Albus woke up agitated. What a terrible nightmare.

He had walked through dark corridors again, feeling the eerie cold, as usual, at some point there had been light and heat, a good sensation, a gleam of light in the midst of darkness, but soon it was gone, it had been devoured.

He perceive a divided consciousness, the Wellman's whispers kept echoing in his mind "themirrors, themirrors'' and "burnburn", two figures had looked at Them and the Wellman had said something strange to the figures who had dared to try to look, something Albus didn't understand, and then he heard strange screams of pure terror, but the well-man had said to him "there's nothing to fear when together we are one, Emissary," he had spoken directly to him, his voice felt old, and his tone was cadaveric, like the sound was coming out from the throat of a skeleton, they scratched like nails on a blackboard. Pure agony.

"Nostrad?!" The man in the well had suddenly screamed in his head, and he seemed puzzlingly surprised. Suddenly they left the dark, long, and cold corridors, and he woke up, scared, just to see…

He wanted to scream, but couldn't. Was this an episode of sleep paralysis? No…, he couldn't emit any sound or move because he was frozen in place by supreme terror.

His heart was beating so fast it hurt as if striking his chest.

The eyes.

The eyes!

Something was leaning over him at night, in his bed, invading his intimate space. A nocturnal invader.

It had scarlet eyes that glowed in a sickly eye, the dirty, gray hair fell over Albus like a Lethifold, he could imagine it covering him and beginning to suffocate him. Albus' breathing was frozen. He stared at the invader, feeling horribly hypnotized by his eyes. The man smiled thrillingly at Albus, triumphant. Then he whispered "Ikabonf?."

Then Albus finally managed to scream, as loud as he could.

The man/thing then… jumped out of the window, breaking it, the glass transforming into various sharp pieces that looked like cold raindrops through the room.

The rain fell heavy and ominous, an icy breeze now entered the room and the sound of the wind was horrendous, like a cadaveric groan. Albus put his hand on his chest, trying to recover, panting.

"What just happened?!" Sallinger exclaimed.

"Are you okay?" Yato asked on the other side of the room. Albus didn't answer.

Someone in the room, someone in the room. Someone… or something.

Nostrad? Nostrad and Ikabonf. The Terrible Nostrad-Ikabonf Family.

Albus felt a chill pass through his body, terrified, he could not breathe right, panic invaded him.

What was, exactly, that thing that had leaned over him, in his bed, while he was sleeping? It had been… Nostrad. Which one? Throughout history, there have been many Nostrads. He frantically tried to remember all the Nostrads he had read about. The most famous one was, of course, Edgar Nostrad.

And Ikabonf. That Nostrad had called him Ikabonf. The most famous Ikabong was Tattaglia Ikabonf.

Again, private and intimate spaces were invaded.

He stood in deep silence, analyzing the darkness of the room, looking for threats, in his state of panic, any shadow looked like a dark monster, looking with yellow and wide eyes at him.

Under the bed, what if there is something under the bed that sneaks, crawling across the floor, and it puts its cadaveric hand on my leg and-

Albus screamed again, something touched his shoulder. He raised his hand and slapped the person hard.

"OUCH! OUCH! HEY! OH MY! Calm down, it's me!"

It was Sallinger.

"There was someone in the room… someone or something," he said, breathless, now grabbing Sallinger, as if the boy were some sort of lifesaver and as if he were drowning in a sea of terror.

He felt terrified, his whole body trembling.

He wanted to get into a space that was only his, that he could lock and be there in peace, his sacred space, never invaded.

Not even in his mind could he be by himself, alone in peace, because there resided the man in the well.

He was called "Emissary".

Sallinger spoke something to him, but he did not listen, clinging to the boy's robes.

"Leave him, Salllinger, don't you see he's in shock?" Exclaimed Yato.

"It's not me, he's the one who's holding m-"

Yato approached, with the wand raised, the other friends were also well awake now, Edmond held in his hands an umbrella, brandishing the instrument like a sword, Lukas had moved as far away from the window as possible.

"It's a Lethifold, isn't it? Came in the night and-" Started to say, Lukas, confused.

"What?!" Edmond and Salliger exclaimed alarmed, looking at Lukas. They were still first years, but even so, doing that was an automatic attitude for a wizard. Yato didn't seem to know what that was.

"Is it here?!" Yato asked, looking everywhere.

