Chapter 5: Big Plans

Halloween came a few days early to Hogwarts. The teachers were already putting up the decorations and everywhere you went in the castle you could smell pumpkins and cinnamon. The entire castle was buzzing with excitement for the upcoming feast and once the feast happened, it would only be a few more weeks until they could leave for Christmas Holiday.

"Guess who's coming to Christmas dinner." Sierra grinned as she slid into her seat at breakfast.

Albus gapped at her, fork stopping just outside his mouth. "You're joking."

"Nope, I'm spending Christmas with Lucy and her family and even got permission to come to dinner with them." She smiled. "You should have seen Molly's face when I told her."

"What? There's no way Uncle Percy is letting you come over on Christmas." Albus shook his head, not believing this for a second.

"Well, believe it or not, it's happening." She put a waffle on her plate and drowned it in syrup. "Of course I'm not coming over immediately after we get home. I'm stopping by my house for a few days to spend time with my family and to buy gifts for you all. Though, I hope no one gets offended if I just get you, Lucy, and her parents gifts. I can't afford to get your whole family presents." She glanced over at the Gryffindor table, glaring at James. "Nor do I want to." She stopped glaring and plopped a piece of waffle into her mouth. "Oh, by the way, Lucy and I are hanging out in The RoR instead of going to the Halloween Feast. Wanna come with?"

"Is this invitation for both of us?" Scorpius asked.

Sierra gave a slight grimace. "I guess, why do you want to come? I thought you hated me for being the seeker."

Scorpius shrugged. "Not hate, just strong dislike. Plus, if Al goes I wanna go. I don't wanna be the lame ass loser at the feast without any friends."

"Wait," Sierra started. "You have friends?" She said in mock surprise.

Scorpus ignored her. "Al, I think we need to get to Charms class, don't you?"

Albus sighed, wishing that the two of them would just get along for once. Instead of saying this though he just grabbed his bag and followed Scorpius. On their way out of the Main Hall they spotted Fred who was feeding Gilly some bacon from the breakfast table. "It's been, like, two months, Freddie. Don't you think it's time to give Sierra her cat?" Albus asked.

Fred picked Gilly up. "But she's such a sweetie."

"She's Sierra's, plus she's starting to get worried about her."

Fred pouted. "Fine, but no telling her that I stole Gilly. I'm going to act like I found her."

"Ok, this I've got to watch." Albus said, following Fred back into the Main Hall. He stayed far enough away to avoid any curses Sierra might send his way.

Fred tapped Sierra on the shoulder. "Hey, are you missing something." He held Gilly so Sierra could see her.

"Gilda!" Sierra jumped from her seat and grabbed the black cat from him. "Oh baby girl, where have you been!" She hugged her then glared at Fred. "Where did you find her?"

"She was sun bathing in the courtyard. What, did you think I stole her?" He rolled his eyes.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you did!" She snapped.

"Oh my Lord, you are unbelievable! What do I have to do to get you to stop hating me?" He exclaimed.

Sierra bristled. "You want to know what you have to do?" She asked as she grabbed her bag. Albus could have sworn she saw a tear in her eye. "Stop being you!" And with that she stormed off, Gilly still in her arms. Albus was certain now, she was crying.

Fred's shoulders slumped and he walked back over to Albus and Scorpius. "I don't know why she hates me so much."

"Are you sure it's you she hates and not just Gryffindors as a rule?" Albus asked.

"No, believe me, it's me." Fred gave a frustrated groan as he ran his fingers through his dark hair. "Could one of you go after her for me? Normally Lucy does that but she's already in class. Please, Al?"

Albus sighed heavily. "Alright fine," He surrendered. "Tell Professor I'll be late, alright?" He told Scorpius. He shot his cousin a pity glance before running after Sierra.

He found a place where no one would see him and pulled out his map. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." His eyes frantically searched for Sierras name and found her running for the courtyard. "Mischief managed." He muttered, throwing the map back into his bag. He ran to the courtyard and there she was, crying on the steps, Gilly pawing and mewing at her. Sierra spotted him and immediately wiped her eyes.

"Saw that, did you?" She muttered.

Albus nodded and sat next to her. "You told me, on the train, that a Gryffindor sent you to the hospital wing. What really happened?"

Sierra took a deep breath and prepared to launch into the story. "I was an idiot first year." She started. "Lucy, Freddie and I started out as good friends. Then, I met your brother and developed a bit of a crush."

"James? You fancied James?" Albus' jaw hit the ground.

"Like I said, I was an idiot first year. Anyways, when I confessed to him he thought I was just trying to distract him from his precious quidditch practice. I lied when I said a Gryffindor sent me to the Hospital Wing." She confessed. "I was upset when James turned me down. It was right before potions class when he did and I wasn't paying attention. The cauldron exploded, and I was raced to Madame Pomfrey."

