Rise of the Alchemists writing belongs to pinktwirlz at FF dot net and NovaMagma at deviantart.
I do not own Harry Potter names, characters, locations etc.
If I do, why am I writing fanfiction?
And why would I claim to own it when I obviously don't?
Ah, the endless questions...
"Lumos!" Albus yelled. His wand flickered, but soon fizzled out.
"Lumos!" He tried again, louder this time. His wand was still uncooperative.
"LUMOS." He nearly shouted. However, this didn't have any effect, other than managing to stab Scorpius in the nose with his wand tip.
The two Slytherins had decided to spend Saturday morning studying and finishing their homework. It was Scorpius's idea, and Albus wasn't too fond of it. Since Albus had finished all his homework, all he was left with to do was practice spells and incantations.
Faced with the obvious truth that he needed no practice with Transfiguration, he dedicated their time in the library to learning the Wand-lighting charm, Lumos. The only problem was that Albus hated charms. Even the simplest of them he had trouble mastering. It took two full weeks to learn the levitation charm, putting him behind the entire class.
"Try calming down," Scorpius said, looking up from his Potions report. "Focus your energy on your desired effect. Don't get frustrated with the magic, work with the magic."
Albus glared at Scorpius, but the Malfoy boy had already returned to scrawling about the uses of boomslang. Looking back at his wand, he took a deep breath, and tried to steady his heartbeat.
One...two...three...four... He thought to himself, trying to internalize the pulse. He focused all his energy, every scrap he could find, and cast the spell.
His wand shot a few sparks, and then burst forth in scarlet light, giving Scorpius's hair an amber glow. Scorpius himself looked up, alarmed, at Al's wand.
"Put that out! Put that out!" He cried desperately. Albus looked at him in confusion, and then shouted in alarm when he realized the warmth from the wand had caught one of the library books on fire.
"NOX NOX NOX" He shouted, waving his wand around desperately as Scorpius fumbled around with the Book of Spells trying to find the water making charm. Eventually, Scorpius gave up and stomped the fire out with his foot.
"WHAT IS GOING ON OVER HERE!" The librarian screamed as she hobbled over to the boys. Madame Pince was an extremely old woman with a hooked nose and sallow face. She could be best described as a wrinkled vulture. Albus and Scorpius shrunk away from her piercing gaze, unable to stop themselves from glancing guiltily in the direction of the burnt book.
"What...happened?" She growled at them. By now the scene had gathered the two boys quite a crowd. Gryffindors were snickering at them from behind bookshelves, and a group of Hufflepuff third years were slowly approaching. Other students of all ages were also crowding around the spectacle as best they could without being noticed by the librarian.
"IhadaspellthatwentwrongI'mverysorryMadamePince." Albus whispered, refusing the meet her eye.
"Speak up!"
"I had a spell that...went wrong. I'm sorry." Albus squeaked. Madame Pince glared at him before turning to Scorpius.
"And you! What were you thinking, stamping down on my books like that!"
Scorpius shrunk away from her gaze, and muttered something about putting the fire out.
"You ruined my book in the process!" She yelled. The librarian scooped up the book with her wand, being very careful to maintain whatever integrity the pages still had left.
"I won't give you detention this time, but the next time you so much as bend a corner expect me to be right behind you!" Pince yelled as she hobbled back to her desk to repair the book.
Albus and Scorpius sunk back into their desk; the crowd of students laughed and dispersed. The two boys met each other eyes briefly, and were about to leave the topic alone when Rose and Tatiana showed up at their desks.
"Fancy meeting y'all here!" Rose called out, leaning over the table the boys were slumped on.
"We can't seem to shake you, can we?" Albus muttered. Rose laughed, but Albus was only half joking. Scorpius shot him a look that said, 'Lighten up' so Albus stopped talking.
"You made any progress on the petition?" Scorpius asked in an attempt to steer the conversation.
"As a matter of fact, we did." Rose announced triumphantly. "Tatiana, the paper if you please."
"We got most of the Ravenclaws to sign it." Tatiana said as she handed the paper over to Scorpius. "We may have missed a couple, but if they care strongly enough about it, they should be able to come find you."
