The morning after the party excitement remained in the air, especially after Scorpius told Albus about his card from Teddy and Andromeda.
"It's going to be so cool to have someone to hang around with over summer at the Burrow!" Albus excitedly declared while tucking into his toast at the breakfast table. Rose did a huge fake cough while glaring at Albus.
"Someone for US to hang around with I mean…." Albus corrected, Rose rolled her eyes unconvinced but smiled at Scorpius nonetheless
"And you get to be away from that horrid manor house you hate so much! Although I must admit Andromeda's cottage is going to be a rather large step down from what your used too!" Rose joked. Scorpius beamed thinking about what there quaint little cottage might be like. All his life he'd dreamed of living in a small house with a homely type family and now he was going to get it.
"I'm happy for you blondie I really am, and I hate to burst your bubble, has anyone found anything about you know what…?" Sienna asked leaning in closer to avoid being heard by anyone else at the table. As soon as she indirectly mentioned Morana the mood at the table switched from happiness to uncertainty and fear.
"Nothing more! I've been through every history of muggle-borns book I can find and nothing! This is so frustrating! Just sitting around researching with no clue how to stop her!" Rose sighed. Scorpius patter her shoulder reassuringly.
"We'll find something we just have to keep looking!" Scorpius sighed.
"Sorry to interrupt…" a sweet voice said from behind Sienna and Thalia, everyone looked up and Sienna and Thalia turned around to see three young girls from Slytherin. Sienna recognised two of them as second years and one as a first year she couldn't recall their names but they looked vaguely familiar. The girl in the middle had fire truck red curls in her hair and wasn't wearing a jumper like the other two, despite her short structure and her age she looked a lot older than her years, her storm grey eyes held a lot of conviction in them. Sienna couldn't help but feel like she was there leader from her intimidating yet welcoming stance. The girl to her right was the tallest of the three with hair in long chestnut waves. Sienna felt a lot less unsettled by this girl, maybe it was the cardigan she wore or the softer expression in her golden eyes, but she didn't hold as much intimidation as the middle one. The third on of the left was easily the youngest and the giant innocent smile she wore on her face showed it. Her dark brown buns on top of her head also gave away her innocence as did the joy behind her orange eyes. Sienna sat there stunned at these three girls interruption.
"Um… hi?" Sienna said confused. The middle one smiled warmly.
"Hello, I'm Polly Prichard and this is Penny Carver and Elara Blythe…" Polly said pointing to the girl on the right and left respectively. "… we're Slytherins and we heard about what happened with you and Jasper a while back and what you said to him. We understand what it's like to feel different because you don't share the same backwards beliefs as Jasper and his cronies!" Polly squinted her eyes over at Jasper who was sat laughing obnoxiously with his gang.
"You do?" Sienna asked sceptically, she glanced at the other four who looked just as confused as to what was happening as she did.
"Yes we do! I'm a half-blood my dad's a wizard and my mums a muggle so I don't share the same disgusting thoughts about blood purity as his lot do!" Polly gestured to Jaspers gang.
"And I'm a muggle-born, both my parents are muggles!" Penny added excitedly. Sienna glanced between the two of them.
"What about you?" Sienna asked the youngest one, Elara.
"I don't really know what I am, my brother and I were adopted. I'm a witch and he's a wizard so we figure at least one of our parents must have been magic but who knows really" Elara happily announced. Albus shook his head trying to digest this.
"Wait! I thought only pure-bloods went into Slytherin?" he asked. Polly's eyes flashed angry for a moment before she calmed herself down.
"That's just a stereotype! Slytherins can be anything just like Gryffindor's, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. And we're not all evil either before you ask!" Polly restrained her voice from getting any angrier Albus' cheeks flushed red at his blunder.
"Look we just wanted to invite you to sit with us at the Slytherin table and hang around with us in the evenings in the common room." Polly smiled at Sienna who looked at them confused.
"You're inviting me to be friends with you?"
