The Empty Chamber (Harry Potter Next Generation Fanfiction)

Chapter Sixteen: Albus

"Al!" Someone was shaking Al's arm, and he stirred. "Al, get up, it's Christmas!" That did it. Al's eyes flew open.

Scorpius was at Al's side, holding a gift in wrapping paper of silver and green. Al grabbed drowsily for it, and Scorpius jumped back. "This isn't yours! Get your own present, Potter." Scorpius huffed and marched away, grabbed a pillow off of his bed, and hurled it at Al's face.

Al threw his hands up in defense, and the pillow bounced off of them. "All right, all right, I'm coming," he grumbled as he sat up. He could now see Lydia, lying with her back on the floor, staring at the ceiling vacantly. "Oh, hi Lydia." She didn't acknowledge him, but Al didn't take it personally, as she didn't really seem anymore awake than Scorpius during History of Magic, although her eyes were open.

Al slipped out of his sheets and sat by a mound of presents at the end of Scorpius's bed, where Scorpius and Lydia were gathered. "So what have you gotten, Scorpius?" Al said excitedly. Now that the feeling of Christmas morning was sinking in, he was waking up much faster.

"Nothing," Lydia said, surprising Al. She still didn't move from her position sprawled on the ground. "He has no friends."

"No," Scorpius said forcefully, shoving Lydia's side. She began to roll towards Al's bed, and then she continued to roll herself across the floor until she hit his pile of presents and abruptly stopped. A small golden package tumbled down and fell onto her, and with a loud groan she threw it at Al. "I've been waiting for you to start."

"What about your gifts, Lydia?" Al asked. They should have beeen in the girls dorm.

Grudgingly, Lydia stood up and walked over to a pile of presents that had been hidden by Scorpius's bed, until she began kicking them across the floor, that is. She didn't bother to be quiet, as Al and Scorpius were the only boys in their dorm to not go home. She looked pointedly at Al, "I carried these here myself, you know."

"How did you wake up?" Al asked. "I mean, Scorpius couldn't have gone in there to get you."

"Unlike some people," Lydia said, "I still have roommates. And they were up an hour ago, ripping open their presents and giggling. I couldn't sleep through that chaos, obviously, so I carried my presents into here and fell asleep on the floor."

"Lydia, there are three empty beds," Al said.

"And a floor," she replied. "But Scorpius woke up a few minutes ago and got me up, so it's a little late to have an opinion now, Al."

"Yeah, yeah," Scorpius was shaking the same green and silver box he had held as he woke Al up by his ear, "let's just get started, shall we?"

Al didn't need to be told twice. He spun the golden package Lydia had thrown at him around in his hands, looking for a label. Finally, he found one, and read to himself To: Al, From: James. He braced himself for whatever disaster waited inside.

He tore off the wrapping paper and found, underneath, a small spinning top, made of glass. As soon as it touched Al's skin, it began to whistle loudly, sounding much like a tea kettle. Scorpius looked at Al with disgust as he continued to open his own gift. "Shut that thing up, will you Al?"

Lydia looked at him curiously. "What is it?"

Al set down the present (which continued to whistle, to his dismay) and looked through the torn up wrapping paper. A small note, written on a ripped off piece of parchment, fluttered out, and Al snatched it. "Dearest brother," he read out loud as Scorpius and Lydia listened, "this was a Sneakoscope. I have made some useful adjustments, so now it detects obnoxious people, and not suspicious ones. Good luck trying to quiet it!"