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DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2495 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Sunday 6 September 2009 11 24 22 am    Post subject: Re: In Moonlight's Shadow in topic:In Moonlight's Shadow Thanks hprocks! Chapter 60: Cannons Quidditch The next day reminded me of the previous summer. Dad was at work and the rest of us spent the day at home, basically being lazy. I brewed potions and then Mum reluctantly let Matt go exploring in the bush with me. She didn't really need to worry. I knew my way around that bush and it was a warm day with hardly a cloud in the sky. Very strange for Britain. It reminded me of Australia. Uncle Jack flew in very early on Saturday morning. By very early I mean that his plane arrived in London at 5:30. I went with Dad to meet him, but Mum and Matt stayed home. They were both asleep. Mum was awake by the time we got back home around 6:30. We stopped in Diagon Alley to pick up muffins for brekkie. I had never seen Diagon Alley so empty before. It seemed like the ideal time to go grocery shopping. “Now this is a house!” Jack announced as soon as he walked inside. He stood in the doorway looking around with a big grin on his face. “I thought of you as soon as we first saw it,” Dad smirked. “It's my kind of place,” Jack said as he walked into the living room. “Jack,” Mum walked into the room, “How was your flight?” “Same as usual,” Jack replied, “How have you been?” Mum and Dad updated Jack on their lives as we walked into the kitchen. Dad set the muffins down on the table and we all settled down to eat. “Are you liking Hogwarts any better now, Amy?” Uncle Jack asked me. “Yeah,” I shrugged, “It's nothing like Australia, but I'm getting used to it. But I don't think I'll ever get used to watching Quidditch matches in the middle of blizzards. I don't know why Professor Kendrick doesn't just postpone them.” “Probably because there just aren't enough Saturdays with good weather here during the Quidditch season,” Uncle Jack explained. “I just hope it's warm when we go to that Cannons match this week,” I said. We saved a few muffins for Matt and then gave Uncle Jack the grand tour of the house. He absolutely loved my new potions room and the big library upstairs. We stayed in there for a while because Uncle Jack wanted to browse through Dad's books. “I didn't know you had half of these,” Jack said as he picked up one of the numerous books on lycanthropy. “Feel free to borrow any of them,” Dad said, “I've read all of them anyway.” “All of them?” Jack raised his eyebrows. “All of the ones on lycanthropy,” Dad said quietly. “You should write a book on lycanthropy,” Jack replied. “I probably could,” Dad said. Once we finished giving Uncle Jack the tour of the house, I played chess against him in the living room. He won every single match. That was one thing I liked about Uncle Jack; he never let me win anything. When I was younger, my parents always let me win games. Uncle Jack never did. He never let Matt win anything either. “Uncle Jack!” Matt came running down the stairs a little while later. He promptly tripped over Uncle Jack's suitcase and landed on top of our chess board, much to the dismay of the chessmen. “Careful,” Jack said as he pulled Matt onto his lap, “You all right?” “Fine,” Matt shrugged, “When did you get here?” “About three hours ago,” Uncle Jack replied. “You should've woken me up,” Matt said. “Your parents don't like it when people wake you up,” Uncle Jack told him. “Want to go explore the bush?” Matt asked him, “Amy, do you want to?” “Of course,” I grinned. “You have to eat brekkie first,” Mum told Matt, “There's muffins in the kitchen.” Matt decided to just eat his muffins as we were walking to the bush. The hours flew by while we were out there and we didn't return home until it began to sprinkle and it was time for lunch. I could've stayed out longer, though. Uncle Jack is probably my favorite person to go exploring with. He knows so much random stuff about wildlife. Even in England, a place he has only visited and never lived before, he had so much to tell us about the plants and animals we saw. One thing that I found really interesting was that you could brew a potion to negate the effects of poisonous snake venom with dandelion roots, maple leaves, and bark from a pine tree. The whole weekend and beginning of the following week passed much like that day had. Matt, Uncle Jack, and I would go exploring everyday. Mum and Dad would occasionally join us. Jack introduced himself to the farmer who lived next door and they talked for quite a while about growing vegetables. ****** Matt was the first one up the day of the Chudley Cannons match. I couldn't remember the last time he had been the first one to wake up in the morning. I guess there was something about the anticipation of seeing Quidditch players clad in orange robes lose spectacularly to another team that caused one to not need a full night's sleep. “Amy, wake up!” “Huh?” I blinked and saw Matt, clad in his oversized Cannons jersey, with a big grin on his face. “What time is it?” “Seven o'clock,” he replied. “You're up,” I yawned, “Really early.” “I know.” “The match isn't until two,” I groaned. “I know,” he said and then ran out of the room. Despite the earliness, I was very happy to see him so excited. I honestly couldn't remember the last time I had seen him this excited about something and that was kind of sad. Maybe I didn't like Quidditch that much. Maybe the idea of watching Matt's new favorite team get their arses kicked didn't interest me. But I was going to pretend to be excited for Matt's sake. Going back to bed was a fruitless effort, so I went downstairs and found that Mum and Dad were awake as well. They were both drinking cups of coffee while Matt rattled off Chudley Cannons statistics. “And in 1972 they changed their motto to 'Let's just cross our fingers and hope for the best',” Matt said, “It used to be 'We shall conquer', but they hadn't won the league since 1892, and they still haven't.” “Morning, Amy,” Dad said. “Morning,” I replied as I dug through the cabinets for some cereal, “Uncle Jack still asleep?” “Yeah, I couldn't get him up,” Matt shrugged. “You get your ability to sleep through anything from him,” Dad smirked, “I used to shave off his eyebrows in his sleep when we were kids. He never once woke up while I did it.” “Did you know that Dragomir Gorgovitch holds the record for most Quaffle drops in one season?” Matt asked, “He used to play for the Cannons.” “That's not something to be proud of,” Dad laughed. “I don't think he is,” Matt replied, “But he's famous for it.” By the time afternoon arrived and it was time for the match, I knew more Chudley Cannons trivia than I ever cared to. Matt was still reading the trivia book out loud as we left the house and walked to the end of our property to Apparate. The only reprieve I got from his trivia reading was during the side-along Apparition. I went with Dad and Matt went with Uncle Jack. The Quidditch pitch was located in Exmoor National Park, which I had never heard of before we got there. There were a lot of people Apparating nearby the pitch and most of them were clad in blue and gold. A very small, but boisterous, group was wearing bright orange. It appeared that there were far more Puddlemere United fans than Cudley Cannons fans. There was a wizard taking tickets near the door to the pitch and Dad handed him all of ours. We followed the signs to the top level of stands and located our seats. They were very good. With Quidditch, it's best to be higher up in the stands. Then you don't have to crane your neck to see what's going on. We were surrounded by Puddlemere United fans. A fair few of them had painted their faces blue and gold and all of them were wearing jerseys. My family looked quite out of place. Matt because of his Cannons jersey and the rest of us because of our lack of jerseys. “Welcome to the Puddlemere United versus Chudley Cannons match at the Exmoor pitch!” a wizard announced, “The match will commence shortly. Please find your seats.” Five minutes later, the wizard was back to commentating. “The teams have walked out onto the pitch! Captain Spencer Wilson of Puddlemere United is shaking hands with Captain Francis Piedmont of the Chudley Cannons. The teams mount their brooms, and they're off!” I watched as all fourteen players flew into the air. One of the Puddlemere players took immediate possession of the Quaffle and scored a goal within two minutes. The Puddlemere fans sitting near us jumped up and started shouting and high-fiving each other. Puddlemere scored three goals shortly after and they performed the same ritual after each goal. “Damorofitz of the Cannons is in possession!” the commentator shouted, “Oh, and he dropped it.” I glanced over at Matt and saw that he was paying rapt attention. He didn't look that disappointed for someone whose team was losing 0-50. This Quidditch match was unlike any I had seen before. Most of the Quidditch matches I'd been to had been at school. The main difference was that I was pretty sure the Chudley Cannons were worse than any of the teams at Hogwarts or Australia. I had never seen such an awful Quidditch team before. It was kind of weird that any of the players had made it to professional Quidditch, due to their apparent lack of skill. “Damorofitz has hold of the Quaffle again!” the commentator said, “And he's flying down the pitch. And he's still flying down the pitch! Merlin, he's done it! Damorofitz of the Chudley Cannons has scored their first goal of the match.” Matt started jumping up and down and cheering. The Puddlemere fans looked at him and smiled. I overheard the one who was sitting next to me say how adorable he was. I could sort of see why. He was the only one in our general vicinity rooting for the Cannons (well, the rest of my family was, but not nearly as vigorously as Matt was) and he was wearing a very oversized jersey. Plus, before the match started, he had asked Uncle Jack to write 'Go Cannons' on his forehead in orange marker. “If they catch the Snitch, they'll win!” Matt said excitedly. The Puddlemere fans stifled their laughs and we all got back to watching the match. “Puddlemere is in possession,” the commentator went on, “They are passing the Quaffle faster than the Cannons can keep up. And, oh! Beater Loyd of the Cannons has somehow managed to hit a Bludger at himself. Seeker Biner has managed to catch him as he fell off his broom. Well, now we know Biner can catch something, even if it's not the Snitch. Medi-wizards have ran onto the field to assist Loyd. Looks like the Cannons will have to bring in a reserve beater.” It soon became apparent that the Cannons' reserve beater couldn't hit Bludgers at anything, not even himself. Every time he swung his bat, he would nearly fall off his broom. The Cannons did manage to score a few more goals during the first half hour of the match, bringing the score to 100-30 Puddlemere. Matt cheered loudly every time the Cannons scored, earning him more of those grins adults give children when they're being cute from the Puddlemere fans. “Seeker Avon of Puddlemere is now flying straight towards the middle of the Cannons goal posts!” the commentator said, “And Seeker Biner did some sort of turn around move, not sure what that was, and is now trying to follow Avon. Ouch! Bludger to the stomach for Biner. That must hurt.” Avon made it to the goal posts and pulled up with his hand clamped around what must have been the Snitch. All the Puddlemere fans stood up and started cheering. I stood up just to see what was going on. Uncle Jack lifted Matt up to see what was going on. “Avon has caught the Snitch! Puddlmere wins 260-30!” Medi-wizards were once again flocking the pitch and I saw them carry Biner away on a stretcher. Two of the Cannons' players had been injured in one match. “So, you're a Cannons fan?” the witch sitting next to me asked Matt. “Yeah,” he nodded. “Well, better luck next time,” she smiled and then went back to cheering with everyone else. It took us a while to leave the stands, but eventually we found our way back into the park. “How did you like the match?” Dad asked Matt. “It was brilliant!” Matt said, “I mean, it's not brilliant that the Cannons lost, but it was still fun. I didn't really expect them to win. They just need some new players. They would've won if their Seeker was better.” And their Keeper, Beaters, and Chasers, I thought. It was nice that Matt was so optimistic about it. He could have been their spokesperson for their motto. If there was anyone who was crossing his fingers and hoping for the best, it was Matt. We went to Diagon Alley because my parents needed to do some shopping and then we had dinner at the Leaky Cauldron because Uncle Jack really liked that place. I did, too, and we didn't eat there nearly as often as I would've liked. Hannah Longbottom, makes the best sandwiches I've ever had in my life. “How much more school do you have?” Matt asked me as he ate his bacon sandwich. “A little less than two months, I think,” I replied. “I hope it goes by fast because Mum never lets me go exploring in the bush by myself,” Matt said. “We can go exploring all the time in the summer,” I told him, “What are we going to do this summer anyway? Can we go on a holiday?” “Possibly,” Dad shrugged, “We haven't really been on a proper holiday in a few years.” That was for sure. The only times we had traveled recently was to look at houses. After we went back home we played a few rounds of Gobstones before Matt went to bed. Then I read in the living room while listening to Mum, Dad, and Uncle Jack's conversation. “We should go to more Quidditch matches,” Mum said, “I haven't seen Matt that happy in months.” “It was definitely a success,” Dad agreed, “If we had done that nine months ago, he would've spent the whole time too scared to watch.” “He's changed so much since I last saw him,” Uncle Jack commented. “We owe it all to Healer Norlam,” Dad said, “The man can work miracles.” “It's you two as well,” Jack said, “You never give yourselves enough credit.” “Perhaps,” Dad mused, “But we really couldn't have done it without Norlam.” I hadn't really thought about it until my parents brought it up, but Matt really was a lot different. He hadn't been afraid of anyone at that Quidditch match and it had been very crowded. “He'll never get completely over it, though,” Dad said quietly, “He'll never be the same.” “Of course not,” Uncle Jack agreed, “People never stay the same. None of us are the same as we were when we were eight. Our experiences change us.” “He's had experiences I wish he'd never had,” Dad sighed. “I wish he hadn't, either, but we can't change the past. I'm not entirely convinced horrible experiences are bad for us, either. They make us appreciate the good times. Of course, I'd give anything to change the past so that Matt didn't have to go through all of that.” “You've always been the optimist,” Dad said, “You see the good in everything.” “I try,” Uncle Jack shrugged. The room lapsed into comfortable silence and I got absorbed in my book once again. I went to bed a little while later and dreamt that Matt was the Chudley Cannons Seeker. And that his clumsy self was the best player on the team. ****** The remainder of the holiday went by fast. I brewed potions with Uncle Jack while Matt begged my parents to let him join us. That was one thing they were still very overprotective with, him brewing potions. They refused to let him brew with me before he had potions class at Hogwarts. I was kind of happy about that because as much as I liked spending time with Matt now, I liked being able to brew alone. Mum, Dad, and Uncle Jack went out to dinner one evening without Matt and I because they needed 'adult time'. That was a sign that Mum thought I was mature because she had never let Matt stay home alone with me in the evenings before. Uncle Jack flew back to New York on Saturday, the day before I went back to Hogwarts. We all went to the airport to see him off. His visit had gone by fast and I was sad to see him leave. He didn't know when he'd next be able to visit. Everyone went with me to King's Cross the next day s well. I wasn't really that sad about going back to Hogwarts. I would miss my family, but there was less than two months of school left and I was looking forward to seeing Victoire again. I spent the entire train ride doing the homework I had neglected to do over the holiday. One thing I wasn't looking forward to about going back to school was the fact that exams were coming up. I had yet to hear anything good about Hogwarts end of the year exams. It was already dark by the time the train pulled into Hogsmeade. I climbed into one of the four carriages along with three students I didn't know. We arrived at the castle just in time for dinner and I squeezed in between Victoire and Landon at the Gryffindor table. “How was your holiday?” Victoire asked. “Fun,” I grinned, “My uncle was there for a week and we went to a Chudley Cannons match.” Teddy and Landon burst out laughing. Teddy started coughing and turned red as he caught his breath. Then they both looked at each other and laughed some more. “What?” I asked. “How badly did they lose?” Teddy smirked. “50-260,” I replied. “Not so bad, then,” Teddy said, “50 points in a match, that's not bad for the Cannons. But why in the name of Merlin did you go to one of their matches? Do you support them? I know you're new to British Quidditch and all, but there are so much better teams out there.” “Matt supports them,” I answered, “I got him a Cannons jersey for Christmas and he's been obsessed with them ever since.” “Why a Cannons jersey?” Landon asked. “They're the underdog,” I shrugged, “And my brother's always kind of been an underdog. I thought it was appropriate.” “Wow, another Cannons fan,” Victoire sighed, “My Uncle Ron will be excited about this. He's the world's biggest Cannons fan.” The rest of dinner was spent with Teddy and Landon explaining the details of all the British Quidditch teams, which to be honest, was not that interesting. The only interesting bit of information they told me was that one of the Montrose Magpies' current Chasers played for the Cannons for a year before joining the Magpies. Apparently she was the best player the Cannons had had in decades. Victoire and I stayed up late talking about everything except Quidditch. By the time I crawled into my four-poster bed I was very content. I realized that it was the first time I went to bed completely happy and calm at Hogwarts. And that was a nice feeling.