Scorpius
It was 4 am and I and Albus were seated on the couch in front of the fireplace. The lights flickered along Albus's face. Highlighting his tear tracks. God, I hate seeing him cry. He whimpered, clutching the ends of his sleeves. His figure was shaking like a leaf. Sobs and hiccups littered the air as I held him so close. Trying to soothe his broken heart for the nth time. Dammit Potter.
"It's like everything I do isn't what he wants me to. I try so hard at potions and DADA, and yeah, your father does validate me. But I feel like my father thinks I'm a monster." His voice quivers as her he venerably spills his heart out. Albus was slowly becoming stressed and tired from his Father's constant pressure to perform. He couldn't be like his father, and he needs to know that all he can be is himself. He is nowhere near a monster. And if I have to convince the father to whisk him away from that tosser, I'll do so.
"Albus, you're cool. You know that, right?" Albus looks up at me. I gave him a gentle pat on the back.
"I know Scorp, I just forget sometimes.
---
During breakfast, Atticus Zabini proposed an insane but fun adventure. "Ok, so Libra told me about this violin that Merlin made himself. It is called the silver quill, capable of inventing a whole new spell by arranging sheet music along with song lyrics." He was excited. Scorpius was eating a green apple. Albus looked tired, still stressed from his Dad's overbearing nature.
Aderlyn set down a complex map. "So, Aderlyn, bless her soul, drew up this map for us." Scorpius squinted at it. "This takes us deep into the forbidden forest and makes us enter a legendary labyrinth," Aderlyn explained. Albus perked up. Finally, something to distract him from his black sheep complex. Scorpius also seems to like the plan. An adventure that can distract Albus from his family is good. Plus, who wouldn't want to explore a Labyrinth?
"yeah, we should pull it off, but we need someone to help guide the trip." Scorpius knew the one person who was famously known for retrieving cursed and legendary artifacts.
The group walked up to a cluster of friends. All talking about old Quidditch matches and comparing Potter with Malfoy. They addressed a blonde girl with braided pigtails. "Rae, we need you on something." The girl looked up, pretty confused about why the prominent members of the Slytherin house are talking to her. "yeah, what's up?" She was nibbling on a granola bar.
Albus slid the map to her. She took a second to scan its contents. : "We need your help on a treasure hunt-"
"No explanation needed, I'm in." She smiled. One of her friends grumbled. "Use your patrons to contact us. Remember that last time we entered the Labyrinth?" She nodded. "yeah yeah." They raised their eyebrows. She's been there before?
"Can I come along too?" The group looked at the guy. Matteo Riddle is known to be Rae's friend and James's best friend. Scorpius shot a suspicious look. Not trusting his intentions
"Will you snitch?" Albus asked. "Nah, I just need a challenge, plus, I and Rae have had this little competition going on." Rae rolled her eyes. "It's hardly a competition when I'm winning."
"So, our team is formed, let's plan during the break," Albus said.
--
During the break, they all gathered in the Slytherin commons. Six people in total, with a whiteboard, books, and potions scattered on the coffee table with freshly brewed coffee were present in the meeting. Six mugs were filled with coffee. The mugs had their favorite colors on them. Blue, Green, Red, Pink, Black, White, and Yellow.
Rae explained her last trip. " We went in the middle of the night and ended up spending four hours in the labyrinth. When we came back, it was roughly 5 am." She proposed to leave late at night so they can still attend their classes on time. They nodded. Albus was able to brew several potions. Healing, strength, and pepper-up potions. He was able to smuggle the equipment out of Professor Malfoy's class after purposefully volunteering as a teacher's assistant. Aderlyn was meant to keep the supplies and food. She bagged canned food and energy bars. Rae has the map, and Matteo kept the tools needed for the job in his battered satchel. The other two, Scorpius and Atticus were charged with lighting and defense duty. Everyone solidified their positions.
