Chapter 4: The Return To Hogwarts
For some strange reason, summer seemed to end much quicker than any other season did. Albus was not dreading the return to Hogwarts; on the contrary, he was quite keen on seeing his friends again, and learning new spells, and even visiting Hagrid. But he still couldn't help but feel slightly gloomy at the thought of no longer being able to sleep in, or do as he pleased for the entire day without worry of homework. But if there was one thing Albus thought that he might miss the most, it was flying.
How could he have ever been stupid enough to dislike flying? The week before school was to start, James had taken him out to the field by the Potter Mansion to give him some tips and teach him the basics. Though at first he was quite scared of falling, a minute in the air confirmed his brother's suspicions; he was good at flying.
His broomstick seemed to move at the slightest touch, and within minutes he was swerving around his brother, racing him to the ends of the field, seeing how well he matched up to the Gryffindor chaser.
"You'll make your house team for sure" James told him as he slid off his broom and ruffled his already windswept hair the day before they were to board the Hogwarts Express.
Albus shrugged at his brother's reassurance. As much as Albus liked flying, he wasn't entirely sure if he was any better than the other Slytherins on the team.
They entered the house and he began packing his things-James decided that he would have plenty of time in the morning and went to make himself a sandwich instead.
Albus tossed his books into an enormous suitcase packed with jet black robes. He carefully laid out his clothes for the next day; they would be dressed as muggles until boarding the train.
He seized a big textbook off of the floor and threw it into the trunk, shocked that he had even attempted to read it over the summer, and watched as it flew open to a random page. He peered into his trunk and saw that it was a history of magic textbook. He could see text on one page written in fancy writing, and on the other, a picture of a suit of armor leaning against a wall.
Without warning, he heard his own voice ring in his ear. "Expelliarmus!"
He remembered all too well the last time he has seen a suit of armor slumped against a wall. It was the day he had had that horrible argument with Rose. It was the day that he had befriended Mirra.
With a slight pang in his gut, he wondered if she would even be attending Hogwarts this year. And if she was, would everything be okay? He had saved her life, true...but they hadn't been particularly nice to each other prior to that...
"Al, I washed your underwear" he heard his mother say from the door. He snapped back into reality and turned to watch his mother enter with a basket of clothes. She began placing them carefully on top of his robes.
"Thanks mum" he said.
The next morning found Albus quite awake and eager to board the Hogwarts Express. Helping himself to a bowl of porridge, he and his mother took part in what was now seemingly a Potter household tradition-watching James scamper around the house looking for his things.
"Are you sure you gave me my socks?" he was yelling in the kitchen as he frantically bustled around, his shirt half off and his jeans unbuttoned.
"James, I put them on your bed!" he heard his mother say as he poured himself some orange juice. "You were right there! You probably knocked them off in your sleep."
He gave a tremendous moan and left the kitchen.
"So are you excited about school?" she asked him after James had left.
Albus shrugged, his mouth full of porridge. He swallowed. "Yeah I am. I'm gonna' try out for Quidditch" he told her.
"What position?" she asked him, taking a small sip of tea.
"Haven't the slightest idea" he said, which was perfectly true. He really didn't care what he ended up playing.
There was a loud knock on the door. For the second return trip to Hogwarts in a row now, his father had failed to accompany them to King's Cross Station. They would instead be accompanied by dull Ministry workers.
"Got all of your things?" his mother asked him.
"Packed them last night" he replied with a grin, and he rose from the table and moved towards his trunk. He watched as James came skidding to a halt in the kitchen.
"Tell them to wait!" he said. "I can't find my wand."
The trip to King's Cross station was easier than last time, as Lily had opted not to accompany them (she seemed to think that as she was going next year anyway, it wasn't as important) but it was certainly wet. It began raining just as they were putting their trunks inside the magically expanded ministry car, and by the time they had entered the vehicles themselves they were all soaking wet. Even worse, James had apparently forgotten more than just his wand, as twice he yelled "Stop! Go back!" only to return to the mansion and emerge again with his pockets bulging.