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2495 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Sunday 30 August 2009 09 47 40 am    Post subject: Re: In Moonlight's Shadow in topic:In Moonlight's Shadow Thanks hprocks and Wratha! Nope, not going to stop writing! Well, I have actually finished writing this story, but there's more to post! Chapter 59: Moaning Myrtle “Victoire, Victoire, wake up!” I hissed as I nudged her arm. I had woken up two minutes ago and realized we were still in the Room of Requirement. That and it was nine o'clock, which was when we were supposed to be in double potions. “What is it?” she yawned. “It's after nine o'clock,” I told her, “We're late for potions.” “Shit!” she shouted and jumped off the pink couch. We ran out of the Room as fast as we could and went back to Gryffindor Tower. It took us five minutes to change and grab our books before running all the way down to the dungeons. We skipped brekkie. Everyone was already brewing when we slowly pushed open the door to the dungeon. Slughorn was at his desk. “You two are late,” he announced as we walked in. “Sorry, sir,” we said at the same time. “We're brewing in pairs today, so you two can work together,” Slughorn told us, “And five points from Gryffindor for your tardiness.” Victoire and I set to work at brewing that day's potion. Willinson was nowhere near us, so we didn't have to deal with his comments. It didn't seem to matter that we were late since the potion didn't need the entire two classes to simmer. Slughorn even pronounced it excellent when we handed in our flask at the end of class. “That's probably the best I've ever done in potions,” Victoire said as we left, “I think I'll brew with you every class.” “Then you can help me in Transfiguration,” I said. “Sure,” Victoire said, “I just desperately need to do better in potions next year if I want to become a Healer.” In the chaos that had been waking up late and nearly missing potions, I had completely forgotten about the full moon. It was the first time that had happened since before Matt was bitten. I was immediately reminded when Jasper showed up at lunch, however. “Oh, he's a nice owl,” Victoire commented. “Thanks,” I said, “He's my parents' owl.” “Is that about the detention?” Victoire gestured to the letter. “Probably,” I said as I put it in my robes, “I'll open it later.” “At least you didn't get a howler,” Teddy said as he sat down, “You two missed it this morning. My gran sent it. She sends a mean howler.” “I've never gotten one,” I said. “Consider yourself lucky,” Teddy replied, “I get at least two every year. Once I got one from my gran and Victoire's grandma for the same thing.” “Which is why I'm not depressed that I missed this one,” Victoire smirked, “I'm sure I'll get to see another soon.” I opened the letter after classes were over. Victoire had to go talk to Slughorn about doing extra credit for potions, so I went to the Room and read the letter in private. [i]Dear Amy, How is school? We miss you a lot. Things are pretty much the same at home. Nothing unusual happened during the full moon. We got a letter from Professor Longbottom about you being disruptive in the library. That's not like you. We'll talk about it over the Easter holiday. Speaking of Easter, Uncle Jack was able to get a few days off work and he's going to come and visit. Write soon and we'll see you in a month! Love, Mum, Dad, Matt, and Ellie[/i] I grinned as I folded the letter up, despite the fact that my parents wanted to talk about the incident in the library. Uncle Jack was going to visit! He had never seen our house in England. The best part was that he was coming while I was home. “Are your parents angry about the library thing?” Victoire asked when she returned with her extra credit. “They want to talk about it over Easter,” I groaned. “Oh, you're going home for Easter?” Victoire asked. “Er, yeah,” I said, “Don't most people?” “No,” Victoire shook her head, “Most of us just stay here and study for our exams.” “Well, my uncle's coming to visit over the holiday, so I'm definitely coming home. He lives in New York and we don't see him a lot,” I explained. “That'll be fun, then,” Victoire said. ****** Three months and five days. That was how long it had been since Olivia sent me a letter. Her owl showed up a week after the full moon and I dug through her old letters to find out exactly how long it had been. I sat on my bed holding the letter in my hands, staring at it. Why had she waited three months to send me a letter? What made her send one now? The door opened and Victoire walked into the room. “Want to go to the kitchens with me? I'm starved.” I didn't reply. I had never been to the kitchens and on any other day I may have wanted to go. “Amy?” Victoire asked, “Are you ok?” “Olivia sent me a letter,” I said, “After three months of not sending one.” “Have you opened it?” Victoire asked as she sat down on my bed. I shook my head. “Open it,” she said. I nodded and started ripping the envelope open. I pulled the letter out and read it silently, not even caring if Victoire read it over my shoulder. [i]Amy, I'm really sorry I haven't written you back until now. I guess I just got busy. Fifth year started a few months ago. The amount of work is insane. How have you been? How is Hogwarts? Are you still really behind in your classes? I hope you made some new friends. How's your brother doing? I don't know exactly how to tell you this, so I'm just going to say it. Lisa is sharing my dorm with me now. She and Carmen had this huge fight and she asked for a dorm change this year. They assigned her to our room. I was really mad about it at first, because I didn't want another roommate ever. But she's honestly not that bad. I think she was rude to us because of Carmen. I'm going to her house for Easter. I'll try and let you know how it goes, but I'll apologize in advance if I don't send letters as often. You'll always be my friend, but it's just hard because we never see each other. Even when you're in Australia we can't see each other. Your friend, Olivia[/i] I set the letter down on my bed and squeezed my eyes shut. Victoire put her hand on my shoulder, which told me that she had read the letter. I should have known it was coming. How can two people stay best friends when they never see each other? Olivia would see Lisa all the time. They were now roommates like Olivia and I had once been. Olivia was going to Lisa's house. After they'd been friends for three months. Olivia didn't go to my house until a little over a year ago. “Do you want to write her back?” Victoire asked quietly. “I'll do it later,” I stuffed the letter back into the envelope and put it in my trunk, “Show me the kitchens.” Victoire nodded and we left Gryffindor Tower. She didn't say one word about the letter on our way to the kitchens, which I was grateful for. I didn't want to talk about it. The kitchens were under the Great Hall, behind a large portrait of a bowl of fruit. All you had to do to get in was tickle the pear and a doorknob would appear. “How do you know so much about the castle?” I asked. “That map Teddy was talking about,” Victoire said, “And my aunts and uncles know more about this place than Kendrick probably does.” I never found the kitchens in Australia, so I was amazed by the kitchens at Hogwarts. It was one very large room filled with tables, ovens, and more food than I had ever seen in my life. There were more House Elves than I had ever seen in my life and five of them ran up to us when we walked in. “Can we get yous anything?” one of them asked. “Chocolate cake,” Victoire said immediately and then looked at me. “Anything I want?” I asked. “Yep,” Victoire nodded. “Chocolate ice cream with whipped cream,” I said. The House Elves left and Victoire and I waited near the door. “They just get you anything you want whenever you want?” I asked. “Yeah,” Victoire said, “They love it when students come down here.” “Is this against the rules?” I asked. “I'm not even sure,” Victoire shrugged, “Everyone who knows where the kitchens are comes down here.” One of the House Elves returned a few minutes later with a large slab of chocolate cake and a huge bowl of chocolate ice cream. We went up to the Room of Requirement to eat it and I imagined what Matt was going to think when I told him you could get chocolate cake and ice cream whenever you wanted at Hogwarts. ****** My friendship with Victoire reminded me of a potion that would refuse to boil for a half hour and then all of a sudden it would boil over the top of the cauldron. For months we had hardly said anything to each other and then all of a sudden, we did everything together. I soon learned that we really had a lot in common. Our family lives couldn't have been anymore different, though. Victoire's family was loud, boisterous, and huge. I soon met all of her cousins that were at Hogwarts, although I'd never remember all of their names. In a way they all reminded me of Kenzie's family. Everyone looked after each other and I almost wished I had that many cousins. Or any first cousins, really. Despite our familial differences, we really were quite alike. Both of us were very studious, even though we had subjects we were awful at. We could both sit in the library reading for hours without talking to anyone. Neither of us were really into Quidditch, although we both had brothers who loved it yet had no skill at it whatsoever. I never mentioned Monica and Victoire never mentioned Olivia. I did write Olivia back, but didn't really expect her to write me again anytime soon. For some reason it didn't even bother me. I had been upset when her letter arrived, but it just didn't bother me anymore. There was still the issue of me keeping secrets from Victoire, though. When the next full moon came, I tried as hard as I could to act normal and not make my worrying too obvious, but I wasn't sure if it worked. It had been the second full moon in a row that I hadn't spent in the Hospital Wing helping Madam Pomfrey. I spent the evening studying with Victoire, Teddy, and Landon, and realized that I didn't want to go bottle potions. Jasper turned up at lunch and it was then that I realized how hard it would be to keep Matt's lycanthropy a secret. Victoire and I spent every second of every day with each other, pretty much. I was going to have to sneak off to the toilet to read the letter. “I'll meet you in Ancient Runes,” I told Victoire as I got up, “I've got to use the toilet.” Victoire nodded and I left. There wasn't much time before Ancient Runes and I was going to have to use the second floor bathroom, which was closest to the Runes classroom. I hated that bathroom. It was always flooded. Actually, I hadn't actually used it yet because the water leaking out of the bottom of the door put me off from it. The bathroom was flooded as usual and I shut myself in a stall to open the letter. It was very short. Mum just told me that Matt was ok and she'd see me in a few days when the Easter holiday started. “Ooo, a letter!” A ghost of a very young girl flew through the stall door. I shrieked. I shrieked like Monica had when Teddy howled during that detention. The ghost laughed manically and flew up to the ceiling. She floated down until she was hovering right in front of me. “Bad news?” she asked excitedly, “From home?” “Er, no,” I said, my heart still pounding fast, “Very good news, actually.” “Well, isn't that just lovely!” the ghost burst out in tears, “Everyone gloats about their good news in front of poor Myrtle! Poor Myrtle doesn't get good news! You want to know why? Because she's dead, that's why!” The ghost (who I presumed was named Myrtle) soared up to the ceiling again and then plunged herself into the toilet. “Er, well, I've got to get to class, then,” I said awkwardly as I left the stall and then ran out of the bathroom as fast as my soaking wet feet could take me. Whenever I thought I was finally getting used to Hogwarts, something weird would happen. The ghost in the bathroom was a perfect example. Back to avoiding the place, I guessed. As it turned out, there was a better reason than a flood to avoid it. “Did you know,” I whispered to Victoire as I slid into the seat next to hers in Ancient Runes, “That there is a mad ghost in the girls' bathroom on the second floor?” Victoire laughed. “Oh, you mean Moaning Myrtle?” “That's an understatement,” I rolled my eyes, “She started crying hysterically and plunged herself into the toilet because I told her my letter from home wasn't bad news.” “That's normal for Myrtle,” Victoire replied, “She's obsessed with death. I mean, even for a ghost, she's obsessed with death. I try to avoid the place.” “I will, too, from now on,” I said. ****** When Victoire said everyone stayed at Hogwarts over the Easter holidays, she meant it. There were probably around 15 people on the Hogwarts Express that Thursday. About half of them were first years and only two were older than me. None of them were students I recognized. I got a compartment to myself, which wasn't all that difficult. It would have been harder to locate a compartment that had someone else in it, actually. The trip was relatively boring and I read for part of it and slept the rest. Dad was the only one waiting for me on the platform when the train arrived in London. He was still wearing his work robes, so I figured he went straight to the station from the Ministry. “Amy,” he gave me a hug, “I missed you.” “Missed you, too,” I said and hugged him back. Dad grabbed my trunk and put his other arm around me and we Apparated home. The house was quiet when we walked through the door. Dad dragged my trunk upstairs while I wandered into the kitchen. Mum and Ellie were cooking dinner and Matt was sitting at the island. He turned around when I came in and jumped off the stool. He ran towards me and threw his arms around me. “Matt,” I picked him up and hugged him, “I missed you.” “I'm glad you're back,” he said as I set him down on the stool, “Uncle Jack's coming on Saturday.” “Oh, is he flying in that day?” I asked Mum. “Yes,” Mum put down a wooden spoon and gave me a hug, “Welcome home.” “So, what are we going to do while he's here?” I asked as I sat down next to Matt. “We're going to a Chudley Cannons match!” Matt said excitedly. “Seriously?” I raised my eyebrows at Mum. The Quidditch World Cup in Australia had been fun, but that was the World Cup. The Cannons were some random British team that apparently were really bad. Going to one of their matches wasn't exactly my idea of fun. “Yes, we're all going,” Mum smiled, “Matt's been begging to go to one ever since you got him that jersey for Christmas. We figured we'd wait until you were home.” “Thanks,” I rolled my eyes. Why had I gotten him that jersey again? “It'll be fun,” Dad said as he walked into the kitchen, “They're playing some team called Puddlemere United.” “If what I've heard is true, Puddlemere United is going to kill the Cannons,” I replied, “So don't bet any money on the Cannons winning.” “No one's betting any money on anything,” Mum said as she set a large bowl of salad on the table. My parents wanted to hear all about school during dinner, so I told them about Victoire, Teddy, and Landon. They looked very happy that I had managed to find friends, but neither of them mentioned my detention. Matt and I played Exploding Snap while Mum and Dad cleaned up the kitchen, until Matt's face was covered in so much ash that Mum made him go wash it. Then Dad beat me in a few rounds of wizard's chess while Matt fell asleep on the couch. I guess he was still tired from the full moon. After Dad carried Matt upstairs to bed, he and Mum sat down on the couch opposite from the chair I was sitting in and I could tell from the looks on their faces that they were going to bring up the detention. “Amy, what happened?” Dad asked quietly. “Remember that girl, Monica?” I sighed, “Well, I was studying with Victoire, Teddy, and Landon in the library....” I told them the entire story. Monica's harsh statements to Victoire, Teddy and Monica's near duel, and the detention itself. Plus, I told them that Victoire and I really hadn't done anything besides yell a bit too loudly in the library. By the time I finished the story, my parents looked relieved. “Just please try to ignore this Monica girl,” Mum sighed and shook her head. “I do,” I replied, “And it'll be easier now that Victoire's not friends with her anymore.” “And don't shout in the library anymore,” Dad said, “You know better than that.” “I know,” I shrugged, “It's just hard to keep quiet when Monica starts talking. She knows how to get to me.” Mum and Dad looked at each other. “We understand,” Dad said quietly. I was pretty sure both he and Mum were thinking about Ralph Lubar. “I'm going to go upstairs,” I said, figuring the conversation was over, “Good night.” My parents said good night back and I went upstairs to my room. I dug some pajamas out of my trunk and climbed into bed after I changed. It was kind of early to go to bed, so I read for a few hours before falling asleep. I was asleep very quickly. Even though I was getting along well with most of my roommates, there was something comforting about sleeping in your own bed. Maybe it was the fact that I didn't have to put a silencing charm around it before drifting off to sleep. Or perhaps it was the solitude of being alone in my room. But I think it was more because I knew I was home, surrounded by the people who cared about me.
