Harry Potter: 19 Years Later

Chapter 73: Controlling The Basilisk

(A/N: I made a minor change to chapter 71. Instead of the students leaving Hogwarts on the day before Christmas Eve, I made it to where they are supposed to leave on Christmas Eve. This change was necessary for the plotting of the next few chapters. Sorry if there's any confusion. Enjoy!)

"Where do you think they ran off to, Albus?" Holly asked worriedly, as she and Albus made their way into the Great Hall for some hot chocolate, after they'd just played outside in the snow for an hour. It was only after the couple had torn their gazes away from each other long enough to realize that Scorpius and Rose were missing.

"Who knows where they are right now," Albus muttered. "I wouldn't be surprised if they snuck off to go snog in a broom cupboard."

At least that's what he hoped they'd been doing...

"Still, it's been an hour," Holly said, playing with the sleeve of her jacket nervously. "I hope they're alright."

Albus couldn't help but be a bit concerned also. The tightly-knit group of four have been inseparable for the past few weeks. Scorpius and Rose's absence felt unsettling. Albus didn't know why, but he could almost sense that something was wrong.

Then an idea hit him. "Holly, If you're really that concerned, how about we check the Marauder's Map and see where they are?"

Holly's face lit up. "Albus, that's brilliant! You still have it locked in your school trunk, right?"

Albus nodded, then grabbed Holly's hand and led her out of the Great Hall straight to the Gryffindor common room. They weaved through the crowd of students bustling in the corridors, each buzzing with excitement that they'd be departing from Hogwarts this evening for the holidays. Albus couldn't shake the twinge of envy in him for everyone around him; he really wished he were leaving too.

Pushing the thought aside, he kept pulling Holly with him until they reached Gryffindor Tower, muttering the password, "Caramel truffles," to the Fat Lady before charging through the portrait hole.

The two scampered up the stairs to Albus's room, where he threw open his door and ran straight to his school trunk, lifting it open and digging through its contents. Holly had to dodge many books that he threw behind his shoulder.

"Aha!" Albus said, lifting the crumpled-up Marauder's Map out of the trunk. He was never a neat person.

Holly took the map from him and smoothed it out, furiously scanning the parchment. Her eyebrows then wrinkled in puzzlement. "I don't see them anywhere."

"What?" Albus searched the map himself, but didn't see any sign of his friends' footsteps anywhere on Hogwarts campus. "You don't think they snuck off to Hogsmeade together or something, do you?"

"They wouldn't do such a thing," Holly told him, shaking her head. Then her eyes lit up with realization. "I know where they are!"

She grabbed Albus's hand and led him out of his room, his face contorting with confusion as he trailed behind her. "Am I missing something here? Where are they?"

"The Room of Requirement, silly!" Holly exclaimed, still pulling him along. "It doesn't show up on the Marauder's Map, remember?"

Of course. How could he forget? Albus really wanted to smack himself right now.

When they reached the main moving stairway system, the sound of shouts made Albus and Holly stop in their tracks. Students were running all over the place like they'd seen before, but their attitudes had changed completely. Everyone was wide-eyed with panic.

Albus spotted Dennis Finnigan and Max Thomas running up the stairs towards them, and pulled them aside. "Dennis, Max, what's going on?"

The two boys started talking at once, attempting to talk over each other. Albus only caught pieces of their explanations.