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DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2535 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Sunday 11 July 2010 04 45 38 pm    Post subject: Re: Beyond the Shadow in topic:Beyond the Shadow Chapter 12: Victoire's News I thought it would have been easy to get sucked into work again and not think about my lunch with Dillan, but even while my mind was on wizards with plants sprouting out of their ears, witches with odd orange rashes, and children with spattergroit, Dillan was there in the back of my mind. It was strange since every other time I'd gone on a date I'd easily been able to forget about the blokes at work. Although, thinking about that now, it probably wasn't a good thing. Victoire bombarded me with questions about the lunch as I was walking back to my study after clinic duty and I told her everything, as I promised. She was thoroughly excited and promised to help me pick out an outfit for our date on Friday. However we couldn't talk for very long since she was seeing patients all afternoon. As she headed back to the Spell Damage floor I headed off to find Morris to see if he'd ran Matt's tests yet. Morris was in his study writing up notes when I entered a little while later. He must have known immediately why I was there because as soon as I sat down he handed me a piece of parchment with Matt's name, the date, and a time stamp of an hour earlier. It was his test results and according to them he no longer had any Wolfsbane in his system. “Thank Merlin,” I muttered. “Did you run it twice to be sure?” “Three times,” he answered. “They all gave the same results and Matt seems much better. He's tired of course, but I'm planning on discharging him before I go home tonight.” I nodded. I'd insist he stay with me for the night, but he'd be far less bored in my flat than in the ward. “Mind if I keep this?” “Go right ahead,” Morris said. “I've got another copy.” “Thanks. I'm not starting a new version of the potion until I figure out why he reacted like this. I don't want it happening again,” I said. “Probably a good idea,” Morris agreed. “Let me know what you find out.” “I will,” I answered as I left his study. My next stop was the ward, where I found Matt sitting up in bed reading some sort of book on the Chudley Cannons. He has so many books on that team that it makes me wonder not only where he finds them but what sort of authors would actually want to write books about such an awful Quidditch team. And I mean awful as in their playing, not that I hate them, because I'm quite indifferent about Quidditch. “Hey, Amy,” he greeted me. “Hear the good news?” “Sure did,” I replied. “All the Wolfsbane is gone, but we still haven't got a clue as to why it stayed in there. Morris said he's going to discharge you sometime today, but I think you should come spend the night at my place.” “Sounds good.” “And you're not going back to work tomorrow. I think you need to rest another day,” I told him. “Seriously? But I've already missed so many days.” “Don't tell me you're starting to become a workaholic, too.” I groaned. “No, you got all of those genes. It's just I know the only reason I got that job is because of Dad and I don't want to give the Ministry anymore reasons to dislike the fact that I'm working there.” “They don't dislike it,” I argued. “I'm not five anymore,” Matt said. “You can't hide stuff like that from me anymore.” He had a point, I thought. “All right, we'll compromise. You can go in in the afternoon so long as you continue to get better tonight. I'm sure Morris would agree with me on this.” “Ok, that'll work,” Matt agreed. “Good,” I replied. “I'm going down to the basement to work for the rest of the afternoon, but I haven't got anymore patients to see today so when Morris discharges you we'll go home.” “Sounds like a plan.” After swinging by my study to gather my very large collection of notes on every single version of Wolfsbane I had ever created, along with Matt's medical file from Morris's study, I headed down to the brewing rooms. By some stroke of luck I wasn't stopped by anyone on my way. I wasn't planning on doing any actual brewing that day, but experience had taught me that holing myself up in a brewing room would result in less interruptions than doing the same in my study. My usual room was empty so I dumped the stack of notes onto the desk and settled down for what was sure to be a long afternoon. I couldn't risk creating a potion like my most recent one again so I had to figure out what had caused Matt to have such an awful reaction. The only way to do that was to study my notes until I reached some sort of conclusion. Now that Matt was better and I had had a day to think about what had happened I realized that Morris was right. As awful as it had been for Matt to have a reaction like that to a potion, it was helpful in the long run. Generally, with experimental potions, negative reactions were better than no reaction at all when it came to figuring out how to make the potion better. When Matt had no reaction to a potion I created I had nothing to go on; all I was able to say was that that specific potion didn't work. Now I had a clue, something to tell me what was going wrong. If only I knew what that specific clue was. No matter what Matt's reaction was to new potions, my first step afterwards was to add a new line into my ever expanding chart of failed potions. Each potion had a line that included the ingredients, the type of cauldron it was brewed in, the amounts of ingredients, and every other seemingly insignificant step that went into brewing potions. The littlest thing could be the difference between a useful and useless potion. Along with information about the actual potion I also kept a separate chart of each person who had taken each potion. The people varied, although Matt had taken each one. For that very reason (and of course the fact that he was my brother) I was focusing the most on his reactions. Each year I created and tested either three or four potions and since I had been working on it for six years, there were a lot of entries. Some had been as useless as original Wolfsbane and others had had awful side effects, but the most recent one was the worst yet. After entering the new information into the charts, the first thing I looked at was the concentration of pure Wolfsbane in the potion. Wolfsbane potion was different from pure Wolfsbane, the latter being the active ingredient in the potion. It is the most tricky ingredient to add and if the proportion of it to the other ingredients isn't right, it can have disastrous effects, which is why I thought it had something to do with Matt's reaction. Regular Wolfsbane potion uses a concentration of .01 percent pure Wolfsbane. Most brewers agree that anything less than .008 concentration is completely useless while anything above .05 percent is deadly. My potions have ranged between .007 and .49 in terms of concentration, with the most recent having .04 percent. Matt's reaction would have made more sense if the potion had had a higher concentration, especially since the potion made with .49 percent had had no effect on him whatsoever, with the Wolfsbane filtering out of his system in the normal twelve hour window. That meant that this was far more complicated than the concentration of pure Wolfsbane. It meant that it had something to do with a reaction amongst the ingredients. To make matters even more confusing, Morris had discovered years ago that Matt had a very high metabolism, which was part of the reason why he believed Wolfsbane potion didn't work for him. Morris discovered that Matt's body processed Wolfsbane between eight and nine hours rather than the standard twelve, but even when he was given Wolfsbane potion every eight hours instead of twelve, it still didn't help him. But it made it even more confusing that this time the Wolfsbane wouldn't filter at all. Scouring my notes for anything that might help is a very tedious task and after working at it for two hours I still came up with nothing. I was about to start my third time reading them when there was a knock at the door. “Come in,” I said, thinking it was probably one of the junior brewers with a question. “I knew I'd find you here.” I looked up and saw Victoire, looking if possible, even more pregnant than she had the previous day. “It's where I'll be for the foreseeable future until I figure this potion out.” “Well can you pry yourself away from your notes long enough to hear my good news?” Victoire asked. I glanced up again and really looked at Victoire. She was glowing, positively glowing, and had a huge smile on her face. She looked even more excited than she did when she was told her baby didn't have lycanthropy. “Of course.” “Just had another Healer appointment,” she told me. “You did?” I asked. I couldn't recall her telling me about it. “I don't remember you saying anything about it.” “I mentioned it a while ago, but I'm sure you forgot after what happened,” she said. “Anyway, they ran another test, this one to tell us the sex-” “Did you find out?” I interrupted. “Yup,” Victoire said. “But that's not the best part. The best part is that I'm having twins!” “Oh my God!” I shrieked and got up to hug her. “Congratulations!” “Thanks. Teddy's thrilled, especially since they're both boys.” “Poor Sophie!” I laughed. “I know. I'm hoping she'll eventually have some cousins who are girls, but I think Weasleys tend to be prone to having boys.” “Well you can always try for another girl after those boys are born,” I pointed out. “I was just told that I'm going to have to give birth to not one but two boys in June. The last thing I want to do is thinking about having a fourth,” Victoire said. “Fair point,” I agreed. “I haven't even had one and I can't even imagine it. I love Sophie of course, but she's like the perfect kid. Surely they're not all like her.” “Trust me, they're not. I'm sure these boys will be like my Uncles Fred and George, only worse. I've got it coming to me after only having Sophie for five years.” “Sophie will keep them in line,” I said. “Even Sophie wouldn't be able to control them if they're like Fred and George,” Victoire said. “Merlin, Amy, even if they're like Sophie I'm still going to have three times as many kids. It's all Teddy and I can do to make sure someone's always around to watch Sophie. We can't rely on my parents and grandparents to watch three kids.” “But Sophie will be in school soon,” I pointed out. “Are you starting her at that preschool soon?” “Not all the time. Teddy and I both work a lot of weekends and Sophie won't have school on weekends,” Victoire said. “And yes, she's starting next week. She's so excited!” “Good.” I smiled. Sophie needed to be around kids her own age. “I just don't think I can do the working full time thing with two newborn babies and a five-year-old.” “What do you mean?” I asked. “I mean...” she paused and sat down in one of my extra chairs, “that I'm thinking of not coming back to St. Mungo's after my maternity leave is up.” I said nothing for a few minutes. While after hearing what Victoire was saying about taking care of three kids and working full time I sort of expected her to say that, it was still a shock. Victoire wasn't nearly as much of a workaholic as I was, but she had always been determined to work hard at what she does and I couldn't see her not working. Ever since I met her she knew exactly what she wanted career wise and nothing had ever swayed her. “Have you talked to Teddy about it yet?” I asked. “Yes,” Victoire answered. “He agrees with me. I mean, he makes a decent salary as an Auror so we don't necessarily need my income. It's weird. When I was in Hogwarts I always imagined having a job and kids but I never thought about how the two would compete. My mum stayed home with me and Gabriella and Ben when we were little and it was so much fun. We weren't ever shuttled off to anyone else's house for a weekend and we never waited until ten or eleven at night for our parents to come home to say good night while a baby-sitter sat in our living room.” “Sophie doesn't mind that,” I said quietly. “Has she ever complained once about having to spend the day with your parents or grandparents?” “No,” Victoire said. “But that doesn't mean she doesn't miss us. It wouldn't be forever. Just until the boys were at Hogwarts.” She looked down and placed her hands on her stomach. “It's up to you,” I said. “My mum was home with Matt and I when we were little, too, so I can see why you would want to. I'll miss you here, if you don't come back.” “And I'll miss you too. I'll miss everything about this place. It's why I'm so torn. I'm not deciding yet since I won't even leave on maternity leave until May or so.” “Farina won't be pleased.” I laughed. “No, definitely not,” Victoire agreed. “So what were you working on when I so rudely interrupted you?” “You're always welcome to interrupt me,” I said. “Anyone else will get yelled at, but you can.” “I feel so honored.” Victoire grinned. “So what are you up to? I don't see any steaming cauldrons filled with disgusting tasting liquids that will save the world.” “Very funny,” I replied. “And I'm not brewing anything today. I'm trying to look at years of notes in order to figure out why Matt had that awful of a reaction to the potion. I get interrupted less down here than in my study, due to my reputation of hexing people who barge in on my brewing.” “Ah, yes, that intern who you hexed last week never did return.” “Again, very funny. I did not hex an intern.” “So I take it you're staying late tonight? I was going to invite you over to dinner tonight. It's just Gabriella, Sophie, and I since Teddy's working,” Victoire explained. “Nope, not staying late, since Morris is releasing Matt today, but he's coming over to my place for the night. I've got to stay with him.” “Another time, then. Going to bring all of this home with you?” “Of course,” I said. “Has Gabriella made any mention of taking off again?” “No,” Victoire replied. “But she disappears everyday so she must be actually doing something here.” “If she wasn't, you could hire her as your nanny.” Victoire and I looked at each other and then burst out laughing at the thought of Gabriella being a nanny. That girl would be a nanny the day John Brickston managed to have a girlfriend for more than a month. “It's so weird,” I began, “because when we were kids Gabriella was so responsible. She was a prefect and everything.” “Hey, I suppose some kids rebel in their teenage years and others wait until they're out of Hogwarts.” Victoire shrugged. “And others don't ever rebel,” I pointed out, thinking of Victoire herself. “I'm hoping Sophie will take after me.” My Galleon alert vibrated and I pulled it out of the pocket of my robes. Morris was paging me so that meant he was probably ready to discharge Matt. “I've got to go,” I said. “I think Matt's going to be leaving.” “All right,” Victoire said as she stood up. “I'll see you tomorrow.” “Yep, sounds good.” I grabbed all of my paperwork and notes and followed Victoire out of the room, being sure to lock it behind me. ****** Morris was waiting in the Dai Lewellyn ward when I got there a few minutes later, and so was Mum. She was wearing nurse robes and had a stack of clipboards in her arms, so presumably she had snuck away from clinicals for a few minutes to see Matt before he went home. Judging by the irritated look on Matt's face and the bemused one on Morris's, Mum was doing more than just saying hi to her son. “I just don't think it's a good idea for you to go back to work tomorrow,” Mum said as I shut the door to the ward. “You need another day to rest.” “Mum.” Matt sighed. “I've been resting for the past three days.” “You've been here! In the hospital! Twenty-four hours ago you were practically unconscious on that bed, so you can't tell me you don't need another day of rest.” “I'm practically unconscious once a month but I still only take a couple of days off,” Matt pointed out. “If I rested as much as you wanted me to I'd never get anything done.” Morris and I shared a look, knowing that this could go on for ages. Despite the fact that both of us had degrees in healing, neither of us had any say in whether Matt went to work tomorrow where Mum is concerned. We could both assure her that Matt was as healthy as she was but she would still insist he stay in bed and eat soup all day. Degrees were nothing compared to motherly love. When Matt was little, Mum constantly told him to rest and she hardly let him do anything that other little kids did. As he got older he got fed up with it and started arguing with her, but even now that he's in his twenties she still has that pull over him. Hell, she still has that pull over me. If she demanded that I stay in bed and rest I'd probably listen to her, even if Farina was barking in my other ear to get to work. “Amy said I could go in in the afternoon if I rested in the morning,” Matt said. “Isn't that a good compromise?” Instead of agreeing with him, Mum turned around and glared at me, as if that wasn't a compromise at all. “Amy's not your mother,” Mum said. “But she's a Healer!” Matt shouted. “Not your Healer,” Mum countered. “Healer Sterling agrees with her,” Matt pointed out. Morris sighed and shook his head, looking as if he wished he hadn't gotten involved with this, even though he really hadn't. Matt dragged him into it. “We're busy at work, Mum. We're looking at that proposal Amy did for the foundation and Dad thinks we might be able to get funding for it if you work with the Ministry and it gets declared an official Werewolf Support Services program. I really need to be there.” I looked at Matt, raising my eyebrows and trying to silently ask him why he hadn't told me about that. Last I knew we were putting that off until after the holidays. Plus, the Ministry had never gotten involved with anything the foundation did. Mum sighed, clearly defeated. She glanced at her watch and I realized that her defeat probably had less to do with Matt's reasoning than the fact that she needed to get back to work. “Fine. Rest in the morning and work in the afternoon. Dad will tell me if you show up early, so don't.” Mum set down her clipboards and gave Matt a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek before turning to me. “Don't let him go if he seems to get ill again.” She picked up her clipboards and gave me a one-armed hug before leaving the ward. “Merlin,” Matt groaned as he sat back down on the bed. “You'd think I was twelve again.” “She's your mother,” Morris said as he flicked his wand above Matt's head. “She'll worry about you forever, no matter how old you are. Your vitals are normal, so you're good to go.” “Thanks,” Matt said as he got up. “I'm sure I'll be seeing you again soon.” “Hopefully not too soon,” Morris replied and then turned to me. “Amy, I'll see you tomorrow.” I nodded and Matt and I followed Morris out of the now empty ward. I stopped at my study to pick up a few more things and then we headed off for the Floo room. With any luck, I'd have a few hours to try and figure out my notes later that evening.