Chapter 5

*

An owl from Hogwarts blew through the kitchen window and landed gracefully on top of the faucet. Ginny was in the kitchen, cooking up a lunch for her and her husband. She dropped the knife in her hand that was coated in a thin layer of mayonnaise and reached over to pry the letter from the owl's talons.

Ginny read who the letter was addressed to and who it was from. She frowned; usually if Al wrote then it was to the both of them. She had a twinge of jealousy as she finished making their sandwiches and brought them and the letter back to their family room where Harry was reclining on the couch, reading the Daily Prophet.

"You've got a letter," Ginny announced, and she went to sit by her husband. "It's from Al."

Harry sat up and looked at her with a perked eyebrow. "It's just addressed to me?" When she nodded and passed it over, he took it hesitantly from her hand. "That's odd. I wonder if it has to do with what I gave him before he went to Hogwarts."

"What did you give him?" Ginny asked, as she passed over Harry's sandwich. "You didn't tell me that you gave him something special."

Harry frowned a bit in thought and his fingers graced over the folds and creases of the envelope. "I just gave him Snape's Potions book that I used when I was in sixth year. The one that had all of the side notes in it."

Ginny sat back in her seat and took a small bite from her sandwich as she considered what Harry had told her. Ginny's face wrinkled as if she was trying to remember something that she wasn't sure had actually happened. "But you didn't have that book for a long time, right? You left it in the Room of Requirement, didn't you? So you or no one would find it again?"

Harry scratched the back of his head. He forgot to tell his wife that one special detail where the book came back to him. "Yeah, I did, but a couple of years ago, it came in the mail when you were away with the kids visiting your mum and dad."

Ginny looked like she didn't believe what Harry was telling her. "Oh, really? How did someone find it, then? Who sent it?"

"I don't know how someone found it. I have some ideas about who might have found it, but it's impossible..." Harry said as he slowly started to open the letter. He didn't think that anyone else knew of the book, or who it had belonged to, except Ron and Hermione. He had asked them both, but it was to no avail. The only other person who would know about it was the Half-Blood Prince himself. But he was dead, so it was impossible. Harry shook his head. "I have no idea who sent it."

He pulled the parchment free from the envelope, and read what his son had wrote him. His hypothesis was correct; it was about the book. But Harry wasn't worried, he was intrigued. He had been thinking a lot about his old Potions Master lately, and about what he had left behind. Ever since Harry's mind was cleared after Voldemort fell, he wondered if Severus Snape, too, had made a Horcrux. Harry thought it was crazy, but after he received the book in the mail a couple of years back, it seemed like the only logical explanation. Especially with the letter that he held in his hand from his son.

He looked over at his wife who was staring at him, waiting for him to pass over the letter or tell her what he had just read, anything. Harry did not pass the piece of parchment over to her; he folded it tightly in his hands and placed it in his pocket. It was a while before he spoke. He had to make sure that he didn't give away too many details of what he picked up on in between the lines. He had a lot of research to do still, and he didn't want to worry Ginny. "Albus is experiencing weird things with the Potions book I gave him."

"Snape's?" Ginny asked, and she scooted so close to Harry that she was just barely sitting on her chair. When Harry nodded, she ran a hand through her dark red hair in thought. "Are we going to send him another?"

Al had asked for a new book, but Harry thought that wasn't a great idea. If he was to do research, he'd need Al to still have access to whatever memory was locked inside the Potions book. "I think we should wait."

"Harry, do you remember how evil that book actually was? How you nearly killed Malfoy just by doing what it said?" Ginny asked, raising her voice a bit at her husband. She didn't like that her son had such a dangerous book, and she especially did not want him using it. "I don't want Al to go through some of the same things we did when we grew too close to a magical object."

"I... don't think it possesses magic," Harry lied, and wondered if Ginny knew he was. "He's probably just going through the same things I was when I was using it. Rose and the twins are probably giving him a hard time. I am going to write to him."

"What are you going to say?" Ginny asked, and stood up when Harry did. She looked near furious when he shook his head, and pushed her back down into her chair. "What, you're not going to tell me, Harry? I'm your wife, and Al's my son, too."

Harry hesitated. He felt bad for doing this to Ginny, but for now, it had to remain a secret until he knew more. "Sorry, Gin. It's kinda private. I'll tell you what is happening when I find out more information," he promised, and left his wife alone in their family room.

*

Harry dug out a battered piece of yellowing parchment and a quill from deep inside his desk. He didn't have to think about what to write; he knew exactly what to say.

"Dear Al,

I can't say I am surprised about your letter. I have thought for a long time, ever since the book was returned to me, that it was no longer just a textbook with handwritten notes. I am sorry to have put you in this kind of situation. I thought you would make use of the extra help unlike your brother or sister. I guess I just thought that it was fitting that I'd pass the book down to you.

I can't tell you too much information through my letter. If we can find some other way to contact – a privater way – then I will be able to tell you more, and why I think it important that you keep using the book. Do you have a scheduled trip to Hogsmeade any time soon?

All I can say is that I think that the Half-Blood Prince is alive and well. Scratch that; maybe not well, but I believe that he is definitely alive. And also, think of this book somewhat like the Riddle Diary your Mum and I told you about when we were at Hogwarts. Only, I can assure you, this isn't dangerous and safe to use.

Get back to me as soon as possible about that Hogsmeade trip. And write a small letter to your Mum to tell her you love her and all that. She feels a little left out and hurt, I think.

Love you, son,

Dad"

He hoped that Al wouldn't think that he was being reckless or not caring enough when he said that the Potions book would be safe for him to use. He knew his son, and that Al was probably freaking out over what he discovered about the mysterious book.

Harry folded the piece of parchment at its middle, placed it in an envelope that was far too big, and scrawled "Albus Severus Potter, Hogwarts" across the front of it.

*

Al cursed under his breath when he got his father's letter. Did his Dad know how to read? This book was dangerous, and he was expecting him to still use it? Had his Dad gone mad?

Al felt like crying, he was so frustrated. He was also scared, because he didn't want to continue using the book. He didn't want to travel back and forth between one time period and another, and if this book was anything like that demonic diary his mother was possessed by, then he wanted to march right down to the Headmaster's office and stab the thing a hundred times with the Sword of Godric Gryffindor, just to make sure it was properly destroyed.

He breathed angrily, his nostrils flaring, and he grabbed a spare piece of parchment. He scribbled across it recklessly, his ink pooling in spots where he pressed down too hard.

"Dad,

My next Hogsmeade trip is in three days. I'll be waiting for you outside of the Three Broomsticks.

Al"

He couldn't think of anything else to say. He was far too angry with his father, but he knew he couldn't be cruel to him. He grabbed another piece of parchment, and wrote a quick note to his mother to tell her exactly what Harry had asked him to, and sent both of the letters to his parents immediately.