"He… it… I don't know! Jumped out of the window," clarified Albus.

"A Lethifold?"

"It was not a Lethifold!" Said Albus, frustrated.

"Uhm… Potter," started Sallinger.

"What?!"

"Please, let go, you're almost tearing my pajamas, they are brand new, my father bought them-"

Albus blushed and let go of the boy's pajamas, stamped with the image of pineapples and strawberries with faces, dancing.

"W-What? I like fruits," he said, also blushing.

"Hey, let's focus, someone just tried to invade our dorm," reminded Yato, serious, while Edmond tried not to laugh at Sallinger, Lukas was less discreet, laughing out loud, Albus thought the pajamas were cute…, but Yato was right, no time for trivial things.

"L-Listen," Albus tried to regain his composure and make his voice sound firmer and less shaky "He was here, but he jumped," he informed and saying that fact out loud made him calmer.

Gone, gone, it's gone, he jumped, he's no longer here. It's okay, Albus, calm down, he thought.

Nothing-

-The man in the well!-

can hurt you now!-

"He jumped?! We are in the Ravenclaw tower!" Exclaimed Sallinger.

"That's impossible," said Edmond.

"Are you sure, Albus?" Asked Yato.

No one believed him. That made Albus nervous, anxiety was coming back.

"I don't know. Call a teacher!" Yelled Albus, with a shaking voice, "I know what I saw!" He said, angry, he wasn't mad… he saw, it was true.

"Are you sure it wasn't a dream?" Asked Sallinger.

Why would no one believe Albus? Suddenly it was hard to breathe again. He was on the edge.

"I dreamed that the window was broken too, right?!" He answered, annoyed.

"I quite like that side of you, Pot-"

"Not now!" He said, firmly.

"I tried to help you and you slapped me," murmured Sallinger, touching his hand on the reddish cheek, sulking.

His other friends were now near his bed.

"What enters the room at night to lean on people while they sleep? To watch them? Creepy," said Albus, disturbed, he felt the need to cover his body with his blanket, because he felt exposed, vulnerable, he wanted to cover himself, wanted to hide his body, hide it, protect it in an impulse of self-preservation. He squeezed one leg against the other, he felt nauseous. Invader. Intruder invading his privacy while he was asleep and when he was fully vulnerable. What did he want to do with him?!

"I don't know, a vampire?" Aked Yato, laughing. Lukas gave him a shocked and fearful look.

"There are no vampires in the UK, they are all gone, they left-" Started to Lukas, frantically, as if wanting to also convince himself of said fact.

"What are you talking about? There are ghouls, those disgusting-" started to say Sallinger.

"Ghouls and vampires are different!" Insisted Lukas, raising his voice, emphatically.

"Only for your kind," said Sallinger, softly, provocatively.

"What do you mean by 'my kind'?" Asked Lukas, deeply affronted.

Why would Yato say that? Did he make any connection? Did he discovered something-

"Hey, hey calm down. Lukas, have you never seen Twilight?!" Asked Yato, laughing.

"No…" Said Lukas, utterly confused, Yato sighed.

"It's just a movie where a vampire watches a girl while she's sleeping," commented Edmond, approaching, Sallinger looked at him with disgust, moving away and rising to his bed, he did not seem to want to get near the boy, Edmond didn't seem annoyed by that, simply ignoring the boy.

"Then he slashes her throat, right? And drains her blood just as vampires do, I would never watch this, why would anyone want to see a murder?" Commented Lukas.

"It's actually a romance," said Yato and Edmond at the same time.

"No, it's not, or girls are strange," answered Lukas, "I know Aghata would never fall in love with a creepy v-vampire," said Lukas, thinking about his fiancée.

"Girls are strange," said Yato and Edmond, again, at the same time.

The mood was a little less tense and Albus was able to use this time the friends were talking to calm down. He was a bit disappointed, Yato still hadn't got it. No one knew about what he was going through. He felt alienated.

"He had red eyes," said Albus, at least that he could reveal to them.

Lukas went deathly pale.

"You may just be seeing things, vampires left the UK-" Lukas was shaking.

"Have you read the news… about Cheshire, Lukas?" Asked Edmond.

"N-No…"

"They said it was a vampire, responsible for the murders! And not a werewolf," emphasized Edmond.

