Harry Potter Poster Book

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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Poster Book Thirty full-size portraits of the actors we've come to love, featuring Daniel Radcliffe [Harry], Rupert Grint [Ron], and Emma Watson [Hermoine]. Also includes Sirius Black, Professor Dumbledore, the Weasley twins, Cho Chang, Neville Longbottom, Ginny Weasley, Draco Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange, and Lord Voldemort. $7.98

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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Poster Book Thirty full-size portraits of the actors from the Harry Potter films, featuring Daniel Radcliffe (Harry), Rupert Grint (Ron), Emma Watson (Hermoine), and other favorite characters are contained in this poster book, available to coincide with the July 13th release of the fifth film from Warner Bros. Pictures. Full color. Consumable. $5.99

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince: Hogwarts and Beyond Poster Book Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince: Hogwarts and Beyond Poster Book $10.00

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DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2535 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Wednesday 23 September 2009 09 03 52 pm    Post subject: Re: Albus potter and the Path Left Untrodden in topic:Albus potter and the Path Left Untrodden Chapter 2: Football Albus Severus Potter awoke to a high pitched shriek. He sat up quickly in bed and listened. It was coming from downstairs and sounded exactly like his little sister, Lily. He groaned and got out of bed. It would be pointless for him to try and go back to sleep. Lily had been impossible to deal with ever since Albus returned home from Hogwarts. She was incredibly excited about the fact that she was going to go to Hogwarts in the fall. Therefore, Lily had been constantly asking Albus about Hogwarts and the questions were usually ones Albus did not know the answer to or did not want to answer. Albus quickly changed his clothes and ran downstairs. It was a mystery as to what Lily was shrieking about now. His mum probably told her some new piece of information about Hogwarts. "Al!" Lily shoved a piece of parchment in Albus's face, "It came! It came! My Hogwarts letter came!" So that was what the shrieking was about, Albus thought. Lily had been waiting for that letter all summer. Every morning she'd watch the window waiting for the post owl to arrive. "Congratulations, Lily," Albus grinned at her and continued his walk down to the kitchen. Lily ran ahead of him and was literally dancing around the room by the time Albus arrived. "Lily!" James shouted, "One does not shriek and dance like a lunatic when one receives their Hogwarts letter." "Oh, really, James?" Ginny smirked at him, "Weren't you the one to stand on top of the table and do some sort of dance?" James blushed. "Er, no." "Oh, don't be ashamed, James," Albus grinned as he sat down next to his brother, "At least you didn't shriek like a girl." "Yeah, that was you," James laughed. "I did not!" Albus shouted, "I acted perfectly normal!" "Normal for a girl," James replied. "Stop it, James," Ginny scolded as she set a bowl of oatmeal and a few envelopes in front of Albus, "You got some post as well, Al." Albus picked up the pile of letters and opened the top one. It was the usual book list as well as his Hogsmeade permission slip. "Here, Mum," he handed her the slip, "You'll have to sign that." Ginny took the parchment. "I can't believe you're a third year, Al. You're growing up so fast." "Mum!" Albus groaned. "I can't believe it either," James sighed, "Ickle Al is getting so big!" "James!" Albus smacked him. "Mum, Al hit me!" James shouted. "Behave yourselves, boys," Ginny said without looking at them. Albus opened the other envelope. It was from Matt. [i]Dear Albus, My parents said you could come visit on the 16th for a few days. They're going to take us to Diagon Alley too. Let me know if you can come! Your friend, Matt[/i] "Mum!" Albus shouted, "Can I go to Matt's house on the 16th?" Ginny read the letter over Albus's shoulder. "Sure. We'll meet you in Diagon Alley and get James and Lily's stuff then." Albus grinned. He was very excited about going to Matt's house. He had never been there. He hoped that John and Kaden would be able to go as well. They hadn't seen each other in about a month, when Albus and Rose had had their birthday party. "Thanks, Mum." "Mum!" Lily whined, "I wanted to go to Diagon Alley today!" "Sorry, Lily," Ginny replied, "I'd rather get everyone's supplies at once." "I don't want to wait!" "Lily, you have to wait," Ginny sighed. Albus turned to James and they smirked at each other. Lily still hadn't grown out of her whiny phase. It got rather annoying. Albus hoped that she wouldn't be like that at Hogwarts. ****** The next few days passed very slowly. Albus was anxious to get away from Lily. She asked him no less than fifty times how the sorting was done and Albus replied with fifty 'I can't tell yous'. Eventually the sixteenth arrived and Albus sat in the drawing room waiting for Matt and his parents to show up. Kaden was with him. He had arrived a few hours earlier and they had spent their time trying to stay away from Lily. "You know, Kaden, you were as irritating as Lily a year ago," Albus pointed out. "Was not," Kaden replied, "And I've matured." "Yeah, sure," Albus rolled his eyes. The two boys looked up when they heard a loud crack. Matt's entire family had Apparated into the drawing room. Ginny walked into the room and greeted Matt's parents. "Matt!" Albus grinned, "I am so glad to see you. I can't wait to get away from Lily." "Oh, Al, be nice," Ginny sighed. "What? She's irritating," Albus shrugged, "Bye, Mum." "Goodbye, Al, I'll see you in a few days," she gave Albus a hug. "All right," Mr. Eckerton said, "Albus, you can Apparate with Amy. Kaden, you can Apparate with my wife." Albus nodded and stepped over to Amy. She wrapped him in a hug and the two of them disappeared with a crack. They reappeared in the middle of a large field. There was a log house in the distance. "This doesn't look like a house," Kaden announced as he stepped away from Matt's mum. "It's not," Matt said as he pointed to the log house, "That's my house." "Oh," Kaden replied as they started towards the house, "Why didn't we just Apparate into it?" "My parents put anti-Apparition wards on the house," Matt explained. "Why?" Kaden asked. "I don't want to get into it," Matt muttered. Kaden groaned. "I thought you were done keeping secrets from me." "There are some things I don't tell anyone, Kaden," Matt sighed. Albus smirked and shook his head. Some things never change. Kaden still didn't know how to keep his mouth shut. Matt's house was the only one in the area. Albus couldn't see any other buildings besides a shed behind the house. There were fields surrounding the house and a low fence surrounding the property. Beyond the fence was farmland. Matt's dad unlocked the door and Albus followed him inside. He stopped in the entryway and looked around. The place was about as different as a house could be from Grimmauld Place. It was open and airy and decorated in a modern yet rustic way. From the doorway, Albus could see the kitchen straight ahead, the dining room next to it, and the living room next to the door. On the other side of the door was a set of stairs leading upstairs. Albus continued walking into the living room and saw a corridor next to the kitchen that lead to a few more rooms. Albus liked it instantly. It had a homey feel to it like the Burrow did. Except it was much cleaner. Matt had said his mum was kind of a neat freak, but Albus wasn't expecting it to be this neat. "Great house, Matt," Albus grinned. "Yeah," Kaden agreed, "But it's too neat. We're going to have to change that." "My mum likes it neat," Matt said, "She'll make you clean up whatever you mess up." "I'll go get John now," Mr. Eckerton announced, "You can come, Matt. I'll be able to Apparate both of you." "Ok. I'll be right back, Albus," Matt said and left the house with his dad. "You can just wait in the living room," Mrs. Eckerton gestured for Albus and Kaden to turn to their left. Albus nodded and sat down on one of the couches. It was quite comfortable. Kaden sat down next to him and put his feet up on the coffee table, earning a stern gaze from Mrs. Eckerton. Kaden sheepishly removed his feet from the table. Amy sat down on a chair and pulled a book off the table. She opened it and began reading. It was some sort of potions book. Kaden tilted his head and read the title. "Do you like potions?" he asked. "Yeah," Amy replied, "I'm studying to be a Healer." "That's great!" Kaden exclaimed, "I like potions too. Albus thinks I'm insane. Well, so do Matt and John." "There aren't many people who appreciate brewing," Amy replied, "But I'm glad you like it." "Me, too," Kaden said. Amy set her book down. "So, Albus, how has your summer been?" "Good," Albus said, "Well, Lily is driving me mad because she got her Hogwarts letter the other day." "I still remember when I got my letter to the Australian School of Sorcery-" "The what?" Kaden asked. "The Australian School of Sorcery," Amy repeated, "The school of magic in Australia. I went there for three years. Then we moved here." "You lived in Australia?" Kaden gaped. "Er, yeah," Amy looked at him strangely, "You didn't know that?" "Nope. Matt never told me," Kaden turned to Albus, "Did he tell you?" "Yeah, my first year," Albus replied, "I never really noticed that he didn't tell you." "Well, he didn't," Kaden muttered, "But it would explain the funny accent he's got." Albus stifled his laughter. "Er, yeah." The three of them sat quietly for another few minutes. Kaden began to laugh and it became louder and louder until Albus turned to look at him. "What?" Albus asked. "The Australian School of Sorcery," Kaden laughed, "A, S, S. Ass!" Albus groaned. Leave it to Kaden to figure that out. Amy laughed. "You know, that's what Teddy said when he first heard about it." The front door opened and Matt and John ran inside followed by Mr. Eckerton. John paused in the entryway and looked around. "Whoa," he grinned, "This house is bloody brilliant!" "Thanks," Matt said and the two of them entered the living room. "What are you three laughing at?" "My old school," Amy smirked, "Kaden figured out its acronym." "Oh, ASS," Matt laughed, "Yeah, I laughed about that for days when I figured it out." "Well, I've got to get to work," Amy stood up, "I'll try and stop by for dinner sometime this week." "Bye, Amy," Mr. Eckerton gave her a hug. "Bye, Dad." "So, I'll show you the upstairs," Matt said after Amy left. Albus grabbed his bag and followed Matt upstairs. John and Kaden thundered behind them. Once they reached the top, Matt led them to the door on the left along the back wall. "This is my room," Matt announced as they entered. Albus stepped inside and looked around. The carpet was blue and the walls were white. It was messier than the rest of the house, but nowhere near as messy as James's room. There was a Chudley Cannons bedspread on the bed and multiple posters on the wall. "Nice bed," John smirked, "Nice to see the Cannons can still sell merchandise. If only they devoted that effort to their playing...." "Shut it, John," Matt replied, "The Cannons have been playing better this season." "Oh, yeah, they did get three goals in their game against Puddlemere," John said, "Too bad Puddlemere had a hundred times that many goals." Matt groaned. "Come on, I'll show you the other rooms." Albus followed Matt out of the room and down the corridor. The next door was a bathroom and the one after that was Amy's room. The last door was alongside a different wall and Matt gestured for them to step inside. "This is the library," Matt announced, "We'll be sleeping here." "Sounds like Rose's dream come true," John laughed. The library was twice the size of Matt's room. Bookshelves covered all the walls and there were a few desks sitting in the middle of the room. A squashy looking couch was sitting below one of the windows and there were a few armchairs in various places. There were also four cots in the middle, but Albus doubted they were normally there. Albus tossed his bag down on a cot as John and Kaden did the same. Kaden started wandering around the room and looking at the various books. "I don't think I've ever been in a house with this many books," Kaden said. "There's even more in Dad's study." "You should see Rose's house," Albus commented. "You've got a lot of books about magical creatures," Kaden pointed out. "Yeah, well, that's what Dad's into." "Especially werewolves," Kaden went on, "There's a whole row of them." "Yeah, you can probably guess why," Matt mumbled. "So," Albus changed the subject, "How was your trip to New York?" The discomfort that had been on Matt's face moments before disappeared. "It was brilliant! We had so much fun." "And how was the airplane?" John asked eagerly. Matt laughed. "Just like every other one I've been on." "Anything else new with anyone?" Albus asked. "Bethany thinks she's a witch," Kaden announced, "She found a stick outside and has been pretending to cast spells." "Bet your grandpa loved that," Albus laughed. "He turned a lovely shade of purple," Kaden laughed. "I'd pay to see that," John replied. Albus and Kaden laughed. "I wouldn't suggest being anywhere near my Uncle Vernon when he turns purple," Albus put in. "Did I tell you that my dad's getting a promotion?" Matt asked. Albus turned to him. "Nope. What kind of promotion?" "The head of the Department of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures is retiring at the end of the year," Matt explained, "And he's recommending my dad for the position. It's not final, but it'll most likely happen." "That old bloke is finally retiring?" Albus asked, "He's been there for decades." "Yeah. Dad wasn't sure he wanted the promotion, but after thinking about it, he decided to take it if it's offered to him," Matt continued. "Why wouldn't he want it?" John asked. "Well, that's what he did in Australia. And he hated it towards the end. But he thinks it'll be better up here." "From what you've told us, everything is better up here," Albus said. "What does your dad do now?" Kaden asked. "He works in Werewolf Support Services." Kaden nodded. "You know, that is kind of funny, considering...." Matt rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know. The general public didn't really think it was that funny when we were living in Australia." "And that's why you moved?" Kaden asked. "Pretty much, yeah," Matt said quietly, "But I like Hogwarts, so I don't really care that we had to move." "How about you, Albus?" John asked, "Anything exciting happening in the most famous wizarding family?" Albus rolled his eyes. If anyone besides his friends referred to his family that way, he probably would have hexed them. "Actually," Albus began, surprised that he had momentarily forgotten about it, "I do have some interesting news about the Hogwarts staff." "What is it?" John asked eagerly, "Is Slughorn finally retiring for good?" "No," Albus laughed, "I don't think that will ever happen." "Then what is it?" Matt asked. "My dad's not teaching Defense this year," Albus answered. Harry had broken the news to Albus, James, and Lily a few weeks ago. Albus was disappointed, but not really surprised. He had been surprised that Harry had stayed for more than a year. Matt, John, and Kaden gaped at him. "What?" John asked, "Are you serious?" "Yeah," Albus nodded. "Why?" Matt asked, "He's a brilliant teacher." "He thinks he needs to focus more on his Auror job," Albus explained, "He wants to fully devote his time to finding Willinson and Washburn." "Oh, well, that makes sense," Matt replied. "Who's replacing him?" John asked. "Dunno," Albus shrugged, "Dad didn't tell me. He said he wants me to develop my own opinions of the teacher." "I wonder if we'll ever have the exact same staff for two years in a row," John commented, "I mean, first year they were all new to us. Last year we got Cedonia. And this year we've got some new Defense teacher." "I just hope whoever the new teacher is, that they're nice," Matt said, "So what do you lot want to do? We've got a few hours until dinner." "Hmm," Albus mused, "Want to play Quidditch? That field would be excellent for