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DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2535 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Sunday 15 February 2009 09 46 59 am    Post subject: Re: In Moonlight's Shadow in topic:In Moonlight's Shadow Thanks Obladi and hprocks! Chapter 34: Wizarding Psychology Matt slept most of the next few days, even though he had been in that coma for an entire week. Sterling said it was good for him to sleep because it helped with the healing process. He continued to receive the dreamless sleep potion and was able to sleep peacefully because of it. Gradually, he began to sleep less and by his fourth day out of the coma, he was sitting up in bed and talking to us. However, he still remained extremely afraid of anyone who wasn't me, Mum, Dad, Uncle Jack, or Healer Sterling. He was even kind of timid around the nurses. Sterling thought this was because there was always a different nurse every time one was needed. "I think we'll try tonight without the dreamless sleep," Sterling said as he examined Matt's arm. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" Mum asked anxiously. "We need to. He can't be on that potion forever," Sterling replied. Mum sighed, "All right, if you really think so." "It has to be done. On the plus side, I think this bandage can come off," Sterling gestured to Matt's arm. Mum smiled, "That's great!" Sterling carefully lifted Matt's arm up and pulled out his wand. He muttered a spell and the bandages fell off. Sterling looked Matt's arm over and performed a few more spells. "How does it feel?" he asked. "Weird," Matt replied as he moved his arm around. "It will feel a bit weaker than the other one for a few days. Close your hand and make a fist for me." Matt did as he was told and held his fist up to Sterling. "Does that hurt?" Sterling asked. Matt shook his head. "Good," Sterling smiled. "How are the rest of his injuries healing?" Dad asked. "As well as can be expected. His broken ribs are healed, as well as his arm. I should be able to remove the head bandages tomorrow. However, his ankle isn't healing nearly as fast as I'd like. I am going to increase the dosage of the healing potion, but that's about all I can do." "Thanks," Dad replied. "Mum?" Matt whispered. "What is it, honey?" "I'm hungry." Mum smiled, "That's a good sign." "Could we take him to the tea room?" Dad asked Sterling, "Just a change of scenery." "That would be fine, but he can't walk on that ankle yet." "I'll carry him," Dad replied and bent over Matt's bed, "Want to go eat with us?" Matt nodded and held out his arms. Dad carefully lifted him up and rested him on his hip. I followed my family out of the room. I was so happy that Matt was finally starting to get better. Maybe we'd even be able to leave the hospital soon. I was starting to get sick of spending all my time there. The tea room was mostly deserted when we arrived. I think that was what Dad had been hoping for. On our way there, Matt buried his head in Dad's shoulder so he couldn't see anyone. My parents seemed more cheery during that meal than they had in over a week. Matt sat on Dad's lap the whole time and ate half a sandwich and a biscuit. That was more than I'd seen him eat since before the last full moon. I couldn't help but smile when I saw him munching away on his biscuit on Dad's lap. The trip to the tea room seemed to tire Matt out. He fell asleep in Dad's arms on the way back to his room. Sterling was standing in the room when we got back. Dad lay Matt down on the bed and turned to Sterling. "No potion?" Dad asked. "No potion," Sterling replied, "But I've gotten permission from the administration to let all four of you spend the night here. The ward is empty, besides Matt, so it'll be fine. I think it would be best to have all of you here, in case he has a nightmare." "Good idea," Dad replied. "It's late, so I've got to get home," Sterling said, "I'll see you in the morning." "All right. See you then," Dad said. Once Sterling left, we all took our usual seats around Matt's bed. I had a feeling that none of us were going to be getting any sleep that night. I was tired, but there was no chance of sleep when I was expecting my brother to have the worst nightmare in the world at any moment. I had a feeling that the nightmare I had a week ago would be nothing compared to the one Matt would have that night. Sterling had said there was only a possibility of Matt having a horrible nightmare, but the rest of us knew otherwise. I would be willing to bet my entire savings that Matt would have a nightmare that night. He had nightmares for six months straight after he was bitten. Even after those ended, he had nightmares before every full moon. Well, he still has those occasionally. All four of us sat around Matt's bed, watching for the first nightmare. I wondered if Matt would get any dreamless sleep potion after his first nightmare. I doubted he'd only have one tonight unless he got potion after it. Before long, I felt my eyes start to droop. The room was warm and I was leaning against the wall. I was so tired. I wasn't sure how long I was asleep, but it felt like my eyes snapped open at the sound of screaming only a few seconds after I closed them. I sat up suddenly and looked around the room. Mum was sitting on Matt's bed and he was curled up in her lap, sobbing uncontrollably into her chest. She was rocking him and rubbing her hand on his back. Dad and Uncle Jack were both sitting on the edge of the bed, looking grim. "Shush," Mum soothed, "It's ok. It was just a dream." "M-M-Mummy-y-y," Matt cried. "Mummy's here," Mum replied, "It's all over. Just a dream." "I d-d-don't w-w-want to g-go th-th-there again," he wailed. "You won't, honey. Never again," Mum assured him. It took Matt twenty minutes to calm down from his nightmare. My stomach felt queasy as I watched him shake in Mum's lap. Why did he always have to suffer so much? For the past few months all I'd thought about was how much my own life sucked. I had thought that my life was affected by this whole thing more than his was. I never realized how much Matt's life was controlled by the fact that he was a werewolf. Yes, he got sick and turned into a wolf once a month, but I thought that was it. The past few months had taught me otherwise. Especially now as I saw him suffering from nightmares I knew how much more his life was affected by his condition than mine was. I was beginning to feel very guilty about how much I had complained about the move. I hadn't realized how important it really was to move. If we didn't move, Matt could have to go through this once a month. No one could ever forcefully take me and lock me up in a room full of strangers. But they could do it to Matt and it was now perfectly legal in Australia to do so. It really was unfair. He was just a kid, but the government didn't see him that way. They saw him as a monster. They judged him based on how he was one night out of twenty-eight. Despite my impending guilt, part of me still wanted to remain in Australia. And that just made me more guilty. How could I still sort of not want to move after seeing how staying in Australia would affect Matt? I had no idea, but the whole thing was confusing me. "Are you ready to go back to sleep?" Mum asked after Matt had been quiet for a few minutes. "No," Matt whispered, "I d-don't want to." "How come, honey? I'll be here. So will Dad and Amy and Uncle Jack. We're all staying here with you." "I d-don't w-want to g-go back," Matt began crying again. Mum looked up over Matt and gave Dad a significant glance. She looked back down at Matt and started rubbing his back again. "It's ok. You won't." A few minutes later the door to the ward opened slowly. I looked up and saw the night nurse peek her head in. "Everything ok in here?" she asked. Dad got up and went over to the door. "Actually, could we give him some dreamless sleep? We've established that he is getting nightmares from the ordeal." "Sure. No problem," the nurse replied and closed the door. She returned a few minutes later with a goblet and handed it to Dad. Dad brought it over to the bed and sat down. "Matt, could you drink this?" Dad asked, "It'll make you not have any dreams." Matt nodded and took the goblet. He took a few sips and then yawned. A few seconds later he was slumped over on Mum's shoulder. That stuff certainly didn't take long to work. Mum held Matt in her lap for a few more minutes and then lay him down on the bed, covering him up with the blankets. "Amy," Dad nudged my shoulder, "Why don't you get some sleep? He's had the potion, he'll sleep through the night." I nodded and stood up sleepily. I climbed into the bed next to Matt's and was asleep within five minutes, almost like I'd taken a sleeping potion of my own. ****** Everyone else was awake when I got up the next morning. Dad had made a trip to the Leaky Cauldron and brought me back a change of clothes. I took them gratefully and changed in the bathroom. When I returned, Healer Sterling was just stepping into the ward. He pulled out a quill and sat down on a chair next to Matt's bed. Matt was awake and eating his breakfast that someone must have brought when I was gone. "How did last night go?" he asked, looking from Matt to Mum. Mum exchanged glances with Dad and sighed. "Not so well," Mum said, "He had a nightmare within an hour of falling asleep." Sterling nodded and jotted something down on his clipboard. "And was it a bad one?" "Yes," Mum said, "He didn't calm down for a half hour afterwards and wouldn't go to sleep again without the potion." "I was afraid this would happen," Sterling said quietly. "We kind of figured it would happen," Mum said, "I would have been surprised if he didn't have nightmares." "Well, we have a few options," Sterling began, "He can continue taking the dreamless sleep for a few weeks, and hope he gets over the trauma from the transformation by then. Or, we could try the therapy I mentioned a few days ago which might help him get over it faster." "We've already decided that we want to try the therapy," Mum told him. "I think that's a wise choice. I'll set you up an appointment for later today. Now, let's see if we can take off those head bandages...." It was kind of weird that Matt was going to see a psychologist. Psychology is not really that well known in the wizarding world. I know that Muggles go to therapists all the time, but I had never heard of wizards seeing them. In fact, I'd never even heard of a wizard psychologist. Maybe wizard psychology was more well-known in England. It wouldn't really surprise me. I hated to admit it, but so far, everything was actually better in England than in Australia. Sterling was able to take the bandages off Matt's head that morning. Matt said he felt dizzy afterwards, but Sterling said it was normal and told him just to lie down for the rest of the morning. I spent the morning wandering around the hospital and helping the nurses bottle potions. Now that Matt was well on his way to getting better, I didn't feel the need to remain in his room at all times. It was kind of boring to do that anyway. Plus, Matt liked it when I told him about everything else that was going on in the hospital. He particularly liked hearing about the people in the waiting room who were plagued with various spell damages. If laughter really is the best medicine, Sterling should have Matt spend an hour looking around the Spell Damage floor. There's nothing as funny as seeing a bloke with a broomstick affixed to his back. Unless it was the witch with antlers that someone had hung Christmas ornaments on. Uncle Jack went out and got us a Muggle pizza for lunch. We were all getting sick of hospital food and Matt had expressed a strange desire for pizza. As soon as he'd announced he wanted it, Uncle Jack volunteered to go get it. He and my parents probably would have gotten Matt whatever he wanted, whether it was pizza or a five layer chocolate cake. It was kind of fun eating pizza in the ward. Matt remained the only patient there, so it was sort of like our own private room in the hospital. The pizza was really good. I had about four slices. Healer Sterling entered the room just as we were finishing up. "Good lunch?" he asked. Matt nodded. "Yup. I had three pieces." "Glad to hear it," Sterling smiled and then turned to my parents. "I've got the appointment set up for a half hour from now. The psychologist will come here, so you won't have to go anywhere." "Thanks," Dad replied, "We'll be waiting." "I'll be back after the appointment is over to see how it went," Sterling said and left the room. Dad tossed the pizza box into the trash and sat down on Matt's bed. He pulled Matt onto his lap and looked at him. "You're going to meet a new healer today." Matt stared at Dad and shook his head. "I don't want another healer." "I know, but this healer is different. He is going to help you not have anymore nightmares. That would be good, right?" Matt nodded slowly, but he looked scared. "He's a friend of Healer Sterling. He's just here to help you not have anymore nightmares, ok? He'll be very nice." "I don't want to," Matt whispered. "I know, but you have to. And Mum, Uncle Jack, Amy, and I will be here the whole time." "Ok," Matt replied quietly. None of us said much as we waited for the psychologist to come into the room. I had no idea what to expect. The only thing I'd really heard about psychologists was that they were always asking 'And how do you feel about that?'. If this one was one of those psychologists, I didn't think he'd actually manage to help my brother. I had a feeling that Matt wouldn't even talk to him. The door opened a little while later and I looked up. A man dressed in green healer robes walked in carrying a clipboard. He was kind of short and chubby with hardly any hair and a bushy grey beard. He was wearing rectangular wire rimmed glasses and had a quill behind his ear. Dad stood up and met him halfway across the room. "I'm Healer Norlam," the man held his hand out to Dad. "Walter Eckerton," Dad shook his hand. "Nice to meet you," Norlam smiled and walked over to where we were all sitting. He conjured a chair and sat down in it. Matt, who had already been sitting on Mum's lap, buried his head in her shoulder. Norlam pulled his quill out from behind his ear and poised it over his clipboard. "Well, are you all Matt's family?" he asked. "Yes," Dad replied and gestured to Mum, "That's my wife, Julie. And my brother, Jack, and my daughter, Amy." Norlam wrote something on his clipboard and looked up again. "I thought I'd start out by asking you how much you know about wizarding psychology." "Not much," Dad replied, "It's not very common in Australia. In fact, you're the first psychologist I have ever met." Norlam nodded. "I see. Do you know anything about Muggle psychology?" "Yes," Dad said, "Just haven't had much experience with it." "Wizarding psychology is not that much different from the Muggle version. After all, we are all human and share the same emotions. Whereas wizards suffer from different physical illnesses than Muggles do, we share the same mental disorders. "The treatment of those disorders are mostly the same as well. Research has not provided us with a magical solution to mental disorders, so we rely mostly on Muggle type therapy. Perhaps that is why psychology has not really taken off in the wizarding world. However, if medications are needed for said disorders, we administer potions." "Interesting," Dad said, "Any ideas why there are not any magical solutions?" "Well, there are plenty of theories about it, but none of them have been proven over the others. I personally think it is due to the fact that emotional problems cannot be solved quickly. In the Muggle world, months and sometimes years of therapy are needed to resolve the issue. Magic has always been a quick fix for things. If you break your arm, for example, you take a potion and for the most part it's instantly healed. I don't think emotional problems can be healed by quick spells and potions because they are not physical problems." Dad nodded. "That is an interesting theory." "Now, perhaps you could give me a bit of history. Healer Sterling told me Matt was bitten at the age of five?" "That's correct," Dad said. "And what happened in the months following?" I zoned out while Dad was explaining the aftermath of Matt getting bitten. I had lived that first hand and heard it explained multiple times. I was kind of intrigued by Norlam's theory of wizarding psychology. Matt wasn't going to instantly recover from this experience. He'd have to get over it the hard way. The Muggle way. Norlam scratched away on his clipboard for a little while even after Dad stopped talking. "And how has he been during this experience? What sort of behavior changes have you noticed? Or any other symptoms?" Dad glanced at Mum before responding. "I think it's been worse. Kind of different, though. The nightmares have been about the same. Well, he wakes up screaming and won't settle down for a half hour and needs dreamless sleep. I'm sure the actual nightmares are a bit different, but I'm really not sure. "What I am most concerned about is the fact that he seems fearful of everyone except the people he knows. I think it's more with men, especially ones who somewhat resemble Ralph Lubar." Norlam scratched away on his clipboard. "Ok," he looked up and placed his clipboard on the bedside table, "I'd like to talk to him, but I'll understand if he's too afraid." Mum nodded and shifted Matt so his head lifted off her shoulder. "Matt, honey," she whispered, "Will you meet the new healer? He's here to help you." Matt shook his head and mumbled something incoherently. Mum ruffled his hair and rubbed his back. "It's ok, honey. Mummy's here. Everyone's here. No one's going to hurt you." He slowly lifted his head up again and took a quick peek at Healer Norlam. Norlam smiled at him, but made no move to get any closer. "Hi, Matt," he said. "How are you?" Matt said nothing and turned back around to face Mum. Norlam turned back to Dad. "Well, what do you think?" Dad asked. Norlam picked up his chart again. "I think it's safe to say that he's been traumatized by this." Dad sighed. "That's what we thought." "He will recover," Norlam assured him, "I believe he was most likely similarly traumatized after he was bitten, and he recovered from that without any intervention. With intervention, he should recover from this even faster. "Normally I would wait a couple weeks to make a diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, to see if the symptoms go away on their own. But, seeing as the dreams are severely interrupting his sleep, I am almost positive he does have PTSD." "And how will you help him recover from it? How long will it take?" Dad asked. "This is a very unique case," Norlam began. When was Matt not a unique case? I thought. I didn't think anything that ever happened to him could possibly be considered normal. "PTSD is characterized by a person being terrified of reliving an event that has happened to them. It's manifested in dreams and flashbacks. The flashbacks can be triggered by sights, smells, or sounds. However, I think Matt's PTSD involves two events. They are linked, obviously, but they are separate nonetheless. "First, the fact that Lubar took him and in essence kidnapped him. It may not be recognized as that by the Australian Ministry, but that is exactly what it was." "I'll say," Uncle Jack muttered, "At least somebody besides us realizes that." "Anyway," Norlam continued, "I believe that event caused his fear of strangers and the nightmares as well. Second, the transformation itself was a traumatic event. He may not remember it, but the memories are there in his subconscious and he may be reliving them in his nightmares." "Makes sense," Mum said. "What do you think we can do about it?" Dad asked. "That's where it gets difficult. Therapy for PTSD usually consists of relaxation techniques and gradual exposure to the feared situation. I think that will work fine for his fear of strangers. "However, I believe he is going to have an increased fear of transformations after this. Sterling and I talked a little about it and he told me that if that's the case, the transformations could get worse. I am not entirely sure how to help him get over his fear of transformations. Relaxations techniques will be pointless while he's transforming and they could be pointless during the day before, too, depending on how sick he is. I have never worked with a werewolf who has a fear of transformations before. I am going to have to research a bit and talk with Sterling before I can decide how to proceed." Dad nodded. "You're probably right. He was afraid of the transformations after he got bitten, but eventually got used to them." "That would eventually happen now, too, but I imagine it would take quite a long time." "What's the plan, then? Therapy?" Dad asked. "Yes. I need to research a bit and talk with Sterling about the fear of transformations, but we can get started with the therapy, relaxation techniques, and desensitization right away. Has Sterling decided when he will be discharged?" "Not yet," Dad answered, "Within a few days, I'd imagine. "And I presume you'll be going back to Australia?" "Yes. We're not moving up here until July first." "Perhaps I could work it out with the hospital and the Ministry to connect your house to the floo network. That way I could floo to your house and start the therapy before you move." Dad sighed, "That would be ideal, but I am not well-liked at the Australian Ministry right now. It might be tough to work that out." "Well," Norlam said, "I'll try. I think it would be in Matt's best interest to start therapy as soon as possible." "I agree. I'm just warning you about the Ministry. This mess with the Ministry is what got us into this situation in the first place." "I understand," Norlam replied and stuck his quill behind his ear again, "I'll try to have this all worked out before you leave." He stood up and shook Dad's hand. "Thanks," Dad replied. "Nice to meet you all," Norlam smiled and turned and left the room. "I think that went well," Dad said once Norlam had shut the door behind himself. Mum sighed. "I guess. I just don't see how he's going to be able to help Matt when Matt's afraid of him." I kind of agreed with Mum. Norlam seemed like a very nice psychologist, but Matt was scared of him. How could the bloke help my with Matt's fear of strangers when he was a stranger himself? "He'll be able to help once he gains Matt's trust," Dad explained. "I just don't know...." "Jule, what's the worse that can happen? The way I see it, the therapy can only help. If it doesn't work, we'll just work through it ourselves. But if it does work, Matt could recover from this a lot sooner than he otherwise would. Research backs this up, Julie; chances are it'll work." "All right," Mum sighed as she rubbed Matt's back, "We'll give it a try."
