There's Something About Albus
by sweaterweather21

Last Chapter: (Sorry, I know it's been a while!) Cat and Scorpius gossip while patrolling the castle, Cat takes a difficult test, and Annie has a rough night.

Chapter 5: The One with All the Espionage
In which Cat, Annie, and Dahlia's girls' day takes a different turn.

Everyone knows all about my direction
And in my heart somewhere I wanna go there
Still, I don't go there
I don't wanna get caught, up in the rhythm of it
But I can't help myself, no, I can't help myself, no, no

Say Something – Justin Timberlake & Chris Stapleton

Cat was worried about Annie.

It wasn't the first time her best friend had drank too much the night before and suffered the consequences the next morning, but it was the first time she refused to be lured out of bed by the promise of blueberry waffles for breakfast.

This was concerning. Annie would do almost anything for a plate of blueberry waffles.

"C'mon, Annie," she pleaded, throwing back the emerald green bed hangings of Annie's four-poster. "We made plans! And you know the house elves stop making breakfast at noon!"

"I don't care," came the muffled response. Cat watched as Annie fumbled for her wand on the bedside table and attempted to charm her bed hangings shut again.

Fortunately for Cat, Annie's hangover meant less control over the magic, and though the bed hangings swayed an inch or two, they remained firmly in place.

Annie groaned. Cat decided it was time to try a more sympathetic approach.

"Annie, I know you're upset," she began, sitting on the edge of the bed gingerly. "But honest to Merlin, I think it would make you feel better to get something to eat. And to get out of this bed."

"Or take a shower!" Dahlia piped up, emerging from their shared bathroom clad only in a heather-gray towel. "I feel loads better already."

Annie didn't respond. She just rolled over in bed, and for the first time, Cat got a glimpse of her best friend. Her normally sleek blonde hair was mussed into a terrible case of bedhead, and streaks of black eyeliner smudged horribly around her eyes, which were still bloodshot from crying.

"Oh, honey." Cat reached out and scratched the petite girl's back in what she hoped was a comforting gesture. She still wasn't sure she was doing this right. "It'll get better. You'll make up. You always do."

"I don't know," Annie mumbled, and Cat knew it had been the wrong thing to say. She watched as a small tear leaked down Annie's face once more. Instead of trying to say anything else, she simply sat there for a few more minutes, scratching Annie's back in silence.

"Tell you what," Cat said eventually. "I know you don't want to go, but I'm getting hungry for some hash browns, and it's nearly half-past eleven. I'm going to head down to breakfast with Dahlia and Cecily and we'll bring you back something, okay? But try to get out of bed and at least get dressed."

Taking pity on Annie, she closed the bed hangings after she stood up. Dahlia had changed into a plum-colored sweater and some leggings, but their fourth roommate was conspicuously absent.

"Where's Cecily?" Cat mused aloud.

Dahlia finished tying her hair into a ponytail before responding. "I'm not sure. She didn't make it back with me and Annie last night."

Cat frowned.

"Not that I didn't try to get her to come with me," Dahlia amended quickly. "I felt bad leaving her there. But Annie was starting to get messy, and I had drunk a little too much as well, so I thought it was best to just get out of there."

"Oh, Dahlia, I didn't mean to make you feel guilty! We all know how stubborn Cecily gets. It's just that I thought she was still owling that Greek bloke."

Dahlia shrugged. "She told me the other day that he was getting boring. I can't keep up with the changes in her love life."

"So who did she end up with?"

"Beats me. Though I did she her chatting with Nash Sutton an awful lot last night."

"Nash Sutton?" Cat was incredulous. "Isn't he seeing Lily Potter? That seems like asking for trouble, even for Cecily."

"That's just what I saw. Though at that point I was at least four shots of firewhiskey in, so I may not be the most reliable source of information."

Cat giggled at that. "Who knows with that girl, anyway? Let's go eat."

Dahlia nodded her assent, following Cat out of the dormitory and heading down to the Great Hall.

They ate breakfast slowly, the ranks of Hogwarts students noticeably thinner than usual despite the fact that it was almost midday. Cat was good on her word, however, and managed to smuggle a plate loaded with blueberry waffles back to the Slytherin dorm when she returned with Dahlia.

