to other fields of study. You can notice that when you read some of his books, such as "Esoterism for Combat" or "Ancestral Rituals of my Family '', for example. There are also other books written by him that were censored and even banned in some countries. Celin Ikabonf claims to use what he innocently calls "new esoteric magical arts", but those are not new , and they resemble an infamous and poorly seen type of esoteric magic ...
That's it, that was all. Albus searched more books tirelessly but found nothing else. He could always read the book he stole (he would give it back!), but he was too afraid some would see it.
He just wished Eli would give him the book he talked about earlier already. He wanted to know more about the "Terrible Nostrad-Ikabonf family" !
"I thought you were kind of nerdy, but this is a bit too much, ex-friend," Sallinger whispered suddenly, scaring Albus, he had a mischievous smile on his face.
"Oh, scaredy-cat, please don't be afraid. I don't bite like your lupine friend over there," he provoked, pointing at Edmond's bed. Albus sighed, recovering from the fright.
"Sorry, did I wake you up?"
"I also have insomnia sometimes. Or I may be just watching you at night," he said, jokingly "You should thank me. Even if we're not friends, I'm being kind and protecting you from the bad wolf," he said dramatically, his cold laughter echoing through the night. Why did he have the need to always provoke Albus and say bad things about Edmond?! Kind of annoying.
"Be quiet, you'll wake the others," warned Albus, then he asked, "Will you tell me now?"
"Tell you what?"
"Why do you hate werewolves? Plus, call Edmond by his name. He's a good friend Sallinger, unlike you!" He said a little enraged at Sallinger's attitude towards his friend. He was having terrible insomnia that even the potion didn't help, strange things were happening, and Sallinger kept provoking.
"Ouch. That hurts, Al. My poor heart!" Dramatic, but his words were totally empty, emptied of any deeper meaning because he simply didn't care. His eyes were silently mocking Albus, his lips directed him an icy and mean smile.
"Did you talk with your half-brother today?"
"Interested in my personal life, aren't you? Wanting to know more about me… I see," a mischievous smile.
"Your half-brother kind of threaten ed me," he explained.
"Threaten him back. Don't be wimpy. Why don't you duel against him, just to solve things out?" He suggested.
"That's not a smart solution, at all," he replied, firmly. It wouldn't solve anything in the long run. Plus…, he suspected Oscar was very good at dueling, the boy had had " training" , right?
"You are the nerdy one, Potter. Some people like some action, you know? Less theory and more practice."
"Why your brother—"
" Half- brother," he corrected immediately.
"Why does he hate me? What did I do for him? Plus… has he had some training ?" Sallinger let out another cold laugh.
"Shh, Sallinger!" He would end up waking everyone else! Did he not care about people's sleep?!
"Well, you see, you are way too naïve . I almost feel like I have to teach you some things. Do you think people need a reason to hate on someone?" What? Albus didn't understand. Of course, they did! People couldn't hate you without a reason! "Oscar may have his reasons thou…, go duel him and ask—"
"I'm not dueling him!"
"Well, you should. Don't you want to see just how much more well trained than us he really is? Even I am curious, Potter!"
"So he has had—"
"He sure knows a lot about dueling. Every time I tried to go against him, I lost," whispered he this time, annoyed, as if he revealed something that embarrassed him "Oh, how I hate that stupid smile. Every time he won, he thought he was better than me. Well, he may win the duels, but I can win other things. " Sallinger seemed revolted but kept a proud smile on his face.
Albus then realized.
"Is that why you are with Arabella Astros?"
"Perceptive! I like that, Potter"
"This is so mean!"
"Oh, don't be such a moralist with me," he warned, "it's an exchange of favors, of course. She wants to be famous. I want to annoy Oscar to death."
"But if you don't like her—"
"I like her, Potter. I mean, she's pretty, right? But she's more of a cutie-pie type of girl, romantic and girly. It's cute for some time, but soon I may get bored. She may not be my type, but I know she's Oscar's type and that's enough for me," he said, simply, with a neutral face, not showing much emotion, frigid. As if his relationship with Arabella was a mere meticulous calculation that he had made with the sole purpose of irritating his half-brother.
"That's cruel. Do you like breaking people's hearts?!" Albus was sad for Arabella.
"I love it, Potter. It's my hobby." Sallinger provoked, with a smile.
"You know. Oscar suffers because he actually cares about things. Does he think I don't know that secretly he likes these cute, romantic, feminine types, who like pink, skirts, and puppies? So cute they almost make me want to puke. Ugh!" He revealed.
"Why are you like that?" He whispered, frustrated.
"Similar to what Barnaby asked me earlier. I'm just me . I do me… you do you ."
"He's too sensitive of a person and his father is a psychopath," he said suddenly, not giving him any context.
"When you were talking with Barnaby—"
"Oh no, Potter. Watch it! Very dangerous zone, I'd stay out if I were you," he warned, now serious. Sallinger got up and went to take a shower. He had read for some time and the sun was starting to rise.
"Wait!" He said, a bit too loudly. He looked around seeing if he had woken up anyone. No. All good "Erm… I mean—" It was difficult to formulate what he wanted to ask "W-What's your type? Of girls?" He asked, blushing a bit (he was so happy the bedroom was still a bit dark). Sallinger smiled a cocky and arrogant smile.
