Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Posters

Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince Poster Print Last Name: Unknown. Paper Width: 11. 000. Paper Height: 17. 000. $19.57

Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince Real-D Poster The magic of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince comes alive in this Real-D poster. Similar to a hologram, as you view the poster from different angles, the image of Snape and Dumbledore in the background shift behind Harry Potter in the foreground. This color poster measures 11 x 17 inches. $12.95

Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince Poster Print Last Name: Unknown. Paper Width: 11. 000. Paper Height: 17. 000. $19.57

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FawkesthePhoenix Joined: 31 December 2006 Posts: 3534 Location: No idea, all I know is that there are a LOT of felt-tipped pens...	Posted: Saturday 26 June 2010 03 42 32 pm    Post subject: Re: Some Secrets in topic:Some Secrets Chapter 2: Sometimes I feel like I'm moving at a different speed than the rest of the world, going slow-motion while everyone else speed-walks. Other days it's like I'm the one going faster, but that the ending I'm hurtling towards with so much more speed than anyone else is something terrible that I haven't had the good sense to avoid. Today is one of those days. I'm walking to Potions class, and I'm suffocating. The crowd of students is stifling my breath. Smothering me. I begin to breath faster, then force myself to slow down and inhale deeply. I'm having a panic attack, Madame Pomfrey would have said. She always tells me breathing deeply helps, and it does, a little. But not enough because that's the thing; I can't breathe. I try to make my way nonchalantly through the seemingly crowded hallway, but I don't need to worry. No one cares about my slight hyperventilation, or the panicked look in my eyes. I'm just the loner girl, good for nothing except teasing and exploitation. After a few minutes of plodding through the impossibly large throng of students, I see it-- a bathroom. It might be Moaning Myrtle's, but I don't care. Maybe we can have a good cry together. Either way, it's a place I can be alone, away from this mesh of cluttered activity. I renew my efforts to get through the hallway, and eventually push my way into the bathroom, ignoring the fifth-year walking past it, and not even stopping to mutter an apology as I step on his foot in my hurry. Once inside the cooler, emptier area of the bathroom, I start to calm down. That hallway really wasn't very crowded at all, I realize with chagrin. I was imagining the situation to be worse than it was. How stupid of me, I think to myself, and start gathering up the contents of my bag, which had spilled out over the floor in my frenzy. I'm going to be late for Potions. The classroom is quiet as I sneak in late, and, other than a reprimand from Professor Slughorn about my behavior and timing, the class goes without a hitch. I know that my fellow students will pounce upon my lateness as an excuse for berating me the moment they get the chance, but what else is new? I should be used to this by now. And yet, I still find anxiety creeping into my stomach as I enter the common room that night. Perhaps some things never change. Sitting by the fire with my homework splayed half-finished across my lap, I catch a fluttering by the window in my peripherals, the same as last night. I try to ignore it, mindful of the precarious position of all the various books and papers on my person. But I keep a close watch on it as I struggle through the rest of my assignments, getting up to go to bed only when it fades from sight. I walk into the Girl's Dormitory, only to stop up short when I see that Mia and some of her friends are still up. They scurry out of the way, with barely a glance in my direction as I walk towards my bed. Odd. I discover the cause of their actions as I open my four-poster bed a few moments later. Stenciled across my bedspread in red paint is the word, “loser” in elegant print. Very original. I bundle up the soiled cloth and leave it in a pile on the floor. The house elves will take care of it by morning, and if I'm lucky, maybe Mia will step in the wet paint on her way to the bathroom that night. Herbology the next day would've been a cause for extreme embarrassment, if I hadn't stopped caring about my life in general years ago. The boy who I had almost steamrolled over as I rushed to the bathroom in the midst of the previous day's panic attack, was not, I discovered, a fifth-year who I'd hopefully never encounter again, much less remember. Fate hates me too much for that. No, he's a new student in my year, and had been assigned as my partner. Not that I volunteered or anything. I, being the social pariah I was, had been left partnerless at the beginning of the year when everyone was told to pair up, and had been working either by myself or with the professor all year. It seemed all that was about to change. His name is Jarret, and with his dark hair and intense brown eyes, I might have been lusting after him along with all the other girls (Mia's mouth seemed to be watering). That is, if he had said a word to me the entire period. Or even made eye contact. Now, as I sit alone at the house table during lunch, I wonder if I ought to have made an attempt to make conversation. Or to be friendly at all. But, having been forbidden contact with other people my age after being bitten as a child, I never developed any terribly adept people skills. Besides, what was there to talk about? I don't eat much, and soon I'm sitting in Defense Against the Dark Arts, where I'm again sitting next to Jarret. He starts writing the moment the teacher begins lecturing, successfully guilting me into talking careful notes on the various types of jinxes throughout the duration of the class. I'm making my bravest attempt at listening to the teacher, but it's a struggle. I'm so used to looking through a fog that the writing on the board is a mystery. I'm copying the letters down, but I have no idea what the lesson is about. Just as my quill is about to snap from all the pressure I'm putting on it in my concentration, the class miraculously ends. “Remember, essay due next week!” the professor calls out as everyone begins to pack up their things. “Eight inches of parchment, and no writing in all capitals!” A couple boys in the back groan at this pronouncement. I roll my eyes discreetly. I always try to be the first one out of each class, so as to avoid too much interaction with my fellows, but today I drop my bag as I stand up, and so have to pick up the scrambled contents from the floor before I can leave. I try to get everything as quickly as possible, before anyone notices my clumsiness. I can feel my face turn a deep scarlet, and my embarrassment only thickens when Mia notices me scrambling on the floor. “Oh, dear!” she exclaims in mock pity, “Poor Lia has dropped her bag! I'll catch up with you later,” she says to her friends, who cover their smirks with nods of fake understanding. “I ought to help clean up this mess.” I cringe as she walks over. I hate her. I hate her wavy brown hair, so shiny compared to my stringy, mousy brown locks. I hate that her name sounds so much like mine. But most of all, I hate that her courtesy is such a thin pretense; everyone knows that helping me is the very last thing on her mind as she saunters over, but even the teacher doesn't lift a finger. After gathering up a few forgotten papers from one of the desks, the professor bustles out of the classroom, leaving Mia and I alone. Or so I think, until I notice third set of shoes out of the corner of my eye. Jarret was still here. Great. Really fantastic. The good news was that Mia wouldn't dare jinx me with a possible love interest standing nearby, fiddling absently with the shoulder strap on his bag. The bad news was that now I had one more witness to my teasing. “Here, Lia,” Mia offered, “Let me help you clean this up.” She sounded cheerful, but I could tell that she was clenching her teeth. She'd obviously hoped to hiss a few choice words at me and kick my bag so that its contents would be more messily strewn across the floor, but with Jarret present, she now had to feign manners and get creative. I could see her nose wrinkling as she knelt down next to me and slowly poked a bottle of ink back into my bag. She crumpled each paper as she picked it up and shoved it in my direction, all the while spouting an endless stream of sickly sweet chatter, about anything from homework to quidditch. I could see Jarret's ankles out of the corner of my eye, but I didn't dare look up at his face. Why hadn't he left yet? Did he take pleasure at my humiliation? I couldn't understand his motives. At last the floor was free of my clutter, and I scrambled to my feet before Mia could pretend to help me up. She got to her feet more gracefully than I, and was out the door before I had even taken a step. This confused me. She hadn't made a move to insult me. What was up? I take a few steps towards the door, reorganizing the contents of my bag. I come up short when I find an unfamiliar slip of paper. It's folded twice, and I recognize Mia's handwriting instantly as I open it up. [i]Freak,[/i] it reads as an introduction,[i] loser, loner, whatever you are.