Title: The Summer Trials Part II
Author: phys_nut
Beta: none, any mistakes are mine alone!
Prompts: All of them!
Summary: Albus gets a rude awakening...
Word Count: 4,535
Pairings: AS/S
Warnings: some light swearing, nothing bad!
Disclaimer: none of this is mine, it all belongs to the fabulous JK and her minions
A/N: howaya! here's part 2 of 11 of the summer trials, the overall plot is unfolded here mostly, so i hope y'all enjoy! P.S thank you to Miyako Suou for your lovely review!
Chapter 2: Go Forth on Thy Noble Steed!
It was 4am, the crack of dawn, and Albus was awoken from a most wonderful dream involving him and Scorpius battling evil and flying around on his dream motorbike, generally being amazing and daring. Just as they had defeated the dragon and were about to exchange a manly celebratory hug (his favourite part) there was a loud banging from downstairs, followed by a voice shouting, "Potter!" which caused him to snort and bolt upright, while simultaneously reaching for his wand (7 years of Siobhan Finnegan, master prankster, in his house had honed his paranoid waking habits down to a T).
Turning over, he tapped his clock, which yawned and said, "4am honey, go back to sleep," and proceeded to snore loudly.
There was more banging and shouting and swearing from downstairs, and Albus heard a muffled groan from down the hall and the sound of a light being turned on.
'Lumos,' he thought, and then crept out of bed and into the hall. As he did, his parents' bedroom door opened and his dad, in full alert mode, wand at the ready, crept out. He cocked his head at Albus, who shrugged. They shared a look and then made their way downstairs. Albus loved that he and his dad had such a good connection and just knew what to do with a look, and silently thanked the gods that James was away in Romania with Uncle Charlie, because if he had been here, he no doubt would have burst out of his room and gone charging down the stairs hollering loudly. Cool hep-cat or not, James was still as exciteable when faced with danger as he was when he was 12, and altogether too Gryffindor. Albus' dad though knew that at times, one had to be sneaky. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, they paused to listen.
"POTTER! Where is he? Where IS he!"
It was coming from the sitting room, and the voice was now extremely familiar. Face anxious but body relaxed, Harry opened the door to the room, to reveal Draco Malfoy, lying on the floor, robes completely tangled up in the fire guard. Albus would have laughed at the sight any other time, except he could see that Mr. Malfoy was red-faced, looking panicked and close to tears. As soon as Draco spotted them, he started hissing and flailing, struggling to simultaneously free himself and reach his wand.
"POTTER!" he shrieked, "Where is he! Where IS he! If you've hurt him, or brainwashed him, or-or-You'll RUE the day! I'll hex you into oblivion-"
"Draco," Harry said gently, freeing the other man with his wand.
"Sectumpsempre will seem like NOTHING when I'm through with you-"
"Draco," Harry said a bit louder.
"And Fiendfyre? You'll BEG for it."
"MALFOY!" Harry yelled, roughly hauling the blond man up and shaking him.
Draco paused mid-shriek and looked at Harry with impossibly large, furious, haunted eyes.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked in a serious voice, gently rubbing the blond man's arms slowly.
"Scorpius," Draco swallowed thickly, eyes starting to water up, "He-he's been k-kidnapped."
"And you immediately assumed I was at fault?" Harry snorted, though didn't stop rubbing his arms, "Honestly Draco, you're lucky Ginny took Lily to her mother's , she'd have bat bogey hexed the shit out of you for waking her."
Draco snorted, then cried and collapsed in Harry's arms as he shouted, "It's not you Potter, it's your son!"
Thus far, Albus had been frozen in place, his mind racing. Scorpius was kidnapped? But how? Why? What was going to happen? How could he go on without his best friend? No. No! There must be a mistake, it must be a prank. It must be – wait, what?! His fault?"
"My fault?" Albus squeaked incoherently, "What?"
"Draco, how do you know that it has anything to do with Albus?"
"Because, because – the note!"
"The note."
"What note? There's a note? What does it say?"
"Albus, asking a million and one questions is not going to help," Harry said sharply, then added gently, "Okay Draco, let's go to the kitchen and get you some tea and you can tell me exactly what's happened."