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2535 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Sunday 1 February 2009 03 23 47 pm    Post subject: Re: In Moonlight's Shadow in topic:In Moonlight's Shadow Thanks, hprocks & Obladi. The next few chapters get really angsty and emotional. Chapter 32: St. Mungo's "Julie," Dad walked up behind us. Mum turned around and looked at Dad. "I have an idea. It's probably crazy, but I'm willing to try anything at this point." "Me, too," Mum agreed, "What is it?" "I think we should take him to St. Mungo's," Dad said. "What?" "The healers have told us there's nothing they can do now but wait for him to wake up. I want to have Healer Sterling look at him." "You're right; that is kind of crazy. But if you think it might help...." "We've both been impressed by Healer Sterling," Dad pointed out, "He just might have an idea. Plus, in a month, Healer Sterling will officially be his healer anyway." "Let's do it, then," Mum said. "Glad you agree. I'll go contact Sterling and see if he can come here first, before we try moving Matt. The hospitals have some sort of floo connection to other hospitals, so I think it's just a simple matter of finding the correct fireplace. I'll go talk to one of the healers. I'm also going to see if I can contact Jack." Mum nodded and turned back around. So there was a glimmer of hope. I wished more than anything that Sterling would be able to figure out how to wake Matt up. Dad returned a little while later. Mum and I hadn't said a thing while he was gone. Mum immediately got up when he walked through the door. "Well?" she asked anxiously. "Sterling is going to come as soon as he can. He said he's got to tie up a few things, but he'll try to be quick about it. Said he should be here within the hour." "Oh, good," Mum sighed, "And what about Jack? Were you able to contact him?" "Yes. I was able to floo my head over there and talk to him." "And what did he say?" "Said that next time he sees Lubar, he'll kill him," Dad said darkly, "And to be honest, I wouldn't put it past him." "I doubt that," Mum replied, "Jack wouldn't do that." "You're probably right," Dad sighed, "But if Jack ever sees Lubar again, I'm sure he'll hex him into next week. And I'll be right there helping." I will too, I thought. I didn't care if I didn't know enough dueling spells. I didn't care that I was a horrible dueler. I'd resort to Muggle dueling if I had to. "Anyway," Dad continued, "Jack said he'd be in the next flight. I told him to wait, though. There's no point in him coming here if we're just going to wind up going to London." "All right," Mum said, "I guess now we wait for Sterling." "Yes," Dad sighed, "That's all we can do." All three of us jumped when we heard the door open a half hour later. I looked up and saw the familiar figure of Healer Sterling walk through the doorway. He quietly shut the door behind himself and walked over to the bed. "Walter, Julie," he nodded to my parents. "Amy." Dad stood up and shook his hand. "Thank you so much for coming." "Not a problem," Sterling said, "I only hope that I can help. Now, why don't you tell me exactly what went on during the full moon." He pulled a quill out of his pocket and poised it over the clipboard he was holding. Dad inhaled deeply and began to tell Sterling about everything that had happened. I tried to tune it out because Dad gave more details than I really wanted. Nobody had told me what Matt looked like when Dad retrieved him from the 'safe house'. "He was as pale as a ghost when I was finally able to get into that stupid building," Dad continued, "Laying in a pile of his own blood. I've never seen that many bites and scratches on him before. He was completely unconscious, of course. One of his arms and one of his legs were broken, along with multiple ribs. They've been healed as well as they can be for now. The healers here said they can't fully heal until he's out of the coma." "Yes, that's true," Sterling replied, "His body needs to be fully functioning before the bones can completely heal." "Can you help?" Mum asked anxiously. "I'll need to examine him," Sterling replied and pulled out his wand. I watched as Sterling waved his wand over my brother, muttering various incantations. He sighed and shook his head every once and a while, writing stuff down on his clipboard. I took that as a bad sign. Finally, Sterling put away his wand and turned to my parents with a grim face. Mum took one look at him and burst out crying again. Dad put his arm around her and rubbed her shoulder. "Well," Sterling began, "After talking with the healers here and examining him, I've come to the same conclusion." Sterling sighed and paused. "Before he can continue healing, he needs to wake up from that coma." Mum buried her head in Dad's shoulder. Dad rubbed his eyes and shook his head. I just sat there, staring at Sterling without really looking at him. "And there aren't any ways to wake him up?" Dad asked. "There are, actually," Sterling replied, "With Muggle medicine. But I wouldn't suggest them. His injuries are completely magic creature induced, which might interact horribly with Muggle treatments." Dad nodded. "Then we won't try that." "However," Sterling continued, "There is a potion. It's currently being tested at St. Mungo's. So far, it has had some success in waking people from comas. It's only been tried a couple times, since it's not common for witches and wizards to fall into comas. But, it has worked on the few times it's been tried." "We'll try it," Mum said immediately. "I must warn you, though," Sterling looked at Mum sympathetically, "That it's not guaranteed to work. It has never been tested on werewolves before, so I am not entirely sure how it will work." Dad turned to Mum, "Maybe we should just wait for him to wake up naturally." "You could," Sterling said, "But, since he is a werewolf, we're working on a tight schedule. He has to be out of the coma and preferably mostly healed by the time the next full moon arrives. Otherwise...well, I've got to prepare you for the worst." The worst. He had to prepare us for the worst. I burst out crying again. I couldn't take it anymore. Sterling had said what everyone else was thinking. That Matt might- I couldn't think about it. I pushed the thought from my mind and got up. I couldn't stay in that room anymore. Not when they were going to talk about the worst case scenario. I stood up and ran for the door, not looking back. I could feel Mum, Dad, and Sterling's eyes on me as I left, but I didn't care. "Amy-" Dad said, but I didn't hear the rest of what he was saying because I slammed the door behind myself. I ran all the way down the corridor, ignoring the shouts of 'walk, this is a hospital!' from the nurse on duty at the nurse's station. I skidded to a halt in front of the lift and mashed my hand onto the down arrow. I had to get out of there. Away from the depressing room that my brother was laying half-dead in. There, I thought it. Half-dead. In a coma. Completely unresponsive to outside stimuli. Whatever you wanted to call it. It was all the same. And the only hope he had was a potion that had only been tested a few times and never tested on werewolves. It seemed hopeless. I rushed into the lift as a healer left it. He looked at me curiously but didn't say a word. I hit the button for the bottom floor and leaned against the wall as the lift slowly led me down. Once it stopped moving, I pushed my way out of the doors and started running again. I ran the familiar path to the cafeteria and didn't stop until I got there. I wasn't hungry or anything, but the cafeteria was the first place I could think of to get away. I found a secluded table in a corner and sat down in it. I buried my head in my arms and cried. I sat there crying for who knows how long. When I finally picked up my head, I felt incredibly tired. I wasn't sure how long it had been since I last slept. It must have been almost 48 hours, but I wasn't sure. I put my head back down on the table and tried to block out all thoughts of my brother from my mind. I didn't think I'd be able to do it, but within ten minutes I was sound asleep, right there in the hospital cafeteria. ****** "Amy," someone was prodding my shoulder, "Amy, wake up." I groggily raised my head from the table and looked at the blurry figure of Dad. I rubbed my eyes and sat up straight. "Amy," Dad said again, "Have you been here the whole time?" "Yeah," I nodded, "How long have I been away?" "About an hour." Dad put his arm around my shoulder and hugged me close to him. "Amy, are you all right?" I squeezed my eyes shut. "How can I be all right? Dad, what's going to happen?" Dad sighed, "I don't know, Amy, I really don't know." "Is-" my voice caught in my throat, "Is he going to, to die?" Dad squeezed me tighter. "I don't know. I'm not going to lie to you and say it's a guarantee that he'll get better. Because I don't know. No one knows. But we're going to do everything we can to help him get better. That is a guarantee." I sniffed and nodded, but didn't think I would be able to say anything. Why did everything bad happen to my family? "Your mother and I have decided to try the potion Healer Sterling was talking about. And he thinks he'd be better able to keep an eye on Matt if we transferred him to St. Mungo's, so that's what we're going to do in a few minutes." I nodded again. I didn't care how long we had to stay in London as long as Matt got better. I just hoped that the potion would work. "You ready to go back to the room?" Dad asked, "Do you want something to eat first?" I shook my head. I didn't think I'd be able to eat anything. "Let's just go back," I whispered. Dad nodded and stood up. I got up after him and he put his arm around my shoulder as we walked back to the elevator and then up to Matt's room. When we returned to the room, Mum was still sitting next to Matt's bed holding his limp hand. Healer Sterling was talking quietly with another healer and both of them looked up once we walked in. "We're ready to transfer him whenever you are, Walter," the other healer announced. "I'm ready," Dad replied. The healers nodded and took out their wands. Mum got up from her chair and stood next to Dad. Sterling conjured a stretcher and set it down alongside the bed where Mum had been. Then he levitated Matt, blankets and all, onto the stretcher. Sterling pulled a very old, rusted metal coffee mug out of his pocket and held it out. So we were taking a portkey, I thought. Sterling held out the portkey with one hand and held onto the stretcher with the other. Mum, Dad, and I all crowded around them and put a finger onto the mug. "Three...two...one," Sterling muttered and the portkey began to glow. I held my breath and felt the familiar jerk behind my navel as we began to travel. It was not as instantaneous as the other times I'd traveled by portkey. In fact, it seemed to take even longer for this than it did to travel by floo from New York to Massachusetts. That made sense since this was an even longer distance. In fact, that was the longest trip I'd ever taken by magic. We landed in what appeared to be a storage room in St. Mungo's. I fell onto my arse and gazed around as I stood up. It was a relatively organized storage room, with potions bottles lining all the shelves. Mum, Dad, and Sterling had all landed much more gracefully than I had. Sterling opened the door and levitated Matt out into the corridor. Mum, Dad, and I followed. The storage room was on the same floor as the Dai Lewellyn ward. We only had to walk a short distance before Sterling led us into his ward. There was only one other patient in the room and he was sleeping. His leg was propped up and covered in bandages. Sterling led Matt over to the bed farthest away from the door and with a flick of his wand, Matt was onto the bed. Sterling vanished the stretcher and then turned to my parents. "Would you like to start the potion now or wait a few hours?" he asked. My parents exchanged a glance. "I think we'd better start it now," Dad replied. "All right," Sterling said, "I'll go get it." "I'd better go contact Jack," Dad said to Mum once Sterling had left. Mum nodded, "I suppose I ought to call my parents. I'll wait until you're done, though." Dad glanced at Matt once more and then left the room. Mum pulled out her wand and conjured a few chairs. She dragged one of them over to Matt's bed and continued doing what she'd done in Australia. I took the other chair and sat down in it, not really sure of what else to do. So much had happened over the past two days. Or was it just one day? I wasn't even sure. I didn't even know what time or what day it was in London. I didn't really care, either. So many things that had mattered so much to me just a few days ago seemed insignificant now. Moving, for one. Changing schools, the fact that Olivia's parents wouldn't let her visit, Mum and Cinda's fight, Dad's cousin getting the house, and a million other things. Stupid things. In only a few hours, those things had dropped down to not even mattering. I only cared about one thing and that was my brother getting better. I hadn't felt this way since he was first bitten. Sitting there at St. Mungo's, looking at his limp, lifeless form, was bringing back so many memories. Memories of two and a half years ago, when we sat in Eastworth doing the exact same thing. I felt so helpless then, just like I did now. There wasn't anything any of us could do. Sterling brought the potion and administered it to Matt, using his wand to make him swallow it. He also had a nutrient potion, since Matt obviously couldn't eat anything. Dad returned a little while later. He sat down on the third chair Mum had conjured and looked at Matt. "Jack's coming," he said quietly, "Said he'd be on the next plane." Mum nodded, "That's good. I'll go see if I can find a phone and call Richard and Cinda." I watched Mum leave and leaned my head back against the wall. I couldn't remember the last time I'd actually slept for longer than an hour. I hadn't been tired before, but after portkeying to London, I just felt exhausted. The fatigue just hit me all of a sudden. I didn't want to sleep, though. Something could happen when I slept. I tried to force my eyes to stay open, but it was no use. The last thing I saw was the tears slipping out of Dad's eyes. ****** I groggily opened my eyes and lifted my head up. I rubbed my neck and grimaced at the crick in it. I should not have fallen asleep on a chair, leaning my head against a wall. I looked around the room. Neither Mum or Dad were there, but Healer Sterling was waving his wand around Matt and making notes on his clipboard. He looked up when he noticed that I was awake. "You're welcome to sleep in any of the empty beds," he told me. "Thanks," I muttered, "But I don't really want to sleep anymore." "Understandable," Sterling replied, "But you can't neglect your own needs because of your brother. He wouldn't want you to do that." He made one more note on his clipboard and then left the ward. Sterling probably had a point, but I couldn't bring myself to climb into one of the other beds and sleep. Especially when neither of my parents were in the room. I couldn't leave Matt alone in there. If I was asleep, it would be like he was alone. Mum and Dad came back a minute later and Mum resumed her post next to Matt's bed. "Good, you're awake," Dad said to me, "Let's go get something to eat." "I'm not hungry," I muttered. "Amy, you need to eat something," Dad replied, "I know this is hard. It's hard on all of us, but you can't not eat anything." I sighed and got up. Dad put his arm around me and we walked silently from the room. We walked down the nearly deserted corridor until we got to the lift. I followed Dad into it and then to the tea room once we reached the top floor. The tea room was relatively crowded with people, so I figured it must have been some sort of meal time. The line was long and most of the tables occupied. There were healers hastily shoving food into their mouths and nurses talking amongst each other as they ate. A few people dressed in navy blue robes were pushing carts of food out of the room, presumably for the patients. Dad joined the queue and I stood behind him. I still wasn't that hungry, but I grabbed a sandwich and a bag of crisps anyway. Dad paid for our food and we sat down at one of the few empty tables. I nibbled at my sandwich while Dad ate his hamburger. "Did Mum call Richard and Cinda?" I asked. "Yes," Dad replied. "Are they coming here?" "No," Dad sighed, "They said they might visit us once we're back in Australia." "Oh," I muttered. Part of me actually thought they would have flown to London. Of course, since Cinda was still angry with Mum, I shouldn't have been surprised. "Cinda does not understand the situation," Dad explained, "She never has and I don't think she ever will." "Do you think she and Mum will ever make up?" "I do," Dad answered, "Although I'm not sure their relationship will ever be the same." I continued to slowly eat my sandwich until I'd managed to eat the whole thing. Dad seemed satisfied and we went back to Matt's room. Dad brought Mum back a sandwich and handed it to her. She gazed up at Dad and began to unwrap it. I sat back down in my chair and watched my brother. He looked exactly the same as he had when I first saw him in his room at Eastworth. Whatever that potion was, it wasn't working yet. How long would it take? As I sat there, I began to wonder how long we'd stay at the hospital. Didn't most hospitals have visiting hours? Eastworth did. What would we do when visiting hours were over? I honestly didn't think my parents would be willing to let Matt stay at St. Mungo's alone. It had been incredibly hard for Mum and Dad to abide by Eastworth's visiting hours rules when Matt had been bitten. The rest of the day went by surprisingly fast for just sitting in the ward and not doing anything. I fell asleep for a few hours and then got dinner with Dad. I was watching the sunset when the door to the ward opened again. Healer Sterling stepped inside and walked over to Matt's bed. "Is he doing any better?" Mum asked immediately. "His condition has not changed," Sterling replied. Mum put her head in her hands and Dad let out a loud sigh. "Wait," Sterling said, "It's not a bad thing. He is stable. It is a very good sign that he has not taken a turn for the worse. The potion has not had an adverse effect, which means we can continue to administer it. I explained that we had virtually no idea what this potion would do to your son. It is excellent that it has had no negative side effects so far." "But it hasn't helped yet," Dad muttered. "The potion has never worked this fast on anyone before. I would have been shocked if it worked this fast on Matt. We need to give it at least a week before we can say for sure whether it's not working. If he wakes up before then, well, it doesn't really matter if it was due to the potion or not." "All right," Dad replied, "That makes sense." Sterling set down his clipboard on the bedside table and placed his hands on the foot of Matt's bed. "Technically," he began, "Visiting hours were over an hour ago." Mum looked at Dad and shook her head slightly. I took that to mean that Mum did not want to leave Matt alone. "But," Sterling held up a finger, "Yours is a different situation. The last thing Matt will remember when he wakes up is being taken from his home by Lubar, shoved into a shed with a bunch of strangers, and transforming into a werewolf. I think it would be a bad idea for him to wake up without anyone familiar around. I do not want him waking up without anyone he recognizes in the room." "I completely agree," Mum whispered. "I thought you would," Sterling said, "Therefore, I've gotten permission for one of you to be in the ward at all times. Whoever stays is welcome to sleep in one of the empty beds." "Thank you," Mum said quietly, "I wouldn't have been able to leave him." "I'm going to go home and get some sleep. I think he will be fine overnight, but if anything happens, the night nurses know how to contact me," Sterling said. "Are you going to be here tomorrow?" Dad asked, "Tomorrow's Sunday, right?" "Yes, that'll be Sunday," Sterling answered, "But I'm on call this whole weekend, so I'll be here." "We'll see you tomorrow, then," Dad replied. He and Sterling shook hands and Sterling left the room. Dad turned to Mum, "Do you want me to stay tonight? You could go get a room at an inn and get some sleep." Mum shook her head, "No. I want to stay with him. You've got to pick up Jack from the airport soon anyway." "Are you sure?" Dad put his hand on Mum's shoulder. Mum nodded, "Yes. I don't want to leave him. I want to be here when he wakes up." Dad sighed, "All right. Just try and get some sleep, ok?" "I will," Mum whispered. Dad squeezed Mum in a hug and then went over to Matt. He reached down and gently rubbed his head and gave him a kiss on his forehead. "Amy?" Dad asked, "Ready to go?" I looked at Dad and then at my brother. I didn't want to leave. What if he woke up during the night? What if something bad happened during the night? But I knew I'd have to go with Dad. Sterling didn't say anything about me staying in the ward. "One second," I whispered and stood up. I slowly walked to Matt's bed and bent down to him. I gave him a gentle hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. "I hope you're better soon," I whispered, "I love you." I hastily wiped one of my own tears from his face and stood back up.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2535 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Sunday 18 January 2009 11 58 41 am    Post subject: Re: In Moonlight's Shadow in topic:In Moonlight's Shadow Thanks, Obladi! Chapter 30: Family Feud My family is very small. I don't have any first cousins. I don't have any cousins at all on Mum's side, but I suppose I do on Dad's side. Dad and Uncle Jack had one cousin. He was their father's brother's son. His name is Clarence and he had one son, who is my second cousin. His name is Gregory. Dad and Uncle Jack were really close to Clarence when they were kids. Clarence was like their brother. They spent all their time together as young children and then went to school around the same time. After they all graduated, Clarence got married and had Gregory. Dad and Uncle Jack went on their search of the world for the Hallows and didn't spend as much time with Clarence as they used to. But they remained close. They remained close as Dad married Mum, Uncle Jack moved to New York, I was born, my grandparents died, and Matt was born. We used to spend every holiday with Clarence, his wife, and Gregory, as well as other times throughout the year. Then Matt was bitten. Dad knew that Clarence had a negative view of werewolves, but thought he would change when one of his own relatives was a werewolf. He changed all right, but not in the way Dad had been hoping. Clarence would not accept the fact that Matt was a werewolf and broke off all contact with us and Uncle Jack. I still remember the fight they had about it. It was the worst fight I've ever seen. Much worse than the one Mum had with Cinda last month. None of us have seen Clarence or his wife or Gregory in over two years. I stared at Clarence and Gregory, unsure of what to say or do. Both of them had the exact same look on their long faces. There was a hint of excitement in their eyes, but they were frowning at the same time. "Go find your father, Amy," Clarence demanded. I nodded and got up from the couch. I ran out of the room as fast as I could. Dad wasn't in the corridor nor was he in the kitchen when I checked. I looked throughout the entire first floor and couldn't find him. "Dad!" I shouted as I ran up the stairs, "Dad!" "What is it?" Dad popped his head out of one of the spare bedrooms, "Everything ok?" "I don't know. I don't think so," I said, "Um, Dad, Clarence and Gregory are in the living room." All the color in Dad's face drained away and he stepped out of the room. "What did you just say?" he asked quietly. "Clarence and Gregory just flooed here," I replied, "I don't know why." Dad nodded and stuck his head back into the room. "Jack?" "What is it?" I heard Uncle Jack reply. "You'd better come down to the living room with me." I followed Dad and Uncle Jack back down the stairs and into the living room. I had no idea what was going to happen, but I didn't want to miss it. Both Dad and Uncle Jack stopped in their tracks when they entered the room. I squeezed between them and returned to my seat on the couch. "Walter," Clarence said, "Jacob." "Clarence," Dad replied. "What the hell are you doing here?" Uncle Jack asked immediately, "I distinctly remember telling you you weren't welcome here anymore." "That was a long time ago," Clarence said. "Really?" Uncle Jack asked, "Have you changed your opinion on anything?" "I most certainly have not," Clarence laughed, "But that no longer matters. Times are changing. Indeed they are... Walter, I understand you are no longer employed by the Ministry." "You understand correctly," Dad muttered. "Why does that matter? You're still not welcome here," Uncle Jack growled. Clarence let out a manic laugh. "Why does it matter? Why does it matter? It matters because your brother is moving out of the country." Uncle Jack raised his eyebrow. "And that matters because...?" "The house, Jacob, the house," Clarence began to walk around the room, looking at everything with a smile on his face, "It matters because of the house." "You're not buying it, Clarence," Dad said darkly, "I've already kicked a few people out because of their view of werewolves. I won't hesitate to do the same with you." Clarence stopped walking and turned to look at Dad. He stared at him for a few seconds and then burst out laughing. "Buy the house? You think I'm going to buy the house?" "That's certainly what you're implying," Dad replied, taking a step toward Clarence. "I daresay you're mistaken, then, cousin," Clarence sneered, "Because I have no plans on purchasing this estate." "Then why the hell are you here?" Uncle Jack demanded. "To inform you that you can't sell this place." "What?!" Dad and Uncle Jack shouted at the same time. "That's ridiculous," Dad said, "This is my house and I can do what I please with it." "That's where you're wrong," Clarence grinned. "Would you just explain to us what the hell is going on?" Uncle Jack shouted at the top of his lungs, "If you don't, I won't hesitate to hex you!" "Fine," Clarence muttered. "Get on with it, then!" Uncle Jack shouted. Clarence opened his mouth to speak, but before he could utter a single word, there was a loud rap on the door. I hadn't even realized that Dad or Uncle Jack had shut it. "Er, hang on a second," Dad said and walked over to the door. He opened it a crack and stuck his head out. "What are you doing in there?" I heard Mum ask, "Is Jack in there with you? A couple of the salesmen are wondering where you are. And did I just hear Jack shouting?" "We've got a bit of a situation," Dad said, "Remember my cousin, Clarence?" "How could I not remember that arse?" Mum replied. "Well, he's here...." "What?!" Mum shouted and pushed open the door. Dad jumped