While Albus was decent by his own reckoning, when Scorpius took over his broom, the way he flew was breathtaking!

The boy just soared.

Albus wasn't sure what the difference was between what he could do and what Scorpius had innately, but it was there. Scorpius had this innate way of blending his movements with the broom. He wasn't simply a passenger, he was part of the broom itself.

They were interrupted when Professor Pharrel showed up in the stands with a broom in his hand. They tried not to show eagerness by walking toward him, but soon they were racing each other. Pharrel beamed as he held the stick out to Scorpius. It was a Twigger 99. Albus' heart fell.

Twiggers were sub par at best. They finally fixed their warping problems a few years back and made some amazing strides in manoeuvrability, but they were still too slow for a Quidditch pitch.

Pharrel didn't notice the disappointed looks he was getting as he handed the stick over. "My friend who flies with the Worchester Wizards Synchronised Flying Brigade, said it was the best broom he had ever flown," he informed with a big smile.

Scorpius was diplomatic. "Thanks, professor. I'm sure it will be great."

Pharrel nodded jovially and bustled off. Albus and Scorpius exchanged a look over the broom.

Albus hissed, "Worchester Wizards Synchronised Flying Brigade? Is he mental?" Albus knew about the trick flyers, he had seen them at ministry events, but they never did anything fast. As a matter of fact, they were so boring he and Rose usually ditched and snuck off.

Albus suddenly had an idea he turned to Scorpius. "You'll have to use my broom, that's all there is too it. I'll take the Twigger."

Scorpius, who had been studying the broom, shot Albus a look so scathing he was sure he had a burn mark in his robes.

"I'll make this work, Potter. I don't need your charity!"

Albus got heated. "Fine, you arrogant, snobby git. Good luck!"

Albus stormed off, his Nimbus Millineum clutched in his hand, blasting by Rose, who had been reading a book in the stands. He held hand up to her face to stop her queries as he walked out.

He was livid as he headed back to Hogwarts, but he just couldn't calm down. The rage that had been unleashed by that dragon chase was still with him; he didn't realize he had wandered over to Hagrid's hut until he wound up at the edge of his pumpkin patch. With a roar, he kicked one of the pumpkins.

"Hold on!"

Albus suddenly came to himself as Hagrid strolled over.

"Alby, what do ya think yer doin?" he growled.

Albus was immediately ashamed.

"I'm so sorry, Hagrid. I didn't mean to," he murmured.

Hagrid patted him on the back so hard Albus saw white stars a moment or two.

"S'ok, Alby, but yer need to get better control than that, ah'right?"

Albus nodded.

He walked up to the Hogwarts feeling confused about the rage he had just felt. It wasn't justified by the situation; he needed to get this Hippogriff back in its pen before he hurt somebody.

He suddenly remembered how he had felt the day of the Great Bludger Catastrophe, after Rose gave him that calming draught.

He wondered if he could brew himself some more.

He went back to the Cellar to stow his broom, and pick up his Potions book and supplies, added his pewter cauldron and went back to the kitchen. The house elves were more than happy to let him borrow a burner on one of the bigger stoves. He felt guilty for lying when he told them it was for homework.

He flipped through the book and found another Calming Draught recipe; this one had longer-term affects, but was more complicated to brew.

Albus tried not to think about whether or not he could brew it. He just dived right in.

He added ingredients, stirred counter clockwise, and added another with a half stir back clockwise. It was so comforting the adding of the ingredients and the stirring, he was actually enjoying himself every time he looked his potion was the right shade. Finally, he reached the end and took a look. According to the book illustration, it was perfect. He poured it into several phials and secreted them in his potion case.

Back in the bunkroom, he had just put his ingredients up in his trunk, and took his first sip when Scorpius came through the door looking sweaty, but triumphant. He walked over to his bed, grabbed some clean robes and began passing by when he paused, not even looking at Albus, ears flushed. "Sorry if I snapped at you, Albus."

Albus was feeling the calming effects already, "It's okay, and the offer's still open."

Scorpius turned just enough to show Albus that cold aristocratic Malfoy face. "You just don't get it do you."

Albus shook his head. "Tell me."