"I'd rather firewhiskey."
"I'll get you both."
After a few sips of his tea (with a generous helping of firewhiskey added), Draco managed to clam down enough to tell Harry and Albus what had happened. He had woken in the early hours of the morning to hear a bit of a kafuffle coming from Scorpius' room. By the time he had gotten to said room, it was empty and covered in fairy dust (which incidentally looked more like the remnants of many squashed grapes than dust), and all that lay on the bed was a note –
"Addressed to Albus," Draco finished warily, pulling a piece of parchment out of his robes and putting it on the table.
Albus snatched it up immediately, scanning it anxiously.
Mr. Albus Potter,
Assigned the role of Prince,
In the Fairytale Trials.
Dear Mr. Potter,
In case you have forgotten, I would like to remind you that yourself and Mr. Scorpius Malfoy signed up for the Summer Fairytale Trials for this summer term. As you have no doubt learned, Mr. Malfoy has been taken to begin his part of the trials. Your part, Mr. Potter, shall begin at noon today – I expect to see you at the fairytale centre then.
Requirements: a noble steed.
I look forward to meeting you,
Yours faithfully,
Mr. Francois,
Director, of the Fairytale Centre.
"Oh dear Merlin," Albus whispered, blood draining from his face as he realised exactly what was going on.
"What, what is it?" Draco asked sharply, head snapping up from his folded arms.
"Well, um, you know the Fairytale Centre?"
"Yes," Draco replied slowly, a look of dawning comprehension creeping up on his and Harry's faces.
Through the work of Hermione Weasley on the promotion of muggle culture, the wizarding community had taken to muggle fairytales with surprising curiosity and fascination. A Fairytale Centre had been opened, which held demonstrations, plays, talks, meetings and of course, the Fairytale Trials, which was when witches and wizards signed up to act out specific or general fairytales.
"Well me and Scorp wanted to do something exciting for our last summer after Hogwarts so we signed up for the Fairytale Trials. Only, it wasn't supposed to be like this! We thought we'd get to battle dragons, or-ore trolls, or r-rescue d-damsels in dis-distress," Albus huffed, vaguely realising he was bordering on hysteria at this point, and angrily swiped at his eyes as he continued, "We-we-we were supposed to go around as brothers-in-arms, not-not- kidnapped with the other needing a noble steed! I don't even know where to get a horse let alone how to ride one! What am I gonna do? How am I supposed to find Scorp?" he finished, sniffing plaintively.
"The Fairytale Trials?" Draco hissed angrily, "I'm going to KILL Granger! And when I find Scorpius, I'll kill him too!"
"Draco, calm down," Harry said firmly, "The Fairytale Trials are a bit of harmless fun, nothing bad has ever happened with them. And Albus…oh Albus," he clucked sympathetically, as he went around the table to hug his son, who had been staring at the table morosely, a few tears trickling down his cheeks, "Don't worry, now that we know what's going on we can sort it out."
"I know," Albus sniffed, "But dad…it's Scorp."
Draco's anger melted at the sight of Albus' heartbroken expression, and he reached across the table to pat him on the arm.
"Your father's…right," he said, somewhat awkwardly, trying to be comforting, "The Fairytale Trials are just a game…I'm sure you'll find Scorpius in no time."
"Albus gave him a watery smile and replied, "Thanks Mr. Malfoy. You know I'd never let anything bad ever happen to him, right?"
"I know," Draco smiled back, and was shocked to realise that he meant it.
Albus and Scorpius, while being in Slytherin together, had not formed their tight friendship until they were in third year, but it was clear that they were devoted to each other, friends through thick and thin, both on their way to becoming medi-wizards, dreaming of opening their own practise together. Draco knew that Albus would always take care of Scorpius and vice versa.
"There, it'll be fine," Harry smiled, rubbing Albus' back, "You just carry out the trials and everything will work out."
"But dad, what about the noble steed?" Albus asked, gesturing wildly at the note.
Harry shot him a secretive smile and replied, "Oh I think I have just the thing for you."
