Harry and Hoyle Grindus sat in the corner on an uncomfortable metal bench, in an almost unbearably brightly lit holding cell. Harry was amazed that the Americans had allowed all of the members of the rescue team to remain together. If his Aurors had arrested a large group like this one, he would have ordered the suspects to be kept in separate rooms. The rooms would not be in a dungeon, but in comfortable holding areas where the prisoners could be carefully observed. By letting them stay together, the possibilities of coordinating alibis existed. He figured that the room was probably charmed, so every word and movement could be monitored. However, alibis could be constructed through the passing of notes, subtle nods, and even winks if the conversations were being overheard.

Grindus leaned in to talk to him. The old man’s voice was hoarse and full of fatigue which made it slightly tremble as he spoke, â€�“Potter.” Harry looked over into the other’s eyes. He saw concern and something else he couldn’t identify in Hoyle’s face. â€�“I have formal agreements with my security men and also with Draco. The agreement stipulates that if they would come with me, I would ensure that all expenses and/or any loss of income incurred from their participation in the rescue would be fully reimbursed by Comet. I will stand by those contracts.”

Harry nodded, seeing where this was probably going.

â€�“As you know, I have no such contractual agreement with you. As you may further recall, I told you not to take part in our rescue attempt.” Harry nodded his head again. Grindus shifted uncomfortably as he leaned toward Harry as he talked. He sensed that somewhere, deep inside, the old man didn’t like what he was about to say.

â€�“You know, I have many profitable business dealings with the ministry and numerous side deals with the senior members of most of its departments. I have a contract, awaiting only the Minister’s signature, which will continue the exclusive use, by the Auror Office, of Comet Brooms.” Harry found himself shifting uncomfortably in his seat by that piece of news.

â€�“If the Americans or the Ministry are going to be difficult about you, I will have to quickly and publically distance myself from you and your case. Remember I said, publically distance myself, if you understand.” Harry nodded. â€�“I will also attempt to make separate legal arrangements with both governments to expedite my personal freedom. I do have an international business empire to run. And poor Draco’s potions shop will be bankrupt in a matter of weeks, if he is publically dragged through the mud of a publicized trial.”

Harry found his head nodding in agreement to what Hoyle was saying.

Hoyle continued. â€�“The thing is, Potter, if you knew that I would make a separate peace with the Ministry, Lucius knew it too. I would dare to say that my old school chum worked this into whatever game his is going to play with you.”

Harry had known this on some elemental level in his mind, but hearing it said out loud upped the odds on his next steps.

Hoyle silently rocked his head back and forth and his tongue was visibly, through his closed mouth, moving over his teeth. He seemed to be almost spitting out the words against his will. â€�“I admire you and your simplistic view of right and wrong. It is very refreshing to someone, who is used to the more Machiavellian tactics used in normal business dealings.” Hoyle gave a small chuckle. Harry did not find it at all funny.

The old man looked down at his feet on the tiled floor and, with his right hand, scratched at the grey beard stubble on his chin. â€�“I know you contacted your friend, Granger-Weasley. I will set up a special Comet Broomworks account through LeClaire’s Bank in Paris on which she can make certain withdrawals to cover your legal expenses and any bribes required to win your case. When the unpleasantries are over, a full accounting of the funds will be made. Potter, I’d hate to have to take you and her to French court over anything untold. Especially, since the French Minister is a relative of my wife.” Hoyle chuckled again and finished by patting Harry’s right hand with his leathery left hand.

Harry nodded.

â€�“You are playing your own game, Potter. You could have avoided it all by using your Invisibility Cloak and hiding your part in the rescue. However, you gave it to Draco to use. I first thought you were just being naïve, gallant as you Gryffindors like to say, in doing what you did.” Leaning into Harry’s face to get a good look, he added, â€�“I now think I was wrong in that judgment. Harry, what are you playing at?”

