Albus Potter and the Will of Ignotus Perevell

EavesDROPPING

—CHAPTER 6—

EavesDROPPING

Albus was flying over the Quidditch grounds on his Firebolt, trying to find the practice snitch that Victoire had let him use. He saw Randy and Orcus talking. ‘Whatever we find in the Will, I want it,’ Randy said enviously. ‘Why did those stupid kids have to find it? We’re bigger and better than them. And we’re not freaks.’

‘They do kind of have it in their blood,’ Orcus said. Randy glared at him.

‘Look,’ Orcus said. ‘We all know you only want whatever Ignotus left behind so you become a hero and Victoire will fall for you and not Teddy.’

‘He’s a freak!’ Randy hissed angrily. ‘He’s a metamorphagus and werewolf! His parents were freaks! Remus Lupin...a weirdo who thought he could teach without anyone finding out! And Nymphadora Tonks. She was the weirdest lady I ever heard about!’

‘They were heroes,’ Orcus said, turning his back on Randy. ‘You’re just jealous of them because you don’t have famous parents who fought in the battle of Hogwarts.’

‘Shut up, you don’t either,’ Randy snapped. Albus felt a surge of anger aimed at Randy and he stopped himself from throwing a rock at him and knocking him into unconsciousness when he saw Professor Irin walking down to the goals. He frowned and dived down but behind one of the pumpkins Hagrid was growing.

‘Well?’ a voice demanded. ‘Have you found the Will yet?’

‘No,’ Professor Irin said, sounding glum. ‘The Order are looking for it too. They have been all summer and if they can’t find it then I doubt I can.’

Albus held back a gasp as Irin received a blow to the head.

‘I’m sorry master,’ Irin begged. ‘Please give me a second chance!’

‘One more chance,’ the Death Eater growled. ‘Or I will take your son and you will never see him again.’

The look on Albus’s teacher’s face showed Albus that Irin was not expecting this. He had been acting but now the shock was real.

‘M...my son?’ Irin stammered.

‘Yes you blithering idiot, your son!’ the Death Eater snapped. ‘If you don’t find the Will before the school year is up, then you must hand over your son!’

‘And if I don’t hand him over...?’

‘Then I will kill him and all his little friends.’

Albus felt his heard pound in his chest. He was worried Irin and the Death Eater could hear it.

‘Why do you think that the Will is at Hogwarts, master?’ Irin whispered.

‘Because Ignotus thought Hogwarts was the one place that evil forces would never penetrate! Of course he was wrong. He thought that a worthy person would find the Will wherever it was hidden.’

Albus thanked the Gods that he hadn’t told Irin about the fact that they’d found the Will.

‘Now GO!’ the Death Eater ordered. ‘The sight of you makes me sick!’

Irin hurried off and Albus ducked down under the pumpkin, in case the Death Eater turned around. He mounted his broom and flew off towards Irin. He landed beside him.

‘You heard, didn’t you?’ his Professor said. Albus nodded. ‘You didn’t know he’d do anything to Avery, did you?’

‘No, Al, I didn’t. I never thought getting involved would be this dangerous for the ones I loved.’

‘My father found that out in his fourth year,’ Albus said absentmindedly. ‘Are you going to report back to the Order?’

‘Yes,’ Professor Irin said. ‘I must find a way to discreetly protect you all.’

‘I’ll warn the others about it,’ Albus promised. ‘I’m sure you’ll find the Will though.’

‘I hope so,’ Professor Irin sighed. ‘Avery is all I have left in this world.’

*

‘He what?’

‘He threatened us,’ Albus repeated. ‘This mystery Death Eater said exactly ‘One more chance or I will take your son and you will never see him again.’ Then, Irin asked what would happen if he didn’t hand Avery over and the Death Eater said he’s kill all of us.’

Teddy stroked his chin. ‘Hmm. Interesting. So the Death Eater knows enough about Irin to know who his son is and who his son’s friends are.’

‘So he must be at Hogwarts,’ Rose guessed. Teddy nodded. ‘That’s what I’m thinking. The thing is, most people in Hogwarts are part of the Order and most of them we can trust. Who can’t we trust exactly.’

‘My dad,’ Avery said immediately. ‘He’s suspicious.’

‘Timothy Lockwood,’ Albus said. Most people agreed.

‘He’s new,’ Jessica said. ‘Let’s keep tabs on those two.’

‘Dad,’ James said. ‘He never wanted to be a Headmaster and he usually hates getting into new adventures so why did he do it this time? We should keep tabs on his as well.’

Teddy nodded. ‘Okay. Orcus, Randy, Sammy, Sean and Luc. You lot keep tabs on Lockwood. Avery, Max, Dimitri Liam, Anna, Sophia and Rob, you keep tabs on Irin. James, Jackson, Marshall, Lorna, Mika and Tara, you keep watch on Harry. Victoire, you and your group keep researching Ignotus. Albus, Rose, Jessica, Scorpius, you lot keep working on the tasks. Meeting dismissed.’

*

‘You really think you’ll win this year?’ Joseph sneered. ‘I have to thank you for dashing off to save your previous Hogwarts last year. It meant we won.’

‘Shut up and play Joseph,’ Albus snapped, flying higher into the sky. Glints of sunlight were sparkling in the blue sky, fooling both Albus and Joseph several times being mistaken for the snitch. Then, suddenly, twenty minutes into the game when Slytherin was leading by forty, Albus felt something cold on his neck. Metal. His hand crept up from his broom, onto his back and he made a sharp turn and sped towards the snitch as it flew away again.

‘Move it Potter!’ Joseph shouted, speeding towards Albus. Albus dodged a bludger, swerved a quaffle, ducked another bludger, reached out his hand and...

SNAP!

Albus gave a howl of pain and plummeted to the ground, falling down, down, down and hitting the ground with a bang. There were gasps and yells of horror. Joseph and taken his wand and performed a spell, causing Albus’s wrist to break. The Gryffindor team all stopped playing and jumped off their brooms, crowding around Albus.

‘Al!’ Victoire gasped. ‘What happened?’

With a quivering hand, Albus pointed to Joseph who was holding the snitch triumphantly. James’s eyes turned into small slits. He mounted his broom again and Albus’s eyes were open long enough to see his brother speeding towards Joseph. Then,

Albus fainted.