it." Matt groaned. "That's the one thing we can't do. The Muggle farmer is often out tending to his fields and he'd see us." "I've got an idea," Kaden grinned mischievously and dug around in his bag. He pulled out a football. "Let's play football." The boys decided it was as good an idea as any and they ran downstairs. Albus had limited experience with football. He had watched a couple matches and played it a few times, but that was it. He didn't think John had ever played and he wasn't sure about Matt. John was skeptical about the fun of football, but he was willing to give it a try. "Where are you boys going?" Mrs. Eckerton shouted from the kitchen as they ran to the back door. "We're going to play football," Matt said as he pulled the door open. "Be careful!" Mrs. Eckerton replied. Albus followed Matt down the deck stairs and into the field. He stood next to Matt and John and all three of them turned to Kaden, who had set the ball on the ground and had one foot on it. "Have any of you played football before?" Kaden asked. "A few times," Albus answered. "Nope," John said. "When I was younger, I played a bit," Matt replied, "But I was never any good." Kaden sighed. "All right. Why don't we just play two on two. John and I versus Albus and Matt." The other three boys nodded. Kaden pointed out two different trees that would serve as makeshift goals. He next explained the rules of the game and they began playing. Albus found the concept very similar to that of his Chaser position in Quidditch, only he couldn't use his hands. That was very odd. He had trouble keeping the ball near his feet and even more trouble aiming it to Matt. Half the time Kaden would steal it and he wouldn't even get a chance to pass it. John was hardly any better than Albus. He never managed to kick the ball where he aimed it, but Kaden's superior skill seemed to compensate for John's lack of skill. The two of them (well, Kaden) had scored more goals than Albus and Matt. Matt seemed to be able to aim the ball, but he wound up tripping over it a lot. He did manage to score a few goals, though. All in all, Albus thought it was kind of fun. It wasn't something he desired to be on an official team of, but it was fun to play informally. Not nearly as exciting as Quidditch, though. "John!" Albus shouted as John picked up the ball and took off across the field, "You can't touch the ball!" "I'm turning the game into Quidditch-football!" John shouted and threw the ball at the goal, "See, we've got another point now!" Kaden groaned and kicked the ball back into play. "That's cheating, John! And we're winning, so we don't need to cheat!" "I don't care!" John grinned and picked the ball up again. Kaden tackled John and tried to wrestle the ball out of his arms. John tried to escape, but Kaden was holding onto his leg. "Now it's Quidditch-football-wrestling," Albus said to Matt as the two of them walked towards their wrestling friends. "Albus! Help! Your cousin is Muggle dueling with me!" "Well, we are playing a Muggle sport, John," Albus smirked and yanked the football out of his hands. "Hey!" Kaden shouted and grabbed Albus's leg, "Give that back!" Albus stumbled and fell onto the ground. He held the ball out of Kaden's reach and Kaden tackled him. John, now free of Kaden's wrath, grabbed Matt's leg and pulled him into the mix. "Hey!" Matt shouted, "I didn't take the football!" "Doesn't matter," John grinned, "We're not going to let you stand there while we're Muggle dueling each other." "Got it!" Kaden shouted a few minutes later. He held the football up over his head. "And I declare John and I the winners!" Albus stood up and shook his head. John and Matt stood up after him. John looked quite triumphant at the win, even though he hadn't really contributed to it. "Congratulations," Matt smirked, "You beat a clumsy wizard and a Chaser at football." "Any win is a good win," Kaden grinned. "Boys!" Mrs. Eckerton shouted from the window, "Dinner is ready!" Albus grinned as he walked towards the house. As much as he enjoyed his own house, it was fun to spend a few days with Matt and his other friends. Plus, the girls weren't there. They had never really had time away from Rose and Amanda and it was kind of fun. Not that he didn't enjoy their company, there were just things they couldn't really do around Rose and Amanda. Like turn a football match into a wrestling match, for example. "What did you boys do?" Mrs. Eckerton exclaimed as they entered the house, "You're filthy! I want you all to go shower before you eat!" "Just like home," Kaden commented, "You're a lot like my mum." "Well, I'll take that as a compliment," Mrs. Eckerton smiled.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2535 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Sunday 6 September 2009 11 24 22 am    Post subject: Re: In Moonlight's Shadow in topic:In Moonlight's Shadow Thanks hprocks! Chapter 60: Cannons Quidditch The next day reminded me of the previous summer. Dad was at work and the rest of us spent the day at home, basically being lazy. I brewed potions and then Mum reluctantly let Matt go exploring in the bush with me. She didn't really need to worry. I knew my way around that bush and it was a warm day with hardly a cloud in the sky. Very strange for Britain. It reminded me of Australia. Uncle Jack flew in very early on Saturday morning. By very early I mean that his plane arrived in London at 5:30. I went with Dad to meet him, but Mum and Matt stayed home. They were both asleep. Mum was awake by the time we got back home around 6:30. We stopped in Diagon Alley to pick up muffins for brekkie. I had never seen Diagon Alley so empty before. It seemed like the ideal time to go grocery shopping. “Now this is a house!” Jack announced as soon as he walked inside. He stood in the doorway looking around with a big grin on his face. “I thought of you as soon as we first saw it,” Dad smirked. “It's my kind of place,” Jack said as he walked into the living room. “Jack,” Mum walked into the room, “How was your flight?” “Same as usual,” Jack replied, “How have you been?” Mum and Dad updated Jack on their lives as we walked into the kitchen. Dad set the muffins down on the table and we all settled down to eat. “Are you liking Hogwarts any better now, Amy?” Uncle Jack asked me. “Yeah,” I shrugged, “It's nothing like Australia, but I'm getting used to it. But I don't think I'll ever get used to watching Quidditch matches in the middle of blizzards. I don't know why Professor Kendrick doesn't just postpone them.” “Probably because there just aren't enough Saturdays with good weather here during the Quidditch season,” Uncle Jack explained. “I just hope it's warm when we go to that Cannons match this week,” I said. We saved a few muffins for Matt and then gave Uncle Jack the grand tour of the house. He absolutely loved my new potions room and the big library upstairs. We stayed in there for a while because Uncle Jack wanted to browse through Dad's books. “I didn't know you had half of these,” Jack said as he picked up one of the numerous books on lycanthropy. “Feel free to borrow any of them,” Dad said, “I've read all of them anyway.” “All of them?” Jack raised his eyebrows. “All of the ones on lycanthropy,” Dad said quietly. “You should write a book on lycanthropy,” Jack replied. “I probably could,” Dad said. Once we finished giving Uncle Jack the tour of the house, I played chess against him in the living room. He won every single match. That was one thing I liked about Uncle Jack; he never let me win anything. When I was younger, my parents always let me win games. Uncle Jack never did. He never let Matt win anything either. “Uncle Jack!” Matt came running down the stairs a little while later. He promptly tripped over Uncle Jack's suitcase and landed on top of our chess board, much to the dismay of the chessmen. “Careful,” Jack said as he pulled Matt onto his lap, “You all right?” “Fine,” Matt shrugged, “When did you get here?” “About three hours ago,” Uncle Jack replied. “You should've woken me up,” Matt said. “Your parents don't like it when people wake you up,” Uncle Jack told him. “Want to go explore the bush?” Matt asked him, “Amy, do you want to?” “Of course,” I grinned. “You have to eat brekkie first,” Mum told Matt, “There's muffins in the kitchen.” Matt decided to just eat his muffins as we were walking to the bush. The hours flew by while we were out there and we didn't return home until it began to sprinkle and it was time for lunch. I could've stayed out longer, though. Uncle Jack is probably my favorite person to go exploring with. He knows so much random stuff about wildlife. Even in England, a place he has only visited and never lived before, he had so much to tell us about the plants and animals we saw. One thing that I found really interesting was that you could brew a potion to negate the effects of poisonous snake venom with dandelion roots, maple leaves, and bark from a pine tree. The whole weekend and beginning of the following week passed much like that day had. Matt, Uncle Jack, and I would go exploring everyday. Mum and Dad would occasionally join us. Jack introduced himself to the farmer who lived next door and they talked for quite a while about growing vegetables. ****** Matt was the first one up the day of the Chudley Cannons match. I couldn't remember the last time he had been the first one to wake up in the morning. I guess there was something about the anticipation of seeing Quidditch players clad in orange robes lose spectacularly to another team that caused one to not need a full night's sleep. “Amy, wake up!” “Huh?” I blinked and saw Matt, clad in his oversized Cannons jersey, with a big grin on his face. “What time is it?” “Seven o'clock,” he replied. “You're up,” I yawned, “Really early.” “I know.” “The match isn't until two,” I groaned. “I know,” he said and then ran out of the room. Despite the earliness, I was very happy to see him so excited. I honestly couldn't remember the last time I had seen him this excited about something and that was kind of sad. Maybe I didn't like Quidditch that much. Maybe the idea of watching Matt's new favorite team get their arses kicked didn't interest me. But I was going to pretend to be excited for Matt's sake. Going back to bed was a fruitless effort, so I went downstairs and found that Mum and Dad were awake as well. They were both drinking cups of coffee while Matt rattled off Chudley Cannons statistics. “And in 1972 they changed their motto to 'Let's just cross our fingers and hope for the best',” Matt said, “It used to be 'We shall conquer', but they hadn't won the league since 1892, and they still haven't.” “Morning, Amy,” Dad said. “Morning,” I replied as I dug through the cabinets for some cereal, “Uncle Jack still asleep?” “Yeah, I couldn't get him up,” Matt shrugged. “You get your ability to sleep through anything from him,” Dad smirked, “I used to shave off his eyebrows in his sleep when we were kids. He never once woke up while I did it.” “Did you know that Dragomir Gorgovitch holds the record for most Quaffle drops in one season?” Matt asked, “He used to play for the Cannons.” “That's not something to be proud of,” Dad laughed. “I don't think he is,” Matt replied, “But he's famous for it.” By the time afternoon arrived and it was time for the match, I knew more Chudley Cannons trivia than I ever cared to. Matt was still reading the trivia book out loud as we left the house and walked to the end of our property to Apparate. The only reprieve I got from his trivia reading was during the side-along Apparition. I went with Dad and Matt went with Uncle Jack. The Quidditch pitch was located in Exmoor National Park, which I had never heard of before we got there. There were a lot of people Apparating nearby the pitch and most of them were clad in blue and gold. A very small, but boisterous, group was wearing bright orange. It appeared that there were far more Puddlemere United fans than Cudley Cannons fans. There was a wizard taking tickets near the door to the pitch and Dad handed him all of ours. We followed the signs to the top level of stands and located our seats. They were very good. With Quidditch, it's best to be higher up in the stands. Then you don't have to crane your neck to see what's going on. We were surrounded by Puddlemere United fans. A fair few of them had painted their faces blue and gold and all of them were wearing jerseys. My family looked quite out of place. Matt because of his Cannons jersey and the rest of us because of our lack of jerseys. “Welcome to the Puddlemere United versus Chudley Cannons match at the Exmoor pitch!” a wizard announced, “The match will commence shortly. Please find your seats.” Five minutes later, the wizard was back to commentating. “The teams have walked out onto the pitch! Captain Spencer Wilson of Puddlemere United is shaking hands with Captain Francis Piedmont of the Chudley Cannons. The teams mount their brooms, and they're off!” I watched as all fourteen players flew into the air. One of the Puddlemere players took immediate possession of the Quaffle and scored a goal within two minutes. The Puddlemere fans sitting near us jumped up and started shouting and high-fiving each other. Puddlemere scored three goals shortly after and they performed the same ritual after each goal. “Damorofitz of the Cannons is in possession!” the commentator shouted, “Oh, and he dropped it.” I glanced over at Matt and saw that he was paying rapt attention. He didn't look that disappointed for someone whose team was losing 0-50. This Quidditch match was unlike any I had seen before. Most of the Quidditch matches I'd been to had been at school. The main difference was that I was pretty sure the Chudley Cannons were worse than any of the teams at Hogwarts or Australia. I had never seen such an awful Quidditch team before. It was kind of weird that any of the players had made it to professional Quidditch, due to their apparent lack of skill. “Damorofitz has hold of the Quaffle again!” the commentator said, “And he's flying down the pitch. And he's still flying down the pitch! Merlin, he's done it! Damorofitz of the Chudley Cannons has scored their first goal of the match.” Matt started jumping up and down and cheering. The Puddlemere fans looked at him and smiled. I overheard the one who was sitting next to me say how adorable he was. I could sort of see why. He was the only one in our general vicinity rooting for the Cannons (well, the rest of my family was, but not nearly as vigorously as Matt was) and he was wearing a very oversized jersey. Plus, before the match started, he had asked Uncle Jack to write 'Go Cannons' on his forehead in orange marker. “If they catch the Snitch, they'll win!” Matt said excitedly. The Puddlemere fans stifled their laughs and we all got back to watching the match. “Puddlemere is in possession,” the commentator went on, “They are passing the Quaffle faster than the Cannons can keep up. And, oh! Beater Loyd of the Cannons has somehow managed to hit a Bludger at himself. Seeker Biner has managed to catch him as he fell off his broom. Well, now we know Biner can catch something, even if it's not the Snitch. Medi-wizards have ran onto the field to assist Loyd. Looks like the Cannons will have to bring in a reserve beater.” It soon became apparent that the Cannons' reserve beater couldn't hit Bludgers at anything, not even himself. Every time he swung his bat, he would nearly fall off his broom. The Cannons did manage to score a few more goals during the first half hour of the match, bringing the score to 100-30 Puddlemere. Matt cheered loudly every time the Cannons scored, earning him more of those grins adults give children when they're being cute from the Puddlemere fans. “Seeker Avon of Puddlemere is now flying straight towards the middle of the Cannons goal posts!” the commentator said, “And Seeker Biner did some sort of turn around move, not sure what that was, and is now trying to follow Avon. Ouch! Bludger to the stomach for Biner. That must hurt.” Avon made it to the goal posts and pulled up with his hand clamped around what must have been the Snitch. All the Puddlemere fans stood up and started cheering. I stood up just to see what was going on. Uncle Jack lifted Matt up to see what was going on. “Avon has caught the Snitch! Puddlmere wins 260-30!” Medi-wizards were once again flocking the pitch and I saw them carry Biner away on a stretcher. Two of the