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Albus Potter and the Deathly Hallows By JetLaBarge
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Category: Post-Hogwarts
Characters:Harry/Ginny, Other
Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama, Humor, Romance
Warnings: Death, Intimate Sexual Situations, Violence, Violence/Physical Abuse
Story is Complete
Rating: R
Reviews: 77
Summary: Albus has his challenges during his first year. Cleopatra is obviously his soulmate, and has brilliant insights into magic, except she cannot do it like anyone else. Albus has to help her while keeping peace between the two brightest and most competitive students at Hogwarts, Scorpius and Rose. It doesn’t help that people are out to get Albus. Harry is not sure he can keep everyone safe. Then you have Ginny and Cleopatra.
Hitcount: Story Total: 145941; Chapter Total: 3918
Awards: View Trophy Room
Author's Notes: Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble are Hanna-Barbara characters.
I apologize for the lengthy time between updates. Real life reared its head. I want to thank Arnel for more major improvements.
I apologize for posting this to the wrong story. If you posted a review there you will have to post it again.
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Friday, June twenty-second the students took the Hogwarts Express back to London. Again no one was allowed to leave through the wall between tracks Nine and Ten. There were now three fireplaces with Floo connections that were only open when students were leaving or coming. A very few students with Muggle parents left through a couple of offices some distance from the tracks, but most of the students with Muggle ancestry left with students whose parents were magical, so they could enter the Muggle world some distance away from the train station.
A couple of the women who had been watching the train station were sitting at Kings Cross, watching the entry to Platform Nine and Three Quarters, but they did not see anything. The aliens, or magical people, or whatever they were, seemed to have vanished.
Again Al, Rose, Cleo, and Scorpius took the Floo from the office of Professor McGonagall to Grimmauld Place. Scorpius and Cleopatra then took the Floo to Malfoy Manor.
On Sunday, Scorpius and Cleopatra came back to Grimmauld Place. Scorpius spent one night with Albus at twelve, Grimmauld Place, and Cleo spent one night with Rose at Thirteen, Grimmauld Place. The next morning the Potter and Weasley families left for Switzerland.
As the families took the Floo to the Ministry, Rose remarked, “We are taking an International Floo to Switzerland. Most of the International Floo connections in Europe and some in the Mid-East go through the big transit station in Switzerland. You will see Floo fireplaces, but also Magic Carpets and magical cupboards in the transit station.”
The families, accompanied by Elves and Auror guards, arrived, and were immediately directed to a special entrance. Everyone’s wand was examined, and documents were inspected. Rose explained, “All of the entrances have a variation of Uncle Harry’s map. It will help tell the guards if people are who they say they are.”
The crowd was led to a special bus, which took them from the third of four major levels in the Swiss Valley down to the lowest level. It looked like half of the mountain faces surrounding the valley had been built on, and there were four major roads that went totally around the mountains, the top two with large structures bridging some gaps in the mountain range surrounding the valley.
Rose continued, “The four major roads are all at least one-hundred feet wide. Sometimes they are much wider. Smaller roads go up and down from them, and there are at least four major one-hundred-foot-wide roads from each level to the one below it.”
They drove half way around the valley until they were almost directly opposite the transit station. The road opened up and the flat space was at least two hundred feet and up to three hundred feet wide, and well over fifteen hundred feet long. There was a high stone wall with only one medieval style gate. The bus drove through the gate and stopped in front of the entrance to a large castle or mansion. They were in a plaza that was trapezoidal in shape, two hundred feet across the front of the castle, and two-hundred-feet-deep, but at the wall it was about three hundred and fifty feet across. The wall was about ten feet wide by maybe forty feet high.
Cleo looked at the wall, and frowned. “That wall doesn’t look very friendly to me.”
The castle covered the whole end of the plaza. It was about sixty feet tall, but the top eight feet or so was battlements, and there were the same type of battlement walls on both sides of the wall separating the plaza from the road outside. You could see from the windows in the castle that there was one very high floor, and two shorter floors above it.
