Here it is. The last chapter of Albus Potter And The Dragonfang Wand.
Chapter 17: A Bittersweet Beginning
Albus heard muffled voices. He tried moving, but his body seemed frozen. He opened his eyes just the teeniest bit, but even this was a struggle. Something was glittering in the distance.
He tried to open his eyes more, but couldn't. The glittering thing-whatever it was-was moving closer to him. He squinted. What was it? Was it...the Snitch? Everything was so blurry.
He made a grab for it. His body ached, but for some strange reason, seeing the Snitch had cured his paralysis. His arm shot up and grabbed at it before it could flutter away-
"OUCH!"
The yell made Albus sit up straight. He wished he hadn't. His neck felt broken. He managed to open his eyes fully, and the blurriness ceased at once. He saw his father, and he was looking quite agitated. His glasses were lopsided, anyway.
"What was that for?" his father asked him.
"Huh?'
Albus looked around and surveyed his surroundings. He was in the Hospital Wing, he knew that much. Judging from the drawn curtains around him, it was nighttime. His father was sitting on his bed, where he had been tucked in quite vigorously. He could barely feel his legs. He went to wipe sweat from his face and felt that his head had been bandaged.
"Why'd you hit me?" his father asked him, intrigued.
"Huh? Oh..sorry. The Snitch. I thought- and the- it glimmered..." he trailed off.
His father removed his glasses and wiped them down with his robes. "There's something wrong with you, boy" he said before returning them to his face.
Albus felt his bandaged head, then tried moving his neck. It wasn't broken like he thought it was, but it was certainly stiff. "What's going on? Where- where's- no! Hagrid!" he shot out suddenly, and he actually made to rise from his bed.
His father held up his hand to stop him. "Hagrid is okay" he said. "As is your friend Scorpius, and Prof-"
"Dad, Darvy and Ares! " he cut his father off.
"I'm getting to it-"
"The wand! A leak. Dad the leak in the Ministry!" he cut him off again.
"Albus!" his father yelled, and it was more than frightening enough to silence him. "I understand you have questions, all of which I am trying to answer for you now. Be still. And I assure you, there is very little that you can tell me that I don't already know."
"How- how long was I out?" Albus stammered.
"Just a day. Your friends tried stopping by but Madam Clearwater made it quite clear that only I was allowed in the Hospital Wing. They'll be ecstatic to know that you're okay."
Albus rubbed his bandaged head. His mind was swimming. Flashes of what had occurred in the Forest were running through his head. Hagrid roaring in rage. Scorpius, tied up. Ares, his back up against a tree. A flash of red light.
"You...you stunned me?" Albus asked his father uncertainly. He nodded. "Why?"
"I had to, before something terrible happened. I will explain everything Albus, but I need you to be still and stay quiet. First I must ask you. How are you feeling?"
Albus wasn't entirely sure what he had meant, but could only assume it referred to him physically.
"Like crap" he said truthfully. "Body aches. My head feels like it's on fire. Everything's hazy."
"That's what a direct stunner will do to you" his father said. "I think I may have overdone it though. I wanted to revive you, but Madam Clearwater said that doing so before you were ready to be revived may have put you into shock. She suggested that we wait it out until you woke up."
"Well I'm up" Albus said. "Dad what- what happened? Did Ares get away?"
His father shifted his weight on the bed. "I see that there's no dodging your questions any longer. Let me give you the short rundown. Ares and Darvy both escaped, but we know who the leak in the Ministry is. Or should I say was."
"Mr. Fairhart" Albus said, but was shocked to see the look of confusion on his father's face.
"Fairhart? Sancticus Fairhart of the Auror Department? What are you playing at Al?"
"I thought- no - yeah. Yeah! The leak is Fairhart...isn't it?
"No!" his father said, and he waved his hand as though he were batting the accusation away. "Why on Earth would you think that?" he said.
"Because- because, I don't know. He was gone for a month. And he- I don't know, he just looks the type" he finished stupidly. If he were being honest with himself, he didn't quite remember why he was so positive it had been Fairhart. He supposed that he may have been simply looking for an excuse to go after Ares, but he wasn't going to confess that to his father.
"Ahh I see" his father said. "You were judging a book by its cover. Or more accurately, a man by his face. Yes, Sancticus Fairhart looks the type I admit, but he's more than trustworthy. No, the leak I mentioned to you last summer was someone who doesn't look the type at all I'm afraid. It was Fango Wilde."
"What?"
His father nodded his head. "Yes. I'm sorry to say that we are not mistaken. He confessed to it hours ago. Under the influence of veritaserum, actually. That's a powerful truth potion, if you didn't know."
"Fango Wilde?" Albus repeated, shocked. "Wow" he whispered softly, and he truly meant it.
"Yeah" his father said. "Shocker right? But anyway, I'm going to start from the beginning with you Albus, I see no other way to avoid being bombarded with your questions. Everything that you want to know I will answer in time, or try to at least. Let me start from the beginning. Albus, do you know what an EP is?"
Albus nodded his head. "An 'Ever Present' wizard right?"
His father didn't ask how he had acquired that information, but instead simply nodded his head. "Indeed. An Ever Present. Wizards who have been accused of dark activity before, through one or more generations of dark wizard uprisings."
