Harry Potter Robes and Costumes

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Ms. Elsewhere Joined: 13 January 2008 Posts: 881 Location: In role play game of course!	Posted: Sunday 6 December 2009 04 44 45 am    Post subject: Re: RPG: The Six Wizards in topic:RPG: The Six Wizards The reality of what had happened pulsed through Inu like a quickening. He stood up and straightened up to his full height. His senses were already heightening so much it was hard to take in; and this was only half of what it would eventually be, about a day from now. He struggled with the intensity of it, feeling so connected to Neko, and so completely aware of every living creature around them. Even the trees seemed to have a pulse. When he strained to listen, he could hear the sap within them, oozing slowly. And best yet, He felt the delicious urge to hurt, and to kill, and to silence every life that crossed his path. He may have even fallen asleep for a moment. Then he noticed her. Inu turned his attention to the house and narrowed his eyes. He carefully layed Neko down onto the forest floor and covered her in his robes, and then moved, bare chested, to where he could see the house. He could smell something.. he thought in his head for a moment, trying to categorise the creature. "Human." he muttered. and crouched down, hoping to catch a glimse of who it was. Yuta was in the kitchen. He breathed deeply, trying to focus on her. His eyes opened and he felt something charge up inside him. He felt absolutely savage. He stared into the house, his breathing quickening, his hair standing on end, and he was starting to crouch lower. He could smell... sweat, sweet and cold. He could sense ... fear. Inu put one hand on a tree next to him, feeling his body heaving with his fast breathing. He was actually growling, and he was murderous. Yuta moved within the house, and he stepped forward, then he another step, then another. Shaking his head, he tried to clear his thoughts. He felt so completely arroused to the idea of killing, he could barely concentrate. But.. "I have to." he said to himself, and sometihng of what he knew of his own sense came back to him. He smiled to himself. Neko must have mastered this amazing, savage and preditorial nature. He would have to ask her for guidance. But in the meantime, Inu was starting to realise that he needed to gather his alies. He needed to speak to Yuta. Inu entered the house and moved into the kitchen. "Yuta?" he asked, in the same voice he had always used for their relationship. They were friends if anything, bound by a promise. He would speak with her. He owed her that much.
Q.Araignee Joined: 4 January 2006 Posts: 5000 Location: Daydreaming about my now fiancé *squee*	Posted: Thursday 3 December 2009 08 22 32 am    Post subject: Re: RPG: The Six Wizards in topic:RPG: The Six Wizards With a few muttered words, Inu cleared the debris from the forest floor until it was completely clear. He left Neko knelt on the floor as he stood and paced around them. He walked around clockwise in a perfect circle, muttering something about “three times deosil”. From what she could judge it was about five metres across. After walking twice round, he completed one final circuit- this time using the knife to scribe a circle into the ground behind him. Once that was completed and he stepped inside, it suddenly seemed like all the noise in the forest had been silenced. No wind blew, no bird chirped, no creatures rustled in the undergrowth. Even their smells were absent, which was a completely new sensation for Neko. She didn’t like it. With the circle completed, Neko watched Inu as he paced between each of the four cardinal points within the circle, again moving clockwise from what she determined as East. At each point, he knelt and muttered a short piece of verse before carving an odd symbol into the ground. With each carving, there was an increase of pressure in the circle which dissipated in mere moments. When the four were done, he returned to the centre and knelt in front of her once more as he drew one last symbol on the ground between them. He spoke in a tongue she did not recognise, and which sounded awkward to him, though it apparently had the desired effect. The pressure for this last one threatened to choke the breath from her lungs but again dissipated, though it left the hairs on the back of her neck raised and tingling. From within his own robes he drew a chalice; there was no other word for it. It was made from gold, and inscribed with runes and arcane symbols from base to rim, shaped like the Grail they talked about in the West. If she weren’t sure by now that she was partaking in long forgotten magics, Neko would be trying to deny that the metal hummed as it was placed between them. The wicked knife Inu held in his hands reflected in the polished surface of the chalice, and the surface of both objects seemed to shimmer. Now muttering harsher words in the foreign tongue, he reached for her bare arm. With such careful precision, he placed the tip against her skin and applied pressure until the skin broke. The metal was hot as it touched her, and the pain was subtle as the knife scored down her arm leaving a bleeding cut from elbow to wrist. He held her arm over the chalice so that her blood would fall into it, always muttering. Though the cut would normally heal quickly, it remained open and continued bleeding, and soon Neko was feeling light-headed but she did not waver. When the chalice was half filled, Inu broke in his words to lick the cut clean. His rough tongue stung, and when she reflexively jerked he held her still. His head rose and gestured for her to look down. When she did, Neko almost gasped- the cut was gone, leaving but a nigh invisible scar. While she examined herself further, Inu pulled back from her and repeated the process with himself- again speaking in tongues. When the chalice was filled, Neko instinctively reached for Inu’s arm to clean his own cut- while surprised, he stopped speaking and nodded his acquiescence, watching as his own cut disappeared from sight. The full chalice looked ominous in the dappled light as it tried to pierce the foliage, more so as Inu stirred it with the knife and chanted over it. Odd gleams of colour seemed to swirl in what should have been a pure red substance, and Neko could not figure out what they were at all. But she guessed what came next, so when Inu raised the chalice and offered it to her she did not hesitate. She took hold of the cup, feeling the warmth of the metal seep into her hands as she raised it to her mouth and drank. The blood burned like fire as it coursed down her throat, making her hands tremble terribly. Her body screamed at her to stop as it was seared from the inside, but as Inu placed his hands around hers to steady them her mind cried out against it. When half of their blood was gone, Inu pulled the chalice away from her and began drinking from it himself. When he began drinking, however, the pain Neko felt increased five-fold and with a curdling shriek she passed out. When she came to, Inu was dragging himself around the circle counterclockwise and removing the circle- again mumbling, this time about “widdershins”. With a final sweep of his hand, it was gone, and all the sensations in the forest crashed into Neko’s senses. It was painful to have the sounds and smells return in a split second, and she whimpered as her head throbbed. More than that, though, she felt pain of a different kind. It was the same, but not affecting her physical senses. It was as if she had acquired a second set of senses. And certainly the second sense of smell was keener than her own. Then, a wave of love and comfort swept through her. Neko looked up to see Inu looking at her oddly. But of course, the ritual magic...it had worked then. Working through the pain, Neko tried to offer her own sympathies to Inu without a word, and his wan smile seemed to tell her that he knew. The mingling of thoughts and senses was still taking place, they both knew, but when the magic settled it would indeed be formidable. Neko tried to stand, desiring to walk over to Inu and hold him. But even as she did, Inu’s thoughts urged her not to. They came too late though- Neko stood, and the world turned upside down. A pain flashed in the back of her skull, and darkness once more enveloped her as the ground came up to meet her.
Ms. Elsewhere Joined: 13 January 2008 Posts: 881 Location: In role play game of course!	Posted: Wednesday 2 December 2009 08 48 01 am    Post subject: Re: RPG: The Six Wizards in topic:RPG: The Six Wizards Inu looked down into Neko's face and then he pulled her to a bench to sit down. He reached into his robes and pulled out a knife encased in a leather holder. He slid it out. The look of it was deadly; sharp, shining, and jagged edges. It was very much a ceremonial blade. Neko winced once. Inu held the exposed knife in his left hand and reached for her arm with his other hand. As he did, the cloth from Neko's shirt fell to the side, revealing her skin. She was looking down at her arm, then the knife, and then to Inu's face. Her look was stoney, but patient. She waited, and her heart rate did not change. Inu found her courage more desirable than any faint hearted, terrified kill he had bled just for fun. He took a deep breath and then spoke softly. "I want you to want this, Neko." he said, twisting the blade so that the sun reflected off of it, gleaming onto the windows too. He leaned closer, pulling her hand to his chest. "Be part of me. I know the idea intrigues you. It's not just me who controls it. You would have that power too. You can feed off of my strength. You can use my senses. Please..." he said in a voice he knew Neko loved. "Bind to me, and permit me to feel what someone with a true sense of insanity, of cruelty and sadism can expell. Neko; I made Ouki what she was because I was able to dominate her personality. With you... we are the same. If not with MORE impressionable skills to share. I made the mistake of setting a trap on the spell. If she severs it, we both die... but if there are others bound to me, only she dies. If anything... do to protect me." at this last request he dropped his head, but his grasp on Neko's arm was firm. He would bind her without her permission. But he wanted to give her a choice. He needed her to say yes, not only because he loved her, but because he desired more than anything that she would be his ally in all of this until all of this came to an end. He looked up at her and his mind wandered to Yuta and Buta. If he had Neko on his side, he would bind the others too. Just their binding would not be enough to shelter him and Neko from the trap. He would need them all. And if he had Damien.. Ouki would never dare to try to walk away again.
