Here We Go Again

Chapter 2: Toward Freedom

POV: Al

The feeling of crossing the barrier between platforms nine and ten never got old. There was nothing quite like the sight of the Hogwarts Express steaming on its tracks, waiting for all students to board to take them toward a new year of unknown adventure. Parents on the other side hoped it was the thirst for knowledge that happily made us climb on, but it wasn't just that (at least not for a lot of us). 

It was knowing we were heading for freedom.

"Listen to me, Al," Dad had said earlier this morning. He had walked into my bedroom, pretending like he did not see me stuffing his old, trustee Invisibility Cloak into my trunk. He sat at the edge of my bed, laying his Auror robes on his lap, careful not to wrinkle them after Mum had gone on a rant about him having to look at least somewhat presentable as Head Auror. "You're a Sixth Year now, and with that comes a little more room to breathe. You're a smart kid, but I know you're not going to run along and join extra curricular activities with Rose to occupy that spare time."

"Wizardying Debate isn't actually as thrilling as Rose makes it out to be, Dad," I told him with a chuckle, proceeding to throw in extra socks into my trunk. "Nor is the Herbology Huddle Neville has been trying to sell for the past five years."

"The point is," Dad continued, offering me a small, fleeting smirk after my comment, "it's easy to skive off. Your exams are harder, yeah, but you have less responsibility. You have more time to get into mishaps. And while I'm not exactly the perfect model on following rules when at school, I just want you to remember... the Ministry is monitoring your magic."

I turned to him, pausing my debate of whether or not I should pack the books Aunt Hermione had brought over for me to take back to school (something she did every summer with each of us, hoping it would encourage us to read more).  "What's that supposed to mean? I cast one spell and suddenly I'm reckless? Suddenly I'm a threat?"

"You cast an Unforgivable," Dad said louder than we both expected his voice to echo out.  "You cast the worst of the three. And believe me, Albus, I know why you did it, but your choice had consequences. You are under the Ministry's watch now -- for the next couple of years, no less. Be aware of that. Be aware of your actions."

I slammed the top of my trunk closed. I had wanted to tell him that I was aware. I wanted to tell him I knew what I was doing, even if they thought I had been wrong. The actions I took to save Mum last year were not wrong. I knew Dad wanted me to regret my choice, but how could I if it saved Mum's life?

"Son," he sighed as he stood, placing a hand on my shoulder. He looked down at my hands. I had not realized my palms were clutched into fists, "casting Unforgivables taps into a darkness inside of you. However small, magic like that fans it into something bigger. I just don't want to see that happen." 

Freedom before had meant miles of castle and grounds between James and me. 

Freedom now meant escaping a choice I had made to save my mother.

"What's wrong with you?" There was a nudge on my ribs. I turned to the left, finding Lily's brown eyes narrowing at me in questioning. "You're usually a complete dweeb about seeing the train every year."

"He's upset," said Freddie as he and Uncle George joined us. There was a huge grin on his face as he clapped me hard on the back. It made me frown at him, stirring something inside. Had he not been given the same lecture as me? He was also under Ministry watch. "Mr. Harper caught him and little Harper snogging in her room yesterday and he refused to let her ride with us here. Isn't that right, Albie?"

I elbowed him. "Don't call me Albie."

"Merlin, Al," Lily scoffed at me, wrinkling her nose in distaste. "We get it. You and Harper fancy each other, but need you swap spit everywhere? Wasn't Vic and Ted's wedding enough of a scene?"

Mum frowned at me. "What scene --?"

"I thought Auntie Angelina had put a strong Silencing Charm on Freddie?" I turned to Uncle George, giving him an accusatory glare that solely blamed him for his big-mouthed son.  "It was such a peaceful week, Uncle George. Why ruin that?"

