~*Chapter 20*~

Warmth

By the time he arrived back in the common room, a House celebration was already in full swing. Al was a little sorry he'd missed the match judging by the excited chatter going on around him. Apparently there had been a number of beasts in the glade (with a small smile Al remembered the crates Hagrid had so clumsily tried to hide from himself and Felicia) to make things more interesting. There had been plenty of spells thrown back and forth as the teams struggled to liberate flags, and more than a few contestants were holed up in the infirmary having humiliating jinxes removed. Hearing his cousin's name mentioned, Al wriggled his way through the crowd to where his brother and Vincent were boasting about a particularly sneaky jinx Louis had used on an unsuspecting opponent.

"What happened? Who won?"

James turned at his voice and threw his arms up in the air. "Where have you been?! Did old Switch find you? I can't believe you snuck off in the middle of-" He saw the sudden warning look on Al's face and stopped. Glancing around, he took Al's arm and led him over to a quieter spot by the fireplace. Felicia came hurrying over an instant later.

"What happened?" she asked breathlessly, looking a little frightened. "Not... not another Dementor, surely?"

"No," Al said quickly, looking to make sure no one had heard her. "No, it was..." He stopped, torn. The desire to tell them the whole insane tale wrestled with his doubts about the wisdom of doing so. If James found out another student had used the Cruciatus curse on his little brother, vengeance would be swift. And without the culprit available, would James go back to just lashing out at any Slytherin in sight? "It wasn't anything like the Dementor. Just Scorpius getting picked on pretty bad. Lily and I put a stop to it, don't worry about it."

"Oh, him." James grimaced, looking disappointed in him. "I can't believe you missed out on cheering on Louis to help that weasel. His team got second place, by the way. In case you cared." Shaking his head in disgust, he went back to Vincent.

Felicia remained where she was, looking at Al carefully. "Something tells me it's not as simple as that," she said softly.

Al shook his head, trying to throw off his frustration. He hated keeping this from James, making him think less of Al, but a small voice in the back of his head insisted it was the right call. If he or the cousins found out Lily and Al had been under such duress... No. He wouldn't risk James getting himself expelled. "It wasn't," he admitted finally. "But I can't talk about it. I'm sorry."

He expected Felicia to be hurt, but she only nodded after a long moment. "You've told me everything else," she said slowly. "I guess if you won't tell me this, you have a really good reason."

Relieved at her understanding, Al attempted to change the subject. "I am sorry I missed the match, though. Did Louis do well?"

"He got a big Slytherin bloke in the back with a pretty good jinx. And his team managed to steal the flag pretty quickly, thought it was a very close thing." Felicia smiled. "Your cousins carried him back to the castle on their shoulders. He was so red, but he looked really pleased. He didn't get the most points for his team, and they only got second place, but it was nice of them to make him feel special."

They sat by the fire talking about the match, and after a few minutes Dustin and Andrew found them and joined in. By the time people started trickling to bed, it was as if the scene at the lake was just a bad dream.

Al glanced up as the portrait hole opened a few inches, then swung silently shut again. He was puzzled for a moment, until Trinity came weaving between ankles and climbed demandingly into his lap. He scratched her ears, tugging free the folded bit of parchment tucked under her collar. Expecting his sister's untidy handwriting, he was a little startled to see the unfamiliar bold hand.

Your father will contact you through the floo network at half past midnight. Ensure you are alone.

~ Professor Shacklebolt

Crumpling up the paper, Al continued talking as if the note was of no consequence, wondering what he was going to do if the revelers stayed up late.

Neville solved that problem five minutes after midnight. Whether he knew Al needed the privacy or he was simply ensuring everyone got a decent night's rest, he popped in and loudly complained about the noise, ordering everyone to bed.

"I'll be up in a minute," Al said casually when Andrew and Dustin rose and turned towards him expectantly. "I forgot I have to finish that paper for Transfiguration. It won't take long."

Felicia flicked him a glance, but didn't say anything. Al dug his book out of his bag and made himself look busy rooting for parchment and quill while the rest of the Gryffindors made their way to the dorm rooms. Once he was finally alone, he pushed his book aside and scooted closer to the fireplace, absently stroking Trinity.

