Chapter 5 - Albus

Albus rubbed his temple as he concentrated on finishing his Potions essay. Unfortunately, Albus had not inherited his late Grandmother Lily's genes in excelling in everything (including Potions, Slughorn had told him – "Bloody brilliant was she! One of my best students!" – also praising Dad's work, which greatly confused him) – but rather inherited his father's dislike in Potions. Which made no sense if his father excelled at it…

Bloody brilliant, he groaned, blotching out some words. His four inch long essay on the ingredients of the Cure of Boils potion wasn't even an inch full, as he remembered that Professor Slughorn had requested small writing. No, sorry, not requested, more like, demanded. Albus looked out the window, the sky darkening, the sky becoming a deep indigo. The wax from the candle was dripping, he pulling his fingers back – scorched from the burn.

Albus scowled at the stars, them mocking him, sighing as he once more dipped his quill into the ink bottle. He wasn't great at smarts nor sports - Albus' strongest point was in academics – not terribly brilliant like Aunt Hermione, but like his mother. He was the smarter than James – even with the extra years, yet his older brother was the doted upon one. The only class he was lacking in was Potions.

"Hello," a cool voice greeted Albus, as he spun around on his stool. "May I be of any assistance?"

Albus studied the girl. She had chestnut hair, and brown eyes and a sharp nose. "And who are you?" It might have been a tad rude, but Albus was too irritated to care. "I don't think I've seen you before."

"Zila," said girl introduced. "Zila Allen. I'm older than you."

"I know that, you weren't in the Sorting Ceremony." Albus exhaled. "And may I ask why you are talking to me?"

"You look like you need help on the Potions assignment," Zila explained, her eyes nothing but warm and friendly. Instead, they were cold and arrogant. "And I can give you that. I was best in my first year, and I'm still best in my second year. In fact, I'm pretty sure I'm better than some of those nimrods who call themselves seventh years."

Albus was horrified by her pride.

"I mean, honestly, some of those people call themselves smart," Zila scoffed. Albus decided then he didn't need or want her help.

He put on a tight smile. "Thanks a lot but… I'd rather do it myself. Thank you for your offer, though."

Zila looked a bit disappointed, but that same cold smile was back. "Oh, don't worry. Tell me anything that you need help on, and I'll aid you in any way. Well… bye Albert!"

Albus ignored her purposefully incorrect name-calling and once more sighed, pulling out another piece of parchment, and starting his Potions essay again, the flames of the Common Room's fireplace crackling as the sun dipped below the horizon.

Albus tried his hardest not to look jealous as James zoomed by on his broom. James had played Keeper fairly well, even learning from Uncle Ron. He sighed, wondering how he got no Quidditch skill at all. A mother who played for the Holyhead Harpies and a father who became Seeker in his first year, and it was hard for him to stay on a broom for more than two minutes. Albus slumped further into the Quidditch stands, watching James play like a pro. Rose wasn't good either, but she excelled in school, like Aunt Hermione. It was so bloody hard trying to live up to such famous parents. One was part of the 'Golden Trio' and the 'Chosen One' and his other parent played for the an excellent Quidditch team for some time, still fairly famous. He was imperfect – he knew everyone was – but Albus wished he was best at something. And that Allen girl hadn't helped.

"Al?" Albus heard his name, and looked around. "Al, don't leave me hanging."

Albus saw James, appearing to be faintly worried, but still had his cocky smirk in place. "Good, I thought you were zoning out on me."

"I was," Albus stood up, stretching. "Zoning out, I mean." He eyed his brother, wondering how he could fly so well. "Also, how are you out here? Don't you need to book the pitch?"

"Little brother," James yawned. "D'you honestly think I would follow the rules? We aren't supposed to be out here, Al. Just practicing."

"You won't get Sophie like that, James," Albus pointed out, rubbing salt into a wound. He saw his older brother tense, but he was soon back into his easygoing manner.

