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DucksRMagical
Joined: 28 December 2006
Posts: 2535
Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal
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Posted: Sunday 28 February 2010 03 53 06 pm Post subject: Re: Beyond the Shadow in topic:Beyond the Shadow |
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Chapter 3: Sophie Nymphadora Lupin
Farina gave me a glare that would make a dragon shrink back in fear when I ran into the clinic at exactly 1:30. I think she had been hoping that I would've been a minute late so she could've yelled at me. Luck had been on my side that time.
I went to the nurse's station and they handed me the chart for the wizard in Exam Room One.
“What seems to be the problem?” I asked once I was inside the room.
The wizard sitting on the exam table didn't look particularly sick, nor did he have any obvious injuries. In fact, he looked perfectly fine.
“Er,” he muttered, “I've got this, well, growth on my, er, arse.”
“Roll over,” I told him.
He did so and I noticed his wand sticking out of the back pocket of his jeans.
“Here's your problem,” I said as I yanked his wand out of his pocket, “There are a million reasons not to keep your wand in your back pocket, growths on your arse being just one of them.
“Oh,” the man sat up and his face was bright red, “Well, I'll just stop doing that.”
“Good idea,” I said and handed him his wand.
I got rid of the growth with a wave of my own wand and the man left, still bright red.
We've actually gotten quite a few people in the clinic with the same complaint. I was beginning to think that someone needed to tell all the first years at Hogwarts not to put their wands in their back pockets. It seemed kind of obvious to me, but I guess not everyone thought of it.
The afternoon droned on and I healed various ailments and injuries. A few colds, one case of the flu, and a few minor spell damages. I also assured one very worried mother that just because her four-year-old daughter had not yet displayed any signs of magic, it did not mean she was a Squib.
I left the clinic at exactly five o'clock and went straight down to my brewing room. It was so nice to escape to the peace and quiet of the room after being in the chaotic hospital all day.
My potion was ready to send off for testing. Whenever new potions were created at St. Mungo's, they were sent to a different department of the hospital for testing. They had to be mixed with other potions and run through various lab tests to find out if they were dangerous or would interact with other potions.
Potions testers also worked in the basement, in separate rooms. It often took a very long time to get results back from the testing and it was always a very nerve-wracking time. A few of the potions I had created had come back labeled as dangerous and it was such a let-down when that happened.
I let the Wolfsbane simmer for a half hour before bottling it and filling out the form for testing. Then I walked down the long corridor towards the testing room.
The testing room looked like something out of a Muggle horror movie. It was filled with all sorts of stainless steel contraptions and cauldrons bubbling with various potions. The testers wore white hazardous waste robes and masks.
There was a window with a small two door box which potions were transferred with. I rang the bell next to the door and one of the testers came over.
“Amy,” he greeted me, “Another version of Wolfsbane?”
“Yep,” I said as I put it in the box, along with the form, “Hopefully this one's better than the last one.”
My last potion had failed the tests. I had had to completely start over.
“It should be ready in a few weeks,” he told me, “We'll owl you the results.”
“Thanks,” I said as I left.
******
Victoire was waiting outside my flat when I got home a little while later. She was glancing at her watch when I first saw her and then she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw me.
“There you are,” she said, “I thought you were done at the clinic at five. Did Farina make you stay longer?”
“No, but I had to go send my potion to testing,” I said as I unlocked the door, “You know you could've gone to Matt's and gotten the spare key. You didn't have to wait outside.”
“I did,” Victoire replied as we walked inside, “He wasn't home. Neither was Albus.”
“Albus had to leave again today,” I said, “Oh, right, Matt had to work late tonight.”
“Well, it doesn't matter. You're here now. I just have to be home by eight because Teddy's got night duty at eight-thirty,” Victoire said as she sat down on the couch.
Teddy was an Auror and his hours were worse than Victoire's. The two of them were lucky if they were able to pass each other in the doorway. Sophie spent a lot of time either at my place or with her grandparents. She didn't mind, though. Teddy and Victoire were lucky she was such an easy going kid.
“So, why were you loitering around my door waiting for me to come home?” I asked as I put a pot of water on the stove and dug out a box of pasta.
“Are you working the day after the full moon?” Victoire asked.
“No,” I turned around and looked at Victoire, “Farina gave me the day of and the day after off. Why, is she making you work that day?”
“Yes,” Victoire sighed and put her head down on the table, “I got the day of off, but she won't give me the day after off. And Teddy's got to work that day, too.”
“Don't worry,” I told her, “I'll watch Sophie. Just drop her off here before you go to work.”
“Thanks,” Victoire said, “I just hate being away from her the day after.”
Sophie may have been a very easy going child, but there was one thing that set her apart from other kids her age. Sophie Nymphadora Lupin was a werewolf. Wolfsbane worked fine for her, but she was still incredibly exhausted the day of and the day after full moons.
Victoire and Teddy had found out about it while Victoire was still pregnant. Starting in the second trimester, Sophie became incredibly restless during full moons. Victoire, being a Healer, and Teddy, being the son of a werewolf, noticed this and Victoire had a test done to find out if the baby had lycanthropy. It came back positive.
The remainder of the pregnancy had been incredibly stressful. Lycanthropic babies are incredibly rare and nobody really knew what was going to happen. Victoire had had to take Wolfsbane and spend every full moon in St. Mungo's, in case the baby transformed. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when Victoire gave birth to a seemingly perfectly healthy baby.
Sophie did not transform until she was almost three. Nobody knew why and we still don't know. Victoire and Teddy had started her on Wolfsbane as soon as she was born, but nothing ever happened until she was almost three.
Teddy and Victoire tried hard to make sure at least one of them didn't have to work the day of and the day after full moons, but every once in a while they both had to work. If that happened on a full moon, I stayed with Sophie at their house. If it was the day after, Sophie would come stay with me. There had yet to be a full moon where Teddy, Victoire, and I all had to work. We had a back-up plan that if that ever happened, one of my parents would stay with her.
Sophie was actually the most well-adjusted werewolf I had ever met. She didn't seem to care one bit that she was a werewolf and went through transformations in stride.
Victoire left a little while later and then Matt showed up for dinner, as he often did when Albus was gone. He didn't really like to cook and even though my own cooking was mediocre, he said it was better than his.
******
The next day at work was just one of those days where nothing went right. First, the bloke who had been attacked by a manticore took a turn for the worse. He wasn't responding to conventional treatment. Healer Sterling took over his case because he had more experience with that sort of thing.
Jamie had a high fever the entire day that potions just didn't seem to fix. It finally decreased at the end of the day, but he had barely woken up at all. George and Candace were tense the entire day and were taking it out on Kyle, who really didn't know what was going on. Eventually I had Kyle play in my study while I did paperwork just to give everyone a break. I knew all too well what it was like to be in Kyle's shoes.
What I really needed after that day was to go to the Leaky Cauldron with Victoire and Teddy and get my mind off of work, but instead I went to visit Cinda with Matt. Visiting a nursing home does absolutely nothing to lift one's spirits.
Cinda's nursing home is like a palace. It's a state of the art facility where all the residents get their own rooms that are decorated to look like living quarters in a castle. A king's castle, not Hogwarts. It costs a fortune to live there, but Cinda's got loads of money.
Matt and I arrived shortly after dinner was over and the receptionist told us that Cinda was in her room.
Cinda's room was decorated with pink and a lot of flowery patterns. There were a lot of pictures of Mum as a kid and a few of Matt and I as kids. Plus there are a few of Cinda and Richard.
“Cinda?” I asked loudly and knocked on the door as we walked inside her room.
“Oh, Amy! Matt!” she shouted, “I was wondering when you'd come see me.”
Cinda has lost none of her wit as she's gotten older. She's still as sharp as she was when she was young. It's her body that's going. She's just gotten old. She can't walk very well and uses a wheelchair. Her hearing's gone as well.
“Hi, Cinda,” I said as I gave her a hug, “How are you feeling?”
“As well as can be expected,” she replied, “Now, Amy, where on earth did you get that sweater? It's positively dreadful.”
“It's what I wear under my work clothes,” I said as I sat down on the couch, “No one can see it.”
I didn't think the sweater was that bad. It was brown and white striped. At least it didn't have any reindeer on it. Then it would be an awful sweater.
“Oh, happy birthday, Amy!” Cinda said.
“Thanks,” I smiled.
“I have to tell you this, Amy. You know the lady who lives across the hall? Well, her daughter just got arrested. Can you believe that? She robbed a grocery store...” Cinda said.
I spent the rest of the evening listening to Cinda gossip about the various ladies who lived in the nursing home. Some things never changed. Each time I visited Cinda was the same. The gossip was different, but it was always there.
Cinda never seemed to tire, either. Most older people went to bed at seven or eight at night. Not Cinda. She always kept talking until one of the nurses came in and told us visiting hours were over.
I never really minded. Some of the gossip was boring, but it obviously kept Cinda happy and there wasn't much else to do in a nursing home. She had been so depressed after Richard died; it was nice to see her happy again.
“Cinda,” one of the nurses said as she knocked on the door, “I'm afraid visiting hours are over.”
Cinda sighed, “Well, don't wait so long before you next visit.”
“I won't,” I got up and gave her another hug. Then I nudged Matt awake. He never really had the tolerance for Cinda's gossip.
“Hmm?” Matt asked.
“Time to go, Sleeping Beauty,” I grinned.
“Shut it,” he muttered and then turned to Cinda, “We'll be back soon.”
“Good,” Cinda told him, “And no falling asleep next time.”
“Merlin, that place is too pink,” I said to Matt as we walked towards a back alley to disapparate.
“It's like your room at her house,” Matt laughed.
