Chapter 15: A Terrible Taste In Names

Albus did not know how long he had been laying there for, stomach pressed against the dirt of Hagrid's vast vegetable patch, breathing in the fresh air as he listened to the gentle breathing of his friends next to him. He rolled over and stared at the starry sky, still panting, and leaning over to check on his friends.

They were all still fast asleep, but it was a pleaaent sleep. The Assyrian Alert Seeds had evidently not worked, whatever the Mist was, it was far too powerful to be hoodwinked by the offspring of a plant. He could hear Scorpius and Morrison breathing heavily, and even saw their bodies twitch as though they were trying to get comfortable while laying in the dirt.

Mirra was a different matter however. Her breathing was no longer shallow, but her normally pale skin was cold and clammy. It was as if the Mist had sapped not only the energy from her body, but the very will to live.

He stared at the three of them, unsure of what to do, or who to alert, when he heard a great yell off in the distance. "Albus! Albus what's happened!"

Albus turned around and saw Neville, still in his golden and scarlet pajamas, running towards them. "Merlin's beard!" he yelled when he saw three more students laying in the dirt.

"No, his dungeon" Albus muttered through clenched teeth, very exhausted and having no idea what he was saying.

"Harry was right!" Neville gasped as he came over to the group of the students. He looked at the lid to the vertical passageway leading to the dungeon, which Albus had not managed to fully close. "What is this?" he asked.

"Long story" Albus muttered. "Professor, do you think you could -"

But he was answered before he had managed to finish his sentence. Neville had already pulled out his wand and conjured three stretchers out of mid-air. He flicked his wand once more and the bodies of Scorpius, Mirra, and Morrison were placed on each one, hovering slightly above the ground.

"Albus, you need to tell me what happened" Neville said pleadingly.

"Professor- I really- I need to know my friends are okay first" he said. This was partially true, their safety meant a great deal. But he was also postponing the inevitable interaction with an authority figure now. He would not be able to lie his way through a story. He would have to confess what Mirra had done.

"Right- right of course" Neville responded. "Hagrid!" he called out into the dark.

It took only a few seconds for Albus to hear the cabin door behind him burst open. The next thing he knew, Hagrid was standing next to him, wearing his own pair of gigantic scarlet pajamas, speaking very quickly to Neville.

"Professor Longbottom" he said. "Wha' happened? Albus!" he said once he saw the dirt on Albus' face from where he was lying down in the garden. "Albus are you okay!" he yelled loud enough for the entire castle to hear him.

"I'm- I'm fine" he managed to stammer out before Neville cut him off.

"Hagrid, I need you to take Albus to the Headmaster's office, he seems to be okay. I'm going to take these three to the hospital wing" he said quickly.

He waved his wand once more and the three stretchers that had been hovering raised a few feet, then began following him as he ran towards the castle entrance.

"Al, wha' happened?" Hagrid asked him.

"Sorry Hagrid" he replied, with his head down. "But I don't think you had anything to do with those golden tulips."

They walked back to the castle after Neville and the stretchers, and entered it in utter silence. Hagrid did not speak the entire way through the castle; he seemed to have several questions to ask, but did not know in which order to ask him. Instead, it was Albus who initiated conversation.

"Hagrid, Professor Longbottom mentioned my dad" he said. "Is he here?"

"Couldn't tell ya' Al, I've been asleep for the last few hours. Wha' were your friends doin' out in me vegetable patch? And who was the girl?" he asked.

"It's- a really long story" he said as they approached the stone gargoyles of the Headmaster's office. "Am I in trouble?" he asked, though he thought that he already knew the answer to his question.

"Ehh...I don' know. But good luck Al. Password's' 'Mysteries'" he said gruffly, before turning to leave Albus facing the stone gargoyle.

Albus listened to Hagrid walk away as he continued staring at the stone gargoyle, fear rising in his chest. He hoped his friends were okay, and for a second thought of completely abandoning his trip to the Headmaster in favor of seeing them. The last time he had been in the Headmaster's office, he had just gotten done overhearing something he was not meant to hear, and Headmaster Ares had been very angry when he had seen him.