Cleo looked at the castle, and ranted, “It looks grim and foreboding, but it doesn’t have to!”
Ginny, who was pushing a pram with baby Minerva in it, responded, “It reminds me of Grimmauld Place before we remodeled it. I guess we could remodel the palace, if we wanted to. I just never knew what I wanted to do with it, Cleo. I would like this place to be prettier and more welcoming.”
Cleo looked at Rose, and pleaded, “You like home remodeling. What do we have to do to make this place welcoming?”
Rose declared, “I have a lot of ideas, but I never thought that I could tell anyone what to do.”
Cleo looked at Harry, and pleaded, “Mr. Potter, may we remodel this grim old place? It looks like it could be a fairy tale castle, with just a little work.”
Harry looked at Hermione, inquiring, “What would we have to do to make changes in the castle?”
Hermione replied, “You are the Regents, Harry, you and Ginny. I do not think you would have to ask anyone about minor color changes or things like that. Major changes, such as removing the wall, would, I think, require you to submit a formal proposal, or at least tell someone.”
Scorpius queried, “How do we have to do that? I would like to learn how to write proposals, and learn all I can about how the world of the Magi is governed.”
Rose stated, “Cleo, I think you and I ought to draw up the plans together. Let’s look inside and see what this castle needs.”
John and Mary, the head Elves, were waiting with some other Elves to bring in the luggage and show people to their rooms. Mary approached Cleo and Rose, saying, “I will show you to your rooms.” As they went in and down towards the room Rose and Cleo would be staying in, Mary told them, “You can change the color of the Tapestries on the wall, and even of the wall itself.”
Mary showed Rose and Cleo what to do. Cleo could change the colors much easier than Rose, but Rose had a much better sense of color, so together they worked on a couple of Tapestries on the way to their room.
Harry watched in amusement as the two girls worked. Finally, Rose brought out a parchment map of the castle, and asked, “Can you make this map so I can draw in changes I would like?”
Harry turned to Albus, replying, “I sort of can, but I would guess that you could probably do it better, Albus.”
“I would like to help with that,” Albus agreed.
After they were settled, the boys went to the girls’ room.
Cleo looked out the window of the room. It looked like it was a long way down to the valley below, and so she asked, “How big is this castle?”
Albus replied, “It’s huge. It is two hundred feet from the level of the plaza out front to the start of the valley. There is a hundred-foot atrium in the middle of the castle, to let in light, with a glass roof over it. The area between the atrium and the outside walls start out at about fifty feet, but it gets bigger the lower you get. The walls are at about a thirty-degree angle, so it’s huge when you get to the level of the valley.
“There are big formal rooms that are built into the side of the mountain, under the plaza. There are a couple of smaller entrances there too.”
They took out the map, and then decided that they needed to look at the entrance again. Cleo and Rose went up to the entrance, while Albus and Scorpius went to find someone who could tell them what they needed to do to remove the wall. Albus found his father, using a map of the castle he carried with him, and asked him, “What do we need to do to remove the wall guarding the plaza in front of the castle?”
Harry replied, “I tried, and I could feel it start to disassemble, but I could not quite do it. I have not spent a lot of time trying to do it. If you can remove the wall I have no objection. Gerhard, is there any reason why the wall has to stay there?”
Gerhard Richter, the Chief Wizard of Switzerland, their equivalent of the Minister of Magic, explained, “As I understand the laws governing the castle, if you have the power to remove that wall, you have the authority to do it. The wall really does not add significantly to the protections on the castle itself, and just makes the Regents and eventual rulers less likable.”
Al responded, “Well, we are going to try.”
When Al left, Gerhard sent a Patronus to the prophets, telling them, “A prophetess should go to the front of the castle to see what Albus Potter and his friends are doing.”
Cleo and Rose, accompanied by guards, entered the plaza. On the one side of the plaza was a dry fountain. Cleo went over to the fountain, looked into it, and giggled, “This fountain makes me want to have a LOT of children. Why is it dry?”
