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*Riley*
Joined: 30 November 2007
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Location: Celebrating with good friends
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Posted: Thursday 4 December 2008 02 06 37 am Post subject: Silvery Whispers in topic:Silvery Whispers |
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[i]The moon peeked her head through a break in the thick ominous clouds to shine her silver light over the forested land below. For miles, the land lay in gently rolling hills covered in a mottled mixture of hardwoods and pines, glittering like so much tinsel and confetti in the night. Little hamlets and towns carved flat, shadowy circles in the virgin timber, causing it to look like a dog with a mild case of mange. Ribbons of dusty road sprang up and disappeared in the underbrush, connecting each village with the next, with the distant cities, and, ultimately, with a dark and shrouded land town known as Knorlan.
Clouds as thick as thunderheads forever clung to the upper level of the Region, blocking out the light of the moon and the sun, but seldom dropping rain or filling the air with a humidity that brought forth the earthy fragrances of rotting vegetation. The forest beneath was overgrown with sickly flora, striving to grow ever taller and larger in order to grasp and hold the one sliver of light that might escape the stranglehold in the heavens. Though large and forbidding, the trees were slowly suffocating, casting their branches and leaves onto an already well-padded forest floor while all around the Region, as if to keep the inhabitants in and the travellers out, grew an impenetrable wall of long thorny brush.
In the outer ring of the Noble's land, near the edge, a young girl lay prostrate on her stomach while the wind blew softly through her long ashen hair and tickled her paper white cheek with a few loose strands. With her head resting on the backs of her palms, she looked out over the cliff at the dark world below and the occasional lamp that winked up at her through the trees. All the residents had returned home for the night and were either cleaning up the last of the supper dishes or were relaxing for the evening and indulging in restful hobbies.
A lantern hung limply from a stick pushed into the grassy earth, sending odd shafts of light dancing on Cassandra’s clothing. It was a restful night, where one could be found reading a book by the soft glow of a lamp, just as Cassie was doing.
Cassie raised her head, tearing her eyes hungry eyes away from the compelling words; something from inside her tattered grey bag was scuffling around. The bag was still closed, but a coarse hole was ripped in the side. Cassie carefully knelt next to the bag, unzipped it and toppled over backward. Regaining balance, she carefully stood over the bag, terrified of the creature that lay whimpering in the shadow of her book.[/i]
Hope you liked it, this was the start of my NaNoWriMo attempt  |
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DucksRMagical
Joined: 28 December 2006
Posts: 2090
Location: Boycotting All Future Warner Brothers Films
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Posted: Friday 7 November 2008 10 14 38 pm Post subject: Re: In Moonlight's Shadow in topic:In Moonlight's Shadow |
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Thanks Obladi! I'm glad you like it. 
Chapter 19: Cross-Country Skiing
"Jack," Dad said, "We have to talk to you about the house."
I glanced up from the book I was reading. We were all sitting in Uncle Jack's living room after dinner. Mum and Dad were looking at Uncle Jack with serious faces. Uncle Jack put down the newspaper he was reading. This is it, I thought. They're going to decide whether or not to sell the house. I swallowed hard, forcing myself not to start crying. They couldn't sell the house.
"Go ahead," Uncle Jack leaned back in his chair.
"Well," Dad began, "We'd like your opinion on selling it. I'm honestly not sure if I should sell it or not. I mean, we obviously won't be living in it much longer. And if we do keep it, should we rent it out?"
Rent it out? I hadn't even thought of that. I wasn't sure if I'd rather have my parents rent it or just sell it. It would be even weirder to have someone living in my room if it was still technically mine. Couldn't my parents just not sell it and not rent it? Then we might move back someday.
Uncle Jack ran a hand through his hair and sighed, "Oh, I don't know. It's strange to think about selling the place. We grew up there and so did Dad, and Grandpa, and generations before...."
Right, I thought, the house has been in our family for generations. We couldn't just sell it now.
"That's why I'm torn," Dad said.
"Do you ever think you'll move back?" Uncle Jack asked.
Dad thought for a moment, "Honestly, no. We certainly wouldn't move back until after Matt graduates, but even then I'm not sure. The way things are going down there, it won't be anyplace for him to live after he graduates. I can't see why we'd move back if the kids are up here. And if I have a job wherever we're moving to."
What about me? I might like to move back to Australia. Didn't that count for anything? Or were my parents just assuming that I wouldn't want to move back either? I was going to graduate in four years and maybe I'd want to find a job in Australia instead of wherever we move to. Although, I honestly couldn't see myself living that far away from my family. It would be too strange.
"It's the end of an era," Uncle Jack said quietly, "All of us moving out of Australia. It'll be odd to have that house belong to someone else."
"How do you feel about it, Jack?" Dad asked, "Because if you don't want us to sell it, we won't."
"I can't say I won't be sad if you sell it, but I just can't rationalize keeping it with no one living in it," Uncle Jack replied, "I certainly have no plans to move back to Australia."
"That's what I was thinking," Dad said, "No point in keeping a house that no one's living in."
"And the way you say the Ministry is heading down there, do we even want any remaining ties there anyway?"
"Exactly," Dad said. "But it's not like we won't be visiting. Julie's parents are still there."
"But their house is big enough for when we want to visit," Mom pointed out, "It's not like we'd be without a place to stay while we visit."
"Sounds like you want to sell it," Uncle Jack said.
"That's what we're leaning to," Dad said.
No! They can't sell it! I grew up there. Dad and Uncle Jack grew up there. How could they just decide to sell it when it was full of so many memories?
"Go for it, then," Uncle Jack told them.
"All right," Dad said, "I'll call a real estate agent when we get back. But there's also the issue of the furniture, paintings, and all the rest of the stuff in it."
The stuff? Wouldn't we take that with us?
"Obviously we'll take enough to furnish our new place," Dad continued, "But there's far too much for that. You're welcome to anything you want and we'll probably sell the rest."
"That makes sense," Uncle Jack agreed, "I'll fly down before you have the sale, maybe in a few weeks or so."
"Wait, you're selling our stuff?" I interrupted.
"Just the furniture we can't take with us," Mum assured me, "Not your stuff. Probably the guest bedroom furniture, the formal furniture, and a few of the portraits. Plus all that silver we had to put away, there's no point in keeping that."
I nodded. All right. I could deal with that, I guess. Just as long as they didn't sell anything I wanted. But now it was official, the house was being sold. In just a few months, I would never set foot in my house again. It didn't seem real.
I didn't want to listen to them talking about selling the house anymore, so I took my book and went up to Uncle Jack's spare bedroom. I sprawled out on the bed and tried to read, but I couldn't concentrate. Everything was moving so fast. I was sure that within a month or so, we'd know where we were moving. My remaining time in Australia was going by so fast. It seemed like just yesterday I was just finding out that we were moving. But that was really almost three months ago. Three months ago, Mum told me we'd probably move in six months. That meant half my time left in Australia was gone.
I got up from the bed and pulled up the shade on the window. The stars were visible despite the clouds that loomed on the horizon. I sat there watching for so long that I found all the constellations that were visible. One thing I loved about the stars was that they were always there. No matter where you were in the world, the stars were fixed points. Sure, they looked different from different places, but they were really the same. Of course, here in the Northern Hemisphere, the night sky was completely different. It was strange looking out at this different night sky. No matter where we decided to move, it would be in the Northern Hemisphere. I wouldn't get to look at the Southern Night sky anymore. That was strange to think about.
******
Mum woke me up the next morning before I had gotten enough sleep. The last thing I wanted to do was get up out of my warm bed, but we had to go visit The Salem Witch Institute in Massachusetts. Our trip was now half over, with one more school to visit. I didn't think I'd like The Salem Witch Institute more than The Adirondack Academy of Magic, but it's not like that would stop Mum and Dad from making me go there. I was surprised how much I liked The Adirondack Academy of Magic and doubted any other school would grab my attention like that.
Nevertheless, after breakfast, we stood once again in front of Uncle Jack's fireplace, ready to floo to Massachusetts. Uncle Jack was going with us for this one, too. Although, he knew even less about The Salem Witch Institute than he did about The Adirondack Academy of Magic.
Dad told us that we were flooing to the Salem Restaurant and Pub. Not a very creative name, if you ask me. Dad flooed first and then Mum with Matt. Uncle Jack told me it was my turn after that. I took the powder and shouted the uncreatively named pub into the fire.
Flooing from Uncle Jack's house to Salem was the longest distance floo I'd ever done. It was kind of strange because it took a bit longer than usual. I had time during the transit to contemplate where I was going.
