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DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2095 Location: Boycotting All Future Warner Brothers Films	Posted: Wednesday 22 October 2008 06 33 48 pm    Post subject: Re: Albus Potter and the Tracks They Left Behind in topic:Albus Potter and the Tracks They Left Behind Thanks, Obladi! I love that line, too. Special thanks to Obladi for coming up with the riddle that's in this chapter! I'm horrible with riddles, so the help was greatly appreciated! Questions, comments, and general reviews are always appreciated! Chapter 29: Light Saber Conquers All "Willinson is acting civil," Albus commented as they were running up a flight of stairs. "Yeah," Matt agreed, "Kind of surprising. Either he really wants to win or he's not as confident without Malfoy." "Probably both," Albus said, "Whatever the reason, we lucked out." Everyone stared as Albus and Matt ran into the common room completely out of breath. "Scavenger hunt," Albus muttered to his cousins Ben and Cedric as he ran by. "Excellent," Ben grinned, "Can't wait until our turn next Saturday." Bilius was also in their dormitory collecting items when Albus and Matt entered. They nodded to each other, but didn't say anything. Albus wrenched open his trunk and started rifling through it. He found a bag of Bertie Botts Beans, a Dumbledore chocolate frog card, his copy of [i]Hogwarts, A History[/i], one Extendable Ear, and the photo album he found in the attic of his house. The graduation picture in the back would work for the Hogwarts graduation picture. "What have you got?" he asked Matt once he emerged from his trunk. "My wand's holly, a muggle pen, band aids, Chudley Cannon jersey, and a Nintendo DS, although I'm not sure why I still bother to bring it since it doesn't work here." "Excellent," Albus grinned, "Let's get back to the Great Hall." When Albus and Matt got back to the Hufflepuff table, Willinson and Rodner had already returned. There was a pile of stuff on the table between them. Albus looked through it and saw that they now had a copy of The Hobbit, color changing ink, a beater's bat, Muggle playing cards, and a sneakoscope. "All right, we've got a good start," Albus said as he added his and Matt's stuff to the pile. "I guess we'll have to ask the older students to borrow the rest. "Rodner," Albus began, "You see if you can get a light saber, a Quaffle signed by Oliver Wood, a Shooting Star broomstick, drum sticks, a receipt from Madam Malkin's, foe glass, and a Beatles CD." "Sure," Rodner said and took off out of the room. "Willinson," Albus turned to the Slytherin, "Go down to the kitchens and see if you can get a silver goblet, tortilla chips, a tea cozy, the names of five House Elves, and a Hershey bar." "Why should I?" Willinson grumbled, "Who put you in charge?" "Someone's got to do it," Albus told him. "Make Eckerton do it." "Him and I are getting the rest," Albus replied, "If you want to win, you'll get the stuff." "Fine," Willinson muttered and left the Great Hall. "Ok, that leaves the shoe laces, empty green potions bottle, purple gloves, a My Little Hippogriff, a toad, purple parchment, a rubber duck, two batteries, and five more Extendable Ears. Oh, and Filch's autograph." "We'll do that one last," Matt shuddered. "We can probably just go back to the common room and ask if anyone's got this stuff." "Good idea," Albus agreed. The two boys set off at a run back to their common room. Luckily it was still packed with students and some of them grinned as Albus and Matt entered. "How's it going?" Ben asked. "Good," Albus grinned back, "But we've got a bunch of stuff to find. Listen up everyone!" he shouted. The entire common room quieted and turned to Albus. Albus was momentarily shocked that everyone actually stopped what they were doing to pay attention to him. "Er, we're doing the scavenger hunt and need some stuff. Has anyone got a My Little Hippogriff, purple gloves, a toad, purple parchment, a rubber duck, batteries, or Extandable Ears? Also, we need twenty shoe laces. I promise we'll return it all once we're done." About half the students got up and went up to their dormitories. A few minutes later they came back down with various items for Albus. He managed to borrow a rubber duck, purple parchment, and a few Extendable Ears. Plus he got at least twenty shoe laces. "That worked well," Albus said as he and Matt left the room. "I'd say so," Matt agreed, "Now Filch's autograph. This ought to be fun." Albus smacked his hand to his forehead, "I should have grabbed the map!" Albus groaned and ran back to the common room. Everyone laughed as he ran up to his dormitory and back down to the common room. Albus ignored them and pointed his wand to the map. A few seconds later he saw that Filch was lurking near the library. Albus and Matt took off for the library and spotted Filch a few yards away from the door. "How are we supposed to ask him?" Albus whispered. "No idea," Matt said back. Albus's heart sped up as he got closer to the old caretaker. "Er, Mr. Filch?" he asked. Filch startled and turned around. He saw Albus and smirked. "Potter. Up to no good again? In need of another detention, perhaps?" "Uh, no," Albus replied, "Actually, I was just, er, well, we're doing this scavenger hunt. Maybe Kendrick told you about it. It's to promote Inter House Unity and we have to find all this stuff throughout the castle and-" "We need your autograph," Matt interrupted, holding a piece of parchment and the Muggle pen in his outstretched hand. Filch stared at them and then started muttering to himself. "Don't see why I should bother... Students never do anything for me..." Nevertheless, Filch took the pen and scribbled his name onto the purple parchment. He thrust it wordlessly back into Matt's hand and shuffled off down the corridor. "That went better than expected," Matt said. "Yeah, thanks. I couldn't really figure out how to ask him." "I figured," Matt grinned, "Anyway, we still need a few things. Hey, Kendrick never mentioned anything about the Room. Do you think we could just ask it for the rest of this?" Albus wondered why he hadn't thought of that. It almost seemed like cheating, but Kendrick never said anything. "That's brilliant!" The two of them set off for the Room, but when they got there, there was a Hufflepuff prefect milling around right in front of the Room. Albus slowly walked back and forth in front of it, keeping an eye on the prefect. He was about to make his third pass, when the prefect stopped him. "Sorry," he said, "You can't go in there if you're in the scavenger hunt. Kendrick's rule." Albus sighed, "All right." "Of course," Matt muttered as they left, "Kendrick couldn't announce that rule because then everyone would find out about the Room. Oh, well. What have we got left?" Albus handed Matt the list and he looked it over for a few seconds. "Hey, I know Madam Pomfrey's got green potion bottles." "Let's go," Albus said, "We'd better hurry, there's only fifteen minutes left." They made it to the Hospital Wing in record time. Albus pushed the door open and walked in, followed by Matt. "I've got patients to tend to!" Madam Pomfrey was shouting at a Ravenclaw first year, "I haven't got time for this scavenger hunt nonsense! You're the fifth person I've had come in here looking for potions bottles and band aids! I haven't got any!" The girl nodded and ran quickly out of the room, completely ignoring Albus and