Chapter 7: No Troll This Time
Albus strode into the Great Hall on Halloween day a little bit shaken from the previous day's events, but with a firm conviction to get on his house's Quidditch Team.
"But are you sure he'll let you on the team mate?" asked Scorpius.
"Well, it doesn't hurt to try, does it?" said Albus. Scorpius beamed at him.
"Perhaps I'll ask too. Father did just buy me a state-of-the-art broom and I'm rather decent at Keeper." replied Scorpius. Albus and Scorpius strode over to Coluber, who was, at the moment, preoccupied in an argument with a fifth-year Slytherin guy and a fifth-year Slytherin girl.
"I don't understand, you two love Quidditch! How can you just abandon your house like this!" demanded an irate Coluber.
"Well, Janice and I have more important priorities than some stupid game. This is O.W.L. year, and we're planning on passing our exams," said the boy. The girl who must've been Janice nodded in agreement.
"But what am I supposed to do! We have less than a month until our first match, and now I'm short one Seeker and one Keeper!" shouted Coluber.
"I'm sure you'll find someone. Come on, Mitch, let's go," said Janice. The two of them left, leaving Coluber standing there dazed and confused.
"Come on, Al, allow me to show you a little Slytherin opportunism," said Scorpius, smiling. Albus smirked at his friend before following Scorpius as he approached Coluber.
"Hey, Col, I just heard that. So Slytherin's short a Keeper and a Seeker now?" asked Scorpius, keeping his motive hidden for the time being.
"Yeah, and, I dunno what to do, I mean, I want to win the Quidditch Cup for Slytherin, since we haven't done it in seven years." replied Colbuer dejectedly.
"Well, we'd be happy to help if you need fill-ins. Albus here is a decent Quidditch player and I'm rather good at Keeper." said Scorpius. Coluber's eyes suddenly lit up.
"You mean it! You'll do it for us!" asked Coluber in jubilation.
"Of course, if you'd like us on the team," stated Albus.
"Great! Come to the Quidditch Pitch after classes today, and let's see what you've got!" said Coluber, the familiar jovial tone back in his voice. Coluber practically skipped out of the Great Hall, and Albus noticed Ariana rolling her eyes at him from behind the cover of The Daily Prophet.
"You do realize you've created a monster, don't you?" chuckled Ariana.
' "I suppose we have," said Scorpius, beaming at her. Albus and Scorpius sat down at the Slytherin table to eat breakfast. Albus ate his eggs and toast gleefully. I've done it, he thought, I'm on my house's Quidditch team!
"I guess we couldn't skip D.A.D.A. to practice flying, now, could we?" chuckled Scorpius. Albus smirked at him, determined that no matter what Corby dished out today it wouldn't affect him. After breakfast they trudged off to D.A.D.A. with the Gryffindors as Rose went off to Herbology with the Hufflepuffs. Professor Corby was as annoyingly boastful and presumptuous as ever, if not more since the time he failed to catch Albus out of bed.
"Ok, class, today we'll be practicing a duel! Does anyone know the proper procedure for a duel?" he asked in a super-annoying cheery tone, staring at the Gryffindors expectantly. Albus raised his hand.
"Though you may have been raised by the great Harry Potter, you're a Slytherin. You can't possibly know the prim and proper procedure to start a duel," stated Corby, dismissing Albus completely. The Gryffindors chuckled and Albus rolled his eyes. Daniel Long said some mangled and completely false description of a Wizard's Duel but Corby still gave Gryffindor five points.
"Ok, now who wants to be part of a practice duel? We'll be aiming to disarm your opponent using the disarming spell we practiced, Expelliarmus, as well as other hexes and jinxes you may know," Corby announced, looking at the Gryffindors expectantly once more, as if the Slytherins were incapable of dueling, despite the fact that they mastered the spells Corby had them learn better than the Gryffindors. Daniel Long raised his hand. "Splendid! Mr. Long, please come up here! Choose your opponent." Daniel Long surveyed the room carefully before his eyes narrowed.
"Potty," he said. Albus groaned. He knew all too well how this would end. Albus would use a perfectly legitimate hex and Corby would denounce it as "Slytherin trickery," take ten points from Slytherin and give Albus a detention. Albus reluctantly strode up to the front of the room, and did a halfhearted bow which Daniel Long didn't even bother to reciprocate. The two of them strode six paces apart from each other before turning around, wands drawn.
