Albus Potter and the Previously Undiscussed Plot Point
Three
As Albus turned away, Rose’s heart sank like a flobberworm in a bucket of water. She had known for as long as she could remember that she was destined to be a Slytherin but had never found the courage to share this information with her steadfast Gryffindor cousin. Rose had too much ambition for Gryffindor and cared too much about her ancestry. As much as she loved her mother, she couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed that her father hadn’t chosen someone a little more… suitable.
Rose turned her attention back to the girl she had been talking to over dinner. You could tell just by looking at her that Capella Dayne was a pureblood. Everything about her, from the way she held her head to the way her robes were cut, announced that she was from a well-off wizarding family. Her eyes were ice blue and contrasted starkly with her long black hair and pale skin. To Rose, she represented sanctuary. It was going to be tough fitting in with the Slytherins when she was only a half-blood.
Once they reached the dungeons, the prefect at the head of the gaggle of first years stopped abruptly. Rose wondered if he had forgotten the way to the common room, as he had stopped at what seemed like a perfectly ordinary brick wall. “Boomslang skin,” he said, and to Rose’s surprise the wall slid back to reveal a gloomy passageway. She had been expecting a portrait to be the guardian of the common room. You’re not in Gryffindor anymore, she reminded herself silently.
The first years followed the prefect into the common room, some of them talking quietly and others simply staring about them in wonder at the grand decor. Rose tried to appear cool and confident as the announcements were made. Nobody was really listening to what was being said; instead they were all eyeing each other up, deciding who was a threat and who should really be in Hufflepuff. Scorpius Malfoy stood on the edge of the group, the picture of someone who knew he just had to wait for friends to come flocking to him.
“Scorpius,” Capella greeted him once the announcements were over. “Are we to be the only pure-bloods in Slytherin this year?” she asked him mildly. Rose was only surprised at their friendliness for the briefest moment. Of course the two most powerful families in Slytherin would intuitively ally with each other.
“So it would seem,” Scorpius agreed. “So who is your friend?”
“This is Rose.” Capella pushed Rose in front of her. “Half-blood.”
Scorpius looked Rose up and down and she stiffened. She knew Capella hadn’t given her surname to Scorpius on purpose and she was terrified of being recognised. Despite her fiery hair, he appeared not to recognise her and merely gave a brief nod as a sign of approval. “Which side?” he asked.
“My mother was a muggle-born but a very powerful witch,” Rose replied.
“Well, we’ve all altered our family trees at some point or another, haven’t we, Scorpius?” injected Capella, looking at Scorpius pointedly.
Scorpius would not be made uncomfortable. “Well, yes, but this is a little closer to home than most of our unsavoury relatives,” he replied coolly. “Alright, we will ally with you,” Scorpius continued after a brief pause, and Rose let out a small breath that she hadn’t realised she had been holding. “On the condition that you prove that you are worthy of being a Slytherin.”
Rose smiled a smile that Albus would have been horrified to see. “What did you have in mind?” she asked, refusing to be intimidated now she was in with a chance of winning his respect.
“Let us draw up some plans.” Scorpius chuckled softly. “I’m sure the three of us will be able to think of something appropriately horrible to welcome the newest members of our favourite house.”
~~~
Albus did not think about Rose as much as he thought he would that evening and by the time he was walking to his first class the next day, he had almost forgotten that his favourite cousin had betrayed their family. Mark and Peter had been discussing Quidditch since yesterday and Albus was rather hoping that they would soon run out of things to say. He followed the games of course, but wasn’t as interested as they seemed to be in whether Vladimir Gerskan of the German national team would sign for the Wimbourne Wasps next season.
Albus found himself chatting to Kaya, the girl he had been sitting next to yesterday at the feast. She was fairly quiet and seemed to have a methodical way of doing everything. She had disappeared from the common room early last night in order to finish arranging her things. So she was a little weird, but Albus found that she was quite friendly once he got talking to her.
“I’ve never done any magic in my life,” she admitted to him, self-consciously tucking an errant strand of blonde hair behind one ear. “My dad had no idea my mum was a witch until I got my letter. She’d given it all up, apparently.”
Albus had never heard of a wizard giving up his powers before and he asked her about as the first years struggled to find their way to their first lesson in a castle of moving staircases. Twice they had to go back and try a different route because the staircase that they were looking for was in the wrong place.
Miraculously, the group of Gryffindors made it to their first lesson in plenty of time. They were having charms with the Slytherins and it was only when Albus got to the charms classroom and checked his timetable again that he realised the implications of this. Rose would be in his lesson. His stomach did backflips as he wondered how she would act around him after being sorted into Slytherin.