Q.Araignee Joined: 4 January 2006 Posts: 4983 Location: Daydreaming about my now fiancé *squee*	Posted: Thursday 13 August 2009 12 18 18 pm    Post subject: Re: Next Generation 2 in topic:Next Generation 2 Well, wasn’t this just lovely? She’d gotten the position as Transfiguration teacher and had managed to not arouse too many odd looks from the students and other staff members. But of course, the one she knew of hadn’t shown up for dinner. Typical. Farissa Feles had woken early to make sure she looked her best, she couldn’t have herself teaching a class with her hair a matted mess. Farissa prided herself on a smart appearance for such things. In not too long, she was suitably presentable and it happened to be about time for breakfast. Normally she preferred to eat alone, but it would be rude to do so on her first proper day here. With a quick look over her robes, frowning at a crease, she headed out of her room and down towards the Great Hall. It was still quiet in the corridors, as most of the students were only just getting up. It made for a opportunity to hum a little lilting tune and hear it echo off the walls around her, adding a beautiful eerie quality to the song. She was just adding her own little twist on it when she saw someone at the end of the corridor who looked to be going downstairs too. Increasing her pace slightly to catch him up, an easy task given he seemed in no particular hurry, she saw it was the Ministry official people had been talking about the night previous. Upon closer inspection, he was an imposing figure indeed. The pale sunlight coming through the windows seemed to illuminate his skin, revealing scars across his face and hands- a man who wasn’t afraid to fight and who could hold his own then. And the look in those stormy eyes as he turned to see who was approaching sent a thrilling chill down her spine. He was apparently an Auror, but Farissa would have bet her paycheck that he was more than that. She smiled politely and held out her hand. “Mister MacCallum, I presume? I am Farissa Feles, now Transfiguration teacher and ex-freelancer.” *** After all his preliminary official business was concluded, Gwydion had retired to his new quarters in the West Tower. There he sorted through his things which had been brought up, carefully laying out his notes on various cases on the desk and his range of tools he placed around the room where he could. All in all, a simple settling in for an extended stay in the Castle. After that, he wrote a quick note to Potter to inform him how his arrival had gone and nipped up to the Owlery to have it sent. The evening was uneventful. Gwydion had a light dinner in his room, this time partaking of a particularly fine German mead with his meal. He watched the sun setting over the grounds as he filled out some paperwork, saw a few kids on brooms having a practice on the pitch- he couldn’t see colours so didn’t attempt to decipher which House they had been from. All in all, a rather pleasant evening. He could just imagine what some of the others thought he may be doing, and smiled at the possibilities conjured up by imagination. But then it was night. Deep, dark, a velvety cloak for his actions. Gwydion prowled the grounds, deciphering what he could about the additional spells that had been cast on them and the Castle- their nature, their probable caster, any miniscule flaws in them that he could exploit to work around...standard part of the job really. The only thing that bothered him was the appearance of two cats sitting on the grass by the lake. Very different, but perfectly amicable to each other. But when he blinked, one of them had disappeared. A curiosity, but cats were never incredibly social with him anyway, so he shrugged it off as a bit of nothing before heading back up the tower to bed. Again, the extent of what he might have been doing amused him. Gwydion woke just early enough to be one of the first down for breakfast. Yes, he could have eaten in his room again, but there was nothing quite like a Hogwarts cooked breakfast. With a quick wash and a shave, he got dressed and began heading down to the Great Hall. As he was walking along the corridor connecting the tower to the main stairs, however, he heard footsteps- too light to be a student, and not yet familiar. Turning slowly, he saw a woman approaching him. Oh, now wasn’t she a pretty one? There would be more than a few of the students appreciating her for more than her teaching skills. There was a predatory look in her eyes, so that even though she was about a foot shorter than him she seemed to be looking him right in the eye. He would guess she was older than him, though she didn’t look it at all. And the colouring of her skin and hair seemed to make her shimmer in the sunlight, reminding Gwydion of Felix Felicis. Curious, given her name... He reached for her hand, and being somewhat of a traditionalist, leant down to place a delicate kiss upon it. “Ms. Feles, it is indeed a pleasure. Would you care to join me for breakfast? I would be most interested in hearing about your freelance work.” As an afterthought, he added “And please, call my Gwydion.” *** Her accepting smile was most charming. “Why yes, that would be lovely Gwydion, thank you. Though may I ask that you in return call me Farissa?” His nod of acquiescence pleased her as she headed down the stairs with him following. Breakfast was a quiet and pleasant affair, though their conversation was somewhat disturbed by the rowdiness of the students. As such, Gwydion suggested they talk later- perhaps in the Staff Room during one of her free lessons. Farissa agreed and they parted ways not long before first lesson. He was indeed a delightful person, she thought, and while his interest may be mistaken for romantic Farissa was sure it was more...professional than that. Though which profession she couldn’t quite decipher. Her first lesson was a NEWT class, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. Their attempts at Transfiguring each other into other forms were not very successful, as to be expected from a group of Sixth years being forced to cast silently with a new and complicated spell. It was entertaining to see some of them sprouting horns in inappropriate places, or random tufts of fur or webbing between the arms. All simple enough for Farissa to fix, and by the end of the lesson some of the brighter students had grasped the basic spell rather well. She set them the homework of meeting up over the coming few days and practising for the next lesson at the end of the week before watching them depart a quarter of an hour early. A nice bunch of kids, if lacking in subtlety and natural talent, but they’d get there in the end. Before the next class, First years if she remembered correctly, Farissa fancied a cup of strong coffee, and quickly locked up the classroom so that she might hurry down to the Staff Room. But it seemed that today was a not a day for spontaneous plans going right. She took the flights of stairs quickly, passing someone on their way up who smelt vaguely familiar but who also passed by rather hurriedly without noticing her, and just as she reached the floor she wished she saw a student in front of her watching another walk away from her. Farissa paused, unsure whether it was appropriate to go see the girl and ask what was going on or not, but the visible drop in her shoulders made Farissa approach. “Excuse me, sorry if I’m intruding my dear, but is everything alright?”
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2495 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Sunday 2 August 2009 12 28 35 pm    Post subject: Re: In Moonlight's Shadow in topic:In Moonlight's Shadow Thanks hprocks! Chapter 56: A Meeting With Professor Kendrick The next few days went by quickly. Matt continued to sleep at night so Mum never had to go buy Dreamless Sleep. Richard took Dad golfing, which apparently turned out interesting. Dad has only been golfing a handful of times, so he's not very good at it. The Muggles who were behind them got kind of angry that Dad was taking so long, so Richard let a whole bunch of Muggles ahead of them. It took all afternoon, but they had fun. Kenzie and two of her sisters came over to swim while Dad and Richard were gone. Mari and Maddie played with Matt while I told Kenzie all about school. Well, I made it sound like a Muggle school. I mostly talked about the other kids in my year. Kenzie's dad barbecued at their house for New Year's Eve. Even Richard and Cinda went, which is kind of funny. It's not that they don't get along, they're just really different. Kenzie's parents have always been more of friends with my parents than my grandparents. "Did Morgan get a mobile phone?" I asked as Kenzie and I sat in a tree in her backyard. Morgan was walking around the yard jabbering away into a tiny phone. One thing I learned from Vivienne, Breanne, and their lot was that mobile phones are very important to girls like them. "Oh, no," Kenzie laughed, "Mum would never get her one. That's Mum's. I don't even have one. Mum'll probably take it away soon, since Morgan's been on it since this morning." "No offense," I said, "But Morgan is just like Breanne and those other girls I don't like." "None taken," Kenzie replied, "I know she is and I have no idea where she got it from. I seriously think she'd love to go live with your grandparents." She gestured to Cinda, who was talking on her own mobile phone. "I'm sure Cinda would love it, too," I said, "Someone to buy expensive clothes for." "Morgan would love to have someone buy them for her." "Your other sisters aren't like that," I said as I watched Mari and Maddie play football with Matt. The term 'playing football' was used loosely, though. Mostly Mari was kicking the ball around the yard and if by some small chance she lost hold of it, Matt would dribble it for a few seconds before Mari took it away again. Maddie mostly chased the other two. "I can't ever see Mari being anything like that," Kenzie said, "She's so sporty. She's better than half the boys her age in football. It's kind of funny. She plays on a co-ed team and she's the star player." "Well, she's got no competition in Matt," I laughed, "He's lucky he doesn't trip over the ball." "Mari!" Kenzie's mum shouted, "Let Matt have a turn with it!" "We're playing a game, Mum, it's not my problem he's loosing!" Mari shouted. "It's too soon to tell with Maddie," Kenzie went on, "She mainly copies the rest of us. When Mari play soccer, Maddie wants to play. When Morgan straightens her hair and puts on make-up, Maddie wants to. When I draw or design stuff on the computer, Maddie wants to." "And Michael?" I asked. Kenzie laughed, "Michael likes to annoy the cat." Both Cinda and Morgan got off the phone when dinner was served. Well, Kenzie's mum took her phone back, much to Morgan's disgust. Morgan spent all of dinner sulking and we pretty much ignored her. Mari wanted to organize a big football match after dinner. Everyone participated except Cinda (because she wasn't wearing the right shoes), Morgan (because she was still sulking), and Michael (for obvious reasons). The teams were Richard, Mrs. Dawe, Mari, me, and Kenzie versus Dad, Mr. Dawe, Mum, Matt, and Maddie. Cinda agreed to be the referee, but she didn't pay much attention. The match was really fun. I hadn't ever played such a huge game of football before. In fact, the extent of my football playing had been kicking the ball around with Matt and Dad in our backyard. So I wasn't very good. Mari was easily the best player, but Mr. Dawe, Mum, Dad, and Kenzie were good as well, so the teams were evenly matched. I even managed to score a few goals against Mum, who was the goalie. Mostly I just passed the ball to Mari since she got the ball past Mum every time. Mari was going to be the star of her school's football team when she got older. She was faster than me and even the adults. I hadn't ever seen a nine-year-old run that fast. However, Mrs. Dawe was not impressed when Mari plowed Maddie over on her way to the goal. It seemed to happen more and more often as it got darker, which didn't surprise me. It was hard to see. The porch lights didn't reach the entire yard. The match was declared over when Mari managed to run into Matt on her way down the yard. She knocked him flat onto his back, which must have been hard to do since he's only a head shorter than her. He didn't get right back up afterwards like Maddie did either. I think he was mostly just shocked that he was knocked over by her. Mum picked him up and took him over to the picnic table while Mrs. Dawe gave Mari a stern lecture about looking where she was going. Our team won due to Mari's scoring abilities. We went inside after that. Dad, Richard, and Mr. Dawe sat in the living room drinking beer and talking about golf, the weather, and who knows what else. Mum and Mrs. Dawe (once she put Michael to bed) talked with each other in the family room. Matt laid down on the couch next to Mum and I doubted he'd stay up until midnight. Cinda gave Morgan a manicure while they talked about clothes and fashion. Mari and Maddie played video games. Kenzie and I just talked. It was so peaceful to spend New Year's Eve at Kenzie's house. So much better than New Year's Eve the previous year. New Year's at Kenzie's house was like what I always imagined holidays would be like if I had a big family with a lot of cousins. Fun, relaxing, and a little chaotic. Kenzie's family was really the closest thing we had to an extended family besides Uncle Jack, Richard, and Cinda. It was almost nice that we couldn't share the fact that we were wizards with them. We could just leave that part of our lives behind and forget about everything for the evening. The remaining hours until midnight went by fast. Matt and Maddie fell asleep on the couch and even Mari had run out of energy and was reading a book in between them. Morgan had received a full makeover from Cinda and was glowing (not from the make-up, either). Dad, Richard, and Mr. Dawe came into the room shortly before midnight. Mrs. Dawe passed around noisemakers and woke up Matt and Maddie. I got a noisemaker and jumped up and down with Kenzie while we counted down the seconds until midnight. "Happy New Year!" I shouted along with anyone else. Kenzie and I hugged each other and then hugged everyone else. This was the way to spend New Year's. Surrounded by your friends, not your grandmother's rich acquaintances. We said goodbye a little while later. All of the little kids were cranky, especially Maddie. She was having a screaming fit as we left. I had no idea when I'd see Kenzie again, but I wasn't sad as we said goodbye. It had been such a happy night. I didn't realize how tired I was until we got back to Richard and Cinda's house. I fell asleep as soon as I got into bed. ****** Mum and Dad woke me up an hour before we had to leave for the airport. Dad had to go back to work in a few days and my holiday from school was nearly over. The flight was uneventful, which I was grateful for. It was strange to be back in England. It had been easy enough to forget about Hogwarts and homework and England while we were in Australia, but as soon as I walked into our house, it all came back. There was an unfamiliar barn owl sitting on the kitchen table. I had no idea how it managed to get into the house since we shut all the windows. Some sort of magic, no doubt. "What's this?" Mum asked as she took the letter from the owl. She opened it and began to read silently, her lips turning down in a frown. "What is it?" Dad asked. "It's from Kendrick," Mum said quietly, "He's requested a meeting. About Amy." I gaped at her. What had I done? I was quiet, I ignored most of the other students, I never made trouble. "Amy?" Dad turned to look at me, "Well, I suppose we could go up there tomorrow. I think we'd all like to sleep today." Mum nodded and took a quill and a pot of ink out of the nearest drawer. She scrawled something on the back of the parchment and sent it off with the barn owl. Much to my surprise, Mum and Dad didn't say a word about the letter. Dad merely told me to go do my homework and I was all too willing to cooperate. What did Kendrick want anyway? Judging by Mum's face, it wasn't anything good. The only thing I could think of was that it had to do with my grades. I knew I wasn't doing very well in about half my subjects. I tried to do my homework, but I couldn't concentrate. It was kind of ironic. Kendrick wanted to meet with my parents because of my grades (at least I thought) and that fact was keeping me from doing my homework which would help me increase my grades. Mum and Dad didn't bring up the letter the entire night. They were quiet during dinner and I had a feeling they talked about it by themselves, but they weren't bringing it up around me. I tossed and turned the entire night and got up long before anyone else. I had no idea what time we were going to Hogwarts. Mum never told me. I didn't want to go. There were still two days of holiday left and I had no motivation to go back early. It was only a short meeting, but still. Mum and Dad came downstairs shortly after I finished eating. They sat down on the opposite side of the table from me and Dad folded his hands on the table. "Amy," he began, "Do you know what Professor Kendrick wants to talk about?" "Didn't the letter tell you?" I asked. "No," Dad shook his head. I stared down at the milk remaining in my bowl. "It's probably my marks." "Your marks?" Mum asked curiously, "You've never had a problem with classes before. I know you've always struggled with Defense and Transfiguration, but nothing else." "I think I might be failing everything except Potions, Astronomy, Care of Magical Creatures, and Herbology," I muttered as I moved my spoon around in my bowl. "Amy, that means you're failing half your classes," Dad said quietly. "I know, ok?" I said as I got up, "I just don't want to talk about it!" "Amy-" "No, I don't want to talk about it!" I said as I ran out of the room. "We're going to see Professor Kendrick at one!" Mum shouted after me. I ran up to my room and slammed the door behind me. Mum shouted something else, probably telling me not to be so loud, but I ignored her. They just didn't get it. They didn't understand how hard it was to switch schools in the middle of your education. They didn't get that classes were different, that I'm behind in half my classes and ahead in the other half. Nor did they understand how hard it was to spend three and a half months in a school without any friends. Or to have a roommate who hates your guts and would hate your brother even more than you if she knew what he was. Or to have a Slytherin competing with you in every potion you brew. I managed to finish most of my homework by the time Mum came upstairs and told me to come downstairs and have lunch before going to Hogwarts. Neither of my parents mentioned anything else about my grades during lunch, which I was grateful for. In fact, they were silent during lunch. So was Matt, but I think that was a combination of the time change and the fact that the full moon was two days away. One o'clock came and we Apparated to Hogsmeade. Luckily it wasn't snowing, but it was bitterly cold since we were walking into the wind. I was shivering before we even reached the grounds. Professor Kendrick met us in the Entrance Hall. The castle was so quiet and empty it was almost spooky. It reminded me of when we visited over the summer, but since I had gotten used to it being chaotic and busy, it was strange to see it empty. Kendrick led us up to his study, which thankfully had a roaring fire in the fireplace. The corridors were nearly as cold as outside. Four armchairs sat in front of his wooden desk and we all sat down. I waited nervously for Kendrick to start talking. I noticed both Professors Dumbledore and Snape were in their portraits. "How was your holiday?" Kendrick asked. "It was nice," Mum answered, "We visited my parents in Australia. How was yours?" "Relaxing," Kendrick said, "However, the term is about to start, so it's back to work. I'm sure you're both wondering why I asked you to meet with me." "Yes, your letter was not clear," Dad replied. "I thought it would be better if I just told you in person," Kendrick said and then turned to me, "Amy, how are you liking Hogwarts?" I shrugged. "It's ok." "Your marks this term were drastically lower than your marks in Australia," Kendrick told me, "Are the classes too hard?" "I don't know," I muttered, "It's just that they're so different. Like History of Magic. It's all completely new and Professor Binns doesn't pause to let people take notes." Kendrick smiled. "I had Professor Binns in school. I highly suggest just reading the textbook and studying with that rather than trying to take notes in his class." "Oh," I said. It would have been nice if someone told me that earlier. "What I would like to know is how you're adjusting to Hogwarts. Sometimes grades fall when you're homesick or not adjusting well," Kendrick said quietly. I bit my lip. Not adjusting well. That was putting it lightly. I hoped Kendrick wouldn't keep pushing this or I was going to start crying in his study. "She hasn't mentioned anything like that," Mum said. Because I didn't want to mention it, I thought. I could feel the tears forming. I squeezed my eyes shut. "Amy?" Mum asked, "Are you having a hard time adjusting?" "I don't know," I sniffed, "It's just that everyone already has friends. I just miss Australia." "Oh, I had no idea," Mum put her arm around me, "Why didn't you say something when you came home?" "You guys are so happy here," I sobbed, "Dad likes his job and Matt will be able to go to school and we don't have to worry about Lubar and his bloody laws." "Amy, we want to know if you're unhappy. Maybe we can help," Mum said. "What are you going to do, make people be friends with me?" I asked. If people didn't want to be friends with me, I was out of luck. There wasn't anything anyone could do. "Perhaps you just need someone to talk to while you're at school," Kendrick suggested, "It's not good to keep all that bottled up." "I don't know," I muttered, "I talk to Madam Pomfrey." "That's good," Kendrick smiled, "Although she can be quite busy at times." Mum and Dad shared one of those parental looks and I knew they had already thought of something "We've actually decided that Amy should