Albus Potter and the Cursed Legacy | Scorbus

27. Truth and Lies

When Albus awoke the next morning, Scorpius wasn't in his bed. It wasn't out of the ordinary for Albus to wake up in his dormitory alone, particularly on weekends. He had a habit of sleeping late, whereas Scorpius prefered to be up early. Most mornings, Albus would meet him in the Great Hall, already finished breakfast whilst Albus just started.

This morning seemed no different. As he made his way to the Great Hall, his mind wandered to the events of the day previous. So much had taken place in such a short period of time. It was just his luck, honestly. The one time he decides to take a trip to the Hogsmeade and someone gets murdered...

The image of the fallen body of the Hufflepuff girl flashed in his mind. The memory was hazy but considerably clearer than the time after that which had been wiped away. Albus wished he could make out the details of who was with Harper and who might have killed her but there were too many people in front of him blocking his view. All he saw were the legs of someone lying on the ground. He hadn't even realised they were dead.

As Albus approached the Great Hall, he was surprised to see Rose and Scorpius waiting outside by the doors. When they spotted him, they immediately rushed over.

"Morning, Albus," Scorpius greeted with tension in his voice, forcing a smile as he took hold of his shoulders and spun him around. 

"I've decided we should go library for breakfast this morning and get straight into working," Rose told him, her voice suspiciously high as if she was not telling him the whole truth. 

"Huh?" Albus found himself being led in the opposite direction of the Great Hall, where most of the students would already have gathered to eat. "Why? What's going on?" He could tell that something was up between them. 

"Nothing!" Rose and Scorpius spoke in unison, not easing Albus in the slightest. 

Dragging his heels on the floor, Albus pulled away from his friends, forcing them to come to a stop.

"C'mon, Albus," Rose urged him on, waving him forward. In her hand, he noticed she clutched a roll of what looked like newsprint. 

"No," Albus spoke stubbornly, not liking being kept in the dark. "Not until you tell me what you're hiding."

"What?" Rose let out a 'pfft' noise, "We're not hiding anything!"

Scorpius' face told another story, playing with his hands as he glanced at Rose with pleading eyes. She gave him a stern look back but he didn't seem to care. 

"Oh, can we just get it over with?" He begged Rose, not able to hold back what they were hiding from him.

Rose huffed, "Fine." She grabbed Albus' arm, pulling him into the nearest empty classroom with Scorpius closing the door behind them.

"Albus, you might want to sit down," Rose said, exchanging a tentative look with Scorpius. 

Pulling out a chair, Albus couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy from at the hidden messages Scorpius and Rose seemed to be exchanging with their eyes. Part of him felt left out among his friends but the other half worried more about what they were about to tell him.

"So, what is it?" Albus sat back in the chair, crossing his arms and bracing for whatever they had to tell him.  

"Well, it seems we were spotted yesterday..." Rose began, "Unfortunately, whoever did the spotting must have gotten the wrong idea."

Rose unfurled the roll in her hand, revealing the latest issue of the Daily Prophet, causing Albus' heart to immediately drop into his stomach. 

 The front page spouted in bold letters, 'HOGWARTS STUDENT MURDERED IN HOGSMEADE. KILLER STILL AT LARGE.'