"His father's in debt to his mother?" Fred frowned.
"That's what he said," Alexandra nodded.
She had just come back up to the common room and was telling Fred and Alanna and the others what she had witnessed.
"I told you," James said. "His father was bad news, just like he is."
"Hang on," Alanna said. "It sounds like Scorpius really doesn't want to associate himself with Wretermoust."
"Not in public, of course not," Louis said. "He wants to keep whatever it is they're planning secret."
"Rose," Fred said, turning to his cousin who was remaining silent throughout this conversation. "You have classes with him. What do you think of him?"
"He's quiet," Rose shrugged. "He's very smart, though."
"Dad told me Voldemort was very charming when he was at school," James whispered. "Can't judge by that."
"James," Albus said, walking into the common room with many rolls of parchment. "What's the Slug Club?"
"Damn, it's starting again," Fred sighed.
"It's that club of Slughorn's we all warned you about," James said to his younger brother. "You got your invitation, did you?"
"Yes. He gave me all of yours as well." He handed out the rolls of parchment to everyone.
"So let me get this straight," Rose frowned, unrolling her invitation. "To be in this club, you basically have to be one of Slughorn's favorites?"
"Yup," Fred nodded. "Me, you, and Louis are in it because Harry's our Uncle, James and Albus are in it, well, because he's their dad, which means they'll obviously be elected co-presidents of the club soon, Alexandra's in it because her dad's Harry's cousin, and Alanna's in it, well, because she's brilliant at potions and all that."
Alanna blushed, but didn't say anything.
"That seems sort of prejudiced," Rose said. "I think he should open the club to the whole school."
"Well, that would defeat the purpose of it being a club, now wouldn't it," James pointed out. "But believe me, I'd just as soon as not go, but avoiding that man is like trying to catch smoke; just can't be done."
"Is it really that bad?" Albus asked.
"It's quick," Alexandra assured him. "And he only has a few meetings a year."
"Rose, you don't have too much to worry about," Fred said. "Last year, Slughorn was so fascinated with James that he barely paid anyone else any mind. Now that Al's here, we can probably get out of there in five minutes if we wanted."
"Thanks a lot," James muttered darkly.
"Well, we'd better be off to Astronomy," Alanna said. "It's almost eight."
"See you lot later," Fred said, grabbing his bag.
Him, Alexandra and Alanna began their way to the Astronomy tower. They were halfway there, though, when they came across Tiffany Finnigan and Grace Macmillan, the girls Alexandra and Alanna shared their dormitory with. After last year's altercation, which involved causing Tiffany to stay at St. Mungo's for quite some time, the girls weren't quite as horrible to Alexandra, but they were still not exactly friendly. No one but Alexandra herself knew who was responsible for that event…
"The lesson's canceled," Grace said, looking at the ground. "A student in the last class was trying to mend her bag with her wand and ended up breaking all the telescopes."
"Oh, thanks," Alanna said politely.
"Excellent, no class!" Fred grinned as the girls quickly walked away.
"And I spent three hours on my star chart," Alanna said sadly.
"Told you to just copy it from the textbook like I did," Fred said smugly.
"Let's just go back to the common room," Alanna said, rolling her eyes.
Alexandra was about to follow them, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw Wretermoust, heading down a corridor with a very suspicious look on his face.
"I'll be right there," she said.
"Where are you going?" Alanna frowned.
"Bathroom," she said quickly.
Fred and Alanna shrugged and left her as they headed back to the common room.
Alexandra waited until they were fully out of sight before she ran back around the corner where she saw Wretermoust disappear.
It took her a moment to realize that she was standing in the corridor where the Room of Requirements was. Of course that would be where he went…
She paced in front of the correct door, somehow knowing exactly what command would lead her to her half-brother: I want to be alone.
Sure enough, when she opened the door, she saw Wretermoust sitting at the only table in the room, pouring over many piles of parchment. He looked up when she entered.
"I knew you would be coming," he said, smiling that horrible smirk of his.
Alexandra didn't respond.
"You're just the person I needed," he said, standing up. "We really need to start getting this plan on its way."
"I've already told you, I'm not helping you with any plan," she said coldly.
"Then why did you come?"
Alexandra opened her mouth, but then realized she didn't have a good answer.
"Exactly as I thought," he said smugly.
"Why have you been harassing Scorpius?"
Wretermoust frowned. "I'm not harassing him; merely reminding him where his loyalties should lie."
"He doesn't want to help you either."
"And how do you know? You've never spoken to you."
"I heard you just awhile ago in the library," she said, crossing her arms.
"You didn't think I saw you there. Why were you reading up on dementors?"
"I-" she started.
"I don't feel like everyone else around them, either," he said.
Alexandra took a step back. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"You can drop that line," he said, looking back down at his parchment. "Mum loves dementors. She has a real gift with them. You inherited it from her."
Alexandra cringed at the word "mum".
"I know about the Thestrals as well."
"How?" was all Alexandra could say.
"Because I could see them off and on before I saw death as well," he said. "Now I see them all the time, of course."
"Why can I see them?" she asked softly.
"That," he said, looking up. "Is something I'll only answer on one condition."
"What?"
"You help me."