JPATNM ~ Chapter 1: In Which Underage Wizards Wander Where They Shouldn't And Get Tangled In Strange Situations

“Looking for trouble, he'd say. You're gonna look til you find it.

Trouble is the looker, she'd answer. It keeps looking till it finds you. Might as well find it first.

Why do you want to die?

I don't, she'd say. I just want to live.”

- Victoria Schwab

Chapter 1:

In Which Underage Wizards Wander Where they Shouldn't and Get Tangled in Strange Situations

~ Scorpius & James ~

Shopping in Diagon Alley should have been the most thrilling activity of August; and it was for most young witches and wizards, but Scorpius Malfoy was not one of them. He had been to Diagon Alley countless times. The shops filled with magical objects and fascinating ongoings that were a daily occurrence there, familiar and expected to him. Hence he was impervious to the cloaks that ranged from Egyptian cotton to Chinese silk, he didn’t bat an eyelash when concoctions erupted and produced different smells and results and certainly didn’t ask foolish questions about the magical world.

He was Scorpius Malfoy, and he was on his way to a prestigious school where the darkest wizard attained his knowledge, the greatest Headmaster in all the magical world had once taught and where one of the greatest battles was fought. All this he knew by reading The Twentieth Century, a History and from his own father, of course who had firsthand accounts of this great battle.

That fateful day, his parents accompanied him to buy the required supplies for first years. In front of Amanuensis Quills his mother, Astoria Malfoy, took out the yellowed envelope with emerald writing, which contained his acceptance letter and his list. She reached for the list, tapped it with her wand and handed it to Draco. He removed a pouch from his pocket and along with the list, he offered them to Scorpius.

Intrigued Scorpius took them, marveling at the item that landed with an audible thump in his open palm. Among the to’s and fro’s of the lively wizarding community, his father had given him one of the family’s heirlooms. He looked at his father, just to make sure he was certain of giving him the pouch and not about to snatch it back on the pretext that he made a mistake.

It jingled with any slight movement; it was filled with money. ‘Flying broomsticks, my father gave me the pouch full of money!’

“It’s yours, son. There’s enough money to buy your school supplies and have some sickles left over for your term.” Draco’s gaze was a soft one, his words were anything but. “I suggest you use it wisely.” Sometimes, like now, he never truly knew if his father loved him. Did that mean he trusted him, or was he just trying to keep him busy with the money instead of having to give him more attention?

He nevertheless nodded, “Aye, sir.”

“Good. Your mother and I are going to pick up some décor for the manor. You are free to go.” His mother’s gaze filled with love and pride.

Given free rein, Scorpius went out and about, visiting all the shops that caught his attention to collect all the required things from his list. Soon after his first purchase, he saw a tick, a faint brush of dark ink onto the paper, next to the word Inks on his list. He realized Astoria enchanted his letter, so that every single thing he bought was marked with that same tick afterward.

His shopping progressed quickly, thanks to Penny, the house elf loyal to the Malfoy family, who waited for him outside each shop, relieving him of the weight of his shopping bags, which she transported back to the Manor. Shopping came to an end quickly, but he didn’t want to look for his parents just yet. Content to just cruise around, he was left to wander aimlessly, straying away from the widest and most crowded alleys and ending up in some long forgotten, dirty and utterly deserted by anything animate.

Knockturn Alley was dark and somber, hags and weird blokes were to be found there. But he had paid a visit there couple of times, some with his father and others with his grandfather, but never alone. Yet, what did he have to lose? More than sick of seeing happy and merry families shopping, or worse yet, kids milling around stores laughing and jostling about, he decided to venture deeper.

As a child, Scorpius had been afraid of the lecherous and cunning eyes of hags and wizards alike. Father soon taught him never to show fear, for it was a weakness, something these people feed on as one might find a pastry with chocolate truffle on the top particularly tasty.

 

Passing various stores made him realize that he had never been so far in. Display windows became murkier with grime encrusted on the surface, and the cobbled ground became nothing more than broken stones and plain dirt. Dark shadows lurked in corners out of sight, hooded figures kept their eyes averted to the ground, and as his feet traveled further, even they became scarce. All the while, thoughts and sights kept him from bolting out of there, even though he was scared witless.

