*Runs in, drops off a chapter, dashes out with a wink. ;p

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Now on to the chapter!

Chapter 13

December 10th Continuation

Tuesday

~oOo~

Albus Potter's POV

"James! Fred! Wait up!"

The two seventh years stopped and turned to look back as Albus came jogging up behind them. He was still tired from practice and was not in the mood to be running around the entire castle looking for his relatives, but he had lost track of James and Fred after practice and finding them was crucial.

"Where's the fire?" Fred asked as Albus came to a stop in front of them, panting hard.

"Currently walking hand in hand up the stairs," Albus muttered darkly.

"What?"

Albus shook his head, "Nevermind. I need to ask you something."

Fred grinned, looking far too pleased, "It's gonna cost ya. This masterpiece of a mind doesn't give out knowledge for free." Albus rolled his eyes. "What do you need? Prank ideas? Clothing advice?" Fred looked him over, "Scratch that; A whole makeover." Albus scowled, "Girl advice?"

Albus blushed. They knew about Abby and teased him about it every chance they got.

"Still pinning after that Finn girl are you?" Fred's grin widened.

"No, and that's not what I was talking about." Albus shot back before Fred got any of his brilliant ideas, "I need you guys to call a meeting."

James crossed his arms over his chest. "Why? You know today is busy for the group. We all had Quidditch practice, duelling club is tonight, and most of us had back to back classes today. What's so important that we need a meeting now?"

Albus sighed irritably. It was too much to explain off the bat but he just knew that he had to call this meeting and tell everyone what had happened.

"Listen," he said, "Something has happened and I need you to call a meeting."

James shrugged, "You're not telling me why so I can't help you, Al. Everyone's busy, we can't just call meetings for no good reason."

"It's about Rose."

That was all it took, Fred's hand disappeared into his pocket and out came the calling coin.

He handed it to Albus.

As the coin was placed in Albus's palm it glowed warm and bright, it's rough gold edges looking softer in the light. The gold was heavy and uneven, having been through years of hell in Fred's back pocket and bookbag; this being said it still worked perfectly.

With his wand in hand, Albus pressed the tip to the coin and wrote out what he needed to. Three words glowed white in the middle, written out in Albus's neat and compact handwriting. Short and simple just how he liked it.

Meeting now. Al.

Around the edge of the coin numbers going from one to ten lit up white like the middle; Al tapped his wand to number three and the light faded from it, leaving the rest glowing brightly.

Albus felt his pocket heat up as his own coin warmed to alert him to the meeting. Two seconds later the coin was cold and dull again in his palm, looking very much like a normal galleon but a bit bigger.

"Thanks," Albus said, handing back the master coin to Fred, who slipped it into his pocket.

Fred nodded, no longer smiling. "Anything for Rosy."

~oOo~

Still Ablus POV

The hall was quiet. Being in the far back of the castle, surrounded by abandoned classrooms like it was, no one ever came down here. Not even the night patrol.

Albus, James, and Fred walked down the corridor, their feet knowing the well-worn path. The doors they passed were all marked. Classroom 17, 18, 19, 20, 21. Ablus counted them out in his head as they went, before coming to a stop at the very end of the hall. The three stood in front of a statue, grey and worn with age, it was of a woman.

Albus supposed that she had once been beautiful, if he looked hard enough he could see it, her regal features, her slim and perfect body, her hair long and rich, but now that was all gone. The statute had slowly been flecked away, people touching the stone, dust, water, air. All this had slowly turned the once gorgeous work of art into a barely recognizable human.

He barely looked at her though as he moved to slip behind her, having seen this figure for far too long to linger now.

It was a tight fit behind the statue with all three of them but they managed. Behind the woman seemed to be nothing but a stone wall, it's surface rough and hard to the touch. However, if one were to look closely they would see a fine line, barely visible, running from the floor to just above Albus's head, across, and back down again. Essentially making a door out of the stone.

This was one of Albus's favourite places. A place formed for one purpose. So a rowdy group of friends could meet and plan mayhem. A group that was widely known throughout the castle.

The Gremlins.

Albus raised his hand and tapped on a slightly more worn part of the wall, making an odd hollow sound emit. A moment passed then a small slice of the stone near the top of the door pulled away and a pair of brown eyes greeted him.