[/i] How very original. I'm about to throw it into the trash bin, when one of the later sentences catches my eye. [i]You're no better than an animal. My dog has more of a spine than you do. Do you always howl at the moon?[/i] My breath catches in my throat, and the note crinkles as I crumble it into my fist. Does she know? I hadn't said a word. [i]She can't know. [/i]She can't, she can't! [i]She knows.[/i] How can she possibly know?[i] How did she find out?[/i] Both the paper and my bag fall from my hands, and it's all I can do to contain my sobs as I tearfully flee the classroom.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2535 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Wednesday 18 November 2009 02 31 27 pm    Post subject: Re: Albus potter and the Path Left Untrodden in topic:Albus potter and the Path Left Untrodden Chapter 10: Threats Rose handed in her unedited essay to Balladanis the next morning. Albus did notice her scribbling some last minute sentences onto it as Balladanis collected the essays. Defense Against the Dark Arts continued to be the strangest class in Albus's schedule. Balladanis expressed such a strong dislike for the dark arts that he started nearly every class with a stern lecture about why they were learning defensive spells and why the dark arts were bad. His eyes tended to rest on Matt and for some odd reason, Linda, whenever he gave these talks and Albus got the feeling it made Matt extremely uncomfortable. Albus couldn't blame him. He certainly wouldn't want to be under the teacher's eye like that. Albus couldn't really say whether he enjoyed Balladanis's class or not. It had been nearly a month since the term started, but Albus still didn't know whether he liked the class or not. It was definitely different than when his dad taught. Balladanis was strict, but a good teacher. The rest of the day went by quickly. Albus listened to John tease Rose during Herbology since she was fretting about her Defense essay. Ancient Runes was rather boring and Albus doodled idly on his notes while Matt fell asleep on his. Charms was rather fun since they worked on Cheering Charms and Albus left the room grinning profusely, along with most of the other class. Matt in particular looked strange with a huge grin across his pale fatigued face. Matt left for the Shrieking Shack shortly after dinner and Albus went to the Marauder's Den with his friends where they distracted Rose from her studying by playing Wizard's Chess. The next day Albus truly began to realize how busy his third year schedule was. For the past two years, he and his friends almost always had time to visit Matt in the Hospital Wing in between classes. This year, however, they didn't have time until after dinner. Albus was positively exhausted by that point, as he had stayed up late working on homework the night before, and still had Dueling Club practice afterwards. Lynley Anderson, the fourth year Hufflepuff who had replaced Kate as captain, had insisted that the whole team attend that meeting, as it was the first one and there were new second years on the team. Kaden wasn't put on Albus's team, but he was put on John's team, much to the delight of both boys. Hectic was really the only way to describe Albus's life at Hogwarts. As September turned into October, it only got busier. Gryffindor Quidditch team practices picked up again and along with Hogwarts Quidditch practices and Dueling Club practices, Albus hardly had anytime to rest. The Hogwarts Quidditch team was shaping up nicely after Wood's stern warning during the second practice. That and the fact that they now practiced on both Tuesdays and Saturdays. Even the Slytherin team members were beginning to work together. They didn't really acknowledge their teammates outside of practice, but Albus didn't care as long as they got along with everyone during practice. Albus was really starting to enjoy the Hogwarts Quidditch team. He was actually beginning to wish he could play in the first match, which would be taking place towards the end of October. "First Hogsmeade weekend!" John said excitedly to Albus one Friday evening as Albus was trying to catch up on his homework. Kaden was standing next to him. Albus guessed they had just returned from Dueling Club practice. "When?" Albus asked without looking up. "October 27th," John grinned, "Can't wait!" "Yeah, it'll be brilliant," Albus agreed, hoping he wouldn't have too much homework to go. "That's not all, either," John went on, "There's a Halloween party that night." "You mean the Halloween feast?" Albus asked. "No, there's an actual party!" John said, "But it's not on Halloween, it's on the 27th. It's because of the Tournament. So we can mingle with the foreign students. Or at least that's what the poster on the notice board says." Albus nodded. He really hadn't had that much contact with the foreign students. Sure, he'd seen them in the corridors and the common room and stuff, but that was about it. The only one who was around his age was Linda and she still didn't seem to talk to anyone. "And," John continued, "Costumes are encouraged." "Costumes?" Albus asked, finally looking up. "Yeah, costumes," John grinned, "We get to dress up! This is going to be brilliant!" "What should we dress up as?" Kaden asked. "Dunno," Albus shrugged. "We'll figure it out later," John said, "Where's everyone else?" "Rose and Amanda are at the library," Albus told him, "And Matt's with Balladanis." "Merlin, is he ever going to give up about that boggart?" John asked. "Knowing Balladanis, probably not," Albus said. "Well, let's go to the library," John announced, "We've got to tell Rose and Amanda about Hogsmeade." Albus was all too eager to agree to this. He was thoroughly sick of trying to catch up on all his homework. It was good to take a break every now and then anyway. Albus pushed open the door to the library a little while later, fully expecting to see Rose up to her elbows in books furiously scribbling away on a roll of parchment that was nearly used up. He gazed around the library and he spotted Rose's bushy red hair and walked towards her table. Rose was up to her elbows in homework. In fact, there were so many books on Rose and Amanda's table that you could no longer see the actual table. What Albus wasn't expecting to see was a third person at their table. Linda Morales Albus stopped short a few feet from the table. He turned to look at John, who looked equally shocked. "Is that-" John began. "Linda Morales?" Albus gaped. He blinked twice to make sure he wasn't seeing things. After all, he was quite tired. But even after he blinked, Linda was still sitting across from Rose and Amanda. All three of the girls were working quietly. In fact, none of them even seemed to notice the others. Albus slowly walked towards the table and John followed. Albus wasn't entirely sure what to say. He hadn't had much interaction with Linda. Albus had hardly said hello to her since she arrived at Hogwarts. He wasn't trying to ignore her or anything; it had just ended up that way. Linda hadn't shown any real interest in making friends with Albus or any of his friends. Yet here she was, doing homework at the same table as Rose of all people. Albus hadn't the slightest idea why either. "Rose," Albus whispered once they arrived at the table. Rose startled and then looked up at Albus. "What? I'm trying to study!" "Can I talk to you?" Albus glanced at Linda, "Alone?" Rose sighed loudly. "Fine, but make it quick." Albus led his cousin over to a deserted area of the library. John took Rose's vacated seat and began to whisper to Amanda about the Hogsmeade visit. "All right, what is it?" Rose asked once they were alone. "Couldn't help but notice that you were studying with Linda..." Albus's voice trailed off. He really didn't know what he wanted to say to Rose