Disclaimer**** This story is my own. The world and characters belong to J.K Rowling.
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The boy's eyes opened at the touch of a person's hand on his shoulder, shaking him awake. He opened them just enough to see the red hair and the face of his mother looking down at him.
"Mum," The boy groaned and rolled over, turning his back to her. "It's too early."
"Well, you will miss breakfast, then you won't be able to go to Hogwarts with your father," she replied.
The boy's eyes snapped open and he sat straight up in bed. His mother chuckled to herself, then left the room, leaving the boy to get ready for his day of adventure. He was going to get to see his school today. He wasn't old enough to attend yet; you had to be 11 years old to go there and he was only 10. However, for this one day, he would get a rare opportunity to see what it would be like to be a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
He hopped out of bed and threw on the clothes his mother had laid out for him. He was out of the room so fast and seated at the breakfast table, one might have thought he had drank a speeding potion.
"Did you even look in a mirror this morning, Albus?"
Albus stuck out his tongue at the brown, curly haired girl. "You're just jealous because I get to go to Hogwarts and you don't!" he taunted.
"Enough!" Albus' mom looked cross. They both turned back to their breakfast, but continued to sneak dirty looks at each other while his mother’s back was turned.
"Rose, your parents will be here soon, so finish up." Albus' mom said to Rose.
"Ready to go today?" He turned his head at his dad's voice, and his face illuminated with excitement and the promise of adventure.
His dad had unruly hair that he imagined had once been brown but was now graying around its roots. His circular glasses reflected Albus' face as the light hit the lenses. There was also a scar visible on his forehead in the shape of a lightning bolt, and was by far the most prominent trait of them all.
Albus remembered how his father would be stopped in the street by exuberant strangers eager to shake his hand. Their eyes would meet his father's, but not before they flickered up to the scar half hidden by his hair. There was some war apparently. Albus knew his father and mother, along with his aunt and uncle, played an important role in the outcome, but every time he asked his parents, they became serious and promised him one day, when Albus was older, they would tell him the tale.
Even Teddy, Albus' non-blood related brother, knew the tale. He had attempted several times to squeeze it out of him; his normally relaxed and rule-breaking brother refused. "In good time, Albus. That is something for your dad to share with you."
"Harry, dear," his mother spoke to his father, "breakfast before you go?"
"No time, Ginny, we are already going to be late," his father protested, but his mom had already lathered up some toast and was pushing it in Harry's mouth before he had a moment to speak.
Before they knew it their cloaks were on. Apparently, today was a special day so Albus and his father had to dress in respectable robes to attend this event.
All family members of the invited were allowed to attend, but after a detailed discussion between his parents, they decided that this would be best for Harry and Albus to attend this event together.
A week ago he had been eavesdropping with his Uncle George's extendable ears, when he had heard his mother speak out. "He is too young, Harry!"
"He will have to know at some point. I say now is better to know, before he starts school and learns the truth from someone else."
Albus had imagined his mom shaking her head.
His father's voice spoke again. "I know you want to protect our children Ginny, but someday they will have to learn the truth."
"Just tell him what he needs to know," his mother stated in a firm voice.
"Only what he needs to know," Harry agreed. "The rest will wait until he is old enough to understand."
The discussion had ended there, and Albus didn't dare hint to his parents that he had overheard them. This time he would wait and be the patient person his mother had wanted him to be, patient like her.
Floo power was their mode of transportation to special fireplaces in the small town of Hogsmead just outside Hogwarts. They were late, Harry had reminded Ginny once more, his mouth full of toast. With a fist full of floo powder, a quick shout, and a burst of green flames, they were gone.
Horseless carriages waited for Albus and his father at the castle gates. Albus looked with wonder as he examined the moving carriages while his dad stroked the air in front of them, as if there was something was pulling them.
"Is there something there?" Albus asked. "Pulling the carriage, I mean?"
