Chapter 18- Point of No Return
The quidditch end-of-season games neared, and Slytherin, for the first time in more than twenty years, was in the best position to win the trophy (though Ravenclaw still posed a tangible danger to that). The match that preceded it, however, between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, to determine who would be in third place, was much more common in the conversations within the school walls as many tended to point out that it could be the lions first time in more than two hundred years to be at the bottom of the chart.
Unlike before, Scorpius and Violet didn't obsess over this subject, and instead spent most of their free time in the library together with Albus, meticulously researching about blood curses. The pale boy's interest in the matches was now equal to his, but the purple eyes were still often drawn to the clear blue sky outside.
Albus regretted bringing up the idea on a whim- not only did they not come any closer to finding a cure, but as it turned out, the information they needed was out of their reach, located only in the restricted section. None of it deterred Scorpius, however, who tirelessly continued exploring the books to which he had access to.
"You said it's not that awful yet, that there is still plenty of time", Albus whispered, setting aside 'From Damnation to Ovation' and taking the sequel 'From Farce to Curse' into his hands, "Why are you under such pressure to find something so fast then?"."Time cannot be returned", Scorpius' eyes moved so fast on the pages of 'The International Award Winners for Outstanding Magical Studies' they seemed blurred.
"You just read it, haven't you?", Violet, who hasn't progressed past the half of her first book since they arrived, chuckled. She glanced at the page, "Malin Parcel, Amitz Fogel, Arnav Pandey, Chiyeko Ryo… They even sound like nerds…". "My dream is to win this award", he stated, angrily closing the book.
"I didn't say it was a bad thing…", she said aloud but was silenced by the librarian, possibly for the tenth time. "Maybe you should go and freshen up outside, check on how the teams are doing", Albus muttered. "No, I prefer to stay in here", she unconvincingly replied as soon as Mrs. Hill got out of earshot.
He deeply inhaled and gave up on telling her she wasn't helping, knowing Scorpius was more at ease with her around. And after all, he as well had hard time properly assisting him, often finding his mind drifting away mid-paragraph. Albus didn't want to admit it out loud, but since he began feeling the connection with his wand the worry about his school's performance once more took the central part of his priorities.
Both his friends had their strengths and weaknesses, but, given that both were in their first year there was no doubt that they would continue no matter what. He himself, on the other hand, while handling well the written part of the classes, now had to complete a whole year of wand usage.
And it didn't go as well as he expected at first. Now, despite feeling the connection, he hasn't yet been able to produce a worthy magic, the wand serving him more as an antenna to direct his power rather than as a tool to perform specific tasks. Plus, the only thing he managed to do was produce gusts of wind (something he worked on in private), though even the lightest of them exhausted him to such extent he had to lie down as to not to faint.
Albus forced himself to look at it in a positive way, however - slow and tiresome progress was still better than no progress at all. Yet, while his power still didn't make sense, he discovered other ability, even if not that flashy, that was unique to him. After quickly getting used to the feeling of magical current around he slowly begun to differentiate between its versions, and by now he succeeded to safely determine whether it was flowy or choppy.
All of that left him no time (or strength) for swimming. But still, no matter how tired he was, he devoted at least a quarter of an hour every day for finding the hatch in the dungeons, concluding that even if he hadn't understood it before, it was magic that drew him to the place in the first place.
So now, when he reached the clean corridor that had no lamps along its walls, the one with the knight at its end, he knew he was on the right path. It must have been the prefect's making, he thought, as the flow around changed. Unlike the slow and steady magical current in the rest of the school, as if woven into the stone itself, old as it was, the new area radiated a unique feeling, much weaker and unstable.
He checked every nook and cranny of the place and that day he finally found something. His eyes, burning from hours of diligent reading in the library, focused on the rusty statue. The figure was less than forty centimeter high, depicting a kneeling knight, its sword stuck in the pedestal on which it was positioned.
But when Albus touched the weapon, he discovered that it wasn't as stable as the rest. And when he tried to pull it out, he sensed a sudden tension in the air that prevented him from doing so. It was a key, he excitedly realised, yet no matter how much force he applied it still remained properly fixed (maybe only Brennan could've done it?).
"Merlin's beard", he cursed in frustration, and for a second, felt a relief in the air around, though it quickly disappeared. "Word", he said, and the feeling returned- a password was needed for it! "What will Brennan choose?", Albus wondered aloud, looking around as if expecting to find a note nearby, knowing there was something substantial about the whole ordeal he ignored.
