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Chapter Six: Halloween at Hogwarts

Chapter Six: Halloween At Hogwarts

 

October 31st, 2017

 

The Slytherin common room was buzzing with chatter and excitement, and Albus Potter stared on from the sidelines, waiting for an excuse to leave the crowded tower and find somewhere more peaceful. The feast didn’t start for a whole half hour, so he was waiting bored for something to happen.

 

He could, of course, go visit his sibling and cousins who were in some of the other houses, but he would only really do that if he was desperate. James would be about to try one of his legendary pranks with Fred and Dominique, and Al had learned from past experiences to never get involved with any of the pranks that James attempted.

 

He could go see Victoire, but she would probably be busy studying for her NEWTs. He had no clue why she was frantically studying, considering she had part of the year left, but she had been swotting like crazy all over the summer and he didn’t think she was going to stop now.

 

He could visit Molly over in Hufflepuff, but she was really more Rose’s friend than his. The truth was, after all, he didn’t really want to see any of them. He wanted Rose to be back.

 

He couldn’t quite believe it had been nearly three months since she was kidnapped. Three months. It was a long time. It had been an even longer time due to the fact that everywhere he went he heard whispers. Look, it’s that Potter boy, the one that got Sorted into Slytherin. Did you know his cousin went missing? Doubt they’ll find her now.

 

If Rose had been here, she’d have given the whisperers a lecture about how it wasn’t nice to talk about someone behind their back, and if they had something to say, they should jolly well tell it to their face. However, she wasn’t here, and Albus just put up with them, hoping that there would be a new source of gossip soon, and he’d be forgotten about.

 

He’d taken to having the Daily Prophet delivered to him each morning by one of the school owls, as he didn’t have one himself. Every morning, he scanned through it as he ate, looking for some sign that Rose had been found. Every morning, he was disappointed.

 

There was the worry that Rose would never be found. It had been nearly two months. A lot of people had simply given up on her. Not Albus, though. Never Albus.

 

“Hey.”

 

Albus turned around to see Scorpius Malfoy loitering nearby, looking slightly conspicuous. It appeared he had been the one that had spoken, so Albus edged a little closer, not sure if he should speak or not.

 

“You okay?” Scorpius asked, looking at Albus. “You seemed a little lonely.”

 

He didn’t know the half of it. “Yeah, a bit.” Albus murmured, not sure whether Scorpius wanted to talk or was just being polite. He waited for a reply, but the silence dragged on for a few moments, Albus listening to the ticking of the clock as he waited.

 

Tick.

 

Tock.

 

Tick.

 

Tock.

 

“Do you want to come with me? I know a prank that’s going to happen soon, and you could come along and watch with me.” Scorpius finally volunteered, sounding a bit hopeful.

 

“Yeah, sure, why not.” Albus readily agreed, almost half a second too soon. “I’ve got nothing else planned.” Scorpius flashed him a smile, and Albus followed him out through the portrait hole, tugging on his robes a bit as he did so.

 

“It’s just along here.” Scorpius called, a bit ahead of Albus.

 

Tick.

 

Tock.

 

Tick.

 

Tock.

 

Was it just his brain, or could he actually hear ticking? It seemed to be getting louder, not fading away like it should be.

 

Tick.

 

Tock.

 

Tick.

 

Tock.

 

“Here we are!” Scorpius said, and Albus poked his head around the curtain to see - who else? - James, Fred and Dominique, about to set off one of Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes’ extra explosive firebombs into the Great Hall, where teachers were congregating. Scorpius went straight up to the front, eager to see, but Albus lingered back a bit. James’s pranks usually ended in disaster.

 

“Albus, come on!” Scorpius called, and Albus reluctantly followed. Perching on the edge of the group, he watched silently as as James lit the firebomb before chucking it out towards the tables. A silence fell over the hall, before chaos exploded and the teachers went haywire.

 

“Mr Potter! Miss Weasley! Mr Weasley!” A professor yelled, and James, Dominique and Fred quickly ducked out of view before hi-fiving each other.

 

“Time to set off some more!” Dom grinned, before dragging Al along with her to set of the next lot.

As he ran along with Dom, Albus slowly began to relax. Yes, Rose was not here. But it was Halloween, and he was surrounded by at least some of his family - and most of them he liked. Even though he hated to forget about Rose, the fact still was that he was the one still here, and he was the one who needed to continue on with his life - without her.