Mary, the Elf, was with them, and she explained, “The fountain will have water in it when the new king and queen of the Magi come into their power.”
Cleo declared, “Healing water. I hope it happens soon.” She looked at the wall again, and ranted, “I hate that wall. I hate it. This would be such a nice welcoming plaza if the wall was not there.
“How come there are not any flags on the flagpoles?”
Mary explained, “The flags flew the coat of arms of the Rothchild family. When they were killed, the flags were taken down, and no one has decided what to replace it with.”
Cleo declared, “It needs flags. The whole county needs pretty, colorful flags.”
Rose was looking at the castle walls again. They were all stone, but it looked like the stone could change color, so she asked, “Mary, can we change the color of the stone in the walls?”
“You can try,” Mary replied. So Rose tried to change the color of the wall, but nothing happened. Then Cleo went up to the walls, and without any difficulty at all changed the color.
“What colors would be best? How do we make this castle look like a happy, fairy tale castle?” Cleo inquired. Rose and Cleo worked for an hour until the front of the castle gleamed, bright pastel colors that looked like they were the natural color of the stones in the front of the castle.
Finally, Al and Scorpius arrived. Al exclaimed, “I like the color of the castle.”
Cleo agreed, “It doesn’t look so gloomy. Now we need to remove that stupid wall.”
The prophetess Sibylla Papadopoulos entered the plaza. She watched the children from a distance.
Al announced, “My Dad said that if we could remove the wall we had his permission to remove it, and Mr. Richter, the head wizard in this valley, agrees. Cleo, let’s try to move blocks in this part of the wall.”
Cleo and Al went over to the wall, and started to disassemble the wall block by block. After there were just enough blocks off to make a three-foot breach in the wall Al pointed out, “We need to have someone get rid of these blocks as we remove them.”
Al held out his hand, and summoned his broom. When it flew into Al’s hand he set up the broom for two-person touring. Al and Cleo mounted the broom and were off. A few minutes later they were back, and two men were with them. Al stated, “Rose, Scorpius, these are my friends who supply stone to the people in the valley, Mr. Flintstone and Mr. Rubble. They are going to take all the stones as we remove them from the wall.”
By noon Al and Cleo had removed about thirty-five feet of wall, and the two men had moved about half of the stones off the plaza. Sibylla went over to them and asked, “Hello, Albus. Who are your friends?”
Al responded, “Hello, Mrs. Papadopoulos. I think you know Rose Weasley. Cleopatra Smith is staying with her, and Scorpius Malfoy is staying with me. We are all classmates at Hogwarts.”
Albus turned to his friends, explaining, ”Mrs. Papadopoulos is a prophetess, and the granddaughter of a famous prophetess, Mrs. Scherica.”
“I would like to take you to lunch,” Sibylla proposed.
Al replied, “Thank you. That would be nice.” The others agreed, and so Sibylla took them about a fifteen-minute walk away to a restaurant with an outside patio, set on the outside of the road instead of into the cliff. From the outside dining area they could see the castle.
They sat down, and ordered. As they were waiting Cleo looked up, and around. She took out her wand, and held it up like she was feeling for something. Then she observed, “I feel like this is a place under siege. I can feel, and almost see, Dementors raging just outside this valley.”
“Some of the prophets and prophetesses can feel it as well,” Sibylla acknowledged. “It has taken more work than almost anyone can see to protect the security of this valley, and keep it hidden from Muggles. We have had to add protection against Dementors as well.
“Albus, Cleopatra, are you having any trouble removing the wall?”
Albus answered, “It is taking a lot of time, but there is nothing particularly difficult about it.”
Cleo joined in, “Albus and I have always had an easy time levitating things. It feels very natural taking the wall apart.”
Rose pointed to the castle, explaining, “The castle has ten normal floors below the plaza, and then a couple of very deep floors below that. You cannot easily see all the windows from here, because most of them have been closed off. It is like a block of stone is put in front of the window and until it is removed it looks like the window is not there.”
Cleo asked Al, “All those areas with that sort of other red and bright off to the anti-clockwise are windows?”