Cecily was still absent, which worried Cat, but at the moment she had bigger enchantments to cast. Annie still remained in her bed, in the same position they had left her over an hour ago.

She exchanged a look with Dahlia, mutually deciding that enough was enough. While Dahlia yanked back the dormitory curtains, flooding the room with bright green light from the lake, Cat pushed aside the tapestries on Annie's bed for the second time that morning. The blonde girl squirmed, but reluctantly sat up in bed.

"You bitches," she moaned, reaching for the glass of water on her bedside table. It was only after she chugged the contents that she managed somewhat of an apology.

"M'sorry," she murmured, just loud enough that Cat could hear. "You didn't deserve that. I'm just cranky and tired is all. I could stay in bed all day."

"Yes, but you won't," Cat interrupted.

"Trust me, Annie," Dahlia said. "You'll feel loads better if you get up and do something."

"Once you shower and put clothes on, I'll give you these!" Cat chimed in with a promise, gesturing to the plate of waffles she had set on her own bedside table.

Annie eyed the plate for a long moment, long enough that Cat was beginning to wonder if the persuasive power of Annie's favorite breakfast food was still intact. But in the end, Annie stood up and walked to grab her towel, but not before stealing a bite from the plate.

"It's a miracle," Dahlia remarked drily as soon as they heard the jets of water start up.

"I'll say," Cat agreed. "Now I just have to convince her to come to Hogsmeade with me."

Dahlia snorted. "Good luck with that. I was going to settle with just a shower."

"Where's your ambition?" Cat teased. "C'mon, if you help me, I'll buy you a butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks."

"Merlin, Cat, twist my wand! I'll go, I'll go," Dahlia acquiesced with a laugh.

"Good." Cat smiled, happy to get her way. "You know, I really shouldn't have to bribe you into being a good friend."

"Yeah, you probably shouldn't have to," Dahlia retorted.

"You ought to be ashamed of yourself," Cat pressed on, jokingly.

"Not nearly as ashamed as I'd be if I turned down an offer of a free butterbeer. That's still good, right?"

Nearly an hour later, the trio of Slytherin girls finally left the castle. After quite a bit of dawdling, Annie had been forced into a nice pair of jeans and a cream-colored sweater. Cecily had made an appearance in the dormitory as well, though only for as long as it took her to change her outfit and fix her hair, for she was late for her date. Teasing Cecily about jumping from one man to another had momentarily revived Annie from her misery, but as soon as the brisk October wind unwound her scarf as they stepped outside, she began to have second thoughts.

"I still can't believe you talked me into this."

"You'll thank us later," Dahlia reprimanded, taking Annie's knitted scarf in her own hands and winding it back around the petite blonde's head.

"Dahlia's right," Cat agreed. "It'll be cathartic. We can scope out some cute blokes and drink butterbeer at the same time! A win-win, if you ask me."

"Unless you happen to like girls," Dahlia piped up.

Cat nodded her head in acknowledgement. "Well then you can chat up the cute chicks and drink butterbeer at the same time."

Dahlia smiled. "Sounds good to me! Annie?"

It was the wrong question to ask. "I don't care about cute blokes," she muttered. "I just want Sam."

Cat and Dahlia exchanged an uneasy glance as they neared the Three Broomsticks. The bells attached to the heavy brass handle tinkled as Cat pushed open the heavy door.

"Well, forget about both sexes, then." Cat said, attempting to keep the mood cheery. "The first round of butterbeers is on me!"

"Now that's what I like to hear!"

Startled, Cat turned toward the sound of the interloping voice. Upon the sight of Albus Potter, clad in a Gryffindor jumper and a worn pair of blue jeans and sitting comfortably in the corner booth like he owned the whole place, she began to reconsider her previous statement about ignoring all the men in the place.

Luckily, Scorpius intervened before the blush that was just starting to creep up her cheeks was out of control.

"Way to go Potter, now you've blown our cover!"

Scorpius's genuinely agitated facial expression confused Cat. Meanwhile, Albus just rolled his eyes.