“Seriously, one room should not have that much pink,” I said, “If I ever have kids, none of them are going to have pink rooms.”
We took a break in the conversation to disapparate and reappeared a few blocks away from our building.
“What if one of them likes pink?” Matt asked.
“Then they can paint their room pink when they're older,” I told him, “Do you want to come over and have dessert or something?”
“Nah,” Matt shook his head, “I think I'm just going to go to bed.”
I left him at his flat and then climbed up the stairs to mine, where I drowned my work sorrows in a pint of chocolate ice cream. Chocolate didn't solve everything, but it never hurt things either.
******
“You've got an owl,” Natalie handed me a letter as I ran out of my study the next day.
I thanked her and pocketed it. I was late for clinic duty. Farina was going to murder me. I didn't even have a good reason. I had been reading a potions book in my study and lost track of the time.
Three minutes late. I skidded into the clinic three minutes late. In Farina's book, that was nearly as bad as skipping a shift all together.
“Eckerton!” Farina shouted as I grabbed a chart off the nurse's station desk.
“I'm sorry!” I shouted back.
“Consider this your warning,” she told me.
She must have been feeling generous that day. Farina didn't give warnings. They just weren't her thing.
I didn't have time to open the letter until after the clinic was closed. I made sure to stay an extra three minutes and then went back to my study.
Sterling was on call that night and was in his study doing charts. He looked up when I walked past.
“Are you going to be in on Friday?” he asked.
“For a little while,” I answered, “I have to, for Jamie. But I'm also watching Sophie that day. I might have to bring her with me, depending on whether Matt's well enough to keep an eye on her.”
The letter was quite wrinkled after having been shoved so hastily into my pocket. I hoped it wasn't anything too important. I sat down in my chair and ripped it open.
[i]Amy,
Matt never came into work
today. Could you check up
on him when you get out?
Love,
Dad[/i]
I sighed and started to get my things together. Matt usually only missed work the day of the full moon and then two days after.
“See you Friday,” I said to Morris on my way out of the room.
“Bye, Amy,” he replied.
There was not much food in my flat, so I stopped by the Magical Market on my way back. I have the tendency to wait until the last minute to grocery shop and the day I was forced to do it was never convenient.
I finished in record time and put it haphazardly away before going down to Matt's flat. He had given me a spare key when he moved in, so I just went right inside.
Matt and Albus's flat was the same lay-out as mine, but it looked drastically different. The place was filled with mismatched furniture and absolutely nothing was put away. My flat was organized chaos, theirs was just chaos. It wasn't nearly as bad as John and Kaden's, which I had only seen on one occasion, but it was still a mess.
It was so quiet that it almost seemed like no one was home. I headed straight to Matt's bedroom. The door was shut and I opened it as quietly as I could.
Matt was sound asleep in bed, buried under numerous blankets. His face was flushed and a wave of my wand told me he had a fever. I gently nudged him and he rolled over and opened one eye.
“Ugh,” he groaned.
“How do you feel?” I asked.
“Like shit,” he muttered, “What time is it?”
“Just after seven,” I told him, “Did you know you slept through work?”
“Oh Merlin,” he said, “I haven't done that in months.”
“It's ok. Dad understands,” I told him.
“No one else would,” Matt said.
“No one else needs to,” I replied, “Now you're staying with me until tomorrow night.”
“I don't want to move,” he mumbled.
“I told you not to stay up late with your friends this past weekend,” I said as I pulled the covers off the bed, “Maybe next time you'll listen. Now come on, you've got a fever and you need potions.”
“Ok, I'm getting up,” he said.
It took us a while to get back to my flat because Matt kept stumbling. He looked a little drunk, which earned us two weird stares from various tenants. It had been so much easier when we were kids and Mum and Dad could carry him.
In some ways I never get away from work. I mean, obviously I leave the hospital and go home, but there's still work to do there. Between Matt and Sophie, there's always something that needs to be done when I'm not at St. Mungo's.
This was especially evident around the full moon. Me practically dragging Matt to my flat was a normal occurrence, especially if Albus wasn't home.
I helped Matt into the spare bedroom and then went to get him his usual potions. I could probably dole them out in my sleep I've done it so many times.
Once I'd gotten him settled, I cooked myself dinner and settled down to read for the evening.
However, I couldn't concentrate. Usually I could read for hours, but that night was different. There was something I had been thinking about doing for a long time and I couldn't put off deciding about it any longer.
When I first started my Healer training, I decided to keep my work and family life separate. What that meant was that I never have told any of my patients about Matt. It was his secret to share and I never thought it would be fair to me to tell people about it, even if they were other werewolves.
It hadn't been easy. I couldn't count the number of times I'd been yelled at by newly bitten werewolves who insisted that I had no idea what it was like. I'd assured so many of them that they could live normal lives and half of them sneered at me, telling me I was just saying that to be nice. They'd had no idea how much experience I'd had.
Mum was the same way. A few years ago she founded the Lycanthropic Children's Foundation. Never once has she told anyone her real reasons for starting it. It's a strange organization as it's built on secrets. None of the active members have said they have a child with lycanthropy, but quite a few of them do. I know due to the fact that I'm many of the children's Healer. Mum's the President, I'm the Vice-President, and Victoire is the Treasurer.
There was one family whom I wanted to tell about Matt. I wanted them to know that I knew what they were going through, wanted them to know why I was working so hard on the Wolfsbane Potion. Jamie's family.
If only they could really know that Jamie could live a normal life. If only they could know that another werewolf had attended Hogwarts. His parents could benefit so much from talking to my parents.
The idea had really gotten me thinking. What if we got rid of the secrets in the Lycanthropic Children's Foundation? What if we branched out to offer support for parents and children alike? As of right now we focused on raising money and distributing it to those children who suffered from lycanthropy to help with medical bills and to buy Wolfsbane.
Support groups would do wonders. Parents could talk to other parents and children could play with one another. Matt hadn't really had any friends until he got to Hogwarts. If he'd known other children with lycanthropy when he was little, maybe he wouldn't have been such a shy kid.
My mind was racing. Was this a good idea? Nobody who was a part of the Foundation would be angered to find out who was a werewolf, right? Otherwise they wouldn't be in the Foundation. I'd have to bring it up at the next meeting.
I stayed up half the night working on the proposal for the next meeting. Mum would want most of the details hammered out before I brought it up. It was nearly one in the morning when I finally decided to call it a night. |
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salemboy
Joined: 20 May 2008
Posts: 1762
Location: Enjoying being a Senior whilst my friends merely become Juniors.
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Posted: Thursday 19 November 2009 04 51 27 am Post subject: Re: RPG: Parst City Super Hero Role Playing Game in topic:RPG: Parst City Super Hero Role Playing Game |
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The thick, swarming mass of people. Each one moving about, trying to get to where they needed to be, each one thinking about how they were going to make life easier for themselves, each one fighting to jump ahead of the other. That's the way it always was in a city, no matter how peaceful. People were constantly competing for survival in this dog-eat-dog world, knowing perfectly well that slowing down for a second would result in their demise.
It was this class of animals which Raijin gazed upon, watching them with intense, golden eyes. Sitting atop a building, he looked down on the citizens of Parst City. His ears twitched as he observed them communicating with one other, whether it be speaking on a cell phone, or flipping eachother the bird. They were completely unaware, completely ignorant, of the danger in their midst.
It was that danger that Raijin was searching for. Somewhere hidden in the crowd was a blade, a blade that he could not alert for fear of fleeing. The sun bore down on the back of his neck, causing beads of sweat to begin to form, rolling down his back until it landed on the roof of the building. He swore, wondering why the man wouldn't appear.
Several screams drew his attention towards a crosswalk. People were fleeing from the corner, making a hole in the swarm. In the hole was a lone figure, garbed completely in black, standing over the body of a woman. Raijin swore. He had missed him, and the man had already taken another.
Standing up, Raijin ran along the roof towards the crosswalk. As he neared the edge of the building, Raijin turned and leaped off. Flying through the air, he seemed to be in suspended animation as he windmilled his arms forward. His shadow carried across the ground below him as he fell through the air. The ground began to become closer and closer as Raijin began descending farther and faster.
Reaching his hands downwards, between his legs, he jetted out a bolt of lightning downwards out of his hands. Only a few feet away from the ground, the bolt slammed into the pavement with a loud crack, pushing Raijin upwards. Pulling his legs backwards, he pushed himself upside down, with the hands still jetting out lightning. Continuing his leg swing, he stopped the lightning and landed on the pavement. He was only a few feet away from the killer, who was currently kneeling over the body of his victim.
The man leaned up to look at Raijin, his mask removed to show his pale face, which had blood smeared across his chin. His black eyes looked at Raijin as he licked the blood away from his lips. "Step away from the body and I won't harm you," Raijin commanded, already knowing that it wouldn't work. It hadn't worked in the past on this creature, this monster.
Without warning, the black-garbed man bolted off towards a crowd of people, his unnatural speed making him a blur to Raijin's eye. "No, not again!" he yelled as he dashed after the monster. Reaching his hand forward, Raijin charged electricity into it, making it glow a golden yellow color. "STOP!" he yelled. The man didn't.
Raijin released the electricity stored in his hand, which bolted forward, cracking like a whip as it stung against the man's back. The black-garbed man fell to the ground in a crumpled heap. Desperately, it tried to crawl forward, but Raijin was standing above it before any progress could be made. A great, charred hole was in the creature's back, revealing blackened flesh and ribs. Smoke rose from the cauterized wound, the smell terrible, unlike anything Raijin had smelled before.