Ms. Elsewhere Joined: 13 January 2008 Posts: 881 Location: In role play game of course!	Posted: Tuesday 1 December 2009 08 24 32 am    Post subject: Snape and Umbridge??? in topic:Snape and Umbridge??? Dare if you will to imagine what would happen if..... I just want to say as well, I do not own Harry Potter, but appreciate the opportunity to write fan ficiton about it at every chance! This happens to be my first finished one! yay! hope u like. x Professor Snape had just released his students from his class after holding them back for yet another display of incompitence. It was disturbing how he could sleep at night allowing students to graduate with such a dim understanding of the delicate art of Potions. Muttering to himself, he started to organise his desk before closing up the classroom for the day. As he did so, something caught his eye and nearly made his stomach turn. It was very large, and very pink. Professor Umbridge was sauntering into the classroom with one of her clipboards, a dreamy look on her face, and that annoying giggle escaping from otherwise pursed and sealed lips. She approached his desk. "Professor, I have just come down, as I have done with so many other of your collegues.." she paused, lookign for a moment exhausted ,and then returned to her dreamy cheery nature. "...to test your skills in your chosen area of expertise. I wonder if you could make this potion for me?" she put her clip board down and turned it so that the writing was upright for Professor Snape to read. He scanned the paper with a bored expression. Only his eyes lifted to acknowledge her request. "This is a complicated potion. And you plan to test it yourself?" he asked, his eyebrows raised. Professor Umbridge stood up straighter. "I do." she said matter-of-factly. Snape nodded and set about gathering the ingredients and tools necessary to make the potion. Within twenty minutes, the potion was brewed. "Impressive timing. But are you sure that it will be effective?" Professor Umbridge chimed. Snape held back an irritated groan. "Only one way to be sure." he said ,and poured a servign of the potion into a vial. He passed it to the Professor, who first took a sniff, and then, watching Snape, drank the whole potion in one gulp. She closed her eyes and waited. Then she opened them and looked at Snape. "I feel... different..." she swooned for a moment. Then with a look of recognition on her face she stared at Snape and tried to collect herself before nearly falling to the floor. Snape moved quickly around the desk, his cloak whipping behind him. He grabbed her shoulders but she would not look at him. She closed her eyes and turned her head away. "You know what it is?" he asked her quietly. She nodded furiously. Snape's mouth formed into a satisfied snarl. "Then I guess I failed your little test. But if you would just look at me.." he turned her face to him now and her eyes fluttered open. " YOu will find that I am exactly what you are looking for." he paused, watchign her the emotion behind her eyes change to admiration. "In a Potions master that is." he released her, and she swooned again, staring at him love struck. He looked at her with disgust. "Leave here now." he scoffed. Professor umbridge skippd out of the room like a child on the playground. If he were not Professor Snape, the man would have laughed. The potion would wear off in 24 hours. *************************** Harry was annoyed to be called to Umbridges office at such a late hour. She had taken over the school as was seriously taking every liberty. He reached the door of her office and knocked. Entering the room, he was so shocked with what he saw, he thought perhaps it was a terrible nightmare. All over the walls were pictures of Professor Snape. They had replaced the little cats she had there before. She was on the floor, her hair was a mess, her eyes were black and puffy from crying and her hands were black too from ink. The floor was littered with parchments that had been written on and scrunched up. She looked up at Harry and a look of hope replaced her look of dispair. "Oh harry! yes, yes.. you can help!" she dragged him to the floor and put a quill in his hand and some paper. "You know the perfect thing to say to someone you love. Please... waht shall I write? You see..." she said, leaning close to Harry, her breath smelled sweet like some kind of cherry drink. "I have never ever felt this way about anyone before. I am actcually a very picky person.. " she smiled to herself and rolled her eyes. "But I can't stop thinking about Professor Snape! what shall I do???" she grabbed Harry by the robes and pulled at him. Harry tried to unpry her hands, but it was useless. He spoke instead. "Professor, you're ... you can't mean... Professor Snape.. that you ... did you say you like him?" "I love him! I can't live without him. But I can't go and see him.. he has expelled me from his presense!!!" she wailed. Harry couldn't help but smile at the display of emotion. She was obviously under the influence of some kind of spell. harry decided it would be fun to exploit it. "Wait here." he said, and gently pushed Umbridge away from him. He stood up and left the room, hurrying back to Griffindor tower where he woke up Hermione and Ron. "You're not going to believe this, but Snape has put a love spell on Umbridge." Harry confided. "Are you sure?" Hermione yawned. "Bloody Hell..." said Ron. "That's brillant! But why would he do that?" "I don't know! But dont' you think it would be fun to send Umbridge back to him? i don't know how long it will last, and it would be great to see Snape's little prank backfire." Harry looked from Hermione to Ron. "I'm going back to bed, u are evil, Harry Potter." Hermione groaned. "I'm in. What's the plan?" Ron said, leaning in closer. ********************************** Professor Snape was sound asleep in a self induced dreamless slumber when something woke him. The room was very very dark, as he liked it, but someone was there. He reached for his wand. "Lumus!" he called out. His wand lit up, and revealed the intruder. He groaned. "Didn't I tell you to leave me alone?" He was embarrassed to see she was wearing some sort of see through nightgown. He rolled his eyes. This was not good. "I couldn't stop thinking about you! Please, don't reject me! YOu are my first love! I have never felt like this before!" Umbridge started to walk forward, her arms out to him. Snape pulled his blanket up a bit more. "Nore will you feel this way again. Come. Let us have a drink." he pushed his blankets off and stalked over to his cupboard where some vials were kept. He took out two cups and then started to look for the right mixture. Before he could get organised, he felt Umbridge tap him on the back. He turned around and looked down. She was impossibly short. She looked up at him adoringly. "couldn't you just, hold me for a little while? " she chimed. Snape stared at her. She smiled sickenly. He reached out and patted her on the shoulder. He turned to continue making the drink but she wrapped her arms around him, pinning his arms to his sides. "Oh I love you! I love you!!!" she stared to scream. Snape could barely remove her from the grip. He bumped into the cabinet and sent several vials crashing to the floor. He cursed. "Woman, look what you made me do!" he yelled, shrugging out of her hold. She stepped back, her hands still out, her face stricken. "I'm so sorry!" she ran for him again, and held him. He stood there as limply as he could. She sobbed into his night shirt. In the corner, Ron and harry snickered under the invisibility cloak. "Look, it's okay. Here, sit on the bed." he brought her over to the bed and set her down. She gathered up the blankets and brought them to her face, breathing them in. harry almost fell over. Ron whispered. "They must stink!!! He never bathes!" Umbridge sighed and fell back dreamily onto the pillows. Snape raced over to the cabinet again and pulled out the appropriate vial; the same potion he had made her before, only when taken a second time, would reverse the effect. A moment later he was back on the bed, wrenching Umbridge up and putting the steaming cup in her hand. He held another cup in his hand; a placebo. "Er.. to us. " he said, and tapped the cups together. Umbridge smiled and with excitement crossed arms with Snape, pushing her cup to his lips and drinking from his cup instead. Snape was so surprised he almost inhaled the potion. He choked and sputtered, but it was too late. The rest of the potion fell to the floor and the cup smashed. Umbridge shrieked. "Oh no! Please don't be mad!" she took his hands and the look on her face was pure horror. Snape seemed unsteady, and swooned a bit before falling to his side onto the bed. "Oh no! Dearest! What's wrong?!" Umbridge leaned in to get a closer look at Snape. He sat bolt upright, seemingly possessed. He turned to look at Umbridge and his expression changed from his usual hardened one to one that was, well, entirely creepy. Umbridge seemed to appreciate it though, and she jumped on him and stared to kiss him. Much to Harry and Ron's disgust, Snape reciprocated. "Ewww!!! I didn't sign up for this!" Ron whispered. "Let's get out of here." Harry whispered back. When they were sure the two professors were not looking, they snuck out the door. Back at Griffindor tower, Ron scowled at Harry. "I hope you're happy. I'm scarred for life now." Ron fell back on his pillow and punched at it, trying to push away the horrible images of Snape and Umbridge. ****************************** the next morning at Breakfast, Snape and Umbridge sat at their usual places at the front staff table. "Seems to have worn off?" Ron asked harry. "Maybe." Harry said, trying not to observe too obviously. "Well there is such a thing that only lasts 24 hours. When did Snape take the potion? " Herimone sat down with the boys and offered her expertise. "I don't know. Midnight?" Ron ventured. "Right. They are still at it then." Hermione pointed, and the others looked. Umbridge had just suttly blown Snape a kiss. And Snape had caught it. Ron nearly flipped his bowl of porridge. "What have we done? " he said, his face pale and bleak. "Don't worry, they'll be over each other as soon as the potion wears off. Besides.."Hermione looked up at them and shrugged " it's kind of cute." "Cute? You're really sick Hermione." Ron groaned and tried to shield his eyes when Umbridge started to flutter her eyelashes at Snape. "Well, at least it will keep them busy so we can sort out what to do about.............." and so Harry, Hermonie and Ron stared to plan their next adventure in order to bring the story back to the original plot line.
Ms. Elsewhere Joined: 13 January 2008 Posts: 881 Location: In role play game of course!	Posted: Tuesday 1 December 2009 08 09 43 am    Post subject: Re: Who would you date in Harry Potter? in topic:Who would you date in Harry Potter? hahahah!!!!! I think i would like to write one where she gets all obsessed with Snape! Professor Snape had just released his students from his class after holding them back for yet another display of incompitence. It was disturbing how he could sleep at night allowing students to graduate with such a dim understanding of the delicate art of Potions. Muttering to himself, he stared to organise his desk before closing up the classroom for the day. As he did so, something caught his eye and nearly made his stomach turn. It was very large, and very pink. Professor Umbridge was sauntering into the classroom with one of her clipboards, a dreamy look on her face, and that annoying giggle escaping from otherwise pursed and sealed lips. She approached his desk. "Professor, I have just come down, as I have done with so many other of your collegues.." she paused, lookign for a moment exhausted ,and then returned to her dreamy cheery nature. "...to test your skills in your chosen area of expertise. I wonder if you could make this potion for me?" she put her clip board down and turned it so that the writing was upright for Professor Snape to read. He scanned the paper with a bored expression. Only his eyes lifted to acknowledge her request. "This is a complicated potion. And you plan to test it yourself?" he asked, his eyebrows raised. Professor Umbridge stood up straighter. "I do." she said matter-of-factly. Snape knodded and set about gathering the ingredients and tools necessary to make the potion. Within twenty minutes, the potion was brewed. "Impressive timing. But are you sure that it will be effective?" Professor Umbridge chimed. Snape held back an irritated groan. "Only one way to be sure." he said ,and poured a servign of the potion into a vial. He passed it to the Professor, who first took a sniff, and then, watching Snape, drank the whole potion in one gulp. She closed her eyes and waited. Then she opened them and looked at Snape. "I feel... different..." she swooned for a moment. Then with a look of recognition on her face she stared at Snape and tried to collect herself before nearly falling to the floor. Snape moved quickly around the desk, his cloak whipping behind him. He grabbed her shoulders but she would not look at him. She closed her eyes and turned her head away. "You know what it is?" he asked her quietly. She knodded. Snape's mouth formed into a satisfied snarl. "Then I guess I failed your little test. But if you would just look at me.." he turned her face to him now and her eyes fluttered open. " YOu will find that I am exactly what you are looking for." he paused, watchign her the emotion behind her eyes change to admiration. "In a Potions master that is." he released her, and she swooned again, staring at him love struck. He looked at her with disgust. "Leave here now." he scoffed. Professor umbridge skippd out of the room like a child on the playground. If he were not Professor Snape, the man would have laughed. The potion would wear off in 24 hours. *************************** Harry was annoyed to be called to Umbridges office at such a late hour. She had taken over the school as was seriously taking every liberty. He reached the door of her office and knocked. Entering the room, he was so shocked with what he saw, he thought perhaps it was a terrible nightmare. All over the walls were pictures of Professor Snape. They had replaced the little cats she had there before. She was on the floor, her hair was a mess, her eyes were black and puffy from crying and her hands were black too from ink. The floor was littered with parchments that had been written on and scrunched up. She looked up at Harry and a look of hope replaced her look of dispair. "Oh harry! yes, yes.. you can help!" she dragged him to the floor and put a quill in his hand and some paper. "You know the perfect thing to say to someone you love. Please... waht shall I write? You see..." she said, leaning close to Harry, her breath smelled sweet like some kind of cherry drink. "I have never ever felt this way about anyone before. I am actcually a very picky person.. " she smiled to herself and rolled her eyes. "But I can't stop thinking about Professor Snape! what shall I do???" she grabbed Harry by the robes and pulled at him. Harry tried to unpry her hands, but it was useless. He spoke instead. "Professor, you're ... you can't mean... Professor Snape.. that you ... did you say you like him?" "I love him! I can't live without him. But I can't go and see him.. he has expelled me from his presense!!!" she wailed. Harry couldn't help but smile at the display of emotion. She was obviously under the influence of some kind of spell. harry decided it would be fun to exploit it. "Wait here." he said, and gently pushed Umbridge away from him. He stood up and left the room, hurrying back to Griffindor tower where he woke up Hermione and Ron. "You're not going to believe this, but Snape has put a love spell on Umbridge." Harry confided. "Are you sure?" Hermione yawned. "Bloody Hell..." said Ron. "That's brillant! But why would he do that?" "I don't know! But dont' you think it would be fun to send Umbridge back to him? i don't know how long it will last, and it would be great to see Snape's little prank backfire." Harry looked from Hermione to Ron. "I'm going back to bed, u are evil, Harry Potter." Hermione groaned. "I'm in. What's the plan?" Ron said, leaning in closer. ********************************** Professor Snape was sound asleep in a self induced dreamless slumber when something woke him. The room was very very dark, as he liked it, but someone was there. He reached for his wand. "Lumus!" he called out. His wand lit up, and revealed the intruder. He groaned. "Didn't I tell you to leave me alone?" He was embarrassed to see she was wearing some sort of see through nightgown. He rolled his eyes. This was not good. "I couldn't stop thinking about you! Please, don't reject me! YOu are my first love! I have never felt like this before!" Umbridge started to walk forward, her arms out to him. Snape pulled his blanket up a bit more. "Nore will you feel this way again. Come. Let us have a drink." he pushed his blankets off and stalked over to his cupboard where some vials were kept. He took out two cups and then started to look for the right mixture. Before he could get organised, he felt Umbridge tap him on the back. He turned around and looked down. She was impossibly short. She looked up at him adoringly. "couldn't you just, hold me for a little while? " she chimed. Snape stared at her. She smiled sickenly. He reached out and patted her on the shoulder. He turned to continue making the drink but she wrapped her arms around him, pinning his arms to his sides. "Oh I love you! I love you!!!" she stared to scream. Snape could barely remove her from the grip. He bumped into the cabinet and sent several vials crashing to the floor. He cursed. "Woman, look what you made me do!" he yelled, shrugging out of her hold. She stepped back, her hands still out, her face stricken. "I'm so sorry!" she ran for him again, and held him. He stood there as limply as he could. She sobbed into his night shirt. In the corner, Ron and harry snickered under the invisibility cloak. "Look, it's okay. Here, sit on the bed." he brought her over to the bed and set her down. She gathered up the blankets and brought them to her face, breathing them in. harry almost fell over. Ron whispered. "They must stink!!! He never bathes!" Umbridge sighed and fell back dreamily onto the pillows. Snape raced over to the cabinet again and pulled out the appropriate vial; the same potion he had made her before, only when taken a second time, would reverse the effect. A moment later he was back on the bed, wrenching Umbridge up and putting the steaming cup in her hand. He held another cup in his hand; a placebo. "Er.. to us. " he said, and tapped the cups together. Umbridge smiled and with excitement crossed arms with Snape, pushing her cup to his lips and drinking from his cup instead. Snape was so surprised he almost inhaled the potion. He choked and sputtered, but it was too late. The rest of the potion fell to the floor and the cup smashed. Umbridge shrieked. "Oh no! Please don't be mad!" she took his hands and the look on her face was pure horror. Snape seemed unsteady, and swooned a bit before falling to his side onto the bed. "Oh no! Dearest! What's wrong?!" Umbridge leaned in to get a closer look at Snape. He sat bolt upright, seemingly possessed. He turned to look at Umbridge and his expression changed from his usual hardened one to one that was, well, entirely creepy. Umbridge seemed to appreciate it though, and she jumped on him and stared to kiss him. Much to Harry and Ron's disgust, Snape reciprocated. "Ewww!!! I didn't sign up for this!" Ron whispered. "Let's get out of here." Harry whispered back. When they were sure the two professors were not looking, they snuck out the door. Back at Griffindor tower, Ron scowled at Harry. "I hope you're happy. I'm scarred for life now." Ron fell back on his pillow and punched at it, trying to push away the horrible images of Snape and Umbridge. ****************************** the next morning at Breakfast, Snape and Umbridge sat at their usual places at the front staff table. "Seems to have worn off?" Ron asked harry. "Maybe." Harry said, trying not to observe too obviously. "Well there is such a thing that only lasts 24 hours. When did Snape take the potion? " Herimone sat down with the boys and offered her expertise. "I don't know. Midnight?" Ron ventured. "Right. They are still at it then." Hermione pointed, and the others looked. Umbridge had just suttly blown Snape a kiss. And Snape had caught it. Ron nearly flipped his bowl of porridge. "What have we done? " he said, his face pale and bleak. "Don't worry, they'll be over each other as soon as the potion wears off. Besides.."Hermione looked up at them and shrugged " it's kind of cute." "Cute? You're really sick Hermione." Ron groaned and tried to shield his eyes when Umbridge started to flutter her eyelashes at Snape. "Well, at least it will keep them busy so we can sort out what to do about.............." and so Harry, Hermonie and Ron stared to plan their next adventure in order to bring the story back to the original plot line. (oh my gosh... I went overboard there!!!! Must bring it to fan fic ...)