"Now we have to relocate!" Scorpius exclaimed. "Cat, make good on that round of butterbeers and meet us in the back." And with that, he yanked Albus out of the booth and gestured emphatically for both Dahlia and Annie to move towards the back of the restaurant, leaving his half-empty tankard of butterbeer behind.

Cat watched them leave quizzically, but having been exposed to almost sixteen years' worth of odd behavior from her male best friend, figured she might as well roll with it. She approached Ariadne at the bar with a galleon in hand and was rewarded with five full mugs. Cat debated how to carry them over for a few seconds until she remembered she was a goddamn witch and levitated them over, careful to maintain her focus as she navigated through the crowded pub.

"So what's with all the secrecy?" she asked as she finally located her four companions wedged into a small booth in the shape of a half-circle near the side exit.

"I'll tell you if you keep your bloody voice down," Scorpius commanded imperiously, having taken a position of authority at the center of the booth.

Cat rolled her eyes, but lowered the mugs to the table anyway. She slid into the space next to Albus nonchalantly, a seating arrangement that she would usually chalk up to Annie's interference, but given her morose state, was most likely Dahlia's work.

As she reached for a mug, Cat gave Scorpius a pointed look. "So what gives? If you don't explain yourself soon, I swear I'll tell the whole pub about that time in third year you tried highlighting your own hair."

"That's not necessary," Scorpius responded quickly at the same time as Albus asked, "How do you reckon your hair needed to get lighter?"

Cat's lip curled mischievously. She turned toward Albus, who appeared eager. Annie and Dahlia had already heard this story. "Well, it was after Winona Blair broke up with her boyfriend. Remember, you were determined that she was hitting on you? Never mind the fact that she was two years older and your voice hadn't even dropped—"

"I think that's more than enough—"

"You came to me in tears because you botched the spell—"

"The box had faulty instructions!"

Scorpius had crossed his arms defensively and was now pouting at Cat. She simply laughed and again turned toward Albus.

"Well, I think you get the point. His hair recovered, thanks to my charmwork."

"And my book of beauty charms!" piped up Annie. Cat smiled at her best friend, grateful she was finally perking up a bit.

While not exactly a blush, Scorpius's cheeks had turned a faint shade of pink as he glowered at Annie. Meanwhile, Albus was chortling.

"Anyway," Dahlia spoke after a few seconds of laughter at Scorpius's expense, "we're still dying to know why we're crammed in this dingy booth back here instead of that perfectly nice one in the front."

Scorpius immediately brightened, grateful for the change in subject.

"We're undercover," he stated matter-of-factly, his eyes darting out toward the main dining area, as if he was afraid their laughter had been too conspicuous.

"Doing what?" Cat retorted. "Practicing for the Auror Academy, yeah?"
Albus looked embarrassed, but Scorpius just scoffed. "No, you banshee. We're spying on Rose."

A hush fell on the table, only to be broken by Dahlia. "Rose Weasley?"

Scorpius nearly fell out of the booth as he aggressively clamped his hands over the brunette's mouth.

"Could you announce it more loudly, maybe to the entire pub this time please?" Albus chimed in with a wisecrack.

Dahlia huffed, but lowered her voice to an exaggerated whisper. "Okay, my bad. But still, why? Since when does Rose bloody Weasley do anything interesting enough to justify you two fools posing as spies?"

Cat wanted to defend Rose—she was a perfectly nice girl, especially after her memory had been jogged about Cat's name—but stopped short. It was curious as to why they were spying on Rose. She was a prefect after all, and obtained some of the highest marks in the grade thanks to both her diligence and natural intelligence. It was difficult to guess as to why she would be sneaking around Hogsmeade, and why Albus had dragged Scorpius along to figure it out. He didn't seem like the overprotective type. As far as Cat could make out, that role belonged firmly to James.

"She's on a bloody date," Scorpius spat out, and the words hung in the air like a Patronus Charm.

Now that was intriguing. Rose was known more for her high marks than her love life. Cat faintly recalled her with an older Gryffindor boy at the beginning of their fifth year, but for as much as she had heard from Cecily and Scorpius, among others, that had tapered out a while ago. It was also interesting that Albus was apparently so concerned. Was this date of hers someone unsavory?