"Well, my type of person depends on my mood, really. Someone who doesn't bore me to death, someone who makes life more interesting. More adrenaline, less hassle. Maybe a little bit of danger," he said "Why do you need to know that, Potter?" He had a soft provocative tone in his voice.
"J-Just because I feel sorry for Arabella!" He answered quickly.
"The world doesn't like cute, romantic people, Potter. At best I'm showing her that the world is... bad. Prejudiced and petty," he said, dramatically but seeming to be reflecting about something.
"Well, the world would have one less prejudiced person if you'd treat Edmond better," murmured Albus.
"You're not going to give that up, are you, Potter?" He murmured, briefly serious, but soon he was back to his usual self "I'm so glad Albus Potter, a saint, an angel, won't give up on someone like me," he laughed debauched.
Albus just sighed, angrily. Sallinger didn't take anything seriously!
"Someone broke the mirror, there is a big crack on it," he warned Sallinger.
"Uh…, what?" He asked, confused.
"A big crack. The mirror is broken."
"No, it isn't. There is no crack here, Potter," the boy said, laughing.
Albus headed there to check.
Had he seen cracks on the mirror because he was tired? But—
"Here. Don't you see?"
Yes, it was there.
The mirror was broken, he saw the crack.
Clearly.
Right in front of him.
"Potter, there's nothing there," said the boy, calmly.
"What?"
"Are you okay?" He raised his eyebrows.
"Yeah, sure. I was just pranking you! It was just a prank," he invented, suddenly, awkwardly.
"You're not exactly funny," stated Sallinger, ready to take his bath.
Impossible not to be there .
Albus approached to touch the crack, he touched it with his fingers , analyzing calmly, trying to stay calm and maintain rationality.
Was Sallinger the one who was pranking him?!
An icy breeze came from the crack .
Bizzare..., how could that happen?
On the other side of the mirror, there could only be a… wall? Right?
An extremely cold breeze froze his fingers.
Should he try to look through the crack , to see if he saw anything?
Was the crack even there?!
Was he, for some crazy reason, hallucinating with a crack ?
Why? So many things he could be hallucinating with and he was seeing a crack? A crack in a mirror? But…
No. It had to be there.
He felt the breeze.
He approached the crack and looked—
"Albus, why are you looking at this mirror so intensively? What did it do you?" It was Yato, he looked very sleepy "I love Hogwarts, but why couldn't classes start a little later? Back at home—"
"Yato do you see this crack here?" He asked with a rather desperate tone.
Was he seeing things?!
"What?" He looked at the mirror for a brief moment "No… there's no crack there, Al," said Yato, looking at him worriedly.
"Ah. Okay," he said, lamely, a bit scared now.
"Are you feverish?" He asked, approaching and raising his hand to touch his forehead.
"You are too cold!" He stated, removing his hands quickly, alarmed. "Do you need to go to the hospital wing or—"
"No. No. I'm fine. Super fine! It's been cold lately, right?" He said fast.
"Come here, I may have something that could help with this." Yato took him back to the room, he was now searching in his suitcase.
"When I went to buy my stuff with my bodyguards—"
"Bodyguards?!"
"Yeah… long story. I can tell you later. But check this out!" He showed a sort of marble ball.
"Huh. What's this?"
"Don't you know? This is a wizard's thing!" Insisted Yato.
"Is it?"
"Yes, they told me it's a heating magical ball, put it in your bed or inside your clothes and you'll be warm and cozy," he said, optimistically.
He gave Albus the marble ball.
"I don't know how it works, but someone here might know. You can have it."
"T-Thanks, but why did you buy it if you don't know how it works?" He asked, curiously.
"I just wanted to buy everything, I wanted to have lots of new magical stuff. My dad said I could just go and buy anything I wanted!" He said, happily "I may need some of these later, right? Just because I don't need them now, doesn't mean I shouldn't buy them!"
"Yes, but only if you are rich… good morning Albus and mister rich-boy," said Edmond suddenly, he had woken up.
Lukas was waking up too, the sun had just begun to come out.
"About the bodyguard—" Albus was ultra curious.
"He's richer than I thought," commented Edmond, impressed.
"Uhmm…, my father is the head of the Japanese House of Councillors' President," he stated, a bit shyly.
"But why do you need bodyguards? Is someone threatening your family?" Asked Albus, formulating some interesting theories, his mind was already thinking about many possibilities.
"There always is," lamented Yato, he remained quiet for a bit, "I hate bodyguards," he said, sadly, "My mom and I live here in the UK. I see my father every time I go back to Japan, but I never learned the language!" He explained.
"So you just casually hang out with lots of bodyguards in the UK?" Lukas asked, hearing the conversation, puzzled "Don't people notice?"
"They do. But it's not a bunch, it's just Takako and Hijikata, they are bodyguards, but since it's safer in the UK they do other things to help me and my mom," explained he, calmly "I wish my father hadn't had approved that idiotic real estate reform," he whispered annoyed, then sighed relieved "But it's so good to be freer here at Hogwarts! No bodyguards, just me and my friends," he said with a broad smile. He didn't seem to want to talk about it anymore.
They got ready, his friends took their baths, and he just waited. He avoided thinking about the crack in the mirror. Yato kept asking, more than once, if he was okay. He tried to look relaxed and happy.