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2535 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Wednesday 25 November 2009 09 24 26 am    Post subject: Re: Albus potter and the Path Left Untrodden in topic:Albus potter and the Path Left Untrodden Chapter 11: Halloween Costumes "All right, we need to come up with a good costume idea," John announced the following Saturday as he flew poorly made parchment airplanes around the Marauder's Den. "Definitely," Kaden agreed as his much better parchment airplane flew gracefully over John's head and landed softly on the couch. "Anyone got any ideas?" Matt asked. "Haven't even thought about it," Albus muttered as he tried not to move anymore muscles than he had to. He just completed a four hour Hogwarts Quidditch practice, which mainly focused on dodging Bludgers. Unfortunately, Albus hadn't dodged them all. "You should go see Madam Pomfrey," Matt told him. "I've already been there twice this week," Albus groaned, "If this keeps up, I'll break your record. I'm fine, I just need sleep. Georgia canceled practice for tomorrow because of the Dueling Tournament, so I think I'll be fine." "Back to the costumes," John said, "I was thinking that we could be the Marauders. You know, their animal forms." Albus craned his head to see John. John looked quite excited by this idea. Albus had to admit that it was a pretty good idea. He could affix fake antlers to his head. Or see if one of his older cousins could transfigure some onto his head. "That's brilliant!" Kaden shouted excitedly. "I like it," Albus grinned. "No bloody way," Matt said flatly, "I am not dressing up as a werewolf in front of the entire school." Albus hadn't even thought about that. No, there was definitely no way Matt could do that. "Oh, right," John sighed, "Sorry, hadn't thought about that." "How about we just dress up as the Marauders in their human forms?" Albus suggested. All he'd have to do is get a pair of round black glasses and he'd be set. "I don't know..." Matt said, "Everyone knows Teddy's dad was a werewolf. What if they realize that I'm one, too, since I dressed up as him?" "I bet people will just think we dressed up as them because of Albus," John pointed out, "And someone would have to be Moony. Might as well be you. You probably look the most like him anyway." "He does," Albus said. "See?" John replied. "Yeah, but still..." Matt sighed. "It doesn't matter," Kaden said, "Because there is no way that I am dressing up as Pettigrew unless it's his rat form." That Albus could definitely understand. "Ok, so I guess we're not doing the Marauders thing." "Too bad," John sighed, "Would've been cool." "Says the bloke who wouldn't have to dress up as a traitor," Kaden pointed out. "And we're back to square one," Albus said, "Any other ideas?" "The players from Puddlemere United?" John suggested after a few minutes. "You know, if Rose, Amanda, and Linda joined us, we'd have enough people to be the entire team." "Why not the Cannons?" Matt asked. "Because they're awful," John groaned. "Are not," Matt refuted. "Are to," John said, "Let's be Puddlemere." "Cannons," Matt said adamantly. "Manchester United," Kaden interrupted. "Who?" John and Matt said at the same time. "Manchester United," Kaden repeated, "Football team." Both John and Matt groaned. "Puddlemere," John said once again. "Cannons." "Manchester." "Puddlemere." "None of them!" Albus shouted. He was already irritable due to his aching muscles and fatigue from Quidditch practice. The last thing he wanted to do was listen to his friends squabble about Quidditch and football teams. "Well, have you got any other ideas?" John asked. "Actually, yeah," Albus replied. Matt's mention of not wanting to dress up as a werewolf had sparked an idea. Albus had been mulling it over while his friends argued about Quidditch teams. "What is it?" Matt asked. "Well, I kind of thought it would be neat to use Muggle costumes," Albus said, "You know, we can dress up as things Muggles usually dress up as on Halloween." Matt, John, and Kaden stared at Albus for a few moments. Albus shrugged. He had thought it was a good idea, but maybe his fatigue was clouding his thinking. Then, all three of his friends broke out in huge grins. "That's brilliant!" Kaden shouted, "No one else will think of it!" "Yeah," John agreed, "We'll be the only ones at the party with Muggle costumes." "As long as I don't have to dress up as a werewolf, I'm fine with it," Matt said. Albus grinned. "Good. Kaden, what are some classic Muggle costumes?" "Ghosts, witches, vampires, skeletons, mummies," Kaden rattled off, "Oh, and zombies. Frankenstein, too." Albus had no idea who Frankenstein was and he wasn't in the mood to listen to Kaden explain it, but the other ideas were good. "Who wants to be what?" Albus asked. "Matt should be a vampire," Kaden grinned. "Why's that?" Albus asked. "Vampires and werewolves are mortal enemies," Kaden explained, "At least in the Muggle world." "In this world, too," Matt muttered, "And I'm not dressing up as a vampire." "Aw, come on," John said. "No," Matt said adamantly, "I'm being a ghost. The only question is, how do I make myself transparent." "Aw, no!" Kaden sighed, "When Muggles dress as ghosts, they just put a white sheet with eye holes over themselves. That's what Muggles think ghosts are. White." "Oh, that makes things easier," Matt laughed, "But seriously?" "Yep," Kaden laughed, "White sheets. Now, what about the rest of us?" A half an hour later, everyone had settled on what they were going to dress up as. With Kaden's help, that is. Albus, Matt, and John really had no idea as to what Muggles wore when they dressed up for Halloween. John insisted on being a vampire, much to Matt's disgust. However, John was going to be a classic Muggle vampire. The ugly, waxy, blood-stained lips, turn into a bat type of vampire that Muggles thought of when they heard the word 'vampire'. Albus didn't know much about vampires, but he knew they weren't completely like the ones Muggles thought of. Kaden was going to dress up as a mummy, which was a very simple costume. All he'd have to do was obtain a bunch of strips of white cloth. Albus said he'd pick some up in Hogsmeade. Albus was going to be a skeleton, which was the most difficult of all the costumes. He was going to buy a black long-sleeve t-shirt and a pair of black pants and then paint on bones in white paint. He was hoping Amanda would be able to help with it. She was the only one in their group who had any artistic talent. "Maybe the girls can be witches," Kaden suggested. "They are witches," John smirked. "You know what I mean," Kaden sighed. "I know," John grinned, "Hey, Albus, catch!" Albus snapped his eyes open just in time to see a Quaffle come sailing across the room. It hit him right in the stomach before he had a chance to catch it. "Oh, ow!" Albus groaned and curled up, "That's where I got hit with a Bludger!" "Brilliant, John," Matt sighed, "Are you ok, Albus?" Albus squeezed his eyes shut and nodded. It did hurt. It hurt a lot. A lot more than it should, he thought. He was sick of getting pelted by Bludgers during practice. "Albus?" John asked worriedly, "Merlin, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hit you with it." "It's ok," Albus whispered. He inhaled sharply. Now it was getting hard to breath. This was not good. "Albus, you've got to go to the Hospital Wing," Matt announced. He walked over to Albus and helped him off the couch. "C'mon." Albus nodded. There was no point in objecting. He knew he had to go. But honestly, three times in one week seemed excessive. The Hospital Wing was empty when Albus stumbled inside, being supported by Matt and John, a little while later. Madam Pomfrey came out of her office when she heard the door open. She saw who it was and threw her hands up in the air. "You again!" she groaned, "Let me guess. Quidditch?" Albus nodded and collapsed onto the nearest bed. "Well, what did you injure this time?" the nurse asked. "Bludger in the stomach," Albus replied, not bothering to mention that John hit him with a Quaffle as well. Madam Pomfrey clucked her tongue and waved her wand over Albus. "Broken rib. That's the second one this week," she waved her wand again and pressed it to Albus's ribs. Then she bustled away to a Potions cupboard. Albus's stomach immediately felt better and he sank back into the bed. The rest of his muscles still ached, though, and he wanted nothing more than to fall asleep right there. Madam Pomfrey returned a few minutes later and thrust a potion into Albus's hands. He drank it quickly and grimaced at the disgusting taste. "You're staying the night," she announced in a tone that Albus knew not to argue with. Not that he really felt like arguing anyway. He was just too exhausted. Madam Pomfrey turned to Matt, John, and Kaden. "You lot can return to Gryffindor. Albus needs to rest." Albus's friends said good night and then left the room. "I'll be speaking with Professor Kendrick," Madam Pomfrey muttered to herself, "Honestly, what was he thinking? Twice the amount of Quidditch? Twice the amount of injuries is what I say!" Albus didn't have the faintest idea as to what Madam Pomfrey wanted Kendrick to do, but he didn't think about it for long. Exhaustion overcame him and he was asleep within minutes. ****** Albus awoke feeling better than he had in days. One look at the clock told him why. He had slept over twelve hours. It was just after eleven o'clock. Two hours until the Dueling Tournament. Albus pulled the blankets off and started to get up. "Where do you think you're going?" Madam Pomfrey appeared at his bed. "Er, the common room?" Albus slowly sat back down, "The Dueling Tournament is in two hours." "Dueling? You think I'm going to let you duel?" Madam Pomfrey demanded. "Well, yeah," Albus muttered. Come to think of it, he actually wasn't surprised that the nurse wasn't going to let him duel. "Definitely not!" she exclaimed, "You're spending the day in bed!" "Come on!" Albus groaned, "Please?" He had to duel. He was practically the best on his team. What would Malfoy say when he didn't show up? "I won't have it!" Madam Pomfrey said, "You were dead on your feet last night! You're going to rest today!" Albus groaned in defeat. He was going to miss the first Dueling Tournament of the year, because of a Quidditch injury. His two favorite things to do were now conflicting with each other. Madam Pomfrey brought a tray of breakfast, or maybe it should have been lunch, for Albus a little while later. He wasn't in the mood to eat, though. Why couldn't he just go to the tournament? He felt fine now. Matt, John, Kaden, Amanda, Rose, and for some reason, Linda, burst into the Hospital Wing just as Albus was finishing up his food. Madam Pomfrey looked a bit taken aback at the amount of visitors, but she didn't say anything. "Albus!" John shouted, "Dueling's in an hour. You going to be getting out of here soon?" "She won't let me go," Albus muttered. "What?" John exclaimed, "Why not?" "She says I need to rest," Albus explained. "Honestly, it would have surprised me if she did let you go," Matt commented. "I'll convince her, Albus," John announced and walked over to where Madam Pomfrey was organizing potions. "You've got to let Albus duel." "I do not have to do any such thing," she replied, not looking up. "But it's Kaden's first tournament," John pointed out. "I wouldn't care if it was Merlin's first tournament, I'm not letting Albus go." "Please?" John begged. "No," she said, "And if you don't stop arguing, I'll make you leave." John sighed and walked glumly back to Albus's bed. "Sorry," he muttered, "And this was sort of my fault since I threw that Quaffle at you." "No it wasn't," Albus assured him, "A Quaffle wouldn't have broke my ribs. It was that Bludger from Quidditch practice." "But still..." John said. Albus's friends remained in the Hospital Wing until it was time for them to go to the Dueling Tournament. It was sort of tense, and Albus could only attribute this to the fact that Linda was there. It was strange how someone who never said a word could cause the rest of Albus's friends to remain quiet as well. After his friends left, Albus was filled with boredom. The Hospital Wing really was a boring place, especially when you weren't actually sick or injured. Albus began to count the cracks on the ceiling, but lost track after 467. It wasn't until after the tournament was over that Madam Pomfrey actually let Albus leave. He figured she hadn't let him leave earlier since then she would've had no way to know he wouldn't go to the tournament. Albus jumped out of bed as soon as he promised Madam Pomfrey that he wouldn't play Quidditch that day. He ran as fast as he could down to the dueling chamber, hoping that the tournament was still going on. Unfortunately, students were already streaming out of the room chattering excitedly about the tournament. Albus sighed dejectedly and slumped against the wall, where he waited for his friends. "Hey, Albus," Matt said. "Oh, hey, Matt," Albus replied, "Who won?" "My team. No thanks to me, of course." "Who'd Malfoy duel?" Albus asked, thinking of his threat to Rose and Amanda. "Some Slytherin second year and a Ravenclaw fourth year," Matt answered. Albus nodded, relieved that he hadn't dueled either Rose or Amanda. "Albus!" someone shouted excitedly. Albus turned