Broomsticks And Owls

Here's the third story in my Albus series! I had previously posted part of it, but deleted that topic because I had to do a lot of editing. Now I'll be posting the edited version.

Thanks to FawkesthePhoenix for her help on this, including coming up with the title.

Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter 1: Prologue

A mother kangaroo stood absolutely still in the moonlit forest, watching her child play in the bushes in front of her. The mother would gently pull the roo back every time he got too far away. She was watching him carefully when a loud pop startled her. The roo hopped back over to his mother and jumped into her pouch. They hopped away quickly, not noticing the man who had just appeared a few meters away.

The man swore under his breath as his face contorted. His round face was elongating and his black hair lightened to a brownish shade. He stumbled around and kicked off his shoes as his feet grew too large for them. It was not only his feet that were growing, but his entire body. The man was now six inches taller than he had been when he first Apparated into the forest. Finally, it stopped. The man now looked completely different and kind of strange in Muggle clothing that was far too small for him.

He opened his bag and pulled out a set of black wizard robes, changing into them quickly. He tossed the Muggle clothing into the bag and set off at a brisk pace.

"Bloody Muggle airplanes," he muttered to himself, "Ministry ought to just allow international Flooing."

It was a very quiet night, with only the occasional owl hooting in the distance. The moon was not full enough to provide enough light to illuminate the path, but the man did not want to draw attention to himself by lighting his wand. He merely stumbled along, swearing every time he tripped over a rock or a tree root.

The tall man was not entirely sure how far he would have to walk to find the place he was looking for. In fact, the man he was going to visit did not even know he was coming. Nevertheless, he kept walking through the forest, until he finally came to the edge.

A short distance away stood a rather large house. It was not big enough to be considered a mansion, but substantially larger than most houses. The man glanced at his watch before continuing towards the house.

"Damn," he muttered as he noticed that his watch was still set for British time. He pulled out his wand and pointed it at his wrist. The hands on the watch swirled until coming to a stop. It was nearly midnight.

There was one lone light on in the house. Other than that, the place seemed either deserted or its occupants asleep. The man did not care if everyone was asleep; he would merely wake them up. He picked up his pace as he crossed the yard and ascended the steps up to the front door.

The man knocked three times and stood waiting for someone to let him in. A short while later, the door opened a crack. However, it did not appear that anyone had actually answered it.

"Is you needing something, sir?" a squeaky voice asked.

The man looked down and saw a house elf peeking his head around the door. "Why yes," the man replied, "Is Lubar in?"

"Master Lubar?" the elf asked, "He is."

"I need to speak to him," the man said.

"Come in," the elf replied, "Is you wanting a drink?"

"No," the man muttered as he entered the house, "Just show me to Lubar."

"Yes, sir. This way."

The man followed the elf through the extravagant house. He always wondered how Lubar managed to afford everything. It's not like he made much money at his job. There were statues, works of art, gold encrusted tables, oriental rugs, and the fanciest furniture in all of the rooms he passed.

The elf led him to a room with the door halfway open. Light was streaming out of it, but the man couldn't hear any voices. Lubar must be alone, he thought. That would be best anyway.

The man pushed past the elf and into the room without knocking. He didn't see the need. Lubar was family. Sure, the man hadn't seen him in years, but he was family nonetheless. Lubar was the man's wife's cousin, to be specific.

Lubar was sitting at his desk, perusing a book. His untidy brown hair was dangling over his face. He looked up when the man stepped into the room. He looked momentarily shocked, but regained his composure and stood up. Lubar was quite a bit shorter than the man in the doorway and was wearing similar black robes.

"Jarrett," Lubar gestured for him to come in, "What an, unusual, surprise."

The man, Jarrett, walked in and took a seat in the red leather chair in front of the desk. Lubar resumed his position behind the desk.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Lubar asked, folding his hands in front of him. "It's been a long time, Jarrett."

"I know, Ralph, it has indeed," Jarrett mused.

"I have half a mind to throw you out of this house after what your brother-in-law did to my brother," Lubar growled.

"And I assure you that I understand," Jarrett replied, "I do not approve of what my brother-in-law did. I have not spoken to the man since."

Lubar raised his eyebrow. "Interesting. And has your wife been in contact with him?"

"She has," Jarrett sighed, "But that is just one of the many things we have different opinions on. I am well aware that you have no plans to forgive her brother, which is why I am here unbeknownst to her. I would like to put that issue behind us and rekindle our friendship, Lubar."

"I will have to think about that," Lubar said.

"I understand," Jarrett said, "That's all I can ask you to do."

"I am quite curious as to how you managed to get here. Isn't your entire ministry after you? I pay attention to magical news all around the world, you know. I have been following your story for the past year," Lubar changed the subject.

Jarrett smiled. It had been surprisingly easy to get to Australia with Muggle transportation. It took a while and was rather annoying, but easy.

"Yes, the Ministry is after me. However, I took the liberty of using Muggle transportation to arrive here. I simply took some Polyjuice Potion, bought an airplane ticket, and now I'm here."

"Impressive," Lubar replied, "You used the new 24 hour Polyjuice?"

"Obviously," Jarrett smirked, "Otherwise I would have turned back into myself in the middle of an airport."

"True. Now, what can I do for you? What could you possibly need that would cause you to take Muggle transportation to get here? Somehow, I don't think you would go through such extreme measures to rekindle a friendship that died a decade ago."

"Do you know why the Ministry wants me?"

"Something about dueling Harry Potter?" Lubar smirked, "That might be the stupidest thing you have ever done."

"That's the gist of it," Jarrett muttered, "But we had reasons for doing it."

"We?"

"Yes. Myself, my son, and one of my friends."

"Ah," Lubar leaned back in his chair, "Do you care to enlighten me about your reasons?"

"We want to unite the Deathly Hallows in order to help our mission to continue the plans of Lord Voldemort," Jarrett explained, "Harry Potter knows the location of all three of the Deathly Hallows and currently possesses two of them. Have you heard of the Hallows?"

"Of course I have," Lubar snapped, "Mind you, I thought it was just a children's story."

"I assure you, it's not," Jarrett said, "I myself saw the Invisibility Cloak. They exist and had something to do with Voldemort's downfall."

"Lord Voldemort," Lubar mused, "I understand. I myself agree with his ideas about the wizarding world. Especially when it comes to half-breeds."

"I was hoping you'd say that. Now, we have been on the run for over a year. After our first unsuccessful attempt at obtaining the Hallows, we chose to lay low for a while."

"You know where all of the Hallows are? You said Potter's got them?"

"Two of them," Jarrett corrected him, "We thought we knew where all three were, but we were wrong about the Elder Wand. Well, Potter could be lying to us. That's entirely possible. But even if he does not currently have it in his possession, I am sure he knows where it is. The Invisibility Cloak is currently in possession of Harry Potter's middle child, Albus. The Resurrection Stone is residing in the forest next to Hogwarts, although I am not sure where."

"Interesting," Lubar mused, "But what do you need me to do?"

"I'm getting to that. Recently, my son and I came up with a plan to obtain the Invisibility Cloak. My son was to lure Albus Potter out of school by capturing his cousin. To make a long story short, it ended in a duel between my son and Harry Potter. Potter captured him and he now resides in Azkaban," Jarrett seethed.

"That sounds like an absolutely abysmal plan. Did you actually believe Potter's kid wouldn't tell him his cousin was captured?"

"We kind of hoped so-"

"Shut up. The point is, that was a horrible plan, and now your son is in prison."

"Yes," Jarrett sighed, "And I was kind of hoping you could help get him out."

Lubar stared at him and then smirked. "Me? Help get your son out of prison? How in the name of Merlin do you suppose I'll be able to do that?"

"Well, you're a high ranking Ministry official, you must have a lot of influence in these kinds of things," Jarrett stammered.

"I am a high ranking Ministry official in Australia, not Britain," Lubar laughed, "Why do you think I have any influence over there?"

"But don't you keep in contact with Britain's Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures?" Jarrett asked.

Lubar laughed. "I do not contact Britain's Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. My opinions are vastly different from those in Britain. I would not want to associate myself with the blokes there. Plus, my name is mud with the British Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures."

Jarrett looked curiously at Lubar. "That is hard to believe. What did you possibly do to make them dislike you?"

"That, is a very long story," Lubar replied, "The old head of my department was a very liberal man. He sympathized with werewolves and disliked any sort of strict legislation dealing with them. His reason for this was because his own son is a werewolf."

"Really?"

"Yes. Anyway, he was fired after he broke one of the werewolf laws. Then I became head of the department and passed more laws. He hated me. He moved his family to Britain, where he got a job in Werewolf Support Services. Turns out, he was planning on moving anyway, even before he got fired. He wanted his werewolf kid to attend school. The headmaster of the Australian School of Sorcery obviously did not let him attend. The Hogwarts headmaster did. As far as I know, he's there now. Once there, he made sure everyone in his department knew my name and what I believed. They do not speak kindly of me."

Jarrett rubbed his chin. "Interesting. So there's a werewolf at Hogwarts? Quinton never told me anything about that."

"He probably doesn't know," Lubar smirked, "I tend to doubt that the werewolf would announce it to the whole school."

"Do you know the werewolf's name?" Jarrett asked.

"Don't remember his first name. Last name's Eckerton."

Jarrett thought for a moment and then his eyes popped out of his head. "Eckerton?! Quinton's mentioned that kid. He's one of the ones we dueled with last year! He's friends with Potter's kid."

"Really?" Lubar smirked, "How interesting."

"Yes, extremely interesting," Jarrett rolled his eyes, "Potter's kid befriended a werewolf. Thrilling, really. Now, can you help get Quinton out of Azkaban or not."

"Talk like that and I won't help you," Lubar muttered.

Jarrett's eyes lit up. "So you can help?"

"Possibly," Lubar said, "But I could most certainly help you get the Hallows."

"And how would you do that?"

"First, I give you advice," Lubar began, "You're going about this all wrong. Your first priority should have been the Resurrection Stone, not that Invisibility Cloak. Yes, the Stone will be difficult to find, but nobody currently owns it. It's sitting in the bush. You've got to search that bush and get that Stone. Then, you use the Stone."

"Use it?"

"Yes, use it!" Lubar shouted, "Honestly, I don't know what my cousin sees in you. But anyway, use it to talk to Voldemort!"

"Oh, right."

"Then, you ask Voldemort what happened to the Elder Wand!" Lubar continued, "That thing is the best Hallow. The Cloak is the least useful. Anyone can make themselves invisible with a Disillusionment Charm. You've got to get that wand and stone first."

"Oh, I'll get looking for the Stone," Jarrett muttered.

"Good," Lubar replied, "And I'll go to Britain and help you."

"Seriously?"

"Yes. I'll make sure you do it properly. And I can check up on that werewolf kid," Lubar sneered.

"What about the Ministry? I thought they hated you."

"They do," Lubar said, "But I can come up with a good reason to be at Hogwarts this year."

"What might that be?"

"I cannot explain in detail. There is an event happening at Hogwarts this year. Students from Australia are participating. I have reasons to be there."

"Shall I wait for you to search for the Stone?"

"Yes," Lubar said, "I'll make sure you don't scr*w it up. And perhaps, while I'm there, we can work out some way to break your idiot son out of Azkaban."

"Thanks," Jarrett muttered.

"Just remember, you owe me for this."

Chapter 2: Football

Albus Severus Potter awoke to a high pitched shriek. He sat up quickly in bed and listened. It was coming from downstairs and sounded exactly like his little sister, Lily. He groaned and got out of bed. It would be pointless for him to try and go back to sleep.

Lily had been impossible to deal with ever since Albus returned home from Hogwarts. She was incredibly excited about the fact that she was going to go to Hogwarts in the fall. Therefore, Lily had been constantly asking Albus about Hogwarts and the questions were usually ones Albus did not know the answer to or did not want to answer.

Albus quickly changed his clothes and ran downstairs. It was a mystery as to what Lily was shrieking about now. His mum probably told her some new piece of information about Hogwarts.

"Al!" Lily shoved a piece of parchment in Albus's face, "It came! It came! My Hogwarts letter came!"

So that was what the shrieking was about, Albus thought. Lily had been waiting for that letter all summer. Every morning she'd watch the window waiting for the post owl to arrive.

"Congratulations, Lily," Albus grinned at her and continued his walk down to the kitchen. Lily ran ahead of him and was literally dancing around the room by the time Albus arrived.

"Lily!" James shouted, "One does not shriek and dance like a lunatic when one receives their Hogwarts letter."

"Oh, really, James?" Ginny smirked at him, "Weren't you the one to stand on top of the table and do some sort of dance?"

James blushed. "Er, no."

"Oh, don't be ashamed, James," Albus grinned as he sat down next to his brother, "At least you didn't shriek like a girl."

"Yeah, that was you," James laughed.

"I did not!" Albus shouted, "I acted perfectly normal!"

"Normal for a girl," James replied.

"Stop it, James," Ginny scolded as she set a bowl of oatmeal and a few envelopes in front of Albus, "You got some post as well, Al."

Albus picked up the pile of letters and opened the top one. It was the usual book list as well as his Hogsmeade permission slip. "Here, Mum," he handed her the slip, "You'll have to sign that."

Ginny took the parchment. "I can't believe you're a third year, Al. You're growing up so fast."

"Mum!" Albus groaned.

"I can't believe it either," James sighed, "Ickle Al is getting so big!"

"James!" Albus smacked him.

"Mum, Al hit me!" James shouted.

"Behave yourselves, boys," Ginny said without looking at them.

Albus opened the other envelope. It was from Matt.

Dear Albus,

My parents said you could come visit
on the 16th for a few days. They're
going to take us to Diagon Alley too.
Let me know if you can come!

Your friend,
Matt

"Mum!" Albus shouted, "Can I go to Matt's house on the 16th?"

Ginny read the letter over Albus's shoulder. "Sure. We'll meet you in Diagon Alley and get James and Lily's stuff then."

Albus grinned. He was very excited about going to Matt's house. He had never been there. He hoped that John and Kaden would be able to go as well. They hadn't seen each other in about a month, when Albus and Rose had had their birthday party.

"Thanks, Mum."

"Mum!" Lily whined, "I wanted to go to Diagon Alley today!"

"Sorry, Lily," Ginny replied, "I'd rather get everyone's supplies at once."

"I don't want to wait!"

"Lily, you have to wait," Ginny sighed.

Albus turned to James and they smirked at each other. Lily still hadn't grown out of her whiny phase. It got rather annoying. Albus hoped that she wouldn't be like that at Hogwarts.

******

The next few days passed very slowly. Albus was anxious to get away from Lily. She asked him no less than fifty times how the sorting was done and Albus replied with fifty 'I can't tell yous'.

Eventually the sixteenth arrived and Albus sat in the drawing room waiting for Matt and his parents to show up. Kaden was with him. He had arrived a few hours earlier and they had spent their time trying to stay away from Lily.

"You know, Kaden, you were as irritating as Lily a year ago," Albus pointed out.

"Was not," Kaden replied, "And I've matured."

"Yeah, sure," Albus rolled his eyes.

The two boys looked up when they heard a loud crack. Matt's entire family had Apparated into the drawing room. Ginny walked into the room and greeted Matt's parents.

"Matt!" Albus grinned, "I am so glad to see you. I can't wait to get away from Lily."

"Oh, Al, be nice," Ginny sighed.

"What? She's irritating," Albus shrugged, "Bye, Mum."

"Goodbye, Al, I'll see you in a few days," she gave Albus a hug.

"All right," Mr. Eckerton said, "Albus, you can Apparate with Amy. Kaden, you can Apparate with my wife."

Albus nodded and stepped over to Amy. She wrapped him in a hug and the two of them disappeared with a crack.

They reappeared in the middle of a large field. There was a log house in the distance.

"This doesn't look like a house," Kaden announced as he stepped away from Matt's mum.

"It's not," Matt said as he pointed to the log house, "That's my house."

"Oh," Kaden replied as they started towards the house, "Why didn't we just Apparate into it?"

"My parents put anti-Apparition wards on the house," Matt explained.

"Why?" Kaden asked.

"I don't want to get into it," Matt muttered.

Kaden groaned. "I thought you were done keeping secrets from me."

"There are some things I don't tell anyone, Kaden," Matt sighed.

Albus smirked and shook his head. Some things never change. Kaden still didn't know how to keep his mouth shut.

Matt's house was the only one in the area. Albus couldn't see any other buildings besides a shed behind the house. There were fields surrounding the house and a low fence surrounding the property. Beyond the fence was farmland.

Matt's dad unlocked the door and Albus followed him inside. He stopped in the entryway and looked around. The place was about as different as a house could be from Grimmauld Place. It was open and airy and decorated in a modern yet rustic way. From the doorway, Albus could see the kitchen straight ahead, the dining room next to it, and the living room next to the door. On the other side of the door was a set of stairs leading upstairs. Albus continued walking into the living room and saw a corridor next to the kitchen that lead to a few more rooms. Albus liked it instantly. It had a homey feel to it like the Burrow did. Except it was much cleaner. Matt had said his mum was kind of a neat freak, but Albus wasn't expecting it to be this neat.

"Great house, Matt," Albus grinned.

"Yeah," Kaden agreed, "But it's too neat. We're going to have to change that."

"My mum likes it neat," Matt said, "She'll make you clean up whatever you mess up."

"I'll go get John now," Mr. Eckerton announced, "You can come, Matt. I'll be able to Apparate both of you."

"Ok. I'll be right back, Albus," Matt said and left the house with his dad.

"You can just wait in the living room," Mrs. Eckerton gestured for Albus and Kaden to turn to their left.

Albus nodded and sat down on one of the couches. It was quite comfortable. Kaden sat down next to him and put his feet up on the coffee table, earning a stern gaze from Mrs. Eckerton. Kaden sheepishly removed his feet from the table.

Amy sat down on a chair and pulled a book off the table. She opened it and began reading. It was some sort of potions book.

Kaden tilted his head and read the title. "Do you like potions?" he asked.

"Yeah," Amy replied, "I'm studying to be a Healer."

"That's great!" Kaden exclaimed, "I like potions too. Albus thinks I'm insane. Well, so do Matt and John."

"There aren't many people who appreciate brewing," Amy replied, "But I'm glad you like it."

"Me, too," Kaden said.

Amy set her book down. "So, Albus, how has your summer been?"

"Good," Albus said, "Well, Lily is driving me mad because she got her Hogwarts letter the other day."

"I still remember when I got my letter to the Australian School of Sorcery-"

"The what?" Kaden asked.

"The Australian School of Sorcery," Amy repeated, "The school of magic in Australia. I went there for three years. Then we moved here."

"You lived in Australia?" Kaden gaped.

"Er, yeah," Amy looked at him strangely, "You didn't know that?"

"Nope. Matt never told me," Kaden turned to Albus, "Did he tell you?"

"Yeah, my first year," Albus replied, "I never really noticed that he didn't tell you."

"Well, he didn't," Kaden muttered, "But it would explain the funny accent he's got."

Albus stifled his laughter. "Er, yeah."

The three of them sat quietly for another few minutes. Kaden began to laugh and it became louder and louder until Albus turned to look at him.

"What?" Albus asked.

"The Australian School of Sorcery," Kaden laughed, "A, S, S. Ass!"

Albus groaned. Leave it to Kaden to figure that out.

Amy laughed. "You know, that's what Teddy said when he first heard about it."

The front door opened and Matt and John ran inside followed by Mr. Eckerton. John paused in the entryway and looked around.

"Whoa," he grinned, "This house is bloody brilliant!"

"Thanks," Matt said and the two of them entered the living room. "What are you three laughing at?"

"My old school," Amy smirked, "Kaden figured out its acronym."

"Oh, ASS," Matt laughed, "Yeah, I laughed about that for days when I figured it out."

"Well, I've got to get to work," Amy stood up, "I'll try and stop by for dinner sometime this week."

"Bye, Amy," Mr. Eckerton gave her a hug.

"Bye, Dad."

"So, I'll show you the upstairs," Matt said after Amy left.

Albus grabbed his bag and followed Matt upstairs. John and Kaden thundered behind them. Once they reached the top, Matt led them to the door on the left along the back wall.

"This is my room," Matt announced as they entered.

Albus stepped inside and looked around. The carpet was blue and the walls were white. It was messier than the rest of the house, but nowhere near as messy as James's room. There was a Chudley Cannons bedspread on the bed and multiple posters on the wall.

"Nice bed," John smirked, "Nice to see the Cannons can still sell merchandise. If only they devoted that effort to their playing...."

"Shut it, John," Matt replied, "The Cannons have been playing better this season."

"Oh, yeah, they did get three goals in their game against Puddlemere," John said, "Too bad Puddlemere had a hundred times that many goals."

Matt groaned. "Come on, I'll show you the other rooms."

Albus followed Matt out of the room and down the corridor. The next door was a bathroom and the one after that was Amy's room. The last door was alongside a different wall and Matt gestured for them to step inside.

"This is the library," Matt announced, "We'll be sleeping here."

"Sounds like Rose's dream come true," John laughed.

The library was twice the size of Matt's room. Bookshelves covered all the walls and there were a few desks sitting in the middle of the room. A squashy looking couch was sitting below one of the windows and there were a few armchairs in various places. There were also four cots in the middle, but Albus doubted they were normally there.

Albus tossed his bag down on a cot as John and Kaden did the same. Kaden started wandering around the room and looking at the various books.

"I don't think I've ever been in a house with this many books," Kaden said.

"There's even more in Dad's study."

"You should see Rose's house," Albus commented.

"You've got a lot of books about magical creatures," Kaden pointed out.

"Yeah, well, that's what Dad's into."

"Especially werewolves," Kaden went on, "There's a whole row of them."

"Yeah, you can probably guess why," Matt mumbled.

"So," Albus changed the subject, "How was your trip to New York?"

The discomfort that had been on Matt's face moments before disappeared. "It was brilliant! We had so much fun."

"And how was the airplane?" John asked eagerly.

Matt laughed. "Just like every other one I've been on."

"Anything else new with anyone?" Albus asked.

"Bethany thinks she's a witch," Kaden announced, "She found a stick outside and has been pretending to cast spells."

"Bet your grandpa loved that," Albus laughed.

"He turned a lovely shade of purple," Kaden laughed.

"I'd pay to see that," John replied.

Albus and Kaden laughed. "I wouldn't suggest being anywhere near my Uncle Vernon when he turns purple," Albus put in.

"Did I tell you that my dad's getting a promotion?" Matt asked.

Albus turned to him. "Nope. What kind of promotion?"

"The head of the Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures is retiring at the end of the year," Matt explained, "And he's recommending my dad for the position. It's not final, but it'll most likely happen."

"That old bloke is finally retiring?" Albus asked, "He's been there for decades."

"Yeah. Dad wasn't sure he wanted the promotion, but after thinking about it, he decided to take it if it's offered to him," Matt continued.

"Why wouldn't he want it?" John asked.

"Well, that's what he did in Australia. And he hated it towards the end. But he thinks it'll be better up here."

"From what you've told us, everything is better up here," Albus said.

"What does your dad do now?" Kaden asked.

"He works in Werewolf Support Services."

Kaden nodded. "You know, that is kind of funny, considering...."

Matt rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know. The general public didn't really think it was that funny when we were living in Australia."

"And that's why you moved?" Kaden asked.

"Pretty much, yeah," Matt said quietly, "But I like Hogwarts, so I don't really care that we had to move."

"How about you, Albus?" John asked, "Anything exciting happening in the most famous wizarding family?"

Albus rolled his eyes. If anyone besides his friends referred to his family that way, he probably would have hexed them.

"Actually," Albus began, surprised that he had momentarily forgotten about it, "I do have some interesting news about the Hogwarts staff."

"What is it?" John asked eagerly, "Is Slughorn finally retiring for good?"

"No," Albus laughed, "I don't think that will ever happen."

"Then what is it?" Matt asked.

"My dad's not teaching Defense this year," Albus answered. Harry had broken the news to Albus, James, and Lily a few weeks ago. Albus was disappointed, but not really surprised. He had been surprised that Harry had stayed for more than a year.

Matt, John, and Kaden gaped at him. "What?" John asked, "Are you serious?"

"Yeah," Albus nodded.

"Why?" Matt asked, "He's a brilliant teacher."

"He thinks he needs to focus more on his Auror job," Albus explained, "He wants to fully devote his time to finding Willinson and Washburn."

"Oh, well, that makes sense," Matt replied.

"Who's replacing him?" John asked.

"Dunno," Albus shrugged, "Dad didn't tell me. He said he wants me to develop my own opinions of the teacher."

"I wonder if we'll ever have the exact same staff for two years in a row," John commented, "I mean, first year they were all new to us. Last year we got Cedonia. And this year we've got some new Defense teacher."

"I just hope whoever the new teacher is, that they're nice," Matt said, "So what do you lot want to do? We've got a few hours until dinner."

"Hmm," Albus mused, "Want to play Quidditch? That field would be excellent for it."

Matt groaned. "That's the one thing we can't do. The Muggle farmer is often out tending to his fields and he'd see us."

"I've got an idea," Kaden grinned mischievously and dug around in his bag. He pulled out a football. "Let's play football."

The boys decided it was as good an idea as any and they ran downstairs. Albus had limited experience with football. He had watched a couple matches and played it a few times, but that was it. He didn't think John had ever played and he wasn't sure about Matt. John was skeptical about the fun of football, but he was willing to give it a try.

"Where are you boys going?" Mrs. Eckerton shouted from the kitchen as they ran to the back door.

"We're going to play football," Matt said as he pulled the door open.

"Be careful!" Mrs. Eckerton replied.

Albus followed Matt down the deck stairs and into the field. He stood next to Matt and John and all three of them turned to Kaden, who had set the ball on the ground and had one foot on it.

"Have any of you played football before?" Kaden asked.

"A few times," Albus answered.

"Nope," John said.

"When I was younger, I played a bit," Matt replied, "But I was never any good."

Kaden sighed. "All right. Why don't we just play two on two. John and I versus Albus and Matt."

The other three boys nodded. Kaden pointed out two different trees that would serve as makeshift goals. He next explained the rules of the game and they began playing.

Albus found the concept very similar to that of his Chaser position in Quidditch, only he couldn't use his hands. That was very odd. He had trouble keeping the ball near his feet and even more trouble aiming it to Matt. Half the time Kaden would steal it and he wouldn't even get a chance to pass it.

John was hardly any better than Albus. He never managed to kick the ball where he aimed it, but Kaden's superior skill seemed to compensate for John's lack of skill. The two of them (well, Kaden) had scored more goals than Albus and Matt.

Matt seemed to be able to aim the ball, but he wound up tripping over it a lot. He did manage to score a few goals, though.

All in all, Albus thought it was kind of fun. It wasn't something he desired to be on an official team of, but it was fun to play informally. Not nearly as exciting as Quidditch, though.

"John!" Albus shouted as John picked up the ball and took off across the field, "You can't touch the ball!"

"I'm turning the game into Quidditch-football!" John shouted and threw the ball at the goal, "See, we've got another point now!"

Kaden groaned and kicked the ball back into play. "That's cheating, John! And we're winning, so we don't need to cheat!"

"I don't care!" John grinned and picked the ball up again.

Kaden tackled John and tried to wrestle the ball out of his arms. John tried to escape, but Kaden was holding onto his leg.

"Now it's Quidditch-football-wrestling," Albus said to Matt as the two of them walked towards their wrestling friends.

"Albus! Help! Your cousin is Muggle dueling with me!"

"Well, we are playing a Muggle sport, John," Albus smirked and yanked the football out of his hands.

"Hey!" Kaden shouted and grabbed Albus's leg, "Give that back!"

Albus stumbled and fell onto the ground. He held the ball out of Kaden's reach and Kaden tackled him. John, now free of Kaden's wrath, grabbed Matt's leg and pulled him into the mix.

"Hey!" Matt shouted, "I didn't take the football!"

"Doesn't matter," John grinned, "We're not going to let you stand there while we're Muggle dueling each other."

"Got it!" Kaden shouted a few minutes later. He held the football up over his head. "And I declare John and I the winners!"

Albus stood up and shook his head. John and Matt stood up after him. John looked quite triumphant at the win, even though he hadn't really contributed to it.

"Congratulations," Matt smirked, "You beat a clumsy wizard and a Chaser at football."

"Any win is a good win," Kaden grinned.

"Boys!" Mrs. Eckerton shouted from the window, "Dinner is ready!"

Albus grinned as he walked towards the house. As much as he enjoyed his own house, it was fun to spend a few days with Matt and his other friends. Plus, the girls weren't there. They had never really had time away from Rose and Amanda and it was kind of fun. Not that he didn't enjoy their company, there were just things they couldn't really do around Rose and Amanda. Like turn a football match into a wrestling match, for example.

"What did you boys do?" Mrs. Eckerton exclaimed as they entered the house, "You're filthy! I want you all to go shower before you eat!"

"Just like home," Kaden commented, "You're a lot like my mum."

"Well, I'll take that as a compliment," Mrs. Eckerton smiled.

Chapter 3: Microwaved Eggs

Dinner with Matt's parents was interesting. Mealtimes at Albus's house were always chaotic and never really planned in great detail. It seemed like one of his parents was always coming or going. Then there was the fact that at least one of his cousins or Teddy always seemed to be showing up partway through the meal. But Albus didn't really mind. He kind of liked the chaos that was his family.

Mealtimes at Matt's house, on the other hand, seemed more formal and planned. His mum and house elf, Ellie, cooked a lavish spread and served it on fancier dishes than Albus's family had. And Matt didn't have any relatives to randomly drop in. Albus enjoyed it, though. The formality of it didn't faze Kaden in the least and he dominated the conversation, which centered around Hogwarts, Quidditch, and football.

The boys spent the evening in the den playing round after round of Exploding Snap. Since Rose wasn't there, they all had a chance of winning. Matt's parents joined in for a few rounds and once they left, Albus and his friends talked about the upcoming school year. John and Kaden agreed that they needed to pull a few marauderesque pranks, but Albus and Matt were a bit reluctant. The job of school pranksters was currently held by James and his friends and Albus really didn't want everyone to think he was a just like his brother.

