Harry Potter Next Generation: Family Legacy

Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Dark Walk (Albus)

I used my wand to light our path down to the Slytherin Common Room. It illuminated five feet in front of us, and made all of the paintings around us whine as the brightness reached their eyes. Hazel didn't use her wand, but she didn't stumble in the dark either. Perhaps all of their time in the dungeons had made the Slytherins better at navigating in the dark.

    "This is very fun," I said, stepping onto one of the moving staircases. Hazel stopped walking and turned to grin at me. Her irises were a pure white in the bright light of my wand.

    "Fun until we get caught and given detentions. Which will almost certainly happen." She said it like nothing was wrong.

    "You're not afraid of getting a detention?" Hazel shook her head and continued slowly hopping down the stairs. "How many have you even gotten?" I hadn't gotten one all year, to Dad's amusement. According to him, he had gotten about two every year. Aunt Hermione, though, said it was more like five. In some cases twenty.

    Hazel stopped walking, giving me a chance to catch up. "Something like three? Not that many."

    I snorted, and let out a groan almost a second after. My foot sank unpleasantly into the stair, making a squelching sound. I never remembered it was there, although Professor Longbottom kept warning us about it for some reason.

    "Hazel, help me," I said tonelessly. Hazel's cheeks were bright pink in the wand light, and muffled laughter came from her. "Not funny— Ouch!"

    I threw my hands out a second after the staircase lurched, sending both Hazel and I tumbling to the steps. I watched, helplessly tugging my foot, as Hazel stood right back up, eyes wide, and breathing exceptionally hard. She brushed strands of non-existent hair from her eyes.

    "Something is wrong," she whispered. "Something is happening to my twin...." She reached forward and grabbed my hands, yanking me out of the trick step with a loud pop. She dashed down the stairs, soon leaving my range of wand light. "Come on, Albus!"

    What the heck is going on? I thought, half-running, half-tripping down the stairs.

    "Hazel? What's going on? Wait for me!" I was fairly certain we were on the third floor, because as I ran down the steps, torches burst into flame. The flickering light of the corridor picked up my friend, black robes waving as she ran, turn the corner. Almost as soon as she did the resounding echo faded, and I weakly rushed to where she had disappeared.

    There were no torches in this part of the corridor, but the light coming from my wand clearly and brightly showed my cousin, Rose Weasley, standing over a small body. I couldn't see the face of who she had attacked, but I knew. Only an idiot, only someone who didn't know that all the Malfoys had white-blond hair would not know that Rose had stunned or done something to Scorpius Malfoy.

    Hazel took in a loud breath, and I nervously looked towards her. She puffed her cheeks out and slowly turned redder and redder. Her right hand reached into her robe sleeve, but no wand emerged. She must've forgotten it in the Slytherin Common Room.

    Rose's wand was in her hand, but she didn't look threatening for once. I could see that her eyes were red and puffy, and her robes were tousled. But still, she had done something to Scorpius, and Hazel was deathly serious when it came to defending her family.

    Hazel is going to explode, I thought, looking between both girls. Nobody moved, or spoke.

    "Albus..." Hazel growled. She turned towards me, fists clenched. "Give me you wand. I'm going to kill her."

    I tightened my grip on the wand and took a small step towards the wall. "Maybe we could have a conversation without any death-threats, Hazel," I suggested.

    "Conversation?" Hazel said loudly. "She's attacked my brother! Again! Without a reason!"

    "I didn't attack him!" Shoulted Rose. "I did a full Body-Bind! And for a good reason. He saw me..." she trailed off and looked at the floor, quite unlike her usual self.

    Hazel realized what had happened a moment before me.

    "You were crying, Weasley? Oh, that's hilarious, coming—"

    I clapped a hand over Hazel's mouth to stop her from saying anything else. Her grey eyes glared at me, but she didn't say anything once I removed my hand. I tightened my grip on my wand once again.

    "Rose, why were you crying?" Aunt Hermione always said that diplomacy was the best way to deal with people. And, if that didn't work, then you should punch them.

    Rose glared at me, and I took another step back. The two of us had grown up together, but this was the first time I had seen her, or anyone look at me with so much crippling hatred.

    Rose raised her wand. "Like I would tell you why," she sneered. "I know crying is a sign of weakness, Malfoy. Which is why I cursed your brother. But even if he hadn't seen me, I still would've. You and your brother don't belong here. And neither do their friends." She turned towards Hazel, looking even more frightening then before. Her mouth opened, probably to mutter a curse or hex.

    "Your wand, Albus!" Hazel yelled. She lugged towards me and grabbed my wand. I held onto it, and for one sickening moment we tugged. Then I attempted to wrench it from her hand, and with a sickening crack, two halves of my wand thudded onto the floor.

    And we were plunged into darkness.