Cannons' players had been injured in one match. “So, you're a Cannons fan?” the witch sitting next to me asked Matt. “Yeah,” he nodded. “Well, better luck next time,” she smiled and then went back to cheering with everyone else. It took us a while to leave the stands, but eventually we found our way back into the park. “How did you like the match?” Dad asked Matt. “It was brilliant!” Matt said, “I mean, it's not brilliant that the Cannons lost, but it was still fun. I didn't really expect them to win. They just need some new players. They would've won if their Seeker was better.” And their Keeper, Beaters, and Chasers, I thought. It was nice that Matt was so optimistic about it. He could have been their spokesperson for their motto. If there was anyone who was crossing his fingers and hoping for the best, it was Matt. We went to Diagon Alley because my parents needed to do some shopping and then we had dinner at the Leaky Cauldron because Uncle Jack really liked that place. I did, too, and we didn't eat there nearly as often as I would've liked. Hannah Longbottom, makes the best sandwiches I've ever had in my life. “How much more school do you have?” Matt asked me as he ate his bacon sandwich. “A little less than two months, I think,” I replied. “I hope it goes by fast because Mum never lets me go exploring in the bush by myself,” Matt said. “We can go exploring all the time in the summer,” I told him, “What are we going to do this summer anyway? Can we go on a holiday?” “Possibly,” Dad shrugged, “We haven't really been on a proper holiday in a few years.” That was for sure. The only times we had traveled recently was to look at houses. After we went back home we played a few rounds of Gobstones before Matt went to bed. Then I read in the living room while listening to Mum, Dad, and Uncle Jack's conversation. “We should go to more Quidditch matches,” Mum said, “I haven't seen Matt that happy in months.” “It was definitely a success,” Dad agreed, “If we had done that nine months ago, he would've spent the whole time too scared to watch.” “He's changed so much since I last saw him,” Uncle Jack commented. “We owe it all to Healer Norlam,” Dad said, “The man can work miracles.” “It's you two as well,” Jack said, “You never give yourselves enough credit.” “Perhaps,” Dad mused, “But we really couldn't have done it without Norlam.” I hadn't really thought about it until my parents brought it up, but Matt really was a lot different. He hadn't been afraid of anyone at that Quidditch match and it had been very crowded. “He'll never get completely over it, though,” Dad said quietly, “He'll never be the same.” “Of course not,” Uncle Jack agreed, “People never stay the same. None of us are the same as we were when we were eight. Our experiences change us.” “He's had experiences I wish he'd never had,” Dad sighed. “I wish he hadn't, either, but we can't change the past. I'm not entirely convinced horrible experiences are bad for us, either. They make us appreciate the good times. Of course, I'd give anything to change the past so that Matt didn't have to go through all of that.” “You've always been the optimist,” Dad said, “You see the good in everything.” “I try,” Uncle Jack shrugged. The room lapsed into comfortable silence and I got absorbed in my book once again. I went to bed a little while later and dreamt that Matt was the Chudley Cannons Seeker. And that his clumsy self was the best player on the team. ****** The remainder of the holiday went by fast. I brewed potions with Uncle Jack while Matt begged my parents to let him join us. That was one thing they were still very overprotective with, him brewing potions. They refused to let him brew with me before he had potions class at Hogwarts. I was kind of happy about that because as much as I liked spending time with Matt now, I liked being able to brew alone. Mum, Dad, and Uncle Jack went out to dinner one evening without Matt and I because they needed 'adult time'. That was a sign that Mum thought I was mature because she had never let Matt stay home alone with me in the evenings before. Uncle Jack flew back to New York on Saturday, the day before I went back to Hogwarts. We all went to the airport to see him off. His visit had gone by fast and I was sad to see him leave. He didn't know when he'd next be able to visit. Everyone went with me to King's Cross the next day s well. I wasn't really that sad about going back to Hogwarts. I would miss my family, but there was less than two months of school left and I was looking forward to seeing Victoire again. I spent the entire train ride doing the homework I had neglected to do over the holiday. One thing I wasn't looking forward to about going back to school was the fact that exams were coming up. I had yet to hear anything good about Hogwarts end of the year exams. It was already dark by the time the train pulled into Hogsmeade. I climbed into one of the four carriages along with three students I didn't know. We arrived at the castle just in time for dinner and I squeezed in between Victoire and Landon at the Gryffindor table. “How was your holiday?” Victoire asked. “Fun,” I grinned, “My uncle was there for a week and we went to a Chudley Cannons match.” Teddy and Landon burst out laughing. Teddy started coughing and turned red as he caught his breath. Then they both looked at each other and laughed some more. “What?” I asked. “How badly did they lose?” Teddy smirked. “50-260,” I replied. “Not so bad, then,” Teddy said, “50 points in a match, that's not bad for the Cannons. But why in the name of Merlin did you go to one of their matches? Do you support them? I know you're new to British Quidditch and all, but there are so much better teams out there.” “Matt supports them,” I answered, “I got him a Cannons jersey for Christmas and he's been obsessed with them ever since.” “Why a Cannons jersey?” Landon asked. “They're the underdog,” I shrugged, “And my brother's always kind of been an underdog. I thought it was appropriate.” “Wow, another Cannons fan,” Victoire sighed, “My Uncle Ron will be excited about this. He's the world's biggest Cannons fan.” The rest of dinner was spent with Teddy and Landon explaining the details of all the British Quidditch teams, which to be honest, was not that interesting. The only interesting bit of information they told me was that one of the Montrose Magpies' current Chasers played for the Cannons for a year before joining the Magpies. Apparently she was the best player the Cannons had had in decades. Victoire and I stayed up late talking about everything except Quidditch. By the time I crawled into my four-poster bed I was very content. I realized that it was the first time I went to bed completely happy and calm at Hogwarts. And that was a nice feeling.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2535 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Sunday 9 November 2008 08 49 19 pm    Post subject: Re: Albus Potter and the Tracks They Left Behind in topic:Albus Potter and the Tracks They Left Behind Thanks, Obladi! Chapter 34: The Marauders' Den Albus let out a gasp as his eyes fell upon the room in front of him. He stepped inside, gazing around in awe, and his friends followed in behind him. Albus heard someone shut the door as they stepped in. The room was circular, just like the Gryffindor common room. The decor was similar, too, as most everything was scarlet and gold. It kind of reminded Albus of the Room of Requirement whenever Matt asked for it, only better. There was scarlet shag carpeting on the floor and scarlet curtains on the windows. Although the room was mostly circular, there were four smaller square rooms leading off of the main room. Albus walked deeper into the room and saw that there was a four-poster bed in each of them, along with a bedside table. Each of the little rooms had a sign on it that depicted which one belonged to which Marauder. In the main part of the room were a few couches, chairs, and tables. A few bookcases were up against the walls and housed books, parchments, old dung bombs, and various other detritus. There was even a pile of opened sweets sitting on one of the tables, giving the room the feel that the Marauders had just stepped out for class or something. At the same time, the place looked like nobody had been in it for decades. There was a thick layer of dust coating every surface and there was a faint smell of dankness in the air. That may have been because there was a cauldron full of a foul smelling potion sitting next to the window. The tables were covered in various pieces of parchment, open books, and yellowing copies of the [i]Prophet[/i]. The Marauders had even decorated the walls. There were pictures of themselves that seemed to range from first year all the way to seventh. Posters of a few different Quidditch teams were also fixed upon the stone walls. A large banner was above the window, directly across from the door. It read, 'The Marauders' Den.' "Blimey," Albus whispered, "This is kind of strange." "Yeah," Matt agreed, "But brilliant at the same time." "It almost looks as if they were expecting to come back here," Rose commented as she sifted through a pile of parchment, "Looks like they left some homework here." "Excellent," John grinned, "Maybe some of the teachers have been assigning the same homework every year and we can copy it. I'll bet Binns uses the same assignments year after year." "I think we'll have to clean this place up a bit," Amanda commented as she peered into the cauldron, "That potion is positively disgusting." "Wonder if these are still good," Kaden said as he picked up a few chocolate frogs. "I wouldn't eat those, Kaden," Rose grimaced, "They're decades old." "This place is amazing," Albus said as he walked towards the window. He gazed out of it and saw that it looked out on the lake. "It's like our own common room. And dormitory," John said as he walked over to the alcove labeled 'Padfoot'. "Guess this one's mine!" John flopped onto the bed and a cloud of dust flew out of it. "Oh, gross!" he coughed, "Wonder if we can get the house elves to clean this place." "They've got enough to clean," Rose replied, "We'll just clean it ourselves. It won't be that bad. I know a few cleaning spells." Albus wandered over to the alcove that was labeled 'Prongs' and walked into it. It was very strange, knowing that the place had belonged to his grandfather. Albus almost felt like he had gone back in time, to when his grandfather had been at Hogwarts. He glanced up at the walls and noticed a picture of a Quidditch team that was labeled 'Puddlemere United- 1975'. The whole room had pretty much frozen in time. The rest of Hogwarts changed as the years passed and new students came to the school. But this room, this room hadn't changed. It was just the same now as it had been in the 1970s. Now, it would skip an entire generation and be propelled into the twenty-first century. "Blimey, look at this," John announced. Albus stuck his head out into the main part of the room and saw that John had picked up a newspaper clipping. Albus and everyone else went over to John and crowded around him to read the article. [i]ENTIRE MUGGLE FAMILY MURDERED- SUSPECTED WORK OF YOU-KNOW-WHO An entire Muggle family was murdered last night at their home in the outskirts of London. Muggle police officers have attributed the death to carbon monoxide poisoning, but wizard investigators have discovered the cause of death was Avada Kedavra. Nearby Muggles reported seeing a 'strange cloud' above the house early the next morning. Before Obliviators modified their memories, they all said the cloud was the shape of a skull with a snake coming out of its mouth. This odd cloud of smoke has appeared over the dwellings of multiple murders during the past year. Rumors are that this is the mark of You-Know-Who, but it has yet to be confirmed. Employees of Magical Law Enforcement are currently investigating the murder and the strange cloud above the house. Anyone with information about the murder, the cloud, You-Know-Who, or his supposed 'Death Eater' followers should contact Magical Law Enforcement as soon as possible.[/i] "That is strange, to be reading that article now," Albus said quietly. From the sound of it, Voldemort was just starting to gain power when that article was written. "I'll say," John agreed, "I'll bet there's all kinds of articles around this place about Voldemort." "You're probably right," Albus said, "My dad said that when the Marauders were in their last year of school, they were already working to fight Voldemort." "This is so weird," Matt commented. "Yeah," Albus agreed. "We should probably clean this place up a bit," Rose announced. "But let's not throw away any of the old articles or anything," Albus said, "They might be interesting to read." "Or the old homework," John added. "Might be useful," he muttered after Rose sent him a withering glare. Rose spent a few minutes teaching everyone else the few cleaning spells she knew. Then they all got started on cleaning up the room. Albus found quite a few copies of the [i]Prophet[/i] and he set them aside in a box. They left most of the pictures and posters up on the wall. It seemed wrong to take down all the pictures of the Marauders' when they were the ones who founded the room. Albus left the old picture of Puddlemere Untied up as well, since he supported that Quidditch team. To John's delight, there was a similar picture in Padfoot's section of the room. Albus was pretty sure Matt would be adding a picture of the Chudley Cannons to his alcove, since apparently Moony didn't support them based on the lack of a picture of them near his bed. After a couple hours, the room looked new once again. All the dust, old sweets, and rubbish was gone. The cauldron had been emptied and was now sparkling. Amanda, who had somehow stumbled upon the laundry room a few months ago, had gone down and fetched a few new sets of bedding for the beds. Once they were done cleaning, they began to make themselves at home in the Marauders' Den, as it was apparently called. Rose began to peruse the various books that were on the shelves. Kaden was rifling through the assorted pranking items that had been left behind. Amanda was looking at a pile of photographs they had found. Albus, John, and Matt were looking at all the newspapers and clippings that had been left behind. "This is going to be an excellent place to study," Rose said as she sat down on one of the couches with a book. "It'll be quiet." "Can't guarantee that," John grinned. "I never really knew that Voldemort attacked this many people," Albus muttered as he leafed through a paper, "I mean, I knew he killed loads of people, but there's two or three articles about him in each paper." "I don't think I would have wanted to live back then," Matt commented, "Seems like it would have been bloody miserable." "Same with when my dad was a kid," Albus added. He was lucky, really, that he lived in a time when the country wasn't being ravaged by a murderous madman. I mean, Washburn and the Willinsons paled in comparison to Voldemort. "Nothing like learning about history to make you grateful of the time you live in," Rose commented. "Why can't Binns just have us read old articles in class?" John sighed, "It's actually interesting reading about the war like this." "We haven't even gotten to the war in History of Magic yet," Rose pointed out. "Yeah, well, it's more interesting than what we've been learning about." "That's because you feel it more directly relates to your life. But we have to learn about all the history, if we want to avoid the mistakes of the past." "But Binns could at least make it more interesting," John muttered. "I'll give you that one." "Do you guys think we should tell anyone about this place?" Albus asked as he set down the article he had been looking at. John and Matt both turned to stare at him. "What? Are you mad?" John asked. "No," Albus sighed, "I just meant, should we tell my dad about it. And Teddy." As soon as Albus had seen the room, he thought both his dad and Teddy would love to know about it and to see it. Both of their fathers had been involved in the creation of it, after all. "I dunno," Matt shrugged, "I can sort of see your point, though." "I still think we should keep it a secret," John said. "I kind of agree with Albus," Rose said, "This place would be really sentimental for both Uncle Harry and Teddy. And I suppose James and Lily would