Albus Potter and the Healing Springs

Albus was half a corridor away from Alex when he heard Ronnie yelling for him. It immediately began to irritate him, and he didn't even want to turn around. He walked a few steps more and then she began to yell even louder. He couldn't tell what she was saying, but the way she was casting her arms around showed him it was urgent; Albus still had half a mind to keep walking. He was nearly back at Churchill's door when he recoiled from Ronnie grabbing both his arms and waving him around.

"It wasn't Alex! It was me! Don't get mad at him, please! He's been such a good friend and I don't want him to take this blame!" squealed Ronnie.

Albus couldn't believe what he was hearing, this made him even angrier at her. How could she throw the book and let Alex take the blame, even if she was confessing to it now? He felt sort of bad, especially for how he treated Alex. Alex had been the one keeping their friendship together, and no one ever really stopped to thank him. Telling Alex that he hated him probably wasn't the best thing to do. Right now, he needed to deal with Ronnie who was just staring at him with her eyes wide open.

"Well?! I'd appreciate it if you said something," said Ronnie, releasing her grip from Albus' arms. Oh great, he thought, the attitude is back.

"You got Alex and I detention, because of your stupid jealousy," added Albus. "What do you want me to say?"

"JEALOUSY? That's what you think this is about? What do you think I'm jealous about? The fact that you're obsessing over a girl you hardly know? I don't understand you at all, Albus. Maybe I should have thrown the book at you instead!" remarked Ronnie.

Before Albus could say anything, however, Churchill came marching out of his room. His eyes were darting from Albus' annoyed grimace to Ronnie's flustered appearance.

"What in Merlin's beard is going on here?! Haven't you Gryffindors caused enough trouble for today?" exclaimed Professor Churchill.

"Professor, it wasn't Alex who threw the book! It was me, please don't punish him for what I did. I'll take the punishment," resigned Ronnie.

Professor Churchill examined Ronnie before taking away Alex's punishment and giving it to her. She and Albus were to report to Hagrid's cabin on Saturday at six o'clock. Alex'll be relieved, Albus thought, but what about me?! He had done nothing wrong and Ronnie didn't take his blame as well! Before he could protest, an older Hufflepuff girl with brown curly hair and glasses walked into his room urgently, and Professor Churchill closed the door, tending to her needs far before the trio's.

At this time, Alex, who was in fact only half a corridor away, managed to catch up. He still wore a dark expression, angry that he received punishment for trying to be a good friend to both his selfish friends.

"What are you all yelling about?" muttered Alex.

"I . . . I confessed to throwing the book, Alex," Ronnie said sheepishly. "I'm sorry I even got you into that mess. But don't worry. I explained it to Professor Churchill and you don't have detention anymore."

This brightened Alex's day considerably. "Really? That's great!"

"Yeah, amazing," muttered Albus.

Alex could feel the tangible tension; he then realized that he had misconstrued Ronnie's words. "Hang on. I don't have detention, but . . . ?"

"Yes, Alex, Albus and I have detention now," explained Ronnie. There's the piece Alex was missing; which only made matters worse because he could see the hidden anger behind Albus' eyes. He was not happy about the recent turn of events.

Albus, Ronnie and Alex all walked slowly to the Great Hall. Albus now had a collection of reasons to be mad at Ronnie, and he honestly didn't know what to say anymore. A part of him just wanted to talk to James for a good jinx to play on Ronnie, but another part just wanted to put an end to all this; he wanted to be friends. He knew, however, that she wouldn't budge and apologize to him, even though she did to Alex. Does she like me? Albus thought. She was always complaining about him and Bella, and getting extremely jealous. Maybe it wasn't just about "looking out for him" as she so often declared.

All of a sudden he realized that they made it to the Great Hall and Bella was walking straight at him. Both Isabella and Patricia were walking by her sides like servants, following a few paces before her.

"You! How dare you throw a book at me?!" shrieked Bella pointing straight at Alex.

