Chapter 3- Twin Impact
"There you are, we thought you ran-away", Violet entered the compartment like a summer breeze, followed by Scorpius, who collided twice with the entrance before getting in (all his attention focused on the small picture in his hand), followed by, as if by chance, Rollo, who said nothing and immediately sat down across Albus, reading the Quibbler.
He himself hurried to put away the wand under all the momentary commotion as, despite his father's words, holding it made him queasier than the stink bomb outside. Finally, Violet finished punching her belonging into the upper store and Scorpius stopped ogling at his newly sighed photograph, carefully placing it in a book for safekeeping.
For a short time, the only sound remaining was the mumbling of Rollo, his half open trolly at his feet without care. His limbs seemed to lengthen by at least 10 centimetres, yet his head, if that was even possible, shrunk. Albus glanced towards the weekly quiz, where a poorly drawn awkward boy with a heart shaped letter shyly stood next to a mailbox.
"How was your vacation?", he asked the trollish boy, "Mine was fine, to be frank…". The small eyes turned to him in confusion, "Mine too", he answered in his weirdly gentle voice and delved back into his problem. Albus sighed, it was hopeless, though he soon forgot about it as Violet leaned over and presented everyone the muggle sweets her stepfather secretly handed her.
"Weird. Why would it be shaped like small pigs...", Scorpius scanned its contacts. "How is that any weirder than moving chocolate frogs?", she asked, but the pale boy already helped himself to a nice serving, his mouth too full to answer, convincing Albus to do the same, hoping that would be a proper excuse if someone started questioning him about what happened at the end of last year.
He rested his head backward and closed his eyes, enjoying the new, yet not unpleasant taste of the gummy pigs. Thinking about it, Scorpius and Violet were sensible enough, at least for the time being, not to raise this issue (and Rollo wasn't exactly the investigating kind either), but sooner or later it was sure to come up.
His father had ordered him to lie and say he didn't remember anything, but he doubted anyone would believe it. His head began to throb at this thought, so, instead, he decided to focus on the commotion outside as more and more families arrived, and on the strange magical vibrations that came with them.
It seemed that only in Grimmauld Place this sense finally returned to him, but there was a significant difference between it and what he identified now. In fact, he even imagined feeling the aura with whom he shared the compartment with- a strong and bursting force; calm and weak, yet stable stream; strange and jumpy small surges; sealed off energy, like the sash he hidden well beneath his collar, that came, if it was even possible from more than one place…
Albus opened his eyes, finding the Scamander twins at the entrance, seeming like a mirrored reflection, standing shoulder to shoulder at the cramped space. "How was…", "…your break?", they finished each other sentence. It took him awhile to respond, trying to remember which one of them was who.
"It was fine", he was a bit ashamed that he only remembered who had the left blue icy eye and who had the right one from the song their mother thought him when he was young. "Lore left his can…", it was as if Lorcan read his mind, "…and Lys sent his right away", Lysander completed without hesitation.
"Something interesting happened?", Lorcan continued, "Something important?", Lysander rapidly added, "Perhaps something a bit foul?", "Or rather someone?". They finished each other words so seamlessly it was tricky to follow who said what, not that it mattered, Albus realized, a bit too late, quickly trying to hide his shocked expression.
Their objective was to catch him off guard, he angrily understood, something in which they undoubtedly succeeded. "What do you want?", he gritted his teeth, trying to hide further emotions, wandering what irritated him more- the speed in which they found their confirmation or the ease in which they did it with.
"To say hello and good luck in the new year", they said in unison, looking at each other, and, seeming to know there was no point in further investigation, disappeared as fast as they arrived. "What was that all about?", Violet asked. Across her, Scorpius kept quiet, but it was Rollo that almost made Albus pinch himself to make sure he wasn't asleep.
"Did Herpo really return?", the trollish kid asked with his soft cockney accent. "How…", Albus had to stop himself before slipping again, "…Why would you ask that?", he quickly corrected. The small eyes aimed back down to the magazine. "Mind if I looked at it for a second?", he sent his hand forward, yet Rollo hesitated.
"Are you serious?", Albus asked in disbelief, feeling as if someone had rattled a stone in his skull, this time with a bit of tingling at the end of his fingers. "He just wants to check for a second…", "I don't need your help", he cut off Scorpius, "I just wanted to see how stupid this thing really is".