"What does this have to do with- wait! The men in the Forest tonight!" Albus said suddenly. He regretted yelling; his head was pounding.
"Correct. We will get to that. But anyway, my job as an Auror for the last two years now has been to track these men. We spent very little time on it before now, these people are hardly a threat singularly, but the Ministry has grown fearful recently. Known EP's had been gathering in certain areas all across the world. I was sent to spy on them."
Albus remembered his father's frequent absences the previous year. And he remembered, with a slight pang in his heart, Ares and Darvy discussing EP's in Ares' office as well. How did it all fit...
"The Ministry, myself included, grew fearful that these people were gathering with a new leader in mind. It is our top priority to ensure that these people never acquire someone to rally behind. The EP's moved closer and closer to Hogwarts."
Albus stayed silent. He thought he knew where this was going...
"I received my first clue that Reginald Ares was the leader of these men last year. It showed up on our doorstep if you'll remember."
"Last Christmas!" Albus yelled, his head pounding in pain again.
His father nodded. "Ares appeared at our home over Christmas to ask a favor of me. He asked me to back off my investigations."
Albus' jaw dropped. "That was your clue? That's practically confirmation!"
"Not exactly" his father rebutted. "His excuses, though somewhat weak, were viable. He claimed that there had been reports of Ministry members in Hogsmeade, on Ministry business. This was true. He claimed that it was worrying the parents of his students. I had no way to refute this claim. He also insisted that by spying on these wizards I was showing that I did not think of him as a sufficient enough Headmaster to be able to handle the problem on his own, and more importantly, by spying I was drawing attention to them, which was bound to have them try something stupid under pressure. We reached a shaky agreement. I agreed not to bother or spy on those wizards, as long as Ares personally told them off. It appeared to have worked. The EP's traveled from out of Hogwarts reach. I breathed easy."
Albus went silent once more. This was all only covering last year. He wanted to know what had happened this year.
"The Ministry eased up a little. Ares was still at Hogwarts, the EP's were traveling abroad, and, more importantly, were meeting less frequently. Then something very suspicious happened last summer."
"The wandmaker" Albus said.
"Yes. Vladimir Chekov, a famous wandmaker, was murdered. Chaos ensued throughout the Ministry, my department in particular. Chekov was the owner of something very dangerous, and was permitted to keep it so long as he was relocated. Years ago, we had placed him in a muggle village, with very few people knowing his whereabouts. His murder showed that there was a leak in the Ministry. We now know that it was Fango Wilde. His place in the Department of Magical Transportation somehow helped him get the information he needed."
"So... Fango Wilde murdered the wandmaker?" Albus asked.
"No. According to Mr. Wilde, he gave the location of the wandmaker to one Sebastian Darvy."
Albus hung his head low. "Why" he muttered. "Professor Darvy..."
"He's not your professor anymore" his father said. "Anyway, at the time, we had few leads. I attempted to check up on Ares and see if he had any connection. Wizards teachers here, including Professor Handit and Professor Flitwick-told us that Ares hadn't left the castle at all over the summer."
"So Ares got Darvy to do it" Albus said.
"Yes. But not just for the sake of murder, no. They stole something. The thing that Chekov was hiding."
"The Dragonfang Wand" Albus said.
His father raised his eyebrows, and Albus knew at once that he had not expected to hear that. "That's right" his father said. "The Dragonfang Wand."
Albus braced himself to be attacked with questions, but his father merely smiled for a second and continued. "We can only assume that Darvy brought the wand back to Ares and that he's been in possession of it for quite some time. Strangely, there was a trace on this wand, a trace that hadn't alerted us of anything."
"A trace?" Albus asked.
His father nodded. "Much like the ones implanted on young wizards to know when they use underage magic, this trace would show us when the wand was used. Ares was clever however. He didn't use it until he had broken the trace on it. How, I do not know, but as powerful as he is, I don't doubt it. How long he's actually been using the wand, I also don't know."
"But why? Why did he want the wand?"
"I will tell you later, but first I think it is important that you understand how the events of tonight occurred" his father told him. "I asked Neville to keep an eye on Ares this year; just trusted my instincts. I learned that Ares was going into the Forest. Neville was unable to follow him. He told me, however, that he wasn't the only teacher attempting to do so."
"Darvy" Albus spat bitterly.
"Yes, and I felt comfort by it. Two spies were better than one."
"But he wasn't spying dad!" Albus said. "He was joining-"
"I know, I know. I know now anyway. At the time though, it appeared as though Ares would be unable to do anything illegal with at least two people checking up on him. I turned my attention to other matters. Your Uncle Ron confided in me that you and your friends had told him that the Ministry visited you this year. To inspect Hogwarts, he said. No such inspection occurred. Nothing Ministry sanctioned anyway. This baffled me. We know now, of course, that it was merely a clever charade orchestrated by Ares. He no doubt had something urgent to discuss with his little band of wizards, who at this point were already meeting him in the Forest. Unable to accomplish it at night, he had Fango Wilde and the other visitor meet him during the day, in his office. The other wizard wasn't from the Ministry at all."
Albus felt anger bubble up inside of him. He grabbed the white linen sheets of the bed he was in with fury. This entire year they had been tricked...