â€�“Do you really want to know?” Harry prompted. Hoyle leaned back against the tile wall for a few seconds, his hand returning to his stubble while he sucked on the inside of his cheek. Harry could see a battle raging in the man.

â€�“No! If you tell me anything, it could complicate any future denials that I’ll have to make in front of Lee and his cronies.” Hoyle again offered his hand to him and Harry shook it. Grunting as he stood up, Grindus walked, slightly bent over, to sit next to his two hired wands. The four Brits became silent and waited.

After about a hour, Hoyle and his three men were lead out of the cell. They never returned back to where he was being held. Harry leaned into the corner closing his eyes, hoping to catch a minute or two of sleep, but the brightness of the room made escape into slumber impossible. So he closed his eyes and replayed the memory of the last time he and Ginny were truly alone. He opened his eyes in shock. Between trying to track down Lucius and Ginny’s obsession with the Quidditch team, the last time had been over two months ago.

Harry was lead by an emotionless guard from the underground holding area to a guarded room. When they arrived at the door, he paused and looked up to the guard to see if the guard was in control of opening the door. The guard looked at the door knob, over at him and snorted. In response to the guard, he opened the door and entered beyond. Harry assumed that Grindus and his men were being held elsewhere so they could not coordinate their stories.

He pushed open the door and as he stepped through, he saw what he had fretted about for the two days since his surrender. As he walked through the door, he was greeted by a hug from Hermione.

She stepped back and looked him over from head to toe. â€�“My, you are quite a mess!” Hermione teased him.

As Harry looked past Hermione, he saw a dusky-skinned man in Muggle business attire sitting behind a low, grey metal desk. Hermione turned to make introductions, â€�“Art Cabral, this is Harry Potter, ex-head of the British Auror office, my brother-in-law, and my best friend.”

Art Cabral, a thin balding man approximately Harry’s height and a decade or so older, reached across the desk to shake his hand. As Harry pulled back and took a seat opposite from Cabral, he looked back to Hermione. â€�“Ex-Auror, huh. Marsh kept his promise. Is Ron still in charge?”

â€�“Oh, yes! It seems that my husband is quite a hero, if you believe what you read in the Prophet.” Harry’s confusion must have been quite evident. â€�“It seems that the Department of Mysteries traced the Goblin-made sword (Ogier the Danes), and found it behind a false wall in the Jewel House along with most of the missing Crown Jewels. Even though it was your idea to use the Unspeakables, the Minister was forced to give Ron all of the credit.”

Harry leaned forward staring at her. â€�“Lucius stole the biggest treasure in the country, maybe the world, and then just left most of it behind?” He paused, letting the knowledge seep in. â€�“You said almost all, what is missing?”

â€�“An altar paten from the time of the founders, a silver gem encrusted rod, a diamond affixed hair comb, and an emerald from St. Edward’s Crown that tradition says was originally a gift to the Royal Family from Rowena Ravenclaw. A few other rings and a tiara are missing. He took nothing too large or easily traceable by magic.”

Harry pondered. What was Lucius planning now? He was about to voice his concern so he could get Hermione’s opinion, when the American cleared his throat and the two turned to him.

â€�“Mr. Potter,” began Cabral. â€�“You are what we, in America, call a political football. You violated our laws by entering into our country illegally; you embarrassed the country’s top law enforcement agency by rescuing the team before they could, interfered with the investigation of a kidnapping by the withholding of vital evidence from that agency, and were part of actions that directly caused the death of three people, making you an accessorary to at least manslaughter, if not second-degree murder. However, after the unfortunate death of the three kidnappers and-”

â€�“What!” shouted Harry, interrupting his lawyer! He turned toward Hermione.

â€�“When it came time for the kidnappers to give their statements to the NAMED agents, all three of them, as one, collapsed and died. The authorities aren’t saying, but I’d bet that any one of them being interrogated, by the law, triggered some kind of Unbreakable Vow or taboo, like Voldemort’s name.”