With the rain being hazardous to their vision as it was, the Ministry officials point blank refused to "speed up the process" magically as they had done once before, and by the time that they reached the station, they had only ten minutes to spare.
"Hurry up, hurry up" his mother shot as she urged them through the stone barrier leading to the Hogwarts Express.
"I'm going" Albus said as he casually leaned against the barrier with his trunk. His father had told him that the trick was to not attract any attention, and to gently slide through it. Moving his back towards the wall, he pretended to pick his fingernails as he surreptitiously slid through the cold barrier. He turned on the spot and saw that he was once again successful.
He wheeled his trunk to the corner as James came following after him, and started scanning the thin crowd for familiar faces. He saw Dante Haug, a fellow Slytherin housemate in his year wave goodbye to his mother as he boarded the train. Close to him was one of his least favorite people at Hogwarts-Charles Eckley, an extremely pompous Gryffindor. He had just turned his head to the left when he heard someone shriek "Albus!"
He was nearly knocked off of his feet; he thought he may very well have hit the floor if he hadn't been supported by his trunk. He found himself completely wrapped in two arms, and when he came face to face with the person (who was slightly shorter than him) he saw Mirra Tunnels.
She looked almost exactly like she had when he had last seen her, though there were a few small differences. Her hair was slightly shorter and shinier, and her complexion had changed. She was still pale, though not as ghastly white as she had once been. It looked as though she had seen a great deal of sunlight over the summer, and she was smiling a genuine smile that previously looked forced.
"Erm...hi" he said uncomfortably as she removed her arms from around his neck and beamed at him.
"Hi" she said, and he watched the smile slide off of her face in the rain. He could tell that she was thinking the same thing that he was-that they had had no contact over the summer, and how extremely awkward it was for them to pretend like nothing had happened.
"So...how's your parents?" Albus asked. He gave himself a mental kick after doing so.
"Incarcerated" she said brightly as she wrung rain out of her hair.
"Oh...oh" he said flatly. "Umm...I'm sorry?" he said.
"No no, don't be!" she said with a big smile. "I live with my grandparents now. They don't live too far from here, so I can still come to Hogwarts!"
"That's- that's great!" he stammered. Why wasn't she bringing up what happened only a few months ago? Had she perhaps forgotten? Had the Mist somehow affected her memory? But that didn't make any sense...she certainly remembered him.
They stared at each other in silence for several seconds as hard rain pounded down on their heads. Albus heard a whistle sound from what seemed like very far away, and the next second he knew, he was being roughly pulled aside.
"On the train!" his mother screeched through clenched teeth. She didn't seem to have even noticed Mirra.
"Right!" Albus said as his mother steered him towards the scarlet train. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, whipped out her wand and used it to place his luggage on the train, then practically pushed him up. He could see Mirra hurrying towards them. She too had apparently lost track of time in the awkward moment. His mother levitated Mirra's trunk up onto the train as well, but the rain was now pouring so hard that he doubted whether she even knew who she was helping. A whistle sounded again, this time much closer, and with one last wave from his mother the train doors had been slammed shut. They had begun moving.
"Want to find a compartment?" Mirra asked him hesitantly.
"Sure" he replied, trying to sound nonchalant.
They walked in silence through the train, peeking through compartment doors to find familiar people. He saw James in one compartment surrounded by fellow Gryffindors, with the exception of one Ravenclaw, his girlfriend, who looked rather bored as she watched them talk. A few compartments down he saw some vaguely familiar Hufflepuff second years, and in the final compartment that he checked, three people who looked quite familiar.
He opened the glass door and looked in on his friends. There was his cousin Rose; she seemed to be arguing with a pale boy with pointed eyes and sleek blonde hair. He looked up and grinned at the two of them as they entered and placed their luggage on the ground. The final person in the now full compartment looked radically different from the last time Albus had seen him. Morrison's hair was shorter now, and he looked like had a few more muscles too. What's more, he looked as though when he stood up he would be a full foot taller.
