Fifteen Years

Part Fifteen

A pair of bright blue eyes looked down at him in disbelief. George stared up at Aberforth Dumbledore, a hopeful look on his face. The man hadn’t aged a bit.

Not that that was saying much.

“George!” the surprised look on his face deepened as he flung the door wide. “It’s only been fifteen years!” Aberforth had changed a lot since the war against Voldemort. The battle seemed to have revived him out of his depressive slumber and altered his perception on life. His eyes were twinkling and the lines on his face were curled into a wrinkled smile.

“Abe,” George extended his arm and they shook hands.

“What are you up to in this part of the world?” Aberforth’s gaze slipped down to the boxes George had stacked up at the doorway.

“Well,” George said, glancing behind him, “is there any chance I could come in?” George peered into the gloomy side-entrance of the Hogs Head.

Smile fading, eyebrows furrowing, Aberforth stood aside. “You ain’t in any trouble are yer?” His voice was suddenly gruff.

George felt his arm brush against Aberforth’s silver beard as he stepped inside, the boxes floating in after him. “A little,” he admitted. “Nothing to serious though. I just need to get into Hogwarts... without being seen.”

Aberforth led the way down his narrow hallway, nudging a bleating goat aside as he went. “What’s in the boxes?”

“Things for Freddie. He wants to start the year off with a good prank.”

Growling, Aberforth sat down at his little table. He looked up at the painting of Arianna. With a gloomy smile, she beckoned George closer. “Can I interest you in a drink before you go?” Aberforth asked.

“I promised Freddie I’d meet him straight after his final lesson,” George said, suddenly feeling guilty. He hadn’t considered that Aberforth might like to catch-up with him. “I saw him on the school field walking back up to the castle a few minutes ago.”

“Right,”

“Another time? I’ll come over again in a few days if that -”

“Yeah, whatever.”

“We’ll have you over for dinner sometime.”

“Sure. You better go now if you want to catch him.”

As he stepped into the corridor, George looked back into the gnarly face of Albus Dumbledore’s brother. “Thanks Abe,” he said, and vanished.

---

“What is going on Freddie?” Ryan asked, looking sceptically at their small group.

“We need to get as many people as possible, from different houses,” Freddie said, his voice rising with excitement. “We’re going to pull a major prank on the teachers.”

“And start my revolution,” Kieran added.

“Go find anyone who might be interested, and meet us on the seventh floor, by the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy -fast.” Freddie ran off down the hallway.

Feet echoing rapidly as he raced along, Freddie was breathless with excitement. Hopefully this would be enough to make it all better. To bring back his reputation. To settle the agreement with Kieran. He ran into a group of first years. They turned to look at him, frowning.

He looked at their robes, and saw that they were a mixture of Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. “Hey,” he gasped, grinning at them. “Do you wanna do something brilliant?”