Harry nodded. He had been correct when he told Flint that they had been chosen to die. â€�“Lucius doesn’t leave loose ends, just a trail of victims.” Harry saw her nod in agreement.

After a small pause, Cabral continued talking. â€�“So my government has a case where the only people left for them to try are the heroic family members of children who were kidnapped from right under the noses of the country’s elite security force. If they do try you, we will immediately fill the press with information about your status as a national hero in your homeland. You probably know that we Americans like our heroes to be lone wolves acting to protect the innocent from evil. And with what happened to the poor Davis woman, her family, and the captured kidnappers, I can paint this Lucius Malfoy as the very embodiment of evil. Normally, I wouldn’t see them pressing any charges against you. I’d expect them to attempt to cut a deal with us to quietly drop all the charges and let you return to the United Kingdom. However, the problem is that your country is pressuring for prosecution here and they are hinting at disallowing any repatriation.”

Harry looked at Hermione. She gave him her familiar shrug and a half-smile. â€�“The Minister claims you have invalidated your citizenship by abandoning your oaths to protect crown and country in a time of emergency. I think it’s just a threat to get you tried here. I can’t see him following through with it.”

Harry looked back at her. â€�“Well, it’s all up to them. I had a talk with Hoyle and he’s has something set up for you at the Paris Gringotts.” Harry chose the words carefully, knowing they were being monitored. Hermione’s face went from confusion to acknowledgment as she eventually nodded.

â€�“Good, Art here is one of the best and the best isn’t cheap.”

Over Hermione’s shoulder, Harry saw his barrister nodding in agreement.

Resigned that the next part of his future was out of his hands, Harry relaxed.

Hermione reached into her case and pulled out a roll of parchment. â€�“Here’s what you wanted from Ron. He wants me to ask you what you want with this information.”

Harry smiled at her. He knew that she was probably more curious about the scroll than her husband, but she would never admit to it. â€�“I just need some light, bedtime reading.”

She shook her head and turned to her American associate. Harry listened to the two discuss differences between the rules of evidence and trial motions between the two countries.

Tuning out the legal mumble-jumble, Harry scanned the two foot long list compiled by Ron. Looking over at the two barristers, he asked, â€�“Do either of you have a pen?”

Cabral reached into his vest and pulled out a Muggle ball point. The American said, â€�“You use your finger to click the top-â€�“ Harry threw up his hand to silence him, deftly clicked the silver nub on top and began to make a couple of notes.

â€�“Harry was raised by Muggles and I’m Muggle-born, so we know about pens and such.”

He read every item on the list. He tried to link them to what Lucius might be up to and what he already had done. Next, he tried to see if more than one of these might create a trail or a path for future plots. After about twenty minutes, Harry returned the pen to Art and the rolled up scroll to Hermione. As she took back the scroll, she gave Harry a look that he was familiar with.

He smiled and said, â€�“You might as well read it now; I know you will wheedle all of the information out of Ron anyway.”

A smile broke out on her face as she rolled the parchment flat. Cabral also stood up and looked over her shoulder at the report. Harry had circled three separate incidents on the scroll. The first circled item mentioned that a Ministry security guard, Willie Little, showed up to work four hours late on the day of Crown Jewel heist. Beside that item a note was written, â€�“Adams and Lupin”. The second circled item mentioned that an Unspeakable, Horace Fulton, had missed the day of the robbery without a pre-arranged absence. Next to the second circle three words were written, â€�“Smythe and Broomwright”, and a third thing written in some sort of code. The third incident was about an incident dealing with attempted access to the basement of the ministry. Harry had penned Sterling and Glouster upon that line.

Hermione seemed puzzled by the second note. However before she could ask, he said, â€�“A secret message for Ron. Call it a hunch; Lucius is always masking his next step with his last step. It’s also a repeat of Tom Riddle, he sees himself as the next Dark Lord.”

