Harry Potter Party Supplies

Buy Seasons 29429 Harry Potter Deluxe Party Kit Paper Plastic Latex Foil and Wax The Harry Potter Deluxe Party Kit includes- 8 9 inch Dinner Plates- 8 7 inch Dessert Plates- 8 9 oz. Paper Cups- 16 Lunch Napkins- 8 Invitations with envelopes- 24 Piece Black Cutlery Set 8 Forks 8 Spoons 8 Knives- 24 Black Cake Candles 1 Plastic Tablecover- 18 12 inch Latex Balloons 6 each- Radiant Gold- Pitch Black and Bright Orange- 1 18 inch Harry Potter Foil Balloon with balloon cup and stick 3 81 Crepe Streamers 1 each; Goldenrod- Orange and Black- 3 75 Curling Ribbon 1 each; Orange- Emerald and Black . These products are officially licensed by TM-MC Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Harry Potter Publishing Rights JKR. Please Note- These items are not officially licensed. $46.50

A Muggle's Guide to the Wizarding World, a: Exploring the Harry Potter Universe From the Publisher: From Azkaban to zombies, every aspect of the enthralling universe in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series is explained, expanded, and celebrated in this literary guidebook for Muggles (humans who are often not aware of the magical world that witches and wizards inhabit). Characters, creatures, locations, and objects in the series are explored, including the magicians' school Hogwarts, the sport of Quidditch, and the practitioners of the dark arts. Enthusiasts of the series will find supplementary information on the historical roots of the symbolism and mythology used in the series, how the books and movies compare, and creative ideas for throwing a Harry Potter--themed party. $8.99

Harry Potter Deluxe Party Kit 8 guests The Harry Potter Deluxe Party Kit includes 8 9' Dinner Plates 8 7' Dessert Plates 8 9 oz. Paper Cups 16 Lunch Napkins 8 Invitations with envelopes 24 Piece Black Cutlery Set 8 Forks 8 Spoons 8 Knives 24 Black Cake Candles 1 Plastic Tablecover 18 12' Latex Balloons 6 each Radiant Gold Pitch Black and Bright Orange 1 18' Harry Potter Foil Balloon with balloon cup and stick 3 81' Crepe Streamers 1 each; Goldenrod Orange and Black 3 75' Curling Ribbon 1 each; Orange Emerald and Black . These products are officially licensed by TM MC Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Harry Potter Publishing Rights JKR. Please Note These items are not officially licensed. Quick Facts Availability 147183 Orders placed before 4pm usually ship same day. Material Paper Plastic Latex Foil and Wax Air Shippable Yes Oversized No Return Eligible Yes $34.62

Buy Seasons 29429 Harry Potter Deluxe Party Kit - Paper Plastic Latex Foil and Wax the harry potter deluxe party kit includes- 8 9 inch dinner plates- 8 7 inch dessert plates- 8 9 oz. paper cups- 16 lunch napkins- 8 invitations with envelopes- 24 piece black cutlery set*- 8 forks 8 spoons 8 knives- 24 black cake candles*- 1 plastic tablecover- 18 12 inch latex balloons*- 6 each- radiant gold- pitch black and bright orange- 1 18 inch harry potter foil balloon with balloon cup* and stick*- 3 81' crepe streamers* - 1 each; goldenrod- orange and black- 3 75' curling ribbon* - 1 each; orange- emerald and black. these products are officially licensed by tm-mc warner bros. entertainment inc. harry potter publishing rights jkr. * please note- these items * are not officially licensed. $79.27

Karlssonwilker's Tellmewhy: The First 24 Months of a New York Design Company Why would two talented and employable young graphic designers start up their own practice without any clients, in the midst of a recession, and in a city brimming with talented young designers? Karlssonwilker inc.'s tellmewhy is the improbable story of such a venture--or act of bravura or insanity--on the part of Hjalti Karlsson and Jan Wilker. It offers a telling, humorous, and always human insight into the workings of a startup design agency, showcasing a lot of exceptional work in the process. A book as iconoclastic as its designs, tellmewhy is a kind of anti-monograph, featuring fresh stories of karlssonwilker's little-known office and its less-than-romantic tales. There's the one about throwing an office party where their guests picked up clients. And the one about arriving at a meeting two hours late. And the one about calling their dads for money to pay the rent. Despite these stories--and because of others--karlssonwilker has produced an impressive body of design work in two short years. Tellmewhy shows the happy endings, including signage for New York's Stone Street Tavern, logo designs for Anne Klein, and CD packaging for The Vines. And it presents unrealized projects, like an ad campaign for VH1 and a poster that never was for Harry Potter. All share the designers' creative and humorous take on their work. Karlssonwilker intersperses these examples with its signature illustrated diagrams, faux flow charts linking the partners' biographies, work, social lives, and whatever comes to their unique minds. Tellmewhy offers both inspiration and caution for designers everywhere. $19.99

Harry Potter: Ron Weasley Standee Transport yourself to Hogwarts with this Ron Weasley standee. A life-sized color image of Ron in his school uniform will add some magic to the halls of your home or party. This free-standing, sturdy cardboard cutout stands 5 feet, 9 inches tall. $30.00

Harry Potter: Hermione Granger Standee Transport yourself to Hogwarts with this Hermoine Granger standee. A life-sized color image of Hermoine holding her wand in her uniform will add some magic to the halls of your home or party. This free-standing, sturdy cardboard cutout stands 5 feet, 6 inches tall. $30.00

Buy Seasons 29429 Harry Potter Deluxe Party Kit - Paper Plastic Latex Foil and Wax the harry potter deluxe party kit includes- 8 9 inch dinner plates- 8 7 inch dessert plates- 8 9 oz. paper cups- 16 lunch napkins- 8 invitations with envelopes- 24 piece black cutlery set*- 8 forks 8 spoons 8 knives- 24 black cake candles*- 1 plastic tablecover- 18 12 inch latex balloons*- 6 each- radiant gold- pitch black and bright orange- 1 18 inch harry potter foil balloon with balloon cup* and stick*- 3 81' crepe streamers* - 1 each; goldenrod- orange and black- 3 75' curling ribbon* - 1 each; orange- emerald and black. these products are officially licensed by tm-mc warner bros. entertainment inc. harry potter publishing rights jkr. * please note- these items * are not officially licensed. $46.50

Buy Seasons 29429 Harry Potter Deluxe Party Kit Paper Plastic Latex Foil and Wax The Harry Potter Deluxe Party Kit includes- 8 9 inch Dinner Plates- 8 7 inch Dessert Plates- 8 9 oz. Paper Cups- 16 Lunch Napkins- 8 Invitations with envelopes- 24 Piece Black Cutlery Set 8 Forks 8 Spoons 8 Knives- 24 Black Cake Candles 1 Plastic Tablecover- 18 12 inch Latex Balloons 6 each- Radiant Gold- Pitch Black and Bright Orange- 1 18 inch Harry Potter Foil Balloon with balloon cup and stick 3 81 Crepe Streamers 1 each; Goldenrod- Orange and Black- 3 75 Curling Ribbon 1 each; Orange- Emerald and Black . These products are officially licensed by TM-MC Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Harry Potter Publishing Rights JKR. Please Note- These items are not officially licensed. $79.27

Harry Potter Party Favor Box Each box includes an Harry Potter sticker sheet assorted glow stick wizard glasses lightning bolt tattoo and an owl bean bag. Easy assembly. This item is an officially licensed Warner Bros. Entertainment product. Quick Facts Availability 162806 Orders placed before 4pm usually ship same day. Air Shippable Yes Oversized No Return Eligible Yes $4.99

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Harry Potter knows no spells, has never helped to hatch a dragon, and has never worn a cloak of invisibility. All he knows is a miserable life with the Dursleys, his horrible aunt and uncle, and their abominable son, Dudley. Harry's room is a tiny closet at the foot of the stairs, and he hasn't had a birthday party in eleven years. But all that is about to change when a mysterious letter arrives by owl messenger: a letter with an invitation to an incredible place that Harry -- and anyone who reads about him -- will find unforgettable. $24.95

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DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2375 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Sunday 21 June 2009 08 49 13 am    Post subject: Re: In Moonlight's Shadow in topic:In Moonlight's Shadow Thanks, hprocks! Chapter 50: The Slug Club I began working even harder to avoid Monica after the incident during Astronomy. If I set my alarm a half hour earlier than I usually did I could get ready for class before Monica woke up and I could be down in the Great Hall before she was ready. That way I could avoid her and get extra studying done during brekkie. It was a win-win situation. Well, except for the lack of sleep. I was trying to get more sleep like Madam Pomfrey told me to, but it was hard. I was so far behind in History of Magic and it got worse every day. I was completely lost in class and it didn't help that Professor Binns's voice could put a screaming mandrake to sleep. I was slowly catching up in Charms and Transfiguration, although I was beginning to form a hatred of Charms. The professor, Professor Washburn, was possibly the nastiest professor I had ever met in my life. He clearly despised Gryffindor and favored the Slytherins in our class. Not only that, but he didn't really help when I needed help. All he did was yell at me and tell me I should practice more. Charms quickly became one of my least favorite classes. Potions was my favorite class, despite the fact that Quinton Willinson continually talked to me while I was brewing. I learned to ignore him and found he was pretty easy to tune out. "Miss Eckerton," Slughorn said to me as I was leaving Potions in early October. "Yes, Professor?" I paused near his desk. "I'm having a little get together this Friday evening at six for certain students who possess a lot of magical ability," Slughorn told me, "You've proven yourself to be an excellent potion brewer, so you are welcome to attend." I nodded. "Er, thanks, Professor." "You've been invited to the Slug Club," Willinson said smugly after I left the room. He had been standing outside the door, waiting for me, much to my disgust. "The what?" I looked at him strangely. "The Slug Club," Willinson repeated, "That's what we call it." "And do you go to these things?" "Ever since first year," Willinson grinned. I rolled my eyes. Of course. I sped up to try and escape from him, but he followed me all the way to the Great Hall for lunch. I turned to sit down at the Gryffindor table and he finally left me alone. I spent the rest of the week thinking about the 'Slug Club' meeting. Part of me was a little excited at being picked for what seemed to be an exclusive club, but the other part of me was kind of nervous about what it would entail. The prospect of spending more time with Willinson wasn't that great either. I owled both my parents and Olivia about it, but Olivia didn't get back to me before Friday. My parents thought I should go because they thought I'd make friends there. I sort of doubted that because I had already been at Hogwarts for a month and didn't really have any friends. I had one enemy, one bloke who occasionally said hi to me, a girl who was slightly annoying but liked to talk to me in Herbology, and a bloke who was constantly trying to beat me in potions contests. But none of them could be considered friends. Eventually I decided to go, mainly because I knew Monica wouldn't be there. I had heard her complaining about the Slug Club to Victoire the previous night. Victoire had just said 'mmm-hmm' every once in a while and then told Monica that the only reason she didn't like it was because she had never been invited. Monica wasn't too happy about this. Apparently Victoire occasionally went to Slug Club meetings but usually didn't because none of her friends went. I was at the door to the potions classroom at exactly six o'clock and took a deep breath before entering. There were chairs arranged in a circle and a table of food a few feet away. People were milling about, getting food and talking. I recognized two of the girls I had ridden in a carriage with on the first day. Gabriella and Georgia Weasley. I learned a few weeks ago that Gabriella was Victoire's sister and Georgia was their cousin. In fact, I learned that most of the red-haired people in Gryffindor were the infamous Weasley cousins. A few other Weasleys were in the room including the two first years, Fred and Heather. Apparently they were cousins and not twins. Teddy Lupin was there, along with the prefect, Landon Comer, who had woken me up on the first morning. Willinson was sitting down and talking with Slughorn. I wandered over to the food table, where Teddy and Landon were piling their plates high with all sorts of stuff. I picked up a plate and peered down at a pile of something that looked like chicken. "It's pheasant," Teddy grinned at me, "So you're in the Slug Club now, huh, Aussie?" I had given up trying to get Teddy to stop calling me 'Aussie' weeks ago. It was a lost cause and as long as no one else started doing it, I didn't mind. "Pheasant?" I hesitated before picking up a very small piece. It sounded like something Cinda would serve at a fancy party. "It's not bad," Teddy shrugged as he put some pheasant on his own plate. I took some potatoes and carrots and then followed Teddy and Landon to the chairs. They sat down near Gabriella and Georgia, which thankfully was far away from Willinson. I tentatively bit the pheasant while Teddy watched. It was disgusting. I grimaced and swallowed it, dropping the remaining bit onto my plate. Teddy burst out laughing. "I guess it's an acquired taste," he grinned. "Not one I'll be acquiring," I said as I took a large gulp of water. "So, how'd you wind up here?" Teddy asked, "Good at potions or were your parents famous in Australia?" I choked on my water and coughed it all over my plate. How did Teddy know to ask that? What did it have to do with the Slug Club? My heart started beating fast. Were people going to find out about Matt before he even had a chance to enter Hogwarts? "You ok?" Teddy looked at me strangely. "Yeah," I coughed. I could feel my cheeks turning red. "But why would you think my parents are famous?" "You don't know much about the Slug Club, do you?" "Er, no." Teddy laughed. "There's two ways you can get into the Slug Club. One, you're good at potions. Two, your parents or grandparents or some other relative are famous. Slughorn likes to establish contacts with famous people. That's how I got into this club. It definitely wasn't my potions ability. I'm rubbish at brewing. Must have inherited my dad's brewing ability. My mum was an auror who fought in the war against Voldemort. My dad fought against Voldemort, too, even though he wasn't an auror. Both of them were in the Order of the Phoenix. They died in the final battle." I nodded. "Victoire told me about that." Voldemort? Order of the Phoenix? Final battle? I really needed to get to that book Victoire recommended. "So what is it, then? Potions or parents?" "Potions," I told him, "My parents aren't famous." Not in England, that is, but I didn't tell him that. "Like Landon, then," Teddy gestured to his friend, "He tutors me in potions. If it weren't for him, I'd be failing." "You're hardly passing as it is," Landon replied. "You'd better step up the tutoring, then," Teddy laughed. "There's only so much I can do," Landon sighed, "I think you were born without the potions section of your brain." "Welcome, everyone!" Slughorn stood up, "I think we're all here now. We have one new member since our September meeting. Everyone say hello to Amy Eckerton." Slughorn gestured to me and everyone muttered hello. I blushed even more and waved. "Miss Eckerton has proved herself to be a most brilliant potions brewer!" Slughorn said excitedly, "Perhaps the best in her year, no offense to Mr. Willinson." Willinson did in fact look offended, but said nothing. He merely continued chewing his pheasant and glared at me. "Now, Amy," Slughorn went on, "Might you tell us a bit about your family? And what made your parents decide to move from, Australia, right?" I groaned inwardly. I shouldn't have came. I should have known this would happen. Everyone, including Slughorn, was watching me