meet with a psychologist once a week," Dad said. Me? See a psychologist like Matt did? I hadn't been through any trauma. Why couldn't I just keep talking to Madam Pomfrey? "Excellent idea," Kendrick replied, "Do you have someone in mind?" Dad nodded. "Healer Norlam. Matt saw him for a few months and now Julie and I are meeting with him once a week as well." "Let me know which day will work for him," Kendrick said, "And we'll set it up." Weren't they going to ask my opinion of this? I didn't appear to get a say in what was going to happen. I didn't see how talking to Norlam was going to help my grades anyway. "I'll send you an owl to let you know when the first session will be," Kendrick told me, "It will be in the hospital wing." "Ok," I nodded. "Well," Kendrick folded his hands together, "I think we'll try this for a month and then reassess." "That's fine," Dad said. "Then I'll see you on Monday, Amy," Kendrick smiled, "Enjoy your last day of holiday." I was dreading going back to school too much to enjoy the last bit of holiday. Plus I had so much homework to do. ****** The remainder of the holiday was rather boring. Dad had to work on Sunday since he was taking Monday and Tuesday off for the full moon. Mum spent the day cleaning with Ellie and doing some shopping in Diagon Alley. Matt slept much of the day and read when he wasn't sleeping. I read as well. I really did not want to go back to school. Partly because I liked being at home so much more and partly because Matt was starting Sterling's study. He wasn't getting any potion for the first two years, but he still had to get observed and Sterling wanted him to transform at St. Mungo's again. He would transform at home for all the following months, though. My parents promised to owl me of course, but it wasn't the same. Monday came too fast and I was soon on my way back to Hogwarts. Just Dad had dropped me off since Matt had been sleeping when we left. He didn't even wake up when I said goodbye. I hadn't expected him to, but I wished he had. It was snowing when the Hogwarts Express pulled into Hogsmeade station and the ride up to the school was freezing. I shared a carriage with three older Ravenclaws who ignored me. The moon had risen by the time dinner started. I was too focused on that to eat much. All I wanted to do was go up to my dormitory, curl up in my bed, and try to fall asleep. When I was finally able to do that, all my roommates stayed up late talking about their holidays. I heard all about Samantha's getting to meet the Holyhead Harpies, Alyssa's trip to France, Seren's boring holiday at home, Monica's New Year's party in which she kissed two blokes at midnight, and Victoire's hectic Christmas at her grandparents' house. Victoire asked me how my holiday was and I told her I went to Australia and that it was fun. I fell asleep long after they went to bed, which meant I must not have fallen asleep until really late. I spent the next day in a sort of distracted trance. No letter arrived from my parents at brekkie or lunch. I knew I should have paid better attention in my classes, but I kept looking at the windows, waiting for Jasper to show up. He finally appeared in the common room window after classes were over. I practically leaped over two first years in order to get the letter before someone else did. The common room was packed. It was no place to read a letter about my brother. Much to my dismay, Monica was in the dormitory with a few of her fifth year friends so I couldn't read the letter there. I shoved it in my robes and ran out of Gryffindor Tower and towards the Hospital Wing. I groaned inwardly when I reached the ward. It was as nearly as packed as the common room. I squeezed my way inside and realized there was no way I'd get any privacy there. "Come to join the party, Amy?" Willinson appeared at my side. I jumped aside and glared at him. "No. Why's it so crowded here?" "Someone put Everlasting Itch Cream into the pipes in the Slytherin common room," Willinson muttered, "Now whoever uses the sinks or showers gets doused in itch cream." Looking around, I noticed that everyone in the ward was a Slytherin and most of them were rather twitchy and scratching themselves. If I hadn't been so worried about what the letter said, I would have thought it was rather funny. I muttered a quick goodbye to Willinson and ran out of the ward. Where was I going to read the letter? Was there no place in the entire castle where I could be alone? The Astronomy tower would be too cold since it was snowing. I walked back up to the seventh floor and began pacing. Pacing always helped me come up with ideas. Anything outside was out of the question for the same reasons the Astronomy Tower was. I'd get in trouble if I used an empty classroom. The Great Hall would be crowded. I stopped pacing and glanced around the the corridor. It was completely empty. Maybe if I just went in an empty classroom for a few minutes nobody would know. I turned around and grabbed the handle of the nearest door. I looked once more down the corridor and opened it. The room was very small. It didn't look like a classroom at all. There weren't any desks or a blackboard. All it contained was a comfortable looking couch, a table, and a fireplace with a crackling fire. It looked like the perfect place to read a letter. Hogwarts just kept getting stranger and stranger, I thought as I sat down on the couch. I ripped the letter open and read it. [i]Dear Amy, I hope you first day back went well. The full moon wasn't any worse than usual. We stayed at St. Mungo's until early afternoon and then went back home. Matt is ok, but he'll need to rest for a few days like usual. Keep us updated on everything. We want to know how you are doing at school. You should be having your first appointment with Healer Norlam soon. Let us know how that goes. Love, Mum and Dad[/i] I breathed a sigh of relief and put the letter back in my robes. Was this what every full moon was going to be like now? Would I get this worried about all of them? I was rarely this worried while we still lived in Australia. It was probably because of that month he had to transform in the Ministry center. I was going to have to remember that room for the next time I had a letter about Matt. As I left the room, I noticed there was a portrait of Barnabas the Barmy teaching trolls to dance ballet. That was certainly memorable. I wouldn't forget where the room was. There was no doubt in my mind that Teddy had been behind the prank in the Slytherin common room. This was confirmed when I returned to the Gryffindor common room and saw a very large group of Gryffindors surrounding Teddy, who was bragging about the prank. It amazed me that he could get away with all these pranks but Professor Kendrick owled my parents for a meeting.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2495 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Sunday 12 July 2009 06 59 52 pm    Post subject: Re: In Moonlight's Shadow in topic:In Moonlight's Shadow Thanks Obladi! Chapter 53: The Chudley Cannons I failed the charms test. Miserably. Even though I spent most of the weekend studying, the test was like a foreign language. I knew I failed it even before we got the marks back the next class. The large, red 'P' written over my pathetic answers was only a reminder. Charms has never been my best subject, but I always managed to squeeze by in Australia. Olivia and I would study for hours before the exam and then get passing marks. Charms at Hogwarts was a different story. Professor Washburn was relentless and the way he stared at you during class made you too nervous to do anything properly. He breathed down your neck during exams as well. It was enough to make anyone too nervous to do well. This failed exam was only one of many I had failed so far that year. I was about ready to just give up. No amount of studying seemed to help. Studying paid off for most of my other classes, though. I spent most of my time studying since I really had nothing else to do. On any given night I was either in my dormitory studying or in the common room studying, depending on where Monica was. The night of the full moon came around sooner than I would have liked. My parents sent me a letter the day of, telling me that they were going to St. Mungo's. Just reading that letter made my heart speed up. I got the letter at dinner, so the moon was going to rise in a little over an hour. Doing homework was pointless after I got that letter. There would be no way I could concentrate while I was worrying about Matt. Instead, I wandered around the castle until I wound up at the Astronomy Tower. The tower was completely deserted. Quiet, empty, with only the telescopes for company. Just the way I like it. I sighed and sat down on the ground. The moon was nearly risen. I could see the faint light of it slowly rising above the horizon. No matter how hard I tried, I could never imagine what it would be like to turn into a werewolf. Matt had never described it to us, so I had to use my imagination along with what I read. All I knew was that it was extremely painful. I stayed on the Astronomy Tower until the moon rose. I stared at it for a while before realizing that it was extremely cold and I was shivering. The castle was warm, but I didn't know where to go. The Astronomy Tower had been the perfect place, but it was too cold out to spend the night. A few minutes later I found myself in front of the hospital wing. I suppose that was where I had been heading the whole time, but just hadn't realized it. Luckily the place was empty. Madam Pomfrey was bottling potions at a table, which reminded me a lot of when Matt had been at St. Mungo's a few months ago. She looked up when I came in the room. "Amy," she said as she set down a flask, "Are you all right? You look kind of pale." "Well, it's the full moon," I whispered. Madam Pomfrey walked out from behind the table and looked at me sympathetically. "You're shivering." "I was watching the moon rise," I began, "On the Astronomy Tower." "The Astronomy Tower?" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed, "For Merlin's sake, it's below freezing out there!" She ushered me over to the nearest bed and made me lie down in it. I could not believe my luck. All I had to do was spend a half hour outside in freezing temperatures and I could avoid sleeping in my dormitory on the worst night of the month. Madam Pomfrey gave me a potion that immediately warmed me. Then she sat down on the bed and smoothed her robes. "Amy," she began, "Is this going to be a usual full moon occurrence?" I bit my bottom lip and looked down at the sheets. There was a loose thread on the blanket and I began to mess with it. It wasn't that I was consciously going to the hospital wing for every full moon. It just sort of happened. "I don't know," I muttered, "It's just that tonight- Um, have you heard about Healer Sterling's Wolfsbane study?" "I have," she nodded. "My brother's in that study," I told her, "He's transforming at St. Mungo's tonight. The full moons are always worse when he transforms in new places." "Ah," Madam Pomfrey replied, "You're worried about him." "Yeah," I said, "I am, but it's worse tonight." "I am sure he will be fine," she patted my leg and stood up. I nodded and laid down on the pillow. Madam Pomfrey went back to her potions and I watched as she worked. But I wasn't tired in the slightest. "What potions are you bottling?" I asked. "Dreamless sleep, fever reducer, and pain potion," she answered, "The most commonly used potions." Those were the three my parents always had on hand. "I'm going to brew those someday." "Are you interested in potions?" I sat up. "Yeah. I brew potions at home all the time. I make up my own stuff. It's fun." "That is wonderful," she said, "A lot of students seem to have an extreme dislike for the subject." "I've always liked potions," I mused as I got up and walked over to Madam Pomfrey, "They're just so interesting. The affects they have on people and stuff." "That is a very intriguing topic," Madam Pomfrey agreed, "Would you like to help me bottle some of these?" "Really?" I grinned, "Definitely. "Of course," Madam Pomfrey smiled and handed me a jug of bluish potion, "That's the-" "Pain potion," I said. "You certainly know your potions," Madam Pomfrey remarked. "I bottled potions with the nurses at St. Mungo's while Matt was there a few months ago." "You've got experience, then," she said, "What other subjects do you enjoy?" "Astronomy," I said immediately, "That's pretty much it. Transfiguration is fun, too, but not as fun as Astronomy and Potions." "Astronomy and Potions," the nurse mused, "Interesting combination." I stopped pouring and looked up at her. She had a knowing smile on her face. That was the same exact thing Healer Norlam had said, but I still had no clue what he meant by it. Now Madam Pomfrey was saying the same thing. The conversation slowly stopped and we bottled in silence. A first year came in after accidentally stabbing himself with a quill, but other than that the ward remained empty. It was relaxing and reminded me a lot of helping the nurses at St. Mungo's. Eventually we ran out of potions to bottle and Madam Pomfrey decided to call it a night. She let me stay overnight, despite the fact that I was clearly not ill. Somehow I managed to fall asleep and I didn't wake up until morning. ****** "He fell off his broom!" someone shouted, "I think his arm's broken!" I snapped my eyes open and saw two boys standing in the doorway. One was holding his left arm and was clearly in pain. Madam Pomfrey was ushering him to the bed across from mine. "What were you doing playing Quidditch at seven in the morning?" she demanded. "We were bored," the uninjured boy shrugged. "Next time you're bored, study something," the nurse muttered. There was no point in going back to sleep, so I got out of bed and said goodbye to Madam Pomfrey before leaving. I ran up to my dormitory and collected my books, then headed down to the Great Hall for brekkie. I waited for Jasper or Pollux to show up with a letter from my parents all day. All throughout my classes I looked at the windows and willed one of the owls to materialize. Even during potions I was distracted, which Quinton Willinson was all too quick to point out. He was thrilled that he was able to tell me that I was stirring my potion in the wrong direction. I had a feeling he would lord that over me for the remainder of the year. If someone asked me what Binns talked about during History of Magic, the most specific topic I'd be able to tell them was history. Everything he said just went in one ear and out the other. It was worse than usual. My eyes focused on the window to my right rather than his ghostly form. Herbology was just as bad since the greenhouses are obviously all windows. Luckily, Laney Hall was oblivious to my distractedness and kept chattering on and on about something I didn't even remember. By the time I was done with classes, I was about ready to break into one of the teachers' studies to floo to St. Mungo's. I was sure Matt was still there. Why else would my parents not send me a letter? I was putting my books away in my dormitory and contemplating how I could sneak into someone's study when Jasper finally showed up. He flew into the room and I snatched the letter from his leg a little more aggressively than I should have. Jasper hooted his dislike and flew off again before I could give him an owl treat. Dear Amy, Sorry for the late letter. Hope you weren't too worried. We've been occupied with the tests Sterling has been doing on Matt. We'll explain more about the tests when you come home for Christmas. It's a bit much to put into a letter. Matt is doing all right. The transformation was a bit rough, as was expected. But after a few days' rest, he'll be fine. We left the hospital around noon and are back home now. Let us know how your classes are going and everything else about life at Hogwarts. Love, Mum, Dad, Matt, and Ellie I breathed a sigh of relief as I put the letter in my pocket. They were just preoccupied with the tests, that was all. Matt wasn't much worse than usual. He only had one more transformation until the study began. I wasn't sure exactly what was going to happen with that. Hopefully my parents would tell me once I went home. I collapsed onto my bed. Another full moon was gone. We survived one more. I was finally beginning to understand what my parents went through each month. I may never completely understand what Matt goes through, but I was beginning to understand my parents' worry. How could they stand it each month? How much longer would we have to go through it? Would Matt have to go through it? Sterling's study would have to help. People were working on new forms of Wolfsbane and on cures, weren't they? Someone would find something eventually. Then maybe I wouldn't be waiting anxiously for a letter from my parents each month. ****** November turned into December with the same monotony that the past few months had brought. I studied, argued with Willinson, avoided Monica, and failed another Charms exam. The only real difference between November and December was the amount of snow that covered the grounds. The grounds began to resemble those of the Adirondack Academy of Magic during the time we visited. Only now it was never ending. I wasn't just visiting the snowy place, I lived there. It was just so strange to have snow in December. In Australia, December is one of the warmest months and it never ever snows. Christmas is spent going swimming and holding outdoor celebrations. Those days were long over for me. Christmas would now be spent inside with a crackling fire. I do like snow. It's fun to play in and very beautiful. But I really didn't see the point in holding classes outside during a raging blizzard. Why couldn't Hagrid just get a classroom so we wouldn't have to freeze our arses off? I was so cold during Care of Magical Creatures that I couldn't focus at all on what we were learning. And judging by the other students' reactions, holding Care of Magical Creatures during snow storms was a normal occurrence. Much to my relief, the snow seemed to let up for the December Hogsmeade visit. Not that I was as excited about it as the rest of the students, since I had no one to go with, but I did want to get my Christmas shopping done. I left the castle before the rest of my roommates were even awake. Well, I had heard Victoire moving around in her bed, so she was probably awake, but the rest of them were sound asleep. The walk to Hogsmeade was relaxing. The snow crunching beneath my feet was the only noise. A very small amount of snow was falling; enough to be noticeable, but not so much that the walk would be unbearable. I had finally learned how to bundle up properly for the cold weather, so I was comfortable. Although I had a feeling that after I had walked around Hogsmeade for a half hour or so, I'd be ready for a Butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks. Or the Hog's Head. My first stop was Honeyduke's, which was mostly filled with third years and a few students my age. I guessed that most of the older students were still sleeping. I bought an assortment of chocolates and other sweets for Matt and a few for myself as well before leaving the shop. Chocolate was always the best way to go when buying presents for Matt. Or me for that matter. I figured I'd get him something at the Quidditch shop as well. He's always liked