"Remember, when you give up, say 'I Surrender', and the duel is officially over. Now, when I say three, you may begin. 1, 2—"
But Daniel couldn't wait.
"Rictusempra!" he cried, and an orange curse shot out of his wand towards Albus. Albus, anticipating the preemptive strike, decided to try nonverbal magic. Concentrating all of his might on wand movement and the incantation, he thought Protego!
To his surprise, a weak shield erupted from his wand, canceling Daniel's curse. In any normal D.A.D.A. classroom, Albus would have won at least five points. Instead, he was reprimanded by Corby.
"Did I instruct you to use nonverbal magic? NO!" said Corby. Albus noticed Scorpius and the Slytherins clapping and cheering him on. He averted his attention too much however, and he heard Daniel yell,
"Expelliarmus!" Albus couldn't block in time, and he was struck with the red curse, causing him to fall to the floor and his wand to fly to the opposite side of the room.
"Very well! Five points to Gryffindor! Mr. Potter, do you surrender?" asked Corby, a look of triumphant pleasure on his face. Albus suddenly became very irritated and raised up his right hand to brush some dust out of his face. He noticed the snowflake glowing brightly on his palm and smirked. Though he could do nothing else, he would at least have some fun, even if it landed him in detention.
"Nope, I don't surrender." said Albus, and the rest of the class looked at him in surprise. Albus stood up.
"What on earth can you possibly do without a wand?" asked Corby. Albus raised his right hand at Daniel Long, so that the snowflake pattern was visible to everyone else. Daniel stared dubiously at Albus, as if asking What are you going to do? Albus smirked.
"Glacius!" he cried, and a blast of snow, ice, and cold air erupted out of his outstretched hand. The blast sent Daniel crashing to the ground as icicles began to form on his nose, ears, and chin. Daniel was so surprised his wand flew out of his hand. Daniel, scared from the ordeal, squeaked, "I surrender!" before scuttling back to his seat. The Slytherins cheered in triumph and Albus had a smug look of satisfaction plastered on his face. He looked over at Corby and smirked. Corby's face turned a funny shade of blue and his eyes narrowed. Albus recovered his wand before taking his seat, all the while Corby was still standing there, awestruck. Scorpius, Xavier, Melvin, and Adrian all clapped him on the back and the Slytherin girls told him what a job well done. Unfortunately, Corby recovered momentarily.
"Fifteen points from Slytherin, Mr. Potter. And a detention, Friday, my office." he said, not even meeting Albus' eyes but instead deciding to stare at the wall. At that time, the bell rang and they all gathered their things and headed to Herbology.
"That was brilliant, mate, absolutely stunning," said Scorpius.
"Thanks, Scorp," replied Albus.
"Did you see the look on Corby's face? It was priceless!" chuckled Xavier.
"What about Long? His face was hilarious. He scuttled away like a mouse," laughed Adrian. Adrian and Xavier went on ahead of Albus and Scorpius. A brunette-haired, fair skinned first year Slytherin came up to Albus with her golden blonde-haired friend.
"Hi, my name's Luana Ross, and this is my friend Genevieve Wilkins. We just wanted to tell you what a great job you did in the duel today." she said. Genevieve nodded behind her in agreement. Albus suddenly blushed and a chill shot down his spine.
"Oh…erm…thanks," he stammered. "See you around," he added.
"Yup!" said Luana. Luana and Genevieve and giggled before skipping away. Scorpius gave his friend a goofy grin.
"What?" demanded Albus.
"Nothing," replied Scorpius, stifling a laugh. The two of them walked into Herbology and sat down towards the front. Albus noticed Luana sitting in the back, talking to Genevieve. She giggled and gave him a wave. Albus smiled hesitantly before waving back. Scorpius practically shoved his fist in his mouth to keep himself from laughing.
"What! Stop doing that!" cried Albus, blushing slightly.
"Nothing," Scorpius chortled. Professor Longbottom interrupted them, however, before Albus could respond.
"Attention class! I have an important announcement to make before we start Herbology! The notorious Death Eater Anton Gaunt was spotted on Hogwarts grounds yesterday, and I urge all of you to walk the grounds with utmost caution. If you see anything suspicious at all, tell one of the professors or your headmaster immediately. Aurors will be coming to guard the area, so you can rest assured that you are safe. That is all for now."