aside and Mum ran into the room with Matt in her arms. Mum stopped short in the doorway and glared daggers at Clarence. I hadn't seen such anger on her face since the last time Clarence was in our house. She put my brother down on the couch next to me and stood next to Dad with her arms crossed. "What. The. Hell. Are. You. Doing. In. My. House," Mum seethed. "Ah, Julietta," Clarence said, "I was just explaining that to Walter and Jacob." "You'd better," Mum growled, "Before I hex you into next century." "Let's keep wands out of this, shall we?" Clarence said nervously, seeming to realize that he was now outnumbered. "Depends on what you're going to say," Uncle Jack said. "I'll just get on with it," Clarence replied, "I was perusing the paper the other day when I noticed that this house was up for sale. Needless to say I was shocked. This house has been in our family ever since it was built and the idea of it not passing into the hands of an Eckerton was frankly disturbing. "Then I vaguely remembered something in your parents's will that prevented the house from being sold, so long as there was an Eckerton who wanted to own it. A bit of quick research proved I was right," Clarence turned to his son, "Gregory?" Gregory reached into his robes and pulled out a piece of parchment. He handed it to his father and retreated back to his previous position. "You've got to be kidding me," Dad sighed. "This is ridiculous!" Uncle Jack shouted, "This house belongs to Walt and he has the authority to do as he pleases with it!" "That's where you're wrong," Clarence smiled and handed the paper to Dad. Dad, Uncle Jack, and Mum remained silent for a few moments as they read the parchment. I stared in shock at Clarence. Was he serious? My parents wouldn't be able to sell the house? Dad lowered the parchment and glared at Clarence. "You're right. That is indeed what the will states." "I cannot believe this, Clarence!" Uncle Jack threw his hands in the air, "You dug up this minuscule bit of the will?" "I most certainly did," Clarence replied, "I wanted to make sure all the rules were followed." "And I suppose you want the house, Clarence?" Dad asked wearily. "That's exactly what I want." "No!" Uncle Jack shouted, "I won't stand for it! I'll take the house then! You won't get it if I want it. I'm a closer relative to Walter." "Ah, that's where it gets tricky," Clarence grinned, "You see, it also states that the owner must live in Australia. And I believe you still reside in New York?" "Yes," Uncle Jack muttered and turned to Dad, "And I can't move back here, Walt. Especially not with the way the Ministry is going." "It's ok, Jack," Dad sighed, "I guess Clarence gets the house." "Wonderful," Clarence grinned. "You know what?" Uncle Jack took a step forward, "This is absolutely ridiculous. You seem to be taking pleasure in the fact that you're taking the house from Walt. You're only adding to the stress and misfortune that he and Julie and the kids have been through the past few years. "Walter lost his job. They have to move to England just to get away from the anti-werewolf legislation and the general discrimination. What you're doing could be prevented. You have a perfectly good house already. You don't need this house. You're only taking it because you can. And, in my opinion, because you want him to suffer some more." "That's what you think?" Clarence asked, "I simply want the house to remain in the family." "That's a load of dung and you know it. You've hated us for the past two years." "You're the ones who stopped contacting me." "And we had a good reason!" Uncle Jack exclaimed. "Depends on your definition of good reason." "According to my definition, it was a good reason." "Ok," Dad interrupted, "Let's not break out into a duel here. You're right, Clarence, you get the house. We'll work out the details and then get back to our usual policy of never talking to each other again. We clear?" "Crystal," Clarence replied, "Let us know when you're leaving." "July first," Dad told him, "I'll have the real estate agent send you the paperwork." "Good," Clarence smiled. "Now get out," Uncle Jack growled and pointed to the fireplace. "Very well," Clarence nodded. He stepped over to the fireplace, followed by Gregory. The two of them stepped into it and were gone in a flash of green. Dad let out a sigh and collapsed onto the couch next to Matt. Uncle Jack and Mum each took a seat on various arm chairs. "I suppose I better go call off the sale of the house," Dad muttered. "I still can't believe he did that," Uncle Jack shook his head. I couldn't either. In a few short months, Clarence would be living in our house. The thought of that was worse than having strangers move in. To think that someone who hated Dad was going to get the house was unbelievable. "It'll be ok, Walt," Mum said, "We won't be here anyway." "I know. It's just the principle of the thing. Not to mention the fact that we need the money we were supposed to make from the house." "We have plenty of money," Mum assured him, "We're still able to sell the furniture. Clarence is going to have an empty house when he moves in." "It'll match his empty heart," Uncle Jack muttered. ****** After Mum and Dad talked to the real estate agent, a good amount of the people in our house left. A few were very disappointed that they wouldn't be able to buy the house, but we didn't have any say in the matter. The sale went on another few hours, but eventually the house was empty again. Even emptier than usual, actually. Mum, Dad, and Uncle Jack had managed to sell almost half of all the furniture and other objects they planned on selling. Dad hoped the rest of it would sell at the second sale. It was kind of depressing to walk around the house now. Many of the rooms were empty or close to it and the place felt less like home. Mum and Dad seemed more subdued than they had been, although that may have been because they were being forced to give the house to Clarence instead of selling it. Uncle Jack was still fuming about that. He kept looking over Grandpa and Grandma's will over and over again, looking for a loophole. Unfortunately, he didn't find one. Dad kept telling him that there was nothing they could do about it, but he didn't seem to want to believe that. Uncle Jack stayed for a few days after the sale. He brewed a few potions with me and one night we stayed up stargazing, which was fun. The day before he left, Clarence, his wife, and Gregory came over to the house to sign the paperwork to transfer ownership of the house. Some bloke involved with real estate came over as well to facilitate the whole thing. Mum, Dad, and Uncle Jack were ready for them even before they arrived. The three of them were standing near the fireplace with grim looks on their faces. Matt and I sat on the couch. Mum had told us we should stay upstairs, but there was no way I would miss this. I wanted to see Clarence take possession of the house, even though I was incredibly angry about it. The floo lit up a few moments later, and all three of my cousins stepped out. Clarence's wife, Jacqueline, actually came this time. I've never liked Jacqueline, even when my parents and Uncle Jack were speaking with Clarence. She reminded me of Cinda, only more stuck up and irritating. "Walter, Jacob, Julietta," Clarence said stiffly. "We'll do this in the kitchen," Dad muttered, "The real estate agent is already in there." I followed them into the kitchen and sat down at one of the island stools. The adults all took seats around the table. Clarence was wearing the same smirk he had worn the other day. "So," Clarence said, "See the article in the paper the other day?" "I don't wish to discuss that," Dad replied. Clarence was referring to the front page article about our house and the fact that Clarence was going to obtain it. "Let's just get on with the paperwork, shall we?" the real estate agent suggested. They spent the next half hour signing various forms and not saying much. It was rather boring. It wasn't until after the real estate agent bade everyone a good day and left the house that I thought things would heat up. "Tell me, Walter," Clarence began, "Why exactly are you moving? The papers weren't clear." Dad glanced at Mum before answering. "Well, I'm sure you're aware of the legislation that has passed through my former department recently. Julie and I don't feel comfortable raising Amy and Matt here anymore." "Ah, so you're doing it for your werewolf kid," Clarence sneered at Matt, who hid behind Mum. "I'd watch your mouth if I were you," Dad growled, "This is still my house." "I'm just stating the truth," Clarence replied. "I don't care what you're stating," Uncle Jack put in, "You need to learn when to shut your mouth." "Jacob," Clarence addressed my uncle, "I was wondering if I could speak to you alone." "I suppose you could," Uncle Jack replied, "Although I can't guarantee I'll listen." Uncle Jack and Clarence left the kitchen and went into Dad's study. Jacqueline and Gregory remained in the kitchen, which was kind of awkward. "I think I'll like this kitchen," Jacqueline commented, "The house elves will certainly put it to good use." "Yeah," Mum muttered, "Because you certainly wouldn't ever actually help your house elves with anything." "Why should I? House elves exist to help us." "That is ridiculous," Mum replied. "Just because you treat your house elf as an equal, doesn't mean the rest of the world does," Jacqueline said, "By the way, does yours come with the house?" Mum glared at her. "Of course not! Ellie is capable of doing as she wishes! I highly doubt she'll want to live here under your command." Jacqueline stuck her nose in the air and turned away from Mum. She was probably the most stuck up person I had ever met in my life. Her views on house elves were awful. I always felt bad for her house elves when we used to visit her house. We stood awkwardly in the kitchen for a few more minutes. I was beginning to wonder how much longer Uncle Jack would be in Dad's study, when a loud bang made me jump. Clarence came banging into the kitchen, sporting a bloody nose and gripping his wand. Uncle Jack followed him, looking disheveled and angry. "Jacqueline, Gregory, we're leaving now," Clarence seethed. "Clarence!" Jacqueline exclaimed, "What happened?" "You'd better get out of here right now!" Uncle Jack shouted, pointing his wand at Clarence, "Or you'll have more than that broken nose." Clarence glared at Uncle Jack and then wordlessly led his family into the living room. We followed them and watched as they flooed away. "What happened, Jack?" Dad asked wearily as soon as the flames died down. "Stupid. Bloody. Git," Uncle Jack growled as he sat down on the couch. "What did he do?" Dad asked and sat down next to him. "Told me he'd 'make it worth my while' if I severed ties with you and began speaking to him again," Uncle Jack muttered, "Told him no, of course." "That's it?" Dad asked skeptically, "You were in there an awfully long time." "Well, then we argued about it for a while." "And what did he say to make you hex him?" Dad asked. Uncle Jack sighed and glanced at Matt. Then he turned back to Dad. "He said and I quote 'Befriending half-breeds will get you nowhere in life. Your brother and nephew are not worth your time'." "That bloody arse!" Dad shouted, "I can't believe him." "So, he deserved it, as you can see," Uncle Jack commented. "I'd say so," Dad agreed, "I probably would have done the same thing." "Well," Mum sighed, "He's gone now. Hopefully we'll never have to talk to him again." "But he's getting the house," Dad muttered, "Still can't believe he's getting the house." Neither could I. But what was more unbelievable was what he said to Uncle Jack. Clarence used to be like another uncle to me. He doted on me when I was little. When I was a little kid, it was like I had four parents almost all to myself. Mum, Dad, Uncle Jack, and Clarence. Jacqueline was Clarence's second wife. Clarence and Gregory's mum divorced when Gregory was five or so. Gregory went to live with her for most of the time. Whenever Clarence didn't have Gregory around, he came to our house and played with me. Then, as soon as Matt got bitten, he was gone. For some reason he just was so prejudiced against werewolves, that he refused to see any of us. Until he wanted our house, that is. I was completely used to him not being in my life anymore, but it shook me a little to have him storm back into our lives like that. ****** Uncle Jack left the next day. The Magical Movers Company came and packed up all the furniture and other items he was taking and magically shipped it to New York. The house was even emptier after he left. Life got back to normal, well as normal as it ever was. As the days wore on, Mum and Dad seemed to accept the fact that Clarence was taking the house. It seemed to me that all they cared about was getting out of Australia. Sure, they were disappointed they wouldn't make any money from the transaction, but it didn't take them long to get over the fact that Clarence would live in our house. Olivia and I kept owling each other every few days or so. She was still interested in everything to do with the move and I kept her updated. I told her about Clarence getting the house and she thought it was horrible. It still made me sad to write her letters, though. I couldn't imagine a time when we would actually be able to see each other. I sighed and sealed the envelope on the letter I had just written her. The house was very quiet as I walked downstairs to Dad's study. It was still kind of early in the morning. Mum and Dad were still in their room. I heard them whispering to each other as I walked by. Matt's room was quiet, so I assumed he was still asleep. I quietly pushed open the door to Dad's study and crept inside. Jasper was standing on his cage, ruffling his feathers. There was a dead mouse laying inside the cage and he looked immensely proud that he caught it. "Hey, Jasper," I smiled, "Nice mouse." He hooted loudly and nipped at my hand. I laughed and let him have the owl treat that I had brought for him. He ate it eagerly and then stuck out his leg. I tied the letter to it and patted him on the head. "Take it to Olivia, ok?" I opened the window and Jasper flew out. I watched him until he disappeared into the bush. I sighed and sat down on the windowsill. I wouldn't be able to send Olivia nearly as many letters after we moved. Jasper wouldn't be able to fly halfway across the world three times a week. At least I'd be able to use Muggle post to send letters to Kenzie, although I wasn't sure how long it would take a letter to get from England to Australia. Dad's office still looked the same as it always did. There wasn't anything in it that he was willing to sell. I wondered how long it would take him to pack everything. That would definitely be interesting. Mum would surely want him to get rid of a lot of stuff, but I doubted Dad would be willing to do that. The books alone would take forever to pack. The bookcases were overflowing and there were stacks of books on the floor, too. Most of them were related to magical creatures. An entire shelf was devoted to werewolves. There was also a stack of werewolf books on the floor. I found it hard to believe that Dad actually read all those werewolf books. The top one must have been at least 700 pages. I picked it up and cracked it open. Just as I suspected, tiny print. I was about to place it back on the stack when the book below it caught my eye. I set the werewolf book down on the floor and glanced at the door. It was still quiet and I didn't think anyone else had gotten up yet. I quickly picked up the book I had noticed and sat down on the floor. The book was entitled, [i]Animagus Training: What You Need to Know[/i]. Animagus training? I had learned about Animagi in school. I always thought it would be awesome to be one, but it was incredibly hard. I looked back at the stack of books I had previously thought to be werewolf books. A quick glance at the titles told me otherwise. They were all books about becoming an Animagus. Every last one of them. Six to be exact. Why did Dad have that many books on Animagi? There was a piece of parchment sticking out of the book I had in my hand. I pulled it out and glanced at it. It was a list of spells. About half of them had red check marks next to them. A quarter had blue check marks as well. At the top of the sheet was a title, 'Spells for Animagi Training'. At the bottom, in tiny letters were the words, 'Walt=blue, Julie=red'. My eyes bugged out of my head and I jumped up. Were Mum and Dad trying to become Animagi? If they were, why? I went over to Dad's desk and looked at the huge pile of parchment and books on top of it. Nothing visible resembled anything Animagus related. I closed the book and ran out of the room. This was just another thing my parents were hiding from me and I wanted to know why. If they were training to become Animagi, I wanted to do it, too. I ran all the way up to their bedroom and burst in. Mum and Dad were laying in bed and immediately stopped whispering when I barged in. They looked at me strangely and then glanced at each other. I held up the book. "What is this?" Mum and Dad looked at each other again. "A book," Dad muttered. I groaned, "I know it's a book! It's a book on becoming an Animagus! Are you two trying to become Animagi? Why? Why didn't you tell me? I want to do it too!" Dad sighed, "Amy, first of all, you're only 14. You don't have the magical ability to become an Animagus." "I could figure it out," I told him, "Might take a while, but I could do it." "Fine," Dad replied, "But to answer your other questions, your mother and I were trying to become Animagi." "Why?" I asked, "Wait, were? You've already figured it out?" "No," Mum said quietly, "We were trying to become Animagi, but we've stopped." "Why?" I was getting tired of their short answers that didn't completely answer my questions. Dad sighed again. "We decided a year or so ago to try and become Animagi so we could be with Matt on the full moons." I stared at them. Were they insane? "Seriously?" "Yes," Dad replied, "Werewolves are only dangerous to humans on the full moon, not other animals. We thought if we became Animagi and stayed with him, he'd hurt himself less." I suppose that made sense. But still, it was a little mad. "Why'd you stop?" "Because of the study," Dad answered, "If we spent the full moons with him as animals, it would mess up the data. He wouldn't hurt himself as much, but we wouldn't know if that was due to us or the potions he'll take." "Oh," I said. That made sense. "Why didn't you just do the Animagus thing and not the study?" "We won't always be with him during full moons," Mum said quietly, "When he gets older and goes to school, we won't be there. Nor will we be there when he's an adult. It would be better for him to be able to rely on potions and not us." I nodded. "So you're not going to keep training?" "No," Dad said, "We'd be too tempted to go spend full moons with him." "Is this why the two of you spend so much time in Dad's study?" I asked. "Yes," Mum replied. "But why didn't you just tell me what you were doing?" "We didn't want Matt to find out," Dad said, "In case it didn't work out. We didn't want him getting his hopes up." "Which means you can't tell him about this," Mum warned. "I won't," I assured her. "And go put that book back where you found it," Dad told me. I nodded and left the room. I would never have guessed that they would try and become Animagi to be with Matt on full moons. There didn't seem to be anything they wouldn't do for him. They'd lose their jobs, fight with their families, attempt difficult spells, and even move across the world for him. He really was lucky that our parents cared so much. I learned about werewolves this past year in school and a lot of them were abandoned by their parents when they were bitten. Despite all the difficulties, my brother did have a good life.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2535 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Sunday 11 January 2009 09 57 00 am    Post subject: Re: In Moonlight's Shadow in topic:In Moonlight's Shadow Thanks, Obladi and hprocks! I've written about six chapters of the next Albus story. I had a bit of writer's block recently, but I've just come up with some new plot points, so I'll start writing it again. I'll post the prologue within the next few weeks. Chapter 28: Torn Apart My parents let us sleep in the next day, which was nice since we had been getting up early every single day we'd been in England. Both of them were awake when I got up. They were sitting at the desk whispering to each other while filling out that long questionnaire Sterling gave them. I pulled out a book and decided to read until they'd finished. Matt was still asleep so we wouldn't be looking at houses for a while. Once my parents finally finished that questionnaire, and sent it off with Madam Rosmerta's owl, they announced that we'd go get lunch and then look at houses. Matt was just waking up when Dad returned from sending the owl. We had a quick lunch at the Three Broomsticks and then Apparated to an Apparition station in London. Dad had been able to ask around the Ministry for a good real estate agent. Someone gave him the name of an agent who sold both wizard and Muggle houses. Their office was located in a house in London. This agent, Candace Gormon, seemed a lot nicer than Josephina Hawkings. She didn't feel the need to show my parents any huge mansions just because we lived in one in Australia. My parents told her exactly what they were looking for and she produced a handful of key shaped portkeys. Thus began the long afternoon of house hunting in England. Unfortunately, despite the fact that Candace Gormon was a nice lady, we did not have much luck with houses. My parents found something wrong with each house we looked at. I wasn't really a fan of any of them either, but that was mostly because none of them were anything like our house in Australia. The first house we visited was too run down, the second one was too much money. The third one had neighbors that were too close and the fourth one didn't have enough bedrooms. The fifth one didn't have a basement, so my parents vetoed it before we even saw all the rooms. Each house we looked at after that had variations on these problems as well. By early evening I was wondering if we'd ever find a house my parents would like. Candace Gormon only had one more house to show us and we all placed a finger on the key. We landed in the middle of a large field. I stood up and saw an average sized house made of wooden logs and a red roof. Beyond the house was bush, which immediately made me like that house more than the others. I gazed around and didn't see any other houses. "It's a very rural location," Candace said, "Most of the people I've showed this house to don't like how rural it is, but you've seem to have expressed a need for ruralness." "Yes," Dad said, "I do like that there aren't any other people living nearby. How many acres is this?" "Three," Candace replied, "It runs all the way to the forest back there and down to the road in front. There's fencing on either side that mark the end of the property. Two farms border either side." Dad nodded, "That's good." "Would you like to see the inside?" Candace asked. "That would be great," Mum smiled. I followed my parents up the sloping lawn and to the front door. It was red to match the roof and there was a straw wreath attached. "The Muggles who own it aren't home right now," Candace said as she put the portkey key in the lock, "They actually can't move out until June 30th. I hope that won't be a problem. I can help you find temporary housing if needed." "That won't be necessary," Dad said, "If we decide to buy this house, we'll stay in Australia until the end of June." Candace nodded. "All right. Feel free to look around and ask if you've got any questions." Candace opened the door and we all walked inside. I stood in the foyer and looked around. This house had a very open floor plan. To the left was the living room, which was full of various furniture and Muggle technology. Behind the living room was the dining room. Next to that was kitchen. I walked towards the kitchen and saw a small hallway that led to the right, in front of the kitchen. I walked down it, opening various doors. I found a bathroom, a study, a den, the garage, and the stairs to the basement. The stairs leading to the upstairs were right in front of the front door. I spent a few minutes wandering around the first floor and was surprised to find that I actually liked it. It was definitely different from our house in Australia, but not necessarily in a bad way. It seemed almost rustic and kind of reminded me of a normal version of Uncle Jack's house. There was a deck off of the kitchen that led into the backyard. After I'd finished looking around the main floor, I went upstairs. The upstairs looked a lot like the downstairs, as far as style went. There were three bedrooms and two bathrooms. One