"Ares was having a meeting, an apparently very important meeting with his EP's in the Forest last night Albus. I cannot begin to imagine how you ended up tagging alongside Darvy, but you should know that you are extremely fortunate. Had Hagrid not shown up...I don't know what I'd be doing now."
"How did Hagrid know what was going on?" Albus asked.
"According to him, he heard a terrible scream. He ran to investigate, and arrived as you were being attacked."
The terrible scream had come from Darvy, Albus knew that much. "And he's...he's okay right?"
"He suffered some internal damage. No one was expecting Darvy to have been so adept as a wizard, let alone in dark magic, and had it not been for Hagrid's tough skin he may have died. Giant blood, Albus, is very useful in a fight. I take it you noticed that most spells bounced off of him?"
Albus nodded. "Will it heal? The internal damage?"
"Oh yes, in time, he will be fine. As for some of his victims...we cannot be sure" and Albus immediately remembered the image of a man seizing up in front of a broken tree. "There were, however, no casualties tonight. We do have several EP's in custody as well, most of which are thanks to Hagrid."
"And Neville and Professor Bellinger?" Albus asked.
"Professor Longbottom," his father corrected him, "was banged up a bit, but fine, as was Professor Bellinger. Shortly after I arrived Darvy fled. I learned that you had chased Ares into the forest. I'm lucky that I got there in time."
"In time?" Albus asked, his anger bubbling up again. "I had Ares on the ground! I had his own wand pointed at him!"
"And you came very close to making a big mistake Albus" his father said sternly. "Tell me, what do you think that wand does?"
"It- it increases potential. Or something like that" he said. He had honestly forgotten the specifics, he only knew that it was dangerous. "What does it do?" he asked.
"The Dragonfang Wand is so dangerous because it makes its owner more dangerous. Potential is a strange thing Albus. Sometimes, it's best to leave it alone. The wand has many, many abilities, some of which we know about, others of which we can't fathom, but we do know that the main point of it is to give power to a wizard. Power they could have anyway. Do you understand?"
"Not really" Albus admitted.
His father smiled. "Let me try and explain more. Every wizard has a degree of power in them. Raw talent. It may take centuries to tap into this power, or it may take but a week. It depends on the wizard. However much power a wizard is capable of having, this wand will unlock it. The weakest wizard in the world could hold the wand, and if they had nothing left to unlock-any more potential to tap into-they'd still be the weakest. In theory, the Dragonfang Wand is only as powerful as its owner. Or as powerful as its owner could be."
"So...so why was I in danger? I was holding the wand."
"From what we know, the wand must respect its owner before giving them that boost in power. Wands have rightful owners, Albus. You may notice that another person's wand will not perform as well in your own hands. What the Dragonfang Wand will do however, is test you."
"Test me?" Albus asked. "How?"
"There is more than one kind of potential Albus. As wizards, we have a certain amount of power in us, some more than others. But as people Albus, we share something in common with muggles. All people, magical talent or not, have the potential to do extraordinarily amazing things; benevolent, peaceful things. And the potential to do horrific evil as well. And in either case, the possibilities are quite limitless. Holding that wand in your hand last night blurred the lines of your morality. With the Dragonfang wand at your disposal, your instincts could take over."
"You thought I was going to hurt Ares" Albus said, and his father shook his head.
"I was afraid you were going to do much worse. I was afraid that you were going to kill Ares."
Albus stared at the floor. The voice that he had heard had entered his head once more, though now it was but an echo. He remembered its words. It was telling him to kill. Telling him that he would be powerful enough to do it. "Dad...the wand talked to me" he said uncertainly.
"Wand cannot speak Albus. They do not have mouths."
"Well then-"
"Nor do they have minds capable of communicating telepathically. Wands are designed by wizards to do certain things. They may be powerful enough to recognize when its owner is in danger, or had changed, but that is a magical science that I myself know nothing about. Wandlore is very complicated. If you heard a voice, I can assure you it didn't come from any wand."
"I did hear a voice" Albus said.
"Was it familiar?" his father asked him.
Albus nodded. "Think now" his father continued. "Where may you have heard it before?"
Albus thought as hard as he could. He tried going through every voice in his head that was instantly recognizable, but came to nothing.
"No?" his father asked, and Albus shook his head. "It didn't sound a bit like your own?"
Albus froze. It clicked. The voice he had heard, it was darker, more vile, more threatening, but it was his own. "I was...talking to myself?" he asked, dumbstruck.
His father nodded. "With the wand in your possession, your deepest, most innermost thoughts and feelings were free to speak. The voice told you to kill Ares, didn't it?"
Albus nodded. He felt miserable. He had convinced himself when the voice had spoken to him that he would not be a murderer, assured himself of it, but now...now everything was different. He had been telling himself to murder Ares. How close had he come to actually doing it?
"Yeah it did" Albus admitted. "It- I- told me- myself- I told myself that he would be dangerous if he was allowed to live. Maybe I should have done it!" he spat out viciously, knowing full well that he didn't mean it. He was trying to justify his thoughts, but he knew it was of no use.
"Should you have really?" his father said. "To murder is a terrible thing Albus. I can say without exaggerating in the slightest that it quite literally tears the soul in half. If you ask me, to kill is to lose your humanity."