"So, why hate Freddie for something James did?" Albus asked. Sierra tensed and her face went red. He understood. "You don't hate him." He said. "You like him, don't you?"

She gave a reluctant nod. "He visited me everyday when I was in the Hospital Wing. He kept trying to cheer me up. I ended up fancying him and tried to hide it by pushing him away. Of course he noticed and asked me what was wrong." She sighed. "Last year ended in a fight and since then, we've just kept fighting." She leaned her head on Albus' shoulder and started to cry.

He put his arm around her. "Come on, stop crying. There's an easy way to fix this. Just apologize to Freddie. Tell him the truth."

"I can't do that. What if the same thing happens." She whimpered.

"Well, I can tell you this, Freddie is a better person than James will ever be. He wouldn't hurt you on propose." He rubbed her back.

Sierra gave a weak nod and just sat there, resting her head on Albus' shoulder. The two sat there for a while, knowing fully well they'd be more than just a few minutes late to their next class. But Albus sat with his friend and let her cry into his shoulder. He didn't understand why she was crying though. Was it just something girls did? Or was it just a teenager thing he hadn't experienced yet because he hadn't liked anyone yet. He wondered what it felt like.

"You're a lot later than I thought you would be." Scorpius whispered as Albus sat next to him.

"Sorry, I had to cheer her up." He sighed. "It was really bad."

"Oh?" Scorpius leaned in, now interested. "Were there tears? Did she confess anything? Do tell." He grinned.

Albus frowned. "I think you're enjoying Sierra's suffering a bit too much."

"She took my rightful spot on the quidditch team. I'm allowed to rejoice in her remorse." He put his nose up.

Albus rolled his eyes and tried to pay attention to his charms lesson but found it increasingly harder to do so. When did Scorpius get so close to him? The boy was sitting so incredibly close that Albus could have sworn he could feel the other's body heat. Then he realized how nice Scorpius looked. His sharp features and slicked back hair...

Albus turned his eyes straight back to his notes, trying to hide the deep red blush that was moving across his face. He didn't know where those thoughts had come from. Maybe he was just tired from all of the homework his teachers were giving him. Or maybe Sierra's situation was making him subconsciously look for someone to crush on. That would explain why his heart was beating fast inside of his chest.

Yeah, that was it. It was just a moment oh weakness. He didn't actually think those things about Scorpius. He shouldn't. He couldn't! Scorpius was his best friend, not to mention a guy. Albus had nothing against gay people, heck he was almost certain Louis was gay. But he couldn't be gay. That idea was just so outlandish to him.

No. He wasn't gay. He was just tired. That was it.

Hanging out in the Room of Requirement, or RoR as he and Sierra had started to call it, had quickly become Albus' favorite pass time. Halloween wasn't the first time he had accompanied Sierra there. Nor was it the first time Freddie had been there. At least Sierra and Freddie were being civil with each other now, even if it was through gritted teeth. To think, just a few days ago Sierra had been at Freddie's throat. Now, instead of trying to kill each other, they were sitting on either side of Lucy and making snide comments when the moment called for it.

The situation was just a bit awkward but Albus tried not to notice, because other than that it was great fun. Freddie had nicked them all some food and sweets from the kitchen and Albus had lent him the map which he claimed could lead him straight to Hogsmeade. Sure enough he returned about fifteen minutes later with bags full of candy and bottle of butter beer.

"You have to show me those tunnels!" Albus demanded. "How did you know about them?"

Freddie just laughed. "Dad and Uncle Fred had that map long before your dad even knew what magic was." He smirked. "He told me all these stories about how they used to sneak around the castle before they finally memorized the entire map and passed it onto your dad."

"Wow," He gaped at his older cousin, eyes wide in awe. He had no idea Freddie was this cool. Ok, that was a lie. He knew Freddie was one of the cooler cousins but he never thought he'd be this bold with rule breaking. He knew that Freddie's dad owned a joke shop, and that Freddie himself was a mastermind prankster but he had never seen him go so far and break so many rules. It was honestly eye-opening.

"Hey," Sierra said, suddenly sitting up from her laying down position on the couch. "I just thought of something." She grinned. "What if, we got everyone here, and like, a huge multi-house party."

"I thought you were against that idea." Albus raised a skeptic eyebrow. "What's changed?"

For a second, she and Freddie caught each other's eye but they quickly looked away from each other. "Well, I just thought you were right, you know, let other people who have friends in other houses to enjoy what Lucy and I have enjoyed. So, why not a new years party when we get back from break?"

"Yeah, I could always bring all the butterbeer." Freddie piped in.

"And we could get all the Hufflepuffs to swipe us food from the kitchens." Sierra grinned and just like that, the two started forming an elaborate plan.

A plan that Albus was sure wouldn't end too well for any involved.