Scorpius stretched out his hand and casually slapped Albus', whereas Morrison stood up and thumped him on the back. They both looked in surprise at Mirra, who was still standing in the compartment entrance. Rose however, took a single glance at her, shrieked, and rose to her feet to hug her.
"How was your summer?" Morrison asked him, motioning for Albus to sit down across from him. His voice seemed slightly deeper.
"Not bad. Starting flying" Albus added with a grin, taking the seat. "Yours?"
"Grew a bit" he replied with a smile.
Scorpius snorted. Rose and Mirra were still both standing, arms still slightly embraced as they chatted away about their summers. Albus took this time to motion to Mirra and raise an eyebrow at both of his friends.
"We had no idea" Scorpius muttered.
"I thought for sure she wouldn't be coming back" Morrison said quietly, leaning in so that he wouldn't be overheard by the chatting girls. "She seems okay though" he added. "And I don't think she's holding a grudge."
The girls sat down, Mirra across from Albus and Rose, in between Scorpius and Morrison. Mirra was looking around cheerfully, apparently waiting for someone to talk. She opened her mouth and Albus saw that her teeth were chattering.
"Here, let me get that" Rose said, pulling out her wand and aiming it at Mirra. "Evaporis" she muttered.
Mirra's robes instantly dried, and her teeth stopped chattering. "Thanks" she said.
"That was a pretty impressive spell" Scorpius said. "Where'd you learn it?"
"Pretty basic really" Rose said smugly. "I just picked it up from a random book. I can't imagine someone not knowing it" she continued with a smirk, as though she were waiting for a challenge.
Scorpius opened his mouth to retort, but Rose cut him off. "So, James tells me you've started flying?" she asked Albus.
"Huh?" he replied, distracted. He had been focusing on something else. "Oh right...yeah. Got a new broom and everything" he told her.
"You any good?" Morrison asked him excitedly; he was a big fan of Quidditch.
Albus shrugged. As far as he knew, he was pretty good, but he didn't want to say anything in case he ended up a disappointment. "I'm not bad, I don't think" he said a bit hesitantly.
"Are you trying out for the team?" Scorpius asked him.
"Maybe" he replied.
"I am" Morrison said proudly, his voice cracking a tiny bit. Rose suppressed a giggle that only Albus heard. "Keeper probably" he added.
The Quidditch conversation carried them for most of the train ride, broken momentarily by only the occasional arguments between Rose and Scorpius and the trolley lady. Albus kept the conversation up; he was at least now in familiar territory, but he found that his eyes almost always subconsciously trailed to Mirra. She still seemed happy, and she was contributing to the conversation, but she was starting to seem slightly uncomfortable.
The rain had stopped and it was now approaching night time. Albus heard a bustle just outside of the compartment door and looked to it just in time to see it open.
"Care to join us?" Charles Eckley said with a broad grin to Rose and Mirra. He didn't seem to have noticed the three other people in the compartment. Albus could see Donovan Hornsbrook, one of his Gryffindor friends, standing at his side, head poking in slightly.
"Erm...hey Charlie" Mirra said. She turned to the rest of the people in the compartment. "I saw him on the platform earlier" she said a bit uneasily. "I told him we'd meet up with him later" she said to Rose.
"Sure!" Rose exclaimed. She picked up her bag and stood up along with Mirra. "We'll see you guys later" Rose said. They followed the two boys out, Mirra waving good-bye to them as they went.
Scorpius stood up and closed the compartment door. "Ugh, that kid's an arse" he said as he took his seat.
"Which one?" Albus asked him.
"Both" he answered. "What I'd give for a go with that Eckley one on one..."
"Weird seeing Mirra again though, wasn't it?" Morrison said.