Alex took half a second to register the fact that Bella was accusing him, not Ronnie. He, however, needn't move an inch. Ronnie came to his defense at once.

"Oh precious Bella! I was hoping to have run into you! Just for the record, it was I who threw the book at you, not Alex. So if you want to point that finger, point it at me, you nasty toad!" Ronnie pronounced indignantly.

"Well! You! How dare you throw that book at me?!" Bella shrieked. The following, however, she whispered maliciously: "I could make you wish you were never born."

Ronnie, rather than be frightful as any other rational person would be, merely laughed in Bella's face. "What could you do to me? Turn me into a silver needle? Oh wait! I forget you can't even do that," Ronnie sneered. She enjoyed teasing Bella.

"Oh believe me, I can hurt you where you least expect it. You see your friend over there? The one so clearly in love with me? I can turn him on you in a heartbeat. Can you do that? No? Oh, what a pity," Bella remarked.

To this, Ronnie took personal offense. "Touch Albus ONCE," she whispered, following Bella and making the argument much more private and personal, "and you'll regret you were ever born. There are things you haven't seen, Bella, things that would scare even you! Perhaps it'll benefit you; might make you look prettier."

At the mention if his name, Albus tuned in intently. Unfortunately, he hadn't heard Bella's words about being able to manipulate him. He had grown tiresome of all the bickering and attempted to settle the matter at once.

"Girls, girls, we should all just sit down and ----"

"What would you know about prettier? As if you were the epitome of beauty! I've got news for you, popkin, you're looking at the best!" Bella declared. She hadn't even noticed that she had cut off Albus mid-sentence. "And as for your threats, if you want to make this a duel, so be it! You'll lose."

"You Gryffindors always think you're better than us Slytherins! But I've got news for you! The greatest wizard of all time was a Slytherin himself!" Isabella remarked, reminiscing on the stories her father would tell her about the good years almost two decades ago.

Patricia, who had also been listening intently, now joined the conversation. "And what could you have possibly seen that we haven't, you Mudblood!"

Ronnie couldn't believe this. Out of everything Bella had ever said, she had never gone far enough as to call Ronnie such a foul name. At that moment, at that very moment, Ronnie wanted nothing more than Patricia's head on a silver platter. Dark and malicious as the request was, it's what Ronnie wanted. Albus had also heard this loud and clear. Despite the pedestal that he placed Bella on, even he had to admit even he loathed her taste in company at the moment.

"Oh? Did Cambridge take offense to that? That's what you really are, popkin! Poor itty, bitty, baby . . ." And with that, Bella, Patricia, and Isabella turned on their heels in unison and strutted straight to the dungeons.

Ronnie's face was hot and red. She felt more anger than she had ever felt in her life. She didn't feel saddened. She was a Mudblood; there was no denying it. But to bring that up? No. Bella and Patricia had reached the nadir. And Ronnie was not going to let them get away with it. "They'll regret it, they'll regret it," she chanted underneath her breath. Albus took Ronnie's shoulder and vainly attempted to steady her. She had already begun shaking from fury. Ronnie sensed his touched and threw off his hand at once. To this, Albus was displeased. I'm trying to help her! He thought. Fine! Have it your way!

Albus had heard enough and he just wanted to get away, from Ronnie, from Bella, from all of them. When he arrived to the Gryffindor table, James was there waving a letter at him. Albus sat across from James and Rick.

"Here you go little bro, it's from mum and dad," said James. "I sent them a letter telling them I needed a new broom for Quidditch try-outs. I kind of like having to try out again each year, I get to crush the other kids. My broom broke last year, so now I want the Lightyear 6000! The 6000 is because it has 6 different speeds!"

Albus wasn't listening to James however; he was preoccupied opening his letter. He had been waiting for the reply from his parents, and he urgently needed to read his father explaining that his "legacy" is all a rumor. He ripped open the envelope, and James must have noticed his anxiety because he snatched the letter away from him and ran.