Hermione gave him a look like she was waiting for him to expound on the hidden message. Harry looked at the third person in the room and back to her. He slowly shook his head. As he closed his eyes, he saw her roll her eyes and turn to her American counterpart.

Harry had a thought so powerful that it almost jolted him out of his seat. How could he have not asked this first? â€�“Ginny and the children, where are they?”

â€�“They are all safely back in London, in St. Mungo’s. They are being evaluated for the trauma of what they went through and witnessed. Lily supposedly hasn’t sleep more than a few hours a night and she wakes up crying. They have her in a dreamless sleep and Hugo has not left her side since we gave him permission to miss school. James had his arm broken while trying to fight off a kidnapper, who was threatening Kaitlin Jones, just after Pyter left. And I’m really worried about Rose; she tends to bottle things up and having her life used as a pawn to get to Scorpius has hit her quite hard. So after my missions are over, I’m returning to London.”

He truly relaxed for the first time since reading the note about the heist. As Harry considered what Lucius might be planning next, the plight of Draco entered his mind. â€�“Scorpius! What about the boy? Do they have any clues?”

Hermione looked at Harry and smiled. â€�“Lucius kept him for only two days and then released him. I’ve not heard any of the details.”

Now Harry was really confused. â€�“Lucius robs the Tower of London to steal the Crown Jewels, but leaves most of them behind. He kidnaps and kills people to get his hands on his grandson and lets him go after a couple of days. What is the man up to? Why would he do all of that for little or no gain? I thought he was being clever. Could he just have lost it?”

No, his mind answered its own question. It all means something; Lucius is playing another one of his game within a game as part of a larger game, but what?

Hermione chimed in. â€�“Harry, Lee sacked you and when Rory Smythe was ordered to take Ron’s place, Smythe refused to do so and he resigned. Now that Ron is the finder of the treasure, he is working to get Rory reinstated. However, the Minister’s actions have sown seeds of distrust between the Aurors and the Minister. The Prophet is currently parroting the minister’s version of you as an incompetent who abandoned his country for personal reasons. However, I think it is safe to assume that the Comet’s public relations staff will be working overtime to influence the opinions of the wizard on the street.”

He silently shook his head, as he thought back to Hoyle’s cryptic comments about his relationship with the Ministry. Oddly, if anyone was going to counter the Ministry’s version of the story it would probably be Lucius. He shivered at the thought of his future being aided by the old monster.

I’m unemployed. And if I can get free, I’ll be free to go after Lucius. Is that what he wants? Me versus his entire organization? Grindus and Draco will start out helping me in my search full time, but Hoyle has already hinted at the conditions of his support. Draco is in a shakier position than I am. He can’t take time away from his business and his wife. Eventually, it will just be me. Is that what you want old man? Well, you’ve got it.

The lawyer talked with Hermione about expedition. Harry just let them talk. Suddenly, he looked up at Hermione. She had stood up and walked in front of him.

â€�“I’ve got to return to London. Rose is taking all of this very hard. She somehow thinks that this was all some cosmic retribution for her snogging the Russian boy. Of course, I will make the other stop you requested.”

Harry nodded and said, â€�“The sun will do you good.”

Ginny and Hermione’s place was with the children he knew, but he’d give almost everything he owned to just be able to see his family for just a minute. Harry looked down at his wand hand, he noticed a slight tremor. He felt a slight emptiness as he licked his lips, a tankard or two would taste good right about now.

Scorpius was already tired of the stooped old man in the white robes waving a wand in his face and his female assistant pricking his fingers and dropping blood into vials of smelly, brightly colored liquid. To keep from shouting at them to leave him alone, he closed his eyes and tried to think of calming images. He saw Rose, her arms resting on her potions book smiling at him. He saw Albus, Jimber and himself attacking James with pillows at the Christmas overnight during his first year. He saw his parents smiling at him as they read the invitation to try out for the U.K. Quidditch team.

