Albus Potter and the Healing Springs

"From this day forward, there will be no roaming the corridors unattended by an agent," announced Mr Ward, a big buff man, to the Gryffindor common room. 
 
Everyone began to protest immediately, but, with the help of four more agents, they silenced the common room. James was among the loudest of all the brave Gryffindors who believed they didn't need the protection.  

"Do you want to end up like the victims?!" yelled an agent with rough skin and no hair. "Not even knowing if they will survive the day?!" 
 
"Well, maybe if you were actually any help we wouldn't be worrying about this!" argued James, and everyone began to protest again. 
 
The ministry agents huddled up while everyone continued their protesting. Yet, Albus was still able to drown out all the noise and keep to his thoughts. 
 
If the Healing Springs don't exist, then what other hope do we have? he thought. 
 
"Albus, let's go up to our dormitory," requested Alex. "Ronnie is going to hers. We can't stay here."
 
Albus nodded and the trio went up to their dorms. The last thing Albus heard before closing the door was Mr Ward using "Silencio" on the Gryffindors downstairs. 
 
"What do we do?" urged Alex. "We have to look through your map and find the Healing Springs. It's now or never."
 
"Alex," started Albus. Alex was already going into Albus' trunk to retrieve the map. "Alex stop!" 
 
"What? You're just going to let Johnny die because you're not that brave?!" argued Alex. "We have to do this for all those victims. If it makes you feel any better we can get McGonagall and just tell her!"
 
"No, we can't!" yelled Albus. "The Healing Springs don't exist! I talked to Albus Dumbledore's painting. Dumbledore didn't find nor create any springs." 
 
"Frankly, I don't care what Dumbledore said," muttered Alex. 
 
"What do you mean you don't care-" 
 
"I don't know!" burst Alex. "I don't have a solution for this! I'm not as smart as you all may think. But you wouldn't understand. All I know is that we need to do something." 
 
"Why would we need to do something?" argued Albus. "There are plenty of ministry agents working on this!" 
 
"Because it's in your blood."
 
Albus stood there for a moment, and couldn't argue anymore. Alex was right. The adventure, the bravery, it was in his blood. However, Albus wasn't brave. Albus didn't want this adventure. He isn't Harry Potter. He's Albus Potter. 
 
After a moment of silence, Alex threw the map on Albus' bed and sank into his own. 
 
Their room was dark, Alex closed his bed curtains, and so Albus felt alone. Only lit by a few lamps, the darkness was penetrating the castle grounds. 
 
He sat himself next to a window by his bed, and stared at the grounds. He wondered how Hagrid was doing, since he hasn't talked to him since their argument. 
 
He probably hates me, he thought. Alex must too.
 
Albus looked at Alex's bed. He could see his silhouette through the bed curtains.

 
"Alex," he started. 
 
Right then, the doors of his dormitory flew open and a ministry agent with gray hair and a moustache came in. 
 
"I'm here to do a check-up," he announced as he held out a piece of parchment. "Greenfield?"
 
"I'm here, sir," mumbled Alex from his bed. 
 
"Potter?" continued the man.
 
"Right here," said Albus. 
 
"Alright then," checked off the man. "Webster?" 
 
And there was silence, Albus couldn't believe he forgot the absence of Webster. Right after this attack, he disappeared. He was right; it was him. 
 
"Where is Jake Webster?!" yelled the man. 
 
"We don't know," answered Albus. "Haven't seen him at all today."
 
The man closed the door and started to yell something to his fellow agents. The discovery made Alex pull out the curtains from his four poster bed. 
 
"So you were right," gasped Alex. "How could he have done this-" 
 
"He made fun of Johnny before break. He showed that he didn't like him. I can't believe that he'd do this to him, though, to everyone," recounted Albus. 
 
"We have to go tell McGonagall." 
 
"Wait, maybe I can find him in the map!" exclaimed Albus. "Then, we'll tell the agents and they'll catch him!" 
 
Albus jumped to his bed and Alex followed as he recited, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." 
 
The Marauders Map magically appeared and Albus opened it quickly. 
 
"Look for Webster," reminded Alex. "I can't wait to catch him. He'll pay." 
 
Albus ignored his comments, however, as he was focused on the map. If he could find Webster and report it, there wouldn't be a need for Albus to do anything dangerous. 
 
"Look. There's only one person in the common room. An agent," Alex pointed out. "The rest must be looking for Webster." 
 
"As are we," reminded Albus. "Do you see anything – wait. What's that?" 
 
Albus pointed at a dot near the statue of Fawkes that he saw months prior to this. "Horace Slughorn and Jake Webster," he read.
 
"Is that Professor-" Alex started and then the dots disappeared. "Where did it go?!" 
 
"Where did they go?" questioned Albus. 
 
"We've got to go there," started Alex. "Hurry. We've got to follow them!" 
 
"Alex, are you sure we should?" asked Albus. "The agent won't let us go."
 
"We'll see," said Alex as he grabbed his green messenger bag and filled it with some test tubes, a book, his scarf, and his wand. "Hurry. We've got to go get Ronnie!" 
 
"Alright," Albus agreed as he grabbed the Marauders Map and his wand. 
 
The two opened the door of their dormitory slowly and heard loud snores. Evidently, the agent they trusted to monitor the common room was asleep. 
 
"Let's go," whispered Alex. They tiptoed down the stairs, and Alex approached the stairs to the girls’ dormitory. He set one foot on the stairs and it turned into a slide, almost making him slip. 
 
"Boys aren't allowed." Alex whispered as he pulled out the book from his bag and levitated it towards the door with the incantation. "Wingardium Leviosa." 
 
He levitated the book to the top of the stairs and bumped it into the door three times. The door flew open and Ronnie came out looking ecstatic, wand in hand, ready to go. 
 
Ronnie slid down the slide, and hopped up to the boys. "I thought you were never going to come!" she exclaimed. 
 
"Quiet," alerted Albus. He pointed at the agent. "He's asleep." 
 
"Sorry," whispered Ronnie. "Okay. You got the map?"
 
"Yep," answered Alex.
 
"Wait. Did you two plan this out?" asked Albus. 
 
"Not entirely," whispered Alex. "But for the most part, yes."
 
"Come on. Let's go before this guy wakes up," urged Ronnie. 
 
The three friends were right across the man. He was across the common room on a red chair facing them with his head up in the air and arms flung out. 
 
The fireplace was calm and there was total silence other than the snores escaping the man. 
 
"He's not asleep," said Alex. "Not genuinely at least. Look, I've seen this before. He's under a sleeping charm. He won't wake up for a few hours, which is why he stayed asleep even through Ronnie's yells." 
 
"Who could have done that to him?" asked Albus. 
 
"Who knows? But to make sure," started Alex as he approached the man. 
 
"Wait! What if you wake him?" warned Albus. 
 
"We run," giggled Ronnie. 
 
Alex was snapping in the man’s face when Ronnie and Albus grabbed him by both arms and pulled him away.
 
"Let's go!" exclaimed Ronnie. 
 
They crawled out through the portrait hole and ignored the calls of the fat lady as they ran to another corridor. 
 
"How do we get to the statue? Check your map." said Alex. 
 
"What statue? I thought we were going to the Healing Springs," enquired Ronnie. 
 
"Professor Slughorn and Jake Webster were on the map near this statue and then disappeared. We have to go there," answered Alex. 
 
"Look, James is in McGonagall’s office," stated Albus. "Guess we know who jinxed the agent."
 
"Keep an eye on the map. We don't want to run into anyone," ordered Alex. 
 
The trio ran from corridor to corridor, dodging ministry agents a few times. Their route kept changing due to their attempts in avoiding everyone and everything. Especially a monster. 
 
"Albus, are we almost there?" asked Ronnie as they reached a fork in the corridor that separated it into two ways. 
 
"Yeah, there are ministry agents through this way, and the other," explained Albus. "Bella?"
 
"I'm not scared of her. Let's go down this way," ordered Ronnie as she grabbed her two friends.
 
Just as the map promised, they ran into Bella along with her two followers Isabella and Patricia. 
 
"And where do you think you're going, Gryffindors?" asked Bella slyly. 
 
"None of your business," argued Ronnie. "Now get out of our way." 
 
"Hm, I don't think so," replied Bella. "Don't want to get in trouble, do we?" 
 
"And how exactly are you out here?" spat Alex. 
 
"The agents just seemed to let us out," said Bella. "Couldn't say no." 
 
"Oh, shut up!" yelled Ronnie. "Petrificus Totalus!" 
 