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2535 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Monday 28 June 2010 05 23 43 pm    Post subject: Re: Beyond the Shadow in topic:Beyond the Shadow Chapter 11: Dillan Blayney It was a very odd feeling to sit in my study and have absolutely nothing to do and it was a feeling that I never had very often. I felt like there was something I should be doing, but after replying to George's letter, there really wasn't anything left, since Farina had given me the day off I had no clinic hours, the only patient in the Dai Lewellyn Ward was Matt, and I hadn't started over on the Wolfsbane yet. The only thing I could have possibly done was look over the data I had just received, but my headache was slowly breaking through the potion I had taken and I knew there would be no way to concentrate on it. Instead, I just waited. I sat in my chair and did absolutely nothing and it was actually quite refreshing. I couldn't remember the last time I had absolutely nothing to do. Morris was obviously running late, since 4:30 came and went without him showing up. When I finally heard footsteps I got up and met him in Natalie's study. “Morris,” I said as he set a chart down on Natalie's desk and then picked up another. “How is Matt doing?” Morris paused and set the chart back down again. “Cancel my five o'clock,” he said to Natalie, who immediately got up and left, presumably to find Morris's five o'clock. My heart started beating fast as Morris gestured for me to follow him into his study. If Matt had been doing all right, Morris wouldn't have canceled an appointment. What had happened that was so awful he needed an entire appointment time to tell me about? Morris's study looks exactly like mine except it was filled with far more books and several pictures of his wife, children, and grandchildren adorned the walls and sat upon his desk. I sat in in the leather armchair in front of his desk while he took the seat behind it. He flipped through a stack of parchment and set a sheet in front of me. I glanced at it. “Matt's results from yesterday?” I asked, curious as to why he was showing them to me again. “No,” Morris said quietly. “Those are new. Results from a blood test taken only three hours ago.” He pointed to the date in the upper right hand corner. January second, 2:07pm. Morris set another piece of parchment alongside it. Matt's results from the day before. The numbers were exactly the same. The exact same amount of Wolfsbane was running through Matt's system that afternoon as had been the previous day. Why wasn't it getting processed? Why was it staying in his system? Why was a medicine that was supposed to be filtered through a person's system in less than twelve hours staying there for nearly forty-eight? “Again, I ran the same test three times. I had three different technicians run it and used three separate test potions. Then I had the test potions sent for testing and ran three tests each on each of them. The potions are fine. The results are as they are,” Morris said quietly. I swallowed hard. In all my years of studying lycanthropy, all my years of treating people with it, and all my years of brewing various types of Wolfsbane I had never seen a case where Wolfsbane did not filter out of a person's system in twelve hours, give or take a few. And if had never happened before, what were we supposed to do? “Have you ever known this to happen before?” I asked, hoping that since Morris had been working as a Healer far longer than she had, he would know something. “No,” he replied. “But I think if we treat the Wolfsbane as any other toxin, because it is a toxin to someone with lycanthropy, we should be able to flush it out. That made sense. It was a good thing Morris was able to remain calm enough to think clearly. I suppose that was why I'm not Matt's Healer. Morris was able to separate the rational thinking from his emotions when it came to Matt, whereas I certainly wasn't. “What about the after effects?” I asked. “That is what I am more worried about,” he replied. “We won't know what they are until the Wolfsbane is gone and he's awake and conscious. At the very least he's going to be incredibly exhausted. Other than that, I really don't know. The best thing we can do is flush out the Wolfsbane as quickly as possible.” “Well let's start right now, then.” I stood up, wondering why we were wasting time talking. “I already have. I've had the potion running intravenously for the past hour.” Of course he had, Morris was always on top of things. “Have my parents been by?” “This morning, and on their lunch breaks,” Morris answered. “I expect they'll be back once they're done with work.” “I'm going to go sit with him.” “I'll go with you,” Morris said. “I've got to check the IV.” Morris and I walked in silence to the ward. Matt was curled up on his side on the bed, covered in three of those flannel hospital blankets that weren't really very warm, a tall pole with a bag of potion danging from it next to the bed. A tube ran from the bag into the back of Matt's hand, which was resting upon the blankets. It was a Muggle IV contraption since magic couldn't replicate the steady drip that an IV had. In order for his system to be properly flushed, he had to have constant potion dripping into his body. As we drew nearer I saw that his face was still flushed with fever, yet he was sleeping soundly. Morris drew his wand and waved it over Matt. “His fever's gone down.” “That's a good sign,” I said as I sat down in a chair next to the bed. “Definitely,” Morris agreed as he fiddled with the bag of potion. “I'm going to leave this in for twenty-four hours and then we'll test again.” I nodded. Morris finished doing whatever he was doing with the potion and left. Then it was quiet. Matt was sleeping very soundly and not snoring at all and the lack of other patients of course attributed to the silence. I was alone with my thoughts and at the moment which was kind of a scary thing. Deep down, I knew Dad was right that I couldn't liken this potion disaster to what had happened when Matt was eight, but on the surface it was hard not to. Plus, regardless of whether the two were similar or not something I had created had still harmed my brother and there was no getting around that. People could assure me time and time again that Matt had consented to take the Wolfsbane but that didn't matter. He didn't have a degree in healing or brewing so he counted on me to tell him what was safe and what wasn't when it came to those fields. I hadn't done that. The door to the ward opened and Mum and Dad walked in, both looking in dire need of a nap. They took seats on the other side of Matt's bed. “The Wolfsbane is still in his system,” I told them, and proceeded to explain everything Morris had already told me. “Nothing to do but wait, then,” Dad said quietly. “Sometimes I wonder if it'll even be worth it, in the end,” I said. “What?” Mum asked. “This,” I gestured to Matt. “Giving him potions that nearly kill him just for the small chance that I might come up with one that will work. What if in the end I don't come up with one? Then he will have gone through all of this for nothing.” “You will come up with one,” Dad assured me. “Stop thinking you won't. And it's not for nothing because even though this one didn't work, it will provide answers once you sit down and compare it with the others.” “But is it worth it to use my own brother as a guinea pig?” “That's a question that has no answer,” Dad said. “If he comes out of this not wanting to test anymore potions then fine. But if he still wants to try them, that's his decision.” I nodded, mostly to appease my father and not because I necessarily agreed, because I was not sure that I did. My father, as intelligent as he was, did not have the training in healing and medicine that I had. Give him a complicated question about a magical creature and he'd give you the answer with hardly a thought and no doubt it would be correct, but there were aspects to the morals of healing that he did not understand. Even I did not completely understand them because they were beyond the scope of the few morals classes I took in training. Patients don't get to decide what treatment they get even if a healer explains the risks and they claim they understand the risks. A healer still has the final say. If Jamie's parents had wanted to start him on my experimental Wolfsbane as soon as he'd stopped taking normal Wolfsbane, even claiming to understand the risks, I would have said no. Similarly, it was not solely Matt's decision whether or not to continue taking experimental potions; it was up to Morris and I as well. However, so long as I kept those potions available for any of age lycanthropic witches and wizards to try, I had to let Matt use them if he wished. The only way I could stop him is if I found a medical reason for him not to, and without understanding why this particular potion had affected him so badly, I would not have a medical reason for him not to try the next one. ****** Farina greeted me the next morning without any recognition that she'd given me the previous day off. It was like it never happened. Instead she told me I was due in the clinic as soon as my lunch hour was over, and not a minute later. My morning was filled with three routine appointments and going over that month's data. Since we have such a small amount of data I cannot draw any conclusions yet, but I still like to look it over to make sure it's useable. Luckily all of this month's looked fine. It wasn't until nearly eleven-thirty that I remembered that I had told Victoire I would meet the bloke from the pub for lunch. I cringed when I realized all I had on underneath my healer robes was a pair of old jeans and a sweater Victoire's grandmother had knitted for me, one adorned with a Gryffindor lion. I didn't even have time to floo home to change because it was either floo home or visit Matt, which I hadn't had time to do yet that morning. Matt was awake when I entered the ward and he looked slightly bored which I took to be a good sign. He looked over immediately when I entered. “Hey, how are you feeling?” I asked as I bent over to give him a hug. “Better than yesterday,” he replied. “Good, that means the wolfsbane is finally being flushed out,” I told him. “We'll know for sure when you're tested this afternoon.” Victoire was waiting for me in my study when I rushed in to strip off my lime green robes after visiting Matt. She wasn't impressed with what I was wearing underneath but she at least had some make-up on hand and straightened my hair with her wand before I promised her to tell her all about the lunch and rushed downstairs to meet the guy. I was five minutes late by the time I got there and he was standing amongst the distressed witches and wizards in the waiting room, looking sorely out of place. For one, he did not look distressed. Two, he kept glancing around like he was looking for someone. Three, he was dressed solely in Muggle attire, wearing jeans and a jacket over a button-up shirt. His eyes rested upon me and he smiled. I met him near the door but didn't say anything until we left the chaotic waiting room for the slightly less chaotic streets of Muggle London. “Sorry I'm late,” I said. “You're closer to being on time than any Healer I've ever met before,” he joked. “And you look great.” I raised my eyebrows and gestured to my Gryffindor jumper. “I look like I'm ready for a day of lounging around at Hogwarts.” “Well the jumper does kind of answer one of the questions I was going to ask you over lunch,” he confided. “I'm Dillan Blayney, by the way. I don't think I properly introduced myself yesterday.” He stuck out his hand. “No, you didn't,” I replied as I shook his hand. “I believe I did.” “You did. I thought we could go get pizza. I know a great little place around the corner.” “What if I hadn't worn Muggle clothing?” I asked. “I took a chance. I figured you weren't the sort of person to stroll around London in green Healer robes.” He was right about that. Of course I didn't know anyone who wore their Healer robes outside of St. Mungo's due to their hideous nature. He seemed to be quite the jokester and I did have to admit that he was attractive. Very attractive. As much as he'd reminded me of Al Potter the previous day, now he seemed older and better looking which was a good sign since I thought of Al as a little brother. We walked in silence until we reached a very tiny shop on the corner that I would have missed had I not been with Dillan. He held the door open for me and I walked into what was a very adorable little pizza shop. There was a large picture of some city in Rome along one of the walls and a picture of the Italian Football team from 2006, when they won the World Cup. On various ledges were bottles of oils filled with herbs and a variety of meats and salads chilled in a display near the counter. Dillan chose a small booth in the back and plucked two menus out from behind the napkin holder, handing one to me. “Get whatever you want, so long as it's pizza,” Dillan said. “I do insist that you choose pizza because this is the best pizza, outside of Italy.” “Obviously you've never been to Mama Rizzo's in Sydney,” I told him as I scanned the menu. “Sydney?” he asked. “As in Australia? No, I can't say I've ever traveled that far for pizza. What was a Londoner like yourself doing in Sydney?” “I grew up in Australia, just outside Brisbane. My grandparents used to live near Sydney,” I said, making sure to watch his face for the look of surprise that always showed up on people's faces when I tell them I used to live in Australia. However, Dillan didn't seem surprised at all. He looked like he would've if I said I grew up in Scotland. “Yet you're wearing a Gryffindor jumper. Here I thought you were a Hogwarts alumnus.” “You were right about that,” I said as the waitress set down two waters. Thank Merlin, I thought, perhaps the waitress would distract him from asking why I moved to England. “Ready to order?” she asked. Dillan gestured to me. “Um, I guess we'll take a small pizza with peppers, olives, and extra cheese.” “Coming right up,” she said. “So let me get this straight,” Dillan said as he stirred his water with his straw. “You grew up in Australia yet you went to Hogwarts. I think I'm missing something.” “I moved here when I was fourteen,” I explained, although that really wasn't much of an explanation. “Ah,” he replied, “and may I ask why?” “You can ask,” I said, “but you won't necessarily get an answer.” “Then I won't ask,” he replied. “Although I shall remain curious. I was born and raised in the same house as I am living in right now.” Oh, Merlin, I thought. I've attracted a thirty-year-old guy who lives with his mother. “Literally,” he continued. “I didn't wait until my mum got to St. Mungo's and I was actually born in the house. I love the place. So many great memories there that when my parents died I moved back instead of selling the place.” So glad I didn't mention the 'living with his mother' thing. That would have been even more awkward than thinking it. As much as I would like to know why his parents died so young, I felt like if I were to ask that I would have to tell him why I moved which certainly wasn't going to happen. “About yesterday...” I began. “I'm sorry,” he