Rae highlighted the rooms that were particularly too dangerous and should be avoided. "That room is filled with Acromatulas, the room beside it has boggarts, this is the room we need to get past. She lightly circled the room with her wand. "It's a trial room. You go through your maze that is filled with your trials and tribulations. We will be using our Patronus to communicate with each other. Any questions?" Albus was concerned. He knew he would confront his dad in that maze. He doesn't know how he'll cope.
Scorpius raises his hand. "So, how did you exactly know where things are?" Rae thought for a second. " Calculated. You see, the locations of the rooms switch up. This Labyrinth was created by a powerful Ravenclaw to store her artifacts and secure house-made relics. But keep your eyes on the prize." They all agreed.
Packing up, they ate a full dinner, needing the carbs to make the trip to the labyrinth. They met up at the Quidditch pitch and walked into the Forbidden Forest.
---
Harry was staying up with Draco. Draco was grading potions papers as Harry practiced with his Patronus. "How's Albus?" Harry sighed in frustration. Argument after argument has worn down Harry's patience. "He's still a handful." Draco put down his quill and addressed him. "You're being too harsh on him." Harry took offense to that notion. Him? Being a bad father? He can fathom the very concept. He swore to be a good father.
"How do you know?" He challenged Draco. He was already his close friend so they were able to have civil and nonviolent conversations. Draco usually called him out, as Harry humbled him. They were close but not as close as Albus and Scorpius.
"Scorp has been staying up with Albus for the past two weeks, comforting him in the Slytherin commons, I watch over them." Harry looked betrayed. Why didn't his son confide in him? But being stubborn and narrow-minded, he denied it.
"Sod off, my child is fine." Draco scoffed.
"Your child is struggling with your high expectations, confiding in his friends, disconnecting himself from his family, and begged me to stay at the manor during Christmas break." Harry felt hurt and betrayed. His only son would prefer to be with the Malfoy than him and his family. What was he doing?
"How do I make this right?" Harry sighed.
"Apologize, you big oaf."
---
Rae was at the front of the group along with Albus and Scorpius. Aderlyn, Matteo, and Atticus hung back. Looking out for possible threats. Matteo was holding his wand up, already casting Lumos. Aderlyn was holding Matteo's hand and Atticus looked around at the dark shrubbery. The ground crunched beneath the weight of their shoes.
"We're halfway there. Once we reach the entrance we plan our escape route and take a short snack break. Is that all?" Albus asked the group. Varying degrees of nodding and humming in approval put the group on the right page. The trip was oddly uneventful.
They reached the big labyrinth unscathed. They all shared bread, fruits, salted dried fish, and pepper-up potions. The labyrinth entrance looked like a house embedded in a big mountain. It was tall with dark wooden planks serving as its foundation. It had a navy blue porch, constellations were painted on the porch. The windows were glowing with yellow lights. After their break, Albus stepped on the creaking porch. He curled his hand around the doorknob and opened the tall black door. The group shuffled inside. Once they all went back in, the door slammed shut and locked the group in.
"Where in the thick of it now," Scorpius commented. They were in awe. Three corridors were laid out in front of them. Down the corridors, there were various doors. The right corridor had numbered red doors. The middle corridor had been labeled in constellations; the doors were painted in sky blue. And on the right corridor, the doors, painted green, had strange words and runes. The wall were all painted in a dark Mahagony color. It was like a luxury hotel, except odd and magical.
"That's the secret Slytherin code." Matteo pointed out. "These corridors were made by the founding members of the Hogwarts houses. Hufflepuff is gone since the fourth member simply refused to participate. She gave away most of the artifacts. This is a storage sight for one of the most powerful artifacts on this earth. Even the unspeakable can't locate the labyrinth without the map." Rae commented.