Matt as she went. "Er, she says she hasn't got any," Albus whispered. "I know she does," Matt whispered back, "Let me just ask her." Albus shrugged and followed Matt over to the nurse, who was bent over one of the beds. "Hello, Madam Pomfrey," Matt greeted her. Madam Pomfrey turned around and her irritated face softened immediately when she saw Matt. "Hello, Matt, dear. Are you all right? You look a bit flushed," Madam Pomfrey said and put her hand to his forehead. "I'm fine," Matt assured her, "I've just been running around working on the scavenger hunt." "Not you, too," Madam Pomfrey sighed and then noticed Albus, "Oh and Albus as well." "Yeah," Matt said, "We were just wondering if you might have an empty green potions bottle." The nurse sighed and walked over to her potions cabinet. "I suppose. Just be sure to return it." Albus watched in shock as she returned with the exact item they were looking for. Matt grinned at Albus and took the bottle. "Thanks," Matt smiled. Madam Pomfrey shook her head, "No problem. Have fun, boys." "We will," Matt said as he turned to leave the room. Albus followed him out the door, still in shock that the nurse had actually given them the bottle when she had yelled at that first year only minutes ago. "You're certainly on her good side," Albus muttered after they left the room. "One of the few perks of being there once a month," Matt said dryly. "We'd better get back to the Great Hall," Albus said as he looked at his watch. Albus and Matt ran as fast as they could back to where their team was. The rest of the team was working hard to finish the remaining trivia. Rachel herself was dressed up as Godric Gryffindor, complete with a fake beard. Rodner was dressed up as Helga Hufflepuff. However, neither was as funny as what Willinson was wearing. He was decked out in Gryffindor finest, with robes, a scarf, and a 'Loyal Gryffindor' hat. Albus could hardly stifle his laughter. "Don't say a word, Potter," Willinson growled. "Albus!" Rachel shouted, "You've got to dress up as a Slytherin! The robes I've got are too big for Matt and Abby." Rachel pointed to the other Gryffindor on the team. Albus groaned and Willinson burst out laughing. Albus reluctantly put on the Slytherin robes, scarf, and 'Slytherins Are Best' hat. It would only be for a few minutes and if it helped them win.... Albus did feel a bit strange in the Slytherin robes. He couldn't help but remember back to his sorting and how the hat had wanted to put him in Slytherin at first. If it had, he would be wearing these robes all the time. He might have even been more friendly with Malfoy at first. He probably wouldn't have really befriended John, Matt, or Amanda if he'd been in Slytherin. Albus shook the thought from his head and concentrated on the fact that he was just wearing the robes to help his team win. Rachel took stock of the items on the list as Matt tied all the shoelaces together. It turns out that the only things they were missing were the light saber, Quaffle signed by Oliver Wood, Shooting Star broomstick, foe glass, Hershey's bar, toad, and one battery. Rachel thought that was pretty good. The other Ravenclaw returned a minute later and told everyone that he had finished the riddle quest and had managed to get the bonus points. "Time is up!" Kendrick announced, "The professors will be around soon to check your lists. They will also collect your trivia sheets which will be marked later today. The winner will be announced at dinner tonight." Patil came over to Albus's team a few moments later and looked over their list. She took a picture of the four people who were dressed up, much to Albus's dismay. Now there would be permanent evidence of his Slytherin moment. As soon as the picture was taken, Albus took off the robes and he noticed Willinson doing the same. "Ok," Patil announced as she gathered up the pieces of parchment, "You can leave. Please return anything you borrowed." Albus and Matt gathered up their stuff as well as everything they'd borrowed from various Gryffindors. They stopped by the Hospital Wing to return the bottle and then headed back to their common room. The two of them passed out everyone's stuff and then went to sit down at their usual table. Rose, John, Amanda, and Kaden joined them shortly. "That was fun," Rose said as she sat down. "Yeah," Albus agreed, "Even though we were with Slytherins. Willinson wasn't too bad." "That's good," John said, "I caught a glimpse of him in the Gryffindor robes. Priceless." "Yeah, I thought so. Until I had to put on the Slytherin ones," Albus replied. John burst out laughing, "I wish I'd seen that!" "You'll be able to," Albus told him, "Patil took a picture." "Excellent." "Didn't any of you lot have to dress up?" Albus asked. "I was Helga Hufflepuff," John said. "And I was Godric Gryffindor," Amanda added. "How did everyone do on the list of stuff to find?" Matt asked. "I'm pretty sure my team was the only one with a light saber!" Kaden said excitedly, "I'm so glad I decided to bring it." "We did all right," Rose shrugged, "Missed a lot of stuff, but I think we did well in the trivia." "Of course you did," John grinned. "Hey, did anyone manage to find the potions bottle? Slughorn didn't have any green ones and Madam Pomfrey looked ready to hex me when I asked her. It's not really fair that Kendrick put something on there that was impossible to get." Albus grinned at Matt, who grinned back. "What?" John asked. "We got it," Matt told him. "How?" Kaden asked, "Madam Pomfrey was downright scary when I asked her. May have been because she was busy fixing someone's broken arm, but still...." "Matt asked her and she gave him one," Albus explained. Matt shrugged, "Simple, really." John sighed, "Well, you're probably the only one in the school who could get it. She'd probably give you whatever you asked for." "Why?" Kaden asked curiously. "Sorry, not telling," John replied. Kaden sighed, "Oh, part of that whole secret I can't know about?" "Yeah," John said and then changed the subject, "Hey, did any of you do the riddle thing?" "I did," Rose said, "Want to hear it?" "Of course," John said. "Ok, I'll see if you can get it. I thought it was a bit simple, really," Rose said. She pulled a piece of parchment out of her robes and read off of it. " 'In an event known by wizards worldwide Where good and evil are forced to collide A terrible force can now no longer reside. A place where just one part of Voldemort died.'" Albus looked at John, Matt, and Amanda and shrugged. He didn't think it was simple, but Rose was good at those sorts of things. "No idea," John announced. "Dunno," Matt shrugged. "Hmm," Amanda muttered. "Don't look at me," Kaden said. "The Great Hall?" Albus asked, thinking of the place where Voldemort died. "Nope," Rose grinned, "That was the trick part. It's actually that monument outside, where Professor Longbottom killed Voldemort's snake." "Oh," Albus groaned, "Of course! Didn't even think of that." "How long did it take you to figure it out?" Matt asked. "Not long," Rose smiled, "But then I had to follow the clues to find the bit of information to give Professor Kendrick." "And where was that?" Amanda asked. "Library," Rose grinned, "Herbology section." "Wonder how many teams got it," Albus thought aloud. "Well, my team did, obviously," Rose said, "And you said your team did, Albus. What about you two?" "We didn't," John sighed and Amanda shook her head. "We did," Kaden put in. "Guess