said as he looked down into his glass. “I'm sure I was overstepping my boundaries a bit with that bet, but I was having an awful day and I don't normally drink that much-” “It's ok,” I assured him. “I was actually just wondering what job you were sacked from. Must have been an amazing job if you were that upset about losing it.” I saw an ever so slight tinge of pink creep up on his cheeks as he averted his gaze once again. “The funny thing is, it was kind of an awful job to begin with and not one I really saw myself in for the rest of my life. So really, it was a blessing in disguise. Not really sure why it sent me on a drinking binge. Anyway, I was a counterfeit coin checker at Gringotts.” I looked at him for a few seconds before responding. “Seriously?” “Yep.” He laughed. “Not a job that appears in a pamphlet in the common rooms in fifth year.” “No, definitely not,” I agreed. “But it paid the bills up until yesterday,” he said. “Unfortunately goblins do not take suggestions to their standard procedures nicely. I made a few suggestions to improve efficiency and they showed me the door, threw a sackful of Galleons out after me as my last paycheck and that was that.” “Wow,” I replied. Even Farina took suggestions on how to improve efficiency. I guess I should be lucky I don't work for goblins. “I suppose I'm lucky they're letting me keep my account there,” Dillan pointed out. The pizza arrived a few minutes later, after we had thoroughly exhausted the topic of Dillan's job at Gringotts and right before I was going to ask what sort of job he wanted to get next. I didn't get to ask since Dillan seemed preoccupied with watching my reaction to the pizza. He served me a slice and then watched in anticipation as I took a bite. “This is amazing!” I said after I'd finished swallowing. “Better than Mama Rizzo's.” “And closer,” Dillan pointed out as he served himself a slice. “You'll save millions on airfare alone.” I laughed before taking my next bite. He was funny, very funny. I hadn't ever really gone out with a funny guy before, mostly because the only funny blokes I knew were Teddy, Landon, and Matt's friends, none of whom I could or would date. Merlin, was I thinking of dating him already? We'd just gone out for pizza and hadn't even known each other forty-eight hours. We didn't talk much while we were polishing off the pizza and by the time we'd finished I only had ten minutes to get back to St. Mungo's and up to the clinic. We practically ran up the sidewalk and were out of breath by the time we reached the hospital. “I had a lot of fun,” he said as he smiled at me. “Maybe we can do it again sometime.” “I had fun, too,” I said. “Maybe next time we can do dinner and I won't have to rush out at the end.” “That would be good,” he replied. “What are you doing Friday night?” “Working until seven, but I'm free after that.” “Want to have a late dinner at eight-thirty?” he asked. “Sure. I'd like that.” I smiled. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen, scrawling my address on it. I handed it to him. “I'll see you then,” he said and then turned, disappearing into the crowd. I walked back into St. Mungo's and hurried up to my study to don my tacky green robes before getting to the clinic, all the while wondering what the hell I was getting myself into.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2535 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Monday 28 June 2010 05 22 14 pm    Post subject: Re: Beyond the Shadow in topic:Beyond the Shadow Aw, thanks! So glad you're enjoying it. I'm sorry that I haven't posted in so long and I really have no excuse. I just...forgot to post here... I've updated at HPFF, so I'm going to post two new chapters here. Chapter 10: Drown Your Sorrows I swirled the firewhiskey around in my glass, watching the ice cubes spin and then settle amongst the alcohol. I downed the glass and then signaled for another one. The barkeep, who had nothing else to do anyway, poured me another drink. After wandering the streets of London for what must have been hours, I wound up at a lesser-known pub in Diagon Alley. It was called the Hairy Goat, which seemed like an odd name, especially since the bar was not owned by Aberforth Dumbledore. It wasn't very popular due to its general uncleanliness, but I never ran into anyone I knew there, so it was well suited for my current activities. So far the activities included drinking enough firewhiskey to stop thinking about Matt and the potion, which I had not yet succeeded in doing. I've never been one for drinking and I really hate getting drunk because I always feel truly awful the next day, but somehow today it seemed like I might as well try. The bar was pretty deserted. The only other customer was a bloke a few seats down from me at the bar, who was drinking enough firewhiskey to compete with me. His dark hair was messy, reminding me a lot of Al Potter, and looked to be about my age. He drank his current shot, slammed the glass down on the bar, and turned to me. “Shitty new year?” he asked. Why was he talking to me now? We had been sitting in silence for the past hour. “You could say that.” “Me, too,” he sighed. “I bet you a drink that mine was worse.” I raised my eyebrows. “Why would I want to do that?” “Oh, afraid you'd lose?” he smirked. What the hell was he playing at? Why couldn't we each just drink in silence? Maybe he was on his way to being drunk. That was probably it. “Fine,” I replied. “So, why was your new year's awful?” “I got fired,” he said, sipping his new drink. I snorted. Fired? Fired? If only that was my problem. It would be an easy fix. Although, I supposed it was still a possibility. “What?” he asked. “How is my lack of employment funny?” “Not that,” I said. “The fact that you think getting fired makes your new year's awful.” “Oh, so you had something worse happen to you?” he said. “I bet you were dumped, right? Although I can't see anyone dumping you. You're too pretty.” Drunk, I thought, this bloke was definitely drunk. “Getting fired would be worse than getting dumped,” I told him. “And no, I was not dumped.” “Then tell your boyfriend he's a lucky bloke.” “Don't have a boyfriend,” I informed him. Why was I telling him that? Why was I still talking to him, anyway? He was obviously drunk. “Interesting,” he mused. “Well, why was your new year's horrible, then?” Shit, I thought. Why didn't I think this through? I couldn't exactly tell him that a new version of the Wolfsbane potion I created had caused my werewolf brother to have the worst transformation he'd had in years. No, but I could tweak it. I was the queen of coming up with excuses for Matt's lycanthropy. “I'm a Healer and a Brewer at St. Mungo's,” I began. “Impressive.” “I created a potion and it didn't do what it was supposed to,” I continued. “Shame,” he replied. “Guess you'll have to start over. But you still have your job. Sorry, not worse than mine.” “I'm not finished yet,” I snapped. “The potion had a really bad effect on those who took it. Turns out, it makes a person really sick, the opposite of what it's supposed to do.” “Oh. That's slightly worse.” “Again, not finished. My brother is the one who took the potion and now he's unconscious in St. Mungo's.” The bloke looked taken aback. He quickly took another sip of his drink, clearly in an effort to think of something to say. I couldn't help but feel smug at this. I had obviously won this bet. “I believe you owe me a drink,” I told him. “Yeah, you're right,” he muttered and signaled to the barkeep to pour me another firewhiskey. We drank in silence for a few minutes. A couple people wearing Ministry robes entered the bar and sat down at a table in the back. The barkeep left to go take their orders. I felt something hot in my pocket and pulled out my Galleon Alert. Everyone who worked at St. Mungo's had one so we could be reached at all times in an instant. It looked just like a Galleon, but instead it bore the name of whichever employee needed to talk to you, changing each time. This time, Morris had summoned me. Sighing, I turned to the bloke who had for some inexplicable reason become my drinking partner. “I've got to get back to St. Mungo's,” I told him as I stood up. “All right,” he replied. “Hope your new year gets better.” “Yours too,” I said and began to leave the bar. “Wait, what's your name?” he shouted after me. “Amy Eckerton,” I called over my shoulder as I opened the door and left the bar. ****** “The Wolfsbane is still in his system.” “What do you mean it's still in his system?” I stared at Morris from across his desk. After leaving the pub, I went directly to Morris's study. I found him studying Matt's test results. Wolfsbane Potion goes through the system in about twelve hours, which was why werewolves had to take it twice a day starting two or three days before the full moon, depending on their age and size. It was always long out of a person's system two days after the full moon. Morris handed me the results and I scanned them. He was completely right, of course. The levels of Wolfsbane were still high in Matt's blood, nearly as high as they would be if he was still taking the potion. It didn't make any sense. “None of the other ingredients are coming up on that tox screen,” Morris elaborated. “According to the results, the only ingredient in that potion still in his system is the actual Wolfsbane. I ran the test three times and they all said the same thing.” I nodded as I leafed through the three different tests. Same exact results. “This doesn't make sense.” “You're right,” Morris agreed. “It doesn't. Do you still have the Wolfsbane you used in the potion? We need to test it.” “You think it was contaminated?” I asked. I supposed it was possible, but the potion had passed the preliminary tests. Any contamination would have come up in the results from that and the potion wouldn't have passed. “I think it's highly unlikely, but we've got to cover all the bases,” Morris explained. “Now, what did you do differently in this particular potion as compared to all the others?” “I brewed it in a steel cauldron and tweaked the amounts of a few of the ingredients, including Wolfsbane,” I explained. “You know, Amy,” Morris said quietly. “As awful as this is, if that Wolfsbane was not contaminated, this may hold some answers as to why none of these potions have worked.” “I know, I know,” I muttered. “I just wish we could get answers without this happening.” “So do I, Amy,” Morris sighed. “So do I. He woke up about a half hour ago, if you want to go see him.” I nodded and left the study. Matt was the only patient in the ward, which I was really grateful for. Other patients really didn't need to see one of their healers break down and cry. As soon as I saw Matt, with my parents sitting on either side of his bed, my eyes started to tear up again. It was the Lubar incident all over again. “Amy,” Mum said as I reached the bed. “Where have you been?” “Nowhere,” I replied, hoping she wouldn't press it. “Amy,” Matt whispered. “I don't think I'll be taking that potion again.” I half-smiled at him. His head was wrapped in a bandage and he looked like he hadn't slept in weeks. “Matt... I'm sorry, I didn't know that would happen, but that's no excuse.” “Amy, shut it,” Matt replied. “I know the risk when I take the potions. It's not your fault. But what the hell was in that?” “Same stuff,” I sighed. “Same stuff, different proportions. The wrong ones, obviously.” “Healer Sterling said I've still got Wolfsbane in my system,” he said. “Have you got any idea why?” “No,” I sighed. “We're also not sure when it's going to leave your system and you're not going to feel better until it does. We'll do everything we can to figure out how to get it out as soon as possible.” “It's ok, Amy,” he said. “I'm going to be fine.” There was just something about Matt telling me he was going to be fine while laying in a hospital bed with a fever and a bandaged head that made me want to bawl my eyes out. “I'm- I'm going to go home and get some sleep,” I said. “You should get some rest, too, Matt.” “I will,” he assured me. I leaned over the bed, gave him a hug, and left while trying to hide the fact that I was crying. I needed coffee. All the firewhiskey was starting to give me a headache. The tea room was crowded since it was nearing supper time. I grabbed the largest cup of coffee they offered and settled down at the table farthest in the back. It was a good thing Farina gave me the next day off because I was going to have a killer hangover. What had I been thinking? Someone sat down across from me and I looked up, ready to tell them to find their own table, only to see that it was Dad. He had his own cup of coffee and the lines in his face were more pronounced than ever before. “You've got to stop beating yourself up,” Dad said quietly. “Didn't you notice?” I asked. “He looks exactly like he did after that full moon when he was eight, when he had to transform with the other werewolves.” “I did.” Dad took a sip of his coffee and looked at me. “Then how can you tell me not to beat myself up?” I exclaimed. “I did that to him! I did the same thing Lubar did!” “Now that is ridiculous,” Dad told me. “The two are nowhere near alike. Circumstances, Amy, circumstances. Think back to that full moon. Matt's physical wounds were healed within weeks. It was the emotional ones that made it so awful. The emotional wounds were what made the recovery so long. Now look at this most recent full moon. Matt took a potion that you created out of a determination to make his life better and it didn't work. Sure, there are physical wounds, but they'll heal. The difference is that there are no emotional wounds.” I slowly sipped my coffee and thought about it. Dad was right. He was always right. Why hadn't I thought about that? I never thought about emotions as much as I should. Rose was the psychiatrist, not me. “I guess you're right,” I sighed. “I know you feel bad,” Dad continued. “I'd find it weird if you didn't. You feel bad because you love him and that's what matters. He'll get better and you'll start working on a new potion. Life will go on.” “Yeah, I know,” I muttered. Dad drained his coffee and stood up. “Go home and get some rest. Mum and I are doing the same. We'll be back tomorrow.” I nodded and watched as he left the tea room. ****** “Amy! Amy, get up!” I rolled over in an attempt to get away from whoever was poking me. What were they doing? Didn't they realize it was the middle of the night? Wait, how did they even get into my flat? I snapped my eyes open and realized that it was not the middle of the night, but most likely the middle of the day. Sunlight hit my eyes and the headache I had began to feel more like someone was throwing a brick at my head. I glanced over in the direction of the voice telling me to get up and saw that it was Victoire, dressed in her Healer robes, looking disapprovingly at me. “So many questions,” she threw her hands up in the air. “Where do I begin?” Ignoring her, I got out of bed and stumbled into the kitchen. I needed a headache potion and I needed it fast. Locating the bottle, I downed a dose and followed it with a glass of water. It started to take effect and I looked at Victoire. “Why aren't you at work?” she demanded. “Farina gave me the day off,” I muttered. “Well, that just opens more questions than it answers,” Victoire replied. “We shared a lift yesterday and she gave me the day off because of what happened to Matt,” I explained. “And you're using this day off to sleep off a hangover?” Victoire shouted. “You realize it's three o'clock, don't you?” “Er-” “Of course you don't,” Victoire groaned. “What happened yesterday?” “I drank way too much firewhiskey,” I answered. “Obviously. But why? Amy, you've never been the type to drink away your problems because you're smart enough to know it doesn't work.” “I don't know.” I collapsed into the nearest kitchen chair. That was the truth. Why had I done it. “I guess I just couldn't take it anymore.” “Can't take what?” Victoire asked as she put an arm around me. “Everything,” I sighed. “I'm thirty. I've done nothing with my life. The potion is obviously going nowhere. I put my own brother in St. Mungo's. I'm nowhere close to being married and I have no kids. Cinda's right; I should be getting married soon.” “Since when do you listen to your grandmother?” Victoire looked shocked. “Isn't this the same lady who dressed you up in frilly pink dresses as a child and bought you ePods or whatever they're called for Christmas?” “iPods,” I sighed. “And yes, that's Cinda.” “She obviously has no idea what you really like, then,” Victoire told me. “So why should she know what's best for you as far as marriage goes? Amy, no one should get married until they're in love and ready.” “I know,” I said. “I guess I just thought everything would be different when we were thirty.” “Don't I know it,” Victoire agreed. “What do you mean? You're married with a kid and another on the way, plus you've got a rewarding job.” “And so does Teddy. We hardly ever see each other, Amy. When I'm home he's away on missions and when he's home I'm on call. In all our efforts to make sure Sophie doesn't have to stay with my parents for longer than a work day, Teddy and I rarely see each other for