Albus hung his head low at what he had said. He came very close to burying his face in his hands, but his father reached out and held his head still. Then he picked it up, moved closer, and looked directly into his eyes. "Albus I want you to listen very carefully to me" he said, in what was barely more than a whisper. He knew that it wasn't for dramatic effect either; his father really wanted him to pay attention.
He held himself still, ready to hang onto every word.
"There is a monster inside of all of us, Al. What you heard last night was that monster trying to free itself. It is important, not that we hide that monster, or abandon it, as it is a part of us, but contain it. Control it. I know many a wizard who would have heard that voice and taken Ares' life, then lived the rest of their own knowing full well what they did. And possibly regretting it. I stopped you last night before you made that mistake, but believe me when I say there are very few wizards who could have fought off that temptation as long as you did. When your own mind tells you to do something...you usually do it. But you didn't. You fought that urge to kill, Albus! That instinct, that monster! The Dragonfang Wand tested you and you damn near passed it! You passed it in the same way you stayed awake in that Dungeon last year and saved your friends!
"How...how is that?" Albus asked, a little frightened.
"I haven't the slightest idea!" his father exclaimed, giving him a wide smile. "But however you did it, I know you did it because there's something different, something special about you. It takes a very special kind of person to tell himself no, especially when they're holding a wand that makes them fight themselves every step of the way. And I can also tell you that I've never been more proud of you Al."
Albus came very close to hanging his head again. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you everything I knew dad. I knew all year what was going on with Ares, I've known about the wand for weeks. I knew he had it. I knew there were wizards in the Forest. I just didn't want to bother you with it. Not with how hectic things were for you at your job."
His father gave him a grim smile. "Albus, I am a father first, an Auror-a wizard even-second. I need to know that my children are safe, and if something is bothering them, I need them to come to me and tell me. I understand that you want to do things by yourself, and that you don't want to be a bother. But believe it or not, much could have been avoided had you simply told me what was going on this year."
"I'm sorry" Albus said. And he truly meant it.
The sun was rising outside, he could see the light through the curtains. They had strayed away from so much during the conversation. He felt a little better, but there were still a few things he had to know. "And you- you said that Ares got away?"
"He got away. Along with Darvy and a large group of EP's."
"And the Wand?"
His father nodded sadly. "He picked up the wand just as I rushed over to get you. He left the grounds and disapparated soon after."
Albus frowned. He layed back down in his bed, miserable.
"Why the long face?" his father asked him. "We managed to capture several dark wizards, and none of your friends got hurt."
"But I failed" Albus said. "Ares got away with the most powerful wand in the world, he's going to start a war, and it's all my fault."
His father stared at him blankly. "Wow" he said after a moment. "I can only hope you do much better on your exams than you did there. First off, Ares does not have the most powerful wand in the world. The most powerful wand in the world is currently in the possession of a wizard more than worthy of having it. Ares isn't going to start a war Albus, he has fifty men at his disposal! Less because of Hagrid! And none of it is your fault. If anything, we're closer to stopping him now. He may be in hiding, but we'll find him. No more hiding in plain sight for him."
"What will happen to Hogwarts?" Albus asked.
"Well, you'll need a new Headmaster, that's for sure. And potions professor. There will be some staff changes next year. Professor Flitwick is filling in as Headmaster now, until a permanent replacement is found. Sill no Potions teacher, I'm afraid."
"Dad, there's something else I don't get. Why did Ares want the wand in the first place? Why was Darvy helping him? Why were they both willing to kill someone to get it..."
"Well I can hardly blame Darvy for aiding Ares. They are brothers, after all."
Albus' jaw didn't even bother dropping. He felt lightheaded. He knew he would faint if he didn't keep himself up. "Brothers?" he asked, awestruck.
His father nodded. "Well, half brothers actually."
"Did- how? You always knew?" he asked.
"Not until recently" his father replied. "It wasn't until Neville grew suspicious of Darvy that he asked me to check the records of him. I confess the Ministry looked very little into him before. You see Albus, the year that Reginald Ares became Defence Against the Dark Arts professor here, Horace Slughorn, the potions master, unfortunately died of Dragonpox. Desperate for a teacher, the Ministry of Magic accepted the first person suggested to them. Ares had informed them of Darvy, claiming him to be a friend who was talented at Potions. He passed the Potioneers test, had no illicit activity of previous charges on his record, and was more than willing to teach for little pay. You can imagine the Ministry's good fortune."
"He ended up being a murderer!" Albus spat. "Can anyone be a Hogwarts teacher these days!"
His father chuckled. "Not anyone, no, just those who are uncommonly good liars. It was strange that Ares had someone lined up, though we weren't concerned with it. When Neville told me a few weeks ago that he was suspicious of Darvy's departures into the forest, I read through his records a bit more. Turns out he and Ares have the same mother."
Albus felt woozy. The urge to faint was gone; he thought he was close to dying. Ares and Darvy... were brothers.
"We have very little information on it, but we know that Ares' mother had a child with a muggle man. He was abandoned shortly afterwards, and adopted into the Ares family. I'm not entirely sure he even knows his own real last name. A few years later, the same woman gave birth to Sebastian Darvy, this time out of wedlock to a wizard. He too was abandoned, though his childhood is much harder to trace.