"Password," came the voice.

"T.L 1998," The year their founder, Teddy Lupin was born.

The stone panel was pushed back in and a moment later the sound of a bolt was heard before the door was opened.

It was like stepping into a different world.

The room glowed in bright light, a sharp contrast to the darkness of the hall. The hidden tunnel had been changed completely from its original state. During the Battle of Hogwarts, this tunnel had collapsed and had never been fixed. Years later Teddy and his mates had put it upon themselves to transform the collapsed tunnel into a meeting room for their new group.

After months of work, they had managed to spell away the dirt and rubble, secure the ceiling and walls so they would not collapse again and make the room livable and comfortable. Shelves lined two out of four of the semi-square walls, giving ample space to store things. The third wall had desks lining it with tools neatly tacked up above them, though there were still quite a few lying around on top of the surfaces. The fourth wall was the front of the room, it was covered mostly with a large blackboard, and on either side, there were whiteboards on stands. The floor around it was raised about an inch off the ground, causing it to be a platform.

Chairs, bean bags, stools, couches and a coffee table or two littered the space in the middle of the room. As well as about half a dozen people.

Above this all, mounted on the wall directly opposite the door so one couldn't help but see it when walking in, was a sign.

The Gremlins it read in big red letters, and below that was a family tree of sorts. It had pictures of all the Gremlins before them, their name, birthday, and signature below there faces. Albus glanced briefly at his face before looking down again.

Augustine Bell closed the door after Albus, James and Fred stepped in, his green and silver Quidditch uniform making him look like a guard as he stood straight and still at his post; his job was to guard the door and make sure no one got in who wasn't supposed to. There had been an incident a couple of years back concerning a non-member and polyjuice, but that story was for another time.

Albus scanned the room, taking note of who was present and who had yet to show up.

Al spotted Lily near the back of the room in her usual seat on the beige couch with Eva Gray a third year Hufflepuff next to her. Katy Bagshot a fifth year Hufflepuff sat on one of the workbench stools, talking with Annabel Mattews a fifth-year Slytherin.

Almost everyone normal was present, except for Will Clark a seventh year Ravenclaw and Scorpius.

"Alright now we're just waiting on Will and Scor," Katy announced, leaning back against the workbench and taking a swig of her butterbeer.

"Scorpius isn't coming," Al stated simply as he walked across the room to grab a butterbeer for himself.

Annabell frowned at him as he walked up beside her to grab a drink, blowing her honey coloured bangs out of her eyes, "Why isn't Scorpius coming?"

Al popped the cap off his drink and took a long swig. The liquid made him warm the instant he swallowed. He fixed his gaze on the large window pointing to the back side of Hogwarts castle, instead of on her face. "Because I didn't tell him there was a meeting."

Katy gave out a little huff, her dark brown eyes boring a hole into Al's head. That girl had never liked him, the two always butting heads. "Well, why not? You called the meeting, you needed to tell everyone." She sighed dramatically. "We're going to have to go get him now."

"I'll go!" Eva pipped in, Albus almost rolled his eyes as her enthusiasm.

"There's no need," he said, scanning the room and its occupants. "I didn't invite him on purpose."

"What? Why?" James, who had taken up residence on one of the many bean bags, sat forward and stared in confusion at his brother. "Are you guys fighting again?"

Albus scowled at him and took another swig of his drink, "Yes and no."

Before he could explain there was a knock at the door and Augustine moved to get it. A moment later Will Clark was walking into the room. He was breathing hard, looking like he had run all the way there from the Ravenclaw tower.

"Sorry, I'm late." He panted, grinning and placing his hands on his hips while he breathed deeply. "Got hit by the end of day crowd."

Will was an unusual one. He had been a close friend to the Potter boys since they were little, but Albus had yet to fully understand him. He was a mess of contradictions. He was the first person to point out the risks to every prank and then be the first volunteer in the hair-brained mischief. He would have the most care-free easy-going personality and then turn around and call you to task with his voice of reason. Even his appearance was a contradiction; strong chiselled jaw with pretty-boy long blonde curly hair. Stern mature posture and childlike playful blue eyes. Will, the walking contradiction, one never could be sure with that boy.

Albus waved his hand in a dismissing manner at his friend, "it's fine, you're here now." Will nodded and moved to grab a drink from the cooler.