more than a couple hours at a time.” “But you're happy, right?” I asked. “Of course I am. Are you? Besides this potion set-back, that is.” “Honestly, I think I am,” I said. “Well, as long as Cinda isn't implying that I need to get married.” “Then that's all that matters,” Victoire replied. “And you will find the right guy someday. Speaking of which, do you remember a certain bloke from the pub yesterday?” I could feel my cheeks redden and judging by Victoire's smirk, it was very obvious that I was blushing. How did she know about him? “I'll take that as a yes,” Victoire grinned. “You might be interested to know that he spent about an hour wandering around St. Mungo's trying to find you this morning.” “What?” “He likes you. And he's rather attractive. I told him you'd meet him outside the hospital tomorrow at noon.” “You did what?” I exclaimed. “Hey, you said you'd like to get married,” she teased. “Shut it.” “So what exactly did the two of you do in this pub?” “He bet me a drink he'd had a shittier new year than me. I won. He bought me a drink. I got called back to St. Mungo's, and that was that.” “Well, you're meeting him tomorrow and that's that.” “Fine,” I sighed. I supposed it didn't really matter anyway since I had already made a fool of myself in front of him. What's the worst that could happen? “I'll meet him.” “Good,” Victoire replied. “I've got to get back to work before Farina notices that I'm gone. Can I trust you to not go back to bed?” I nodded. The potion was kicking in and I was feeling far more normal than I had ten minutes ago. I had to get to St. Mungo's anyway to see Matt and talk to Morris. Why had I drank so much Firewhiskey? What a stupid idea that had been. Victoire was right, drinking never solved anything and I knew that. All that had happened was that I wasted practically a whole day sleeping off a hangover and possibly attracted a very odd bloke. “Yes,” I sighed. “I'm going to go visit Matt.” “Good,” Victoire said as she gave me one more hug. “And what are you not going to do?” “Drink Firewhiskey. Ever again.” Victoire nodded and then stepped over to the fire. She tossed in a handful of Floo powder and was gone in three seconds. Merlin, I sighed. No more Firewhiskey. ****** Kaden was just leaving the ward when I entered an hour later. He was dressed in brewers' robes, so I assumed he was merely on break or lunch and using the time to visit Matt. “He slept through my whole break,” Kaden told me as he hurried off towards the lifts. He was probably late. I was surprised Kaden hadn't just woken Matt up upon seeing that he was asleep. That was what Matt's friends usually did, especially Kaden and John. Perhaps he had actually had some sense not to since Matt was in the hospital. I peered into the ward and saw that Matt was indeed asleep, and not looking close to waking up at anytime soon. Instead of going in, I turned towards Morris's study. Natalie was putting away files when I walked in. She turned around and offered me a sympathetic smile when she heard me enter. “How is Matt?” she asked. “Not sure yet. Is Morris in?” “He's with a patient until four-thirty,” Natalie replied. “You've got a few owls and your research assistants dropped off this month's data.” She handed me a small stack of envelopes and a large binder. I took them and let myself into my study. The binder of results went straight into the filing cabinet because I was just too exhausted to look at data right then, but I set the letters down on my desk and began to open them. The first two were junk, asking me for interviews for various publications that I didn't like. The third letter, however, caused my stomach to flip when I read whom it was from. Jamie's parents. Jamie. I could not believe it. I had actually forgotten about Jamie in the disaster that was my potion. Why hadn't I realized that he hadn't been in? Jamie wound up in St. Mungo's after each and every full moon, until this past one, and I hadn't even given it a second thought. For whatever reason he had slipped my mind and that rattled me. I had never forgotten about one of my own patients, no matter how awful one of Matt's full moons had been. But it was a good thing that he didn't have to go to the hospital, right? I took a deep breath and read the letter. [i]Amy, Jamie had a surprisingly good full moon! He's not ill and he only broke one of his arms. Candace was able to heal it in a minute. He seems to be healing fine at home, so we aren't going to bring him in unless he takes a turn for the worse. We'll keep you updated. ~George Allen[/i] It was amazing how even when things seemed to be at their worst, some good news managed to worm its way into life. Jamie was doing better than he usually was. I smiled as I set the letter down on my desk. A full moon that did not land Jamie in St. Mungo's was a miracle. At least someone's new year was starting off well and Amy couldn't think of anyone more deserving of a good year than Jamie and his family.
FawkesthePhoenix Joined: 31 December 2006 Posts: 3534 Location: No idea, all I know is that there are a LOT of felt-tipped pens...	Posted: Saturday 26 June 2010 03 42 32 pm    Post subject: Re: Some Secrets in topic:Some Secrets Chapter 2: Sometimes I feel like I'm moving at a different speed than the rest of the world, going slow-motion while everyone else speed-walks. Other days it's like I'm the one going faster, but that the ending I'm hurtling towards with so much more speed than anyone else is something terrible that I haven't had the good sense to avoid. Today is one of those days. I'm walking to Potions class, and I'm suffocating. The crowd of students is stifling my breath. Smothering me. I begin to breath faster, then force myself to slow down and inhale deeply. I'm having a panic attack, Madame Pomfrey would have said. She always tells me breathing deeply helps, and it does, a little. But not enough because that's the thing; I can't breathe. I try to make my way nonchalantly through the seemingly crowded hallway, but I don't need to worry. No one cares about my slight hyperventilation, or the panicked look in my eyes. I'm just the loner girl, good for nothing except teasing and exploitation. After a few minutes of plodding through the impossibly large throng of students, I see it-- a bathroom. It might be Moaning Myrtle's, but I don't care. Maybe we can have a good cry together. Either way, it's a place I can be alone, away from this mesh of cluttered activity. I renew my efforts to get through the hallway, and eventually push my way into the bathroom, ignoring the fifth-year walking past it, and not even stopping to mutter an apology as I step on his foot in my hurry. Once inside the cooler, emptier area of the bathroom, I start to calm down. That hallway really wasn't very crowded at all, I realize with chagrin. I was imagining the situation to be worse than it was. How stupid of me, I think to myself, and start gathering up the contents of my bag, which had spilled out over the floor in my frenzy. I'm going to be late for Potions. The classroom is quiet as I sneak in late, and, other than a reprimand from Professor Slughorn about my behavior and timing, the class goes without a hitch. I know that my fellow students will pounce upon my lateness as an excuse for berating me the moment they get the chance, but what else is new? I should be used to this by now. And yet, I still find anxiety creeping into my stomach as I enter the common room that night. Perhaps some things never change. Sitting by the fire with my homework splayed half-finished across my lap, I catch a fluttering by the window in my peripherals, the same as last night. I try to ignore it, mindful of the precarious position of all the various books and papers on my person. But I keep a close watch on it as I struggle through the rest of my assignments, getting up to go to bed only when it fades from sight. I walk into the Girl's Dormitory, only to stop up short when I see that Mia and some of her friends are still up. They scurry out of the way, with barely a glance in my direction as I walk towards my bed. Odd. I discover the cause of their actions as I open my four-poster bed a few moments later. Stenciled across my bedspread in red paint is the word, “loser” in elegant print. Very original. I bundle up the soiled cloth and leave it in a pile on the floor. The house elves will take care of it by morning, and if I'm lucky, maybe Mia will step in the wet paint on her way to the bathroom that night. Herbology the next day would've been a cause for extreme embarrassment, if I hadn't stopped caring about my life in general years ago. The boy who I had almost steamrolled over as I rushed to the bathroom in the midst of the previous day's panic attack, was not, I discovered, a fifth-year who I'd hopefully never encounter again, much less remember. Fate hates me too much for that. No, he's a new student in my year, and had been assigned as my partner. Not that I volunteered or anything. I, being the social pariah I was, had been left partnerless at the beginning of the year when everyone was told to pair up, and had been working either by myself or with the professor all year. It seemed all that was about to change. His name is Jarret, and with his dark hair and intense brown eyes, I might have been lusting after him along with all the other girls (Mia's mouth seemed to be watering). That is, if he had said a word to me the entire period. Or even made eye contact. Now, as I sit alone at the house table during lunch, I wonder if I ought to have made an attempt to make conversation. Or to be friendly at all. But, having been forbidden contact with other people my age after being bitten as a child, I never developed any terribly adept people skills. Besides, what was there to talk about? I don't eat much, and soon I'm sitting in Defense Against the Dark Arts, where I'm again sitting next to Jarret. He starts writing the moment the teacher begins lecturing, successfully guilting me into talking careful notes on the various types of jinxes throughout the duration of the class. I'm making my bravest attempt at listening to the teacher, but it's a struggle. I'm so used to looking through a fog that the writing on the board is a mystery. I'm copying the letters down, but I have no idea what the lesson is about. Just as my quill is about to snap from all the pressure I'm putting on it in my concentration, the class miraculously ends. “Remember, essay due next week!” the professor calls out as everyone begins to pack up their things. “Eight inches of parchment, and no writing in all capitals!” A couple boys in the back groan at this pronouncement. I roll my eyes discreetly. I always try to be the first one out of each class, so as to avoid too much interaction with my fellows, but today I drop my bag as I stand up, and so have to pick up the scrambled contents from the floor before I can leave. I try to get everything as quickly as possible, before anyone notices my clumsiness. I can feel my face turn a deep scarlet, and my embarrassment only thickens when Mia notices me scrambling on the floor. “Oh, dear!” she exclaims in mock pity, “Poor Lia has dropped her bag! I'll catch up with you later,” she says to her friends, who cover their smirks with nods of fake understanding. “I ought to help clean up this mess.” I cringe as she walks over. I hate her. I hate her wavy brown hair, so shiny compared to my stringy, mousy brown locks. I hate that her name sounds so much like mine. But most of all, I hate that her courtesy is such a thin pretense; everyone knows that helping me is the very last thing on her mind as she saunters over, but even the teacher doesn't lift a finger. After gathering up a few forgotten papers from one of the desks, the professor bustles out of the classroom, leaving Mia and I alone. Or so I think, until I notice third set of shoes out of the corner of my eye. Jarret was still here. Great. Really fantastic. The good news was that Mia wouldn't dare jinx me with a possible love interest standing nearby, fiddling absently with the shoulder strap on his bag. The bad news was that now I had one more witness to my teasing. “Here, Lia,” Mia offered, “Let me help you clean this up.” She sounded cheerful, but I could tell that she was clenching her teeth. She'd obviously hoped to hiss a few choice words at me and kick my bag so that its contents would be more messily strewn across the floor, but with Jarret present, she now had to feign manners and get creative. I could see her nose wrinkling as she knelt down next to me and slowly poked a bottle of ink back into my bag. She crumpled each paper as she picked it up and shoved it in my direction, all the while spouting an endless stream of sickly sweet chatter, about anything from homework to quidditch. I could see Jarret's ankles out of the corner of my eye, but I didn't dare look up at his face. Why hadn't he left yet? Did he take pleasure at my humiliation? I couldn't understand his motives. At last the floor was free of my clutter, and I scrambled to my feet before Mia could pretend to help me up. She got to her feet more gracefully than I, and was out the door before I had even taken a step. This confused me. She hadn't made a move to insult me. What was up? I take a few steps towards the door, reorganizing the contents of my bag. I come up short when I find an unfamiliar slip of paper. It's folded twice, and I recognize Mia's handwriting instantly as I open it up. [i]Freak,[/i] it reads as an introduction,[i] loser, loner, whatever you are.[/i] How very original. I'm about to throw it into the trash bin, when one of the later sentences catches my eye. [i]You're no better than an animal. My dog has more of a spine than you do. Do you always howl at the moon?[/i] My breath catches in my throat, and the note crinkles as I crumble it into my fist. Does she know? I hadn't said a word. [i]She can't know. [/i]She can't, she can't! [i]She knows.[/i] How can she possibly know?[i] How did she find out?[/i] Both the paper and my bag fall from my hands, and it's all I can do to contain my sobs as I tearfully flee the classroom.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2535 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Wednesday 26 May 2010 10 59 29 am    Post subject: Re: Beyond the Shadow in topic:Beyond the Shadow Chapter 9: Failed Potion At work the next day it was like Christmas had never happened. All the decorations were gone and Farina was back to her usual self. I always liked to keep the decorations up until at least New Year's, but Farina preferred to get everything back to normal. However, the other employees of the hospital spent the next few days discussing their holidays and everything that happened during them. The most exciting news was that one of the nurses on the Magical Bugs floor got engaged to a bloke she had only known for six months. I managed to find Victoire around lunch time and cornered her in the nearest bathroom for all the details about the reveal of her pregnancy. “Mum cried,” Victoire said. “She really did. Not bad crying or anything. She was just happy, really happy, especially about the fact that the baby doesn't have lycanthropy. She started going on and on about how she thought she would never have another grandchild besides Sophie. I mean, she loves Sophie but she always wanted a lot of grandchildren. Gabriella and Ben just groaned and Gabriella proclaimed that she would eventually get married and have kids. Mum didn't say anything to that.” “I just don't see your sister as the marrying type,” I said. “That's great that your mum is excited, though.” “I don't see her ever getting married either,” Victoire agreed. “She won't be able to just go wherever she likes whenever she pleases if she gets married and has kids.” “What about everyone else?” I asked. “Are they all excited?” “Of course, they're Weasleys!” Victoire laughed. “That's what we do, have kids. My grandma cried, too. She's so excited about having another great-grandchild.” “I think kids that are born into the Weasley clan are possibly the luckiest kids in Britain, possibly the whole world,” I said. “Possibly,” Victoire replied. “So how was your Christmas?” “Let's see, my grandmother pretty much asked me why I wasn't married and giving my mother grandchildren and Matt slept through the whole conversation, leaving me to be the only one interrogated. Then she gave me a sparkly dress for New Year's, assuming that I would go out to a party.” Victoire groaned. “I will never understand your grandmother.” “Me either,” I sighed. “There is no way I'm going out to a party on New Year's Eve.” “Of course you're not,” Victoire agreed. “Although Gabriella invited me to one. Only Gabriella could get invited to a party when she hasn't even been in the country recently, and then go and invite other people.” I laughed. “Maybe I should give her my dress.” “I'm sure she'd take it,” Victoire replied. “Well, I suppose I'd better get back. I'm due in the clinic in ten minutes.” “Have fun,” I said. “I should get back, too. Merlin, this week is already insane.” Insane proved to be too tame of a word to describe that week. It seemed like I hardly went home at all and when I was there, all I did was try to