She had to ask. "With who?"

Scorpius was prompt in his reply. "Owen Darlington."

"Wow, what a scumbag." Cat's sarcastic quip was even faster in response, earning a chuckle from Dahlia, Annie, and even Albus. Scorpius's scowl only deepened.

"Just because you all think he's a good guy doesn't mean he'll make a good date. Besides, he's definitely hiding something. Who smiles all the time? It's unnatural."

"Or maybe he's just a genuinely nice guy?" Annie suggested obviously, to counter Scorpius's dubious claims. Cat nodded in agreement. Owen Darlington was nothing if not completely inoffensive. He was a 'Puff in their year, decently good-looking and known for being a genuinely nice guy and volunteering his spare time by helping Professor Longbottom with the weeding in the Herbology greenhouses. If anything, Cat was surprised by Rose's rather bland taste.

Albus attempted to enter the conversation. "We're not saying Darlington is a bad guy or anything," he began as he gave Scorpius a pointed look. "It's just that Rosie doesn't date much, so we're just looking out for her."

"Well, I think that's sweet." Annie sighed, a shadow of a smile crossing her face for a brief second.

Cat wanted to agree, but privately maintained her suspicions. Both Albus and Scorpius were being dodgy, and now that she thought about it, it was even stranger that they were drinking butterbeer in a group of five, platonically, on the first of a perfectly good Hogsmeade weekend. It was surprising that Scorpius hadn't asked Jacqueline after she had forced his confession about her in Prefect rounds the other week, and even stranger that Albus was here without Talia.

In the face of lively conversation and good company, however, Cat shoved her doubts away—for the time being. Albus had just returned to the table after ordering another round of butterbeer when Dahlia was the one to notice the much-speculated redhead surreptitiously sneak into the pub and slide into a corner booth away from the window, Owen Darlington a few paces behind.

Scorpius was the first to comment, of course. "They're not holding hands yet, so it must not be going so well."

Dahlia shushed him. "Just try to listen!" she hissed.

The group watched as Darlington waited for Rose to sit down before heading up to the bar and returning with two mugs of butterbeer a minute later. It looked like Rose tried to hand him a few knuts, but he pushed them back across the table. Cat's eyesight wasn't perfect from this distance, but she thought Rose didn't look too thrilled, at least not initially. With the incessant chatter and shouting taking place across the Three Broomsticks, Cat struggled to pick up any details of their conversation, though she kept watching intently. Maybe she was taking this spying mission a little too seriously.

"Here," Albus interrupted suddenly, producing two Extendable Ears from his coat pocket and laying them out on the table.

"I haven't used one of these since I was like, seven," Cat scoffed, jokingly.

"I haven't used one of these since last week," Albus replied, and Cat stifled a giggle. "We'll have to share, if that's okay?"

Cat took one long look at him, only breaking it off when she found herself looking into his bright green eyes for a second too long. Meanwhile, Scorpius scrambled for the Ear while Dahlia and Annie leaned in close.

"I guess so, since you seem to be an expert," Cat countered, then instantly regretted it. She was struck, once again, by the fact that Albus had a girlfriend. It shouldn't keep surprising her like this.

Albus grinned, displaying a straight set of white teeth that made Cat gulp before she leaned in.

Luckily, the conversation between Rose and Darlington was distracting, not for its witty banter, but rather for its complete and utter lack of anything resembling wit. Cat almost managed to forget the boy she was currently leaning on as she took in the details of quite possibly the inanest conversation she had ever heard.

"Rose, huh? Does your name have any special meaning?"

Cat swore she could make out Rose rolling her eyes, even from this distance.

"No, not particularly. My father just liked it, I think."

Darlington nodded. "Interesting."

He continued nodding for a few seconds too long, betraying their extreme lack of chemistry.

"So, are you in any interesting electives this semester?" Rose asked, a note of desperation present in her voice. Already, her mug of butterbeer was almost half gone.