I stepped out of the fireplace into a very large room with numerous tables and chairs. The tables were adorned with plastic tablecloths and half empty salt and pepper shakers. There was loud music playing in the background and a few waiters and waitresses standing around doing nothing. This was probably due to the fact that the place was dead empty. It did not have the homey feel of The Mooning Dragon.
Once Uncle Jack joined us, one of the bored looking waitresses took us to a table to wait for the headmaster to arrive. She gave us all glasses of water and I sipped at mine just to have something to do.
We sat at the table waiting for the headmaster for what seemed like forever. Dad kept looking at his watch and muttering under his breath. Uncle Jack pulled out a pack of Exploding Snap cards and was playing a game with Matt. Mum just looked around the restaurant with an disapproving glare.
Finally, the door to the restaurant opened and a very short man walked through. He looked around nervously before resting his eyes on my family. He walked over to us and I was able to look at him properly.
He was older than Oliander and was kind of hunched over. His few remaining hairs were grey. He had a nervous look about him and his left eye kept twitching. All in all he was a very odd looking man.
"Um, excuse me," the twitchy man said quietly, "Are you Walter Eckerton?"
"Yes," Dad replied, looking curiously at the man.
"Oh, good...I'm Martin Zane, headmaster of The Salem Witch Institute," the man replied.
Dad stood up, "Well, all right then. This is my brother, Jack, wife Julie, and my kids Amy and Matt."
The headmaster nodded, "Good, good. If you'll follow me, we can tour the school."
I got up and followed everyone out of the empty restaurant. This man did not strike me as the kind of person who would become headmaster of a school. In contrast to Oliander, Zane did not say much as he led us through the town and to the school. Mum seemed happy that it wasn't snowing, but there was a couple inches on the ground. Not nearly as much as in New York, though.
There weren't nearly as many trees around The Salem Witch Institute as there had been around The Adirondack Academy of Magic. In fact, the school was nestled right into the town. It was a large Victorian style mansion. Well, I was only using the term 'mansion' because I didn't know a word for a house larger than a mansion. This thing looked about the size of four or five mansions put together. It was almost like a castle, but it looked like a house.
We followed Zane through the wrought iron gates and up the path to the building. As far as I could tell, this place was all one building. Zane opened the door and we emerged into a foyer much like that of a house.
"Ok, then," Zane muttered, "Well, this is the school. Um, the dining hall is to the right, through that door." Zane pointed to a set of wooden doors.
"Can we see it?" Mum asked.
"Oh, sure," Zane hurried over to the left and pushed open the doors.
The dining hall reminded me of a dining room in someone's house, except with more tables. There were paintings on the walls and the tables had tablecloths covering them. Judging by the amount of tables and chairs, there were much less students in this school than the one in New York. I wasn't sure I liked that. The more students there were, the more likely chance I'd make a couple friends.
Zane then led us on a tour of the main floor of the school, which housed the library, his office, the other professors' offices, the nurse's office, and the common room. The common room looked much like an oversize living room, complete with mismatched couches, tables, and a crackling fire. And yes, there was only one common room. Apparently this school had so few students that they didn't have houses. That would be strange, I thought. I wondered how they played Quidditch.
Next we went upstairs, where all the classrooms were. They were all on one floor, which was a bit odd, but would make it easier to find them. So far everything seemed very cramped, despite the fact that the house was easily five times the size of mine. I guess it was due to the large amount of people inside it.
After the classrooms, we toured the dormitories, which were more like regular bedrooms than dorm rooms. They were decorated with fancy pictures and draping. It seemed like the kind of place Cinda would like. I personally thought there was far too much pink in the girls wing. If we moved there, I would have to do some drastic changes to one of those rooms in order to live in it.
Zane informed us that the grounds to the school were far larger behind the house than in front of us. He led us to one of the back doors and then out into the grounds. He showed us the Herbology greenhouses and the Quidditch pitch. There were a good amount of trees back there in order to hide the greenhouses and pitch from the rest of the town.
"It's not very rural," Dad muttered to Mum as Zane led us back into the school.
"No, it's not," Mum said back, "I was kind of hoping for something more rural than this."
Good, I thought, they didn't seem to like the school. I certainly didn't like it. There wasn't nearly enough space and the dormitories were far too frilly. Plus, the headmaster gave me the creeps.
Despite my parents' misgivings about the place, we went with Zane back to his office. Zane's office was much smaller than Oliander's and didn't seem as cozy either. There wasn't a fireplace or nearly as many books. It was a bit frilly, though, with doilies on the tables and fragile looking pieces of china.
"So, uh, any questions about the school?" Zane asked once we had all sat down.
"What sort of protections are on it?" Dad asked, "I noticed it's awfully close to the Muggle town. Hell, it's in the Muggle town."
"Oh, er, the usual standard protections. Anti-Muggle charms and such."
"Did you think at all about where my son would transform if he attended here?"
"Well, perhaps we could build a shed of some sorts on the grounds...."
"A shed?" Dad glared at Zane.
"If that's not satisfactory, we could come up with something else," Zane said nervously.
"It's not satisfactory," Dad muttered, "But I am not convinced this is an acceptable school anyway, considering how cramped the grounds are. A shed may very well be all that would fit."
"I'm sure we could work something out," Zane replied.
A loud bang on the door caused me to jump and I turned to see a very large man storming into the room. He had dark hair cut close to his scalp and his face was etched in anger.
"I'm in a meeting, Valsey," Zane said without bothering to stand up, "What is it you need?"
"Two of the students have dueled, each causing enough damage to the other to send them to the nurse," the man named Valsey said sternly, "The same two who keep dueling each other. We need to send owls to their parents."
"Fine, but it will have to wait," Zane told him.
Valsey turned away from Zane and peered at all of us. His gaze was seemed to penetrate my mind and I turned away from him. I seriously hoped I wouldn't have to go to this school.
"Something important, Zane?" Valsey growled.
"Very," Zane replied, "Remember the potential students I told you about a few days ago? These two are them."
Valsey glared at us and then smirked, "Ah, yes, the werewolf."
"Yes, so the owls will have to wait."
"If you don't mind," Valsey began, "I'll stay for this."
"Um, well, it was kind of a private meeting-"
"A werewolf in this school affects everyone," Valsey snapped, "And you know my opinion on this."
"But it's not your decision to make," Zane replied.
Valsey muttered something incoherent and then conjured a chair, setting it down next to Matt's. Valsey sat down and sneered at Matt, causing him to jump off his chair and climb onto Mum's lap.
"Now where were we..." Zane said.
"Actually," Dad began, "I think we'll have to cut this short. It seems that not all your staff is supportive of this, so I don't think your school is the right match for us."
Thank Merlin, I thought. This place was getting worse and worse by the second. It may have been survivable if that Valsey bloke didn't teach there, but he did.
"Professor Valsey has no say in the matter," Zane said quickly.
"Nevertheless, I cannot send my son somewhere where the teachers dislike him being there. Plus, I really don't think you are equipped to deal with this."
Dad stood up, "It was nice to meet you, but I think we shall be leaving now. We'll see ourselves out."
I got up and followed Dad out of the room, along with the rest of my family. Luckily Zane didn't follow us. Instead he stayed in his office arguing with Valsey. We quickly returned to the parlor and left the school. I felt immediate relief when I stepped outside the gates of the place.
"I think we can cross that one off the list," Uncle Jack muttered.
"I'd say so," Dad agreed.
"Guess we don't have to spend the afternoon looking at houses here, then," Mum commented.
Good, I thought. I had had enough house hunting to last me a lifetime.
"Anyone want to go to The Mooning Dragon for lunch?" Uncle Jack asked.
My parents agreed, so we all walked quickly back to the restaurant we were at earlier. I think Mum was relieved that we weren't going to eat there. We went inside and hurried over to the fireplace. The waiters and waitresses didn't say anything as we left their restaurant. The place was a bit busier now that it was closer to lunchtime.
I was prepared for the long floo traveling this time and it didn't bother me so much. I stepped out of the fireplace at The Mooning Dragon feeling a bit disoriented, but not nearly as much as I had been earlier in the morning.
Nat greeted us with enthusiasm once we had all flooed into her pub. We got a table and settled down into the homey atmosphere. Nat asked us how we had liked Salem and my dad just told her that it wasn't the right fit for us. She said she hoped we moved to New York. I was kind of hoping the same thing, if we had to move at all. I was still kind of holding out on my parents changing their minds, but if we had to move somewhere, I think I'd choose New York.