like to know about it, too." "I never said we should tell James and Lily," Albus hastened to say. "They'll both be here next year, which means they'll want to be in here all the time. Teddy and my dad would be different. They'd see it, know about it, and maybe visit every once in a while. But they wouldn't want to be here all the time." "They couldn't get in, though, Albus," Rose pointed out, "Only the four of you can open this place." "I know, but I still don't want James and Lily to know about it while they're at school," Albus said defensively. "Plus, James would never keep it a secret. He'd tell Ben and Cedric and Nathan." "Not if we use that charm," Kaden suggested, "Not that I think we should tell James and Lily." "James would never agree to that charm," Albus said. "I still think that if we're going to tell Uncle Harry and Teddy, we should tell James and Lily," Rose said. "I don't," Albus crossed his arms, "And it's not up to you. It's up to the four of us." "Fine," Rose huffed. "So," Albus turned to John and Matt, "What do the two of you think about telling my dad and Teddy?" "I think we probably should," Matt said. "I don't know..." John said, "I kind of like the secret. Can we at least keep it to ourselves for a while? Let's think about it over the summer and then maybe tell them next year." Albus shrugged. His conscience was telling him that he should tell his dad and Teddy about it. He knew that knowing about the room and the new map would mean the world to both of them, but at the same time he kind of wanted to have the room to himself for a few months as well. "That sounds like a good idea," Albus agreed. "So we'll think about telling them next year." ****** Albus and his friends immediately started spending their free time in the Marauders' Den as opposed to the Room of Requirement. Albus found that he felt very at home there. It provided a sense of calm, a place to go to get away from the chaos of the main part of the school. He was even able to concentrate more on his studying there than in the Room of Requirement, although that may have been due to the fact that they had solved the mystery of the map and Albus wasn't nearly as distracted as he had been. The final dueling tournament took place on the following Sunday, a few days before the full moon. Albus's team had not made it to the finals, despite Albus and Malfoy's excellent dueling skills. Both boys had won every single duel they had been in the entire year. However, the rest of the team wasn't nearly as skilled and they did not have enough points for the finals. Rose's team was in second place and therefore was in the finals. They were up against a team that none of Albus's friends were on. Albus could feel the excitement in the air as he walked to the dueling room after lunch. Even those who were not competing were going to the room in order to watch the final duel. The two competing teams sat with each other at the front of the room, but none of the other teams sat together. Albus didn't think that Kendrick's idea of inter-house unity had worked very well with the dueling teams. The tournament lasted about an hour, which was much shorter than all the previous ones. Rose won one of her duels, against a third year Slytherin. "That concludes the final dueling tournament!" Kendrick announced after the last two students had dueled. "I shall now calculate the points." Kendrick pointed his wand at a sign that had all the team names and number of points on it. The top two teams' numbers flashed and then changed to the new numbers. "Congratulations to Team Three, the Hungry Hungry Horntails! They are the new champions!" Kendrick shouted, "Will the team members please come forward to accept the trophy." "Merlin," Albus muttered and clapped politely. Rose's team had not won. "Second place is still good, though," Amanda said. After the Hungry Hungry Horntails had accepted their trophy, Kendrick returned to his podium. "Yes, the Hungry Hungry Horntails have proved themselves to be most excellent duelers," Kendrick smiled, "As well as an aptitude for creative names. "I would like to thank all of you for putting up with the inter-house teams this year. I know many of you were very opposed to this at the beginning of the year." "Many of us?" John muttered, "I think pretty much all of us. Except Rose, that is." "I sincerely hope that you have all learned that despite our differences, we can be united. I think the inter-house teams proved successful and I hope you agree. I will be having a discussion with Professor Longbottom and Professor Potter about whether we will have inter-house teams next year. "With that, I wish you all good luck with your exams. You'd better all go study for a while, as I have been hearing that some of your teachers have created particularly tough exams." "He's just trying to scare us into studying," John said as they made their way out of the room. Albus agreed, but he wasn't taking any chances. Albus was feeling very confident about his exams, though. With Washburn gone, Albus felt he would do well on all of them. Albus and his friends quickly found Rose and congratulated her. Rose was very happy with a second place win. She didn't think her team would even get second place. Rose wasn't really a competitive person, with the exception of Wizard's Chess, so she didn't dwell on the thought of losing to the Hungry Hungry Horntails. ****** Over the next few weeks, Albus and his friends spent most of their free time in the Marauders' Den. They mostly goofed off, but did manage to get some studying done. Rose all but physically forced them to start studying by the time the last week in May arrived. Albus, Matt, John, and Kaden hadn't spent the night in the room yet, despite the fact that it was obviously set up for that. Albus wasn't sure what Bilius and Ethan would do if they never turned up at the dormitory one night, so they hadn't bothered. Although, Matt did spend the afternoon there sleeping the day of the May full moon, and he reported that the beds were just as comfortable as Gryffindor's beds and more comfortable than the Hospital Wing's beds. Ever since he and his friends managed to figure out the rest of the map, Albus felt like the school year was definitely winding down. It was almost like figuring out the map signified the end of term. Albus imagined that if they hadn't figured it out, he wouldn't have wanted to go home for the summer. The signs of the end of the year were very much apparent. The fifth and seventh years were spending all available time in the library studying for their O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s. The seventh year Gryffindor prefects had taken over Victoire's habit of demanding silence in the common room in the evenings, making Albus very happy that they had the Marauders' Den. On the other side of the spectrum were the students who just didn't want to do anything. Albus's cousin Stanley was the perfect example. Stanley had never been studious, but now that he would be graduating in only a couple weeks, he had no motivation whatsoever. However, his Ravenclaw girlfriend did force him to sit down and study for his N.E.W.T.s every evening. John shared Stanley's mindset. Even though John was no where near graduation, he also had no motivation to study. "I just don't see the point, Rose," John said as he tossed a chocolate frog up into the air, "If I haven't learned it by now, I'm not going to learn it in time for exams." "Might I remind you that you said 'I don't need to study it now. I'll just forget it by the end of term anyway. I'll just wait until May to learn it' a few months ago?" Rose sighed and shook her head. "Exactly," John caught the frog and shoved it in his mouth, "No point in studying ever." "Do you think anyone else knows about this place?" Albus wondered aloud as he looked up from his Astronomy book. "I hope no one else knows about it," John replied, "Otherwise it wouldn't be our secret anymore." "I don't mean other students," Albus said, "I mean, do you think the Marauders brought other people in here when they were in school. And those people would obviously still know about it." "I'm sure your dad's mum knew about it," Rose commented, "Don't know about anyone else." "I wonder why Sirius and Remus never told Dad about it," Albus mentioned. Rose shrugged, "Maybe they would have wanted Uncle Harry to find it on his own, if he was ever going to find it. I mean, it's not like our parents told us everything about Hogwarts either." "Guess that makes sense." "You know what doesn't make sense?" Kaden asked loudly. "What?" Albus asked. "Transfiguration," Kaden muttered, "I'm going to fail the exam. Why can't it be easy like Potions?" "I think you're the only one here who finds Potions easy, Kaden," Matt commented. "And are you good at Transfiguration?" Kaden asked. "Not really," Matt laughed, "The only thing I'm really good at is Astronomy." "I'd be willing to bet that you'll be good at Care of Magical Creatures," John smirked. "Shut up," Matt shook his head and threw a chocolate frog at John. "Hey, thanks!" John grinned and stuffed the frog in his mouth. "Found that one underneath that nasty old cauldron," Matt burst out laughing. "Ew! Gross!" John jumped up and spat the frog out onto the floor. "I'll get you for that one." "That is disgusting, John," Amanda screwed up her face and glanced at the floor. "Yeah, clean it up," Rose agreed. "It's his fault," John pointed at Matt. "Is not," Matt grinned. "You ate it." "You've known me for two years. You should realize that I'll eat anything your throw at me." "Anything?" Matt raised his eyebrow and grinned mischievously. "Anything that resembles food!" "There's charms to make stuff resemble food," Matt commented. "I'm not eating anything you give me anymore," John replied. "We'll see how long that lasts." "Will you both shut it and do your homework?" Rose shouted, "You're giving me a headache." "You could always go to the common room," John pointed out, "I hear that the prefects have made it a mandatory quiet zone until exams are over." "Just wait until I'm a prefect," Rose muttered, "It'll be quiet all year." "No it won't, cause I'll be a prefect with you," John grinned. "Yeah, right," Rose laughed, "Albus is going to be a prefect." Albus looked up from his reading. "Er, I'm not sure I want to be a prefect." "Then Matt can be a prefect," Rose said, "If he is, then you'll be even more like the Marauders." "Teddy's dad was a prefect?" Matt asked. "Yeah," Rose answered, "I'd bet on either you or Albus for prefect. Or perhaps Bilius or Ethan." "What about me?" John put on a look of fake sadness, "That hurts, Rose, it does." "You?" Rose smirked, "The boy who never does his homework?" "I'll do it, I'll do it," John muttered and picked up his quill. Albus laughed to himself and continued his Astronomy homework. He hadn't really thought about who was going to be a prefect. Albus wasn't entirely sure he wanted to be a prefect, even if Kendrick picked him. Prefects had an awful lot of responsibility. Responsibility that Albus wasn't sure he wanted. But prefect decisions were still over two years away. Albus pushed the thought of prefects out of his head and concentrated on his studying.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2535 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Sunday 28 September 2008 12 38 08 pm    Post subject: Re: Albus Potter and the Tracks They Left Behind in topic:Albus Potter and the Tracks They Left Behind Thanks, Obladi! Gotta love the word, authory. I'm going to start posting 2 chapters a week instead of just 1, because I only have 1 more chapter to write in this story! Questions, comments, and general reviews are appreciated, like always! Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter, Wii (and Nintendo in general), or Barbie. Chapter 23: Dinner With The Dursleys Albus's family came to pick him up from Rose's house the next afternoon. They were all dressed in Muggle clothing, although Harry looked a little uncomfortable in his Muggle suit. Probably due to the tie, Albus thought. He could never understand why Muggles wore those. "Ready, Al?" Harry asked after a few minutes of visiting with Rose's family. "Yeah," Albus replied. He had to admit that he was a bit nervous about this dinner, but there was nothing he could do about it now. "See you at school, Rose." "Bye," Rose smiled. The rest of the Potters and Weasleys said goodbye to each other and then Albus disapparated with his family. They appeared in a dark alley near a deserted street. Harry motioned for them to follow him and the family started down the street. They made a few more turns until they came upon a neighborhood of average sized houses. The houses all looked different, but seemed to be well cared for. It was a very quiet neighborhood with few people out and about. There were a couple people outside shoveling the newly fallen snow off their driveways, but none of them seemed to notice Albus and his family. Eventually, Harry led them up a driveway towards a gray house Albus recognized as Kaden's. Before they could even reach the door, it was thrown open and Kaden came running out. "Albus!" he shouted. "Hi, Kaden," Albus greeted him. "How are you?" "Great!" Kaden grinned, "I can't tell you how much I've missed school. It seems so boring here compared to school." "I haven't missed it. I like being on holiday," Albus said. "Yeah, but it's so boring without," Kaden whispered in Albus's ear, "Magic." Albus stifled a laugh and followed Kaden into the house. Kaden led them to the living room, where Dudley was fidgeting with his tie. Christina was setting out bowls of grapes and nuts and Bethany was helping. "Get anything good for Christmas?" Kaden asked Albus once they sat down on the couch. "I got a few new games for my Wii, a new football, a skateboard, and a bunch of clothes." "What's a Wii?" Albus asked. "Video game system," Kaden explained, "It's really fun. I'll show you sometime." "Oh," Albus nodded, "I got some clothes, books, a load of sweets, stuff from my Uncle George's shop, and my dad's Invisibility Cloak." Kaden's mouth fell open, "He gave it to you?!" "Yup," Albus grinned. He had told Kaden about the Cloak a while ago, although Kaden had never seen it. He pulled it out of his bag and handed it to Kaden. "Whoa, that's brilliant!" Kaden threw the cloak around himself, "Look, I'm invisible!" All the adults looked over at him. "Albus, you'd better put that away before Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia get here," Harry warned. Albus nodded and took the cloak back from Kaden. He knew Uncle Vernon would be less than enthusiastic about any sort of magical object. "Er, speaking of my parents," Dudley shifted uncomfortably, "They don't, well, they aren't aware that you're, er, here tonight." Albus watched as his parents looked at each other and then back at Dudley. "What do you mean, Dudley?" Harry asked nervously. "I knew they wouldn't come if they knew you were here, so I didn't tell them," Dudley confessed. Harry groaned, "Dudley... You know this could go horribly wrong." "Well, I was kind of hoping you would all make up," Dudley mumbled. Harry shook his head and looked back at Ginny, who looked worried. Then the doorbell rang and Harry turned to Dudley. Dudley gave him a small smile and turned to get the door. Albus gulped and looked at James. Albus could only ever recall seeing his Uncle Vernon once. Albus was only five or six at the time and the only thing he remembered was Vernon asking Harry if Albus was 'a freak like you are'. Albus had no desire to ever see the man again, and now he had to spend the evening with him. The voices of Dudley greeting his parents started to become louder as they came into the living room. Albus got up from the couch and stood next to James, who was hiding behind Harry. Vernon and Petunia followed Dudley into the room and their faces visibly paled as they saw the Potters. "Wha-wha, Dudley?" Vernon gaped at Harry and then looked at his son. Albus watched as pandemonium broke out amongst the adults. Vernon's face turned various shades of red and purple as he tried to grasp what was happening. Petunia clung to her husband with a combined look of dislike and fear on her face. "Vernon, Vernon! Did you know they would be here?" Petunia asked shrilly. Once Vernon regained his ability to speak coherently, he started yelling at Harry, who yelled back. "You!" Vernon pointed at Harry, "Why