In the complete opposite side of the famed wizarding marketplace James Potter ran ahead of his parents, happy to be rid of the shopping of his own supplies. After a long, tiring day of hunting books and quills and such, dull objects with no charm compared to shrunken skulls and invisible ink, he finally broke away from his parents in search of his partner in crime: Fred. It didn't take long to find him. After a short conversation, Fred said that he had something to show him. Unfortunately, Fred had longer legs than his cousin did and by the time he realized where his winding path was taking them, it was too late. They were in Knockturn Alley.

James looked around as they walked farther and farther into the alley. It was eerie in and of itself, without the numerous hags and other demented wizards. The brick walls on either side of them were covered in thick slime, ivy and moss. James shuddered. This was not at all what he had pictured Knockturn Alley to look like.

After walking in silence for a while, Fred spoke up. "You know that Muggle fairytale? It's called Huntley and Griddle or something like that."

James nodded. He knew that one.

Farther behind, the two animated voices travelled to where Scorpius was. Without telling his feet to proceed, they moved on their own accord. Too curious to turn back, he followed the direction of the voices. They were out of place; people knew how to behave here, yet those two had disturbingly open faces. He knew they were lost even before the same voice spoke, "Well, I think we should have left breadcrumbs or something, because I have no idea where I am.”

Scorpius scoffed. Bunch of foolish kids really. It was probably their first time in Knockturn Alley by the way their eyes darted around, searching for who knew what. Part of him felt sorry for them because they were in exactly the same situation as he was, but another part of him felt insanely jealous. He was lost alone they had each other. Quickly, he shrugged away the feelings of self pity.

His knee-jerk reaction should have been to ignore them both, but something prompted him to follow them. With hurried steps, he trailed after them and in his urgency to follow them, he didn't notice a wizard with a scaly face and glassy eyes until he bumped into him. Afraid of being left behind, he walked around the wizard and trailed after them. The brown haired lad had bumped into someone.

James didn't bother looking at whom he had run into, but he froze as the figure began to speak in Parseltongue. "Start at the abandoned pond. First left, then right. Straight for a time, then right once more. Five paces back the way you came, then sit down. I will find you upon the stroke of midnight. The night before they assemble… Remember that it will be a full moon. Watch for wolves of unusual size." James looked up slowly. He had carelessly run into an old man. He seemed to be repeating directions to himself, because he didn't pay any attention to the fact that the boy had nearly plowed him over.

He jumped backward as he felt something winding its way around his legs. He looked down and saw a huge snake slithering on the cobblestones. A sudden thought popped into his head: Perhaps the snake knew how to get out of Knockturn Alley.

James never took his eyes off it, even when Fred kicked him in the back as hard as he could. "James! What in the world are you thinking?! Stand up right now and get away from that snake... and that man! He's hissing!" Fred was in a complete panic. James realized that he didn't know about Parseltongue.

Before Fred could say or do anything else, James spoke to the snake using its native tongue. "Excuse me, could you tell me how to get out of Knockturn Alley?"

A voice replied in Parseltongue, but it was obviously not the snake answering his question. "There's no point in asking him. He doesn't know his left from his right. He's blind, you see. Even so, it wouldn't really matter that he has been denied the right to see. All snakes have horrendous orientation skills." James stared at the old man, realizing that he had been the one who had spoken.

He heard Fred make a sound of surprise, but he ignored it.

"Then may I ask you how to get out of Knockturn?" James asked politely, still using the native tongue of snakes.

"You may, but I have the option of not answering you, if I so choose." He smiled a toothless grin at the boy.

James frowned, not sure how to answer. "If I ask, will I waste my breath?"

"That depends on what you want to hear.”

"Sir?" He decided politeness was the way to win the answer to his question. "What is your name?"

"My christened name is for my ears alone, but I am called by those close to me Milton. Timothy Milton."