Eventually, Mrs. Eckerton returned to the room and told them they needed to get to bed. Albus followed Matt up the stairs and into the library. They all changed into pajamas, but they didn't go to bed. Their conversations continued until Mrs. Eckerton knocked on the door and told them they had to go to bed.

"Albus?" Matt whispered a few minutes later, "Are you awake?"

"Yeah," Albus whispered back.

"I'm really glad you came," Matt replied.

"Me, too," Albus said.

"You three are the first friends I've ever had over here," Matt said quietly, "I never really thought it would ever happen."

Albus really didn't know what to say to that. He knew Matt had had a lonely childhood until going to Hogwarts, but the fact that he had never had friends over to his house before never crossed his mind.

"Well, I'll definitely want to come back," Albus decided to say.

"Thanks," Matt said, "Well, good night."

"'Night."

Albus fell asleep quickly to the muffled sound of Kaden's snoring. But what seemed like a short while later, he awoke again to the sound of somebody's whispering.

"Kaden," someone whispered, "Kaden!"

"Wh-what is it?" Kaden yawned.

"Are you hungry?" Albus recognized John's voice.

"Erm, a little, I guess," Kaden replied.

"Want to go find some food?" John asked.

"Sure."

Albus listened as John and Kaden got up from their cots and crept out of the room. There was the sound of footsteps on the stairs, and then quiet.

Albus leaned over his cot and poked Matt. "Matt!" he whispered, "Get up!"

Matt rolled over and Albus groaned. It was always so difficult to wake him up. "Matt!" Albus shouted a little louder.

Matt rolled over again and mumbled something incoherent. Albus poked him a little harder and he finally opened his eyes.

"What?" he asked.

"John and Kaden went to get a snack," Albus told him. Albus didn't know what kind of snack the two of them were going to get, but he had a feeling they wouldn't make it simple. John and Kaden were known to come up with some pretty mad ideas when they were together, especially when they didn't have Albus or Matt to counteract them.

"All right," Matt groaned and got out of his cot, "Let's go."

Albus got up and the two of them quietly left the room and went down to the kitchen. The light was on, but Albus couldn't hear anything going on. That could either be a good sign or a bad sign.

When the kitchen came into view, Albus saw John and Kaden rummaging around in the refrigerator.

"We could combine this with that," Kaden was saying.

"That is disgusting," John commented, "But brilliant."

John and Kaden emerged from the refrigerator carrying various containers. They set them down on the counter and then turned around.

"Oh, hey Albus and Matt!" John grinned, "Want any of our midnight snack?"

"Depends on what it is," Albus smiled wryly and sat down on one of the counter stools, "If you think something is both disgusting and brilliant, I'll bet it's really disgusting."

"Oh, come on, Albus," Kaden grinned, "Mashed potatoes and chocolate cake would be a good combination."

"Oh, nasty!" Matt grimaced and sat down next to Albus.

"It's only nasty if you forget the ketchup," John replied.

Even the idea of a combination like that made Albus want to vomit. It sounded like some sort of new Bertie Bott's flavor.

"No thanks," Albus said.

"Your loss," Kaden shrugged and opened the container of potatoes.

"So, if you're not down here to eat our delicious food, what are you here for?" John asked as he dumped the cake into the potatoes.

"To supervise you," Matt replied, "I can't let the two of you cook unsupervised in my kitchen."

"Oh, relax," John grinned.

Albus watched as Kaden stirred the potatoes and cake combination. It actually didn't look that bad. Almost like some sort of strange pudding. Albus was sure the ketchup would negate any sort of potential edibility, though.

"Hey, what's this thing?" John gestured to a black box that was attached to the bottom of the cupboards along the wall. He pushed a few buttons and the whole thing lit up inside and started whirring.

Albus stared at it. He vaguely remembered seeing something like it at some of his cousins' houses, but he couldn't ever recall using it.

"It's a microwave," Matt jumped off his stool and pushed a button on it. It stopped whirring and turned dark again. "And you can't turn it on when it's empty."

John stared at it. "What's it do? What's the point?"

"It cooks food," Matt explained, "Faster than an oven."

"Oh," John shrugged and picked up a fork that was sitting on the counter. He put it in the microwave and went to turn it on.

Matt grabbed his arm. "You can't put metal in it! It'll break!"

Albus smirked. And John said he didn't need supervision. He definitely did, especially since there were Muggle appliances everywhere.

"Well that's stupid," John replied and took the fork out.

Matt shrugged. "It's Muggle technology."

"Why's it in here then?" John asked.

"Came with the house. And my mum likes Muggle technology for cooking."

"Oh," John said and turned to Kaden, who had begun pouring ketchup in the mixture, "Let's put the whole thing in the microwave!"

Matt groaned and turned to Albus. "This won't turn out good."

Albus laughed. "Probably not. But Kaden's Muggle born, so I'm pretty sure he knows how to work the microwave."

"Good point," Matt said, "John! Let Kaden do the microwaving."

"Aw," John sighed, "It looks fun."

Kaden took the bowl and put it in the microwave. He turned it on and Albus watched as the bowl turned around and around on the inside plate. It was rather clever, he thought. Almost like magic. It seemed like a magic box that cooked food in record time.

A minute or so later, the microwave beeped, which caused John to jump. "Bloody hell!" he shouted, "What was that?"

"It means it's done," Kaden laughed and took the bowl out, "Who wants to try it?"

"Me!" John shouted and grabbed a few spoons off the counter.

"No way," Albus shook his head. The mixture in the bowl was the consistency of pudding, but was a strange reddish brown color that was absolutely disgusting looking.

"Me either," Matt said, "Just the smell of that grosses me out."

John took a whiff and grinned. "Smells good!"

"Oh, gross!" Matt covered his mouth.

"You look a bit green," Albus said to Matt.

"Good thing he's not having any," Kaden took a huge spoonful and stuffed it in his mouth.

Albus watched as Kaden swallowed the food. He was actually smiling when he had finished. Matt really looked like he was going to vomit after watching Kaden eat it.

"Delicious!" Kaden grinned.

"Kaden, that is the most disgusting thing I have ever seen you eat," Albus announced.

John tried it next and pronounced it delicious as well. Albus and Matt just stared at each other and tried not to watch as John and Kaden polished off the rest of the concoction.

"Are you done yet?" Matt asked, "The smell of it is really getting to me."

"Almost," John said.

"Done," Kaden replied.

"You'd better wash the bowls out," Matt said.

Kaden nodded and began to wash the dishes. John returned to the refrigerator and started rummaging around again.

"You're not still hungry, are you?" Albus asked.

"Not really," John shrugged, "Just looking."

He closed the refrigerator and went back over to the microwave. He stuck something in it, pushed a few buttons, and it lit up and started whirring again.

"What did you put in there?" Matt asked suspiciously.

"Er," John stammered, "Well, I just kind of wanted something else to eat-"

"I thought you weren't hungry," Albus pointed out.

"I wasn't, but then I got an idea and I thought I'd make an egg-"

"AN EGG?!" Matt shouted as he jumped up, "Did you put an egg in the microwave?"

"Er, yes," John said, "Why?"

"Because eggs-"

Matt never got to finish his sentence. A loud pop came from the microwave before he could continue. He quickly turned the thing off and glared at John. John was grinning and looking at the microwave.

"Explode in microwaves," Matt finished.

"Oh, er, sorry," John said, trying not to laugh.

"That's brilliant!" Kaden grinned and opened the microwave, "I've always wanted to try that!"

Albus stood behind Matt and looked into the microwave. The inside was covered in egg yolk, white, and shell. It was a complete mess, yet kind of funny at the same time.

Matt groaned, "I can't believe you did that. Well, ok, I can. I told you not to touch the microwave."

"Sorry," John shrugged, "I'll clean it up."

"Clean what up?"

Albus turned around and saw Matt's parents standing in the entrance to the kitchen. Both of them looked half asleep.

"John decided to put an egg in the microwave," Matt explained.

Mr. Eckerton burst out laughing and his wife glared at him. "I did the same thing when we first moved here," Mr. Eckerton grinned.

"See?" John said, "I'm not the only one!"

"I know," Matt sighed, "At least I caught you before you put the fork in there."

"Do I even want to know what you boys were doing down here?" Mrs. Eckerton asked.

"John and Kaden wanted a snack," Matt replied, "So they made a disgusting combination of mashed potatoes, chocolate cake, and ketchup. They liked it, but Albus and I thought it was vile. Just the smell of it made me sick."

Mrs. Eckerton groaned. "Well, just clean up the microwave and go back bed."

"Ok, Mum," Matt replied.

"You have to admit that was funny, Julie," Mr. Eckerton laughed.

"Yes, I do actually find it funny that you made the same mistake five years ago, and now John did it and he's a thirteen year old boy," Mrs. Eckerton smirked.

"How was I supposed to know eggs exploded in the microwave?" Mr. Eckerton asked as they stared back towards the stairs.

"You should have taken Muggle Studies," Mrs. Eckerton said.

Albus, Matt, and Kaden waited while John cleaned the microwave. It didn't take him long and soon the four of them returned to their cots in the library. Albus fell asleep thinking about what Rose would say when he told her John exploded an egg in Matt's microwave.

******

"What do you want to do?" Albus asked the next day. The boys were all sitting in the den throwing a Quaffle around.

"Let's microwave random stuff," John suggested.

"No way," Matt replied.

Matt's parents had officially banned them from cooking for the remainder of the visit. Albus found this rather funny, especially the looks on John and Kaden's faces when they were told they couldn't cook. The two of them spent a good twenty minutes trying to find a loophole in the rule.

"Do wizards play hide and seek?" Kaden asked.

"That was random," Albus commented, "But yes, wizards do play hide and seek."

"I play it with my cousins all the time," John said.

"Me, too," Albus said. He loved games of hide and seek at the Burrow. There were excellent places to hide there.

"We should play it," Kaden announced, "It's always boring to play it at my house because the only one there to play it with is Bethany. And she never hides in good places."

"That's what Amy said about me when I was little," Matt said, "I would always hide in the same place."

"Ok, let's play," John stood up, "The couch in here can be home and we can hide anywhere in the house."

"Sounds good. But no going outside," Matt agreed, "Who's it?"

"Albus," John said.

Albus shrugged. He always liked being it. "All right. You lot can all go hide and I'll count to 100."

Albus closed his eyes and started counting. He heard the footsteps of his friends disappear as he got closer to 100. Usually, one of his older cousins was it whenever he played hide and seek. Albus rarely got to be it.

"Ready or not, here I come!" he shouted and looked around the den. The den would be the perfect spot for hiding because it was close to the home couch. But there weren't very many places to hide in it.

Albus walked quietly over to the one closet that was in the room. He pulled it open and looked inside. Empty. He left the room and looked down the corridor. The bathroom, he thought, that would be a good hiding place. Albus himself hid in the bathtub on numerous occasions.

He stepped into the bathroom and sure enough, the shower curtain was pulled shut. Albus yanked it open and saw John laying in the tub.

"Got you," Albus grinned.

"Merlin, this is always a good spot!" John groaned as he got out of the tub.

"Yeah, which is why it's always where I hide," Albus grinned, "Come on, you can help me search for Matt and Kaden."

Albus and John left the bathroom and resumed the search. Albus really didn't feel comfortable searching in Matt's dad's study, so they left it alone. Albus figured no one would hide in there anyway. They searched the rest of the downstairs, looking in every nook and cranny and closet. But Matt and Kaden were no where to be found.

Next they went upstairs and searched all the bedrooms except Matt's parents'. The library and bathroom were searched as well, but still no luck. The game was reminding Albus of the ones he played at the Burrow. James was always impossible to find. Although one time he got a broom and decided to hover above the house to hide. No one found him for hours and then the adults made a 'no flying' rule for hide and seek.

"Where are they?" John said as they searched the library for the second time, "We've searched the entire house!"

"Not the basement," Albus pointed out.

"Good idea," John agreed.

Albus and John ran down the stairs and towards the basement. They opened the door and ran down another flight of stairs. Albus flipped on the light and the two of them began to look around. Matt had showed them the basement earlier, when he showed them Amy's potion brewing room.

John checked the potion brewing room while Albus looked in the main part of the basement that seemed to be a combination storage area and den. Still nothing. The basement was perfectly quiet, too.

"What about that room?" John pointed to a room at the back of the basement.

"Matt said it was just storage," Albus replied, "I doubt either of them are in there. Plus, it's so quiet. We'd hear some sort of movement. No one's down here."

"Then where are they?" John asked.

"Maybe they made it to the couch," Albus suggested.

Albus and John returned the den and Matt was laying on the couch. He grinned and sat up when Albus and John entered the room.

Albus gaped at Matt. "Where were you hiding? We didn't even see you run in here!"

"I was in that closet," Matt pointed to the closet Albus had searched earlier.

"But I checked that as soon as I finished counting!" Albus groaned, "And no one was in there!"

"There's a smaller door in there that leads to a smaller closet," Matt got up off the couch and walked over to the closet. "Look," he opened the door.

Matt pulled back a few coats that were hanging up and Albus noticed a very tiny door in the wall. Matt opened it and revealed a tiny closet that was just big enough for a small person to climb into.

"See?" Matt grinned.

"You had an unfair advantage," John said, "You know stuff about this house that we don't."

"Well, when we play at your house, then you'll have an advantage."

"My house doesn't have any little secret closets," John muttered.

"What's that for anyway?" Albus asked.

"Dunno," Matt shrugged and looked around the room, "Hey, where's Kaden? Didn't you find him?"

"Nope," Albus replied. He never would have thought that Kaden would be this good at hide and seek.

"We'd better go find him," John said.

"Wonder why he hasn't tried to run to the couch," Albus said as they left the room.

"No idea," Matt said, "But with Kaden, it could be anything."

The boys searched the entire house twice, but they still couldn't find Kaden. He was the ultimate hide and seek player, Albus thought. He could even give James lessons.

"Where the ruddy hell is he?" John shouted as they walked down the stairs.

"I wonder if he'll ever even come out if we don't find him," Albus said.

"He'll come out once he's hungry," Matt pointed out.

"What are you boys doing?" Mrs. Eckerton asked. She was sitting on the couch reading a book in the living room.

"Playing hide and seek," Matt replied and sat down on a chair, "But we can't find Kaden."

"Did you look outside?" Mrs. Eckerton asked as she set down her book.

"Outside was off limits," John said.

"We've searched the house twice just now," Matt said, "And Albus and John searched it twice before that. We've looked everywhere."

"Everywhere?" Mrs. Eckerton raised her eyebrows, "Even in the basement?"

Matt's face paled. "Oh, Merlin! Not the entire basement!"

"You'd better go check," Mrs. Eckerton said.

Matt jumped off the couch and ran towards the basement door. Albus shrugged at John as they followed. He didn't have a clue as to why Matt was so nervous about Kaden hiding in the basement. Plus, Albus and John checked the basement. Except that storage room. But why would that make Matt nervous? What was in it?

Albus ran down the stairs and followed Matt. Sure enough, Matt went straight to the storage room.

"Merlin!" Matt muttered and paused in front of the door, "Why did he hide in here?"

"Er, are you ok?" Albus asked.

Matt sighed, but didn't answer. He put his hand on the doorknob and slowly opened it.

Albus gaped as he saw what was in the room. Well, what wasn't in it. The room was completely empty and had no windows. But the strangest part was that it was padded. The floor and walls were completely covered with what looked like mattresses.

"Is that?" John asked, "A padded room?"

"Hey!" Kaden, who was running around and literally bouncing off the walls, ran over to them, "Took you long enough! Matt, why didn't you tell us you had a padded room in your house? This is brilliant!"

Albus didn't think that Matt thought it was so brilliant. He was staring at Kaden and was as white as he had been when his mum suggested they search the basement.

"Bloody hell, this is brilliant!" John grinned and walked into the room.

"No it's not," Matt said quietly, "Come on."

Matt turned and left without waiting to see if the others would follow. Albus followed immediately and he heard John and Kaden run after him. Matt didn't say anything as they walked back upstairs, and Albus hoped Kaden would have the sense not to say anything either.

"Did you find him?" Mrs. Eckerton asked as they entered the living room.

"Yeah," Matt muttered.

"Was he-"

"Yeah," Matt said without stopping.

Albus followed him all the way upstairs and into his bedroom. Matt flopped down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. Albus sat down on the floor and John and Kaden sat down on either side of him.

"Er, what did I do?" Kaden whispered to Albus.

"Shush," Albus replied. He had an inkling as to what that room was used for, but he wasn't sure. He did know that it was usually best to let Matt tell them what was going on in his own time, though. Kaden's pestering questions certainly weren't going to help.

Albus sat quietly for a while as they waited for Matt to say something. He was still laying on his bed staring at the ceiling. Kaden kept glancing at Albus and then at Matt and back again. John was playing with a gobstone that he had found on the floor.

Matt sighed and sat up. Albus glanced up from the floor and looked at him. "You ok?" he asked.

"I guess," he nodded, "I should have just told you not to hide in that room."

Albus nodded and sent Kaden a look so he wouldn't ask about the room.

"I don't know if you guessed what that room is for," Matt began, "But I guess I'll tell you."

"You don't have to," Albus said quietly.

"I know," Matt sighed, "But I will," he paused, "That room is where I transform."

Albus nodded. That's what he had guessed. Judging by the calm look on John's face, he had guessed it too. Kaden on the other hand, was gaping at Matt.

"Wait, what?" he asked.

"That's where I go during full moons," Matt said.

"Oh," Kaden replied, "Why is it padded?"

Albus groaned inwardly. Kaden really needed to learn not to ask about these sorts of things.

Matt laid back down on his bed and stared at the ceiling. "Back when I was five and I went through my first transformation, I spent the whole night ramming into the wall trying to get out. My dad put the padding on the walls before the next full moon. Then when we moved here, my dad recreated the same room in the basement of this house."

Albus winced at the thought of Matt ramming himself into a wall. Every time Matt told him something else about the full moons, Albus felt even sorrier for him.

"Oh," Kaden muttered, "Er, sorry for hiding there, then."

Matt sighed, "It's ok. I should have told you not to hide there."

"What about the Shrieking Shack?" Kaden asked, "Is that padded?"

"No," Matt replied, "But it's bigger, so I don't bang my head as much."

Kaden nodded. "Well, I can't say I've ever seen a padded room in anyone else's house."

"You'll probably never see one again," Matt said dryly.

Chapter 4: Tipping the Boats

The remainder of the visit at Matt's house went by very fast for Albus. Albus and the other boys spent the next few days playing various games and doing some of the homework they had put off until the last minute. Amy visited for dinner one evening and let Kaden brew something in her potions room. Kaden was thrilled and after he and Amy had finished, he pronounced Amy the best potions brewer he'd met besides Slughorn. Albus, Matt, and John did not participate in the brewing since all three of them got enough of potions at Hogwarts.

Albus threw his bag over his shoulder and went downstairs with Matt, John, and Kaden. Mrs. Eckerton and Amy were waiting by the door.

"Are you boys ready?" Mrs. Eckerton asked.

"Yeah," Matt answered.

Mrs. Eckerton opened the door and Albus followed everyone outside. They walked a few meters away from the house and then Mrs. Eckerton put an arm around Matt and the other around Albus. Amy did the same with John and Kaden and all six of them disappeared with a crack.

They reappeared in the middle of the Leaky Cauldron, which was practically empty. Albus wasn't surprised since it was early afternoon on a weekday. Albus looked around the pub and saw his mum, Uncle Ron, James, Rose, Hugo, and Lily sitting at a nearby table. John's mum and sisters were sitting with them. James looked bored out of his mind and a little annoyed as John's sisters ran around the room.

The adults greeted each other while Lily, Hugo, and John's sister, Ashtyn, flew out of their seats and over to Albus and the other boys. Rose followed them and stood next to Albus.

"We're getting our wands today!" Lily announced.

"Yeah!" Ashtyn grinned, "And books and robes and cauldrons and-"

"We know, Ashtyn," John groaned, "You've been telling me about it since I got home from school."

"Me and Lily are going to be in Gryffindor," Ashtyn said proudly, "But Lily says Hugo is going to be in Hufflepuff."

"Am not," Hugo retorted.

"There's nothing wrong with Hufflepuff," John said, "My cousin is in Hufflepuff."

"Well, anything's better than Slytherin, right Albus?" Lily said.

"Er, right," Albus agreed.

"Kids!" Ginny shouted, "We're going to go to Flourish and Blotts first, then Madam Malkins. Al, you need new robes."

"So do you, Rose," Ron put in.

"As do you, Johnny," Mrs. Brickston said.

"I want my wand!" Lily whined.

"You'll get it," Ginny said, "But you need robes too. And your wand will be useless without books."

Lily pouted and folded her arms across her chest, but followed Ginny out of the pub. Albus and his friends followed the adults, James, and the girls out of the pub and into Diagon Alley.

Diagon Alley was a bit more crowded than the Leaky Cauldron, but still rather deserted. Albus walked with the large group into Flourish and Blotts, where the salesman took one look at them and ran into the back room. He returned with a saleslady.

Ginny walked up to them. "Let's see, I have four Hogwarts book lists."

"And I have two," Ron rummaged around in his robes and pulled out two wrinkled pieces of parchment.

"I've got two as well," Mrs. Brickston said.

"And I have one," Mrs. Eckerton said.

"Ok, if you'll just give us a few minutes, we'll get them for you," the salesman took the lists and gave half the stack to the saleslady.

"So, what did you lot do at Matt's house?" Rose asked as they were waiting.

Albus looked at John and burst out laughing. "John had fun with the microwave," Albus smirked.

Rose groaned. "What did you do?"

"Microwaved an egg," John replied, "It made a nice explosion."

"Bet your mum wasn't happy," Rose said to Matt.

"She just made him clean it up. My dad did the same thing after we moved here. We didn't have a microwave in Australia," Matt said.

"Muggle studies ought to be mandatory," Rose sighed.

Albus spent a few more minutes telling Rose about what they had done at Matt's house, although he left out the part about the padded room. Matt could tell Rose that later if he wanted to.

"Here you go, Al," Ginny dumped a stack of books into Albus's arms.

Once everyone had a stack of books in their arms, the group left the book store. They walked down the street until they reached Madam Malkin's. Luckily, the shop was empty, although they'd have to wait a while until everyone was fitted for robes.

Lily and Ashtyn went first, since they were eager to get their new robes. Hugo was excited about going to Hogwarts, but he couldn't care less about robes.

Albus sat down on a chair as he waited for his turn. Matt and John sat down on either side of him. Albus glanced over and saw that Matt was staring wide eyed at his stack of books. Albus peered down at his own stack of books, but the one on top was Intermediate Transfiguration.

Albus looked over at Matt's stack of books and he gaped when he saw which book was on top. It was the exact same book that Kaden had found at Flourish and Blotts a year ago. The one entitled Dark Creatures: How to Protect Yourself.

"Interesting book choice," Albus muttered.

Matt looked up at Albus. "This doesn't bode well for the new defense teacher."

Albus shrugged. "Well, third year defense does focus on dark creatures."

"It does?" Matt groaned, "Great. That's just what I need, for everyone to learn about you know what."

"I doubt they will," Albus replied, "No one's going to pay that much attention in class. The only one in our year who would've put the clues together after learning it in class is Rose, and she already knows."

"I guess," Matt muttered, "I just hope the teacher is nice."

A half hour later, everyone had new robes who needed them and the large group exited Madam Malkin's. They made their way down the street and towards Olivander's. Lily, Hugo, and Ashtyn arrived before anyone else did and couldn't wait to start trying out wands.

Albus watched as his sister waved numerous wands and subsequently broke everything on Olivander's desk. After she tried a few more, Lily found her wand and proudly held the box as carefully as she could. Hugo and Ashtyn found wands a few minutes later and the group set off to the Apothecary.

After a visit to the Apothecary, Eyelops, and Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, everyone had what they needed for the upcoming school year. Albus was rather tired by the time they finished, but Lily, Hugo, and Ashtyn seemed to have endless energy. They kind of reminded Albus of the way Kaden had been the previous year. Granted, Kaden still had endless energy, but the three eleven-year-olds had surpassed him.

Albus said goodbye to his friends in the Leaky Cauldron and then Flooed back to Grimmauld Place with his mum, Kaden, James, and Lily. He and Kaden watched Lily try to perform spells with her new wand while they waited for Dudley to pick Kaden up. Lily was kind of frustrated that she was unable to do much of anything besides 'Lumos'.

******

In an effort to try and avoid nearly missing the train like they had the previous year, Ginny insisted that Albus, James, and Lily pack their trunks the night before. Despite this, Albus awoke to the shouts of his mother.

"Albus Severus Potter!" she shrieked, "Get up! We have to leave in ten minutes! I seriously hope you've got your trunk packed!"

Albus slowly got out of bed as he listened to the loud footsteps of his mother in the corridor. "James Sirius Potter! Get out of bed this instant!"

The door to his bedroom opened and Lily came bounding in, already dressed in her Hogwarts robes. "Al! We've got to leave!"

"I know, Lily!" Albus said in an annoyed tone, "Now get out so I can get dressed!"

Albus hurriedly threw on some clothes once his sister left. He grabbed his owl cage and school bag and quickly left the room. He was quite glad his trunk was packed and already downstairs.

Harry was sitting on top of Albus's trunk in the drawing room when Albus walked in. Lily was once again trying to perform spells with her wand.

"Hey, Al," Harry grinned, "Ready?"

"Yeah," Albus nodded, "We leaving soon?"

"As soon as James packs his trunk," Harry smirked.

"James Sirius Potter!" Ginny shouted from upstairs, "I told you to pack that last night! Hurry up!"

"Daddy, why can't you teach Defense this year?" Lily asked.

"Because I have too much work at the Ministry," Harry explained as he pulled her onto his lap.

"But it's not fair," Lily whined, "James and Al got to have you teach them for two years."

"The new teacher is very competent," Harry assured her.

"Is he nice?" Albus asked.

"Well, he's," Harry paused, "He's fair. That's a good way of putting it. He'll treat everyone the same."

At least he didn't sound like Washburn, Albus thought. But on the other hand, he didn't sound like Neville or Cedonia either.

"And just because I'm not teaching, doesn't mean I won't be around," Harry grinned.

"What do you mean?" Albus asked.

"I'm not giving anything away, but Hogwarts will be an exciting place to be this year," Harry said, "Plus, the Ministry decided that Hogwarts needs more protection in the form of Aurors after last year's incident. And the year before's."

That certainly spiked Albus's curiosity. What could be going on that would make Hogwarts more exciting than usual?

"Come on," Albus replied, "Can't you give us a hint?"

"Nope," Harry laughed, "I probably shouldn't have even said that."

Albus groaned. "Aw, just tell us."

"Tell us what?" James asked as he entered the room.

"Dad says something exciting is happening at Hogwarts this year but he won't tell us what."

"Please, Dad?" James whined.

"No," Harry lifted Lily off his lap and stood up, "Now we'd better go or you'll miss the train."

The Potters arrived on Platform 9 3/4 with fifteen minutes to spare, which was actually earlier than they had arrived the previous year. They met Kaden and his family as well as Rose, Hugo and their parents. Harry and Ron loaded all the trunks onto the train and then returned to say goodbye.

"I'll see you soon, Al," Harry said as he gave Albus a hug.

"Be good, Albus," Ginny smiled, "And take care of Lily."

"I will," Albus replied, "Bye, Mum. Bye, Dad."

Once everyone had said goodbye, Albus headed to the train with Rose and Kaden. James immediately left to find his friends, and Lily and Hugo followed Albus and Rose. They climbed on just before the train started moving and waved to their parents until the train left the station.

Albus peered into all the compartments trying to find the one that his friends were in. He eventually found them halfway down the train and pulled the door open.

"Hey," Albus grinned as he sat down next to Matt.

"Hi, Albus, Rose, Kaden," Matt greeted them.

Kaden sat down next to John and Rose sat next to Amanda. Hugo and Lily sat down near Ashtyn and the three of them immediately started talking about the Sorting and the Hogwarts houses. Albus, who had been listening to Lily talk about that all summer, did not want to participate in that conversation.

He turned to Matt. "Guess what?"

"What?" Matt asked.

"My dad says something exciting is happening at Hogwarts this year, but he won't tell me what," Albus said.

"Really? Wish he'd tell you what it was," Matt replied.

"How could he say that and not tell you?" John groaned.

"Any ideas what it is?" Matt asked.

"Nope," Albus shook his head and then turned to Rose, "Has Uncle Ron said anything?"

"Just that it was something exciting," Rose sighed, "The only thing I can think of is the Triwizard Tournament."

"The what?" Matt, Amanda, and Kaden asked at the same time.

"Didn't someone die the last time they had that?" John asked.

Albus nodded. "The Triwizard Tournament is a contest that involves three wizarding schools: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. A champion from each school participates in three magical tasks and whichever champion wins gets the Triwizard Cup.

"The last time they had it was in my dad's fourth year and a Death Eater tricked the cup into choosing my dad as a fourth champion. He won, but the other Hogwarts champion, Cedric Diggory, died during the final task."

"Whoa," Matt stared at him, "Do you really think they'd do that again?"

"No," Rose shook her head, "There's no way they'd do that again. At least not for years. Cedric's death is too fresh in a lot of people's minds to have that tournament again. So I have no idea what my dad and Uncle Harry were talking about."

"I wish they'd do the tournament again," John said, "I fancy myself as the Hogwarts champion."

"Me, too," Kaden grinned, "That would be brilliant."

"Not me," Albus shook his head. He hated being in the spotlight. "I bet James would do it, though."

"I wouldn't," Matt said.

"Me, either," Amanda agreed, "What about you, Rose?"

"I'd probably enter," Rose replied, "But last time they did it, you had to be seventeen. So even if that is what was going on this year, none of us would be able to enter."

"I bet Georgia would enter," Albus commented.

"No doubt about that," Rose agreed.

"Oh, and my dad knows who the new Defense teacher is," Albus announced.

"Is he nice?" Matt asked immediately.

"All my dad said was that he was fair," Albus sighed, "He kind of dodged the question when I asked if he was nice."