are you here, boy?" Christina stood near the entrance to the kitchen, looking uncomfortable. Bethany clung to her leg and hid her face, clearly afraid of her grandfather's shouting. Albus, James, Lily, and Kaden glanced around at the adults, paying rapt attention to the unfolding argument, but not saying a word. Ginny pursed her lips and watched her husband with a disapproving look. Albus had to admit that his Uncle Vernon was a bit scary right now and Albus had no desire to cross paths with him. Dudley looked nervous as he tried to make peace between his relatives. His voice was drowned out amongst Vernon and Harry's yelling, and Petunia's shrieking. "Mum, Dad," Dudley stood in front of his parents, "I invited them here, so we could all get reacquainted." "Why would you do that?" Vernon demanded. "Kaden's a wizard, Dad, so Harry's a part of his life now. You know he's one of Kaden's teachers." Vernon's face turned from ghostly white to a deep shade of purple. "What could he possibly teach? Abnormalness?" "Magic, Dad, it's called magic," Dudley sighed. Vernon's eyes narrowed and he glared at Harry. "You're filling his head with all that junk you learned as a child! Don't stand for it, Dudley! He's got you tricked or something! Send him to Smeltings!" "Dad, Harry didn't trick me. Kaden's a wizard and you're just going to have to live with it," Dudley replied. "Nothing good will come of this, Dudley! I assure you of that!" Vernon shouted. "Vernon," Petunia put her hand on her husband's arm, "Let it go." "You do realize that this kind of abnormality is what got your sister killed!" "I'm fully aware of what happened to my sister," Petunia snapped. "This doesn't have anything to do with that. It's about accepting your grandson for who he is." Vernon continued glaring at Harry, but he didn't say anything. "Let's all sit down," Dudley suggested. "And I'll get us some drinks!" Christina announced eagerly. She rushed into the kitchen and came back with a bottle of brandy, a bottle of wine, and a some glasses, along with fizzy drinks for the kids. Vernon and Petunia regained their composure and Petunia gave Dudley a bone crunching hug and smothered him with kisses. She then moved on and did the same with both her grandchildren, making sure to completely ignore Albus, James, and Lily. Albus sat down on the couch, and to his dislike Vernon chose to sit next to him. After a few moments of awkward silence, Vernon turned to Albus. "So," he began, causing Albus to jump, "You go to this, school, too?" "Er, yeah," Albus replied quickly, not looking at Vernon. "Look at me when I'm talking to you," Vernon spat, "I see manners aren't high on their priority list. What classes do you take there?" Albus forced himself to look at Vernon. "I'm taking Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Herbology, Astronomy, History of Magic, and Defense Against the Dark Arts," he mumbled quietly. Vernon seemed to flinch at the sound of those names. "I see. And are you any good at them?" "Um, I guess so," Albus replied. He was wishing more and more that he could have just stayed at Rose's house instead of coming here. Why was Vernon questioning him? Why not James or Kaden? "What subject does your father teach?" Vernon barked. "Defense Against the Dark Arts," Albus muttered. "And what is that, exactly?" "Defensive spells, dueling, stuff you use to defeat Dark wizards like Voldemort." "Yeah, and Professor Potter defeated Voldemort!" Kaden interrupted and for once Albus was grateful for his cousin's big mouth. "So I've heard," Vernon replied. "He's a great teacher, Grandpa! I love my new school. It's much better than Muggle school," Kaden grinned. "I'll be right back." He ran up the stairs and came back a few seconds later with his wand. "Look at this!" Vernon narrowed his eyes and gazed at his grandson. "You've got one, too." "Of course I do!" Kaden laughed, "I wish I could show you some magic, though. I can't do it outside school. Hey, Professor Potter can show you!" "No! I ruddy hell think not!" Vernon shouted. "No thanks!" Petunia shouted at the same time. Kaden looked disappointed. "Sorry, Kaden," Harry with an apologetic look, "Maybe another day." "Or never," Vernon muttered. Nobody said much after that. Albus preferred it that way. He was very happy that Uncle Vernon appeared to have given up his question and answer session. Christina announced that dinner was ready a few minutes later, and everyone eagerly went into the dining room. Albus made sure that he wasn't sitting next to Vernon and relaxed a little as he began to eat. The Dursleys dominated most of the dinner conversation, with Vernon and Petunia asking Dudley and Christina about what was new in their lives. They wanted to know every last detail, down to what grade Bethany had gotten on her latest book report in school. Eventually they had exhausted this topic and the table descended into an awkward silence before Vernon started drilling Harry about his life. "So, boy, what exactly do you do for a living?" Vernon barked. "I'm the Head of the Auror Department at the Ministry of Magic," Harry smiled. "Auror?" Vernon repeated, "What would that be?" "A Dark wizard catcher," Harry explained. "Oh, like a policeman. Wouldn't have guessed you were doing that, what with all the trouble you caused as a child." Harry sighed, "You know most of that wasn't my fault." "Like hell it wasn't. It was all due to your abnormality," Vernon replied. "Dad, can't you just drop it?" Dudley asked. "No, Duddy, I won't! Vernon slammed his fist on the table, "He's obviously done something to Kaden to make him abnormal!" That had to be the most ridiculous thing Albus had ever heard. A wizard could not turn a Muggle into a wizard. If they could, there wouldn't be any Squibs in the world, and there would certainly be more wizards. "Oh come off it, Dad!" Dudley shouted. "Harry didn't do this! Kaden was born a wizard!" "No he wasn't!" Vernon yelled, his face turning purple again. "And I want the boy to change him back!" "Uncle Vernon, listen to me," Harry announced, "You can't turn someone into a wizard, it just doesn't work. Kaden was born a wizard, which doesn't surprise me at all. There is magic in his blood, the same magic that was in my mother's and is in mine." "Wonderful," Vernon spat, "And I suppose you're going to tell me that Bethany will be abnormal, too?" "There's a chance she'll be a witch, yes," Harry told him. "I am not going to stand for anymore abonormalness in this family!" Vernon roared. "Vernon, there's nothing we can do!" Petunia shrieked, "I don't like it either, but the boy did not do this!" "How do you know?" "Because my freak of a sister told me it's not possible, that's how!" "Don't call her a freak!" Harry glared at both of them. Petunia ignored him. "I asked her, when I was an arrogant child. I asked her if someone could turn me into a witch before I knew any better. She said no. There is not one thing we can do to change Kaden. We just have to hope that he's going to be smarter than my sister was and not get killed just out of school." "Fine," Vernon snapped, "But I don't like it. I don't like it one bit." "Neither do I, neither do I," Petunia agree. Albus glanced nervously from one adult to the next, hoping that the fight was over. He realized now how much Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia hated magic now. The two of them were still going on about how Albus's grandmother had been killed, thirty-some years later. Albus was still amazed that Vernon had actually blamed Harry for Kaden being a wizard. Albus knew Vernon disliked Harry, but he didn't think Vernon would still blame Harry for things he didn't like, this many years later. "You'd be better off just keeping him out of that school," Vernon announced after a few minutes of silence. "There's no law requiring him to go, is there?" "No," Dudley replied. "But he likes it there, so he's staying." "This is utterly ridiculous," Vernon muttered, "Wait till Marge hears about it." "I hate Aunt Marge," Kaden said loudly, causing Albus to snort into his juice. "All she talks about is breeding dogs." "Don't say that about your aunt," Vernon scolded. "What?" Kaden shrugged, "Professor Potter must not like her either." Harry, who had been laughing behind his glass, immediately stopped and looked at Kaden. "Really, Kaden, it's not nice to say you hate people." He turned to Vernon, "You haven't told her?" "Of course I haven't!" Vernon raised his voice, "Can you imagine what she is going to think? That someone, like, like you is actually related to her? She takes comfort in the fact that you aren't actually related to her! But to have Kaden be one of your lot, she'll be horrified! And I should think so after what you blew her up years ago!" "What?!" Kaden and Bethany shouted at the same time. Kaden spat his juice out and started choking. Albus slapped him on the back, trying to control his own laughter. Harry told them this story a long time ago and just thinking about it made Albus laugh. "That wasn't his fault!" Ginny came to Harry's defense, "He couldn't control it! What your sister said about his parents was absolutely rotten and you know it!" "It was the truth!" Vernon shouted, rising to his feet. "No it wasn't!" Ginny stood up as well. "What do you mean, blew her up?" Kaden asked. "His parents were idiots and that's why they were killed!" Vernon continued. "No they weren't!" Harry stood and stared at his uncle. Albus had rarely ever seen his father so angry before. "They were working against Voldemort." "Another one of your lot who went on a killing rampage!" Vernon yelled. "They should have just ignored him and minded their own business," Petunia announced. Albus didn't really think she should be telling someone to mind their own business, when she thrived off of gossip. "You couldn't ignore Voldemort!" Harry and Ginny said at the same time. "Can someone please tell me how Aunt Marge got blown up?!" Kaden shouted again. "Dad, just forget about it, all right? Harry's parents weren't lazy," Dudley pleaded. "Leave this to me, Dudley. You're obviously under a bad influence right now." Dudley heaved a huge sigh, "Dad... You're forgetting that Harry saved my life once!" "Oh, from those dementy things? They wouldn't have even been around if it weren't for the boy!" "The point is that they were! And Harry saved me from them! He also kept us all safe while he was hunting down that Voldemort bloke. He didn't have to do that, you know." "What's a dementy thing?" Kaden asked loudly. "Dementors," Albus corrected, "They're these cloaked creatures that suck out your soul." Kaden stared at Albus, "They what?" "Suck out your soul," Albus repeated, "They feed on happy thoughts, until you're only left with the sad ones." Kaden shuddered, "They sound bloody horrible. Professor Potter saved Dad from one?" "Yeah, when they were 15. There's a charm, the Patronus Charm, that drives them away. It's really advanced magic not taught until seventh year, but Dad learned in his third year." "Wow, your dad's brilliant," Kaden grinned. "But I don't fancy running into one of those dementors. Have you ever seen one?" "No and I hope never to," Albus replied. "We would have been fine without those weirdos 'protecting' us!" Vernon raged. "No we wouldn't! We'd all be dead!" Dudley insisted. "What would that Voldemort bloke have wanted with us anyway?" Vernon bellowed, "It's not like we're weirdos like him." "Don't you get it?" Harry sighed, "He didn't care about anyone! He would've killed anyone to get to me, including you." "Everybody, just shut it!" The five adults who were arguing turned to the source of the new voice that rang out louder than theirs. It was Christina. Everyone stopped arguing and stared at her. "Thank you. Now I only understand parts of this row, but everything you're rowing about has happened in the past. Can't you just put it behind you and try to get along? Look at you, you're standing there arguing about stuff you can't change, in front of your children. What kind of example are you setting? Put aside your differences, if not for yourselves, do it for the kids." The adults said nothing for a few moments while Christina glared at every one of them. Eventually, Harry spoke, "She's right. We should just try and get along." Ginny nodded in agreement. "That's what I was trying to tell you," Dudley commented. "Fine," Vernon spat, "I'll tolerate the boy. But you are making a grave mistake with Kaden, Dudley." "Good," Christina replied and stood up. "I'll go get the pudding." The rest of the dinner was much more enjoyable. Harry quickly told the story of when he blew up Marge to douse Kaden and Bethany's curiosity, but there was no more mention of magic throughout the rest of the meal. The conversation centered on topics that could be equally relative to Muggles and wizards, such as the weather. Albus didn't say anything, choosing instead to quietly eat his pudding while listening to the adults' strained conversations. He was just happy that they were no longer arguing with each other. After dinner, Albus, James, and Kaden escaped to Kaden's bedroom, which he was eager to show off. The entire thing was decorated with various football paraphernalia, with a lot of emphasis on Manchester United. James found this highly entertaining and spent quite a few minutes laughing at the posters, in which the players remained completely still. Kaden spent a while showing off his Christmas presents to Albus and James and soon wanted to show them how to play his Wii. Kaden led Albus and James back downstairs, where the adults were discussing cars over coffee. Albus was very happy that he did not have to sit through that discussion. Albus followed as Kaden went down another flight of stairs and they descended into the basement. The basement was clearly the playroom of the house, as it was cluttered with all sorts of Muggle toys. Lily and Bethany were playing with Bethany's Barbies in one corner and neither of them paid much attention as the boys entered the room. The Wii was set up in the middle of the room and attached to a television that was against the wall. Albus had never played a Wii before and was kind of curious about it. James was as well, although he got sidetracked by a remote control car. He drove it all over the room, completely amazed at how the car seemed to move by magic. "The things Muggles come up with," James grinned as he joined Albus and Kaden in front of the television. Kaden spent the next hour teaching James and Albus how to play the Wii. They started with Kaden's new racing game, which was actually pretty complicated. It took Albus the better part of an hour to figure out how to play it. James caught on a bit faster, but neither of them could top Kaden in skill. Albus found that the game was incredibly fun and almost wished he had one at his house. Once they successfully learned the racing game, Kaden went on to teach them how to play a couple more games. Lily eventually wandered over and wanted to learn, too. By the time midnight came around, all five of them were taking turns playing games and Albus was having a great time. Albus was kind of disappointed when his dad called them back upstairs to count down to the new year and hoped that everyone was still acting civilly. They were, as Albus found when he entered the living room. It didn't really look like the adults were enjoying themselves, but they were at least acting polite, which was good enough for Albus. Shortly after they rang in the new year, Albus's parents decided it was time to leave. Albus had no arguments against this because he was tired and didn't really want to spend anymore time in the same house as Uncle Vernon. Harry politely shook hands with Vernon, said goodbye to Petunia, and told Dudley he would owl him soon. Vernon kind of flinched at the mention of the word 'owl.' Albus completely ignored Vernon and Petunia, and told Kaden he would see him on the train ride back to school. Once the obligatory goodbyes were said, Albus and his family left the house, only to Apparate back to Grimmauld Place a few streets away.