After the initial description of Salem to Nat, nobody mentioned the visit again. I was happy about this because I just wanted to forget about the creepy headmaster and intimidating professor we had met there.
Once we were done with lunch, we all went back to Uncle Jack's house. I played in the snow for a bit with Dad, Uncle Jack, and Matt. Mum stayed inside and tidied up Uncle Jack's house. He insisted she didn't have to do it, but Mum wanted to. She can never be in a messy place too long.
Dad still wasn't ready to decide to move to New York. He wanted to know all the professors' feelings about Matt attending their school and he wanted to see if any of the other schools had contacted us. Uncle Jack was acting like Dad was all ready to move there and was even giving him the name of the bloke who built his house. Dad had decided that if we moved to New York, we'd build our own house. I was happy about this, as I had hated each and every house Josephina Hawkings had shown us the other day.
The rest of our visit to New York went by fast. With the school touring and house hunting behind us, our remaining day was devoted to fun. Uncle Jack decided to take us cross-country skiing, which was quite the adventure since none of us had ever done it before. I was decent at it, but certainly wouldn't be winning any awards.
"I just don't see the point, Jack," Mum sighed as she got up from the snowy ground for what must have been the tenth time.
Uncle Jack skied gracefully over to her, "Once you get the hang of it, it's a very fast means of transportation."
"Aw, Jule, you'll get it eventually," Dad grinned at her. Dad was incredibly good at cross-country skiing for a beginner.
"Walking's faster at this point," Mum replied.
"We're almost back to the lodge," Dad told her.
"Yeah, Mum. And it's not that bad," I said. I kind of liked cross-country skiing. Especially when we got to go down the steep parts of the trail.
"Sometime I'm taking you downhill skiing, Amy," Uncle Jack grinned.
"I wish we could go tomorrow," I said. The next day we were flying back to Australia.
"I want to downhill ski, too," Matt announced. He tried to ski over to where Uncle Jack was, but promptly fell over. So far, he was skiing more like Mum than Dad or Uncle Jack.
"Sure," Uncle Jack smiled as he helped Matt up.
"Are you all right?" Mum asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Matt assured her. She had asked him if he was ok every time he fell over and it was getting a bit annoying. It's not like he could really hurt himself anyway, with the amount of winter clothing he was wearing.
"If you move here," Uncle Jack began, "We can go skiing all the time."
Mum groaned, "Maybe we should move to a warm climate. I ought to send an owl to the school in Florida."
Uncle Jack made a good point. So far I loved winter in New York and wouldn't mind being around for its entire duration. I shook my head. What was up with me? Was I actually warming up to the idea of moving? It was probably because I had been in New York for the past couple days. Once we got back to Australia I was sure I wouldn't want to move.
Both Mum and Matt fell over a few more times before we reached the lodge. Mum was getting fed up with it, but Matt was still happy. We returned our skis and set off to Apparate in the middle of the forest.
Dinner was relaxing and Uncle Jack made spiedies again. My parents talked more about the move. I read more of my book after dinner, while half-listening to my parents discuss house building. Matt fell asleep early on the couch next to me, probably half out of exhaustion from cross-country skiing and half because the full moon was a couple days away. After I'd read a couple chapters of my book, I went upstairs to watch the stars. It was my last chance to see the Northern night sky for a while and I didn't want to waste any of it. I didn't even want to go to bed, but eventually I was forced to pull down the shade and attempt to get some sleep. I really didn't see the point in sleeping since we would be on the plane all the next day. |
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DucksRMagical
Joined: 28 December 2006
Posts: 2090
Location: Boycotting All Future Warner Brothers Films
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Posted: Tuesday 21 October 2008 02 06 01 pm Post subject: Re: In Moonlight's Shadow in topic:In Moonlight's Shadow |
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Comments, questions, and general reviews always appreciated!
I've officially started posting this on Harry Potter Fan Fiction.com.
Chapter 17: The Adirondack Academy of Magic
The best way to describe Uncle Jack's house is, like Uncle Jack, unique. I have never been in a stranger house than Uncle Jack's. It's situated on a plot of land that's about 5 acres, that he owns. It's mostly bush, but there is about an acre of open area that Uncle Jack uses to grown his own fruit and vegetables. He grows all sorts of stuff like potatoes, cherry tomatoes, peas, corn, strawberries, blueberries, and apples.
The house itself is on the small side compared to mine. Uncle Jack inherited a load of money from my grandparents just like Dad did, but I'm not really sure what he did with most of it. I know he bought his land and built his house with some of it, but I've got no idea what happened to the rest. His house has got to be the strangest design I've ever seen. On the first floor is the kitchen, dining room, and living room. When you first walk into the house, you're in the kitchen. If you turn right, you'll be in the dining room, the left you'd be in the living room. None of the rooms are square. The kitchen's actually got five walls. The other two rooms have four walls, but they're all different lengths. The doorways aren't level either.
On the second floor are the bedrooms and bathrooms. There's three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Only one bathroom's got a shower and tub. These rooms aren't normal looking either. They've got sloped ceilings and strange sized doors. They're also situated in a circle. When you reach the top of the stairs, you're in the middle of a circle. Across from you is a bedroom, next to that a bathroom, then another bedroom, the second bathroom, and finally the third bedroom.
However, the oddly shaped rooms and strange construction of the house is only the beginning. What's more interesting is what you'll find inside the house. The decor is all mismatched so much that Cinda would probably have a hippogriff as soon as she set foot in the kitchen. There's an assortment of Muggle contraptions all from various eras, from a telegraph to a black and white television to a fancy new computer. Then there are the wizard items, from old broken wands to sneakoscopes to worn out invisibility cloaks. Plus, there's the random junk that's just laying around. Uncle Jack swears he'll find a use for all of it, but I'm not so sure. He collects everything and I mean everything. He's even got a large box full of stones of various sizes that he insists he needs.
Today was no different and as soon as I stepped out of the floo and into the living room, I saw the normal piles of stuff cluttering up the room. I didn't even try to suppress my grin as I gazed around at the house. It had been so long since we visited and I hadn't even realized how much I missed the place before now.
Mum and Dad were already looking around at the room. Dad was grinning and shaking his head as he fingered an ugly cloak that Cinda wouldn't have touched with a ten-foot pole. Mum had picked up a broken copper kettle that no longer had a bottom and was eying it with trepidation.
"Same old Jack," Dad smiled.
A moment later, the fire turned green again and out stepped Uncle Jack and Matt. Uncle Jack lowered Matt to the floor and he immediately went to check out a pile of stuff on the floor.
"Welcome back to my abode," Uncle Jack grinned.
"Hasn't changed a bit," Dad laughed.
"Just added more stuff," Uncle Jack commented, "Now, Amy, Matt, go look out the window."
I ran over to the window and pulled up the blinds. Uncle Jack turned out the light and I gasped as I saw the white blanket that covered the yard. Snow! It was snowing! The snow looked so much better than it had in the few Muggle movies I had watched. It looked so peaceful outside with the white fluffy dots falling softly from the sky. It was as if nothing could be wrong in the world if the snow was there.
"It's beautiful," I murmured.
"I want to go play in it!" Matt shouted.
"Maybe tomorrow," Uncle Jack told him, "It's almost dark now. And it's time for dinner."
"Oh, yeah, spiedies!" Matt exclaimed and ran into the kitchen.
"I'll have to cook them in the oven," Uncle Jack said as the rest of us went into the kitchen, "Since I can't barbecue in the snow."
Uncle Jack had the spiedies cooked in no time. I'm pretty sure he has altered his oven with magic, but I can't say for sure. We all sat down at the table and I piled my roll high with spiedies. Then I added ketchup and mustard. I didn't care if that really wasn't how you were supposed to eat them. I liked the way they tasted with ketchup and mustard.
After dinner, we went back into the living room and Uncle Jack and my parents started talking about the visit to the school the next day. I listened carefully as I played a game of Gobstones with Matt.
"What do you know about this school?" Dad asked.
"Not much," Uncle Jack shrugged, "Never really bothered to look into it much since I haven't got any kids. I know a few people who do have kids who go there, though. They're happy with it, although it's the only wizarding school in New York, so it's pretty much the only option besides home schooling. Just like in Australia."
"Seems like it's that way everywhere," Dad said, "How about the Headmaster? Know much about him?"
"Nope. Never met him. Heard he's a very understanding bloke, though. Kind of the opposite of Killigan."
"That's what we're hoping for," Dad muttered.
