Chapter 15- Float
Few days after the match, Brennan, who seemed tired than ever, yet equally pleased, came to tell Albus that his punishment was finally over. "Pechman still wants you to not go around, but I think he's taking it too far", he sat next to him and Scorpius as they worked on their star maps in the common room, "You free to go as you like, as long is it a permitted place, and not during curfew, of course".
Albus barely paid attention, keeping staring at his parchments in silence- the news didn't excite him as he expected. Next to him Scorpius, clearly eavesdropping, sketched Mercury on the outer ring of the solar system. Umbra, Meanwhile, waited at some distance, her light indigo slit-shaped eyes shining from the shadows. "I know I exaggerated a bit too", the prefect pointed his wand to the pale kid's map, moving the planet to its proper position, "But you're not still mad at me, are you?".
"No", Albus replied, "Really!", he raised his head to the questioning prefect, "There are far worse things than taking some points away", the whole thing seemed so silly to him now- nothing else other than what happened to Gifford occupied his head during the last couple of days.
He knew he should have told someone like Longbottom or Hagrid about the incident, but he couldn't bring himself to do so, not even to his parents. Despite disliking the inflated kid, what he heard caused him more suffering than if the thing would have occurred to himself. He simply couldn't accept it as truth- and to think he was considered as the black sheep of the family, while it was his brother who was truly the evil one all this time.
"Hey", Brennan lightly pressed Albus' shoulder, exposing lean scars across the skin, "Look at me!". The blue and green met, "I know the situation is a little difficult right now, but everything is under control, okay?". Apparently, Scorpius told him about what they heard, Albus thought, nodding.
The prefect removed his hand, cutting off the eye contact with that, and instead looked at the greenish lake water, "People would do terrible things if they thought it will be for a good cause. Facilis decensus Averno!", now he was the one who sank into contemplations.
Desdemona Campbell entered the common room with Ubel Miles and Theodore Dedworth, turning her back and sitting alone in front of the fireplace as soon as she saw him. The other two quidditch team members wordlessly exchanged looks and then continued to their dormitories.
Brennan sighed, "Fons vitae caritas", he got up and joined her next to the fireplace, right as Umbra ran onto Albus knees. "Come with me", he told Scorpius, removing her from his legs. The last thing he wanted now was to overhear other people private interaction again.
The pale boy complied, he was so bad at astrology there was no point for him continuing alone anyway. Just before they exited the common room Brennan turned his head, as if to stop Albus out of habit, but then he returned his full attention back to Desdemona, whose back was still turned to him.
"Where are we going to?", Scorpius asked in confusion as they advanced inside the maze, opposite of the way that led up. "There's a strange place my brother visited, I want you to accompany me there", Albus walked the narrow corridors from memory. "It's a little far, but...", he paused in bewilderment, with such suddenness that Scorpius bumped into him, "Sorry, what happened?", the pale kid stabilized himself.
Albus looked around, "I was certain the way was from here… Maybe I was wrong?". He retraced his steps and checked again, but there was no doubt it wasn't the right place- the walls were free of moisture, there were no lamps along the corridor, not to mention the small, rusty statue of the knight holding a sword, similar to the marble one next to the pool, something he would have surely remembered.
His head throbbed with pain, he felt suffocated down there, as if he was in a grave. It seemed so trivial right now- why even wasting time down here when he could be outside? "I got lost. I'll look another time and come back with you", he turned and instead led Scorpius towards the frozen lawns.
"Much better", he filled his lungs full of cool fresh air once they exited the main entrance door, feeling like a released prisoner, finally not surrounded by stone walls. "Don't you think so, Scor?", he turned with a smile, the first since the match, only to find the pale kid freezing beside him.
More than he enjoyed the outside he suffered the inside, and not wanting to go back to the castle an idea came to him. "Have you ever met Hagrid?", he asked, watching the smoke rising from the hut near the forest boundaries. "It's pretty hard to miss him", Scorpius shook like a leaf, "Why?".
"Let's visit him", Albus decisively said. "But why?", Scorpius requested once more. "I think he'll be interesting to talk to", he evaded a direct answer, only now remembering that the half-giant was his brother's guardian, that he might be able to open to him about what he heard.
"No, I mean why do you want me to come?", Scorpius made himself clear. "None of us need to do anything other than eat and sleep to survive, but we still do more than that", Albus responded. "That's answers nothing", the pale kid grimaced, tightening his greyish robes around him. Albus wearily chuckled, the freezing air starting to bite his skin, "You don't have to, of course".
The cold pushed Scorpius for a brief reply, "Fine", he reluctantly said, and they both started making their way to the hut, leaving two noticeable plows in the layer of snow behind. As they slowly approached the edge of the forest, the only ones outside in this cold, doubts begun rising in Albus, but he couldn't turn around now after convincing Scorpius to join him.
He froze in front of the big wooden entry, muffled voices flowing to his ears. His heart jumped for a second, he thought he saw things moving in the woods. "Maybe we should head back? Sounds like there are already guests inside", Scorpius whole body rattled next to him, his face almost as white as a snow he was on. Albus was about to agree when the door opened, yet it wasn't Hagrid who stood there.