"Scorpius! Desdemona! Daisy! Albus?...", he spent an hour there, trying various words, "...Secret! Hatch! Please tell me it's not just password...". He peeved to sentences instead, the curfew time rapidly approaching, "…Seize the day! Grab the future!…", it was a waste of time. In truth, he realised as he made his way back, his head pounding, he knew very little about the prefect.
He would have to try and fish some useful information from Scorpius for that. There were others he could talk to, of course, like Desdemona or Patricia, but he didn't see a situation in which they will sit for an in-depth conversation with him about Brennen, or anything else for that matter.
Though, as it turned out, the pale kid also was not much for use, keeping to himself his relationship with the prefect. In fact, he was so busy with his research he even stopped listening to the lessons and making his assignments, reaching the awkward situation where Violet was the most attentive one out of their trio.
Albus haven't gave up, however, and tried compensating by reaching the new corridor at every free period he had. But even that almost completely ceased as the Professors began handing them homework for the end-of-year exams. At such amount he barely even managed to juggle the prolonged sittings he already had in the library with his wand training, let alone leisure for password speculating.
Yet, not all burdened them equally, there were some, like Doyle of course, who started releasing them even earlier from their classes so they would practice on their own. In fact, the Professor seemed to be completely fed up with teaching, muttering to himself in his whistling voice while scribbling away in his little journal, disturbing the students, especially Belinda, who couldn't stop staring at him.
But it was Pechman who truly surprised everyone. Albus, as the rest of the class, expected the bald Professor to force the students to write so many essays it will cause them to lose feeling in their hands. Yet, instead, he just asked them to read the previous materials as they saw fit.
In fact, Albus thought to himself as he made his way to the owlery to send a letter to his sister, all his behavior had changed entirely. Since returning from the easter vacation he hasn't been mean as before- not shouting at Rollo even once and giving 5 points to Scorpius during one lesson, what was once considered impossible.
"Here, Strix", Albus called his great grey owl from the upper storey and tied the letter to his foot, observing the bird soaring into the sky without making a sound. He wrote to Lily out of duty rather than genuine longing, describing nonsense like the weather and his tests' topics. Although in truth, he refrained from recounting the difficulties with which he faced with everyone, not just her.
He paused and took in the beautiful scenery outside in mental preparation for another long sitting in the library. His eyes scanned the blue shimmering lake, then the dark green forest beyond, and behind them, on the distant horizon, visible only due to the clear air, the grey mountains with their forever snow-covered tips, even in the current heat.
Albus exhaled before reluctantly advancing the stairs, avoiding the bird droppings on the floor, "Oh, hey Freddie", he almost bumped into his cousin. "How's it going?", he asked, trying to stretch the time before he had to bury his head in another moldy dull book.
"Not much, training hard for the match on Sunday", he summoned one of the school owls and tied a letter to its leg. "What about you?", he asked, "How's the progression with the wand?". He sent the bird and turned to him when no answer came, "Rumors move fast around here", he tiredly smiled.
"It's okay, no need to pretend, it interests me as much as my training interests you", he said in response to his mumble. The humid air was filled with embarrassment as they went downstairs together. "I'm still walking around with what you brought me, you know?", Albus tried to break the ice, pulling the magical bottle from his pocket as proof.
"Do me a favor, I don't want to be seen with such stuff next to me anymore. I was punished so much that it has already stopped being fun, and also…", he added as Albus returned it, red faced, "…you should really get rid of it, these things get stronger with time… I'm surprised it hasn't exploded yet to be honest…"
Albus peeked at his cousin's brown face, recollecting how he barely noticed him in the last few months, which was surprising given his outgoing personality. He looked exhausted, almost unrecognizable without his shining smile. Whatever it was, he could have bet on his entire chocolate frog cards' collection that the reason for his dejected behavior wasn't due to Quidditch nor punishments (with which he had a considerable experience in the past). "What's really going on?", he asked.
"You're an astute one, aren't you?", Fred asked in a quiet voice. It took him couple of seconds until he finally answered, "Remember Tristan?". "Tristan?", the name was unfamiliar to Albus, "I'm not sure who it is", he said. "From the store- plump guy, blue eyes, always laughing…", his cousin began describing. "Maybe", Albus shrugged, "I wasn't there like you. Why?".
"He died", Fred looked ahead, "I got the letter this morning". "Sorry to hear", Albus didn't know how to respond. "It's fine, I shouldn't have dropped it on you like that, you hardly knew him anyway", they reached the seventh floor, "And neither do I, to be honest, but it still puts things in perspective, you know?", he turned towards the Gryffindor residence without ousting another word.