"Never thought Killigan would turn out like this, though," Uncle Jack continued, "I mean, he was tough when we were there, but it never crossed my mind that he was so prejudiced."
"Never really would have, though, would it?" Mum said, "I mean, we were kind of blissfully ignorant at that school. Did either of you really think about what the teachers were like outside of school?"
"Not really," Dad said.
"I guess not," Uncle Jack said.
I agreed with that. I hadn't really thought about any of my teachers besides how well they taught. It never once crossed my mind that any of them could be prejudiced or anything like that. They were just teachers to me, there to teach us and nothing else.
"Makes me wonder what would have happened if we did know back then. If it would have changed anything," Dad sighed.
"Think about it, Walt," Uncle Jack said, "Would it really have changed anything? Would you have moved years ago if you had known Killigan was so prejudiced?"
Dad thought for a long time before answering. "Honestly, I don't really think we would have. Do you, Julie?"
Mum sighed, "No, I don't think we would have. Because back then, it wouldn't have really mattered."
"Exactly," Uncle Jack replied, "So you shouldn't be beating yourselves up over this. Nobody could have foreseen this. You've just got to deal with it as it happens."
"I know, I know," Dad murmured. "It's just, I keep thinking that maybe we shouldn't have waited so long to find out if Killigan would let him in. If we had done it sooner, we could have had this all behind us...."
"And it would have been just as hard then," Uncle Jack pointed out, "Maybe even harder. Could you have imagined dealing with finding a new school when you were already dealing with everything else?"
"I guess not," Dad said after a few moments, "But there's plenty going on now...."
"I think it's good you're doing it now. In reality, you could have even waited. Matt's got three years until school. But if you had waited until then, Amy would have been going to a new school just for her last year."
I hadn't thought of that. They really could have waited. I shuddered at the thought of having to switch schools for just one year. Of course, maybe that would have been better. If I hate the new school, I'm going to have four years of it to deal with.
"I suppose you're right," Dad sighed.
"Now, when are you visiting the school?" Uncle Jack asked.
"Tomorrow, ten o'clock," Dad replied, "We're Flooing to the nearby village and the headmaster is meeting us there."
"Mind if I join you? I'm off work tomorrow."
"Not at all," Dad smiled, "We'd be glad to have you. I was hoping you'd be able to direct us to a good real estate agent afterwards anyway. Got to look at houses while we're here."
I groaned inwardly. Look at houses. Houses that we might live in. I just hoped that my parents wouldn't actually buy one this trip. But if they made up their minds that we were going to move to New York, chances are they would buy one this trip.
"Of course," Uncle Jack said.
Mum insisted that we go to bed shortly after that. Since I had slept on the plane, I wasn't the least bit tired, but I didn't want to argue over a simple issue like going to bed. It's not like I had to go to sleep anyway.
Matt and I entered the bedroom we usually stayed in. Our room was also used as another storage place, so there were boxes of random stuff all over it. Among all the boxes were two ornately carved wooden beds with patchwork quilts. I set my suitcase down at the foot of the one that was closest to the window. I gazed out into the night sky and all I wanted to do was stargaze all night. The sky was totally different in the Northern Hemisphere and I rarely got to look at it.
I watched the stars for a long time while Matt rifled through Uncle Jack's boxes. Eventually, the moon rose high enough to shine into the window and I had to close the blinds before it gave Matt a headache. Why my parents had scheduled this trip so close to the full moon, I had no idea. Maybe they were thinking that it would pay off in the long run if we wound up moving here.
I dug a book out of my suitcase, grabbed my wand, and climbed underneath the quilt. Despite the cold outside, Uncle Jack's house was toasty warm. I settled back, lit my wand, and started to read.
"Amy?" Matt whispered after a few minutes, "Are you awake?"
"'Course I am," I muttered, "Slept all day on the plane."
"You don't want to move, do you?" he asked so quietly I could barely hear him.
"Not really," I replied, "I like my school."
"But the headmaster doesn't like me."
"Never said I liked the headmaster," I sighed, "I like my teachers and Olivia's there."
"If we move here, I'll go to school like you do, right?"
"I'm pretty sure that's the point of moving here," I rolled my eyes.
Matt was silent for a few minutes and then mumbled something incoherent.
"What?" I asked.
"What if nobody likes me here either?"
I sighed. I wasn't the person to have an emotional conversation with. Even though I had made it perfectly clear that I didn't want to move, my brother was looking to me for reassurance about it. That made a whole lot of sense.
"Why wouldn't they?" I asked, hoping that maybe there was another reason besides the obvious one as to why he thought nobody would like him.
"Because of what I am," Matt whispered.
Nope, no other reason. "Well, we wouldn't be here if the headmaster hadn't already agreed to let you attend. And you heard Uncle Jack, the headmaster is nice."
"I don't mean the headmaster," Matt's voice cracked, "I'm talking about the other kids."
Oh. I definitely wasn't the one to be asking advice for on this. Most of the other girls in my year didn't like me.
"Well, er, it's not like they're going to know. It's not like you'll be walking into brekkie the first day and shouting, 'Guess what? I'm a werewolf,'" I suppressed a laugh at the thought of that, "None of the other kids will have any idea you're a werewolf."
"What if they guess? What if they figure out why I'm gone once a month?"
"You'll have excuses, they won't find out. And if they do, I'm sure Dad will figure something out."
"Are you sure?"
No, I'm not sure. How could I possibly be sure? "Yeah, don't worry about it."
"Ok."
I sighed and went back to reading. Why was he looking to me for reassurance? It's not like I'd done anything remotely like this before.
"Amy?"
I sighed again and laid my book down on the bed. I guess I wouldn't be getting much reading done that night. I pointed my wand at my brother and he squinted his eyes as the light flooded him. When he opened them again, he looked scared.
"What?" I asked.
"Are you really that mad about moving?" he asked quietly, hardly moving.
"Yes," I said after a moment. There really wasn't much point in lying to him. "The last thing I want to do is move right now, but I haven't got a say in the matter."
"Oh," he replied and rolled over. My wand was now illuminating his small back.
I watched him for a few minutes before picking my book up again. He didn't say anything else. I guess my blatant answer to his question made him not want to talk to me anymore.
******
I must have fallen asleep at some point during the night, because the next thing I knew, Mum was shaking me awake. I groaned and sat up, feeling very tired. I hated jet lag. Now I was going to be tired all day.
I put on the bulky winter clothing I had packed and went downstairs. Uncle Jack, who was a morning person like I usually was, was reading the paper and enthusiastically eating a bowl of cereal. Mum and Dad were both looking exhausted and drinking large mugs of coffee. Matt was leaning his head on his hand and lazily eating a piece of toast. I poured myself a bowl of cereal and began to eat it.
Shortly after I finished, Dad stood up and announced that it was time to leave. Suddenly, I was very nervous. We were about to visit the school that I might be spending the next four years at. What if I hated it?
"We're Flooing to a place called The Mooning Dragon. It's in the village closest to the school, which is in the middle of the Adirondacks," Uncle Jack explained as we followed him to the fireplace. "I'll see you there." He threw in a handful of powder and disappeared.
"You go first, Amy," Dad said.
I nodded and threw in a handful of Floo powder. "The Mooning Dragon," I said clearly after I stepped in.
Once the spinning stopped and I could begin breathing once more, I opened my eyes and stepped out of the fire. I was standing in a room that seemed the exact opposite of the pub we went to in New York City. This place was bright and airy and had a very homey feel to it.
The tables and chairs were all wooden and looked to be hand carved. The bar itself even looked like it was hand carved. The lady behind the bar was a round woman with a large smile on her wrinkled face. Her curly white hair was half hidden underneath a knitted cap. She said hello to me as I looked around her pub.
The walls were adorned with pictures of outdoorsy scenes, many of which included various animals. Most of them were so realistic that they could be mistaken for windows, had it not been the middle of winter.
The customers were also vastly different from those at the pub in New York City. Here, there were parents with giggling children, older couples out for a late breakfast, little old ladies with shopping bags, men reading the paper by themselves, and a few older teenagers laughing at one of the tables.
Uncle Jack was waiting for me next to the fireplace. A few seconds later, my parents and Matt stepped out of the fire and joined us. Uncle Jack gestured for us to sit at one of the nearby tables.
"Welcome to The Mooning Dragon," he said as we sat down, "One of my favorite pubs."
"It's a very nice place," Dad said as he looked around, "Quite rustic."
"That's why I like it," Uncle Jack grinned.
"Jack!" the lady behind the bar said as she strode over to the table, "How nice to see you."