Scorpius grinned in gratitude. "Now it's just the rest of the Hufflepuff's and the Gryffindors. And with the match today, it shouldn't be too hard to spread the word." Rose nodded.
That's right, there's a quidditch match today. Albus thought to himself. With all this drama here in the library I almost forgot.
Rose noticed Albus spacing out and cut into his thoughts. "What's gotten your panties in a twist?" She asked.
Al stiffened. "What's that supposed to mean!" Rose just laughed.
"What was the spell you messed up earlier?" She asked, leaning over to look at Al's notes. Albus drew his papers closer to himself protectively.
"It was a wand-lighting charm." He muttered. "I overpowered it."
"I'll say." Tatiana snickered. Rose shot her a look before pulling a chair up next to her cousin.
"I've done that before, you were probably jabbing the wand too violently." She explained, holding up her own as an example. "You are creating light, not lightning. Envision warmth, not heat." She muttered the incantation, waving the wand slightly in a circular motion. The tip of her wand lit up golden yellow and cast a warm light on the four of them.
"Let me try," Albus said. He closed his eyes, took a breath, and spoke out the incantation. "Lumos." The tip of his wand flickered golden, but went out like a muggle lightbulb. Scorpius smirked, but tried to hide it.
"Well, you're getting closer." Rose said, her eyes alight with amusement at Albus's frustration.
"Oh, guys!" Tatiana cut in, her large eyes even larger than usual. "The match starts in ten minutes! We should get down to the pitch, or we'll miss it!"
"Oh, right." Rose said. She stood up and was about to follow her friend out the door, but turned around to face the two Slytherins.
"Meet me here tomorrow after lunch, Al, we'll work on it more." She added. She then left Al and Scorpius to scramble for their books as they followed the girls out to the pitch.
"Wow! Look at all the people!" Scorpius marveled as they walked onto the quidditch pitch.
It was true, Albus realized. There were more people on the pitch than he had ever seen, and the effect was amplified by the fact that they towered over him on the tall stands.
This was the first quidditch match of the season. Slytherin versus Gryffindor. Albus and Scorpius of course were rooting for Slytherin, but Albus was also interested in the match because his brother James was on the Gryffindor team. Albus had seen James fly many times before at home, but never before in an actual game. It was a talent that Albus often wondered at, since Al himself had little to no flying ability.
"Look, the teams are warming up." Scorpius pointed to the players tossing muggle playing balls back and forth in the air. Scorpius watched them with envy as they rode their broomsticks.
"Are you gonna try out next year?" Albus asked Scorpius.
Every week the first years had more flying lessons, and Scorpius seemed to be a natural flyer. He was easily the most talented of all the Slytherins, and still improving. It wasn't too much of a surprise. Most wizarding families raise their children to play quidditch, simply for lack of other wizarding sport to play. Albus and James had grown up like this, so it seemed natural the Scorpius did too. Especially since Scorpius's father, just like Al's, had been a well known seeker during his time at Hogwarts.
"I might try out." Scorpius said. "But students from all the years will be trying for the positions."
"Well keep practicing." Albus shrugged. "I'd root for you." Scorpius laughed, but smiled in genuine appreciation.
"Well look who it is!" Cut another voice into the conversation. "The wonder duo! Haven't seen you around the school lately, Ally boy."
Albus groaned as his older brother, James, leaned on Al's shoulder in his full red and gold uniform. James sported a signature smirk as Albus pulled away from the grip.
"Hullo James." He said, rolling his eyes. Scorpius chuckled under his breath. Being an only child, watching James and Albus interact was hilarious entertainment for him.
"Come to watch us wipe the floor with you Slytherin prats?" James asked. Al pointedly looked away.
"Oh fine then, take all the spirit out of it." James complained. He instead turned to Scorpius. "How bout you, Scor? Haven't seen you in a while either."
"Scorpius. If you don't mind." The Malfoy corrected. "And yes, it has been a while. It's nice to see you."
"He knows his manners, that one." James mock whispered in Al's ear. "You could learn a thing or two from him."
"Shove off, James!" Albus yelled. The crowds of people milling about them, making their way to the stands, turned in his direction. Albus shied away from the looks until they kept moving on.