Sibylla looked at Cleo, eyebrows raised, puzzled.
Al saw the puzzlement and explained, “Cleo sees magic that none of the rest of us can see. When she and I are sharing minds I can see what she sees, and I am sort of learning to see it as well.”
Cleo looked at the castle with sort of a wistful look. “You could have a hundred children and not fill that place. I love babies.”
Albus responded, “A little moderation, Cleo.”
Cleo looked at Al and mumbled, “I know. I know.
“I just think the castle should be a fairy tale castle, filled with happy people.”
Sibylla remarked, “I’m forty, and my husband and I have been trying for twenty years to have a child.”
Cleo responded, “There is something fertile about the fountain. Let’s go there before Al and I go back to taking the wall down.”
The assembled crowd, that included Elves and guards, was back at the plaza about one-thirty. Sibylla charged, “Rose, Scorpius, will you try to levitate the blocks on the wall, please.”
Both of them tried, with no success. Then several of the other people tried. It sure looked like only Albus and Cleopatra could move any of the blocks that were on the wall.
Shortly after starting on the wall Cleo urged, “Mrs. Papadopoulos, let’s go over to the fountain.”
Sibylla went over to the fountain with Cleo, and when Cleo climbed into the dry fountain she followed. They stood close to the center, where bowls rose up into a seven-tiered structure in the middle of the fountain. Cleo took out her wand, and moved it over Sibylla. Cleo spent a few minutes going over Sibylla, and then prayed, “Lord, you know that I am not really a Christian or anything, but Albus prays, and I know enough to know that prayer is important. I want Mrs. Sibylla Papadopoulos to have a baby, because she does. Help her, or help me help her.”
Sibylla replied, “Amen.”
Cleo smiled, and then she giggled, and then she hugged Sibylla. “Have fun tonight, and tomorrow night. Lots of fun.” She walked out of the fountain, Sibylla following.
A school bus pulled up, and about forty children, ages six to eight, piled out. There were six chaperons with the group. The leader came over, recognized Sibylla and Albus, and asked, “Are Albus and his friends taking down the wall?”
Sibylla replied, “Yes.”
Cleo explained, “We’ve made the front of the castle prettier. Rose is going to help us make it even prettier. We just need flags for the flagpoles.”
One of the girls who was close to the leader, asked, “Who is going to design the flag?”
Cleo replied, “Anyone can. EVERYONE can. I see you have paper and drawing stuff with you. If you design flags we will put them on the castle and the walls on the edge of the plaza and on all the flagpoles everywhere! Just make them happy flags.”
“May we, Mrs. Zwiefolhofer?” asked one of the girls.
Rahel Zwiefolhofer responded, “Yes, Laura. You may draw the castle, or you may design flags.”
Cleo asked, “Rose, will you help me look at the flags?”
Rose replied, “Sure.”
Cleo’s enthusiasm for flags was contagious, and before long all the children were drawing flag designs. Cleo spent the next two hours looking at everyone’s flag. Whenever there was a question about color, or how to draw something, Cleo called for Rose, who was a good artist, and Rose helped the child. Cleo mostly encouraged, and made sure all the designs had the artist’s name clearly printed on the bottom of the flag. Scorpius made sure to get a good list of all the children, so there was a record of all the children who had contributed a flag. Albus continued to dissemble the wall, letting Mr. Flintstone and Mr. Rubble and their staff remove the stones once Al had loosened them.
A half hour before the children had to leave, a large contingent of Elves appeared, bearing blank flags. They magically transferred the drawings onto both sides of a flag, leaving the original drawing intact. Just before the school children left the Elves magically had every flag on a flagpole on the castle.
Cleo looked, and sighed, and declared, “It is beginning to look like a happy place.”
Albus, who had just stopped tearing down the wall, declared, “It is! Cleopatra Desiree, you are a marvel. Just looking at what we are doing makes me happy.”
Rahel Zwiefolhofer announced, “We have more children coming tomorrow. I am leading these excursions to the castle.