"Don't aim your anger at him", Violet erupted, "I don't need you to protect me!", Scorpius seemed madder at her then at Albus, "You're not my sister!". Yet their quarrel was quickly forgotten by the arrival of another unexpected visitor at the entrance.
"Hey Al", Alice nervously scratched her nose, rocking on the tip of her tows, her eyes bolting back and forth, "Is it a bad timing?". Albus didn't had to concentrate on his newfound ability to sense others, as her body shook so much it could have been noticeable even by a blind bet.
"Of course not, come in", the same feeling as when he saw his brother arose in him as she tripped in, needing to awkwardly turn back to gather the trolly she forgot at the corridor. Then she hurriedly sat between him and Violet, timidly hiding there like a crab in a stone crack, which was not to Albus liking, yet he pitied her too much to comment.
"Weren't you and Lily in the same year?", he asked. "We're only 3 months apart", she whispered, trying to covertly scan the inhabitants of the compartment (which only made it more noticeable), "I wanted to go next year, but…", her voice died out. "Don't worry, there are a lot of nice people in Hogwarts", Violet comforted her, "Here, have some candy", she pushed some gummies under her flattened nose.
"I love those!", the familiar sight seemed to calm her somewhat, almost making Albus smile at the sight of the piggish girl devouring the pig shaped sweets, making him forget about the twins for a brief second. "What's your name sweetie?", Violet cleaned some crumbs off her out of habit. "Alice", some pink shade finally returned to her round face as she relaxed a bit, "Alice Dursley".
"Are you related to Dudley Dursley by any chance?", Violet's hand stopped mid-air, full of another batch of candy. "You know my dad?", Alice was surprised, opening her mouth in a way that didn't aid her already existing similarity to a pig. "What? You're not joking, are you?", the purpled eyed girl clutched her fist with such force everything inside it turned into mush, "I'm like… his biggest fan".
Even Rollo temporarily raised his head hearing those words. "What does he do?", Scorpius turned his head so fast between the girls it seemed like a blur. "He was a boxer", Albus noted to himself how the purpled eyed girl couldn't even fake interest in his parents on the platform, "Remember…", he told the pale kid, "…hitting each other in the head?".
"It's so much more than that, its… its…", Violet shook her long shiny brown hair from side to side, trying to come up with the proper response, "…it's an art!", she finally declared. "The art of hitting each other?", Scorpius scoffed, "Precisely!", she nodded, too excited to notice the irony in his words, "Here, have the whole bag, I don't mind", she gave the rest to the piggish girl.
"I'm not sure so much is good for me...", "Nonsense. Say, is your father still here?", Violet cranked her head towards the busy platform so much it was a miracle it hadn't snapped off. "No, he had to leave early…", by this point Alice completely forgot about her initial fear, "…but I could introduce you to him next time we return. And so could Al, now when I think about it…".
"Wait, ouch!", Violet spun her head so fast a crack was heard from her neck, "How do you two know each other again?", she absentmindedly massaged it, staring right at Albus. "His my father's nephew", he had hard time looking into her purple eyes. "How didn't I know that all this time…", she shook her head from side to side and had to massage her neck again as another loud crack was heard.
A short horn sounded as the train started moving, not that Alice seemed to notice. Any shred of worry disappeared as she began speaking with Violet and Albus (mainly Violet). "Wait, why did you come to this compartment and not this of James', not that I'm complaining of course...", the purpled eyed girl asked as soon as the pudgy girl stopped to gulp in some air.
"Oh, he's...", the piggish girl hesitated, "He didn't look very inviting…". Albus' heart, who'd just recovered from the twins, concluding they hadn't really gained any tangible information, dropped once more. "Yes, I saw him...", Violet rolled in the conversation without thinking, "...he looks even worse than Al now...".
Her eyes widened as she realized what she had just said, but there was nothing to do but stutter apologies to Albus, who couldn't believe his heart could fall any lower, feeling as if it had been left behind at the King's Cross Station. He kept a cool front, pretending it didn't bother him, and instead peered outside the window at the rapidly changing landscape.