"Yeah it was" Albus said, shifting in his seat slightly.
"Well, it was weird seeing her awake anyway" Scorpius said. "She looks healthier though. What's up with her parents? They get some sense knocked into them?"
"She lives with her grandparents now" Albus told them. "Do you think she remembers us arguing?"
"Well if she does, she's probably over it" Morrison said.
"What makes you say that?"
"Well I'm sure she'd remember us saving her life too, so she'd have a pretty weak argument. And she seemed fine here. I mean, she was talking and everything."
"We'd better slip into our robes" Scorpius said as he peered out the window into the night sky. It was pitch black.
They got changed in silence, Albus still pondering if his friendship with Mirra was going to be the same. What should he say? Should he just ignore the whole thing? Quite suddenly, he wished he could hear what Mirra and Rose were talking about. He wished he had brought one of Uncle George's extendable ears.
The train slowed down shortly after they got changed, and Albus was happy to leave once it came to a full stop. He could barely see where he was going, but he had grown tired of being crammed into a compartment. The rain had fully subsided finally, and off in the distance, he heard Hagrid calling for the first years.
"Come on" he heard Morrison say from beside him. He followed Morrison's outline to the horseless carriages in the distance. Of course, they were being pulled by something, but Albus could not see what. His father had once told him that they were pulled by invisible creatures, and that, if he were lucky, Albus would never get to see what they looked like.
He followed a Prefect towards the carriages, listening to the whispering of his classmates as they went.
"I wonder what's pulling them-"
"Think they might skip the sorting? I'm starving-"
Albus climbed into a carriage with Scorpius, Morrison, and a Slytherin third year that he vaguely recognized. He glanced into the open darkness as the carriage began moving. He could see the large castle off in the distance, the glowing lights of its windows all the more welcome compared to the chill outside.
They arrived at the castle entrance several minutes later. Albus was helped out of the carriage by a Ravenclaw prefect who also helped out Morrison and the third year boy. Scorpius ignored the boy's hand and jumped out on his own, stumbling as he tried to keep his balance. Even in the darkness, Albus could see his confident smirk slide off of his face slightly.
The large group of students walked towards the castle in the darkness and approached the giant doors to the castle with palpable restlessness. Albus had to admit, he was quite excited to enter the castle once more and be met with what he knew would be a terrific feast.
A burly seventh year who looked like he was probably the Head Boy knocked twice on the enormous doors. Off in the distance, Albus could see the lanterns of the tiny boats crossing the black lake.
The doors swung open and Albus followed the rest of the crowd through a miniature hallway that took them to a second set of doors. As if on cue, these doors swung open as well to reveal the Great Hall.
The teachers were already seated at the high table in the Hall, as the enchantment of the ceiling's bright stars in the night sky shone down upon them. Albus took a quick second to re-familiarize himself with the setting he was in before taking a seat at the Slytherin table with the other Slytherins. He sat on the side of the table where he would have a clear view of the other tables. Farthest away from them, he saw Mirra laughing at an apparently hilarious joke that Eckley had just told. He felt a stab of annoyance. Eckley wasn't even funny.
Scorpius and Morrison sat on the right and left of him, and Albus ended up directly across from Atticus Sanders, a member of the Slytherin Quidditch team and a Prefect. Albus was friendly with him, and immediately engaged him in conversation.
"I've started flying" he told him excitedly.
"Good" Atticus replied. "You trying out this year?"
Albus nodded. "What's open?"
"Seeker. Though you can try out for anything. Assuming it even matters. They might ban it after last year."
Albus grimaced. The previous year's Quidditch Final had been a disaster. A full blown riot had occurred on the field (Albus was one of the few who didn't participate) and a winner hadn't even been decided. Had it not been for the timely interference from Headmaster Ares, Albus felt that things would've gotten way worse.