of the bathrooms was in the master bedroom. There was also a very big room that could have been considered another bedroom, but Candace called it a playroom. I doubted my parents would let Matt or I have it as our bedroom, though, since we'd probably fight over it. My parents were talking with each other when I wandered downstairs again. Candace wasn't with them, so I figured they were talking about something private. Surely it was something I'd want to listen in on. I quietly walked into the kitchen and pretended to be examining the refrigerator. "Can you make part of the basement into a safe room?" Mum whispered. "Easily," Dad replied, "I'll just have to put up a few walls and set it up like the one at home. I'll probably just finish the whole thing and make a few other rooms and storage areas. That way Amy can have her potions room down there." I hadn't even thought about my potions room. It didn't even occur to me that our new house might not have room for it. At least this one would. "Good," Mum said. "I really like this one, Walt." "Me, too, Julie." "Think we should buy it?" Mum asked. "Let's think it over for a couple of days and then get back to her." "That sounds like a good plan," Mum agreed. "What do you think about the house, Amy?" Dad asked, causing me to jump. "It's ok," I shrugged, "I mean, if we have to move, I'd like to live here." "I'll take that as you like it," Dad smiled. "Now where's your brother?" "Watching the Muggle television," I pointed to the living room. Dad laughed, "All right. Let's go get him and find Candace and go back to London. I know I'm sick of looking at houses." Mum and Dad told Candace that they were interested in the house, but wanted to think about it for a few days. They promised that they'd let Candace know one way or the other before we left Britain. Dad had his interview on Monday, so we'd be staying at least until Tuesday. ****** Both of my parents were nervous about Dad's interview when Monday rolled around. The two of them were up early whispering about it and stopped talking when they realized I was awake. Once Matt got up, we all went downstairs to eat brekkie. Mum and Dad were very quiet during the entire meal. When we got back to the room, Dad put on a pair of dress robes and we all wished him luck. He Disapparated and the rest of us sat down to wait for him to get back. Dad returned about an hour later. Mum jumped to her feet as soon as the door started to open. "How did it go?" she asked immediately. "I think it went well," Dad smiled and walked inside. "They said they'd owl me when they make a decision." "When will that be?" "Sometime later this week," Dad replied, "I won't have to be interviewed again, though, so we can go home as soon as we can get tickets." Good, I thought. We had been in Britain for almost a week. I wanted to spend as much time in Australia as possible, now that we sort of knew when we'd be moving. June 30th, if we bought the log house. I hoped we did. I didn't like any of the other houses. "I suppose we should leave soon, then," Mum sighed, "Unless you want to look at anymore houses." "I don't. I'd like to buy that last one we looked at, if you agree," Dad said. "I do," Mum smiled, "The more I think about it, the more I like that house." "Perhaps we can sign the paperwork today. I'd like to get back to Australia so we can put our house on the market. Why don't we Apparate over to the office now?" "Sounds good to me," Mum agreed, "Let's go, Amy, Matt." I groaned. Why couldn't they just let me stay in the room? I grabbed my last unread book and followed them out of the room. At the rate I was going, I wouldn't have any books left to read on the plane. My parents were able to sign the paperwork that day. Matt and I sat behind them while they did so, bored out of our minds. I didn't see why it should take so long to buy a house. But no, my parents had to make various offers and then the real estate agent had to call the owners of the house to see if they were available to sign other paperwork. Luckily they were, but we had to wait for them to show up. I was ready to scream by the time everything was finished and we were walking out of the office. "So, when are we moving in?" I asked, wanting to know exactly how much longer I had in Australia. "July first," Dad grinned, "First day we possibly can." "That's only a little over two months away," I replied, "Can't we wait until right before I have to start school?" "No," Dad shook his head and lowered his voice, "It would be in your brother's best interest to move as soon as possible." "You should consider yourself lucky you've got two more months in Australia, Amy. The only reason we're not moving sooner is because the house isn't available until then," Mum pointed out. Lucky? The last thing I considered myself was lucky. The plane ride back to Australia was the worst one yet. I was once again sitting next to a stranger and it smelled like this one hadn't taken a shower in years. The food was just as nasty, but it seemed worse since I kept smelling 'eau de stinky man'. Then, to top it all off, we flew through a thunderstorm and I got sick, despite the fact that I'd hardly eaten anything. ****** Once we were back in Australia, I realized that Olivia was on holiday until the end of April. I had completely forgotten that the first term was already over. It had gone by extremely fast since I hadn't actually been in school. This was the last holiday Olivia would have before I moved. "Mum!" I ran into the kitchen after I realized that. "What is it?" Mum asked as she prepared dinner. "Olivia's on holiday from school," I said breathlessly, "Last one before we move. Can she please come visit? Please?" "I don't know, Amy. We've got a lot to do. Dad's organizing the estate sale and getting the house on the market. We're probably going to have the sale anytime." "Please?" I begged, "We won't get in the way of the sale. This might be the last chance I have to see her." "Oh, all right," Mum sighed, "Ask her when she can come. I suppose anytime this month will work, except for the 24th through the 27th. Full moon's on the 25th." I nodded. "Thanks, Mum." I immediately ran back upstairs and wrote Olivia a very long letter that explained about our trip to Britain, and the fact that we would be moving there in July. As I wrote, I found that I felt worse and worse about the move. I realized that I could be seeing Olivia for the last time this month. Dad flooed into the living room shortly after I sent off the letter. "Where's your mother?" he asked immediately. "Dunno," I shrugged, "Kitchen, maybe?" Dad nodded and hurried to the kitchen. I got up and followed him. Mum was still in the kitchen. "Hi, Walt," Mum said without looking up, "How did everything go?" "Great," Dad replied, "The house is officially on the market. I've got the estate sale organized, too. It'll be on the 27th." "The 27th," Mum repeated, finally looking up. "Yes, the 27th," Dad said, "Why?" "Walter," Mum said quietly, "That is two days after the full moon." "I know. But that was the earliest day it could be done. I want it done as soon as possible, Julie. I don't think we'll manage to sell everything in one day. I've scheduled a couple sales." "Why couldn't you just put it off another week?" "The three Saturdays after were all booked up," Dad explained, "And then we'd be back to the full moon anyway." "I just don't know," Mum shook her head, "That's really not the best day to have strangers meandering through the house." "I know," Dad sighed, "But we have to sell everything before we move. The other sale is in June and that'll be our last chance to sell the stuff. "Listen, Julie. It'll be ok. I've owled Jack and he will most likely fly down for the sale. He said he would. Don't worry about Matt. There'll be three of us here that day. One of us will be able to be able to check on him." "I guess," Mum sighed, "We'll just deal with it when it comes." "Excellent idea," Dad agreed, "We've got a little over two weeks until the sale. Let's try and relax for a few days and then started organizing what we're going to sell. Someone is going to come over next Saturday to help price everything and organize the house." "Sounds good," Mum replied, "I told Amy she could invite Olivia over for a few days this month, since it's the school holiday." "That's fine," Dad smiled and turned to me, "You owl her yet?" "Yeah," I nodded. "Let us know when she can come." ****** "Amy, what are you doing?" I looked up from the potion I was brewing and saw Matt standing in the doorway of the room. "Brewing," I said, "What are you doing in here?" "I'm bored." "Then go find something to do. You know Mum and Dad don't let you come in here." "Well why not?" Matt whined. "Because they don't want you to get hurt," I said as I stirred my potion. Why wouldn't he just leave? He was getting on my nerves. I went up there to brew in order to get away from him. "Then why do they let you brew potions?" "Because I'm fourteen and I've taken potions class," I replied, "Now go away. What did you want anyway?" "Oh," Matt said and pulled a piece of parchment out from behind his back, "You got a letter." I jumped up off my stool and ran over to him, snatching the letter out of his hand. "Why didn't you just give me that first?" I shouted. "Dunno," Matt shrugged. "Just get out of here!" I pointed to the corridor and slammed the door once he left. I sat back down on my stool and opened the letter. It was from Olivia. I had been waiting for her response ever since I owled her the previous day. [i]Dear Amy, Wow. That's all I can say is, wow. You're really moving. And you're moving to England of all places. England! That's so far away it's not even funny. I suppose it is kind of cool that you'll be going to a school that's a castle. But still, I wish you'd just stay here. The house sounds nice, but a lot different than your huge mansion house. At least you like the house that your parents picked, though. Now comes the hard part. I would love to go visit you for a couple days. But I asked my parents and they said no. They said no! Can you believe that? You're leaving in two and a half months and it could be our last chance to see each other. I just can't believe they said no! I asked them why and they said it's well, this is kind of hard to write, but it's because they don't want me to be near your brother. I'm sorry, I really am. I don't agree with them, but I don't have a choice. I really don't. I'm seriously so mad at them. They said you could come visit me, though. Let me know if you can. Your friend, Olivia[/i] I slowly set the letter down on the counter and stared into the depths of my cauldron. Olivia wasn't going to come visit me. She couldn't. Her parents wouldn't let her. And why? Because of Matt. Once again, it was his fault. I slammed my hands down on the counter and jumped off the stool. I ran out of the room and downstairs, my mind intent on finding Matt. I stormed into the living room and he was sitting on the couch, playing his DS. "You little prat!" I shouted. He startled and looked up at me. "What?" "This is all your fault!" I yelled, "You're seriously ruining my life!" "What did I do?" he asked, scrambling down to the other end of the couch. "What do you think you did?" "I don't know!" he said as he got up off the couch and made to leave the room. "You're not going anywhere!" I shouted and grabbed the back of his shirt, "It's your fault Olivia can't come over! Your fault we have to move to England at all!" "No it's not!" Matt cried, "Let me go!" "No! I want you to know that this is your fault! Who's fault is it, if it's not yours?" "Dad said it was the headmaster's fault. Now let me go!" Matt struggled against my grip, but I was much stronger than him. My heart was pounding and I could feel it in my head. There was no way I was letting him go. Months of anger towards him was coming out and I didn't think I could let him go if I wanted to. I pulled him back into the room and pushed him back onto the couch. I grabbed the front of his shirt and glared at him. "Listen to me. This IS your fault. I don't care what Dad says. You are ruining my life. Not the Ministry. Not the headmaster. YOU," I seethed. Tears were running down his face, but I didn't care. I wanted him to experience what I was going through. This whole thing was his fault and I was the one suffering for it. "L-let m-me go-go!" he shouted, "MUM!!!" I heard footsteps running into the room, but I still didn't let him go. "Amy!" Mum grabbed the back of my shirt and pulled me away, "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" "It's his fault!" I shouted as I struggled to get away from her, "This whole thing is his fault!" Dad ran into the room next and stared in bewilderment at what was going on. Matt ran over to him and he picked him up. Dad sat on the couch with Matt crying into his shoulder. "What's going on in here?" Dad asked, staring from Mum to me and back again. "That's what I want to know," Mum glared at me, "I came in here and saw your daughter forcing Matt onto the couch!" "You don't understand!" I yelled, "It's his fault!" "Amy," Mum sighed, "How can it be his fault that you were hurting him? You're twice his size! You can't do that!" "Not that!" I replied, "This whole moving thing is his fault!" "Amy, we've been through this," Dad said quietly, "It's not his fault." "Oh, yeah? We wouldn't be moving if he wasn't a werewolf," I retorted. "Amy, enough about the move. I thought you had gotten over it," Mum said. "Gotten over it?" I shouted, trying not to cry, "Gotten over it? I was just getting used to it!" "Amy, we're sorry you're not happy, but that's no excuse to take it out on your brother," Dad said. "It's not only the move, though!" I replied, the tears finally breaking free, "Olivia's parents won't let her come visit and it's all his fault!" Mum and Dad exchanged glances. Mum sighed and shook her head. "I know. Olivia's parents sent us a very strongly worded letter regarding the matter. I would have never thought they would be like that." "Well they are!" I shouted, "Just like the rest of this entire country!" "Which is why we're moving, Amy," Mum replied. "Well it's not fair! He may be the one who turns into a werewolf every month, but I'm the one suffering from it! My whole life's changed!" "Your whole life has changed?" Mum raised one eyebrow, "I think your brother suffers a bit more than you may think." "Well, I wouldn't know, would I? You kick me out of the house every full moon." "Amy, I'm not discussing that with you right now." "Fine," I huffed, "Olivia said I can go to her house. When can I go?" Mum and Dad exchanged another glance. "Actually, Amy, we've decided not to let you go," Dad said quietly, "We don't feel comfortable having you around her parents." I stared at them. "That's not fair! It's not my fault her parents are like that! So I'm never going to get to see Olivia again! Thanks a lot!" I glared at both of them through my tear filled eyes. I broke free of Mum's grasp and ran out of the room. "Come back here and apologize to your brother!" Mum shouted after me. I completely ignored her and ran up to my room. I buried my head in my pillow and cried. Olivia and I would never get to see each other again. I couldn't think of anyway we could, if her parents wouldn't let her come to my house and my parents wouldn't let me go to her house. I was going to lose my best friend all because of our parents and my brother. I didn't care what my parents said, I was the one whose life changed the most when Matt became a werewolf. He wasn't having to change schools. He wasn't losing his friends. He wasn't going to have to fit into a new school in the fourth year. When he went to Hogwarts, he would be a first year. Everyone else his age would be new as well. They'd all be in the same boat; trying to make new friends. When I went to Hogwarts, everyone would already have friends. Nobody would want to befriend the new girl.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2535 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Monday 5 January 2009 06 01 16 pm    Post subject: Re: In Moonlight's Shadow in topic:In Moonlight's Shadow Thanks Obladi and hprocks! Chapter 27: Fish and Chips Dad returned a short while later and told Matt and I to come back to to the room. I stood up and rubbed my eyes, trying to wipe away any evidence that I had been crying. Dad shut the door after we got into the room and motioned for us to sit down on the bed. I tried to feign ignorance, since Dad had no idea Matt and I had listened in on his conversation with Mum. "Matt," Dad began, "Remember yesterday when we went to the hospital and got some more information about that study?" Matt nodded, "Yeah." "Well, your mother and I have decided to enroll you in it. So I'd like to tell you both about what's going to happen," Dad said. We were going to move to England. That's what was going to happen, I thought. "So, the general point of this study is to find out why the Wolfsbane potion doesn't work for all werewolves," Dad explained, "But it's also going to be used to test variations of the Wolfsbane as they come available. Hopefully, one of these will work, but there's no guarantee. "The study will last at least four years. For the first two years, you're not given any potion. The next two years you're given regular Wolfsbane. Then, hopefully, there will be a new variety of it and you'll try that for two years. It will keep going as long as there are new varieties of the potion, or until one is found that will work. Does that sound all right?" "I guess," Matt shrugged, "But what if one of them makes it worse?" Dad sighed, "There is a possibility of that, but if that happens, you won't take that particular potion again." "Ok." "When does this study begin?" I asked. I wanted to know how much longer I had in Australia. If this study started next month, I had no doubt we would move next week. "Not until January," Dad told me. "But we'll be moving here in time for you to start school in September." "So it's official?" I asked, "We're moving here, to England?" "Yes," Dad confirmed. "But I don't want to move here," I groaned, "Why can't we just move to New York? At least Uncle Jack is there. Plus, their school has such a good Astronomy department." "Amy, we want your brother in this study," Mum said, "Therefore, we're moving here. I'm sorry you're not happy, but there's nothing you can do to change it." "Why can't we move to New York and have him be in the study?" "It would be too difficult," Dad replied, "Seeing as how we're looking for some place to move to anyway, we might as well move to the country that the study is taking place in." "It's still not fair," I turned away from them, "When are we going back home? I need to send an owl to Olivia." "Not for another couple days," Dad said, "We're most likely going back to St. Mungo's tomorrow so Healer Sterling can perform the necessary tests for Matt to be in the study. And so your mother and I can sign the paperwork. Then the next day we'll have to start looking at houses." Houses, wonderful. Probably another aspect of this move my parents wouldn't consider my opinion on. I only hoped that we'd have better luck looking at houses in England than in New York. ****** I didn't sleep much that night. I tossed and turned thinking about the fact that within a few months, I'd be living in England. It was so final now, so official. My parents had decided where we were moving. Things had been so up in the air for the past few months, but now my parents had decided everything. The only thing left to do was find a house. Healer Sterling had sent an owl late the previous night telling my dad to bring Matt in at nine o'clock the next morning. Both Mum and Dad wanted to go and they refused to let me stay at the Three Broomsticks by myself. At least this time I thought to bring a book. The waiting room was much emptier than it had been the day before. There were a few witches and wizards lazily flipping through the magazines and an old wizard who was sleeping. A smiling nurse woke him up a minute after we walked in the door and informed him that he had a granddaughter. He immediately got up and followed the nurse to the lifts. Dad didn't bother to talk to the witch behind the desk this time. Instead he led us directly to the lifts. We followed the old wizard and the nurse into one of them. "I've got a granddaughter!" the wizard announced as the doors shut. "Congratulations," Mum smiled at him, "Do you know her name yet?" "No idea," the wizard laughed, "Last I knew, my son and his wife still hadn't decided on names." Mum and Dad nodded to the wizard as we got off on the first floor. The place was even more deserted than the waiting room had been. The only person wandering around was a nurse who headed into one of the rooms a few seconds after we got off the lift. We walked down the corridor and found Healer Sterling's study. Natalie, the secretary, wasn't there when we walked in. The door leading to the healer's study was open and Dad stuck his head in. "Healer Sterling?" Dad asked, "You told us to come at nine? Your secretary's not here, so I just thought I'd tell you we were here." "Oh, yes!" I heard the healer respond, "Natalie doesn't come in until ten. Just come on in. "Thanks," Dad said. I followed my parents and Matt into the healer's office. It hadn't changed in appearance since the day before. I settled myself into the same chair and cracked open my book. Previous experience with Matt's healer appointments had taught me to always bring a book. They were always incredibly long. Although we usually had to wait a long time before he actually got seen by the healer. "First, I'll have you sign the necessary paperwork," Healer Sterling said as he handed Dad a clipboard, "It basically states that you give permission for your son to be in the study and that you won't sue us if anything goes wrong." Dad nodded and he and Mum read over the packet of parchment. After a few minutes, I heard the sound of a quill scratching and I glanced up to see Dad signing in various places. "All set," Dad said and handed back the clipboard. "Excellent," Sterling leafed through the packet and then set it down on his desk. "Now we'll go to one of the exam rooms and get started. Follow me." Sterling stood up and grabbed another clipboard off his desk. One thing I've noticed about healers is that they always have at least one clipboard with them. For all the healers I've seen in my life, I don't think I've ever seen one without a clipboard. I closed my book and got up out of my chair to follow everyone out of the room. I wish we could've just stayed in one place so I could get absorbed into my book properly. Sterling led us down the corridor a little ways, past a nurse's station and the main Dai Lewellyn Ward. We stopped in front of a door that was right next to the ward. A sign adorned to it stated that it was 'Dai Lewellyn Ward: Exam Room 1'. Sterling waved his wand and the word 'Vacant' appeared in bright green letters on the door. With another wave, the word changed to 'Occupied' and Sterling opened the door. The room was tiny, just like every other exam room I've been in, and did not have enough chairs for everyone. There was a bed, a swivel chair, and a plastic chair. I always envied the fact that the healers got to sit on the swivel chairs. Those things were so much fun. Mum used to yell at me when I was little and spin on them. We squeezed into the minuscule room and I got pushed up against one of the walls. Dad lifted Matt onto the table and then stood next to me. Mum took the plastic chair while Sterling sat down on the swivel chair. He looked up at Dad and I and then conjured two more plastic chairs. "Thanks," Dad said as he sat down on one of them. I took the other one and opened my book as soon as I sat down. I started reading about cauldron thickness and its affects on various potions, but half-listened to what was going on in the room as well. "I'm going to have to start with the family and personal history first," Sterling began, "Because he's not currently one of my patients." "That's fine," Dad said. He was probably used to this, I thought, since every healer we'd been to began the examinations like this. "All right," Sterling continued, "Paternal grandparents?" "Conan and Nancy Eckerton," Dad replied, "Both deceased, died in a car accident years ago. No chronic illnesses for either of them." Sterling nodded and scratched the information down on his clipboard. "Maternal grandparents?" "Richard and Lacinda Bailey," Dad said, "Both living. Richard has high blood pressure. No other chronic issues for either of them." Sterling gave a small shake of his head and smiled a little. "You've got this down, haven't you? I've hardly had to ask you anything." "We've done this dozens of times, unfortunately," Dad sighed. "I'm hoping that this will be the last," Sterling replied, "I'll venture a guess and say that you know the next question?" Dad nodded, "Parents, right?" "Yes." "Walter and Julietta Eckerton," Dad answered, "No chronic illnesses for