The Next Generation

Owl Post

As soon as Albus reached his dormitory after dinner that night, he wrote to his father about their plan to meet him in Hogsmeade. He had discussed the idea again with Rose and Scorpius before dinner, and they agreed it was safest to just leave Hogwarts early, that way they didn't leave anything to chance. Albus was worried for his friend's sake, anxious that something might go wrong. What if McGonnagall somehow found out they were leaving and stopped them? What if the Slytherins decided to act sooner than they'd initially planned? He knew he was being irrational and that they had a good plan, but he couldn't help but feel a little scared. He neatly sealed his letter and hurried down to the owlery to find Bandit, wanting to get the letter to his dad as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, hidden under the invisibility cloak in the Slytherin common room, Scorpius was writing to his father all the details of their plan.

Dear Father,

I'm writing to update you on the situation and tell you our plan. I know I didn't explain much in the last letter, but I wanted to get it to you as soon as possible, so I didn't bother with the details. Basically, James Potter overheard the Slytherin boys talking on the way to class. They walked out of a door in the wall, and the door disappeared moments later. We think it leads to the Room of Requirement. They were saying some stuff, about our owl and your letters, then they revealed that they were planning to kill me in that strange room. I'm not exactly sure how I'm supposed to get into that room, and I hope I never find out. Anyway, we (Albus, Rose, James, and I) have a plan. We're going to sneak out of school the night before the last day and meet Albus's dad in Hogsmeade. From there, we're going to use side-along apparition to get back to their house. There's no way Connell and the others can touch me if I'm not even in school on the last day, see? I'll stay at their house until you get out of camp, that way I don't have to go back to grandfather's. So don't worry about me, I'm going to be fine. On another note, I also wanted to ask you about something I've noticed a lot this year that's really been bothering me. A lot of people treat me differently just because I'm in Slytherin, the "bad house" with all the "evil witches and wizards." It's like they don't even give me a chance to prove that I'm alright, they just glare at me and turn away. It makes me feel like I did something wrong, even though I try so hard to be nice to everyone I meet. All I know is I'm so lucky to have the friends I do, even if Rose and James doubted me at first, because they at least gave me a chance. And Albus, he's just the best. I never have to justify myself to him, he always seems to get it. He's never treated me differently because of my family history or Hogwarts house, not even when we first met on the Hogwarts Express. No, I was the one who ruined things. I told him we couldn't be friends because of who our parents were. I really don't know what I was thinking, how could I have been so foolish? Yet, he still wanted to be my friend. I really don't know what I would do without him. Anyway, I know you can't write me any more letters, and that's okay, it just feels good to tell someone who understands. I mean, it can't be easy being a former death eater. I know you're a great person, and mom knew, too. But it seems like nobody else is willing to overlook stereotypes and give you a chance. Don't think I don't know how hard you work. You searched the country for a job last year, and no matter how qualified you were, or how hard you were willing to work, nobody hired you. I realize you made some bad decisions in the past, but I mean really, at what point does the punishment end? I know you think you deserve the treatment you get, but I'm really not so sure. Take care of yourself dad, hopefully I'll see you this summer.

I love you,

Scorpius

The young Slytherin sealed his letter and tiptoed out of the common room under the cloak, careful not to make too much noise. When he returned, he had no trouble falling asleep, feeling satisfied with the plan and happy that he wrote to his father.

~

At breakfast the next morning, a large snowy owl landed ungracefully in front of James Potter, knocking over a glass of pumpkin juice, which spilled all over his friend's robes. He didn't pay the matter any attention, however, because he was too distracted by the letter which the owl had dropped on his lap. Seeing that it was from his father, he eagerly ripped it open and read a detailed description of the properties of the Room of Requirement. Ignoring his friend's annoyed commentary about dirty robes, he silently passed the letter to his brother, Albus, who was sitting diagonal from him at the Gryffindor house table. Although this new information was of no real use to them, seeing as they would be leaving school a day early with Scorpius, James was still fascinated that such a room existed within Hogwarts. His father had mentioned "The Room of Hidden Things" in the letter, and he wondered to himself if that was where Connell and his friends were planning to hide Scorpius. He boiled with anger at such a thought, how dare they try to hurt him when he did nothing wrong. He didn't quite understand why, but it seemed that James now cared for the boy. It seemed like a year ago that he had flipped out at the young Slytherin for being in the Gryffindor common room. Even so, Scorpius had been nothing but polite to him that morning. Albus did well, finding a friend like that, he thought fondly.