Scorpius sighed. "I don't have much left of a family right now, but I am still a Malfoy. A Malfoy finds his own way."

Albus considered that. "It must be lonely being a Malfoy then."

Scorpius left without another word.

-

The next day was a blur, with Quidditch try-outs on the immediate horizon.

Albus had no more outbreaks of anger. As a matter of fact, when James and Fred spelled his hair Slytherin green and wrote "The Next Dark Lord" on his back while at breakfast in the Great Hall, he barely noticed. Rose eyed him indignantly, but he couldn't be bothered.

For the first time in his life, he wasn't a mess of nerves, and it felt wonderful.

Double Potions with Ravenclaws was a breeze. Albus, who left his hair green, was now adding the potion ingredients while Scorpius stirred. Albus' sleeve caught on fire and he almost didn't notice until Scorpius put it out.

"What's wrong with you today, Potter?" he murmured.

Albus gave him innocent eyes. "Why do you ask?"

Scorpius looked flabbergasted. Albus knew he was acting strange, but it just didn't matter to him. It was like he was walking around in a comfortable haze. Rose and Scorpius were giving him strange looks the rest of the day, but he just didn't care.

The flying class, now moved inside the Hogwarts Courtyard went off without a hitch that afternoon. Albus didn't have much of an appetite at dinner and went to bed early.

The next day, he was surprised to see Scorpius awake before him; he was sitting on his bed arms crossed staring right at Albus.

Albus wiped the sleep out of his eyes. "What's wrong?"

Scorpius waited until their bunkmates had cleared out, then held out vials of potion to Albus. They were his Calming Draught.

"You went through my stuff?" Albus shouted.

Scorpius looked unrepentant. "Rose was right. She said you looked like you did before the Bludgers went mad. First you snapped at me, and stormed off, then you started acting like an Inferi!"

Albus glared at him, the anger was stirring. "And that gives you the right to rummage in my trunk?"

Scorpius, for once, dropped the cold arrogance. He looked scared. "You're my only friend. Something's really wrong with you. I wanted to know."

Albus sighed. He tried to stop being angry, but he just couldn't seem to. "I need that potion, Scorpius." His hands started clenching on their own accord.

Scorpius wasn't budging. "Rose is out in the common room right now waiting for us. She's just as worried as I am, maybe more so."

"Why?" Albus snapped.

"Because we want our Albus back, you git!" Scorpius shot back.

Albus' emotions started to pour out of him in a rush; he started crying. It felt like a panic attack, but worse. He lay back on the bed and curled into a ball, paralysed. He didn't know what was wrong with him.

Scorpius looked alarmed, "I'll get Rose, hang on!"

It seemed just a second later when Rose was there, she had a rag she had wet in the wash basin held to his forehead. Scorpius was hovering nearby.

The events of the last few days came gushing out of Albus in sporadic, broken sentences: the Dragon chasing him, his reaction, threatening Uncle Charlie, taking a swing at Uncle Charlie, his anger, the dream, what he could remember of it. And finally, like a sprinkles on the tart, what happened with the broom.

In the aftermath, Scorpius and Rose sat in shocked silence. Neither knew what to say. Albus didn't blame them it was all so crazy.

Rose, as was typical, broke the tension. "Give me a swig of that Calming Draught, Scorpius. I think I need it.

Albus started giggling, the other two followed suit until the laughter was almost hysterical. Between sniggers and relapses, Albus managed to apologize.

They both looked at each other and rolled their eyes like he needn't have bothered. In that moment, Albus knew he would do anything for these two.

They tested that by making him pour out all of his Calming Draught in a lavatory sink. He couldn't help but think of how much he hated going back to the panic attacks and nerves. In a short time, he had really come to rely on those potions, so he managed to keep one of them just in case.

After he was done, Rose placed her hands on his shoulders and looked Albus in the eye. "If I ever find out you're abusing Calming Draught again, I will tell your parents. You can hate me the rest of your life, but I love my Albus, nerves and all. We'll be your Calming Draught, okay?"

She glared at Scorpius. He looked back confused, until she mouthed something to him.

