Chapter Text
All his life Albus had been lectured about not going off alone. And he wasn’t stupid. He knew he father was famous, noticed the attention his family received whenever they were out together. But he wasn’t a child anymore and had more than resented the lecture he got before his mother had signed his permission form to Hogsmeade.
“You stay on High Street,” his mother had warned him as he stood at her desk. “No wandering off alone.”
“Yes, mum,” he sighed, rolling his eyes.
“Albus Severus,” she said sternly and he knew she was cross because she almost always avoided using his middle name. “This is serious.”
“I’m not a kid anymore,” he wined. “I’m thirteen, I’m in the dueling club, I know how to defend myself.”
His mother paled. “Al-“
“When dad was thirteen he warded off a whole army of dementors,” Albus argued. “It’s not like I’m going to be facing that.”
“That’s not the point-“
“Then what is it?” he asked.
“You are not your father,” she said sternly. “And if you can’t take this seriously.”
She didn’t need to finish her threat. He could still remember the punishment that James had endured when he’d been caught sneaking into the prefect’s bathroom with his ‘friend’.
“I am,” he said hurriedly. “I am mum, promise.”
She continued to stare at him firmly.
“I’ll stay on High Street, won’t talk to any strangers.” He assured her. “Won’t go wandering off on my own and be back in the castle before dark.”
And that had been his plan, really. He and Scorpius had set out together from the castle with pockets full of spending money which was depleted by noon and spent the afternoon strolling up and down the street eating the candy they’d acquired and planning the exact best use for the canary creams his godfather had sold them.
But then of course, they’d stumbled upon Rose with her Gryffindor friends and after several painful minutes of Scorpius trying to get her attention and her finally insulting him, the day was suddenly a lot less more fun.
“We could go to the three broomsticks,” Albus said, trying to cheer his friend up.
“We don’t have any money,” Scorpius pointed out grumpily.
“Yeah, but we could still go and sit there.”
Scorpius kicked a rock in his path, sending it flying off the road and into the trees.
“Or to the Hogshead,” he said, “I bet Abe would-“
“He wouldn’t, just because he likes you doesn’t mean he’s fond of me. He hates my dad.”
The one hard thing about being friends with Scorpius (aside from his newfound infatuation with Albus’ cousin) was that their parents disagreed on almost everything. It was impossible to do anything without one of them disproving. If it wasn’t for his knowledge that their fathers famously not getting along, he would have thought that they had conspired together to make sure one of them was always in trouble.
“Let’s go to the Shrieking Shack,” Scorpius said suddenly. “It’s supposed to be really haunted.”
“My dad said that it wasn’t, that it was just Teddy’s dad in there,” Albus said and Scorpius rolled his eyes. “Besides, it’s just a shack, what’s the fun in staring at it from far away?”
“We don’t have to be far away,” he answered, a familiar dangerous glint in his eyes.
“My parents said I wasn’t supposed to go off the street,” Albus said.
“Yeah, and my parents said I wasn’t supposed to become friends with you,” Scorpius replied, the overused line that either of them used whenever the other wasn’t cooperating. “Oh, come on, it’s not far. We’ll be there and back and no one will ever be the wiser.”
Albus looked around, but for once he didn’t find one of his cousins or James looking over his shoulder. He grinned at his friend and nodded. “Race you there?”
It had been tricky, getting off the path and into the forest without being seen, but once they’d managed to shake the eyes of their fellow students, the journey along the edge of the tree line had passed in no time. Up close there was something rather ominous about the old building. Boards covering every window, making it impossible to peek inside.
“Didn’t Teddy tell you about a passage under here to the school?” Scorpius asked, peeking through the damaged glass. “If we figured out a way to use it we could sneak out.”
“And what would we do?” Albus asked, glancing over his shoulder. “It’s not like we have any money.”
Was he just imaging it? Or had a cloak just whipped behind a tree?
Scorpius shrugged, putting all his weight on a board that remained stubbornly in place.
“We should be getting back,” Albus said, reaching into his pocket for his wand.