Albus shook his head and continued in his way- he couldn't really mourn someone he didn't knew. But, once in the library, he didn't find Scorpius. He searched among the shelves again and concluded that he was probably in their common room. He got out and began to advance down the corridor that led down, passing Brennan on his way.
It took him a few moments until he realised it. "Avē", the prefect greeted him as he turned around to check that he hadn't imagined him, "I was almost afraid you forgot about me". "What are you doing here?", Albus asked surprised, "Scor told me you wouldn't return".
"He's a good boy, I just talked to him, told him everything was better now", he said as Desdemona appeared from the corridor that led down. Her face wasn't as mean as usual, "Do you want to go to the lake?", she asked in a soft voice, ignoring Albus as if he didn't exist.
"Sane", he smirked, "But I'll have to go somewhere else afterwards ". An understanding started to down on Albus as his smile hadn't reached his eyes. "Valē", Brennan patted his shoulder, "There something I need to tell you later ", he quietly ousted before turning towards the sunny lawns.
He wanted to say something in response as the prefect receded, but the words got stuck in his mouth. So, he instead shook his head again and continued down to the common room as if nothing happened. "Assiduous", he called, and the secret opening materialized.
Patricia sat there in silence, her eyes fixed on the fire, Temira and Megaera standing on either side of her like bodyguards, Gabby on the green armchair across (silent for a change). She's his cousin after all, Albus thought as he soundlessly advanced the stairs without disturbing them.
He reached the bottom floor and discovered a scene that made him nauseous- Scorpius crying on his bed as Aidan stooped over him. And they weren't the only ones in the dormitory- Rollo stood aside in confusion; Cullen wrote an essay aside with no interest in his surrounding and Gavin observed everything like a hawk, cruel smirk across his face.
"Come on, you crybaby!", the Irish kid mocked the pale boy, wand in hand, Umbra immobile next to his feet, stupefied, "Just say what happened and I'll leave you alone". He turned his head, just in time to see the incoming fist. Albus' knuckle again ached from the collide, in the same way as what had occurred with his brother.
But it undoubtedly did the job as Aidan fell, grabbing his cheek. A strange thought passed through Albus- that in the same way as in their flying ability, so was that in fighting his comparison to his brother lowered his self-worth. His opponent quickly got to his feet, however, a bit wobbly, but ready to fight.
Cullen laid down his quill and Gavin became even more focused on the event, still with small smile across his face. Only Rollo moved, jumping before Albus like a bodyguard, standing with clenched fists, for a change his stupid expression replaced by that of menace.
Aidan flinched for a moment, but then hurried to raise his wand, "Move, Trolley. I wanted to do this for a long time". "Rollo!", Albus exclaimed, and the little head turned to him, "Thank you!". The boy with the long legs and arms nodded and continued to stand while Albus turned his back and advanced Scorpius, picking up Umbra on his way.
"Hey", he said to the pale boy, placing the animal on his knees, a host of insults being hurled at his back, but without any spells, "All this time you've been trying to cure Brennan's father, haven't you?". Scorpius nodded, wiping his eyes. This was the subject on which he and the prefect bonded over, he now understood.
"Don't waste your time crying", he put a hand on his shoulder. "You said you wanted to be in that book with all of those nerds, didn't you? So, here's a way- find a cure for blood curses", the black cat weakly mewed, "See? Umbra agrees". A small smile emerged on Scorpius' face.
"My mother too will be happy about this ", he said in a quivering voice. "That's the spirit", Albus lightly pressed the pale kid's shoulder, a jolt of pain once more passing through his hand. He ceased his touch and watched as Scorpius reopened his heavy book, patting the cat as it weakly began to move.
Albus then advanced to his section, tapping Rollo's shoulder on his way. He still stood like a guarding troll in front of Aidan, who continued ousting all kinds of colourful curses his way (though now his wand was by his side). Cullen, in the meanwhile, returned his attention to his essay, and Gavin kept staring, the smirk now gone from his face.
He drew his drapes and isolated himself. The only source of light is the greenish rays from the lake, coming through the now clear round hatch. He also went to read, but unlike Scorpius, his eyes were fixed on the first page of the boring history book without seeing anything, his mind empty
"Are you coming to eat? I'm starving", the pale kid eventually inquired through the curtains, seeming to be recovered. "I'll join you later", Albus said, expecting for encouragements to come along but instead being left to his own devise. It left him some clearness of mind as the room emptied, watching the surrounding emerald reflections turn to silver as the sun begun to set.