"No. No, can't be. A Vampire? Ghoul, you mean. A ghoul, right? Maybe an inferi? Inferi is better…" Murmured Lukas, starting to panic.

"A vampire!" Reafirma Edmond, firmly.

"I don't believe that. I refuse to believe that," he said, seeming terrified, now deep in unsettling thoughts.

"What 's an inferi?" Yato, still with his wand raised, seemed very confused.

"A corpse, brought back to life by dark magic," said Edmond, darkly.

"AH! Zombies! I love the Walking Dead, have any of you watched it-"

"Shouldn't we call a teacher?" Interrupted Albus.

Albus couldn't say much more. He felt the man in the well wouldn't allow him to say certain things.

Only Albus… and the man in the well knew. Secrets between them.

"Y-You're right. Sorry, Al," apologized Yato, approaching him and noticing:

"Albus your wrist!"

He only now looked at it.

His wrist was bloody. A piece of glass had pierced deep through his skin, making a deep and ugly laceration.

Albus hadn't felt it until now, the adrenaline had been rushing through his body, and maybe he also felt… strangely detached from this reality, ever since waking up.

He felt unfocused.

He felt an increasing sense of depersonalization like he saw things from outside of his body like he was a mere spectator just looking at the scene from a third-person point.

No. Don't pull my conscience away. I want to be in this reality. Don't take me to the Beyond or to anywhere else. This is where I belong, he begged in his mind.

He had communicated with the man in the well… Well, he had communicated with Albus, at last.

Even if he was called the "Emissary", even if the man seemed to not know exactly who Albus was.

Could he even hear Albus? Would Albus be good at communicating with him? And… Did he want to do that?

Albus felt like the man in the well was always with him, even if he was sometimes too quiet or even inactive, but he had a feeling the man knew nothing about him, appearing to be disconnected and even confused. Sometimes assertive, but others he seemed very confused, not knowing what to do, with disconnected and meaningless thoughts-lines, like he was in another dimension or world, taking care of others things, not belonging to his reality.

He felt a strange impulse and took his wand in his hands, the blood dripped on the blanket and floor, staining it.

"H-Hey, don't move your arm, it's bad, like... really bad," commented Yato, staring at his wrist, worried, "How aren't you yelling in pain, look at this!"

He held his wand with his bloody wrist. He raised his wand, the blood dripping on the carpet, but-

"Hey! Albus talk to us! What are you doing?" Tried Lukas, alarmed by Albus' lack of proper reaction.

"Did you see something? You saw something there, in the dark?" Asked Yato, looking in the direction Albus was pointing his wand to.

Their voices were muffled. He wanted to drop his wand. He didn't like holding it. But he couldn't move or think clearly.

Ishallgototheforest.

Yes, that was what he had to do. He got up.

"Albus! The glass pieces! You are barefoot! You are going to step on them!" Reminded Yato, alarmed.

He felt his feet hurt. But the pain didn't affect him. Blood flowed from his wrist and the glass' shards entered deep into his feet. Blood, blood was scattered on the floor. Blood, blood, blood-

-If I make a Circle, I can do some kind of ritual, that is the Emissary's blood-

"Where are you going?! You are hurt!" Edmond was going to try and stop him.

"OUCH!" Yelled Albus suddenly, his cat had appeared out of nowhere and bit his bloody hand hard, aggressively, seemingly afraid too, as if the cat didn't recognize its owner.

He dropped the wand, he now felt the pain of the injured wrist, his feet hurting and the burning discomfort where his cat bite him with all the intensity.

"Albus, sit. What's wrong with you?" Yato exclaimed now, mildly annoyed.

"I'll call a teacher," said Sallinger and before anyone could say anything, the boy left.

"Yato, I can't go to the forest," he murmured.

"What? What are you saying?" The friend asked him, really confused, staring at him worriedly.

"I can't. T-There is something bad in the forest. W-We must avoid going," he said, scared.

"You are in shock… I-"

"No, Yato. It was a… a vampire," He managed to say. But he couldn't say anything else.

"Are vampires really that scary, I mean they are like walking corpses so-"

"They are terrifying!" Lukas was now really close to him, all of the friends had their shoes on now. Too many glasses on the floor.

"Y-Yes. T-They are, Lukas," he murmured, truthfully, "I hate them."

"Finally someone understands me! Once you see true vampires, they'll scare you to death!" Said Lukas.