we'll find out tonight how everyone did," Albus said. "Yeah," Rose agreed, "But I'm not going to think about it now. Might as well get some homework done." Albus managed to get half an essay done before dinner. Rose wrote an entire essay and did a set of homework questions. Matt helped Amanda with her Astronomy and still got his Herbology done. John and Kaden on the other hand, spent he rest of the afternoon goofing off and playing chess. The excitement was running high in the Great Hall during dinner that evening. Everyone was comparing what they managed to find during the Scavenger Hunt. Albus kept glancing up to the staff table to see when Kendrick would make the announcement, but he seemed to be waiting until the last minute to do so. After what seemed like forever, Kendrick got to his feet. "Good evening, everyone. I hope all the first and second years enjoyed the Scavenger Hunt. It was certainly a success and I'm sure the older students will look forward to their turns. "And, without any further waiting, I shall announce the results. The first, second, and third place teams will all be awarded medals. "In third place, with 572 points, Team Two!" Kendrick announced, "Will the members of Team Two please come up here." "Yes!" Albus shouted and jumped up, "Third place, that's not bad!" "Yeah, I'd say that's pretty good," Matt grinned and followed Albus up to the staff table. Albus and Matt joined the rest of their team in front of the staff table. Kendrick put a bronze medal over each of their necks and pulled out a camera. He took a few pictures and then told them to return to their seats. Rose, Amanda, John, and Kaden congratulated Albus and Matt as they sat back down. A few of Albus's cousins patted him on the back and told him good job. "Excellent, Albus," James grinned, "But my team will get first place next week." "I'll believe it when I see it," Albus rolled his eyes. "And in second place, with 580 points, is Team Seven!" Kendrick announced. The members of Team Seven ran up to the staff table to get their silver medals and have their picture taken. "And in first place, with 673 points, is Team Six!" Kendrick shouted. "Congratulations to the winning team!" "Woohoo!" Kaden stood up and started jumping up and down as he ran up to the staff table, "Yes!" "Wow, who would've thought that," Rose grinned, "Kaden's team won." "Well, he does have a very large amount of random stuff in his dormitory," Albus commented. "I'll bet it was the light saber that put his team over the edge," John shook his head, "I mean, I think his team was the only one to get it." "Probably," Albus shrugged. "I can't believe I won!" Kaden shouted as he sat back down with his big gold medal a few minutes later. "Congratulations," Albus grinned, "At least one of us got first place." "We were so close to second," Matt groaned, "Eight measly points!" "Well, third's good," John muttered, "Better than not getting a medal at all." "Oh, John, it's just a game," Amanda said, "The point is that we all had fun." "Congratulations to our winning teams and everyone else that participated," Kendrick said, "I will be looking forward to the next round, third and fourth years, a week from today!" Albus hung his bronze medal from his bed post before he went to bed that night. He crawled beneath the covers feeling very content with third place. He hadn't really been expecting to win at all. The Scavenger Hunt had been a lot of fun, and Albus hoped Kendrick would hold it again sometime. It had been so much fun, that Albus hadn't even thought about the new map the entire day. He made a mental note to ask Rose about the Sileo Altus charm the next day. They would have to tell Kaden about everything soon if they wanted to make anymore progress on the map. Plus, they'd have to research more about how to prove to the map that they really were like the Marauders.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2095 Location: Boycotting All Future Warner Brothers Films	Posted: Friday 17 October 2008 05 23 58 pm    Post subject: Re: Albus Potter and the Tracks They Left Behind in topic:Albus Potter and the Tracks They Left Behind Thanks Obladi and Teyannanecole! Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter. Nor do I own [i]The Hobbit[/i], Hershey's, Nintendo, or the Beatles. Also, the idea for the scavenger hunt isn't mine either. I got it from the resort we go to on vacation. They organize a scavenger hunt just like this one. <!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.woodlochpines.com">www.woodlochpines.com</a><!-- w --> Chapter 28: Scavenger Hunt When Albus awoke the next morning, he felt much better. In fact, he felt mostly normal. He wasn't achy anymore and his head felt better as well. He hungrily ate all the breakfast Madam Pomfrey provided. The same couldn't be said for Matt, who was looking much worse than the previous day. He was either asleep or unconscious, Albus was betting on the latter, and he had numerous cuts and scrapes on his face. His right arm and forehead were covered in a large bandages. "So when can I leave?" Albus asked as Madam Pomfrey performed some kind of spell on Matt. "Later today, most likely," she said after she'd finished her incantation. Albus sighed. He had been hoping he'd be able to leave that morning. He was starting to feel incredibly bored with the Hospital Wing, although not bored enough to start the homework Rose had brought the previous evening. Albus spent the remainder of the morning drifting in and out of sleep out of lack of anything else to do. Madam Pomfrey gave him a few more nasty tasting potions and lunch, which Albus ate ravenously. After going two days without food, he was starving. The doors to the Hospital Wing opened just as Albus was finishing his lunch. John, Rose, and Amanda walked inside and immediately headed for Albus's bed. Madam Pomfrey was in her office and didn't seem to notice the visitors. "Hey, how are you?" Rose asked. "Bored," Albus replied. "That's good," Rose grinned. "Are you better now?" Amanda asked. "Pretty much. Madam Pomfrey won't let me leave until later, though. Wish she'd let me leave now." "She just wants to make sure you're completely better," Rose said, "And it's not like you're missing class since this is our afternoon off." "Exactly!" John sighed, "He could be doing much better stuff on his afternoon off if he wasn't here." "Yeah," Albus agreed, "Like figuring out the new map." "How are we going to do that anyway?" John asked. "Go to the library," Albus replied, "We've got to look for ways of proving who we are." John groaned, "And I doubt there will just be a book titled 'Prove Who You Are to a Piece of Parchment." "Probably not," Rose laughed. "But we'll find it." "Making anymore progress on the charm for Kaden?" Albus asked. "A bit, yeah. I tried it again last night on John and this time he couldn't even move his mouth like last time. Now I've just got to figure out how to involve other people in the secret." "And then all we've got to do is convince Matt that the charm is foolproof," John said. Everyone glanced over at Matt's bed, where he was still sleeping. "He been asleep all day?" Amanda asked. "Yeah," Albus said, "Ever since I've been awake." Matt groaned and opened his eyes, "You lot here?" "Yeah," John replied, "How are you?" "Horrible," Matt said flatly, "My head is killing me. Were you talking about me?" "A bit," John said, "Just about that charm for Kaden. We're going