around and saw Kaden with a huge grin on his face. John was standing next to him, looking equally happy. "Hey, John, Kaden," Albus smiled. "I won one of my duels!" Kaden announced, "I dueled a Ravenclaw and I actually beat him!" "That's great," Albus told him, still wishing that he had gotten to beat a Ravenclaw. Or a Slytherin, Hufflepuff, or Gryffindor. "But he was horribly beaten in his second duel," John laughed. "At least I won one of them," Kaden smirked. "Yeah, yeah," John muttered. "Did you lose both?" Albus asked. "Yeah," John sighed. The boys set off for Gryffindor tower, figuring they'd catch up with the girls once they were up there. Albus was eager to see Amanda because he wanted to know how his team had done. Amanda, Rose, and Linda were talking about the tournament when Albus entered the common room. He was shocked to see that Linda was actually talking. Although, she immediately stopped when Albus and the other boys showed up. Apparently Albus's team had came in second place. Amanda said they were only two points behind Matt's team, which caused Albus to wish even more that he had been there. He could have easily gotten the two points they needed. Amanda said that Malfoy thought the same thing, because he shouted angrily about Albus not being there once they announced the winner. Albus was kind of amused by this. He never thought Malfoy would ever be lamenting Albus's absence from anything. The group, including Linda, spent the remainder of the afternoon in the common room. It was sort of odd, though. Linda didn't say a word, yet Rose and Amanda tried to engage her in every conversation. Matt remained almost completely mute, whispering quietly so only Albus and John could hear what he was saying. Kaden of course didn't notice any of this and talked as loudly as he usually did. It didn't really help that various boys kept coming up to Linda and asking her useless questions about Australia and Quidditch and various other topics. Linda gave them very short, quiet answers. John paid rapt attention to every little thing she said. "So," Rose began, "First Quidditch match in a week. Australia versus New York. Are you nervous, Linda?" Albus stared at Rose. He couldn't remember the last time Rose actually brought up Quidditch in a conversation. "A bit," Linda muttered, not looking up. "Well, I hope you win," Rose smiled, "Since Hogwarts isn't playing." "Thanks," Linda whispered. Albus was looking forward to the first match. He was glad he wasn't playing in it. His team would be able to assess both Australia and New York's skill before they played either team. That was definitely good for strategy. Then when they actually played, they'd be able to use the team's weaknesses to their advantage. Wood had given them specific directions to look for weaknesses in both teams. Of course, chances are Albus wouldn't be playing in the first Hogwarts match, or really any of the matches. Albus walked down to dinner with his friends and Linda sat in between Rose and Amanda. He glanced absentmindedly at the staff table as he scooped mashed potatoes onto his plate and noticed a new wizard talking with the headmaster from Australia. He was a rather short man, compared to Killigan, and his face seemed to have absolutely no emotion on it. His dirty blonde hair sat flat on his head and fell over his eyes. He was wearing plain black robes. "I wonder who that bloke is," Albus said to John as he pointed at the staff table. "Dunno," John shrugged, not really seeming interested. Rose turned to look at him. "Probably some bloke from Australia, I'd be guessing. I imagine a few people from Australia and New York will visit to see what's going on with the tournaments." "Recognize him, Matt?" Albus asked. Matt looked up and then quickly turned away. "No." "How about you, Linda?" Rose asked. "No," Linda whispered. Albus shrugged and returned to his dinner. It seemed like he was really the only one interested in the unfamiliar wizard at the staff table. Was he really only there to see the tournament? The Quidditch match wasn't for another week, so why was he there already? Would he really be spending the whole week at Hogwarts? Kendrick stood up after dinner started to wind down. Albus immediately stopped eating and paid attention. Maybe he was going to tell everyone who the strange wizard was. "If I could have your attention for just one moment," Kendrick announced, "Thank you. When I first began to organize this competition, I always thought we would continue with the usual Hogwarts Quidditch Cup tournament like usual, but I didn't think about what affect it would have on the players who would play on both their house team and the Hogwarts team." Albus had a feeling he knew where this was going and it had everything to do with that talk Madam Pomfrey said she was going to have with Kendrick. Albus sank lower in his seat and tried not to look at anyone. "It's come to my attention that playing on two Quidditch teams at once is much more work than could have been anticipated. Therefore, I have decided to cancel the Quidditch Cup tournament for this year only, while the tournament is going on." "What?!" Over half the room erupted in various shouts and jeers. Albus sank even lower in his seat. This was all his fault. He was the one who had been to the Hospital Wing so many times that week. He had gotten Quidditch canceled for the whole school. "Quiet down," Kendrick shouted, "It's what's best for the players. Plus, it's been rather tight to squeeze in so many practices for so many teams. We only have one Quidditch pitch. With four less teams to accommodate, it'll be easier to schedule practices. This is my final word on the subject. Remember that we still have excellent Quidditch going on this year." "I shouldn't have gone to see Madam Pomfrey last night," Albus muttered. "Albus, this isn't your fault," Rose assured him, "You're not the only one who's been injured numerous times." That was true. Pretty much everyone on the Hogwarts team had been to see Madam Pomfrey at least once a week since the start of term. So maybe it wasn't all his fault. Plus, there was the scheduling conflicts on the pitch. Albus had witnessed a few fights between the house captains that certainly couldn't be good for teamwork on the Hogwarts team. Albus had to admit that life would be a lot easier without Gryffindor team practices. Now he would only be practicing Quidditch twice a week. Well, Wood would probably increase it to three times now that Kendrick canceled the house Quidditch. But even that would be less than he had been doing. He might even have an evening or two off a week now. The Gryffindor team was sitting together in the common room when Albus returned. Georgia immediately flagged him over. "I still don't like it," Fred sighed, "Now I don't get to play at all this year." "Yeah, well I don't get to play for Gryffindor in my seventh year, but it really is for the best," Georgia said. "I'll say," James agreed, "I'm already behind on homework and it's only October." "Me, too," Albus said. "Just think, Fred," Heather began, "Next year, one of us will be captain." "It'll be me," Fred announced. "Really?" Heather raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, Gryffindor's had two girl captains recently. It's time for another bloke." Heather rolled her eyes. "Not if I'm a better leader." "What makes you think it'll be either of you?" Bradley asked, "It might be Ryan or I. We'll be sixth years. They don't always choose seventh years." "Maybe," Fred replied, "I'm still going to miss it, though." "We could play pick-up matches on the weekends," Ryan suggested. "I guess," Fred sighed. Albus remained quiet for the rest of the time with the team. Although he didn't blame himself for the cancellation of house Quidditch, he felt guilty that he was relieved it was canceled. But most of the team was far from happy about it. In fact, it seemed like only James and Albus were relieved.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2535 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Wednesday 18 November 2009 02 31 27 pm    Post subject: Re: Albus potter and the Path Left Untrodden in topic:Albus potter and the Path Left Untrodden Chapter 10: Threats Rose handed in her unedited essay to Balladanis the next morning. Albus did notice her scribbling some last minute sentences onto it as Balladanis collected the essays. Defense Against the Dark Arts continued to be the strangest class in Albus's schedule. Balladanis expressed such a strong dislike for the dark arts that he started nearly every class with a stern lecture about why they were learning defensive spells and why the dark arts were bad. His eyes tended to rest on Matt and for some odd reason, Linda, whenever he gave these talks and Albus got the feeling it made Matt extremely uncomfortable. Albus couldn't blame him. He certainly wouldn't want to be under the teacher's eye like that. Albus couldn't really say whether he enjoyed Balladanis's class or not. It had been nearly a month since the term started, but Albus still didn't know whether he liked the class or not. It was definitely different than when his dad taught. Balladanis was strict, but a good teacher. The rest of the day went by quickly. Albus listened to John tease Rose during Herbology since she was fretting about her Defense essay. Ancient Runes was rather boring and Albus doodled idly on his notes while Matt fell asleep on his. Charms was rather fun since they worked on Cheering Charms and Albus left the room grinning profusely, along with most of the other class. Matt in particular looked strange with a huge grin across his pale fatigued face. Matt left for the Shrieking Shack shortly after dinner and Albus went to the Marauder's Den with his friends where they distracted Rose from her studying by playing Wizard's Chess. The next day Albus truly began to realize how busy his third year schedule was. For the past two years, he and his friends almost always had time to visit Matt in the Hospital Wing in between classes. This year, however, they didn't have time until after dinner. Albus was positively exhausted by that point, as he had stayed up late working on homework the night before, and still had Dueling Club practice afterwards. Lynley Anderson, the fourth year Hufflepuff who had replaced Kate as captain, had insisted that the whole team attend that meeting, as it was the first one and there were new second years on the team. Kaden wasn't put on Albus's team, but he was put on John's team, much to the delight of both boys. Hectic was really the only way to describe Albus's life at Hogwarts. As September turned into October, it only got busier. Gryffindor Quidditch team practices picked up again and along with Hogwarts Quidditch practices and Dueling Club practices, Albus hardly had anytime to rest. The Hogwarts Quidditch team was shaping up nicely after Wood's stern warning during the second practice. That and the fact that they now practiced on both Tuesdays and Saturdays. Even the Slytherin team members were beginning to work together. They didn't really acknowledge their teammates outside of practice, but Albus didn't care as long as they got along with everyone during practice. Albus was really starting to enjoy the Hogwarts Quidditch team. He was actually beginning to wish he could play in the first match, which would be taking place towards the end of October. "First Hogsmeade weekend!" John said excitedly to Albus one Friday evening as Albus was trying to catch up on his homework. Kaden was standing next to him. Albus guessed they had just returned from Dueling Club practice. "When?" Albus asked without looking up. "October 27th," John grinned, "Can't wait!" "Yeah, it'll be brilliant," Albus agreed, hoping he wouldn't have too much homework to go. "That's not all, either," John went on, "There's a Halloween party that night." "You mean the Halloween feast?" Albus asked. "No, there's an actual party!" John said, "But it's not on Halloween, it's on the 27th. It's because of the Tournament. So we can mingle with the foreign students. Or at least that's what the poster on the notice board says." Albus nodded. He really hadn't had that much contact with the foreign students. Sure, he'd seen them in the corridors and the common room and stuff, but that was about it. The only one who was around his age was Linda and she still didn't seem to talk to anyone. "And," John continued, "Costumes are encouraged." "Costumes?" Albus asked, finally looking up. "Yeah, costumes," John grinned, "We get to dress up! This is going to be brilliant!" "What should we dress up as?" Kaden asked. "Dunno," Albus shrugged. "We'll figure it out later," John said, "Where's everyone else?" "Rose and Amanda are at the library," Albus told him, "And Matt's with Balladanis." "Merlin, is he ever going to give up about that boggart?" John asked. "Knowing Balladanis, probably not," Albus said. "Well, let's go to the library," John announced, "We've got to tell Rose and Amanda about Hogsmeade." Albus was all too eager to agree to this. He was thoroughly sick of trying to catch up on all his homework. It was good to take a break every now and then anyway. Albus pushed open the door to the library a little while later, fully expecting to see Rose up to her elbows in books furiously scribbling away on a roll of parchment that