and waiting for me to explain why I had moved to England. "Er, well, my dad's working at the Ministry. In Werewolf Support Services," I said quietly, "And we did move from Australia." "Interesting!" Slughorn replied, "Very interesting career choice. And did he do that sort of work in Australia?" "Erm, yeah," I muttered. "Then why did you move?" a Hufflepuff who looked to be a little older than me asked. "Uh," I stammered, "The Ministry was downsizing. Budget cuts. So my dad got let go. He found a new job up here and that's it." "Ah, yes, budgets," Slughorn sighed, "A necessary, but irritating fact of life. And sadly Werewolf Support Services is always the first to go." I nodded, hoping that he would divert the conversation from werewolves. The last thing I wanted was for the club to debate the importance of Werewolf Support Services. Although I had a feeling Teddy would at least share my opinion. Luckily one of the Ravenclaws announced that her cousin had just signed a contract to become the Wimbourne Wasps's new Chaser, so the conversation turned to Quidditch. I paid vague attention while I ate my potatoes and carrots. The meeting was actually rather boring. I found myself stealing glances at the clock a few times and wondering what time Slughorn would decide to end the meeting. It finally ended shortly before eight o'clock and I left with Teddy and Landon. "What did you think?" Teddy asked as we walked back to Gryffindor. "That was one of the most boring things I've ever experienced and that includes fancy dinners with my grandparents," I said, "Why in the name of Merlin do you two go?" "Slughorn's got connections," Landon replied, "He might be able to help me get a job once I'm out of here." "I'm hoping for extra credit in potions," Teddy grinned, "Haven't gotten it yet, but I'm still trying." "You're hopeless," Landon laughed. "Well, I have no idea what I want to do when I graduate and I don't think I need any extra credit in potions," I replied, "I don't think I'm going to go to another one of those." "Suit yourself," Teddy shrugged, "But you'll come back once you realize you've got a craving for pheasant." I cringed at the thought of eating pheasant again and shook my head. Teddy certainly had a good sense of humor. He seemed to like everyone. I'd noticed that he was often the center of attention in the common room. Victoire was often with him, when she wasn't with Monica, and the two of them seemed to be really good friends. ****** The common room was buzzing with excitement the next morning. There was a large crowd around the notice board and quite a few people were talking about 'stocking up' on stuff. I waited until most of the crowd had dissipated and went to see what all the excitement was about. There was a note on the board that announced the first Hogsmeade visit of the year. It was in two weeks, on the nineteenth. Brilliant, I thought, I could use a break from school. From what little I'd seen of Hogsmeade during our trip to Hogwarts, it seemed to be a cute village. It would be fun to explore it some more. After brekkie I went back up to my dormitory and wrote another letter to my parents. I wanted to know if they could go to Hogsmeade when I was going. I hadn't seen them in over a month and I was missing them more than I wanted to admit. I had gotten so used to seeing them everyday and Hogwarts didn't have holidays every few weeks like the Australian School of Sorcery did. I wouldn't get to go home until Christmas. My weekend was full of studying and just wandering around the grounds. I liked walking near the Forbidden Forest and tried to see what was in it without actually stepping foot in the place. What I wanted to do was go explore it, but was too afraid to get caught. Mum and Dad's reply arrived Sunday night while I was eating dinner. Pollux still hadn't gotten the hang of delivering mail at the same time as the other owls. I hurried up to my dormitory and shut the hangings around my bed before I opened it. Dear Amy, We're sorry to hear that the Slug Club was a bit of a disaster. At least those two boys, Teddy and Landon, seem nice. Don't feel that you have to attend another one of those if you don't want to. The Hogsmeade visit sounds like fun. Unfortunately, it is the day after the full moon. It's not likely that either of us will be able to meet you. One of us will need to be home with Matt, and Dad thinks he'll have to work that morning. We'll let you know if his work schedule changes. Your birthday is the week after. We'll owl Professor Kendrick and see if we could go with you to Hogsmeade that weekend. It's a better time. Try and have fun in Hogsmeade. Maybe you could see if some of the other girls in your dormitory would go with you? Write soon. We love you and miss you. Love, Mum, Dad, Matt, and Ellie I put the letter back in its envelop and sighed. I leaned back against my pillows and stared at the top of my bed. The full moon was the day before the Hogsmeade visit. I hadn't even realized that. Of course they wouldn't be able to go. I guess I would be going to Hogsmeade alone. Victoire would be going with Monica and I did not want to go with her. The other girls always talked about Quidditch and I didn't want to spend a whole day doing that. They pretty much ignored me anyway. I couldn't just ask if they'd go to Hogsmeade with me. Maybe my family would be able to go on my birthday. To be honest, I had almost forgotten it was coming up. My past three birthdays had been spent with Olivia in our dormitory. We always threw each other mini parties on each other's birthdays. That wasn't going to happen this year. No one in my dormitory would so much as mutter a 'happy birthday' on their way out the door. I heard footsteps come into the room and I hoped it was Samantha or one of her friends, not Monica and Victoire. "I think Eckerton is here," Monica said. No such luck. "So?" Victoire replied. "I'm surprised she's not in the library, studying," Monica went on, "That's all she ever does." "Maybe she wants to get good grades," Victoire muttered, "Until this year, you studied a lot, too." "I know. I just don't see the point anymore. I still get decent marks when I don't study. I'd rather just spend more time having fun." "You know it's best to have marks that are better than decent," Victoire told her, "You'll need them when you go to look for a job when we graduate." "Well, I don't know what I want to do with my life," Monica said and I heard a bed creak, "We haven't all had our lives planned out since first year." "I have not," Victoire replied. "Yes, you have," Monica laughed, "You're going to become a Healer and marry Teddy Lupin. You'll probably have two or three kids. At least one of them will have a French name." Teddy Lupin? How could Monica think Victoire was going to marry him? They weren't even going out, as far as I knew. I thought it was pretty strange to know who you wanted to marry at the age of fourteen anyway. I certainly had no idea. "I do not!" Victoire shouted, "Teddy's just a friend! I've known him since I was born. We grew up together." "Which is what makes it so adorable," Monica giggled, "Oh, come on, you know you like him." "I don't," Victoire muttered. "You'll have a perfect life together. Like a fairy tale. The poor orphan boy whose parents died working to defeat an evil wizard falls in love with the beautiful quarter veela girl who led a sheltered life. You get married, have three beautiful children, and everything's perfect," Monica sighed. Quarter-veela? No wonder Victoire was so pretty. That explained her and Gabriella's white blonde hair. I had noticed that they were the only ones out of the Weasley cousins who didn't have red hair. I guess the veela blood overcame the red hair gene. "Monica, you've been reading too many love stories," Victoire groaned, "Real life doesn't work that way." That was for sure, I thought. My family was proof of that. My parents' lives had been like a fairy tale, until they had trouble getting pregnant. But then when I was born, the fairy tale was back. Then it shattered in mere minutes when Matt had been bitten. Nothing ever stayed perfect. I was sort of surprised that Monica was the one to bring all of this up. I would never have guessed her to be the hopeless romantic of the dormitory. It was a complete contrast to the girl who had been making fun of me for the past month. "Maybe not usually," Monica said, "But if it would work for anyone, it would be you. Anyway, you're still set on becoming a healer, right?" "As long as I keep my potions grade up," Victoire sighed, "I have to get at least an E on my O.W.L. next year." I had no idea what an O.W.L. was. It did sound vaguely familiar, like it was one of those things Kendrick had mentioned when I was sorted. That was something I'd have to find out soon, though, if it was happening the next year. "Maybe you could get Teddy to help you," Monica said. Both of them burst out laughing and I smirked. "I'll muddle through," Victoire said. "Of course you will," Monica replied, "You're smart." "So are you, if you'd just study," Victoire said. ****** The next couple of weeks went by fast and soon it was the night before the Hogsmeade visit. Dad had owled me earlier in the day and told me that he had to work the next day and wouldn't be able to meet me in Hogsmeade. I hadn't really thought that he'd be able to go, but I was still disappointed. It was also the night of the full moon. The common room was noisy and filled with excitement which greatly contrasted my own mood. I was sitting off by myself trying to read a History of Magic book. I wasn't really concentrating on it, though. I was staring out the window, watching the moon, and thinking about Matt. There was a howl of laughter and I turned to look at the middle of the common room. Teddy had morphed to look like Professor Washburn and was giving a speech in which he professed an unhealthy love for hippogriffs. I had no doubt that the story was fake, but it was still incredibly funny. I laughed to myself and tried to get back to my reading. I had only seen Teddy morph a few times, but it no longer shocked me. The first time I saw him change his hair, my jaw dropped to the floor, which sent Teddy into hysterics. I didn't really want to stay in the common room and listen to the happy chatter of the other Gryffindors, but I had no other place to go. Monica was in our dormitory with a few sixth year friends and I didn't want to go up there. Victoire wasn't with them. She was with Teddy. I was half tempted to wander to the Hospital Wing and just stay there for the night. I hadn't been there since the last full moon when I had spilled my guts to Madam Pomfrey. I didn't want to repeat that, but I had a feeling that Madam Pomfrey wouldn't question why I was there if I showed up tonight. But at the same time, I didn't want to get in the habit of going there every month. I wound up just staying in the common room until it emptied out. The younger students started going up to their dormitories around eleven and by one in the morning, the place was deserted. I wasn't tired and had no desire to go up to my dormitory until I knew the other girls were asleep. I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. I hadn't gotten a decent night's sleep on the night of a full moon in nearly three years. Even when I went to school in Australia I had sleepless nights during full moons. Eventually I went up to my dormitory and laid down in my bed. Whoever snores (I still hadn't figured it out yet) was snoring, but I didn't bother using the silencing charm since I wasn't really tired. The next thing I knew I was waking up to the sound of an owl hooting. I cracked my eyes open and squinted in the sunlight. I glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost noon. I sat up and yawned. Pollux was sitting on the foot of my bed with a letter wrapped around his left leg. I laughed to myself as Pollux flew over to me. I doubted he was ever going to deliver letters at the right time. Although I had slept through brekkie that day. I untied the letter and patted Pollux on the head. He hooted and then flew out the window. I opened the letter and began to read it. Dear Amy, I'm not sure if you'll get this before you go to Hogsmeade or not, but if you do, we hope you have fun. Get out of the castle and enjoy yourself. It's your chance to explore the village without us telling you where to go. You've always wanted to do that. The full moon was last night, although I'm sure you know that. It was a bad one. Matt had been sicker than usual for the days leading up to it. We think he actually caught the flu a few days ago. It's never good when he catches a bug right before the full moon. He's pretty sick right now. We're going to take him to St. Mungo's if he isn't a little better by the afternoon. We just wanted to let you know. Don't worry too much. We'll keep you updated. Have fun in Hogsmeade. Love, Dad P.S. Pollux is a very smart owl. He was sitting on the deck this morning, right when the sun rose, like he knew we had a letter to send to you. Have fun in Hogsmeade. That wasn't going to happen now. My stomach churned as I stuffed the letter back in its envelope. How could I have fun in Hogsmeade knowing that Matt was really sick? It wasn't fair. He just got over the injuries from the full moon at the transformation center in Australia. Why did he have to catch the flu right around the full moon? Matt had caught the flu right before the full moon once before, about a year ago. I hadn't been home at the time, but Mum and Dad had told me what had happened. It was bad for him to get sick right before the full moon because then his system was already run down and trying to recover from whatever bug he had, and then he had to turn into a wolf. It had taken him a week to recover the last time it had happened. I got out of bed and got dressed. Everyone else in my dormitory was gone, presumably in Hogsmeade. I wasn't really in the mood to do anything fun, but figured going to Hogsmeade might take my mind off Matt. My only other choice was to wander around the castle all day.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2375 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Sunday 31 May 2009 08 32 57 pm    Post subject: Re: Where are they in the Half Blood Prince Movie posters? in topic:Where are they in the Half Blood Prince Movie posters? The posters are brilliant! I love the one with a close up of Harry's face and Dumbledore's reflection in his glasses. That one's been out for a while, though. I saw Yes, Man and I got so excited when I watched that part! I was watching it with my friends and they all looked at me when that part came on. Especially since they had that Harry Potter party, which was sort of like a very mini version of LeakyCon.