“Oh, come-on we just got here,” Scorpius pointed out, still trying to pry off a board that had been stuck over one of the windows. “Help me with this.”
“It’s probably on there with a sticking charm,” Albus said, pocketing his wand and going over to help anyway. “We’re not going to be able to get it off without knowing the counter curse.”
“Where’s Rose when you need her?” Scorpius said wishfully, giving another tug and then giving up, massaging his fingers.
“You’re the only person in this world who thinks we need her,” Albus replied with a snort. He looked around again. “Come on, we really should go back.”
“You’re no fun,” Scorpius said, ignoring him and walking towards the other side of the house. “What’s the point in having come all the way here if we don’t go inside?”
“Someone’s bound to spot us if we hand around here for too long,” Albus said. “We could go back and figure out how to undo sticking charms and come back next time.”
“By then it’ll be snowing and they’ll see our tracks if we try to come all this way,” Scorpius pointed out. He turned to look at him. “You’re a Slytherin you know, you need to be more-“
He broke off suddenly, staring at something just over Albus’ shoulder but before Albus could even turn his head he felt something hit him squarely in the back and everything went dark.
Albus awoke, freezing and to a darkened sky. His head ached, pounding with every beat of his heart and his backside was damp from spending so long on the bare ground. The forest, which had been spooky enough, was downright frightening without the afternoon sun and he reached for his wand, relived to find it still in his pocket.
“Scorpius?” he asked, trying to keep his voice from trembling. “Hello?”
There was no answer and gingerly Albus got to his feet, trying to figure out what had happened.
“Scorpius!” he called out but only the echo of his own voice answered him.
His mother was going to kill him. There was no doubt that curfew had already passed which meant the gates would be locked and he hadn’t learned how to make his patronus talk yet. Instead, he headed towards the village, thinking hard.
All he had to do was figure out a way back to the school and pray that no one had noticed he was missing. Then he could claim he was hiding out in the dorms, Scorpius would help him. Cheered by the thought of seeing his friend again, even if he’d left him in the middle of the woods, Albus hurried up towards High Street and away from the castle.
But as he got closer he saw another hindrance from him sneaking back into school unnoticed. Aurors, all dressed in their official red cloaks, were walking up and down the street, wands raised. Albus slid back against the wall of the shop, trying not to be seen. The last thing he needed was to be caught by one of his dad’s employees. He’d never hear the end of it.
High Street was positively crawling with Aurors, dressed in their official red robes and there was no doubt they were looking for him. Lit wands swept the ground as they patrolled in pairs wearing hard expressions.
“Bloody hell.” He muttered, noticing a pair just in time to flatten himself against the side of a shop.
If they were to find him he’d never see Hogsmeade again, let alone the broom his parents had promised him for good marks. And without a new broom, he could kiss goodbye his dreams of making the Slytherin team next year. The hand-me-down Comment Melinium he’d brought with him this year was nothing compared to what the team rode on.
Head pounding as hard as ever he thought fast to formulate a plan.
Uncle Ron was bound to have closed shop by now and he couldn’t think of a way to get a message to his mother.
If only there was a way to sneak into the castle, he could pretend he’d just been having a nap and the whole thing would be a funny joke to look back on. The passage at the Shrieking Shack had been a bust but there was one he knew could always be opened and was guarded by the least suspicious person Albus had ever met.
Heart lightened he hurried along, running along alleyways and hiding behind bins to evade the patrolling Aurors until at last he reached the grubby looking pub that looked even more suspicious in the night.
Breathlessly he followed on the heels of a rather unfortunate looking wizard into the bar and kept his head down, not really wanted to be recognized here. The darkened room, full of an unsavory cast of characters paid no attention to him as he went straight to the bar and to where Abe was standing, staring straight at him.
Albus hung his head as he approached, still hopeful that he wouldn’t be turned in, “I guess you heard then.”
Abe said nothing, staring still unblinkingly.
He climbed up onto a barstool to talk to him. “Abe, I’m really sorry. I don’t know what happened but you have to help me before my parents find out and I’m never allowed back here again.”