was nearly used up. He gazed around the library and he spotted Rose's bushy red hair and walked towards her table. Rose was up to her elbows in homework. In fact, there were so many books on Rose and Amanda's table that you could no longer see the actual table. What Albus wasn't expecting to see was a third person at their table. Linda Morales Albus stopped short a few feet from the table. He turned to look at John, who looked equally shocked. "Is that-" John began. "Linda Morales?" Albus gaped. He blinked twice to make sure he wasn't seeing things. After all, he was quite tired. But even after he blinked, Linda was still sitting across from Rose and Amanda. All three of the girls were working quietly. In fact, none of them even seemed to notice the others. Albus slowly walked towards the table and John followed. Albus wasn't entirely sure what to say. He hadn't had much interaction with Linda. Albus had hardly said hello to her since she arrived at Hogwarts. He wasn't trying to ignore her or anything; it had just ended up that way. Linda hadn't shown any real interest in making friends with Albus or any of his friends. Yet here she was, doing homework at the same table as Rose of all people. Albus hadn't the slightest idea why either. "Rose," Albus whispered once they arrived at the table. Rose startled and then looked up at Albus. "What? I'm trying to study!" "Can I talk to you?" Albus glanced at Linda, "Alone?" Rose sighed loudly. "Fine, but make it quick." Albus led his cousin over to a deserted area of the library. John took Rose's vacated seat and began to whisper to Amanda about the Hogsmeade visit. "All right, what is it?" Rose asked once they were alone. "Couldn't help but notice that you were studying with Linda..." Albus's voice trailed off. He really didn't know what he wanted to say to Rose about it. "Oh, well..." Rose began, "I guess I just realized I was being stupid in trying to compete with her." Albus smirked, "Yeah, you were. But I told you that loads of times and you didn't listen." Rose sighed. "I know. Amanda's the one who convinced me to stop trying to compete with her. She said Linda would know a lot about Australian wizarding history and I could learn a lot from her if I stopped with the competition thing." Of course, Albus thought. Appealing to Rose's love of learning would definitely work. Although he hadn't really been trying to have Rose and Linda become friends. He just wanted Rose to ease up on the studying. "I guess, if you can't beat 'em, you might as well join 'em," Rose shrugged. "So now you're friends with her?" Albus asked. "That's where it gets complicated," Rose sighed, "You see, she still doesn't really talk to us." "How did you wind up studying with her then?" Albus was still thoroughly confused. "Amanda and I came in and she was sitting alone at the table, so I asked if we could join her. She just nodded and moved her books over. She hasn't said anything yet." Albus nodded. "I don't think I've heard her say anything outside of class." "Neither have I," Rose said, "Amanda and I figure we'll just be nice to her and maybe she'll start talking to us." Albus thought that was probably a good idea. She was the competition, but even if they played against each other on the Quidditch team, that didn't mean they couldn't be friends off of it. Linda seemed nice enough. Of course it was hard to tell since she hadn't said much. And she certainly was pretty. Albus couldn't deny that. Linda wasn't surrounded by half the male population of Gryffindor every evening for nothing. "Oh, the first Hogsmeade visit's on October 27th," Albus said, suddenly remembering the reason he had gone to see Rose in the first place, "Followed by a Halloween party in the Great Hall." "That sounds like fun," Rose grinned, "And maybe Linda will want to go with us." "And it's a costume party," Albus told her. "This could get interesting," Rose said. ****** Albus didn't have a clue as to when he'd actually have time to figure out his costume for the Halloween party. John thought it would be cool if their group's costumes coordinated, but that was the last thing on Albus's mind. The weekend seemed to literally fly by for Albus, meaning he was on the Quidditch pitch more than he was off it. He had heard stories about Wood's ruthlessness when it comes to practice from his dad and similar stories about Teddy from his older cousins. Having the two of them captain one team seemed to create practices that lasted nearly five hours, with short breaks every so often. Albus would never again complain about Georgia's length of practices. Albus had a fleeting thought that since he was a reserve player, he wouldn't have to practice as much as everyone else, but Wood shot that down during that Saturday's practice. He said he saw no reason for the reserve players to be any less prepared for the upcoming match than the regular players. It wasn't that Albus didn't enjoy Quidditch practice. He did, and very much so. He loved Quidditch, but too much of anything could run a person down. Albus spent a lot of his Sunday on the Quidditch pitch as well, in the middle of a drenching rain. Georgia had scheduled Gryffindor Quidditch practice that day and she flat out refused to cancel due to rain. James had asked. He was even more run down than Albus, since either Teddy or Tyler were constantly training the two Seekers during Hogwarts Quidditch practice. Albus returned to Gryffindor tower after eating a late dinner with the Gryffindor team Sunday evening, realizing he had no idea what his friends had spent the weekend doing. He had seen them on occasion, but most of his free time had been spent doing homework or sleeping. Two things he still had to do. Albus grabbed his bag from his dormitory and walked down to the crowded common room. He saw Rose, Amanda, and Linda at one table, but his other friends were no where in sight. The girls looked very absorbed in their homework, so Albus decided to go check the Marauder's Den for his other friends. By the time Albus made it to the Marauder's Den, he felt ready for a good twelve hour sleep. Unfortunately, he still had plenty of homework to do. Albus sighed to himself and opened the door to the room. He paused in the entryway, surprised to see that Matt was the only one there. "Hey, Matt," Albus said as he sat down at the table. "Oh, hi Albus," Matt looked up and smiled, "I was wondering when you'd show up." "Me, too," Albus said wryly, "I never thought Georgia would end practice." "Makes me glad I'm not on the Quidditch team," Matt commented. "Where are John and Kaden?" "Detention, again," Matt smirked. "What did they do this time?" Albus groaned. John and Kaden had been earning quite a few detentions every week. Albus was quite glad they weren't involving him in their pranks, since he had no available time in his schedule for detention. "They were levitating rolls of toilet paper around the corridors and charming them to hit people in the head yesterday," Matt explained, "I think you were at Quidditch practice." "Probably," Albus laughed, "Wonder what they're in for this time." "No idea," Matt said. "What are you doing here? Rose and Amanda are in the common room." "Yeah, I know. But they're with Linda," Matt muttered. "Oh, ok," Albus replied, a little confused. He still didn't quite understand why Matt didn't seem to like Linda. Sure, she was from Australia, but Matt wasn't avoiding anyone else from Australia. Of course, the rest of the Australian students were older and Matt wouldn't really have to avoid them. "John said Rose is actually trying to become friends with Linda." "She is," Albus confirmed, "She's finally realized that it's pointless to try and compete with Linda." "I guess that's good," Matt shrugged. John and Kaden burst into the room a short while later, successfully ending the conversation about Rose and Linda. Both of them were freely cursing Filch, who had made them clean the Entrance Hall without magic. Once they finally seemed to run out of curses, all four boys settled into doing their homework and no one brought up the topic of Linda again. Albus still thought it was odd how Matt seemed to have taken a dislike to her, although Linda herself was rather odd, in Albus's opinion. Rose and Amanda joined Linda at her table during Transfiguration the next day. Linda had arrived before them, as always, and didn't seem to notice or care that Rose and Amanda sat on either side of her. The same thing happened in double Potions after lunch. Rose, Amanda, and Linda even worked together on that day's potion. Slughorn had decided to give up on the inter-house pairs idea of the previous year, which Albus was very grateful for. Linda had previously worked alone on her potions because there was an odd number of people in the class, but Slughorn didn't object to all three girls working together. In fact, he seemed thrilled that the two smartest people in the class were now working with each other. "Ah, yes!" Slughorn exclaimed excitedly as he peered into their cauldron, "Your potion is turning just the right shade of green." Albus looked up from his and Matt's slightly brown potion and saw Slughorn gently stirring the girls' cauldron. "Ours is better," Malfoy muttered from behind Albus. He was working with Jackson Limbert, Albus's partner from the previous year. Malfoy and Limbert were easily the two best Slytherin potion-brewers in the class. Albus turned around and looked at Malfoy's cauldron. It was indeed the correct shade of green. "And what are you looking at, Potter?" Malfoy asked, "Jealous that I'm Limbert's partner now? I doubt your potions grade will be be that good with Eckerton as your partner." "At least I'm partnering with him for a reason other than trying to get a decent grade," Albus glowered at him. "Yeah, well..." Malfoy's voice trailed off. Albus smirked to himself and turned back around, happy that Malfoy couldn't come up with a good comeback. At the end of the class, Slughorn announced that Rose, Amanda, and Linda's potion had been the best, much to Malfoy's dismay. "You'd better watch out at the Dueling Tournament," Malfoy seethed as they left the room. "We're on the same team, Malfoy," Albus pointed out. "I wasn't talking to you," Malfoy turned and glared at Rose, Amanda, and Linda. "Is that a threat, Malfoy?" John asked loudly. "I think you can figure that out for yourself, Brickston," Malfoy said as he turned in the direction of the Slytherin common room, flanked by Limbert and Goyle. "He's just jealous," Rose muttered as they made their way out of the dungeons. "Probably," Albus agreed, "But he's a good dueler, much as I hate to admit it." "Chances are, I won't even duel him, Albus," Rose sighed, "And even if I do, there's only so many spells he's allowed to use." Albus didn't bother reminding Rose about the Slytherin who used a forbidden curse on Matt last year. Albus was kind of worried about one of his friends having to duel Malfoy. Malfoy was the only one Albus had ever dueled and didn't manage to beat. And Albus had beaten students who were two years older than he was.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2535 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Friday 23 October 2009 03 03 13 pm    Post subject: Re: Albus potter and the Path Left Untrodden in topic:Albus potter and the Path Left Untrodden Chapter 6: Flobberworms and Boggarts As it turned out, Albus didn't have to wait until classes to know if Linda Morales was his age or not. Rose and Amanda burst out of the girls' dormitory as Albus, Matt, and John were heading down to breakfast. "Albus!" Rose caught up with him, "Linda is our age. She's in our dormitory." "Really?" Albus replied, realizing that he hadn't really thought about which dormitory the new students would be in. "Where is she now?" John asked. "Still up there," Amanda said, "She's been in the bathroom for ages." "Girls," John muttered, "I'll never understand them." The group hurried down to the Great Hall and ate a quick breakfast before their first class. Neville handed out schedules and Albus saw that he had Care of Magical Creatures first. "Blimey, this schedule is packed," John said as they headed out of the castle towards Hagrid's hut. "Well, we are taking two extra classes now," Albus pointed out. "Wonder who we'll have this class with," Matt said. "With our luck, it'll be the Slytherins," Amanda groaned. "Maybe Linda's taking this class," John said hopefully. Amanda sighed, "You haven't even met her." "Yeah, but this class would be the perfect time to do that!" John pointed out. Amanda groaned and they continued their trek to Hagrid's hut. Once they got there, they saw that they were indeed with the Slytherins. Albus groaned inwardly and stood with his friends as everyone waited for Hagrid to appear. "'Ello, everyone!" Hagrid said as he stepped out of his hut a few minutes later, "Welcome to Care o' Magical Creatures." "Hi, Hagrid," Albus grinned. "'Ello, Albus," Hagrid grinned back, "Now, today's lesson's abou' Flobberworms. Can anyone tell me anything abou' them?" Flobberworms, Albus thought. Flobberworms were about the least exciting magical creatures in the world. Albus wished they were doing something a bit more exciting. "Nobody?" Hagrid said, "Well, I know they aren't the most excitin' creatures, but we've got to start somewhere. Now, flobberworms are small white