"Oh, Sophie?" James said, obviously pretending to have forgotten her. "Why should I fancy a first-year, anyways? She's going away in a year. Besides, it would never work… I'm over her, if that's what you mean."

Albus sighed, knowing his brother was full in denial. He let it go anyways. "Sure, James. I'm going back inside my dorm." Silently he wondered how James had convinced him outside in the first place.

"C'mon, Al," whined James. "Don't leave me alone. I know you can't fly, but so can't Rose. She hates flying. Okay, okay, Lily's alright… but that's not the point!"

"That makes me feel so much better, James," Albus rolled his eyes. "To remind me I'm the only one in the family who can't fly well. Thanks."

"Hey, I did say Rose, you know!"

Albus grimaced. The wind was howling hard, whipping his hair across his face and scratching him. "Why do you even try to practice in this weather, James? This is completely mental."

James shrugged goodnaturedly. "Anything to get the Quidditch Cup. We were so close last year. Hufflepuff got it! Hufflepuff. Can you imagine the embarrassment?!"

"No." Albus started descending the steps of the Quidditch stands. "But I can imagine the drama from you, of course."

"Bye, Al!" James called out. "Make up some excuse for me, will you?"

Albus huffed, knowing no matter how much he didn't want to, he would. After all, James was his brother.

He needed sleep.

Yes, Albus needed sleep more than he ever thought he would, what with the monstrous amount of homework the first-years were being set. Yet his mind refused to get that unreachable rest, instead going over incantations and events of the day. Weeks had passed since James had been caught practicing Quidditch on that wind-tossed field, and Albus' quill hand had gotten quite sore. He shook it violently, trying to get the numbness out of his wrist and fingers. Christmas break was two days away, and Albus' Dad had sent him a letter, encouraging him to invite someone to spend Christmas with. He knew James would invite Sophie and Rose (he had heard her and Hannah were quite close friends), so why not invite Caroline? After all, this was a once in a lifetime chance, even if she did seem a little...off.

Besides, he found himself thinking. There's no one else to invite.

He walked down the steps of his dorm, to the Common Room, rubbing his eyes. He was still in his beige nightclothes, and trudged down the remaining steps, glancing at an old grandfather clock, reading 5:35. Albus sighed, combing his hair with his fingers. When he reached the bottom, he found Caroline writing a letter.

"What are you doing?" he asked, genuinely curious. "Who's that letter for?"

Caroline jumped, a knife immediately popping into her hand. "Who the he–? Oh, Albus. Hey, erm, hi. The letter...it's for... wait. Why should I tell you?"

"I dunno. Is that letter for your parents?" Albus shrugged. "You probably miss them."

"Er, yeah, sure." Caroline covered flusteredly, heat spreading on her cheeks. "Why are you awake so early?"

"Couldn't sleep," Albus told her truthfully. "You?"

"Same." She answered quickly. Too quickly. The knife in her hand disappeared. "Was there anything you wanted from me?"

"Oh, uh, as a matter of fact, yes," Albus shifted on his feet. "Would you like to come over to my house during Christmas break? I only mean, um, because my Dad said I could invite someone, so..."

Albus saw Caroline's jaw tense, but that was quickly gone. Maybe he had imagined it. He forged on. "I know we aren't the best of friends, but James is inviting Sophie and Rose is inviting Hannah so…"

"You're pitying me," Caroline said flatly. Her gaze was hard, but there was disbelief colouring her eyes. "But…" she hesitated, as if wondering if it was a good idea. "Are Dopey and Hannah coming?"

"I'm not entirely sure yet…" Albus admitted. "But it can't be that bad, can it?"

"It can be," Caroline said, her face still guarded. "But I can handle whatever you throw at me. When and where?"

Albus silently groaned, regretting asking her.

Albus grunted as he lifted his luggage out of the train. James, Rose, Sophie, Caroline and Hannah were patiently – bar Hannah and Caroline – waiting for him, and he soon managed to get his trunk loose. "Ready?"