Alone at last with his thoughts, Al could not keep his mind off the curse he'd been forced to endure. He shuddered, holding Trinity a little closer. His father had suffered the Cruciatus Curse, he recalled. It was a bit of a comfort to know he could discuss this with someone who would know exactly what he'd gone through.

The minutes dragged on, and his eyelids were beginning to sag when the low fire suddenly sputtered, then began to shape itself into a familiar if unexpected face.

"Al?"

Al straightened, blinking the drowsiness from his face. "Mom?"

Ginny's face, even warped by the fire, was clearly agitated. "Al, are you all right? Kingsley told us everything."

It took him a second to realize she meant the Headmaster. "I'm fine. Really."

"Did you tell him everything?" she demanded. "If something else happened, you can tell me."

"I'm fine," he repeated, a little puzzled but still glad to see her. "I didn't leave anything out. Except the cloak." He added hastily, noticing her expression was still close to frantic, "Lily's fine, too. They never saw her. They only got me, and they didn't see my face."

Ginny took in a deep breath, some of the tension finally easing away from her. "Albus Potter," she said tightly, "are you trying to drive me into an early grave? I want you to stop sticking your nose where it doesn't belong, do you hear me? You and your sister are taking far too many risks. What if they had seen you? What if Lily had been hit too? You're responsible for her. You can't let her keep snooping around. You should know better. Especially after the mess with the Dementor."

"Sorry, Mom," Al muttered, a little embarrassed, and glad no one was around to witness the scolding.

"The thought of you having that curse set on you..." Anger had crept into her tone now. "I'd like to blast that boy into next week. I'm going to show you some nasty jinxes during the summer break. How dare they-"

Al recognized the beginnings of a furious tirade and hastily cut her off. He had a sudden mental image of Ginny Potter storming into the school, eyes ablaze, tongue and wand ready to make somebody pay. "Mom, it's over. It's fine, really. The Headmaster has the guy responsible." He decided not to remind her that one of them, the mysterious leader, had gotten away. "He'll deal with it. I think they're even getting the Ministry involved."

"Good," Ginny snapped. "They'd better question his parents closely. He obviously learned the curse from somewhere." She took a deep, steadying breath. "I'm glad you're all right. But remember what I said. You're there to learn, not to try and get yourself into as much trouble as someone I could mention." Al knew she was referring to Harry, and bit back a grin. "I'm going to check on your sister. Your father wants to talk to you. I'll see you later, honey. Keep up with your studies."

Her face melted away, and after a few moments Harry's appeared. Where Ginny had seemed upset, his expression was more grim. "How do you keep finding yourself in the middle of these messes?" he demanded, though Al could tell from the strain in his tone that he was as worried as Ginny.

"Sorry," Al mumbled, looking down at Trinity to avoid that steady stare. "I didn't know it'd get that bad. Lily just said Scorpius was in trouble... I thought we could sneak up, maybe throw a couple confusing jinxes, and break things up."

Harry sighed. "Look... your mother and I are proud of you for sticking up for that boy. His father's... going through something, and I know the whole family is under a lot of pressure and scrutiny these days. Scorpius Malfoy could probably use a friend right now." His mouth tightened. "But I don't want you or your sister putting yourselves in harm's way because of your sympathy for him. They'd already loosed a Dementor, you should have expected them to fight dirty when cornered. You have to think about these things before you act. And you can't just think of what you can or can't handle. You had Lily with you, and you were protecting Malfoy. That means you're responsible for them, and whatever actions you take could effect them as well. Not to mention others. If they'd figured out who you were, you could have put James in trouble too. Or your cousins. Or your friends."

Al couldn't think of an answer. The far-reaching consequences of his feud with Evaine and her group had not fully occurred to him before. He should have insisted Lily stay behind. He should have aimed his jinx at the leader and been careful to remain unseen. He might never have had to suffer the Cruciatus, and Scorpius might have gotten his wand back more quickly and they'd have been able to present the leader to Shacklebolt. If they'd seen his face- or Lily's –they might have struck out at anyone he was close to. The thought of Felicia, unable to defend herself, getting blindsided with the Cruciatus Curse, made him feel sick.

