Albus (A Next Generation Harry Potter Fanfiction)

Libera Me

"Albus!" 

Al's head flicked behind him as he ran, but all he saw was a rush of his Dad's black cloak as he ran after them. He kept going, ignoring his frantic shouts and cries of 'stop'. He knew he was doing the right thing. For once, him and Scor were going to help!

"Scorpius!" 

This time, Scor's name didn't come from Al's father. In that second he knew Scor's Dad was coming too, and that now they were in big, big trouble. 

But Scor hadn't stopped running, and so neither did Al. And if Scor didn't care what his father thought, Al didn't either. 

The emblem was no longer hot in his hands, but still smoking by the time they reached the river. Al could still hear the hammering of feet he knew were coming to give them the biggest telling-off they'd ever faced, but in that moment he couldn't care less what their parents said. Al and Scor screeched to a halt at the banks of the river, and without a word passing between them, Al tore the cloak off of the emblem, and, ignoring how hot it was, raised his arm up high and threw the emblem with all his might into the blanket of dark water. 

It flew a few metres out over the top of the lake before slowly starting to drop, following a curved path downwards, all the while Al hoping and praying with all his heart that it wouldn't sense danger and manage to stop what was hopefully going to happen. But it didn't; it hit the dark surface with a huge splash, spraying them with who-knows-what from the home of the mermaids and the Giant Squid. Al wondered what exactly would happen, as the only thing in his head was the expectation that it would just be gone which probably wasn't going to be the reality. For a second it floated, and he was petrified it would never leave them. He clenched his fists, willing it to go deeper and deeper and at last the dark water began to wash over it, pulling it downwards into the depths of the dark lake. First the last sliver of silver disappeared, then the bubbles, then the smoke was only wisps on a black coat which danced away as they watched, leaving them with nothing. 

"Albus, no!" He heard his Dad shout, and finally he turned around to look. The two men had almost reached them, and his Dad was pulling out his wand. Al could see in his eyes a strange look, which was not anger or disappointment, but closer to fear. It couldn't be, though. He knew his Dad wasn't afraid of a little silver emblem. He was probably just going to shout at them for not being in lessons. If only he knew they were trying to save lives. 

"Al," Scor said much more gently, but with a tone which frightened Al more than the look in his Dad's eyes. His voice sounded almost sinister, as if it had seen a ghost. He tapped Al's arm, making him turn around quickly to look at him. Scor's eyes were pointed downwards, and Al followed them slowly, almost hoping that he didn't see what he thought he might see, what in his heart he knew he would see. 

His heart sank. How could they be so stupid? They knew no spells. They had no experience. They'd barely even turned up to half their lessons this year, and they thought they could defeat something so evil and ancient just by giving it a little dip in a lake?

Al was right. What he saw was the emblem sat just by their feet, glistening in the cold sunlight, its silver skin glinting as if it were laughing at them, taunting them. It looked so simple and harmless, a small, silver object seeming almost Muggle. Al trembled slightly. 

"Get away from it!" His father's now clearly panicked voice found his ears. Al instantly stepped back.

The two men were finally there. Al's Dad pushed him aside almost violently, his wand pointing at the emblem with a power he'd never seen his father embody before. Al's nerves cooled a tiny amount. He knew his Dad was after the stupid thing too, and now it didn't stand a chance. 

He stood aside helplessly, watching the emblem float upwards at the flick of both parents' wands. Scor was the same, staring, wide eyed and quiet, until a flash of bright white light exploded towards the emblem and with a magnificent explosion, it disintegrated before their eyes. It was an almost peaceful end to it, the pieces drifting downwards like fallen autumn leaves, not smashing into the floor but touching it gently, laying down before they too disappeared.

Al and Scor looked at the place where the emblem had died, before Scor's Dad enveloped him in a hug, and, as he watched them with a new warmth flowing into his heart, Al felt his Dad do the same. 

"You're okay, you're okay," his father was saying desperately in his ear, before pushing Al away and holding firmly onto his arms. "Did it burn you? Are you hurt?" He insisted, his eyes baring into Al's as he asked him. Al's head was rushing with everything that just happened, but the main thing he could think of was if Scor's Dad was shouting at him, which his Dad was blocking the view of, or if Matilda was alright. Slowly, he managed to shake his head, peering around his father to check Scor was fine. The two of them were talking quietly too, and Al may have been seeing things after all the excitement but Draco Malfoy seemed to be smiling. 

The four of them walked back in two pairs, Al and his Dad behind Draco and the shrunken version of Draco which was what Scorpius looked like standing next to his Dad. "It was a book, transfigured into Slytherin's emblem. Not a Horcrux, but more of an instruction manual," his father was saying, but Al wasn't paying much attention. "It had all Voldemort's beliefs, spells, everything. Someone could've picked that book up and kept going where Voldemort left off. Become almost a second version of him." 

Al was sure he'd want to know all the gory details later, and he'd be kicking himself for not listening to every word his Dad was saying. He never got accounts of the danger happening now, only stories of evil that was no longer around, and couldn't affect him. 

But right now, all he wanted was to check on Matilda. And after that, he wanted to be with her and Scor, so they could revel in the fact that they, without their parents' help, figured out where the bad was. And almost killed it. They were close enough to be able to slightly tweak the story when they told it to the rest of the school.