At this thought, Albus instinctively looked up at the teacher's table. Neville's seat was empty, as he would be bringing in the first years for their sorting. In the center, the Headmaster was in deep conversation with a young man with long blonde hair. Professor Darvy, the potions professor. He was Albus' favorite teacher, and Potions was definitely his favorite class. He grinned at the thought of what exciting and unique lessons Professor Darvy would be giving this year.
The doors of the Great Hall burst open and all conversation immediately ceased. Albus watched as Neville (or Professor Longbottom, as he would soon be calling him) strutted through the Hall with timid looking first years. Most of them looked terrified, others bewildered, and a rare few looked confident. Neville pulled out a raggedy stool with the Sorting Hat on it and walked away from it. The first years merely stared at it with amusement. Then, quite suddenly, the brim of the Hat opened to reveal a mouth, and the Hat began singing:
"Oh, here you are at Hogwarts, where learning and fun are assured
At a school with no dull moments, and you'll never feel bored
Here magic awaits you, the time to learn is now
But first you must be sorted, and so I'll tell you how
Just place me you head, and let your mind roam free
I can see your every thoughts, and know where you should be!
You might belong to Gryffindor, where bravery is cherished
Or you could go to Ravenclaw, where your mind will flourish
You might end up Slytherin, if you're confident and cunning
Or perhaps you're best in Hufflepuff, where disloyalty gets you nothing
Just know that where you're sorted, shows not where you will end
It shows who you are as seen by you, not whether you're a foe or friend
Apart you will collapse, but united you stay strong
Forget your house and accept all around you, and now I end my song!"
The tables burst into applause, Albus among them, as the first years looked around at each other curiously. Albus leaned across the table to speak to Atticus.
"That sounded like mine last year" he told him. "A lot like it."
"Mine too" Atticus shouted over the applause. "I heard it used to make a new one every year, but it stopped. Just uses the same one. Doesn't want to change its message or something." He shrugged.
Albus watched as Neville pulled out a long list of names and peered down the list. "Bailey, Tabitha" he called out.
A small girl with dark brown hair tripped over her robes as she stumbled to the stool. She nervously crammed the Hat onto her head, and several seconds later, the Hat shouted "GRYFFINDOR!"
Applause burst from the table farthest from Albus, and he watched as the girl stumbled over her robes once more before sitting two seats down from Rose.
"Curdur, Barnabus!" Neville called out.
A small boy with dark brown hair and a confident smirk on his face made his way to the stool. He sat down and placed the Hat on his head. Within seconds, the Hat had called out "SLYTHERIN!"
Albus clapped with his fellow Slytherins as the brown haired boy practically strutted to the table. A large seventh year clapped him on the shoulder as he peered up and down the table. Albus looked up and expected to see Darvy clapping, as he was head of Slytherin house, but he didn't seem enthusiastic at all. He was sleeping.
Albus chuckled and wondered vaguely what was so tiring that it drained his professor's strength, especially when he had been in full conversation with the Headmaster just minutes before. He was snapped from his thoughts with a loud bellow of "RAVENCLAW" as a girl with pigtails joined the table next to him.
The sorting got boring after the next few people went; two girls were sorted into Slytherin, but the majority of students seemed more inclined to go to Gryffindor. Hufflepuff only received about five new students, which Scorpius chuckled merrily at, claiming "I'd probably just leave if I were them."
Finally, the Hat fell silent and Neville put the stool away, off in the corner of the Hall. The newly sorted first years were all chatting excitedly while the teachers at the high table talked in a more serious manner. The ghosts flew around the Hall for a bit (something that Albus had never grown used to, particularly because his house ghost terrified him) and the older students waited for the feast to begin. After a few moments, Headmaster Ares rose from his chair.
"Hello students! It's is good to see so many of your faces here again. This is only my third year as your Headmaster, and I can only hope that it will be equally as good as my previous year. To the first years, I welcome you to this castle with the hopes that you will gain many unique and beneficial experiences".