"All right all right calm down." James laughed. "No need to get so antsy."
"You think you're so special don't you!" Albus hissed. "You arrogant Gryffindor prat–"
"Better a Gryffindor prat than a slimy Slytherin." James rebutted, a smirk still on his face.
Albus looked like he had a few more choice words to say, but Scorpius grabbed him by the arm before he got a chance. Scorpius muttered a farewell, and then pulled Albus into the crowds to keep moving towards the stands.
James snorted to himself as he walked away from his brother. In truth, he didn't much care what house Albus was sorted into, but he loved exploiting Al's anxieties. The reactions were simply priceless. Still, it was interesting that Al seemed to have made such easy friends with the Malfoy kid.
James's thoughts were interrupted when the team captain Liam Tarneel called him over into the dressing room.
"James! Where have you been?" Liam asked frantically. "Oh never mind, just get in here, finish getting your gear on. The game starts in ten."
James muttered something in the way of an apology before hurrying into the dressing room. The rest of the team was there, some of the newer members pacing, and the older ones just looking bored. James grabbed his bat from the bench, and went to sit next to the other Gryffindor beater, Jones Londrow, who was also a third year. He and Jones bumped fists, and Liam came back into the room.
"All righty, first game of the season everyone." Liam started, his hands shaking. Liam was a chaser, and one of the best chasers the team had ever seen, and had firm leadership skills at practices and during matches. But he had a tendency of succumbing to his nerves when he was stressed, especially before important games.
"Is it going to rain later?" Tori Mueller, another chaser asked. James glanced out to the sky. It wasn't raining, but the sky was dotted with October clouds.
Liam nodded at her. "It is a possibility, and it puts us at a disadvantage. The Slytherins are used to playing in the rain, they practice in it."
"We'll be fine." James added cockily. "We've got the best team in the school, don't worry about it."
Liam nodded gratefully, before turning to the seeker, Fred Weasley.
Fred was a cousin of James's. He had the trademark red hair and freckles of a Weasley (like his father and late namesake uncle) but his skin had a brown tinge to it, inherited from his mother Angelina.
"Make sure you stay on top of things, Fred." Liam said, his brown hair clinging to his sweaty forehead. "If we lose this game, we'll be set behind for the entire season."
"Don't worry," Fred smirked. "I can't wait to see the look on their faces when we wipe the floor with them."
"That's the spirit!" Liam laughed. "Now team, to the pitch!"
James and Jones bumped their bats together as they followed Liam out to the center of the field. James beamed at the roar of cheers that erupted at their arrival. He quickly scanned the Slytherin side of the stands for his brother, but they were too far away for him to see. He decided against aiming a bludger at him; he'd probably get in trouble.
Liam and the captain and seeker of the Slytherin team–Maddock Farley–shook hands. James winked at Fred before kicking off into the sky at Madame Nanther's whistle. He managed to get the first hit at the bludger, nearly knocking Nova Miller, a Slytherin beater, off her broom.
"And they're off!" A voice boomed throughout the stadium came the commentator, Freda Vallery. Vallery was a Ravenclaw fourth year with hair so blond it could be seen all the way across the stadium.
"Looks like Potter managed to get the first hit on that bludger, look at the devil go! The Slytherins had better watch out, it seems to be chasing after Archer. Oh, the quaffle is on the move! Here comes Tucker, dodging all the other chasers...Ah very nice hit Ms Nord! A bludger has thrown Tucker off his game...Markus Reid has it and it sending it the opposite direction...A score for Slytherin!"
James cursed. He swung his bat around, and shot one of the bludgers forcefully at Rubie Nord, the other Slytherin beater. She dodged it and stuck her tongue out at him. There was an eruption of cheers from the Slytherin end of the stands.
The game carried on quickly as the sky started to drizzle. Neither Fred nor Maddock seemed to have caught sight of the snitch, but they both kept searching. James kept an eye out for it as well, and at the same time worked with Jones to corner some of the chasers with the bludgers. They had almost managed to knock one of the Slytherin chasers off her broom, but other than that they hadn't made much progress.