Harry smiled at his son. "Yes there is, but you won't be able to see them. Let's hope you never do."
Albus didn't understand, but his father had that look in his face when he was reminiscing about the past. Albus knew by now not to ask questions.
"Here." Harry grabbed his son's hand and brought it up the invisible creature. Albus felt warm breath blowing out of nostrils as his hand approached. He was nervous, but didn't want to snatch his hand away while his father was watching, so he put on a brave face and allowed his father to guide his hand to the invisible creature. When his hand made contact, he noticed how bony and thin it felt.
"If Luna were here, she would have a whole parcel of meat for these guys." Albus remembered Luna- she was odd, and he could imagine her doing something silly like feeding an invisible creature. He felt the creature nuzzle his neck and he started to laugh.
"Let's get going," his father told him. They climbed into the carriage and were off to the looming castle that waited ahead of them.
Words could not explain the feeling of awe that crept over Albus as he walked through the doors at the entrance hall of Hogwarts. The hall was filled with people; when Harry and Albus walked in, a hush fell over the chatter of the crowd. Now, groups of adults gathered together in small cohorts while they whispered to one another, giving tentative glances at Albus and his father.
"Harry!" A largish man walked over to them, who Albus recognized as his Uncle Neville.
"Large turnout. I never would have thought so many people would come for this anniversary. How're you doing, Albus?" Neville asked.
Albus, happy to see a familiar face in this sea of unknown parents and children, smiled back at his unofficial uncle.
"Have you seen Ron or Hermione?" Harry asked.
Before Neville had a chance to answer, a shout caught their attention.
"Oi, Harry," a red headed man shouted over the crowd. Ron and Hermione Weasley walked toward them and to Albus' astonishment, Rose was with them, a satisfied grin on her face at Albus' shocked expression.
Ron gave Albus a squeeze on the shoulder. "You ready for today mate?"
"Yes!" Albus responded.
"Can you believe who else is here?" Ron motioned with his head to someone in the crowd that Albus couldn't see while Hermione rolled her eyes at him.
"I can't believe that git ferret would dare show his face here after everything that happened."
"Ron!" Hermione snapped. "He has every right to be here, just as you do. In fact, he is a very dedicated ministry worker nowadays- nothing like his father." Ron held up his hands in surrender, and Harry laughed.
Their parents continued to talk, while Albus looked at Rose.
"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked her.
"Cause you bragged about it all week. I wanted to surprise you! You weren't the only one to get to go to Hogwarts." She stuck her tongue out at him again, but this time they laughed.
Albus and Rose were the same age and would be attending Hogwarts together next year. They had always related best with one another because of their ages and their knack of getting into trouble together.
"I can't wait to see Hogwarts today, we get to learn about the school itself and the classes we will be taking." Her eyes lit up at the prospect.
"You sound like Aunt Hermione," he groaned. "I want to go to the lake and maybe see a monster."
"There are no monsters in the lake, Albus." She rolled her eyes just as her mom had just done, but then a gleam of mischief, not inherited by her mother but resembled more of her uncle George, appeared in her eyes. "But, we might be able to see a mermaid."
Albus and Rose continued to talk about the creatures of the black lake and forbidden forest until a very old woman in a pointy black hat appeared at the top of the stairs. She looked very regal in her black robes as she stood erect above them.
"Children, please come with me. The rest of you may proceed into the Great Hall for the ceremony."
Ron turned to Hermione and Harry. "The old cat hasn't changed a bit."
Harry looked down at Albus and smiled. "We'll see you after the ceremony."
Albus and Rose said their good byes then followed the ancient cat-like woman up the stairs.
"Who is this woman?" Albus asked.
"Don't you ever read?" Rose gave Albus an exasperated sigh. "She's the Headmistress, Minerva McGonagall."
Albus looked up at her as they followed her down the hallways, her black robes swaying in silence as she walked.