catch up on sleep. The week preceding the full moon was always crazy for me since I had extra potions to brew (Wolfsbane requires extra attention right before it's taken), but this week was even busier. Every time a new potion passes the preliminary tests, I have to owl all of my and Morris's patients who would qualify to take it. Neither of us have very many patients whom regular Wolfsbane doesn't work for, but there's a handful. Then I have to set up times to meet with them to distribute it and give instructions. Each new potion usually had about four or five people testing it. However, this month Matt was the only one who got back to me. I figured with the holidays people just hadn't given it much thought and I didn't get the owls out soon enough. I usually like to send them out two weeks before the full moon, but I just hadn't had the chance that month. Eventually I wanted to get Jamie onto the test potion list, but he wasn't strong enough to risk it yet. This would be his second full moon off of regular Wolfsbane and while he was getting stronger, he still wasn't ready. His parents were already eager to try new potions, as seeing their son so injured is not something they wished to see again. By the time the weekend arrived I felt like I needed to sleep for two days straight and couldn't imagine going out for New Year's Eve even if it wasn't a full moon. I slept late on Saturday and then went over to Teddy and Victoire's for an early New Year's celebration. It was a small gathering, just the two of them, Gabriella, and Ben. Matt didn't feel up to going. I slept late on Sunday as well and awoke to the sound of banging on my door and immediately wished I hadn't had as much firewhiskey the previous night as I had had. I hadn't gotten really drunk, but I had had enough to give me a monster headache. The pounding got louder and quicker as I made my way to the door. It better not be anyone selling anything, I thought. I wasn't in the mood to buy biscuits from cute little girls in vests. Instead of girl guides, Albus Potter stood at the door when I opened it, looking nearly as exhausted as I felt. His black hair was more messy than usual and there were purple bags under his eyes. Judging by the Puddlemere United shirt and Gryffindor sweatpants he was wearing, he had either just woken up or not yet gone to bed. I didn't know him that well, just as well as anyone would know their brother's best friend, but what I did know was that he kept extremely odd hours when he wasn't working. “Matt's sick,” Albus said immediately. “Worse than usual.” That woke me up. It was as good as jumping into the Black Lake in the middle of January. With sleep the last thing on my mind I threw on a pair of shoes and followed Albus back to their flat. “He's got a really high fever,” Albus explained once we were back in the flat. “And he hasn't been able to keep anything down.” I nodded and immediately headed for his bedroom. It was the neatest part of the entire flat, but was still messy enough for Mum to clean every time she visited. Matt was buried underneath a myriad of blankets, with only the top of his head sticking out. I pulled them back and saw that his hair was plastered to his face with sweat and he was incredibly pale. “When did this start?” I asked. “Sometime last night,” Albus shrugged. “I figured I should come get you since he hadn't emerged from his room since four in the morning.” I glanced at the clock. It was noon. I gently shook Matt and he groaned. A little while later I had managed to rouse him. “Matt, can you sit up?” He muttered something and lifted his head up, only to fall back down on the pillow. “Too dizzy.” “I'll get you potions,” I replied and quickly left the room. As soon as I was in the kitchen I leaned up against the wall and took a deep breath. All right, I told myself, just because he was sicker than usual did not mean I was to blame. It wasn't necessarily the potion that made him ill. There were plenty of other explanations for it. Perhaps he had caught the flu or was overly tired. The one bad thing about Matt testing my potions was that they didn't always just not work. Sometimes they didn't agree with him at all, making him sick in the process. It didn't happen often, but when it did, I felt awful. I grabbed the potions as well as a glass of water and a box of crackers. I had to try to get him to eat something. If he was weak when he transformed it would make the recovery so much worse. John was standing at the front door with Albus when I walked past. They were talking about John's most recent disastrous date. “It's because all you talk about is Quidditch, mate,” Albus sighed. “Girls don't only like to talk about Quidditch.” “And I'm supposed to take advice from you?” John replied incredulously. “You haven't had a girlfriend for more than two weeks since we graduated.” “Well, girls don't like it when their boyfriends go off to other countries for work for weeks on end without contacting them,” Albus explained. “We're pathetic,” John groaned. I rolled my eyes and continued to Matt's bedroom. John was never one to be without a date on Friday nights, but he never managed to find a girl who was tolerant of the level of his Quidditch obsession, which bordered on insanity. Matt did not improve throughout the day. In fact he only seemed to get sicker. None of the potions seemed to be helping and the only way he was somewhat comfortable was to be asleep, so eventually I stopped trying to shove potions down his throat and just let him sleep. Albus and John stuck around the entire day, lamenting their pathetic love lives and complaining about the fact that Kaden was the only one of their group with a girlfriend. I had to side-along Apparate Matt directly out of the flat when the time came to get to our parents' house. Dad took him right to the basement to sleep until the moon rose. Then we went to sit our usual once a month vigil in the kitchen, the only difference being the few bottles of champagne Ellie had purchased to toast in the new year. “Blue moons are always worse for him,” Dad commented shortly before the moon rose. “It's the potion,” I muttered. “I messed something up, I just know it.” “You do not, Amy,” Dad said adamantly. “He's probably got a bug.” I opened my mouth to contradict him, but the first scream began and we all grew silent. Then another scream, and another, and I realized that they were louder and more pain ridden than normal. After years of listening to my brother scream on full moons, I knew the exact pitch to expect. This one was worse. The screams were horrible, awful, even for him. Mum and Dad realized it as well. We all looked at each other and I could see in their faces that they now believed me. It was the potion. No illness would make the transformation more painful. No, that was all the potion. I met Mum's gaze and she looked away, trying to hide her disappointment and fear. ****** Ellie poured the champagne at 11:55, even though none of us were in the mood for it. None of us had said a word since the moon rose and the only sound that filled the room was howling, howling that sounded far worse than usual. However, Ellie, always the one to try and keep some normalcy during full moons, insisted that we have the champagne. We each took a glass and began our half-hearted countdown to the new year. “Happy New Year.” We each mumbled when the moment finally arrived. We clinked glasses and sipped the champagne. Goodbye 2028, I thought as I gazed at the bubbles in my glass. Goodbye to another year where all I accomplished was creating a potion that made the full moons worse for my brother. I looked at the glass and tipped the champagne into my mouth, swallowing it all in one mouthful. A nice double shot of Firewhiskey would be far more appropriate. ****** The year 2029 began with a trip to St. Mungo's. I did as much as I could at home, but eventually we had to take him in and owl Morris. We found Matt in the basement with far more broken bones than usual, extreme blood loss, and burning up. I hadn't seen him that bad in years. This was officially my worst potion yet. Morris kept me out of the ward while he was working on Matt and while I completely understood, I still couldn't stand to stand there in the corridor not doing anything. My parents were sitting in my study, but I couldn't sit still. I paced and thought back over each and every aspect of that potion I had made. I thought about the ingredients, the interactions of the ingredients, the amount of simmering and stirring time, the properties of the cauldrons and spoons and scales I had used, and everything else that went into potion brewing. Nothing was standing out as being detrimental. Every ingredient in that potion was something he had had before, so it was definitely not an allergic reaction. “Amy.” I looked up from my pacing and saw Victoire walking towards me, looking exhausted, but otherwise glowing with that pregnancy glow. She immediately hugged me and I bit my lip, trying not to cry “Your parents sent an owl over,” she told me. “How is he?” “Awful,” I choked. “And it's all my fault.” “It's not,” Victoire said firmly. “You didn't know that would happen, and he knew the risks in taking that potion.” “It is,” I insisted, trying unsuccessfully not to cry. “I created that potion and he trusted me not to give him one that would make the full moon worse!” “Look,” she sighed. “I know you're stubborn, but just try to accept that it's not your fault.” “It is,” I groaned as I leaned against the wall. “I'm not going to accept anything. I'm going to figure out why it happened and I'm certainly not going to let it happen again. I'll test the damn potion myself before letting this happen again.” “Amy, you know that won't work,” Victoire said quietly. “I know.” “I've got to get back home to Sophie. Teddy's on duty soon. You're free to come over if you want to.” Victoire gave me another hug. “Thanks,” I said as I hugged her back. “But I've got to stay here.” “All right,” Victoire gave me a half smile. “Tell Matt I hope he feels better.” I continued pacing and thinking for the next ten minutes, but didn't come up with anything. What could possibly have gone wrong? The door to the ward opened and Morris stepped out. He gestured that I could go and see Matt and then followed me in. “I'm just waiting for the blood test results,” Morris said as I sped over to Matt's bed. “Hopefully they'll give us some answers as to why the potion had this effect on him.” I nodded, afraid that if I said something I would start crying again. Then I saw Matt and froze in my tracks. All of a sudden the image of Matt, at eight years old, lying in that same hospital bed after being forced to transform with other werewolves was in the front of my mind. He looked practically the same now as he did then. Small, bandaged, covered by sterile white blankets, and either asleep or unconscious. If it weren't for the fact that we were both fifteen years older, it could have been the same thing all over again. My potion, something I created, something I told him to take, had done the same thing to him as Ralph Lubar had all those years ago. The thought made me feel slightly sick. I had to get out of there. I couldn't look at Matt anymore. I couldn't look at what I had done to him. I practically ran into my parents as I left the ward, but they didn't say anything to me. Instead I kept walking, not really sure where I was going. A few nurses and Healers said hello to me as I walked towards the lift, but I didn't stop. It wasn't until the lift doors were closed did I realize that I was sharing it with Farina. “Morning, Eckerton,” she said, causing me to jump. “Are you all right?” I looked at her and she was wearing that same rare look of concern she gave Victoire the day she found out she was pregnant. “Fine,” I muttered, wiping my eyes. “Hmm,” she replied. “You don't look fine. Your brother's upstairs, isn't he?” I whipped my head around and stared at her. I knew as the director of St. Mungo's she obviously knew a lot about the hospital and its patients, but how would she know that off the top of her head? “As the director of this hospital, I have access to all the information in the building,” she told me. “When you arrived, fresh out of Hogwarts, I was surprised by your determination to succeed and how sure you were of what you wanted to do with your life. No seventeen or eighteen year old has ever had their career planned out like you did. Naturally, I had to investigate. Your brother's medical records were all the answers I needed. I just checked the new admissions forms and I saw his name on there. Take tomorrow off.” The doors opened and Farina left without another word. I stood stunned as a maintenance worker muttering about bubotuber pus ambled in, completely shocked at Farina's generosity. An extra day off? I wasn't surprised at all that she had looked into my past when I started at St. Mungo's, not that she had ever told me about it before. I got off the lift at the lobby and went off into Muggle London. Perhaps walking through the streets amongst strangers would help me clear my head.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2535 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Wednesday 7 April 2010 01 30 23 pm    Post subject: Re: Albus potter and the Path Left Untrodden in topic:Albus potter and the Path Left Untrodden Chapter 30: Placing Bets “Place your bets here!” Fred shouted the next day as he walked around the common room. Albus had just climbed through the portrait hole with Georgia and James after a particularly difficult Quidditch practice. Wood was getting them prepared for the match against New York, which was to take place in a little over a week. “Georgia, James, Albus!” Fred greeted them, “Care to place a bet?” “What are you taking bets about?” Georgia asked tiredly, “And if you keep betting on stuff, your mum is bound to find out.” “She won't care,” Fred shrugged. He was probably right. Albus's Aunt Alicia was the least strict out of all of his aunts. She'd probably place a bet with Fred. “You'd just better hope Grandma doesn't find out,” Georgia smirked. Fred looked momentarily horrorstruck and Albus couldn't blame him. Molly Weasley would probably send him a howler if she knew he was gambling. “She won't unless you tell her,” Fred muttered, “And Heather and I are taking bets on how much longer Balladanis is going to last. Care to take a guess?” “I suppose,” Georgia said as she pulled out some gold, “Two Galleons says he's gone in a week. I heard he had three first years in tears today.” “He nearly had half of my class in tears,” Fred said as he took Georgia's gold, “James, Al?” “Three Galleons says he's gone in two weeks,” James said as he tossed Fred some gold and then left to go find his friends. “Nope,” Albus shook his head. “Suit yourself,” Fred shrugged and continued his walk around the common room, “Bets here, place your bets!” Albus found his friends crowded around their usual table in the common room. Linda was with them. All three girls were working on homework. John and Kaden were trading Chocolate Frog cards. “Fred's going to get himself in trouble,” Rose muttered as Albus sat down, “You didn't bet anything, did you?” “No,” Albus shook his head, “How about you lot?” “I bet ten Sickles he won't last the year,” John said. “You should know exactly when he'll leave, what with your taking Divination,” Rose smirked. “Divination's a joke,” John muttered, “I can't wait to drop it after fifth year.” “Told you so,” Rose grinned, “Sick of making up stuff?” “It's just so pointless,” John groaned, “We're still doing crystal balls. I just tell her that I see myself dying anytime she asks and it keeps her happy.” “That's why I'm not taking Divination,” Kaden announced, “Bloody waste of a class.” Kaden had chosen his classes for next year a few days prior. He decided on Care of Magical Creatures, Ancient Runes, and Arithmancy. “Easy homework, though,” John sighed, “I just keep reminding myself about that.” “What's got easy homework?” Matt asked as he sat down in the chair next to John's. He looked a bit better than he had the previous day, but still worn out. “Pomfrey finally let you out?” John asked, “And we're talking about Divination.” “Yeah, just in time for Defense tomorrow,” Matt groaned, “I'm tempted to use a Fainting Fancy to get out of it.” “I think half the first years are going to do that on Friday,” Kaden said, “I overheard them talking. Apparently Balladanis completely flipped out on one of them today, all over one incomplete homework question. Made her cry.” “That's what Georgia was saying,” Albus replied, “Makes me want to use a Fainting Fancy. Two weeks. I know I didn't bet on it, but that's really all I'd give him.” ****** John filled his pockets with Puking Pastilles before he set off to Defense the next morning. Albus didn't bother. His curiosity always trumped his dislike for certain classes. He'd rather be there and know exactly what Balladanis was doing. “Werewolves,” Balladanis said as soon as the bell rang, “When the term is used, most people conjure up images of lonely adults, condemned to a miserable life that revolves around the moon. “However, there is a whole group of werewolves that are