"Erm...mysteries?" he asked the gargoyle nervously after a moment.

The gargoyle slid open to reveal the staircase leading to the Headmaster's office. Albus stepped into it and watched as it began revolving towards a large door. For a fleeting moment, he wished that he was back in the Dungeon, where he needn't face the Headmaster and reveal everything that had happened, how they had snuck out, how Mirra could have been a murderer...

He knocked on the door. "Enter" came a gruff voice.

Albus opened the door and found himself standing in the Headmaster's office once again, but now with the dark sky behind it, giving off a very ominous feeling indeed.

"Sit" the Headmaster said. He looked very angry indeed. His jet black hair was ruffled in odd angles, as though he had just moved his hand through it, and his cold grey eyes were narrowed. He next spoke in his loud, booming voice, but the distaste in it was palpable. "I said sit" he repeated, the last word almost hissed.

Albus, who had been too terrified at his appearance to sit down the first time, took a seat in the small wooden chair across for the Headmaster's desk. He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off.

"Tell me what you were doing out on the grounds near Hagrid's cabin at eleven' o clock at night. With three of your friends" he added.

"We- we were going to visit Hagrid. I'm friends with hi-"

"Liar!" the Headmaster practically yelled.

Albus froze in his chair. The Headmaster had said it with so much certainty that Albus had the shrewd suspicion that he had read his mind. Knowing that there was no way to fool him, Albus heaved a humongous sigh and prepared to tell the truth. He could only hope that Mirra wasn't locked away in Azkaban for it.

"We went down there to -"

But he was cut off once again, this time from a different voice.

"Don't speak until I can hear it from the beginning, Albus."

Albus spun around so fast that his leg connected with the wooden desk in front of him. He ignored the pain however, and managed to yell out "Dad!"

Harry Potter was standing in the office, a look of mingled relief and curiosity on his face. His voice had not seemed mad, but rather eager to hear some answers.

"You!" Headmaster Ares spat. "How did you get in? Who told you the password?"

"No one" Harry said. "The gargoyles downstairs let me in...I'm rather friendly with them. Do you have an extra chair? I'd like to hear my son's explanation too, if you don't mind."

The Headmaster looked as though he minded very much, but said through gritted teeth "Not at all. I'll get you one." He pulled his wand out so fast that Albus didn't even see his hand enter his robes. He waved it once and a small, dilapidated, wooden chair appeared right next to Albus. It was missing a front leg, making it slightly lopsided.

Albus saw his dad smile as he too pulled out his wand. He waved it once and the small wooden chair vanished. With another wave, a squishy armchair appeared a few feet behind Albus. "Very generous of you Reginald, but I've been having back problems recently...almost forty and all. I prefer to sit in comfort."

He sat down in the chair and stretched out, before saying, "If you'd mind starting from the beginning, Albus" he said.

"He was" the Headmaster spat. "Before you took it upon yourself to enter my castle and break into my office."

Albus' father ignored this statement and inclined his head towards Albus, signaling him to begin speaking.

Albus breathed a small sigh of relief. It would be way easier to talk with his father here than all alone. "Well...me and Morrison and Scorpius -"

"Scorpius? Scorpius Malfoy?" his father interjected.

"Yeah we're friends" Albus said, a bit defiantly.

His father eyed him for a moment before giving a small shrug. "Okay, continue" he said.

"I will tell him when he can continue!" the Headmaster spat at him. He turned to Albus. "Continue" he said quietly.

"Right...well, me, Scorpius, and Morrison found out about the Dungeon of Merlin's Mist -"

"Merlin's Mist? What rubbish is this?" the Headmaster interrupted.

Albus gave a tiny groan. Were either of them going to let him finish his story? Or at least speak two sentences before being interrupted?