"How long they've known they were brothers themselves, I do not know. Perhaps just before Ares became a teacher. It would have to be before then, if he was so eager to get his brother a job. I believe it is more likely that Ares found his brother however, rather than the other way around. When I knew him, Ares was quite obsessed with learning about his real family. He wasn't particularly fond of his adopted one. I can only imagine that shortly after meeting his brother, they began concocting the plans that have come to fruition today, including that of the Dragonfang Wand."
"But why?" Albus asked. "Why does Ares want the wand so badly? Who does he want to fight with it?" he said, absolutely desperate for answers now.
"No one. If there's one thing that I know about him, it's that Red Ares, above all else, likes to test himself. He is an immensely powerful wizard who has gotten where he is today through pure determination. He never had a wizard's education. I believe that Ares thinks that fate robbed him. He thinks, as some wizards still do-mostly those like him with no formal education-that half blooded wizards are genetically inferior to purebloods. As powerful as he is, he thinks that had he been born pure blood, he would have been so much more powerful today."
"That's why he wants the wand so bad" Albus said. "He thinks he has so much more potential."
His father nodded. "He is sadly deluded though. His power is an anomaly, there is no reason for it other than that he was born with it. He has achieved so much through his determination and hard work that he has tapped his potential out. Pure blooded wizards are no more naturally powerful than any other. Whether the Dragonfang Wand obeys him or not, he will never be more powerful than he is now."
"So then...what's the big deal? Why are we after him? Trying to stop him?"
"Because when a man craves so much power Albus, then he wants to test it. He is dangerous. So long as Ares tries to push himself to his limits, tries to tap his magical potential, less fortunate wizards will be his test subjects. Those men in the Forest were pawns, deluding themselves into thinking that Ares supports the dark arts. He uses them to perform tasks and claims that he wants to start a war to keep them under his command. Darvy may be the only of his henchman who knows his true motives. To test his limits. Even at the expense of others."
Albus let his father's words soak in. Everything was so different than it was before he had entered the Forest. A small part of him wished he could go back to being clueless. He, Albus, had come quite close to murdering someone. He had been tricked all year, Darvy had betrayed him. His friends, like Scorpius, had been endangered. And Ares was out there now, biding his time, trying to reach the power that was out of his grasp.
"Dad, why was Ares in Azkaban?"
His father stared at him for a moment. He looked as though he were going to speak-he certainly started to, anyway-but then fell silent. "I'm afraid that's his business Albus. It's not mine to say."
Albus frowned. That was he dad. Always being noble. Even to his enemies. "Then how did he get out?"
"Someone let him out" his father said.
"Who?"
Albus watched as his father did something he himself had been doing all night. Hung his head low. "Someone who regrets it very much Al. Someone who may have made one of the biggest mistakes of their life when they did so."
And on that enigmatic note, he stood up to leave. "Anything else?" he asked.
Albus tried thinking. There were plenty of things going through his head, most of which had to do with one person in particular. Darvy. His idol, his favorite professor, the man that he had trusted all year. Darvy's words rang in his head. It is what we hate, that shows who we truly are. Well he certainly hated Darvy now.
"I hate Darvy" he said aloud. "I can't believe he tricked us. Tricked me. I trusted him all year."
"Yes, you feel betrayed" his father said. "But hatred is a powerful word Albus. Use it wisely."
"Isn't- isn't it hatred that shows who you are?" he asked hesitantly. He had lived by those words for part of the year, believed them anyway. He needed his father's opinion on it. "Doesn't that define you?"
His father shifted his weight a little bit. "Maybe" he said, and Albus' heart sank. "I suppose it depends on the person. When you've been through as much as I have, you start to realize you're defined by something else. But maybe that's just me. Why don't you wait a couple of years, then tell me if you still think that."
He turned to leave, and Albus noticed a box of chocolates in his hand. "Where are you going?" he asked.
"Back to the Ministry. Have some wizards to interrogate. Paperwork to pretend to care about. Have to help reorganize another Order of Merlin Ceremony too."
"Dad I forgot all about that! I'm sorry."
His father shrugged. "Albus please, I've been putting that ceremony off for twenty years now. I was quite happy to have another day without it. Between me and you, I hate those ceremonies. They're so boring" he chuckled.
"Well... who are the chocolates for?" Albus asked him.
"Well before I go I have an extremely heartbroken son to attend to" he said. He held up the box. "Some chocolate and a good speech should get James back on the right path. Poor boy, he hasn't realized yet that this is just one girl. There's plenty of others out there, waiting to break his heart too. He had best prepare himself now."
He waited until his father had opened the curtains and walked to the door before speaking up again.
"Wait!" he called out. "One more thing." He knew that it was incredibly random, but talking of James had given him the urge to bring it up. "How come you gave me your Invisibility Cloak?" he asked suddenly. "Why didn't you give it to James?"
His father stopped with his hand on the doorknob. He shrugged. "I thought it was only fair, James had the Map."
Albus' eyeballs almost fell out of his sockets. "You know about the Map?" he asked.
His father laughed. "'Do I know about the map'?" he said in a mockery of Albus' voice, before opening the door and leaving.
Albus rolled over in the comfortable Hospital Wing bed after his father had left, his mind racing.