mostly overlooked. Children. Ah, yes, children do get attacked by werewolves. Very few survive. Found by their parents when it is too late. Even fewer survive the initial transformation. Werewolf transformations, as you have learned, are incredibly taxing, both physically and emotionally. Very few children are strong enough to make it through.” Balladanis paused and began to pace the room. “Parents are faced with a decision after their child is bitten. They have three choices. Number one, they can deal with it. Deal with the monthly transformations and try and make life as normal as possible for the child. Number two, they can abandon their child. Force them to live with a wild pack of werewolves, to grow up to kill. However, there is a third option. Does anyone care to guess as to what it is?” Nobody raised their hand. Balladanis looked at his class until his eyes rested on Matt. A very creepy smirk appeared on his face. “Mr. Eckerton, care to tell us?” Balladanis asked. Albus, who had been trying hard not to look at Matt throughout the lesson, stole a quick glance at him. He was staring at the desk, quill in hand, shaking slightly. “N-no,” Matt stuttered. “Very well,” Balladanis smirked, “The third option is to put the child down. Not a pleasant option, but one that a few parents select anyway. This option used to be readily suggested by Healers, but has now become quite controversial. It is not suggested very often anymore. “Parents who choose the first option, to continue to raise their child, are in for a very tough life. Werewolf children are difficult to raise. It is a huge adjustment for parents and siblings if there are any. The bite affects the whole family. It changes lives, it can rip families apart.” Balladanis continued droning on and on about how lycanthropy affects children and Albus looked again at Matt. His hand was shaking even harder and his face was as white as it had been when he had dressed up as a ghost. Albus shared a look with John and John reached into his pocket. He slid a Puking Pastille across the table towards Albus and then slid one to Matt. Albus quietly unwrapped it and then waited until Balladanis had looked away to shove it into his mouth. John and Matt did the same. Albus clutched his stomach as the sweet began to take affect. “Lycanthropic children rarely, if ever, get to attend school,” Balladanis droned. “Sir!” John shouted, “I don't feel so well. May I go to the Hospital Wing?” “I don't feel too well either,” Albus added. “Shut it, you two,” Balladanis shouted, “And no you may not go to the-” Balladanis was cut off by the sound of all three boys vomiting at the same time. Albus leaned over his table and vomited right onto the floor. The class erupted into shouts and Balladanis tried to keep order. “Fine!” he seethed, “Get to the Hospital Wing, all three of you!” Albus resisted the urge to vomit again as he ran for the door. Matt and John followed. All three of them shoved the orange end of the sweets into their mouths as soon as they shut the door behind them. The affect was instantaneous. Albus immediately felt better. “The man's evil!” John shouted, “How could he teach that?” “Not here,” Matt muttered and took off down the corridor. None of them said anything else until they reached the Marauder's Den. “As I was saying,” John began, “What is wrong with that bloke?” “I think a lot of things,” Albus muttered, “He's a raving lunatic.” “He's only doing it because you're in the class,” John said to Matt as he paced around the room, “None of what he said today is actually in the book. I mean, did you read the book? There's not much in there that Balladanis has actually taught!” “He hates me because my dad made him get rid of his stupid anamatek,” Matt muttered. “But it started before that,” Albus pointed out, “He wants to make you miserable because of what your dad did with those vampires years ago.” “It's just not fair,” Matt groaned, “I mean, did you listen to what he was talking about?” “It was hard not to,” Albus sighed, “Is it true?” “Yes,” Matt said quietly, “And before you ask, one of the Healers did suggest that to my parents.” Albus suddenly felt more sick than he had when he ate the Puking Pastille. How could a Healer, someone whose job it was to make people healthy, actually suggest that to a child's parents? “Seriously?” John asked, “What happened after they asked?” “My dad and my Uncle Jack hexed him at the same time,” Matt gave them a half-smile, “Put him in his own hospital bed for two days.” “You know, I'd really like to meet your Uncle Jack,” John grinned, “He sounds like a great bloke.” “He is,” Matt smiled, “He would've hexed Balladanis quite a while ago if he were here.” “But he's not,” John sighed, “So what are we going to do about this?” “I'm sending an owl to my dad,” Matt said as he stood up, “You two aren't going to have to do anything.” “Three days,” John said after Matt left, “I give Balladanis three more days.” ****** “Your dad certainly doesn't waste any time,” Rose said to Matt as she unfolded her copy of the Prophet the next morning at breakfast. Albus leaned over and read the paper over Rose's shoulder. [i][b]HOGWARTS PROFESSOR TO BE INVESTIGATED BY MINISTRY[/b] The Department of Magical Education received an inquiry late yesterday afternoon, requesting an investigation of Hogwarts Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Tethys Balladanis. The inquiry was submitted by none other than the newly appointed Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, Walter Eckerton, whose fourteen-year-old son currently attends Hogwarts. Professor Tethys Balladanis has been teaching Defense at the school since September, when he replaced Head Auror Harry Potter. Potter had taught the subject for two years and wished to focus solely on his Auror career, resulting in his resignation at the end of last school year. The impending investigation comes as hardly a surprise. Earlier this week Walter Eckerton visited Hogwarts after receiving a tip that Balladanis was holding an anamatek in his classroom. This proved to be true and Eckerton ordered him to remove it. The anamatek was legally in Balladanis's possession, so all he had to do was remove it from school premises. Eckerton told reporters that Balladanis complied. However, Eckerton has claimed that the professor repeatedly put students in danger and humiliated them in front of their classmates. 'It's not just the anamatek,' Eckerton told reporters, 'I'm filing this inquiry as a parent, not as a Ministry official. First and foremost, I wish to protect my son.' The investigation will begin today and be carried out by officials from the Department of Magical Education, a department that was set up for this purpose after the downfall of Lord Voldemort. Officials will visit the school and interview both students and staff as a part of their investigation. Tethys Balladanis will continue to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts during this time.[/i] “He's still going to teach?” John said incredulously after he finished reading the article. “I'm not going to Defense anymore,” Matt said, “Not until he's gone.” “They can't stop him from teaching until they do the investigation,” Rose explained, “Only Kendrick can stop him from teaching at the moment.” “Then why doesn't Kendrick do that?” Albus asked as he looked up at the staff table. Kendrick was talking with Neville and there was a copy of the Prophet laying between them. Balladanis was not present. “I don't know,” Rose said quietly, “But Defense is just going to get worse.” “Which is why I'm not going,” Matt said adamantly. For once, Rose did not chastise him about skipping class. Albus couldn't blame him. He himself was half tempted to skip, but he knew his curiosity would get the better of him. “Somehow, I don't think you'll have the chance to skip,” Rose muttered, “We don't have Defense until Tuesday.” “Excellent,” John grinned, “Now I won't have to do that werewolf essay.” “I never said that,” Rose replied, “You still ought to do it, just in case.” “Look, Kendrick's getting up,” Kaden pointed to the staff table. “May I have your attention!” Kendrick shouted and the chatter in the hall immediately ceased, “Thank you. I trust by now that you've all either read or heard about the article on the front page of the Prophet. “Ministry officials will be visiting the school today and tomorrow to conduct their investigation. They will be selecting students to interview. If you are selected, I advise you to answer their questions truthfully. “As of right now, Professor Balladanis is still your teacher, therefore you need to treat him with respect and attend his classes. This is, at the moment, an investigation and nothing more. Now, you'd best be off to class.” “Albus,” Rose whispered as they made their way out of the Great Hall to History of Magic, “You're not going to that dueling lesson tonight, are you?” “I dunno,” Albus shrugged. He hadn't really thought about it until then. “I don't think you should,” Rose told him. Albus nodded. He didn't want to go, but he also didn't want to find out what Balladanis would do when Albus didn't show up that evening. Nobody fell asleep during History of Magic. It must have been a new record, one that was previously set back when Binns was still alive. However, the lack of fatigue was not due to Binns's lecture. No, that was just as boring as usual. The students remained awake because they were talking about Balladanis. The classroom was filled with the hushed whispers of the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw third years and Binns droned on without seeming to notice. There were only six students in the castle who knew the specific reason why Matt's dad had submitted that inquiry. Albus, Rose, John, Amanda, Kaden, and Matt himself. Seven, if you counted Malfoy, but even Malfoy did not know that it had been Balladanis's lecture on lycanthropic children that pushed Mr. Eckerton to submit the inquiry. Everyone else speculated. About half the school put the blame on the anamatek, even though Matt's dad had come out and said that wasn't the real reason. The Prophet had only glazed over the reasons, not getting into specifics. The Hogwarts students wanted specifics. They wanted to know what had pushed Matt's dad to submit an inquiry when none of their parents seemed fazed. The reasons the students fabricated ranged from plausible to outrageous. A few seventh years, mainly Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, speculated that Balladanis had gotten a bit overenthusiastic with his extra help sessions and perhaps used Matt as an example of someone who did not possess the skills to defeat dark wizards. Combine that with an overprotective parent (what the seventh years claimed Matt's dad to be, which was not actually an overstatement), and the investigation was born. They believed that the investigation would blow over and within two weeks everything would be back to normal, with Balladanis still teaching. A few overexcited first years were the on the opposite side of the spectrum. They believed that Balladanis had let a chimaera loose in his classroom while teaching the Gryffindor and Slytherin third years. Apparently they overlooked the fact that nobody had turned up injured after class and the fact that Balladanis would have been sacked immediately if that had actually been the case. Matt had become somewhat of a celebrity inside the Hogwarts walls. There wasn't a single person, living, ghost, or portrait, who didn't know it was his dad who launched the inquiry. He was stopped no less than six times on the way from History of Magic to Herbology by people wanting to know the details of the inquiry. It was something Albus could tell Matt was extremely uncomfortable with. “Merlin, when will they learn that I don't want to talk about it!” Matt groaned as they made their way back to the castle after Herbology. Two Ravenclaw second years had just run up to Matt, demanding to know why his dad wanted to get Balladanis sacked. Apparently they actually liked him. “You should just stand up on the Gryffindor table and make an announcement during lunch,” John suggested. “Definitely not,” Matt said, “I'm just glad we don't have class this afternoon.” “Me, too,” Albus agreed, “Hey, look, I bet those are the investigators.” Albus pointed to three official looking people striding up towards the castle. There were two witches and a wizard. “Probably,” John said, “I wonder who they're going to interview?” “Ten Galleons says they interview me,” Matt replied, “And probably Albus since he's had all those private lessons.” “Let's just hope they don't interview those two Ravenclaws,” John said. Albus, Matt, and John continued their trek to the Great Hall, where they ate a very fast lunch. None of them wanted to stay very long since everyone was still asking Matt about the inquiry. After they finished, the boys went to Gryffindor Tower to deposit their bags before going to the Marauder's Den to put off their homework. The common room was mostly empty when they arrived, but Albus spotted Lily, Hugo, and Ashtyn sitting around one of the tables. “Don't you three have class now?” Albus asked, feeling very much like Rose. “Yes,” Lily muttered, “We've got Defense and we're skipping. Don't say anything about it. There's nothing you can do to make me go, so don't even try.” “I wasn't going to,” Albus assured her, “Wasn't it your class where Balladanis made someone cry?” “That's why we're not going,” Ashtyn replied, “And we don't care if we get detention either. Oh, and John, you'd better not tell Mum.” “I won't,” John said, “The three of us used Puking Pastilles to get out of Defense yesterday.” “You should have just skipped from the beginning,” Ashtyn told them. “Well, you three enjoy your skipping,” Albus said as he continued to his dormitory. “Oh, believe me, we will,” Lily grinned. The boys quickly stowed their bags in their dormitory and set off for the Maruader's Den. Albus climbed out of the portrait hole and ran straight into Gabriella. “There you are, Al!” Gabriella exclaimed, “I've been looking for you. Kendrick wants to see you in his study. Oh, hang on.” Gabriella consulted the piece of parchment she was holding. “He wants to see Matt, too.” “Looks like you two are getting interviewed,” John said as Gabriella went into the common room. “Guess so,” Albus shrugged. He really wasn't surprised. Even if he hadn't been receiving private lessons with Balladanis, he probably would have been interviewed. It was one of those things that happened when your father was the most famous wizard in Britain. “I'll see you two later, then,” John replied, “Have fun.” “Oh, yeah,” Albus rolled his eyes, “Loads.” Albus and Matt left for Kendrick's study while John continued towards the Marauder's Den. Albus had no idea what he was going to do while they were gone, but he would bet that John would be bored within fifteen minutes.