"Lukas, hey," he approached the boy, and whispered, "what does a crack in the mirror mean?"
"Am I your esoteric guidebook?" The boy laughed, surprised.
"Erm—" He kind of was.
"It has a terrible meaning to tell you the truth," he said, serious "it can mean a break in the natural order of things, a serious anomaly."
"Do you believe?" He asked, fast.
"What I know is that seeing a crack in a mirror is hardly a good sign. Bad luck, Al. Bad luck," he stated, a bit too vague.
When he was going down the stairs, he spotted Celes and Janus sitting at a couch, looking like two imposing authorities, both using precious gold stones as jewels.
George and Richard sat in distant places, with half-empty expressions.
Near the brother and sister, there was a small group of students. Albus looked at them carefully. Some of them seemed excited and happy, these were the younger ones. The older ones seemed tense and nervous. Perhaps the younger ones were the future "recruits" who had not yet seen the Senior Prouds' aggressive and punitive behavior.
Celes rose suddenly and walked alone towards where Scorpius sat alone, reading a book, distractedly.
She used a hair fastener that looked just like a crown, the sumptuous jewels on her hair seemed to magically sway (in an inviting and almost hypnotic way) as she walked like some kind of model on a catwalk, she looked rather determined to talk with the boy.
"Scorpius Malfoy, isn't it? It's a pleasure to meet you," she said with a huge smile (that was clearly fake) "As you already know, or as you already should know, I'm a Roschtar-Steles." Albus could see that the girl tried not to seem so arrogant, but she was failing at that. She waited for the younger boy's response, with her head held high, proud.
Proud, but dangerous. Not like a beautiful eagle, but as a bird of prey looking for the next victim.
"Hum… okay, hi," he started awkwardly, "Your first name—" The girl smothered a shock exclamation in time, looking completely affronted that Scorpius did not already know his first name, her gaze hardened immediately, even though she smiled coldly.
"Celes, Celes Roschtar-Steles," she then sat in the chair next to the boy, crossing her legs slowly, elegantly, "As you see I'm your veteran, " she said in an authoritarian way as if she demanded immediate obedience just because she was older than the boy, "My brother and I are organizing a special party , it'll be so fun ! Of course, we are being super selective! We'll only let the best in!" She informed, in a strange tone. It was as if she expected Scorpius to thank her on his knees for the invitation as if the invitation were something wonderful and unique.
"Okay," answered Scorpius, confused. He looked around, looking for the girl's brother. Janus smiled at him. It was one of the fakest smiles Albus has ever seen in his life.
"And we have the honor to invite you, Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy—"
"Just Scorpius Malfoy is fine, I—" He blushed when he heard the laughter of some students laughing at his name. Celes seemed furious that Scorpius dared to interrupt her, but managed to contain her emotions.
" Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy ," She repeated her name, loudly and clearly, making some more students laugh at him. Celes seemed pleased to see people laughing at the boy, content with this little humiliation, with this brief and petty punishment. Punishment perhaps for him not knowing her supposedly grand, beautiful, and respectable surname. She could have stopped there, but she decided to keep going. She was spiteful:
"You look respectable enough! Here," she handed him the invitation, "You should be proud of your family, I know your grandfather was in Azkaban, and your father was a death eater, but I understand the glory and tradition—" Loud and clear, exposing his family in front of everyone.
"Thanks, but I don't like parties." Scorpius seemed rather uncomfortable and annoyed with so much attention, not even taking the envelope. Many students looked curious at them, probably wondering why Celes Roschtar-Steles (who behaved like Ravenclaw's queen at times) was talking to Scorpius, a second-year who was usually quiet and liked to read in peace.
Scorpius then got up and left the common room quickly, going for breakfast.
Celes returned to his brother's side, a bit disappointed, but with a small smug look on her face. Janus didn't seem so happy.
"Celes…"
"Janus, those who disrespect our noble family name shall learn first," she said, simply "Next time, he'll be more respectful," she whispered to her brother as if Scorpius had done something horrible.
He could also notice that everyone was commenting about one thing specifically: the Nearly Headless Nick episode, even if no one fully understood what had happened.
Albus could hear people calling the thing "Lurker" or " Ghost Devour", or any other picturesque name.
The students seemed very interested in the episode and those who had been hurt were now having a bit of a famous time, becoming temporary celebrities.
For example, Arabella Astros was now being "questioned" by her friends and colleagues, who were eager for more information.
Salinger sat near her, not too interested.
Ugh! Sallinger could be so mean. Poor Arabella.
"It was terrifying! I knew as soon as I saw: that thing was dangerous, but I thought I had to look closely and investigate it better!" she began her narrative, dramatically, with teary eyes "I'm usually a very curious girl, and… there I was , the evil thing was right in front of me !" her tone was even more dramatic now.
She poked Sallinger softly, wanting some reaction, the boy ended up saying that all of this would surely be in his father's newspaper, The Times For Truth.
"And then it exploded! I had frostbites on my face! I didn't want Sal to see my horrible face ! But then he helped me!" Arabella said in a dreamy voice, pointing affectionately at Sallinger who only gave her a small smile, looking at Oscar's dormitory door intensively "Now he's my boyfriend!" She stated, suddenly, hugging Sallinger's arm.