to get working on the map once you two are out of here. Got to find some way to prove to it that we're like the Marauders." "Sounds good," Matt yawned. "When do you get to leave?" Amanda asked, "Albus is leaving later today." "No idea," Matt said, "Not until at least tomorrow night. Might be out in time for Astronomy." "Can't you not be outside when the moon is close to full?" Amanda asked. "Only when it's waxing. When it's waning I'm fine." "So, we'll plan on working on the map this weekend, then," Albus said. "Unless any of you catch what I had." "Hope not," John said. "Maybe Malfoy will catch it," he added gleefully. "John, that's not funny," Rose scolded, "He'd be really sick." "He'd get better. Albus is fine now." Albus heard a door open and Madam Pomfrey came strolling out of her office. She looked up and saw the crowd around Albus and Matt's beds and made a beeline for them. "What are you lot doing here?" she demanded. "Visiting Albus and Matt," Rose answered. "Oh, you're awake!" the nurse exclaimed and went over to Matt's bed, apparently forgetting that Rose, John, and Amanda had burst in without her permission. "How do you feel?" "Awful," Matt replied. "My head hurts and so does pretty much everything else." "You must have hit your head much worse than usual last night," Madam Pomfrey sighed, "You had quite the concussion earlier. I'll go get some pain potions." She returned a minute later with a potion for Matt, who drank it in one gulp. "Now, you three have to leave," Madam Pomfrey said to Rose, John, and Matt, "Albus will be out later and you can see him then." Boredom set in for Albus shortly after his friends left. Matt had fallen back asleep quickly after he took his pain potion. Albus couldn't even sleep anymore because he had already slept so much that day. ****** "What are we supposed to be looking for anyway?" John sighed as he slammed a book shut. Albus, John, Matt, Rose, and Amanda were all crowded around a secluded table in the library. It was covered in books that covered all sorts of topics. The five of them had spent the last hour searching for ways to prove to the new map that they were like the Marauders. So far, nobody had found anything useful. "I don't know," Albus replied, "Anything that might prove that we're like the Marauders." "That's not very specific," John muttered, "I really don't want to spend an entire Saturday here." "It'll do you some good," Rose said. "Wish we could just use that book that you used to find the other charm," Albus said to Rose, thinking of Flitwick's book. "Me too, but it's in the Restricted Section," Rose said. "Why can't we just get Professor Potter to give us a note? Bet he would," John said. "Bet he wouldn't," Albus disagreed, "He'd know we're up to something." "Besides," Rose interjected, "It might not be a Charm we're looking for." "We're just going to have to keep looking," Albus said as he opened another book. "But I've got Quidditch practice in a half hour." "We'll just look every time we can get away from Kaden," Matt suggested. "Where is he anyway?" Amanda asked. "Dunno," Albus shrugged. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen Kaden since breakfast. It was kind of strange since Kaden spent every waking moment of his day (when he wasn't in class) no less than four feet away from Albus. "There he is," Matt pointed to somewhere behind Albus. Albus turned around and saw his cousin running through the library with a clipboard in his hand. "Albus!" he shouted. "Quiet!" Madam Pince shouted even louder, "Or I'll throw you all out!" "Albus," Kaden said more quietly as he sat down in an empty chair at their table. Albus eyed Kaden's clipboard but he couldn't read what it said. "Hi Kaden." "Hi," Kaden replied, "Will you sign my petition?" "Petition?" Albus asked, "What in the name of Merlin are you petitioning for?" "TVs in the common rooms," Kaden grinned. "What?!" John and Matt shouted. "Quiet!" Madam Pince screeched. Rose laughed, "What on earth for?" "I wouldn't mind having a TV in the common room," Amanda commented. "Exactly," Kaden said, "It's hard enough for us Muggle-borns to adjust to Hogwarts and if we had TVs, it would make it easier." "You're kidding, right?" John laughed. "Nope, not kidding," Kaden said, "I've got loads of signatures already. I'm not really sure how many I'll need, though. I figure I'll try and get as many as I can in a few days and then give it to Professor Longbottom." Albus tried to suppress his grin, but he couldn't. The idea of Kaden trying to get televisions put into the common rooms was just too funny. There would be no way any of the teachers would agree to it even if everyone in Hogwarts signed the petition. "So will you sign it?" Kaden asked, "If this goes through, I'll try for computers next." "Computers," Matt laughed, "You're mad." "I'll sign," Amanda grabbed the clipboard and quill. "Sure, why not?" Albus shrugged. It couldn't hurt to sign the thing, and he was sure Kaden wouldn't stop bugging them unless they did. John and Matt signed as well, although they were laughing the whole time. Rose signed a bit reluctantly, but she eventually gave in. "So what are you doing?" Kaden asked after Rose finished signing. "Homework," Albus replied automatically. Kaden stared at the large pile of books, "Second year must be bloody insane." "Oh, it is," John said, "You won't have any time to watch any TV." "I'll make time," Kaden said as he stood up, "Well, I'm going to get more signatures." Albus watched as his cousin went from table to table trying to get people to sign. Some of them liked the idea and signed willingly. Others laughed until Kaden gave up and others looked at him like he was crazy. Eventually, Madam Pince found out what he was doing and threw him out of the library. "Your cousin is the weirdest bloke I've ever met," John said after Kaden was kicked out. "Yeah, he is a bit strange," Albus agreed and closed the book he was reading, "Well, I'm off to practice. I'll see you lot later." After practice, Albus went to the common room and found his friends sitting around their usual table doing homework. Unfortunately, none of them had found anything that would help them to prove that they were like the Marauders. Albus was beginning to wonder if they'd ever get that map working. Even if they did find a way to prove they were like the Marauders, what would they have to do next? How many things would they have to do before they would actually be able to see the map? Albus had no idea, but he knew the Marauders weren't going to make this easy. ****** The rest of February passed quickly. Albus and his friends continued to scour the library for any sort of charm, spell, or potion that would help them in their quest to reveal the map. None of them found anything. Kaden thought they were all doing homework as they searched the books every weekend. Rose was making progress with the Sileo Altus charm, but it wasn't quite perfected enough to use yet. Rose was sure she'd have it learned by the end of the month. Matt never said much when the charm was brought up and Albus was hoping he would still agree to tell Kaden once Rose perfected the charm. Kaden's petition to have televisions put into the common room was rejected shortly after he gave it to Neville. Kaden didn't seem in the least bit deterred by this. He insisted it was rejected due to lack of convincing evidence as to how the televisions would benefit the students. He was planning