Chapter 16- Revel in the Dark

Two more months flew by, at such speed that Albus could have sworn he hadn't even gotten off the train when he was already on his way back for the Easter vacation. Now, whenever his brother ignored him as they crossed each other he wondered whether the reason for it was because he couldn't look into his eyes. It was amazing how hard it was to talk to him, despite knowing that he had knowledge about at least half of his questions.

"I can't believe they gave us homework for the holiday", Violet irritably reshuffled her chocolate frog cards (she had nine in total now, five of which of Morgana), "It's supposed to be a vacation". "Well, after we get back there will be our end-of-year tests, and those are very critical", Scorpius nodded in self-importance.

"No, they're not", she snickered, "We're only first-years, we only have to worry if we genuinely can't do magic", she understood what she said and glanced at Albus in concern. "It's okay, you're right", he turned his wand in his hands, checking the cracks along its shaft, "Some basic level should be required".

Albus put it back in his pocket, "So, do you have something interesting planned for the holiday?", he shifted the subject. "Potions", Scorpius shrugged, "My stepfather builds a shed and wants my help", Violet sighed. "What about your other sisters?", the pale kid wondered. "The oldest one is six", she returned her cards to her beg, "And she can't even colour her drawings without getting out of the lines".

She held out her hand forward, letting Umbra sniff it before the cat went to sit on Albus' lap, "What's your plans?", she asked him. "Not much", he shrugged as well, "There's a special event that both my parents need to attend, so we probably won't do too much together".

"At least you'll have time to work on the potion essay", Scorpius tried to encourage him, "Right, at least I have that to look forward to", Albus rolled his eyes, scratching the cat behind its ears. Their compartment gate opened with a sudden blast, sending Umbra to hide under the sit.

In the doorway stood Gifford, who looked like a human-shaped stretched pink balloon, and Harry Dehoff, with tiny nose and big ears- mousy looking than ever. "Oh, it's you", the inflated kid turned and continued down the corridor, leaving the entrance as it is behind him, the small kid following him like a squire, his hands full of pamphlets.

"So, that's the big event he's opening?", Violet asked. "Yes, the official establishing of the 'International Magic Society'", Albus recited and got up to the entrance, seeing Gifford handing out invitations in the booth next to them. "I wouldn't want to go even for money", he closed the door, feeling unwell- were they really left alone because of his brother?

"Maybe it's because we're from Slytherin? I heard he didn't invite anyone else from our house either", Violet guessed. Albus looked at her, puzzled, he told her in detail what his brother done to the kid, after all, several times. "Well, people have a prejudice against us, and who can blame them?", Scorpius tried to lure Umbra out with his shoelaces, "The first thing they hear about us is the name of the first known muggle hater".

"That's rubbish!", Albus heated up, angrily sitting down, causing the cat, who just peered its nose out, to return to the shadows, "You've read Hogwarts: A History, right?". "Yes, why?", Scorpius frowned, not understanding the sudden anger. "Remember why Hogwarts is built where it is?", "Because they sacrificed people there?", "Not any people, wizards, countless of them", "But it's unclear how many of them were actually wizards, if at all…"

"I don't get it", Violet turned her purple eyes from the landscape, which begun to urbanize, towards Albus, "What does Slytherin had to do with it?". "Think, if you didn't know what magic is, and someone came to take your child away to teach him that, what would you have done?".

She pondered for a few moments, "I guess I would've chased him away with a pitchfork...", Violet eventually grinned. "Exactly, the wand was only invented around this period, magic wasn't developed as it is now, and there was no international statute of wizarding secrecy", Albus stated. "Of course, Slytherin didn't want to accept muggles, given that many of them were actively trying to hunt us down", he finished in a winning tone.

"I'll remember saying that the next time someone will call him a muggle hater", she shrugged, turning her purple eyes back to the outside view. Albus didn't know what to say so he as well compromised by looking out, watching the buildings getting taller and taller. "Perhaps you're right", Scorpius scratched his pointed chin, "Though we still can't know for sure".

The train started to slow as they neared London. "Are you finally going to ask your brother about the hatch?", the pale kid asked as he fished Umbra from under the sit. Albus almost forgot about it, his obsession long gone, though he did still perpetrate several more failed searches. His mind was thoughtfully occupied by his wand now, something he completely kept to himself.

