Chapter 4: The Secret of the Seventh Floor
The remaining two days of class in the week were a mixture of good and bad for Albus. He got to see the rest of his classes, and many were like his family had described. Herbology, like Rose had said, was a super fun class. Albus had Herbology both days and enjoyed every minute of it. Neville—or should he say Professor Longbottom—was a really cool teacher. On the first day of class, he showed everyone how useful magical flora could be by demonstrating the sound transmitting powers of the Psisis Rose, which enables wizards to communicate with each other from miles away. They spent the remainder of Thursday's class experimenting on a random first-year level plant in order to figure out its abilities without consulting a book. Albus got a strange plant which he figured out had the ability to block mild curses and hexes. Neville awarded him five points to Slytherin and informed him that it was Kremlin Ivy, just recently discovered in the jungles of Central Africa.
Scorpius, unfortunately, attempted to cast a Reductor Curse at his plant, which turned out to be a mimbulus mimbletonia. Knowing how much Professor Longbottom loved that particular species of plant, Albus had shouted a warning at Scorpius before he cast the curse. But Scorpius refused and was unceremoniously doused in a more than healthy dosage of stinksap. The Gryffindors all laughed at him and Professor Longbottom glared at them and took away five points from his own house due to their "rudeness and lack of sympathy." He then proceeded to scourgify Scorpius, cleaning him of all stinksap, and then informed Scorpius what the plant was and what purpose it served.
"How was I supposed to know that the sap, when mixed with about seven other ingredients, produces a cure for shyness?" said Scorpius indignantly, wiping the stinksap off his books. Albus merely shrugged and kept prodding his Kremlin Ivy, which was dilating its blooms. The next class was when Neville's lecture began, with him giving the fundamentals of Herbology before presenting them all with a small little plant that reminded Albus of a calla lily. Neville went on to explain that the plant was known as a Bellchime Lily, or lilius sonorus, and assigned them the task of pruning off the dead leaves. Unfortunately, he neglected to mention that by tapping each of the gold-colored blossoms, the flower emitted an extremely loud bellowing noise. Most of the class was either shrieking in agony or covering their ears, except for Albus. Neville noticed this and asked,
"Al, how come you're not crying in agony?"
"Well, professor, it could be worse. They could be mandrakes."
"Good to know that one of the Potter children read the Herbology books I gave them for Christmas." he said with a smile.
"Oh, Lily's read them too. It's just James that sees no point in reading." said Albus with a chuckle. The best part of Herbology, however, was that Neville didn't assign homework that entire week.
"We'll get around to assignments, but since it's your first week, I'll let you off easy," he said, beaming at them all. Scorpius, aside from his incident with the mimbulus mimbletonia, agreed with Albus' view of Neville's class.
Just like his parents had said, History of Magic was an exceptionally boring class. Professor Binns, who has been the teacher of History of Magic for nearly one-hundred-and-thirty years, droned on and on in an extremely monotone voice about Goblin Rebellions of the fourteenth century and dark wizards from the seventeenth century.
The only thing that Albus managed to recognize was the story of the Deathstick, which sounded a lot like the Elder Wand mentioned in the Tale of The Three Brothers, a fairy tale that his mom used to read to him. Aunt Luna Scamander (although she really wasn't his aunt but a family friend) insisted that it wasn't a fairy tale and that Albus' dad knew where the three Deathly Hallows were. At that point, Albus' dad told Luna to "hush," and Albus' mom quickly glossed over it by saying that it was "rubbish," something uncharacteristic of them to say to their long-time friend. James was too much of an insufferable dolt to pick up the hint, but Albus and Lily remained curious about it ever since. The mention of the wand in History of Magic sparked Albus' curiosity more, and he made a mental note to ask Rose about it later.
