Nineteen Years Later: the Continuing Hogwarts Story

Chapter Four: Horcruxes

After dinner, Al waved goodbye to his friends as they walked back to the Hufflepuff common room. He left the Great Hall and waited outside the enormous wooden doors at the entranceway to the castle. Filch, the stringy-haired caretaker of Hogwarts, was waiting for him, lantern in hand. A tabby cat purred at his feet.  Filch smiled at Al, a wide smile that revealed yellowed and missing teeth, which Al nervously returned. Creaking loudly, one of the doors to the Great Hall opened again and Scorpius and another delinquent slipped out, joining the group.

            “Alright, that all the rabble rousers?” Filch grumbled. He shuffled around, raising his lantern into the face of each “rabble rouser” in turn, licking his lips and his eyes twitching slightly.

            “We’ll be going to the Black Lake tonight, I’m sure you’ll be glad to hear,” he said, chuckling to himself.

            They all stepped outside, the three silent students following close behind Filch.  Even though dinner had just ended a few minutes ago, it was dark as midnight outside. Al could already clearly see the stars, and he looked for a constellation Rosie had told him about.

            Malfoy shoved past him.  “Watch where you’re walking, filthy Potter!” he snapped.

            Al frowned but ignored him, instead trying to catch back up with Filch.

            At the docks on the edge of the Black Lake, Filch stopped and faced the students. “Now, two to a boat—“ Malfoy immediately moved as far away from Al as the narrow dock would allow “— an’ you’re to look for Luxphaeus Pixies for Care of Magical Creatures,” he said, handing each student  a glass jar. “An’ best watch your little fingers,” he said, grinning maliciously, “they bite!”

            As he said this, his cat leapt from its perch on one of the dock posts and onto the third student’s shoulders. It curled itself around his neck like a furry scarf, two paws draped over each of his collarbones. 

            Filch looked at him and sighed. “Well, it’s no use.  Looks like Mr. Boris has taken a liking to you, though I can’t imagine why…You’ll be coming with me, then.  You other two, off you get, into a boat, come on now, haven’t got all night to collect a few bleedin’ pixies or other.”

            Malfoy and Al looked at each other and grimaced. As Filch and the other student, with the cat still on his neck, rowed away, Al and Malfoy each grabbed an oar and headed down the dock to the boat. Normally the boats were enchanted to propel themselves, but because it was detention after all, the spell had been removed.

            “Here I’ll hold it steady,” Scorpius said innocently as Al put a foot into the rowboat.

            As soon as his other foot  was halfway in, Malfoy began rocking the boat uncontrollably, laughing as Al fell behind the seat, hitting his head on the rim of the boat.

            “You git,” Al muttered under his breath. He looked at Malfoy angrily, raising his oar as if to hit him. Malfoy backed away.

            “You wouldn’t dare…” he gasped.

            In an instant Al had untied the rope mooring the boat to the dock and had used his oar to shove off. Malfoy gaped at him, but just as quickly, took a running start and leapt into the boat.

            “Though you’d leave me behind, did you, Potter?”

            Al didn’t say anything and began to row.