"So I guess we're going through the middle corridor?" Aderlyn asked. Rae nodded, walking in front of the group and leading the way, map in hand. This looked like a long journey, with the room spanning miles away. The rooms seemed to never end. It probably didn't/
Rae knew exactly which room they needed to walk in. "Don't open any other doors, or else we'll get sucked in." She warned. The room they needed to enter was the Scorpio room, which was coincidental. The door was a sapphire blue, with the Scorpio constellation painted on the panel.
"So, where are we going to hide the violin?" Matteo asked. "There's this hidden room in the Astronomy tower that can be navigated using the Marauders map, built I kknow exactly where it is. Rae replied. The group was surprised at how much Rae knew. They wondered how long she was Treasure hunting. And with who?
"You know so much about so many things. How?" Albus asked. Rae shrugged. "Partly because of my curiosity and partly because of my family. They had some ties to the Ravenclaw family after all." They all erupted in questions.
Albus started talking, "Thank god I can get away from my father." Scorpius nodded. "I don't know why your father is complaining about you but I think you're cooler than James." The group chuckled. They talked amongst themselves, bonding with each other. Matteo made fun of Professor Potter. Often mocking his mannerisms. Which made Albus chuckle.
--
They arrived at the blue door. The nameplate had a painted Scorpio constellation on it. Rae opened the door and they were sucked into the room. They got up and saw a simple room. It had a fireplace, two chairs, and a grandfather clock, a simple piano was in front of it, facing the large clock. The clock was tall, big as a door. With a large clock on it, intricate hands ticking behind the glass. The walls were still painted the same color, but there were candles in the candle holder in the corners of the room.
"It's 2 am," Albus remarked, reading the hands on the clock tower. on the piano was a single sheet of music. They crowded over it. Albus scanned over the sheet music. "God, it's a mash-up of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Bhram's Lullaby, and in the Hall of the mountain king. All in four-four times." Scorpius groaned. They scanned around the room, suits of armor were along the wall. Scorpius looked at the piece. Weighing how complicated the piece is. It seemed simple enough for him.
"I think I can pull this off. This might be like Batman." They looked at him weirdly. Scorpius was kind of disappointed in them for not knowing the reference. Well, comics were more of a muggle thing anyways.
"To get into the cave, the person needed to play a certain melody on a piano to get the door to open. Albus seemed to understand. Seemed simple enough. and with Scorpius's skills, they should get the job done.
Scorpius carefully sat on the cushioned chair. He flexed his fingers, knuckles cracking. He rested his fingers on the ivory keys. And started playing. The fingers gently pressed the keys down. The clock ticked like a metronome. Scorpius picked up on the fact that he needed to play in time with the music. Often slowing and quickening his tempo as the clock requested.
Everyone looked in awe. They were surprised at Scorpius's hidden talent. Albus looked a little hurt. "What's wrong Al?" Matteo was concerned. Albus opened up to the unassuming group. Feeling the need to spill his feelings out.
"I learned piano to soothe my sister. But then my mom became so obsessed with me being a virtuoso that she used to hit me on the head with a violin bow I got it incorrect. My family doesn't know." He looked away, ashamed that he let his mother abuse him too much. Matteo was outraged. Rae gathered her hands in fists. Aderlyn and Atticus shot Albus a comforting look. "I only wanted the violin to rub it in my mother's face. She fantasized about it. But when it comes into my possession, I'll teach lily instead, how to use it." Scorpius had a gentle smile on his face. Although he struggled with his father, Scorpius admired the way he cared for his sister.
When he started transitioning to the Mountain King, the suits of armor came to life. "What the-" The suit of armor brought its ax down on Matteo, and he dodged out of the way. The group brought out their wands and started casting spells. The suits of armor were a dark ebony color. They held weapons with blue accents.
"Accio!" Rae summoned a sword from the top of the piano. Her hand gripped the lance. She started slashing and stabbing at the large suit of armor, it held up its crossbow and shot arrows up. She was able to block all of the arrows and jumped to deliver the killing blow. Smashing the helmet in.