"What?! I'm—" He was going to say something, appearing to be surprised, but Oscar came out of his room at this moment.
He gave his half-brother a mean smile, and suddenly hugged Arabella, who blushed "Yes, you're my girlfriend, Bels," gentle and caring Sallinger was back, giving Astros all the attention she wanted. Too bad it was only a façade.
He did feel sorry for her… Sallinger the heart-breaker, how could he be this mean?!
Oscar gave a murderous look at Sallinger… those brothers had some serious family issues going on.
It would be funny if it wasn't tragic.
Maybe Albus should warn the girl. It wasn't her fault if Sallinger was "borderline sociopathic" with an aggressive and angry half-brother who always won him at duels and made Sallinger want to get some petty revenge!
What kind of solution was that even?
Oscar won the duels, so now Sallinger would just get his half-brothers' love interest?!
What was going on with their family?!
"This is dark magic, listen to what I say. I know what I'm talking about," George sat near his friend group in the blue armchairs, together with the german twins.
"Is this common? I mean, do those dangerous situations happen a lot here?" Asked Mari, the blond pink-haired girl, a bit nervous with a heavy accent,
"Hogwarts is safe, Mari," reassured George, diplomatically. Roher didn't seem convinced, but Mari sighed, relieved. The boy said something in german, but Albus couldn't understand.
Several other people formulated their theories:
"Some kind of fungus! I'm sure, maybe we can find something in the Herbology book!" It was Edmond's theory.
"A new magical creature! My father is a magizoologist and told me that new species of creatures can appear at any time." Said Roher, suddenly.
"Lukas, what do you think?" Albus always considered the boy's opinion, wanting him to spill something related to his tribe's beliefs.
"I—" He wanted to try relating the incident with professor Edward Daniels and see Lukas's reaction.
"Did you see how professor Edward Daniels ran to that thing ?" Lukas gave him an odd look.
"What are you implying, Al?" He whispered to him, confused.
"Could this be related to the Ikabonfs?" Lukas looked at him, a bit fearful.
"I mean, I don't know. It looks like dark magic, but I don't know more than you," he said, firmly, suspicious.
He had to be careful not to make his friends suspicious about his "research".
"Even if this is some kind of dark magic, the teacher will stop it, right? They are experienced wizards, they know what they are doing," said Yato, convinced, optimistically.
At the great hall, the teachers kept trying to reassure the students that everything was fine.
Even if the Principal was freaking out because of the repercussion that the episode was having in the wizarding media.
"Mister Edward Daniels, look at all those letters! Look! What do I do?! You know I hate interviews, letters. I hate the media!" He heard him comment with the teacher at their table, a bit too loudly, too nervous, "You told me this job would be bureaucratic , but you never told me I'd be under so much pressure !" he seemed so stressed, he seemed to magically rejuvenate, looking like an immature young man who didn't know what to do, incompetent and ill-prepared.
"I become the Principal and this happens, in my management !" He murmured, tearful, lamenting the pressure upon him.
Albus's theory was that some journalists and some parents wanted more information about the episode and they might be getting impatient.
A third-year Slytherin kept saying, loudly at breakfast, that the "Lurker" (probably the most famous name now) was actually the spirit of Lord Voldemort , who had died in the castle and now had come back to haunt them all!
According to the newspapers (he read Edmond's), the authorities would be getting involved because they suspected that there might be a connection between Biins' case, this one, and the sorting hat's episode.
In addition, an auror had disappeared while coming to Hogwarts to investigate Biins' case .
Lino Steely, the auror, never arrived.
Dennis Sallinger had some things to say about the whole situation, and as usual, he was being dramatical and sensationalistic:
NO, YOUR KID MAY NOT BE SAFE AT HOGWARTS! –By Dennis Sallinger
[…]Concerned parents should be aware that there may be something crawling throughout Hogwarts's floors! The Lurker, as some terrified students are calling it, is eating ghosts, the sorting hat, and attacking students! Boys and girls cry in the halls, horrified that something so frightening is happening! […]
He put the journal aside.
"Why do you even want to read this thing?" He asked Edmond.
"Well, I have to be informed!" Insisted Edmond. Albus was angry. Denis Sallinger once again criticized his father in his article, the next pages were all dedicated to criticizing his father and the aurors in general.
Well, he thought it would be better to just ignore it. No use bothering with that.
Some of the ghosts in the castle were commenting on how much they would miss Nearly Headless Nick, some of them were afraid that the black substance would do something to them.
"Are you going to join the Quidditch Training Team, Albus?" Yato asked, suddenly.
"What?" Albus didn't know what he was talking about.
"Didn't you read the warning in the common room?" Then he started to explain while they were having breakfast.
The Provisional First Year Quidditch Training Team had been professor Longbottom's initiative.
They would now be able to join the Quidditch team, only provisionally of course.
They would be selected to be a part of a team that would receive special training, which could be an important factor for the Quidditch formal exams in the second year, it would facilitate their entry as they would be learning new techniques and practicing new moves.
"Quidditch seems so cool! I want to try," said Yato with a huge smile, Lukas seemed equally excited and even Edmond was eager to try.
"Sports are very important, I can even put it in my curriculum! They will make you more healthy and that way focusing on your studies will get easier," he said, he was again reading the book for the first class, preparing himself.