"It is a very powerful substance located in a Dungeon, Reginald" Harry said. "It is a potential epidemic, a threat to the wizarding world. I'm willing to bet that the entrance to the Dungeon that houses the said Mist is out on the grounds somewhere."

Albus blinked. How had his father known that? It took them months to figure it out...

The Headmaster blinked. "You mean to tell me, that one of my students almost killed us all?"

Albus' father nodded his head and gave a weak smile. "Excuse my interruption Albus, but just out of curiosity, how did you discover this Dungeon?"

"Well...we researched it" he said, trying to dodge the question of where he had heard about it in the first place. His father continued staring at him however, evidently not satisfied with the answer.

"And we only found out about it because I read about it in Rose's diary" he continued, now staring at his sneakers, waiting for the reprimand he was sure would come.

He heard the Headmaster give a snort and mutter something that sounded like "Children". His father however, made no comment for several seconds, before saying, "A most unusual means of getting information, but an effective one. I will not tell Rose that you read her diary" he said.

Albus looked up, elated, before hearing "But you will."

He looked back down, the light feeling in his chest evaporating on the spot. His father stood up and turned to the Headmaster, who was leaning back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. He looked as though he was trying to tune out the conversation happening before him. He looked up, however, when Harry began speaking to him.

"It isn't very hard to figure out what happened from here" he said. "Miss Tunnels, one of the students who has recovered and is currently in the hospital wing, attempted to open the Dungeon of Merlin's Mist. Doing so would have resulted in the injury, and possible death, of many students in your school, and indeed, all that came in contact with it. You are very lucky my son was here to save the day, Reginald" he said with the tiniest shadow of a smirk.

At this, Headmaster Ares leapt out of his seat and pointed his finger at Harry. "Oh, oh I'm lucky am I?" he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'm lucky that I have students in my school, who instead of informing me when we are all in danger, choose to go about saving the day by themselves, trying to play hero?"

At this, Albus looked down at his feet in disgust. Though he didn't want to admit it, he knew that the Headmaster had a very good point. Had he only told someone about it when he first discovered the danger they were all in, this entire night could have been avoided.

His father seemed to be thinking along the same lines, as he didn't say anything, instead allowing the Headmaster to continue. "I am lucky, however, that he has managed to provide me with names! So now I know to deduct one hundred points from his house for him and his friends being out on the grounds, and I know to have Miss Tunnels expelled!"

"No!" Albus shouted out, picking up his head and staring at the Headmaster. He could not-he would not let his friends get in trouble for his mistakes.

"Now Reginald, that is extremely unfair of you" his father said.

"Oh? Oh? Is it really" the Headmaster said, once again his voice very sarcastic. "Well then by all means, you decide what to do, since you're the Headmaster at this school" he said with a sneer.

"I'm not telling you what to do" Harry replied kindly. "I merely think it's right to inform you that my son and his friends broke no rules. I had the very fortunate pleasure of meeting an old friend upon my entrance into this castle. Professor Longbottom insisted that he gave these children permission to be out on the grounds, and takes full responsibility for it. He told me to tell you that he will happily lose a month's salary for doing so."

The Headmaster looked as though he had been slapped. Before he could speak however, Harry continued. "Also, I have recently met with Miss Tunnel's parents, and I can assure you, had it not been for them, none of this would have happened. They pressured their daughter, forced her, and one might even say brainwashed her into doing this. I have no right to claim what becomes of your students Reginald, but I ask a favor of you. Please do not let this student suffer for her parent's mistakes."

Albus thought that his father may be pushing his luck. He couldn't possibly imagine a reason why the Headmaster would do him a favor, especially when he had made him look like a fool the entire conversation.

He was quite wrong though. The Headmaster's expression did not soften, but he said, in a slightly lighter voice, "Fine. As a favor, she will go unpunished. But her parents will be taken to Azkaban, surely?"

"Yes" his father replied. "They will serve one year in Azkaban."