"That's a bad sign," Matt groaned.

"If he's fair, then he won't be favoring the Slytherins," John pointed out.

"Have you looked at that book yet?" Albus whispered to Matt.

"Nope," Matt replied, "Haven't wanted to."

"Well," John began, "If he's mean to you, we can try and get him sacked before he starts the you-know-what unit. That unit's not until the end of the year."

"And how are you going to do that?" Rose raised her eyebrows.

"Dunno," John shrugged, "We'll think of something."

"That," Rose sighed, "Has got to be the dumbest idea you've come up with. And that includes microwaving the egg."

"Well, have you got any better ideas?" John asked.

"Why don't we just wait and see what the teacher is like before we start thinking about getting him sacked?" Rose suggested.

The rest of the train ride passed quickly. The entire compartment participated in an Exploding Snap contest, which Rose won. Then they bought a large amount of snacks from the trolley. Albus fell asleep shortly after he finished eating and the next thing he knew, Rose was nudging him awake and telling him to change into his robes.

The sky had turned dark and the weather stormy while Albus had been sleeping. Thunder sounded and lightning flashed as he pulled on his robes. He was very glad he wasn't going to be crossing the Black Lake like Lily was. He'd much rather take a thestral-pulled carriage and stay dry.

The train pulled into Hogsmeade station and Albus joined the throngs of students heading out into the rainy weather. He heard Hagrid calling the first years and said goodbye to Lily, Hugo, and Ashtyn. Albus found an empty carriage and led his friends inside.

"The first years are going to get soaked," John said as he wrung out his hat onto the bottom of the carriage.

"Spooky crossing the lake in this weather," Kaden grinned, "Makes me wish I was crossing the lake."

"Maybe the Giant Squid will tip over one of the boats," John grinned mischievously, "I've heard it doesn't like this kind of weather."

Rose rolled her eyes. "The Squid is not going to flip one of the boats."

If the Squid tipped Lily's boat, she would freak out. Albus's sister had always scared easily, a trait that James and Albus always took full advantage of.

"James purposely tipped his boat when he crossed the lake," Albus said. He still remembered his mother receiving an owl telling her about that. She wasted no time in getting a howler off to James.

"That's brilliant!" Kaden exclaimed, "Wish I'd thought of that."

"Me, too!" John agreed.

"I'm glad you didn't," Albus laughed, "We all would have been soaked."

"Yeah," Matt agreed, "That would not have been pleasant."

The remainder of the trip up to the castle was spent discussing the likelihood of one of the boats being tipped over by the Giant Squid. John and Kaden decided that they wanted to find the Giant Squid that year and agreed to take a swim in the Black Lake during the first available weekend.

The entire Entrance Hall was covered in water by the time Albus and his friends entered the castle. Albus was sure Filch would have a hippogriff when he saw it. Albus led his friends to the familiar Gryffindor table and sat down, eager for the feast to start.

Albus scanned the staff table and his eyes rested on the only unfamiliar face. A stern looking man with his black hair cut in a Muggle military style was sitting completely still. His eyes seemed to penetrate every student in the entire room at the same time. Albus did not get the sense that this teacher would be nice, although he lacked the hatred that Washburn had emanated.

"That must be the new Defense teacher," Matt whispered to Albus, "Merlin, he does not look happy."

"Looks like his face is frozen that way," Kaden muttered.

"I wouldn't want to be on his bad side," Albus replied.

"Looks to me like he had a bit too much U-No-Poo," John laughed.

Albus snorted and shook his head. It did kind of look like the professor had a bit too much of that certain Weasley product. His Uncle Percy wore that same look when his Uncle George put U-No-Poo in his tea over the summer.

The Great Hall immediately quieted down as Professor Patil led the first years into the room and towards the staff table. They congregated near the three-legged stool upon which the Sorting Hat sat.

"They look shorter than last year's first years," John whispered as the Sorting Hat began singing.

"They are," Kaden agreed, "I wasn't that short last year."

"Yeah, you actually were," John replied, "Hey, Matt, I think these first years might actually be shorter than you. A few of them, that is."

Matt rolled his eyes. "At least I'm not a giraffe like you."

"Hey, height has its benefits," John retorted.

"And so does lack of height," Matt pointed out, "At least I didn't have to stand still while Madam Malkin poked me with needles like you did."

"Shush!" Rose hissed, "They're starting the Sorting!"

Albus watched as a chubby boy was sorted into Ravenclaw. The next first year became a Slytherin and the next was another Ravenclaw.

"Brickston, Ashtyn!" Patil announced.

John's sister ran forward and jammed the hat onto her head with a big smile on her face. Mere seconds later, the hat exclaimed, "Gryffindor!" Ashtyn practically flew across the room and sat down across from John.

"Congratulations, Ashtyn!" John grinned, "Gryffindor really is the best house."

"Yeah," Ashtyn agreed, "Although Isabelle kept telling me to hope for Hufflepuff."

"Well, she is a Hufflepuff...."

Albus didn't really pay attention to the next few Sortings. He vaguely recognized a few names, but didn't really know any of them. He snapped back into reality when he heard Patil announce, "Potter, Lily!"

Lily ran forward with almost as much excitement as Ashtyn. The hat took a little more time to decide than it had with Ashtyn, but it soon shouted, "Gryffindor!"

The Gryffindor table erupted with cheers as Lily ran towards it. Albus clapped her on the back, as did James and all their cousins, and Lily took a seat next to Ashtyn.

Soon, Hugo was the only first year left standing near the hat. Hugo had already started putting the hat on when Patil called out his name, which caused a few of Albus's cousins to burst out in laughter.

"He may be the only Weasley to ever be in Hufflepuff," Cedric smirked.

"Gryffindor!" the hat announced a minute later.

"Or not," Cedric grinned as he clapped along with everyone else.

Hugo sat across from Lily and Ashtyn. "Told you I'd be in Gryffindor," he said to Lily. Lily shrugged.

Professor Kendrick stood up. "Welcome, students and staff! As usual, I will save all the speech making for after the feast." He waved his wand and sat back down.

Food appeared on all the golden plates and Albus helped himself to some of everything. He was hungry, although this year he had kind of wanted Kendrick to announce what the exciting thing was before the feast.

The topics of discussion varied greatly during the feast, and Albus mostly listened. John and Matt had a heated argument about the Quidditch season, primarily the Chudley Cannons' spectacular loss to the Holyhead Harpies that had taken place a few days previously. Rose chattered non-stop about the new classes she was taking and bombarded her older cousins with questions about them. Albus was amazed she had any questions left, since she had done the same thing during the Weasley Family Dinner prior to the start of term.

Kaden talked to whoever would listen about the prospect of adding Muggle technology to Hogwarts. Albus groaned to himself as he heard Kaden tell one of the first years about his petition to have televisions put into the common rooms. Amanda listened to Kaden, although it didn't seem like she was nearly as excited as Kaden was.

"So, how was the trip across the lake?" John asked Ashtyn as the desserts appeared.

"Wet," Ashtyn replied.

"Any of the boats tip over?" he asked eagerly.

"No," Ashtyn laughed.

"Hagrid said he had anti-tipping charms put on them after James tipped his a few years ago," Hugo announced.

"That's no fun," John sighed.

A little while later, the golden plates became clean once again and Albus looked eagerly up at the staff table.

Chapter 5: Linda Morales

Professor Kendrick rose to his feet. "May I have your attention!" he shouted and the room quieted down, "Thank you. Now, I have a few rather boring announcements, two somewhat exciting ones, and one really exciting one. I shall start with the boring ones.

"As usual, the forest and Whomping Willow are out of bounds to everyone. If you wish to try-out for your house's Quidditch team, give your name to your head of house. The Dueling Club and Junior's Dueling Club will be starting up again and once meetings have been set up, I shall let you know.

"As for the somewhat exciting announcements, we have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Please welcome Professor Balladanis."

The stern looking professor stood up for a few seconds and received mediocre applause. He resumed his seat and Professor Kendrick turned back to the students.

"The other somewhat interesting announcement is that Hogwarts will be patrolled by Aurors a few days a week. After last year's incident, the Ministry has deemed this a necessary precaution to take. The Aurors are positive that Jarrett Willinson and Jameson Washburn will try to return to Hogwarts at some point this year. I do not tell you this to scare you, but to make you aware of the situation. If anyone sees any suspicious behavior or has any information regarding the whereabouts of either fugitive, please tell a teacher."

The entire Gryffindor table turned to Albus and his friends at this announcement. Albus felt his face turn red and he stared down at his plate. He really hated all the attention he got from what happened the previous two years.

"And now," Kendrick continued, "I have a very exciting announcement to make."

Albus grinned and turned to his friends, who were all wearing equal faces of excitement, and then turned back to the headmaster.

"First, I would like you all to remember the inter-house dueling from last year."

The entire hall groaned and people started whispering amongst themselves.

"Quiet down," Kendrick said, "There was a reason why I enacted that last year. More than just school unity, that is. I wanted the school to become more united because of an event that is taking place this year. An event that will put us into competition with other magical schools-"

"The Triwizard Tournament?!" Bradley exclaimed, "Is that it?"

"No," Kendrick replied, "This is not the Triwzard Tournament. It is a different competition that will involve more than just one student from each school.

"Tomorrow evening, shortly before dinner, a select group of students from the Adirondack Academy of Magic, which is in New York State, and the Australian School of Sorcery will travel to Hogwarts, where they will live and attend classes for the duration of the year."

Albus turned to look at Matt, who was gaping at Kendrick.

"The students from both schools will be Sorted into the four Hogwarts houses during a special Sorting ceremony tomorrow evening. They will live in whichever house they are Sorted into and attend classes with those in their year. I expect you all to treat them like they are fellow Hogwarts students.

"However, you will also be competing against them. There are two events. The first is Qudditch. Each of the schools has created a Quidditch team comprised of the best Quidditch players in their respective school. We will be doing the same thing here. The three teams will play each other throughout the year and whichever team wins shall receive the Quidditch Cup for Schools.

"The other event will be dueling. Each of the schools has also put together a team of the best duelers in their respective school. Again, we shall do the same. The tournaments will work much like the Dueling Club works here."

The entire school started talking at once. Albus thought the whole thing was brilliant. It was like the Triwizard Tournament, only less dangerous. Maybe he could even participate. He was a decent Chaser and dueler.

"Albus, you've got to try out for the Hogwarts Quidditch team!" John shouted.

"I will!" Albus grinned, "As long as they don't have an age limit or anything."

"I don't think they will," Rose said, "Quidditch isn't that dangerous."

"It kind of is," John laughed.

"Maybe I can duel," Kaden said, "I'm a second year now."

"I think it'll be great just to go to school with kids from Australia and New York!" Rose exclaimed, "Think of all we can learn from them!"

"Yeah," Amanda agreed.

"Quiet!" Kendrick shouted over the chatter and everyone settled down, "The Hogwarts Quidditch team is open to anyone who is currently on a House Quidditch team. I'm sorry if that upsets some of you, but it would be impossible to hold try-outs for the entire school, and I think it would be better if our team were comprised of those who have experience on a Quidditch team. If you have interest in trying out, please tell your head of house.

"Try-outs for the Hogwarts Dueling Team will be open to fifth through seventh years only."

"cr*p," Kaden muttered.

"If you want to try out, give your name to your head of house. Try-outs for both teams will most likely be next weekend. I believe that is all I have to say for now. First years, please follow a prefect to your common room. Good night, everyone."

Albus got up from the table and walked to Gryffindor tower with his friends. They talked about the competition the entire time. Albus was incredibly excited about the prospect of playing for the Hogwarts Quidditch team, and a little nervous at the same time. Of course, his chances of getting picked were kind of slim. He was the youngest Chaser eligible to try out.

"Albus!" James pushed his way through the crowd of Gryffindors in the common room, "Are you trying out?"

"Of course!" Albus grinned, "You?"

"Yeah!" James exclaimed, "That's everybody! Everyone on the Gryffindor team is trying out! Wouldn't that be amazing if we were all picked?"

"You won't be," Rose said, "The whole point is to have a Hogwarts team, not a Gryffindor team."

"Albus and James will get picked," Kaden said adamantly, "You two are both great Quidditch players."

"Thanks, Kaden," Albus smiled, "But all the other Chasers are older than me."

"Doesn't matter," John assured him, "They'll be searching for skill, not age."

"Who's picking the team?" Amanda asked.

"Probably Professor Oteski," James said, "And maybe the heads of houses will help."

Albus and his friends talked about the Quidditch competition for another few minutes before retiring to their dormitories for the night. Albus climbed into his familiar four-poster bed, but found that he was too excited to sleep. The more he thought about the Hogwarts Quidditch team, the more he thought he actually had a chance of making it. He was also excited about having the Australian and American students at Hogwarts. He hadn't really met many foreign witches and wizards before, not including his Aunt Fleur's family. Matt and Amy and their parents were the closest he'd come, and they'd been living in England for a while. Matt didn't seem very excited about the whole thing, though. In fact, he had remained rather quiet ever since Kendrick made the announcement.

******

It was easy to feel the excitement at Hogwarts the next day. Since it was Sunday, classes weren't starting yet. Most people slept late, and the main topic of conversation in the Great Hall at lunchtime was the competition and the students from Australia and New York.

Georgia organized a spur of the moment Quidditch practice for the Gryffindor team in order to prepare for the Hogwarts Team try-outs. Albus and the rest of the team practiced for at least two hours that afternoon.

"You're a shoo-in, James," Albus told his brother as the two of them began to walk off the pitch, "Everyone knows you're the best Seeker in the school."

"Well, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw are the only other houses that are keeping their Seekers from last year," James pointed out, "So I'll only be competing against Lisa Galivant and Miranda Corner."

"And you're better than both of them," Albus said, "I'll be competing against at least six other Chasers."

"Yeah, but you're a good Chaser," James assured him.

Albus nodded and shouldered his broom. He was already nervous about the try-out, and it was almost a week away. What if he was so nervous during the try-out that he completely messed up? He'd just have to be sure to calm down by then. Albus sighed and continued walking off the pitch. Just as he was getting close to the stands, he noticed someone sitting alone in the lower level. It was Matt.

"I'll see you back in the common room," Albus said to his brother as he detoured towards the stands. James nodded and continued back towards the castle.

Matt had hardly said a word the entire day. He was normally quiet, but it was never a good sign when he was completely silent. Albus knew better than to ask why, but he was still curious. He had a feeling it had to do with the Australian students.

"Hey," Albus sat down next to Matt.

"Hi," Matt mumbled.

"Where's everyone else?" Albus asked.

"Rose is in the library researching about the magical schools in Australia and New York," Matt explained, "Amanda is with her."

"Why does that not surprise me," Albus smirked, "I'm assuming John isn't with them?"

"No," Matt gave a half-hearted laugh, "He and Kaden are in the Marauder's Den. I was there with them, but they kept talking about Quidditch and Dueling competitions and I just got sick of it, so I came out here."

Albus nodded. Matt was going to have a hard time finding someplace in the school where no one was talking about the competitions.

"Er, are you ok?" Albus asked tentatively, "I mean, you've been kind of quiet."

Matt sighed. "I," he paused, "I'm just not that excited about the competition thing. Well, it's not that, it's the fact that we're doing it with Australia."

"Oh," Albus said, not sure what to say next.

"I was supposed to go to the Australian School of Sorcery," Matt continued, "That's where Amy went. Then the headmaster told my parents I couldn't. In fact, he said it in a downright cruel way. I never read that letter. I think Mum burned it. But she never told me what it said. She just said it was mean. The headmaster hates, well, people like me."

Albus hadn't even thought about that. He turned to look at Matt. He looked quite upset about the whole thing. Albus had no idea what to say.

"I don't want the headmaster to come here," Matt said quietly, "I know that's stupid, really. I mean, he's never met me. And we moved five years ago. He probably wouldn't even recognize my last name."

"It's not stupid," Albus assured him. Albus couldn't really imagine what this was like for Matt, though. He supposed the only thing close would be if Washburn came back to teach or something. "But I don't think you'll really come into contact with their headmaster much. You can't try out for the Quidditch team or the Dueling Team, so I don't think you'll do much more than pass him in the corridor."

"I guess," Matt sighed, "It's just going to be so weird."

"Yeah," Albus agreed, "But I don't think anything will happen. This is Kendrick's school. Even if the Australian headmaster is here, he can't really do anything. He's got no control over anything here."

Matt nodded. "That's true. I hadn't really thought about that."

Albus stood up. "Come on, let's go find John and Kaden. I'm sure we can convince them not to talk about the competition. We could ask them how their plans for swimming in the Black Lake are coming."

Matt laughed, "They're all ready to do it. They just didn't want to do it today since you were practicing Quidditch and Rose and Amanda were in the library."

The rest of the afternoon went by very quickly. Shortly before dinner, Albus and his friends made their way into the Great Hall. The entire room was buzzing with excitement. Albus noticed that nearly all of the professors were wearing dress robes. The only one who wasn't was Professor Balladanis, who as wearing the same black robes as the previous day.

Albus sat down at the Gryffindor table, where everyone was talking about the foreign schools.

"I heard that the Australian School of Sorcery is underground!" Hugo shouted excitedly.

Matt snorted. "It's not."

"Oh, maybe it was the Adirondack Academy of Magic," Hugo replied.

"That one's not underground either," Matt laughed.

"How do you know they're not?" Hugo asked.

"My sister used to go to the Australian School of Sorcery," Matt explained, "And my uncle lives in New York. I've seen that school, too."

"Well, that's boring," Hugo muttered, "Would have been better if one of them was underground."

"Hey, Hugo," Kaden grinned, "Guess what the initials of Australian School of Sorcery are?"

"A, S, S," Hugo shrugged and then a big grin appeared on his face, "Ass! That's brilliant!"

"Quiet, please!" Kendrick shouted over the crowd, "The students from the Adirondack Academy of Magic shall be arriving at any moment!"

No sooner had Kendrick finished his sentence, people began to whisper and turn their heads towards the door. Albus craned his head up and saw a tall man striding into the Great Hall. He was wearing navy blue robes and had a rather large amount of messy grey hair on his head. Behind him were a dozen or so students wearing identical blue robes. Most of the students looked to be a few years older than Albus. They all stared around at the Great Hall, a couple of them pointing excitedly at the ceiling.

The tall man (who Albus presumed to be their headmaster) led the students to the staff table. Kendrick greeted them and then looked up at his own students.

"Let me introduce Professor Marvin Roberts, headmaster of the Adirondack Academy of Magic, and his students," Kendrick announced, "Welcome to Hogwarts."

Albus and the rest of the Hogwarts student body burst into applause. Once it died down, Kendrick opened his mouth again.

"And now, if I'm not mistaken, the students from the Australian School of Sorcery are arriving at the very moment."

Albus turned back towards the door and saw another man entering the room. He wore emerald green robes and was completely bald. He made up for the lack of hair on his head by sporting a pointy mustache and goatee. He wasn't nearly as tall as Roberts, but not short either. He walked purposefully towards the staff table with his group of students clad in matching emerald green robes following him.

Albus noticed that Matt didn't take his eyes off the man. It was almost like he was frozen in place, except for his eyes, which followed the man to the staff table.

"Now I'll introduce Professor Addair Killigan," Kendrick said, "And the students of the Australian School of Sorcery."

Albus clapped along with everyone else, but it was more subdued. He took an immediate dislike to Killigan just because of what Matt had said. Albus noticed that Matt didn't really clap at all.

"Thank you," Kendrick said once the clapping stopped, "Now, we shall have a special Sorting ceremony in order to find out which house you belong in. The four houses are Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Slytherin. While you are here at Hogwarts, you will live in your house dormitories, spend free time in your house common rooms, and attend classes with the other students in your house."

"You know, it'll be interesting to see if they adopt the house prejudices like we have," Rose whispered, "What if two of them are really good friends and then one is sorted into Gryffindor and the other into Slytherin?"

"I dunno," Albus shrugged. Rose had a point, though.

"To be Sorted, all you have to do is put on the Sorting Hat," Kendrick continued, "It will tell you where you should be."

Professor Patil stood up and walked around to the other side of the staff table. She was holding the three-legged stool and the Sorting Hat. She set the hat down on the stool and it burst into song.

There were loud gasps from all of the students from the other two schools. A few of the Hogwarts students giggled at this. All the foreign students stared intently at the hat and whispered amongst themselves.

"When I call your name, come sit on the stool and put on the hat. It will tell you which house you're in and then you can go sit at the appropriate table," Patil said after the hat stopped singing. "Allen, Gregory."

A tall and lanky boy with messy brown hair stepped away from the group and sat down on the stool. He was wearing navy blue robes, so he must have been from New York.

"Slytherin!" the hat shouted. Gregory Allen took the hat off and went to join the Slytherin table.

The Sorting continued and Albus clapped loudly whenever anyone got Sorted into Gryffindor. So far, all the new Gryffindors looked at least two years older than Albus.

"I think that bloke is going to have to lose the green robes," John commented as one of the Australian students was Sorted into Gryffindor, "It's just not normal to wear green robes when you're a Gryffindor."

"I imagine they'll get Gryffindor robes soon," Rose said.

"Do they even have houses at the Australian School of Sorcery?" John wondered aloud, "I mean, all their robes look alike."

"They do," Matt told him, "But those are the plain school robes."

"I'm guessing they wanted to look unified," Rose suggested, "I doubt Albus will wear Gryffindor Quidditch robes when he plays on the house team. They'll probably have special Hogwarts robes."

"If I'm on the team, Rose," Albus sighed. Everyone seemed to think he was going to make the team. What if he didn't? Everyone would be disappointed. Albus didn't really like the pressure.

"Morales, Linda," Patil shouted.

Albus turned back to the Sorting and saw a rather short girl step forward. Albus watched as she walked towards the three-legged stool and he couldn't take his eyes off her. She was beautiful. There wasn't really any other way to describe her. Albus hadn't ever seen a girl as pretty as she was. Her dark brown hair cascaded down her back in soft waves. It didn't quite match her surprisingly pale skin, but it was beautiful nonetheless. Her light skin went well with her emerald green robes. She looked a bit nervous as she sat down and Patil dropped the hat on her head.

Albus turned to look at his friends. Matt, John, and Kaden were all staring at the girl. So was James. In fact, all the boys at the Gryffindor table seemed to be staring at her. The girls were whispering to each other and glancing up at Linda Morales every so often.

The hat seemed to be taking forever to decide. The entire Great Hall had erupted in whispers. Finally, the brim of the hat burst open and shouted out, "Gryffindor!"

Linda Morales took off the hat and walked quickly towards the Gryffindor table.

"Bloody hell," John whispered as she took a seat a few places down from Albus.

Albus nodded and turned to look at the girl. She looked, if possible, even more nervous now that she was sitting down.

"Albus!" Rose seethed, "Don't stare at her!"

Albus shook his head to clear his thoughts and tried to turn his attention back to the Sorting. A little while later, the last student was Sorted into Hufflepuff and Patil and the other headmasters took seats behind the staff table.

Kendrick stood up. "I'm sure you are all quite famished by now, so without further ado, dinner is served." Kendrick waved his wand and the golden plates filled with food.

None of the new students had sat near Albus and his friends, so they didn't get a chance to really get to know any of them. Most of them were older anyway. Albus's cousins struck up conversations with a few of them, though. Albus did notice that Linda wasn't saying much, despite the fact that she had quite a few Gryffindors trying to talk to her.

"Well, I certainly hope everyone enjoyed the feast," Kendrick announced after the plates cleaned themselves of dessert, "I have just a few announcements. The new students need to take note of the fact that the forest and the Whomping Willow are out of bounds. There is also a rather large list of forbidden objects. The entire list can be viewed on the caretaker's door, which is located on this level. Or, you can ask your fellow students. Anyone with the last name of Weasley has a particularly extensive knowledge on the subject."

There was a large amount of laughter at this, mostly from the Gryffindor table.

"Also, try-outs for the Hogwarts Quidditch team will be held this Saturday at one in the afternoon. Dueling Team try-outs will be held a week from today, also at one in the afternoon. And with that, I suggest you all turn in early, as classes start tomorrow."

When Albus and his friends returned to the Gryffindor common room, Linda Morales was already there, surrounded by a rather large group of boys and a couple girls. She didn't appear to be enjoying it, though. She looked as nervous as she had been in the Great Hall and was mostly just nodding.

"I'll bet anything all those blokes have asked her out already," Rose muttered as they watched the group.

"Probably," Amanda agreed.

"They should just leave her alone," Rose went on, "It doesn't look like she wants all that attention. I'll bet she's overwhelmed by everything."

"I wonder how old she is," Albus said. He'd been trying to figure that out all evening.

"Dunno," Rose shrugged, "She looks our age, but older at the same time. It's kind of odd."

"Guess we'll find out tomorrow," Albus said, "She might be in our classes."

"Well, I'm going to bed," Matt turned away from Linda and stood up.

"He's been quiet all evening," John commented as Matt left.

Albus leaned over to John. "That Killigan bloke, the headmaster, is the reason he couldn't go to school in Australia," Albus whispered.

"Oh," John said, "Well, that would explain it."

Albus and his friends stayed up for a few more minutes before turning in for the night. Albus laid awake for a while, though, thinking about Linda Morales.

Chapter 6: Flobberworms and Boggarts

As it turned out, Albus didn't have to wait until classes to know if Linda Morales was his age or not. Rose and Amanda burst out of the girls' dormitory as Albus, Matt, and John were heading down to breakfast.

"Albus!" Rose caught up with him, "Linda is our age. She's in our dormitory."

"Really?" Albus replied, realizing that he hadn't really thought about which dormitory the new students would be in.

"Where is she now?" John asked.

"Still up there," Amanda said, "She's been in the bathroom for ages."

"Girls," John muttered, "I'll never understand them."

The group hurried down to the Great Hall and ate a quick breakfast before their first class. Neville handed out schedules and Albus saw that he had Care of Magical Creatures first.

"Blimey, this schedule is packed," John said as they headed out of the castle towards Hagrid's hut.

"Well, we are taking two extra classes now," Albus pointed out.

"Wonder who we'll have this class with," Matt said.

"With our luck, it'll be the Slytherins," Amanda groaned.

"Maybe Linda's taking this class," John said hopefully.

Amanda sighed, "You haven't even met her."

"Yeah, but this class would be the perfect time to do that!" John pointed out.

Amanda groaned and they continued their trek to Hagrid's hut. Once they got there, they saw that they were indeed with the Slytherins. Albus groaned inwardly and stood with his friends as everyone waited for Hagrid to appear.

"'Ello, everyone!" Hagrid said as he stepped out of his hut a few minutes later, "Welcome to Care o' Magical Creatures."

"Hi, Hagrid," Albus grinned.

"'Ello, Albus," Hagrid grinned back, "Now, today's lesson's abou' Flobberworms. Can anyone tell me anything abou' them?"

Flobberworms, Albus thought. Flobberworms were about the least exciting magical creatures in the world. Albus wished they were doing something a bit more exciting.

"Nobody?" Hagrid said, "Well, I know they aren't the most excitin' creatures, but we've got to start somewhere. Now, flobberworms are small white worms...."

Albus listened as Hagrid explained about flobberworms, but he didn't take any notes. Rose would have, but Albus didn't see the point. Flobberworms were pretty basic.

"Now, everyone can take a worm," Hagrid held up a box, "An' draw them into yer notes an' observe 'em."

Albus and his friends each took a worm and began the tedious task of recording the worms' every movement and sketching them. Albus thought the rest of the class was rather boring and was a bit disappointed. He had kind of been expecting Hagrid to bring in some sort of dangerous creature, like he had when his dad was at Hogwarts. Although, come to think of it, his cousins had said Hagrid had adopted a more normal curriculum.

"I wish Hagrid would bring in a dragon or something," John said as they made their way back to the castle for Transfiguration.

"He probably wishes that, too," Albus laughed.

The Transfiguration classroom was already filling up by the time Albus and his friends entered. Albus noticed that they had this class with the Hufflepuffs. Rose was already inside, sitting at her usual table in the front. Amanda quickly joined her. Linda was there as well, but she was sitting by herself at the other front desk.

"Let's go sit by Linda!" John said excitedly.

"Sure," Albus grinned and started to walk towards her table.

"Wait," Matt said, "There's only two seats. And do you really want to sit in the front?"

"Er, that's true," John said, "We'll sit behind her then."

Albus vaguely wondered why Matt so set on not sitting with Linda, but he didn't dwell on it and sat down at the table behind Linda. Patil walked in a moment later and everyone quieted down.

"For the first few classes we shall be learning about a very difficult branch of transfiguration," Patil said after she took attendance, "And it is called the Animagus Transfiguration. Can anyone tell me what that is?"

Albus smirked as Rose's hand shot into the air. Albus knew the answer, of course, but he was perfectly happy to let Rose answer.

"Yes, Miss Morales?" Patil pointed to Linda.

Albus turned away from Rose and saw that Linda had half-way raised her hand. The rest of the class was staring at her as well, probably because Rose always answered the preliminary questions in class.

"The Animagus Transfiguration is the act of transfiguring oneself into an animal," Linda answered.

"Yes, that is correct," Patil smiled.

Albus noticed that Rose was staring in shock at Linda. He had to stifle a laugh at this.

Patil went on to describe Animagi in more detail and Albus took a few notes.

"Can anyone name a registered Animagus they may have heard about in another class?" Patil asked.

Both Rose and Linda's hands shot up into the air. Patil called on Rose this time.

"Minerva McGonagall," Rose answered.

"Yes, she turns into a cat. She used to teach Transfiguration here and was the Headmistress for a few years. How about an illegal Animagus?"

Albus scribbled the words 'Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs' onto a piece of parchment and showed it to Matt and John. All three of them stifled laughter and then looked back up at Patil.

"Rita Skeeter," Rose grinned.

Patil smiled. "Yes, and it was your mother who discovered her."

The rest of the class passed by at a reasonably quick pace and once it was over, Albus and his friends went to the Great Hall for lunch.

"You've got some competition, Rose," John grinned as they walked down the corridor.

"Shut up," Rose muttered.

"She might beat you on the next test," John laughed.

"And your point is?" Rose snapped.