It was beautiful. All sleek black and glossy chrome and Albus just knew that when it ran it would purr like a kitten.
"Wha-where-when?" he chocked in amazement and disbelief as he dad took the concealing charm off it.
"A motorbike?" Draco sneered, "You're sending your son to find my son on a motorbike?"
"It was my godfather's," Harry smiled nostalgically, "I was going to give it to you when you got your NEWT results, but now seems like a good time. It makes a good noble steed eh?" he winked at Albus, who blinked, then grinned and stepped forward and ran his hands reverently over the seat and tank.
"It's perfect," he beamed, "Thanks dad!"
"You're welcome," Harry smiled.
"I'm going to try it out now," Albus said eagerly, straddly the machine and starting it up easily.
He and Scorpius had spent all last summer with Siobhán in Ireland, tearing their way around fields on her collection of dirt bikes, turning Albus' love of motorbikes into a full-blown obsession. He was itching to try out this bike, and the sooner he got used to it the sooner he could go find Scorpius.
"Jacket, helmet and gloves," Harry warned, handing the items to Albus, who took them, put them on and then zipped down the driveway and onto the empty early morning road.
"Come on Draco, some breakfast would hit the spot now don't you think?" Harry said cheerfully, clapping the blond man on the shoulder.
Draco rolled his eyes and resisted the urge to sneer. Just because he and Harry managed to get along and work together in the ministry didn't mean he actually wanted to spend time with the former golden boy. However, being angry and worried made one hungry, so he nodded and followed Harry back to the house.
At 10am, Albus was packed and ready to go, Harry and Draco standing at the front door to see him off.
"Good luck son," Harry beamed, hugging him fiercely.
"Thanks dad," Albus smiled, hugging him back.
They stepped apart and Albus turned to Draco.
"I'll have Scorp back in no time Mr. Malfoy."
"See that you do…and take care of yourself."
"Thank," Albus nodded, then hopped on his bike and sped off into the distance.
At five to twelve, Albus was pulling into the parking lot behind the fairytale centre. Just as he had taken off his helmet and gloves, and stepped off the bike, there was a 'pop' from behind him, and Albus turned to see a large frog wearing a waistcoat, shirt and cravat standing in front of him.
"Ah, Mr. Potter, delightful to see you! I am Monsieur Francois, director of the fairytale centre, and co-ordinator of this group of fairytale trails, welcome!"
"Hullo," Albus nodded, warily eyeing him, "Where's Scorp?"
"Hmm? Oh, Mr. Malfoy! Ah well, I cannot tell you."
"Why not?"
"Because that would take way the purpose of the trial of course!"
"How? What's going on?" Albus demanded.
"Mr. Potter, are you telling me you have not realised the fairytale you are playing out? You are on your noble steed, Mr. Malfoy has been kidnapped! You are-"
"The Prince," Albus interjected, remembering the note.
"Precisely! And Mr. Malfoy is currently under an enchanted sleep, carrying out his trials via dreams, while YOUR trial shall be a series of tasks which will eventually lead you to Mr. Malfoy, who you will then rescue and awaken."
"You mean he's a princess?!"
"Technally yes. That's the profile that fit you best."
"But, we're b- I mean, I'm- Why?"
"Ah now, that would be telling," Francois chuckled, then spotted the motorbike, "Ah, is this your noble steed?"
"Yes," Albus replied faintly, mind still trying to comprehend what was going on.
This was NOT what he and Scorpius had signed up for, and Albus just KNEW that whenever he found his best friend, he was a dead man.
Francois walked around the motorbike, looking it up and down speculatively.
"Hmm…it's not a horse…but it'll do," he eventually announced, and Albus sighed in relief.
Francois placed his 'hands' on the tank of the bike, muttered inaudibly and then stepped back.
Nothing.
And then a small cough, which didn't come from either Albus or Francois, followed by a louder one, and then the bike suddenly roared into life.
"YeeeeeHAW! Oh WOW I can talk!" the bike said in a growly, androgynous voice.
Gaping, Albus stepped forward to the rumbling bike, which twitched slightly towards him.