He wasn't permitted to leave the Hospital wing until the next night, Madam Clearwater had insisted that he waited until he felt completely better. Sneaking into the Slytherin Common Room at two in the morning, he had expected to quietly go to his bed and wait until morning to see his friends. One step through the stone wall told him differently.
"Al!"
Scorpius had run up to him and given him and enormous clap on the back.
"Ouch!" Albus said, grabbing at his back. "That's still a little sore" he admitted.
The common room was entirely empty except for Morrison and Scorpius, who had both kept the fire going. He vaguely wondered if they waited up for him every night, but was distracted by Morrison giving a similar, but lighter clap on the back.
"We missed you man" he grinned.
Albus smiled and took a seat in one of the stone cut arm chairs. "So what's been going on while I was in the Hospital Wing?" he asked.
His friends took seats as well. "Not much" Scorpius admitted. "No more Potions lessons anyway, they're all free periods until they find a replacement."
"And Flitwick is filling in as Headmaster" Morrison said.
"Yeah, the Ravenclaws went crazy" Scorpius said. "Said that should have happened years ago."
"Otherwise, things are right around normal here. Exams in two weeks" Morrison chimed in.
Albus groaned. Right around normal was exactly where he didn't want to be.
"Why the groan?" Scorpius asked him.
"I don't want to have to face Slytherin tomorrow" he admitted. "First I lose them the game, then I get Darvy fired..." he trailed off.
Both of them laughed. "Blimey Al, are you an idiot?" Scorpius asked. "You're a hero now! No one cares about Quidditch!"
"Huh?"
Morrison managed to stop laughing long enough to talk. "Scorpius here's been getting the hero treatment for two days. You should hear the rumors going around. Anyways, you're more popular than you've ever been!"
"Really?" Albus asked them, dumbstruck.
"Yeah. But real quick" Morrison continued. "Just so we know, what did happen in the Forest?"
"You don't know?" Albus asked. "Scorpius was there!"
"We know what happened up until I left and found Neville and Bellinger patrolling" Scorpius said. "But the only announcement that we heard afterwards was that Darvy and Ares were on the run from the Ministry and that you were in the Hospital Wing."
Albus grinned. He told them everything he could, describing the battle with every minute detail. Their jaws dropped when he told them of Darvy cursing Hagrid, they squealed when he mentioned Professor Bellinger chucking flaming branches, and they refused to even blink when he told them of how he had chased Ares into the heart of the Forest.
"So then the centaur knocked him down. He dropped the Dragonfang Wand. We both dove for it -"they both gasped" -and I ended up wrestling it away from him. I had the wand pointed right at him."
They exchanged glances, eager to know what happened next. Albus was quite sure that he was going to tell them, as well as Mirra and possibly Rose what he knew about Darvy and Ares. About how they were brothers, about how Ares was the leader of the EP's, and about how Ares wanted nothing more than to achieve the power that he felt he was robbed of. But the voice...his own voice telling him to murder. He wanted to leave that particular part out.
"And then?" they both asked him, hungry for more information.
"And then... and then my dad showed up. He got mixed up in the dark. Shot a stunner at me thinking I was Ares. Ares got away with the wand."
They both groaned. "Damn!" Scorpius spat.
Morrison leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. "I miss everything!" he exclaimed.
It turned out of course that Albus' friends had been quite correct. There wasn't a single day for the rest of term that someone, whether it be someone that he knew or didn't, approached him with questions about what had occurred in the Forest.
"Is it true you and your friend fought fifty dark wizards back to back and won-"
"Is it true that you turned Professor Ares' head into a cabbage-
"I heard you and your friend fought off our old Potions professor with your hands tied behind your back, is that right-"
"Is it true that you fought off a giant and an acromantula in there too-"
Albus shrugged it all off uncertainly. "Erm...I don't remember" he told everyone. "Still a bit hazy."
Day after day this occurred. It seemed as though no one, not even those of his own house, remembered him as the Quidditch player who had gotten himself banned before the Final. Even people from his own team were asking him questions.
"How did all these rumors start?" Albus asked his friends.
"Easy" Morrison said, grinning. "We started them."
Albus' last month of classes seemed to float by with his newly regained popularity. No Potions meant plenty of free time to sleep on Fridays, he had managed to talk to Rose and Mirra in Defence Against the Dark Arts about what had actually happened in the Forest, and even his teachers seemed more than happy to see him whole and well. Indeed, he had the strange suspicion that a lot of them were glad to be rid of Ares. Professor Handit, for instance, had awarded Albus twenty points for "being on time and looking sharp" one day.
Apart from his class, Albus spent most of his time in Hagrid's cabin, checking up on the giant who he figured that he probably owed his life too. Almost every day since he had been freed from the Hospital Wing he knocked on his cabin, and every day he and his friends (even Mirra sometimes) were welcomed in warmly.
"How are you feeling Hagrid?" Albus had asked him the first day that he had seen him.
"Ahh I've been in tougher scuffles than tha' Al" he said proudly, putting his enormous feet up at the table, almost knocking over Morrison's tea.
"I heard you got cursed pretty bad" Scorpius said.
Hagrid gave a shrug. "Ahh it stung a bit. They were just lucky I had had a bit to drink that night. Had I been sober, ol' Darvy never would've got that lucky hit in on me" he said with a smile. Albus and his friends grinned.
