Albus Potter and the Cursed Legacy | Scorbus

36. Albus Severus Potter

For the first time since his first year, Albus couldn't wait to go back to Hogwarts. Not because he was excited but because there was something he needed to do.

He needed to confront Magnolia. He needed answers. 

The last few days of the break had been torturous. Although Albus was used to being lonely, this was the first time in his life he'd ever felt completely alone. Isolated in his room, he couldn't bear the thought of showing his face in front of his family. Not after what he'd put them through. What he thought was a budding friendship with Magnolia--and an opportunity to gain some respect amongst his peers--turned out to be a plot to use him for information. Why else would someone like Magnolia ever be interested in Albus for more than his family name?

And now knowing about Magnolia's connection to Lacero, his entire new social life was thrown into question. Ophelia was Magnolia's half-sister. Could he even trust her anymore? After all they'd told her? All she knew? Their whole investigation was at stake. Had Ophelia cared about him at all? Or perhaps she'd just been using him too, just like her sister. Using him to get on his father's good side. She wanted to be an Auror after all--it was the perfect plan. Perhaps Slytherins were just as slimy as everyone stereotyped them to be. There was no telling what was genuine and what was a cunning attempt to get their way.

Albus felt so stupid to think that he could have changed his reputation at the school. After six years at the school, why would everything have turned now? He'd never be popular. He'd never fit in. He was destined to remain a loser for his entire life.

And now his foolishness could have cost him his best--and only--friend. He'd been too confident, ego soaring after his successful first term. Just because he'd been able to make a few more friends and thought that the most popular girl at Hogwarts liked him, didn't mean he was unstoppable. And he'd learned that the hard way when everything came crashing down.

He'd tried to kiss Scorpius. And there was no taking that back. 

Would Scorpius ever speak to him again? Or Rose? When she found out how royally he'd mucked up by trusting Magnolia after her warnings, she'd surely realise her mistake in befriending him again. She was too clever to be around someone so stupid. 

The day before returning to Hogwarts, Albus had been curled up in his bed--his refuge since returning from the Malfoy Manor. He'd been tearing himself down, berating himself for all his mistakes. He'd just wanted to make things right--change the way the world saw him. But the world had been right about him: Albus Potter was nothing but a failure.

Soon, he'd have to board the train back to school and face the student who'd scorned him since he was eleven. He'd tried to make a difference but he'd only ended up making this worse for himself. 

In his attempt to fix the way the world viewed him, he'd only managed to give them more reason to shun him. All the articles that portrayed him as an outcast or potential Death Eater had been his fault for trusting too easily. His fault for losing his temper too quickly. And his fault for believing he could be anything but Albus Potter, the Slytherin Squib. He'd lost his friends, gotten his family into trouble, and was no closer to solving the murders. 

Albus' fists clenched, his despair turning into rage. He let out an anguished cry, throwing off his duvet and slamming his feet on the ground. Sitting on the edge of his bed, he put his face in his hands, wishing he could silence the rushing river of anguished thoughts that ran rapid through his brain. 

He couldn't stay sitting any longer. Restless, he began pacing across his room, his footsteps matching the beat of his pounding heart. 

Albus was tired. He was tired of the way he was viewed. At school, in the papers, and in the world. He'd never asked to be Harry Potter's son. He never tried to get any extra attention. He didn't want to be so poor at magic or ask to be in Slytherin. None of it had been his fault. Perhaps he'd made a series of bad choices but the opportunities had only presented themselves due to his circumstances--far beyond his control.