"Inside!" Albus cast a fire spell as the suit of armor was engulfed in flames. But the armor only slashed at alAlbusith a knife, he lunged back. Realizing that the spells don't work. He spotted Rae, who just chopped the head off of her opponent. Realizing something he shouted at the group. Communicating among the chaos.
"Summon a weapon! It's effective against the Armor. Matteo summoned a mace, Aderlyn had a bow with 31 arrows in her quiver, Atticus has a thin fencing foil, and Albus summoned twin daggers. They formed a circle around Scorpius, who was playing at a high tempo. Rae ran towards the armor that had a longsword. Once their blades clashed, the group launched its attack. Dashing towards the six suits of armor.
Aderlyn covered Albus as he brought his dagger and stabbed the Armor's head. The armor promptly fell, dropping its crossbow. "Go for the heads!" Aderlyn shouted. Everyone started hitting and slashing above the chest.
Matteo brought his mace up to smash the Armor's head in. But the armor blocked the mace with a long knife. The armor kicked Matteo down to the ground. The knife was about to stab Matteo's chest when it was suddenly pierced through the chest from behind. The tip of Atticus's foil poked out of the armor. The opponent slumped to the side. Matteo grinned. "Took you long enough." Atticus held a handout, Matteo took it and Atticus pulled Matteo up.
By the time they cleared the room, Rae was still dueling the suit. The group immediately realized that this specific armor was stronger than the others. She parried and slashed at the head. The opponent blocked the sword and kicked at her chest. She dashed out of the way and slashed at the Armor's side. The armor clutched its side. Purple ooze was omitted from the side. She tried to slash its neck but it lunged back. She ran towards the Armor. It raised its sword to bring it down on Rae's head but she ducked down and slashed the armor's waist. The armor leaned towards the ground. Finally, was the floor just as Scorpius played the final note.
Rae was panting. Catching her breath as she looked at the group. "Uh Hi!' Matteo went over to Rae. Pulling her into a tight hug. He sniffled. Blinking away his tears. "Stop trying to act like Albus's father. It's annoying." Rae giggled.
"You know I can't stop."
They kept the weapons and Rae had the obsidian helmet of the armor, slug across her body like it was a side bag. Matteo bottled the purple blood, wanting to examine it for later.
--
The group went inside the room. Only to see a cartographer's desk, numerous maps scattered across the wall, Two couches, a stack of crates in the right corner, a red carpet in the middle of the couches, a fireplace with a white wooden shelf, and the room was painted in a dark brown. They looked at the paper on the coffee table in between the couches. The room was painted a deep dark navy color.
"So it's an escape room." Scorpius groaned. Albus was looking around the room. Trying to spot some sort of clue. Aderlyn took out a small chalkboard. "Let's compile a set of clues." She suggested. Everyone agreed. Pairing off to inspect the room. Expanding their search and making the clue hunting process quicker.
Matteo went to the cartographer's map. He looked at it. One continent was not filled in. it was blank. He motioned Albus over. Albus walked over. Scanning the map with his sky blue eyes.
"Maybe we need to fill in the map." He suggested. The map looked familiar. Scorpius joined Matteo and Albus, looking over the map. "I haven't looked at this map before, and my father was so into Cartography back then. Albus squinted, zeroing in on the blank space. The map wasn't labeled. He knew this map but wasn't sure.
"This might be a fictional map. Maybe from a book." Albus commented. "Why would a fictional map be in a grand room like this?" Matteo asked. Albus searched his memory. And somehow come to a memory that he used to hold dear.
--
"Son, I'll tuck you in and read another chapter of the Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe." His father cracked open the red hardcover book. He thumbed to a page. They were able to get to chapter 14. He cleared his throat. Starting to talk. Albus always liked looking at the pictures, even the map.
By chapter 16, Albus was fast asleep. Harry closed the book and put it on the nightstand carefully. He leaned down and kissed Albus on his forehead. "Until I die, I will always accept you."