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2535 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Wednesday 31 March 2010 01 59 35 pm    Post subject: Re: Albus potter and the Path Left Untrodden in topic:Albus potter and the Path Left Untrodden Chapter 29: Increasing Tension Albus and John burst into the Marauder's Den a little while later to find that Matt and Kaden were the only ones there. Matt's face was covered in ash and Kaden was grinning. They were in the middle of a game of Exploding Snap. “And that makes four wins for me and none for you,” Kaden announced as he collected the cards, “Oh, Albus, John! How was your detention? Want to play?” “Not now,” Albus said hurriedly as he sat down next to Matt, “Matt, did you know your dad was just here?” “Yeah,” Matt nodded, “When he got my owl, he wanted to go talk to Kendrick. I went with him.” “Well, do you know where he went after?” John asked. “Home, I guess,” Matt shrugged, “Why?” “He and Kendrick turned up in our detention,” John said. “He what?” Matt replied. “Yeah, it was really odd,” Albus said, “He came in with Kendrick and Kendrick introduced him to Balladanis. Only Balladanis said 'we've met'. You never told us your dad knew Balladanis.” “I never knew,” Matt shrugged, “Then what happened?” “Your dad was really angry,” Albus continued, “He thinks Balladanis taught us too much about how to figure out if someone's a werewolf and that's why Malfoy found out. Then he told him how dangerous it was for him to use that anamatek in class-” “Oh, yeah,” Matt said, “I told my dad about the anamatek and that's one of the reasons he came here, to tell Kendrick about it. Kendrick's making him get rid of it.” “Yeah, that's what your dad said,” Albus replied, “He's coming back to inspect Balladanis's room tomorrow to make sure he got rid of it. He also said that if any of Balladanis's teaching puts you in danger again, the Ministry's going to investigate him.” “It's really not a good idea to get on my dad's bad side,” Matt said, “What did Balladanis do during this?” “He kept saying that he was going to teach however he wanted,” Albus explained, “Honestly, he did not look happy that your dad was there. I think something happened between the two of them.” “But what?” Matt asked, “Dad's never mentioned him before.” “Think he'd tell you if you asked?” John wondered. “Probably,” Matt said, “I'll owl him about it.” “Oh, and then your dad told Malfoy he'd better not tell anyone you're a werewolf,” John said, “He looked pretty scary, too. I don't think Malfoy's going to tell anyone.” ****** It did not take very long for word to spread that Balladanis had gotten in trouble for having an anamatek. Galleons exchanged hands the next morning at breakfast, as a few older students had bet on how long he would have it. Somehow everyone knew that Matt's dad had showed up at Hogwarts the previous night and informed Kendrick about it. Kaden had Defense that morning and reported to Albus at lunch that Balladanis was even stricter than usual and seemed incredibly angry. That did not bode well for Albus's detention that evening. “He's downright scary,” Kaden said as he piled steak and kidney pie onto his plate, “Yelled at one of the Ravenclaws in my class for spilling her ink. She was nearly in tears. But I'd hate to be in your class, Albus, he's going to be brutal. I mean, it's pretty much because of Matt that he got in trouble.” Matt had gone up to the Marauder's Den after they got out of Herbology since he felt ill and wasn't in lunch. Albus knew that Kaden was right. Balladanis was going to take this out on Matt, and possibly Malfoy as well. “I don't know why he cares so much,” John shrugged, “I mean, the Ministry could have just taken that thing away. He's lucky he just had to take it back to his house or whatever.” “I don't think he likes the government,” Albus said, “That's the feeling I got after listening to him talk about what he did before teaching here. I think that's why he did that, instead of becoming an Auror.” “Well, I think it's a good idea for the Ministry to make him take that thing home,” John said. “Me, too,” Albus agreed, “I mean, he could've turned it into a manticore next.” Kaden went to class after lunch while Albus and John went up to the Marauder's Den with Rose and Amanda. “Think he's owled his dad yet?” John asked as he gestured to Matt, who was asleep in his bed. “Doubt it,” Albus said, “He's probably been asleep since he got up here.” “Merlin, I just want to know what happened between his dad and Balladanis,” John groaned. “You're so impatient,” Rose commented, “Just let him sleep.” “I wasn't going to wake him up,” John muttered. The remainder of the afternoon passed by quickly. Albus was dreading his detention later and John complained loudly about how he had to go to the extra help session about werewolves when he already knew so much about them. Albus woke Matt up shortly before dinner and he looked much worse than he usually did the day of full moons. They all escorted him to the hospital wing, where Madam Pomfrey rushed him into bed. Just as they were about to leave the hospital wing, the doors opened and in walked Matt's dad. Albus assumed he was there to check if Balladanis had gotten rid of his anamatek. John nudged Albus. “We should ask him about Balladanis,” John whispered. “He's not going to tell us now,” Albus muttered back, “Look at him.” Mr. Eckerton looked tired out and incredibly worried. He nodded to Albus and the others before rushing over to Matt's bed and talking to Madam Pomfrey in hushed whispers. As it turned out, Albus had been worrying about the detention for nothing. He entered the room before Malfoy and John was already doing his lines. Balladanis said absolutely nothing to Albus as he handed him parchment. Malfoy arrived a little while later and still Balladanis said nothing. Malfoy did not talk either. He did not ask anything about Matt and didn't even comment that the full moon was that night. Balladanis let them leave at half past ten. Albus and John found Kaden in the Marauder's Den and spent the remaining time left until Astronomy playing Exploding Snap and Wizard's Chess. “Why, why do we have to have this class with the Slytherins?” John groaned as they made their way to the Astronomy Tower, “If Malfoy doesn't make a single comment about the full moon, I'll eat an entire cauldron.” “I'm going to hold you to that,” Albus laughed, “But I don't think you'll have to.” Malfoy went so far as to actually set his telescope up next to Albus's. Professor Polo spent ten minutes telling them that they were to plot the position of Mars, Venus, the moon, and a handful of stars before turning them lose to actually do so. “The moon is so bright,” Malfoy whispered, “And big and...full....” Albus looked at John. “Looks like I won't be eating my cauldron tonight,” John muttered. “Just shut it, Malfoy,” Albus said. “Isn't his dad the Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures? Yeah, he must be, because he's the one who made Balladanis get rid of the anamatek. Can't say I'm really upset about that,” Malfoy said quietly, “But how ironic.” “Just stop talking about it,” Albus muttered. “Oh, come on, Potter. Even you have to appreciate the irony,” Malfoy said. “Will you just shut up,” Albus seethed. “Quiet over there,” Polo said. Malfoy smirked at Albus one more time before going back to his telescope. The rest of the lesson passed without anymore commentary from Malfoy and Albus was quite happy when he was able to return to his dormitory. ****** “It's like back in first year,” Albus sighed, “Remember when Madam Pomfrey locked the hospital wing?” “That's why this is bad!” Rose said. “Well, she didn't lock us out this time,” John pointed out. “She didn't exactly let us in either,” Kaden said. Albus and his friends had slept late on Saturday morning and after grabbing a quick bite to eat, had gone to visit Matt in the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey hadn't let them in. They were currently in the Marauder's Den, trying to figure out why. “She always lets us in,” John groaned. “He obviously had a really bad night,” Albus said quietly. “Yeah, but why?” Rose wondered. “Haven't you noticed that the full moons have been worse the past few months?” Albus asked, “He's been taking longer to recover.” “I wish he'd just let us become Animagi,” John muttered. “John, I honestly don't think you could become an Animagus,” Rose replied, “You'd wind up with a permanent tail affixed to your arse.” “That wouldn't be that bad,” John grinned, “Always thought it would be cool to have a tail.” “You're not helping,” Albus sighed, “What are we going to do?” “I think all we can do is just keep going back to the hospital wing,” John shrugged, “Until Madam Pomfrey lets us in.” Their efforts proved fruitless, though. They went to the hospital wing twice that afternoon and then right before Albus and John had to go to detention. Madam Pomfrey told them 'no' each time. Sunday, the last day of Albus and John's detention, was the same. Madam Pomfrey was quite livid when they showed up for the third time that day. “Nothing's changed!” she shouted, “Come back tomorrow evening! I'll give the lot of you detention if you come back any earlier than that!” With that, she strode back into the ward and slammed the door. “Can she even give detention?” Kaden asked. “I dunno,” Albus shrugged, “I wouldn't put it past her.” Albus and John broke away from the group to complete their last detention. Balladanis gave them lines, just like he had the past three nights. Albus sat quietly completing them, very grateful for the fact that Malfoy hadn't said two words to him since Astronomy. “You may stop,” Balladanis said quietly after they'd been writing for about an hour and a half. Albus threw his quill down and leaned back in his chair. Finally, it was over. “I hope you learned something,” Balladanis said, which shocked Albus. He had been expecting Balladanis to continue his silence. “If I catch any of you dueling in the corridors again, the consequences will be much more severe than detention and lost points. “Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy, I have given great thought to whether I should continue giving you extra lessons. I have decided to give you one more chance. Lessons will continue this Friday at their normal time. However, if either of you disregard my rules again, I will no longer hold them. You may go. I'll see all three of you in class on Tuesday.” “Merlin, I'm glad that's over,” John muttered to Albus once they were on their way to Gryffindor Tower. “Me too,” Albus agreed, “He's going to be awful in class, though.” “Yeah, can't say I'm looking forward to that,” John said. Albus couldn't concentrate at all in his classes the next day. All he wanted to do was go to the hospital wing and find out how Matt was, but Madam Pomfrey insisted that they wait until evening. Rose and Amanda ate dinner with Linda, but they met Albus, John, and Kaden near the hospital wing afterwards. They had all eaten a very rushed dinner due to Albus's Quidditch practice at seven. Albus cautiously opened the door to the hospital wing, half expecting Madam Pomfrey to yell at them again. He walked quietly inside, followed the the others. Madam Pomfrey was sitting at her desk and she visibly sighed when she noticed them. “Go ahead,” she gestured to the only occupied bed, which had the curtains pulled around it. Albus rushed over to the bed and yanked the curtains back. Matt looked exhausted and there was a rather large bandage wrapped around his head. “I was wondering when you'd come visit me,” Matt gave them a half smile. “We've been trying!” John said, “Madam Pomfrey hasn't let us!” “I know,” Matt smirked, “I've heard her yell at you. It's kind of amusing.” “Well, we're here now,” Albus said, “How are you? Why didn't Madam Pomfrey let us come visit?” “Because I didn't wake up until yesterday afternoon,” Matt answered. “But that was-” John began. “Nearly two days later?” Matt cut him off, “I know.” “But why?” Rose asked. “A bunch of things, really,” Matt sighed, “First, I was worried about Malfoy telling everyone and it's always worse when I'm worried about something. Second, I hit my head really hard at some point that night. It still hurts. Third, the transformations in general are getting worse, because I'm getting older.” That thought certainly hadn't crossed Albus's mind. Albus and all his friends were obviously getting older and that brought plenty of changes, but he hadn't even thought about how the wolf would change when Matt got older. “So, are all of the full moons going to be this bad now?” Kaden asked. “No,” Matt shook his head and then winced, “I mean, I don't really know what'll happen in the future, but this one was just a combination of bad things.” “That's good, I guess,” Albus shrugged, “When do you get to leave?” “Tomorrow night at the earliest,” Matt sighed, “Although that means I'll miss Defense.” “Wish I could miss Defense,” John muttered, “Speaking of Defense, did you owl your dad yet?” “John, he just woke up yesterday,” Rose pointed out. “I didn't owl him,” Matt said, “But he came to see me earlier and I asked him.” “Brilliant,” John grinned, “And?” “And,” Matt said, “He told me all about it. He told me Balladanis was a Presuler and was really surprised that I already knew. “Apparently, back when my dad had just been appointed Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures in Australia, he hired Balladanis to catch a band of vampires who were attacking Muggles on the outback. Balladanis caught them, but he thought Dad went too easy on them.” “What did he do to them?” John asked. “Sent them to prison. I think they got 20 years. Balladanis thought they should have gotten life sentences. Dad and Balladanis got into this huge argument at the Ministry about it and Balladanis stormed out. The Australian Ministry didn't hire him after that,” Matt explained, “Although, I'll bet Balladanis and Lubar would agree on punishments. I wonder if he's hired Balladanis.” “That explains a lot,” Albus said, “Did your dad say anything else about him?” “No, not really,” Matt replied, “Just that he's got a lot of issues. Oh, and he wanted me to warn you not to listen to everything Balladanis says during those dueling lessons you've got.” “I'm not going to,” Albus assured him, “I think we've all seen a different side of Balladanis during the past week.” ****** Tuesday morning dawned quickly and Albus trudged to Defense with John. Neither of them really knew what class would be like, but judging from what he heard about recent Defense classes in the common room, it wouldn't be fun. Malfoy was back to his smug self now that detention was over. He sat next to Goyle wearing a smirk on his face. Albus ignored him and went to his usual table. Balladanis stormed into the room a few minutes later. He waved his wand at the door and it slammed shut with a bang loud enough that it caused the Jordan-Bell twins, who had been sitting closest to it, to jump. “Pass your homework questions forward,” he growled. Albus handed his homework to the table in front of him and waited for Balladanis to collect it. He paused in front of the table in front of Albus's. “Potter,” he began, “You can tell Eckerton that his homework is late and therefore I will not accept it. If he wished to get credit for it, he could have graced us with his presence.” Malfoy snorted at this, earning him glares from both Albus and Balladanis. Balaldanis tossed the homework unceremoniously onto his desk and then turned back to his students. “Wolfsbane potion,” he barked, “Was created by a man by the name of Oliver Belby. He finished the creation in 1991. For most werewolves, the potion was a lifesaver. Who can explain what it does?” Nobody, not even Rose and Linda, raised their hands. Albus stared down at his desk, hoping that Balladanis wouldn't call on him. “Nobody?” he said, “Pity. Wolfsbane potion renders a werewolf harmless during full moons. The lycanthrope turns into a wolf, but a harmless one. One that will just sleep until the moon sets and will not have the urge to bite and kill. “The potion is a lifesaver to those plagued with lycanthropy. I had been hoping to show you what a werewolf would look like on Wolfsbane potion, but my anamatek has been banned from the castle,” Balladanis said with malice, “Therefore you will have to go without the visual. It seems that certain parents, Ministry officials, and the headmaster do not approve of my methods of teaching. Unfortunately, it is all of you who are suffering for it.” “I wouldn't call it suffering,” John muttered. “Quiet, Brickston!” Balladanis shouted, “Unless you have something to contribute to the class.” “No, sir,” John replied. “Good,” Balladanis muttered, “Anyway, the anamatek will not be making anymore appearances in this classroom and your education is going to suffer for it. Nothing, and I repeat nothing can replace hands on training.” Albus usually agreed with that, but he drew the line at having what was in essence a live manticore in front of him. There were some times when reading sufficed. The lesson continued with Balladanis talking about Wolfsbane. He spoke about how the potion doesn't work for all werewolves and Albus found his mind drifting. All in all, the lesson hadn't been as bad as he'd been expecting. Besides his brief rant about his anamatek being banned from the castle, he had been pretty normal. Normal for Balladanis, that is. “Next lesson will be the last on werewolves,” Balladanis announced at the end of class, “We will learn about lycanthropy's effect on children.” Albus groaned inwardly. Matt would be out of the hospital wing by then. Why couldn't Balladanis just finish the werewolf unit already? “He won't be back next year,” John muttered as they walked to Herbology. “I don't doubt that,” Albus replied, “I just wonder who we're going to get instead.”