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2375 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Tuesday 21 April 2009 11 01 28 am    Post subject: Re: Life Is Good in topic:Life Is Good Sorry I haven't updated this in a while. Life has been busy. (Pretend the lyrics and the Hogwarts letter are in italics. I'll fix it once the bbcode is reinstated). Chapter 4: It's Only Getting Better [i]Days are different then they were before And we both exchange It's only getting better ~Only Getting Better[/i], Jared Campbell Eleven-year-old John Malcolm Brickston was running around in a large circle as fast as he possibly could. He, along with two other boys, was spinning the merry-go-round in the park across the street from his house as fast as he could. A fourth boy was on the merry-go-round shrieking in delight. It was a daily thing for John, playing with the other boys in his neighborhood at the park. They particularly liked spinning each other until they felt sick on the merry-go-round. Other activities included trying to push each other off the monkey bars and jumping off of the swings. They often spent all day doing this, until one of their mothers called them inside. John had fun playing with the other boys from his neighborhood even though he was quite different from them. John was a wizard and all of his neighborhood friends were Muggles. John's family was the only wizarding family living in a neighborhood of Muggles. He didn't mind, of course. He was actually glad he lived in a neighborhood full of people to play with, rather than in the middle of nowhere like so many other wizards did. Most of his cousins didn't have any close neighbors. Without the neighborhood boys around, the only people John would have had to play with were his sisters. John had three of them and while he loved them, they got on his nerves. They were all younger than him and drove him mental on a daily basis. Despite having so many Muggle friends, John could not wait to get to Hogwarts where he could meet other wizards his age. He knew a couple witches and wizards his age whose parents worked with his dad, but he didn't see them too often. Then there were his cousins, but they were all younger than him. John had been trying not to think about his Hogwarts letter, which he knew would be arriving soon. Thinking about it just made the time go by slower. So, he tried to get his mind off of it by goofing off at the playground. "Enough, enough!" the boy on the merry-go-round shouted. John and the other two boys stepped back and watched it slow down. Once it had almost stopped, the boy jumped off and stumbled around, falling on the ground. John and the others crowded around him. "My turn!" John shouted as the dizzy boy sat up. "Johnny!" someone shouted from the entrance to the park. John turned his head towards the voice and groaned. It was his mother. The previous day she had made him watch over his little sisters when they played at the park and he really didn't want to do that again. But his sisters weren't with his mum, so maybe she wanted something else. "What?" John shouted. "You need to come home now!" she shouted back. John groaned again and reluctantly said goodbye to his friends. He hated it when his mum called him home without explaining why. "Why do I have to go home now?" John asked as he reached his mum, "It's not dinner time." "Your letter arrived," she said and began to walk across the street. That was probably the only thing she could have said to make John no longer mind leaving his friends. He grinned and ran to catch up with his mum. Now it was official, he was going to Hogwarts! John's house was in its usual state of chaos when he entered it. Not two seconds after they stepped in the door, his second youngest sister, Alyssa, ran up them screaming about how Cassie had taken her toy. Alyssa was six and Cassie, one of their many cousins, was five. At any given moment there were probably five or six little kids at John's house. He had a lot of cousins who were all younger than him. His mother was a stay at home mum, but a few of his aunts worked outside the home. They often dropped their kids off at John's house while they were at work. Or when they had to go shopping. It was just another reason why John enjoyed spending his free time outside, away from the little kids. That day, all his little sisters were home, of course. Plus, Cassie and her older sister, Isabelle, who was ten, were there. "Your Aunt Pam is grocery shopping," his mother, Jan, replied as she picked up Alyssa. John nodded and stepped over a pile of Wendy Witch dolls that Ashtyn, his nine-year-old sister must have left in the doorway. "Ashtyn, pick up your toys!" Jan shouted as she carried Alyssa back into the den. Ashtyn and Isabelle came running through the house, scooped up the dolls, and ran back to wherever they came from. "Where's my letter?" John asked as Jan set Alyssa back down on the floor. "It's here somewhere," Jan said as she rifled through a stack of mail, "Merlin! I just had it a second ago. Hang on." John sighed as he leaned against the wall. He couldn't wait to get to Hogwarts. Then he wouldn't have to deal with all his little sisters and cousins anymore. He would be in a place where he was one of the youngest people. That rarely happened. John had always been the oldest, the one who was expected to be mature. "Mum!" Ashtyn shrieked from upstairs, "I think John put a dung bomb in the toilet again!" John grinned. He may be expected to be mature, but he wasn't. Pulling pranks was one of his favorite things to do and the dung bomb in the toilet never got old, especially when Ashtyn was on the receiving end of it. Jan sent him a withering look. "I cringe to think about the amount of owls I'll be getting from Professor Kendrick about the mischief you get into next year," she sighed, "Ashtyn, just flush it like usual!" "Mum, she won't give it back!" Alyssa whined. Jan groaned and walked over to the two girls, who were still fighting over a stuffed dragon. Jan wrenched it from Cassie's hands and stuck it up on a high shelf. She continued searching for John's letter while Alyssa and Cassie complained. "I think I found it," John said as he bent down. Three-year-old Gemma was holding a torn envelope in her hands and giggling playfully. John grabbed it from her and she burst out crying. Jan picked her up as John took off for his bedroom, the only toddler free place in the entire house. The letter wasn't completely destroyed, much to John's relief. He had caught Gemma before she was able to do a lot of damage. The envelope was completely illegible, but the letter inside was spared from tears and baby slobber. John tossed aside the damp envelope and unfolded the letter. He grinned widely as he read it, even though he already knew the gist of what it said. [i]Dear Mr. Brickston, We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Enclosed is a list of books and materials you will need to purchase. Please note that first years are not allowed to bring their own broomsticks. Please reply to this letter as soon as possible to let us know if you are attending. The Hogwarts Express will leave at exactly 11 in the morning on September first from King's Cross Station, Platform 9 3/4. Sincerely, Padma Patil Deputy Headmistress[/i] He was in! John laid down on his bed and stared up at his ceiling. Of course he was in. There was never any doubt. Everyone in his entire family had gone to Hogwarts for as far back as anyone could remember. As far as he knew, his family didn't have any Squibs. John had been looking forward to Hogwarts for a very long time. His parents had all sorts of stories to tell of the place. Although, their education had been interrupted due to the final battle and Voldemort's defeat. They had only been first years at the time and Hogwarts had closed for a year in order for it to be rebuilt. But after that, his parents had had a somewhat normal education. There were all sorts of things that John was looking forward to. The Sorting (although his parents refused to tell him how it was done), the feasts, exploding potions, Peeves, Quidditch, Hogsmeade trips when he got older, the Gryffindor common room. John was sure he'd get into Gryffindor even though his mum had been a Hufflepuff. His dad was a Gryffindor and everyone said he took after his dad. John's dad, Jeff Brickston, had been the Hogwarts prankster when he was in school. John couldn't wait to pull some pranks of his own. His dad had promised to get him well supplied with stuff from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, although his mum wasn't too happy about it. John remained in his room for the rest of the afternoon. A glance out the window told him that his Muggle friends had left the park. It would have been boring for him to go back. Instead, he stayed in his room and pulled out his old but trusty Nimbus Two Thousand and One. The broom had been his dad's when he was at Hogwarts. John grabbed a bottle of polish and began to rub it into the worn wood. Jeff had given it to John when he was only five and John had been flying on it ever since. If John had to pick the one thing he was most looking forward to at Hogwarts, it would be Quidditch. John had been flying for as long as he could remember and he had hopes of making it onto the Gryffindor Quidditch team. If he was sorted into Gryffindor, that is. He just hoped that there was a beater position open at the right time. He doubted he'd get chosen as a beater in his second year due to the fact that beaters were generally quite a lot bigger than the rest of the players. But if a beater position opened when he was in fourth or fifth year, he just might make it. Isabelle and Cassie had left by the time John left his room. He wandered into the kitchen and found his mum preparing dinner. Ashtyn and Alyssa were 'helping'. "Can we go to Diagon Alley tomorrow?" John asked as he grabbed a carrot out of a bowl. "I don't know," Jan replied, "Your Aunt Jodie is working tomorrow and I have to watch Stephanie as well as the twins. I don't particularly want to drag three extra kids to Diagon Alley especially when two are babies. It may have to wait until the weekend. And please don't eat the carrots." John sighed and sat down at the table. He didn't want to wait until the weekend. He wished his mum didn't watch all of his little cousins all the time. "I'm home!" someone shouted from the den. John jumped up from his chair and ran into the den. He saw his dad brushing ash off of his bright green healer robes. John grinned as he saw his great-great grandpa standing just behind his dad. "Gramps!" John shouted, "What are you doing here?" "Went to Mungo's," he replied, "Had to get this dang hip checked out. Then Jeffrey here invited me to dinner." John's great-great grandpa, Zander Brickston, was over one hundred years old but was usually healthy as a hippogriff. He was a bit senile and forgetful at times, but it never bothered him. He was often the life of the party, too, despite his age. John loved him. "I got my Hogwarts letter!" John said excitedly as he pulled the letter out of his pocket. "Congratulations," Jeff grinned and gave John a one-armed hug as he set his bag down. "Well done, Johnny-Boy!" Zander gave him a surprisingly strong clap on the back, "Great place, Hogwarts. Best years of my life, except for the times I found myself in Professor Dippet's office. You'd best stay out of there." "Professor Dippet's been dead for years, Gramps," John laughed. "Then you stay out of trouble with whoever's the headmaster now," Zander said and lumbered off into the kitchen, "Where's my girls?" Dinner was lively that evening, as it always was when Zander was there. He dominated the conversation with stories of his own years at Hogwarts. John was sort of surprised he remembered them so well. He told of the time he and his friends went for a swim in the Black Lake at midnight during the full moon in January. The nurse had not been pleased when they showed up at the hospital wing with slight cases of hypothermia. She scolded them and told them if they were stupid enough to swim in the lake during January, they could at least use cold-repellent charms on themselves. "Where would the fun be in that?" Zander laughed as he finished the story. Other stories included the many pranks he pulled on the Slytherins. 'Pranking's a Brickston tradition,' he told John solemnly. The times he snuck out of the castle and into Hogsmeade. The time he fell asleep during his History of Magic O.W.L. ("What do they expect, when Binns makes you fall asleep during class?") Sneaking about the castle at night with whatever girlfriend he had at the time. Jan had to shut him up at that point and she and Jeff began to relay their own Hogwarts stories. John was, if it was possible, even more excited about Hogwarts after hearing all of the stories. He wanted to swim in the Black Lake in the middle of winter. He wanted to sneak out of school to go to Hogsmeade. He wanted to paint half his face red and the other half gold for the Gryffindor-Slytherin Quidditch match. John didn't know how he was going to be able to wait two days until Saturday to go to Diagon Alley, let alone wait the month and a half until he'd be able to actually go to Hogwarts. It seemed so far away. He had been waiting years to go to Hogwarts, but he had a feeling the last month and a half would drag by even slower than those years had.
choki Joined: 1 May 2003 Posts: 3160 Location: Riding a black chocobo	Posted: Sunday 19 April 2009 09 09 04 am    Post subject: Re: RPG: The Six Wizards in topic:RPG: The Six Wizards: First Warning "A big bam party!" Buta said excitedly while Ouki gave a clueless look. "What was that supposed to mean?" "We are gonna kill more muggles!" "Haven't we been doing that already?" Ouki proceeded to smack Buta with her hand where a wave of water appeared, extending its reach to Buta's head, crashing into him and drenching him in the end. "Well, well... what a feisty girl we have..." A familiar voice echoed through the darkness.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2375 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Monday 23 March 2009 10 31 14 am    Post subject: Re: In Moonlight's Shadow in topic:In Moonlight's Shadow Ok, so I had been reading this story to my mom and Fawkes during Spring Break. I read up to chapter 28 and then realized that I either forgot to post chapter 29 or it was eaten by a forum monster. But whatever the reason, it goes from 28 to 30. So I'm going to post chapter 29 right here. I'll see if there's a way to move it to its proper place. Chapter 29: Confrontations Olivia and I sent each other more letters than usual over the next few weeks, but it was strange knowing that we probably wouldn't see each other anymore. She tried to talk her parents into letting her come to my house, but they wouldn't change their minds. I had no luck with my parents either. The two of them were very short with me and flat our refused to discuss the topic. I tried to avoid them as much as possible anyway, since I got the impression that they were still mad about me flipping out on Matt. I hadn't really apologized to him yet. Mainly because I didn't want to. I did feel bad about scaring him and being so physical, but I wasn't sorry about what I said. It was the truth. The fact remained that if he wasn't a werewolf, we wouldn't move. It wouldn't matter what the headmaster thought if Matt wasn't a werewolf. Dad probably wouldn't have lost his job either. The British Ministry had contacted Dad a few days after we got back and told him that he had gotten the job. Both he and Mum were ecstatic about this and we had a celebratory dinner in the fancy dining room. Mum and Ellie cooked steak, which was delicious. My parents seemed to be in even higher spirits after that. As the full moon drew closer, I began to wonder if I would have to go to Richard and Cinda's for it. Mum still hadn't talked to Cinda since the party and I didn't think she wanted to. At the same time, I doubted my parents would actually let me stay at home. Uncle Jack had decided to fly to Australia a few days prior to the estate sale. He wanted to pick out the stuff he wanted to keep and help Dad with the sale. He wound up arriving in Australia the day before the full moon. Dad went to the airport to meet him and the rest of us stayed at home. We waited in the living room for them. Neither Mum or Matt were really paying much attention to me, though. I was used to it by then and just kept my nose in my book. I looked up when I heard the sound of someone flooing. Uncle Jack stepped out of the fireplace with a large suitcase. "Wow," he grinned and looked around the room, "Been a long time since I've been here. Kind of hard to believe it's being sold." "Yeah," Dad said after he stepped out behind Uncle Jack, "But life changes." "It certainly does," Uncle Jack mused, "So, how is everyone?" "Better than I've been in months," Mum smiled, "Now that we've got an official move date." "Tired," Matt mumbled. Uncle Jack sat down on the couch next to him and gave him a hug. "You'll feel better in a couple days." "I'll feel worse tomorrow," Matt muttered. "But it'll get better after that," Uncle Jack said and then turned to me, "How about you, Amy?" "Life sucks," I said flatly. "Why's that?" he asked, looking at me curiously. "Olivia's not allowed to visit me anymore, since her parents don't want her around Matt," I explained, "And Mum and Dad won't let me visit her because her parents are prejudiced gits. So we're never going to get to see each other again." Uncle Jack let out a low whistle. "Wow. That is tough." "Yeah, but I can't do anything about it," I muttered. "So, Jack," Dad changed the subject, "Do you want to get started going through things or sleep?" "Might as well just get started," Uncle Jack stood up, "I've got to adjust to Australian time anyway." "Sounds good. Everything's been priced out already, but just take what you want. I'll