His demeanor was quickly making James lose his nerve as well, but he was able to keep his composure through sheer will. "Mr. Milton, I need to know how to leave Knockturn Alley."

"I will teach you the way out, if you swear to me on all that you hold dear two things."

"Anything!" James said, a little bit too enthusiastically, even he was able to hear the sharp hiss in his voice that time. He heard Fred take a step back.

"Firstly, do not tell anyone about this meeting. It is for you and I alone to know of. Secondly, when you return to school this year, you will meet a boy who goes by the same name that I do. He also speaks our language." It was obvious that by ‘our language' he meant the language of the snakes, or Parseltongue. "At this time, I shan't tell you how Timothy and I know each other, or why we have the same name, but there will come a time when he needs your help. You must help him, as payment for what I am about to do for you. If you do not help him, I will kill you. Do not underestimate me, James Sirius Potter."

James took a deep breath. He needed to keep myself calm if only for Fred's sake. "You have my word."

"Would you be willing to do an Unbreakable Vow?" He snarled the question.

"Pardon me?"

"An Unbreakable Vow! It is a magical incantation in which one wizard makes an oath to another. In other words, you making an oath to me. If you accept the conditions of the Unbreakable Vow and you break them, you shall die. I have yet to know someone who has broken this vow, so I am unable to tell you how you will die. I only know from rumor that it is excruciatingly painful. We would join hands and a third person, designated as the ‘bonder’, shall place the tip of his wand onto their hands, upon which one person asks another person three separated terms of the Vow, where the person will respond ‘I will.’ I cannot even begin to fathom the fact that you have never heard of this," he said impatiently.

"I hadn't until now, sir." James gulped, "But… couldn't you just… take my word for it? I don't want to die."

"Of course not. Especially not now that you have proven that you are considering the possibility of breaking the vow. But, then again, the only way that you and your friend will get out of Knockturn Alley is if you comply."

As he said this, James’s thoughts automatically went to his family... Fred's family. He couldn't imagine how distraught his uncle George would be if he lost another Fred. And his own parents. He realized at that moment, that both Fred and his own namesakes had died at young ages. They were the living memories of both Fred Weasley, Uncle George's twin brother, and James Potter, his dad’s own dad. He couldn't imagine how his dad would feel losing that connection to the past that he didn't even remember.

"So… What is your answer?"

"I'll do it," James replied, his voice shaky.

"Excellent!" He turned to look at Fred, who was a lot farther back than he remembered him being. "Friend of James Potter, do you know how to perform an Unbreakable Vow?" Until Mr. Milton spoke in English, James had almost forgotten that the whole conversation had been in Parseltongue.

Scorpius’s breath caught once he processed what the old goon had said. Did he really mean the Unbreakable Vow?! An Unbreakable Vow wasn’t done in an alley, for Merlin’s beard! Few wizards ever did it because of what it meant. He knew of it only because Father had mentioned it on one rare occasion that he’d taken him to his work. He learned to hard facts: few people are foolish enough to commit to it and in case of not keeping the vow, you were sure to meet a sure demise. Were these to blockheads thick or plain gullible?

Knockturn Alley wasn’t the place to trust someone. Why would it be the place to make an Unbreakable Vow? Scorpius kept observing from his hiding place with wide eyes.

Fred shook his head and took a step back. "Asubio, bring me my prey." Milton said in Parseltongue. James gasped as he realized that the name of his snake was the same as the infamous Lord Voldemort. It surprised him that Milton had the nerve to name his snake something so awful. But looking at his face, he realized that it was completely reasonable for his snake to be called what it was.

He watched as Asubio wound herself around the legs of his cousin. "He won't hurt you unless he has to," Milton said calmly.

"You... you speak snake!" Fred said, looking at Milton in shock.

James nodded at Fred and started responding to him in Parseltongue before correcting himself. "Fred, Mr. Milton is going to show us how to get out of here. But you have to come over here and help us with something. I've made a promise to him that I will assist his... friend while at Hogwarts this year, but he wants me to make an Unbreakable Vow so that he knows I will keep it. If I don't, he'll kill us. Or his snake will." At this, Fred ran forward, toward them, stumbling as Asubio tried to free herself as he ran.