either of us." "Siblings?" "Amy Eckerton," Dad said, "No chronic illnesses." "That's it for family history," Sterling said, "Now onto personal. Full name and birthday first." "Matthew Conan Eckerton. February 6, 2005." "Any birth complications?" "He was two months premature." "Interesting," Sterling said as he wrote on the clipboard. "Do you think that's relevant?" Mum asked. "Anything's relevant at this point. Can you go into more detail about the birth and first few weeks?" "He was in an incubator for a month, breathing support for a month and a half. Then he got to come home. He was fine after that, although he's always been prone to getting sick and small for his age, even before he was bitten," Mum explained. Sterling nodded and continued writing. "Any chronic illnesses? Besides the obvious, I mean." "No," Dad said. "All right," Sterling replied and put his quill down, "That's it for history. I do have a questionnaire for you to fill about that asks about his lycanthropy any other remedies you've tried for it, but it's quite lengthy so I'll ask that you fill it out another time and owl it to me." "Sure," Mum said. "Excellent," Sterling handed Mum a stack of parchment. He picked up his wand and turned to Matt, "All right. I'm going to have to do a few tests now, but hopefully they're going to eventually make the full moons better. Can I first have you hop on that scale over there?" Matt nodded and climbed down from the table. Sterling weighed him and measured his height, which he then recorded on the clipboard. Dad lifted Matt back up onto the examination table and Sterling turned back to him. "Now time for the tests," Sterling said, "I'm going to listen to your heart first." Sterling reached around to place his hand on Matt's back, but he squirmed away and looked at Mum. He looked kind of scared. "Honey, you've got to let him do this," Mum whispered and gave him a gentle squeeze. "This might help make the full moons better." "He's kind of shy around strangers," Dad said to Sterling, "Especially lately, in light of recent events." "Understandable," Sterling replied and then turned back to Matt, "I promise this one isn't going to hurt a bit." This time, Matt didn't shy away from Sterling and he was able to listen to his heart. I didn't pay much attention to the next few tests, but Matt seemed to cooperate for them as well. "Almost done," Sterling said as he placed his wand on the counter and wrote something else on the chart, "I'm just going to have to take a blood sample." Matt shook his head furiously. I couldn't blame him. It hurt to have blood taken. I'd only had it done once and I never wanted to go through it again. Matt had had it done a lot, but that didn't make him like it any more. "I know it hurts," Mum got up from her chair and gave Matt a hug, "But you've got to let him do it." "I don't want to," Matt whispered. "It'll be over in a few seconds," Mum said as she lifted Matt up and sat down on the table. She set him down in her lap and wrapped her arms around him. Matt nodded. "Ok." "It'll be over before you know it," Sterling said as he lifted up Matt's sleeve and wiped an alcohol swab over one of his veins. He took his wand and pressed it to the vein. "Ow!" Matt shrieked and started crying, "Stop!" "All done," Sterling said and lifted his wand away. He grabbed a vial from the counter and pointed his wand at it. Blood appeared in the vial and Sterling stoppered it with a cork. Sterling pointed his wand at Matt's arm and the cut magically healed. "Do you want a Chocolate Frog?" Sterling asked. Matt sniffled and nodded. Sterling reached into his robes and pulled one out, handing it to Matt. "One more thing," Sterling turned to my parents, "I am going to have to observe him right before and right after a full moon before the study actually begins. I understand that it would be difficult to do that before you move. Could you owl me after you're all settled and we'll figure out which month will work?" "That sounds great," Dad said. "Excellent," Sterling smiled and stood up, "Good luck with the job and house hunting. As I said yesterday, just pop into the Ministry and I'm sure you'll find something. I'll owl you if anything comes up with the study. Keep in touch." "Thanks. We will," Dad got up and shook the healer's hand. "Bye." "Bye," Sterling smiled. "Thanks for everything," Mum said. "My pleasure." I got up and followed my parents out of the room. Dad was carrying Matt and he was opening his Chocolate Frog, looking much happier than he had two minutes ago. "I got Dumbledore!" he broke out into a huge grin. "Awesome," I smiled, remembering back to the days when a simple Chocolate Frog would momentarily make all your problems go away. ****** Dad decided to go to the British Ministry once we'd all returned to the Three Broomsticks. He had no idea what time he'd return, so Mum said we should wait to look for houses until the following day. Dad figured he could ask at the Ministry about a good real estate place as well. "Mum, can we go do something?" I asked after staring at the ceiling above my bed for twenty minutes. "Not now," Mum replied without looking up from the table, "I'd like to get this questionnaire done." I sighed loudly. How long could that thing take? She had been working on it ever since we got back. "Then could I go do something?" "No," Mum said shortly, "I don't want you wandering the village by yourself." Too late for that, I thought. It's a good thing she or Dad didn't catch us when we went to the joke shop. What I wanted to do was go to the joke shop again. That place was awesome and I hardly got to look at any of the stuff in it. "I'm bored," I said. "Why can't you finish that later?" "Because I want to get it back to Healer Sterling as soon as possible," Mum snapped, "Now go find something to do." "There's nothing to do," I replied. "Read. Do your homework," Mum said. The last thing I wanted to do was homework. Mum had given me some 'homework' shortly before we left, but I hadn't started it. I turned my head and watched Matt play his DS on the other side of the bed. I almost wished I had one. Eventually, I got so bored that I decided to do just the potions and astronomy stuff Mum had assigned me. The potions part was a joke, since it was all stuff I'd learned in first year. Astronomy wasn't bad, but it was mostly busy work as well. I was about to take a peek at the Transfiguration work when I heard the door open. Dad walked inside looking happier than I'd seen him in weeks. Mum looked up from the packet of parchment when she noticed him. "How did it go?" "Wonderful," Dad grinned and sat down on the end of my bed. "Well, tell me all about it!" Mum smiled. "I spoke with their Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. I've spoken with him before and he shares most of my opinions. We talked about what it's like here, regulation-wise. He explained that although it's better than Australia, most of the average witches and wizards are wary of werewolves. So, we'll be keeping it a secret again." "That's what we expected," Mum commented. "I know. So that's not bad. They don't have any laws up here like the ones that are currently being passed in Australia, which is good. I think it will be much easier up here." "That's a relief," Mum said, "What about your job?" "That's the best part," Dad smiled, "I've got an interview on Monday." Mum grinned, "What position? Something in the Werewolf Control Unit?" "No," Dad said, "Something a bit different. There's an opening in Werewolf Support Services." "That's great!" Mum exclaimed. "Yes, I think it'll be a good change. I won't be dealing with passing legislation anymore. I'll just be working to make life better for people with lycanthropy." "Honestly, I've always thought you'd be good in a position like that," Mum commented. "I've thought that, too," Dad mused, "But in Australia, I was the only one keeping all the awful legislation from passing. I couldn't quit." "Of course not," Mum agreed, "But now you've got the opportunity to do what you really want." "Exactly," Dad smiled, "I think this is going to be good for all of us." "I completely agree," Mum got up and sat down next to Dad. Dad put his arm around Mum and she leaned her head on his shoulder. Except me, I thought. I really didn't see how I would benefit from moving to England. "If they hire you, when would you start?" Mum asked after a few moments. "They're going to be flexible. They said I could start whenever it's convenient." "Let's move soon," Mum said. "We've got to find a house first," Dad pointed out, "And sell ours. Once we get back, I'm going to owl around to find someone to run an estate sale. We'll put the house on the market once we get back. I'll owl the real estate agency." "Sounds good to me." "I'll owl Jack and see if he can fly down when we do the sale," Dad said. "Uncle Jack's going to visit us?" Matt tossed his DS onto the bed and crawled over to my parents. "Yes," Mum smiled and ruffled his hair, "Sometime after we get back." "Yay!" Matt shouted. "Julie," Dad said quietly. "What is it?" "There is one thing about this job that I've got to tell you," Dad began, "I'll be making much less money." Mum turned and looked at him. "We'll be fine. You inherited so much from your parents. I don't think we've got to worry about money." "You know we've spent most of that," Dad said quietly. I've always wondered how much money my parents actually have. I know Dad inherited a lot, but for the year after Matt got bit, he and Mum spent a lot trying to find cures. I had no idea how much they actually spent. I guess it must have been a lot. "Yes, but after we sell the house, we'll have more," Mum pointed out. "We're buying a much smaller house. Don't worry about the money. Your happiness is what matters." "I know," Dad sighed, "I just worry, you know, if we ever have to pay for anymore long hospital stays. You know it's possible." "I know," Mum said, "I don't like to think about that possibility, but I know it's there. I still think you should just do what makes you happy. Matt will be going to school in three years. I can get a job once he's there." "All right," Dad replied, "I'll try not to worry about it." "Good," Mum smiled, "Now let's go do something fun. Amy's been complaining the whole time you were gone." My parents decided to take us on a Muggle tour of England. It was really fun. For a few hours, I nearly forgot about moving and pretended we were just on holiday. I noticed that my parents were much happier than they had been in weeks. They laughed and smiled and even joked around. Dad pushed Mum into a fountain and she actually laughed and pulled him in, too. All the Muggles were staring, but it was fun. "How can they just stand still?" Matt asked as we were looking at Buckingham Palace, "What if they have to go to the bathroom or something?" "They switch off every so often," Dad told him. "But still, it'd be hard not to move." "It's their job," I said, "If they can't stand still, they find a new job." "Sounds like an awfully boring job." "But an important one," Dad said. We stood in front of Buckingham Palace and watched as they changed guards. It was interesting, but I don't think I'd want to watch it again. Once was enough. It wasn't particularly exciting. After they'd finished changing the guards, we walked for a few more blocks until we reached a pub. Dad decided that we should eat there as long as we were there. He said everyone who visits England ought to visit a Muggle pub. "I think we should all order fish and chips," Dad announced after we sat down. "Sure," Mum agreed. "Fish and chips?" I asked. "Classic British Muggle food," Dad explained, "Fish and chips all wrapped in newspaper." "Newspaper?" I said skeptically. Why would anyone wrap food in newspaper? "They don't use real newspaper anymore. Turns out the ink was poisonous. But the stuff they use now is all non-toxic," Dad assured me. "All right, I'll try it." A little while later, we were all served fish and chips wrapped in fake newspaper. Mum and Dad each had some kind of frothy British beer, too. I started to peel the paper away from the food and stared at it. Mum and Dad were already digging in. "It's good, Amy," Dad said. I shrugged and tried a very tiny piece. It wasn't bad. Certainly not the best food in the world, but better than the sushi I had with Cinda. "Not bad," I said. "I think it's awesome!" Matt grinned. "Well, you eat airplane food, so...." "It's good," Matt said. "Whatever." I was hungry, so I did eat all of my fish and chips. It seemed to taste better as I ate it, so by the time I finished, I thought it was pretty good. Once we were all done eating, we went back out into London and walked around for a while before Apparating back to The Three Broomsticks.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2535 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Monday 29 December 2008 09 05 46 am    Post subject: Re: In Moonlight's Shadow in topic:In Moonlight's Shadow Thanks Obladi and hprocks! Chapter 26: The Study My parents had planned on going to look at houses the next day, but they wanted to go to St. Mungo's first. Dad had decided that if we moved to England, it would be easier to just buy a house rather than build one. There wasn't anyone we knew in England to supervise the building of a house, so it would be easier to buy one. I hoped there were better houses in England than in New York. As soon as we finished brekkie, we Flooed to St. Mungo's. I stepped out of the fireplace into a waiting room. There were quite a few people sitting in the plastic chairs and even more queued up before a desk at the front. I followed Mum and Dad and we joined queue. The bloke in front of us looked to be in his twenties and he appeared to have a broomstick stuck in between his legs. He looked rather uncomfortable, but I thought he should consider himself lucky he was able to land the broomstick. In front of him was a witch with a flower growing from her head. There were a number of people ahead of them, but I couldn't quite tell what was wrong with them. I turned around and took a glance at the waiting area. One wizard had pink pustules all over his body. A small child was hissing and sticking out his tongue, which was forked. There were also a number of people who appeared normal, looking through the various magazines laid out on the tables. The queue moved slowly and I wished I had brought a book. After a few more minutes, we could finally see who was sitting behind the desk. There was a very bored looking witch sitting there, directing people where to go. Next to the desk was a large sign, also instructing people where to go. "Next," the witch said. The lady with the plant on her head walked up and before she could utter a word, the witch behind the desk pointed to the sign and announced, "Fourth Floor." I glanced at the sign and saw that the fourth floor was for spell damage. "I can't get off this broom!" the bloke in front of us exclaimed once the plant witch left, "I don't know why! I was just flying and now I'm stuck and I can't get off it!" "Fourth floor," the witch pointed her wand at the sign and it emitted green sparks. "Next!" she shouted as broom boy waddled off to the lift. "Hello," Dad greeted the witch and produced the parchment with the article on it, "We're looking for Healer Morris Sterling." The witch raised her eyebrows at us as she scanned the article. "The Dai Lewellyn Ward is on the first floor. You'll find Healer Sterling there." "Thank you," Dad said and we followed him over to the lift. We emerged from the lift onto a long corridor. It was very quiet and looked like the hospital in Australia. A few wizards and witches in lime green robes passed us as we started down the corridor, but they didn't look up from their clipboards. I presumed that they were the Healers. Mum and Dad peeked at every door, reading the signs affixed to them. Eventually, Dad stopped in front of a door that said 'Dai Lewellyn Ward'. Next to it was another door that said 'Healer Morris Sterling: Head Healer of the Dai Lewellyn Ward'. The door was open, so we followed Dad inside. A witch sitting at a desk was tying a letter to an owl. There were a few chairs in the room, along with a lot of filing cabinets. There was a sign on her messy desk that said 'Natalie Caberny'. "Excuse me," Dad said. "Yes?" Natalie Caberny replied, "Can I help you?" "We'd like to see Healer Sterling, please," Dad said and showed her the article, "About the study." "All right," Natalie said as she opened a large book, "Well, let's see, Healer Sterling is busy seeing patients until eleven, but he is available for a half hour then, if that will work." "That would be fine," Dad told her. "Name?" Natalie asked as she wrote something in the book. "Walter Eckerton," Dad told her. "And you're inquiring about the Wolfsbane Study?" Natalie asked. "Yes," Dad said. "Ok, you're all set. See you at eleven." "Thank you," Dad said and we left the room. I glanced at my watch once we were back in the corridor. It was a little after ten. An hour to kill until the appointment. I definitely wished I'd brought a book. We wound up spending the hour in the tea room that was on the top floor. Mum and Dad had some coffee while Matt and I had biscuits. They were all right, but nothing extraordinary. I flipped through a few mediocre magazines, but was basically bored the entire hour. I wished Mum and Dad would have let me stay at The Three Broomsticks. The first floor was a bit busier when we went back down. A few Healers were running around shouting things to each other and carrying various potions into a few rooms. Natalie Caberny was sitting at her desk when we entered. She was hurriedly writing something onto a piece of parchment. Dad waited until she had folded the parchment and charmed it to fly out of the room before he spoke. "We're back for the eleven o'clock appointment," Dad said. "Right," Natalie replied, "I'll just see if he's ready for you." Natalie got up and knocked on a door that led off of her study. "Walter Eckerton's here to see you. Should I send him in?" "Yes, send him in," a man replied. Natalie opened the door and motioned us in. Dad thanked her and she shut the door behind us. A balding man was sitting behind a large oak desk. His spectacles were perched on the tip of his nose and he wore the same lime green robes all the other Healers I'd seen wore. He stood up and shook Dad's hand. He was quite tall and a bit on the chubby side. "Morris Sterling," the man said. "Walter Eckerton," Dad replied, "My wife, Julie, and our kids, Amy and Matt." "Nice to meet you," Sterling gestured to the chairs in front of his desk, "Please have a seat." Mum and Dad sat down in the chairs in front of Sterling's desk and Matt and I sat in the ones that were alongside the wall. I looked at a nearby book shelf and noticed there were a lot of books about potions. "Now, you're here to inquire about the Wolfsbane Study?" Sterling asked. "Yes. I saw the article in the paper." "Ah. Excellent," Sterling replied, "And you're interested in participating?" "Well, not me, my son," Dad gestured to Matt. "Will you allow underage participants?" "Hmm," Sterling leaned back and rubbed his chin, "I don't have any yet, but with the right release forms I don't see why not." "I'll sign them," Dad said, "But do you have a detailed outline of this study?" "Yes," Sterling replied and opened his desk drawer. He pulled out a thick binder and handed it to Dad. "All the details are in there." "Thanks," Dad said. "Does Wolfsbane work for your son?" Sterling asked. "No, that's why we'd like him in the study," Dad explained. "I figured, but I had to ask." "Of course." "I understand that you'll want to read that thoroughly before you finalize your decision, but I do have a preliminary questionnaire for you to fill out just to be sure your son is eligible," Sterling handed Dad a clipboard. Dad took the clipboard and pulled a quill out of his robes. He and Mum spent the next few minutes filling out whatever questions Sterling wanted to know. Dad handed him back the clipboard once they were done. Sterling leaned back in his chair and looked over the questionnaire. "Well, everything seems to be in order. I see no reason why your son can't participate. The only problem is that I see you live in Australia. I will need to perform routine examinations, which might be difficult if you're not in the country." "We are actually planning on moving," Dad told him, "That was our reason for visiting. We were touring Hogwarts. We're either going to move here or New York. And if I like the sounds of this study, we'll be moving here. Things have gotten a bit, er, difficult in Australia lately." Sterling nodded, "You know, your name sounds a bit familiar, but I can't quite place it...." Sterling looked at Dad for a moment, "You're the Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures in Australia, aren't you?" Dad sighed, "Not anymore. Just got fired." "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Sterling said quietly. "It was bound to happen eventually. There aren't many who share my views about werewolves down there. Most of the Ministry are quite unsympathetic. Part of the reason why we're moving. Have you heard about the new laws that are being passed?" "Only bits and pieces, but what I have heard disgusts me." "I quite agree," Dad replied, "And there was only so much I could do when nobody shared my opinion." "Well, we could use someone like you here in England. You'll find that more people are sympathetic here. Pop into the Ministry sometime. I think there might be a few openings in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures here." "Thank you," Dad said. "You're welcome," Sterling replied, "I hate to cut this short, but I've got an eleven thirty appointment. Send me an owl if you decide to have your son in the study. There will be some preliminary tests that will need to be done, so perhaps we could schedule them to be done before you return to Australia. When were you planning on flying back?" "Saturday, but I can always change the tickets." "Excellent," Sterling said as he stood up, "I'll look forward to your owl." "I'll send it shortly," Dad stood up, "And thank you for meeting with us." "Not a problem," Sterling shook Dad's hand. "Thank you," Mum smiled, "For starting this study. You have no idea how difficult it's been." "I can only imagine," Sterling replied, "I see so many sad things here. I'd like to have some happy endings for once." "I certainly hope this study brings one," Mum said. "Me, too," Sterling agreed. "We'll be in contact soon," Dad said and we all left the room. Mum and Dad wanted to go right back to The Three Broomsticks after we left St. Mungo's so they could read about the study. Of course, they wanted to discuss it in private, so Matt and I were banished to the pub once again. "I'm bored," Matt sighed after we'd finished our butterbeers. "Me, too," I agreed. Why hadn't I thought to grab a book? "Hey, want to go explore the village?" "But Mum and Dad said to stay here," Matt said. "I know," I grinned mischievously, "But if we're back before they finish discussing that study, then they'll never know. C'mon, there were a few shops I wanted to investigate." "Amy, what if we get caught?" Matt asked nervously. "We won't get caught. Plus, if we do, Mum and Dad will blame me. You won't get in trouble at all," I assured him. "Fine," Matt sighed and got up, "But only for a little while." "Excellent," I grinned and jumped up. "It'll be fun. Trust me." The air was crisp outside and the ground muddy. The last bits of snow were melting. It seemed almost completely deserted, which didn't bother me in the least. I led Matt down the street, looking in every shop as we went. "Where are we going?" Matt asked. "I dunno," I shrugged, "We'll find out when we get there. Hey, didn't Kendrick say the shack you're going to transform in is somewhere around here?" "Yeah." "Let's go find it," I took off running. "Amy, wait!" Matt shouted, "I don't really want to see it!" "Aw, come on, it'll be cool," I shouted back. "Hurry up!" I slowed down and waited for my brother to catch up. He looked a bit nervous, but reluctantly followed me. We wandered all the way down the road, looking for anything that resembled the shack Kendrick mentioned. "How will we know what house it is anyway?" Matt asked quietly. "I think we'll just know," I told him. How many decrepit buildings could there be in this village anyway? As we walked farther and farther away from The Three Broomsticks, the houses and buildings got farther and farther apart. There were mountains up ahead as well. "Hey, I'll bet that's it!" I pointed to an old house that was a few meters off the main road. There was a broken down fence around it. "Let's get closer." "I don't want to," Matt whined. "Oh don't be such a baby," I said as I ran up to the house. It was certainly run down looking. The windows were all boarded up and it didn't look like anyone had lived in it for decades. "Spooky," I grinned and turned around. Matt was still down by the road. "Oh, get