on resubmitting it along with a detailed essay on the subject later on in the term. "You know, Kaden," Rose said at dinner one night, "Even if the teachers accepted your petition, the televisions wouldn't even work here. There's too much magic." "Oh, I'm sure there's a charm that would counteract that," Kaden said. "It won't work," Matt said, "Magic just doesn't agree with electronics. This one time when we were visiting my Uncle Jack in the United States, Amy accidentally broke one of the metal detectors at the airport. It wasn't her fault or anything, the magic just interrupted it or something. The thing started beeping and wouldn't stop until they turned it off." John laughed, "That would've been hilarious to see." "Amy didn't think so. She was mortified," Matt said, "It was a while ago, before we even moved here. I think she was fourteen." "Well, I still say they could find a way," Kaden said. "Hey, look," Albus pointed to the Head table. Professor Kendrick was standing up. "Wonder what he's got to say?" John asked. "Hope it's nothing bad," Rose said. "He looks happy enough," Amanda commented. "May I have your attention!" Kendrick announced. The room fell silent. "Thank you. Don't worry, I'm not giving out bad news. In fact, I think you'll find this announcement most exciting." There was a general murmur of excitement throughout the Great Hall at this. Kendrick waited for everyone to stop talking before he continued. "If you'll remember at the beginning of the year, when I announced the changes for the Dueling Club, that that would only be one part of the House unity effort. I am announcing today that the other professors and I have organized another unity event. It will be a scavenger hunt, with inter-house teams, of course." Albus groaned. A scavenger hunt would be fun, but not if he had to do it with Slytherins. Everyone else seemed to be in agreement, because there was a general groaning throughout. "I know you don't like it, but the school needs to be unified. Now, I will explain the event. It will not be like a regular scavenger hunt. It will take place on the next three Saturdays. This Saturday will be for the first and second years. The following will be for third and fourth years. The last will be for fifth, sixth, and seventh years. "The other professors and I will be organizing the teams, which will consist of members of other years and other houses. Each team will have about ten members. You will have one hour to complete the tasks given. "You will receive a list of items to obtain before this hour is up. There are rules, of course. Some of these items will be required to obtain without magic. We will be performing charms on these items and if we find that any of them were spelled, transfigured, conjured, charmed, etc. within the hour they will be disqualified. "However, the scavenger hunt will not only include a list of items to find. You will also receive multiple trivia sheets. These will include both wizard and Muggle trivia. "Finally, each team will receive a riddle, which if they deceiver correctly, will lead them on a quest throughout the castle and grounds. When you reach the end, there will be a bit of information that must be returned to me. If you are successful, you'll get a 100 point bonus. However, there is also a false trail that will lead you to worthless information. If that is brought back, you'll receive no bonus. "I will give you a more detailed list of rules on the day of the event. Until then, keep your brains sharp and don't get rid of anything you would otherwise deem useless," Kendrick smiled and returned to his seat. Albus turned to his friends, "This sounds, er, interesting." "It's really an excellent idea," Rose grinned, "I mean, there's no way a single person would be able to achieve all of it alone. It's a great idea for House unity." "It'd be better if we didn't have to team up with Slytherins," John muttered. "But what if there's something on that list that's in the Slytherin common room or something?" Rose pointed out. John groaned, "I guess you're right." "Sounds fun, though," Amanda said. "Yeah. Wonder what we get if we win?" Matt asked. "Hopefully some coupons to get out of homework or something," John said. "Since when have they given away those?" Albus laughed. "Now's the perfect time for them to start," John replied. "I hope I'm on your team, Albus," Kaden piped up. "That would be great," Albus smiled, and he actually meant it. It sounded like there was going to be a lot of random stuff on that list and if there was anyone in the school that had loads of random stuff, it was Kaden. ****** The next few days seemed to drag on forever for Albus and the rest of the first and second years. Everyone was getting excited about the scavenger hunt and the teachers were getting a bit annoyed that nobody was paying attention in class. Soon enough, Saturday arrived and Kendrick announced at lunch for all the first and second years to remain seated after they were done eating. Once all the older students left, Kendrick got to his feet once more. "Now, the moment you've all been waiting for," Kendrick said, "The Scavenger Hunt will begin shortly. First, I have a few more rules to go over. "As I said earlier in the week, there are items on this list that are not allowed to be created using magic. You may not conjure, transfigure, spell, or charm any of those items. Asking an older student to do so is also against the rules. We have spells that will detect if any item was magicked during the hour of the scavenger hunt. "The items must be found within the school and grounds. Hogsmeade, the Forbidden Forest, the Whomping Willow, and Hagrid's hut are all out of bounds and you may not search for items in or around them. You may not ask older students or teachers for help, nor may you owl family members or other people. However, you may ask older students if they have any of the items on the list. It is up to them if they let you borrow them or not. Do not steal anything from anyone or there will be punishment. You are permitted to use the library for help with the trivia." Rose's face lit up at that and Albus knew she would be the official library researcher for her team. "There are going to be eight teams of approximately ten students each. Your House prefects have your team assignments. Teams one and two are to gather at the Hufflepuff table, one at each end. Teams three and four at the Gryffindor table, five and six at Ravenclaw, and seven and eight at Slytherin. You will be given a few minutes to get organized in your teams and then the other professors will hand out the appropriate material. Each team is given one set of material, no more. If you lose it, tough luck. Now please see your prefects." Albus got up from the table and looked around until he spotted Georgia. He and his friends wound their way through the crowd until they managed to get to her. "Hey, Albus!" Georgia grinned and looked at her clipboard, "Ready?" "Yeah," Albus smiled, "I'm on a good team, right?" "Well, there are Slytherins on all the teams, if that's what you mean," Georgia laughed, "Anyway, you're on Team Two." Albus nodded and waited for his friends to get their team assignments. Georgia scanned her clipboard again, "Let's see, Rose is on Team One, John is on Team Four, Matt's on Team Two..." Albus grinned at Matt. He was relieved that one of his friends was on his team. Now all he had to do was hope Malfoy wasn't on his