tell you if it's something we're taking or not." The two of them turned to leave the room, but as they did so, the fireplace lit up and someone stepped out of it. I jumped and turned towards it. Ralph Lubar was standing in front of the fireplace, glaring around the room. Both Dad and Uncle Jack turned around. Dad stepped forward with a grim look on his face and Uncle Jack followed him, looking bewildered. Mum put her arm around Matt in a protective manner. I got up from my seat and went to stand farther away from Lubar. "Lubar," Dad growled. "Eckerton," Lubar growled back. "Who the hell are you?" Uncle Jack asked. "This delightful wizard is the one who now has my job," Dad said without turning away from Lubar. "Oh," Uncle Jack stepped forward and drew his wand, "You're the one making life difficult for my nephew." Lubar drew his wand as well. "I'm only passing the laws everyone else wants passed." "I don't care what you call it," Uncle Jack took another step forward. The tip of his wand was almost touching Lubar's chest, "Anyone who messes with my family is going to have to answer to me." "Is that a threat?" "You honestly need me to clear that up for you?" Uncle Jack asked. "Who in the name of Merlin are you anyway?" "Jacob Eckerton." "So you're the one from New York, eh?" Lubar sneered, "Well, I don't know how they do things over there, but here, it's frowned upon to threaten Ministry employees." "In New York, it's frowned upon to threaten kids," Uncle Jack growled, "So I suggest you quit making things difficult for my family." "What are you doing here anyway, Lubar?" Dad interrupted, "And put your wands down, both of you." Neither Uncle Jack or Lubar withdrew their wands, but Dad didn't say anything else about it. "Another inspection, Eckerton. Have you acquired a shed for your son to transform in?" "I have not," Dad answered, "Nor do I plan on it." "Then you'll face the consequences," Lubar smirked. "Another fine?" Dad raised his eyebrow, "Fine me as much as you want. I won't have him transform in a shed." "Hmph," Lubar muttered, "I guess we need more legislation. I'll be back with your fine in a few days." "Good," Dad said, "Now get out." Lubar slowly put his wand back in his robes, turned around, and stepped into the floo. A few seconds later, he was gone. "He's the bloke who took your place?" Uncle Jack asked, pocketing his wand. "Sadly, yes," Dad ran a hand through his hair. "Blimey, the Ministry is losing it." "Sure is," Dad agreed. He turned to leave the room and Uncle Jack followed. I heard them whispering about Lubar as they left. "Amy," Mum said once they left, "I'm taking you to Richard and Cinda's in an hour or so." I groaned. There wasn't anything that would get me out of going there. Even when Mum wasn't on speaking terms with Cinda, I still had to go to their house. "Fine," I muttered and left the room to pack my bag. I just didn't feel like arguing with her anymore. Mum was waiting for me in the living room when I came back an hour later. She didn't say a word as she motioned for me to Apparate with her. We left the room with a crack and appeared in the bush near Richard and Cinda's house. I wondered if Mum had told Richard and Cinda that I was coming over. Lately we had been Apparating directly into their house and I thought it was odd that Mum chose to take us to the bush instead. We walked silently down the street and to Richard and Cinda's driveway. Mum paused for a moment and then pushed the intercom button. She leaned close to it and I couldn't hear what she was saying. A few seconds later, the gates opened and I followed Mum up the driveway. Cinda was waiting for us in the doorway, her face completely unreadable. She said nothing and walked back into the house. Mum and I followed her into the kitchen. "Julietta," Cinda said quietly. "I don't want to hear it, Mother," Mum replied, holding up her hand, "I'm forever grateful that you're letting Amy stay here for the full moons, but I can't talk about it now. Not until you understand why we have to move and why you shouldn't have thrown us that party. You've been putting your reputation before your family my whole life and I just can't take it anymore." "Julietta, please-" "No," Mum shook her head, "I'm sick of it. I've explained numerous times and you just don't get it. Either Walter or I will be back Saturday morning to pick up Amy." "I don't want us to be angry with each other when you move," Cinda said quickly. Mum looked Cinda in the eye. "Then apologize, Mum, that's all you've got to do. Tell me you understand why we're doing this. Tell me you'll stop putting your reputation first." Mum turned away and left the room without waiting for Cinda to answer. Cinda sank down onto one of the stools as soon as Mum disappeared from the room. I stood awkwardly in the doorway and stared at Cinda, unsure whether to say something or not. "Cinda?" I asked tentatively, "Are you ok?" "Don't worry about me, Amy," she replied, "I'll be fine once your mother stops fighting with me." I didn't bother mentioning that all Mum wanted was an apology. Instead I nodded and left the room. The next few days were some of the most boring ones I'd ever spent at Richard and Cinda's. Kenzie's family was on holiday, so I didn't get to see her at all. I did write her a letter and stick it in her mailbox, though. Cinda was very quiet the entire time, which was odd. I guessed it was due to the fact that Mum wasn't talking to her. Richard was his usual self, but it's not like he really did much fun stuff to begin with. Half of me was happy when Saturday arrived and I finally got to go home. The other half was dreading it. The estate sale was that day and I was not entirely sure I wanted to be home for it. Mum and Dad had let me help choose what furniture we'd be saving, but it's not like they let me save it all. They let me keep everything in my bedroom, though. In fact, my entire bedroom was off limits to anyone attending the estate sale. Potential buyers of the house, on the other hand, were a different story. A real estate agent was going to be at the sale to give people tours of the house if they were interested in buying it. They would get to go in my room. Mum even made me clean it, along with my potions room, the day before I went to Richard and Cinda's. Mum and Dad had told me that I would get to decorate my new bedroom entirely myself. Well, I would plan it and they would do the spells. But I got to choose everything. I was very excited about this, because I would finally get to paint stars on my walls and ceiling. I was planning on painting the Southern hemisphere's night sky on the ceiling so it would almost feel like I was still in Australia. Dad said he could charm them to twinkle and disappear when the sun rose. I got up early on Saturday and packed my stuff. I was eating a bowl of cereal when Dad announced he was at the gate on the intercom. I buzzed him in and a few minutes later he was at the door. "Can you please tell Julietta to call me, Walter?" Cinda hurried down the stairs clad in a dressing gown as Dad and I were about to leave the house. Dad turned around and sighed. "Cinda. I agree with Julie. I'm not getting in the middle of this. But I will tell her that you want her to call you. I highly doubt she will, though. Just apologize, Cinda." Cinda said nothing as we left and Dad shut the door after us. Dad was very quiet as we walked down the driveway, so I decided not to speak either. I was curious about the fine Lubar had said he would give him, though. Was it a bigger fine than before? My house already seemed busier than usual when we Apparated into the kitchen. I noticed a few people from the estate sale office milling about as well as the real estate agent. I immediately went up to my room and stowed my overnight bag in my closet. I noticed that everything in the house had been polished and cleaned. The old portraits were sparkling and their occupants were whispering to each other, obviously wondering what was going on. As far as I knew, Dad was selling most of the pictures and portraits that adorned the walls. There were a select few that we would be taking with us and another couple that Uncle Jack wanted. But most would be sold. A few hours later, people started to arrive. They gathered in bunches on the front lawn and were greeted by the salesmen. I suspected the majority of them just wanted to see the inside of the house and gossip about it. There had been a very long article in the paper the previous week detailing the estate sale as well as the sale of the house. I had no idea what to do with myself during the sale. I spent a half hour in the living room, but felt awkward when a salesman led a group of gawking witches in, explaining about every object that was up for sale. I went up to my room after that, but left after the real estate agent brought in a couple interested in purchasing the house. Dad and Uncle Jack seemed to spend their time answering questions people had about various objects. I still hadn't even seen Mum or Matt since I returned home and suspected they were in Matt's room. My brother probably hadn't fully recovered from the full moon and Mum surely wanted to keep him away from all the curious people. Eventually I decided to tag along on one of the tours of the house. I was kind of curious as to what the real estate agent was telling everyone about it. Real estate agents always made houses sound better than they really were. I wondered what this one would say about our house. The tour group I followed consisted of a middle-aged couple, two old witches, and a young wizard. The real estate agent first led them into the kitchen, where Ellie had set out a plate of fresh cookies to make it smell nice. (It makes the house feel more inviting, the real estate agent had told us earlier.) "We'll start with the kitchen," the real estate agent said, "As you can see, it is state of the art, but still reminiscent of the age it was built in." "When was it built?" the middle-aged man asked. "1859," she replied, "The kitchen is also equipped with a few Muggle appliances, which were put in when Walter and Julietta moved in. A few plugs were installed as well." I stood in the doorway as everyone inspected the kitchen. It was kind of strange, knowing that possibly one of these people would soon own my house. A few minutes later, they finished with the kitchen and moved on to the living room. Next was Dad's study, then the formal dining and living rooms, and eventually, we had made our way around the entire first floor. The real estate agent then led us up to the second floor. She pointed out various aspects of the architecture that even I hadn't really known. Everyone in the tour seemed interested, especially the middle-aged couple. "There are ten bedrooms," the real estate agent announced, "Not all of them are on this floor, though." I noticed that the two old ladies were hanging back and whispering together. One of them then pushed the other to the front of the group and she looked nervously at the real estate agent. "So," the old lady began, "We were wondering...Where's the werewolf?" The old lady immediately retreated back to her friend and the two of them waited anxiously for the real estate agent's answer. "Uh, er," the real estate agent stuttered. "Why do you want to know?" I asked, suddenly stepping forward into the midst of the tour group. Despite the fact that I was angry with my brother, I still felt the need to defend him. "We're just...curious." "How would you like it if someone went into your house and asked where you were?" I asked loudly. "Er-" "That's what I thought," I shouted, "So why did you ask?" "Excuse me, miss," the middle-aged man tapped me on the arm, "She was just curious. In fact, I was wondering the same thing. You're being rather rude. Why are you on this tour anyway? I daresay you wouldn't be able to afford a house, especially one as grand as this." I stared at him, completely bewildered. "What am I doing here? I live here!" I shouted at him, "Thanks for calling the house grand, though. I'll certainly let my parents know what you think. I'll let them know what you all think, especially what you think of my brother." "No, no, wait!" the middle-aged man said, "I'm sorry. You're right. None of us should be asking questions like that." "Too late," I replied, "You've already asked them." "I wonder where he transforms," I heard the other old lady whisper. "Shut up!" I shouted at her, "He's a kid, not an animal!" "The Ministry disagrees," the man muttered. "Who the hell cares about the Ministry?" I asked, "The Ministry is horrible!" "Amy, could you please just let us continue the tour?" the real estate agent interrupted. "Fine," I huffed, "But I'll be telling my dad about these gits. I guarantee none of them will be buying the house." I turned and left, completely ignoring the stuttering and pleading of the middle-aged man. If he really wanted to buy the house, he shouldn't have insulted my brother. Dad was showing a man our formal dining room table when I finally found him. I waited patiently (ok, maybe not so patiently) for him to be done and then told him about the old ladies and the couple. The next thing I knew, all four of them were being escorted off the premises by Dad. The man appeared to practically be begging to stay. I smirked and waved at them as they passed me on their way out the door. The house was starting to empty out a bit. It was emptying of furniture and other items, that is, not of people. There were still plenty of people milling about. It was kind of odd to watch strangers paw through your stuff and buy it. I passed a few men wearing neat and pristine robes muttering amongst themselves about the quality of our family silver. I hadn't actually seen the stuff in years, but the idea of people not in our family owning it gave me a weird feeling in my stomach. We weren't selling all of it, though. Uncle Jack took about half of it and my parents took half of what was left. It's not like they'd actually do anything with it. They'd probably just pack it up and store it in some closet in our new house. It's got sentimental value. I still had no idea what to do with myself. Tagging along on another tour would be a bad idea. The real estate agent looked like she wanted to kill me by the end of that last one. She'd most likely hex my mouth shut if I decided to follow another tour. I wandered into the formal living room and stood in a corner as Uncle Jack and a salesman completed the sale of one of the couches. That didn't bother me in the least. I always hated that couch. It was the ugliest thing to every cross the threshold of the house. The thing was cream colored with pink and purple flowers all over it. Then there were the gold-trimmed arms, which were tacky in my opinion. Dad told me his mother had picked it out shortly after she got married. Why my grandfather agreed to it is beyond me. "Mum will be happy that that's gone," I whispered to Uncle Jack after he completed the sale. "I think we're all happy that it's gone," Uncle Jack grinned. "So I hear you got a bunch of people kicked out." I grinned, "Sure did. Dad made them leave. They weren't too happy, especially the bloke who wanted to buy the house." "I'll bet not," Uncle Jack smirked, "Well, I'd better get back to the selling." "Ok, see you later." I spent a bit more time in the formal living room and then went back to the regular living room, which was thankfully empty. My parents had decided to keep all the furniture that was in that room, which I was happy about. That furniture was what made our house seem like our home, not the fancy furniture in the other rooms. I picked up a book I had left on the coffee table and settled onto the couch to read. I had read a few pages when I noticed green light in the corner of my eye. I looked up and saw that someone was flooing into the room. That was odd, I thought. My parents had arranged for everyone to Apparate into a selected area of the yard. They didn't want a whole bunch of people flooing in and out of the house. It would have been too chaotic and messy. But I guess whoever was flooing now didn't get the message. The flames subsided and a man stepped into the room. Another man, much younger, stepped out behind him. I let out a gasp as I recognized them. It was my dad's cousin and his son. "Hello, Amy," the older one said gravely, "Long time, no see."