They walked the rest of the way in silence, as no one wanted to set Rose off even more. Albus had no idea she would get that competitive about grades. Although after two years of easily being the smartest in their year, Rose hadn't previously had any competition.

Half the Gryffindor table was roaring with laughter when they arrived for lunch. James quickly filled Albus in on the fact that Hugo had exploded his first potion earlier in the morning and was apparently quite proud of it.

"Well, you'll have no competition from him," John muttered to Rose. Rose sent him a withered look and sat down to eat.

Albus spent lunch telling Kaden about Care of Magical Creatures. Despite the fact that they learned about flobberworms, Kaden was jealous.

The third year Gryffindors had double potions after lunch, with the Slytherins again. Slughorn started the class with a review of the previous year's potions. Once again, Rose and Linda both knew the answer to every question. Then, when Slughorn had them brew a new potion, both Rose and Linda tied for best potion. Slughorn gave them each a bar of Honeyduke's chocolate. Albus was quite surprised that Linda seemed as smart as Rose. He had never met anyone his age who could compete with Rose with grades. John was right. Rose did have some competition.

******

"Well, time to go meet the new Defense teacher," Albus said as he finished breakfast the next morning.

"I wish your dad was still teaching," Matt sighed.

"Yeah," John agreed, "The new teacher looks like the kind of bloke who gives a lot of homework."

"You really ought to just keep an open mind," Rose commented as they left the Great Hall.

"Easy for you to say," John muttered, "You're freakishly smart."

"You have got to be kidding me!" Albus groaned as they reached the classroom, "We're with the Slytherins, again!"

"Great," Matt sighed, "Three years in a row, what are the chances of that?"

Albus led the way into the classroom. Linda Morales was already seated at one of the front tables. Rose and Amanda immediately took the other front table.

"Let's sit in the back," Matt muttered.

Albus nodded. He really didn't want to sit near the front. The teacher was already there and was wearing an unreadable expression. If he turned out to be mean, Albus preferred to be as far away as possible.

The classroom looked exactly the same as it had the year before, except for a trunk that was sitting in front of the teacher's desk.

A few more students trickled in and once the bell rang, the teacher waved his wand and the door slammed loudly. Albus jumped in surprise and snapped his attention back to the new teacher.

He walked slowly from behind his desk and stood in front of it. He was holding a piece of parchment and a quill. Albus noticed that he was wearing the same black robes, except now he noticed that there were intricately designed silver fastenings on them.

"Please raise your hand and say 'present' when I call your name," he said in a stern voice. He ran through the list, fixing each student with a piercing gaze when he called on them.

"Brilliant," he said flatly, "All here. I am Professor Balladanis, as you all know from Professor Kendrick's speech. You will address me as Professor Balladanis, or Professor, or Sir. I will not tolerate speaking out of turn or misbehavior of any kind in my classroom. I expect all homework and other assignments to be completed on time, no excuses."

Professor Balladanis began to pace back and forth in front of his desk. "As you shall discover throughout the year, I take defensive magic very seriously." He paused and glared sharply at Linda and Janie Creevey, who had sat next to Linda.

"Defensive magic is a very very important branch of magic. I would make the argument that is the most important. It can save your life. It has saved my life on numerous occasions. I have no doubt that your previous two years of instruction were very extensive and I am sure you all have a basic knowledge of defensive spells courtesy of Professor Potter."

Balladanis stopped pacing and paused before continuing his speech. "However, the third year Defense Against the Dark Arts curriculum focuses on defense against dark creatures." He turned to Albus's table and gave Albus, Matt, and John a piercing stare.

"I will be continuing the curriculum that has been used in this school since after the final battle," Balladanis continued, "I have looked over the curriculum and have deemed it satisfactory. I immensely approve of the first day's lesson for third years. I've always thought a practical approach was good for Defense, although I do expect you to carefully read your text book as well.

"In this box," Balladanis gestured to the trunk, which jumped a little as he touched it, "Lives a boggart. Can anyone tell me what a boggart is?"

Rose and Linda's hands shot up into the air. Balladanis smirked and pointed to Rose. "Yes, Miss...?"

"Weasley, sir," Rose replied, "A boggart is a shape shifter. It takes the form of whatever scares you most. No one knows what one really looks like."

Balladanis nodded. "Correct. 5 points to Gryffindor. Boggarts," he began pacing again, "Take the form of whatever scares us most. The boggart focuses on the nearest person and turns into whatever scares them.

"We will have an advantage over our boggart. There are a lot of us, which means the boggart will become confused about what to turn into. However, that is not enough. There is a necessary incantation for defeating boggarts. It is 'Riddikulus'. Repeat after me, 'Riddikulus'."

"Riddikulus," Albus said along with everyone else.

"Good," Balladanis said, although his voice wasn't exactly cheerful, "You'll also need to think of a way to turn whatever your most feared thing is into something funny. Laughter is what really finishes off a boggart. Then, think of that as you're saying the incantation. Now, take out your wands and stand up."

Albus pulled his wand out of his bag and stood up. He wasn't even sure what he was most afraid of. Snakes? No, he really didn't fear snakes. Spiders? Nope, not them either. He had no idea what that boggart was going to turn into, and that made it even scarier.

Balladanis waved his wand and all the tables and chairs moved to the sides of the classroom. "Form a line," he instructed.

Everyone pushed to be at the front of the line. Albus wound up being towards the back, behind John and in front of Matt.

"Miss Weasley," Balladanis motioned for Rose to step forward, "Perhaps you could go first."

Rose nodded and stepped out of the line. She stood in front of the trunk with her wand raised. Albus had no idea what the boggart would turn into for Rose either. Nor did he have a clue what John and Amanda's boggarts would be. He had an inkling about Matt's, though.

Balladanis stood off to the side and pointed his wand at the trunk. The lid slowly opened and out stepped...Neville. Albus gaped at the boggart.

The boggart Neville opened his mouth. "I'm sorry, Rose, you did not get the highest grades in your year. You've been beaten."

Oh, Albus thought, that kind of made sense. For a moment there, Albus actually thought Rose was afraid of Neville, which was ridiculous.

"Riddikulus!" Rose shouted.

The boggart Neville swayed, but didn't look any different. He opened his mouth again. "Rose, you have beaten everyone in the entire school! You have the best grades in the history of Hogwarts."

Albus smirked. It wasn't entirely funny, but it fit Rose perfectly.

"Interesting," Balladanis muttered, "Next!"

Rose stood off to the side and grinned as Amanda stepped forward. Albus watched as the boggart turned into a very large snake.

Amanda stared at it for a few moments and then shouted, "Riddikulus!" The snake twirled around and tied itself into a knot. Amanda, along with most of the rest of the class, burst out laughing. Amanda stepped to the side next to Rose and Janie Creevey stepped forward.

Janie's boggart turned into a giant rat, which then got transformed into tiny mouse. A few Slytherins were up after her, and then it was Linda Morales's turn.

Albus watched intently as the boggart that had previously been a dragon turn into a raging fire. Linda raised her wand and shouted, "Riddikulus!" The fire turned into a waterfall and Linda joined the growing group of students off to the side.

Marina Jordan-Bell was next, and her boggart turned into a spider, as did her sister, Karina's. Karina had a bit of trouble, but eventually managed to turn the spider rainbow colors. Ethan and a couple of the Slytherins had difficulty as well.

Leigh Montague charmed her mummy boggart into a strait jacket and then it was John's turn. He stepped forward and the mummy turned into a clown. A clown, complete with a big red nose and huge shoes.

Albus could hear a few of the other students snickering already. Albus wasn't exactly a fan of clowns, but he could think of at least ten things that were scarier than them.

"Riddikulus!" John shouted. The clown boggart started to walk forward, but it tripped over its ridiculously large feet, which were growing at an alarming rate. The entire class burst out in the loudest laughter yet as John joined Rose and Amanda.

Albus took a deep breath and stepped forward. The clown with the huge feet started spinning again and when it stopped, it looked like Professor Oteski. The Oteski boggart stepped towards Albus.

"You did not make the Hogwarts Quidditch team," it said.

Albus gulped. Come to think of it, that was what he was most afraid of at that moment. But how could he make it funny. He racked his brains as the Oteski boggart continued walking towards him.

"Riddikulus!" Albus shouted.

The boggart spun around again and then stopped. "You did make the team!" it said, "In fact, everyone is on the team! All of Hogwarts will play at once and therefore win the competition!"

Albus laughed at the thought of a Quidditch team consisting of over 200 people on it and joined John at the side of the classroom. Albus watched as Matt stepped forward.

"Hey, Potter," Scorpius whispered, "I bet the boggart won't know what to turn into with Eckerton. He's afraid of everything."

"Shut it, Malfoy," Albus growled.

"Quiet over there!" Balladanis shouted. Albus immediately shut his mouth and Scorpius didn't say anything else.

The boggart was spinning around again and when it stopped, it didn't turn into the bright full moon that Albus had been expecting. It had turned into a very sinister looking man. He was skinny and rather short and had a mop of untidy brown hair on his head. It wasn't like Roberts's hair, though. This bloke's hair was stringy and dirty looking. His eyes were piercing, not unlike Balladanis's, and he was sneering at Matt. Albus didn't recognize who it was. He hadn't seen anyone that resembled the boggart.

The boggart stepped slowly towards Matt, who looked frozen in place. Albus could see his wand shaking in his hand.

"Who's that bloke?" John whispered.

"No idea," Albus said.

Albus continued to watch as the boggart advanced towards Matt. Balladanis wasn't doing anything besides watching with an unreadable expression on his face.

The boggart was now only a couple feet away from Matt, who still wasn't doing anything. The boggart began to slowly raise its hands and muttered something that Albus couldn't quite catch.

At that moment, Matt seemed to unfreeze. He stepped back and all of a sudden ran towards the door. He wrenched it open and disappeared from the room. Everyone who had already faced the boggart started whispering amongst themselves

Albus turned to John, who shrugged. Albus couldn't even begin to imagine why Matt was afraid of that strange man, but he could sense that it went beyond a normal fear.

"I'm going after him," Albus whispered to John. John nodded and Albus ran from the room without asking Balladanis or even looking back at him.

Albus could hear Balladanis trying to quiet the rest of the students down as he walked quickly down the corridor. Matt wasn't anywhere to be found. Albus continued to walk down the corridor, not really knowing where he was going. Where would Matt go? The dormitory? Room of Requirement? Marauder's Den? That was it, Albus thought. That's where Matt would go. After all, only a few people knew about that.

Albus walked through the empty corridors, thankful that nobody else was wandering around. He glanced at his watch. There was only ten minutes left in class.

The fifth floor corridor was also deserted. Albus quickly pulled up the arm on the appropriate suit of armor and then searched the opposite wall for the tiny paw prints. He found them and glanced up and down the corridor once more before wrenching the door open.

The room looked empty when Albus stepped inside. In fact, it looked just like they left it at the end of the previous year. Albus hadn't been in it for months. He quietly walked further into the room and headed straight for Matt's alcove.

Matt was sitting on his four-poster bed, just staring directly at the wall in front of him. Albus wordlessly sat down on the bed, not sure of what to say. Matt didn't even acknowledge the fact that Albus was there. Either that or he didn't notice.

"Er, are you ok?" Albus asked after a few moments of awkward silence.

Matt looked over at him. He didn't look all right. His face was pale white. "I guess," he said quietly, "But everyone probably thinks I'm afraid of everything now. Nobody else ran out of the room."

"Maybe everyone else's boggarts weren't as scary," Albus suggested.

"Maybe," Matt muttered.

Albus heard the door open and he craned his head around to see that Rose, John, and Amanda had come inside. John and the girls walked over to where Albus and Matt were.

"We've got your bags," John said as he dropped Albus and Matt's bags on the floor.

"Thanks," Albus replied.

"Are you all right?" John asked Matt.

"Yeah," Matt sighed.

"What have we got next?" Albus asked.

"Herbology," Rose answered, "And we'd better go if we don't want to be late."

"Are you coming?" Albus asked Matt.

"Yeah," Matt got up off the bed, "Let's go. I just hope we don't have it with the Slytherins. I'd bet my last Galleon that Malfoy's going to make fun of me for this for rest of the year."

Albus would have been willing to bet that as well. Fortunately, the third year Gryffindors had Herbology with the Ravenclaws that year. A few of the other Gryffindors stole quick glances at Matt during the beginning part of the class, but nobody said anything to him. Neville quizzed them about a few plants they had learned about the previous year for a few minutes. Rose and Linda answered all of them. Then he gave a broad overview of what they'd be doing that year.

Wow! I love it.

Thanks, Riley!

Chapter 7: Nightmare

After lunch, Albus, Rose, and Matt headed to Ancient Runes while John and Amanda went to Divination. Albus didn't really know what to expect from Ancient Runes, nor did he know anything about the teacher. Matt had told them that Amy said the teacher was nice enough.

Albus, Rose, and Matt sat down at one of the tables in the middle of the room and waited for the teacher. Linda Morales was already seated at one of the front tables. Albus wondered how she always seemed to be the first to arrive to any class. There was also an assortment of Hufflepuffs in the room. Albus, Rose, Matt, and Linda appeared to be the only Gryffindors taking the class, though.

The professor walked in a few minutes later. She was a short woman with curly grey hair and a patient look on her face.

"Hello," she smiled, "I'm Professor Sturly."

She took attendance and then gave a lengthy lecture about what the study of Ancient Runes was. Albus kind of thought she could have condensed it and he found himself zoning out about halfway through. Rose was paying rapt attention and Albus had a feeling this would become one of her favorite classes.

Towards the end of the class, Sturly gave an overview of the first chapter in their book and then assigned the remainder of the chapter for homework. The chapter covered a variety of basic runes that Albus and the rest of the students would have to memorize.

Charms consisted of Rose and Linda alternatively answering every question Cedonia threw at them. Albus had a feeling it would become a regular occurrence in all the classes he had with both Rose and Linda.

"How was Divination?" Albus asked his friends after dinner as they were sitting around the Marauder's Den.

"Entertaining," John laughed, "I think it'll be my easiest class."

"So, who did Trelawney say would die this year?" Rose asked.

"What?!" Kaden exclaimed, "Someone's going to die?"

"No," Rose sighed, "Trelawney just predicts someone's death every year. The student in question has never actually died during that year."

"Oh," Kaden shrugged, "So she's not a real psychic?"

"You mean a Seer?" Rose asked, "Well, she has made a few real predictions. She's the one who spoke the prophecy about Albus's dad. But can she really predict the future with crystal balls and such? I doubt it. I really doubt anyone can do that. I'm sure there are real Seers out there, but they're extremely rare. Divination is a very obscure branch of magic that is difficult to interpret. My mum says we shouldn't put much faith in it."

"I still think it would be brilliant to know the future, though," Kaden grinned.

"I don't know," Matt shrugged, "I've always thought the future was best left unknown."

"I've always thought so, too," Albus agreed.

"So, who's going to snuff it?" Kaden asked.

"Carter Eubert," John replied, "That Ravenclaw we shared a boat with when we crossed the lake in first year. I have to say that I'm relieved it wasn't me."

"Me, too," Amanda agreed.

Rose groaned. "I've told you that it's not real! Trelawney has never accurately predicted a student's death. She predicted my Uncle Harry's death and he's still alive!"

"Yeah, but didn't he nearly die at the end of his third year?" John asked.

"Key word, nearly," Rose replied, "Plus, he faced death pretty much every year."

"Ok, ok," John said, "But I'm still glad she didn't predict my death, even if it's not a real prediction."

"So how was Ancient Runes?" Amanda asked.

"Really interesting!" Rose said excitedly and proceeded to give a commentary on how the class had went. However, Kaden seemed to be the only one really intrigued by it.

Albus and his friends spent the remainder of the evening in the Marauder's Den. Once they had exhausted the topic of their first two days of classes, they moved on to the Quidditch competition and Albus's chances of making the Hogwarts team. Everyone thought Albus had a good chance of making it, except Albus. Then they talked a bit about their upcoming Hogsmeade trips, although that topic kind of made Kaden jealous. John brought up the topic of Linda Morales, but both Rose and Matt didn't want to talk about her at all.

Eventually, they had to return to Gryffindor tower in order not to break curfew. On his way up to his dormitory, Albus noticed that Linda once again was surrounded by a group of admirers, but appeared not to be enjoying it at all.

******

"No! I don't want to go! Dad, don't make me go!"

Albus's eyes snapped open. He peered at the clock and saw that it was just after two in the morning. He could hear someone tossing and turning and mumbling in their sleep in the bed next to him.

"Please, I don't want to. Just let me go home."

Albus was wide awake now. The talking was coming from Matt's bed and Albus knew he was having a nightmare. Albus had been woken up by Matt's nightmares on numerous occasions, especially during first year. They always seemed to come around the full moon. Although, Albus was pretty sure that the full moon wasn't for a few weeks. This nightmare sounded worse anyway.

The mumbling continued for another few minutes and then stopped all of a sudden. Albus heard the bed creak and footsteps crossing the room until they disappeared altogether. Albus sat up and waited a few minutes before quietly getting out of bed. He stepped into his slippers and padded across the room and carefully shut the door behind him. None of the other boys had woken up.

The common room was dark and empty when Albus got there. The fire had long since died out and Albus shivered slightly as he stumbled around the room. There was faint wand light coming from one of the corners. Albus walked slowly towards it and saw Matt sitting curled up in one of the chairs, staring at the floor.

Matt startled when he saw Albus. "Oh, Albus," he sighed, "What are you doing up?"

Albus shrugged and sat down in the chair next to Matt's. "Followed you down here."

"Oh, did I wake you up?"

"Sort of," Albus replied, "But it's ok. I just came to see if you were all right. I mean, first the boggart and then that nightmare-"

"How do you know I had a nightmare?" Matt asked.

"I sort of heard you mumbling," Albus answered, "You were talking in your sleep."

"Oh."

"Listen," Albus paused, "You don't have to tell me, but I was sort of wondering who that bloke was that your boggart was. I mean, I kind of thought it would be a full moon."

"So did I," Matt said quietly, "Which is part of why I freaked out so much."

Albus nodded, wondering if Matt was going to continue or not.

"I know I haven't told you much about what happened when I lived in Australia," Matt began.

Albus nodded again. All he really knew about Matt's life in Australia was that he had lived in a mansion and his dad had been the Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.

"That bloke the boggart turned into is the current Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures," Matt continued, "He replaced my dad. But before that, he was the Head of the Werewolf Control Unit."

Albus was still a bit confused about why he was Matt's boggart, but he figured it would be best to just not say anything.

"While my parents were in the process of finding out where to move, a law was passed that all werewolves had to transform in a Ministry approved center if their place of transformation failed an inspection. Mine failed."

"What?!" Albus gaped at him, "But your dad was-"

"The head of the department, I know. They passed the law while we were visiting New York. My parents refused to let me transform at one of the Ministry centers, so they broke the law and were fined. The first time that happened, my dad was fired over it.

"But that bloke, Ralph Lubar is his name, wouldn't give up until I transformed in one of the centers. My parents said it was because he hated my dad so much. The two of them had some sort of long term row going on or something. I don't know the details. But anyway," Matt paused, "Eventually, Lubar was able to pass a law that made it legal for the Ministry to take werewolves by force to one of the transformation centers. He flooed to our house, grabbed me, and flooed to the Ministry approved center before my parents had a chance to stop him."

Albus stared at Matt. He could hardly believe what he was hearing. What was even more unbelievable, was that it had been legal. How could it be legal to basically kidnap a kid for a night?

"I don't remember any of it," Matt said quietly, "Except for what happens in the nightmares I have. It was horrible, though. The other werewolves were all adults and they all sort of ganged up on me. I spent a day or so at the hospital in Australia and then my parents had me transferred to St. Mungo's because they wanted Healer Sterling to take care of me. I spent three weeks there."

"Well, it makes sense that you were so scared of that boggart," Albus said, "Lubar is one of the most horrible wizards I've ever heard of."

Matt nodded and shifted slightly. "I thought I was over it. I mean, it was over five years ago. I really thought that boggart would turn into a full moon. But I guess having Killigan here brought everything back. I thought all that stuff that happened in Australia was behind me, but I guess not."

"Nothing like that is going to happen here," Albus said quietly, "Lubar has no control over our Ministry. He's in Australia."

"I guess you're right," Matt sighed, "I think I'll go see if Madam Pomfrey will give me any dreamless sleep potion. Could I use the Invisibility Cloak?"

"Yeah, of course," Albus said as he stood up. He had a feeling that Madam Pomfrey would definitely give him the dreamless sleep and probably try and convince him to spend the night in the Hospital Wing as well.

Albus and Matt quietly walked back to the dormitory and Albus dug out the Cloak, as well as the second edition Marauder's Map, and handed them to Matt. Once Matt had left the room, Albus climbed back into bed.

Albus lay awake thinking about what Matt had told him for a while. His own boggart of not making the Hogwarts Quidditch team seemed very insignificant now that he knew the details about Matt's boggart. That didn't make Albus any less nervous about the try-outs, though.

******

Albus and the other Gryffindor third years, as well as the Ravenclaws, started out the next day with History of Magic. All Albus learned during the hour was that third year History of Magic was equally as boring as second year. Transfiguration consisted of another lecture on Animagi and Albus noticed that John paid a considerably more amount of attention than he usually did. Albus thought this was pointless, though, since they had already established the previous year that they would not become Animagi.

Care of Magical Creatures was after lunch and the class moved on to the slightly more interesting bowtruckles. Albus was very thankful for the break they had afterwards, when Rose went to Muggle Studies.

"It's only the third day and I'm already sick of homework," Albus muttered as they entered the Marauder's Den.

"So don't do it," John said as he pulled a Chocolate Frog out of his bag.

"You should do that Divination homework," Amanda said, "You know, the one where we predict what happens to us next Wednesday."

"Already did it," John announced.

Albus, Matt, and Amanda all stared in shock at John. John never ever did homework early. He was always the one finishing the last lines of an essay as the teacher took attendance.

"What?" John shrugged, "I occasionally do stuff before it's due."

"No, actually, you don't," Matt smirked.

"Divination's different. It's fun to make up fake predictions."

"So what's happening to you next Wednesday?" Amanda asked.

"I'm going to break my neck when I fall off my broom."

"John, you don't even play Quidditch," Albus pointed out.

"Trelawney won't care."

Albus personally thought it was a waste of time to come up with fake predictions for Divination, but that was probably why he hadn't signed up for the class.

"Oh, did we ever tell you what Balladanis's boggart was?" John asked Albus and Matt.

"Nope," Matt said.

Amanda burst out laughing. "You're going to love this."

"Yeah," John grinned, "When the two of you left, the boggart got a bit confused because no one was standing that close to it. Everyone was whispering and not paying an ounce of attention to it, so Balladanis stepped in front of it and you'll never guess what it turned into!"

"A werewolf?" Matt asked.

"No, but that would have been funny, too," John laughed, "Anyway, it turned into a woman."

"A woman?" Albus raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah," John said, "A tall, skinny, pale faced woman. Her skin was as pale as Linda's. Her hair was a bit lighter, but still a dark brown. The woman just sort of walked over to Balladanis with a smile on her face. She was kind of pretty in an odd sort of way."

"Now that is weird," Albus replied, "Why in the name of Merlin would he be afraid of women?"

"Maybe it was a specific woman," Matt pointed out.

That would make more sense. After all, Matt wasn't afraid of all men. His boggart had turned into a specific man. But Albus did think it was kind of odd that Balladanis, the stern man who hated Dark Arts, would be afraid of a witch. Albus would have thought he'd be afraid of some sort of scary dark creature.

"Who do you think she was?" Matt asked.

John shrugged. "His wife?"

Albus smirked. "Well, that would be funny."

"My dad jokes that he's afraid of my mum at times," John replied, "But I doubt his boggart would turn into her."

"Maybe she's some sort of dark witch that he's faced in the past," Amanda suggested.

"Good thinking!" Matt agreed, "Maybe she was a Death Eater."

"I don't know if he fought in the War or not, though," Albus said, "My dad's never mentioned his name before and he doesn't really seem like the kind of bloke to just stay in the background, does he?"

"I guess not," Matt replied, "She could still be an evil witch, though."

"That does make the most sense," John said, "She must be really evil. I mean, Balladanis doesn't seem like he'd be afraid of anything."

"Everyone's afraid of something," Albus pointed out, "But yeah, she must be evil."

"What did Balladanis do to make her funny?" Matt asked.

"Turned her into some sort of statue," John answered, "It was strange, like she was petrified. She just froze in place. And then Balladanis banished it to the trunk."

"How is that funny?" Albus asked.

"No idea," John shrugged, "Just adds to the mystery that is Balladanis."

"I'm still not sure I like him," Matt commented.

"Me, neither," Albus agreed.

"But hey, at least he didn't give us any homework on the first day," John pointed out.

******

The next day Albus found himself yet again sitting in the back of the Defense classroom in between Matt and John. Malfoy kept turning around in his seat and smirking at Matt. Albus was glaring at him, silently daring him to say anything about Matt's experience with the boggart.

Balladanis stormed into the room a few minutes later in a way that reminded Albus of Washburn. The class immediately quieted down and Malfoy faced forward in his seat. Balladanis quickly ran through attendance and then stared at his students.

"Well, some of you were successful with last class's boggart," Balladanis began, "However, there were quite a few of you who weren't."

Malfoy yet again turned around and looked at Matt, this time unable to stifle his laughter.

"Quiet, Mr. Malfoy," Balladanis growled, "Five points from Slytherin."

Albus couldn't help but grin at that. At least Balladanis wasn't favoring Slytherin.

"Therefore, we will continue battling the boggart until you all have success with the spell," Balldanis continued, "I do not want any of you to slip through the cracks and skate through this class on the tails of more successful students. That may work while at Hogwarts, but the moment you get out into the real world, it will abruptly end. Without a basic knowledge of defensive spells, you will meet an untimely end at the hands of dark wizards."

This teacher was making it seem like they were in the midst of a war. Albus knew it was important to be able to defend yourself, but he thought Balladanis was acting like everyone was out to get you. It kind of reminded him of what his parents, aunts, and uncles had said about Mad-Eye Moody.

"Dark wizards love finding victims with little knowledge of defensive spells. The students who skirt by with acceptable marks and just barely pass each exam, without really understanding anything. They also love people who read book after book and pretend to understand everything. And while these people may have a full knowledge of defensive spells, they may not possess the skills necessary to perform them," Balldanis's eyes rested on Rose and Linda.

"I want everyone in this room to have more than the basic skills needed to perform defensive skills. I want everyone to be able to come off better in a duel. I want everyone to be able to defend themselves against dark creatures and wizards alike.

"Starting with the boggart, I will not rest until every student is capable of performing every spell we learn in this class. I will assign extra lessons to those I deem it necessary. You will come in for extra help. I do not care if it interferes with clubs or Quidditch practice. Quidditch will be of little help when you are facing a dark wizard or creature.

"Stand up!" Balladanis ordered. The class scrambled to their feet and Balladanis moved the desks aside.

"Sir!" Malfoy called out, "What if we've already had success with the boggart?"

"Then you'll do it again," Balladanis replied, "Practice makes perfect."

The class lined up in front of the trunk. Albus and his friends wound up being in the back, and Albus didn't think Matt minded this in the least. He looked very nervous at the prospect of seeing the Lubar boggart again and Albus couldn't blame him.

The line moved much faster this time than the last class. Everyone who had had problems with the boggart during the previous class seemed to do a better job this time.

Albus stepped forward once it was his turn and the boggart once again turned into Oteski, who told him he did not make the team. Albus vaguely wondered what the boggart would turn into after the try-out, if they battled it after that. He shouted the spell and moved to the side to stand next to Rose and Amanda.

John was next and battled his clown boggart in the same way he had the other day. He stepped to the side and Matt walked slowly towards the boggart.

"Two Galleons says he runs again," Malfoy whispered in Albus's ear.

"Shut it, Malfoy," Albus and John said at the same time.

The boggart once again turned into Lubar and Matt slowly raised his wand, which was shaking.

"R-R-Ridikkulus," Matt whispered. Nothing happened and the boggart advanced towards Matt.

"Louder," Balladanis told him.

"R-Ridikkulus!" Matt shouted. Still nothing. His wand arm was shaking even harder.

"R-Ridikkulus!" he shouted once again.

This time, the boggart spun around and when it stopped, Lubar was decked out in a black and white striped prison outfit with a ball and chain attached to his right leg.

"Looks like you owe us two Galleons," John smirked at Malfoy.

"Not a chance, Brickston," Malfoy growled.

"Good job," Albus grinned as Matt joined the group.

Balladanis already had the boggart shut in the trunk when Albus looked back at his teacher.

"That's enough for today," Balladanis announced. "You," he pointed at Matt, "Come see me."

Matt glanced at Albus and then walked slowly towards Balldanis as the rest of the class left the room. Albus and his friends lingered near the doorway, but Balladanis gestured for them to leave. They reluctantly left, but waited just outside the doorway.

"What did he want?" Albus asked once Matt exited the room.

"I have to go in for extra help," Matt groaned, "Until I can face the boggart successfully."

"But you were successful," John pointed out.

"Not successful enough for Balladanis."

"Somehow, I don't think anyone would be successful enough for him," Rose muttered.

"Yeah," Albus agreed, "That was some speech he gave at the beginning of class."

Albus still didn't know what to think of their new Defense professor. He seemed very strict and Albus didn't really feel comfortable with him, but on the other hand, he seemed very knowledgeable in defensive spells. Albus had a feeling they'd learn a lot from him, and even though they weren't involved in a war at the moment, Albus knew defense skills were always important to have. That's what his father had told him ever since he could remember. Albus had grown up knowing the need for defense against the dark arts. He just had never had it taught to him in such a forceful strict way.

Chapter 8: The Incident With the Giant Squid


The remainder of the week went by quickly. Albus spent all his spare time on the Quidditch pitch, trying to hone his skills for the try-outs on Saturday. Unfortunately, the Slytherin Quidditch team booked the pitch all Friday evening, so Albus was unable to cram in a last minute practice session.