Turning the creature over, Raijin realized that it was still alive. Blood was running from its mouth as it looked at him, the hatred in its eyes seeming to pierce Raijin himself. Raijin was afraid to touch the thing, amazed that anything could survive the bolt he had pulsed out. The creature sensed his fear and smiled, revealing blood-stained fangs. It spoke, its voice as pleasant as nails on a chalkboard. "You fear me," it whispered. "You should. I am not like you." It closed its eyes momentarily before reopening them. "I am but the first of those who you will fear."
Bending down, Raijin grabbed the creature by the throat, and lifted it up. "What do you mean?" he demanded.
The creature smiled once more before replying, "You will see, you... will... see..." It's eyes rolled and jaw laxed as it breathed its last breath, and turned to dust in Raijin's hand, only leaving behind its black garb.
Raijin watched the blackened dust disperse away from him, feeling in his hands the tiny remnant that had clung to his skin. Silently, he thought to himself, "What is coming?" |
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Ms. Elsewhere
Joined: 13 January 2008
Posts: 881
Location: In role play game of course!
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Posted: Monday 3 August 2009 01 49 14 am Post subject: Re: RPG: The Six Wizards in topic:RPG: The Six Wizards |
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Ouki spun around, noticing all the signatures of Dissaparation around the room. She paniced. "They will be followed, the aurors can track the signatures!" She hissed at Damien. "We have to create a diversion!" Before they could make it to the basement, two Aurors were in the kitchen with them. Ouki turned on them. "Crucio, CRUCIO!" she screamed, and the two fell to their knees in pain. The signatures of three more wizards about to materialise swirled around the room. Ouki went back to back with Damien, and then she turned and grabbed him. "Trust me." she said. She turned and pointed her wand and screamed "Incendio!" and the whole house burst into flames. The Aurors on the floor were nearly burnt alive. She turned back to Damien, holding him close to her and she kissed him as she pushed her thoughts to a particular place. They dissapated together, reappearing in a park filled with trees and blossums. It was still dark, but it would be dawn soon. Ouki released Damien and walked around, scanning the trees. Damien tried to speak. "Shhh!" she hissed. "Were we followed?" she said, not looking at him. She hoped the fire was enough to mask the disapparation signatures. |
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DucksRMagical
Joined: 28 December 2006
Posts: 2535
Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal
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Posted: Tuesday 21 April 2009 11 17 14 am Post subject: Re: In Moonlight's Shadow in topic:In Moonlight's Shadow |
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Thanks, hprocks!
Chapter 43: First Class
Dad did manage to finish the safe room by the time the weekend was over. However, he didn't finish my potions room. I was kind of disappointed since I hadn't brewed anything in over a week. But I wasn't really expecting him to finish it before he started work anyway. I knew his primary focus was on the safe room.
Everyone got up early on Monday, Dad's first day of work. Mum and Ellie cooked brekkie and we all sat down together like we do for dinner.
"Well, I'd better go," Dad said once we had finished.
"Good luck, Walt," Mum kissed him as he stood up.
"Thanks," Dad replied, "Bye Amy, Matt."
"Bye, Dad," I smiled, "Hope you like this job better.
"Bye, Dad," Matt gave him a hug.
"Thanks Amy," Dad said, "I hope this job is better, too."
"Good luck, Master," Ellie said.
"Thanks," Dad grabbed his briefcase off a chair, "See you later."
It was strange to not have Dad home during the day anymore. I had gotten so used to him being home all the time. The house seemed quiet and empty with one less person there. I also didn't know what to do with myself. My room was completely set up, Mum didn't have any chores for me to do (which was good), I obviously had no homework, I had sent a letter to Olivia a few days ago and she hadn't gotten back to me, and my potions room was not set up.
Eventually, I decided to go explore the bush that was behind the house. I had liked doing that in Australia, so I figured it might be fun in England, too. It was, I suppose, but it was odd. There were different plants and animals and it just seemed so different.
I stayed in the bush for the entire morning. After lunch, I played a few rounds of Gobstones with Matt. He had wanted to go explore the bush with me, but Mum hadn't let him. His ankle was better, but she didn't want him walking very far on it. Then I found another book to read and read it while Matt played his DS.
"Do you like it here?" Matt asked suddenly.
"I dunno," I shrugged. It was kind of too soon to tell. "I like my room."
"I like the stars on your ceiling. But your light looks like the moon," Matt said.
"That's the point," I sighed, "So it'll look like the sky."
"I like it here," Matt continued, "I don't ever want to go back to Australia."
"Well, we're going to go back to see Richard and Cinda sometime," I told him.
"I don't want to," Matt said quietly.
"Let's just not talk about it now," I said.
"Good. When do you start school?"
"September." I heard the front door open and sat up. "I think Dad's home."
"Yay!" Matt shouted and ran out of the den.
I followed him and found Dad setting his briefcase down on the kitchen table. Mum and Ellie were in the process of cooking dinner. Matt and I sat down at the island.
"So how did it go?" Mum asked.
"Great," Dad smiled, "It's so different than what I did in Australia. I feel like I'm actually going to help people here."
"That's wonderful," Mum replied, "What did you do today?"
"Met everyone in the department and then jumped right into the actual work. Right now we're compiling a list of companies and businesses that are willing to hire werewolves. Then we'll help set up interviews with those companies."
"Now that sounds like something you'd enjoy doing," Mum said.
"It is, so far. And the best part is, nobody objects to the fact that I'm pro-werewolf rights. In fact, they expect it. Plus, the two people I work with don't care one bit that Matt is a werewolf. The head of the entire department doesn't care either."
"That is great, Walt," Mum grinned, "I can tell already that this is the start of something better."
"It is, Julie. It really is," Dad said as he put one arm around me and the other around Matt.
******
It was kind of odd to see Dad so happy after returning from a day's work. It had been nearly a year since I'd seen him happy when he came home from work. Even before that fateful day when I found out we were moving, he seemed stressed with his job. Now, he came home with a smile on his face and ready to actually talk about work. He never used to do that. He was also working more normal hours. He'd be home in time for dinner and didn't work weekends.
As the days passed, we seemed to be settling into life in England. Dad would leave for work and Mum would clean or re-organize the house or go shopping. Occasionally Matt or I or both of us would go with her, especially if she was going some place new. The wizard grocery store quickly got boring and Matt and I preferred to let her grocery shop alone or with Ellie. If the shopping trip included a trip to Gringotts, Matt and I would always decline to go. Neither of us wanted to ride in those carts again. But if Mum offered to take us to the Weasleys' joke shop in Diagon Alley, we would always go.
However, we still couldn't put life in Australia behind us. The second estate sale loomed ever nearer and with it came mixed feelings. I was by no means used to England and still missed Australia immensely, and because of this I was sort of excited about going and seeing our old house again. At the same time, I didn't want to. The house wasn't ours anymore; it was Clarence's. It was going to be very weird to go there and not stay.
The sale was scheduled to take place on Saturday the 20th, two days before the full moon. Dad and I were going to fly down to Australia for the sale and then I would stay at Richard and Cinda's while Dad flew back to England. Then, he was going to fly back and get me. I thought it was a lot of unnecessary flying, but my parents insisted that I not be home during the full moon.
"Amy!" Mum shouted up the stairs on Wednesday, the day before Dad and I were scheduled to fly to Australia, "Can you come down here?"
I left my room and headed down the stairs. Mum and Dad (who had just returned home from work) were sitting in the living room. I flopped down onto a chair and looked at them.
"There's been a change of plans," Dad began, "About this weekend."
"You mean I get to come back here with you, instead of staying with Richard and Cinda?" I asked hopefully.
"No," Dad said, "That's not going to change. Instead of me flying down to get you after the full moon, Richard and Cinda are going to fly with you back here."
I stared at him. "What?"
"Your grandparents have decided to visit us," Dad explained.
"They want to see the house," Mum elaborated, "And they want to spend some time with all of us."
Richard and Cinda? Coming here? For some reason, the thought of my grandparents visiting us in England never crossed my mind. "Wait, so I have to spend twenty hours on a plane with Richard and Cinda?"
Dad laughed. "Yes, but the good news is that they're flying first class and so will you."
First class? I had never even seen the first class section of a plane, let alone flown on it.
"You'll like it better, Amy," Mum assured me, "My parents have always flown first class. In fact, the first time I flew coach was after I was married."
Dad grinned. "Yep. You married a cheapskate."
"So when am I flying back here, then?" I asked before my parents started reminiscing about their younger years.
"Your flight is scheduled to leave at 7am on Tuesday morning," Mum told me, "If all goes as scheduled, which it never does, you'll get here at 5pm our time on Tuesday. I would have preferred you not get here until Wednesday, but those were the only tickets my parents could get."
I nodded and once it became clear that my parents had nothing else to say on the subject, I returned to my room. Flying first class with Richard and Cinda. Now that was certainly going to be an experience.
******
The next day I was en route to Australia, sitting in between my dad and some lady who continually yakked away on the in-plane telephone. The flight had been delayed a couple hours and I was already bored by having to sit around in the airport terminal.
The flight seemed to drag on forever. Neither Dad or I talked much. I spent most of the time thinking about how this was going to be my last time seeing my house, and I think Dad was thinking the same thing. The flight seemed rather quiet without Mum and Matt there. I didn't have any private conversation between my parents to listen in on or Matt's irritating commentary about the flight.
After what seemed like forever, we finally landed in Australia. We went through airport security for what seemed like the ten thousandth time that year. I was tired and achy from the trip and had no idea what time it was.
We walked to a dark alley and Dad Apparated us to the house. I felt my stomach lurch when we appeared in the middle of the kitchen and it had nothing to do with the Apparition.
"Well," Dad said quietly, "It's past midnight, so we'd better get to sleep. The sale is starting at nine in the morning."
I nodded without saying anything.