Whatever Albus had thought, he did not think that Rose would have acted like this. Turning the handle of the charms classroom, Albus was the first one in the room and consequently the first one to suffer the malicious trap that the Slytherins had laid.
Rose turned her attention back to the girl she had been talking to over dinner. You could tell just by looking at her that Capella Dayne was a pureblood. Everything about her, from the way she held her head to the way her robes were cut, announced that she was from a well-off wizarding family. Her eyes were ice blue and contrasted starkly with her long black hair and pale skin. To Rose, she represented sanctuary. It was going to be tough fitting in with the Slytherins when she was only a half-blood.
Once they reached the dungeons, the prefect at the head of the gaggle of first years stopped abruptly. Rose wondered if he had forgotten the way to the common room, as he had stopped at what seemed like a perfectly ordinary brick wall. “Boomslang skin,” he said, and to Rose’s surprise the wall slid back to reveal a gloomy passageway. She had been expecting a portrait to be the guardian of the common room. You’re not in Gryffindor anymore, she reminded herself silently.
The first years followed the prefect into the common room, some of them talking quietly and others simply staring about them in wonder at the grand decor. Rose tried to appear cool and confident as the announcements were made. Nobody was really listening to what was being said; instead they were all eyeing each other up, deciding who was a threat and who should really be in Hufflepuff. Scorpius Malfoy stood on the edge of the group, the picture of someone who knew he just had to wait for friends to come flocking to him.
“Scorpius,” Capella greeted him once the announcements were over. “Are we to be the only pure-bloods in Slytherin this year?” she asked him mildly. Rose was only surprised at their friendliness for the briefest moment. Of course the two most powerful families in Slytherin would intuitively ally with each other.
“So it would seem,” Scorpius agreed. “So who is your friend?”
“This is Rose.” Capella pushed Rose in front of her. “Half-blood.”
Scorpius looked Rose up and down and she stiffened. She knew Capella hadn’t given her surname to Scorpius on purpose and she was terrified of being recognised. Despite her fiery hair, he appeared not to recognise her and merely gave a brief nod as a sign of approval. “Which side?” he asked.
“My mother was a muggle-born but a very powerful witch,” Rose replied.
“Well, we’ve all altered our family trees at some point or another, haven’t we, Scorpius?” injected Capella, looking at Scorpius pointedly.
Scorpius would not be made uncomfortable. “Well, yes, but this is a little closer to home than most of our unsavoury relatives,” he replied coolly. “Alright, we will ally with you,” Scorpius continued after a brief pause, and Rose let out a small breath that she hadn’t realised she had been holding. “On the condition that you prove that you are worthy of being a Slytherin.”
Rose smiled a smile that Albus would have been horrified to see. “What did you have in mind?” she asked, refusing to be intimidated now she was in with a chance of winning his respect.
“Let us draw up some plans.” Scorpius chuckled softly. “I’m sure the three of us will be able to think of something appropriately horrible to welcome the newest members of our favourite house.”
~~~
Albus did not think about Rose as much as he thought he would that evening and by the time he was walking to his first class the next day, he had almost forgotten that his favourite cousin had betrayed their family. Mark and Peter had been discussing Quidditch since yesterday and Albus was rather hoping that they would soon run out of things to say. He followed the games of course, but wasn’t as interested as they seemed to be in whether Vladimir Gerskan of the German national team would sign for the Wimbourne Wasps next season.
Albus found himself chatting to Kaya, the girl he had been sitting next to yesterday at the feast. She was fairly quiet and seemed to have a methodical way of doing everything. She had disappeared from the common room early last night in order to finish arranging her things. So she was a little weird, but Albus found that she was quite friendly once he got talking to her.
“I’ve never done any magic in my life,” she admitted to him, self-consciously tucking an errant strand of blonde hair behind one ear. “My dad had no idea my mum was a witch until I got my letter. She’d given it all up, apparently.”
Albus had never heard of a wizard giving up his powers before and he asked her about as the first years struggled to find their way to their first lesson in a castle of moving staircases. Twice they had to go back and try a different route because the staircase that they were looking for was in the wrong place.
Miraculously, the group of Gryffindors made it to their first lesson in plenty of time. They were having charms with the Slytherins and it was only when Albus got to the charms classroom and checked his timetable again that he realised the implications of this. Rose would be in his lesson. His stomach did backflips as he wondered how she would act around him after being sorted into Slytherin.
Whatever Albus had thought, he did not think that Rose would have acted like this. Turning the handle of the charms classroom, Albus was the first one in the room and consequently the first one to suffer the malicious trap that the Slytherins had laid.