"Hiya," it chirped happily, "You're my new owner!"
"I am…what's your name?"
"Um…I was never really given one, but Sirius called me Charlie sometime, so I guess you can call me that!"
"Okay, sounds good," Albus nodded, still a little perturbed at the fact that his bike was TALKING, "Um…what did you do to it?" he asked Francois.
"I put a fairytale charm on it," Francois beamed, "He's now the perfect companion!"
"Are you sure it's a he?"
"Not exactly, but it doesn't really matter," Francois shrugged, "The charm will end when the trial does. Now, you're all ready to go! Here is your first clue, good luck!"
He handed Albus and envelope and disapperated with a loud pop. Albus shook his head, clearing away the dizziness and opened the envelope, pulling a piece of parchment out.
Come away, oh human child, to the waters and the wild.
We dance and have the craic in our rings under soft moonlight. What you seek is four-leafed luck, what you'll find is life eternal.
"Hmm…" Albus muttered, chewing his lip as he puzzled over the clue.
"What does it say?" Charlie asked curiously.
Albus started, but figured he should get used to it and read it out to him.
"How can you have a crack in a ring?" Charlie asked in confusion.
"No no, it's not that type of crack," Albus murmured, "Craic means fun, it's iri-…Irish," he breathed excitedly, "Irish myths and fairytales…who dances in rings? Banshees, leprechauns, faeries…faeries, that's it! And I seek four-leaf luck…that's obviously a four-leaf clover! But where do I go?"
"Maybe it's in the first sentence," Charlie suggested, "Anything around here wet and wild?"
"No…but the sentence sounds familiar, like it came from a poem or something…hang on."
Albus dug around in his pocket and pulled out his mobile phone. Scrolling down through his menu, he punched the call button and waited.
"Howaya," a sleepy voice yawned down the line, "Cheers for waking us at the crack of dawn Al."
"Only you and Scorp classify midday as the crack of dawn Shiv," Albus chuckled, stomach twisting as he remembered the predicament his best friend was in, "Anyway, I've got my first clue for the Fairytale trials, and I need your help."
"Sure thing, fire away," Siobhán replied, a bit more awake.
"Do you know a poem which has the line 'come away oh human child, to the waters and the wild'?"
"Oh yeah, that's 'Stolen Child,' by Yeats, gorgeous poem."
"Great! Do you know where it's set?"
"Yup, it's a place called Sleuth Wood in Sligo. There's a memorial place for Irish myths and fairytales there that the centre erected."
"Great, thanks Shiv," Albus said fervently.
"No bother. So how's it going anyway? Where's Scorp?"
"Um…I'm going to find him," Albus said slowly, "I'd better go, I'll let you know when I'm finished."
"Okay, good luck. Slán!"
"Bye."
"So where we off to?" Charlie asked excitedly, as Albus put his phone away, "Is it far away? Will I get to fly? I love to fly and drive and-"
"Shh! We're going to Ireland, Sligo to be precise and yes you get to fly."
"Woohoo!" Charlie cheered, altogether a little too happily for Albus, who had a feeling that this was going to be a loud annoying trip.
"We need to get to the fairytale memorial at Sleuth Wood, do you know how to get there?"
"Sure thing," Charlie replied, "Hop on and let's go."
Albus tucked the clue in his pocket, put his helmet and gloves on and hopped on the bike. As he drove out of the parking lot, he swore he could hear a guitar playing nearby. The playing great louder as he continued down the road, and as he approached a crossroads, he heard a voice.
"Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road…"
"Ahh!" Albus yelled, pulling Charlie to a sharp halt.
The music stopped just as abruptly.
"What the hell of what?" he asked, freaked out.
"Your theme song," Charlie replied in a matter of fact tone.
"My what?"
"Theme song," Charlie replied slowly, "Every hero gets a theme song! And you got a good one too!"
Albus pondered this, decided he didn't have the time to come up with a counter charm, and besides, it was kind of fun to have a theme song.
"Okay, let's get flying," he said.
"Woohoo!" Charlie cheered, rising up, and off they went, theme music in tow.