"Oh, and here's a sleeping bag," Dad pulled out his wand and conjured two squashy blue sleeping bags.
I put the sleeping bag under my arm and started to leave the room. "Er, Dad? Where's Clarence?"
"I owled him a few weeks ago and told him to make himself scarce during the sale. He knows I own all the contents of the house, so he actually listened."
"Ok," I said, "Good night, Dad."
"'Night, Amy," Dad gave me a hug, "I love you."
"Love you, too."
I trudged tiredly up the stairs and to my empty room. I tossed the sleeping bag on the floor and sat down on it. I stared into space and tried not to think about the fact that it was my last night there. I felt empty, just like my room. I realized that it had been a mistake to come back, that I should have just stayed in England. But I hadn't even had that choice. I wished I could just sleep outside, but I knew Dad wouldn't want me to and I didn't feel like making him angry. I knew this was just as hard, if not harder, for him than it was for me.
Dad woke me up after what seemed like only a few minutes of sleep. He shouted that the sale was starting in fifteen minutes. I hurriedly changed my clothes and located something to eat for brekkie.
People started trickling into the house at nine o'clock on the dot. Dad and the person running the sale immediately began showing them around. I just wandered around like I had during the last sale.
In fact, this sale was progressing much like the first one had. A few people had shown up for the sole purpose of trying to find out 'the scoop' about my family, just like last time. And just like last time, they were thrown out.
After seeing quite a bit of our stuff sold, I got sick of it and decided to just go wander around the bush until it was over. I spent a few hours out there and went back to the house when I figured the sale would be over.
When I returned, I found Dad and the salesman talking quietly at the kitchen table. Dad looked up when he saw me come in, but then went back to talking. I left the kitchen and wandered around the entire house. It was practically empty. There were a few things that hadn't been sold, but most everything was gone.
I loitered in the corridor outside the kitchen until the salesman left. I walked slowly into the kitchen after. Dad was standing there and I walked straight towards him. He embraced me in a hug as tears started to roll down my cheeks. I hadn't even realized that I was going to cry; it just sort of happened. We stayed that way for a while, before Dad pulled away.
"We're going to have to go," he said quietly, "I have a six o'clock flight."
I nodded. "Ok."
"I'll just go collect the furniture that didn't sell."
Dad returned a few minutes later with shrunken furniture that had not been sold. "So, this is it," he said quietly.
"Yeah," I whispered, "We're never coming back."
"No, Amy, we're not," Dad replied, "This part of our lives is over. But we need to look forward, not back."
That was easier said than done. "Let's just go," I said.
Dad wrapped me in a hug and we Disapparated from our house for the last time.
******
Dad didn't linger at Richard and Cinda's. With the estate sale behind him, I knew that his mind was now focusing on the full moon and the fact that it would be Matt's first transformation in England. His transformations were always worse when anything was different, and this one was definitely going to be different.
Richard and Cinda seemed rather excited about traveling to England and they had endless questions about the country for me. I hardly knew any of the answers, but I tried my best to answer them.
The weekend dragged on forever and I was counting down the time until I'd get to go back to England. I couldn't really call it home yet, but it was where my family was and it was better than staying at Richard and Cinda's. I stayed up practically all night on Monday, worrying about my brother. I realized halfway through the night that with the time change, the full moon hadn't even happened yet in England. This didn't cause my worry to wane, though. It merely prolonged it into Tuesday morning. I had always worried about Matt during full moons, but since he nearly died a few months ago, my worrying seemed to increase tenfold.
Richard and Cinda hadn't slept much either on Monday night, but this was due to the fact that we were going to the airport at four in the morning on Tuesday. They either completely ignored my obvious worrying or didn't notice it.
We piled into the car and drove to the airport. Richard dropped Cinda and I off with the luggage and then went to park in the long-term parking lot. He met us inside and then we went through security and then to wait at the terminal. The flight was only delayed thirty minutes, which was surprising.
After an hour or so of sitting in the waiting area and watching boring programs on the television, they announced that our flight was boarding. I collected my carry-on bag and followed Richard and Cinda to the queue of people waiting to get on the plane.
Once we gave our tickets to the lady at the counter, I followed Richard and Cinda through the little passageway to the plane. Instead of heading to the coach section like I usually did, I followed them into what couldn't possibly have been an actual airplane.
I stopped short when we entered the first class section. My jaw dropped as I saw the huge, comfortable looking seats. They practically looked like armchairs instead of airplane seats. There were two seats in each row next to each window and three seats in each row in the middle. Richard quickly found our seats, which were in the middle.
I claimed one of the outside ones and stowed my carry-on bag in the compartment above my head. I looked at the seat and saw that there was a fluffy pillow, a pair of slippers, a sleep mask, and a couple bottles of water sitting on it. I picked them up and threw myself into the seat, only to realize how comfortable it was. I might actually not be stiff and achy after this flight.
Not only were the seats more comfortable, but the atmosphere was more peaceful. There wasn't a single little kid in first class. As a matter of fact, I appeared to be the youngest one there. Most of the people appeared to be businessmen and women, judging by the amount of laptops I had seen so far.
Flight attendants were already walking up and down the aisles, bringing people drinks. Richard and Cinda each ordered a cocktail and they ordered me a soda.
The flight certainly started out more peaceful than the past flights I'd taken. Take-off was still terrifying, but after that, I read one of the books I'd brought and talked with my grandparents. Neither of them had seemed bothered in the slightest by the bumpy take-off. I still had no idea where I got my fear of heights from. Nobody else in my family had it.
The food was only slightly better in first class. I still found it rather unappetizing, but picked at it because I was hungry.
As the flight wore on and we came upon some turbulence that happened to fall shortly after they served the meal, I discovered that first-class barf bags are no better than coach ones. However, I was offered multiple Muggle antacids by the flight attendants, which I declined.
I managed to fall asleep after that and only woke up when they served the next, only slightly less disgusting, meal. It was easier to sleep in first class than coach. I was able to recline my seat back and pretend it was an actual bed. I fell asleep again after I finished the second meal.
I didn't wake up again until the pilot announced that we'd be landing. I pulled my seat up, buckled my seat belt, and braced for the landing.
I wasn't nearly as achy after this flight, but I was groggy. It was odd that I was still tired after sleeping for so much of the flight, but I was.
The plane had landed an hour or so later than scheduled, so by the time we made it through security, it was already getting dark in London. I didn't have a clue as to what day it was there, let alone what time it was.
We found Dad leafing through one of the Muggle magazines in the waiting area. Mum and Matt weren't anywhere to be seen, so I assumed they had stayed home.
"Dad!" I shouted as we drew nearer to him.
Dad looked up and set down his magazine. He stood up and embraced me. "Amy! I missed you. How was your flight?"
"Long. But comfortable. I like those first class seats," I grinned.
Dad laughed, "Now you've spoiled her, Richard."
Richard shrugged, "It's good to be spoiled every once in a while. How are you, Walter?"
"Exhausted," Dad sighed, "Haven't slept in over a day. How about you?"
"Good," Richard replied, "Sorry you're so tired."
Dad shrugged, "I'm used to it. How about you, Cinda?"
"I'm fine, Walter. Although I am eager to see this new house of yours."
"Dad, what time is it?" I asked, "Er, and what day is it?"
"Tuesday, and it's around 7:30 pm," Dad answered.
I nodded. So, really, the full moon had only been last night. I supposed it had risen while I was on the plane, although I must have slept through it.
"Er, how's Matt?" I asked quietly.
"I'll tell you once we're home," Dad said, "Right now, I just want to get home as soon as possible."
That wasn't really a good sign. But I did want to get back to the house soon as well.
We left the airport and walked to the nearest Apparition point. Since Dad was the only one who could actually Apparate, and he couldn't side-along Apparate three people, we had to go in shifts. Dad took me first, along with all the luggage, and we Disapparated with a loud crack.
We appeared in the middle of the backyard and hurried towards the house. Once I was inside, Dad turned around to go get my grandparents.
"Amy?" I heard Mum shout from the kitchen.
I left my suitcase and carry-on bag next to the door and ran into the kitchen. "Hi, Mum!"
"Amy," Mum smiled and gave me a hug, "How was your flight?"
"Long," I replied, "But I like first class."
"Well, I'm glad you're back," Mum said as she turned back to her cooking.
"Me, too," I said as I climbed onto one of the stools. It was odd that I was so happy to be back in England. I hadn't enjoyed that trip to Australia at all. It just hadn't seemed real somehow. The house had been empty and didn't seem like ours anymore.
"Are you hungry?" Mum asked, "We're going to eat as soon as Dad, Richard, and Cinda get here."
"Yeah, I didn't eat much on the plane."
"I figured."
"How's Matt?" I asked.
Mum stopped slicing bread and turned back to me. "He's ok," she sighed, "It was just a bad one because it was in a new place. Dad tried to make the room exactly like the old one, but the wolf knew it was different.
"I gave him potions for the pain and dreamless sleep and he's been sleeping most of the day. I think he'll be better tomorrow. We took him to Healer Sterling this afternoon for a check-up and he said Matt didn't really re-injure anything, so that's good. He just needs to sleep it off."
I nodded. It could have been much, much worse. I wasn't sure what I had been expecting, but it had been worse than what had actually happened. What I was surprised about was how quickly Mum had told me about the transformation. I was half expecting to have to pry it out of her like I usually did. Not to mention the fact that I was home and it was the day after a full moon. That never happened. I would have thought that Mum would make me stay in Australia longer. Richard and Cinda could have gotten tickets for much later in the week, but Mum actually wanted me home before then. Was she actually softening about me being home during the full moon? I was hesitant to believe it, but that did seem like where it was going. |
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DucksRMagical
Joined: 28 December 2006
Posts: 2535
Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal
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Posted: Monday 26 January 2009 11 08 53 am Post subject: Re: In Moonlight's Shadow in topic:In Moonlight's Shadow |
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Thanks Obladi and hprocks!  This story is filled with nasty characters...