"Hey give me my letter back! Stop!" yelled Albus, running after James along the Gryffindor table. This was not the time to annoy him.

"You were too excited to open this; let's see what this is about!" yelled James with laughter as he burst through the Great Hall door and started to puruse the letter.

By the time Albus caught up to him, Professor McGonagall was already in front of him with beamed eyes.

"Mr. Potter, I do not think it is very wise for you and your brother to be running around the castle like this! You should be in the Great Hall safe with the other children ----" said Professor McGonagall before James had an outburst.

"What?! What is this? Albus?!" shouted James before he threw the letter on the floor and ran off towards Gryffindor tower.

McGonagall looked perplexed and Albus picked up the letter scared of what he was about to read.

"Dear Albus,

Your mother and I are doing fine, and Lily has finally begun to lighten up. As for James, maybe we'll trade him for an owl. Only kidding!

Now, referrering to what you heard, I was really hoping you wouldn't. In my youth, a lot of things happened to me of which I did not tell you about. I didn't tell you not because I don't love you or trust you, but because I wanted to protect you. All these years I've put up the best protection I can offer to you and your brother and sister because I'm afraid of losing you. There are a lot of dark wizards out there who certainly hate me, and I don't want them to get to my family. I want to explain more of this to you later, in person, it'll feel right. I'm terribly sorry that you had to find out this way, please don't be upset.

Love,
Dad"

Albus didn't know what to do, he had so many emotions running through his head that it froze him to the floor, as he stood there with a blank face staring at the floor. Professor McGongall asked for the letter and Albus gave it to her, without removing his stare from the floor. She read it quickly and looked deeply saddened.

"My dear boy, come with me to my office. I'll get you some tea," said Professor McGonagall as she wrapped her arm around Albus's shoulders and started to walk with him to her office

He was walking through corridors that he'd never seen before, and passed an interesting statue that he wished he could have a better look at. He made a mental note to return to it on his way back to the common room. After about five minutes of walking, they reached a big gargoyle on the third floor.

"The Lost Diadem" said Professor McGonagall and the gargoyle began to twist into a staircase to which both student and Headmistress climbed until they reached an oak doubledoor and entered her office.

It was a large circular office with another level to it. All around it, Albus saw pictures of sleeping men and women whom he didn't recognize. Some of them were peeking at him, smiling, and he didn't know why. Professor McGonagall was at her desk pouring two cups of tea out for them. Beyond her desk was a bookcase completely full and very neat, and on the top of the bookcase lay the sorting hat. Professor McGonagall signaled for Albus to come sit in front of her desk after he was done staring all around the room.

"Who are in those portraits?" asked Albus, still looking at the portraits from his seat, trying to avoid having to talk about his father's lies with Professor McGonagall.

"Past headmasters and headmistresses of this castle, two of whom you were named after," said Professor McGongall smiling at him.

Albus knew that he was named after two Hogwarts headmasters, but he never got around to asking his dad about them. He knew that one was in Slytherin, and the other Gryffindor, but that was it. He didn't care much about that now though, he was preoccupied with the whole "legacy" of his father. He wasn't sure whether to be proud or angry. He sat there drinking his tea quietly.

"You know, your father was a really great student. What a brave young man he was, and still is! So admirable ----" said McGonagall awkwardly, trying to cheer Albus up.

"Admirable for what? He never told me anything about him being a hero, I had to find out from people at school. He's just a ----"

"Your father had a good reason for not telling you; he wasn't trying to hurt you," she sympathized. It was true. She still remembered Dumbledore's words when he sent Harry to live with the Dursley's. "Can't you see how much better off he'll be, growing up away from all that until he's ready to take it in?" she could still remember him say. Yes, she understood Harry's intentions. As if they were mirroring Dumbledore's for the exact same reason.

Albus and Professor McGonagall spent a while talking about his father, and it made Albus feel a bit better. She told him lighthearted stories, like when she used to teach Harry, but there weren't many details.