"Time grabs you by the wrist;
directs you where to go.
So make the best of this test
and don't ask why.
It's not a question
but a lesson learned in time.
It's something unpredictable
but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life."
Albus grinned when he listened to the lyrics; they fit in so well with his situation. It was funny how music was such a pivotal point of Albus' life sometimes. There was of course 'his' song, Carnival, which only Albu knew the true meaning of. There was also 'Green Eyes,' by Coldplay, which Albus treasured more than any other, mainly because Scorpius had sung it in a sultry, drunken voice to him after their celebrations of their OWL results. And now there was this song.
Three hourse later, and Albus hated the song with a fiery passion, and Charlie singing along in a loud, off-key manner really didn't help. Finally, he spotted the east coast of Ireland, and Albus sighed in relief. He quickly landed the bike and hopped off, walking away. He was in desperate need of a break and some silence; thank god that music stopped playing when he wasn't moving, and he flopped on his back on the beach gratefully. It was unreal how much he missed his best friend; he had never realised how constantly aware he was of Scorpius' presence until he wasn't there. And of course missing Scorpius lead him to thinking about him and other things Albus would rather not dwell on.
For as long as he'd been in Hogwarts, Albus had wanted to kiss Scorpius. In first year he assumed it was because Scorpius was such a pleasant and non-confrontational dorm-mate and he therefore was grateful he didn't have a James-esque person to deal with. In third year he figured it was because he and Scorpius discovered they actually had what it took to be very best friends. In fourth year it was hormones, in fifth it was because he realised he was bi and hey, Scorpius was an attractive guy, and now, after seventh year, he figured it was because he and Scorpius had been living in close quarters for seven years and it was just a weird mental affect of that, and it would go away given time. However, Albus had noticed that over seven years it hadn't waned one bit, only gotten stronger, and he was at odds as to why. He had tried getting all sorts of boyfriends and girlfriends to distract him, but to no avail; within weeks they'd be broken up, and Albus would have to find solice in the Cardigans again. Scorpius thought that that song meant he liked someone, but really it was Albus' 'I can't stop thinking about Scorpius,' song. He always fancied he could spot a spark of jealousy in Scorpius' eyes when he played that song, but he figured it was wishful thinking, why, he didn't know, he just did.
Albus was suddenly snapped out of his musings by loud crying and wailing. Curious, he ran back, only to find it was Charlie; his frame shaking.
"Charlie?"
"Oh Albus! I called and you weren't there and I thought something bad had happened to you cause that's what happened when Sirius left me last, and I don't' want you to die and I don't want to be alone!"
Albus gaped at the wailing bike. So even motorbikes had issues. Huh.
"Oh, um, sorry Charlie, I just needed a break from the music," Albus apologised, patting his tank.
Charlie visibly calmed, and Albus sighed in relief.
"Just…just n ext time you go say goodbye okay?" Charlie sniffed, "It's all well for you, I'm the noble steed – next time I go I'll take you with me."
"Okay, I'll tell you next time I'm going," Albus promised, hopping back on Charlie, "Shall we get going? Driving please, I'm tired of flying."
"Sure thing!" Charlie chirped, "And I'll keep the singing down, shall I?"
"Yes, that would be great thanks," Albus smiled, and off they went.
They were just entering the Sligo border two hours later, when Albus spotted something on the road ahead. Curious, he pulled Charlie to a stop, and looked down at what it was. It was a glass bottle, and there was a grasshopper inside.
"Curiouser and curiouser," Albus murmured, quoting one of Scorpius' favourite movies, as he picked up the bottle to further examine it.
As he did, the grasshopper looked at him and exclaimed in a loud voice, "Oh thank god! Could you please help me out of here?"
After talking motorbikes and theme songs, Albus thought he couldn't be phased by anything, but there you go. Nodding, he opened the bottle and the grasshopper hopped out onto his hand.
"Thank you very much," the grasshopper said with a slight bow, "I have been stuck there for nearly a week, I was near death! Might you have some water I could partake of?"
"Sure," Albus replied, fishing a bottle out of his pack.
He poured some water into the lid of the bottle and the grasshopper drank deeply.