"Well, I'm in Divination for the easy O," Owen began, and Cat looked to Rose to see her reaction. The redhead just took another long swig of her drink as her date continued talking. "We've been trying to use a crystal ball this semester, so that has been interesting."

"Interesting how?" Rose asked, even as she couldn't look less intrigued herself.

"Well, I don't really know how to use the thing yet," Darlington admitted, "but there are some cool shapes in there sometimes."

"Hmmm, I bet." Rose acquiesced. They lapsed into silence for a few minutes as they both looked out the window and finished their mugs. Rose finished first, causing Darlington to speak up.

"Can I get you another one?"

Rose looked alarmed. "No!" she cried out, a little too loudly.

"I mean, no thank you," she adjusted quickly, correcting herself. "It's just that I told Minnie and Imogen I would meet with them to work on our Defense project, so I sort of have to get going pretty soon."

"Sure you do, Rose," Cat commented softly, a wry smile on her lips.

Albus laughed quietly and pulled away from the ear, gazing directly at Cat. "What, you think Rose is lying?"

"Well, she's definitely not telling the whole truth!" Cat whispered back.

"It is a pretty boring date," Albus admitted. "I don't blame her for trying to nip out early."

"At least this has been the opposite of boring. I mean, not that this is a date or anything," Cat was stumbling over her words at this point, but determined to keep going. "It's just that we just came here for a bit of a girl's day out, and then Scorpius roped us into this whole espionage thing, but it's ended up being pretty fun."

"To be fair, he roped me into this too," Albus responded. "But yeah, definitely more fun than I thought."

And then he smiled at Cat, and the combination of his grin and his piercing emerald eyes was way too much, and Cat had to look away, back at Rose and Darlington across the pub.

"I hope it didn't disrupt your girls' day, though," he continued, when it was obvious Cat had no idea what to say in response.

"Oh, no way. We needed a distraction, more than anything," she divulged. Despite the moments when Albus himself was distracting to the point of uneasiness, she somehow felt comfortable telling him things.

"Annie had a rough one last night."

"We've all been there," Albus replied with a slight grimace, and Cat was charmed by his simple display of empathy. "At least she looks like she's enjoying herself today."

For the first time in a while, Cat glanced across the table, where Annie, Dahlia, and Scorpius were all squeezed together next to one Extendable Ear, intently observing the couple across the room. Rose was fidgeting impatiently now, playing with her purse in her lap and tapping her feet on the hardwood floor.

Albus had followed her gaze back to the unhappy couple. The Extendable Ear now lay discarded, on top of the table.

"How much longer do you reckon she sticks it out?" he asked.

"I say less than five minutes," Cat answered. "Rose doesn't seem like one to dawdle. The way she took down Lilia Stevenson in dueling last week in less than a minute was impressive."

Cat hadn't meant to bring up the dueling lesson again. Her defeat still stung, and her current proximity to her former opponent only increased the sensation of shame.

Albus, for his part, looked a bit guilty as well. "I felt badly afterward," he confessed, looking Cat in the eyes. "Those rope burns on your arms looked painful."

Cat was inwardly cursing herself for the topic of conversation they had ventured into, but managed a polite response.

"Please don't worry, Albus. They weren't as irritating as they looked, and Pomfrey took care of them in less than 5 seconds after class."

She wasn't lying. The burn of humiliation had managed to numb the sensation of physical pain for the rest of class.

"I still feel badly, though," Albus pressed on.

"Well, don't," Cat responded flatly. "You're a good duelist."

"Thanks. I've had some practice," he commented vaguely, which sent Cat's thoughts whirling. She wanted to ask him where, and against whom, but he continued.

"You were pretty impressive too, you know."

Cat almost scoffed, but restrained herself. She swallowed her pride and quietly murmured her thanks.

"Seriously, though, I've been meaning to ask you about that spell you sent my way at the end. I didn't recognize it. Where did you learn it?"

"Um, I didn't learn it exactly." Cat was blushing now, and hyper-aware of the fact. "I, well I guess you could say… I made it up."

"You invented a spell?" Albus was incredulous, his facial expression inquisitive like a child, suddenly full of questions. "When? How? Had you tested it before? And did you know it would work?"