This was how most of the trip went, with Alice (after a short embarrassing silence) returning to buzzing like a bee about her father to Violet, who wanted to know every trivial detail about the object of her adoration, Scorpius attentive across them, perplexed by the unfamiliar muggle world he was presented with.
This left Albus, who was in low spirits (even more than usual) a few good hours of self-reflection, realising the rumour about Herpo's return had probably sprung from the wacky Quibbler and how it was most likely the reason for the quarrel between his mother and Luna.
His head begun to rattle again, feeling as if he had forgotten about someone. To cast this thought away he started planning his school year, determined to be among the best in his class for a change. Though, his headache rearose, he would have to use the wand for that, if he even managed to operate it in the first place (a slight tingle was added at the tip of his fingers).
The beautiful day outside stood in complete opposition to his mood, making him miss the peace and quiet of Grimmauld Place. The last thing he wanted to do right now was meet hundreds of other nosy people, but of course, as if in response to his thought, in what seemed like an instant a black screen fell on the windows as the train started to slow down.
"...then, when my mum saw the 'Big D' posters and told me to take those down…", Violet recounted, "Why can't you just put up some pretty boy band pictures like a normal girl?", she imitated her mother with a high voice as Alice giggled, putting on her school uniform.
"I haven't had much contact with the wizarding world", the piggish girl suddenly became serious, noticing the glittering lights of Hogsmeade in the distance, "But every time Lily talked to me, she told me that Gryffindor was the best, but you guys don't look too bad, and really, how much does it really matter?".
"It matters a lot", Violet's kind tone changed at once, the compartment seeming to suddenly dim, "Al's sister is right, ask the hat to be in Gryffindor- It's undoubtedly the best house". The small girl opened her mouth in surprise, but Albus, who hadn't uttered a word the entire ride, was more interested in something else, "You asked the hat to be in Slytherin?", he croaked.
"Yes, of course. He recommended Slytherin but told me I could choose if I wanted to", the train pulled into the station, "If only I knew...", she weakly finished as the brakes screeched. For a change Alice didn't know what to say, turning to Albus for confirmation, yet he was more preoccupied with the hat giving everyone but him the right to choose.
"She's right, Slytherin is terrible", Albus eventually said, lacking the energy to expend about it, hurrying to step out of the train before the masses, Scorpius and Rollo silently following him, not seeming to disagree with him either, being the first to step into the station, the cool air blowing in their faces.
"Um, do you know where the carriages are?", the pale kid asked, also in a hoarse voice. The need to answer was spared from Albus, who forgot that only the newcomers arrived at the school by boats, as a call was heard- "Hey Al, over here". He had a hard time believing who it was, quickly moving towards the familiar voice.
"Excited?", Teddy asked, almost unrecognizable with his black hair, and even more so, with his plain robe, a faded 'Ministry of magic' embroidered on its front, standing near the carriages that were almost invisible in the darkness, two thestrals before each of them.
"What are you doing here?", Albus uneasily asked, surveying the creatures that resembled winged black skeletal horses, visible only to those who had witnessed death (or so it was written in the books he read). "Surprise! There's some additional security this year- me and the other six candidates for the aurors' office will explore here a bit this year, just to be safe...".
Albus felt Scorpius' gaze on his back and heard the voices of the others pouring out into the station behind. "Wonderful, good luck...", he moved towards the carriage, where the creature waited like a statue, its pupilless milky eyes staring at him without movement.
"Wait! I have something important to tell you!", he was stopped by Teddy, who nodded for the other two to go ahead. "Listen…", Albus expected him to share some light about what happened with Herpo, "…I'm sorry I didn't tell you about my plans all this time…", "Is this what it's about?", Albus impatiently interfered, "…I already told you, I don't care!".
He tried to get around Teddy, who, in an attempt to stop him, collided with the creature behind him. "What was it?", he jumped forward as if receiving an electric shock, his shiny brown wand swiftly in his hand. "Oh! Is that the thestral? Al?", he didn't seem surprised by the fact Albus could see those creatures.
He was about to ask who had revealed this fact to him when a small squeal came, "Teddy!", Alice bumped into the handsome young man, almost causing him to fall backwards onto the emaciated animal once more. Albus shook his painful head, and got into the carriage with Violet, who trailed after the piggish girl.