Harry had remained silent for a minute or two, obviously letting Al mull over his words. "Things happen," he finally said, calmer. Al risked a peek and saw a deep understanding in his father's eyes. "Sometimes you just react. Sometimes you have to learn the hard way, like you did tonight, that when you take a stand, you risk not just yourself. I'm sorry that you had to go through what you did tonight. I never wanted any of you to feel the Cruciatus Curse... I'd assumed you never would." His mouth quirked in a fleeting smile. "Your mother wants to march all the way to the school and get her hands on the boy that did it to you. I think I talked her down for now." His smile vanished. "You didn't tell your brother about this, did you?"

Al shook his head quickly. "No way. He'd probably declare war on Slytherin."

"Good. Your brother loves you, and he just wants to look out for you, but... he can be a little rash." Harry arched a brow. "As can you, as it turns out. And here we thought you were the sensible one."

Al grinned helplessly. "Compared to James and Lily, I think I still am."

Harry laughed. "Sadly true. We'll talk more about this during the break. For now, just keep your head down and focus on your studies. Have fun with your friends. Don't go chasing any more snake images on the walls. And for now, stay away from Malfoy. He's got his own troubles, and you don't need to go inviting yourself into them."

"Dad-" Al rose up on his knees, his emotions a tangle of fear and frustration. "Something's going on, isn't it? Something big. Those snakes, the Malfoys, the weird in-fighting with the Purebloods... You know what's happening, don't you?"

Harry looked back at him, expression inscrutable, and didn't answer.

"It's not just out there anymore, Dad. In the grown-up world. It's happening here. Dementors and.. and illegal curses. And secret meetings and snake carvings. You can't keep us in the dark forever. I want to know what to expect. Isn't it more dangerous not to know?"

Harry was silent for so long, Al was sure he wasn't going to get an answer. Then finally, sounding tired, Harry said, "You know enough. You know there are dangerous things, and you know to be cautious. For now... For now, that's all you need to know. Just let us handle this, Al. Stay out of trouble. And look out for your sister. This is not a good time for a Potter to be in Slytherin." He added quietly, more to himself than his son, "Or a Malfoy, it would seem." Then, before Al could get in another word, his face flickered and vanished, leaving only the fire behind.

Al didn't breathe a word of what had happened by the lake, but rumors were running rampant by lunch the next day. Several students insisted they'd seen members of the Ministry frogmarching someone out of the school early in the morning, though they'd kept his face concealed. Before the end of the day, Slytherin had noted Richmond's absence, and speculation ran wild.

"Wonder what old Rich did to get the Ministry's attention," Fred mused, looking morbidly fascinated. They were in the common room, pretending to study while discussing the morning's events with relish. "Wish I'd seen them hauling him out of here."

"Bet they found out he had something to do with that Dementor," Roxie said, equally intrigued. She turned to Al, lowering her voice. "You said he was one of the ones down there, right? That night with the Dementor. They must've found a way to prove it."

"Maybe Evaine will be next," Fred said gleefully.

"Aren't you supposed to be studying?" Al interjected, giving Fred's books a pointed look. "Your O.W.L.s start tomorrow."

"Stop talking about it," James hissed at his cousin. "No one's supposed to know Al knows anything about that."

Looking abashed, Fred dutifully returned to his studies.

Al noticed Felicia eyeing him and quickly buried his nose in his Potions book. He was willing to let the others assume this had something to do with the Dementor attack- and if they were all lucky, the subject would come up during Richmond's interrogation. But Felicia, at least, obviously suspected it had more to do with the previous night at the lake. She didn't say anything, however, and instead turned to help Dustin with his History of Magic essay.

James managed to stare thoughtfully at his own books for about two minutes before he sighed and got to his feet. "Forget this, I'm going to go find Emma."

Vincent glanced up from his own homework, mouth tugging in a frown. "You two are talking again? I thought you two were still fighting about that last Quidditch match."

"Nah, that sort of thing's bound to happen," James said breezily, as if he'd never held a grudge at all. "Rival Quidditch teams, it's inevitable. We made up. Catch you guys later." And he hurried off, smoothing his hair as he went.

Al noted that Vincent's frown still lingered. "Do you not like Emma?"

"What?" Vincent looked at him in surprise. "I don't have a problem with her. She's kind of an airhead outside the Quidditch pitch, but..." He stopped. "Why do you ask?"