The game stretched on for forty long minutes, and Gryffindor was starting to pull ahead. Vallery managed to make sure that it never got boring, and kept the crowd on their toes. The rain also helped as a change of pace. It seemed to have an on/off switch somewhere, because the sky couldn't seem to decide which it liked more.
"The Slytherins and Gryffindors stand even at fifty-fifty, the quaffle must have switched possession ten times in the last minute! Oh, could this be it? Archer has the quaffle, look at him go! Racing down the pitch, dodges Londrow's bludger...there he goes! Ten points to Slytherin! Looks like the Gryffindor beater's aren't too happy about that...very nice aim Potter! Farley almost fell off his broom with that one, right in the tail bristles! And still no sign of the snitch by either of the seekers."
No sooner than Vallery had announced this than James noticed a flash of gold soar by his head. And he wasn't the only one. He had to spin around in an elaborate roll to avoid being trampled by Fred, who was after it.
Farley, who was on the other side of the pitch, made a beeline for Fred. Unfortunately, the wind was on Farley's side. The oaf was about to reach the golden snitch when his broom started bucking.
"What's this? A broom malfunction?" Vallery called out. Gasps resounded all across the stadium. Broom malfunctions were extremely rare, and extremely dangerous. The entire game almost came to a halt as they turned to watch Farley hold on for dear life.
"Someone help the fellow!" Vallery called out.
James pulled up to Jones, and yelled, "Can't they stop it?" into the other beater's ear.
"Not until the match ends!" He called out. "Casting spells during a game is illegal!"
James gritted his teeth. Farley was losing his grip on the handle. James didn't care much about the stupid bloke, but serious injuries in quidditch meant concerned parents, inquiries, delays, and all sorts of legal things that got in the way of the games.
Fred luckily knew this too, and sped towards the snitch like a starving man to a charbroiled steak.
Just at the moment when Farley was thrown from his broom, Fred's fingers closed in around the snitch. Cheers and yells surrounded the players from all sides as Fred held up his golden prize to the stands.
Meanwhile, Farley was plummeting towards the ground. Luckily, the Slytherin seeker was not hurt, because half the professors watching all aimed cushioning charms at the ground below him.
The two teams lowered themselves down to the ground. The Slytherins immediately rushed towards their captain, who–despite the cushioning charm–was unconscious. The Gryffindors also converged together, all of them asking questions none of them knew the answer to.
Liam silenced all the questions, asking one of his own. "What the heck happened to him? And why didn't it happen to any of us?"
The team looked around at themselves, and shrugged in response.
"This isn't good." Liam continued. "If they can't identify the problem with his broom, it could pose a problem for the rest of the matches."
"They can't do that!" Jones cut in. "It was just one broom. It might not affect the rest of us."
"We don't know that." Liam said. "I don't want to stop the matches any more than you do. Is everyone sure we don't know anything about it?"
James and the others shook their heads.
James had heard stories about his father's first quidditch match when his Nimbus had started to buck. But it took a curse from a dark lord to tamper with the broom. In the two and a half decades since that incident, the quality of broom making had been significantly increased to make sure incidents like that one didn't happen.
"But James," Fred cut in, his face a look of contemplation. "Didn't you hit Farley with a bludger back there?"
James paused, and then nodded. "I hit the tail of his broom. But that's not enough to make a broom act up like that."
"Are you sure?" Liam asked. James nodded firmly.
"And even if it was, you know he wouldn't endanger his spot on the team by hexing another player." Jones added. James nodded to the beater gratefully.
"Potter." A voice called out from behind the Gryffindors. James turned around to be faced by Professor Macmillan.
"You come with me." He said. James turned to look at Liam, who shrugged apologetically. As James followed the headmaster, Fred automatically ran up next to him. Macmillan looked like he was about to protest to Fred's presence, but decided against it and kept walking up to the school.
The three of them kept going until they reached an empty classroom. Macmillan led them in, and then closed the door behind them.
The two third years, in their quidditch robes with brooms still in hand, faced the headmaster. Macmillan sighed, pulled up one of the chairs and sat down.
"Did you tamper with Farley's broom?" Macmillan asked James. He looked more tired than accusatory. James shook his head. "You did hit him with a bludger. Could that have caused it?"
"If it did, it wasn't intentional." James said. "Is that the only reason we're here?"