--
"That's the Narnia map." Albus took a quill, dipped it in sparkling ink, and scribbled in the blank space. Ettinsmoore. He put the quill in the holder. Suddenly, a book from the shelf fell. Aderlyn was able to catch it before it hit the floor. She put it on the coffee table, and everyone crowded over the table. Albus opened the book. Everything but the first page was blank. They all groaned. A picture was scrawled on the page. It depicted a tower of men reaching to the ceiling to turn a single lightbulb on. They started debating the placement. Looking up at the ceiling. They spotted a hanging lightbulb, taunting them.
"Ok, so Matteo is on the bottom. Then Albus, Scorpius, Atticus, Rae, and Aderlyn. Adyen, you're chosen because you have long arms." They were all fine with that notion. Albus knew that Matteo is the strongest there is. His mace proved that last time.
After a while, they were all piled towards the ceiling. Aderlyn reached for the string to the lightbulb. She pulled it down. The lightbulb shined. Everyone was able to get down safely, using the couches to break their fall. Suddenly, they were able to see steps on the floor.
Matteo and Scorpius pushed the couches aside to reveal steps that choreographed ballroom dance. Somehow, music was playing from the fireplace. Everyone decided to try to figure out the couple that would dance.
"The steps are blue and pink. It's numbed with arrows to map out the path, the arrows contain numbers, probably the numbers of seconds that are needed to go from step to step." Scorpius explained the situation. Everyone was impressed with his knowledge of ballroom dancing.
"How did you even know this, Scorp?" Aderlyn asked. "My father taught me how to ballroom dance. He told me that it was the only way to woo someone." They all nodded. Made sense. His father was always a traditionalist. Often partaking in simple and harmless pureblood traditions.
"So who would possibly be compatible enough to dance with each other?" Matteo asked. The group looked at Albus and Aderlyn. They both had their hand intertwined. They were subconsciously trying to protect each other.
"Why are you guys looking at us?" Albus asked.
--
Scorpius got them in position. Albus was holding Aderlyn's arm out, with his other arm snaking around the small of her back. Aderlyn has her hand rested on Albus's right shoulder. "This has to be subtle and tasteful. Look romantic, ok?" Scorpius teased. Albus flushed pink. Scorpius knew that he had a crush on Aderyln. But she didn't exactly catch on.
The music changed to Howls Moving Castle when Albus took his first step on the blue step. Scorpius shouted out the number of seconds they needed to move on to the next set of steps. They went in the order of the arrows.
"One, two, three, one two three, one, two, three, four, five."
But for Albus and Alderlyn, they were lost in their eyes. Dancing became like second nature. Albus was gently leading Aderlyn in a quiet tempo. He then spun Aderlyn as she smiled brightly. She got lost in the moment. It was like Albus was a king, dancing with her in a large ballroom.
Rae was able to bring a polaroid camera long. She held up the blue camera and took three pictures. One of the pictures was Albus leading Aderyln along the floor, another one was Aderyln being spun around, and the last one was Albus saving Aderlyn from tripping forward. They were flush against each other. "Blackmail material?" Matteo asked. She looked at Matteo and smirked.
"Blackmail material."
Scorpius asked for copies of those photos to put in his album. This was the first time in a long time that he saw Albus happy. He wanted to immortalize that. When the song ended and Albus and Aderyln stepped off. They laughed at each other. The steps faded away and the group went towards them. Albus and Aderyln found themselves next to the Cartography Desk. The desk's cabinet opened to reveal a silver block with a key design on it.
When the couches were dragged to their rightful place, Albus put down the coffee table. Aderlyn looked through the book, and the second page appeared.
"You must do away with the access to shape the interior." She readout. Albus sighed, pretty stressed and tired. But he knew that he had to trudge on. Rae took a look at the block. She realized that it was not as hard as it looks.
So she pointed the tip of Albus's knife at the edge of the design and brought her hand down on it. The outside of the key design broke apart.