He saw Rose, eyes full of terror, looking at him as Pyter said, â€�“What’s it going to be, boy? You go with me into the back alone or you can watch her suffer until she begs for me to kill her, which I will. You choose.”

He jerked his head in reaction and felt the Medi-wizard’s wand poke him above the eye. â€�“Have a care. I almost poked your eye out. Just a couple of more tests and you’ll be free to rest.”

How could he rest? He was somewhere in the Ministry, under guard by Rose’s father and the Aurors. And no one would tell him how the others were or if they’d been rescued. He had tried to tell Auror Sterling, who had picked him up at the Leaky Cauldron, all he could remember about the cabin they had been held in, but he didn’t seem to listen. Did that mean that they had been released, rescued, or were dead? Did they think he had something to do with it? Did they not trust him because he was a Malfoy?

When they were finally done, the two stepped to the back of the room and knocked on the door. Scorpius heard the locks on the door being released and the female Auror, Broomwright, stepped through. She did not talk to the visitors. She had her eyes locked on him.

As the pair left, she looked toward the wall to Scorpius’ left. A clock there showed it was twelve: noon or midnight; he did not know which it was. She looked back to him. â€�“I’ve got roast beef, chips and a drink of your choice. Do you want pumpkin juice, milk, water or Muggle soda?”

A moment before she had spoken, he would have rightfully claimed to have had no appetite at all. However, at the mention of food, his stomach rumbled and his mouth filled with saliva. He pondered the choice. He had been introduced to Muggle soda, by Grace Jackson, during the first round of the tournament in America, but he was worried about what it might do on an empty stomach. â€�“Cold water, I guess. I don’t know how long it has been since I ate.” He smiled at the woman. She looked at him and nodded at his reasoning.

As he sat up in the bed, preparing for the meal, he saw the Auror put her wand up to her throat and mouth the words, â€�“Cold water.”

The door opened and through it came Rose carrying a tray of food; she was followed by Albus carrying a large mug. The rest of the team followed the food.

Scorpius jumped out of bed to greet them and his robe flew open exposing a bare back. Realizing his dilemma, he quickly backed up to the wall and began frantically grabbing the strings so he could cinch his robe tight. James began laughing and one by one all of his teammates joined in the hardy laughter. All of them laughed, except for Rose who just beamed a smile at him, bright enough to light the whole room. When he saw Rose’s reaction, he was so relieved that he had to join the laughing. Only after he had joined in, did Rose allow her slight laugh to join the others.

The last person to enter the door was Mrs. Potter. She shut the door. Rose offered the tray to him and he almost bumped into it before he noticed. He had only been looking at her face. Taking the tray from her, he sat back down on the bed. He had a hundred questions for them and he could tell that Rose had the same for him.

â€�“Are you all right?” his question beat Rose’s same query coming back at him by less than a heartbeat. They both smiled, like they used to smile at each other.

â€�“Malfoy, if you’re not going to eat that, can I have it?” asked James. Scorpius looked down at the sandwich, grabbed it in both hands and made a show out of taking a large bite. Unfortunately, the beef was really juicy and a rivulet of juice ran down his chin. Rose reached over and gave him a napkin. As he chewed, she dabbed at his chin.

After finishing his bite, he returned his gaze to Rose. â€�“So what happened after Pyter took me?”

Rose looked back to where Mrs. Potter stood. Scorpius saw his coach nod her head up and down. Rose turned towards him. She seemed to be gathering breath or strength. The delay caused him to quickly scan the other members of the team. The team was all there. Everyone was in this room, except Coach Devon and Lily Potter.

â€�“After you were taken, the kidnappers started pushing us around and they threatened us. One of them kept trying to grab at us girls. When he grabbed Kaitlin, James and Rhys tried to fight them off and they broke James arm.” Scorpius turned to the older Potter boy. He raised his left arm, but it had been repaired. He turned back toward Rose. â€�“They were going to torture one of the boys to teach us a lesson when bursting through the door was Uncle Harry, your father, Rhys’ grandfather and three other men.”

