Albus Potter and the Cursed Legacy | Scorbus

40. Starting Again

"I--I'm sorry?"

Scorpius blinked at him with a face paled with shock. He couldn't have looked more surprised, even if Albus had suddenly confessed a hidden love for dance and broke out into an enthusiastic Irish jig.

"Lacero is the one we've been looking for! She's the murderer!" Albus restated, not losing any of his initial gusto.

Even with very minimal evidence, Albus has already confirmed his theory in his mind. He wasn't someone who often got gut feelings--and seldom trusted his judgment to begin with--but this was different. He was convinced. The others didn't remember that night the way he did. He still didn't have a good explanation as to why his memory hadn't been wiped in the same way as his friends' but there had to be a reason. Perhaps the killer--Lacero--wanted him to remember it as some sort of tease. There was little reasoning for his theory, but, for once in his life, he had to trust himself.

But Scorpius--often so trusting in Albus' ideas--didn't seem so convinced this time, "Isn't that a bit of a stretch, Albus?"

He was on his feet now, shaking his head as he stood firm, "Our photo was taken outside of the Parr house--we saw it in the Prophet the next day. And just mere minutes after, this weird lady, who just so happens to perfectly fit the textbook description of a Veela and makes you go all wonky, appears out of seemingly nowhere and starts talking to us. About the articles in the Prophet no less! That had to be Lacero! Then right after the lady disappears, Ophelia is almost killed on the next street over. It's too much of a coincidence!" Albus insisted.

"But," Scorpius still seemed sceptical, especially as he had no memory of the woman, "Even if the Veela lady was Lacero, that doesn't mean she's a serial murderer! Don't get me wrong, she's not a nice person--her articles have proven that--but going so far as to say she would kill people? What reason would she have?"

"Ophelia is the daughter of her ex-husband! Magnolia hates her so clearly her mom must have something against her as well," Albus explained his theory. "As for the other murders...I still haven't worked that one out yet, but I'm sure there's a reason behind it."

Rubbing his arm, Scorpius shifted his weight with uncertainty. He glanced at Albus, taking in his stubborn expression, knowing well enough by now that Albus had already set his mind on his idea and it would be hard to convince him otherwise.

"I dunno, Albus," Scorpius sighed.

But Albus was determined to convince him, wracking his brain for any other shreds of evidence that might lead to the so-called journalist. He recalled everything he knew about Lacero, trying to think of anything Magnolia might have mentioned that could be useful to him. Of course, it was difficult to discern what she'd been telling him truthfully and what had been manipulation. She'd always tried to dig deeper into how Albus felt about his father--bringing up her own absent dad as a way to gain his trust. Whilst he knew that much was true, confirmed by Ophelia, it all had been a ploy to get secrets for her mother to publish in the Daily Prophet.

The articles in the Prophet...they'd been trying to claim Albus as having connections to Deatheaters or call out his father for being a bad father to Albus. Why did Lacero seem so keen on slandering the Potter family? For attention, surely. But why mention their fight on the train platform on the first of September? Or claim his dad was neglecting his duties at the Ministry when he came to Hogwarts to talk to Albus? Or publish an article about Scorpius and Albus visiting the Parr house? Surely the murders that took place the day of--or just before--would take priority. If Lacero wanted more attention to her articles, it seemed like a poor idea to publish them at the same time as the murders made headlines, as they'd likely struggle to outshine each other. Unless...