“I am going to try and have a group come every morning, and another in the afternoon, for the rest of the week. We should give at least most of the younger students the chance to design a flag that way.”
Cleo replied, “Well, then, we are going to have to make more flags. Every child in the valley should have their own flag flying this year, and then we will have to start over next year and make more happy flags. Happy flags and happy children, I love it!”
After dinner, the four Hogwarts students started to roam the castle. Al and Cleo tried to lighten and brighten all the walls, all the tapestries, and everything they could. Rose helped with her great design and color sense. And Scorpius documented all that was being done.
The next morning the Magical Local and the Metro Magi had as their headline what was going on in the plaza, taking down the wall and designing the flags. The four students read the articles at breakfast. Harry and Ginny came over to the students, and Ginny gushed, “I like what you are doing, making the castle brighter. I love the flags!”
Cleo announced, “More students are coming today. I want all the students in the valley to be able to design a flag!”
Harry declared, “I approve too. This castle has been too grim and foreboding, but we never had the time or inspiration to change it.”
Cleo pointed out, “Rose is great with color and design.”
Scorpius declared, “I’m just trying to document what is going on, what has changed. I have a list of all the students who designed a flag, and the school they attend. The elves have helped me add a copy of the flag design to my record.
“When we are reading histories it always helps to have an account from someone who was there.”
“What about the reporters, Dad?” Albus asked. “I do not want them bothering us all the time.”
Harry replied, “It is useful to have reporters on your side. You should not make enemies of them. They are going to write something, and it is better to control the story.”
“I just do not want them bothering people,” Albus said.
“You should appoint a spokesperson,” Harry advocated. “Let that person answer all the questions.”
Al reiterated “Scorpius, you are documenting everything. You should be better than anyone at answering questions. Besides, when the students were drawing flags both Rose and Cleo were really busy, and I stayed busy tearing down the wall. Do you want to be our spokesperson?”
“I would like that,” Scorpius confirmed. “We need to talk more tonight about what I should and should not say, but I will try.”
“Just tell them not to bother anyone today,” Albus told him. “They can stay here, and watch, and listen, but not to try and talk to the children or us, just you. Answer simple questions, but if you have any doubts talk to us first.”
“I can do that,” Scorpius agreed.
After breakfast Al and Cleo started to take down the wall. Shortly after Al and Cleo started Al looked at a couple of blocks he has just sort of released, and turning to his friends said, “Rose, Scorpius, try and move this block after I release it.”
Albus and Cleo found that they only had to release a block of the wall and start to move it before Rose and Scorpius could take over. The larger blocks took both Rose and Scorpius to move. They did not have to move them very far before Mr. Flintstone and Mr. Rubble and their crew took over.
About this time reporters from the Magical Local and the Metro Magi appeared. They tried to talk to Albus and Cleo, but they were busy. Rose seemed to be working with them, helping the stones left on the plaza look right. Scorpius went over to them and asked, “May I help you?”
“I’m Jimmy Olsen from the Metro Magi,” a very eager young man said. “We would like to know everything about Albus Potter and his friends. I understand that you are his roommate at Hogwarts. You must know all about him.”
Scorpius laughed. “I am sure I do not know everything about Albus, and I am not going to tell you everything I do know. I will try to answer your questions.”
An older, shapely woman proclaimed, “I am Brenda Starr from the Magical Local. Who is Albus’s friend, and why are they taking down the wall?”
Scorpius replied, “Albus’s friend is Cleopatra Desiree Smith. Everybody calls her Cleo. She is Rose Weasley’s roommate here and at Hogwarts.
“They are taking down the wall because it is ugly and intimidating. Mr. Potter wanted it down too. It makes the castle look less friendly.”
“Who gave them permission?” Brenda asked.
Scorpius responded, “Mr. Potter, and Mr. Richter. I guess if you can do it you have permission to do it.”
“I like the flags!” Jimmy Olsen exclaimed. “Was that Mr. Potter’s idea too?”
“That was Cleo’s idea,” Scorpius stated.