"Erm, yes. Stay out of the Calming Draught, Albus. You're a mental little git, but we like you that way."

Rose glared at him, he shrugged, confused. "What?"

Violence might have ensued, but Dominique rushing up interrupted them.

"Where have you two been? I checked your classes. This wasn't the right day to skive off!"

Dom wasn't one to lecture, so this outburst made Albus nervous, his hand immediately sought out the pocket where he had secreted the last Calming Draught. But his hand fell away at Dom's next words.

"It's Granddad Weasley! They rushed him to St. Mungo's with chest pain this morning! You know his heart's not the best. Everybody else has already Flooed from the Headmaster's."

Scorpius urged them to leave immediately; his face had a strange expression.

Albus and Rose had run all the way up to the Headmaster's, Felix and Felicis didn't even bicker as they let them by.

-

Less than an hour later, Albus was sitting with his parents. His head rested on his mother's lap, and she was running her hand comfortingly through his hair. James on his other side was standing with Fred, looking pale. It seemed that something like this could unite even two bickering brothers, like he and James.

Albus was watching one of his favourites. It was the Lily, Louis, and Hugo Show.

The younger threesome were different, to say the least, individually, but when you put them together, it was pure hilarity.

Over by where Uncle Ron, Aunt Hermoine and Rose were quietly catching up, Lily was brushing her thick red hair and chatting cheerfully about how she was sure Granddad was fine, flighty and impervious as usual. Her equally red-haired cousin, Hugo, was grim (no surprise there), wondering if there was a family plot to bury him in, and would he suffer before the inevitable. Their strawberry-blond cousin, Louis, the best-looking boy out of all the Weasley grandkids (a fact of which he was well aware), was speculating about how he would look in black.

The rest of the uncles and aunts were arrayed all over the waiting room, the St. Mungo's staff had gone through enough Weasley family emergencies to know, yes people did have these many children, so they didn't check ID's this time.

Albus noticed among his uncles, between Bill and Percy, was Uncle Charlie, staring at Albus strangely.

The silence was broken when Aunt Audrey, a Head Healer at St. Mungo's, breezed in. Percy's wife had short curly brown hair above twinkling blue eyes behind fashionable wire rim frames. She was very attractive, which led to speculation about Percy's love potion brewing abilities at every family gathering.

She had on her ever-present smile. She clasped her hands demurely in front of her, and cleared her throat. Waiting until all eyes were on her, she quipped, "Does anyone here know where your Granddad got a hold of haggis?"

Percy let out a sigh of relief, which was followed by a burst of jubilation.

"It was just heart burn," Audrey stated with a smile, anticlimactically.

Suddenly, there was a very familiar loud voice from down the hallway.

"YOU SAW A MUGGLE VENDOR ON THE STREET SELLING IT AND JUST HAD TO TRY SOME?"

Audrey winked. "Since the kids are home, and Uncle Charlie is here, I think we all should adjourn to The Burrow, for lunch at the very least. Molly and Arthur are most likely going to be a while."

They all nodded and began to file toward the St. Mungo's visitor's Floo. Waiting his turn in the fireplace, Albus saw Uncle Percy making arrangements with the insurance wizard. That was his uncle, always working behind the scenes, unnoticed, taking care of his family. Just one of the reasons Albus admired him so much. James' favourite was Uncle George, and Lily simply adored Aunt Looney, but if Albus were to be asked, he would have to say his favourite relative was his Uncle Percy. Oh, he knew that his uncle didn't have much of a sense of humour, and wasn't extremely exciting to talk to otherwise, but something about the bespeckled, tall, slender, nearly bald man made Albus feel safe like no one else outside of his father.

A bit later after they had all settled in at the Burrow, Grandma Molly and a very chastened Granddad arrived after he was discharged with Aunt Audrey and Uncle Percy in tow. By that time, it was nearly lunch.

It wasn't long before the grandchildren were being fussed over by Grandma Weasley.

She especially grilled Albus and Rose about what happened last Tuesday. She then shook her head in disgust at how dangerous that school was getting, and then bustled off to oversee the cooking.

