Albus, along with Hermione and Rose, travelled back to the Weasleys’ home in Boreas Gardens not long after the departure of the Malfoys. The rest of their time in the Leaky Cauldron had passed with much silence and pensive thoughts about what had just occurred. The almost civilised behaviour of a usually very discourteous Draco Malfoy had left them all thoroughly bemused. Hermione in particular was lost too deeply in her thoughts for either her daughter or nephew to capture her attention. Even Albus had noticed, when Rose and Scorpius had gone to the bar, the odd cordiality with which her former school enemy had addressed his aunt.
That was why, as they waited tensely for the return of Harry and Ron, that Albus felt a certain sense of nervousness. He knew his uncle would not be happy with the relative geniality between Hermione and Draco. He was also concerned about what was taking Harry so long. His father had said that it was purely a standard break-in but they had been gone far too long for that still to be true. Albus’ mind flashed with worry for his father and for McGonagall, despite Hermione’s assurances that Harry would be back soon.
Not too long after they returned to the house, Albus’ grandfather dropped Lily and Hugo off via the Floo Network. Hermione tried to encourage him to stay for a cup of tea, but he apologetically told her that he was not able to do so. He had left Grandma Molly at the Burrow with Fred and Roxanne and he was afraid that Molly might be tearing her hair out at the havoc they were most likely wreaking. Fred had already infuriated the Gnome community by causing a Promethean Projectile to chase them around the yard. They had since fashioned miniature spears and arrows out of debris found in the garden and were plotting some sort of uprising.
Albus’ mother was still not back from work, but it did not matter. Lily and Hugo were just as close as Albus and Rose were, so the children did not at all mind having to spend the additional time together. The two younger children were engaged in quite a competitive round of Exploding Snap while Hermione watched them wistfully from the largest sofa in the living room. Rose was engrossed in the book that she had purchased in Diagon Alley and carelessly blew a stray strand out of hair out of her eyes as her eyes flicked raptly from side to side. Albus was dragged out of his reverie with a shriek from Lily.
–I win, I win!†she exclaimed, as their game of Exploding Snap concluded. Her hazel eyes lit up with glee and her lips curved in a triumphant grin. Hugo rolled his eyes and huffed slightly.
–Yeah, after you cheated...†he said teasingly. Lily frowned and gave him a look of outrage. Her cheeks lit up with a crimson glow which clashed with her fiery red tresses.
–I did not cheat!†she said indignantly. Hugo gave her a slightly condescending look before hopping off of his chair and walking over to where Albus was sitting. Albus caught Hugo’s small smile and guessed he was just trying to wind Lily up - one of his favourite forms of entertainment. She had inherited the temperament of their mother and Uncle Ron and therefore was quite easy to provoke.
She swivelled round in her chair and scrunched up her face crossly. –I didn’t!†she added, when all she was met with was a pair of raised eyebrows and a sceptical noise. She averted her eyes to Albus’ in an attempt at back up. Albus widened his eyes warily - he often got dragged into Hugo and Lily’s arguments and he didn’t much enjoy it.
–Al, tell him!†his sister appealed to him with wide eyes. Albus looked from her to Hugo, not particularly wishing to take sides. Eventually he settled for a thoroughly unsatisfactory ambiguous shrug of the shoulders, causing Lily to narrow her eyes slightly at him and puff in a disgruntled manner before flouncing over to sit with Hermione. Throughout the children’s argument she had stayed firmly inside her own head and had not noticed Lily’s growing frustration. The heavy sigh and light bounce Lily produced when she sat upon the sofa diverted Hermione’s attention.
She looked at her niece with curious eyes, taking in her petulant scowl. –What’s wrong, Lily?†she asked slightly distractedly. Lily cast a withering look at Hugo who was trying to repress a smirk. She opened her mouth to explain but was rudely interrupted by her cousin.
–Lily got caught cheating and now she’s throwing a tantrum,†Hugo said quickly and he stuck his tongue out at Lily as Hermione’s back was turned. Lily let her mouth hang open in a small ‘o’ before screwing it up with a grimace.