about it. "Oh, well..." Rose began, "I guess I just realized I was being stupid in trying to compete with her." Albus smirked, "Yeah, you were. But I told you that loads of times and you didn't listen." Rose sighed. "I know. Amanda's the one who convinced me to stop trying to compete with her. She said Linda would know a lot about Australian wizarding history and I could learn a lot from her if I stopped with the competition thing." Of course, Albus thought. Appealing to Rose's love of learning would definitely work. Although he hadn't really been trying to have Rose and Linda become friends. He just wanted Rose to ease up on the studying. "I guess, if you can't beat 'em, you might as well join 'em," Rose shrugged. "So now you're friends with her?" Albus asked. "That's where it gets complicated," Rose sighed, "You see, she still doesn't really talk to us." "How did you wind up studying with her then?" Albus was still thoroughly confused. "Amanda and I came in and she was sitting alone at the table, so I asked if we could join her. She just nodded and moved her books over. She hasn't said anything yet." Albus nodded. "I don't think I've heard her say anything outside of class." "Neither have I," Rose said, "Amanda and I figure we'll just be nice to her and maybe she'll start talking to us." Albus thought that was probably a good idea. She was the competition, but even if they played against each other on the Quidditch team, that didn't mean they couldn't be friends off of it. Linda seemed nice enough. Of course it was hard to tell since she hadn't said much. And she certainly was pretty. Albus couldn't deny that. Linda wasn't surrounded by half the male population of Gryffindor every evening for nothing. "Oh, the first Hogsmeade visit's on October 27th," Albus said, suddenly remembering the reason he had gone to see Rose in the first place, "Followed by a Halloween party in the Great Hall." "That sounds like fun," Rose grinned, "And maybe Linda will want to go with us." "And it's a costume party," Albus told her. "This could get interesting," Rose said. ****** Albus didn't have a clue as to when he'd actually have time to figure out his costume for the Halloween party. John thought it would be cool if their group's costumes coordinated, but that was the last thing on Albus's mind. The weekend seemed to literally fly by for Albus, meaning he was on the Quidditch pitch more than he was off it. He had heard stories about Wood's ruthlessness when it comes to practice from his dad and similar stories about Teddy from his older cousins. Having the two of them captain one team seemed to create practices that lasted nearly five hours, with short breaks every so often. Albus would never again complain about Georgia's length of practices. Albus had a fleeting thought that since he was a reserve player, he wouldn't have to practice as much as everyone else, but Wood shot that down during that Saturday's practice. He said he saw no reason for the reserve players to be any less prepared for the upcoming match than the regular players. It wasn't that Albus didn't enjoy Quidditch practice. He did, and very much so. He loved Quidditch, but too much of anything could run a person down. Albus spent a lot of his Sunday on the Quidditch pitch as well, in the middle of a drenching rain. Georgia had scheduled Gryffindor Quidditch practice that day and she flat out refused to cancel due to rain. James had asked. He was even more run down than Albus, since either Teddy or Tyler were constantly training the two Seekers during Hogwarts Quidditch practice. Albus returned to Gryffindor tower after eating a late dinner with the Gryffindor team Sunday evening, realizing he had no idea what his friends had spent the weekend doing. He had seen them on occasion, but most of his free time had been spent doing homework or sleeping. Two things he still had to do. Albus grabbed his bag from his dormitory and walked down to the crowded common room. He saw Rose, Amanda, and Linda at one table, but his other friends were no where in sight. The girls looked very absorbed in their homework, so Albus decided to go check the Marauder's Den for his other friends. By the time Albus made it to the Marauder's Den, he felt ready for a good twelve hour sleep. Unfortunately, he still had plenty of homework to do. Albus sighed to himself and opened the door to the room. He paused in the entryway, surprised to see that Matt was the only one there. "Hey, Matt," Albus said as he sat down at the table. "Oh, hi Albus," Matt looked up and smiled, "I was wondering when you'd show up." "Me, too," Albus said wryly, "I never thought Georgia would end practice." "Makes me glad I'm not on the Quidditch team," Matt commented. "Where are John and Kaden?" "Detention, again," Matt smirked. "What did they do this time?" Albus groaned. John and Kaden had been earning quite a few detentions every week. Albus was quite glad they weren't involving him in their pranks, since he had no available time in his schedule for detention. "They were levitating rolls of toilet paper around the corridors and charming them to hit people in the head yesterday," Matt explained, "I think you were at Quidditch practice." "Probably," Albus laughed, "Wonder what they're in for this time." "No idea," Matt said. "What are you doing here? Rose and Amanda are in the common room." "Yeah, I know. But they're with Linda," Matt muttered. "Oh, ok," Albus replied, a little confused. He still didn't quite understand why Matt didn't seem to like Linda. Sure, she was from Australia, but Matt wasn't avoiding anyone else from Australia. Of course, the rest of the Australian students were older and Matt wouldn't really have to avoid them. "John said Rose is actually trying to become friends with Linda." "She is," Albus confirmed, "She's finally realized that it's pointless to try and compete with Linda." "I guess that's good," Matt shrugged. John and Kaden burst into the room a short while later, successfully ending the conversation about Rose and Linda. Both of them were freely cursing Filch, who had made them clean the Entrance Hall without magic. Once they finally seemed to run out of curses, all four boys settled into doing their homework and no one brought up the topic of Linda again. Albus still thought it was odd how Matt seemed to have taken a dislike to her, although Linda herself was rather odd, in Albus's opinion. Rose and Amanda joined Linda at her table during Transfiguration the next day. Linda had arrived before them, as always, and didn't seem to notice or care that Rose and Amanda sat on either side of her. The same thing happened in double Potions after lunch. Rose, Amanda, and Linda even worked together on that day's potion. Slughorn had decided to give up on the inter-house pairs idea of the previous year, which Albus was very grateful for. Linda had previously worked alone on her potions because there was an odd number of people in the class, but Slughorn didn't object to all three girls working together. In fact, he seemed thrilled that the two smartest people in the class were now working with each other. "Ah, yes!" Slughorn exclaimed excitedly as he peered into their cauldron, "Your potion is turning just the right shade of green." Albus looked up from his and Matt's slightly brown potion and saw Slughorn gently stirring the girls' cauldron. "Ours is better," Malfoy muttered from behind Albus. He was working with Jackson Limbert, Albus's partner from the previous year. Malfoy and Limbert were easily the two best Slytherin potion-brewers in the class. Albus turned around and looked at Malfoy's cauldron. It was indeed the correct shade of green. "And what are you looking at, Potter?" Malfoy asked, "Jealous that I'm Limbert's partner now? I doubt your potions grade will be be that good with Eckerton as your partner." "At least I'm partnering with him for a reason other than trying to get a decent grade," Albus glowered at him. "Yeah, well..." Malfoy's voice trailed off. Albus smirked to himself and turned back around, happy that Malfoy couldn't come up with a good comeback. At the end of the class, Slughorn announced that Rose, Amanda, and Linda's potion had been the best, much to Malfoy's dismay. "You'd better watch out at the Dueling Tournament," Malfoy seethed as they left the room. "We're on the same team, Malfoy," Albus pointed out. "I wasn't talking to you," Malfoy turned and glared at Rose, Amanda, and Linda. "Is that a threat, Malfoy?" John asked loudly. "I think you can figure that out for yourself, Brickston," Malfoy said as he turned in the direction of the Slytherin common room, flanked by Limbert and Goyle. "He's just jealous," Rose muttered as they made their way out of the dungeons. "Probably," Albus agreed, "But he's a good dueler, much as I hate to admit it." "Chances are, I won't even duel him, Albus," Rose sighed, "And even if I do, there's only so many spells he's allowed to use." Albus didn't bother reminding Rose about the Slytherin who used a forbidden curse on Matt last year. Albus was kind of worried about one of his friends having to duel Malfoy. Malfoy was the only one Albus had ever dueled and didn't manage to beat. And Albus had beaten students who were two years older than he was.