"I know these guys are your friends and that's fine but it must be pretty lonely having no friends in your house to hang around with at meal times and at night so we wanted to invite you to hang out with us." Penny clarified behind Polly. Sienna stared at them her mouth hanging open slightly in shock. She turned to the rest of the quintet who smiled at her and nudged their heads towards the girls. Sienna took this as approval.
"Go on Sienna it's fine. There right it would be better to make some friends in your own house too." Thalia encouraged.
"Okay I will. Thank you." Sienna said unsure of how to proceed. She got up from the Gryffindor table and followed the girls.
The four Gryffindor's caught up with Sienna in the library after dinner but with no more progress made about Morana the topic quickly changed to Sienna's new slytherin friends.
"They're excitable!" Sienna rolled her eyes irritated "I don't know where they get all there energy from, but they're nice I guess. It's good to be hanging around with people in the Slytherin common room and table again. And hey I could do a lot worse than 3 dorky excited kids." Sienna shrugged. Albus smiled at her with pride as everyone started getting up to leave.
"Just don't get carried away with them and forget that were your friends too!" Rose joked.
"Please, if I haven't been able to get rid of you freaks yet I don't think I ever will." Sienna beamed putting her arm around Thalia and Rose's shoulders affectionately.
"Oh no curly, you're in our group now and once your in your in for life! You're never getting away from us!" Scorpius laughed and Sienna pushed him slightly. As they arrived at the staircase Sienna waved goodbye to everyone.
"Coming Al?" Rose asked. Albus stood between the stairs going up to the Gryffindor tower and the stairs going down to the Slytherin dungeons lost in thought.
"You guys go on ahead I'm going to walk Sienna back." Rose raised her eyebrows and Sienna's cold green eyes glared at him.
"Walk me back!? What like I'm some damsel who needs an escort?!" Sienna crossed her arms.
"Of course not…. I just… I thought... I wanted to walk with you…" Albus stuttered. He vaguely heard Scorpius chuckle as the rest of the group ascended the staircase. Sienna stared at him in contemplation for a moment.
"Fine." She turned and started walking without him, Albus rushed to catch up. For a while the two walked in silence.
"You know I think it was really brave of you to make friends with those girls…." Albus nervously stated.
"Brave? How on earth is making friends brave!?" Sienna sceptically rolled his eyes.
"Maybe not for everyone, but you don't like getting close to people. It scares you because your scared anyone you let into your life will leave like your parents did." Albus stared. Sienna's eyes widened for a moment in disbelief before narrowing in frustration.
"So what? I talk to you a little and join your anti evil group and suddenly you think you know everything about me!? Well news flash pal you don't the first thing about me!" Sienna marched ahead of Albus. "And for the record Potter I don't need your patronising compliments or your chivalrous knight complex I'm fine by myself thank you very much!" Sienna rambled.
"I don't think I know everything about you. I know I've only just scratched the surface but what I know for certain is your amazing and I can't wait to find out more about you. I'm sorry if I sounded patronising but I really meant it I am proud of you. I know your scared of that because you showed me in the hospital wing. When you came in and I was awake you were so relieved which I guess anyone would be but you were also really angry because you were scared I'd left you. And you told me you were a foster kid…. It doesn't take a genius to put 2 and 2 together. I'm sorry if I overstepped my boundaries though" Sienna was stunned to silence as they walked by the foyer.
"you are unreal Albus Potter. You're smart, your handsome, you're even a gentleman and you are such a good guy, yet you hang around with me. I don't get it." Sienna held her arms close to her chest refusing to look Albus in the eyes.
"You keep talking about yourself like you're a bad person but you're not. You're the best person I know. If anyone should be shocked it's me, I'm just Harry Potter's failed offspring, you are strong and wise and just generally an amazing person." Albus and Sienna turned to face each other as they came to the Slytherin common room. Sienna smiled slyly and leaned in close to Albus and whispered in his ear.
"You are so much more than Harry Potter's son." Albus's heart started pounding as he felt her breath on his cheek. She then moved back to face him and smiled as she turned into her common room leaving Albus in shock.