He stopped short right next to James. "Now, boy, you need to know the basics for being the "Bonder" for an Unbreakable Vow. All you need is your wand." Fred drew his wand. James was surprised that he had it with him. "Very good. Now, James, grab my hand." He nodded his approval as James did so. "Remember, all you must do is say ‘I will' after each condition." Milton looked at Fred, "Place the tip of your wand on our interlocked hands." After Fred did this he added, "No matter what happens at this point, do not pull your wand away, otherwise both of you will die." Fred looked extremely pale as he nodded.

Milton took a deep breath and stared James down. If it wasn't for his family, James would have told Milton to kill him. He had half a mind to do so, and most likely would have, except he couldn't be responsible for Fred's death. Even if he had gotten them both into this mess.

"James Sirius Potter." As he said the name, James wondered to himself how he knew it. When he had said it before, he hadn't noticed that he had never supplied him with his name, as he had done. He felt a shudder go down his spine. "Do you promise that no matter what, you will do as I have asked, and assist my acquaintance in what he must do at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?"

He asked this condition in Parseltongue, and James gave the reply in the same language. "Yes– I mean, I will."

A rope-like flame emerged from the tip of Fred's wand and wrapped itself tightly around their hands. If it would have been possible, James would have pulled away right then and there. He saw Fred jump out of the corner of his eye.

"And, if you must, will you protect him from any danger he may, or may not encounter while doing this?"

James took a deep breath, "I . . . I will."

Another tongue of flame came out of the wand and wrapped itself around the first.

"And, will you be sure to not tell anyone about what we have spoken of?"

"I will..." James almost added not, but realized that even with this ‘oath' it would be wrong because of the way he phrased it. All of this Unbreakable Vow had been spoken in Parseltongue. Just as quickly as the last flame wrapped itself around their clasped hands, they turned into smoke and disappeared in the air. Fred pulled his wand away.

Milton continued to look at him, even as he released the boy’s hand, "Do you have your wand so that you can perform the same act on your friend and I?" James wondered why Milton didn't know Fred's name. Maybe he did, but his name wasn't essential to what was happening here.

He shook his head, he didn't carry his wand everywhere. It was in his trunk at home. Potter rules to narrow down the possible pranks he could do.

"I suppose I will have to do this the old-fashioned way." Milton sighed as though he were bored. "Obliviate!" he said, pointing his wand at Fred. Fred looked surprised at first, but then a look of confusion crossed his face. James looked alarmed, but the old wizard reassured him, "I only erased his memory up to the moment before you ran into me. Do not forget your vow. Keep walking forward, you are going the right direction. Do not get off the path. In about a moment you will return to Diagon Alley," he said before he disapparated.  

Blast my luck that had me pinned between following the two and the man! Scorpius thought to himself. Afraid of losing sight of them, he decided to risk everything and follow their trail. Only when he saw the darkness receding and light touching on the alley, did he breathe a sigh of relief. They were back on Diagon Alley.

Scorpius decided enough was enough. They might have saved him from being utterly lost in the alley and dragons know what else, but they were also a magnet for strange things to happen. For one, one of them spoke ‘snake’. They were foolish enough to venture to dark places and make Unbreakable Vows with the first wizard that lost his Merlin marbles. They  both reeked of trouble just waiting to happen. Yep, that was enough for him.

Decisively, he turned the other way, not sparing one backward glance. His parents waiting by the entrance of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes store. “Did you get everything, Scorpius?” Astoria asked, stroking his hair. Although he appreciated the gesture, he wasn't sure he liked my mother acting like he was a baby in the middle of Diagon Alley.

He nodded, his brain blank and mechanically returned the list to her.

“My, my,” she murmured, tapping a long, perfectly manicured nail over the list. “You forgot one thing. The most important of all.”

“Did I?” Scorpius asked, barely able to keep up with the conversation.