Chapter 31: Kidnapped
Mum and Dad seemed to get more antsy as the next full moon drew closer. Dad became quiet and spent a lot of time just sitting and staring off into space. Mum did that as well, except for the quiet part. She yelled at me for the simplest things, such as forgetting to put my dishes in the sink. It reminded me of how she had been earlier in the year. It was kind of strange that both of my parents were acting nervous again when they had been excited about moving just a few days ago.
I assumed it had something to do with Lubar and how he kept showing up every full moon. I still had no idea what he had done after the previous one. Neither of my parents mentioned him after I went home and I was reluctant to ask them. I did however think Ellie might have known.
"Hey, Ellie," I sat down at the counter as she was doing the dishes.
"Hi Amy," Ellie looked up, "How is you?"
"All right," I sighed, "What about you?"
"Ellie is good."
"I've got a question for you," I said.
Ellie put down the dish she was holding and looked at me. "What is it?"
"Remember that git, Lubar?" I asked.
"Of course," Ellie said darkly, "Ellie is not liking him."
"Neither do I. Did he come here the morning after the last full moon?"
"He did," Ellie told me.
Just as I thought. "What happened?" What did he do?"
"He is asking Master for a fine. And Master is giving it to him. Then Master yelled at him and made him leave," Ellie replied.
Another fine. Well, that wasn't too bad. "Did he say anything important?"
"He is telling Master that Master should reconsider his choices and that next month will be different."
I swallowed hard. He was threatening Dad. He had a lot of power, too. He could do anything. The thought of it made me sick. What was he going to do?
"Thanks, Ellie," I said quietly. I got up from the stool and went up to my room.
A few hours later, Dad knocked on my door and told me it was time to go to Richard and Cinda's. I nodded and grabbed my bag. The two of us Apparated to the bush near their house and walked silently up their driveway.
Cinda was standing in the doorway when we got there. She and Mum were still fighting. I had never seen them fight for this long before. I was beginning to wonder if they'd ever make up.
"Cinda," Dad said quietly.
"Walter," Cinda replied, "Julie did not want to come?"
"She's at home with Matt. She's been taking care of him all morning and he didn't want her to leave," Dad answered.
"Hmph," Cinda muttered.
"I'll be back in a few days, Amy," Dad said, "Have fun."
"Like always," I rolled my eyes, "Bye."
Dad nodded to Cinda and then turned around and walked down the driveway. Cinda watched him go and I ran up to my bedroom. I dropped my bag and grabbed the phone. I hadn't seen Kenzie in two months and she picked up on the first ring.
The only good thing about this full moon was that it was on a Saturday, so Kenzie was home. She came over to my grandparents house ten minutes after I called her.
"England?!" she shouted as soon as I opened the door.
"Yes, England," I groaned and she walked inside.
"Cheerio, then!" Kenzie replied in a fake British accent.
"That was awful," I laughed.
"Better get used to it. That's what you'll be hearing from now on. Hell, maybe you'll get a British accent, too!"
"I doubt that," I replied flatly, "So, can you sleep over?"
"No," Kenzie sighed, "I'm going to my grandparents' house tomorrow at seven in the morning."
I raised my eyebrow. "Your family? Seven in the morning?"
"I know, right? Totally not going to happen, but my parents seem to think it'll work if we try hard. Anyway, so they don't want me to sleep over here."
"Well, stay as late as you can," I said.
"I will," Kenzie said, "Oh, before I forget, my mum wanted me to ask if your family can come over to our house for dinner before you move. Do you think the 15th will work?"
"It should," I said, "I'll call you if it doesn't. What time?"
"Five," Kenzie answered.
Kenzie stayed until her mum called at ten o'clock, demanding that she come home and get some sleep. I watched her go until I couldn't see her anymore. I slowly returned to the house and went back up to my room. My grandparents were sitting in the living room, but I didn't want to sit with them. Now that Kenzie was gone, I started worrying about what Lubar was going to do again.
I stayed up half the night worrying about it. I figured if Dad was worried about it, there was definitely something to worry about. Dad spent nearly two years in charge of that department and he knew what Lubar would be capable of doing. Something was going to happen. But what? Lubar did not elaborate in his threat, which kind of made it worse. I had no idea what to expect.
The worst part was, was that I wasn't even home. Something could be happening right at that very moment and I'd have no idea. It was bad enough to not be home during regular full moons, but ones where Lubar had threatened my family? It was driving me mad.
I must have fallen asleep at some point, because the next thing I knew I jerked awake. I sat up in bed, my heart hammering. There had been a loud crack downstairs. It sounded like one of those Muggle wands they use to kill each other. Or someone Apparating.
I crept out of bed and strained my ears. Why would someone be Apparating into Richard and Cinda's house? Were they some kind of wizard burglar who robbed Muggles? Or could it be Lubar? Did he somehow find out where Richard and Cinda lived? I shakily grabbed my wand and quietly opened the door.
"Lumos," I muttered and stepped out into the corridor. I could vaguely make out footsteps downstairs. This was insane. Who was down there?
I was the only magical person in the house. If this person was someone who wanted to harm us, it would be up to me to save my grandparents. But I didn't know enough spells. We would all be killed.
Richard and Cinda were still sleeping. They had always been deep sleepers. Richard was still snoring. I ran as quietly as I could to their room and pushed open the door.
"Richard!" I prodded him with my wand, "Cinda! Wake up!"
Richard groaned and rolled over. He squinted at my wand light. "Amy? What's going on?"
"Someone Apparated into the house! I heard it! And now they're walking around downstairs! We've got to get out of here. I don't know enough spells to hold them off!"
"Wait, wait," Richard held up his hand, "What?"
"A witch or wizard has Apparated into the house," I said slowly, "They're downstairs. We need to get out!"
"Amy," Richard sighed, "I'm sure there's a more likely explanation for this. Why on earth would a witch or wizard Apparate into our house?"
"How should I know?" I asked, "But I'm serious! That's what the noise was!"
"You were probably dreaming."
"No, I wasn't!" I seethed, "Listen!"
Richard and I were quiet for a minute and I heard the footsteps coming closer. The person was coming up the stairs. My heart was pounding out of my chest and my breathing came quick.
"What's that, then?" I asked.
"Er," Richard began.
I jumped as the door creaked open and a shadowy figure appeared in the doorway. I pointed my wand at them and shouted the first spell that came to mind. "Petrificus Totalus!"
The figure jumped aside and my spell hit the half open door. It caught fire and the shadowy stranger put it out with a jet of water from his own wand.
"Amy?" they asked.
I recognized that voice. It was Mum. What was she doing here? What was going on?
"Julie?" Richard asked and turned on the light.
Cinda rolled over and pulled up her eye mask. She startled and sat up, staring curiously from Mum to me to Richard.
"Julie?" Cinda asked.
"Mum?" I asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Julie, why did you Apparate into our house in the dead of night? Amy thought you were someone who was going to kill us!" Richard exclaimed.
I looked at Mum closely. Her hair face was white and tear stained and her eyes had purple bags under them. She looked more scared and upset than I'd seen her in ages. In fact, I hadn't seen her looking like that since the days following the night Matt got bitten. This was bad.
"Mum, what's going on?" I asked, trying not to cry myself.
"Go get your stuff, Amy. I'm taking you home," Mum whispered.
I stared at her curiously. Why would she let me go home now? The full moon was out.
"What's going on, Julie?" Richard asked, "You never let her stay home during full moons and now you're taking her home while the full moon's out?"
"Amy, get your stuff," Mum repeated.
I didn't bother asking her again what was going on. She seemed too shaken up to answer anyway. I left her standing in the doorway with Richard and Cinda staring at her and went back to my room.
I haphazardly threw all my stuff into my bag and ran back to my grandparents' bedroom. I was really worried now. This was so unlike Mum. She had never, ever come over to Richard and Cinda's in the middle of the night on a full moon.
Tears were rolling down Mum's face when I returned. Richard and Cinda were still trying to get her to explain what was going on, but it wasn't working.
"Jule, you've got to tell us what's going on," Richard said quietly, "Come sit down."
"N-no," Mum replied, "We've g-got to go h-home."
"Mum," I said as I walked through the door, "Can you please tell me what's wrong?"
"When we g-get home," Mum said, "We have to get b-back. Your d-dad might n-need to contact me."
I looked at her curiously again. What did she mean? Wasn't Dad at home? I hated this. I hated not knowing what was going on. I missed something big again. And this time it was something bad. I was afraid this would happen. Something was wrong. I squeezed my eyes and tears started coming out. It was no use. I had to cry.
"Call us soon, Julie," Richard sighed, realizing that he wasn't going to get Mum to elaborate any further.
Mum nodded and motioned for me to Apparate with her. I muttered goodbyes to my grandparents and with a loud crack, the world disappeared.
The house was ominously quiet when we appeared in the kitchen. I wasn't sure what to expect. I couldn't remember if Dad soundproofed just the safe room or the entire house. I dropped my bag on the floor and waited for Mum to explain.
She glanced at me and then sat down at the counter, burying her head in her arms. I looked around, wondering where Dad was, and then sat down next to her. We sat there for a few minutes; her crying into her arms and me with my tears silently running down my face and onto the counter.
"Mum," I said after a while, "Can you tell me what's going on? Where's Dad?"
Mum picked up her head, but didn't look at me. Instead she stared directly in front of her, towards the deck doors.