Headmaster Ares gave a howl of rage. "One year! One year, for endangering the entire wizarding world? One year is preposterous! One year is -"

"-Twice as long as you served, if I remember correctly" Albus' father said darkly.

If the Headmaster looked as though he had been slapped before, now he looked as though he had been kicked in his face repeatedly. He flushed a dark red, he grey eyes bulged out of their sockets, and his mouth hung open as though he wanted to retaliate, but didn't know how.

Albus, completely taken aback by this sudden piece of news, turned to the Headmaster and, forgetting whom he was speaking to, asked "You were in Azkaban?"

The Headmaster continue to stare blankly at Albus' father, as though he had not heard Albus ask his question. "That is not the subject at hand!" he said coldly. It was the angriest that he had ever sounded, and yet, he had said it rather quietly.

Albus' father did not answer or respond to his sentence, but simply decided to change the topic. "Professor, would you mind if I could speak to my son alone for a moment?"

The Headmaster seemed to regain his composure after this question and shot out "Certainly, I daresay you'll find you have an entire castle to speak privately."

Albus' father smiled again. "I was hoping we could talk in here? I don't want to disturb anyone else this late at night. It will only take a moment."

The Headmaster stared at him with contempt. "Very well, I need to use the lavatory anyway. You have ten minutes, Potter." And with that, he strode to the door and left the room.

Albus watched as his father shifted in his seat and surveyed him. After a moment, Albus decided to ask something that he had been curious about. "Dad, how did you know about Mirra and her parents?"

His father gave a slight smile. "You really should have picked a different informant" he said. "Your Aunt Hermione told me months ago that you had asked her about Merlin and his dungeons. I didn't know why at the time, but it suddenly clicked after I received a certain letter."

Albus stared intently. What letter was his father talking about?

"Your cousin Rose sent me a letter earlier today, telling me that she was worried about her friend, Mirra. She mentioned the Dungeon that you read about in her diary, and told me that she seemed to think Mirra's parents were mistreating her. Your Aunt Hermione, bless her, knew at once what she had meant by 'Merlin's Mist', and told me how potentially dangerous it could be. As is Ministry protocol, I visited Miss Tunnel's parents to inquire what their daughter could possibly have to do with such a dungeon."

At this, his voice darkened, and his smile became thin, as though he was doing his best not to frown. "I learned that Mirra is very, very distantly related to Merlin, through her mother's side. To connect this through a family tree would be very hard, there are so many generations between them. They may not even be related, though I think that they are, as Mirra was given a key prior to the beginning of this school year."

Albus continued to listen intently. His father took a very slight pause before continuing.

"I discovered that her parents intended her to release the Mist out into the wizarding world. They had no desire to claim whatever artifact was hidden within it. Their plan was to have their daughter release the Mist into the sky, to rid the world of muggles, something that they believed Merlin would have wanted to happen."

"But didn't they realize that their daughter could get hurt?" Albus asked. "Or even die?"

This time, his father's frown could not be stopped. "Yes" he replied. "They did not care. Their only intention was to fulfill what they believed were Merlin's wishes. The location had been passed down through generations, as was the key. Mirra, the first to attend Hogwarts, was in a perfect position to complete what they deemed was a task meant to be completed. She has been told for years that to open this dungeon and release the Mist was her purpose, her only point in life. It is all that she grew up knowing. What became of her afterwards didn't matter to them."

Albus stared at him, mouth open, horrified. What parent could do that? What parent could care so little about their child? A boiling rage had erupted from within him. Suddenly... suddenly, he did not blame the Headmaster for being outraged at their abnormally short sentence.

"How could they?" he asked. "What parents would do that? That's terrible! Where will she go now?" he asked.

"It is terrible" his father said grimly. "I know very well what can happen when a child is not cared for by their parents. I even know of one wizard, who may have turned out very, very different if only he had a mother to love him. She will be sent to live with her grandparents, on her father's side, whom I'm sure will be very happy to take her. She will remain with them even after her parents are removed from Azkaban. I cannot, however, give them anymore than one year's time. There is no concrete proof that they truly understood what may have happened to their daughter; they may even be mentally disturbed."