"You, too, Nat," Uncle Jack stood up and embraced the older lady. Then he turned to us, "This is Nat Fernski, she owns the place."
"Nice to meet you," Dad stood up.
"Nat, this is my brother, Walt," Uncle Jack gestured to my dad, "And his wife, Julie, and their kids Amy and Matt."
Nat gave us all tight hugs. "It's really wonderful to finally meet Jack's family. Although I still say he needs to settle down and have some kids of his own."
Uncle Jack blushed, "I'm happy the way things are now, Nat."
"I know you are, dear," Nat smiled, "So, what brings you to New York?"
"They're visiting the school," Uncle Jack told her.
"Thinking of moving?" Nat asked.
"We are moving," Dad told her, "Just not sure where yet."
"Ah, well, the school here is excellent. I went here myself as a girl," Nat said. "Can I get you anything right now?"
Dad looked at his watch, "Maybe after the visit. The headmaster is supposed to be here anytime."
"All right. I'll see you in a few hours then," Nat smiled and went back to the bar.
"She's nice," Mum commented after Nat was occupied behind the bar.
"Oh, she's great," Uncle Jack replied, "Very motherly, though. Keeps telling me to settle down."
My parents laughed along with Uncle Jack and I glanced towards the door. It had just opened and a man stepped in amongst a swirl of snow. He closed the door and looked around the pub.
He was a tall man, who looked maybe ten years older than my parents. His face was lined, but his eyes were kind and he had a smile on his face. The man's hair was mostly hidden by the hood of his cloak, but I could see bits of grey sticking out underneath it.
The man kept glancing around the pub and then his eyes met mine. His smile broadened and he started walking over to our table. I watched as he got closer and closer to our table.
"Are you Walter Eckerton?" the man asked Dad.
"Yes," Dad replied, standing up.
"Hi, I'm Marvin Oliander, Headmaster of the Adirondack Academy of Magic," he said as he stuck out his hand.
"Pleased to meet you," Dad shook his hand, "My brother Jack, my wife Julie, and our kids, Amy and Matt."
The adults exchanged handshakes and greetings as I watched Marvin Oliander. He seemed nice enough. His smile seemed genuine and I didn't get the sense that he was particularly nervous about this. The man radiated a sense of calm and leadership. In the span of two minutes, I could tell that he was a better headmaster than Killigan.
"Well," Oliander clapped his hands together, "I thought we'd start by a tour of the school and then we could talk in my office. I would show you around the grounds as well, but there's a raging snowstorm out there, so we'll skip that."
Mum looked relieved about this, but I kind of wanted to wander around in the snow. I hadn't had a chance to do much with it yet. I wanted to build snowmen and go sledding and all the other snow related stuff Uncle Jack had told me about.
"Sounds good," Dad replied.
"Right this way," Oliander turned and led us out of the pub.
Oliander was certainly right about the storm. Snow was billowing everywhere and my face froze as soon as I stepped outside. I didn't really care though since the rest of me was perfectly warm. From what I could see, the little village was beautiful under the blanket of white.
"The village is called Dichtebos, which means 'dense forest' in Dutch. You can see why it got the name," Oliander shouted over the wind.
I could barely make out the trees surrounding the village. It looked like the village was nestled in the middle of the bush.
"Dutch wizards were the first to settle here," Oliander continued, "Long before European Muggles arrived."
I followed Oliander through the village, passing a few more pubs and some shops. There were also quaint little houses and a church. It looked like a very nice place, but I didn't really want to live there or anything. Oliander explained the history of the village to my parents, but I didn't pay much attention. Mum and Dad were walking alongside Oliander and Uncle Jack and Matt were just behind them. I lagged behind, not really wanting to participate in the conversation.
"The school is just up the path," Oliander said once we'd reached the outskirts of the village. He gestured to a snow covered path that went through the thick bush.
The path was very short and a few minutes later, we emerged onto the grounds of the school. Oliander paused and turned to look at us.
"The grounds start here. Directly behind me a couple yards is the main building, which houses the dining hall, library, my office, the nurse's office, and the other teachers offices. To the right of that is the upper level building, where all the classes for years four through seven. On the other side of the main building is the lower level building, where classes for years one through three are held. Behind the main building are the dormitories. The greenhouses are directly to my left and the Quidditch pitch is to my right. I'll start the tour with the main building."
It seemed to me that we'd be doing a bit of touring the grounds since there were so many buildings. At my school, there were just two buildings. This place had four. I trudged through the foot deep snow behind my brother and soon we made it to the building.
Oliander opened the door and we walked into the Entrance Hall. There was a staircase directly in front of us and a few doors that led off the large hall.
"The dining hall is right this way," Oliander said as we followed him to the left. "There aren't any meals going on right now, so it will be deserted."
Oliander opened the large wooden doors and stepped inside. I followed and saw that the dining hall looked much like the one at my school. It was filled with small round tables and chairs to go with them. There was a large rectangular table in the back, where the teachers probably sat. What caught my attention, though, was the way it was decorated. The ceiling was emblazoned by stars. Twinkling stars that looked incredibly real. They even formed the constellations of the Northern Hemisphere. That was one thing that I really liked. Even the tables each had a star carved into them.
"The ceiling is brilliant," I said as we walked around the room.
"Glad you like it," Oliander replied, "Our theme is the night sky here. Mainly because this is the best place in the state to star gaze. We are most well known for our Astronomy department."
"I love Astronomy," I told him.
"You should like it here, then," Oliander smiled.
Maybe, I thought. So far it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but we had only seen the dining hall.
After we'd finished in the dining hall, Oliander showed us the library. I was very impressed by their collection of Astronomy books and wished I could have just stayed there for a while. There were also a few students there who looked at us curiously, but didn't say anything to us.
Next we moved onto the lower level classes building. It looked pretty much like any other building of classrooms I'd ever seen, not that I'd seen many. I loved the Astronomy department, though. It was much better than the one in Australia. The telescopes were state of the art, even better than the one I had at home. So that was another thing that wasn't as bad as I'd thought. The upper level building looked exactly the same as the lower level, only it was a bit bigger.
The last stop of the tour was the dormitories, since no one really had any desire to see the greenhouses during the raging storm. The dorms looked pretty much like the ones at my school did, with two people per room. Oliander also showed us one of the common rooms, which was also decorated with a starry theme. I had to admit that it was a bit nicer than my common room in Australia.
I was torn in my thoughts about the place as I followed Oliander back to the main building. On the one hand, I actually liked this place so far. But on the other, I still didn't want to move. I liked my school better because that's where Olivia was. I really didn't want to have to make all new friends. I wasn't even sure that I could.
The headmaster led us up the stairs in the main building and down the corridor past the library. He muttered a password to a painting of a knight and it swung forward to let us in.
Oliander's office was a warm cozy room with a roaring fire in the fireplace. There were comfy looking armchairs in front of it. The walls were painted a dark blue and everything else matched it. There were shelves of books and weird looking instruments all over the place.
Oliander gestured for us to sit down in the chairs. I sat down in the one on the far left. Uncle Jack sat next to me and pulled Matt onto his lap. My parents sat on his other side. Oliander took the remaining chair and smiled at us.
"What do you think of the school?" he asked.
"It's very nice," Dad replied, "Seems like a good atmosphere."
"I agree," Mum said, "I get the sense that it's a very relaxed place."
"I like it," Uncle Jack commented, "Seems like a better place than where we went to school."
"Good, good," Oliander said and then turned to me, "And how about you, Amy? Do you like it?"
All eyes fell on me and I tried to think of a word to describe the school. "Er, well, it's nice enough. I like the star theme, but I still don't want to move."
"Understandable," Oliander smiled, "Nobody wants to switch schools in the middle of their education. But I assure you that you'll fit in here."
I wasn't so sure about that, but I nodded anyway.
"And what about you, Matt? Did you like it?" Oliander asked.
Matt yawned and shrugged, "I dunno."
"We're all tired from the jet lag," Mum explained.
"Ah, right. Jet lag is a killer," Oliander replied.
I yawned as well. All I really wanted to do now was go to bed. I hadn't slept much the previous night and now that we weren't walking around anymore, the fatigue was hitting me. With that and the comfy chair and warm room, I was ready to drift off within a few seconds.
"Well, I guess we'd better get down to the details," Oliander began, "The most obvious thing is figuring out some place for him to transform. You said he does not take Wolfsbane?"
"No," Dad replied, "For some reason it does not work for him. It's got no effect whatsoever, so we stopped giving it to him."
"How strange. And you've got no idea why?"