His Aunt Audrey grabbed Albus in a bone-crushing hug like she hadn't seen him for years, but that was her way. Uncle Percy, however, just nodded solemnly, shook his hand and informed him that the ministry was looking closely into Bludger safety so that such incidents would not happen again. Aunt Audrey comically rolled her eyes behind his back, causing Albus to smile, especially when he saw Uncle Percy wink at him, showing that he was aware of it.

Aunt Angelina arrived last with Uncle George, having stopped by the shop first, accompanied with the usual fanfare in which he was accustomed. He had a brand-new fake ear to show off. This one shot out, rotated with sparklers, and sang the Tri-W theme song that appeared in most of their advertisements. "Now I can disgust and offend and advertise at the same time!" Uncle George declared with a chuckle. They all had a laugh about it, that was Uncle George for you!

After that spectacle, the luncheon began.

Uncle Charlie was, of course, the star. All conversation seemed to centre on him, and then suddenly the tide of conversation took an abrupt turn.

The question seemed harmless enough. Uncle Bill asked, "Surprised to be back in England before Christmas, Charlie?"

Charlie looked right at Albus. Albus' blood ran cold.

"Oh, this is my second time in less than a week. I heard my nephew was playing Quidditch in his first year. First time that's happened since his dad. So I came up to make sure he's prepared."

They all stared at Charlie in shock, all except Albus' mum and dad, who looked like Albus felt. Grandma Weasley was staring daggers at them.

An hour later, after the dust settled, with Grandma Weasley banging around the kitchen fixing dessert, and loudly mumbling to under her breath, but loud enough for the entire family to hear, about that "Quidditch Madness" she would never understand. James' made the declaration. "Albus can't play Quidditch, he would have to actually touch a broom!"

Aunt Angelina responded by kicking James' shin under the table, she had had plenty of practice over the years. She simultaneously sent her son, Fred, a warning glare. James rubbed his shin sullenly, but looked smug.

Charlie, who had evidentially been waiting for such an opportunity, dropped a bomb. "Not only can Albus fly, but I am willing to wager six Galleons, against all takers, that he can out fly any student in this room."

They all gaped at him.

Albus tried to send Uncle Charlie a look, but his uncle was staring at the one most likely to take that wager. Uncle Percy.

It was well known in the family that Percy doted on his daughters. At almost every family get-together in the last three years, he had managed to bring up that they were the best scoring Chaser duo that Hogwarts had seen in quite a while. They were every bit as good as he said they were, but he was known to have a gambler's streak, which meant he was ripe for such a bet.

Uncle Percy's eyes rested on Albus. "Sorry, Alby, but I've got to take these odds. Only if you feel up too it, though."

Albus stowed his hand to his pocket feeling for the last potion. The pocket was empty. Rose, who was suddenly beside him, looked guilty. "You can do it Albus. You don't need a potion. Just believe in yourself like I do, you dumb prat!" she whispered.

They were all looking at Albus, his stomach gave a lurch, and his hands were trembling, but he thought, A Badger may never make a challenge, but they would do their best to meet it. Besides, it's only one of the sisters after all.

Albus nodded, and the race was on.

-

That was how Albus wound up on the edge of the orchard with an old Comet 290 beside both Molly and Lucy with simular models He glared at his Uncle Charlie, silently repenting having ever apologizing for sticking a wand in his face. His uncle just looked back with a wry smile on his face. It was his idea to double the bet to include both sisters, after all.

Albus' dad had refused James' request for money to bet against Albus, and he and Albus' mum were nodding their encouragement, knuckles white, as they held each other. James and Fred were making dire predictions under their breath while Dom and Roxy glared at them.

His little sister, Lily, standing with Granddad and Uncle Ron chipper as always, called out, "Don't die, Albus. I'd miss you something awful!" Hugo not to be out done yelled, "And don't hit any birds. It's their orchard too you know!" Louis joined in the fun, "If you die, don't hit your face. You want to look good for ze funeral!"

"Thanks, guys," Albus responded lamely.

His Granddad Weasley, whose baldhead was safely tucked under a straw hat, gave Albus a wink of encouragement.

Suddenly Albus thought about what could have happened today. What could he be doing right now, instead? If his beloved Grandad had passed away he, didn't know how he would have handled it. That thought finally put this race into perspective. There were bigger stakes in this world than pride.