–That’s not true! He’s just being - daddy!†she squeaked and her face immediately discarded the glower in exchange for a beaming grin. Harry stepped out of the fireplace with a weary look on his face and was instantly floored by a tight hug round the waist from the youngest Potter. He winced a little, but picked her up and embraced her regardless. He kissed her affectionately atop her head and flopped down on the settee next to Hermione with his daughter on his lap.
Moments later, the fire lit up again and this time Ron emerged from the flames, holding up a golden Galleon that he still kept from his days as an Auror. –I got your message. George let me go early - it was getting quieter anyway.†Harry nodded with a half-smile and he tucked Lily’s head underneath his chin.
Ron sat on Hermione’s other side with a groan and gave her a brief kiss on the cheek before tipping his head back and pinching the bridge of his nose. He cast Rose a warm smile as she took a seat on the arm of the smaller futon that Hugo and Albus sat upon. Hermione flicked her wand and muttered an incantation, causing a bottle of oak-matured mead to drift over towards them. Another murmured spell of ‘Appareo Verro’ and three glasses materialized before them. She poured out the mead swiftly and they each took a glass eagerly. Hermione looked to her friend with raised eyebrows.
–So, what took you so long? Is McGonagall all right?†she asked with concern. Ron’s mouth was full with a generous volume of mead, so he said nothing but fixed Harry with a curious expression. Harry cast furtive looks towards his children and Hermione instantly picked up on his meaning. She smiled kindly towards Rose, Albus and Hugo and Albus immediately knew what was coming.
–Do you lot want to go see what we have in the fridge for dinner? Ginny should be finishing work soon, so we can all have supper together here if you want?†she asked hopefully. Hugo looked slightly put out and Rose shook her head firmly in response.
–Mum, you’re not going to get rid of us that easily. We want to hear if McGonagall’s okay too!†This was technically true. They had met McGonagall a few times throughout their childhood as she had championed Albus’ father’s dream of becoming an Auror and had been very involved in his progress through the field. Latterly, she had become quite a close family friend, though Albus felt she still was rather intimidating.
Hermione exchanged a look with Ron who rolled his eyes, appearing too tired to argue. –They’ll be listening with Extendable Ears at the door anyway, Hermione,†he said tiredly. Rose gave a victorious grin, though Hermione still looked uncertain. Having become slightly better at gauging his wife’s mood over the years he sighed quietly and flicked his eyes briefly before turning to Hugo and Lily in turn.
–Right, Hugo and Lil, off you go!†he said with a shooing motion. Harry nodded marginally in agreement while the two younger children looked outraged. Lily was about to start voicing her torrent of complaints when Harry cut her off.
–You heard what your uncle said Lily,†he commented flatly before pointing towards the door, –go choose something for dinner like Hermione told you to,†he said marginally more assertively. She narrowed her eyes and clambered off Harry’s lap in annoyance. She balled her hands up into tiny fists and huffed grumpily.
–But dad! Albus and Rosie are only two years older than me - that’s nothing!†she exclaimed adamantly. Hugo nodded fiercely in assent but said nothing. Harry merely gave his youngest child a stern and pointed look which she countered with an equally determined glower.
–If it could be helped, Albus and Rose wouldn’t be listening to this either,†he cast a small look in their direction, –but as it happens, they might be able to help with something.†Albus could feel his face screw up in confusion. As he looked towards his cousin he saw the same expression etched all over her features. It was a Ministry matter - a break-in gone wrong, how on Earth could they help with that? Lily gave him a hard look but she was stared down and she stomped off towards the kitchen with Hugo trailing behind her. Hugo was, for the most part, less bothered than Lily, though he did not seem to enjoy the prospect of going in to a room with her alone where he would be the sole focus of her frustration.