"No. We've taken him to numerous Healers, but no one has figured it out."
"Huh. Well then, he will obviously have to transform away from other people. I was thinking I could have another building put up. A small one to be used for this purpose. I would just have to come up with a good excuse as to why it's there.... Well, there's time to come up with excuses."
"That might work," Dad rubbed his chin, "But I'd like to put up wards myself."
"Of course," Oliander agreed, "That would be fine."
"What about your Ministry? Do they have an opinion to this? Did they say it would be all right for my son to attend your school?" Dad asked.
"Our Ministry stays out of school related matters for the most part. I did run this by them, since we've never done anything like it before, and they said it would be fine as long as precautions were taken. They even suggested that if it worked out, that we could advertise the school as a place werewolves could safely attend."
That would be the complete opposite of my school, I thought. I couldn't imagine Killigan ever advertising the place as a school for werewolves.
"That's an intriguing idea," Dad commented, "One I would be very supportive of."
"I had a feeling you would," Oliander said, "I've heard a little bit about your opinions of werewolf control laws in Australia. I daresay I agree with you."
"You're in the minority," Dad said darkly, "Things are changing down there and I cannot stop it my own."
"Well, all we can do is set a good example," Oliander replied, "And having your son attend here is only the beginning."
As I listened to Dad and Oliander's conversation, I became more and more convinced that we would be moving to New York. The two of them were talking about changing the way werewolves are perceived around the world, starting with this one state. I doubted there was anything that would convince my parents to move somewhere else. Even Mum seemed interested in what they were talking about. Uncle Jack looked absolutely fascinated. Matt was starting to fall asleep in Uncle Jack's lap. I turned away from their conversation and started reading the book titles on the shelf nearby. There were some potions books that looked good.
After what seemed like forever, Oliander and Dad stopped talking about changing the world's opinion of werewolves.
"Well," Oliander said, "We've gotten a bit off topic."
"Quite all right," Dad replied, "It was an interesting idea. We'll have to talk about it again."
"I shall owl you soon, then," Oliander smiled, "Now we should get back to the details of your son attending here. We were getting a bit ahead of ourselves."
"A bit, yes," Dad laughed.
"Well, I guess now we've got to talk about what exactly goes on during the full moon. What I'll need to know in order to fully understand."
Dad glanced at Mum and then cleared his throat. "Right. I guess I should start at the beginning, then. He gets tired a few days before the full moon and then gets sick the day of. We usually give him potions for that, but he winds up spending the whole day sleeping anyway. Then he goes down to the basement shortly before the moon rises and spends the night there."
Dad sighed and paused before continuing in a quieter voice. "I'm sure you know what goes on during the full moon if a werewolf is not on Wolfsbane and is shut away by himself. That's what happens with Matt. We get him from the basement as soon as the moon sets. He's always unconscious and we start with the healing spells and potions.
"Is your nurse up to this? We would be able to teach her the appropriate spells if necessary."
"I am sure she will be able to handle it," Oliander assured him, "She is quite skilled at healing. I'll admit that she has never treated a werewolf, but I don't think it will be a big deal."
"Good to hear it," Dad replied, "We will of course go into greater detail if we decide to move here."
If? I thought. If? It seemed to me that Dad had already made his decision. I guess he just didn't want to voice it yet. Either that or he had to discuss it with Mum. She had been awfully quiet.
"Excellent," Oliander grinned. "Do you have any questions?"
"Well, how do the other teachers feel about this?" Dad asked.
"I have not told them yet. If you'd like me to get their opinions before you make your decision, I certainly will."
"That would be nice," Dad replied.
"I will owl them shortly, then," Oliander said, "When can I expect your decision?"
"Soon. We'd like to have Amy enrolled for the upcoming year," Dad said. "We have a few more schools to visit. Within the next two months, we should know."
Two months. I had two more months before I was officially going to move. Would we move right after that? Did I just have two whole months before we left Australia? Two months was nothing. Hardly any time at all.
"All right," Oliander said as he stood up. "I'll be expecting your owl."
"It was nice to meet you," Dad stood up and shook Oliander's hand.
"You, too. I'll walk with you back to The Mooning Dragon."
I followed everyone out of Oliander's office and down the stairs. It looked like lunch was about to begin because students were entering the dining hall, wrapped in layers of winter clothing. They looked happy, though. They were laughing and joking around. Would I be with them in six months? Was there a chance that some of the kids I was watching now would be my friends? |
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DucksRMagical
Joined: 28 December 2006
Posts: 2090
Location: Boycotting All Future Warner Brothers Films
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Posted: Sunday 19 October 2008 06 02 41 pm Post subject: Re: NanoWrimo in topic:NanoWrimo |
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Your ID is the numbers at the end of the URL when you're on your profile page.
I've got a plot! And it's not fan fic! 
"Girl 1 (still in need of a name) lives with her mother. Father left them when girl was little. Mother is an animal lover, a big animal lover. She has devoted her life to rescuing dogs. She runs an animal rescue out of her house and at any given time has between 5 and 8 foster dogs. She travels the country to save dogs from shelters, puppymills, crappy situations, etc.
Girl likes animals well enough, but kind of resents her mother for spending so much time/money on the dogs. Girl has everything she needs, but her mother doesn't have the money to spend on expensive clothing/iPods/etc. because she spends so much on the dogs. Girl wishes her mom would pay more attention to her and less to the dogs.
Usually, when her mom goes off to rescue dogs, the girl stays behind with her grandmother. But when her grandmother is off on a senior singles cruise and a devastating hurricane hits South Carolina and mom is contacted to rescue dogs down there, girl is dragged along.
She is very angry about this and wishes more than ever that her mom was 'normal'. But when down there, she begins to see just why her mother chooses to devote her life to the animals. Then, a special mutt attaches himself to the girl. They develop a special bond and with the dog's help, the girl is able to work through her issues with her mom."
I am debating putting some romance in. I'm thinking I might have my main character meet a guy in South Carolina (or wherever I decide to have the hurricane hit) who is either also being dragged along with his parents on various rescue missions, lives where the hurricane hit, or is participating in the rescuing of animals. But that's still very tentative.
Now I'm kind of thinking that she'll meet the guy, but she'll have feelings for him and he won't like her back. So then she recovers from that with the help of her new dog and begins to realize why her mom puts so much of her life into helping the dogs. Because it helps her cope with the fact that her husband left her.
The dog she rescues/adopts will be a pittie mix, but doesn't have a name so far. The mom's name is tentatively Bonnie, girl is tentatively Tasha, guy's name is tentatively Scott. |
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DucksRMagical
Joined: 28 December 2006
Posts: 2090
Location: Boycotting All Future Warner Brothers Films
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Posted: Sunday 12 October 2008 03 18 04 pm Post subject: Re: Albus Potter and the Tracks They Left Behind in topic:Albus Potter and the Tracks They Left Behind |
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Thanks, Obladi!
Questions, comments, and general reviews always appreciated!
Chapter 27: Slytherpuff
Matt's birthday was a few days after the Dueling Tournament. Albus and his friends didn't throw him a party like they had last year. That had mostly been done to cheer him up since he had been in the Hospital Wing at the time. This year they went down to the kitchens and got a cake, and then ate it in their dormitory.
By the time the Quidditch match arrived the following Saturday, Albus was utterly exhausted. Between Quidditch practice and homework, he hardly had anytime to sleep. Throw in a trip down to the kitchens for Matt's birthday after Quidditch practice the other night, and Albus was ready to sleep through an entire day.
Albus yawned, got out of bed, and looked out the window. He had been hoping that the raging blizzard would have let up, but it hadn't. Wonderful, he thought, James wouldn't be catching the Snitch quickly in this weather.
A few hours later, Albus bade his friends goodbye and headed down to the changing rooms at the Quidditch pitch. His friends had bundled themselves up in as much scarlet and gold clothing as they owned and were ready to huddle against the howling wind for a few hours of Quidditch. John, Matt, and Amanda didn't seem to mind the weather at all and were excited about the match. Rose, on the other hand, clearly would have rather spent the afternoon in the castle studying. Kaden still liked football better than Quidditch and Albus had a feeling he wouldn't have minded the storm if he was watching a football game.
"Ok!" Georgia shouted a few minutes after Albus entered the changing rooms, "Everyone come over here!"
"I know the weather isn't ideal," Georgia began once everyone was gathered around her, "But we've played in worse than this!"
"Yeah, if you count that flood we played in during third year," Fred muttered, "But other than that...."