Transfiguration continued to be challengingly difficult, with McGonagall already assigning a test for Monday on the fundamentals of Modern Transfiguration. Charms was fun and rewarding, and Professor Patil moved on to teach lumos and nox as well, which Albus, Rose, and Scorpius quickly mastered. Potions was fun for Albus, with him earning five more points for Slytherin when he effortlessly brewed a pristine Calming Draught. Professor Slughorn was delighted with Albus, waving at him and saying hello whenever Albus passed the plump old wizard in the halls. Defense Against the Dark Arts continued to be excruciatingly annoying, with Professor Corby verbally abusing Slytherin house whenever he got the chance. Scorpius attempted to retaliate, saying that Corby's treatment of Slytherin was unfair and unjust. This, however, only got Slytherin to lose all the points Albus had gained for it and landed Scorpius in detention on Saturday afternoon.
"It's okay, mate, I'm sure we'll win the points back," said Albus to a depressed looking Scorpius as they started walking back to the Slytherin common room after they had their last class.
"And where do you think you're going, Albus Severus Potter?" said a voice from behind him in a highly annoying tone. Albus spun around.
"Go away James—oh, erm, sorry Rose, didn't know it was you…," said Albus, shocked to find his cousin standing there instead of his brother.
"Oh, I wouldn't expect you to recognize my voice or anything, it's not like were related…," said Rose sarcastically. Scorpius snickered and Albus glared at him.
"Well, what do you want, Ickle Rosiekins?" said Al with a sly smile on his face. Now it was Rose's turn to glare.
"Well, I thought it prudent to remind you that you and I are supposed to have tea with Hagrid oh, I don't know, now!" said Rose.
"Whoops! I almost forgot!" said Al, "Come on, Scorpius, I'm sure he won't mind if you come too!" Scorpius looked a little dazed but followed Albus and Rose nonetheless as they rushed out to the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Albus marveled at how the forest seemed dark as night despite the fact that it was broad day outside. They knocked on the massive door of Hagrid's tiny little cosy cabin. Hagrid swung open the door and they were ceremoniously tackled by a large dog.
"Down, Fang! Down, yeh ol' mutt! Well 'ello there Al an' Rose! I was wonderin' when yeh'd be comin' down ter see me!" said Hagrid.
"Well Al would have forgotten had I not reminded him," said Rose in an uncanny imitation of Aunt Hermione. Sometimes Rose could be really annoying. Hagrid chuckled before his gaze found Scorpius.
"Erm, can I help yeh', Malfoy?" asked Hagrid nervously.
"Oh, he's with us, he's not like his father," said Albus. Hagrid's big black eyes narrowed.
"Well, erm, if yer sure. I hafta tell yeh that his dad wasn't the nicest o' guys," said Hagird.
"Um, Mr. Hagrid, like Al said, I'm not my father. I'm sorry for whatever harm he caused to you and your, erm, beautiful creatures," said Scorpius. Beautiful is one way to put it, thought Albus, terrifying is another.
"Well, yeh certainly seem different! All righ' I trust yeh! C'mon in yeh three!" said Hagrid. He motioned for them to come in and they entered his cabin. It was relatively small but breathed an air of down-to-earth homeyness, much like the Burrow. It had a massive armchair which Albus assumed was where Hagrid sat, and a small kitchenette complete with a table and three stools. Hagrid moved over to put a tea kettle on the stove while Scorpius was licked to death by Fang. Scorpius was rolling on the floor in laughter when Hagrid turned around, and Hagrid smiled. Albus figured that Hagrid finally understood that Scorpius wasn't like Draco. Once the tea boiled, Hagrid poured it into three little cups and one big cup and motioned for them to sit down. He got out some rock cakes (which Albus had been warned about) and placed them in the center of the table.
"So, how do yeh like Hogwarts?" asked Hagrid.
"It's great! I love all of my classes!" said Rose excitedly. Scorpius and Albus rolled their eyes.
"Well, for Slytherins, D.A.D.A. is just awful," said Albus.
"Why could tha' be?" asked Hagrid.
"Well, Professor Corby has this grudge against us. He thinks we're all dark wizards or something. Kind of like the anti-Snape, in essence." said Scorpius. Albus nodded in agreement. Hagrid looked at the two of them like they were both daft.
"Wha' do yeh mean, Corby's the nicest bloke…," said Hagrid.