worms...." Albus listened as Hagrid explained about flobberworms, but he didn't take any notes. Rose would have, but Albus didn't see the point. Flobberworms were pretty basic. "Now, everyone can take a worm," Hagrid held up a box, "An' draw them into yer notes an' observe 'em." Albus and his friends each took a worm and began the tedious task of recording the worms' every movement and sketching them. Albus thought the rest of the class was rather boring and was a bit disappointed. He had kind of been expecting Hagrid to bring in some sort of dangerous creature, like he had when his dad was at Hogwarts. Although, come to think of it, his cousins had said Hagrid had adopted a more normal curriculum. "I wish Hagrid would bring in a dragon or something," John said as they made their way back to the castle for Transfiguration. "He probably wishes that, too," Albus laughed. The Transfiguration classroom was already filling up by the time Albus and his friends entered. Albus noticed that they had this class with the Hufflepuffs. Rose was already inside, sitting at her usual table in the front. Amanda quickly joined her. Linda was there as well, but she was sitting by herself at the other front desk. "Let's go sit by Linda!" John said excitedly. "Sure," Albus grinned and started to walk towards her table. "Wait," Matt said, "There's only two seats. And do you really want to sit in the front?" "Er, that's true," John said, "We'll sit behind her then." Albus vaguely wondered why Matt so set on not sitting with Linda, but he didn't dwell on it and sat down at the table behind Linda. Patil walked in a moment later and everyone quieted down. "For the first few classes we shall be learning about a very difficult branch of transfiguration," Patil said after she took attendance, "And it is called the Animagus Transfiguration. Can anyone tell me what that is?" Albus smirked as Rose's hand shot into the air. Albus knew the answer, of course, but he was perfectly happy to let Rose answer. "Yes, Miss Morales?" Patil pointed to Linda. Albus turned away from Rose and saw that Linda had half-way raised her hand. The rest of the class was staring at her as well, probably because Rose always answered the preliminary questions in class. "The Animagus Transfiguration is the act of transfiguring oneself into an animal," Linda answered. "Yes, that is correct," Patil smiled. Albus noticed that Rose was staring in shock at Linda. He had to stifle a laugh at this. Patil went on to describe Animagi in more detail and Albus took a few notes. "Can anyone name a registered Animagus they may have heard about in another class?" Patil asked. Both Rose and Linda's hands shot up into the air. Patil called on Rose this time. "Minerva McGonagall," Rose answered. "Yes, she turns into a cat. She used to teach Transfiguration here and was the Headmistress for a few years. How about an illegal Animagus?" Albus scribbled the words 'Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs' onto a piece of parchment and showed it to Matt and John. All three of them stifled laughter and then looked back up at Patil. "Rita Skeeter," Rose grinned. Patil smiled. "Yes, and it was your mother who discovered her." The rest of the class passed by at a reasonably quick pace and once it was over, Albus and his friends went to the Great Hall for lunch. "You've got some competition, Rose," John grinned as they walked down the corridor. "Shut up," Rose muttered. "She might beat you on the next test," John laughed. "And your point is?" Rose snapped. They walked the rest of the way in silence, as no one wanted to set Rose off even more. Albus had no idea she would get that competitive about grades. Although after two years of easily being the smartest in their year, Rose hadn't previously had any competition. Half the Gryffindor table was roaring with laughter when they arrived for lunch. James quickly filled Albus in on the fact that Hugo had exploded his first potion earlier in the morning and was apparently quite proud of it. "Well, you'll have no competition from him," John muttered to Rose. Rose sent him a withered look and sat down to eat. Albus spent lunch telling Kaden about Care of Magical Creatures. Despite the fact that they learned about flobberworms, Kaden was jealous. The third year Gryffindors had double potions after lunch, with the Slytherins again. Slughorn started the class with a review of the previous year's potions. Once again, Rose and Linda both knew the answer to every question. Then, when Slughorn had them brew a new potion, both Rose and Linda tied for best potion. Slughorn gave them each a bar of Honeyduke's chocolate. Albus was quite surprised that Linda seemed as smart as Rose. He had never met anyone his age who could compete with Rose with grades. John was right. Rose did have some competition. ****** "Well, time to go meet the new Defense teacher," Albus said as he finished breakfast the next morning. "I wish your dad was still teaching," Matt sighed. "Yeah," John agreed, "The new teacher looks like the kind of bloke who gives a lot of homework." "You really ought to just keep an open mind," Rose commented as they left the Great Hall. "Easy for you to say," John muttered, "You're freakishly smart." "You have got to be kidding me!" Albus groaned as they reached the classroom, "We're with the Slytherins, again!" "Great," Matt sighed, "Three years in a row, what are the chances of that?" Albus led the way into the classroom. Linda Morales was already seated at one of the front tables. Rose and Amanda immediately took the other front table. "Let's sit in the back," Matt muttered. Albus nodded. He really didn't want to sit near the front. The teacher was already there and was wearing an unreadable expression. If he turned out to be mean, Albus preferred to be as far away as possible. The classroom looked exactly the same as it had the year before, except for a trunk that was sitting in front of the teacher's desk. A few more students trickled in and once the bell rang, the teacher waved his wand and the door slammed loudly. Albus jumped in surprise and snapped his attention back to the new teacher. He walked slowly from behind his desk and stood in front of it. He was holding a piece of parchment and a quill. Albus noticed that he was wearing the same black robes, except now he noticed that there were intricately designed silver fastenings on them. "Please raise your hand and say 'present' when I call your name," he said in a stern voice. He ran through the list, fixing each student with a piercing gaze when he called on them. "Brilliant," he said flatly, "All here. I am Professor Balladanis, as you all know from Professor Kendrick's speech. You will address me as Professor Balladanis, or Professor, or Sir. I will not tolerate speaking out of turn or misbehavior of any kind in my classroom. I expect all homework and other assignments to be completed on time, no excuses." Professor Balladanis began to pace back and forth in front of his desk. "As you shall discover throughout the year, I take defensive magic very seriously." He paused and glared sharply at Linda and Janie Creevey, who had sat next to Linda. "Defensive magic is a very very important branch of magic. I would make the argument that is the most important. It can save your life. It has saved my life on numerous occasions. I have no doubt that your previous two years of instruction were very extensive and I am sure you all have a basic knowledge of defensive spells courtesy of Professor Potter." Balladanis stopped pacing and paused before continuing his speech. "However, the third year Defense Against the Dark Arts curriculum focuses on defense against dark creatures." He turned to Albus's table and gave Albus, Matt, and John a piercing stare. "I will be continuing the curriculum that has been used in this school since after the final battle," Balladanis continued, "I have looked over the curriculum and have deemed it satisfactory. I immensely approve of the first day's lesson for third years. I've always thought a practical approach was good for Defense, although I do expect you to carefully read your text book as well. "In this box," Balladanis gestured to the trunk, which jumped a little as he touched it, "Lives a boggart. Can anyone tell me what a boggart is?" Rose and Linda's hands shot up into the air. Balladanis smirked and pointed to Rose. "Yes, Miss...?" "Weasley, sir," Rose replied, "A boggart is a shape shifter. It takes the form of whatever scares you most. No one knows what one really looks like." Balladanis nodded. "Correct. 5 points to Gryffindor. Boggarts," he began pacing again, "Take the form of whatever scares us most. The boggart focuses on the nearest person and turns into whatever scares them. "We will have an advantage over our boggart. There are a lot of us, which means the boggart will become confused about what to turn into. However, that is not enough. There is a necessary incantation for defeating boggarts. It is 'Riddikulus'. Repeat after me, 'Riddikulus'." "Riddikulus," Albus said along with everyone else. "Good," Balladanis said, although his voice wasn't exactly cheerful, "You'll also need to think of a way to turn whatever your most feared thing is into something funny. Laughter is what really finishes off a boggart. Then, think of that as you're saying the incantation. Now, take out your wands and stand up." Albus pulled his wand out of his bag and stood up. He wasn't even sure what he was most afraid of. Snakes? No, he really didn't fear snakes. Spiders? Nope, not them either. He had no idea what that boggart was going to turn into, and that made it even scarier. Balladanis waved his wand and all the tables and chairs moved to the sides of the classroom. "Form a line," he instructed. Everyone pushed to be at the front of the line. Albus wound up being towards the back, behind John and in front of Matt. "Miss Weasley," Balladanis motioned for Rose to step forward, "Perhaps you could go first." Rose nodded and stepped out of the line. She stood in front of the trunk with her wand raised. Albus had no idea what the boggart would turn into for Rose either. Nor did he have a clue what John and Amanda's boggarts would be. He had an inkling about Matt's, though. Balladanis stood off to the side and pointed his wand at the trunk. The lid slowly opened and out stepped...Neville. Albus gaped at the boggart. The boggart Neville opened his mouth. "I'm sorry, Rose, you did not get the highest grades in your year. You've been beaten." Oh, Albus thought, that kind of made sense. For a moment there, Albus actually thought Rose was afraid of Neville, which was ridiculous. "Riddikulus!" Rose shouted. The boggart Neville swayed, but didn't look any different. He opened his mouth again. "Rose, you have beaten everyone in the entire school! You have the best grades in the history of Hogwarts." Albus smirked. It wasn't entirely funny, but it fit Rose perfectly. "Interesting," Balladanis muttered, "Next!" Rose stood off to the side and grinned as Amanda stepped forward. Albus watched as the boggart turned into a very large snake. Amanda stared at it for a few moments and then shouted, "Riddikulus!" The snake twirled around and tied itself into a knot. Amanda, along with most of the rest of the class, burst out laughing. Amanda stepped to the side next to Rose and Janie Creevey stepped forward. Janie's boggart turned into a giant rat, which then got transformed into tiny mouse. A few Slytherins were up after her, and then it was Linda Morales's turn. Albus watched intently as the boggart that had previously been a dragon turn into a raging fire. Linda raised her wand and shouted, "Riddikulus!" The fire turned into a waterfall and Linda joined the growing group of students off to the side. Marina Jordan-Bell was next, and her boggart turned into a spider, as did her sister, Karina's. Karina had a bit of trouble, but eventually managed to turn the spider rainbow colors. Ethan and a couple of the Slytherins had difficulty as well. Leigh Montague charmed her mummy boggart into a strait jacket and then it was John's turn. He stepped forward and the mummy turned into a clown. A clown, complete with a big red nose and huge shoes. Albus could hear a few of the other students snickering already. Albus wasn't exactly a fan of clowns, but he could think of at least ten things that were scarier than them. "Riddikulus!" John shouted. The clown boggart started to walk forward, but it tripped over its ridiculously large feet, which were growing at an alarming rate. The entire class burst out in the loudest laughter yet as John joined Rose and Amanda. Albus took a deep breath and stepped forward. The clown with the huge feet started spinning again and when it stopped, it looked like Professor Oteski. The Oteski boggart stepped towards Albus. "You did not make the Hogwarts Quidditch team," it said. Albus gulped. Come to think of it, that was what he was most afraid of at that moment. But how could he make it funny. He racked his brains as the Oteski boggart continued walking towards him. "Riddikulus!" Albus shouted. The boggart spun around again and then stopped. "You did make the team!" it said, "In fact, everyone is on the team! All of Hogwarts will play at once and therefore win the competition!" Albus laughed at the thought of a Quidditch team consisting