Harry Potter: 19 Years Later

9: Albus' POV

  "Bye, Albus! See you in Transfiguration!" Rose called as she parted ways with Albus and went to the Hogwarts greenhouse.

Albus waved and smiled, ignoring the unhappiness welled up in his chest. He hated being in different classes than Rose. She was his only friend here. Well, except for Lorcan and Lysander, but they barely talked to him.

But there was something else that was troubling him; how was he going to tell his parents that he was in Slytherin? How was he going to tell the rest of his family that he was in Slytherin? Albus hadn't sent a letter to his family yet and two weeks had already passed since school started. He knew they were wondering what was up. He had promised them that he would write whenever he got the chance.

Albus' stomach clenched as he thought of what the Weasley side of his family would say. He knew that they weren't exactly fans of Slytherin, especially Arthur, his grandfather. But his dad would understand. Albus thought back to that morning on the train station as Harry was telling him it would be okay to be in Slytherin. He might make the rest of the family understand. After all, everyone got along with Harry.

Albus hadn't realized he was lost in his thoughts until someone pushed past him and entered the Potions classroom before him. Albus followed her in and realized it was Lilith, the same girl that he'd overheard talking to Nathan. She looked upset as she sat in an empty seat near the back of the class. Albus, realizing he had no one to sit with himself, sat next to her.

"Hey," he said as he pulled his quill and parchment out.

She lifted her hand as a greeting and her eyes widened in recognition at him.

She's probably remembering that I'm the one who overheard her and Nathan talking in the halls, thought Albus. Suddenly he realized that Lilith wasn't sitting with Nathan, whom she always sat with. He was sitting alone. Maybe that's why she's upset. They must've gotten into a fight.

"I'm Albus," he said.

Lilith looked at him for a moment, then said, "Lilith. Hey, aren't you Harry Potter's son?"

Albus nodded awkwardly. He didn't want to seem too proud. But Lilith just nodded excitedly.

"Cool! I'm a big fan of your dad!" she said, and then continued writing the ingredients for the Forgetfulness Potion.

Albus studied her features, intrigued. She had strange, unnatural pale skin and straight, shiny black hair. Her eyes were so dark brown, they looked black. Pretty. She looked so different from Nathan, who was blond with freckles and blue eyes.

Afterwards, when they were leaving class, Albus decided to walk with Lilith. They might even become friends. But, as they were talking, Lilith's eyes suddenly glazed over and were overcome by a hungry, thirsty look.

"W–what?" Albus cried.

She leaned in towards him and then gasped, pulled a lollipop out of her bag and licked it. After she put it away, Albus noticed she looked normal again. He decided not to ask, not wanting to seem nosy.

Albus awoke to the sound of sobbing. He crept out of the dormitory and into the Slytherin common room. The sobbing was coming from the girls' bathroom. Embarrassed, he peeked in through the door (hey, the door was open) and was surprised by what he saw.

Lilith was looking in the mirror, her lips pulled back, exposing her teeth. She was crying.

"I don't want this, I don't want this," she wept.

  Albus leaned his head in farther to see and gasped. Was he just imagining things or were Lilith's canine teeth sharper and longer than they should be?

Now that he thought about it, Albus realized he had never seen her canine teeth before; she always smiled and talked, keeping them hidden. Albus watched as Lilith took a red lollipop and licked it ferociously.

"Stop, stop, stop, stop it," she murmured frantically.

Stop what? Albus wondered what was making her this upset. And why was she always licking that lollipop? He shrugged it off and slowly crept to bed.

But, just as he was crossing the common room, heading towards the boys' dormitories, he saw a dark figure just out of the corner of his eye. It was only for a fraction of a second, but he could swear to Merlin that he saw it. Albus turned around, and of course, nothing was there.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. And it wasn't because it was cold. He could feel a pair of eyes burning into him as he ran into his dormitory and buried his face into his pillow.