Everyone took part in chiseling the key away. Once the main parts were broken, Albus took his dagger and smoothed out the edges. A green door popped up near the cartographer's desk.
They circled the door. Some of their wands were out. He opened the door and they were pushed in
--
They saw 6 mazes. With signs that pointed them to their respected mazes. Albus's maze was in the middle. The door behind them disappeared. Rae sighed. "This is it, the trial stage." She summoned a raven Patronus.
"I'll monitor everyone's progress. Don't be afraid to shout when you're in danger." The sky was a dark gray. It had various constellations floating around. Being charmed.
Albus took careful steps forward. He looked into the maze, it was foggy but noticeable. The room was brightly lit. He looked back. His eyes meeting Scorpius's
"See you on the flip side."
---
The first thing Albus saw in the middle of the maze was his father dressed in dark robes. With his wand pointed at him. "This is for the best." He cast the lacing spell. Albus's eyes widened as he deflected it. His father cast spell after spell. He looked stoic and a little rageful. Having this disappointed gleam in his eyes.
" I know you'll turn. I just know it. Slytherins are all evil. You're turning your back on this family and joining the Malfoys. Those dirty death eaters." His father gritted his teeth as he wordlessly cast spell after spell. After blocking a few, Albus cast his first spell against his father. "Incindio!" His dad only dodged the fireball and cast an Aguamente. It was able to counteract Albus's simple spell. "look at you. You're pathetic." Albus had enough. He told the apparition the very thing that he's always wanted to say.
"I am not you! I don't want to be you and I refuse to cave to your expectations!" He cast an Explelliarmus, knocking the apparitions' wand off of his hand. The apparition stopped. Nodding.
"You're ready, my child." The apparition spoke as it shifted to Rowena Ravenclaw. She smiled, promptly guiding the kid.
---
Albus and the apparition started having a thoughtful conversation.
"So. Why did you make this Labyrinth, couldn't you just store the artifacts in Hogwarts?" She shook her head.
"We had a blood pact to fiercely protect these powerful items. Items that we collected during our time in Narnia." Albus stopped. "Narnia is real?" She turned back and gave a grin. "Of course, silly. Except it was called the Waypoint. A world that connected all of the other universes. People from different universes can come and build the ultimate civilization." Albus was in awe.
"It was actually when I met the others. Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, and Salazar Slytherin. We were all children that found our way to the waypoint when we needed it the most. I was from this Universe. When I introduced them to this universe, they all agreed to stay. Now, we hold all of the artifacts that are collected throughout Waypoint. Helga, ever so generous, donated some magical artifacts. Benefitting the wizarding community. But the others decided that some Artifacts are too dangerous to ever leave this pocket universe."
"Wait, this is a pocket universe." She nodded, going on with her story." It took all four of us to use the necessary magic to create this little universe. It was how we were able to protect the magic that was emanating from the Items." Albus thought to himself.
"Scorpius would love this story." She looked away. Take out a little makeup mirror. "They're struggling slightly. But Scorpius is having a hard time." She snapped the mirror shut.
"How are you even here?" Albus asked. He was in an Astronomy room, with a window overseeing a complex, albeit, beautiful galaxy. He had hot chocolate as Rowena soothed the hot tea. "My original form was able to tie some parts of my soul to a magical conduit." She held up a necklace. "This is how I can talk to you. But I can take over as a willing host. Which is highly unlikely." Albus smiled. "If you ever need me, I'll be there." She chuckled. "Child, you've been through too much. Just act like a child sometimes. You have no war to prepare for." She took a small sip of her steaming tea. Sighing.
Someone entered the waiting room. It was Matteo and Laurelie. "That was a while. Jesus." Laurelie complained. She looked at Rowena, instantly in surprise. Rowena only waved the two over. They sat on the couch. Rowena conjured waters for them.