Freddie snorted. "Please, Albie. I'm a Seventh Year now. I know how to counteract most spells now. I let Mum think she could keep me hushed up for a few days, but sooner or later she had to know that I am older. I am a man. A man who isn't afraid --"

"A man who asked for a bottle of chocolate milk and the crust cut off his sandwich?" Uncle George interrupted his son, tossing him a paper bag. "A man who gets a note from his mum to remind him to brush his teeth and lay off the sweets since the Tooth Healer Muggle said you had a disturbing amount of cavities."

"Denise is lying --"

"Her name isn't Denise," Lily huffed, rolling her eyes. "She's a dentist. Aunt Hermione has explained this to you several times."

"As much as we appreciated the silence of having Freds magicked quiet, we had to lift the spell. It isn't legal and all that."

"Believe me," I said to my uncle, "present him to the Wizengamot and they'll make it a crime not to have him shut up."

Freddie laughed, opening his bottle of chocolate milk just as a group of familiar people approached us, weaving past the huddle of nosy onlookers who always appreciated a good spat among the famous Weasley/Potter clan. 

"Where's your father?" Mum asked Artie when she noticed Uncle Percy missing from among them. While the threat of last year had been deemed settled and done with, our parents were still requiring us to travel with adult supervision until we were safely on the Hogwarts Express.

"Dad got lost," Artie told Mum as he climbed on his trolley, raising himself up a few inches to look around the platform. He was scouting for his friends Uncle Percy considered bad influences (even if he -- as well as everyone -- knew Artie was the real menace).  "Someone let some murderous canaries loose by the barrier and he was the only capable Ministry Official in sight to diffuse the situation."

Louis grinned, a gesture copied by Freddie and James, too. "Yeah, it was quite the riot."

"The birds can spit fire," James offered with a snicker, making Emily shake her head at him. "Burned some trousers right off a few terrified First Years."

At the mention of renegade birds and innocent kids being caught in the crossfire, Mum turned angry eyes at her older brother. Right on time, she found Uncle George waving his arms behind her back, trying to get James, Louis, and Artie to stop talking. "Are you out of your bloody mind, George?" She smacked him. Hard. "First the firecrackers that interrupted Teddy's wedding, now murderous canaries? I will help Hermione have the Ministry shut you down, I swear to Merlin!"

Uncle George snorted, pushing her back a step. "The Ministry could never shut me down. Let's not forget I have also created a stunning line of self-defense armor for their Magical Law Enforcement. Besides, don't you think my creativity suffers enough with Percy lecturing me all the time? I don't need it from you, too, Gin."

"Oh, shut up," Mum said. "You're a menace to society and you're training these kids to be --"

Mum's voice became a distant hum in my ears when my heart jolted inside my chest. From the throng of familiar faces and other strangers, I caught sight of gorgeous blue eyes, glittering bright and captivating from the weaving light of the platform. Every beame that bounced off her eyes -- off her skin, blonde hair, made her glow golden. Nia Harper was a lighthouse. Signaling me to her.

My right foot moved, starting my march in her direction, but then I noticed she was not alone. Lorcan Scamander was right beside her, making her laugh. The sound overpowered the train and the conversations happening all around me. With them were other blokes who seemed just as enthralled by her as I knew Scamander and myself to be. 

There was a burning in my chest. Something more than the jealousy I had felt last year when I had to see Nia with Scamander. That burning made me want to reach for my wand and hex him and the other blokes. 

Then I heard Dad in my ear, warning me to be aware of my actions. 

"Who was that?" was the first thing I said to Nia after she had parted ways with the drooling boys. "Fan club?"

Nia raised a brow at me. "Not the way I wanted to be greeted, Potter."

"I thought your dad was dropping you off? That's why you couldn't come with me?"

"Dad did drop me off," she said, "but we ran into Luna and Dean Thomas. They started talking about some new business venture so I left. I found Lorcan and his debate team along the way. Is that a good enough answer for you, sir?"

