Chapter 2- Revelations
For the rest of the day, whenever Albus tried to catch his father alone, the former magically disappeared. And not before long the sun began to settle down as visitors began arriving at the mansion- making the task all but possible. First came his grandparents, Arthur, tall and bold and Molly, short and round, carrying with them a massive chocolate cake. Later, strolled in Luna, Ginny best friend and Lily's guardian, her hazy eyes fixed on an obscure spot in the space and her dirty blond hair wrapped around her neck like a scarf. Her husband, Rolf Scamander, sunburned and bright haired, followed soon, together with their twin sons. Finely arrived Nevill Longbottom and his wife Hannah, a tall blonde with a bowl cut hairstyle who served as the matron in Hogwarts.
"Hey Albus", greeted him his guardian, "I was happy to hear you finely got your letter". He was relatively short with dance blonde hair and a round face, but the hand he presented to shook Albus' one was big and warty. "You know why it was delayed?", Albus hopefully asked. "No, but don't let that worry you", answered him Longbottom, "instead I would recommend you to prepare a bit for school, there is no such thing as too much homework".
He raised his eyes and noticed Albus' brother, "Speaking of homework. Have you done any of your summer work yet, James?", he asked. "I started them, Professor", his brother unconvincingly answered, "is Hagrid coming, sir?", he quickly inquired about his own guardian. "Professor Hagrid", corrected Longbottom, "and as I told your parents, he is in vacation right now".
"Still big on Maxime, isn't he?", Harry arrived smiling, Lily by his side, greeting his friends, "c'mon mates, the table is already set". As they turned came another knock on the door, "It must be Alice, Dudley told me he be a little late", he said, opening the door, revealing his cousin, a huge blond man with arms the diameter of Albus' waist, together with his daughter. They awkwardly shook hands as the two girls squealed excitedly and ran to embrace each other. "Is Teddy here?", asked the small pig-nosed brunette girl as her father left, holding Lily's hand. "Sadly, not", Harry led them all into the back yard, where the rest have already waited, "he's on a field test at the moment, and even I'm not capable to give a break from this", he said to the disappointed child.
They began the party, and after finishing singing happy birthday for Harry and distributing the cake the feast began, all with Albus' grandma generous help. Soon, they finished the meal and got inside, evading the chilly night. There they sat in the large warm living room, spread into several groups. Harry, Ginny, Hermione, Neville, and Hanna, were all seated near a small dining table, holding fire whisky in their hands and laughing quietly from their school stories.
Rose and Luna, in the meanwhile, played chess on the floor near the fireplace. Rose, who was surprisingly bad at the game, had her father by her side, whispering advises in her ear while absentmindedly patting Chalk. And Luna, sat crossed legged across her, Lily and Alice each making braids out of her long hair and laughing from her stories. At the same time, her husband sat in the corner with Hugo and James, all watching in amazement as Albus' grandfather explained to them how to build things out of small colorful building blocks, his bald scalp sweating in excitement.
Albus, on the other hand, spent his time bombarding the Scamander twins, Lorcan and Lysander with questions about their time in America. They were completely identical, having their father's tanned skin and their mother's dirty blonde hair. All except their different colored eyes, one brown and one icy blue- the bright eye of Lorcan on the left and of Lysander on the right. They couldn't have been more different from their parents, who were magizoologists (magical creatures' researchers), and while intelligent, seemed to lack any basic human communications or social awareness skills.
The twins on the other hand didn't show any kind of interest in animals- magical or otherwise, instead Lorcan was fond of arithmancy, and Lysander was an astronomy enthusiast, both able to give Rose a run for her money in the bookworm department. Now, they told Albus about a bunch of wild mermen they encountered near the Michigan lake. Finishing each other sentences in a story in which their father almost got harpooned after calling their queen 'fishy' instead of 'highness' in their language.
