The Cursed Chronicles: Year 5

Chapter 1

"Albus!"

Albus flew straight up in bed, hitting his head against the low ceiling.

"Albus Severus! Get down here right now! I've called you five times!"

"Coming mom!" Albus moaned and rubbed his throbbing forehead. His sharp and painful awakening was due to the nightmare he'd been having all night.

He started out walking through Hogsmeade. No lights were on. Not even the lights in the Hogs Head, which were always on, even at the dead of night. Suddenly, thick, black fog, like squid ink, would pour into the street, rushing towards him. It would surround him. Rain started to pour. Thunder rung and lighting flashed across the sky, and then the voice..... he recognized it. He had hoped he would never hear it again.

 It would call his name, assuring him that it would come for him. Come to exact their revenge....

"Albus," Albus' older brother James peeked in. " mom says that if she has to call you one more time, she's leaving for the platform without you." James disappeared through the door. Albus started to get dressed. Today was the day they boarded the Hogwarts express to go to school again. Albus felt oddly more excited this year then in previous yeas.

Last year, he and his best friend, Scorpius, had adventured through time to try and save Cedric Diggory from death, along with Delphi Diggory, his cousin. However, late in the process, they discovered that Delphi's real name was Delphini Riddle, born of Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange, and that she was really trying to stop her father from dying.

Fortunately, they were able to stop her and she was now in Azkaban. Albus and Scorpius had spent their last week at Hogwarts in detention, but from what Albus had heard from his siblings, they were the only subject of talk for that span of time. James was distraught with certainty that Albus was going to somehow be more popular than him this year.

Albus threw some last minute items in his suitcase before grabbing it and joining his family downstairs. His father was shaking his head as he read the daily prophet over breakfast. His mother was in the kitchen, working busily on Albus' breakfast. Lily and James, who had undoubtedly finished their breakfast ages ago, were playing exploding snap in the living room, eagerly waiting for Albus to finished with breakfast, so that they could leave for the platform.

"Eat. Quickly," his mother commanded, shoving a plate of eggs and bacon under his nose and hurrying off to finish some of James' last minute laundry. Albus inhaled his breakfast, and before anyone knew it, they were out the door. His mom clutching Lily's hand, and his dad holding his and James, they apparated to King's Cross. Their things were loaded onto carts and pushed through the wall between platforms nine and ten into platform nine and three-quarters.

The platform was crammed full with wizards and witches all parents sending off their kids to Hogwarts. Immediately Albus recognized his best friend in the crowd.

"Albus!" Scorpius waved and dragged his dad through the crowd of parents in their direction.

"Scorpius!" The two friends embraced in their usual friendly hug. "I haven't seen you all summer!"

"Yeah, dad took me to Albania to visit the spot where we spread mum's ashes. We were there all summer, got back last week. Sorry I couldn't write." Albus shrugged.

"That's fine."

"I wonder where they are," his mother pondered aloud, undoubtedly speaking of her brother, Albus' uncle Ron, and his wife and kids.

"Try right behind you," his uncle Ron announced abruptly, peering over Albus' mom's shoulder, scaring her half to death. Hand over her heart his mom said:

"Finally." Hugo, Albus' little cousin, eagerly joined Lily, and they talked with large hand gestures to animate. Rose, trying her hardest to seem reluctant, throwing a pitiful look at her dad, joined Albus and Scorpius as the parents tried to convince James to leave half of his unnecessary stuff behind.

The awkward silence between the three of them evidently got to Scorpius. "Georgianna Hill came out with her new book over the summer," he told Albus. Albus just nodded. Scorpius knew he didn't like books very much, but he continued anyway. "It's entirely about the rare event of the breeding of werewolves. It's only ever happened twice. It's extremely rare. The crazy thing is she also said that there was a pack released-"

"Into the forbidden forest!" Rose finished excitedly. "I read that book too! "A Moonlit Miracle". It was fascinating! And to think that they are trying to breed them in captivity in Albania!"

"Really?" Scorpius, delved in a world of knowledge, did not seem to realize who he was talking to.

"Oh, yes," Rose continued. "There's an entire chapter about it. Chapter....thirty-six! That was it."

"Oh, that makes sense, I've only just reached chapter thirty-four. Are they really trying to breed them in captivity? Is that legal?"

"Well it's the government that's conducting it. They've found loopholes in laws no one thought had loopholes!"

"But they're human beings! That isn't just!"

"Precisely! Georgianna thinks so too. The argument that the minister in Albania makes is just monstrous! He says that-" to Albus' relief, Rose was cut off by the Hogwarts Express' bell. Albus' mother snatched some items from James, kissed him goodbye, and pushed him onto the train. James had no time to protest.

She kissed Lily goodbye, promising to write four times a week, and she ran off to the train with Hugo in tow. Finally she turned to Albus. His father came too, which made Albus nervous.

"Goodbye dear," she said, kissing him goodbye. Albus glanced at his father.

"Stay out of trouble, okay?" His dad  said. Albus was relieved that his tone was only mild concern.

"I'll be staying far away from trouble," he promised. His dad smiled, gave him a hug, and then Scorpius, Rose and him were running for the train.

Though he pretended to be annoyed, Albus was secretly very pleased when Rose waved off her usual posse and joined Scorpius and him in their car. Though he didn't understand much of their conversation, it was nice to have some in the car.

"Anything from the trolley?" The trolley which peered in, and Albus could see her face harden when she saw him and Scorpius. He remembered that last year they had jumped off the train, causing her to lose her track record of 0 escapees. Turning her back on the boys she faced Rose. "Anything for you then?" Rose glanced at the two boys nervously, as if sensing tension between them and the trolley witch.

Turning back to the trolley witch she said," Three of everything please," and poured galleons into the witch's hands. Reluctantly, the witch complied, and quickly shuffled on.

"You really didn't have to get me anything," said Scorpius, accepting the treats nonetheless. Rose shrugged.

"My mum's parents were dentists, and mum's sort of been going through this rebellious faze, so she loaded me with money to buy sweets from the trolley." she paused a minute before adding, "Plus it helps when you're mum is the Minister of Magic."

"I bet it does," Scorpius laughed.

 After a silence, Albus said, 'Do you want to hear a joke?"