"We've been ready for ages, Al," informed James. "It's you who hasn't been ready."

Albus rolled his eyes, as the group walked out the train. "So. Our parents are nice enough – actually they're really nice –"

"Al?" Rose questioned. Albus turned to her. "You're rambling. Well, you were going to."

"Thanks, Rose." Albus glowered at his cousin. "I do not ramble!"

Caroline patted his shoulder. "Dude, I've known you for...what is it, four months? And yes, you do ramble."

"Sorry, Al," said Sophie sheepishly. "You kind of do."

"Amen to that," concluded Hannah. Rose and James snickered.

As they rounded the corner, Albus saw his Mum and Dad, a bespectacled man and a cheerful redheaded woman. "Over there, the woman with the red hair is my Mum and beside her is Dad."

"Which? You know, there isn't only one woman with red hair," remarked Hannah.

"Over there! Come on, the two running towards us. Well, pushing," James amended. "It's far too crowded."

"And there's my Mum and Dad," Rose piped up. "The one with the bushy brown hair. Beside her is my dad – the one with the red hair."

"Jesus, can you just point them out when we can actually see them?" Hannah huffed. "I mean, seriously, there's way too many people here! Witches and wizards alike."

Mr. Potter and Mrs. Potter soon arrived, looking a little more tired than they should've been. Mr. Weasley and Mrs. Weasley quickly came as well.

"Where's Dom?" was Mr. Weasley's first question.

"She's staying at Hogwarts, Dad," Rose said, while hugging Hugo. "Said she needed to do more homework. I doubt that, though. Didn't Aunt Fleur tell you? Or Uncle Bill?"

"I suppose not," Mr. Weasley ruffled Rose's hair. "Ravenclaw, eh?"

Rose blushed. "I – I… Dominique's in Hufflepuff." Rose finished weakly, her statement sounding more like a question.

"Nice to meet you," Mrs. Weasley cleared her throat, addressing the foreigners. "Call me Hermione."

"Harry," Mr. Potter said.

"Ginny. And my brother is Ron," Mrs. Potter answered.

"Can I call you Harry, Dad?" James asked, slyly.

"In your dreams, James," Dad chuckled. "So… can you all tell me your names?"

"Caroline," Caroline answered immediately. "Nice, er, to meet you. Albus has told us a lot of… good things about you." Albus thought he heard her choking a bit.

"Sophie," said the blonde, sticking her hand out shyly. "Lovely to meet you as well."

Dad and Uncle Ron both shook, while the rest of the adults smiled.

"Hannah," she said, tapping her foot. "Shouldn't you already know us, though? I mean, we did make headlines. Also, I think it's pretty obvious I'm from Mexico."

Dad raised his eyebrow, questioning Albus silently if she was always like this. He nodded back, smiling slightly.

"Well, you kids must be tired, why don't we hurry back home?" Mum suggested. "Rose and Hugo can come over as well."

"Sounds wonderful! We'll pick them up at around 9, shall we?" asked Aunt Hermione.

"Oh, no - come with us! We can't let you two go home alone, I have two pies in the oven. In fact, you know, you two should stay the night with us! Oh, actually, how about the entire break? Would that - "

She and Mum continued chatting amicably out of the station. A wonder how they can hear each other, thought Albus. I swear it's doubly as full as when we was taking the train to Hogwarts.

"Ugh, I'm SOOOOOOOO tired, please tell me we're nearly there." Caroline groaned

Uncle Ron did nothing to hide his appalled expression before Aunt Hermione jabbed him in the ribs. "'Mione, even I wasn't that impatient!"

"But you were far more blunt," she injected. "Let's get into the car."

"Let's," Caroline said, plopping her luggage into Albus' arms. "I'm exhausted!" He promptly staggered back under the weight of the large suitcase.

Sophie cleared her throat. "Caroline, hold your own luggage. Albus looks like he's going to faint. What in the world did you pack in there?"

She was silent.