"How did- how did you figure all of this out? They just told you?" he asked.

At this, his fathers frown changed back to his very light smile. "No, they did not wish to tell me much of this information. They were quite rude to be honest, and needed to be subdued following my arrival. Thankfully, I had a fellow Ministry employee accompany me, a man named Sancticus, who is very well adept at legilimency."

"Legilawhat?" Albus asked.

"It's the magical ability to extract feelings and memories from someone. For all intents and purposes, it's a bit like mind reading" he said with a smile.

"So- so your ministry friend read their minds and figured this all out?" he asked.

"Yes, and immediately following, I sent a message to Professor Longbottom, asking him to check to see if you were okay. I knew from Rose that your friend Mirra had chosen to wander the grounds tonight. I had the very strange feeling that you would be involved somehow."

"And he sent an owl back?" Albus asked.

"No, not an owl. Me and some of my oldest friend have a much easier way of relaying messages. He told me that he had unfortunately let you out on the grounds with your friends. I responded back telling him I would be there shortly, and to check on Rose. I had planned on being here much sooner, but your Headmaster had placed some extremely powerful protective charms around the castle. It took me much longer than I had expected to get in."

Albus let this information sink in for a moment. So Rose had sent a letter asking for help, and his father came a bit too late. This explained the events that had transpired this night. Or most of them...

"Albus, I am very curious about something. Would you mind telling me exactly what happened down in the dungeon? I don't quite understand how you managed to stay awake the entire time. I was under the impression that this particular Mist would have put you to sleep."

Albus explained briefly about the Assyrian Alert Seeds, and about how Scorpius and Morrison had fainted almost immediately. He could not, however, explain how he had managed to stay awake. This is what he himself had been most curious about, and he sincerely hoped that his father would be able to answer it.

"Dad... do you know why the Mist didn't affect me?" he asked.

His father leaned forward a bit and said "I can take what I hope is an accurate guess, Albus. But that's all. Let me ask you, did your friends want to rescue Miss Tunnels?"

Albus thought about it for a moment. He remembered what Scorpius had said just before fainting. I can't do this! And Morrison had agreed...

"Well...they wanted to help, but they didn't exactly want to risk getting hurt" he said.

"Very intelligent of them" his father replied. "And I can hardly blame them. Now let me ask you Albus, were you willing to risk your life to rescue her?"

He said it very dramatically, and Albus felt the color rise in his cheeks. "Yes" he said. "I thought about giving up, but realized I couldn't" he said.

"Then I think I know" his father said with a smile. "Many people assume that being 'unworthy' means being a muggle" he said. Albus nodded. That was what Scorpius had told him, anyway. "But I do not believe that is true. I do not know much about Merlin, but I know that he would not have been foolish enough to safeguard his relics from muggles and allow wizards to take them. He most likely judges the perpetrators of his dungeons by character, not by blood."

Albus tilted his head to the side slightly. He didn't completely understand. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, I know that if it were me, I wouldn't want someone who was selfish and cruel to obtain my relics, regardless of whether they were pureblood or not. The Mist was most likely meant to effect those who were not deserving of claiming the dungeon's contents, not because they were a muggle, but because they were unfit to wield power. The Mist would only affect someone who had no place being there. Your friends, nice people though I'm sure they are, could not wait to get out of that dungeon, and were thus instantly affected by it. You however," he said with a broad smile "were selfless and courageous, willing to risk your own life to save someone else's. The Mist did not effect you because it had no reason to. You are exactly the kind of person that Merlin wanted in his dungeon."

Albus felt his cheeks go red at his father's compliment. The more that he thought about it, the more it made sense. And the more it made sense, the more proud of himself he became. He was not a coward after all.

Or was he? Was he not afraid to admit that he had read his cousin's diary? To tell the Headmaster the truth? The elated feeling that was in his chest vanished on the spot.

"Is something wrong?" his father asked him.

