Albus (A Next Generation Harry Potter Fanfiction)

The Rush

At first, Al and Scor just stared at each other, then at Matilda on the floor, then at Slytherin's emblem, which now fell silent. Al's heart raced, and he was pretty sure he was shaking.

"Oh, shit," was all Al could think of to say. Scorpius' eyes were like saucers, fixed on Matilda. Al was strangely energised, but his mind was blank and he had no idea what to do. His eyes flicked this way and that, waiting for his brain to spring into action, his fingertips vibrating. 

Matilda just flew. She could be seriously hurt. There was a ghost. His Dad was here. They were suspended. Everything was so overwhelming. 

"Albus!" Scor shouted, erratically gesticulating to Matilda's lifeless body. "We have to do something!" 

Al looked down at her again, then back at Scor, and nodded quickly. As if their minds worked as one, they both crouched down and rolled her over onto her back, to which she reacted by waking up and breathing heavily, her eyes wet and scared. "Matilda," Scor said, still panicked. "It's okay. Get up, get up, quick!" 

Al watched, ready to help her, but he wasn't sure how to. "Al!" Scor snapped again. "Get that!" 

He pointed to the mantelpiece, where the little silver emblem was sat. A shiver went through Al's  entire body as he looked at it and got a feeling it was looking back at him. 

"Get it now! Get it! Quick!" Scor had sprung into action, a wild look in his eye, having almost got Matilda on her feet. Move! Al's mind said, and he suddenly took off and raced towards the emblem, colliding with the cold marble mantlepiece and grabbing it. It felt almost warm, alive. He took it with both hands, squeezing it as tightly as he could in case it flew off all of a sudden. 

"What now?" he asked desperately. Scor clearly hadn't thought about the next step. 

"That's Slytherin's," Scor said, with the same wild-eyed look, but calmer now, as if something had dawned on him all of a sudden. Matilda looked flustered and was wincing, but was on her feet. Al was terrified she could go back up in the air at any moment. 

"What do I do with it?" Al asked, enunciating every word as if his life depended on it. Anything could happen. Anything. Matilda flew. Oh no. She flew!

"Slytherin hates Muggleborns!" Scor shouted at him, and it suddenly hit Al.

"No, I see!" He exclaimed. "Do you think he put a spell on it? To hurt the Muggleborns?"

"And made it last for years and years so Slytherin would always be pure?" 

"And that's why Matilda's been sick and even St Mungo's didn't figure it out!" Al said triumphantly. Scor solved it, and St Mungo's didn't!

Matilda breathed out heavily, her fingers clutching Scor's arm turning white. "Guys," she croaked. "I do not feel good." 

Al was furious now. How dare some old, crusty, dead wizard force Slytherin Muggleborns to suffer when Matilda had done absolutely nothing wrong? "We have to get her to the hospital." 

"We have to get her away from that thing!" Scor protested. Al looked at the emblem in his hands, which may or may not have started to generate smoke. His heart was in his mouth. Scor was right. 

"There's smoke!"

"Matilda, stay here! We'll help you!" Scorpius shouted, almost shoving Matilda down onto the nearest armchair, leaping about two feet in front to where Al was standing and grabbing his arm. Al felt himself being yanked away, and suddenly they were sprinting out the common room, the emblem beginning to shake as Al looked behind at the shrinking Slytherin door. 

Scor was on a mission, way ahead of Al. He was further back but still running as fast as his legs would carry him, the little silver emblem shaking faster and faster and beginning to get hot. Very hot. Al was breathless, trying not to let the smoke get into his eyes, a nagging voice in his head telling him that he wasn't going to be able to hold onto it for long. It was right.

"Scor!" Al yelled breathlessly. "Help!" 

The emblem was vibrating so much now that it was taking most of Al's upper body with it, oscillating madly. Al knew the heat would start to get painful soon. Smoke was trailing up in front of his eyes, blocking his view, suffocating him. The only thought in his head was to keep running, that he had to keep going. They had to get it away from Matilda, they had to run. Al let out a whimper as it heated up more and more, his skin beginning to burn. "Scor!"

Scor came, and grabbed it off him as they paused for a moment. His friend winced with pain as the hot metal touched him, and quickly Al tore his cloak off before Scor got hurt. Once again they didn't need to speak to each other, they both knew what to do next. They wrapped it up, now scorching, in the thick black material, as fast as lightning, a glint of desperation in Scor's eyes before Al took it back, nodded, and they ran once more. 

They got outside the castle, with Al figuring out that Scor was rushing towards the Black Lake and almost catching up with his friend, before he heard his Dad shout.