Instead, Albus sat in the common room with the rest of his friends, trying to write an essay for Transfiguration. He was supposed to research a famous Animagi and write a foot long essay about him or her. Albus had wanted to write about his grandfather, but given the fact that Prongs's Animagus status had been a secret, Albus didn't think such an essay would work. So, Albus eventually decided to write about McGonagall. He had a feeling half the class would write about her.

"What are McGonagall's markings?" John asked, proving Albus's theory.

"Spectacle marks around her eyes," Albus answered as he stared at his mostly blank piece of parchment.

"Thanks," John grinned, "You just saved me fifteen minutes of research."

"No problem," Albus replied. He wasn't sure why the essay was taking him so long. He knew a great deal about McGonagall and her Animagus capabilities. He supposed he just had his mind on other things, like the Quidditch try-outs.

"How can she even concentrate on her studying?" Rose sighed loudly.

"Who?" Albus asked.

"Linda Morales," Rose muttered, with a hint of contempt in her voice, "Just look at her."

Albus turned around and saw Linda sitting at a table with a bunch of books and parchment strewn about it. There was quite a crowd of boys surrounding her, including Bilius, Ethan, James, Ben, Cedric, Nathan, and a few second years Albus didn't know the names of. They all seemed to be talking at once while Linda had her eyes fixed on one of the books.

"Well, from what you've said, she's so freakishly smart she doesn't need to study," Kaden said.

"Humph," Rose huffed, "Everyone needs to study."

"I think you're jealous, Rose," Albus smirked.

"Am not," Rose replied.

"I wonder what position she plays," John mused.

"What?" Albus asked.

"Position. You know, in Quidditch," John explained, "She must be on the Australian team. Since she's our age, she can't be on the dueling team."

"Seeker," Rose said.

"How do you know?" Albus asked.

"Karina asked her one day in the dormitory," Rose explained.

"Who's a Seeker?" Matt dropped his bag onto the table and sat down in the chair next to Albus.

"Linda Morales," Albus told him, "How was your boggart lesson?"

"Weird," Matt replied, "Balladanis wasn't stern like he is in class."

"Really?" Kaden gaped, "I don't think I could imagine him not strict."

"Yeah. I wouldn't say he was nice, but he didn't act like he does in class."

"What did he do?" John asked.

"Well, I walked in and he was sitting at his desk. So I walked up to him and he got up and went over to the trunk. He didn't say much, just told me to battle the boggart. And then I did. Over and over again until I thought I was going to go mad."

"That sounds like Balladanis," Kaden interrupted.

"I know," Matt replied, "I'm getting there. Anyway, eventually he told me I could stop. Then he told me to sit down and that he wanted to talk to me. He basically told me the same thing he told everyone in class the other day. But he changed it a bit."

Matt lowered his voice. "He said that the point of Defense class wasn't only to learn how to defend ourselves against the dark arts. He said it's also to teach us why the dark arts are so horrible. He then went on to tell me that it was especially important for me to know that."

"That is weird," Albus said quietly, "You don't think he said that because of, well, you know."

"Yeah, I think he did," Matt replied, "But he didn't say it in a mean way or anything. It was just really really odd."

"I'll say," John agreed, "Do you have to go there again?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Matt muttered, "He wants me to go every Friday until he says I don't have to anymore."

"How did it go with the boggart, though?" Rose asked.

"I thought it went ok. I mean, I'm doing better than I was. But he still wants me to go in for extra help."

"Well," Kaden said after a few moments, "This just proves that Balladanis is a very very strange teacher."

******

Albus awoke riddled with nerves the next morning. It reminded him of the nerves he had only one year ago prior to the Gryffindor team try-outs. Only this was ten times worse. He felt like he'd eaten a few live pygmy puffs and they were bouncing around his stomach trying to escape.

Try-outs were to be held shortly after lunch and Albus spent all morning talking with his fellow Gryffindor teammates in the common room. Georgia spent over an hour talking about the strengths and weaknesses of the other people who would be trying out. Albus only sort of paid attention. The rest of the team seemed excited and not nearly as nervous as Albus. Albus thought James was lucky; he was only competing against Lisa Galivant of Hufflepuff and Miranda Corner of Ravenclaw, as Slytherin was getting a new Seeker that year.

Albus sat with his team at lunch, although he didn't eat much. Georgia continued talking about everything they'd need to know for the try-outs. The other Gryffindors kept coming up to him and wishing him luck. All Albus could manage to do was nod and mutter 'thanks'.

In an effort to keep order on the Quidditch pitch, the headmaster had banned the rest of the students from watching the try-outs. Albus was very grateful of this and was kind of relieved when Georgia finally announced that they should leave for the pitch. Albus's friends wished him luck and he left the Great Hall following James.

The walk to the pitch was quiet. Georgia had stopped her running commentary on the strategy of the rest of the Hogwarts Quidditch players and everyone else seemed to realize they were more nervous than they thought.

Albus took a deep breath as he entered the pitch and adjusted his broom on his shoulder. He tried to think positive thoughts and followed his team onto the pitch. Then, he stopped in his tracks and felt his jaw drop to the ground.

Standing in the middle of the pitch, next to Professors Oteski, Longbottom, Slughorn, Patil, and Polo, was none other than Teddy Lupin. Standing with Teddy and the professors were Oliver Wood and Tyler Pike, the Head Boy from Albus's first year.

"What's Teddy doing here?" James whispered.

"No idea," Albus whispered back, wondering the same thing. Why was Teddy there? He hadn't mentioned anything over the summer about doing anything at Hogwarts that year.

Albus stood with his team and looked at the rest of the students who were trying out. The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff players were already there. Amongst the Ravenclaws were Kate Waverly, the Keeper; Natalie Cable, Damien Waverly, and Dan Burke, the Chasers; Zack Valentino and Allie Davis, the Beaters; Miranda Corner, the Seeker. Their entire team was trying out, like the Gryffindor team.

The Hufflepuffs had a few less players trying out. Their Keeper, Tanner Royce was there, along with Anna Reilly and Shawn Ames, the Chasers. One of their Beaters, Andy Kaper was there. Albus remembered that their other Beater had graduated the previous year. Lisa Galivant, their Seeker, was there as well, looking determined.

The Slytherins showed up a few minutes later. Leading them was their new captain, Ferris Fielding, who was a Chaser. His fellow Chasers were Peyton Haines and Hailey Odele. Their remaining Beater, Talan Flint, glared at the Gryffindor team as he walked by.

Professor Oteski gazed around the pitch and then looked at his watch. He said something to the four heads of houses and then cleared his throat. Albus stopped watching the Slytherins and turned to Oteski.

"I think everyone's here now," Oteski began, "First, I want to introduce you to your Head Captain and your Assistant Captains. Oliver Wood, formerly of Puddlemere United, has agreed to captain the team."

There was a very loud round of applause and a few whistles from the crowd of students. Albus grinned and clapped until the applause began to quiet down.

"And your Assistant Captains are former students you probably all remember. Teddy Lupin, former Seeker and Captain of the Gryffindor team, and Tyler Pike, former Seeker and Captain of the Ravenclaw team will be your Assistant Captains."

Albus clapped hard enough to make his hands hurt. He had no idea Teddy was going to help run the Hogwarts team! Teddy must have had a hard time keeping that a secret over the summer.

"You will all try out this afternoon and I, along with your captains and heads of houses will make the decisions tonight. The final list of the team as well as the reserve players will be posted in your common rooms late tomorrow.

"Now, I thought we'd start with the Seekers. Everyone else please go sit in the stands."

Albus and the vast majority of the crowd drifted towards the stands. James, Lisa, and Miranda remained in the pitch. Miranda was a third year and Lisa was a fourth year. Albus thought James had a pretty good chance of making the team. He had beaten both of the other Seekers numerous times.

Albus paid some attention to James's try-out, but mostly he was thinking about his own try-out. Eventually, James and the other Seekers finished and Oteski called for the Keepers. Georgia practically ran down to the pitch, followed by the other two Keepers. Albus watched and he was pretty confident Georgia would make the team as well. After Georgia returned with a huge grin on her face, Oteski called the Beaters down. Albus's cousin, Bradley, as well as Ryan O'Malley did well with their try-out, but so did the other Beaters.

Finally, Oteski announced for the Chasers to enter the pitch. Albus stood up with his cousins, Heather and Fred, and walked nervously down to the pitch. Teddy flashed him a grin as he entered the pitch.

There were ten other Chasers besides Albus; the worst chances of all the positions to get a spot on the team.

"Ok, I want everyone to fly around the pitch a few times," Oliver Wood announced.

Albus mounted his broom and flew into the air. His nerves seemed to calm down as he felt the wind blowing against his face. Just think of it as another Quidditch match, he thought as he flew amongst the other Chaser hopefuls.

The thought of try-outs being like a Quidditch match carried Albus through the whole try-out. He was still nervous and did drop a few Quaffles, but all in all, it wasn't as bad as he thought it would have been. The rest of the Chasers had dropped a few Quaffles as well. Albus still wasn't sure he'd make the team, but at least he hadn't made a fool of himself.

"Everyone did great," Oliver Wood said at the end of the try-out, "We'll make our decision and post the team list tomorrow. I'll be seeing some of you really soon."

The group started to disband and Teddy made his way towards the Gryffindor team.

"Teddy!" Georgia shouted, "I can't believe you might be my captain again! How in the name of Merlin did you keep this a secret?"

Teddy shrugged. "Honestly, I'm not even sure. I guess I kind of liked knowing something you lot didn't."

Georgia groaned. "Oh, shut it, Teddy."

"You all did really well, though," Teddy grinned.

"Yeah, but there's so many other Chasers," Albus pointed out.

"Al, even if you don't make it, you're a brilliant Chaser and you'll still have the house Quidditch. That's still going on during this whole thing."

"Oi, Teddy!" Tyler Pike called, "Get a move on, we've got to discuss the team!"

"I'll see you later, Al, everyone else," Teddy waved as he left.

Albus left the pitch with the rest of his team, who were all talking animatedly about the highlights of the try-outs. Albus was thrilled that Teddy was going to be one of the captains and it made him hope for a spot on the team even more than he had before.

Albus and the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team were greeted by raucous applause when they returned to the common room. Albus thought it was kind of premature, since none of them were actually on the team yet, but it was still nice. Rose, Matt, and Amanda were sitting at their usual table and Albus went over to them.

"How was the try-out?" Matt asked immediately.

"Better than I thought," Albus replied as he sat down, "I think I have a slight chance of making it."

"That's good," Matt grinned.

"Oh, and Teddy's one of the captains!" Albus told them.

"Really?" Rose said, "Who are the others?"

"Tyler Pike, the Head Boy from our first year, and Oliver Wood-"

"John is going to be thrilled when he finds that out," Matt interrupted.

Albus grinned. Oliver Wood had gone to Slughorn's Christmas party in their first year and John had given him a Quaffle to sign. John was a big supporter of Oliver Wood and Puddlemere United.

"Where is John anyway?" Albus asked, "And Kaden?"

"In the Marauder's Den," Matt answered, "Plotting. They're planning on swimming in the lake tomorrow with the Giant Squid."

"I'm rather afraid of what sort of plotting they're doing," Rose muttered, "If swimming requires plotting, nothing good will come of it."

"I take it you three don't want to join them?" Albus laughed.

"Definitely not," Amanda said.

"Are you insane, Albus?" Rose raised her eyebrows, "Of course not."

"Nope," Matt shook his head, "I'd rather not get in trouble this soon into the year."

"Yeah," Albus agreed, "I don't want to either." Albus and his friends had gotten into quite a bit of trouble, mostly because of Kaden, the previous year and Albus was hoping he'd keep Filch's detentions to a minimum this year.

"The two of them are going to be in detention more often than they're not," Rose muttered.

"That wouldn't surprise me," Albus replied. John had always been the trouble-maker of Albus's group, even before Kaden entered the scene. And then when Kaden had arrived, nothing was going to stop him. Now John had someone to conspire with for all of his mischievous schemes.

******

Although Albus and Matt flat out refused to swim in the lake with John and Kaden, the two mischievous boys managed to convince them to at least watch by the side of the lake. However, Rose and Amanda refused to be anywhere near the lake when this took place. Rose insisted that she needed to devote the day to studying and Amanda decided to join her. Albus had a feeling Rose's increased amount of studying had a lot to do with Linda Morales, but knew better than to mention this to his cousin.

John and Kaden walked excitedly ahead of Albus and Matt on their way out of the castle the next day. Albus still had no idea what exactly they were planning on doing, and for that he was grateful. If John and Kaden got caught, Albus preferred to not know anything about it, so he could deny his involvement.

There were a few students sitting around the lake enjoying the warm late summer day when the boys arrived. Albus and Matt chose a spot underneath a large beech tree and sat back to watch the event unfold.

John and Kaden grinned at each other and then pulled off their shirts and shoes, so they were only wearing shorts. A few first year girls who were sitting near Albus and Matt giggled and began whispering to each other. Albus turned to Matt and rolled his eyes. Matt stifled a laugh.

"This isn't going to end well," Albus said.

"But it will be entertaining to watch," Matt laughed.

John and Kaden began to obnoxiously stretch by the edge of the water. Albus had a feeling they were doing it only to try and gain the attention of the few students who weren't watching them. Next, they bent down to the water and felt the temperature.

"Bloody hell!" John shouted, "It's freezing!"

"That means we'll just jump right in!" Kaden announced. He turned around and walked away, and then took a running start into the lake. He landed with a loud splash that soaked John, who was still standing by the edge.

"They're mad," Albus grinned.

"All right, here it goes!" John shouted and followed Kaden into the water, "Merlin, that's cold!"

Albus laughed as John and Kaden got used to the water. The two of them were flailing around and shrieking like little girls. They had gained quite a few on-lookers who were standing around the lake laughing their heads off.

Albus may not have wanted to do something this crazy himself, but he was having a good time watching his friends do it. The two of them got used to the water and then began swimming around.

However, merely swimming in the Black Lake wasn't that exciting. Albus knew they had something else up their sleeves (or lack thereof) and it was only a matter of time until they put their plan into action.

John and Kaden were just beginning to have a contest to see who could remain underwater the longest when a long tentacle appeared out of the water a few feet behind them.

"Ooo!" a girl shouted, "It's the squid!"

Both John and Kaden turned around. "Yes!" they both shouted at the same time, "The squid has arrived!"

Albus watched as John and Kaden swam towards the tentacle, wondering what sort of torment they were going to inflict upon the squid. He didn't think the squid was particularly dangerous, but who knew what it would do if it was provoked.

John and Kaden treaded water on either side of the tentacle and then began to tickle it. This earned a bunch of loud gasps and more hysterical laughter from the crowd.

A few more of the squid's tentacles appeared out of the water and two of them smacked John and Kaden on their heads.

"Hey!" John shouted and pushed the tentacle away.

Then, the squid's head emerged from the surface of the water. A few of the younger girls who were watching began to shriek and the older students laughed even harder. Albus was laughing and shaking his head at the same time. He couldn't help but laugh at his friends' stupidity. They should have known that the squid would try and tickle back. And it had more arms than John and Kaden combined.

John and Kaden grinned at each other and then swam towards the back of the squid as it rose out of the water. They grabbed onto its back and began to ride it. Albus gaped as the squid began to swim around with John and Kaden on top of it. The two of them had actually decided to ride the Giant Squid.

"They're idiots," Matt commented.

Albus nodded as the squid swam closer and closer to the shore. The onlookers retreated and scattered as it drew nearer. John and Kaden both looked thrilled, until the squid propelled them onto the shore. They landed in the grass and the squid returned into the murky depths of the lake.

Albus jumped up and ran towards John and Kaden, followed by Matt. He squeezed his way through the crowd and looked down at his two friends.

"Urgh," John groaned as he sat up, rubbing his head.

"That was incredibly stupid," Albus grinned, "And very entertaining."

"Let's do it again!" Kaden said excitedly as he examined his arm, which was bleeding.

"How can you actually want to do it again when the squid threw you five feet into the air?" Matt asked.

"It was fun," Kaden shrugged.

"Move aside!" a female voice shouted.

The crowd immediately dispersed and people ran towards the castle and to other areas of the grounds.

Albus looked up and saw Professor Patil striding towards them. Albus groaned. He knew they wouldn't get away with this.

"I've just been informed that the two of you were riding the Giant Squid!" Patil shouted at John and Kaden, "Is that true?"

"Er-" John began.

"Well..." Kaden said.

"Of course it is!" Patil replied, "Look at you! I'm very disappointed! I thought it was a given not to swim in that lake and the fact that you provoked the squid..." she shook her head, "Well, you two will need to go to the Hospital Wing and then I'll assign you detention."

John and Kaden stood up and nodded. The thrill that had been on their faces just moments before, was completely gone.

"And what about you two?" Patil said to Albus and Matt, "Were you involved? I see you're both dry, but I've noticed that the four of you are always getting in trouble together."

"They didn't do it, Professor," Kaden announced.

"Yeah," John agreed, "They didn't even know what we were going to do."

Albus felt a surge of gratitude for his friends, especially Kaden. Just a year ago, Kaden had been getting all four of them in trouble for things only he had done. Now, he was actually telling teachers that Albus wasn't involved. True, Albus hadn't been involved, but it was the principle of it.

Patil nodded. "All right. Mr. Brickston, Mr. Dursley, you'll need to follow me. Mr. Potter and Mr. Eckerton, you may return to your common room."

Albus didn't need to be told twice. He and Matt took off towards the castle and once they were out of earshot of Patil, started talking about John and Kaden's adventure.

"I think the two of them could single handedly cause the destruction of the entire castle," Albus laughed.

"It's only a matter of when they'll do it," Matt smirked, "Let's see, Kaden's already tormented the Whomping Willow, and now they've tormented the Giant Squid. What'll be next?"

"Filch's new cat?" Albus suggested.

"Filch would love that," Matt replied.

At some point in between the end of the last year and the start of this one, Filch had obtained another cat. Albus had heard stories about his previous cat, Mrs. Norris, from his parents, aunts, and uncles, but had never actually met her. She had died before Albus was born. Apparently Filch had been so overcome by grief that he hadn't gotten another one, until now.

The new cat, Josie, was a young sprightly kitten, whose only resemblance to Mrs. Norris was her uncanny ability to locate students who were breaking rules. All the students took an immediate dislike to Josie and turned in the other direction when they saw her small orange body emerge from around the corner.

People were already talking about John and Kaden's swim in the lake when Albus and Matt entered the Gryffindor common room. Albus had a feeling it would be weeks before anyone forgot about it.

Albus and Matt spotted Rose and Amanda and sat down at their table. It was spread with numerous books and rolls of parchment and quills. The only other table that rivaled its amount of books was the one Linda Morales was sitting at.

"I take it you've heard about John and Kaden's incident with the squid?" Albus asked.

"Bits and pieces," Rose muttered without looking up.

Albus and Matt launched into the entire story and Amanda was in stitches by the time they finished.

"Those two are going to be expelled if they're not careful," Rose said as she frantically scribbled something onto a roll of parchment.

Albus looked curiously at his cousin. Rose had always been a stickler for homework, but never had he seen her this obsessed with it unless it was right before the end of term exams. And this was only the first week of school.

"Rose, why don't you take a break?" Albus suggested. He was actually kind of worried about her. Studying was good, but too much was kind of unhealthy.

"Can't," Rose muttered, "My Potions essay is only a roll and a half of parchment."

Albus gaped at her, "Rose, you do know that Slughorn only wants a half a roll, right?"

Rose nodded. "Yeah, but Janie said that Linda's essay is already two rolls. So I've got to make mine at least that long."

"Rose," Albus sighed, "Your essay doesn't have to be longer than Linda's."

"Yes, it does," Rose insisted.

Albus sighed and sat back in his chair. He knew it was a lost cause. His cousin had that determined look in her eyes and Albus knew there was no convincing her that she didn't have to be so competitive with Linda.

"I think she studies so much because she doesn't really have any friends here," Amanda said quietly.

"What?" Albus looked at her incredulously. At any given moment, Linda was surrounded by at least five other people. She was easily the most popular of all the Australian students. "Look at her! She's got eight people talking to her at once!"

Amanda groaned. "They're not her friends. They just think she's pretty. She doesn't even want them around. They do all the talking. All she does is sit there and study. Plus, ever notice how she's never around any of the other Australian students?"

Albus looked at Linda again. Amanda was right. Linda wasn't actually talking to any of the students around her. And come to think of it, he hadn't seen her talk to any of the other Australian students either. "Wonder why that is?"

Amanda shrugged. "Well, all the other Australian students are a lot older than her. All her friends are probably still in Australia."

"She could befriend any of those blokes near her," Albus pointed out.

"Again, they're only there because they think she's pretty," Amanda sighed, "But she's really really quiet. Her first night here, she didn't say a word in the dormitory. Now, Janie's really the only one she talks to. I mean, being shy is one thing, but never talking at all?"

Albus turned to Linda once again. It was kind of odd for her never to talk to anyone, besides the teachers. It was like the only thing she wanted to do was study. Her obsession with homework seemed to be ten times that of Rose's and Albus wasn't sure if Rose could keep up.

Chapter 9: The Hogwarts Quidditch Team

John and Kaden returned to the common room an hour or so later, completely healed and scolded. They had a week's worth of detention with Filch and fifty points taken from Gryffindor. The other Gryffindors had been congratulating John and Kaden on their nerve and stupidity until they heard about the points. After that, John and Kaden were glared at and ignored by their house-mates.

The boys joined Rose and Amanda in their studying once the excitement died down. All of the boys had neglected their homework over the weekend.

Albus tried to concentrate on his Potions essay, but he couldn't. The list of who made the Hogwarts Quidditch team was going to be up within the next few hours. Albus kept stealing glances at the message board as if the list would suddenly appear there.

It didn't help that various members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team were coming up to Albus and trying to get his opinion of whether they made the team or not. How was he supposed to know if they made the team? He was the youngest one trying out. If anyone was going to be asking about whether they made the team, it should be Albus.

Would it even be that bad if Albus didn't make it? He wasn't sure. He did want to make the team. He wanted that more than anything, but at the same time, he knew it was going to be a lot of work and quite nerve wracking. It would be a bigger deal than playing for Gryffindor, that was for sure. The entire school would be watching his chasing skills and hoping he would win. Albus loved playing Quidditch, but if he was honest with himself, he didn't like a whole lot of people watching him. Making the Hogwarts team would ensure that hundreds of people would be watching him.

Albus managed to write about half his essay before dinner, but he didn't think it was very good. Oh, well, he thought. One failed essay wouldn't matter in the long run.

He went down to dinner with his friends, but didn't participate much in their conversations. In fact, he was probably as quiet as Linda.

Albus glanced up at the staff table. His eyes rested upon Professor Oteski, who was deep in conversation with a grey-haired Auror who had been assigned to patrol Hogwarts for the week. Oteski had probably already decided on the team. Albus hoped he'd hurry up and post the list.

"Albus!" Georgia nearly collided with Albus on his trek back up to the Gryffindor common room after dinner, "The list is posted!" Georgia turned around and sprinted back to the common room.

Albus took a deep breath and his heart sped up. This was it, he thought. Within a few minutes, he'd know whether he made the team or not.

There was a large crowd around the message board when Albus entered the room. James burst out of the crowd with a huge grin on his face.

"I made it!" he shouted, "I'm the Hogwarts Seeker!"

The entire common room burst into applause. Albus grinned through his nerves and patted his brother on the back.

"What about me?" Albus whispered to James, "Did I make it?"

"Look for yourself," James grinned and pushed him towards the message board.

"I don't think I can," Albus sighed. This was worse than last year when he tried out for the Gryffindor team.

"You have to," John insisted.

Albus took a deep breath and squeezed his way through the crowd. He closed his eyes and then stared at the list.

Keeper- Georgia Weasley, Gryffindor, 7th year.

That didn't surprise Albus in the least. In fact, he would have been shocked if Georgia hadn't made the team. No wonder she looked so excited when she ran into Albus.

Chaser- Damien Waverly, Ravenclaw, 7th year.
Chaser- Anna Reilly, Hufflepuff, 7th year.
Chaser- Ferris Fielding, Slytherin, 7th year.

Albus felt a wave of disappointment overcome him. He hadn't made it. All the other Chasers were seventh years, and captains of their respective house teams at that. Why had he thought he'd be able to compete with them?

He continued to read the list. There were still the reserve players after all.

Beater- Andy Kaper, Hufflepuff, 5th year.
Beater- Allie Davis, Ravenclaw, 4th year.

So, James wasn't going to be the only one who wasn't a seventh year on the team. That was good. But still, most of the team were seventh years. All the team captains made the team. That made sense. As captains, they were most likely the best Quidditch players in the school.

Seeker- James Potter, Gryffindor, 4th year.

Reserve Players

Keeper- Kate Waverly, Ravenclaw, 5th year.

Kate would be happy, Albus thought. She had been Albus's dueling captain last year. She was nice and Albus was happy she at least got to be the reserve Keeper.

Chaser- Hailey Odelle, Slytherin, 7th year.
Chaser- Albus Potter, Gryffindor, 3rd year.

Albus gaped at the list. He blinked and read it again, just to make sure his eyes were working properly. They were. He, Albus Severus Potter, was one of the reserve Chasers! Suddenly, the disappointment was gone and Albus felt as happy as he would have if he made the regular team. Reserve was better than nothing after all. Plus, there wouldn't be as much pressure.

Beater- Talan Flint, Slytherin, 5th year.
Seeker- Lisa Galivant, Hufflepuff, 4th year.

Albus turned around and walked back to where his brother and friends were gathered.

"I'm a reserve Chaser," he announced.

"See!" James grinned, "Told you you'd make it!"

"Well, I'm not actually on the team," Albus pointed out.

"Yeah, you are," James contradicted, "Didn't you read at the bottom where it said the reserve players have to go to practices and everything?"

"Er, no," Albus shrugged sheepishly. He hadn't noticed much after his own name.

"Well, that's what it said," James continued, "First practice is on Saturday."

Albus tried to work on his Potions essay later that evening, but it was no use. The common room was in the midst of a party that usually only followed a spectacular win at Quidditch. Georgia, James, and eventually Albus were thrown into the throngs of it and he quickly gave up on his essay. No one else, besides Rose and Linda, was working on homework and Albus figured it would be pointless to even try. Maybe Slughorn wouldn't have enough time to even get to Albus's essay due to the length of Rose's and Linda's.

******

In fact, the rest of the week was much like that night in the Gryffindor common room. Albus seemed to attract attention wherever he went. On his way to class, in class, even on his way to the bathroom, people came up to him and congratulated him. Students who he had never even talked to before were telling him what a brilliant Chaser he was. All in all, he was kind of shocked at the whole thing. It's not like he was one of the main Chasers on the team.

Albus's friends were kind of enjoying the whole thing. They were kind of attracting attention by association. John and Kaden were already known as 'those Gryffindor blokes who rode the Giant Squid' and now had the added fame of being some of Albus's closest friends. Rose seemed oblivious to the whole thing and devoted more time than ever to studying. Matt and Amanda seemed to wish they wouldn't attract so much attention.

Even Lily and Hugo were attracting attention by being the sister and cousin of the Hogwarts Seeker. Albus's fame paled in comparison to James's. James had a group of admirers following him all the time. Lily and Hugo told anyone they could that they were the sister and cousin of James. Ashtyn, John's sister, told everyone she was the sister of one of the blokes who rode the Giant Squid and that her brother was friends with Albus.

John and Kaden had nightly detentions with Filch and both boys came back quietly cursing Filch every evening. Apparently the caretaker was as ruthless as ever with his detentions.

The detention wasn't the only thing John earned from his trip into the lake either. On Monday morning, he was blessed with a Howler from his mother. Instead of running into the Entrance Hall like most students did with their Howlers, John opened it at the Gryffindor table and the entire room, including the teachers, listened to John's mum screaming at the top of her lungs about how stupid he had been. John said it was worth it, though, and wasn't fazed at all by the Howler.

Albus was relieved when the week was finally over. He was hoping that the excitement of the Hogwarts Quidditch team being picked would die down over the weekend.

On Saturday afternoon, Albus left his friends in the common room and walked with Georgia and James to the Quidditch pitch.

Oliver Wood, Tyler Pike, and Teddy were already there, along with a few of the team members. Albus stood with Georgia and James as they waited for the rest of the team to show up.

"First, I'd like to say congratulations," Oliver announced once everyone arrived, "You are now the Hogwarts Quidditch Team. I'm Oliver Wood and I will be your captain. Teddy and Tyler are here to help.

"Now, I know regular Quidditch is still going on, so we'll have to work around each house's practice schedules. I've looked at those and I think Saturday afternoons will work best for practice. For now, we'll stick with once a week practice and increase if necessary.

"I thought we'd start by doing a few drills, just so everyone can get used to playing with each other. I know it'll be an adjustment, since you usually compete against the other houses, not play on the same team as them."

An adjustment was an understatement, Albus thought. As the practice progressed, it became apparent that it was extremely difficult to work with members of other houses. Albus found that it was instinct to try and keep the Quaffle away from his fellow Chasers rather than to pass it to them.

Wood, Teddy, and Tyler tried to get everyone to work together, but Albus thought it would take more than one practice. Everyone was rather subdued by the time the practice ended. Nobody had been able to work together, except for James and Lisa. The two of them actually cooperated. But the Chasers and Beaters in particular had a hard time working together. Ferris Fielding, Hailey Odelle, and Talan Flint left the pitch muttering about how they couldn't work with 'bloody Gryffindors'.

Wood looked ready to scream and throw things by the time everyone left. He was whispering to Teddy and Tyler as Albus left with James and Georgia.

"That was a disaster," Georgia groaned on their way back to the castle.

"Yeah," Albus agreed, "I don't know how this is going to work."

"It's got to work," James said adamantly, "I mean, Lisa and I practiced just fine with each other. Why can't everyone else?"

"It's Fielding and Odelle," Albus muttered, "They wouldn't pass anyone else the Quaffle! It's like they're trying to prove they're the best Chasers!"

"Well, they're idiots, then," James said, "And they better stop if they want to actually win this."

