A/N: So I know that I promised Cecil Roach in the last chapter, but I kind of got sidetracked with that.

A Roach Problem

As was expected that next morning, as soon as the post had come there were loud explosions all at once from Howlers. The best thing, Albus thought, was that his mother's voice wasn't heard that well through all the other scoldings in the hall.

"Albus Severus Potter! How many Howlers must I send you in a year before you get it through your head that you are at Hogwarts to get an education?" Ginny screeched through the red envelope. And as Albus covered his face with his hands in embarrassment, his father's voice broke through.

"Ginny, he's a Weasley and a Potter. You couldn't really expect anything less, I'd say."

Albus' spirit brightened. His father always understood mischief.

"Harry! Anything less than attacking a Professor and duelling like Muggles? Now get out of here. We agreed I would send a howler. Go on, get."

There was a slight pause and Albus rolled his eyes and sighed as his only hope apparently left. Then Ginny continued. "If you think your fifth year will be spent in detention, you have another thing coming, mister. I've sent your brother a note telling him to keep an eye on you. And maybe spending a little time with James will have you picking up some new habits… and friends."

And here the envelope turned to where Koden Lighthand was sitting across, his own head buried in his arms sleeping. "Eh what?" he grumbled, noticing a few eyes on him with the silence that followed.

Then the envelope burst into flames and the ash fell into the rest of Albus' breakfast. Stubbornly, he pushed the plate away and crossed his arms.

"Bad luck, mate," Koden said, yawning and simultaneously stuffing bacon into his mouth.

Albus scowled. He couldn't help but notice that Koden did not have a Howler at all in front of him, and if he hadn't been sure that Koden was pureblood, he would have asked if his parents had even got a letter.

Down on the other end of the Gryffindor table, James Potter stood up and sauntered over to his brother. "Hello baby brother," James greeted with a sly grin. Though he was Head Boy, James had also had a fair share of mischief in his days. Albus wondered bitterly whether his mother had thought to include that in her howler.

"Clear off, James," Albus warned.

Patrick and Glyn, who were seated next to Albus turned to look up at James and scowled up at him as well. As far as those two were concerned, James was the traitor.

"Alright then," James shrugged before ruffling his brother's hair and stuffing his hands in his robe pockets.

And before it could have gotten any worse for him, there was a slight tap on his shoulder and he whipped around wildly. "I TOLD YOU TO FUCK OFF!" Albus snapped, thinking his brother had come back to have a snide word.

His body went numb when he realized that it was Enry White that had been standing behind him.

Glyn and Patrick were sent into an uncontrollable laughter, but Koden had just looked up and stared at the girl suspiciously. It was, in fact, all because of her that they were all in trouble in the first place.

But Albus paid no attention to his friends and merely stared at the white-haired girl in terror. "Say something… anything you idiot!" the voice in his head screamed.

"Sorry, I thought you were my brother," Albus managed to choke out through the horror that was suffocating him. "I didn't mean to swear at you, honest."

The girl stood emotionless in front of him, and didn't seem to really care about his explanation. "Can I have a word with you?" she asked gently, her eyes flickering back to her table and then back to him.

Albus' face lit up. Perhaps his day was going to get a bit better. "Of course," he replied as he climbed out of his seat and stood beside her. Before he had a chance to scan her eyes, she turned briskly on her heel and led the way out into the Great Hall.

"It's not like I'm breaking up with him or anything," Enry repeated to herself for the hundredth time that morning. Her heart was beating fast and she had a sort of pressed anxiety on her chest. She vaguely noted this was nervousness.

As she stopped on the Marble Staircase she took a few steps up so she'd be able to look the boy she hardly knew in the eye and tell him she was not interested in him, and it was best if he left her alone.

But as soon as she looked into his green eyes, something odd happened. There was an unfamiliar stinging behind her eyes, and she rubbed them instinctively. She remembered this feeling from a long time ago, but what was it? It was so familiar…

And then to make things worse Albus seemed to notice something as he looked at her and his mouth formed a slight "o" in awe. "I'm really sorry, Enry! I honestly thought you were my brother! I didn't mean to swear at you, I would never do that. Please stop crying."

Crying? The words sifted through her head but there was no meaning to them. She couldn't cry. She couldn't even remember the last time she had cried.

"I'm not crying," she said out loud, more or less to convince herself. But her hand had found its way back to her face and sure enough, a few tears had rolled their way down to her chin. "Well this is going to complicate things," Enry thought as she whisked the tears off her face with the sleeve of her robes. "I'm sorry," she said. And it was true. She had not meant to cry, she had not meant to upset him, and she definitely did not mean what she said next. "I don't want to be your Potions partner anymore. I think it would be best if we didn't talk from now on."

The dark haired boy in front of her went stiff. There was a moment of awkward silence as he surveyed her expression and the words she had spoken. Did he realize that she didn't mean them? Had she been firm enough?

"Why?" Albus asked then, his expression turning sour.