While reading about thestrals (something he swore Scorpius to tell no one about, especially Brennan) he occasionally glanced at books about magical instruments; as he practiced on the candle, he tried to whisper spells every few minutes; even when he swam, he put the wand near the edge of the pool, compulsively checking the cracks alongside it every time he finished a heat.

And in his dreams, between the twisted tree and the greenish space, his wand begun taking a central part. Forever appearing in his brother's hand, who aimed green beams to his direction, and this of Brennan, and Scorpius, Violet, even Lily… "I'll think about it", Albus said knowing that his brother would probably only agree if he apologized, or something else in that style. And he preferred to drink a pool full of the stinking 'Stinksap' before doing so.

"I don't understand what the problem is. Just ask him!", Violet got up and stretched as the train approached the station. "No, I can't just go and ask him", Albus venomously answered, "You know what he does… He's just… Evil!". "Oh, come on, don't exaggerate...", she waved him off.

"I thought you hated him more than all of us…", Albus said in disbelief. "Yeah, he's a jerk", she rolled her eyes, "But not evil, like Volemart", "Voldemort", Scorpius corrected Violet, struggling to place Umbra inside her carriage. "He's on the right track", Albus didn't gave up- both of them seemed to miss the point.

She chuckled. "What?", Albus angrily asked as the train began to slow down at the station, students already filling up the corridor. "Nothing, it's just that a second ago you had an entire speech explaining why someone wasn't evil hundreds of years ago, but you now can't even look objectively at your own brother".

"It's not the same thing...", he murmured as they got off the train, unable to find a satisfactory answer, "Not to mention that Giff did lose some weight…", Violet added to Albus' absolute shock. But before he could respond she already moved on, "Hello, Hope", she waved to a woman on the platform who was clearly her mother.

She was relatively young, a small golden necklace with a cross around her neck, with the same flowing bright hair, beautiful face and soft porcelain skin as her daughter, taller than her in less than a head, although unlike her, her eyes were brown. "Hello, Violet", there was a bit of awkwardness as they kept some distance, "And you must be Scorpius, you helped my daughter quite a lot", she politely shook his hand and then turned her gaze to Albus.

"And you're Harry Potter's son, aren't you?", she asked in a quiet voice, her tone abruptly changing. "That's right, I'm Albus", he as well shook the delicate hand, not surprised she knew who his father was. "Your dad is a great man, you know that?", her look remained fixed on his, and he had a hard time keeping eye contact, "Yes, I'm told that quite a bit", he felt his ears heating up.

"And here's my dad…", Scorpius backed off into the crowd, "Bye, see you soon", he joined the man who looked so much like him, who briefly hugged him, his grey eyes intently scanning Albus. He also wanted to go and search for his family, but something small tackled him before he could do so.

"I… missed you… so much…", Lily hugged him so tightly that all the air escaped his lungs, barely able to utter words amidst her sobs, her face rad as her hair. "Give him some space kid, you'll crush him", Ron appeared, Rose and Hugo (who gnawed on a half-melted ice cream cone with half closed eyes) on either side of him, "You're like my mum", he separated her from Albus like nail from wood.

"Sorry", she calmed down a bit, only to repeat the same thing when James came into view. "Barmy", Ron ousted, impatiently playing with his thick mustache. It was the first time since their last vacation in which Albus had seen his brother up close- he looked tired, and something of his charm was gone, probably from his spectacular failure in the last game, he satisfyingly thought. But he had to admit, the warmth he presented for their sister seemed genuine.

By the time the group started advancing towards the exit, Violet and her mother, as well for Scorpius and his father, were already gone. Ron, holding his daughter's bags, glanced in the direction of Albus and James, who ignored each other, but said nothing as they left the station.

The trip to his house was short thanks to a great deal of wild driving, and by the time they got out of the vehicle (whose interior was enlarged using magic) they all seemed storm-hit (except for Hugo, who enjoyed every moment). "Sorry munchkins, but I'll have to leave now, someone at my work just quit and now I need to cover for him", he led them inside the house, instructing them about their rooms.