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2535 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Wednesday 27 August 2008 12 35 19 pm    Post subject: Re: Albus Potter and the Tracks They Left Behind in topic:Albus Potter and the Tracks They Left Behind Sorry about the cliffie. But the chapter was kind of long, so I had to split it up. Here's the rest of Albus's little adventure. As always, comments, questions, and general reviews are always appreciated! Chapter 18: Locked Out Albus had to admit, the thought did cross his mind every once in a while. But really, it wasn't very realistic. Yes, the Marauders had done it, but they were lucky it had worked out all right. There was a reason that hardly anyone could become an Animagus and why you had to be registered with the Ministry. Plus, they were only second years. The Marauders hadn't done it until their fifth year. They were exceptionally smart, too. Well, three of them were. Albus didn't think he was anywhere near being good enough at Transfiguration to pull it off. Rose was probably the only one of them who had a chance at succeeding. And even though Rose did not hesitate to break rules when she needed to, there was no way she would agree to this. "Oh come on, John, we can't be Animagi." "Why not?" John asked, "The Marauders did it." "They were really smart," Albus explained, "I'm definitely not that smart. And what did you get on your last Transfiguration test? A 50 or something?" "55, thank you," John corrected him, "And we'd figure it out. Rose could help us." "But this isn't as simple as figuring out a spell for class!" Albus shouted, "It's dangerous. What if we can't change back? What if we get stuck halfway? Rose doesn't know everything. Even she would have trouble with this." "It's worth the risk," John said adamantly, "I don't care if I mess up a few times. I'll just try again." "That's the thing. Sometimes when you mess up, you don't get the chance to try again. My dad explained this all to me over the summer. He talked to me about becoming an Animagus as soon as school was over last year because he knew the thought would cross my mind. He'll know if I try and he won't let me do it. I'd consider trying when we're older, but definitely not right now." John sighed, "It would be great if we could, though. I mean, we would be the ultimate new Marauders then. Imagine if we could even change into the same animals the Marauders were. I fancy myself as a dog." "I could see that," Albus agreed, relieved that John seemed to accept the fact that Albus wasn't going to budge on the issue. "I don't know if I'd be a stag, though. Maybe a fox or something, I dunno." "Can you see Kaden as a rat?" John asked, grinning. Albus smirked, "Not really. He'd probably be one of those yappy dogs, not a big cool dog like you'd be, but a tiny chihuahua or something that's always barking and jumping." "Definitely," John laughed, "It couldn't hurt to research Animagi, though. I mean, if anyone asks we could say it's for extra credit." "My dad would see right through that one," Albus told him. "Doesn't matter," Matt said quietly. He had been exceptionally quiet ever since John had first mentioned the idea. "You can't become Animagi with me on the full moon." "Why?" John asked. "We know it's dangerous. I don't care." "It's not that. You think I haven't thought about you lot becoming Animagi? That my parents haven't thought about doing it? Amy? They have. My parents have ever since we found out Wolfsbane didn't work for me. Amy has ever since she first saw me after a transformation. My parents actually started working on it. But then they decided to have me do the Wolfsbane study instead. You see, if anyone is with me as an Animagus on the full moon, I won't hurt myself and it'll seem like the potion actually worked. It'll mess up the study big time. My parents decided it would be better for me to find a potion that would work than to have to rely on other people's Animagus abilities. They even forbade Amy from trying it, she wasn't very happy." Albus hadn't thought about that. He was actually a little relieved. He didn't want to become an Animagus behind his dad's back. It was one thing to steal the Invisibility Cloak for a couple days, but to sneak around as an animal every full moon? That was just too secretive for Albus's liking. He hoped that John would give up on the idea now. "But if the study ever ends without finding me a potion that works, I won't stop you from trying." "Sounds fair," John replied, "How long does the study go?" "No idea. Probably at least another two years. It all depends on how many different forms of Wolfsbane people come up with," Matt closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall again. "Headache still there?" Albus asked. Matt nodded without opening his eyes. "Let's hurry up, then. Where should we put the parchment?" "Room behind the stairs," Matt shakily stood up. "That way Madam Pomfrey doesn't see it." "We'll do it, you stay here," John gently pushed his friend back onto the floor. "How much parchment should we put down?" "How much did you bring?" "About a half roll," Albus pulled a partially used roll of parchment out of his cloak. "All of it, then. Chances are most of it will get ripped." Albus nodded and stood up. He walked over to the stairs with John following and saw the small room Matt was talking about. It was also filled with various broken pieces of furniture. "We shouldn't have done this tonight. I didn't even think about the moon." "Me neither," John shook his head as he bent down to move some of the furniture aside. "But it's not as bad as the time with the detention. I think he'll be ok." "Yeah. He can sleep all tomorrow if he wants," Albus commented as he ripped pieces off the roll of parchment. "Him and me both," John yawned. "Wasn't expecting the tunnel to be that long." "Me neither, but it is a long way from the grounds to Hogsmeade, so it makes sense." Albus finished ripping the parchment and the two boys each took a stack to affix to the floor. It took them a few minutes and once they were done, the room was covered in pieces of parchment. "I can see why he didn't want Madam Pomfrey to see," John laughed as he re-lit his wand. "It would definitely raise some questions," Albus lit his own wand. "Let's just hope this works. I can't see any other way to safely get a werewolf's paw print." The two boys took one more look at the parchment coated room and then went back to the large main room. Matt was right where they left him, leaning against a partially broken chair. Albus nudged him awake. "Finished?" Matt yawned. "Yup, let's get back to the castle," Albus helped his friend up and the three of them left the shack. The trip back through the tunnel took a lot longer than when they were going to the shack. All three boys were incredibly tired and the thrill had worn off for Albus and John. Albus glanced at his watch as they neared the end of the tunnel and saw that it was nearly 1:30. He was very glad they had done this on a weekend. "It's harder getting out than getting in," Matt said tiredly as he removed the wards. "Whoever goes first has to dodge the branches and then push the knot on the trunk for the other two." Albus and John looked at each other, for both of them knew Matt was too exhausted to be able to dodge the branches properly. "I'll do it," Albus told him, "I'm making you get the rat." Albus climbed up the wall and crawled out of the hole. He was immediately hit in the shoulder with one of the flailing branches. "Ouch!" he shouted as he groped the trunk for the knot. His hand made contact with it and the branches immediately froze. "You can come out now," he whispered through the passageway. Albus stood aside and pulled the Invisibility Cloak out of his cloak. Matt appeared out of the hole first and shuddered as the moonlight hit him. John was right behind him and the two of them got under the cloak with Albus once Matt re-set the wards. "You ok?" John asked Albus once they were back on the path leading to the castle. "Yeah. Just got me in the shoulder," Albus replied. His shoulder stung and he could feel some blood dripping down his arm, but he couldn't go see Madam Pomfrey. She would know immediately what gave him the wound and would no doubt insist on knowing what they were up to. The boys trudged along through the cold night air. Albus looked up to the sky and saw that thick clouds were moving in. It would probably snow soon. Of course, Albus would be much too tired the next day to enjoy it, so it didn't much matter. It was worth it, though. Within a few days they would have one of the four paw prints needed to unlock the secrets of the new map. A little while later they reached the castle doors. Albus glanced quickly at the Map and saw that Filch was up on the sixth floor and Peeves was in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. No one else was wandering around. Albus grasped the handle of the door and pushed. It did not budge. He tried again, but no luck. "Filch must've remembered to lock it!" Albus muttered. "Try one of those spells Rose taught you," John suggested. Albus nodded and pointed his wand at the handle. He muttered a spell but the door remained locked. He tried a few more, but none of them worked. "I think we're locked out!" Albus said in a panicked tone. "We're locked out?" John questioned and pushed the door himself, "What do we do now?" "What do you mean we're locked out?" Matt groaned, "It was just unlocked a couple hours ago!" "I know it was," Albus replied anxiously, "Filch must've locked it!" "We can't stay out here all night!" Matt's voice cracked, "We'll freeze!" Albus swallowed hard as panic filled his body. What were they going to do now? Albus had been worrying mostly about getting out of the castle and into the tunnel without getting caught that the thought of being locked out hadn't even crossed his mind. I mean, what were the chances of the doors being unlocked when they left and locked when they came back? But what would they do? They couldn't stay out here, it was freezing and would snow soon. All three of them were shivering. "Any chance either of you knows how to conjure a Patronus?" Albus asked, thinking of the only way he knew to contact Rose and Amanda. "Are you mad?" John asked. "We're only second years." "Well, have you got any bright ideas on how to tell Rose and Amanda we're locked out?" John thought for a minute before answering, "You could break into the broom shed and steal a broom. Then fly it up to Gryffindor Tower." "Now you're mad. I'll get seen by someone. What if one of the professors is looking out their window? Or one of the students?" "Wear the Invisibility Cloak," John replied. "Then you two will get seen. And if I'm wearing the Cloak then Rose and Amanda won't see me." "Oh, right," John sighed. "How about Hagrid?" "Then we'll get in trouble," Albus reminded him, although unless they didn't think of something else soon, they would have to go to Hagrid's. "Well, we've got to think of something soon. He's got to get away from the moon," John gestured to Matt who was leaning against the door and breathing heavily. "The moon's almost covered by clouds," Albus pointed out, "And then we'll just have to worry about being snowed on." "Wonderful," John groaned. "Maybe we can curl up in piles of snow like wolves do and keep warm that way." "Very funny," Albus said flatly. He was really starting to get worried now. What would happen if they did go to Hagrid's? They'd surely get in trouble, but how much? Would they just get detention or would it be worse? Points would be taken away for sure, and that would not go over well with the other Gryffindors. "Hey, wait!" John's face brightened a bit, "What about the Shrieking Shack? We could just go back there and spend the night. Then we'll sneak back in tomorrow morning after Filch has unlocked the doors again." "That's...that's," Albus thought about this for a moment. "Not actually a bad idea. We'll be inside and we won't get caught." John grinned. "Let's go," he poked Matt in the side. "What?" Matt opened his eyes. "We're going back to the Shack," John explained. "Great," Matt said sarcastically, "I get to spend another night there. You two couldn't come up with a different idea?" "Nope," John answered, "I'd say it was pretty brilliant myself, so unless you've got a better one, we're going." Matt sighed, "Oh, fine. But we're not making a habit of this." "Me and Albus aren't," John laughed, "But you already do." "Oh, shut it," Matt groaned, "Let's just go." Albus couldn't help but feel a tiny bit excited about spending the night in the Shack. It would definitely be the worst thing he had ever done, as far as breaking rules was concerned. He also felt nervous about it. What if they did get caught? What if Rose and Amanda started to get worried and told someone about their plan? Albus pushed that thought out of his mind. Rose wouldn't do that, would she? She would if she thought they were in trouble. But they weren't in that big of trouble. The three of them would spend the night in the shack and that would be that. When morning came they would sneak back into the castle and no one would be the wiser. This might actually be kind of fun, it was thrilling and a tad bit dangerous. Something the Marauders would have done. Who knows, maybe they even had done it on occasion. The trip back to the shack, though exhausting, was uneventful. John, like Albus, had a look of excitement in his eyes when the three of them entered the shack once more. Matt looked like he didn't care where they were, as long as there was some place he could sleep. "This is pretty cool," John grinned, "Spending the night in Hogsmeade." "It's going to be cold, though," Matt shivered, "There aren't any heating charms in here." "Warmer than outside," Albus commented as he stowed the cloak back in his robes. "Are there any lights in here?" "Nope," Matt replied. "We'll just have to keep our wands lit." "What do you want to do now?" John asked with a look of mischief on his face, "So many possibilities in this place...." "How about we go to bed?" Matt suggested sarcastically. Albus, although excited about spending the night in the shack, was extremely tired and all he wanted to do was sleep. "Are there any beds here?" "One," Matt answered. He led Albus and John up the stairs and into the only bedroom. There was one large bed and a wardrobe, both surprisingly still intact. "They're charmed to be indestructible," Matt answered Albus's questioning look. John hopped onto the bed and started jumping on it. "Now we're talking! This bed is excellent for jumping." "Can't say I've ever tried it before," Matt joined him on the bed and started jumping as well. "You're right, it is quite nice for jumping." Albus jumped up with them and agreed. The bed was good for jumping. Even better than James's. James, Albus, and Lily had spent many hours jumping on James's bed, always to be interrupted and yelled at by their mother. The boys continued jumping on the bed and goofing off for a couple minutes. Albus smirked to himself as he remembered a story his Aunt Hermione had told him about monkeys jumping on a bed. "What's so funny?" John asked. "Just wondering who'll be the first to fall off and break his head," Albus laughed. "What?" John asked and Matt started to laugh as well. "It's a Muggle story," Albus explained and proceeded to tell John the story of the monkeys. "It's amazing what Muggles come up with for stories," John shook his head and jumped off the bed, landing on his feet like a cat. "I don't think any of us are going to break our heads." "Mine feels like it's broken," Matt announced as he jumped off the bed. He didn't land as gracefully as John and fell on his arm. "Ow!" Albus jumped down next to him. "You ok?" "Yeah," Matt pointed his lit wand at his arm. "No blood." "Good," John replied. "We should probably go to bed now," Albus suggested, "We've got to be up early so we can sneak back in before a lot of people wake up." "There's more blankets in the wardrobe," Matt yawned as he got back on the bed and curled up beneath the blanket that was already on the bed. Albus and John each grabbed a couple blankets and got into the bed alongside Matt. It was a good thing the bed was so big, Albus thought. It was much bigger than the four-poster beds in Gryffindor. "He's already asleep," John commented as he lay down. "Good," Albus replied, "Maybe his headache will go away. Good night." "'Night." ****** Albus woke up the next morning to slivers of light shining through the boarded up windows. Boarded up windows? There weren't boarded up windows in the dormitory. Albus's eyes shot open and he glanced around at his surroundings. Oh, right. The memories of the previous night flooded Albus as he realized that he was in