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2535 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Friday 23 October 2009 03 03 13 pm    Post subject: Re: Albus potter and the Path Left Untrodden in topic:Albus potter and the Path Left Untrodden Chapter 6: Flobberworms and Boggarts As it turned out, Albus didn't have to wait until classes to know if Linda Morales was his age or not. Rose and Amanda burst out of the girls' dormitory as Albus, Matt, and John were heading down to breakfast. "Albus!" Rose caught up with him, "Linda is our age. She's in our dormitory." "Really?" Albus replied, realizing that he hadn't really thought about which dormitory the new students would be in. "Where is she now?" John asked. "Still up there," Amanda said, "She's been in the bathroom for ages." "Girls," John muttered, "I'll never understand them." The group hurried down to the Great Hall and ate a quick breakfast before their first class. Neville handed out schedules and Albus saw that he had Care of Magical Creatures first. "Blimey, this schedule is packed," John said as they headed out of the castle towards Hagrid's hut. "Well, we are taking two extra classes now," Albus pointed out. "Wonder who we'll have this class with," Matt said. "With our luck, it'll be the Slytherins," Amanda groaned. "Maybe Linda's taking this class," John said hopefully. Amanda sighed, "You haven't even met her." "Yeah, but this class would be the perfect time to do that!" John pointed out. Amanda groaned and they continued their trek to Hagrid's hut. Once they got there, they saw that they were indeed with the Slytherins. Albus groaned inwardly and stood with his friends as everyone waited for Hagrid to appear. "'Ello, everyone!" Hagrid said as he stepped out of his hut a few minutes later, "Welcome to Care o' Magical Creatures." "Hi, Hagrid," Albus grinned. "'Ello, Albus," Hagrid grinned back, "Now, today's lesson's abou' Flobberworms. Can anyone tell me anything abou' them?" Flobberworms, Albus thought. Flobberworms were about the least exciting magical creatures in the world. Albus wished they were doing something a bit more exciting. "Nobody?" Hagrid said, "Well, I know they aren't the most excitin' creatures, but we've got to start somewhere. Now, flobberworms are small white worms...." Albus listened as Hagrid explained about flobberworms, but he didn't take any notes. Rose would have, but Albus didn't see the point. Flobberworms were pretty basic. "Now, everyone can take a worm," Hagrid held up a box, "An' draw them into yer notes an' observe 'em." Albus and his friends each took a worm and began the tedious task of recording the worms' every movement and sketching them. Albus thought the rest of the class was rather boring and was a bit disappointed. He had kind of been expecting Hagrid to bring in some sort of dangerous creature, like he had when his dad was at Hogwarts. Although, come to think of it, his cousins had said Hagrid had adopted a more normal curriculum. "I wish Hagrid would bring in a dragon or something," John said as they made their way back to the castle for Transfiguration. "He probably wishes that, too," Albus laughed. The Transfiguration classroom was already filling up by the time Albus and his friends entered. Albus noticed that they had this class with the Hufflepuffs. Rose was already inside, sitting at her usual table in the front. Amanda quickly joined her. Linda was there as well, but she was sitting by herself at the other front desk. "Let's go sit by Linda!" John said excitedly. "Sure," Albus grinned and started to walk towards her table. "Wait," Matt said, "There's only two seats. And do you really want to sit in the front?" "Er, that's true," John said, "We'll sit behind her then." Albus vaguely wondered why Matt so set on not sitting with Linda, but he didn't dwell on it and sat down at the table behind Linda. Patil walked in a moment later and everyone quieted down. "For the first few classes we shall be learning about a very difficult branch of transfiguration," Patil said after she took attendance, "And it is called the Animagus Transfiguration. Can anyone tell me what that is?" Albus smirked as Rose's hand shot into the air. Albus knew the answer, of course, but he was perfectly happy to let Rose answer. "Yes, Miss Morales?" Patil pointed to Linda. Albus turned away from Rose and saw that Linda had half-way raised her hand. The rest of the class was staring at her as well, probably because Rose always answered the preliminary questions in class. "The Animagus Transfiguration is the act of transfiguring oneself into an animal," Linda answered. "Yes, that is correct," Patil smiled. Albus noticed that Rose was staring in shock at Linda. He had to stifle a laugh at this. Patil went on to describe Animagi in more detail and Albus took a few notes. "Can anyone name a registered Animagus they may have heard about in another class?" Patil asked. Both Rose and Linda's hands shot up into the air. Patil called on Rose this time. "Minerva McGonagall," Rose answered. "Yes, she turns into a cat. She used to teach Transfiguration here and was the Headmistress for a few years. How about an illegal Animagus?" Albus scribbled the words 'Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs' onto a piece of parchment and showed it to Matt and John. All three of them stifled laughter and then looked back up at Patil. "Rita Skeeter," Rose grinned. Patil smiled. "Yes, and it was your mother who discovered her." The rest of the class passed by at a reasonably quick pace and once it was over, Albus and his friends went to the Great Hall for lunch. "You've got some competition, Rose," John grinned as they walked down the corridor. "Shut up," Rose muttered. "She might beat you on the next test," John laughed. "And your point is?" Rose snapped. They walked the rest of the way in silence, as no one wanted to set Rose off even more. Albus had no idea she would get that competitive about grades. Although after two years of easily being the smartest in their year, Rose hadn't previously had any competition. Half the Gryffindor table was roaring with laughter when they arrived for lunch. James quickly filled Albus in on the fact that Hugo had exploded his first potion earlier in the morning and was apparently quite proud of it. "Well, you'll have no competition from him," John muttered to Rose. Rose sent him a withered look and sat down to eat. Albus spent lunch telling Kaden about Care of Magical Creatures. Despite the fact that they learned about flobberworms, Kaden was jealous. The third year Gryffindors had double potions after lunch, with the Slytherins again. Slughorn started the class with a review of the previous year's potions. Once again, Rose and Linda both knew the answer to every question. Then, when Slughorn had them brew a new potion, both Rose and Linda tied for best potion. Slughorn gave them each a bar of Honeyduke's chocolate. Albus was quite surprised that Linda seemed as smart as Rose. He had never met anyone his age who could compete with Rose with grades. John was right. Rose did have some competition. ****** "Well, time to go meet the new Defense teacher," Albus said as he finished breakfast the next morning. "I wish your dad was still teaching," Matt sighed. "Yeah," John agreed, "The new teacher looks like the kind of bloke who gives a lot of homework." "You really ought to just keep an open mind," Rose commented as they left the Great Hall. "Easy for you to say," John muttered, "You're freakishly smart." "You have got to be kidding me!" Albus groaned as they reached the classroom, "We're with the Slytherins, again!" "Great," Matt sighed, "Three years in a row, what are the chances of that?" Albus led the way into the classroom. Linda Morales was already seated at one of the front tables. Rose and Amanda immediately took the other front table. "Let's sit in the back," Matt muttered. Albus nodded. He really didn't want to sit near