“Did she ask anyone for permission?” Brenda inquired.
“No,” Scorpius admitted.
“She is acting like she owns the castle!” Brenda sneered.
“Mrs. Potter said she always wanted to make the castle nicer, but she never had the energy to do it,” Scorpius argued. “She never knew what she wanted to do either. Cleo has NEVER lacked energy, and between her and Rose they seem to know what they want.”
Before the reporters could ask any more questions busses with school children drove into the plaza. Cleo and Rose went over and greeted Rahel Zwiefolhofer, and before long Cleo had another group of students making flags.
Scorpius pleaded, “We talked about the students and you reporters at breakfast. Please do not bother the students, or anyone who is working. I am documenting what is going on, and will try and answer your questions.”
Brenda looked at some notes, and then asked, “Are you Scorpius Hyperon Malfoy?”
Scorpius said, “Yes, ma’am.”
“How did you get to be spokesman for this group?” Brenda asked.
“I’m trying to document everything, but otherwise I am the least busy.”
“Is Cleo Albus’s girlfriend?” Jimmy asked. “They seem to be the only ones who can tear down the wall.”
“They almost look like an old married couple at times,” Brenda observed. “They move together like they are almost one person.”
“They are a couple,” Scorpius confirmed. “It is hard to imagine them with anyone else.”
“Are you and Rose Weasley a couple as well?” Jimmy asked.
“No way!” Scorpius exclaimed. “We study together a lot, but she’s, well, it’s not that way at all. She’s just too bossy.”
Rose heard this exchange, and grumbled, “Scorpius is an incorrigible know-it-all.”
“Just because I don’t let you answer ALL the questions in class?” Scorpius retorted.
Cleo suggested, “You ought to take turns.”
Rose and Scorpius glared at each other.
Jimmy Olsen said to Scorpius, “I see Rose is not exactly your girlfriend.”
“I like studying with her. I would not mind being maybe a LITTLE less competitive, but Rose thinks she has to prove she is as smart and knowledgeable as her mother.”
“I OUGHT to know more than you, Mr. Malfoy,” Rose replied. “My mother helped write most of the textbooks.”
Scorpius observed, “See, she is a little uptight at times, and it wears on me after a while. She is a great study partner, but she is hardly a girlfriend.”
Rose made a sort of “Humpf” noise and went back to working with the students on the flags.
*
About ten, Sibylla appeared. Cleo stopped moving stones and went over to her. The reporters started to go over to the two women, but at a nod from Cleo Scorpius kept the reporters away.
Cleo took out her wand, waved it over Sibylla, and started to giggle. She then pulled Sibylla into a big hug. “I hope I am right,” Cleo grinned. “I feel that you and your husband enjoyed each other last night.”
Sibylla exclaimed, “Oh, Cleo! Hermes did some spell for endurance, and we spent more time talking about how we wanted the night to last and last. You stressed that we needed to enjoy each other, and we did! I did not think ecstasy could last that long. When we were done, we were not really done. We stayed joined together, just enjoying being together, until he came again, and then we went to sleep still coupled together. In the middle of the night I had the most fantastic dream, but it wasn’t a dream, and we did it again and again.
“We were both a little sore this morning, but we couldn’t stop smiling.”
Sibylla watched the group as, slowly, the wall came down.
*
Wednesday morning there was an article in the Magical Local.
Plaza Being Transformed by Albus Potter and Friends
by Brenda Starr
Albus Potter and his friends are transforming the plaza and the front of the castle. You are just beginning to see a much brighter and more colorful castle, complete with amateur flags, all different, flying from the flagpoles on and around the castle complex.
Albus Potter is still a little boy, still prepubescent. Despite his small size, and not saying much, he seems to be the acknowledged leader of the group.
Cleopatra Desiree Smith, who apparently is his girlfriend, is a large black girl. She is extremely curvy for her age, although she is neither cute nor beautiful. Her overly thick and unruly hair is mostly confined to two big, unfashionable plaits down her back. So far, her dresses have had an empire waist, showing a mammoth bosom for her age, unsuccessfully hiding even larger hips. The dresses all have big kangaroo style pockets more appropriate for a pre-school teacher than a young girl. Cleopatra obviously has no fashion sense.