But even to his groveling, there was no reply. In fact, Abe turned away to the man Al had snuck in behind. “Please I-!“
The door opened and Abe looked up again as the bar quieted. Albus turned worriedly and to his utter surprise caught sight of his Aunt and Uncle as they rushed into the room. They looked terrified causing Albus to wince, abandoning hope he’d escape this mess without punishment.
“Ron!” Albus cried, nevertheless relieved that if he were about to be caught it would be by his favorite Uncle. “I’m really sorry, I-“
But, just as Abe’s eyes had passed over him, so did his Aunt and Uncle’s. They stood on either side of his barstool and Abe went straight to them, abandoning the drink order he’d been taking from a cloaked man at the end of the bar.
“Any sign?” Hermione asked worried and Abe shook his head.
“Nothing,” he answered. “Everything here’s been quiet all night, not even a whisper.”
Ron and Hermione exchanged worried looks.
“What’s going on?” Albus demanded.
“If you hear anything,” Ron said in a strange, chocked voice Albus had never heard before.
“I’ll stun ‘em and bring them straight to you,” Abe assured him, trying to smile but it looked odd on his face.
Ron and Hermione gave their thanks and hurried back out the way they’d came, grasping hand.
Albus hurried after them. “Aunt Hermione! Ron!”
They paid him no mind, Ron lit his wand and held it high, lighting their path back up the street, a journey they completed in silence with Albus at their heals.
Now Albus could see the cobblestone street was crowded with Aurors, their wands all held high as the combed the ground for something. He had to jog to keep up with his Aunt and Uncle as they marched up the street and towards the Weasley Wizarding Wheezy’s shop, normally only open on Hogsmeade weekends. He was surprised to find the storefront lit up and the inside was bustling with people, among them Albus’ mother, sitting at a table and looking just as worried.
“Mum!” Albus cried, rushing in before his aunt and uncle. “I’m really sorry, I-“
“Anything?” his mother asked anxiously, not looking at him.
“He’s keeping an eye out,” Ron told her as they hurried over.
“God,” his mum said in a trembling voice, and Albus watched his uncle wrap an arm around her.
“They’ve got the whole place shut down,” Aunt Hermione was saying now. “If they’re still here-“
“But they won’t be,” his mother wailed. “Whoever it was had at least an hour to get him out of the village. Why would have hung around? He could be anywhere.”
Albus had only ever once before seen his mother cry. It’d been the anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts and as his father gave a speech he’d looked over to find his mother silently wiping tears from her cheeks. He’d only been five and when he’d asked her what was wrong, she’d merely pulled him into her lap and hugged him tightly as she sobbed. Seeing her now-
“Mum,” he said in a chocked voice, stepping close and tugging on her cloak. “Mum, what’s going on?”
But he knew the answer. Had known. It wasn’t an accident that every eye kept drifting over him. He knew that no matter how angry his family might have been at him wandering off, how much trouble he might face, they’d never ignore him.
“Mum.” He begged again, feeling like a child trying to get her attention. “Mum.”
His throat was starting to ache and his cheeks felt heavy. “Mum, please. I’m sorry.”
Albus wrapped his arms around his mother, holding onto her tightly as he sobbed into her abdomen. At that moment he’d give anything in the world for her arms to wrap around him, for her hand to tenderly lift his hair from his forehead like she always did when he was upset for her to tell him that everything was going to be alright.
“I’m sorry,” he blubbered, trying to wipe away his tears though no one could see him. “I’m sorry mum, I should have listened.”
He couldn’t believe he’d been so stupid. All his life he’d been warned and he’d been so foolish, so cocky that when his mother had warned him he’d said he was in the dueling club. He hadn’t even had time to draw his wand.
“Mum, please.” He continued to sob. “Please, I’m sorry.”
Albus’ mum went without noticing him, turning away as if he wasn’t even there. He stared back down at his own hands, trying again to determine what had gone wrong.
Was he dead? He looked solid enough, but would a ghost even recognize that they’d turned pearly and see-through? And if he was a ghost, wouldn’t they be able to hear him? Wouldn’t they shudder when he passed through them?
Although he was surrounded by the people who loved him he was completely and utterly alone.