"What?" Albus said quickly. He had not even noticed the frown on his face.

"Albus, you seem uncomfortable. Is there something you want to tell me?"

"No" he said a bit too quickly. But it was not true. The fact remained that he still thought himself a coward. A coward, just like the Slytherins that had abandoned the man sitting right across from him when he needed them most. Charles Eckley's voice rang in his ears. Don't deny it now, you coward!

"Well...yes" he said after a moment. He looked up at his father. "I don't know if you know this, but there was this huge riot during the Quidditch final..."

"Oh yes, I know" his father said. "I received a letter home about it from James. Turns out he was quite proud of his participation in it."

"Right well...almost everyone joined in. And I didn't" he said flatly.

His father gave him an inquisitive look. "I don't understand. Why is that wrong? You should be proud that you weren't foolish enough to get in trouble."

"Yeah but, that's just the thing! I didn't have anything to do with it! My fellow housemates were all fighting, and I abandoned them! Just like they did you!" he shouted. "And I feel like a coward for it. Everyone says so! I used to think that maybe the Sorting Hat put me in the wrong house, but it didn't. I do belong in Slytherin. I am a coward" he finished.

He stared down at the ground and buried his face in his hands. It felt good to let it out, that which had plagued his mind for so long. But even as he said it, it hurt to think it. To know it was true. He looked up and saw his father staring at him intently.

"Albus" he said, in barely more than a whisper. "Do you know what the biggest differences are between Gryffindors and Slytherins?"

Albus shook his head.

"The colors of their Quidditch robes, and their heads of houses. Nothing more" he said.

"Then why are we even sorted?" Albus said. "Why even -"

"- divide us?" his father said. "Because only when we are divided, do we realize how important it is to be united. Yes, different house members may show different personalities, but that is because they are shaped by the house they belong to. Influenced by their environments. You showed courage worthy of a Gryffindor today, Albus. And loyalty to your friends worthy of a Hufflepuff. You figured out what needed to be done, as clever as a Ravenclaw, and you were willing to bend the rules to do it, like a member of your own house. Do not think for a single second that someone in a different house would have been unable to do these things. Someone once told me that 'It is our choices that show who we truly are, far more than our abilities'. I am happy to say that you proved that person right today, Albus."

Albus stared at him and let the words that he had spoken sink in. He was right. About all of it. When he did not speak, his father continued.

"As for your comment about Slytherin, I can assure you Albus, that not all Slytherins-"

"- are cowards" finished an icy voice.

Albus spun around wildly, attempting to find who had completed his father's sentence. No one was in the room except for he and his father though. When he continued looking around in bewilderment, the voice spoke again.

"You won't find me there. I'm a portrait, Potter."

Albus looked above his father's head and saw that it was indeed a portrait that was talking. The person in it looked vaguely familiar...though Albus couldn't quite place where he had seen him before.

"Ahh, Albus, I would like to introduce you to Professor Snape!" his father said, beaming at the portrait.

Snape. He looked very unpleasant. His curtain of black hair hung over his face, past his dark eyes, and fell on either side of his hooked nose...

"You're the man from the tapestry!" Albus exclaimed.

The portrait rolled his eyes. "Very good, Potter" the man known as Snape said sarcastically. "I can clearly see that you have inherited your father's amazing abilities of perception."

Albus looked at his father, expecting to see him looking angrily at the portrait, but was very surprised to see a bright smile on his face. "Albus, Professor Snape taught me Potions back when I was in school."

But Albus had barely heard him. He was now thinking of the name inscribed underneath the tapestry. S.S. His last name was Snape...could his first name, perhaps, be...?

"I was sent from my other portrait to inform the Headmaster that a Mr. and Mrs. Tunnels are here to pick up their granddaughter." His dark eyes flashed around the room before he continued. "He is evidently not here. Inform him of what I said." He turned to leave, but was stopped by a loud voice.

"Professor Snape, don't you want to meet my son?" his father had asked.