Cleopatra, or Cleo, as she is called, has been acting like the castle is her castle. Apparently without permission, she has been encouraging the children of the valley to design flags. The flags have transformed the castle into looking more like a primary school than an impressive fortification.
Cleopatra impresses this reporter as someone who is totally out of control.
Rose Weasley is very thin, just like her mother, the British Vice-Minister of Magic, and shares her mother’s thick frizzy hair. When I have tried to talk to her she seems very uptight. She takes her venom out on everyone, although it seems to roll off Albus and Cleopatra. She is at least trying to improve the designs on the flags, unlike Cleopatra, who seems not to care how juvenile or unsuitable the flag is.
Rose also throws her mother’s position at the British Ministry around like a weapon.
Scorpius Hyperon Malfoy is also very thin, with thin blond hair and a thin, arrogant, pointed face. Both Rose and Scorpius seem to be dressed like fashion models out of Switch or some other teen-age fashion magazine. Albus Potter is always dressed in Muggle shirts and trousers, and there is nothing particularly stylish about him.
Despite his questionable background, with a grandfather serving life in prison, Scorpius Malfoy has become the spokesman for the group. He talks to us rather freely, although it is obvious that he will not answer all our questions. There seems to be a lot of tension between Rose and Scorpius. Despite studying together and being best friends with Albus and Cleopatra, Scorpius and Rose have a hard time being civil to each other.
The article went on to explain in some detail the changes in the Plaza.
The column in the Metro Magi covered much of the same material, without being quite as derisive about the four students.
At breakfast, Al and Scorpius went up to Al’s parents and asked, “Have you read the papers? Brenda Starr is not exactly nice.”
“She would have been much worse if you had not been at least polite to her,” Harry replied. “You need to learn how to make reporters try and write good things about you.”
“That’s my job?” asked Scorpius.
“If you are the spokesperson, that is at least part of your job, Scorpius,” Harry replied. “Good luck.”
Harry and Scorpius talked some that morning about how to charm the reporters. When the reporters showed up that morning Scorpius said, “Thank you for the articles, Mr. Olsen and Ms. Starr.”
“Did you even read my article?” Brenda Starr asked.
Scorpius replied, “Cleo says her hair IS hard to control. And she did not ask permission to have the students make flags, but she knew that the Potters wanted the castle to look prettier. Mr. and Mrs. Potter approve of the flags, and what Albus and his friends are doing.”
“Cleo still seems out of control at times,” Brenda proclaimed.
Scorpius laughed. “She SEEMS out of control at times, that’s pretty accurate.”
Brenda insisted, “Cleopatra IS out of control. I have heard of her magic being out of control at Hogwarts.”
Scorpius replied, “She has a little more trouble controlling her magic than most Magi, but she can do all the assignments we have been asked to do and more. She is a very powerful Magi.”
Brenda asked, “Are Albus and Cleo the only ones who can remove the wall?”
“They have to loosen the stones. Once a stone or block from the wall has been set free by one of them anyone can move it,” Scorpius explained. “It does not seem to be hard for them, although it is time consuming.”
When students came Scorpius kept the reporters away. He did find time to compliment Rose on the work she was doing with the students, and Rose responded politely, always when the reporters could hear.
The small group went to lunch the same place, the same time, on Wednesday. They worked with a second set of students Wednesday afternoon.
Thursday Cleo and Rose knew the afternoon group of students were going to be coming about an hour later. There was a section of the wall almost down, so the assembled group walked over to the restaurant about half an hour after their usual time. They were almost at the restaurant when they noticed an Auror putting an object on her broom and flying off with it. She was maybe a thousand feet away from the restaurant and a couple thousand feet away from the group when people saw an explosion.
“Duck, lie flat,” Albus yelled as he dropped down, lying flat on the walk next to the wall that was next to the mountain edge.
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