up here!" Matt reluctantly walked up to the house and looked at it for a few moments. "It's big." "Not really," I laughed, "It's a shack." "I meant that it's big compared to the room in the basement." "Oh." "It looks haunted," Matt whispered. "That be because it is haunted, kiddies." I shrieked and jumped as I turned around. Matt screamed even louder than I did and hid behind me, grabbing my arm. There was a hunched old witch standing a few feet in front of us, wearing a patched old robe. She had a hood over her face, but her lank white hair was sticking out. "Wh-who are y-you?" I stammered. "Not important," she cackled, "You kiddies been enjoying the Shrieking Shack?" "The what?" I asked. "The Shrieking Shack," the witch repeated, "Yous not heard of The Shrieking Shack? Kiddies not from around here?" "N-no," I told her. "Aye, well, Shrieking Shack is haunted," the witch laughed, "I heard the shrieking meself, years ago. Once in a while, loud screeching heard from the place. Ghosts, some said. Dumbledore himself say the shack be inhabited by band of ghosts! "Must've moved. Not a sound been heard from the place in years. Best stay away. Some say it's still haunted." "A-all right," I whispered. "I th-think we'll be going now." "You go, kiddies! And watch out for them ghosts! Might come back, you know." I nodded and ran back to the road, not looking back at the witch. Matt followed me, not letting go of my arm. My heart was still hammering when we got down to the road. I glanced back at the shack, but the old witch was gone. "S-see why we sh-shouldn't have go-gone?" Matt stammered. "It was worth it." "Let's j-just go b-back." "No, I saw a shop I wanted to go to," I said, leading Matt back to the village. We walked down the road until we got to the most colorful display window in the entire village. There was a large display of fireworks in the window, along with various other objects. The sign above the shop said 'Weasley's Wizard Wheezes'. "C'mon," I said and pushed open the door. We stepped into what must have been the best joke shop I had ever seen in my life. There was so much stuff crammed into the small shop that I didn't even know what to look at first. There was a red-haired man behind the counter wearing magenta colored robes talking to a boy with turquoise blue hair. The pair of them looked like they could belong to a Muggle circus. I had to suppress a gasp when the man turned and I noticed that one of his ears was missing. "Anything else besides the Deluxe Whizbang Box?" the man asked the boy. "Nope, that's it for now," the boy replied. Both of them looked over at Matt and I as we reached the display near the counter. The man grinned when he saw us and the boy looked at us quizzically. "Skip out of school?" the man asked, "Ah, how I enjoy seeing those who continue that noble tradition." "Er, no, actually I don't go to school here," I muttered. "That's why I don't recognize you," the boy said. "I'm Ted Lupin." "Amy Eckerton," I said. "And that's my brother Matt," I pointed to Matt, who was perusing a display of sweets. "Nice to meet you," Ted replied. "You, too." "And I am George Weasley, at your service," the man grinned. "I own the shop." "It's brilliant," I told him, "Best joke shop I've seen." "You don't sound like you're from around here," Ted mentioned. "We're actually from Australia," I explained. "Wow," Ted looked at me in awe, "What are you doing here?" "My family's moving," I sighed, "So we're visiting Hogwarts. My parents haven't decided if we're moving here or New York." "Move here," Ted said. "And if you do, hope for Gryffindor, it's the best House." I grinned. Ted was nice. "I'll keep that in mind." "It really is the best house," George Weasley added. "Blimey," Ted glanced at his watch, "I'd better get back if I want to make it back for Transfiguration, not that I really want to...." "Go back, Ted," George laughed, "Your grandmother will have my head if you miss class because you're here." "Bye, Uncle George," Ted picked up his package and turned to leave, "See you around, Amy." "Bye," I said as he left the shop. "Anything I can help you with?" George Weasley asked. "I'm just looking around," I replied. "Give a shout if you have any questions." I nodded and started wandering around the shop. The first thing I noticed was that there was a whole variety of sweets that made you sick. Matt was looking at them with disgust. "Why would you want to make yourself sick?" he asked. I picked up one of the boxes and read the back. "So you can miss class," I grinned, "That's brilliant. You eat one half of it to make you sick, get excused from class, and then eat the other half to get better after you leave. Of course, you'll be able to do that perfectly fine on your own." "Very funny," Matt said flatly. "Oh, I'm just joking," I said as I moved to another display. "Hey, Amy, look at these!" Matt shouted. I turned back to where he was looking. "What?" Matt held up a box that had a picture of a long flesh-colored thing on it. "Read this." I took the box and read the label. It said 'Extendable Ears'. A grin appeared on my face as I read that they were for eavesdropping on other people's conversations. "You know, we could use these to listen to what Mum and Dad are talking about right now," I said excitedly. These things were probably my favorite item in the shop. If only they sold them in Australia! I'd never have wondered what Mum and Dad talked about when they holed themselves up in Dad's study. "That's what I was thinking," Matt replied. "Let's get them," I grinned, "C'mon." We ran up to the desk, where George Weasley was smiling at us. I placed the box on the counter. "Extendable Ears," he said, "Excellent choice. Nine Sickles and five Knuts." I pulled out a few Sickles and Knuts that were leftover from the Butterbeer. Luckily I had enough. "Enjoy," George Weasley said as I picked up the box. "Thanks," I grinned and we left the shop. "Aren't you happy we went exploring now?" I asked once we left. "Yeah, yeah," Matt muttered. We ran all the way back to The Three Broomsticks. Madam Rosmerta smiled and shook her head as we breezed past the bar. I took that to mean that Mum and Dad hadn't come out and noticed we were missing. I ripped open the package as we ascended the stairs. I unwrapped the fleshy tubes and handed one to Matt. We sat down outside our door and shoved an end of the Extendables into our ears and the other end near the crack in the bottom of the door. "It does seem safe," I heard Dad saying. I turned to Matt and we grinned at each other. They worked! "Nothing's perfectly safe," Mum replied. "Yes, but I think it may be worth the risk," Dad said. "I suppose you're right," Mum sighed, "I just worry. Look at all those possible complications." "They have to put those in so nobody can sue them," Dad explained, "There will always be risk. There was risk with the other treatments we tried." "I know." "This is different, Julie. It's not just one treatment. We may actually find out why the Wolfsbane doesn't work if we go through with this. It could drastically change his life for the better." "So you want to do it?" Mum asked. "Yes," Dad replied, "I really think it's be a good idea." "Well, then I suppose we'd better send Healer Sterling an owl." "I'll go see if Madam Rosmerta has one we can borrow." I heard Dad get up from the bed. I pulled the Extendable Ear out of my ear and grabbed Matt's arm. We hurried back down to the bar and sat down in the first table we got to. I stuffed all the Extendables into my pocket and tried to act natural. Dad appeared a few seconds later. "Hi, kids." "Hey, Dad," I replied. "Hi," Matt said. Dad smiled at us and went over to the bar. He talked with Madam Rosmerta and she left for a few moments and then came back with an owl. Dad took the owl and went back up the stairs. After he left, the conversation I had just heard started to sink in. Mum and Dad were going to enroll Matt in that study. That meant that it was official. We were moving to England. We wouldn't move to New York and live near Uncle Jack. We would move here, to a place where I knew no one and had never been to before this visit. A place I was totally unfamiliar with. Any lingering hope of staying in Australia was gone. Once Matt was in that study, there would be no going back. We'd sell our house in Australia and look for one in England. Australia would no longer be my home and I would not get to call New York my home. My home would be England, a place that was totally and completely foreign. I swallowed hard and bit my lip to keep the tears from falling.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2535 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Sunday 21 December 2008 03 43 53 pm    Post subject: Re: In Moonlight's Shadow in topic:In Moonlight's Shadow Thanks, Obladi! Hehe, well, not everything about NY is boring. We do get a good bit of snow, which is always fun. Chapter 25: Hogwarts A few days later I found myself yet again on an airplane. Airport security went smoother this time than when we went to New York, but the actual plane ride was worse. The plane was smaller and more cramped. We also weren't able to get seats near the window. We were in the middle of the plane this time. I was unlucky enough to be sitting next to a very large, sweaty man. Matt was on my other side and Mum was next to him. Dad was on Mum's other side, but he had an aisle seat. The man fell asleep partway through the flight and I couldn't blame him. I probably would have fallen asleep if I wasn't so uncomfortable. The flight was scheduled to leave at seven in the morning, although it left at seven forty-five. We had gotten to the airport at four-thirty in the morning. That itself had been an adventure. We had to Apparate to the nearest Apparition center, which was a few blocks away, and then walk to the airport. Mum wasn't speaking to Cinda, so we weren't able to have her or Richard drive us. I was kind of surprised they hadn't made up yet and was wondering if I'd still have to go to Cinda's house during the full moon. There hadn't been any turbulence during the flight so far, which I was grateful for. Although it was only half over, so there was still plenty of time for bumpy flying. The lunch they served us was gross, so I didn't eat much of it. Too bad they didn't have any spiedies in Scotland because I was going to be starving by the time we got there. Matt had fallen asleep pretty much as soon as we got on the plane, but he had woken up for lunch. Now he was asleep again. My parents were whispering to themselves, but I couldn't hear them over the huge bloke's snoring. His head was getting dangerously close to my shoulder and I was fully prepared to poke his mountainous stomach if he started sleeping on me. Matt was already laying his head on my arm, but I didn't so much mind that. I sighed and resumed reading the novel I had started at the beginning of the flight. At the rate I was going, I'd finish it by the time we landed in London. I must have managed to fall asleep because I was soon awoken by the sound of the pilot on the loudspeaker. "Attention, passengers," he droned in monotone, "We'll be experiencing a bit of turbulence as we pass through this thunderstorm." Great, I rolled my eyes. Turbulence and a storm. The fat man gave a large snort and his head lolled onto my shoulder. I shrieked and jumped up, which caused Matt to wake up. "Sorry," fat bloke muttered as I sat back down. He pointed to my pathetic excuse for a taco that was still on my tray. "You gonna eat that?" I stared at him. "Um, no." "Can I have it?" "Sure..." I watched as he ate it in two bites. Wow, what kind of person eats strangers' food on an airplane? I wanted more than ever to get away from him. The storm started shortly thereafter, but as I hadn't eaten much, I didn't get sick. We passed through it quickly and the remainder of the flight was just as boring and uncomfortable as the first part. I was very happy to leave my fat fellow passenger in my wake as I lead my family out of the plane as quickly as I could. We made it through airport security in record timing, mostly because we were some of the first ones off the plane. "So what now?" I asked as Dad consulted a piece of parchment. "We've got to find the nearest Floo center," Dad explained, "Should be a couple blocks down the road." Dad led us out of the airport and into London. It was kind of chilly, but not snowy like it had been in New York. The sun had set hours ago and it was completely dark. It didn't take long to find the Floo center and we all followed Dad inside. Dad nodded to the witch who was manning the station and led us over to the nearest fireplace. "We're going to The Three Broomsticks." I Flooed after Dad, making sure to speak the location clearly. I exited the Floo and stepped into a warm pub crowded with tables. A few of them were occupied by witches and wizards talking animatedly about who knows what and there were also a few people eating alone. The bar was being manned by an older witch, who was talking to one of her customers sitting at the bar. Once Mum and Matt came through the Floo, we followed Dad over to the bar. "Excuse me," Dad said. "Can I help you?" the witch asked. "Yes, I reserved a room," Dad explained. "Name?" "Walter Eckerton." "Ah, here we go," the witch turned around for a moment and then produced two keys with numbers dangling from each. "You're in room five. Right up the stairs, take a right and it'll be on your left. My name's Rosmerta, if you need anything." Dad took the keys and then gave one to Mum, "Thanks." I followed Mum and Dad up the stairs and we quickly found room five. It was dark and cramped. Once Dad turned on the light, I saw that there were two beds, a dresser, a desk, and a bathroom that led off of the main room. I tossed my bag onto the bed near the window and threw myself down on it. "Can we go get something to eat?" I asked. "In a moment," Mum yawned. "I'm hungry, too," Matt whined. "We'll go eat in five minutes," Dad said, "Hold your hippogriffs." I sighed and sat up. I hadn't eaten a proper meal in practically a day. Of course, with the time change it was kind of like I hadn't eaten a proper meal in ten hours or so. I was also dead tired, but I knew I couldn't sleep without eating anything. Finally, Mum and Dad were ready to eat and we went back down into the pub. Madam Rosmerta brought us drinks and food and asked us what we were up to in Hogsmeade. Dad explained that we were thinking of moving to England and wanted to see Hogwarts. Rosmerta had only good things to say about the school and she had gone there years ago. The fatigue really hit me after I finished my food and all I wanted to do was collapse into bed. Matt had already fallen asleep on Dad's lap and both my parents looked worn out. Dad paid Rosmerta and then we went back up to our room. Dad laid Matt down on the bed he and I were sharing and I climbed in next to him as soon as I put my pajamas on. ****** The Headmaster of Hogwarts met us in The Three Broomsticks at ten o'clock sharp the next morning, which caused Dad to immediately take a liking to him. Unlike the Headmaster at Salem, this bloke arrived on time. He was a tall man, with short, neat black hair atop his long face. He greeted us with a warm smile and introduced himself as Fabius Kendrick. His robes were navy blue and he looked to be a little older than Dad. Dad introduced himself and the rest of us and we soon found ourselves following Professor Kendrick through Hogsmeade. Kendrick kept up a running commentary of what all the buildings were and bits of trivia and history about the village. It reminded me of what the headmaster in New York had done. When we emerged onto the Hogwarts grounds, I let out a gasp. The school was an actual castle! It was a huge, kind of spooky looking, stone castle. It wasn't like any school I had ever seen in my life. There was only the castle, too. No other buildings. Everything must have been put into that castle. Dormitories, classrooms, the library, everything. I thought that was a bit strange, but kind of cool at the same time. Not that I really wanted to attend Hogwarts, but it might be fun to wander around. Kendrick pushed open a set of wooded doors and walked inside. Once we were all inside, he turned around and smiled at us. "Welcome to Hogwarts. The school was founded centuries ago by Rowena Ravenclaw, Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, and Salazar Slytherin. These four wizards and witches were the cleverest of their days and wished to pass along their knowledge to others. They decided to form this school, where they each took in children they thought should learn magic. This formed the four Hogwarts Houses. I will explain more about the houses later. "We are standing in the Entrance Hall, which is quite empty right now since classes are going on. To your right is the Great Hall, where meals are served. Go have a peek if you'd like." I followed my parents over to the Great Hall and followed them inside. There were four long tables with benches on either side of each. There was also a table perpendicular to the others, which I guessed was where the teachers sat. I glanced up at the ceiling and let out another gasp. There wasn't an actual ceiling. It looked just like the sky outside. What happened when it rained? Why wasn't there a roof above this room? "Ah, you've noticed the ceiling," Kendrick said, "It's merely enchanted to look like the sky." I nodded. That was amazing. I bet at night it had stars on it. I'd love to see that. Next, Kendrick led us up a huge staircase and then down a long corridor. The corridors in this place were adorned with portraits of all different witches and wizards. They whispered amongst themselves as we passed. The tour of the castle took a couple hours. Kendrick didn't even take us everywhere in the place. It was positively huge. Kendrick did show us the most commonly used classrooms, the library, the Hospital Wing (where we met the nurse, Madam Pomfrey, who immediately began fussing over Matt), and one of the common rooms. Then he took us back outside to show us the greenhouses, the Quidditch Pitch, and the Care of Magical Creatures' professor's hut. Apparently most of his lessons take place outside. After we had finished the exhausting tour, Kendrick led us back to the castle and up to his study. It was concealed by a gargoyle, which revealed a revolving staircase once Kendrick muttered a password. The staircase took us up to the study, which was quite different from the other Headmasters's studies I'd seen. It was a circular room filled with various tables that held silver instruments that I had never seen before. There were bookcases filled with all sorts of books. But the most interesting thing of all was the fact that the entire back wall was covered in various portraits. Portraits of past headmasters and headmistresses, Kendrick told us. The one directly behind Kendrick's desk was Albus Dumbledore. Kendrick conjured chairs for us and he sat down behind his desk. I took a seat in the puffy blue armchair and my parents took the green and red ones, while Matt took the yellow one. "How did you like the school?" Kendrick asked. "I liked it," Dad replied and Mum nodded. "It was nice," I said. "I like the staircases," Matt commented, referring to the staircases that moved on their own. Kendrick laughed, "Most people do. Although I wasn't fond of them in my first year. "Now, first I'd like to explain about the four Houses. Do you have Houses at your school in Australia?" "Yes," I told him. "Well, ours are probably similar. We sort students on their first night here into one of the four houses. These houses were created by the founders and are called Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Each House has a common room, I took you to the Ravenclaw one, and the dormitories are done by House as well. "Students are sorted using The Sorting Hat," Kendrick gestured to a very old, frayed hat that was sitting on a shelf. "Godric Gryffindor put a spell on it that enabled it to sort students properly." I nodded. "Ok." "If your parents choose to move here, you'll be sorted either with the first years or sometime before term starts, whichever you prefer." "All right," I said, already deciding that I'd rather be sorted before term. If I walked into the Great Hall with a bunch of first years, everyone would stare at me. "Now, I'd like to explain the precautions we have set up for your son," Kendrick turned to my parents. "You've already got them set up?" Dad asked. "Oh yes," Kendrick smiled, "You see, your son wouldn't be the first werewolf to attend here." "Really?" Mum said, "You regularly admit werewolves?" "No, we've only had one. You are only the second family to ask if a werewolf could attend, within recent history that is. A few decades ago, while Albus Dumbledore was Headmaster, we admitted a werewolf to the school." "And how did it work out?" Dad questioned. "Very well," Kendrick replied and then turned to Dumbledore's portrait, "Would you agree, Albus?" "Oh, yes," Dumbledore smiled. "I beg to differ," the portrait next to Dumbledore muttered. He was a stern looking man with lank black hair and a hooked nose. "Severus," Dumbledore began, "Your experience is not relevant to this." "What experience?" Dad asked, looking questioningly at Dumbledore. "I'd like to know if it's got anything to do with my son attending here." "It really doesn't," Dumbledore sighed, "But I'll tell you. You see, Severus was in the same year as the werewolf who previously attended. The two of them merely had a mutual dislike for each other, mainly because the werewolf's friends liked to hex Severus and Severus hexed back. Nothing relevant." "Ah, I see," Dad visibly relaxed, "Anyway, back to the precautions you were talking about?" "Right," Kendrick said, "Dumbledore set up precautions to ensure that no one would find out that a werewolf was going to the school. There is a decrepit looking building in Hogsmeade that was used for transformations. It had the most advanced charms and spells on it. It is accessed through a passageway that leads from the grounds. The passageway is concealed by a Whomping Willow. Every full moon, your son will go to the Hospital Wing where Madam Pomfrey will lead him down to the Whomping Willow. She will come collect him the next morning and perform any necessary healing charms." Mum and Dad looked at each other and exchanged another one of those wordless conversations. "Wow, you've got it well thought out," Dad said, "I think that would work. Does Madam Pomfrey know what she's getting into, though? Matt's not on Wolfsbane, so there will be quite a bit of healing that will need to be done after every full moon." "Wolfsbane was not invented the last time a werewolf was here," Kendrick replied, "So Madam Pomfrey has plenty of experience." "Good, good," Dad replied. "Do you have any questions?" Kendrick asked. "How do the other professors feel about this?" Mum asked. "They're on board," Kendrick answered, "I've discussed it with all of them. Not all of them were enthusiastic, but they are all willing." Dad nodded, "That should be ok." "Now, I do have an idea to discuss with you," Kendrick began, "Back when Dumbledore let the other werewolf attend, he was hoping to use him as an example, that all werewolves could safely attend school here. It didn't work out due to the war with Voldemort. I trust you know a bit about that?" "Yeah, I've read about it," Dad replied. "Good. Anyway, people were just too fearful of everything at the time and Dumbledore felt it best to wait until after Voldemort was gone to suggest the idea. Unfortunately, Dumbledore was killed before Voldemort was defeated. "I was hoping that if this works out well with your son, we could try it again." Dad thought for a moment, "And what would that involve?" "If things go well, then we would announce at some point after graduation that your son is a werewolf and successfully attended Hogwarts. We would then advertise the school as a place where all werewolves could get an education." It sounded to me just like what Dad and Oliander had discussed in New York. But that had been before Lubar had told all of Australia that Matt was a werewolf. My parents probably had different feelings about the idea now. Dad glanced at Mum with a nervous look on his face. "I think we'd have to think it over for a while," Dad replied. "Of course," Kendrick said, "And if you don't agree, your son still has a place here. Any other questions?" "Actually," Dad began, "Could we take a look in the library again? I'd like to have a look at the past issues of the newspaper." Kendrick looked questioningly at Dad for a moment and then stood up. "Sure, no problem. I'll show you the way." "Why do you want to look at their newspapers?" I asked Dad quietly as we followed Kendrick through the corridor. "See if I can find out their Ministry's opinion on werewolves," Dad muttered, "And check for job openings." I nodded. That made sense. It would be pointless to move here if they had laws like the Ministry was passing in Australia. The library was practically empty when we got there, which was good since I didn't want anyone to stare at us. The few kids that were there glanced up when we entered, but they quickly returned to their work. The librarian was behind her desk and she glared at us as we walked past. I turned away and didn't look at her. She seemed like a very strict witch. Dad walked up to her and asked where the newspapers were. After a full minute of staring at Dad, she finally pointed him in the right direction. Mum and Dad immediately settled down to rifle through the archived newspapers while Matt and I sat down and waited for them to be finished. "I want to go to this school," Matt announced. "That's nice," I replied. "Because Dumbledore used to teach here. And he's the most brilliant wizard ever." "Yeah, I suppose he is." "Do you want to go here?" "Not really," I muttered, "If we have to move, I'd rather go to New York because Uncle Jack lives there." "Yeah, but this place is a castle!" Matt said. "Quiet!" the librarian shouted, "This is a library!" "Sorry," Matt and I muttered. "Julie," Dad whispered, "Look at this." I turned to where Mum and Dad were sitting. Dad had his nose in a newspaper and Mum leaned over to read what he was reading. I looked at them curiously and then got up to read over Dad's shoulder. [i]PARTICIPANTS NEEDED FOR WOLFSBANE STUDY Healer Morris Sterling, of the Dai Lewellyn Ward in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, is currently looking for participants for his Wolfsbane Study. Sterling wishes to investigate why the Wolfsbane Potion, used by werewolves to render them harmless during full moons, does not work for all werewolves. Sterling is in need of werewolves who the potion does and does not work for to participate in a lengthy study of the potion. Interested parties should inquire at St. Mungo's, located in London.