Harry waited patiently until the door slammed shut. Rose jumped slightly when this happened while Harry merely smirked. –She’s certainly inherited her mother’s flair for dramatics,†he commented, chuckling. Hermione turned to him with a frown and swallowed a sip of mead.
–So, what is this all about?†she said inquiringly. Hermione and Ron gave their best friend an eerily identical searching look. Harry exhaled slowly and set his drink down on the table.
–We got there literally a second too late. The perpetrator must have heard us outside and fled. They’d managed to extract the relevant information from her and were the majority of the way through wiping her memory when we interrupted.†He paused a moment, which was just as well, Hermione seemed to have quite a few questions.
–Why didn’t he just kill her? And why were you called out in the first place?†Hermione posed both queries in very quick succession and Ron rolled his eyes at his wife before putting his feet up on the coffee table.
–I think he was just getting to that, love,†he said with a yawn. Hermione smacked his legs to get them off the coffee table. He threw her a look of mock hurt but complied as she stared at him through narrowed eyes. Harry’s eyes widened but he continued on regardless.
–Anyway, we think that he didn’t want to leave any sort of potential trail. By extracting the information from her then wiping her memory it would be as if it never happened, there would be no way to trace it back to him,†Harry concluded. He was about to continue when Hermione interrupted again.
–Him? You know who it is?†Hermione asked, glancing from her husband to her best friend. Harry shook his head solemnly, appearing rather regretful of that fact.
–No, that she doesn’t remember. She was fairly sure it had been a man though,†Harry answered uncertainly. Ron snorted as he guzzled his mead. Harry ignored him and continued.
–She described him as around my height with black hair. Not much to go on - and I’m pretty much sure she was just confused and describing me,†Harry added ponderingly. Ron smiled and cocked his head to the side thoughtfully.
–Maybe. That’d make sense as to why she didn’t know whether it was a man or not - when was the last time you cut your hair?†Ron asked teasingly. Harry smirked and ran his fingers through his hair absently.
–A couple of weeks ago,†he muttered feebly. Ron guffawed while Hermione merely shook her head and rolled her eyes.
Harry’s expression returned to a more serious one. –Whoever the perpetrator was, they were asking her about something they believed to be hidden at Hogwarts,†he stopped mysteriously and Hermione looked at him inquiringly. When he didn’t continue she gave him a significant look. Harry appeared slightly embarrassed and gave her a sheepish look.
–Er, that’s all she could remember,†Harry finished with a hint of embarrassment. Hermione looked disappointed so he added another point quickly. –But she remembered him mentioning, well, me. He seemed to think I might have known something about it.†Hermione’s attention was captured again and Ron appeared slightly befuddled.
–Hang on - if you’re supposed to know what this mystery object is, why did he not go after you instead?†Ron asked, rubbing his eyes wearily. Hermione tutted lightly at her husband.
–An old woman who lives alone is going to be an easier target than the Head of the Auror Department and the Boy Who Lived, isn’t she, Ronald?†Hermione said patronisingly. Ron gave a sceptical look as if he was considering it. Harry scoffed at this gently and drained his glass.
–I don’t know...McGonagall’s still got a bit of life in her yet. That’s why a disturbance was reported. Her neighbour, Goneril Goodyear, heard shouting and saw some flashes of light from the window - thank goodness for nosy neighbours,†Harry said while Ron raised his eyebrows in an impressed fashion. Harry sighed and rubbed his temples tenderly.
–It’s just now we have no way to find out who it was or what the thing it is that he’s looking for,†Harry leaned back into his seat fully and flopped his head to the side, looking at a slightly smirking Hermione. –What?†he asked curiously, but without too much energy.
–Well, he probably knew her well enough that she wouldn’t give up information under duress, but not enough to be invited in. He doesn’t just know her by reputation,†Hermione deduced confidently. Harry nodded his head along with Ron, though neither of them could say anything before Rose interjected.
–You got that from Malfoy,†she said in what sounded to Albus like an oddly disapproving tone. Hermione visibly tensed and gave a furtive glance towards her husband before trying to iron her face into an expression of calm. Albus knew that she was not looking forward to telling Ron about the perfectly amicable conversation she had with Draco. Ron met her gazed with raised eyebrows and a slightly critical expression.