"Caroline?"

"... stuff."

"Okay, okay." relented Sophie.

"Aaaand, here we are!" announced Uncle Ron, gesturing to a small old-fashioned-looking car. Hannah stared at the thing.

"How are we all going to fit in there?" she demanded.

Dad smiled. "We are wizards."

"Of course, of course." muttered Hannah, rolling her eyes.

Albus watched the other cars whizz by, counting the different colors. Thirty-six silvers...that's the second red I've seen...wow, a black car? I wonder why people get those...they're practically targets for bird poo…

Rose nudged him gently. "Hey, Albus. Are you alright? You've been unusually quiet. Not that you're usually not quiet, what I mean is that you're more so than usual."

"Hm? Oh...just thinking. If there's anyone more quiet than usual, though, it's James."

Indeed, James had been silent since he had laughed at Hannah's joke.

"Probably making doe eyes at Sophie, I expect," said Rose. They shared a brief laugh together. It was quickly cut short by the tension in the car, which was more likely than not caused by the fact that Caroline and Hannah were throwing Sophie's hairband to each other above her head.

Eventually the girl gave up and merely adjusted her hair. "How long will it take to reach your house, Mrs. Ginny?"

"Thirty minutes driving, Sophie," Mum told her, tapping her wristwatch. "Don't worry, it won't seem like long. Would you do something for me? Don't call me Mrs, it makes me sound old."

"I've got a question," Caroline said suddenly. "Why would you wizards use a car when you can just Apparate? Or use other means of magical transportation?"

Dad and Aunt Hermione smiled at each other. "We were raised by Muggles. We like to keep our roots."

Caroline shrugged, as did Hannah but Sophie gave a small smile. "I can relate to that."

"Are you a Muggle-born, dear?" Aunt Hermione said, her eyes sparking with interest. "I am too, if you're wondering."

"Yes, I am ," answered she. "Hannah's a half-blood and Caroline's a pure-blood – just to let you know."

"What kind of magic can you do again, Sophie?" asked James. "I have bad memory."

More like trying to get Sophie to talk to you, Albus rolled his eyes. James could remember every single play in the Quidditch playbook, but he somehow can't remember Sophie's magical powers? A smirk quirked onto Albus' lips.

"Oh, well, nothing much," said Sophie modestly. "I can hover a bit, create a very small flame, but Hannah can do it better."

"Oh yeah, I saw," laughed Rose. "Served that Slytherin girl right."

Hannah tried to suppress a satisfied smirk. "I try. It helps when I feel about something strongly, you know."

Albus shuddered. Caroline and Hannah scared him, but Caroline more so. Especially Caroline after that night. Albus shoved that thought out of his mind as he looked out the window some more. He saw pedestrians, bicycles...all the Muggle things. He sighed, his breath fogging up the window, and wrote;

What will I do with my life?

The Potter's house was quaint and cozy. Albus inhaled the familiar scent of his home as he gestured for Caroline, Hannah and Sophie to follow him up the stairs. "D'you mind sharing rooms? We've got one guest room.I guess James and Hugo can be in my room, Rose can share with Lily and you can all share–"

"We've got it," Sophie interrupted gently. "Thank you for everything you've done, Albus."

"You're welcome." Albus nodded absently, leaving them to unpack inside the picturesque chamber. "Just call for Mum, Dad, James or me if you need help."

"Thanks Albus," Sophie smiled as she closed the door. She abruptly pushed the door open again, making a faint breeze tousle Albus' hair. "Er, when's dinner?"

"I s'pose James will tell you," shrugged Albus. "We don't really have a dinnertime, Sophie. Just whenever we're hungry, I guess. Oh and –" Albus lowered his voice, "– do try to avoid Mum's cooking. She's dreadful – can't cook like Grandma Molly at all – so try to eat only Dad's. He's okay."

"Tha –"

"Dopey, shut the door!" exclaimed Caroline. "Hurry up!"