For Scorpius the evening had been pretty boring waiting for his best friend to get back he had taken to reading to pass the time. When Albus did finally arrive back he wouldn't talk to Scorpius but he could see the ear splitting grin plastered on his face so he assumed something had happened with Sienna and he'd find out soon enough, Albus wasn't brilliant at keeping secrets. Scorpius had barely managed to drift off to sleep after staying up to finish his book when he was awoken by the bright light of someone leaving the dorm. When Scorpius saw a flash of black messy hair and red tartan pyjamas. Scorpius looked over to find Albus not in his bed. Scorpius quickly shot up to find his friend as he reached the stairs to the dorms he saw Rose, also up reading, putting down her book and trying to talk to Albus with a worried expression. Scorpius bolted down the stairs as fast as he could as Albus got past Rose who ran to Scorpius' arms.
"Rose, is he…?"
"He's possessed. Couldn't talk to him at all, vacant eyes, it's defiantly Morana again!" Rose nervously told Scorpius.
"Go get Thalia, I'll follow him. If this is like last time, we know where he's going." Scorpius instructed. Rose quickly composed herself and ran up the stairs. Scorpius chased after Albus, following him through the castle pushing him into various rooms to avoid the caretaker and trying desperately to snap him out of it.
By the time Albus and Scorpius reached the clearing Scorpius still hadn't been able to reach Albus who still had vacant eyes and wasn't responding he just knelt by the rock Albus could open and waited. A few moments later Rose and Thalia appeared.
"Has he snapped out?" Rose demanded kneeling by him.
"No, nothing I can't reach him! He wants to open her tomb though!"
"We can't let him open it!" Thalia warned.
"What else can we do!? He's not snapping out of it and he can't stay like this forever! We have to open it!" Rose cupped Albus' head in her hands for a second before getting up and walking to her rock. Scorpius sighed and followed. As the spell appeared Thalia got ready to recite it but found Albus already doing it.
"What's happening!?" Rose panicked. Thalia ran to Albus' side.
"Is he able to open it!?" Scorpius questioned as they began to feel the earth shake beneath them.
"He shouldn't be able to it's in Delvinish!" Thalia shouted.
"His eyes!" Rose pointed out were now turning gold. As the spell came to a close the tomb began to open and Albus immediately collapsed to the ground. Rose and Scorpius ran to him. Thalia cupped Albus' head to her lap. Rose glanced over at the tomb as a red mist began appearing.
"THALIA CLOSE THE TOMB NOW!" in a split second Thalia yelled the closing spell promptly shutting up the ground.
"Is he okay!?" Rose panicked kneeling next to Thalia.
"He's breathing but using that magic seems to drain him!" Scorpius checked his pulse.
"We need to wake him to get him back to the castle, they'll find out if we have to take him back to the infirmary!" Rose worried. Thalia stroked his head slightly, closed her eyes and took a deep breath when she opened her eyes they were glowing gold and she started enchanting something in Delvinish. As the spell continued Albus slowly began to wake. Thalia got paler but remained steady. As Albus' eyes fluttered open Thalia released the breath she'd been holding.
After helping Albus back to bed and trying to get some rest to no avail the next morning everyone was on edge. They caught up with Sienna before she went to sit by Polly Penny and Elara and told her to meet them after breakfast in the library. After explaining last night to Sienna she had barely spoken her face and paled and she clutched her middle her expression unreadable.
"Guys this is getting dangerous now! Maybe we should think about telling the adults? Our parents? The school? somebody?!" Thalia glanced around at the shocked expressions on everyone else.
"Are you kidding Tha!? We're in this too deep now! WE are the ones who released Morana. If we tell them what's happened we will be in so much trouble! No we have to solve this before anyone finds out it was ever a problem. I know it's getting scary but she's not even fully formed yet. We can stop this. We HAVE to stop this!" Rose insisted.
"Okay fine. But can we agree on one thing… we NEED to translate this journal NOW! Albus we are gunna have to spend every spare moment with this thing!" Thalia placed the journal on the table as Albus met her eyes and nodded.