"Not to Slytherins, he isn't," said Albus.
"Well, I see wha' he means. Slytherin hasn't been…erm…looked upon too well since the war," said Hagrid.
"But why should we be judged for something a bunch of Slytherins did twenty years ago?" said Albus.
"Well I'm not sayin' tha' it's right, Alby, I'm just sayin' that's how it is," said Hagrid sadly.
"I don't find it very fair either. I mean, all of our family has been ignoring Albus just because he's in Slytherin," said Rose.
"Wha'! That's an outrage! Why would yer family ignore ya like tha'?" said Hagrid.
"Well, everyone's ignored me except James. He hasn't left me alone," said Albus.
"James has been harassing Albus for the past three days and Al's really upset about it," said Rose.
"That's not righ'! He's supposed ter be yer brother!" said Hagrid angrily. "I know wha' I'll do. I'll send a letter ter yer parents, Al."
"Thanks Hagrid. Also I wanted to ask you, is there anything special about the Seventh Floor Corridor?" asked Albus, a sly smile on his face. Rose shot him an oh-no-you-don't look. Albus and Rose both knew that they could get Hagrid to tell them anything as long as they tried hard enough. Sure enough, Hagrid didn't meet Albus' eyes.
"Erm, no I don' think so. Jus' a regular floor, isn't it?" said Hagrid.
"There aren't any secret rooms or anything?" asked Albus.
"No, unless yeh count—no, yer not pullin' one on me like yer parents did! I'm not tellin' yeh about the Room o' Requirement!" said Hagrid. Hagrid suddenly realized he had just told them too much and promptly refused to say any more about the subject.
"Well, it's getting kind of late. We have a dinner with Professor Slughorn to go to. Send us a letter when you want to have tea again!" said Rose. The three of them said their good-byes, stocked up on rock cakes (which they were too polite to refuse), and left Hagrid's hut.
"Bye, Albus, Rose, an' Scorpius!" said Hagrid, waving a hand the size of a dustbin from his doorway. The three of them waved back and began walking to Professor Slughorn's office.
"Wow, did you know that Hagrid would tell you that easily?" asked Scorpius.
"Of course, Hagrid's spilled the beans to our parents before too," said Rose, and they all chuckled. They rounded one of the corners inside the castle, only to come face to face with James and the Gryffindorks. Unfortunately, it seems Daniel Long and his friends had joined their group of annoying half-wits.
"Where're you going, Albus Snivellus Potter?" said James with a smirk on his face. Albus had decided to handle this situation with an air of aloofness. He scowled at his brother before replying coolly,
"Just going to Professor Slughorn's dinner party. You know, the one he only invites intelligent people to?" said Albus. Scorpius chuckled. James glared at him and turned his attention to Rose.
"I can't believe you would associate yourself with Slytherin garbage like this!" he said, pointing at Albus.
"That 'garbage' to which you're referring is your own brother, so maybe you should stop annoying him!" said Rose indignantly.
"It's ok Rose, Al will show them at the duel," said Scorpius. The three of them walked past James, blatantly ignoring him.
"You aren't seriously considering going to that duel are you, Al? AL!" shouted Rose. Albus, however, was staring off into space, trying to figure out what the secret was about the Room of Requirement. He supposed that he would check after Professor Slughorn's dinner. They walked into Professor Slughorn's office to find a group of third year and older students. A couple of them Albus recognized, like Annabel Williams and Coluber Mortinson.
"Ah, and here are my three star first years! Come sit down, everyone!" said Professor Slughorn, motioning them all to sit at a table with elegant place-settings. Professor Slughorn had the house elves make the most delicious assortment of mouthwatering food that Albus had ever seen. They all eagerly started digging in while Professor Slughorn went around the table asking everyone about their family connections. Apparently Coluber's family was the part-owner of the Quidditch team Puddlemere United. Annabel's family owned one of the expensive department stores that were opened in Diagon Alley after the war ended. When he got around to Scorpius, Professor Slughorn kindly asked,
"Well, after that nasty stint with the Death Eaters, I can't expect the Malfoys to have gone down for the count. What is it that your family is currently doing Scorpius?"