The rest of the class went on without incident, with the class examining sapling Devil's Snare plants. Scorpius' plant entangled both of his hands and legs together as he was trying to prune it, causing Albus to break out into bouts of hysterical laughter. The two of them headed back to the Great Hall for lunch and Rose came over to them.
"There you two are! I haven't seen you all day. I've been hearing rumors of a duel in D.A.D.A. class," inquired Rose. Scorpius and Albus traded grins.
"Oh, it was nothing, Al here just completely demolished Daniel Long in a duel using nonverbal magic followed by wandless elemental magic," said Scorpius casually.
"What! Nonverbal magic AND wandless elemental magic!" asked Rose in disbelief.
"Yup," said Albus, mustering up his magical energy and showing her his palm, which had the snowflake pattern faintly glowing across it.
"That's amazing, Al, your parents would be proud." said Rose. Albus beamed at her.
"Well, the good thing is we have Charms, Transfiguration, and Potions this afternoon, so we'll all be in the same classes," said Scorpius.
"Cool, well I need to get some lunch, so I'll see you guys later," said Rose. Albus turned back to his plate and noticed an envelope sitting there.
"Hey, did anyone see an owl drop this letter?" he asked. Everyone around him shook their heads.
"I did see some weird flying snake, but I thought I must have imagined it." said Melvin. Intrigued, Albus noticed glowing blue fang-marks and writing on the envelope.
Albus Severus Potter
Slytherin Table
The Great Hall
Hogwarts
His curiosity now officially piqued, Albus tore open the envelope. Inside was a single letter written on faded parchment.
Dear Albus,
I know you may be frightened, but please don't be. I want to personally apologize for what happened yesterday. I didn't mean to slam you with so much force. My elemental magic is too powerful for my own good. I know you won't believe me, but I meant absolutely no harm. I was simply testing you.
I hope you don't mind, but I need to ask a favor of you. I know that you'll probably find this next tidbit of information to be utterly unbelievable, but I urge you to see the possibility. I am just another victim of You-Know-Who, and, well, to be truthful, he murdered my parents. I really need you to believe me.
I look forward to speaking with you again shortly. I end this correspondence with a single, cryptic message on the next piece of paper, since I know you will try to ascertain my current whereabouts.
Regards,
Anton Morfin Salazar Gaunt
Albus froze when he read the signature, and quickly showed the letter to Scorpius.
"Seems he's taken to tracking you, mate," he said.
"I'm kind of scared now. What could he want from me?" asked Albus nervously.
"Well the letter says he wants you to believe him, but I think it may be a ruse," said Scorpius.
"Of course it's a ruse, why would he act all nice when he just tried to kill us yesterday?" asked Albus.
"Perhaps he's trying to get you to believe him so you can convince your dad he's innocent?" suggested Scorpius. Realization suddenly struck Albus.
"Of course that's why! You're a genius Scorp!" Albus exclaimed.
"Where's the other piece of paper he's talking about?" asked Scorpius. Albus shrugged and reached into the envelope. Surprised, he pulled out a tiny scrap of paper.
"Strange, that wasn't there before," said Albus, bewildered. On the wrinkled scrap of paper were the following words, written in Gaunt's neat handwriting:
Crinkled though this paper may be,
Here where I am, all eyes are on me.
"Weird. What's that supposed to mean?" asked Albus, more confused than ever.
"I haven't the slightest idea. But he's hinting at his location. It's almost as if he wants you to find him." said Scorpius. Albus stared at the piece of paper for a while, contemplating what on earth it could mean. He stashed the paper into his pocket along with his Slytherin coin and slipped the letter into his bag.
"I'll ask Rose about it later." Scorpius nodded in agreement.
"Hey, Melvin, didn't you say you saw a weird flying snake?" asked Scorpius. Melvin shrugged.
"It was kind of weird. It was like a bluish feathered serpent with a white underbelly. It had big blue wings, glowing white eyes, and a letter clutched in it's mouth. It was weird because I could see straight through it. I turned away for one second to tell Xavier, and it was gone." he replied. Albus raised his eyebrows, intrigued by Melvin's description of the carrier of Albus' letter.