Exams came and went as they did the previous year; not too bad, not too good. The lack of a Potions exam frightened Albus a bit, he had the feeling that it would drop his average considerably, but the extra studying he had done during his stint in "unpopularville" (as Morrison had once called it), had considerably paid off. He didn't make up a single name during his History of Magic exam, and was able to list every incantation necessary in the Transfiguration exam as well. He felt that a few practical exams could have went better however. For the second year in a row he blew up something that he was supposed to be altering in some way in the Charms exam. This time it was Headmaster Flitwick's desk.
All in all, Albus was a bit relieved and a bit upset on the last day of his second year. Headmaster Flitwick had announced that Gryffindor had won the house cup, much to the chagrin of Albus and his fellow Slytherins, who had came in third. Albus looked around nervously to see if his housemates were blaming him, but it appeared as though his popularity was going to last until the end of the year. No one was so much as frowning at him. Relieved, he allowed himself a grin and turned his attention to the magnificent feast layed out before him.
The next day everything had been packed. Students complained loudly about the notes reminding them not to use magic over the holidays. Teachers said goodbye to their favorite students, students to their favorite teachers, and before Albus knew it, he was boarding the train, Hagrid waiting by it to ensure that everyone boarded.
"Have a good summer you three" he said as Albus, Morrison and Scorpius began to board the train.
"Cheers Hagrid" they all said.
"Professor Hagrid" he corrected them with a grin. "Terms over. You lot are in me Care for Magical Creatures class this year aren' ya?" he said.
They laughed and boarded the train, waving to him as they did so.
"I can't believe I used to be so terrified of him" Morrison said once they were on the train. "He's harmless, isn't he?"
"To us" Albus said. "Not to those blokes in the Forest."
They all laughed. "Shall we find a compartment?" someone said from behind them.
Albus spun around and saw that it was Rose, with Mirra right behind her. Together, the five of them made their way to the back of the train, finally settling in one of the very last compartments.
Scorpius and Morrison immediately struck up a game of gobstones as soon as the train had started moving, leaving Albus to fill Mirra and Rose in on everything that he had eventually told his other two friends.
"Darvy and Ares are brothers?" Mirra gasped when he had said it.
Albus nodded. "Half brothers anyway. They don't look it, do they?"
She shook her head furiously, still in disbelief.
"And you said Ares is half blood right?" Rose asked him. "And Darvy is pure blood?"
"Yup, that's right" Albus said. "And my dad reckons that Ares is pissed off that he's only half blood, because he thinks that pure bloods are more powerful."
"That's gotta' make for some awkward Christmas conversations between those two" Morrison said, and everybody laughed.
"So where do you think they are now?" Mirra asked. "Doesn't your dad have any leads on where they are?"
"He just knows they're hiding" Albus admitted. "But if anybody can find them, it's my dad."
"I think we all owe Albus an apology" Rose said suddenly.
Mirra gawked at her, as did Albus. Scorpius and Morrison both glanced up from their game as well. Rose turned a bright red. "Well...we all doubted him at least once this year didn't we? And he ended up being right about almost everything. So...sorry Al" she finished dramatically.
"Sorry Al" the other three said, though it was easy to see that only Mirra had meant it. Scorpius and Morrison could barely contain their laughter. Albus turned as red as Rose and turned his attention to the gobstones game.
"Sucks about how things turned out though" Scorpius said after a few moments.
"What do you mean?" Albus asked him.
"Well, they both got away didn't they? And they got the wand too. And we lost a very easy Potions teacher in the process! Bit of a sour ending, really."
"If you call that teaching" Rose spat, and everyone laughed.
"I don't think of it like that" Mirra said, turning her attention to Scorpius. "Sure, all that stuff happened, but those guys were dangerous anyway. And now they're gone. We'll have a new Potions professor next year, and a new Headmaster, and they'll both probably be better. Plus Albus' dad caught a whole bunch of dark wizards didn't he? Yeah, some bad things happened, but they go with the good. Not really a sour ending. More of a- a bittersweet beginning really. Plenty to look forward to next year."
"Yeah, I agree" Albus said. Mirra smiled at him, and he returned it. No sooner had he done so that they heard a knock on the compartment door.
Scorpius stood and opened it, and ended up face to face to with Charles Eckley. They all went silent at once as the two stared each other down. As far as Albus knew, it was their first time face to face since their fight. It was hard to see because Eckley was so tall, but behind him Albus could just make out Donovan Hornsbrook. Or at least most of him. His head and face were heavily bandaged, and his arm was in a sling.
Eckley stared at Scorpius in silence before turning his head to Mirra and Rose. He smiled. "You two want to come join us now?" he asked them. "Rides about half way over."
Albus crossed his arms and frowned. Leave it to Eckley to split the group up when they were all having fun.
Rose stood to leave, but Mirra didn't. "Actually" she said. "I thought we'd stay here. Just to catch up, ya know? I haven't had the chance to talk to these guys in a while. I'll catch up with you guys after the train ride okay?" she said.
Albus watched as the smile on Eckley's face flickered for an instant. It returned before anyone who hadn't been eyeing it could notice though. "Yeah that's cool" he said nonchalantly. "See you guys in a bit then."