the front. The teacher was already there and was wearing an unreadable expression. If he turned out to be mean, Albus preferred to be as far away as possible. The classroom looked exactly the same as it had the year before, except for a trunk that was sitting in front of the teacher's desk. A few more students trickled in and once the bell rang, the teacher waved his wand and the door slammed loudly. Albus jumped in surprise and snapped his attention back to the new teacher. He walked slowly from behind his desk and stood in front of it. He was holding a piece of parchment and a quill. Albus noticed that he was wearing the same black robes, except now he noticed that there were intricately designed silver fastenings on them. "Please raise your hand and say 'present' when I call your name," he said in a stern voice. He ran through the list, fixing each student with a piercing gaze when he called on them. "Brilliant," he said flatly, "All here. I am Professor Balladanis, as you all know from Professor Kendrick's speech. You will address me as Professor Balladanis, or Professor, or Sir. I will not tolerate speaking out of turn or misbehavior of any kind in my classroom. I expect all homework and other assignments to be completed on time, no excuses." Professor Balladanis began to pace back and forth in front of his desk. "As you shall discover throughout the year, I take defensive magic very seriously." He paused and glared sharply at Linda and Janie Creevey, who had sat next to Linda. "Defensive magic is a very very important branch of magic. I would make the argument that is the most important. It can save your life. It has saved my life on numerous occasions. I have no doubt that your previous two years of instruction were very extensive and I am sure you all have a basic knowledge of defensive spells courtesy of Professor Potter." Balladanis stopped pacing and paused before continuing his speech. "However, the third year Defense Against the Dark Arts curriculum focuses on defense against dark creatures." He turned to Albus's table and gave Albus, Matt, and John a piercing stare. "I will be continuing the curriculum that has been used in this school since after the final battle," Balladanis continued, "I have looked over the curriculum and have deemed it satisfactory. I immensely approve of the first day's lesson for third years. I've always thought a practical approach was good for Defense, although I do expect you to carefully read your text book as well. "In this box," Balladanis gestured to the trunk, which jumped a little as he touched it, "Lives a boggart. Can anyone tell me what a boggart is?" Rose and Linda's hands shot up into the air. Balladanis smirked and pointed to Rose. "Yes, Miss...?" "Weasley, sir," Rose replied, "A boggart is a shape shifter. It takes the form of whatever scares you most. No one knows what one really looks like." Balladanis nodded. "Correct. 5 points to Gryffindor. Boggarts," he began pacing again, "Take the form of whatever scares us most. The boggart focuses on the nearest person and turns into whatever scares them. "We will have an advantage over our boggart. There are a lot of us, which means the boggart will become confused about what to turn into. However, that is not enough. There is a necessary incantation for defeating boggarts. It is 'Riddikulus'. Repeat after me, 'Riddikulus'." "Riddikulus," Albus said along with everyone else. "Good," Balladanis said, although his voice wasn't exactly cheerful, "You'll also need to think of a way to turn whatever your most feared thing is into something funny. Laughter is what really finishes off a boggart. Then, think of that as you're saying the incantation. Now, take out your wands and stand up." Albus pulled his wand out of his bag and stood up. He wasn't even sure what he was most afraid of. Snakes? No, he really didn't fear snakes. Spiders? Nope, not them either. He had no idea what that boggart was going to turn into, and that made it even scarier. Balladanis waved his wand and all the tables and chairs moved to the sides of the classroom. "Form a line," he instructed. Everyone pushed to be at the front of the line. Albus wound up being towards the back, behind John and in front of Matt. "Miss Weasley," Balladanis motioned for Rose to step forward, "Perhaps you could go first." Rose nodded and stepped out of the line. She stood in front of the trunk with her wand raised. Albus had no idea what the boggart would turn into for Rose either. Nor did he have a clue what John and Amanda's boggarts would be. He had an inkling about Matt's, though. Balladanis stood off to the side and pointed his wand at the trunk. The lid slowly opened and out stepped...Neville. Albus gaped at the boggart. The boggart Neville opened his mouth. "I'm sorry, Rose, you did not get the highest grades in your year. You've been beaten." Oh, Albus thought, that kind of made sense. For a moment there, Albus actually thought Rose was afraid of Neville, which was ridiculous. "Riddikulus!" Rose shouted. The boggart Neville swayed, but didn't look any different. He opened his mouth again. "Rose, you have beaten everyone in the entire school! You have the best grades in the history of Hogwarts." Albus smirked. It wasn't entirely funny, but it fit Rose perfectly. "Interesting," Balladanis muttered, "Next!" Rose stood off to the side and grinned as Amanda stepped forward. Albus watched as the boggart turned into a very large snake. Amanda stared at it for a few moments and then shouted, "Riddikulus!" The snake twirled around and tied itself into a knot. Amanda, along with most of the rest of the class, burst out laughing. Amanda stepped to the side next to Rose and Janie Creevey stepped forward. Janie's boggart turned into a giant rat, which then got transformed into tiny mouse. A few Slytherins were up after her, and then it was Linda Morales's turn. Albus watched intently as the boggart that had previously been a dragon turn into a raging fire. Linda raised her wand and shouted, "Riddikulus!" The fire turned into a waterfall and Linda joined the growing group of students off to the side. Marina Jordan-Bell was next, and her boggart turned into a spider, as did her sister, Karina's. Karina had a bit of trouble, but eventually managed to turn the spider rainbow colors. Ethan and a couple of the Slytherins had difficulty as well. Leigh Montague charmed her mummy boggart into a strait jacket and then it was John's turn. He stepped forward and the mummy turned into a clown. A clown, complete with a big red nose and huge shoes. Albus could hear a few of the other students snickering already. Albus wasn't exactly a fan of clowns, but he could think of at least ten things that were scarier than them. "Riddikulus!" John shouted. The clown boggart started to walk forward, but it tripped over its ridiculously large feet, which were growing at an alarming rate. The entire class burst out in the loudest laughter yet as John joined Rose and Amanda. Albus took a deep breath and stepped forward. The clown with the huge feet started spinning again and when it stopped, it looked like Professor Oteski. The Oteski boggart stepped towards Albus. "You did not make the Hogwarts Quidditch team," it said. Albus gulped. Come to think of it, that was what he was most afraid of at that moment. But how could he make it funny. He racked his brains as the Oteski boggart continued walking towards him. "Riddikulus!" Albus shouted. The boggart spun around again and then stopped. "You did make the team!" it said, "In fact, everyone is on the team! All of Hogwarts will play at once and therefore win the competition!" Albus laughed at the thought of a Quidditch team consisting of over 200 people on it and joined John at the side of the classroom. Albus watched as Matt stepped forward. "Hey, Potter," Scorpius whispered, "I bet the boggart won't know what to turn into with Eckerton. He's afraid of everything." "Shut it, Malfoy," Albus growled. "Quiet over there!" Balladanis shouted. Albus immediately shut his mouth and Scorpius didn't say anything else. The boggart was spinning around again and when it stopped, it didn't turn into the bright full moon that Albus had been expecting. It had turned into a very sinister looking man. He was skinny and rather short and had a mop of untidy brown hair on his head. It wasn't like Roberts's hair, though. This bloke's hair was stringy and dirty looking. His eyes were piercing, not unlike Balladanis's, and he was sneering at Matt. Albus didn't recognize who it was. He hadn't seen anyone that resembled the boggart. The boggart stepped