"Why wouldn't he use owls? Isn't it less noticeable?" asked Albus.
"Perhaps, although you have to remember the general public believes him to be an heir of Slytherin. Using a snake seems more appropriate in that case. We'll ask Rose about whatever that snake was too." Scorpius replied. When they got to charms class they showed Rose the letter and asked her their questions. Professor Patil didn't notice because they discreetly prevented her from hearing them using "Muffliato," a spell Albus learned from Professor Snape's potions book.
"So you think Gaunt's after you for some reason?" asked Rose.
"Yeah, and I think he wants me to find him, considering he left the clue about where he is. What place is he talking about?" replied Albus. Albus and Scorpius looked at Rose expectantly.
"You expect me to come up with an answer now? I need to do some research in the—"
"Library," Albus and Scorpius finished Rose's sentence for her, chuckling. Rose scoffed at them and rolled her eyes.
"Well, you do want to know, don't you?" she asked, slightly irritated. She successfully performed the silencing charm and was delighted to find her frog opening its mouth but not uttering a sound.
"Yeah, and could you also research feathered flying snakes? Because Albus' letter was delivered to him using one."
"Sure, anything else, your highness?" asked Rose. Scorpius and Albus chuckled.
"Nope, that is all," Albus chuckled. They left charms class animatedly talking about Quidditch, since Albus decided to break the news to her.
"You two made the Quidditch team? Awesome!" Rose exclaimed. Albus waved to his cousin Fred in the hallway, but, like usual, he was ignored.
"Don't worry Al! I told you before, they'll come around. So what positions are you two playing?" inquired Rose.
"I'm playing Seeker, and Scorpius is playing Keeper," replied Albus proudly.
"Heh, a Slytherin prat like you playing Seeker? Get real!" said a voice from behind him. Albus turned behind him to see James standing there imposingly, his arms crossed.
"Heh, heh. Well good luck with Quidditch, you'll need it," said James, glaring at Albus before trotting off.
Albus, Rose, and Scorpius walked into the Transfiguration classroom to find Professor McGonagall handing out test papers. Their last test had been on the theoretical approach of transfiguring an object into something else. Albus had studied hard but wasn't sure of his result. He sat down as Professor McGonagall came over to their table with her papers.
"Miss Weasley, excellent. I congratulate you on a job well done." said McGonagall, handing Rose a paper with a large O written at the top. Rose beamed at them and had a smug look of satisfaction on her face. Scorpius rolled his eyes. McGonagall turned to Albus next.
"Mr. Potter, a valiant effort, very few mistakes, although you could use a little work with your theory." she said, handing him a paper with an EE written at the top.
"Mr. Malfoy, I must say you did well, but you stand for improvement," said McGonagall, handing Scorpius a paper with an A written at the top. McGonagall then set them with the task to turn a block of wood into a block of ice.
"You two could stand to improve a bit in Transfiguration, you know," Rose whispered. Albus and Scorpius glared at her.
"We passed, relax," Scorpius replied.
"Well, you two are only doing the bare minimum to get by. I think you two should apply yourselves more." She said, trying to transform her block of wood. It had turned slightly bluish in color but still looked like wood. Albus smirked, realizing he had an easy way out of this assignment. He pointed his wand at the block of wood with his left hand and raised his right hand, concentrating his elemental magic. Almost instantaneously, the block of wood turned into a block of ice.
"Very good, Mr. Potter! Ten points to Slytherin!" said McGonagall. Albus gave a smug look of satisfaction directed towards Rose, who scowled.
"That's not fair, you're element's ice!" she shouted.
"Fine, well when we have to vanish things, you'll have the advantage, since you'll be turning it into air," he replied, grinning. Rose rolled her eyes and Scorpius chuckled.
"Alright class! For homework tonight I would like two parchment lengths detailing the effects of the transfiguration of inanimate objects! I would like it on my desk by Monday, so you have the entire weekend to write it! That is all, class dismissed!" McGonagall announced. Albus and Scorpius groaned and gathered up their books.
"Why do we have to write two parchment lengths? We might have a lot of Quidditch practice this weekend!" Scorpius complained.
"Well, maybe you two should put a little effort into it and it won't take so long," said Rose in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Well, can you do it for us?" Albus asked.
"Absolutely not! How are you supposed to learn it if I just do it for you?" she cried in revulsion. Scorpius and Albus traded grins.