I took a deep breath, clearing my throat in the process as if I could clear the spurt of anger that had risen inside of me. "Sorry," I told her in a murmur. "You obviously don't have to explain yourself to me --"

"Yeah, I don't," Nia repeated, her own strain of anger on that beautiful face of her. "But if you want to know something, just ask me. Don't demand. Ask. I'll always be upfront with you."

I nodded, closing the short distance between us. She rolled her eyes when my arms wrapped around her waist, holding her close to me. But as soon as my forehead touched hers, as soon as my nose bumped hers, she smiled. 

"I hate you," she said with a laugh.

"I love you," I said, placing a kiss on her pink lips. 

I could lose myself in Nia every single time. This was not going to be any different, except for Mum pulling me by the hood of my sweater, breaking us apart.

"Time to go," Mum notified all of us, but her eyes landed on James. Here it comes. The lecture Lily and I have been tired of hearing her repeat all summer long. "This is your last year, James Sirius Potter. You better find all the self-control you conveniently seemed to have misplaced all these past years and use it to behave. I expect you to graduate, do you understand me?"

James scoffed at our mother. Fortunately for him, Emily pinched his arm, making him quiet down. "Don't worry, Mrs. Potter," she said with a careful, kind smile, "I'll make sure he spends every free moment studying for his N.E.W.T's and out of detention."

"Same goes to you, Freds," Uncle George said to his son. "Your mum will kill us both if you don't graduate Hogwarts."

"You didn't graduate and you turned out fine, Dad."

"Please don't use George as an example," Mum said to Freddie before looking at the rest of us, passing on the warning. "You hear me, Artie?"

"Yes, Aunt Ginny," the new Second Year sighed. "I've heard it all from Dad before he got distracted by the canaries. I'll behave this year. Honest."

No one believed that. Not for a second.

"Are we done saying goodbye now?" Lily demanded with a hand on her hip and the other on her trolley. "I still need to load this and Liam's already waiting for me on the train. He and Malfoy were going to find us one of the good compartments."

"That explains were Rose went," James said with a scoff. "I don't get her fascination with Malfoy, anyway. Or yours for that matter."

Emily rolled her eyes when my brother turned to her with a forming scowl. "He's my best friend, James."

"Still a twat."

"Oi," Nia squeezed my hand as Mum pulled Lily into an embrace. "What's wrong?"

My brows furrowed at her question. "What'd you mean? I'm fine. Yeah, Scamander gets me a little angry because he's clearly still into you --"

"Lorcan isn't into me. Anymore," she said offhandedly. "That's not what I meant, though. You have that look. The one you wear when you've been thinking too much."

"Just something Dad said before we left Godric's Hollow." 

"Blimey. Please don't tell me he gave you the sex talk, too." Off my bewildered gaze Nia added, "Mother and Father had a sit down with me after you were basically kicked out of my house. There were mentions of Contraceptive Spells and advice on having sex too young."

"Here's the advice: Don't do it," Mum said, cutting into our conversation. I looked away from Nia, seeing my cousins and sister already making their way to the train. Uncle George smirked at me in the way he always did when Mum was about to go off on one of us. "Sure, be smart about it. Know how to take care of yourselves and all that. Still, don't do it."

I cringed. "Mum, please."

"What, Albus? Is it embarrassing to have your mother talking to you about sex? Well, it was also embarrassing to have had Mr. Harper drag you by the ear because you were locked up in his daughter's room with a Silencing Charm up."

"Really, Mrs. Potter, nothing was happening. Al and I haven't had --"

"Nia, please don't talk to her about this," I begged my girlfriend. 

"All I'm saying is I will have you neutered if I so much as get one single notice that you two were caught in a broomstick closet. Understand?"

"Yes, Mum. Merlin. Just stop," I said as I leaned in to hug her for a brief second. "Can we go now?"

Before Mum could add anything, her narrowed gaze and Uncle George's laughter accompanied Nia and I toward the train. 

Sixth Year was off with a weird start.