[/i] Dad set down the newspaper and looked at Mum. The two of them stared at each other for a few minutes, no doubt thinking about the article. "We need to talk about this," Dad said quietly, "Let's go back to The Three Broomsticks." "Good idea," Mum agreed and stood up, "C'mon, Matt, we're going." Dad drew his wand and quickly performed a charm to copy the article onto a new piece of parchment and then put the newspapers away. Mum and Dad rushed back to Hogsmeade faster than I'd ever seen them walk before. Neither of them said a word as we went, but they kept looking at each other. They immediately headed back to our room and shut the door behind us. "Amy," Mum began, "Take your brother down to the pub and get a butterbeer or something. We'll come get you once we're done talking about this." Mum handed me a couple Galleons. "Don't mention that article to him," she whispered. I had been hoping to listen in on what Mum and Dad said about the article, but I guess that wasn't going to happen. I motioned for Matt to follow me and the two of us went back down into the nearly empty pub. There were only two people there besides Rosmerta. An old wizard was sitting at the bar, talking with Rosmerta. Then there was a young witch eating alone at one of the tables. I got two butterbeers from the bar and then sat down with Matt at one of the deserted tables. "What was that article about?" Matt asked as soon as I sat down and handed him his butterbeer. "I dunno," I shrugged. "You read it," Matt reminded me. "Er, well, they don't want me to tell you about it." Matt sighed, "They never tell me anything." "They don't tell me anything either. That's why they made us come down here." "They tell you more than they tell me." I shrugged. That was probably true. "Well, I'm older." "Come on, Amy, just tell me what it was about. Please?" Matt pouted. He gave me the most pathetic look ever. It was the one that always worked on Mum and Dad. "Nope, sorry," I said. Mum and Dad would kill me if I told him. "Trust me, if the article matters at all, then you'll find out." "And what if it doesn't?" "Then it doesn't matter if you know or not," I said, "But trust me, you'll probably find out." I couldn't think of any reason why my parents wouldn't have Matt participate in that study. If he did, someone might actually create some Wolfsbane that would work for him. "Then why can't you just tell me?" "Because Mum and Dad want to talk about it first," I explained, "Why else?" "Is it about me?" "Sort of." "Is it about the Ministry here hating people like me?" Matt asked quietly after a few moments silence. I guess Matt knew more about what was going on at the Australian Ministry than Mum thought. "No, nothing like that," I assured him. Matt nodded, "Good. Because I really want to move here." "Just because of the castle?" "Pretty much," Matt grinned, "It would be so cool to go to school in a castle." "How did you kids like Hogwarts?" Rosmerta asked once the old man she was talking to left. "It's brilliant!" Matt exclaimed, "I've never seen a school that's in a castle before." "That's what I liked about it as well," Rosmerta smiled. "What about you, Amy? Like it?" I shrugged, "It's all right. I just like my school better." "Ah, I understand," Rosmerta nodded, "Where are you parents?" "Upstairs," I replied, "They wanted to talk about something alone." "I always hated it when my parents did that," Rosmerta commented. "They're talking about some newspaper article," Matt announced, "Amy read the article, but she won't tell me what it's about." Rosmerta laughed, "My older sister did the same thing. Whenever she knew what our parents were talking about in secret, she'd never tell me." "Well, I'd tell you if Mum and Dad hadn't told me not to," I sighed. "Well, I'd better get back to work," Rosmerta said after an old witch entered the pub, "Talk to you two later." "Bye," I said. Mum and Dad came down a few minutes later and they were both smiling, which was different. They motioned for us to follow them upstairs. "I think they're going to tell you what the article's about," I whispered to Matt as we climbed the stairs. Dad told us to sit down on the bed after he shut the door. He and Mum sat on their bed across from us. "Matt," Dad began, "Remember how you used to take that potion and it was supposed to make the full moons easier?" Matt nodded, "But it didn't." "I know, and we don't know why. But the hospital here is going to run a study that will try and figure out why. They may even find a new potion that will work for you. We're going to go to the hospital tomorrow and see if you can participate." "Is that what the article was about?" Matt asked. "Yes," Dad smiled. "Is this ok with you?" "Yeah," Matt grinned, "I want a potion that will work." "Then it's settled," Dad said, "Tomorrow we'll go to the hospital and ask about it."
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2535 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Sunday 7 December 2008 08 48 59 am    Post subject: Re: In Moonlight's Shadow in topic:In Moonlight's Shadow Thanks Obladi and hprocks! I will definitely keep writing this. As of now, I'm on the 41st chapter. Chapter 23: Fired and Fined The next week passed quickly and my parents got more stressed out as the day of Dad's hearing loomed closer. The two of them spent an increasingly large amount of time in Dad's study, leaving Matt and I to do as we pleased. I spent most of my time brewing potions or wandering around in the forest. Mum seemed to have forgotten about my 'home schooling', which was fine by me. Apparently at some point during the week, Cinda told Mum that she wanted us to go over to her house for dinner on Friday night. I had to turn away from Mum when she told us this, because I knew the real reason was for the party. I was torn about whether to tell my parents about the party or not. Eventually I decided not to, since if I told them, Cinda would get mad at me. But if I didn't say anything and pretended to not have known about the party, nobody would get mad at me. Olivia owled me back a few days after I explained about what had happened. She said she wasn't mad at me and I was relieved. Olivia's letter was the only nice letter any of us had received the past few days. Mum had been right about the amount of owls that she thought we'd get. The few days following the article in the paper, we must have gotten at least 100 letters. And all of them were incredibly rude or downright mean. I didn't personally receive any, as most of them were for Dad or Matt. But my parents didn't let Matt read any of them. They wouldn't even let me read any, but I did read a few that I intercepted before Mum or Dad could spot the owl. The day before Dad's hearing was probably the tensest day I had experienced since the few days following the night Matt got attacked. Neither of my parents spoke at brekkie and they went to Dad's study immediately following. I dumped my empty bowl and cup in the sink and decided to go read in the living room. I was on my way there when I saw an owl flying towards the house. Not another one, I groaned. I sighed and opened the window for the owl. The letter it had in its beak was very large. I took it and the owl left immediately. It was addressed to my entire family. I tore open the envelope and out fell a magazine. That was it. There was no note or anything to tell me who it was from. Just the magazine. I turned it over and gasped when I saw the cover. It was the latest edition of [i]Aussie Magik[/i] and there on the cover was a huge picture of my family and I. The picture had to have been at least two years old. My brother and I looked much younger, but my parents looked about the same. Well, they did look calmer and less worried if you looked close enough. [i]Aussie Magik[/i] is a magazine that reports on the current happenings of all the celebrity witches and wizards of Australia. My family appeared in it occasionally years ago, before Matt got bitten, but they hadn't printed an article on us in ages. The last one was shortly after Matt got bitten and it basically talked about how we had stopped appearing at public events and such. The reasoning they gave was that my parents decided to raise Matt and I away from any sort of fame. Across the picture, right under the title of the magazine was the title of the article. [i]Scandal at the Ministry: What Really Happened to the Eckerton Family.[/i] I groaned out loud as I read it. This certainly wouldn't be good. "What's that?" Matt asked. I jumped, having forgotten he was still in the room. I turned to face him and hid the magazine behind my back. "Er, nothing," I replied, not wanting him to read it. "I'm going up to my room. Don't follow me." I ran from the room, leaving Matt standing confused next to the table. Despite my misgivings about the article, I still wanted to read it. I just didn't want my brother to read it. I was sure it wouldn't paint him in a good light. Once I had the door shut behind me, I laid down on my bed and opened the magazine. I quickly flipped past the advertisements for Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, the latest broomstick, and a fancy robe shop somewhere in Sydney. Past the articles about witches who had divorced their husbands and remarried just weeks later. Past the article about the witch who just gave birth to quadruplets. That one would have probably been the front page article if it weren't for this whole mess with the Ministry, I thought. Right after the article about the quadruplets was the article about my family. There was a two-page photo that was different than the one on the front cover. It happened to be our family portrait from three years ago. I was dressed in lavender robes and my hair was actually down and curled. I still remembered the fuss Mum made over my hair that day. I was eleven then and had wanted to wear my hair in its usual ponytail, but Mum wasn't going to allow it. Matt stood next to me in navy blue robes. Dad's robes matched his and Mum's robes matched mine. I still had those robes in my closet. I flipped the page and took a deep breath as I began to read the article. [i]The Eckerton Family had it all. Fame, money, and the mansion on the hill. They were at every event in the Wizarding World, and a few in the Muggle world as well. What happened two years ago when they just seemed to fall off the face of the earth? We were told that Walter and Julietta Eckerton wanted to raise their children away from the fame and fortune, but we recently found out that that's not exactly what happened. Walter Eckerton was born to Conan and Nancy Eckerton, the then owners of the Eckerton manor and everything that went with it. Walter was their first son and has a brother four years his junior, Jacob, who lives in New York State. When Walter was attending The Australian School of Sorcery, he fell in love with a shy Muggle- born, Julietta Bailey. Julietta was born to Richard and Lacinda Bailey, who happen to have their own fortune in the Muggle world. One could say that it was a story for fairy tales. The fairy tale was set to continue when Walter proposed to Julietta and the two of them were married. The two decided to start a family a few years later, and that was where trouble began. The Eckertons had problems getting pregnant. They tried for years to conceive, but had no luck. When Walter was 35 and Julietta was 34, Julietta finally became pregnant. The couple was thrilled and life was good. Amy Marie Eckerton was born on October 27, 1998. Walter and Julietta enjoyed a few years of joy before their lives took a turn for the worse. Conan and Nancy Eckerton were killed in a fiery car accident three and a half years after Amy was born. Walter and Julietta were both devastated and wizarding Australia was shocked. The will was read and Walter had inherited the mansion, along with a good part of the fortune. Jacob inherited the rest. Walter moved into the mansion with his family shortly there after. The Eckertons had wanted multiple children and had been trying to have a second child ever since Amy was two, but it once again proved difficult. Both parents were beginning to think they would never have another child, due to their increasing age. However, luck was once again on their side, and three years after the devastating loss of Conan and Nancy, Julietta was pregnant once again. They were not without worry, though. Julietta was 40 when she became pregnant and the pregnancy was full of complications. Julietta gave birth to a son, Matthew Conan, on February 6, 2005, two months before the baby was actually due. The baby was premature and had to stay at the hospital for a month and a half, but after that month and a half, he was fine. It seemed like things were once again looking up for this family. Life continued for the Eckerton family, and although they did not have anymore children, they were happy. Amy began attending The Australian School of Sorcery in 2010. Then, in early 2011, the Eckerton family suddenly stopped wanting to be in the public's eye. They stopped attending events and seemed to retreat from life. We were told that Walter and Julietta wanted to begin to raise their children differently than they both had been raised. Away from fame. Away from reporters and fancy dinners and such. The wizarding world believed this. They believed it for two years. During those years, Walter was promoted to Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, from his former position of Head of the Werewolf Control Unit. And that is where this fairy tale story of Walter and Julietta Eckerton takes a drastic turn for the worse. In late December of 2010, the Eckerton family decided to go camping like Muggles. During one of the nights while they were camping, a werewolf came upon the camp. The werewolf attacked Matthew, who was only five at the time. Walter was able to save his son and help capture the werewolf, who currently resides in prison. But life for the Eckertons had changed forever. The Head of the Werewolf Control Unit's son was now a werewolf. Life as the Eckerton family knew it was over, and the wizarding public was fed the lie about Walter and Julietta wanting to raise their children away from the media. In reality, they retreated in order to keep the fact that Matthew was a werewolf a secret. This worked well for just over two years. The Eckerton family was no longer in the spotlight and slowly but surely the rest of us thought less and less about them. Despite the lack of publicity, the Eckertons were by no means became less influential in the world. Walter Eckerton furthered his career even more when he became the Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures in July of 2011, a mere six months after his son became a werewolf. That's right, Walter Eckerton became Head of the entire department even though his own son is a werewolf. That bit of information was kept secret as Eckerton was promoted. Eckerton was promoted to the position by the former Minister, Zachary Afton, when the former Head and current Minister, Vincent Gabishi, quit to devote more attention to his campaign. Afton, more commonly known as 'The Minister who twiddled his thumbs all day', was widely known as an advocate for half-breeds, including werewolves. Eckerton shares those views, so naturally, Afton appointed him to the position. Gabishi, currently known as 'The Minister who passed more legislation in one week than Afton passed during his entire term', has drastically different views than both Eckerton and Afton. He advocates stricter laws and harsher penalties for those who break the laws. Gabishi's views are shared by a majority of those who work in the Werewolf Control Unit, including the Head of said department, Ralph Lubar. It is this that brings us to the most recent scandal. The most recent law that was passed, Werewolf Control Law 56, was passed and signed by the Minister shortly before the most recent full moon. Eckerton rejected this law weeks ago, but the decision was overruled by his department. The Minister signed it while Eckerton was mysteriously away on holiday. The Eckertons returned from holiday the day of the full moon, to find that their son's safe room had to be inspected by a Werewolf Control Unit official. The strict law requires all safe rooms to have certain spells and charms put on them, as well as have them be free standing buildings, not rooms in buildings that house people. Eckerton failed his inspection, as his son's safe room is inside of his house. According to the law, Eckerton was required to bring his son, who for reasons unknown at this time is not on Wolfsbane, to a Ministry created safe house that houses many werewolves during the full moon. Eckerton refused and never showed up with his son. The Eckertons kept their secret safe for over two years. The only people to know about their son were those who worked in the Werewolf Control Unit. It is illegal to reveal the names of underage werewolves. Despite this, somebody leaked the information the day after the full moon, and it was front page news the following day. What will happen to the Eckertons now? How could one of Wizarding Australia's most prominent families be facing a Ministry hearing and possible punishment? Eckerton is not only facing a punishment for breaking the law, but it is also highly possible that he will lose his job. Then what? It is rumored that the Eckertons are considering leaving the country. An unnamed source has told us that Amy didn't return to school this past January. One witch who preferred not to have her name mentioned in this article swore she heard that the Eckertons are going to integrate themselves into Muggle society. Whatever the Eckertons decide to do, we will be following up on this story. If anyone has inside information, please owl it immediately.[/i] I tossed the magazine onto my bed as soon as I'd finished reading the article. I glared at it, almost wishing I could set it on fire with my mind. What did they think they were doing, publishing that article? The thing practically told my family's life story, complete with a bit about my parents getting married. It was the kind of sob story gossipy old witches lived for. The happy wealthy family facing tragedy and then a scandal. At least it hadn't mentioned too many horrible things about werewolves. But now the entire of wizarding Australia was going to know when and where Matt got attacked. My parents tried so hard to hush that up and now everyone would know. My parents were going to want to see this article, I thought. I picked it up and left my room. I really had no idea where my parents were, but they had to make an appearance at some point. I mean, they had to eat eventually. Mum and Dad did emerge from Dad's study around lunch time, although neither of them looked like they wanted to read an article in [i]Aussie Magik[/i] that was about themselves. Nevertheless, I slapped it down on the counter in front of Mum as she prepared sandwiches. Mum took one glance at the front cover, gasped, and dropped the fork she had in her hand on the floor. Dad immediately went over to her and looked over her shoulder at the magazine. He picked it up and flipped to the page that the article was on. I stood silently behind them as they read. "Where did you get this?" Mum asked once she was done reading. I couldn't see her face, but she talked with no emotion whatsoever, so I imagine her face looked like stone. "An owl brought it. No note or anything with it. Just addressed to the whole family," I said quietly. Mum nodded and Dad tossed the magazine into the bin. "Did your brother see this?" he asked. "No." "Good," Dad replied. "Could've been worse," Mum whispered. Dad nodded and went to sit at the table. Mum and I followed suit once she had finished making the sandwiches. Matt and Ellie joined us a minute later and we ate in silence. The whole rest of the day was spent in silence as well. I worked on potions by myself for the whole afternoon and then I joined my family for another tense, quiet meal. Matt was really the only one who ate much. The rest of us were far too nervous about Dad's hearing the next morning. I pushed my food around on my plate for a while before excusing myself and going up to my room to stargaze and read the rest of the night. ****** Dad left for his hearing early the next morning. I was eating brekkie as he left and Matt wasn't even awake yet. His expression was emotionless and his face set in stone. He barely said a word, except a short goodbye to Mum and I. We wished him luck and then he flooed to the Ministry. I had no idea what time he would return and didn't bother to ask Mum. She was tense and snappy the entire morning. She yelled at me for the smallest things, like leaving my book on the couch or not putting my dirty dishes in the sink. I didn't say a word back, because I knew she was just worried about Dad. I was, too. Mum was even short with Matt and snapped at him for spilling his milk. She rarely ever yells at him and certainly not for spilling milk. He started crying at this and Mum quickly apologized. After that I just retreated to my room for the rest of the morning. It's always best to just stay out of Mum's way when she's stressed. I only returned to the main floor when I got hungry a few hours later. Mum, Matt, and Ellie were already eating soup in the kitchen when I got there. I sat down wordlessly and started eating mine. The tension was so thick in the room that even Matt wasn't saying anything. I was just finishing up my soup when I heard the familiar sound of someone flooing into the house. Mum and I looked up at each other and quickly got up from the table, with Matt and Ellie following. Mum made it into the living room first and I followed only a second later. I saw Dad standing perfectly still with a large box in his arms. His face was hard and his eyes cold. I had rarely ever seen Dad with such an expression on his face. I would not want to be on the other end of his wand at that moment. I stopped when I was just inside the doorway, but Mum went over to Dad and put her arms around him. He shook his head and sat the box down on the floor. Then he sat down on the couch and Mum sat next to him. I remained standing where I was, with Matt and Ellie just behind me. "What happened?" Mum asked softly. "Fired," Dad muttered, not looking at Mum. "It's all right," Mum replied, "We figured it was coming." "I know," Dad said. "But what about the hearing?" Dad glanced over to Matt and I and then continued staring at the floor. He must have decided that it was all right for the two of us to hear about it, since he didn't tell us to leave the room. "Entire Wizengamot," Dad began, "Minister, too. They talked for about a half hour about the law and the charges. Then the Minister called in the witnesses, including Ralph Lubar. The git. Nobody mentioned that it was him who announced to the entire Ministry that Matt's a werewolf. In fact, that was never mentioned at all. "Then, I gave my defense. After that, they deliberated for quite a while, although I'm not sure what they talked about. It was pretty obvious that they were all against me. The Minister read the verdict with a smirk and then informed me that I was fired. Told me to go and clean out my office. Went to do that and had to squeeze through a sea of reporters. Told them nothing. Cleaned out my office and left. Went to go have a drink and then came back here." "We'll get through this, you know," Mum said quietly, "What happened today sounds awful and I've lost all respect for our Ministry, but we will get through this. We still have our family." "I know, Jule," Dad sighed and hugged Mum, "I know." "What was the verdict?" Mum asked after a few minutes. "Guilty, of course," Dad said. "I meant the punishment," Mum replied. "Oh, right. Fine. They won't jail me. That would make them look bad. Jailing a prominent Ministry employee. Hefty fine, though. 