"Why are you so worried about your curriculum? We won't be getting a job so soon," said Yato, laughing. Puzzlingly, Edmond sighed, suddenly nervous.
Albus thought Edmond may worry about it because…well, just because the job market for werewolves wasn't promising. It wasn't fair, but it was the current reality.
At least Horton Cirley's had lots of companies and he was very pro-werewolf.
"It seems fun, so we will be training before actually entering the team in the second year," commented Lukas "Are you gonna be trying, Albus?" Asked him.
"Not for now," replied Albus awkwardly.
"Why?" Yato gave him a puzzled look.
"I'm just not a quidditch enthusiast, I prefer playing just for fun," he said, but the truth was that even when he had tried to play it just for "fun" he didn't feel comfortable.
The tremors and … it was strange… he didn't feel good playing. He felt like he'd be falling any time.
"Are you excited about our first flying lesson?" Asked suddenly Lukas.
"W-What?" He asked, surprised. Were they going to have their first flying lesson this soon?
"I know I am super excited, but also let me ask you guys," Yato then whispered a little shyly "Is flying difficult?"
"I was able to learn how to fly when I was a little kid," explained Albus "But, Yato, weren't you afraid of heights, I mean—"
"I'm afraid of heights, but I won't let this stop me! I have control over my broom, I'll make it!" He said, decided.
"I'll try my best," whispered Lukas with a little smile.
"Are you taking those… acclimatization classes?" Asked Lukas.
"Hum, what?" Albus had to start reading the warnings and announcements in the common room.
"For first years, they'll show us the school or something, but—" was saying Yato.
"We should go," suggested Edmond.
"It seems so boring!" exclaimed Yato, not interested.
"Aren't you going? I kind of wanted to go," Lukas said, eating a small toast with honey.
"Why don't we all make our own tour?" Suggested Yato with a mischievous smile on his face "I mean, we could explore, take our time, discover new stuff," Yato had a lively smile on his face.
"But, I mean we don't know much about Hogwarts, we wouldn't learn about the architecture, about the history—"
"Who cares about that?!" Asked the boy, laughing, Edmond looked a bit offended. "There may be all sorts of secrets at Hogwarts, even some hidden passages. We are wizards, we can use our wands, no one can stop us!" Affirmed Yato.
"We are still first years, I'm pretty sure they'd be able to stop—" Edmond was trying to say, appearing to be a bit worried about this all, but at this moment the owls started to arrive. Albus had his letter with him, he would be sending it later.
Oscar who was sitting far away from him this time had a hopeful expression on his face, smiling atypically, a true smile, the boy seemed to clearly be expecting some very positive news, something good, but—
He barely opened the letter, he seemed to read only the beginning and his expression became... not angry, but deeply sad as if the happiness from before had simply vanished, withered, and turned into a gray cloud of pure sadness.
Eli again looked worried about his friend, he reached out for him, asking to see the letter, but Oscar gave him a furious look.
"Stay out of this!" He warned, angrily, a bit too loudly, some veteran students were looking.
"I can't. You're my friend!" Answered Eli, almost immediately, seemingly accustomed to Oscar's quarrelsome attitude, he was more worried than annoyed.
But the frigid boy ignored him completely and again went out of the great hall without giving any explanation.
Eli massaged his head, nervous and anxious. He seemed to wonder whether or not he should go after the boy who would probably again be losing classes.
As the wonderful friend he was, he decided to go look for Oscar, the boy's breakfasts remained untouched on the table.
Sallinger cast a brief glance at the place where his half brother sat before, his expression was indecipherable, the half-arched eyebrows, the mouth in a thin line.
Worry?
The usual arrogance?
Some compassion?
Or mere contempt?
Was Sallinger even capable of effectively liking anyone other than himself?
A beautiful appearance, but only cold and arrogance on the inside.
A bit like Oscar in that sense.
Frigidity.
"You will be joining the team, right Potter?!" Emilia Zatory appeared near him, seeming to demand an immediate positive response "If you play as well as your brother, you'll certainly be a valuable asset for Ravenclaw."
"I don't intend to. I'll just enjoy watching the games," said Albus, again, awkwardly, he felt like everyone was looking at him.
The captain of the quidditch team was always a famous personality in any Hogwarts house, and the girl was talking directly to him.
Clearly, she had been waiting for him to say a blunt yes .
Her face demonstrated surprise and then… Emilia's interest in him seemed to fade, followed by an expression of disappointment, "You should at least try," she murmured under her breath, now a bit irritated.
She went to sit down next to Patris, who sat next to Ranirus:
"Ranirus, what did I tell you earlier? You're a troublemaker, I told you not to make our house lose any more points!" He warned, strictly, the second year seemed mortified the Prefect would be sitting near him for the rest of the breakfast.
Hearing the conversation further, Albus discovered that Ranirus somehow managed to bring dragon fireworks to school and planned to throw them at the Principal's office, he was discovered by Patris.
"We shall be the best house of all! We'll win this time, I need to enforce some good behavior on you before you explode the whole school!" Comment Patris, kinda serious, kinda joking.
"Remembering that you already had to repeat the second year once! You should be trying harder. Know that if you need any help, you can just ask. But I need you to take your studies more seriously!" Stated Patris, helpful but strict to an annoyed Ranirus.