"… and don't destroy anything, because then I will have to destroy you, or worse, Hermione will destroy me", he finished, taking away their wands (Albus felt is if he was separated from a loved one) and stepped away from the house, stopping at the edge of the trimmed grass. "Rose, you're in charge until the adults arrive", he shouted before appariting away with a loud crack.

The house, which was located on the edge of a small and peaceful village, was tall and narrow and while not as large as the estate of Albus' parents, still was spacious enough for each of the children to have his own room. It had four floors and no less than five different libraries.

There was the main one, the secondary one (to hold all the books the first one couldn't), Hermione's private one, Rose's private one and another room (which could hardly be considered a library, holding only a single untouched book), into which no girls (specifically Hermione and Rose) were allowed to enter.

As soon as his uncle left, Albus, similar to his niece, immediately made his way to the secondary library to finish all his school assignments in order to free up the rest of his break; Hugo went to try and break into the pantry and Lily and James went for a walk outside.

He worked quickly, investing the exact amount of effort necessary to get a passing grade, knowing that it probably wouldn't matter if he will fail to use his wand. He forcibly pushed out this thought, managing to finish his homework as soon as the twilight hours begun.

Now, in the quickly spreading darkness, he tried to light the elf wax, which was almost finished at this point. But he still failed at it, unable to create even a grain of warmth. He took in a deep breath and stopped himself from throwing away the candle out of frustration. He couldn't use the wand but could still perform magic, and, when he did it, it was in a way that no one understood. Why did everything have to be so complicated with him?

"Albus, are you here?", his sister stood at the entrance to the secondary library, "Why are you sitting in the dark?". "I was just trying to concentrate on something, not that I would succeed now", he couldn't help but be a little irritated at her for stopping his train of thought, "Turn on the light". She did as he asked, blinding him for a few moments with the strong glare.

In an attempt to integrate into their muggle environment, Hermione put electronic lights in their house, and Albus, who was used to normal lamps, felt it flickering and glistening, causing pain in the back of his head. He blinked several times, trying to get rid of the bulb shape printed into his corneal.

"You're done with James, so you finally decided to drop by?", he asked in a harsher tone than he meant, "What do you want?", he tried to utter the end of his sentence in a softer manner. Albus turned around when no answer came and found Lily standing at the entrance with tears in her eyes.

But it was clear that, unlike him, it wasn't due to the sudden light. "I'm so sorry", he quickly got up and hugged her, "I didn't mean to talk to you that way". "It's not that", she wiped her eyes and went to sit with him at the book-laden table, "It's just that you and James are still fighting".

Albus' heart fell, how exactly was he supposed to explain to her why it happened? "It's complicated, I don't think you'll understand", he said. "Are you still mad that he punched you after his first loss?". "I... Is that what he told you?", Albus was surprised she knew that piece of information, feeling shame creeping into his heart, is that what his brother thought of him?

"I don't think you know all the details...", if his sister wanted to mend his feelings towards his brother she undoubtedly failed, if anything making things even worse. "Well, at least he tells me everything", she stated, "Unlike you!", her voice was full of admonition now.

She stared at him, her brown eyes filled with frustration, "You didn't write to me even once!". His sister was the gentlest person Albus happened to know, and it was the first time he had seen her that angry, discovering that she became red faced exactly like their mother.

"Listen, I have a lot of things on my mind...", "James sends me a letter every week, what's your excuse?". Albus would have been less surprised if his brother would had devoted himself for worldwide peace. "I'm glad to see you think he's so perfect", he felt his anger slithering up, "Did he also wrote to you what he does in his spare time?".

"Yes, he did, in fact!", she got up, hands on her waist, just like a miniature copy of Ginny, "He's looking after you!". "Come on!", Albus also jumped to his feet, his hands tingling, "How stupid can you be?". "Don't call me stupid!", she yelled and stormed out, stomping her little feet like a petulant child.

Albus blinked several times toward the entrance, where the flash of his sister's red hair had just disappeared. It was the first time he fought with her- in fact, it was the first time he seen her fighting at all. His anger quickly turned to a deep remorse, so heavy on him that he fell back into his chair. The candle, he noticed, was lit, and as he looked, the wax ended, taking the small flame with it.