"Earlier tonight," she whispered, "Before the moon rose, Lubar flooed here. He wanted to know if Dad had built a shed for Matt to transform in. Remember that law?"
I nodded. How could I forget it?
"Well, they passed another one," Mum's voice cracked, "Werewolf Control Unit employees can now force werewolves to transform in the Ministry approved safe houses." A new wave of tears came over her and she paused for a few moments.
Force them? I had a feeling I knew where this was going and I didn't like it one bit. I felt nauseated and I really hoped I was wrong.
"Lubar shoved the new law in Dad's face and then grabbed Matt, who was sleeping on the couch. Dad grabbed his wand, but it was too late. Lubar had already Disapparated, with Matt," Mum said quietly. "Dad didn't know where the safe houses were or which one Lubar would take Matt to, and by the time he found it, the moon had already risen."
Mum collapsed into her arms once again and I stared at the window until my vision became blurry. It was what I thought. Matt was at one of those 'safe houses' right now. I rubbed my eyes and put my arm around Mum.
"Where's Dad now?" I asked quietly.
"At the s-safe house," Mum whispered, "He's staying th-there until m-morning."
I had no idea how long we sat there crying in each other's arms. Mum didn't have to tell me what this meant. I knew enough about werewolves to know what could possibly happen. Matt was surely going to be the smallest werewolf in the safe house. He'd be the runt. The larger wolves would gang up on him. I didn't want to think about what they would possibly do. There was a reason Dad didn't want Matt transforming with a bunch of adults. Even though he hurt himself every full moon in our basement, he was safer there than in with a bunch of wolves twice his size.
Neither of us slept at all that night. Eventually, we got up from the stools in the kitchen and wandered into the living room. Mum sat down on the couch and stared into space for the rest of the night. She hardly moved at all. I paced around the room over and over again, trying not to think about what was happening to my brother.
I felt worse than ever that I yelled at him the previous month when Olivia's parents wouldn't let her come stay at my house. That really wasn't his fault. It was Olivia's parents fault. I never even really apologized to him. Why had I been so stubborn? Now, I might not even get to apologize... No. I shook my head to get the thought out. I didn't want to think that way. Matt would be fine. He always survived the full moons. No mater how hard they were, he always recovered.
But he'd never transformed with other werewolves before. It didn't matter, I told myself. He was resilient. He'd recover. The healers would fix whatever happened. But what if they couldn't? No, don't think that way. They would be able to fix it. They always could. But I didn't even know how bad the full moons usually were. I'd never seen him right after one before.
Then there were my parents. I glanced over at Mum, who was still crying silently. If they were worried, there was something to worry about. That had always been my motto. My parents were smart. They knew when something was worrisome. If Matt was going to be fine, Mum wouldn't be falling apart on the couch.
Ellie came into the room at some point and was sitting on a chair across from Mum. She looked scared, too. I looked from her to Mum and then walked over to the window. It was starting to get light out. Dad would hopefully be back with Matt soon.
I gave up pacing and sat down next to Mum. She was no longer crying and was just staring straight ahead. I guess she just ran out of tears.
I heard a loud crack come from the corridor and I jumped. Mum immediately stood up.
"Stay here," she whispered.
I nodded, unable to argue. Mum left the room and I crept over to the door. I couldn't see anything, but I could hear Mum talking to someone. It was Dad. He was back.
"What happened?" Mum asked.
"Just what we expected," Dad said darkly, "This is the worst I've ever seen him."
"Matt, honey," Mum cried, "What did they do to you?"
"I don't think we'll ever find out," Dad replied.
"He's got to go to the hospital," Mum said in between sobs.
"I know," Dad sighed, "I thought I'd just pop in here before I took him there. Get Amy and meet us there."
"Amy's already here. I got her last night," Mum said, "I-I didn't know what was going to happen. I wanted her here."
"Ok, good," Dad said, "Meet us at Eastworth."
I heard a loud crack and then more crying. I hurried back to the couch so Mum wouldn't know I was listening in. She walked in a few minutes later.
"We're going to the hospital," she said quietly, "Come on."
I got up from the couch and Mum wrapped me in her arms. We Disapparated with a crack and reappeared moments later in a small room in the hospital.
Mum immediately let go of me and hurried out of the room. I followed her and we emerged into the waiting room. It was practically deserted, save for a sleeping man and a woman with a kid who had what appeared to be a fluffy tail affixed to his arse.
Dad wasn't anywhere in sight. He must have already taken Matt to the Creature-Induced Injury ward. I followed Mum to the lifts. She completely bypassed the witch sitting at the information desk. We'd been to this hospital so many times that we never bothered to stop by the desk anymore.
Mum anxiously hit the lift button and we waited for one to arrive.
"Come on," Mum muttered, "Hurry up...."
The lift finally arrived and we hurried in. Mum didn't say a word as it slowly made its way up to the third floor. She looked, if it was possible, even more worried than before.
Mum practically pulled the doors open herself once the lift stopped. I ran after her and we went down the hall to the nurse's station.
My favorite nurse was working that morning. Most of the nurses who worked at the hospital were kind of nervous around Matt, but this one always treated him just like any other kid. Plus, whenever I was there, she'd sneak me ice cream every few hours.
"Julie," she greeted us.
"Brenda," Mum sighed, "I'm glad you're working today."
"They took him to room 306," Brenda said with a sympathetic look.
"Thanks," Mum replied quietly, "Can Amy stay here?"
"Of course."
Mum nodded and then ran down the hall towards room 306. I sighed and leaned on the counter.
"How are you, Amy?" Brenda asked, "Come sit down."
I walked around the counter and flopped down on one of the spinning chairs. "Not that great."
"I hear you're moving."
"Yeah, in a month," I groaned.
"I can't blame your parents one bit," Brenda commented, "This isn't the best place to be raising a kid like your brother right now."
That was for sure. Even I was beginning to understand that. Not that it made me more eager to move, though.
I sat there, spinning in my chair, thinking about all the other times I'd sat in that very nurse's station. I'd lost count of how many times I'd been to this hospital. Every once in a while, Matt would have a really bad transformation and he'd have to spend a few days at the hospital. A few of those happened when I wasn't at school and my parents would pick me up from Richard and Cinda's and then I'd have to sit around the hospital.
Then there were the times my parents would hear about some cure and we'd all go to the hospital to check it out. I had no idea why my parents actually took me with them, since all I'd do was hang around the nurse's station the whole time.
This time was no different. I spent the whole day sitting there, thinking and worrying. I went with Brenda to get lunch, but I didn't eat much. I couldn't think about anything besides my brother. My parents still hadn't told me anything nor had I actually seen them come out of room 306. I had noticed various healers and nurses running in and out all day, but none of them talked loud enough for me to catch anything.
Brenda was getting ready to leave by the time my parents actually paid a visit to the nurse's station. Well, Dad came by. I assumed Mum was still in Matt's room.
"Dad!" I jumped up and ran over to him, "How is he?"
Dad rubbed his head and then leaned on the counter. He looked exhausted and scared. That was not a good sign. "Not good, Amy. He's not responding to any of the treatment."
My stomach lurched and tears pricked in my eyes. Not responding to the treatment? "What does that mean?" I whispered.
"It means the healers can't wake him up. As far as they can tell, he's in what Muggles call a coma. An unconscious state that a person can't be woken from by magical or medical means."
I rubbed the tears from my eyes and stared down at the counter. "And wh-what's g-going to happen n-now?"
"We don't know yet, Amy," Dad replied, "We're still figuring that out. Come on, you can see him now."
"I'll be praying for him," Brenda said as she gathered her things, "Owl me if you need anything, day or night."
"Thanks, Brenda," Dad said.
I said goodbye to Brenda and followed Dad to room 306. My tears were flowing freely now and I didn't care. I hadn't felt this bad since Matt was first bitten.
Dad pushed open the door and we stepped inside. Mum was sitting on a chair next to the bed and was holding Matt's hand. Her face was blotchy and she looked exhausted.
Nothing could have prepared me for what my brother looked like. I had never seen him this bad. Ever. All the other times he'd had to be in the hospital, by the time I saw him he looked almost normal and was awake. This time was different. Very different.
He looked so small in the huge hospital bed. He was mostly covered up by blankets, but the parts that were sticking out made me want to turn away. The arm that Mum was holding was wrapped in a bloodied bandage. His head was wrapped in a similar cloth and the parts of his hair were sticking out of it were smeared with globs of blood. His face was so scratched and bitten that it looked like, well, that he'd been attacked by a pack of wolves.
I took a sharp intake of breath and slowly walked over to him. The only movement I could see was his small chest slowly moving up and down. Despite the fact that he was covered in so many injuries, he looked almost peaceful. Like he wasn't in any pain.
"Matt?" I said very quietly as I crouched by the bed. My voice caught in my throat and I couldn't say anything else.
This was just horrible. Amongst all my fear and sadness about my brother, there was anger for Lubar. The more I watched Matt, the more anger I felt bubbling up inside of me. How could Lubar have passed that ridiculous law? Did he even care? He didn't. That was the problem.
"Amy," Mum said quietly.
"Mum," I replied, my voice cracking.
I pulled up a chair from the wall and dragged over next to the one Mum was sitting on. I sat down and neither of us said anything else. We didn't have to. We were both thinking the same thing. But I didn't want to think it. I didn't want to think about what could happen. |
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*Riley*
Joined: 30 November 2007
Posts: 2031
Location: Celebrating with good friends
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Posted: Friday 1 August 2008 12 16 56 am Post subject: Re: Plane Scare in topic:Plane Scare |
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Fawkes?