Enry looked down at her shoes like a child in trouble and responded obediently. She had really hoped she didn't have to say this part. "For one, I don't like you in the way that I know you like me. And another is that after yesterday's disaster, my parents have threatened to expel me. I can't that sort of thing happening again." At least part of it was the truth.

She sneaked a glance back up at the boy and he was lost in his own little world. Enry could tell because it was the same look he had on his face when she'd catch him staring at her, or after she would speak to him.

"I guess that's fair enough then," he said quickly, with his voice cracking at the end. Enry stared at him, worried. She couldn't believe how selfish she was being, but what else could she have done? It wasn't like she could be expelled or be disowned. Those types of things weren't options.

And what did she care anyway? Since when did a White cry? Since when did a stupid, simple boy matter to her? But of course, like always, the answer had come and slapped her in the face. It was because she had never hurt anybody in the same way she had been hurt all her life. In the same cruel rejection her parents had dished to her.

Since when did she, Enry, do that?

"I'm sorry," she muttered sheepishly. Then something happened for the second time that day that she hadn't felt in ages. A weird sense of need. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she really hoped that it would go away, because it was not pleasant at all. It was not like her at all to need anything.

Before he had a chance to response, Enry turned and walked up the Marble Staircase to her first class.

"Quite a display you made their White. I didn't know that you'd be one to cry over a boy," Scorpius teased as Enry rounded the corner from the Marble Staircase and onto the second floor. Of course, Scorpius had to make sure that Enry had done her job well.

Furious, Enry clenched her fists together and sealed her lips. She merely nodded and tried regaining control of all her emotions. They seemed to be escaping from more often lately. It took her a few minutes under Scorpius' stare, but she finally gathered herself. "I did it though," said Enry.

"You're right. Now to make sure you follow through on that," he said casually, lightly holding his wand between the forefingers of both hands.

"I have no idea why you have to make my life so difficult," Enry said coolly, crossing her arms.

Scowling, Scorpius stopped leaning against the wall and walked up to her. "I think you'd better re-think just what I'm doing for your life. I'm actually doing the best I can to make sure you have a simple one. And I quite believe that you begged me to do so."

Enry stared emotionlessly at him. She wanted to scream back at him, to ask him how making her life simple with something as complicated and dangerous as the Death Eater Renegades was helping her. But she knew better. "I apologize then. I'm just feeling off right now."

Scorpius smirked triumphantly. "No matter. That detention is tonight, so keep close. I think Potter or his friends will try something funny."

"They always do," Enry sighed.

"She broke up with you?" Koden repeated with disbelief and incredulity practically slapped on his face.

Albus tore his head out of his hands and furrowed his eyebrows at his best friend. "We weren't dating, so that's not possible," Albus said as if it were obvious.

"Oh c'mon mate. She cried and said that she couldn't see you any more. That's definitely a breakup," Glyn said matter-of-factly, siding with Koden.

"You were best off without her anyway!" Patrick said happily.

The four of them were marching to their Herbology class which was the first of the day. When Albus had walked back in to the Great Hall, Koden knew something was wrong right away. The first sign was that Albus had no color in his face. The second was the traumatic look in his best friend's eyes, and the last give away was when Albus let his head smack the Gryffindor table in some type of trance and still didn't move.

Koden draped his arm around his friend and opened his arms out to the world dramatically. "Look, Al. There are plenty of fish in the sea! You've not got any horrible afflictions. I bet if you chat up any girl in our grade, they'd give you a chance. Forget that snake and move on."

Albus rolled his eyes and pushed his friend off of him. "I don't want anybody else," he said stubbornly.

"Aw, bless," came the sarcastic coo of Patrick behind him.

"He's really in love," Glyn said joining in.

Koden narrowed his eyes at the two and silently told them to shut up. The last thing he needed was for the two idiots to plant thoughts in Albus' head.

"And I don't want just any girl," Albus continued, now getting rather angry. "You know me and girls."

Koden knew this perfectly. But that was his plan. Koden didn't want his friend falling in love and spending the rest of his time at Hogwarts sharing himself between his best friend and that snake. He would have rathered a few casual flings.

"Well you don't need to find one that's going to live the rest of their life with you," Koden said, now equally angry. "We've got a few years… another girl will come around."

"Hopefully not too soon," Koden thought afterwards.

Albus didn't reply, and Koden took that as a good sign.

They entered the third greenhouse and joined the rest of their classmates for Professor Longbottom's class. As they were left alone to grow their Gillyweed (a two month long project) Koden looked back at Albus.

Patrick leaned in and whispered in Koden's ear, "Reckon he'll be alright then?"

Koden shrugged, looking at the sorrow filled face in front of him. He watched his friend mindlessly stir the water with his wand, without even thinking about anything. "Couldn't say."

Grinning, Patrick responded, "That's what mates are for then."

Professor Cecil Roach was not in his class when the troop of Slytherins walked in to his office, closely followed by the four Gryffindor boys. A few people muttered in confusion to others. What were they to do? They had been told to meet the bat crazy Professor in his office at exactly seven o'clock.