Ronnie used the spell three times to put all three girls in a full body bind. They all collapsed to the floor looking like planks. 
 
"Not so tough now, are we, Lestrange?" gloated Ronnie as she stood over Bella. "Let's go." 
 
The trio ran while checking over the map at every turn. They finally reached the statue that only Albus had witnessed, yet, instead of in the middle of the room, it was moved over to the right side and there was a huge hole a bit smaller than the statue in the middle of the room. More dirt surrounded it this time around. 
 
"I guess we know where Slughorn went," said Albus. "Now what? Do we get McGonagall?" 
 
"For what? So we can be even further behind?" argued Ronnie. "Let's go!" she yelled as she jumped into the hole. 
 
"Are you okay?" Alex yelled into the hole. 
 
"Yeah, come down! It's not that big of a jump." 
 
Alex closed his eyes and jumped in as well. He yelled as he went down but that only lasted a second.
 
"Albus, hurry up!" the two urged. 
 
"Fine! I'm coming," answered Albus as he too jumped into the hole. It took him a second to feel the ground again, and when he looked around there was only a path lit up by torches. 
 
"Check the map. Where are we?" instructed Alex. 
 
"I can't find us," answered Albus in disbelief. "We're not on the map."
 
"What a big help that's been," spat Ronnie. "Let's just follow the path, there's no going back now."
 
Albus, Ronnie and Alex cautiously followed the path. There was a variety of foot prints, both human and animal, which went back and forth the path.
 
They heard a screech.
 
"What was that?” Ronnie hissed. "Run!" 
 
The trio ran and ran until they reached the end of the path, running away from whatever made that noise.
 
We're dead, thought Albus. 
 
At the end of the path, there was a ladder made of wood which led up to another hole. This one was covered by a huge rock. 
 
"We can't get out!" yelled Albus.
 
"Spongify!" screamed Alex pointing his wand at the rock. "Albus! Push!" 
 
The rock then flew over by a small push from Albus. It seemed that Ronnie was a good teacher showing Alex how to use the charm correctly. 
 
The three friends climbed out of the hole and tried to catch their breaths. When they finally did, they realized they were in the middle of the Forbidden Forest. 
 
"Why did the path lead here?" asked Alex.
 
"Wait! Something's coming out of the hole!" Ronnie shrieked. 
 
Then, a red bird flew out of the hole accompanied by a Hufflepuff girl with shoulder length brown curly hair. She wore glasses and had a Native American styled bag. When she got up, she was a lot taller than the trio.
 
"Who are you?" asked Ronnie. 
 
"My name is Serena Churchill," she said in a nervous voice. "Why are you first years out here?" 
 
"Why are you here? No matter what year you are?" answered Ronnie. 
 
"I'm a sixth year," answered Serena. "My Phoenix Fireheart led me here." 
 
"Wait. So your Professor Churchill’s daughter?" asked Alex. 
 
"Yes, I am.”
 
"I've seen you before," muttered Albus as he reminisced about the unknown girl who ran into Churchill’s room before he could listen to take away Albus' detention as well. 
 
"Listen, I've got a bad feeling about all of this and I need you three to -" started Serena. 
 
"We aren't going anywhere," interrupted Ronnie. 
 
"But someone needs to alert the headmistress," insisted Serena. 
 
"Then it'll have to be you," said Alex. "I need to catch the guy who hurt my friend." 
 
"Fine," agreed Serena. "But take Fireheart with you. He'll protect you."
 
"Alright," said Alex.
 
Albus wasn't sure what was going on, but they now had a phoenix with them, looking for their previously missing Professor and Webster.
 
Had they teamed up to attack the students? thought Albus. 
 
The trio followed foot prints along with Fireheart who also seemed to know where he was going regardless of the path. The forest was quiet and dark.
 
"Lumos" said Alex. The two friends then did the same. 
 
As they walked further along the path, they reached an opening. The forest got thinner and thinner until they reached a mountain, and right in front of them was the opening to a cave. 
 
"What's this?" asked Albus as he picked up something on the ground. It was one of Hagrid's lanterns; this one was the one he lost. It was broken. Albus fixed it with a muttered "Reparo."
 
The trio approached the cave opening and Fireheart began to sing into the cave. 
 
"What does this mean?" asked Ronnie. 
 
"I don't know," said Albus. "But I guess we're about to find out."