Many people wanted him on the team. Now Albus felt pressured and it made him anxious.
Every time he tried to hold a broom, he—
He just didn't want everyone to know that he couldn't even hold a broom!
Quidditch was supposed to be fun, but if he didn't want to play, why was everyone pressuring him? It was his choice.
("You will be joining the team, right Potter?!" […] "play as well as your brother […] valuable asset for Ravenclaw.")
("You should at least try" )
Yes, I could try and all of you could be in for a big surprise and disappointment, he thought bitterly, eating his toast angrily.
"What did the poor toast do to you?" Asked Yato, laughing. Albus just sighed, tired of the pressure.
"Hey, you do what you want Albus," said Yato, reassuringly.
He loved how perceptive he was, he could easily comprehend some situations, he gave him a thankful look.
"So… hum, we have flying classes now ? First-class of the day?" He asked, suddenly nervous.
"Yes, I read a lot about Quidditch. I played before, of course. But I just want to learn new tricks," replied Edmond, happily.
"Can you lend me the book you read? For later? Also, they are going to teach us the basics, right? Because—" Was saying Lukas, but suddenly Albus wasn't paying much attention anymore. His stomach ached with nervousness now, he couldn't eat anymore.
He didn't want to have this class, he didn't want to get on a broom, in front of everyone. He felt nauseous. He couldn't do that. If Oscar and Eli could be absent from this class, so could he. He could not fly, he could not.
(But, back at home, you did fly a bit. Of course, you almost feel, and—)
If I fly something terrible will happen—
(You know this is anxiousness—)
You are being a coward, Albus Potter, he thought, angry with himself.
He breathed deeply, trying to calm down.
He would do it.
He would go to class and try his best!
They finished eating and soon went to their quidditch first class. Albus felt the icy breeze of the morning against his body.
Soon as they arrived, the teacher was already there, he held an old broom and there were also some quidditch objects on the ground on display: a quaffle, bludgers, and the golden snitch (trapped in a locked transparent box).
"Hello to all of you! It's a great day to learn a little bit about Quidditch, isn't it? Welcome to your first flying class! Following Professor Longbottons' advice, before we start our long-awaited practice, I will explain a little bit about our magical sport, Quidditch. If you already know a lot about it , fine, it can be an opportunity to learn a little more, you can ask me any question! If you're a muggle-born student, this is your chance to discover something new, something I'm sure you will find fantastic and liberating," said the enthusiastic teacher loudly with a large smile on his face "My name is Dong-yul, but don't worry if you can't pronounce it right, you can also call me Dine, a name I used when I played quidditch," he said, pronouncing his name in… Korean? Was he Korean?
He heard Arabella Astros suddenly say, happy and excited:
"Oh! I can't believe Dong-yul will be our flying instructor! No way! He's so cool!"
"Who is he?" Asked Sallinger, raising his eyebrows.
"He played quidditch for 5 years in the national UK team! After that, he went to play in the Korean team. It's well known that Quidditch is not that famous in Korea, but they still have some good teams. He has dual citizenship, he was known as the Great Dine, able to fly so fast he once captured the golden snitch in 40 seconds! Considered one of the most beautiful Quidditch players in the world—"
"It seems like some people already know a little about me," said the teacher with a smile, Arabella blushed deeply and laughed timidly.
The teacher then proceeded to start explaining a little bit about the sport.
Yato and Lukas were highly interested. Edmond just seemed eager to start the class as soon as possible.
As soon as he finished explaining he swung the wand with an agile movement and a series of old brooms appeared lined up on the floor, but they were mostly old.
"As none of the first years are allowed to bring their own brooms, you will be practicing with the schools' ones," he stated.
Sallinger looked utterly affronted by that.
"So unfair, Bels. Barnaby just sent me a broom. It was a Jupiter 4000 and I can't even bring it," he murmured.
"Just say up ," the teacher told them.
"Up!" Yato said loudly, he did seem ultra excited, determined to fly.
"Up!" Said Lukas quietly, the broom soon was in his hand and he looked amazed at that.
"Up!" Edmond looked a bit hesitant "Hum, there's a crack here, is this broom safe?" He asked, a bit nervous.
"U-Up," Albus tried, quietly. Thinking "Please, don't go up. Don't go up! I don't want to fly!"
Nothing happened.
He let out a relieved sigh.
Could he just spend the rest of the class pretending he was actually trying?
Could he cheat on this class?
"If you are afraid of flying it won't go up!" Exclaimed the teacher from afar, analyzing some Hufflepuff students on the other side.
Hufflepuff.
Serena Harcliff was looking at him and giggling.
He blushed, suddenly feeling self-conscious about himself.
He said again, now with a bit more determination, not wanting anyone to think bad things about him.
Sallinger was looking at him now too, a bit confused.
He already had his broom in his hands, looking ready to fly, even if he seemed utterly disgusted by his old broom.
Albus was afraid he would laugh at him, point at him, making the class pay more attention to him!
He felt a hand on his back, Yato looked at him worried "Are you ok?"
"What do you mean?!" He asked, a bit too aggressively. Yato had scared him a bit.
"Sorry, Al. You just seemed a bit nervous," he explained, patiently "I should be the one afraid of heights," the friend laughed a bit.