With nothing else to say, Albus just sat there looking gloom with his tea. It was a little too hot to drink it all at once, so he barely drank much. He set it down on her desk and just stared at it, trying to avoid her eyes. Professor McGonagall took out a piece of parchment and a golden quill.

"You really should write back, Albus. I know he would be upset if you didn't," said Professor McGonagall while handing him the parchment and quill.

Albus took them gently, and began to write. He didn't know what he wanted to say, but he had an urge to say something.

"Dear Dad,

Please change James for an owl! The owl would certainly be much more useful! How are Mum and Lily? Quite alright?

Dad, about the rumors . . . I can't say I'm not upset. I am. I'm extremely hurt that you couldn't have told me all this, whatever this is, yourself. I know you had James and I in mind, but he's pretty beat up about it, too. I guess we'll wait for the holidays. Professor McGonagall was loads of help. She told me stories about your failures in Transfiguration! Hope to see you in a few weeks, Dad.

Love
Albus

P. S. I think you should write to James. He read the letter and he's even more distraught than I am."

Trying to retain his hands from shaking, the A in his name came out a bit cursive unlike the rest. He trusted Professor McGonagall now and let her read the letter.

"I'm sure he'll like that, and what a nice signature you have," said Professor McGonagall. "Memorable,"

Albus didn't think much of it but immediately liked it a lot more than he did when he first wrote it. Professor McGonagall sealed up the letter and offered to send it for him. Albus thanked her for the tea and for her time, and left her office. With a little bit of his stress relieved, he still had three more problems: Ronnie, Bella, and James.

Bella would have to wait, because at last, he realized there are other things a lot more important. James needed him right now, and even though he didn't want to admit it much, he needed James. Albus ran to the Gryffindor common room, forgetting about his mental note to pass by the peculiar statue, and quickly said the password; he climbed inside. He saw Ronnie with Alex by the fireplace talking; Ronnie was almost in tears. Albus made a quick attempt for them not to see him and he walked to the boys dormitories, this time going into the door for Second Years.

James was laying in his bed, looking at old photographs of their family; the people in the picture looked so happy. There was no one else in the room; they must have been downstairs. It was a surprise that even Rick wasn't here. Albus walked over to James bed and gave him a hug, James didn't reject it.

"It's all going to be okay," said Albus. "Let's not make a big deal about it right now, we'll see them in a few weeks."

James nodded, and Albus quickly noticed that James needed a few hours before he would be able to formulate coherent questions. With a final hug, Albus left the dormitory and headed to his own.

* * *

Albus was running away from a huge monster, it was dark and could hardly be seen. Birds were flying all around them, making the scene beautiful although it was nothing of the sort. It was terrorizing Alex and Ronnie, and Albus didn't know what to do. He jinxed the beast, and got ahold of Alex and Ronnie. They were all going to run away but before they could, a round man was screaming for help..

Then he woke up.

The room was dim, and Jake was snoring so loud he was surprised it hadn't woke up Alex as well. Albus was sweaty, and really scared. What did all these dreams mean? This big creature, monster actually, was roaming around him and he didn't know what to do. He didn't want to tell anyone, because they'd think he was mad. They wouldn't believe him. Surely, asking Taylor if he had any memory of what attacked him would help, but there hasn't been a minute that he wasn't bombared by a bunch of other students.

Too scared to go back to sleep, Albus decided that he would just start getting ready to go to class. Today was the first time he'd have Potions with the new professor, and he wasn't sure of what to expect. For the past few months, he had been using Potions class to just hang out with Rose and her Ravenclaw friends, Laura, Kara, and Jane. Alex didn't take much part in the discussion though, since he was trying to teach himself Potions from the textbook he borrowed from the libary. Whether or not it helped him though, it was quite obvious: they needed a professor.