“Your wand! Well, worry not, we still have time!” She led him through one of the most crowded streets, their shoes clicking every time they touched the cobbled pavement. Draco lingered a few steps behind all the way, as if he was putting a distance between himself and them. “Draco? Are you coming?”

Draco gave her a grim smile and waved his hand. “I have a few things to take care of. I'll meet you later.” He left, his dark cloak waving behind him.

* * * * *

It might have been only a few days since that fateful day in Knockturn Alley, but the excitement of the upcoming school year was more than enough to make the terrifying experience slip away from James’s mind, as the Potters walked across Kings Cross Station.

"I'm sorry Albus, you're just doomed to be in Slytherin. You have all of the characteristics of someone I knew who ended up there," James said solemnly to his younger brother as they walked across the crowded train station. Teasing Albus in this way had become a daily occurrence ever since he had received his acceptance letter to Hogwarts. It had yet to become boring, because his brother’s reaction changed each time. James almost grinned at his expression, but was able to compose himself.

"I won't! I won't be in Slytherin!" Albus cried in dismay, looking up at James as though he had been completely betrayed.

"James, give it a rest," Ginny chided. She was tired of him teasing Albus constantly.

James grinned widely at Albus. "I only said he might be. There's nothing wrong with that. He might be in Slyth–" The expression on Ginny’s face stopped him mid-sentence.

James turned and saw the barrier between platforms nine and ten. He quickly took the trolley from his mum and sprinted away. After only a second he was enveloped by the wall, and was on Platform 9 ¾.

Pushing his luggage over toward the train, he found the conductor, who was putting everything into the train with levitation charms. James quickly relieved himself of his luggage and began looking for familiar faces. It seemed as though most of the people were older and he didn't know any of them except those who were in Gryffindor. The air was thick with steam from the train, but he was able to make his way around well enough.

He turned a corner and stopped abruptly as he saw familiar people... Teddy and Victoire... snogging! He watched them for a few moments in shock. Teddy was practically family. In fact, he was closer than some of the family. And Victoire was family! James was horrified. He almost walked away right then and there, but he needed to say something.

James walked over to Teddy and tapped him on the shoulder. "What are you doing? You do realize that what you are doing is completely wrong don't you? It's this kind of thing that makes families like ours jinx each other in the back when no one is looking!  You may just start a blood feud for all you know! But all you care about is the fact that you are lip-locking each other and transmitting Muggle diseases."

Teddy looked more surprised than James had, for reasons that the young boy couldn't fathom. "What are you talking about James? I don't think you even know what you are saying. Haven't you ever seen your parents snog each other? It isn't just Muggles that do this kind of thing. And what blood feud? I thought our family was as close-knit as any wizarding family. Especially our parents. And I'm not technically part of your family. Not by genetics anyway. So I am allowed to snog Victoire all I want, thank you very much! All I am doing is seeing Victoire off. I'm not going to see her for a while. Now get out of here!" James really didn't want to get on the wrong side of Teddy. He could have quite a nasty temper when he wanted to. So he turned and walked away.

He began looking for his family in earnest, wanting to tell them what he had seen. He ran through the crowd, occasionally pushing someone when they didn't move quickly enough. After a few minutes he found them. All of them. Standing around... doing nothing.

"Teddy's back there. Just seen him! And guess what he's doing? Snogging Victoire!" James said breathlessly. He looked up at the adults, glancing from face to face. None of them seemed remotely fazed by the news. He decided he needed to emphasize. "Our Teddy! Teddy Lupin! Snogging our Victoire! Our cousin! And I asked Teddy what he was doing–"

"You interrupted them? You are so like Ron–" Ginny cut him off.

"–and he said he'd come to see her off! And then he told me to go away. He's snogging her!"

"Oh, it would be lovely if they got married! Teddy would really be part of the family then!" his sister whispered excitedly.

"He already comes round for dinner about four times a week," Harry pointed out, "Why don't we just invite him to live with us and have done with it?"

James liked this idea. "Yeah! I don't mind sharing with Al–Teddy could have my room!”