"You should go on the boats... don't worry, the water is smooth as a mirror right about now...", was the last thing he heard before the doors shut. It didn't take long for the carriage to start moving, and Albus felt his whole body shivering as they got closer to the fortress.
It wasn't only the stress from the upcoming feast, but also the inescapable static magic in the air. It was strong and powerful, overwhelming all his senses, hardly giving him the ability to do anything else but hold his head, which felt like it was about to split in two.
"Are you okay? Do you need to go to the infirmary?", Scorpius asked as they were the first to get off at the main school entrance, making their way inside under the instructions of an unfamiliar young man with thinning brown hair and dark blue eyes (perhaps one of the other six candidates for the Auror Office that Teddy talked about).
"I'm fine", was all he managed to say. He just needed a dark and quiet place to rest a bit, he thought as they entered the great hall, surveying the empty large room. Half of the staff was still missing, yet those who were already there stared at him, (apart from McGonagall, who scanned the students as they flowed in).
Albus hurriedly sat down, facing the wall, and instead aimed his gaze at the edge of the table, where the Bloody Baron hovered in his long blood-soaked cloak and heavy chains, across him, at the Ravenclaw's table, the grey lady, her back turned to him. Their pearly transparent bodies were barely visible in the light of the floating candles, above them the see-through ceiling, presenting the flawless coal-black sky.
Two more ghosts were missing. Albus shuddered again at this thought, focusing all of his attention on the empty golden plates below, avoiding the looks of those who begun filling the hall. Fortunately, there was a great deal of conversations around, which kept them from being particularly understandable.
Yet fragments still reached him, words like 'herpo' and 'Potter' especially rattling between his ears. It was difficult to delve into the kitchen utensils for long and he was glad when Hagrid finally joined the staff's table through a back door, and not too long after, this time through the front one, Professor Flitwick entered, dozens of children wobbling behind him like ducks after their mother.
"Were we that small too?", Violet quietly wondered. "What are you talking about?", Scorpius whispered back, "We're only a year older than them". Albus risked and momentarily glanced up, only to quickly look down as soon as it crossed Patricia's bright blue stare.
All the little whispers and glances aimed at him, in addition to the magic current woven into the stone walls, tormented his senses. He regretted entering the hall in the first place yet chose not to get up and earn even more unwanted attention for himself, glad for the distraction the singing hat provided.
Those who are and those to be,
there is a story to who else but me.
Long ago four young souls have met.
There is an answer! They all professed.
Valour! Gryffindor called in victory,
against Slytherin's shrewd decree.
Insight! Proudly adjusted Ravenclaw,
in contrast to Hufflepuff's fine bylaw.
Yet need was great then them,
no time was for the condemn.
We will put our pride aside!
All together we will decide.
For time, they were a team.
High and low they braved the stream.
But alas, each kept obtain,
until one broke, no longer to entertain.
The solution not complete,
right down to others it befit.
And now, no else but you should roam.
Choice or not, you will atone!
"That's comforting", Albus mumbled under the brief handclaps, barely noticing as the sorting ceremony started, paying attention to it only three times. Firstly, as Alice carefully sat down on the stool for a minute before being sorted into Gryffindor (which didn't particularly surprise him); secondly, when the Scamander twins' names were called (his anger towards them had not yet dampened)- Lorcan stepping left to Ravenclaw, and Lysander, unexpectedly, right to Hufflepuff; and finally Hugo to the lion den as well, received with a brotherly hug by the overjoyed James.
"Welcome to Hogwarts", McGonagall casted an immediate silence over the hall. "I'm happy to see so many new faces and hope you will truly have meaningful time in here". She seemed to age in multiple years since he last saw her, the grey lines that once crossed through the black hair on each of her temples now completely white.
"I know you all are hungry, so I will make it brief", Albus stomach turned, but not from a lack of food. "First, some basic rules of this establishment…", the golden plate shined so hard it felt like it burnt his corneas, "…in addition I would like to welcome another Professor to our staff- Mr. Flick…".
The man that instructed the students in the entrance, in his early thirties at best, shily waved his hands, but Albus was more preoccupied with the claps, that felt like physical blows to his body by this point. "Finally, I want to present the septators- our new security this year, that you might have seen on your way here, and the reason for it…", it was a good thing his stomach was empty, or else it would have been become one by now.