"Scorpius? Albus? What are you doing outside in this weather?", Longbottom was surprised to see them. "We came to visit Hagrid", the pale kid answered with sudden confidence. "Well, come in then! Don't just stand there!", the Professor urged, and the pale kid immediately went in, forcing Albus to follow suit.
Albus felt as if he had entered a furnace, the heat hitting his body like a hammer. "Here!", Hagrid welcomed them inside, "Ye need some warm". The giant took out two more cups, each the size of a small bucket and filled them with boiling tea, adding even more steam to the cramped place.
It may have been frozen outside, Albus thought, freeing his collar, but at least he could breathe then. He felt someone staring at him and found Claw's sharp yellow eyes looking at him in the partial darkness. Hagrid, however, who was aside, busy making a meat stew, scanned Scorpius with suspicion as he shyly started talking to Longbottom.
"Long time no see, Al. How yer doin'?", the giant voice ringed in the hut like a bell when he remembered Albus. "We'll return to the greenhouses in a week or two...", Longbottom stopped talking and also turned to look at him. This heat exasperated him, draining him of all desire for fake cordial.
"Did you ask my brother that?", he shot back, not touching the drink in front of him. Hagrid looked confused by the aggressive tone, but an understanding seemed to cross Longbottom's face. "And what about you? You're his head-house after all", he addressed the herbology Professor in the same manner.
"Careful!", he distorted his face, "You're forgetting the positions here...". "You know my brother casually attacking students here, don't you?". "Don't divert the subject, and it's not that simple...", Longbottom angrily said, "So explain to me!", Albus didn't let him finish.
"I don't think so, Potter!", he got to his feet, "Go back to the castle now, and you better make an apology for that tone to me and Hagrid before I'll start punishing you as well", he pointed towards the door. Albus bit his lip and almost erupted again, but then did as he was told.
He stormed out, blinded by the sudden pure snow, hearing Scorpius apologizing behind before rushing after him. "Well, that was a waste of time", he was full of energy. "Ugh, those ugly horses again", a bunch of the winged bony creatures, hurried back to hide in the trees. "You know Al, maybe you should... Wait, what horses?", Scorpius looked around in confusion. "Those black lizardry ones", Albus pointed to the forest edge, just as the last sharp tail disappeared.
"You mean Thestrals? Where?", Scorpius said with an unexpected fear, looking to the right of where the creatures were. "No, you can't see Thestrals", Albus said, "Right?", he uneasily questioned. "Let's hurry to the castle, they bring bad luck", his companion was busy trying to run away despite being slowed down by the thick layer of snow beneath.
"Wait a minute!", Albus said, grabbing his sleeve, barely managing to stop him. "My father could see them, but he didn't tell me who he saw", the pale boy breathed heavily, his head surrounded by haze, "I didn't know you saw that as well". "Saw what, exactly?", Albus grip tightened.
"It's impossible", they entered the castle just as the sun begun to set. "Impossible!", he repeated that probably for the hundredth time as he burst into the common room, Scorpius panting behind him. Albus ignored the other students looks and hurried to his dormitories, almost falling down the spiral staircase.
"What is it? You got into trouble again?", Gavin sharp yellow eyes shined at him from across the room, looking up from his comic book (the cover of which depicting a silly troll repeatedly hitting his own head). But Albus ignored him as he went to his dresser and begun turning his belongings, moving aside the yet to be opened gift he got from Brennan for his birthday.
He finally found what he was looking for- 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (short version) by Newt Scamander'. The heavy book was still untouched, its orange cover coated with numerous black lines, creating a variety of different magical animals. Albus spotted a dragon, a phoenix, a griffin, and something that looked like the beast he encountered just a few minutes ago.
He quickly got up and closed the curtains behind, just as Scorpius entered his section, cutting off Gavin's investigating look. 'Jarvey', 'Jobberknoll', he rapidly flipped through the book, almost tearing the pages out, 'Tebo' and finally 'Thestral'. The illustration looked so real that he almost expected it to pop out of the page.
There was no mistake in the emaciated bony figure, dragon-like face, expressionless white eyes that lacked pupils, and of course the big leathery black wings, similar to those of bats. He began to scan the page with a beating heart- '…Despite being gentle in nature they get their bad reputation by the fact they can only be seen by those who had witnessed death'.
By the time he managed to fall asleep his dreams were filled with the ugly black creatures. Now they scared him to death, their skeletal heads rushing forward to devour him. But Right before the beak-like mouth closed, the picture changed into the distorted tree, only this time he plainly saw fingers where the branches should have been. Then it was the wet greenish hall, the fingers turned into hands protruding from the bottom, drowned people trying to save themselves…
"Al, what are you doing here?", Brennan asked, a second before he was hit by a green light in his chest, silently falling back and disappearing into the darkness. He turned and found James behind. And just before his brother aimed the curse at him, he noticed that it was his own wand he used…
Albus woke up, covered in cold sweat. His dream may have quickly evaporated, but the green spark remained well engraved in his view, even throughout the day. The double herbology lesson, temporarily held in a classroom on the second floor, with which his day started, not aiding his unique sight.