"Alright," Fred said leaning forward, "you said this had something to do with Rose. Spill."

The look on everyone's faces were ones of confusion. Albus was surprised. It was not like this was the first meeting called about Rose. There had been many meetings where the group had planned to separate her from all the unsuitable idiots at Hogwarts. This shouldn't be confusing, even if the idiot this time was Scorpius.

"What?" Annabel asked.

Albus held his hands up for silence. He looked over at James and Fred. "Can I take to the floor?"

James gestured with his hand, inviting him to step up onto the raised floor that James or Fred usually used to explain their plans.

Albus stood on the platform, took a deep breath, then began to explain what he had seen. He explained how he had found them after practice leaning in too close as if they were about to kiss. How he had yelled and they had guiltily separated. How Scorpius had escorted Rose back to the castle on his arm and that they had even held hands as they walked up the stairs. Al then went on to explain about how Scorpius had been fixed on Rose so much in the last week that he was barely listening to a word Al said anymore. Scorpius was becoming rapidly more captivated by her. Too captivated.

"I think they're becoming more than friends now," Albus continued, "That's why I asked you guys here. We need to come up with a plan to convince Rose to...umm... not get into a relationship with Scorpius right now."

It was dead quiet. All eyes fixed on Albus. Then...

"And why would we do that?" Annabel asked.

Albus looked at her like she was crazy. "Because he was trying to bloody kiss her!"

Katy sighed, "Yes, he was about to kiss her and you had to bloody well interrupt. You, Albus Potter," she waved a finger at him, "have to be the thickest headed idiot I have ever met."

Albus opened and closed his mouth a few times, unable to speak.

"I just have a question," Lily said, looking at her brother, her short bob of hair falling into her eyes."Why would we try and convince Rose not to date Scorpius? If that's what she wants then we should leave them alone."

These girls were making Albus's head hurt, he didn't get how they could not understand.

"Because I know Rose," he said finally, making Lily look offended. "I'm not saying you don't know her too lils, what I'm saying is that she's not ready for a relationship with anyone. Plus I doubt if it's really even them, I think it's the Bond, messing with their heads and making them think they want to... well." His face burned red, "You know kiss and stuff."

Annabel scoffed, "Albus you don't know crap about the Bond. Yes, it is having a huge impact on the way they feel but not in the way you think. It's only heightening the feelings that were already there, making things that before seemed small and insignificant seem big and impossible to ignore. It's not making Rose feel anything other than the need to be closer to Scorpius-oh stop being such a prude Albus- anyway, she isn't being forced to do anything that she doesn't truly want, deep down. So if they were going to kiss, then they both wanted to."

"And when did you become an expert on Soul Bonding?" Augustine drawled from his place draped over the couch. Annabel rolled her eyes, "because I can read you bloody twit. Some people actually spend time in libraries researching instead of bribing Ravenclaws to do it for them." The rest of the group snickered while Ausustine scowled.

"Alright but this doesn't change the fact that he was going to kiss her," Fred said, speaking up for the first time.

"Yeah I think we need to go have a talk with blondie and make sure he knows that Rose is off limits," James chimed in. There were a few murmurs of agreement around the group.

"Well, I for one think it's romantic," Eva said, looking around calmly at all their incredulous faces. "What," she asked, "That boy has had the hots for Rose for years."

Albus looked like she had slapped him. "What?!" he squeaked out, seeming to have momentarily lost his ability to speak normally. This conversation was not going the way he expected.

"Oh come on," Katy said, looking around at the gobsmacked boys,"Surely you all noticed him drooling all over that girl. I thought it was bloody obvious."

"I suppose not," Annabel said, smirking. "It took Albus seeing them making out to get it through his head."

"They were not making out!"

"Oh, my goodness, Ro almost made out with Scorpius Malfoy," Katy, squealed, Ignoring Albus's comment completely. The information seeming to have only sunk in now. The girls in the room all started giggling at this and soon they were full out laughing.

"This isn't funny!" Albus said fiercely, looking around at all of them, "Annebell why are you agreeing with them? You were always ready to help keep Rose away from other guys! Why don't you care now?"