I saw that thing on the news, how scary. Apparently the oxygen masks didn't work either...  |
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*Riley*
Joined: 30 November 2007
Posts: 2031
Location: Celebrating with good friends
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Posted: Saturday 17 May 2008 08 45 44 am Post subject: Re: The Next Generation in topic:The Next Generation |
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Liam felt as though something was missing, and he knew it was Geneve.
He had a longing for her, a voice inside him seemed to echo,
'Geneve come back'
it lept repeating itslef over and over again.
Liam ran out of the shop with Harry behind now with the voice becoming more persistent.
He saw several cloaked figures ahead and he knew it was trouble.
The masked figures spun around to see Liam standing there looking awkward , he had a rip across his cheek and tattered hogwarts robes, no wonder they were staring.
A sudden jet of green light flew past Liam, Harry immediately stepped in,
"Expeliarmus!' he shouted and it hit ones mask, it slid back and Liam saw the brutal face of Lucius Malfoy.
"It's Potter!"
More jets of light and more pain followed the minutes that went by.
A sudden orange flare hit Liam square in the chest.
Pain seared through him as he twisted in agony, he would surely die of this pain.
'Geneve!' he thought, 'Help me' |
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DucksRMagical
Joined: 28 December 2006
Posts: 2535
Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal
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Posted: Friday 18 April 2008 06 14 37 pm Post subject: Re: Albus Potter and the Secrets Within in topic:Albus Potter and the Secrets Within |
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Chapter 37: The Surprise Visitor
"You're going to be fine, James," Albus assured his brother at breakfast a few mornings later. James was sitting across from him, but wasn't eating anything. With the exception of James, everyone else at the Gryffindor table was in high spirits. Exams were over, and it was the last Quidditch match of the year. The only one besides James who wasn't eating anything was Matt, and considering that the full moon was that night, it wasn't surprising.
"James, you've got to eat something," Samantha Meyers had appeared behind James and was pouring him a glass of pumpkin juice, "At least drink this." James nodded and took the goblet, but he only drank a few sips. He glanced nervously at Albus, and then looked up at the staff table.
Albus turned and looked as well. Harry wasn't there. The past few days, Harry had been away from Hogwarts more than he had been there. He had been spending a lot of time at the Ministry, organizing the search for Washburn and both Willinsons. "He'll be there, James. He said he would. You know he wouldn't miss the match for the world."
"Ok, team, let's go!" Samantha stood up and beckoned her team to follow her. James followed the rest of the team, with one last glance at the staff table. As they left, the entire Gryffindor table stood up and cheered.
A few minutes later, Albus and his friends walked down to the pitch. "Last Quidditch match of the year," Albus sighed.
"Yeah, just hope we win!" John shouted.
"Hope so, too. But Ravenclaw will be hard to beat. They've got a good team," Albus replied.
"At least the weather's good," John pointed out, "I don't think we've played in better conditions than this the whole year." John was right about that. It was warm, hardly windy at all, and there was just enough cloud cover to mask the glare from the sun.
"I hope it's a quick match," Matt yawned as they climbed into the stands.
"It probably won't be," Albus said, "We're pretty evenly matched with Ravenclaw."
Matt groaned, "Maybe James will spot the Snitch early."
"Wouldn't count on it," Albus responded, "James told me that in order to win the Cup, we've got to be at least 40 points up before he catches the Snitch. Otherwise, we'll win the match, but Ravenclaw will get the Cup. And Samantha has made it clear she wants the Cup. It's her only chance. She's only been captain for this year. Before her, it was Teddy."
"Maybe you should've stayed in the castle," Rose said sympathetically.
"And miss Quidditch?" Matt stared at her like she had three heads.
Rose sighed. "I don't know what's with you guys and Quidditch," she muttered.
"It's a good game!" Amanda grinned, "Way better than football."
"Doesn't take much for something to be more interesting than football," John laughed, "I mean, honestly, what were the Muggles thinking? How can a game be exciting with one ball?"
Albus laughed. He had to agree. He had been to one football match before. It was a community league, and Harry had taken him and James to see if they had been interesting in playing it. Throughout the whole match, both Albus and James had commented on how much better Quidditch was.
Albus watched the stands fill up, hoping to catch a glimpse of his dad. He looked at the part of the stands where the staff sat, but the seat next to Neville that Harry usually occupied during Quidditch matches remained empty. Where was he? The match was about to start. He promised James that he would be there.
"Welcome, Hogwarts students and staff to the Quidditch Final!" Todd Smith's voice boomed over the crowd. "Today's match is between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw! And here come the teams!
"First is Ravenclaw. Captain Tyler Pike, followed by Dan Burke, Natalie Cable, Allie Davies, Damien Waverly, Kate Waverly, and Zack Valentino!" Seven players in blue robes walked out onto the field, with their brooms over their shoulders.
"Next we have Gryffindor! Captain Samantha Meyers, followed by Ryan O'Malley, James Potter, Bradley Weasley, Fred Weasley, Georgia Weasley, and Heather Weasley!" The Gryffindor team marched onto the field and stopped in front of the Ravneclaws.
"Professor Oteski steps onto the field. Captains Meyers and Pike shake hands, and the teams are off!"
Albus watched as both teams soared into the air. Heather immediately took control of the Quaffle, passing it back and forth between Fred and Samantha. They flew down the pitch, dodging Bludgers sent by Valentino and Davies.
"Gryffindor scores the first goal of the game!" Todd shouted out, once Heather managed to get the Quaffle past Kate Waverly. "Ravenclaw in possession now. Waverly passes to Burke, and then back to Waverly."
"Hi, Al."
Albus turned around at the sound of his name. Harry had appeared behind him and was climbing over the seats in order to sit down. Albus moved over so Harry could sit in between him and Matt. "Dad, you made it!"
"'Course I did! I said I would," Harry replied as he sat down, "Did I miss anything?"
"Heather just scored the first goal of the game," Albus grinned.
"Awesome! She's got some arm, let me tell you. Even as a baby. I remember once, she threw one of her toys at me. Gave me a black eye," Harry laughed.
"Why are you sitting here?" Albus asked, "You usually sit with the rest of the staff."
"To be honest, it's more fun sitting here," Harry grinned, "I don't have to control my excitement when Gryffindor scores."
At that moment, Samantha scored a goal, and all the Gryffindors jumped up, screaming and hollering with joy. Harry screamed the loudest of them all.
"See what I mean?" Harry grinned, "The staff always has to contain their excitement, in order not to play favorites."
For the next hour, the game continued with both Gryffindor and Ravenclaw scoring goal after goal. After the first initial goals, Ravenclaw caught up quickly and tied the match. Both teams showed exceptional skill, and there had still not been any glimpse of the Snitch.
"Now, this is Quidditch," Harry grinned and looked at Albus. "This could be another for the record books."
Albus agreed, "Yeah, we've just got to hope that we can somehow get 40 points ahead."
"That could take a while," Harry said.
"Cable of Ravenclaw has scored!" Todd shouted, "110-100 Ravenclaw!"
"Merlin!" Albus shouted. Albus looked out over the pitch. Heather was in possession of the Quaffle again. Valentino was flying directly behind her and hit a Bludger towards her head. Luckily, she ducked at that very moment and the Bludger wound up hitting Damien Waverly instead. Waverly slipped off his broom, but managed to hold on with one hand. He got back on the broom and sent a nasty look towards Valentino. In the meantime, Heather managed to score another goal.
It became clear within the next half hour of the game, that the Damien Waverly had been injured by the Bludger. His coordination was all off, and he was having problems catching the Quaffle. This, of course, worked to Gryffindor's advantage, and soon enough the score was 120-150 Gryffindor.
"Just one more goal," Albus said, "One more and James can catch the Snitch."
"It'll be hard to keep up that 40 point lead, though," Harry pointed out. "He'll have to find the Snitch soon after the goal is scored."
"I hope he does," Rose said, "I don't think Matt can take much more of this."
Albus looked over at his friend and felt bad that he had become so absorbed in the game, that he hadn't noticed how bad Matt looked. Matt appeared to have fallen asleep and was leaning his head on Harry's shoulder. He was wincing every once and a while, much like he had been during the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin game. Why did they always schedule Quidditch matches around the full moon?
Harry nudged Matt gently until he woke up, "Wha's going on?" Matt asked sleepily.
"You fell asleep," Harry said gently, "You're welcome to lean on me, but I wasn't sure if you wanted to miss the match."
"I don't, thanks," Matt replied, blushing a little, "It's bad enough having Malfoy see me fall asleep in class, but during Quidditch...."
"I don't think he can see you here," Albus said quietly, "He's on the other side of the stands."
"Good," Matt responded. "But I still don't want to miss the match."
Albus turned his attention back to the match. It seemed to be getting harder and harder for Ravenclaw to to score goals with only two chasers. Damien Waverly was flying more erratically by the minute and his teammates had long since stopped trying to throw him the Quaffle. However, despite the difficulties, Ravenclaw was putting up a good fight. Their other two chasers were superb.
"Burke scores!" Todd shouted out over the crowd, "Making the score 130-150 Gryffindor! C'mon, you can do it, Gryffindor! Just two more goals and catch the Snitch!"
"Darn," Albus sighed, "So much for one more goal."
"It's all right, Al, two goals won't be hard," Harry shifted awkwardly to turn towards his son. Matt had fallen asleep on his shoulder again. "Madam Pomfrey didn't even want him to go to the match," Harry gestured to Matt. "But I convinced her to let him."
"Thanks," Albus smiled, "He didn't want to miss it, even if he is asleep during half of it."
"Well, Madam Pomfrey worries a lot," Harry told him, "Frankly, she wasn't too keen on James playing, either. Said he'd just recovered from his duel with those Slytherins and he ought to be resting. But I insisted that he could play."