He stared ahead his focus renewed.

Uncle Bill pulled out his wand, and with a flick sent sparks into the air.

Albus kicked off a split second behind the sisters, both with Impervius charms in front of their mouths so they could blow bubbles in the wind, with their ever-present gum.

Their long, flowing reddish hair trailed behind them as they took the lead.

Albus' brain went into top gear as the trees whirled by on both sides. The possibilities were flooding through his faculties.

Molly and Lucy were fast, definitely faster than him, so he wasn't going to outrun them. They worked together like only twins can, so trying to fake them out wasn't going to help him get by. They were also fanatically competitive, so Albus couldn't imagine either of them taking pity on him. To add insult to injury they had momentum.

Competitive. Sisters. Momentum.

Those words rang in his ear, as an idea suddenly took root.

Albus slowed down.

They were close to the end of the orchard and the turning around point, and they were expanding their lead. As they spun around and headed past him on the way back and saw how far back he was they grinned at each other. Albus waited until they had passed, then suddenly kicked his broom into high gear, using his newfound ability to make tight turns to gain speed on the way back.

His plan relied on two things happening, them forgetting about him, and that they would act like sisters.

Sure enough, as he began to close on them, they began to attempt to get ahead. They bumped each other for position and were so focused on each other that they didn't realize that they were losing momentum. Albus closed faster than he would have thought possible, suddenly they realised he was closing, and moved to block him. If they managed to do that, he would lose. If he went high, he would lose, there was no room below, and if he tried to go around he would lose momentum as well. So he lowered his head called for every bit of speed he could muster and aimed for the middle. They didn't expect him to try to split between and he managed to get his stick in, soon it became a battle of nerve and, tenacity.

I don't have the Gryffindor nerve, but nobody is more tenacious than a Badger! Albus declared to himself. He lowered himself onto the broom and put all the will he had into it gritting his teeth from the effort, managing to get the tip of his broom out front just as they crossed the line.

His relatives were cheering; especially Uncle Percy, who had yet to notice how steamed Aunt Audrey was that he lost yet another bet. Uncle Charlie gave him thumbs up. Fred and James looked stunned as Dom and Roxie taunted them. Albus' parents hugged each other and cheered right along, while Grandma Molly shook her head in distain, barely disguising her smile slipping an arm around an exuberant Grandad's waist and giving him a peck on the cheek.

Later on after things had settled a bit, Albus was sitting outside in a circle of chairs in the newly de-gnomed garden with the rest, as they reminisced about old times.

His attention was peaked when Charlie remarked, "You know. I remember carrying Albus out of that very orchard the day he had that broom accident, that boy has come quite a ways, hasn't he now."

Albus startled, and looked across the circle at his uncle. Their eyes met. In that moment, he saw a glimmer of amusement in his uncle's eyes and Albus suddenly realized that maybe there were two persons in his mysterious dream, his uncle didn't realize it, but he did.

Uncle Charlie winked, and Albus returned it with on of his own smiling, feeling better about it all somehow. The dream was still strange, but it helped to know it was actually Uncle Charlie he was talking to that night. The questions still remained, but at least he knew that much.

Later, they headed back to Hogwarts, his Uncle Charlie slipped up and gave him a big hug, and using the close contact to tell Albus, "I had to get the price of that broom back somehow. I'm proud of you, boy."

"Could you be a little less proud from now on?" Albus replied slyly.

Charlie barked out a loud laugh and ruffled Albus' recently re-combed hair, much to his chagrin.

Before he stepped into the Floo, Albus gave his Granddad a big hug. The old guy's whiskers were rough against Albus' cheek. "Watch out for those street vendors, Granddad," Albus told him with a chuckle. His Granddad's blue eyes twinkled as he murmured under his breath, "Well, don't tell your Grandmum, but there is this nice fellow, down by the Thames that is doing some marvellous things with Halibut and Chips."

Albus rolled his eyes, and hugged him even harder, thinking about how he almost lost his kind-hearted, bumbling, lovable Granddad today.

There are worse things that can happen to me in this world.