"Fine, can you at least help us with it?" Scorpius asked.
"Alright, but don't expect me to write it for you," Rose replied.
The trio walked into Potions class as Slughorn was finishing writing the instructions for today's potion. Albus glanced at it; it looked relatively easy. It was Elixir of Euphoria, a potion Albus knew induced happiness. Slughorn cleared his throat and began speaking.
"Alright class! Today we will be making Elixir of Euphoria, a potion which induces happiness and jubilation. Do not confuse it with Elixir to Induce Euphoria, a much more complicated and stronger happiness potion. Just smelling the vapors of either potion is said to be very uplifting. Instructions are written on the board, and any ingredients you do not have can be found in the cupboards. Get started! You have the entire class period to complete the assignment."
Scorpius gathered enough ingredients for all three of them, and they got to work. Albus noticed the instructions called to cut Eupophoric Beans, which were from a family of beans notorious for being difficult to cut. Instead, Albus decided to crush the beans with his blade, releasing the juice much better. He noticed Rose and Scorpius, as well as the rest of the class struggling to cut the beans as they bounced away when poked with the knife.
"Guys, crush it with the blade, don't cut it," he said.
"But the instructions—"
"Are wrong, Rose. Not everything you read in a book is right," Albus interrupted. Rose glared at him like he'd done her some personal offense. She did try crushing it, however, and soon saw Albus' point. Albus added a few more ingredients and began stirring clockwise, as the instructions heeded. He noticed that the way he stirred caused the ingredients to remain separated however, and decided to add in a few counterclockwise stirs now and then. To his glee, the potion became perfectly mixed and was now a golden yellow. The white vapor that trailed off the potion made Albus feel a little lightheaded and joyful. Slughorn began coming around giving grades. Most other people gave up on cutting the Eupophorous Beans and just threw them in the cauldron whole, causing the juice to remain inside the bean and ruining the potion. Slughorn gave a couple As,many Ps, and even one D before coming to Albus' table.
"Ah, very nice, Mr. Malfoy, but I may suggest stirring the ingredients a little more thoroughly," he said, issuing an EE. He came to Rose's cauldron. Rose, by this point, was stirring frantically to get her ingredients to mix, but to no avail.
"Same as what I told Mr. Malfoy, Miss Weasley, a very good effort, but mixing the ingredients a little more thoroughly would produce more desirable results," he said, marking down another EE. Rose pouted since she didn't get an O. Scorpius chuckled, and Rose quickly turned and glared at him. Meanwhile, Slughorn came to Albus' cauldron.
"My dear boy! This is wonderful! The Eupophorous Bean's juices have been released ever so perfectly, and the ingredients are mixed together so swimmingly that the vapors are causing me to feel a little joyful! A job well done! I'd expect nothing less of you!" cried Slughorn in jubilation. He happily marked down an O and trotted happily to the front of the class. Rose glanced inside Albus' cauldron, to try and see where she'd gone wrong. Albus wondered if his Elixir of Euphoria was strong enough to make Slughorn a little too giddy. Slughorn dismissed the class, assigning them to create a Calming Draught for Monday's class.
Rose inquired every detail of Albus' potion-making process on the way to dinner, leaving Albus quite flabbergasted by the time they reached the Great Hall. He was actually glad for once to part with Rose and sat down at the Slytherin table with Scorpius. The Great Hall had been expertly decorated for Halloween, with floating Jack-O-Lanterns and real bats flying around near the ceiling. Candy corn and all sorts of candy in addition to regular foods were laid out on the table, and Albus eagerly dug in.
"Hey, Al, be careful not to fill up too much on sugar, I need to see you fly well today," Coluber yelled from the other end of the table. Albus shrugged and smiled at him. The two of them finished dinner and grabbed their brooms from their trunks.
"Wow, you have a Stratus 4000! Awesome!" said Albus, his eyes lighting up at the sight of Scorpius' expertly crafted broom.
"Yes, father bought it for me for my birthday this year." said Scorpius. Albus pulled out his father's trusty Firebolt.
"Wow! A Firebolt! That's awesome! There are only a limited amount in the world, since they don't make that line of brooms any more!" said Scorpius, holding the Firebolt so gingerly as if it would shatter.