"Albus, here you are, haven't you heard us?", for a moment he thought his sister came back, but it was his mother who hugged him, "Come on, everyone is downstairs", she said in a tired voice. She pulled him down, where his father and Hermione waited. "Hey Albus", his father let go of James and went to hug him as well- he seemed as exhausted as Ginny. "Are you as well done your homework?", Hermione, who held Rose, asked.

"Well done", she said when he weakly nodded, unlike his parents, she looked energetic and full of life. Albus couldn't have opened his mouth even if he wanted to, seeing his siblings entering the kitchen without looking at him, everything else a blur in his eyes.

"Are you okay?", asked his father, clasping Albus' shoulder with his strong hand. It felt as if he was pulled out of deep water, "Yes, I'm just tired from all the work I've done", he answered and followed the rest into the dining room, feeling the stinging stare at his back as he pretended everything was fine.

Ron also appeared in no time and quickly saved the rest from starvation with his subpart cooking while Hermione reprimanded their son for emptying half of their pantry. "How could you even eat so much?", she asked aloud, her hair becoming frizzier, as if filled with static electricity, "There was enough food in there for a week at least!".

Hugo just bowed his head in shame, there was nothing he could say to defend himself, given that there were still pumpkin pasties' remains on his shirt. "Leave it, he's a growing kid", his uncle wearily said, turning the omelet he worked on into a scrambled eggs as he failed to properly flip it, "Shout at him tomorrow, no one has the energy for it right now".

"Great help, you are!", she angrily said, but let their son go. "C'mon Ron! Move your nose, I'm starving", Ginny held her stomach as she sat next to her daughter, "I don't know if I survive if the rest of the days will be like that". "There's the field meals…", Harry sat next to Albus, and then noticed his wife's face, "…Right, you'll rather starve. I always forget how much of connoisseurs your family is…"

"Here you go", Albus' uncle added sliced sausages to the pan and passed a plate just under her own nose, putting it right in front of Lily. "This event is too important to pass over", Hermione said, going over Rose essays and writing remarks aside. "You sure paid a lot of attention to Altum today…. Didn't take your eyes off him even for a second…", Ron passed another plate out of his sister reach, into James' hands.

"Mr. Mites had some pretty interesting pointes to contribute", her brown hair again frizzled, though now it was combined with a bit of blush. "The only thing pretty about him is his face", Albus' father got the next plate and passed it to his wife, "The one we really need to hear from is Fort, and he hadn't said a word yet".

"You're just jealous because he's handsomer than you", his friend finished handing out food to everyone, putting a double serving to Hugo (who devoured what was on the plate as if he hadn't eaten in a week). "Maybe so, but I'm still more popular than him", Harry smiled.

The pain in the back of Albus' head intensified, the light was too bright for his liking, and the laughter of those around the table resonated between his ears like a bell. He finished his dish quickly and excused himself early, tiptoeing out right as Chalk tiptoed in, looking like a big fluffy snowball, his whiskers vibrating as he smelled the air in interest.

He slowly walked and collected his books from the library, returning them to his room. There were many things on his mind, but the thing that bothered him most at the moment was his sister- what was he supposed to say to her so she wouldn't be mad at him anymore? He pondered about it, starting to ascend the stairs, when shouts came from below.

"So, you decided to just break your broom, and now you think we'll just buy you a new one because we can?", his mother's voice was heard. "Al handed his to this Scorpius kid, I didn't see you having problem with it", James roared back. There was a sound of a loud smack, "Don't you dare talk to your mother that way!", now it was his father's voice, "At least he didn't break it".

Albus wanted to get closer to the commotion, to hear in more detail what was going on, when his sister came up. "Hey", she nervously said, "Sorry I yelled at you earlier...". "It's okay", Albus didn't hear anymore voices from below, but his mood still significantly improved, "I deserved it- I shouldn't have called you stupid". He stepped forward and hugged her once more, "And I promise to send you letters every week, okay?", she again burst into tears.

The rest of the vacation passed quickly as the parents spent most of their time in the multiday event for the newly formed organization. The children of the other uncles came and went at times, with those in charge being the older ones (usually Victoire). Whatever it was, Albus thought while searching for more information on wands and thestrals in the main library, it was probably a bigger event than he initially assumed, being the only thing to come up whenever the adults spoke.