slowly towards Matt, who looked frozen in place. Albus could see his wand shaking in his hand. "Who's that bloke?" John whispered. "No idea," Albus said. Albus continued to watch as the boggart advanced towards Matt. Balladanis wasn't doing anything besides watching with an unreadable expression on his face. The boggart was now only a couple feet away from Matt, who still wasn't doing anything. The boggart began to slowly raise its hands and muttered something that Albus couldn't quite catch. At that moment, Matt seemed to unfreeze. He stepped back and all of a sudden ran towards the door. He wrenched it open and disappeared from the room. Everyone who had already faced the boggart started whispering amongst themselves Albus turned to John, who shrugged. Albus couldn't even begin to imagine why Matt was afraid of that strange man, but he could sense that it went beyond a normal fear. "I'm going after him," Albus whispered to John. John nodded and Albus ran from the room without asking Balladanis or even looking back at him. Albus could hear Balladanis trying to quiet the rest of the students down as he walked quickly down the corridor. Matt wasn't anywhere to be found. Albus continued to walk down the corridor, not really knowing where he was going. Where would Matt go? The dormitory? Room of Requirement? Marauder's Den? That was it, Albus thought. That's where Matt would go. After all, only a few people knew about that. Albus walked through the empty corridors, thankful that nobody else was wandering around. He glanced at his watch. There was only ten minutes left in class. The fifth floor corridor was also deserted. Albus quickly pulled up the arm on the appropriate suit of armor and then searched the opposite wall for the tiny paw prints. He found them and glanced up and down the corridor once more before wrenching the door open. The room looked empty when Albus stepped inside. In fact, it looked just like they left it at the end of the previous year. Albus hadn't been in it for months. He quietly walked further into the room and headed straight for Matt's alcove. Matt was sitting on his four-poster bed, just staring directly at the wall in front of him. Albus wordlessly sat down on the bed, not sure of what to say. Matt didn't even acknowledge the fact that Albus was there. Either that or he didn't notice. "Er, are you ok?" Albus asked after a few moments of awkward silence. Matt looked over at him. He didn't look all right. His face was pale white. "I guess," he said quietly, "But everyone probably thinks I'm afraid of everything now. Nobody else ran out of the room." "Maybe everyone else's boggarts weren't as scary," Albus suggested. "Maybe," Matt muttered. Albus heard the door open and he craned his head around to see that Rose, John, and Amanda had come inside. John and the girls walked over to where Albus and Matt were. "We've got your bags," John said as he dropped Albus and Matt's bags on the floor. "Thanks," Albus replied. "Are you all right?" John asked Matt. "Yeah," Matt sighed. "What have we got next?" Albus asked. "Herbology," Rose answered, "And we'd better go if we don't want to be late." "Are you coming?" Albus asked Matt. "Yeah," Matt got up off the bed, "Let's go. I just hope we don't have it with the Slytherins. I'd bet my last Galleon that Malfoy's going to make fun of me for this for rest of the year." Albus would have been willing to bet that as well. Fortunately, the third year Gryffindors had Herbology with the Ravenclaws that year. A few of the other Gryffindors stole quick glances at Matt during the beginning part of the class, but nobody said anything to him. Neville quizzed them about a few plants they had learned about the previous year for a few minutes. Rose and Linda answered all of them. Then he gave a broad overview of what they'd be doing that year.
DucksRMagical Joined: 28 December 2006 Posts: 2535 Location: Going through LeakyCon withdrawal	Posted: Thursday 15 October 2009 07 59 13 pm    Post subject: Re: Albus potter and the Path Left Untrodden in topic:Albus potter and the Path Left Untrodden Chapter 5: Linda Morales Professor Kendrick rose to his feet. "May I have your attention!" he shouted and the room quieted down, "Thank you. Now, I have a few rather boring announcements, two somewhat exciting ones, and one really exciting one. I shall start with the boring ones. "As usual, the forest and Whomping Willow are out of bounds to everyone. If you wish to try-out for your house's Quidditch team, give your name to your head of house. The Dueling Club and Junior's Dueling Club will be starting up again and once meetings have been set up, I shall let you know. "As for the somewhat exciting announcements, we have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Please welcome Professor Balladanis." The stern looking professor stood up for a few seconds and received mediocre applause. He resumed his seat and Professor Kendrick turned back to the students. "The other somewhat interesting announcement is that Hogwarts will be patrolled by Aurors a few days a week. After last year's incident, the Ministry has deemed this a necessary precaution to take. The Aurors are positive that Jarrett Willinson and Jameson Washburn will try to return to Hogwarts at some point this year. I do not tell you this to scare you, but to make you aware of the situation. If anyone sees any suspicious behavior or has any information regarding the whereabouts of either fugitive, please tell a teacher." The entire Gryffindor table turned to Albus and his friends at this announcement. Albus felt his face turn red and he stared down at his plate. He really hated all the attention he got from what happened the previous two years. "And now," Kendrick continued, "I have a very exciting announcement to make." Albus grinned and turned to his friends, who were all wearing equal faces of excitement, and then turned back to the headmaster. "First, I would like you all to remember the inter-house dueling from last year." The entire hall groaned and people started whispering amongst themselves. "Quiet down," Kendrick said, "There was a reason why I enacted that last year. More than just school unity, that is. I wanted the school to become more united because of an event that is taking place this year. An event that will put us into competition with other magical schools-" "The Triwizard Tournament?!" Bradley exclaimed, "Is that it?" "No," Kendrick replied, "This is not the Triwzard Tournament. It is a different competition that will involve more than just one student from each school. "Tomorrow evening, shortly before dinner, a select group of students from the Adirondack Academy of Magic, which is in New York State, and the Australian School of Sorcery will travel to Hogwarts, where they will live and attend classes for the duration of the year." Albus turned to look at Matt, who was gaping at Kendrick. "The students from both schools will be Sorted into the four Hogwarts houses during a special Sorting ceremony tomorrow evening. They will live in whichever house they are Sorted into and attend classes with those in their year. I expect you all to treat them like they are fellow Hogwarts students. "However, you will also be competing against them. There are two events. The first is Qudditch. Each of the schools has created a Quidditch team comprised of the best Quidditch players in their respective school. We will be doing the same thing here. The three teams will play each other throughout the year and whichever team wins shall receive the Quidditch Cup for Schools. "The other event will be dueling. Each of the schools has also put together a team of the best duelers in their respective school. Again, we shall do the same. The tournaments will work much like the Dueling Club works here." The entire school started talking at once. Albus thought the whole thing was brilliant. It was like the Triwizard Tournament, only less dangerous. Maybe he could even participate. He was a decent Chaser and dueler. "Albus, you've got to try out for the Hogwarts Quidditch team!" John shouted. "I will!" Albus grinned, "As long as they don't have an age limit or anything." "I don't think they will," Rose said, "Quidditch isn't that dangerous." "It kind of is," John laughed. "Maybe I can duel," Kaden said, "I'm a second year now." "I think it'll be great just to go to school with kids from Australia and New York!" Rose exclaimed, "Think of all we can learn from them!" "Yeah," Amanda agreed. "Quiet!" Kendrick shouted over the chatter and everyone settled down, "The Hogwarts Quidditch team is open to anyone