"Sorry, Albus. See you at dinner," said Sophie. She hastily pulled the door shut

Albus rolled his eyes as he trudged down the steps. "Mum – when's dinner?"

Dinner was… out of the ordinary, you could say.

"Bonkers," James whispered to Albus. "Is what this is. What is Caroline doing?"

Albus gave a feeble shrug, watching Caroline play with the knives. She jabbed Sophie with the butt of the knife, near the rib cage. Sophie arched her back and yelped.

"Sorry, sorry," Sophie apologized, quickly. "Don't mind me. Don't mind me…"

James looked faintly concerned, stabbing at his potatoes, trying not to make it blatantly obvious he was inspecting if it was his Mum's or Dad's cooking.

"Eat it, James," ordered Dad, giving a wink at Albus. He accordingly started eating, finding his potatoes unpoisoned.

"Caroline, you didn't poison this, did you?" Sophie started poking the potatoes. James looked horrified, pushing away his plate, immediately.

"Shhhh! Don't give away all my secrets!" hissed Caroline, a devious smile on her face.

"Don't mind them," Hannah rolled her eyes. "They're kidding. It's an inside joke we share in America."

Caroline stopped fooling around, her eyes widening, looking at Hannah in mock-horror. "What did you do to Hannah and where is she?! Actually, I don't want to know where she is. You can keep her."

Hannah rolled her eyes, exasperated. "Well, someone has to be civil, don't they? You two look like barbarians." Hannah tossed some of her hair behind her shoulder. "Adults will more likely believe in me before you."

"Haha, very funny Hannah," scoffed Caroline. "At least I can do some work."

"Correction," corrected Hannah in a snooty voice. "You make Dopey do it."

Hannah and Caroline continued to squabble on until Sophie quickly excused all three of them, leaving the dinner table.

"Tell me, Albus," Dad said, his eyes shining with amusement. "Are they always like that?"

"They remind me of us, when we were young," laughed Uncle Ron. "Sophie is Harry, Caroline is 'Mione and I'm Hannah."

Mum smirked as she sipped some of her water. "Interesting theory, brother, dear, but I would think they are more like Neville, Luna and I."

"How?" challenged Uncle Ron, trying to raise an eyebrow. "Tell me."

"Luna's –"

"Alright!" interrupted Aunt Hermione suddenly. "Act a bit more mature, Ron. Our children are watching us."

So? was written all over Uncle Ron's face, but Aunt Hermione let it go.

"Hey, Albus, James," Rose said, her eyes shining with interest. "Did you know, not only was Merlin a wizard but Arthur was as well?"

"D'you mean the King? With the knights?" questioned James, eating his food at a fast pace. "Really? Why did that chap hire a wizard to do all his stuff for him, then?"

"Apparently, Arthur was in Hufflepuff," huffed Rose. "Huff… le… puff. Can you believe that? I mean, he was so strong and courageous and… well, arrogant! It says in Famous Figures Not Well Known as Wizards and Witches that Arthur apparently didn't have the knack for magic, and he hired Merlin."

"Oh," Albus said, not very interested.

"Huh, well the Hufflepuff part makes a bit more sense now," Rose decided. "Even in the old days, it said that Gryffindor and Slytherin had a grudge."

"That part's a bit obvious, Rose," said Albus dryly. "I mean, the only Gryffindor and Slytherin who've ever gotten along are basically Hannah and Caroline and even they always fight."

They were interrupted by James gagging on his meal. When Mum raised an eyebrow he choked out an "Excuse me" before rushing to a nearby bathroom, where the sounds of vomiting were rather obvious.

Albus tapped Rose's leg under the table. "What did he eat last?" he whispered.

She leaned forward to inspect James' plate. "The turkey," Rose whispered back.

Albus stopped short, a forkful of meat halfway to his mouth. He gingerly laid it on the side of his plate. "Thanks."

He finished off the rest of his food and discreetly tipped the turkey onto the floor before dropping his plate in the sink, noting that the girls' were already there. "Dad, where's Lily?"