â€�“My father went to America to rescue-â€�“ started Scorpius. The next word he was about to say was me, but it sounded less heroic than us. However, he knew the truth; his father was only there for him. He felt conflicted about his father’s selective and yet unexpected bravery.

Rose nodded at his comment. â€�“The kidnapper that hurt James turned toward us standing with Aunt Ginny, he started to shout out the killing curse, when Coach Devon charged and…” Rose stopped, her lips trembled and her moist eyes fell towards the floor.

Scorpius sat there for a second numb. He saw James put his arm around Kaitlin’s shoulder and she leaned into his for a second. Putting aside his plate, he lifted Rose’s chin. She fought for control.

He looked at Albus and spoke his fear. â€�“Did they get Lily also? She’s not here.”

Mrs. Potter spoke from the back, â€�“No, Lily is unhurt, but she is having a hard time. We pulled her cousin Hugo out of Hogwarts to keep her company. They are currently at their grandparent’s house, tending to the chickens and such, trying to keep her busy. She blames herself for Bobby’s death. We keep trying to tell her it wasn’t her fault, but-â€�“ Coach Potter shrugged.

â€�“It’s not her fault. There’s only one person to blame for all of this and his name is Malfoy and I hate him.” He had shouted the last bit. He had not meant to say anything. It just blurted out. Coach Devon had been so kind to him. He had taken him aside to help him get his bat into better position and was a source of constant encouragement. Devon had given him a glimpse of what having a ‘real’ grandfather must be like.

He slid off the bed and took Rose in his arms. He knew how Lily must feel, because he now felt guilty about it all. If he had just stayed home Mr. Devon would be alive. He brain knew it wasn’t really true, but his heart couldn’t help but feel it.

When he released Rose, he noticed that Broomwright had returned. She turned towards Mrs. Potter. â€�“Ginny, I’m going to have to ask you all to leave. His mother is here and your brother has finally gotten permission to bring the boy’s father up from the holding cell. The four of them need to talk about everything and then it will be time for him to rest.”

Ginny nodded and called out to her brood, â€�“You heard, Sara. Let’s get a move on. You have only two more days off and then back to school.” Rose stood by his side as each member of the team either shook his hand or gave him a hug. Coach Potter came over and gave him a motherly hug and said, â€�“It’s not your fault. You and your parents have showed the evil stopped with Lucius. Now finish your sandwich and hug Rose again.”

Rose gave her Aunt a wide-eyed, open mouth stare at the last comment. She turned to catch his shrug.

â€�“You don’t have to, Rose, its all-â€�“ was all he got out before he found her wrapped around his chest. The right hand rose up on its own to caress her head and finger her hair. She pulled back and gave her head a little side-to-side shake which reminded him of how Olympe’ did after Hagrid gave the giant Mastiff its bath.

â€�“Try not to get into any trouble without me being there, okay?” Her words brought a smile to both of them.

â€�“Agreed, only if you remember to bring Albus along. He’d be lost without us.” He watched as she backed away from him her eyes locked on his, like she was afraid to turn her back on him.

As Rose stepped through the door, he saw her pause to speak to someone to her left. Rose half disappeared through the door and he saw adult female arms surrounding the girl. Rose was released from the embrace and disappeared from sight as his mother finished a wave to his friends as they left. She turned and entered followed by Mr. Weasley and his father. What he saw first was that his father was wearing manacles on his wrist. When the door was shut, without prompting, Rose’s father flicked his wand the chains disappeared.

Mr. Weasley pulled out his wand and waved it. A folder full of papers appeared in his hand. He sat in the chair under the clock and leafed through the documents. To his right, he noticed that his mother was seated to his father’s left. They were holding hands. Scorpius could not believe what happened next. His father leaned over and kissed his mother on the lips in front of a stranger. He had never seen his parents kiss ‘in public’.