Completely abashed, Cat took a second to exhale before attempting to respond to his onslaught of questions. She still felt guilty about even using the spell in the first place, and the last thing she wanted to do was talk about it. But Albus was so curious, and she figured she owed him an explanation at the very least. Plus, she had some questions of her own she wanted answers.

"I was, uh, interested in Flitwick's lecture on splitting spells last year and I did some… well I guess you could call it research, into the concept of splitting magic. It took most of the semester, but I managed to figure out how to split a few spells in two. I was the best at the Confundus Charm, so that's what I used on you. Or at least tried to."

Albus was quiet for a moment, so Cat filled the gap.

"I hope you weren't upset by that! I know it's still frowned upon to cast spells that haven't been registered with the Ministry, but I swear I thought it was safe. I hadn't actually cast it on a person yet, but nothing had gone wrong when I was experimenting, and to be honest, I was getting pretty frustrated during our duel and really just wanted do something unexpected…"

She trailed off and finally registered the expression on Albus's face. He looked impressed, and she tried not to feel too proud of herself.

"Bloody hell, Cat!" he exclaimed. "That's fucking insane! You're telling me you came up with that all by yourself?"

"Well, with the help of a few books from the Restricted Section," she admitted. "I might have abused my privilege as a Prefect a bit. And I couldn't work out how to increase the power of the spell once it was split. The result is more diluted than I wanted."

Albus just looked at her, shaking his head. "You're a bloody genius."

Cat huffed. "Then you're a bloody master duelist! You definitely knew what you were doing up there."

"I've had some experience," Albus said again. This time, the curiosity was too much for Cat, prompting her to ask for some clarification.

"From your Dad? I mean, he is an Auror. It makes sense."

"Uh, yeah. He is." Albus confirmed. "And he did help me. He actually taught me that spell I used at the end—the golden one that blocked yours and manifested in that sphere shape."

Cat nodded. "I wanted to ask you about that too. I mean, it was weird. It definitely caught me off guard."

"Yeah, I mean at that point I was kind of trying to show off a bit. It's basically just a fancy version of a Shield Charm that's meant to be more distracting than protective. But still, Cat, I can't get over that you invented your own bloody spell. You should register it with the Ministry and get it patented!"

His suggestion went over her head initially, as she was trying to figure out for whom exactly Albus was trying to show off.

"Oh, no!" she denied vehemently, a second too late, "I mean, there are still some parts of it I want to work on. And if I registered it, everybody would find out!"

"And that's a bad thing because...?" Albus left his question open-ended.

Because my mother would disapprove, and my father would not even bat an eyelash.

"I just don't want to," Cat said, attempting to end the conversation, although it came out more defensive than she intended.

"Regardless, that's impressive."

"Well, so were you."

Cat's blush had returned now, but it was now accompanied by a self-satisfied smile. Albus may have been a Gryffindor, but he was smart, and his praise had quite the effect on her.

"Are you two done being nerds?" Scorpius cut in rudely, causing Cat to jerk away from the raven-haired boy next to her.

"Um, yeah, I guess so," Cat stuttered out, but Scorpius was already continuing.

"Because Rose and her idiot 'Puff have left the building, Dahlia is chatting up some witch at the bar, and Annie over here is ready to fall asleep in this booth. The mission is over."

Her blonde best friend blinked at the mention of her name. "What?"

"Okay, let's get you home, Annie," Cat said, scooting out of the booth and standing up.

"This was fun," Albus said, copying her own exit from the booth and echoing his sentiment from earlier. "We should all do some spying again sometime."

He looked around at the remainder of the group, but his eyes fell on Cat.

Scorpius scoffed. "You two," he began, gesturing at Albus and Cat, "need to improve your undercover skills. You lost your focus and started talking so loudly you almost compromised the mission!"

Annie nodded in agreement, a smirk on her face aimed directly at Cat.

"We'll try to do better next time," said Albus.

Scorpius only shook his head.

Author's Note: Believe it or not, I AM still writing this story! And it's summer now, meaning I'm done with school for the semester and will have more time to devote to this story. But please drop me a review if you're still reading (or if you just started!)-it would mean the world to me :)