"He seems to be doing fine," Albus said as he glanced out over the pitch. James was currently circling above the rest of the players. The Ravenclaw Seeker, Tyler Pike, was doing the same.
"He is," Harry agreed, "Staying out of the way, that's the best strategy for a Seeker."
"Gryffindor scores!" Todd exclaimed, "Captain Meyers has scored!"
"See, Al, now it's just one more goal, again," Harry said.
The game was now entering it's third hour. There was still no sign of the Snitch, which was good for Gryffindor, since they still needed to score one more goal before James could catch it. About ten minutes after Samantha scored, Heather managed to score as well.
"Yes!" Albus jumped up in his seat and shouted out in excitement. Now, James could catch the Snitch.
"As long as Gryffindor can keep their forty point lead, and catch the Snitch, they will win the Cup!" Todd shouted.
Albus watched as James started picking up speed and fly around the pitch, looking for the Snitch. But in the meantime, Dan Burke was once again storming up the pitch with the Quaffle. He flew straight towards the Gryffindor goals and managed to score another goal.
"Damn!" Todd shouted.
"Language, Smith!" Patil shouted next to him.
"Sorry, Professor," Todd said, "Now, Gryffindor must score another goal in order to gain back the forty point lead. And they might be doing that now! Fred Weasley has gained possession of the Quaffle. He passes to Meyers and then Meyers passes it back. Fred aims the Quaffle, and score! Gryffindor has the forty point lead again!"
The Gryffindors were all on their feet now, shouting in excitement and chanting 'Go, James, go! All of them except Matt and Harry. Somehow, Matt was managing to sleep through everything, and Harry continued to let him lean on his shoulder. Luckily, no one seemed to notice, besides Albus, John, Rose, and Amanda. They kept glancing worried looks at Matt, but eventually, they got sucked up into the emotion of the game and watched James's search for the Snitch.
"And I think he's seen it!" Todd screamed, "Yes, Potter has seen the Snitch! He's flying directly towards the ground. Pike has noticed it as well, but he is all the way at the other end of the pitch. I don't think he'll get there in time. No, he definitely won't!"
Albus watched as James flew closer and closer to the ground. Albus was sure he would crash into it, and watched nervously as James finally pulled out of the dive, just in time. He flew back up a few feet, holding the struggling Snitch in his hand. Albus turned to his dad. "We've won! We've got the Cup!"
"Gryffindor wins! With 320 points, Gryffindor has not only won the match, but they've won the Cup as well! Congratulations, Gryffindor!" Todd's voice rang out over the crowd.
"Matt, wake up!" John nudged his friend awake, "We've won, wake up!"
"Wha'?" Matt slowly lifted his head off Harry's shoulder and looked at all the excitement around him. "Oh, right. Awesome!"
Harry stood up, grinning, "I'm going to go congratulate James. I'll see you later. I'll probably stop by the common room, for the party."
Albus gave his dad a hug before he left, "All right. See you later."
"Let's get back to the common room," Rose suggested as she watched Matt rub his head, "We'll see James there."
"Ok," Albus agreed. He knew Matt had no desire to join the mob of Gryffindors currently storming the pitch.
Despite their slow walk back to the castle and up to the seventh floor, Albus and his friends made it back to the common room before most of the other Gryffindors. In fact, the only other people there were a few older students Albus didn't know, Amy, Victoire, and someone Albus definitely didn't expect to see.
"Teddy!" Albus shouted as he spotted Teddy sitting next to Victoire on one of the couches. "What are you doing here?"
"Came to see the match. James did brilliantly! They can't have found a better Seeker to replace me," he grinned, "And came to see Vicky's graduation, of course." He smiled at Victoire and giggled.
"Oh, right," Albus grinned, "Glad you came!"
"Yeah, it's great to be back here," Teddy grinned, "Well, I think I might go to Hogsmeade and pick up some supplies for the party."
"Great!" Albus said, "See you in a bit."
"You, too," Teddy stood up. He gave Victoire a quick kiss and exited the common room. It was really starting to fill up now, although the team had yet to arrive.
"Are you going to stay for the party?" Albus quietly asked Matt.
"I don't think so," Matt yawned, "Think I might take a nap."
"Ok," Albus responded. Matt left the group and made his way through the crowd to the dormitories.
"It's so unfair," Rose said softly as he left. Albus, John, and Amanda nodded in agreement, but no one said anything else on the subject.
The group found seats at their usual table and shortly after they sat down, James and the rest of the team came into the room.
"We've got it!" Samantha Meyers was the first to burst into the room, holding the Quidditch Cup above her head. "We did it!" She was positively beaming. The rest of the team climbed in behind her, all of them grinning from ear to ear. The entire common room burst into applause as soon as they were all inside.
"Thank you, everyone!" Samantha shouted over the crowd, "I just want to say a few words." She waited until everyone was silent. "First, I just want to thank the whole team. We couldn't have done this without any of you. We've got a fantastic team here, and I'm definitely going to miss all of you next year. I especially want to congratulate James," she turned to James, who was clearly basking in the glory, "You have done an outstanding job this whole year. Coming in as Seeker, right after Teddy Lupin, who was one of the best Seekers this house has ever had. That, and being expected to live up to your dad's reputation. Well, all I can say is you have lived up to that expectation. And I think you are definitely going to rival Teddy as far as seeking skill goes-"
"Ah, Samantha!" Teddy came bursting back into the common room, "Am I missing you rambling on about my brilliance on the Quidditch pitch?"
"Actually, no, Teddy," Samantha laughed, "I was just saying how James could give you a run for your money when it comes to seeking."
"Well, that's no surprise, since it was Yours Truly who trained him," Teddy joked.
"Oh, shut it, Teddy!" Samantha replied.
"And I get no credit at all?" Harry had come into the common room and was standing behind Teddy.
"Harry!" Teddy turned around, grinning, "Glad you could come to the party! I've just gotten back from getting supplies."
"Good," Samantha grinned, grabbing one of the bags and pulling out Butterbeers, "Then let's get this party started!"
The party proceeded much like the one following the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin match had, only even more boisterous. Teddy had not only bought stuff from Honeydukes, but from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes as well. Teddy treated everyone to a display of Everlasting Fireworks, which took the shape of Gryffindor lions, Snitches, and broomsticks. Albus and his friends quite enjoyed it, and they also played round after round of Exploding Snap. Just like the previous party, no one left for dinner. Teddy had bought enough food that no one needed to. Even Harry stayed well into the evening.
"You know, Rose," John said after what must have been their tenth game of Exploding Snap, "I don't think I've ever seen you without a book before."
Albus looked over at Rose, who was indeed without any sort of book. "Well, exams are over now," Rose laughed, "I do take a break from studying every once and a while."
"It's just sort of shocking," John grinned, "Rose without a book."
"Don't worry," Albus laughed, "I guarantee you she'll be back to studying within two weeks of going back home."
"Oh, shut it, Albus," Rose grinned.
"Hey, guys," James was standing next to their table, his grin still as big as when he first came into the room.
"Oh, hi, James!" Albus replied, "Congratulations on the match! You did brilliantly."
"Yeah, it was awesome!" John agreed.
"Great job!" Amanda said.
"It was great!," Rose said.
"Thanks," James replied, "You're trying out next year, right Albus?"
"Yeah, definitely," Albus answered, "But I don't know if I'll make it. I mean, the only position open will be Samantha's."
"I'm sure you'll make it," James assured him, "You're a great Chaser."
"Thanks," Albus said quietly, his cheeks turning a bit crimson.
"Great party, huh?" James said, "But where's Matt?"
"He, er, doesn't feel good. He's in the dormitory, sleeping," Albus answered.
"Oh, I hope he feels better soon. He didn't look too good this morning," James responded, "Well, I'd better get back to the team. See you later."
Albus waved as James left and was absorbed back into the huge crowd in the room. It seemed as if every Gryffindor was in the common room. With Harry and Teddy there as well, there was hardly room to move. Albus kind of liked it though. He wasn't a huge fan of large crowds of people, but as long as everyone wasn't focusing on him, he was ok with it. And now, the attention was definitely on James and the rest of the Quidditch team. Albus glanced around the room and saw that the entire team was right at the center of things, along with Teddy and Harry.
"Oh, hi, Matt," Rose said quietly. Albus turned his head away from the Quidditch team and saw that Matt had come down from the dormitory. He was leaning on the table and looking very tired.
"Hi," he mumbled quietly, "I've got to go now. I'll see you tomorrow, probably."
"Yeah, tomorrow," Albus agreed. During the past few months, Albus and the others had started visiting Matt the day after every full moon. Ever since the first time they had done that, Matt had started getting more and more comfortable with the idea of his friends seeing him so soon after a transformation. But Albus and the others had not visited him so early in the morning since. They now visited in the late afternoon, after classes were done for the day.
"Want me to go with you?" John asked.
"No, it's ok, Amy's going to," Matt replied
"Ready?" Amy appeared next to Matt.
"Yeah, I guess, let's go," Matt turned and started to walk towards the portrait hole. Amy followed closely behind.
"Last one here, until September," Rose commented after they'd left.
"Wonder what it's like at home?" John mused.
"Dunno, but I don't think we should ask," Albus said quietly.
"No, probably not," John agreed.
Albus and his friends stayed up late into the night, playing games of chess and Exploding Snap. Harry spent most of the evening in the common room, but he left around 9 pm. However, the party continued well into the wee hours of the morning. It probably would have lasted much longer, but Neville came in around 1 am, and told them they had to go to bed. Apparently, the noise had carried into other parts of the castle and some of the other professors wanted to get some sleep. After Neville left, Albus dragged himself up to his dormitory. He was completely exhausted from staying up so late and fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow. |
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