ALBUS HAD APPROXIMATELY half a second to regain his composure from the hug before James was dragging him and Scorpius into a corner purposefully. Scorpius made a noise of surprise, but then followed the oldest Potter boy, his eyebrows pulling together out of curiosity.

"There are a few things I'm going to tell you two, but you have to keep it all a secret, okay?" James told them, raising his eyebrows and awaiting their response.

When they both nodded, he reached a hand into his pocket and pulled out a piece of parchment. It looked rather old, wrinkled and overall completely normal, but Albus knew this particular bit of parchment was anything but ordinary.

James sighed heavily, squeezing his eyes shut. "Fuck, you have no idea how difficult this is for me. This thing," he said, waving the parchment in their faces, "is my baby. I've had it throughout my entire time at Hogwarts. It has kept me from getting lost, saved me from detention, allowed me to stalk people."

"Ah, the illustrious Marauder's Map," Scorpius sighed, his lips turning up at the corners.

"Is that why you kept it to yourself for a whole year, even after you graduated Hogwarts?" Albus demanded of James, rolling his eyes. "You don't need it anymore."

"I know that, Albie," his brother snapped. "That's exactly why I'm giving it to you for now, even though it's a precious piece of my soul—"

Scorpius grinned widely and nudged Albus in the ribs. "Plot twist: James made the Marauder's Map his Horcrux."

Albus sniggered while James shot them both a look of disdain. "Can't you two just appreciate this selfless act and that I'm the best brother to ever exist? 'Thank you, James Sirius Potter, our lord and saviour, for this incredible honour. We will treat the creation of two of your namesakes with care.'"

       "I'm not saying that," said Albus. "Although, I must admit that despite the words leaving your mouth, this is surprisingly mature of you! Congratulations, Jamesie, you're finally growing up!"

       "Shut up." He held the blank Marauder's Map out to them. When Scorpius reached over to take it from him, however, he pulled it back and let out a feigned sob. "My baby!"

       "For Merlin's sake, are you handing it over or not?" Albus said impatiently.

       James sighed and ran a hand through his hair in distress. "Yes, yes, I'm giving it to you. You know how it works, right? When you want it to show itself, you just have to say—"

       "We know the incantation, we've used it before," Scorpius told him.

       "Right," said James. "Here." He thrust the parchment into Scorpius's hands. Both Scorpius and Albus thanked him. "I'd say it's no problem," he responded, "but that would be a lie. Anyway, there's something else I have to tell you both."

       "Ooh, is it about the Invisibility Cloak this time?" Albus asked hopefully. Then, upon seeing James's glare, he added, "I suppose giving us that as well would be pushing it."

       "I lent it to Lily," he replied, grimacing. "Don't worry, she'll share it with you."

       "What?" Albus demanded, surprise and disbelief crossing his features. "You must be feeling very charitable."

       "I ought to be since I'd like to, you know, settle down," he explained. "I think I'm going to propose to Annabelle soon." When they gasped, he waved a hand dismissively and continued speaking with haste. "Don't make a big deal out of it, I haven't got a ring or anything yet. I haven't even told anyone else. I'm still figuring out when the right time would be. That's still not what I wanted to talk to you guys about though." He paused and bit his lip. "You see, something is going to be taking place at Hogwarts this year. Dad didn't want me to tell you, but I think it's stupid to keep it a secret."

Albus's eyes widened at the grave look on his brother's face. "What is it?"

He leaned over to whisper to them so that no one else would hear. "The Triwizard Tournament."

       Albus's mouth fell open. "Woah—seriously?"

       "Yeah, seriously," James scoffed, glaring at Albus with envy. "If you haven't already guessed, I'm jealous. We all know that if it happened while I was in school, I undoubtedly would've been the Hogwarts champion."

       Scorpius turned to Albus, his elation radiating off of him, a grin spreading across his lips. "Holy shit, Al—we've got to submit our names. You've got to submit your name. There's no way you wouldn't be chosen."

Albus, however, was not the least bit excited. There was not a single part of him that actually wanted to participate in the Triwizard Tournament. He didn't want to submit his name, he didn't want to be chosen, he didn't want to have to go through tasks being watched by crowds. All he had wanted for his seventh year was to keep his head down and focus on school. And wasn't this all dangerous? How could Hogwarts host another Triwizard Tournament when during the last one, a student had died—

His thoughts were interrupted when his cousin, Rose Granger-Weasley, came bounding over to him. He made a noise of surprise as she enveloped him in a fierce hug, then did the same to James, completely disregarding Scorpius Malfoy.

The blond boy reached over and shoved the Marauder's Map into the back pocket of Albus's jeans while Albus resisted the urge to screech in protest. Suddenly alert and suave, Scorpius ran a hand through his hair and smiled, showing a row of pearly teeth. "Hello, Rosie, did you have a nice summer?"

       Rose shot a rude retort at him, but Albus didn't hear it. His eyes were on Scorpius, whose face had lit up at the sight of the girl. It made him angry. Rose had always been his favourite cousin, but he suddenly hated her. Then, when the feeling passed, he felt guilty for being angry at her for absolutely no reason.

       What is wrong with me? he thought.

       James nudged him and shot him a pointed look, seeming to mistake Albus's evident discomfort for a reaction to the news of the Triwizard Tournament.

       "Albus," Rose said, pulling him from his trance, "the train is leaving soon. We should board, but go see Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny first. They were looking for you." She pointed at where they stood across the station, then crossed her arms. "They thought you left without saying goodbye."

       "Okay," he replied, nodding.

       He darted through the crowd, manoeuvring through throngs of people, with Scorpius, James and Rose following closely behind. As he reached Harry and Ginny, he smiled. "Bye Mum. Bye Dad. I'll miss you! But not that much, so don't, you know, bombard me with letters or anything." He embraced them both before turning to James.

       "Where's Lily?" James asked his parents.

       "She already boarded with Lorcan and Lysander," Ginny told him.

       "She didn't even say goodbye to me! Ugh, girls." He placed his hand on the top of Albus's head and gave him a small, affectionate smile. "Have a good year, baby brother. I'll see you at Christmas, and I'll be sure to send you loads of Howlers." He lowered his voice and leaned in to whisper, "I'm sure it'll be a very interesting year, even without me there with you. Enjoy it while it lasts, you only get to be in seventh year once." His hazel eyes widened. "Now go, the train's leaving."

With that, he patted Albus on the behind.

Albus boarded the train and turned to see Scorpius in tow. He jumped in after him. As the train picked up speed, Albus saw the faces of family members swimming by. He caught sight of his uncle and aunt, Ron and Hermione, and waved at them. At last, he began walking down the halls of the train beside his best friend, searching for their usual compartment—and he wasn't sure whether or not he was quite so prepared to face whatever this year had in store.