It was his chance.

"Lukas, what type of vampires have you seen?" He asked, slowly.

"They… used to attacked eastern tribes a long time ago, the elders fear them until now," he clarified.

"Haven't you seen one?" Asked Yato, now curious.

"N-No. P-Personally no. B-But I don't want to!" He seemed a bit embarrassed.

"Do they bite you?" Asked Lukas, at this moment, Edmond emerged with some muggle bandages.

"Yes, and they are violent, but-"

"Sometimes no one can see the bites," whispered Albus, Lukas gave him a terrifying look.

"How do you know that? And… this no longer happens, Al. That kind of vampire is surely extinct. The ones the elders call ghostly vampires," pointed out Lukas "We have their descendants, but not here in the UK, they surely are mistaken, there can be none of them in Cheshire."

"I know what I read," insisted Edmond, trying to wrap Albus' hand.

"You can wrap it with the glass still inside!" Criticized Sallinger with arrogance as soon as he reentered the room with a teacher.

It was his favorite teacher, Mister Abramovic, who wore a very elegant night robe. His hair was a bit messier but he still looked like an old high society gentleman.

"What happened here?" The professor examined him for afar, with a cold and serious look, then approached slowly.

"Someone was there," Albus whispered, fearful. The man in the well had said something, but he couldn't hear him right… something about blood. Albus shivered.

"You are wounded Mister Potter," pointed him out, "Allow me," he said, moving his wand slowly, the pain became much more manageable.

"T-Thanks," he said, shyly.

"No problem, young man. Now, I'd advise you to go to the hospital wing as soon as possible, but I see you have hurt your feet too, let me heal you a bit, and all that glass here can cause a serious incident," he slowly started to reconstruct the glass after healing Albus' wounds.

The teacher was really good with healing spells! Albus was amazed. He saw that the cat was still looking at him a little strangely, but he motioned for the animal to come closer to him and stroked the kitten's soft fur.

"I always find it advisable for an adult to have some training in healing spells. They are always useful. Come with me Mr. Potter and... you too," he said, pointing at Yato, "let's go to the Hospital Wing first, but then, after that, I need to ask you a few questions," he said, "Don't worry, I'll offer you some hot chocolate, it'll be something simple, I know we're all tired." Albus loved the calm tone in Mister Abramovic's voice, it was a soothing and serene tone, a man with experience, not easily shaken by anything. So different from professor Ikabonf's angry and resentful tone.

"Ok, let's go Yato," he said to his friend, almost openly apologizing for making him go with him to the Hospital Wind and then to a teacher's room in the middle of the night.

Before leaving the professor looked out the window once more as if looking for something, his expression was serious and concentrated.

But… as soon as they left the room, they realized there were a few students in the communal room, looking at Albus curiously. Patris was one of those students and he was quick and solicitous

"Professor Abramovic, is everything okay, can I help you with something?" He asked with his wand in hand.

"Everything under control, young man. I only ask that you all go back to sleep, it is late and you have will class tomorrow," he pointed out, strictly.

"I told you it was Potter again. We won't win the House Cup because of him," commented Celes, angrily, whispering to her brother, who moved his head in agreement, throwing him a mean look.

"His grades are also… kind of bad. A Ravenclaw with bad grades… we can't have those underachieving kinds here. This is the house of the great-cleaver-ones. The House of the future. He's also disappointing on duels, which is revolting, since Harry Potter in his dad," murmured Janus.

"Minus 20 points from Ravenclaw," said the teacher looking directly at the brother and sister, who snorted angrily.

"We are here to correct and enhance an individual's behaviors in order to get the best collective results," continued Celes, venomous, when they were leaving.

"Must be a genetic defect, when you mix-" Albus couldn't hear the last things Janus were saying, but he was sure it was some kind of blood-purist thing!

"Am I really that bad at school, Yato?" He asked the friend, a bit shaken.

All those students... they publicly confront Celes and Janus, did their lack of action confirm their agreement with them?

Did everyone think he was underachieving... and a failure at duels?

He was trying his best. He didn't want to disappoint Ravenclaw, his friends, or his teachers.

Does being silent in the face of injustice show consent and collective agreement with what was being said or they were afraid of some retaliation from the two... they who tortured two boys, they who were Proud and had... support from Laurent Balthus.