Georgia glared at Fred, "Anyway, we're playing Hufflepuff, so we'll win. Harper's still captain, but it's her last year, so she'll be dead set on getting the Cup. That means she'll have trained his team even harder. They've got a new Keeper, though. Someone named Tanner Royce. He's a fifth year. Other than him, the team's the same as last year. So, with that, get out there and kick some badger ass!"
Albus grinned to himself as he picked up his broom and started to walk to the door. Georgia was a great captain, but wasn't much for long winded speeches.
"Albus," Georgia whispered and put her hand on his shoulder.
"Yeah?"
"You're, er, less nervous this match, right?"
"Oh, yeah," Albus smiled, remembering how he had told her he was extremely nervous the last match. In reality, he'd been too preoccupied with the new map. Sure, he'd been a little nervous, but not as much as Georgia thought he had been. This match, however, he wasn't nearly as distracted, although he still was a bit nervous. "I'm a bit nervous, but not as much."
"Good," Georgia grinned and walked out the door and onto the pitch.
Albus followed his cousin onto the pitch and was immediately hit by the forceful winds that were prevailing.
"Welcome to the Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff match!" Todd Smith's voice sounded over the pitch. It sounded faint and kind of far away in the wind. "It's bloody cold out here so let's make it quick!
"Here are the Gryffindors! Captain Georgia Weasley, followed by Ryan O'Malley, Albus Potter, James Potter, Bradley Weasley, Fred Weasley, and Heather Weasley!
"And the Hufflepuffs! Captain Jessica Harper, followed by Shawn Ames, Lisa Galivant, Andy Kaper, Stacey Manson, Anna Reilly, and Tanner Royce!"
Professor Oteski motioned for Georgia and Harper to shake hands and as soon as they did so, Albus and the rest of the players rose into the air. Oteski released the balls and Heather immediately took possession of the Quaffle.
"And Heather's got the Quaffle! She passes to Fred, then back to Heather, and to Albus."
Albus caught the Quaffle and started flying towards the Hufflepuff goals. He was amazed that he had actually caught it since the weather was so awful. He could hardly see two feet in front of him. His robes were already soaked with snow and ice and he was frigidly cold. Nevertheless, he kept flying towards the goal until he had to stop short and toss the Quaffle back to Heather, since he almost flew straight into an oncoming Hufflepuff chaser.
Heather caught the Quaffle and flew it the rest of the way to the goal. She threw it in and it easily went past Hufflepuff's new Keeper.
"Goal! Ten-zero Gryffindor! Now hurry up and catch that Snitch, James! I'm freezing my bloody-"
"Smith!" Patil shouted, "Watch your language!"
"Sorry, Professor."
The Quaffle was now back in play and was in Hufflepuff possession. Albus wasn't even sure which Chaser had it, but he knew it was a Hufflepuff. Whichever Hufflepuff had the Quaffle managed to take it to the Gryffindor goals, but Georgia saved it.
Fred took the Quaffle and flew it back to the other end of the pitch, scoring another goal for Gryffindor.
The game continued this way for the next half hour. Hufflepuff managed to score two goals, but Gryffindor scored about eight. Albus currently had the Quaffle and was flying straight at the Hufflepuff goals.
He narrowly avoided a bludger and both Hufflepuff beaters, but soon he was within throwing distance of the goals. He faked to the right and then threw the Quaffle at the left hoop. Royce tried to save it, but he wasn't quick enough.
"Goal! Albus Potter has scored against Hufflepuff! The score is now 90-20 Gryffindor!"
Albus was ecstatic. That was the first goal he had ever scored in a Quidditch match. Up until now, all he'd done were assists. Albus took a victory lap around the pitch and then caught the Quaffle from Heather.
Albus managed to score another goal and Heather scored two more in the next half hour of the match. Hufflepuff scored a few more goals, but were still far behind. By now, Albus was sure he had turned into an icicle and was getting a bit sick of flying around in the cold. He was even getting a bit of a headache from it. Albus wasn't even sure if he'd know if James or Galivant caught the Snitch, due to the increasingly bad visibility and snowfall. The blizzard seemed to be getting worse by the minute. If Hogwarts actually called off Quidditch, they would have called it off a while ago.
A few minutes later, cheers broke out in the stands and Albus was sure someone must have caught the Snitch. He was very happy to land his broom and knew he'd be even happier when he finally got into the warm common room.
The rest of his team was shouting in glee and were surrounding James. He must have caught the Snitch, Albus thought. The rest of the Gryffindors were swarming the pitch and soon James was lifted onto a few people's shoulders. Albus joined the throngs of his house and started his way back to the castle.
On his way back to the common room, numerous people stopped him in order to congratulate him on the win. Albus was thrilled that they had won, but all he really wanted to do was find his friends and get into some warm robes. James loved the attention he got after winning a Quidditch match, but Albus could take it or leave it. Right now, he could leave it, since his headache was getting worse.
The party in the common room was just getting started when Albus entered a few minutes later. Someone must have snuck down to the kitchens because there was an entire table filled with food. Someone else had obviously gotten into Hogsmeade because just about everyone had a butterbeer in their hand.
Somebody shoved a butterbeer into Albus's hand as he made his way through the crowd. James was in the thick of it as usual and was rehashing how he caught the Snitch.
"And I saw it lurking near one of the goal posts. Galivant was on the other end of the pitch, so I knew she had no hope..." James was saying to a couple of giggling girls.
The rest of the team was nearby and were digging into the food that was on one of the tables.
"Great job, Albus!" Georgia shouted as he passed, "I knew you could get over those nerves!"
"Thanks," Albus smiled as he went up the stairs to his dormitory.
Albus quickly changed out of his cold, wet robes and felt a bit better afterwards. He went back down to the common room and it was even fuller than before. It looked like all the Gryffindors had returned from the pitch and the party was in full swing.
Albus found his friends sitting at their usual table and they all seemed to be enjoying the party.
"Albus!" John shouted as Albus sat down, "Brilliant playing!"
"Definitely," Matt agreed.
"You're quite a good Chaser, Albus," Rose said, "Although I honestly don't know why they didn't cancel the match with this blizzard..."
"Cancel the match?" John stared at her, "Never!"
"If it was football, it would've been canceled," Kaden commented.
"Yeah, because you wouldn't be able to run around in two feet of snow," John laughed, "But Quidditch is in the air, so it doesn't matter."
"Will you two just quit arguing about football?" Rose sighed.
"Just trying to turn Kaden into a proper wizard," John shrugged.
"Quidditch is hardly the definition of a proper wizard," Rose said, "I believe potion brewing is a bit more important and I'm sure Kaden could teach you a thing about it, Mr. Exploding Potions."
"That was Goyle's fault," John muttered.
"Why don't all three of you just quit arguing?" Albus snapped. His head was pounding and listening to his friends' arguing was not helping.
"What's with you?" John asked, "We're not fighting anymore than normal."
"Maybe it's got to do that he's been flying around in a blizzard for the past two hours?" Rose suggested, "If they'd just have canceled the match-"
"They don't cancel Quidditch!" John shouted and then turned to Matt, "You understand this, don't you?"
"It's true," Matt agreed, "Quidditch isn't ever canceled for trivial things like blizzards."
"I think the weather just makes it more interesting," Amanda commented.
"Not you too!" Rose groaned.
"Football's only played in the warm months anyway," Kaden said, "They wouldn't even schedule an outdoor football match in the winter."
"Well that's boring," John replied.
Albus leaned his head on his hand and closed his eyes while trying to drown out his friends conversation. John, Rose, and Kaden continued to argue about the merits of Quidditch and football. Matt and Amanda stayed out of it for the most part and seemed kind of amused with the entire thing. Albus wasn't, though. He wished they'd just shut up. Albus's head was steadily feeling worse, like he was being hit with a bludger over and over again. Besides that, he still hadn't completely warmed up from the match and was shivering, despite his dry robes.
"I think football would be a decent sport if it were played on brooms," John said.
"Oh come on, John!" Rose sighed, "Be serious! You can't play football on brooms. How would you kick the ball?"
"Not to mention that Muggles play football!" Kaden shouted, "Muggles can't fly!"
"I'm not saying that Muggles should play football on brooms. I meant if football were ever played by wizards, it should be done on brooms."
Football on brooms, Albus thought, what an insane idea. His friends were now trying to merge football and Quidditch.
"Albus, are you all right?" Matt asked.
Albus opened his eyes and lifted his head off his hand. "I dunno."
"You don't look that great," Matt said concernedly.
John, Rose, and Kaden stopped arguing and looked at Albus.