–Malfoy?†Ron asked probingly. Harry nodded and threw Hermione a slightly apologetic expression.
–Yeah, sorry about that,†he directed at Hermione with a lop-sided grin before turning to Ron. –I didn’t get back in time and you were working. Hermione called in a favour with Jarndyce and he let her have half the day off.†Ron nodded and Harry focused on Hermione once more. –I hope he wasn’t too much of a nightmare?†Harry asked in a curious tone. Hermione was not given enough time to answer, as once again her daughter interrupted.
–They seemed to get along just fine, actually,†Rose commented pointedly. Hermione gave her daughter a stern look before averting her eyes back to the two men, whose faces were all confusion. She blushed lightly and shrugged with an airy laugh that did not belong to her.
–He was just the same Malfoy, only with slightly better manners,†Hermione said dismissively. This did not seem to appease Ron who looked at her incredulously.
–Come on Hermione, this is Malfoy we’re talking about. You can’t honestly tell me he’s changed?†Ron almost sneered at the thought. A blush crept up Hermione’s cheeks but she glared back at Ron with defiance.
–Some of us have grown out of our adolescent grudges, Ronald.†The implications were not missed by Ron who rolled his eyes. Albus felt that the situation may have been getting a little bit more heated than strictly necessary.
Ron guffawed ironically. –It’s a bit more than an ‘adolescent grudge’ Hermione!†he exclaimed patronisingly before continuing in spite of Harry’s frantic shakes of the head and attempted interruptions. –He was a Death Eater! He did some terrible things, surely you haven’t forgotten-â€
–Of course I haven’t!†Hermione snapped. An uncomfortable silence fell over the group and Ron made no move to correct his mistake. He merely opened and closed his mouth like a fish until Hermione decided to continue. –Anyway, he was still a former Death Eater when you entrusted him with the care of our daughter and nephew. What does it matter if I managed a civilised conversation with the man?†She did not pause for an answer as she thought of something that made her expression harden.
–And if the next words that come out of your mouth sound remotely like ‘fraternising with the enemy’ I swear, father of my children or not, I will hex you, Ronald Weasley!†she added waspishly. Ron seemed to have no response to this but he settled his hand on his wife’s gently and a little cautiously.
–Sorry, love,†he muttered sheepishly. She looked up at him with marginally narrowed eyes before sighing a little and opening them fully. She allowed a small smile and patted his hand atop of hers with her free one. Fearing that it was going to get too sentimental, Albus turned to his father who was wearing the same mingled expression of relief and tiredness that he did every time his friends resolved a dispute.
–I’m sorry, I might be being a bit thick - but what does this have to do with us?†Albus asked indicating himself and Rose, who nodded with a confused expression on her face. Harry’s face contorted into a severe frown as he surveyed his son. Albus could feel his stomach jolt a little; he was praying he was not in trouble.
–Yes, about that. I contacted Professor Weylin about someone trying to find something hidden in Hogwarts and the circumstances of McGonagall’s attack, and do you know what he told me?†Harry asked rhetorically, his eyes flicking between Rose and Albus. They both knew exactly what he would have been told but both adopted feigned expressions of ignorance. Harry was not buying it and rolled his eyes a little, though he seemed calmer.
–He told me that a similar attack has occurred - on the grounds of Hogwarts no less! And that the victim, a friend of yours apparently, was found by James. He also informed me that James was not supposed to be wandering the grounds at that time and that he walked out of the castle undetected, though was spotted instantly upon his return,†his face was etched with suspicion as he inspected their guilty expressions. Neither of them said anything, but maintained their facade of unawareness.
–But how is it possible to be - invisible, let’s say, on the way down, but not on the way up? And how did he know exactly where she was, especially as she is not his friend?†Harry asked these questions carefully and with the astuteness of an Auror. Albus could get things past his mother with some ease, but his father was a different case altogether. All the same, he swallowed heavily and gave a small shrug of the shoulders.