"I didn't sleep well, I'm tired," he said, awkwardly. Did it explain enough? Did it justify his behavior? So fearful of flying. He wished it did.
"Yep, I could hear you talking with Sallinger," he revealed "Are you two… friends?" Yato was unsure.
"It's complicated." Not even Albus knew.
"I don't like him," stated Edmond.
"I'm sorry for his comments about—"
" You don't have to apologize, Albus. He's the one who's been saying bad things about me," said Edmond. "I guess it could be worse. At least he's not openly bullying me. I already had worse," stated Edmond.
"Look! I made it!" Lukas said, excitedly. He was already on his broom, flying only a little above the ground.
"No one is allowed to fly yet!" Warned the teacher, Lukas disappointedly went down.
Everyone was already holding their broom. Everyone but Albus.
When the teacher turned he simply took the broom from the ground, holding it in his left hand that was already shaking quite a lot. He could keep trying, but he knew he wouldn't be able to do it, because he didn't want to fly , at all!
Albus sometimes wondered if there were no specific potions for his tremors.
He had talked about that with his therapist. There were some, but they were a bit difficult to make, rare, and the more effective ones had many side effects.
"Great. Everyone's ready? Now, hold the broom in the correct position and fly next to the ground. Don't go too high." Albus was trying to stay calm, he saw the students slowly beginning to come out of the ground. Some excited, wanting to go higher, others were a bit afraid
Don'tfly
— but none was as terrified as Albus.
Because he heard .
More clearly than before, even if it was still a faint whisper at the back of his mind.
Again the same creepy sensation that it was/but that it wasn't his own thoughts!
Albus took a deep breath. What was happening?!
He knew the cold would soon come. He just knew it!
Trying not to think about any of this now, he sat on the broom and got just a tiny little bit above the ground.
Many students, Sallinger included, flew real high, exhibiting their flying skills.
Lukas was already quite high, talking to Edmond who still seemed worried about the crack on his broom.
Yato went up slowly, looking at the ground a little nervous.
Albus went only a bit high, little as possible.
His hands were already shaking.
He felt a bad feeling, a bad omen as if something bad was going to happen.
He decided he was at a perfectly reasonable height already, enough not to be noticed by the teacher who yelled at the boys who flew too high, deducting points from the house, and not too low.
Arabella didn't seem to want to fly either, she held the broom tight, looking anxious, Sallinger didn't seem to care much about her.
Dong-yul went to help her, she smiled and blushed, giggling. Some of her friends seemed hugely jealous.
"I'm scared of heights, but this is cool!" Exclaimed Yato, happy.
Dontfly
Dontgohigher
Again!
("Who are you?!")
He practically screamed in his mind.
No answers.
Why couldn't he go higher?!
He could if he wanted to!
He felt a sudden fury invading him.
He could do what he wanted!
Rebelling, he started to go up.
It was a horrible idea. It was a dumb idea. He knew his limits and he should have respected them. But he didn't.
Now he felt dizzy, he was feeling a strange sensation, like he was in some kind of dream, it was like being pulled, dragged from there to another place.
"Albus?" He heard Yato's voice, but it was muffled.
"Hey!"
He was falling. And falling. Falling…
So dizzy… falling…
At least he hadn't gotten so high, a good thing.
Black.
All black.
All darkness
…
I fly. But I just wasn't meant to fly. They chase me. I am falling. Falling into the well. Who will save me? The well is my grave. In the well I enter the Ghost World, now I become nothing more than a Specter, as I wander for eternity. From the Beyond I'll haunt. Evil ghost.
…
Who is in my body?
…
Who am I?
…
Who are you?
…
My body?
…
Is that my body?
…
What body?
…
My soul?
…
—
Albus woke up scared and shaking.
All those questions echoing through his mind…
It had been only for a brief moment, just before waking up.
The words had had a confused tone, and seemed more like some kind of ethereal lament.
The intense, uncomfortable cold was back.
Had those been his thoughts?
They didn't seem to be his, at the same time that Albus was convinced: those were his thoughts, maybe because it would be crazy to think about that possibily.
If those thoughts didn't belong to him, why could he hear them in his mind?
The invasion of his mind.
The mind that wasn't a sanctuary.
A mind that was being disturbed by… an evil ghost?
That was being haunted by a Specter?!
From Beyond…
What was the Beyond?
("Don't fool yourself. You know whom they belong to—")
They had seemed clearer.
Was he getting mad? These bizarre questions at the end.
( Who's in my body? Who are you? Is that my body?)
No. Whoever was questioning… this body didn't belong to the "evil ghost".
T his body was Albus'.
It was his.
Why was Albus thinking that his own thoughts weren't his? It was absurd.
Man in the well, an evil ghost, specter, whatever you call yourself, please leave. Leave me alone. Go back to the Ghost World and wander there, haunt there, he thought in a supplication tone.
This is not your place. This body, this soul, and this mind do not belong to you, go back to the well that is your grave and stay there forever, he thought frantically in his mind, angrily now.
Was he suffering from depersonalization?
Or something as bizarre?
"I'm the 'divided' man", he thought, a bit paranoid.
"There was only him in his body and the soul was his alone, the mind was also his alone!" Albus kept repeating in his head like a mantra.