"James wanted a Stratus 4000, so Dad gave me his Firebolt because he thought I'd 'appreciate its sentimental value more than James would'," Albus explained. The two of them headed out to the Quidditch pitch. The sun lit up the stadium in a spectacular golden-red glow, and Albus saw Coluber waiting in the middle, dressed in emerald green Quidditch robes. Other Slytherin Quidditch players were clustered around him.
"Hey Al, Scorpius! I'd like you to meet the rest of the team!" he called, ushering them over.
"This is Tabitha Burns, one of our chasers. She can aim a Quaffle to strike a target almost thirty meters away," Coluber said. Tabitha gave a smile and a wave. She was a fourth-year Slytherin with wavy black hair and amethyst-purple eyes.
"As you know, I'm a Chaser as well, and the other chaser on our team is Janine Wilkins," he said, pointing at a blonde-haired Fifth-year with blue eyes. She smiled at them warmly.
"Our two beaters have expert aim, and they are Brutus Mentis and Marcus Callun." he said, pointing at two strong, muscular fifth-years, one sandy-haired and the other brown-haired.
"Nice to meet you two," said Brutus Mentis.
"Great to have you on the team," said Marcus Callun. They both looked intimidating but overall not unfriendly.
"Alright you two! Mount your brooms! We're going to see what you can do! Tabitha and Janine will be launching Quaffles at you Scorpius, and you'll try to defend them. Meanwhile, Brutus and Marcus will being trying to pelt Albus with Bludgers as he tries to get the Snitch. Albus gulped and mouthed good luck Scorpius before mounting his broom and soaring high in the sky. He saw Coluber release the bludgers and the Snitch, and Albus watched as the glittering golden ball soared away. Scorpius took his post at the three rings opposite Albus, and Tabitha and Janine took a Quaffle and mounted their brooms. Brutus and Marcus took up their beater bats and kicked off after Albus.
"Ready…Go!" Coluber shouted from the ground. Realizing he had little time to watch, Albus took off in search of the snitch. Albus did, however, watch as Tabitha and Janine did complicated passing maneuvers to confuse Scorpius. Tabitha ended up launching the Quaffle at the leftmost ring, and Scorpius soared over with blinding speed to deflect it with the butt of his broom.
"Well done!" Coluber cried from the ground. Albus resumed his attention to searching for the Snitch. He spotted the golden ball towards the main grandstands and took off at breakneck speed. He spotted a Bludger expertly aimed at him and quickly did a Sloth-Grip Roll, in which he turned upside-down on his broom so the Bludger would soar past him. He quickly spun back right-side-up and continued making a beeline for the Snitch. Another Bludger soared at him and he made a small dip in his flight so the Bludger would soar over his head. He saw the glittering golden ball feet from him and reached out for it. At that moment, another bludger soared directly at him, right underneath the Snitch. In a moment of quick-thinking, Albus leapt off his broom, dodged the Bludger, snatched the Snitch, and somehow landed back on his broom again. He heard cheers and shouts coming from the rest of the Slytherin team as he landed. Coluber came over to him and clapped him on the back.
"Great job, glad to have you on the team," he said gleefully. Albus ascertained that Scorpius had ten spectacular saves, and only let two goals in. Coluber presented them with their emerald green Quidditch robes, which they happily accepted. The two of them, tired but in high spirits, trudged back to the common room.
"Great job today, mate," said Albus.
"Same to you mate," said Scorpius. The two of them traded grins before they changed into their pajamas. Scorpius quickly fell asleep, but Albus decided to write his family a letter.
Dear Mom, Dad, Lily, and Kreacher,
How are you guys doing? Hogwarts is just great! I'm so happy here! I just wanted to let you all know that I made Seeker for the Slytherin Quidditch Team! Our first match is next month, against Hufflepuff. I'm so excited!
Also Dad, Anton Gaunt sent me a letter trying to convince me to believe that he's innocent of his crimes. I just thought I'd let you know.
And Lily, I have some Halloween Candy from Hogwarts for you, if Khione didn't eat it before she got there.
Kreacher, I hope you're well and I hope Lily doesn't have you too busy with tea parties.
Love you all,
Albus
Scanning over the letter, he sealed it and marched off to the Owlery to give the letter to his owl Khione. He watched her soar into the light of the moon before going back to his Dormitory and falling soundly asleep.