The girl, still smiling, shook her head at the raven-haired boy. "Al, I was more than happy to help you keep Rose from dating those shit bags but Scorpius is a good guy. If there is anyone that should be seeing that girl it's him. He can handle her craziness and she can take his impulsive antics. They're good together AND," she looked pointedly at him, "they're Bonded. They're already technically married so him kissing her is hardly a thing to get so worked up about."

"What?" Everyone in the room suddenly fell silent, looked thoroughly stunned and bewildered at this last thing. Albus spluttered. "What do you mean they're married?"

She looked around the room and saw that they all had no clue what she had meant. "My dad works for the Wizengamot as a keeper of the law. When I wrote to him about Scorpius and Rose, he told me all the laws the government has about Bonded couples. For many years the Ministry did not have a good way to categorize Soul Bonded couples. They were not family related by blood and they were not legal adults. Then one time a Soul Bonded couple got into a life-threatening situation, the girl was dying and needed immediate magical surgery to heal her or else he would die instead. Well, since they were technically underage he could not sign the consent for the procedure. He ended up dying because her parents arrived too late. So now all Soul Bonded couples are considered legally emancipated from their parents and have a common-law marriage. They still have the underage trace on them for security reasons, but besides that they are legal adults and married according to the Ministry."

James scrubbed a hand down his face, looking stunned. "Rosy. Married." He snorted, "What a terrifying thought." Will hit his arm.

"They can't be though!" Albus protested, "She would have told me if they were married."

"It's a common-law marriage, not a wedding ceremony marriage. There's a difference."

The group looked non plused. Annebell slumped over onto the couch, giving up on explaining.

"Well, I suppose that settles it." Will said.

James narrowed his eyes at him, "How so?"

Will sighed and shook his head, smirking at him, "James you heard Annie over there. They aren't being pushed to do anything they don't really want. They're married and they're Bonded. Sounds to me that our services aren't needed."

James scowled. "Clark, are you saying that we should just leave her and him alone?" Will rolled his eyes at the sound of his last name.

"Yes," Will said, "that is exactly what I'm saying, Potter." He put extra emphasis on the boy's last name as James had done to him. "I figure after all Rose and Scorpius have gone through that they deserve a little time to just be normal. I'm no expert but I think they need that."

Fred scowled along with James. "Dammit," he cursed, "why do you all have to make so much sense?"

Albus looked on as his last standing allies backed down, leaving him alone and on the losing side. "So none of you will help?"

"Al," Annabel said gently, "I know how protective over Rose you are, but I think it's time you back off a little. They are together now. Maybe not as a couple quite yet but I think it's bound to happen. You need to come to terms with that before it does. They can take care of themselves now."

Albus wouldn't hear it, he shook his head vehemently. "No," he said, "she's not ready for that type of thing, she'll only get hurt."

Fred snorted, "It's not like you're the one to give dating advice Al."

That pushed Albus over the edge. Abby was a sore subject for him and Fred knew it. It was one thing to say something like that in an empty corridor but in front of all of the Gremlins was a step too far. Albus felt the anger spark in him. He had come here for help and had only gotten told off and chastised, his fears and concerns shrugged off. It aggravated him more than normal because this was Rose and no one seemed to care.

Fred seemed to realize his mistake too late. "Al-" He started but Albus cut him off.

"No," He said, shaking his head, his voice tight, "Rose isn't ready. And maybe I'm not the best person to be saying this but I am the only one. So if no one is going to help me I'll have to go on my own." He looked around the room and seeing no one eager to help, he snorted. "Fine. You guys can go, there's nothing else."

He couldn't explain why but he just knew he was right, Rose wasn't ready for this. Albus had made a promise to himself long ago to never let anything happen to her. He had already failed once, letting Rose get worse and worse like that, he wouldn't fail again. Rose was his sister, he loved her like no other, they had been best friends since they were in nappies, inseparable. He couldn't and wouldn't let anyone hurt her. Not even Scorpius. Albus trusted his friend. He did. But not with this, not with Rosy's heart.

He stormed off the podium. "Al come on!" Annabel yelled after him but he didn't stop.

Once outside of the meeting room, Albus had a moment to think while he fast walked back. It didn't take him long to figure out what to do. His plan set in his mind, Albus made a beeline for Gryffindor tower. He had a few girls he needed to talk to.