Rose’s father was oblivious to the kiss, looked up from the file and said, â€�“Scorpius, I’ve read the reports you gave the Aurors. We were able to confirm your presence at Lincoln from both electronic and personal means.”

â€�“The black haired girl, did you find her? Did he hurt her?”

â€�“Yes, we found her. She was confused, but not hurt. We modified her memory so she thought she sat down and nodded off.” Scorpius noticed his father shift uncomfortably in the chair next to her mother. Mr. Weasley continued, â€�“We also found the tower that you saw them destroy. They’ve destroyed three of them, so far. We’ve planted the story in the Muggle press that the damage to the three towers was caused by a group of Eco-Terrorists. However, we need to know everything that happened during your time of captivity. Your parents have given me permission to copy certain memories of yours to be studied by the Aurors and others in the Ministry. I will not copy any memory of yours without their permission. However, I would like to explain the process to you and get your approval also. One last thing, I’ve been in your position. Harry, Hermione and I almost died a couple of times by not telling adults about our dreams and plans. Your grandfather was the right hand man of the master of manipulating the thoughts of others and leaving behind impulses. As Rose’s father, I beg you to please let an adult, teacher, anyone know before you jump into the Chamber of Secrets or break into the Ministry after hours. Deal?”

Scorpius looked down to find a hand extended toward him. He leaned forward to shake it. As for his memories to be studied, If it helped keep his parents, Rose and his friends safe they could empty his whole head.

Professor Longbottom led his returning students from the Headmaster’s Office. As they walked up the corridors leading to the portrait of the Fat Lady, he repeated turned around to ensure his quiet seven charges were actually following him. The silence of the children worried the Head of House, he had never been away from the greenhouses with these students, without usually Kaitlin or James, arguing over something trivial or one of them teasing the other.

As the portrait came into his sight, he stopped and turned to face his students. He said, â€�“Listen, everyone in the whole house has been told to not bother you, tonight. They were told that they should let you sit and talk together or go up to your beds. However, I can’t promise what will happen in the morning.”

He saw Scorpius, Rose and the Potter brothers all give a nod of comprehension. Lily just stood there next to her cousin Hugo Weasley, who had been by her side, since she arrived at St. Mungo’s earlier in the week. Hugo nodded vigorously, as if it made up for his cousin’s nearly catatonic state. Longbottom looked each of his pupils in the eyes, smiled at them and nodded.

Neville tried not to stare at Scorpius. All of the returning team mates had been in the spotlight of gossip since the beginning of the school year, Scorpius was now firmly in the center of the storm. Not only had he been kidnapped, but it was a member of his family that had ordered the kidnapping and the boy had been the reason for all of it. When the news of the kidnapping had broken in the school, old mistrusts had blossomed between the Gryffindors and Slytherins. Many Lions conveniently ignored the fact that one of the kidnapped was a member of Slytherin; a fight broke out in the D.A.D.A. class between a group of fourth year boys of the two houses.

Now, Neville had to get the students settled in the Common Room and bustle back to the Headmaster’s office for a briefing from the Aurors about what they had learned about the kidnapping and what the images from the Scorpius’ memory hinted at. Neville heard a woman clear her throat and he realized that during his recollection, they had finished their journey.

He quickly swallowed and looked up at the portrait that was in front of him. She challenged him by saying. â€�“Password?”

Without missing a beat, Neville replied with, â€�“Waddiwasi”.

The woman in the portrait nodded and said in answer, â€�“Welcome back. I’m so sorry for your loss.”

They all nodded and a small sniffle came from Lily. The Fat Lady swung the door open and they entered in. Scorpius felt Rose’s hand take his hand. Led by Professor Longbottom, they walked in with James and Kaitlin leading the group, followed by Albus, Lily and Hugo and at the back he and Rose stepped through the portal as it closed.

It looked like the whole Gryffindor House had turned out to greet them. The crowd milled around looking very uncomfortable as they whispered to each other while staring at them. Scorpius knew how they felt. If not for Rose’s hand within his, he might have turned around and walked out of the Common Room.