A couple of hours passed and Alex and Jake woke up, and Albus was already ready. The disgusted looks that were thrown back and forth between Alex and Jake were normal and Albus was quite used to them. Albus didn't want to admit to Alex that he was right about him knowing more about his father and his legacy, but he knew that eventually he would question him about it to learn more. When they met up with Ronnie, her eyes were red and puffy but Albus didn't dare ask why because he already knew: despite her ability to hold back tears in company, it was a completely different story when she was alone in her dormitory. Not to mention that the other first year girls all thought she was a freak already.

Although he still fancied Bella, he didn't approve of what she said to Ronnie, or rather, what her company said to Ronnie. But he couldn't be one to judge, because he was just as guilty for not defending her. Ronnie didn't even look mad at Albus anymore, just disappointed. He would have rather had her yelling at him, then being as depressed as she looked. It made Albus feel just that much worse.

"Well, it's almost Saturday. Time to bear with whatever detention they have for me," said Ronnie gloomingly as she was playing with her food in the Great Hall. She didn't have much of an appetite.

"Us," corrected Albus. "Atleast we're going to be together,"

Ronnie half-smiled for the first time that day, but it didn't last long because when they arrived to Potions, they were completely thrown off guard. Professor Verana was a short round woman with small eyes and big glasses. Her hair was short and outrageously untidy. She was wearing a black cloak that didn't completely cover her body, and you could see the pants she wore under them. Her feet were so small that Albus was surprised they could support her body.

"Good morning everybody, my name is Professor Verana. I will be your Potions teacher for the time-being that Professor Slughorn is gone. I hope that you all are ready to begin your fun adventure into the world of Potions!" announced Professor Verana while waving her arms around excitedly.

Albus was biting back a laugh, and Alex was wide eyed but Ronnie stared blankly as though she couldn't believe what she was seeing. The rest of the class had similar expressions. Rose buried her face in her arms, and Kara and Jane looked just like Alex.

Laura Abel was the first to speak.

"You have got to be kidding me. You are kidding, right? This is a joke guys, ha-ha," giggled Laura and the rest of the class started to laugh.

Professor Verana quickly turned red and her fists were shaking. "This is not a joke young lady, and I will give you a warning. One more out burst and you will be punished! Ten points will be taken from Ravenclaw!"

The Ravenclaws of the class sighed and the Gryffindors were sure not to make a comment and lose points as well. Professor Verana asked everyone to take out their books and with a flick of her wands, cauldrons and ingredients were passed out unsupported in mid air.

"You will be making a Deflating Draught today ----" said Professor Verana.

"But, Professor," interruped Alex. "The instructions aren't even in our book,"

"That is because it is a second year potion. Which, I assume, you will all be excited to tackle."

"Well, actually, no. This is the first time we're even dealing with potions. Why would we start with something more advanced ----?"

"I am the professor, and you will do as I say. The instructions are on the board. No more interruptions. What is your name?"

"Alex Greenfield," he grudgingly reported.

"Well Mr. Greenfield, I am sure you won't have much trouble with this potion considering how you assume you're so smart trying to correct the professor. Get to work."

Albus felt bad for Alex, but he didn't know what to say to him. Both of his friends were now both in bad moods, and Albus wasn't far from being the same. Trying to make the draught was very aggravating and all of the students were exhausted by the end of the class.

"Ah, Miss York made the perfect Deflating Draught. I am quite impressed," said Professor Verana while patting Jane York on the back. She did it right, but her face showed that she was annoyed. But not more annoyed than Alex who made the worst of all the potions, which exploded half way through class.

Walking out of the class, Albus noticed that he and Ronnie went a whole class without arguing with each other. They weren't exactly on great terms yet, but the way things were going, he knew things would be okay soon. Now that his problem with Ronnie was resolved, or at least well on its way, and he and James were working with dealing with the discovery of their fathers legacy, only one problem was left. The thought of it made his insides feel like they were churning and his mind like a complete idiot.

And it was all because of Bella.