Harry Potter: 19 Years Later

Chapter 30: Back to Hogwarts

It was the night before Albus, along with Rose, Holly, and hopefully Scorpius, were due back at Hogwarts. Albus was lying in his bed back at the Burrow literally shaking with nerves. It reminded him of when he was 11 years old, and how he was so excited yet terrified to go to Hogwarts. Albus was now entering his 5th year at the school, halfway through the year. Thank goodness he didn't have to worry about what he missed during the second half of his 4th year.

Anyways, luckily Neville, Luna, Draco, and Astoria are experiencing a speedy recovery and are out of St. Mungos. Now the next order of business was to locate Scorpius. Albus's father and Uncle Ron, along with a few others, were currently out searching for him. Hopefully he'd be found by the next day. 

Albus huffed out in frustration as his eyes refused to stay closed. He hated it when he couldn't sleep. Sighing, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and planted his feet on the cold floor. He wished he had a dose of sleeping potion to take, but that was specifically for very long hours of sleep. It was already midnight and Albus needed to be up and about at six in the morning. 

He decided to go down to the kitchen, hopefully without waking anyone up, and get a glass of water. The floorboards creaked as he made his way across his room, the door also creaking as he opened it. Sometimes Albus thought they were jinxed to do that on purpose. 

Luckily no one woke up as Albus finally made it to the kitchen. In minutes he chugged down a full glass of water, and even ate a few leftovers deviled eggs, before his full stomach actually began making him sleepy. Just as Albus was exiting the kitchen, he stopped. He felt another prescense in the room. That couldn't be...

"Sorry to disturb you," a familiar voice said from behind him. Albus spun around, his heart about ready to leap out of his chest. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw the familiar figure leaning against the counter. 

"Professor Dumbledore?" Albus said, not really believing what he was seeing. He had to be hallucinating. Maybe the deviled eggs were spoiled...

Dumbledore chuckled. "Good evening, Albus."

Albus blinked. "Um, good evening to you too, Professor. Don't take this the wrong way, but why are you here?"

Dumbledore shrugged nonchalantly. "Just visiting and seeing how you're doing."

"Oh," said Albus, then he blinked twice. "How exactly am I seeing you, sir?"

"That," Dumbledore replied, "is all thanks to you. This is all happening in your mind."

Great, I must be schizophrenic now, Albus thought. He really hoped this wouldn't be happening often. Dumbledore is quite intimidating in person.

"But I see you need your sleep. You're returning to Hogwarts tomorrow," said Dumbledore. "Oh, and do not forget to keep an open eye for the unexpected."

And in the blink of an eye, Dumbledore was gone. What was he talking about? What more unexpected could Albus handle? His head felt heavy, so he went and lied down on the couch. About a minute later he fell asleep.

* * *

"Albus, wake up."

Albus's eyes snapped open to find his mother's kind face staring down at him, concerned. She looked exhausted; her red hair was a mess and her eyes were droopy. She was holding Ariana on her hip, and it was evident that the baby had been crying since she was still whimpering. For some reason, Ariana could never sleep well at the Burrow.

"Darling, why did you sleep on the couch?" Albus's mother asked, bending down so she was eye-level with Albus. 

Albus sat up groggily, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and yawning. "I came down to the kitchen late last night for a glass of water. I guess I was too lazy to walk back upstairs to my bed." 

His mother chuckled. "Sounds about like you. Now, you need to get dressed and finish packing your trunk. Professor McGonagall will be here in an hour to Floo you and Rose to Hogwarts."

Albus's eyes widened. He hadn't even began packing! He quickly jumped up from the couch and ran upstairs to him room to pack and get dressed in his uniform and robes, while his mother rolled her eyes as he did so. 

It didn't take him long to pack, since he had the help of Rose. Her tidiness made her an efficient packer. She crammed his clothes and books into his trunk and jumped on top of it to finally snap the trunk shut. Albus seriously didn't know what he'd do without her. 

An hour later, he and Rose dragged their school trunks down the steps and into the living room, where Professor McGonagall was waiting for them. Then she did the unexpected, she rushed over to them and pulled them into her arms, muttering, "I'm so glad you kids are alright."

Albus didn't think that McGonagall was the hugging type, so he was surprised. She was sort of like his other grandmother, in a way.

McGonagall led Albus and Rose towards the fireplace. Both of their parents hugged and kissed them goodbye, which really reminded Albus of his first day of Hogwarts, and then McGonagall sprinkled the Floo powder on the three of them. Professor McGonagall then announced clearly, "Hogwarts," then Albus felt the sensation of being sucked the fireplace. Two seconds later, the three of them were in McGonagall's office at Hogwarts. Albus was home. 

"We're here!" Rose exclaimed. Albus knew she was anxious to get to the library. He himself was anxious to go and find Holly. 

"The rest of the students are in the Great Hall eating breakfast, so you can go ahead and go while I get your school trunks and class schedules situated," Professor McGonagall explained, as she waved her wand and instantly made their school trunks vanish to their dorm rooms. Albus and Rose nodded eagerly and left her office, each of them starving for breakfast.

Albus realized just how much he missed Hogwarts as he and Rose made their way through the hallway and towards the Great Hall. They saw some kids they knew in the hallway who waved at them and welcomed them back. It really was great to be back.

As Albus and Rose turned and entered the doors of the Great Hall, everyone gasped and stared at them, muttering as they walked by. Albus knew they'd be the latest gossip around the school since, well, he and his friends almost died. But here they all were, happy and healthy. 

"This is going get annoying," Rose muttered to him, glancing around nervously at the people staring at them. 

Finally, Albus spotted Holly sitting by herself at a spot at Gryffindor table. As he and Rose got closer, they realized she was sitting alone. In fact, she was talking to another person who was sitting in front of her. 

When Rose squealed and ran away towards them, Albus knew who the person was. Sitting there talking to Holly, with a huge smile on his face when he spotted Rose, was Scorpius.

~ ~ ~

Eh. This chapter is decent I guess. 

Anyways please vote and comment! Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading!