Chapter Sixteen

A/N: Thanks to those who reviewed! This chapter is something we've all probably been waiting for!;) tell me how I did! Oh yeah, and sorry, this year (in the story) is 2022, not 2024. Whoops! :S When I typed it, I must've let my mind wander, and instead of 2022, I typed 2024!

Albus's POV

I poked at my breakfast.

I didn't feel like eating; there was something gnawing at my stomach that had diminished my appetite.

I watched as my brother James, who dropped by from his flat, was telling my sister Lily about his stories at Auror training.

"...and then, we had to sneak up on these dummies and fire Stunning spells while they moved. It was so cool! But then, Fred was in the middle of saying a spell when he tripped and instead of hitting the dummy, he hit the instructor."

Lily laughed, and I just kept poking at my food. My brother raised an eyebrow at me.

"What's wrong with you, Al? You would be at least rolling your eyes at me!" Turning to Lily, he asked, "What's going on with him?"

Lily shrugged. "He's probably still depressed at what happened at the Yule Ball."

His eyes glittered mischievously. "Go on."

I sighed, pushing my plate back. Getting up, I left the kitchen, only to be confronted by Kreacher, our (incredibly old) House Elf.

"Would Master Albus like more toast?" He croaked in his bullfrog voice.

I shook my head politely. "No thanks, Kreacher."

Shooting a concerned look my way – as I never turned food down – the House Elf scurried back over to my brother and sister.

Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place was a very old but, after my mum and dad were done with it, it was actually liveable and clean. All of the tapestries and portraits (especially the shrieking Mrs. Black, thank Merlin!) were removed and the bare walls polished. The heads of past House Elves were also discarded, along with various other bits and pieces of Magical Creatures. The assorted Dark objects that once littered the shelves were thrown out, along with the Creature bits.

As finished I walking up the flights of stairs, I headed to my bedroom. The Gryffindor coat of arms, Quidditch posters and some Muggle rock and roll concert posters covered the once bare and dusty walls. Flopping on my bed, I played with the Snitch that my father had given me for my sixteenth birthday. He said that it was the second Snitch he caught. I wonder why he didn't give me his first one.

Suddenly, I heard people talking on the other side of the wall. Pressing my ear against it, I recognized one as my dad's and the other as one of my dad's co-Aurors Seamus Finnigan. I concentrated hard so I could hear their conversation. When that didn't work, I silently got up from my bed and made my way to my dad's study. Making sure I didn't make noise, I crept up to the door. Listening hard, I heard the conversation clearly.

"...chaos everywhere, it's terrible!" Mr. Finningan said.

"Whoa, slow down, Seamus. Repeat everything again, from the beginning. I can't understand you. Catch your breath first and then tell me." That was my dad's voice.

"Thomas Hollister has escaped from custody! Everything's been thrown into havoc because people are starting to suspect he's a Death Eater! And apparently something from the Department of Mysteries has also been taken, too!"

There was heavy silence. Thomas Hollister? I thought. The American Auror? Impossible! I stepped closer, anticipated.

"Well, Seamus, I guess I need to head right over. I'll just grab my coat and I'll meet you over there via Floo. Oh, and alert the others I'll be there soon." My dad said.

"Alright. But just hope they aren't right." And with that, I heard Mr. Finnigan step into the fireplace built into my dad's study and whoosh away in a flurry of flames.

"Alright, Al, come on in." My dad said. I silently cursed myself for being caught and pushed the door open.

It was quite a roomy study, complete with a giant chair that reminded me of the Headmistress's, a large desk with papers scattered all over it, a globe, a lampshade, many drawers and filing cabinets, and Charmed pictures. I looked over and saw one with the five of us standing at a beach; I was probably eight, James ten, and Lily six. They smiled up at us, my dad and mum hand in hand. Picture dad winked at me.

My real dad was looking out the window, probably thinking hard. When he turned around, I was looking sheepishly at my sneakers. When I looked up, the sides of his mouth were twitching, an amused glint in his emerald eyes.

"You know," He said, a smile giving in, "You really remind me of myself when I was younger."

"Can I go with you?" I blurted out. My dad smiled.

"Well," He said, a thoughtful look in his eyes, "Why not?"

I grinned. I was ecstatic. I was really going on an Auror investigation! Well, even if it was at the Ministry, it was still an investigation, right?

"Get your coat on, Al. Call your brother. If we're going to the Auror department, he might as well come along so we can drop him off at Auror training."

I nodded and bounded down the stairs. Finally! Something to spice up my holidays! Well, not that they aren't exciting - Christmas day is in two days – but actual danger? Sweet! It'll take my mind off of –

Oh, Al, don't think of that, I thought. Focus on what happened at the Ministry.

