Albus Potter and the Cursed Legacy | Scorbus

21. Jelly Slugs

The chill of the coming winter began to roll over the grounds as November arrived at Hogwarts. The air became brisker and the wind harsher as grey clouds overhead threatened snow. Despite the cold, the clouds had yet to deliver snowfall, usually settling on an icy rain that was much more miserable than any snowstorm would have been.

Albus pulled his cloak tighter around him, nuzzling his face into the folds of his green and silver scarf as he trudged back to the castle from the greenhouses. Once inside, his shivers quickly faded with help from the flickering torches that not only provided light in the corridors but heated the stone interior of the school.

Herbology marked his last lesson on the day so Albus decided to retreat to his dormitory to strip his heavy winter layers in favour of a cosy jumper. He was relieved to find the room empty when he arrived--always thankful for the moments where he was free of Matthias and his cronies. They weren't often in the dormitory, favouring the common room or other spots around the grounds to chill with friends, but that didn't stop the ball of fear from forming in Albus' stomach every time he opened the door to their dormitory. He always worried that he'd step inside only to be face to face with Silas' ugly mug or Ryker's snide grin.

On a few occasions as younger students, Scorpius and Albus had returned to find their blankets ripped from their beds, their trunks tampered with, and toilet roll thrown across their space. The first time it happened, Scorpius ran to tell their headteacher in hopes that it would put an end to their meddling. Oh, how cruelly naive of them...

Instead of solving their problem, it only made it worse. Getting them in trouble only provoked Silas, Ryker, and Mattias more, leading to teasing Scorpius for being a telltale and Albus, a wimp who can't take a joke. And when Slytherin lost house points due to the incident, the other students placed the blame on Albus and Scorpius for going to the headteacher instead of dealing with it themselves.

After the first time when they were eleven, Albus and Scorpius stopped trying to get help from professors, in fear that somehow the blame would end up on them again. Just another thing to pick on poor Albus Potter for. Professors were never much help when it came to the bullying and Albus had to quickly grow thicker skin or else he'd never have made it this far into his schooling at Hogwarts.

But the empty dormitory posed no threat to him, making it the perfect place for him to shut himself out from the rest of the world for some peace and quiet. As Albus flopped onto his bed, the old wooden boards creaked under the sudden shift in weight. He kicked off his shoes and threw his robe across the mattress.

Leaning over the foot of his bed, he dug in his trunk for one of his winter jumpers and quickly swapped his uniform for day clothes. Before closing his trunk, he pulled out his old potions textbook from fifth-year to do some brushing up for his next revision session with Ophelia.

Lying flat on his stomach, he flipped to a random page on pepperup potions and began his reading from there. Soon enough, he was engrossed in the world of potions, his mind swirling with his own concoction of information covering everything from the properties of moonstone to brewing erumpent potion without it exploding in your face.

Potions was the one subject that Albus ever truly felt emersed in. He'd always wonder how Scorpius and Rose managed to be the top of almost every class when Albus was barely able to stay awake during them. Somehow they always seemed so motivated to learn and could absorb new information with no issue. Albus never felt so lucky--except with Potions. Potions was the one course he couldn't get enough of. Whether it was reading recipes, listening to Professor Amatori's lectures, or making the potions himself, it never felt like a chore. School was dreadful but Potions helped him get through the day.