Their tour had begun. Albus walked through the grand stone hallways while he pretended that he was sneaking out at night, a wand to arm him as he battled monsters in the corridors. Rose, on the other hand, imagined herself with arms full of books, with a quill and inkwell in her pocket; she could almost smell the parchment when Albus asked another question.
"What is this ceremony for, anyway? I know without it we would have never gotten this chance to see the school."
Rose was about to answer when another voice chimed in.
"It's a memorial. For the war. You know, cause today is the 17th year since the war. On this exact day." The young platinum blond-haired boy was almost out of breath as he spoke.
Albus held out his hand. "My name is Albus, and this is Rose."
"Scorpius," the boy responded, grabbing Albus' hand and nodding in Rose's direction. Albus couldn't decide if he liked Scorpius-he seemed proud and held himself tall. He also seemed like a know-it-all, which reminded Albus of Rose. Maybe they would become friends.
"Are you two related?" Scorpius asked.
Rose and Albus looked at each other, then responded simultaneously. "Cousins."
The tour continued. They saw moving portraits, grand statues and a common room from the Gryffindor tower.
"This is where I want to be, just like mom and dad." Albus said this proudly as he looked around the rich red and gold decorations of the Gryffindor tower, but he couldn't beat that nagging feeling that there was a possibility he could be placed in Slytherin as well. "What house were your parents in?" He asked Scorpius.
Scorpius lost some of his proud know-it-all attitude at this question and he responded, almost shyly. "My dad was a Slytherin... but a lot of people don't like them anymore, 'cause they did some bad things in the war."
Albus, sensing his fear stepped in. "Rubbish, not all Slytherins are bad. My dad named me after a Slytherin, and my dad said this man was one of the bravest he had ever known."
Scorpius picked up his head. "Really? Albus, you mean?"
Albus shook his head. "My middle name, Severus."
Scorpius smiled at Albus.
"Shh," Rose hushed at them. "I can't hear the headmistress." Albus rolled his eyes at Scorpius and they both laughed, while Rose gave them an annoyed look.
The tour continued. They once more walked back towards the entrance hall. Rose looked at Albus with a mischievous gleam in her eyes.
"Albus, if we want to see the black lake, now is our only chance."
Albus looked at Scorpius who was listening intently. Albus had expected him to back out, but instead he responded in likeness. "We will be close to the house hourglasses. You know, the ones that keep track of our points. We can sneak out there."
"I know," Rose snapped, but Albus knew she was just sore because she hadn't thought of it herself.
"Now's our chance," whispered Scorpius as they walked past the first hourglass, while Professor McGonagall brought the student's attention to something on the opposite end of the hall. The trio quickly ducked behind the large hourglass that was filled with red rubies.
They waited, half expecting the plan not to work, but eventually the voice of the headmistress became hushed and the shuffling of small feet faded off into the distance.
"I think the coast is clear," Rose whispered, her head peeking out from behind the hourglass.
"Let's go!" Scorpius exclaimed.
The three of them quickly ran out of the large open doors. Then, with Rose's direction and Scorpius' input, they made their way to the lake.
"I think we're almost there," Rose said as they passed through the trees.
"There!" Scorpius shouted out, pointing his finger through the brush where you could just make out the shoreline, and hear the faint swish of water hitting ground.
The trio came out into a small clearing and they froze as they looked out at the vast dark waters that stretched out before then.
"Wow," Albus' jaw dropped. "It's even bigger than I had imagined."
Rose and Scorpius nodded their heads in agreement.
"Look, there is a dock over there," Rose pointed out. They walked over to the dock and slowly made their way out onto the water.
"Look how dark it is." Rose was looking over the edge of the wooden planks and into the murky depths.
"It's that dark so you can't see the monsters coming when they pull you into the lake," Albus whispered at her.
"Stop trying to scare me." She crossed her arms, while Scorpius snickered.
Scorpius grabbed a fallen branch and broke it off, handing the other half to Albus.