Out of the corner of his eye, Albus saw Enry turn to look at him and look quickly away. This was awkward and hard enough already for him without her chancing glances his way.

Before they had set off to their Professor's office, Koden had devised a plan where every time he caught Albus looking at her, he would smack him across the head. Albus had only agreed because he didn't want to seem desperate by being the one chancing glances.

But as he stood there now he was contemplating turning slightly to his left so that he could get a good look at her. Even before he was about to, Koden smacked the side of Albus' head hard.

"Oi! I didn't do anything yet!" Albus hissed, rubbing the spot where Koden had landed a good wack.

"For good measure," Koden said warily, eyeing his friend suspiciously. His hand was still raised threateningly.

So Albus found a spot on the floor and fixedly watched it. He wished he could get the whole ordeal over with, but this was just the first detention, the second would have be on that weekend.

As he was inwardly grumbling about why he was even there in the first place, he spotted a cockroach crawling across the ground. He watched it crawl away without any thoughts until suddenly their Professor appeared out where the cockroach had once been.

"No way you're an Animagus?" Albus asked, as the other students wondered where their Professor had come from.

"Yes dear boy, and it comes in great handy, let me tell you," Cecil Roach replied, touching his head knowingly.

"What are we doing today?" Scorpius demanded from the Slytherin crowd. Albus had to keep himself from even looking in that direction, in case he was tempted. Koden did have a good smack.

"Shut your mouth," Cecil said, walking crookedly to his desk. Albus wished he could have seen the look on Scorpius' face, but he just smiled and stared at their hunchback teacher sit down before them.

Cecil Roach was an odd man. He was brilliant in magic, and had bragged to them in classes about how many spells he had created in the last few decades. All of which "come in handy" and he would give you that same knowing tap to the head as if all the answers to all the difficult questions in the world were stored up there.

But he was bark raving mad. Or at least, he must have been. Something wasn't right when last week he had taken a girl's kitten and transfigured it into a teacup. He proceeded to throw that teacup against the wall of the room and have it shatter into a million pieces, causing the first year girl to cry hysterically.

When he had finished lecturing her over her sobs about the importance of leaving all pets in dormitories, he repaired the teacup and turned it back into her pet, then booted her out of the room and demanded she not return until she had mastered "the teacup". As it would come in handy of course.

McGonagall had even been rumoured to have given Professor Roach an official warning, but that didn't stop how much progress there was in all of the classes. All grades were rising, and everyone knew why. They all had a death wish if they didn't receive an 'O" on their O.W.L's that year. Professor Roach had promised them that.

"Now if there was a way to transfigure old bones to new ones, I would have already known it. But since there isn't, I am not able to do a few things. That is why I suggested to Headmistress McGonagall if she were to lend me some students, I could put them to some good old backbreaking labour. Oh don't give me that look boy. I didn't mean backbreaking literally."

Zachary Zabini did not seem to believe their Professor though, and eyed his hunchback.

"So I guess we'll get to polishing."

With a flick of his wand, a large cabinet in the back of his office whipped open and a good fifty or so brooms fell out with a bang onto the floor causing several students to jump.

There was an awkward silence in the room as the students stared at the brooms in confusion. "Um, Professor?" Nabiki asked tentatively, turning to face the lunatic.

"What is it?" Professor Roach snapped, the look on his face clearly affronted with how they were all looking at him.

"What are we supposed to do with these brooms?"

"Polish them, of course. I just said that didn't I? Didn't I?" he asked again turning to Albus and staring him down. Albus nodded slowly but surely, making sure not to upset their Professor even further.

"But why?" Zabini asked. For the one who was scared the most of Professor Roach, Albus thought that maybe he should've shut his mouth.

"WHY? Well because they're not polished that's why. As the new Quidditch Referee, I have to ensure that all brooms are standard and up to date."

Albus' mouth flung open. When exactly had this happened? To be fair, there had been no games at all so far that year as it was just the beginning of October. But there had been no announcement of any death, retirement or any disappearance of their previous referee.

There was a mixed reaction in the office, a few of the students also shocked at the announcement.

"Well get going," he instructed, pointing his wand to large buckets of polish and broom clippers and whisking them off the shelves so the students could help themselves.

Albus grabbed a nearby ancient Firebolt that seemed on its last legs. He had remembered his first year flying on these school brooms, even though he knew how to fly as good as he knew how to walk. They had always been ancient and battered.

"Oh and no magic," Cecil added as he saw Scorpius take out his wand. "A bit of elbow grease gets the job done better. And it comes in handy later on."

"But that will take forever!" Patrick cried, stuffing his own wand back into his robes. At least Albus knew someone appreciated how long it actually did take to polish a broom.

"Yes, Mr. Archer. It will. Best to get to work as soon as possible then."

A/N: And yes, I figure hunching over broom after broom and polishing it meticulously, along with carefully clipping each loose straw would be backbreaking and gruelling!

Review please!