It was probably why they hadn't noticed that he and his brother had not yet spoken, although now, unlike in Hogwarts, they exchanged increasingly angry glances with each passing. With Lily, however, Albus had no more quarrels, and he spent many hours with her and her magical plants collection, revealing his sister many herbology tips he remembered from Scorpius.

He decided he would have to talk to his brother before the end of the holiday, knowing he might not have a chance to do so afterwards (especially if he wouldn't continue to the next year). And so, little by little, a plan came to him, and he practiced it in the considerable free time he had, investing in it the effort that usually went for swimming and candle training. But still, whether for a lack of opportunity or fear, he didn't get to execute it until the night before the trip back to Hogwarts.

Everyone was downstairs, enjoying the end of the exhausting event, and Albus, who was bothered by all the noise, made his way to the secondary library to continue his research on the black winged horses. There he found his brother, who uncharacteristically spent most of the holiday alone, hunched over his tattered parchment, hiding it under a heavy book as soon as he noticed him.

"Go away!", those were the first words he had said to him in the past six months. "I don't think so", Albus annoyingly smiled, knowing it will anger his brother, "I think you should go away", he hoped he wouldn't notice the tremor in his voice. James stood up and menacingly cracked his neck, "…And here I thought you learnt by now", he shook his head in mock disappointment.

"I'm surprised your neck manages to carry your huge head", Albus knew he didn't have a chance in a direct fight with his brother, who was not only stronger and faster than him, but as well much more experienced. "It's you who don't understand that it isn't your job to 'teach'...", he put the word in quotation marks, "... people".

He felt the tingling in his fingertips- he was ready! James begun to move towards him, yet before he could even take a single step Albus concentrated on the light bulb above. He felt electricity much more than he felt fire- in a way its flow reminded him of water.

Focusing on what he had been practicing for the past two weeks, he increased the current and caused the light bulb above to explode, installing an instant darkness in the room. This required from Albus more energy than he intended, and he almost fell from exhaustion, but he did manage to control himself enough to direct a short run towards his unsuspecting brother, blindly tackling him to the ground.

He heard the air coming out of his brother's lungs as he fell and concentrated all his strength towards his right arm, into a fist pointing to where James' head was. The pain he felt in his hand as it collided with something hard managed to awake him a little from the instability he was in.

He once more tried hitting his brother, but James threw him aside as if he was nothing more than a rag doll. Albus rolled to the floor, trying to stand on wobbly legs, still exhausted from the energy he invested in blowing up the bulb. He then sensed more than saw the movement towards him and managed to move aside just before his brother's fist crashed into his face.

He couldn't stop the fear that suddenly spread in his heart. What was he thinking to himself? All of his preparations were for his initial confrontation, but he didn't plan for what will happen next. "What's going on? Why is it dark in here?", Hermione's voice suddenly came as she pressed the button light, "Reparo!".

The glow returned to the library, though this time Albus managed to close his eyes before being blinded. Still weak, he was about to sit in the chair behind, when suddenly he remembered that he was still in the middle of a fight, turning quickly towards his brother.

But James didn't seem interested in continuing the quarrel in the presence of adults. "Sorry, the bulb burned out and we couldn't find our way in the dark", he said as if nothing happened. Hermione suspiciously glanced at them, especially at Albus, who tried not to breathe too heavily.

"Well, your grandfather bought us these, I told him there was some problem with them", she finally said, "I came to tell you to go to bed", she announced in her matter-of-fact tone and turned to go. Albus almost called her back, expecting his brother to pounce on him the moment she was gone.

But to his surprise, James just crookedly smiled, "I was beginning to think you didn't have it in you", he grinned, his teeth stained with blood. Albus clenched his hands, feeling a jolt of pain from where his hand met his brother's face, and needed all of his strength not to fall back onto the chair.

"What do you know about the hatch in the dungeons?", it was probably his only opening to ask about it. His brother quietly arranged his belongings, quickly rolling the ragged parchment into his pocket before Albus could see it in detail. He already thought he wouldn't talk to him when the answer came, a moment before he left.

"Why ask me? Ask Mortimer, he's the one who spends his time there", he continued to his room just as Albus finally collapsed.