Quidditch. My parents were a different story, especially Mum. Every year I went through the same ritual. Looking through every store, trying to find the perfect gift. Nothing ever seemed right, although I knew my parents would like whatever I got them. Dad's present was the first one I found. It was a name block for his desk. His old one said 'Head of the Department for the Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures' on it, so it was useless for his new job. I didn't think Mum had boughten him a new one yet, so I got one at Scrivenshaft's. Mum was more difficult, but I decided on a scarf. She only had one and it wasn't the most fashionable of things. She wasn't big on fashion, but I thought a red and gold scarf was nicer than the boring grey one she had. Plus, it was Gryffindor colored. I decided to have a Butterbeer before going to the Quidditch shop, but the Three Broomsticks was yet again so crowded that there was barely room to move. Two minutes after I entered, I left and went to the Hog's Head. "You again," the barkeep grunted as I walked in the door. "Yeah," I said as I sat down at the bar and set my bags down on the floor. "Something wrong with Rosmerta's place?" "Too crowded," I muttered. "Tends to happen during Hogsmeade visits," he said as he handed me a Butterbeer. "Thanks," I replied. I sipped my Butterbeer in silence as I watched the barkeep putter around with a goat following him. The whole 'goat in the bar' thing still puzzled me, but the last thing I wanted to do was ask him about it. Two cloaked men eyed me suspiciously as they sat down a few stools away and I took that as my cue to leave. I paid for my drink and the barkeep muttered goodbye as I left. The Quidditch shop was a little ways down the road. I had never been to it before. There were a few brooms in the window and a large sign above it said 'The Quaffle Shop'. I certainly hoped the place sold more than brooms and Quaffles. It was filled with students talking about Quidditch and I hardly understood any of it. I began to browse around, not really knowing what I was looking for. They certainly didn't have any Australian team products. "Amy?" someone said to the left of me. I turned to see Samantha Meyers looking at me curiously. "Oh, hi Samantha." "I had no idea you liked Quidditch," she said, "Didn't you say you weren't a Quidditch person?" "Erm, I'm actually here to get my little brother a Christmas present," I told her. "What sort of present are you looking for?" she asked. "I don't know," I sighed. "Does he play Quidditch?" I had to stifle my laughter at that. Matt was lucky if he could walk without tripping over his own feet, let alone fly a broom. Not to mention the fact that my parents were so strict with 'dangerous' things anyway. "No, he just likes to watch matches." "What team does he support?" "Australia," I said, "But there obviously isn't any of that stuff here." "Right," Samantha grinned, "So he needs a new team to support. Puddlemere United is a good team. So are the Ballycastle Bats. I personally support the Holyhead Harpies." "How about this team?" I gestured to a very bright orange jersey that said 'The Chudley Cannons' in big black letters. Samantha burst out laughing. "The Cannons? They're a joke. Haven't won a match in years. Their motto is 'let's just cross our fingers and hope for the best'. That pretty much sums them up." "So it's a team full of uncoordinated Quidditch players?" I asked. "Yeah," Samantha giggled, "That's pretty much it." "That's perfect," I grinned. A team consisting of Quidditch players who were like Matt. Samantha stared at me like I had three heads. "All right. If you say so." She raised her eyebrows at me and then wandered away towards the Holyhead Harpies merchandise. I grabbed the jersey in the smallest size they had, which I think was still too big for Matt and bought it. I really had no idea if he would actually like it, but it was worth a try. He did need a British team to support. And if what Samantha said was true, the Cannons needed all the support they could get. The snow had picked up and my face was blasted with tiny crystals of ice after I left the Quaffle Shop, so I decided to just head back to Hogwarts. I had done everything I needed to do in Hogsmeade anyway. Despite the storm, a lot of students were outside on the grounds. Most were having snowball fights, but a few were building snow wizards. The dormitory was empty when I got there so I quickly stowed my gifts in my trunk and grabbed my books. Studying never seemed to end. ****** "Amy!" Slughorn shouted as I went to leave the Potions classroom the following week. I turned around and went back to his desk. Willinson was standing in front of it as well. "I'm holding a Christmas party," Slughorn said excitedly, "This Friday. I know you've been too busy to attend the most recent Slug Club meeting, but I do hope you can make it to the party." "You should come," Willinson drawled, "Perhaps I can show you how to properly stir a potion." I rolled my eyes. He wasn't ever going to let that go. "I'll think about it." "Harry Potter himself will be there!" Slughorn continued. I nodded and left as quickly as I could. The party sounded interesting, but I had been trying to avoid the Slug Club since Willinson attended. The more I thought about the party, the more I sort of wanted to go. I kind of wanted to meet Harry Potter and I had nothing else to do that night. I wound up going, since Monica was holding a party of her own in our dormitory. She and Victoire had quite the fight about it. Monica wanted Victoire to attend her party, but Victoire wanted to go to the Slug Club party since her entire family was going. Monica had not been invited. I arrived later than the party started not because Cinda had taught me to be fashionably late, but because I wanted to slip in unnoticed. The more time I could spend avoiding Willinson, the better. The dungeon the party was held in was packed. I hardly recognized anyone and there weren't only students there. A fair amount of adults were there along with little kids. A good portion of them had red hair, which I took to mean they were related to Victoire. I squeezed my way through the crowd and eventually made it to the food table. I avoided the pheasant and went with the chicken and potatoes. Then I maneuvered to the back wall and watched everyone else as I ate. Teddy was entertaining a bunch of red-haired kids by changing his hair and face. I almost snorted pumpkin juice out my nose when he turned his nose into a duck beak. Slughorn was talking with Professor Kendrick and a very old strict looking witch. She looked very familiar and then I realized that she looked just like the picture of the witch who wrote The Rise and Fall of Lord Voldemort. She was Minerva McGonagall. "You came," a voice said to the right of me. It was Willinson. I groaned inwardly. "I did." "The Christmas parties are always good," Willinson said, "Better than the regular meetings. All sorts of famous people come. My father is here." "Really," I said flatly. I couldn't care less if Willinson's father was famous enough to attend the Slug Club Christmas party or not. "Yes, he works for the Ministry," Willinson went on. "Good for him," I muttered. "What are you getting for Christmas?" Willinson asked, "My father is getting me a larger gold cauldron. The one I have now is far too small." "My parents prefer to surprise me on Christmas," I said. Willinson continued talking about what he was getting for Christmas, but I paid no attention. I had just spotted Harry Potter. But what surprised me even more was the witch he was talking with. She was the same witch who we had seen at the Auror office. The one with the three little kids. The kids were there as well. The two boys were throwing pieces of biscuit at each other and the little girl was trying to catch the biscuits. Harry picked up the little girl and gave him one of his own biscuits. He put his free arm around the witch. She must be his wife. The boys ran off and joined the group of kids surrounding Teddy. "What did you get on the last Potions exam?" Willinson asked. "An O." "Me, too," he said. I managed to shake Willinson by telling him I had to use the toilet, but instead disappeared into the crowd. I didn't really know what to do. The only people I actually knew were Teddy, Landon, and Victoire, but I didn't know them well enough to hang out with. They were busy anyway. Victoire was talking with a Ravenclaw from our year and Landon was with Teddy and the little kids. Nor did I have the nerve to go meet Harry Potter. What was I going to say? 'I just read all about your life and it turns out I saw your wife and kids at the Auror office and your daughter had no idea what my brother's crutches were?' That would be kind of awkward. Eventually I just decided to leave. There wasn't anything else to do. I had eaten my fill and didn't want to risk running into Willinson again. Monica was still holding her party in our dormitory, so I read in the common room while watching the younger students goof around. I was looking forward to the end of term, when I could go home and feel free to go wherever I pleased in my house.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2495 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Sunday 7 June 2009 11 20 12 am    Post subject: Re: In Moonlight's Shadow in topic:In Moonlight's Shadow Thanks hprocks! Chapter 49: In the Hospital Wing I was at the library bright and early on Saturday morning. The place was pretty much deserted when I got there. The only person in the quiet room was the ancient librarian. She looked just like she had when we visited Hogwarts months ago. She looked up when I shut the door and glared at me as I walked over to a table. It looked to me like she was just itching to demand why I was there at such an early hour. I ignored her and found a secluded table in the back. I had no idea what time the library started to fill up and didn't really want anyone to see me. It didn't take me long to crank out Torro's werewolf essay. I didn't even bother to look up any facts in any books. I just used what I already knew. Before I even realized it, I had two and a half feet of parchment scrawled on with tiny printing. I wrapped up the essay with a three inch conclusion and set it aside. It would probably be the easiest assignment I would have the entire year. Then it was time to play catch up. After a week of classes, I had had at least one lesson in all my subjects and realized I was quite behind in a few of them. I wished that all the schools would just coordinate curricula; it would make life so much easier. I was behind in Charms and Transfiguration. I was really behind in History of Magic. I would have been behind in Astronomy if it hadn't been for the fact that I spent weeks researching the Northern night sky before we moved. I was actually ahead in Ancient Runes, Potions, and Herbology, although I had a feeling I was only ahead in Potions because I spent so much time outside of school brewing. I also would have been behind in Defense and Care of Magical Creatures if it weren't for Dad teaching me so much about them. I found text books for Charms and Transfiguration, as well as what might as well have been an entire set of encyclopedias' worth of History of Magic books. I grabbed my quill and a fresh roll of parchment and settled down to read my huge stack of books. "There you are, Eckerton," someone said. I jumped and I knocked my ink bottle onto my notes. Merlin! I groaned and started to siphon off the ink with my wand. Then I looked up to see who had found me. It was Monica. Monica Kramer. I had been avoiding her for the past two days. Whenever she was in the dormitory, I went to the common room, and vice versa. The only time we were together was at night and during classes, and I liked it that way. Victoire Weasley was standing behind her, looking slightly uncomfortable. "What do you want," I crossed my arms across my chest. "Your werewolf essay," she sat down across from me. She looked down at the table and picked it up. "Give that back!" I snatched it out of her hands. "You finished it," Monica gaped, "And it's longer than Torro wanted." "Yeah, so?" "So you have to let me copy it!" Monica replied, "It's your fault we have to do this stupid bloody essay!" "No way," I said, "Now could you please just leave me alone?" "I told you not to do this," Victoire muttered. Monica whipped her head around and looked at Victoire. "I'll do what I want. And this freak is the reason I have extra homework!" "Freak?" I seethed, "And what exactly makes me a freak, Kramer?" "Your love for werewolves, Eckerton," Monica turned back around. "Are you serious, Monica?" Victoire looked astonished, "Because if you are, then I must be a freak, too." "You're different," Monica sighed. "No, I don't really see that I am," Victoire said, "You know what? I'll see you later, Monica. And you can find someone else to help you with your essay." Victoire turned and left, with Monica gaping at the spot she used to stand. She then looked back at me. "Well, look at that, Eckerton. You got my best friend mad at me." "Just leave," I muttered. I had way too much studying to do to put up with her. I looked at my watch. It was just after noon and I hadn't even started on my actual homework. I was still on the first book I had to read, too. "No, I want you to help me with my essay since you're the werewolf expert," Monica said. "Go away!" I shouted a bit too loudly. "Quiet!" Madam Pince shouted, "This is a library!" "Fine!" Monica glared at me, "I'll leave. Everything you know about werewolves is probably wrong anyway." Monica got up and ran out of the library, slamming the door behind her. Madam Pince shouted after her, but she probably didn't even hear the scolding. I picked up my quill and resumed my reading, but I couldn't concentrate. I didn't understand how Victoire could put up with Monica. So far, Victoire seemed nice enough. I spent the rest of the day in the library and luckily had no more visits from Monica. I managed to read a good bit of the Charms book and put a dent in the History of Magic reading. I took a break before dinner and wandered around the castle for a bit, but went back to studying after dinner. The next few weeks dragged by and I got into a routine. Ignoring and avoiding Monica was my top priority, so I spent most of my free time in the library. For someone who claimed to be so smart, she didn't frequent the place too often. I went to class and studied well into the evening. But it did become apparent that catching up wasn't as easy as I originally thought. After two weeks I was somewhat caught up in Charms and Transfiguration, but learning hundreds of years' worth of British magical history in two weeks was pretty much impossible. With the exception of Monica, the dormitory situation was going well. It was crowded, but the rest of the girls were nice. I soon learned that Samantha, Seren, and Alyssa were avid Quidditch fans, although Samantha was the only one with any skill in the sport. Much of their conversations revolved around Quidditch. They pretty much left me alone, which was nice. I hardly saw Victoire since she made up with Monica and avoiding Monica soon became avoiding Victoire as well. There were three people who actually paid attention to me. The first being Teddy Lupin. He made it a routine to say hello to me and ask me how I was whenever we passed each other in the common room or in the Great Hall. He seemed to be a smart and somewhat mischievous bloke who preferred to spend all his time on the Quidditch pitch than studying. Laney Hall continued to partner with me in Herbology and try to talk to me, but I found her rather annoying. She was just too hyper, in my opinion. However, I did prefer her company to Quinton Willinson's. Willinson's brief alliance during Defense didn't last long. He went right back to trying to compete with me in Potions and grew steadily angrier as I continued to beat him in every contest Slughorn set to us. Besides Potions, the only class I really enjoyed was Astronomy. The Astronomy professor, Professor Polo was a kind man who clearly had a love for the stars. It was quite relaxing to look out one of the school telescopes while he gave commentary on what was happening with all the celestial bodies. My third Astronomy lesson of the year took place the night of the full moon, which left me really distracted. I only half listened to Polo's lecture, which was about the unique opportunity we had in having class the night of the full moon. All I could think about was what was happening to my brother. It was kind of strange. I hadn't been at school for a full moon in months and I had sort of gotten used to it. Even though I was never home during them, I had gotten used to going home shortly after and seeing how my brother was. I had also begun to realize what sort of affect the transformations had on him. Since I was at school in Australia for most of the full moons prior to finding out I'd have to move, I never really knew exactly what went on. I was surprised to find out that I was actually really worried about the full moon. I had sent my family a letter the previous night and was hoping they'd let me know how the transformation went as soon as possible. I knew Matt had gotten through many full moons, but I couldn't shake the worry. I pointed my telescope towards the moon and stared at it until my eyes glazed over. I lifted my head up and blinked. I looked at my watch and saw that class was only half over. It was going by much slower than usual, probably partly because of the headache I'd been steadily been developing all evening. I was beginning to think that my late night studying was catching up to me. I was constantly tired and just wanted to go to bed. "What did you get on that werewolf essay?" Monica, who had unfortunately picked the telescope next to me, asked. "100," I muttered. Torro had given the essays back earlier. It certainly had taken him long enough to grade them. "Figures," Monica muttered, "Guess what I got." "Don't know, don't care," I said and stuck my eye back in my telescope. "I only got a 95." I personally didn't think a 95 was that bad, but I chose not to say anything else. "So, tonight's a full moon," Monica went on. Why she continued to talk despite her obvious hatred, was beyond me. "It's the night all the werewolves come out and attack people." I turned my head in surprise and knocked my eye into the telescope in the process. I winced at the pain and then glared at her. Why was she bringing that up? The werewolf project was long over and we weren't learning about any dark creatures in Defense class. Monica was looking at me with the smuggest look I had ever seen on her. It just made my blood boil despite the autumn chill that was in the air. "Yep, it's the one night that proves that werewolves are monsters and not people with a horrible disease," Monica continued. That was it. My head felt like someone was driving a rod into it and as far as I could tell, Monica was the one doing the driving. Everything she said increased my headache tenfold. I was sick of it. Sick of her. She's the one that kept bringing up the werewolf stuff. Why couldn't she just leave it alone? "You," I seethed, "Have absolutely no idea what you're talking about." "I do too," Monica said, "At this moment, some werewolf is probably attacking an innocent child." It felt like she had hit a Bludger into my stomach. I