team. "Amanda's on Team Four, and Kaden's on Team Six," Georgia looked up at them, "Have fun." "Thanks," Albus said and then turned to his friends, "Guess we'll see you after. Good luck." Albus and Matt worked their way through the crowds to the Hufflepuff table along with Rose. Albus was a bit disappointed that Kaden wasn't on his team, but there wasn't anything he could do about that. The chances weren't great that he would have two of his friends on his same team. He was just lucky he had one of his friends on the same team. The Hufflepuff table was already filling with people from teams one and two. Team Two was gathering at the half closest to the staff table, so Albus and Matt made their way there. There seemed to be a fairly even number of each house at the table. Besides Albus and Matt, there was one other Gryffindor, a first year girl Albus had seen but didn't know her name. There were also two Ravenclaws Albus didn't know, three Hufflepuffs, and two Slytherins. Albus groaned when he saw who the Slytherins were, Felix Willinson and Leigh Montague. Leigh was Rose's potions partner and not the sharpest quill in the box. Felix Willinson narrowed his eyes when he saw Albus and Matt coming over. Albus found seats far away from him and sat down, waiting for the scavenger hunt to begin. One of the Ravenclaws stood up a few seconds later, "Hi, I'm Rachel Underwood and I've been assigned as team captain." Everyone muttered hello to her and Rachel had everyone introduce themselves. So far, Willinson and Montague didn't seem enthused about their team, but Rachel didn't pay any attention to their animosity. Professor Patil came over a little while later with a handful of parchment. Albus assumed they were the lists of stuff to look for and the trivia. "The hunt will start in one minute!" Kendrick announced, "The professors will give you your lists as soon as I say go. You'll have one hour to be back here with as much stuff you can possibly get." A minute later, Kendrick shot out a shower of blue sparks from his wand and Patil handed the stack of parchment to Rachel. "All right!" Rachel shouted as she leafed through the parchment, "We need someone to decipher the riddle and run around to get the bonus points." "I'll do it," the other Ravenclaw volunteered. Rachel nodded and handed him the parchment. He ran out of the Great Hall while reading the riddle. "Ok, here's the trivia," Rachel continued, "We've got Famous Witches and Wizards, Famous Muggles, What Not To Do While Interacting With Muggles, What Do You Know About Quidditch, and What Do You Know About Football." Albus turned to Matt and laughed. Kaden would surely love the football one. Rachel handed out the trivia to the people who thought they'd be able to do it. Willinson hadn't taken any of the trivia sheets, but Montague took the Quidditch one. Albus hoped she actually knew something about Quidditch. "Now we've just got the list of items to find," Rachel announced to the remaining team members, which were Albus, Matt, Willinson, and one of the Hufflepuffs. "You four get started while I work on the trivia. Oh, but I'll take care of the costumes. You'll just have to wear them." Albus nodded and took the parchment from her. Costumes? He hoped he wouldn't have to wear anything too humiliating. He set it down on the table and began to read it, with everyone else looking over his shoulder. 'Items Are To Be Gathered Without Magic -holly wand -five vomit flavored Bertie Botts Beans -Slytherin wearing Gryffindor robes -Gryffindor wearing Slytherin robes -light saber -Dumbledore Chocolate frog card -twenty shoelaces tied together -Quaffle signed by Oliver Wood -Shooting Star broomstick -Muggle pen -copy of [i]The Hobbit[/i], by J.R.R. Tolkein -a Nintendo DS -girl dressed up as Godric Gryffindor -boy dressed up as Helga Hufflepuff -color changing ink -beater bat -drum sticks -silver goblet -Chudley Cannons jersey -six Extendable Ears -Muggle playing cards -receipt from Madam Malkins -Argus Filch's autograph -the names of five Hogwarts House Elves -rubber duck -copy of [i]Hogwarts, A History[/i] -sneakoscope -foe glass -tea cozy -Hogwarts graduation picture -band aids -green empty potions bottle -Beatles CD -purple gloves -Hershey's chocolate bar -My Little Hippogriff -pet toad -purple parchment -two batteries -tortilla chips' Albus looked up from the list and waited for everyone else to finish reading. "What the bloody hell is a CD?" Willinson asked. "Muggle way of listening to music," Albus explained, "One of my cousins might have one." "I've got one," the Hufflepuff, who Albus now knew to be Nelson Rodner, said. "Good," Albus replied, "Anyone else know they've got some of this stuff?" Everyone nodded. "Let's go get the stuff we know we've got and then meet back here," Albus said as he got up. "Then we can work on the stuff we don't." The other three boys agreed and Albus ran out of the Great Hall with Matt. The two of them ran as fast as they could up to Gryffindor Tower.
Distortia Joined: 13 January 2008 Posts: 527 Location: Over the sea	Posted: Wednesday 15 October 2008 06 44 25 pm    Post subject: Re: Next Generation 2 in topic:Next Generation 2 Geneve ran down to the Slytherin Common Room where she stumbled into her room to gather her books for the next class. Lunch was well and trully over, and when she looked at the clock, she could not believe the time; it was nearly 3 o'clock! She had missed the school day. The noise of milling students in the common room travelled through her dormitory door. She quickly pulled off her robes and jumped into her bed just before her room mates came in. She closed her eyes. "Geneve?" one of them said. Geneve did her best to pretend she had just woken up. "Ohh.... what time is it?" she said, putting a hand to her head. "Classes are finished. We missed you! Were you sick today?" the girl approached her. "You look terrible, your cheeks are all red. What's the matter?" "Oh.. Madam Pomfrey sent me her to get some rest. I've.... I've got low blood sugar." Geneve smiled sheepishly. When the girl looked at her like she had two heads, another girl approached, who Geneve knew had grown up in the Muggle world just like she had. "It means she feels faint all the time." the girl said. The other nodded with sudden understanding. "Well, we'll let you rest. Will you be at dinner? I hear we have a guest today!" the girl said to Geneve. A guest? Who could this be? Maybe a new teacher, or another ministry official? Geneve's head swam. "Um... I'll see how I feel." she turned over and faced away from the girls. When they had left the room, Geneve pulled out the parchment Nikolaus had given her. She reached into her bedside table and pulled out a quill and some ink. "I hear someone new has arrived at Hogwarts. You had better make an appearance at dinner. I can't explain it, but I have this.... awful feeling....." Her curvy writing disappeared into the page. Geneve blinked once, twice, waiting for a response. But then exhaustion took over and she fell asleep without knowing what Nikolaus had repiled.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2095 Location: Boycotting All Future Warner Brothers Films	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 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.