The portrait of Snape turned around and stared back for a moment. "No" he said plainly.

"But it will only take a second" his father said brightly. "Albus, this is Professor Severus Snape. Professor Snape, this is my son, Albus Severus Potter."

So that was it. This very unpleasant man was the man whom Albus had been named after. This man was supposedly the "bravest man" that his father had ever met. He looked at the portrait of Severus Snape, who looked outraged.

"Do you mean to tell me," Snape said in small, angry voice, "that you gave my name to James Potter's grandson!"

He looked as though he were going to jump out of the portrait and strangle his father.

"No" his father replied simply. "I gave your name to Lily Potter's grandson."

Was it a smile? The moment that his father had finished saying this sentence, the lips on Severus Snape's face had curled upwards, as though his muscles were attempting to do something that they had not done for a very long time. The look of happiness, pure genuine happiness, transformed his face completely, but alas, it must have been a trick of the light. The next moment Albus saw that he was not smiling. His lips had curled themselves into a nasty sneer, though it did look as though Snape was fighting to keep it from changing to something more pleasent.

"Albus Severus" the portrait repeated. He paused for a moment before speaking again. "That hardly matches. You have a terrible taste in names, Potter."

And with that final insult, the portrait turned around and left the canvas blank, no doubt to venture to a different portrait throughout the wizarding world.

"You named me after him?" Albus asked incredulously. "He's kind of...bitter isn't he? And quiet too, I think he was listening that whole time."

His father smiled at him. "Professor Snape has lived a very hard life, Albus. He has a right to be quiet, and in a way, a right to be bitter. But did you hear what he said? About being a coward? Listen to me carefully Albus. If you ever start to think that you are a coward for being in Slytherin, you remember that man. You remember that he was a Slytherin, like you, and that he made a difference."

"But what did he do?" Albus asked.

"He sacrificed himself for the sake of the wizarding world. Not for fame, but because he was courageous enough to keep a promise that he made to himself. No coward could ever claim to do what he did."

He smiled at him once again, and Albus took the time to stare up at the blank canvas on the wall. He did not know for how long he stared at it, but eventually a sarcastic voice said "May I enter my office, please?"

It was Headmaster Ares.

"Reginald!" his father said brightly. "That was an awfully long bathroom break, wasn't it? Is your stomach feeling all right?

"I can only assume that it will begin feeling better after you have left" the Headmaster replied curtly. "If it's okay with you I'd like to have a word in private. I daresay I've earned it."

"Of course, of course" his father smiled back. "Albus, I may not see you again for the rest of term, but as there's only a few weeks left anyway, I'll still be seeing you soon. Remember everything I said. Now please excuse me while I talk to the Headmaster. We have some, erm... unfinished business."

Albus did as he was told and hopped out of his chair, running to the door and closing it behind him. Immediately after doing so, he pressed his ear up to the door just in time to hear his father say "Away from the door, Albus."

And with that, he hurried out of the office and back to the common room.

Albus did not sleep the entire night, he was far too worried about his friends. The first thing that morning, he went to go visit them in the Hospital Wing to see if they were okay.

"You can have ten minutes, that's all. They'll both be out soon anyway" said Madam Clearwater, the nurse at Howarts.

"Albus!" Morrison yelled out when he had entered. He was holding an enormous tin of treacle fudge in his hands. "What happened? No one explained anything..."

Albus told his friends what had occurred the previous night, and even told them about the conversation that he had with his father. He left out the part about Snape though. For some reason, that seemed too personal.

"Wow...I don't even remember passing out" Morrison said. "But I've been sleeping for a while, just woke up an hour ago. Blimey, those seeds were a waste weren't they?" he said. "Fudge?" he added. "Hagrid sent some up to us."

"No thanks" he said. "Where's Mirra?"

Scorpius and Morrison exchanged glances from their hospital beds. "We heard that her grandparents came and got her" Scorpius said. "We don't know if she'll be coming back next year or not."

Albus gave a frown.