froze and just looked at her. She seemed to have known that she hit a nerve and smirked at me. "Just. Shut. Up," I growled. I couldn't take it anymore. If I kept listening to her, I was afraid I'd let something slip. I grabbed my bag and ran to the door, wrenching it open. "Miss Eckerton?" Polo asked. I didn't say anything and slammed the door behind me. I ran as fast as I could down the stairs and began to run towards Gryffindor Tower. Then I stopped. I couldn't go to Gryffindor. In less than a half an hour, Monica would be there. I turned around and ran in the opposite direction. I had no idea where I was going, but I couldn't go to Gryffindor. Monica would just taunt me again. Why did she have to mention a werewolf attacking a kid? I bit my lip and squeezed my eyes shut. I vividly saw an image of the werewolf attacking Matt and snapped them open again. I somehow wound up in front of the hospital wing and guessed it was because I must have wanted something for my headache. And my eye, which still hurt from ramming it with a telescope. I quietly opened the door and walked into the darkened ward. There was a stream of moonlight coming in through one of the windows and it was illuminating one of the beds. The nurse was nowhere in sight. I collapsed onto the illuminated bed and buried my head in the pillow. I didn't really feel like looking for the nurse. I was too exhausted. I thought of what was happening to Matt and let the resulting tears leak out of my eyes and be absorbed in the pillow. The pillow muffled my sobbing. Maybe I could just sleep there and leave before the nurse woke up in the morning. No one would have to know. My hospital wing trips at Australia were limited. In fact, I could count the number of times I'd been there on one hand. The first time was because someone in my first potions class had exploded his potion and some had landed on my arm and burned it. After that, I had gotten sick once in first year and once in second. Then I had to go there again because of an exploded potion and then once because I'd been hexed. I was never one of the kids who would go see the nurse every other day and ask for a potion for every little thing. I didn't want to become one of those kids at Hogwarts either, but I had no place else to go. If I slept in the common room again, I'd probably get yelled at by a prefect. "Is someone out there?" someone said. I froze and stopped sobbing. I was caught. So much for slipping away before the nurse found me. I sat up and looked towards where the voice was coming from. The lights came on revealing Madam Pomfrey, whom I had met when we visited Hogwarts but hadn't seen since. She was a short and kind of chubby woman with a kind face that had a hint of sternness to it. She walked slowly over to my bed and paused at the foot of it. She gave me a curious look and waited for me to say something. "Er, hi," I sniffled and wiped my eyes. "Hello," she smiled, "You're Amy Eckerton, aren't you?" I nodded. "Uh-huh." Madam Pomfrey sat down on the end of the bed and looked at me like she was waiting for me to say something else. I really didn't know what else to say, except that I might like a headache potion. "What's wrong, dear?" she asked after a while. Everything, I thought. Nothing was going right. "I- I don't know," I said, afraid that if I elaborated, I'd start crying again. "Well, let me heal that bruise near your eye," she replied as she pulled out her wand, "What happened?" I guess my eye looked worse than I thought, if she noticed it without me saying anything. "Banged it on a telescope," I muttered as she tapped her wand to my eyebrow. It immediately felt better. "Were you in Astronomy?" Madam Pomfrey asked as she walked over to a cupboard. "Yeah," I said. She returned with a potion and told me to drink it. I recognized it as the pain potion Mum usually gave to Matt after full moons. I downed it in one gulp. "I always loved Astronomy," the nurse told me as she sat back down on the bed. "I do, too," I sighed, wishing the class hadn't been ruined by Monica. "I sense there's something else troubling you," she said quietly, "You look too miserable for someone who just got her head knocked into a telescope." I bit my lip and looked down at the blanket. I started messing with a loose thread and then looked back up at Madam Pomfrey. She was just sitting on the bed, waiting for me to say something. "I-" I began, not sure what I wanted to tell her, or even if I wanted to tell her anything. "It's just hard to catch up on everything. I mean, I know nothing about British history of magic and I've been trying to read about five books on the subject as fast as I can, so I've been getting no sleep. Plus, I'm trying to catch up in Charms and Transfiguration, too. I've had a headache since dinner and had to stay up for Astronomy, which I normally love, but just wanted to skip tonight. But I can't skip any classes." "Yes, that would be hard," the nurse sighed, "You might find it more productive to spread out your studying instead of trying to learn everything as soon as possible." "I guess," my voice cracked, "But I already failed the first History of Magic exam! There was so much stuff on it that I should have learned last year." "You'll do better on the next one," she assured me, "And you don't want to study so hard that you're too tired for Astronomy, especially if it's something you really enjoy." "It wouldn't matter," I said shortly, "Astronomy is not going to be any fun because there's this girl who has been driving me mad. She's in my dormitory so she's in all my classes. She's why I ran out of Astronomy tonight, not because of my eye. She just kept saying stuff that made me want to hex her. Not that I ever wood," I said quickly. Madam Pomfrey smiled, "I know you wouldn't. She's just one of those girls who knows how to get to you." I nodded. "She just doesn't understand anything!" I said as my eyes began to water. "I was just minding my own business and doing what Polo told us to and she just started talking to me. I was already tired and my head hurt and I was worried about," I paused and glanced out the window at the bright full moon, "Other things." Madam Pomfrey followed my gaze and then looked at me knowingly. "Ah. Now I understand." I stared at her. Then it hit me; she already knew about Matt. We had met her when we visited Hogwarts and Kendrick had told her. Going to school at Hogwarts was not going to be like Australia. I didn't have to hide everything from everyone. There was someone I could talk to about Matt. "You're worried about your brother," she continued. I nodded and silent tears began to stream down my cheeks. I hastily wiped them away. "It's ok to be worried," Madam Pomfrey assured me, "I'd think it strange if you weren't." "Sh-she hates werewolves," I said, not really sure why I was telling the nurse all of this, "The girl who I was talking about. In Astronomy, she was telling me that tonight was the night all the werewolves came out and attacked people. She s-said that a werewolf was attacking an innocent ch-child r-right now." "Oh, Amy," Madam Pomfrey got up and sat down right next to me. She put her arm around my shoulder and rubbed my back, "I'm so sorry she did that." "She doesn't understand," I wailed, "Matt was the innocent child who got attacked." "She doesn't know about that," Madam Pomfrey said quietly. "I know," I sobbed, "But I've almost told her. A few times. In Defense class and tonight. I don't want her to know, but I just wish she'd stop bringing up the topic of werewolves." "She won't find out," Madam Pomfrey assured me, "Now would you like to spend the night here?" I nodded, grateful that I wouldn't have to return to my dormitory that night. "Thanks." "Not a problem," she smiled, and got up to return to her room. I climbed under the covers, still in my robes, and curled up into a ball. I stared out the window and watched the moon. Despite my fatigue, it took me a long time to fall asleep. Madam Pomfrey made no mention of our talk in the morning, which I was grateful for. I didn't normally spill my guts like that, but I had just felt so awful. I felt somewhat better that morning, but was still anxious for a letter from my parents. I was very relieved to find that Monica had already left the dormitory when I went there to get my books before class. I wondered if there was any way I could switch dormitories. The letter from my parents arrived at dinner, which resulted in quite a few odd looks from the people sitting closest to me. Apparently it was customary to receive mail at brekkie at Hogwarts. I detached the letter from Jasper's leg, gave him a pat on the head, and watched as he soared out the nearest window. I shoveled a few more bites of dinner into my mouth and then ran all the way back to the common room to read it. I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I read that Matt was ok. Sure, it was going to take a few days for him to recover, but his transformation hadn't been any worse than normal. Mum also told me that Dad was starting to get the hang of working the microwave. He had only exploded one thing that week. I laughed as I shoved the letter in my pocket, wishing I had been there to see the look on Dad's face when he had so much success with it.
Ms. Elsewhere Joined: 13 January 2008 Posts: 878 Location: In role play game of course!	Posted: Sunday 31 May 2009 09 18 26 pm    Post subject: Re: Where are they in the Half Blood Prince Movie posters? in topic:Where are they in the Half Blood Prince Movie posters? I have to admit I was excited too... and I just decided that's exactly what it's like and I'm proud just the same! LOL. i was all like, "There's hagrid.. omg! look at the Dobby costume! hee hee...." Didn't he play a great Weasley! And watching all the movies too. I'm hanging out now for the next movie, and it's going to land right in the middle of what is probably going to be the most stressful time of my life, but it will be a great distractor. I'm sure this website will get busy again when we want to talk about it.. so of course I'll be going to the opening! Bring on the posters, trailers and merchandise. I love love love it! I'm actually glad JK has dragged it out a bit. Yay!!! xx
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2495 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Thursday 28 May 2009 02 59 36 pm    Post subject: Re: In Moonlight's Shadow in topic:In Moonlight's Shadow Thanks hprocks! Yeah, I can't sleep when people snore either. Chapter 48: Strange Acquaintances After dinner I returned to my dormitory and pulled the curtains around my bed. All of my roommates were in the common room, but I didn't feel like talking to them if they came up to the dormitory. I wanted to be alone. I pulled out a roll of parchment and leaned up against my headboard. I found a quill and thought about what I should tell my family about my first day. Dear Mum, Dad, Matt, and Ellie, I just finished my first day and it was kind of insane. It started off bad and just went down hill. Last night I couldn't sleep, so I went down to the common room. I fell asleep down there, but woke up late. A boy named Ted Lupin (who has blue hair) woke me up along with a prefect named Landon Comer. He told me I can't sleep in the common room. I was late to my first class, Potions. The professor didn't mind, though. He seems nice. He had a brewing contest for the first day's lesson, which I won. The bloke I was working next to was not happy. Apparently he thinks he's the best potion brewer in the school. After lunch I had History of Magic, which I am very behind in. The professor is a ghost and he's so boring! Half the class was asleep! I couldn't even take decent notes. I had Herbology after that and I had to work with a girl who is possibly the most hyper person in the entire world. She was practically bouncing up and down in her seat as she told me about Hogwarts. I'm just glad the day is over. It feels like it's dragged on forever. I can't say that I like it here. All my roommates are nice, but they all have friends. Everyone already has friends. The only person I've met who pays any attention to me and I actually like is Ted Lupin. I miss you guys. Write soon. Love, Amy I shoved the letter into an envelope and then wrote similar ones to Olivia and Kenzie. Well, Kenzie's was pretty different since I had to make it sound like I was at a Muggle school. I left the dormitory and squeezed my way through the crowded common room. All I had to do was find the owlery. The corridor was much emptier than the common room. I set off for the owlery and only saw a few people on my way there. It took me a while to find it, but I didn't really mind since I had nothing better to do. It was kind of nice to walk the deserted corridors alone. Once I'd mailed my letters, I returned to the dormitory and spent the remainder of the evening reading my History of Magic book. It only seemed to cover what we were going to learn in class, though. I needed to read about the history that the professor had been teaching the past three years. I'd have to go to the library for that. I had the curtains pulled shut around my bed before my roommates came in for the night. I huddled under my blankets and listened to their whispered conversations as I tried to go to sleep. Hearing their late night conversations made me miss Olivia even more. I remembered all the nights we stayed up giggling with each other. I had another very restless night of sleep. Someone was snoring again and I hadn't been able to research a good muffling charm yet. I wanted more than anything to just go sleep in the common room again, but I couldn't risk waking up late and getting yelled at by Landon Comer. I doubted he'd let me off a second time. Despite the fact that I stayed in my dormitory, I still woke up late. I rushed to the Great Hall and grabbed a couple pieces of toast before attempting to find the Charms classroom. The worst thing about waking up late was that I couldn't follow any of my fellow classmates to the room. I practically ran all over the entire castle before I finally found the correct room. The worst part was that I walked into a class of seventh years thinking it was the Charms classroom. It was actually the Arithmancy classroom. The professor told me where the Charms room was, but it was incredibly embarrassing. The Charms professor was a short man with thinning black hair and very bushy eyebrows. He turned away from the class when I walked in five minutes late. He glared at me with such menace that I was taken aback. "Who are you?" he barked. "Erm, Amy Eckerton," I muttered, wanting nothing more than to run from the room and skip Charms all together. "Oh, you're that new girl, right?" the professor glanced at his desk and then looked back at me. "Another Gryffindor. Brilliant," he said flatly, "Sit down. And five points from Gryffindor for being late." I nodded, knowing not to argue with him. Perfect, I had managed to lose points on my second day at Hogwarts. The only seat left was in the front row. I groaned inwardly and sat down in it. The professor, whose name I soon learned was Washburn, only got worse as the class progressed. He docked points for every little thing, including staring off into space and not addressing him as 'sir'. I no longer felt as bad about losing five points for being late. Gryffindor had lost nearly thirty points by the time the class was over. We shared that class with the Hufflepuffs and they had lost about twenty-five. I was the first one out the door when the bell finally rang. I walked with the rest of the Gryffindors (who were all complaining loudly about Washburn) to our next class, which was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Defense has never been my strong suit. I'm rubbish at dueling and if I was ever in a fight, it would be better for me to just run than try and hex my attacker. I only hoped that Defense wasn't harder at Hogwarts than in Australia. Much to my dismay, Defense class was with the Slytherins. I didn't mind Slytherins in general. Most of them didn't seem nearly as bad as they were made out to be, but Quinton Willinson drove me mad. I purposely chose a seat as far away from him as possible, even though it meant sitting in the front row. A tall middle-aged man with rectangular shaped glasses walked in a few moments later. I was very happy to see that he was smiling. I could use with a nice teacher after having to sit through Washburn's class. "Hello, everyone," he greeted the class, "I hope you all had a pleasant holiday. I'll just run through the attendance. "All here," he said once he finished calling everyone's names. He had paused briefly on my name, but didn't say anything, "Now, as you all surely remember, last year's curriculum focused on dark creatures." Last year's curriculum was dark creatures? In Australia, they teach about dark creatures in fourth year. Another thing for me to be behind on. I knew what I'd be doing this weekend. Catching up. At least I already knew a fair bit about dark creatures because of Dad's job, but there was probably some stuff I still needed to learn. "I think it would be a good idea to review what you learned last year, so I have come up with a class project. I am going to split you up into five groups of four and each group will be assigned a creature we learned about last year. You will prepare a presentation and teach the class about your creature," the professor explained, "You will have today to prepare and the presentations will be on Thursday and next Tuesday if need be. "I've already chosen the groups and I will not switch them, so don't bother asking. I've chosen the more advanced creatures we learned about towards the end of the year. How you choose to teach is up to you. You may use visual aids and hand-outs, if you like. "The creatures I've chosen are the chimaera, lethifold, manticore, vampire, and werewolf." I had been writing the instructions on a piece of parchment, but my head snapped up at the word 'werewolf'. Maybe it wasn't a bad thing that I missed the main instruction about werewolves. I wouldn't have been able to keep my mouth shut if the professor had mentioned anything bad about them. Of course, now I was going to have to listen to my classmates talk about them. The professor began to read off the names of the groups, which resulted in a lot of groaning from the class. "The following people will be in the werewolf group. Charisse Kebby, Monica Kramer, Quinton Willinson, and Amy Eckerton." I stared at the professor. It hadn't even occurred to me that I could be in the werewolf group. The possibility hadn't even crossed my mind. Well, I did know more about werewolves than the other creatures, but it was still going to be very strange. I hoped my group members weren't people who disliked werewolves. It was just my luck that Quinton Willinson was in my group. Now I was going to have to cooperate with him. But if he said anything that was anti-werewolf, I wouldn't hesitate to yell at him for it. After the professor finished announcing the groups, everyone got up and sat with their group members. I got up and found Monica, who was sitting in the back. Quinton Willinson was near her and moved to the seat next to mine as soon as I sat down. A bored looking Slytherin girl slid into the chair next to Monica. "Are you new here or something?" the girl, who I presumed was Charisse Kebby, asked, "I don't think I've seen you before." "Very observant, Kebby," Monica rolled