The silence deepened as the headmistress finished introducing them, for once losing her continuity. "There are many rumours circulating at the moment…", she snapped out of it, "But what is certain is that a tragedy happened last year, as we lost an outstanding prefect from our ranks...".
Albus almost laughed, finally understanding what he forgot, only to immediately wince in embarrassment, his ears ringing so hard that the rest of her words weren't tangible to him. Soon after, food appeared, together with talking and joking, each laughter only pronouncing his pain.
He still tried to act as normal as possible, however, eating whatever appeared in his proximity (or rather placing food in his mouth and swallowing it) without sending investigating looks around. He kept pretending to be engrossed in it, until, at long-long last, the feast ended.
Albus walked between Scorpius and Violet, glad that the rest of the students in the school were still much taller than them, turning them almost invisible in the flowing crowd. He felt better and better as they neared the door, glad that nothing too unusual had happened.
Near the entrance he saw something that for a moment made him forget about his discomfort- Freddie, in a new clean school uniform with a red P badge on the front, holding Alice's hand in his own as he led the rest of the Gryffindor first year students after him. From all the shenanigans his nephew did (including the time he put swelling potion in the soup in his first year), it was no doubt the oddest.
A small genuine smile came to his face, only to sense a sudden burning on the side of his body, feeling his skin stretch like a balloon under the cloak. He angrily turned to the source of the stinging jinx, remembering halfway that his wand was back in his trolley.
"Do you even care?", Patricia stood with her wand drawn at his direction, Tamira's calming hand (who seemed to lengthen even more at the vacation) on her right shoulder and Megaera on her left, looking at each direction but his. The words also caught Violet and Scorpius attention, as well as an older tall sharped jawed Hufflepuff girl, turning to see what all the fuss was about.
In a weird way, the pain was a relief as it cleared his mind, "Don't be a cowered!", he didn't know why he said it, and why with such confidence, "If you want to curse me, do it to my face". Patricia's heavy blue eyes narrowed in anger, brushing aside the light hair from her face before sending another curse.
"Langlock!", the second jinx was aimed straight for his chest, where, exactly under the robes, his green sash was hidden. "Was that supposed to do something?", he asked as it stopped the spell's effect and watched as Patricia's face changed from anger to surprise. Meanwhile, behind her, the two girls' looks shifted to something else, something resembling fear.
"Don't waste your time, Patty", Desdemona appeared as well, her prefect badge, unlike Fred's one, nowhere to be found, "Of course he doesn't", she coldly said. "Let's go", Violet pulled him and Scorpius, who were both frozen in place, "People starting to look at us", and indeed those around begun searching for the cause of the jam.
This alerted Albus more than anything else, and, together with her, he dragged the pale kid out, leaving the girls behind without a second look. They advanced alongside the Hufflepuff students, who immediately started whispering to each other as they saw them before finally heading down into the dungeons.
"I forgot something in the great hall", he said as soon as he saw the opportunity when there was no one but them around. "I hope it's not trouble", Violet said but couldn't do a thing to stop him as all her attention was on Scorpius, who without her could not stand upright, let alone reach the common room.
Albus hurried back, passed beneath the stone statue of the ugly angel and slipped by the sharped jawed Hufflepuff girl from before that trailed behind the rest straight into a side corridor, his heartbeat fast and jumpy, in stark contrast to the slow and steady magic flow of the building around. Lastly, after about fifteen minutes, the voices ceased, allowing him to make his move, not even bothering to look around, knowing that no one expected someone to be outside their dormitories straight on the first night.
"Here it is", Albus almost ran by the time he reached the narrow corridor beneath the main staircase. He quickly pressed the marble knight's left eye and entered the hall that was presented behind. Now, he took a slow step toward the bone-white pool and sat down on its edge, noticing how nothing had changed in the tall windows and rusty weights.
He suddenly remembered Brennan, who revealed him to this place, and wondered what other wonderful places the prefect could have told him about, when he found his sight to be compromised. The pain in his head, his fingertips and even his side where the spell hit him where all forgotten as he crouched by the water, causing endless ripples to form in them with his uncontrollable crying.