Stepping into the kitchen where my brother and sister where, I said, "James? We're going to the Ministry. Meet us at dad's study."

"Can I come?" Lily asked.

I ruffled her red hair, making her scowl and flatten it. "No, sorry, Lils. You're going to the Scamanders', remember? To see Lysander?" I smirked when she blushed furiously.

"I-I'm mostly going to see Aunt Luna!" She protested.

James smiled. "Sure you are, Lily-Flower. Let's go, Al." My brother said.

We grabbed our coats and climbed up the flights of stairs and entered my father's study.

"Let's go." My dad said, nodding toward the fireplace.

James went first, dropping the Floo powder and disappearing in a flurry of green flames. Stepping in, I grabbed a handful of the stuff and said, "Auror Department, emergency entrance number 3!" I held my breath and squeezed my eyes shut, and when I stepped out, I saw a group of Aurors gathered around, talking amongst each other. When they saw the three of us, they rushed forward, their voices mingled.

"Okay, okay, stop! I need quiet! I need to see this for myself! James, go to Auror training; you know where it is! Al, follow me!" My dad said, pushing through the clump. We were met by Uncle Ron, who walked alongside both of us.

"Thank Merlin you showed up, Harry! It's been utter chaos in here!" He said.

"So I've heard," My dad muttered.

We headed to the custody room, where it looked like a prison cell, minus the bars. "We first found out he was gone at 7:00 am. Since then, people are assuming he's one of them." Uncle Ron said.

My dad walked over to the cot where Thomas was supposedly was sleeping. He inspected it, looking closely at the make-shift bed as if he was looking for microscopic clues. He picked up a piece of clothing; a shred of Mr. Hollister's shirt.

"It looks like there was a struggle," My dad said, inspecting the shred closely. "I think he was taken against his will."

"You mean he was abducted?" I asked, shocked.

My dad nodded, and turned to Uncle Ron. They exchanged looks; as if they were communicating silently. My uncle's eyes widened. "D-Death Eaters?"

My dad nodded solemnly. "They're the only people who could've done it. I mean, wasn't he brought here because he was running away from them? If it was someone else, then my name's not Harry Potter." My dad stated.

My Uncle's face paled. "I'll go tell them. I hope you're right, Harry." He added, nodding toward my dad.

"I hope so, too, Ron."

. . .

When my dad was finished poking around, we entered a room of whispering Aurors.

They instantly quieted down when they spotted my father and me. "Listen up, everyone. I have a sneaking suspicion about Thomas Hollister. He was abducted." The room gasped simultaneously.

"By Death Eaters." The room broke out in quiet murmurs, all shocked.

"I'm going to go check out the Department of Mysteries. Albus," He said, looking at me, "You have to go home, do you understand? You're safe over there. No protests; there's a chance you could get lost at the Ministry. And I don't need another abduction case."

I sighed, defeated. "Yes, dad."

Grabbing a handful of Floo powder, I said, "Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, London England!"

As I stumbled out of the fireplace, I dusted off the soot, frustrated. Why couldn't I stay over there? I mean, wouldn't it be safer with a bunch of Aurors around me? I sighed. Why didn't anyone take me seriously?

I wondered why on earth I couldn't have any excitement in my life. I mean, why not at least an investigation on a Death Eater abduction?

Little did I know that something doubly dangerous was coming my way.

. . .

I was just sitting in the sitting room (which was now shiny and cobweb free) looking out the window and admiring the blanket of snow as powder white miniscule flakes were added to the mass.

All of a sudden, I heard a mass of flames roar in the fireplace. Weird, I thought. I didn't ignite the fireplace...

I turned around and my jaw dropped. She was standing in front of me, her chestnut hair in a side-braid, a grey cardigan and a purple top, dark jeans, and Converse on.

Thalia smiled sheepishly, even a little shyly. "Hi," she said.

I gaped at her for a few more seconds, my mouth opening and closing like a goldfish's. I finally stood up and walked over to her. I stopped when we were a few feet away. "What," I said, "Are you doing here?"

She bit her lip, looking at the ground. "I'm sorry," she muttered.

"What?"

"I said I'm sorry!" She blurted out. "I really am."

I raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

She sighed, exasperatedly. "I'm sorry for the whole misunderstanding! Listen, Albus, Scorpius and I don't like each other! It was the damn mistletoe! Please believe me."

I looked deep onto her blue-grey eyes. I wanted so bad to believe her, but...I couldn't. How could I believe that things would be okay after this? "How can I believe you?"

"Just, please! I-I'm sorry! I truly am! How do you want me to prove it to you?" She begged.