Albus definitely agreed with that. Fielding and Odelle certainly weren't acting like team players. Fielding had actually pushed Albus out of the way in order to get the Quaffle before him.

Albus felt rather depressed about the practice for the rest of the day. It seemed that the house rivalries really were awful. Albus would be the first to admit that the disliked Slytherin and certainly wasn't lining up to become best friends with any of them, but he was willing to put the rivalry behind him for the sake of the Quidditch tournament. But it didn't seem like many other members of the team wanted to do so.

Luckily for Albus, the fame of being a reserve player on the team seemed to decrease during the next week. He was able to catch up on his homework and spend time with just his friends, without anyone else following him.

Of course, spending time with Rose was beginning to be pointless. Albus couldn't remember the last time he'd had a real conversation with her or seen her without a book open in front of her.

"Rose, you've got to give it a rest," Albus said the following Saturday. He was sitting in the common room, killing time before the second Quidditch practice. "No one can possibly study this much."

"I can," Rose muttered as she read, "Linda can. She studies at night. I woke up in the middle of the night and saw her reading. I don't think she sleeps. I've heard her sneek out in the middle of the night before. I think she goes into the common room and studies."

Albus stared at Rose. He had never seen her like this. Usually Rose was rational. "Rose, I'm serious. Take a break."

"No," Rose said adamantly.

Albus sighed and got up to go to practice. He was really worried about Rose. Unfortunately, Quidditch practice did nothing to lift his spirits. The practice was another disaster.

"All right, all right!" Wood shouted and motioned for everyone to fly down.

Albus landed next to James and looked at Wood. He was looking very very stern and determined.

"We've had two practices," Wood began to pace, "Two practices and you're still flying like you're a team comprised of five-year-olds. Five-year-olds who don't get along. I'm sick of it. I agreed to captain the team because I thought you'd be the best of Hogwarts's Quidditch players. The ones who could someday play professionally. But I've been sorely disappointed.

"The house rivalries are disrupting your playing. I've got as much Gryffindor pride as the next Gryffindor, but I would put that aside if I had gotten the opportunity to do this while I was in school. This is the opportunity of a lifetime. You realize that there will be scouts for professional teams at these matches?

"In real life, you're going to have to work with people you don't like. So you'd better get used to it. All I have to say is that if you don't shape up and put the petty bickering aside, I will not hesitate to kick you off the team. I'll give you a week to do it. If any of you are still fighting next Saturday, you're off the team. Practice is over."

No one said a word as they filed out of the pitch. Albus thought Wood's speech had been good. He was sick of the fighting as well. He'd put the rivalries aside for the sake of Quidditch. After all, Albus was on the same dueling team as Scorpius Malfoy and they acted civilly towards each other. Albus wondered if the Australian and New York teams had had this many issues with getting along. He hadn't watched any of their practices, but Georgia had. She said both teams were incredibly good.

******

"I can't take it anymore!" Rose shouted as she slammed her book down on the table, which startled Matt out of his homework and impending full moon induced slumber.

Albus and his friends were in the Marauder's Den, working on the plethora of homework they had been assigned on that particular Monday. Albus, who had been watching Rose grow steadily more tense and snappish over the past few days, knew it was only a matter of time before she cracked.

"Er, Rose, are you ok?" Albus asked tentatively.

"No!" Rose shouted so loudly that Matt winced and rubbed his head. "I'm not ok! I can't take it! I just can't! Nothing I do is good enough, nothing! I just can't beat her. She got a higher grade on that Potions essay and she answered more questions in Transfiguration today. Not to mention the fact that she doesn't look like she's going to fall asleep at any moment, like John was so kind to point out about me earlier." Rose glared at John.

John shrugged. "Well, you do...."

"I know!" Rose shouted.

Albus looked at his cousin. She did look ready to fall asleep at any moment. Her eyes had purple bags under them and were bloodshot. Combine that with the fact that she was nearly in tears, and she looked awful. In fact, she looked an awful lot like Matt did.

"Rose," Amanda said quietly, "You don't have to beat her at everything."

"But I do!" Rose wailed, "I don't even know why, but I do!"

"Look," Amanda continued, "She's from Australia. They might teach stuff in a different order down there. Maybe she's already learned this. But eventually, we'll get to something she hasn't learned and then maybe she won't beat you."

"Maybe," Rose sighed and poked Matt, "Matt! Do you know what they're learning in Australia now? Amy went there, did she tell you?"

Matt groaned and glared at Rose. "No, how would I know? Amy went there years ago." He stood up and walked slowly over to his bed and collapsed onto it.

"Did I say something?" Rose asked.

Albus sighed, "You just woke him up. Do you even know what tomorrow is?"

"Tomorrow?" Rose asked, "What's significant about tomorrow? Oh, we've got a Defense essay due! I have to edit mine!"

"No," Albus groaned, "Tomorrow's the full moon."

Rose froze. "Oh, Merlin. I hadn't even realized."

"I figured," Albus said, "Listen, you're not doing anymore homework tonight."

"But I need to edit-"

"No," Albus said, "You need a break."

"Albus is right," Amanda agreed and took Rose's pile of books away, "You're not studying for the rest of the night."

"Uh, ok," Rose smiled nervously, "I can do that. I mean, what's the worst that can happen?"

Rose didn't seem to know what to do with herself. Albus found it difficult to concentrate on his own homework as he watched Rose pace around the room, trying to figure out something to do. Eventually, she settled on helping Kaden with his Transfiguration essay. Albus and Amanda exchanged glances at this, but neither of them said anything since Rose wasn't technically doing any homework. She was merely helping Kaden.

Albus, Matt, John, and Kaden wound up spending the night in the Marauder's Den. Matt had been so sound asleep by the time curfew arrived, that no one wanted to wake him up nor did anyone want to leave him there alone. Albus certainly didn't mind. He liked spending the night there. It gave him a sort of connection with his grandfather.

Chapter 10: Threats

Rose handed in her unedited essay to Balladanis the next morning. Albus did notice her scribbling some last minute sentences onto it as Balladanis collected the essays.

Defense Against the Dark Arts continued to be the strangest class in Albus's schedule. Balladanis expressed such a strong dislike for the dark arts that he started nearly every class with a stern lecture about why they were learning defensive spells and why the dark arts were bad. His eyes tended to rest on Matt and for some odd reason, Linda, whenever he gave these talks and Albus got the feeling it made Matt extremely uncomfortable. Albus couldn't blame him. He certainly wouldn't want to be under the teacher's eye like that.

Albus couldn't really say whether he enjoyed Balladanis's class or not. It had been nearly a month since the term started, but Albus still didn't know whether he liked the class or not. It was definitely different than when his dad taught. Balladanis was strict, but a good teacher.

The rest of the day went by quickly. Albus listened to John tease Rose during Herbology since she was fretting about her Defense essay. Ancient Runes was rather boring and Albus doodled idly on his notes while Matt fell asleep on his. Charms was rather fun since they worked on Cheering Charms and Albus left the room grinning profusely, along with most of the other class. Matt in particular looked strange with a huge grin across his pale fatigued face.

Matt left for the Shrieking Shack shortly after dinner and Albus went to the Marauder's Den with his friends where they distracted Rose from her studying by playing Wizard's Chess.

The next day Albus truly began to realize how busy his third year schedule was. For the past two years, he and his friends almost always had time to visit Matt in the Hospital Wing in between classes. This year, however, they didn't have time until after dinner. Albus was positively exhausted by that point, as he had stayed up late working on homework the night before, and still had Dueling Club practice afterwards. Lynley Anderson, the fourth year Hufflepuff who had replaced Kate as captain, had insisted that the whole team attend that meeting, as it was the first one and there were new second years on the team. Kaden wasn't put on Albus's team, but he was put on John's team, much to the delight of both boys.

Hectic was really the only way to describe Albus's life at Hogwarts. As September turned into October, it only got busier. Gryffindor Quidditch team practices picked up again and along with Hogwarts Quidditch practices and Dueling Club practices, Albus hardly had anytime to rest.

The Hogwarts Quidditch team was shaping up nicely after Wood's stern warning during the second practice. That and the fact that they now practiced on both Tuesdays and Saturdays. Even the Slytherin team members were beginning to work together. They didn't really acknowledge their teammates outside of practice, but Albus didn't care as long as they got along with everyone during practice.

Albus was really starting to enjoy the Hogwarts Quidditch team. He was actually beginning to wish he could play in the first match, which would be taking place towards the end of October.

"First Hogsmeade weekend!" John said excitedly to Albus one Friday evening as Albus was trying to catch up on his homework. Kaden was standing next to him. Albus guessed they had just returned from Dueling Club practice.

"When?" Albus asked without looking up.

"October 27th," John grinned, "Can't wait!"

"Yeah, it'll be brilliant," Albus agreed, hoping he wouldn't have too much homework to go.

"That's not all, either," John went on, "There's a Halloween party that night."

"You mean the Halloween feast?" Albus asked.

"No, there's an actual party!" John said, "But it's not on Halloween, it's on the 27th. It's because of the Tournament. So we can mingle with the foreign students. Or at least that's what the poster on the notice board says."

Albus nodded. He really hadn't had that much contact with the foreign students. Sure, he'd seen them in the corridors and the common room and stuff, but that was about it. The only one who was around his age was Linda and she still didn't seem to talk to anyone.

"And," John continued, "Costumes are encouraged."

"Costumes?" Albus asked, finally looking up.

"Yeah, costumes," John grinned, "We get to dress up! This is going to be brilliant!"

"What should we dress up as?" Kaden asked.

"Dunno," Albus shrugged.

"We'll figure it out later," John said, "Where's everyone else?"

"Rose and Amanda are at the library," Albus told him, "And Matt's with Balladanis."

"Merlin, is he ever going to give up about that boggart?" John asked.

"Knowing Balladanis, probably not," Albus said.

"Well, let's go to the library," John announced, "We've got to tell Rose and Amanda about Hogsmeade."

Albus was all too eager to agree to this. He was thoroughly sick of trying to catch up on all his homework. It was good to take a break every now and then anyway.

Albus pushed open the door to the library a little while later, fully expecting to see Rose up to her elbows in books furiously scribbling away on a roll of parchment that was nearly used up. He gazed around the library and he spotted Rose's bushy red hair and walked towards her table.

Rose was up to her elbows in homework. In fact, there were so many books on Rose and Amanda's table that you could no longer see the actual table. What Albus wasn't expecting to see was a third person at their table. Linda Morales

Albus stopped short a few feet from the table. He turned to look at John, who looked equally shocked.

"Is that-" John began.

"Linda Morales?" Albus gaped. He blinked twice to make sure he wasn't seeing things. After all, he was quite tired. But even after he blinked, Linda was still sitting across from Rose and Amanda.

All three of the girls were working quietly. In fact, none of them even seemed to notice the others.

Albus slowly walked towards the table and John followed. Albus wasn't entirely sure what to say. He hadn't had much interaction with Linda. Albus had hardly said hello to her since she arrived at Hogwarts. He wasn't trying to ignore her or anything; it had just ended up that way. Linda hadn't shown any real interest in making friends with Albus or any of his friends. Yet here she was, doing homework at the same table as Rose of all people. Albus hadn't the slightest idea why either.

"Rose," Albus whispered once they arrived at the table.

Rose startled and then looked up at Albus. "What? I'm trying to study!"

"Can I talk to you?" Albus glanced at Linda, "Alone?"

Rose sighed loudly. "Fine, but make it quick."

Albus led his cousin over to a deserted area of the library. John took Rose's vacated seat and began to whisper to Amanda about the Hogsmeade visit.

"All right, what is it?" Rose asked once they were alone.

"Couldn't help but notice that you were studying with Linda..." Albus's voice trailed off. He really didn't know what he wanted to say to Rose about it.

"Oh, well..." Rose began, "I guess I just realized I was being stupid in trying to compete with her."

Albus smirked, "Yeah, you were. But I told you that loads of times and you didn't listen."

Rose sighed. "I know. Amanda's the one who convinced me to stop trying to compete with her. She said Linda would know a lot about Australian wizarding history and I could learn a lot from her if I stopped with the competition thing."

Of course, Albus thought. Appealing to Rose's love of learning would definitely work. Although he hadn't really been trying to have Rose and Linda become friends. He just wanted Rose to ease up on the studying.

"I guess, if you can't beat 'em, you might as well join 'em," Rose shrugged.

"So now you're friends with her?" Albus asked.

"That's where it gets complicated," Rose sighed, "You see, she still doesn't really talk to us."

"How did you wind up studying with her then?" Albus was still thoroughly confused.

"Amanda and I came in and she was sitting alone at the table, so I asked if we could join her. She just nodded and moved her books over. She hasn't said anything yet."

Albus nodded. "I don't think I've heard her say anything outside of class."

"Neither have I," Rose said, "Amanda and I figure we'll just be nice to her and maybe she'll start talking to us."

Albus thought that was probably a good idea. She was the competition, but even if they played against each other on the Quidditch team, that didn't mean they couldn't be friends off of it. Linda seemed nice enough. Of course it was hard to tell since she hadn't said much. And she certainly was pretty. Albus couldn't deny that. Linda wasn't surrounded by half the male population of Gryffindor every evening for nothing.

"Oh, the first Hogsmeade visit's on October 27th," Albus said, suddenly remembering the reason he had gone to see Rose in the first place, "Followed by a Halloween party in the Great Hall."

"That sounds like fun," Rose grinned, "And maybe Linda will want to go with us."

"And it's a costume party," Albus told her.

"This could get interesting," Rose said.

******

Albus didn't have a clue as to when he'd actually have time to figure out his costume for the Halloween party. John thought it would be cool if their group's costumes coordinated, but that was the last thing on Albus's mind.

The weekend seemed to literally fly by for Albus, meaning he was on the Quidditch pitch more than he was off it. He had heard stories about Wood's ruthlessness when it comes to practice from his dad and similar stories about Teddy from his older cousins. Having the two of them captain one team seemed to create practices that lasted nearly five hours, with short breaks every so often. Albus would never again complain about Georgia's length of practices.

Albus had a fleeting thought that since he was a reserve player, he wouldn't have to practice as much as everyone else, but Wood shot that down during that Saturday's practice. He said he saw no reason for the reserve players to be any less prepared for the upcoming match than the regular players.

It wasn't that Albus didn't enjoy Quidditch practice. He did, and very much so. He loved Quidditch, but too much of anything could run a person down.

Albus spent a lot of his Sunday on the Quidditch pitch as well, in the middle of a drenching rain. Georgia had scheduled Gryffindor Quidditch practice that day and she flat out refused to cancel due to rain. James had asked. He was even more run down than Albus, since either Teddy or Tyler were constantly training the two Seekers during Hogwarts Quidditch practice.

Albus returned to Gryffindor tower after eating a late dinner with the Gryffindor team Sunday evening, realizing he had no idea what his friends had spent the weekend doing. He had seen them on occasion, but most of his free time had been spent doing homework or sleeping. Two things he still had to do.

Albus grabbed his bag from his dormitory and walked down to the crowded common room. He saw Rose, Amanda, and Linda at one table, but his other friends were no where in sight. The girls looked very absorbed in their homework, so Albus decided to go check the Marauder's Den for his other friends.

By the time Albus made it to the Marauder's Den, he felt ready for a good twelve hour sleep. Unfortunately, he still had plenty of homework to do. Albus sighed to himself and opened the door to the room. He paused in the entryway, surprised to see that Matt was the only one there.

"Hey, Matt," Albus said as he sat down at the table.

"Oh, hi Albus," Matt looked up and smiled, "I was wondering when you'd show up."

"Me, too," Albus said wryly, "I never thought Georgia would end practice."

"Makes me glad I'm not on the Quidditch team," Matt commented.

"Where are John and Kaden?"

"Detention, again," Matt smirked.

"What did they do this time?" Albus groaned. John and Kaden had been earning quite a few detentions every week. Albus was quite glad they weren't involving him in their pranks, since he had no available time in his schedule for detention.

"They were levitating rolls of toilet paper around the corridors and charming them to hit people in the head yesterday," Matt explained, "I think you were at Quidditch practice."

"Probably," Albus laughed, "Wonder what they're in for this time."

"No idea," Matt said.

"What are you doing here? Rose and Amanda are in the common room."

"Yeah, I know. But they're with Linda," Matt muttered.

"Oh, ok," Albus replied, a little confused. He still didn't quite understand why Matt didn't seem to like Linda. Sure, she was from Australia, but Matt wasn't avoiding anyone else from Australia. Of course, the rest of the Australian students were older and Matt wouldn't really have to avoid them.

"John said Rose is actually trying to become friends with Linda."

"She is," Albus confirmed, "She's finally realized that it's pointless to try and compete with Linda."

"I guess that's good," Matt shrugged.

John and Kaden burst into the room a short while later, successfully ending the conversation about Rose and Linda. Both of them were freely cursing Filch, who had made them clean the Entrance Hall without magic. Once they finally seemed to run out of curses, all four boys settled into doing their homework and no one brought up the topic of Linda again. Albus still thought it was odd how Matt seemed to have taken a dislike to her, although Linda herself was rather odd, in Albus's opinion.

Rose and Amanda joined Linda at her table during Transfiguration the next day. Linda had arrived before them, as always, and didn't seem to notice or care that Rose and Amanda sat on either side of her.

The same thing happened in double Potions after lunch. Rose, Amanda, and Linda even worked together on that day's potion. Slughorn had decided to give up on the inter-house pairs idea of the previous year, which Albus was very grateful for. Linda had previously worked alone on her potions because there was an odd number of people in the class, but Slughorn didn't object to all three girls working together. In fact, he seemed thrilled that the two smartest people in the class were now working with each other.

"Ah, yes!" Slughorn exclaimed excitedly as he peered into their cauldron, "Your potion is turning just the right shade of green."

Albus looked up from his and Matt's slightly brown potion and saw Slughorn gently stirring the girls' cauldron.

"Ours is better," Malfoy muttered from behind Albus. He was working with Jackson Limbert, Albus's partner from the previous year. Malfoy and Limbert were easily the two best Slytherin potion-brewers in the class.

Albus turned around and looked at Malfoy's cauldron. It was indeed the correct shade of green.

"And what are you looking at, Potter?" Malfoy asked, "Jealous that I'm Limbert's partner now? I doubt your potions grade will be be that good with Eckerton as your partner."

"At least I'm partnering with him for a reason other than trying to get a decent grade," Albus glowered at him.

"Yeah, well..." Malfoy's voice trailed off.

Albus smirked to himself and turned back around, happy that Malfoy couldn't come up with a good comeback.

At the end of the class, Slughorn announced that Rose, Amanda, and Linda's potion had been the best, much to Malfoy's dismay.

"You'd better watch out at the Dueling Tournament," Malfoy seethed as they left the room.

"We're on the same team, Malfoy," Albus pointed out.

"I wasn't talking to you," Malfoy turned and glared at Rose, Amanda, and Linda.

"Is that a threat, Malfoy?" John asked loudly.

"I think you can figure that out for yourself, Brickston," Malfoy said as he turned in the direction of the Slytherin common room, flanked by Limbert and Goyle.

"He's just jealous," Rose muttered as they made their way out of the dungeons.

"Probably," Albus agreed, "But he's a good dueler, much as I hate to admit it."

"Chances are, I won't even duel him, Albus," Rose sighed, "And even if I do, there's only so many spells he's allowed to use."

Albus didn't bother reminding Rose about the Slytherin who used a forbidden curse on Matt last year. Albus was kind of worried about one of his friends having to duel Malfoy. Malfoy was the only one Albus had ever dueled and didn't manage to beat. And Albus had beaten students who were two years older than he was.

Chapter 11: Halloween Costumes

"All right, we need to come up with a good costume idea," John announced the following Saturday as he flew poorly made parchment airplanes around the Marauder's Den.

"Definitely," Kaden agreed as his much better parchment airplane flew gracefully over John's head and landed softly on the couch.

"Anyone got any ideas?" Matt asked.

"Haven't even thought about it," Albus muttered as he tried not to move anymore muscles than he had to. He just completed a four hour Hogwarts Quidditch practice, which mainly focused on dodging Bludgers. Unfortunately, Albus hadn't dodged them all.

"You should go see Madam Pomfrey," Matt told him.

"I've already been there twice this week," Albus groaned, "If this keeps up, I'll break your record. I'm fine, I just need sleep. Georgia canceled practice for tomorrow because of the Dueling Tournament, so I think I'll be fine."

"Back to the costumes," John said, "I was thinking that we could be the Marauders. You know, their animal forms."

Albus craned his head to see John. John looked quite excited by this idea. Albus had to admit that it was a pretty good idea. He could affix fake antlers to his head. Or see if one of his older cousins could transfigure some onto his head.

"That's brilliant!" Kaden shouted excitedly.

"I like it," Albus grinned.

"No bloody way," Matt said flatly, "I am not dressing up as a werewolf in front of the entire school."

Albus hadn't even thought about that. No, there was definitely no way Matt could do that.

"Oh, right," John sighed, "Sorry, hadn't thought about that."

"How about we just dress up as the Marauders in their human forms?" Albus suggested. All he'd have to do is get a pair of round black glasses and he'd be set.

"I don't know..." Matt said, "Everyone knows Teddy's dad was a werewolf. What if they realize that I'm one, too, since I dressed up as him?"

"I bet people will just think we dressed up as them because of Albus," John pointed out, "And someone would have to be Moony. Might as well be you. You probably look the most like him anyway."

"He does," Albus said.

"See?" John replied.

"Yeah, but still..." Matt sighed.

"It doesn't matter," Kaden said, "Because there is no way that I am dressing up as Pettigrew unless it's his rat form."

That Albus could definitely understand. "Ok, so I guess we're not doing the Marauders thing."

"Too bad," John sighed, "Would've been cool."

"Says the bloke who wouldn't have to dress up as a traitor," Kaden pointed out.

"And we're back to square one," Albus said, "Any other ideas?"

"The players from Puddlemere United?" John suggested after a few minutes. "You know, if Rose, Amanda, and Linda joined us, we'd have enough people to be the entire team."

"Why not the Cannons?" Matt asked.

"Because they're awful," John groaned.

"Are not," Matt refuted.

"Are to," John said, "Let's be Puddlemere."

"Cannons," Matt said adamantly.

"Manchester United," Kaden interrupted.

"Who?" John and Matt said at the same time.

"Manchester United," Kaden repeated, "Football team."

Both John and Matt groaned. "Puddlemere," John said once again.

"Cannons."

"Manchester."

"Puddlemere."

"None of them!" Albus shouted. He was already irritable due to his aching muscles and fatigue from Quidditch practice. The last thing he wanted to do was listen to his friends squabble about Quidditch and football teams.

"Well, have you got any other ideas?" John asked.

"Actually, yeah," Albus replied. Matt's mention of not wanting to dress up as a werewolf had sparked an idea. Albus had been mulling it over while his friends argued about Quidditch teams.

"What is it?" Matt asked.

"Well, I kind of thought it would be neat to use Muggle costumes," Albus said, "You know, we can dress up as things Muggles usually dress up as on Halloween."

Matt, John, and Kaden stared at Albus for a few moments. Albus shrugged. He had thought it was a good idea, but maybe his fatigue was clouding his thinking. Then, all three of his friends broke out in huge grins.

"That's brilliant!" Kaden shouted, "No one else will think of it!"

"Yeah," John agreed, "We'll be the only ones at the party with Muggle costumes."

"As long as I don't have to dress up as a werewolf, I'm fine with it," Matt said.

Albus grinned. "Good. Kaden, what are some classic Muggle costumes?"

"Ghosts, witches, vampires, skeletons, mummies," Kaden rattled off, "Oh, and zombies. Frankenstein, too."

Albus had no idea who Frankenstein was and he wasn't in the mood to listen to Kaden explain it, but the other ideas were good. "Who wants to be what?" Albus asked.

"Matt should be a vampire," Kaden grinned.

"Why's that?" Albus asked.

"Vampires and werewolves are mortal enemies," Kaden explained, "At least in the Muggle world."

"In this world, too," Matt muttered, "And I'm not dressing up as a vampire."

"Aw, come on," John said.

"No," Matt said adamantly, "I'm being a ghost. The only question is, how do I make myself transparent."

"Aw, no!" Kaden sighed, "When Muggles dress as ghosts, they just put a white sheet with eye holes over themselves. That's what Muggles think ghosts are. White."

"Oh, that makes things easier," Matt laughed, "But seriously?"

"Yep," Kaden laughed, "White sheets. Now, what about the rest of us?"

A half an hour later, everyone had settled on what they were going to dress up as. With Kaden's help, that is. Albus, Matt, and John really had no idea as to what Muggles wore when they dressed up for Halloween. John insisted on being a vampire, much to Matt's disgust. However, John was going to be a classic Muggle vampire. The ugly, waxy, blood-stained lips, turn into a bat type of vampire that Muggles thought of when they heard the word 'vampire'. Albus didn't know much about vampires, but he knew they weren't completely like the ones Muggles thought of.

Kaden was going to dress up as a mummy, which was a very simple costume. All he'd have to do was obtain a bunch of strips of white cloth. Albus said he'd pick some up in Hogsmeade.

Albus was going to be a skeleton, which was the most difficult of all the costumes. He was going to buy a black long-sleeve t-shirt and a pair of black pants and then paint on bones in white paint. He was hoping Amanda would be able to help with it. She was the only one in their group who had any artistic talent.

"Maybe the girls can be witches," Kaden suggested.

"They are witches," John smirked.

"You know what I mean," Kaden sighed.

"I know," John grinned, "Hey, Albus, catch!"

Albus snapped his eyes open just in time to see a Quaffle come sailing across the room. It hit him right in the stomach before he had a chance to catch it.

"Oh, ow!" Albus groaned and curled up, "That's where I got hit with a Bludger!"

"Brilliant, John," Matt sighed, "Are you ok, Albus?"

Albus squeezed his eyes shut and nodded. It did hurt. It hurt a lot. A lot more than it should, he thought. He was sick of getting pelted by Bludgers during practice.

"Albus?" John asked worriedly, "Merlin, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hit you with it."

"It's ok," Albus whispered. He inhaled sharply. Now it was getting hard to breath. This was not good.

"Albus, you've got to go to the Hospital Wing," Matt announced. He walked over to Albus and helped him off the couch. "C'mon."

Albus nodded. There was no point in objecting. He knew he had to go. But honestly, three times in one week seemed excessive.

The Hospital Wing was empty when Albus stumbled inside, being supported by Matt and John, a little while later. Madam Pomfrey came out of her office when she heard the door open. She saw who it was and threw her hands up in the air.

"You again!" she groaned, "Let me guess. Quidditch?"

Albus nodded and collapsed onto the nearest bed.

"Well, what did you injure this time?" the nurse asked.

"Bludger in the stomach," Albus replied, not bothering to mention that John hit him with a Quaffle as well.

Madam Pomfrey clucked her tongue and waved her wand over Albus. "Broken rib. That's the second one this week," she waved her wand again and pressed it to Albus's ribs. Then she bustled away to a Potions cupboard.

Albus's stomach immediately felt better and he sank back into the bed. The rest of his muscles still ached, though, and he wanted nothing more than to fall asleep right there.

Madam Pomfrey returned a few minutes later and thrust a potion into Albus's hands. He drank it quickly and grimaced at the disgusting taste.

"You're staying the night," she announced in a tone that Albus knew not to argue with. Not that he really felt like arguing anyway. He was just too exhausted.

Madam Pomfrey turned to Matt, John, and Kaden. "You lot can return to Gryffindor. Albus needs to rest."

Albus's friends said good night and then left the room.

"I'll be speaking with Professor Kendrick," Madam Pomfrey muttered to herself, "Honestly, what was he thinking? Twice the amount of Quidditch? Twice the amount of injuries is what I say!"

Albus didn't have the faintest idea as to what Madam Pomfrey wanted Kendrick to do, but he didn't think about it for long. Exhaustion overcame him and he was asleep within minutes.

******

Albus awoke feeling better than he had in days. One look at the clock told him why. He had slept over twelve hours. It was just after eleven o'clock. Two hours until the Dueling Tournament. Albus pulled the blankets off and started to get up.

"Where do you think you're going?" Madam Pomfrey appeared at his bed.

"Er, the common room?" Albus slowly sat back down, "The Dueling Tournament is in two hours."

"Dueling? You think I'm going to let you duel?" Madam Pomfrey demanded.

"Well, yeah," Albus muttered. Come to think of it, he actually wasn't surprised that the nurse wasn't going to let him duel.

"Definitely not!" she exclaimed, "You're spending the day in bed!"

"Come on!" Albus groaned, "Please?" He had to duel. He was practically the best on his team. What would Malfoy say when he didn't show up?

"I won't have it!" Madam Pomfrey said, "You were dead on your feet last night! You're going to rest today!"

Albus groaned in defeat. He was going to miss the first Dueling Tournament of the year, because of a Quidditch injury. His two favorite things to do were now conflicting with each other.

Madam Pomfrey brought a tray of breakfast, or maybe it should have been lunch, for Albus a little while later. He wasn't in the mood to eat, though. Why couldn't he just go to the tournament? He felt fine now.

Matt, John, Kaden, Amanda, Rose, and for some reason, Linda, burst into the Hospital Wing just as Albus was finishing up his food. Madam Pomfrey looked a bit taken aback at the amount of visitors, but she didn't say anything.

"Albus!" John shouted, "Dueling's in an hour. You going to be getting out of here soon?"

"She won't let me go," Albus muttered.

"What?" John exclaimed, "Why not?"

"She says I need to rest," Albus explained.

"Honestly, it would have surprised me if she did let you go," Matt commented.

"I'll convince her, Albus," John announced and walked over to where Madam Pomfrey was organizing potions. "You've got to let Albus duel."

"I do not have to do any such thing," she replied, not looking up.

"But it's Kaden's first tournament," John pointed out.

"I wouldn't care if it was Merlin's first tournament, I'm not letting Albus go."

"Please?" John begged.

"No," she said, "And if you don't stop arguing, I'll make you leave."

John sighed and walked glumly back to Albus's bed. "Sorry," he muttered, "And this was sort of my fault since I threw that Quaffle at you."

