Albus Potter and the Unwanted Legacy

Astronomy

Albus compacted his telescope, disappointed that the low cloud had prevented him from finishing his constellation chart.

"Never mind class, the library will have all you need to see the chart finished for next week, a glorious crow moon should be shining down upon us. Get here early and take advantage of this vantage point and watch her rise up over the mountains." Professor Brodie looked wistfully into the overcast sky. "Now off to bed, before the weather turns and Madam Pomfrey holds me accountable for an explosion in the number of colds amongst the first years," she laughed, her soft round face glowing with excitement.

"Did you get yours done?" Scorpius asked, fighting to get his silver telescope back into its leather tube. "I only just got it set up before the cloud came over."

"Same," Albus flashed him his piece of parchment, a few dots and lines had been drawn, but nothing was labelled.

"You should have pre-drawn the constellation before the lesson, then you could have just observed and taken down the extra notes." Rose, already packed up stood between the two boys and waited for them to catch up. "I've got something to show you two, if you are up for it, I think it might be of interest to you, Albus."

"What is it?" Albus asked.

"Obviously it is either too big or too dangerous to bring to class." Scorpius finally got his telescope packed away and set about rolling up his unspoilt parchment. "Any chance it's located somewhere where we can finish Orion's belt before his trousers fall down?"

Albus sniggered and Rose shook her head in disdain.

"I'm sure it will have everything you would need." Rose winked at Albus.

"You can't have." Albus' jaw fell open.

"I have."

"I thought it was damaged beyond repair, how do you know it's safe?"

"I've been there twice already, asked for two different things and got what I needed."

"So that's what you get up to when we aren't around, sneaking around the castle looking for... whatever the hell you two are talking about." Scorpius slung the leather case over his shoulder and looked back and forth between the Albus and Rose.

"It's a place you should know about, considering your father almost died there and it was Uncle Harry that saved his life," Rose said with a smug grin.

"His dad doesn't talk about that stuff," Albus put himself between Rose and Scorpius, "So why don't you stop winding each other up so we can go and check it out."

"Check what out?" Scorpius didn't follow them towards the stairs, "I want to know what I'm walking into."

Albus walked up to him and pulled Scorpius' ear down towards his lips, "Ever heard of the room of requirement?"

Scorpius said nothing, all he could do was slowly shake his head.

"Then you are going to love this." Albus locked his arm into Scorpius' and pulled him towards the stairs. They had to unhitch from each other to get down the first staircase, it was too narrow for anything other than in single file.

Rose led the way, breaking off from the knot of students heading to their respective houses, and peeling back a portrait to reveal a staircase down to the 7th floor. She tiptoed through the hall of hexes, where some of the most disturbing portraits of the castle resided, guided by the dull light of her wand tip. Keeping quiet, so as not to wake the inhabitants, she pointed to a small wooden door.

Once free from the grisly artwork and in a wider section of the walkways, Albus and Scorpius lit their wands too. Scorpius kept looking back over his shoulder, certain that something was following him in the shadows. He was so focused on what was going on behind him he walked straight into Albus' back. He apologised, but Rose ordered him to be quiet.