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2095 Location: Boycotting All Future Warner Brothers Films	Posted: Wednesday 8 October 2008 01 12 42 pm    Post subject: Re: Albus Potter and the Tracks They Left Behind in topic:Albus Potter and the Tracks They Left Behind Thanks, Obladi! I try to have Kaden use Muggle expressions like 'crap' instead of wizard ones like 'Merlin'. Although I'm not entirely sure if 'crap' is a common term used by British kids. Questions, comments, and general reviews are always appreciated! Chapter 26: Filch? Dancing?! Albus and John were immediately bombarded by Kaden when they entered the common room. Rose, Amanda, and Matt were standing just behind Kaden with smirks on their faces. "Did your cauldron really explode?" Kaden asked excitedly. "The potion did," John replied, "And it was completely Goyle's fault, really. I gave him directions as to what to do and he screwed it up." "You know," Rose said, "You're not exactly the best potion brewer either, John." "Are you two all right?" Amanda asked. "Oh, yeah. Madam Pomfrey sorted everything out," Albus assured her. "So what are you doing tonight, Albus?" Kaden asked excitedly as he followed Albus and John to the dormitory door. Albus groaned inwardly. He had been planning on grabbing a quick dinner with his friends after he changed robes, and then head to the Room to try out the new map. They had all the paw prints (John had gone up to the dormitory ahead of Albus with the rat and got the print from it. Albus didn't want to know what happened to the rat afterwards) now, so Albus was impatient to try it out. But they wouldn't be able to if Kaden was around. "Dunno," Albus shrugged. Kaden spent the entire evening with Albus and his friends. Normally, this really wouldn't have bothered Albus, but that night his cousin was driving him mad. All Albus wanted to do was try out the map, but he couldn't think up a good excuse for them to go somewhere and not let Kaden follow. So they spent the evening in the common room, working on homework. Albus and his friends were far too busy the next few days to try out the new map. Albus had Quidditch practice on Tuesday and Thursday and dueling practice on Wednesday. Rose had dueling practice on Friday. John normally had his practice on Saturday, but due to the Quidditch match, it had been rescheduled for Sunday. Any bit of time where neither Albus or his friends had any practices, Kaden was around. It wasn't until Saturday, following Slytherin's spectacular loss to Ravenclaw, that they were finally able to try out the map. Kaden had been recruited to tutor a fellow first year in Potions and was going to be spending a few hours in the dungeons after the Quidditch match. "Come on, let's go try it now," Albus whispered to his friends after Kaden left the common room. "Got the prints?" Matt asked. Albus nodded and grabbed his bag. They quickly left the common room and ran for the Room of Requirement. They almost bumped into a Ravenclaw prefect, but luckily he was feeling generous and didn't scold them for running in the corridors. Matt paced three times in front of the empty wall and as soon as the door appeared, the five friends ran inside. Albus set his bag down on the table and everyone crowded around it. Albus pulled out all four prints and the map. "All right," Albus unfolded the map, "Rose, you're good with the charm, right?" Rose nodded, "I've practiced it and it works every time." "Good," Albus stared at the map, unsure of how to begin, "Er, maybe I should do what I did last time to get it to tell us we've got to prove we know the Marauders?" "Probably," Rose agreed. "Wait!" John shouted, "Can I do it this time?" "Sure," Albus shrugged and handed John the map. "Excellent," John grinned and pointed his wand at the map, "I solemnly swear that I am Messr Padfoot." Ink appeared on the map, but not nearly as much as when Albus had done it earlier in the year. 'No, you're not.' The ink disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. "What?" John shouted, "But it worked last time!" Albus's hopes plummeted. Why wasn't it working now? Was it on some kind of a timer? Like it could only work on a certain day of the month? He had been so excited about getting the new map to work, and now it wouldn't even tell them to prove they knew the Marauders. "Let me try," Matt grabbed the parchment and pointed his wand at it, "I solemnly swear that I am Messr Moony." 'No, you're not.' The map said once again. "This sucks," John muttered, "It worked last time." "Maybe it's got to be Albus," Rose suggested. Albus wordlessly grabbed the map and pointed his own wand at it, "I solemnly swear that I am Messr Prongs." The ink he had been expecting to appear rose to the surface of the parchment and formed the familiar words. 'Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs welcome you to the Marauder's Map, Second Edition.' "Ha!" Albus grinned in excitement, "There it is!" "But why didn't it work for us?" John asked dejectedly. "Does that mean we can't be Padfoot and Moony?" "Dunno," Albus sighed. He really hoped his friends would be able to be Padfoot and Moony. Who else could be Padfoot and Moony? The map wouldn't even work without someone to be Padfoot, Moony, and Wormtail. Albus couldn't do it alone. 'Mr. Prongs disagrees with you and insists that you are not Prongs. However, you could be the second Prongs.' "See? Why didn't it say 'However, you could be the second Padfoot' when I did it?" 'When four boys, who are Gryffindors, are linked together through friendship and mischief, they may present themselves as the next generation of Marauders. These four friends must each represent one of the Marauders, for if even one is missing, this map will not work. Before this goes any further, you must prove that you know the secrets of the Marauders. Prove that you know, and you may continue along the path of discovery.' 'The path of discovery? I never knew you were so poetic, Mr. Prongs.' 'Oh, believe me, Mr. Padfoot, I am not. Mr. Moony came up with that whole thing.' 'Then I pay my compliments on the wording to Mr. Moony.' 'Mr. Moony advises that whomever is reading this ignore Mr. Prongs and Mr. Padfoot and start proving that they know the Marauders.' 'Mr. Padfoot agrees with Mr. Moony and also advises that if whomever is reading this has no idea who the Marauders are, that they quit while they're ahead.' 'The Marauders wish you good luck.' "Well, now what?" John asked. "I guess we've just got to transfer the paw prints," Albus said tentatively. Rose picked up the paw prints and the map, setting them down in front of her. She pulled out her wand and muttered an incantation at the werewolf print. Then she muttered another incantation at the map. The werewolf print appeared on the map, just as it had been on the other piece of parchment. "That, was bloody amazing," John said in awe. Albus agreed. He was forever grateful that his cousin was so brilliant. Albus didn't think he'd ever be able to pull off something like that. At least not until he was at least in fifth year. Rose repeated the procedure with the dog, stag, and rat prints, positioning them in the exact same way that the little mark that the Marauders had put on the map. "There," she said once she was done. The five friends stared at the map for a few seconds, waiting for something to happen. The paw prints weren't doing anything and neither was the map. No new ink had appeared and the paw prints weren't disappearing or anything. "Er," Albus began, "Maybe I've got to tell the map that we know the Marauders?" "Worth a shot," John shrugged. Albus pulled the map over to him and tapped his wand to it, "I, Albus Severus Potter, the second Prongs, know the Marauders." The paw prints quickly faded until there was nothing left but a blank parchment. Albus glanced up and looked at his friends before returning his gaze to the new map. 