who is currently on a House Quidditch team. I'm sorry if that upsets some of you, but it would be impossible to hold try-outs for the entire school, and I think it would be better if our team were comprised of those who have experience on a Quidditch team. If you have interest in trying out, please tell your head of house. "Try-outs for the Hogwarts Dueling Team will be open to fifth through seventh years only." "Crap," Kaden muttered. "If you want to try out, give your name to your head of house. Try-outs for both teams will most likely be next weekend. I believe that is all I have to say for now. First years, please follow a prefect to your common room. Good night, everyone." Albus got up from the table and walked to Gryffindor tower with his friends. They talked about the competition the entire time. Albus was incredibly excited about the prospect of playing for the Hogwarts Quidditch team, and a little nervous at the same time. Of course, his chances of getting picked were kind of slim. He was the youngest Chaser eligible to try out. "Albus!" James pushed his way through the crowd of Gryffindors in the common room, "Are you trying out?" "Of course!" Albus grinned, "You?" "Yeah!" James exclaimed, "That's everybody! Everyone on the Gryffindor team is trying out! Wouldn't that be amazing if we were all picked?" "You won't be," Rose said, "The whole point is to have a Hogwarts team, not a Gryffindor team." "Albus and James will get picked," Kaden said adamantly, "You two are both great Quidditch players." "Thanks, Kaden," Albus smiled, "But all the other Chasers are older than me." "Doesn't matter," John assured him, "They'll be searching for skill, not age." "Who's picking the team?" Amanda asked. "Probably Professor Oteski," James said, "And maybe the heads of houses will help." Albus and his friends talked about the Quidditch competition for another few minutes before retiring to their dormitories for the night. Albus climbed into his familiar four-poster bed, but found that he was too excited to sleep. The more he thought about the Hogwarts Quidditch team, the more he thought he actually had a chance of making it. He was also excited about having the Australian and American students at Hogwarts. He hadn't really met many foreign witches and wizards before, not including his Aunt Fleur's family. Matt and Amy and their parents were the closest he'd come, and they'd been living in England for a while. Matt didn't seem very excited about the whole thing, though. In fact, he had remained rather quiet ever since Kendrick made the announcement. ****** It was easy to feel the excitement at Hogwarts the next day. Since it was Sunday, classes weren't starting yet. Most people slept late, and the main topic of conversation in the Great Hall at lunchtime was the competition and the students from Australia and New York. Georgia organized a spur of the moment Quidditch practice for the Gryffindor team in order to prepare for the Hogwarts Team try-outs. Albus and the rest of the team practiced for at least two hours that afternoon. "You're a shoo-in, James," Albus told his brother as the two of them began to walk off the pitch, "Everyone knows you're the best Seeker in the school." "Well, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw are the only other houses that are keeping their Seekers from last year," James pointed out, "So I'll only be competing against Lisa Galivant and Miranda Corner." "And you're better than both of them," Albus said, "I'll be competing against at least six other Chasers." "Yeah, but you're a good Chaser," James assured him. Albus nodded and shouldered his broom. He was already nervous about the try-out, and it was almost a week away. What if he was so nervous during the try-out that he completely messed up? He'd just have to be sure to calm down by then. Albus sighed and continued walking off the pitch. Just as he was getting close to the stands, he noticed someone sitting alone in the lower level. It was Matt. "I'll see you back in the common room," Albus said to his brother as he detoured towards the stands. James nodded and continued back towards the castle. Matt had hardly said a word the entire day. He was normally quiet, but it was never a good sign when he was completely silent. Albus knew better than to ask why, but he was still curious. He had a feeling it had to do with the Australian students. "Hey," Albus sat down next to Matt. "Hi," Matt mumbled. "Where's everyone else?" Albus asked. "Rose is in the library researching about the magical schools in Australia and New York," Matt explained, "Amanda is with her." "Why does that not surprise me," Albus smirked, "I'm assuming John isn't with them?" "No," Matt gave a half-hearted laugh, "He and Kaden are in the Marauder's Den. I was there with them, but they kept talking about Quidditch and Dueling competitions and I just got sick of it, so I came out here." Albus nodded. Matt was going to have a hard time finding someplace in the school where no one was talking about the competitions. "Er, are you ok?" Albus asked tentatively, "I mean, you've been kind of quiet." Matt sighed. "I," he paused, "I'm just not that excited about the competition thing. Well, it's not that, it's the fact that we're doing it with Australia." "Oh," Albus said, not sure what to say next. "I was supposed to go to the Australian School of Sorcery," Matt continued, "That's where Amy went. Then the headmaster told my parents I couldn't. In fact, he said it in a downright cruel way. I never read that letter. I think Mum burned it. But she never told me what it said. She just said it was mean. The headmaster hates, well, people like me." Albus hadn't even thought about that. He turned to look at Matt. He looked quite upset about the whole thing. Albus had no idea what to say. "I don't want the headmaster to come here," Matt said quietly, "I know that's stupid, really. I mean, he's never met me. And we moved five years ago. He probably wouldn't even recognize my last name." "It's not stupid," Albus assured him. Albus couldn't really imagine what this was like for Matt, though. He supposed the only thing close would be if Washburn came back to teach or something. "But I don't think you'll really come into contact with their headmaster much. You can't try out for the Quidditch team or the Dueling Team, so I don't think you'll do much more than pass him in the corridor." "I guess," Matt sighed, "It's just going to be so weird." "Yeah," Albus agreed, "But I don't think anything will happen. This is Kendrick's school. Even if the Australian headmaster is here, he can't really do anything. He's got no control over anything here." Matt nodded. "That's true. I hadn't really thought about that." Albus stood up. "Come on, let's go find John and Kaden. I'm sure we can convince them not to talk about the competition. We could ask them how their plans for swimming in the Black Lake are coming." Matt laughed, "They're all ready to do it. They just didn't want to do it today since you were practicing Quidditch and Rose and Amanda were in the library." The rest of the afternoon went by very quickly. Shortly before dinner, Albus and his friends made their way into the Great Hall. The entire room was buzzing with excitement. Albus noticed that nearly all of the professors were wearing dress robes. The only one who wasn't was Professor Balladanis, who as wearing the same black robes as the previous day. Albus sat down at the Gryffindor table, where everyone was talking about the foreign schools. "I heard that the Australian School of Sorcery is underground!" Hugo shouted excitedly. Matt snorted. "It's not." "Oh, maybe it was the Adirondack Academy of Magic," Hugo replied. "That one's not underground either," Matt laughed. "How do you know they're not?" Hugo asked. "My sister used to go to the Australian School of Sorcery," Matt explained, "And my uncle lives in New York. I've seen that school, too." "Well, that's boring," Hugo muttered, "Would have been better if one of them was underground." "Hey, Hugo," Kaden grinned, "Guess what the initials of Australian School of Sorcery are?" "A, S, S," Hugo shrugged and then a big grin appeared on his face, "Ass! That's brilliant!" "Quiet, please!" Kendrick shouted over the crowd, "The students from the Adirondack Academy of Magic shall be arriving at any moment!" No sooner had Kendrick finished his sentence, people began to whisper and turn their heads towards the door. Albus craned his head up and saw a tall man striding into the Great Hall. He was wearing navy blue robes and had a rather large amount of messy