Kiss me, I thought, but shoved that thought away. "I want you to promise that you'll never see Scorpius again." I know, it was selfish, but how could I know for sure?

She looked shocked. "I can't! He's my friend! He's your best mate!"

"All's fair in love and war," I stated.

"What?" she said.

"Never mind."

She turned her pleading eyes on me. "I can't! Why are you doing this? What happened to you? What happened to us?"

I sighed. I wanted so much to hold her, to make things better, but I couldn't go on if forgiving her meant giving her away to Scorpius. "I can't." My heart hurts too much. It can't take any more. I looked away.

"Please." She put a hand on my arm. It was so warm, and it filled me.

I turned away. I couldn't take this anymore. I had gotten so used to burying my feelings, and now they were resurfacing again.

I heard a sharp intake of breath. I looked up to see Thalia with a furious expression on her face. "You know what? I haven't given up on you the whole time we've been away from Hogwarts. And now I come here to try to make things better, but you just come and make things really hard for the both of us. I just want things to go back to the way they were. I want all of this to go away and we'll pretend none of this ever happened. Deal?"

I suddenly felt angry, too. "No, no deal. I can't pretend that it never happened. How can we ignore something like that? It's impossible!"

"Well, would you rather wallow around in sorrow and live in the past? That's codswallop!"

"I'd rather fix it now than stuff it in the corner and ignore it!" I yelled.

"It's better than possibly not being able to solve it! Don't you want things the way they were?" Thalia groaned in frustration. "Merlin, I just want to be friends again, to live, laugh, and have fun! After all these years, you're still as stubborn as ever. I try to convince you to eat spinach, you swat it away! I try to get you to ask the girl who you like to Hogsmeade, and you chicken out! I try to convince you I'm in love with you - " She clapped her hands over her mouth as if she had just said a foul swear word.

My head swam. Thalia? In love with me? I wanted to jump for joy, sing on top of a roof, and smack myself silly, all at the same time. How didn't I notice it before? Merlin, maybe I was as dense as Rose implied. All of a sudden, it dawned on me. All of those times she hugged, brushed by me, talked to me, laughed at my jokes, smile...it was all because she loved me. And I loved her.

She misinterpreted the silence and went to leave, eyes brimmed with tears. I grabbed her arm. "Thalia, wait." I said. When she turned to me, I knew it was now or never. This was it.

I leaned in and met my lips with hers. Instantly, there were fireworks exploding, and I couldn't believe it. I was kissing the girl of my dreams. At first she was surprised, but then she locked her arms around my neck and ran a hand through my hair. I then snaked my arms around her waist and pulled her closer, deepening the kiss. Our lips moved in synch, as if this was meant to be.

Maybe it is, I thought.

After a while, we broke apart, as the need for oxygen presented itself. Breathing heavily, our faces just inches apart, I grinned lost in her beautiful blue-grey eyes. She looked up and grinned back. I love her smile, I thought, feeling as if I was walking on air.

"So," I said, "How long have you been in love with me?"

She laughed a merry, musical sound. "Since Fourth year."

I was shocked. Fourth year? Merlin!

"How about you?" She asked, her eyelashes tickling my face.

I chuckled sheepishly. "Erm, since third year."

She laughed again. "Third year? Well, I must be as dense as Rose implies!"

"Same here," I chuckled. "So, you're not in love with Scorpius?"

She shook her head. "No, I mean, he's a nice guy, but he's like my brother. You're the one for me."

I couldn't believe this! I pinched myself, checking if this was just a dream. Ouch, nope, it was real.

She rolled her blue-grey eyes. "Are you going to kiss me again, or what?"

I smirked good-naturedly. "Of course."

I leaned in again, but was stopped by someone saying, "Ahem,"

We jumped apart as if we were electrocuted. Scorpius was standing in front of the fireplace, looking amused. "Well, I see you two have made up."

"Oh, hey, Scorpius." I said uncomfortably, suddenly regretting what I had said earlier. "Erm, sorry for me yelling at you and all that at the Yule Ball. Are we good now?"

My best mate grinned. "Yeah, I guess." We shook hands, but then Scorpius sobered up again.

"Look, there's something I have to tell you guys. It's really important."

Thalia and I nodded, and I intertwined my hand in hers. "What is it, Scorp?" She asked.

"Rose has been abducted."

A/N: Dun, dun, dun! Yeah, I know right? Right after Albus and Thalia get their happy ending, something goes wrong! Yeah, I'm sorry. Ooh, how did you like this chapter? Was the romance scene good? Terrible? Tell me your opinion! And yes, Rose and Scorpius will get their own little romantic scene, too! I have enough romance left for this story! Don't worry!

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