Harry shook his head. "No, you and Al will share a room only when I want the house demolished." He looked down at his watch, "It's nearly eleven, you'd better get on board."

Ginny walked over and hugged James, "Don't forget to give Neville our love!"

"Mum! I can't give a professor love!" he retorted.

"But you know Neville–"

James once again rolled his eyes at her, "Outside, yeah, but at school he's Professor Longbottom, isn't he? I can't walk into Herbology and give him love.” He looked at his brother. “See you later, Al. Watch out for the thestrals."

He smiled at Albus as he swung his leg out to kick him. James’s shoe successfully made contact with his shin. Albus didn't seem to notice.

He looked at Albus and saw a look of pure terror on his face. "I thought they were invisible? You said they were invisible!"

He smiled mischievously before boarding the train. Fred, was waiting for him. He had obviously overheard what he had just said to Albus, because he was grinning ear to ear. "Couldn't have done it better myself," he said in approval as he grabbed his hand and pulled him into a bear hug. "You're getting better and better everyday, James."

"What's that supposed to mean? That I'm still learning?" James scoffed as he pulled away from his embrace and headed into the nearest compartment. Fred followed and held up various contraband that he had snuck onto the train. The items ranged from Portable Swamps to Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder. It was going to be a good year.

James took a Headless Hat from him and sat down on one of the seats in the compartment. Fred began searching through a black bag. It was obvious that he was looking for something, but James had no idea what it was. Suddenly he pulled out some Stink Pellets. He held them up as if he had just won the Triwizard Tournament. James couldn't help but smile at him.

A loud noise made them both jump out of their seats. He looked at the floor, where the sound had come from and couldn't believe what he saw. "You told your mum and mine that you weren't, under any circumstances, going to sneak one of these onto the train, let alone the school!" James cried out when he saw the circular tube that was clearly labeled "Dr. Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks."

"You really need to learn to lighten up about a lot of things, James." He shook his head at him. “Has anything I taught you sunk into that small skull of yours?"

Fred grinned jokingly, and James relaxed. "I suppose you're right. And these fireworks will let us have all the more pranks to irritate the professors, Mr. Crubs and Mr. Filch."

"Exactly!"

“Fred? Did you maybe see where I put my–” Roxanne asked as she stormed into the compartment, her dark brown hair pulled in a high ponytail. The light dancing on her face lit it up, showing her natural, bronze highlights more than usual. The expression that was plastered on her face was priceless.

“Hello to you too, Roxanne,” James said, grinning from ear to ear.

The eyes of Fred’s twin sister were stuck on a small, deep, purple pouch, the one James was hundred percent sure that she’d recognize as Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder. Helping her Dad at the shop all summer long, it was guaranteed that she could spot that kind of thing from miles away.

“I have some spares for you too, sis,” Fred said, his expression reminding James of the Cornwall Pixies they had to immobilize last year in their final DADA exams.

“I don’t want any of that!” She exclaimed, her green eyes still huge. “How did you manage to sneak all that in here?”

“Jeesh! Roxie, you sound like Aunt Hermione!” Fred mocked. “Chillax!”

Fred’s mischievous Cornwall Pixie grin was mirrored on his twin. “Seriously now… How did you do that?”

James rolled his eyes. I should have known! He thought to himself. These two were so different with each other, Roxanne being more quiet and calculating, Fred acting more on impulse and thoughtlessly getting us constantly in trouble, but deep inside, those two were two sides of the same coin. Together, they were a force to be reckoned with…

“Well…” Fred started mysteriously, having that old wise master look on his face as he interwove his fingers and crossed his knees, placing his hands on top of them. “It wasn’t easy…”

Roxanne’s attention was fully turned to her brother, seeming fascinated by his achievement. At times like this, James wondered if Roxanne had potential of being a pro prankster, just like her father and brother.

“What’s that look for?!” Roxanne asked her cousin, half accusing and half teasing.

“Me?” James asked innocently, lifting his eyebrows.

And just like that, James was able to push the idea of the mysterious student in the back of his mind, ignoring the goosebumps on his arms.

Man, this is gonna be a good year!