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2535 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Wednesday 24 March 2010 11 53 14 am    Post subject: Re: Albus potter and the Path Left Untrodden in topic:Albus potter and the Path Left Untrodden Chapter 28: Old Acquaintances Albus and John sat as far away as possible from Malfoy in Balladanis's study. Balladanis just stared at them before speaking. “I cannot begin to tell you how disappointed I am in all of you,” Balladanis began, “Especially you, Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy. I am sure I taught you better than this. The two of you especially should know how uncalled for that was. You are well aware of your dueling skills and what sort of responsibility lies with them. I have half a mind to discontinue our training sessions. However, I am willing to hear all sides of this story before laying out any sort of punishment. You may go first, Mr. Malfoy.” “I was just walking to class and Potter pulled out his wand and attacked me. Then Brickston joined in. I was outnumbered, sir. I had to defend myself,” Malfoy said. Albus had to try hard not to snort. He and John looked at each other and John rolled his eyes. “Very well,” Balladanis said, “Mr. Potter, if you please.” Albus took a deep breath. He was going to tell the story. The whole story. “Malfoy was threatening Matt, sir,” Albus began. “Mr. Eckerton?” Balladanis asked, “I did not see him anywhere.” “He left after Malfoy threatened him,” Albus continued, “You see, Malfoy has figured something out about Matt, after listening to your lectures on werewolves.” Balladanis's eyes widened and he looked at Malfoy. “Is that true, Mr. Malfoy?” “Yes,” Malfoy muttered, “And I wasn't threatening him. I was asking him about it. I think I have the right to know if I'm in school with a werewolf.” Malfoy said 'werewolf' with disgust and it made Albus want to hex him once more. “Mr. Eckerton has the right to keep his medical issues to himself,” Balladanis replied, “His health is none of your business whatsoever. Please continue, Mr. Potter.” “After Matt left, I wanted to be sure Malfoy wasn't going to go tell the whole school about Matt's lycanthropy,” Albus explained, “And I guess we just wound up dueling.” “Just wound up dueling?” Malfoy scoffed, “You had your wand on me.” “You sent the first hex,” Albus muttered. “Do you have anything to add, Mr. Brickston?” Balladanis asked. “No,” John replied, “Albus is telling the truth.” “Very well,” Balladanis replied, “I see this matter goes much further than a duel. All three of you will receive four nights' detention starting tonight at eight. Each of you have lost ten points from your respective houses. “However, I am taking all three of you to see the headmaster. There are things more important to discuss than detentions,” Balladanis said as he stood up. Albus knew full well what Balladanis was insinuating. He and John said nothing as they followed Balladanis to Kendrick's study. Malfoy walked a few feet behind them. Albus hadn't been to Kendrick's study since his first year, when he went to talk to Dumbledore's portrait. The place hadn't changed in the slightest. Everything seemed to be in the exact same place. Both Dumbledore and Snape were awake and in their portraits. Kendrick was behind his desk writing something when they entered. He looked up curiously at them. Albus, John, and Malfoy stood near the door while Balladanis strode forward. “We have a problem,” Balladanis said, “These three have been dueling.” “I trust you to hand out detentions, Tethys,” Kendrick replied, “I am busy at the moment.” “It's not the dueling,” Balladanis said, “It's what they were dueling about.” “And what would that be?” Kendrick asked. “Mr. Malfoy has discovered that Matt Eckerton is a werewolf,” Balladanis answered, “And I believe Mr. Potter and Mr. Brickston have known for quite some time.” Kendrick dropped his quill and looked up. “I'll take this from here. I believe you have a lesson to teach.” “I believe I do,” Balladanis replied and left the room. Kendrick conjured a few chairs and gestured for the three boys to join him at his desk. Albus sat down in the middle chair and waited for Kendrick to begin. He noticed that both Dumbledore and Snape were paying rapt attention. “Well, well,” Snape said, “Deja vu.” “Not now, Severus,” Kendrick said, “Mr. Potter, perhaps you can tell me if anyone else knows about Matt's lycanthropy?” “Er, yes,” Albus replied, “Rose Weasley, Amanda Tagger, and Kaden Dursley.” “I knew that Dursley kid knew something,” Malfoy muttered. “Not now, Mr. Malfoy,” Kendrick said, “I'll need to speak with them, as well as Matt. I imagine they're all in class.” “Sir,” Albus interrupted, “I don't think Matt's in class.” “You may be right,” Kendrick sighed, “Do you have any idea where he might be?” “Yes,” Albus answered. “Very well. Please go find him,” Kendrick said, “And Mr. Brickston, please go find the others.” Albus nodded and he and John left the study. Albus went straight to the Marauder's Den while John went to the dungeons as Rose and Amanda would be in potions. Matt was sitting on his bed in the Marauder's Den, staring at the wall and not moving a muscle. “I suppose Malfoy's told everyone,” Matt said without turning to look at Albus. His voice was hollow. “No,” Albus replied, “He hasn't had the chance. John and I dueled him after you left. Balladanis gave us all four nights of detention and took points away.” “He'll tell everyone soon,” Matt replied, “I should probably go pack. You know, I really thought I'd get to finish school. That's not even the worst part. It's going to be all over the Prophet. My dad's going to lose his job again. We'll probably have to move to New York.” He finally turned around and looked at Albus. He no longer looked anxious. He looked absolutely terrified, yet sad at the same time. “Why did Balladanis have to be such a good teacher?” Matt groaned and laid back on the bed, “If he had been some sort of awful teacher then maybe Malfoy wouldn't have found out. He's just so thorough! He left nothing out! Even the way he described the transformation. It was so, it was just so, realistic. “And that stupid anamatek!” Matt sat up and looked at Albus, “That thing looked just like me, only older. No wonder Malfoy found out.” “You're not going to get kicked out,” Albus assured him. “How do you know?” Matt shouted, “How do you really know? I know Teddy's dad got to stay after Snape found out, but this is different. That was when Dumbledore was here! Everyone says Dumbledore was barking mad. Kendrick isn't. Kendrick's perfectly sane and he's not going to want to deal with this.” Albus didn't really know what to say to that. Everything Matt said was true. Kendrick was not Dumbledore. Nobody could compare to Dumbledore. “Kendrick wants to see you,” Albus said, “He's got Malfoy up in his study. He wants to talk to all of us. Me, John, Rose, Amanda, and Kaden.” “I don't want to go up there,” Matt said, “I never want to see Malfoy again. I just want to stay here. Merlin, my head is killing me.” “I think you have to go,” Albus said quietly. “I know,” Matt groaned and got up off the bed, “This just isn't fair. I hate it. I hate this whole thing. I don't want to be a bloody werewolf anymore.” “I know,” Albus said, knowing just how miserable Matt was at that moment. Albus had never once heard him complain about being a werewolf. Not when he was too tired to do anything because of the full moon or when he was laid up in the hospital wing for days afterwards. They walked quietly back to Kendrick's study. Albus muttered the password, that he had overheard Balladanis say, to the gargoyle and they ascended into the study. Everyone else was already there and they all turned to Albus and Matt when they walked in. Matt froze in place and Albus stopped and looked at him. He was staring directly at Malfoy. “Take a seat,” Kendrick gestured to the two empty chairs, one of which was next to Malfoy's. Albus took the seat next to Malfoy's, but didn't look at him. Matt took the other one. “First, I want to assure you that you do not have to leave Hogwarts,” Kendrick said to Matt, “Nobody else will be finding out about your lycanthropy.” Matt didn't look reassured by this. Malfoy looked mutinous. “My father won't agree with that,” Malfoy muttered. “Your father has no say whatsoever in which students I admit to this school,” Kendrick replied, “He works in the Ministry, and may I point out that his position is not very high.” “Matt,” Kendrick turned away from Malfoy, “Does anyone else know?” Matt shook his head. “And did you tell the others, besides Mr. Malfoy, willingly?” Kendrick continued. Matt nodded. “Very well,” Kendrick said, “And how long have they known?” Matt seemed unable to speak. After a few moments of silence, Kendrick turned to Albus. “How long have you known, Mr. Potter?” “Two years,” Albus answered. Kendrick repeated this question with Rose, John, and Amanda, who all gave the same answer as Albus. Then he moved onto Kaden and Albus suddenly remembered the Sileo Altus charm. He shared one horrified glance with Rose and waited for Kaden's reply. Kaden looked at Kendrick and then turned to Albus. His mouth was agape and he looked a little panicked. “Are you all right, Mr. Dursley?” Kendrick asked. “Fine,” Kaden answered, “It's just, well....” “Professor, Sir,” Rose began, “We sort of put this charm on Kaden, so he wouldn't tell anyone. He can only talk about it with us. He won't be able to say a thing about it around you or Malfoy.” Albus braced himself for Kendrick's response, but before the headmaster could say a word, Dumbledore chuckled in his frame. “The Sileo Altus charm,” Dumbledore smiled, “Ingenious. Who performed it?” “I did,” Rose answered. “Remarkable,” Dumbledore said, “You must be an incredible witch, Miss Weasley.” “Too smart for her own good, more like it,” Snape muttered. “That is indeed quite the amazing feat, Miss Weasley,” Kendrick said, “Can you tell me how long Mr. Dursley has known?” “About a year,” Rose said. “Thank you,” Kendrick replied, “Now I have some things to discuss with Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Eckerton in private. The rest of you may go to the Great Hall. I believe there is still a half hour or so left of lunch.” Albus didn't really want to leave without finding out what was going to happen to Malfoy, but he knew Matt would tell him. Matt never showed up in the Great Hall for lunch, nor did he go to Ancient Runes or Charms. Albus could not concentrate on either of those classes and was very happy when Charms was over and he was able to leave. Wood was not very happy that Albus had acquired four detentions. In fact, he was livid. He spent twenty minutes telling Albus how he shouldn't be picking fights with other students so close to the next Quidditch match, especially in front of teachers' classrooms. The lecture had only ended when Albus told him he was late for Charms. Albus had run into Wood in in between Ancient Runes and Charms. “What do you suppose Balladanis is going to make us do?” John asked as they walked towards the Marauder's Den. “Haven't a clue,” Albus replied, “But whatever it is, it's going to be bad since we have to do it with Malfoy.” “True,” John agreed. Rose, Kaden, and Amanda were with them. Albus wanted to go find Matt before they went to dinner. They had to wait a while for the corridor to clear out before they were actually able to get into the room, though. Matt was fast asleep on the couch when they entered. “Good thing he doesn't have detention tonight,” John pointed out. “Yeah,” Albus agreed. John gently shook Matt's shoulder until he cracked his eyes open. “Wake up,” John said, “Or you'll miss dinner.” “I'm not hungry,” Matt muttered. “What's Kendrick doing about Malfoy?” Albus asked as he sat down on the other end of the couch. “He should put that charm on him,” Kaden announced, “The one you lot put on me.” “I wish he would,” Matt sighed, “All he did was tell Malfoy how important it was not to mention anything. He said telling his father would do nothing. Then he told him that if he ever did tell anyone, he would face expulsion for revealing another student's medical information. But that's it! I mean, Malfoy did promise he wouldn't say anything, but who really knows? Sure, if he tells, he'll be expelled, but that won't take it back. I'd still have to leave.” “As much as a git as he is,” Albus began, “I don't think he's going to tell anyone if it meant he'd be expelled. That would be the ultimate shame in the Malfoy family, besides being a Squib or marrying a Muggle or something, getting expelled and not being a fully qualified wizard. Malfoy won't want that.” “I guess you're right,” Matt sighed, “It's just so strange, knowing that he knows.” “I know,” Albus said, “Do you want to go eat dinner?” “No,” Matt shook his head, “You guys go on ahead. I've got to send an owl to my parents, let them know about this.” Albus nodded. “We'll see you later, then. John and I have got detention tonight.” “Oh, right. Good luck with that,” Matt replied. ****** Balladanis's detention was a bit anticlimactic. Albus had been expecting him to think up some really creative and taxing detention, but instead he assigned them lines. Lines were possibly the most boring detention ever thought up, but they were preferable to cleaning the bathrooms or something. “Potter, Malfoy,” Balladanis said after they'd been writing for ten minutes, “Your dueling lesson is canceled for tomorrow night due to your detention. Detention will be at nine, after my extra help session, something I'll expect you to be attending, Brickston.” Balladanis said nothing more and began grading essays at his desk. He completely ignored the three boys, which Albus didn't really mind. He just wanted to get his lines done and get out of there. “Where does he go?” Malfoy hissed at Albus. “What?” Albus whispered. “You know, on full moons, where does he go?” Malfoy elaborated. “I'm not telling you that,” Albus muttered. “My dad said a werewolf used to teach here, and he got fired when everyone found out,” Malfoy drawled. “He quit,” Albus corrected him, “He wasn't fired. He was the best Defense teacher any of our parents ever had.” “Quiet!” Balladanis shouted, “I didn't say you could talk.” Albus was grateful for Balladanis's scolding. Malfoy stopped asking questions and went back to his lines. Albus sighed and went back to his own. How far was Malfoy going to go? Why couldn't he just be satisfied with having worked out Matt's secret? A half hour into their line writing, when Albus was contemplating switching hands despite the fact that he wrote horribly with his right hand, there was a knock on the door. Albus looked up and saw Professor Kendrick standing in the doorway, along with none other than Matt's dad. Albus set down his quill and turned to John. John had set down his own quill. “Who's that?” Malfoy asked. “Shush!” Albus hissed. The last thing they needed was for Balladanis to remember they were there and tell them to get out so he could have whatever conversation he was about to have in private. “Tethys,” Kendrick said quietly, “This is Walter Eckerton.” “We've met,” Balladanis muttered. Albus turned again to John. Matt's dad knew Balladanis? How? Matt had never mentioned that before. “That's his dad?” Malfoy whispered. “Shush!” Albus said again. “I wish to talk to you about what happened earlier today,” Matt's dad said quietly. “What about it, Eckerton?” Balladanis asked. “My son told me about your lessons,” Mr. Eckerton said, “How, informative they are.” “I teach my students what they'll need to know in order to defend themselves,” Balladanis replied. “I think you go too far with that,” Mr. Eckerton disagreed, “Merlin, showing them exactly what a werewolf looks like before a transformation with an anamatek? Do you realize how dangerous those are?” “Of course,” Balladanis said, raising his voice a bit, “You're not the only expert on magical creatures. I have perfect control over my anamatek.” “Nobody has perfect control over an anamatek!” Mr. Eckerton said. “The headmaster has already told me I'm not allowed to use it anymore, so you really don't need to be lecturing me about this,” Balladanis seethed. “Oh, it's not only that,” Mr. Eckerton stepped a bit closer to Balladanis, “It's how much you taught the third years about werewolves. The details about their transformations, how to pick one out of the general population, what happens before, during, and after transformations. Your lesson was far more detailed than a third year text book.” “You'd find that all my lessons are like that,” Balladanis replied, “Text books do not give enough details.” “I think giving enough details about identifying a lycanthrope so that a third year would be able to work out that someone not even in their same house is one is going too far,” Mr. Eckerton seethed, “You knew about my son. You should have been a bit more cautious with your lesson.” “Withholding information from an entire class because of one student is not a good method of teaching,” Balladanis countered. “It is when it could be dangerous for that one student,” Mr. Eckerton said, “Fan of the greatest good for the greatest number, are we?” “There are times when that is a good philosophy,” Balladanis replied. “We'll agree to disagree, then,” Mr. Eckerton said, “But if I find that your lessons are putting my son in danger anymore, you may find that the Ministry is inquiring into your teaching practices.” “I'll teach however I like,” Balladanis muttered. Mr. Eckerton ignored this and turned to the three boys, none of whom were writing lines any longer. “Is that him?” he asked. “The one who found out?” Kendrick replied, “Yes.” Mr. Eckerton strode over to the table Albus, John, and Malfoy were working at. He nodded hello to Albus and John before turning to Malfoy. “I realize the headmaster has already gone over this with you,” Mr. Eckerton began, “But I feel the need to repeat that there will be consequences if you make public my son's condition.” Malfoy nodded. “I know,” he muttered. “Good,” Mr. Eckerton replied and returned to where Kendrick was standing. He turned once again to Balladanis. “I'll be returning to the castle tomorrow to search your study and classroom for the anamatek. If it is still here, I will take it into custody.” Balladanis muttered something under his breath as Matt's dad left the room with Professor Kendrick. Albus exchanged a glance with John. He wanted nothing more than to leave, so he could talk about what had just happened. “That's enough for tonight,” Balladanis barked, “Get out. Be back here tomorrow night at nine.” Albus nearly spilled his ink in his haste to get up. He ran out of the room as fast as he could with John following. Malfoy made no move to try and talk to them again, so they headed straight to the Marauder's Den.