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2375 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Sunday 8 March 2009 01 59 50 pm    Post subject: Re: In Moonlight's Shadow in topic:In Moonlight's Shadow Thanks Obladi and hprocks! Chapter 37: Kenzie's House Dad shut the door behind Norlam and turned to me. "Thank you, Amy. You were brilliant in there. I think Matt's really making progress." I stared at him and raised my eyebrow. "What? He won't go near Norlam. And what in the name of Merlin did I do?" "You had your back to Matt the whole time. You didn't see what he was doing when you were talking with Norlam. When the session started, Matt had his head buried in Mum's shoulder but by the time it was over, he was looking at us and paying attention to what was going on. That is a huge improvement." I hadn't noticed that at all. That was amazing, but what had I done? "That's great," I smiled, "But how did I help?" "You were comfortable around Norlam. You talked with him like you knew him, like he wasn't a stranger. You asked him questions that would help Matt understand that he was a nice person. He looks to you to judge situations. He looks up to you more than you think, Amy. By knowing you're comfortable with Norlam, he'll begin to be comfortable with him. And when that happens, we can start to work through the issues." I nodded. Did Matt really pay that much attention to what I was doing? I wasn't even home all the time. He went months without seeing me when I was at school. And even though I'd been home the past few months, I had to admit that I hadn't really been nice to him. But apparently I was a huge influence on him. Dad gave me a hug and put his arm around me as we walked back into the living room. Mum and Matt were still sitting on the couch, but Matt had moved away from Mum and was playing his DS. Mum got up when she saw us come in. She gave me a hug and whispered 'thank you' and then she and Dad left the room. I stared curiously at their backs as they left. I never would have thought that I'd have such an important roll in Matt's therapy. It was kind of strange. The next few days passed in a kind of relaxed but tense pace. I really didn't have anything to do, but I wasn't bored. I read and worked on potions. Mum and Dad held hushed conversations in Dad's study and I listened in on a few of them. Most were about the full moon and started becoming repetitive after a while. Matt continued having nightmares every night but seemed to sleep fine when he napped during the day. His ankle was healing, slowly but surely. Dad had him try walking on it Friday before his next therapy session, but he said it hurt and didn't want to do it again. Dad looked worried after this and I had a feeling it had to do with the fact that the full moon was just over a week away. Sterling had said Matt's ankle needed to be mostly healed before the next full moon. Friday's therapy session followed the same pattern the first one had. Matt still wasn't comfortable enough with Norlam and spent the hour on the couch with Mum. But this time I paid more attention to what Matt was doing and I noticed that he watched us the whole time with some sort of curiosity on his face. Norlam said he was making excellent progress and wouldn't be surprised if he joined in the Exploding Snap games the next session. Mum had reluctantly called Cinda and told her about our plans to have dinner at Kenzie's house. We had to tell them that we'd be Apparating to their house. Mum and Cinda's relationship remained strained, but Mum said that she and Richard did want to see Matt. They hadn't seen him since before his hospital stay. I was very excited about going to Kenzie's house. I hadn't been there in a while, despite the fact that I was at Cinda's house every month. Mum and Dad seemed relatively excited as well. As much excitement as either of them could show, that is. They had told Matt about the dinner and he didn't seem too afraid to go. He had known the Dawes since before he even became a werewolf, though, so they weren't exactly strangers. "Are you ready to go, Amy?" Dad asked me early Friday evening. "Yeah," I grinned, "This is going to be much better than Cinda and Richard's going away party." "Ready, Jule?" Dad asked Mum. Mum nodded. She was holding Matt and was ready to Apparate. Dad picked up Matt's crutches and then wrapped me in a hug. With two loud cracks, the four of us disappeared. I opened my eyes and we were standing in the middle of Richard and Cinda's living room. I heard footsteps behind me and turned around to see both my grandparents standing in the doorway. Richard looked happy to see us and I couldn't tell what Cinda was feeling. "Julietta," Richard hugged both Mum and Matt at the same time, "It's so good to see you." "You, too, Dad," Mum smiled. "And how are you, Matt?" Richard asked with a look of concern on his face. "Ok," he shrugged. "Good," Richard smiled. "Julietta," Cinda said quietly, "I know you have to get to the Dawes house now, but I'd like to talk to you after." "I think that would be a good idea," Mum replied. Dad nodded to both my grandparents as we left the room. I hurried after him and Mom and Matt brought up the rear. Whatever conversation Mum and Cinda were going to have later, it was definitely going to be interesting. We left the house and started the walk to Kenzie's. Kenzie's house wasn't really that far away. It was right past my grandparents' property, but there was a large clump of trees in between so you couldn't see Kenzie's house from Richard and Cinda's. It was a warm night with a slight crisp wind. It was starting to get chillier. Winter was coming, although Australian winter wasn't nearly as cold as New York's. We'd move before it really hit, though, so we'd be getting two summers in a row. I could smell the barbecue as we walked up the steps to Kenzie's house. It smelled great. Kenzie's dad was an excellent barbecuer. Dad rang the bell and we waited to be let in. I could hear the thundering of footsteps and the door was thrown open a moment later. "Amy!" Kenzie shouted and threw her arms around me. "Kenzie!" I grinned and hugged her back. "Julie! Walter!" Mrs. Dawe came bustling through the crowd of Dawe children and greeted my parents. "How are you holding up?" "Surviving," Mum said, "Never a dull moment." "Life sure would be boring if it weren't that way," Mrs. Dawe replied. She smiled at Matt and then noticed his ankle and the crutches Dad was holding. "Oh, dear, what happened?" Mum and Dad had constructed the cover-up story earlier, making sure both Matt and I knew all the details. "He passed out and fell down some stairs," Mum sighed, "But it's healing." Mrs. Dawe looked at Matt sympathetically. "I'm sorry to hear that. Such rotten luck. Glad it's healing, though. How is he otherwise?" "The usual," Mum said. "Well, I'm sure the doctors will come up with something and he'll be cured." Mum nodded and we continued walking through Kenzie's house. Mrs. Dawe led us outside, where a few tables had been set up and the food was set out. Mum put Matt down on a chair and Dad handed him the crutches. My parents sat down nearby and continued their conversation with Mrs. Dawe. Mr. Dawe joined them as soon as he had the burgers on the grill. Kenzie and I sat down at one of the picnic tables and were followed by all of her siblings, including little Michael. I told Kenzie more about the move and she told me about school. Mari and Maddie soon grew bored of listening to our conversation and started running around the yard. They stopped in front of Matt and noticed his crutches. "Can I try those?" Mari asked. "Sure," Matt shrugged. Mari picked them up and bent low over them and began to awkwardly walk around the yard. Despite the fact that Mari is only a few months older than Matt, she's a head taller than him and the crutches were much too small. "Those are kind of fun," Mari grinned and set the crutches back down. "Not really," Matt replied, "I always fall down with them." "I didn't," Mari said. "I wanna try!" Maddie shouted and picked up the crutches. They were slightly too big for her and she fell over as soon as she stood up with them. "You're right. They're not fun," she huffed. "Are to," Mari disagreed. "No they're not! And they're Matt's. He says they're no fun, so there!" "He only says that because he sprained his ankle and has to use them!" I rolled my eyes at Kenzie and we stifled laughs as we listened to the little kids fight. Kenzie's sisters always fought over the stupidest things. "Girls!" Mrs. Dawe shouted, "Enough of that fighting. And nobody touches the crutches. I don't want either of you to hurt yourselves enough to actually need them." Mari and Maddie stuck their tongues out at each other and then sat down on either side of Matt. Maddie started to poke his ankle and Mari smacked her arm away. "Don't do that, Maddie," Mari scolded, "You'll hurt it more." "Will not!" "Will too!" "Will not!" "Marianna Lily and Madison Rose!" Mrs. Dawe got up from her chair, walked over to the girls, and put her hands on her hips. "Stop this fighting right now! And Maddie, don't touch Matt's ankle." Mari and Maddie both glared at their mother and then turned back to Matt. They began asking him questions and yelled at each other whenever the other one interrupted. Matt looked a little confused by this, but went along with it. "They are so immature," Morgan muttered. She was currently looking at her face in a compact. "She could use with being a little more immature," Kenzie whispered to me. I covered my mouth with my hand and stifled a giggle. "What?" Morgan asked. "Nothing," Kenzie smirked. She and Morgan used to fight like Mari and Maddie do. Well, I kind of think they still do, but neither of them admit it. Morgan is just a very irritating twelve-year-old. Kenzie and I continued talking until dinner was ready. Every once and a while I would glance over at my parents and it looked like they were really enjoying themselves. It made me wonder why we didn't spend more time with Kenzie's family. We hadn't done something like this in months. This might even be the last time we get together. I shook the thought from my mind. It wasn't the time to dwell on the move. It was time to just live in the moment and have fun. "Burgers are ready!" Mr. Dawe shouted a little while later. Kenzie and I turned around and faced the table while her sisters sat down across from us. Mum, Dad, and Mrs. Dawe sat down at the other table. Matt glanced at the kids' table before deciding to sit in between our parents at the other table. Mr. Dawe set a platter of burgers down on both tables and then sat down next to his wife. "Your dad always makes the best burgers," I told Kenzie as I helped myself to one. "Yeah. But they're only good when he barbecues them. When he cooks them in the oven, they're not nearly as good," Kenzie explained. "Why's Matt sitting over there?" Maddie whined as she squirted a huge amount of Ketchup onto her burger. "Er-" I stammered, trying to come up with a reasonable excuse. "Probably cause he didn't want to sit with all the girls," Mari interrupted. I nodded my head in agreement. Leave it to an eight year old girl to come up with a reason like that. "But I thought he liked us," Maddie said. "He does," Morgan sighed, "But the two of you were driving him mad all afternoon!" "Were not," Maddie huffed. Morgan rolled her eyes. I went back to eating, happy that the conversation had been dropped. Mari and Maddie argued about pointless stuff throughout the entire meal, but Kenzie and I were able to ignore it. They didn't eat for very long anyway. The two of them shoveled down their burgers and then started playing a game of two-person tag. It seemed kind of pointless to me, but at least they weren't arguing. After we all finished eating, the adults settled down on the patio furniture again and started discussing the move. Mrs. Dawe brought out a bottle of wine and they all had a drink while talking about houses and jobs and other moving related stuff. Matt, who looked tired, laid down on one of the lounge chairs nearby. Kenzie and I climbed up onto a huge branch on one of the trees in her backyard. We talked and watched her sisters chasing each other around the yard. Well, Morgan wasn't participating. She had began painting her toenails at the picnic table. Michael was toddling around the yard trying to play tag with Mari and Maddie, which had all three of them in hysterics. Sitting in that tree watching Kenzie's family made me wonder what my life would have been like if my parents had had more kids. I always got the feeling they wanted more, but they just weren't able to. Mum often talked about how she had been kind of lonely as a child because she had no siblings and how lucky I was to have a brother. Dad had Uncle Jack, but he occasionally talked about how fun it would be to have a chaotic household with lots of kids. In comparison with Kenzie's family, my family was relatively quiet. Our house never had the energy that Kenzie's seemed to have. Kenzie and I jumped out of the tree after a while, since it was starting to hurt to sit on a branch. We wandered over to the patio, where everyone else seemed to have congregated. Michael had tired of the tag game and was falling asleep in his mum's lap. Morgan had moved on to painting her fingernails. Mari and Maddie had given up on the game as well and were once again sitting on either side of Matt, who looked to be falling asleep. "What's your school like?" Maddie asked Matt, "Mine's fun. We played Duck Duck Goose yesterday." "I'm home schooled," Matt muttered without opening his eyes. "What's that?" Maddie asked. "School at home. My mum teaches me." "Why?" "Maddie!" Mari shouted, "Don't ask that." She lowered her voice, but not low enough not to hear what she was saying. "It's because he's sick." "Oh," Maddie nodded, "When I'm sick, Mummy lets me stay home." "That's not the kind of sick he is," Mari sighed, "You're too little to understand." "Am not!" "Are too!" "Am not!" Mari groaned and put her arms across her chest. She turned back to Matt. "Does your mum teach you the same stuff I'm learning? What year are you in? I'm in third." "I dunno. My mum doesn't mention years," Matt replied, "She teaches me maths and reading and other stuff." Other stuff like magic, I thought. "Oh," Mari said, "Are you going to be home schooled in England?" "For a couple years. Then I'm going to the school Amy's going to." "What's that one like?" Mari turned to me. "Er, it's just your average school," I said. Well, if a school in a castle was normal. "Maths, reading, science, history, that sort of stuff." "Sounds boring," Mari said and turned back to Matt, "Can I use your crutches again?" "Mmm-hmm," Matt yawned. "I want to try again, too!" Maddie shouted. Mari picked up the crutches before Maddie could and started hobbling across the yard with them. Maddie shrieked and chased her. Mari was pretty slow on the crutches and Maddie soon caught up, tackling her to the ground. Kenzie groaned and stormed over to her sisters. I followed. Kenzie bent down and ripped the crutches out of Mari's hands. "Ok, neither of you are playing with these anymore! They're not toys!" she handed me the crutches and we went back over to the patio. Mari and Maddie grudgingly followed. Maddie climbed onto the same chair Matt was on. "Are you tired?" she poked his arm. Matt turned over and groaned. "Yeah," he mumbled. "But it's early," Maddie whined. "Maddie, leave him alone, please," Mrs. Dawe walked over to us and picked Maddie up off the chair. The rest of the adults were behind her. They had finished their wine and were laughing about something. Mum looked at Matt and then glanced at Dad. "We should probably get going," Mum said to Kenzie's parents, "It's getting late." Mrs. Dawe set Maddie down and turned back to Mum. "Yes, I suppose it is. Well, thank you so much for coming." "Thanks for having us," Mum smiled. "Keep in touch," Mrs. Dawe embraced Mum in a hug, "Good luck with everything." "Are you going to your grandparents' at all before you move?" Kenzie asked me. "Yeah," I nodded, "In about a week, actually." "Good," Kenzie smiled, "Then we won't say goodbye now." "Right," I agreed, "So I'll see you in a week." "See you then!" Kenzie grinned. Mum and Dad said their goodbyes to everyone and promised to send letters. Mum even gave Mrs. Dawe her mobile phone number. The only other people who have that are my grandparents. Dad shook hands with Mr. Dawe and then gathered Matt, who was now fully asleep, in his arms. Mum grabbed the crutches and we began the walk back to Richard and Cinda's. I turned around when we were halfway down the yard and saw Kenzie and her family standing in the doorway, waving at us. I waved back and then continued walking. ****** "I'm going to miss them," Mum sighed as we walked up Richard and Cinda's driveway. "Me, too," Dad agreed, "They are a very kind family. If half of wizarding Australia were as caring as they were, the country would be a much better place." "That's for sure," Mum said. Dad opened the door to the house and we walked inside. It was quiet, but I knew both of my grandparents were waiting for us to come