While they were gulping down the water, Rowena updated them on their situation. "Well, Scorpius, Aderlyn, and Atticus are advancing. So They'll be here in three, two-"
They both burst into the room. Panting, out of breath. Scorpius saw Albus and Albus ran to Scorpius, giving him a big hug. Scorpius rubbed his back. "I saw my father."
"Me too. I only told the truth." Scorpius nodded. "It was harder for me." Aderlyn ruffled their hair. Grinning.
They were all seated on the couch, taking a small rest before letting Rowena guide them to the violin. But Laurelie asked a nagging question. "Why are you letting us possess a powerful artifact if it's too dangerous." The conduit responded.|
"Well, it's not too dangerous. Besides, the old thing was begging to be played. I take it you'll store it at the astronomy tower?" Laurelie nodded. She hummed in agreement. "It was made there by me." Matteo was still comprehending that the Narnia story was|
real. "I can't believe it." Rowena laughed.
"We're in a world where we can grow gardens with our wands and cast powerful spells, frankly, everything is possible." Laurelie fully rested and got up. Motioning for everyone else to start walking.
---
Rowena went door from the door. They marveled at all of the different rooms. They went through a bakery, library, and beach. Any scenery. Her heels clicked on the ground. She had this air of confidence and superiority over the group. "This is a complicated pocket universe," Scorpius commented. She nodded. "I am an intricate person, but the Gryffindor labyrinth is simple. The Slytherin labyrinth is harder to get through. Here." She gave Aderlyn a scroll. She stopped, unfolding it. It was a whole list of all of the artifacts that were stored in the vault.
"If you want to challenge yourself, go ahead." Scorpius grinned. "Well, I guess we can call ourselves the Vault jumpers." Matteo offered.
"That's a great name," Albus said.
--
They entered a whole auditorium. The violin was sat on top of a display. In the middle of the stage. They made their way. Climbing on the stage. "Albus, you are the holder of the violin. You completed the challenge first." Albus took the Violin. A case appeared. littered with constellations. He nestled the violin and bow in the case. The wooden stage creaked beneath them as they fawned over the violin. It had a dark brown glaze over it. The strings were a dark navy blue. The bow was silver, with unicorn hair stretched over it.
Suddenly, spikes came out from behind them. Rowena was able to deflect them with ease. She cast a strong shield spell around the group;
"I forgot to disarm the whole room!" Albus was hit. It impaled his side. He only thought one thing.
He took out the violin and played a gentle, made-up melody. The spikes clattered on the ground. The room shifted and turned. The chairs multiplied. The stage was now bigger and there were more seats. It was like an orchestral theatre. Albus was tired, realizing that it took most of his magical energy to play it.
He fell over, Scorpius moved and caught him.
"This is it. Goodbye my ravens." She conjured a portal that sucked them in.
---
The group moved, sprinting to the medical wing. Scorpius was carrying Albus like a sack of potatoes. They sprinted through the forest. It was now approximately 5 am. But they didn't care. Their friend got hurt. and if they got in trouble, then it's worth it. They had an experience that people would die to have. And wanting to preserve their group, they decided unanimously that they would keep it to themselves.
After a while, they burst into the medical wing. "It's Albus!"
---
Harry
I looked down at my darling son. Sitting on a stool, I brushed his hair away. The group slept on the couch near Albus. James was rambling. "Matteo wouldn't tell me anything. Only saying that they snuck out to the forest and something went wrong." I frowned. Did my son not trust me enough.
Albus woke up, his eyes fluttering open. "Father." I smiled. "Son." His eyes watered. "I'm sorry." Shushing him, I crushed him in my hold. "Nonsense. I was wrong. So, so wrong, my darling son." He sobbed into my shoulder as I whispered promises in his ear.
"I promise to never put pressure on you, I promise to support you, I promise to be the dad that you need." He sniffled. Looking at James. He had a small smile on his face.
"You can tell me anything. My boy."
"Absolutely anything."