"I'm going to be the greatest wizard anyone has ever seen!" He flourished his stick in the air, pretending to cast a spell in Albus' direction. Albus blocked it with a fake spell and sent another in Scorpius direction. Rose sat in between them, shaking her head as the two boys pretended to battle, but she couldn't resist the temptation of grabbing her own stick and joining in on the fun. They had lost track of time and they didn't care. The only thing that mattered were their pretend wands and their pretend magic.
Then, as Rose and Albus crept up onto the dock, their fake wands waving at one another, Albus took a step backwards, then another, as Rose pressed her advances. Albus took one more step then, before he knew, it he was falling and the cold rush of water spilled over his field of vision. His eyes could only see murky water as he started to swim back to the surface. His head came up above the water where he saw a concerned Rose and Scorpius looking down at him.
"Albus I'm so sor-," but Albus didn't hear the rest of what Rose had to say because something had wrapped around his leg and tugged. Down he went, below the surface of the water, the light fading overhead as the thing that had wrapped around his leg pulled him further into the lake. He attempted to pull whatever it was off his leg, but its grip only tightened. Struggling he swam back up against the weight of the creature, but his attempts were unsuccessful. Exhausted, his lungs burned with the desire to take a breath.
'If only I had a wand.' Albus thought as stars appeared in his peripherals.
It was difficult to see, but he swore he saw something dark and massive swim past him with a long scaly tail. The tension on his leg loosened and then was gone. He floated there his conscious fading as a large white face loomed into his vision. Maybe it was him blacking out, but he swore he could hear music as something gently started to push him to the surface.
Albus awoke on the dock he had fallen off of, with Scorpius and Rose looking down on him.
He coughed, and the taste of muddy water filled his mouth.
"Thank goodness you're ok!" Rose sighed with relief.
"Did you see that?" Scorpius practically shouted at him. "A mermaid! An actual mermaid brought you back to shore!"
Albus shot up and looked out at the water, but the mermaid was gone. "So I didn't imagine it," he murmured.
"Albus almost died and the only thing you can think of is the mermaid," Rose huffed at Scorpius.
"Oh he's fine, look at him. A little wet but no harm done," Scorpius dismissed.
Albus looked out at the water once more as the two bickered back and forth, and he swore he saw a flicker of a tail splash out of the water in the distance.
"Oh, but the sounds they made," Rose shook her head.
"Yea," Scorpius chimed in. "All that screeching was bloody awful."
"Strange," Albus commented. "All I heard was music."
They gave him a strange look, but shouting and rustling in the distance caused them to shift their attention to the incoming group of adults that were quickly approaching.
Albus immediately recognized his dad, his Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron who was accompanied by the headmistress and another man who Albus could only assume was Scorpius' father, based on the man's slick platinum blond hair.
"Goodness heavens, what happened to you three?" The headmistress looked both cross and worried. Albus refused to meet his father's eyes, afraid he might see disappointment in them.
"Haven't changed at all Potter," the blond haired man spat at Harry.
"What's that supposed to mean, Malfoy," Harry retorted.
"Passing on the golden boy torch to your son and his Weasley know-it-all sidekick, and risking my son's life in the process."
Ron's face became several shades of red as anger raged inside him. "How dare you talk about my daughter, you filthy ferret!"
Both of them had their wands out and Hermione had her hand over her jacket pocket, ready to take hers out if needed. It was obvious she did not take kindly to her daughter being insulted.
"Careful Weasley, the last time you cast a spell on me you had slugs spilling out of your mouth," Malfoy smirked at Ron.
"That's enough, the three of you!" Shouted the headmistress in a frighteningly loud voice.
"This is no way to act in front of your children," she added. The adults cast their eyes to the ground, still angry, but ashamed of behaving so in front of their children.
"Now you three," she pointed at Albus, Rose and Scorpius with her wand-free hand. "Explain yourselves. Albus, why are you all wet?"