"You just always get this weird look on your face whenever she comes up, that's all."

Vincent shrugged uncomfortably, returning his undivided attention to his book.

"Nah, I get it," Fred drawled. "James can do better, no doubt. But let him have his awkward first romance, it'll be good for 'im."

"Don't talk like you're an expert," Roxie snorted. "Have you ever actually dated anyone, or do you just have snog sessions with whatever cute girl will dip into a broom closet with you?"

Fred only gave her a smugly superior look, while Dustin and Andrew shot him admiring glances.

"Gross," Felicia muttered.

Fred heard her and gave her a playful push. "You won't think it's so 'gross' in a year or two, kiddo. I bet by next year you'll have a couple guys tryin' to sweet-talk you."

Felicia made a face. "My parents don't want me even thinking of dating 'til I'm at least fifteen. And that's fine by me. Magic is much more interesting than boys."

Dustin suddenly became very interested in his essay. Al couldn't help but notice the tips of his ears were turning red.

"Felicia's right, boys are gross," Roxie laughed.

"We can be charming when we feel like it," her brother said loftily. "Anyway, you stay out of this, you're biased." He gave her a pointed look. "You don't really have room to rag on me when all you did half the year was make dopey moon-eyes at that Hufflepuff Prefect instead of actually getting the nerve to ask her out." He made loud kissy noises until she smacked him upside the head soundly with a couch pillow.

This was news to Al, but he only half heard. His eyes had flitted over towards Vincent at some point, and the conversation was suddenly making him feel uncomfortable, though he wasn't quite certain why. Burying his face in his book and hoping his face didn't look as warm as it felt, he struggled to focus on his assignment.

Felicia reached out and pulled his book down a few inches, giving him a hard look. "You've been trying to hang out with Vincent without James hauling him off all year," she whispered under cover of the siblings' pillow fight. "Homework can wait. Talk to him, won't you?"

Al stared at her blankly. She was right, but suddenly he couldn't think of a single conversation topic. Felicia stared right back at him, letting the silence grow awkwardly, then gave an exasperated sigh and turned to Vincent. "Vincent, can you quiz Al? We've got a test tomorrow in Potions."

"Sure thing," Vincent said, sounding a little relieved as he tossed his own book aside. "I'm really not in the mood for History of Magic. Here, tell me what chapter you're on."

Al handed over his book, feeling an odd mix of resentment and gratitude towards Felicia.

Though he definitely did not like the smug little smile she wore as she went back to her own homework.

If there was one thing the O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s were good for, it was silencing the rumors and gossip about Richmond. With the seventh- and fifty-years caught in an exhausting haze of nonstop studying and exams, most of the other students ended up getting their heads bitten off for bringing up anything non-class related. And though less intense, Al and the other years had their end-of-year exams as well. These were particularly painful for Al, who had been a bit lax in his studies lately with all the intrigue with Evaine. Still, he did better than he'd feared in most classes, and managed to scrape up a passing grade for Potions and History of Magic, though it was a near thing. Roxie and James did much better than usual, surprising themselves. Rose pointed out it was likely due to all their study sessions helping Fred prep for his O.W.L.s, but they breezily insisted it was just natural genius.

Lily also struggled with her exams, having spent a good deal of time shadowing Evaine and exploring the castle in the cloak. Though she passed, she was miserable about her low scores, knowing her parents would be displeased.

"You did really well in Potions, though," Al soothed. "Way too well for a Potter, actually. Maybe you should be my study-buddy for Potions next year. You'd be less irritating than Scorpius."

She managed a weak grin at that, but it faded quickly. "I'll never get a broom with these grades."

Al winced. His parents could likely afford it, especially since Al had lost interest in Quidditch and not requested a broom of his own. But their stipulation for brooms was decent grades. It was, he was sure, the only thing that had made James do so well on his end-of-year exams his first year.

But James scoffed in disbelief. "You really think they'll be able to say no? Two old Quidditch nuts like our folks? Especially with Dad bummed that Al doesn't wanna play. Besides, they'll wanna make you feel better about all the crap you had to put up with this year in Slytherin."

Roxie nodded sagely. "Pull the guilt card. Smart."