back. We walked slowly down the corridor and into the living room. Richard was reading a newspaper and Cinda was flipping through the channels on the television. Both of them looked up when we came in. "Mother," Mum nodded to Cinda. "Julietta," Cinda replied. I followed Dad into the room. He sat down on the couch next to Richard and held Matt, who was still sleeping, on his lap. Richard made no move to get up. He seemed to sense that this was something that was between Cinda and Mum. I sat down in a nearby chair and waited for the shouting to begin. "I've hardly heard a word from you the past few weeks," Cinda said quietly, "I can't begin to tell you how much that worried me." Mum sighed. "I'm sorry for that. I really am. But you knew we were at the hospital in London. I couldn't contact you everyday. It was hard enough to find a pay phone nearby. There really aren't many of those left. And then I had to figure out how to do an overseas call on one." "You have a mobile," Cinda pointed out. "I did not think to bring it. We left in an emergency." Cinda nodded. "I know, but it still worried me." "We're moving in three weeks," Mum said, "I'd rather not have us be on such bad terms." "I haven't enjoyed it either," Cinda replied, "But I still do not approve of this move." "And I don't think you ever will," Mum said shortly, "Because you truly do not understand what we're going through." "I still see this as you running away from your problems instead of facing them," Cinda shot back, "Which doesn't seem to me as something unique to the wizarding world." "The situation is unique to the wizarding world," Mum replied, "There is no Muggle disease that is viewed the way lycanthropy is." "You have a point there," Cinda said, "I can't think of any Muggles who have to move to a different country because their son is sick." "And that's because lycanthropy is not viewed as a disease here. The Ministry does not see Matt as a kid with a disease. They see him as an animal. And because of that, he's denied rights. Rights that every human being should have. He'll have those rights in England. He'll have a better life there." "And what if those rights are taken away in England? Then what? Will you move again?" "If it's necessary, yes," Mum answered. "See? Running away from your problems. That's always the solution, isn't it? We raised you different than that!" "When 'running away' as you call it, is the only way to keep my son alive, I sure will do it," Mum took a step closer to Cinda and lowered her voice, "I will not stubbornly stay here and put his life at risk. One more full moon like last month's could do just that. He can't go through that again." "I just don't see how your Ministry can take him like that and get away with it." "Because of the laws!" Mum groaned, "That is what you don't understand! Werewolves are not seen as people in the eyes of the law!" "Fine," Cinda crossed her arms, "Fine. I don't understand. But I don't want you to move while we're fighting like this." Mum sighed. "I don't either." "Then let's just put this whole thing behind us," Cinda said, "I don't want us to go months without speaking again." "Again, that's not something I want either," Mum replied. "I will always support whatever decisions you make, Julie," Cinda said, "I may not agree, but I will support you." "Thank you, Mum," Mum said. "I do love you, Julietta," Cinda hugged Mum, "I always will." Mum hugged her back. "I love you, too." I stared at them curiously. They hadn't really shouted at each other much. With the way they had been ignoring each other lately, I would have expected an all out shouting match that would last at least an hour. I guess the time spent not talking to each other had helped both of them to calm down. Richard and Dad looked at each other and shrugged. Neither of them were ones to hold grudges or shout at people. Well, there were exceptions of course. But the only people I had ever seen Dad really shout at were his cousin, Clarence, and Lubar. I had never seen Richard blow up at anyone. Mum must have inherited her temper from Cinda. Dad has told me a few times that I've got it, too, but I didn't think so. Mum and Cinda sat down and began talking about everything that had been going on since their big row. Mum told Cinda more details about the move and explained about Matt's hospital stay. Cinda listened intently and then talked about the latest gossip in her group of friends. Mum paid attention, but I doubted she was actually interested in it. I listened to the two of them talk and eventually drifted off to a half sleep. I wasn't sure how much time had actually passed, but Mum and Cinda were still talking by the time I woke up. Matt was stirring as well and was sort of crying. "M-my ankle h-hurts," he cried. "We'll go home soon," Dad told him. Mum and Cinda looked up and stopped talking. They gave each other one more hug and Mum promised to call Cinda soon. Dad and I got up and I went over to Mum to Apparate. She looked happier than I'd seen her in months as we disappeared from Richard and Cinda's living room.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2375 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Friday 6 March 2009 12 01 47 pm    Post subject: Re: Albus Potter and the Unnamed Sequel in topic:Albus Potter and the Unnamed Sequel Thanks, Obladi! Yep, you were right about Lubar. The lady wasn't Bellatrix, though. Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter. Also, this chapter was inspired by PotterCast and the name of the chapter has been borrowed from them as well. I unfortunately am not one of the PotterCast quartet. Chapter 7: The Incident With the Giant Squid The remainder of the week went by quickly. Albus spent all his spare time on the Quidditch pitch, trying to hone his skills for the try-outs on Saturday. Unfortunately, the Slytherin Quidditch team booked the pitch all Friday evening, so Albus was unable to cram in a last minute practice session. Instead, Albus sat in the common room with the rest of his friends, trying to write an essay for Transfiguration. He was supposed to research a famous Animagi and write a foot long essay about him or her. Albus had wanted to write about his grandfather, but given the fact that Prongs's Animagus status had been a secret, Albus didn't think such an essay would work. So, Albus eventually decided to write about McGonagall. He had a feeling half the class would write about her. "What are McGonagall's markings?" John asked, proving Albus's theory. "Spectacle marks around her eyes," Albus answered as he stared at his mostly blank piece of parchment. "Thanks," John grinned, "You just saved me fifteen minutes of research." "No problem," Albus replied. He wasn't sure why the essay was taking him so long. He knew a great deal about McGonagall and her Animagus capabilities. He supposed he just had his mind on other things, like the Quidditch try-outs. "How can she even concentrate on her studying?" Rose sighed loudly. "Who?" Albus asked. "Linda Morales," Rose muttered, with a hint of contempt in her voice, "Just look at her." Albus turned around and saw Linda sitting at a table with a bunch of books and parchment strewn about it. There was quite a crowd of boys surrounding her, including Bilius, Ethan, James, Ben, Cedric, Nathan, and a few second years Albus didn't know the names of. They all seemed to be talking at once while Linda had her eyes fixed on one of the books. "Well, from what you've said, she's so freakishly smart she doesn't need to study," Kaden said. "Humph," Rose huffed, "Everyone needs to study." "I think you're jealous, Rose," Albus smirked. "Am not," Rose replied. "I wonder what position she plays," John mused. "What?" Amanda asked. "Position. You know, in Quidditch," John explained, "She must be on the Australian team. Since she's our age, she can't be on the dueling team." "Seeker," Rose said. "How do you know?" Albus asked. "Karina asked her one day in the dormitory," Rose explained. "Who's a Seeker?" Matt dropped his bag onto the table and sat down in the chair next to Albus. "Linda Morales," Albus told him, "How was your boggart lesson?" "Weird," Matt replied, "Balladanis wasn't stern like he is in class." "Really?" Kaden gaped, "I don't think I could imagine him not strict." "Yeah. I wouldn't say he was nice, but he didn't act like he does in class." "What did he do?" John asked. "Well, I walked in and he was sitting at his desk. So I walked up to him and he got up and went over to the trunk. He didn't say much, just told me to battle the boggart. And then I did. Over and over again until I thought I was going to go mad." "That sounds like Balladanis," Kaden interrupted. "I know," Matt replied, "I'm getting there. Anyway, eventually he told me I could stop. Then he told me to sit down and that he wanted to talk to me. He basically told me the same thing he told everyone in class the other day. But he changed it a bit." Matt lowered his voice. "He said that the point of Defense class wasn't only to learn how to defend ourselves against the dark arts. He said it's also to teach us why the dark arts are so horrible. He then went on to tell me that it was especially important for me to know that." "That is weird," Albus said quietly, "You don't think he said that because of, well, you know." "Yeah, I think he did," Matt replied, "But he didn't say it in a mean way or anything. It was just really really odd." "I'll say," John agreed, "Do you have to go there again?" "Unfortunately, yes," Matt muttered, "He wants me to go every Friday until he says I don't have to anymore." "How did it go with the boggart, though?" Rose asked. "I thought it went ok. I mean, I'm doing better than I was. But he still wants me to go in for extra help." "Well," Kaden said after a few moments, "This just proves that Balladanis is a very very strange teacher." ****** Albus awoke riddled with nerves the next morning. It reminded him of the nerves he had only one year ago prior to the Gryffindor team try-outs. Only this was ten times worse. He felt like he'd eaten a few live pygmy puffs and they were bouncing around his stomach trying to escape. Try-outs were to be held shortly after lunch and Albus spent all morning talking with his fellow Gryffindor teammates in the common room. Georgia spent over an hour talking about the strengths and weaknesses of the other people who would be trying out. Albus only sort of paid attention. The rest of the team seemed excited and not nearly as nervous as Albus. Albus thought James was lucky; he was only competing against Lisa Galivant of Hufflepuff and Miranda Corner of Ravenclaw, as Slytherin was getting a new Seeker that year. Albus sat with his team at lunch, although he didn't eat much. Georgia continued talking about everything they'd need to know for the try-outs. The other Gryffindors kept coming up to him and wishing him luck. All Albus could manage to do was nod and mutter 'thanks'. In an effort to keep order on the Quidditch pitch, the headmaster had banned the rest of the students from watching the try-outs. Albus was very grateful of this and was kind of relieved when Georgia finally announced that they should leave for the pitch. Albus's friends wished him luck and he left the Great Hall following James. The walk to the pitch was quiet. Georgia had stopped her running commentary on the strategy of the rest of the Hogwarts Quidditch players and everyone else seemed to realize they were more nervous than they thought. Albus took a deep breath as he entered the pitch and adjusted his broom on his shoulder. He tried to think positive thoughts and followed his team onto the pitch. Then, he stopped in his tracks and felt his jaw drop to the ground. Standing in the middle of the pitch, next to Professors Oteski, Longbottom, Slughorn, Patil, and Polo, was none other than Teddy Lupin. Standing with Teddy and the professors were Oliver Wood and Tyler Pike, the Head Boy from Albus's first year. "What's Teddy doing here?" James whispered. "No idea," Albus whispered back, wondering the same thing. Why was Teddy there? He hadn't mentioned anything over the summer about doing anything at Hogwarts that year. Albus stood with his team and looked at the rest of the students who were trying out. The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff players were already there. Amongst the Ravenclaws were Kate Waverly, the Keeper; Natalie Cable, Damien Waverly, and Dan Burke, the Chasers; Zack Valentino and Allie Davis, the Beaters; Miranda Corner, the Seeker. Their entire team was trying out, like the Gryffindor team. The Hufflepuffs had a few less players trying out. Their Keeper, Tanner Royce was there, along with Anna Reilly and Shawn Ames, the Chasers. One of their Beaters, Andy Kaper was there. Albus remembered that their other Beater had graduated the previous year. Lisa Galivant, their Seeker, was there as well, looking determined. The Slytherins showed up a few minutes later. Leading them was their new captain, Ferris Fielding, who was a Chaser. His fellow Chasers were Peyton Haines and Hailey Odele. Their remaining Beater, Talan Flint, glared at the Gryffindor team as he walked by. Professor Oteski gazed around the pitch and then looked at his watch. He said something to the four heads of houses and then cleared his throat. Albus stopped watching the Slytherins and turned to Oteski. "I think everyone's here now," Oteski began, "First, I want to introduce you to your Head Captain and your Assistant Captains. Oliver Wood, formerly of Puddlemere United, has agreed to captain the team." There was a very loud round of applause and a few whistles from the crowd of students. Albus grinned and clapped until the applause began to quiet down. "And your Assistant Coaches are former students you probably all remember. Teddy Lupin, former Seeker and Captain of the Gryffindor team, and Tyler Pike, former Seeker and Captain of the Ravenclaw team will be your Assistant Coaches." Albus clapped hard enough to make his hands hurt. He had no idea Teddy was going to help run the Hogwarts team! Teddy must have had a hard time keeping that a secret over the summer. "You will all try out this afternoon and I, along with your captains and heads of houses will make the decisions tonight. The final list of the team as well as the reserve players will be posted in your common rooms late tomorrow. "Now, I thought we'd start with the Seekers. Everyone else please go sit in the stands." Albus and the vast majority of the crowd drifted towards the stands. James, Lisa, and Miranda remained in the pitch. Miranda was a third year and Lisa was a fourth year. Albus thought James had a pretty good chance of making the team. He had beaten both of the other Seekers numerous times. Albus paid some attention to James's try-out, but mostly he was thinking about his own try-out. Eventually, James and the other Seekers finished and Oteski called for the Keepers. Georgia practically ran down to the pitch, followed by the other two Keepers. Albus watched and he was pretty confident Georgia would make the team as well. After Georgia returned with a huge grin on her face, Oteski called the Beaters down. Albus's cousin, Bradley, as well as Ryan O'Malley did well with their try-out, but so did the other Beaters. Finally, Oteski announced for the Chasers to enter the pitch. Albus stood up with his cousins, Heather and Fred, and walked nervously down to the pitch. Teddy flashed him a grin as he entered the pitch. There were ten other Chasers besides Albus; the worst chances of all the positions to get a spot on the team. "Ok, I want everyone to fly around the pitch a few times," Oliver Wood announced. Albus mounted his broom and flew into the air. His nerves seemed to calm down as he felt the wind blowing against his face. Just think of it as another Quidditch match, he thought as he flew amongst the other Chaser hopefuls. The thought of try-outs being like a Quidditch match carried Albus through the whole try-out. He was still nervous and did drop a few Quaffles, but all in all, it wasn't as bad as he thought it would have been. The rest of the Chasers had dropped a few Quaffles as well. Albus still wasn't sure he'd make the team, but at least he hadn't made a fool of himself. "Everyone did great," Oliver Wood said at the end of the try-out, "We'll make our decision and post the team list tomorrow. I'll be seeing some of you really soon." The group started to disband and Teddy made his way towards the Gryffindor team. "Teddy!" Georgia shouted, "I can't believe you might be my captain again! How in the name of Merlin did you keep this a secret?" Teddy shrugged. "Honestly, I'm not even sure. I guess I kind of liked knowing something you lot didn't." Georgia groaned. "Oh, shut it, Teddy." "You all did really well, though," Teddy grinned. "Yeah, but there's so many other Chasers," Albus pointed out. "Al, even if you don't make it, you're a brilliant Chaser and you'll still have the house Quidditch. That's still going on during this whole thing." "Oi, Teddy!" Tyler Pike called, "Get a move on, we've got to discuss the team!" "I'll see you later, Al, everyone else," Teddy waved as he left. Albus left the pitch