He pulled out his wand, feeling the connection, that while existing, was weaker now. In fact, repeating the incident in his head, he remembered that unlike the other times he was angry, there was no tingling in his fingers. He opened and closed his palm several times, deep in thought.
Scorpius, Rollo, Brennan, Desdemona, Patricia, Lily, his brother... None of them behaved the way he expected them to. Freddie came to mind- when did he stopped being a clown? It seemed like only yesterday he was handing out explosives to Peeves to sow turmoil at the Halloween dinner. Albus ran the scenario in his head as another thought came to his mind.
He quickly opened his cupboard and pulled out the present he had received from Brennan for his birthday, remembering how happy he was then, how he must have thought everything would be fine... Removing the cover Albus found a tiny beginner's Latin dictionary inside- of course, what else could it ever be but that?
He scanned it in the dim light while going up the spiral staircase and went out the common room, encountering no one on his way. But before he turned to the dining hall he stumbled on the dedication on the last page. 'You'll probably see it after your birthday, but I still wanted to tell you how glad I am you're starting to get along here. I'm sure that by the time you'll read it you've already found your place in the world. After all, like I said to the rest of our house, we are all pass the point of no return'.
Albus froze, running the verse through his head again, remembering how he was told those exact words in this precise place before. Without even thinking, he begun making his way to the other side, deeper into the dungeons. He almost ran until he finally reached the rusty knight, and then, breathless, but ecstatic, he ousted, "The point of no return".
There was a slightly different feeling this time, but still, the sword remained well secured. "Merlin's beard!", he cursed, he was sure he was right on this, "Tristan! Tris! Dad! Parent!...", he kept trying in frustration- to no avail. Apparently, it was the point of return as he was about to head back up.
But he forced himself to stop, taking in a deep calming breath. He stood like that for five minutes in complete silence before a smile came to his face- the answer was literally in his hands, after all. He opened the little dictionary and began to frantically flip through the pages. He finally found it- "'Alea Iacta Est'- The die has been cast. Meaning the point of no return".
Albus grabbed the sword and repeated the words, finally yanking it out from the pedestal, watching in excitement as the wall behind dissolved, revealing a familiar wet corridor. He drifted deeper as by a stream, the moment he had longed for so long finally transpiring.
He stopped before the section of the corridor that contained the secret hatch as if hitting a rock, knowing he was in the right position even though the round shield that showed the dozen-headed snake was no longer there. Albus heavily inhaled, more out of excitement than effort.
For a moment the prefect and what happened to him crossed his mind, but he quickly pushed it aside. "Merlin", he half expected the password here to change as well, but it turned out to remain the same. The gap slowly widened, revealing the small square hatch, again exposing the air to its incomprehensible metallic sounds, softly echoing between the walls.
Now, sensing the magic around, he felt something different from the smooth black sides, something indescribable. Somehow older and stronger than the rest of the structure above- the magic here wasn't woven into the stone, but rather was the stone itself!
The opening begun to close, and, without thinking, Albus moved inside, almost immediately stumbling on the slippery rock. "Ouch", he tried to stabilize himself on the opposite side and lightly cut himself on his hand. The hatch shut, the only light source now remaining is the greenish reflections between the shiny tunnel walls.
A slight feeling of claustrophobia came over him, but he decided to move on- he had gone too far to give up, pass the point of no return! In addition, he didn't know whether the prefect would try once more to prevent him from getting here. With this in mind, he lowered his head and with the utmost caution descended the sloping stairs, almost slipping on every second step.
He didn't know what tools were used to carve the stone (if any), which was a dangerous combination of sharp and smooth at the same time, like countless protruding knifes. As he progressed the passage widened so much that he didn't need to bow his head anymore and the noise became louder, reminding him of moving water, but a bit different. He felt he was close to the bottom, and, unable to wait and see what was down there, accelerated his movements.
The excitement got the better of him and he slipped the last section, just to see the flooded floor at the bottom. Thinking it was deep he instinctively held his breath and sent his arms forward, his wand rolling away, and the magical bottle cracked inside his pocket.
But he didn't sink. Instead, he felt like a cold wind hit his face as deep gash opened in his right hand-it turned out the stone was just below the flooded surface. Albus was about to curse and check his hand when something else caught his eye. Looking up, he felt his breath held in his chest.
A figure stood before him, with battered armor and a half-broken cracked sword. But it was the head that really rocked him- spray hair over a hollow mummified face; dead white eyes blindly aiming forward; unmoving chest, one that probably haven't worked for a millennium...
And there were others behind, shuffling around in the shallow water, revealing where all the noise came from.