the Shrieking Shack. Albus sat up and yawned. He felt more tired this morning than he had the previous night. One look at his watch told him why. It was only seven o'clock, he had only gotten about four hours of sleep. Just as well, Albus thought. They had to get back to the castle quickly anyway, if they wanted to sneak back in without anyone noticing. Albus nudged John awake and winced. He pulled up the sleeve of his robe and saw that the cut from the Whomping Willow looked thoroughly disgusting. It was probably infected and would require a trip to the hospital wing. Albus shook John with his uninjured arm. "John, wake up!" "No, lemme sleep," John groaned and turned away from Albus. "Get up or we'll get caught," Albus pushed him again. "Don't care," John murmured. "I'll push you out of bed," Albus warned. John muttered something incoherent and didn't move. "You asked for it," Albus muttered and rolled John over to the edge of the bed. He gave him one final nudge and John fell off the edge of the bed with a loud thump. "What the hell?" John shouted, sitting up with a dazed look on his face. "I told you to get up," Albus leaned over the bed and laughed. "We've got to get back to the castle or someone's going to see us come out of the tree." "Oh, fine," John grumbled, "But I'm going back to bed once we get back." "You and me both," Albus agreed and got out of bed. He picked up the spare blankets and stowed them back in the wardrobe so Madam Pomfrey wouldn't get suspicious. "You going to push him off the bed too?" John pointed to Matt's sleeping form as he stood up. "No," Albus replied simply. "Where's the justice?" John muttered. Albus grinned and shook Matt awake. "We've got to get back to the castle. We'll sleep more there." Matt groaned and got out of bed. "I think I'd rather just stay here." "I wouldn't suggest it," John responded, "Albus pushed me off the bed when I didn't get up. Can you believe that?" Matt laughed and looked from John to Albus and back again. "Yes." The boys left the shack quickly and started the long journey back to the Whomping Willow. All three of them were dragging and Albus was very glad that he didn't have any classes today. He had homework, but he wasn't even going to think about that until he got at least another six hours sleep. One quick check of the map told him that the coast was clear before they emerged from the tree. The three of them donned the Invisibility Cloak as soon as Matt was finished warding the tree and they set off for the castle. Since it was still early, the only one on the grounds was Hagrid. There was several more inches of snow and by the time they boys were back at the castle doors, their robes were wet and they were shivering. Halfway to the castle, it had started sowing again. "Rose and Amanda are in the Great Hall," Albus pointed to their two dots on the map. "But hardly anyone else is, and no one's in the Entrance Hall, so I think we're good." Albus pushed the doors open and the three invisible boys slipped inside. Albus immediately pulled the wet cloak off of them and hid it in his robes. "We should probably go talk to Rose and Amanda." "I've got to go see Madam Pomfrey sometime," Matt told them, "My arm still hurts, look." He pulled the sleeve of his robes up and showed them his black and blue arm. "I don't think it's broken, but it still hurts." "My shoulder still hurts," Albus replied, "I guess I'll have to go, too." At that moment, Rose and Amanda left the Great Hall and stopped a couple feet away from the boys. John pointed to where they were and Albus turned around. Both girls had a combination of relief and anger on their faces. Rose was fuming by the time she stomped over to Albus. "Where. Were. You," she demanded. "Er," Albus mumbled. He never liked being on the receiving end of his cousin's anger. "Room, now," Rose seethed and stalked off towards the stairs with Amanda at her side. Albus, John, and Matt followed wordlessly. All ideas of going to the Hospital Wing were driven from Albus's mind. Of course, after seeing Rose, he would much rather have been bombarded with questions about his shoulder than going to the Room with his cousin. Nobody said a word until they were in the Room. Albus, John, and Matt sat side by side on the couch, but Rose and Amanda remained standing in front of them. "Explain yourselves!" Rose shouted. "We-" Albus began. Rose cut him off, "You know what? I think I'll tell you about our night first! We were plenty worried about the three of you sneaking off to the Shack in the middle of the night, but it had to be done. What other choice did we have? It was safer than the alternative. How else were you going to get the paw print? I thought the plan would work. We had it all set. You three would sneak down there and put the parchment on the floor and then sneak back up. Simple." Rose stopped and began to pace around the room. "There were all kinds of things that could've gone wrong," Amanda picked up where Rose left off. "Filch, for one. Or one of the teachers. Peeves, even. Or how about when you got onto the grounds? There are all sorts of animals wandering around at night. Not to mention the Whomping Willow itself." "So what were we supposed to think when you three never showed up?!" Rose raised her voice even higher, if that was possible. "If you had been caught by Filch or a teacher, you would've came back to Gryffindor eventually! BUT YOU NEVER DID!" "But Rose-" John pleaded. Albus sent him a warning look. He knew it was never good to interrupt Rose when she was on a rampage. "Shut up, John! We thought some kind of animal had you! Or even worse, that Washburn had come back for the Hallows and found you and kidnapped you or something! Then you sneak back into the castle this morning, looking like you've just been at a party or something! "You kept us up all night worrying, when you probably just decided to have some fun last night. You know I was this close to telling Uncle Harry this morning. I wanted to last night, but Amanda convinced me to wait until morning. Of course now I wish I hadn't waited. Maybe a couple detentions would teach you not to stay out all night!" "Rose," Albus said tentatively, "Just let us explain." "Go ahead, Albus," Rose glared at him. "Convince me that what you did last night wasn't just stupidity." "We got locked out," Albus explained, "The doors to the castle weren't locked when we left, but Filch must've locked them after we were out of the castle. I tried all the charms you taught me, but none of them worked. So we decided to spend the night in the Shrieking Shack. And you're right, it was kind of fun." Rose and Amanda stared at him, dumbstruck. Neither of them said a word for the next minute. Albus and the other boys didn't dare say a word either. "Well," Rose said quietly, "Er, that does explain things. I'm, uh, sorry I yelled at you." "It's all right," Albus assured her. "But Albus?" Rose began, "You could've just gone to the Owlery and sent me a quick note telling me that you were locked out. Then we would've at least known what was going on." Albus, John, and Matt turned to look at each other. Albus felt his cheeks turning red. Of course! Why hadn't he thought of that? The only means of communication Albus had thought of was a Patronus. But the answer was there all along, a simple owl. He could have just made a quick trip to the owlery before they went back to the Shack. "We're idiots," John muttered softly. "Yes, but you're our idiots," Rose laughed. "Now, are you going to tell us about your little adventure?" Albus, John, and Matt spent the next half hour relaying every detail of their trips to the Shrieking Shack the previous night. Rose and Amanda both found it very entertaining, especially the part about Albus pushing John off the bed. After they were done telling the story, all five of them went to the hospital wing so Albus and Matt could get their wounds healed. Madam Pomfrey was sitting at her desk when they arrived and the ward was completely deserted of other patients. She took one look at the Gryffindors and came bustling out from behind the desk. "You lot again? What have you gotten yourselves into this time?" "Just these two," John pointed at Albus and Matt. Madam Pomfrey took one hard look at Matt and announced, "You were outside last night. Was someone giving you detention?" "Er, no." Madam Pomfrey looked at him for a few seconds longer and sighed, "Go sit down on a bed, both of you." Albus and Matt sat down on one of the beds and Madam Pomfrey returned a few moments later with a tray laden with potions. She told Matt to drink them all, which he did. "My arm's all bruised, too," Matt pulled up his sleeve, "I tripped over a book." Madam Pomfrey clucked her tongue and pulled out her wand. She had his arm healed in an instant. "I trust you'll get some sleep today? Or do I have to make you stay here?" "I'll sleep, I promise," Matt replied quickly. "What about you?" the nurse turned to Albus. "Hurt my shoulder," Albus answered, not elaborating on the subject. He pulled up his sleeve to reveal his injured shoulder. Madam Pomfrey studied it for a moment, then she cleaned it. Albus winced as the potion she used on it stung. The nurse looked at the injury for a little while longer and she looked from Albus to Matt and back again. "I know how you got that," she replied. "Er," Albus stuttered. Great, after all that, they were still going to get in trouble. "Whatever you boys did last night, don't do it again," Madam Pomfrey said sternly, looking Albus and then Matt in the eye, "I won't tell Professor Longbottom this time, or your father," she said to Albus, "But next time I will." Albus breathed a sigh of relief as Madam Pomfrey healed his shoulder with one swift wave of her wand. He'd have no trouble keeping his word to the nurse. There was no way that he was going to repeat last night. Well, unless they needed to for the map. But he'd try hard not to get hit by the Whomping Willow next time. "You're all set," Madam Pomfrey announced, "Now go get some sleep, both of you." Albus nodded as he stood up. He would have no problem doing that. He was practically falling asleep as he walked. The group went back to the common room and the boys immediately headed for their dormitory. Albus changed into his pajamas and climbed into his warm four-poster bed, feeling very satisfied that they hadn't been caught at all.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2535 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Wednesday 20 August 2008 09 02 06 pm    Post subject: Re: Albus Potter and the Tracks They Left Behind in topic:Albus Potter and the Tracks They Left Behind Last chapter before I go to school! Not sure when I'll next update, but I'll try to do it soon. Comments, questions, and general reviews are always appreciated! Chapter 17: Animagi When Albus woke up the next morning, he found that he was overcome with nerves about stealing his father's Invisibility Cloak. Albus had been so caught up in the excitement about the map the night before that he hadn't really given it a second thought. But now that the idea had simmered overnight, he realized that the plan might go horribly wrong. What had he been thinking? Stealing the Invisibility Cloak? That was exactly what Washburn had been trying to do the previous year. Of course, Albus was technically only borrowing the Cloak, as he intended to sneak it back right after he was done with his late night stroll to the Shrieking Shack, but still. What if his dad discovered it missing? Was that even likely? Albus had no idea how often Harry used his cloak nowadays. He probably didn't have much use for it at Hogwarts because teachers could roam around wherever and whenever they wanted. Albus didn't even know where his father kept the cloak. He was planning on just trying a summoning charm as James had done to retrieve the Marauder's Map. Albus just hoped that the cloak attempt would go just as smoothly. Harry still hadn't noticed that the Map was missing. Either that or he knew James took it and was just letting him keep it. As Albus's thoughts went to the original Marauder's Map, he remembered that he still hadn't given it back to James. Albus remained distracted throughout his morning classes and by the time lunch came, he was almost as nervous as he had been for the first Quidditch match. Nobody said much as Albus picked at his food, well nobody except Kaden. Kaden rambled on about his morning classes until he had to leave for Potions a short while later. Once he was gone, Albus was free to talk about their plan. "I'm not sure if this is going to work." "It worked for the Marauder's Map," Rose reminded him. "I know, but still...." "It's got to work," John insisted, "How else will we sneak down to," he lowered his voice, "you know, without being caught?" "There isn't any other way," Matt replied, "We'll get caught if we don't have the cloak." "We might get caught when we're trying to steal it," Albus commented. "No we won't," John assured him, "And even if we do, we'll just be caught by your dad. It's not like we'll get in trouble with Filch or anything." "But we'll get caught by Filch if we try to sneak out at night without the cloak," Matt whispered. "Right," John agreed, "So we're off to steal the cloak." Albus groaned, "Doesn't anyone else think this might not work?" "Trust me, Albus," Rose said, "It'll work. We'll sneak the cloak back before Uncle Harry even knows it's gone." "He's leaving now," Amanda pointed to the staff table, "We'll just wait a couple more minutes." "I don't think we should all go," Rose announced, "It'll look suspicious if we all go into his office. I think just me and Albus should go." "Good idea," Matt agreed, "No one will think anything of it if the two of you go into his office." Albus nodded. That was probably the best way to do it. If all five of them went, chances are they would make enough noise to attract another teacher. Albus was relieved that Rose was going to go, though. She was much better at summoning charms than Albus was. "We'll wait for you in the Room," Matt stood up. John and Amanda followed suit. "See you in a bit." "Bye," Rose grinned at them. She and Albus loitered a few minutes longer at the Gryffindor table before Rose gestured that it was time to go. Albus and Rose had lingered long enough at the table that the corridors were practically empty, save for a few straggling students who were much more intent on making it to class than giving Albus and Rose a second glance. They quietly made their way to Harry's office, narrowly avoiding Peeves near Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Judging from the loud cries that were emitted from the bathroom, Peeves had just finished making fun of poor Myrtle. The corridor that Harry's office was in was entirely deserted when Albus and Rose descended upon it. Albus was very happy about this. Maybe they would get away with it. Albus tried to open the door, but it was locked. "Merlin!" he shouted and looked at Rose. Rose didn't look in phased in the least. "Just use Alohamora." Albus looked at her skeptically. Why would Harry bother to lock his door with a charm that anyone could open? "Just do it," Rose insisted, "He's got a charm on there that recognizes his magical signature. Yours will be close enough to his that it'll open for you, too. It worked with James last year. It won't work with me, though. I tried. James thought it was incredibly funny. "All right," Albus replied and pointed his wand at the lock. "Alohomora." The lock clicked and Albus turned the handle. It opened. The cousins quietly crept inside, carefully shutting the door behind them. Harry's office looked much like it had the last time Albus had been in it. Parchment, books, and other miscellaneous objects were strewn around all over the place, cluttering up the desk, couch, and chair. The bedroom door had been left open and Albus could see that that room was just as messy, with robes laying on the bed and copies of the Prophet on the floor. "Does he ever clean up?" Rose asked disgustedly, "I mean, really. This is worse than James's room." "James gets it from Dad," Albus laughed, "Mum makes both of them clean up but Mum's not here, so Dad can just do what he wants." "I'll bet it's somewhere in there," Albus pointed to the bedroom and started walking towards it. Rose followed and soon they were in the tiny bedroom. Albus guessed that the cloak was either in Harry's trunk or the