grey hair on his head. Behind him were a dozen or so students wearing identical blue robes. Most of the students looked to be a few years older than Albus. They all stared around at the Great Hall, a couple of them pointing excitedly at the ceiling. The tall man (who Albus presumed to be their headmaster) led the students to the staff table. Kendrick greeted them and then looked up at his own students. "Let me introduce Professor Marvin Roberts, headmaster of the Adirondack Academy of Magic, and his students," Kendrick announced, "Welcome to Hogwarts." Albus and the rest of the Hogwarts student body burst into applause. Once it died down, Kendrick opened his mouth again. "And now, if I'm not mistaken, the students from the Australian School of Sorcery are arriving at the very moment." Albus turned back towards the door and saw another man entering the room. He wore emerald green robes and was completely bald. He made up for the lack of hair on his head by sporting a pointy mustache and goatee. He wasn't nearly as tall as Roberts, but not short either. He walked purposefully towards the staff table with his group of students clad in matching emerald green robes following him. Albus noticed that Matt didn't take his eyes off the man. It was almost like he was frozen in place, except for his eyes, which followed the man to the staff table. "Now I'll introduce Professor Addair Killigan," Kendrick said, "And the students of the Australian School of Sorcery." Albus clapped along with everyone else, but it was more subdued. He took an immediate dislike to Killigan just because of what Matt had said. Albus noticed that Matt didn't really clap at all. "Thank you," Kendrick said once the clapping stopped, "Now, we shall have a special Sorting ceremony in order to find out which house you belong in. The four houses are Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Slytherin. While you are here at Hogwarts, you will live in your house dormitories, spend free time in your house common rooms, and attend classes with the other students in your house." "You know, it'll be interesting to see if they adopt the house prejudices like we have," Rose whispered, "What if two of them are really good friends and then one is sorted into Gryffindor and the other into Slytherin?" "I dunno," Albus shrugged. Rose had a point, though. "To be Sorted, all you have to do is put on the Sorting Hat," Kendrick continued, "It will tell you where you should be." Professor Patil stood up and walked around to the other side of the staff table. She was holding the three-legged stool and the Sorting Hat. She set the hat down on the stool and it burst into song. There were loud gasps from all of the students from the other two schools. A few of the Hogwarts students giggled at this. All the foreign students stared intently at the hat and whispered amongst themselves. "When I call your name, come sit on the stool and put on the hat. It will tell you which house you're in and then you can go sit at the appropriate table," Patil said after the hat stopped singing. "Allen, Gregory." A tall and lanky boy with messy brown hair stepped away from the group and sat down on the stool. He was wearing navy blue robes, so he must have been from New York. "Slytherin!" the hat shouted. Gregory Allen took the hat off and went to join the Slytherin table. The Sorting continued and Albus clapped loudly whenever anyone got Sorted into Gryffindor. So far, all the new Gryffindors looked at least two years older than Albus. "I think that bloke is going to have to lose the green robes," John commented as one of the Australian students was Sorted into Gryffindor, "It's just not normal to wear green robes when you're a Gryffindor." "I imagine they'll get Gryffindor robes soon," Rose said. "Do they even have houses at the Australian School of Sorcery?" John wondered aloud, "I mean, all their robes look alike." "They do," Matt told him, "But those are the plain school robes." "I'm guessing they wanted to look unified," Rose suggested, "I doubt Albus will wear Gryffindor Quidditch robes when he plays on the house team. They'll probably have special Hogwarts robes." "If I'm on the team, Rose," Albus sighed. Everyone seemed to think he was going to make the team. What if he didn't? Everyone would be disappointed. Albus didn't really like the pressure. "Morales, Linda," Patil shouted. Albus turned back to the Sorting and saw a rather short girl step forward. Albus watched as she walked towards the three-legged stool and he couldn't take his eyes off her. She was beautiful. There wasn't really any other way to describe her. Albus hadn't ever seen a girl as pretty as she was. Her dark brown hair cascaded down her back in soft waves. It didn't quite match her surprisingly pale skin, but it was beautiful nonetheless. Her light skin went well with her emerald green robes. She looked a bit nervous as she sat down and Patil dropped the hat on her head. Albus turned to look at his friends. Matt, John, and Kaden were all staring at the girl. So was James. In fact, all the boys at the Gryffindor table seemed to be staring at her. The girls were whispering to each other and glancing up at Linda Morales every so often. The hat seemed to be taking forever to decide. The entire Great Hall had erupted in whispers. Finally, the brim of the hat burst open and shouted out, "Gryffindor!" Linda Morales took off the hat and walked quickly towards the Gryffindor table. "Bloody hell," John whispered as she took a seat a few places down from Albus. Albus nodded and turned to look at the girl. She looked, if possible, even more nervous now that she was sitting down. "Albus!" Rose seethed, "Don't stare at her!" Albus shook his head to clear his thoughts and tried to turn his attention back to the Sorting. A little while later, the last student was Sorted into Hufflepuff and Patil and the other headmasters took seats behind the staff table. Kendrick stood up. "I'm sure you are all quite famished by now, so without further ado, dinner is served." Kendrick waved his wand and the golden plates filled with food. None of the new students had sat near Albus and his friends, so they didn't get a chance to really get to know any of them. Most of them were older anyway. Albus's cousins struck up conversations with a few of them, though. Albus did notice that Linda wasn't saying much, despite the fact that she had quite a few Gryffindors trying to talk to her. "Well, I certainly hope everyone enjoyed the feast," Kendrick announced after the plates cleaned themselves of dessert, "I have just a few announcements. The new students need to take note of the fact that the forest and the Whomping Willow are out of bounds. There is also a rather large list of forbidden objects. The entire list can be viewed on the caretaker's door, which is located on this level. Or, you can ask your fellow students. Anyone with the last name of Weasley has a particularly extensive knowledge on the subject." There was a large amount of laughter at this, mostly from the Gryffindor table. "Also, try-outs for the Hogwarts Quidditch team will be held this Saturday at one in the afternoon. Dueling Team try-outs will be held a week from today, also at one in the afternoon. And with that, I suggest you all turn in early, as classes start tomorrow." When Albus and his friends returned to the Gryffindor common room, Linda Morales was already there, surrounded by a rather large group of boys and a couple girls. She didn't appear to be enjoying it, though. She looked as nervous as she had been in the Great Hall and was mostly just nodding. "I'll bet anything all those blokes have asked her out already," Rose muttered as they watched the group. "Probably," Amanda agreed. "They should just leave her alone," Rose went on, "It doesn't look like she wants all that attention. I'll bet she's overwhelmed by everything." "I wonder how old she is," Albus said. He'd been trying to figure that out all evening. "Dunno," Rose shrugged, "She looks our age, but older at the same time. It's kind of odd." "Guess we'll find out tomorrow," Albus said, "She might be in our classes." "Well, I'm going to bed," Matt turned away from Linda and stood up. "He's been quiet all evening," John commented as Matt left. Albus leaned over to John. "That Killigan bloke, the headmaster, is the reason he couldn't go to school in Australia," Albus whispered. "Oh," John said, "Well, that would explain it." Albus and his friends stayed up for a few more minutes before turning in for the night. Albus laid awake for a while, though, thinking about Linda Morales.