of over 200 people on it and joined John at the side of the classroom. Albus watched as Matt stepped forward. "Hey, Potter," Scorpius whispered, "I bet the boggart won't know what to turn into with Eckerton. He's afraid of everything." "Shut it, Malfoy," Albus growled. "Quiet over there!" Balladanis shouted. Albus immediately shut his mouth and Scorpius didn't say anything else. The boggart was spinning around again and when it stopped, it didn't turn into the bright full moon that Albus had been expecting. It had turned into a very sinister looking man. He was skinny and rather short and had a mop of untidy brown hair on his head. It wasn't like Roberts's hair, though. This bloke's hair was stringy and dirty looking. His eyes were piercing, not unlike Balladanis's, and he was sneering at Matt. Albus didn't recognize who it was. He hadn't seen anyone that resembled the boggart. The boggart stepped slowly towards Matt, who looked frozen in place. Albus could see his wand shaking in his hand. "Who's that bloke?" John whispered. "No idea," Albus said. Albus continued to watch as the boggart advanced towards Matt. Balladanis wasn't doing anything besides watching with an unreadable expression on his face. The boggart was now only a couple feet away from Matt, who still wasn't doing anything. The boggart began to slowly raise its hands and muttered something that Albus couldn't quite catch. At that moment, Matt seemed to unfreeze. He stepped back and all of a sudden ran towards the door. He wrenched it open and disappeared from the room. Everyone who had already faced the boggart started whispering amongst themselves Albus turned to John, who shrugged. Albus couldn't even begin to imagine why Matt was afraid of that strange man, but he could sense that it went beyond a normal fear. "I'm going after him," Albus whispered to John. John nodded and Albus ran from the room without asking Balladanis or even looking back at him. Albus could hear Balladanis trying to quiet the rest of the students down as he walked quickly down the corridor. Matt wasn't anywhere to be found. Albus continued to walk down the corridor, not really knowing where he was going. Where would Matt go? The dormitory? Room of Requirement? Marauder's Den? That was it, Albus thought. That's where Matt would go. After all, only a few people knew about that. Albus walked through the empty corridors, thankful that nobody else was wandering around. He glanced at his watch. There was only ten minutes left in class. The fifth floor corridor was also deserted. Albus quickly pulled up the arm on the appropriate suit of armor and then searched the opposite wall for the tiny paw prints. He found them and glanced up and down the corridor once more before wrenching the door open. The room looked empty when Albus stepped inside. In fact, it looked just like they left it at the end of the previous year. Albus hadn't been in it for months. He quietly walked further into the room and headed straight for Matt's alcove. Matt was sitting on his four-poster bed, just staring directly at the wall in front of him. Albus wordlessly sat down on the bed, not sure of what to say. Matt didn't even acknowledge the fact that Albus was there. Either that or he didn't notice. "Er, are you ok?" Albus asked after a few moments of awkward silence. Matt looked over at him. He didn't look all right. His face was pale white. "I guess," he said quietly, "But everyone probably thinks I'm afraid of everything now. Nobody else ran out of the room." "Maybe everyone else's boggarts weren't as scary," Albus suggested. "Maybe," Matt muttered. Albus heard the door open and he craned his head around to see that Rose, John, and Amanda had come inside. John and the girls walked over to where Albus and Matt were. "We've got your bags," John said as he dropped Albus and Matt's bags on the floor. "Thanks," Albus replied. "Are you all right?" John asked Matt. "Yeah," Matt sighed. "What have we got next?" Albus asked. "Herbology," Rose answered, "And we'd better go if we don't want to be late." "Are you coming?" Albus asked Matt. "Yeah," Matt got up off the bed, "Let's go. I just hope we don't have it with the Slytherins. I'd bet my last Galleon that Malfoy's going to make fun of me for this for rest of the year." Albus would have been willing to bet that as well. Fortunately, the third year Gryffindors had Herbology with the Ravenclaws that year. A few of the other Gryffindors stole quick glances at Matt during the beginning part of the class, but nobody said anything to him. Neville quizzed them about a few plants they had learned about the previous year for a few minutes. Rose and Linda answered all of them. Then he gave a broad overview of what they'd be doing that year.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2535 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Thursday 15 October 2009 07 59 13 pm    Post subject: Re: Albus potter and the Path Left Untrodden in topic:Albus potter and the Path Left Untrodden Chapter 5: Linda Morales Professor Kendrick rose to his feet. "May I have your attention!" he shouted and the room quieted down, "Thank you. Now, I have a few rather boring announcements, two somewhat exciting ones, and one really exciting one. I shall start with the boring ones. "As usual, the forest and Whomping Willow are out of bounds to everyone. If you wish to try-out for your house's Quidditch team, give your name to your head of house. The Dueling Club and Junior's Dueling Club will be starting up again and once meetings have been set up, I shall let you know. "As for the somewhat exciting announcements, we have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Please welcome Professor Balladanis." The stern looking professor stood up for a few seconds and received mediocre applause. He resumed his seat and Professor Kendrick turned back to the students. "The other somewhat interesting announcement is that Hogwarts will be patrolled by Aurors a few days a week. After last year's incident, the Ministry has deemed this a necessary precaution to take. The Aurors are positive that Jarrett Willinson and Jameson Washburn will try to return to Hogwarts at some point this year. I do not tell you this to scare you, but to make you aware of the situation. If anyone sees any suspicious behavior or has any information regarding the whereabouts of either fugitive, please tell a teacher." The entire Gryffindor table turned to Albus and his friends at this announcement. Albus felt his face turn red and he stared down at his plate. He really hated all the attention he got from what happened the previous two years. "And now," Kendrick continued, "I have a very exciting announcement to make." Albus grinned and turned to his friends, who were all wearing equal faces of excitement, and then turned back to the headmaster. "First, I would like you all to remember the inter-house dueling from last year." The entire hall groaned and people started whispering amongst themselves. "Quiet down," Kendrick said, "There was a reason why I enacted that last year. More than just school unity, that is. I wanted the school to become more united because of an event that is taking place this year. An event that will put us into competition with other magical schools-" "The Triwizard Tournament?!" Bradley exclaimed, "Is that it?" "No," Kendrick replied, "This is not the Triwzard Tournament. It is a different competition that will involve more than just one student from each school. "Tomorrow evening, shortly before dinner, a select group of students from the Adirondack Academy of Magic, which is in New York State, and the Australian School of Sorcery will travel to Hogwarts, where they will live and attend classes for the duration of the year." Albus turned to look at Matt, who was gaping at Kendrick. "The students from both schools will be Sorted into the four Hogwarts houses during a special Sorting ceremony tomorrow evening. They will live in whichever house they are Sorted into and attend classes with those in their year. I expect you all to treat them like they are fellow Hogwarts students. "However, you will also be competing against them. There are two events. The first is Qudditch. Each of the schools has created a Quidditch team comprised of the best Quidditch players in their respective school. We will be doing the same thing here. The three teams will play each other throughout the year and whichever team wins shall receive the Quidditch Cup for Schools. "The other event will be dueling. Each of the schools has also put together a team of the best duelers in their respective school. Again, we shall do the same. The tournaments will work much like the Dueling Club works here." The entire school started talking at once. Albus thought the whole thing was brilliant. It was like the Triwizard Tournament, only less dangerous. Maybe he could even participate. He was a decent Chaser and dueler. "Albus, you've got to try out for the Hogwarts Quidditch team!" John shouted. "I will!" Albus grinned, "As long as they don't have an age limit or anything." "I don't think they will," Rose said, "Quidditch isn't that dangerous." "It kind of is," John laughed. "Maybe I can duel," Kaden said, "I'm a second year now." "I think it'll be great just to go to school with kids from Australia and New York!" Rose exclaimed, "Think of all we can learn from them!" "Yeah," Amanda agreed. "Quiet!" Kendrick shouted over the chatter and everyone settled down, "The Hogwarts Quidditch team is open to anyone who is currently on a House Quidditch team. I'm sorry if that upsets some of you, but it would be impossible to hold try-outs for the entire school, and I think it would be better if our team were comprised of those who have experience on a Quidditch team. If you have interest in trying out, please tell your head of house. "Try-outs for the Hogwarts Dueling Team will be open to fifth through seventh years only." "Crap," Kaden muttered. "If you want to try out, give your name to your head of house. Try-outs for both teams will most likely be next weekend. I believe that is all I have to say for now. First years, please follow a prefect to your common room. Good night, everyone." Albus got up from the table and walked to Gryffindor tower with his friends. They talked about the competition the entire time. Albus was incredibly excited about the prospect of playing for the Hogwarts Quidditch team, and a little nervous at the same time. Of course, his chances of getting picked were kind of slim. He was the youngest Chaser eligible to try out. "Albus!" James pushed his way through the crowd of Gryffindors in the common room, "Are you trying out?" "Of course!" Albus grinned, "You?" "Yeah!" James exclaimed, "That's everybody! Everyone on the Gryffindor team is trying out! Wouldn't that be amazing if we were all picked?" "You won't be," Rose said, "The whole point is to have a Hogwarts team, not a Gryffindor team." "Albus and James will get picked," Kaden said adamantly, "You two are both great Quidditch players." "Thanks, Kaden," Albus smiled, "But all the other Chasers are older than me." "Doesn't matter," John assured him, "They'll be searching for skill, not age." "Who's picking the team?" Amanda asked. "Probably Professor Oteski," James said, "And maybe the heads of houses will help." Albus and his friends talked about the Quidditch competition for another few minutes before retiring to their dormitories for the night. Albus climbed into his familiar four-poster bed, but found that he was too excited to sleep. The more he thought about the Hogwarts Quidditch team, the more he thought he actually had a chance of making it. He was also excited about having the Australian and American students at Hogwarts. He hadn't really met many foreign witches and wizards before, not including his Aunt Fleur's family. Matt and Amy and their parents were the closest he'd come, and they'd been living in England for a while. Matt didn't seem very excited about the whole thing, though. In fact, he had remained rather quiet ever since Kendrick made the announcement. ****** It was easy to feel the excitement at Hogwarts the next day. Since it was Sunday, classes weren't starting yet. Most people slept late, and the main topic of conversation in the Great Hall at lunchtime was the competition and the students from Australia and New York. Georgia organized a spur of the moment Quidditch practice for the Gryffindor team in order to prepare for the Hogwarts Team try-outs. Albus and the rest of the team practiced for at least two hours that afternoon. "You're a shoo-in, James," Albus told his brother as the two of them began to walk off the pitch, "Everyone knows you're the best Seeker in the school." "Well, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw are the only other houses that are keeping their Seekers from last year," James pointed out, "So I'll only be competing against Lisa Galivant and Miranda Corner." "And you're better than both of them," Albus said, "I'll be competing against at least six other Chasers." "Yeah, but you're a good Chaser," James assured him. Albus nodded and shouldered his broom. He was already nervous about the try-out, and it was almost a week away. What if he was so nervous during the try-out that he completely messed up? He'd just have to be sure to calm down by then. Albus sighed