Despite being extremely loud, his voice retained the same lazy, bored tone that it had had the previous year. In fact, Albus thought that the beginning of his speech sounded awfully familiar-as though, like the Sorting Hat's song, it closely mirrored the one from the previous year.
"There are a few things I have to say before we begin this marvelous feast. The Forbidden Forest is, of course, forbidden. Anyone who enters will be not only in grave danger from the forest itself, but from me as well, as I assure you, I will be extremely disappointed with anyone who not only neglects this rule, but is foolish enough to do break it after hearing my warnings. Also, flying lessons are no longer mandatory for first years, and are now completely optional due to the large amount of injuries we've had with the subject."
Albus saw Neville flinch in the corner and immediately felt as if he had lived this entire scene before. The Headmaster had definitely said the exact same thing at the beginning of the feast during Albus' first year.
"And now that I've made those two things clear...I don't think we have much more to discuss here. Let the feast begin!"
He beamed around the Hall once, wearing an obviously fake smile, before sitting down as food magically appeared on the plates. The goblets filled themselves up with tasty pumpkin juice and Albus merrily dug in.
"That sounded a lot like what he said last year" Albus shouted to Atticus; the Hall was especially loud on the first day of term.
"And what he said his first year as Headmaster too" Atticus shouted back. "I get the feeling he doesn't like us too much, Ares. Don't ask me why he started teaching here. I don't even think he could tell you."
Albus ripped off an enormous chunk of a turkey leg as he listened to the conversation between Scorpius and Bartleby, a fellow Slytherin second year. He reflected on the change from last year, when Scorpius had been much too shy to talk during the opening feast.
"I'm just saying, if the Cannon's want to win a game this season, they need to replace their beaters. Jenkins is what? Fifty? And Bossly? I swear he's insane, he's more likely to hit himself with that bat" Scorpius said.
"They weren't doing so bad when they made it to the semi-finals last year" Bartleby said coolly.
"Exactly" Scorpius smirked. "Semi-finals."
They continued bickering, Morrison attempting to say something but choking; his mouth was full of food. Albus turned away for the Slytherin table and tried peering over to the Gryffindor table. He could see his brother talking to both Mirra and Eckley. All three of them were laughing.
An hour later, his plate empty and his stomach full, Albus lay back in his chair while the chatter in the Hall gently died down. He could hear Prefects calling to the lower years to follow. Begrudgingly, Albus heaved himself up from his chair and tried to straighten himself. He almost toppled over. He felt fifty pounds heavier.
"Okay, follow me to the common room!" he heard a girl shout.
Atticus and the female Prefect led them out of the hall; the Headmaster was apparently too busy in deep conversation with Professor Handit to wish them good night. Albus followed the Prefects through the winding corridor that led to the dungeons. He could see the anxious faces of the new first years next to him. Even in the dim candlelight that illuminated the dungeon, it was easy to see that some of them looked quite confident.
They were navigated to a large stone wall that gave Albus chills when he saw it. His second home.
"Okay" Atticus said. "This blank stretch of wall you guys see here? This is the entrance to our Common Room."
Several first years stared at him blankly, but he merely continued. "Password is Salazar. Now it changes kind of frequently, but if you ever don't know it, you can come ask me, I'll be happy to help. Boys, your dormitory is to the right, girls, you're all on the left. Check the board for notices, your schedules should be passed around tomorrow. Now let's go."
"Salazar" he said to the blank wall, which immediately opened.
The eerie green light of the Common Room didn't match the warmth at all. Albus had forgotten how bright the fire was, and how comfortable the armchairs looked. He exchanged a quick smirk with both Morrison and Scorpius.
Scorpius gave a tremendous yawn and headed for the stairs to a room that said Second Years in black letters. Morrison followed after him. "You coming?" he asked.
"Yeah I am" Albus said hastily; he had been eyeing a tapestry on the wall. He took another quick glance at the tapestry of the disgruntled looking man whom he knew was Severus Snape, then turned and entered his dormitory.