Did the Director know that they belonged to the PNM? Would he do something to punish them if he knew? Should Albus tell Professor Abramovic?

"Don't care about them, they are bullies. In my previous school, there were a lot of them. Best to do is ignore… the only exception is when they come to punch you, if they do that, you got to punch them back!" He said, serious.

"No, no, Yato, o-of course not!" He whispered, surprised.

"It gets the job done," he said, laughing, "But don't worry. You are great, Al. A great friend, a great wizard. School will pass, life is forever. And anyway, who are they to judge. I heard Celes isn't so good in History of Magic, because you are the best our year." He said with a gentle smile, Albus felt his face flush.

"T-Thanks, Yato. You are also great,"

"Yes, great Yato is here to help you against those crazy vamps," he said, throwing him a knowing look. Yato had surely made some kind of connection "Nothing scares me, as a mudblood, nothing from the magical world can scare me after seeing some trash movies about dumb vampires," he pointed out.

"No, don't call yourself that. You are not a m-mud," Albus couldn't even say such a bad word!

"Those two have been calling me behind my back," said Yato, referring to Janus and Celes.

"T-Then tell Patris! Or a teacher! This is highly offensive," he said, shocked.

"We are here." Professor Abramovic entered and informed the situation. The professor's spells were so good that Albus was soon dismissed. Then they made their way to the professor's room.

Some teachers lived at Hogwarts, they had built them workrooms to attend to the students and, near them, a bedroom for each one of those who lived there, with a bath area and a tiny kitchen where it was possible to heat some meals and make coffee and hot chocolate.

Professor Abramovic quickly made some hot chocolate and gave it to them. Albus drank a bit, enjoying the sweet taste in the heated room whit a small fireplace, the atmosphere was extremely pleasant and the armchair was very fluffy and comfortable. There was a bookshelf with several books about the History of Magic and a series of books on esoteric, mysticism, and anthropology.

"Now, can you two tell me what happened exactly?" He asked, putting on his square glasses, paying attention to them, concentrated.

"I had a nightmare," Albus started, his hands were trembling so he slowly landed the mug on the table of the room, he didn't want to spill the drink and make the fuzzy carpet dirty. Professor Abramovic looked at his hands. He did, for sure, realized that they were shaking.

"No need for anxiety, young man," he said, quietly, trying to help him feel at ease. It didn't help… Albus hid his hands in his robes. Uncomfortable tremor!

"When I woke up-"

"Wait. Can you tell me what was the nightmare about, only if you can feel comfortable doing so, of course," asked the man, serious. Albus was now nervous. He didn't want to tell him... it was personal. It was his thing-

-(and the pit man's thing, of course, our thing)-

He decided to stay in the middle, informing that teacher about the corridors he had seen.

"Corridors? Where do they lead you?" He asked, raising his brows.

(to the well)

"Does it really matter, I'm sorry, I don't want to talk about it," he said, trying to keep his tone neutral.

"Alright then. I only asked because usually, dream can reveal us a lot, I've been researching dreams and nightmares for quite some time," he revealed, getting up to pick up a book, then he read, "Corridors: you may be moving into some kind of neutral space, one that opens possibilities of change, a transitional space, connecting rooms or aspects of the psyche, if you are dreaming about dark and gloomy corridors, you may see yourself in a difficult situation, one that is rather difficult to solve on your own, therefore you should seek external help, from friends or family. It can also mean feelings of insecurity and perceived vulnerabilty. There may also be someone in your life you may need to get rid of, someone who is invading your privacy, some kind of threat," said he, making Yato look at the professor strangely.

"Erm… After Albus woke up, he said someone jumped out of the window, but our dorm is in the Astronomy Tower. Albus said it was a vampire," said Yato to the teacher who returned and sat down again, delivering the book to Albus.

"You can keep it, it's my present for the best History of Magic student in the first year, your friend Ross is quite talented, but I feel you are passionate," Albus smiled, part of the previous tension dissipated, "Hidden Symbologys – Dreams and Nightmares", unknown author. The teacher took a long sip of his drink.

"A vampire, you say… well, Mister Ikabonf will surely like that information," said the teacher with a neutral tone, "But why would a vampire invade a student's dorm?" Asked the teacher directly to Albus.

"I don't know," Albus said simply, but avoiding his eyes.

"Did that… vampire… said anything?"