"Father's invested a great deal of money into Puddlemere United and a couple of other teams, so we get free tickets a lot. He is actively trying to improve our family's image. He's recently opened a shop in Diagon Alley, I believe you may have heard of it, it's called Malfoy's Quidditch Supplies?"
"Ah, yes of course! I pass by it every time I go to Diagon Alley!" said Slughorn. Slughorn turned to Rose and Albus, his smile nearly reaching ear to ear. Rose and Albus exchanged glances with Scorpius, as if to say, we-can-top-that.
"So, Miss Weasley and Mr. Potter! How is your rather large family coming along? Still basking in the Wizarding World's eternal admiration, I presume?" chuckled Professor Slughorn.
"Well, you know, Dad and Uncle Ron are busy running the auror department." said Albus.
"My mom is busy running the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and Aunt Ginny writes a weekly column for the Quidditch section of The Daily Prophet." said Rose.
"Uncle George is busy running the Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes shop, which has a branch now open in Hogsmeade." said Albus.
"Uncle Percy works as the undersecretary to the Minister of Magic and is a prime candidate for Minister once the elections come around." said Rose.
"Uncle Charlie still works with dragons in Romania, and has created his own dragon preserve." said Albus.
"And finally Uncle Bill works as head of the Gringotts Protection Agency and is still sent on Curse-Breaker missions to Egypt." said Rose.
"My, my, that's quite a family you've got there! No wonder all of them are famous!" said Slughorn, "All right everyone, thank you very much for coming! I'll let you all know when I have another dinner planned!"
Albus, Rose, and Scorpius left Slughorn's office and walked back to the main staircase. Rose parted with Albus and Scorpius before Scorpius asked,
"So what are you planning on doing about the duel?"
"Well, I need to find out how to get into the Room of Requirement, so I was thinking about going tonight to find out. The way the name implies it is a room that appears and becomes whatever you want." said Albus deviously. Scorpius gave him a sly smile.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Scorpius. Albus nodded.
"But I have to figure out if that's possible first."
Later that evening Albus and Scorpius snuck out of the Slytherin common room and managed to avoid encountering Filch or any of the teachers (although they did get into a close call with Professor Corby) on their way to the Seventh Floor. Albus examined the seventh floor very closely. There was really nothing that special about the floor. There was a rather large tapestry on the right wall and a bunch of paintings on the other, and that was pretty much it.
"It's called the Room of Requirement, so I suppose it only appears when you need something from it." Just then they heard the footsteps and wheezing of Filch and the two of them panicked. Oh no! thought Albus, we need a place to hide, we need a place to hide. Just then a door appeared where a blank stretch of wall had been previously, and Albus realized he'd found the room. Glancing back at the lantern light that was growing closer, Albus added, We need a place to hide that Filch can't get into. The two of them opened the door and stepped inside, shutting the door firmly behind them. They heard Filch yell from the other side of the door.
"Ah! Do I smell students out of bed? They went in this door, Mrs. Norris!" They heard Filch struggle to twist the doorknob. "Ah, must be locked. PEEVES! I know you're behind this, and I'll get you for it!" said Filch. They heard his footsteps fading. After a while, they felt brave enough to walk out the door.
"Well, that's one way to get into the room, and one way to keep people out of it!" said Scorpius with a devious grin on his face.
"It makes me wonder, a lot of other people must've known about this room, right?" asked Albus.
"I suppose so, why?" said Scorpius.
"Watch," said Albus. I need a place to hide my…erm…book, thought Albus. He opened the door and could not believe his eyes. Mountains and piles of contraband and lost items littered a room the size of the main hallway at Gringotts.
"What did you ask it?" asked Scorpius.
"I asked it for a place to hide something, figuring a ton of people would have hidden some cool stuff in here," said Albus.
"Genius, mate," said Scorpius. The two of them walked inside. The first thing Albus noticed about this particular iteration of the room was that nearly everything had a smoky, charred look to it, as if it had been burned in a long ago fire. He suddenly remembered a war story his father told him.