"No." said Macmillan. "What else have you two been up to lately?"
"What do you mean?" Fred asked.
"Tampering with anything; experimenting with spells?"
"What are you accusing us of, Professor?" James asked, eyes narrowed.
Macmillan stared right on back, unfazed by James's glare. "I'm not accusing you of anything."
"Doesn't sound that way to us." Fred added.
Macmillan sighed again before standing up and heading towards the door. "If you don't know what I mean, then it isn't a problem. You two get cleaned up."
Fred and James stared after the headmaster as he walked away.
"What do you suppose that was about?" Fred asked. "I mean, our record isn't clean, but..."
"That pompous prat." James muttered. He glanced over at his partner in crime, who looked deep in thought.
"What if this has something to do with the Potions mishap the other day?" Fred brainstormed. "Maybe he thinks we're messing with enchantments around the school."
"That's ridiculous."
"To us, maybe, because we know we didn't. To him..."
James glared at his friend before admitting defeat. "You're probably right, as usual. C'mon, let's get back to the common room. It's been a long day."
Fred nodded, and the two of them headed off to the dormitories, doubtlessly to be greeted by the celebration waiting for them in the common room.
The Slytherin common room that night was not alight with celebration like their Gryffindor rivals. Instead, all the Slytherins were staying awake complaining about cheating Gryffindors and worrying about their bedridden seeker.
Scorpius and Albus sat off to the side. They weren't talking much, but they were both thinking about the incident at the pitch.
"Oi, Potter!" A voice called out from the other end of the room. Albus looked up to see a sixth year girl addressing him.
"Yeah?" He asked.
"It was your brother who hit Maddock's broom with his bludger, right?" She asked. The people around her nodded and murmured agreement, all of them turning to face Albus. "Reckon he coulda cursed him to win the match?"
Albus shied away from all the looks his way. This was something he had indeed been thinking about, and he told the sixth year what his conclusion was after his contemplation.
"I know my brother." He started. "And I don't think he would have hexed him. He wouldn't endanger his position on the team. And even if he wanted to, tampering with a broom is way beyond his skill level."
"Well you can't argue with that I suppose." The sixth year snorted before turning back to her friends.
Scorpius looked back at Albus, who was relieved to draw the attention away from himself.
"Do you think someone did hex Maddock?" Albus asked. Scorpius shrugged.
"I don't think so. It takes pretty powerful magic to tamper with a broom. They aren't just any ordinary object." Scorpius said. Albus nodded.
"You're probably right. But if that's true, then what did happen to Farley?"
Die Roxfort Lexicon - Page 3
First Floor Corridor
Accessible from the Grand Staircase, the first floor corridor is lined with suits of armor, various tapestries, and a portrait of Herpo the Foul. It connects to the stone bridge, and passes the entrance to the middle courtyard.
There have been rumors that the suits of armor are capable of movement. This has yet to be confirmed.
Notes on the armor:
Determined to remain still.
Distraction methods used:
-Conversation
-Questions
-Requests for help
-Irritating stories
-Silly voices
-Silly faces
-Insults
-Insults to its mother
-Death threats
Effectiveness: Ineffective
How'd y'all like it?
The last chapter I power wrote over a couple of days. This one I worked on continuously over a couple of weeks, so it is longer.
About the chap; sorry for so little Albus. But I needed the quidditch match in there, and it's not as exciting reading from the stands. Besides, I've been wanting an excuse to use James for a while ;)
So in this story, Fred Weasley II and James Potter II are partners in crime almost. They basically take after their namesakes and roam the school with the Marauder's map. Unfortunately, ROTA won't be seeing much more from their point of view because I want the focus to be on Albus and Scorpius.
Also, about the cloak. The general consensus (from the few of you that responded) is that yes, Al does get the cloak! (I don't know if I expected y'all to say otherwise...it was kinda obvious what the answer was gonna be)
He won't get it right away, but expect it soon-ish. Like, within a few chapters.
And thank you to all who reviewed! :D Means a lot, seriously.
Anyway,
Have a nice life!
PS: Any Star Trek Enterprise fans out there? Yeah, I shamelessly used names from it. Again, regret nothing.