Professor Longbottom stood there for a moment gauging the reaction of both groups of students. He seemed unsure of what to do next.

The tension was broken when Abby Baird and Beatrice Dragonherd came over to Lily and surrounded her in a group hug. After hugging Lily, the two girls, who had ignored Hugo all year, gave have him a hug and the four walked into the corner next to the fireplace which had been the claimed by the Little Sisters Squad as their headquarters.

James and Kaitlin walked away from the others to where the stairs led up to the boy’s and girl’s towers. He leaned in a whispered something in her ear and she smiled and started to walk toward her dormitory. Out of sight of Scorpius, he heard her voice coming down the stairwell.

â€�“Potter, I’m still the best Seeker in this school.”

James smirked and answered, â€�“Outside of Rhys and me, maybe.” He waved toward her and walked up the stairway that led to his dormitory.

The Professor turned to all of the students and said to the room at large. â€�“I know that all of you have your assignments already done for all your Monday classes, so I will leave you to relax.” He turned from the room and looked at the three just standing in the middle of the room and nodded toward them. He turned on his heel and walked out of the Portrait hole back into the corridor.

Scorpius looked at his two remaining teammates. It had been only three weeks since they had last been here talking confidently about winning the World Cup. It felt like a year ago.

Eric Woolingsbee separated from the thinning crowd and walked over to the remaining three Quidditch players. Scorpius saw the Quidditch Captain badge displayed prominently on the older boy’s robe. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Rose scanning the older boy with her top teeth lightly biting down on her bottom lip, which had been slightly trembling.

Scorpius felt her hand slid out of his. She totally ignored the approaching Woolingsbee, and said to the other two, â€�“I’m almost week behind my readings for Potions.” She checked to see if the book was still in her bag, slung it over her right shoulder almost striking the Quidditch Captain in the face and headed toward the stairs that led up to the girl’s dormitory. Scorpius watched her go, his right hand frozen in a half wave which she never turned to see.

Albus intercepted the larger boy. â€�“Not today, Eric, I don’t think anyone’s ready to talk Quidditch or practice schedules.” The older boy pulled a disappointed face and returned to Mary Reilly, their reserve Keeper from the previous season.

Hearing a noise coming from Albus, Scorpius turned to see Albus looking towards the stairs that Rose had disappeared up. He twitched his lips to the right, sighed and then said, â€�“She told me that she was all caught up with her readings. In fact, she scolded me for not being a week ahead in my lessons like she was. I guess all of this was too much for her.” Albus make a motion toward the room with his right hand.

Scorpius shrugged in response to the observation. Albus looked at him and asked, â€�“Exploding Snap? It might be the last one you get before Bea and Abby-bell start bossing the whole house around about boys and their loud noises.” Scorpius smiled at the attempt of humour from his friend, but he still felt the weight of the stares from everyone on him and just shook his head and headed for his dormitory. He was asleep before anyone else entered the room.

A bright green light shown into his eyes and it blinded him to his surroundings. At times, he thought he saw the fuzzy shapes and the voice of his grandfather Malfoy talking to Pyter. The words were muffled. He saw Pyter clearly after he removed the green stone from his eyes. As he eyes regained their focus, he dreamed that he saw Pyter and Lucius both smiling toward each other.

Scorpius woke up. The room was totally dark. He was sweating and he had to fight the urge to jump out of bed and escape down to the Common Room. He sat up and sat cross legged in bed trying to get control of his emotions.

â€�“You okay?” whispered the familiar voice of Albus.

â€�“Dream.”

â€�“Yeah, me too.”

The two boys sat in their beds listening to the snoring of Harold Baird and staring up into the room that was only lit by the pale moonlight from outside. After a while, Scorpius heard Albus’ slight snore. He did not know how much longer he stayed awake, but the early November sunshine came way too early for him.