–I dunno, you should probably ask James,†Albus advised in what he hoped was a serious tone. Harry observed him with keen eyes for a moment.
–Believe me, I will,†Harry promised with a sigh. Hermione appeared rather alarmed by this news as it was the first she had heard of it. Her eyes met those of her daughter with worry.
–An attack! At the school? How could that even happen?†she asked incredulously. Ron appeared thoughtful - a strange look on him.
–Weylin thought it might have been someone who had assistance from someone at the school, or someone who’s been accustomed to blending in,†Harry explained vaguely before Hermione’s probing look forced him to elaborate. –A Death Eater.†Hermione’s eyes widened in concern and a contemplative expression graced her features. She looked to Harry with a quizzical air.
–Where is James? I’d like to have a word with him...†she trailed off pensively. Harry nodded in assent and exhaled wearily.
–You and me both, Hermione,†Harry muttered as he flicked his eyes at the thought of his eldest son. –He’s having dinner and staying over at Persephone’s house. They live in a Muggle community not too far from Godric’s Hollow.†Hermione smirked a little, distracted by Harry’s last sentence.
–Just him and Persephone?†she asked searchingly. Harry narrowed his eyes in puzzlement and nodded in perplexity. He and Ron exchanged a look of mutual bewilderment whilst Rose allowed a small smile. Harry refilled his glass of wine and drank a sip with gusto before he continued.
–Anyway, that’s the last time he’s going anywhere this holiday. I’ve implicitly told him a hundred times now the dangers of roaming around school at all hours - but he still doesn’t listen!†he exclaimed in a mixture of exasperation and affection. Albus thought that the situation sounded all too familiar to him.
Rose frowned a little and attempted to defend her cousin. –He was just trying to help Effie,†Rose appealed quietly. Harry and Ron shook their heads but Hermione’s eyes lit up a little as if something had clicked all of a sudden.
–Effie? The same girl Albus got detention for saving from falling off her broom?†Hermione inquired shrewdly. Albus nodded, rather impressed that she had remembered. Harry and Ron too looked amazed but seemed to realise that the name was indeed familiar. Ron looked at his nephew amusedly.
–What is it about the Potter boys and this girl? Is she very pretty?†he asked Albus teasingly. Albus felt himself blush but could not confirm or deny it. To confirm it would be to induce more mockery but to deny it would be to lie. Rose laughed lightly at Albus’ obviously uncomfortable state. He was about to open his mouth to defend himself when a small sing-song voice come from the kitchen door.
–Albus and Effie sitting in a tree-†Lily started light-heartedly, but she was cut off as Albus began running towards her with a mixture of annoyance and entertainment on his face.
–Eaves-dropping are we, Lil?†he asked smilingly as she ran back into the kitchen and slammed the door. He could hear her laughing, though she seemed afraid that he might get his revenge all the same. Their parents had turned around to watch the spectacle, smiles playing on their lips. Harry’s face turned slowly grave as he lowered his voice.
–That’s a point; we probably shouldn’t discuss it any further here. My daughter’s too nosy for her own good,†Harry looked to his two best friends who nodded in agreement and started towards the kitchen where dinner was due to be prepared. Albus’ previous levity faltered as he remembered the reality of the situation. McGonagall had been attacked in the same way that Effie had at Hogwarts. Both were questioned or ordered to retrieve a mystery item from Hogwarts’ vast accumulation from over the years.
They were both linked somehow and Albus was positive that there was something that they were missing - some crucial detail. He stared into the fire and watched the embers dance in the hearth. The reflection of the flames flickered in his emerald eyes and he stared at it, enraptured. As he gazed upon the blaze he was certain of one thing - there was more trouble to come.
Albus Potter and the Midnight Thief by Alice Mac
Chapter Endnotes:
I hope you enjoyed the latest installment - please tell me what you thought of it!