Albus, surprised she had known his name, stood up his clothes and hair sopping. However, Scorpius was the first to speak.
"It was my fault," he told them, surprising everyone, most of all his father who stood, mouth gaping and speechless.
"No it's mine," Albus chimed in. "The lake was my idea."
"But, I told you how to get there! And I snuck us out of the castle." Scorpius defended his friend.
"No," said Rose. "It's my fault. Albus wouldn't have fallen into the lake if it weren't for me."
Their parents and the headmistress were all silent with expressions of surprise stamped across their faces.
"You mean the three of you weren't fighting?" The headmistress asked, as if she had expected them to be like their parents.
"No," Albus dared a look at his father. "We were just messing around and I fell into the water on accident."
Albus' father looked relieved, instead of the disappointment he feared he would see in his father's eyes.
"Wonderful," the headmistress seamed ecstatic, but then she suddenly became very serious. "I hope you three know that sneaking out is strictly against the rules. I would remind your parents to enforce this as well, so an incident like this does not occur again." She looked between the children and their parents, but her expression was skeptical.
"I will also remind you that if you were in school right now, you three would have detention and would have lost points for your house."
The three looked at each other and Albus couldn't help but smile. Maybe they would all be in the same house; it was a pleasing thought, one Albus wanted to hold onto.
Harry and the man called Malfoy turned to talk to the headmistress, while Ron, still fuming, glared at Malfoy. Hermione had crouched down next to Rose and performed a drying spell on Albus.
He felt the warm tingling sensation of heat rush up his body as the water evaporated off his clothes. Hermione leaned in closer to the three of them so only they could hear her speak. "Your fathers would never admit to it, but they are extremely proud of you three. You did today what none of us have been able to do in our lifetime of knowing one another."
They looked at each other, attempting to understand what Hermione had just told them. Albus' aunt grabbed Rose's hand and with Ron, they departed, giving a quick goodbye to Harry and a painful grimace towards Malfoy.
"Scorpius," Malfoy had addressed his son in the same proud-like manor. "I think it's time to leave."
Scorpius turned to Albus. "See you in the fall?"
"Of course," Albus replied. They waved to each other, leaving Albus and his father alone at the lakeside.
Harry looked over at Albus. "Well, you have had quite an adventure today. How about we keep this to ourselves; I wouldn't want to worry your mom."
Albus nodded his head.
"Come with me Albus, we have one more stop to make." Albus didn't ask any questions, and he followed his father in silence. They left the shore of the lake and after some walking, they came upon a hill where, perched on top, sat a marble box that was almost as tall as Albus. There was a crack down the middle of it that had been partially repaired. It was a tomb, Albus realized.
"Not even magic can repair the damage made by powerful spells and pure hatred." Harry turned away from Albus to look at the tomb a moment longer. Albus leaned forward to read the inscription on the plaque. Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, it read.
Albus' mouth dropped. Was this perhaps the man he had been named after? Albus looked up at his father who stood so still he could have been made out of stone. After what felt like an eternity, his father finally spoke. "I have a story to tell you, Albus."
This was it. The story he had been waiting to hear his entire life, but it wasn't until this moment that he realized the weight and burden that came with this knowledge; he almost didn't want to hear it anymore. They sat down together on the grassy field, overlooking the lake, the tomb of Albus Dumbledore casting its shadow over them in the late afternoon sun.
"Now, we are going to start long before I was even born, back to the day when a witch fell in love with a muggle and together they had a son. We are going to start this story with a young boy named Tom Riddle."
Albus was silent as he hung onto every word that came from his father's mouth. He hoped that today he would learn where his two names came from, he hoped he would learn of the man in the tomb they sat next to, and maybe, he would even find out why his father hated the blond haired man so much. However, he knew one thing for sure. He knew that today was the day he would learn why adults were so humbled in his father's presence, why they asked to shake his hand and why, when their backs were turned, Albus could hear them whisper, "That's the boy who lived."