her eyes, "She moved here over the summer." "From Australia," Willinson added. That was odd. I didn't have to say a thing. Everyone else was telling my story for me. I wasn't sure if I liked that or not. "Now can we just get on with it?" Monica asked impatiently as she pulled out a roll of parchment. "Fine," Charisse muttered, "But you don't need to be so bossy." "I don't know about you, but I want a decent grade," Monica replied icily, "So can we cut the small talk and get started?" Bossy was certainly a good way of describing Monica. I got the feeling that she and Charisse hadn't gotten along very well in the past. "Werewolves," Monica went on, "Do you two remember anything about them? And Amy, do you know anything about them?" Did I know anything about werewolves? I could do the entire project myself and it would probably take less time than working together. "Yeah," I nodded. Willinson and Charisse nodded as well. "Good," Monica said, "Let's see, werewolves are classified as dangerous beasts by the Ministry of Magic because they pose a serious threat to witches and wizards. They thrive on biting people on every full moon in order to create more werewolves-" "Wait, what?" I interrupted. I stared at her. Was that what the professor had taught them last year? What a load of dung. "Is that seriously what this professor taught you lot last year?" "Well, not really," Monica replied, "But I've done a lot of research outside of class. Professor Torro doesn't really agree with all of the books I've read, though." "What you've read is a load of dung," I said flatly. Monica gaped at me. "Oh, really? Loads of books have been written about werewolves and a lot of them stress how dangerous werewolves are to wizards because they want to bite as many wizards as possible. Plenty of authors have written about how there needs to be tight restrictions on werewolves." I let out a loud sigh. I was absolutely disgusted. This girl was like a miniature version of Professor Killigan. "Again, that's completely untrue. Werewolves are just wizards who happen to have a disease that turns them into a raging wolf once a month. It's a disease, just like any other disease." Monica laughed. "A disease? Is that what they taught you down there? Maybe Australia is chummy with werewolves, but that's not how it works in Britain." I had to try hard to stifle my laugh at that one. The irony of it! Australia being 'chummy' with werewolves? "Werewolves are treated worse than animals in Australia," I glared at her, "And that's not what they taught us. I've done my own research as well." "So you think you're the resident werewolf expert?" Monica snapped. I groaned. I was going to have to be careful or I'd spill Matt's secret before he even entered Hogwarts. "I never said that. All I'm saying is that werewolves aren't as bad as books make them out to be." "How would you know?" Monica demanded. "I just do!" I shouted. "Will you two stop?" Charisse rolled her eyes, "I thought you wanted to do the project, Kramer, and here you are wasting time arguing with the new girl." "Well, I would do the project except the new girl is arguing with everything I say!" "Because what you're saying isn't true!" I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. This girl was mental. "Look, let's just get the project done," Charisse said, "Can't you just compromise? I mean, come on, Kramer. Werewolves are only dangerous on the full moon." "And isn't there a potion that makes them not dangerous on full moons?" Willinson asked. "Wolfsbane," I said immediately. "Right," Willinson said, "So if they take that, they're not as dangerous." "Wolfsbane causes the person to no longer be dangerous to themselves or others," I explained, "But they still turn into a wolf. They're just a calm, not dangerous wolf." "But they're still a werewolf!" Monica insisted, "And werewolves are dangerous! I am not going to do a presentation where we talk about how safe werewolves are!" "And I am not going to do one where all we talk about is how dangerous they are, because they aren't," I folded my arms across my chest. "Let's vote then," Monica glared at me, "Whoever agrees with me, raise your hand." Not a single hand went into the air. I smirked at Monica. "Ha. We're doing one about how werewolves are not raging lunatics." "Then I'm talking to Professor Torro," Monica huffed. "He won't listen," Charisse said, "He won't switch your group." "Then I'm doing a separate one," Monica replied. "Who cares," Charisse muttered. We spent the rest of the hour working on our project without Monica. I was surprised at how open Charisse and Willinson were to hearing what I had to say. Even Willinson was bearable, which truly shocked me. Both of them actually agreed that I should be the one to do most of the presenting on Thursday, which I was sort of nervous about. I was mostly nervous about what Monica was going to do. She was still in our group even though she refused to work with us, so she'd be presenting something at the same time we would be. ****** "It's just she comes in here thinking she knows everything!" someone said as they stomped loudly into the dormitory. I had just returned from dinner and was looking through my Charms book for a good muffling charm. I was sitting on my bed with the curtains drawn. Judging by the loud obnoxious voice, Monica had just entered the room. I held my breath and listened to her rant, because I figured it was about me. "She doesn't seem that bad," someone else with quieter footsteps said. She sounded like Victoire. "She just totally took over my group!" Monica shouted, "Even Willinson agreed with her!" "Willinson is a squirmy git and he's going to side with whoever he likes better," Victoire said, "I think he fancies Amy." I shuddered at the very idea of that. Willinson did not like me that way. He was an irritating git who just happened to side with me instead of Monica. "He fancies you, Victoire," Monica laughed. "He can fancy me all he likes, but I'm not going out with the git," Victoire muttered. "Back to the new girl," Monica groaned, "She just kept preaching to us about how lycanthropy is a disease. I mean, come on!" "You know what I think about that, Mon," Victoire said in a warning tone, "I think we agreed to disagree about it. You're not going to convince me that werewolves are evil. I'm the wrong person to convince of that. You know about Teddy's dad. Hell, you know about my own dad!" What did Victoire mean by that? My heart sped up and I strained my ears to hear Monica's response. "Your dad is not a werewolf, Victoire," Monica sighed, "I have nothing against your dad." "And what about Teddy's dad?" Victoire asked. Was Teddy's dad a werewolf? Victoire was certainly hinting at that. Why else would Monica have anything against him? "Teddy's dad is dead," Monica stated. "I know that!" Victoire groaned, "But what if he wasn't?" "Then I could be friends with Teddy without liking his dad," Monica muttered. Ted's dad was a werewolf. He had to be. I leaned back against my headboard and stared at the curtains. Ted's dad, even though he was dead, had been a werewolf. Ted might actually understand my situation. He wouldn't run screaming if I told him about Matt. But I couldn't. I shook the thought from my head. There was no way I could tell anyone, even if that person's own father had been a werewolf. Poor Ted, though. I wondered how his dad had died. Had it happened during a transformation? I couldn't imagine going through something like that. Well, I had come close twice, but Matt hadn't actually died. "Look, I don't want to get into this again," Victoire sighed, "We agreed to disagree last year and I don't want to row about it again." "I don't either," Monica said quietly, "But that new girl just drives me mad. She got both Willinson and Kebby to work with her instead of me." "Well, Kebby's always hated you," Victoire pointed out, "But how are you going to do your presentation while they do theirs?" "You'll find out," Monica said. "Oh, Merlin," Victoire muttered. "What?" Monica asked, "It won't be that bad." "No, not that," Victoire sighed, "Amy's curtains are shut. She's always hanging out in here. I bet she's in there and heard everything you just said." "I don't care," Monica said and I heard a bed creak. I held my breath as I heard her footsteps coming over to my bed. The curtains were yanked open and I saw Monica smirking down at me. Victoire was a few feet behind her, looking a bit nervous. "I'm sorry," Victoire said, "We didn't know you were here." "I'm not sorry," Monica huffed. "Good. I wouldn't accept your apology anyway," I glared at her, "And just to let you know, you drive me mad as well." Monica shot me a dirty look and then stomped away from the bed. Victoire watched her leave and then looked back at me. "Was Ted's dad a werewolf?" I asked quietly. "Yes," Victoire told me, "But Ted isn't." I nodded, even though I kind of figured that. Kendrick said there had only been one werewolf at Hogwarts and that was decades ago. "Erm, how did he die?" I asked. I had to know if it was from a transformation. I knew there was always the possibility of a werewolf dying during a transformation, but I had only heard of it happening once or twice. "He was killed in the Final Battle," Victoire told me, "Teddy was only a few months old." "Final Battle?" I asked curiously. I hadn't ever heard of that before. I had to admit that I was kind of relieved he hadn't died during a transformation. "You've never heard of the Final Battle?" Victoire looked shocked, "The war against Voldemort? Harry Potter?" Voldemort and Harry Potter sounded vaguely familiar, but I couldn't remember where I'd heard them before. I shook my head. "Nope." "Victoire!" Monica shouted from the doorway, "I thought you were going to help me with my Potions homework! Come on!" "I'll be right there!" Victoire shouted back and then turned to me, "Go to the library and get the book called 'The Rise and Fall of Lord Voldemort' by Minerva McGonagall. Look for the name Remus Lupin. That's Teddy's dad." I nodded and Victoire turned and ran out of the room. I sat there completely still for a few minutes. In the span of two days I had already figured out who the other werewolf who had attended Hogwarts was, and I knew his son. Not only that, but I already had one girl who hated me and I hated her. Then there was Laney Hall, who for some odd reason liked to talk to me constantly. Throw in Quinton Willinson and I had strange acquaintances at Hogwarts. But I hadn't made a single real friend yet. ****** I was extremely nervous by the time Defense class arrived on Thursday. I still had no idea what Monica was planning on doing, but she looked very smug when I walked into class, so I took that as a bad sign. I barely paid attention during the presentations on vampires, manticores, and lethifolds that were before mine. From what I did get, there was nothing presented that I didn't already know. "Now we will have the werewolf presentation by Amy Eckerton, Charisse Kebby, Monica Kramer, and Quinton Willinson," Torro announced after the lethifold group sat down. I swallowed hard and wiped my sweaty palms on my robes as I stood up. I grabbed my notes and walked up to the front of the room. Willinson and Charisse stood on either side of me but Monica stood a few meters away. "Um, hi," I began, "We're going to talk to you about lycanthropy. Werewolves are often portrayed as monsters, but in reality, they are just like us twenty-seven days out of twenty-eight-" "But that one day, they are raging monsters who would turn on their best friend," Monica interrupted. I stared at her and then shuffled through my notes. What was she doing? "Yes, that is true," I went on, "But they have no control over it. Most werewolves would choose not to transform if given the choice." "But they're not given the choice," Monica said, "So whether they'd choose to or not is not relevant." "Yes, it is," I said a little louder, "It proves that they are not monsters, but victims of a crippling disease. If they truly were monsters, they would enjoy attacking people." "If they weren't monsters, we wouldn't study them in this class," Monica smirked. A few people giggled. Suddenly it hit me. She was going to refute every single thing I said. Two people could play at that game, I thought. We could debate if she wanted. "We study them because they have the potential to be dangerous when transformed and we need to be careful," I countered. "Potential?" Monica gaped, "Potential? They've got more than just a potential!" "The point is, is that they should not be treated like rubbish for what happens one night out of twenty-eight," I said, "They don't choose to become werewolves. They're victims of a disease. Of a curse. Nobody is going to put restrictions on a wizard with dragon pox just because they could transmit it to another wizard. Lycanthropy is the same principle." Monica rolled her eyes. "Dragon pox is curable. Lycanthropy is not a disease. Lycanthropes are monsters." I glared at her. "So they should suffer just because nobody's found a cure? It's a chronic disease that can be controlled." I turned to Charisse, who was supposed to explain about Wolfsbane. "Wolfsbane is a potion that enables a werewolf to transform safely. A werewolf under the influence of Wolfsbane will transform into a calm wolf who will not attack anyone. It enables the person to keep their mind," Charisse explained. "But you said it doesn't work on all werewolves," Monica pointed out. I sighed. "Yes, that's true." "So why don't we just put more restrictions on those werewolves?" Monica smirked. I shot her a dirty look. I could feel my heart pounding harder in my chest. She was getting worse and worse. "That would be stupid," I seethed, "Werewolves whom Wolfsbane does not work for are suffering even more than other werewolves. They endure a painful, crippling transformation every single month. They get sick every month for a few days before the full moon. After it, it takes days for them to get their strength back up." "Yeah, it's such a shame that they suffer when they inflict their horrible curse on other people every month," Monica laughed. She laughed. She actually laughed. Although she didn't know it, she was indirectly laughing at what my brother had to go through every month. She reminded me of Lubar. It was awful. "You," I seethed, "Are one of the most close minded people I have ever met in my life." "All right!" Torro announced, "That's enough. Class dismissed. We'll continue with the next group at the beginning of next class. If the werewolf group could please see me before you leave." I sent the dirtiest look I could muster at Monica as I stomped towards Torro's desk. Willinson and Charisse stood on either side of me. Monica stood a few feet to my left. "I think you both made your points. That was certainly an unorthodox take on my assignment," Torro said, "However, you did miss the general point of my assignment. The purpose was to present the facts about werewolves. How to identify one, what happens during a transformation, and what the characteristics of an untransformed werewolf are, and perhaps a bit about the Wolfsbane potion. Nowhere in this assignment were you instructed to debate the ethics of how werewolves are to be treated in society. "Therefore, I am assigning a two foot essay on the characteristics of werewolves to all of you. You will hand it in at the beginning of class on Tuesday. It is not a group essay, either. You should complete it alone. Now you'd best be getting to your next class." "Thanks a lot, Eckerton," Monica muttered. "You were just a part of this as she was, Miss Kramer," Torro replied. I ignored her comment and stomped back to my desk. I threw my notes into my bag and stormed out of the room. I ran all the way to Gryffindor Tower. I didn't want lunch; I wasn't hungry. I didn't even care that Torro had assigned us an extra essay. It had been worth it. There was no way I could have stood there and let Monica insult werewolves like that. Plus, I could probably write that essay in a half hour. I climbed the stairs to my dormitory and pulled the curtains around my bed. I laid on my stomach and screamed into my pillow. There were very few people who had gotten me as angry as Monica had. Sure, a lot of people annoyed me and I'd be the first to admit it. Vivien's friends annoyed me. Cinda's rich friends annoyed me. The girls in my year at the Australian School of Sorcery (besides Olivia) annoyed me. Kenzie's sisters annoyed me. Monica had gone beyond the state of annoyance. She angered me in ways I didn't think possible. The only people who had ever done that were Clarence, Lubar, and Killigan and they were adults, so I didn't really argue with them. Monica just knew the exact ways to get to me. I doubted she knew it herself and she was definitely clueless as to why, but she seemed to push all of my buttons at once. The worst part was, was that she made me want to spill Matt's secret. I had been so close to just telling the class about him. I told them what went on during his transformations with such detail that everyone was bound to know why I knew so much. I was going to have to be more careful, that was for sure. No matter how hard it was to do, I was just going to have to ignore Monica.