with the rest of his team, who were all talking animatedly about the highlights of the try-outs. Albus was thrilled that Teddy was going to be one of the captains and it made him hope for a spot on the team even more than he had before. Albus and the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team were greeted by raucous applause when they returned to the common room. Albus thought it was kind of premature, since none of them were actually on the team yet, but it was still nice. Rose, Matt, and Amanda were sitting at their usual table and Albus went over to them. "How was the try-out?" Matt asked immediately. "Better than I thought," Albus replied as he sat down, "I think I have a slight chance of making it." "That's good," Matt grinned. "Oh, and Teddy's one of the captains!" Albus told them. "Really?" Rose said, "Who are the others?" "Tyler Pike, the Head Boy from our first year, and Oliver Wood-" "John is going to be thrilled when he finds that out," Matt interrupted. Albus grinned. Oliver Wood had gone to Slughorn's Christmas party in their first year and John had given him a Quaffle to sign. John was a big supporter of Oliver Wood and Puddlemere United. "Where is John anyway?" Albus asked, "And Kaden?" "In the Marauder's Den," Matt answered, "Plotting. They're planning on swimming in the lake tomorrow with the Giant Squid." "I'm rather afraid of what sort of plotting they're doing," Rose muttered, "If swimming requires plotting, nothing good will come of it." "I take it you three don't want to join them?" Albus laughed. "Definitely not," Amanda said. "Are you insane, Albus?" Rose raised her eyebrows, "Of course not." "Nope," Matt shook his head, "I'd rather not get in trouble this soon into the year." "Yeah," Albus agreed, "I don't want to either." Albus and his friends had gotten into quite a bit of trouble, mostly because of Kaden, the previous year and Albus was hoping he'd keep Filch's detentions to a minimum this year. "The two of them are going to be in detention more often than they're not," Rose muttered. "That wouldn't surprise me," Albus replied. John had always been the trouble-maker of Albus's group, even before Kaden entered the scene. And then when Kaden had arrived, nothing was going to stop him. Now John had someone to conspire with for all of his mischievous schemes. ****** Although Albus and Matt flat out refused to swim in the lake with John and Kaden, the two mischievous boys managed to convince them to at least watch by the side of the lake. However, Rose and Amanda refused to be anywhere near the lake when this took place. Rose insisted that she needed to devote the day to studying and Amanda decided to join her. Albus had a feeling Rose's increased amount of studying had a lot to do with Linda Morales, but knew better than to mention this to his cousin. John and Kaden walked excitedly ahead of Albus and Matt on their way out of the castle the next day. Albus still had no idea what exactly they were planning on doing, and for that he was grateful. If John and Kaden got caught, Albus preferred to not know anything about it, so he could deny his involvement. There were a few students sitting around the lake enjoying the warm late summer day when the boys arrived. Albus and Matt chose a spot underneath a large beech tree and sat back to watch the event unfold. John and Kaden grinned at each other and then pulled off their shirts and shoes, so they were only wearing shorts. A few first year girls who were sitting near Albus and Matt giggled and began whispering to each other. Albus turned to Matt and rolled his eyes. Matt stifled a laugh. "This isn't going to end well," Albus said. "But it will be entertaining to watch," Matt laughed. John and Kaden began to obnoxiously stretch by the edge of the water. Albus had a feeling they were doing it only to try and gain the attention of the few students who weren't watching them. Next, they bent down to the water and felt the temperature. "Bloody hell!" John shouted, "It's freezing!" "That means we'll just jump right in!" Kaden announced. He turned around and walked away, and then took a running start into the lake. He landed with a loud splash that soaked John, who was still standing by the edge. "They're mad," Albus grinned. "All right, here it goes!" John shouted and followed Kaden into the water, "Merlin, that's cold!" Albus laughed as John and Kaden got used to the water. The two of them were flailing around and shrieking like little girls. They had gained quite a few on-lookers who were standing around the lake laughing their heads off. Albus may not have wanted to do something this crazy himself, but he was having a good time watching his friends do it. The two of them got used to the water and then began swimming around. However, merely swimming in the Black Lake wasn't that exciting. Albus knew they had something else up their sleeves (or lack thereof) and it was only a matter of time until they put their plan into action. John and Kaden were just beginning to have a contest to see who could remain underwater the longest when a long tentacle appeared out of the water a few feet behind them. "Ooo!" a girl shouted, "It's the squid!" Both John and Kaden turned around. "Yes!" they both shouted at the same time, "The squid has arrived!" Albus watched as John and Kaden swam towards the tentacle, wondering what sort of torment they were going to inflict upon the squid. He didn't think the squid was particularly dangerous, but who knew what it would do if it was provoked. John and Kaden treaded water on either side of the tentacle and then began to tickle it. This earned a bunch of loud gasps and more hysterical laughter from the crowd. A few more of the squid's tentacles appeared out of the water and two of them smacked John and Kaden on their heads. "Hey!" John shouted and pushed the tentacle away. Then, the squid's head emerged from the surface of the water. A few of the younger girls who were watching began to shriek and the older students laughed even harder. Albus was laughing and shaking his head at the same time. He couldn't help but laugh at his friends' stupidity. They should have known that the squid would try and tickle back. And it had more arms than John and Kaden combined. John and Kaden grinned at each other and then swam towards the back of the squid as it rose out of the water. They grabbed onto its back and began to ride it. Albus gaped as the squid began to swim around with John and Kaden on top of it. The two of them had actually decided to ride the Giant Squid. "They're idiots," Matt commented. Albus nodded as the squid swam closer and closer to the shore. The onlookers retreated and scattered as it drew nearer. John and Kaden both looked thrilled, until the squid propelled them onto the shore. They landed in the grass and the squid returned into the murky depths of the lake. Albus jumped up and ran towards John and Kaden, followed by Matt. He squeezed his way through the crowd and looked down at his two friends. "Urgh," John groaned as he sat up, rubbing his head. "That was incredibly stupid," Albus grinned, "And very entertaining." "Let's do it again!" Kaden said excitedly as he examined his arm, which was bleeding. "How can you actually want to do it again when the squid threw you five feet into the air?" Matt asked. "It was fun," Kaden shrugged. "Move aside!" a female voice shouted. The crowd immediately dispersed and people ran towards the castle and to other areas of the grounds. Albus looked up and saw Professor Patil striding towards them. Albus groaned. He knew they wouldn't get away with this. "I've just been informed that the two of you were riding the Giant Squid!" Patil shouted at John and Kaden, "Is that true?" "Er-" John began. "Well..." Kaden said. "Of course it is!" Patil replied, "Look at you! I'm very disappointed! I thought it was a given not to swim in that lake and the fact that you provoked the squid..." she shook her head, "Well, you two will need to go to the Hospital Wing and then I'll assign you detention." John and Kaden stood up and nodded. The thrill that had been on their faces just moments before, was completely gone. "And what about you two?" Patil said to Albus and Matt, "Were you involved? I see you're both dry, but I've noticed that the four of you are always getting in trouble together." "They didn't do it, Professor," Kaden announced. "Yeah," John agreed, "They didn't even know what we were going to do." Albus felt a surge of gratitude for his friends, especially Kaden. Just a year ago, Kaden had been getting all four of them in trouble for things only he had done. Now, he was actually telling teachers that Albus wasn't involved. True, Albus hadn't been involved, but it was the principle of it. Patil nodded. "All right. Mr. Brickston, Mr. Dursley, you'll need to follow me. Mr. Potter and Mr. Eckerton, you may return to your common room." Albus didn't need to be told twice. He and Matt took off towards the castle and once they were out of earshot of Patil, started talking about John and Kaden's adventure. "I think the two of them could single handedly cause the destruction of the entire castle," Albus laughed. "It's only a matter of when they'll do it," Matt smirked, "Let's see, Kaden's already tormented the Whomping Willow, and now they've tormented the Giant Squid. What'll be next?" "Filch's new cat?" Albus suggested. "Filch would love that," Matt replied. At some point in between the end of the last year and the start of this one, Filch had obtained another cat. Albus had heard stories about his previous cat, Mrs. Norris, from his parents, aunts, and uncles, but had never actually met her. She had died before Albus was born. Apparently Filch had been so overcome by grief that he hadn't gotten another one, until now. The new cat, Josie, was a young sprightly kitten, whose only resemblance to Mrs. Norris was her uncanny ability to locate students who were breaking rules. All the students took an immediate dislike to Josie and turned in the other direction when they saw her small orange body emerge from around the corner. People were already talking about John and Kaden's swim in the lake when Albus and Matt entered the Gryffindor common room. Albus had a feeling it would be weeks before anyone forgot about it. Albus and Matt spotted Rose and Amanda and sat down at their table. It was spread with numerous books and rolls of parchment and quills. The only other table that rivaled its amount of books was the one Linda Morales was sitting at. "I take it you've heard about John and Kaden's incident with the squid?" Albus asked. "Bits and pieces," Rose muttered without looking up. Albus and Matt launched into the entire story and Amanda was in stitches by the time they finished. "Those two are going to be expelled if they're not careful," Rose said as she frantically scribbled something onto a roll of parchment. Albus looked curiously at his cousin. Rose had always been a stickler for homework, but never had he seen her this obsessed with it unless it was right before the end of term exams. And this was only the first week of school. "Rose, why don't you take a break?" Albus suggested. He was actually kind of worried about her. Studying was good, but too much was kind of unhealthy. "Can't," Rose muttered, "My Potions essay is only a roll and a half of parchment." Albus gaped at her, "Rose, you do know that Slughorn only wants a half a roll, right?" Rose nodded. "Yeah, but Janie said that Linda's essay is already two rolls. So I've got to make mine at least that long." "Rose," Albus sighed, "Your essay doesn't have to be longer than Linda's." "Yes, it does," Rose insisted. Albus sighed and sat back in his chair. He knew it was a lost cause. His cousin had that determined look in her eyes and Albus knew there was no convincing her that she didn't have to be so competitive with Linda. "I think she studies so much because she doesn't really have any friends here," Amanda said quietly. "What?" Albus looked at her incredulously. At any given moment, Linda was surrounded by at least five other people. She was easily the most popular of all the Australian students. "Look at her! She's got eight people talking to her at once!" Amanda groaned. "They're not her friends. They just think she's pretty. She doesn't even want them around. They do all the talking. All she does is sit there and study. Plus, ever notice how she's never around any of the other Australian students?" Albus looked at Linda again. Amanda was right. Linda wasn't actually talking to any of the students around her. And come to think of it, he hadn't seen her talk to any of the other Australian students either. "Wonder why that is?" Amanda shrugged. "Well, all the other Australian students are a lot older than her. All her friends are probably still in Australia." "She could befriend any of those blokes near her," Albus pointed out. "Again, they're only there because they think she's pretty," Amanda sighed, "But she's really really quiet. Her first night here, she didn't say a word in the dormitory. Now, Janie's really the only one who talks much to her. I mean, being shy is one thing, but never talking at all?" Albus turned to Linda once again. It was kind of odd for her never to talk to anyone, besides the teachers. It was like the only thing she wanted to do was study. Her obsession with homework seemed to be ten times that of Rose's and Albus wasn't sure if Rose could keep up.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2375 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Sunday 22 February 2009 10 25 11 am    Post subject: Re: In Moonlight's Shadow in topic:In Moonlight's Shadow Thanks hprocks and Obladi! Chapter 35: Back Home The next few days droned on much like the past few had. Matt continued to get better, although he was still having problems with his ankle. Besides that, he was almost completely physically better. He was still having nightmares, so the nurses kept giving him dreamless sleep. He flat out refused to go to sleep without it. Norlam had worked out a therapy schedule that would start the following Monday. Healer Sterling decided that Matt would be ready to be discharged on Saturday, which was two weeks after the full moon. It was hard to believe it had been that long since I had been home. It was even harder to believe that we only had three more weeks in Australia. "Ready to go home, Matt?" Sterling said as he entered the room Saturday morning. Matt nodded. "Yup. It's boring here." Sterling laughed. "That's good to hear." He pulled out his wand and began to perform various spells on Matt. "Everything look good?" Dad asked once Sterling put his wand away. "For the most part. His ankle isn't completely healed, so he'll have to use crutches for a couple weeks, but otherwise he's fine. I expect his ankle will be better by the next full moon, but he could possibly reinjure it that night." Dad nodded. "All right." "There are a few potions he'll have to take for a couple days to help with the healing. Plus the dreamless sleep, which he'll take until Norlam decides he's ready to stop. "I'd like to see him as soon as you move here. Sooner if something happens during the next full moon." "That's fine," Dad replied, "We'll let you know how he's doing." "Thanks," Sterling said, "We've set up a portkey for you. The last thing Matt needs is to have to travel twenty hours on a Muggle airplane." "Thank you," Mum looked at him gratefully. "It's in my study. There are some forms you'll need to fill out at the nurse's station, and then you can take the portkey from my study. Jack, I've set you up a portkey back to New York as well." "Wow, thanks," Uncle Jack said. "I'll meet you at the nurse's station," Sterling picked up the chart that was sitting on the bedside table and left the room. "Ready to go, Matt?" Dad went over to the bed and lifted Matt up. He nodded and put his arms around Dad's neck. Uncle Jack grabbed the crutches and Mum grabbed Matt's overnight bag. I collected the various books I had acquired over the past two weeks and followed them out of the room. I was so relieved to finally be going home. I was sick of the hospital. Matt was mostly better, which I was very happy about. But ever since he had started to get better, I had been thinking more about the move. We only had three weeks left in Australia. And then we'd be in England permanently. The weird part was, it sort of felt like we already lived there. Dad signed the discharge papers at the nurse's station and we said goodbye to the nurses that were working that day. We knew pretty much all of them by then and they were happy that Matt was finally better to go home. I'd found that the nurses were much friendlier towards him in England than in Australia. We went to Sterling's study after Dad finished signing the papers. There was an old broken Muggle telephone and a cracked plastic mixing bowl sitting on his desk, which I assumed were the portkeys. "I'll see you in a few weeks," Sterling shook Dad's hand, "I wish you luck with the move." "Thanks," Dad replied. "Thank you for everything," Mum said. "You're welcome," Sterling smiled, "The telephone goes to Australia and the mixing bowl