"No," Albus lied.

"Strange things are surely happening at Hogwarts," stated the teacher, sighing.

Albus heard footsteps from the outside, soon after someone knocked on the door, aggressively.

"It's me! Mister Abramovic let me talk with him, I'm the one investigating." It was professor Ikabonf. Abramovic faced the door, with irritation, but rose to let the other man enter.

"Potter! I knew it was you! Now tell me, what happened, was it really a vampire? A vampire at Hogwarts!? I knew it had to be something like that, all the clues-" the teacher's eyes shone with agitation. He approached Albus and held his shoulders, pressing him to speak.

"I saw a vampire. It had red eyes, and long dirty hair," he said, anxiously.

"He may be one of the culprits behind everything happening here!" Yelled the teacher, his voice echoing ominously through the night.

"Now, Mister Ikabonf, don't you think you are being precipitated? Someone invaded a dorm…, but can we connect such invasion with all the incidents?" Asked Mister Abramovic, seriously.

"Maybe there are more, but now I discovered… a vampire! Plagues, I have to find them and-"

"I really think you are being precipitated-"

"You know that Harry Potter found a connection between Hogwarts and Marchbanks-"

"We shouldn't be talking about that in front of students!" Criticized Mister Abramovic. Professor Ikabonf got quiet.

"You are right, I apologize," he said, bitterly.

"I have to ask some questions too," started E. , looking at the boys.

"It's late, let them rest, then you can ask them later," suggested Abramovic.

"But-"

Before the other teacher could insist, Abramovic said goodbye to them quickly, and soon they were outside the room, the door closed leaving the two men alone.

"Of course, you would remain… calm about it all, Mister Abramovic. I also want to ask some questions to you…, where were you the night the lake froze?" Albus listened to Professor Ikabonf asked, heard in following an angry sigh, and professor Abramovic spoke:

"We may have a different moral compass, that's for sure, but I'm not the culprit, you… an Ikabonf… would be way more suspicious, but I don't accuse people without proof!"

"Let's go, Yato," Albus said, he didn't want to hear anymore, didn't want to get into any kind of confusion.

"But this is a golden chance! We can learn so much!"

"I don't think this vampire is a culprit," sentenced Albus, firmly.

-I am the culprit. It's me and the man in the well. I already know the answer to this mystery. I just hope Mister Ikabonf doesn't discover.-

Albus would be able to stop the man in the well. He would have to do it. He was glad the man in the well had not attacked and killed real persons yet!

-Albus Potter, you have no ethic! Your moral sense is missing. You are the culprit too! Shouldn't you want to tell people, reveal your wrongdoings, shouldn't you be praying for Mister Ikabonf to discover soon? Instead, you are trying to get rid of all responsibility, you criticized people that keep quiet when seeing injustices happen, but look at you!-

But he was afraid of someone discovering. Afraid he would have to go to Azkaban. Do crimes against ghosts and sorting hats count? They wouldn't understand that it hadn't been Albus! They would blame him when it had been the man in the well's fault! He was just a kid, it wasn't his fault he was being possessed by a dark and evil…

"Albus!" Yato was talking with him, "Have you heard what Mister Ikabonf said… someone ordered Otto Marchbanks murder from inside of Hogwarts!" It took a while to process what the friend said.

"H-Hey you are really pale, are you okay?"

"A circle with a star inside, at the Astronomy Tower, and the name Otto Marchbanks crossed out! We have a murder here at Hogwarts," he heard the strong voice of Professor Ikabonf inside the room.

Man in the well.

A murder. And it may have been Albus's fault, he let the man take away his conscience. He hadn't been strong enough. He knew who was behind all that and wasn't strong enough to break the spell and reveal it to everyone. He was being used, he was helping the thing kill and… do other horrible stuff and he couldn't stop him.

"Yato, let's go. I-we-"

What if he showed it all to his friends? The man in the well appeared to want to go to the forest. It could be dangerous, but what else he could do?

"Yato, let's go explore the forest, at night, see what's in there!" He said.

"B-But… you said—"

"Forget what I said, there may be something important there!" He tried, firmly.

"Okay… I guess it would be fun, but—"

"Trust me, Yato, please," Albus begged.

The boy at least trusted Albus enough to agree.

Was his friend's trust being misplaced?

Was Albus committing a mistake, caused by adrenaline and anxiety?