"Oh! She's at Aunt Fleur's. Come to think of it, they should drop her off soon. Would you check on Sophie and the lot?"

"Sure." Albus ran upstairs to the guest room. He could faintly hear a conversation behind the door.

"They're late. We need to do this quickly."

"No! Then we'll give them more time to… someone's there."

Albus knocked, a little embarrassed. "Are you alright? Anything I can do for you?"

When he peered into the door, Caroline's face was in a scowl, Hannah's was harsh and even Sophie's was a bit annoyed.

"Is there anything we can do for you, Albus?" asked Sophie. She was tapping her foot against the ground, trying not to look to impatient.

"No, no," replied Albus quickly. "Dad just wanted me to check on you lot. I suppose I'll just go down now."

Sophie face softened and said, "Well tell your Dad thank you for checking in on us. I think we'll sleep a bit early tonight. Where's the bathroom?"

"Do you mean the loo?" Albus said. "It's down the hall, first door on the right."

"Alright, thanks," Sophie thanked Albus. "Good night." And she closed the door on him again.

At that moment a young girl screamed "ALBUS!" and glomped him from behind, knocking him onto his face.

"Urgh...hi, Lily...do you mind getting off me?" Albus requested, his voice muffled by the floor.

"Yeah, yeah, sure! I was at Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur's, and Teddy was there too! He's so funny. He can make himself look like that mean guy Uncle Ron was talking about on the Hogwarts station and talk in funny voices. But Dom wasn't there. Uncle Bill said she wanted to stay at Hogwarts. Why?" Lily said, all in one breath.

"Lily. Off." ordered Albus.

His younger sister jumped off him. "So do you know why Dom wanted to stay at Hogwarts?"

"No...but maybe Sophie does…"

"Who's Sophie? Eeeeee! Visitors!" Lily raced into the room and attached herself to the nearest person, which happened to be Caroline.

"Lily!" Albus warned. "Don't go there… oh… cr –"

"Get off –!" Caroline roared furiously.

"Hi!" Lily said happily. "My name's Lily. I was named after my Grandmother. Who're you? Are you one of those foreign kids? Who? Are you Sophie? Ohh, what –"

"Albus! And how dare you mistake me for the Dope!" Caroline exclaimed, trying to calm Lily down by slamming her hand on her mouth. "Oh, ew, ew, ew! This is even worse than the Grinch!"

"What?"

"ALBUS!"

I asked for this, Albus thought, remembering writing what will I do with my life on the window. And now I've got to handle it.

"What the hell, Albus?" screamed Caroline as soon as Lily was put to bed. "One more bloody… oh… it's all your fault! I'm turning British now!"

"Why's that a bad thing?" Albus asked, trying not to look offended and confused by the random topic change. "Being British isn't bad!"

"It is to me!" mock-wept Caroline. "I'm American! American! There is a reason why some parts of England spell color, C-O-L-O-U-R and the US spells it C-O-L-O-R."

"What's that got to do with anything?" questioned Albus, his mind trying to keep up with the topic changes. "I thought we were talking about –"

"Ugh, whatever," Caroline said, fed up. "Good night."

"What's with the rage quitting?" Albus asked, curious. "All of you Americans are doing it! Lower your pride!"

"Says the guy who's in Gryffindor along with me!" Caroline retorted back. "And for the final time, good night!"

Disclaimer

We do not own anything you recognize.

Author's Note

Thank you to FredMischiefmanagedGeorge for following and reviewing! (O) (O) (O) (O) (Donuts for you!) Also, thank you for correcting us on our mistake. We would've never noticed. XD. Also, addressing your review, Sophie and Caroline's friendship is quite... complicated, you could say. So if you see Caroline being extremely nice to her, then very mean, don't worry. That's how it should be. But thank you for reviewing!

Remember, reviews, favourites and follows are loved,

BlueDaylighter & QuietlyImagining