wardrobe. Rose must have been thinking the same thing. She wrenched the trunk open and pointed her wand at it. "Accio Invisibility Cloak," she shouted. Nothing happened. "Great," Albus groaned, "It's not here." "Wait," Rose said as she crept closer to Harry's trunk, "I'm pretty sure Uncle Harry mentioned that you can't use a summoning charm on the cloak." Albus thought for a moment and then remembered his dad telling him that once. "Oh, yeah. Well, now what are we going to do?" "We'll do it the hard way," Rose sighed, "You take the wardrobe, I'll take the trunk." Albus shook his head as he stepped over to his dad's wardrobe. This was going to take forever. They would certainly get caught before they found it. Albus carefully weeded through his dad's stuff, being careful to put it all back exactly as he found it. "Got it!" Rose announced, "Bottom of the trunk!" Albus felt an immense relief as Rose held up the cloak. They did it! They actually found the cloak! Nothing was stopping them now. They were going to find out the secrets of the second map. "There. Told you we'd get it," Rose grinned, "Now let's get out of here." Albus nodded, happy to do as Rose said. He certainly didn't want to get caught in his dad's office with the Invisibility Cloak. Rose handed him the cloak and he stuffed it into his robes. Once Albus and Rose were certain that the room looked just as it had when they got there, they quietly left. Neither of them said a word as they walked quickly to the Room of Requirement. Relief washed over Albus like waves over sand when he made it into the Room a few minutes later. They hadn't been caught! Albus's heart still beat fast with adrenaline as he ran into the Room and grinned at his friends. The thrill of what he and Rose had done was starting to hit him. He had taken the Invisibility Cloak. It was the first Marauder-like thing he had done. He knew this was exactly what the Marauders had wanted him to do. To break rules and not get caught. "Did you get it?" John ran over with a glimmer of excitement in his eyes. Matt and Amanda were right behind him sporting identical grins on their faces. "Sure did," Albus smiled and pulled the silvery cloak out of his robes. "It was incredibly easy," Rose laughed. "I found it right in Uncle Harry's trunk." "Can I hold it?" Matt asked in awe. Albus handed him the cloak. "This is incredible," Matt whispered. "I'm holding one of the Hallows. I wish I could tell my dad about this." "You'll be able to eventually. My dad just wants to get to know him first." Matt put the cloak on and disappeared from view. He reappeared a few seconds later. "That is so cool." "Let me try," John took the cloak and wrapped it around himself. They spent the next few minutes passing the cloak around and trying it on. "You three ought to see if you fit," Rose announced. Albus nodded and took the cloak back from Amanda. John and Matt stood next to him as he threw the cloak over their heads. Albus had been under the cloak with James, Lily, and his cousins before, so he was used to how cramped it was, but his friends weren't. "Watch it," John snapped as Matt stepped on his foot. "Sorry," Matt muttered. "This is going to be difficult." "Can you see us?" Albus asked. "Nope," Rose said, "Walk around the room a few times." The boys walked slowly around the room, making sure not to expose any of their limbs. John and Matt started to get the hang of it after a few minutes of practice and they were soon able to go a little faster. "Perfect," Amanda announced after the fourth time they circled the room. "I'm still amazed by that cloak." "What night should we do this?" John asked after they took the cloak off. "I say Saturday because I've got Quidditch practice that morning and I'm going to have to get some sleep Friday night or Georgia will spend the whole time yelling at me to wake up," Albus explained, "That good with you two?" "Sure," John agreed. Matt nodded. "Then we're set," Albus replied, "Saturday night, we sneak into the Shrieking Shack." "You're turning into quite the trouble maker, Albus," Rose laughed, "The Marauders would be proud." ****** The next day Rose decided to start her research on the transference charm. Albus and the others went with her and it didn't take long to find the right book. Rose found it in a copy of Advanced Charms and after she read a bit about the charm she decided that it was going to be difficult but not impossible for her to do. She decided to master that charm before trying to find the charm to keep Kaden quiet. That one was going to be harder to find since they didn't even know the name of it. Rose checked out the Advanced Charms book under the menacing glare of Madam Pince. It looked to Albus like she was just burning to demand what they were up to and deny them the book. But, she couldn't since the book wasn't in the Restricted Section. Rose spent the next few days trying to figure the charm out. There wasn't much Albus could do to help her, so he just did his homework and watched her. Albus thought the charm looked incredibly complicated and he was glad that Rose had volunteered to learn it. Rose was having a bit of difficulty mastering the charm, though. By the time Saturday night rolled around, she still hadn't managed to reproduce much of anything. Albus kept reassuring her that she would eventually get it. The charm was well beyond the O.W.L. level and it stood to reason that it would be hard for her. This did not suit Rose well and she was quite frustrated by it. If there was one thing that drove Rose mad, it was having trouble learning something. "Why don't you take a break?" Albus suggested while they were in the common room on Saturday night. "You've been at it for days." "Maybe you're right," Rose sighed. She had been trying for the past hour to reproduce her name onto another piece of parchment. "I'll just relax for a while." She pulled out her Transfiguration book and opened it to one of the later chapters. "I don't know how you can consider that relaxing," John screwed up his face in disgust. "What are you doing anyway?" Kaden asked loudly, looking up from his Herbology essay. "Extra credit charms homework," Rose lied. "Oh," Kaden looked vaguely shocked that Rose would need extra credit. "I'm doing it for the fun of it," Rose explained. "You'll get it eventually," Kaden told her, "You're smart." "Thanks, Kaden," Rose smiled at him. Albus had no doubt that Rose would figure the charm out eventually. It was just taking her longer than she expected. Albus was in no rush because the charm would be useless until they got all the paw prints they needed. That wouldn't happen until after Christmas. John hadn't managed to find a rat in Potions on Friday, but he was keeping his eyes peeled. The group stayed in the common room for another couple hours, waiting until it was completely empty. Albus thought Kaden would never go to bed, but shortly after eleven he finally gave in to his fatigue and went up to his dormitory. Eventually, Albus and his friends were the only ones left. "Ready?" Albus asked. John and Matt nodded. Albus rummaged in his bag and pulled out the cloak. "I've got the parchment in my robe. I think we're set." "Let's do it," John stood up. "Good luck," Amanda said as the three boys pulled the cloak around themselves. "We'll be waiting." "See you in a bit," Rose told them as she held the portrait open for them to leave. "Don't get caught." "We won't," Albus assured her. "I've got the Map." Albus wasn't nearly as nervous about sneaking out of the castle as he had been about stealing the cloak. And clearly he was breaking more rules this evening than he had the other day. He figured it had something to do with the fact that stealing the cloak was something his father would be disappointed in, whereas sneaking out would just get him in trouble with another teacher. Whatever the reason, Albus felt almost excited about this evening. The only time he had really snuck out after curfew was when he had his first Occlumency dream the previous year. Tonight's escapade was a much better circumstance. Besides, Albus was a bit excited about following the tunnel to the Whomping Willow and seeing the inside of the Shrieking Shack. He felt kind of guilty about this because he knew Matt didn't want them to and was only agreeing to this for the sake of the new map. Albus motioned for them to stop before they started down the stairs. He took out the Map and scanned it for a couple minutes. Filch was currently striding along the third floor corridor. They would have to be careful about that. They could easily run right into him. Peeves was flitting around a classroom on the fourth floor, no doubt wreaking havoc for one of the teachers to fix in the morning. Luckily, all of the teachers were in their offices. All they had to worry about were Filch and Peeves. Albus wondered when Filch slept. It seemed that he was always patrolling the corridors. Albus, John, and Matt continued their cautious trek down to the Entrance Hall, with Albus glancing at the Map every few minutes. The boys made it down to the third floor corridor without trouble, but Albus immediately noticed Filch creeping along the corridor, muttering about insolent children. Albus gave his friends a worried look as they quietly moved towards the nearest stair case. Albus held his breath as Filch passed them. Filch continued on his way without even noticing the three invisible boys. Albus was very happy when they made it onto the second floor and even happier when they got to the front doors and found that Filch left them unlocked. That was the one thing that could have gone wrong with their plan. Rose had tried to teach him a few more complex unlocking spells but he wasn't very good at them and was hoping he wouldn't need to use them. "Made it!" John let out a huge breath once the castle doors were shut. "Not quite," Matt replied. "Yeah, but at least we can talk now. I wish this cloak would cover up noise, too. Reckon we can take the cloak off?" "No," Albus answered immediately. "What if one of the teachers is looking out the window? Or if Hagrid is wandering around?" Albus loved Hagrid, but he wouldn't want to have to explain why he was sneaking down to the Whomping Willow in the dead of night if the lovable half-giant caught them. The three boys continued along the path that lead them through the grounds. There was about six inches of snow on the ground and the air was bitingly cold. Albus was glad he remembered his cloak, but was still a bit chilly. He continued to check the Map every couple of minutes, but so far the grounds were deserted. Albus had hoped they would be able to walk faster once they were on the grounds, but he had been wrong. It was still awkward for the three of them to stay concealed under the cloak and it was even harder now because Matt was slowing down. "Are you all right?" Albus asked after the cloak almost slipped off of him. "Fine," he panted. "Just the moon. Let's keep going." Albus looked from his friend's tired face to the sky. The almost full moon was shining down on the ground, illuminating it enough that Albus hadn't bothered to light his wand. "We should have done this earlier in the week," Albus commented, remembering the disastrous detention with Filch the other month. "No, I'm fine," Matt assured him, "It won't be full until Tuesday." Albus looked at him skeptically but didn't say anything else. He and John slowed down their pace to match Matt's, although Albus thought it would be better for them to speed up in order to reach the tree faster. Eventually, they reached the Whomping Willow. The three boys paused just beyond the reach of the branches and Albus and John looked to Matt for instructions. "We're not going to be able to get into the hole wearing the cloak," Matt explained. Albus nodded and took it off, stuffing it into his robes. "All right," Matt continued, pulling out his wand. "I'll just disable the wards." He muttered something quietly and pointed his wand at the tree. Albus strained to listen to the spell but he couldn't hear it. "Now what?" John asked, jumping out of the way of one of the branches. Matt walked around to the other side of the tree with Albus and John following. Matt bent over, searched through the snow, and picked up a long stick, stumbling and shivering a little as he stood up. He pressed his hand to his head, wincing a little. "Headache," he answered to Albus and John's questioning stares. He dodged one of the tree's branches and stuck the long stick into the tree's trunks. The branches immediately froze and the Whomping Willow looked just as tame as any of the other trees on the grounds. "Quick, before they start again," Matt stumbled towards the tree and disappeared down the passageway. Albus, who had already been in the tunnel once, gestured for John to go first. Albus followed his friends and made it into the hole just as the branches started flailing again. Albus and John lit their wands and looked around the cramped tunnel while Matt put the wards back up. "Let's go," Matt announced once he was done. "This is honestly pretty cool," John said in awe as they started down the passageway, "Kinda spooky, but cool." Matt sent him a dirty look. "I mean, besides the whole werewolf thing," John replied quickly. Albus could see what John meant. It was kind of a neat tunnel, although very dark and sort of damp. The good thing was that it was slightly warmer than outside. The ceiling was low and Albus had to crouch down a little in order to walk. There were rocks and roots along the path, but the whole atmosphere was quite exciting. Albus loved wandering through secret passageways and this one wasn't any different. He was excited about finally being able to follow it. His dad had told him about this tunnel and the Shrieking Shack numerous times, but always said no when Albus asked if he could go explore it. Now he was finally getting to do it. Granted, he was breaking about a dozen school rules to do it, but it was worth it. They followed the tunnel for what felt like at least a half hour. The thrill of it was beginning to wear off as Albus got colder. The month of December was not a convenient time to be doing this. By the time they reached the Shrieking Shack, Albus was ready to crawl into his warm four-poster bed and go to sleep. John's excitement had waned as well and he was looking disgruntled from the long, chilly walk. Matt, despite the fact that they were no longer being pelted by the moonlight, didn't look much better than he had earlier. He looked incredibly exhausted and was breathing as heavily as if he'd just run a marathon. "How do you possibly make it here before the full moon?" John asked, out of breath. "You're practically falling asleep by the time you go down here." "I'm...not really...sure," Matt replied in between breaths, "Madam Pomfrey...helps." "Well, next time I can't sleep I'll just walk up and down this a few times," John joked. "In. Here," Matt panted as he opened an old looking door that creaked as he opened it. Albus and John quietly followed him through it, into a very decrepit looking room. Albus was shocked at what he saw. Broken furniture lay everywhere, a lot of it covered in dried blood. There wasn't anything that remained unbroken. Pieces of tables, chairs, and couches were all over the place with bite marks on them. There was a staircase nearby that looked like it had been gnawed on numerous times. Albus swallowed as he realized that his friend was the one who caused all the damage. "What did all this?" John asked slowly. Matt glared at him. "Use your brain," he snapped. John looked from him to the broken furniture and back again. "Oh," he said quietly, "sorry." "It's all right," Matt sighed and sat down on the floor near the fireplace. He leaned his head against the wall. "See why I didn't really want you to come here?" "Yeah," Albus and John nodded. "It's one thing for you to know what I am," Matt continued, "But another to see what I actually do, what I could do..." his voice trailed off. Albus knew what he wanted to say, but couldn't. What he could do if he wasn't in the Shrieking Shack during the full moon. "But you're not really you then. You're the wolf." "I guess," Matt said quietly. "You know what we could do, though," John replied, "Become Animagi." "What?!" Albus and Matt shouted at the same time. "Become Animagi," John repeated, "If we're trying to become the next Marauders, we might as well do it properly."