will go to New York." Dad nodded and turned to Uncle Jack. "Well, Jack, I really appreciate you spending all this time here with us." "I wanted to, Walt," Uncle Jack replied, "I'll try to visit once you've moved here." "Ok, we'll see you then. Goodbye," Dad said. "Bye, Walt," Uncle Jack clapped him on the shoulder and then turned to Matt, "Bye, kid. I'm glad you're feeling better. See you in a few weeks, ok?" Matt nodded and held out his arms. Uncle Jack gave him a hug and ruffled his hair. Then he turned to me. "See you in a couple weeks, Amy," he gave me a hug. "Bye, Uncle Jack," I smiled. "See you soon, Julie," he said to Mum. "Thanks, Jack," Mum smiled gratefully at him, "We'll see you soon." Uncle Jack handed her Matt's crutches and then picked the mixing bowl up off the table. Sterling tapped it with his wand and Uncle Jack disappeared. Dad picked the telephone up and held it out. Mum and I each placed a hand on it. Sterling tapped it with his wand and I felt the familiar jerk behind my navel as England disappeared in front of me. We landed in the kitchen a little while later. Mum and Dad both landed on their feet, but I landed on my arse as usual. I shakily stood up and gazed around the kitchen. It looked exactly the same. I smiled as I realized how happy I was to be home. "Well, here we are. Home again," Dad said. I dropped my bag on the floor and tried to figure out what time it was in Australia. It had been just after ten o'clock when we left England and it was dark in Australia. So, what time would that make it here? The time conversion thing was even more confusing when you traveled by portkey than Muggle airplanes. I sat down at the table and saw the clock out of the corner of my eye. Duh, the clock, I thought. Why hadn't I just looked at it first? Probably because I was incredibly tired. It was after nine o'clock at night. "Dad, I'm tired," Matt mumbled. He had still been sleeping more than normal. Plus, he woke up a few times every night when the dreamless sleep wore off. "We all are," Dad replied, "But it's night here, so that's a good thing. Let's go upstairs and go to bed." Mum and I followed them upstairs. We met Ellie halfway up the stairs and she was thrilled that we were back and that Matt was doing better. Dad gently tucked Matt into his bed and gave him the dreamless sleep while Mum and I stood next to his bed. We all said good night to him and started to leave the room. "Mummy?" Matt whispered. "What is it, honey?" Mum asked, turning around. "Can I sleep in your bed?" he asked quietly. Mum and Dad glanced at each other. "What's wrong, honey?" Mum asked. "I'm scared," he mumbled almost incoherently. "Oh, Matt, no one is going to do anything to you here. There's nothing to be afraid of." "Wh-what about L-lubar?" Matt croaked, "H-he m-might floo h-here." "I'm getting us disconnected from the floo network," Dad muttered, "Tomorrow, first thing. And I'll put up some anti-apparition wards on the entire property." "He won't come here again," Mum assured him, "You're safe here." "I st-still w-want to s-sleep in your b-bed," Matt cried. "Ok, that's fine," Mum said. She picked him up and he rested his head on her shoulder. I followed my parents and Matt out of the room and watched them go into their bedroom. It looked like Matt fell asleep in Mum's arms a few moments later. The dreamless sleep must have kicked in. I walked slowly back to my room and shut the door behind me. I dropped my bag on the floor and didn't bother emptying it. I gazed around my room and sighed. It felt good to be back, but I really didn't want to get used to it. In a few short weeks we'd be in England for good. Before I went to bed, I scribbled out a quick letter to Olivia. I hadn't written to her in over two weeks. Our letters were becoming more and more infrequent, which kind of bothered me. She also talked more about the other girls in our year. I kind of thought she was becoming friends with them. I knew it was selfish of me to not want her to befriend them, but for the past three years it had always been the two of us against those other girls. But I couldn't really expect Olivia not to make new friends, could I? I crawled into bed once I was done. Despite the fact that I was accustomed to England time, I was tired. I hadn't really had a good night's sleep the entire time we were there. The first few nights I was plagued with nightmares. Then when they stopped, I couldn't sleep because Mum or Dad (whoever was staying at the Leaky Cauldron that night) would toss and turn the whole night. ****** I woke up early the next morning. Earlier than I usually do. I squinted at the clock and saw that it was five in the morning. However, I was wide awake and starving so I got dressed and left the room. I paused by Matt's room on my way down the corridor, but he wasn't in there. He must've spent the entire night in my parents' room. It didn't surprise me in the least. He slept in there for a few months following the night he was bitten. My parents' bedroom door was closed, so I guessed I was the only one up. It reminded me of school holidays when I'd get up early and hurry downstairs to get a bowl of Lucky Charms. It all seemed so trivial now. Just a few months ago, I hardly had a care in the world. My worries consisted of whether I'd pass the next Transfiguration test and what Olivia and I would spend Friday night doing. I suppose it was possible that once I adjusted to Hogwarts, life might return to a semblance of that, but I kind of doubted it. When I went to school in Australia, I paid zero attention to the outside world. The matters of the government didn't concern me in the slightest. I couldn't imagine going back to that. Now, I wanted to know what was going on. The past few months had taught me to find out the news for myself, not wait for my parents to tell me what was going on weeks after it actually happened. Walking through the quiet house at that hour, I could almost pretend the past few months hadn't happened. Almost. The lack of furniture in a lot of the rooms and the empty places on the walls where the portraits had been told me otherwise. The past few months had happened. How many more times would I walk through the house at this hour? The quiet was replaced by hushed whispers. I stepped as quietly as I could down the stairs and paused to hear where they were coming from. Kitchen, I thought. I tiptoed down the corridor and peeked into the kitchen. Mum and Dad were both sitting at the counter hunched over steaming mugs of coffee. I pulled my head back and leaned against the wall, listening in on what they were saying. "I just can't stand it," Dad muttered, "He got away with it. There's nothing we can do. Absolutely nothing!" "It's awful," Mum agreed and took a sip of her mug. "I can't sit here and do nothing," Dad continued, "It's all I can do from stopping myself from going down to the Ministry and dueling him, Muggle style." "That won't accomplish anything," Mum replied. "I know. But when we were in England all I could concentrate on was getting Matt better. Now we're back in Australia and he is mostly better. I could be at the Ministry in two seconds. Hell, I'm going to the Ministry today to have them disconnect us from the Floo network!" "Walt, it's Sunday. You'll have to wait until tomorrow," Mum sighed, "And you can't duel Lubar. He'll press charges and we'll be stuck here while you go on trial!" "That's what's driving me mad! He kidnapped our son, harmed him, and we can't do a thing about it! There's something seriously wrong with that." "I hate it as much as you do, Walt, but we have to put it behind us. Matt's better now. We just have to move on." "But he's not entirely better. Who knows how long he'll be traumatized from this? That's what really gets me. Matt is the one who suffered from this. I know Lubar could care less about Matt. He did this to get me. To get me back for getting promoted before he did. Why couldn't he just duel me like a normal wizard? Or pull a few office pranks? Why did he have to get to me through my son?" Dad sighed and put his head in his hands. "Because he knew it would hurt you more to see Matt hurt than to actually be hurt yourself," Mum replied, "I've told you that." "I know," Dad groaned, "But he hasn't stopped. He just keeps going. There's nothing he won't do." "He's not going to stop," Mum said quietly, "But we only have one more full moon here. Then we'll be gone. He can't get to us in England." "But it's this one last full moon that worries me," Dad said darkly, "He does something worse each month. First it was that place of transformation law. Then it was just the threats and the fines. But last month, last month he went too far. I can't even think of anything worse he could do, save for kidnapping him again. I don't doubt that he'll try that again, too. The law hasn't changed." "We'll just won't let him," Mum replied. Dad let out another loud sigh. "Which is why this is just driving me mad. I could have stopped him last month. It was my fault. I shouldn't have left him alone." "He wasn't alone. We were both in the house. No one should have to feel that they're not safe in their own house. We could not have expected that, Walter. You have to come to terms with that." "That may be," Dad muttered, "But this month, I'm not leaving his side until the moon rises." "Me, too," Mum agreed. I wish I could do that, I thought. But I knew I'd be going to Richard and Cinda's again. The only good thing about that was that I'd get to see Kenzie, and this was the last time I'd get to see her for quite a while. Kenzie! I suddenly remembered that I'd told her we'd go to her house for that barbecue. When was that supposed to be? I racked my brain and remembered that it was this coming Saturday. I still hadn't even told my parents about it. It had completely escaped my brain. Dad slammed his hands on the counter and shook his head. "I just hate that I can't protect him anymore!" Mum put her arm around Dad and leaned her head on his shoulder. "I know. I hate it too. We just have to do all we can to protect him the other twenty-seven days of the month." "But it's that one other day that he really needs protecting," Dad muttered. "And we're doing all we can to make sure that one day is as good as it can be," Mum pointed out, "That's why we're moving, Walt." "We should've moved sooner." "No one could have predicted this. We have to remember that." "A father should be able to stand up for and protect his children, Julie," Dad said quietly. "I can't do that anymore. I haven't been able to for the past two and a half years." "But you do protect him, Walter. For the past two years you have been stopping the legislation that would ruin his life. That's protecting him." "Until I got fired." "You were fired because you were protecting him," Mum pointed out, "There's only so much we can do. He has an illness. Parents can't protect their children from chronic diseases." "If I had been protecting him that night, he never would have been bitten," Dad whispered. "We did all we could save for putting a charm on the tent to keep him from leaving it in the middle of the night." "Maybe we should have done that. Or we shouldn't have gone camping that night. I knew it was going to be a full moon. I knew the dangers. But we still went. If I could just go back in time and change one thing, that would be it." "You and me both," Mum sighed, "But we can't." I watched them sit there leaning their heads on each other's shoulders. Every once in a while they would have this same conversation, but it had never before included Dad wanting to curse someone. I could understand it, though. I bet if I saw Lubar ever again I'd have a hard time keeping myself from hexing him. When it became clear that neither of them were going to say anything else, I casually walked into the room pretending I hadn't heard a word they just said. "Morning," I yawned as I opened one of the cabinets. I pulled out a box of Lucky Charms and then rummaged around for a bowl. "Hi, Amy," Dad said wearily. "Morning," Mum replied, "Did you sleep better?" "Much," I said. I poured a bowl of cereal and sat down next to Mum. I ate half the bowl and neither of my parents had anything else. I decided it was a good a time as any to bring up the barbecue at Kenzie's house. "Hey, Mum, Dad?" I asked in between bites. "What is it, Amy?" Mum sighed. "When I was at Richard and Cinda's, Kenzie said her mum invited us to their house for a barbecue this Saturday. I told her we could go and I'd let her know if we couldn't. But that was, you know, before the full moon, so...." I let my voice trail off. I wasn't really sure if Mum and Dad would want to go to Kenzie's house. I knew I wanted to, but doubted I had any say in the matter. Mum looked at Dad before replying. "Just us? Or is this a party type thing?" "Just us," I answered. "I suppose we could go," Mum said slowly, "That's an entire week before the full moon." "His ankle won't be healed by then, at least Sterling doesn't think so," Dad reminded her. "And what about the fact that he's afraid of everyone?" "The Dawes aren't strangers. He knows them. But we'll see what he thinks about it to be sure. As far as his ankle goes, Muggles sprain their ankles all the time. They won't think a thing of it. It'll be nice to do something fun for a change," Mum replied. "We'll just have to Apparate and tell them we parked our car at my parents' house and then walk to theirs." I hadn't really thought of that. It would seem kind of suspicious if we appeared at Kenzie's doorstep without a car parked in the street. "That'll work," Dad said, "We can tell them your parents had other plans, as they're surely to invite them if we mention parking our car at their house." Mum nodded. "Good point. Did Kenzie mention that we should bring anything?" "Nope," I said. "Well, I'll bring a desert or something," Mum decided. I smiled as I ate the rest of my Lucky Charms. It would be nice to see Kenzie when it wasn't the full moon. When I didn't have to spend the night at Richard and Cinda's. Plus, I thought it would be good for my family to get out of the house. We hadn't really done anything like that since Richard and Cinda's 'going away' party. We hadn't done anything fun like that in who knows how long. Mum and Dad continued drinking their coffee as I finished up my cereal. Judging by the lack of used dishes in the sink, neither of them had had any actual brekkie. Just coffee. Both of looked extremely exhausted as well. I got up from the table and went to dump my own dirty dishes in the sink. A loud scream broke the silence and I dropped my bowl in surprise. I jumped as my heart started beating a mile a minute. Mum and Dad jumped up from their seats and completely ignored my dropped dish. I quickly picked it up (luckily it was plastic and had not broken), tossed in the sink, and followed my parents out of the room. The screaming got louder as we raced up the stairs and into my parents' room. Dad grabbed the doorknob and threw the door open. Mum and I followed him in. Matt was sitting in the middle of their bed with tears running down his face. He was shaking uncontrollably and looked scared out of his mind. Mum practically flew over to the bed and put her arms around my brother, pulling him into her lap. "It was just a dream," she soothed, "Mummy's here." Dad sat down next to them and put his arm around the both of them. I sat down on the edge of the bed, not sure whether to stay or leave. Matt began to calm down after twenty minutes of my parents soothing him and eventually stopped crying all together. I had a feeling that this was going to become an everyday thing. I was beginning to doubt that Healer Norlam would be able to do anything about Matt's nightmares. They seemed so horrible. "Are you hungry?" Mum asked after Matt had been quiet for a few minutes. He nodded. Dad picked him up off of Mum's lap and carried him out of the room. Mum and I followed and the four of us went down to the kitchen. Ellie was there had started cooking eggs and toast. Dad set Matt down on one of the kitchen chairs and sat down next to him. Mum began helping Ellie with the cooking. I sat down and stared at the flowery tablecloth covering the table. Nobody said anything as we waited for the food to be ready.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2375 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Monday 2 February 2009 07 11 26 am    Post subject: Re: The Steelers Just Won The SuperBowl in topic:The Steelers Just Won The SuperBowl I only watched the first half. I went to my school's Super Bowl party with one of my friends, who is a huge Steelers fan. The first half was pretty good, although I did play games on my phone for most of the second quarter. Can you tell I'm not a football fan? It was pretty awesome when that one guy ran the length of the field in one play. There were more people with Buffalo Bills jerseys at the party than Steelers and Cardinals jerseys combined! People were shouting 'Go Bills!' too. Of course, I showed my HP nerdiness by telling my friend, 'The Steelers have Hufflepuff colors, so I'm rooting for them.'

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