"So Vincent Crabbe set fire to this one room and nearly killed us all. Aunt Hermione, Uncle Ron, and myself escaped on brooms, but not before saving Draco Malfoy and Gregory Goyle. We couldn't save Crabbe though." said Albus' Dad.
"You saved the people that tried to kill you?" asked Albus incredulously.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, we did." said Harry.
"Scorpius, this is the room that caught fire during the Battle of Hogwarts. This was the room where my dad saved yours." said Albus.
"Yeah, I just realized that too," said Scorpius. The two of them scoured the room, trying to find anything valuable worth salvaging. Albus came across an ornate cabinet that seemed only slightly damaged by the flames. He opened it and noticed a single book on one of its shelves. Picking it up, Albus noticed it was a copy of Advanced Potion Making, a N.E.W.T. level potion book. He opened the cover to the first page and gasped when he saw the signature:
This Book is Property of the Half-Blood Prince
The Half-Blood Prince, thought Albus, this was Snape's copy of Advanced Potion Making. He flipped through and noticed that Professor Snape had crossed out and modified the directions as he saw fit. These must make the best potions! I've got to try them, thought Albus.
"What do you have there, Al?" asked Scorpius, who dropped an ornate tiara-like object which was broken onto a pile of glass sneakoscopes.
"Professor Snape's copy of Advanced Potion Making! And it's got his own spells in it!" said Albus, noticing a couple of incantations scribbled into the margins of some pages.
"Cool! You think you could use any of them on James?" said Scorpius.
"I'm not sure, I'll have to experiment with them tomorrow. It's kind of late, we should get back to the Common Room." said Albus.
"This room is so cool!" said Scorpius as the two opened the door and peered out into the hallway to see if anyone was there. Seeing no one, Albus and Scorpius strode into the hallway and shut the door to the Room of Requirement behind them. The door magically disappeared, since it was no longer "required."
James picked the wrong floor to have a duel with me on, thought Albus, snickering to himself. The duo managed to make it back to the dungeons without detection and Scorpius, who was extremely exhausted, headed up to bed while Al sat in front of the fireplace and flipped through the book. He glanced over at Professor Snape's portrait, only to notice that Snape had awoken from his sleep and was watching Albus.
"What have you got there, Albus?" sneered Snape. Wait, thought Albus, Did Snape just call me "Albus" and not "Potter?"
"Just your copy of Advanced Potion Making. I found it in the Room of Requirement. Do you mind if I use it?" asked Albus. Snape blinked, as if taken aback that he was actually asked.
"Erm…I suppose you could…as long as you don't use it for foul trickery like your father did." said Snape scornfully.
"My father?" asked Albus curiously.
"Your father used that book to brew seemingly perfect potions for Slughorn in his sixth year. He made Slughorn think that he was a potions genius, when he really wasn't." said Snape. Albus understood.
"I remember when I baked a cake for my dad's birthday and James said he had made it. It's kind of like that isn't it? He took credit for your work." said Albus.
"Yes, I agree, it's exactly like that." said Snape.
"Well, I certainly won't do that. I can modify the directions myself, even though you're a genius at potions. I think I'm pretty good, I brewed a really good Boil-Cure potion on Wednesday. I added a pinch of lilac petals to make the color and texture slightly better." said Albus.
"Very good, it seems you have inherited your grandmother's skill at potions." said Snape, impressed at Albus, which Albus couldn't believe.
"I know about you and her, by the way. I snuck into Dad's pensieve and saw your memories." said Albus. Snapes eyes widened. "I think that was a very brave thing for you to do and I'm sure Grandmom forgives you." Snapes void-like black eyes stared at Albus, impassive yet intriguing. Albus could have sworn he saw a rare smile cross the man's lips, but then Snape said,
"Very well. Might I suggest not using the sectumsempra curse on another wizard like your father did? Good night, Albus." With a flash of billowing black robes, Snape was gone from his portrait. Albus stared at the empty frame for a while before deciding to head up to bed. Well, he definitely wasn't his father anymore. He had made friends with Snape.