(Be brave! Ask aloud:
"Are you there man in the well? Are you the one there?"
Quick, go ask.
Go to the mirror and say:
"Man in the well, man in the well, what terrible things do you have to tell?")
Of course, I won't do that! Better stop thinking about it, we may attract—
He slowly got out of bed, shivering and cold.
"You are awake." An old man approached his bed, he had an austere, strict appearance, with amber-colored eyes and many tattoos on his arm.
"My name is Matt Rochelle. You are now in the Hospital Wing. You passed out in the middle of the flying class," he explained, patiently, with a tired face, with dense and visible dark circles surrounding his eyes.
"What happened, Albus?" He asked.
All Albus could think about that… he managed to miss his first flying lesson … maybe it was a good thing!
"Uhh… I was sleepy and tired, I might—"
"Yes, I can see you aren't sleeping properly," he said, fast, but in a gentle tone.
"Nightmares." He answered, simply.
He then proceeded to ask him brief questions about his general well-being, still a little concerned, but after some time he decided Albus was ready to go back to classes.
"I didn't notice anything wrong with you from a physical point of view. You have a general temperature below average, but it's nothing too bad. I just think it's something to pay attention to if you come here more times. It's all okay. Your friends were very worried about you so go see them soon and reassure them," he advised.
He was a bit embarrassed for having fainted in the middle of the class, in front of everyone, but he decided to leave for the class as soon as possible, he didn't like worrying anyone.
He had lost the first part of his potions class.
The corridors were mostly empty, with few students there, but a sound made Albus stop suddenly, it was like a cry coming from the bathroom, a muffled sound, sad sobs.
For a brief moment, he thought it was his mind playing tricks on him. But then, as it didn't stop, he decided to check the source of the noise. It could be someone needing help.
…
But
…
It ended up being a bad idea.
The first thing he saw was his blond hair, the person who cried rested his hands on the sink and cried copiously.
It took him a while to figure out who , exactly, he was, but as soon as he saw it, he felt he should get out of there immediately.
Because it was Oscar.
The one who cried was Oscar, alone, trying to stop the hiccups and sobs that came out continuously from his trembling chest.
He had red and puffy eyes, tears wetting his cheeks.
Albus froze in place, wishing the boy hadn't seen him.
Should he call someone?
Why was he all by himself, crying hopelessly in the boy's bathroom?
Where was Eli or another friend?
Albus was sure Oscar wouldn't be happy to discover that he could see him cry.
He took a few steps back, moving away slowly.
But before he could actually get away, he realized that Oscar had already seen him when the boy had looked in the mirror.
At first, the boy looked surprised, with tears still streaming down his face, but his expression changed with frightening rapidity, he was now furious.
He raised his hand almost immediately, holding it firmly and very skillfully, prepared to cast the right spell.
"No. Please. I didn't mean to intrude. I'm sorry, Oscar," he said quickly, without raising his wand. He wanted to avoid any confrontation, he still believed in the possibility of everyone being friends. Oscar held his wand up for a while, but then slowly lowered it.
"Not worth it. Leave me alone," warned Oscar, dangerously, coming out of the bathroom.
Oscar wiped his face with the sleeve of his robes, but as he was walking through the door, he dropped a small piece of paper, and before Albus could say anything, he turned down the hall.
He slowly picked up the paper, wondering if he should take a look or not. The paper was covered with Oscar's tears, he could see the damp, round stains on it.
His curiosity was huge, he knew he shouldn't look, but he decided that if he looked he could discover important things about Oscar and, maybe in the future, he would be able to become friends with the boy, or at least understand him better.
Oscar,
I'm sorry, but I'm not interested in your school life.
Don't send me letters because you know I'm a very busy man and I don't have time to read them. I'm dealing with very important things that can help me advance my career.
I am replying because you have already sent me five letters! This is inconvenient for me and I ask you to stop.
I also take this opportunity to tell you that you must spend the holidays at Rosier's house or Hogwarts, you decide.
I must concentrate on my auror duties and help the wizarding society.
I also think I already told you that I can't take you to visit Clarisse at the cemetery and I don't want you to mention it anymore.
Unfortunately, with her death, I now have a legal obligation to stay with you, so at least don't be inconvenient and don't cause me any problems.
You are not my son.
I've already wasted a lot of time writing this letter, so don't keep bothering me.
You are a bother to me.
I fed you, gave you clothes, and a place to sleep because I'm legally obliged to do so. You should be thankful for that, and not make me lose my precious time with those stupid letters.
Why do you think I want to know if you got points to your house or not? I have more important things to think about!
If you want to be useful to me, you must discover new information about this Ghost Eater, Ghost Devour, Lurker…, whatever people are calling this thing.
Also, keep an eye on Albus Potter too, okay? I'm still investigating the case, so if he remembers anything, you should let me know. If I solve all this, I will have a big promotion, for sure! It is never a waste of time to be on Harry Potter's good side.
Be useful to me and don't bother me with stupids things. You should also know that, in the last case scenario, I could just throw you at an orphanage. Some people might judge me for that, but I can handle criticism.
Also, as usual, keep all of this a secret, or else… you already know what may happen.
Secrecy and obedience are some of the most important qualities.
You know how to keep secrets.
Norman O'Neill.