"No it wasn't," Albus assured him, "A Quaffle wouldn't have broke my ribs. It was that Bludger from Quidditch practice."

"But still..." John said.

Albus's friends remained in the Hospital Wing until it was time for them to go to the Dueling Tournament. It was sort of tense, and Albus could only attribute this to the fact that Linda was there. It was strange how someone who never said a word could cause the rest of Albus's friends to remain quiet as well.

After his friends left, Albus was filled with boredom. The Hospital Wing really was a boring place, especially when you weren't actually sick or injured. Albus began to count the cracks on the ceiling, but lost track after 467.

It wasn't until after the tournament was over that Madam Pomfrey actually let Albus leave. He figured she hadn't let him leave earlier since then she would've had no way to know he wouldn't go to the tournament.

Albus jumped out of bed as soon as he promised Madam Pomfrey that he wouldn't play Quidditch that day. He ran as fast as he could down to the dueling chamber, hoping that the tournament was still going on.

Unfortunately, students were already streaming out of the room chattering excitedly about the tournament. Albus sighed dejectedly and slumped against the wall, where he waited for his friends.

"Hey, Albus," Matt said.

"Oh, hey, Matt," Albus replied, "Who won?"

"My team. No thanks to me, of course."

"Who'd Malfoy duel?" Albus asked, thinking of his threat to Rose and Amanda.

"Some Slytherin second year and a Ravenclaw fourth year," Matt answered.

Albus nodded, relieved that he hadn't dueled either Rose or Amanda.

"Albus!" someone shouted excitedly.

Albus turned around and saw Kaden with a huge grin on his face. John was standing next to him, looking equally happy.

"Hey, John, Kaden," Albus smiled.

"I won one of my duels!" Kaden announced, "I dueled a Ravenclaw and I actually beat him!"

"That's great," Albus told him, still wishing that he had gotten to beat a Ravenclaw. Or a Slytherin, Hufflepuff, or Gryffindor.

"But he was horribly beaten in his second duel," John laughed.

"At least I won one of them," Kaden smirked.

"Yeah, yeah," John muttered.

"Did you lose both?" Albus asked.

"Yeah," John sighed.

The boys set off for Gryffindor tower, figuring they'd catch up with the girls once they were up there. Albus was eager to see Amanda because he wanted to know how his team had done.

Amanda, Rose, and Linda were talking about the tournament when Albus entered the common room. He was shocked to see that Linda was actually talking. Although, she immediately stopped when Albus and the other boys showed up.

Apparently Albus's team had came in second place. Amanda said they were only two points behind Matt's team, which caused Albus to wish even more that he had been there. He could have easily gotten the two points they needed. Amanda said that Malfoy thought the same thing, because he shouted angrily about Albus not being there once they announced the winner. Albus was kind of amused by this. He never thought Malfoy would ever be lamenting Albus's absence from anything.

The group, including Linda, spent the remainder of the afternoon in the common room. It was sort of odd, though. Linda didn't say a word, yet Rose and Amanda tried to engage her in every conversation. Matt remained almost completely mute, whispering quietly so only Albus and John could hear what he was saying. Kaden of course didn't notice any of this and talked as loudly as he usually did. It didn't really help that various boys kept coming up to Linda and asking her useless questions about Australia and Quidditch and various other topics. Linda gave them very short, quiet answers. John paid rapt attention to every little thing she said.

"So," Rose began, "First Quidditch match in a week. Australia versus New York. Are you nervous, Linda?"

Albus stared at Rose. He couldn't remember the last time Rose actually brought up Quidditch in a conversation.

"A bit," Linda muttered, not looking up.

"Well, I hope you win," Rose smiled, "Since Hogwarts isn't playing."

"Thanks," Linda whispered.

Albus was looking forward to the first match. He was glad he wasn't playing in it. His team would be able to assess both Australia and New York's skill before they played either team. That was definitely good for strategy. Then when they actually played, they'd be able to use the team's weaknesses to their advantage. Wood had given them specific directions to look for weaknesses in both teams. Of course, chances are Albus wouldn't be playing in the first Hogwarts match, or really any of the matches.

Albus walked down to dinner with his friends and Linda sat in between Rose and Amanda. He glanced absentmindedly at the staff table as he scooped mashed potatoes onto his plate and noticed a new wizard talking with the headmaster from Australia. He was a rather short man, compared to Killigan, and his face seemed to have absolutely no emotion on it. His dirty blonde hair sat flat on his head and fell over his eyes. He was wearing plain black robes.

"I wonder who that bloke is," Albus said to John as he pointed at the staff table.

"Dunno," John shrugged, not really seeming interested.

Rose turned to look at him. "Probably some bloke from Australia, I'd be guessing. I imagine a few people from Australia and New York will visit to see what's going on with the tournaments."

"Recognize him, Matt?" Albus asked.

Matt looked up and then quickly turned away. "No."

"How about you, Linda?" Rose asked.

"No," Linda whispered.

Albus shrugged and returned to his dinner. It seemed like he was really the only one interested in the unfamiliar wizard at the staff table. Was he really only there to see the tournament? The Quidditch match wasn't for another week, so why was he there already? Would he really be spending the whole week at Hogwarts?

Kendrick stood up after dinner started to wind down. Albus immediately stopped eating and paid attention. Maybe he was going to tell everyone who the strange wizard was.

"If I could have your attention for just one moment," Kendrick announced, "Thank you. When I first began to organize this competition, I always thought we would continue with the usual Hogwarts Quidditch Cup tournament like usual, but I didn't think about what affect it would have on the players who would play on both their house team and the Hogwarts team."

Albus had a feeling he knew where this was going and it had everything to do with that talk Madam Pomfrey said she was going to have with Kendrick. Albus sank lower in his seat and tried not to look at anyone.

"It's come to my attention that playing on two Quidditch teams at once is much more work than could have been anticipated. Therefore, I have decided to cancel the Quidditch Cup tournament for this year only, while the tournament is going on."

"What?!" Over half the room erupted in various shouts and jeers. Albus sank even lower in his seat. This was all his fault. He was the one who had been to the Hospital Wing so many times that week. He had gotten Quidditch canceled for the whole school.

"Quiet down," Kendrick shouted, "It's what's best for the players. Plus, it's been rather tight to squeeze in so many practices for so many teams. We only have one Quidditch pitch. With four less teams to accommodate, it'll be easier to schedule practices. This is my final word on the subject. Remember that we still have excellent Quidditch going on this year."

"I shouldn't have gone to see Madam Pomfrey last night," Albus muttered.

"Albus, this isn't your fault," Rose assured him, "You're not the only one who's been injured numerous times."

That was true. Pretty much everyone on the Hogwarts team had been to see Madam Pomfrey at least once a week since the start of term. So maybe it wasn't all his fault. Plus, there was the scheduling conflicts on the pitch. Albus had witnessed a few fights between the house captains that certainly couldn't be good for teamwork on the Hogwarts team.

Albus had to admit that life would be a lot easier without Gryffindor team practices. Now he would only be practicing Quidditch twice a week. Well, Wood would probably increase it to three times now that Kendrick canceled the house Quidditch. But even that would be less than he had been doing. He might even have an evening or two off a week now.

The Gryffindor team was sitting together in the common room when Albus returned. Georgia immediately flagged him over.

"I still don't like it," Fred sighed, "Now I don't get to play at all this year."

"Yeah, well I don't get to play for Gryffindor in my seventh year, but it really is for the best," Georgia said.

"I'll say," James agreed, "I'm already behind on homework and it's only October."

"Me, too," Albus said.

"Just think, Fred," Heather began, "Next year, one of us will be captain."

"It'll be me," Fred announced.

"Really?" Heather raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, Gryffindor's had two girl captains recently. It's time for another bloke."

Heather rolled her eyes. "Not if I'm a better leader."

"What makes you think it'll be either of you?" Bradley asked, "It might be Ryan or I. We'll be sixth years. They don't always choose seventh years."

"Maybe," Fred replied, "I'm still going to miss it, though."

"We could play pick-up matches on the weekends," Ryan suggested.

"I guess," Fred sighed.

Albus remained quiet for the rest of the time with the team. Although he didn't blame himself for the cancellation of house Quidditch, he felt guilty that he was relieved it was canceled. But most of the team was far from happy about it. In fact, it seemed like only James and Albus were relieved.

Chapter 12: Dueling and Fighting

Albus was amazed at how much extra time he had now that he did not have to go to Gryffindor Quidditch practice. During the next week, he got all his homework done on time and got a decent amount of sleep. Plus, he made fewer trips to the hospital wing, which he attributed to having more sleep.

Classes were going well. Albus was very glad they had moved onto more exciting creatures in Care of Magical Creatures. They weren't up to hippogriffs or thestrals, but nifflers were certainly entertaining. Despite the rather boring start, Care of Magical Creatures was quickly becoming one of Albus's favorite classes. He seemed to have an affinity for the variety of animals they learned about; something Hagrid was quick to notice.

Arithmancy was turning out to be kind of dry, but Albus was just happy he wasn't taking Divination. Even John was beginning to get tired of making up fake predictions for Trelawney. 'What's the point?' he had shouted out angrily one night as they were working on homework. Albus wasn't able to suppress his grin at that, which earned him a Divination book to the head when John saw Albus's smirk.

Defense Against the Dark Arts continued to be the strangest class Albus had ever attended. He was beginning to think he was enjoying it, but still wasn't sure. He liked the class, but wasn't sure if he liked Balladanis himself.

The professor continued to be a mystery to students of all years. Hours were spent debating his background in the common room. He seemed to take points away equally from each house, which either meant he was extremely fair or had never attended Hogwarts himself. Quite a few students had asked their parents if they'd ever heard of Balladanis (namely, had they gone to school with him), but so far none of the parents had.

Balladanis's teaching methods were certainly unique. Albus could count on one hand the number of actual lectures he had had in that class. Most all the lessons were practical, but not in the same way Harry had done them. Harry's method had been very caring and all about trying. Balladanis's methods were more harsh and focused on success. He insisted that everyone succeed and refused to let anyone stop until they did, even if it meant coming in for extra help.

The amount of students going in for extra help was increasing quickly. Matt was no longer seen as weak or odd for having to go in for extra help. Nearly half of Albus's class was spending extra time with Balladanis at least once a week. The professor still hadn't let Matt stop going.

"Stand up!" Balladanis barked at Albus's class.

These two words were frequently spoken by the professor. Albus wondered why he didn't just do away with the desks all together instead of having to move them at the beginning of each class.

"Get a move on!" he shouted, "Unless you think your books will attack you. Books can only get you so far. You need to practice!"

The class spent nearly an hour practicing the spell to repel grindylows and once the bell rang, Balladanis announced that they'd be practicing on real grindylows in the next class.

"Brickston!" Balladanis announced, "You'll be coming in for extra help tomorrow night. You may come the same time Eckerton does."

Albus didn't think John had done that bad with the spell. It had taken him a while, but by the end of the class he had managed it. Albus was beginning to think that by the end of the year, everyone would be going in for extra help.

"He's certifiably insane," John muttered as they walked to potions after they left the Defense classroom.

"Well, I'm kind of glad you're going in for help," Matt said, "You can keep Amanda and I company."

"That's nearly all of us going in for help," Rose commented, "Just Al and Linda and I."

Kaden had been going for help nearly as long as Matt had. Amanda had started a few days ago.

"Albus won't ever have to go," Matt said, "He's too good at Defense."

"I'm not that great at it," Albus muttered quietly. Sure, he managed all the spells, but it's not like they were very advanced.

******

"What do you think Balladanis did before he taught here?" Kaden mused late the next day.

"Dunno," Albus shrugged.

"I think he was an Auror," John said, "I mean, he obviously hates the dark arts."

"No," Albus shook his head, "My dad would have mentioned that."

"Maybe he was a foreign Auror," John suggested.

"But he sounds British," Matt pointed out.

"So do you, for the most part, but you're from Australia," John countered.

"Really? I always thought I sounded Australian."

"You do a bit. But your parents sound more Australian than you do. Same with Amy," Albus told him.

"Oh," Matt shrugged, "So I guess he could be foreign."

"Why did he come teach here, then?" Albus asked.

No one had an answer to that. Albus was really curious to what the answer was, but it's not like he could actually ask the professor. In fact, the idea of being alone with Balladanis kind of scared him. He was really glad he didn't have to see the professor outside of class.

The first Inter-School Dueling Tournament was scheduled to take place the next day. The entire school was buzzing about it. It was the first big competition between the three schools. Albus didn't know a whole lot of people who were on the Hogwarts Dueling Team. Just his cousin, Fred. Despite this, he was still excited. Albus absolutely loved dueling and wished he was old enough to be on the school team.

The tournament was taking place in the Great Hall, since the dueling chamber was much too small to accommodate the entire school. Albus walked with his friends into the room and saw that all the tables had disappeared. They were replaced with raised stands, sort of like the Quidditch pitch. Albus found seats towards the front and waited impatiently for the tournament to begin.

The dueling area was a raised platform in front of the stands. On the other side of it was a smaller set of stands, in which all the teachers were filing into. The mysterious wizard who had been seen talking to Killigan, but never introduced, was sitting next to the Australian headmaster, but neither of them were talking. Both wore identical looks of determination mingled with fascination. A witch Albus didn't recognize was seated next to Roberts and the two of them were talking. Albus assumed she was from New York. The Auror who had been assigned to patrol Hogwarts that week was talking with Albus's Uncle Percy, who had came to represent the Ministry. Neither Albus's dad nor his Uncle Ron were there, so Albus assumed they were busy with work.

Once all the students, teachers, and various other spectators were seated, Professor Kendrick stood up and everyone quieted down.

"Welcome, students, staff, and visitors to the first Dueling Tournament between Hogwarts, the Australian School of Sorcery, and the Adirondack Academy of Magic. All three schools will duel this afternoon. Each school's team has five students and each student will participate in two duels. Whichever student wins the duel gets a point for their school. The school with the most points will win. But keep in mind that this is just the first of many tournaments that will take place during this year. Now, here are the teams." Kendrick gestured to a door on the side of the room.

The door opened and Professor Longbottom led the Hogwarts team into the room. The other two schools' teams followed and Albus didn't recognize either of their professors. He hadn't really thought about the other teams' captains before. He kind of figured they had them, but hadn't seen them before. He guessed they just came to Hogwarts for practices. They must have set up some kind of special floo connection with the school.

The tournament commenced in much the same way the Junior Dueling Club had, except only one duel took place at a time. The spells used were much more advanced, too. The spell that Slytherin had used on Matt during the previous years paled in comparison to the ones being used by the older students. Albus was absolutely fascinated. He paid rapt attention and wished that he could learn such advanced spells.

The tournament took nearly two hours, but Albus wasn't bored at all. In fact, he was kind of disappointed when the last duel was over.

Professor Kendrick tallied the points and then rose once again. "Thank you everyone. Each and every student performed well today. However, this is a tournament and I must declare a winner. And that winner is the Adirondack Academy of Magic. Congratulations to them!"

There was a small amount of loud applause from the New Yorkers who were in the audience, as well as some polite applause from everyone else. Albus sighed and clapped politely along with most of his fellow students.

"Well, it's only the first tournament," Matt said.

"Yeah," Albus agreed, "Plus there's Quidditch."

"And we've got a brilliant Quidditch team!" John grinned as he stood up, "Now we've just got to hope that one of those other Chasers breaks something so Albus can play next week."

"John!" Rose scolded.

"I'm only kidding," John shrugged, "Sort of."

"We could just give one of them the orange end of a puking pastille," Kaden suggested, "And not give them the purple half."

"Wouldn't work," John sighed, "Madam Pomfrey recognizes those things now."

"I know I probably won't get to play," Albus said as they left the room, "You don't need to land yourselves in detention to get me a place on the team."

"We know," Kaden said, "We're just joking."

Albus figured they were, but when it came to those two, one just never knew.

******

Albus stowed his broom in his dormitory late Tuesday evening following a particularly tiring Quidditch practice. Wood's focus during this particular practice had been goal scoring, so Albus had worked hard the entire two hours. At least the focus hadn't been on dodging Bludgers. He yawned, grabbed his bag and headed out of the common room. He walked slowly to the Marauder's Den, thinking he could squeeze a bit of homework in before bed.

"Albus!" someone shouted as Albus reached the suits of armor in front of the room.

Albus turned around and saw Rose, red hair flying behind her, running down the corridor towards him. "Rose?"

"Albus!" Rose panted, "I saw you leave the common room."

"Er, yeah," Albus shrugged. He usually did his homework in the Marauder's Den since it was quieter and easier to concentrate.

"I wanted to talk to you," Rose said.

"Ok," Albus said as he located the paw prints on the opposite wall, "We can talk in here."

"Actually," Rose said, "I kind of wanted to talk to you alone. Are Matt, John, and Kaden in there?"

"Probably," Albus replied. What did Rose want to talk about that she didn't want their other friends to hear? "I didn't see them in the common room."

"Well, I'd rather talk to you alone, first," Rose shifted nervously from foot to foot.

Albus looked at her strangely. Rose rarely ever looked nervous, especially when she was talking to Albus. What could she possibly have to tell him?

"Er, all right," Albus said slowly, "I guess we could find an empty classroom or something...."

"Good," Rose nodded and took off down the corridor. Albus ran after her and she found an empty classroom. Albus followed her into it and shut the door behind him. "What is it?"

Rose paced around the room for a bit, wringing her hands together, before letting out a loud sigh and leaning up against one of the desks. "It's about Linda."

Albus blinked. Linda? He barely knew her. What could Rose possibly have to say about Linda? "Linda?"

"Yes, Linda," Rose sighed, "You know Amanda and I are sort of becoming friends with her. Well, we are friends with her now. She talks to us. I think she misses Australia. Anyway, I was sort of thinking it would be good if she started to make friends here. You know, like you. And maybe Matt, John, and Kaden."

Albus still had no idea why Rose felt the need to talk to him alone about this. She wanted Albus to befriend Linda. How was he going to do that if Linda didn't say a word around him? Not to mention the fact that Matt didn't seem to like her.

"Er, why exactly didn't you want Matt, John, and Kaden to hear this?" Albus asked, "You can't really expect them to become friends with Linda unless you tell them you want them to."

"I know that," Rose groaned, "But the four of you are always holing up in the Marauder's Den, so I hardly see any of you anymore. What I wanted to know was whether Linda could come into the Marauder's Den with us."

Albus stared at his cousin. So that was what she wanted to talk about. "You want Linda to come into the Marauder's Den?"

"Yes," Rose nodded, "She's in the common room with Amanda. Can she? I'll go get them right now if you say yes."

"Wait, wait," Albus shook his head, "It's not up to me."

"Yes it is!" Rose replied, "You found that map. It's yours, so the room is yours."

"No it's not," Albus said, "It's Matt, John, and Kaden's, too. All four of us had to work to get that map to show up and to find the room. If it weren't for them, it would still be a blank piece of parchment."

"But-"

"No, Rose," Albus said irritably, "I can't just let you bring random people into the room without asking everyone."

Albus and his friends hadn't really thought much about whether they'd let other people into the room, but Albus knew he couldn't do it without talking to them. Letting Rose and Amanda in had been a given, since they helped with it, but Linda certainly hadn't helped.

"I have to talk to Matt, John, and Kaden," Albus told her, "I can talk to them now, if you want."

"All right," Rose sighed and stood up.

Neither of the cousins said a word to each other as they walked back to the Marauder's Den. Albus was still rather bewildered by this whole thing. First, he had never really talked to his friends about letting other people into the Marauder's Den. He always assumed it would be their secret. He wasn't entirely sure he wanted anyone else in it, no matter what his friends thought. Second, it was rather out of character for Rose to be this spontaneous and demanding. Whether this was due to the increased work load, the sudden competition in class brought on by Linda, or something else entirely, Albus didn't know.

Albus took a deep breath as he opened the door to the room and glanced at Rose. She was looking more nervous than before. Albus walked into the room and paused. John and Kaden were lounging on the floor, playing a rather rowdy game of chess (the two of them could turn any board game into something physical), while their neglected homework sat haphazardly on the table. Matt was paying vague attention to the game while stretched out on the couch. It didn't surprise Albus that he wasn't doing much, since the full moon was the next night. John and Kaden looked up when they heard the door open.

"Albus!" Kaden shouted, "How was practice?"

"Rose!" John grinned, "I was beginning to think you'd forgotten about this place. I don't think I've seen you here in over a month."

"Hey, John, Kaden," Albus smiled, "Practice was good. What have you lot been up to?"

"Beating Kaden at chess," John explained.

"Hey, I beat you once!" Kaden countered.

"Only once," John repeated, "I've won four games."

"I'm surprised neither of you have detention tonight," Albus smirked.

"They almost did," Matt announced, "Professor Longbottom caught them sneaking into the girl's toilet-"

"What were you doing in there?" Albus raised his eyebrows.

"We were going to put dung bombs in there," Kaden explained.

"Anyway," Matt continued, "Longbottom took pity on them since they're already doing so many detentions and only took away points."

"Professor Longbottom is great," John grinned.

"I wouldn't expect him to let you off again," Matt pointed out.

"Want to play chess, Rose?" John asked, "I could use with some real competition."

"Hey!" Kaden crossed his arms across his chest, "I'm real competition."

Albus glanced at Rose. "Er, Rose has something she wanted to ask us," Albus said quietly.

Rose glared at Albus. Clearly she wanted him to bring up the topic. Albus gave her a quick shake of his head. There was no way he was going to ask. She was the one who wanted Linda there.

"Well, what is it?" John asked, "If it's about homework, I'll have you know that I've already finished most of it."

"It's not about homework," Rose sighed and sat down on the end of the couch that Matt wasn't occupying.

Albus settled himself into an armchair opposite the couch and waited for his cousin to continue.

Rose took a deep breath. "You lot know Amanda and I have sort of become friends with Linda, right?"

"Yeah," John said and Kaden nodded.

"Well, since then Amanda and I have been spending more time in the common room with her. But you lot still hang out here all the time...." her voice trailed off.

"Well, yeah, because this room is so much better than the common room," Kaden pointed out.

"I know," Rose sighed, "And I do miss being with all of you, but at the same time, Linda's my friend now, too."

"So spend time with all of us," John said, "I'm sure Linda would be fine by herself for a few hours a day so you can be here with us."

Rose groaned. "That wasn't what I had in mind. What I want is for all of us to spend time together. As in you lot can become friends with Linda, too. She needs more friends."

"She doesn't talk," Kaden said.

"She does when she gets to know you," Rose explained.

"So what you're saying," John began, "Is that you want us to stop hanging out in this brilliant room and go back to the boring common room?"

"No, of course not," Rose replied, "I want all of us to hang out here. Linda, too."

The room was completely silent. Albus watched his friends' reactions with great interest. Both John and Kaden gaped at Rose and then turned to look at Albus. They then turned their heads back to Rose, but didn't say anything. Matt suddenly sat up, eyes wide open, and stared at Rose with an incredulous look on his face.

Nobody said a word for what must have been nearly five minutes. Albus kept looking from Rose to his friends and back. Rose was looking nervously at everybody in turn and then sending pleading glances at Albus. Albus was about to open his mouth, when Matt finally broke the stony silence.

"No," he said. It was hardly more than a whisper, but was very forceful.

"We haven't let anyone else in," John pointed out, "Why should Linda be the first?"

Kaden turned to Albus. "What do you think, Albus?"

"Er-" Albus began.

"Why not?" Rose demanded, "She's mine and Amanda's friend."

"But she's not our friend," John said.

"But she could be!" Rose insisted.

"Then we'll become friends with her before we let her in the room!" John replied, "It's still our secret. We haven't even told Teddy about it yet."

Albus turned and looked at John. He hadn't even thought about that. John had a point. They hadn't told Teddy about the room yet. Or his dad. Shouldn't they see it before other people did?

"If anyone has the right to know about this room, it's Teddy and my dad," Albus said quietly.

"Yes, but they aren't here," Rose pointed out, "Come on, why won't you let her in?"

"We don't know her," John said.

"She's got no connections to it," Albus said.

"I like keeping it a secret," Kaden said.

"You could know her!" Rose shouted, "Then she would have connections to it. And it would still be a secret."

"Look, Rose," Matt said loudly, "We're not going to let her in! You can't convince us otherwise!"

Albus, John, and Kaden turned to look at each other. Albus had never heard Matt raise his voice like that, and certainly not with Rose.

"And what's your reason why she can't?" Rose asked icily.

Matt glared at her. "They're the same as Albus, John, and Kaden's!"

"You just don't like her!" Rose shouted.

"So what if I don't?" Matt asked hotly.

"You don't even know her! You haven't said one word to her the whole time she's been here!"

"Neither has she!" Matt yelled.

"You lot are so stubborn!" Rose huffed, "I just don't get why you won't let her-"

"Do you really want to know why?" Matt raised his voice even louder, "I honestly wouldn't think I'd have to tell you! You're smart! This is the one place in the castle that nobody else knows about! It's the only place I can go and get some peace and quiet and not have to worry about anyone else barging in! The only people who know about it already know what I am, so I can actually relax! If you let Linda in here, it won't be like that anymore! I like the quiet of this place. And it was quiet before you came in here demanding that we let a witch we hardly know into it!"

Matt leaned back against the arm of the couch and squeezed his eyes shut as he rubbed his temple.

Albus stared in shock at John and Kaden. Albus had never seen Matt shout at someone like that. Sure, he got a bit short with people around the full moon, but had never had a full-blown row like this.

"Well, maybe if you become friends with Linda, you'll tell her what you are," Rose said. She looked quite taken aback that Matt had shouted at her like that.

"Are you bloody insane?!" Matt yelled, causing him to wince even more. Albus had a feeling he was giving himself a headache.

"You told us," Rose said.

"That's different," Matt shook his head, "You figured it out on your own."

"What if we hadn't?"

"I wouldn't have told you," Matt muttered, "And Linda's going back to Australia after this year, so there really wouldn't be a point."

"You know, since she's from Australia, she might already know," Rose pointed out, "You did say that the entire country found out shortly before you moved."

That was the wrong thing to say. Albus knew she was going to say it just moments before she finished and he tried to shake his head to tell her to stop, but she either didn't notice or didn't want to stop.

All the color drained from Matt's face and with it most of the anger. He merely looked a little scared now.

"You think I haven't thought about that?" he asked quietly, "Why do you think I wasn't thrilled about this whole tournament thing? Why do you think I try to avoid anyone from Australia? I mean, it was five years ago, so I really hope most people have forgotten about it, but all it would take was one of them to remember and soon the whole school would know."

"I doubt Linda would tell anyone, if she did know," Rose said.

"Yeah, because she doesn't talk," Kaden laughed.

Leave it to Kaden to find humor in this situation, Albus thought. He couldn't help but grin at his cousin's statement himself.

"Could you at least think about it?" Rose asked.

"No," Matt raised his voice again, "Don't you get it? I don't want to risk anyone else finding out. I don't want this to be a repeat of what happened in Australia. I like it here. I don't want to move again. So I'm not going to change my mind. I'm going to bed."

Matt got up off the couch and walked slowly over to his bed and rammed the curtains shut behind him.

Albus exchanged glances with John and Kaden, completely at a loss as to what to say. Rose got up off the couch a moment later and left the room without another word. Albus, John, and Kaden quietly began to work on their homework, but the remainder of the evening was very subdued. Albus stared at his Herbology book, but couldn't possibly concentrate on it after the row his cousin and best friend had just had.

Chapter 13: Silence

Albus's group of friends had never been torn apart by a row before. From the moment they met on the train ride over two years ago, the five of them had been close. During their first year, only one time had any of them had a row. It had only lasted ten minutes. Albus remembered it like it was just yesterday. The night he and John had fought about whether to tell Matt they knew he was a werewolf. It had been a very brief row, ending when Matt walked in.

Then, just a year ago, Kaden had flew into their group in a mist of hyperactivity and loudness. Albus didn't really count the rows he had shared with his cousin as rows within his group of friends. Kaden had not been Albus's friend then. They reconciled and then became friends. That was how Albus saw it.

No row had come between them like this one, though. Albus was still in shock about it the next day. If he had had to pick two of his friends to fight, he wouldn't have chosen Matt or Rose. The two of them seemed least likely to fight.

Rose did have a temper. There was no denying that. She and Albus had shared quite a few sibling-like squabbles growing up, but they had grown out of it. Rose's temper remained, though. She was stubborn as well. Albus had a lot of experience with that. Once Rose got an idea into her head there was no stopping her. It seemed that bringing Linda into their group was one of those things. Albus just couldn't fathom why. Sure, she was smart, but was that really a reason to become friends with someone?

Matt, on the other hand, didn't seem to have an angry bone in his body. This was definitely ironic considering that he became a raging werewolf once a month. In the two years Albus had known him, he had only seen him angry a couple times. Most of these occasions were when he was having whispered conversations with his sister. Albus would never have predicted that he would yell at Rose like he had.

Albus had no idea what to expect the next day. He doubted this was the sort of thing that would just blow over.

It certainly had not blown over, as Albus discovered at breakfast. His group of friends was no longer sitting together. When Albus, Matt, and John entered the Great Hall, they noticed that Rose, Amanda, and Linda were sitting at one end of the table, while Kaden was a few feet down from them. John immediately headed to where Kaden was sitting and Albus and Matt followed. Rose did not seem to notice them pass, nor did Amanda or Linda. There was no doubt in Albus's mind whose side Amanda was on. She was Rose's best friend first and foremost. And whatever her reason was, she had also befriended Linda.

Even though the girls were seated far away, nobody said anything during breakfast. John still looked furious as he stabbed his eggs with a bit too much force. Matt looked more tired than anything, but there was a glint of anger in his eyes. Kaden was at a complete loss for words, which happened very rarely. Even he went the whole meal without uttering a thing. Albus had no urge to start any conversations either. He was still quite angry with his cousin. The nerve of her to ask if they could let a complete stranger into the Marauder's Den was unfathomable to him.

The silence continued through History of Magic and Transfiguration. Albus sat in between John and Matt during both classes and glared at the back of Rose's head. She was sitting in between Amanda and Linda at the table in front of Albus's during both classes.