"Thank you sir," he said gratefully, "Because of your kindness, I shall give you some advice."
"Okay," Albus replied, feeling pleased.
This sort of thing always happened in fairytales – he would just have to remember what he was told and not be stupid enough to forget or ignore the advice.
"Firstly, faeries are truly viscious things, and you should never sit with them, regardless of their hospitable attitudes. Secondly, you cannot always trust your eyes. And thirdly, accept nothing from strangers who wish to do you kindness for nothing in return."
"Thank you," Albus nodded, "I'll remember that."
"Make sure you do," the grasshopper replied, "And keep the bottle, it will come in handy when you realise things are not as they seem."
With that, the grasshopper hopped away and Albus put the glass bottle into his pack. After a quick stop off for dinner, Albus and Charlie continued on, and by nightfall they had reached the fairytale memorial. It was a large meadow, with a stone circle in the middle of it. As Albus hopped off the bike, the moon appeared from behind a cloud, and the meadow was suddenly filled with all sorts of fey ethereal creatures, dancing, singing and laughing around the stone ring. Albus took a step forward, his helmet off, and they were immediately around him, cooing and petting him and speaking in a strange language.
"Oiche mhaith buchaill álainn," one cooed in his ear.
"O, tá se ana gleoite," another giggled, "Ba mhaith liom e."
"Mise freisin!"
"Cad is ainim duit a bhuchaill?" one asked him.
It was hard to tell which was saying what; they all had pale skin, long flowing hair, silvery eyes and high, tinkling voices.
"Um…" Albus said, feeling oddly distracted.
"Albus, translation charm!" Charlie hissed.
"Oh right," Albus muttered.
He gripped his wand, muttered the incantation and turned to the faeries.
"Sorry, what did you say?"
"What is your name boy?" she asked again.
"Albus."
"And why are you here Albus?"
"I need a four leaf clover."
The faeries grinned in a rather devious way, and many broke away to frolick away around the ring. The ones that remained stroked his face, arms, chest. They were so very beautiful and alluring and something else. Albus felt dizzy and disorientated as they started to lead him towards the ring.
"We'd be happy to help treasure," one smiled, "why don't you sit with us first and rest a bit?"
Albus was nodding before he realised what he was doing. He felt lost as he gazed at her face, into her beautiful silver eyes, so very like Scorpius'
Scorpius.
"No," Albus said, wrenching away from the faeries, who looked at him, confused.
"No?"
"No…no thank you," Albus panted, attempting to get his thoughts back on track, "I just would like the four leaf clover please."
"But wouldn't you like a rest first?" one asked sweetly, taking his arm.
"I said no!" Albus yelled, his instincts telling him to get a hold of his wand. As he did, he saw that the faeries had sprouted large wings, claws and fangs, and were snarling at him viciously.
He quickly threw up the strongest shielding charm he could muster, as they dived at him, and started hurling hexes at them as they clawed at his face and hair. Eventually they were all prone and unconscious on the ground, except for one, who Albus trapped against a tree.
"I would like my four leaf clover please," he said, smirking as he pointed his wand at her head.
"You damned-"
Albus took the translation charm off, not wanting to listen.
"-dhiaval! Amadain! Go n'ithean na caoire do shuile!"
Albus said nothing, only held out his hand and sneered. The faery snarled and snapped at him for another hour, shrieking and wailing. Eventually though, her shoulders slumped and he sobbed, a piteous, tortured sound, but Albus held firm. When she realised it wasn't working, she sighed, snapped her fingers and muttered some more in Irish. A four leaf clover rose up from the ground in front of Albus. Albus reached out, and as his fingers closed around the clover, it changed into a note, and the faeries vanished, leaving him and Charlie alone in the meadow.
A/N: Oiche mhaith buchaill álainn: good night beautiful boy
O, tá se ana gleoite: oh he's gorgeous
Ba mhaith liom e: I want him
Mise freisin: me too
"-dhiaval! Amadain! Go n'ithean na caoire do shuile: devil! Fool! May the sheep eat your eyes!
sooo, what did we think? please review and let me know!!