The night darkened outside, and the guests started leaving one by one. First to depart were the Longbottoms, then Ron and Hermione with their kids, the Scamanders, and finely Albus' grandparents. It got late, but after both Lily and Emily, who stayed with them for the weekend, were already asleep, Albus and James were sent to their rooms as well. Albus strode upstairs, the large meal he had slowing him down. He was about to ascend to the third floor when he saw the light from his father workroom shining at the end of the hallway.
His interest rose immediately, his dad must have forgotten to lock his office. He tilted an ear to the kitchen downstairs, where he could still clearly hear his parents' chatting. The memory of his wand suddenly resurfaced in his head and the desire made him create a brief decision. He listened again carefully and after making sure there is nobody nearby, he swiftly advanced the room and got inside.
He never entered this space, that was barred from any of the kids. Unlike the rest of the house, the walls were made of thick stones that were barely visible under a collection of newspaper clips, maps full of tacks and pictures displaying grotesque scenarios that Albus was quick to look away from. His gaze fell on the counter, the desk lamp that omitted the only light in the room illuminated numerous friends and family waving from framed photographs, an old wand at their feet.
He didn't have to double-check to know it was his, and without even noticing he closed the distance with three big steps and recaptured it. His fingers tingled with anticipation, and it took him several seconds to understand that the feeling was missing. Albus checked that he wasn't mistaken in the wand, but there was no doubt in the old and cracked wood. He twisted it again in his hand, tried different grips and even, in a burst of frustration, said some spells he knew aloud. But alas, a regular stick would have probably been more useful than that.
He slammed the wand back onto the table, hurling several pictures from a muggle newspaper depicting a man with grey hair and dark glasses. A combination of confusion and resentment rose in him. His mind ran ahead, trying to understand this situation. He didn't imagine what happened in the wand shop and certainly wasn't the only one that felt the connection there. Yet now there was nothing, not even a shred of warmth. Did his father do something to it? He had the suspicion that even if he did, he wouldn't tell him a thing. Perhaps he should try and go again to 'Diagon Alley', sneak into the wand shop to get some answers from the sleazy man.
He was about to turn and exit the room, still deep in his thoughts, when something else caught his sight. On the table was a half open latter and even in the somewhat deem light he managed to recognize his name. He swiftly spun back and unfolded the paper.
Albus' Acceptance
Dear Harry,
I'm glad you've finally made the decision that Albus' place is indeed at Hogwarts,
and I'll be waiting for his arrival on September 1st. However, I willemphasize
again that if there is anything I need to know about your initial doubts,
the time to let me know is at this point. As you know, any information
given about a student can be trusted to be kept confidential, and if necessary,
I will continue Dumbledore's path and take the necessary steps to ensure
that all requirements are met. I'm sending this letter with Mr. Longbottom,
expecting to receive a letter detailing the doubts you had as soon as possible.
Sincerely, Minerva McGonagall
He felt like a bucket of icy water had dropped on his head. His hands shook so much that the paper was in danger of tearing apart. Albus read it again, and then twice more, 'you've finally made the decision', the words stinged his eyes, not letting go. Why wouldn't his dad want him to go to Hogwarts, and why lie to him about it? He stood there for couple of moments, shaking in anger.
All of a sudden, from afar, the noises downstairs ceased. For a second, he wanted to confront his dad, but then, the logical part in his head kicked into gear. It would not be advised to reveal that he sneaked into this forbidden room and his father will most likely only create another excuse instead of revealing the truth. It will be better to keep his discovery a secret and try and pick information without raising any suspicion. Finely reaching his conclusion, he quickly returned the letter to its place, trying the best of his ability to rearrange the table to its original composition. Hurrying outside he reached his room before his parents even began ascending the stairs, managing to pretend to be fast asleep by the time they came to check on him.
That night, his body remained still as his brain worked overtime. He recreated the scenario at the wand shop, only to free the way to the twisted tree that constantly haunt him, occasionally replaced by images of a dark, damp, and stuffy hall. But the day after when he woke up, still tired and drained, he remembered none of this.