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2495 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Sunday 17 May 2009 01 05 25 pm    Post subject: Re: In Moonlight's Shadow in topic:In Moonlight's Shadow Thanks hprocks! Chapter 47: First Day Five girls were already inside. Three of them were hanging up posters and giggling with each other. The other two were whispering with each other on one of the beds. I stepped inside and a floorboard creaked beneath my feet. All five girls looked up at me. "This would explain the sixth bed," a tall, skinny girl with waist-length dark brown hair said as she jumped off the bed she was standing on. "So, you're new here?" one of the other giggling girls, with short black hair, said. I nodded and walked over to the bed that had my trunk at the foot of it. I pulled back the curtains and sat down, not sure what to do. The other girls just stared at me. None of them went back to their conversations. "I'm Seren Frazier," the tall girl announced as she walked towards me. "Samantha Meyers," the girl with the short black hair said. "Yeah, and don't call her Sam or Sammy," Seren laughed, "Or she'll kill you." "Naw," Samantha smirked, "I'll just hex you." "Alyssa Brown," the third giggling girl hopped off her bed and walked over to me with her curly light brown hair bouncing behind her. "Victoire Weasley," one of the whispering girls, who had very long blonde hair and looked a lot like the blonde girl I shared a carriage with, smiled from her bed. Weasley, I thought. She must be related to the two first years who practically got a standing ovation when they were sorted. "Monica Kramer," the other whispering girl said. She had very curly dark brown hair and wore glasses. I nodded. Six people in one dormitory. I seriously hoped none of them snored or I would never get to sleep. "What's your name?" Seren asked. "Amy Eckerton," I muttered. "Why did you move here?" Samantha sat down on the bed next to mine and looked at me curiously, "I've never heard of anyone transferring schools for their fourth year." "Yeah, and where did you live before?" Alyssa asked. "When did you get sorted?" Monica asked. I squeezed my eyes shut and then opened them. Everyone was looking at me curiously. This was what I wasn't looking forward to. The demanding questions, curious stares. It was giving me a headache and I knew I'd have to do it all again tomorrow. "I moved here from Australia," I answered, "My dad changed jobs. I was sorted over the summer." I had decided earlier that I wouldn't tell anyone Dad got fired. That would raise more questions. People would ask why he was fired. "Australia?" Seren looked impressed, "Wow, you came a long ways." "What job does your dad have?" Samantha asked. "He works in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures at the Ministry," I replied. "My dad works for the Ministry, too," Samantha said, "Muggle-Worthy Excuse Department." "So, what do you know about Hogwarts?" Alyssa asked, "We'll tell you all about the professors." "Yeah," Seren agreed, "You'll want to stay away from Washburn. He hates Gryffindors, but nobody knows why." "Slughorn's nice, but don't get into his Slug Club," Alyssa shook her head, "Bloody hell, I'll never go to one of those again." "They're not that bad," Victoire said. "Well, you actually like Potions," Alyssa laughed. "But I'm horrible at it," Victoire sighed. "No, you're not," Monica groaned, "You've got the best grade out of all of us." "So, do you play Quidditch?" Samantha asked eagerly. "No," I shook my head, "I hate flying." Samantha looked taken aback. "Oh, well, that's too bad. I'm a Chaser for Gryffindor." "What do you like?" Seren asked. "Er, Astronomy. And Potions," I said quietly. "Those are my two least favorite classes," Alyssa laughed, "Well, those and History of Magic." "Do you at least follow professional Quidditch?" Samantha asked, "What's your favorite team?" "Australia, I guess," I said, "Look, I think I just want to go to bed." The constant questions were driving me mad. I was already deprived of sleep and that wasn't helping my mood. I located my pajamas and headed into the bathroom. When I returned, the other girls had gone back to what they were doing before I entered the room. Seren and Samantha looked up at me as I walked back to my bed, but nobody said anything, which I was grateful for. I climbed into my new bed and buried myself under the covers. I stared up at the scarlet colored ceiling and listened to the quiet voices of my new roommates. Despite the tight quarters, I felt more alone than ever before. Eventually the chattering and giggling stopped and I heard beds creaking. Someone turned out the light. I turned over and stared at the bed hangings until my eyes adjusted to the dark. There was a small amount of moonlight streaming in through the window next to my bed and it shown through the curtains around my bed. The moon was the one constant thing in my life. No matter where I was, the moon always shown through my bedroom window. My house in Australia, my dormitory in Australia, my room at Richard and Cinda's, Uncle Jack's house, my house in England, and now Hogwarts. Despite my fatigue, I couldn't get to sleep. I kept thinking about classes the next day and I couldn't clear my mind. Then, somebody started snoring. I had no way of telling who it was, but it was so loud that even putting my pillow over my ears didn't help. I needed a muffling charm. I'd have to look one up in the library the next day. If I could find the library, that is. I groaned and sat up in bed. This was hopeless. I'd never get to sleep in my dormitory. I quietly slipped out of bed and out the door. The common room was cold and empty when I got there. It had already been cleaned, too. It must have been really late. I curled up on one of the scarlet couches and closed my eyes. The room was so quiet, just how I liked. Somehow it made me feel even more lonely, though. I squeezed my eyes shut even tighter and felt tears streaming down my cheeks. ****** "Hey, Aussie Eckerton," someone said. I snapped my eyes open and quickly closed them again as I was blinded by sunlight. I sat up slowly and rubbed my eyes. Ted Lupin was standing next to the couch smirking to himself. There was another bloke next to him. He was a bit taller than Ted, with shaggy brown hair that my mum would say needed to be cut. Both of them were in their school robes and had bags over their shoulders. "Er, hi," I muttered. "Why are you sleeping down here?" Ted asked with an amused look on his face. "Um, couldn't sleep," I replied. "Oh, this is Landon Comer," Ted gestured to the other boy. "Nice to meet you," I said as I got up from the couch. "You too," Landon replied, "But since I'm a Prefect, I have to let you know that technically you're not supposed to sleep in the common room. Since you're new, I'll let it slide this once." "Thanks," I blushed. Figures, I broke a rule my first night there. "Classes start in fifteen minutes, Aussie," Ted told me. I groaned inwardly and muttered goodbye to Ted and Landon. I ran back up the stairs and to my dormitory. None of the other girls were there, but that didn't surprise me. I threw on robes and crammed all of my books into my bag. I then realized I had no idea which classes I had that day. I groaned out loud and ran back to the common room, hoping that Ted or Landon would still be there. They were just leaving as I entered. "Ted!" I shouted. Ted looked back at me. "What is it?" "Um, how do I know where my classes are?" I asked as my cheeks reddened again. "Longbottom, he's our head of house, has the schedules in the Great Hall. You'd better hurry, though." "Thanks," I muttered as I rushed past them and out into the hallway. I didn't really remember how to get to the Great Hall, but since it was on the first floor and Gryffindor Tower was on the top, I figured I should just run down all the flights of stairs I found. This method worked and I was soon in the deserted Great Hall. A few of the professors were still milling about, but I had no idea which one was Longbottom. I grabbed a piece of toast from the Gryffindor table and hoped that someone would see me there and give me a schedule. A man with blonde hair shaping his round face walked over to me. I hoped he was Longbottom. "Hello. I'm Professor Longbottom. You must be Amy?" he asked. "Yes, sir," I replied. "Welcome to Gryffindor," he smiled, "I'm your head of house and I teach Herbology. Here's your schedule." "Thanks," I said as I took the piece of parchment he handed me. "Well, I've got to get to class and you should, too. I'll see you soon," he said and then left the room. I shoved the rest of the toast into my mouth and glanced down at my new schedule. Potions was first, in the dungeons. Well, that was pretty straight forward. Dungeons were obviously underground, so all I had to do was find another set of stairs. I left the empty Great Hall and looked around for another staircase. I found a door that was labeled 'dungeons' and wrenched it open. I followed a dank staircase into an even danker stone corridor. Looked like dungeons to me. I ran down the corridor until I found the classroom. The door was shut. Great, I thought, the class had already started. I opened the door as quietly as I could, but I knew there would be no way to slip in unnoticed. "The directions are on the board-" the professor said and then turned to the door. He was a short, round man with no hair on his head and a very prominent grey mustache. "Are you Amy Eckerton?" he asked. I nodded, but didn't move from the doorway. The entire class was staring at me. From the looks of it, the class consisted of Gryffindors and Slytherins. To my dismay, I recognized Quinton Willinson. He was sitting in the front row and for some odd reason was smiling wryly at me. "Well, my name is Professor Slughorn and I will forgive your tardiness as this is your first day." The whole class erupted in whispers at 'first day'. "You can take a seat next to Mr. Willinson," Slughorn gestured to the vacant seat in the front row, "He can inform you about today's potion." I nodded and reluctantly walked over to Willinson's table. Why did that have to be the only empty place in the room? I made a mental note to get to Potions earlier the next time. I really didn't want my favorite class spoiled by a creepy bloke. "We're brewing Wit-Sharpening Potion," Willinson announced, "It's a very advanced potion for fourth years, not usually learned until later in the year, but Slughorn likes to give challenges on the first day. We're having a contest. Whoever brews the best potion gets chocolate. I usually win all the contests since I'm the best brewer in the fourth year." I raised my eyebrow at him. He was even more arrogant than I had originally thought. I didn't think so much arrogance could be put in one sentence, but apparently it could. He was in for a surprise, though. I had taught myself how to brew Wit-Sharpening Potion months ago. I set my cauldron down on the table and lit a fire underneath it. I avoided Willinson's gaze as I got up and joined the queue of students at what I assumed was the storage closet. Willinson followed me and collected his own ingredients. I returned to the table and began to prepare mine. "How do you like Gryffindor?" Willinson asked. "It's fine," I muttered as I tossed a few beetles into my cauldron and raised the flame. "You'd be happier in Slytherin," he drawled. "I doubt that," I told him. "You should chop those lacewing flies into smaller pieces," Willinson announced and pointed to his own, "Like mine." I glared at him. "Mine are perfectly fine," I said shortly. "Just thought you'd like some advice from a master potions brewer," he shrugged, "Australia might be behind Hogwarts in terms of potion brewing." "No fourth year could be considered a 'master potions brewer,'" I smirked, "And Australia is not behind Hogwarts in potion brewing." I stirred my lacewing flies into my cauldron and the potion turned the appropriate emerald green color. I glanced at Willinson's cauldron and saw that his potion was more of a forest green. I smirked and began to mince my anise. "Ah, wonderful, Miss Eckerton!" Slughorn grinned as he peered into my cauldron, "Your potion is the exact shade of green it should be at this point. You might want to take note of what Miss Eckerton is doing, Mr. Willinson." I grinned and turned to Willinson, who was turning a purplish color. He hastily added another few lacewing flies in an attempt to change the color, but his potion turned slightly yellow instead of emerald green. "Looks like another for the Slug Club," I heard someone whisper from behind me. If the Slug Club meant I was the best potion brewer in the class, I was fine with it. "Told you my lacewing flies were the appropriate size," I told Willinson. "But, but-" he stuttered, "Fine, your lacewing flies are the right size. But your anise is too finely chopped." "It is not," I groaned, "And I prefer not to talk while I brew." I ignored him from that moment on. I could feel his eyes on me, but figured he'd stop talking if I stopped responding. Slughorn walked around the room and looked at everyone's potion near the end of the double period. Willinson was looking very smug as he stood next to his potion, but I personally thought his potion was too thick. "Quinton, m'boy," Slughorn grinned and then peered into the cauldron, "Very nice. A bit too heavy on the anise. Put less in and your potion won't be so thick. It needs to be a tad thinner." I smirked as Slughorn moved onto my own potion. "Amy from Australia," Slughorn said as he looked in my cauldron, "Well, it seems that they do know their potions in the land down under! Excellent work. I believe you have won the chocolate." Slughorn produced a very large bar of chocolate and gave it to me. I said thank you and pocketed it. So far, potions was a great class at Hogwarts. I got to brew and I got chocolate for it. "So, you think you're better at Potions than me?" Willinson said as we left the room after cleaning up. "I never said that," I snapped. He was really getting on my nerves. "I learned how to brew that potion months ago, if you must know." "Don't bother," Victoire Weasley appeared next to me, "He's not worth arguing with." "Victoire!" Willinson grinned, "Will you go to Hogsmeade with me this year?" "Not a chance, Willinson," Victoire growled, "And give up already, I'm never going to." Victoire sped up and walked ahead of us with Monica. I tried to get away from Willinson, but he kept following me. Why was it that the only person in the entire school who seemed to want to be friends with me was mental? "What else do you know how to brew?" Willinson asked as we climbed the stairs to the Entrance Hall. I rattled off a few potions that I had brewed recently. Quite a few of them were ones in the fourth year curriculum at Hogwarts. "Oh, er, I can brew all of those as well," Willinson stuttered. I kind of doubted that, but nodded anyway. "Well, that's good." I managed to shake him when we got to the Great Hall and I went to the Gryffindor table and he went to the Slytherin table. I ate a quiet lunch and then glanced at my schedule and saw that I had History of Magic next. I waited until I saw Seren, Samantha, and Alyssa get up from the table to get up myself. I had no idea where the History of Magic classroom was, so I figured it would be a good idea to just follow them. I walked a few feet behind them and they didn't notice me. I sat down at one of the tables in the back and pulled out a roll of parchment, ink, and a quill. The classroom filled up quickly and two Gryffindor boys I didn't know sat down at my table. It looked like we shared that class with the Ravenclaws. The two boys at my table were goofing around with each other and weren't acting like they were ready to sit through a class. I edged away and tried to keep a healthy distance in between them and myself. A few moments later, a ghost floated through the blackboard. I gaped and nearly fell out of my chair. I looked around the room, but nobody else seemed at all surprised by this. The two boys at my table stopped messing around. I picked up my quill and continued to gawk at the well, ghostly, professor. All the professors at the Australian School of Sorcery were alive. I had never heard of a ghost professor before. "This year we'll be moving onto modern history of magic in Britain," the professor said in a very monotone voice, "We'll start with the late nineteenth century. At this time, witches and wizards all over Britain were dealing with the beginnings of what is now known as the Gringotts Strike of 1892...." I scrambled to write down everything he said. He didn't waver at all in the tone of his voice and he spoke at the same constant rate. He didn't pause at all for people to take notes, or even to breathe. Of course, he didn't really need to pause for breath. Nor did he write any of the notes on the board, but he probably couldn't pick up the chalk. This was one of the classes I had been worried about. I knew absolutely nothing about British history of magic. Everyone else in the room had grown up in England and probably heard about this stuff before. I hadn't. My hand was hurting before the class was even half over. I had already written a quarter of a roll of parchment, and the teacher had yet to take a break. I knew I was missing information and I probably wouldn't even be able to read my notes. I shook out my hand and glanced around the room. Hardly anyone else was taking notes. A few Ravenclaws were, but none of the Gryffindors were. A few were whispering to each other and passing notes. A quarter of the class had their heads down on their tables. "For three years, half the goblins at Gringotts refused to let people access their vaults resulting in a depression like state for hundreds of witches and wizards..." the ghost droned on. I looked at the clock and groaned. The class was only half over. The teacher's voice was so monotone that I wasn't surprised people were falling asleep. I could feel my own eyes beginning to droop. A half hour later I shoved my illegible notes into my bag and left the room as fast as I could. I knew it already. I was going to fail History of Magic. I bit my lip and sped up. It was hopeless. Potions had been the exception. It was the only class at Hogwarts I would do all right in. Everything else I was bound to be behind in, especially History of Magic. How was I supposed to pass that class when I couldn't even take decent notes? How did everyone else manage it? Nobody took notes. Nobody even paid attention. I pulled out my schedule again and saw that I had Herbology next. The last thing I felt like doing was finding the greenhouses and sitting through another class. I walked down flights of stairs until I finally got to the Entrance Hall. I left the castle and gazed about the grounds. I hadn't seen them in the daylight in months. I saw a few buildings that looked like greenhouses in the distance and started down a path I hoped would lead to them. I breathed a sigh of relief as they came into sight. Professor Longbottom was standing in front of the greenhouse on the right and waved to me. "Hello, Amy," he smiled, "How's the first day going?" I shrugged. "As expected." "Well, if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask," he said, "You can go on inside and find a seat." I nodded and walked into the greenhouse. It didn't look that different than the ones in Australia, although some of the plants were different. Of course, I thought, Britain probably had different magical plants. More stuff I'd be clueless about. There were a few other students in the greenhouse. I found an empty seat and slumped down in it. The greenhouse slowly filled up and a short Hufflepuff sat down next to me. Her hair was dirty blonde with purple streaks in it. She had put a few small ponytails throughout it and it was kind of messy. Her robes were askew and they revealed a tie-dye t-shirt underneath. "Hi!" she grinned at me, "I've never seen you before." "Hi," I replied, "Erm, I just moved here." "Really?" her eyes widened as she bounced in her seat, "That's brilliant! You'll love it here. Where did you move from?" "Australia," I told her. She was possibly the most hyper person I had met at Hogwarts so far. "I've always wanted to go there," she sighed, "Oh, I'm being rude. I'm Laney Hall." "Amy Eckerton," I replied. "Do you want to be my partner in class?" Laney asked excitedly, "We usually work in groups of two in Herbology, only there's an odd number of us so I usually work in a group of three. But since you're here now, there's an even number so you can work with me. Won't that be fun?" I nodded, although I wasn't sure about the 'fun' part. Laney ignored my lack of enthusiasm and began to rattle off a bunch of information about Hogwarts that I only partially paid attention to. Longbottom walked in a few minutes later and she shut up. By the end of the class I was feeling very happy that I had not wound up in Hufflepuff. Laney Hall was the most excitable person I had ever met and working with her for an hour was making me want to scream. She chattered on and on about anything and everything as we transplanted Flibbery Flowers from small single pots to large ones that housed five of the colorful flowers. Laney followed me back to the castle and continued talking about the importance of showing house spirit at Quidditch matches. I just nodded every once and a while, but didn't pay much attention. That's what I did the entire class as well. I breathed a sigh of relief when she bade me goodbye to go to the Hufflepuff common room while I continued up the stairs to Gryffindor tower.