1,000 Galleons." Mum let go of Dad and stared at him. "1,000? That's ridiculous. What do they think they're going to spend that on?" "Probably Gabishi's next campaign," Dad said bitterly. "That's awful," Mum said, "They should donate it to a charity or something." "They really should," Dad agreed, "I'd vote for the Lycanthropy Awareness Fund." "That would be excellent," Mum said. "But it would never happen." "Of course not." "Well, at least we're getting out of here," Dad said, "I never thought I'd be this eager to get out of this country." "Me either," Mum agreed. "To be honest," Dad began, "I'm kind of surprised we kept this a secret this long. I mean, considering my job and everything. I knew there was a possibility of this when I accepted the promotion." "Don't blame yourself for what's happened," Mum said, "Never would have happened if that law wasn't passed." "I know," Dad sighed. "And we'd be moving even if you weren't fired. We decided to move months ago when Matt wasn't accepted to the school." "I guess that's true." "Right. So let's just move on. We'll concentrate on finding a new school and go from there. I'd like to visit at least one more place if that's all right." "That's fine. I kind of would like to do the same." "Good," Mum said, "There's some soup in the kitchen if you'd like some." I took that as my cue to leave and went back up to my room. The hearing sounded absolutely awful. I couldn't believe that Dad was actually fired. It just seemed so strange. I never would have guessed that he would ever be fired from any job he ever had. I just hoped he'd be able to find a job wherever we moved. Mum and Dad seemed much less tense when I went down for dinner. I guess they had come to terms with what had happened and were trying to put it behind them. I wanted to do the same, but it was hard. The two of them wanted to leave Australia, so it was easy to just look forward to moving. I still didn't want to move. "Amy," Mum smiled at me as I sat down next to Matt. "We just got another letter. We'll be visiting Scotland shortly." "That's great," I smiled back, although I wasn't too happy about visiting Scotland. If we had to move anywhere, I wanted it to be New York, not Scotland. "Yes, we got a letter from the Headmaster of Hogwarts," Dad explained. I spat out the milk I had been drinking. "H-Hogwarts?" "Yes, that's the name," Dad smirked. "Bit of an odd name," I coughed. That had to be the funniest name I had ever heard of for a school. Who would name a school Hogwarts? "Well, no matter what it's called, the Headmaster would like us to visit," Mum said. "When?" I asked. "We're going to Cinda and Richard's for dinner tomorrow, so not immediately," Mum began. Cinda's party. I had completely forgotten about that. I guess she wouldn't be making me purchase another fancy dress. Of course, since it was a surprise party, I probably wouldn't be getting dressed up for it anyway. "So we were thinking middle of next week," Mum continued, "If we can get plane tickets on such short notice. If we wait much more than that, we'll have to do it after the next full moon. I don't want to run into the same problem we had when we went to New York." I nodded. Great, more plane trips. Hopefully this would be the last trip, though. It seemed like my parents wanted to move soon, so I doubted we would visit anymore schools after this. Unless of course Britain had more than one wizarding school. "Are we just visiting this Hogwarts place?" I giggled as I said the name. "Yes, just that one," Mum told me, "Britain only has one wizarding school. The closest school to Hogwarts is in France and none of us speak French, so we didn't even bother to owl them." "Ok, so a short trip?" "Right. Only four days or so," Dad said. "Where are we staying?" I asked, since we had no relatives in Scotland. "I suppose I'll have to book a room someplace near the school," Dad said, "Hadn't really given that much thought yet. I know there are a couple places in the nearby village. Jack and I have traveled there before." I took that to mean they had searched for the Hallows near there. That was pretty much the reason for all of Dad and Uncle Jack's traveling when they were younger. The remainder of dinner was more lively than meals had been in over a week at my house. My parents told Matt and I what they knew about Scotland and Dad shared stories from when he traveled there years ago. I was actually beginning to look forward to visiting Scotland, but I still didn't want to move there.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2535 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Sunday 16 November 2008 10 46 52 am    Post subject: Re: Albus Potter and the Tracks They Left Behind in topic:Albus Potter and the Tracks They Left Behind Thanks Obladi and hprocks! I have written all the chapters to this and am going to write a sequel as well. Questions, comments, and general reviews are always appreciated! There's only one more chapter after this! Chapter 36: Bravery Harry went into his bedroom to put on robes and left Albus and the others in his sitting room. Albus tapped his foot impatiently and stared at his dad's bedroom door. "We're going to find him, Albus," Rose said quietly. "I know, I know," Albus mumbled. "Look at the Map," John suggested, "We should find out exactly where they are." Albus nodded and pulled out the Map. He watched as the ink slowly formed Hogsmeade and then bent down over it, looking for Kaden. "You don't think he's in the Shrieking Shack, do you?" Amanda asked. "Only way you can get into that is the Whomping Willow," Matt reminded her. "And what if Willinson did that?" Amanda said. "He didn't," Albus cut in, "He's not in there." Albus gazed intently at the Map, keeping his eyes peeled for the dots labeled 'Kaden Dursley' and 'Quinton Willinson'. Finally, he spotted them. "There!" Albus pointed, "Inside that house that's closest to the Shrieking Shack." "Can you tell what's going on?" Rose asked. "No," Albus said, "Willinson's on the opposite side of the house as Kaden." The bedroom door burst open and Harry came running out. Albus hastily put away the Map. "Dad," Albus said as he followed Harry out into the corridor, "I know where they are. They're in the house closest to the Shrieking Shack." "How do you know?" Harry asked without turning around or stopping. "I just do. Trust me. You've got to burst in there and save Kaden!" "Albus," Harry said as they ran through the darkened corridors, "I can't just send people into a house without any proof that Willinson and Kaden are in there." "But I have proof!" Albus sighed. "Then you've got to tell me what it is." Albus groaned inwardly and turned his head around to meet John and Matt's gaze. They had agreed not to tell anyone about the Map until the following year. But the looks on John and Matt's faces told Albus that both of them agreed that they should tell Harry in order to help Kaden. "It's hard to explain," Albus began, "But the point is, is that I have a Map of Hogsmeade that works the same way as the Marauder's Map." That stopped Harry in his tracks. He whirled around and stared at Albus with a mingled look of confusion and awe on his face. "Did you make it?" Harry asked. "No," Albus said, "The Marauders did." "But-but," Harry spluttered, "I thought they just made one of Hogwarts. Where did you find it? How did you find it?" "It's a long story, Dad," Albus sighed, "I'll tell you later, but we've got to go find Kaden." "Right," Harry agreed and started running again. Albus followed him, thinking about how after tonight, the new Map would no longer be a secret. By the time Harry and Albus left the Hogwarts grounds and entered Hogsmeade, they were far ahead of Albus's friends. Harry paused in front of The Three Broomsticks and waited for them to catch up. It was an unusually warm night for the beginning of June. There wasn't a hint of wind, nor a cloud in the sky. The stars were all out and the almost full moon illuminated Hogsmeade enough that they didn't need to light their wands. Albus wondered for a quick second if Matt should have just stayed in the school due to the phase of the moon, but didn't linger on the thought. Albus was much too focused on Kaden to think about much else. Albus waited impatiently with his dad, but was startled at the sound of a loud crack. He turned around to see his Uncle Ron. "What's going on, Harry?" Ron asked. "Kaden's been kidnapped by Quinton Willinson," Harry whispered, and explained about the note Albus had received, but he left the part about the map out. John and Amanda skidded to a halt behind Harry and Albus and looked around nervously. "Rose...and...Matt...are far...behind," John panted. "You...lot run...fast," Amanda commented. "They'll catch up," Harry said and then turned to Albus, "Do you have the Cloak?" "Yeah," Albus nodded. "Good. But don't give it to him. Listen, I let you lot come along because I figured if I didn't, you'd sneak out anyway. But I don't want you getting involved. Stay behind me at all times and obey whatever I tell you," Harry said sternly. "I don't want a repeat of last year." Albus nodded reluctantly. "All right." "Good," Harry replied. Rose and Matt ran up behind John and Amanda a few minutes later. "Did...we...miss...anything?" Matt asked. "No," Harry said, "Now, I want you all to follow me. Wands out. If someone tries to attack you, you've got my permission to use whatever jinx, hex, or curse comes to your mind." Albus drew his wand and followed his dad down the quiet street. He had to admit that despite the fact that he was worried about Kaden, it was kind of exciting to go on a mission with his dad and Uncle Ron. The only time he'd ever seen them in Auror mode was the previous spring, and Albus missed much of his dad's duel since he was dueling Quinton Willinson at the time. The group continued down the street, past the deserted shops and silent houses. Albus had never been in Hogsmeade at night before. It was kind of spooky, especially as they left the more populated area and approached the Shrieking Shack. "Ooo, spooky," John whispered. "You've got to be quiet," Harry said. "Sorry," John muttered. Harry and Ron stopped in front of the house that was closest to the Shrieking Shack. It was a one-level building, that looked in dire need of repairs. The shutters were falling off, the paint was chipped, and parts of the siding was missing. It looked like it hadn't been lived in in years. The grass was vastly overgrown and Albus spotted a few gnome holes near the bushes that were along the road. All in all, it looked almost creepier than the Shrieking Shack. Harry and Ron stooped down and squatted behind the bushes. Albus and his friends did the same. "Stay here with them, Ron," Harry whispered, "I don't want Willinson to know they're here. I'm going to negotiate with him." "All right," Ron agreed. Albus watched as his dad got up and crept up the walkway to the house. He stopped when he was halfway up it. "Quinton Willinson!" Harry called in what must have been a magically amplified voice, "Are you there?" "Who's there?" Willinson's voice called. Albus peeked through the bushes, but he couldn't tell if Willinson was in the window or not. "This is Harry Potter," Harry replied, "I think we should talk about what's going on." "What's there to talk about?" "You captured my cousin," Harry said, "You've made demands in order for us to get him back. I think we need to come to an agreement." "You know what I want! If you give it to me, you can have your cousin back!" "What the ruddy hell is going on out here?" a voice shouted from behind Albus. Albus turned around quickly and saw an old wizard ambling down the road in a dressing robe, with his wand held out in front of him. Ron stood up and pointed his wand at the man. He motioned for Albus and his friends to stay behind the bushes. "Can I help you, sir?" Ron asked. "I want to know what's going on in that house," the man demanded. Ron pulled out his Auror badge and flashed it to the man. "I can't tell you that, but I assure you that the situation is under control. Please stay behind this line." Ron waved his wand and a blue line appeared where the grass met the road. "Fine, fine," the man muttered and crossed his arms, but made no move to go back to his house, "Never any peace around here. Whether it's those bloody ghosts in that decrepit old shack or Aurors screaming in the dead of night...." "If you'll come out of that house, we can talk about your demands," Harry said. "I'll come out when you give me the Cloak!" "I'm afraid that's not possible," Harry replied. "I've got my wand! I'll hex him, I'm not afraid to do it!" "Is someone captured in there?" a woman shrieked. Albus turned around again. There was now a small crowd of Hogsmeade residents clad in a variety of pajamas, dressing robes, and cloaks, standing just behind the line Ron had drawn. "Calm down, ma'am," Ron said, "We have everything under control." "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Willinson," Harry said, "You'll get a long stint in Azkaban for that." "I don't care! If you don't give me that damn cloak I'll curse this kid to next century!" "He's got a kid in there?" the woman shouted, "And you think you've got everything under control?" "All he wants is a cloak?" a man shouted, "Why don't you just give it to him? Get the kid out alive!" "Listen, folks!" Ron shouted, "You don't understand the circumstances. If you continue to question our actions, I'll have to ask you to return to your houses." "I don't think you will, Willinson," Harry said. "And why's that, Potter?" "That's Harry Potter?" another woman shouted, "Let me through! I want to meet him!" "Ma'am," Ron held up his hand, "As I said before, if you don't stay back, I'll have to ask you to leave." "Because I taught you, Quinton," Harry said a little quieter, "I don't think you're like your father. If you come out now, we can overcome this." "No. You're wrong, Potter. I am like my father. We want the same things. And to do that, we need that cloak!" "Just let Kaden leave, and we'll talk." "No! Are you going to give me the bloody cloak or not, Potter?!" "I am not." "Then I'm going to hex the kid!" "That would be a bad idea, Willinson," Harry said. "Somebody do something!" another woman shouted. Ron whispered an incantation and a silvery weasel appeared out of his wand. He talked to it and it disappeared into the night. Moments later, a witch and a wizard Apparated next to Ron. "We've got a 230," Ron muttered, "Lewster, stay here and keep the crowd back. They've been pushy. Newman, follow me." Ron turned to Albus, "Rose and Al, stay here. Under no circumstances are you or your friends to come into the house." Lewster, the wizard, took Ron's place in front of the crowd and scowled at them. Ron and Newman walked up the concrete and stood behind Harry. "You asked for it, Potter!" Willinson shouted. A few moments later, Albus heard a shriek coming from the house. "Go get that kid!" someone in the crowd shouted. Albus watched as Harry, Ron, and the other Auror ran up to the door and blasted it open. "C'mon," Albus stood up. "What?" Rose exclaimed, "My dad said to stay out of the house!" "We're not going in the house. We're going to watch through the window. You think I can just sit here and not know what's going on?" "But Albus-" "I figure we'd better wear the Cloak, so only two of you can come with me." "I'll go," John and Matt said at the same time. "Then let's go," Albus replied. "But Albus-" Rose stammered. "You're not talking me out of this, Rose." John and Matt stood up and Albus threw the Cloak over the three of them. They walked quietly up to the house, leaving Rose with her mouth gaped open and Amanda shaking her head. The other Auror, Lewster, didn't even seem to notice them leave and Albus had a feeling he wouldn't have cared anyway. Albus crouched down in front of a window and peeked inside. He was glad that Willinson had been keeping Kaden in the front room, and they were able to see. Kaden was cowering in a corner while Willinson stood in front of him. Willinson had his wand pointed right at Harry, who was standing directly in front of him. Ron and Newman were slightly behind Harry, their wands pointed at Willinson. "Merlin," Albus whispered. "Bloody hell," John said. "We should go in there and help," Albus said. "No," Matt grabbed the back of Albus's robes, "They're Aurors, they can handle it. Plus, your dad said to stay away, we'd be in huge trouble if we went in the house." Albus sighed and crouched back down. Matt was right. There wasn't anything Albus could do. His dad had it under control. He turned to the window and watched what was going on. Kaden looked up and saw Harry and the other Aurors. He immediately stood up and started to run over to them. Willinson turned around and pointed his wand at Kaden. "Don't even think about it, kid," Willinson growled, "Stay where you are, or I'll curse you." Kaden sat back down with a look of terror on his face. Albus was surprised they were able to hear what everyone was saying. The old house must have had a bunch of cracks around the window. "Willinson," Harry began, "We're going to need you to let Kaden come with us. Then we can talk about this." "No," Willinson growled, "Not unless you give me the Cloak. You got it on you? I told your son to bring it. I see he didn't follow my orders. He told you about it." "Yes, he did," Harry replied, "And I don't have the Cloak on me." "I don't believe you. Accio Cloak!" Willinson pointed his wand at Harry, but nothing happened. "See? No cloak," Harry said, "Now release Kaden and we'll talk. If you come now, your time in Azkaban will be reduced." "I'm not going to Azkaban." "You kidnapped and attacked a child. You're going to Azkaban," Harry said. "I don't think so," Willinson growled and pointed his wand at Harry, "Expelliarmus!" But Harry was too quick for Willinson. He dodged the spell and sent one back at Willinson. Willinson and Harry broke out in a duel, with spells flying everywhere. "This won't last long," Albus muttered, "He's an awful dueler." Ron ran from behind Harry and over to Kaden. He pulled Kaden up and made a dash for the door. Willinson spotted them and sent a spell, but Newman blocked it. Ron and Kaden burst through the door and were greeted by clapping from the crowd. "Should we go back?" Matt asked. "No," Albus muttered, "I want to see what happens to Willinson." Harry was still dueling with Willinson, and Newman had joined in as well. None of Willinson's spells were actually making contact with Harry or Newman, and most of Harry and Newman's spells were blasting apart furniture as Willinson dodged them. Newman sent a trip jinx at Willinson and caused him to fall over a broken chair. Harry immediately disarmed him and caught his wand. Newman conjured ropes and bound Willinson's hands. The two Aurors then lifted him to his feet and started to drag him out of the house. "Now we leave," Albus announced. The three boys stood up and walked as fast as they could back to the bush. "I'm surprised you didn't get caught," Rose muttered when they sat back down. "Kind of sounds like you're disappointed," John smirked. "What happens now?" Matt asked. Albus looked out at the crowd. Now that Willinson had been caught, Lewster was trying to disperse them. Most were going back to their homes, but a few stubborn ones had to be shouted at a bit before they would leave. "Dunno," Albus shrugged. "You lot are going back to school," Ron said. Albus stood up and saw his Uncle Ron, standing with Kaden just beyond the bushes. Kaden still looked scared out of his mind and stood shaking with Ron's arm around his shoulder. Albus walked over to them, followed by the rest of his friends. "What's going to happen to Willinson?" John asked. "Harry will take him to the Ministry, where he will have charges put against him. Then he'll go to Azkaban." "Good," Albus said. "Now, let's get back to Hogwarts," Ron said, and began to walk up the road, back into the main part of Hogsmeade. ****** Ron decided that Kaden should go to the Hospital Wing, and Madam Pomfrey reluctantly let Albus and his friends stay with him. Ron left shortly after he explained what had gone on. He had to go speak to Kendrick and then go to the Ministry to help Harry with the paperwork. "You know," Madam Pomfrey said as she handed Kaden a potion, "You lot are beginning to remind me a lot of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Two years now, you have gotten into trouble at the end of the year." "It's not our fault," Albus shrugged. "I know it's not," Madam Pomfrey said, "Now, I'll let you stay for a half hour or so and then you've got to get back to your common room. Especially you, Matt, you look a bit peaky." "I'm fine," Matt shrugged. He did look exhausted, most likely due to the fact that the full moon was two days away. "Nonsense," Madam Pomfrey muttered, "Were you outside with the rest of them tonight?" "Er, yeah." The nurse sighed, "You know you're not supposed to. I'm getting you a potion." She ran off to a cabinet and returned with a goblet of steaming liquid. She thrust it to Matt and he downed it, wincing at the disgusting taste. Once Madam Pomfrey returned to her study, Albus turned to Kaden. "Ok, explain what happened." Albus was dying to know how Willinson had captured him. "It was Felix Willinson," Kaden said quietly, "I was on my way back from the library and he snuck up behind me and stupefied me. I was stuck, couldn't move. Felix pulled me into a nearby classroom, where Willinson was waiting. Except he wasn't Willinson. He was a seventh year girl, or what looked like a seventh year girl. He must have taken Polyjuice Potion. Anyway, he somehow found an Invisibility Cloak. Which kind of makes me wonder why he wanted yours. But he threw it over me and levitated me to Hogsmeade and to that old house. And well, you know the rest." "Wow," Ablus replied, "You're ok, though, right? He didn't perform any really bad curses on you, did he?" "No, mainly he just tried to scare me, and it worked," Kaden whispered, "I don't see how I'm in Gryffindor, Albus. I wasn't brave at all." "Yes you were," Albus assured him, "Don't say that. I dueled Willinson last year. We all did. And we were all scared." Matt, John, Rose, and Amanda all nodded. "See?" Albus said, "Being brave isn't about not being scared. I bet even my dad was scared tonight. I'm sure you were brave. Did you try to hex Willinson at some point?" "Yeah." "So you were brave. You tried to duel him. Someone who wasn't brave wouldn't have tried to duel him." "I guess." "I'm serious. You're brave, Kaden," Albus said, "You do belong in Gryffindor." "All right. Thanks, Albus." "No problem," Albus smiled, "You're officially one of us now. You've dueled Willinson." Kaden laughed a little, "Just so long as it doesn't become a habit." "I don't think it will," Albus grinned, "He's going to Azkaban." "Good," Kaden said, "But Albus, why did he want your cloak? Do you know why?" Albus exchanged glances with Rose and then sighed. "Yes, I do know. It's really, really complicated. I'd have to explain my entire first year of school for you to understand properly." "Well, I've got nothing better to do," Kaden grinned, "I'll be bored out of my mind in this place." "The thing is, Kaden," Albus sighed, "That I really can't tell you. It's got a lot to do with my dad defeating Voldemort. He, my mum, my Uncle Ron, and my Aunt Hermione kept a secret from me, Rose, James, Lily, and Hugo for years. I'm not even sure if Lily and Hugo know about it yet. But anyway, James, Rose, and I found out last year, and it's got everything to do with why Willinson wants my cloak. "My dad didn't want us knowing because he doesn't want a whole lot of people to know. He thought we'd tell people. He made us promise not tell after he explained everything last year. So I really can't tell you. My dad's got to. I think he will, though, after tonight." "I never get to know anything," Kaden sighed, "I'm guessing all of you know about it?" "Er, yeah, they do," Albus said, "But only because they were involved in dueling Willinson last year. That's why I think my dad will tell you soon." "All right, I'll try and be patient," Kaden said. "Your half hour's up!" Madam Pomfrey announced, "Off to your dormitories. I want you all to get some rest! Honestly, it's almost midnight!"