and continued walking off the pitch. Just as he was getting close to the stands, he noticed someone sitting alone in the lower level. It was Matt. "I'll see you back in the common room," Albus said to his brother as he detoured towards the stands. James nodded and continued back towards the castle. Matt had hardly said a word the entire day. He was normally quiet, but it was never a good sign when he was completely silent. Albus knew better than to ask why, but he was still curious. He had a feeling it had to do with the Australian students. "Hey," Albus sat down next to Matt. "Hi," Matt mumbled. "Where's everyone else?" Albus asked. "Rose is in the library researching about the magical schools in Australia and New York," Matt explained, "Amanda is with her." "Why does that not surprise me," Albus smirked, "I'm assuming John isn't with them?" "No," Matt gave a half-hearted laugh, "He and Kaden are in the Marauder's Den. I was there with them, but they kept talking about Quidditch and Dueling competitions and I just got sick of it, so I came out here." Albus nodded. Matt was going to have a hard time finding someplace in the school where no one was talking about the competitions. "Er, are you ok?" Albus asked tentatively, "I mean, you've been kind of quiet." Matt sighed. "I," he paused, "I'm just not that excited about the competition thing. Well, it's not that, it's the fact that we're doing it with Australia." "Oh," Albus said, not sure what to say next. "I was supposed to go to the Australian School of Sorcery," Matt continued, "That's where Amy went. Then the headmaster told my parents I couldn't. In fact, he said it in a downright cruel way. I never read that letter. I think Mum burned it. But she never told me what it said. She just said it was mean. The headmaster hates, well, people like me." Albus hadn't even thought about that. He turned to look at Matt. He looked quite upset about the whole thing. Albus had no idea what to say. "I don't want the headmaster to come here," Matt said quietly, "I know that's stupid, really. I mean, he's never met me. And we moved five years ago. He probably wouldn't even recognize my last name." "It's not stupid," Albus assured him. Albus couldn't really imagine what this was like for Matt, though. He supposed the only thing close would be if Washburn came back to teach or something. "But I don't think you'll really come into contact with their headmaster much. You can't try out for the Quidditch team or the Dueling Team, so I don't think you'll do much more than pass him in the corridor." "I guess," Matt sighed, "It's just going to be so weird." "Yeah," Albus agreed, "But I don't think anything will happen. This is Kendrick's school. Even if the Australian headmaster is here, he can't really do anything. He's got no control over anything here." Matt nodded. "That's true. I hadn't really thought about that." Albus stood up. "Come on, let's go find John and Kaden. I'm sure we can convince them not to talk about the competition. We could ask them how their plans for swimming in the Black Lake are coming." Matt laughed, "They're all ready to do it. They just didn't want to do it today since you were practicing Quidditch and Rose and Amanda were in the library." The rest of the afternoon went by very quickly. Shortly before dinner, Albus and his friends made their way into the Great Hall. The entire room was buzzing with excitement. Albus noticed that nearly all of the professors were wearing dress robes. The only one who wasn't was Professor Balladanis, who as wearing the same black robes as the previous day. Albus sat down at the Gryffindor table, where everyone was talking about the foreign schools. "I heard that the Australian School of Sorcery is underground!" Hugo shouted excitedly. Matt snorted. "It's not." "Oh, maybe it was the Adirondack Academy of Magic," Hugo replied. "That one's not underground either," Matt laughed. "How do you know they're not?" Hugo asked. "My sister used to go to the Australian School of Sorcery," Matt explained, "And my uncle lives in New York. I've seen that school, too." "Well, that's boring," Hugo muttered, "Would have been better if one of them was underground." "Hey, Hugo," Kaden grinned, "Guess what the initials of Australian School of Sorcery are?" "A, S, S," Hugo shrugged and then a big grin appeared on his face, "Ass! That's brilliant!" "Quiet, please!" Kendrick shouted over the crowd, "The students from the Adirondack Academy of Magic shall be arriving at any moment!" No sooner had Kendrick finished his sentence, people began to whisper and turn their heads towards the door. Albus craned his head up and saw a tall man striding into the Great Hall. He was wearing navy blue robes and had a rather large amount of messy grey hair on his head. Behind him were a dozen or so students wearing identical blue robes. Most of the students looked to be a few years older than Albus. They all stared around at the Great Hall, a couple of them pointing excitedly at the ceiling. The tall man (who Albus presumed to be their headmaster) led the students to the staff table. Kendrick greeted them and then looked up at his own students. "Let me introduce Professor Marvin Roberts, headmaster of the Adirondack Academy of Magic, and his students," Kendrick announced, "Welcome to Hogwarts." Albus and the rest of the Hogwarts student body burst into applause. Once it died down, Kendrick opened his mouth again. "And now, if I'm not mistaken, the students from the Australian School of Sorcery are arriving at the very moment." Albus turned back towards the door and saw another man entering the room. He wore emerald green robes and was completely bald. He made up for the lack of hair on his head by sporting a pointy mustache and goatee. He wasn't nearly as tall as Roberts, but not short either. He walked purposefully towards the staff table with his group of students clad in matching emerald green robes following him. Albus noticed that Matt didn't take his eyes off the man. It was almost like he was frozen in place, except for his eyes, which followed the man to the staff table. "Now I'll introduce Professor Addair Killigan," Kendrick said, "And the students of the Australian School of Sorcery." Albus clapped along with everyone else, but it was more subdued. He took an immediate dislike to Killigan just because of what Matt had said. Albus noticed that Matt didn't really clap at all. "Thank you," Kendrick said once the clapping stopped, "Now, we shall have a special Sorting ceremony in order to find out which house you belong in. The four houses are Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Slytherin. While you are here at Hogwarts, you will live in your house dormitories, spend free time in your house common rooms, and attend classes with the other students in your house." "You know, it'll be interesting to see if they adopt the house prejudices like we have," Rose whispered, "What if two of them are really good friends and then one is sorted into Gryffindor and the other into Slytherin?" "I dunno," Albus shrugged. Rose had a point, though. "To be Sorted, all you have to do is put on the Sorting Hat," Kendrick continued, "It will tell you where you should be." Professor Patil stood up and walked around to the other side of the staff table. She was holding the three-legged stool and the Sorting Hat. She set the hat down on the stool and it burst into song. There were loud gasps from all of the students from the other two schools. A few of the Hogwarts students giggled at this. All the foreign students stared intently at the hat and whispered amongst themselves. "When I call your name, come sit on the stool and put on the hat. It will tell you which house you're in and then you can go sit at the appropriate table," Patil said after the hat stopped singing. "Allen, Gregory." A tall and lanky boy with messy brown hair stepped away from the group and sat down on the stool. He was wearing navy blue robes, so he must have been from New York. "Slytherin!" the hat shouted. Gregory Allen took the hat off and went to join the Slytherin table. The Sorting continued and Albus clapped loudly whenever anyone got Sorted into Gryffindor. So far, all the new Gryffindors looked at least two years older than Albus. "I think that bloke is going to have to lose the green robes," John commented as one of the Australian students was Sorted into Gryffindor, "It's just not normal to wear green robes when you're a Gryffindor." "I imagine they'll get Gryffindor robes soon," Rose said. "Do they even have houses at the Australian School of Sorcery?" John wondered aloud, "I mean, all their robes look alike." "They do," Matt told him, "But those are the plain school robes." "I'm guessing they wanted to look unified," Rose suggested, "I doubt Albus will wear Gryffindor Quidditch robes when he plays on the house team. They'll probably have special Hogwarts robes." "If I'm on the team, Rose," Albus sighed. Everyone seemed to think he was going to make the team. What if he didn't? Everyone would be disappointed. Albus didn't really like the pressure. "Morales, Linda," Patil shouted. Albus turned back to the Sorting and saw a rather short girl step forward. Albus watched as she walked towards the three-legged stool and he couldn't take his eyes off her. She was beautiful. There wasn't really any other way to describe her. Albus hadn't ever seen a girl as pretty as she was. Her dark brown hair cascaded down her back in soft waves. It didn't quite match her surprisingly pale skin, but it was beautiful nonetheless. Her light skin went well with her emerald green robes. She looked a bit nervous as she sat down and Patil dropped the hat on her head. Albus turned to look at his friends. Matt, John, and Kaden were all staring at the girl. So was James. In fact, all the boys at the Gryffindor table seemed to be staring at her. The girls were whispering to each other and glancing up at Linda Morales every so often. The hat seemed to be taking forever to decide. The entire Great Hall had erupted in whispers. Finally, the brim of the hat burst open and shouted out, "Gryffindor!" Linda Morales took off the hat and walked quickly towards the Gryffindor table. "Bloody hell," John whispered as she took a seat a few places down from Albus. Albus nodded and turned to look at the girl. She looked, if possible, even more nervous now that she was sitting down. "Albus!" Rose seethed, "Don't stare at her!" Albus shook his head to clear his thoughts and tried to turn his attention back to the Sorting. A little while later, the last student was Sorted into Hufflepuff and Patil and the other headmasters took seats behind the staff table. Kendrick stood up. "I'm sure you are all quite famished by now, so without further ado, dinner is served." Kendrick waved his wand and the golden plates filled with food. None of the new students had sat near Albus and his friends, so they didn't get a chance to really get to know any of them. Most of them were older anyway. Albus's cousins struck up conversations with a few of them, though. Albus did notice that Linda wasn't saying much, despite the fact that she had quite a few Gryffindors trying to talk to her. "Well, I certainly hope everyone enjoyed the feast," Kendrick announced after the plates cleaned themselves of dessert, "I have just a few announcements. The new students need to take note of the fact that the forest and the Whomping Willow are out of bounds. There is also a rather large list of forbidden objects. The entire list can be viewed on the caretaker's door, which is located on this level. Or, you can ask your fellow students. Anyone with the last name of Weasley has a particularly extensive knowledge on the subject." There was a large amount of laughter at this, mostly from the Gryffindor table. "Also, try-outs for the Hogwarts Quidditch team will be held this Saturday at one in the afternoon. Dueling Team try-outs will be held a week from today, also at one in the afternoon. And with that, I suggest you all turn in early, as classes start tomorrow." When Albus and his friends returned to the Gryffindor common room, Linda Morales was already there, surrounded by a rather large group of boys and a couple girls. She didn't appear to be enjoying it, though. She looked as nervous as she had been in the Great Hall and was mostly just nodding. "I'll bet anything all those blokes have asked her out already," Rose muttered as they watched the group. "Probably," Amanda agreed. "They should just leave her alone," Rose went on, "It doesn't look like she wants all that attention. I'll bet she's overwhelmed by everything." "I wonder how old she is," Albus said. He'd been trying to figure that out all evening. "Dunno," Rose shrugged, "She looks our age, but older at the same time. It's kind of odd." "Guess we'll find out tomorrow," Albus said, "She might be in our classes." "Well, I'm going to bed," Matt turned away from Linda and stood up. "He's been quiet all evening," John commented as Matt left. Albus leaned over to John. "That Killigan bloke, the headmaster, is the reason he couldn't go to school in Australia," Albus whispered. "Oh," John said, "Well, that would explain it." Albus and his friends stayed up for a few more minutes before turning in for the night. Albus laid awake for a while, though, thinking about Linda Morales.