'Prongs agrees that you do know the Marauders, and is especially impressed that you managed to get a werewolf paw print.' "It worked!" Albus shouted happily. 'Due to your obvious knowledge of the Marauders' secrets, we shall now tell you more about this map. When the Marauders were seventh years, they realized that within a few short months, they would be gone from Hogwarts, and the school would be left without their chief mischief makers. 'Prongs suggested-' 'Do you always talk about yourself in the third person, Prongs?' 'Only when I have a stroke of brilliance, Padfoot.' 'Not too often then, right?' 'Oh, get on with the explanation, Prongs.' 'Calm yourself, Moony. You're letting your furry self show.' 'Shut it, Prongs.' 'All right. Anyway, I (happy now, Padfoot?) had a stroke of brilliance that the Marauders could find a way to ensure that they would never be gone from Hogwarts.' "I knew it!" Rose shouted in glee, "I knew that was what this was about!" 'The Marauders decided to create another map. The first map was only the beginning. The Marauders wanted to find a way to put themselves into a map, in order to help the next generation of mischief makers. That is what this map is about. 'However, not just anyone would be able to have access to the map.' 'Yeah, we wouldn't want any old dunderheads stumbling upon it.' 'Right, Padfoot. Or even worse, having Slytherins get their slimy paws on it.' 'I shudder at that thought, Moony. Anyway, the Marauders had to figure out a way to ensure that only those worthy would be able to access this map. The Marauder's Map is actually quite simple to figure out, compared to this one. All you have to do to open that is say a certain phrase. For this map, you have to be a certain person to open it. 'You may or may not have figured out that in order to get the first bit of information out of this map, you have to be a blood relative of one of the Marauders. However, not everyone representing the Marauders must be related. Because, you know, we might not all have kids.' 'Yeah, you wouldn't want to be passing along any genes, Prongs.' 'Better mine than yours, Padfoot.' "That's why only Albus could do it!" John shouted. Albus felt immense relief from this. John and Matt would be able to represent Padfoot and Moony. "So really, only James, Lily, Teddy, my dad, and I could get it open," Albus said. 'The rest of you must be Gryffindor boys, because we want you to be like us.' 'Lily won't like that, Prongs.' 'I know, Moony, but Lily doesn't know about this. I don't plan on telling her, either.' "Guess that counts out my sister," Albus commented. 'So, now you've proven that you know the Marauders. Your next step is to prove that you are the next Marauders.' The ink slowly faded once again until the parchment was as blank as before. Albus stared at it for a few moments, thinking about what he had just found out. The map wasn't going to work yet. He had been so sure that all they'd have to do was prove they knew the Marauders. But now they had yet another thing to do. They had to prove that they were the next Marauders. How were they going to do that? "That was weird," John said. "I'll say," Matt agreed, "They didn't even really tell us what it was a map of." "Yeah, they just said they wanted to make sure they'd never leave Hogwarts. Like the map is a part of them," John replied. "To be honest, it sounds a bit like a Horcrux," Rose commented. "Yeah, but it's not like they put their souls in there, Rose," Albus pointed out. "It's like the Marauder's Map. It's just enchanted." "I still wish we knew what it was a map of," John muttered, "I mean, this isn't fair! We spend weeks getting those paw prints and we still haven't figured the map out." "I knew you'd have to do something like this," Rose said, "Otherwise it wouldn't matter if there were four of you to represent the Marauders. If it was just this, Albus could have done the whole thing himself." She made a good point. Albus hadn't really thought about that, but it was true. They had to do something that required each of them to represent one of the Marauders. "I guess we've got to prove we are the Marauders, then," Albus said, "Wonder what that involves." "Maybe we've got to do something the Marauders would have done," Matt suggested. "Like become illegal Animagi?" John grinned mischievously. "No!" Matt sighed, "I told you, you're not doing that!" "I don't think that's it," Rose began, "How would you go about proving to a piece of paper that you're illegal Animagi?" "Maybe we've got to pull a huge prank or something," Albus said. "Again, how would you prove that to the map?" Rose asked. "Well, does anyone have any other ideas?" Albus asked. "We'll think of something," Amanda said, "I mean, there's got to be a way." "Of course their is!" Rose said, "We've just got to go to the library and see if we can find anything there." "We can't do anything anyway until you've got that Sileo Altus charm down, Rose," Albus pointed out. "Right," Rose replied, "It's coming along well. I just need to get some practice. Anyone want to be my tester?" "I will!" John shouted and jumped up out of his chair. "Ok, come here," Rose got up and went to the other side of the room. Albus watched as the two of them worked. First, they had to think up a secret, which took a good bit of time. John finally suggested that the secret be 'Filch likes to dance in the moonlight with a long handle mop with Frank Sinatra music playing in the background.' Albus burst out laughing at that. "Filch? Dancing?" "Yes," John said in a serious tone, "I saw him once. He was rubbing the mop head to his face and had on a look of pure joy." "And soon you won't be able to tell anyone about it," Amanda grinned. "What a shame." "Yes, it is, isn't it?" John laughed. "You lot can still spread it around, though." "Ok, John, let's try it," Rose said. Rose pointed her wand at herself and recited the charm that would make her the secret keeper. Then, she pointed her wand at John and said a slightly different charm. "Now you say the secret, John." "Filch likes to dance in the moonlight with a long handle mop with Frank Sinatra music playing in the background," John smirked. "Good," Rose replied and then performed another charm on John. "I'm not ready to try including other people yet, so John will only be able to talk about Filch's little habit to me." Rose waved her wand around in an intricate pattern and then said one last incantation. She lowered her wand and stared at John. Then she turned to face Albus. "There. Now you can try asking him about it, Albus." Albus grinned, "All right. So, John, heard anything interesting about Filch lately?" "Yeah!" John shouted, "Actually, just the other night I saw him and he was-" John's mouth continued moving but no sound was coming out of it. Albus and Amanda burst out laughing. John looked like a fish out of water. "I think it worked!" Albus shouted. Rose was staring at John with a slight look of disappointment. "Not quite. He wasn't even supposed to be able to move his mouth. You know, in case people can read lips. I guess it's a start, though." "Definitely. I mean, this is a really advanced charm. You can't have e