Lily tittered, but her expression grew sly. Al had a feeling she would turn on the waterworks and lament about her rough year if it looked like she was going to meet any resistance about a new broom. "Don't give her ideas," he sighed, knowing such tactics would definitely work.

Lily smiled sweetly as if reading his mind.

With exams out of the way, the whole school seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Fred was puffed up about his O.W.L. scores, and Louis had done even better. Gryffindor was in ecstatics because it looked like they were finally going to snatch the House Cup by a narrow margin. This was, Al was secretly sure, in a small part because of the points so many Professors had awarded himself and his family in the days after the Dementor attack.

As the last week of school dragged on, Al tried to take his father's advice and put the mysteries and dangers of the year out of his mind. He hung out with his friends, practiced interesting spells and jinxes, and even snuck down to the library a few times to read up on Patronuses, eager to begin next year's practice sessions with James. He even got to spend more time with Vincent; James seemed to be trying to get as much time with Emma as possible lately, and Vincent alternated between sulking about this and acting as if he and Al had never stopped hanging out. It was nice to have Vincent as part of his little group again, even if Rose and Felicia did tend to keep sending them odd little smiles a lot for some reason.

In fact, by the last day, he was having so much fun with his friends, it almost felt as if the Dementor and Cruciatus Curse had never happened. As everyone milled about, packing their things and saying their noisy goodbyes in the common room and talking about their plans for the break, Al found himself looking forward to his upcoming fourth year. He would be learning the Patronus Charm, he might get to see Lily play Quidditch, and it seemed Scorpius and he might finally be able to be friends.

"Al!"

He glanced up from where he was trying to shove a few last minute items into his trunk. He'd dragged everything down into the common room from his dorm so Felicia could try a packing spell she'd been practicing, but it hadn't worked so well. Trinity perched nearby, watching their efforts with a superior expression.

Vincent threaded his way through the packed room, hauling his own trunk. "Hey, I'll be sitting with James and the others, so I might not see you on the train. I wanted to wish you a good summer."

"Oh- you, too," Al said lamely, suddenly unsure of what to do with his hands.

"Here's hoping next year isn't as crazy as this one," Vincent joked. "Do me a favor. Next time you stumble onto a Slytherin Dementor conspiracy, come find me. Don't try to play hero, okay?"

Al was still trying to think of a cool and casual response to this when Vincent reached out suddenly and pulled him in for a brief but crushing hug.

Al froze for a moment, unable to conjure a single coherent thought. Vincent felt very warm and solid. By the time he thought to raise his own arms to return the hug, however, it was over.

"See you next year, mate." Flashing one of his wide, handsome smiles, Vincent ruffled his hair and disappeared into the crowd again.

Al stood paralyzed for a few moments, feeling silly and warm and very confused about everything. But also happy.

It took him awhile to realize Felicia was watching him closely. "What?" he snapped, hating the smile that was creeping over her face. "What are you so happy about?"

"Don't be thick," she said pertly, and turned back to her own belongings.

Al stared at her, then felt his gaze track the room once more, seeking Vincent out. Abruptly a suspicion began to tease at his mind. The meaning behind the smiles Rose and Felicia kept sharing whenever Vincent and he talked. The jumpy, uncomfortable, hopeful feeling he kept getting around the older boy. His bubbling resentment that James took up so much of Vincent's time.

He stood like a statue in the middle of the common room and knew his face was probably as red as it felt.

"Oh no."

Author's Notes:

SHAZAM, enjoy the quick update :D Thus ends year 3.
Ok, now for... tentative bad news. For a long time I've chewed on the idea on whether or not to continue this series. I do have fun writing it, usually, but aside from writing spurts like this recent one, it usually is a slow and time-consuming project that probably only a dozen people read. I AM extremely grateful to those of you who do read and leave kudos or wonderful comments that always make me wanna pick up whatever chapter I got stuck on, but it's still a ton of work for a very small audience, and sometimes the temptation to just put this aside and focus on other things is pretty strong. I swear I'm not trying to whine, I just wanted to give a fair heads up in case Year 4 never happens (or, knowing me, starts and then sputters out halfway through fhdjsakl)
But.. I do think I will at least start Year 4, tbh. I'm impatient for Al and Scorpius to stop acting like brats around each other haha
Regardless of what happens, thanks to those who have read thus fa