"Yeah, you look worse than Matt does when he gets sick," Kaden said loudly.
"Thanks," Matt muttered.
"Matt's right," Rose said, "You do look awful, Albus."
"I've got a headache," Albus mumbled.
"You should go see Madam Pomfrey," Kaden told him.
"I think I'll just go to bed," Albus got up from his chair, "I haven't really slept much the past few nights. I'm probably just tired."
Albus stumbled over to the dormitory door, feeling worse than he had a few minutes ago. He collapsed into his bed and fell asleep minutes later.
******
Albus awoke with a start and he wasn't sure how much time had passed since he went to sleep. He still felt extremely tired and his head still hurt. He groaned and closed his eyes again, wanting only to sleep for a few days straight.
Right when he was about to drift off again, someone threw the curtains back and Albus's bed was flooded in light.
"Ugh," Albus groaned and covered his eyes with his hands. "What was that for?"
"You've slept almost an entire day," someone said.
Albus moved his hands and slowly opened his eyes. John was standing over his bed with a look of concern on his face.
"And I'd like to sleep a bit more if you don't mind," Albus mumbled.
"You slept through dinner last night, and breakfast and lunch today. Aren't you hungry?"
"Not really."
"Are you sure you're ok?" John asked, "Rose sent me up here to check on you."
Honestly, Albus wasn't sure he was ok. He couldn't remember the last time he had slept an entire day. But right now all he wanted was for John to go away so he could sleep some more.
"I'll be fine once I sleep some more," Albus replied and rolled over away from John.
"If you're sure," John said quietly and closed the curtains.
It didn't take Albus long to fall back asleep. He had some strange dreams that involved Teddy telling him his broom broke and he'd have to play Quidditch without it by running around on the ground. Then, instead of a Quaffle, the match was played with a football.
Albus woke up briefly after one of these dreams, only to find that the dormitory was dark. He could hear Ethan's muffled snoring and an owl hooting outside. Unfortunately, he didn't feel any better than he had when John woke him up. In fact, he now felt worse. Every one of his muscles were aching, like he had fallen from his broom during the match. But Albus couldn't recall falling from his broom. When had the match been anyway? Yesterday or the day before? Albus couldn't even remember and he didn't even know what day it was currently.
"Albus!" Someone shouted. Albus was dreaming about Quidditch again and someone was hitting him with their beater's bat.
"Quit it," Albus mumbled.
"Albus, are you all right?"
"Go away," Albus said, "And stop smacking me with that beater's bat."
"Beater's bat?" they repeated, "That's it, I'm getting Professor Potter."
"I'll go," someone else said, "You stay here with him."
Whoever had been hitting Albus with the bat had stopped, and he was grateful. Georgia had taken the bat away and was now yelling at its owner. Then she announced that they would be playing football instead of Quidditch. James complained loudly, since there weren't any Seekers in football.
"Albus, wake up!"
"I think Kaden said you'll have to play defense, James," Albus mumbled in his sleep. "There isn't a Snitch in football."
"Hang on, Albus, John's getting your dad."
"My dad? He'll have to play defense, too."
"What's wrong?" someone new shouted.
"He's been sleeping since after the match, Professor Potter. I think he's sick."
"Since after the match?"
"Er, yeah. We thought he was just tired, but he's been sleeping for two days."
"The match?" Albus muttered, "Did we beat Slytherpuff yet?"
Albus felt himself being lifted out of his bed and into someone's arms. He rested his head on their shoulder and shivered as his blanket fell back onto the bed. Albus fell back into a deep sleep and next woke up as he was being laid down on another bed.
Albus heard people talking all around him, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. Someone poured a few disgusting potions down his throat and forced him to swallow them. There was more muttering around him, but Albus soon drifted off to sleep again.
The room was quieter when Albus next woke up. He opened his eyes and looked around. Where was he? Albus was certain he had fallen asleep in his dormitory, but now it looked as if he was in the Hospital Wing. The place was nearly deserted, save for Madam Pomfrey sitting at her desk. Albus yawned and tried to sit up, but he was still dizzy. The good thing was that his head felt much better. However, his body still ached.
Madam Pomfrey looked up from her desk and got up once she saw that Albus was awake. She grabbed a few bottles and put them on a tray, which she then carried over to Albus's bed and set it on the bedside table.
"Good, you're up," Madam Pomfrey said as she poured one of the potions into a cup, "You gave us all quite a fright."
"What time is it?" Albus asked, still confused about what he was doing there.
"Just after six o'clock."
"Er, and what day?"
"Monday," the nurse said as she thrust the cup under Albus's nose, "Drink that."
Albus downed the potion quickly, "Yuck. It's really Monday? I've missed classes?"
"I'd say so."
"Er, what exactly happened? I mean, I went to bed in my dormitory and now I'm here..."
"You're ill," Madam Pomfrey said, "You've caught the flu. Your friends told me you slept for almost two days and then they went to get your father since you weren't getting any better and had started becoming delirious. You've been here since around lunch time."
"Oh. Well, how long do I have to stay?"
"Another two days, probably," Madam Pomfrey told him. "Now I want you to drink these other two potions and eat that bowl of soup."
Albus nodded and Madam Pomfrey strode back over to her desk. Albus thought back and could vaguely remember being taken out of his dormitory, but it was only a foggy memory. The last thing he could really remember well was the Quidditch match. He was very happy he hadn't fallen ill before the match.
No sooner had Albus drank the first potion that the doors to the Hospital Wing swung open and John, Matt, Rose, and Amanda came bursting through. Madam Pomfrey got up quickly from her desk and met them halfway.
"Is Albus awake?" Rose asked.
"Yes, he's only just woken up. I suppose you can visit him for a few minutes. But calmly! He needs to rest!"
"Albus!" Rose shrieked when she ran over to his bed, "Thank Merlin you're all right!"
"How are you?" Amanda asked.
"Doing better?" John asked.
"Well," Matt said with a half smile on his pale face, "This is a switch."
Albus grinned at them, "Yeah, can't really remember a time where it was [i]you[/i] visiting [i]me[/i] here."
"What exactly have you got anyway?" Amanda asked.
"Flu," Albus answered, "But I'm getting better. Not nearly as tired as before."
"I would hope so," John smirked, "You slept two days."
"I'll probably sleep another two," Albus said, "Pomfrey said I've got to stay another two days."
"We'll be here together, then," Matt replied.
Albus looked at his friend, who was looking a bit exhausted himself. "When's the full moon again?"
"Tomorrow," Matt sighed.
"Did you take that new potion?" Albus asked.
Matt nodded, "Yeah, and I'm more knackered than usual."
"He fell asleep in History of Magic and almost fell asleep in Potions," John said.
"Well, you didn't sleep through two whole days like I did," Albus pointed out.
"I've done it before. I've slept through more than two days actually. I think four is my record."
"All right!" Madam Pomfrey announced, "Time for you lot to be off to bed, especially you, Matt. And Albus needs to rest."
"See you tomorrow," Albus said as his friends left the room.
"Sure will," Matt replied.
Albus slept on and off throughout the night and the next morning. He was still tired, but felt much better when he woke up late the next morning. His dad had stopped by earlier before class, but Albus fell back asleep after he left.
Madam Pomfrey was fussing over him and giving him numerous potions to drink. Albus was the only patient in the entire ward, so the nurse's fussing was all focused on him.
The nurse had been giving Albus what must have been his tenth glass of water that morning when the doors to the ward opened. Matt stumbled inside and walked shakily over to the bed next to Albus's. He collapsed onto it and winced in pain.
Madam Pomfrey immediately put down the water pitcher and descended upon Matt.
"You're here earlier than usual," she said as she felt his head, "And you're burning up."
"Why are you here earlier?" Albus asked once Madam Pomfrey had gone to get another potion.
"Tired," Matt mumbled, "Fell asleep in Defense and your dad told me to come here."
"Is it the new potion?"
"Yeah, it doesn't exactly help much, does it?"
"I thought you said they were going to find something to counteract the part of it that makes you tired," Albus said.
"They are, they just haven't found it yet."
"Oh."
Madam Pomfrey returned a moment later and gave Matt a few potions. He drank them and was asleep minutes later. Albus wasn't really tired, but he fell asleep anyway out of lack of anything else to do.
John, Rose, and Amanda stopped by after dinner to see Albus and Matt, but Madam Pomfrey didn't let them stay long. Matt had been asleep anyway. Shortly after their friends left, Madam Pomfrey woke Matt up and took him down to the Whomping Wilow. |
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