"But you did it though!" Morrison said brightly. "You rescued her and everything! And I don't even think she's in trouble!"

"Yeah...I guess" Albus said half-heartedly.

Hogwarts returned to normal after Scorpius and Morrison were released from the Hospital Wing. Their last two weeks of classes were mostly spent playing games instead of actually learning new material, and Albus spent a great deal of time at Hagrid's, listening to his stories about things that his father had done at Hogwarts while he laughed with Morrison and Scorpius at his side.

Telling Rose that he had read her diary went well enough. The first time she smacked him was so hard that he couldn't even feel the second or third one, which Scorpius assured him was fate's reward for doing the right thing. Afterwards, she seemed to think that he had gotten what he had deserved, and with Mirra gone, she too spent most of her days hanging out with Albus and his friends.

The feast at the end of the year was marvelous, with a rich assortment of food and celebration. Predictably, Gryffindor and Slytherin had came in third and fourth place, respectively, with Ravenclaw taking first and Hufflepuff getting runners up. It seemed as though no one in the entire school knew about the events that had transpired the night that the Dungeon was opened; the Headmaster had obviously done a very good job at keeping it quiet. All too soon, it was time to go.

Their bags packed, wands tucked away safely, and owls in cages, the students spent their last few minutes at the train stop saying good-byes to their friends, despite having an entire train ride to do so. Albus found a compartment aboard the scarlet Hogwarts Express with Morrison, Scorpius, and Rose as they swapped chocolate frog cards and played exploding snap. The entire trip, Albus noticed, Morrison seemed slightly subdued.

"Everything okay?" Albus asked him as he carefully placed a card on the large stack in front of him

Morrison gave him a nervous look before saying. "I- I want to ask you something."

Rose and Scorpius exchanged bewildered looks. Their lack of concentration resulted in the entire card castle exploding. Through the fluttering cards, Morrison asked "Could you, maybe- I don't know- sometime this summer- get your mom's autograph for me?" he finished quickly.

Albus laughed, then gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Yeah mate, I think I can manage that."

And soon enough, they got off the train and exchanged their last good-byes for an entire summer.

"You have to write this summer" Scorpius told him as they walked through the gate to the muggle world. "There's my dad. Later, Al" he said.

Albus watched Scorpius high five Morrison and even receive a rather uncomfortable looking hug from Rose before walking over to his father, who was standing in the shade of a platform with his hands in his pockets.

Morrison was next to go, thumping Albus on the shoulder and hugging Rose before he left to meet a young looking witch whom Albus could only assume was his mother.

"That's us!" Rose said after a moment, pointing towards her father and Albus' mother, who were waving from the edge of the station. They walked towards them briskly, Rose giving her father a big hug upon meeting him.

"How was your first year Rosie?" he asked her, picking her up and putting her on his shoulders, something which, despite her seemingly mature nature, she had never grown out of.

"Fine daddy. Professor Flitwick told me I got a hundred and thirty percent on my charms test!" she said from above him.

"You did! Blimey, I knew you were smart, but wow. Was that a Malfoy I saw you hugging by the way?" he asked with a small smirk.

Rose blushed a little bit before saying "Might've been."

Albus began walking alongside his mother towards the black ministry car they would be taking home. "So how was your first year?" she asked.

Albus smiled. "Not bad...a few rough moments, but I think I'll come back next year" he said with a smile.

She wrapped her arm around him and quietly asked, "So how was it being a Slytherin?"

Albus shrugged his shoulders as they approached the car. "Not bad. Bit like being like everyone else, really" he said.

And with one last glance over his shoulder at the Hogwarts Express, he entered the car for the ride home to the Potter Mansion, already counting down the days for summer to end.

So that was the end! What did you guys think? Like it? Have a favorite scene or a character?

I hope you enjoyed my story, and please feel free to leave a comment or criticism! For those of you new readers, the sequel (and nearly all installments of the series) are posted and waiting!

Thanks for reading,

-Vekin87