He couldn't bring himself to concentrate, and got his face splashed with a considerable amount of 'Stinksap' from the 'Mimbulus Mimbletonia' he worked on. He spat some of the dark green liquid out, his nostrils filled with the harsh smell of rancid manure.
"Tergeo", Professor Longbottom cleaned the mess, "Crass it, don't stab it", he repeated to the class. At least Albus wasn't laughed at as half of the students already experienced the same thing. Aidan tried however, only to get his face blasted for the third time by the small, grey, pulsating, squirming, boils covered, cactus like plant.
"Remember, sometimes gentle touch is needed", the Professor exclaimed at the end of the lesson as the grumbling students made their way out, "And 30 points for both Scorpius and Rollo, who managed to get through the lesson without any mishap". The trollish boy was so surprised he succeeded to earn points that his legs collided, and he stumbled onto the floor.
Albus advanced to Longbottom, Scorpius and Violet waiting for him near the entrance, feeling as if he's in a stable with all the manure smell around. "I'm sorry for my outburst yesterday", Albus bowed his head, meaning not a word of what he said. "It's fine, just don't let it happen again", the Professor answered, absentmindedly patting his own Mimbulus Mimbletonia, which in his case was the size of a watermelon.
"Have you talked to my brother?", Albus hoped he wasn't pushing his luck, and saw Longbottom wondering the same thing. "Maybe you should do it, you two are brothers after all", there was no point in this, Albus understood and turned to go. "By the way, despite the rumors, your brother wasn't caught doing stunts even once this year, maybe you should learn from him".
He definitely needed to learn from him how not to get caught, Albus thought. "Say, Professor", he couldn't stop himself, "Doesn't It seem odd to you that he wasn't caught even once when last year you could've filled a scrapbook out of all his penalties?". Longbottom was about to angrily answer for raising this issue again, but then he paused to ponder about it.
Albus didn't stay to see this, however, knowing he wouldn't be able to keep his composure. He saw that Scorpius and Violet wanted to question him about it, yet they both kept silent, already knowing that communication with him in this attitude will only end in a squabble.
The rest of the day moved painfully slow, especially the history of magic lesson afternoon, in which he spent reading the book about the magical beasts, specifically the section about the thestrals (though learning about all their special attributes didn't aid his mood). In their flying lesson, the last of that day, he saw Gifford leaning aside and slipping from his broom in a rather comical way, and felt nausea when he involuntary chuckled, Violet's laughter next to him ringing in his ears.
Despite the cold, his escape to the pool at the end of the day was a welcome change. Albus made his way back and forth, at high enough speed so his muscles wouldn't freeze. Finally, he rested right in the middle of the water, heavily inhaling, watching the gloomy light penetrating the tall windows, the rustling sounds from the statues at the vertices giving him much necessary tranquility.
He now discovered that he could see animals that only people who observed death could see (something he was pretty sure he would remember); before that it was the mysterious hatch that suddenly vanished; and before that finding out that his brother bullied other students yet still managed to get away with it; and the letter before that; and the wand- he almost forgot about the wand…
"You're awful, you know that?", for a moment Albus thought it was his conscious talking to him, until he realised it was a feminine voice. He panicked and swallowed fair amount of water, wildly looking around. And, to his absolute horror, found the prefect Campbell standing just in front of the bench on which his clothes were (he only had his underwear on).
"What do you want?", he coughed, feeling his face heating up despite the cold. "Do you even know how to float?", her face twisted, creating a grinning smile. "What? You're kidding me, right?", he angrily asked, wading around, he had no patience for it, especially now.
"Be careful with that tone of yours, or I'll go…", Desdemona glanced back at his clothes, "…and take some souvenirs with me". Albus believed her, so, he took in a deep long breath, "What do you mean?", he requested as politely as possible. "Lie on your back and try to get your toes to protrude out of the water", she tilted her head in mockery.
Albus waited in disbelief but hurried to do as told when she turned to pick up his clothes. Turns out it was much harder than it sounded, "Investing more power in it won't help", she said after five full minutes in which he miserably failed, "You need to stiffen and relax your body at the same time, reach an inner balance!".
Albus took a deep breath and loosened himself, and for a few seconds he did manage to make his whole body float. "You can't learn just from books", she sat on the bench, examining his wand. "Hey, let it go!", he forgot about the exercise and tried to get to the edge as fast as he could. But his body wasn't ready for the sudden movement, and he again accidentally gulped water.
"Here, let me help you…", she wickedly smiled and aimed his own wand against him, "Ascendio!". There was no need for Albus to evade- nothing happened. "Hmm… Aguamenti! Aqua Eructo! Periculum?", she tried a few more spells aloud, but once more to no avail.
"You know? Maybe you're not a squib. Maybe you just have a terrible wand…", she tossed it back onto the bench and left the hall, leaving Albus with yet another question to contemplate about.