He closed the door and Albus heard the two of them walking away. Mirra struck up a conversation with Rose about something while someone nudged Albus.
"What are you smiling at?" Morrison mouthed to him.
Albus hadn't even noticed how wide his grin had been. "Nothing" he murmured back, though he thought he noticed Scorpius smirking at him as he sat back down.
"What happened to Hornsbrook?" Albus asked them after a moment.
"You didn't know?" Morrison asked. "Oh right, I forgot, you were in the Hospital Wing that day."
"So tell me!" Albus said.
"Right, anyway, the last day you were in the Hospital Wing, your brother kind of snapped out of his stupor. I don't know what made him do it, but something got him over that girl, and he left his Common Room for the first time in weeks. Played a nasty prank on some first years that made a toilet explode, did a whole bunch of stuff. But apparently one thing that he had been putting off until he got better was finding the kid who punched you in the face. No one from Gryffindor would rat him out."
"So how did he find out it was Hornsbrook?" Albus asked.
"It slipped" Mirra spoke up ruefully, cringing as she did so.
"It wasn't pretty" Scorpius said. "I caught a glimpse of him on the way to the Hospital Wing. I don't know if James started with his fist and moved to his wand or vice versa, but either way, Hornsbrook looked a mess. So many spells. Jelly Legs Jinx, Bat Bogey Hex, this spell that turned his eyelashes into worms-don't know where he learned that one, a few others too. Plus a beat down with his bare hands. From what I heard he tried fighting back. Only made it worse, poor bloke."
Albus cringed as well.
"It wasn't as bad as you think" Rose said suddenly. "I mean, he was unconscious after the first couple of minutes anyway."
They all laughed, even if Mirra and Rose only did so half heartedly, and the rest of the train ride was spent swapping chocolate frog cards and playing exploding snap.
A few hours later, they departed from the train into King's Cross station. Albus gave a yawn and looked around for his Uncle Ron, who he had heard would be picking him and his brother up along with Rose. Normally he would be bothered by the fact that his own father wasn't doing it, but now that he thought about it, his knew his dad was hard at work. It didn't bother him in the slightest anymore.
They moved through the crowd of students meeting with their parents, dodging familiar faces and keeping a lookout for their own. They eventually reached the middle of the noisy station, where they stood and waited, chatting about their summer plans.
"Well there's my grandparents over there" Mirra said after a couple of minutes, pointing at an elderly couple who was waving to the group of them merrily.
Albus waved back uncertainly. Mirra gave him a big hug, then did the same to the others. "Make sure you all keep in touch this summer!" she said. "Al, I'll make sure I get an owl to you for your birthday. And keep me posted on your sister's wedding!" she added to Morrison.
She gave them all another hug, then gave Rose an extra big one, and went to go meet her grandparents.
"I'm gonna go meet my folks too" Morrison said. He clapped both Scorpius and Albus on the back, hugged Rose and left, waving his hand as he did so.
"Have a good summer" he called back to them.
"You too!" they called out to him.
"Al, there's my dad" Rose said, pointing at Uncle Ron, who was lazily standing with his hands on his hips. An older student accidently rolled over his foot with his trunk as he was passing.
"Watch it pal, I'm an Auror!" they heard him bark, waving his wand threateningly as the kid ran as fast as he could. He turned his attention back to his daughter and nephew. "You kids coming or what?" he yelled to them as they laughed.
"All right, we're out mate" Albus said, clapping Scorpius on the back. Rose gave him a hug.
"Try and hang out this summer okay?" Scorpius said as they turned to leave.
"I'll see if you can come visit" Albus told him.
Scorpius grinned. "Later Al."
They slapped each other's hand and Albus and Rose left to go meet his uncle.
"So" Uncle Ron said as he wrapped his arm around his daughter. "How was your second year?" he asked them both.
"Fantastic daddy" Rose said quickly. "You wouldn't believe how much I learned!"
Albus thought a bit harder about his answer. He thought of Darvy betraying them in the Forest, thought of being punched in the face by Hornsbrook and shunned by his house, and of Ares escaping with the wand...
Then he looked back over his shoulder and saw Mirra walking with her grandparents, all three of them looking quite happy. A few feet away he saw Morrison pushing his trunk aimlessly, looking for the family that probably hadn't shown up yet. He smiled and saw Scorpius standing with his back to him, and Mr. Malfoy standing beside him, waving over to Albus.
Albus waved back and turned back around. "It was pretty good" he said after a few moments. "I can't complain anyway."
His Uncle Ron laughed as they passed through the barrier to the muggle world. "From what I've heard, you probably could. But don't expect anything like that to happen next year. The Ministry will make sure you kids don't get idiots like that Darvy teaching you."
Albus smiled at him as they made their way back to the Ministry car they would be taking. "I don't know. I don't want things to be too boring next year" he said.
And with that, he got into the car with his cousin and uncle, more than ready to experience a relaxing summer, and more importantly, more than ready to return to Hogwarts for his third year.
So that's that. I hope you guys enjoyed reading my second story as much as I enjoyed writing it. For those of you who read both, which do you prefer? Any favorite characters or favorite moments?
As always, reviews are very much appreciated, and I hope you guys are looking forward to the next book! Thanks for reading,
-Vekin87