Albus Potter and the Cursed Legacy | Scorbus

39. Clarity

"I knew it!" Rose pumped her fist in victory. Noticing Albus and Scorpius' weary looks, she cleared her through, straightening herself out to take the matter more seriously, "I mean...I'm terribly sorry that happened and all...But, I was right about not trusting her!" She wagged her finger, taking pride in her intuition.

The three of them travelled together through the corridors after lessons, catching Rose up with the whole story about Magnolia. Although she'd reacted similarly to how Albus expected, that didn't stop him from being frustrated.

"You didn't trust her only because you didn't like her. Not because you knew anything about Lacero," Albus reminded her.

She shrugged, still taking it as a win, "I had my suspicions about her intentions and they turned out to be true, I see no fault in my logic."

"Okay, well you also thought she fancied me," Albus rolled his eyes.

"Well, she did kiss you, Albus..." Scorpius spoke in a small voice, bowing his head to get a good look at his shoes.

The feeling of Magnolia's lips on his still lingered in his memory causing him to shudder at the thought. If he needed any more proof that he didn't like girls, that was certainly it. The kiss seemed entirely uncalled for. Did Magnolia expect him to forget everything that had happened and fall for her just like that?

"Don't remind me," Albus muttered with a grimace.

"That was beyond weird!" Rose wrinkled her nose. "She had no right to do that. So unnecessary."

Albus' thoughts were still bogged down with the events of that afternoon. Magnolia's words rang through his head constantly, her sultry sweet tone echoing about. He hadn't known what to expect from the confrontation: An apology was the best-case scenario or at least some recognition that what she did was wrong. But Magnolia seemed to show no remorse--only regretting the fact that she got caught. The break in character was something Albus certainly hadn't anticipated, never seeing Magnolia so vicious--not even that harsh around her sister.

Her sister!

Albus froze, letting out a gasp. Rose and Scorpius came to a sudden stop, looking around to see if he'd spotted Magnolia. Rose's hand immediately went to her wand but she eased up as she saw no one in the corridor around them

"Ophelia!" Albus exclaimed. In the craziness of the day, he'd almost forgotten that he'd planned to meet Ophelia. Before getting off the train the day previous, he'd received another text message from her asking him to meet in the greenhouses after lessons.

"Come with me!" Albus swiftly turned in the other direction, taking large strides with his friends on his heel.

"What is it?" Rose questioned impatiently although she didn't hesitate to go with them.

"We planned to meet!" He told her. "I hope we're not too late."

The greenhouses had cleared out not too long after lessons, most students heading back to the castle to revise or meet friends in the common room. After the short walk outside in the bitter January air, the humid atmosphere of the greenhouse felt like a warm hug as they stepped through the glass door.

Amongst the rows of potted plants of various shapes, sizes, and colours, Albus spotted a familiar glimpse of golden waves amongst the foliage. Leading his friends down to the other end of the glass building, he froze when he saw another figure sat on a stack of bagged potting soil. 

"What's he doing here?" Albus questioned aloud, his voice coming off in an accusatory tone. 

Matthias looked up, from where he hunched over with his elbows propped on his knees. The whites of his eyes were laced with threads of red, his skinny blotchy and hair askew. Nothing like the bold confident Matthias MacPhearson Albus grew up sharing a dormitory with. Not the same one that smiled cruelly, getting a kick out of teasing him in front of his friends. Or the one who stood by Silas' side as he sent hexes Albus' way, only laughing in response. No, this was well and truly a different Matthias. A side that Albus had never seen before.