Albus paid zero attention during History of Magic. He merely recounted the row over and over again, which only caused him to become more angry. Judging by the look on John's face, he had been doing the same thing. Matt merely slept the entire class, completely unnoticed by Professor Binns.

Albus forced himself to pay attention and take notes during Transfiguration, although John did not. Matt remained awake during the class, but had a glazed look over his eyes.

It wasn't until Care of Magical Creatures that the uncharacteristically long silence dissolved. Matt decided to skip that class and sleep in the Marauder's Den instead and Albus couldn't blame him. It was a particularly windy and cold Autumn day and Albus shivered as he walked down to Hagrid's hut with John. Rose and Linda had Arithmancy, so they weren't even there. Amanda was, but she stood with Janie, Marina, and Karina for the duration of the class.

"Wow," John said in a low whisper as they sat on the cold, hard ground drawing pictures of the puffskeins they were watching.

He didn't have to say anything else. Albus knew what he was talking about. "Yeah," he muttered.

"Have you got any idea why Rose was so insistent about Linda?" John asked quietly.

"She's stubborn. She always has been," Albus replied, "Once, when we were eight or so, she wanted to go to this sleepover my cousins Gabriella, Georgia, and Heather were having. Her parents said no and she didn't speak to them for nearly a week."

"Seriously?" John gaped and then smirked, "Siriusly...."

Albus rolled his eyes. "Yeah, she did."

"Do you think she'd do that this time? Not talk to us for a week?"

"It wouldn't surprise me if she didn't talk to us until we let Linda into the room," Albus sighed.

"That's not going to happen," John said.

"No, it's not," Albus agreed, "Even if by some chance we decided to let her, there's no way Matt would. And I think Kaden would just agree to whatever I said."

"Well, I can't blame Matt for not wanting her in there," John lowered his voice even more, "He always sleeps there before the you know what. He's not going to want her to know about it."

"I can't blame him either," Albus agreed.

"You do know what this means, right?" John asked.

"What?"

"We're going to have to take our own notes in class now," John groaned, "No way is Rose going to let us borrow hers anymore."

Albus couldn't help but giggle a little at that. Albus could always rely on John to lighten the mood. Either him or Kaden. Albus and John didn't talk much for the remainder of the class and the brief bit of humor died away quickly.

Albus and John headed straight for the Marauder's Den after class. They passed Rose on their way there, but she acted like she didn't notice them.

"You awake?" John shouted as they entered the room.

"I am now," Matt replied groggily from his bed. A few moments later he got up and laid down on the couch.

"You don't look so good," John said as he tossed his bag unceremoniously onto the floor and jumped onto the other end of the couch.

"You think?" Matt said sarcastically.

"No, I mean, you look worse than usual," John replied.

"Oh, that's nice," Albus said as he sat down in one of the chairs.

John did have a point, though. Matt was as pale as he usually was the day before a full moon, but the dark circles under his eyes were more pronounced. His eyes were also more bloodshot, which gave him the look of a person who hadn't slept in days.

"It's true," John shrugged, "Haven't you been sleeping all day?"

Matt sighed and shook his head. "No. Didn't sleep that much last night either. I just can't. I keep thinking about what happened yesterday.... The only real sleep I've gotten was in History of Magic. I need a good Binns lecture to put me to sleep now."

Albus didn't think he'd ever heard the phrase 'good Binns lecture' before. "Won't that make tonight worse?" Albus asked quietly, "Not sleeping before it?"

"Yeah, of course it will," Matt said quietly, "But I can't make myself sleep."

"Ask Madam Pomfrey for a potion," John suggested.

"She'll ask too many questions," Matt said, "I never have a problem falling asleep before the full moon. She'll be suspicious. I don't want to tell her about the row."

Matt didn't elaborate anymore about his lack of sleep, so Albus and John played a bit of Exploding Snap. Matt didn't feel like playing.

"Albus?" Matt asked after a half hour or so.

"Yeah?" Albus replied.

"Rose wouldn't," Matt paused, "You know, tell anyone about me, would she? Because I've been thinking, she's the sort of secret keeper for the charm for Kaden, but if she tells someone then who knows what would happen with that, so maybe we should switch to you and-"

"No," Albus interrupted him, "She wouldn't do that. Rose might be stubborn and angry with you, but she would never ever tell anyone that you're a werewolf. She knows that it's your secret to tell."

"But what if she just slips up?" Matt asked anxiously.

Albus tried to see this from Matt's point of view. He also reminded himself that Matt was probably sleep deprived and combine that with how sick he always got before the full moon, he wouldn't be seeing things rationally. But the idea of Rose telling someone that Matt was a werewolf just because she was mad at him was hard to believe.

"She won't," Albus said adamantly, "I've known her longer than you. She won't do that."

"All right," Matt said warily and leaned back on the couch.

Albus exchanged glances with John as Matt's eyes began to glaze over. This was not going to blow over quickly.

******

Albus slept horribly that night. He tossed and turned and stared at the glowing circle the full moon created on the hangings of his bed. Bilius's soft snoring filled the room. Albus was sure he wouldn't fall asleep at all that night. He had too much on his mind.

His best friend and his cousin were fighting. The cousin he had grown up with, spent all his pre-Hogwarts days with. His best friend since first year. Albus felt awful about it. He could think of at least twenty things he'd rather do that have his best friend and his cousin fight like this. A month's worth of detention with Filch, for example.

This was different than a little disagreement, too. John and Rose often fought with each other, but Albus kind of thought they liked it. Albus himself sort of enjoyed squabbling with James. Matt never fought with any of them, though. And none of them ever really rowed. What if Rose and Matt never made up? Albus swallowed hard and stared fixedly at the end of his bed. They had to make up, eventually. But what if they didn't? A nagging voice in the back of Albus's head told him it was a possibility. He tried to shake it out of his head as he closed his eyes in a vain attempt to get some sleep.

Albus had been hoping Defense Against the Dark Arts would provide a much needed escape from his thoughts of Matt and Rose never making up. That class usually required every bit of Albus's brain power and he couldn't really think about anything else during it. Unfortunately, Balladanis decided to give one of his rare lectures. Albus's mind wandered and by the time the class was over, he really couldn't remember what Balladanis had lectured about. He had assigned an essay, too, which didn't help matters.

Slughorn, on the other hand, decided to have a practical lesson even though it was only a single class. Since Matt was in the hospital wing, Albus worked with John and Janie Creevey, John's usual potions partner. He was just glad Slughorn didn't make him work with Rose and Amanda. Linda was mysteriously absent, so their group was down to two people.

John sent Albus to go get ingredients while he and Janie set up. He joined the queue behind Amanda.

"Albus," Amanda said quietly.

"Amanda," Albus replied, reminding him a lot of the way he and Limbert had worked the previous year. Polite greetings and no talking.

"Albus?" Amanda asked as they neared the cupboard.

"Yeah?" Albus replied.

"Er, how's Matt?" she asked quietly.

Albus shrugged. "Haven't had the time to visit him today."

Amanda nodded. "Um, what about the row? How is he about that?"

"He's still angry with Rose," Albus muttered.

"Oh. I was hoping..." her voice trailed off.

"How is Rose?"

"Angry," Amanda sighed, "Oh, Albus, I hate this! I hate not being able to be with you lot, but I can't abandon Rose."

"I hate it too," Albus said quietly. He was sort of surprised that Amanda still wanted to be around them, after they denied Linda access to the room. After all, she was Linda's friend, too.

"It's so stupid," she whispered, "Fighting like this."

"I know," Albus said, "But I don't think Rose and Matt think it's stupid."

"What about John and Kaden? What do they think?"

"John flat out refuses to let Linda into the room. I do, too," he said quickly, "We're all in agreement about that. Kaden, too."

"I know. And I get why. I just think its stupid to let it come between us."

"Me, too," Albus agreed, "But Rose is so stubborn. I know she's your best friend, but I've grown up with her. And she refuses to give in. So this might last a while."

"I don't want it to, Albus," Amanda said quietly.

"I don't either," Albus sighed.

Albus got his ingredients and went back to John's cauldron. He couldn't tell John anything about the conversation, though, since Janie was there. In fact, they only talked about the potion as they worked.

"Time's up!" Slughorn announced a while later, "Bring a sample up to my desk for grading."

Albus dropped their potion off to Slughorn on his way out the door with John. He glanced back at Amanda. She was talking with Rose, but looked up and gave Albus a half-hearted smile. Albus returned it and left the room, somehow feeling worse than he had when he entered.

Albus and John hurried to the Great Hall and found Kaden. The three of them ate a quick lunch and then rushed off to the hospital wing before their next classes.

Madam Pomfrey was sitting at her desk when they walked in. She looked up, but remained seated when the three boys walked inside.

"Hello, boys," she greeted them.

"Hi Madam Pomfrey," Albus replied.

"Where's..." the nurse began to ask, but then shook her head and closed her mouth.

Albus shrugged and continued his way towards the only occupied bed in the ward. He pulled the curtains open and sat down on the end of Matt's bed.

Matt was asleep. Sound asleep judging by the rhythmic way his chest moved up and down under the blankets. His face was scratched and there was a bandage around his forehead, but other than that he looked all right. Granted, most of his body was covered by the blanket, but Albus hoped he was all right otherwise.

He didn't stir when Albus sat down. John gently prodded his blanketed arm, but he didn't appear to notice it at all.

"If he's asleep, I suggest you let him be," Madam Pomfrey shouted from her desk, "In fact, I insist."

"Is he ok?" John asked, "He usually wakes up when we come in."

"He had a rough night," the nurse sighed, "It's like he didn't get any rest beforehand, but Hagrid tells me he skipped Care of Magical Creatures, so I'm sure he must have slept. But he's only woken up once since I brought him back this morning. So, for whatever the reason, he must need to sleep. Perhaps it would be best if you came back after dinner."

Albus nodded and got up off the bed. He knew why Matt needed the extra sleep. He hadn't slept much the previous day. Albus didn't say much to John and Kaden as they left. He muttered a quiet goodbye as he left for Ancient Runes. He was dreading that class. It was one he shared with Rose and Matt, and since Matt was practically unconscious in the hospital wing, it would just be him and Rose.

Albus was half tempted to just skip Ancient Runes. After all, he hadn't ever skipped a class before, except when he was sick. Even when Washburn was teaching Charms, Albus was there for every class. But, he was sure the teacher would send an owl to his parents, so he trudged his way to Ancient Runes as slowly as possible without being late.

However, Albus hadn't thought about the downside of being the last one to show up for class. When he walked into the room, there were only two seats left, at Rose's table. Linda was mysteriously absent again.

Albus groaned inwardly and sat down next to his cousin. He stole a quick glance at her, but she was facing forward, looking determined.

Professor Sturly walked in a moment later. Albus crossed his fingers for a lecture class, something he rarely did. If the class was a lecture, he could easily not talk to Rose at all. But if they were working on decoding runes, he would have to work with a partner as usual. Since both Matt and Linda weren't in class, he'd have to partner with Rose.

Sure enough, Sturly passed out tablets of runes for the class to decipher. She placed one in between Albus and Rose and told them to work together since their usual partners weren't there.

"Albus," Rose said icily as she turned to the tablet.

"Rose," Albus muttered.

They worked quietly for a while, only talking about the runes.

"That's not a sun, Albus," Rose said as Albus wrote the word 'sun' on his parchment.

"Then what is it?" Albus asked.

"It's a moon."

"Oh," Albus muttered and changed his answer, "Er, where is Linda?"

"Why do you care?" Rose glared at him.

"I'm just curious," Albus shrugged.

"She's sick, if you must know," Rose said, "She hasn't looked well for the past few days."

"She wasn't in the hospital wing," Albus replied.

"Not everyone goes to the hospital wing for every little thing," Rose said shortly.

"Well, if she's been sick for a few days-"

"That's her business, isn't it?" Rose interrupted.

Albus nodded. Rose was right about that. "Er, aren't you going to ask how Matt is?"

"I guess," Rose muttered, "How is he?"

"Worse than usual, thanks to your row."

"That wasn't only my fault. He was right there rowing with me," Rose seethed, "So don't guilt me into doing anything."

"I'm not trying to guilt you into anything," Albus groaned, "I just thought that you might actually care how his-"

Albus cut himself off. Transformation. Rose said Linda had been sick for the past few days. So had Matt. Linda had been sick around the full moon. Was it possible that she, Linda, was a werewolf, too? Albus stared dumbstruck at the tablet he was supposed to be decoding. It was kind sort of too much of a coincidence for them both to get sick at the same time. But then why would Matt be so opposed to Linda finding out that he was a werewolf, if she was one herself?

"Albus?" Rose asked.

"Rose-" he paused. Would Rose really tell him if Linda was a werewolf? Probably not. "Never mind."

"Er, ok," Rose shrugged.

The rest of the class dragged by. As soon as the bell rang, Albus grabbed his stuff and ran out of the room. He had to find John and Kaden. They had to find out if Linda really was a werewolf or not.

Albus made it to the Marauder's Den in record time. Neither John or Kaden were there yet. Come to think of it, Kaden had class anyway, so he wouldn't even be there. But John didn't. Albus tossed his bag down and began pacing around the room.

John entered the room a short while later. Albus looked up and ran over to him.

"John!" Albus shouted.

"What?" John asked, thoroughly confused.

"I had to partner with Rose during Ancient Runes since Matt wasn't there. Guess who else wasn't there? Linda. And she wasn't in Potions either," Albus said quickly.

"So?" John asked.

"I asked Rose about it and she said that Linda's been ill the past few days," Albus continued.

"But she's been in class," John pointed out.

"I know, that's part of it!" Albus replied, "Can you think of anyone else who goes to class even when he's ill?"

John paused and then his eyes widened in shock. "Matt! Wait, are you thinking-"

"Linda's a werewolf," Albus said.

"You really think?" John asked.

"Well, I obviously don't know for sure...."

"What about the last full moon? Was she sick then?"

"I don't remember," Albus sighed, "I didn't really pay attention, did you?"

"Nope," John said, "But seriously?"

"I don't know. I mean, it's possible, but if she's a werewolf, why was Matt so afraid of her finding out he's one?"

"Good point," John sighed.

"We've got to find out."

"I know, we can ask Matt!" John said, "Because she would've been with him in the Shrieking Shack, right?"

"Not necessarily," Albus shook his head, "If Wolfsbane works for her, she couldn't have been near him."

"Oh, right," John replied, "But maybe he'd know anyway."

"Or maybe not. Maybe he hasn't got a clue, but if he did know he wouldn't be so worried about her finding out about him," Albus said.

"And then he and Rose could make up."

"Exactly," Albus grinned. He wanted nothing more than Rose and Matt to make up. "Let's go see if he's awake."

Chapter 14: Hogsmeade

Albus and John practically ran to the hospital wing. They slowed down as they neared it and tried to look as casual as they could as they walked in. Madam Pomfrey was busy with a patient, so she didn't even notice them as they made a beeline for Matt's bed.

Albus yanked the curtains back and shut them again once John and himself were inside. To his relief, Matt was awake this time. He looked exhausted, but he was awake.

"Hey, Matt," Albus said.

"Hey, Albus," Matt replied, "How are you?"

"All right," Albus said, "How about you?"

"Tired," Matt sighed, "Er, how is Rose? Is she still ignoring us?"

"Pretty much," Albus said quietly.

John nodded and then glanced at Albus. Albus took a deep breath. He hadn't really thought about how he was going to ask Matt about this.

"Are you two ok?" Matt asked tentatively.

John poked Albus. Albus glared at him and then turned back to Matt. "Well, we sort of wanted to ask you something," Albus lowered his voice, "I'm sure you'll think its mental...."

Matt stared at him curiously. "Er, all right, what is it?"

"I was talking to Rose in Ancient Runes-"

"I thought she was still ignoring us."

"She was. But we were partners, since you weren't there."

"What about Linda?" Matt asked.

"She wasn't there either, which is what I wanted to ask you about," Albus paused, "Rose said Linda's been ill the past few days. I couldn't really help but notice that she was ill around the same time you were and well, John and I were sort of wondering if maybe, well, she was-"

"Like me?" Matt whispered. His eyes had widened in shock and he was staring incredulously at Albus and John.

"Er, yeah," Albus muttered, "Told you it was mental."

"It is," Matt said adamantly.

"So you know she's not?" John asked, "You saw her in here or something? Or did Madam Pomfrey tell you?"

Matt smiled wryly. "Of course not. Even if she was, I doubt Madam Pomfrey would tell me. You two missed the obvious clue that she's not like me."

Albus turned to John, who shrugged.

"Linda normally goes to the Australian School of Sorcery," Matt stated, "The school that I wasn't allowed to go to. Obviously, if Linda was like me, she couldn't go there either."

Albus felt like he should have smacked himself in the head. He turned to John, who looked like he was about to burst out laughing. How could they have forgotten about that? It was staring them straight in the face and they completely overlooked it. Professor Killigan was prejudiced against werewolves. There was no way he would admit Linda if she was one.

"Oh, right," Albus mumbled, "Should have remembered that."

"It's actually kind of funny that you thought she was like me," Matt smirked.

"I guess she's just got a cold or something," John shrugged.

"Yeah, probably," Albus said. So much for the idea of Rose and Matt making up. Albus would just have to think of some other way to get them to be friends again.

"When do you get to leave?" John asked.

"Not sure," Matt sighed, "Probably late tomorrow, if I'm lucky."

"Hogsmeade is on Saturday," John said.

"I know. I'll be out for that, even if I have to sneak out when Madam Pomfrey is sleeping," Matt replied.

Albus didn't really think Madam Pomfrey would sleep through someone trying to sneak out of the ward, but he hoped Matt would be out in time to go to Hogsmeade. It would be incredibly unfair if he wasn't allowed to go.

******

The silence continued into the next day. Linda returned from her mysterious illness and went back to spending all her free time with Rose and Amanda. Albus spent his time with John and Kaden in the Marauder's Den.

Albus hated the silence more and more every day. It kept him up at night, but he couldn't think of anything he could do about it. The row was mainly between Rose and Matt. Albus couldn't solve it, but it was eating away at him like it was his own row. He was very glad he wasn't playing Quidditch in the upcoming match. He wouldn't have been able to concentrate.

Matt didn't leave the hospital wing until Friday evening. Madam Pomfrey had reluctantly let him leave in order to go to Hogsmeade the following day.

Albus woke up not feeling nearly as excited as he probably should have about going to Hogsmeade. He and Rose had imagined going to Hogsmeade together since they were little kids. They plotted where they would go and what they would do. Both of them had been to Hogsmeade before, but never without one of their parents. The idea of going by themselves had always been exciting.

Now that the day had actually arrived, Albus couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. He wouldn't be going with Rose. Not while they were still in the midst of a row. It was either go with Matt and John, or ditch them and go with the girls. The latter wasn't even a real option. He was still mad at Rose and if he decided to make up with her, he'd have Matt and John angry with him. He just had to face it; going to Hogsmeade with Rose was not an option.

Albus, Matt, and John joined the queue of people in the Entrance Hall later on in the morning. Matt and John were more excited than Albus was, but still more subdued than the rest of the third years.

"We've got to remember the stuff for the Halloween party," John reminded them.

The Halloween party was that night. Albus had nearly forgotten about it over the past few days. It was another thing that would have been more fun if they weren't fighting with the girls.

"Yeah," Albus nodded, "We've got to get Kaden's stuff, too."

"Merlin, he was jealous that we get to go and he doesn't," John smirked.

"Can't blame him," Matt lowered his voice, "I mean, this is the first time we'll get to try out the Hogsmeade part of the map."

Albus grinned. That was one part about the Hogsmeade trip that Albus was still thoroughly excited about. He had the new map in his cloak pocket, all ready to go.

"We can see who likes to go to the Hog's Head," John grinned mischievously.

"Hey, Amy used to go there," Matt said.

"Really?" John asked.

"Yeah, she liked how empty it was."

"Seems like an awfully depressing place," John said.

"Where do you lot want to go first?" Albus asked as they gave their names to Filch.

"Weasley's," John said immediately, "I've got loads to buy there. And Kaden gave me a list of stuff he wants me to get him, too."

"Why does that not surprise me?" Albus smirked.

The boys walked the short distance into Hogsmeade once Filch checked their names off. It was a chilly autumn day. There was a slight breeze in the air and it was cloudy, but not the kind of clouds that threatened rain. They couldn't have asked for better weather in late October.

Once they arrived, they hid behind a tree in order to look at the map. Albus glanced around to make sure nobody was watching and then pulled it out of his cloak. He muttered the incantation and soon, an inky replication of Hogsmeade was on the yellowed paper.

"Whoa," Matt whispered, "Look, Weasleys' is so crowded, you can't read any of the labels."

There were dots spilling out of the joke shop and even more inside, piled on top of each other. Albus wasn't surprised in the slightest. His uncle's shop was the most popular in Hogsmeade. There were more modest collections of dots in the rest of the shops and pubs. A slight few were in the Hog's Head.

"Anyone we know in the Hog's Head?" John asked.

"Nope," Albus said after he read the labels.

Albus wiped the map clean and then they set off for Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. It took them a while to squeeze into the crowd, and once there, Albus and Matt quickly lost John to the throngs of students grabbing merchandise.

Both George and Teddy were behind the counter, ringing up purchases as fast as they possibly could.

"Hi Uncle George! Teddy!" Albus shouted.

"Hey, Al!" George shouted back.

"Albus!" Teddy exclaimed, "How's your first Hogsmeade trip?"

"Great," Albus smiled, "Are you coming to the Halloween party?"

"Wouldn't miss it," Teddy grinned, "Victoire and Amy are going, too."

"That's good," Albus said, "Are you dressing up?"

"'Course," Teddy laughed.

"What as?"

"Where would the fun in that be?" Teddy winked.

John returned a little while later, arms laden with merchandise. He dumped it all on the counter and a few Skiving Snackboxes fell on the ground. Albus picked them up and smirked as he put them on the counter.

"Stocking up for a year?" Albus asked.

"Nah, this is just until next Hogsmeade trip," John said.

"You're one of my best customers, John," George laughed.

"Do you really need five Snackboxes?" Matt asked.

"Definitely. Divination's awful. And two are for Kaden," John replied.

John paid for his purchases and then the group wandered down the road until they reached Gladrags Wizardwear. They slowly walked inside, only to find that it was filled with giggly girls.

"I'd be happy if I never had to set foot in here again," John groaned as he gestured to a display of pink sparkly robes.

"We just need to get our costume stuff and get out," Albus muttered, equally unhappy about having to visit a clothing shop.

The three boys tried to move as quietly as possible through the crowd of girls in order to find their costume stuff. Albus immediately found a black shirt and pants for his skeleton costume. He had bought glow in the dark paint at Weasleys' and one of his cousins was going to paint bones on the shirt and pants with it.

John had purchased Muggle vampire teeth and Muggle face paint at Weasleys', so all he needed was a black cape, which he found quickly. Matt located a white sheet, which was all he needed for his ghost costume. Albus got another white sheet, which they would cut up into strips for Kaden's mummy costume.

"Finally!" John exclaimed once they left the shop, "That's my least favorite place in Hogsmeade."

"You should go to Madam Puddifoot's, then," Albus laughed.

John shuddered. "No way. I will never set foot in that hideous place."

"Anyone want to go to the Three Broomsticks?" Matt shivered.

"Yeah, I could use with a Butterbeer," Albus agreed and pulled his cloak tighter. The wind had picked up and Butterbeer would be good to warm up with.

Albus led his friends up the street and into the crowded pub. It seemed that everyone had the idea of warming up with a Butterbeer. Albus and Matt snagged the last empty table while John went to the bar to get a few Butterbeers.

"What do you think the party is going to be like?" Matt asked.

"Dunno," Albus shrugged, "It's not really common for there to be an actual party. Usually it's just the feast. I guess they just want us to interact with the foreign students. Kind of like the Yule Ball for the Triwizard Tournament."

"I just can't wait to see what people dress up as," John announced as he returned with the Butterbeers.

"Think the teachers will dress up?" Matt asked.

"I hope so," John grinned, "Probably depends on the teacher, though. I could see Kendrick dressing up. And Longbottom. Not sure about Slughorn."

Albus snorted into his Butterbeer. "Slughorn, dress up? Now that would be funny."

"I think any of the teachers dressing up would be funny," Matt laughed.

"So, how long do you think it'll be until Kaden tries sneaking into Hogsmeade?" John asked.

"Next trip," Albus said immediately, "I know he's plotting it. He asked me if I was taking the map today. I think he wanted it to sneak in."

"Are you going to let him have it next time?" Matt asked as he sipped his Butterbeer.

"Probably," Albus nodded.

"What if he gets caught?" Matt asked.

Albus shrugged. "He'll get a couple detentions. It's not like he'll notice another two detentions."

"Good point," Matt grinned and turned to John, "You two spend half your waking time in detention."

"It's not that bad, once you get used to it. I think Filch is getting a bit fed up with us, though. He's starting to pawn us off on the professors."

"Well, when you spend every other night with him, who can blame him?" Albus smirked.

"Shut it, Albus," John laughed, "Or next time we get caught, we'll tell Filch whatever we were doing was all your idea."

"He'll never believe you," Albus grinned.

"Albus," a female voice said from behind him.

Albus turned around and saw Rose, Butterbeer in hand, with Amanda and Linda on either side of her.

"Rose," Albus muttered.

The mood at the table quickly turned from joking around to tense silence. Albus nervously glanced from Amanda to Rose and back again. He looked at Matt and John, who were both glaring at the girls.

"All the tables are taken," Amanda sighed, "Do you mind if we sit here?"

"Er-" Albus began.

"We were just leaving," Matt announced as he stood up, "Right?"

"Yeah," John agreed.

Albus nodded and stood up as well. He followed Matt and John through the crowded pub, looking back at the girls. Amanda was the only one who was watching them leave.

"Why couldn't they have found some other table to sit at?" John groaned after they were back outside.

"I dunno," Albus muttered. He had been having fun joking around with Matt and John, but as soon as the girls showed up, he was reminded once again of the rift that had formed in their group. "Anywhere we haven't been yet?"

"Madam Puddifoot's," Matt laughed.

"Don't even joke about that," John shuddered, "But you know, we haven't been to the Shrieking Shack."

Matt groaned. "You're kidding, right?"

"Nope," John grinned and took off up the street, "Come on, don't even say you're not going. Because you are."

Matt sent Albus a withered look and set off at a slower pace after John. Albus laughed to himself and followed them.

There were a couple people leaning on the fence in front of the Shack. They were all third years. Albus figured the thrill of the Shrieking Shack wore off after the first couple Hogsmeade trips. Albus and Matt joined John, who was standing near a couple girls who were looking at the Shack.

"It's the most haunted building in Britain!" a Ravenclaw named Ann Jacobs told her friend.

"Really?" the girl's eyes widened. Albus vaguely remembered that she was Muggle born.

"Yeah, it's haunted by ghosts!" Ann Jacobs said excitedly, "Right, Albus?"

"Er, yup," Albus nodded, "Ghosts."

"I wonder if we could get inside!" the other girl said.

"You can't," Matt said quickly.

"How do you know?" the girl asked.

"My sister tried once," Matt answered, "She graduated our first year. The place is completely sealed."

"Oh," the girl sighed, "Would have been cool."

"We should get back," Matt said, "We've got to get our costumes ready."

"Good idea," Albus agreed.

The boys bade goodbye to the two Ravenclaws and headed back to the castle. They were all very quiet on the walk back. Albus sunk back into his thoughts of how he should have gone to Hogsmeade with Rose. He hoped he'd be able to go with her the next trip. Albus couldn't imagine that he'd still be mad at her when that came around. At least he hoped he wouldn't.

Kaden was waiting in the Marauder's Den for them. He immediately bombarded them with questions, and the rest of the boys launched into a detailed description of their entire trip.

After Kaden's curiosity was finally satisfied, the boys got to work on their costumes. Matt, John, and Kaden stayed behind in the Marauder's Den to make Matt's ghost costume and Kaden's mummy costume while Albus set off to find one of his cousins to paint his skeleton costume.

Gabriella agreed to make the costume. Not wanting to find the girls and ask Amanda to do it, Albus had been hoping Gabriella would. Gabriella was the most creative of all his cousins and even though all he needed was someone to perform a painting charm, he figured Gabriella would do the best job.

"What are you dressing up as?" Albus asked as Gabriella performed the charm.

"A Veela," Gabriella replied.

"Creative," Albus laughed.

"My friend actually came up with it. A couple of us are going as Veelas."

"Well, you've already got the hair, so it won't take much for you to dress up," Albus said.

Gabriella grinned and handed Albus his costume. "Here you go. I'll see you at the party. I've got to go get ready."

"Thanks," Albus said.

When Albus returned to the Marauder's Den, he was met not by his friends, but by a ghost, mummy, and vampire. All three costumes were brilliant. Matt looked just like a Muggle ghost, complete with eye holes and a round mouth hole. Kaden was wrapped in strips of white sheet that were hanging off of him in various places. John's costume was the best, in Albus's opinion. He wore a black cape with a white shirt and black pants underneath. He also had a red bow-tie on, which Kaden insisted would make him look more vampirish. His face was completely covered in white make-up and he was wearing bright red lipstick that dripped onto his chin. When he grinned, he revealed pearly white vampire fangs.

"You lot look great," Albus grinned, "The Muggle costumes was definitely the way to go."

"Put yours on," Matt said.

Albus nodded and went to his section of the room. When he came out, he was wearing his costume. Albus looked at his arms and they were glowing. Gabriella had done an excellent job with the painting charm. His chest was covered in a glow in the dark rib cage.

"Brilliant, Albus," John grinned.

"We're going to have the best costumes in the school," Kaden announced, "Are the girls still dressing up as witches?"

"No idea," Albus sighed. He hadn't talked to Rose about the costumes in weeks. "Guess we'll find out."

Albus had no idea what to expect from the party. The professors had never sponsored a party before while he was at Hogwarts. He walked down to the Great Hall with Matt, John, and Kaden. They passed quite a few people on the way down and saw all sorts of different costumes.